Month: May 2007

Holden's Obsession with the Gaggle1 Comment

Today On Holden’s Obsession With The Gaggle

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We get Pony Blow today.

Overplaying the Gonzales Kerfuffle

Q Tony, in the past we’ve heard that some Cabinet members who have been in the midst of trouble, in the midst of controversy, have gone to the President and asked him, should they resign, and the President has declined.

MR. SNOW: April, you are so overplaying this.

Q No, I’m not. Don’t go there. (Laughter.) No, seriously. The AG —

MR. SNOW: Seriously, you are really overplaying this.

Q No, I’m not. I’m asking, has the Attorney General — this Attorney General gone to the President and asked him, should he resign?

MR. SNOW: I have no knowledge of that. I would doubt it.

Q Why would you doubt it?

MR. SNOW: Because.

Q We know Rumsfeld had asked the President —

MR. SNOW: There is no question of the President’s support. You really are — you’re over —

Q I am not.

MR. SNOW: No, you are. Trust me.

Q I know of another Secretary who asked the President —

MR. SNOW: I understand, but you’re overreaching. I’m trying to be helpful.

The Set-Up

Q Tony, I want to have one more question about the Attorney General here. Is there any thought inside the White House — the President has showed enormous loyalty to the Attorney General — is there any thought inside the White House that the Attorney General has not shown the same degree of loyalty to the President, because it should be apparent to him at this point that he is damaging the President and that he should go?

MR. SNOW: No. No, what you’re saying is that if you have political opponents who say nasty things about a Cabinet member, that they ought to go.

[snip]

Q Let me just follow that. If you widen out — however, it becomes very clear that the Attorney General has become a distraction. And so that, again, it is incumbent upon him to say, Mr. President, I don’t want to be a distraction to you anymore.

MR. SNOW: I don’t think he’s a distraction.

The Kill

Q Tony, if the Alberto Gonzales situation is not a distraction to the President, is that because his advisors have not brought it to his attention?

MR. SNOW: Again, if you take a look at the — the question is, has this changed the way in which the Department of Justice functions? Has it affected any core function? The answer is, no.

Q So have his advisors brought it to his attention?

MR. SNOW: The President doesn’t need advisors to draw to his attention the fact that the Attorney General has been called to Capitol Hill and other people who have worked for the Attorney General have been called to Capitol Hill. He understands these things.

Continue reading “Today On Holden’s Obsession With The Gaggle”

Stupid Republican Tricks4 Comments

Ladies and Gentlemen, The Secretaries of Education and State

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Jeebus. Yes, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings is an Idol fanatic. Go ahead and ask: How crazed is she? Spellings is the first in the Bush cabinet to attend a show. It happened earlier this month, and she and daughter Grace even compared notes with judge Simon Cowell. Like Cowell, they loved ousted Melinda Doolittle. “I am shocked over the Melinda situation,” says Spellings. “I am confident that she’ll have a great career.” For finale week, “My pick–Jordin.” Another Idol fan, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, also chooses Jordin, but she likes Blake’s style, too. Continue reading Ladies and Gentlemen, The Secretaries of Education and State

War in Iraq1 Comment

That’s Tuscaloosa, Alabama, People

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Today’s editorial published in the Tuscaloosa News. Jimmy Carter’s criticism of George W. Bush’s administration as “the worst in history” in international relations may have violated the code of politeness for former presidents. But Carter’s remarks, published Sunday, are deadly accurate. [snip] Bush’s many miscalculations, his shallow scholarship and his arrogant obstinacy — coupled with consistently bad advice from those within his presidential bubble — have led us directly to the tragedy that has unfolded in Iraq. Attacking that country was just as Carter said — an “overt reversal of America’s basic values” that runs counter to the policies of … Continue reading That’s Tuscaloosa, Alabama, People

Scoutprime, So Called Liberal Media3 Comments

Diane Sawyer Wades In

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Think Progress has video and lowlights of Diane Sawyer’s interview with Al Gore today. As TP points out the interview reaffirmed the thesis of Gore’s book on the “serial obsessions” of the media. This reminded me of a post from Dan Baum’s New Orleans Journal at The New Yorker to which I’d been meaning to link. It’s a great post on Dan’s first visit to the lower 9th ward when he thought recovery “will never happen there” and one of his most recent visits in which he found hope for the area. At any rate one my favorite parts involved … Continue reading Diane Sawyer Wades In

Immoral Values10 Comments

We Are Kindred All

Allison Hantschel

Digby calls this story as an example of health care being fucked up. And it is. But there’s something else going on here, too: In the emergency room at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Hospital, Edith Isabel Rodriguez was seen as a complainer. “Thanks a lot, officers,” an emergency room nurse told Los Angeles County police who brought in Rodriguez early May 9 after finding her in front of the Willowbrook hospital yelling for help. “This is her third time here.” The 43-year-old mother of three had been released from the emergency room hours earlier, her third visit in three days … Continue reading We Are Kindred All

Immoral Values

I Guess The “Fact-Finding” Mission To Jamaica Is Finished

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Remember, no one suffers more than the First Family. Via Froomkin: Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts write in The Washington Post: ” After a long, twinless spring, Jenna and Barbara Bush are back in town! The first daughters (Jenna in a maroon sleeveless dress, Barbara in a silver-white dress) spent Saturday night with two female friends at Hook, the new ‘sustainable seafood’ restaurant in Georgetown. . . . “Spirits were high: Jenna got into a friendly chat with former Wizards/now Knicks player Jared Jeffries and his pals at a nearby table — one diner saw the men send shots over … Continue reading I Guess The “Fact-Finding” Mission To Jamaica Is Finished

Law/Justice3 Comments

The Final Days of Karl Rove

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While the big-time bloggers are anticipating the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales I wonder if we are missing signs that a bigger fish will fry. I believe we may be about to witness the beginning of the end for Karl Rove. Consider: an immune Monica Goodling is scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. [Goodling is seated, second from right in this photo.] Although I’m sure her truthfull testimony won’t help Gonzales keep his job I can’t help but wonder what damage she will do to Karl Rove. She was, after all, the liaison between the … Continue reading The Final Days of Karl Rove

Pony, Bitches!

Peak Pony On The Horizon

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At this rate Atrios may run out of ponies. Rasmussen: After three straight days at the lowest level ever recorded by Rasmussen Reports, President Bush’s Job Approval ratings slipped another point to another new low on Tuesday. Just 33% of American adults now Approve of the way that George W. Bush is performing his duties as President. Prior to this past week, the President’s ratings had never slipped below 35% and had only reached that level for a day or two at a time. Now, his Job Approval has been at the 35% level or below for six straight days. Continue reading Peak Pony On The Horizon

Scoutprime, War in Iraq

Second Surge

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Via HuffPo…More madness… Bush administration is quietly on track to nearly double the number of combat troops in Iraq this year, an analysis of Pentagon deployment orders showed Monday. The little-noticed second surge, designed to reinforce U.S. troops in Iraq, is being executed by sending more combat brigades and extending tours of duty for troops already there. The actions could boost the number of combat soldiers from 52,500 in early January to as many as 98,000 by the end of this year if the Pentagon overlaps arriving and departing combat brigades. Separately, when additional support troops are included in this … Continue reading Second Surge

Scoutprime, Uncategorized1 Comment

How Did It Come To This?

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Oyster asks: Seriously, how did it come to this?We “do what it takes” to build expensive embassies in Baghdad and Beijing, but we don’t “do what it takes”* to rebuild New Orleans, Louisiana?We prefer to restore the wetlands for Shia tribes in Iraq rather than restore America’s Wetlandsin South Louisiana?We pressure other countries to forgive Iraq’s debtsso it can rebuild, but we cannot waive the 10% matchfor a city drowned in a Federal Flood?We send more Americans and Louisianans to fight and die overseas, while the Iraqi Parliament engages in slapfights, ignores the nation’s business, works between 10-15 hoursper MONTH, … Continue reading How Did It Come To This?

Of Interest, Scoutprime15 Comments

Father of murdered Airman 1st Class Ashley Turner: “I feel you have a killer among you now”

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(Airman 1st Class Ashley Turner with her mother, Lisa.) I have been following the terribly tragic case of Airman 1st Class Ashley Turner in Stars and Stripes. Wednesday the tragedy was compounded, perhaps for the last time. Ashley Turner was murdered on August 14th, 2005 at the US Naval Air Station Keflavik in Iceland. Turner was murdered 8 days before she was to testfy in the court martial of fellow Airman Calvin Eugene Hill who was accused of stealing her ATM card and withdrawing $2700, an act apparently caught on an ATM video. However inexplicably Airman Hill had not been … Continue reading Father of murdered Airman 1st Class Ashley Turner: “I feel you have a killer among you now”

Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Scoutprime5 Comments

Lott would kick their ass off his porch if he had one

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Via Think Progress is a Bloomberg piece on Trent Lott and the insurance industry… The Senate’s No. 2 Republican has become the industry’s No. 1 critic in Congress ever since he lost a house to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. While Lott recently settled with his insurer, State Farm, after a year-long court battle, he is continuing the fight in the Senate. His experience, the senator says, has convinced him that an industry he defended his entire career is in need of reform.       “I’m like a woman scorned,” Lott says. “I’m prepared to continue to kick their fanny … Continue reading Lott would kick their ass off his porch if he had one

Scoutprime, War in Iraq4 Comments

Dems Caving?

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From AP… WASHINGTON – In grudging concessions to President Bush Democrats intend to draft an Iraq war-funding bill without a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops and shorn of billions of dollars in spending on domestic programs, officials said Monday. SNIP While details remain subject to change, the measure is designed to close the books by Friday on a bruising veto fight between Bush and the Democratic-controlled Congress over the war. It would provide funds for military operations in Iraq through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. SNIP Democratic officials stressed the legislation was subject to change. … Continue reading Dems Caving?

Terrorism

Getting Your Allies In Trouble

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The country that harbors the torturers are just as guilty. A U.N. anti-torture panel said Monday it was concerned about allegations that Poland housed CIA-run prisons for terrorist suspects, despite Warsaw’s repeated denial of cooperating with the U.S. secret detention program. The U.N. Committee Against Torture urged Poland to share the details of an investigation carried out by its parliament rejecting charges of Polish participation in the secret CIA prison network. [snip] While failing to locate the prisons, the parliament’s yearlong investigation into CIA flights transporting terror suspects to secret facilities concluded in February that Poland — along with Britain, … Continue reading Getting Your Allies In Trouble

So Called Liberal Media18 Comments

Narcissistic Bitches Vol. 497

Allison Hantschel

Jesus on toast points. A few things, quickly, because we’re out of wine at Casa Athenae and I don’t want to get too into all this until I’ve fortified myself further, but GOOD FUCKING GOD ALREADY. 1. No one cares about your relationship with God. Or your family. Or anything else, really, about you. You’re a journalist. You’re not the story. Fucking go back to school. 2. Horrible things that have happened are never learning experiences until much later, so quit telling everybody how there was a silver lining to 9/11. It’s too soon. When we’re all 95, then we … Continue reading Narcissistic Bitches Vol. 497

War in Iraq6 Comments

Self-Involvement

Allison Hantschel

I am moving increasingly to the position that pundits’ refusals to get on board the train of let’s get the hell out of Iraq has less to do with their desire for us to actually win than it has to do with their desire not to be wrong, continuing on the theme of who’s the fairest of them all which I tried to address yesterday. I really don’t think it’s about anything other than being shown up. We’re talking about people who for years have worshipped a particularly belligerent form of campaigning and governing on the part of the modern … Continue reading Self-Involvement

Your President Speaks

Your President Speaks!

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Today, in Crawford, during a brief presser with NATO Secretary General de Hoop Scheffer. Enzyte Is The Original, Once-Daily Tablet For Natural Male Enhancement We talked about enlargement — we’re looking forward to going to the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest to talk about enlargement. What Alberto Gone-zales Has Got Now, you asked about Alberto Gonzales. He has got my confidence. The Political Theater Has Got A Stage And they ought to get the job done of passing legislation, as opposed to figuring out how to be actors on the political theater stage. What Their Point Of View Is About … Continue reading Your President Speaks!

War in Iraq1 Comment

71 New Notches On Chimpy’s Gun

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May is turning out to be a horrible month in Iraq. The deaths raise to 71 the number of U.S. service members killed this month. Worse yet, it’s part of a trend. [US] Military deaths have been rising since fall, and the first half of this year has already been deadlier than any six-month period since the war began more than four years ago. According to iCasualties.org, 531 U.S. service members have been killed since Dec. 1, an average of more than three deaths a day. In all, at least 3,421 members of the U.S. military have died since the … Continue reading 71 New Notches On Chimpy’s Gun

Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Scoutprime2 Comments

Will Bush Sign Off?

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(Photo:WWL) Today the Army Corps of Engineers says MRGO should go but Bush would need to sign off on it. From WWL… The Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, blamed by many in St. Bernard Parish and New Orleans East for the flooding that took place there post-Katrina, should be closed, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Saturday. The Corps said it would essentially close the MRGO down to all navigation and lessen the threat of a storm surge by building a large, earthen dam along the MRGO, just south of Hopedale. The Corps said if the president signed off on … Continue reading Will Bush Sign Off?

Of Interest4 Comments

Wind That Shakes The Barley

Allison Hantschel

Has anyone seen this yet? Is it amazing? Because I love Ken Loach’s ideas of what he does, and “Land and Freedom” is one of my favorite movies, one I watch over and over, but sometimes I think I find his films (“Riff-Raff,” for example) worthy because I feel like I should, not because they genuinely move me. But this story’s something I very much want to see his take on: So tell me, if you’ve seen it, what you thought. A. Continue reading Wind That Shakes The Barley

Hurricane Katrina & Federal Flood, Scoutprime8 Comments

Clinton Blasts Federal Response to Katrina

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Good for her. I hope Hillary continues to say this and other Democratic candidates as well. Gulf Coast recovery should be a major campaign issue. From the Times Picayune… Calling the still-ravaged condition of post-Katrina New Orleans “a natural disaster that has become a national embarrassment and an international disgrace,” Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Saturday delivered a scorching critique of the federal government’s response to the storm and outlined a 10-point recovery program she promised to enact if voters send her to the White House next year. “Unfortunately, the federal government did not do its job,” the New York … Continue reading Clinton Blasts Federal Response to Katrina

Holden's Obsession with the Gaggle3 Comments

Today On Holden’s Obsession With The Gaggle

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Today I found an unwelcome link at the White House Briefing page:  Press Gaggle by Tony Fratto Tony Fatso? You have got to be kidding me. They brought in the fourth string for the morning gaggle? What’s wrong, was Dana Peroxide out torturing her dog again? Was Snott Stanzelbusy updating his Windows MySpaces page? Tony Fatso (Nice mug shot, Tony!) gives the bottom of the barrel a bad name. Make That The Bipartisan Bottomless Bag, Tony Q Senators Schumer and Feinstein are going to introduce a no confidence resolution for Attorney General Gonzales next week, the Senate is going to … Continue reading Today On Holden’s Obsession With The Gaggle

Law/Justice4 Comments

Jail The AG

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Via the Muckers, it appears that Alberto Gonzales and Andy Card may have violated US statutes designed to protect classified information. When then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales went to John Ashcroft’s hospital room on the evening of March 10, 2004 to ask the ailing Attorney General to override Justice Department officials and reauthorize a secret domestic wiretapping program, he was acting inappropriately, Ashcroft’s deputy at the time, James Comey, testified before Congress earlier this week. But the question some lawyers, national security experts and congressional investigators are now asking is: Was Gonzales in fact acting illegally? [snip] “Executive branch rules … Continue reading Jail The AG

Law/Justice2 Comments

One Of These Days…

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I keep telling you, one of these days all of the corruption in the Department of Education is going to snag Chimpy’s buddy Margaret Spellings. The White House appointee in charge of the Education Department’s troubled financial aid office took home $250,000 in bonuses, leading Democratic lawmakers to question what she did to deserve such lavish rewards. “Given that the student loan programs became increasingly rife with conflicts of interest and unethical practices” during the four years Theresa Shaw served as chief operating officer of the Federal Student Aid office, “it is questionable whether these bonuses were justified,” House Education … Continue reading One Of These Days…