The NeoRepublicans Point of No Return
Gonzo takes his oath before the Senate hearings? (Thanks to Dearest Reader Valerie for the picture)
Dearest Readers, Gonzo will soon be gone. Prissy is hearing he will resign by September...either that, or he will certainly be looking at impeachment. Maybe even disbarment.
One thing is for sure. He has lost all credibility within his own party. Spector isn't fooled or maybe he just doesn't like Gonzo. Either way, he's asking the right questions. Let's see if he has enough of our ancestors in his bloodline to follow with action.
Only ones just as deep in Bushworld muck, can afford to stand up for him at this fork in the road. They know they have little to lose and so the ruse must continue.
If the American people are tired of the deceit, they must use all available lawful means to restore the government back into the hands of the We the People. The creatures of the current regime will not hand it back politely, we must demand its return.
Should one require a cause or mission statement before embarking on the venture, Prissy suggests reading the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence or its conclusion (see below) for further guidance.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Back channel whisper of the day: Did Congressman John Boehner (OH-R) make the DC Madames list? There may be another Ohio congressperson on the list too.
Place your bets, Dearest Readers. Larry Flynt will probably drop the names beginning of next week, watch the roaches in Washington scatter...
Hot Links
Will it help to tell these boys they are "well within the national average?"
TruthOut Gonzales Memo: White House Granted Extraordinary Access to DOJ Files
Under intense questioning by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), Gonzales was shown a copy of the May 4, 2006 memo he signed authorizing Cheney, his chief of staff and his attorney to enter into direct discussions with Gonzales "regarding any matter within the Justice Department."
"The Attorney General may communicate directly with the President, Vice President, their Chiefs of Staff, Counsel to the President or Vice President, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Adviser, or the head of any office within the [Executive Office of the President] regarding any matter within the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice," states the memo. Moreover, the memo says Gonzales's staffers were also given authority to communicate directly with the officials in the office of the president and the office of the vice president on DOJ matters.
The issue is of particular concern to lawmakers and the legal community because the DOJ historically operates independently of the administration and without political interference of any kind. A similar memo was signed by former Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2002, but limited discussions between the DOJ and the White House to the office of the counsel of the president.
Gonzales's memo, on the other hand, seems to authorize discussion about pending DOJ cases to virtually hundreds of White House officials, and it seems to lend credibility to the assertion that perhaps some high-profile public corruption cases involving Republican lawmakers were scuttled due to interference by the Bush administration.
Don't we make a cute couple?
Chicago Tribune, hat tip to Prissy's invisible BF...BP dumps mercury in lake
Peter Swenson, chief of the water permits section at the EPA's regional office in Chicago, said some Great Lakes polluters have been granted exemptions to the mercury limits when they renew their permits. But others have been forced to comply immediately, he said, noting that emerging technology can remove the metal from waste water.
A Tribune review of federal records shows that the waste water the BP refinery pumps into Lake Michigan includes more than a dozen toxic byproducts of oil refining, including benzene, toluene and suspended solids containing mercury, lead, nickel and vanadium.
The refinery is the top industrial source of lead, nickel and ammonia pollution directly released into the lake, according to the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory. It also is one of only two industrial polluters on the lake that dump acetonitrile, a chemical that metabolizes in the environment to cyanide.
If BP were to meet the federal mercury standard for the Great Lakes, it would take the refinery 25 years to put the same amount of the toxic metal into Lake Michigan that it does now in one year.
ABC still trying to salvage some credibility after the DC Madame untruths Spy Agency OKs Bloggers as Journalists
Are bloggers part of the news media? The U.S. government -- led by two of its most secretive agencies -- is increasingly saying, "Yes, they are."
Despite the rap that bloggers simply "bloviate" and "don't try to find things out," as conservative newspaper columnist Robert Novak once sniffed, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) have altered policies to indicate they're taking blogs seriously, and a growing number of public offices are actively reaching out to the blogosphere.
What Dick thinks of bloggers
The CIA recently updated its policies on Freedom of Information Act requests to allow bloggers to qualify for special treatment once reserved for old-school reporters. And last August, the NSA issued a directive to its employees to report leaks of classified information to the media -- "including blogs," the order said.
Experts say it's part of a trend. Earlier this year, the criminal trial of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was the first time a federal court had issued press credentials to bloggers. A rotating pool of five to 10 bloggers sat alongside dozens of traditional media reporters to hear the government try and convict one-time aide to Vice President Dick Cheney on perjury and obstruction of justice charges stemming from the leak of an undercover CIA operative's identity.
Republicans blocking Freedom of Information Act bill, Judiciary Chairman says
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) issued a Friday afternoon statement criticizing Republican colleagues for holding up an open government bill that seeks to reform the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and end delays in government compliance with requests for information.
"The Republican obstructionism continues in the Senate and the latest casualty is Americans’ access to their government," Senator Leahy said. "I am deeply disappointed that Republicans continue to block attempts to pass the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act” (“OPEN Government Act”)
CREW CREW RELEASES REPORT DETAILING INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE OFFERS IN WAKE OF HURRICANE KATRINA
Another email responding to an offer from Argentina to DOS officials reads “All, The (sic) word here is that doctors of any kind are in the 'forget about it' category. Human assistance of any kind is not on our priorities list....It’s all about goods, not people, at this point.”
Another email describes how the transport of Israeli relief supplies loaded on a C-130 aircraft was delayed for over 48 hours on the tarmac while Israeli officials waited for clearance from the U.S. government. The unidentified author states: “I’ve been on the phone with the [Israeli] attache every couple of hours since noon . . . they’re patient, but not amused by our delay, obviously.” The documents do not reveal if or how the issue was resolved.
Melanie Sloan, CREW’s executive director said today, “A review of the State Department documents reveals distressing ineptitude. Countries were trying to donate desperately needed goods and services, but as a result of bureaucratic bungling and indifference, those most in need of these generous offers of aid never received it.”
CBS Dick's hardening of the arteries and his head Cheney Having Minor Heart Procedure
Cheney, 66, has a history of heart problems. He has had four heart attacks, quadruple bypass surgery, two artery-clearing angioplasties and an operation to implant the defibrillator.
In March, doctors discovered that he had a deep venous thrombosis in his left lower leg. After an ultrasound in late April, doctors said the clot was slowly getting smaller.
In 2005, Cheney had six hours of surgery on his legs to repair a kind of aneurysm, a ballooning weak spot in an artery that can burst if left untreated.
What a waste of taxpayers money...persons of his vast wealth should have to pay their own health care costs. He has access to the best resources much of his life-its not our fault that he failed to use them.
The problem Prissy has with Republicans is that they always like to hold others responsible for behaviors which cause health problems (smoking, overweight,etc) but never wish to be held accountable themselves. To be held to their own standards would literally kill them...
Why Bush ranks number one for being the most unsophisticated, vulgar president in American history. Imagine being a military family and seeing him joke about the misuse of your loved ones life...watch Joe Lieberman yuk it up at the prez.
Possibly the most callus, unAmerican, unpatriotic moment against our troops in the annual press dinner's history. They cared not, while deceiving Americans into this war. It shows.
Thank you again, Stephen Colbert! He did one of those critical skills jobs, the one that no one else had the gonads to do.
Maybe Dubya should have looked within for WMD
The Iraq War: Legal or Illegal?
Pinky wants some answers: Is the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq legal or illegal? Do any of the charges of illegality we've been hearing about have any legal basis at all? And why should we even care about international law anyway? Pinky and friends do the research and then tell you all the answers!
A well researched cartoon with the facts about the war. Send to anyone left still doubting...
Andrew Sullivan The Republicans and the Young
Young people react with hostility to the Republicans on almost every measure and Republicans and younger voters disagree on almost every major issue of the day. The range of the issue disagreements range from the most prominent issues of the day (Iraq, immigration) to burning social issues (gay marriage, abortion) to fundamental ideological disagreements over the size and scope of government. This leaves both potential Democratic nominees with substantial leads over Rudy Giuliani, but importantly, both Democrats still have room to grow their support among younger voters. The current problems with the Republican brand are not fully reflected in young people’s preferences for President.
No kidding; Prissy is glad the younger generation isn't as easily fooled as their elders. Notice their elders prefer not to answer the young 'uns questions...
Wired Republican Candidates: Afraid to Face the YouTube Generation?
Ratings data show that the CNN/YouTube debate received the highest viewership level for the demographic between 18 and 34 since measurement level began in 1992 for a cable news debate.
Research released earlier this year by Harvard's Institute for Politics found that -- galvanized by the war -- this age group showed up at the polls in 2004 at extremely high levels.
As Carl Cannon, a writer for the inside-the-Beltway publication National Journal noted in a May edition of the magazine, "These young people are so little understood that many of the 2006 congressional campaigns ignored them utterly, although the candidates who did paid a price for their inattention."
WaPo With Gonzales Under Fire, FBI Violation Gains Notice
"Oversight by Congress to minimize abuse of government's power relies on full and honest answers from government officials," particularly with regard to Patriot Act matters, Leahy said in a statement. "Time and again this Attorney General has not met that obligation."
The issue of what Gonzales knew of FBI violations and when arose this month, when The Washington Post reported that the FBI had sent him at least half a dozen reports of legal or procedural violations before he gave his 2005 testimony.
In total, the FBI has told the White House and the Justice Department about a few hundred instances since 2001 in which its agents violated procedures or laws designed to protect the civil liberties and privacy of Americans. Most of the problems involved paperwork mistakes, the inadvertent collection of phone data for the wrong person or the collection of data past a legal deadline, officials have said.
Officials said the 2004 violation stands out because it is the sole occasion on which the FBI itself concluded that an agent intentionally violated safeguards on the use of national security letters, investigative tools that allow agents to gather phone, computer or bank records without court approval or a grand jury subpoena.
Wired more reasons for concern about Gonzo AG Gonzales Wants Police to Get "Extremely Graphic" When Discussing Child Porn
According to this account, Gonzales repeatedly stressed the need to give the public more lurid accounts of what officers have seen. "We have to be very, very graphic in describing what we're discovering over the Internet, for example, the images that we see. Not just young teenage girls in bikinis, but these are images of crimes being committed against our children, of dads having sex with their young daughters, oral sex, defecation," Gonzales said. "I mean, just, we've got to be extremely graphic about what we're seeing because all these images mean that a child has been molested."
Wouldn't such graphic descriptions in police press releases and news stories play to the prurient interests of pedophiles and, in a sense, become its own version of child porn?
Of course it would...remember Ken Starr "and then what did she do with it, Mr. President...republicans can't get enough of the lurid details. Put it in the final report for police and doctors eyes- it doesn't need to be in Gonzo's entertainment news.
Really makes Prissy professionally concerned about those firmly holding on to such an ideology. 
The successful re-branding of KKKarl's GOP
Mirror Tories are revolting
Civil war broke out in the Conservative Party yesterday as senior Tory MPs publicly blasted David Cameron.
Die-hard Derek Conway said there were "generational difficulties" with the new leader.
He claimed the views of older Tories had been forgotten in plans to rebrand the party.
Veteran MP Bob Spink accused Cameron of relying on gimmicks and "wet behind the ears" advisers.
Kids, these are the kind of "grown-ups" Prissy will be more than happy to help you verbally target.
Listen up, DLC democrats. Politico Democrats dis DLC convention
The lack of a single presidential candidate at the convention is nonetheless striking.
Even those long shots like Joe Biden, aching to catch some momentum, will not be attending.
Biden argues for restoring a Democratic coalition. But he's campaigning in New Hampshire over the weekend. His book tour is beginning. He, like his fellow candidates, is simply too busy for the DLC.
The snub would not be so noticeable if it were not for the presidential race beginning so early this cycle. No Democratic candidate for president attended the DLC gathering in 1999 or 2003. But in 2000, Al Gore gave the conference keynote address. In 2004, John Kerry did the same.
The DLC does not represent the grass roots that made them possible. They appear to snub their "base."
Gulf News US plans big arms sale to Saudi Arabia
Officials told the newspaper that the plan is aimed at bolstering GCC militaries to contain Iran’s growing strength in the region.
The State Department and the White House had no comment on the report, and a Pentagon spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment.
Officials said that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates plan to use their visit to Saudi Arabia next week to press for help over Iraq.
The newspaper quoted a senior State Department official as saying that Washington wants Gulf states to stress to Sunnis that engaging in violence is "killing your future."
That's right, cause this guy wants to "kill your future...
IHT Stock markets rise and fall according to a new world pecking order
The economic strength this year has been largely in Asia, where there is talk of an overheating Chinese economy and annual growth rates in gross domestic product remain in the double digits. While recessions in America and Europe would presumably damage China's exports, its growth has so far resisted government efforts to slow it down through higher interest rates.
As a result, the prices of such economically sensitive commodities as oil and copper are significantly higher now than they were in February.
"You can make the case that we are simply witnessing a reverse of the late 1990's - Asia collapse, long-term interest rates swoon and U.S. housing booms," said Robert Barbera, the chief economist of ITG. This time, he said, interest rates may not fall much, because of the Asian boom, and that will put more pressure on housing prices.
The plunge this week, while made in America, seemed to end in China. While Japan's stock market fell about 2 percent on Friday, the CSI 300 index, in China, managed a small gain. After that, European markets showed only mild moves.
Quotes of the Day
We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately. --Benjamin Franklin
Mourn not the dead that in the cool earth lie, but rather mourn the apathetic, throng the coward and the meek who see the world's great anguish and its wrong, and dare not speak.--Ralph Chaplin
The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.--Albert Einstein
The Ass and His Driver: AN ASS, being driven along a high road, suddenly started off and bolted to the brink of a deep precipice. While he was in the act of throwing himself over, his owner seized him by the tail, endeavoring to pull him back. When the Ass persisted in his effort, the man let him go and said, Conquer, but conquer to your cost. A willful beast must go his own way.--Aesop
