Gonzales to face "tough question" at a hearing. Gee, I bet he's really scared.

Reuters:

Embattled U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales faced a new firestorm on Tuesday sparked by a report he may have misled lawmakers in 2005 about civil liberty violations by the FBI.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, responded by promising that Gonzales would face tough questions about this and other matters at a hearing planned by his panel later this month.

No, not tough questions? Whatever will he do? Probably what he's done at every other hearing - lie with impunity. I mean, seriously, the man keeps lying to you at hearing after hearing, so you're calling another hearing?

Schumer put it, unwittingly perhaps, best:

"This should be the last straw, but there never seems to be a last straw when it comes to George W. Bush and Alberto Gonzales," said Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat.

We agree. This should be the last straw. Enough of the "tough questions." Actually do something about it. Read More......

GOP Senator Vitter accused of frequenting even more prostitutes in New Orleans

Rising star of the family-values wing of the Republican party likes his hookers. And that's fine. But spare us the sanctimonious family values crap when you're cheating on your wife with prostitutes. More from the Times Picayune. Read More......

Al Qaeda cell may be in US ready to attack at any moment... so Bush is scheduling an emergency meeting... in a few days, or so

Yeah, no rush. They may be about to attack, so the meeting is for Thursday because, you know, today or tomorrow would have been, uh, too early.

The White House leaked this report to ABC in order to influence the Iraq debate in this Congress this week. Does anyone really believe that Bush is having a super secret counter terror meeting and it just happens to leak out by accident? If so, then I'm waiting for Bush to launch his criminal investigation of the leak the same way he always does with leaks that he doesn't intend. In fact, as Joe reported yesterday, Karl Rove is helping run Iraq strategy for the White House. Yes, Karl Rove, the guy who does politics, not substance, is in charge of Iraq strategy now. And 24 hours later we see a leak like this? No coincidence there.

I guess this means Bush will cancel his usual month-long vacation in August, to deal with the threat, you know. Read More......

Who still uses a phone book?

We just got our delivery of the massive Verizon phone book in my apartment building, and just as quickly many of them went into the garbage. I haven't used a real phone book in years. To me it looks like an awful waste of paper, and money. But when I asked some of the older residents of our building, they still do use the phone book. Do you still use your phone book? Read More......

Bush claims he has a strategy for victory in Iraq

Today, Bush said he has a plan for victory in Iraq. Seriously, he's delusional:

In remarks before a speech, he said he would remind his listeners that "troop levels will be decided by our commanders on the ground, not by political figures in Washington, D.C., and that we've got a plan to lead to victory."

Sure, like we haven't heard that before. Because, before the Iraq Study Group, before the "surge," before all the speeches, there was the November 2005 "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq." We've seen how well that worked:
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Wash Post: Gonzales illegally lied to Congress AGAIN

It's time the Congress did something final about Alberto Gonzales, our chief law enforcement officer who has repeatedly broken the law. It's a crime to lie to Congress. A crime Gonzales has committed repeatedly.

There's a reason that Democratic voters aren't happy with Democrats in Congress. We feel as if Democrats in Congress are missing opportunities. Gonzales' crimes are one such opportunity. Rather than have another hearing, or issue another statement calling on him to resign, why not do something about it? Appropriations season is coming up. Cut off all funds to Gonzales' office, or at least his salary. The GOP may filibuster the bill, let them. If it's filibustered, it dies, and so does Gonzales' salary. If the bill passes the Congress, Bush will threaten a veto. Let him. You control the appropriations, not Bush. If he vetoes the bill, we win, Gonzales still gets nothing.

Now, Bush will claim that we're hurting the war on terror by stopping the DOJ from getting its funding. Let him. You will give DOJ all the funding it needs, you simply won't give it Gonzales' salary, because he's a criminal. If Bush wants a massive showdown over the fact that he is insisting in keeping a criminal as the head of the Justice Department, we as Democrats should welcome that battle.

The reason Democratic voters are upset with Democrats in Congress is because we sometimes fear that you don't have backbone. Gonzales latest stint of criminally lying to Congress gives Democrats in Congress the opportunity they need to actually do something about a situation that needs some serious doing.

Don't just hold hearings and issue statements, don't just threaten and then back down at the last moment. Do something. Read More......

McCain continues total allegiance to Bush on Iraq as his campaign disintegrates

Great timing. McCain is on the floor of the Senate spinning the Bush line about "progress" in Iraq and his two top, long-time aides "quit" the sinking campaign:

Republican John McCain's top two aides quit his struggling presidential bid on Tuesday, dealing a sharp blow to the Arizona senator and casting the future of his 2008 campaign in doubt.

The campaign announced the resignations of manager Terry Nelson and longtime chief strategist John Weaver while McCain was on the Senate floor defending President George W. Bush's strategy in Iraq.

"I believe that our military in cooperation with Iraqi security forces is making progress in a number of areas. In other areas they are not," McCain said as the Senate launched a new debate on the future of the increasingly unpopular Iraq war.

McCain, who visited Iraq last week, has been Bush's biggest Republican Senate ally on Iraq and on an immigration bill that died last week, costing the one-time front-runner support among both moderates and core Republicans.

Ironic. In 2000, the Bush team destroyed McCain's presidential aspirations by running a fiercely negative campaign against him. In 2008, the Bush team destroyed McCain's presidential aspirations because the Senator remained fiercely loyal to the failed policies of the failed presidency of George Bush. George Bush is primary reason John McCain will never be President. Although, John McCain himself deserves a lot of credit, too. Read More......

NYT editorial writes about "practicing homosexuals"

Are they high?

"Practicing homosexuals"?

Why not just call us "faggots" and put away any pretense of fairness. In what possible universe does the NYT, of all publications, think that the term "practicing homosexuals" is somehow acceptable? Put aside for a moment that the term homosexual as a noun is unacceptable, but "practicing"? Practicing what, pray tell?

The media has slipped back into the old of ways of subtle bigotry when reporting on gay issues, even when the report is positive on its face. The Washington Post reported on gay pride this year in DC, they showed a picture of some guy with his ass hanging out of a pair of leather pants with no backside (apparently the PFLAG parents, who got the biggest applause, weren't nearly as titillating a photo). Thanks, Washington Post. The NYT reports on gay cops in London, they show a picture of drag queens. Why is this a problem? Because it is an intentional effort to depict us as something the public will find outrageous, and probably distasteful. I don't have a problem with drag queens, I love drag queens; I do, however, have a problem with guys wearing assless chaps in public (I wouldn't take my mother to these parades, and that bothers me). But pride parades are not all drag queens or all inappropriately dressed guys. And injecting drag queens into stories about London cops is simply bizarre.

Once upon a time, the media would always use a picture or video of a drag queen (or naked guys) when covering any gay issue - as if gay parents, gay children, gay married couples didn't exist. They always gravitated to the image that was the exception, rather than the rule - the image that would shock, rather than the image that is more representative of the community at large. And now they're doing it again. And regardless of YOUR thoughts on drag queens and naked guys running around in public, many in the public finds these images outrageous and distasteful and THAT is why the media is running with these images, in order to shock, Jerry Springer style, not to inform.

But practicing homosexuals? Seriously, are you people high? Read More......

Senate needs to enact real legislation "with some teeth" to end the war. Salazar's "Iraq Study Group" bill has no teeth.

Last week, John wrote a post that dissected the so-called compromise bill being offered on Iraq. The perception being pushed by the sponsors was that their bill would implement the December 2006 Iraq Study Group Report. John proved that, in fact, wasn't true. Instead, the bill kept our troops in Iraq indefinitely:

A bipartisan group of Senators has prepared legislation that they want to offer in the next few weeks that would keep US troops in Iraq indefinitely. What's worse, they're claiming that the legislation implements the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, when in fact, the legislation codifies George Bush's current failed policies in Iraq.

The misnamed "Iraq Study Group (ISG) Recommendations Implementation Act of 2007," is being offered by Senators Ken Salazar (D-CO), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Bob Bennett (R-UT), Mark Pryor (D-AR), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Robert Casey (D-PA), John Sununu (R-NH) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR). Probably the most offensive thing about the legislation is that it outright calls for the continuation of the status quo policy of keeping US troops in Iraq until the day that Iraq is 100% ready to stand on its own - namely, never.

You know the way the media works that anything with "moderates" pushing it must be good. This bill isn't -- and if people read the bill, actually read it, they'll know.

Fortunately, Majority Leader Harry Reid seems to have clued in according to today's Washington Post:

Reid said yesterday that he is unsure whether Salazar's bill will come to a vote. "What we do has to be more than something that feels good," he said. "It has to be something that calls for real change in our policy in Iraq."

Reid said he had held numerous talks with Salazar about how to toughen the bill and make it more relevant to current conditions. "Is it going to be something that has some teeth in it? If it is, certainly I'll put my arms around it. And I think most Democrats will," Reid said.

The Republicans in the Senate have never done anything to actually change the course in Iraq. They may be flocking to the Salazar bill because, as it's written now, they know it won't do anything either.

Harry Reid is right. It is time for real change. Senators, especially the Republicans, can't just talk about how bad the war has gotten. They need to put their words into action. It's way past time for that. Read More......

DC Madam's client, Senator David Vitter (R-LA), has a history of worrying about other people's marriages

Last night, John offered bonus points for anyone who could find good "family values" quotes and votes from the DC Madam's client, Senator David Vitter (R-LA).

This morning, CNN covered the blogs coverage of Vitter's hypocrisy and noted that Think Progress found some quotes right on Vitter's Senate website.

Last year, when the Senate was considering the anti-gay marriage amendment, Vitter was typically sanctimonious:

"I don't believe there's any issue that's more important than this one," said Sen. David Vitter, a Louisiana Republican. "I think this debate is very healthy, and it's winning a lot of hearts and minds. I think we're going to show real progress."

Typical GOP Hypocrite.
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Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Every morning I wake and wonder what we'll have to write about....and, you know, with the lying Bush crowd and other hypocritical Republicans, there is never a dearth of material.

Right now, Tony Snow is telling me that we're really just at the "starting line" for the surge in Iraq. Just another "starting line" in a war that's been going on for over four years -- with no plan to end it coming from Bush.

So, already riled up and it's not even 7:30 am. Get threading. Read More......

Oh no, never fly again

So will the glorious US media jump on the "never fly again, especially if it's a Boeing or Airbus" story since they so happily obliged with the anti-health care tirades? I mean sure, it was silly and a stretch to tie national health care to terrorism, but hey look, one of the alleged attempted UK car bombers worked in aviation engineering so it's best that we just toss aside the entire aviation system because we don't want to take any risks. If the argument was good enough for health care it ought to be good enough for the airline and aviation industry. Right? Read More......

$12 billion per month

That's how much the US is paying each month to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, with most of that - $10 billion - going to Iraq. The GOP couldn't find money to address the health care crisis nor was it financially possible to take action against global warming but somehow funding a war against Iraq, which had no connection to 9/11, was possible. Worse still, the earlier predictions for spending were not even close.

How many years will this financial burden hover over the economy? Read More......

New Boeing 787 does everything except address the biggest issue

Boeing and their friends in the media are spreading all of the marketing spin about the new 787 but the one issue that everyone complains about on flights- seat space/leg room - is noticeably absent. Hmmm, guess what that means? It's nice to hear about the overhead space, more spacious toilets and smoother ride - three issues that have never bothered me - but how about helping with the tinned sardine feeling that makes flying so miserable? At least provide can openers when boarding so customers can move in and out of the seats a bit easier.

On a related note, it's good to see the Transportation Department is now considering changes to passenger compensation for delayed flights. Last year the EU stepped in and completely botched a well working program in Europe but with the troubling reports of increasing delays in the US, it only makes sense that the there are calls for change. Read More......