Merry Fitzmas

Scooter Libby, indicted on five counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and Making false statements. Read the text of the indictment and accompanying information posted by the Department of Justice.

Merry Fitzmas.
God Bless Us Everyone.

Bush visit halts vital aid delivery

AP is reporting that

In St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, just south of New Orleans, victims of the hurricane are still waiting for food and water and for buses to escape the floodwaters, Melancon said. And for the entire time Bush was in the state, the congressman said, a ban on helicopter flights further stalled the delivery of food and supplies.

Worst Speech Ever

I didn't actually see Bush's speech to the nation in this terrible time — We don't watch TV — but the reviews aren't good.

Bush's War diverted the funds that could have saved New Orleans

It appears that the money has been moved in the president’s budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that’s the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can’t be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us.

-- Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; New Orleans Times-Picayune, June 8, 2004.

For more on how the War in Iraq cost us New Orleans

Read a Great Book: Women of the West by Dorothy Gray

This is a really great book to read right now. This is a book of short, well written profiles of extraordinary women in the American old west. The women come from all over the spectrum, but the one thing that they have in common is that they overcame tredmondous odds. I was inspired, unlifted and encouraged. Order it and read it and feel better about what we can accomplish today, Women of the West

Deal reached on Nuclear Option in the Senate

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS

We respect the diligent, conscientious efforts, to date, rendered to the Senate by Majority Leader Frist and Democratic Leader Reid. This memorandum confirms an understanding among the signatories, based upon mutual trust and confidence, related to pending and future judicial nominations in the 109th Congress.


This memorandum is in two parts. Part I relates to the currently pending judicial nominees; Part II relates to subsequent individual nominations to be made by the President and to be acted upon by the Senate’s Judiciary Committee.


We have agreed to the following:


Part I: Commitments on Pending Judicial Nominations


A. Votes for Certain Nominees. We will vote to invoke cloture on the following judicial nominees: Janice Rogers Brown (D.C. Circuit), William Pryor (11th Circuit), and Priscilla Owen (5th Circuit).


B. Status of Other Nominees. Signatories make no commitment to vote for or against cloture on the following judicial nominees: William Myers (9th Circuit) and Henry Saad (6th Circuit).


Part II: Commitments for Future Nominations


A. Future Nominations. Signatories will exercise their responsibilities under the Advice and Consent Clause of the United States Constitution in good faith. Nominees should only be filibustered under extraordinary circumstances, and each signatory must use his or her own discretion and judgment in determining whether such circumstances exist.


B. Rules Changes. In light of the spirit and continuing commitments made in this agreement, we commit to oppose the rules changes in the 109th Congress, which we understand to be any amendment to or interpretation of the Rules of the Senate that would force a vote on a judicial nomination by means other than unanimous consent or Rule XXII.


We believe that, under Article II, Section 2, of the United States Constitution, the word “Advice” speaks to consultation between the Senate and the President with regard to the use of the President’s power to make nominations. We encourage the Executive branch of government to consult with members of the Senate, both Democratic and Republican, prior to submitting a judicial nomination to the Senate for consideration.


Such a return to the early practices of our government may well serve to reduce the rancor that unfortunately accompanies the advice and consent process in the Senate.


We firmly believe this agreement is consistent with the traditions of the United States Senate that we as Senators seek to uphold.

San Diego

Just arrived home from a very refreshing week in San Diego. What a lovely town. Took the kids to the zoo, where my husband observed that the animals are fed an ultra healthy, nutrient rich diet, and the humans eat chemo-crap. We also visited the Star of India and the aircraft carrier Midway. The Flower Fields in Carlsbad are also quite spectacular.

Very pleasant trip, indeed. the biggest news is that I'm pregnant again. Baby is due at the end of the year. We will offiically be outnumbered. Everyone is hoping for a girl, even though everything I have already is for boys.

NPR sucks

I'm driving a rental car this week because the fuel pump died in my car. Anyway since it's a rental, I'm not listening to any of my music since I know I'll forget and leave the disc in the player. Which means the radio. I can't stand commerical radio, so it was either NPR or my own thoughts. I tunes into NPR.

Once upon a time we listened to nothing but our local public radio station. But over the last two years I've been growing increasingly unhappy with the NPR's news coverage. Dan Shore and Scott Simon are still wonderful but the rest are pretty biased, imho. I first noticed it when they began attacking Howard Dean. And then during the general election they gave way too much air time to the trivial and nothing to really substantial issues.

But today was the worst. Top story over and over was the shrub denouncing the Senate for being "political" and not confirming Bolton to the U.N. They played experts from his speech and quoted him and made it sound like the only thing holding but the nomination is the Democrats playing "politics." Nothing about how Republican senators are having doubts. Nothing about the increasingly substantiated charges against him. No news, just repeating endlessly Bush's lies.

I was actually considering rejoining our local station this past membership drive because they are nice folks, play nice classical music, even if their blues show is weak and jazz is nonexistent. What was I thinking?

Slime mold beetle named after Bush

Cheney and Rummy also get slime mold beetles of their own.

Spring at last

Lovely, lovely spring is finally here. It's currently 81 degrees here in Central PA. I had a great workout — did almost a mile on the treadmill, plus everything else. My trainer sure can pack a lot into an hour. I also clean out some kitchen cabinets and scrubbed all the bathrooms. Now we're off to the dairy for ice cream. Oh and I wrote a letter to Rick Santorum. But I don't know if I'll mail it or not. I may have to wait a bit. Looks like Casey Jr., son of the "beloved" late Governor, is running on the Democratic side. Casey is Catholic and anti-abortion, but he's a zillion times better than Santorum. Although both Joe Hoeffel and Barbara Hafer have apparently dropped out of the primary, I am intrigued by Chuck Pennacchio.

Out of touch

I know the pope died and that the Schiavo woman finally died. But aside from that I am woefully out of touch, delibrately so. I cancelled cable. I sometimes read Frank Rich's column in the NY Times, and an occasional book review, but that's about it. The rest is too depressing. NPR is no longer a trusted news source. Instead I'm rediscovering my old CDs, most of which I haven't listen to in ten years. Guess what. I still like them. I am getting my life in order so that when the time comes again to wage the good fight, I'll be ready.

In the meantime, I am lightening our load, so to speak. I took four bags of old clothes to Goodwill today. That's a total of fourteen bags, plus an armload of my husband's old suits. I am cleaninf out closets and cupboards like mad. We just have too much stuff. The rampant consumerism in this country is sickening.

Hello Spring

I had an excellent workout today. I can't believe what I am able to do. I still have bad pain, but I can finally see the day when I can start running again. I am getting my life back. Now if only I could get my country back as well.

A New Beginning

Today I finally sorted through all of my old Howard Dean campaign stuff — my lists of local members and my lists of addresses for Iowa and New Hampshire, the position papers and the fundraising letters, the official campaign literature and the stuff we made ourselves. Almost all of it went into a big plastic garbage bag to go out to the curb next trash day. I kept a few blue bumperstickers, a half dozen buttons, a pair of official bat-shaped pens, a Christmas card from Dr. Dean, a photo of the man, and a few "Commonsense" pamphlets.

After the media and the party power elite killed our campaign, I couldn't even bear to look at all that stuff. After a few months though, I started to warm up to Kerry. Late last summer I finally cleared all the Dean stuff off our dining room table and stuck in a crate. The crate went to the basement office. After the election, I couldn't face the crate. The betrayasl, the failures, the lies, the promise of what might have been.

But tomorrow Howard Dean is going to elected to head the Democratic National Committee. The one that all of the insiders tried so hard to discredit and destroy is rising again, like a phoenix.

UPDATE: Today's the day.

Please join me in contributing to the DNC through the Actblue account set up by Markos and other bloggers.

Contribution amount:
$

Foxes guarding the hen house?

I have been following the Gannon/Guckert story for a while on Daily Kos. It just keeps getting better and better. Now the New York Times has the story, but with the gay porn angle. Oh well, can't have everything. Have a great day!

You Have The Power

It's Dean. The last of the other candidates has dropped out.
You Have The Power Remix
Listening to him again and all I can think is I can't believe that this man is now going to lead the Democratic Party. It's a miracle. I do feel empowered.

Reid on Gonzales: No on torture.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid's statement on the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General:

We are a nation at war--a war in Iraq and a war against terrorism -- but this war does not give our civilian leaders the authority to cast aside the laws of armed conflict, nor does it allow our Commander in Chief to decide which laws apply and which laws do not apply. To do so puts, I repeat, our own soldiers and our Nation at risk. But that is what has occurred under the direction and coordination of the man seeking to be Attorney General of the United States, Alberto Gonzales, a man I personally like, but whose judgment on these very serious matters was flawed and is flawed. I have heard a great deal on this Senate floor about Judge Gonzales's background over the last few days, how his parents were migrant farm workers, and how he worked his way up from poverty. It is an inspiring story, and it is one that resonates with me. I met with Judge Gonzales after the President sent his nomination to the Senate. We talked about our childhoods, about coming from small rural towns, some would say without many advantages. The fact that someone from a place called Humble, TX, and someone from a place called Searchlight, NV, have had an opportunity to achieve their dream is what America is all
about.

But, embodying the American dream is not a sufficient qualification to be Attorney General of the United States. The Attorney General is the people's lawyer, not the President's lawyer. He is charged with upholding the Constitution and the rule of law. The Attorney General must be independent, and he must be clear that abuses by our Government will not be tolerated. Judge Gonzales's appearance before the Judiciary Committee raised serious questions about his ability to be that force in the Justice Department. That is why I am going to vote against him.

It looks like its Dean to head DNC

This is the best news in quite a while.

I have a reason to go on.

I have decided that there is a reason to keep fighting. Actually there is always a reason to keep fighting, but after last November, I felt badly discouraged. I'm not very good at fighting endlessly losing battles. But I have found one that is winnable. The defeat of PA GOP Senator Rick Santorum. There is no reason on earth that Pennsylvania, a blue state with a Democratic Governor that voted for Kerry should be represented by that slime. Who's with me?

Frank Rich must read column: False "Flagwaving" Friends

Amazing column by Frank Rich this morning. Please go read it now. The main point:

This time, paradoxically enough, it is often those who claim to love the troops the most - and who have the political power to help alleviate their sacrifice - who turn out to be the troops' false friends.

This column is right on the money. Rich exposed the hypocrisy of the Inaugural festivities honoring the troops; reviews a new movie aboutt the war, "Gunner Palace"; and concludes by stating,

...in patriotism as it's been redefined for this war, loving the troops means never having to say you're sorry - or even having to say the word Iraq in an Inaugural address.

Go read it now.

Insurgents hit inside "Green Zone"

How long before they admit we've lost?

Two Americans Dead in U.S. Embassy Bombing
Suicide Bomber Also Kills Eight in a Kurdish Town

By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press Writer
Saturday, January 29, 2005; 2:33 PM

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Insurgents hit the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad with a rocket, killing two Americans, set off explosions that killed eight Iraqis and a U.S. soldier and blasted polling places across the country Saturday as Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's government urged Iraqis to overcome their fear of violence and vote in landmark elections.

The strike in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone was a dramatic sign of guerrillas' ability to hit at the heart of power in Iraq even as the U.S. and Iraqi militaries took some of their strictest security measures ever for the election, imposing a strict lockdown in the capital and large parts of the country. read th rest

No on Alberto Gonzales

Grassroots Mom is joining the rest of blogshere in urging a "NO" on Alberto Gonzales for Attorney General.
The Daily Kos statement opposing Gonzales because it says it all.

No on Gonzales
by Armando
Tue Jan 25th, 2005 at 15:43:07 EST

Unprecedented times call for unprecedented actions. In this case, we, the undersigned bloggers, have decided to speak as one and collectively author a document of opposition. We oppose the nomination of Alberto Gonzales to the position of Attorney General of the United States, and we urge every United States Senator to vote against him.

As the prime legal architect for the policy of torture adopted by the Bush Administration, Gonzales's advice led directly to the abandonment of longstanding federal laws, the Geneva Conventions, and the United States Constitution itself. Our country, in following Gonzales's legal opinions, has forsaken its commitment to human rights and the rule of law and shamed itself before the world with our conduct at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. The United States, a nation founded on respect for law and human rights, should not have as its Attorney General the architect of the law's undoing.

In January 2002, Gonzales advised the President that the United States Constitution does not apply to his actions as Commander in Chief, and thus the President could declare the Geneva Conventions inoperative. Gonzales's endorsement of the August 2002 Bybee/Yoo Memorandum approved a definition of torture so vague and evasive as to declare it nonexistent. Most shockingly, he has embraced the unacceptable view that the President has the power to ignore the Constitution, laws duly enacted by Congress and International treaties duly ratified by the United States. He has called the Geneva Conventions "quaint."

Legal opinions at the highest level have grave consequences. What were the consequences of Gonzales's actions? The policies for which Gonzales provided a cover of legality - views which he expressly reasserted in his Senate confirmation hearings - inexorably led to abuses that have undermined military discipline and the moral authority our nation once carried. His actions led directly to documented violations at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo and widespread abusive conduct in locales around the world.

Michael Posner of Human Rights First observed: "After the horrific images from Abu Ghraib became public last year, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld insisted that the world should 'judge us by our actions [and] watch how a democracy deals with the wrongdoing and with scandal and the pain of acknowledging and correcting our own mistakes.'" We agree. It is because of this that we believe the only proper course of action is for the Senate to reject Alberto Gonzales's nomination for Attorney General. As Posner notes, "[t]he world is indeed watching." Will the Senate condone torture? Will the Senate condone the rejection of the rule of law?

With this nomination, we have arrived at a crossroads as a nation. Now is the time for all citizens of conscience to stand up and take responsibility for what the world saw, and, truly, much that we have not seen, at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere. We oppose the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General of the United States, and we urge the Senate to reject him.

Signed, Daily Kos Management (past and present):

Add my name to the list.

Sanity, At Last

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States should start to withdraw militarily and politically from Iraq and aim to pull out all troops as early as possible next year, Sen. Edward Kennedy said on Thursday.

After Sunday's Iraqi elections, Kennedy said President Bush should state he intends to negotiate a timetable with the new Iraqi government to draw down U.S. forces.

At least 12,000 U.S. troops should leave at once, Kennedy said, "to send a stronger signal about our intentions to ease the pervasive sense of occupation."

The Massachusetts Democrat, who opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq, became the first senator to lay out a plan for Bush to start withdrawing troops a day after the Pentagon warned lawmakers that strikes by insurgents may increase after Sunday's elections.

More.

No way is Bush going to do as Sen. Kennedy suggests. That would be giving into to the "liberals." But now that Ted Kennedy is on record as calling for a withdrawal because of our massive failure in Iraq, Bush can't pull out after the elections and claim victory. But he probably will anyway. Unless he keeps troops there to protect the oil companies.

Journalists on Bush's Payroll

Love For Sale
Great Maureen Dowd column this morning. The whole thing is great, so just go read it.

$80 Billion More for Bush's Folly

From Newsday
Opinion
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Can't count on president: Bush's equation for cutting the deficit amounts to nothing more than hype

There's a dreamy, delusional quality to George W. Bush's continued insistence that he will cut the federal budget deficit in half in four years.

The president said that again yesterday,shortly after requesting another $80 billion for the war in Iraq and projecting a record-setting deficit this year that will top last year's record-setting deficit.

Bush promised to lay out how he'll get from here to therenext week, when he presents his 2006 budget to Congress. Beware fuzzy math. It will take an amazing sleight of hand to make the numbers appear to add up.

Read the rest. What can I say? We can't afford this war, Mr. Bush. There was no threat. There is now, but only because our military is in target range. Stop spending my kids' future.

Deadilest Day So Far

AP reports

BAGHDAD, Iraq – A Marine transport helicopter crashed during sandstorms in Iraq's western desert Wednesday, killing 31 troops, while insurgents killed five other American military personnel in the deadliest day for U.S. forces since the Iraq war began.

Why are we still there? When is enough? How many more young kids will lose a mom or dad? How many more moms and dads will lose a son or daughter? Haven't Halliburton, Bechtel, and the rest of Bush's war-profiteering campaign donors stolen enough? Why are we there?

This blood is no longer just on George Bush's hands. Now this blood is on the hands of every American who voted for him, on every American who failed to vote against him, on every American who has not yet publically denounced this insanity, on every so-called Christian who preaches about the "culture of life" while supporting to this adminstration of Death.

Fundamentalists in Charge

How can the the leaders of the Christian Right call themselves Christians?
From Firedoglake

A coalition of Christian leaders, including Jerry Falwell and James Dobson, have sent a private letter to Karl Rove threatening to pull their support from Social Security Piratization if the Administration doesn't make good on their promise for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

Read the rest. Looks like these guys assume they're running the show now.

Where Have I Been?

I've been hiding out at my other blog. How much worse everything has become. If the aftermath of the 2000 election was a nightmare, 2004 was just too horrible to endure. Then the Tsunami. And the final insult today — most expensive inauguration ever. Why?

At least when I go somewhere, I still see Kerry bumper-stickers and always try to park next to a car sporting one, a useless gesture of solidarity.

This weekend I am going away for a little decadent R & R, okay, some exceedingly decadent R & R. Then I'm going to figure out where to go from here, in every sense.

They've Gone Too Far. SpongeBob?

My boys love SpongeBob SquarePants. Saturday mornings I stagger downstairs in search of coffee to find my dear husband curled up on the couch with his two boys all watching SpongeBob. I like SpongeBob. SpongeBob is hilarious. He is also — at least most of the time — polite, honest, hardworking, loyal, respectful, helpful, clean, optimistic and friendly, all things I want my kids to be. Also there are occasionally references to marine life that are actually factual. Ever see the way scallops are portrayed in SpongeBob? Well we saw some at an aquarium in Maine, and that is exactly the way they move.

But the wacko right has decided that SpongeBob is promoting bad values because he holds hands with Patrick. Mother to Dobson — children hold hands with each other. It is what we teach them to do. But of course, Dr. James C. Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, advoates child abuse.

The Perfect Cure for the Black Thursday Blues

Had my first workout with Julio, my very own personal trainer. Nothing like working out with a personal trainer to feel good, even if you are lying on ice afterward. To think that just 3 months ago I couldn't get out of bed. Life is good.

Goodbye and Good Riddance

The last days of 2003 were so full of hope. But 2004 began badly and ended worse. Last January, I hurt my back so badly that I am still in almost constant pain. Howard Dean's campaign of grassroots, reform and plain talk failed in Iowa where the party insiders picked John Kerry, the most cautious insider of all. Why, oh why, do we let a bunch of party hacks in Iowa pick our presidential candidates?

The war in Iraq is so awful I can't even think about it.

Then Bush sold the election in Ohio and Florida and no one seems to care.

Finally is the Tsunami.

I feel no hope for this new year.