The National Enquirer says Bush is drinking again

I know, it's from the National Enquirer.

But you know what, they're not the Weekly World News (the paper that reports about space aliens eating your baby). Yes, the Enquirer has had to pay a few hefty court settlements (or at least one I recall), and they do pay if and when they're wrong, but while it's a sensational publication, to be sure, their stories aren't necessarily wrong. Thus, I'm posting this. Let people read the facts and decide for themselves.

But at this time in our nation's history we can't afford for this story to be true, and that's another reason I'm posting this because you know the MSM, if they knew this was true, would never report it. We need to get some straight answers about this from the White House.

Faced with the biggest crisis of his political life, President Bush has hit the bottle again, The National Enquirer can reveal.

Bush, who said he quit drinking the morning after his 40th birthday, has started boozing amid the Katrina catastrophe.

Family sources have told how the 59-year-old president was caught by First Lady Laura downing a shot of booze at their family ranch in Crawford, Texas, when he learned of the hurricane disaster.

His worried wife yelled at him: "Stop, George."....

A Washington source said: "The sad fact is that he has been sneaking drinks for weeks now. Laura may have only just caught him — but the word is his drinking has been going on for a while in the capital. He's been in a pressure cooker for months.

"The war in Iraq, the loss of American lives, has deeply affected him. He takes every soldier's life personally. It has left him emotionally drained.

The result is he's taking drinks here and there, likely in private, to cope. "And now with the worst domestic crisis in his administration over Katrina, you pray his drinking doesn't go out of control."

Another source said: "I'm only surprised to hear that he hadn't taken a shot sooner. Before Katrina, he was at his wit's end. I've known him for years. He's been a good ol' Texas boy forever. George had a drinking problem for years that most professionals would say needed therapy. He doesn't believe in it [therapy], he never got it. He drank his way through his youth, through college and well into his thirties. Everyone's drinking around him."

Another source said: "A family member told me they fear George is 'falling apart.' The First Lady has been assigned the job of gatekeeper."

Read the rest of this post...

Senator Santorum's pedophiles

Oh Ricky. Remember how you blamed the pedophile scandal in Boston on liberals and their evil culture? Well, it seems now that the pedophile scandal in Philly might be even bigger than Boston's. So, I'm assuming you'll assume full responsibility for inspiring these child rapists with your Pennsylvania values, right? Read the rest of this post...

New religious left blog, check it out

Street Prophets. Read the rest of this post...

The latest on Rita

From the Washington Post. Read the rest of this post...

Gay haters trying to ban newspapers from libraries

Because God hates smart kids. Read the rest of this post...

Democrats demanding Independent Commission

In the House, they are stepping up the pressure:

Congressional Democrats said on Tuesday that the arrest of a former senior White House budget official involved in organizing the federal response to Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the need for an independent investigation of the government's reaction to the disaster, especially since the official is married to a leading Republican Congressional aide.

The official, David H. Safavian, 38, a lawyer who was chief of procurement policy in the Office of Management and Budget until he resigned on Friday, was arrested Monday on charges of lying to federal investigators about his relationship with Jack Abramoff, a Washington lobbyist at the center of a corruption investigation at the Justice Department.

In the Senate, there is more action coming:

New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg said Wednesday he will offer an amendment to create an independent panel, similar to the Sept. 11 Commission, to look into the government's efforts regarding Hurricane Katrina.

The panel would have subpoena power, said Lautenberg, a Democrat who planned to introduce the amendment Thursday when the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee meets. Lautenberg said his amendment was based on legislation introduced by Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in proposing the creation of the Sept. 11 Commission.

Given the cast of political hacks, like Safavian and Brownie, running key parts of the Bush Administration, it's no wonder the GOP wants to keep things under wraps.

We'll need to really put the pressure on to make this happen. Read the rest of this post...

Jack Cafferty for God

Watch this video of CNN's Jack Cafferty, it's no big whoop until the very end. Then it's a big whoop. :-) Read the rest of this post...

Plane landed perfectly!

Jesus. That was amazing. I can't believe that thing landed absolutely perfectly. The front wheel was twisted 90 degrees the wrong way. Amazing. Read the rest of this post...

Question: Would YOU let the passengers on that plane watch the live news coverage of their predicament from their seats?

Good question. What would you do? Read the rest of this post...

BREAKING: Crippled jet, 139 people on board, circling Long Beach with bad front wheel

I just suggested to my sister that she get my 8 year old nephew out of the room. He didn't understand what was going on, yet, but was sitting watching the TV since we were. I don't think young kids need to watch planes (potentially) blow up live on TV. Just a thought for those of you with kids out there.

UPDATE: Well, the plane hasn't landed yet - it's 9:03pm Eastern. They're supposedly trying to burn off fuel right now, for safety reason to avoid fire and to let you land as slowly as possible, per CNN's expert.

UPDATE: Plane will supposedly attempt landing at 8:50pm Eastern time, in 3 minutes. Jesus.

Wow. Put on CNN, now.

A JetBlue airliner unsuccessfully attempted to make an emergency landing Wednesday after its front wheels were turned sideways and unable to retract into the plane after takeoff from a nearby airport.

The plane carrying 139 passengers left Bob Hope Airport in Burbank at 3:17 p.m. for New York's JFK airport, said JetBlue spokesman Bryan Baldwin.

JetBlue flight 292 was circling the Long Beach Airport, about 30 miles south of Burbank, as the pilot and aviation officials tried to determine what the best solution was. The Airbus A320 was dumping fuel over the Pacific, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Donn Walker.

Read the rest of this post...

Senator Specter tells Bush to hold off on additional Sup Ct nominees for another year, put O'Connor back on the bench

Wow. This is pretty gutsy of Specter. He even already talked to O'Connor and got her to agree. Wow. THIS is what a 38% approval rating gets you.

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said he urged President George W. Bush today to delay nominating a replacement for retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, said he talked to Justice O'Connor about staying on the high court. ``She's prepared to do that'' through the court's term ending in June, Specter said. The president ``was noncommittal,'' Specter said. ``The body language was not very positive,'' Specter said.

Specter said the delay would give Congress and the rest of America more time to know John Roberts as chief justice. ``When we know a little more about Judge Roberts it's going to be easier with the next'' nomination, Specter said.

Read the rest of this post...

Nancy to Denny: Bite me

Kudos to Pelosi.

"The Speaker is not listening to the American people; they have unequivocally said they want an independent commission to find out the truth. They do not want a partisan whitewash of what went wrong in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

"I will not appoint any Democrats to participate in this sham. Instead, Democrats have proposed an independent commission, based on the rigorous and effective example of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission.

"I ask the Republican Leadership to join me in supporting an independent commission to determine what really went wrong in the federal response to Hurricane Katrina. The American people expect and deserve nothing less."

Read the rest of this post...

Did Scott McClellan just admit that Bush wasn't "focused" on Katrina?

Read this interesting exchange in today's White House press briefing transcript, courtesy of E&P.;

I'd love for someone in the media to get the breakdown of where every cabinet official is this week. Is anyone on vacation? And is Karl Rove still traveling to North Dakota to do a political fundraiser? I mean, if he's in charge of Hurricane Katrina relief for Bush, and another category 5 hurricane is barreling into the same region, wouldn't you think, uh, maybe Karl should be staying home for the next couple of days rather than hob-nobbing with the rich and famous?

Don't get me wrong. A picture of Karl Rove eating lobster and sipping champagne while Texas gets blown away by a category 5 hurricane... Well, as Mastercard would say, that's priceless.

Q Well, Scott, continuing with what Steve said, how is what you're doing for Rita different from what you did from Katrina?

MR. McCLELLAN: Sure. A couple of things -- one, the President is focused on making sure we have the strongest possible coordination with state and local governments in the path of Hurricane Rita. We hope Rita is not devastating, but we must be prepared for the worst. Coordination at all levels needs to be seamless, or as seamless as possible, and that's what we're working to do.

Homeland Security and FEMA officials are working closely with state and local governments so that resources can be targeted where they are most needed. They are redoubling efforts to make sure we have a full understanding of what the needs are so that we can make sure that those needs are met. And I went through several steps that were already taken to address these issues....

Q Well, can you distinguish what you're doing differently?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, I just talked to you about where the President's focus is and what we are doing. We want to make sure that we're --

Q And these are things you didn't do in Katrina?

MR. McCLELLAN: We want to make sure that we are better prepared and better positioned to respond to Hurricane Rita and that's what we're doing. That's why I outlined the several steps that we are taking. And that's why I just told you that the President is focused on making sure that we have the strongest possible coordination with state and local officials, and that we have --

Q Which you didn't have before, right?

MR. McCLELLAN: -- as seamless as possible coordination with state and local officials.

Q In other words, better than the last time?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think I just answered that question, Bill.

Q No, not really.

Read the rest of this post...

Why does God hate George Bush, Tom Delay and Rick Perry?

An email I just received...

Please let me be the first to offer this insight.

As many wing nuts babbled ad nauseum about Katrina being God’s very own way of saying how pissed he was at the gays and other New Orleans debauchery, I will assume that Rita is the man upstairs saying that George W, Tom DeLay, Rick Perry, et al, have pissed him off royally.

Hey, if it works for the bible thumpers……

Joel

Read the rest of this post...

Can I just say...

If we hadn't invaded Iraq with no plan and for a lie, we'd have $300bn extra to pay for all these hurricanes. But noooooo.... President Spend-a-Lot decided to blow all of our massive budget surplus on tax cuts and unnecessary wars. So now we don't have a penny. And anybody who says "no, this is all because of 9/11," bullshit. Bush's tax cuts cost us more money in 2004 than we even need to pay for Katrina - they're costing us $300bn in 2004 alone.

The three rounds of tax-cut legislation (in 2001, 2002, and 2003) account for a substantial share of the nation’s current deficit.

* The tax cuts would reduce revenues by $276 billion in 2004, according to Joint Committee on Taxation estimates. Further, the interest costs associated with the enacted tax cuts would equal $20 billion, using Congressional Budget Office assumptions. The total cost would therefore be $297 billion, or 2.6 percent of the economy (or GDP).

Yes, Congress' own numbers say that Bush's tax cuts cost us almost $300bn in 2004. We need $200bn or so for the hurricane. You do the math. Iraq cost us $300bn. You do the math. It is ridiculous what this man has done to our country.

As my friend Brett diResta now says, Bush is a "credit card Republican." The Dems ought to be all over this issue. Read the rest of this post...

Rita's a monster Cat. 5

Yikes:

Hurricane Rita's rapid intensification cycle that began Tuesday afternoon continues. Top winds are up to 165 mph, now a category 5 hurricane. Further strengthening is possible as the atmosphere remains favorable for development over the next 24 hours.

Read the rest of this post...

Bush is tanking on Iraq support post-Katrina

Bush was trying to link September the 11th/terrorism/Iraq and Katrina in a positive way. Oops. That strategy backfired big time according to Reuters:

Public support for the president on Iraq had been gradually eroding in the past year as the U.S. military death toll mounted toward 2,000 and little progress was made in stopping a bloody insurgency that began soon after the 2003 invasion.

But backing for his policy, that U.S. troops would stay until Iraqis can establish a government and army that can govern and defend itself, has dropped dramatically since Katrina devastated Louisiana and Mississippi.

A Gallup poll published on Monday found 66 percent of respondents favored the immediate withdrawal of some or all of the U.S. troops in Iraq, a 10 percentage point jump in two weeks.

Bush's personal approval on Iraq fell from 40 percent to 32 percent in the same period. In a CBS/New York Times poll the previous week, 75 percent said Bush had no clear plan for bringing U.S. troops home.

Republicans in Congress, who know they face difficult mid-term elections in November 2006, are becoming increasingly concerned about their prospects.

"The mood up here among Republicans is very very sour," said one senior staffer who did not want to be named.

Read the rest of this post...

Open Thread

Hearing anything good? Read the rest of this post...

Leahy supporting Roberts

The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee gives a thumbs up:

Leahy said he still has some concerns about Roberts. "But in my judgment, in my experience, but especially in my conscience I find it is better to vote yes than no," he said. "Judge Roberts is a man of integrity. I can only take him at his word that he does not have an ideological agenda."

Democrats always vote their conscience. When was the last time a GOPer even had a conscience? Read the rest of this post...

Another day, another cold-blooded murder in our nation's capital

This isn't that far from where I live. Crime in DC has always been a problem, we've always been one of the top 3 cities for violent crime in the US, and the police chief and the mayor always make excuses. Very sad. This guy who was killed was the friend of a friend.

A man who was fatally shot while walking his dog in Northwest Washington was killed in a "face-to-face" encounter with his assailant, police said yesterday.

Investigators said they had no motive or suspect in the slaying of Gregory C. Shipe, 34, a financial analyst for a large public relations firm downtown. He was shot in the face about 10:40 p.m. Saturday in a crime that one top D.C. police official yesterday called "bizarre."

"There was no rhyme or reason for this," said Capt. C.V. Morris, supervisor of the department's violent crimes division.

Read the rest of this post...

Harvard Law embraces bigotry in exchange for cold hard cash

Harvard Law is going to welcome military recruiters to campus even though it's a direct violation of their non-discrimination policy.

Harvard Law would never embrace racism or anti-Semitism for the right price. They'd never facilitate bigotry and discrimination against blacks or Jews simply in exchange for cold hard cash. But because gays are the victims, Harvard Law - HARVARD LAW - is embracing discrimination.

Think about it. Harvard Law. If one of the biggest liberal schools in history don't understand the principal of standing up for your beliefs, then what's the point anymore? Harvard should be ashamed of itself, ashamed of the lesson it's teaching its students and future generations. People have given their lives for the civil rights movement and Harvard is caving because of cash. To Harvard, money is a bigger penalty than your life. (It reminds me of the old Winston Churchill joke: We already have established what you are, madame, now we're simply haggling over the price.)

And by the way, some student out to sue the university. They have a non-discrimination policy protecting gays and they're overtly violating it. That's a breach of contract, among other causes of action I suspect. To hell with their amicus brief, they're embracing discrimination against gays when they wouldn't DARE do it against any other minority. If Harvard wanted, it could get a coalition of the largest schools together and they all could say "screw you, we're not taking your money." Start a lobbying campaign with all the congressional districts around the country that would lose money under this amendment. You really think GOP congressmen are going to sit back while their districts lose money? Doesn't Harvard have students and alums in every state? I'd like to know how much money and effort Harvard has put into reversing this bigoted law. An amicus brief is cute, but it's about as effective as a press release.

Sue their asses off, gang, then see how much their money matters to them. Read the rest of this post...

Another reason Lincoln Chafee has to go

Defending Rick Santorum. This was in the Post article about the GOP in-fighting. Deserves a post of its own:

"My caucus would do anything for Senator Santorum," Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee (R-R.I.) said of his colleague. Chafee, who himself faces a tough reelection battle next year, predicted Republicans will increasingly be faced with the choice of propping up Bush or protecting their own. "I think they're going to collide," Chafee said of the two options.

Chafee and his caucus will do anything for one of the most anti-gay, anti-women, anti-environment Senators. You can't be a progressive on some issues and offer unqualified support for Santorum. Chafee is not worth it. Read the rest of this post...

Nigerian scam artists now pretending to be Katrina victims

What is it with Nigeria and scam artists? Check out the latest I just got from some Nigerian posing as a Katrina victim to raise money. I traced his IP address to - where? - Nigeria! Can't we target cruise missiles to within like ten yards?

X-Originating-IP: [217.194.145.179]
From: "Bill Chris" bellview11123@hotmail.com
Subject: A cry for help
Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2005 23:29:35 -0500

Dear Sir/Ma,
Am Bill Chris one of the victims of the hurricane katrina which took plce in New Orleans on the 29th of August,it precisely 3 weeks since were been living in an ortrageous situation.
Am a 36 Years old white american who has a family which consist of 3 children ( a boy and two girls they are all kids) and a wive .i had lived on new orleans through out my entire life.i had a shopping mall there where i sell goods that keep my family hopes alive and my wive takes care of my kids while am away .the hurricane which swept away my city,swepy away my mall while one of my kidsis still misssing.Although Mayor Ray Nagin promised that it will be alright but i douht if new orleans will be able to recover.
I am using this medium of expretion to ask for a favour from you if you could kindlly assist me with some funds any amount you can help if atll is $1 usd because i am really suffuring with my family,and i want you to belive that we are still one AMERICA, no matter what happen to our country so please if you are in power to help me please do not hesitate to do so .Am presentlly taking refuge in texas with other family but the situation is something i can"t cope with.Have never seen people so homeless and helpless but the government only gave each family $2000 but the money giving to my family is not enough to set up my mall and home again.I will apprecaite it if you can use humman felling on this letter help me in any way.may almighty God be with you and your family (AMEN).

Thanks,
Bill Chris

It's particularly amazing how poor New Orleans flood victims write with the English spelling of "favor" (i.e., favour). And who says America has a poor education system. And actually, the more I read that email the more it's making me laugh. He's a "white American" - what is this, David Duke? - and he owned an entire shopping mall before Katrina hit! He lives ON New Orleans, not "in" it. And he's asking for donations in "usd" - which stands for "US dollars," because, you know, it's so darn pesky when people pay you in dinars. Read the rest of this post...

Rita is now a Category 4

Rita's in the gulf and getting stronger:

Hurricane Rita intensified into a Category 4 storm Wednesday with wind of 135 mph, deepening concerns that the storm could devastate coastal Texas and already-battered Louisiana by week's end.

The White House is going to try so hard to look like they are on top of this, Bush will probably start appearing in front of the Doppler radar screens and giving regular tracking updates. Read the rest of this post...

There's trouble brewing in GOP-land

They're getting cranky at Bush up on the Hill:

Congressional Republicans from across the ideological spectrum yesterday rejected the White House's open-wallet approach to rebuilding the Gulf Coast, a sign that the lockstep GOP discipline that George W. Bush has enjoyed for most of his presidency is eroding on Capitol Hill.

Trying to allay mounting concerns, White House budget director Joshua B. Bolten met with Republican senators for an hour after their regular Tuesday lunch. Senators emerged to say they were annoyed by the lack of concrete ideas for paying the Hurricane Katrina bill.

"Very entertaining," Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said sarcastically as he left the session. "I haven't heard any specifics from the administration."

The Senate and House GOP members are looking at the poll numbers and looking at 2006. And, they are getting worried:

As polls show the president's approval numbers falling, there is growing concern among lawmakers that GOP margins in Congress could shrink next year, and even rank-and-file Republicans are complaining that Bush is shirking the difficult budget decisions that must accompany the rebuilding bonanza.

Bush couldn't save the victims of Katrina. He's not going to save the GOP congress. Read the rest of this post...

Pentagon blocks testimony to Congress about Atta

Little nervous about the truth coming out? Even Specter doesn't get it. What ever happened to the idea of freedom and democracy, or are they just words?

The Pentagon said Tuesday that it had blocked several military officers and intelligence analysts from testifying at an open Congressional hearing about a highly classified intelligence program that, the officers have said, identified a ringleader of the Sept. 11 attacks as a potential terrorist a year before the attacks.

Two military officers - an active-duty captain in the Navy and a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve - have recently said publicly that they were involved with Able Danger and that the program's analysts identified Mohamed Atta, the Egyptian-born ringleader of the Sept. 11 attacks, by name as a potential terrorist by early 2000.

The Pentagon had said that it interviewed three other people who were involved with Able Danger and who said that they, too, recalled the identification of Mr. Atta as a terrorist suspect. Mr. Specter said his staff had talked to all five of the potential witnesses and found that "credibility has been established" for all of them.

Read the rest of this post...

Karzai wants to take control of foreign military in Afghanistan

I'm surprised that it took him this long to ask. With the US going nowhere in Iraq and US taxpayers wondering where all of the money is going to come from to fight these wars he does not have much to lose by making such demands. It's probably only a matter of time before the US cuts money and military so why not at least look like you aren't' a puppet? Read the rest of this post...

Did Bill Frist have insider information? When is the SEC investigation?

Surprise, surprise. Bill Frist sold all of his stock in the hospital chain that they own just a few weeks before the stock dropped 15%. What are the odds of that happening? How convenient for the Frist family and get this, it was purely by chance that he sold all of his stock just before the value took a hit. I mean, wow. Is this guy the luckiest person on the planet, or what?

His defense at the moment is that the stock is in a blind trust and he has no idea how much is there, but the fact remains that he can give the order to sell all of it at any time to the trust and it would be foolish to think that an owner of a large hospital chain would not have some idea of what is happening in his own business.

What's nice is that Martha just left a few months ago so her old bed is probably still warm. So is there anyone in this new GOP who is not tainted by scandal? Read the rest of this post...

How Much Do We Hate Wal-Mart?

Yes, they were more efficient than Bush in getting help to people after Katrina, but that doesn't mean we have to love 'em. Canada knows how to stand up to this behemoth. Workers in the Quebec city of Jonquiere hoped to be the first North American Wal-Mart employees to unionize. When they looked poised for success...surprise! Wal-Mart shut the store down, something it rarely does. Coincidence? Please. And now the courts have ruled against it. So how much do we hate Wal-Mart? Probably not as much as Wal-Mart hates Quebec right now. Read the rest of this post...

Chaos In Iraq

More on the story behind that photo of a British soldier in flames that John posted below. If you didn't see that image and only read the NYT, you'd believe this: British soldiers working under cover were arrested by Iraqi police. When officials refused to hand them over to the coalition forces, the soldiers were "freed as a British armored vehicle blasted through the wall of their jail." Sounds sketchy and not good -- but wait until you read the Independent's far more explosive version:

British troops were struggling to maintain control in Basra last night after the city exploded into bloody violence following the alleged killing of an Iraqi policeman by a British soldier.

Two British servicemen, dressed in civilian clothes, were held at Basra's main police station after the incident. Outside, rioting began as the city threatened to descend into anarchy.

Last night, British forces used up to 10 tanks - supported by helicopters - to smash through the walls of the jail and free the two British servicemen. John Reid, the Defence Secretary, later confirmed they were back with UK forces.

Around 150 prisoners were said to have escaped during the assault, which was condemned as "barbaric, savage and irresponsible" by Mohammed al-Waili, the provincial governor. But the Ministry of Defence disputed the claim, saying that the release of the soldiers had been "negotiated".

British troops using massive force to free soldiers being held by their allies? Sparking a riot in a major city and freeing dozens of Iraqi prisoners in the process? This is a tipping point for the UK's commitment to Iraq. Another word for it? Chaos. Read the rest of this post...