KO's SC on Cheney's lies at AEI today

Today's Special Comment goes to the heart of what drove me nuts this morning whilst watching The Big Dick Cheney™ wax poetic about Gitmo, Torture, the Iraq War, Saddam Hussein and all the other shit he outright lied about. See my post below for my pov on the day's speeches.

“justice delayed is justice denied.” - Or so sayeth Holder.

And to that end, Eric Holder will not be investigating 'war crimes' committed by Bush and his administration.

I shit you not. Jonathan Turley says so here. I will snip the important part:

In a major decision, Attorney General Eric Holder has announced that he has found that the Justice Department has acted improperly in barring any criminal investigation of well-documented war crimes committed by the Bush Administration in the torture program. To punish the failure of the Department to act in a timely fashion, he has announced that no criminal charges will be pursued regarding torture to teach prosecutors a lesson that “justice delayed is justice denied.”

On April 1, 2009, Holder held a press conference in which he was angry over the failure over Acting Associate Attorney General Daniel Marcus and Lanny Breuer, head of the Criminal Division, to even investigate the commission of war crimes despite a public record of the crime.

I am flummoxed folks. What.A.Bunch.Of.Horseshit.

Video when available.

Bush on pace to set Midnight Reg's record.

This man is going to fuck us for decades.



ProPublica is keeping track of them all here.

BushCo's Midnight Moves to circumvent the system.

From ProPublica:

Here is a rundown of rules and regulations that the Bush administration is pushing through the rulemaking process in its waning days. We will update the list regularly by adding new rules, inserting links to breaking news on each rule, and tracking each rule through the rulemaking process. If you know of other rules we should add to this list, please send us an email here. You can use our tip-sheet to get started on your rules research.

Just the beginning of the end for this bag o' batshit. These to me, are worse than the pardons he will hand out on his last day in office as they screw all of us and enrich someone, some company or some group that this administration owes. Just a few of them below for you to peruse m'dear reader:

EPA Won’t Regulate a Contaminant in Drinking Water
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency

Formal Name: Drinking Water: Preliminary Regulatory Determination on Perchlorate

At Issue: Perchlorate is a chemical component of rocket fuel that can contaminate water both naturally and, more frequently, through improper disposal at rocket test sites, military bases and chemical plants. Cleaning it up would cost billions of dollars. But the contaminant has been linked to thyroid problems in young children, pregnant woman and newborns, leaving critics concerned for the developmental health of those most vulnerable to the chemical's effects.


Uranium Mining Permits Near Grand Canyon Could Increase
Agency: Department of the Interior: Bureau of Land Management

Formal Name: Land Withdrawals; Removal of Regulations Covering Emergency Withdrawals

At Issue: The Bureau of Land Management proposed a rule that would prevent Congress from slowing a flood of uranium mining permits being issued near the Grand Canyon.


Employees of Mutual Fund and Other Investment Companies Could Offer Advice to Their Own Investors
Agency: Department of Labor

Formal Name: Prohibited Transaction Exemption for Provision of Investment Advice to Participants in Individual Account Plans

At Issue: The Department of Labor has proposed a rule that would allow employees of financial institutions to provide investment advice to people with individual investment accounts, such as IRAs and 401(k)s, even if the consultant has a financial interest in the advice. The advisers would be required to disclose to their clients any fees they may receive in connection with the investment options. The DOL argues that this rule will make it possible for millions more Americans to receive valuable advice.


The Interior Department Could Approve Construction Projects with Less Concern for Protected Species
Agency: Department of the Interior

Formal Name: Interagency Cooperation Under the Endangered Species Act

At Issue: The Department of the Interior wants to allow agencies to make their own determination of whether a development project, such as highway or dam construction, would significantly harm protected species, rather than relying on extensive scientific review as they have done previously. The DOI said this will eliminate or reduce cumbersome consultations in situations where the effects “are so inconsequential, uncertain, unlikely or beneficial that they are, as a practical matter, tantamount to having no effect on listed species or critical habitat.” Critics worry about giving so much discretion to federal agencies that may lack scientific expertise.

EPA Lets Factory Farms Decide If They Need A Permit to Discharge Animal Waste into Waterways
Agency: Environmental Protection Agency

Formal Name: National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit Regulation and Effluent Limitation Guidelines and Standards for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

At Issue: The rule, formulated to address practices voided by a Federal Appeals Court ruling, asks companies that run confined animal feeding operations to voluntarily apply for permits to discharge waste into waterways. If the operators don’t think they pollute enough, they are under no obligation to get permits.

Ain't those simply friggin grand? Christ, wotta criminal load of crappola. Check out the rest here.

Annual Government Secrecy Report Card is out.

Open the Government.org is a great reference site. They put out an annual report on our governments attempts to keep everything secret. You can view the Pdf report here. From their Press Release, a synopsis of their report for the year 2007:

Report: Continued Expansion of Federal Government Secrecy Seen in 2007

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2008 — Government secrecy increased across a wide spectrum of indicators in 2007, according to a report released today by a coalition of over 70 open government advocates. At the same time, the 110th Congress has moved toward increasing openness and accountability.

The findings of the 2008 Secrecy Report Card, produced annually by
OpenTheGovernment.org to identify trends in public access to government information, include:

• Almost 22 million FOIA requests were received, an increase of nearly 2 percent over last year;

• The 25 departments and agencies that handle the bulk of FOIA requests failed to make a dent in their backlogs, although they received the fewest requests since reporting began in 1998; and

• The number of original classification decisions increased slightly after dropping two consecutive years, and the number of derivative classifications increased by almost 13 percent. According to Patrice McDermott, Director of OpenTheGovernment.org, “These trends indicate that citizens will have to wait even longer to know what their government is doing.” The report also cites indicators of growing secrecy, including:

• The government spent $195 maintaining the secrets already on the books for every one dollar the government spent declassifying documents, a 5 percent increase in one year.

• 18 percent of the requested Department of Defense (DOD) acquisition funding is for classified, or “black,” programs. Classified acquisition funding has more than doubled in real terms since FY 1995.

• $114.1 billion of federal contract funding was given out without any competition. On average since 2000, fully and openly competed contracts have dropped by almost 25 percent

• Federal surveillance activity under the jurisdiction of the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has risen for the 9th consecutive year—more than double the amount in 2000. “The current administration continues to refuse to be held accountable to the public,” said McDermott. “In recent years, polls have shown that a growing number of Americans believe the federal government is secretive—terrible news for our democracy. Until we restore openness and accountability to the federal government, it will be impossible to win back the
public’s trust.”

Sucks don't it? This is America? Sounds like another third world dictatorship to me.

Tags: Secrecy Report, Open The Government, FOIA, 2008 Secrecy Report Card

Former Bush supporter bites the hand that fed him.

He was known as "Bush's Puppet", but now former Iraq Prime Minister Dr. Ayad Allawi is marching to a different drummer: From Truth Out:

Dr. Ayad Allawi, the former interim Iraqi prime minister previously referred to even by US Congress members as a "Bush puppet," voiced his strong support for a US withdrawal timeline during a Wednesday Congressional hearing.

During his term in office, from June 2004 to April 2005, Allawi endorsed the US's controversial bombings of Fallujah and echoed Bush's speeches almost word for word in many of his own statements; The Washington Post reported that Bush administration officials coached Allawi on the content of his public comments. Prior to his involvement in the US-backed, post-invasion Iraqi government, Allawi worked with the CIA.

Bush doesn't support his puppets once he no longer needs them. When they tossed Allawi aside it showed there really isn't any honor among thieves..Again from TO:

Yet, on Wednesday, Allawi blatantly called for "a time frame for reduction of US forces," a statement that stands in stark contrast to the hazy, deadline-less "time horizon" recently advocated by President Bush. Allawi stressed that the Iraqi people's wishes should take precedence in any agreement on the future of the American presence in Iraq.

"Most importantly, [the security agreement] should be transparent and get the approval of the Iraqi Parliament and people," he testified.

Damn skippy the Iraqi people should ratify it! No more secrecy..more sunlight please!! Allawi speaks out about how the current Iraqi government and BushCo have built the Iraqi economy so that it favors American interests. Its a good read..please check it out. Of course some folks will call Allawi a disgruntled former employee of BushCo, but to me, his thoughts are spot-on, and he speaks truth to power through the entire TO article.

For a good laugh, go check out Karen Zipdrives new snark-filled post entitled: The Secret Diary of Nuri al-Maliki.That woman can make me laugh so hard I almost fell outta my chair.

Report from British Government doubts Bush is truthful on torture.

From Jurist:

The Human Rights Annual Report 2007 [PDF] released Sunday by the UK House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee recommended that the UK not rely on any assurances made by the US that it does not use torture. The report also calls on the UK to fully investigate US interrogation tactics to ensure that no torture techniques are being used on US detainees. The report's section on torture focuses on waterboarding and the disconnect between US statements that the practice does not constitute torture and testimony by UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband that "water-boarding amounts to torture." The Foreign Affairs Committee wrote in the report:

We conclude that the Foreign Secretary's view that water-boarding is an instrument of torture is to be welcomed. However, given the recent practice of water-boarding by the US, there are serious implications arising from the Foreign Secretary's stated position. We conclude that, given the clear differences in definition, the UK can no longer rely on US assurances that it does not use torture, and we recommend that the Government does not rely on such assurances in the future. We also recommend that the Government should immediately carry out an exhaustive analysis of current US interrogation techniques on the basis of such information as is publicly available or which can be supplied by the US. We further recommend that, once its analysis is completed, the Government should inform this Committee and Parliament as to its view on whether there are any other interrogation techniques that may be approved for use by the US Administration which it considers to constitute torture.

BBC News has more. I really don't have anything to add this early in the AM on a Monday. Its just the wonderful start to another week of BushCo bullshit.

But WAIT!!! It gets better:


Earlier this month, the Foreign Affairs Committee denounced what it termed "false US assurances" about rendition flights through the UK Indian Ocean territory of Diego Garcia. The committee also said the "failure of the United States Administration to tell the truth resulted in the UK Government inadvertently misleading" the committee and House of Commons about US operations on a military base located on the island. Lawyers for Reprieve, a UK legal charity representing some of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, alleged (PDF) last year that UK overseas territories have been used "to support illegal interstate transfer, enforced disappearance and torture in the context of the 'war on terror'" and urged UK lawmakers to question US and UK officials about the allegations. In 2005, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Manfred Nowak said there had been allegations that the US was secretly detaining prisoners on military vessels at the Diego Garcia naval base.

Have a good week!!! ;p

McClellan's new book hits the streets early..its a doozy evidently.

Scotty's new book will not only toss his boss under the bus, it will back up over him. From Politico via Crooks and Liars:

Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan writes in a surprisingly scathing memoir to be published next week that President Bush “veered terribly off course,” was not “open and forthright on Iraq,” and took a “permanent campaign approach” to governing at the expense of candor and competence.

McClellan charges that Bush relied on “propaganda” to sell the war.

He says the White House press corps was too easy on the administration during the run-up to the war.

McClellan asserts that the aides — Karl Rove, the president’s senior adviser, and I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, the vice president’s chief of staff — “had at best misled” him about their role in the disclosure of former CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity.

The longtime Bush loyalist also suggests that two top aides held a secret West Wing meeting to get their story straight about the CIA leak case at a time when federal prosecutors were after them — and McClellan was continuing to defend them despite mounting evidence they had not given him all the facts.

EmptyWheel discusses the Rove factor in PlameGate via Scotty's new tell-all. Check it out. KO and Rachel discuss it all below:

BushCo wants a tad more power..

From the NYT we get this:

The Treasury Department will propose on Monday that Congress give the Federal Reserve broad authority to oversee financial market stability, in effect allowing it to send SWAT teams into any corner of the industry or any institution that might pose a risk to the overall system.

Check out the writeup if you have a strong stomach and constitution. I do not today.

As for me, The Doctor said NO. He only took two minutes out of his busy life to do that. I am still trying to process his short and very arrogant response, so forgive me for the brevity I exhibit here today. He said all the other doctors who told me my back was whacked don't know what they are talking about. Evidently I don't either, as I am the one with daily pain..was he calling my pain phantom pain? I don't know..hell, I know nothing today as I am quite the mess. Oh, to have Bush's power...

PBS presents: Bush's War

You can view the two part series online here at PBS' Frontline site. I just watched the first part and its very good..starting with 9/11 and moving forward to today. There are also timelines and other materials to check out.

It's worth your time..believe me.

Tags: PBS, Frontline, Bushs War

OPEC says it's not their fault oil prices are high..

They point their fickle finger at BushCo and laugh in his face with the following:

OPEC rebuffed its top consumer, arguing that the world was well supplied with oil and blaming financial speculators and mismanagement of the United States economy for the current high prices.

Ah yes..mismanagement, thy name is BushCo. Have those assholes managed anything correctly since the Crawford Cowboy took office?

It's a rhetorical question..

Georgie Bush had the audacity to threaten OPEC..I bit a hole in my lip to keep from laughing..seriously.

Reyes rips The Shrub, I salute you sir!

May I say that I love the shit out of this memo. I love Mr. Reyes too, amen bro. From RawStory:

Congressman Silvestre Reyes, Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, sent a letter to President Bush regarding the ongoing battle over warrantless wiretapping.

Text of the letter follows below.
#

President George W. Bush

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

The Preamble to our Constitution states that one of our highest duties as public officials is to "provide for the common defence." As an elected Member of Congress, a senior Member of the House Armed Services Committee, and Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, I work everyday to ensure that our defense and intelligence capabilities remain strong in the face of serious threats to our national security.

Because I care so deeply about protecting our country, I take strong offense to your suggestion in recent days that the country will be vulnerable to terrorist attack unless Congress immediately enacts legislation giving you broader powers to conduct warrantless surveillance of Americans' communications and provides legal immunity for telecommunications companies that participated in the Administration's warrantless surveillance program.

Today, the National Security Agency (NSA) has authority to conduct surveillance in at least three different ways, all of which provide strong capability to monitor the communications of possible terrorists.

First, NSA can use its authority under Executive Order 12333 to conduct surveillance abroad of any known or suspected terrorist. There is no requirement for a warrant. There is no requirement for probable cause. Most of NSA's collection occurs under this authority.

Second, NSA can use its authority under the Protect America Act, enacted last August, to conduct surveillance here in the U.S of any foreign target. This authority does not "expire" on Saturday, as you have stated. Under the PAA, orders authorizing surveillance may last for one year – until at least August 2008. These orders may cover every terrorist group without limitation. If a new member of the group is identified, or if a new phone number or email address is identified, the NSA may add it to the existing orders, and surveillance can begin immediately. We will not "go dark."

Third, in the remote possibility that a new terrorist organization emerges that we have never previously identified, the NSA could use existing authority under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to monitor those communications. Since its establishment nearly 30 years ago, the FISA Court has approved nearly every application for a warrant from the Department of Justice. In an emergency, NSA or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) may begin surveillance immediately, and a FISA Court order does not have to be obtained for three days. The former head of FISA operations for the Department of Justice has testified publicly that emergency authorization may be granted in a matter of minutes.

As you know, the 1978 FISA law, which has been modernized and updated numerous times since 9/11, was instrumental in disrupting the terrorist plot in Germany last summer. Those who say that FISA is outdated do not understand the strength of this important tool.

If our nation is left vulnerable in the coming months, it will not be because we don't have enough domestic spying powers. It will be because your Administration has not done enough to defeat terrorist organizations – including al Qaeda -- that have gained strength since 9/11. We do not have nearly enough linguists to translate the reams of information we currently collect. We do not have enough intelligence officers who can penetrate the hardest targets, such as al Qaeda. We have surged so many intelligence resources into Iraq that we have taken our eye off the ball in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As a result, you have allowed al Qaeda to reconstitute itself on your watch.

You have also suggested that Congress must grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies. As someone who has been briefed on our most sensitive intelligence programs, I can see no argument why the future security of our country depends on whether past actions of telecommunications companies are immunized.

The issue of telecom liability should be carefully considered based on a full review of the documents that your Administration withheld from Congress for eight months. However, it is an insult to the intelligence of the American people to say that we will be vulnerable unless we grant immunity for actions that happened years ago.

Congress has not been sitting on its hands. Last November, the House passed responsible legislation to authorize the NSA to conduct surveillance of foreign terrorists and to provide clarity and legal protection to our private sector partners who assist in that surveillance.

The proper course is now to conference the House bill with the Senate bill that was passed on Tuesday. There are significant differences between these two bills and a conference, in regular order, is the appropriate mechanism to resolve the differences between these two bills. I urge you, Mr. President, to put partisanship aside and allow Republicans in Congress to arrive at a compromise that will protect America and protect our Constitution.

I, for one, do not intend to back down – not to the terrorists and not to anyone, including a President, who wants Americans to cower in fear.

We are a strong nation. We cannot allow ourselves to be scared into suspending the Constitution. If we do that, we might as well call the terrorists and tell them that they have won.

Sincerely,

Silvestre Reyes
Member of Congress
Chairman, House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

When the truth interferes with BushCo's bs..close down the govt website!

A hearty thank you to Steve over at the Carpetbagger Report for this gem entitled; What you don't know can hurt us. Seems BushCo is continuing their tradition of shutting down govt websites that seem to counter their twisted logic..or in some cases when they outright lie to us. Seems the govt website that tracks economic indicators is providing we, the people, with information that directly conflicts with BushCo's rosy view of our economy. Tsk..tsk..from the ThinkProgress writeup on this topic:

The U.S. economy is faltering. Family debt is on the rise, benefits are disappearing, the deficit is skyrocketing, and the mortgage crisis has worsened. Conservatives have attempted to deflect attention from the crisis, by blaming the media's negative coverage and insisting the United States is not headed toward a recession, despite what economists are predicting.

The Bush administration's latest move is to simply hide the data. Forbes has awarded EconomicIndicators.gov one of its "Best of the Web" awards. As Forbes explains, the government site provides an invaluable service to the public for accessing U.S. economic data.

Seems BushCo will shut down this site March 1st and use the time honored bs line that its saving money by doing so. Bravo neocons! At least your predictable you shmucks! Steve helpfully points out the other times BushCo has done this douchebaggery sort of move:

* 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.

His time in office can not be over soon enough for me. I want this man run out of town on a rail..or at the very least tarred and feathered.

For a readable version of the cartoon, click the image.

A Secret prison inside Gitmo? You don't say..

From The Guardian by way of TruthOut we get this gem:

AP Confirms Secret Camp Inside Guantanamo
By Andrew O. Selsky
The Associated Press

Wednesday 06 February 2008

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba - Somewhere amid the cactus-studded hills on this sprawling Navy base, separate from the cells where hundreds of men suspected of links to al-Qaida and the Taliban have been locked up for years, is a place even more closely guarded - a jailhouse so protected that its very location is top secret.

For the first time, the top commander of detention operations at Guantanamo has confirmed the existence of the mysterious Camp 7. In an interview with The Associated Press, Rear Adm. Mark Buzby also provided a few details about the maximum-security lockup.

Guantanamo commanders said Camp 7 is for key alleged al-Qaida members, who must be kept apart from other prisoners to prevent them from retaliating against long-term detainees who have talked to interrogators. They also want the location kept secret for fear of terrorist attack.

Many operations have been classified since the detention center opened in January 2002 in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. More than four years passed before the military released even the names of detainees held on this 45-square-mile base in southeast Cuba - and it did so only after the AP filed a Freedom of Information Act request.

Detainees have been held in Camp Echo and Camps 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Journalists cleared by the military have been allowed to tour some of these lockups, where 260 men are held, but aren't allowed to speak to detainees. Some lawmakers and other VIPs have passed through, and the International Red Cross has access, but doesn't divulge details of visits with prisoners.

Camp 7, where 15 "high-value detainees" are held, is so secret that its very existence was not publicly known until it was mentioned in December by attorneys for Majid Khan, a former Baltimore resident who allegedly plotted to bomb gas stations in the United States. Previously, many observers believed the 15 were being held in Camps 5 or 6, which are maximum-security facilities.

BushCo sure loves secrets: secret wiretappping, secret prisons..and its so friggin wrong on every level it makes me physically ill. I am glad the Guardian blew this whistle..Read the rest at one of the links above.

Tags: Guantanamo, Camp 7, Secret Prison

Using our Tax Dollars to kill an Endangered Species

Our public service announcement for this week comes from the NRDC, of which I am a member:

The reintroduction of the gray wolf into Yellowstone National Park and surrounding wild lands, where they had once been wiped out, is one of the greatest success stories of the Endangered Species Act. And our tax dollars helped make it happen. Today, some 1,500 of these magnificent, endangered animals roam the Northern Rockies, where they have played a key role in reviving both the region’s environment and its tourist-based economy.

Unbelievably, the Bush Administration, bowing to pressure from Wyoming and a relatively few vocal ranchers and elk hunters, has just issued a new rule that allows the mass killing of gray wolves. Instead of doing its job to protect animals on the Endangered Species List, this administration is preparing to slaughter them. Even worse, it plans to issue a second rule that would strip wolves of federal protection altogether.

www.CallOffTheGuns.org

Using our tax dollars, the federal government would trap, hunt and gun down entire packs of wolves -- even from airplanes. Under either rule, hundreds of wolves could be killed. It’s madness.

Here are the facts: While some hunters complain about wolves killing elk -- their natural prey -- elk populations are at all-time highs across the Northern Rockies. And ranchers on private land already have the right to kill wolves that harass their livestock. No matter. The Bush Administration is determined to allow the killing of wolves -- and to reverse an environmental success story paid for by the American people -- just to satisfy politically powerful constituencies.

There’s still time to call off the guns. That’s where you come in. Go to CallOffTheGuns.org and tell your U.S. Representative to oppose the Bush wolf-killing rule.

Tell your elected representative this is total bullshit.

I am sick and tired of BushCo giving in to special interests. Please do what you can regarding this important wildlife AND environmental issue, even if its only sending your Congressional rep's NRDC's email. Every little bit helps..it surely can't hurt. The sickening Irony is this: The wolf is doing well enough to now remove it from the endangered species list because of the work done with our tax dollars to reintroduce them into Yellowstone National Park. The revised rule is aimed not at protecting cattle or sheep but at protecting elk and deer for hunters. As my father, an avid hunter, would say..this is a truly fuckwitted move by BushCo. Read an OpEd piece on the NYT website today about this issue and how friggin retarded their rationale is here.

Tags: Gray Wolf, Environment, endangered species

Senators say Not so fast Frat Boy!

The Shrub wagged his finger and told Congress to just pass the damn bill. He threatened, he cajoled, he sternly issued a warning("I strongly believe it would be a mistake to delay or derail this bill,") and yet..

Yet Both parties want more added to Bush's bullshit stimulus package according to WaPo this morning.

I say amen mutha fuckas..get to it. Load that bitch up. Perhaps Bohner will cry again when he sees what the Senate Finance Committee comes up with. Only this time..it will be real tears because Bohner and his boy Bush won't be getting their way. From the WaPo writeup:

But there is nothing partisan about the opposition developing ahead of next week's meeting of the Senate Finance Committee, which will draft its own economic stimulus bill. Republicans and Democrats alike said the administration does not have the right to force a plan on senators who had no say on its details.

Try adding items that will actually help those struggling ya dumb sumbitches. Like extending unemployment for all those folks laid off in the construction trades due to the friggin housing market taking a huge shit. Wait..thats not what they want to add to it? Apparently not:

Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and other administration officials that he will try to add a tax break for corporations that quickly reinvest overseas profits in the United States. None of the officials offered opposition.

Give me an effin' break..the Corporatocracy doesn't need help you jackass..the people are suffering for Christ's sake. Like elderly folks that have to choose between buying their medicine and food. Food that is skyrocketing price-wise through the fucking stratosphere.

As The Shrub spoke to his loyal followers..aka a meeting of Republicans in some cushy setting..it appeared they weren't real keen on his package:

His audience appeared lukewarm about the stimulus plan. Conservatives have complained that it redistributes wealth for political reasons and would be ineffective at jump-starting the economy. When Bush praised Pelosi and Boehner for their leadership in building it, the Republicans did not react until a White House aide at the back of the room started the applause.

So basically we have Rethugs that want the folks at the top of the food chain to get the bulk of the largess...and here I thought they might actually care about the masses...

Silly fucking me. But WAIT! some politico's back home in DC do still care:

In Washington, however, senators were busy drawing up lists of potentially costly additions to the package. Collins said a bipartisan coalition of Northeastern and Midwestern senators will push to secure as much as $800 million in heating assistance for the poor, a provision that House Democratic leaders dropped in favor of securing payments for about 35 million families who earn too little to pay income tax.

Praise Jeebus! There just might be some elected reps that actually give a shit about the poor folks, and those who have been increasingly struggling to make ends meet under the Bush Regime. Collins is a Rethug my dear reader and Buddha bless her, she is thinking of the masses. What a concept!

Collins said she will push to restore about $12.5 billion in unemployment benefits and $5 billion in food-stamp extensions that House negotiators also eliminated, a call echoed by her fellow Maine Republican, Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, who vowed to add funds next week in the Finance Committee. Snowe will be joined by another Republican on the committee, Sen. Gordon Smith (Ore.).

Methinks this package won't be a slam dunk for The Shrub..and it warms the cockles of my little black heart don't cha know? The Republican's that still care are pushing back! Sound the alert! Nothing better than watching the Rethugs eat their own..nothing, except maybe watching them tar and feather the Idiot-in-Chief and drag him out of town kicking and screaming..but thats a recurring dream I have, excuse me for fantasizing. ;>p Nothing better than a Rethug Rebellion..nothing!

Tags: Stimulus Package, Economy, Recession, Shrinking Middle Class

BushCo to announce $20B in arms sales to Saudi Arabia

Tomorrow, according to AP, Bush will announce a huge arms sale to Saudi Arabia.

You remember that country right? It's where most of the terrorists that flew the planes into the twin towers hailed from.

Bush wanted the announcement to coincide with his visit to Riyadh tomorrow. How nice..from the AP writeup:

The Bush administration will notify Congress on Monday of its intent to sell $20 billion in weapons, including precision-guided bombs, to Saudi Arabia, moving up the announcement to coincide with the president's arrival in Riyadh, The Associated Press has learned.

Despite concern about the deal from some lawmakers, the State Department, which last month said it would delay the notification until after Congress comes back into session, will announce the proposed sale on Jan. 14, a day before the House returns to work and more than a week before senators return to Washington, said a senior official.

Nothing like arming your enemies to keep the war on terrah going strong is there?

Artwork courtesy of The Worried Shrimp

What do you get for $736M-A huge Fire Risk

Sweet Jesus in a speedo..they couldn't even get a decent firefighting system? WTF? According to the Washington Post..the answer is..NOPE!

The firefighting system in the massive $736 million embassy complex in Baghdad has potential safety problems that top U.S. officials dismissed in their rush to declare construction largely completed by the end of last year, according to internal State Department documents, e-mails and interviews.

A State Department Official, who wants to be anonymous, has said the following about America's huge money pit in Iraq:

"The fire systems are the tip of the iceberg. That is the most visible. But no one has ever inspected the electrical system, the power plant"

A-fucking-mazing my dear reader..This complex is four times the size of the Pentagon, and evidently unsafe as shit. And they knew it:

As early as October 2006, State Department fire inspectors raised concerns about the embassy's alarm and sprinkler systems. Several sources said the inspectors were denied permission to reinspect the systems after Golden and French assured them that the problems had been fixed.

Then, in September 2007, the pipes burst during a pressure test, and the inspectors discovered that many of the problems they had identified had been ignored. The inspectors documented hundreds of violations of the contract specifications and of fire codes and regulations, according to portions of the report made public by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in October.

Nice..so friggin nice..Gotta love those Iraq contractors.

Judge orders BushCo to confirm existance of emails.

Three cheers for Judge John Facciola! He has ordered BushCo to provide proof that the missing emails exist.

He has given them five business days to come up with proof "whether the millions of e-mails from 2003 to 2005 that have been deleted from White House servers in fact exist on back-up tapes."

BushCo has been dancing around this issue for years now. They have consistently refused to answer the question by tossing out that good ol "Executive Priviledge" bullshit. The fabulous folks at CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) have been bull-dogging the living shit out of BushCo about the missing emails with various court cases they have brought, regarding the Firing of the USA's and originally the PlameGate debacle. From the Jurist writeup:

Facciola's Tuesday ruling in The National Security Archive v. Executive Office of the President, consolidated with a lawsuit from CREW, requires the White House to reveal whether the back-up tapes are catalogued, labeled or otherwise identified to indicate the period of time they cover and the data they contain.

The order came in advance of a ruling on motions from CREW and the National Security Archive to expedite discovery to determine what relevant email still exists. The US Department of Justice has been unresponsive about what back-up tapes the White House possesses, although it has said that the White House has maintained all back-up tapes since CREW filed suit. The issue of missing e-mails has been an ongoing controversy in the Bush administration, arising first during the CIA leak investigation, and again last year during controversy over the firings of eight US Attorneys. AP has more.

The court order can be read here.

Bush tries to push through Justice Dept appointment..Senate says not so fast frat boy.

From AP via TruthOut:

A nine-second session gaveled in and out by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., prevented Bush from appointing as an assistant attorney general a nominee roundly rejected by majority Democrats. Without the pro forma session, the Senate would be technically adjourned, allowing the president to install officials without Senate confirmation .

The business of blocking Bush’s recess appointments was serious. It represents an institutional standoff between Congress and the president that could repeat itself during Congress’ vacations for the remainder of Bush’s presidency.

Way to go Webb! Warms the cockles of my little black heart don’t you know? The individual in question is Steven Bradbury, acting chief of the Justice Department’s Office of Legislative Counsel. Bush nominated Bradbury for the job and asked the Senate to remove the “acting” in his title. Seems Bradbury signed two secret memo’s in 2005 that allowed the CIA to use “harsh interrogation techniques” on those damn terrorists.

Another interesting part of this cat and mouse game is that a bill sent to a president automatically becomes law 10 days after he receives it, excluding Sundays of course, unless he vetoes it:

That could be the fate of two bills Congress passed last week. One growing out of the Virginia Tech massacre makes it harder for people with mental illness records to buy guns. The other makes it easier for journalists and others to obtain government documents through the Freedom of Information Act. The FOIA bill, for example, would become law on New Year’s Eve if not vetoed before then, according to Senate Judiciary Committee officials.

The gun bill is H.R. 2640. The Freedom of Information Act bill is S. 2488.

Artwork courtesy of The Worried Shrimp

Tags: Recess appointment, Steven Bradbury, Justice Department, FOIA