April 2006

Another Look Into 'King' George

The Bush dictatorship is in full swing and today the Boston Globe takes a look at how it got to this point:

President Bush has quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution.

Among the laws Bush said he can ignore are military rules and regulations, affirmative-action provisions, requirements that Congress be told about immigration services problems, ''whistle-blower" protections for nuclear regulatory officials, and safeguards against political interference in federally funded research.

Legal scholars say the scope and aggression of Bush's assertions that he can bypass laws represent a concerted effort to expand his power at the expense of Congress, upsetting the balance between the branches of government. The Constitution is clear in assigning to Congress the power to write the laws and to the president a duty ''to take care that the laws be faithfully executed." Bush, however, has repeatedly declared that he does not need to ''execute" a law he believes is unconstitutional.

Former administration officials contend that just because Bush reserves the right to disobey a law does not mean he is not enforcing it: In many cases, he is simply asserting his belief that a certain requirement encroaches on presidential power.

Schmidt Still Lying

This morning I right after Meet the Press ended on our local NBC affiliate - WLWT Channel 5, an interesting commercial ran. The commercial was for Jean Schmidt where it was proclaimed that her Republican primary opponent, Bob McEwen was not an Ohio Resident.

What is interesting about this is that the Ohio Elections Commission addressed the claim that McEwen wasn't an Ohio resident this past week, on the very same day they reprimanded Schmidt for lying:

The Ohio Elections Commission on Thursday found that Republican U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt violated campaign law by claiming on her Web site last year that she had two college degrees when she had only one.

The commission, which ruled unanimously against Schmidt, issued a public reprimand for the violation. The commission also dismissed a complaint that Schmidt's campaign filed against her opponent in Tuesday's primary, former U.S. Rep. Bob McEwen, claiming he wasn't an Ohio resident.

It was the latest setback for Schmidt, who went to Congress last year in a special election to replace Rob Portman, whom President Bush appointed as U.S. trade representative and is set to take over the White House budget office.

[SNIP]

In dismissing the complaint against McEwen, the commission found that he was a resident of suburban Cincinnati. Schmidt's campaign had claimed that his primary residence was in Virginia

Now I am no elections law guru but to me that ad should not be allowed to run since the charge against McEwen for that was dismissed. It is my understanding that Schmidt has filled for appeals on these decisions however I do not know if she can continue to make these claims. Perhaps this will lead Jean "Full Of" Schmidt back to the elections commission for another violation.

When Confronted With Truth Bush Gets Mad - Even In Comedy.

When I heard Stephen Colbert was one of the speakers at last night's correspondents' dinner, I thought that was a good choice. Now after I read this I realize it was not a good choice, but rather a GREAT choice:

WASHINGTON A blistering comedy “tribute” to President Bush by Comedy Central’s faux talk show host Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondent Dinner Saturday night left George and Laura Bush unsmiling at its close.

Earlier, the president had delivered his talk to the 2700 attendees, including many celebrities and top officials, with the help of a Bush impersonator.

Colbert, who spoke in the guise of his talk show character, who ostensibly supports the president strongly, urged the Bush to ignore his low approval ratings, saying they were based on reality, “and reality has a well-known liberal bias.”

He attacked those in the press who claim that the shake-up at the White House was merely re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. “This administration is soaring, not sinking,” he said. “If anything, they are re-arranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg.”

Colbert told Bush he could end the problem of protests by retired generals by refusing to let them retire. He compared Bush to Rocky Balboa in the “Rocky” movies, always getting punched in the face—“and Apollo Creed is everything else in the world.”

There is much more but what I love is how Bush reacted at the end:

As Colbert walked from the podium, when it was over, the president and First Lady gave him quick nods, unsmiling, and handshakes, and left immediately.

More Bush Administration Troubles

One question. Is there anyone in the Bush administration that isn't under investigation or should be?

Dr. Lester M. Crawford, the former commissioner of food and drugs, is under criminal investigation by a federal grand jury over accusations of financial improprieties and false statements to Congress, his lawyer said Friday.

The lawyer, Barbara Van Gelder, would not discuss the accusations further. In a court hearing held by telephone on Thursday, she told a federal magistrate that she would instruct Dr. Crawford to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against compelled self-incrimination if ordered to answer questions this week about his actions as head of the Food and Drug Administration, according to a transcript of the hearing.

Dr. Crawford did not reply to messages seeking comment, and Kathleen Quinn, an F.D.A. spokeswoman, declined to comment.

Dr. Crawford resigned in September, fewer than three months after the Senate confirmed him. He said then that it was time for someone else to lead the agency.

The next month, financial disclosure forms released by the Department of Health and Human Services showed that in 2004 either Dr. Crawford or his wife, Catherine, had sold shares in companies regulated by the agency when he was its deputy commissioner and acting commissioner. He has since joined a Washington lobbying firm, Policy Directions Inc.

What does it take for Congress to realize these guys are all well trained liars? They need to wake up and if the person called before Congress to testify about anything is part of the Bush cartel then they must be sworn in. Hell they should be made to wear a lie detector at this point.

The Costs Of Serving

With stories like this it is not wonder the troops would like to see civilian leadership changes at the Pentagon:

After suffering paralysis, brain damage, lost limbs and other wounds in war, nearly 900 soldiers have been saddled with $1.2 million in government debt because of the military's "complex, cumbersome" pay system, congressional investigators said Thursday.

The report from the Government Accountability Office said another 400 who died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had $300,000 in debt but that the Defense Department did not pursue reimbursement from the estates of those who were killed in combat.

"We found that hundreds of separated battle-injured soldiers were pursued for collection of military debts incurred through no fault of their own," said the report. It said that included seeking reimbursement for errors in pay or for equipment left on the battlefield.

The problem became known months ago as soldiers began to complain and lawmakers asked for the report.

The Pentagon said it had been working to resolve it.

We hear rhetoric all the time from the right how the left does not "support the troops". Well if this is the definition of supporting the troops then I doubt they want support. Will we ever hear of something Donald Rumsfeld's Pentagon can do right?

Georgie Loves Him Some Dubai

The ports deal goes down so Bush pushes for another deal with Dubai-

President Bush is expected on Friday to announce his approval of a deal under which a Dubai-owned company would take control of nine plants in the United States that manufacture parts for American military vehicles and aircraft, say two administration officials familiar with the terms of the deal.

The officials, who were granted anonymity so they could speak freely about something the president had not yet announced, said that the final details had not yet been set and that Mr. Bush might put conditions on the transaction to keep military technology in the United States.

But his action is almost certain to attract scrutiny in Congress, because of the political furor that erupted over the administration's approval of a deal earlier this spring that would have given another Dubai-owned company, Dubai Ports World, leases to operate several American port terminals through its acquisition of a British company, the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company.

Dubai Ports agreed to drop the port deal after it became clear that Republicans were abandoning Mr. Bush and opposing the takeover.

I don't know exactly why Bush has such a hard on to get Dubai in his country but it has to be a real doozie. I wonder if the proper channels are being ignored again or if they will actually do things right this time. Of course I doubt Congress has been kept in the loop because Bush is a dangerous dictator that does not believe in the constitution or a balance of powers.

Press To Scotty - CHANGE THE CHANNEL

CNN has a very amusing story up. It seems that WaPo's Jim VandeHei finally called the White House on the fact that the TVs are always on FOX News:

During a briefing led by White House spokesman Scott McClellan as President Bush was traveling to New Orleans, Louisiana, the Washington Post's Jim VandeHei asked why the White House televisions always seemed to be tuned to Fox News and if it was possible to have them tuned instead to CNN.

"It's come to my attention that there's been requests -- this is a serious question -- to turn these TVs onto a station other than Fox, and that those have been denied," VandeHei told McClellan, who is soon to be replaced by former Fox anchor and self-described conservative Tony Snow.

"My question would be, is there a White House policy that all government TVs have to be tuned to Fox?" VandeHei asked.

"Never heard of any such thing," McClellan responded. "My TVs are on four different channels at all times."

VandeHei noted that McClellan has four televisions in his office, and clarified that he was referring to the ones that reporters can see.

"They're always turned to Fox, which a lot of people consider a Republican-leaning network."

VandeHei noted that the televisions are paid for with taxpayer dollars.

"And my understanding is that you guys have to watch Fox on Air Force One. Is that true?"

The transcript of the change continues here. It ends with the televisions on Air Force One finally being changed to CNN at the request of a majority of the Press Corps.

Jean "Full of" Schmidt in Trouble For Being Full Of Shit.

schmidt

Well Jean Schmidt in fact did lie:

The Ohio Elections Commission on Thursday found that Republican U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt violated campaign law by claiming on her Web site last year that she had two college degrees when she had only one.

The commission, which ruled unanimously against Schmidt, issued a public reprimand for the violation. The commission also dismissed a complaint that Schmidt's campaign filed against her opponent in Tuesday's primary, former U.S. Rep. Bob McEwen, claiming he wasn't an Ohio resident.

It was the latest setback for Schmidt, who went to Congress last year in a special election to replace Rob Portman, whom President Bush appointed as U.S. trade representative and is set to take over the White House budget office.

Schmidt was booed on the House floor in November for her comments criticizing Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., a decorated Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam and is an opponent of the Iraq war. She said: "Cowards cut and run, Marines never do." Schmidt later sent Murtha a note of apology and said she never intended to attack Murtha personally.

When questions were first raised about her college degree claim, Schmidt replied "I have enough classes for the degree". Lets face it - this lady is a flat out liar. Paul Hackett proved that last year during the special election which won her the seat. This lady has no scruples or ethics - she is in fact a Republican

Rove's Day Yesterday - 'HELL'

Raw Story has the full transcript, but here are the parts that stuck out to me:

Karl Rove has described his three and a half hour fifth meeting with a grand jury as "hell," and is more worried about being prosecuted than ever, MSNBC is reporting.

The three and a half hour duration is considered highly unusual for a fifth appearance before a grand jury, MSNBC's David Shuster reported. Shuster will be giving an updated report at 7pm EST.

One MSNBC commentator claimed that the fifth appearnce also ties the record held by Betty Currie, former President Bill Clinton's personal secretary.

Also not boding well for Rove is the fact that the grand jury plans to meet tomorrow. Some are speculating that an indictment for Rove may be handed up tomorrow, though others have claimed such a fast turnaround time is unlikely.

...SNIP....

Why Does Arlen Specter Want To Support Our Enemies?

That is precisely what the administration, the GOP and its mouthpieces would say if a Democrat was talking about this:

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said Thursday he is considering legislation to cut off funding for the Bush administration's secret domestic wiretapping program until he gets satisfactory answers about it from the White House.

"Institutionally, the presidency is walking all over Congress at the moment," Specter, R-Pa., told the panel. "If we are to maintain our institutional prerogative, that may be the only way we can do it."

Specter said he had informed President Bush about his intention and that he has attracted several potential co-sponsors. He said he's become increasingly frustrated in trying to elicit information about the program from senior White House officials at several public hearings.

The amendment amounted to a warning to the White House from a powerful but frustrated Senate chairman.

Now I agree with Specter's assessment of the situation but I can not agree with him making it. The problem is that Specter is playing politics on this. When he had Gonzalez before him to testify he should have sworn him in. Instead he turned a blind eye to our Constitution and put faith in his "party", the party of corruption. In turn there are now numerous questions from Gonzalez's session that are unclear and possibly answered falsely. If Specter means what he is saying then he will reopen those hearings, call all the top officials from the DOJ and NSA in and swear every single one in. Wake up - this is only the very basis of our nation we are talking about.

Another Look Into 'King' George

Schmidt Still Lying

When Confronted With Truth Bush Gets Mad - Even In Comedy.

More Bush Administration Troubles

The Costs Of Serving

Georgie Loves Him Some Dubai

Press To Scotty - CHANGE THE CHANNEL

Jean "Full of" Schmidt in Trouble For Being Full Of Shit.

Rove's Day Yesterday - 'HELL'

Why Does Arlen Specter Want To Support Our Enemies?

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