I mentioned it last month; you may have heard about it — the double murder/suicide in Florida involving GOP operatives. Speculation was (and remains) that this involved some gay lovers’ tryst. Or something. The dead men were: Ralph Gonzalez, 39, his roommate, David Abrami, 36, and a friend, Robert Drake, 30…. Gonzalez was executive director of the Georgia Republican Party … Read More
Obama At The Patraeus Hearings
Nailed it. I’ll try to get video up once it makes its way to Youtube.
Bush Thanks “Austrian” Troops In Iraq
Too bad he was in Australia. [Note: There are no Austrian troops in Iraq; there are, however, 1,500 Australian military personnel] UPDATE: Apparently, that gaffe was one among many: “Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit,” Bush said to Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Except Bush was attening the APEC summit. Bush quickly corrected himself. … Read More
The Truth About The Mayor Of 9/11
Robert Greenwald’s hard-hitting film: Greenwald focuses on Giuliani’s bone-headed decision in the mid-nineties to place New York’s Office of Emergency Management "Command Center" within the World Trade Center, despite the recommendations of his emergency advisor. The WTC was the only place in America that had been the target of terrorist attacks (the 1993 bombing) so it made absolutely no sense … Read More
Thompson, Clinton Lead In NC
Republicans: Thompson at 34%, Giuliani at 16%, Romney at 13%, McCain at 7%, "Others" at 7%, "Undecided" at 22% Democrats: Clinton at 30%, Edwards at 28%, Obama at 21%, "Other" at 12%, "Undecided" at 21% Poll was taken yesterday (the day Thomson announced) Details here (PDF)
Our Crying President
George Bush, to author Paul Draper for his book Dead Certain: "I’ve got God’s shoulder to cry on. And I cry a lot … I do a lot of crying in this job. I’ll bet I’ve shed more tears than you can count, as president. I’ll shed some tomorrow." I’m with Paul Begala on this one: [F]orgive me if I … Read More
Conservative With A Conscience
Former Assistant Attorney General Jack Goldsmith was a Bush Administration insider, with a stack of conservative credentials. As Glenn Greenwald notes, Goldsmith is “no hero.” He “is a hard-core right-wing ideologue who continues to support many of the administration’s most radical positions, including his view that Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions does not apply to terrorist suspects (the … Read More
Give ‘Em Hell, Concord High
McCain gets tough questions fron the Crimson Tide (my alma mater). UPDATE: CNN has more. UPDATE AGAIN: Watch it….
DOJ Investigating Gonzalez For Lying To Congress
Good: The Justice Department’s inspector general indicated yesterday that he is investigating whether departing Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales gave false or misleading testimony to Congress, including whether he lied under oath about warrantless surveillance and the firings of nine U.S. attorneys. I guess it’ll be easier for the DOJ to investigate the DOJ, now that Gonzalez no longer runs … Read More
Moral Relativism
The "family values" people of the right are always fond of saying how important morality is, how strong they are on morality, etc. Mostly, they extol the virtures (which they and apparently only they possess) of moral absolutism and castigate them libruls who exhibit moral relativism. Fair enough. Whatever. So I was processing that, and processing the recent GOP sex … Read More
“You Don’t Rewrite What I Write”
That’s a line from one of my favorite movies, Reds. John Reed (Warren Beatty) is arguing with his Russian communist superiors how the speeches he ghostwrites to promote the communist cause somehow get altered when they are translated. In the movie, this marks the beginning of Reed’s dissolutionment with socialism, a cause for which he championed his whole adult life. … Read More
Two Years Ago Today
With a strong nod to Digby… 7AM CDT — KATRINA MAKES LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN] 7:30 AM CDT — BUSH ADMINISTRATION NOTIFIED OF THE LEVEE BREACH: The administration finds out that a levee in New Orleans was breached. On this day, 28 “government agencies, from local Louisiana parishes to the White House, [reported that] that New Orleans … Read More
GOP Woes [UPDATED]
Article in The New York Times sums it up: A Scandal-Scarred G.O.P. Asks, ‘What Next?’ The basic gist is that the GOP cannot win elections if they alienate the Christian Right. And this constant drumbeat of sex scandals is alienating the Christian Right. Here are some select quotes: Scott Reid, GOP strategist: “The real question for Republicans in Washington is … Read More
I Like This, From John Edwards
A good idea: Passing "Brownie’s Law," so agencies like FEMA get the job done: Edwards will enact a new requirement – "Brownie’s Law" – ensuring that senior political appointees actually are qualified to perform the job to which they are appointed. Brownie’s Law will require that heads of executive agencies and other senior officials have demonstrated qualifications in the field … Read More
Another Naughty Gay Republican
Geez, there’s no stopping them. This was kept under wraps for some time, but no more. This time, it’s not some state Congressman. It’s a full-blown United States congressman. Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Id) pleaded guilty earlier this month to misdemeanor disorderly-conduct charges stemming from his June arrest by an undercover police officer in a men’s restroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul … Read More