Inflatable Dartboard

Bush Approval? In The Dirt

2006-03-14T16:48:00.000-08:00

What will it take for these spineless Democratic representatives to actually represent?

Call Frist's bluff and back Feingold!

Take action now lest you become part of the house that eventually gets cleaned.

Pierce the facade and he will fall. Momentum will take care of the rest.

Stand up Democrats! He is wounded and so are those who would protect him.

Inflatable Dartboard Nominated For Koufax Award!

2006-03-13T11:23:00.000-08:00

Wow. How did I not learn about this sooner?

Apparently, we've been nominated for a Koufax award for "Best New Blog".

I'm shocked, I'm Awed... I'm very moved.

My life has been settling back into normalcy (Thanks to all of you for your support and well wishes) and this is just the kick in the pants I need to get back to blogging on a regular basis.

So, I'll be getting the digital ink warmed up and I promise to start creating more graphics that highlight the absurdities and idiocy of those behind the wheel of this great country.

Please find it in your heart to give us a vote at:

http://wampum.wabanaki.net/vault/2006/01/002284.html

Scroll to the bottom of the page and leave a vote with the words "Inflatable Dartboard" in the comments section.

Thanks!

The Little Orange Vest Project

2006-02-15T08:19:00.000-08:00

Who can forget the image of GOP supporters who hoisted their blue stained finger tips in the air to show support for past Iraqi elections? Never mind the fact that the symbolism was laughable in the sense that the only democracy that will emerge will be one that the current US administration approves of.

So I introduce "The Little Orange Vest Project". We will be manufacturing tiny orange hunting vests that people can carry around, slide on their finger and hold up proudly in the air.

These can be worn at protests, GOP speaking engagements or better yet... just hold one up when debating neocon lunkheads face to face.

The tiny orange vests symbolize everything that is wrong with this administration:

Firing without having a clear idea of what the outcome will be and then scrambling deceitfully to control the disastrous outcome.

Lift them high America. They're tiny hunting vests. They smell of freedom.

EXCLUSIVE: BUSH/ABRAMOFF PHOTOS

2006-01-25T20:21:00.000-08:00

I was collecting river rock after the recent floods for a backyard landscaping project today and I made a startling discovery. While moving some of the larger stones, I came across one that I was able to lift quite easily despite it's appearance. It felt like it was hollow, so I shook it. Just as I could sense something was shifting around inside, it slipped free of my grasp and the top of the stone hinged open and spilled its contents on the ground.

A spy rock! Awesome!

Inside were two of the elusive and much sought after Bush and Abramoff photos and a hand written note that says "Time Warner - you'll get the other photos after you grant me free lifetime cable television. - KR"

My lawyer is clearing the other photo right now, but here is the first one:

[ click to enlarge ]

I should have the other photo up shortly...

Update: Second photo cleared. Incredible disregard for the law and all things holy:

[ click to enlarge ]

Oh... The Extreme Irony

2006-01-21T22:30:00.000-08:00

I've been admiring the good work done by the citizens of the blogosphere, as well as those who are just simply concerned by the propogation of the misinformation by Deborah Howell, The Washington Post's Ombudsman. I just can't wipe the smirk off my face that the very person who is supposed to facilitate and mediate complaints leveled against the WaPo has been the cause of such a tidal wave of complaints.

Then, to compound the issue by censoring and shutting down the commenting feature on your blog rather than issuing a simple correction and apology.

That course of logic baffles me. It's tantamount to inviting the running of the bulls to be held in your china shop.

Furthermore... I have yet to see anyone point out the WaPo's "Post Principles" laid out by their founder Eugene Meyer in 1935:

Eugene Meyer's Principles for The Washington Post

Eugene Meyer had a vision of what makes a newspaper truly great, and that vision included serving the public according to seven principles. He offered them in a speech on March 5, 1935 and published them on his newspaper's front page.

The first mission of a newspaper is to tell the truth as nearly as the truth can be ascertained.

Eugene Meyer

The newspaper shall tell ALL the truth so far as it can learn it, concerning the important affairs of America and the world.

As a disseminator of news, the paper shall observe the decencies that are obligatory upon a private gentleman.

What it prints shall be fit reading for the young as well as the old.

The newspaper's duty is to its readers and to the public at large, and not to the private interests of its owners.

In the pursuit of truth, the newspaper shall be prepared to make sacrifices of its material fortunes, if such a course be necessary for the public good.

The newspaper shall not be the ally of any special interest, but shall be fair and free and wholesome in its outlook on public affairs and public men.

Monk vs Alito: Adventures In Getting A New Job

2006-01-21T21:51:00.000-08:00

The main reason for my absence over the past month or so has been a search for employment. I'd been enjoying some time off, blogging, taking little consulting jobs here and there, day trading and traveling around to see live music. But mostly, as evidenced here, blogging. I really enjoyed it, but the tax man cameth and showed me that I couldn't really absorb such a blow and that I better wade back into the comfort pool.

So, I sharpened up my resume and ran it up the pole. I have an extensive background in trading technology (stocks, options, etc;). I received several good offers from large firms and interviewed accordingly. Then came interest from an international firm that I'd always had a professional crush on. So I interviewed, phone interviewed, waited, made the final three and interviewed again and then finally I had a panel interview. I was then told that I was their top choice and I started the background check process. This is not out of the ordinary, NASD and the SEC requires such actions, not to mention that any firm worth working for will have this policy as well. I wasn't worried. I've been through no less than 5 background checks in the past.

This one was different. A lot of the paper exchanges took place during the holidays and I wasn't always at home so I was working off of memory to a degree. Not a problem, I thought, because I posess a photographic memory.

Well, the check came back with several discrepancies. The background check company claimed that I was off by 2 months on one of my previous stints at a derivatives trading firm. Took a bit to straighten that out, but we cleaned up the misunderstanding. It also came back that I was off by 6 months on my term of employment at another firm. This one was my mistake because I had contracted for them for 6 months before they bought out my contract and converted me to in house. So where I had put down that I had worked for them for 2 years, technically, I had only worked for them for 1 1/2 years. Even though I had been essentially working for the same firm, in the same capacity, the entire time. I didn't even switch desks when I was brought in house.

Here's my point: Those 2 discrepancies almost cost me this position.

Here's my question: With the above in mind, how is it that Alito is going to skate by with such glaring problems with his professional career?

What issues?

1985 job application: Alito was 35 when he applied for an important political position with Attorney General Ed Meese during the Reagan administration. Alito sought to demonstrate his "philosophical commitment" to Meese's legal outlook. He wrote that the 1964 Goldwater presidential campaign had been his original political inspiration, even though he was only 14 at the time. His views on the law, he said, were inspired by his "deep disagreement with Warren Court decisions." He strongly objected to "usurpation by the judiciary" of the powers of the president, and supported the "supremacy" of the elected branches over the judiciary. Not surprisingly, Alito got the job.

The views expressed there raise serious concerns about his ability to interpret the Constitution with a fair and open mind. When this embarrassing document came to light, he faced a difficult decision on whether to defend his 1985 views or walk away from them. When I and others met him a short time later, he appeared to be renouncing them - "I was just a 35-year-old seeking a job," he told me. But now he's seeking another, far more important job. Is he saying that he did not really mean what he said then?
Membership in "Concerned Alumni of Princeton." In 1972, the year Alito graduated from Princeton University, a group of wealthy alumni formed Concerned Alumni of Princeton (CAP) to resist the growing influx of female, African American, Hispanic and even disabled students who were changing the face of Princeton "as you knew it." The university's most famous alumnus of the day, basketball star and later U.S. senator Bill Bradley, was invited into CAP initially but quickly found it "impossible to remain a member" because of CAP's "right-wing" views. A special committee of alumni, which included future Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, accused CAP of presenting a "distorted and hostile" view of the university. Alito joined CAP about that time, despite its purposes and reputation, and remained a member through 1985, when he cited his CAP membership as another qualification to join the Meese inner circle.

In 1987, when he was nominated to be U.S. attorney for New Jersey, and in 1990, when he was nominated for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, he did not mention his CAP membership to the Senate Judiciary Committee or to then-Sen. Bradley, who introduced him to the committee at the nomination hearing and endorsed him "100 percent." Bradley says today that had he known about Alito's long membership in CAP he would have had serious questions about it. Alito now says he can't remember anything at all about CAP.
Failure to recuse himself in the Vanguard case: In 1990, during the confirmation process on his nomination to the 3rd Circuit, Alito disclosed that his largest investment was in Vanguard mutual funds. To avoid possible conflicts of interest, he promised us that he would recuse himself from any case involving "the Vanguard companies." Vanguard continues to be on his recusal list, and his investments in Vanguard funds have risen from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands. Nevertheless, in 2002 he failed to recuse himself when assigned to sit on a case in which three Vanguard companies were named parties and listed prominently on every brief and on his own pro-Vanguard opinion in the case. In this case, he and the White House have floated many excuses, but none provided any sensible explanation for his failure to keep his promise or follow his "personal practice" of recusing himself whenever there was any possible ethical question about his participation in a case.
His pledge to be absolutely impartial where the government is concerned: While chairing his confirmation hearings in 1990, I asked Alito how he could remain neutral in the cases that would come before him as a 3rd Circuit judge after his more than a dozen years of service representing the U.S. government. He stated that he would be "absolutely impartial" in all his cases. But in case after case involving the actions of U.S. marshals, IRS agents and other government officials, he has sided with the government and against the citizens, even when his fellow judges have told him he was off-base.
His promise to leave his personal beliefs behind when he became a judge: That's what he told me in 1990 he would do. But has he? In November 2000, at one of many Federalist Society meetings he spoke at, he indicated that he was a true believer when it came to the society's longstanding theory of an all-powerful executive. His endorsement of presidential power and his criticism of the Supreme Court for undermining it made clear that his philosophical commitment in 1985 still drives him. (Courtesy: truthout.org)

Now, let's be clear... I'm not equating my position with that of a Supreme Court Justice candidate. But... I am more than concerned that, pound for pound, I had to jump through considerable hoops over seemingly small issues in my qualifications in order to get this job. I faced them straight on, concisely and with clarity. I was required to back them up with documentation.

Watching Alito's confirmation hearings, I got the impression that he was getting the velvet rope lifted for him. This position is way too important.

He should not get through. Not because of the fact that he is the Democratic Party's worst nightmare, but because he has shown too much wavering and anti-constitutional rhetoric to be given this esteemed position.

This is not a game.

The Constitution Deserves Better Than George

2006-01-06T18:34:00.000-08:00

And by Constitution, I mean us... The citizens of the United States. We deserve better than a empirical doufous who views the Constitution as an obstacle rather than a legal document by which this country is governed and rights are guaranteed.

To tear down this document that is at the epicenter of what makes our democracy special amongst world governments. With one stroke Bush has undermined one of the most important components of the constitution, a right to privacy.

Too many people have tossed in the towel on Bush's abuse of power on this issue. They line up behind him and his asinine excuse that it is necessary in this time of war. Bush has said that this war will continue as long as Al Qaeda exists anywhere in the world. By all accounts and by the very nature of Al Qaeda's structure, that will be a very long time. So, what's next? Which of the amendments to the constitution will be next to fall?

Because when another attack comes, their excuse will be that they need even more war powers.

It is true that the 9/11 terrorists took advantages of our freedoms to attack us. The solution so far has been to throw technology at the problem. Our enemies know they can't fight on that level so they are employing non-technical, guerilla tactics to attack us. I feel our current approach will not only swell the ranks of Al Qaeda and other splinter groups, but it will not stop another attack.

Cheney says that it is not luck that we have not been attacked in the last 4 years. He implies that it is because of their actions. This ignores the findings and failing grades that the 9/11 commission recently gave the Bush Administration and their belief that we are still vulnerable to attack.

They have often mocked Clinton for not being more proactive on combating domestic terrorism while he was in office. Yet they ignore the fact that there was an 8 year gap between the first WTC bombing and 9/11 despite his 'ineffectiveness' on combating terrorism.

Instead of teeing off on the constitution, George should look within it for inspiration to lead and protect this nation.

WalMart: Planet Of The Apes = MLK?

2006-01-05T15:13:00.000-08:00

Crooksandliars.com and firedoglake both have interesting takes on the appalling discovery that Walmart.com offers up some disturbing 'Similar Items' for potential buyers of a Planet Of The Apes DVD.

Like John Amato, I can't see how any database automation would attach a similarity between the Planet Of The Apes DVD and DVD's on Dorothy Dandridge, Martin Luther King and a movie about Ike and Tina Tuner. This has to be an intentional association. Especially when you look at the other Planet Of The Apes DVD's that fail to associate the 'Similar Items' mentioned above.

It will be interesting to see how the company addresses and explains this issue.

It's About The Checks And Balances, Stupid

2006-01-05T00:44:00.000-08:00

I can't say anything new here that hasn't already been said about how wrong Bush is on this warantless wiretapping issue, so I won't.

I will, however, comment on what should be done about it.

First, all warantless wiretaps need to stop immediately. The excuse that they need to do this to be able to 'act quickly' is moot given the 72 hour 'warantless' window that FISA allows. Bush should be able to operate within that parameter or propose a change in law. However, any proposed law needs to include a provision that allows oversight. Period. This is not a dictatorship.

Second, in an effort to mop up the previous lack of oversight, I propose a bipartisan panel of congress members with clearance (oh.. let's say... the members who were previously 'briefed' on the existence of this nefarious program?) who can review each and every one of the warantless wiretaps that Bush has signed off on. Upon review, if they are all deemed to be wiretaps on bonified terrorist suspects, then nothing is disclosed. If, upon review, any of the wiretaps are shown to involve detractors, political opponents or peaceful activists then that information will be revealed to the public in full.

Checks and Balances. Oversight. Without that, the terrorists have won.

New Invention Aims To Eliminate War On Christmas

2006-01-05T00:00:00.000-08:00

The Inflatable Dartboard Research and Design division has been working overtime to avert the disaster that looms on the Christmas 2006 horizon.

This past shopping season, much of the Christian fundamentalist angst seemed to stem from insensitive retail clerks failing to greet customers, regardless of their faith, with an enthusiastic "Merry Christmas".

With this incredibly important problem in mind, we are proud to introduce the "Faith Scan". This ingenious device, once installed at the counters of every store in every red state, scans various patrons and identifies their faiths. When the clerk sees the shopper's chosen religion on the Faith IndicatorTM, they can respond to the shopper with the appropriate holiday greeting (if any).

A happy shopper = happy retailer profits. And happy retailer profits make baby Jesus happy.

Post Mortem: War On Christmas

2006-01-04T21:35:00.000-08:00

It's kind of tough to do a post mortem on the War On Christmas considering that it was dead on arrival. But, what the hell, John Gibson,, Bill O'Reilly and a legion of insecure Christians seem to enjoy it. And since they seem to revel in conjuring up wedge issues and using them as diversionary tactics... let's join in the fun!

Amongst all this talk of war and Christmas, no one has mentioned the casualties:

172 Elves (68 from the woodworking division alone)
112 Reindeer (Prancer, Vixen both KIA in operational reindeer war games)
4 Snowmen divisions wiped out when they were accidentally airdropped into Texas on a search and destroy mission
The last %2 of John Gibson and Bill O'Reilly's dignity
28 Christians offended at various retailers

But perhaps the biggest casualty was me, when I passed out and hit the floor upon hearing the White House's response to the White House "Holiday Card" scandal:

"Their cards in recent years have included best wishes for a holiday season, rather than Christmas wishes, because they are sent to people of all faiths"

You know, it really is that simple.

Microphone Check

2006-01-04T01:39:00.000-08:00

Check... Check... Is this thing on?

Trying to get things back online here.

Rumsfeld Plays Dominoes With Kissinger?

2005-12-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

Ok, this is too weird. Raw Story is reporting that Donald Rumsfeld had dinner with Henry Kissinger last thursday in Washington, DC.

The reason I find this strange is that it comes on the heels of a December 5th speech that Rumsfeld gave wherein he stated:

"Iraq would serve as the base of a new Islamic caliphate to extend throughout the Middle East, and which would threaten legitimate governments in Europe, Africa and Asia. This is their plan. They have said so. We make a terrible mistake if we fail to listen and learn."

As the article I cited above states, Rumsfeld sure seems to be trying to invoke the flawed Domino Theory from Kissinger's days. Why is he playing this card now? Is Kissinger trying to put Rumsfeld back in line for trying to fly such a hole-filled kite with no wind?

Or is it something more benign like Kissinger offering Rummy a slot at his consulting firm, Kissinger and Associates?

We shall see.

Beware The Smear

2005-12-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

Karl Rove still has a job for now. The Republicans are trying to find their backbone with the elections coming up. You know what that means. Ready the mud bucket brigade.

Of course, I made this graphic so that I can easily add names to it. Should come in handy in the coming months.

Ford Folds Under Pressure

2005-12-12T11:46:00.000-08:00

The fundamentalists strike again with their anti-homosexual crusade. This time they struck the fatal blow to Ford Motor Company's advertising campaigns in various Gay publications. Not only did they succeed in getting Ford to stop their ads that targeted Gay consumers, but apparently they got them to stop buying ad space altogether. Ford responded that they will still be buying ads for their Volvo line in several Gay magazines.

A right-leaning friend of mine likened this move to when several gay rights groups lobbied to get Michael Savage and Dr. Laura knocked off their new television shows. I told him that I thought that was an asinine comparison.

I used the analogy of a Ford Mustang. That it is much easier and safer to drive a car forward. Savage and Dr. Laura, like these gay hating groups that dogged Ford, are trying to drive our society in reverse. They are driven by hate and exlcusion and are trying to keep the gay segment of our population under the tires.

Tom Delay Gets Hammered With... A Delay

2005-12-09T16:42:00.000-08:00

In a move that will likely strip Tom Delay of his leadership status, Texas Judge Pat Priest denied a motion to dismiss all charges against Tom Delay. Judge Priest dismissed conspiracy charges against Delay, but let stand 2 charges of money laundering against the beleaguered former House Majority Leader.

Delay's lawyer still wants those charges dismissed before the new year, but by all accounts that seems unlikely. That would set the stage for a trial to begin in January. A trial of even moderate length would almost guarantee that House Republicans would bring in a new Majority Leader and Delay would be left out in the cold.

Interestingly enough, these charges are wholly separate from the mounting storm on the Jack Abramoff front. Many who are watching the Abramoff debacle unfold believe that it will extend to ensnare Delay as well.

Lapdog Lieberman

2005-12-09T12:27:00.000-08:00

This has to be a joke. It's certainly nothing more than a rumor and a lame one at that. But then again it has been confirmed that Rumsfeld met with Liberman yesterday.

Lieberman to replace Rumsfeld as secretary of defense? Is Bush trying to throw a bone to the democrats? Is this some weak attempt at reversing the polls? I thought Bush likes to project an air of strength in his cabinet positions? Lieberman? Just listen to the guy when he talks. I would honestly be more intimidated (and impressed) by a tepid bowl of plain oatmeal.

Let's not spend too much time on this one. But he's still Bush's lapdog.

EXCLUSIVE: Luskin and Novak's Original Strategy

2005-12-08T23:25:00.000-08:00

A high level source has provided us with a copy of Luskin's original strategy that he had planned to deliver to Fitzgerald to stave off an indictment against his client, Karl Rove.

According to our source, Luskin and Novak had agreed to use the above photo - which we have determined to be a horribly doctored security camera image from a Washington, D.C. Fortune Teller's shop - to convince Fitzgerald not to indict the fragile Turdblossom. Luskin was apparently ready to testify that he and Viveca Novak had knocked back a few too many Irish Car Bombs and stumbled into 'Madame Tshurka's Bleeding Palm' velvet ensconced , paranormal nook. He continued to say that Luskin and Novak had agreed to frame out this scenario under oath:

"After 15 minutes of trying to persuade the crystal ball into contacting the long lost soul of Woodward's journalistic career, Novak asked the following benign question... "Who was Matt Cooper's source for Valerie Plame's name?" Suddenly, all the lights went out and a cold breeze blew out the candles despite the fact that all the windows and doors were closed. The table rumbled, the tarot cards scattered and the crystal ball began to glow and swirl with clouds and demonic faces. Then, as if by magic, the crystal ball crackled with electricity and a ghostly apparition of Karl Rove burst from the ball, laughing maniacally. The Karl Rove spirit then disappeared into the small, adjacent bathroom and plunged head long into the toilet and disappeared. The lights flickered back to normality and Luskin plunked down 2 crisp $100 bills and he and Novak left without getting a receipt."

Personally, I think that the above story and photo would have gone over as a more believable than the one they are currently trying to float with Fitzgerald.

Update: I should have provided more information about the weakness of Luskin's strategy that he decided to go with. As Jane is pointing out over at firedoglake, there is an apparent discrepancy between Novak and Luskin as to when their meeting took place. While that certainly looks bad, in my opinion it is overshadowed by the fact that Luskin waited until the last second to provide information of the Novak/Luskin meeting to Fitzgerald. It smacks of desperation and stall tactics.

Down, but not out yet

2005-12-06T23:40:00.000-08:00

First off... let me apologize for the way I pulled the plug last night. I was caught up in the moment and knee deep in anger and confusion over my lovely gift from the IRS. I spent the better part of today going through my options and my records. It remains to be seen what the outcome will be. In the mean time, I realized that even though I tried to leave the blog, the blog hasn't left me. All day today I was still being bombarded by ideas for articles and graphics.

Second, I am deeply humbled by all the comments and emails I've received asking me to continue and offering support. Thank you all very, very much.

It is with slight trepidation and sincere motives that I've added a donate button to the sidebar.
For now, I will continue to fight the fight as best I can. The political pendulum has reached it's apex and now is the time to help give it the momentum it needs. I can't quit now.

I've got some good ideas and some even bigger plans and I'll be throwing out requests for help to make them happen.

Again, thanks so much.

-Monk

The Dartboard Has Deflated

2005-12-05T20:53:00.000-08:00

Wow.

I find it strange that all of the sudden I get blindsided by a large, unrealistic tax bill from almost 5 years ago when I was making really good money.

It was fun while it lasted... Time to focus on reality.

-Monk

9/11 Report Card: Bush Totally Off Track

2005-12-05T14:22:00.000-08:00

Look, I dont' like beating up on this administration continually, but this is ridiculous. 4 years, 100's of billions of dollars, erosion of freedoms and constitutional rights, disjointed and upside down strategy for combatting terrorism, death, destruction, mangled reputation of the US and no signs of anything changing anytime soon.

Some of the more in depth, interesting pieces:

SF Gate: Sept 11th Panel: US Remains Unprepared
Financial Times: US Commission Hits At 'Shocking' Post-9/11 Failures
ABCNews: 9/11 Panel Faults White House, Congress

Google Round-Up news search on this issue

Daily Dissent points out the Bush administration is pointing fingers at the Republican controlled congress for not getting the job done. Another example of prime Bush Strategery.

Iraqi Paper Payola: Don't Let This Story Die

2005-12-04T09:52:00.000-08:00

We should all be familiar with this story by now, but we can't let it die in the main stream media. Last week, a whistleblower alerted the press to the fact that the Pentagon had awarded a $100+ million dollar contract to an interesting, dubbed The Lincoln Group, to pay Iraqi papers to print pro-american stories.

Administration officials and republican lap dogs are quick to defend this as typical and justifiable war time propaganda. We must pause to consider the strange state of affairs when GOP loyalists shrug off the serious nature of corrupting an emerging free press as being nothing but a propaganda tool.

Perhaps the catalyst for the leak to the LA Times (who broke the story) was this statement by Donald Rumsfeld the day before the article appeared:

"[Iraq] is -- has a free media, and they can -- it's a relief valve. They could have hundred-plus papers. There's 72 radio stations. There's 44 television stations. And they're debating things and talking and arguing and discussing."

Keith Olbermann has already commited to reporting on this issue further on his show for Monday. With Jack Warner at the helm of 'investigating' this issue, it's almost assured to die off quickly from an oversight perspective. But as long as bloggers and the press keep up the heat, we can keep the word out there.

Click here for a Google News search result page for this issue and read, read, read.

Karl Rove Out Of Options

2005-12-03T07:48:00.000-08:00

Rove Roundup:

This article from Media Matters does a great job of summing up the wall that is headed quickly towards Rove.

Think Progress underscores the obvious with an article titled "A Bad Sign For Karl Rove".

Jane Hamsher, leading plameologist, scooped everyone by succinctly pointing the finger at Viveca Novak for kicking down information to Robert Luskin (Rove's Attorney).

The Moderate Voice frames up the idea that the White House is sharpening their knives and dusting off the chopping block for Rove.

This was charming, no doubt: but they shortly found out That the Captain they trusted so well Had only one notion for crossing the ocean, And that was to tingle his bell.
- Lewis Carroll; The Hunting of the Snark (l. 105-108).

Bush Is Merely Ornamental

2005-12-02T14:42:00.000-08:00

I've always been terribly unimpressed by Bush's performance at podiums and lately he's taken on a new degree of incompetence from a leadership perspective. He mailed in his 'Victory In Iraq' speech in my opinion. It was fraught with nervousness and nervous jaw ticks, pauses and whats worse is that it ultimately rang hollow. A very poor performance. That is not to say that I'm just judging him on his appearance, the content of his message was weak and repetitive.

His recent trip to Asia was a trainwreck from a diplomatic perspective. While he managed to refrain from puking on anyone, he had the equal impression on the other leaders and dignitaries I'm sure.

He used to have a certain air about him that most defined as "swagger". I could see it, but I was never impressed by it because it struck me as arrogance that was thinly veiling total incompetence. The last remnants of that swagger is now gone and Bush is left naked and vulnerable. The worst part is that he lets it show. His eyes are vapid and his expressions are melancholy. He feels sorry for himself.

We need a new leader. The time has come for Bush to step down. He's been neutered politically and he is not the person who should be steering this country. He's like the Captain of the Exxon Valdez, absent and preoccupied while America drifts aimlessly through waters filled with approaching hazards.

Rush Limbaugh Fleeces His Ditto-Heads

2005-12-01T11:51:00.000-08:00

I was speaking to a good friend last night and we commenced our regular swapping of current and political events. If we were somehow transformed into Dungeons and Dragons characters, we would both be classified as 9th Level News Mongers. In other words, rarely do we catch each other off guard with an unknown news item.

Last night was an exception to that rule. My fellow news junkie floored me with the revelation of the Rush Limbaugh "Adopt A Soldier" program. Sounds benign and perhaps even honorable at first. Well, one should always be suspicious if Rush is involved. I offered up my laptop and he directed us to Rush's lair on the web. Sure enough, on his front page, there is a large graphic for the "Adopt A Soldier" scam.

Why is it a scam? Here's how it works... there are two buttons for you to click on. You choose button one if you want to adopt a soldier, click on button two if you are currently a soldier. Then the incredibly complex database matches a soldier with the kind donation of one of the charitable donors.

So what is it that these folks are donating? Could it be much needed body armor? Perhaps scraps of steel for their Hum Vees? Sand repelling lubricating oil for their guns? Tasty baked goods from nice little old ladies? What goodness is Rush spreading to the troops?

None of the above. The adopted soldier is the proud recipient of a annual subscription to Rush Limbaugh's "24/7" newsletter! How exciting and useful! What's more is that Rush only charges $49.95 to each donor for the subscription rate. In fact, he states that the $49.95 is a "reduced rate". How incredibly kind of him.

I've seen these newsletters at a ditto-head relative's house. They are very light on both content and pages, thus the term "newsletter" and not "magazine". I subscribe to a couple magazines and the subscriptions for both don't even come close to $49.95.

The only thing I can gather is that the printing company that prints this newsletter charges him an inflated fee because all the crap he writes about spurts, sprays and gunks up all the printing presses and equipment operators.

Scooter Libby's Nightmare

2005-11-30T17:01:00.000-08:00

The mirror black surface is not comforting for Scooter Libby as he laboriously treads water with his bum leg. It's been some time now since his republican cohorts gave up on him and paddled off for calmer waters to regroup and lick their wounds.

Scooter's eyes dart left and right as the periphery of his vision plays tricks on him. Periodically, his subconscious makes him stop breathing so his sense of hearing will be sharp and pure. A straight and true black fin pierces the obsidian plane directly in front of him and he catches the look of horror on his own face in the wet reflection.

Something large brushes up against him and he recoils in horror, thrashing wildly backwards as he slams into his headboard and sits up panting in his bed. Thank goodness it was only a bad dream he thinks to himself momentarily.

Suddenly the waking dream of his present reality comes rushing back in and he fumbles for the barbituates and glass of water on his night stand. As he knocks the pills back and goes to wash them down, he is faced with the same nightmarish reflection of his face in the surface of the water in the glass. He solemnly puts the water back down without taking a drink, chokes the pills down with a grimace and lays back to welcome the relative escape of sleep. For even a nightmare filled slumber is a respite compared to the growing shadows of reality.

Sleep tight Scooter. It won't be long now.

Tony Blair And The Two Memos

2005-11-30T12:18:00.000-08:00

Tony blair is scrambling to downplay the European press frenzy over a leaked document that reportedly shows that Blair talked bush out of bombing the headquarters of Al Jazeera in Doha, Qatar.

What started out as a leak of one document, may now have multiplied into 2 documents.

Now it looks like 2 men have appeared in court and are facing charges over the leaked documents.

It's only a matter of time before these documents come out.

Come on Blair, get off the leash. Or should I say anchor?

Victory: Objective, Not Strategy

2005-11-30T08:27:00.000-08:00

Once again I've tried to clear the slate and give this President a chance. Once again I'm completely underwhelmed by his message and overwhelmed by his administration's marketing talent for delivering shiny packaging with no product inside.

How many times are we going to be subjected to these ridiculous backdrops, stage dressing and large slogans that go farther in getting their message across than Bush could ever hope to? And then there's the aspect of the crowd he delivers these dry, robotic speeches to. I am not impressed by the fact that he continues to exlcusively address troops and party loyalists. This is not to say that I would expect him to orate in front of a room full of liberal Bush-bashers, that wouldn't be constructive either.

What I'm talking about is saving the taxpayer's money by showing Bush with rolled up sleeves and giving a comprehensive and intelligent speech from the Oval Office. Show us a true strategy that utilizes Bush's cabinet and some demonstrable tactics that are being employed to steer this behemoth of a disaster towards the light.

Also, am I the only one that is enraged by Bush and Rumsfeld trying to dress up the readiness of Iraqi soldiers, troop levels and troop readiness? Just one month ago General Casey sat in front of a congressional panel and said that there was only 1 Iraqi battalion that was operational. That was down from a previous count of 3 Iraqi battalions. Factoring in that level of attrition and coupling it with the slow pace of Iraqi troop readiness and a growing instability in Iraq - one wonders what type of math is being employed by this administration.

One of the other important factors that I believe this administration is ignoring is the belief that our presence in Iraq is fueling the insurgency. I firmly belive this is true. Factor this into the equation and it becomes obvious that any military strategy taken will only serve to help the insurgency grow.

I, as well as a growing segment of America, have no faith in Bush or his ability to lead. So why deliver more Bush to us reading a staccato speech and painfully pausing for applause? You can't polish a turd. Let's see some real leadership because it's sorely lacking and even more urgently needed.

Cunningham And The Commode Confusion

2005-11-29T17:45:00.000-08:00

Ok, time to straighten things out here. One of the items in Cunningham's long list of lavish gifts is the following:

$7,200 paid to an antique store for a circa 1850 Louis Phillipe period commode and a circa 1830 Restoration period commode

As much as I would like to believe that the Dukester was just "dropping some kids off at the pool" in luxurious style each morning, people are getting this one wrong.

I've heard Chris Matthews, Dan Abrams and a bevy of other journalists and pundits mock Cunningham for his penchant for expensive crappers today. Am I the only one who knows that an antique commode is actually a piece of furniture similar to a buffet?

In fact, all one has to do is google up an image search for 1850 Louis Phillipe commode for confirmation. So, rather than getting kickbacks for toilets, Duke was selling his soul for silly little pieces of barely-functional furniture.

Is Jim Vandehei High?

2005-11-29T16:43:00.000-08:00

After reading his article today and considering the fact that Jane Hamsher already eviscerated him over it, I was going to let Jim Vandehei slide today. It really irked me that the overarching theme of his article is that Viveca Novak is Rove's saving grace. The article title sets it up with "Time Reporter Called a Key to Rove's Defense In Leak Probe" and then he goes for the over-the-net slam by sourcing his incantation to "two people familiar with the situation."

Two people familiar with the situation? What the hell does that mean? I have 10 close friends that are "familiar with the situation" and I'd say 3 of them have a firm grasp of the situation. I mean, come on, talk about weak sauce.

So anyways, I was going to let him slide... But then I caught Vandehei's appearance today on the Abrams Report and right out of the chute he summed up the thing that irked me most about his afore-mentioned article.

Abrams directs his first question to Vandehei (paraphrased):

Abrams: "How is it that a Time reporter is going to be the key to Rove's defense?" Vandehei: "Well, that really is the big mysterious question"

How does one bring himself to write and then have published an article whose premise is so fatally hollow and "mysterious"? I understand that speculative journalism is nothing new, but why muddy the waters on such an important case? Especially after your ace and fellow reporter screwed the pooch so hard on this very issue.

Perhaps Woodward is letting Vandehei take pinches from his stash.

Bush Wasting Time With Immigration Push

2005-11-29T11:59:00.000-08:00

Who does President Bush think he's kidding with this sudden trudge into the trenches of the battle over illegal immigration? He has simply beaten around the Bush over the last 5 years because of his affinity for the gringo sympathy vote. It's just more smoke and mirrors to try to shake the current woes his administration he is facing.

He will be totally ineffectual on this topic as long as he remains loyal to the corporate side of the debate who embrace illegals because they pad the bottom line as cheap labor. He's offered nothing new to solve the problem.

He's throwing more money at the issue to put up more obstacles for those trying to sneak across the border. That tactic has proven to be largely unsuccessful due to the fact that those people will just try to come across again and again until they get through. It's like trying to keep back the tide.

Rove: Same As He Ever Was

2005-11-29T09:19:00.000-08:00

The only difference about Karl "The Architect" Rove these days compared to the Rove of days-gone-by is that the strategies he erects now fall apart under the slightest bit of pressure. That's not to say that Rove is doing something different, he's not. It's just that the public is finally waking up and even if they don't know it, they are now hip to his shady tactics. He is now politcally castrated and housebound.

The fact that Fitzgerald is circling above Rove like a vulture doesn't help, but even if Fitzgerald came out today and clear Rove... it's too late. He's damaged goods. He's a political leper.

Raw Story has an interesting story up about Rove that shines some more light on his apparent knack for selectively logging phone calls.

Cracked Ribs Really Blow

2005-11-28T16:52:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all of you who have sent me emails and left comments about my Thanksgiving day incident. Sorry I haven't been able to blog much, I just haven't really been able to get comfortable in any position and stay there for more than 5 minutes.

I have no desire to go the Rush Limbaugh route and get addicted to pain medication, so I'm trying to tough it out.

For those who have expressed curiousity as to how I was so lucky to have this injury bestowed upon me, it's really anti-climactic... but here it goes:

Every year here in Sacramento there is a large (500-600 people) Turkey Day bike ride that winds through the downtown area, circles the State Capitol, vibrates through the cobble stone streets of Old Town Sacramento, merges onto the Sacramento river bike trail and ends up at a nice little beach at Discovery Park.

Well, this year I volunteered as a traffic guide for the ride (read: cyclist shepard) and early on in my duties I saw some confusion mounting, so I bolted to the head of the pack and took up a position in the middle of the street directly in front of our beautiful State Capitol building. Stradling my bike and diverting traffic like a pro, I didn't even see the out of control guy who was going 10 times faster than anyone else on a giant, old battle ram of a cruiser. Well, next thing I know I'm on the ground after he apparently forgot how to turn, put his feet on the ground (read: flintstone braking method) and plowed directly into me, hockey check style. The very next thing I noticed was that the guy was very drunk. So did the cops that were near by. I was fuming as I was bending my front tire back into shape (I did a surprisingly good job), all the while trying to ignore the pain throbbing from the back of my ribcage.

So, not much to do other than ride it out and sit and lay in weird positions while my calciferous organ protectors get back up to speed.

Cunningham Throws In The Towel

2005-11-28T14:31:00.000-08:00

Representative Randall "Duke" Cunningham takes the fall and resigns after pleading guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion charges. Standing on the courthouse steps in San Diego, the Duke kicked on the water works and with shaking hands tried to wipe away the tears.

I'm sorry, but that Jimmy Swaggart crap just doesn't fly with me. Not on the heels of his statement in July 2005 where he claims to have committed no "wrongdoing". He didn't stop there, his bravado allowed him to quip:

"If I've done anything wrong, come get me."

Well, he's been gotten. He's 65 and looking at 10 years of jail time.

Anyone else notice that this isn't getting much in the way of airtime on the major news outlets?

Bolton The Big Bully Walrus

2005-11-27T12:08:00.000-08:00

Close to realizing his dream of hamstringing the United Nations after just 4 months into his ambassador position, John Bolton has encountered a major snag. Britain has rejected Bolton's proposal to withhold the 2006 operating budget for the U.N until his demands for U.N. reform are met.

I would imagine that most U.N. members, including Britain, have had enough of Bolton's ham handed approaches to diplomacy. Especially considering his embarassing, backdoor recess appointment by Bush.

An interesting quote from the Telegraph article:

"Privately, British diplomats express surprise that he has not made greater efforts to cultivate them or build alliances. "You're either with him or against him," said one."

Bolton should know where that tactic got Bush. Nobody likes a Bully.

Happy Turkey Day

2005-11-24T15:53:00.000-08:00

I wish you all the best and sweet dreams in your post-turkey, trypotphanic slumber.

Extra Special thanks to the firedoglake folks for all the kind words and wishes.

Big thanks to all the troops abroad who are longing for the comfort we enjoy. Thanks to you most of all.

-Monk

EXCLUSIVE: BRITISH INTEL PLAN ON AL JAZEERA INCIDENT

2005-11-24T04:56:00.000-08:00

Last night I was enjoying a pint with a friend at my local pub when I was approached by a lanky man with bad teeth. He said nothing, but his eyes underscored the importance of the yellow envelope he had offered up to me. As I took it, he spun around, walked up to the bar and proceeded to knock back a full glass of red wine in one belt. Then he disappeared out the front door and not 2 seconds later, 3 gunshots echoed into the establishment.

As people scrambled for cover, I sat motionless and methodically opened the envelope. I was bowled over by the gravitas of the photo I was staring at and have posted above. This brave man had provided me with the British Intelligence satellite photo that proves Tony Blair fended off George Bush's plan to blow up Al Jazeera's headquarters in Doha, Qatar. Even though I found the photo riveting, I couldn't help but wonder why he didn't just give me the memo since that would be much more powerful and damning.

In silent retrospect, I imagined how much different the war in Iraq would be if Tony Blair hadn't been able to keep the cowboy in check that day.

Scanlon Takes The Stool

2005-11-22T17:57:00.000-08:00

Teeth are chattering and knees are knocking throughout the halls of Congress now that Michael Scanlon has pled guilty to bribing public officials and agreed to cooperate with investigators. One can only guess as to how investigators are going to run their game plan.

Ever the armchair political quarterback, it seems obvious that they'll ride Scanlon hard and long about his crooked dealings with Abramoff. Then use that information to take the legs out from under Abramoff and get him to turn as well. Jack Abramoff is the hub. A veritable octopus of influence and power in the world of high pressure lobbying.

It will be interesting to see how and if this investigation penetrates into democratic congressional members. Reason being, the model that Tom Delay and Grover Norquist established sought to segregate the parties in congress. This model came in the form of "The K Street Project" - a project by the Republican Party to pressure Washington lobbying firms to hire Republicans in top positions, and to reward loyal GOP lobbyists with access to influential officials.

The GOP blood will flow and the irony will be monumental if Delay and Norquist were so successful in setting up their Republican firewalls, that it turns out to be more of an oven that will cook them all from the inside.

Welcome Back, Bush

2005-11-22T11:34:00.000-08:00

President Bush touched down on American soil last night after his week long, lackluster tour of Asia. While he may have been able to escape Washington and get in some quality biking time in China, his current woes dogged him the whole way.

He appears befuddled that these problems aren't just disappearing like they used to. In fact, they're gaining steam and his previous handmaidens are recoiling from him as if he had shown up on a child molester's database.

The now famous door incident is very symbolic in many ways. Foremost, it conjurs up an image of his "Stay the course" mantra for Iraq and lack of an exit strategy. It was easy to notice that once he had checked both doors and no portal had materialized, he simply gave up and stared at the crowd. If he were to follow his own strategy in Iraq, he would have knocked the door down, or at least tried. Better yet, he would have at least looked for another exit. I've been curious as to how he got to the podium? Did he enter through those doors only to have them get locked behind him? Did he enter through the backdrop that he finally exited through and just forgot his previous route?

For me, it is just another example of how this President chokes under pressure.

I'm Tired Of Dick Cheney's Big Fat Mouth

2005-11-21T12:19:00.000-08:00

Doh! I erased the text on accident... I'll type it back up in a few. Here's the graphic in the mean time.

Update: Screw it. I'll let this one stand. I'm working on a larger piece for Cheney.

Dropping: The Hammer

2005-11-21T00:06:00.000-08:00

Those TV ads and computer generated phone calls with Tom Delay claiming that Ronnie Earle has filed "baseless charges" against him are starting to look rather baseless themselves.

From Bloomberg:

"Scanlon, a former aide to Representative Tom DeLay, is scheduled to appear today in U.S. District Court to present a plea bargain with the Justice Department likely to lead to his cooperation with investigators. His testimony would ratchet up the pressure on Abramoff and aid prosecutors in widening the investigation to members of Congress, such as Republicans DeLay and Representative Robert Ney of Ohio."

I wouldn't be surprised if Scanlon does take the stool and starts dropping dimes on his cohorts, it's in his nature. Taking opportunities is the backbone of any "good" lobbyists' pedigree and I doubt Mr. Scanlon has many opportunites these days with the corner he's painted himself into. Putting knives in peoples backs is the rule of thumb at the level these guys play at and when you are facing jail time you've got to be quick. The guy who sinks his shank first will likely be the one who won't have to worry about be on the receiving end of one in a prison yard.

I'll be writing/creating more about this within the next few days I'm sure... let's see what happens with Scanlon today.

UPDATE: Looks like Michael Scanlon pled guilty and will be cooperating with investigators.

Wonder Fitz Powers! Form Of: A New Grand Jury

2005-11-19T16:11:00.000-08:00

After a seemingly endless barrage of body blows to the administration, Fitz goes upstairs and lands a solid uppercut to the jaw in the form of a fresh and new Grand Jury.

A collective groan resonates across the red states and the White House as a whole new volume in this enthralling series begins.

Of course, this was no surprise to most of us that have been paying attention.

Who is the focus of Fitzgerald now? Who was Bob Woodward's mysterious source? Just about everyone except for Cheney has had a spokesman come forth and say it wasn't their boss. The noose is tightening and Dubya isn't going to have a good landing when he returns from his trip abroad.

Rather, he'll likely walk into a putrid stench of the rotting meat emanating from his cabinet members.

Bush Contradicts Pentagon On Iraq Pullout?

2005-11-19T11:26:00.000-08:00

The Republican led Congress, President Bush, Vice President Cheney and The Pentagon all stress the importance to avoid sending the troops in Iraq the wrong message. Yet, if you've been following the events of yesterday and the news today, it's clear that they are the ones sending nothing but confusion to the troops.

The conflicting messages I am referring to:

Congress votes down a phantom resolution yesterday that calls for an "Immediate withdrawal" from Iraq.

Bush says today that the troops must stay in Iraq.

Donald Rumsfeld has been delivered a plan by the top US commander in Iraq (Gen Casey) that includes phased troop withdrawals beginning early next year.

Which message is worse? The Democrats and a majority of the US public desiring a phased withdrawal from Iraq? Or the contradictory statements from those in charge of this war about a future plan for our troops in Iraq?

Our troops are loyal and fierce, but when the command segments send mixed messages, it projects an air of incompetence and surely undermines their confidence in their leaders.

The Republicans in the House rushed through their session yesterday and avoided meaningful debate on this issue in an effort to escape to their 2 week vacation. If anything, they should have delayed their vacation while they hammered out a substantive agreement and resolution for, at the very least, a timetable for an effective exit strategy.

Woodward Lets Pissed Off Cat Out Of Bag

2005-11-19T02:17:00.000-08:00

Jane Hamsher has burned some midnight oil on the Woodward issue over at firedoglake and we all reap the rewards.

In short, she has managed to put together a string of contradictory and seemingly false statements by Bob Woodward in regards to when he finally came clean with his boss, the editor of The Washington Post, Len Downie.

To me, the signifigance of these contradictory statements goes to Woodward's motivation for doing so. Based on Jane's amazing ability to put together a complex puzzle, an image slowly forms of a coughing, stumbling Woodward that has just been smoked out of a hiding spot. He almost seems bewildered.

Now, I'm no detective, but I have worked in some compliance roles with regards to securities and derivatives trading and this smacks a familiar tone. I've questioned traders before on questionable trades and it was easy to tell which ones did so out of ignorance and which ones were scheming and hoping they wouldn't get caught. The guys that were not following the rules on purpose would often change their stories because of the complex nature of trade reporting and the regulations that govern most exchanges. In other words, as they would give their series of events, I would point out how that couldn't be possible for reason X and they would change it up a bit. Not a good idea.

Woodward doesn't know what Fitz knows and he's breaking down like a San Francisco Chronicle in the rain.

Should've let that cat out when it was doing that long deep growl, Bob-O. Tsk, tsk.

(Hat tip to Jane for the graphic inspiration)

Jean Schmidt Steps In A Pile Of It

2005-11-18T17:22:00.000-08:00

Jean Schmidt, the junior representitive from Ohio, resorted to the type of tactics usually reserved for elementary school politics. Word of her tirade and ad hominem on the house floor have spread like wildfire. Trying to hide behind the red, white and blue of her carefully chosen sweater she allowed her lips to purse up like a sphincter and produce the following statement:

"[A Marine Colonel] asked me to send Congress a message - stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message - that cowards cut and run, Marines never do"

The tactic instantly backfired as house Democrats lept from their seats and rushed the well of the floor shouting their objections to the personal attack. Howard Fineman of Newsweek was in the viewing gallery and said that it's the first time he'd ever seen anything like it.

Tempers are running hot on the hill and that is good thing. Finally we have the signs of life in our democracy that suggest we are actually following a system of checks and balances rather than a system of bend over and grab your ankles.

The above quote is from the following article by the Associated Press.

All The President's... Women?

2005-11-18T16:08:00.000-08:00

A very interesting story that seems to be gaining steam suggests that Bush is now fishing for ideas from his estrogen pool.

From AmericaBlog.com:

"The sources said Mr. Bush maintains daily contact with only four people: first lady Laura Bush, his mother, Barbara Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Undersecretary of State Karen Hughes. The sources also say that Mr. Bush has stopped talking with his father, except on family occasions."

I don't think this is a terribly bad idea considering the rut his previous knuckle draggers got him, and this country, into.

Futhermore, if it is true, it is very apparent that Bush has made alot of mistakes. An admission of which we will never get directly from him.

Note: I'm very sorry for the subpar photoshop quality of the graphic above. Working with those 5 horrid faces was alot tougher to stomach than I thought.

Bush Admin Does Some More Rewriting Of History

2005-11-18T00:44:00.000-08:00

I realized tonight that I was falling behind on my self-flagellation so I headed over to Pentagon.gov to see what Rumsfeld has been up to. There I found a transcript from just 4 days ago where Rumsfeld employed his twisted, Orwellian speak in an effort to prop-up the quagmire in Iraq.

Near the end of Rumsfeld's opening statement, I noticed the following:

"While the American people understandably want to know when our forces can leave Iraq, I believe they do not want them to leave until our mission is accomplished and the Iraqis are able to sustain their fledgling democracy."

Recognize anything? Immediately the image of Bush on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln with the inafamous "Mission Accomplished" banner behind him popped into my mind. So, it's clear now. We didn't accomplish the mission back on May 1st, 2003. It has yet to be accomplished according to Rumsfeld. Of course, we all know this, but the administration has never addressed it honestly. Talk about a rewrite of history.

Futhermore, no one in the Bush administration has apologized or admitted the error that the banner has come to represent. In fact, the only thing the administration has done is to pass the buck onto the Navy for the banner's presence.

One other thing jumped out at me while researching for this blog entry.

In Bush's speech from the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, he makes one of the more tacit, and less commonly cited, comments that tries to link Iraq to 9/11:

"The battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on September the 11th, 2001 and still goes on."

The Republican talking point about Democrats trying to rewrite history isn't sticking. Like the magical adhesive on a sticky note, it only lasts so long.

Wilson Wants Internal WaPo Probe Of Woodward

2005-11-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

Joe Wilson chimed in today with a statement that suggested The Washington Post should haul in Woodward and give him a good probing. He also went a little further.

From the Boston Globe article:

"Wilson, a former ambassador turned White House critic, told Reuters that The Washington Post should reveal the name of Woodward's source, and conduct an inquiry to determine why he withheld the information for more than two years from his editors and the federal prosecutor."

Further down in the article:

"A White House official said on Thursday that national security adviser Stephen Hadley was not Woodward's source on Plame. According to current and former administration officials and lawyers, neither was: President George W. Bush himself, top political adviser Karl Rove, Libby, White House chief of staff Andrew Card, counselor Dan Bartlett, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former CIA director George Tenet, and former deputy CIA director John McLaughlin."

Still noticably absent from the list is VP Cheney.

Bush's Approval Ratings In Freefall

2005-11-17T11:44:00.000-08:00

From the Wall Street Journal:

"Bush's current job approval rating stands at 34%, compared with a positive rating of 88% soon after 9/11, 50% at this time last year, and 40% in August."

Ouch.

Do Not F@*$ With The Fitz

2005-11-16T18:54:00.000-08:00

Today has been interesting to say the least now that Bob Woodward has thrown his hat in the ring. As the day dragged on I started wondering just how much money Libby is paying his hotshot attorney Ted Wells. However much it is, he should probably reconsider when signing his next check over to Wells.

The reason I give this advice to Libby is because of the legal stumbling on the part of Wells today. His weak attempt to form a mountain out of an ant hill came today in front of reporters on a rainy Washington, DC night.

From the astute Mr. Keith Olbermann:

"Wells issued a statement at midday, the key passage of which concludes that Woodward’s "disclosure shows that Mr. Fitzgerald’s statement at his press conference of October 28, 2005 that Mr. Libby was the first government official to tell a reporter about Mr. Wilson’s wife was totally inaccurate."
But Fitzgerald never said that.

The transcript of Fitzgerald’s news conference is not disputed — nobody from his office has called up trying to get it altered after the fact. On October 28, Fitzgerald actually said: "Mr. Libby was the first government official known to have told a reporter" about Ambassador Joe Wilson’s wife.

"The first government official known to have told…" is a huge difference from "The first government official to tell…"

I agree with Olbermann completely. In bowling terms, that's a nice pick up by Keith on Well's 7-10 split.

However, not everyone thinks that Keith is free and clear with his conclusion. Tom Maguire over at Just One Minute points out that Fitzgerald had more to say on the issue in his October 28th press conference:

"Later in his press conference, Fitzgerald says this:

At the end of the day what appears is that Mr. Libby's story that he was at the tail end of a chain of phone calls, passing on from one reporter what he heard from another, was not true.

It was false. He was at the beginning of the chain of phone calls, the first official to disclose this information outside the government to a reporter. And then he lied about it afterwards, under oath and repeatedly.

That looks a bit light just now."

Just to muck things up further, I have to say that I disagree with Tom Maguire here. This is just more of Fitzgerald leaving the doors open. The word "beginning" does not have a singular connotation in this case.

To help make my point, I submit the following picture of the "beginning" of the last New York Marathon:

Why Did Bob Woodward Sit On This Egg?

2005-11-16T12:03:00.000-08:00

I'm having a hard time understanding Bob Woodward's motivation for keeping his involvement in the Plamegate case secret. The investigation of Plame's outing has been public for more than 2 years now. The entire world sat in collective anticipation of Patrick Fitzgerald's findings for weeks as the indictments were imminent. Yet Bob Woodward just sits idly by, telling no one about what he knows. What are we to call this absurd behavior? Journalistic Kitty Genovese Syndrome?

It would be a slightly different matter if he hadn't been a regular commentator on this issue. Take, for instance, the following statements by Woodward about Plamegate:

"He has called Patrick J. Fitzgerald a "junkyard dog prosecutor" and said in interviews this year that the damage done by Plame's name being revealed in the media was "quite minimal." He told NPR this past summer, "When I think all of the facts come out in this case, it's going to be laughable because the consequences are not that great." (Source: EditorandPublisher.com)

I find it disturbing that Woodward would be so cavalier about spinning this issue in favor of the White House while now stating "I hunkered down. I'm in the habit of keeping secrets. I didn't want anything out there that was going to get me subpoenaed." Isn't that just a perfect summation of every deceitful person's crutch? He can't have it both ways. By "hunkering down" does he mean that he just wore shoes without lifts? Nonsense.

The jury is still out on this development. He is still imitating a clam on several key issues. But, we will be watching with extreme interest.

Why Can't Bill O'Reilly Just Apologize?

2005-11-15T18:12:00.000-08:00

First he invites terrorism on San Francisco, then he blames "a well funded effort to slime the Radio Factor" and now he's just calling what he said "satire."

Has fathead learned nothing from this debacle? He's trying to sluff the situation off like it's no big deal, but we are going into the 3rd day of him commenting on his shows about this. As I understand it, O'reilly hasn't given other serious stories this much airtime, so he's obviously feeling the heat.

I'm no friend of Bill O'Reilly, not by a long shot. In fact, I'm hoping that this blog makes his list of "anti-military Internet crowd" sites that he's threatening to publish on his website. But, one must wonder why he can't just suck it up and apologize for the Coit Tower portion of his statement.... oh wait, that's right, it's his blimp-sized ego that's preventing him from doing the right thing.

As I said in an earlier blog entry:

He just picked a fight with the stronghold of the left. It's the equivalent of mocking a rival school by antagonizing their rugby team with icy hot in their jockstraps. In his weakened state, it wasn't the brightest move he could make. But then again, consider the source.

He's going to have a tough time getting out of this hornet's nest because the activist nature of San Francisco is relentless. They will not stop until he either apologizes or is fired. Being the top rated show at Faux News (good lord, why?) pretty much negates the latter of those routes.

So, It will continue on and people like me will keep prodding him until he folds.

UPDATE: ID Reader and blogger extrodinaire "Ace Cowboy" provides another good angle:

"See, I think fighting with this guy is the wrong move. You have to EMBARRASS him into apologizing.

I think a good strategy would be something like, "Deep down, Bill O'Reilly really likes the Coit Tower, because it subconsciously reminds him of a giant vibrator, and we read all about his love for vibrators.""

Fitzgerald Keeping The Pressure Up On Rove?

2005-11-15T15:42:00.000-08:00

One rule about blogging is that it doesn't wait for you. I really wanted to get in the mix on these new articles about Rove and where he sits on Fitz's burners but I've been tending to other irons in my fire.

There's a nice one, two punch combo by Jeralyn at Talk Left and Jane at firedoglake that do well to grapple this Rove issue into focus.

Constitution, Schmonstitution

2005-11-14T16:39:00.000-08:00

Cheney's push for legalizing torture and now Graham's ammendent that sandbags Habeas Corpus should have every American very concerned.

The fundamental tenets of this country are being slashed at and for what? To protect the country? That's tantamount to a snake eating it's own tail.

From an article over at TheHill.com:

"Graham says that his bill would eliminate numerous legal claims from prisoners that are tying up the resources of the Department of Justice and slowing the ability of interrogators to glean important information from the detainees."

So, we're setting flame to the constitution over a matter of judicial inconvenience? Nice.

Jane and Reddhedd are doing a great job at covering these items over at firedoglake.

Alito Rejected Abortion As A Right

2005-11-14T02:06:00.000-08:00

Sure to be a bombshell news story today, a legal position paper penned by Alito has surfaced. What's the big deal about that? Well, Mr. Alito was very candid about his personal opinion on abortion.

From the Washington Times article:

"Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, wrote that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion" in a 1985 document obtained by The Washington Times.

"I personally believe very strongly" in this legal position, Mr. Alito wrote on his application to become deputy assistant to Attorney General Edwin I. Meese III. The document, which is likely to inflame liberals who oppose Judge Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court, is among many that the White House will release today from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

In direct, unambiguous language, the young career lawyer who served as assistant to Solicitor General Rex E. Lee, demonstrated his conservative bona fides as he sought to become a political appointee in the Reagan administration. "I am and always have been a conservative," he wrote in an attachment to the noncareer appointment form that he sent to the Presidential Personnel Office. "I am a lifelong registered Republican.""

As it states in the article, the letter is from almost 20 years ago. However, it is going to be a large elephant in the room of his confirmation hearings early next year. This will give any Senator on the panel a wide open door to call him on the carpet about his position on abortion. I don't see a way he can tapdance around the question with, say, a giant version of this letter resting on an easel in front of him.

I think I just heard Bush crack open a 1.75 liter bottle of Jim Beam. It's going to be a long week.

Cheney: "The Vice That Dooms Bush"

2005-11-14T01:03:00.000-08:00

Here's a great article by Peter Preston from across the pond. He sees right through Cheney and wonders why Bush is keeping him around.

From the Guardian article:

"That was the choice Bush made when he picked Dick Cheney for another term. It's the decision that, day by day, brings him down. If you haven't got a designated heir and an administration that sees the chance of continuing life in transferred allegiances, then you've only got time, running out. Cheney is not a candidate. He is too old, too sick and in too much trouble. The prosecutors who pursue his chief of staff pursue him too. The White House's lousiest moral maze wanders straight up Pennsylvania Avenue to his door.

This situation upends the first-term dynamics when Cheney was the experienced professional and chum of dad who exercised more influence than any vice-president in memory. Without him, Saddam would still be in charge of Iraq, looking for his own WMD. Without him, Colin Powell would still have been the voice of American foreign policy.

But now Cheney is shaky and absolutely no mover. Every time he climbs into some bully pulpit and snarls defiance, Bush's ratings slide again. The party looks out three years and sees contenders circling. Condoleezza Rice has said she'd never stand, which leaves John McCain, a favourite again at 67; Rudy Giuliani, if memories for 9/11 last; George Pataki, from Albany - and many more. The current party of government is future-obsessed. The Oval Office it holds is a pear-shaped irrelevance."

--==--

"Libby May Have Tried to Mask Cheney's Role"

2005-11-13T23:12:00.000-08:00

Nothing really new here other than it's good to see the Washington Post keeping the heat on this story. I like the way these two snips are easy to digest for folks that may not be following this thing closely.

From the beginning of the article:

"Libby said that, when he told other reporters about the CIA operative and her marriage to Iraq war critic Joseph C. Wilson IV, he believed he had first learned the information from Tim Russert of NBC News and was merely passing along journalistic hearsay. This was an explanation made dubious by Libby's own notes, which showed that he previously had learned about Plame from his boss, Cheney."

And then from the end of the same article:

"Russert, Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper and Judith Miller of the New York Times all testified about their conversations with Libby. All contradicted Libby."

-:::-

Dr. Evil: Mini Me, if I ever lost you I don't know what I would do.
[pauses]
Dr. Evil: I would probably move on, get another clone but there would be a 15 minute period there where I would just be inconsolable.

"Democrats Have No Plans And No Message"

2005-11-12T23:03:00.000-08:00

This is one of the few remaining mantras that those on the right are clinging to. We couldn't really do much to counter it before due to the Republican domination of both houses, the committees therein and the submissive main stream media laying down at the feet of the right.

But now things are different. The curtain is fraying and we are beginning to see the scared little men working the levers feverishly behind it to keep up their fabricated illusion. It's time to frame out our plan to welcome in those who are finally seeing through this administration.

I submit the following Plan, or Message, that we can lay as the foundation to build upon:

As a unified party, our primary focus is to undo the damage caused to this Nation, and the World, by the Bush Administration.

Pretty simplistic isn't it? From that foundation we can pledge to present a Presidential candidate and Senatorial candidates that will sign on to this plan and work towards reversing the decay this administration has allowed and encouraged to take hold and spread.

First and foremost, we need a fresh administration that can demonstrably show it's difference from the previous administration. Friendly, respectable faces that will reignite the symbolic torch and guiding light of freedom and progression that so many formerly respected. We need new people with new and forward-thinking perspectives to come to the various tables around the world with a message of "We're sorry, we kind of lost sight of our ethos after 9/11. We suffered a form of post traumatic shock on a National scale. We hope you are able to forgive us and perhaps understand our plight and desire to get back on our former track."

Let's take the hood and electrodes off this wonderful Nation and look forward with the resolve to install measures that make sure we don't get hijacked again.

UPDATE: ID Reader Antifa posts the comment I've been expecting:

"I'm sorry, but this is a horrible Democratic slogan, and mission.

It is reactionary. "We are the un-Republicans."

We need to be thinking THROUGH the Republicans, not just pushing back a little bit, cleaning up after them like good little children. This slogan portrays us as the maids of the nation."

I respectfully disagree Antifa. First off, we have to be reactionary. Not in the extreme conservative sense of the word, but rather in the literal sense. By default, we must react to the corrupt and inept governing perpetrated by this administration.

Furthermore, I believe the message I laid out above can welcome in Republicans that have been abandoned by this administration. There is a large, and growing, segment of Republicans that have woken up to the reality of who is steering their boat - a proverbial jackal in elephant's clothing. Their agenda is contra to the values which true republicans embrace.

Again, let me stress that the message I laid out is a foundation. I believe that in as short as five to six months, there will be fertile soil in this nation to plant such a message.

And yes, we can play the role of maids to this nation, someone desperately needs to. Only I wouldn't suggest using the term 'maid', but rather something like 'reconstruction foremen.'

To analogize for a moment... this country has been slowly flooded with the dark waters and muck of this neocon cabal. Like New Orleans after the flood waters receded, we wouldn't expect people to just move back in and go on with their lives. There must be a period of clean-up, followed by damage asessment and then rebuilding.

Again, this is merely a suggestion to counter the "Democrats have no agenda" talking point. Feel free to debate this issue further in the comments section. Or, better yet, build upon it.

UPDATE: ID Reader Henry comments:

"Seconding Antifa: it's not a program and it leads to DLC Clintonian triangulation and school uniforms... So what is that message? Pro-worker, pro-family, pro-peace, pro-environment, pro-education. Simplistic? Sure. Needs development? Of course. But it's a crucial set of dividing lines that the Dems should adopt if they want to stop wandering in the wilderness--even though most Americans support their general policy goals."

Henry, I agree fully with your statement that the Democratic message is Pro worker, pro-family, pro-peace, etc;

But what's new? That has always been the Democratic motivation. We can't promise an exciting dinner to those on the fence and then bring leftovers to the table. We need to project an image of strength with forward looking ideas.

Look at the polls. People know this country is headed in the wrong direction. The polls also suggest that they are waking up to the reason why... because of the poor leadership demonstrated by this corrupted and inept administration. A pledge and a platform that is geared toward righting the wrongs of this administration will, I believe, get us fast out of the starting gate and strike a chord with people that are fed up and want change.

Bush Wrote The Book On Rewriting History

2005-11-12T11:03:00.000-08:00

Sometimes my attempts at graphical humor undercut my true feelings of anger regarding the issue I'm trying to convey. This is one of those occasions.

I try to temper these feelings by reminding myself that I can read this administration like an open book. I had a strong feeling this past Wednesday that Bush would use Veteran's Day to wrap himself in the flag and criticize his critics about the Iraq War. Nevermind the fact that his Republican Senate lap dogs agreed to investigate the White House's roll in the intelligence gathering for the Iraq war. Nevermind the fact that 5 out of the 6 reasons for war that Colin Powell laid out in front of the United Nations turned out to be bogus. Nevermind the fact that Bush essentially ignored the "OBL determined to strike inside the US" PDB, yet his administration enthusiastically buoyed the bad information given by "Curveball" and Chalabi. Never mind the fact that "Curveball" was identified as a non-credible source and Chalabi was on the lam for embezzlement. Nevermind the fact that this information was withheld from Senators that were supposedly acting on "the same intelligence" that the Bush administration had.

Knowledge of the above is the essence of why I grit my teeth when I hear Bush stumble up to a mic and proclaim:

"It is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began"

What then of your irresponsible behavior, Mr. President, for rewriting the reasons that we went to war? (see above graphic) What is more irresponsible? Launching a preemptive war on fabricated and fixed information or ignoring very valid questions and concerns that have emerged about this administration and it's nefarious practices? One begets the other. He continues:

"These baseless attacks send the wrong signal to our troops and to an enemy that is questioning America's will." (Source: Washingtonpost.com)

We will see how 'baseless' these claims are, but first they must be investigated. Our enemies are our enemies despite their perception. America's will should be to ferret out the truth from this house of weasels.

Bill O'Reilly Invites Terror Attack On San Francisco

2005-11-11T21:24:00.000-08:00

Falafel boy goes through the floor and hits the absolute bedrock of lowness with his latest tirade. While flicking spittle at the microphone of his radio talk show, Bill O'Reilly launched into a venomous attack against San Francisco for putting a measure on the last ballot that would urge city schools to reject military recruiters from campus recruitment.

In O'Reilly's warped and fat head, that means the city, as a whole, is anti-recruiter and thus anti-military. Which allows him to follow his path of twisted logic and spout the following:

"Listen, citizens of San Francisco, if you vote against military recruiting, you're not going to get another nickel in federal funds. Fine. You want to be your own country? Go right ahead... And if al-Qaida comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going to say, look, every other place in America is off limits to you, except San Francisco. You want to blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead"

( ( ( Audio link from CrooksandLiars.com ) ) )

O'Reilly has been able to spew rhetoric unabated for what seems like an eternity from his faux hole. The vector of his popularity is parallel with that of Fox News and it is waning. Even his most strident of followers seem to be growing tone deaf to his pan pipe and are looking for the next hole to scurry into. His hot air grows more tepid with every rant and his balloon sized head is slowly deflating and coming back down to earth.

He just picked a fight with the stronghold of the left. It's the equivalent of mocking a rival school by antagonizing their rugby team with icy hot in their jockstraps. In his weakened state, it wasn't the brightest move he could make. But then again, consider the source.

Veterans Day :: 2005

2005-11-11T20:17:00.000-08:00

My Grandfather the pilot. Career military man. The photo above is a photo of him flying an early P-51 Mustang above Texas during training. He flew P-51's in the European theater during WWII. Helicopter instructor/pilot in Vietnam. Civil Air Patrol in Southern California. Veteran Reno Air Race Pilot - #11 "Come On Eleven" in the 1970's. One of my earliest memories, at 5 yrs old, was flying with him and looking up (we were inverted) at the patchwork quilt of greens and browns of the southern California landscape. I was always in awe of him. I still am.

This handsome guy is my uncle. Veteran of combat action in Danang, Vietnam. His strength, clarity of mind and perseverance is an inspiration and model I try to follow. Recent example of his ability to grab the bulls by the horn: His next door neighbor's house caught on fire and while everyone retreated to a slackjawed stare, he sprung into action and doused the blaze single handedly. I was amazed and convinced the fire was already too far along. He's the guy you want around when things go bad.

Thank you to these fine gentlemen and to all the those who have served and are currently serving.

Scott Mclellan's Head Will Explode Today

2005-11-11T01:03:00.000-08:00

He's been on the ropes and bleeding for the past few weeks. But today the tires will come off for old Scotty boy I believe. He's had the "ongoing investigation" line to hide behind but that won't protect him from the now rabid White House press pool. Like an ultimate fighter who's just landed a knee to the face of their opponent, they smell blood and they are looking for every opportunity to skewer the staggering Press Secretary.

I believe the knockout blow may come today, IF Scott shows up at the podium.

The reason I think today is the day is because of the story that is gaining strength and momentum involving an altered press briefing transcript.

In short, during the Oct. 31st press gaggle, Mclellan responded "That's accurate" to a question from David Gregory that concluded that Rove was involved with the Plame leak to reporters. The only problem is that the White House transcript of the press gaggle had Scott's response as "I don't think that is accurate." Two other transcription services listed the response as "That's accurate" and when they were contacted by the White House to change their transcripts, they stood fast and refused. (Source: Wonkette)

I'm confident that he will get peppered with questions about this tomorrow and he won't be able to spout the "ongoing investigation" line.

Watch out Scotty, we know what your bosses wanted you to say.

Ted Stevens: Oil Industry Handmaiden

2005-11-11T00:13:00.000-08:00

Ted Stevens, republican senator and pathetic power monger from Alaska, is as low as they come. Let's forget for a minute that he had a literal temper tantrum and soiled his depends when fellow senators asked him to give back the $223 million that is earmarked for the bridge to his 50 constituents.

What I want to focus on is what happened today on the hill. A group of big oil executives appeared before the Energy and Commerce committees to give us an explanation for the reason we are paying huge prices at the pump while they announce record profits.

In another republican example of wanton abuse of chairperson power, Ted Stevens engaged in the following: (snipped from Washington Post)

When Energy Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska, $102,190) announced that he would not require the executives to give their testimony under oath, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash., $9,400) asked for a vote on the issue. Stevens shot back: "There will be no vote . . . It's the decision of the chairman, and I have made that decision."
"I move that we swear in witnesses," Cantwell persisted.

"I second the motion," said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif., $9,450).

"That's the last we're going to hear about that, because it's out of order," a piqued Stevens replied. When the two women continued their protest, the chairman informed them that "I intend to be respectful of the position that these gentlemen hold."

I'm nearly struck dumb and speechless every time I read that. I submit that Ted Stevens should have recused himself from these proceedings. Why? Most people aren't aware that every man, woman and child of Alaska receive a yearly 'dividend' from a permanent fund set up and funded by oil companies that operate in Alaska. This dividend averages about $1000 per year, per person. One might wonder why it is that the Chairperson, Ted Stevens, is protecting the executives and industry that has a direct funding link to every one of his constituents.

Ted Stevens should be removed from office for this travesty and his outright disdain for the interests and greater good of the citizens of the United States.

Pat Robertson: The Prince Of Harshness

2005-11-10T22:49:00.000-08:00

Pat Robertson must have a penchant for the taste of shoe leather because he stuck his cloven hoof deep into his kisser earlier this morning. It wasn't too long ago that he raised eyebrows by calling for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. I remember thinking, Ok... that's it... Nothing out of his mouth will surprise or shock me again.

Imagine my surprise and shock upon reading what he said today:

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: if there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city... And don't wonder why He hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that's the case, don't ask for His help because he might not be there" :: (Source CNN)

That's right folks. Pat Robertson has moved from bashing people of the U.S. after storms hit because of their godlessness, to hoping that God will smite them with storm and fury because they didn't vote the way he wanted them to.

If you are an observant lad or lass like me, you've probably noticed that Robertson condemned the entire city of Dover, Pennsylvania with that statement. Even the people that voted for the Intelligent Design statement to be added into the high school curriculum are subject to Pat's meteorological jihad. Oh, lets not forget the people that didn't even vote... they are screwed as well in Pat's book. How about tourists that may be in Dover at the time Pat? Are they subject to hellfire and brimstone? Lets not forget that storms and catastrophes rarely confine themselves to city limits. Thus, other towns in the surrounding areas will likely fall in the wake of Roberston's godly and political vengeance.

Howard Stern has to move to outer space to avoid the FCC and potentially offending people. I say we strap Pat to the next shuttle.

An Evening With Henry Rollins

2005-11-10T11:56:00.000-08:00

How it is that Henry Rollins doesn't have some type of a talk show on a cable news network is beyond me. Of course I don't mean your typical, run of the mill talk show. No scripts or teleprompters, no furniture, no faux-bookcase backdrop or Pier One tchotchke littered about. Just Henry Rollins standing in front of a black back drop or maybe a brick wall with blood stains and graffiti on it. Then just turn him loose.

That is exactly what we got last night at the Crest Theater in Sacramento. Almost three non-stop hours of Henry just, as he says, "tearing his guts out" on stage.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't expecting a tirade against the Bush administration and the war in Iraq. In fact, if there was a bet to be placed on those topics being the content for the evening, I would have laid my last dollar down on that square. Alas, I would've lost that bet.

While Henry made quick jabs at Bush here and there, they were nothing more than that. Instead, he was all over the map.

After quickly coming up the stairs stage left and greeting the full house (1100 people) he decided to sink his teeth into Wal Mart first. He admitted to shopping there but gave the excuse that when it's 4am in Norman, OK and you need to buy 90 gallons of water and other miscellaneous items and you're driving a large tour bus, you really have no other choice besides the 24 hr Wal Mart. He professed his addiction to social observation and recommended Wal Mart as a top notch environment for doing some viewing and research. He launched into a hilarious reenactment of how, upon entering Wal Mart, all time seems to stand still . You're now on "Wal Mart" time. The absence of natural light, the long vertigo inducing aisles, the heaping pallets of product everywhere all pitch in together like a casino to make you forget about the outside world. He pretended to be a Wal Mart shopper, slowly trudging along, out of breath, straining to reach the 90 serving Stouffer's lasagna tray and heaving it into the cart, almost crushing the 3 kids in the cart below. My sides were already sore.

From there he tip toed into an area of how we see ourselves in comparison with people on TV and advertisements and how it fosters self loathing. Nothing entirely new here except for the way he delivered the message. He pointed out that all of us are attractive to others, it's just a matter of discovering what it is that makes you unique and taking pride in that aspect of your individuality. He maintained that whether you want to believe it or not, someone earlier that day had seen you walk by and thought to themself "Man, I was born to hit that." He relayed a funny story about a gay Pakistani cab driver, named 'Ijaz', that had apparently grown really fond of Rollins during a cab ride from JFK to his hotel. They had a pleasant exchange during the cab ride that Rollins said culminated with Ijaz asking Henry to move to Pakistan with him where they would live together forever... he'd even buy the plane ticket for Henry. "Like that was the deal clincher" Rollins quipped. Ijaz even asked Henry for his phone number which he admitted to handing over because "He was sincere and totally real." Sadly, he said that Ijaz never called him. The crowd roared with laughter.

The show wove on and into areas of Rollins travel practices. He stated that he hates having a day off and often rides his manager to fill open slots on his schedule. He relayed a story where he had a block of 11 days off this past February and thought it would be a good idea to ride the Trans-Siberian Express from Moscow to Vladivostok. A 6,000 mile trip in -40 degree weather is Henry's idea of a good time. To be more precise, he considered it a trip that would make him stronger. That seems to be Rollin's mantra... that which doesn't kill me, will make me stronger. He likened his current daily routine as that of the forming of a Katana sword. Thrust the shapeless steel into the fiery coals, pull it out, slap it on the anvil and hammer it into shape. Then repeat the process until you get the desired result. Would you really expect anything less from Henry?

He closed out the show talking about his 6 tours with the USO. He rattled off the list of all the countries he's been to with the USO and it reads like the top 20 list of most dangerous places in the world. A very admirable feat and the crowd let him know. He said all those tours paled in comparison to recent tours he has done stateside at various military hospitals. While he said that it is tough to go from room to room and see all the shattered lives and young men and women, he said it is nothing compared to how tough it must be for the soldiers and their family. He is happy to do it.

After he closed out the show and walked off stage, a huge smile had broken across my face as I applauded. I was actually relieved to not have heard a 2 1/2 hour rant against Bush and Co. Even though that was one of the main reasons I went. I realized that, for once, we can take a quick breather because the tides are finally turning against this regime. And that is a good thing.

Bravo Henry. Bravo.

Turdblossom Must Go

2005-11-09T14:44:00.000-08:00

I'm up to my eyeballs in this and that, don't have too much time to blog today. The folks listed on the right are doing a good job at covering the quivering house of GOP cards.

I however have put some finishing touches on the piece of work shown above. Please Send it far and wide.

Here is a link to a larger version so you can print it out and hang it in your cubicle. Or blow it up and put it on a protest sign. Print it out and make a shirt for yourself. Throw darts at it. Sleep with it at night, whatever. Enjoy!

Frist Shoots First, Takes Aim Later

2005-11-08T15:59:00.000-08:00

The hilarious stumbling and clustermuck debacle continues for the GOP and it's gearless leaders.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist called for a senate investigation to find out who may have leaked info about secret CIA prisons to the Washington Post. Nevermind the fact that he should be calling for a senate investigation into whether and why these prisons actually exist.

Evidently the letter that Frist sent off to Peter Hoekstra and Pat Roberts was folded like a boomerang because it came back to hit him in square in the face. It wasn't long after Frist called for the investigation that Trent Lott came out saying that the source of the leak was likely a GOP Senator or staffer.

"Trent Lott stunned reporters by declaring that this subject was actualy discussed at a Senate Republican luncheon, Republican senators only, last tuesday the day before the story ran in the Washington Post. Lott noted that Vice President Cheney was also in the room for that discussion and Lott said point blank "a lot of it came out of that room last tuesday, pointing to the room where the lunch was held in the capitol." He added of senators "we can't keep our mouths shut." He added about the vice president, "He was up here last wek and talked up here in that room right there in a roomful of nothing but senators and every word that was said in there went right to the newspaper." He said he believes when all is said and done it may wind up as an ethics investigation of a Republican senator, maybe a Republican staffer as well." (Source: CNN via Eschaton)

This should get interesting...

Adventures In Voting

2005-11-08T12:13:00.000-08:00

I set out to vote this morning and rather than drive my SUV, I thought I'd be extra patriotic and ride my bike to my polling place. I rounded the corner and off in the distance I could see that something was wrong. None of the usual election day flare was on display. No 'Polling Place' signs with little red, white and blue shiny mylar strips and banners. There were lots of people milling about out front in confusion. Inside, things weren't much different. The doors to the auditorium where the polls are normally located were locked tight and the room was dark.

I checked today's date on my cell phone, yep... November 8th. So I broke left and entered the library to find 3 librarians pulling their hair out while trying to determine where the correct polling place was for the 30 or so people that were inquiring. They were trying to pull up the state run web site that gave polling booth information and the site was down. Apparently I wasn't alone in this confusion.

To be clear, I'm certain that my voter guide had the new polling place info on it. But that sucker hit the recycle bin at least a week ago. I read nearly the entire thing, just not the part that counted most.

Then, bam! Someone at the bank of internet terminals at the library got through on the website and found a polling place just 2 blocks from my house. I pedaled over there and my name was on their voting roster. I picked up my ballot and cozied up to the voting booth right next to a Coke machine. After marking my votes, I dropped a dollar into the Coke machine to toast my patriotism and the damn machine ate my dollar yet delivered no libation. A rather ominous sign, I thought.

Not to be defeated, I sauntered over to the nice lady that was guarding the vote scanner and slid my ballot in and watched the counter go from 197 to 198.

Let freedom ring mutha f$@er.

Rove: USS Fitzgerald Is On His Trail

2005-11-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

Why reinvent the wheel when Pachacutec laid it out so nicely over at firedoglake:

The weakness of the Fitzgerald investigation - that it does not play to the press - is also its strength, for two reasons.

The first we have already discussed: by refusing to play politics, Fitzgerald insulates himself from much criticism, keeping his mystique of fearsome incorruptibility. You had better believe that indefatigable, Dudly Do-Right aura plays on the minds of his prey.

This leads to my second point. Since the Fitzgerald operation runs something like a submarine - occasionally surfacing, or otherwise making its presence known by firing a shot - it also has the opportunity to maximize its impact by the element of surprise.

Stroll with me through the following imaginary scenario. Fitzy's submarine submerges for a while. The political process plays out as the president and his minions weaken. The fallout form the original indictment takes its toll. Then, from a political point of view, the situation stabilizes, reaches an equilibrium.

Maybe Bush even regains a couple of points in the polls, and the public begins to forget about our friend Patrick. Lord knows, there will still be plenty of bad news for the administration occupying the public mind, from home heating prices to Iraq to whatever.

Then comes the next Fitzy strike.

Boom. A new surge of indictment news. The public, having thought perhaps it was all over, sees that it is not. The next shot Fitzy fires draws more blood, and closer to the President. Suddenly, that new, provisional equilbrium bottoms out, with a degree of force equivalent to the level of surprise associated with it.

That makes for a very unstable situation, wheras the danger of Fitzy being in the news every day is that his investigation becomes mundane, perhaps to the point of inoculating the public to the story.

I am quite happy to see the legal side of the story fade for a while. Let's allow everyone to digest what happened in ths first round, and maybe even get comfortable. The next shock could drop the polls below 30% and bring about the unequivocal implosion of the GOP, at a time even closer to the '06 midterms.

Take your time, Patrick. That's my advice.

Take your time, my friend.

Just some thoughts.

Pachacutec | 11.05.05 - 3:26 pm |

Bush: Has Borrowed More Than Previous 42 Presidents Combined

2005-11-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

People are using the "That was so funny/shocking, I just spit out my coffee" or the "You owe me money for a new keyboard because I sprayed my drink out of nose" lines way too much these days. I'm almost certain that they are lying at least 99 percent of the time. Which is sad, because it diminishes the impact of times when it actually does happen.

Take for instance the warm egg nog with nutmeg and cocoa powder that found it's way out of my sinuses and through my fingers today upon reading this:

"According to the Treasury Department, from 1776-2000, the first 224 years of U.S. history, 42 U.S. presidents borrowed a combined $1.01 trillion from foreign governments and financial institutions, but in the past four years alone, the Bush administration borrowed $1.05 trillion."

There you have it folks. A very nice way to sum up the fiscal runaway train that is towing America towards a brick wall. With a cliff behind the wall. And lots of pointy cacti and scorpions and broken glass at the bottom of the cliff.

I don't mean to joke about this, but it's either that or cry. I'll cry tonight when I have my pillow.

Read the rest of the article here.

Scalito And The Vanguard Conflict

2005-11-04T19:15:00.000-08:00

I've been hesitant to chime in regarding Samuel Alito's nomination because I would rather wait for more information to come in. Well, I didn't have to wait long.

The Boston Globe online has reported a very troubling conflict of interest case involving Vanguard mutual funds that Scalito presided over.

The short story is that Mr. Alito ruled in favor of Vanguard in a case where a widow tried for a decade to collect the money invested in Vanguard mutual funds that were in her deceased husband's IRA. The problem is that Mr. Alito had previously agreed to recuse himself from any cases involving Vanguard. Why would he recuse himself? Because he apparently held $390,000 worth of Vanguard mutual funds during the ruling.

Now, the issue that we should be concerned about here is a matter of Scalito's word. In this case, Scalito has clearly vilolated a previous agreement to recuse himself from cases involving Vanguard, yet he participated and precided over the case and then challenged his previous agreement.

This is an absolutely critical justice position, one that will surely tip the balance of the Supreme Court. If I were on the Senate Judiciary Panel, I would hammer him on this issue and likely vote against him.

EXCLUSIVE: SCOOTER LIBBY'S MUGSHOT

2005-11-04T00:14:00.000-08:00

Ah yes, Inflatable Dartboard's extensive beltway contacts have come through again. Everyone is looking for it, everyone wants it and even though federal trial mugshots are not usually made available to the public... we got our hands on it! Here it is:

Not really sure what the two red burn marks are on his right bicep. Maybe Rove used a Taser on him to take the fall? Perhaps Cheney put out his cigarettes on his arm after he broke Libby's ankle to keep him quiet? Hopefully we'll find out before the trial.

Is Rove Headed For The Political Doghouse?

2005-11-02T17:03:00.000-08:00

Jonathan Alter has written an article over at Newsweek that suggests Karl Rove may lose, at the least, his security clearance over the Plame leak.

Alter cites Executive Order 12958 which states that security clearance should be revoked from someone if there is "any knowing, willful or negligent action that could reasonably be expected to result in an unauthorized disclosure of classified information."

While the ball is still up in the air regarding whether Rove knowingly or willfully outed Plame to reporters, it is more than apparent that he was negligent in his actions regarding Plame and the secrecy of her CIA status.

If one is to follow this tack, it quickly leads to a very ominous cloud hanging over Rove's head. How? By many accounts, Rove was one of the two sources Novak aluded to in his now infamous column. If that is the case, then Rove's many dealings with Fitzgerald in the investigation should have resulted in, at the very least, revocation of his security clearance. And if Fitzgerald did not find that he was simply negligent, then that must mean that Rove is facing an idictment for something more knowing or willful on his part.

Question: if Rove loses his security clearance then what use is he to Bush? It is the equivalent of Bush's Brain receiving a frontal lobotomy.

Scooter Libby On Bear Arousal 101

2005-11-02T01:59:00.000-08:00

I was a huge fan of Libby's coy writing style in his now infamous 'Aspen' letter to Judy Miller. However, he lost me (I'm still reeling) upon reading his earlier (1996) work entitled "The Apprentice".

While I have yet to read the actual tome in full, the passages being bandied around the internet are enough to make you call your mother crying while running for the shower. Pedaphilia, scatological psychosis, golden showers and beastiality are just a few of the exciting topics that Scooter Libby toys with according to the New Yorker.

I nearly set down my coffee cup in one of my suddenly saucer sized eyes upon reading this passage:

At age ten the madam put the child in a cage with a bear trained to couple with young girls so the girls would be frigid and not fall in love with their patrons. They fed her through the bars and aroused the bear with a stick when it seemed to lose interest.

What?! The stick... with the bear... aroused the... huh? Is this a custom? What country are we talking about here?

As I type this, headlights from a car have cast long shadows of large cottonwood branches on the wall in front of me. I suddenly feel the need to put on some Al Green and pop a bottle of wine with myself.

Look At The Big Balls On Reid!

2005-11-01T14:36:00.000-08:00

In the WHOA! move of the day, Harry Reid stepped up to the mic on the Senate floor and motioned to move into Secret Session to discuss the intelligence gathering that led to the invasion of Iraq.

Crooks and Liars has video of Reid's press conference explaining that he didn't notify Frist because Frist could have blocked Reid's efforts. Reid is demanding the follow through on the promise of Phase II of the Senate Intelligence committee's investigating the intelligence gathering. In addition, Reid pointed out that the first SIC report did not investigate the Bush's Administration and in light of the recent indictment, the administration should be included in Phase II.

2 hours later, Reid and the Senate emerged with a victory in the form of a 6 member committee, 3 republicans and 3 democrats, to review the progress of the Phase II investigation and report back to the Senate by Nov 14th. The democrats on the 6 person committee are Rockefeller, Levin, and Feinstein.

Reid also pointed out that his motive for this drastic move was that 20 previous inquiries into the status of the Phase II investigation were blocked or ignored.

The pendulum is swinging...

Here Comes The Smokescreen

2005-10-30T22:07:00.000-08:00

An indictment in your administration got you down? Your war not going over well with the American people? Populace complaining about high energy costs? Approval ratings in freefall? Your pet attorney and SCOTUS candidate falls flat on her face and pulls out of the race? God angry with you and throwing freakish, swirling air masses at your shores?

A lesser man would develop a nervous jaw tick... no, a habit of frowning... uh, an ashen complexion... anyway, that isn't important. What is important for the leader of the most powerful nation on earth is how to manage these problems and turn the ship around. Certainly that MBA will come in handy because running a country is obviously just like running a business. Forget the fact that if this country were a business right now, the windows would be papered over and any inventory would be auctioned to pay off creditors.

This is the long way for me to timestamp the move I predict Bush, and his psuedo-reinstalled brain, will make tomorrow:

10:13 AM EST tomorrow, BREAKING NEWS and ACHTUNG! news graphics will be flying everywhere with news of Bush picking his new Supreme Court Justice nomination.

I'm not certain who it will be, but to maximize impact and stamina of the smokescreen it will be a very conservative pick to realign his base.

The best move for the talking heads and pundits on the left would be to divert, divert, divert attention back to the current indictment and its inherent, hanging issues. Respond with phrases like "Yes, it os an interesting SCOUTUS nomination, but that issue will play out in time... I'm more concerned about Rove, Cheney and Libby and the upcoming trial." It is important to keep those names out there and to keep repeating them.

: Timestamp :

Update: Oct 30, 2005 :: 11:38 PM: Hahahaha! Well, that didn't take long... the White House just announced that Bush will be making his SCOTUS pick tomorrow.

Update: Oct 31, 2005 :: 10:12 AM: Boy can I pick them or what? Bush nominates Samuel Alito for the bench. Apparently he is pretty conservative and democrats are already calling this pick "needlessly provocative". Bush is trying to rally the troops folks. Keep your eyes on the prize people, the indictment and pending trial are the issue. The supreme court nomination will play out in time.

Scooter, Clinton Comparisons: Apples And Oranges

2005-10-30T11:23:00.000-08:00

Anyone else getting tired of the comparisons of Clinton and Libby? Any such comparison is apples and oranges in my opinion.

At the heart of most comparisons by those who would defend this administration and Libby, you will find the 'perjury' charge. "Clinton lied, Scooter lied... therefore they are equal on that charge." From a legal and technical perspective, they are correct. However, one would also be correct in saying that a tent and a brick house are both shelters from a storm. It is necessary to look past the perjury charge and look at what they were/are lying (in Libby's case, alledgedly lying) to protect.

One must look at the size of the shadow that each perjury charge casts.

Clinton tried to wriggle past the definition given of 'sexual encounter' in an effort to avoid public embarassment for himself and his family. That was literally the extent of the reason for Clinton lying to the Grand Jury.

Libby has four charges of lying leveled against him, two false statments on separate occasions to FBI agents and two perjury charges for lying on two separate occasions to a grand jury. You must ask yourself this: What was Libby's motivation for alledgedly lying? It is apparent to most cogent folk that Libby was lying to protect Cheney and the administration from Fitzgerald discovering that the administration was sniping it's critics in the run up to the invasion of Iraq. This is a much larger and far reaching shadow than Clintons'. Libby's shadow has many tenticles that potentially branch off into invading other countries on trumped up evidence. It also branches off into the fact that 2000 of our soldiers have died and so have tens of thousands of deaths Iraqi citzens.

Another major difference is that there was no underlying crime behind Clinton's perjury. If he had admitted that there were instances of sexual encounters, there would be no repercussions other than Hilary possibly filing for divorce. However, if Libby had told the truth that he did give Valerie Wilson's name and position to Miller et al; then he still has legal issues facing him in the form of outing an undercover operative at the CIA.

There are many other differences here that I will try to outline later. Alas, my daughter and I are going out to carve some pumpkins. She will play the part of Ken Starr and carve a small pumpkin with a dull butterknife. I will be playing the part of Fitz and carving a giant pumpkin with skill and multiple sharp instruments.

Update :: Oct 30, 2005 : 3:41 pm : ThinkingWoman over at Democratic Underground succinctly quipped:

"The reason I'm not tired of the comparisons is because it gives me the chance to explain exactly how they compare and how they contrast, all at the expense of the yahoo who brought it up. I love pointing out that if lying under oath about sex was bad, that lying under oath about compromising national security is worse...treason in fact."

There you go, now this argument can cut both ways if you encounter a Libby = Clinton type.

Just The Tip Of The Iceberg

2005-10-29T01:38:00.000-07:00

I've already made my view known that this case is far from over, but here's a visual interpretation. Once again, we offer up a free, much larger version to use as a background. Enjoy!

Fitzmas Moves Into Fhanukkah Stage

2005-10-28T16:48:00.000-07:00

Aside from the indictment coming down today, one other thing was crystal clear... Patrick Fitzgerald isn't done with this issue. So rather than one day of giftmas, we may be looking at multiple days of press conferences and indictments like the one today. It really depends on the main stream media keeping the heat on the issue. They definitely seemed to have woken up after Libby and his ridiculously inane web of lies paying off with a solid and serious indictment. The vultures of the press have picked up the scent of a wounded animal in this administration and now they are circling and waiting for an excuse to come down and dine.

Fitzgerald kept it together, yet he seemed genuinely angry that these guys have been jerking him around this whole time. He knows that something is afoot with this administration and I believe he will step up the pressure on Scooter now that he is separated from the pack. Scooter is vulnerable and he must know that the lies he told the grand jury have hobbled him and just about any chance he has to escape justice.

This puts Fitzgerald in a power position and Cheney and Rove must be sweating.

Why Did The Market React Positively Today?

2005-10-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

Dow closes up 172 points and begins its tear upward after the indictment is handed up? You may be scratching your head trying to figure out why.

I've worked in trading and the financial industry for 10 years now and this is no surprise. The market is reactionary and hates to be in limbo when a big news item is pending. "Buy the rumor, sell the news" is an old adage, yet in this case there was a lot at stake and the lock-tight seal on the investigation gave traders no edge on which trail to speculatively follow.

Politics aside, and from a market standpoint, this was good news. I can assure you it would have been a different matter if Rove had also been indicted.

Which, I believe, means there may be some hard days on the market in the near future.

Fitzgerald Is Setting Up The Dominoes Here

2005-10-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

After taking in all of Fitz's press conference and then reflecting on the porch over a cup of coffee, the image of a domino chain came to me. I believe that Fitzgerald has just kicked over the first domino and he has others set up behind it. Sure, it may happen in slow motion, but the people involved are administration big wigs and we all know from cartoons and movies that giants move and fall in slow motion due to their size.

The Indictment (PDF format - thanks to Think Progress) is in slight opposition with Fitzgerald's press conference wherein he stated, repeatedly, that he will not comment on anyone not indicted. Yet, we do have some clues from this passage in the indictment:

"21. On or about July 10 or July 11, 2003, LIBBY spoke to a senior official in the White House (“Official A”) who advised LIBBY of a conversation Official A had earlier that week with columnist Robert Novak in which Wilson’s wife was discussed as a CIA employee involved in Wilson’s trip. LIBBY was advised by Official A that Novak would be writing a story about Wilson’s wife." (emphasis mine)

You can bet your ass that "Official A" is Karl Rove. By eluding to Karl in the indictment, it fuels the talk of his involvement and leaves the door open for further investigation.

Again, this is far from over. The only thing that expired today was the current grand jury. Fitzgerald can put a new grand jury in place and proceed. Given that the administration drug its feet, allegedly lied and stonewalled on many occasions, it ate up alot of the time that was alloted to the grand jury and thus a new grand jury should be assigned to find out why.

Scooter Libby: Idiotus Maximus

2005-10-28T10:46:00.000-07:00

I'm finding it hard to type with my head spinning from the news coming in at all angles. We know for certain that Libby has been tagged with 5 serious charges and has resigned. What we don't know is how many other people in this administration are as stupid as he is. All indications outlined in the indictment show very sloppy and fool-hearted actions on the part of Libby.

I'm hearing pundits on various channels exclaiming this as a victory for the Whitehouse because Rove hasn't been named in the indictments. I don't agree. Let's see what Fitz has to say when he gives his announcement.

We've made it to the top of the stairs, now the battle begins. This isn't over by a longshot.

ReddHedd and Jane Hamsher over at firedoglake are doing a superb job at covering this as it happens...

Is Scooter Going Down?

2005-10-27T22:34:00.000-07:00

While the Fitzmas gun has been jumped more times than a meth-addict track event this week, word has it that Scooter will get slapped with an idictment tomorrow. (Source: NYTimes)

I'd continue on, but this intrepid reporter is on the road searching far and wide for the truth and... ok, ok... I'm at my Mom's house and her computer is acting really janky.

More tomorrow! Sleep tight.

Is Fitzgerald Ready For The GOP Smear?

2005-10-27T01:12:00.000-07:00

Don't kid yourselves folks, the GOP mud and smears are already loaded in the trebuchets and the ropes are pulled taught. They've tried to launch some attacks that have failed miserably so far - for instance, the Hutchinson 'perjury is nothing' attempt on Hardball.

The GOP doesn't know how to operate in this environment with the effectiveness they need. They function better in a reactionary role. They will decide their plan once Fitzgerald plays his cards and, to date, he's holding them very close to his vest. It will be imperative for any mud that is slung to not come from Bush, he has already praised Fitzgerald in statements.

I for one think that Patrick Fitzgerald is more than adept and is well prepared to fend off just about anything that comes his way.

I think firedoglake regular Pachacutec summed it up beautifully when he posted this comment at firedoglake about Fitzgerald and the confidence he projects (posted with permission):

There's Something About Patrick

It's weird, isn't it, how many of us feel as if we know this guy, that we understand him?

In my case, I'm also from NY, Catholic school and high school, just a bit removed from shanty Irish on my Dad's side, and about his age, just a wee bit younger (39). I feel like I get this guy, like I "know" him.

But as I read everyone's comments about him, a lot of us feel that way, from whatever background.

Is it our projection? In part, absolutely. We have a lot of our hopes pinned on him so we project a lot of our feelings onto him, our motivations. We're also hungry for an apolitical, honest hero, someone who restores some honor and character to our government, who can renew some of our faith in our public institutions.

But I think it's more than that.

We, and others, can smell that this guy does not have a hidden, egotistical agenda. The anecdote about the photos of him captures that, but we can all smell it.

The herd can smell a phony. If I may say so, it's what people smelled about Kerry. But not this guy. Even his targets can smell that this guy is genuine. Very good at what he does (which is also why we like him), but genuine.

The rumpled suit only makes him endearing. He's Columbo without the tics and affectations. He has all these bastards figured out, and he proceeds at his own pace, allowing them to ensnare themselves in the thicket of their own lies. And he makes them underestimate him. A man with no ego can eat an egomaniac for lunch, because the egomaniac will underestimate him, and can't buy him.

There's something about Patrick. We can all sense it. He reminds us of America at its best. He reminds us of ourselves at our best. He's human and flawed, for sure, but we can't help but like him, and that fat briefcase he carries, and what it could mean for all of us, for the whole country.
Pachacutec | 10.26.05 - 7:43 pm

Update: Like the Image up top? I made a pseudo-wallpaper version that is availble here. Just click on the link and the right-click > 'Save as' to save image. Courtesy of Inflatable Dartboard.

All Eyes On The Whitehouse

2005-10-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

The pressure cooker is left on for another day and the pundits are feeling the heat. It's funny to watch anyone who steps up to or clips on a mic these days. The responses range from everybody within a four square block radius of the Whitehouse being indicted to no one being indicted - even if they did commit perjury.

The Blogopool is just as much of a fun zone right now. It reminds me of the time when I was a kid, waiting in line outside the theater on the opening day of Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back. I was with my parents and a friend they let me bring along. There was a low hum of electricity that was generated by the excited crowd, everyone was chatting and giggling. I overheard little stories that were pure speculation, like Han Solo and Chewbacca joining the Imperial Forces. Traitors?! Impossible! I thought. I heard other stories that sounded plausible but didn't pan out. Then there was the moment when a couple exiting the previous showing walked right by the line and said loudly and unintentionally "Wow! I can't believe Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father!". A good portion of the line wanted to lynch them, including me.

That is how it is here where people blog. People on both the left and right are nervous with anticipation. There has been almost a good two weeks of pure down time while we wait for the indictments. Sure, some verified leaks have come in and stirred the pool even more, but for the most part it has been an environment for everyone to share their opinion.

Some people, like myself, have found humor - mixed with facts - to be a good avenue. Alot of the humor (read: Fitzmas) has been at the expense of the right, but I accept that as well. For too long the left has been in the doghouse. Pushed and held there for various reasons, we have not had much to find solace in. Now that there is a glimmer, no, a bright shaft of intense light, we can't help but bask in it.

Fitzmas Interruptus: ACLU Seeks Injunction

2005-10-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

Well, Fitzmas is on hold. Early this morning, several ACLU lawyers wandered around the Washington mall, trying to deliver a cease and desist order in reference to the term 'Fitzmas'. The order apparently is demanding, in terms of fairness, that the terms 'Fwanzaa', 'Fanukkah' and 'Framadan' be included when Fitzmas is mentioned.

The lawyers spent the better part of the morning trying to find someone to serve the order to. "We're not sure which governmental office handles such a holiday." said ACLU lawyer Jack Mehoffer.

Finally, a transient wearing a santa hat took the order and promised to get right on it.

Oh, and apparently Inflatable Dartboard has received it's first major piece of network coverage! Semblance gave us the heads-up that we were featured during Ron Reagan's show 'Connected: Coast to Coast' on MSNBC. They had a big screenshot of the page and were knocking us for jumping the gun on the Fitzmas Eve thing. Well, apparently they didn't hear about the above story! If anyone finds a stream or a transcript, I'd love to see it!

Update :: Oct 26, 2005 : 1:56 am : Credit for the term 'Fitzmas Interruptus' belongs squarely to reader Pachacutec

Don't Forget: Milk And Cookies For Fitzmas

2005-10-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

Word on the street is that target letters have been sent out and indictments are likely to be announced tomorrow.

Ol' Saint Fitz will certainly be hungry after sifting through all the paperwork and seedy minutiae while trying to figure out who's getting lumps of coal in the Bush administration.

Note: He's allergic to peanuts, so no peanuts folks.

Get to bed early tonight kiddies, tomorrow will be an exhausting day!

Oh, and if you're having trouble sleeping, we've rigged up the 'Fitzmas Tracker'. Just like the Santa Tracker's on Christmas Eve, we've tagged Mr. Fitzgerald with a small GPS device and we're currently tracking him around DC. You can watch it here:

Update :: 9:07PM EST:

Update :: 12:03AM EST:

Update :: 1:25AM EST:

Merry Fitzmas to all!

Phelps Hate Church Soars To New Lows

2005-10-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

Signs at recent protest:

What the signs read on other side:

An undercover reporter slipped into Fred Phelps infamous Westboro Baptist Church and got him to comment on the recent subway bombings in London, England:

"Oh I am so thankful that happened. My only regret is that they didn't kill about million of them. England deserves that kind of punishment, as does this country (America)". (Source: SKYNEWS)

Fred Phelps and his 150 followers are known for their incredibly sensitive habit of showing up at funerals of gay people and protest nearby with signs reading "God hates fags" and "Aids cures fags".

Check out the fun they had on one of their latest 'pickets' from 2 days ago:

"Our last picket was shooting fish in a barrel at Holy Family Cathedral Catholic Church. Filthy pervert after filthy pervert passed by us as we asked them why they are taking their children in to be raped, and why they fund the largest pedophile machine that the world has ever known. Rather than face that monster, they cussed us, and threatened violence,like all good Catholics do." (Source: GHF)

Hello? You attack people with veiled threats, inflame the situation with signs attacking their faith and then whine when they cuss and threaten violence?

These Phelps followers are religious parasites. They sould gather in a petri-dish rather than a guilded building of worship.

I'll be the last person to try to deny the right to assemble for these blockheads, however, it does warrant some questions. Does it really qualify as a protest? What are they protesting at a funeral? The fact that the person died? That would mean that they prefer him/hir alive. But then their signs would be useless. So they aren't protesting, they are encouraging death. Phelps' own words confirm that. Should that be protected as free speech?

I'd love to find some data on the ranks of this 'church'. Has their congregation waxed or waned since it's inception? Do they enjoy non-profit status?

Worst Job In Washington: Scott Mclellan's

2005-10-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

I am actually scheduling in Scott Mclellan's daily press briefings so I can watch them.

The deep belly laughs I get are great therapy for me. The poor guy must want to put a drill through his frontal lobe to escape from Helen Thomas.

The only honorable thing for him to do is turn in his resignation. I, for one, would understand.

:: I'm waiting for the transcript to come up over at the WhiteHouse.gov site to highlight some of today's highlights ::

Bush: The Lion In Winter

2005-10-25T01:17:00.000-07:00

The swagger of the once and mighty king has faded.

(This is primarily an art post)

Cheney In His Last Throes?

2005-10-24T22:46:00.000-07:00

The fog is lifting and things are coming into focus slowly in the Plame leak case. The New York times is reporting that Scooter Libby first learned of Plame's name from the Halliburton Honcho himself, Vice President Richard Cheney. Fitzgerald is in posession of Libby's notes from a meeting with Cheney in June 2003 that reportedly show that is when he learned the name of the undercover agent.

According to the article, Cheney learned the name from then CIA director, George Tenet.

The thing that I want to know is why was Libby suggesting that he learned the name from the Press just last week if he had notes that showed where he got it? :cough: coverup :cough:

This one is hot and most certainly Developing...

Blog Focus: firedoglake

2005-10-24T17:22:00.000-07:00

I've been spending a good amount of time over at firedoglake lately and I highly recommend others do the same. I'm unfamiliar with the whole 'team blogging' thing, but ReddHedd, Loren and Jane Hamsher seem to have it dialed.

Their style of writing varies enough to keep things fresh and compelling, but their true strength is how much they pack into their entries. They blend their commentary in with great quotations and proper sourcing in a way I'm still trying to emulate. It's neither the hit and run 'here's a link, go read it over there' kind of blog nor is it a longwinded bandwidth-waster. Speaking of bandwidth, their image selection is almost always fantastic.

The overall package hooks you in and makes you want to come back often. And isn't that what this is all about? Go check them out right now.

Again, kudos to ReddHedd, Loren and Jane Hamsher.

Bush names "Helicopter Ben" Bernanke to Fed

2005-10-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

I'm not really surprised Bush picked Bernanke amongst all the other balding candidates. Seems a good choice given his apparent speciality: the tug of war between deflation and inflation. We're going to need that in the coming months, if not now, I believe.

I was kind of hoping for Roger Ferguson to get the nod. I was impressed at the way he handled the Fed and the markets after 9/11 while he was acting chairman (Greenspan was out of the country.) Alas, it would be tough to sell Ferguson in the MSM given that he photographs like a mildly retarded Al Roker.

What is interesting about this pick is that it represents a fundamental shift in Greenspan's tactics in handling the Federal Reserve Bank and interest rates. Greenspan used a risk based approach and was adverse to setting inflation targets. Bernanke is a proponent of inflation targets.

I'm a financial junkie, but a realistic one. I know this stuff is boring, so I'm just gonna stop right now.

"Hot Tub" Tom Delay Interviewed On MSNBC

2005-10-22T13:33:00.000-07:00

Am I the only one that is watching Tom Delay and can see right through his obvious game? Smile big and just keep repeating "baseless claims" and "I will be exhonorated" and he'll come out fine. Who ever is giving him that advice is leading him down the primrose path. These are serious charges, with serious penalties. This is no joke and he's treating it like one.

I watched Rita Cosby interview him last night on MSNBC and it was embarassing to watch him. You know when you're watching something where you're so embarrassed for the person that you finger the channel change button and when it gets really bad, you actually turn to another channel and chortle? That was me last night.

Some of the stand outs from the interview:

COSBY: What was going through your mind when they actually booked you? Here you had to go to a sheriff's department, got the mug shot, got the fingerprints. It's got to be humiliating.
DELAY: Well, it's not fun, I got to tell you. It's enough to make sure you don't do anything to break the law to get there — it's not fun. It's very serious. It's very grim.

Yet, he was smiling like he won the lottery? What else do you need to know he's a complete snake in the grass?

COSBY: Are you worried at all, about all these things going on with you, being such a central figure in the halls of Congress, how that will affect the White House, if this drags on?

DELAY: No, because, to be honest with you — and now you really don't think I'm crazy — I think, because we have such a bold, aggressive agenda, the president has shown more leadership. The Democrats have no agenda. The Democrats have this ethics agenda.

"The Democrats have this ethics agenda." He really said that. I laughed my ass off. I couldn't wait for this transcript to come out so I could have proof he said it. And there it is.

Notice right before that he said "The Democrats have no agenda." How misleading and dishonest can you be? Of course the left has an agenda. Primarily, it's to undo or rally against this administration taking us back to dirt roads and outhouses. Also, it's nearly impossible for the Democrats to even be heard given the right's strangle hold on the power positions in the house and senate.

COSBY: You think we're going to see that [mugshot] a lot?
DELAY: Oh, you already are. They're selling t-shirts, especially by enemies. They're using it all over the place. They're doctoring it up. Yes, they're trying their best to make it look as bad as possible. It's hard to do, though.

Oh. Really now? I take that as a challenge. Just because of that smug response, I promise to doctor up even more Delay mugshots and mark my words... they will look as bad as possible. Watch for them soon.

COSBY: You still believe in the political process?
DELAY: Absolutely. Absolutely. Especially when you have the opportunity to stop those that will try to undermine it.

Whoa. The spin is too much. If you threw up in the room while Delay was throwing out this intense spin, the G-forces would be enough so that the puke would be evenly distributed around the entire room. It's that powerful.

No, seriously... read that again if you didn't notice that he's essentially validating the reason why he is in hot water. He undermined the political process in so many ways, so many times, that now we have the opportunity to stop him.

The heat is turning up slowly and he has no idea that it's about to boil.

Background on origin of "Hot Tub Tom" nickname :: From the Washingtonpost.com:

Later, as a Texas state legislator from 1978 to 1984, DeLay had a reputation in Austin less as a lawmaker than as a partyer and playboy known as "Hot Tub Tom." He roomed with other fun-loving male legislators at a condo they dubbed "Macho Manor."

Wag The Dog Scenario On The Horizon?

2005-10-22T03:26:00.000-07:00

It's late - or early, depending on your constitution - and I'm trying to figure out how I missed all the clamor yesterday about Bush pressing the U.N. to 'take action' against Syria.

The reason all these articles give for Bush's sudden intense focus on Syria is because of a U.N. report that suggests the Syrian government had something to do with the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February of 2005.

Now here's where things get sticky...

Why the sudden push? The report they are referring to was released by the U.N. on September 25, 2005 - a month ago. It took me all of 15 minutes to read through and digest it. (Note: 2 sections of the report have Adobe PDF errors and aren't accessible at this time - will email DOJ and notify)

So, again, why the big push now? 22 possible indictments pending, a pile of other current GOP hardships instantly pop into my mind as a few reasons.

Yes, there is something afoot here. Both Condi Rice and Jack Straw are pressing the U.N. from other angles for swift, yet undefined, action. I'm certain that John Bolton is getting his mustache in Anan's face as well.

Also, why do they now value and want to work with their nemesis, theU.N.? Are we supposed to forget the way this administration disregarded the U.N. on the run up to the Iraq war? Are we supposed to forget Bush's ramrod, recess appointment of John "Anti-U.N." Bolton to the United Nations?

Furthermore, it is hypocritical for this administration to say anything about feuds that depose foreign leaders. I say that based on our controversial involvement with Aristide's departure from Haiti. Not to mention the apparent involvement of the Bush administration in the attempted coup of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

At this point, it won't take much to provoke Syria and Lebanon into a war that will destabilize the fragile region further. Nothing like a new mid-east conflict to move the attention off the administrations' current woes.

Don't put it past them for a second either, it's always when a dog is cornered that they are at their most vicious and desperate.

(ooooh... nice unintentional closing that ties in with the headline, if I don't say so myself)

Republican Nightmare Before Fitzmas

2005-10-21T15:39:00.000-07:00

I consider myself a good guy. I can empathize with those who are being pinned down by federal grand juries and guys like Patrick Fitzgerald. Put your self in, say, Karl Rove or Scooter Libby's shoes for a second and imagine how they must feel right now.... (pause for reflection).

OK! Enough of that! Back to sticking it to them in the manner they deserve!

The fact that Fitzgerald and the DOJ has put up a website that will house his findings has to be more than uncomfortable for the GOP. It's a bit like staring at the shadow of the noose you'll be hung with in coming days.

It's beginning to look alot like Fitzmas!

Update :: Oct 22, 2005 :: 2:24am : Several people have inquired as to what, exactly, "Fitzmas" is. Well, it's simple really... It's a popular new holiday in which Leftists, Progressives, Independents, a growing sector of Republicans, the animal kingdom - really just the whole world - will get a bag full of gifts in the form of indictments from Jolly Ol' Patrick Fitzgerald. (I have to give Sam Seder of Majority Report Radio credit for the term, I heard it on his show)

LIBBY'S 'ASPEN' LETTER DECODED

2005-10-21T13:19:00.000-07:00

Based on a hunch, Inflatable Dartboard reached into our deep pockets to fund an aerial survey project around Aspen, Colorado - Judy Miller's vacation spot out west.

Our motivation was based on the infamous cryptic letter to Judy Miller. We were intrigued by this portion of the letter:

"Out West, where you vacation, the aspens will already be turning. They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them."

Unfortunately, our pockets only yielded about $23.82 and helicopter charters in Aspen are about $5,000,000.oo an hour, so we made the decision to use Google Maps instead for free.

Our searching didn't take long. Located just outside of Aspen in a small valley, we located what we believe to be Scooter Libby's message he was trying to get to Judy:

Developing Hard.... (whatever in the hell that means)

LEGAL JEOPARDY

2005-10-21T02:35:00.000-07:00

It's kind of hard to type when you are bouncing around the room with joy at this type of news item. Karl and Scooter have both been advised that they are in legal jeopardy. (Source: Raw Story)

Now, we have to parse this a bit because we've always known they were in some form of legal jeopardy over their involvement in the Plame outing. I imagine their lawyers are the ones that have now advised them of this 'new' status. You know it's bad when your lawyers come to tell you your fate is all but sealed.

I'd be willing to wager that Rove is having some moments of clarity at this point. I picture him reflecting back on his days as a young college dropout, wetting his beak in politics. Not able to attain success the hard way, he is tempted by the dark side. Trickery, fraud and smear tactics are the tools he chose and they are the sword he will fall on. ( -=I think I'll take this tangent up in another post=- )

Should have listened to the little guy with the harp and halo on the other shoulder, Karl.

Fight Night: Rove vs Libby

2005-10-20T18:19:00.000-07:00

A sure fire indicator that the wheels are coming off this administration is when it starts to cannibalize itself.

That's apparently what happened when Karl Rove told the grand jury that he may have learned Valerie Plame's name from Scooter Libby, White House advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney. (Source: CNN)

Now, are we to believe that Rove, the calculating and intelligent "architect", somehow was just off his game when trying to bring down Joe Wilson? I mean, that is what all this is about... an administration scheming to discredit Wilson and at the same time send a message to other possible detractors. Rove knows where he got the name and he knows that he was involved in spreading the word.

The unspoken byproduct of this move by Rove is frightening. By implying that he doesn't know where he got Plame's name, he is painting a picture of an administration full of idiots punting her name around with wanton disregard and carelessness. A crime in and of itself, imo.

Delay's Mugshot Letdown

2005-10-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, who in the hell smiles all happy-like for their mugshot? I'd suggest someone who is guilty, that's who. He looks like he's taking his douchebag of the year award photo.

Well, luckily we leftists have a weird mind like mine with photo manipulation skills at our disposal. (Source: Smoking Gun)