So our esteemed president spoke to the House Republican Caucus yesterday. And, the story goes, "someone" forgot to turn off the microphones that feed into the press room, allowing the press corps to hear a few minutes of Bush's comments that he expected "to stay in the room." And if the news reports of this incident are to be believed, what did the Presdent say during this brief moment of exposure? All the right things about protecting the country, ensuring the NSA program's legality, and the like. Then the open mikeswere apparently discovered, and turned off.
Well color me just as skeptical as hell. Paranoid even. But it's too pat, too convenient, too contrary to the otherwise obsessive secrecy of the administration.
While we all consider the weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth and rending of garments by our conservative friends who were shocked and outraged by the four sentences uttered by two individuals at Coretta Scott King's funeral, let's see if we can find OTHER examples of political attacks that violated the decorum of someone ELSE's funeral.
Come on! It'll be FUN!!!
Rumors and speculation continue that Karl Rove may yet have a problem stemming from Patrick Fitzgerald's Valerie Plame investigation. That, however, may eventually take a back seat to speculation over the likelihood that the Fitzgerald investigation may cause serious problems for Dick Cheney.
By way of Raw Story, two different media sources now document that Cheney: (1) authorized Libby to leak information that was still classified at the time of the leak, and (2) led the overall effort to discredit Joe Wilson.
Today's Wall Street Journal asks, in a subheadline on page one, if we are looking at "The End of Retirement?"
There are dual stories in the paper on the sorry state of retirement benefits from some of the largest American corporations, including today's announcement that GM has decided to "substantially alter pension benefits" for salaried workers (no details on how), and to cap health care benefits for salaried employees and their families at the 2006 levels.
The phrase? "Crocodile tears."
Meaning -- Fake tears.
Origin -- Crocodiles sometimes secrete a fluid from their eyes when they kill prey.
And my, but aren't the airwaves FILLED with the sound of weeping crocodiles today.
Who wins in the Muhammed cartoon debacle? No one.
The "scandalous" is from Arlen Specter. "Disappointed" and "surprised" come from Olympia Snowe. The details come from the Guardian's story on congressional reaction to the details of the President's proposed 2007 budget.
Just when you think you've identified the most absurd conservative in the world...for instance, when you first read David Brooks...along comes another one to make your face contort into positions it should never hold.
From one Dr. Vincent G. Gioia, writing for New Media Journal
What would happen to all our "investors", China included, if the US developed the cajones in time of crisis to simply declare a bank holiday or nullify all foreign debt by law or decree? Sure, we would be disliked and more on the world stage, but so what? After all, business is business.
Scientists the world over are hailing the news published today in the Online Edition of "The Independent."
KBR wins a new government contract. To make detention centers in the U.S.
