Monday and the Spin Machine's in High Gear

Generally hunting without a license in Texas involves a pickup truck, a high candlepower spotlight and a deer, not the Vice President shooting his hunting mate while quail hunting. Yes, Tricky Dick II, the second Republican to have earned that moniker, was demonstrating his respect for the law of the land by hunting without a license when he shot a fellow hunter. In a failed attempt at damage control, the White House waited until the owner of the ranch the VP was illegally hunting on had given the story to a Corpus Christi paper and the editor published the story before offering its own version over 24 hours after the event. Scotty the Mouthpiece had to face a grilling today from reporters suddenly in possession of a spine as to why the White House delayed reporting the story. As usual when caught with their britches down, they were waiting until they had all the facts together.

Which is probably why New Orleans is still waiting. In one of the most tightly controlled events of synchronicity since the Police popularized the word, Michael Cherthoff announced reform of the Homeland Security department more or less at the same time a Republican-only congressional committee condemned the agency's response to Katrina in a very damning fashion. It seems there was so much ineptitude in the response that Bush may actually have been right, Brownie may have been doing a heck of a job but the rest of the agency was mucking it up so badly that it would have been impossible to notice. The Bushites still insist the President was informed, which probably explains why he was doing honest work, clearing brush, while predominantly Democratic New Orleans flooded. The White House is rejecting the findings of the exclusively Republican report. In a separate report, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office came to the same conclusions, which the White House also rejects. Apparently, neither agree with the White House's preconceived outcome.

The American Bar Association, known for its bleeding-heart liberal stance on many issues, informed the Espionaginator in Chief today that he either needed to have Congress make what he's doing legal (thereby implying that it is in fact illegal) or stop doing it (implying that he has violated a Federal law, generally considered a felony). They, like us, don't ask the President to stop spying on terrorists. No Democrat or Progressive or any way you choose to label us liberals has asked the President to stop spying on the enemies of this country. We simply want the law of the land to be the law of all, including you, King George. FISA exists because we've seen that, given power, it will be abused; therefore, we have oversight of programs as required by the Fourth Amendment to that "worthless piece of paper" (George W. Bush) called our Constitution. Give it up, George. Your warrantless (pun intended) spying program is illegal.

It's out that Abramoff had strong ties to the Shrub's administration through Rove. If that's a surprise to you, you've been living under a rock for some time. It'll be interesting to see how they spin this one. Along with his known links to Cheney and Ashcroft, that just about leaves only Condi out of this one. Stay tuned for more spin.

The U. N. released a report calling the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay inhumane and torture, no surprises there. The Administration is not going to address many of the claims in the report, indicating that they're probably true. In view of the many ineptitudes and criminal behaviors of this administration, it's amazing they have kept forty percent support, most likely because of the ineptitude of entrenched Democratic wise men. Perhaps we need a few Fools in charge of the party, men and women with strong, defensible points of view and the backbone to stand up for them. The Republicans have given so many openings it would be almost impossible not to lose Congress and, in two years, the White House. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible and Nixon had twenty-five percent support the day he resigned. The election is the Democrats' to lose but unless they get their scat conglomerated, they will.