It's still Saturday where I am!
I thought this would work well enough: Jesus of Suburbia
Just for fun, my favorite off the American Idiot album: Homecoming
Saturday Night Music
Daily Round-up
Shakes: Marines Ban Tattoos
Shakes: Gee, You're an Idiot
Space Cowboy: Piss Off, Inhofe
Shakes: Let the Rudy Smackdown Begin
Litbrit: The Stuff of Roving Nightmares
Shakes: Cutest Shit Evah!
Misty: Sweet Jesus
Shakes: Quote of the Day
Shakes: Eric Keroack Resigns
Waveflux: Vet Net, "Unsung," and 2000 signatures
Shakes: Caption These Photos
Shakes: Sad Kermit
Shakes: Resignations in the White House
Shakes: Friday Cat Blogging
Shakes: President Bombs-a-Lot
Friday Cat Blogging
Olivia: Sniffin' stuff with the cutest pink nose evah.
Layin'.
Sittin'.
Don't Let the Door Hit Ya Where the Good Lord Split Ya
Over the past several years, Peter H. Wehner has sent a blizzard of e-mails around the White House and the rest of Washington, offering strategy and policy ideas to President Bush and making the case for those policies to outsiders. The president calls them "Wehner-grams," and their author has been so prolific that they now fill 24 binders.Wehner says, "I've been here six years, and there was just the sense that it was time to go." "Insiders" say that Wehner's departure "owes more to the cycle of a presidency late in its tenure rather than to any overall design." White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten says it's just the "natural ebb and flow" of the institution.
But sometime in the coming weeks, Wehner will gather those 24 binders in a box and sign off of his well-worn White House e-mail account for the last time. Wehner, the White House director of strategic initiatives and the official in-house intellectual for a president often derided as anti-intellectual, will be the latest Bush aide to move on.
I say maybe this has something to do with it: "Wehner became best known, though, for his e-mails. They started out as notes to colleagues pointing out an essay they might have missed and evolved into lengthy musings on the role of the Bush presidency in history or the nature of radical jihad—sent to 1,000 officials, lobbyists, journalists and others." Hmm. I'd love to read those. I'm sure the now-Democratic chairs of a couple of Congressional committees would, too, all things considered.
And likely outta there:
Multiple sources reported today that a top aide to President George W. Bush's key adviser Karl Rove will soon step down from her job in the White House. The aide, Sara M. Taylor, was identified in yesterday's hearing with a former top Justice Department official as seeking the resignation of a US Attorney in Arkansas. She could still face a subpoena, RAW STORY learned.In fact, the Wire reports that not just Taylor, but Barry Jackson, a longtime Rove aide, is also expected to leave soon.
…Both the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire blog reported today that Sara Taylor, the White House political director, is set to resign soon.
There are two issues likely at play here. One is that Taylor, along with her deputy, Scott Jennings, were both identified by Kyle Sampson during his testimony yesterday as being keen to replace ousted US Attorney Bud Cummins with Tim Griffin. (You may remember that convincing Arkansas' Democratic Senators of the wisdom of Griffin's interim appointment was described by Sampson as needing to "be done in 'good faith' of course.") So there's a road into Rove's office from the US Attorney Scandal.
The other issue is that the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is seeking more information about the PowerPoint presentation given to the General Services Administration " that discussed targeting 20 Democratic congressional candidates in the next election." (Recall GSA director Lorita Doan's pitiful testimony about said presentation on Wednesday.) That presentation was given by—surprise!—Taylor's deputy, Scott Jennings. So there's a road into Rove's office from the GSA Scandal.
Shocking.
Sad Kermit
This would be the yin to the cute otters' yang. I was listening to the radio yesterday in the car and a local DJ was laughing herself silly over this video. It's Kermit the Frog, covering Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt." It really isn't easy being green, bitchez!
Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt" video here. Lyrics here.
Caption These Photos
Via Attaturk. H/T Chet.
Many thanks to Reuters' Jason Reed, who is still a total fucking genius.
Vet Net, "Unsung," and 2000 signatures
Chuc Smith of Veterans for Peace, who co-hosted the airing of Vet Net (station KDHX) in which I was a guest, is pleased to report that the show is now available in streaming audio. It can also be downloaded as a podcast. Our show on LaVena Johnson is the first one available. Get it here!
Last weekend, many visitors came to the petition site by way of an impassioned piece on the LaVena Johnson case posted at Welcome to Pottersville. It was heartening to read, and a fine example of the writing and advocacy many others are doing on behalf of LaVena's family.
LaVena’s death just eight days shy of her 20th birthday would be an excellent counter recruiting commercial as to why you should do everything in your power to keep your daughter from enlisting. The straight A student, who wasn’t ready for college right out of high school, wanted to travel, earn money for college for later. She was seduced by the siren call of a recruiter at Hazelwood High School who told her only what he wanted her to hear, what she wanted to hear. After her funeral, her father went through her drawer and found a recruiting brochure that said, “Earn $25,000 toward college.” [...]Gone now are the pie in the sky promises of college and $25,000 for it. Now, her usefulness at an end, the Army cannot and will not even tell her family the truth about her death. Here’s what they will talk about: When LeKesha Johnson, the youngest of the five Johnson kids and the sole surviving daughter, became a senior, the Army began calling the family. When the Johnsons finally told them that they’d already lost a daughter in Iraq and that no one else would be enlisting, the calls kept coming, anyway. Back then, the Johnsons didn’t know they could opt out and prevent the DoD from using No Child Left Behind to get their contact information. Now they know but only too late.
I recommend everyone to read the post in its entirety. Heartfelt thanks to the author (a Shaker not unlike yourself, or myself), who goes by the non de plume "jurassicpork." I will gratefully post his actual name here should he grant his permission.
Last night the number of signatures on the LaVena Johnson petition passed the threshold of two thousand. Each name on this list, every concerned person, is valued and important.
Quote of the Day
"The problem this bitch sees is that no one takes the time to connect all those 'families have been stretched to the breaking point' Today Show headline-making studies with dumb ass big business supported ideas like 'we need to rethink the family leave act'. If they did connect them, they might find that the sandwich generation is going to need that family leave business...big time. And yes, they will need it for shit like a cold. Elderly parents with the common cold are a 'I'm going to stay home' kind of illness. Now of course a bitch is sure there are some people abusing FMLA. Shit, Big Business abuses the tax code every year and I don't see anyone doing anything about that shit (wink). Seriously, abuse of anything goes hand and hand with people. But some abuse should not be the excuse for tossing aside FMLA just when the largest generation of Americans is most likely going to need to start using it. Blink. Or is that the point?"—Shark-Fu
Sweet Jesus
Bill Donahue is back in the news, this time he's bitching about Jesus. Well, more specifically about one sweeeeeet Jesus:
NEW YORK - The Easter season unveiling of an anatomically correct chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ, dubbed “My Sweet Lord” by its creator, has infuriated Catholics preparing to observe some of their holiest days of the year.OH NOES! No loincloth! You mean Jesus had a penis?! A giant chocolate Jesus with a penis for all to see. I'm surprised Donahue didn't keel right over.
The 6-foot sculpture by Cosimo Cavallaro was to debut Monday evening, four days before Christians mark the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. The final day of the exhibit at the Lab Gallery inside Manhattan’s Roger Smith Hotel was planned for Easter Sunday.
“This is one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever,” said Bill Donohue, head of the Catholic League, a watchdog group. “It’s not just the ugliness of the portrayal, but the timing — to choose Holy Week is astounding.”
[...]
The artwork was created from more than 200 pounds of milk chocolate, and it features Christ with his arms outstretched. The Cavallaro creation does not include a loincloth.
You can check out a (SFW) picture at the link.
Cutest Shit Evah!
Transcript: Lots of people saying, "Aww, that's so cute!"
and "Look they're holding hands!" over and over.
Via NewMexiKen.
The Stuff Of Roving Nightmares
The flailing arms...the evil grimace...the bloated contours.
When I saw that awful Rappin' Karl clip all over the Intertubes (and, horrifyingly, on my own television) this week, I kept sensing this frisson of déjà vu. I knew I'd come across that creature before. Somewhere.
It was Son Three who helped me connect the blobs, so to speak, when he asked to watch Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas for the umpteenth time last night. I pulled the DVD from its threadbare box, slipped it into the machine, and continued with my busywork, humming along to Danny Elfman's fabulous soundtrack.
And then: Eureka!
Oh, brother, you're something--
You put me in a spin;
You aren't comprehending
The position that you're in.
It's hopeless, you're finished,
You haven't got a prayer--
'Cause I'm Mr. Oogie Boogie
And you ain't going nowhere!
Also at litbrit.
You put me in a spin;
You aren't comprehending
The position that you're in.
It's hopeless, you're finished,
You haven't got a prayer--
'Cause I'm Mr. Oogie Boogie
And you ain't going nowhere!
Also at litbrit.
Let the Rudy Smackdown Begin
Jill's got an excellent post looking at the first visible cracks in the halo bestowed on St. Rudy by a media previously unwilling to question his reputation as "America's Mayor." There's a lot of information there—and none of it's going to bode well for Rudy if it seeps into his "public bio," that ethereal collection of bits and pieces and random factoids that hover around every presidential candidate.
More at MyDD.
Piss Off, Inhofe
This guy, Inhofe, is really starting to get my (pet) goat. It's one thing if he simply disagrees with the scientific proof that global warming is underway, perhaps thinking that God will just take care of everything. For some reason, this issue, with Al Gore as its champion, has created a mutant bug that has crawled up Inhofe's ass. We got a taste of this when he was taking cheap shots during Gore's testimony, at which Barbara Boxer slammed his whinging ass back down.
In true super-villain fashion, Inhofe waited for the right moment to strike back again at his nemesis for revenge:
Al Gore may have to face another inconvenient truth — his highly touted Live Earth concert is no match for Senate procedural tactics.Here's the deal, Inhofe: The concert is still going to happen, the issue will still be front and center, and you'll still be a cranky dick. Please stop crying about this being a partisan issue. Caring about the future of this planet, our home, is for all of us, even the cranky dicks.
On Wednesday, concert organizers pulled the plug on Washington as a venue for raising money and awareness on climate change, thanks in part to global warming skeptic James M. Inhofe.
The Oklahoma senator and a handful of other Republicans refused to sign off on a resolution (S Con Res 24) sponsored by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, that would have authorized use of the Capitol grounds for the July 7 concert.
(Cross-posted at Pure and Easy)
Gee, You're an Idiot
Watch House Minority Leader John Boehner mispronounce Tuskegee (saying "Tuskejee") like a zillion times during the presentation of the Congressional Gold Medal to the Tuskegee Airmen.
Come on, Boehner! Didn't you ever see The Tuskegee Airmen? Laurence Fishburne, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Andre Braugher, Courtney Vance…? The story of America's first black fighter pilots? Is this ringing any bells at all, dude?
You'd think a guy with a name spelled b-o-e-h-n-e-r, but said bayner, would be a little more sensitive to proper pronunciations.
Marines Ban Tattoos
You've got to be kidding me: "The Marines are banning any new, extra-large tattoos below the elbow or the knee, saying such body art is harmful to the Corps' spit-and-polish image."
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway announced the policy change last week.Of the list of things I expect from members of our armed forces, being highly tattooed is not among them. Don't wantonly massacre dozens of civilians, don't rape a child and set her on fire and murder her family, don't brutalize detainees. These are the sorts of things on my list. As for tattoos, frankly, I don't give a flying fuck if a wo/man who's served his/her country well wants to look like Leopard Man:
"Some Marines have taken the liberty of tattooing themselves to a point that is contrary to our professional demeanor and the high standards America has come to expect from us," he said. "I believe tattoos of an excessive nature do not represent our traditional values."
(A veteran of 28 years of service in the British armed forces, btw.)
Anyone caught with a new tattoo on the banned bits "could be barred from re-enlistment or face disciplinary action." So…stop-lossed but aching to go home? Just get some fresh ink! And it's obviously not lost on these wo/men that they're fighting to "spread freedom" but are having their freedom taken away:
"This is something I love to do," said Cpl. David Nadrchal, 20, of Pomona, who made an appointment to get an Iraqi flag and his deployment dates etched onto his lower leg. "The fact I can't put something on my body that I want it's a big thing to tell me I can't do that."Totally. The ban strikes me as preventing what's a very important rite of passage for many soldiers, too—all in the pursuit of an "image" that masks the ugly, messy, and generally hardcore nature of war while we're at war. It's like the marines are being told: "Don't remind Joe and Jane America back home that we're at war. Let them sleepwalk through their precious, insulated little lives without any unnecessary wake-up calls." Does that convey a message these wo/men are doing something honorable? Yeesh.
Nadrchal said he is unsure whether he will re-enlist: "There's all these little things. They are slowly chipping away at us."
…Tattoo artist Jerry Layton at the Body Temple Tattoo Studio in Oceanside said he was booked up with Marines rushing to beat the deadline.
"These are guys that are dying in the war," Layton said. "They can fight, but they can't get a tattoo? It's ridiculous."
My father-in-law was a sailor for many years. It wasn't an easy life; for much of his childhood, Mr. Shakes wouldn't see him for months at a time. Hard men did the job he did.
He used to be a hard man—hard-working, hard-drinking, hard-tempered. Hard-living. It's difficult for me to reconcile that with the man I met long after that part of his life was over, who won't even show me his plentiful tattoos, accumulated over years of service, because they're "noot fit foor a yoong lady's eyes." I know what they are, though, because Mr. Shakes has told me, and they tell a story about the life he lived. They tell the story about what it meant to be a sailor. It marked him, that hard life. Our soldiers, who will be indelibly marked by their service whether with ink or without, should be able to tell their stories across their skins, too. That strikes me as the very least we owe them.
Daily Round-up
Litbrit: It Takes Bold Hearts to Reform a Whopper of an Industry
Shakes: Rove at the White House Correspondents' Dinner
Shakes: Bush at the White House Correspondents' Dinner
Shakes: More McCain
Shakes: Kyle Sampson Testifies—Open Thread
Paul the Spud: Someone Call the Waaaaaaaahhhmbulance!
Paul the Spud: Be Nice to the Scots
Shakes: An Invitation and Some Read-Ems
Shakes: Caption This Photo
Shakes: Blair Won't Negotiate
Shakes: More Sampson Testimony—Open Thread
Shakes: Email Problems
Misty: Yarrr, Matey!
Shakes: Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day
"In my emails, by referring to 'loyal Bushies,' or loyalty to the president and the attorney general, what I meant was, uh, loyalty to their policies and to the priorities that they had laid out for US attorneys." — Kyle Sampson, attempting to explain (away) what a 'loyal Bushie' is.
Yarrr, matey!
A North Buncombe student is suspended for wearing pirate attire to class. The school says he created a disturbance. But Bryan Killian says costume is part of his religion, Pastafarianism, and that the suspension is the school’s way of violating his first amendment rights.Yo ho, baby. Yo ho.
[...]
Officials at North Buncombe say their decision to suspend Killian for one day had nothing to do with religion or religious beliefs. In a statement, Buncombe County Schools say, “…clothes and items that are deemed to be inappropriate or disruptive to classroom instruction are prohibited.” School administrators also say he ignored repeated warnings about his attire, and they had no choice but suspend him.
ASZ also points us to a local news poll (that you can vote in) that asks if you think the school district did the right thing regarding the suspension. Interestingly enough, most people are saying no.
Email Problems
I seem to be having some issues with my email. I'm not sure if Comcast has upgraded its spam filters to outrageously silly levels or what, but Spudsy's emails to me keep getting bounced back as spam, and my inbox is mysteriously empty, compared to its usual nine gazillion messages a day.
So, if you've tried to email me, and you've gotten no response, or got a bounceback, it's not because I'm ignoring or blocking you, I promise.
Try me at melissamcewan-at-yahoo-dot-com if you're having problems or suspect I'm not getting your emails.
Sampson Testimony
CNN's got a pretty good summary, for anyone who couldn't watch/listen this morning. And of course the invaluable Josh Marshall has the play-by-play.
Also, Think Progress has the scoop on Republicans trying to shut down the hearing.
Blair Won't Negotiate
Prime Minister Tony Blair said Thursday that Britain would not negotiate over British sailors and marines held hostage by Iran. In an interview with ITV News, Blair again called for the unconditional return of the 15 Royal Navy personnel who were seized by Iranian authorities last week.He speaks more and more like Bush with every passing day (although I grant that Bush probably thinks quid pro quo is the name of a sports deodorant for men).
"The important thing for us is to get them back safe and sound, but we can't enter into some basis of bargaining," Blair said. "What you have to do when you are engaged with people like the Iranian regime, you have to keep explaining to them, very patiently, what it is necessary to do and at the same time make them fully aware there are further measures that will be taken if they're not prepared to be reasonable.
"What you can't do is end up negotiating over hostages; end up saying there's some quid pro quo or tit for tat; that's not acceptable," he said.
Today, Britain took its case to the UN Security Council, in spite of Iran's warnings against doing so, accusing Britain of "miscalculating this issue." Britain requested the support of the Security Council on a statement deploring Tehran's action and demanding the immediate release of the 15 soldiers. "But Security Council diplomats said the statement circulated by Britain's UN Mission is likely to face problems from Russia and others because it says the Britons were 'operating in Iraqi waters'—a point that Iran contests." And now, in retaliation, Iran has rescinded its promise to release Leading Seaman Faye Turney, the only female soldier being held.
Britain's position is: "We are not seeking to put Iran in a corner. We are simply saying: Please release the personnel who should not have been seized in the first place." Iran doesn't share their view that the personnel should not have been seized. Nonetheless, I've got to agree with Chet when he says: "There's no need for this to go any further unless Iran wants it to. … If the Iranians had any kind of point to make, they've made it." Cernig is also right when he says it's always easier to escalate.
It's truly disappointing that another casualty of the war on terror seems to have been British diplomacy.
Caption This Photo
Kyle Sampson, former chief of staff to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington March 29, 2007. The hearing is being held to investigate whether politics motivated the firing of U.S. attorneys. REUTERS/Jason Reed
An Invitation and Some Read-Ems
All Twin Cities-area Shakers are invited to Shaker Suzy's show, Where the Girls Are: A Musical Celebration of American Women, which opens tonight. Break a leg, Suzy!!!
Meanwhile, Shaker Pat recommends the stellar Five Years of Broken by Joe Galloway…while Shaker Jay passes along that Phyllis Schlafly is at it again.
Norbizness channels Costanza…while Minstrel Boy invokes Cicero.
The Rude One reviews the White House Correspondents' Dinner: "Yep, between the lurching faux rap and the homoerotic objectification of the black male body, it was a proud evening for America."
Echidne's got a great one on Reporting on Feminism and Health.
Chet's all over Delicate American Ears.
Wonkette finds yet another broken law: "Ha ha, it's also a federal crime to use false phone numbers in a domain registration."
Steve Benen relates the story behind Bush's Iraqi bloggers.
August discovers the 2008 election may threaten 85% of USA Network's schedule.
Mustang Bobby on the Prophet from Colorado Springs. See—now that's why I didn't want to be tasked with deciding who is and who is not a Christian. Because people who do look like assholes.
Be Nice to the Scots
Or you may not like what you find in the mail!
A Scottish company has been slammed for inviting customers to "send a poo" to an Englishman on St George's Day.The company sells their poo (I can't believe I just typed that) year-round, and say the prank is popular with disgruntled customers and "revenge seekers." The St. George's Day gimmick is a new angle to peddle their wares. St. George, for those of you that might not know, is the patron saint of England. So basically, this novelty poo company is taking advantage of hundreds of years of animosity and oppression to sell fake poo. But at least they're being light-hearted about it; it does all seem to be in good fun, and the company claims they've received no complaints from customers or recipients.Edinburgh-based firm PostaPoo.com is selling plastic "realistic poo" to send to "your favourite (or least favourite) Englishman" to mark April 23.
Customers are given the choice between human or dog-style excrement, wrapped in tissue paper along with a personal message set beside the English flag.
Members of the English Democrats Party, however, are not amused.
But members of the English Democrats Party, which is campaigning for an English Parliament, questioned the stunt's legality.It's a little difficult for me to take this seriously when they're talking about fake poo. Hell, just the fact that they're calling it "poo," and not a "turd" or anything else is hilarious to me. Well, we'll just leave them to squabble over their plastic poo. In the meantime, I will remind Mr. Shakes that while I once threatened to send him a pair of The World's Most Awesome Pants, I'm still a nice guy and do not deserve poo in the post.
Robin Tilbrook, the party's national chairman, said: "The company's website says they will not send this so-called 'practical joke' if the message is deemed threatening, racist, homophobic, or displays religious bigotry.
"It appears to me to be threatening, possibly racist and without question bigoted. It's certainly offensive and possibly an offence."
Please.
Someone Call the Waaaaaaaahhhmbulance!
Wal-Mart's CEO is just so darned mad at the people of NYC! Those meanies! They're such bullies! He wants to come in and put up some of his big shiny stores, and they just won't let him, darn it!
First, a little bit from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, then the money quote:
Wal-Mart May Never Enter Manhattan
Still, Stuart Applebaum, president of The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which is leading the charge against Wal-Mart in New York, said Scott's comments were good news for the union. The union represents 100,000 workers throughout the U.S. and Canada, including 45,000 workers in New York.After the way Wal-Mart elbowed their way into Chicago recently, I'm admitting to a heaping spoonful of schadenfreude here. Wal-Mart's not getting what they want for once. Hah! And this made me grin:
"They are going to find that no matter where they are in New York City, the response is going to be the same," Applebaum said. "New Yorkers will not tolerate their way of operating. Their promises of low prices come at too high of a cost."
Applebaum said that if Wal-Mart were able open in New York -- the nation's largest city -- it would mean that there "would be no place that would be off limits."
In an interview with The New York Times, published Wednesday, Lee Scott, Wal-Mart chief executive and chairman, said that trying to conduct business in New York was so expensive that "I don't think it is worth the effort. I don't care if we are ever here," he told The New York Times at a meeting with editors and reporters on Tuesday.You don't want me? Fine! I don't care! I don't want to be in your stinky 'ol city, anyway! I'm taking my exploited workers and going home!
Of course, it's high costs, not the strong campaign against Wal-Mart that caused this tantrum.
Ahem.
Attorneygate Hearing
Kyle Sampson about to be grilled. You can watch live on C-SPAN3.
Chuck Schumer just made his opening statement, and now they're taking a brief recess while the Senators leave for a vote. Shortly, they'll be coming back, and there won't be any more interruptions during the hearing, thanks to Reid's scheduling.
Open thread for discussion on the hearing when it resumes…
Le Maverique 
L'âne
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was close to leaving the Republican Party in 2001, weeks before then-Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) famously announced his decision to become an Independent, according to former Democratic lawmakers who say they were involved in the discussions.Big surprise, McCain's campaign is strenuously denying the accuracy of this report. But why on earth would Daschle and Downey make this shit up, particularly now, when McCain's losing ground faster than the slutty girl in a slasher flick? And, by the way, Weaver doesn't even deny the talk took place; he just accuses Downey of mischaracterizing it: "We certainly didn’t discuss in any detail about the senator’s political plans and any discussion about party-switchers, generically, would have been limited to the idle gossip which was all around the city about the [Democrats'] aggressive approach about getting any GOP senator to switch in order to gain the majority. Nothing more or less than that."
In interviews with The Hill this month, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and ex-Rep. Tom Downey (D-N.Y.) said there were nearly two months of talks with the maverick lawmaker following an approach by John Weaver, McCain’s chief political strategist.
Democrats had contacted Jeffords and then-Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) in the early months of 2001 about switching parties, but in McCain’s case, they said, it was McCain’s top strategist who came to them.
Downey says Weaver's full of shit, and, reading between the lines of the article, it sounds to me like McCain was fishing to find out how hard the Dems were willing to fellate him—"if the right people asked him"; Daschle and McCain "had meetings and conversations on the floor and in his office, I think in mine as well, about how we would do it, what the conditions would be. We talked about committees and his seniority … [A lot of issues] were on the table"—then flirted with the idea of going Independent, and eventually took a pass.
But reading between the lines isn't even necessary—this story reeks of McCain, the horrific, stumbling zombie corpse of a once-credible man, whose ambition has eclipsed any hint of integrity, the merest shred of decency. Hopelessly disingenuous, abidingly opportunistic, and incorrigibly cynical, he would sell out his every last heartfelt conviction, if only he had any in the first place.
Stand-Up President
Unfortunately, I mean stand-up as in "comedian," not as in "full o' integrity." But I hardly have to tell you that, do I, Shakers? Anyway, here's Preznit Haha himself, doing his schtick at last night's Correspondents' Dinner. From mom jokes to lawyer jokes, this cat's got it all. (I transcribed the video, so the transcript is below for anyone who can't view or hear it.)
Thank you, Brian. Laura and I are happy to be here. I'd like to thank the Radio and TV Correspondents Association for providing dinner tonight, and I'd like to thank Senator Webb for providing security. [laughter & applause] I'm glad to see everyone here is enjoying themselves; don't think I haven't noticed all the drinking that's been going on. In my State of the Union address, I said we needed to increase the use of ethanol. [laughter] Well, where should I start? A year ago, my approval rating was in the 30s, my nominee for the Supreme Court had just withdrawn, and my vice president had shot someone. [laughter & applause] Ahh, those were the good old days. [laughter & applause] Sorry the vice president couldn't be here. He's had a rough few weeks. To be honest, his feelings are kinda hurt. He said he was going on vacation to Afghanistan where people like him. [laughter] You in the press certainly have had a lot to report lately. Take the current controversy—I have to admit, we really blew the way we let those attorneys go. You know you've botched it when people sympathize with lawyers. [laughter & applause] Speaking of subpoenas, it's good to see Speaker Pelosi tonight, heh heh heh heh. [laughter & applause] Now some have wondered how the two of us would get along—some say she's bossy, she's opinionated, she's not to be crossed. Hey, I get along with my mother! [laughter & wooos] But between the Congress and the press, there is a lot of scrutiny in this job. Not a day goes by that I don't get scrutineered one way or the other. [laughter & applause] The press is a lot tougher the second term. It's reached the point I sometimes call on Helen Thomas just to hear a friendly voice. [laughter] No matter how tough it gets, however, I have no intention of becoming a lame duck president. Unless, of course, Cheney accidentally shoots me in the leg. [laughter & applause] Hey, I have 664 days left in the White House. So technically I'm a temporary guest worker. [laughter & applause] Now I'm considering what's next. President Clinton, of course, wrote a very successful presidential memoirs with 10,000 pages or sumpin'. [laughter] I'm thinking of something really fun and creative for mine—y'know, maybe a pop-up book? [laughter & applause] Consider a number of titles—which do you like? How Dubya Got His Groove Back? [laughter] Who Moved My Presidency? Heh heh. [laughter] Or Tuesdays with Cheney? [laughter] By the way, I'm not sure whether or not Senator Obama is here. Last I heard, he was not coming to the Radio and TV Correspondents' Dinner—not enough press. [laughter and woos and applause] People magazine recently had a photo of the Senator, there on the beach in Hawaii, his sleek, hairless pecs glistening in the surf. [laughter] Shows how biased the press is. Ya ever seen a shot of, uh, like that of Denny Hastert? [laughter]
White House Correspondents' Association Dinner
The annual Beltway Elite Circle Jerk was last night, and it was even more embarrassing than usual—which is really saying something.
Ensuring no one will ever enjoy another episode of Who's Line Is It Anyway? again, Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood got Karl Rove up onstage for a fun little rap number, during which Turd Blossom rechristened himself "MC Rove" and tried to do something with his body that I presume was dancing.
But before we even got to his wicked awesome convulsive cavorting, he had a couple of hot jokes for the crowd, like giving his name as "Patrick Fitzgerald," saying he "tears the tops off of small animals" for fun, and responding to Sherwood saying they want to ask him a few questions with, "Lots of people want to ask me questions." Ho ho ho! Isn't being a scumbag criminal employed by the White House just hilarious?!
Considering how hard the room full of assembled politicos and members of the media laughed at this clever repartee, they apparently think it is.
Anyway, here's the stinking video—and I'll have more of Bush making an arse out of himself later…
Burger King: It Takes Bold Hearts To Reform A Whopper Of An Industry
via Swanton Pacific Ranch
It's not a big move--not yet--but it's a bold one:In what animal welfare advocates are describing as a “historic advance,” Burger King, the world’s second-largest hamburger chain, said yesterday that it would begin buying eggs and pork from suppliers that did not confine their animals in cages and crates.
The company said that it would also favor suppliers of chickens that use gas, or “controlled-atmospheric stunning,” rather than electric shocks to knock birds unconscious before slaughter. It is considered a more humane method, though only a handful of slaughterhouses use it.
The goal for the next few months, Burger King said is for 2 percent of its eggs to be “cage free,” and for 10 percent of its pork to come from farms that allow sows to move around inside pens, rather than being confined to crates. The company said those percentages would rise as more farmers shift to these methods and more competitively priced supplies become available.
The cage-free eggs and crate-free pork will cost more, although it is not clear how much because Burger King is still negotiating prices, Steven Grover, vice president for food safety, quality assurance and regulatory compliance, said. Prices of food at the chain’s restaurants will not be increased as a result.
While Burger King’s initial goals may be modest, food marketing experts and animal welfare advocates said yesterday that the shift would put pressure on other restaurant and food companies to adopt similar practices.
“I think the whole area of social responsibility, social consciousness, is becoming much more important to the consumer,” said Bob Goldin, executive vice president of Technomic, a food industry research and consulting firm. “I think that the industry is going to see that it’s an increasing imperative to get on that bandwagon.”
Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive of the Humane Society of the United States, said Burger King’s initiatives put it ahead of its competitors in terms of animal welfare.
“That’s an important trigger for reform throughout the entire industry,” Mr. Pacelle said.
This is very good news, I believe. I haven't eaten red meat since 1981, but like many semi-vegetarian parents, I do allow the lads to indulge in the occasional Kids' Meal (we ask for cheeseburgers with no meat) when the accompanying toy is a must-have Star Wars something-or-other. And okay, even I've been known to give in to the odd hangover-inspired craving for those salty, greasy fries at Mickey D's. But I've long felt guilty for supporting these fast-food restaurants, knowing as I do that they're among the biggest supporters of factory-farming, a high-density method of raising livestock that values quantity (of meat produced) over quality (of the animals' lives, not to mention the taste and safety of the product itself).
Factory farms confine pregnant sows in horrible, claustrophobic gestation crates, causing both physical and psychological harm to the animals. Factory farms, who in general confine large numbers of all sorts of animals into tiny spaces, give their livestock antibiotic-laced feed, a practice that is increasingly coming under fire for its contributions to the Superbug syndrome. Factory farms fatten animals with corn, which practice alters the pH of cows' guts, causing proliferations of especially virulent strains of deadly E. coli in the animals' waste, at levels not seen in the waste of animals who graze outside. Factory farms translate to miserable lives for the creatures who die to put food on the table for most Americans.
But until recently, free-range meats and poultry could only be found at pricey health-food stores. These days, I'm seeing whole sections of freezers in plain old supermarkets devoted to free-range goods--even in behind-the-times Florida--and while the prices are still higher than those of factory-farmed meats, customers are, in ever-greater numbers, buying the products and asking for more. Clearly Burger King and other large restaurant chains have been paying attention to the increased demand. We can attribute their shift in purchasing policy to newfound awareness about the sentience of all living creatures--and I do think an increased awareness of humane alternatives to factory farming played a big part in their decision--but we must remember that significant consumer demand within a growing market segment is what ultimately brought about this sea change.
We became more educated and aware; we stopped eating meat altogether or started buying humanely raised products whenever practical and possible (not to mention affordable); we began asking questions: instead of Where's the beef, we wanted to know Where's the beef coming from?
I'll still order my cheeseburgers minus-the-burger, please, but knowing my money is going to a business that is at least making an effort to lead the industry in a new and humane direction will certainly put a smile on my face, even when I'm whispering my Sunday Morning Fries of Regret order into the drive-through microphone.
Also at litbrit.
Question of the Day
We haven't done a "desert island" question in ages, so here we go… As always, the desert comes equipped with a power source and kickass entertainment system.
Were you to be stranded for an indefinite period of time, which one book, one album, and one film would you want to have with you?
Book: The Complete Works of Shakespeare
Album: "Strangeways, Here We Come" by The Smiths
Film: Harold and Maude
Daily Round-up
Shakes: Britain Rattles a Saber
Shakes: Elections Have Consequences: Equal Rights Amendment Edition
Todd Mitchell: The War on…Something
Shakes: Pull up a Chairy
Waveflux: Richardson Has Self-Esteem Issues
Shakes: Turd Blossoming
Space Cowboy: Not So Fast There, Murphy McFingers
Paul the Spud: Caption This Photo
Shakes: Superpooch
Shakes: Elections Have Consequences: Investigations-a-Go-Go Edition
Shakes: Speaking
Shakes: Forbes Joins the Giuliani Campaign
Shakes: Attorneygate Quickies
Attorneygate Quickies
And that dog will fuck. you. up.
Forbes Joins the Giuliani Campaign
So Steve Forbes—erstwhile one-issue presidential candidate and president, CEO, and editor-in-chief of Forbes magazine—has joined Rudy Giuliani's campaign as his National Campaign Co-Chair and Senior Policy Advisor. They're both supply-siders, anti-taxers, and alleged believers in conservative federal spending, so it makes sense that Forbes would be an economic advisor to Giuliani, but his National Campaign Co-Chair?! Well, what you might not realize is how many other things these two wild and crazy guys have in common.
They both like making funny faces.
They both look scary on TV.
They both sometimes just look scary.
They both like bold prints.
They both like wearing gowns.
And, while Forbes likes hanging out with his brothers…
…Rudy likes hanging out with his sistahs!
It's a match made in bloody heaven, I tells ya!
Watch out, D.C. The Rudy Train's coming to town—toot toot!
Speaking
Time managing editor Rick Stengel speaks: Dems should be wary of aggressively probing Karl Rove, lest they be seen as "obsessively concerned with settling scores."Huh.
Shakespeare's Sister managing editor Melissa McEwan speaks: Rick Stengel should shut the fuck up, lest he reinforce the antidemocratic and dangerous notion that politics is merely a game with consequences that don't really matter.
(She then searches out the nearest toilet to puke out everything she's eaten in the last six years thanks to the phrase "aggressively probing Karl Rove.")
Elections Have Consequences: Investigations-a-Go-Go Edition
Probably.
Background on this hearing here. Sorry—no transcript yet.
More from TPM, Think Progress, and Arlen.
Superpooch
[Debbie Parkhurst, 45] said she was home alone with the dogs Friday afternoon when she decided to snack on an apple. Suddenly, she said, a chunk of the fruit became wedged in her windpipe. "It was lodged pretty tight because I couldn’t breathe," she said. "I tried to do the thing where you lean over a chair and give yourself the Heimlich, but it didn’t work."The only thing that could possibly make this story even better? Debbie and her husband Kevin rescued Toby from a dumpster.
Parkhurst said she then began beating her chest, an action that might have attracted [2-year-old golden retriever] Toby’s attention. "The next thing I know, Toby’s up on his hind feet and he’s got his front paws on my shoulders," she recalled. "He pushed me to the ground, and once I was on my back, he began jumping up and down on my chest."
Toby’s jumping apparently managed to dislodge the apple from Parkhurst’s windpipe.
…"I, literally, have pawprint-shaped bruises on my chest," Parkhurst said. "I’m still a little hoarse, but otherwise, I’m OK. … I know it sounds a little weird, but I think he had a sense of what was happening. Of all the dogs in the world, I never would have expected this goofy one here to know the Heimlich."
[H/T to Bint.]
Caption this Photo
"Don't think of them draped over coffins... don't think of them draped over coffins... don't think of them draped over coffins..."
Not So Fast There, Murphy McFingers...
Remember that scandal that brought the House down? The one involving the guy who was caught one-handed while turning on the mojo to some teenage Congressional pages? Last we recall, he made his way to rehab for a few months so that other things could grab our attention away from him. Now, he's back from rehab and seems to be enjoying the nice weather:
I guess rehab isn't as magical as he thought.
(Tip'o'the hat to RawStory; cross-posted at Pure and Easy.)
He was seen last week bicycling along South Ocean Boulevard wearing a helmet and bike racing outfit.I guess he's enjoying it while he can. You see, Mr. Foley has to deal with the possibility of answering to state charges, since "the Florida statute makes it a crime simply to use lewd or explicit language that is 'harmful to minors'." Throw in the fact that some messages were sent from Pensacola, and you've got yourself another great popcorn night.
I guess rehab isn't as magical as he thought.
(Tip'o'the hat to RawStory; cross-posted at Pure and Easy.)
Turd Blossoming
1972: Dan Rather reports on the Nixon campaign, and the Boy Genius shows up, talking about getting young people excited about the Republican Party.
Via Echidne, who says: "It is an interesting video to watch if you like the history of politics in general, too. And note the strict gender division of labor."
I nicked the title of the post from Cliff Schecter, who accuses Rove of looking like Skippy from Family Ties. Heh.
He was my worst nightmare before I was even born.
Richardson has self-esteem issues
For any self-respecting presidential campaign, this is really kind of pathetic:
Richardson Seeks Clinton ScrapsAccording to the New York Observer, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) is pursuing a second choice strategy in his presidential campaign fundraising.
Said Richardson: "I appeal to funders that say, 'I’m for Senator Clinton,' and I say, 'O.K., that’s fine. But make me your second choice. Help me out too.'"
A more generous viewpoint might see this pitch as frank and realistic, or even engagingly self-deprecating in a Richard Lewis kind of way...but where's the appeal for cash-flush donors in bankrolling a candidate who declares himself second-rate? Governor Richardson needs a crash-course in selling that touted resume of his.
(Cross-posted in first-rate fashion.)
Wednesday Blogwhoring
Sock it to me, Shakers.
Recommended reading...
TPM Muckracker: White House Aides Eschew Email (Now they're texting.)
Erica Barnett: "Not only do women and girls' lives not matter to anti-choicers, their fetuses' 'lives' don't matter either. What matters is controlling women's bodies."
Think Progress: McCain Calls Media "Jerks" (He's obviously been reading How to Win Friends and Influence People again.)
BooMan: Alienating Our Closest Allies
Steve M: "Here are your rights—right in the back of the head."
Pull up a Chairy
Yeah. Although, I would replace "the Howard Stern Show" with "the unholy spawn of Twin Peaks and Pee-Wee's Playhouse set to a Morrissey soundtrack" for this blog.
The War On...Something
Australian Detainee at Guantanamo Pleads Guilty, Goes Home: "David Hicks, an Australian al-Qaeda trainee who has become by fluke and design one of the best known of the 385 detainees here [at Guantanamo Bay], became the first detainee to plead guilty to providing material support to a terrorist organization. It was the military [commission's] equivalent of a plea bargain. On Tuesday an Australian official said that as part of the deal Mr. Hicks would serve “a bit” more time in prison beyond the five years he has been here, but that he would be allowed to serve it in Australia."
So let me make sure I understand this: five years of being held in the ultra-secretive Guantanamo Bay detention camp for terrorists; hours of undergoing torture; scores of legal battles including three major losses (for the government) in the Supreme Court; the death of Habeas Corpus for detainees; millions of dollars spent securing and ultimately trying this guy; and the first person to be convicted in the kangaroo military commissions, which were designed to "try the most dangerous terrorists in the world" and which the Bush administration fought to the death over "having the right" to engage in, cops a plea and...DUDE GETS TO GO HOME?
I've got nothing better than WTF at this point.
Cross posted from AoF
Elections Have Consequences: Equal Rights Amendment Edition
Oh. Mah. Gawd. Twenty-five-years after it failed to be ratified by three-quarters of state legislatures to become a Constitutional Amendment (and eighty-four years after it was first introduced in Congress), the Equal Rights Amendment—now known as the Women's Equality Amendment—is having a resurgence.
Yesterday, House and Senate Democrats reintroduced the measure … and vowed to bring it to a vote in both chambers by the end of the session.
…"Elections have consequences, and isn't it true those consequences are good right now?" Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) asked a mostly female crowd yesterday at a news conference, as the audience cheered. "We are turning this country around, bit by bit, to put it in a more progressive direction."
The amendment consists of 52 words and has one key line: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."
I'm crying. I'm honestly sitting here crying, reading that line and thinking that it may finally make its way into the Constitution in my lifetime.
That sentence would subject legal claims of gender discrimination to the same strict scrutiny given by courts to allegations of racial discrimination.Yeah, I've heard that once or twice myself. Probably because most Americans are fucking amazed that it isn't.
…"I think we've made a lot of people think about this and say, 'Yes, this is the right thing to do,' " said Arkansas state Rep. Lindsley Smith (D), who sponsored the ERA and has vowed to bring it up again when the legislature reconvenes in 2009. "The question I get most frequently is 'Lindsley, I thought this already was in the Constitution.' "
It remains unclear whether the amendment -- which has 194 House co-sponsors and 10 Senate co-sponsors and no longer includes a deadline for ratification -- can get a two-thirds vote in Congress. [Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.)], who chairs the Judiciary subcommittee on the Constitution, civil rights, and civil liberties, said the bill will receive its first hearing in more than two decades and "is going to be one of the items at the top of the agenda."
Okay, crying again. I just feel deliriously happy at the mere possibility of the ERA at long last being ratified under the leadership of the first ever female Speaker.
Of course, the usual suspects are reemerging to fight it, just like they did last time: "In the 1970s, Schlafly and others argued that the ERA would lead to women being drafted by the military and to public unisex bathrooms. Today, she warns lawmakers that its passage would compel courts to approve same-sex marriages and deny Social Security benefits for housewives and widows." The real issue buried in all that nonsense is, of course, "same-sex marriages." Other opponents are all fidgety "because courts in two states have ruled that equal-rights amendments in state constitutions justify state funding for abortion." Said Arkansas state Rep. Dan Greenberg (R): "The more general language you have in a constitutional amendment, the more unpredictable the policy impact will be."
Yeah, who knows what will happen when we finally recognize women as equals?! Maybe frogs will fall from the fucking sky!
Opponents of the WEA are so tired. Their arguments against it are so tired. Waaaaah! Same-sex marriage! Waaaaah! Abortion! They're willing to deny my equality under the law just because it might open the door to other battles they're eventually going to lose, anyway. Brave culture warriors, my fat arse.
Britain Rattles a Saber
Six days ago, Iran captured 15 members of the British Royal Navy who were apparently on a routine anti-smuggling patrol authorized by the United Nations and the Iraqi government. Now Iran holds them hostage, refusing to say where they are being held and disallowing British officials from visiting them. (Breaking: Iran supposedly to release the female soldier today or tomorrow.) According to Vice Admiral Charles Style, the Iranians first claimed the sailors were taken from Iraqi waters, then claimed they were taken from Iranian waters. Britain has now made public "details of what it said was the sailors’ position when they were apprehended," which places them in Iraqi waters, and Prime Minister Tony Blair is getting threatening.
"It is now time to ratchet up international and diplomatic pressure" on Iran to demonstrate its "total isolation," Prime Minister Tony Blair told parliament after the Royal Navy made public details of what it said was the sailors’ position when they were apprehended.Um, yeah. It is.
The Royal Navy rejected two sets of coordinates provided by Iran as evidence of Tehran's claim that the British sailors had strayed into its territorial waters.
…In diplomatic contacts, Iran had provided Britain with an initial set of coordinates for the position of the boats that placed the incident in Iraqi waters.
"We pointed this out to them on Sunday in diplomatic contacts," Vice Admiral Style said. "After we did this they then provided a second set of coordinates that places the incident in Iranian waters" over two nautical miles away from where they were said to be by Britain, he said.
"It is hard to understand a legitimate reason for this change of coordinates," he said.
Of course, I don't trust the Blair administration any more than I trust the Bush administration. Following days of dispute over whether the soldiers were seized from the Iraqi or Iranian territory of a highly contested waterway—the median of which was demarcated by buoys until recent years—Britain has now produced satellite tracking data "proving" the "boat carrying the Britons was 'clearly' 3.1 kilometers (1.7 nautical miles) inside Iraqi waters and that they were 'ambushed' by the Iranian forces." Here's the picture the British Ministry of Defense has released:
Oh, great. Well, that settles it for me. It's the same thing even at the BBC. Evidently, we're meant—as per usual—to take the word of "the good guys" at face value, without thinking about it too much or questioning whether the "proof" they're offering might be something we'd, you know, even want to see in some kind of readable detail. Call me cynical, but blind faith in Blair's government was one of the things that got us into the war those soldiers were fighting when they were taken. Or have we all forgotten the Downing Street Memos already?
Suffice it to say, I'm getting nervous hearing Bush's best bud Blair talking about the dispute entering a "different phase" if the sailors are not released. (Especially when American neocon's dicks are getting all hard again.) I really hope that Iran's decision to release the female soldier is a sign that this will be diffused in short order.
Daily Round-up
Shakes: Althouse in the Middle of My Screen
Paul the Spud: Well, This is Going to be Uncomfortable…
Shakes: Best Wishes, Tony Snow
Waveflux: Blogorhythmics
Shakes: New Rule
Misty: "If you believe in peanut butter—you gotta believe in Peter Pan!"
Paul the Spud: A Waste of a Good Cock
Misty: Shaker Gourmet
Shakes: McCain in Favor of Same-Sex Marriage? No.
Paul the Spud: The pain. It is too great. I must leave.
Shakes: The Webbinator
Shakes: The Big Apples of Our Eye
Paul the Spud: Gonzo Rabbits
Shakes: Why It Matters
Shakes: Bring on the Veto Pen
Paul the Spud: This Needs to Stop
This Needs to Stop
Apparently, women who blog about politics aren't the only ones that need to worry about death and rape threats. Tech blogger Kathy Sierra has been so frightened by the threats, sexual harassment and hate directed towards her that she's canceled upcoming speaking engagements and is literally afraid to leave her home. (Examples of the threats she received and some appalling graphics created using her picture are further down the page; prepare yourself.) I'm not familiar with Kathy's blog; I know she primarily blogs about tech issues, so I'm not quite sure why she's being threatened. (Not that there is any excuse for threats.) To me, this simply stinks of putting a woman "back in her place."
Sheelzebub and Zuzu do an excellent job of tearing this crap to shreds; particularly the people that have the gall to scream "freedom of speech!" when they're justifiably slammed for threatening women. Stalking and threatening are not freedom of speech issues, folks. It's called breaking the law. And in case anyone forgets, not only did our own Melissa deal with online threats, she had other terrifying things happen while she was being smeared on national television, like someone blocking her driveway and pounding on her door. How long before something similar happens to Kathy? What if it's happening right now?
Nothing ever happens to the perpetrators, does it? Other bloggers say they "don't approve" of such behavior, if they can be bothered to comment at all, except for the ones too busy suggesting that the recipients of the threats grow a spine. Why is it that a woman has to live in fear because of something she blogged, and people threatening her life do so without the slightest worry that their sorry ass might end up in prison? I'm not trying to say that the women receiving these threats aren't doing enough to protect themselves or pursue the people that have targeted them; online anonymity, tech gadgets like IP masks, and laws that don't keep up with technology don't always make it easy. My point is, people feel perfectly safe making threats online that would land them in trouble if they snail-mailed them or said them over the phone.
This is exactly what Coulter-esqe "it was just a joke" excuses get you.
The blogosphere is growing and gaining more influence as time goes on, and shit like this is becoming more commonplace. The nasty thing is, it's going to continue and get worse unless someone faces consequences for this behavior. It's high time someone is arrested for making online threats. These scumbags need to be dragged away from their keyboards, frogmarched to a squad car in view of the media, and thrown in a cell with other criminals.
Because they are criminals. Only when we begin to see consequences for online threats will we see them begin to ebb.
(Updated: Blogger ate some changes I had made.)
Bring on the Veto Pen
Senate signals support for Iraq timeline:
The Democratic-controlled Senate narrowly signaled support Tuesday for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by next March, triggering an instant veto threat from the White House in a deepening dispute between Congress and commander in chief. Republican attempts to scuttle the non-binding timeline failed, 50-48, largely along party lines.Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NB) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) voted with the Democrats. Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) voted with Republicans.
The vote marked the Senate's most forceful challenge to date of the administration's handling of a war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,200 U.S. troops. It came days after the House approved a binding withdrawal deadline of Sept. 1, 2008.
After weeks of setbacks on the Senate floor, Majority Leader Harry Reid said the moment was at hand to "send a message to President Bush that the time has come to find a new way forward in this intractable war."
Once Bush vetoes, as he has promised, it will put the onus back on the Dems to either continue this battle of wills or concede that it's Bush's goddamned war and therefore his war to end, because they simply don't have the votes to override his veto. Continuing to fight would mean facing "increasingly urgent statements from the administration that the money is needed for troops in the war zone," as well as taking additional time away from dealing with other issues of urgency on the domestic front. I'm not sure that's the wisest course of action. I'm also not sure it isn't.
When Bush vetoes, by the way, it will be his second, the first being against the bill seeking to expand funding for embryonic stem cell research. Support Bush's Culture of Life: Just say no to curing diseases and ending wars!
Why it matters…
…when a senior aide to the nation's top law enforcement official takes the 5th.
UPDATE: TPM:
Monica Goodling does have a good faith basis for pleading the Fifth Amendment - just not the ones in her lawyer's letter that are getting all the attention.And Atrios reports: "On Hardball Shuster is basically confirming this, that McNulty told Schumer he messed up because Gooding fed him some horseshit."
Under the federal False Statements statute, 18 USC 1001, it is a felony to cause another person to make a false statement to Congress. Since McNulty has allegedly told Senator Schumer that he made a false statement to Congress based on information provided to him by Monica Goodling, Goodling could very well be prosecuted for a Section 1001 violation.
All the rest of the crap in her lawyer's letter is intended to sooth as much as possible WH anger at her for invoking the Fifth.
Update: Gonzo Rabbits
Wow. Gonzo almost made it through three whole minutes of his appearance in Chicago today before turning tail and running out.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales dashed out of a Chicago news conference this afternoon in just two and a half minutes, ducking questions about how his office gave U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald a subpar rating.As noted in the Think Progress post, Gonzo made a similar appearance in Denver yesterday, where reporters weren't allowed to ask any questions.
Gonzales, who increasingly faces calls for his resignation, was here to promote a new ad campaign and had planned a 15-minute press availability. He left after taking just three questions over a firing scandal consuming his administration.
Before leaving, Gonzales said he wanted to “reassure the American people that nothing improper happened here.”
Really, this is just getting embarrassing.
America NY
The WSJ's Washington Wire reports the latest poll results under the headline New York Candidates Stay in Front, which made me consider how improbable it is, even this far out, that the current leaders of both parties are from New York (any charges of carpetbagging notwithstanding). The two Big Apples of our collective eye, Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, are still leading even their closest competitors by double digits (or nearly) in most polls, even as both have yielded some ground.
Clearly, of the two, Giuliani is presumed to be less likely to maintain his lead and snag his party's nomination, but such presumptions may be premature—since, as I've said before, it's best never to underestimate the Right's ability to march in jackbooted lockstep with whatever candidate is given them, particularly if he's got the authoritarian credentials Rudy brings to the bash. So, it's not entirely inconceivable we could end up with a battle of the NY all-stars, which would just be zany, considering the silly but widely accepted belief that New York the state, and particularly the city with which it shares its name, is wildly unrepresentative of the country as a whole.
Also interesting is that the most viable Midwestern candidate is a Democrat (Barack Obama) and the most viable Southern candidate is a Democrat (John Edwards).
Still early. Things could (and likely will) change. But weird field this time. So far.
The Pain. It is Too Great. I Must Leave.
I don't know what's worse. The fact that this FOX viewer can't understand the concept of linear time, or that FOX thought it was such a great "zinger," they just had to feature this quoted email, ridiculously blockheaded as it is. Chet has far more patience than I.
FOX News: We value teh stoopid.
McCain Gay Marriage
What's this? John McCain has suddenly reversed his position on gay marriage?!
"Today I announce that I have reversed my position and come out in full support of gay marriage...particularly marriage between passionate females."Wait a minute. Something sounds kinda suspicious about that. It's far too conceivably honest, for one thing.
Well, whaddaya know? Turns out that McCain's startling new announcement was just a little snarky payback for his campaign's thieving.
John McCain's people commandeered my world-renowned MySpace design template and did a few things wrong:
1. They did not credit me for the template, even though the template explicitly requested credit.
2. They used my own unmodified imagery, specifically for the "Contacting John McCain" table.
3. As if #2 wasn't bad enough, the McCain crew is actually pulling their image directly from my server on each page load. So every time someone visits the McCain MySpace page, my bandwidth is being used to deliver part of the page! Bad McCain!
…So, the only thing necessary to effectively commandeer McCain's page with my own messaging was to simply replace my own sample image on my server with a newly created sample on my server. No server but my own was touched and no laws were broken. The immaculate hack.
Abortion? The Iraq War? Probably too heavy to joke about. Gay marriage seemed like a more of a non-lethal subject to center the prank around.
So with a few minutes in Photoshop and a quick FTP, a new John McCain was born...
...and The Straight-Talk Express isn't just for straight people anymore.
snicker
Way to go, McCain. Your campaign just keeps getting better and better, dude.
Shaker Gourmet
The recipe this week comes from Shaker Chris of Exit Stage-Left:
Iowa Pork Chops with Maytag Blue Cheese Butter
For the blue cheese butter:
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ounce Maytag Blue cheese, crumbled, at room temperature
1 tablespoon chopped toasted walnuts
1 tablespoon thinly slivered fresh basil
Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
For the pork:
4 bone-in pork loin chops (each about 1 1/4 inches thick and 8 to 10 ounces)
2 cloves garlic, cut in half crosswise
Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
1. Make the blue cheese butter: Place the butter and blue cheese in a mixing bowl and mash together with a fork. Stir in the walnuts and basil and season with salt and pepper to taste (add just a little salt; the cheese is already quite salty). The blue cheese butter can be kept refrigerated, covered, for 5 days or frozen for 3 months.
2. Set up the grill and preheat to high.
3. When ready to cook, rub both sides of each pork chop with a half clove of garlic, then season the chops generously with salt and pepper. Brush and oil the grill grate. Place the chops on the hot grate and grill until cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes per side. When ready to turn, the chops will be nicely browned on the bottom. To test for doneness, use the poke method; the meat should be firm but gently yielding. Or insert an instant-read meat thermometer sideways into a chop: The internal temperature should be about 160°F.
4. Transfer the grilled chops to a platter or plates and let rest for 2 minutes. Top each with a dollop of the blue cheese butter and serve.
A Waste of a Good Cock
Michael Savage is just dancing on the razor's edge of looneyville; ready to topple over any second into a new career as straightjacket model. Fresh off his yowling rant calling trans people "psychopaths," and referring to them as circus freaks in reference to a news story about a murdered transgender woman, he's done it again in another abhorrent attack. See, not only are trans people psychotic, they're also never going to be happy, they're all prostitutes, and (get this) they're the cause of the Columbine massacre.
No, really.
SAVAGE: The wages of sin are death. You're gonna cut off your willy, you're gonna walk around in women's clothes, you're gonna hook -- you're gonna wind up dead under a freeway, Johnson. It's not gonna be an HBO special about your travails, and how surgery made you a happy woman.But wait, there's more! Savage then goes on to spout:
I never understand these people. Guy is 55 years old, he had three children, he discovers there was a woman within, and he goes -- shots and hormones, three years of hormones, and live like a woman. And then you gotta dress like a woman for two years. And then they go to a psychopathic, sadistic doctor who does the thing for them. No more in Denmark -- I mean, the capital of it is somewhere in Colorado, of course, near Columbine. You wonder why the kids shoot each other there with black raincoats. *
And apparently it costs more to put a willy on than it does to take a willy off. I've always said if a city's gonna pay for this kind of insane self-mutilation, the least they could do is put a willy on ice. I mean, if they're taking a perfectly good willy off a guy, why throw it in the garbage? Put it on ice, save it for the next time one of these psycho women in the city wants to be willied, I mean wants to be a John when she's a Jane. Because it costs like 40 grand to put one on and 20 grand to take one off. I would say you can do a mean price of 30 grand if they could start saving the willies from these psychos. *You got all that? Apparently, the thing that's upsetting Savage the most about trans people (well, MTF, anyway) is that they're a waste of a good cock. Leaving aside his complete ignorance as to how sexual reassignment is done in the first place, this is just goofy. I mean, could Savage feel any more castration anxiety? Is it possible that one man's sexuality can be this threatened by people that have nothing whatsoever to do with him?
But that's a separate story. I'm into cost saving at all costs.Great. How about saving your breath?
* Emphasis by Media Matters, which I round appropriate and used. Thanks to Shakes for the perfect image; one of these days I really need to learn Photoshop.
