Does the chimpster know that he is the President? Or did he read it in the newspaper?

Earlier this week it was reported that Vice President Cheney will be called as a witness for the defense in the trial of Scooter Libby.

According to Cheney spokesperson Lea Anne McBridge, "We've cooperated fully in this matter and we'll continue to do so."However, during this morning's press conference, CNN's Elaine Quiano asked the President about this development."What is your reaction to that, is that something you'll resist?"Bush responded that he was unaware of this development until reading the newspapers this morning."No, I read about it in the newspaper today, and uh, it's an interesting piece of news and that's all I'm going to comment about an ongoing case.

"Why is it I knew the Vice President was being subpoenaed a day before the President did? Why was it that the President of the United States, the leader of the free world, had to read about his Vice President testifying in the newspapers? Guess the Patriot Act doesn't cover sharing information within the Executive Branch.


How many years ago did Bush promise to get to the bottom of PlameGate?
Of course, that was disingenuous, because he is probably underneath the pile he swore to get to the bottom of.

http://theprogressivetruth.blogspot.com/2006/12/bush-found-about-cheney-subpoena-today.html

Al Qaeda wants credit for congressional elections

According to a report from ABC News’ Brian Ross, Ayman al Zawahri, al Qaeda’s No. 2 man, released a video tape that reportedly included messages for Democrats in the U.S. Apparently, the terrorist network wants credit for the results of the congressional elections.

“The first is that you [Democrats] aren’t the ones who won the midterm elections, nor are the Republicans the ones who lost. Rather, the Mujahideen — the Muslim Ummah’s vanguard in Afghanistan and Iraq — are the ones who won, and the American forces and their Crusader allies are the ones who lost,” Zawahri said, according to a full transcript obtained by ABC News.
Zawahri calls on the Democrats to negotiate with him and Osama bin Laden, not others in the Islamic world who Zawahri says cannot help.

“And if you don’t refrain from the foolish American policy of backing Israel, occupying the lands of Islam and stealing the treasures of the Muslims, then await the same fate,” he said.

Burns throws the GOP under the bus

WASHINGTON -- Narrowly defeated in his bid for a fourth term, Montana Sen. Conrad Burns turned his anger on the National Republican Senatorial Committee and commercials it had run months before the election. "The ads hurt me more than they helped. I wouldn't have spent the money," he said, his comments characteristic of the season of second-guessing now unfolding among Republicans.

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-gop-second-guessing,0,4292514.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

Rice: U.S. is ready for a Black President

WASHINGTON (AP) -- America is ready to elect a black president, says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The nation's highest-ranking black government official, Rice has said repeatedly she will not run for president despite high popularity ratings and measurable support in opinion polls.
"Yes, I think a black person can be elected president," Rice said in an Associated Press interview Thursday.

At the same time, she said, "we should not be naive. Race is still an issue in America. When a person walks into a room, race is evident. It's something that I think is going to be with us for a very, very long time."
Rice declined to say whether she would like to see her predecessor, Colin Powell, become a candidate. Powell is a fellow black Republican.

"I'm not going to give Colin any advice and he's not going to give me any advice on this one," Rice said.

http://www.rawstory.com/showoutarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fhosted.ap.org%2Fdynamic%2Fstories%2FR%2FRICE_AP_INTERVIEW%3FSITE%3DCAVEN%26SECTION%3DHOME%26TEMPLATE%3DDEFAULT

And I noticed that Condi didn't mention Shirley Chisholm was a the fist black female to run for President in 1972 and later lost but was elected to Congress. People are looking for change in the U.S. and it doesn't matter what race or gender of the candidate for President.

Media Want Documents in CIA Leak Case

WASHINGTON -- Two news organizations are asking a federal judge to unseal documents in the CIA leak case, arguing that Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald never needed the testimony of reporters because he knew the source of the leak all along. The Associated Press and Dow Jones, in court papers filed this week, asked for the release of the sworn statements Fitzgerald gave to justify subpoenas for New York Times reporter Judith Miller and Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper.

Fitzgerald wanted the reporters help in his investigation of the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity to syndicated columnist Robert Novak.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/newsroom/sns-ap-cia-leak,1,286672.story

Interesting that the media wants documents unsealed in the leak case. The media will find this differcult to battle because:

a) The media's testimony is needed because Libby is claiming that he cannot remember or recall what he told reporters about Plame because he was too precccupied with National Security issues and that he didn't intentionally lie to the grand jury and the FBI investigators.

b) Libby is charged with perjury and not being the leaker.

Nixon + Cheney = Poetic Justice

"Always give you best, never discouraged, never be petty," he told his staff on Aug. 9, 1974, as he left the White House for the final time. "Always remember others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself."

How poetic Nixon's words came back to haunt him and sealed his fate so will for Cheney. That old saying: be careful what you wish for. I look forward to hearing about Big Dick Cheney's court appearance in Scooter's trial in January.

Source says 'outsider' Gates prepped for confirmation by Co-President Cheney's office

Newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Robert Gates may not be as independent from the Bush administration when it comes to matters of defense as some have suggested, considering that one well-placed source tells RAW STORY Gates was briefed for his Senate confirmation hearings by the Office of the Vice President (OVP).

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Source_says_outsider_Gates_prepped_for_1222.html

And we know that the chimpster is nothing but a propped up blowup doll President in office.

Just Like Stocks And Bonds

How insensitive was it, days before Christmas, for Condi Rice to tell the families of our fallen soldiers, that the loss of their loved ones, and the squandering of our national treasury was worth the “investment” for a war she says we can still win? It takes a craven and callous person to categorize our war dead as nothing more than an "investment" in a failed policy and an unpopular war of choice that was based on lies, but welcome to the Bush Administration.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS;Naughty and Nice 2006

NAUGHTY: Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA), for attacking incoming Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), the first Muslim elected to Congress.
NICE: Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), for still wanting to be friends with Rep. Virgil Goode.

NAUGHTY: The 109th Congress, for doing nothing.
NICE: The 110th Congress, for promising to work five days a week.

NICE: Nancy Pelosi, for becoming the first female Speaker of the House.
NAUGHTY: The Capitol, for having no women's restroom in the Speaker's office.

NAUGHTY: Maf54.
NICE: NetNanny.

NAUGHTY: President Bush, for refusing to see Al Gore's documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.
NICE: Participate.net, for giving teachers 50,000 free copies of An Inconvenient Truth that "were rejected by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) after apparent pressure from Exxon and oil industry advocates."

NAUGHTY: The 109th Congress, for failing to raise the minimum wage and allowing it to fall to its lowest level since 1955.
NICE: Voters in Ohio, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado, for raising the minimum wage.

NICE: Fox owner Rupert Murdoch, for not subjecting America to two hours of O.J. Simpson.
NAUGHTY: Fox owner Rupert Murdoch, for subjecting America to a three-hour Bill O'Reilly Christmas marathon.

NAUGHTY: Right-wing preacher Ted Haggard, for buying meth.
NICE: Right-wing preacher Ted Haggard, for throwing out the meth before he used it.

NAUGHTY: Rush Limbaugh, for falsely accusing Michael J. Fox of exaggerating symptoms of Parkisnon's disease -- and then refusing to apologize.
NICE: Michael J. Fox, for speaking out about the need for embryonic stem cell research and not giving "a damn" about Rush Limbaugh.

NICE: Tom DeLay, for engaging Americans by starting a blog.
NAUGHTY: Tom DeLay, for having someone else ghostwrite his blog.

NICE: William Cullen, for inventing the refrigerator.
NAUGHTY: Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA), for using his refrigerator to store $90,000 in cash.

NAUGHTY: The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), for causing cervical cancer.
NICE: The Food and Drug Administration, for approving Gardasil, the first HPV vaccine.

NAUGHTY: "Experts" at the Exxon-funded Competitive Enterprise Insitutute, who say that "the best policy regarding global warming is to neglect it."
NICE: The state of California , for doing something about it.

NAUGHTY: Former Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH), for blaming everyone but himself for his legal problems.
NICE: The federal district court, for blaming Bob Ney.

NAUGHTY: Larry King, for never using the Internet.
NICE: You.

Happy Birthday, Fitz and many more...

“Integrity is what we do, what we say, and what we say we do”


Happy Birthday, Fitz!

Cheers!

The chimpster issues 16 pardons, one to campaign donor

President George W. Bush issued 16 pardons yesterday, many to a variety of individuals convicted of drug-related offenses. One of the beneficiaries of the president's action donated to the Republican Party

In the pardons issued by the president, 7 of 16 concerned drug or alcohol-related offenses. Others included a variety of fraud, kickback, and conspiracy charges.

More on the story.

Poppy Bush Sr. jokes about Britney's 'underwear' in sitdown with actor Clooney

Talk about family values..

When Bush was asked by ABC's Diane Sawyer if he wanted to ask Clooney anything, he jokingly referred to pop star Britney Spears, who was captured by paparazzi wearing no underwear in photographs that instantly spread across the Internet last month.

"What is it about Britney Spears -- no -- I don't have a thing," Bush said with a chuckle.

"Isn't she rare?" Clooney responded.

"I know," Bush said, "I'm not going to bring up her underwear. I'm too old for that kind of situation."
Sawyer noted that there was "much reporting about the first lady and the skin cancer."

"It's all okay?" Sawyer asked.

"Yeah," Bush responded with a chuckle. "I didn't even know that she had this little thing on her leg."
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Bush_Sr._jokes_about_Britneys_underwear_1221.html

We need more Russ Feingolds

Remember the middle-of-the-night congressional shenanigans (tucked away a clause in the military appropriations bill quickly signed by George Bush) that terminated the mandate of Stuart Bowen, the Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction? Bowen had uncovered massive fraud, incompetence and war profiteering on the part of companies like Halliburton and Parsons. There still is no indication of how the clause made its way into the bill*, but Bowen will not be standing in the unemployment line after all, courtesy of Russ Feingold.
It was Feingold who, in 2003, insisted that an IG be established as part of the CPA to "oversee the use of Taxpayer dollars sent to Iraq." Feingold has worked steadily to extend the term of the IG as well as his mandate. So Russ was kinda sorta pissed when they axed one of the only adults overseeing the war profiteering quagmire. And today, Bush backed down and signed the Iraq Reconstruction Accountability Act, extending Bowen's work.

Feingold:

"I applaud the President’s decision to sign into law the Collins-Feingold bill extending the important work of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. It would have been a costly mistake to shut down the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction prematurely. The SIGIR has been successful in providing aggressive oversight over billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars allocated for the reconstruction of Iraq. With the President’s signature, we have sent a strong bipartisan message to Americans that we are working to prevent the waste, fraud and abuse of their taxpayer dollars in Iraq.”

http://www.firedoglake.com/2006/12/21/more-adults-like-russ-please/

The chimpster throws a bone to the federal workers

Bush Orders 2.2 Percent Pay Increase for Federal Workers

The vice president will be paid $215,700 next year, the chief justice at the Supreme Court will earn $212,100 and Cabinet members will receive $186,000, according to a presidential order released this morning.

In signing the executive order, President Bush triggered the publication of the government's 2007 salary scales for the military, the civil service, the Foreign Service and other government workers.

Bush's order provides for an average 2.2 percent pay raise for the government's 1.8 million employees -- their lowest annual salary increase in 18 years. Bush had signaled his plan to give the 2.2 percent raise last month in a directive that set out locality pay supplements for federal employees.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/21/AR2006122100740.html

Looks like the chimpster and Saudi lovefest and hand holding have come to a halt

Saudi Royals Snub Bush, Fund Opposition to US Troops

The Saudis are clear about their bottom line: If the United States isn't careful about withdrawing from Iraq, the Sunni kingdom will have no other choice but to arm Iraqi's Sunnis, especially if the Saudi's arch-rival, Iran, which has already destabilized the regional power equilibrium by launching a nuclear program, rushes into a military vacuum left by the Americans.

How hard can the White House push back on the Saudis? It's the Saudis who are now doing the pushing. Last week Saudi financiers showed their political power by forcing Tony Blair to peremptorily cancel his own government's investigation of a slush fund reportedly kicking back 32 percent to Saudi royals on their military purchases from Great Britain. The Saudis reportedly told Blair they'd never buy British weaponry again if their Swiss bank accounts were investigated by the Brits.

"The Saudis think a nasty civil war in Iraq could quickly sour into an even nastier regional war," Pike says, "so they're not in a real patient mood."

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/122106D.shtml

NH Phone Jamming: Final Mystery Solved

Here's a coda for those TPM readers who've followed the New Hampshire phone jamming over the past couple of years.
The perps have been caught, restitution has been ordered. But one detail lingered, a loose thread, and unsolved mystery, and it bugged folks: just prior to the phone-jamming, two checks totalling $15,000 found their way to the New Hampshire Republican Party. The jamming, performed by a telemarketing firm, cost approximately $15,000. Who wrote the checks? Two Indian tribal clients of crooked super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Did Abramoff finance the New Hampshire phone jamming?

The answer appears to be no. Todd Boulanger, a lobbyist in Abramoff's shop, gave the two checks to a staffer for Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) to pass along, because, the staffer says, Boulanger "wanted to help out." Gregg wasn't running that year, mind you, but Abramoff didn't see that as a reason to stop passing money around.

So was that money meant to pay for the jamming? The Democrats say no. Paul Twomey, lawyer for the New Hampshire Democrats, told The New Hampshire Union-Leader, that "he is quite sure there is no Gregg connection to phone-jamming."

There you have it: Sometimes a contribution is just a contribution -- or as much as that could be the case when Jack Abramoff is involved.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002212.php

Abizaid, Casey bail out

Worldlink.com:

New Defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Baghdad today, armed with a mandate from President Bush to help forge a new Iraq war strategy. He made the unannounced trip to the battlefront just two days after taking over at the Pentagon.
[..]The visit comes in advance of a long-expected shuffle in commanders.

Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, has submitted plans to go ahead with a retirement that is months overdue, according to a statement today from the Central Command in Tampa, Fla. His three-year term as chief of the Central Command was to have ended in July but a spokesman said he agreed to stay until "early 2007" at the request of former defense chief Donald H. Rumsfeld.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. George Casey, has indicated in recent months that he also may not stay much beyond the end of this year.

Did the chimpster give Bin Laden a free pass to freedom?

A new documentary is making the claim that French-NATO troops had him located two times but were not given approval for an attack. Why does this administration miss every possible opportunity to stop terrorist leaders who kill Americans? Why does Bush hate Americans?

The filmed report, by journalists Eric de Lavarene and Emmanuel Razavi, asserts that the French troops had bin Laden in their rifle scopes in 2003 and then again six months later in 2004.Four French soldiers assigned to a 200-strong special forces unit in Afghanistan under US military control all confirmed -- "at different times and in different places" -- that they could have killed bin Laden but that the order to shoot was not forthcoming, the report claims.

Judge Walton tells CREW to muzzle it on the predictions of the Libby trial

Sloan's appearance on "Hardball" upset U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton - who was asked by Sloan Wednesday to quash a subpoena

Wilson received from Libby's attorneys to appear as a defense witness in the Libby trial.

Judge Walton warned Sloan, the court "will not hesitate to take the necessary action to insure that the ability of the parties to obtain a fair trial is not impaired."

Earlier this year Walton warned both Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald and attorneys for Libby from making what he described as "extrajudicial statements" about the case.
The judge warned Sloan, "This admonition applies with equal force to any collateral matters that may impact the parties ability to obtain a fair trial, such as a movant like Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who has moved to quash the subpoena that has been served on him as a potential witness in this matter."
More on the story.

Too late, Walton. This case has been tried in the public's eye since day one...

Scarborough Introduces The I-word

It's a 14-minute clip, but you have to watch Scarborough's segment last night on Bush's flip-flop and his apparent isolation/detachmnent on the issue of adding troops in Iraq against the advice of the generals, against the wishes of the Iraqis themselves, and with public support of only 12%. Scarborough and his panelists discussed the probablity of impeachment had a Bill Clinton done this with a GOP Congress and a right-wing media machine hounding him. And Mike Barnicle ended the segment opining that if Joe Biden conducts hearings at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and we find out that generals had asked for troops previously but were denied, but are now telling the White House not to send troops but instead are being ordered to take them, then Bush needs to be relieved.

Folks, the escalation issue and Bush's isolation on the subject and rejection of the ISG report has put impeachment back into the discussion through the back door without the Democrats having to say a word. Congress needs to put the Bush foreign policy into receivership.

The Chimpster Flip-Flops On Listening To Military Leaders

Bush has traditionally paid public deference to the generals, saying any decisions on moving U.S. forces in the region would depend on their views. At a Chicago news conference in July, for instance, Bush said he would yield to Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the Iraq commander.
"General Casey will make the decisions as to how many troops we have there," Bush said, adding: "He'll decide how best to achieve victory and the troop levels necessary to do so. I've spent a lot of time talking to him about troop levels. And I've told him this: I said, 'You decide, General.' "
By yesterday, however, Bush indicated that he will not necessarily let military leaders decide, ducking a question about whether he would overrule them. "The opinion of my commanders is very important," he said. "They are bright, capable, smart people whose opinion matters to me a lot." He added: "I agree with them that there's got to be a specific mission that can be accomplished with the addition of more troops before I agree on that strategy."

A senior aide said later that Bush would not let the military decide the matter. "He's never left the decision to commanders," said the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity so Bush's comments would be the only ones on the record. "He is the commander in chief. But he has said he will listen to those commanders when making these decisions. That hasn't changed."
Bush has lied and flip-flopped. Will the media confront him and Snow on it? Keep in mind that this has come after the ISG report was released, and after the Iraqis have themselves pointedly rejected a troop increase or a change of mission towards an advisory and training role for our forces. Yet Bush is now blowing off both our own generals and the Iraqis themselves, because The Decider knows best.

http://www.theleftcoaster.com/

Don't say it folks...

Here is an excerpt of the chimpster's press conference.. Yes, I scratched my head at the chimpster...

Winning or losing in Iraq

JOURNALIST: Mr. President, less than two months ago, at the end of one of the bloodiest months in the war, you said, "Absolutely we're winning." Yesterday, you said, "We're not winning. We're not losing." Why did you drop your confident assertion about winning?

GEORGE W. BUSH: My comments -- the first comment was done in this spirit.[please...] I believe that we're going to win. I believe that -- and, by the way, if I didn't think that, I wouldn't have our troops there. That's what you've got to know.
We're going to succeed. My comments yesterday reflected the fact that we're not succeeding nearly as fast as I wanted when I said at the time and that conditions are tough in Iraq, particularly in Baghdad. And so we're conducting a review to make sure that our strategy helps us achieve that which I'm pretty confident we can do, and that is have a country which can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend itself.

When I speak -- like right now, for example -- I'm speaking to the American people, of course, and I want them to know that I know how tough it is, but I also want them to know that I'm going to work with the military and the political leaders to develop a plan that will help us achieve the objective.[blah, blah, blah..]

And I want the enemy to understand that this is a tough task, but they can't run us out of the Middle East, that they can't intimidate America. They think they can. They think it's just a matter of time before America grows weary and leaves, abandons the people of Iraq, for example, and that's not going to happen.

I'm not going to speculate out loud about what I'm going to tell the nation, when I'm prepared to do so, about the way forward. I will tell you we're looking at all options. And one of those options, of course, is increasing more troops.

But in order to do so, there must be a specific mission that can be accomplished with more troops, and that's precisely what our commanders have said, as well as people who know a lot about military operations.

I'm often asked about public opinion. Of course I want public opinion to support the efforts. I understand that. But, Jim, I also understand the consequences of failure.

More..

Morgan Stanley charged with using '9/11 smokescreen' to hide e-mails

In a disciplinary complaint, the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) alleges that Morgan Stanley used a "9/11 smokescreen" to hide e-mails sought by angry claimants in numerous arbitration proceedings from October 2001 through March 2005.
The securities industry's self-regulating arm accuses Morgan Stanley of "falsely claiming that millions of emails it possessed had been lost in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, where its email servers were housed."
"In fact, according to the complaint, Morgan Stanley possessed millions of pre-September 11 emails that had been restored to its system shortly after September 11 using back-up tapes," stated an NASD press release obtained by RAW STORY. "Many other emails were maintained on individual users’ computers and were therefore never affected by the attacks, yet Morgan Stanley often failed to search those computers when responding to requests."

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Morgan_Stanley_charged_with_using_911_1220.html

John Dean's thoughts about impeachment

Refocusing the Impeachment Movement on Administration Officials Below the President and Vice-President: Why Not Have A Realistic Debate, with Charges that Could Actually Result in Convictions?

There is a well-organized and growing movement to impeach President Bush and/or Vice President Cheney. On my bookshelf sit half a dozen books making the case for Bush's impeachment. I myself have no doubt that Bush has, in fact, committed impeachable offenses, and that for each Bush "high crime and misdemeanor," Cheney's culpability is ten or twenty times greater.
At the outset of the 2006 midterm election, Democratic Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi, and Senator Majority Leader-designate Harry Reid, stated on behalf of the Democratic leadership that impeachment of Bush or Cheney would be off the table if they won control of Congress - as they have indeed done. But this position has angered many who want these men impeached.

"Impeachment is not optional. It's not something that Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid can say is not on the table," Cindy Sheehan, who lost her soldier son in Iraq, said at a recent rally. "It is their duty as officers of the Constitution, who have sworn an oath to defend the Constitution, to carry out impeachment." Her anger is certainly understandable. Her relentless pursuit of this cause is highly commendable. But her energy and effort are misplaced, if not wasted.
Impeachment is a political process, and not only are the votes to remove either Bush or Cheney lacking, but it also would not be very good politics to do to them what was done to President Clinton.

The Republican Congress shamed itself when it impeached and tried President William Jefferson Clinton. It was a repeat of what an earlier Republican Congress had done to President Andrew Johnson, following the Civil War. Both proceedings were politics at their ugliest.
Democrats, when they undertook to impeach Richard Nixon, moved very slowly, building bipartisan support for the undertaking. Nixon, of course, resigned, when it became apparent that the House had the votes to impeach and the Senate had the votes to convict, with his removal supported by Democrats and Republicans, and conservatives and liberals alike.
More on the story.

Wilson challenges subpoena in CIA case

Former ambassador Joseph Wilson asked a federal judge Wednesday not to force him to testify in the CIA leak case and accused former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby of trying to harass him on the witness stand.
Libby, who faces perjury and obstruction charges, subpoenaed Wilson as a defense witness this month. Libby's attorney, William Jeffress, said in court Tuesday that was a precautionary move and he did not expect to put Wilson on the stand.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/12/20/180141.shtml?s=ic

Here is the CREW's motion to quash Wilson to testify.

Here is Wilson's subpoena.

GAO Finds Millions in Overpayments to Iraq Contractors

The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office released a report yesterday which found multiple deficiencies in the Army's oversight of contractors in Iraq, including "limited visibility over contractors," lack of "adequate contractor oversight personnel," and "little or no training on the use of contractors."


Here is the letter.

“A dangerous hypothetical.”

What President Bush called a question this morning about the possibility that he may increase troop levels in Iraq against the wishes of military leaders

Yup, because he is think he is above anybody...

With recession looming, the chimpster tells America to ‘go shopping more’

Today, President Bush held a news conference where he discussed the “way forward” for the economy in 2007. Renowned Morgan Stanley economist Steven Roach says the the “odds of the U.S. economy tipping into recession are about 40 to 45 per cent.” New York Times columnist Paul Krugman notes that “the odds are very good — maybe 2 to 1,” that the U.S. will teeter toward a recession in 2007. Bush’s solution? “Go shopping more.”

Flip flop chimpster admits U.S. is not winning in Iraq

A major admission from the man who brought us in to this war.

Four years after starting the war in Iraq, Bush decided he needed to do some learning about the quagmire. Apparently, he's figured out it's not all good -- and that we are not winning his war according to an interview with the Washington Post.

Throughout the interview, Bush, of course, is still spinning as much as can:

Bush, who has always said that the United States is headed for victory in Iraq, conceded yesterday what Gates, Powell and most Americans in polls have already concluded. "An interesting construct that General Pace uses is, 'We're not winning, we're not losing,' " Bush said, referring to Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the Joint Chiefs chairman, who was spotted near the Oval Office before the interview. "There's been some very positive developments. . . . [But] obviously the real problem we face is the sectarian violence that needs to be dealt with."Asked yesterday about his "absolutely, we're winning" comment at an Oct. 25 news conference, the president recast it as a prediction rather than an assessment. "Yes, that was an indication of my belief we're going to win," he said.Bush said he has not yet made a decision about a new strategy for Iraq and would wait for Gates to return from a trip there to assess the situation. "I need to talk to him when he gets back," Bush said. "I've got more consultations to do with the national security team, which will be consulting with other folks.

And I'm going to take my time to make sure that the policy, when it comes out, the American people will see that we . . . have got a new way forward."

Pentagon panhandles for another $100 billion

The Pentagon wants another $100 billion just this year for Iraq and Afghanistan, bringing this year's total to $170 billion. That's $15 billion a month for two wars Bush has never taken seriously. It's not immediately clear if this request contains the $30-40 billion needed to replenish the force at its current levels, but I doubt it does.

How will you pay for your wars Mr. Bush?

Another GOP candidate for Congress. Drum roll please..

In NY-19, Fleischer May Run

Friends of former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer note that the New York native "has done just about everything congressional" except "run for Congress himself." Rep. Sue Kelly’s (R) defeat at the hands of Rep.-elect John Hall (D) "now opens up that opportunity for him," reports Human Events."Fleischer isn’t saying anything about any political plans, but fellow New Yorkers who know him well bet that he will make the House race in ’08."

http://politicalwire.com/archives/2006/12/19/in_ny19_fleischer_may_run.html

Did the Veep shoot Bambi?

Warning...

This deer was shot near Cheney's residence...

Dead Deer Lays on Cheney's Lawn for Days

A tipster grabbed these two cell phone pictures of the poor massacred beast, which is still decomposing on the grounds of the Cheney Compound. Where did it come from? Who killed it? Nobody knows.
New York Daily News gossips Rush and Molloy picked up our [EXCLUSIVE MUST CREDIT WONKETTE] story and called Cheney’s office for comment. They received a chilling non-denial denial that our Vice President had shot the animal himself (or possibly strangled it with his bare hands).

The DC cops remind us that you’re not supposed to hunt in Washington, because we’re not even allowed to have guns.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/481408p-405135c.html

And where is the animal control at? And how can anyone leave a deer laying out there like that for days?

Go Fitz!

Cheney will testify in Plame leak case

Vice President Dick Cheney will is set to be a witness for the defense in the case against former chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, according to a report filed by the Associated Press and a statement obtained by RAW STORY.

"We're calling the vice president," the news agency quotes attorney Ted Wells as saying in court. Wells represents Libby, who is charged with perjury and obstruction of justice.

"We have cooperated fully in this matter," a statement released by Cheney's spokeswoman read, "and will continue to do so. In fairness to the parties involved, and as we have stated previously, we are not going to comment further on a legal preceeding." More on the story.

R.I.P. Joe Barbera

Cartoon pioneer Joe Barbera mourned

LOS ANGELES - Joe Barbera and Bill Hanna were hired within a month of each other in 1937 by the MGM cartoon factory. They soon hit on the idea of a cat named Tom and a mouse named Jerry.

In the decades since, Hanna-Barbera entertained generations of children, filling movie and TV screens with animated series such as "Tom and Jerry," "The Flintstones," "Yogi Bear," "Huckleberry Hound and Friends," "Top Cat," "Scooby-Doo," "Johnny Quest," "The Jetsons" and "Animal Follies."
Barbera died Monday of natural causes at his home with his wife, Sheila, at his side, Warner Bros. spokesman Gary Miereanu said. He was 95. His longtime collaborator, Hanna, died in 2001.

"Joe's contributions to both the animation and television industries are without parallel — he has been personally responsible for entertaining countless millions of viewers across the globe," said friend, colleague and Warner animation President Sander Schwartz.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061219/ap_en_tv/obit_barbera

Actor Sean Penn Hits Media, Calls for the chimpster to be impeached

NEW YORK Sean Penn, the actor and occasional foreign correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle, hit the media and called for impeachment of the president in receiving the 2006 Christopher Reeve First Amendment Award from The Creative Coalition Monday night in New York City.After listing a dozen or more serous issues facing the country, Penn said, ”We depend largely for information on these issues from media industries, driven by the bottom line to such an extent that the public interest becomes uninteresting.”Turning to his views of President Bush, Penn said, “Now, there's been a lot of talk lately on Capitol Hill about how impeachment should be ‘off the table.’ We're told that it's time to look ahead - not back...

http://www.rawstory.com/showoutarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.editorandpublisher.com%2Feandp%2Fnews%2Farticle_display.jsp%3Fvnu_content_id%3D1003523277

America's biggest cash crop - cannabis - $36 Billion per year

Wow.. I can say it backwards...Wow.. I can see why the chimpster gets the munchies often...

How has this happened in Bush's America? Think about the children!

From Americablog:


Decades of government efforts to crack down on both the cultivation and consumption of pot have had a counter-productive effect, since even the most conservative government estimates suggest domestic marijuana production has increased tenfold in the past 25 years. It is the leading cash crop in 12 states, and one of the top five crops in 39 states.The report's author, Jon Gettman, says it is "larger than cotton in Alabama, larger than grapes, vegetables and hay in California, larger than peanuts in Georgia, and larger than tobacco in South and North Carolina".

All of this without massive corporate welfare too.

Marijuana remains popular with the baby boomer generation, which first experimented with it in the 1950s and 1960s. And its use is booming among teenagers and young adults, especially as alcohol cannot be sold to under 21s. US Marijuana cultivation is worth more than $35bn (£18bn) per year. And that is a conservative estimate, based on government price surveys, Mr Gettman says. Corn, the largest legitimate crop, is worth just over $23bn and soybeans around $17bn. "Despite years of effort by law enforcement, they're not getting rid of it," Mr Gettman told the Los Angeles Times ahead of his report's publication yesterday in The Bulletin of Cannabis Reform. "Not only is the problem worse in terms of magnitude of cultivation, but production has spread all around the country. To say the genie is out of the bottle is a profound understatement."

It's official: Snow blind is just in his WH press secretary job for laughs

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said Monday that no “big disagreement” exists between President Bush and Colin Powell, despite the former secretary of state’s comments Sunday that Iraq is in the midst of a civil war and the United States is losing there.

[Snow added that Powell] “also made it clear that, in his view, that the proper — that he suspected that the president was going to pursue a strategy that would, in fact, attack the kinds of problems that we’re discussing — political reconciliation, building capability among the Iraqis, the recognition that the Iraqis, themselves, ultimately had to have responsibility for taking care of things, and that, again, whatever you did, you had to make sure that the military had a clear mission. I don’t see any big disagreement”

Let’s see, Powell thinks Iraq is in the midst of a civil war; Bush doesn’t.

Powell blasted “stay the course,” when Bush embraced it.

Powell supports direct discussions with Iran and Syria; Bush rejects them.

Powell says we are losing the war in Iraq; Bush says we are winning.

Powell opposes sending additional troops to Iraq; Bush is considering just that.
Snow doesn’t see “any big disagreement”? What a kidder.

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/

The chimpster's polls take another nose dive...

28 percent.

Percent of Americans who support President Bush’s management of the war in Iraq, a record low, down from 34 percent in October. A record 70 percent “said they disapproved of his handling of the nearly 4-year-old war.”

2006 Weblog Award Winners

Best Blog: DAILY KOS [Powerline came in 8th]

Best Humor Blog: SADLY, NO!

Best Liberal Blog: THINK PROGRESS

Best Centrist Blog: THE MODERATE VOICE

Best Media Blog: RAW STORY

Best Educational Blog: MICHAEL BERUBE

Best Science Blog: PHARYNGULA
Best Video Blog: CROOKS AND LIARS (beating conservative Michelle Malkin's Hot Air

You're mean one....

Mucked Up GOPer Squirreled Away Nearly $300K

During his doomed re-election campaign, former Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) did his best to convince voters that he wasn't worried in the least about what Jack Abramoff had told prosecutors. Hell, he's not even a target of the investigation!
If he failed to convince voters, that may be because he appears not to have convinced himself: rather than spend his bottom dollar on last-minute ad buys to eke out a win, Burns quietly banked nearly $300,000. He lost by 3,602 votes.
Playing the squirrel to Rep. John Doolittle's (R-CA) grasshopper, Burns is now sitting pretty. That's money he can use down the line to pay his lawyers, whom he's already paid more than $90,000. By contrast, Doolittle, the other lawmaker reported to be in prosecutors' sites, finished his successful re-election bid in debt. Silly grasshopper.

A Fitzmas song

Cheney got run over by the Fitz man

Subpoena letters is what was meant to be

You can say there’s no such a thing as indictments

But as for me and JBs, we believe

Big Fitzmas Quiz of 2006

Which Bush Administration official turned out to be journalist Robert Novak's primary source in the Valerie Plame leak?

A. Karl Rove
B. Richard Armitage
C. Dick Cheney
D. "Scooter" Libby

Answer: B


http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1570824,00.html
27 days and counting. Will Scooter plea bargain with Fitz?

Odd news: Brawl on Broadway

I am an avid NBA basketball watcher. And I remembered the Indiana Racers and Detroit Pistons brawl. Now, we have another brawl...

Nuggets' Anthony suspended 15 games for part in melee By Paul Levine

Los Angeles- Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony was suspended 15 games on Monday for his part in a melee between his teamand the New York

Knicks at Madison Square Garden.NBA Commissioner David Stern pulled no punches when he announcedthe suspensions of seven players involved in the Saturday nightfracas, as well as a 500,000-dollar fine on both teams."We have worked diligently to eliminate fighting from the game,"Stern said Monday in a teleconference call. "This will not be alasting issue because we're going to succeed in leading the way toeliminate fighting and violence from our game."Anthony, the league's leading scorer, drew the stiffest penalty ofall for landing a punch in the face of the Knicks' Mardy Collins inthe midst of the "Brawl on Broadway.""I'm hoping to meet with Carmelo, and we'll do what we have to doto help develop his career over the very long time," Stern said. "Buthe did what he did and he has to accept the full responsibility forit."

http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Nuggets_Anthony_suspended_15_games__12182006.html

The Sinner and Mobster lovefest ticket for 2008

LOL!

Rangel: I support Giuliani-Kerik ticket in 2008


NEW YORK (AP) -- Never say New Yorkers don't have sense of humor -- especially when they can stick it to the other side.

A powerful New York Democrat, a mischievous gleam in his eye, is offering an early endorsement in the 2008 presidential race, where the field includes many hometown hopefuls like former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Gov. George Pataki and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"I'm supporting Giuliani for the Republican," Rep. Charles Rangel said Monday, pausing briefly before delivering the punchline. "Kerik, as well," he added, referring to Giuliani's disgraced former police commissioner Bernard Kerik.

Kerik pleaded guilty earlier this year to misdemeanor charges of taking money from contractors with alleged mob ties, when he was the city's corrections chief. He was also President Bush's choice to head the Department of Homeland Security, but the nomination was scrapped after questions arose about his background.

Political observers say Giuliani's relationship with Kerik could be a problem if the former mayor goes ahead with a run for president.

The Chimperor Admin: What You Don't Know Can't Hurt Us

On Friday, Justin discovered that the Department of Defense has suddenly classified the numbers of attacks in Iraq for September through November of this year -- after providing the figures for every month since the war began. Why classify the information now? If there's a good explanation, we don't know it, and the Pentagon isn't returning our calls.

As others have noted, it's far from the first time that the administration has tried to deep-six data that was unhelpful to its goals. Over the years, they've discontinued annual reports, classified normally public data, de-funded studies, quieted underlings, and generally done whatever was necessary to keep bad information under wraps.


Here's Steve's list:

* In March, the administration announced it would no longer produce the Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation, which identifies which programs best assist low-income families, while also tracking health insurance coverage and child support.

* In 2005, after a government report showed an increase in terrorism around the world, the administration announced it would stop publishing its annual report on international terrorism.

* After the Bureau of Labor Statistics uncovered discouraging data about factory closings in the U.S., the administration announced it would stop publishing information about factory closings.

* When an annual report called “Budget Information for States” showed the federal government shortchanging states in the midst of fiscal crises, Bush’s Office of Management and Budget announced it was discontinuing the report, which some said was the only source for comprehensive data on state funding from the federal government.

* When Bush’s Department of Education found that charter schools were underperforming, the administration said it would sharply cut back on the information it collects about charter schools.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002175.php

Another WH employee of Condi left the building

Philip Zelikow,

outgoing counselor to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, was reportedly “eased out last month because he wasn’t on the same page with the administration. Some insiders felt there were suspicious leaks of his internal memos — taking issue with administration policy on Iraq and the Middle East — in books and articles.”

Objections to the My Pet Goat library mount at Texas university

As planners moved closer on deciding where in Texas to site President George W. Bush's library, members of the community at one candidate university expressed objections about the establishment of the facility at their school.

An article following up on the story, written by Scott Jaschik and published in the journal Inside Higher Education, notes that SMU is considered the frontrunner among the three schools hoping to host the library. It also reports that the organizers of the letter and the critics of the library have been trying to make the debate on the library focus on academic standards instead of Bush bashing.

According to the article, Susanne Johnson, an associate professor of Christian education, said she "would understand the value of an archive of the Bush administration, and sees how many SMU scholars would benefit from having such a collection on campus. But she said that the campus has been left 'uninformed and naive' about President Bush’s plans to create a policy center to promote his view of the world."

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Objections_to_Bush_library_mount_at_1218.html

Update on the Wilsons' civil lawsuit

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CLAIMS MADE BY THE DEFENDANTS

Absolute Immunity
Defendant Cheney's Argument:Vice President Cheney claims that the vice president, like the president, is absolutely immune from all lawsuits stemming from any action he may have taken while in office.

The Wilsons' Response:
Absolute immunity does not extend to the vice president. The Supreme Court has afforded only the president absolute immunity from all civil lawsuits, finding that private lawsuits would distract the president from his duties and raise unique risks to the effective functioning of government. While history and the U.S. Constitution support absolute immunity for the president, there is no precedent for extending absolute immunity to the vice president.

Qualified Immunity

The Defendants' Argument:
All defendants, with the support of the United States government, claim that they enjoy qualified immunity -- meaning that although they may not be immune from all lawsuits like the president -- they cannot be sued for violating the Wilsons' constitutional rights. According to the defendants, they could not have known that when they conspired to create a whispering campaign against the Wilsons, which involved disclosing Valerie's status as a covert CIA operative, they were violating the Wilsons' rights.

The Wilsons' Response:
None of the defendants is entitled to qualified immunity. They all knew that what they were doing was wrong and they went ahead anyway, with no regard for the predictable consequences.

First Amendment Violation

The Defendants' Argument:
Each of the four defendants claims that Joe Wilson's First Amendment right to freedom of speech was not violated because his ability to speak was not "chilled."

The Wilsons’ Response:
Government officials disclosing Valerie Wilson's status as a CIA operative in direct retaliation for Joe Wilson's speech is a violation of his First Amendment rights. The officials named in the suit pro-actively engaged in an effort to punish Joe Wilson for telling the public the truth about the Bush administration's justification for going to war with Iraq.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The Wilsons' opposition to the defendants' motions to dismiss is due on January 16, 2007. Then, the defendants' will have the opportunity to file reply briefs by February 15, 2007. Sometime thereafter, U.S. District Court Judge John Bates will schedule an oral argument, during which the judge has the chance to question the lawyers about their arguments. A decision will be expected sometime in the spring, but it is likely that the judge's decision will then be appealed.

Thanks for the memories Rummy!

Thanks for the memories. Bill from Portland links to "the Political Humor" site for Rummy's best quotes.

"I would not say that the future is necessarily less predictable than the past. I think the past was not predictable when it started."

"We do know of certain knowledge that he [Osama Bin Laden] is either in Afghanistan, or in some other country, or dead."

"We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat." –on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction

"Death has a tendency to encourage a depressing view of war."

"Freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things." –on looting in Iraq after the U.S. invasion, adding "stuff happens"

"As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time."

"[Osama Bin Laden is] either alive and well or alive and not too well or not alive."

"I am not going to give you a number for it because it's not my business to do intelligent work." -asked to estimate the number of Iraqi insurgents while testifying before Congress

"I believe what I said yesterday. I don't know what I said, but I know what I think, and, well, I assume it's what I said."

"Needless to say, the President is correct. Whatever it was he said."

"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don't know we don't know."

"If I said yes, that would then suggest that that might be the only place where it might be done which would not be accurate, necessarily accurate. It might also not be inaccurate, but I'm disinclined to mislead anyone."

More

Vast Majority Of Guantanamo Detainees Set Free And Never Tried

If Arlen Specter was looking for a good reason to join Chris Dodd and Patrick Leahy in a bipartisan effort to undo the damage that John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and John Warner just did in throwing away habeas corpus to please George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, this is it: the vast majority of “enemy combatants” and “vicious killers” we have detained at Guantanamo and black sites around the globe these last four years without due process or legal representation are innocent and routinely set free when they arrive home.

And yes, I want Democrats to hang this atrocity around John McCain's neck the next two years as an example, along with his push for more troops in Iraq, of the lengths he will go to become president.


http://www.theleftcoaster.com/

The Stubborn-in-chief

Today's Washington Post examines the President's stubbornness. Note to the media: Bush's stubbornness is not a virtue. That character flaw is causing a lot of people to die:
The perception of Bush as unusually stubborn has defined his tenure to some extent, much to the consternation of adversaries and sometimes even allies. But Bush was deeply influenced by the fate of his father, whose decision to break his no-new-taxes pledge as president helped doom his reelection. The lesson: Stick to decisions regardless of shifts in political winds.The seemingly unshakeable confidence in the rightness of his positions has helped the current president weather political storms that might overwhelm others. For a man who presides over an unpopular war, just lost Congress and faces a final two years with constrained options, Bush gives little sign of self-pity. At holiday parties for friends and family in recent days, he has found himself bucking up others depressed by the turn in his political fortunes. "Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks," he told one friend visiting the White House. "There's a lot we can get done."

Actor Matt Damon's thoughts on the chimperor's twin daughters

Draft the twin daughters, Jen and Tonic...

Maybe President Bush’s daughters should go to Iraq

DAMON: I don’t think that it’s fair, as I said before, that it seems like we have a fighting class in our country that’s comprised of people who have to go for either financial reasons or — you know, I don’t think that that is fair, and if you’re gonna send people to war, if we all get together and decide we need to go to war, then that needs to be shared by everybody, you know, and if the president has daughters who are of age then maybe they should go too.

http://thinkprogress.org/

Columnist suggests the chimpster could use Lickerman to change Senate's balance

While much of Washington kept rapt attention on the health of Democratic Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota, an article in Salon today speculated that President George W. Bush could tip the Senate to a Republican majority via other means -- namely, appointing Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut to be America's next Ambassador to the UN.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Columnist_suggests_Bush_could_use_Lieberman_1215.html

Powell: We Are Losing In Iraq

Exclusive: Former Secretary Of State Says More Troops Isn't The Answer

CBS) The United States is losing the war in Iraq but sending more troops to Baghdad is not the best way to change course, former Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Face The Nation. Powell said he agreed with the assessment of the Iraq Study Group co-chairmen, Lee Hamilton and James Baker, that the situation in Iraq is "grave and deteriorating," and he also agreed with recently-confirmed Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that the U.S. is not winning the war. "So if it's grave and deteriorating and we're not winning, we are losing," Powell told Bob Schieffer in an exclusive interview. "We haven't lost. And this is the time, now, to start to put in place the kinds of strategies that will turn this situation around."

http://www.rawstory.com/showoutarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cbsnews.com%2Fstories%2F2006%2F12%2F17%2Fftn%2Fmain2274583.shtml

2006 Time Magazine Person of the Year: You

Yes, you. You control the Information Age. Welcome to your world.


http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569514,00.html?aid=434&from=o&to=http%3A//www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C1569514%2C00.html

My thoughts of Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth

I saw the Al Gore's movie tonight about Global Warming. Very informative. Al Gore held a web conference call where he talked to everyone across the state. On the left, is a copy of the climate report in which Bush's aide, Phillip Clonney, tried to edit about Global Warming. Of course, Clooney resigned and went to work for Exxon Mobil. This is an important film to be educated on Global Warming. Here is more information:


Al Gore's website.

A petition to sign to urge Congress on taking an interest in Global Warming.

Information on the climate crisis.


Bush Aide Softened Greenhouse Gas Links to Global Warming

A White House official who once led the oil industry's fight against limits on greenhouse gases has repeatedly edited government climate reports in ways that play down links between such emissions and global warming, according to internal documents.


OLD HABIT + OLD TECHNOLOGY = CONSIDER CONSEQUENCES