Live from DC, it's Saturday Night Open Thread!

And if my cable actually received NBC well, I'd be watching SNL... Read More......

SF Chronicle blasts Bush over Downing Street Memo

This is good.

Americans deserve to have a more intensive investigation and expansive explanation to the extremely serious allegation that their government "fixed" intelligence to justify a pre-emptive war. The White House wants to dismiss it as "old news" and the Republicans who control both houses of Congress assume they can shrug off the demands of a bloc of Democrats -- led by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich. -- for hearings on the Downing Street memo.

There should be no statute of limitations -- or shortness of public attention span -- on an issue that cuts to the core of this government's integrity and credibility. Congress must fully investigate the actions in Washington that led the highest officials in Great Britain to be convinced that the Bush administration was hell-bent on war and working to concoct a rationalization for it.

Read More......

Here's an idea for Donna Brazile: Don't talk to the press

Okay, this is rich. In the AP story about Howard Dean, this appears:

"Privately, people have said they don't want Howard Dean to become the story because we have more important issues to talk about," said Donna Brazile, who managed Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000.

"But publicly we will continue to give Howard Dean our strong support," she said.

Here's a thought for Donna. If people are saying things privately, and you tell the press, well, they are not private anymore. And you feed the story. You get your name in the paper, but it doesn't really help.

So how about this, Donna.....Don't talk to the press about what people are saying privately. Maybe, just maybe, it would be better to not say anything. Howard Dean became the story because leading Democrats talked to the press, just like you did today. There are a lot of things that people say and do privately that should be kept private. And for most of us, there is no distinction between public and private when it comes to supporting an aggressive, hard hitting and pro-active DNC Chair. Read More......

Hallelujah, he's been CURED!

The latest on the 54 year old GOP mayor of Spokane who enjoys the company of teenage man-boys.

Spokane Mayor Jim West said he's found a new relationship with God and has redoubled his effort to manage the city in a new e-mail made public on Friday.

Wonder if he met "God" in a chatroom.

I've decided to fill the emptiness in my life that I was trying to fill through other means with a relationship with God. I'm reading a proverb and three psalms a day and am attending church on a regular basis for the first time in my life and it's been wonderful and I've felt very welcomed. I also meet weekly with a few pastors and they are very supportive.

Oh, I'm sorry, that's very nice and all, but gag me. This man has yet to come clean with what he's done, and we're to believe he's a-okay because he just found God.

"My private life is my private life," he said on Friday.

Uh, no it's not. You didn't think OUR private life was so private when you tried to repeatedly legislate against it, including supporting legislation to fire gay state employees. Funny, but OUR private life wasn't so private to you back then. But now that everyone knows you're a fag too, suddenly you're Mr. Private Life King of the World. Well, bite me.

I for one would like to know why something you've been publicly legislating against for decades is now suddenly someone's "private life" that is no one's business? And, if you thought gays weren't fit to be state employees, why is one fit to be a city employee of Spokane? Answer the question. And note to Spokane press: ASK the question. Read More......

Open thread

Off to go be proud with Joe in DC Read More......

African Union demanding end to cotton and agriculture subsidies

Uh oh, who forgot that the US and EU only like free trade when it means they are able to freely give subsidies to their farmers? Oh dear, I see trouble ahead on this one. Western leaders love to talk about free trade and demand that poor countries "pick themselves up with their bootstraps, blah, blah, blah" but the reality is we're shoveling out so much welfare for farmers, often multi-multi millionaire farmers who in the US just happen to vote Republican, I don't see our flowery talk matching actions. Who really thinks that the GOP will abandon those wealthy farmers in the US and I don't see the French government backing off their own subsidies either.

Agriculture is one of the leading possibilities for African trade yet the US and EU have shown limited interest in helping Africa pick itself up and actively participate in trade. Live 8 is a great start to getting serious about the problems in Africa and even though the money will be limited, it's an important project to raise awareness of the daily problems. The challenge will be continuing the debate and maintaining the pressure on the west to truly open up trade and end the neo-colonial structures that continues to exist in Africa. Read More......

Hey Kool-Aid!

This guy clearly forgot to drink his.

"I know the party line. You know, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Army, five-star generals, four-star generals, President Bush, Donald Rumsfeld: The Iraqis will be ready in whatever time period," said 1st Lt. Kenrick Cato, 34, of Long Island, N.Y., the executive officer of McGovern's company, who sold his share in a database firm to join the military full time after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "But from the ground, I can say with certainty they won't be ready before I leave. And I know I'll be back in Iraq, probably in three or four years. And I don't think they'll be ready then."

"We don't want to take responsibility; we don't want it," said Amar Mana, 27, an Iraqi private whose forehead was grazed by a bullet during an insurgent attack in November. "Here, no way. The way the situation is, we wouldn't be ready to take responsibility for a thousand years."

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DNC Members: We don't want a "wimp"

Democrats defending Dean, what a concept. At least someone gets that Dean is doing EXACTLY what he should be doing...and of course, the people who do, aren't based in DC. From Reuters:

Democratic National Committee leaders embraced feisty party boss Howard Dean on Saturday and urged him to keep fighting despite a flap over his blunt comments on Republicans.

After a meeting of the DNC's 40-member executive committee at a downtown hotel, members said Dean was doing exactly what they elected him to do -- build the party in all states and aggressively challenge Republicans.

``I hope Governor Dean will remember that he didn't get elected to be a wimp,'' said DNC member Gilda Cobb-Hunter, a South Carolina state representative. ``We have been waiting a long time for someone to stand up for Democrats.''

Amen to that, Gilda. Read More......

Army Bonuses: Up To $40,000 and Counting

This is getting ridiculous. Our men and women in uniform deserve only the best, but the quagmire of Iraq (created by Bush) is forcing our military to up the ante substantially so that our "all volunteer" military starts to look more and more like paid mercenaries. Now the Army is offering bonuses up to $40,000 for certain jobs, not to mention up to $50,000 in home mortgage help. All you have to do is sign up for eight years. And heck, since the people who only signed up for four years have to keep serving anyway thanks to a backdoor draft, what's the big deal?

Bush is truly damaging our long-term safety by abusing the very nature of the National Guard and Reserves, betraying our troops by not keeping our promises to them (in equipment, safety, tour of duty length, etc.) and turning recruitment into a desperate cash bonanza.

What Bush isn't doing: pushing for more permanent troops, pushing for better benefits for the National Guard and reservists, or even pretending there's an exit strategy for Iraq (where our troops will be mired for a good decade or more, according to his people).

What Bush is doing: spending millions to root out desperately needed gay and lesbian soldiers willing to fight and die for their country, lowering standards by accepting older recruits as officers and looking the other way when it comes to past "minor" crimes. Inspiring, isn't it? Read More......

A Failing Presidency

Can we finally start calling it what it is? AP has the latest numbers and this tidbit:

While Bush has gotten generally low scores for his handling of domestic issues for many months, Americans have been more supportive of his foreign policy. Not any more.

Failing on domestic policy, failing on foreign policy. What else is there?

The American people seem to have clued in that the Bush administration's second term is a disaster. It's hard to understand why the mainstream media and so many Democrats stand in awe of the guy. They impute power and authority to him that he just doesn't have.

Clearly, Rove and the GOP don't know how to handle being in this position. They expect to be calling all the shots and nothing is going their way.

Now's the time to step up the pressure. Read More......

Open thread

Another humid day in dc... Read More......

Debt Relief For Africa: $40 Billion And Counting

The Group of 8 major industrialized countries have agreed to cancel debt for 18 of the world's poorest countries -- at a total of $40 billion -- with more than 20 other countries likely eligible if they can beat down corruption and prove the money won't be wasted. The more governments involved, the harder it will be for the US to weasel out or change the rules midstream as it did with the flase promise to fight AIDS with $15 billion in money. (Actually, what Bush did there was HURT the fight against AIDS by defunding groups that were already in place and making progress, politicize the money being sent, simply drag its feet on sending money, etc.) Now we have to make sure Bush keeps his word.

Some major points:

The money won't be wasted -- Any time you try to feed starving children in Africa, Bush and the far right insist the money will be wasted by corrupt governments and military dictatorships. (They never make this argument when sending aid to the corrupt government of Saudi Arabia or the military dictatorship of Pakistan, of course.) Now Bush has acknowledged that there are dozens of countries that meet HIS standards for responsible governance. Plus, there are many forms of aid (like funding vaccination programs) that can be administered by international groups rather than local governments.

Bush wasn't able to play games -- This is real debt relief, though Bush's empty proposal was initially to take money already targeted for aid and simply divert it to debt relief. (In other words, if you were sending $1 billion in aid, instead of feeding the hungry, you'd pay off debt and leave the government to catch the shortfall, making it a zero sum game.)

Bush will be WASTING OUR MONEY if he doesn't follow through on the rest of Blair's plan -- This is an important deal, but it will be an empty gesture if we don't tackle Africa on every level by doubling aid and lowering trade barriers. If you pay off someone's credit card but refuse to let them get a job, they'll just sink right back into crippling debt. Read More......

MSM: Pay no attention to Iraq....focus on Dems. attacking Dean

Chris notes below that when viewed through the Bush/Cheney prism, the insurgency in Iraq is really showing more signs of collapse. The NY Times reports:

Five Marines were killed when their vehicle struck a bomb in western Iraq, the U.S. military said Friday, as leaders of Iraq's various ethnic groups intensified their dispute over who will write the nation's new constitution.

Meanwhile, back in America, the Washington Post writes:

The Army announced yesterday that it missed its recruiting goal for the fourth consecutive month, a deepening manpower crisis that officials said would require a dramatic summer push for recruits if the service is to avoid missing its annual enlistment target for the first time since 1999.

But, the only real news is that Dems. are attacking Howard Dean. Read More......

Ahnold caves in...returns his tainted Ohio Money

The daily dose from today's Toledo Blade is that even the mighty Terminator succumbed to the pressure over the Ohio Coin-gate scandal. The article gives a very good summary of who got how much from Ohio GOP fundraiser Tom Noe:

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has decided it's better, on second thought, not to keep $10,000 donated to his campaign by Maumee rare-coin dealer Tom Noe.

Last week, Mr. Schwarzenegger's chief fund-raiser said the governor planned to keep the donation but yesterday, a campaign adviser to the governor reversed course, saying he has ordered the money be returned.

The actor-turned-governor joins President Bush, the Republican National Committee, and at least 17 Ohio officials returning contributions, including U.S. Sens. George Voinovich and Mike DeWine as well as all three GOP candidates for governor: Attorney General Jim Petro, Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, and Auditor Betty Montgomery, who have given back a total of $17,100.

Gov. Bob Taft has returned the most, $22,190, while Mr. Bush returned $4,000 and the RNC $2,000. Five GOP justices on the Ohio Supreme Court said they, too, will identify and set aside campaign contributions from the Noes.

Mr. Noe and his wife, Bernadette, have contributed more than $200,000 to candidates, political parties, and political action committees in the past 15 years.

Bush still has over $100,000 raised by Noe (a beloved Bush Pioneer who was very close to Karl Rove). That money is currently the subject of a grand jury. This Noe scandal entangles the GOP hierarchy in Ohio and beyond....and his scandal just keeps plugging along. Read More......

Saturday Morning Open Thread

Taking my dog out for a walk....what's going on? Read More......

Mugabe pulling out new military equipment

Mugabe has a new stash of military equipment thanks to a recent deal with the Chinese government who seems to have no problem selling tools of respression to one of the leading thugs and violators of human rights in the world. I would like to see the topic of arms sales be included in any serious discussion (along with real free trade) about the future of Africa because whether it is China, the US, UK, France, Germany, or any other weapons producing country, this is a big part of the problem in Africa. Criminals such as Mugabe have no problem taking government money and spending it on weapons while the population is starving as is the case with this recent deal.

One strange excerpt in the linked story is where Zimbabwe troops put "UN" signs on their troop carriers even though it's clear that they are Zim troops. Bizarre. Read More......

Iraq insurgency continues to crumble

Ten dead and twenty seven wounded in a car bomb attack this morning. I don't know about you but I'm just glad we have a president who knows how to level with the American public and tell us the truth. Read More......