
I only got to dip into today's testimony by Abu "Buttercheeks" Gonzales, our soon-to-be former Attorney General, but I saw and heard enough to know beyond the shadow of a doubt that not only is this man a liar, but he's a piss-poor one at that. Whiny, arrogant, dismissive, Little Gonzito sat there squirming on the hot seat, petulantly bleating away in that pinched, nasal Gayberry, RFD accent of his ("Ah awready told yew Ah misspoke!"), and stamping his little size 4 Hushpuppies as one committee member after another aggressively dismantled his pathetic scrim of CYA lies and demonstrated that it would be a stretch to let this man run his own bath, let alone letting him run the nation's engines of justice and law enforcement.
Yes, Abu is just the latest in a long line of egregious incompetents promoted well beyond their abilities and experience so that the Bush junta can extend its imperial reach to all levels of American society and forward the Republicans' plan to turn our nation into the world's single largest third-world banana republic. Bush cronies are to the Peter Principle what nuclear detonations are to static cling.
Do you think he swiped that suit off of John Roberts, Jr.?
Fortunately, the rest of the world seems to feel about like we do about Gone-zito. The reviews were harsh, even from people in his own camp.
Gonzales reviews are in: ‘Like clubbing a baby seal.’
CNN’s Dana Bash:
Loyal Republican after loyal Republican in this hearing room, and more specifically, in private to CNN today have made it clear that they are frankly flabbergasted by how poorly they think the attorney general has done in this hearing. … During the lunch break, in private, several very loyal Republicans made it clear to CNN that they were really dripping with disappointment.
CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux:
[White House officials] believe Gonzales is in trouble. … Two senior White House aides here describing the situation, Gonzales’ testimony, as “going down in flames.” That he was “not doing himself any favors.” One prominent Republican describing watching his testimony as “clubbing a baby seal.”
Uh, I have two problems with that analogy.
1. Baby seals are cute. Abu Gone-zales is about as cute as a plantar wart.
2. Baby seals are dead at the end of a proper clubbing. Abu was not. In fact, he was continuing to insist that the lies he's told and his attempts to pour bag after bag of sugar into the gas tank of American justice have nothing to do with his ability to perform his job.
If that was a clubbing, maybe euthanasia is the only answer. (Politically speaking, of course.)
At least one member of Abu's fan club is "pleased" with his performance today. You get three guesses who and the first two don't count.
Statement from Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino …
President Bush was pleased with the Attorney General’s testimony today. After hours of testimony in which he answered all of the Senators’ questions and provided thousands of pages of documents, he again showed that nothing improper occurred. He admitted the matter could have been handled much better, and he apologized for the disruption to the lives of the U.S. Attorneys involved, as well as for the lack of clarity in his initial responses. The Attorney General has the full confidence of the President, and he appreciates the work he is doing at the Department of Justice to help keep our citizens safe from terrorists, our children safe from predators, our government safe from corruption, and our streets free from gang violence.
Awwwww. Isn't that just precious? They actually think he's a normal boy!
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D, Ass-Kickistan) was particularly good today, I thought.
Alberto Gonzales, following the lead of Kyle Sampson, has drawn a well defined line at what would be an "improper" reason to fire a U.S. attorney: the motive of affecting a particular criminal case.
As Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) pointed out, that's a "very low bar." What Gonzales is describing is what would constitute possible criminal obstruction of justice. Gonzales admitted as much, saying that in considering what would be improper, he'd thought, "what is the legal standard?"
Pressing on, Whitehouse tried to get Gonzales to understand that it would also be improper to fire a U.S. attorney for a generally political reason — that attempting to discourage U.S. attorneys who might follow in Carol Lam's path, for instance, would be improper. Gonzales didn't seem to grasp the idea.
Ah, yes, when you've been to the well way, way, way, WAY too many times with "I don't remember", it's always handy to fall back on "I don't understand". No matter that your seeming inability to wrap your pointy little Texas ambulance-chaser head around such a simple concept screams loudly for all the world that you have about as much business in the US Department of Justice as a pack of javelinas. This is the core truth about the thick-headed criminals, religious fanatics, partisan hacks, and dead-enders who work for BushCo. They will say literally ANYTHING to try and weasel out of trouble. But that, of course, was Alberto's precise problem on the Hill today. He'd said ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING so many times that there was nowhere to run. Let's hope that this is the beginning of the last set of public appearances this little weasel will be making. I can't fucking stand the sound of his voice anymore. Why is it than when our heap big manly Republican men get backed into a corner, they all turn into these hissing, pissy, prissy little bitch-queens, anyhow? Especially Preznint Fauntleroy, there. When he's mad, he makes Bill Frist look like Henry Rollins. There's been some difference of views as to the hecklers in the audience today, who were apparently almost as much a part of the testimony as Gone-zito Hisself. They cat-called and booed. At the end of the testimony, they erupted into song, singing "Na Na, Hey-Hey, Goodbye" and one heckler was caught on C-SPAN saying, "Seventy-four times, 'I don't recall.' How did he get through law school?" How, indeed? Wake me when the little pissant gets a new job as Prison Bitch. Otherwise, don't bother me.
Related posts:





Spotlight
I don’t recall
74 times
Madness madness Madness
TRex, with a Gonzo smackdown. Priceless!
What A DAY
All this forgetfulness.
No wonder they cannot uphold the Constitution.
They forgot where they left it.
Throw the bums out!
Cue the music, Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust.
FBI raids office of GOP Renzi’s father.
Renzi resigns intel post.
-GSD
EPU’d
lo
lo
I realized that Gonzo is gonzo when I heard the White House statement about the great job Abu did at the hearing and that he has the full confidence of the president.
If Gonzo does not understand the meaning of those words, he should ask Donald Rumsfeld.
Oh, and “heckuva job, Abu!”
Hilarious. Just friggin hilarious.
It is great watching the evil empire beginning to eat its own as it implodes. Best thing that’s happened all week.
“They actually think he’s a normal boy! “
They don’t think anything of the sort. He’s a front man… the lines of power don’t run through cabinet secretaries… they run through the back channel political line, and Cabinet secretaries are expected to behave … nothing more.
He’s a nothing. The emails, if they can be recovered will show who was running the show.
And it will all ultimately come down to the unitary executive. The only form of redress will be impeachment, and that will happen when 16 Republican Senators decide they are better off without Bush and Cheney than with them… which until today I would have said will be a cold day in hell…. but the sight of Republican scorn certainly warms the heart, and enables me to feel a cool wind blowing out of hell for the first time in along time.
As a gay man I take offense to that bitchy screaming queen remark. Screw you buddy. I’m the kinda gay guy that will pop you in the mouth and forget all the screaming and whaling. Watch yourself…your gay stereotyping can piss off a lot of your allies…me being one of them. Got it?
74 times? I thought it was 92.
God, it’s all gonna come crashing down. If AGAG goes, then the rest will inevitably fall. Dude, AGAG like hid Bush’s records and stuff man. Of course he’s going to protect the guy. There’s still a lot of popcorn-eating to come!
http://www.rollcall.com/issues…..070-1.html
Sorry here is the linky. This is huge.
Isn’t Abu a bit young to be pulling the patented Reagan Alzheimer’s defense? I only caught bits and pieces during the day, but the boy seems to have a mind like a sieve.
WASHINGTON (Map, News) – Attorney General Alberto Gonzales confirmed Thursday that former Arizona U.S. Attorney Paul Charlton was fired after policy clashes that the Justice Department considered “poor judgment.”
Democrats in Arizona have suggested Charlton was fired on Dec. 7 because his office had opened investigations before the 2006 election into a land deal by Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., and a camping trip retired Rep. Jim
http://www.examiner.com/a-6841…..ment_.html
Angelo aka Anj @ 10
Oh relax. It’s just a stereotype. Words only have as much power as you give them. Way to act like a tough guy on the internet buddy.
Angelo aka Anj @ 10
I guess you don’t know that I’m gay, too, hon?
It’s the Peter(r) Principle Government!
egregious,
you there?
It seems TRex has taken your name in vain.
Angelo aka Anj @ 10
I’m guessing you’re new here.
I left out this in the last sentence in my post at #14:
Democrats in Arizona have suggested Charlton was fired on Dec. 7 because his office had opened investigations before the 2006 election into a land deal by Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., and a camping trip retired Rep. Jim
retired Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., took with two former pages.
HOLY FOLEY!! LOL
Spaceship Earth in this case…
And may mike-9 work like ice-9.
conniptionfit @ 17
Ahem.
I wish that someone would come up with a different descriptive phrase for that.
You know.. I’m still trying to figure out how this guy can’t remember anything. How the hell did he get through law school? He’s obviously lying. Isn’t there a process in place for Congress to impeach guys like this? Or does it only apply to POTUS and VPOTUS?
Feingold was………….presidential.
lolo @ 12
Now the Republic Party is going to be in more turmoil because they are going to be paranoid thinking that the Machavellian shitheel Turdblossom is tossing them overboard as ballast to keep the Good Ship HMS Chimpy afloat.
In order to save Bush, they think, Rove must now convince people that the Justice Dept. is willing to indict Republics…
This is where the Party goes all cannibalistic on each other.
All of their chessplaying and backstabbing and ratfucking is gonna drive ‘em crazy. They don’t know who to trust.
-GSD
DeafByPills @ 23
The Congress cannot impeach the AG, but they can implement procedural obstructions and sanctions that would make staying more difficult than leaving.
DeafByPills @ 23
Nope. The Constitution specifically allows for the impeachment of all executive officers of the government (hear that Condi?).
Donner, party of four? Your table is ready. Donner, party of four.
it all just became abundantly clear to me!! gonzales isn’t w’s or karl’s stooge; he is owned lock, stock and smoking barrel by jon stewart. i promise you… no one gives away that much comic gold.
I agree with Mike @9. All roads lead to Rove.
So which is it? Can all executive officials be impeached or not?
Donner, party of three? Donner, party of two……..
-GSD
DeeLuzon @ 29
It would explain a great deal.
I think Abu did about the best job he possibly could under the circumstances. If he stops lying, he would be forced to admit that all of the firings were politically motivated and that a whole host of White House and justice department officials were involved. Abu did look sort of like a possum in the headlights.
GSD @ 32
Now that’s funny!!
that chart is amazing(saw it in slate)
can’t help thinking how useful it would be as an election flyer accompanied by a back handed reference to Clinton.
ot
a few threads back some one commented on the difference between the official inflation rate: 2%,and calculations made on thier own budget:around 20%.
this bought to mind a book read recently(sorry can’t remember title or isbn,will find out if any one is interested) that made reference to what the US treasury called the’walmart effect’.
where the inflation rate with the w/m numbers is completely different to the inflation rate without the w/m numbers.
spew alert!
(with sincere affection and respect for peterr…)
Maybe the reason he doesn’t recall is because Karl Rove was calling the shots, telling Mr. Gonzales to say “here” when roll was called at meetings and then dismissing him to go play elsewhere. Maybe Rove signed off on lots of stuff as the AG, so Gonzales really, truly doesn’t remember. Then, Rove tells him what it is that’s been done in his name, so he can say, “in hindsight” and “after reviewing the minutes” and similar comments.
JR @ 34
Actually I thought he looked rather more like a dead armadillo in the middle of the road. The little buggers actually do themselves in by jumping straight up when startled.
The Attorney General has the full confidence of the President, and he appreciates the work he is doing at the Department of Justice to help keep our citizens safe from terrorists, our children safe from predators, our government safe from corruption, and our streets free from gang violence.
—————-
odd timing about keeping the children and streets safe dont you think? maybe we’ve already had our ‘dr phil’ moments and ‘moved on?’
pinched, nasal Gayberry, RFD accent
another spew alert!
let Kuchinich be an example and impeach them all
mike @ 9
Mike that was beautifully said. Thanks
May-Do you have a link to the chart?
TRex you are hillarious! I can’t even compose myself long enough to type something…
CMU (Crack me Up!:
Whaaa.. Thank you vera muuuchh…
. . . And how come claims were allowed to continue about the thousands of pages of testimony provided, without anyone pointing out the percentage of readable material vs. redacted stuff?
. . . Or, in response to “no proof of anything improper shown,” the fact that approximately a gazillion emails are missing that would further the truth behind this mess.
I guess Angelino aka Anj won’t be my friend, now.
That’s a shame.
You know, it’s very hard to come up with words that adequately convey how disgusting and repellent I find Abu Gone-zito. I am glad you guys are enjoying this post. The first draft read more like, “AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!! DIE, YOU LITTLE SHITBAG!! DIE!! DIE!! DIIIIIIIIIE!!”
Revisions are my friends.
Just a thought, but maybe it’s best that Gonzago does stick around, a-twistin’ in the wind, for the foreseeable future. To keep this matter front and center in the public eye, it is better that there NOT be a convenient scapegoat that Bush et al. can clean up, like so much roadkill……move along, folks, nuthin to see here….
TRex @ 47
How about WATB?
Mike@9
I’m thinking it will be a cold day in hell before the brain dead like Westmoreland or the spineless lizards like Spector decide to stand up for anything besides their lobbyists.
oddball @ 18
707
TRex @ 47
Feh — who needs him…you got us!
Well, after today, Gonzales better have jam in his pockets, because he’s gonna be toast.
DeafByPills @
31
“All civil officers of the United States”
John Dean
No one can doubt anymore who Bush loves more: Alberto or Karl. Clearly, Karl is the wife, Alberto just the squeeze.
If Bush was really loyal to his “friend” Alberto, he’d have told him to hang it up weeks ago. Instead, he’s letting him dance around like the La Femme Nikita gal, with the sad pathos of a puppeteer’s puppet.
Dance, Alberto, dance. You’re screwed anyway.
With friends like Bush…
I think that Fredo is harder to take than President Prissy Pants.
Late Night FDL is the perfect mix of horror and funny.
It reminded me of trying to get the truth out of my kid about studying/breaking curfew/skipping school when he was 15-16-17 years old and he was in a particularly petulant mood.
In fact this whole administration reminds me of moody 17-year-olds
Sheldon Whitehouse was the star today in my book. At the end of the day, he pulls out two memos describing appropriate contacts between the White House and the Dept of Justice, all to protect the independence of the DOJ. Janet Reno’s memo provides for 4 WH people (Pres, VP, WH Counsel, Dep WH Counsel) and 3 DOJ people (AG, Dep AG, Assoc AG); the Bush admin memo calls for 417 WH people and 30 at DOJ. He put it up on a chart (though I was listening on NPR and couldn’t see it), and made his point rather forcefully.
But the best part came after he and Gonzo sparred over this for a bit, and he turned to Chairman Leahy to ask for a bit more time.
That just does not happen in DC. Not very often, anyway. The rookie steps up, swings, and knocks one so far out of the park that the grizzled veteran just stands there and watches in admiration. “No, you go ahead and take another swing . . . I just want to watch.”
Sheldon Whitehouse is a former US Atty, and I think he is taking AGAG’s nonsense quite personally. Good for him, and good for us!
And good for the folks of RI who put him in the Senate!!!!
Please contact your “representatives”. I have. Following is what I have related to my “representatives”.
Honorable Senator Martinez,
Through news accounts of the deplorable actions of Cho Seung-Hui it has come to my attention the federal government may be keeping a database of antidepressant and other prescription medication users in violation of HIPPA.
Senator Martinez, I work in the health care field. We take pride, are continuously trained and reminded, and constantly strive to maintain our patient’s right to privacy. The government’s recent “admitting” knowledge of Cho Seung-Hui’s use of antidepressants is extremely disturbing.
Senator Martinez, I am 54 years old. In 2002, my marriage of 26 years ended in divorce. Two months after the divorce I was informed I had a spot on my right lung and might have lung cancer, which my natural father died of at 53 years of age, and my step-father died of 5 years previous to my diagnosis without leaving the hospital after his operation.
Senator Martinez, I was fired from my job at Cargill for supposed but undocumented deficiencies in my “performance” 3 months after returning from my life saving surgery.
Senator Martinez, would you please inquire if I am in that database of antidepressant patients. If I am, could you please remove my records in compliance with the laws I have to adhere to?
Please respond, and not with a form letter.
Thank you,
ME!
The Attorney General can be impeached:
U.S. Constitution, Art. II
Whether we have high crimes and misdemeanors is another question. Couldn’t hurt to try.
GSD @ 25
GSD you are spot on! As usual lol
ccmask! How could you muff the punchline?!
Suddenly I have a feeling that anticipations of a cascade are going to be overfulfilled.
UptownNYChick @ 57
I would actually go for 13 years olds myself. They’re not mature enough for 17.
Mary McCurnin @ 56
I do what I can, ma’am.
Thankyew for yer support.
Hi all. Thanks to those that gave me links. I just posted the LAMEST Gonzales post anywhere.
They wrote that press release a week ago. They would have put it out no matter what Abu said today.
Snarkassandra @ 64
Evening, Cassie!
DrDick @ 62
Hey! Some of us are really mature! We’re up to 8 teen bloggers now and 1 12 yr old.
prostratedragon @ 61
I know! lol I was so pissed that it didn’t copy! I coulda been a contender!
DrDick @ 66
Good evening Dr Dick!
Cassie, that’s a great graphic on that blog post! ;-)
DrDick @ 63
it would be hard to find a similar pack of lying, murdering, torturing and thieving 13 year olds. of course I’m not ‘all’ that familiar with christian youth groups.
Will anything actually happen tomorrow? Or will it just be another day?
only partially o/t, but –
hey t.rex, your people were
a big help last time i asked, so. . .
rep. henry waxman released the
full-text of covington & burling’s
latest letter to his office, on the
r.n.c. e-mail preservation/catalog
efforts this afternoon, as the
hearing wrapped-up. . .
the letter names the proposed
computer forensics firm it has selected. . .
any tech-savvy folk out there have a
view about this firm’s abilities, reputation, etc.? — let’s find out!
now, the idea of the white house selecting
the relevant search terms should be a non-
starter. . . in any event, there are easy-to-
read jpg-files at the link, above, and the entire
text of the letter. . .
i would love to know anything anyone
knows about this firm. . . here in the
comments, of over at my shop, in comments. . .
i’ll check in the a.m. — thanks again, for
a great ride today, fdl-ers!
Can we get Darkblack to photoshop that Sheldon Whitehouse diagram with the motto: The Buck Stops Here!
Bush stands by another corrupt cipher at the World Bank.
-GSD
Snarkassandra @ 68
I am sorry, I think I just remember the exhausting days when Eli wanted to be difficult.
Snarkassandra @ 67
I stand corrected. It is rather disturbing though when some actual 13 year olds are more mature than the people in charge of our country.
I was at the hearing today with my 14 yr old nephew who was on the edge of his seat by the end of the hearing. In my opinion the reason the White House will stand behind Gonzales, regardless of his obvious incompetence and criminal neglect of “justice” in the Justice Department, is not just because he is the obvious backstop for Rove’s illegal political activity, but is also because a new pair of eyes in the Justice Department would possibly uncover even more criminal activity there.
After so much questioning, Gonzales was not any closer to explaining who made up the list of US Attorneys to be fired. In my seat I kept repeating Karl, Karl, Karl…
my previous post was a bit over the top. i apologize for offending any ‘good’ non-fascist christians.
sorry.
i wish i hadn’t typed that.
we need to start a blog site for pdf versions of all the rewritten performance ratings of career and competent ppl in the last 4 years.
ccmask @ 44
sorry i don’t have the knowlege to do that, it was in the mc veigh thread i think
maggierose @ 77
Ask him if he will do a guest post for our blog and tell us about it in his own words. Please. We are a left-leaning political blog by teenagers. YouThinkLeft
Peterr @ 58
I’m with you on Whitehouse. CHS liveblogged his first round as follows:
Kyl Agrees! Amazing!
I called his office after I read this and expressed my appreciation, pointing out that as a lawyer myself, I absolutely agree.
Why on earth are the Democrats not bringing articles of impeachment against Gonzales? Wouldn’t perjuring yourself in front of Congress — repeatedly! — fall under “high crimes and misdemeanors”?
Thanks May–I’m dying to see it. I was too busy trying to look busy at work today to watch it all.
Oh, I can be your friend T-Rex, and someone noted that “I must be new to this site”. Kinduva new reader but didn’t know that you were family (not that it’s my gig to call one another queen or whatever…) I would feel very much in that nebulous “Imus-Rev Sharpton-Snoop Dog” kinda speak. Have fun…I gotta get back to my blog cruisin.
Cheers from Texas!
may @ 80
Here it is.
Adric @ 83
That’s part of what’s eating at me tonight. A fear that despite what happened today, nothing will change.
“The bank’s staff association, which accounts for around 7,000 of the bank’s 10,000 employees worldwide, wants Wolfowitz to resign, saying his actions have tarnished the reputation of the bank. “His conduct to date does not reflect respect for good governance,” said Alison Cave, head of the staff association.”
Gonna have to come up with a better reason than that lady. Perhaps some gay Instant Messages with a minor, a yacht or something….but garden variety graft, favortism and rule flouting just won’t do. That is all done at the pleasure of the Prez’nit.
-GSD
Good evening, ladies and joims!
what is it with this administration hiring so many tiny little people?
you ’spose Bush does it to make himself feel extra tall?
kirk murphy @
37
That is brilliant, T. You make reading about this crap an absolute party!
Evening all.
Mabel’s Wig Shack @ 78
What? I thought it was great. Anyone who’s offended by that is looking for something to be offended about. Save your regret for when you really screw up, dearest! That was just a hiccup.
EvilDrPuma @ 89
WHAT kind of FUCKERY is this?!
EvilDrPuma @ 90
Good evening Evil!
Thanks Cassie! Love the name of your blog.
Suzanne @ 93
Hiya Suzanne!
“I can’t fucking stand the sound of his voice anymore.”
Wait! You were once able to stand the sound of his voice? That voice alone would have sent me over the edge, maybe a Senator hold or something. I mean this is like Michael Jackson, but with no positive qualities.
OldCoastie @ 90
Uh, yes, actually. It’s one big Lollipop Guild.
Good evening dr.
Other Pat @ 38
The reason he can’t recall is that you can’t be convicted of perjury for saying “I can’t recall,” only for making false statements.
Mary McCurnin @
56
Oh, what a horrible choice.
Full-spectrum resistance. T-Rex, you and the rest of the denizens of the ‘Lake are truly heroes in my book. You are truly the inheritors of Thomas Paine, and the ‘Lake in another day might have been called “Common Sense”-and if you’re not careful you may wind up being taught in a history class somewhere.
Evenin’ EvilPuma…
Hi All! Great stuff TRex.
Well, if he doesn’t step down, just start impeachment proceedings. They’d definitely get the votes.
Angelo aka Anj @ 85
Oh, you’re from Texas! I hear everything’s bigger there.
Sigh.
I had a boyfriend from Texas once. He was, uh, yeah. Big. Mmmmmmm.
Check out this pic of Bush in this story….
Bush threatens Sudan with sanctions
http://www.ndtv.com/convergenc…..0070009171
Mabel’s Wig Shack @
24
Hey .. I told him as much to his face last September ;-)
Oh..My… Gawwwd! Mr. T-Rex you out did yourself tonight. I’ve been laughing so hard my entire family came into to see what was the matter with me. Your comments are the icing on a delicious day of cake. Thank-You.
oh no! You’re a size qu…NEVERMIND!
TRex @ 95
Treacherous, mayhem-filled fuckery. And that’s just five Supreme Court justices.
Snarkassandra @ 65
Are you sure about that, Cassie? I thought “the lamest gonzales post anywhere” was the written statement Gonzo handed in to the Senate committee.
Adric @ 84
Oh, I think it’s coming. The Democrats are going to systematically pick off all of the criminal “hired help” around the Crawford Caligula and leave him with little more than himself as his “brain trust.” It will be uproariously funny as the plan progresses.
TRex @ 107
I am also in Texas!
Mabel’s Wig Shack @ 78
it’s ok
neurophius @ 113
SnarKassandra @ 96
Hey-hey. Sorry you were too busy with testing to catch the fireworks live.
Thanks to all the other well-wishers, too. You are too many to try to cover individually.
Angelo aka Anj @ 110
SHHHHHHHH!!!!
I meant that he was, uh, tall!
(Flat on his back.)
TRex @
100
… and me sitting here wondering if I could get away with saying we’re being taken over by the LPG.
Mabel’s Wig Shack @ 24
I agree. He’s my hero… and used to be my Senator.
NYT:Opinion
If Attorney General Alberto Gonzales had gone to the Senate yesterday to convince the world that he ought to be fired, it’s hard to imagine how he could have done a better job, short of simply admitting the obvious: that the firing of eight United States attorneys was a partisan purge.
snip
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04…..0fri1.html
OFF TOPIC: anyone know if this is true:
…and a good evening to all. I’m with TRex – the whiny nasal petulance of Abu G is just too repulsive. You know he’e the guy sitting alone at the bar at 1AM amazed that every woman who came into the place that night already had a boyfriend…
Two things I think are under-noticed at this point.
1) If senior administration officials are panning Gonzales so badly, it’s because they have made a joint decision to throw him under the bus. It’s a rare instance of these folks speaking badly of each other, no matter how much it’s deserved.
2) mike@9 made a really good point. This administration has party lines of authority running parallel to every actual line of government authority. At the blatant risk of Godwinning the thread, there is an early-to-mid 20th century party who used this tactic to great effect. I think they were called the National Socialistic Workers Party or something. Shortened to “Natis” or something.
maggierose @ 77
Was it really tense there? Were the protesters loud or obnoxious?
The WaPo has a full transcript up of the whole hearing, broken into three webpages:
Part one: Opening statements by Leahy, Specter, Schumer, Sessions, and AGAG; questions by Leahy, Specter, Kennedy, Brownback, Kohl, Hatch, Feinstein, Cornyn, and Feingold.
Part two: questions by Sessions, Schumer, Graham, Durbin, then a lunch break followed by Grassley, Cardin, and Coburn
Part three: Whitehouse, and Kyl (Leahy notes that Biden has a statement to be inserted into the record, but it not given in the transcript); Second round questions by Leahy, Specter, Feinstein, Hatch, Cardin, Whitehouse, and Schumer; final statements by Specter and Leahy.
Have fun pulling out your highlights! There are some real gems there.
Feingold is my freaking hero. I mentioned him today on my blog as well. I noticed he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring today at the hearings. I sat there…imagining…wishing, actually!
ccmask @
108
CCmask, did you notice the other story in that link. Thailand declines US military offer to help quell insurgency.
Holy shit….talk about spread thin….
-GSD
Snarkassandra @
65
Ah, but was it the lamest standardized test of your academic career?
I needs to be said that while both Democrats and Republicans are calling on Gonzales to resign, they are doing it for different reasons. The Democrats want him out because he has destroyed the credibility and intgegrity of the DOJ, and the Republicans want him out because he is embarassing the shit out of the Republican party; he is making them look bad.
That is the difference, and it is a huge one.
TEXAS is NOT the home state of George W Bush. He is from Connecticut…PLEASE make the distinction.
Ann Richards…SHE was from Texas!
SnarKassandra @ 123
I wasn’t aware that it was illegal to own a gun if you are blind. It seems pointless to do so, but I wouldn’t have one in my house no matter what my visual ability was.
Mutant Poodle @ 129
You want me to remember them all? AGHHHH!
maggierose @
78
You are so damn lucky!! I could never go to one of these hearings. I’d be sitting in the peanut gallery, wildly cheering when Senator Feingold was smacking Abu down. Also, I doubt I could keep my mouth shut when Abu was making that jack ass statement that if you criticized him .. you were critizing the people that worked at DoJ. Leahy would have had me kicked out, because I would have cursed Abu out, loudly.
From the same NYT article: Mr. Gonzales was even unable to say who compiled the list of federal attorneys slated for firing. The man he appointed to conduct the purge, Kyle Sampson, said he had not created the list. The former head of the office that supervises the federal prosecutors, Michael Battle, said he didn’t do it, as did William Mercer, the acting associate attorney general.
SO WHO DID IT? k.rove@chopshop.roflmao
Angelo aka Anj @ 131
Yep!!!! And Molly Ivins and Barbara Jordan and lots of cool ladies!
Bugman on Charlie Rose, in honor of his book. He’s a waffle, and merely being not wished to be pressed in the iron. Which he can’t take and which he was shown to be complicit, he is saying that he that he as nothing to do with Abramahoff. Everyone needs a gun is the answer, is his answer to the VaR situation.
Mutant Poodle @ 130
All standardized tests are equally lame. Like, totally so.
Angelo aka 47 must have gone to punch out Dorothy.
Angelo aka Anj @ 132
Don’t forget Molly Ivins!!!!
Angelo aka Anj @ 130
Even though I am originally from Oklahoma, I have to agree with you. G-Dub gives the whole region a bad name. Ann Richards on the other hand ….
I might add that when I saw that Senator Coburn asked Gonzalez to resign, I called his office to thank him for that. I noted that it must be difficult for him to go against the administration, and especially agreed with his reasons for it, the need to preserve the reputation of the US Attorneys for political independence.
The guy who answered said that most of their calls were going the other way. I urge people to call Coburn and thank him for his position on this issue.
This a real opportunity to catch him doing something right.
Can we safely assume that Al Qaeda didn’t appoint a real estate attorney to be their new War Czar?
-GSD
T-Rex ur a MESS man!
SnarKassandra @ 134
Trust me – in a few years it’ll just be the college boards. All I’m left with from decades ago is my GMAT, but that’s just because I was sleep-deprived and semi-comatose – I can’t get it out of my subconscious.
masaccio @ 143
More than Arlen “On Tails of Weasels” Specter could be bothered to do.
dreamcatcher @
131
Correction: “It needs to be said..”
I would NEVER strike a woman barrelhse. And yeah, I am a big mouth proud TX Liberal that fights first and asks questions later. How uncivilized ya know! ;) Gotta keep these repukes in check.
Angelo aka Anj @ 132
How could anyone forget, both Lieberman and Bush are from Conn.
birds of a feather….
Snarkassandra @ 87
Revised Chart
You guys want to know a secret?
Angelo aka Anj @ 145
Looks ike trex has another fan. Sigh.
TRex @ 150
Sure!
I love the pic. Two pieces of sub-human scum.
COOL! I may put that one up!
EvilDrPuma @ 147
Oh, don’t make me post this link!
TRex @ 151
Do I have to leave the room? :)
I wanna hear the secret, TRex.
Madonna:
“mmm, mmm…my baby’s got a secret!”
Angelo aka Anj @ 144
Hee!
*bows deeply*
At your service. Come by any time!!
Teh Secret!:
Well, the machinery is in motion to possibly result in me interviewing Tori Amos for FDL.
Stay tuned.
On that note, I’m headed home. See you kids in a bit.
Sweet, TRex. Since it is a secret, does that mean we can’t say a word to anyone?
GSD @ 129
Yeah. I just read it.
Suzanne @ 163
I know nuffink! Nuffink!
–
Sgt. SchulzAlberto GonzalesNo collection of great Bush shots from this era would be complete without the one here, which someone posted on an earlier thread this evening. The article’s pretty good, too—Deb Reichmann sounds like she’s had enough.
Tori is awesome. My fave cd by her is the one where she covered all the songs that were suggestively insiduous to women. To see her in concert is unBEELEEVable.
Angelo aka Anj @ 132
Was Molly native born?
Yes LooHoo, the unsinkable Molly Ivins was a Texas woman.
nolo–
Not much on Stroz Friedberg. Very few political donations (a few for Amy Klobuchar from individuals in the Minneapolis branch), etc.
One of the people starting the firm is apparently a forensics guy and former special agent for the FBI–that’s Ed Stroz.
Their basic gig is computer forensics for Fortune 500 companies.
lolo @ 126
The protesters were mainly Code Pink and a few people who called out “liar” and were escorted out of the hearing. One man kept track of all the “I do not recall”s – his tally was on the news. I did not think the hearing was tense and the committee staff was pretty tolerant of the protesters who can get annoying since their stick gets repetitive.
I agree with all the kudos for Senator Whitehouse. He is my nephew’s senator and Senator Whitehouse allowed us to come up and twice take photos with the senator (first camera didn’t work). Before he had asked a single question, I told Whitehouse that I had liked his questions at a previous Gonzales hearing. He very modestly said that he hoped he wouldn’t disappoint us. What an understatement!!
I will ask my nephew about guest-blogging (he’s sleeping now).
Desert in Arizona is blooming right now if anyone wants to see it…as for myself I’ll be spending the next few dayz back in town trying to find someone who lives in or around Casa Grande, AZ to help rescue a dog that lives in a park there. Anyone here know anyone there?
Let’s change Abu into a female dog with an injured leg and a prominant set of ribs and force him to live in a pocket sized park entirely dependant on people who ignore him and never feed or water him. Time to get our priorities straight.
Loo Hoo @ 167
Yes!
prostratedragon @ 166
Reichmann never gets enough. Hell, she
sucked offheaped praise upon Der Shrubbenfuhrer just this week for his Virginia Tech voyage.El mucho grande de Gonzo la boompa!
Somebody needed to say it.
The testimony must have been excruciatingly bad. A trip to Freeperville showed nary a mention of it. What a joke those people are.
I just don’t understand what Fredo sees in Junior.
TRex @ 152
No. Don’t tell it unless you really need to. **
GSD @
144
Have we? It would be so apt, somehow.
Rushton @ 176
Judging from what I read of the liveblogging here, Abu is probably sleeping on his tummy tonight. Because having Whitehouse’s, Leahy’s, and Schumer’s chomp marks all over your ass has to hurt.
Mary McCurnin @ 177
Lunch. From his testimony today, Dubya is his only possible meal ticket.
But Fredo understand that George eats his own?
mable’s wig shack, may i just say that i love you. i had they greatest gufaw of this sad, ugly but compelling day with your post earlier.”thank you.
it’s hard to imagine that Dear Leader will actually let gonzo go.
Not only does it seem impossible to find a replacement — after all, any new AG has to go thru confirmation hearings — but if they do get someone who isn’t a narcoleptic in place, it’s certain that the new AG will realize he has to open prosecutions on everyone else in the WH.
Not what Dear Leader has in mind.
Did anyone at the hearing today talk about the attorneys that did NOT get fired?
EvilDrPuma @
174
Hmmm, first time I’d ever noticed her by-line. Bipolar, maybe? Tweety’s syndrome?
Angelo aka Anj @ 169
Actually, no, Ivins, like Bush, was not a native-born Texan. She was four years old when her parents moved from California to Houston.
Cheers.
I seriously want to thank those of you who kept us workers posted today. REALLY good work. When I got home and read the WP and NYT, I didn’t learn anything new. You covered our backs. Love ya!
montag @ 170
Friedberg, the other founder, is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of New York (pre-Bush), specialized in computer and telecommunications crime there. Looks legit.
i must say firepups are in rare form tonight – good on youse all lol – its good to laugh and relax for a bit after the intense hearing and my dems were on top of their game today
I’m with Maggierose, Bush can’t get rid of Abu. Any replacement will have to be a true professional, and the immediate job will be to access the damage already inflicted, and the ongoing damage. All the i’s need dotting and the t’s crossing before impeachment can begin, but it may be inevitable.
SnarKassandra @ 185
Not that I remember. The Dems may as well have done; it would hardly have seemed off topic compared to some of Kyl’s and Hatch’s “questions.”
I kinda don’t think he was lying. I think he’s just a drastically bad manager and he’s really mystified why this is all happening. More detail on that thought over here.
Also: I’mm pretty sure they were singing:
Nah nah nahh nahh
Nah nah nahh nahh
Gonnn-zaaa-les
Gooodbyyyye
prostratedragon @ 186
It might just be that she’s that monumentally forgettable.
Pardon me, assess the damage.
Attorney General Gonzales’ attempts to deflect blame, deny and coverup during his testimony today were quite a sorry sight. Gonzales was so bad that even the staunchest Republicans like Senator Tom Coburn (received a perfect 100% rating from the American Conservative Union for the year 2005) are calling for the Attorney General to step down.
In stark contrast, as this White House press release shows, the White House remains out of touch with reality:
“President Bush Pleased with Attorney General’s Testimony
RSS Feed White House News
President Bush was pleased with the Attorney General’s testimony today. After hours of testimony in which he answered all of the Senators’ questions and provided thousands of pages of documents, he again showed that nothing improper occurred. He admitted the matter could have been handled much better, and he apologized for the disruption to the lives of the U.S. Attorneys involved, as well as for the lack of clarity in his initial responses.
The Attorney General has the full confidence of the President, and he appreciates the work he is doing at the Department of Justice to help keep our citizens safe from terrorists, our children safe from predators, our government safe from corruption, and our streets free from gang violence.”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news…..419-5.html
I just can’t fathom how the White House can issue a press release saying the Attorney General has the “full confidence of the President” after this scandal. The statement is even more outrageous than telling former FEMA director Michael Brown that he was doing a “heck of a job” in the midst of possibly the most incompetent and deadly major disaster recovery effort in modern American history.
At best the President’s statement today reaffirming his “full confidence” in Alberto Gonzales is a stark sign of the rampant incompetence in this Administration from the President himself down. At worst it is an attempt to stave the tide against revealing how the President and Karl Rove improperly manipulated the Justice Department to obstruct justice for partisan ends. Either way, now the public can only have no confidence in not just our Attorney General, but our President and his entire White House.
that’s RIGHT! Molly WAS from California. Sorry, just wishful thinking I guess. Heck if they can claim Shrub was from Tejas hell we can claim MOLLY!
Mary McCurnin @ 182
Only people who dare to question or disagree with him. As long as he stays absolutely loyal, Gonzo’s set for life. He may be out of his current job, but he’ll be on the BushCo gravy train forever. Rumsfeld still has an office in the Pentagon.
SnarKassandra @ 184
I’m sure they would have liked to, but Abu stalled big time on the ones who were fired, so…
juslin @ 190
Well, they might have all “recommended” that Abu resign.
jimbo @ 191
Fitz!!
Angelo aka Anj @
169
I heart Molly Ivins. She is the Spiritual Mother of my writing.
night night y’all
hasta tomorrow!
That was a quick trip home, TRex. No stopping at the Piggly tonight?
TRex @ 202
We all heart Molly and I for one miss her dearly. She would truly have had a heyday with today’s hearing.
SnarKassandra @ 202
nite cassie
That Bush was pleased with Gonzales’ performance was a given: after all Abu firewalled for Rove, Miers, and the Decider for seven hours.
SnarKassandra @ 185
There was some talk about the one in Wisconsin, but if I remember right, it was more in the vein of “don’t you see how this casts partisan suspicion on the actions of all the other attorneys” rather than digging into it for real.
SnarKassandra @ 203
Night, Cassie.
See ya, Cassie.
Good night, Cassie. Take care. You know you’re very special to us here at The Lake. You’re one of Tomorrow’s Progressives, but we get to know you today! How lucky are we?!
T-Rex, I stand corrected from earlier. It was brought to my attn that Ms Ivins was from CA & not from TX. She wrote for my hometown paper for many years, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. It was nice to have a progressive voice here in these parts.
Olderman on Countdown with an extensive piece (”Record Slayers”) about how the Bush administration keeps losing records– They start out with Greenwald’s column in Salon, but then show a wide-ranging “problem” of “losing” these documents, followed later by an interview with John Dean about it. They traced back to the missing documents about Bush’s service in the Air National Guard. Fantastic!
Go, Keith, Go!!!
Bob in HI
lee5 @ 184
I think there will just be one or more interim replacements for the rest of his term, and they just won’t get around to submitting anyone for confirmation as a permanent AG.
Metaphor update:
bloodied, beaten near-dead Baby Seal = the rule of law
sadistic band of baby-seal-clubbers = Abu Ghonzales, Bubble Boy, Big Dick
TRex @ 26
Huh. I did not know that.
And, did you say that you’re gay? Well, Smack my Ass and Call Me Sally!
(I’ve had a burning desire to post a link to that since Christy put a pic in a thread about a week ago).
Angelo aka Anj @ 212
Let’s just say that she adjusted to Texas just fine. She thought of herself as Texan, and so did everyone else who knew her.
Bob Schacht @ 213
Sorry I missed that one.
TRex @ 211
“I knew her back when she was taking lousy standardized tests in the Texas P.S. system!”
Redshift @ 214
can they do that? what are the rules for interim postings at the cabinet level?
for all you texans here – is the state getting a little progressive now that you see how really sorry bushco and its followers are? my daughter might be moving there soon and i;m a bit worried – she’ll be moving to port arthur after she’s married :o(
JD21 @ 196
But let’s not forget what became of Brownie. And Rumsfeld.
Course, what the hell is Rummie doing STILL at the Pentagon? Does anybody know? What is he being paid?
Will Clusterfuck fire Gonzo? Will Gonzo resign? Will the cheerios kid catch the maiden?
It really doesn’t matter. This criminal administration is ending it’s days with a farce. They’re becoming a joke. The president of the United States has just about nothin ta do- ceptin ta go out an make dumb speeches that nobody listens to- and his supporting cast is dyin out there. Wolfie and Gonzo providing the current entertainment- but lots of understudies in the wings.
EvilDrPuma @ 219
Oh dear. She has charmed all of you!
Texas Betsy @ 223
Yup!
the CNN/Lou Dobbs poll on whether or not Gonzo should resign:
95% of over 7,000 votes say YES …… (as of now)
Within an inch of my rather remarkable life.
SnarKassandra @ 185
Senator Kohl got confirmation that Stephen Biskupic was on the list and then off the list, but Gonzales did not know why and would get back to him on it. Biskupic, you may recall, is the US Atty had an arguably politically motivated prosecution reversed from the bench last week by the 7th circuit. He has publicly stated that “it was not communicated to him” that he was on the list. After Gonzales’ discussion of how San Diego’s Carol Lam should have known from others outside DOJ, eg., congressmembers there was dissatisfaction with her performance, perhaps Biskupic had more friendly advice offered by his Republican brethren…
Texas Betsy @ 222
Fraid so.
A quick OT.
There must have been a very significant backlash against the media, NBC in particular over the VT killer’s press-package story.
I can’t recall a story that was so big for one day and then stomped out due to the ensuing uproar.
Seems the MSM doesn’t really know what to do anymore.
-GSD
as long as chimpy is in office he wont allow abu to quit cuz abu saved his ass many times during his ” drug years”
The words “The president has full confidence in X” are usually the last heard before X is whisked out the door.
Texas Betsy @ 223
I find young minds that value knowledge very charming, yes.
spiderpaws @ 172
I put out a call to the universe for you on a previous thread Spiderpaws……and here you are….you are needed.
You called it last month with the dates of Abu’s demise. Now what????
lolo
newtonusr @ 199
There was discussion about the fact that the whole department was in question because of the firings. Schumer?
What was the big super important, triple bolded
point Marcy made today? I’m too bushed (!) to go back and look.
This is what they don’t understand. They think that us fire-breathing liberals are some kind of distant lunatic fringe who became kingmakers overnight in some kind of freak accident.
They just can’t seem to get it into their heads that we’re the early adopters and that this wave is about to crest and roll over and wash away The World As They Know It.
rwcole @ 231
Fredo got the kiss of death.
Rove is taking the tarp off the fishing boat.
-GSD
The Texas tests are one day a year. And not even specific for each disicpline. But they can carry knives legally to each test.
Juslin,
Tell her to go to Austin (our Berkeley) or Dallas…which is becoming BLUE FAST! I live in Fort Worth…red dog hell.
But yes…these crazy critters in TX are waking up to the hoodwinking these repukes have been doing!
TRex @ 235
Those nitwits at CNN bringing on Glenn Blech this late in the game…..They should hire Glenn Greenwald.
-GSD
Holy guacamole – did you all see this from ThinkProgress?
link
They have links to more info. Wow – doesn’t this make it rather official that the Bush admin plans for us to NEVER leave Iraq?
EvilDrPuma @ 232
She is very, very bright. And has fallen in love with the world of politics. (And with FDL, but we both have!)
i love the godfather analogy gsd ;o}
Fredo got a good hosing today- tried to hose back- but his hose was clogged or crimped- or somethin- nothin comin out but hot air.
One for GSD
;>)
Rove is taking the tarp off the fishing boat.
GSD, is that the republican equivalent of not taking small planes?
Didn’t we hear last week that Hallyburden was leaving Iraq? Is that true?
Angelo aka Anj @ 238
That is rather encouraging. I’m afraid that my home state has gone off the deep end entirely, what with both Coburn and Imhoffe. At least the whole region has not plunged into the abyss.
GSD @ 230
So totally, too. Ed Schultz was all over it when I went for lunch, and then a super right winger was on it tonight after work.
Suzanne @ 245
It’s like Cheney cleaning his rifle.
Texas had a dem governor- before Clusterfuck and Rove hosed her.
Texas Betsy @ 241
Believe me, it shows. And from what you two have hinted about her earlier upbringing, it’s good to see that she is so engaged.
DrDick @ 209
night night little one
Earlier today I think they said that the VT shooter had a sister that worked (maybe)in the State Department.
PeeJ @ 59
Great leter, Peej!
Three huge issues here:
(1) Big Pharma buy your RX records from Big Pharmacy.
(2) How do I know? Big Pharma is repeatedly busted for bribing docs to overprescribe their megacorps’ wonder drug of the year. Big Pharma monitors your prescriptions already – that’s how they know the bribed docs are living down to their end.
(3) Big Pharma / Big Pharmacy / Big Insurance have come together in various combinations to own most of the pharmaceutical distribution channnels. This centralization allows tracking of meds from manufacturer to patient.
And big healthcare keep your data.
(4) Big Insurance share all of our health records with each other.
HIPPA my ass.
Their “Interinsurer Data Bank” (IIRC) is Big Insurance’ clearing house for swapping all of our health care histories and data around the insurance companies.
5) IIRC, HIPAA has backdoors for law enforcement to grab your health records anyway….
6) Every single person I know who understands this gets all of their mental health care out of pocket if they can possibly afford it.
Especially if they’d like to run for office some day.
___________________________
The universe of compounds the FDA recognizes as “drugs” has two galaxies: over the counter (OTC) and prescription (RX).
OTC drugs are ones you find on the drugstore shelves and take to the cash register.
RX drugs require a prescription.
The galaxy of RX drugs has a main cluster and a ring.
The main cluster are RX drugs that don’t get ya’ high (in DEA speak, they have no abuse potential).
The ring orbiting the main cluster are the RX drugs* that the DEA controls.
The DEA divides the ring of drugs with “abuse potential” in five schedules: I to V
Schedule I, Daddy DEA tells us, has no use in medicine, and is totally banned.
examples: heroin (British hospitals literally can’t get enough for use in pain control there), cannabis…
Schedule II: Can use, but very restricted
examples: big bad opiates like Oxycontin or Morphine).
…all the way down to Schedule V: cough medicines you can buy OTC in much of the world.
[the DEA also tosses many synthetic chemicals and plants that get ‘ya high into these five schedules.
Cannabis is in schedule I (IIRC)…peyote cacti and psilocybin fungi are also “scheduled” I. (IIRC)
Nasssty repressive congress critters keep trying to “schedule” salvia.
But I digress.]
__________________________
Who gives a jump?
The DEA always required “triplicates” for drugs in Schedule II (and III ? if IIRC).
Common but addictive benzodiazapines (val**m and cousins) and other “sedating” RX drugs could be prescribed (from Schedule IV) without a record going to the Feds.
New DEA laws do away with the triplicates, but now demand special tamper-proof RX forms for “controlled substances” (the ring : Schedules II-V).
And the Feds now track all the benzodiazapines and (scheduled) sedative/hypnotics.
However, antidepressant and antipsychotics aren’t “scheduled” drugs under DEA scrutiny.
The whole main cluster of regular ‘ol (non-”scheduled”) RX drugs is regulated by the FDA, and the FDA simply requires regular old prescriptions with no Federal record, [in so far as I am aware].
Commercial data mining, however, allows the Feds to come to the server trough and root through our health and medication records along with Big Pharma and Big Insurance.
So although I do not have any reason to believe Federal agencies directly record all “non-scheduled” RX drugs prescribed, I do believe the commercial data mines allow law enforcement to do so as soon as our health info goes into the Interinsurer Data Banks.
spiderpaws @ 172
My mom lives in Casa Grande. We’ll be there next weekend …
Have you heard?
FBI raided a business tied to the family of Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) Thursday afternoon as part of an ongoing investigation into the three-term lawmaker.
Possible ties to purged Arizona USA Charlton.
thinkprogress has the story.
can today get any better?
I think that today we had a preview of W’s testimony in the Hague.
Angelo aka Anj @ 10
yes, i wholeheartedly agree. prison rape is not funny; homophobia is not funny. i’m a supporter and fan. i didn’t expect those words to drip off your pen. i’m not a gay man, i’m a 74yr old granma. avoid this trap in future, please.
DrDick @ 247
Where are you in Texas?
Loo Hoo @ 235
linky for LooHoo
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.c….._inve.html
“Cheney cleaning his rifle”
Well Cheney cleans his shotgun AFTER the shootin—(actually probably makes a mexican clean it). Rover takes the cover off the boat in the black of night- so that Fredo don’t know that he’s goin fish sleepin in the mornin.
We should send props to Sen. Whitehouse, future Judiciary Chairman.
Loo Hoo @ 233
Here?
Well, I’m off to bed. I’m afraid my cold has become a lot worse, and I feel like I might cough up a lung. Kinda gets in the way at work, especially when you have a couple microphones in your face!
Well, have a great night everyone.
p.s. I’m so curious to see what gems show up in this Friday’s news dump. :)
Texas Betsy @ 259
Actually, I am in Montana, but I am originally from Oklahoma. While I have been gone for 20 years, I still have a fondness for greater Texoma. My son and his family still live in Oklahoma.
this is a beautiful line from the gonzo testimony. pretty much sums up what he knows about what’s in his mind …
EvilDrPuma @ 251
No hints. Her dad took off over 10 years ago and signed away his parental rights a year ago. Her mom was physically and emotionally abusive, suffers from a mental illness, and is a drug addict and convicted drug dealer. Her mom had no idea how to deal with Cassie’s energy, intelligence or curiosity.
Spiderpaws I am so sorry about the dog, I read your post after I blathered about wanting to ask you questions. I am so sorry and my prayers are going out for the dogs health and safety I am so sorry.
lolo
oddball @
1
And who was the hot Daddy keeping count in the JComm room, with the Sharpie and the big sign, anyways?
darkblack @ 245
!!!!
And thanks, GSD.
landofthefree @ 263
feel better soon.
I for one am only very sad that the likes of Miers and Gonzoles are so stupid! To have a woman in such a high position and a Hispanic as AG could have been wonderful. The only bright spot is that the WASPs at the controls are even more stupid.
Just goes to show that stupid is an equal opportunity employer!!
Mabel’s Wig Shack @
40
—
I agree, very odd. Sounds like what a nobleman might think was important to stress to the peasants. “Oh, you know them, the little people won’t care as long as we keep their children and their streets safe.”
GSD @
32
I’ll eat all, eat oxen; free free free
Has anyone got a link to footage of the hecklers? I saw and heard none of this.
Texas Betsy @ 266
God! She is really lucky to have you. She has made a remarkable rebound from that kind of hellish background (and I have known many others who were not so lucky). She is a very special young woman with great talents.
Texas Betsy @ 266
I doubt I would be as together as Cassie seems to be with all of that in my background. Heck, I wasn’t anything like that together at her age, and my bad experiences were nothing by comparison.
Gonzo claims that his number one target is obscenity…go get some Gonzo- make our children safer!!
angelo aka anj
i’ll give her a heads-up on what you said but kids dont pay att’n to parents but she may listen to her mom this time lol
Thanks, Texas Betsy! I’m so glad you and Cassie have joined in the fun here.
(still waiting for the cough medicine to kick in… can’t lay down yet, as I’ll keep Mr. LOTF awake with all my coughing).
lee5 @ 220
I don’t know for sure, but I can’t imagine there are any hard limits on how long a president can take to submit a replacement, just customary standards. And we all know how the Bush administration acts when there are no hard limits, and customary standards go against what’s good for them…
EvilDrPuma @ 252
Cassie! Please!Don’t get engaged – finish school..please.
Phew. Thank goodness for preview.
EvilDrPuma @ 276
Still MANY scars and MANY difficulties but she’s a great survivor and has done a lot of counseling.
The four of us here are really great for each other.
Actually I think that there’s this quasi-conspiracy among the repukes to say, “See? We put a Latino, a few Blacks and women in charge…and they FUCKED up!” Affirmative action didn’t work when even WE tried it! So let’s get back to our WASP controlling ways!
I agree that the oppty for minorities to prove themselves to be competent leaders (see Barbara Jordan and Cesar Chavez for details)on an even greater scale, lost.
rwcole @ 277
Oh, well, then, I’ll be waiting with bated breath for him to go after NBC/MSNBC’s gun-pornography coverage of the VT shootings.
Clusterfuck could just not name a replacement AG- leaving us in exactly the position we are in today.
Redshift @ 280
sure — that makes sense.
What are the limits on the recess appt trick? Can he do that for a new AG? When’s the next congressional recess?
Angelo aka Anj @
128
Take a number and stand in line!
Give her love and an open heart Juslin…that’s all we can do for the people we care for sweetie!
Hi punaise, TRex. I’m pretty sure the hecklers will be up on C&L tomorrow but it didn’t make it into the line up before the late nite open thread.
ATTENTION BlueAmerican’s: Did everyone go and vote for Charlie brown over in the DFA All-Stars by Jerry McNerney? Winner gets early support from DFA for their race. Flex the BlueAmerica power!
Texas Betsy @ 282
Well, you have to be something special, too, to take on the responsibility that her parents abdicated. Ladies and gentlemen of FDL, can we have a round of applause for Betsy?
kirk murphy @ 255
Great leter, Peej!
Three huge issues here:
(1) Big Pharma buy your RX records from Big Pharmacy.
(2) How do I know? Big Pharma is repeatedly busted for bribing docs to overprescribe their megacorps’ wonder drug of the year. Big Pharma monitors your prescriptions already – that’s how they know the bribed docs are living down to their end.
(3) Big Pharma / Big Pharmacy / Big Insurance have come together in various combinations to own most of the pharmaceutical distribution channnels. This centralization allows tracking of meds from manufacturer to patient.
And big healthcare keep your data.
(4) Big Insurance share all of our health records with each other.
*******
[Truncated by moderator.]
Thanks Dr. Dearest, my file must be so damn thick it would make their heads spin to read it. It is scary because they have addresses etc. and in the wrong hands that means robberies. I lock up mine but it is like being a sitting duck.
lolo
EvilDrPuma @ 290
I think perhaps a standing ovation.
Gosh, I know I don’t have to tell you this, but keep an eye on her. The darkness of one’s history can punch through into the present day unexpectedly and in unpredictable ways.
We can’t really control what we feel. We can only control our reaction to it.
rwcole @ 285
Of course he couldn’t. He only nominates political cronies and their clients, and there’s no way on God’s earth that more-of-the-same is getting through the Senate now.
Standing on chair clapping
DrDick @ 293
It’s the work of Angels. Period.
Thank you, Dr. P, for spelling it right.
Loo Hoo @ 235
It was about Feinstein’s statement that seven of the eight fired prosecutors were involved in public corruption cases.
Angelo aka Anj @ 282
***
Excellent point, Angelo. I think this is one of the “hidden” tragedies here…the administration’s cynical use of women and minorities to further the right-wing ideology.
An added advantage is that, whenever any of those hires are criticized for their actions, it’s super-easy to play the race/gender card in defense.
thanks… it was a basic feature of Soviet political life … a political commissar for every government official… with the real power at the political level. Don’t know the details of how it evolved, and how long it worked that way (it’s been a while since graduate school) but it wouldn’t surprise me that the German Nazis followed the same technique.
We have a situation of genuine corporate fascism in the U.S. today.
juslin @
221
Not especially. It depends where you are. South East Texas is pretty staunch redneck Republican… They’re becoming less Shrubberian but not noticeably more progressive.
SnarKassandra @
123
It’s true. The hunter would have a spotter, basically an aimer looking through the sights and telling him how to move the rifle and when to pull the trigger.
Sounds a little odd, but the scary part is it’s NOT the stupidest idea to come out of the lege this decade.
TRex @ 293
Sad but true. I know from his posts that TRex still fights with his past, and I know GoodMrsPuma and I haven’t shed all of our respective loads. It’s a bloody shame, but it happens in life.
Y’all are embarrassing me. All I am doing is living my life. I need the help she and her brother bring to this house as much as they need me.
neurophius @
113
The lamest Gonzalez post is Attorney General.
TRex @ 297
It hardly makes sense the other way…
neokneme @
21
Ice-nine works for me.
Suzanne @ 296
What’d I miss? I want to clap about stuff too but would look funny doing it and not knowing why.
Kinda like most of the troops reading the “applause” placcard held up by Bush’s pressers after he makes a particularly inane metaphorical analogy explaining why they’re headed back to the desert for the seventh time in as many years. Or the first time after their new ten day post-boot camp deployed infantry training course.
…it’s super-easy to play the race/gender card in defense.
I believe this was their Plan all along.
EvilDrPuma @ 301
I have plenty of old baggage as well.
more on the Renzi raid.
At this rate, there may be no GOP Congresscritters serving on Committees soon! And this ties into the firing of USAtty Charlton:
EvilDrPuma @ 304
Unless you have a hook in your mouth.
Texas Betsy @ 302
Cassie’s “parents” are living their lives, too. It’s her rotten luck that they couldn’t be bothered to live them the way you do.
Mary McCurnin @
177
No? he made him what he is today …….
nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition….
there are
threefivesix issues…I’m doing the wave, starting here on the east coast….It’s coming to sweep through Texas soon.
In honor of Betsy.
-GSD
Loo Hoo @ 270
Perfect!
Nate, I was giving TBetsy a round of thank you.
EvilDrPuma @ 311
Yes and you are walking with the angels.
Do I have cyber-B.O. or something tonight?
Well baited breath could be gargling with cologne before a hot date- but it could also be the result of takin and swallowin the hook AND the bait..
Suzanne @ 316
:D
Was worried I was missing out. Hate that feeling!
Angelo aka Anj @ 284
Or alternatively, the only such people who become Republicans are the ones who aren’t bright enough to realize they’ll never be allowed to have real power.
Angelo aka Anj @
132
helluvan entrance, Anj, but clearly you’re one of us.
Unless you’re a cat that eats cheese so you can sit at a mouse-hole with baited breath.
Suzanne @ 296
yes. like this little guy.
Texas Betsy @ 308
I’ve found that to be a common theme among those who really want justice in this world. Usually, they’ve been burned, but they decided to fight for something better than what happened to them.
wave Betsy
Nate @ 319
But it can stop now. Nate, you may need to use cyber-soap when you cyber-bathe.
masaccio @
60
Per the Wikipedia:
Also:
Here is my favorite reference on “high crimes and misdemeanors.” I strongly recommend it, but please don’t look at the name of the author.
Note to self: don’t take cough medicine with coedeine and then watch Craig Ferguson impersinating both Prince Charles and Michael Caine in a skit. That’s a trip.
And with that, I’d say the meds are kicking in and I can go to bed. Sweet dreams, everyone!
Redshift @ 320
Doesn’t that apply to the “Decider” too? Being a puppet and all for Dead eye Dick?
TRex @
28
That brings back great memories. We used to check in with the late-night hostess at “Alphie’s Restaurant” using the name Donner. Kind of a Denny’s clone that was part of the Alpha Beta supermarket chain in Southern California in the 70s. We loved hearing that over the loudspeaker. Not everyone got it, but we howled.
Here’s a really cool song to dance around the house to, if you’re feeling funky tonight.
TeddySanFran @ 321
Actually Ted I was once one of you…out in San Fran (Upper Market here, then Castro Valley out in the East Bay.) I LOVE northern CA!
OT…only it’s not, really. It’s central. If this has been posted, forgive, but I think it’s very important and calls for some action: The Truth is Worse
Gonzales was born in San Antonio, Texas, and raised in Humble, near Houston. He was the second of eight children born to Pablos and Maria Gonzales. His father, who died in 1982, was a construction worker. In a television interview, Gonzales told Wolf Blitzer on CNN that no immigration documentation exists for three of his grandparents and they may have entered and resided in the United States illegally ([4]).
An honors student at MacArthur High School in Houston, Gonzales enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1973, for a four year term of enlistment, serving two years at Fort Yukon, Alaska and two years as a cadet at the United States Air Force Academy. Prior to beginning his third year at the academy, which would have caused him to incur a further service obligation, he transferred to Rice University (Houston, Texas), where he was a member of Lovett College and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1979; he then earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard Law School in 1982. He has been married twice: he and his first wife, Diane Clemens, divorced in 1985; he and his second wife, Rebecca Turner Gonzales, have three sons.
Gonzales is a Catholic, but prefers to keep a low profile about his religious affiliation
(Gonzo must be an excommunicated catholic- which explains his low profile.)
darkblack @
245
Darkblack, as always.
-GSD
You can run but you can’t hide. Rwandans being tried for killing of Belgian troops and Rwandan Prime Minister in 1994.
lolo @
12
YES!!! YES!!! WOO HOO!!!
The Gonzocrats interfered with this investigation before the election, so stinkin’ Rick Renzi got re-elected again. It would be so great for his sleazy work to be exposed!!!
I’ve got a bunch of friends in Flagstaff who will be really happy with this news.
Bob in HI
(from Flagstaff)
Suzanne @ 308
They tried it with Gonzales a while back, but it didn’t catch fire. Now the situation is way too bad for anyone to notice if they try to throw that in as a defense, but look for it to reappear if he resigns.
Anj, Santa Cruz mountains here – and my oldest daughter lives in Castro Valley.
Night, all. I have a few hundred tender young minds to torment tomorrow and it helps if I am coherent. Would that a few more were as bright and inquisitive as young Cassie.
rwcole @ 335
He used to be a deacon, until he got into a brouhaha about dismissing altar boys and blaming the lector.
Wow, it’s only 1:00am and we’ve already busted 300 comments. I wonder if I should do a Late Late Nite post.
GSD @
230
They really ran that video into the ground. You couldn’t turn on any channel without seeing that jackass’s sneering face. I agree that the had to play it, once, twice, maybe three times. After that they should have posted it to YouTube.com and moved on.
DrDick @ 340
Good night, and good luck. Those big sections suck.
g’nite, Dr (pause) Dick. Sleep well.
Suzanne @ 338
I used to live on Lawrence Street…up the hill from the BART station next to WaMu…sigh. Now I am here in Texas. DON’T ASK! LOL!
Dana Millbank: “Maybe Gonzales Won’t Recall His Painful Day on the Hill”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..id=topnews
TRex @ 343
if you can make us laugh as hard as we did at the first Late Nite!
jimbo @
191
Bush won’t announce Abu’s departure without having the replacement at the press conference. Considering his relationship with his party on the Hill, it’s unlikely W talked with them before today about who the replacement should be. Those talks probably began this evening.
Who’ll take the job? Even better, who will Leahy confirm? And will Leahy really require that this entire mess be cleared up before he holds hearings on a new AG?
I’m betting on Cornyn, which means we’ll get to hear all about Ralphie Reed and Abramoff, again.
Anj, she is on Grove near Keith’s Transmissions which is still there.
lolo, thanks so much. That was it! I forgot about the one newronusr gave me. This is too much fun watching Humpty Dumpty!
landofthefree, hope you feel better. There’s so much more to come, and we need you in good health!
TeddySanFran @ 351
Cornyn is SUCH an ass.
Texas Betsy @ 303
That is what a family actually is. Each person brings their part like pieces of a puzzle to make a whole. I think it is really a good thing for all of us to see. You both are so special to us Betsy. Cassie is an amazing soul and so are you :)
lolo
Cornyn is a COMPLETE and total jackass. He is my senator and his office usually catches holy hell from me once a week. They know who I am when I call. There’s word that he might be vulnerable in the next election. Good riddance to that podunct!
lee5 @ 266
That pretty well clears it up.
Wigwam @ 343
Pretty disgraceful stuff.
TRex @
26
John Dean differs with you, dear theropod. Civil officers, among them Cabinet members, can be impeached. One was under Grant, iirc.
Actually, gang, I need to see about scaring up something to eat and settling in. Check on these two kittehs. I suspect the 19 year old would like to be brushed. His Indian name is Dances With Hairbrush.
TRex@344
If you think we’d turn down another round of your snark, your baggage is heavier than I thought.
EvilDrPuma @
343
were sacramental chianti and fava beans involved?
Suzanne,
I remember a transmission place off the 580 that I had to get my clutch replaced at. Dunno if that’s the same one.
I miss CA so much.
I already know two middle school boys who are using photos of Cho with a gun or knife as their buddy icons on MSN messenger. I am NOT happy with the glorification of a crazy murderer!
Well, folks, it’s been fun, but after my long evening teaching, it’s time for a bed and a book. Catch you on the flip side!
EvilDrPuma @ 365
Sleep well.
EvilDrPuma @ 342
ooooh. linky? ;)
Ang, that’s the one
EDP, sleep well.
Hey, NBC fucks:
Let’s pile on the victims families, and prolong the VT students horror. Worth a 30-share.
Suzanne @ 365
Ah, memories of being stranded between Pleasanton and CV….
texas betty – you’re doing what jesus said – look after those who cant look after themselves – i’m paraphrasing but you understand – god is smiling on you and your family – picture me clapping and bowing to you ;o) hang in there i’ve been there too – i know the feeling a big kiss to you!!!
newtonusr @ 369
And create new “heroes” for our young people.
Jacqrat @ 331
the one on Warner and Magnolia?
juslin @ 371
Except that I am Jewish.
But thank you.
As a single mom with a disability, I need all the family/friend help I can get.
Awwww … look what Vicky Toensing is up to …
defending Paul Wolfowitz’s girlfriend
WASHINGTON, April 19 — Paul D. Wolfowitz, while serving as deputy secretary of defense, personally recommended that his companion, Shaha Ali Riza, be awarded a contract for travel to Iraq in 2003 to advise on setting up a new government, says a previously undisclosed inquiry by the Pentagon’s inspector general.
The inquiry, as described by a senior Pentagon official, concluded that there was no wrongdoing in Mr. Wolfowitz’s role in the hiring of Ms. Riza by the Science Applications International Corporation, a Pentagon contractor, because Ms. Riza had the expertise required to advise on the role of women in Islamic countries.
The investigators also found that Mr. Wolfowitz, now president of the World Bank, had not exerted improper influence in Ms. Riza’s hiring. Earlier this week, Science Applications International said an unnamed Defense Department official had directed that she be hired. She had been a World Bank employee for five years at the time.
Mr. Wolfowitz’s office said it could not comment on the latest disclosure. Ms. Riza’s lawyer, Victoria Toensing, did not respond to a request for a comment.
Gone-zo gave fuckery answers today, like watching Alice in Wonderland on acid . Bushco amazes us with his asshatery staff. A-GAG talks around his responsibility like a kid who lost his homework because his dog ate it.
Trex! you da man!
that was great line Gayberry accent! He does dudn’t he? hahaha :]
sophonisba @
259
Thank you.
I just want to say a big THANKS to everyone who’s been commenting with me all night! This is my first foray into FDL comments and I must say I am LOVIN’ the LOVE! BTW, I will be the first to say that T-Rex and I will be honeymoonin’ in Martha’s Vineyard soon! (hee hee hee!) Ck out my blogspace. I rant and rave and ad my .02 to the progressive dialogue.
Thanks again FDL for being so fucking awesome!
If Gonzo had been a Broadway show he would folded after the first performance. From the NYT:
Link
Angelo aka Anj @ 284
On thinking a bit about this, here’s another possibility. When these guys were running in 1999 and 2000, what was their major preoccupation? Grabbing votes and suppressing votes for the opposition–same as now. It was all about winning. So, Bush put women, blacks and Hispanics front and center up on stage with him (remember the jokes that you couldn’t find any black faces in the Repug convention hall except up on stage?).
And, as I recall, Bush repeatedly–almost incessantly–pointed to those appointments as evidence that the Republican Party really was the “big tent.” And that persisted right through 2004.
So, right from the start, this was an election tactic–same as now. What they did not count on was getting caught–the Rove trick with outside-the-loop emails is just one more bit of evidence that they set things up right from the start to destroy the evidence and not get caught. Repug majorities in the House and obedient servants in the Senate meant no oversight.
They didn’t expect 2006. It’s not going to take long for the minority public to figure out that people like Gonzales are not just stupid, they’re utterly loyal to liars and thieves. And, take heart–they’re not going to see Rice and Gonzales and Paige as representative of who represents them–they’re smarter than that.
What they’re going to see is that new boss, same as the old boss–Republicans have always been out to screw minorities, chase them away from the polls, and the fact that this latest crop of `pugs are working for those ends is only going to convince them that every group has its quislings. If anything, all this is going to drive on-the-fence minorities out of the Republican Party.
And for the record, I am SO sorry I came off as combative in my first post. Just that liberal knee-jerk reaction.
Angelo aka Anj @ 378
So glad you jumped in!
Texas Betsy @ 370
Startlingly enough, now that “we” have this April 15 thru 20th thing, we have made wackos everywhere a holiday.
Won’t be long before we see a VidGame called “Red April”.
Many people here are questioning how Gonzo ever got through law school. Why not just ask him?
“Senator, I don’t recall.”
Texas Betsy @ 372
Mozltof!
rwcole @ 251
I remmber so well: women took charge for that time, Dem, if you please. There are women all over the country that are doing the best country’s worth. And we as citizens support their cause. I support those women.
I have no doubt that you are right. What I hear about the reaction among teenage and pre-teen boys says that there is a market, and I am frightened that there will be copycats around.
Loo Hoo @ 351
Your welcome LooHoo. Did you work today? Missed you on gabbly . We had a blast.
There’s a word for the likes of Bush and his supplicants:
kakistocracy: government run by its worst citizens.
Angelo aka Anj @ 381
This is a knee-jerk free zone.
But the water is fine, welcome.
-GSD
Redshift @
299
DiFi also made a great statement in her Abu questioning today (paraphrasing): “A human being made this list.” When he was talking about concensus and aggregation, I guess.
rwcole @ 335
*******
[Truncated by moderator. Please do not simply re-quote other extremely long comments, thanks.]
GSD @ 387
Thanks GSD!
Gonzales was born in San Antonio, Texas, and raised in Humble, near Houston.
———————————————-
So it’s true, he does come from a humble background
EvilDrPuma @
306
And yet so many otherwise intelligent people take the bait.
Angelo aka Anj @ 388
Anj, welcome to the Lake!
(glad we’re past the bellyflop…)
i should never wade into religious waters texas betty but i still say you’re doing god’s work and angelo aka anj its been real – visit again ok lol
The opening paragraph of Sheryl Gay Stolberg’s piece in Friday’s NYT reads as follows:
Did Sessions really say that? That is waaaaay too funny.
TeddySanFran @ 311
Teddy, I’ll say it again. I want to buy you a drink at YK2.
Please be kind to the margins.
TRex @ 344
The first one was pretty slamming!
Imagine, the Attorney General of the US being schooled about who bears the burden of proof! Um, I think that if I had gone to law school for a year, I would have a handle on that sort of thing.
Comics for a cause.
Big comedy raising money for Al Franken.
-GSD
Alicia @ 400
I saw that as a Freudian slip. The burden of proof is on the accuser in criminal cases.
Loo Hoo @ 357
Can’t see why a US Senator would resign for an 18 month gig as AG in an administration that’s headed straight down the shitter.
I’m not sayin that there isn’t a gooper dumb enough to do it- but he or she would have ta be addicted ta stupid pills.
Hi pups -
Thanks for enduring my over-long comments.
The mods (and everyone) may be grateful if my long 255 didn’t get fully copied into a quote again.
[I write far too much, and edit far too little]
montag @ 403
Most def.
rwcole @ 403
Intelligence is not a pre-req for these clowns.
Angelo aka Anj @
356
And, if Cornyn resigns to prep for his appointment as AG, Governor Haircut can appoint Tom Delay to the vacancy! (Going worst case scenario here)
GSD @
25
I’m especially looking forward to when Rove and Cheney decide they can’t trust each other.
Bob in HI
Angelo aka Anj @ 408
Au contraire, it is a handicap, if not a complete disqualification.
TeddySanFran @ 407
bite your TONGUE Teddy! These morons here would LAUD that kinda move. Nasty!
Now that thought put a smile on my face!
kirk thank you :)
you could try to break up your long comment into smaller ones as Hugh does, with a note on the first that it is in two or three parts.
newtonusr @ 369
Meredith Viera looked rather pissy (in the clip I saw) describing on TODAY that some victims’ families wouldn’t come and be interviewed, as they’d agreed to before the pr0n was broadcast far and wide.
Angelo aka Anj @ 407
Hatcheroonie.
“But, but, the ship is sinking… why do you want to go on board? We’d have to helicopter you out to it and what would you do once you got there?”
“Strike manly poses as it goes down… of course.”
Bob Schacht @
411
It’ll be like an axe fight among rabid monkeys.
-GSD
P.S. The reviews are in on Gonzo’s testimony.
The New York Times chimes in:
“Mr. Gonzales came across as a dull-witted apparatchik incapable of running one of the most important departments in the executive branch.”
burnspbesq @ 399
Wow. Sessions?
Some of the facial expressions I saw on the senators were…hard to describe. Acute embarrassment, for one. A pure distaste for having their time wasted while this guy lies to them. Very uncomfortable.
TRex @ 344
hello!
I am done with the whole Virginia Tech killer thing. I cried for those kids and their profs. I cried for their shattered families. NBC just jumped the shark. If they thought their ratings were slipping…wooo DOGGY!
He’s incapable of running a treadmill!
lolo: Quack. Had that experience, but still here.
Texas Betsy @ 419
I am hearing EXPLODING in laughter on THAT one TxBetty! Sounds like something my beloved Molly Ivins would have said.
I have taught college English for 23 years, including graduate level courses in Joyce (including Finnegan’s Wake) and Shakespeare’s history plays (different fields, I know, I know).
In all that time, dealing with an enormous amount of detail, in answer to students’ questions, I’ve had to say “I don’t recall” maybe twice. I do not have an usually good memory; in fact, I have plenty of senior moments regarding my car keys and credit card.
But when I’m dealing with a subject I should know about at work, I remember. I just don’t understand how anyone (including during the Libby trial) can get away with saying they “don’t recall” much of anything.
If I did it, I’d lose my job in a minute (or maybe it would take a semester, but I’d be given leave for mental disability. How, how, can these top officials get away with this? Either they’re feeble-minded, or they’re lying. My god, I’m paying my hard-earned tax money for this level of competence? Whichever way you take it, they should be canned. Yesterday.
Yes, I’m ranting. I’m still at school 40 miles from home, near midnight, reviewing M.A. theses for oral exams tomorrow. Do you think any of these candidates will be able to get away with saying “I don’t recall” in answer to question after question?
We went to her memorial service. I saw her in person once but never met her. She is greatly missed!
Angelo aka Anj @ 381
Great entrance, sweety, and kewl site you have there. Everybody makes the first impression they choose to here, and yours is certainly memorable. (Calling out theropod on his homophobia! — heh heh)
GSD @ 417
Guess he didn’t play in Peoria
;>)
GSD @ 403
I really like Franken’s books. IMHO, they’re masterpieces.
I also listened to his Air America show on my drive to work. His interviews were great, but his spontaneous humor got pretty tedious.
I expect that he’ll make an excellent senator.
TeddySanFran @ 424
Omigosh Teddy I was SUCH a pseudo macho ASS! Luckily our side has brains ya know?
rwcole @ 406
Rove owns Cornyn. He’ll do what he’s told.
kirk murphy @ 407
But we love what you write!
darkblack @ 426
Umm, yes, db, think that captures his essence quite well….
Wigwam @ 427
I have always been wary of him since he said, on air, that he was “a good DLC Democrat.”
Not at all impressed after that.
Gonzo got prepped for his beeg day:
“OK- so your job is to get on your bicycle and ride it down this tightrope- with total incompetence on one side and criminal culpability on the other– DON’T LOOK DOWN– AND IF YOU MUST LEAN- LEAN IN THE DIRECTION OF INCOMPETENCE- IT SHOULD COME NATURAL!
in abu’s mind i bet he’s thinking boy did i show those schmucks – and indeed he did – showed them how much of tool he is…. and all those can’t recalls – bastard should’ve been removed in shackles and taken straight to processing desk
kirk murphy @
407
Kirk, you do great work for us. Thanks.
TeddySanFran @ 414
This is PORN for NBC.
“Look at us mourn & grieve.
Look at us – we’re victims, too!”
Just dipping a toe into the lake to say g’nite all. Y’all tired me out with all the reading tonight! Welcome Angelo (psst:! her name’s BetSy!)
Sweet Dreams Aunt Betsy!
Fred Hiatt, feeling sorry for Abu (tsf bold):
more WaPo drivel
conniptionfit @ 439
Night!
(I’m staying a bit later. Feeling good but not tired yet.)
conniptionfit @ 436
Oops! Sorry Betsy! My poor reading and/or typing skills! Thanks for the heads-up conniption!
Suzanne @ 414
Suzanne, thanks for your blessed modding.
That’s a really good idea.
I’ve been composing in the “box” on the fdl page; when I try to copy my long comments for cleaving, I keep mangling them up (I’m a klutz on the mouse).
I’d love to see my whole comment instead of tha
dammned tinywelcome helpful box as I write, too!If you have ideas about where to compose “pre-fdl”, I’m all ears. I tried composing in Eudora, but punctuation didn’t carry over…
and..pardon my pickiness….
Word really slows my powerbook (what a surprise..), so I’m hoping there are other possibilities.
Should they exist, I’d be happy beyond words.
______________________
Teddy and Loo Hoo – I’m blushing. Thanks, friends.
Angelo aka Anj @ 376
kirk murphy @ 405
I look forward to all your extra long posts. Keep up the good work. I thought for sure that you would jump on the forensic company that is investigating the emails. Montag and I think Dr Evil took care of it I think. So lucky to have all of these great researchers.
Wigwam @ 428