The Political Chase

Server Meltdown

TPC has had a major server meltdown, therefore posting is not an option until we get that rectified. Today is extremely doubtful.

Bush Has Fuzzy Katrina Memory

George Bush comparing the government’s handling of the fires in California to Hurricane Katrina:

It makes a significant difference when you have somebody in the Statehouse willing to take the lead.

Rotten to the core.

The notion of using either situation for political fodder is reprehensible, but if Bush cannot control his obsessive-compulsive behavior, he could at least get the facts straight.

So far, there have been roughly 1,875 homes destroyed by the California wildfires; a White House report says 300,000 homes were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable by the storm. In California, fires consumed roughly 475,000 acres; more than 52 million acres were affected in the Gulf Coast.

President Bush reviews Katrina damage from Air Force One

Poll: Ghosts more believable than Bush

Recent AP poll:

• 34 percent believe in ghosts.
• 31 percent approve of George Bush.
  

The Gospel According to NYT’s Stenographers

The NYT has a piece in tomorrow’s edition about a CNBC interview with Dick Cheney, where Cheney commented on tax legislation that Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) will propose. At first I found the article amusing because of the typical Darth Vader comments, but then found it less amusing as the absence of journalistic standards became obvious.

First, he’s the amusing Cheney lead-in:

Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday joined a chorus of Republican opposition to a sweeping overhaul of the tax code proposed by the House’s leading Democratic tax writer.

The Republican response to the proposal by Representative Charles B. Rangel of New York, the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, underscored the hardening positions of the two parties on taxes as they head into the 2008 elections.

In a television interview, Mr. Cheney said Mr. Rangel’s proposal would reverse the Bush administration’s tax cuts from 2001 and 2003, one of the president’s signature accomplishments and one the vice president credited with “driving this economy.”

I intended to add my single, smart-alek comment of “driving it straight to hell,” and leave it at that. But the Times goes on to highlight a few specifics of Rangel’s proposal (eliminate AMT, cut taxes on select groups making under $200K, etc.). Then, without citing a single reason why, merited or not — other than what was previously declared by Cheney in the lead-in — Rangel’s proposal was summarily dismissed by the hack posing as a journalist.

Here’s their entire debate on Rangel’s proposal

The proposal has little chance of passing and surviving a presidential veto, as Mr. Cheney made clear. Some action, however, is expected on the alternative minimum tax and other tax proposals in the months ahead, and the fierce reactions set the stage for a debate that will only intensify as the 2008 election heralds the end of the Bush administration and the beginning of the next. (Emphasis added.)

So, according to Steven Lee Myers — New York Times Stenographer for the Vice President — if Dick Cheney says its not going to happen, then God Almighty has spoken, and The Written Word carried forth to the people.

It’s not necessary to check other sources, opinions, how Rangel might convince his colleagues otherwise in due time, or even the possibility of a congressional override. Nope. Just publish what Dick Cheney, who sitteth at the Left and Right Hand of George Bush the Decider, has commanded.

There’s no doubting the influence Dick Cheney has, and if he says it will be vetoed, then that will likely be the case, but that isn’t where the story begins and ends.

Promises, promises

No wonder George Bush gave Democrats in Congress a tongue-lashing today. The Post did not mention in its piece earlier today on Bush’s tongue-lashing press conference that Democratic leaders had announced Congress would reduce its work week next year from five days to four days.

I doubt the Decider has stopped laughing yet, and I can’t say that I blame him. In fact, I give the guy an A+ for capitalizing on the perfect political storm, although realistically, he nor his comrades on Capitol Hill should say a word. Since taking office, Bush has had roughly the equivalent of a one-year vacation, and Congress worked only two days per week under GOP leadership.

Maybe I have the wrong perspective on this, but I think it makes Pelosi and Hoyer look like fools. They strolled into Congress ten months ago, made promises of every kind and boasted about working the same schedule most Americans do (40-hours). So much for the hard work and promises. When you only have a 24 percent approval rating and have failed to deliver on the most important issues promised in the campaigns last year, it’s probably not the best time to announce you plan to work less .

Henry Waxman’s committee alone has more than two dozen investigations currently under way. Given the Democratic leadership’s current attitude, he might as well just eliminate about half of them. Bush and Cheney will be out of the White House and long since published "My Pet Goat, Vol. II" before Waxman will be able to even subpoena the crooks.

State Dept. Institutes Draft

If you’re a State Department employee, you can now "be all you can be."

Facing staff shortages in Iraq, the U.S. State Department announced on Friday that diplomats would have no choice but to accept one-year postings in the hostile environment or face losing their jobs.

In what is likely to be an unpopular move with staff, State Department human resources director Harry Thomas said about 250 "prime candidates" for vacant Iraqi posts would be notified on Monday of the decision.

He said they would have 10 working days to respond to the demand that they go to Iraq in summer, 2008, and only those with valid reasons such as a medical problem, would be exempt.

Until now postings to Iraq have been on a voluntary basis and often hard to fill.

"We have all taken an oath to serve our country and so if someone decides they do not want to go, then we would then consider appropriate actions," Thomas said in a conference call with reporters.

"We have many options, including dismissal from the foreign service," added Thomas, who returned on Thursday from a visit to Iraq where he assessed staffing needs for next year.

What a great motivation and recruiting tool. This policy will ensure potential new hires will be standing in line at HR Monday morning.

Score one for McCain

John McCain adeptly describes Rudy Giuliani’s disgraceful pandering to Terrorepublicans earlier this week.

Rudolph W. Giuliani’s statement on Wednesday that he was uncertain whether waterboarding, a simulated drowning technique, was torture drew a sharp rebuke yesterday from Senator John McCain, who said that his failure to call it torture reflected his inexperience.

“All I can say is that it was used in the Spanish Inquisition, it was used in Pol Pot’s genocide in Cambodia, and there are reports that it is being used against Buddhist monks today,” Mr. McCain, who spent more than five years in a North Vietnamese prison camp, said in a telephone interview.

Of presidential candidates like Mr. Giuliani, who say that they are unsure whether waterboarding is torture, Mr. McCain said: “They should know what it is. It is not a complicated procedure. It is torture.

Sheriff Bush Returns to Washington

I am thrilled to see that the Decider has returned from his photo-op trip to California as a strong Leader, disciplinarian — as evidence by the tongue-lashing he gave Congress — and void of the incompetence he was laden with before he left.

In a televised statement from the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Bush said that upon his return from a visit to wildfire-ravaged Southern California last night, "I was disappointed by what Congress had been doing and even more disappointed by what they had not been doing."

Specifically, he complained about House passage of a new children’s health insurance bill that he vowed to veto for a second time, a tax package under consideration in the House and a water resources bill that he called "fiscally irresponsible." Bush also lamented Congress’s failure to send him any of the dozen annual appropriations bills for fiscal 2008, an emergency war-funding bill or legislation to extend an Internet tax moratorium.

…snip…

Bush said, "With only a few weeks left on the legislative calendar, Congress needs to keep their promise to stop wasting time and get essential work done on behalf of the American people." He did not answer reporters’ questions after his statement.

Of course he didn’t respond to questions. For example, the Decider noted Congress’s inaction on his emergency war-funding bill, but he failed to mention when he sent his request for more blood money to Congress. Rep. David Obey, Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, appearing on Hardball Wednesday said President Bush did not send his request until two days before the broadcast, and had delayed sending it for five months. Furthermore, Obey made it clear he has a few demands of his own.

But I have made quite clear—since the president has made clear he‘s sending down a $200 billion supplemental request for Iraq, I have made quite clear that, as chairman of the committee, I have no intention whatsoever of reporting one dime of that supplemental for the remainder of this year.

The president just sent down his proposal two days ago. And he—he took over five months to send it down. I think the Congress has an obligation to scrub it. And what I have said is, I would be happy to give him every dollar he‘s asking for if he would change his policy, so that—so that we would have as a national policy a target of getting out of combat in Iraq by January of 2009.

Obviously needing to further demonstrate that he is still relevant, Mr. Bush "expressed annoyance that his nomination of Michael B. Mukasey to be attorney general has not yet moved out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, ‘even as members complain about the lack of leadership at the Department of Justice.’ " Apparently the president did not recall Patrick Leahy’s position that Mukasey would not be confirmed until the White House released information about its illegal spying, which it just agreed to do yesterday, and Mukasey must clarify his statements regarding torture, which has not been done (to my knowledge).

Yep, the Decider is feeling his Wheaties since he just returned from his trip to San Diego. Sadly enough, it took more than a thousand people dying in New Orleans for him to recognize (extremely limited I might add) that he works for the people.

Oops

When you publish a post it is almost impossible to retrieve it, especially when the feeds have already picked it up.

I published a post earlier about a letter Leahy sent to White House Counsel Fred Fielding that was so incredibly wrong is beyond embarrassing. I have retracted the post from the site, but there is little I can do about the feeds at the moment.

Temporarily, I have limited the amount of text available to the feeds hoping that will at least minimize the problem until the feeds synchronize with the proper content.

The full text of posts will be returned to the feeds shortly.

It’s hard to hide the actions of an idiot isn’t it?

Would Cheney give a flip?

I have yet to see Dick Cheney concerned about catastrophic consequences for the many, especially if there were profit possibilities for the few.

Strike on Iran Would Roil Oil Markets, Experts Say - washingtonpost.com

A U.S. military strike against Iran would have dire consequences in petroleum markets, say a variety of oil industry experts, many of whom think the prospect of pandemonium in those markets makes U.S. military action unlikely despite escalating economic sanctions imposed by the Bush administration.

George Bush’s saber rattling yesterday increased the price of oil to $90.46 per barrel, a 3.8 percent increase and a record high. Early this morning, the price per barrel increased to $92.22, another  record high. How much do you think Cheney’s net worth increased over the past 24 hours?

The Post’s article says a strike on Iran "would have dire consequences," but who would not suffer and who would profit? There is no doubt it’s an inconceivable stretch given the global impact, but just how far will Cheney go?

Think about it. The day before elections in 2000, who would have believed three to four years later this would be the new America?.

• Habeas Corpus eliminated after 900 years.
• Fourth Amendment abandoned.
• The president and vice president demanding Congress give them the right to torture, only after it was revealed they had been doing it anyway. 
• Intentionally invaded a sovereign country under false pretenses to gain control of its oil.
• Lost credibility throughout the world - how many real allies does the country have?
• The return of Cold War rhetoric.

House Passes Revised SCHIP Bill

In a 265-142 vote, the House passed a revised version of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill today — the first revision since the president’s veto.  Two Republicans voting for the bill last time, voted against the current version.

The changes as reported by Roll Call (sub. req.):

Democrats aimed to address Republican criticisms over the $35 billion measure intended to cover 10 million children via several last-minute “clarifications.”

Among those changes, Democrats agreed to rapidly phase out the inclusion of childless adults from the program within a one-year period. The bill also seeks to limit the program to low-income children by prohibiting participation by families with incomes within 300 percent of the federal poverty level. In addition, changes also aimed to strengthen prohibitions designed to prevent illegal immigrants from participating in the program by requiring the Social Security Administration to confirm a participant’s residency status.

Republicans criticized Democrats for "rushing the legislation to the House floor without allowing lawmakers to review the revised bill first."

But Nancy Pelosi "defended the decision to advance the legislation, asserting that the House must act expediently for the bill to reach the president’s desk before the end of the calendar year. "

‘We’re holding the vote today because it fits into our legislative calendar,’ Pelosi said."

I agree with the Republicans with respect to having sufficient time to review the bill. How can anyone vote on a bill they haven’t had time to review? But it happens all the time. My best guess is Pelosi did not want arguments; instead she probably intended to put Representatives on the spot with a roll call where a negative vote would likely be could be viewed negatively by constituents.

Dems set threshold for Mukasey nomination

The Democrats tipping point on confirming Mukasey:

Judge Michael Mukasey’s nomination for attorney general ran into trouble Thursday when two top Senate Democrats said their votes hinge on whether he will say on the record that an interrogation technique that simulates drowning is torture.

I know this is an extremely important issue, particularly with respect to how the country presents itself to the international community, but they’re willing to acquiesce on Arlen Specter’s issue regarding the president (this or any other) being above the rule of law? How can they possibly have a single point of demarcation? Is this the quid pro quo for letting Leahy and Specter review documents they are legally entitled to see anyway?

Giuliani on Torture

Last night, Rudy Giuliani was asked in a Davenport, Iowa town-hall meeting if he considered waterboarding to be torture. This is his response.

Well, I’m not sure it is either. I’m not sure it is either. It depends on how it’s done. It depends on the circumstances. It depends on who does it. I think the way it’s been defined in the media, it shouldn’t be done. The way in which they have described it, particularly in the liberal media. So I would say, if that’s the description of it, then I can agree, that it shouldn’t be done. But I have to see what the real description of it is. Because I’ve learned something being in public life as long as I have. And I hate to shock anybody with this, but the newspapers don’t always describe it accurately.

An unbelievable answer.

This guy is a top tier GOP candidate for President of the United States and will not make a simple statement to repudiate torture of every kind instead of attempting to get into a linguist’s spin of words?

This put-off on the media is dodging at its best. The media has not twisted the fundamental aspect of waterboarding. And if it had described multiple methods of waterboarding, which may be true, the end result is the same. This is how the NYT described waterboarding in a January 13, 2005 article.

Among the procedures approved by the [August 2002 "torture memo"] was waterboarding, in which a subject is made to believe he might be drowned.

Does it really matter whether the interrogator has the individual in a backwards-reclining position pouring water over his face from a Bacharach crystal pitcher or has a fire hose shoved up his or her nose? The end result is the same.

Leahy, Specter to See WH Surveillance Documents

After a year of stonewalling and multiple subpoenas, The White House has said it will allow Patrick Leahy and Arlen Specter, Chairman and Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee respectively, access to the documents related to the Bush administration’s spying programs.

The Hill:

The White House will allow leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee to access documents on the Bush administration’s secret spying program, in an effort to win their support for retroactive legal protections covering the telecommunications firms that participated in the program, Democrats said Thursday.

Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and ranking member Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) have demanded to see the documents before they consider a controversial foreign-intelligence surveillance bill that would grant the companies retroactive immunity. The White House has so far provided the documents only to the Senate Intelligence Committee, which last week approved a bill to overhaul the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by a 13-2 vote. The measure has been referred to Judiciary, but no date for a markup has been set yet.

A White House official told Leahy in a phone call Thursday morning that he and Specter could access the confidential documents that outline the involvement of the telecom firms. But according to an aide, the details on how the documents could be accessed have not been worked out. There also is no sign yet that the rest of the Judiciary Committee or Senate leadership may access the documents.

Telephone companies are facing about 40 lawsuits for providing private information to the government, and the Bush administration is trying to wipe away those suits by arguing that the companies acted in the interest of national security. But critics of the language say that if telephone companies and the Bush administration did nothing illegal, then they should not be absolved from litigation. For over a year, Democrats have clamored for the documents explaining why immunity would be needed, only to meet resistance from the White House.

This by no means the standoff is over. Other members of the Judiciary Committee are going to demand access to the information, or so they say, before casting a vote on the legislation Bush is demanding. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) has already said no documents, no vote.

I would like to know what happened before I absolve anyone from liability from the law.  Naturally, I can’t cast an informed vote on FISA until I know the circumstances.

Furthermore, the administration has told lie after lie on this issue (and on virtually everything else), so my question is, how will Leahy, Specter and others know they will receive full disclosure? Unless they somehow force the Office of Legal Counsel to swear and affirm full disclosure Dick Cheney and David Addington may have a plethora of related items in Cheney’s safe.

Why didn’t Bush just do this a year ago?

Bulldog Waxman, Rubber-Stamp Davis

It is not an overstatement to say that Henry Waxman has tenaciously carried out his responsibilities as Chairman of House Committee on Oversight and Government reform. The Post has a rather robust piece on Waxman, the White House’s "worst nightmare."

So, how about Waxman’s predecessor? Zip. Tom Davis admits he didn’t do any oversight.

"For the administration, and for a lot of others, people need to be careful now," said Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (Va.), the ranking Republican on the committee. "Someone is looking over their shoulder."

With that record, Davis made a wise decision to not run for the Senate.