Remember When Bush Was Accused Of Politicizing The Justice Department?

Well, I guess we'll hear all kinds of hue and cry from The Deciders over what may be happening to the Federal Prosecutor looking into John Edwards and the former (Democrat) Governor of North Carolina.

The process gives a key role in the decision to U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, a Democrat who was in the state Senate leadership for several years until she unseated Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole in November. Already, Hagan has formed a panel to screen candidates. It is led by Burley Mitchell, former chief justice of the N.C. Supreme Court who now works at the Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice law firm.

Interviews were scheduled for last week and this one, and Mitchell said he expects to forward the name of a preferred candidate to Hagan by midweek. "We're definitely working on those right now," Hagan said in an interview Wednesday. "And hopefully within the next few weeks we can go forward."

Hagan said any movement is coincidental to continuing investigations.

"The president has asked us to submit nominations for these positions, ... so we've been working on this," Hagan said. "It doesn't have anything to do with any cases that are going on. But we're certainly trying to move forward."

Edwards, a former senator, vice presidential nominee and presidential candidate, has acknowledged the federal investigation into whether any money given to his presidential campaign -- or to nonprofits connected to his campaign -- was funneled to his girlfriend, Rielle Hunter. Edwards has admitted having an affair with Hunter, who was hired to make short videos for the campaign.

Easley, governor from 2001 until January, was the subject of a federal subpoena issued Friday to the state Highway Patrol. The FBI wants records and information related to Easley's private air travel. A separate state Board of Elections inquiry also is under way into a range of activities.

Those probes follow reports in The News & Observer about Easley receiving the free use of cars, free flights on jets owned by supporters, and his relationship with McQueen Campbell. Campbell was chairman of the N.C. State University Board of Trustees until he resigned Friday. Federal investigators have asked for information about the cars and about a Carteret County land development where Easley bought a lot.

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The NYT's Public Editor Responds To His Employer's Critics

Ever since Clark Hoyt came along to be the NYT's "Public Editor", he has done quote the job trying to spin, deflect, and shoo away charges of bias and agenda setting by The Newspaper of Record.

Well, I think he outdid himself with his spin over the accusation that the paper spiked a story related to Obama's ACORN ties.

The story involved allegations that Barack Obama's campaign, in league with Acorn, a left-leaning community activist group, was guilty of technical violations of campaign finance law. Evidence supplied by the source could not be verified. Even if the story had panned out, it is hard to see how any editor could have regarded it as momentous enough to change an election in which the Republicans were saddled with an unpopular war and an economic meltdown.

Coloring mine.

Hey fuckstick, that didn't stop you from running story after story claiming that McCain had affairs with lobbyists and unsavory ties to businesses THAT YOU NEVER HAVE FUCKING RETRACTED. And what about story after story about Sarah Plain's daughter's pregnancy, or clothes donated to her by the RNC, or Cindy McCain's Houses, claiming they were so fucking important that they warranted above the fold coverage?

Oh, and "techincal violations"? SO FUCKING WHAT? You have run story after story over the years attacking Republicans over "techincal violations", going so far in 2002 to accuse then President Bush of insider trading back in his Arbusto Oil days over "technical violations". But now, Cocksucker Clark is worried about techinicalities, because it might harm his candidate of choice? Why not let the readers decide if it is a technicality or a big deal? Or is that too fucking difficult?

 This is just hardening my resolve to celebrate when V-NYT Day occurs.

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Bigmouth strikes again

Sometimes I wonder if Pluggy's mouth is actually connected with his brain:

Vice President Joe Biden, well-known for his verbal gaffes, may have finally outdone himself, divulging potentially classified information meant to save the life of a sitting vice president.

According to a report, while recently attending the Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, an annual event where powerful politicians and media elite get a chance to cozy up to one another, Biden told his dinnermates about the existence of a secret bunker under the old U.S. Naval Observatory, which is now the home of the vice president.

The bunker is believed to be the secure, undisclosed location former Vice President Dick Cheney remained under protection in secret after the 9/11 attacks.

Thank God we dodged a bullet by not having that stupid-ass, unsophisticated snowbilly Sarah Palin a heartbeat away from the presidency, huh?

Yeah.

Posted by: Sean M. at 07:31 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Hobos Given A Sanctioned Place To gather And Drink? What Could Go Wrong?

Oh, and what is better? The fact that Hope and Change may be helping pay for this.

Dubbed a "wet shelter" at City Hall - though it's long term housing, not a shelter - it would consist of 25 units in six buildings to be renovated along Odeon Street by Over-the-Rhine Community Housing, with help from the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC), which is leading the neighborhood's renaissance. The program would lease apartments to 25 of the hardest-to-serve homeless people – chronic alcoholics and those who are long-term homeless people in and out of the Drop Inn Center emergency shelter.

The Jimmy Heath House, named after a once homeless alcoholic and Cincinnati photographer who died in 2007, would follow the "housing first" model to battle homelessness being used by groups in Los Angeles, New York City and increasingly more cities around the country. Proponents believe getting clients into housing quickly, rather than giving them a shelter bed for the night, puts them in a more stable place to take advantage of whatever services they need to work on their addictions or other issues.

Studies, including one about a Seattle shelter published in last month's Journal of the American Medical Association, have shown Housing First facilities save communities money by keeping homeless people out of jail and out of emergency rooms. The study also found that clients still drank less over time, even though they were allowed to drink on the premises.

"It's very odd," Councilman Chris Bortz said of the idea that clients would be allowed to continue drinking on the premises, something that's not allowed by other shelters. "This is precarious. This is a new model."

Thanks, Barry.

 

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Round and round

Remember how, for a long time, the left thought that the CIA was evil?  Back during the bad old days of the Cold War?  And then, once a Republican president was in office, certain people from the CIA* (and their cough husbands) suddenly became heroes when there were some leaks? Leaks that they thought might be damaging?

Yeah, well, we've come full circle.


*Anybody remember anything about this band?

Posted by: Sean M. at 02:20 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Thought I knew her, this lady. Opportunist - MISLED

So now Nancy Pelosi says that the Bush administration misled her. The CIA misleads her all the time. And she was so busy trying to get control of Congress from those Republican meanies, that she overlooked dealing with the interrogation techniques she was briefed misled on as far back as 2003. But, um, she wasn't really briefed. She was informed that someone else was briefed on it. I guess that means she was misled by "someone else" too.

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IVAW Pwn3d!

One of their prominent activists?  Yeah, mental patient that lied about serving in the military.

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Charles Schumer, 2004

 

more...

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Obama's Plan: Women And Minorities Hardest Hit

Not surprisingly, Obama's Cap and Trade is nothing more than a regressive tax that will hurt the poorest the most.

Mr. Obama's biggest proposed tax increase is the cap-and-trade system of requiring businesses to buy carbon dioxide emission permits. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the proposed permit auctions would raise about $80 billion a year and that these extra taxes would be passed along in higher prices to consumers. Anyone who drives a car, uses public transportation, consumes electricity or buys any product that involves creating CO2 in its production would face higher prices.

CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf testified before the Senate Finance Committee on May 7 that the cap-and-trade price increases resulting from a 15% cut in CO2 emissions would cost the average household roughly $1,600 a year, ranging from $700 in the lowest-income quintile to $2,200 in the highest-income quintile. Since the amount of cap-and-trade tax rises with income, the cap-and-trade tax has the same kind of adverse work incentives as the income tax. And since the purpose of the cap-and-trade plan is to discourage the consumption of CO2-intensive products, energy or means of transportation by raising their cost to consumers, the consumer-price increases would be the same for a 15% reduction in C02 even if the government decides to give away some of the CO2 emissions permits.

But while the cap-and-trade tax rises with income, the relative burden is greatest for low-income households. According to the CBO, households in the lowest-income quintile spend more than 20% of their income on energy intensive items (primarily fuels and electricity), while those in the highest-income quintile spend less than 5% on those products.

The CBO warns that the estimate of an $80 billion-a-year tax increase could be significantly higher or lower, depending on how the program is designed. The Waxman-Markey bill currently before Congress calls for reducing greenhouse gasses 20% by 2020 and by an incredible 83% by 2050. As the government reduces the amount of CO2 that is allowed, the price of the CO2 permits would rise and the pass-through to consumer prices would also increase.

Thanks to MCPO

 

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Fast Eddie's latest jackassery

FAIL,

Gov. Rendell is notifying nearly 80,000 state workers today by email that they will stop being paid in the event of a budget impasse – but should continue showing up to work.

Nice.

The GOP holds the Senate in PA, and the Democrats have the House.  The Senate GOPers are demanding expense cuts in the budget, and the Democrats haven't found someone to sell out yet, or aren't willing to offer up the kind of political goodie bag potential sellouts may want, apparently. 

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Nancy Pelosi Is Not Exactly Having A Great Week

First, Granny McBotox is caught in the middle of the CIA Waterboarding Debate, Who Knew What Edition, but she seems to need a refresher course on American History, especially with regards to Medicare.

Mr. President, may I say something? You talked about what happened this week, but I think it's important to note that under your leadership, since you became President, whether it was signing and taking the lead on the SCHIP, the children's health insurance, or the health IT that is in the recovery package, or other legislation that has gone along. You, under your leadership and working with this Congress, have done more to promote healthcare to move it along, prevention, technology, the biomedical research, children's health, veterans' health, than has been done in our country since Medicare was established in the '50s. So, already you have a remarkable record where down the path we're going to get the job done. But I thank you for the leadership you have provided already this year.  

Umm.....no.

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I have a headache

So, we're supposed to tax soda to pay for Obamacare, but...

Proponents of the tax cite research showing that consuming sugar-sweetened drinks can lead to obesity, diabetes and other ailments. They say the tax would lower consumption, reduce health problems and save medical costs. At least a dozen states already have some type of taxes on sugary beverages, said Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

"Soda is clearly one of the most harmful products in the food supply, and it's something government should discourage the consumption of," Mr. Jacobson said.

But if the tax will be paying for all the Skittles-shitting free unicorns, and the government is, at the same time, justifying using the tax as a way to discourage consumption of the very product that is raising these revenues, how does that make any goddamn sense?

Oh, that's right. Because they'll just find something else to tax using the exact same idiotic circular logic when this scheme fails. And so on.

Posted by: Sean M. at 08:46 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I hate L.A.

There are two guys running for Los Angeles City Attorney, Jack Weiss and Carmen Trutanich.  I couldn't really care less which one which one of them wins, seeing as how I haven't lived there since I was two years old, but I just saw an ad that Weiss is running against Trutanich emphasizing that  his law firm has the (gasp!) NRA as a client.  DUHN DUHN DUUUUUUUN!  It goes on to try to connect this to gang violence, as if many gangsters are NRA members.

Sad thing is, this being L.A., it'll probably get Weiss more than a few votes.

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Har-har!

The Jokester-In-Chief (remember his classic dig about the Special Olympics?!!) made with teh funneh at the White House Correspondents' Dinner:

Former Vice President Dick Cheney couldn't make the dinner, Obama joked, because he was writing his memoir, "How to shoot friends and interrogate people." It was a reference to Cheney's support of harsh interrogation and his accidental shooting of a hunting companion

Nancy Pelosi was not available for comment or callback jokes, nor will she be at any time in the near future.

The president directly addressed Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who was in the audience.

And right there, he had an opportunity to make a joke about ar-tards that would be appropriate. Did he? Er, no...

"Michael for the last time, the Republican Party does not qualify for a bailout. Rush Limbaugh does not count as a troubled asset, I'm sorry," said Obama, referring to recent economic steps of the White House and the radio personality's public criticism of the GOP party leader.

Um, hey, Barry, I don't know if you've been told by your handlers, but thanks to you, Rush ain't exactly in need of a bailout.

He playfully ribbed his frequent use of a teleprompter and Vice President Joe Biden's knack for speaking off the cuff. And about the Democratic Party, he said his administration has helped in "bringing in fresh, young faces — like Arlen Specter." The 79-year-old Pennsylvania senator, a former Republican, switched parties last month.

Yeah, you're welcome to him. Good job attracting the all-important douche demographic to your party.

Obama also turned serious and talked of the financially struggling media industry, praising journalists for holding government officials accountable. "A government without newspapers, a government without a tough and vibrant media of all sorts is not an option for the United States of America," he said.

A few minutes later, the representatives of the nation's newspapers returned from the restrooms, having gargled and filed dispatches about the wonderfulness of Michelle Obama's arms. (No, really.)

Tart-tongued comic Wanda Sykes, the dinner's entertainer, poked fun at Obama giving the Queen of England an iPhone during a recent visit. "What are you going to give the Pope, a Bluetooth," asked Sykes. And she questioned first lady Michelle Obama having patted the queen on the back "like she just slid into home plate — way to go, queen!"

There's no mention in the article on whether or not Sykes had anything to say about the president's stance on gay marriage. Yeah. Probably not.

But great job, Barry! You're still the most historic President EVAR!

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Keep pushing the envelope, Janeane

Apparently Janeane Garofalo doesn't much care for the tea party protests.

“If there are any tea baggers here, welcome, and white power,” she said to laughs, before darting into a commentary on thongs, Spanx and a 22-hour flight to Australia.

There's absolutely no media bias in the article, especially in the paragraph that pushed 'tea bagging' as mainstream nomenclature for the tax protests.

Despite nasty e-mails and blog posts vowing to wreak havoc during her appearance, the New Jersey-born actress (“24”) played to a nearly full audience that eagerly awaited her trademark glib observations and frankness.

Why anyone bothered threatening to disrupt her performance is beyond me - Janeane Garofalo hasn't been funny since 1999. She's making herself irrelevant, a tired old shrew who knows it's useless to even bother dissolving her failed marriage because she'll never find someone willing to put up with her "glib observations and frankness" on a long-term basis. There's a reason her production company is called "I Hate Myself."

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Cutting wasteful spending

You know, even if this isn't a real spending cut, it's still a pretty stupid move, PR-wise.  The commercials saying that Obama and the Democrats cut funding for the families of slain police officers practically write themselves.  Seriously, you couldn't go "line by line" through the budget and find something else to cut that might look just a little bit better than this?

Good thing we have the smartest administration EVAR, huh?

Posted by: Sean M. at 11:56 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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What should Homeland Security be focused on?

Hey, why don't we ask Arianna's expert columnist? Who, I might add is an expert on keeping America safe from terrorist attacks that makes Jack Bauer look like, well, some kind of second-rate rapper. I know, I know—RACIST!!!!!!

By the way, it was pure genius to use all-lower-case letters, there, e.e. doucheings.  That's ever so, you know, deep.  Yeah.

Posted by: Sean M. at 02:40 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Well, this is unsurprising

Manbearpig's bestest buddy, longtime fundraiser, and two-time invitee to White House inaugurations was a known asshole long before there was any attempt at distancing on the part of the Democrats.

Not that it will make any difference - heck, a presidential candidate could have terrorists holding fundraisers for him and no one on the left would blink an eye.

On a side note, if you're ever looking to...upset Fred Phelps, handing him condoms with "God loves you" written on the wrapper with Sharpie really makes him froth at the mouth. 

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Ho-Hum. Another Tax Cheat Tied To Obama

This time, it involves tax havens and a Congressman.

Rangel, of course, knows a thing or two about offshore tax shelters: He'd been operating one for years.

The congressman had to fork over nearly $11,000 in back taxes last year after The Post reported that he failed to disclose more than $75,000 in rental income on his Dominican Republic villa.

Plus, he's under investigation by a House committee for allegedly helping a company preserve its offshore tax loophole -- in exchange for a million-dollar gift to a school named in his honor.

Though perhaps that's not exactly what Obama meant when he gushed that the problems with tax havens "have been highlighted" by Rangel, among others.

Rangel wasn't the only tax dodger lauded by Obama. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, too, won praise for "taking far-reaching steps to catch overseas tax cheats."

Takes one to know one, we guess.

Geithner, after all, was confirmed despite failing to pay, until nominated, some $43,000 in self-employment taxes.

Obama would be wise to tuck those two safely out of sight when he starts talking, as he did Monday, about paying taxes as "an obligation of citizenship."

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Which Group Of BFFs Surprises You More?

Allah and any RINO willing to stab their party in the back, or Obama and MSNBC?

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