Open thread

post from AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth on 14 May 2007 05:29:00 PM. © AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth

I've always been fascinated with the head butt. It's something every French kid learns from an early age - how to knock your forehead into someone else's forehead and practically knock them out. It's a shockingly good self-defense technique - I experienced it for the first time from a French high school exchange student in England when I was 19. Anyway, a French friend just sent me yet another political gag about the French presidential elections. It's cute. Check it out (click on "jouer" to play).

I got 44.

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BREAKING: Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty To
Resign

post from Think Progress on 14 May 2007 05:24:00 PM. © Think Progress

The AP reports: Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty said Monday he will resign, the highest-ranking Bush administration casualty in the furor over the firing of U.S. attorneys, The Associated Press has learned. McNulty, who has served 18 months as the Justice Department’s second-in-command, announced his plans at a closed-door meeting of U.S. attorneys in San [...]

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esign/

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Feingold-Reid to be brought to a vote.

post from Think Progress on 14 May 2007 05:22:00 PM. © Think Progress

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced today that he will bring the Feingold-Reid Iraq legislation to a vote as early as this week. Watch it: [...]

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DoJ officials never told to preserve documents.

post from Think Progress on 14 May 2007 05:20:00 PM. © Think Progress

“According to one staffer involved in the investigation, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, Acting Associate Attorney General William Mercer and former Gonzales chief of staff D. Kyle Sampson all told investigators privately that Justice had never instructed them to preserve all documents related to the dismissals.”

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s/

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Why Gonzales is Still with Us

post from Daily Kos on 14 May 2007 05:16:09 PM. © Daily Kos

I'm more and more convinced that the only reason Alberto Gonzales is still in office is because that's where Karl Rove wants him to be. For the time being, he's been effective at least in providing a partial human shield for Rove, masking the full extent of Rove's involvement in the Prosecutor Purge. But of course, that's unlikely to last, as the center of the corruption universe becomes more and more clear.

Nearly half the U.S. attorneys slated for removal by the administration last year were targets of Republican complaints that they were lax on voter fraud, including efforts by presidential adviser Karl Rove to encourage more prosecutions of election- law violations, according to new documents and interviews.

Of the 12 U.S. attorneys known to have been dismissed or considered for removal last year, five were identified by Rove or other administration officials as working in districts that were trouble spots for voter fraud -- Kansas City, Mo.; Milwaukee; New Mexico; Nevada; and Washington state. Four of the five prosecutors in those districts were dismissed....

Rove, in particular, was preoccupied with pressing Gonzales and his aides about alleged voting problems in a handful of battleground states, according to testimony and documents.

Last October, just weeks before the midterm elections, Rove's office sent a 26-page packet to Gonzales's office containing precinct-level voting data about Milwaukee. A Justice aide told congressional investigators that he quickly put the package aside, concerned that taking action would violate strict rules against investigations shortly before elections, according to statements disclosed this week.

Rove, with his obsession with creating a permanent Republican majority by whatever means, found a most willing ally in the form of the lackey Gonzales. What better position than the Attorney General's office to put a thumb on the electoral scale, and what better lackey to put in that office than Bush's Fredo, the unimaginative, incompetent, real-estate lawyer lackey Gonzales?

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Fired USA: Here's Some Reading of "Interest"

post from TPMmuckraker on 14 May 2007 05:09:20 PM. © TPMmuckraker

Was U.S. Attorney for Nevada Daniel Bogden fired because he didn't prioritize voter fraud prosecutions? That's the latest theory at least. Bogden's firing has elicited a number of strained rationales from the Justice Department, but we've heard precious little from...

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YOU MAY HAVE GOTTEN THE IMPRESSION THAT I REALLY
DETEST RAHM EMANUEL-- I DO, EVEN THOUGH HE CAN LAUGH AT HIMSELF... WHEN THERE'S A STRATEGIC GOAL

post from DownWithTyranny! on 14 May 2007 05:04:00 PM. © DownWithTyranny!

Someone from Emanuel's office sent me this today. It was the final draft of a comedy routine-- written for him by Chicago media consultant David Axelrod, Paul Begala, and Jeff Nussbaum-- that he delivered on April Fool's Day at the Gridiron Dinner in DC.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE TONIGHT AND LET ME SAY WHAT AN HONOR IT IS TO SHARE THE PODIUM WITH SUCH A DISTINGUISHED GROUP OF JOURNALISTS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS.
I KNOW WHAT MANY OF YOU ARE THINKING?HOW DID THIS HAPPEN TO THE GRIDIRON? THE REPUBLICANS SEND A TOP TIER NOMINEE FOR PRESIDENT. THE DEMOCRATS SEND YOU NANCY PELOSI?S VALET.
WHEN I GOT THIS INVITATION, I WAS A LITTLE CONCERNED BECAUSE A LOT OF YOU MAY NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT ME?SO LET ME TAKE A MINUTE AND TELL YOU ABOUT MYSELF.
WHO IS THE REAL RAHM EMANUEL? I?M KNOWN AS A STRAIGHT SHOOTER. JUST LIKE JIM WEBB.
I AM A MAN WHO HAS BEEN CALLED TEMPERAMENTAL, VINDICTIVE, FOULMOUTHED AND MEAN. AND THAT?S JUST MY MOM BRAGGING ABOUT ME.
FRIENDS CALL ME TOM DELAY ? EXCEPT WITHOUT THE WARM, CUDDLY SIDE.
IN MY DEFENSE, IF I SOMETIMES SEEM TOUGH, IT?S BECAUSE I?VE FACED SOME REAL ADVERSITY IN MY LIFE.
AS A TEENAGER, I WAS WORKING IN A RESTAURANT AND ACCIDENTALLY SLICED OFF THE MIDDLE FINGER ON MY RIGHT HAND. OF ALL THE FINGERS TO LOSE! I COULD NOT EXPRESS MYSELF FOR MONTHS. I HAD TO LEARN TO TALK WITH MY LEFT HAND.
LATER IN LIFE I WORE A MILITARY UNIFORM. I DID A STINT IN THE ISRAELI ARMY DURING OPERATION DESERT STORM. YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE I DID NOT KNOW ANYONE IN THE TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD.
I USED TO BE A BALLET DANCER, TOO. TO CLEAR UP THE RECORD, EVEN BEFORE I STARTED DANCING, MY NICKNAME WAS ?THE NUTCRACKER.?
AND YES, I?M THE GUY WHO ONCE PUT A STAMP ON AN ENVELOPE AND MAILED A DEAD FISH TO A POLLSTER. AND LET ME SAY, I WOULD NEVER DO THAT TODAY. I HAVE FRANKING PRIVILEGES.
OH. BEFORE I FORGET, I WANT TO TAKE A MINUTE AND WISH A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AL GORE WHO JUST TURNED 59. IT'S A MIXED DAY FOR AL -- ON THE ONE HAND HE REFUSES TO HAVE BIRTHDAY CANDLES BECAUSE THEY CAUSE GLOBAL WARMING. ON THE OTHER HAND, HE REALLY LOVES CAKE.
I KNOW WE'RE ALL DISAPPOINTED THE PRESIDENT COULDN'T MAKE IT. BUT AT LEAST WE GOT THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF WITH US TONIGHT. GOOD TO SEE YOU, MR. VICE PRESIDENT.
AND IT?S NICE TO SEE THE VICE PRESIDENT BACK ON HIS FEET. I KNOW HE WAS AT THE HOSPITAL LAST WEEK. BUT HERE?S THE GOOD NEWS, IT WASN?T A BLOOD CLOT.
HE HURT HIS LEG KICKING A PUPPY.
YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO TELL JUST BY LOOKING AT HIM, BUT THE VICE PRESIDENT IS ACTUALLY EXCITED TONIGHT BECAUSE THE INSURGENCY IS IN ITS FINAL THROES. JUST TWO PROFESSIONAL US ATTORNEYS LEFT.
IT?S TRULY IS AN HONOR TO BE HERE WITH YOU AND A SPECIAL HONOR TO BE INTRODUCED BY MY GOOD FRIEND BILL NEIKIRK, THE DEAN OF THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE'S WASHINGTON BUREAU. BILL, YOU'RE DOING A FINE JOB AS GRIDIRON PRESIDENT. ALL THE REVIEWS ARE GREAT. YOUR PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN CITED AS A MODEL FOR FUTURE PRESIDENTS OF THE GRIDIRON. WHICH CAN ONLY LEAD TO ONE CONCLUSION: ALBERTO GONZALEZ IS GOING TO FIRE YOUR ASS.
WHEN I CALLED FOR DETAILS ABOUT TONIGHT ALL BILL WOULD TELL ME IS THAT YOU START OFF IN THE DARK, AND ACT OUT A SERIES OF ARCANE RITUALS THAT HAVE GROWN UP OVER GENERATIONS, THAT HAVE NEVER CHANGED. TO ME, IT SOUNDED LIKE A MEETING OF THE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN.
WHAT A YEAR IT?S BEEN...IT?S A YEAR, IF I COULD DESCRIBE IT IN ONE WAY, IT IS A YEAR OF INCONVENIENT TRUTHS?
--IT?S AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH THAT THERE ARE MORE PICTURES OF RUDY GIULIANI IN A DRESS THAN OF HILLARY
--IT?S AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH THAT SPRING BREAK JUST HASN?T BEEN THE SAME SINCE TED KENNEDY AND CHRIS DODD STOPPED GOING TO LA BRASSERIE
--IT?S AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH THAT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, DICK CHENEY?S LEGAL BILL IS HIGHER THAN HIS MEDICAL BILL.

-- IT?S AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH THAT THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS ARE JOE BIDEN SPEECHES.
--IT?S AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH THAT AL GORE?S OSCAR IS ACTUALLY TALLER THAN DENNIS KUCINICH
BUT YOU KNOW THE REAL INCONVENIENT TRUTH FOR REPUBLICANS??IT?S THAT I AM ACTUALLY IN THE LEADERSHIP.
I?M THE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS CHAIR, WHICH MEANS I?M NUMBER FOUR IN POWER. IT?S LIKE BEING MARVIN BUSH.
HOW DO I BEST DESCRIBE MY BOSS NANCY PELOSI? SHE?S A 67 YEAR OLD GRANDMOTHER WHO RESERVES HER ANGER FOR THE ONE MAN WHO OPPOSES HER ON A DAILY BASIS?STENY HOYER.
YOU CAN TELL THERE?S A CHANGE IN THE CAPITOL. JUST LOOK AT THE NEW LEADERSHIP. NANCY PELOSI, STENY HOYER, JIM CLYBURN, XAVIER BECERRA, RAHM EMANUEL -- WE LOOK LIKE YOUR LOCAL EYEWITNESS NEWS TEAM.
THE REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP? THEY LOOK LIKE THE CAST OF GRUMPY OLD MEN.
ACTUALLY, NANCY GAVE ME TWO VERY IMPORTANT TASKS AS SOON AS SHE BECAME SPEAKER: SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP.
I GOT PRETTY MAD ?I SAID, NANCY -- THERE IS ONLY ONE WOMAN IN MY LIFE WHO CAN ORDER ME AROUND LIKE THAT.
HILLARY CLINTON.
AS CAUCUS CHAIR MY TYPICAL DAY BEGINS WITH A MEETING WITH NANCY, STENY AND JIM. OR AS PRESIDENT BUSH CALLS US, THE AXIS OF EVIL
I DO FEEL FOR THE PRESIDENT. RIGHT NOW HE?S DEALING WITH THE U.S. ATTORNEY SCANDAL. THERE ARE E-MAILS TYING ALBERTO GONZALEZ TO THE U.S. ATTORNEY FIRINGS. THERE ARE E-MAILS TYING THE WHITE HOUSE TO THE FIRINGS -- WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WOULD LOOK BACK AT MARK FOLEY?S E-MAILS AS THE GOOD OLD DAYS?
TO HIS CREDIT, PRESIDENT BUSH IS STILL WORKING HARD AND MAKING THE TOUGH DECISIONS.
SOME OF YOU IN THIS ROOM REPORTED THAT HE COMPARES HIS PRESIDENCY TO HARRY TRUMAN?S. I CAN SEE THAT. BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW, THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENCES.
THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE SAID TRUMAN LOST WHEN HE REALLY WON... AND BUSH WON WHEN HE REALLY LOST.
THIS PRESIDENT KEEPS HIS ?BUCK STOPS HERE? SIGN ON THE VICE PRESIDENT?S DESK.
FINALLY, TRUMAN WAS A HABERDASHER?PRESIDENT BUSH DOESN?T THINK HABERDASHERS SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO GET MARRIED.
EVEN THOUGH THE PRESIDENT IS NOT HERE, MITT ROMNEY IS HERE. MITT HAS A REAL PRESENCE, YOU CAN SENSE IT THE MINUTE HE ENTERS A ROOM?ESPECIALLY IF YOU?RE ALLERGIC TO HAIRSPRAY.
I ADMIT IT, I?M WORRIED HE?LL BE THEIR NOMINEE. A YEAR AGO, MITT ROMNEY WAS THE PRO-CHOICE GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS, BUT HE JUST ANNOUNCED AS A PRO-LIFE CANDIDATE FROM MICHIGAN. MITT, YOU'RE A LITTLE CONFUSED ABOUT THIS MORMAN THING -- IT'S MULTIPLE WIVES, NOT MULTIPLE LIVES.
LET?S BE HONEST, MITT IS THE ODD ONE IN THEIR PARTY. IMAGINE! A GOP CANDIDATE IN 2007 WHO?S MARRIED AND FAITHFUL TO HIS FIRST WIFE.
THINK ABOUT IT:
RUDY: MARRIED 3 TIMES, HAD AN AFFAIR.
MCCAIN: DIVORCED AND ADMITTED TO A WILD PAST.
NEWT: MARRIED 3 TIMES, HAD AT LEAST 2 AFFAIRS.
DO YOU REALIZE THAT WITH A FIELD LIKE THIS, BILL CLINTON COULD RUN AS THE FAMILY VALUES CANDIDATE?
FORGET BANNING GAY MARRIAGE?THE GOP SHOULD JUST BAN STRAIGHT MARRIAGE.
I GIVE CREDIT TO MITT. I COULD NEVER RUN FOR PRESIDENT ? I?M WAY TOO ABRASIVE. I CAN?T BE CHIEF JUSTICE ? I WOULD NEVER ALLOW A DISSENTING OPINION. AND I CAN?T BE SPEAKER? BECAUSE I?M AFRAID TO FLY IN A MILITARY JET.
SO I?LL DO WHAT I THINK I DO BEST-- GIVE ADVICE TO ALL THE CAMPAIGNS.
FIRST OF ALL LET ME SAY RIGHT UP FRONT, THIS IS A TOUGH PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY FOR ME.

ON ONE HAND I HAVE TO BE FOR HILLARY, ON THE OTHER HAND I HAVE TO BE FOR BARACK. IF ONLY I WERE JOHN KERRY, I COULD BE FOR HILLARY AND AGAINST HER.
PEOPLE THINK THAT HILLARY AND I ARE REALLY CLOSE BUT THE TRUTH IS, I WASN?T IN THE ROOM WHEN SHE DECIDED TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT. I DIDN?T KNOW HER IN 1948.
HILLARY GREW UP IN PARK RIDGE WHICH IS RIGHT NEXT TO MY DISTRICT?AND SHE WAS LIKE EVERY OTHER YOUNG GIRL FROM PARK RIDGE GROWING UP IN THE 50?S -- JOINING THE GIRL SCOUTS, WALKING TO SCHOOL IN HER NEIGHBORHOOD, DREAMING OF WORLD DOMINATION.
I?VE TALKED TO BARACK ABOUT THE CONSERVATIVE RIGHT MAKING A BIG DEAL OVER THE FACT HIS FULL NAME IS BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA. I TOLD HIM THAT?S THE REPUBLICANS WORST NIGHTMARE. THEY GET RID OF ONE HUSSEIN AND GET BEATEN BY ANOTHER.
SENATOR OBAMA AND I DON?T JUST SHARE A HOME STATE. WE ALSO SHARE EXOTIC NAMES THAT WERE GIVEN TO US BY OUR FATHERS. BARACK, WHICH IN SWAHILI MEANS ?BLESSED? AND RAHM, WHICH, ROUGHLY TRANSLATED FROM HEBREW, MEANS ?GO SCREW YOURSELF?.
BUT THE CAMPAIGN HASN?T BEEN EASY FOR HIM. YOU CONSTANTLY HEAR THE COMPLAINT THAT BARACK OBAMA ISN?T BLACK ENOUGH. AND THE WORST PART?THE COMPLAINT IS FROM BILL CLINTON.
I?VE ALSO TALKED TO RUDY GIULIANI ABOUT HIS CAMPAIGN. WHICH BY THE WAY, DISTINGUISHES ME FROM HIS KIDS.
I TOLD HIM HE COULD BE PRESIDENT BECAUSE THE VOTERS THINK OF HIM AS ANOTHER FDR IN A TIME OF CRISIS. BY THAT I MEAN HE MARRIED HIS OWN COUSIN.
JOHN MCCAIN AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT HOW EVERYONE MAKES A BIG FUSS ABOUT HIS 5 YEARS BEING TORTURED BY CRAZED COMMUNIST IDEOLOGUES. BIG DEAL, I SHARED AN OFFICE WITH SID BLUMENTHAL.
LET ME THROW IN THIS CAVEAT--I?M NOT REALLY GOOD AT GIVING ADVICE TO REPUBLICANS. IT?S JUST SO DIFFERENT ADVISING A REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE THAN IT IS ADVISING A DEMOCRAT.
WHEN WE WOULD TALK ABOUT A SURGE, A LIGHTNING QUICK THRUST AND AN EARLY WITHDRAWAL, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT SWORN TESTIMONY IN THE CLINTON WHITE HOUSE.
I?LL NEVER FORGET THE SCANDAL AND THE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL. I REMEMBER ONE SUNDAY NIGHT, MY WIFE AMY AND I WERE HOME IN BED WATCHING TV, I TOOK THE REMOTE, SWITCHED IT OFF, LOOKED AT HER WITH BEDROOM EYES AND SHE SAID ?DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO BRING YOUR WORK HOME WITH YOU??
I BEGAN THIS SPEECH TALKING ABOUT SOME INCONVENIENT TRUTHS. BUT THERE IS ONE TRUTH THAT I?M PROUD TO POINT OUT TO YOU: AS JEFFERSON TAUGHT US: ?THE FREE PRESS IS THE DEADLIEST ENEMY OF TYRANNY.?
AMERICA SIMPLY WOULD NOT BE FREE TODAY IF IT WEREN?T FOR THE FREE PRESS. AND, YOU KNOW, THAT OLD SAYING IS TRUE: FREEDOM REALLY ISN?T FREE. 115 JOURNALISTS HAVE DIED COVERING THE WAR IN IRAQ.

It got even sappier and more kiss-ass. Back to himself, this morning he told a journalist to "Go fuck yourself."

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A Mother's Day in Portland

post from My Left Wing - Front Page on 14 May 2007 04:58:35 PM. © My Left Wing - Front Page

Some from CodePink Portland -
(Cristy, Karen & a very somber Me)

On Mother's Day, over 75 people lined up along a park and golf course near Portland, Oregon.

They held no signs of protest, they didn't chant or sing - they were silent.

(my son kneeling next to a VFP 72 buddy)

Around their necks were the faces of the dead due to this illegal occupation and slaughter.

Many were faces of Iraqi children.

This incredible, active woman has been arrested so many times.

Cristy and Terri watching a Cop come over

Cop wanted to know who "was in charge of us all"... we said we were in charge of ourselves.

We are MOTHERS and we stand for PEACE!

Mothers of the world unite... don't let our children be killed or turned into killers.

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http://www.myleftwing.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=16653

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Hard and Complicated Arent Synonyms

The chart above is my second favourite chart (I showed FDL'ers my favourite chart last time I wrote here. Hopefully I'm not being too forward.) It's a chart of per capita health expenditures over the last forty odd years and what I want you[...]

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Gilliard

The news for Steve hasn't been good in the last few days.

Gilly is NOT doing well. He backslid last week, just as an overzealous (and cost-conscious) hospital was trying to push him out of the ICU and in to rehab well before he was ready.

No one should have to experience the vast problems in our health care system so up close and personal. It would be fantastic to be able to hear from Steve himself on this, because you know you would get an earful and it would be so incisive, so brutal, and so important. Here's hoping for a full recovery on his part so he can tell us all about it.

Anyway, just a shout-out to Steve and to Jen. You're in your dKos family's thoughts and prayers. Keep us posted, and we'll keep thinking about you, and heading over to the News Blog, to keep those site views and ad revenues flowing. Every little bit helps, right?