From Holden: Missouri Republican Jo Ann Emerson has a way with words. Nobody expects to get a letter from a member of Congress that ends with an expletive. But that’s what happened when Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (news, bio, voting record), R-Mo., recently corresponded with a resident of her southeast Missouri district. The letter ended with a profane, seven-letter insult beginning with the letter a — “i think you’re an [asshole]” Emerson says she can’t explain how the offensive language made it into the letter, which otherwise reads like a typical response to a citizen’s question about last year’s testimony … Continue reading Republican Civility

“And then I asked him if I looked like his bitch, and when he stammered ‘No, no, Senator, you don’t look like my bitch, not at all,’ I hit him so hard he hasn’t landed yet.” A. Continue reading Happy Harry Photo

From Scout: At the White House Easter Egg Hunt, 100 chosen children from the Gulf Coast, known as the Katrina Kids, stood in the rain and sang this dreck in praise of Bush and FEMA for Laura Bush….. To the tune of “Hey Look Me Over:” “Our country’s stood beside us People have sent us aid. Katrina could not stop us, our hopes will never fade. Congress, Bush and FEMA People across our land Together have come to rebuild us and we join them hand-in-hand!” Rebuilding? Bush and Congress drag their feet and unfortunately FEMA is still doing a heckuva … Continue reading Katrina Kids Sing Again

From Holden: Savor the McClellanosity while you can. First, on Scottie’s big move. Q Can you talk a little bit more about how your resignation came about today? Was this something that you wanted to do, or did you feel pressured? MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I started thinking about this over — more seriously over the last few weeks. And with the new Chief of Staff coming on board, it was a good time to make this decision. Three years would have been an awfully long time in this position. I’ve been at this for a long time. I didn’t need … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle

From Holden: Here are two not necessarily contradictory views of the today’s announcement that Karl Rove will be released from his policy responsibilities. First up, John Podesta writing for Think Progress: Has Rove’s Security Clearance Been Revoked? This morning, the White House announced that Karl Rove will step down from his policy post and resume his focus on the midterm elections. An important question has not been asked: Will Rove also give up his security clearance? To this day, Rove has maintained his security clearance in spite of evidence that he mishandled classified information regarding Valerie Wilson’s position at the … Continue reading Two Views of Rove

From Holden: I don’t recall a peep of criticism from Le Corner regarding Scott McClellan prior to today. But they’ve turned on him now that he’s officially out. K-Blo: WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY [Kathryn Jean Lopez] Tony Snow makes me smile. Dan Senor should have been White House secretary as soon as Ari Fleisher left. [empahsis added] He’d be great–not only can he communicate, he is even married to the MSM. Posted at 09:51 AM JPod o’ Whales: MCCLELLAN [JPod] Not to hit a guy when he’s down, but…thank God. Posted at 09:52 AM Continue reading Now That He’s Gone They Hate Him

From Holden: Wingie blogger Political Pitbull but together a “Memories with Scott McClellan” video that at first appears to be a saccharine tribute to the Pudgy One but winds up encapsulating some of his worst moments on the podium. Continue reading Misty Water-Colored Memories

From Holden: Now that we have the preliminaries out of the way let’s get on with the fucking trial. I live in Travis County and have not served on a jury for three years. I’m ready. An appeals court Wednesday upheld a judge’s ruling throwing out a conspiracy charge against former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. DeLay, who announced this month that he is resigning his congressional seat, still faces a money-laundering charge and another conspiracy charge stemming from the financing of state legislative races in 2002. A lower court judge dismissed one conspiracy charge against DeLay in December, … Continue reading Chalk One Up For the Bugman

From Holden: Inflation is the new black. Consumer prices shot up by a bigger-than-expected amount in March, reflecting higher costs for gasoline, clothing and hotel rooms. The Labor Department reported that its closely watched Consumer Price Index rose by 0.4 percent, far higher than the modest 0.1 percent gain in February. The inflation surge was led by higher gasoline prices, which jumped by 3.6 percent. [snip] Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, posted a 0.3 percent rise in March. It was the biggest gain in core inflation in a year and could be a worrisome signal that higher energy … Continue reading Break Out the WIN Buttons

From Holden: I’m wondering now which practiced liar they will choose to fill Little Scottie’s size 9 triple Ds. My guess is it will be Dan Senor, former Coalition Provisional Authority mouthpiece/newlywed groom of NBC News infotainer Campbell Brown. But for now we say farewell, Little Scottie. AP Photo/Charles Dharapak Continue reading Little Scottie Gets Shitcanned

From Scout: On CNN now. Waiting for Holden’s reaction Continue reading Scottie Resigns

From Holden: There’s a new Harris poll out. The skinny: Chimpy’s approval rating slides one point to a miserable 35%, while his disapproval rating flounders at 63%. Thirty-five percent of 1,008 U.S. adults surveyed in the telephone poll think Mr. Bush is doing an “excellent or pretty good” job as president, down from 36% in March and significantly lower than 43% in January. This compares with 63% of Americans who said Mr. Bush is doing an “only fair or poor” job, down from 64% in March. Furthermore, pessimism about the direction of U.S. policies appears to be growing. Only 27% … Continue reading Ponylicious!

More on the Internet’s destructive power and malignant influence in American journalism: Analyst Ed Atorino of Benchmark Capital called high-quality journalism “almost irrelevant” to a newspaper’s overall financial health. He said a paper should provide timely, interesting information without errors. “But does it have to be Pulitzer Prize-winning?” he asked. “No.” Atorino cited his former hometown’s weekly newspaper, the Chatham (N.J.) Courier (circulation 3,000), which “covers local stuff: the Kiwanis, the football game, pictures of the 80-year-old lady that retired. You don’t need ‘quality’ journalism. It’s information. It’s value. “I think the whole idea of quality journalism is overrated,” he … Continue reading They’re Just Screwing With Me Now

Digby: They are all dressed up like prom goers, the dads in tuxes and the daughters in evening gowns looking all grown up. They dance, they laugh, they giggle. And then father and daughter stand up, holding each others hands, staring into each others’ eyes and the girls make these vows as if in a wedding ceremony. As I watch it occurs to me that this is why they don’t have an exception for rape and incest. It’s one of the creepiest things I’ve ever seen. You will notice that there’s no “mother-son” ceremony in which boys pledge to their … Continue reading Fathers And Sons

From Holden:

Ho-ho-ho and a bottle of Rummy!

Q Scott, back to Rumsfeld again. This morning, the President, for the second time in four days, had to express his support for the Defense Secretary. And he said that — he expressed some frustration that he had to mention it last week and that all of the speculation essentially raises questions about people’s reputations. He said, people’s reputations are at stake here. So does the President, does the administration feel as though this sort of drip, drip of criticism that’s come from retired generals weakens Donald Rumsfeld efficacy —

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think there are a number of retired generals who have said otherwise from which — the sources that you are citing. And there are a lot of people that work very closely with Secretary Rumsfeld that have spoken out, like the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Pace.

Q I understand, but this is the question: When the President references specifically that people’s reputations are at stake, in the context of the Defense Secretary’s necessity as both a military-civilian commander, as well as a politician in the Bush administration and this city, is he — by the sheer quantity of the criticism — subject to having his position weakened?

MR. McCLELLAN: The President has made it very clear that he has his full support and deepest appreciation. The President has assigned Secretary Rumsfeld some difficult tasks. The President talked about that. And when you are a military that is going through a transformation so that you’re better prepared to meet the threats of the 21st century, and engaged in an ongoing global war on terrorism, that tends to generate a lot of discussion and a lot of debate. I talked about that last week. The President referenced some of that in his remarks on Friday, when we put out the statement expressing his full support for Secretary Rumsfeld. So I think you have to look at it in those contexts.

And you talk about the quantity, again, there are a number of generals that work with him today and that have worked with him previously and that are now retired that fully support his leadership, and they have said so.

Today’s Rummython continues, Read More…

Continue reading “Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle”

From Holden: Tom DeLay solicited “campaign contributions” even after he decided to end his campaign. Hell, he still has a “Contribute” link up on his campaign website [scroll down, lower-left corner]. U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay raised campaign money at a relatively high rate in the six weeks before revealing that he planned to give up his congressional seat, according to disclosures made available Monday. The $484,475 received by his campaign from Feb. 15 to March 31 helped bring his total cash reserve to $1.4 million, which can be used for legal expenses or political activities. [snip] The nearly half-million dollars … Continue reading There’s a Sucker Born…

From Holden:

It seems that things are just peachy in our 51st state.

Reuters headline: Baghdad Street Battle Smacks of Open Civil War

Snipers held rooftop positions as masked Sunni Arab insurgents said they were gearing up for another open street battle with pro-government Shi’ite militiamen in Baghdad’s Adhamiya district on Tuesday.

[snip]

Fighting was so fierce that U.S. reinforcements were brought in to the northern district, home to some of Iraq’s most hardcore Sunni guerrillas and the Abu Hanifa mosque, near where Saddam Hussein was last seen in public before going into hiding.

[snip]

While the February bombing of a Shi’ite shrine pushed Iraq to the edge of civil war and left hundreds of bodies with bullet holes and torture marks on the streets, the scenario in Adhamiya is more alarming, despite fewer casualties.

It appeared to be the first example of a large-scale, open sectarian street battle in the capital, if not all of Iraq.

True to form, the Bush Assministration either ignored or scoffed at repeated warnings about the dangerous rise of Shiite militias for years.

U.S. officials were warned for more than two years that Shiite Muslim militias were infiltrating Iraq’s security forces and taking control of neighborhoods, but they failed to take action to counteract it, Iraqi and American officials said.

Now American officials call the militias the primary security concern in Iraq, blaming them for more civilian deaths than the Sunni Muslim-based insurgency and demanding that the Iraqi government move quickly to stem their influence.

Post continues, click Read More.

Continue reading “Signs of Progress”

From Holden: Looks like Nelson Muntz will be paying a visit to the Rev. Falwell. Evangelist Jerry Falwell lost a U.S. Supreme Court appeal Monday of a case that sought to shut down a Web site with a similar name but opposite views on homosexuals. Falwell claims that a gay man from New York City improperly draws people to a site by using a common misspelling of the reverend’s name as the site’s domain name. [snip] Last year, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed and said Lamparello was free to operate his “gripe site” about Falwell’s views on … Continue reading Jerry Falwell is Teh Gay

From Holden: Hamid Karzai is not impressed by this time-honored American tactic. Afghan President Hamid Karzai urged U.S.-led coalition forces on Monday to show restraint when attacking militants in residential areas after more than a dozen civilians and police died in two possible “friendly fire” incidents. [snip] [V]illagers complained that seven residents were killed Saturday when U.S. troops, backed by warplanes and artillery fire, targeted militants in a house and nearby cave in Kunar. The military said it did not know if the seven were killed by artillery or air strikes or if they were caught in crossfire between U.S. … Continue reading Destroying The Village In Order To Save It

From Scout: The UN building is considered delapidated and in need of renovation but the US is holding things up…. He [plan’s director, Louis Frederick Reuter IV] said the current impasse had arisen when the United States emerged as the only country blocking $100 million that was to have been approved for the project by April 1. He calculated that the delay was increasing costs by $225,000 a day. John Bolton,the American ambassador, said Monday that the United States had offered $23.5 million but was not convinced that the larger amount was needed at the moment. “I don’t think the … Continue reading John Bolton is a Dick

From Scout: Ruth Marcus at WaPo has Bush’s letter to the Twins. Continue reading Letter to Jenna and Not Jenna

Wes tells the wankers where their wankery goes. A. Continue reading Happy Democrat Photo: Wes Edition

From Scout: The remains of 2 more bodies were found today in the debris of the lower 9th ward which is why I still write about this. In a previous post today is the story of one dog search and rescue team that pulled out of NOLA in disgust towards FEMA. It include this quote from one dog handler, “There’s pieces of bodies strewn all over the place.” A second post today looks at the question of who IS responsible for collecting bodies after a disaster. The answer may surprise you and should certainly disturb you. Continue reading 2 More Bodies found today in New Orleans 9th Ward

Perry White writes a memo: Dear Daily Planet employees, First, let me thank you all for your personal bravery and fine coverage during the recent nerve gas attacks launched by Lex Luthor against Metropolis. Fortunately, we only lost three in the newsroom to the attacks. A special thanks to Lois Lane and Clark Kent, who will be receiving $50 gift certificates to Penguin Books & Emporium, for saving the Daily Planet building again. Unfortunately, the crisis only adds to our need to watch the bottom line. Even a fictional newspaper runs into the hard reality of growing costs. Our biggest … Continue reading Blogger Ethics, Superman Edition

First up, John Cox. His slogan for his state race in 2004, I kid you not: Cox for Illinois. Now, with a last name like that there’s really nothing you can do that isn’t going to make the 12-year-old in me giggle, but it managed to be both an unfortunate innuendo and boring at the same time, which if you think about it is quite an accomplishment. I look forward to the highly amusing half-hour that will be “Cox for America.” A. Continue reading Meet Your 2008 Republican Presidential Candidates!

From Scout:

Congratulations to the Times Picayune for winning two Pulitzer Prizes, for Public Service and Breaking News. They certainly deserved it. From the editor, Jim Amoss: (more after the cut….click Read More)

Continue reading “Congratulations to The Times Picayune!”

From Holden:

Little Scottie lead today’s gaggle with a none-too-subtle hint that he’s outta here.

Q Scott, you’re one of those visible members of the President’s senior staff. Do you plan to stay on?

MR. McCLELLAN: Are you trying to tempt me here?

Q Not at all.

MR. McCLELLAN: Look, I never speculate about personnel matters.

Q “Personnel” or “personal” or both?

MR. McCLELLAN: Two years in this position is a long time, I’m very mindful of that.</b But, look, I never get into any of that speculation.

Obsession continues, click Read More…

Continue reading “Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle”

From Scout:

I have been following the problem of dead bodies not being recovered in NOLA since Oct. 4th. I’ve done much reading and research and since it is STILL a problem (yes bodies remain still almost 8 months out) I continue to write about it. After reading about this I asked …just who the hell IS responsible to pick up the dead? As you’ll see the answer apparently is unbelievable…. No One.

History of Searches

On September 30, FEMA “announced that the Urban Search and Rescue Operations for the State of Louisiana were completed.” “The New Orleans Fire Department took charge of searches but had to stop in December when they ran out of money.” In February FEMA said it would fund searches and in March they sent their special operations team back in.

History of the Funding Dispute

On September 6th FEMA contacted Kenyon about collecting bodies. They started the job the next day though they didn’t sign a contract with FEMA. Trouble ensued immediately and Kenyon threatened to pull out. As a result, on September 13, Gov. Blanco announced this….

“Yesterday, Kenyon officials told me that if things don’t change, they would leave as soon as they could professionally pull out,” Blanco said. “While recovery of bodies is a FEMA responsibility, I cannot stand by while this vital operation is not being handled appropriately. In death, as in life, our people deserve more respect than they have received.

So Gov. Blanco had the state of Louisiana take over the contract. FEMA spokesman David Passey had this to say at the time…

`The collection of bodies is not normally a FEMA responsibility,” he said.

NPR goes more in depth with interviews with Kenyon’s CEO and a FEMA official in which the FEMA official threw out whatever would stick to explain the situation including it’s a state and local responsibility, blaming Kenyon for trying to get a better deal out of the state of LA and finally blaming LA for not requesting funds for body recovery PRIOR to the hurricane. On September 11 Kenyon wrote Vice Admiral Thad Allen saying they were no longer interested in a FEMA contract due to “numerous roadblocks, hindrances and interferences.“ But also included in this piece is the following.…

[Michael] Brown admitted that FEMA had no contingency contract for the recovery of dead bodies and that it was a mistake.

Analysis

That it was a mistake is probably the only thing that is clear given almost 8 months later there are still bodies remaining in NOLA. When FEMA released its Katrina performance review last Friday I was hoping to find this problem would be addressed in one of the final 38 recommendations so this would not occur again. However I found no such recommendation or even a discussion of the problem of body recovery in the report.

Back in October Robert Johannessen, spokesman for the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals had this to say in an October WaPo article that addressed among other things the questions regarding collecting bodies.….

“I am not aware of any document out there that says whose responsibility it is.”

My research would indicate he is right.

(Continues after the cut….click Read More)

Continue reading “Just who the hell IS responsible to pick up dead bodies???…..Try No One”

From Holden: There’s a new Gallup poll out this afternoon pegging Chimpy’s job approval rating at 36%, down 1% from last week’s USAToday/Gallup poll. Other goodness: E&P: Handling of Iraq – 32% In a surprise, the new poll found that 44% of Republicans now back withdrawing some or all troops from Iraq. The number for all Americans, 64%… [snip] In another finding, 57% of Americans say it was a mistake to send troops to Iraq… Gallup themselves: 57% say that the US “will not win in Iraq” And Gallup again: 23% of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, … Continue reading Can You Take Me To Pony Town?