Saturday night

Anyone around? Just got in, myself. Read More......

DeLay's raising BIG BUCKS for his Defense Fund

So DeLay is raising lots of money for his legal defense fund according to The New York Times:

A legal defense fund established by Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, has dramatically expanded its fund-raising effort in recent months, taking in more than $250,000 since the indictment last fall of two his closest political operatives in Texas, according to Mr. DeLay's latest financial disclosure statements.

The list of recent donors includes dozens of Mr. DeLay's House Republican colleagues, including two lawmakers who were placed on the House ethics committee this year, and several of the nation's largest corporations and their executives.

Among the corporate donors to the defense fund is Bacardi U.S.A., the Florida-based rum maker, which has also been indicted in the Texas investigation, and Reliant Energy, another major contributor to a Texas political action committee formed by Mr. DeLay that is the focus of the criminal inquiry. Groups seeking an overhaul of Congressional ethics rules have long complained that companies might seek the favor of powerful lawmakers by contributing to their legal defense funds.

Someone knows he's in BIG trouble. Does the word "corrupt" come to mind? It's not like we don't know that there are no ethical standards under DeLay's leadership, but this fundraising just reeks of conflicts. Two new members of the Ethics Committee have already given him money? I'm sure that had nothing to do with them getting that assignment.

Don't Bacardi and Reliant have anyone in their companies with an ounce of ethical sense? For Christ sakes, they were already indicted for their relationship with DeLay.

This is the "Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely" Congress under the able leadership of Tom DeLay. Read More......

More pundit scandal, this time in CA

Oh Ahnuld. Read More......

Open thread

Lazy Saturday Read More......

And the GannonGuckert cartoons keep coming

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Read More......

Bush appoints Karen Hughes as head of public diplomacy at State Dept

So I read the first paragraph and go "that's interesting":

President Bush will nominate one of his closest longtime advisers to a key State Department post in an effort to help repair the United States' image abroad, especially in the Arab world, a senior administration official said Saturday.

Then I read the last line of the story:

The post has been vacant since last summer.

Last summer? They left this job open for 9 months? A job that is key to rebuilding our image around the world and especially in the Arab world? And they leave it open for almost a year? And does the MSMreporter ask the administration the obvious question : WHY this doesn't show a lack of interest in public diplomacy by this administration?

No. Read More......

Saturday Morning Open Thread

It's the weekend....what's up? Read More......

GOP continues to make voting more difficult

The Georgia Senate voted along party lines to remove 12 of 17 potential forms of ID for voting. Their argument is that they want to reduce voting fraud so you must have a valid photo ID and you are no longer able to use a Social Security card or a birth certificate. That's interesting because in order to receive a drivers license or a US passport those forms of ID are completely valid yet to vote in Georgia they're now useless. If they are afraid of voting fraud perhaps they should have included something in the bill that would provide free and easy registration for a photo ID. Then again, the GOP never seems all that interested in voting rights in the US. Read More......

Dearest Tom "I didn't do it" DeLay caught up in yet another travel scandal

I sure hope his friends in Congress are primed and ready to go to clear him of any wrong doing yet again because it looks like they might be busy this year. This guy looks like he's the king of boondoggles. We have $13,000 transportation to Korea, rounds of golf at St. Andrews and who knows what else. A real hired gun. Read More......

GOP unable to locate possile cuts for farmers despite lavish handouts

We're talking about mega-corporate farmers here. The old family farmers are such a thing of the past and these farmers have truly been living off of the fat of the land. As we might have guessed Congress won't allow any changes to their handouts but instead, they are now looking into those get-rich-quick from food aid folks. Uh huh, those food aid people are really living a life of luxury so why not take them down? Read More......