Stubborn Sodomite 3: The Chickens Come Home To Roost (With Update)

No decision yet on the Senator Larry Craig Gay Sex Scandal case:

U.S. Sen. Larry Craig said this week he won't resign until "legal determinations" are made, CNN reported Wednesday.

If his hearing Wednesday in Minnesota doesn't result in a fast and determinant action, that could mean Craig won't resign by his self-imposed deadline of this Sunday.

CNN further quotes a "political source involved in discussions about the case," who said "Craig has made it clear he wants to find a way to stay in office."

Craig said Wednesday morning in Washington that he didn't expect a ruling today, CNN reported, but he said he would have a statement later in the day.

A friend sent me an e-mail yesterday commenting on how much I must be enjoying this scandal, and he's right. I really am enjoying it. In fact, I hope the judge throws out Craig's guilty plea. If that happens, I'd probably never stop laughing.

You see, many years ago, the GOP made a decision. It decided that government was a bad thing, so it set out on a mission to destroy it (or, as Grover Norquist once said, to shrink it down to a size where it can be drown in a bathtub). And the consequence of such a strategy is that the GOP really has nothing to offer.

After all, if you truly want to help people in this country and you are in government, the bottom line is that it costs money to do that and it's pretty hard to find the necessary funds when you are cutting taxes for the very rich while trying to pay for an illegal war.

So what do you do? You push an agenda that doesn't cost very much. For example, you attack people who want to pull the plug on Terri Schiavo's body, and even have your Idiot President fly in during the middle of the night to sign "emergency" legislation to save poor Terri. Or you attack a liberal group for having the nerve to go after a general who got caught shilling for the Bush Regime. Or you propose an anti-flag burning amendment. Or you attack gay marriage specifically and gay people generally.

And in order to do those things, you have to make a deal with the devil. Indeed, the G.O.P. has made a deal with a whole shitload of devils, namely, the radical religious right as well as the religious right's Coulter-Limbaugh-Hannity-O'Reilly mouthpieces.

Laura Bush recently described Karl Rove as a "necessary evil." Well, the religious right and Limbaughs of the world that spread the religious right's message of hate were clearly necessary evils for the Republicans. And when you make a deal with devils such as these, eventually the time comes when you have to pay up.

Recent payments have come in the forms of the Foley Scandal and the Ted Haggard Scandal and the Larry Craig Scandal. But something tells me all these "gay Republican" scandals will merely be the first in a long line of payments that the GOP will have to make before November 2008.

UPDATE: And speaking of hate groups from the Extreme Christian Right, Focus on the Family is laying off 30 employees and reassigning 15 others:

Most of the layoffs are in the organization's Constituent Response Services department that answers mail and telephone requests.

A drop in projected revenue played a part in the layoffs, and the growth of e-mail and Internet-based communications is behind the reassignments, said Gary Schneeberger, vice president of communications.

A "drop in projected revenue." I like the sound of that.

This Is An Outrage!

I demand a full Congressional investigation NOW!

A newspaper is apologizing for an ad-rate error in the MoveOn "Betray Us" controversy — and it isn't The New York Times.

The Minnespolis Star Tribune has now admitted that they charged Republican Senator Norm Coleman too little when he took out a full-page ad bashing the MoveOn piece and attacking Al Franken for not distancing himself from it. The paper charged Coleman only $23,000, when the rate should have been $37,000.

"A new sales rep made a mistake and gave the Coleman campaign a rate from the local retail rate card, rather than the national rate card," said Benjamin Taylor, the paper's senior vice president for communications and marketing. "We only discovered the mistake when the Franken campaign complained."

In order to correct the situation, the paper is refunding Franken's campaign $12,165 from a full-page ad they took out two months ago — less than the rate error in Coleman's case, but adjusted for the different days when their respective spots were printed.

Clearly, Norm Coleman and the Star Tribune's editor-in-chief hate our troops, and both should be jailed -- and, of course, tortured -- pending the Congressional hearings. I'm so angry right now I can barely type.

Quote Of The Day

I'm a little worried about upcoming fights over funding for Iraq, inasmuch as they might distract us from discussing the Moveon ad.

From Matt Stoller at Open Left (via TPM).

Great Blumenthal Piece On Bush

Sidney Blumenthal's recent Salon piece is definitely worth reading. He starts out by giving us this dead-on summary of the whole General Petraeus deal:

After Bush pretended to deliberate over whether he would agree to his own policy as presented by his general in well-rehearsed performances before Congress -- "President Bush Accepts Recommendations" read a headline on the White House Web site -- he established an ideal division of responsibility. Bush could claim credit for the "Return on Success," whenever that might be, while Petraeus would be charged with whatever might go wrong.

Arguing that Bush has entered "a phase of decadent perversity," Blumenthal summarizes the president's current state of mind this way:

In his unstoppable commentary about himself, Bush has become as certain of his exalted place in history as he is of his policy's rightness. He projects his image into the future, willing his enshrinement as a great president. History has become a magical incantation for him, a kind of prayerful refuge where he is safe from having to think in the present. For Bush, history is supernatural, a deus ex machina, nothing less than a kind of divine intervention enabling him to enter presidential Valhalla. Through his fantasy about history as afterlife -- the stairway to paradise -- he rationalizes his current course.

I almost felt sorry for Bush as I was reading Blumenthal's article. But that feeling faded away as Blumenthal revealed just how much of a jerk Bush really is, doing so simply by using statements that Bush himself made to Robert Draper, his authorized biographer:

Draper's unusual access enabled him to collect valuable anecdotes as well as to put a microphone in front of a president who, when interrupted by an aide, told him not to worry because the interview was "worthless."

Bush's idiocy was in full view during Draper's interview. I laughed out loud when I read that Bush actually said this about his dad: "He knows as an ex-president, he doesn't have nearly the amount of knowledge I've got on current things." That's hysterical, particularly when you consider that this is the same guy whose eyes glazed over when Paul O'Neill, Bush's former Treasury Secretary, tried to explain some important treasury-connected matters to the president.

And I found this part of Blumenthal's article very interesting:

Those around him have learned how to manipulate him through the art of flattery. Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld played Bush like a Stradivarius, exploiting his grandiosity. "Rumsfeld would later tell his lieutenants that if you wanted the president's support for an initiative, it was always best to frame it as a 'Big New Thing.'" Other aides played on Bush's self-conception as "the Decider." "To sell him on an idea," writes Draper, "aides were now learning, the best approach was to tell the president, This is going to be a really tough decision." But flattery always requires deference. Every morning, Josh Bolten, the chief of staff, greets Bush with the same words: "Thank you for the privilege of serving today."

Something tells me that the next 16 months just might be the longest 16 months in American history. God help us all.

The "Petraeus/BetrayUs" Scandal: It Could Have Been A Lot Worse

Just in case you haven't heard, the Senate yesterday passed a measure condemning MoveOn.org for an ad it ran in the New York Times last week attacking Gen. David Petraeus. The General's last name just happens to rhyme with "Betray Us," and MoveOn took full advantage of this remarkable coincidence by running an ad which suggested (gasp!) that Petraeus' report on the Iraq War might not have exactly reflected the reality on the ground over there.

What MoveOn did was awful -- it had to have been, given that 23 brave Democratic Senators voted "yes" on yesterday's measure. I mean, all the General did was act as a shill for the Bush Regime by going before Congress and essentially lying about how well the Iraq War was going, using statistics that could best be described as dubious and at worst be described as outright fabrications.

And what's so bad about that? All the General did was pretty much act like just about every other BushCo political operative who has appeared before Congress during the last six years. Yet MoveOn viciously attacked him for it.

Now the entire country is in an uproar over what MoveOn did -- and by "entire country," I mean a few Republican Senators and some people over at FoxNews.

But I'm thinking that this scandal could have been a lot worse. Let's face it: having the last name of "Petraeus" is really pretty innocuous in the grand scheme of things because the only good rhyme that can be made from such a name is "Betray Us."

Indeed, I think we lucked out big time on that score because the General, after all, could have had a name like Prothermucker, or BumSchlitt, or Crasshole, or Tritt Sorbains, or Pumbfruck, or Benedict Arnold, or Shinseki-Naught, or Ausekrisser. I mean, the list of possible -- and far worse -- names he could have had is virtually endless.

I think the country really dodged a bullet here.

Corruption Upon Corruption (With Update)

This article about bank robberies in Iraq is very interesting, particularly this part:

Firas Ali Suleiman, a driver for the Bank of Baghdad described how a van carrying $1.6m from its Hilla branch to Baghdad was ambushed. "It was a Kia van and it was not armoured, but we had four guards with the money inside," he said.

"We were stopped at a checkpoint in Audiya run by the Ministry of Interior commandos. They ordered the back door to be opened and saw the money. The guards were called out and then put in handcuffs and hooded. I could hear them talking about the money and then they took the money out. I was told to drive away and I called the manager on my mobile and told him what happened.

"The next roadblock was by the Mehdi Army (Shia militia). I think they, too, were expecting to get some money but, by then, of course, it was gone. The police were called later but they did nothing."

Khalid Mohammed, the manager called by Mr Suleiman, is convinced most of the robberies take place with inside help.

You think?

Geesus, if this stuff wasn't so depressing, it would be funny as hell. I love it how the dudes at the Mehdi Army roadblock were also expecting a big payoff, only to find out that the commandos for the Ministry of Interior got to the money first.

And who can forget this oldie but goodie:

Nearly $9 billion of money spent on Iraqi reconstruction is unaccounted for because of inefficiencies and bad management, according to a watchdog report published Sunday.

An inspector general's report said the U.S.-led administration that ran Iraq until June 2004 is unable to account for the funds.

"Severe inefficiencies and poor management" by the Coalition Provisional Authority has left auditors with no guarantee the money was properly used," the report said.

I just love how our president objects "on philosophical grounds" to a bipartisan Senate proposal to boost the State Children's Health Insurance Program by $35 billion over a five-year period, but has no problem dumping hundreds of billions of our tax dollars into the bottomless pit known as the Iraq Debacle.

The phrase "Worst President Ever" doesn't begin to address the level of corruption and incompetence of the Bush Regime.

UPDATE: I was listening to Bush's press conference this morning, and he was asked whether he was worried about a recession. He responded that the questioner should ask an economist about that, because he (Bush) only got a "B" in economics. Then Bush said something to the effect that he gets an "A" for keeping taxes low and being fiscally responsible with taxpayers' money.

Is he f*&king kidding me?

Quote Of The Week

"No, Larry Craig walked over to me and was talking to me about some procedural issues. He is a member of the Senate. So am I."

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), snapping back at a reporter after he was asked whether he approached Sen. Larry Craig (R-Gomorrah) on the Senate floor yesterday.

And speaking of unpopular politicians, this is interesting:

President George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress registered record-low approval ratings in a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday, and a new monthly index measuring the mood of Americans dipped slightly on deepening worries about the economy.

Only 29 percent of Americans gave Bush a positive grade for his job performance, below his worst Zogby poll mark of 30 percent in March. A paltry 11 percent rated Congress positively, beating the previous low of 14 percent in July.

Do you think these low poll numbers -- both for Bush and for Congress -- might have something to do with the Iraq Debacle?

Crater Lake Trip

Linda and I spent two nights at Crater Lake Lodge last weekend. Even though it is only a two-hour drive from Bend, I hadn't been to the Park in 13 years and it is very easy to forget just how spectacular the lake is.

We had a corner room in the lodge with a great view of the lake from both windows. At left is a photo of the view from the front window of our room.

The last time I stayed there -- back in 1973 -- the lodge was in pretty bad shape, but the building was completely renovated in the early 90s and it is now a comfortable place to stay.

The photo at right was taken from the overlook located near the lodge. It is a 900-foot drop to the lake from there. No photo can really do justice to how blue the water is, but you kind of get the idea.

At left is a photo of Linda on the top of Watchman Overlook. It took a short hike to get up there, but the view was great (Watchman is about 2000 feet above the lake's surface).


Watchman, which is an historic fire lookout station, provides the Park's best view of Wizard Island (right).


If you live in the Northwest and have never visited Crater Lake, then do yourself a favor and go there. It is definitely worth seeing. I'll try to post more photos later.

Pelosi Nails It

OK, I know what Nancy Pelosi said was obvious, but at least a prominent Democrat is saying it:

When top Democratic leaders visited him at the White House this week, President Bush told them he wanted to “find common ground” on Iraq. But when the president said he planned to “start doing some redeployment,” the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, cut him off.

“No you’re not, Mr. President,” Ms. Pelosi interjected. “You’re just going back to the presurge level.”

What I like about this whole redeployment deal is that the "Surge" troops would have to be out by April 2008 anyway:

[S]enior military leaders -- including Adm. Michael Mullen, incoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- have acknowledged that the "surge" effectively will end in April because there are no fresh replacements.

Interestingly enough, I've noticed that a lot of folks in the Corporate Media aren't buying into BushCo's "redeployment" bullshit either, which is good.

This Really Sucks

From Daily Kos:

Two of the seven soldiers who wrote the New York Times op-ed piece criticizing U.S. counterinsurgency strategy 3 ½ weeks ago have been killed in Iraq. Yance T. Gray and Omar Mora died Monday in a vehicle accident in Baghdad. The AP has reported on Yance Gray here, and KHOU, a Houston-area TV station has reported on Omar Mora here. Their families have been notified.

The Old Bait and Switch

I've managed to listen to a little bit of General Petraeus' bullshit with regard to "The Surge." Just a few moments ago, the proceedings were interrupted by some protesters in the audience who were promptly arrested. Good for them, because this whole thing really is just a load of crap.

As you may remember, "The Surge" was sold to the American people as a short-term increase in troops, and if it didn't work, then a change of strategy with regard to Iraq would be in order. But Petraeus said today that it is his hope the United States can get our military presence in Iraq down to pre-surge levels (i.e, 130,000 troops or thereabouts) by next summer.

Based on what I've seen in some polls, the majority of Americans simply aren't buying into all this BushCo horseshit. But for some reason, the Democrats are running scared and are probably going to give Bush everything he wants (which of course means that we will be in Iraq long after Bush leaves the White House).

I've never been more proud of my decision to leave the Democrat Party than I am right now.

Great Chip Bok Cartoon

From the Akron Beacon Journal (hat tip to Todd):

Did BushCo Create Fake Photos Of Iraqi Drones?

This is interesting:

Add faked photos to the list of lies told by the Bush–Cheney Administration before its invasion of Iraq.

In a town hall meeting in Bloomsburg, Pa., this week, Rep. Paul Kanjorski, a 12-term congressman, said that shortly before Congress was scheduled to vote on authorizing military force against Iraq, top officials of the CIA showed select members of Congress three photographs it alleged were Iraqi Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), better known as drones. Kanjorski said he was told that the drones were capable of carrying nuclear, biological, or chemical agents, and could strike 1,000 miles inland of east coast or west coast cities.

Kanjorski said he and four or five other congressmen in the room were told there may be drones on freighters headed to the U.S. Both secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and President Bush wandered into and out of the briefing room, Kanjorski said.

Kanjorski said it was the second time he was called to the White House for a briefing. He had opposed giving the President the powers to go to war, and said that he hadn’t changed his mind after a first meeting. Until he saw the pictures, Kanjorski said, “I hadn’t thought that Iraq was a threat.” That second meeting changed everything. After he left that meeting, said Kanjorski, he was willing to give the President the authorization he wanted since the drones “represented an imminent danger.”

Kanjorski said he went to see Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), a retired Marine colonel. Murtha, said Kanjorski, “turned white” when told about the drones; Murtha, a former intelligence officer, believed that such information was classified.

Several years later, Kanjorski said he learned that the pictures were “a god-damned lie,” apparently taken by CIA photographers in the desert in the southwest of the U.S. The drone story itself had already been disproved, although not many major media carried that story. * * *

Needless to say, if photos were indeed fabricated, then this is a big story. Everybody knows that the Bush Regime cherry-picked intelligence to support the 2003 Iraq invasion. Bush had made up his mind in early 2002 to invade Iraq , and the Downing Street Memos revealed that "the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy." What this meant in real terms was that solid evidence showing that Iraq did not possess WMD was ignored while flimsy evidence that Iraq had WMD -- including "evidence" provided by a drunken, crazy person -- was hyped aggressively.

But this is the first report -- as far as I know -- of U.S. operatives actually fabricating evidence during the run-up to the Iraq invasion. It will be interesting to see how this story plays out.

The Stubborn Sodomite, Part II (With Updates)

Yes!! (from the AP):

Sen. Larry Craig is reconsidering his decision to resign after his arrest in a Minnesota airport sex sting and may still fight for his Senate seat, his spokesman said Tuesday evening.

"It's not such a foregone conclusion anymore, that the only thing he could do was resign," said Sidney Smith, Craig's spokesman in Idaho's capital. * * *

I love it. All the Democrats need to do on this one is simply sit back and enjoy the show.

UPDATE: This is from a TPM reader:

If Sen. Larry Craig reconsiders and steps all over Gen. Petraeus' week of surge, Bill Kristol's head will explode. That Pentagon media war room they set up will be useless in the face of this cable TV zoo.

Exactly right. BushCo, its apologists, and the Pentagon are wildly spinning their "The Surge Is A Success!!" fabrication as best they can right now, only to have Senator Craig step up and cause yet another big distraction.

But perhaps this distraction is for the best. After all, BushCo's lying with regard to the "success" of The Surge is so transparent that even Wolf Blitzer is calling them on it.

UPDATE II: Although I think the Democrats should pretty much remain silent on this whole Craig deal, I would love to see gay rights groups come out solidly in favor of Senator Craig remaining in the Senate.

Don't get me wrong -- this is already a great "scandal." Indeed, it definitely has the potential of replacing PenisGate as my all-time favorite. But I would never stop laughing if gay rights groups came out in favor of Craig.

Bush's Life As An Ex-President

From the New York Times:

When President Bush is asked what he plans to do when he leaves office, he often replies curtly: “I don’t have that much time to think beyond my presidency” or “I’m going to sprint to the finish.”

But in an interview with a book author in the Oval Office one day last December, he daydreamed about the next phase of his life, when his time will be his own.

First, Mr. Bush said, “I’ll give some speeches, just to replenish the ol’ coffers.” With assets that have been estimated as high as nearly $21 million, Mr. Bush added, “I don’t know what my dad gets — it’s more than 50-75” thousand dollars a speech, and “Clinton’s making a lot of money.”

Then he said, “We’ll have a nice place in Dallas,” where he will be running what he called “a fantastic Freedom Institute” promoting democracy around the world. But he added, “I can just envision getting in the car, getting bored, going down to the ranch.”

This article got me thinking about just what kind of life Bush will have as a former president. Will there be any interest in hearing him speak after January 2009, given that by then he will undoubtedly be viewed as the worst president in American history? Will he be able to demand more money per speech because he was the worst? Will people still protest him after he leaves office?

And what about world travel for Bush? He is so thoroughly hated around the world now that foreign cities basically have to be locked down when he visits them. Will such measures still be necessary after he leaves office?

I can't wait to get answers to these questions. Unfortunately, January 2009 is still a long ways off.