Cheney claims he didn't sleep through Chinese president's speech

Yeah, he was reading, he claims - with his eyes closed and head slumped. It is simply impossible for these people not to lie. Cheney owns the Chinese president an apology. Read More......

US Secretary of State Condi Rice alleged to have leaked sensitive defense information to pro-Israel lobbyist

Well, well, well. Interesting news, following on Bush having a CIA agent fired this week for doing the same thing, leaking. Is Condi going to be shown the door too now? Read More......

Friday Orchid Blogging

Ok, it's back. I took a few weeks off, and now have lots and lots more photos that I've taken of orchids recently. The photo above is taken at Fox Valley Orchids in suburban Chicago.

It's a great "boutique" orchid greenhouse, housed in the larger greenhouse owned by Hausermann's Orchids. Both are great places to visit, Hausermann's is ENORMOUS, with around 10 or more greenhouses connected together. Fox Valley Orchids is much smaller, but specializes in slipper orchids, the kind you see in the photo. They have REALLY good stuff. This visit tons of things in both greenhouses were in bloom. I'll be sharing more pics over the next few weeks.

Anyway, this photo is a mixture of a variety of paphs and phrags. These are in the "don't you dare touch them" section of the Fox Valley greenhouse, meaning, they're really REALLY nice plants. A division from that tallest plant in the front to the right (with the four soaring blooms), for example, is going for $750. You get the idea, VERY nice plants. I don't buy those :-)

Anyway, great place, and you can just wander for hours. You can also shop online at either place, Fox Valley is here, and Hausermann's is here. Read More......

Watch Pink sing "Dear Mr. President"

Watch an amazing performance by Pink singing "Dear Mr. President" at You Tube. You have to see it. Seriously. Read More......

Cliff's Corner

The Week That Was 4/21/06

Another week. More preposterousness to report.

I must begin by apologizing for the slightly abbreviated nature of my weekly update on that lovable group of lascivious, hypocritical, self-flagellating, Malkenesque bed-wetters known as today’s GOP. I only have My Pet Goat kinda time to spend on the column this week due to some other obligations, so please don’t take this to mean that the GOP hasn’t once again provided more ammunition than they’re willing to supply our troops with in Iraq.

This past week we witnessed a Washington shakeup of San Francisco 1906 proportions, for an administration that has lately only seen top aides leave via the local penitentiary when Target had appealing new cutlery to pocket. Or the click of a mouse brought with it the possibility of an exciting rendezvous with a lass who’d otherwise be curled up on the couch watching Rugrats reruns.

But when FoxNews is even telling a you that your approval rating is mired in a funk worse than those pools of salt and urea that line Scottie’s midriff during his daily lying sessions, well it’s certainly high time to get some new people to sell the same crappy policies that have historians already calling you the worst Commander-in-Chief EVER. To think Karl Rove was spending nights gazing at his exponentially increasing belly-button lint and demographic analyses that would supposedly lead to a Republican realignment. Well Karl, the only realignment now likely to occur will be in your posterior after shower-mopping duty at Leavenworth for your role in outing an undercover agent and lying about it (or in shorthand: treason).

Then you’ll really get to see why they call ‘em love handles Karl!

So Scotty is moving on now, maybe to help his GOP-bolting mother become Governor of Texas or his LBJ-smearing father write more books that apply the unassailable logic of a National Review dittohead-dweeb like Ramesh Ponnuru. Ponnuru likes to call Democrats "The Party of Death" (so scary) in books edited by Ben Domenech, while momentarily losing sight of the fact that it’s his party that dropped daisy cutters on Fallujah and slept through Katrina.

But think of the stem cells! Who will save the stem cells!!

Either way, they need a new liar, so why not call up one who worked for pop? Tony Snow, a 'Bush I' speechwriter, has become the lead candidate from what I’m hearing. Yet, after hosting FoxNews broadcasts and radio shows one wonders how he’ll be able to bring himself to dishonestly shill for The Decider.

And Rove, now a “subject” of Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation, will in the meantime stop concentrating on all his policy successes and move back to his role as the guy who makes-shit-up-to-scare-people-into voting for an incompetent band of lunatics. One wonders how he’ll adjust.

But at least they have the perfect guy for Rove’s replacement, another nostril-flaring inbreed known as Joel Kaplan. This dead ringer for Beaker helped foment the infamous “Bourgeois Riot” to shut down the recount in Miami-Dade County in 2000. He should fit in perfectly with this crowd, as that “riot,” which saw Tom DeLay’s aides pretend to fight for the little guy, when they were really “rioting” to line their pockets with lobbyists’ gifts and laundered money, also happens to be the credo of the current crew at the White House he’ll now concoct bullshit with until he inevitably joins them in a jumpsuit jamboree. Read More......

Open thread

How many lies has Bush told today? Read More......

CIA fires agent for doing same thing Bush, Rove and Libby did - leaking classified info to media

Funny that it's okay for George Bush, Karl Rove, and Scooter Libby to leak classified information to the media - information that was NOT yet declassified (that's a crime, thank you) - but when a CIA agent does the same thing to reveal that the US government is illegally spying on innocent American citizens, that leaker is fired.

Has that leaker been indicted? No. Arrested? Not that we know of. All we needed was the simple admission, and he was fired. Yet Karl Rove has been permitted to keep his job in the Bush White House for 2, or was it 3 years now, that the administration knew Karl and Scooter were the leakers, and they did NOTHING to correct the situation. They wouldn't fire Scooter until he was indicted (and Scooter was leaking false information to trick the American people to support a war!), and Karl Rove is STILL working for the Republicans, and likely out of the White House, running the fall elections, even though we now know for a fact that he leaked classified information to the media.

Then there's Bush authorizing the Scooter Libby leak even though he hadn't yet declassified the information. And let's not forget Bush's leak of classified information to Bob Woodward for his first post-9/11 book. Leaks are wonderful things in the Bush administration so long as they're not whistleblower leaks.

It's okay for George Bush, Karl Rove and Scooter Libby to leak and keep their jobs until they're indicted, but not someone who actually reveals illegal and immoral activities of the Bush administration.

Nice.

And they say it's just a coincidence the dictator of China is visting this week. Bush would make him proud. Read More......

ABC/AFP: Cheney fell asleep during Chinese president's talk

It's tough being evil. Condi's not looking any more awake. Maybe if the Bush administration slept less they'd do a better job taking on China, which is probably the biggest threat to the US in the long term. Read More......

Former top CIA officer in Europe: Bush cherry-picked intelligence to trick the American people into going to war in Iraq

Bush lied to the American people and then made a mess of the war. There is no reason to believe that he will act any differently with the upcoming war with Iran. Bush will lie about the situation to get Americans' support for the war, then Rumsfeld will plan and execute the war just as badly as he has the war in Iraq.

Same circus, same clowns.

Defintely watch this on 60 Minutes on Sunday.

A CIA official who had a top role during the run-up to the Iraqi war charges the White House with ignoring intelligence that said there were no weapons of mass destruction or an active nuclear program in Iraq.

The former highest ranking CIA officer in Europe, Tyler Drumheller, also says that while the intelligence community did give the White House some bad intelligence, it also gave the White House good intelligence — which the administration chose to ignore....

"[The source] told us that there were no active weapons of mass destruction programs," says Drumheller. "The [White House] group that was dealing with preparation for the Iraq war came back and said they were no longer interested. And we said 'Well, what about the intel?' And they said 'Well, this isn't about intel anymore. This is about regime change.' "

They didn't want any additional data from Sabri because, says Drumheller: "The policy was set. The war in Iraq was coming and they were looking for intelligence to fit into the policy."....

"It just sticks in my craw every time I hear them say it's an intelligence failure. … This was a policy failure. … I think, over time, people will look back on this and see this is going to be one of the great, I think, policy mistakes of all time," Drumheller tells Bradley.

Read More......

Hmmm....Fitzgerald's Grand Jury Meeting today

That's the word via Think Progress. Apparently, this little tidbit was first reported somewhat innocuously in ABC's "The Note":

The grand jury investigating the CIA leak is scheduled to meet at 9:30 am ET.

Remember, Atrios posted last night that MSNBC's Shuster was predicting Karl is heading towards an indictment. John had a post speculating about this very subject Wednesday night.

I know, I know....let's not get our hopes up.... Read More......

52% of Americans have no confidence in government's ability to handle flu outbreak

Given the Bush administration's massive failure with Katrina, it's amazing any American has confidence in their ability to deal with any potential crisis:

The U.S. government is stepping up inspection of migratory wild birds and poultry companies are testing nearly every flock for the first signs the virus has come. Federal officials have expressed confidence that they can keep the virus out of the human food chain if domestic flocks become infected.

Americans aren't so sure. In the poll, 52 percent said they were not confident the government would handle an outbreak properly; 48 percent were confident.

Read More......

Gas shortages begin, and of course they're blaming the enviros

I'm sorry, but considering these shortages started last year during the Katrina debacle, I'm having a hard time believing that six months later it's TOTALLY unrelated to Bush's incompetence, but instead it's those evil environmental regulations.

Yeah, sure. And I'm sure Bill Clinton is to blame as well. Read More......

Bush administration looking at charging Chinese dissident with a crime

The woman had the nerve - the nerve, I tell you - tell the Chinese dictator visiting Washington to stop the torture and the killing.

And for that the Secret Service is considering charging her with "intimidating a foreign official."

Yes. Great message to send to the Chinese. Bush tells them to welcome free speech, then moments later we threaten this women with jail for speaking out against China's horrible human rights record.

Maybe it's time for someone in China to speak out against our human rights record too. Read More......

Rove is all ugly politics all the time

EJ Dionne takes a look at Karl Rove today reminding us that all Rove ever does is politics -- all the time. Karl Rove got Bush re-elected and believed his own spin. He was going to re-define politics in America -- not anymore:

Rove never stopped being political, even when he had formal responsibility for policy. What's intriguing about the shift in the direction of Rove's energies is that it marks a turn from the high politics of a partisan realignment driven by ideas and policies to the more mundane politics of eking out votes, seat by seat and state by state. Most of Rove's grander dreams have died as the president's poll numbers have come crashing down.

Karl Rove has now helped get his boss all the way down to a 33% approval rating. That's even in the poll done by their very good friends and allies at Fox News. This, as Dionne points out, means the elections are going to get ugly -- really ugly. Rove and Bush are like wounded animals....they'll do anything to survive. The Democrats know it's coming:

Thus Rove's new electoral focus is an urgent administration priority. And given the unfavorable political terrain for the president, Rove's recipe this year, as in 2004, is likely to include a heavy dollop of attacks on the Democrats. Hold on for the new Swift Boaters, coming soon to your swing state. It's not the politics dreams are made of, but it often works.

The attacks can only work if the Democrats don't fight back. The only way to control Bush is with a Democratic Congress, Rove knows that and he'll throw everything he can at the Dems to prevent it. Maybe this time, instead of waiting for the Rove/Swift Boat attacks, the Dems. should go on the offensive and attack first. Just an idea. Read More......

To "support the troops," Senate bill cuts funding for their gear

"Support the troops" is a great slogan. But, as usual, with the GOP-led Congress, actions speak louder than words:

A Senate measure to fund the war in Iraq would chop money for troops' night vision equipment and new battle vehicles but add $230 million for a tilt-rotor aircraft that has already cost $18 billion and is still facing safety questions....To pay for the Ospreys, the Senate Appropriations Committee - guided by the Corps - cut into funding for night vision goggles, equipment for destroying mines and explosives, fire suppression systems for light armored vehicles and new vehicles that can be transported into battle inside the V-22.

This should be shocking. It's not. That whole "We're at war" mantra apparently doesn't actually mean providing equipment and resources to the soldiers who actually fighting the war. Read More......

Friday Morning Open Thread

Bush is still the President. Cheney is still the Vice President. Iraq is still a quagmire. Oh, but Harriet Miers might get canned....that'll change everything. Read More......

Nepal chaos continues

Another person has died in Nepal as a result of the king's order to shoot and kill protestors. Despite the threat and actions, protestors continue to come out and demand democracy and the end of the monarchy which previously enjoyed support from the West. After weeks of mass protests and questionable support from the police, the king's days may be numbered. It's bad enough having royal-like families in our own democracies but for any royal families to continue playing a role in any country, let alone ruling it, is so 19th century.

And still the protesters came, refusing to be cowed. "These are not protests any more. This is a revolution," said Harish Dhal, a demonstrator. "We don't want a monarchy. We want real democracy."

To stop the mass rallies called by the democratic opposition, the King had ordered a curfew across central Kathmandu. Determined to go ahead with the rallies, protesters began streaming into the suburbs of Kathmandu, gathering at the edge of the curfew zone in six or seven meeting places.

Even among the police who were keeping the protesters at bay, there was precious little support for the King. "The police are very tired," said a senior officer commanding the barricades. "Do the police support the King? That is a very difficult question for me to answer. Some do. As for the rest of us, well, you can guess."

Read More......

Oil at $73.50 in trading

Uh, what ever happened to the jaw-boning? I guess that's a bit tricky when you are part of the problem. Read More......

Bush's FDA lies about medical benefits of marijuana

Seriously, enough of the Soviet style misinformation.

I'm sorry if far-right Republicans can't handle the fact that people with cancer and AIDS actually do benefit from smoking medicinal marijuana. But Jesus, people, do you have to just outright lie about the science because it doesn't fit neatly into your puritan plan for America?

It's called science, you freaks. It doesn't change, it doesn't go away, simply because it makes you uncomfortable. It's not about you. It's about objective facts. Is this what you people teach your children? Lie your way to heaven?

George Bush needs to get off his jihad and back to trying to help the country.

The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that "no sound scientific studies" supported the medical use of marijuana, contradicting a 1999 review by a panel of highly regarded scientists....

The Food and Drug Administration statement directly contradicts a 1999 review by the Institute of Medicine, a part of the National Academy of Sciences, the nation's most prestigious scientific advisory agency. That review found marijuana to be "moderately well suited for particular conditions, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and AIDS wasting."

Dr. John Benson, co-chairman of the Institute of Medicine committee that examined the research into marijuana's effects, said in an interview that the statement on Thursday and the combined review by other agencies were wrong.

The federal government "loves to ignore our report," said Dr. Benson, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. "They would rather it never happened."

Some scientists and legislators said the agency's statement about marijuana demonstrated that politics had trumped science.

Read More......

Open thread

I'm off to bed. Read More......

Harriet Miers may get the axe

From Supreme Court nominee to knife in the back. So much for the famed Bush loyalty.

Mr. Bolten is said by a number of Republicans in Washington to feel that Ms. Miers is indecisive, a weak manager and slow in moving vital paperwork through the system.

Not to mention, uh, the woman was Bush's Supreme Court pick. We're now to believe, six months later, that she's indecisive and weak? So, that would make Bush an incompetent idiot for appointing her to the Supreme Court, no? I can't wait for this one. Read More......