air force one

John Cole points out the ending of the CBS article:

The trip Columbus probably cost taxpayers between $500,000 and $1 million.

Air Force One alone bills out at $100,000 per hour, and the round trip is nearly two hours. Adding to the cost are military aircraft to carry limos and secret service vehicles, Marine One on standby, Secret Service, local police and other factors.

I don't seem to remember CBS talking about the costs of George Bush flying around the country to push his failed Social Security reform. Do you?

I guess only Democratic Presidents get this scrutiny. Show your agenda much CBS?

So he is doing something about it:

Reporters covering President Bush 's Middle East trip, which ended last week, were in for a bit of a surprise when they showed up at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem for Bush's statement on peace negotiations. There they found an unexpected colleague -- NBC News correspondent David Gregory, who had not been on the press charter or on Air Force One.

Gregory, it turned out, flew to Israel solely for a one-on-one interview with Bush. He was one of three network reporters to fly in during the eight-day trip for separate, specially arranged sit-downs with the president, the others being Greta Van Susteren of Fox News and Terry Moran of ABC News. With television's heavy hitters having abandoned the White House to suffer the wilds of New Hampshire and South Carolina, the Bush team figured the best way to get attention for his trip in the midst of the primaries was to dole out "exclusive" interviews.

Today's Washington Post has an article by right wing hit man John Solomon. Today Solomon goes after John Edwards and his infamous $400 haircut. They are coining it as "the stylist speaks out", even though I got a feeling Solomon worked hard to get him to "speak out".

Instead of quoting this piece of crap, which has absolutely nothing to do with leadership, I think it is prudent to remember our history. 231 years ago 56 brave men signed their own death warrant. That death warrant was called the Declaration of Independence, and if the Revolutionary War would have gone the other way, all these men would have been hanged for treason.

They took the ultimate risk to build a nation that was better. One above all others. Now we got this - a country that worries about how much a haircut costs. This is not some "scandal" trademarked by Edwards. Clinton also faced the same scrutiny, lead by a rash of right wing lies when he got a haircut aboard Air Force One.

So why is it the right can only find petty things to pick on?

Look at who their top voices are. Ann Coulter, who sinks to the lowest of human standards by making jokes about Edwards dead son. The same person who can joke about a presidential candidate being harassed, while claiming it a "joke" (and you are welcome Bill).

Or how about a man they want to be the next President, Newt Gingrich. This is a man who told a bunch of other neo-cons that people died in Katrina, because the people were "so uneducated and so unprepared, they literally couldn't get out of the way of a hurricane". This statement was also received by a bunch of cheers.

After reading through the 29 page response filed by Scooter Libby's attorneys this week, I uncovered something I found of interest.

The response gives us a look into who may be called to the witness stand and what role their testimony could play.

Firs up is Marc Grossman, former Under Secretary of Political Affairs. Grossman's involvement in the case is of no surprise to anyone following it. We have known for quiet sometime that he allegedly told Scooter Libby about Valerie Plame. Grossman also refused to answer this allegation during the grand jury investigation.

Up next is former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. The defense is questioning rather Ari learned about Plame's identity from someone at the State Department or at the CIA. The response also highlights that night aboard Air Force One when the secret memo containing Plame's identity was allegedly passed around:

Press accounts suggest that Mr. Fleischer may have learned about Ms. Wilson during his trip to Africa after seeing it in a classified report sent to Mr. Powell on Air Force One and then disclosed this information to reporters.

Here is the most interesting part of the filing involving Ari Fleischer

Finally, the defense also seeks documents that will shed light on the Administration’s response to criticism from Mr. Wilson. The government questioned Mr. Libby about this topic at length in the grand jury, and it put it at issue in the indictment and with its proposed use of the NIE. As the White House press secretary, Mr. Fleischer likely played a key role in orchestrating and implementing the Administration’s strategy for rebutting Mr. Wilson’s claims. Documents from his files – or from anywhere in the White House – that relate to this subject must be produced pursuant to Rule 16.

Brown resignation update view the
Reuters

FEMA chief Brown resigns in wake of
Katrina

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Emergency Management Agency Director
Michael Brown, under fire and recalled to Washington in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina, resigned on Monday, senior administration officials said
on Monday.

Under fire for a slow response to Hurricane Katrina, Brown was pulled out
of Gulf Coast operations on Friday and recalled to Washington. President
George W. Bush has been under pressure from Democrats to fire him.

Accusations also arose last week that Brown had exaggerated his
background in disaster relief in his official biography and resume.

The officials would not give any details except to confirm that Brown,
who has been FEMA's director since 2003, had resigned.

The resignation came three days after Homeland Security Secretary Michael
Chertoff removed Brown from federal relief efforts in the Gulf Coast and
sent him back to Washington.

In announcing his decision, Chertoff said he wanted Brown to be in
Washington to continue administering FEMA.

During a visit to Gulfport, Mississippi, Bush was asked about Brown's
resignation. He told reporters he had not talked to Brown or to Chertoff but
said he would speak with the Homeland Security chief on the Air Force One
flight back to Washington.