From Holden: Michael Wolff peels the onion that is Little Scottie in Vanity Fair and finds that it has very few layers. The briefing room exists, frozen in amber, in another time. The moment is somewhere after Richard Nixon tried to accommodate—and control—the burgeoning press corps by converting F.D.R.’s pool house, sauna, rubdown rooms, and dog kennel into press offices and a small auditorium (it’s still, basically, a pool house, with a door that flaps open directly onto the White House lawn, allowing in gusts of hot or cold air). And somewhere well before the advent of personal computers and … Continue reading Dissecting Little Scottie

From Tena: From the Washington Post: The “War on Christmas” has morphed into a “War on Christians.” Last December, some evangelical Christian groups declared that the religious celebration of Christmas — and even the phrase “Merry Christmas” — was under attack by the forces of secularism. Nothing new, there. Tom Delay was at the recent conference Rev. Rick Scarborough held in D.C. in which the opening session was a Professional Martyrs’ Whinefest. Now Hot Tub is dripping his holy blood around and blaming his troubles on the Liberal Crusade to Stamp Out Christianity. So when NYMary posted a link in … Continue reading Onward Christian Soldiers (Special Persecution Edition)

From Holden: Are you a pony-loving fluffit? Here’s your chance to prove it! With so many things going pear-shaped during his administration, just how low can President Bush’s approval ratings drop? Take a wild guess at Sportsbook.com and you could end up smiling a whole lot more than Bush this year. [snip] The online sports book and betting giant Sportsbook.com is laying odds on his approval rating percentage come 1 May 2006. And if you’re a fan of Bush and his policies, now’s the time to show your support. The bet on George Bush is what’s termed an ‘overs or … Continue reading Win Your Own Damn Pony

From Holden: Via Dan Froomkin, Seattle’s Marian Means on the First Lady. Two new books meant to applaud Laura Bush’s pleasant personality actually highlight how she has wasted her unique opportunity to play an influential role. We expect more of women in public life now than we did when Bess Truman was first lady. And the war in Iraq has become so all-consuming with voters that the do-good projects designed to give her increased visibility in the second Bush term seem too little, too late. [snip] One, called “Laura Bush: An Intimate Portrait of the First Lady,” by Ronald Kessler, … Continue reading More Xanax and Vodka, Please

From Holden:

The gagglers just won’t stop asking Little Scottie about the ongoing staff shake-up at the White House. A shake-up that Scottie admits is indeed ongoing while claiming it is unnecessary.

Q Thanks. The President this morning made it sound almost inevitable that there will be more changes once Mr. Bolten comes on board. Obviously, you’re not going to talk about what those are.

MR. McCLELLAN: But you’ll ask anyway.

[snip]

Q But he also said that he needs good, crisp information. And that suggests that he’s not getting it.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, no, I don’t think he was suggesting that. In fact, he expressed — again, he expressed his gratitude for all that Andy has done to help make sure that he is getting the kind of information he needs to make those decisions on behalf of the American people.

Q So why is —

MR. McCLELLAN: But there are always — we always learn from experience. That is something this White House has always done. And the President pointed out that Andy had helped assemble a very smart, capable and experienced team, and the President appreciates the job that the team is doing.

Q Then why reorganize, which the President implied —

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, for the reasons that Andy —

Q — strongly is going to happen, if there isn’t a need — if there’s no need for change?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, for the reasons that Andy talked about earlier. I think any White House goes through changes. And we’ve gone through a lot of change over the last few years, but it’s also important to have continuity, so you have to balance that continuity with change. And with a new Chief of Staff coming in, of course the President is going to look to the new Chief of Staff for his recommendations and his thoughts and counsel.

Q But it sounded as though the President was saying that maybe it’s time to freshen things up a little bit?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think Andy Card talked about that when he announced his resignation. And that’s something that he and Andy had talked about, that it was a time for a change. And the President agreed with Andy’s assessment.

Q But the President today seemed to be suggesting that the changes could include, as said, crisper information?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, what we want to do is build upon what we have accomplished, and continue to focus on getting things done for the American people. And that’s what the President was talking about in his remarks.

Go ahead.

There’s more Obsession below, click Read More.

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

From Scout: Send your New Orleans Mardi Gras Beads to the President. Tell George we want New Orleans for another 300 years!” OK this is your chance to take action. Yesterday I posted that the Army Corps of Engineers informed officials that they need an additional $6 billion to rebuild the levees for the New Orleans area. Bush is making no promises he will ask Congress for the funds. In fact his point man in NOLA indicated there will not be full funding. Levee funding is presently being decided in Congress. This appropriations bill will be debated after Congress’s spring … Continue reading ACTION ALERT: Send your Beads to Bush

From Holden: Tom DeLay told Pat Robertson that he fasted for spiritual help in making his decision to resign. Here’s an image of DeLay announcing his resignation that his staff prvided to the AP. And here’s another AP photo of DeLay leaving the studio after his announcement. AP Photo/Pat Sullivan Poor Tom! He looks half-starved! Continue reading Quick! Somebody Force-Feed Tom DeLay!

From Holden: Chimpy actually took a few questions today. On Tom DeLay: What Does He Have To Look Forward To (Besides Incarceration)? I wished him all the very best and I know he’s looking forward to — he’s looking to the future. Andy Card Went Down on Bush — Annally! I’ve, as you know, accepted the resignation of Andrew Card, my long-time friend, a person who will go down in the annals as one — a really fine Chief of White House in the history of the White House. Josh Bolten’s Assignment: Don’t Let The Lettuce Go Soggy I told … Continue reading Your President Speaks!

From Holden: Please, please, please. Republicans, please nominate Condi for president in 2008. Iraqi leaders shelved talks on Tuesday on forming a government despite a warning from US and British leaders against further delays, as rebel violence continued to claim lives across the country. Just hours after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her British counterpart Jack Straw left Iraq on Monday after an unprecedented two-day visit, 10 worshippers were blown up by a suicide car bomber near a Shiite mosque in Baghdad. Continue reading InCondipent

From Holden: A simple question: Tom DeLay posted a $100,000 bond in order to avoid incarceration in the Fort Bend County Jail. Can he just up and move to Virginia whenever he pleases? I would think Judge Pat Priest would have something to say about Tommie’s clever plan. Continue reading Bail Jumping

From Holden:

Expect a thorough rogering.

Gas Prices Up Sharply Ahead of Peak Season

Gasoline prices have surged by 36 cents a gallon in the Washington area over the past month, according to the AAA auto club, with the beginning of the peak driving season less than two months away.

The average price in the metropolitan area reached $2.63 a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline yesterday, up a penny from the day before and a nickel more than the national average. The price is up from $2.27 a gallon a month earlier and $2.17 a year ago.

Continues… Read More by clicking below.

Continue reading “What To Expect When Oil Industry Execs Run The Countyr”

Freepi chaos! Crap. Unreal. Only posted at WaPo’s main page. Criminalization of politics. Why is Scarborough bring that rat Al Franken on to talk about this? Delay’s dropping out, we’re losing Delay, and I HAVE TO WATCH FRANKEN’S FAT FACE WHILE FINDING THIS OUT. That’s a double-kick in the teeth. God bless Tom Delay and his family for your years of service. I’m beginning to think of Tom DeLay as the modern day Joseph McCarthey, God bless his heroic soul. ..the toughest Republican warrior since Lee Atwater… Godspeed Hammer! Dear God, is that what it looks like when you do … Continue reading The Sewer Reports In, Delay Out

From Tena: Atrios has posted that Tom Delay told Chris Mathews tonight that he is withdrawing from the Congressional race. I’m speechless with joy – so I’m going to go dance now. One more thing: Hey Hottub – {{{mwaah}}} – buh bye. Update: I don’t believe this – can life be this good? Not only is Tom leaving Congress, he’s leaving Texas! He’s moving to Virginia. Is this what happy feels like? Yes, I do believe it is!!!!!!! Continue reading the Bugman is exterminated!!!

From Holden: Scottie is leaving, and he gets really testy about it during the gaggle. Q Can you confirm that Treasury Secretary Snow is out? MR. McCLELLAN: Who said that? Q I heard reports of it. MR. McCLELLAN: You heard reports of it. Look, there are going to be a lot of — there’s going to be a lot of speculation. Q Heard rumors. MR. McCLELLAN: There’s going to be a lot of speculation as a new Chief of Staff is coming on board. And that’s what it is, it’s speculation. And we’re not going to get into responding to … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle

From Holden: NBC News co-anchor Campbell Brown and Dan Senor got hitched in Colorado yesterday [photo above e-mailed to me by a reader]. Of course we all remember Senor as the mouthpiece of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. I’m sure NBCs coverage of the war won’t change a hair. Continue reading A Marriage of Convenience

From Holden: Chimpy is squandering more than one-fifth of every dollar that the economy generates. Federal spending is outstripping economic growth at a rate unseen in more than half a century, provoking some conservatives to complain that government under Republican control has gotten too big. The federal government is currently spending 20.8 cents of every $1 the economy generates, up from 18.5 cents in 2001, White House budget documents show. That’s the most rapid growth during one administration since Franklin Roosevelt. Continue reading Spend and Spend Republicans

From Holden:

As the housing bubble collapses and interest rates rise millions of Americans are about to experience the Bush Boom first hand.

When they refinanced their home two years ago to pay off some bills, Robert, now 78, was working as a deliveryman. But his employer went out of business last April. Now he and Lorraine, 72, a retired nurse, are both seeking work. The rate on their mortgage has jumped from 7% to 10.5%.

The Bush Boom continues — Read More!

Continue reading “Have You Seen My Bush Boom?”

From Holden: I predicted months ago that Scott McClellan would resign his position as Chimpy’s mouthpiece in order to run his mom’s flagging gubernatorial campaign, and of course I have been wrong for months. Now both ThinkProgress and Atrios are repeating a CNN rumor about Little Scottie’s pending departure. So the question of the day is: If this rumor holds true, who will replace Little Scottie? With Terrence Trent d’Uffy’s recent resignation (talk about getting out while the getting is good!) there is really no one in the White House who can step up. I don’t think d’Uffy’s replacement as … Continue reading Whither Little Scottie?

From Holden: A little grandstanding by the stupidest fucking woman on the planet ignites a civil war within the civil war in Iraq. Iraq’s dominant Shiite political bloc fractured Sunday when its most powerful faction publicly demanded that the incumbent Shiite prime minister resign over his inability to form a unified government. The split came as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Jack Straw, the British foreign minister, paid an urgent visit to Iraqi leaders here to convey in the most forceful terms yet that their patience for the country’s political paralysis was wearing thin. It was not clear whether … Continue reading Nice Going, Condi

What Digby says. A. Continue reading Home

Let’s get the snark outta the way first: Americans polled by TIME magazine show strong support for a guest-worker program and a process for undocumented workers to become citizens, but they take a tough stance on securing the borders. And most do not want illegal immigrants to have access to health care, public education or driver’s licenses. How about prisons? Does a majority of Americans mind if illegal immigrants have access to prisons? Jesus, what a selfish fucking angry bunch of people we are. Sure, they can come here and cook my food, but they can’t go to my doctor, … Continue reading GOP Arrogance

There are many, many, many, many things which terrify the living shit out of me about the prospect of having and raising a child. Some examples:

The extensive history of both mental illness and crap dental health in my family such that I am dooming my hypothetical (VERY hypothetical, Mom, put the Babies R Us catalog DOWN) child to a lifetime of braces, fillings and therapy.

My inability to speak in anything but newsroom-ese, such that any kid what grows up in this house is gonna boom out, “Where the fuck is my math homework?” on the second day of school.

The fact that my favorite episode of Murphy Brown is the one where she plays with her baby by teaching him to “feed Mr. Fax Machine.” Because, yeah.

But I think what scares me the most about a rugrat (she says in the most loving way possible) is the idea of admittance to this school of people that participates in actively telling parents that their method of raising their children is bullshit. See Brooks, David, and the comments to this post of Heather’s, esp. the ones at the very end. GAH.

Continue reading “Competitiveness”

From Holden: Having posted Jill Carroll’s statement below, which explained that she was still in captivity and under duress when she gave the statements JPodd and Jonah criticized with such venom at The COrner I thought I would check the moldier portion of the blogosphere for their reaction. Jonah opens with his knee-jerk reaction (if knees that flabby and unaccustomed to exercise can be said to jerk), deny and defend. SIGH… [Jonah Goldberg] The same name-calling screachers who insisted that I was an ass for not taking everything Jill Carroll said at face value, are now emailing me to call … Continue reading An Asshole So Large and Dense He Sucks Other Assholes Into His Orbit

From Holden:

Jill Carroll has released a statement through her employer, The Chirstian Science Monitor. It comes to us via E&P.

I’m so happy to be free and am looking forward to spending a lot of time with my family. I want to express my deep appreciation to all the people who worked so long and hard for my release. I am humbled by the sympathy and support expressed by so many people during my kidnapping.

In the past few days, the U.S. military and officials have been extremely generous, and I am grateful for their help. Throughout this ordeal, many U.S. agencies have committed themselves to bringing me safely home.

My colleagues at The Christian Science Monitor have worked ceaselessly to secure my release, and worked with security consultants to do so. Many other news organizations, both inside and outside of Iraq, as well as many officials from Iraq and other countries, worked hard to bring about my freedom.

So many people around the world spoke out on my behalf.

Thank you, all of you.

During my last night of captivity, my captors forced me to participate in a propaganda video. They told me I would be released if I cooperated. I was living in a threatening environment, under their control, and I wanted to go home alive. So I agreed.

There’s more, click Read More.

Continue reading “Jill Carroll Speaks”

From Scout:

Though I don’t post to or check the NOLA blog much anymore it was set up in a way that any comments are emailed to me. So I woke up this morning to find a new comment from the brave and elucidative “Anonymous” to a post about Mary a New Orleanian fighting to hold the Army Corp of Engineers responsible for safe levees. Here it is…

Seems to me that Mary might be wasting her time. She would be more productive actually helping some old person clean up their house or even work to clean up her own neighborhood. She is tilting at windmills. It is hard to go through such a disaster but there comes a time to get back to reality and clean up the mess instead of waiting for us to come and do it for her. The levees will be fixed and since she is not likely an engineer how is she going to know if they were fixed properly? If I lived there I would get out instead of standing around in the sun with a worthless placard.

I suppose I should put down the chair and take the time to inform the obviously ignorant Anonymous…in fact all the anonyMouses who may be out there because more and more I am hearing similar things from them.

First…THE LEVEES ARE NOT BEING FIXED! Not to withstand another Katrina. Experts (not non-engineer Mary) who know of these things have said that the work that is being done will only protect NOLA from a Category 3 hurricane. They wouldn’t even protect NOLA from certain types of Cat 3 hurricanes (which was the case with Katrina) much less a Category 4 or 5 hurricane. In fact the Army Corps of Engineers told Congress this week that they need another $6 Billion to protect all of the NOLA area from a 1 in 100 catastrophic hurricane. Upon hearing this LA Senator Mary Landrieu was so pissed off SHE walked out of the meeting

“If you say you aren’t going to protect lower Plaquemines, what’s next? Lower Terrebonne? Lower Lafourche? And then what, the middle parts?” asked a visibly angry Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., as she walked out of the meeting with Powell and Lt. General Carl Strock, commander of the Corps of Engineers. “Seven months after Katrina, they still don’t realize they have a bill to pay. They don’t want to pay it.”

That’s Mary Freaking Landrieu for Christ sakes. A Democrat that has disappointed me so many times on her votes that I’ve wanted to throw a chair at her has grown a pair Post Katrina and is telling Bush’s boy and a general where to stick it.

Now Anonymous may question….what is this “bill” of which Landrieu speaks?” (continues……click Read more)

Continue reading ““Anonymous” my dear…please read this”

What are your hobbies? (Because we can’t keep up a steady diet of monitoring wingnuttery and Republicans’ mental masturbation all the time.) A. Continue reading Saturday Fun Blogging