Yee-haw.

I never thought I’d be typing these words, but you go Sensenbrenner.

Oh yeah … Rootz?

BC

Fitz!

rootz!!

i am still a bit confused as to why it is jefferson’s office that got raided, when other “republican” critters are also up to their ears in the same stuff. i guess i will keep reading blogs to get the truth, since we know we won’t get in from MSM.

Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo has the best summary of the Republican push-back on the warrented search [as opposed to the warrantless listening the administration is doing to the rest of us].

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c…..008590.php

The fact remains that raids were never executed on the offices of Cunningham, DeLay, Ney, Lewis or any other Republican under investigation. I dont know what’s up, but my trust in these people to do the right thing has completely dried up, so I’m thinking the worst until I find out otherwise.

John Casper did you read my reply previous post?
BTW… if you still want to turn me in to the FBI for holding an opinion that you didnt like…just let me know what personal info you need from me…. email address, home address, cell or home phone number….

Sensenbrenner, like Hastert, must have learned that he’s also the subject of a DOJ investigation and wants to prevent a search of his office by staging more Kabuki.

we should look at all this posturing with a very skeptical eye. i detect the distinkt (spelling intentional) odour (ibid) of perch.

“the owls are not what they seem……”

(as revealed in one of inspector cooper’s dreams)

did Sensenbrenner open the hearings with “When did you stop beating your Constitution ?”

It is a little duzzying. But from a purely political point of view, if the wingnuts want to put some wind in the sails of the “unaccountable executive” stuff, that’a a good thing. It will help us get our arguments in the establishment media as they write their articles from “both sides.”

Naked lawbreaking is not enough when we point it out. It can only be covered when people like Feild Marshall von Sensenbrenner and his ilk raise a ruckus.

if the total active reserve component in the middle east is (1) armored brigade, and 2 of its 3 battalions have just been comitted to the fight, then we are really down to the nub in manpower. a one battalion MEU is not a significant fighting force on a battlefield of this scale. 2 armored battalions aren’t a whole lot more significant. imho, this is news.

oops, wrong thread. sorry folks.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/…..gIP.vMBlkg

Link to a very comprehensive critique of Karl Rove’s claims about the Bush economic miracle. Great work.

Jane & Christy, slightly OT!!!

Have you seen the report about the Supreme Court knocking down whistleblower protection and are you going to decipher this case for us?

I hope so.

I almost felt sorry for Sensenbrenner when I read that he introduced his bill which made it a felony to be an illegal alien in this country AT THE WHITE HOUSE’S URGING before they shit all over it.

The AP calling Sensenbrenner “one of President Bush’s most loyal House allies” is also funny here. Not anymore she isn’t, beeeeatch!

Nice foto of little pussies fighting, Redd: how appropriate!

Hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys in this overblown PR flap- but I’ll vote tentatively for the FBI and Gonzalez who appear to be doing their jobs- and not the gooper congress- who only discovered the constitution when it was their last line of personal defense.

Whoever decided in comments to call this maneuvering “pig kabuki” had it right. The mafia dons are starting to turn on each other.

This is off subject but why did Bush nominate a global warming guy in Snows place.

Can this be good news?

duzzying indeed Pacha

my interest continues t/b focused on the Cheney/Addington siding w/ Hastert – nothing could be more out of character for these 2 creatures than stepping away from Executive Power

it is currently no more than backstory, and we may never know, but this combined w/ Hastert chewing Cheney’s ass and being awarded w/ on demand face time w/ the Chimp is intriguing as all get out to this little commenter

adorable and fitting graphic Christy ! – that could be my Miguelito on the left

isn’t this situation going to provide a convenient “the entire justice department is out of control/overzealous” frame in case rove gets indicted. a coincidence?

it would be irresponsible not to speculate…

#5, thanks for link to talkingpoints memo. Just above it is a link to legal discussions.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c…..008591.php

The most interesting bit is at the last of the post:

“However, Bauer does point to a development, which has gone largely unremarked, that I think does raise tangible separation of powers issues: the Justice Department’s decision to start conducting ‘interviews’ with members of Congress to ferret out who was involved in the leaks of the NSA wire-tapping program.”

I think FDL gives too much credit to GOP House leadership on this. They are totally corrupt. From what I have read so far the raid probably does not raise big constitutional issues. But the interviews probably do. But what do the House poobahs make a fuss about? The raids. The GOP poobahs probably love making a big deal about the raids for to reasons. 1) highlights a small time freelancer Democrat to “bipartisanize” corruption while simultaneously 2) preemptive pushback to prevent future raids that would target GOP Congressional corruption. IMHO. The Dem leadership is semi-clueless as usual.

The Dems have to start thinking anything good at all about any prominent GOP official. As one famous writer said about another (I forget who they were now) “Every word is a lie, includeing ‘and’ and ‘the’”

Dang it. I hope FDL get its collective smarts behind this. We have a lawyer, a Hollywood producer for whom dealing with this kind of ruthless criminal mindset should be like afternoon tea, and Pach the social psychology guy. And nameless other resources. They need to get the FDL-cave and get in the FDL-car and make some noise. IMHO.

#11: no no no, you gotta put on your FDL x-ray goggles and see the shadows in these mens souls. (Saw that X-man whatever movie this weekend. Not so sorry now I missed the first two.)

Soooo… Illegal wiretapping (search & seizure of our phone/email information without a warrant) is OK with the GOP rubber-stamp congress.

But searching and seizing documents from a fellow congressman caught doing something illegal will not be tolerated?

Does the GOP realize how hypocritical this is making them look? True conservatives believe in smaller, less intrusive government… but they also believe in the rule of law. A move like this by leading republicans looks more like they’re covering their own mis-deeds while trampling the Constitution when it applies to We The People.

Traitors.

rwcole at 9:15am

“and not the gooper congress- who only discovered the constitution when it was their last line of personal defense. “

I think that’s the part that bothers me the most — especially after just finishing Glenn Greenwald’s book. For five years both the Republicans and the Democrats have bent over backwards to permit this president to violate the law.

And now, they’ve suddenly got religion? Now, after years of fostering fear and avoiding their oversight responsibility, they want to defend the constitution? How damnned convenient.

meant to say, re #23,
The Dems have to *quit* thinking anything good at all about any prominent GOP official

emptywheel’s “Anatomy of a White House Smear, 3.3″ just up.

And is a coincidence that this AP writer is resuming the lame attempt to smear Reid.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c…..008592.php

Opinion, worth 2 cents:

Jefferson’s a bagman from the other side of the fence. A certain ‘group within a group’ thought they could dangle him publically like a raggedy ann voodoo doll and make some media points for keeping the status quo (the old ‘everybody does it’ meme), but they (typically) moved too late and didn’t factor in the blowback. Now the old Arthur Murray dance footprint chart moves two steps closer to ‘every scam for themselves’.

…but, of course, I could be wrong

The most cynical read of this situation is that the FBI was already about to indict Jefferson- and the goopers said: “OK- raid his office- that will give us a way of protesting the investigation without appearing to be political- and the result of the whole thing is that it will give justice a good cover for not persuing convinctions against goopers with full force.”

Sensenbrenner is a big, fat bullying kind of hog of a humanoid. He, of the Kimberly Clark paper products company, is sometimes referred to as “Tex”. That is ‘tex for Kotex. He doesn’t like it (but, I’m sure he likes all the money.) Repub style tax cuts and deregulation are great for big business. The repugs have been going after trees for years. They would chop every last one of them down if they could.

Killer foto at the top. I am a radical when it comes to love of politics. And felines. Just luv, love, l-u-v ‘em! My furry little un-felonious female feline Siamese has been with me for 18 years. Believe or not. From the swamps of Florida to the ski slopes of Tahoe, to the cowboy (and cowgirl) land of the southwest. She’s a real buckaroo! She is as a daughter to me. If people just had a fraction of the sense of a cat, or goodness and loyalty of a dog, the whole world would be a much better place to live. I think.

DOW down 100 points. Investors had a long weekend to think deeply about the Clusterfuck economic miracle and came back with one key thought: “SELL,SELL,SELL”.

Well, I still don’t think it’s too late for Pelosi and company to expel Jefferson from the Democratic Caucus.

If we can’t say that we police ourselves, how can we claim to represent change in October?

BC

It is so nice to see the Republicans, Democrats, Congress finally get it.

Frankenstein’s Monster gets beaten back by Sir FrankenCongress.

Congress created this monster by failing to uphold their duty to perform the necessary Checks on the Executive Branch to form the Ballances “We the People” need from our Government. HA! Clowns one and all they are.

Payback my a**

Sensenbrenner just wants to have Gonzales and Mueller recount the evidence against Jefferson on TV.

Remember the talking point: Corruption is a Bipartisan Scandal.

OfT: Yes Larry, I did read your follow-up. I was not going to respond to it, but since you sullied a new thread with this, I will.
I am sorry you have not yet retracted your unfortunate statement about “targeted political violence.”
Perhaps you have not noticed that your statement was removed from the previous thread.
Larry, I’m not sure what you meant by the term “targeted political violence.”
If you’re interested in what other people think “targeted political violence” is, you can read up on the history of lynching, the Arizona Wars, (Shootout at the OK Corral), the Lincoln County War (Billy the Kid), the Johnson County War…. These were all examples of “targeted political violence.”
I would again encourage you to consider that when you make such a provocative statement as “targeted political violence,” in the current climate, you may be creating problems for FDL. I have very serious concerns about that.
This country is built on the concept of “individual responsibility.” It’s everyone’s civic responsibility to stop “targeted political violence.”
Larry, if you have a response to this, please post it on the prior thread.

This is truly theater of the absurd.

Okay, I understand that Jefferson had been served with a subpoena for materials some eight moths ago, and has refused to comply. This, as I understand it, was the genesis for the search of his Capitol Hill office. I also understand that the Speech and Debate clause does not protect someone from criminal activity, which, apparently is the target of the investigation and the warrant. In fact, I read over the weekend that the Justice Department is looking into something like seven other “schemes” involving Jefferson.

There has been some outcry over why the offices of Republicans have not been subject to searches, and I have to think that those Republicans who have been served with subpoenas to produce certain materials have complied with those subpoenas, or have successfully defended against having to comply. Jefferson, apparently, just flat-out refused, and may believe he could take a “Bring it on” approach from behind the shelter of the S & D clause. Who really knows? He hasn’t been indicted or charged, despite the vast amount of pretty incriminating evidence they have on him. I think the other schemes they are looking into may have something to do with that, but I don’t really know.

It was disturbing to hear floated in the hearing today the possibility of impeaching the judge who signed off on the warrant. Now we have the upcoming spectacle of Gonzales and Mueller having to defend the warrant and the search. When does Harriet Miers appear to defend the executive branch for it’s intrusion into all of this? Would love to hear that.

Don’t get me wrong – I am as opposed to unconstitutional activity as much as the next person, but I think it is too easy to fall into the trap of partisanship just because Jefferson is a Democrat. From what I have read – and I confess to not having read all of the affidavit – there appears to have been a painstaking tip-toe through a constitutional minefield in the preparation of the warrant.

As to why Jefferson’s lawyer was not present, I have no idea, and there are other questions that have yet to be answered.

I said something like this the other day: Patrick Fitzgerald is not the only Justice Department attorney with a thirst for the truth and no partisan axe to grind. I think there is a danger here in what Hastert and others are doing, and none of it is going to have a positive effect on much of anything. And the whole thing will devolve into one huge mess if there isn’t one person who can set aside his or her own self-interest in attempting to sort things out.

rwcole –

cnbc explaining how EOM 6/06 – Bernanke gets to choose btw not raising rates to keep housing bubble burst at bay and in turn flirt big with inflation OR raise rates to beat inflation back but tempt housing bubble burst

one more time, why did Paulson take this job ?

Is there anything more adorable than duelling kittens????

NO.

Btw, there was a great NYT editorial on the raid and Sensenbrenner and the hoo-ha. Sorry if someone else has already posted, I am way behind in my reading.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/052706Z.shtml

Let me get this straight,

So now the Executive Branch makes sure the DOJ and FBI will get tossed into the wickerman, along with the Constitution and civil liberties. The Supreme Court just added whistleblowers. Is there such a thing as an overt shadow government?

All the great laws created to protect us from tyranny have been sacrificed to the god of greed and corruption-let’s call it “CEO”.

wesgpc – “Every word is a lie, includeing ‘and’ and ‘the’” was Dorothy Parker re Lillian Hellman, I b’leeve. (Lawd lawd lawd, think what she could do with THESE inspirations!)

Larry at 7 — that’s enough on the subject. I’ve deleted the comment and I consider the matter closed. And for everyone else, I’ll tolerate a lot of crap in the name of debate in the comments — but a discussion of violent protest is not one of those things that this former prosecutor will let just hang out there. ‘Nough said.

I urge everyone to read the talkingpoints memo posts and associated links to understand full picture here. I think this is more Machiavellian BS from GOP House leadership. I think that GOP leadership, WH are not in total synch, and things may even be a little out of countrol. But I don’t think motives of Sensenbrenner are very pure at all.

MSNBC is determined to highlight and expose all Congressional Democratic wrongdoing.

Seems Harry Reid took some boxing tickets. Oh my. He should have gotten them from Jack Abramoff, in which case no one would have cared.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13043895/

Teddy at 17 — that was my intent. *g* It just seemed like such a perfect picture for the moment…

actually, it was Mary McCarthy who said it on the Dick Cavett Show about Lillian Hellman…

No reason to defend Jefferson at all, of course. Given the evidence against him, and especially given his behavior, he needs to go. But that is not excuse for Dems to be duped into playing into GOP House leadership attempts to use Jefferson as a tool to protect themselves and confuse public about Abramoff scandals.

darkblack, as always, really appreciate your laser-like analysis at 9:31. Yes, I suppose theoretically, you could be wrong, but your extraordinarily pithy and coherent understanding of the available facts certainly helped me.

From the strategery point of view, this allows the House Republicans to give Herr Bush the stiff-arm-Heisman manuever. Thus allowing distance from them and the incredible shrinking man, The Decider.

The whole thing is smelly. By pushing the “decision” on the Jefferson raid papers ahead another 45 days, that pushes news about the “raid of corrupt Democrat Congressman, Black Bill Jefferson from Seemy Lousiana” closer to the middle of the summer, which is closer to election day.

Also, the whole Gonzales “ready to quit” hub-bub? When do we EVER hear of internal squabbles and disputes in the Whitehouse? The only time is when they are leaked for poltical cover. So the whole story has a contrived feel to it.

Besides, whenever I hear Sensenbrenner, I picture him in a grass skirt with a coconut bra chanting: “Da Bulls, da Bulls, Da Bulls”.

-GSD

These people are all crooks. They have committed and are committing crimes to keep themselves in power. Anyone who doesn’t really believe this is a total Pollyanna–either that or they don’t know much about history.

I truly believe it will come round to bite them in the a$$–and it may be sooner than later.

Tony Snow on C-SPAN 1

Yep, you’re right, Wilson. Thanks for the reminder.

Talk about a sign of the Apocalypse – Gonzales and Mueller going to the Hill and giving testimony on the importance of warrants, of no one being above the law, and the need for checks and balances.

Crooks and Liars, start your servers . . . The Democratic November campaign commercials will almost write themselves.

The purpose of the raid and these hearings is not to make congressional corruption a bipartisan issue. Its to make it a Democratic problem. By the time this is over the GOP and media will have made Jefferson a household name and the GOP will run as the reformers.

Reid took the stupid boxing commission tickets and then consistently voted against the boxing commission line. Tsk tsk tsk.

Can’t we just impeach the whole lot of them–Executive, Legislative & Judicial, and start from scratch?????? Sigh.

Rwcole states:
“.. I’ll vote tentatively for the FBI and Gonzalez who appear to be doing their jobs- and not the gooper congress- who only discovered the constitution when it was their last line of personal defense.”

As usual, I agree with Rw on this. The tentative agreement is because the search is warranted (IMHO) if the FBI had solid evidence that Jefferson was using his office for illegal activities. However, if a judge cavalierly signed off on a warrant in absence of such evidence, then we have a significant separation of powers issue.

Has anyone released info on what it was that caused the FBI to pursue a warrant to search the office?

Gonzales gets to stand for truth and justice after all the shit he has gotten away with, for example, wiping his ass with the Constitution?

He is ready to tender his resignation based on principles?

I agree with other posters, this is a huge, calculated play by the WH and Mehlman to undercut the power of Congress. It has an additional bonus, it paints the AG in favorable light to CNN, NBC, and FOX viewers.

If you come out in favor on either side of the issue, Dems lose – GOP wins. Best way to engage in this conversation, step out and watch the kitties wrestle.

An EPU’d response from the previous thread (which is still going strong, btw) to lhp & angie –

The fact that defense counsel and Congressional attorneys were barred from Jefferson’s office during the execution of the search warrant makes me think this was a Rovian ratfuck.

Jonathan Turley has raised the specter of the evidence being thrown out because of prosecutorial misconduct during the search, and that sure looks like what happened.

Josh Marshall and Barney Frank both make the case that the felony exemption in the Congressional protection makes the search legitimate; botching it with bad execution opens the door for Hastert, Ney, Lewis, and all of the other dirty GOoPers to quash searches before warrants are requested.

In the meantime, the DoJ interrogates Congressmen in the search for the NEA leakers — which clearly crosses the line of intimidation. Does Hastert complain?

crickets chirping . . .

WH press briefing just went on topic:

Reporter (paraphrased): Did Atty. Gen. Gonzales convey his resignation directly to the president?

Short Tony Snow: Uh, yes… uh, no……

Oscarsmom:
“Can’t we just impeach the whole lot of them%u2013Executive, Legislative & Judicial, and start from scratch??????”

I like that idea!!!!

RWCole,

Looks like this is the beginning of the big slide. Bernanke already stepped on his dink by blabbing to Bartiromo…so the markets think he is a novice. No confidence in Bungling Benny.

Add in real estate and the voltile oil market. Hope that Herr Rovermeister has other selling points for The Decider, besides the “great” economy. This economy is starting to stink like haddock left in the sun.

-GSD

I think the barring of witnesses to the search is a huge deal.

On the subject of hearings and committees, it is my understanding that Charlie Rangel wants to re-introduce his National Service (draft) plan H.R. 4752. This should definitely happen, but the Armed Services Committee will squash it. We need the draft! Call your representatives to get this on the front burner.

Bill text
You can find out more about the armed services committee at Armed Services Committee

peace,
jim

Anne #38: “Patrick Fitzgerald is not the only Justice Department attorney with a thirst for the truth and no partisan axe to grind.”

Do you think there are enough of those kind of people in the U.S. to start a new political party? It could be called, “Fans of Truth” and Fitz could be our candidate for Prez.

I’m sure if I wait two days, the WH will have another scandal redirecting focus where it belongs…aren’t their soldiers still being killed in Iraq?

Gas prices are still climbing here in Wyoming…

inflation driven by energy prices have reduce the purchasing power of my take home dollar…

rwcole – I tentatively vote FBI, but Gonzales is in it for the theater IMO.

As to why they did not allow others in the raid – that is the oddest part but I do tend to wonder if there might not have been some kind of concern about giving access to a Congressperson’s office to others – Hill enforcement or not – who are not otherwise authorized to be there. Especially when there is a sensitive issue re: interference with the legislative process.

I do think a) that if Congress wants a rule establishing that their enforcement folk are allowed to have access to offices in order to be there during the execution of a warrant and that, unless the warrant specifies otherwise, they are required to be present – that’s fine and b) if the search/seizure went outside the authorizations of the warrant, it should be subject to review

But as to a) Congress doesn’t already have that rule allowing for and requiring presence of Hill enforcement officers – so complaining about things not being done their way is partly just their fault for not putting a procedure in place IMO.

As to b) that is the same COnstitutional argument any other citizen has re: a search or seizure that exceeds the warrant specifications. It is a 4th argument, not a separation of powers argument. The Sep argument would only come in, as I can see it, if the WARRANT AUTHORIZED acces to protected legislative process materials.

It did not seem to on its face – but if so, that can be determined bc, unlike the Congressional approach to treating citizens like stray dogs, there has been actual oversight of the Executive by the Judicial branch and that oversight is subject to direct challenge.

What a concept.

As best I can tell, Fein and Turley were trending more to the whether or nots of the search actually exceeding the warrant and the potential for abuses that make it a good idea for Congress to be able to have some presence during the searches, vs. saying it could not be done pursuant to a warrant.

BTW – don’t crooked Congresspeople threaten our national security and hasn’t Congress, both Republican Houses, said – okey dokey here’s the blank check – as long as you can fit security into the sentence, even if it is only in reference to which members wear Depends?

*s*

The comment above about the questioning re: leaks is the much more concerning aspect IMO.

As to whethe or not the search/seizure actually went outside the four corners

“?” at the end of the post above. Not going mention all the other typos *g*

GSD (63) — Ah. That explains the sales job this morning, heard somebody on either C-SPAN or CNBC blabbing away about how great Bernanke is and how verse he is in the Japanese economic debacle, how Bernanke understands the dollar valuation challenge…big fluff job.

CNBC talking heads are making it sound like Paulson’s a done deal, as if approval of nomination by Senate is already past us. Sheesh.

But they are also commenting on what a surprise this is to Goldman-Sachs, that there was no succession planning done; this says something even more, I think, suggests that this was a Hail Mary pass by Dubya to fix what he knows is a floundering economy on the verge of serious trouble, and it might be a prop-up for Bernanke. Paulson’s got chops with China and not seen as a salesman for anything (including Goldman-Sachs), will probably be duking it out to salvage dollar value. In fact, I think Dubya is so damned desperate to save the dollar from too deep a plunge that he went with somebody even Dems will approve.

The stench of this lame duck is overwhelming.

Paulson is a major Republican donor and fundraiser.

He collected at least $100,000 for Bush’s 2004 campaign, earning the nickname “pioneer” reserved for Bush’s six-figure fundraisers. Paulson has donated at least $68,000 to GOP campaigns and party committees so far in the 2005-06 election cycle, including $25,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee and $15,000 to its House counterpart, figures compiled by the Political Money Line campaign finance tracking service show.
http://www.mwcsun.com/feeds/ap…..pstoryview

Lobstergirl #40 :~>

I see you are a possible lover of katz.

“Is there anything more adorable than duelling kittens????”

I think that’z what they call the kat’z pajamaz.

Will he be put under oath?

That will be the test of how serious this is.

Thank God for Christy’s analytical skills, and her training in the law. Otherwise, I might just conclude that Congress is in the grip of completely incomprehensible loonies. When political infighting gets this arcane, I’m tempted to think of it in the same terms as the fight between “Protein Wisdom” and Thersites over on metacomments. Which is to say, why would anyone who has a life want to bother?

Once Christy has made sense of it, though, I can actually see the relevance. I’m very, very grateful. It ain’t easy to be part of the informed citizenry these days, and I’ll take all the help I can get.

wesgpc #23:

In fairness, the first two were much better. Singer is a thoughtful director and, as a gay man, had some touching insights into the “other vs anti-other” mentality of the X-universe.

Ratner just likes to watch things blow up.

Mary:
Thanks for your enlightening comment. Can you answer another question? Since the executive branch has never searched a congressional office, is the “probable cause” bar set higher by the courts when it involves a legislator?

Also, is this search just a “slap” at Jefferson for defying an earlier subpoena? Or did the FBI have “probable cause” to believe that evidence of a specific crime was contained in Jefferson’s office?

Rayne at 69, I agree, except for one small detail in the end of your comment. By Dubya, do you mean his puppetmasters? I, like many, do not believe that Dubya is capable of any decision making or independent thought. I could be wrong. It appears that our president is coached, goaded, taught some rudimentary ideas/concepts and is heavily influenced by Cheney, Rove, Rummy, and others. The idea of crediting the man with any independent thought processes, beyond frog-blasting seems inaccurate.

Kool-Aid anyone”

(Snip)

“(Tuesday’s) pullback is not what you would’ve wished for, but it’s still in the context of a recovering market,” he said. “If we’re in an ongoing rally phase, this is where we ought to bottom out and see the market move higher.”

The market is recovering and rallying by a two week tank? How do these morons continue to get paid when they offer up such tripe? Of course most rallys are indicated by a “bottoming out” of the markets, right?

The most damaging news is the falling Wal-Mart sales….that does not auger for a good summer….

Looks like one of these days the Wall Streeters are going to break the back of the American consumer..they have been sitting on our shoulders since 9/11.

-GSD

Way off topic, but PHEW…Evelyn Y. Davis speaking now on CNBC, very concerned that the Deutsche Bourse will attempt a takeover of the NYSE depending on the outcome of a possible merger with EuroNext. This little old lady has got it going on; I would love to do what she’s doing when I’m her age, kicking ass and taking names.

First, I want to point out that what this lone woman does is exactly what we can do to put pressure on the corporatist system that owns the majority of Republicans and K street. She’s a force to be reckoned with.

Second, this might well be the BIG reason that Paulson came on board; Davis encouraged Paulson to take the job as TreasurySec, said he owed it to the country. At the same time, the NYSE-EuroNext deal is one of those that absolutely should be going through the CIFA review process, and should rightly get squelched if Davis’ concerns are correct.

SOOOOO…is NYSE talking with the appropriate authorities at CIFA? Or is this another Ports sale to Dubai story getting brushed under the table?

OT

This may have already been linked:

http://www.prisonplanet.com/ar…..lation.htm

An excellent background by Charlie Savage at The Boston Globe (via Prison Planet) about Presidential signing statements, David Addington and the constitutionality of a process that appears, according to Cheney, to have legal merits rooted in his personal opinion that existing statutes limiting this approach were the product of Congressional overreach during Watergate and Vietnam (later influencing investigation of Iran-Contra)

One can only suspect that he is waxing nostalgic for the Good ‘Ol Days
~

jim preston –

We need a draft with NO EXEMPTIONS for children of Members of Congress and the Executive Branch, and NO DEFERMENTS for said children.

This group of strapping young Americans needs to automatically be at the top of the lottery pool, so that they will be first ones off the bus at Parris Island.

fyi– Bill Clinton eulogizing Lloyd Bentsen on cspan1.

Plano tex (77) — yuh, Dubya is such a construct that it couldn’t be him to make the decision on this; Paulson was probably queued up by Bolten and Rove for the purposes of JAR improvement, and blessed by Cheney for the purposes of improving his financial condition as well as that of the military-industrial complex. But Dubya had to get on board deeply enough to actually make the personal phone call to Paulson this weekend and make the request in a way to get Paulson to change his mind (he’d previously said a number of times that he wouldn’t take this job).

GSD (78) — you know, I think for the first time I’d watch the entire retail sector as an indicator and not Walmart; I think there’s been an awakening on the part of the public about the role of Walmart in the tanking of America to the point where their stores are less trafficked and their stock in less demand. What’s overall retail look like? My guess is there is a direct shift of expenditures from retail to gasoline.

Al Gore being interviewed on NPR’s Fresh Air –

ck and jim preston:
I say NO to a draft unless the ONLY eligible draftees are the children of congresscritters, the executive branch, and federal judges.

thanks Rayne !(@79)

even I know who Davis is, mostly b/c she’s withstood all the Street’s swiftboating attempts !

even with her influential urging, I still don’t understand why a guy like Paulson would join the crew of the SS Titanic after it struck the iceberg

jeebus DJIA -128 NASDAQ -32

not exactly the response ol Rovespierre was looking for now was it ?

On Topic

I agree with CK’s opinion on the thread below.

This is a Rovian rat fuck.

My speculation:

Regular (non political) DOj and FBI people subpeona Jefferson’s document. He illegally refuses to comply.

they do a perfectly nice well supported little search warrant application. I read it. Even with redactions they had plenty of probable cause and it descibed minimization techniquees to avoid reading things they should not.

They go to execute the wrrant over a weekend so as to not disturb Congresses regular routine. So far so good.

When the Sergeant at Arms hears about it, he calls the higher ups (read here-political appointees). They decide to throw a monkey wrench into the whole thing (the rat fuck begons) by barring adverse party witnesses, like the Sgt. at Arms, from viewing the search thereby creating a problem where none had existed before.

Now, enter Deny Hastert and Senssenbrenner, loyal Bushentroopers if ever i saw any. These two made men in the Bush crime syndicate are suddenly screaming about Executive Branch overreaching? Come on, easier to sell me the Brooklyn Bridge for cheap.

However, the irregular procedure used in the search process now has even left wing darling Jonathan Turley saying the evidence may be tainted and inadmissable (I’m not sure I agree, though i did not hear his actaul remarks and I DO tend to agree with him, so??)

This sets up the perfect scenario for Abu and Mueller to go to Capital Hill, sing Kabuki, and pretend to come back chastened.

Then will then tell the regular (non political) DOG and FBI folk that they cannot be allowed to do their jobs in the normal way b/c these regular folks willbe shredding the Constitution if they do. (Up is down, black is white, i am dizzy and have motion sickness from constantly being turned upside down)

Just like they told the Professional Integrity Unit folks (traditionally as non political a bunch as you could ever hope to find) that they are too untrustworthy to get security clearances they need to do their jobs.

Hey, we won’t stop you folks from doing your jobs, we will just take away ALL your tools, and threanten to throw you in jail if you complain to the outside b/c you are not entitled to whistleblower protections, and if you even grumble about it in the men’s/ladies’ room, we can retailate against you with impunity b/c you have no whistelblower protections.

Mary,

you were the person who first got me to de lurk when you wondered why nobody of good will and good conscience in the gov’t would “come out” about these criminals. Now we all are getting a view about the huge black thing that looms over their heads.

oh, and if anyone high enough up the food chain ever tried. You knwo who I’m thinking of. The relevant committeee would go into executive session. No one would ever know what was said.

GSD 77 Trickle down economics is their specialty. It does seem to be reaching a breaking point. No jobs for working stiffs = no money for wal mart. They’ve reached a point wherein they are hurting themselves. Rich folks got all the money and they ain’t spending it. Some will find bargains as the common man goes broke. Who will be the tenant, I wonder, in the commmon man’s former house that the rich man stole?

For a guy who didn’t even know that Snow was resigning, as late as last week, he sure was ready with a nominee…

How much push-back will the conservatives give on the Paulson nomination, given his stance on Kyoto? Will this be another Harriet Miers, that sinks due to GOP objection, with Paulson then to be replaced as a nominee by someone like Don Evans?

OT: I heard Paul Hackett filling in for Big Eddie on Air America yesterday and he was FANTASTIC! I hope he gets his own show…boy, having left the political arena he is not afraid to stick it to the Reps NOR the do-nothing Dems, plus he has lots of juicy inside info on them all. Great!

P.S., I plan on giving to Ned Lamont’s campaign today and I think we all should! Even $10, $25 to show that Dems are serious about making changes in the powers that be.

“trick hell down” economics

RE: Link at #80–un-fricking-believeable:

“WASHINGTON — The office of Vice President Dick Cheney routinely reviews pieces of legislation before they reach the president’s desk, searching for provisions that Cheney believes would infringe on presidential power, according to former White House and Justice Department officials . . . “

The combination of positions taken by the Republican congressional leadership:

People kidnapped in foreign lands and detained by the Bush administration for five years have no rights at all. No right to counsel, no right to habeas corpus, to face their accusers, or even to communicate with the outside world. Even revealing the name of one of these people to the press is “compromising the war on terror”.

The American public has no right at all to even know that the Bush administration is keeping records about their phone calls.

Congresscritters have the right to run a crime ring out of their offices on Capitol Hill and repeatedly refuse to cooperate with FBI subpoenas, since the Constitution gives them “separation of powers” which, apparently means that they are exempt from being spied on or disappeared at Gitmo.

Not much pretense any more, is there?

Thank you for your kind words, John Casper. More cheap opinion: Gonzales is too far up Bush’s patoot to do anything without clearing it first. The threatened AG walkout is a ‘Hail mary’ smokescreen to establish a version of plausible deniability involving independence of the office, should it be needed.
One more thing to ponder…Jefferson, theoretically being the bagman for Ways and Means.
Let’s say Jefferson ’stays the course’ on going out Billy Jack style. Who goes down with him?

Everyone hope the dollar slide is slow. If private investors and governments both tip from trying to manage the loss of their dollar and treasury holdings to shoving the potentially big loss onto some one else, then it will get interesting. Will see confusing debates about best way to measure inflation which comes mainly from energy and increasing interest rates and cost of imports than wages -I think. Not kept up on this so correct me if wrong.

Let’s add up the Bush/Rove Holiday weekend results…..

*US military looking into reports of civilian massacre in Haditha, Iraq.

*2 US pilots killed in helicopter crash

*2 UK troops killed in roadside bombing in Basra

*2 reporters killed, third gravely wounded in Iraq while reporting “outside of the Greenzone”.

*Anti-American riots in Afghanistan

*Stock market tanks on Tuesday

Death, mayhem and a failing stock market.

Everything looks fine Mr. President. Boy, I would fire Herr Rovermeister in a heartbeat. What a clusterfuckingly bad job he has done.

In the words of Leslie Blitzer, Bush can’t seem to get a break.

MK at 80 — I covered that pretty thoroughly on Sunday when the story hit. Take a peek here:

http://www.firedoglake.com/200…..ys-making/

Oscarmom @ 89,

what, if anyything did Hackett say about Haditha ?(reported over the week end that one of the 3 relieved commanders had retained him)

fyi – yet to be charged Marine’s atty – anonymously claiming that Murtha has misled country, that there were gunfire exchanges, etc – sure Counselor, that would explain the 3 year old executed in her mother’s arms . . .

cbbl #96–I did not hear Hackett discuss Haditha, but then I didn’t hear the whole show either.

He did spend a lot of time explaining how “issues” like gay marriage and flagburning are red herrings and how the Dems should not even engage Reps on those subjects. I agree!!

A nagging thought

All of this seems very odd; it’s like reading a mystery where (by the author’s design) you aren’t told the whole story and what you are told is adulterated with half truths and misleading irrelevancies. But something keeps bugging me:

* 19 May, the offices of Democratic Representative William J. Jefferson in the Rayburn building are searched by the FBI, without supervision by any congressional officials.

* 23 May, Republican House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert erupted in fury over the search, demanding that the FBI return the material. “I’ve never seen Denny Hastert as mad,” said a senior Bush aide, declining to be named. Hastert claims that it raises serious constitutional problems.

* 26 May, the Rayburn building is locked down for 5 hours because Republican Representative Jim Saxton thought he may have heard gunshots. Police, Secret Service, etc. have free run but everyone else has to sit tight.

* 27 May, Hastert declares “that is behind us now” and expresses confidence that everything can be worked out. Nothing to see here folks, move along.

– MarkusQ

thanks Oscarmom,

I’ll go over to ed’s site in a sec and see if Hackett has been archived – but it dawned on me as Capt. Kimber’s atty, he probably isn’t going to say much from here on out -

in the initial reporting, Hackett stated his client was really relieved of command b/c some of his underlings had ‘lipped off’ to British press about just how unprepared Iraqi security forces were and he was relieved for embarassing Rumsfield

I hate to rain on a good conspiracy theory, but I can’t see this catfight as an underhanded effort to keep this story in the news. Jefferson hasn’t been indicted yet, and it’s pretty clear that they’ve got the goods on him. His goose is just as cooked as the Dukestir’s was. They can even time the indictment right before the election if they want to.

I think this is exactly what it looks like: The House Republicans, with Kotex as one of the big leaders, has rolled over for George Bush for the past five years. What have they gotten in return for it? Duke’s in jail, DeLay had to give up his seat, Ney’s going to be indicted at some point (along with who knows how many others), and Porter Goss (a former Republican House member) got booted out of the CIA in disgrace. Kotex dumped a bunch of his political capital into the immigration bill at the White House’s request, and now he’s catching hell for it. I think the Jefferson raid was the last straw for these people, even if he’s a Democrat. They have no idea what Abramoff/Safavian/Cunningham/Foggo/Goss/et al are going to say to try to cut a deal, and they’re worried that the FBI might show up and start picking through their office porn.

Wipe the slate clean, I say!! LOL

MarkusQ -

That was exactly my take, too.

But, what is the last chapter? Who is doing nefarious deeds on who’s behalf? What is being kept hidden? Why?

Frank–That’s the way it looks to me too-tryin to shred the constitution and use the shreds to build a fortress against indictment.

Christy @43

Sorry, and I mean it…..

It was not my intent for my comment from the previous thread to be construed as a call for “targeted political violence” against our opponents. I was merely stating an opinion on a scenario that I think could possibly unfold in this country given the current sorry state of affairs that Bush et al have brought us to.

Unless I have missed some other comments the only person that seemed to take it for that was the commenter JohnCasper and I guess you… since you removed it… which I must say I found rather surprising.

Now.. as to any other reader who may have found that comment (which was deleted) offensive, insulting or idealogically soul-jarring… I apologize.

Might it be too much to ask if perhaps.. the unsullied JohnCasper might wish to retract or modify his comment condoning and supporting that I be reported to the FBI for my opinion.
How bout it junior G-man?

GW Clusterfuck annoints a new Treasury candidate- and the market begins to eat itself alive. Great! Of course he doesn’t help himself any by announcing in advance that he isn’t looking for a guy who will actually do his best to manage the economy- he’s looking for a guy who will do a better job of selling the decisions that GW Clusterfuck has already MADE about the economy on the basis of his much heralded “instincts” and “philosophies”. He did the same stupid thing LAST time he named a secretary of the treasury. It’s totally STUPID- but then what did we expect.

Looks to me as if there is some rough sledding ahead economically. Anyone can create deficits to stimulate the economy. Takes no talent at all. Creating them in the right way and backing off of them at the right time is an artform with which this group of economic geniuses is totally unfamiliar.

That means, as usual, that the fed will bear the brunt of putting up the good fight against inflation by jacking up interest rates at a time that our whole economic growth- paltry as it may be- is based on everyone putting more on the card.

The main goal is a soft landing for the real estate market. It’s really not a question as to whether or not the value of real estate will decline- it’s a question of how much and how soon and whether it will be a slow gentle drop or a catastrophic slide.

Pray for these guys- they’re the only hope we’ve got. IF they become politicized even a little- turn out the lights, the party’s over.

Oscarsmom (92) — there is another reason why an official might want to review legislation before it heads to the President’s desk…and it’s not the reason given.

Remember Rep. Louise Slaughter’s concerns about daytrading by members of Congress on legislation before them?

Yeah. I think anybody with a big bunch of cash might want to play the float on the period between the time a bill makes it through Congress and the final hubbub of POTUS signing…

MarkusQ at 11:03

Damn. I hate coincidences and suspicious timing. I just sent my tin foil hat to the cleaners and now I’ve got nothing to wear.

The Rayburn building lock down… crap, I never even suspected…

cbl (85), rwcole (106) — I suspect that one of the reasons Paulson was picked was that he has a vested interest in the success of the turn-around; the slide was already beginning before he was named, but the speed of descent was picking up. Hence the prompt (hasty?) chase after Paulson with a personal call this weekend; the longer it takes to stabilize this slide, the more money the members of the military-industrial complex lose if they haven’t been adequately hedged.

In a major tanking of the market, there isn’t any vehicle that will shield investors from the pain. Stock tanking? go to real estate…but real estate is tanking. Go to bonds? Umm, not so good…but gold has fallen over the last month. Where to put the money???

Hence the lack of a warm welcome for Paulson — he’s just in time for hurricane season, more ways than one.

While I am in favor of law enforcement being able to serve and act on valid warrants, even against Congresspeople IN their offices, I am in favor of there being some sort of check involved. While I believe (and believe it is all but certain) that Jefferson is among the dirtiest of politicians, equal to each and every GOPer in corruption, I accept that the FBI/Abu Gonzales bungled it. The congressman, or leaders of both parties plus Sgt at Arms should have been present. The papers/docs taken should have been vetted to ensure that the FBI, acting on the corrupt Abu Gonzales’ orders, didn’t simply suck up Dem party memos and strategy documents using the clearly illegal activities of Jefferson as an excuse.

I want Jefferson to resign, or barring that, be forced out due to being indicted. I want every GOPer to be indicted, as they deserve, but I want to make equally sure that no more criminals such as Abu Gonzales gets to run roughshod over their superiors (the Congress is superior to the Executive by design).

Good God! A Bushite — ONE — with a conscience!

Michael H. McLendon, deputy assistant secretary for policy, said Tuesday he would relinquish his high-level post on Friday. McLendon supervised the VA data analyst who lost the data and is the first official to leave after VA Secretary Jim Nicholson pledged to hold officials accountable after the May 3 burglary, in which a government-owned laptop and disks were stolen from an agency analyst’s home in Maryland.

”Words are inadequate to describe how I feel about these recent events and the impact on the band of brothers and sisters of service members and veterans that we are supposed to serve,” McLendon wrote in a letter obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press.

”Given that this very serious and tragic event occurred on my watch and in my organization, I feel it necessary that I tender my resignation,” stated the letter, which was submitted to the VA late Friday. ”I would be modeling the wrong behavior to my staff and others in VA if I took no action to be responsible. … ”

http://www.nytimes.com/aponlin…..Theft.html

Kitties demostrate how humans learned to walk upright.

Kitty on the right: ” I am Catzilla! Attack the tail!”

Kitty on left: “Bring it on!”

I can see Sensenbrenner doing his best Charles
Laughton; “Sanctuary!! Sanctuary!!”

Cheney support of Hastert

That pharase should tell anyone with a grain of sense how to think about this issue. As a rule, I’m against reflexive “enemy of my enemy is my friend” thinking. But Cheney (and Addington) are purely and simply trying to prevent the unraveling of the giant Republican web of corruption, slush funds, and shell organizations.

Barney Frank’s statement on the issue makes political and legal sense. It was quoted in a FDL post of a few days ago, and on Sunday by Josh Marshall.

I have to tell you, we HAVE to use the word “watchdog” instead of “whisleblower”

whistleblower has “rat fink” type of baggage, a “wathcdog’ is what a whisleblower is.

we need to change the vernacular…these laws would have never been changed if the proper vernacular were used to make thes laws

Christie, you actually have no idea how appropriate the photograph is…

At the back of the tatami room, on the left, I see a Go board.

Very very appropriate.

6 B. Muse says:

” dont know what’s up, but my trust in these people to do the right thing has completely dried up”

I think my way is better.. just don’t have any trust at all in any of these people. To paraphrase the Dixie Chicks, they don’t deserve any respect whatsoever. The rethugs needed a diversion from their own ethically impaired souls, Jefferson gave it to them. I wouldn’t be surprised if rethug politicos keep this alive, complaining about the violation of Jefferson’s rights, just to keep Jefferson in the papers as a fallen Dem politician. They’ll get more press mileage out of this than we did for the Hammer and Cunningham this way. Have no faith. That’s the only posture that works with these stinkers.

That photo looks like Frist’s nightmare.

There is a way to handle this and it does not involve “acting like a Republican.” Yes, I’m talking to you Nancy Pelosi. It involves:(Re-)swearing your allegiance to the US Constitution and tying this back to the NSA, the Patriot Act, Gitmo, torture, signing statements, and on and on and on.
It means (at least) paying lip service to the the fact that Jefferson is innocent until proven guilty — and simultaneously making a retroactive rule saying if you are under investigation, you must relinquish all power except that given to you via the ballot box.
And/but it means that the Congressional Black Caucus needs to get right with Jesus and stop fighting the leadership on this. Conyers “gets it.” Keep an eye on him.