Dems Cave Again, Petulant Bush, Fannie Mae, Great Economy for Some and Republican Lies.

In another example of why Democrats get no respect, four of the seven Democratic members of the Senate Intelligence Committee caved once again to their fear of the right, by voting to endorse Gen. Michael V. Hayden to head the CIA.

The three Dems that did not endorse Hayden are Evan Bayh (Ind.), Russell Feingold (Wis.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.).

Why is this important? The ACLU says it best.

"Hayden's public and private support of the NSA's illegal program to pry into
the lives of innocent Americans speaks volumes about his willingness to
sacrifice the rule of law to cater to this administration's policies."

Life sucks when you have a petulant prince running the country. Bush's reluctance to negotiate with hostile foreign leaders has already led to a complete fiasco in Iraq and to North Korea developing ICBMs. Now Iran, Bush's latest target in the neocon attempt to control the Mid-East oil fields, is burning up the diplomatic channels to try to get Bush into talks on their nuclear development program. Bush says no.

Surely he's not wanting another war?

The administration repeatedly has rejected talks, saying Iran must negotiate
with the three European powers that have led nuclear diplomacy since the Iranian
nuclear program became public in 2002. Within hours of receiving Ahmadinejad's
letter, Rice dismissed it as containing nothing
new.
But U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said government
experts have exerted mounting pressure on the Bush administration to reply to
the letter, seconding public urgings from commentators and former officials.
"The content was wacky and, from an American point of view, offensive. But why
should we cede the high moral ground, and why shouldn't we at least respond to
the Iranian people?" said an official who has been pushing for a public
response.

Since 1998 the executives of the Fannie Mae have been pocketing hundreds of millions of dollars. Remember this the next time you hear a conservative talk about government regulations and oversight are bad things.

The result was a company whose managers engaged in one questionable maneuver
after another, including two transactions with investment banking firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc. that improperly pushed $107 million of
Fannie Mae earnings into future years. The aim, OFHEO said, was always the same:
To shape the company's books, not in response to accepted accounting rules but
in a way that made it appear that the company had reached earnings targets, thus
triggering the maximum possible payout for executives including Raines, Howard
and others.

It's just unbelievable that you hear so much about this really "good" economy. You expect to hear it from the GOP. But you'd think that the media would do a little research before they repeat it.

While I don't actually do the research, I read the people that do. From OpEdNews.com, the story of the HARSH REALITY OF BUSH TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS.

As the US Dollar declines in value you will pay more for all goods that are
manufactured overseas. Because America has shipped ever increasing share of its
manufacturing base overseas, that means you will be paying more for more goods.

The declining value of the US Dollar means that the price of oil will stay
higher than if the US Dollar was stronger.

Because of higher energy prices, inflation effects the price of most
everything in the United States. When prices go up, Americans stop buying, and
ultimately corporate profits will feel the effect.

And have you ever wondered just how many lies the Republicans have told? DailyKos has most, but certainly not all of them here.

Technorati Profile

Iraq, Ask an Idiot, Boeing Bucks, Jesus Handicaps FL, Dems Handicap Themselves and We're #1.

New Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says that Iraq will start taking over security from occupying troops in June with the goal of securing the whole country by the end of the year. Sounds good. Except that the Bush Administration is laying in for the long haul, with their new policy of "containment". And we know how well past Bush policies have worked.

So today’s containment is a furtive policy being developed willy-nilly behind
the scenes, as Bush’s pragmatic second-term officials seek to clean up the vast
Mideast mess left by the ideologues who dominated in the first term. A series of
cautious concepts similar to those that came to dominate the cold war are
emerging as the least worst way of holding off powerful forces that are also
going to be around for along time: disintegration in Iraq, expansion in Iran,
Islamism all over.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is going to ask Bush for advice on Israel's latest plan to impose a West Bank settlement on the Palestinians by relinquishing most of the territory to them for a state.

Now if he wanted advice on how to spy on your own people, I think Bush would be the man to go to.

Aren't there any village idiots in Israel? I mean, imposing on ours while he's busy fundraising, is just a bit much.

Olmert might not get a conclusive answer from Bush in their meeting Tuesday, but
the Israeli leader is looking for clues on whether the president will insist
that any plan to carve up the West Bank with the aim of establishing Israel's
final borders requires the approval of Palestinian leaders.

Former Air Force procurement official Darleen A. Druyun who's admitted that she helped out Boeing and Lockheed on government contracts has been busted. Good, but I can't help wondering if anyone from Boeing or Lockheed will be investigated or indicted. And you'd think that there are layers of oversight above Darleen Druyun. Are any of them getting the same treatment as Darleen?

I think we have another example of blaming the lowest on the totum pole and sweeping everything else under the rug.

Former Air Force procurement official Darleen A. Druyun, who admitted favoring
Boeing Co. for years, may have led the government to overpay Boeing by as much
as $4.5 million by hurrying a renegotiation of the company's contract in 2001 to
maintain a fleet of refueling tankers, according to an Inspector General's
report released last week.

There's no longer any need to waste money on Florida's gubernatorial election. Jesus has done visited the Rev. O'Neal Dozier and told him who was going to win. And the candidate that he picked is just tickled to death. Preachers and Republicans, are you starting see why the guys that wrote the Constitution wanted separation?

MIAMI - A reverend who introduced Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie
Crist during a breakfast with other pastors Monday said the Lord came to him in
a dream two years ago and told him Crist would be the state's next governor.

But what's even more strange, is that for some inexplicable reason some Democrats think that they can swing the radical religious right to our side. Brilliant move, if you want to tick off millions of your base to try and pander to people who will only vote the way their preacher tells them to.

Democrats need to be clear that politics and religion are two very different things, and that the mixing of the two has always led to trouble.

The last paragraph of Ruth Marcus' article sums it up.

So, by all means, let Democrats woo evangelicals and cast the message in a way
that speaks to religious voters. But in doing so, keep in mind: What does it
profit a party to gain a demographic but lose its soul?

We're Number One! But that's not good news. It seems that what's supposed to be the most free nation on the planet, has the highest percentage of its population locked up. Hmmmm.

One American in 136 is in prison. By comparison, the proportion in France is one
in 1,000.

The Veterans Administration: Do You Know Where Your Social Security Number Is?

The Veterans Administration has been negleted and underfunded since Bush became President. Which is incredible, considering all the veterans that he's been cranking out.

We've gone though Anthony J. Principi, who left a company that made it's money on V.A. contracts, ran the V.A. for 4 years, got his old company a billion dollars worth of V.A. contracts, then quit to go back to his old company. You know they were glad to see him back.

The latest incident just smells. A career data analyst took the personal information of 26.5 million vets home with him one day and it just so happens on that very day he was robbed. The perp only took a laptop, external drive and some coins. Could just be coincidence, but I don't know the going rate of 26.5 million SSNs. If mine was one of them, it's worthless. It happened on May 3d, took them long enough to let us know.

As many as 26.5 million veterans were placed at risk of identity theft
after an intruder stole an electronic data file this month containing their
names, birth dates and Social Security numbers from the home of a Department of
Veterans Affairs employee, Secretary Jim Nicholson said yesterday.

The burglary occurred May 3 in Aspen Hill, according to a source with
knowledge of the incident who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the
matter is under investigation.

Here's a statement from the V.A.. Once again, it took them long enough to let us know.

Republican-Lite, Iraq, Afghanistan, Constitution Optional, Mad Scientist and Losing Lieberman.

In a WaPo editorial Jackson Diehl shows that he has friends in the DLC, and that he don't mind shilling for them. The DLC is the Republican-lite wing of the Democratic party. Taking their advice lost us the Congress and the White House. Imagine, trying to beat the Republicans by acting more like them.

He accuses those of us, who are left of center right, of not wanting to spread democracy and not wanting the military prepared for terrorism. Oh, and he and the DLC want to follow Bush's "stay the course" policy in Iraq. They believe it will make the public perceive the party as well hung.

If you think the only thing the Democratic party's up against is the GOP, don't forget that we're also in a fight over which direction the party is going to take. The DLC's direction is not the way I want to go.

Besides, no matter how long we stay or how much we spend, all we'll get out of it is another country with a government ran on someone's particular interpretation of the Koran.

Though you'd never know it from surfing the Internet, there exists in the
Democratic Party a substantial body of politicians and policymakers who believe
the U.S. mission in Iraq must be sustained until it succeeds; who want to
intensify American attempts to spread democracy in the greater Middle East; and
who think that the Army needs to be expanded to fight a long war against Islamic
extremism.

Their problem isn't only that some people (mostly Republicans
and independents) don't believe they exist. Or that the flamers at MoveOn.org
would expel them from the party if that were possible. They also face the
formidable task of rescuing what they believe is a quintessentially Democratic
policy agenda from the wreckage of the Bush administration, so that a future
president can do it right.

Brit Hume of FoxNews agrees.

With the exception of a few key posts, Iraq
has formed their government. There is some concern, however, about the
ability of the government to function effectively in a country still beset by
persistent violence. Just today, a spree of bombing, mortar rounds and a
drive-by shooting killed
at least 18 Iraqis and wounded dozens

.

On Fox News Sunday, Brit Hume dismissed those concerns, suggesting violence
helps the Iraqis move forward politically. Hume did not elaborate.

Iraq's new Prime Minister has declared that they will use "maximum force against the terrorists", an expression I believe we've heard many times over the last few years. I think he's going to be preoccupied with just keeping his government together. Some of the Sunni's have already walked out. Remember how Bush said that things will start improving now?

BAGHDAD, May 21 -- Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pledged "maximum force against
the terrorists" on his first full day on the job Sunday, while bombs targeting
predominantly Shiite Muslim neighborhoods of Baghdad killed at least 30 people.
Across the country, more than 40 people were killed in attacks.

A spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition forces claimed we killed 50 Taliban rebels in Afghanistan.
They neglected to mention the 500 or so we probably created by killing and wounding 50 civilians.

Another survivor from the village, Zurmina Bibi, who was cradling her wounded
8-month-old baby, said about 10 people were killed in her home, including three
or four children. "There were dead people everywhere," she said, crying.

The Bush Administration has decided that freedom of the press is no longer applicable, due to the strategic need to hide what they're up to.

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales raised the possibility yesterday that New
York Times journalists could be prosecuted for publishing classified information
based on the outcome of the criminal investigation underway into leaks to the
Times of data about the National Security Agency's surveillance of
terrorist-related calls between the United States and abroad.

And the good news.

Climate scientist Curt Davis says the Competitive Enterprise Institute is lying about his research in the ads they've put out to put down Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth.

The reality is, there are no legitimate scientists or scientific studies that
support CEI's views on global warming. So they are forced to grossly
misrepresent scientific research. Unfortunately for them, the scientists don't
look like they are going to put up with it.

And to come full circle. DLC darling Joe Lieberman's finding out what happens when you turn your back on the people.

The darkest omens for Lieberman came near the end of the night when Southbury,
nearly the last to vote, announced it was still waiting for a response to a
winter invitation to Lieberman to meet. Until he does, Southbury cast five votes
for Lamont, three abstentions and zero for Lieberman. One of the night's loudest
cheers rang out.

Global Warming Awareness Thanks to GOP, desperate Republicans, Democrat Busted, Stealing from kids, Bushed and Molly Ivans.

I wanted to start with Republicans, cause they're fun. But after reading Sebastian Mallaby's great piece in the WaPo on how the GOP's attitude is helping boost Al Gore's new movie on global warming, I'll start with important stuff.

If you have any doubts or questions regarding the validity of global warming, read this article. It's well researched and easy to understand. I wish that I that I'd written it.

Republican dishonesty reaches its extreme on the issue of global warming. Yes,
climate science is complex, and nobody can forecast the earth's temperature with
complete confidence. But the fact that scientists don't know everything isn't a
license to ignore what they do know: that the earth is warming, glaciers are
melting and sea levels are rising at an accelerating pace -- and that these
changes are driven at least partly by fossil-fuel consumption. The U.S. National Academies have confirmed this; their foreign counterparts have confirmed this;
and so has the world's top authority on the subject, the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change . None of this is controversial.

He even mentions my Senator, Jim Inhofe.

Meanwhile, others have been vocal. James Inhofe, the Republican who ironically
chairs the Senate environment committee, has described global warming as the
"greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people." He avoids scientists
who might put him right: His star witness at a hearing last year was Michael
Crichton, a science-fiction novelist.

Forget Iraq, the economy, high gas prices and stagnant wages, the only things that are important to Bush and the Republicans are fund raising and this fall's election.

For the 29% that think Bush is spending all his time protecting them from terrorists, you should know that,

Bush has turned his attention to the campaign. Six months before the election,
he has made 36 fundraising appearances, more than at this point in 2002. He
spoke at a party gala last week that broke off-year records for hard-money
fundraising and later attended events in Virginia and Kentucky. Vice President
Cheney has been even more active, making 62 fundraising appearances, including
one in Nashville on Saturday, and he plans three more in California in the next
couple of days.

They plan to crank out the vote by appealing to those who think discrimination is the key to Heaven's gate.

To address conservatives, who have been key to his election victories but have
grown disenchanted with the administration, Bush and Senate Republicans are
reviving their fight with Democrats over judicial nominations and last week
voted out of committee a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage to
set up a floor vote next month.

And this is just funny.

"...I think we've turned this thing around and he has two more years to get some
things done," said Ron Kaufman, who was White House political director under
George H.W. Bush and remains close to the former president. A Republican loss of
the House, on the other hand, "makes the next two years that much more
difficult."

These guys just don't have a clue. It's the things they've already done that have their poll numbers in the gutter. Do they really think we want them to do more?



While I dislike corrupt, lying Republicans (and not all of them are), I realize that money is their prime motivation. It's like turning a two year old loose in a candy store. It's no big surprise.

When it's someone in my party, I take it personally. Rep. William Jefferson D-LA, has been denying that he's taken any bribe money. Denial is a good thing, unless the FBI has a tape of you accepting $100,000. William Jefferson, one man the Democratic party should be glad to see the back of.

Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.), the target of a 14-month public corruption
probe, was videotaped accepting $100,000 in $100 bills from a Northern Virginia
investor who was wearing an FBI wire, according to a search warrant affidavit
released yesterday.

More on William Jefferson: 1, 2, 3



It seems that the$70 billion tax cut for the rich also raised tax rates for teenagers with college savings funds. It's not hard to see where these guy's priorities lie.

The $69 billion tax cut bill that President Bush signed this week tripled
tax rates for teenagers with college savings funds, despite Mr. Bush's 1999
pledge to veto any tax increase.

Under the new law, teenagers age 14 to 17 with investment income will now
be taxed at the same rate as their parents, not at their own rates. Long-term
capital gains and dividends that had been taxed at 5 percent will now be taxed
at 15 percent. Interest that had been taxed at 10 percent will now be taxed at
as much as 35 percent.

We won't forget the 15 Democrats that made this possible: John Barrow, Melissa Bean, Dan Boren, Ed Case, Bud Cramer, Henry Cuellar, Lincoln Davis, Harold Ford, Bart Gordon, Jim Marshall, Jim Matheson, Mike McIntyre, Charles Melancon, Collin Peterson, John Salazar



Bush is starting to smell.

WASHINGTON - It's not just the way he's doing his job. Americans apparently
don't like President Bush personally much anymore, either.

"The American people like this president," White House political guru Karl
Rove said last week.

"People like him. They respect him. He's somebody they feel a connection
with. But they're just sour right now on the war. And that's the way it's going
to be. And we will fight our way through.

Wanna bet, Karl?



And Molly Ivins: Can Things Get Any Worse?

AUSTIN, Texas—Looking at the wreckage of the Bush administration leaves one with
the depressed query, “Now what?” The only help to the country that can come from
this ugly and spectacular crack-up is, in theory, things can’t get worse. This
administration is so discredited it cannot talk the country into an unnecessary
war with Iran as it did with Iraq. In theory, spending is so out of control it
cannot cut taxes for the rich again; the fiscal irresponsibility of the Bushies
is already among its lasting legacies.

Saudi School Books, Viguerie got fooled, Religious Right Twice, How to Fight Them and Work at Home.

Despite our loving relationship with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, they're teaching their school kids to hate and wage jihad against all that don't believe in their Wahhabi version of Islam.

Why can't the Saudi's love the rest of us as much as they do the Bush family?

With $70 a barrel oil, they should love the hell out of us.

A review of a sample of official Saudi textbooks for Islamic studies used during
the current academic year reveals that, despite the Saudi government's
statements to the contrary, an ideology of hatred toward Christians and Jews and
Muslims who do not follow Wahhabi doctrine remains in this area of the public
school system. The texts teach a dualistic vision, dividing the world into true
believers of Islam (the "monotheists") and unbelievers (the "polytheists" and
"infidels").

This indoctrination begins in a first-grade text and is
reinforced and expanded each year, culminating in a 12th-grade text instructing
students that their religious obligation includes waging jihad against the
infidel to "spread the faith."

Richard A. Viguerie over at the WaPo is whining that Bush betrayed the conservatives. It's not because of any of the really stupid things he's done, like the Iraq War or the tax cuts, but because Bush and the Republicans in Congress let government get too big.

It's their own fault, the rest of us know a simple BS artist when we see one.

Conservatives, gotta love 'em. Just don't let them play with matches or anything sharp.

I've never seen conservatives so downright fed up as they are today. The current
relationship between Washington Republicans and the nation's conservatives makes
me think of a cheating husband whose wife catches him, and forgives him, time
and time again. Then one day he comes home to discover that she has packed her
bags and called a cab -- and a divorce lawyer.

The Religious Right is flexing it's muscle. On the same sex marriage issue, some Republicans want to compromise and let the states decide on civil unions or domestic benefits. But Heaven forbid, they can never call it "marriage". Even with the compromise the amendment will read.

"Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a
woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any state, shall be
construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred
upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman."

I wish they would worry more about their souls and leave my Constitution alone.

It's so bad in Florida, that they have a dinner so they can make sure the state's Republican politicians are suffinciently conditioned to publicly lick the boots of the Religious Right.

ORLANDO - In a sign of the clout of conservative Christian activists in Florida
politics, candidates for nearly every statewide Republican office attended the
first-ever Florida Family Policy Council awards dinner in Orlando Friday night.

Michelle Goldberg tells us what the Religious Right is really up to and how to stand up to them.

The mass movement I've described aims to supplant Enlightenment rationalism with
what it calls the Christian worldview. The phrase is based on the
conviction that true Christianity must govern every aspect of public and private
life, and that all government, science, history and culture must be understood
according to the dictates of scripture. There are biblically correct positions
on every issue, from gay marriage to income tax rates, and only those with the
right worldview can discern them. This is Christianity as a total ideology I
call it Christian nationalism. It's an ideology adhered to by millions of
Americans, some of whom are very powerful. It's what drives a great many of the
fights over religion, science, sex and pluralism now dividing communities all
over the country.

And some of us really can make a living working at home.

This is the 42-year-old woman police accuse of "operating a house of
prostitution at her home" on a manicured cul-de-sac in wealthy Howard County.

The woman with a PhD in sociology, an expertise in women's studies and a
former career as a well-regarded college professor.

Later.

Idiotic on the bordering, Mayor Nagin, Iraq's new government, Gaza, Dems on a rampage, Homeless vets, NK ICBM and NASCAR.

One look at the steely determination in the eyes of the great "War President", should be enough to convince any would be illegal border crosser that the United States means business.

The President, taking time off from his rigorous grind of fund raisers and vacations, is exhibiting his usual spirit of pitching in where he's needed most. The fabled Bush Magic Touch in now in place at the border. Just like Iraq, Afghanistan, New Orleans and the economy, there's little doubt how secure the border will be now.

But you'll still hear unpatriotic grumbling from some.

"Our position has always been that you're so concerned about illegal immigration
that what you're doing is making it more and more difficult for legal visitors
to come here," said Steve Ahlenius, president and chief executive of the McAllen
Chamber of Commerce. "Every time somebody mentions a wall, it drives me crazy.
It's a 19th-century solution to a 21st-century problem."

Ray Nagin, New Orleans said yes. Congratulations Mr. Mayor.

NEW ORLEANS, May 20 -- Mayor C. Ray Nagin was reelected Saturday, overcoming a ceaseless barrage of criticism stemming from the chaos of Hurricane Katrina and the stalled recovery to achieve what many considered an improbable victory.
In addition to the frustrations of post-hurricane New Orleans, Nagin had to fend off a strong challenge by Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, the scion of a politically powerful clan, who outspent him by large a margin.

Iraq approved a new government, the White House believes this will reduce violence and allow for a withdrawal of American Forces. That's what they're saying. But they also said that we would be greeted as liberators and the war wouldn't cost American taxpayers anything.

The good news was greeted in Iraq by more attacks that left 27 dead and dozens wounded.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's parliament approved a national unity government
Saturday, achieving a goal Washington hopes will reduce violence so U.S. forces
can eventually go home. But as the legislators met, a series of attacks killed
at least 27 people and wounded dozens.

In Gaza the rift between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority is driving the Palestinians toward civil war.

The new force's showy deployment this week was the latest sign of the
Palestinian Authority's evolution into a government of rival armed camps, a
result of the economic hardship and political rivalry sharpening in the
Palestinian territories.

Israel is doing it's best to help the situation.

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- -- An Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Saturday killed
Islamic Jihad's most senior militant in the Gaza coastal area, Israeli and
Palestinians sources said.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed it conducted
an airstrike targeting Mohammed Al Dahdouh.

It looks like the real Democrats are getting a little tired of their politicians voting Republican. 'Bout time. If we want a party that stands for something, weeding out these slugs is the best place to start.

May 19 (Bloomberg) -- Democratic activist groups that mounted an aggressive
campaign against President George W. Bush in the 2004 election have a new
target: Democrats who support his policies.
A loose network of
organizations, ranging from women's groups to Internet bloggers, is pressuring
incumbents such as Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut and Representatives

Jane Harman of California and Melissa Bean of Illinois, in some cases by
backing insurgent candidates in primary elections.

And don't forget Dan Boren of Oklahoma. Supposed to be my Congressman.

And while we're on the subject of Democrats voting Republican, it looks like Joe Lieberman just might get his butt handed to him in the Democratic Primary in Connecticut by a real Democrat, Ned Lamont.

Matt Stoller at MyDD is reporting that
Ned Lamont made the ballot - with 33 percent of delegates casting their votes
for him. The final count: 492 out of 1,502 went to Lamont (currently, any
changes are being asked for, so this count could change slightly). Lamont only
needed 15 percent to avoid the need to collect signatures - he got more than
twice needed.

I remember a few years ago, before Bush, going into my insurance office where they showed me a cartoon of a homeless veteran, sitting outside a cardboard box, begging for money. It had been printed and handed out by one of the local conservative nuts. The caption read, "It's a shame that a veteran is homeless while a draft dodger is sitting in the White". I told them, "Yeah, but it was Ronald Reagan who made those veterans homeless".

History repeats.

Gamboa is part of a small but growing trend among U.S. veterans of the Iraq and
Afghanistan wars --
homelessness.
On any given night the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) helps 200 to 250
of them, and more go uncounted. They are among nearly 200,000 homeless veterans
in America, largely from the Vietnam War.

Bush's hands off policy concerning negotiations with North Korea is starting to bear fruit.

TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea may be preparing to launch a long-range ballistic
missile that could reach parts of the United States, Japanese media reports said
on Friday, but Japan's government said it did not believe a launch was imminent.
Quoting unidentified South Korean government officials, public broadcaster
NHK said satellite pictures showed there had been signs since early this month
around a site in northeastern North Korea that pointed to a possible firing in
the near future.

And finally, NASCAR, as a nurtured redneck I would be remiss not to mention it. I used to never miss a race on TV. But that was the old NASCAR. The new NASCAR is about to over saturate the market. Besides, Australian V8 Supercars is better racing.

With Hollywood's help, NASCAR officials are integrating NASCAR drivers and story
lines into every form of entertainment imaginable: From cartoons for the
pre-kindergarten set to soap operas; from reality TV to made-for-TV dramas; from
MTV videos to live race-day concerts; and now, major studio releases.

Although the race tonight was good and having Red Hot Chili Peppers playing in the infield didn't hurt.

Nervous Republicans, Hayden SOS, Religio-crazies want to shape culture, U.S. officially a war zone, Telecoms can legally lie and TGIS.

The Republicans hold all the power, the White House, the Senate, the House, the Supreme Court and the media. But the people are saying, "No".

After years of corruption, pandering, mismanagement, lies and just screwing the country up in general, the sleeping giant is finally awakening. Finally.

Republicans that felt secure in their seats are now starting to realize that it takes more than BS and hubris to run a country.

VIRGINIA BEACH, May 19 -- When some of the country's top political handicappers
drew up their charts of vulnerable House incumbents at the beginning of this
year, Rep. Thelma D. Drake (R-Va.) was not among them. Now she is.

Stuart Rothenberg, editor and publisher of a political newsletter, now
has 42 Republican districts, including Drake's, on his list of competitive
races. Last September, he had 26 competitive GOP districts, and Drake's wasn't
on the list. "That's a pretty significant increase," he said. "The national
atmospherics are making long shots suddenly less long."

Gen. Michael V. Hayden looks like he's going to be more of the same old crap, just wrapped up in a shiny uniform. He's pro-domestic spying, pro-torture and he seems to think that Bush is smart. That alone should be enough for disqualification. USNews has a sweetheart piece about him, for those Fantasyland dwellers. But the NYT wasn't impressed.

AT THE SENATE intelligence committee hearing Thursday on Gen. Michael V.
Hayden's nomination to head the CIA, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) asked the
nominee a simple question: Is "waterboarding" an acceptable interrogation
technique? Gen. Hayden responded: "Let me defer that to closed session, and I
would be happy to discuss it in some detail." That was the wrong answer. The
right one would have been simple: No. Last year Congress banned cruel, degrading
and inhumane treatment of detainees; one of its explicit aims was to stop the
CIA's use of waterboarding, which induces an excruciating sensation of drowning
and is considered by most human rights organizations to constitute torture. So
why couldn't Gen. Hayden say clearly that the technique is now off-limits?

The Right's attempt to do away with the Constitution and replace it with their interpretation of the Bible, is hitting some snags. Patrick Henry College, whose mission is,

to place conservative Christian graduates in positions of influence, where they
will help reshape American culture.

is having a problem retaining professors. That's good news. Who'd want this
bunch of wingnuts reshaping our culture?


According to the LA Times, Pentagon spies are treating the homeland like a war zone. Bush's war on terrorism is turning into a war on the people of this country. Don't believe me? Check this out.

The scrutiny of the NSA is deserved, but the Senate and the American public may
be missing a broader and more disturbing development. For the first time since
the Civil War, the United States has been designated a military theater of
operations. The Department of Defense — which includes the NSA — is focusing its
vast resources on the homeland. And it is taking an unprecedented role in
domestic spying.

Feel safer now?

But Bush probably has no recourse, because the overseas war on terrorism seems to be deception, wrapped in lies.



Just an example of how crooked and corrupt the Bush Administration is,

Ordinarily, a company that conceals their transactions and activities from the
public would violate securities law. But an
presidential memorandum signed by the President on May 5 allows the Director
of National Intelligence, John Negroponte, to authorize a company to
conceal activities related to national security.

Remember that the next time you hear a telecom say they didn't release your phone and internet records to the Fed.


And finally, for the good news. It's Saturday.

Religious Left, Gitmo, McCain, Condi, Embassy in Hell and Good News on Saving the Internet.

The folks that don't interpret Jesus' words as a mad dash for power and money are back. And it's about time.

What better way to counter the "Holier Than Thou" attitude of the Religious Right, than with those who actually are?

But anyway, they're back, they're mad and they're going after the insufferably self-righteous Religious Right.

Long overshadowed by the Christian right, religious liberals across a wide
swath of denominations are engaged today in their most intensive bout of
political organizing and alliance-building since the civil rights and
anti-Vietnam War movements of the 1960s, according to scholars, politicians and
clergy members.

"As religious people we're offended by the idea that if you're not with the
religious right, you're not moral, you're not religious," said Linda Gustitus,
who attends Bethesda's River Road Unitarian Church and is a founder of the new
Washington Region Religious Campaign Against Torture. "I mean there's a whole
universe out there [with views] different from the religious right. . . . People
closer to the middle of the political spectrum who are religious want their
voices heard."

Just as the Pentagon starts it's PR campaign to try to put make-up on a pig, Gitmo starts falling apart. Prisoners start fighting with guards and the commanding officer says,

"This illustrates to me the dangerous nature of the men we have detained here,"
the detention center's commanding officer, Navy Rear Adm. Harry Harris, told
reporters in a teleconference, describing Thursday's attack.

I think that any of us that had been locked up without access to the justice system and tortured for four years would start getting a little hostile. Plus, the UN is calling for the U.S. to shut Gitmo down for human rights violations.

But don't worry, the Pentagon will still spend your tax dollars to convince the 29% that will believe anything, that Gitmo is a fun place to be.

UNITED NATIONS, May 19 -- A U.N. anti-torture panel Friday called on the United States to close its prison for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to
expressly ban controversial interrogation techniques, and to halt the transfer
of detainees to countries with a history of abuse and torture.

John McCain might be hot stuff at Rev. Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, but when he ventures outside of Right-Wing Fantasyland, his sucking up to the extreme right is coming back to haunt him.

NEW YORK - Arizona Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting
record) received a cantankerous reception Friday at the New School's
commencement, where dozens of faculty members and students turned their backs
and raised protest signs and a student speaker mocked him as he sat silently on
stage.

The Madison Square Garden crowd cheered loudly as Jean Sarah Rohe said McCain
"does not reflect the ideals upon which this university was founded."

Hillary, are you sure you want to keep creeping towards the right? Hell, even Condi's getting the same treatment at Boston College.

BOSTON (Reuters) - Plans by a prominent Boston Jesuit school to award U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice an honorary degree are stirring protests by some students and faculty
who say her support for the Iraq war contradicts
Catholic teaching.

We're building a $592 million embassy in Baghdad. But we're keeping it a secret, for security reasons. And just like every thing else the Bush Administration has done, it will probably cost two or three times as much and the whole world already knows about it. But if you happen to be one of the right people, it will be a great place to visit.

When the complex is completed by June 2007 - this one apparently is on schedule,
unlike most construction projects here - it will be an American oasis in the
heavily fortified Green Zone, away from the fear and lack of services that
permeate the rest of Baghdad. Among the 21 buildings will be a recreation center
to rival any in the United States with, among other amenities, a pool, gym, food
court, beauty salon and, of course, a recreational area that will be called the
American Club.

Shhhhhh! It's top secret.

And some good news on the save the internet front.

Consumers Union, Consumer Federation, Free Press, MAP and U.S. PIRG Support
House Judiciary Committee’s Effort to Protect a Free and Open Internet
WASHINGTON - A coalition of leading consumer and public interest groups
today welcomed the

“Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006,” a bill introduced in
the House Judiciary Committee that would offer meaningful protections under the
law for Network Neutrality - the guiding principle that ensures a free and open
Internet.

Little Cigars, Iraq, No Coattails, Warbucks and Chestnut Trees.

In the race to the bottom, the tobacco industry is gaining ground on the petroleum industry.

They are marketing "little cigars", they're just cigarettes with brown paper. By doing this, they save a ton on taxes. And they can sell them cheaper and in different flavors. Not that they're trying to get your kids to smoke or anything.

Forty states have asked the U.S. Treasury Department to bar tobacco companies
from marketing products they say are identical to cigarettes as "little cigars,"
a designation the states say lets the firms evade taxes and target younger
consumers.

Attorneys general from the 40 states, including Maryland, want the
department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to reverse decades-old
rules that permit products the size, shape and weight of cigarettes, but have
brown rather than white wrappers, to be labeled as little cigars.

Things are getting crazier and crazier in Iraq. Shiite killing Sunni, Shiite killing Shiite, everybody killing Americans. Iraq's supposed to name a new government Monday, U.S. officials say they hope it will bring calm and stability. They're smoking the good stuff.

It's so bad in Iraq right now that their national taekwondo team has been kidnapped and held for ransom. 50 troops killed so far this month. Meanwhile the War President stays the course.

BAGHDAD, May 18 -- President Jalal Talabani convened an emergency meeting
Thursday to discuss the southern port of Basra, Iraq's second-largest city and
the heart of a growing, lethal power struggle among some of the Shiite Muslim
religious parties that lead Iraq's governing coalition.

Violence in the south Thursday included a bombing at the home of Basra's
police chief. In Najaf, another major city in the Shiite-dominated region, the
head of local militias loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr was
shot dead by police allied with a rival Shiite party.

Republicans show they have a firm grasp of the obvious. They're saying now that Bush won't be much help this election. But don't count them out because, anyone making statements like, "We're not panicked yet because we think we have a plan.", must be a bunch of winners.

"He might come back—who knows?—but we've got to do this on our own. In fact,
it's irrelevant if he comes back. He probably will, he's got 2 ½ years — but we
don't," said a key GOP official. As a result, Republican officials said, the GOP
leadership will step up its plans to tackle issues that are important back home,
such as high gas prices, expensive college tuition, and medical care

They should "tackle" those issues, they created them.

Donald Rumsfeld is asking for $65 billion. He needs it for his pet project. You remember it, the war that would pay for itself?

With war bills to pay, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is calling on
Congress to pass President Bush's request for an extra $65 billion to cover
costs in Iraq and Afghanistan this year.

Of the money approved so far, the research service estimates that $261 billion
was for Iraq and $77 billion for Afghanistan and worldwide operations against
terrorism, with most of the rest for improving security at U.S. military bases.

And finally, some actual good news.

They've discovered a stand of American chestnut trees in Georgia. American chestnut trees were thought to have been pretty much wiped out in the early 1900's. Hence, the good news.

ALBANY, Ga. (AP) -- A stand of American chestnut trees that somehow escaped a
blight that killed off nearly all their kind in the early 1900s has been
discovered along a hiking trail not far from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's
Little White House at Warm
Springs.

The find has stirred excitement among those working to restore the
American chestnut, and raised hopes that scientists might be able to use the
pollen to breed hardier chestnut trees.

The Senate, The House, Judith Miller, global warming, Religious Right and Hobbits.

The Senate, figuring that there's nothing else to do and needing to kill some time, voted to make English the national language of the United States. I know we'll all sleep better knowing these guys are in charge.

After an emotional debate fraught with symbolism, the Senate yesterday voted to
make English the "national language" of the United States, declaring that no one
has a right to federal communications or services in a language other than
English except for those already guaranteed by law.

Over in the House they're spending China's money like crazy, $2.8 trillion for FY 2007. I guess we should really be thankful that the budget balancing Republicans are in charge.

Democrats said the House budget fails to provide adequate funding for veterans'
care, education, public health and environmental protection. "This shamefully
shortsighted budget resolution cuts crucial investments in our nation and our
people," said Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer
(Md.).
Democrats pounced on a late-night statement by House Speaker J. Dennis
Hastert (R-Ill.), who declared: "Well, folks, if you earn $40,000 a year and
have a family of two, you don't pay any taxes. So you probably, if you don't pay
any taxes, you are not going to get a big tax cut."

The GOP, the party of tax cuts and big debt.

The big story today is White House stenographer and NYT reporter Judith Miller claims she was told by a top White House source in July 2001 that there was to be an Al Queda attack on the U.S.. But she never wrote the story. And Bush went on vacation.

Here's her interview.

Now, in an exclusive interview, Miller reveals how the attack on the Cole
spurred her reporting on Al Qaida and led her, in July 2001, to a
still-anonymous top-level White House source, who shared top-secret NSA signals
intelligence (SIGINT) concerning an even bigger impending Al Qaida attack,
perhaps to be visited on the continental United
States.
Ultimately, Miller never wrote that story either. But two months later -- on
Sept. 11 -- Miller and her editor at the Times, Stephen Engelberg, both
remembered and regretted the story they "didn't do."

FoxNews says global warming is just a liberal plot. And Big Oil is going after Al Gore. They can deny it all they want but it's a fact and it's here. I'm telling ya', they think we're stupid.

"It's so overtly political, it's so overtly full of scare tactics... I just
think the man has gone over the edge.... You know, in science, all we have are
facts."

Today, the Competitive
Enterprise Institute (CEI) will unveil two 60-second TV ads focusing on what
it calls global
warming alarmism and the call by some environmental groups and politicians
to reduce fossil fuel and carbon dioxide emissions. The ad, which will be aired
in more than a dozen cities across the country, is being released just a
week before the May 24th opening (in LA and NYC) of Al Gore's new movie on
global warming, An Inconvenient
Truth.

The Religious Right cracks down on Laura Bush for saying same sex marriage shouldn't be a campaign issue. The Religious Right had better be careful, you know God talks to her husband.

The lesson here for Republicans and corporate America is that whether you're a
big American company (Ford) or the president of the United States (Bush), if you
get in bed with these people they WILL burn you. They know no loyalty, no
limits, and have no sense of politics other than threatening to destroy you
unless you agree with 110% of their agenda. To hell with gas prices going
through roof, seniors getting threatened with Medicare cut-offs, the war in Iraq
getting worse every day. The religious right Republicans will demand that you
focus on THEIR extreme fringe agenda, even if it shoots you in the foot, or
you're dead.

Speaking of God talking to idiots, Pat Robertson said God told him that storms will hit the American coast this year. Won't that be a big surprise. He goes on to say there may be a possible tsunami. Possible? You mean God don't know?

"If I heard the Lord right about 2006, the coasts of America will be lashed
by storms," Robertson said May
8.

He added specifics in Wednesday's show.

"There well may be something as bad as a tsunami in the Pacific Northwest,"
he said.

How simple do you have to be to send Pat Robertson money?

Black Jack, MO. The city counsel here decided that if you're living together with more than one kid and you're not married, you'll be evicted. Can they do that in this country?

The current ordinance prohibits more than three people from living together
unless they are related by "blood, marriage or adoption." The defeated measure
would have changed the definition of a family to include unmarried couples with
two or more
children.
Mayor Norman McCourt declined to be interviewed but said in a statement that
those who do not meet the town's definition of family could soon face eviction.

While 99.something% of scientists agree on global warming, they're having a fit over whether the so-called "Hobbits" separate species or just humans with a disease.

More than 1 1/2 years after discovering a race of ancient, "Hobbit"-like
little people on a remote tropical island, scientists still do not know what to
make of them. Are they a new species of human ancestor? Or were they modern
humans suffering from a debilitating genetic deformity?

In dueling papers being published today by the journal Science,
researchers offer fresh insights on both sides, seeking to explain how a
30-year-old female with a grapefruit-sized brain could have appeared 18,000
years ago on the Indonesian island of Flores.

Hayden thinks we're stupid, Specter becomes the Religious Right's Monica and Bush being Bush.

I had originally thought that Gen. Michael V. Hayden would be an improvement over Tenant and Goss. Now he appears to be more of the same.

Hayden's blaming the media for the CIA's problems. The last refuge of a Republican scoundrel, after waving the flag and thumping the Bible, is to blame the media.

Gen. Michael V. Hayden, President Bush's nominee to become the new CIA director,
vowed today to promote a "risk-taking" culture at the agency and to improve the
sharing of intelligence, but he complained that the CIA has become too much of a
political football and denounced the "endless picking apart" of its operations
in the news media.

This is just another example of the contempt this administration has for the American people. To think that we're so stupid not to realize that the CIA's problems came more from a White House that only wanted intelligence that backed the lies that the administration was putting out at the time.

Let's get a CIA Director that didn't come straight from Bush's backside.

Tempers are starting to flare in the Republican's mad dash to change our Constitution into a document of discrimination. With poll numbers tanking and thinking that the only way that they'll keep their jobs is to give the radical Religious Right a really good hand job, like any good hooker, they'll give it their all.

WASHINGTON -- A Senate committee approved a constitutional amendment banning
same-sex marriage Thursday, after a shouting match that ended when one Democrat
strode out and the Republican chairman bid him "good riddance."

"I don't need to be lectured by you. You are no more a protector of the
Constitution than am I," Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa.,
shouted after Sen. Russ Feingold declared his opposition to the amendment, his
affinity for the Constitution and his intention to leave the meeting.

"If you want to leave, good riddance," Specter
finished.
"I've enjoyed your lecture, too, Mr. Chairman," replied Feingold, D-Wis.,
who is considering a run for president in 2008. "See ya."

Russ Feingold acting like a man. The Democrats need more like him.

Look, if you don't believe that gays or lesbians shouldn't be married, fine, don't marry one. But keep your filthy hands off my Constitution.

As long as China has money and will back the debt we're putting on our kids and grandkids, Bush will spend it. A few billion here, a few billion there, as long as the wealthy don't have to pay, life is good.

President Bush today asked Congress for $1.95 billion to pay for additional
security on the U.S.-Mexico border -- money the White House said would help "fix
the problem of illegal immigration."

Two GOP one Dem all crooks, Double Take on Hayden, Net Fraud, Bill O'Reilly and other assorted nuts and Hot Monkey Sex.

The House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct or "ethics" committee finally decided to get off it's butt and do what it's supposed to be doing.

The ethics committee is going after 2 Republicans and 1 Democrat. I'd like to think this is just a start. The Republicans are Reps. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio) and Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.). We all know about Cunningham and his latest involvement in WatergateGate, Ney has been playing footsie with Abramoff. But what do you expect from Republicans.

We should certainly expect more from our Democrats, William Jefferson (D-La.) should, but says he won't resign. He about to be indicted for conspiracy. bribery and misuse of Katrina funds. It looks like the real deal. He won't be missed.

On the heels of the domestic spying scandal, lawmakers are taking a second look at Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden, who promoted and is defending the plan. He'll be confirmed, unless the domestic spying story really gains traction and the already nervous Republicans blink.

BEWARE!! There's deception afoot. If you notice my little orange "Save the Internet" banner on the right, that's the legitimate site that's working hard to keep greedy corporations from controlling our internet. Click on it and send your politicians an e-mail.

But there's an ad campaign put out by the telecom giants who want to control the internet and it's designed to fool you into thinking that they're the good guys. They're not. It's called http://www.dontregulate.org/ Read all about it here.

Even the Boston Globe knows a bad idea when they see one, Keep net untrammeled.

Bill O'Reilly is promoting another witchhunt to frighten and confuse the folks who actually think FoxNews is "Fair and Balanced". It seems that in Fantasyland, we evil lefties aren't just trying to do away with Christians, but now it's specifically white Christians. It's amazing how many people will believe this crap.

"According to the lefty zealots, the white Christians who hold power must
be swept out by a new multicultural tide, a rainbow coalition, if you will."

Trying to get the Fantasyland dwellers on the right to define what liberal means is a pretty hard job. They have no idea, but they're pretty sure it's bad. Here's the story of one man's valiant attempt to get information from those on the right.

BTW, the short definition of liberal is, one who believes in the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Simple.

Maybe the answer to the whole left/right conundrum is in this article titled Human Ancestors May Have Interbred With Chimpanzees . The next time you see Bush on TV, watch real close and think about this article.

Immigration, $70 billion goes poof, who benefits from the tax cuts, inflation and 15 sell out Democrats.

The Senate has done as expected and gave Bush pretty much of what he outlined in his speech. The House is still another story, despite Karl Rove's little visit to make nice to House members.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate agreed to give millions of illegal immigrants a
shot at U.S. citizenship and backed construction of 370 miles of triple-layered
fencing along the Mexican border Wednesday. Prospects for legislation clearing
Congress were clouded by a withering attack against President Bush by a
prominent House
Republican.

"Regardless of what the president says, what he is proposing is amnesty,"
said Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., the lawmaker who would lead House
negotiators in any attempt to draft a compromise immigration bill later this
year.

The President's signing of the 70 Billion tax giveaway to the very wealthy and the grinning Republican leaders that attended should be the death knell of the GOP's control of Congress. Still thinking that he's addressing the same gullible people that he sold his original tax cut theory to, the President went on to repeat the mantra of tax cuts help everyone. Of course we know better now.

"The opponents of these tax cuts were wrong when they voted against them the
first time," Bush said, referring to Democrats who opposed tax cuts passed by
the Republican-controlled Congress in 2001 and 2003. "They've been wrong to
oppose the extension of tax relief in the face of overwhelming evidence that the
tax cuts have helped grow the economy and create millions of new
jobs."

Bush said the tax cuts have benefited Americans at all income levels.

This bill is so obviously skewed to the rich, the they have replaced a deduction of up to $4,000 in college-tuition costs, with a $4.3 billion tax break for the oil companies. We all know how they're struggling right now.

Are those tax cuts really helping all Americans? Not according to Eric J. Weiner who says;

Unfortunately the wealth created isn't exactly being spread around. That's
because in George W. Bush's America we've been giving money hand over fist to
our richest citizens in the form of steep tax breaks, while making life
increasingly difficult for our middle and working classes.

According to an analysis
of the administration's tax policies published last month in the New York Times,
if you earned more than $10 million in 2003 your annual tax bill was reduced by
just shy of $1 million, but if you made less than $50,000 it was reduced by
about $435. Particularly egregious has been the cut in taxes on capital gains,
or income from investments, 70 percent of which in 2003 went to the wealthiest
two percent of taxpayers.

And from my perspective, Weiner's right and Bush's full of it.

Oh, and let's not forget inflation. Just one more thing for the working class to have to worry about, along with high energy prices and food and shelter and the other basic necessities of living.

The Labor Department's consumer price index, which gauges changes in retail
prices, jumped a bigger-than-expected 0.6 percent last month. This means that
over the past 12 months, the CPI has increased 3.5 percent. The big problem for
consumers, of course, was energy costs, which have soared nearly 18 percent over
the past year.

And lastly, a little reminder of the 15 Democrat Congressmen that sold out the people and made all this possible by voting for the cuts.

John Barrow, Melissa Bean, Dan Boren, Ed Case, Bud Cramer, Henry Cuellar, Lincoln Davis, Harold Ford, Bart Gordon, Jim Marshall, Jim Matheson, Mike McIntyre, Charles Melancon, Collin Peterson, John Salazar

White House plan, GOP plan, Ring-Clinkers Against the War, Supreme Court, Taliban, NRA whores,Teen Sex and the lack of it.

New White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten is trying something completely different at the White House. Instead of just letting special interest groups make policy, they're trying something called "preparation and research on projects". Of course, if Bolten was any good at preparation and research, do you think he'd be working for Bush?

To show that they have their fingers on the pulse of America, House Republicans led by Dennis Hastert are rolling out the "suburban agenda". It will focus on the economy, traffic, Internet porn, and sprawl.

I don't know how wise mentioning the economy is, considering that the GOP screwed it up in the first place. I think the high gas prices will take care of the traffic problem. Internet porn? We live in a free society, you can't very well outlaw it. If you don't want your kids to see it, then keep an eye on them. It's not the government's job to be your nanny. Sprawl? Isn't continuous shops and shopping centers between one community and another considered progress by these same people? I wish someone in Congress had the guts to take on urban sprawl.

West Point Grads Against the War. And I thought all they were good for was strutting around and being insufferably pompous. Go Army!

They really have a very good and interesting site. Check it out.


Something you thought you'd never see. A judge in Georgia strikes down same-sex marriage ban, saying it violates state constitution. I wish him well, the nuts will be crawling out of the woodwork and they're armed in Georgia.

One nut has already come out.

"This decision highlights the effect activist judges can have on our system of
governance," Perdue, a Republican seeking re-election this year, said in a
statement. Perdue noted that 76 percent voted in support of the constitutional
amendment two years ago.

NOW tells Joe Lieberman to piss off, they'll back a real Democrat, Ned Lamont. We need more of this around the country.

Some of that good news from Iraq? Not here, 15% of the country is starving, mostly kids. It's not entirely our fault, but too much of it is.

Despite threat of National Guard, Mexicans are still flocking to the border. This article does contain the smartest quote I've heard on the immigration issue. From presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

His leftist rival, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said deploying the National
Guard "will generate more friction and of course more human rights violations."
He said that only creating more jobs in Mexico can ease the U.S. immigration
crisis.

Molly Ivans shares her wisdom on Bush's immigration plan.

Militarizing the border is a totally terrible idea. Do we have a State
Department? Are they sentient? How much do you want to infuriate Mexico when
it's sitting on quite a bit of oil? Bush knows what the most likely outcome of
this move will be. He was governor during the political firestorm that ensued
when a Marine taking part in anti-drug patrols on the border shot and killed
Esequiel Hernandez, an innocent goat-herder from Redford, Texas. That's the
definition of crazy -- repeatedly doing the same thing and expecting a different
result.

David Sirota tells how our Supreme Court sold us out to big business.

In a unanimous decision today, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a lower court
ruling that would have invalidated massive taxpayer giveaways to Corporate
America. The Supreme Court has long been the victim of a hostile takeover by Big
Money interests. It is a court now headed by a corporate lawyer that has
repeatedly gone out of its way to protect Corporate America's ability to bleed
the middle class dry. Today's ruling, though, is particularly egregious. Not
only did the court strike down an important ruling, but it essentially
emasculated taxpayers' ability to bring any such lawsuits against their own
government in the future.

Afghanistan's Religious Right, also known as the Taliban, is once again promoting it's beliefs through public executions.


The Philadelphia Inquirer had the guts to call those politicians that suck up to the NRA the whores that they are. I have no problem with responsible people owning firearms, within reason. But the NRA is nothing more than a pack of liars working for the firearms and ammunition manufacturers.

Perzel is more of a mystery. The speaker has tremendous power and cojones
to spare. He could get that bill out of committee and up for a vote on the floor
of the House. My guess is he doesn't want to put his fellow Republicans on the
spot, especially his suburban members who are whores for the National Rifle
Association but know that most of their constituents would favor such a
bill.

And at last, Teen Sex, Good, Bad or Just inevitable?

Virginity Pledgers:

"Study after study that's peer-reviewed has showed that these programs make no
appreciable impact on public health, and increase dangerous behavior" because
pledge-takers are more likely to engage in unprotected sex, Bearman said.
"Pledging leads to a form of promise-breaking that's riskier." ·

U.S. vs. Western European attitudes:

Among the findings that surprised me: Although prevalent attitudes on teen sex
differ in Western Europe and the United States, the views of leading researchers
and doctors on both sides of the Atlantic do not. Their opinions lean much
closer to the European model. They tend to agree that the mixed message America
sends to teens about sex -- authorities say "don't" while mass media screams
"What are you waiting for?"-- endanger our children.

Immigration bill, make-up for Gitmo, unloved Republicans and who to buy in Congress.

The Senate hopped to it, in order to get an immigration bill cobbled together that the House isn't going to go along with anyway.

But in politics, the appearance of doing something, is usually as good as actually getting something done.

Remember the hunt for Osama?

A bipartisan majority seems to be working to give the President pretty much what he laid out in his speech. It's much simpler than actual fact finding and debate.

An amendment that I liked by Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) was soundly defeated after the Heritage Foundation weighed in and scared the Republicans off. They presented a supposed study, but I think it had more to do with a ready supply of cheap foreign labor for business.

A few hours later, the coalition voted 69 to 28 to kill an amendment by Sen.
Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) that would have eliminated the central plank of Bush's
immigration policy, a program to offer temporary guest-worker visas to 325,000
foreign workers a year. Dorgan and some union leaders said the program would
"in-source" a steady flow of cheap labor that would compete for low-skilled
jobs, lowering wages for everyone.

The Dorgan proposal appeared to be
gaining steam when conservatives received a Heritage Foundation study concluding
that the Senate's guest-worker program would allow an estimated 103 million
foreigners to legally immigrate to the United States over 20 years. A rush of
Senate Republicans first voted to support Dorgan but switched their votes under
pressure from Senate GOP leaders, who feared an embarrassing rebuke to the
president a day after his national address.

This is an important issue, these lawmakers need to take the time and put something together that will make a real impact. But like I said they're just trying to look like they're doing something. If they'd pay attention, they'd know there's no rush and the President can't apply any pressure because he only has favorable ratings in three states. But this isn't even close to being over, stay tuned.



In another example of how the government is wasting all this money we're borrowing against out kids and grandkids, the Pentagon is launching a PR blitz to clean up the image of Gitmo.

What's the point? Nothing's going to change as long as we have the current leadership. Face it, they think we're all as dumb as Bush.

The Pentagon has launched a public relations campaign to offset the negative
publicity about its terrorist detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The public's getting fed up with Congress. They're not particularly fond of the Democrats and they're getting to where they can't stand the Republicans. It's about time.

As I see it, the people are starting to see the GOP as a bunch of corrupt enablers for big business to suck the treasury dry, while at the same time being in thrall to the radical Religious Right. While they see the Democrats as a bunch of gutless wussies too afraid to take a stand for what's right. A fair assessment of both parties. But, I've got to admit that there are some good people in both parties, though not nearly enough.

Public confidence in GOP governance has plunged to the lowest levels of the Bush
presidency, with Americans saying by wide margins that they now trust Democrats
more than Republicans to deal with Iraq, the economy, immigration and other
issues, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll that underscores the GOP's
fragile grip on power six months before the midterm elections.

Democrats
are now favored to handle all 10 issues measured in the Post-ABC News poll. The
survey shows a majority of the public, 56 percent, saying they would prefer to
see Democrats in control of Congress after the elections.

Don't get too confident. Democrats have a way of screwing things up. I know, I'm one of them.


Part of the problem with Congress' approval ratings is that they are so obviously money oriented. And this isn't going to help.

"You won't know the players without a program". Now Congress has it's own program, so that the folks that want to latch on to your tax money, will know who to go to for the most bang for their buck. Sick but true.

Washington is a town where power is routinely won and lost, and where the
pursuit of it never goes out of style. Now political junkies have a new way to
track who has the most.

A company serving lobbyists published its "Power
Rankings" of Congress online yesterday after five months of combing through
legislative records, committee assignments, news articles and fundraising
documents.

Here's a comprehensive Washington Post-ABC News Poll that covers just about everything.

What I found odd, is that on the "would you rather have a Republican or Democrat in Congress" question, the Republicans only reached 50% once since 1981. How did these guys get in power?

Credit counseling, we're fat, environment, Gitmo, and the economy.

Those non-profit credit-counseling organizations that you see advertising on TV all the time. Well guess what? They're for profit and trying to squeeze every dime they can out of the people that can least afford it. Sounds like a Republican wet dream.

The IRS is revoking their tax-exempt status. Why aren't they being locked up?

The Internal Revenue Service said yesterday it plans to revoke the tax-exempt
status of every one of the 41 credit-counseling organizations on which it has
completed an audit, saying many of these firms appeared to be primarily
motivated by profit, not by helping debt-burdened consumers.

IRS
Commissioner Mark W. Everson also said the agency had begun criminal
investigations of some of the firms but declined to elaborate.

This should cheer you up. The U.S.A. is number one. That's right we are the most over weight nation in the world. So let's all wave our flags and go to McDonalds for a Big Breakfast to celebrate.

World leader

Not surprisingly, the U.S. is the world leader: The U.S. is home to nearly
23% of the world's obese population aged 15 or older, according to the analysis.

The U.S. share of obesity, with 22.6% of the world's fattest residents age
15+, is far above the 5.3% share of runner-up Mexico, according to American
Demographics' analysis.

The Environment. Our planet that has been around and pretty well thriving for hundreds of millions of years, might just have met it's match in the form of an idiot boy from Texas and his brain dead supporters.

Bush is wanting power plants to be able to produce more pollution, it saves money that can better be used in campaign coffers. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit went right along with Bush, because they're obviously just dumber than dirt. Environmental Defense stepped in and said this is just stupid, we'll just appeal this to the Supreme Court. The biggest surprise is that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear it.

The Supreme Court announced yesterday that it will review a controversial
federal court ruling that environmentalists had said would weaken
pollution-control requirements for aging power stations across the country.

In a one-line order, the justices said they will hear Environmental Defense's
appeal of a June 2005 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit,
based in Richmond, which said that Duke Energy Corp., a North Carolina utility,
could operate refurbished power plants even though their total annual emissions
would go up.

The Bush Administration has also decided, he is the decider, you know, that the EPA doesn't need to have access to any of that new fangled science stuff. So they are just going to stop funding the EPA's library and resource system. Just give them each a Gideon Bible, if it's good enough science for the President, it's good enough for the EPA.

Proposed budget cuts could cripple a nationwide system of Environmental
Protection Agency libraries that government researchers and others depend on for
hard-to-find technical information, library advocates say.

The $2 million
cut sought by the White House would reduce the 35-year-old EPA Library Network's
budget by 80 percent and force many of its 10 regional libraries to close,
according to the advocates and internal agency documents.

The public has a lot at stake in the future of these libraries, said Jeff
Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a
nonprofit advocacy group that obtained internal EPA documents on the proposed
cuts.

"We view this as another example of the Bush administration marginalizing EPA
research so that the agency scientists and other specialists can't do their
jobs," Ruch said. "And then in the absence of information, plans by industries
and others that have environmental implications go forward."

Bureau of Land Management, can't do it's job because they just can't get the funding. And the funding they do get mostly goes to assisting energy companies exploit the land the BLM is supposed to be preserving.

The new study says the agency lacks the money to deal adequately with these
issues. Beyond that, Moe charges that the BLM "has let their missions get out of
whack. The extraction part, serving the energy industry, is hugely out of
balance with the preservation business. Their priority is energy right now, and
the rest gets short shrift."

The Pentagon finally gets around to releasing the names of the Gitmo detainees. It didn't mention if any of them were actually terrorists. Guess they should have gave them all phones and they could have checked them out while they were checking us out.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- The Pentagon gave The Associated Press on Monday
the first list of everyone who has been held at Guantanamo Bay, more than four
years after it opened the detention center in Cuba. But none of the most
notorious terrorist suspects were included, raising questions about where
America's most dangerous prisoners are being held.

And finally, The Freefalling Dollar and Bush's war on the Middle Class. A recommended read for anyone who actually gives a crap about what's going on with our economy.

Can't the American people see what is happening to their future? In just 6
years Bush has taken the world's strongest currency and chopped it into finally
ground hash. By the time people rouse from their stupor, the greenback will be
eye to eye with the peso.

Bush has piled up more debt than all the other presidents combined. His tax
cuts have fattened the bankrolls of his constituents but they've put the dollar
on a downward slide. Since he took office the once-mighty greenback has
plummeted a whopping 35%.

Meanwhile, at the Federal Reserve, new Fed-master Bernacke has the printing
presses running at warp-speed. The soaring price of oil has soaked up more than
a trillion dollars of freshly-minted fiat currency, but it's the only thing
that's kept the greenback from slipping beneath the waves. Unfortunately, that
trick won't last forever.

You really should read the whole thing. It shows how they're taking the money from the bottom and sending it to the top. Related story.