Evening Open Thread

Just watching last night's Daily Show again on TiVo to prepare for the new one tonight. Has anyone else from this administration opened fire on anyone today? You can bet that they wanted to if they watched the press briefing today (third item down on the page). Ouch. When Ari Fleischer is telling you that you suck, you must really suck.

Consider this an open thread... Read More......

The GOPers are cranky at Cheney

That's what the Washington Post is reporting:

Vice President Cheney's slow and unapologetic public response to the accidental shooting of a 78-year-old Texas lawyer is turning the quail-hunting mishap into a political liability for the Bush administration and is prompting senior White House officials to press Cheney to publicly address the issue as early as today, several prominent Republicans said yesterday.

The Republicans said Cheney should have immediately disclosed the shooting Saturday night to avoid even the suggestion of a coverup and should have offered a public apology for his role in accidentally shooting Harry Whittington, a GOP lawyer from Austin. Whittington was hospitalized Saturday night in Corpus Christi, Tex., and was moved back into the intensive-care unit after suffering an abnormal heart rhythm yesterday morning.

This is one of the first times Republicans have gone on the record bad-mouthing Cheney. They should be careful. We always knew Dick was dangerous. Now, we know he's armed and dangerous. Read More......

Cheney Apology Watch

Day 4 and Dick Cheney has yet to apologize for nearly killing a man this past Saturday. What exactly will it take for Cheney to apologize? His victim's death? Read More......

McClellan knew Whittington had heart attack and was in intensive care BEFORE his press briefing, but said nothing

ABC News just reported that White House spokesman Scott McClellan laughed today during his noon press briefing, and told the media it was "time to move on" to other matters than the shooting, we now know that McClellan already knew that Whittington had suffered a heart attack and was now back in intensive care. Yet McClellan refused to answer reporters' questions and tried to trivialize the issue.

Keep in mind that this is day 4 and Dick Cheney has yet to even apologize for nearly killing his friend.

This is day 4 and we're stilling hearing conflicting stories about whether VP Cheney bothered notifying the police AT ALL about this incident.

This is day 4 and we've still not been given any details as to whether it's been determined conclusively that alcohol didn't contribute to this incident.

This is day 4 and there still are conflicting reports as to whether President Bush was told that first day that the shooter was Dick Cheney.

And now, the White House is telling the media that they won't answer any more questions about the matter - it's up to the VP's staff to answer the questions.

Well, newsflash Scottie, we all know that Bush actually isn't the president and that it's really Cheney, but it gives us comfort to pretend that you guys are really in charge. So, when one of your employees almost kills a man, we'd like some answers.

Not to mention, if Whittington dies, you've got possible manslaughter charges involved. You can just brush those off by having the Secret Service turn the police away.

Had any normal American shot and nearly killed someone who is still in intensive care, the police would be all over the matter. Yet here all we know is that when the cops finally showed up to interview the VP, a day after the incident, they were turned away.

Then again, maybe that war resolution covered shooting your friends as well. Read More......

Cheney was more worried about spin than the truth

From the Washington Post:

The White House typically releases information immediately on incidents involving the president's personal life, such as bike-riding accidents, to avoid the appearance of covering up embarrassments. It is highly unusual, if not unprecedented, for the White House to allow a private citizen serve as its de facto spokesman.

But current and former aides said the White House rarely imposes its practices, especially on press matters, on Cheney. The vice president's office often operates autonomously in a manner that many top White House officials are reluctant to challenge.

In this case, Cheney worked with family members and former aide Mary Matalin on how to handle the fallout of the shooting accident, said a person close to the vice president who demanded anonymity to talk about internal discussions.

Yes, the reason no one found out about this for an entire day wasn't because Cheney was worried about his victim's health, it's because they were figuring out how to "handle" the incident the right way. Read More......

Has anyone seen Cheney's Hunting Application?

From The Smoking Gun:

In addition to the document's release, wildlife officials reported today that while Cheney had purchased a valid non-resident hunting license, he did not obtain a required "upland game bird stamp."

Just because they say it doesn't make us so. They say he had the license, has anyone seen the actual application? Who furnished that application? Has anyone requested an "official copy" of the application with a certification as to when it was submitted?

I'm just asking... Read More......

White House thinks the shooting is a big joke

As Chris notes below, Cheney shot his 78 year old victim in the heart and the guy also had a heart attack.

Over at the White House and across the Bush family, that's a big joke:

President Bush's spokesman quipped Tuesday that the burnt orange school colors of the University of Texas championship football team that was visiting the White House shouldn't be confused for hunter's safety wear.

"The orange that they're wearing is not because they're concerned that the vice president may be there," joked White House press secretary Scott McClellan, following the lead of late-night television comedians. "That's why I'm wearing it."

The president's brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, took a similar jab after slapping an orange sticker on his chest from the Florida Farm Bureau that read, "No Farmers, No Food."

"I'm a little concerned that Dick Cheney is going to walk in," the governor cracked during an appearance in Tampa Monday.

I'm sure that 78 year old guy is laughing his butt off, too. He's back in intensive care according to the AP.

I expect Jon Stewart and Jay Leno to make jokes about this incident. That's their job. But, for Scott McClellan and Jeb Bush to make fun of the whole thing is just creepy and incredibly unseemly. Read More......

Hunter shot by Cheney had a heart attack

Some of the shot that hit Whittington lodged in his heart and caused a heart attack. Cheney's White House doctors that were traveling with him have participated in the treatment of the victim. Funny stuff according to the White House. Uh huh, real funny. Read More......

The Cheney shooting incident shows that he, and not Bush, is in charge of the White House

If ever there were an incident that showed who's really in charge of the White House it's this.

Bush is told an hour after the shooting, and isn't even informed that Cheney was the shooter.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan isn't even told until the next day that Cheney was the shooter.

How do you not tell your boss that his VP is involved? How does Cheney's staff, who are supposedly lower down on the totem pole than Scott McClellan, not inform the White House spokesman of the fact that the VP just nearly killed someone?

Bush and McClellan weren't told because they're not in charge, they're not in the loop, and no one apparently even thinks of including them in the loop when the going gets tough.

In some ways, this exonerates Bush for so many of the administration's scandals - how can he be guilty when he probably wasn't even at the switch? But at the same time, it's obviously distressing to know that we elected one man president and the other has assumed the job. Read More......

How to Make Record Oil Company Profits in One Easy Step

You know, I wondered how ExxonMobil and other oil companies were able to generate record profits. Was it price fixing I wondered? Collusion? Nah, it's even easier. Our federal government is simply giving the oil to them for free. From the New York Times:

The federal government is on the verge of one of the biggest giveaways of oil and gas in American history, worth an estimated $7 billion over five years.

New projections, buried in the Interior Department's just-published budget plan, anticipate that the government will let companies pump about $65 billion worth of oil and natural gas from federal territory over the next five years without paying any royalties to the government.

Based on the administration figures, the government will give up more than $7 billion in payments between now and 2011. The companies are expected to get the largess, known as royalty relief, even though the administration assumes that oil prices will remain above $50 a barrel throughout that period.

Read the rest of the article and you'll see how they try and blame Clinton for this giveaway. Here's a clue - 5 years of unfettered Republican control of both houses of Congress and the White House means if the law wasn't changed or updated, it's because Republicans don't want to, not because of some decision Bill Clinton made in the 1990s. What's next, blaming George Washington for military recruitment problems? Read More......

Ohio News: Hackett out; Bush Pioneer Indicted

Paul Hackett dropped out of the Ohio Senate Race yesterday:

Paul Hackett, an Iraq war veteran and popular Democratic candidate in Ohio's closely watched Senate contest, said yesterday that he was dropping out of the race and leaving politics altogether as a result of pressure from party leaders.

Mr. Hackett said Senators Charles E. Schumer of New York and Harry Reid of Nevada, the same party leaders who he said persuaded him last August to enter the Senate race, had pushed him to step aside so that Representative Sherrod Brown, a longtime member of Congress, could take on Senator Mike DeWine, the Republican incumbent.

Mr. Hackett staged a surprisingly strong Congressional run last year in an overwhelmingly Republican district and gained national prominence for his scathing criticism of the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq War. It was his performance in the Congressional race that led party leaders to recruit him for the Senate race.

But for the last two weeks, he said, state and national Democratic Party leaders have urged him to drop his Senate campaign and again run for Congress.

Markos has a post with his take on this news.

Meanwhile on the other side of the aisle, one of Ohio's top GOP fundraiser -- and Bush Pioneer -- Tom Noe was indicted yesterday on 53 counts:

Mr. Noe was charged with 22 counts of forgery, 11 counts of money laundering, eight counts of tampering with records, six counts of aggravated theft, five counts of grand theft, and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

Officials believe some of the stolen money helped fuel a lavish lifestyle that at one time included three waterfront homes, including a $2 million sprawling home in the Florida Keys where Mr. Noe, 51, now lives.

Mr. Noe, the longtime Republican benefactor and high-level appointee whose coin dealings with the state have touched off waves of scandal in Ohio, left the Lucas County jail yesterday after posting a $500,000 bond.

Ohio is a GOP cesspool. Read More......

UK arrests soldier for savage beating in Iraq

After showing photographs taken from a video of the beating, the UK tabloid News of the World story has led to the arrest of one of the participants in the alleged beating of an Iraqi youth by UK troops.

The video has been shown widely on British television as well as Arabic news stations and shows a group of soldiers dragging Iraqi protestors behind a wall while a demonstration is under way, beating them with batons and kicking them.

On the tape, the youths' pleas for mercy are ignored. The beatings include what appears to be a British soldier kicking one of the youths, shown pinned to the ground by other soldiers, in the genitals.

In another case, a soldier puts a boy in a headlock, then releases him only to butt his head against the boy's, then strike his fist on the boy's head. The youth's cries can be heard on the tape, which shows a minute's worth of the attack -- with 42 blows counted, according to the newspaper.

Read More......

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Ugh, it's Valentine's Day.

For a few yuks, the Washington Post has a snarky piece on the Cheney shooting. The front page of the Post web site headline reads "McClellan Peppered on Cheney." Then the title of the article is "After Cheney's Shooting Incident, Time to Unload: Episode Triggers a Fusillade of Wisecracks, And a Withering Blast From White House Press."

Crooks and Liars has the video of last night's Daily Show. HYSTERICAL. Literally laugh out loud funny.

Any news? Read More......

Cheney and domestic spying

Pretty good, but somehow I doubt he'd even say "oops." Do they ever admit any wrongs? Read More......

Blair wins vote on national ID cards

The UK is very active with filming citizens, they are adding in capabilities to track the movement of every car in the country and credit cards and internet information is widely available (though that is hardly limited to the UK) and now they have to have ID cards to track people, errr, to help protect citizens from terrorism. What a good thing that the UK and US are fighting a war for democracy...what models for the world. Read More......

Army continues to lower standards with recruitment

In the new Army, those pesky background issues are now a non-issue. Who would guess that with all of those good Republicans out there they are still having trouble recruiting?

Last year, almost one in six Army recruits had a problem in their background that would have disqualified them from military service. In order to accept them, the Army granted special exceptions, known as recruiting waivers.

Recruits with medical problems made up the largest single category of those given waivers. However, the largest increase was among recruits with a history of either criminal conduct or drug and alcohol problems, according to data provided by the Army.

In all, the Army granted waivers to 11,018 recruits in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2005, or 15 percent of those accepted into the service that year.

Read More......