There’s nothing about this story I don’t love. We all need a little pick-me-up right now. Go. Read. A. Continue reading Howard’s Party

So no innocent people were spied on. That’s okay, then. God, what were we all so upset about? Had I known, you see, all along that it’s okay to harm the guilty, I’d have done a lot more to make the world a better place. Run down some drug dealers with my car. Bought a gun off that guy who offered to sell me one in college and shot the asshole ex-neighbor who used to beat up his kid. Murder’s against the law, of course, but I’d only kill the ones who meant to cause others trouble. Pet store near … Continue reading Department of Is That All?

From Tena: I originally posted this at the end of October, as part of a longer post. I felt that this part of the post needed to be said again, and then maybe again, and again, with feeling and a chair. I want to know the truth about what the Bush Junta has actually been doing. I want to know what they’ve been up to. They are squatting in my house. And that’s the other reason I cried so much when Bush got this 2d term by hook and by crook: by picked audiences, vicious smear jobs on honorable men … Continue reading A Rerun

So I’ve been sitting here, torn between outrage over the spying revelations and the peak of frustrated “Hey, yo, Congress, welcome to your fucking oversight responsibilities. We fucking, fucking told you so. How dare you wake up now? How dare you go on talk shows and say how shocked you are? I fucking told you so. We all did, you morons. Rubes. Patsies. Fuck.” And eventually it was all going to devolve into glugging vodka and rocking back and forth as the ferrets paced around worriedly, thinking, “Man, this is just like after Katrina. Which one of us is gonna … Continue reading Ahhhh

Freepi, in this thread: What a Piece of S*** story. The NSA is protecting our lives, Right on, Bro…I’m with you. We can’t let quaint ideas like probable cause get in the way. For instance, I went down to the local police station and demanded a body cavity search. You never know what some Muslim has hidden there in your sleep. —- Maybe, but all they have to do is get a warrant. Is it terribly hard to get a warrant? I don’t understand the need for this authorization when domestic spying is already legal with a warrant. I’m not … Continue reading Memo To Miners: The Canary’s Coughing Up Chunks

John Spencer, RIP. A. Continue reading It’s Official: Today Sucks

Bill Keller talks about how the Times knew a year ago that Bush had authorized domestic spying and held off based on assurances from the Bush administration that everything was gonna be okay. A year ago. It staggers me. Not because I think there are never situations where holding off a story is warranted for national security reasons, to keep troops from coming to harm, things like that. However. This is the BUSH ADMINISTRATION we’re talking about. The idea that Bush or his people were credible a year ago and somehow are not now, which Keller seems to be hinting … Continue reading Things We Knew A Year Ago

From Holden: In today’s gaggle Little Scottie refuses to discuss the president’s extra-consitutional order authorizing warrantless wiretapping of US citizens because there is an ongoing investigation…. or something. Q Is it your position that legal authority is required — MR. McCLELLAN: Terry should turn off his phone. Q — for any surveillance of U.S. citizens by the NSA? MR. McCLELLAN: A couple of things. One, I’m aware of the reports that were in the papers this morning. Q I hope so. MR. McCLELLAN: This relates to intelligence activities and ongoing intelligence operations that are aimed at saving lives. [snip] Q … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle

From Holden: You know who it is. President George W. Bush ranks as the least popular and most bellicose of the last ten U.S. presidents, according to a new survey. Only nine percent of the 662 people polled picked Bush as their favorite among the last 10 presidents. John F. Kennedy topped that part of the survey, with 26 percent, closely followed by Bill Clinton (25 percent) and Ronald Reagan (23 percent). Bush was also viewed as the most warlike president (43 percent), the worst for the economy (42 percent) and the least effective (33 percent). Let’s see, ten presidents… … Continue reading Worst President

From Holden: The Bulgarians are booking. Bulgaria started withdrawing its troops from Iraq on Friday, the Defense Ministry announced. “Bulgaria’s infantry battalion in Iraq concluded its operative tasks today and begins its relocation to Bulgaria as decided by Parliament,” the ministry said in a statement. The ministry said that “with the elections conducted, Bulgaria’s infantry battalion has concluded successfully its mission in Iraq.” Continue reading Look, A Parade!

From Holden: Everything the president does is legal because he’s the president. What part of “by the short and curlies” do you not understand, America? AFP/Getty Images/File/Mark Wilson Rice, interviewed on NBC’s “Today” show, said “the president has been very clear that he would not order people to do things that are illegal.” She declined to comment directly on the New York Times report. [snip] “The kind of attack that we experienced on Sept. 11, that means that the president has a heavy responsibility” to “protect and defend Americans,” Rice said. “But he did it always — anything that he … Continue reading Condi Stands By Her Man

From Holden: Real life intervened yesterday, preventing me from perusing the gaggle until this morning. However, Editor & Publisher covered the smash up over Chimpy’s comments on an ongoing investigation in my absence. Continue reading Today on E&P’s Obsession With The Gaggle

From Holden: The big news today is that George Bush signed a secret executive order back in 2002 authorizing warrantless eveasdropping on American citizens in apparent violation of the Fourth Amendment ot the US Constitution. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. One wonders, in light of this presiden’ts arrogance, lust for unbridled … Continue reading Secret Executive Orders

Stripe’s on his way back to health. Thanks to the attentions of the Best Vet Ever and a near-constant diet of petting, feeding of mashed kibble and whatever treats he wants, he’s put on half a pound and was given a clean bill of health this week. He’s got a ways to go to put back all the weight he lost, but for now, it seems he’s on the mend. Here he is, chowing down with his two brothers. Left to right, it’s Stripe, Little Joe, and Fox. A. Continue reading Friday Ferretblogging: Convalescence Edition

You know what to do. A. Continue reading Koufax Nominations Are Open

From Tena: Tomorrow night I’m giving a sit down dinner for our closest friends – 4 other couples and one single guy. I’ve been doing this for 22 years. For the first 12 years we had to all sit on the floor in the tiny living room in our old house. Now we all sit at a table, augmented by a folding table from Ducky Bob’s Party Rentals. I worried at first that sitting at a table might change things and make people feel more formal. I’m so stupid sometimes. I know these people better than that. It’s going to … Continue reading Reindeer roasting on an open fire…

Damn right it’s better than yours. A. Continue reading Happy Democrat Photo: Russ Edition

From Holden: Britt and Chimpy, yesterday: HUME: What about that allegation, that there’s a culture of corruption on Capitol Hill among Republicans? How do you feel about that? BUSH: Well, first of all, I feel Duke Cunningham was wrong and should be punished for what he did. And I think anybody who does what he did should be punished, Republican or Democrat. Secondly, I’m — you know, the Abramoff — I’m frankly, not all that familiar with a lot that’s going on up there on Capitol Hill. But it seems like to me that he was an equal money dispenser, … Continue reading Jack Abrawho?

From Holden: October 24, 2005: Q Thank you, Mr. President. You said several weeks ago that Special Counsel Peter Fitzgerald was handling the CIA leak investigation in a very dignified way. Yet some of your Republican supporters have recently suggested he may be an overzealous prosecutor, or one obsessing over legal technicalities. Have you revised you thinking on this issue? THE PRESIDENT: Nedra, I also said — this may be the fourth time I’ve been asked about this, which I appreciate, you’re doing your job — I’m not going to comment about it. This is a very serious investigation, and … Continue reading Some Investigations Are More Ongoing Than Others

From Holden: Another war hero against the war. On May 4, 2004, [Army Sgt. Bob Knowles] was riding in an M1 Abrams tank that was ambushed. A rocket-propelled grenade hit the top of the tank. Since the hatch was open, Knowles was hit with shrapnel that entered his back and went out his shoulder. His helmet was also blown off. As he waited for a medical helicopter, he could feel himself going into shock; he thought about his German-born wife and their infant daughter. Doctors later told him that fragments had come within 1 millimeter of his heart and 2 … Continue reading Sgt. Knowles Has A Bright Future as a Swift Boat Victim

From Holden: The only Democrat to vote against John McCain’s anti-torture amendment in the House yesterday was Georgia’s Jim Marshall. Send Marshall an e-mail telling him: 1) Toture does not work 2) Torture puts Our Troops at risk. 3) WTF? This is AMERICA, asshole! Continue reading The Democrat With A Torture Fetish

From Holden: Jack Abramoff’s “charity”, Capital Athletic Foundation, was an important cog in the corruption machine. Capital Athletic Foundation, a charity run by disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff now at the center of an influence-peddling investigation on Capitol Hill, told the IRS it gave away more than $330,000 in grants in 2002 to four other charities that say they never received the money. The largest grant the foundation listed in its 2002 tax filing was for $300,000 to P’TACH of New York, a nonprofit that helps Jewish children with learning disabilities. “We’ve never received a $300,000 gift, not in our 28 … Continue reading Jack Abramoff’s Charitable Soul

Bash.org. I hated going to weddings. All the grandmas would poke me saying “You’re next”. They stopped that when I started doing it to them at funerals. Because some days a quote from an IRC chat in which a teenage boy gets the window in which he’s chatting with his grandma and the window in which he’s cybersexing with his girlfriend mixed up is just what you need. A. Continue reading My Latest Guilty Pleasure

From Holden: Let’s start by knocking down a presidential strawman. Q Also he said today, and he’s said this before, that some people have suggested that if we leave the terrorists alone, terrorists will leave the United States alone. Maybe I’ve missed it, but whoever suggested that? MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think there are people that have suggested that the terrorists would just be idle if we weren’t engaging them in Iraq, and that being in Iraq has led to their attacks. Well, the attacks were taking place for a long time prior to our decision going into Iraq. Q … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle

From Holden: What is a self-confessed coke dealer doing with Jenna Bush’s student ID? He sez their best buds, they hang out, and they’ve shared more than just a cab ride. Read about it here. Continue reading Like Father, Like Daughter

From Holden: Dan Froomkin keeps on keepin’ on. Continue reading Not Backing Down

From Holden: That’s some fine international diplomatizin’ she’s doin’ there. [Sec. Rice] predicted that the Iraqi elections this week would yield the most democratic government “in the entire Middle East.” She did not mention the long-standing democracy in Israel. [snip] “As welcome as this broad support is, I am sad to say that the international community has barely done anything to help Iraq prosecute Saddam Hussein,” she said. “All who express their devotion to human rights and the rule of law have a special obligation to help the Iraqis bring to justice one of the world’s most murderous tyrants.” She … Continue reading Ya’ Gotta Love Ya’ Some Condi

From Holden: The smell of desperation permeates the air as the Bush Assministration aims its propaganda machine at grade school children. Students at Fort Belvoir Elementary School fill the gymnasium Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2005, for a visit by Mrs. Lynne Cheney. Mrs. Cheney spoke with the kids about the importance of the upcoming Iraqi elections and likened the parliamentary procedure to that of America’s in its own early struggle for democracy. White House photo by David Bohrer Continue reading Preparing The Next Generation of Cannon Fodder

From Holden: Can anyone explain to me why John Harris is not concerned that readers of the Washington Post online will confuse Terry M. Neal’s Talking Points with Josh Marshall’s Talking Points Memo? Continue reading It’s All So Confusing

From Holden: Chimpy sets the bar extremely high when it comes to trade deficits. The U.S. trade deficit widened unexpectedly in October to a record $68.9 billion despite a drop in the cost of imported oil, as the deficits with China, Canada, the European Union, Mexico and OPEC all hit records, government data showed Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected the trade gap to shrink in October to $62.8 billion, and the surprising growth in the imbalance suggests fourth-quarter economic growth will likely be even weaker than first thought. Continue reading My Bush Boom Lies Over The Ocean…