UPDATED: A Question for the Room

Virginia Plain
by Roxy Music

Make me a deal and make it straight
All signed and sealed, i´ll take it
To robert e. lee i´ll show it
I hope and pray he don´t blow it ´cause
We´ve been around a long time just try try try tryin´ to
Make the big time...
Take me on a roller coaster
Take me for an airplane ride
Take me for a six days wonder, but don´t you,
Don´t you throw my pride aside, besides
What´s real and make believe
Baby Jane´s in Acapulco, we are flyin´ down to Rio

Throw me a line i´m sinking fast
Clutching at straws can´t make it
Havana sound we´re trying hard, edge the hipster jiving
Last picture shows down at the drive-in
You´re so sheer you´re so chic
Teenage rebel of the week
Flavours of the mountain steamline
Midnight blue casino floors
Dance the cha-cha through till sunrise
Open up exclusive doors oh wow!
Just like flamingos look the same
So me and you, just we two got to search for something new
Far beyond the pale horizon
Some place near the desert strand
Whereever my studebaker takes me
That´s where i´ll make my stand but wait
Can´t you see that holzer mane?
What´s her name, virginia plain.

DeLay's main place of residence already was in Virginia, what with him working in WashingToon DC most of the time and all, and presumably the court took that into account when they allowed him to post bond. His now declaring his ol' Virginny home to be his legal residence is a rather transparent ruse designed to let him get himself disqualified from the upcoming Texas elections and replaced by a fresh candidate, even though he'd already fought bitterly for and ultimately won the Republican slot on the November ballot there. He's still under indictment in Texas, and no doubt he is still expected to appear in court and stand trial there there when called for. (And let us note for the record that he has been indicted but has not plead or been found guilty by a jury of his peers -- so calling him an "indicted felon" might seem to still be a bit premature at this point, hmm hmm?)

ain't justice grand,
Otter

His underling still knows more and is ready to talk, according to Juan Williams on NPR. The report said the Delay office would probably be more deeply implicated. So he'll use other excuses but more embarrassing info may come out. I'm sure they'd like that to be after the elections, but let's hope not. Also, this gives his Republican replacement more time to prepare. Since he's running against a Democrat and an Independent both, I wonder what the chances of beating him are? Redistricting has really hurt the Democrats. Too bad it can't be reversed, since he was the ringleader.

Tom is finished; like Newt, he may rise again in an other form, but basically he just got his teeth kicked in.

Meanwhile, this just in from JK:

April 3, 2006

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales

United States Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20530

John K. Tanner, Esq.

Chief, Voting Section

Civil Rights Division

United States Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20530

Dear Attorney General Gonzales and Mr. Tanner:

I am writing to express my disappointment in your decision to pre-clear the state of Louisiana’s election plan for the April 22 election in New Orleans and to urge your reconsideration. In light of the tremendous number of displaced citizens who would be disenfranchised in next month’s election, as well as problems that face voters who remain in the city, the Department of Justice should not have given its approval.

The people affected by Hurricane Katrina are disproportionately African American. Orleans Parish lost up to 48% of its voting population and 75% of those displaced voters are African Americans. The Voting Rights Act was passed to protect all voters and ensure that minority voting strength is not diluted at the polls. Intentional or not, allowing next month’s election to take place will exclude an inexcusably large number of New Orleans’s African American voters.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced New Orleans citizens are spread out across the country, with significant numbers in dozens of cities from Los Angeles to Chicago. According to the Louisiana Secretary of State, two-thirds of those people who were displaced currently reside outside the state of Louisiana. Although the state government has chosen to create satellite voting locations within the state for displaced voters, it has refused to create similar satellite voting locations outside the state in cities where thousands of New Orleans voters find themselves stranded.

Without satellite voting locations outside the state of Louisiana, tens of thousands of residents will be denied the right to vote. As a practical matter, the city’s current infrastructure could not handle the return of these voters—even if they were able to make the long and costly journey back in order to cast their vote. The only way that these citizens will be guaranteed the right to vote is to provide for satellite voting outside of Louisiana. Cities hosting Katrina evacuees have the facilities; they have the election workers; and they have the voting machines. The magnitude of this national disaster has not diminished as time as passed; protecting evacuees’ right to vote now is just as critical as providing food and shelter was in the immediate aftermath. During the recent elections in Iraq, the American government provided satellite voting for Iraqi citizens who had not lived in their country for years. It was the right thing to do then, and we ought to extend the same service to our own citizens now.

Even voters who remain in Orleans Parish are likely to face great difficulty in casting a ballot. Many of the voting sites used for years were destroyed by flooding, and a number of the new polling places submitted by the state for pre-clearance are unsuitable. Furthermore, little information has been provided to city residents about changes that have been, or will be, made in election procedures.

The strength of our democracy rests on the integrity of our elections. If we are to have faith in the representative nature of our government, we need to take every reasonable precaution to ensure that every one of our eligible citizens has the opportunity to cast a ballot.

I do not understand how the Department of Justice could approve a plan that threatens the civil rights of hundreds of thousands of citizens rather than postponing the upcoming elections until a suitable plan could be developed. I urge you to reconsider your decision.

Sincerely,

John F. Kerry

United States Senator

today's benson
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/benson/

sojourners on immigration
http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0604&article=060421

Third call for Ira!!!

I was watching the Godfather 1 and 2 last night and couldn't be bothered with the news, but when I heard it over NPR today, I couldn't help but wonder what the rest is--just how bad could it be.

I am having one of my classic "Fe is asking a dumb question" moments, is he really taking one for the team or is he sunk so low into an indictment that it will take years to dig him out?

Long post alert...
This is from vichyDems and is a long-overdue article about Obama..

Joe Lieberman: Barack Obama's "Mentor in the Senate."
BY THERSITES

I want to like Barack Obama. His riveting, energizing speech at the last Democratic National Convention converted him from an attractive Senate candidate into the leading Democratic candidate for first African-American Vice-President and, eventually, President. His statement that "we worship an awesome God in the blue states" not only articulated the beliefs of that misunderstood, underrepresented and vital majority of Democrats and Independents who possess some sort of religious faith, but his use of evangelical language -- "awesome God" -- reclaimed territory we had ceded to the Republicans and showed that not all Democratic politicians are tone deaf to religious nuance. I really want to like Barack Obama.

But then I read things like the following, which comes from an otherwise-delightful New York Times article about Democrats ignoring and even booing Joe Lieberman at a recent event:

However, the audience was riveted as Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the guest speaker at the $175-a-plate dinner, stood on the podium and began the customary round
of recognition of candidates and incumbents in the room. When he got to Mr. Lieberman, who is his mentor in the Senate and who helped recruit him to speak at the event, the applause again was muted.

"I know that some in the party have differences with Joe," Senator Obama said, all but silencing the crowd. "I'm going to go ahead and say it. It's the elephant in the room. And Joe and I don't agree on everything. But what I know is, Joe Lieberman's a man with a good heart, with a keen intellect, who cares about the working families of America."

Then, with applause beginning to build, he finished the thought: "I am absolutely certain that Connecticut's going to have the good sense to send Joe Lieberman back to the United States Senate."

Joe Lieberman -- gutter of bankruptcy protection for working people facing disastrous health emergencies, supporter of an illegal war that's killed over 2,000 working-class Americans, apologist for hospitals that deny birth control to rape victims -- secretly has a "good heart" and "cares about working families"?

Yow.

Here's what's good about Barack Obama: despite his relative youth and political inexperience, he is in the first ranks when it comes to political astututeness. He understands the game, plays all the angles with a skill approaching genius. The last political operator we saw with Obama's skill was an Arkansas governor named Bill Clinton. Hell, Obama may even be better than Bill Clinton.

Here's what's bad about Barack Obama: at an age and place in his career where he should still be known for idealism, he instead is known for political astuteness. He has mastered the game instead of the ideals, applies his genius to playing the angles instead of changing the world for the better. The last political operator we saw with Obama's skill was an Arkansas governor named Bill Clinton. Hell, Obama may even be worse than Bill Clinton. ***

NOT being a "Star Wars" geek in any way, I hate to say this, but some analogies just leap out at you: Barack Obama is the Anakin Skywalker of the Democratic Party. He's an incredibly gifted young man whose gifts who will do either incredible good or incredible harm to the Democratic Party and to the nation. And if Joe Lieberman indeed is his mentor, then Lieberman is the Senator Palpatine to Obama's Anakin -- a moderate-seeming, soft-spoken statesman who pretends to want only the good of the Republic but actually serves those who would destroy everything it stands for -- and who seeks to magnify his influence by exerting a maleficent influence over a young politician whose skill, electability, political prospects and even ambition far exceed his own.

This incident is not the only one; Obama also spoke out against the Alito filibuster, working against us behind the scenes by trying to persuade other senators not to rock the boat, and he likewise is lobbying others not to support Russ Feingold's censure resolution. Obama looks good on the outside, but in his short Senate career he has come down on the wrong side of nearly every issue this blog's readers care about.

Notwithstanding the above, I think Obama can be saved. What's needed is for his elders in the party to lead the young Senator down a nobler path than the one outlined by Bill, Hillary and Joementum. When we progressives recapture the soul of our party, the party may recapture the soul of Obama. Then Obama may be a tremendous force for good. But we need to show him that the path he's currently walking is a dead end.

Step one is to send a message to him, and all similar triangulators and accommodationists, by forcefully and overwhelmingly jettisoning his "mentor in the Senate," Joe Lieberman. Please donate to Lieberman's Democratic challenger, Ned Lamont, here.

And may the Force be with you.

(My kid brother is going to be so proud of this post! But I'm not making another Star Wars reference for at least a year, I promise.)

Luke: Listen, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate it. But there's nothing I can do about it right now... It's all such a long way from here.

Obi-Wan: That's your uncle talking.

(Bein' a monkeys one m'self)

Fe I lost my sweet cat called Mario after Cuomo last night so I have been preocuupied.

First of all otter being indicted makes him an indicted felon.Your point? He loses his right to pack heat here in Texas and will soon lose his right to vote.

DeLay's polling numbers were 28% in the lastest Houston chronicle polling of the 22nd District. His seat was ripe for takeove and may still be. He only won 60% of the Republican vote in his primary. If he could only win 60% of the Republican vote, 0% of the Democratic vote and very few of the independents he was toast. Steve Stockman is running as an independent in that race who would likely have cut into DeLay's 60% of $60, 36%. He would have ended up with maybe 40% and that's not going to cut it come November. He is also $2.5 million in the hole with his legal fees. He is toast and he knew that and so did the RNC. Unfortunately either Jon Lindsey or Robert Eckols 2 popular Republican County Judges will win a May special election and have 5 months to establish themselves as incumbents. Nick Lampson is well known but will have a much tougher race now which concerns me and thrills DeLay.

He is an indicted individual, yes. But he's not a felon until he's been found guilty of a felony. Maybe I missed a memo or something, but the last I checked, the US judicial system still presumes the condition of innocence until and unless guilt is proven in a court of law -- even in the great wholly-owned-subsidiary Republican state of Texas. (Though sometimes it sure does seem like that's a pretty fine hair to be splitting 'round those parts...)

but all them dang laws are just for wussies anyhow, ain't they?
Otter

no otter that is not how it works. There is a difference b/w being a convicted Texas felon and an indicted felon. An indicment here in Texas is only brought on felony charges through our Grand Jury Syetem under Art. 21.02 Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Indicted felons lose certain legal rights pending trial that are expanded to convicted felons.The presumption of innocence is a charge to the jury at the time of trial but that in now way changes the fact that the indictment sets out with specificity everything that the DA must prove at the time of trial and enables the accused to plead the judgment that may be given upon it in bar of any prosecution for the same offense (no double jepordy).

I FOUGHT THE LAW
The Bobby Fuller Four

Breakin' rocks in the ... hot sun
I Fought the Law and the ... law won
I Fought the Law and the ... law won
I needed money, 'cause I ... had none
I Fought the Law and the ... law won
I Fought the Law and the ... law won

I left my baby and I feel so bad
I guess my race is run
Well, she's the best girl ... I've ever had
I Fought the Law and the ... law won
I Fought the Law and the ... law won

Robbin' people with a . . . six gun
I Fought the Law and the ... law won
I Fought the Law and the ... law won

I miss my baby and the ... good fun
I Fought the Law and the ... law won
I Fought the Law and the ... law won

I left my baby and I feel so bad
I guess my race is run
But, she's the best girl ... I've ever had
I Fought the Law and the ... law won
I Fought the Law and the ... law won

ira:

Thanks for the Texas spotlight.

I never say it enough but we're a happy community to have your TX expertise here with us.

It has come in handy before, and most especially now as we perform the Delay Congressional Career Memorial Happy Dance.

Next on the Docket: Fitzmas in Easter?

Quotes from DeLay...

TIME: Your smiling mug shot—what made you think of that and what do you think the consequence of that has been?

DeLay: Oh, I don't know. I said a little prayer. First of all, you only get one take. It's a very humiliating thing, to be booked. And I said a little prayer before I actually did the fingerprint thing, and the picture. And my prayer was basically: "Let people see Christ through me. And let me smile."

One of his reasons for "resigning": He wants to "spare the voters of my district from a dirty campaign against my liberal Democrat opponent bringing the Michael Moores and the Barbra Streisands down to Texas..."

Domestic scandal stuff:

Jason Leopold | Enron's Kazillion Dollar Bash
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040406J.shtml
Jason Leopold writes: Skilling and Lay have maintained that they were unaware of the Byzantine, off-balance-sheet partnerships that caused Enron to implode in a wave of accounting scandals more than four years ago. But a 1997 videotape featuring Skilling, Lay and several other former executives of the one-time high-flying energy company seems to suggest otherwise.

Abramoff Offered to Aid Sudan, Envoy Says
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040406K.shtml
Two eyewitnesses say that former lobbyist Jack Abramoff proposed to sell his services to the much-criticized government of Sudan to help improve its abysmal reputation in the United States, especially among Christian evangelicals who were campaigning against human rights violations in the troubled African nation.

Oregon Suit Tests Bush Wiretaps
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040406O.shtml
An Ashland charity's case, called a strong challenge, seeks to have the secret spying declared illegal.
~~~~~

Oh, and BTW, the noon snooze (in-state) had the info that Exxon Mobil topped Wal-Mart for record profits last year, so Exxon-Mobil is now #1 on the Fortune 500 list....

International war scandal snooze:

Noam Chomsky | Returning to the Scene of the Crime: War Crimes in Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040406L.shtml
Noam Chomsky writes: The Lancet study estimating100,000 probable deaths by October 2004 elicited enough comment in England that the government had to issue an embarrassing denial, but in the United States virtual silence prevailed. The occasional oblique reference usually describes it as the "controversial" report that "as many as 100,000" Iraqis died as a result of the invasion. The figure of 100,000 was the most probable estimate, on conservative assumptions; it would be at least as accurate to describe it as the report that "as few as 100,000" died.

Steve Coll | Deluded
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040406M.shtml
Steve Call writes: The Iraq invasion, more than any other war in American history, was a construct of delusion. Frustratingly, however, we now understand much more about the textures of fantasy in Saddam's palaces in early 2003 than we do about the self-delusions then prevalent in the West Wing.

John Prados | Bush's Paper Trail Grows
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040406P.shtml
John Prados writes: the evidence is overwhelming that Bush hosted the January 31 meeting to manage his move to war, not as an occasion to review progress toward disarming Iraq. The record of the session shows this - with talk of the war plan, the starting date, the justification and the securing of a second UN resolution as a legal cover, but there is more than that.
Excerpt:
In all likelihood the debate over the Iraq war will come to center on the question of how much sooner than January 2003 was Bush's war policy cast in stone. Was it September 2002, when Bush blurted out "I don't know what more evidence we need" and set up the White House Iraq Group to sell the war? Was it April at a previous Bush-Blair summit in Crawford or December 2001 when General Franks presented the first war plan to the president? Was it on or immediately after 9/11 or was it the day George W. Bush took the oath of office as President of the United States?

Pitt is too good today for just a snippet..Here is the whole thing...

He's Gone
By William Rivers Pitt
t r u t h o u t | Perspective

Tuesday 04 April 2006

Rat in a drain ditch,
Caught on a limb,
You know better
But I know him.
Like I told you,
What I said,
Steal your face
Right off your head.

Now he's gone, gone,
Lord he's gone, he's gone.
Like a steam locomotive,
Rollin' down the track
He's gone, gone,
Nothing's gonna bring him back.
He's gone.

- The Grateful Dead, "He's Gone"
Stone the crows. Tom DeLay is checking out.

"I'm going to announce tomorrow that I'm not running for reelection and that I'm going to leave Congress," said DeLay on Monday. "I'm very much at peace with it."

Never thought I'd live to see the day.

In 1988, DeLay gave a press conference in Texas to defend the military record of Dan Quayle, who had been tapped to accompany George H. W. Bush on the Republican presidential ticket. Quayle was under fire for having allegedly used family influence to secure him a safe spot in the Indiana National Guard, thus keeping him out of Vietnam. DeLay argued that Quayle's failure to serve in Vietnam was not his fault; he wanted to go, but minorities had taken all the available slots.

Seriously, he said that.

This is the man who once said, in a debate about the minimum wage, "Emotional appeals about working families trying to get by on $4.25 an hour are hard to resist. Fortunately, such families do not exist."

This is the man who once said, in a speech to bankers delivered eight days before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, "Nothing is more important in the face of a war than cutting taxes."

This is the man who once said, to a government employee who was trying to stop him from smoking on government property, "I am the federal government."

This man is gone now. After being indicted in Texas for campaign finance violations arising from his redistricting scheme, after surviving a tight primary challenge while staring down the barrel of a well-financed Democratic challenger, after watching his press secretary Michael Scanlon and his deputy chief of staff Tony Rudy cop pleas in the Jack Abramoff scandal investigation, after watching Rudy specifically accuse his chief of staff Ed Buckham of being neck-deep in the scandal in his plea confession, after sitting up nights wondering if the Abramoff scandal was going to land him in prison, DeLay decided enough was enough.

Time Magazine, which carried one of the first reports of his decision to step down, has DeLay adamantly denying any wrongdoing. "Asked if he had done anything illegal or immoral in public office," read the report by Mike Allen, "DeLay replied curtly, 'No.' Asked if he'd done anything immoral, he said with a laugh, 'We're all sinners.'"

It was the Democratic party that did this to him, of course. Wait, sorry. It was the "Democrat" party.

"I guarantee you," continued DeLay in the report, "if other offices were under the scrutiny I've been under in the last 10 years, with the Democrat Party announcing that they're going to destroy me, destroy my reputation, and that's how they're going to get rid of me, I guarantee you you're going to find, out of hundreds of people, somebody that's probably done something wrong."

That's right, Tom. It was the Democrat party, that awesome juggernaut of competence, which has shown time and again lo these past few years its Zeus-like ability to hurl devastating political lightning bolts from its lofty position, that took you down. They can stand up next to a mountain, so I hear, and chop it down with the edge of their hand.

Or maybe, Tom, just maybe, all this happened because you are the living embodiment of absolutely everything wrong in American politics. Forget your ideology, and your hateful divisiveness, and your shameless canoodling with the Taliban wing of fundamentalist Christianity. One cannot swing a cat by the tail in Washington DC these days without smacking someone who thinks the way you do. This doesn't make you unique, sadly.

No, your criminal misuse of the campaign funding laws, your outright disdain for the rules if they keep you from assuming absolute control, your almost Zen-like ability to operate beyond the confines of conscience and dignity, is why your presence has been a cancer on the body politic since the day you put down your bug extermination gear and tried a power tie on for size, and is why you're finished now. How deeply were you in the pocket of your contributors? You took an R.J. Reynolds corporate jet to get to your arraignment. There has to be some kind of award somewhere for behavior so brazenly craven.

It is hard to avoid a sense that something like justice, true justice, real justice, has been well served by the manner in which Tom DeLay has been laid low. Politics is a little cleaner today. Not a lot, maybe not even enough for folks to notice, but it is indeed just a little bit cleaner, now that he's gone.

More detail on the funds-pillaging question, from an article in today's WashPo (see http://tinyurl.com/khngw for complete article):

==========

DeLay has assembled a substantial legal team to fight back, and he has a defense fund -- financed largely by corporations with business before Congress -- that contained more than $600,000 at the end of last year, based on the cumulative record of its receipts and contributions. But contributions to the fund dropped from $318,000 to $181,500 between the third and fourth quarters of 2005.

DeLay also is entitled under federal election rules to convert any or all of the remaining funds from his reelection campaign to his legal expenses, whether or not he resigns, is indicted or loses the election. Election lawyers say one advantage of bowing out of the election now is that the campaign cash can be converted to pay legal bills immediately, instead of being drained in the course of a bid to stay in office.

As of Feb. 15, when his campaign filed its most recent report with the Federal Election Commission, DeLay had $1,295,350 on hand. But that was two weeks before the Texas primary in which DeLay bested three Republican rivals to win renomination, and the pot of money available to him now may be considerably less.

By stepping aside so early in an election year, a lawmaker "wouldn't be spending to be reelected" and could transfer the funds immediately to fend off any federal charges, said lawyer Kenneth A. Gross, a former head of the FEC's enforcement division. The last lawmaker to gain the FEC's formal approval for such a transfer was Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.), who resigned last November after pleading guilty to evading taxes and accepting bribes.

==========

swallow the money,
Otter

Ira:

I posted on Chris Bell's website to thank him for getting the ball rolling. Thanks for the tip.

Sorry about Mario. :(

Posted by: battlebob at April 4, 2006 04:21 PM

Yeah, that is a good one... :-)

Another:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060404/pl_nm/usa_politics_delay_impact_dc_1
DeLay's fall won't end corruption issue
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rep. Tom DeLay's fall from power amid a widening scandal robs Democrats of "Exhibit A" in their allegations of Republican corruption, but analysts said on Tuesday it was unlikely to put the issue behind Republicans before November's elections.

{{{Gee, ya think?!? There's such a l-o-n-g list of scandals to go around.... More on link.}}}

Otter,
A few of you may remember Congressman Dan Rostenkowski. Here is a wikepedia listing for those who don't..

Dan Rostenkowski served in the U.S. Congress as a U.S. Representative for Illinois from 1959 to 1995. He is a Polish-American member of the United States Democratic Party. A product of the Cook County machine and the son of a "ward boss", Rostenkowski was for many years Democratic Committeeman of Chicago's 32nd Ward, retaining this position even while serving in Congress. In Washington he rose by virtue of seniority to the rank of Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee in 1981. As Chairman of Ways and Means, he played an important role in tax and trade policy for more than a decade.

Rostenkowski's political career was shattered in 1994, when he was indicted on corruption charges, for his key role in the Congressional Check Kiting Scandal, and was forced to step down from all Congressional leadership positions. In elections later that year, Rostenkowski lost his seat and began retirement. Charges against Rostenkowski included keeping "ghost" employees on his payroll, using Congressional funds to buy gifts such as chairs and ashtrays for friends, and trading in officially purchased stamps for cash at the House post office[1]. In 1996, he pleaded guilty to reduced charges of mail fraud. He was fined and was sentenced to 17 months in prison, of which he served 15. Rostenkowski was pardoned in 2000 by US President Bill Clinton, in a flurry of last-minute pardons as Clinton left office.

Rostenkowski's downfall in 1994 is seen by many as emblematic of the power shift in American government as perceptions of Democratic corruption fueled the Republican victory in the House, led by Newt Gingrich and his Contract with America.[2] "The rise and fall of Dan Rostenkowski tracks the rise and fall of Democrats in the House," writes Richard E. Cohen. "It is a story of power, accomplishments and, ultimately, failure and humiliation."

Rostenkowski was born January 2, 1928 in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Loyola University Chicago. Following his political career, he has worked as a political commentator.

------------------------------------------
Why is this important?
Besides going to jail, he got to keep his campaign war chest also.

Union leaders boo McCain on immigration...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060404/ap_on_go_co/mccain_booed;_ylt=A0SOwlxy4TJEOpsAcA0b.3QA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3OXIzMDMzBHNlYwM3MDM-

I was a former campaign worker and used to know him well enough to chat about our families. He is a caricature of his former self. He is more of a hooker then anything else.
He is extremely vulnerable on many positions:
His desire to outsource government jobs to foreign companies. (read his speech at the Intrepid museum dedication).
He thinks if we leave Iraq, the terrorists will come here.
This guy has a lot of holes in his swing.

Norman Solomon | When War Crimes Are Impossible
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040406B.shtml
Norman Solomon writes that journalists should be seriously probing Bush's culpability for war crimes.

Matthew Rothschild | Audacity and Mendacity
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040406C.shtml
The audacity and mendacity of the Bush administration mount by the day. This presidency has become an increasing menace to our constitutional system, says Matthew Rothschild.

Derrick Z. Jackson | The President's War Madness
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040406E.shtml
President Bush said he invaded Iraq to rid the world of a madman. It is ever more clear that Bush went mad to start it.

Patrick Sabatier | Echoes
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040406H.shtml
The debate is as old as liberal democracies. Can they use any and all methods to fight their enemies? Patrick Sabatier looks at echoes in history to illuminate that issue today.
{{{Short essay, and to the point.}}}

British Secretary Wants Geneva Review
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040406F.shtml
Britain's Defense Secretary suggests revision of the Geneva Conventions, which set standards for conduct during times of war, including the treatment of prisoners and protection of civilians and journalists, ban torture, rape, mutilation, slavery, genocide.

{{{This is the sentence that follows the above info from the article: "Violations are a punishable criminal offense under the national laws of countries that have signed the conventions." Gitmo is mentioned in the last paragraph. I have to wonder, after reading the entire article, WHAT kind of changes would be proposed (none mentioned in article), and WHY any changes are needed???}}}

"Blogging from the Right" (from Salon.com's Daou Report) praises DeLay's "honorable road home." Whatever, Tom.

DeLay Departs. The Fight Continues.
Tom DeLay made his bones as a warrior for the party. He was, in many areas, a dedicated conservative. But he was above all else a party man - familiar as he was with the political dirty tricks during Democrat domination of the Congress, DeLay was determined not to give an inch once Republicans took power.... We owe Tom DeLay thanks in large part for the fact that this IS a Republican Congress, and we should treat him with the respect of an old warrior who, in the end, took the honorable road home.

Posted by: battlebob at April 4, 2006 05:21 PM

I am so disappointed in McCain.

Here's why:

If a person would allow himself to embrace dirt that had maligned his mental capacities, functionality, and adequacies, in order to further ambitions hoping perhaps that the dirt would then malign others in order to prop him up, I would think that person had SERIOUS problems in his judgement, moral character, and self-esteem.

He almost seems like a clay pigeon to me. He would ruin his own reputation and character and they would let him do it to prop them up. Once he is shot full of holes, it won't happen.

(And, I certainly DON'T want this man "leading" my country.

He sounds like an abuse victim.)

Just my .02.

Posted by: battlebob at April 4, 2006 04:21 PM

I enjoyed that article. Thanks for providing it.

Tommy Boy's going out in style. HIS style.

ONE FOR MY BABY (And One More For The Road)
~ Frank Sinatra

It's quarter to three, there's no one in the place except you and me
So, set 'em up, Joe, I got a little story you oughta know
We're drinkin', my friend, to the end of a brief episode
Make it one for my baby and one more for the road

I got the routine, so drop another nickel in the machine
I'm feelin' so bad, wish you'd make the music pretty and sad
Could tell you a lot, but you've got to be true to your code
So, make it one for my baby and one more for the road

You'd never know it but buddy, I'm a kind of poet
And I got a lot of things to say
And when I'm gloomy, you simply gotta listen to me
Till it's all talked away

Well that's how it goes and Joe, I know your gettin' pretty anxious to close
So, thanks for the cheer, I hope you didn't mind my bendin' your ear
This torch that I found must be drowned or it soon might explode
So, make it one for my baby and one more for the road
That long, long road

I dunno Truth...
There aren't too many slimier pieces of crap then DeLay. It is sure nice seeing him get hammered. I hope he doesn't get another chance in Virginia. He screwed a lot of folks along the way. I hope the next time we hear of him is when CNN says he died.

Reporting for duty...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060404/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iran_missile
Iran Says It Can Handle Any Invasion
TEHRAN, Iran - A top Iranian military official said Tuesday the country can now defend itself against any invasion originating from outside the region — a clear reference to the United States — as it tested a second new radar-avoiding missile.

{{{More on link. Oh, gee. Thanks for increasing Dumbya's paranoia...! By now he must be rabidly foaming at the mouth waiting for when he can order another illegal invasion of yet another country....}}}

THE POWER OF THUNDER
Rose Aguilar, AlterNet
Cecilia Fire Thunder, president of the South Dakota Ogala Sioux, takes on the state's repressive new abortion ban.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/34314/

Kudos!!!

Posted by: monkey at April 4, 2006 03:16 PM

Jailhouse Rock

(words & music by jerry leiber - mike stoller)

The warden threw a party in the county jail.
The prison band was there and they began to wail.
The band was jumpin’ and the joint began to swing.
You should’ve heard those knocked out jailbirds sing.
Let’s rock, everybody, let’s rock.
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin’ to the jailhouse rock.

Tommy DeLay played the tenor saxophone,
Little Jack was blowin’ on the slide trombone.
The drummer boy from illinois went crash, boom, bang,
The whole rhythm section was the beltway gang.
Let’s rock, everybody, let’s rock.
Everybody in the whole cell block
Was dancin’ to the jailhouse rock.

Dean on CNN with Blitzer tonight...

Wolfe asked him if DeLay resigning would be good for Democrats. Dean said, "I don't know if it's good for Democrats, but it's good for the American people."

Vaya Con Dios (May God Be with You)
Les Paul & Mary Ford

Now the hacienda's dark, the town is sleeping;
Now the time has come to part, the time for weeping.

Vaya con Dios my darling,
May God be with you my love.

Wherever you may be, I'll be beside you,
Although you're many million dreams away.
Each night I'll say a pray'r, a pray'r to guide you
To hasten ev'ry lonely hour of ev'ry lonely day.
Now the dawn is breaking through a gray tomorrow,
But the memories we share are there to borrow.

Vaya con Dios, my darling:
May God be with you, my love, my love,
May God be with you my love.

Now the village mission bells are softly ringing,
If you listen with your heart you'll hear them singing,
Vaya con Dios my darling,
May God be with you my love.

Wherever you may be I'll be beside you,
Although you're many million dreams away,
Each night I'll say a pray'r, a pray'r to guide you
To hasten ev'ry lonely hour of ev'ry lonely day.

Now the dawn is breaking through a gray tomorrow,
But the memories we share are there to borrow,
Vaya con Dios, my darling!
May God be with you, my love, my love,
May God be with you my love.

http://ntl.matrix.com.br/pfilho/html/lyrics/v/vaya_con_dios.txt

OT but here's a really good editorial from WaPo today...

A Hole in Which Hopes Are Buried

By Richard Cohen
Tuesday, April 4, 2006; Page A23

NEW YORK -- President Bush is starting to look beyond his presidency. His focus is on his legacy, which he is sure will vindicate his decision to go to war in Iraq. But his most fitting memorial is likely to be where I was Sunday: the immense gash in Lower Manhattan known as Ground Zero. More than 4 1/2 years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the hole has yet to be filled.

Tourists come and look. The selling of souvenirs is prohibited at the site itself, but around the corner, on Vesey Street, peddlers hug the shadows. The proper souvenir to take away from this place, though, is the memory of its immense emptiness. It's a hole filled with broken promises and silly rhetoric, an inverted monument to the Bush administration's unfathomable failure even to capture Osama bin Laden.

Where is this killer? Still in Afghanistan or nearby Pakistan, is the unofficial answer. Certainly not caught, is the official answer. This terrorist, this madman, this mass murderer of clerks and stockbrokers, of deliverymen and cooks, of IT guys and shoeshine men, is still on the loose. Bin Laden was the guy Bush was going to get, dead or alive, or something like that, but he is still at large, mocking us with his occasional tapes and his insufferable freedom. Even Afghanistan, liberated from the Taliban, is receding into chaos. The Taliban, it turns out, never left.

--snip--
Little wonder Bush focuses on posterity. The present has to be painful. His embrace of incompetents, not to mention his own incompetence, is impossible to exaggerate. Rummy still runs the Pentagon. The only generals who have been penalized are those who spoke the truth. (They should get some sort of medal.) Victory in Iraq is now three years or so overdue and a bit over budget. Lives have been lost for no good reason -- never mind the money -- and now Bush suggests that his successor may still have to keep troops in Iraq. Those of us who once advocated this war are humbled. It's not just that we grossly underestimated the enemy. We vastly overestimated the Bush administration.
--snip--
Maybe we should leave Ground Zero as it is. The imagination can provide a fitting memorial to those who died. "We dig a grave in the breezes," Paul Celan wrote in his Holocaust poem "Death Fugue." We can dig ours as deep as the World Trade Center once was tall. The ugly emptiness will remind us always to be wary of the grand schemes of politicians. They can't build a building. They cannot capture a mass murderer. They cannot wage war in Iraq. This is their hole. It is, by dint of failure, George Bush's presidential library. His proper legacy is a void.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/03/AR2006040301609.html

32 cities in Wisconsin had a referendum today on bringing troops home now.

Results will be posted here ===> http://www.wnpj.org/homenow

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060405/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/guantanamo_tribunals
Court Rules Questioned at Gitmo Hearing

{{{Sounds like a Kangaroo Court to me....}}}

Ah, another outstanding member of the administration -- specifically Dept. of Homeland Security -- proves how they stand for family values... Per Paula Zahn:

Brian J. Doyle, an Officer of Homeland Security, was just arrested on Child Pornography charges.

(I think he's the deputy press secretary for the Homeland Security ...)

Molesting them over here so we won't have to over there...

"Walk Away DeLay," by the Right Banke

And when I see the cash that flowed one way
The tribes we used to rip off...every day

Just walk away DeLay
They weren’t gonna vote for you back home
The empty K Street office suites are not the same
Jack’s not to blame

From deep inside the tears you’re forced to cry
Now when you grab a meal...you’ll have to buy

Just walk away DeLay
And hope a defense contractor buys your home
Now as a plane takes off for Scotland’s finest links
Not there...it stinks

Your name is still atop a... kids’ charity
Now we all know its aid was...meant for thee

Just walk away DeLay
And pray federal agents aren’t at your home
Now as your aides have flipped... against your crooked scam
They’ve burst your dam

Just walk away DeLay
The right wing won’t follow you back home
An empty cell awaits... to end your life of fame
Who will you blame?

http://www.pnionline.com/dnblog/attytood/archives/003045.html

Posted by: madame defarge at April 4, 2006 09:17 PM

So, remind me again... what was it Dumbya said he was going to do prior to the 2000 selection? Oh... yeah... bring "morality" back to WA....

Sounds to me like he imported people who can only be brought up on morals and ethics charges....

Tom Teepen | Why No Outrage? Bush Deserves Censure
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0404-22.htm

Justices Decline Terror Case of a US Citizen
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0404-08.htm

After you read the above article: Anyone besides me see this as 'passively allowing' Bu$h unlimited executive powers?

First I found this:

America's war on the web
By Neil Mackay
Investigations editor
IMAGINE a world where wars are fought over the internet; where TV broadcasts and newspaper reports are designed by the military to confuse the population; and where a foreign armed power can shut down your computer, phone, radio or TV at will.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12609.htm

And then I found this... and wondered why the hold-up? I know the US controls the world wide web, but this seems... petty and childish, to say the least....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/tc20060403979619
A Hot Domain on Ice

Posted by: madame defarge at April 4, 2006 09:17 PM

Here's the link...
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/news.aspx?storyid=28228

BARTOW, Florida — A high-ranking spokesman for the Homeland Security office in Washington, D.C., was arrested Tuesday night on Polk County charges of using a computer to seduce a child, the sheriff's office announced.

Arrested at his home in Silver Springs, Md., was Brian J. Doyle, 55, the Deputy Press Secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Public Affairs in Washington, D.C.

He is accused of 23 counts related to the use of a computer to seduce a child and transmitting harmful materials to a minor, the sheriff's office reported.

His arrest is the result of a joint investigation by the Polk County Sheriff s Office, working with Florida s 10th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Jerry Hill's office, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Inspector General's Office.

09:56 PM

Nonny, who of us could disagree with censure, or that they are daring us with their ever more raising of the bar of how bad.

Problem is how much do we expend convincing, or how to convince, and still accomplishing more outreach. Convincing them we won't spend all our time exacting accountability.

Posted by: madame defarge at April 4, 2006 10:02 PM

You were doin' a heck of a job, Brian.

When I saw it tonight as breaking news, I only caught a bit of it and I thought he was impersonating a DHS officer. Now I find out he really WAS with the DHS.

He was sitting at his computer corresponding with someone he thought was a young girl when he was taken into custody.