Happy Birthday Jared!

Everyone should wish Jared a happy 34th!!!

I'll catch up to you in a few months, brother!

-Ralph

Rose Garden Funeral of Sores

(with respect to Bauhaus)

George Bush had a doozy of a press conference in the Rose Garden on Tuesday. Some highlights:

- "It has now been 57 days since I requested that Congress pass emergency funds for our troops... Instead of passing clean bills... the House and Senate have spent this time debating bills that... [spend] billions of dollars on pork barrel projects completely unrelated to the war... In a time of war, it's irresponsible for the... Democratic leadership in Congress to delay for months on end while our troops in combat are waiting for the funds."

Debunk: Earlier "emergency supplementals" - under the ever-vacationing eye of the Republican-led Congress - took considerably longer than 57 days to pass. His comments regarding earmarks ring hollow as well. Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) also shatters the "military will run out of money by mid-April" myth.

- "I said the other day that -- first of all, the seizure of the sailors is indefensible by the Iranians, and that I support the Blair government's attempts to solve this issue peacefully. So we're in close consultation with the British government. I also strongly support the Prime Minister's declaration that there should be no quid pro quo's when it comes to the hostages."

Debunk: See our first post today. No quid pro quo's, my ass.

-"The President names the U.S. attorneys, and the President has the right to remove U.S. attorneys... they serve at my pleasure, they have served four-year terms, and we have every right to replace them. And... I am genuinely concerned about their reputations, now that this has become a Washington, D.C. focus. I'm sorry it's come to this. On the other hand, there had been no credible evidence of any wrongdoing. And that's what the American people have got to understand. We had a right to remove them; we did remove them. And there will be more hearings to determine what I've just said, no credible evidence of wrongdoing."

Debunk: While Bush may have a claim that most of the attorney removals were not illegal, they certainly were unethical at best, dishonest at worst. The obfuscation and outright lying from the DoJ may be actionable. In addition, Carol Lam's removal may be illegal, as it disrupted an ongoing investigation; thus, it is worth looking into.

- "[W]e've got to continue to make it clear to the Iraqi government that this is... more than a military mission -- precisely the reason why I sent more troops into Baghdad, to be able to provide some breathing space for this democratically-elected government to succeed. And it's hard work, and I understand it's hard work."

Debunk: Ah, screw the debunk on this one. Bush debunks himself within the same sentence! It would be helpful for Bush if the surge was working; however, that just hasn't seemed to be the case, as we've been reporting.

- "I firmly believe that if we were to leave before the job is done, the enemy would follow us here. And what makes Iraq different from previous struggles is that September the 11th showed that chaos in another part of the world, and/or safe haven for killers, for radicals, affects the security of the United States."

Debunk: IRAQ HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH 9/11. It was not "in chaos," per se; certainly it was in less chaos than it has been since the occupation began. It was not a safe haven for anyone who participated in the attack, as the 9/11 Commission pointed out. Maybe NOW, we'll have to worry about people angered over Bush's foreign policy coming here... like Michael Chertoff, apparently, is.

- "[W]e have no problem, no beef with the Iranian people. We value their history; we value their traditions. But their government is making some choices that will continue to isolate them and deprive them of a better economic future."

Debunk: Perhaps the Iranian government would not make those choices you don't like, Mr. Bush, had you not referred to them as part of the "Axis of Evil." Perhaps things would be different if you didn't sever diplomatic relations with them. Perhaps they would not threaten to build a nuclear weapon if you didn't capitulate to Kim Jong Il in North Korea after his dubious nuclear missile test.

There's more to hear here; listen to the ELPN LIVE tonight at 10:00PM Eastern US Time on Indie Airplay Radio (accessible through iTunes).

The truth about Pelosi's trip to Syria

The truth hurts (Republicans) when you don't realize exactly what you are saying.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), along with a bipartisan group of congressmen, is touring the Middle East. They took a stop in Syria to meet with its president, Bashar al-Assad.

The neo-con lackeys in the MSM went to work on Pelosi:

- CNN's Suzanne Malveaux just cannot keep her mouth shut about Pelosi's trip.

- Cheney on the Always Blame Clinton network: "[Assad's] bad behavior's being rewarded in a sense." He said something similar regarding a potential "quid-pro-quo" arrangement to free the British sailors and mar... oh, wait, the White House rewarded bad behavior too.

- An op-ed in the supposedly "liberal" Washington Post calls Pelosi's trip a "Pratfall in Damascus," while ThinkProgress debunks the most "damning" points. As one would expect, Bill Kristol shills the blatantly false talking points on FOX News.

- House Minority Leader John Boehner: "It's one thing for other members to go, but you have to ask yourself, 'Why is Pelosi going?' She's going for one reason and that is to embarrass the president."

- Pelosi was criticized for wearing a headscarf while in Syria. Interestingly, Laura Bush wore one when she visited the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem...

The Republicans, however, have a lot of 'splaining to do:

- Last week, a contingent of GOP House members went to Syria on a mission similar to Pelosi's, yet no one in the White House or MSM said it was a bad thing; in fact, after unsuccessfully discouraging them, the US Embassy in Beirut was asked to facilitate their trip.

- Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is currently in Syria to talk to al-Assad.

- The topper: In 1997, Dennis Hastert (R-IL) led a group of congressmen to Colombia and actively encouraged Colombian officials to "bypass the U.S. executive branch and communicate directly with Congress." The GOP accuses Pelosi of undermining Bush - even though the State Department has been on top of Pelosi and saw no such action - yet Hastert BLATANTLY undermined Clinton's efforts at diplomacy with Colombia without complaint.

Pelosi, apparently, has thrown down the gauntlet at the feet of the Bush administration.

Grover Norquist speaks the truth?!

At a book party Monday night (for a book that, by its title, seems to skewer former President Bill Clinton), Grover Norquist said something that we always thought was the case, but had never had it confirmed until now:

"The base isn't interested in Iraq. The base is for Bush. If Bush said tomorrow, we're leaving in two months, there would be no revolt."

The letter "R" is more important than the betterment of America. They're not interested in what is best for this country. They only want to do what they're told to do! It's no wonder these people aren't interested in preserving freedom - they've given theirs up to the GOP!

Yet more Gone-zoGate...

Orrin Hatch has no idea who Carol Lam actually is. There's a video of it in Rachel Maddow's Podthing. Rush Limbaugh doesn't even know who hired her as a US Attorney.

Gone-zo has gone - he's retreated into the echo chamber to "practice" his lies. Did I say lies? I think I meant testimony. How does one practice the truth, exactly? Even more quizzically, according to the article, "Ed Gillespie, a former Republican National Committee chairman, and Timothy E. Flanigan, who worked for Gonzales at the White House, have met with the attorney general to plot strategy." Plot strategy?!?!?! Again, how does one plot the truth?

Since Monica Goodling planned to plead the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination while testifying in front of Congress, the House Democrats on the Judiciary Committee offered her the option of discussing her testimony - or lack thereof - in a private interview. Goodling has declined this option. The Senate is going above her head - Sens. Leahy and Whitehouse have contacted Fredo directly to ask, "What do we have to do to get a person still employed by our government to testify fully and freely under oath?"

Surprise, surprise, a Republican lies. This time, it's Tim Griffin, Rove's pal - the former opposition researcher for Bush's 2004 presidential campaign who has replaced Bud Cummins as US Attorney in Eastern Arkansas. Seems his tales of being a hotshot Army lawyer are shot to hell by the Army's records, which show he was an assistant on 3 cases (and not 40), none of which went to trial.

This scandal has been a gift that keeps on giving for the ELPN! However, and more importantly, we hang our heads as Americans to see our government behave in such an overtly dishonest manner.

***Additional info!***
Was David Iglesias discriminated against? One of the DoJ complaints against Iglesias' continued tenure as US Attorney was that he was absent from his position for 45 days per year. It's just unfortunate (for the DoJ) that Iglesias' reason for leaving his office is that he is an active captain in the Navy Reserve.

Even former AG John "Let the Mighty Eagle Soar" Ashcroft's spokesman has spoken out against Gonzales' continued tenure.

Bush LIES yet again.

Sorry for the recent lack of posting; I won't speak for Jared, but April tends to be one of my busiest months. I plan on making up for it today.

We'll start with the freed British seamen and marines recently captured by Iran.

Bush approved of Britain's diplomacy with Iran, but when he was asked if he'd consider freeing the five Iranians we captured in Iraq, he said, "There should be no quid pro quo when it comes to the hostages."

Oh, really, Mr. Bush?

Meanwhile, in echo-chamber-land, Glenn Beck and Michael Savage criticize... the British captives!

How much Hillary hate can there be?

If you want to dislike Hillary, at least dislike her for her stances on the issues. You will always hear me (if not Jared as well) talk about how we don't care much for Hillary on the show.

However, Glenn Beck has no beef with her issues, apparently. It's her voice which drives him, and washed-up, no-talent hack Danny Bonaduce, as insane as they are. More from this conversation at MediaMatters. This is what passes as informed opinion at CNN Headline News?

I don't want to hear another person call CNN a "liberal" network.

A new progressive candidate for president?

Apparently, former Senator Mike Gravel (D-AK) is throwing his hat into the ring. This gentleman was a voice for ending the Vietnam conflict before that was a popular stance in government, and has some very valid points regarding our current conflict now.

This may be the REAL "straight talk" candidate!

This weekend in the US attorney scandal

Just some interesting tidbits:

- Rush Limbaugh calls the 72% of Americans who think something is wrong with the firings of the attorneys "a bunch of blithering idiots who have no idea what they're talking about...". No link available, but I will get the audio for tonight's program.

- In a Time Magazine poll, 55% of Americans think that Bush is protesting having Rove, et al., testify under oath because Bush is "trying to cover up the reason for the firings." Presumably, if the firings were legitimate, they wouldn't need to be covered up... right? 48% of respondents believe the attorneys were fired because they refused to do the Bushies' will, as opposed to 22% that believe they were fired for legitimate reasons.

- Bud Cummins, former US Attorney in Arkansas, was told he was let go to "make room" for someone else (Rove buddy Tim Griffin). Cummins was subsequently surprised to hear, from Kyle Sampson, that there may have been a performance reason for his firing. He fired off a sobering op-ed on salon.com Saturday, reminding us that losing your credibility is a one-shot process - once you give the appearance of lying, everything you do will be questioned.

- The Washington Post reports that many of Bush's attorney replacements have come from within his own administration/staff, including people with NO prosectuorial experience!

- In the OMG! department: Fox News challenges Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on his hypocritical stance on the testimony of administration officials. Chris Wallace calls him out on it, but McConnell stands his hypocritical ground: Clinton aides should have been placed under oath, but Bush gets to decide whether or not he wants them to be.

- The White House is slowly distancing itself from Fredo.

- Finally, another Republican House member calls for the removal of Gone-zo, whether by resignation or firing. Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) joins the chorus calling for removal.

Proof that the Bush cabal is unpopular.

Bush will, once again, opt out of throwing out the first pitch at the first Washington Nationals home game this year. Cheney got roundly booed last year when he threw the first pitch at the Nationals' home opener. I guess Bush just can't take the criticism...

In addition, Brigham Young University has allowed students to protest against Darth Cheney, who will be giving this year's commencement address at the university. The school is even considering allowing a second protest on commencement day itself. When you can't get GOP love in heavily pro-GOP Utah at a Mormon university, you know you're in trouble.

In an unrelated note, the Yankees have tied up their game with the Tampa Bay Sucky - I mean Devil - Rays, 5-5, after 6 innings of play.

SCOTUS stands up for clean air.

The Supreme Court has determined that the EPA does have the right to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The Bush administration has been fighting against this for years, claiming that such gases are not pollutants, and thus are not eligible for regulation. The SCOTUS has rebuffed this claim, giving the states the right to regulate such substances if the federal government will not.

Oh, by the way, guess who dissented in the 5-4 decision? Roberthomascalito, the four-headed "Bushie justice" bloc!

Why does the Bush administration not care too much about global warming? It's not going to hit us as hard as it will other countries. "If they're not the USA, fuck 'em" seems to be the Bushie battle cry.

More on Iraq hypocrisy

Senators McCain and Graham have made a big production about how "safe" the market they visited was. A few facts:

- A market vendor, Amir Raheem, had these interesting tidbits, as reported by the Washington Post. "Just yesterday, an Iraqi soldier was shot in his shoulder by a sniper, and the day before, two civilians were shot by a sniper as well... Everybody closes their shops by 2:30 PM... It is not even 10 percent of our work before the bombings, because people are afraid to come."

- Despite the surge, Iraqi civilian deaths have increased by 13%, according to the BBC.

- An NBC reporter says (on this morning's Imus program) that "Paris Hilton could ride a bicycle in a bikini through Anbar" with the protection that McCain and Graham had - 100 troops, 3 Blackhawk helicopters, and 2 Apache gunships. Oh, and McCain wore a bulletproof vest.

- When it can't attack the message, the GOP attacks the messenger. The latest victim is Michael Ware, the CNN reporter who challenged McCain's assertions last week on Wolf Blitzer's program. Drudge reports two inaccurate details: Ware's supposed heckling of McCain during a press conference, and Ware's supposed alcoholism. The first was debunked by Ware himself - he tried to raise a question, but the press conference ended abruptly when his hand went up. The second is based on an appearance on Bill Maher's program last year, when Ware responded to a question akin to, "Aren't you afraid for your life?" with an obvious play at humor: "I try to stay as drunk for as long as possible while I’m here … In fact, I’m drinking now."

EXTRA! So much for safety at the Shorja market McCain and Graham visited! Reuters reports that the snipers are back in the market, just one day later!

EXTRA EXTRA! Newsweek reports that six mortars landed in the vicinity of the McCain press conference on the borders of the Green Zone around a half hour after the conference wrapped up. Yeah, it's totally safe in Iraq. Sure.

TRIPLE EXTRA! We now have a link to video of the press conference where Michael Ware allegedly heckled McCain (see above, from Raw Story), which shows that Ware didn't even speak during the whole event.

Republicans: not in support of Surge

This says a lot about the Republican party... apparently, General Petraeus met with the Republican Senate caucus about Iraq, and the Republicans no longer support the surge. If there is no progress by August, the caucus will withdraw its support. Basically, they are playing politics; there seem to be enough Republicans to override Bush's veto, yet they will not. Republicans are legislating for the president and not from their conscience. Andrea Mitchell discusses this with Chris "hard-on for Rudy" Matthews.

Savage: Terrorist Sympathizer

Michael Savage has been on a tear lately against transgendered individuals - we covered his hate speech while talking about the recent murder of a TG individual. Savage hinted last week that radical Islamists would respect him because he hates gays and transgendered people, just like they do. Now, he basically admits he sympathizes with the extremist cause, because this is all a message from GOD!!! The Islamists are here because God hates transsexuals and gays!!! In the last 2 weeks, Savage has condoned murder and sympathized with the terrorists. Hate brings people together, apparently.

Michael Mohammad al-Savage, new honorary member of the Islamic Jihad!!! Still think the "liberals" support the terrorists? Savage is the third-most-listened-to talk show host in America; millions of conservatives respect his opinions and take his words as gospel. One can thus draw the conclusion they also agree: Islamic Terrorism is the result of gay tolerance!!! We better start hating or the terrorists will get us!!!

Rudy's Wife: Dog Killer!!!

You can't make this crap up!!! Most surprising is the source for the latest dirt on Rudy and his degenerate wife: the NY Post (normally a right wing rag)!!! Rudy and Judy have no morals or compassion. This story displays exactly what they are - heartless monsters!

Former Bush Hack has lost faith in W

Matthew Dowd, former strategist for the Bush administration and former Democrat who once was so impressed with Bush (he must have been smoking crack), has now lost faith with the out of touch, spoiled rich brat president. Dan Bartlett, the filthy counselor to the president, resorts to personal attacks in response to Dowd's honesty.

Is Bush's veto threat simply a bluff??

According to Richard Behan, buried deep within the Iraq Accountability Act - the Democratic bill which Bush is threatening to veto - is the agreement which gives 80% of the oil reserves to private business (Exxon/Mobil, Chevron/Texaco, BP/Amoco, and Royal Dutch/Shell)!!! This is the benchmark - a production-sharing agreeement that privatizes 80% of the oil in Iraq!!! Is it time for a third party in this country??? Were the Democrats lazy by overlooking this or are they just fine with it??? This filthy war was all about these production-sharing agreements and the killing of Americans will continue because of these PSAs. How would you like it if another country took 80% of your nation's resources??? These production-sharing agreements are not fair to the Iraqi people, and they will leave a long, lingering hatred for America and our allies.

Ralph adds: It is possible that the Democrats added this themselves as a way to define Bush's position for the American people. The Dems are saying, "We're giving Bush everything he wants, with a timetable. If he vetoes this, then it is clear that Bush does not want to leave Iraq."

Of course, it could also be that Dems are in the pockets of the oil industry just as much as the GOP. We'll have to wait and see what is in the next bill that Congress passes.

America has been longing for a viable third party for a LONG time; however, the louder the outcry for one, the harder the two established parties try to exclude "independant" and third-party candidates from getting valuable exposure.

Compassionate Authoritarian: New GOP catch phrase

Glen Greenwald explains it all. The National Review asked Republican candidates if "they believed the president should have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens with no review". Guess who is in favor of this authority... America's mayor of course!!!

Appalling!!!

McCain and Graham: in a fantasy world

John McCain and Lindsey Graham visited Iraq(with, of course, a fully armed branch of the US Army protecting them) over the weekend declaring it is safe for shopping!!!!!!
The 25%ers are more laughable every minute. With Green Zone attacks, our out of touch Republican hacks are still babbling about progress, safety and strolling in Baghdad!