Tannishblog

Our lame duck president whines about those nasty Democrats who, for “political reasons” are undermining the (sorely mis-named) Patriot Act. Never mind the fact that this very same man endorsed the very same legislation for “political reasons.” Don’t look at the man behind the curtain, Dorothy!

I love this quote:

“For partisan reasons, in my mind, people have not stepped up,” Bush told reporters, with 19 federal prosecutors by his side. “The enemy has not gone away; they’re still there, and I expect Congress to understand that we’re still at war and they’ve got to give us the tools necessary to win this war.”

This administration has excelled at drawing partisan lines in the proverbial sand. For all his talk about “the enemy” never once has he defined just whom the enemy is. Is it Saddam? No, we got him already. Is it Osama? Knock Knock. Whose there? Osama. Osama who? Osama’s got yo mama. No: the real emeny is Democracy. those damn democrats think the rabble ought to have a say in national decisions, and good, god-fearing republicans know better. Corporations should run the country. And the rest of the world, too. Specifically those corporations beholden to republican dealmakers and in whose shares republican congressmen hold. We’re still at war. Even I can’t deny that fact. But why are we at war, and why are we still at war? Oh, what tools are necessary? Body armor or body bags?

And for all of you who still support our war, don’t DeLay, Jack. Sign up!

Was Jack Abramoff the linchpin of the Republican money machine? Dems and Repo’s alike tremble at the possibilities of association in a six-degrees from Jack paranoia game. NY Times quotes an un-named Democrat:

“We’re talking about people who have longstanding careers in Congress who took contributions from somebody who knew somebody who knew somebody who knew Jack Abramoff,” said a Democratic Congressional aide who insisted on anonymity so as not to drag his boss into the scandal. “Now they’re panicked. The hope is that this investigation will root out the wrongdoing without innocent people getting hit with the ricochet.”

Here’s a sample of the connections one can make: Tom DeLay, Ralph Reed, Grover G. Norquist, David H. Safavian, and who could forget Karl Rove. And that’s only the first tier!

Democrats, true to form and struggling for a clean image, trumpet Jack’s fall with holy abandon. Republicans mimick Alfred E. Neumann and shrug: “What Me Worry?” Given that the supreme court is being packed like sardines with like-minded scourges, they might be onto something. How could yet another indictment compare to the unholy troika of Iraq, Katrina, and the wholesaling of America to China?

Today’s Quote Of The Day in the Times blew up my bullshitometer:

“All of my remaining days, I will feel tremendous sadness and regret for my conduct and for what I have done.”

JACK A. ABRAMOFF, a Washington lobbyist, pleading guilty in a corruption case.

I’d be sorry for screwing up a consulting job that pays $750 and hour, too.