McCain and Giuliani are skipping Falwell's funeral. Bush sending junior aide.

We diss him publicly. They diss him by their actions. Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

Disco Saturday night Read the rest of this post...

More from Carter: Bush's impact "worst in history"

Wow.

Former President Carter says President Bush's administration is "the worst in history" in international relations, taking aim at the White House's policy of pre-emptive war and its Middle East diplomacy.

The criticism from Carter, which a biographer says is unprecedented for the 39th president, also took aim at Bush's environmental policies and the administration's "quite disturbing" faith-based initiative funding.

"I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history," Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in a story that appeared in the newspaper's Saturday editions. "The overt reversal of America's basic values as expressed by previous administrations, including those of George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon and others, has been the most disturbing to me."

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Jimmy Carter calls Tony Blair's support of Bush "abominable"

Raw Story has the goods. Read the rest of this post...

Obstructionist Republicans using procedural gimmicks to "boost morale" and "show unity"

Gimmicks, that's all the Republicans have. They made no progress when they controlled Congress, now they're playing games to thwart progress. They truly are the obstructionist party:

"Sometimes we offer motions to recommit to improve legislation -- sometimes it's to force Democrats in marginal districts to make tough choices," Boehner said. "Every time the Republicans win, it boosts morale. We're able to show unity, which is good for the overall team. Members feel good about winning on the House floor. And when you're in the minority, it doesn't happen that often."

The GOP doesn't care about good policy. It's all politics to them. Read the rest of this post...

Gore won't rule out run

I missed this one a few days ago. Always intriguing. Would you vote for him over the other Dems? Read the rest of this post...

Saturday Morning Open Thread

Good Morning.

Bob Geiger has his weekly compilation of editorial cartoons. Jerry Falwell got some "tributes" this week in a way that only those cartoonists can do. Bush, his Iraq war and his Attorney General also got the treatment. Some really good laugh-out-louders today. Really, really appreciate Bob pulling this together every week. It's a fun way to start a Saturday.

The poem of the week is "What do Women Want" by Kim Addonizio. It's fun.

Okay, enjoy. And, thread away. Read the rest of this post...

Blair leaves Washington with nothing, again

The final nail in the coffin for the "it's a mutually beneficial partnership" or "Blair softens Bush and wins concessions in private" crowd. Nonsense. Bush gets what Bush wants and Blair leaves with nothing. It's time for the rest of the world to stand up to the bully because he refuses to negotiate with anyone about anything. Bush is a lame duck and has painfully low support both with the American public and it is even worse when you leave the country. Blair had the opportunity to show everyone what they used to like about him but instead, he chose to stay the course and remind everyone again of why they lost respect for him.

The Independent: NO to CO2 emissions targets. NO to a successor to Kyoto. NO to a carbon trading market. As Blair leaves Washington, US hardens stance on climate change

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Food Safety Act 2007

A brilliant idea.

Spurred by deadly outbreaks of E. coli and other food-borne pathogens, a group of U.S. lawmakers is pushing to put all food safety oversight under a single federal agency.

"I believe the food safety system is broken. It's collapsing," Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, told CNN "We're unable to protect the public health. We're unable to protect public confidence in the food supply."

DeLauro has introduced the Food Safety Act of 2007, which would create a Food Safety Administration responsible for ensuring the security of the food supply from all forms of contamination.

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