In the Bush Admin., Brownie is the rule, not the exception

Think Progress has the link to the Time magazine article which asks "How Many More Mike Browns Are Out There?" Unfortunately, the answer is way too many. Read the rest of this post...

McCain figured out that abusing prisoners is bad for our image

You know, at any other time in our nation's history, we would hear a Senator say something like this and think, Duh, you just figured that out? But in these times, McCain is viewed as some kind of hero for stating the plainly obvious truth:

Sen. John McCain said Sunday that abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. soldiers, alleged anew in a report and under investigation again by the Army, is hurting the nation's image abroad.

"We've got to have it stopped," McCain, R-Ariz., said on "This Week" on ABC. "I don't know if these allegations are true or not, but they have to be investigated."

I wonder if our image czarina, Karen Hughes, thinks abusing prisoners is bad for our image. Read the rest of this post...

Evening Open Thread

So the President was all bleary eyed with the press, got interrupted with "bulletins" about the hurricane and didn't get his sleep. Wonder if they were accompanied with a nice cold...

Red Alert

Scale ingredients to servings
1 - 1/2 oz tequila
1 - 1/2 oz banana liqueur
1 oz sloe gin
sweet and sour mix

Shake all ingredients together, pour into a highball glass, and serve.

Open thread away... Read the rest of this post...

George Bush in action: puffy-eyed and cranky

Or so says Newsweek:

The president didn't look all that relieved or happy, however. His eyes were puffy from lack of sleep (he had been awakened all through the night with bulletins), and he seemed cranky and fidgety. A group of reporters and photographers had been summoned by White House handlers to capture a photo op of the commander in chief at his post. Bush stared at them balefully. He rocked back and forth in his chair, furiously at times, asked no questions and took no notes. It almost seemed as though he resented having to strike a pose for the press.

Now, what would make a man puffy-eyed, cranky and fidgety? Read the rest of this post...

Karen Hughes is going save our image

Have no fear, we're all safe now. Karen Hughes is going on to Arab countries and she's going to find the United States a friend or two:

"Many of the differences and many of the concerns are deep-seated and I'm probably not going to change many minds," Hughes said. "But if I make a connection with a person or two who I can keep following up with after I leave here on my trip, I would consider it a success."

Working with Bush for so long, she's used to very, very low expectations. Read the rest of this post...

What if you threw a war and nobody came to support it?

Apparently the pro-war rally today was a bust. I guess all the real war supporters had already enlisted and are over in Iraq fighting. Uh huh.

Though, really, you can't fault the organizers of the pro-war rally. All of their supporters DID show up.

All 400 of them. Read the rest of this post...

Sunday Afternoon Open Thread

In "celebration" of the successful Bush rally on the mall, may we suggest the President finish off the afternoon with a...

Texas Fizz

4 oz Champagne
1 oz gin
1 oz orange juice
1/4 oz grenadine syrup

Shake gin, orange juice and grenadine and strain into a highball glass three-quarters filled with broken ice. Add champagne, garnish with a slice of orange, and serve.

Open thread away! Read the rest of this post...

Who put the smelling salts under the NY Times nose?

What happened over at the NY Times that they woke up?

HEADLINE: Hard Bigotry of No Expectations

Throughout his campaigns in 2000 and 2004, George W. Bush talked about "the soft bigotry of low expectations": the mind-set that tolerates poor school performance and dead-end careers for minority students on the presumption that they are incapable of doing better. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said recently that this phrase attracted her to Mr. Bush more than anything else.

It was, indeed, a brilliant encapsulation of so much of what is wrong with American education. But while Mr. Bush has been worrying about low expectations in schools, he's been ratcheting the bar downward himself on almost everything else.

The president's recent schedule of nonstop disaster-scene photo-ops is reminiscent of the principal of a failing school who believes he's doing a great job because he makes it a point to drop in on every class play and teacher retirement party. And if there ever was an exhibit of the misguided conviction that for some people very little is good enough, it's the current administration spin that the proposed Iraqi constitution is fine because the founding fathers didn't give women equal rights either.

Read the whole thing, it's a spot on editorial. Kudos to the Times. Read the rest of this post...

100 show up for Pro-War Rally thing

Can you call it a rally if no one shows up? This is the early report from AP:

About 100 people had gathered before a stage set up on the eastern portion of the mall as the noon rally began. A large photo of an American flag served as a backdrop for the stage, and country music blared from speakers while other banners and signs proclaiming support for U.S. troops waved in the breeze.

The Freepers were expecting 20,000. Read the rest of this post...

Cheney had surgeries on both knees yesterday

I swear, everytime there is new information about Dick Cheney and his health, the picture gets murkier. Yesterday, he had surgery on both knees, something we learned only after the procedures were complete:

Earlier, Stephen E. Schmidt, Mr. Cheney's chief spokesman, said doctors would operate only on the popliteal artery in the vice president's right knee. The change in plans was "an intraoperative decision," Mr. Schmidt said, meaning the doctors made the decision to also work on the left knee in the operating room.

Apparently, doing the double surgery is a bit controversial in medical world:

Dr. Bernik, the St. Vincent's surgeon, said the decision to do both repairs on the same day was "surprising and a little bit irresponsible, I must say." That is partly because the extra procedure could increase the risk of complications now or in the future, he said.

"You really never want to tackle both sides at once," Dr. Bernik said, "because even though things may go smoothly on one side, you can still run into a problem while you are doing the other side, or shortly thereafter, and then you really could have a big problem on your hands."

Most doctors in the field "would say that is not the best way to go, but, who knows, maybe Cheney said, 'I want to get this over with, and I'll take the added risks,' " Dr. Bernik said.

Cheney isn't averse to taking risks with other people's lives. Since we never get the truth from the Bush/Cheney White House, something just seems fishy about the whole thing. Read the rest of this post...

CREW looks "Beyond DeLay"

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) took a look at the most corrupt members of Congress -- after Tom DeLay. And it's ugly what they find:

The 13 members of Congress recommended for investigation by the watchdog group are:

• Sen. Bill Frist: The report accuses him of violating federal campaign finance laws in how he disclosed a campaign loan. It also calls for an inquiry over his recent sale of stock in HCA Inc., his family's hospital corporation. The sale has raised questions about possible insider dealing. Frist aides confirmed Friday that the SEC was investigating. They have denied claims of campaign finance violations.

• Rep. Roy Blunt: The report criticizes him for trying to insert provisions into bills that would have benefited, in one case, a client of his lobbyist son and in another case, the employer of his lobbyist girlfriend, now his wife.

• Sen. Conrad Burns: The report says that questions arose over $3 million in appropriations he earmarked for an Indian tribe in Michigan that was a client of lobbyist Abramoff. The senator received substantial campaign contributions from Abramoff and various clients.

"Sen. Burns did nothing wrong, and any accusation to the contrary is pure politics," said James Pendleton, his director of communications. He said Burns had earmarked the appropriation at the request of the Michigan congressional delegation.

• Rep. Bob Ney: The report says the chairman of the House Administration Committee went on a golf outing to Scotland in 2002, arranged by Abramoff, at a time when the congressman was trying to insert a provision into legislation to benefit one of Abramoff's tribal clients.

Ney reported to the House that the trip was paid for entirely by the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative think tank, which denied paying any of the costs. Ney has said he had been duped by Abramoff.

• Rep. Tom Feeney: The report says he incorrectly reported that a golf trip to Scotland with Abramoff in 2003 was paid for by the National Center for Public Policy Research, which denied it. A Feeney aide said the congressman had been misled. Questions also have arisen about two other privately funded trips.

• Rep. Richard W. Pombo: He paid his wife and brother $357,325 in campaign funds in the last four years, the report says. He also supported the wind-power industry before the Department of Interior without disclosing that his parents received hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties from wind-power turbines on their ranch.

Brian Kennedy, a spokesman for Pombo, said that "each of the charges is baseless." He called the watchdog group "a Democratic attack group, and all of their charges should be taken with a grain of salt."

• Rep. Maxine Waters: The report cites a December 2004 Los Angeles Times investigation disclosing how members of the congresswoman's family have made more than $1 million in the last eight years by doing business with companies, candidates and causes that Waters has helped. Before publication of the Times investigation last year, Waters declined to be interviewed, but said of her family members: "They do their business, and I do mine."

• Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.): The report says he encountered controversy over disclosures that Pennsylvania taxpayers paid for his children's schooling while they lived in Virginia. Santorum maintained he did nothing wrong, and has pulled his children out of the school, according to reports.

• Reps. Randy "Duke" Cunningham and William J. Jefferson: Both congressional veterans are under federal investigation.

Cunningham, who has announced that he will not run for reelection, faces questions over his dealings with a defense contractor who allegedly overpaid him when he purchased Cunningham's house. Jefferson is under scrutiny for his role in an overseas business deal. Normally the House ethics committee does not hold inquiries while criminal investigations are underway.

• Rep. Charles H. Taylor (R-N.C.): The report says that questions have been raised about his private business interests, including a savings and loan in Asheville, N.C., and personal business interests in Russia.

• Rep. Marilyn N. Musgrave (R-Colo.) and Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.): Both second-term House members encountered criticisms tied to campaign activities, the report says.

Musgrave was accused of misusing her congressional office for campaign purposes. Renzi was accused of financing portions of his 2002 campaign with improper loans.

Read the rest of this post...

Blair discovers the real problem with the failed war in Iraq

A pack of lies about WMD? No. Failing to have a plan? Nah, not that either. Sucking up to Bush and being his lapdog? Uh uh, not that either. Rigging intelligence reports? Wrong again. It's the "urban intellectuals" who are to blame for all of Blair's problems. Last time I checked Tony, the war is solidly unpopular with the Brits as well you sad, whimpering little poodle. Read the rest of this post...

Open Thread

What are you hearing? Read the rest of this post...

GOP Senators to apply litmus tests and play politics with next Supreme Court nominee

Republican Senators on both ends of the spectrum say the next Supreme Court nominee is the one they are prepared to fight. The GOPers are going to the mat on this one:

As President Bush moves to fill the second vacancy on the Supreme Court, he faces a new challenge in finding a jurist who can not only withstand Democratic scrutiny but hold together the support of Senate Republicans as well.

Polls have shown Mr. Bush's approval ratings near the lowest levels of his presidency. And Senate Republican strategists say that since his nomination of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to the court, members of their conference have grown increasingly willing to disagree with the White House, notably on matters like stem cell research, Mr. Bush's choice for ambassador to the United Nations and the war in Iraq.

Some, including Senator Bill Frist of Tennessee, the majority leader, and Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, a member of the Judiciary Committee, are considering their own bids for the presidency.

Now, both socially conservative and more liberal Republican senators say they may vote against confirmation of the next nominee if the pick leans too far to the left or the right on prominent issues like abortion rights.

So, for the hard core right wingers, who want to run for President, the next nominee is going to be politicized. And, apparently, it's okay for the right wingers to apply litmus tests and play politics with judicial nominees, but if the liberals do that, it's bad. Double standards never bothered the GOP. Read the rest of this post...

Early Sunday open thread

I've been working on what may or may not be a big story. We'll see in a few days. Stay tuned :-) Read the rest of this post...