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According to Al Kamen's In The Loop column, former State DepSec Dr. Randall "Randy" (!) Tobias, the first on-duty Bushie trapped in Deborah Jeane Palfrey's escort-service web, will not be missed by long-suffering staffers at the Agency for International Development:
A recent American Foreign Service Association poll of 368 AID folks found that only 21 percent thought Tobias had been doing a good job in getting resources for the agency and its workers. One-third rated his efforts as poor and 45 percent described them as fair. The agency is going through a reorganization that many call a "stealth merger" with the State Department. The survey found 67 percent said overall work conditions were worsening. About 48 percent said morale was "low to poor" and only 12 percent said it was good.
Bouquets to Al Kamen for connecting the dots on the BushCo massage scandals:
Tobias had resigned in yet another incident of inappropriate massaging. There was Bush's quick shoulder massage of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in July at a summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. In November came news of Colorado minister Ted Haggard's massages with a Denver man. And now Tobias, with an escort service.
Kamen is definitely swimming against the TradMed tide. There's a pervasive sense of "nothing to see here! Move along, people!" best illustrated by these two Monday morning WaPoO chatz. First:
Anonymous: Why should the prostitution scandal really matter aside from exposing the most nefarious of hypocrites?
Shailagh Murray: Anonymous, eh? Very mysterious. I was just saying to a colleague, I guess I'm a little old fashioned — what's the public good of ruining the lives of so many people? Not only the men, but their wives, their kids, etc. It's one thing for a politician to pay for a hooker from his campaign account…but how far beyond that do you extend the net?
And Howie Kurtz provides a new talking point for any buddies whose wives ask why their home phone number appears in Ms. Palfrey's four years of phone records now in the hands of ABCNews:
Publish 'em: These folks broke the law. There was much screaming about President Clinton "breaking the law" when he lied under oath about having consensual sex. What's good for the goose…
Howard Kurtz: I'm not disputing your point, but Clinton had testified before a grand jury. If any of the men on this list were summoned as witnesses, or charged with a crime, reporting that would be a slam dunk, to coin a phrase. But if it's just a phone number on a list, at the very least, you've got to be careful. What if someone was trying to call Blockbuster and got the escort service instead?
HAHAHAHAHA !!
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ZZZZZED
ZZZZZED2
ZZZZZED3
zed!
Madame!
ZZZZZED4
OK off to physical Therapy now. Got to keep the recovery on schedule, I want to go surfing this August!
Yippe doing the ZZZZZZZZZED dance.
teeheeeheeeee
looseheadprop — so…are you getting closer to running and hiking after all? ;-)
Enjoy PT, look forward to pics of an anonymous surfer sometime in August.
TSF — um, yah. A wrong number. And wrong charges on the credit cards for the same day, or withdrawals from ATM machines for the same day, or cash advances for the same day…
And the family doesn’t remember ordering a pizza that evening, funny thing.
I want all White House phone records and E-Mails about Jeff Gananon released especially the ones that called his call boy ad!
Anonymous: Why should the prostitution scandal really matter aside from exposing the most nefarious of hypocrites?
Ans: Because they don’t practice what they PREACH!
Heh. Wonder if the IRS has been politically sanitized, too, or if it’ll start looking more closely at some deductions taken as business expenses.
(That one’s for you, Stephen, hee-hee.)
Oh, but beware of the followup question:
“Yes, honey, I remember the kitchen contractors were here for a week or so. But how did our number get on that list every two weeks for three and a half years?”
What is the law in DC on prostitution? What are the charges for someone participating in the economy of the flesh?
Chris Matthews is also to blame for this war. He didn’t ask questions that he should have being he is a catbird seatholder.
lolozed!
And for those who were engaged in the discussion on the 30 APR 2007 letter on the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, I have a question. I found the letter very edifying, and it explains how redistricting occurred, and it also explained the hostility of the Georgia Republicans during the debate on the floor of the House. Now, what is the role of an elected state AG in redistricting?
And, if all else fails: “Dear, I’m sure it was just a wrong number.”
38 Times??
It only counts if the person is talking to a grand jury? Now it doesn’t matter?
These people are such mendacious little slugs. They didn’t give a rat’s ass about the grand jury. It was Monica and the blue dress with nary a peep about the grand jury, for months on end.
Rayne @
9
Exactly. I wonder how Pamela Martin & Associates shows up on the credit card statement, or did the Associates only accept checks and cash?
TSF!!
Great Post!
It does matter that this fool has driven the USAID morale into the toilet. There are good programs that this does hurt so do riddance to this bozo!
things come undone @ 10
Seems to me that PM&A is the hook that opens that can of worms.
TeddySanFran @ 20
Only Amex knows for sure :)
Rayne @
12
I saw that :)
ccmask @ 18
With a corresponding $200 charge each of 38 times??
Every Tuesday??
Yah. Sure.
Man, the divorce lawyers in that town must be celebrating tonight…
things come undone @ 10
Wonder if the initial contact was by email and that was on the RNC servers…
pointecoupeedemocrat @ 14
I remember a story about the Chief of the DeeCee police marching the streetwalkers down 14th and across the bridge into Virginia.
OT: Shorter William F Buckley: Iraq isn’t the same as Viet Nam. It’s worse.
http://article.nationalreview……E5OWVkOTc=
Rayne @ 25
:::Snicker:::
But the funny thing is, I bet a lot of the “aggrieved” parties stick with their partners. Ever notice how many of them do that for high-power politicos?
The Christianists in FULL BLOOM in Utah.
Republican honcho goes to TEARS over illegal aliens comparing them to the DEVIL:
http://www.heraldextra.com/con…..ew/220065/ 4
My post concerning same:
http://thetimtimes.com/?p=31
Enjoy.
Rayne @
12
Rayne -
…and looking more closely at unreported income as well.
It must be nice having your Bush prance like a pony…
Putting the cart before the horse is causing BusChen to come un-glued…
Stephen Parrish, CPA @ 31
For sure — the IRS will focus on the working Associates. It’s the customers who have been victimized, right?
pointecoupeedemocrat @ 17
Left you an answer downstairs.
Frank Probst @ 28
He’s right. A large number of Vietnamese wanted one country. We were the ones keeping it artificially divided. I don’t think very many Iraqis want to share the country with certain other groups. How long it will hold together, with or without us, is debatable. And not promising.
LJ/Aquaria @ 29
Some will blame their wives.
TeddySanFran @ 21
hmmmmm maybe a late night post to revive it from the archives a kind of refresher for all the hundreds of readers that haven’t seen all the juicy details. I know the Dkos has an awesome timeline and I know Jane has many posts just collecting dust. Or you Teddy could write a refresher post just for old time sake, (zeddrunk)
With the Tenet book out, surely this gives us some leverage to get the second part of the 9/11 report released. So who do we call to apply pressure?
EPUing myself.
Hmmm…D.C. Madam indicates prominent women in serious positions used to work for her…let’s see, can anybody think of a prominent woman who might have been “qualified” (educated) for a job like that (entertaining politicians) who might have used that information to wield “authority”…say, for example, someone who might have spent a couple of years working in “public affairs” (pun intended), after graduating…hmmmm; attractive, young…let me think about that one…oh, yeah! Could be..
Nah.
“what’s the public good of ruining the lives of so many people? Not only the men, but their wives, their kids, etc. It’s one thing for a politician to pay for a hooker from his campaign account…but how far beyond that do you extend the net?”
I would extend the net to any elected official who voted to impeach Clinton, and anyone who has run on a “Conservative”, “Christian”, or “Family Values” platform.
Wouldn’t it be beautiful if Lieberman was on the list? My “Schaden” is “Freuding” just thinking about it.
LJ/Aquaria @ 29
Depends on the cost, LJ. To some people, their pride and ethics are a ready sacrifice compared to the cost of dragging their family through court and airing out some wretchedly dirty laundry.
Also depends on the long-term yield, too. Maybe somebody’s cheating *sshole is still worth more as a meal-ticket than he is as an ex, especially if the suffering party knows where the bodies are buried and where the smoking gun might be hidden.
And perhaps there really are those crazy fools who think that love will conquer all.
And finally there’s the group that outsources certain marital duties, particularly if it’s a mariage de convenance. Hey, it still happens.
neokneme: I would love to see Jeb! get his. Knock him out early.
neokneme @
32
So if New Orleans gets hit by another Hurricane and the pumps don’t work its all Jeb Bush’s fault! Bahahaha! Talk about doing things that COMPROMISE your electabilty, and Jeb is suppose to be the smart one!
he’s Randy To Buy Ass.
lol punaise
punaise @ 44
That is too funny!
Why are there no current or recent pictures of Monica Goodling?
LS @ 39
Yes its Karen Hughes! we got her now!
punaise @ 44
Shoots, Scores! Goooaaaaalllll!!!!
politico.com
Send questions for the debate right now.
punaise @ 44
Shakes head in utter amazement.
Theres a classic.
I got a question for Rudy: What brand of lipstick lasts the longest?
ccmask @ 52
Hormel, with sparkles.
Howie’s home number must be on the list, in the column marked “Dominatrix Costume”. I hope no one at home will mind seeing their number on the front page.
George Bush is like a Dallas preacher who knows that his Sunday morning sermon is packed only because Saturday night reveries were so demonic. He can’t have one without the other.
It’s the hypocrisy, stupid! This administration has torched valuable public health programs – and continues to block the international efforts of others – because they dare mention condoms, accurate sexuality education, or abortion.
Mr. Bush spends tens of millions annually to promote “abstinence only” sexuality education that demonstrably does not work, and which worsen public health problems, because his base wants to believe that they do work.
When Mr. Bush finds a program like that that works on the guys and gals who sell cars (famously sold via the Three “B’s” – Boats, Booze and Babes), stocks, houses, military equipment and drugs, he can try it out on teens. Until then, he should spend taxpayer money on programs that are healthy and which work.
This is not about private consensual sex among adults. As I understand it, this is about senior govt and military officials engaging in illegal sex. The kind that should get your security clearance tosssed because it opens you up to blackmail; the kind that gets a general officer dismissed from the service (when made public). Even that assumes that the “providers” voluntarily provided their services because they were so lucrative, not because their green cards or their physical safety depended on it.
Rayne @ 25
Not to mention the attorneys already billing for calls to Ms Palfrey’s attorney to see if an accommodation can be made to keep their clients’ names out of everything. The response, I think, has been “It’s with ABCNews, now.”
Rayne @ 41
Exactly my point. I’ve seen it too many times. Hello, Mrs. Bob Livingstone.
Raannndy…it’s for you, it’s that pizza parlor again..
punaise @ 44
you rascal, or thumbtack, or bedbug!
Regency University Grads especially those working in the Bush Administration crosslinked with D.C Madam phone list. Then we do the same with the Gay D.C madams lists! The White House and the D.C Media should then get cross checked.
Hey, LS, what happened with your bout with the storm?
Rayne @ 41
There’s also the dynamic of the reporter and the madam’s client:
“Hi there, this is ABC calling, and we found your number on this list . . . We’re ready to run with this story, including any comment you’d like to make on it, or we could go with another, better story you could give to us. . . . Yes, emails to substantiate that other story would be lovely, and we could probably move to the next name on the list for the DC madam story. Thanks for your assistance.”
TCU#59, I think you’re on to something.
Hello from Victoria, TX!
This little “excusathon” brings to light a rather nefarious little prank when I am clubbing.
The phone rings and the bartender answers. After a brief conversation on the phone he yells to the gathering, “Pach…Pachacutec…Is Pach here?”
Invariably I always answer, “He left with his wife.”
The names have been changed to protect the infidels. ;>/
I’ll bet Fred isn’t saving a seat for Al in the ComPost lunch room anymore.
things come undone @ 48
Condi No! say it isn’t so!
LJ/Aquaria @ 60
It rained pretty hard for awhile, then, you know Texas, a minute later, it was steamy hot. It’s been narrowly missing me all day today. You guys really got it south of us I see.
TCU and Ron, see me at aisle 39.
OT (regarding previous thread). See The Italian Letter, by Peter Eisner and Knut Royce (Rodale, $24.95). In October, 2002, in a basement bistro in Rome, an intelligence peddler named Rocco Martino handed a reporter a folder of documents. Etc.
easy pickins, with a name/story like that… :~)
mbbsdphil @ 54
Thank you for accurately and concisely framing the answer for those who will drop by to call us out for bothering people about their private sex lives.
Tobias Lied
People Died
Are you saying Rocco is responsible?
Maybe the Goodling is really a Badling :P
If you were W, wouldn’t you rather have people paying attention to Randall Tobias’s “massages” than to Alberto Gonzales’s follies?
I’m increasingly worried about the attention — and the kind of attention — the “DC Madame” news is getting from the lefty blogosphere. As delicious as this dose of Schadenfreude may be (especially regarding Tobias’s gross hypocrisy), I’m afraid that it may be what the FDL gang rightly calls a “bright shiny object” — an attractive object of fascination that draws attention away from issues that really matter. More simply, I think it’s probably a bad strategy to give that scandal much play at all.
Here’s why: First, while outraged cries of “Hypocrisy! Hypocrisy!” may play extremely well within the “base,” they don’t resonate as much as we might think they should with much of the rest of the electorate. Sure, the really outrageous cases of dissonance between what a man preaches and what he does — Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, Ted Haggard — are enough to remove that man’s credibility completely. But the fact is (I assert) that almost all of us experience *some* degree of disconnect between what we know we *should* do and what we *actually* do. (Whatever else one may think of the Apostle Paul, I think he pretty much had that aspect of the human condition nailed.) So I think that we lefties may underestimate the degree to which figures like Tobias (and anybody else on the Pamela Martin client list) may actually garner sympathy, or at least the “there-but-for-the-grace-of-God” kind of identification.
Second, there’s a significant danger in the Left’s drawing attention to “hypocrisy” as a special, especially contemptible, sin. It could too easily be spun or “framed” something like this: “See, those dang Libruls don’t really care about morality, all they care about is whether your behavior is consistent with your beliefs. Why, they probably wouldn’t have any problem with Jeffery Dahmer as long as he could convince them that he really believed that what he was doing was OK!” (Besides, as Josh Marshall so nicely put it, “nothing is more bipartisan than sexual indiscretion.”)
Finally, I really think that this runs the risk of being a “bright shiny object” in the sense that breathless, 24/7 coverage of “who will be next to be revealed as a customer (or past employee) of the DC Madame!?!?!?!” could easily swamp the much more important coverage of the multiple ongoing Congressional oversight efforts.
TeddySanFran @ 55
Oh, those billings are more than 30 days old, TSF, should already have been paid or they are being accrued against the inevitable charges that will come for near-term legal services.
Mwahahahahahah…I do wonder whether this may have been an undetected undertow that has been eating away at the Republicans’ will to fight for the last quarter. Has the awareness that the publicity sharks are waiting silently for the first sign of blood in the water to begin their feeding frenzy?
There are those who caution rightfully that sex is bipartisan, and that we should be prepared for the phone numbers of certain Dems to be included in the list. But there is a unadvertised benefit to being a beleaguered and brownbeaten political minority for so long; anybody who’s been misbehaving has been weeded out, abused by the opposition party as an example of how wretched Dems are. I will bet the numbers of Republicans implicated are roughly parallel in ratio to the prosecution of Dems by the politicized DoJ. Was that 8-to-1?
I’ll take it. Damn, but I need to lay in a serious supply of popcorn.
TeddySanFran @
16
lolopalloozed
punaise @ 69
Screw you punny. Take a big ol’ bow. That was abfab. Modesty in the face of such werdsmithery. I just wish Staphococculus, Punkinhaid or Tweety would delivery such withering commentary to these shitwhistles.
Dr. Bonzo 73,
The best way to control people in government is to get dirt on them in anyway possible. Hooking them up with “escorts” is a perfect way to have them eating out of your hand. That is why this story is so important.
things come undone @ 65
30 grit Kate O’Bierne a girl who puts the luv in Loofahs!
backatcha, OFG – and won’t Pach be surprised to learn he has a wife!
Peterr @
34
Thanks, Peterr. I will let you know what I find. You and others have been a big help.
Just wanted to say, Teddy, you rock!
Forget the popcorn. Get yourself a bag of PNACkers.
Ok, I just submitted a debate question to politico. The question was:”Do you support the so-called “unitary executive theory”, or support the President’s claimed ability to disregard the law through the use of signing statements?”
Let’s see if they ask it.
things come undone @ 65
‘Splains that spikey shoe/dominatrix boot fetish that chick has, eh?
things come undone @ 59
This is starting to remind me of L.A. Confidential. Remember the Fleur de Lis escort service (Whatever You Desire)?:
Cop to Russell Crowe’s character- “You’re like Santa Claus with that list, Bud, except everyone on it’s been naughty.”
Katherine Graham Cracker @ 64
Kamen’s column’s title was recently co-opted for an entire page in the dead-tree edition, if I understand the explanation on the WaPoO website. (I’ve not seen a print edition since this happened — you who have, please correct me on this.) I think the entire previous Federal Page is now called In The Loop.
Al’s column used to be all insider stuff — promotions and transfers; what political appointee spent lotsa money to redecorate; agency consolidations and relocations that would affect others’ daily commute. Lately, he’s been worth a read.
Today’s was a real gem, though. Here’s more, in case you hadn’t clicked through:
I didn’t know WaPo writers were even allowed to mention Dear Leader’s low poll numbers, what with the Broder Bounce upon us.
Murray is the MAN!
LINK
Punaise,
One reason I used Pach. I figured that was safe, because he sorta gets my sense of humor. I sense that since I put this little prank of mine on one of the more popular blogs on the net (blatant blogpimping over here) it will be replayed countless times. No one is safe now.
opie_jeanne @ 81
Thank you. As do you!
attractive Republican? who are you thinking of?
OFG – I’m imagining Pach getting a good chuckle out of it.
“Maybe the dog dialed it by accident.”
“I misread it and thought it said, “Moss-aged. You know you said we needed some peat moss.”
“The cat was in heat, and you know he acts when that happens.”
“Hey, what makes you think that I called them? It could have been you. Ever think of that?”
“Yes, I called them, but I did it for a friend.”
“If you look at like this, that 7 looks more like a 2.”
“Somebody told me the Ford Escort was a good car so I called up an Escort service to make sure.”
“My sciatica was acting up.”
Hmmm
“Palfrey” — A lightweight saddle horse, especially one for a woman to ride.
Source
heh.
Can you imagine the next G-8 if Sgolne Royal comes from behind and wins? And Bush couldn’t keep his hands off Angela Merkel.
One thing no one has mentioned. If this prostitution ring is linked to Dusty Foggo, then isn’t it possible that blackmail was the point? Weren’t they having poker/hooker parties hosted by CIA guys? Isn’t that standard procedure for blackmail? I don’t know the answer, just waiting for someone with more knowledge than me to comment.
Also, the Tobias comment about now using “Central American gals” needs to be addressed. Anyone looking for this new company? Did they all switch over after the poker/hooker parties came to light? And some blogger wondered if these new ‘gals’ were being lured to this country and then forced into prostitution.
punaise @ 74
punaise you funny
Anyone ever see this website wrt Cheney?http://dickcheneywire.com/Dick-Cheney
I just love the LOGIC of it. She’s says “my girls aren’t prostitutes.” The johns of course say they didn’t pay for sex. The consenting female adults/prostitutes of course deny it. And what goes on between consenting adults remains , as it should be, a private matter.
Oh sure there’s the detail that you and I may think we know what went on, and that nobody really believes it wasn’t prostitution and sex, but Ms. Palfrey is enlisting her johns to participate in the fiction of “no sex here”… her legal defense…. while at the same time it is perfectly clear that there was whole heaping mounds of sex going on.
See? It’s “no sex” in a legal sense, but it’s “gobs of sex” in a common sensical sense.
It’s not exactly “irony”, but it is a case of one signifier, two opposed meanings… well I guess that is an irony… and a really good one at that.
Plus of course the rampant hypocrisy which is endlessly delightful.
Joe Buck @ 95
Hmm … the accented characters looked ok in the preview … that’s Segolene Royal with an acute and a grave accent.
LS @ 72
This reminds me of the Mae West quote: “When I’m good, I’m very good. But when I’m bad I’m better.”
Are we taking bets on how many “massages” Howie got?
Just curious – do we know what type of professional background Randy (hehe!) had before being appointed to this post? I just have this hunch he’s another Brownie type – a well-connected guy who was completely unqualified for his job.
Does anybody giggle about Randy Tobias’ as I do – imagining him in cut off jean shorts in the shower, crying while clutching a bar of soap? (I still miss Arrested Development!)
Rush Limbaugh Rule #1:
It’s not sex if you need V*agra.
Edited * by Mod
What’s up with Madame Palfrey having HQ in Vallejo, CA? As a working class former naval shipyard town on the way to Napa wine country it has its charms, I suppose, but it’s hardly the kind of place that comes to mind for running a DC escort service empire.
Two words come to mind after reading the Waas article – daisy cutter
the effect could be shattering
But apparently, for no more than ninety minutes, preferably forty-five minutes to an hour. And remember. The customer is paying for the activity, not the time it takes to accomplish it. [Excerpt from Ms. Palfrey’s Guide to Servicing the Married Man; citation omitted.]
Little wonder that so many in Metro DC have discovered an interest in personal privacy not seen since before 9/11.
From NYT’s:
Link
Bush Cheney and Rove were one election away from turning America into their own little Corruptopia.
Too bad some idiot left the cake out in the rain.
Rove!
-GSD
Joe Buck @ 99
use UTF!
For anyone who didn’t get to see it, Jon Stewart rerun with John McCain is starting.
AZ Matt @ 106
Looks like it’s time for another episode of “Find the Bush Family Crony”.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat-turned-independent Sen. Joe Lieberman said Monday a third-party candidate could emerge to shake things up in the 2008 presidential race unless the two major parties tackle the growing problem of partisan polarization that alienates many voters.
“I think the public is fed up,” he said. “If the two major parties don‘t hear this going into ‘08, there is a real chance of an independent third-party candidacy — and watch out if that happens,” he said at a forum on civility and politics on Capitol Hill.
joey bag o’ donuts
I haven’t seen or heard,could this be the same bunch of gals that whooped it up with Dusty Foggo?
laurie9 @ 94
Is his name on the list or what! That is exactly the kind of bad lie people who deserve to get caught come up with. Please people crime should be left to the proffesionals State Dept flunkies and Media people should stay out of the Biz, geez you guys embarrass real crooks everywhere. Many A Glorious Mispent Youth would have been over after the first long weekend with excuses like that!
Rush Limbaugh Rule #1:
It’s notsex if you need V*agra.
Edited by Mod *
GSD @ 107
I think all the time that we won in the nick of time. Two more years of unchecked power and they would have had everything in place to maintain that repub majority.
It’s one thing for a politician to pay for a hooker from his campaign account…but how far beyond that do you extend the net?
Maybe just about as far as Kenneth Star was willing to “extend the net.”
AZ Matt #87, I can already hear Gonzales telling the Congress that it was never his intent to mislead them but that he forgot about signing such an order.
You also have to wonder how come Kyle Sampson also forgot about this order. And whether this came from Goodling as part of her proffer.
Now to go read the link. Thanks.
I read this usually in a news weekly in Flagstaff. It is usually pretty funny and snarky!
Bustednuckles @ 112
I think it is. Which is why posted earlier about blackmail being the goal.
Hugh @ 115
Something in the water I think.
“Randy Tobias won’t be missed.”
Who, exactly, would be? What official in this administration could resign and provoke wails of depair at the loss? Who would make people say “oh, no, however could we replace that excellent person”? Gonzales? Would we be saying “wherever will we find another legal mind so titanic as that”? Who in that clown academy would we be worse off with, if we replaced them with an empty chair and a vacant desk? Who?
Joe Buck @ 95
Unfortunately, the decidedly less attractive right-winger Nicolas Sarkozy is more likely to be the shoulder rubbee, based on currrent polling.
here they are, side by side
GSD @ 108
GSD so true!
mike @ 99
and especially sumptuous!
Teddy!
You know how tense a guy can get sending all those boys to protect American values. Ease up already!
Another thang: HoJo is right about a third party, but I think his message is really meant to keep rogue ie. honest Repubs in line.
Americans are fed up with the war lies and that’s why we are shouting on the Internet, FGS!
punaise @ 122
Jesus Christ! The next president of France is going to be Igor Karkaroff from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire?!
So Tobias was using prostitutes and resigned, but is that it? Is there any investigation that’s going to go on to see if he traded contracts or was influenced by services bought for him by the groups or countries he was funding?
ccmask @ 112
Keep dreaming, butt-munch Joe.
AZ Matt @ 118
I was just wondering…what do Central Americans call gringos? And since when do repubs hire illegal immigrants? Stop encouraging them!
Joe Buck @ 95
To paraphrase Lauren Bacall, I like my Socialists to come from behind.
.
Only in your wildest, wet dream liarman.
landofthefree @ 101
He was CEO of Eli Lilly and previously, Vice-Chair of AT&T and CEO of AT&T International. Not exactly the Arabian Horse Association, or wherever it was Brownie “worked.”
Yes, Joe. By all means, run for president on the Connecticut for America ticket, or whatever the hell your bogus little vanity party is. But resign from the senate first, please.
BTW, should we convene a blogger ethics panel to deal with
(1) the vituperative and toxic atmosphere that FDL is creating, and
(2) what to do about lolo, zedwise ?
Georgesimian @ 128
No, let’s not miss the point…he contracted with illegal immigrants. Bigger sin, unless they vote republican, then all is forgiven. I’m sure we’ll find out.
Has anyone hauled Monica’s blue dress out for the Smithsonian yet? Makes a nice grouping with the address book…
reign_of_leftwing_wilderness_internet_terror @ 132
Re: #2: Yeah – I agree. Quoting my mom: “I think she’s getting just a little to big for her britches” ;)
ccmask @ 112: I’m more than happy with the notion that someone from the “traditional conservative” mold, or a Ross Perot or Teve Torbes type will run as a third party candidate. Split the GOP vote between the hard-line religious right and the other conservatives.
I’ve wanted to launch a “Draft Perot!” movement, but I’d feel guilty doing it because I have no interest in having that man as our President. I’d only be doing it to encourage the GOP block to fracture, and that’s not nice. ;) Even without a third party that would draw some traditional Republican voters, I think the GOP has an uphill battle to retain WH control in 2008.
Side by Side.
Thanks, I have a new fantasy-Segolene I love you! Sarkozy you neo-con freak-you are going down.
I’d like to see this bring the hypocritical SOB’s down, but I can’t seem to shake the Edwin Edwards Gold Standard of sex scandals: “I can’t lose unless I’m caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy.”
Dr. Bonzo @ 73
Are you sure Schadenfreude is the appropriate word here? I don’t see the “suffering to see someone else suffer too” aspect at all.
Is demonstrating that the Administration – one that ran to power on the fact that they were MORALLY SUPERIOR TO THE DEMS…That set out to destroy the Clinton Administration…niot via policy issues and debate…but moral ones- is filled with hypocisy…is that “a shiny object”? I think NOT!
It exposes them for what their real agenda IS…and it’s not at all to “correct the culture morally”. It’s to line the pockets of their cronies by undertaking some of the most immoral and unethical acts possible while cloaked in claims of moral turpitude and patriotism.
Sure…and one of those is that we rarely, and that includes the “electorate”…think that those we elect are subject to the same “issues” that we are. We think that they should be either a) superior morally to us (role models), or b) not be crusaders of PERSONAL VALUES.
Hmm! Which is why he said throw sinners out of the church and insisted that people be abstinent, if possible, even in marriage?
Yeah, and maybe they will also reflect on why they were suckered into supporting sancimonious moralists? And perhaps not be so likely to weigh such talk as valid in the future.
You seem to have hypocrisy mixed up with the actual act of sexual indiscretion…and how does this relate to cannibalism?
Then again, I don’t think Congress is likely to take this up UNLESS it involves embezzlement of gov’t money, bribery, or extortion. All of these ARE IMPORTANT ISSUES.
But to call these folks on HYPOCRISY is certainly 100% legitimate…particularly when they are THEMSELVES involved in activities like an ABSTINENCE-ONLY HIV POLICY!
o/t but does Wolfie really believe he did nothing wrong, or is he just mad that they let him get away with it for a while, and now they’re complaining?
reign_of_leftwing_wilderness_internet_terror @ 134
Well, I’m too busy caucusing at joe’s “bipartisan” cocktail party…but I will gladly represent our rights to be vituperitive and toxic. The bipartisan cocktail party will also be sponsoring abovementioned Smithsonian exhibit.
TeddySanFran @ 133: so Tobias had real managerial experience at other companies before taking this gig, eh? Any word on his job performance at those former jobs? Did his performance in the private sector sparkle in a similar manner as he’s done in his government job?
That guy is creepier than George Tenet, John McCain, William Kristol and Dick Perle combined.
Some things may be bright shiny objects, but I think we all have to pay attention to each and every one of them. They are all parts of a whole. Each wave of scandal erodes more of their power. And there are enough people paying attention and sharing information that the truth will eventually emerge.
How come Bush doesn’t stand by Tobais like he stands by all the other criminals in his administration?
landofthefree @ 102
Randy was CEO, Libby, Big Parma. If you like tin-foil..Randy pushed the no condom theory for AIDS prevention…Libby big into AIDS drugs..da..da..da
What’s Blockbuster?
/snark
lolo @
8
You earned it you little rascal! ;~)
Steve @ 148
Breakfast at Tiffany’s anyone?
KO – women in government who once worked as escorts.
cleter @ 121
Excellent point. The popping of champagne corks struck me as particularly apt, though. How many magnums have been put on ice at DoJ?
And, do you suppose Randy was given a survey to complete [my bold]?
So THAT’S what they mean by BUSHIES!
OT: Sen. Leahy is on the memo revealed by Waas already.
prostratedragon @ 155
Are we at checkmate yet?
prostratedragon @ 155
Beautiful.
Bushgate
LS @ 151
gives a different meaning to entry level jobs
KO coined “Lust List” for the report on the Pamela Martin clientele followed by a chat titled “For A Good Time..” with Dana Milquetoast of the WP. bwahahahahahahahaha!
LS @ 157
Dickgate
Elliott @ 159
Thanks a lot!!! I just spewed beer all over my desk!!
Leave it to Beaver Part Deux
landofthefree @ 138
I agree with you. Give me an Independent and I’ll vote the candidate. I’ve been cooking for the last couple of minutes and te only one I can think of is Fitz.
OT-
OMG! WOW! Philip Giraldi of the American Conservative Magazine on KO” “He (Tenet)basically committed a WAR CRIME in enabling the Adminstration to start an agressive war against a country that did not in any way threaten us.”!!!!!!
You notice that he included the Administration in that war crime?
Be back. I’m cooking for me & my son. He lost 35 pounds in the last 5 weeks and I started the same diet Saturday. Down 3.
Tithonia @ 144
There are some people who will only pay attention to politics when it’s part of their pop culture. Sex for sale takes these hypocrites into pop culture.
didn’t this whole DC Madam story start with the Cunningham investigation?
prostratedragon @ 155
Good for Leahy for smacking this down right away! (wink ☺ Wink)
TeddySanFran @ 166
Yeah – isn’t it great? Heh.
Elliott @
159
penetrating analysis.
Boy “George” kidnapped a male escort. Now there’s some pop culture for ya.
Well, it makes perfect sense to me that when Randy (!) wanted a massage he’d call a $275 per hour “escort” rather than a $60 per hour licensed massage therapist.
/s
Let’s justccmask @ 165
Details, please.
A big “chill” runs through the bedrooms of the government. The “wives” are probably all going through their husbands pockets and papers. They are probably all cut off.
Heh, heh, heh.
OT:
Military wife to Kristol, How do you sleep at night.
http://www.truthdig.com/avboot….._at_night/
solai @ 173
ccmask! That is amazing! You go!
The only “wrong” wingers recognize is sex. The only “morality” they pay attention to is sexual morality. So publish the numbers. Expose the hypocrites.
That’s the kind of “wrong” the wingers recognize.
Gee, lolo made a cute smiley. Special font?
lolo @ 168
Hear, hear!
I am MUCH more concerned with DOJ lawlessness than who is getting paid to get laid. With so many scandals to choose from, we need to prioritize!
oops, sorry to be vituperative…
do-si-do, 179
It’s all part of the same intertwined jigsaw puzzle…dot..dot..dot.
Is everyone ready for our savior to arrive?
America For Lieberman!
His campaign slogan will be “No Sanctimonious, warmongering douchebag left behind.”
-GSD
prostratedragon @ 178
my new majic trikMod note: One must know what to do with the rabbit once it leaves the hat.
GSD @ 181
a fairy tale: “Rape Gurney, Rape Gurney, let down your hair”
LS @ 180
and it’s a pretty disturbing picture
tbsa @ 175
it’s not too late to sign up loyal bushies for the military…what’s stopping them? hmmmm…
It MORMAN time on PBS
solai @ 173
Should I post it here? It isn’t long.
do-si-do @ 185
Can ya just see William “the Bloody” Kristol actually in a combat situation?
Elliott @ 186
“24″ is about, “Jack copes with the consequences of taking matters into his own hands..”
Elliott @ 186
“missionary zeal”
LS @ 189
I bet Tobias is thinking if only I’d taken the matter into my own hands
ccmask @ 187
Got me!
FYI, lolo has a new zed
God believed in Man so much he sent his Only son to die on the Cross. Bush believes in Iraq so much… He doesn’t believe in the war sure other people can die for a lie but Bush knows its a lie and so he won’t send his kids to die.
nonsequitor Re: below thread on McGovern.
Don’t forget that you have SISMI agents, some reportedly tied to the forgeries, who are looking at charges in Italy for their role in numerous activities, including the torture abduction of a possible al-Qaeda operative. Forget Fitzgerald – if you want to see real blood and guts no holds barred, the law is the law – Spataro who is pursuing that case seems to be it. He is sharing with German prosecutors re: flight info and has/had wiretaps on several of these SISMI guys.
If I was involved deep in the forgeries and McGovern started talking like he is, I would have to be a bit worried about who is saying what to Spataro and his crew, and whether any of it will be coming out.
LS @ 190
The religion and its origin aside, Brigham Young and his crew moved themselves all the way out west and created a whole new settlement, well organized, well thought out, and obviously successful. No easy feat
and to snark aside Bringham Young was aptly named.
do-si-do @
185
I suppose they have other priorities.
ccmask @
165
I hope you’ll share this diet!
APOLOGIZE FOR THE OT:
LIBERAL DIET
My son lost 35 pounds in 4-5 weeks
BREAKFAST:
1 cup of dry cereal (Special K or similar)
Coffee, water or juice
LUNCH:
One slice wheat bread with 2 thin slices of low fat “packaged” cold cuts and a one Banana
DINNER:
Salad w/ low fat dressing or plain Vegetable
One Chicken Breast Baked or Broiled
DESSERT:
A piece of fruit (No melons or Peaches)
You can drink one diet soda a day but try to drink crystal light or water. No melon or peaches. Feta cheese or gorgonzola in your salad, or cooked in or on your chicken if you want. That’s it. I’m on day 3 and lost 3.
Pat Buchanon is a windbag. He is a miserable man and such a freakin downer. I can’t stand his negativity.
“Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country” JFK
Ask me about all the tax cuts I can give you by shortchanging the troops on Humvee Armour
Ask me how many years can I keep shorting the troops to keep giving you tax cuts
Ask me about how I will pay for the war on credit and then stick Democrats with the blame heh! I bet a Democrat Moderate wins and sticks the poor with most of the tax increase to pay for the war
Ask me how I cause a recession with all my spending stick Democrat Moderates with the blame and the bill for the war. Thereby setting up Jeb to be President
And to think I owe it all to Holy Joe and all the Democratic Moderates for sticking with me!
Not to rain on everyone’s parade, but before finding out who the women involved in this were, we should remember that DC is a town where unpaid internships and below-living wage entry level jobs abound. When I saw, “university professors,” all I could think of is adjuncts, who teach at prestigious universities for $5000 a course or so. An adjunct at American University earns $2000 for a semester’s work. That’s $10,000 annually for a full teaching load.
My sneaking suspicion is that the women will turn out to be Republicans as well, because that’s how partisan things are in DC these days. But our side should take a look at the shamefully low pay for people (especially women) doing public service/progressive work. And these jobs have long and unpredictable hours. How do you measure the number of hours it would take waitressing to make what a “fantasy escort” would? Not to mention the losing of face with the trust fund crowd if they saw you waiting tables.
And to anyone saying that any particular salary is more than they make, the amount of grooming and wardrobe required to signal that a young woman is an up and comer these days astonishes me. They truly believe they have to look flawless at all times. Don’t know if it’s true. Glad to be older.
Grew up in DC. A friend of my father’s had a daughter caught up in one of the DC sex scandals. It destroyed him. They were small town church going folk, and having photos of her partying splashed all over the nightly news really hurt. He just vanished for quite a while and never really reconnected with old friends.
I’m looking forward to seeing the powerful brought down, but hoping that the exploited and their families make it through OK.
I knew an activist who wanted all glamour pieces on artists, activists, documentary filmmakers, etc. (basically the people who seem to have cool jobs) to include their income and all of its sources. She was really cool, worked as an adjunct at an Ivy-equivalent, had some art in galleries, and was a community activist quoted in newspapers. And she paid her rent by taking in medical transcription work.
Elliott @ 196
Sounds like D.C.
Stupidity is no excuse to attempt comprimise with a man who has a history of betrayal secret Complicity is the motive. We need to remove the Moderate Democrats and insist that the Oil Companies in particular and the industries that supported Bush’s reelection face some accountablity for their actions and pay for their war.
Maureen @ 202
The women’s name should not be mentioned unless they were a client I don’t care for gossip. The Hypocrisy of those in power I do care about their names are fair game.
Maureen @ 202
Thanks for this, Maureen.
I call escort services by accident all the time. Doesn’t everybody?
I assumed they bought up the extra phone numbers to drum up business.
Maureen 202,
You have some really good points. It really makes me sad about the family fallout. However, if someone (an Abramoff type character, for example) enticed any of these people into participating in this behavior and was able to hold it over politicians so that they would rubber-stamp policy, that ends up being a life and death situation for troops who were sent to war based on lies, 655,000 civilians killed in Iraq, and innocent people being tortured, and all the families that those events impact. That is just part of the ultimate fallout that may be involved in this scandal.
LS @ 208
I agree. Hear, hear.
I can’t *tell* you how many times that’s happened to me. I mean, you’re dialing Blockbuster, and the next thing you know, *an Escort Service* is on the other end of the line!!
Wait, I don’t even have a TV to watch rented videos on….
why, just the other day I was dialing BallBuster…
Frank Probst @
28
But, where the Republicans might acknowledge it’s bad they mischaracterize it as simply handled badly (like the firing of US Attorneys) instead of recognizing that it’s fundamentally illegal — a war-crime.
Frank Probst @
28
Buckley finds wisdom, several years too late. Nevertheless, you gotta hand it to the man, he writes real nice.
ccmask @ 165
Yeah? I lose weight from my wife’s cooking.
:)
Joe Buck @
95
I can see him now, with Royale in one arm and Merkel in the other and a huge smile on his face while Pickles is offstage with a very glazed-eyes look.
Hey security! Better check Pickles for dangerous weapons.
What if one of the phone numbers is in the White House?
outsourcing – where will it end?
if the alleged madam is guilty, those records are evidence that they will use to prosecute not “clients” of a private “massage” service, but “johns” of a well-known and well-reviewed prostitution ring. that is, if we still have a justice system that works, not sure about that either.
if MSM protests too much, better break it to your wives now and not cover up. the cover up hurts the worst both in politics and romance.
don’t forget that this is just an entertaining PART of the general corruption and hypocrisy of this so-called administration. report this with the glee you seem to have but realize that our whole system of government is at risk as we salivate over some horndog’s viagra moments!