Test

Is this still on?

Day of the Undead

Like a large number of Democrats, Senator Obama's vote on the FISA bill outraged and disappointed me. Despite his early promise that he would not vote for a bill that included amnesty for those who broke the law, he did.

The betrayal was two-fold. He betrayed those of us who supported him precisely for his supposed unequivocal no-amnesty stance, and he betrayed his own principles. And this was not over a minor policy issue- this was about whether Senator Obama supported the Fourth Amendment. His vote showed he did not respect the Constitution.

His betrayal of his supporters and of the Constitution leave those of us who supported him and/or are lifelong Democrats in a very uncomfortable position. We're not about to support McCain. Nader's out after what he did in 2000. The Libertarian Party.... maybe, but it would take a lot to support Barr, given his past record. Ron Paul- definitely a weird choice.

But tonight, in talking to my mom, who's a warrior from way back and the one responsible for my interest in politics, she said "why not Hillary?" and that as soon as she heard about Obama's vote, this was the first thing that popped into her head.

I will admit that Marm's suggestion blindsided me. I hadn't even thought about Hillary. But once she brought it up, we got to talking about it and the more we did, the less crazy it sounded.

Obama's in major trouble. He alienated at least 30% of his base, and even if 15% return, he's going to need that other 15%. But honestly, unless McCain does something ridiculously stupid and we swallow our pride and vote for a man who can no longer be trusted to do the right thing, he has no chance to win the election.

So what about Hillary?

We all know how the primaries turned out. Senator Clinton lost by 357.5 delegates.

There are a total of 724.5 superdelegates free to support whomever they choose at the convention. All it will take is 179 of Obama's 478 superdelegates to change their support over to Senator Clinton to make her the nominee.

Why would they do that? Because there are many people, myself included, who feel that Obama's vote is a fatal error to his campaign. This should have been a no-brainer, but, well, we're Democrats and are capable of screwing up anything. There's no way any legislation proposed by President Bush should come anywhere near passing. The man only has a 25% approval rate. He proposes a bill that is so laughably criminal and unconstitutional that lawyers have been chomping at the bit to appeal it. Yet our leadership can't muster the cajones to send it back. Instead, they whimpered and cowered like little children afraid of Daddy. And Obama- the man who is- or was- the presumed head of the party- rolled over and showed his belly.

Shameful.

Clinton voted against the bill. There's still a large number of people out there who felt she got shafted by the system and while they support Obama, they would flock back to Hillary in a heartbeat.

Now, we'd be back to square 1 with her in that there's a solid core of Hillary haters out there. But not many of them would support Obama either.

Hillary as candidate would bring all of the Left back into the fold and re-energize the party, which right now is walking around dazed, like a child who just walked in on their dad drunk and sodomizing the family pooch.

There's a certain harsh realpolitik to this that has a very kinky appeal.

And I know- it would entail me eating a healthy plate of crow. I wrote her off, and in very harsh terms. But I should have known better. She wasn't done. The Clintons are the Walking Undead of politics. You cannot kill them. Back in '92, I was working on another campaign in NH and when word of the various Clinton women came out, we figured he was finished. "Bimbo eruptions", they were called, and there were, what, 2 or 3 confirmed, and several others rumored. Former Arkansas State Troopers were anonymously commenting about running women in and out of the Governor's mansion.

This scandal would have destroyed every other campaign. Yet Bill Clinton survived, his campaign got stronger because of the scandal, and he ended up president, celebrating with a fat young intern who was quite willing to get her 'presidential knee pads'.

Now we have Hillary. Her campaign was written off as dead and she went down like a screeching harpy that set the women's movement back several years and caused us to cringe in embarrassment for her and her frenzied supporters.

Yet here we are now. Obama fucked up in an unbelievably heinous way and by doing so, has allowed Hillary a chance to arise from the grave. I mean, goddamn, she was dead! We all saw the body. There was no way she was coming back around in '08 or possibly ever again.

Wouldn't this be one for history?

Will she?

How hard is it to change 179 minds? How deep does (the rabbit hole) the outrage over Obama's vote go?

I think Hillary's power-mad, numbers-savvy, and ambitious enough to do so, especially if her aides and Bill convince her that unless she does so, McCain is a lock to win against Obama. Let's see what happens over the next few weeks. I would say right now, the odds are maybe 45 yes 55 no that she will get back in the race. But one more minor slip-up by Obama.... And that slip-up might be when July's fundraising numbers come back- odds are they will be in the toilet since his vote pissed so many supporters off, and this may well be the other tiny opening Hillary needs.

Is this crazy talk? Maybe. But if someone told me Obama would sell our 4th Amendment protections down the river and not even give us a reach-around for our troubles, I would have said that was crazy talk.

Epic FAIL

Slipping underneath the headlines, Congressman (and former presidential candidate) Dennis Kucinich filed a 35-count Articles of Impeachment bill against El Presidente.

Not surprisingly, it's being buried. Republicans scoff that it is mere grandstanding by Left Wing loonies, and the Dems.... well, they don't want to do anything that's polarizing and, you know, force them to take a courageous stand and do the right thing and jeopardize the upcoming election. So it got referred to committee, where it will be allowed to die.

Kucinich isn't rolling over though. He has pledged to introduce new Articles if this one dies by quiet suffocation. I gotta say, I admire the dogged little bastard.

What's interesting is that yesterday's Supreme Court decision- the one that brought Habeus Corpus back from the dead and which Dubya and his right-wing supplicants say will be the end of the Fourth Reich- supports Article XVII of Kucinich's Articles. I quote it here in full:

ARTICLE XVII

ILLEGAL DETENTION: DETAINING INDEFINITELY AND WITHOUT CHARGE PERSONS BOTH U.S. CITIZENS AND FOREIGN CAPTIVES

In his conduct while President of the United States, George W. Bush, in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution "to take care that the laws be faithfully executed,” has both personally and acting through his agents and subordinates, together with the Vice President, violated United States and International Law and the US Constitution by illegally detaining indefinitely and without charge persons both US citizens and foreign captives.

In a statement on Feb. 7, 2002, President Bush declared that in the US fight against Al Qaeda, "none of the provisions of Geneva apply," thus rejecting the Geneva Conventions that protect captives in wars and other conflicts. By that time, the administration was already transporting captives from the war in Afghanistan, both alleged Al Qaeda members and supporters, and also Afghans accused of being fighters in the army of the Taliban government, to US-run prisons in Afghanistan and to the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The round-up and detention without charge of Muslim non-citizens inside the US began almost immediately after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, with some being held as long as nine months. The US, on orders of the president, began capturing and detaining without charge alleged terror suspects in other countries and detaining them abroad and at the US Naval base in Guantanamo.

Many of these detainees have been subjected to systematic abuse, including beatings, which have been subsequently documented by news reports, photographic evidence, testimony in Congress, lawsuits, and in the case of detainees in the US, by an investigation conducted by the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General.

In violation of US law and the Geneva Conventions, the Bush Administration instructed the Department of Justice and the US Department of Defense to refuse to provide the identities or locations of these detainees, despite requests from Congress and from attorneys for the detainees. The president even declared the right to detain US citizens indefinitely, without charge and without providing them access to counsel or the courts, thus depriving them of their constitutional and basic human rights. Several of those US citizens were held in military brigs in solitary confinement for as long as three years before being either released or transferred to civilian detention.

Detainees in US custody in Iraq and Guantanamo have, in violation of the Geneva Conventions, been hidden from and denied visits by the International Red Cross organization, while thousands of others in Iraq, Guantanamo, Afghanistan, ships in foreign off-shore sites, and an unknown number of so-called "black sites" around the world have been denied any opportunity to challenge their detentions. The president, acting on his own claimed authority, has declared the hundreds of detainees at Guantanamo Bay to be "enemy combatants" not subject to US law and not even subject to military law, but nonetheless potentially liable to the death penalty.

The detention of individuals without due process violates the 5th Amendment. While the Bush administration has been rebuked in several court cases, most recently that of Ali al-Marri, it continues to attempt to exceed constitutional limits.

In all of these actions violating US and International law, President George W. Bush has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and Commander in Chief, and subversive of constitutional government, to the prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, President George W. Bush, by such conduct, is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office.


The strength of the US has always been in the ideals expressed in the Constitution. As a country, we haven't always lived up to those ideals- just ask any African-American, woman, Native American, or gay person. But our very heritage tells us that all men (and now also women....) are entitled to Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness and that "whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it."

Back when Clinton was president, his lying about a blowjob from an intern was deemed a potentially impeachable offense by the GOP. Where are these Lions of Liberty now who were so quick to leap to the forefront and institute impeachment proceedings? Where were those- and I'm calling out Hannity and Limbaugh and North- who wept tears over Clinton shredding the very fabric of government, yet now stand by as Dubya's Grand Enablers and Apologists?

As a nation, we've lost our balls. We've strayed from our roots and for the mere matter of expediency or politics, are turning a blind eye to these crimes that demean our country and weaken it. In the days following 9/11, America had a chance to pull together and show the world how Liberty is stronger than terrorism and fear.

Instead, Dubya and his followers did exactly what Bin Ladin- crafty sociopath that he is- knew they would do. They cracked the whip and destroyed Liberty. They did what Bin Ladin's bombs could never do.

And now we have the Democrats unwilling to stand up for what is right and have become accomplices to this whole sorry mess.

For more raw data, go directly to the Library of Congress's record of the bill, which contains the tracing and voting records as well.

Score 1 for the Constitution

Today the Supreme Court decided that foreign terrorism suspects held at Gitmo have Constitutional rights.

As per the AP article, the decision was best summed up by Justice Kennedy, who wrote "The laws and Constitution are designed to survive, and remain in force, in extraordinary times."

We still have a long way to go to roll back the abuses from the past 7 years, but this is a very encouraging sign that maybe we're starting to step out from the Dark Ages and might someday rejoin the civilized world.

:: tap tap tap :: Is this thing on?

Apparently, it was. Recently declassified documents strongly suggest that the FBI went a bit beyond mere warrantless wiretapping. Oh yeah. They were also storing what are being called "post-cut-through dialed digits"- a fancy term for numbers you punch in after your call goes through. Things like, oh, your pin number to access voicemail.

So the FBI has been storing your voicemail password. Meaning that if they so chose, they could go into your account and listen to your messages.

Not only that, but the article in Wired also says that the FBI was looking to track people via their cellphones.

As time goes by and more records are released, no doubt we will find even more heinous violations of our civil rights. The capacity to be shocked by these revelations has been greatly diminished these past years. The litany of abuses keeps going on and on and the oath taken by those in office- to uphold and defend the Constitution- has been turned into a sick joke.

Sucking the Dick of Big Oil

Once again, the GOP gets on its knees and sucks Big Oil cock, refusing to allow a windfall profits tax bill to move forward. We shouldn’t be surprised by this. On just about every front imaginable, the GOP has fucked the American Public up the ass sans lube. Be it starting the Iraq war and killing US servicepeople, draining the Treasury, stepping aside and doing nothing while the US dollar sinks to historically low levels, allowing the mortgage industry to run rampant…..

You get the idea.

“Oh, but we don’t think it’s right to interfere with business….” How many times have we heard that?

Meanwhile, in LA, the government has decided to go after a porn distributor, a trial that will be a complete waste of time and resources.

It doesn’t really matter though. While Dubya and Cheney have slept, China’s been gearing up to make us a slave state. The only thing that will stop them is Mother Nature hitting them with more earthquakes. Still, we better all learn Mandarin so we will at least be able to understand our new masters.

I really don’t envy Obama. Bush is going to blow town leaving behind a mess like Washington’s never seen.

The Bush Administration- the true record

On the other hand, Dubya got elected promising that he wouldn't lie about blowjobs in the Oval Office. And he hasn't. The motherfucker has lied about everything else, but not about blowjobs. So I suppose we shouldn't be overly harsh. His lies only resulted in 3500+ US troops killed in Iraq, the Constitution being repeatedly trampled, and ensuring that Party trumps the Law.

"This means war..."

I can't believe it.

The Prodigal Idiot Son just commuted the sentence of Scooter Libby.


Couple this with the actions of the Administration the past few weeks- invoking executive privilege, Cheney claiming his office isn't part of the Executive Branch....

They've gone too far. It's time for Congress to ride in and rescue the Constitution from these assholes. It's time to impeach.

Pushing the Envelope on Presidential Power | Cheney | washingtonpost.com

Read the below-linked article from the Washington Post.

Pushing the Envelope on Presidential Power | Cheney | washingtonpost.com

This is what's been done in our name over the past 6+ years.

Are you sick yet?

Oh, the ironies is killin' me!

So Dubya is planning to veto the latest measure on stem cell research on the grounds it crosses an ethical line by allowing for the destruction of cells that have the potential to develop into a fetus.

Yet he continues the war in Iraq.

Right.....

"It's the Constitutions, Stupid...."

The latest shitstorm to erupt in Washington is over another Bush "recess appointment" of someone who would never in hell be confirmed by the Senate.

The latest lackey installed is Sam Fox, whose name was withdrawn by El Presidente last week. But now the Senate's gone and Dubya, like a teenager left with his parent's stash of Oxycodone and whiskey, is running amok and abusing the rules.

The Dems are of course howling in protest. Really, though, no need to get all up in arms. All it takes is the reading of a quaint little document called the Constitution. I realize this document has fallen into disfavor in recent years and is viewed by the Administration as more of a fucking annoyance than anything. But still, some people still believe in it.

Yes, all one must do is read Article II Section 2 paragraph 2:

"and he(the President) shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors......."

Now we know that the No Child Left Behind program sadly does not extend to the White House, but really.... What part of Consent is unclear?

It's right there in the Constitution, which cannot be changed except by amendment. And this hasn't been amended.

The Idiocy Remains The Same

Due to work, it's been almost a week since I've updated.

Oh, but what a week it's been. Attorney General Gonzales is a Dead Man Walking, with less credibility than, well, the Prodigal Idiot Son President. Turns out Gonzales was up to his nutsack in the firings of the Gonzo 8, despite his assertions that he had nothing to do with it.

But he didn't lie under oath so that makes it ok, apparently.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are pushing their advantage. The nation has grown weary of Dubya using the lives of US soldiers as pawns in some sort of pissing contest, but Dubya doesn't seem to give a flying fuck. He rehashes the same tired lies and refuses to deal with the reality of the situation in Iraq.

Same goes for McCain. He went over for a dog & pony show and attempted to demonstrate how safe this particular marketplace was. What McCain didn't tell the general public is that he was wearing couture by the House of Kevlar and was taking a stroll joined by a hundred or so armed to the teeth US soldiers, with a couple of helicopters and gunships overhead just for good measure. You know, just the way any ordinary Iraqi would walk about.

We keep getting told that we can't afford defeat. But if this is victory, can we really afford this? Our soldiers are continuing to be sacrificed for one reason and one reason only- because the President is too fucking stubborn to admit he made a mistake and take the honorable course. For all his lip service about respecting the military, he is committing the ultimate disrespect.

Harry Reid has had enough, and he's looking into cutting off funds for the war. Dubya's squawking, but fuck him. He's had 4 years and he's fucked it up at every turn. How many more chances does he want? How many more dead and mangled soldiers will it take to make him realize his folly?

The US recovered from Vietnam. We can recover from this. Get the hell out. Let the Iraqis sort out their problems. Or, hell, maybe the UN might be pursuaded to get involved again, 4+ years after Dubya told them to eat shit and howl at the moon. We are no more able to sort this mess out than Clinton was able to sort out Bosnia.

I'm tired. Too many years have been spent spitting out the same criticisms, yet things remain the same. If El Presidente had us on the right course and we could see progress in Iraq, that would be one thing. Yet each day brings more bombings and attacks and another 2-8 US soldiers killed. And why?

Because.

Stonewall

Hot off the AP @ 6:41 pm EDT. One of Gonzo's aide is Taking the Fifth. So when can we expect Gary Trudeau to resurrect his Watergate-era cartoons of a brick wall being built up around the White House. Hell, when can we expect Trudeau to get viciously political again? Considering that the White House Gang (2007 incarnation) are in real danger of being hauled off in leg irons, why the silence?

Anyways, the AP news release:

By LAURIE KELLMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' liaison with the White House will refuse to answer questions at upcoming Senate hearings about the firings of eight U.S. attorneys, citing her Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, her lawyer says.

"I have decided to follow by lawyer's advice and respectfully invoke my constitutional right," Monica Goodling, Gonzales' counsel and White House liaison, said in a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The revelation complicated the outlook for Gonzales, who is traveling out of town this week even as he fights to keep his job and his agency's investigatory power.

The House was to vote late Monday on stripping him of his authority to appoint U.S. attorneys without Senate confirmation, similar to a measure the Senate passed this month. Bush has signaled he would not veto it.

John Dowd, the lawyer for Gonzales counsel Monica Goodling, who plans to take the Fifth, suggested in a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., that the Democrat-led panel has laid what amounts to a perjury trap for his client.

Goodling, one of several aides involved in the firings of federal prosecutors, will refuse to answer senators' questions.

"The potential for legal jeopardy for Ms. Goodling from even her most truthful and accurate testimony under these circumstances is very real," Dowd said. Goodling was key to the Justice Department's political response to the growing controversy. She took a leave of absence last week.

"One need look no further than the recent circumstances and proceedings involving Lewis Libby," Dowd said, a reference to the recent conviction of Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff in the CIA leak case.

Gonzales had promised to let his top aides testify under oath before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

"The American people are left to wonder what conduct is at the base of Ms. Goodling's concern that she may incriminate herself in connection with criminal charges if she appears before the committee under oath," said Leahy.

Dowd shot back in a second letter that Leahy's comments were a good illustration of why testifying was "perilous" for Goodling.

"It is the politically charged environment created by the members of the committee ... that has created the ambiguous and perilous environment in which even innocent witnesses would be well advised not to testify," Dowd wrote.

Democrats allege the firings were a purge of those deemed by the Justice Department not to be "loyal Bushies" - and a political warning to other prosecutors to fall in line with the administration. Gonzales has denied that.

The news of Goodling's refusal to testify toughened an already daunting week for Gonzales, who retains President Bush's support, apparently on condition that he patch things up with Congress. There was little sign of that happening.

Republicans over the weekend lobbed new criticism at Gonzales and more Democrats called for his resignation. Gonzales, meanwhile, was in Denver on Monday, leading a round-table discussion on curbing child sex abuse. He was expected to remain out of town most of the week.

But Goodling's announcement appeared to be an unforeseen piece of bad news for Gonzales' agency, which had no immediate comment.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who is leading the Senate's investigation into the firings, said Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty told him Goodling misled him before he testified to Schumer's panel on Feb. 6.

A day earlier, Goodling was among aides who helped McNulty prepare his testimony. Schumer has said McNulty may have given Congress incomplete or otherwise misleading information about the circumstances of the firings.

A little more than two weeks before that, she helped organize the response to senators asking whether the firings were politically motivated, the e-mails show. Specifically, she wanted to show that one of the fired prosecutors, Carol Lam of California, had been the subject of complaints by members of Congress.

On Jan. 18, 2007, Goodling sent an e-mail to three Justice staffers titled: "I hear there is a letter from (Sen. Dianne) Feinstein on Carol Lam a year or two ago."

"I need it ASAP," Goodling wrote.

She was later sent two letters, from Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., dated Oct. 13, 2005, and 19 House members, on Oct. 20, 2005, which both complained that Lam was too lax in prosecuting criminal illegal immigrants.

Additionally, Goodling was involved in an April 6, 2006, phone call between the Justice Department and Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., who had complained to the Bush administration and the president about David Iglesias, then the U.S. attorney in Albuquerque. Domenici had wanted Iglesias to push more aggressively on a corruption probe against Democrats before the 2006 elections.

Iglesias told Congress earlier this month that he turned down what he believed to be pressure from Domenici to rush indictments that would have hurt Democrats in the November elections.

Gonzales' truthfulness about the firings of seven prosecutors on Dec. 7 and another one months earlier also have been questioned. At a March 13 news conference, Gonzales denied that he participated in discussions or saw any documents about the firings, despite documents that show he attended a Nov. 27 meeting with senior aides on the topic, where he approved a detailed plan to carry out the dismissals.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Monday that Gonzales "might be accused of being imprecise in what he was saying," but maintained that the attorney general was not closely involved in the firings.

"I understand the concern. I understand that people might think that there are inconsistencies," Perino said. "But as I read it, I think that he has been consistent."

Gonzales is not scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee until April 17 - three weeks away.

"Karma, Interrupted"

I just read that former Reagan Budget Director David Stockman has been charged with securities fraud and cooking the books.

From the AP- The indictment said the crimes occurred as Stockman served on the board of directors of Collins & Aikman- one of the world's largest auto parts companies- from 2000 through May 2005. He was chairman of the board from August 2003 until May 2005.

Here comes the irony. You might recall that Stockman was the one who came up with the whole "supply-side economics" theory that said you could increase tax revenues by cutting taxes because the economy would then spring into action and with more economic activity, there would be more tax revenue that would surpass the revenue generated by the older tax rates.

Important historical note here. The plan was thought up in a bar and written on a cocktail napkin, so right there, there was cause for skepticism. Even then-presidential candidate Bush Sr called it "voodoo economics", although the joke was on him because we know he ended up being Reagan's VP and forced to go along with the scam.

And the numbers? The deficit went through the roof, even to the point where Stockman quit in horror at the damage wrought by Supply Side Economics.

He hasn't been heard from in recent years. But now, he's back in the news and at long last, Karma seems to be paying Mr Stockman a little visit. It's just a pity that Reagan isn't around to see and share in the party.

"And the band played on...."

The HMS Dubya sustained even more damage over the weekend.

First,in AttorneyGate, Gonzalez got nailed by a single memo sniper shot. Despite claiming he was not involved in any discussions about the firings of the Gonzo 8, records show that on 11/27/06, Gonzalez was at an hour-long meeting to review the plan to fire the Gonzo 8.

Gonzalez probably has not earned any points by tossing his then-Chief of Staff, Kyle Sampson, under the bus, saying that all the details (of the firing) were left to Sampson. But Sampson is about to get his revenge, as he is scheduled to testify about the firings before the Senate Judiciary Community on Thursday.

The reaction to this latest revelation has been quite pointed, with several GOP senators ( saying Gonzalez should step down.

Second item- maverick GOP Senator Chuck Hegel has uttered the "I" word and taken Dubya out to the woodshed where he beat his ass like a red-headed stepchild.

I'm just going to gank from AP reports and bold the especially juicy bits:

GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a frequent critic of the war, stopped short of calling for Bush's impeachment. But he made clear that some lawmakers viewed that as an option should Bush choose to push ahead despite public sentiment against the war.

"Any president who says, I don't care, or I will not respond to what the people of this country are saying about Iraq or anything else, or I don't care what the Congress does, I am going to proceed - if a president really believes that, then there are - what I was pointing out, there are ways to deal with that," said Hagel, who is considering a 2008 presidential run.

On Sunday, Hagel said he was bothered by Bush's apparent disregard of congressional sentiment on Iraq, such as his decision to send additional troops. He said lawmakers now stood ready to stand up to the president when necessary.

In the April edition of Esquire magazine, Hagel described Bush as someone who doesn't believe he's accountable to anyone. "He's not accountable anymore, which isn't totally true. You can impeach him, and before this is over, you might see calls for his impeachment. I don't know. It depends on how this goes," Hagel told the magazine.

"We have clearly a situation where the president has lost the confidence of the American people in his war effort," Hagel said. "It is now time, going into the fifth year of that effort, for the Congress to step forward and be part of setting some boundaries and some conditions as to our involvement."

"This is not a monarchy," he added, referring to the possibility that some lawmakers may seek impeachment. "There are ways to deal with it. And I would hope the president understands that."


This, Gentle Readers, is some seriously heavy stuff coming from a Senator from his own party.

And Hegel has cut through the bullshit and gone straight to the heart of the matter- that Dubya does not believe he is accountable to anyone, that he truly is the King. Congress hasn't done much to dissuade him, rubber-stamping Dubya's acts in a manner that would have made the Soviet-era Politburo green with envy. Dubya was given free reign and anyone who opposed him or countered him- Richard Clark, Joseph Wilson, etc etc- were destroyed by White House attack dog Karl Rove and his minions in a manner reminiscent of G Gordon Liddy's gang back during Watergate.

Dubya doesn't care about the Congressional elections where voters said they wanted us out of Iraq. No, instead, Dubya gives the electorate a collective "Fuck You" and instead sends more troops.

And we're supposed to get the warm and fuzzies because in Baghdad some market inside a barricade is secure enough for the US's top commander to walk around in during broad daylight. Hell, I guess that means those 3200+ dead servicepeople didn't give their lives in vain.

This is cutting a bit close to the bone, but let's be brutally honest here. This is the lie that we are continuing to be fed by this Administration. And if we're going to play that game, then let's play it out all the way. Do you want your son or your friend's daughter or the kid who used to deliver your paper being killed over this?

Of course Dubya's getting edgy and hostile. It's all on the record that he lied to launch this war and he's got a helluva lot of blood on his hands.

We keep hearing that if we pull out from Iraq, then the terrorists would be emboldened over our loss and if we don't "fight them over there, we'll have to fight them over here."

Again, I call bullshit.

Everyone was convinced that if we left Vietnam, the entire Southeast Asian peninsula would turn Red Commie and we would soon be taken over by the Red Chinese and made a slave state of China.

The sick irony? In order to fund this war, we've had to go up to our necks in foreign debt, held largely by.... drum roll, please..... China!

How's that for loving freedom, selling our future to China?

Then again, nobody in Dubya's administration is all that big on irony, so it's up to us here in BlogWorld to pick up the slack.

The Screws Turn Tighter....

The Senate Judiciary Committee followed the House in authorizing subpoenas for Rove et al.

Of course, the White House is still ripshit, and today Gonzales, in St Louis, repeated that he is no going to resign, that the President can hire or fire US attorneys, and that was nothing illegal about the dismissal of the Gonzo 8.

There was an interesting thing in Tony Snow's press briefing yesterday. There were a number of questions about the 3000 pages of documents released by the White House. In the emails that were included, there is a curious gap of 18 days during which there were no emails.

I think Snow explained it off as saying this was the Thanksgiving holiday, but.... C'mon, it's email, and this was a major political machination.

The other interesting question was whether Rove had an email address at the RNC.

So now we have both the Senate and the House standing by with subpoenas at the ready. Given the arrogance of the Administration and the belief they're above the law, it looks like there will be a showdown.

The Empire Strikes Back

White House Spokesmouth Tony Snow said essentially that if Congress issues subpoenas for LaughingBoy et al, it means they rejected the White House's offer and they are taking their ball and going home.

Finally, a couple of reporters have nailed Snow down about the question of whether or not there was a crime committed and the term "stonewalling" has been used. It's about friggin' time.

Oh, one other point- it's now come up that in the release of records by the White House, there's a mysterious 18 day gap where there were no emails.

Right. No emails were sent at all. Please, while you're down there yanking, could you maybe lick it a little too?

More on Specter & Santorum

I saw that JudiPhilly linked to my blog in her blog Truth, Justice, & Peace on my scenario where Santorum would end up as President. I admit- my scenario's a bit far-fetched, but still, possible.

What makes her blog entry interesting is the role Sen. Arlen Specter played in inserting a passage into the Patriot Act that allowed the White House to bypass the Senate confirmation process and permanently install US Attorneys without any oversight.

I haven't seen this reported anywhere. But yesterday the Senate did vote to rescind this provision, but it obviously is too late to do anything about the current situation.

Meanwhile, it is T+2 hours since the subcommittee voted to approve the issuance of subpoenas, and still no reaction from the White House. Rumors that Dubya went crack crazy and chased aides around with a Big Bertha golf club but was cornered in his office and shot with a Thorazine dart are at this point unconfirmed.....

The Die is Cast

The AP does a far better job of explaining what happened than I can, so here you go:

The panel approved, but has not issued, subpoenas for Rove, former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, their deputies and Kyle Sampson, Gonzales' chief of staff, who resigned over the uproar last week.

The panel also voted to compel the production of documents related to the firings from those officials and Gonzales, Fielding and White House chief of staff Joshua Bolton. Fielding a day earlier refused to provide Congress internal White House communications on the subject.

The full Judiciary Committee would authorize the subpoenas if Chairman John Conyers of Michigan chose to do so.


No White House reaction yet, although the AP article requoted Dubya from yesterday saying he would fight any subpoenas. El Presidente seemed genuinely confused and angry that Congress insists that all testimony be given under oath. I can understand Dubya's anger- it's not like anyone in this Administration has ever lied, right?

Right....

Stay tuned!

Smackdown Time at the OK Corral

Things have heated up with AttorneyGate. Dubya has accelerated the conflict over his aides testifying by saying he will not allow them- Rove, Harriet Miers, and their deputies- to testify under oath.

No, instead he wants them to testify "in private"- behind closed doors, not being sworn in, and no transcripts allowed of the hearing.

It is an odd battle for El Presidente to pick. "We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants," Bush said.

But...but... he's allowing them to testify. Why does he not want it on the record? Especially if there's nothing to hide and what was done was within the bounds of the law.

It's just incredibly fishy, and the Dems are having none of it. Bush is further defending his actions, saying ""If the staff of a president operated in constant fear of being hauled before various committees to discuss internal deliberations, the president would not receive candid advice and the American people would be ill-served."

So in other words, he is planning to invoke Executive Privilege.

There's just 1 problem- "Executive Privilege". Going back to Watergate, Nixon claimed EP in seeking to withhold the Watergate Tapes from the special prosecutor. and the matter went before the Supreme Court. Hell, I'll let oyez.org explain the outcome:

The Court (in an 8-0 vote) held that neither the doctrine of separation of powers, nor the generalized need for confidentiality of high-level communications, without more, can sustain an absolute, unqualified, presidential privilege. The Court granted that there was a limited executive privilege in areas of military or diplomatic affairs, but gave preference to "the fundamental demands of due process of law in the fair administration of justice."

What Dubya fails to appreciate here is that this is fast turning into an investigation into a potentially impeachable offense- Obstruction of Justice- the same charge that ran Nixon out of the White House. If it is confirmed that the White House ordered these US Attorneys fired because they did not kowtow to the demand that they drop active criminal investigations for political reasons, Dubya's doomed.

What's hysterical about Bush's posturing is that after 6 years of lies from his Administration on everything from WMDs to the CIA Gulags and everything in between, he's still appealing to "the people" to trust him and and his lackeys to tell the truth.

I think this is an arcane legal manuever- if Rove sits before the Committee and lies like the egg-sucking dog we know him to be and there are no transcripts, can he still be brought up on perjury charges?

It's obvious the Democrats aren't willing to take this chance, and right now, they hold the power here. Dubya thinks he can pull Executive Privilege, and this belief is going to ultimately be his downfall. Just like Nixon, he arrogantly believes that the President is above the law, and for the past 6 years, Congress has been a bunch of dick-sucking syncophants who shamefully rubberstamped every last bit of Dubya's swill and refused to hold him accountable for anything.

Those days are over. The Sheriff is finally arriving in town.