The Jack Pack: White House Edition

Today we learn that convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff had 485 contacts with White House officials over a three year period, at least that is what Abramoff's billings suggest. That is an average of over three per week. Whether or not all of these took place, and I doubt they did, one thing is clear. Ken Mehlman appears to have been Abramoff's fixer at the White House. From TPM Muckraker:

In 2001, he [Mehlman] made sure a State Department official wasn't re-nominated for his post -- the official, Allen Stayman was a long-time foe of Abramoff's.

And according to a report from the Justice Department's Inspector General, Mehlman ordered one of his subordinates at the White House to keep Abramoff updated on issues related to Guam; Abramoff was keen to see the U.S. Attorney there replaced.

TPM Muckraker also notes the $16 million he freed up at the DOJ for the Chocktaw tribe that is referenced in today's Washington Post which clearly looks like criminal activity. What is unclear at this point is whether or not Mehlman performed these activities on behalf of party loyalty or if Abramoff had some dirt on Mehlman, perhaps something Mehlman would prefer to be locked up in some far away closet.

The Torture Bill

I really haven't written about my feelings on the latest detainee treatment bill because I don't have any strong feelings about it. It's pretty irrelevant in my opinion, because even if our side got to write the bill in its entirety it wouldn't matter.

Am I the only person on the face of the planet who remembers the 700+ signing statements that George Bush has issued while he has been in office. Let me state this very simply. This bill will in no way change the way George Bush acts with regards to habeas corpus, interrogation techniques, or anything else. The only thing that Bush cares about in this bill is the get out of jail free card it gives him for past transgressions.

The only thing that can stop Bush from breaking the law is for Democrats to retake Congress. If the republicans retain Congress, it's back to business as usual for Bush. If we win Congress, Bush will have to abide by the law. That's it in a nutshell.

All the passionate pleas for Democrats to stand up against this bill are a waste of time. that effort would be better focused on winning in November, because without winning all the debate in the world is worthless. The Decider will decide, and the rubberstamps will lie down again.

Woof, Woof

This is what happens when you elect a petulant fucking child to be the ruler of the free world. From CBS News:

President Bush is absolutely certain that he has the U.S. and Iraq on the right course, says Woodward. So certain is the president on this matter, Woodward says, that when Mr. Bush had key Republicans to the White House to discuss Iraq, he told them, "I will not withdraw, even if Laura and Barney are the only ones supporting me."

What's that Barney, Bomb Iran!! Well, if you say so, Le Dauphin shall make it so.

Metaphors

As far as the execution of the Iraq War goes, this paragraph from the Washington Post sums up the war as a whole pretty well. From the Post:

The Baghdad Police College, hailed as crucial to U.S. efforts to prepare Iraqis to take control of the country's security, was so poorly constructed that feces and urine rained from the ceilings in student barracks. Floors heaved inches off the ground and cracked apart. Water dripped so profusely in one room that it was dubbed "the rain forest."

John Boehner said yesterday on Hardball that Congress was providing good oversight in the Iraq War and that several members had been to Iraq to personally oversee that things are going well and claimed they were. Perhaps on future trips we should house Boehner in the shit drip room though I doubt he would be able to see the trees for "the rain forest."

Bringing Freedom To The World

I'd totally forgotten this, but last year on 9/11 the Pentagon sponsored the The First Annual National Donald H. Rumsfeld Celebratory Commemorative Fluff The Fuck-Up Memorial Remembrance Parade And Dedicatory Jamboree Observance to show the world how committed we are to bringing freedom to the world.

We didn't have one this year. I guess that was what we call a short term commitment.

John Boehner, Idiot

On Hardball with Chris Matthews yesterday, John Boehner was on to spew out many idiocies like Saddam was tied to 9/11 and al-Queda, but one in particular caught my ear. In defending the decision to invade Iraq, Boehner made the claim that Saddam Hussein "supported the training camps in North-East Iraq." He actually made this claim twice. Wrong.

Oh so wrong. The training camps Boehner was referring to fell under the no-fly zone in the autonomous Kurdish region. If Hussein would have tried to attack them either by land or ground, we would have attacked the Iraqi forces trying to do so. Those are the facts. In reality, we should have taken out these training camps before the Iraq war. We didn't, and a lot of the guys from those camps now don't have to hide up in the mountains anymore. They are fully integrated into the insurgency. You might recall one of the names of these guys reportedly training in these camps, Abu Masab al-Zarqawi. Yep, we could have killed him before the war, but for some unknown reason we failed to do so. That cost thousands of Iraqis and a number of coalition troops their lives.

Bored?

Ever hear some spokesman for a congressman lie to you and ask yourself, "I wonder how much that asshole gets paid to lie to me?" Now you can know thanks to Legistorm which now has every Capital Hill staffer's salary online. It has been public record for some time, but now it is online in a search-able database. Still bored? I'm guessing probably.

Imagine

Imagine, if you will that Blogger would actually put in the paragraph breaks I inserted into the previous post, just imagine. Fucking Blogger.

Bad Headline For Joe

You see, when Joe says "we" must get tougher with the Iraqi government, he means the collective "we," the royal "we" if you will. So, when Joe met with the Iraqi president the next day, he didn't feel the need to get tough with him because Joe never said "I" need to get tough with the Iraqi government. No, Joe is expecting those governmental types who actually show up for votes on issues related to Iraq to do the "getting tough." Joe isn't one of those guys.

It's always that way with Joe. He provides the we could of, should of, would of and expects his colleagues to do the heavy lifting. Actually, on all issues Iraq, Joe sounds more like a pundit, or blogger, or opinion writer than a US Senator. Come November, let's make that so.

Harold Meyerson

Ooh, Harold Meyerson gets shrill and kicks the living shit out of David Broder's recent centrist themes. Go read it here, it pretty much covers why voters should vote against such "moderates" as Mike DeWine, Lincoln Chafee, and Olympia Snowe.

Condi Is Really Letting Herself Go

She is looking awfully manish in this photo from the Boston Globe.

Found via AmericaBlog

Iraq And The NIE

Yesterday, President Bush declassified the April National Intelligence Estimate that everyone has been talking about since portions of it were leaked to the New York Times and the Washington Post over the weekend. For some strange reason, Bush thinks this estimate shows what a good job he is doing on the war on terror, it does not. From the Washington Post:

The overall estimate is bleak, with minor notes of optimism. It depicts a movement that is likely to grow more quickly than the West's ability to counter it over the next five years, as the Iraq war continues to breed "deep resentment" throughout the Muslim world, shaping a new generation of terrorist leaders and cultivating new supporters for their ideology.

In describing Iraq as "the 'cause celebre' for jihadists," the document judges that real and perceived insurgent successes there will "inspire more fighters to continue the struggle elsewhere," while losses would have the opposite effect. It predicts that the elimination of al-Qaeda leaders, particularly Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed after the estimate was completed in April, would probably leave that organization splintered into disparate groups that "for at least a time, pose a less serious threat to U.S. interests" than the current al-Qaeda structure.

On the relative bright side, the assessment notes the unpopularity with "the vast majority of Muslims" of the jihadists' brutal tactics and ultraconservative ideology. Democratic reforms and peaceful political alternatives in Muslim countries will also counter terrorist aims, it says.

But "the underlying factors fueling the spread of the movement outweigh its vulnerabilities and are likely to do so for the duration of the timeframe of this estimate," the report notes. An intelligence official who was not authorized to speak on the record said the time frame is until early 2011.[emphasis mine]

The biggest underlying factor fueling the spread of the movement is Iraq, period. If Bush had not chosen to embark on his fool's folly there, the War On Terror would pretty much be over as we currently know it. Sure, there would still be those out there who want to do us harm, but they would be disperse and isolated. They would be easy to pick off.

Now, through the great hatred that the Iraq war has brought us, global jihadists have a better social infrastructure in the Muslim world to support them. And at what cost to us? $300 billion tossed down the drain, almost as many US servicemen KIA as citizens we lost in the 9/11 attacks, and a state of military readiness that has left us with only 7,000-10,000 fully equipped reserves. It's hardly what I would call a good job.

Anyone wonder why Iran has become emboldened in their pursuit for nuclear power and possibly weapons?

Light Blogging Today

Real world commitments kept me away from the keyboard all day yesterday, and likely will most of the day today.

Lame

When a poll comes out that shows your candidate is losing, you have two choices with the press. You can duck and run, or attempt to discredit the poll for whatever reason you can come up with. This attempt by the Blackwell campaign may be the lamest ever. From the Dispatch:

The campaign of GOP gubernatorial candidate J. Kenneth Blackwell discounted the poll results because the first name of his running mate was mistakenly listed on the poll ballots as Charles Raga; it is Tom Raga.

Yea, without Tom Raga, who has a name ID of about 10%, this is surely a screwed up poll.

Desperation Brings Out Strange Tactics

Talk about a mixed message. Michael Steele in the Maryland Senate race is now putting up these signs in urban neighborhoods to attempt to fool voters into thinking he is a Democrat. It's a pretty good idea actually. What isn't a good idea is to right before you unleash these signs is to flood urban radio stations with an ad that claims Democrats started the KKK, which Steele also did. Does this mean Steele is in the Klan?

Sweaty Betty

Betty Montgomery has a new ad up talking about what she will do about sexual predators if she is elected. Actually it seems to be a theme this year, the very next ad I saw for David Goodman told the same story. Well, I have a question for Montgomery. Aren't these new initiatives you are pushing exactly the thing you should have been doing the last time you were Attorney General? Look, it has only been four years since you last held the job. It's not like there weren't any online predators before 2002.

What is really going on with these ads is fear mongering. It's a combination of the missing white girl syndrome and playing off of recent Dateline episodes where they play gotcha with those who seek to do harm to children. Wile it's true that we of course should do everything we can to catch these people, there is only one candidate in this race who has previously held this job and didn't implement these new initiatives you are talking about and it is you Betty.

The Big Bad Bush

Bush huffed and he puffed and he blew John McCain's house down, but the Ladybug had already gone to croon to the press about the great compromise that Lindsey Graham, John Warner, and himself had crafted over the Geneva Conventions. The compromise is simply that the Senate is not going to reinterpret the Conventions, nor is it going to provide any oversight as to what Bush does with them. Some compromise. From the New York Times:

The deal does next to nothing to stop the president from reinterpreting the Geneva Conventions. While the White House agreed to a list of “grave breaches” of the conventions that could be prosecuted as war crimes, it stipulated that the president could decide on his own what actions might be a lesser breach of the Geneva Conventions and what interrogation techniques he considered permissible. It’s not clear how much the public will ultimately learn about those decisions. They will be contained in an executive order that is supposed to be made public, but Mr. Hadley reiterated that specific interrogation techniques will remain secret.

So much for the new "Centrist" party David Broder spoke of in his last column. The only people in this government that have the balls to stand up to this president all have a D behind their name, Lieberman excepted of course.

As for the Ladybug, he probably still thinks the Bush cash machine is going to thrust him to the presidency in 2008. I'd love to be there to see the look on his face when they put the knife in his back, again.

Talk About A Dumb Ad

I haven't seen the ad, but Rick Santorum's campaign has apparently ran the dumbest ad in the history of politics. From the NY Times:

Santorum aired a spot featuring actors supposedly portraying four big donors to Casey's campaign meeting in a smoke-filled jail cell. The senator's campaign later conceded that none of the men had given money to Casey's Senate campaign and that two had contributed to Santorum's campaign, which donated the money to nonprofit groups.

It's probably not a good idea to run an ad that ends up highlighting your own connection to maleficent characters. I'm not sure how the ad came to be, but I certainly have a guess. Did you know that the Senate still does not file their campaign finance reports electronically? They actually still turn in paper reports. Those reports then have to be manually entered into electronic form at great cost to taxpayers, and it takes weeks to do.

The article cited above also lists a couple of polls for the Santorum / Casey match up. The Keystone poll shows Casey leading 45-38 with the Green candidate getting 5%. An IssuesPA/Pew poll showed Casey leading 47-28. Both polls were of registered voters, not likely voters which probably accounts for the difference in the level of Santorum's support. Regardless, an incumbent not even polling in the forties at this late date almost always ends up looking for a new job.

New Polling

Survey USA has some new polling out that shows Ted Strickland leading Ken Blackwell 56-35 among likely voters. Strickland is over 50% in every demographic save two. Strickland only gets the support of 29% of conservatives, which is to be expected, but Strickland only gets 20% of the support of those who classify their race as other. While it shouldn't matter in this race, the Democrats should pay attention to this. The 2000 census shows that those who classify their race as other actually outnumber Hispanics. It is an untapped pool of voters that we should be courting.

The other good news from this poll is that again Sherrod Brown is over 50% leading Mike DeWine 52-42 and that for the first time that I have seen, Brown finally has a lead over DeWine among men 48-47, although that is well within the margin of error. Brown is crushing DeWine among women voters 55-36.

Women are going to propel us in this election. Strickland's lead among women in this survey is a whopping 28% (58-30). Make sure you tell every woman you know to vote.

Update: I see that SUSA also polled the OH-02 race and that the good Dr. Victoria Wuslin is within the margin of error (45-42) of Jean Schmidt on very hard turf for Democrats to win on.

Yesterday's Debate

The Dispatch article on yesterday's gubernatorial debate here in Ohio opens with a great line. From the Dispatch:

Outside, two people wearing chicken outfits were arrested. Inside, two candidates for governor chickened out on a school-funding solution.

I agree, it's un-mother-clucking believable, but there is one fundamental truth to be known. The republicans have been running this state ever since the Ohio Supreme Court mandated that the problem be fixed. They haven't lifted a finger to do so, so their argument is a moot one.

And as for Ken Blackwell's 65% solution / fiasco, consider this, on Tuesday at Burroughs Elementary school on the west side of Columbus two young girls were attacked by a sexual predator. The school immediately hired security guards to patrol the school grounds. Under Blackwell's proposal this would not have been possible, at least not without getting rid of some other out of the classroom spending. Think about it.