The story will be big tomorrow, but you read about it here first. ABC News Nightline tonight will talk with Clark Kent Ervin, the former Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security. Ervin will talk about how, just before the Presidential elections in 2004, he was confronted by Tom Ridge and intimidated into toning down his criticisms of the … Read More
Bush Disobeys 750 Laws
I didn’t say that; the Boston Globe did. What’s remarkable is that Bush apologists — rather than saying "That’s bullshit" — respond instead with "Yeah? So?": President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it … Read More
Gore Speaks
Every time I catch a snippet of a Gore speech, I like what he says: The behavior of ExxonMobil is disgraceful. They finance in whole or in part 40 organizations that put out disinformation on global warming designed to confuse the American people. There has emerged in the last couple of decades a lobbying strategy that is based on trying … Read More
Colbert At The Dinner
First of all, I thought Bush killed at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner this weekend, but that’s because he had a Bush impersonator join him on the stage to deliver all the laughs. Stephen Colbert, who had to follow Bush, was comparatively — in my opinion — unfunny. His video with Helen Thomas was long and pointless. His monologue was … Read More
Casa Blanca No Habla Espanol?
DATA POINT ONE Bush today: When the president was asked at a Rose Garden question-and-answer session whether the anthem should be sung in Spanish, he replied: "I think the national anthem ought to be sung in English, and I think people who want to be a citizen of this country ought to learn English and they ought to learn to … Read More
Hookers and Congress …and Watergate? — That’s So 1970’s!
Billmon: I’m still trying to wrap my mind around the news (from Harper’s via TPM Muckraker) that Porter Goss, director of the CIA, may be implicated in a hooker service for corrupt (and horny) congressmen paid for by defense contractors and run out of — you really gotta love this part — the Watergate Hotel. So what are we supposed … Read More
Anatomy Of A Photo Op
The captions below each picture are taken verbatim from AP and Reuters (but the emphasis is mine). U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) speaks at a news conference on gas prices at a gas station in Washington, April 27, 2006. Hastert drove home his points by leaving the news conference in a pair of hydrogen-powered cars. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst House Speaker … Read More
Clever Bastards
With congressional approval poll numbers in freefall (it’s now 22%, down from 33% just one month ago), Senate Republicans have come up with a way to eke out a victory in upcoming elections: buying your vote.
Tin Soldiers And Nixon’s Coming
Nearly 25 years after the Kent State massacre, Neil Young still isn’t one to mince words, as he demonstrates in his unsubtly-titled new song: "Impeach The President": Let’s impeach the president for lyingAnd leading our country into warAbusing all the power that we gave himAnd shipping all our money out the door He’s the man who hired all the criminalsThe … Read More
Rove Indictment Imminent?
Could be. Larry O’Donnell wrote: Karl Rove’s return to the grand jury today could mean the end of the Rove investigation or the beginning of the Rove prosecution. It depends on who asked Rove to return. If Fitzgerald asked Rove to return to the grand jury, that means Fitzgerald thinks he doesn’t have enough for an indictment. If Rove asked … Read More
Quote Of The Day
"You know, I think that I… you’ll have to ask him or his office." — Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), quoted by the New York Daily News, when asked why her husband has no visible wedding ring in his portrait recently unveiled for the National Portrait Gallery.
Get Ready To Hear The Phrase “Snow Job” A Lot
Yup. It’s official — breaking now. Fox News bobblehead and occasional Rush Limbaugh substitute host Tony Snow has agreed to take Scotty McClellan’s position as White House spokesman. CNN has the full story. I like this part: GOP sources said that before agreeing to take the post Snow had sought and received assurances from Bolten and other senior White House … Read More
More On The Bush Approval Drop
The graphics tell it all. Only four states (Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska and Utah) give Bush a higher-than-50% approval rating, compared with thirty-one states at the time of his re-election: Okay, the graphics don’t tell it all. But this does.
Bush, Former Oil Man, Orders Probe Into Gas Gouging
Story here. Up next: Fox Orders Investigation Into Henhouse Slayings UPDATE: Back in 2000: President Clinton proposed to use the strategic oil reserves to offset high gas prices. This is what then-governor Bush said: "The Strategic Reserve is an insurance policy meant for a sudden disruption of our energy supply or for war. Strategic Reserve should not be used as … Read More