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What's Going On Here?

Bush decides to assist a Dem? Probably not.

President Bush intervened directly Thursday in an increasingly tense constitutional fight between Congress and the Justice Department by ordering that records seized from a Congressional office over the weekend be sealed for 45 days.

More likely he's protecting Denny Hastert. Maybe Jefferson's files or computer implicate Hastert. We'll just have to see what unfolds.

All I know is Bushco is never generous to foes and always has a political agenda. Just saying.

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Hmmm...

Interesting news.

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Maverick British politician George Galloway has said it would be "morally justified" for an assassin to target Prime Minister Tony Blair, but he said he was not advocating an attempt, according to a magazine interview.

In comments to GQ magazine released Friday, Galloway was quoted as saying an attack on Blair that caused no other casualties would be a justifiable response to the war in Iraq.

"It would be entirely logical and explicable — and morally equivalent to ordering the deaths of thousands of innocent people in Iraq as Blair did," the magazine quoted Galloway as saying.

If he knew anyone was planning such an attack, Galloway added, he would inform the police.

Sometimes the British aren't so low key. Imagine a US congress official saying such a thing about Bush. Well, now of course, they'd be sent to Gitmo.

(update) This is strange. I realised I hadn't linked to the original story and guess what, I can't find it. I can find absolutely no mention of the above quote. I swear I did see it. It's a cut and paste job. This isn't "made up" stuff.

Bushit!

These guys disgust me.

More than three years after sending their troops to invade Iraq, President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair cannot escape questions about their decision to go to war even as they acknowledge far-reaching mistakes.

Defensive when they would prefer to celebrate the recent political success in Baghdad, the trans-Atlantic allies reflected on the price of overthrowing Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

In a joint news conference Thursday night that had a somber tone, Mr. Bush acknowledged the bloodshed has been difficult for the world to understand. Blair called the violence "ghastly."

But, Mr. Bush said at the White House, "Despite setbacks and missteps, I strongly believe we did and are doing the right thing."

Those missteps include the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib, though Mr. Bush said those responsible have been jailed. More personally, the president said, he learned not to use so much "tough talk," saying Osama bin Laden was wanted "dead or alive" and challenging America's enemies to "bring it on." This was an "extraordinary" admission from a president who is not normally known for public self-analysis, CBS News senior White House correspondent Bill Plante reports.

...the bloodshed has been difficult for the world to understand.

No shit! Why can't the world understand bloodshed? Wimps.

This is Bush posturing again. He doesn't regret his macho statements and I'm positive he'll spout more. There's nothing extraordinary about it. He's feeling backed into a corner and trying his best to dig his way out. There's nothing genuine about his comments. Its bushit pure and simple. And he will probably win again because the MSM will let him.

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A Nation Obsessed?

What is the fascination of Americans for everything Kennedy, Marilyn Monro, James Dean, Elvis and Jimmy Hoffa? And many others I've omitted.

Where is Jimmy Hoffa? Inquiring minds want to know.

You Can't Write This Stuff

The fine line between reality and parody is so thin it needs medical attention.

He has berated reporters and clashed with editors over stories that were damaging to his public relations clients.

His friends call him intense, a perfectionist who demands the best from everyone around him. He famously railed at The Philadelphia Inquirer's editors to kill an article critical of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's spending on a summer house while it was closing churches and schools.

Now, Brian Tierney, the 49-year-old incoming chief executive of the Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, will be calling the shots for his one-time adversary.

And that's just fine with him. Tierney said he should be judged on the totality of his work in PR and advertising, not just on a "handful" of controversial issues. What's more, he said he can channel his passion and zeal into improving the two flagging newspapers.

"I'm going to make sure that every person in this region would buy The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News," Tierney said in an interview. "I'm going to put that passion into helping my advertising clients grow their business. We can grow our business and they can grow their business."

Rah rah sis boom bah! Hope I spelled all that right.

No need for quality reporting. We'll sell the sizzle, not the steak

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Controversy Is Everywhere I Guess

I posted about the double-amputee who scaled Mount Everest. It was a remarkable feat. Then this.

A New Zealand mountaineer's decision to leave a dying man to his fate on Everest has sparked fierce argument in the climbing community and beyond.

Mark Inglis's actions were strongly criticised by Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to reach the top of Everest.

Now other climbers and even the prime minister of New Zealand have weighed into the debate.

Mr Inglis says he is "gutted" at the criticism he got and has repeated that there was nothing he could have done.

Mr Inglis was initially the focus of glowing headlines after becoming the first double amputee to reach the summit of the world's highest peak on 15 May. [emphasis mine]

Yes he was a human. Yes he should have been saved. Could he have been saved? I don't know and neither does Sir Edmund Hillary. He should know as well as any that mountain climbing decisions are similar to wartime decisions. A person makes the best call possible under the circumstances.

Disclaimer: I've never climbed a mountain or been in a war. I'm employing logic here. Under extreme conditions, how else could a person make decisions?

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Have...To...Read...Slower

Saw this headline.

Pope arrives in Poland to honor John Paul

So why not George and Ringo?

Then I read it again.

Poison Pill Anyone?

The White House says they may talk with Iran.

The Bush administration said Wednesday it might talk to
Iran about the nuclear issue but only if Iran suspends its uranium enrichment program.

"When that happens ... then there may be some opportunities," White House spokesman Tony Snow said. He declined to give details other than to say the talks would include other countries. [emphasis mine]

Yeah, I do want to give you a raise in salary, but only if you'll sleep with me.

Throw in a poison pill and it negates the offer and Bushco knows it.

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Cheney Might Be Called In Libby Case

Wasn't gonna comment on this, but its all over the news and begs the question; how could he not be called?

Could Vice President Dick Cheney be a star prosecution witness in the perjury trial of his former chief of staff?

Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald suggested in a court filing Wednesday that Cheney would be a logical witness for the prosecution because the vice president could authenticate notes he jotted on a copy of a New York Times opinion column by a critic of the U.S.-led war in
Iraq.

Fitzgerald said Cheney's "state of mind" is "directly relevant" to whether I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the vice president's former top aide, lied to FBI agents and a federal grand jury about how Libby learned CIA officer Valerie Plame's identity and what he later told reporters.

Libby "shared the interests of his superior and was subject to his direction," the prosecutor wrote.

That last sentence is exactly why I don't see how calling Cheney can be avoided. He's the only one who can say what he told Libby to do.

Feeling Secure? Well Don't #6

This is a must read IMHO from Jerome Doolittle at Bad Attitudes.

And you can check out these two sites to see what is going on, but be warned Big Brother will undoubtedly make note you visited them and will record your IP addy.

This is the Coastal Beacon program.

This is a river watch program.

Guess The Party Answers

Wow, I didn't forget to post the answers.

1. Focus on Oil Makes Us More Vulnerable
By Calif. Dem. Rep. Sam Farr on Politics

2. Solution to Supply Issues Can Be Found in ANWR
By Calif. GOP Rep. Richard Pombo on Politics

3. Eliminating Identity Theft to Protect Commerce
By Fla. GOP Rep. Cliff Stearns on Politics
The huge hint here is the word "Commerce".

4. Mythic Arms Race Will Not Solve Iranian Nuclear Issue
By Ohio Dem. Rep. Dennis Kucinich on Politics

5. More Refineries Will Equal Less Vulnerability
By Ill. GOP Rep. John Shimkus on Politics

6. Coal Energy Equals Independence
By Ill. GOP Rep. John Shimkus on Politics

7. Intelligence Failures Have Created Distrust Among Citizens
By Ore. Dem Sen. Ron Wyden on Politics

8. Iraqi Government Has Surprised Cut and Run Caucus
By Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn on Politics

This was a hell of a lot easier than you probably thought, huh? This stuff writes itself. All automatons. No independent thoughts allowed.

Very Funny

From Big Shot Bob in Texas.

Is It Just Me?

Is fraud, lying, cheating, manipulation, swindling, theft, and corruption the norm now? If you believe the allegations from prosecutors and oversight committees it certainly is.

Employees at mortgage giant Fannie Mae manipulated accounting so that executives could collect millions in bonuses as senior management deceived investors and stonewalled regulators at a company whose prestigious image was phony, a federal agency charged Tuesday.

The blistering report by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, the product of an extensive three-year investigation, was issued as the government-sponsored company struggles to emerge from an $11 billion accounting scandal.

Earlier, a person familiar with the situation said that Fannie Mae was being fined between $300 million and $500 million for the alleged manipulation of accounting to facilitate executives' bonuses, in a settlement with the housing oversight agency.

"The image of Fannie Mae as one of the lowest-risk and 'best in class' institutions was a facade," James B. Lockhart, the acting director of OFHEO, said in a statement as the report was released. "Our examination found an environment where the ends justified the means. Senior management manipulated accounting, reaped maximum, undeserved bonuses, and prevented the rest of the world from knowing."

Its simple. Fire these people, bring them up on charges and send a message this behavior is not tolerated.

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Me And Bush

Here's the difference between me and Bush and Bushco.

I can't imagine the horror I would feel if I took the life of one human. If it were in defense of self, family or country I might be able to live with it.

Bush has no compunction in causing the deaths of thousands. Many of those thousands are like you and I, but of a darker hue. They were pursecuted before and killed, but they are being killed now in greater numbers thanks to US military technology. They are being killed by a "Christian" nation that values life. Irony knows no bounds.

Our enemy is and has always been Osama bin Laden and al qaeda. The enemy has never been your average Iraqi. But your average Iraqi is being killed daily.

When Will It End?

Killing 16 innocent people to kill 20 of the enemy isn't right.

Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai ordered an investigation Tuesday into the deaths of at least 16 civilians in one of the deadliest U.S. airstrikes since the American-led invasion in 2001. Another 19 people, meanwhile, were killed in new violence.

Karzai expressed "concern at the coalition forces' decision to bomb civilian areas" at the village of Azizi in Kandahar province, but he also strongly condemned the "terrorists' act of cowardice" in using civilians as human shields.

Karzai is on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates. The statement from his office said that on his return to Kabul he would summon the commander of U.S.-led coalition forces in
Afghanistan for a "full explanation."

The coalition said 20 Taliban were confirmed killed in the airstrike on Azizi late Sunday or early Monday and up to 60 more militants may have died. It said it was looking into reports of civilian casualties. Karzai's statement said 16 civilians were killed.

How many more innocents have to die to make Afghanistan a free and open democracy?

I'll stop here before I break into non-stop profanity.

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Guess The Party

Here are some blog titles from Capitol Hill. See if you can guess party affiliation. If I don't forget to, I'll post the answers in a few hours.

1. Focus on Oil Makes Us More Vulnerable
2. Solution to Supply Issues Can Be Found in ANWR
3. Eliminating Identity Theft to Protect Commerce
4. Mythic Arms Race Will Not Solve Iranian Nuclear Issue
5. More Refineries Will Equal Less Vulnerability
6. Coal Energy Equals Independence
7. Intelligence Failures Have Created Distrust Among Citizens
8. Iraqi Government Has Surprised Cut and Run Caucus

You can answer in comments or just in your head. And you thought politics was difficult.

Religious Freedom Can Include Religion In School

How to make schools safer? Modesto, CA found giving children a basic understanding of the religions around them quite helpful.

Americans have never been in greater need of understanding religious differences and cultivating respect for religious freedom. The events of 9/11 transformed America's relationship with Muslims at home and abroad, a surge in immigration from Asia and Africa has increased the nation's religious diversity, and cultural conflicts between secularists and religious conservatives occur like clockwork.

So you might think the last thing school districts would want is to bring religion into the classroom. Better to play it safe, and avoid lawsuits and angry parents by limiting any mention of faith to the private sphere. But school officials in Modesto, in Northern California, decided not to play it safe. In 2000, the religiously diverse community took a risk and, in an almost unheard-of undertaking for a public school district, offered a required course on world religions and religious liberty for ninth-graders.

...

As college professors and social scientists studying religious freedom in the USA, we wanted to know more. Could greater discussion of religious differences actually deepen cultural divides? From October 2003 to January '05, we surveyed more than 400 Modesto students and conducted in-depth interviews with students, teachers, administrators and community leaders. We granted anonymity to students so they could speak freely, but we recorded the interviews. No prior study on American teens' views on religious liberty has scientifically surveyed such a large number of students.

To our surprise, students' respect for rights and liberties increased measurably after taking the course. Perhaps more important, the community has embraced the course as a vehicle for fostering understanding, not indoctrination.

No pushing one or another religion on the students, but teaching them how religions have commonality.

Second, students learned that major faiths shared common moral values. When we asked one student why she enjoyed studying other religions, she said: "All my life I've been a Christian, and that's really the only religion I know about. So when I take this class I see there are other religions out there, and they kind of believe in the same thing I do."

Even so, students did not become relativists or converts. They were no more likely to disbelieve the truth of their own religious traditions after taking the course.

Ignorance results in intolerance and suspicion if not fear of others. Information results in acceptance and understanding there is nothing to fear.

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