Proposed congressional response to the Republican scandal with Republican criminals and Republican politicians? Raise the salaries of politicians! Because, congressmen aren’t already out of touch with the average American with their six-figure salaries…

Every time I think Democrats are the stupid losers, Republicans do their best to set my line of thought straight.

If you immerse yourself in right-wing media (possible, from morning until night nowadays), you could delude yourself into believing that America is a far right-nation - a country filled with bible beating right-wingers who reject the right to choose and are just this side of James Dobson.

But the truth of the matter is, the hardcore beliefs of the Republican party are just not in the American mainstream, and that’s why Republicans always have to hide their beliefs behind a veil of moderation — and why Republican presidents can never deliver on their right wing venom to the cultural right while in office (about outlawing abortion and banning gay marriage…).

Cue Alito

Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. said yesterday that his 1985 assertion that the Constitution does not protect the right to an abortion was a “true expression of my views at the time,” but he told senators he would “approach the question with an open mind” if confirmed to the high court.

Where’s the indignation, the rousing defense for what the craziest senator ever - Tom Coburn - described.

A physician who has delivered about 4,000 babies, Coburn said he had cared for over 300 women “who’ve had complications from this wonderful right to choose to kill their unborn babies. And that’s what it is: It’s the right of convenience to take the life.

“And the question that arises … is where are we in America when we decide that it’s legal to kill our unborn children?”

He said senators can’t express concern for those who are weak and vulnerable “and at the same time say, ‘I don’t care about those who have been ripped from the wombs of women and the complications that have come about throughout that.’”

The problem is, if Alito said anything like that he wouldn’t get out of committee, because while it may sell in Oklahoma, it won’t sell in the vast majority of America that’s pro-choice. But wrapped in the cocoon of right wing media, the right can delude itself into believing that they’re in the majority opinion on these things.

Once again, our sorry excuse for a president says that being against the way he has horribly prosecuted this war is to aid the enemy. Every day now Republicans are being arrested for corruption, they know that as inept as the Democrats are — they could actually win an election or two, and this is why they’re trying to take Iraq off the table. Don’t let it happen.

UPDATE: Dems hit back

“The Bush Administration’s attack, distract and distort tactics reflect a Nixonian paranoia that is un-American. It’s shameful that once again the Bush Administration resorted to attacking the patriotism of fellow Americans rather than answering legitimate questions surrounding the President’s failures in Iraq. Personal attacks won’t change the fact that hundreds of fatalities in Iraq could have been avoided if only our troops had the equipment they asked for.

“Democrats welcome and will continue to push for the open and honest debate that is fundamental to our democracy and the liberties we hold dear.”

Yeah, I think we figured out why DeLay decided to bow out when Abramoff copped his plea

Former House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay tried to pressure the Bush administration into shutting down an Indian-owned casino that lobbyist Jack Abramoff wanted closed — shortly after a tribal client of Abramoff’s donated to a DeLay political action committee, The Associated Press has learned.

The Texas Republican demanded closure of the casino, owned by the Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Texas, in a Dec. 11, 2001 letter to then-Attorney General
John Ashcroft. The Associated Press obtained the letter from a source who did not want to be identified because of an ongoing federal investigation of Abramoff and members of Congress.

(as if this isn’t happening already)

The Army’s Buying PR

Word comes from RL that the Army has hired PR firm Hass MS&L of Detroit to offer “exclusive editorial content” to blogs willing to run government propaganda.

“The Army believes that military blogs are a valuable medium for reaching out,” account executive Charlie Kondek has written to a number of pro-military blogs in a January 6 Email.

“To that end, the Army plans to offer you and selected bloggers exclusive editorial content on a few issues you’re likely to be interested in,” Kondek says.

About a year or two ago I said it would be supercheap for the government to set up a couple of fake Iraqi blogs to talk about how great the war was going. People said I was paranoid or crazy.

You know it’s breaking through when a even a right-wing stenographer like Rich Lowry understands that Abramoff-DeLay-Bush is all GOP on GOP action.

But this is, in its essence, a Republican scandal, and any attempt to portray it otherwise is a misdirection.

Abramoff is a Republican who worked closely with two of the country’s most prominent conservative activists, Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed. Top aides to the most important Republican in Congress, Tom DeLay (R., Tex.) were party to his sleazy schemes. The only people referred to directly in Abramoff’s recent plea agreement are a Republican congressmen and two former Republican congressional aides. The GOP members can make a case that the scandal reflects more the way Washington works than the unique perfidy of their party, but even this is self-defeating, since Republicans run Washington.

Hearing into bias falls short of billing

Yesterday’s hearing on academic freedom at Pennsylvania’s public universities was hyped by conservative activists as a “historic moment,” in which school administrators would finally be “called to account” in front of state legislators for allowing student “indoctrination and abuse” by leftist professors.

But the hearing at Temple University did not live up to that billing.

A professor scheduled to testify about alleged rampant liberal bias at Temple canceled. The sole student to appear before the legislative committee acknowledged he had never filed a formal grievance.

And Temple president David Adamany testified that in fact no student had made an official classroom bias complaint in at least five years, despite well-developed policies and procedures for doing so.

Huffington Post found this story for our short-attention-span media and the Republican propagandists who work it:

In President Bush’s first 10 months, GOP fundraiser Jack Abramoff and his lobbying team logged nearly 200 contacts with the new administration as they pressed for friendly hires at federal agencies and sought to keep the Northern Mariana Islands exempt from the minimum wage and other laws, records show.

The meetings between Abramoff’s lobbying team and the administration ranged from Attorney General John Ashcroft to policy advisers in Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, according to his lobbying firm billing records.

So it’s no surprise the White House has gone on red alert

Although DeLay’s forfeiture of his leadership post makes things easier for the White House, the Abramoff saga will continue to be a problem. Bracing for the worst, Administration officials obtained from the Secret Service a list of all the times Abramoff entered the White House complex, and they scrambled to determine the reason for each visit. Bush aides are also trying to identify all the photos that may exist of the two men together. Abramoff attended Hanukkah and holiday events at the White House, according to an aide who has seen the list. Press secretary Scott McClellan said Abramoff might have attended large gatherings with Bush but added, “The President does not know him, nor does the President recall ever meeting him.”

Call me cynical, but I think it’s clear that Scott McClellan is what’s commonly referred to as a “filthy liar”.

I think it’s kind of amusing for the media to jump all over the Dow crawling its way above 11,000 without noting that under the Bush administration the market is at about the same level the Clinton administration left it at. I’m also waiting for all of those armchair economists on the right who swore up and down a week ago that the Dow didn’t matter to know explain to me that it does matter because… er… well… Bush!

The president doesn’t have a magic wand that he can wave over the markets, but I’m willing to admit that the sound fiscal policy we had under Clinton (cutting taxes for the middle class, eradicating the debt) had something to do with the unprecedented economic expansion of that era.

On the flip side cutting taxes for Paris Hilton, Bill Gates, Ken Lay and Tom DeLay has done essentially nil — and the deficit has returned with a vengeance.

The Flying Spaghetti Monster Church … in Lego!

I’ve found this bit quite expressive.

Maryland Republicans are having wet dreams of a GOP revival in Maryland, on Robert Ehrlich’s coattails along with Bush sock-puppet Michael Steele. It’s going to be a slap in their faces when Martin O’Malley is sworn in as governor, isn’t it?

The New York Times is obsessesed with Wonkette and her new book. Thank the Internets (all of them) that there’s a blog out there covering the whole affair.

“There are no Democrats who took money from Jack Abramoff, not one, not one single Democrat. Every person named in this scandal is a Republican. Every person under investigation is a Republican. Every person indicted is a Republican. This is a Republican finance scandal. There is no evidence that Jack Abramoff ever gave any Democrat any money and we’ve looked through all of the F.E.C. reports to make sure that’s true…I know the Republican National Committee would like to get the Democrats involved in this. They’re scared. They should be scared. They haven’t told the truth. They have misled the American people, and now it appears they’re stealing from Indian tribes. The Democrats are not involved in this.”

The Giants just rolled over like punks for the Panthers. A less delicate fan would say they just got pwned.

There’s only one NFC East team left in the playoffs… hehe…

The rousing defense of lobbying (somehow I don’t think the founders had Jack Abramoff pimping members of congress in mind) written in the Post is by someone who has given almost $6,000 to support the corrupt Republican majority.

Aren’t those playoff commercials with Don Cheadle great? And not just because it shows Doug Williams and his big ole Superbowl ring. Though that doesn’t hurt.

What an ugly game. Especially by the offense.

But all that matters is the damn scoreboard.

HAIL SKINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Needless to say, I blew out my voice.

Now, okay, if Sean Taylor spit in the other guys face he should be ejected (I still didn’t see it) — but shouldn’t there also be a penalty for the guy punching him in the face? Not to mention a clear face mask grab I saw late in the third quarter? There was some insane penalties in this game, and the Bucs are a dirty team.

Bring on the Seahawks.

I think some of the credit for this win should go to Coach Janky Spanky.

Poll: Most Say U.S. Needs Warrant to Snoop

A majority of Americans want the Bush administration to get court approval before eavesdropping on people inside the United States, even if those calls might involve suspected terrorists, an AP-Ipsos poll shows.

Over the past three weeks, President Bush and top aides have defended the electronic monitoring program they secretly launched shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, as a vital tool to protect the nation from al-Qaida and its affiliates.

Yet 56 percent of respondents in an AP-Ipsos poll said the government should be required to first get a court warrant to eavesdrop on the overseas calls and e-mails of U.S. citizens when those communications are believed to be tied to terrorism.

3/4 of Democrats say the President needs a warrant, while only 1/4 of Republicans do, proving once again that Republicans see the constitution as nothing more than a piece of paper.