Jack Abramoff Charging Admission to Meet President Bush...

Raw Story has this tease:

Thursday's New York Times will feature a front page story on Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist linked to former House GOP leader DeLay, RAW STORY has learned.

Excerpts from the forthcoming story:

The lobbyist Jack Abramoff asked for $9 million in 2003 from the president of a small West African nation to arrange a meeting with President Bush and directed his fees to a Maryland company now under federal scrutiny, according to newly disclosed documents.

The African leader, President Omar Bongo of Gabon, met with Bush in the Oval Office on May 26, 2004, 10 months after Abramoff made the offer. There has been no evidence in the public record that the lobbyist had any role in organizing the meeting or that he received any money or had a signed contract with Gabon.

White House and State Department officials described Bush's meeting with Bongo as routine. Gabon is regularly accused by the United States of human rights abuses.

Can you believe how crooked these people are? I mean, I am a died in the wool, partisan, left-wing lunatic, but these people continue to amaze me. Who the hell is Jack Abramoff to charge $9,000,000 to meet the President?

Isn't this the State Department's job, and don't we already fund the State Department be our liaison to foreign heads of state?

It's looking like everyone Republican in Washington is going to end up in prison at this rate.

-The Oklahoma Hippy

Jack Abramoff Charging Admission to Meet President Bush...

Raw Story has this tease:

Thursday's New York Times will feature a front page story on Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist linked to former House GOP leader DeLay, RAW STORY has learned.

Excerpts from the forthcoming story:

The lobbyist Jack Abramoff asked for $9 million in 2003 from the president of a small West African nation to arrange a meeting with President Bush and directed his fees to a Maryland company now under federal scrutiny, according to newly disclosed documents.

The African leader, President Omar Bongo of Gabon, met with Bush in the Oval Office on May 26, 2004, 10 months after Abramoff made the offer. There has been no evidence in the public record that the lobbyist had any role in organizing the meeting or that he received any money or had a signed contract with Gabon.

White House and State Department officials described Bush's meeting with Bongo as routine. Gabon is regularly accused by the United States of human rights abuses.

Can you believe how crooked these people are? I mean, I am a died in the wool, partisan, left-wing lunatic, but these people continue to amaze me. Who the hell is Jack Abramoff to charge $9,000,000 to meet the President?

Isn't this the State Department's job, and don't we already fund the State Department be our liaison to foreign heads of state?

It's looking like everyone Republican in Washington is going to end up in prison at this rate.

-The Oklahoma Hippy

They're trying to change "The Matrix"

Paging Dr. Orwell. Click here and see what the White House is up to now.

-The Oklahoma Hippy

They're trying to change "The Matrix"

Paging Dr. Orwell. Click here and see what the White House is up to now.

-The Oklahoma Hippy

Boomerang!

From John Aravosis at America Blog:

Oh my. It is a good day to be a Democrat :-)

From the DSCC:

Last Wednesday, the Washington Post ran a front page story revealing that there are secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe. Apparently thinking that current and/or former CIA officials leaked this story, House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist today launched a formal investigation into the leak. But now, Sen. Trent Lott, one of their own, is suggesting that the Republican efforts could boomerang… in a huge way. Were National Republicans Involved in Yet ANOTHER CIA Leak??

Lott: “We Can’t Keep Our Mouths Shut.” Sen. Trent Lott “stunned reporters” by saying that the issue of secret CIA prisons was discussed at a Republican-only lunch, attended by Vice President Dick Cheney, last Tuesday, the day before the Washington Post reported the story. Lott said of the Washington Post story, “a lot of it came out of that room on Tuesday” and he said of his Senate Republican colleagues, “we can’t keep our mouths shut.” [CNN, “The Situation Room,” 11/8/05]

CNN Calls Potential Senate Republican Leak “Boomerang.” Discussing the Republican investigation into the CIA prison leak and Sen. Trent Lott’s subsequent comments, CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer said, “That would really boomerang against Hastert and Frist…that would be a bombshell…” [CNN, “The Situation Room,” 11/8/05]

Were National Republicans Involved in Yet ANOTHER CIA Leak??

What the CNN video here, with Lott implicating GOP Senators.

Let's see if Frist and Hastert stick by their outrage now...

-The Oklahoma Hippy

Boomerang!

From John Aravosis at America Blog:

Oh my. It is a good day to be a Democrat :-)

From the DSCC:

Last Wednesday, the Washington Post ran a front page story revealing that there are secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe. Apparently thinking that current and/or former CIA officials leaked this story, House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist today launched a formal investigation into the leak. But now, Sen. Trent Lott, one of their own, is suggesting that the Republican efforts could boomerang… in a huge way. Were National Republicans Involved in Yet ANOTHER CIA Leak??

Lott: “We Can’t Keep Our Mouths Shut.” Sen. Trent Lott “stunned reporters” by saying that the issue of secret CIA prisons was discussed at a Republican-only lunch, attended by Vice President Dick Cheney, last Tuesday, the day before the Washington Post reported the story. Lott said of the Washington Post story, “a lot of it came out of that room on Tuesday” and he said of his Senate Republican colleagues, “we can’t keep our mouths shut.” [CNN, “The Situation Room,” 11/8/05]

CNN Calls Potential Senate Republican Leak “Boomerang.” Discussing the Republican investigation into the CIA prison leak and Sen. Trent Lott’s subsequent comments, CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer said, “That would really boomerang against Hastert and Frist…that would be a bombshell…” [CNN, “The Situation Room,” 11/8/05]

Were National Republicans Involved in Yet ANOTHER CIA Leak??

What the CNN video here, with Lott implicating GOP Senators.

Let's see if Frist and Hastert stick by their outrage now...

-The Oklahoma Hippy

You can't trust Republicans with your money...

From today's Washington Post:

The highway bill seemed like such a good idea when it sailed through Congress this summer. But now Republicans who assembled the record spending package are suffering buyer's remorse.

The $286 billion legislation was stuffed with 6,000 pet projects for lawmakers' districts, including what critics denounce as a $223 million "Bridge to Nowhere" that would replace a 7-minute ferry ride in a sparsely populated area of Alaska. Usually members of Congress cannot wait to rush home and brag about such bounty -- a staggering number of parking lots, bus depots, bike paths and new interchanges for just about every congressional district in the country that added $24 billion to the overall cost of maintaining the nation's highways and bridges in the coming years.

But with spiraling war and hurricane recovery costs, the pork-laden bill has become a political albatross for Republicans, who have been promising since President Bush took office to get rid of wasteful spending.

Don't worry though, they have a plan. They've figured out what to do about it. Is it repealing all of the pork that's earmarked in the highway bill? Surely you jest. How will they do it? By screwing poor people.

From yesterday's Washingotn Post:

The Senate approved sweeping deficit-reduction legislation last night that would save about $35 billion over the next five years by cutting federal spending on prescription drugs, agriculture supports and student loans, while clamping down on fraud in the Medicaid program.

The measure would also open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, a long-sought goal of the oil industry that took a major step forward after years of political struggle. A bipartisan effort to strip the drilling provision narrowly failed.

The Senate bill, which passed 52 to 47, is the first in nearly a decade to tackle the growth of entitlement spending, the part of the federal budget that rises automatically based on set formulas and population changes.

It would shave payments to some farmers by 2.5 percent, while eliminating a major cotton support program and trimming agriculture conservation spending. A proposal to limit payments to rich farmers failed yesterday. The measure passed largely along party lines, with only two Democrats voting for it and five Republicans voting against it.

I have nothing else to add to this outrage.

-The Oklahoma Hippy

You can't trust Republicans with your money...

From today's Washington Post:

The highway bill seemed like such a good idea when it sailed through Congress this summer. But now Republicans who assembled the record spending package are suffering buyer's remorse.

The $286 billion legislation was stuffed with 6,000 pet projects for lawmakers' districts, including what critics denounce as a $223 million "Bridge to Nowhere" that would replace a 7-minute ferry ride in a sparsely populated area of Alaska. Usually members of Congress cannot wait to rush home and brag about such bounty -- a staggering number of parking lots, bus depots, bike paths and new interchanges for just about every congressional district in the country that added $24 billion to the overall cost of maintaining the nation's highways and bridges in the coming years.

But with spiraling war and hurricane recovery costs, the pork-laden bill has become a political albatross for Republicans, who have been promising since President Bush took office to get rid of wasteful spending.

Don't worry though, they have a plan. They've figured out what to do about it. Is it repealing all of the pork that's earmarked in the highway bill? Surely you jest. How will they do it? By screwing poor people.

From yesterday's Washingotn Post:

The Senate approved sweeping deficit-reduction legislation last night that would save about $35 billion over the next five years by cutting federal spending on prescription drugs, agriculture supports and student loans, while clamping down on fraud in the Medicaid program.

The measure would also open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, a long-sought goal of the oil industry that took a major step forward after years of political struggle. A bipartisan effort to strip the drilling provision narrowly failed.

The Senate bill, which passed 52 to 47, is the first in nearly a decade to tackle the growth of entitlement spending, the part of the federal budget that rises automatically based on set formulas and population changes.

It would shave payments to some farmers by 2.5 percent, while eliminating a major cotton support program and trimming agriculture conservation spending. A proposal to limit payments to rich farmers failed yesterday. The measure passed largely along party lines, with only two Democrats voting for it and five Republicans voting against it.

I have nothing else to add to this outrage.

-The Oklahoma Hippy

Culture of Corruption...

What have we here? Another Republican corruption scandal?

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- One week before Election Day, the mayor of Chicopee was arrested Tuesday, charged with extorting $10,000 in campaign contributions.

NewsCenter 5's Jim Boyd reported that neither Chicopee Mayor Richard Goyette nor his lawyer had any comment as they left federal court in Springfield, Mass. But U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan had plenty to say after Goyette's arraignment about how the 36-year-old city leader leaned heavily on two local businessmen for cash contributions.

"Citizens expect their elected public officials to represent the best interests of all their constituents without expecting cash contributions to do their jobs," Sullivan said. "Goyette sought an illegal campaign contribution with the owners of one of the towing companies that had a towing contract with the city of Chicopee in order to continue that contract for the coming years."

Sullivan said that Goyette also allegedly agreed to help a business owner who was having difficulty working with the Chicopee Office of Community Development.

From top to bottom, the Republican Party has become a vile cesspool of corruption. The Republican Party has become a cancer on our nation. Do we cut it out and allow the country to heal, or do we accept our fate, refuse treatment and wither into fascism?

I love my country too much to remain silent. I love my country too much to be complacent.

There comes a time when we will take no more and should take no more, when we should ask what is good for the whole and not what is good for the individual, when we get past the divisions manufactured by the right and stand together to demand competence above artificial partisanship.

Corruption is not a partisan issue. We should all stand against it. From Karl Rove to Tom DeLay to Richard Goyette, it's time for a change.

-The Oklahoma Hippy

Culture of Corruption...

What have we here? Another Republican corruption scandal?

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- One week before Election Day, the mayor of Chicopee was arrested Tuesday, charged with extorting $10,000 in campaign contributions.

NewsCenter 5's Jim Boyd reported that neither Chicopee Mayor Richard Goyette nor his lawyer had any comment as they left federal court in Springfield, Mass. But U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan had plenty to say after Goyette's arraignment about how the 36-year-old city leader leaned heavily on two local businessmen for cash contributions.

"Citizens expect their elected public officials to represent the best interests of all their constituents without expecting cash contributions to do their jobs," Sullivan said. "Goyette sought an illegal campaign contribution with the owners of one of the towing companies that had a towing contract with the city of Chicopee in order to continue that contract for the coming years."

Sullivan said that Goyette also allegedly agreed to help a business owner who was having difficulty working with the Chicopee Office of Community Development.

From top to bottom, the Republican Party has become a vile cesspool of corruption. The Republican Party has become a cancer on our nation. Do we cut it out and allow the country to heal, or do we accept our fate, refuse treatment and wither into fascism?

I love my country too much to remain silent. I love my country too much to be complacent.

There comes a time when we will take no more and should take no more, when we should ask what is good for the whole and not what is good for the individual, when we get past the divisions manufactured by the right and stand together to demand competence above artificial partisanship.

Corruption is not a partisan issue. We should all stand against it. From Karl Rove to Tom DeLay to Richard Goyette, it's time for a change.

-The Oklahoma Hippy

Good Lord!

35%

Two Words: Free Fall.

-The Oklahoma Hippy

Good Lord!

35%

Two Words: Free Fall.

-The Oklahoma Hippy

A Pie Fight...

Thanks to Howard Kurtz for point out this Billmon Post:

Billmon enjoys the spectacle over at his Whiskey Bar:

"In some ways, the reaction of the GOP grandees was an even bigger treat than watching the Democratic jellyfish rear up on its hind tentacles and sting someone. Outside of a nursery school, I don't know if I've ever heard such a chorus of crying and whining from a bunch of babies before. The Republicans have been in power so long now they've started to take on the pompous self-righteousness of those who believe power is their due . . .

"But, GOP sob stories notwithstanding, it really was a remarkable outbreak of minority uppityness. The Gingrich gang used to pull stuff like this all the time when the Dems controlled the House (if Pelosi tried the same tactics now, I think Hastert would probably have her taken outside and shot) but the Senate is still the world's most exclusive men's club and isn't supposed to have its feathers ruffled this way. It's like a pie fight breaking out at the Vatican."

A pie fight in the Vatican... That's excellent imagery.

-The Oklahoma Hippy

A Pie Fight...

Thanks to Howard Kurtz for point out this Billmon Post:

Billmon enjoys the spectacle over at his Whiskey Bar:

"In some ways, the reaction of the GOP grandees was an even bigger treat than watching the Democratic jellyfish rear up on its hind tentacles and sting someone. Outside of a nursery school, I don't know if I've ever heard such a chorus of crying and whining from a bunch of babies before. The Republicans have been in power so long now they've started to take on the pompous self-righteousness of those who believe power is their due . . .

"But, GOP sob stories notwithstanding, it really was a remarkable outbreak of minority uppityness. The Gingrich gang used to pull stuff like this all the time when the Dems controlled the House (if Pelosi tried the same tactics now, I think Hastert would probably have her taken outside and shot) but the Senate is still the world's most exclusive men's club and isn't supposed to have its feathers ruffled this way. It's like a pie fight breaking out at the Vatican."

A pie fight in the Vatican... That's excellent imagery.

-The Oklahoma Hippy

Divine Inspiration?

Hat tip to UniC.

-The Oklahoma Hippy

Divine Inspiration?

Hat tip to UniC.

-The Oklahoma Hippy

Now we run the Gulags...

What has become of the country I love over the last 4 years?

From The Washington Post:

The CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important Al Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe, according to U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the arrangement.

The secret facility is part of a covert prison system set up by the CIA nearly four years ago that at various times has included sites in eight countries, including Thailand, Afghanistan and several democracies in Eastern Europe, as well as a small center at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, according to current and former intelligence officials and diplomats from three continents.

The hidden global internment network is a central element in the CIA's unconventional war on terrorism. It depends on the cooperation of foreign intelligence services, and on keeping even basic information about the system secret from the public, foreign officials and nearly all members of Congress charged with overseeing the CIA's covert actions.

The existence and locations of the facilities -- referred to as "black sites" in classified White House, CIA, Justice Department and congressional documents -- are known to only a handful of officials in the United States and, usually, only to the president and a few top intelligence officers in each host country.

The CIA and the White House, citing national security concerns and the value of the program, have dissuaded Congress from demanding that the agency answer questions in open testimony about the conditions under which captives are held. Virtually nothing is known about who is kept in the facilities, what interrogation methods are employed with them, or how decisions are made about whether they should be detained or for how long.

What has become of my nation's values?

-The Oklahoma Hippy

Now we run the Gulags...

What has become of the country I love over the last 4 years?

From The Washington Post:

The CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important Al Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe, according to U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the arrangement.

The secret facility is part of a covert prison system set up by the CIA nearly four years ago that at various times has included sites in eight countries, including Thailand, Afghanistan and several democracies in Eastern Europe, as well as a small center at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, according to current and former intelligence officials and diplomats from three continents.

The hidden global internment network is a central element in the CIA's unconventional war on terrorism. It depends on the cooperation of foreign intelligence services, and on keeping even basic information about the system secret from the public, foreign officials and nearly all members of Congress charged with overseeing the CIA's covert actions.

The existence and locations of the facilities -- referred to as "black sites" in classified White House, CIA, Justice Department and congressional documents -- are known to only a handful of officials in the United States and, usually, only to the president and a few top intelligence officers in each host country.

The CIA and the White House, citing national security concerns and the value of the program, have dissuaded Congress from demanding that the agency answer questions in open testimony about the conditions under which captives are held. Virtually nothing is known about who is kept in the facilities, what interrogation methods are employed with them, or how decisions are made about whether they should be detained or for how long.

What has become of my nation's values?

-The Oklahoma Hippy

Dave on God

Dave examines what God means to him.

Passed on with our comment or snark.

-The Oklahoma Hippy

Dave on God

Dave examines what God means to him.

Passed on with our comment or snark.

-The Oklahoma Hippy

Uh....

From Irving Lewis "Scooter" Libby's 1996 novel "The Apprentice":

At age ten the madam put the child in a cage with a bear trained to couple with young girls so the girls would be frigid and not fall in love with their patrons. They fed her through the bars and aroused the bear with a stick when it seemed to lose interest.

Alrighty then. (Shudder.)

-The Oklahoma Hippy

Uh....

From Irving Lewis "Scooter" Libby's 1996 novel "The Apprentice":

At age ten the madam put the child in a cage with a bear trained to couple with young girls so the girls would be frigid and not fall in love with their patrons. They fed her through the bars and aroused the bear with a stick when it seemed to lose interest.

Alrighty then. (Shudder.)

-The Oklahoma Hippy

The residents of Denver ask: Got Ganja?

Today is a good day in fight against marijuana oppression. The citizens of Denver have sent a powerful message, even if their victory has little practical effect.

From The Rocky Mountain News:

A measure that would legalize adult possession of small amounts of marijuana in Denver was approved by voters Tuesday, following a heated campaign that saw pot backers accused of exploiting residents' fear of crime.

The measure was leading by more than 7,000 votes with just over 100,000 votes counted when the Rocky Mountain News called the contest.

The central theme of Initiative 100, the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative, is that adults should have the right to legally choose marijuana, because it's a safer alternative to booze, which supporters argue — citing national and local studies — fuels violence, deadly car wrecks, collegiate binge-drinking and alcoholism.

Those who continue to oppose the outright legalization of marijuana do so out of sheer ignorance. The absurd notion that an adult's use of marijuana will cause them to become heroin addicts and other such nonsense is a dissemblance that needs to fade into posterity. It's right up there with the horrible claim that blacks are biologically and intellectually inferior to whites or the claim that masturbation will lead to hairy palms, blindness, and insanity.

It's time we grew up as a society. It's time we stopped wasting our resources on the persecution of those who would smoke a joint. It's time we have a national discussion on priorities.

If we want to be "tough on drugs", then perhaps we should be doing something about the real drug problem in this country. Perhaps we should focus all of our time an attention on methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is a killer. the mere production of meth is dangerous because of the volatile chemicals used. Kids die because of meth. Adults die because of meth. Lives are destroyed by meth.

Let's hope this spark in Denver ignites a fire of awareness and a reorientation of our national priorities. Don't hold your breath though. (It will keep you from finishing your joint.)

-The Oklahoma Hippy

The residents of Denver ask: Got Ganja?

Today is a good day in fight against marijuana oppression. The citizens of Denver have sent a powerful message, even if their victory has little practical effect.

From The Rocky Mountain News:

A measure that would legalize adult possession of small amounts of marijuana in Denver was approved by voters Tuesday, following a heated campaign that saw pot backers accused of exploiting residents' fear of crime.

The measure was leading by more than 7,000 votes with just over 100,000 votes counted when the Rocky Mountain News called the contest.

The central theme of Initiative 100, the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative, is that adults should have the right to legally choose marijuana, because it's a safer alternative to booze, which supporters argue — citing national and local studies — fuels violence, deadly car wrecks, collegiate binge-drinking and alcoholism.

Those who continue to oppose the outright legalization of marijuana do so out of sheer ignorance. The absurd notion that an adult's use of marijuana will cause them to become heroin addicts and other such nonsense is a dissemblance that needs to fade into posterity. It's right up there with the horrible claim that blacks are biologically and intellectually inferior to whites or the claim that masturbation will lead to hairy palms, blindness, and insanity.

It's time we grew up as a society. It's time we stopped wasting our resources on the persecution of those who would smoke a joint. It's time we have a national discussion on priorities.

If we want to be "tough on drugs", then perhaps we should be doing something about the real drug problem in this country. Perhaps we should focus all of our time an attention on methamphetamine. Methamphetamine is a killer. the mere production of meth is dangerous because of the volatile chemicals used. Kids die because of meth. Adults die because of meth. Lives are destroyed by meth.

Let's hope this spark in Denver ignites a fire of awareness and a reorientation of our national priorities. Don't hold your breath though. (It will keep you from finishing your joint.)

-The Oklahoma Hippy

So, it's Sam Alito...

So, it is upon us. Now we must ask ourselves if the judicial reasoning of Sam Alito truly what we want on the US Supreme Court. The extreme right wing is as pleased as can be this morning, but I have a definite sense of dread...

Think Progress is on the case:

ALITO WOULD OVERTURN ROE V. WADE: In his dissenting opinion in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Alito concurred with the majority in supporting the restrictive abortion-related measures passed by the Pennsylvania legislature in the late 1980’s. Alito went further, however, saying the majority was wrong to strike down a requirement that women notify their spouses before having an abortion. The Supreme Court later rejected Alito’s view, voting to reaffirm Roe v. Wade. [Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 1991]

ALITO WOULD ALLOW RACE-BASED DISCRIMINATION: Alito dissented from a decision in favor of a Marriott Hotel manager who said she had been discriminated against on the basis of race. The majority explained that Alito would have protected racist employers by “immuniz[ing] an employer from the reach of Title VII if the employer’s belief that it had selected the ‘best’ candidate was the result of conscious racial bias.” [Bray v. Marriott Hotels, 1997]

ALITO WOULD ALLOW DISABILITY-BASED DISCRIMINATION: In Nathanson v. Medical College of Pennsylvania, the majority said the standard for proving disability-based discrimination articulated in Alito’s dissent was so restrictive that “few if any…cases would survive summary judgment.” [Nathanson v. Medical College of Pennsylvania, 1991]

ALITO WOULD STRIKE DOWN THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT: The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) “guarantees most workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a loved one.” The 2003 Supreme Court ruling upholding FMLA [Nevada v. Hibbs, 2003] essentially reversed a 2000 decision by Alito which found that Congress exceeded its power in passing the law. [Chittister v. Department of Community and Economic Development, 2000]

Think progress has more. Click here to see it.

I supported Roberts. I was bewildered by the nomination of Harriet Miers. But, alas, I am simply unwilling to concede control of this country to religious fanatics. That above everything else, sends chills down my spine.

-The Oklahoma Hippy