Threat To Blogosphere Discovered

Onion Radio news has this important report on a threat to the blogosphere. Forewarned is forearmed.

(h/t the Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan)

Buh-bye

The Bush-appointed administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) has resigned, after being asked to submit her resignation. Lurita Doan entered the spotlight last year when it was disclosed that she urged the use of Federal GSA resources to help elect Republicans in 2006, in violation of the law (we don't need no stinkin' law, right?). This makes, what, 133 or so resignations of Bushies under a cloud of scandal? Heckuva job.

Final Trip

Albert Hofmann, the "father" of LSD, has died in Switzerland at the ripe age of 102. Hofmann discovered the psychedelic drug in 1938, and initially hoped that it would be used to treat mental disorders. Ironically, the abuse of LSD did more to create mental disorders than to resolve them.

In his later years, Hofmann wrote and lectured, taking many foreign trips. Using an airplane.

Hmmmm, Strange. . . .

The New York Daily News' Errol Louis reports (via Huffington Post) that the organizer of Rev. Jeremiah "Wrong" Wright's angry and bizarre appearance at the National Press Club was Dr. Barbara Reynolds, a supporter of Sen. Clinton.

Strange coincidence.

UPDATE: While it's most unlikely that Dr. Reynolds was acting on behalf of the Clinton campaign, bringing Wrong Wright to the National Press Club brought his idiocy to a head, and allowed Obama to break with it once and for all. So, thanks Dr. Reynolds. . .maybe.

Update: Where Is My Keyes?

Earlier this month, we alerted you to the plans of Alan "I Hear Voices Telling Me to Run" Keyes to leave the Republican Party and go for the nomination of the Constitution Party. Sadly, that didn't pan out. (As you check out Alan's comparing himself to a fetus, remember this is the guy the Republican Party in Illinois and Maryland ran for the United States Senate!)

The Wages of Cannibalism

... or "How the Democrats Blew the 2008 Election." We know, we know. It's not even May, but we see evidence piled on evidence that the ongoing battle between Obama and Clinton is in clear and present danger of wrecking the party. The "pro's" who insist there's still time to heal, and that the divisions created in this primary are nothing compared to past divisions, we believe are whistling past the graveyard (or are Clintonistas willing to wreck the party in fruitless pursuit of the nomination). We've been watching elections for well over 40 years, and this. is. not. good.

Meanwhile, the Rethugs and their wholly-owned media are trying (and so far succeeding) in remaking this into a "small" election, with no "small" assist from Rev. Wright. E.J. Dionne explains it best.

Hold On To Your Wallets

The price of a barrel of crude oil has reached a record $120. Just a few weeks ago, it had been $101.

With no energy policy in place that would lessen our dependence on foreign oil, we are taking it in the shorts every time we fill up the tank. We also know that some of that money is ending up in the hands of Islamic fundamentalist extremists, thanks to extortion money paid by our Saudi "allies" who fear a fundamentalist revolution in Saudi Arabia. But it's good to know we have a friend in high places of the Saudis.

McBush Roundup

The Daily Kos has a good summary of the "McBush's Rich Wife's Plane" kerfuffle. The gist is that McBush was using his beer- distributor- millionaire- wife's corporate jet in the campaign -- not technically illegal, but somewhat hypocritical based on McBush's earlier statements. Once again, it is the appearance of fudging, of shading the truth, of being less than the straight talker that may cause this to resonate for a few days before the McBush-adoring, short attention span media move on.

Also, following his Pennsylvania primary showing (completely ignored by the media), where Ron Paul (nominally still in the race) and Mike Huckabee (out for some time) together polled over 25% of the Republican primary vote, another bad sign for the presumptive Rethug nominee, this time from Nevada.

Heckuva Week To Stop Inhaling Helium

On this morning's "Fox and Friends" show, as reported by the Huffington Post, the show's anchors took turns inhaling from helium-filled balloons, after seeing a clip of singer Lionel Ritchie doing the same. They then proceeded to chirp out their lines from the teleprompters. Seriously.

We suggest that they run a story about sniffing airplane glue, and then go for it themselves.

(photo: "This glue ain't bad. Back to Fox and Friends in the studio")

Af-gone-istan: All Is Not Well

The assassination attempt on Afghan President Karzai in Kabul should remind everyone just how tenuous the situation is in Afghanistan, and for that matter in neighboring Pakistan. It comes only a few months after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan by extremists.

In the nearly seven years after 9/11, the Taliban and al Qaeda have mobilized and reestablished themselves in Afghanistan and nuclear Pakistan. The bulk of our forces remain trapped in Iraq, acting as armed referees for their sectarian conflicts. The ragtag group known as "al Qaeda in Iraq" was always a minor presence, and can now be seen as al Qaeda's diversion to draw our attention and resources away from Afghanistan/Pakistan. It worked. Our occupation of Iraq became al Qaeda's recruiting poster in the Muslim world, and Dumbya happily peddled the lie that Iraq was the war on terror's "central front," as the group that attacked us on 9/11 gathered strength on the true central front: Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Nobody Left To Blame

Now that former Pentagon #3 man Doug "Whiz Kid" Feith has written his fictional version of the lead up to the Iraq War, one theme stands out: everybody else but Whiz was to blame for the fiasco. The WaPo has a synopsis of his statements from his book, where Whiz makes covering your backside an art form. Among the people he blames are (deep breath) Colin Powell, Richard Armitage, Condi Rice, Tommy Franks, Paul Bremer, Donald Rumsfeld, and, yes, Dumbya for not stifling objections at the State Department.

This is the guy that Gen. Tommy Franks once called "the dumbest f*cking guy on the planet," and that former administrator Gen. Jay Garner called "incredibly dangerous. . . a smart guy whose electrons aren't connected." Whiz said in a "60 Minutes" interview that he didn't think the case for the Iraq war needed to be based on their having WMD. Oh really? That was far and away the main reason for the preemptive strike. Saddam was going to provide WMD to al Qaeda, remember the story?

If there's any justice in the world, someday Whiz will be confined to a small prison cell, where he can commune with the cockroaches, and blame the warden and guards for his predicament.

Still Not Adding Up

McCainsian economics is still not adding up. Jonathan Weisman, in today's WaPo, has this piece detailing McBush's support for tax policies he once opposed (or, as the Rebunglecans would say "He was against them before he was for them.").

Also, this inadvertent "point-counterpoint" from the op/ed page of today's WaPo:

"Voters who might wonder about Sen. John McCain's economic policies need look no further than [McCain advisor] Phil Gramm and his decades of service as Congress' most fiscally responsible member." Lawrence Di Rita, former issues director for Phil Gramm's (Rethug-TX) 1996 presidential campaign, letter to the WaPo.

"While both Democratic candidates would spend far more on new programs than Mr. McCain would, the Republican's proposals for new tax cuts dwarf the Democrats' plans. The Democrats are clearer than Mr. McCain -- though that's a relative term -- about how they would foot the bill. Still, no one's winning any awards this campaign season for fiscal responsibility." Editorial, 4/25/08 WaPo.

Not to worry, Mr. Di Rita, we're looking no further.

Already Forgetting The Forgotten

Sen. John McBush has finished his "Forgotten America" photo opp tour of economically depressed areas. He must have wanted to discuss his policy on capital gains taxes with the poor. Well, yesterday he ended his "tour" in Baton Rouge as a guest speaker at a banquet. Sponsored by Business Report and Junior Achievement, the banquet had tables priced from $550 (seating 8) to $700 (seating 10). After posing with the poor folks, it was nice that McBush was able to return to the people he's more comfy with.

Science And Dumbya Don't Mix

Think Progress notes that the Union of Concerned Scientists have issued a report that says some 60% of the staff scientists at the Environmental Protection Agency have experienced at least one instance of political interference over the last five years from Bushies. Some of the examples include use of selective or incomplete data, misrepresentation of scientists' findings, and inability to openly express concerns. Undoubtedly, a review of other Federal agencies involved in scientific or medical studies would disclose similar abuses of power.

The sheer lawless arrogance of this Assministration is breathtaking. Playing with the health and wellbeing of American citizens to push a rightwing political agenda is unforgiveable.

What The?

Via Talking Points Memo, we see where Clinton Campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe praises Fux News for being the first to call the Pennsylvania primary for Sen. Clinton. That's not such a big deal, but he goes on to mouth the Rethuglican network's slogan: "fair and balanced." McAuliffe's always been a rather slippery gladhander, but this was an unsolicited pander to the Rethug network. Maybe he's looking for work after the end of the campaign.

(photo: McAuliffe, left, with his friends, Tony "Blows" Snow, and Tom "Bug Man" Delay)