The Political Chase

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.