That's Right

I have the TV on in the background (no Red Sox game tonight) and I hear "Lou Dobbs, sponsored by Loon Esta".

It's actually called Lunesta, but Loon is more appropriate for Hate-the-brown-people Loon Dobbs.

MSNBC has been taken off my cable system, and I won't get it back until I upgrade to digital cable. I am forced to watch CNN for news.

Most of the anchors on CNN are not very smart. Oh, let's just say it: Most of them are stupid. Stupendously stupid. Unredeemedly stupid. A mile wide and an inch deep stupid.

The good thing is, I'm watching less TV news, because I can't stand the stupid.

McCain: We Are a Nation of Whiners Who Won't Pick Lettuce for $50 an Hour

McMansions made these remarks to a gathering of union members in 2006:

Read Liberally

wikipedia: Pear, still-life by Keaton Cooper

Have you heard about Postville, Iowa? The story came out because of this essay (pdf file) by Erik Camayd-Freixas, Ph.D., who was employed by ICE (Immigrations and Customs Enforcement) as an interpreter at the raid of Agriprocessors, Inc., in Postville. ICE went in and charged hundreds of hard-working undocumented workers with the "crime" of working without the proper papers, and forced them into jail for months before they are deported. Jail time we taxpayers will pay for. Formerly such individuals would just be deported immediately. ICE is just trying to justify the enormous amounts of money we have pumped into our ridiculous Homeland Security agency. And of course ICE didn't go after the owners who are making money by destroying formerly middle class jobs and making illegal immigrants into the peasants of today.

Digby reminds us that Jimmy Carter was right. The Republicans jumped all over him 30 years ago for daring to say we need to break our dependence on foreign oil and conserve. And look where we are now. In 1979 the average price of a gallon of gas was $.86 cents. When Bush took office, it was $1.44. Today the average price is $4.12. And Bush wants to drill more as a solution. Moron. There isn't enough oil offshore to affect the price of oil one bit.

You could call the Bush era The Squander Years. What hasn't he done wrong? It's a very short list.

All those bailouts of Wall Street firms? They love capitalism until they've bankrupted their companies, then they love socialism. Why are we bailing out these crooks and letting them keep their ill-gotten gains?

The Bushies are making another end-run against reproductive rights. They're trying to change rules so all health organizations that receive federal funds must hire workers even if they oppose birth control. (so a hospital couldn't fire a nurse or a pharmacist who refused to tell teenage patients about birth control, for example.) Tristero at Hullabaloo explains it all, with a NSFW headline that is entirely accurate.

For you haiku and limerick buffs, check out firedoglake's Ted Stevens Poetry Contest!

My entries:

Ted Toobz in winter
Free renovations cause fall
Contemplates prison

Ted’s twilight years
Marred by thoughts
Of maximum security retirement plan

Ted Stevens regrets
His bridge to nowhere
No Toobz in jail for Ted.

My favorite, submitted by Ripley:

Toobz abandon Ted
Indictments fall like snowflakes
Midnight sun has set

This Will Make Some Wingnut Heads Explode

LATimes: Guatemalan women kick aside constraints in the U.S.
Soccer, a frowned on activity in their home country, becomes a passion.

Women from countries where women are denied opportunities, given the chance, love to play soccer! And many of the women in this article are undocumented workers, a group the right loves to revile.

Watch the slideshow "Eager to play futbol" on the left sidebar of the article. It's awesome.

Happy Father's Day, David Ortiz, Citizen

Or as Jonathan Papelbon calls him, "The Large Father". As of last week, he is "Citizen Papi".

Boston Globe Photo Gallery: David Ortiz becomes a US citizen

ProJo: David Ortiz a new U.S. citizen

Huckleberry Huckabee Leads National Polls

Republicans really are desperate. Nutjob Mike Huckabee is leading the national polls.

LATimes: Huckabee does a flip-flop on Cuba

Five years ago, in favor of ending embargo on Cuba trade. This week, embargo away! Last week, favored education for illegal immigrants in Republican debate. This week, wants them all deported within 120 days. Sounds practical to me. I think he could start with Mitt Romney's yard workers.

And he's a religious fanatic. This is a quote from Huckabee in 1998: "I hope we answer the alarm clock and take this nation back for Christ."

I mean, Jesus H. Christ, He did sign the Declaration of Independence, didn't He? (I am reliably informed of his participation in the events of 1776 by White House Hostess With the Mostest Press Secretary Dana Perino, with her encyclopedic knowledge of American history.)

dailykos: Top 10 Moments in Mike Huckabee's Extremism (Go to the post for an individual write-up of each moment)

1. Huckabee Calls for the Quarantine of AIDS Victims
2. Huckabee Enables the Politically-Motivated Parole of Repeat Rapist/Murderer
3. Huckabee Offers Faith-Based Pardons
4. Huckabee Undermines the Teaching of Evolution
5. Huckabee Speaks for God
6. Huckabee Speaks to God
7. Huckabee Claims God Behind His Rise in the Polls
8. Huckabee Proclaims His Theology Degree a Unique Qualification to Fight Terrorism
9. Huckabee Flip-Flops, Calls for Federal Abortion Ban
10. Huckabee Calls for Consumption Tax, Abolition of the IRS

Globe Nails Mittwit On Immigration Hypocrisy

Our beloved Mittwit, the blowdried wonder (aka Slick Willard) today fired the lawn company that keeps up his palatial estate in Belmont, Massachusetts. This is the very same company that The Mittwit employed in December of 2006, when the Boston Globe published an article exposing the fact that The Mittwit's lawn company employed undocumented Guatamelan immigrants.

And today the Globe revisited that story. Guess what? Same company mowing Mitt's lawn, cleaning Mitt's pool, once again employing undocumented immigrants.

Romney, who's been bleating against illegal immigration on the stump for the last year and half, immediately fired the company he'd continued to employ for almost two years after finding out that their workers were undocumented.

I love the smell of hypocrisy in the evening.

What's In a Name?

This New York Times article has a nifty graphic that lets you see how common your last name is. I'm in the 3000s; of every 100,000 people, 4 will have my last name.

Of course, the point of the article is that are a lot more people of Hispanic origin in this country, which is why all this anti-immigration hysteria by the party of the white males is going to redound against them some day. Unless the Democrats are stupid enough to take the advice of the Democratic consultants, Hispanics should be solidly in the Democratic column.

NYTimes: In U.S. Name Count, Garcias Are Catching Up With Joneses

Outsourcing Middle Class Jobs

This video is a Pittsburgh law firm's seminar for its clients on how to hire immigrants on green cards -- for jobs Americans would take, at higher wages.

Jill at Brilliant at Breakfast has this to say:

As someone who has watched a spouse go through a number of job searches, plowing through ads with long lists of requirements for completely unrelated skills that no one person can possibly have, it's been clear to me that job recruiting is done with the clear goal of NOT finding qualified American workers, so that H-1Bs can be hired instead.

Youtube: Fake Job Ads defraud Americans to secure green cards for immigrants

Immigration attorneys from Cohen & Grigsby explains how they assist employers in running classified ads with the goal of NOT finding any qualified applicants, and the steps they go through to disqualify even the most qualified Americans in order to secure green cards for H-1b workers. See what Bush and Congress really mean by a "shortage of skilled U.S. workers." Microsoft, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, and thousands of other companies are running fake ads in Sunday newspapers across the country each week.

Action Alert: Stop the National ID Card

UnrealID.com: Papers, Please!
We have less than two days to stop a national ID card from becoming reality.

The US Senate is trying to force states to adopt a National ID card: it's time to stop them. As part the debate on immigration legislation, the states will be forced to become REAL ID compliant.

States have strongly resisted this unfunded federal mandate – one that the Department of Homeland Security expects to cost more that $23 billion or almost $100 per license holder. Seventeen states have said 'no' to REAL ID – labeling it invasive, un-American, costly and an invitation to identity theft. They know it will force citizens to stand in long lines for licenses and endure numerous hassles looking for documents like birth certificates.

Now instead of listening to the states, the US Senate is trying to force them to comply through the back door. As part of immigration legislation being considered next week in the Senate, an employment verification system will be created that requires everyone to have a REAL ID in order to get a job.

There is still hope. There are two amendments that will remove REAL ID from the Senate immigration bill: take action now.

>> Click Here to Fax your Senators...

hat tip to Boing Boing.

News Round-Up, Monday, May 21, 2007

flickr

McClatchy (formerly Knight-Ridder) has an important article on the success Karl Rove and his minions have had in suppressing legitimate votes, all in the name of faux voter fraud.

ThinkProgress: TSA Confiscates Congressman’s Last Meal During Food Stamp Challenge Stupid, stupid TSA liquids rules. Did they think Congressman Ryan was going to blow up the plane with a jar of peanut butter? I can't wait until saner minds prevail. The confiscation of liquids is just as stupid as the 15 years that we endured the Lockerbie questions. (Did you pack your own bag? Has your bag been out of your possession at any point? Has anyone unknown to you asked you to carry anything? Arrgh.)

Great anti-war piece in the Chicago Sun-Times: Bring troops home now (hat tip, Suburban Guerrilla)

TalkLeft: Here Come The Detention Camps: Immigration Legislation No wonder George W. Bush supported the new immigration compromise legislation; it lets him build more gulags.

Brilliant at Breakfast: Why can't a First Lady have a career? Michelle Obama has left her job at a Chicago hospital.

Best health care system in the world, my ass: The LA Times reports the heartbreaking story of a woman who was allowed to die writhing in pain in a hospital ER in Los Angeles County. They had told her to leave and call her own doctor in the morning.

The Boston Globe reports on the resuscitation of a (southern hemisphere, really lost) albatross that was found in a field in Maine.

The WaPo discovers left blogtopia; better late to the party than never, I guess.

Tell Your Mama 'Bout O'Bama

"I've got pieces of everybody in me," Obama has acknowledged. (Orlin Wagner - AP)

No wonder I like Obama so much. He's one of my people! O'Bama it is.

WaPo: Tiny Irish Village Is Latest Place to Claim Obama as Its Own

MONEYGALL, Ireland -- Here they call him O'Bama.

Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, Democratic candidate for president, is the talk of this village because recently unearthed records indicate that he is a son of Moneygall.

Stephen Neill, a local Anglican rector, said church documents he has found, along with census, immigration and other records tracked down by U.S. genealogists, appear to show that Obama's great-great-great-grandfather, Fulmuth Kearney, was reared in Moneygall, then left for America in 1850, when he was 19.

Homeland Security: Tearing Nursing Babies From Their Mothers' Arms

An employee cries outside the Michael Bianco Inc. textiles plant in New Bedford, Mass., Tuesday, March 6, 2007. About two thirds of the company's 500 employees were detained by immigration officials on suspicion of being in the U.S. illegally. The sweep caused chaos which saw some workers try to flee, only to be turned back by the bitter cold, said Bruce Foucart, Customs Enforcement Special Agent in Charge. (AP Photo/Peter Pereira-The New Bedford Standard Times)
Yesterday Homeland Security arrested allegedly illegal immigrant workers (mostly women) in New Bedford, Mass. and, presuming them guilty, shipped dozens of them to Texas, without any apparent thought to what would happen to their children. Two nursing babies were hospitalized for dehydration. Babies! What is wrong with these zealots?

[Massachusetts Governor] Patrick, at a press conference, and later in a private conference call with Homeland Security officials, protested the decision to fly 90 of the detained workers from Massachusetts to Harlingen, Texas, before state social workers had a chance to inquire about their child-care needs, potentially leaving many children with inadequate care. Two young children were hospitalized yesterday for dehydration after their nursing mothers were taken away, state officials said. Another 7-year-old girl called a state hot line seeking her detained mother. It was unclear last night where their mothers were.

Of course, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division of DHS, which carried out the raids, is led by the unqualified, crony appointee, Julie Myers, who is both daughter of former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard B. Myers, and wife of the chief of staff for Homeland Security's criminally incompetent Michael Chertoff. Nice work, Heckuva-Jobbers.

What do you think happened to the owners, who were breaking the law by employing illegal immigrants, creating fraudulent documents for those workers, making profits, and defrauding the federal government which had contracted with them to make vests for soldiers? You got it if you guessed they were charged, made bail, and released to spend the night at home in the comfy houses with their families.

"HAS ANYONE seen my wife? She left for work yesterday and never came home. Our newborn baby is hungry and crying. Can someone please help?" asks a young father in the basement of a crowded church, one clear voice above the din of the hundreds gathered. The fear is palpable in the young man's eyes. He implores the listener to offer solace, hope, and encouragement.

[]

On Tuesday, more than 500 armed homeland security officers descended upon Michael Blanco Inc. The owner of the factory, and a few of his senior staff, were arrested for hiring undocumented workers and creating false documents. They were out on bail and home with their families that night.

Approximately 350 employees, mostly mothers with young children, were swept up in the raid, shackled together in groups of three by their wrists and ankles and marched to buses bound for Fort Devens, 100 miles away. Without any legal representation or due process, these workers were asked for their immigration documentation and encouraged by immigration officers to choose voluntary deportation regardless of whether an immigration application was in process.

Governor Hypocrite

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at the Republican Governors Association conference, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006, in Miami. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)Halo supplied by AP, not God.
Maybe I should start calling the Mittwit "The Mittocrite". Or maybe just Mitt, the lawn man. He's not going to be President. His position on illegal immigration seems to be, Keep those illegal immigrants out. Except the ones who do the grounds of my estate.

Boston Globe: Illegal immigrants toiled for governor
Guatemalans say firm hired them

As Governor Mitt Romney explores a presidential bid, he has grown outspoken in his criticism of illegal immigration. But, for a decade, the governor has used a landscaping company that relies heavily on workers like these, illegal Guatemalan immigrants, to maintain the grounds surrounding his pink Colonial house on Marsh Street in Belmont.

The Globe recently interviewed four current and former employees of Community Lawn Service with a Heart, the tiny Chelsea-based company that provides upkeep of Romney's property. All but one said they were in the United States illegally.

The employees told the Globe that company owner Ricardo Saenz never asked them to provide documents showing their immigration status and knew they were illegal immigrants.

"He never asked for papers," said Rosales, who said he had paid smugglers about $5,000 to take him across the US-Mexican border and settled in Chelsea.

The workers said they were paid in cash at $9 to $10 an hour and sometimes worked 11-hour days.

Romney never inquired about their status, they said.

greetings from frankfurt

coach mom and i arrived in frankfurt germanz on fridaz.

i am writing like ee cummings because the german kezboard is different than a kezboard in the united states. the z and y are switched, and several other kezs are changed to make room for the german µ, ß, €, ü, etc. the cap kez is hard to reach. so switch z for y and read on.

we arrived zesterdaz morning about 11:00 local time, 5:00 a.m. us time. we had slept on the flight, but not a lot. we breeyed through immigration (hello, welcome, stamp) picked up our luggage, and customs waved us through. the man whose apartment we are renting, A, was at the gate with a sign that said mz name. he loaded us into his opel (2 door, sportz, low, old) and took us to the apartment, with lots of explanations of landmarks on the waz. his brayilian girlfriend, B, was here at the apartment. thez gave us a quick tour then left us to rest up for a few hours. we puttered around a bit then slept.

the apt. is small but nice. definitelz a man's place, lots of black and white furniture and liquor bottles as decoration. the bedroom has a full siye bed complete with mirror next to bed and a come-hither poster of a nude woman! coach mom is sleeping in there. there is a big sectional in the living room. i slept there. the kitchen is small but verz german, everzthing in its place. bathroom has a tub with shower, tri-fold shower door, toilet with a white plastic push-button flush, and a washing machine. In the hallwaz he has two pictures: george w. bush and the pope. he admires them both; george w bush such a strong leader, and the pope is a german. we do not discuss politics or religion!

we also have a terrace that overlooks the street. we're on the fourth floor, above a block of restaurants. we're going to hang our flag from the terrace. there are flags in windows all over the citz. Our street is 4 or 5 blocks long but prettz busz. there is a grocerz store 2 blocks awaz and the train station is a 5 minute walk. 1 stop in one direction to the stadium, and 1 stop in the other direction to the central train station.

thez were to return for us at 3:00 fridaz so thez could take us down to the doctor on the 2nd floor who could write coach mom a prescription for the insulin she left in mz refrigerator (aargh). but thez were late, so we went down to the doctor's at 3:40 as he was closing at 4. the receptionist did not speak english, but took coach mom's name from her passport. the doctor saw us & he did speak some english. he wrote the prescription. A & B arrived at 4:00. thez took us to a pharmacz where we got the scrip after much translating. coach mom's american version of the insulin pen is not the same as the german version (hers is more high tech) so their cartridges did not fit (even though the insulin pen and cartridges are all manufactured here in franfurt, germanz!). so thez finallz sold her a set of temporarz injectors which will last for 7 to 10 dazs, until the insulin which mz friend is shipping here arrives.

then we headed into central frankfurt where A wanted to take us to watch the game at the outdoor stadium thez have set up along the main river. but we were too late to get in -- it was germanz plazing. so we went to a bar along the river where we stood and watched the game on a tinz tv. had a brat and a pils from the outdoor stands, delicious. exciting but poorlz plazed bz germanz -- thez should have killed them. we were verz verz tired. came back here, thez left. we went downstairs to the piyya parlor which had a huge screen & was emptz. ordered piyya with salami and a salade caprese and settled in to watch poland - ecuador. verz impressed with ecuador. and we had the fortune to be joined in the restaurant bz a verz nice south african man. he is here broadcasting the cup back to south africa - he is a presenter. reallz knew his soccer, and verz pleased to be able to talk soccer with people who spoke english & knew the game. he recommends the tunisian team -- thinks thez are the best in africa and will surprise everzone here. also sazs we should make plans to come to south africa for the 2010 cup (coach mom said, if i'm alive, to which he looked surprised), sazs south africa has a bad rap, johannesburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and one of the safest. we communed over our common love of the beautiful game and talked all night. i got his card as the game ended so we can correspond about 2010. he was broadcasting england - paraguaz todaz, i am so jealous.

slept well last night once i slowed down enough! we slept until 10:00. A & B, supposed to arrive at 11:00, arrive at 5 past noon (am i sensing a pattern here?) we had breakfast in the bakerz downstairs. the owner is turkish -- hasan. he has lived in germanz 30 zears. we talked about the turkish football team & how good thez were in 2002. bought a loaf of turkish bread. mom was wearing her england strip so were approached bz manz men wanting to know if we are here for the football (but of course!)

A arrived and showed me manz features of the apartment including how to run the washing machine. then we headed to the stadium ticket center to pick up mz tickets. but it was 1:30 alreadz and the england game was at 3:00 so it was too busz. we headed back to the train station nearest our apt. and A explained how to read the train schedule. we walked up to the platform and are now oriented to the station. then into the central trainstation. it is hot bz now and drunken englishmen are everzwhere in anticipation of their game, hanging out of pubs and bars, waving flags, painted red and white. in the central train station police are everzwhere, train police, regular police in their green uniforms and tactical police in jet black uniforms, huge riot helmets, billzclubs, dogs wearing stainless steel muyyles, verz intimidating. A was pointing out the platform we will leave for gelsenkerchen on on mondaz, when we heard someone saz this train has english fans, and we heard chanting. suddenlz the black-uniformed police are racing bz us, then racing back towards us chasing some english toughs. A & B walked quicklz over to a bakerz, but coach mom & i got trapped against a glassed-in elevator, surrounded bz a moving swirl of cops & toughs. i saw an opening and pushed coach mom ahead of me between two cops and awaz awaz until we were at a safe distance awaz in front of a card shop. it was scarz. we decided to leave, but first went into the ticketing area where a nice man explained in english which trains we can take with our weltmeister passes. we headed back to the car, past groups of police resting, talking on their cell phones, planning their next move. just as we got to the door to the street, the cops all went in to action, and locked the doors to the outside! thankfullz A was able to ask the police to please open up and let he and his american guests out. we were happz to get out of there! mz heart was beating fast.

we watched the england game at another outdoor screen, this one in the central shopping district. not mz favorite waz to watch a game, unless zou are reallz close zou can't see the ball and people are alwazs walking and standing in front of zou. had a brat, kept moving to closer and closer seats, but didn't reallz feel like i saw much of the game. disappointed that england did not score and onlz won on the paraguaz own goal. becks still looks good.

after game we looked for a converter to set up mz laptop to no avail. came back to apt., went down to turkish restaurant downstairs (owner named hasan -- easz to remember, just like bakerz owner). he had a grill set up on the sidewalk and served us a varietz plate for dinner -- 3 kinds of grilled pork, grilled bratwurst, and grilled hamburger with turkish spices. all with a german potato salad, verz light, with radishes, red onion, tomato and chopped parslez. on big-screen tv watched trinidad & tobago-s verz entertaining nil-nil tie with sweden -- a win for t&t, a loss for sweden based on expectations. A & B left. we came up, collapsed, watched argentina beat ivorz coast 2-1.

A is a character -- he is in his 40s, probablz close to mz age. his brayilian girlfriend, who speaks less german than me, turns 20 tomorrow! so he is speaking english, portugese and german when we are all together. he works in finance. points out everz bank to us. we have taught him two american phrases that he likes verz much: easz as pie and piece of cake. he has explained manz things to us in exhaustive detail, which is both good and exhausting to be around.

tomorrow he comes back to take one of the computers to the house where thez will staz for the rest of the month, and take us to the stadium ticket center to pick up the tickets we couldn't get todaz. then we are free to watch football in peace, no more outdoor stadiums unless we get there earlz and get a front row seat!

i have learned a few german phrases. we are here for the football -- wir wollen futball sehen!

keine ursache - zou're welcome

ich sprechc kein deutsch - i don't speak german

ok, tired, must go. remember, read z as y and vice versa and this will all make sense.

will report in again on wednesdaz. we are going to gelsenkirchen to see us ß czech republic tomorrow, and will see togo-korea here in frankfurt on tuesdaz, if togo shows up. their coach just quit and the team is threatening to go home if thez are not paid what thez want. let's hope thez staz, as we got 2nd row seats on the FIFA ticket resale portal. we will cheer for whichever team we are sitting with!

Bush Immigration Proposal': 'Horribly Over-Expensive and Very Difficult'

Michael Chertoff, the DHS director, 6 months ago during an appearance on Faux News:

TPM Muckraker: Chertoff: National Guard on the Border Would Be "Horribly Over-Expensive and Very Difficult"

"Why don't you put the National Guard on the border to back up the border patrol and stop the bleeding, and then start to increase the Border Patrol, the high-tech and all of that?" O’Reilly asked. . . .

"Well, the National Guard is really, first of all, not trained for that mission," Chertoff told O'Reilly. "I mean, the fact of the matter is the border is a special place. There are special challenges that are faced there."

Chertoff added that that it would take a huge amount of National Guard troops, that they would need new training. But couldn’t the National Guard pull it off, O'Reilly asked?

"I think it would be a horribly over-expensive and very difficult way to manage this problem," Chertoff said. "Unless you would be prepared to leave those people in the National Guard day and night for month after month after month, you would eventually have to come to grips with the challenge in a more comprehensive way."

In Rovespeak, Chertoff was against Bush's immigration reform before he was for it.

Operation Photo Op, George W. Bush Posturing on Immigration Edition

Commander Codpiece has a new war, the war on his falling poll numbers. The next front in that war, another war of choice, is the Mexican border. (Why not Canada? It has its own game already. Dead or Canadian? (Examples: Pierre Trudeau? Both! Steve Nash? Canadian.)

The next powerfully staged photo op of the Bush Administration's continuing series of powerfully staged photo ops takes place in the Oval Office tonight, on prime time television. It will lead to the next powerfully staged photo op, the sight of National Guard troops riding little ATVs on the Mexican border, brandishing M-16s and looking tough. Maybe Commander Codpiece will go to the border for his own powerfully staged photo op, wearing one of those weird semi-military jackets with the Presidential seal embroidered on the breast pocket.

But it's all a ruse. The real Border Patrol have been cut by the Bushies, so they can give tax cuts to millionaires.

Bush campaigned in 2004 on a pledge to hire 2,000 new Border Patrol agents each year for five years. But his '06 budget scrapped those plans and asked for only 210.

Grand Old Policeblotter, George W. Bush edition

Note to the Boston Globe: A person who disobeys federal law should be identified as a criminal.

Boston Globe: Bush challenges hundreds of laws
President cites powers of his office

WASHINGTON -- President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.

Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ''whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.

Legal scholars say the scope and aggression of Bush's assertions that he can bypass laws represent a concerted effort to expand his power at the expense of Congress, upsetting the balance between the branches of government. The Constitution is clear in assigning to Congress the power to write the laws and to the president a duty ''to take care that the laws be faithfully executed." Bush, however, has repeatedly declared that he does not need to ''execute" a law he believes is unconstitutional.

Things To Celebrate (And Not) This Week

May 1st:

Mission Accomplished Day
May Day (International Workers Day)
The Great American Boycott 2006 (Immigration Protest)


May 2nd:

David Beckham's birthday (too bad for England about all those broken metatarsals, huh?)


May 3rd:

World Press Freedom Day

On this date in 1957, Walter O'Malley moved the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles.


May 4th:

Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you! Think about it.)

36th anniversary of National Guard murder of 4 students at Kent State University

1886 Haymarket Riots


May 5th:

Pete Rose got his 3000th hit (did he bet on it?)

And, last but not least:

National Day of Celebration (Frogmarching Day)

Jason Leopold at truthout.org: Fitzgerald to Seek Indictment of Rove

Despite vehement denials by his attorney, who said this week that Karl Rove is neither a "target" nor in danger of being indicted in the CIA leak case, the special counsel leading the investigation has already written up charges against Rove, and a grand jury is expected to vote on whether to indict the Deputy White House Chief of Staff sometime next week, sources knowledgeable about the probe said Friday afternoon.

[]

In the event that an indictment is handed up by the grand jury it would be filed under seal. A press release would then be issued by Fitzgerald’s press office indicating that the special prosecutor will hold a news conference, likely on a Friday afternoon, sources close to the case said. The media would be given more than 24 hours notice of a press conference, sources added.

Booman Tribune: Frog-March Scheduled for Next Friday

Hopefully wherever I am on Friday, I'll be wearing a party hat and drinking champagne!

The Incompetence, The Corruption, The Cronyism: April 28, 2006 edition

I think Paul Krugman should have titled his column today "The Incompetence, the Corruption, and the Cronyism", but he called it The Crony Fairy (behind the TimesSelect wall; Middle Earth Journal has the column here.)

On the other hand, the history of the Bush administration, from the botched reconstruction of Iraq to the botched start-up of the prescription drug program, shows that a president who isn't serious about governing, who prizes loyalty and personal connections over competence, can quickly reduce the government of the world's most powerful nation to third-world levels of ineffectiveness.

And bear in mind that Mr. Bush's pattern of cronyism didn't change after Katrina. For example, he appointed Julie Myers, the inexperienced niece of Gen. Richard Myers, to head Immigration and Customs Enforcement — an agency that, like FEMA, is supposed to protect us against terrorism as well as other threats. Even at the C.I.A., the administration seems more interested in purging Democrats than in improving the quality of intelligence.

So let's skip the name change for FEMA, O.K.? The United States will regain effective government if and when it gets a president who cares more about serving the nation than about rewarding his friends and scoring political points. That's at least a thousand days away. Meanwhile, don't count on FEMA, or on any other government agency, to do its job.

I see the Bush MO for destroying government as follows:

The Corruption: Lie about your political aims (Compassionate Conservatism, Against Nation Building); cheat to get into office (Florida 2000; Ohio 2004)

The Cronyism: Reward friends and bagmen (Pioneers) with appointments (Michael Brown, Harriet Miers, Tom Ridge) to jobs they can screw up.

The Incompetence: Run federal agencies into the ground (FEMA, Army Corps of Engineers, EPA, OSHA).

Declare war and go home to reap the profits (probably to be employed in Iraq very soon.): Proclaim that government doesn't work, get lame members of Congress to support abolishing government agencies.


In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for. As for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican. H.L. Mencken