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Pick a campaign song for Hillary

Hillary Clinton has asked her email supporters to pick a campaign song for her. My bad, but song #10 is Tina Turner's "The Best", which just hearkens this video which makes my stomach wretch just a little bit every time I see it.

RunRNC

With Ken Mehlman stepping down (outted) from the chairmanship of the RNC, the Whitehouse has appointed Cuban-born Mel Martinez as the new Chair. That my friends, is a job that I would NOT want to have following the Democrats' takeover of the House and the Senate.

E-voting is bad

We all know that e-voting is fairly easily rigged (or hacked). There are stories a-plenty regarding the CEO of Diebold guaranteed Ohio to go for Bush in 2004. I'm not going to go off on that tangent right now, but it definitely is possible to steal an election especially if you're the programmer (video).

While I'm not complaining about the outcome this year, it is definitely disconcerting that Randy Wooten of Waldenburg, AR voted for himself, and the tally shows that he got 0 votes. Imagine that.

More no-bid contracts

According to the GAO, the government overpaid 20 percent (roughly $7.8 million) on a no-bid contract for portable classrooms after Hurricane Katrina. FoxNews reports that Akima Site Operations LLC charged the US government $39.5 million for portable classrooms, and the Army Corps of Engineers failed to negotiate a lower price.

This is on top of reports that FEMA paid $301.7 million for manufactured homes that were sitting unused in runways and open fields.

I wanted people to see the truth

Today at The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, the President spoke on the Global War on Terror. He started by marking the third anniversary of the liberation of Iraq. How was that war gone? Oh wait, it's still going on.

In response to a student's question regarding Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald's report about "evidence of a concerted effort by the White House to puish Joseph Wilson", the President replied,

I will say this, that after we liberated Iraq, there was questions in people's minds about the basis on which I made statements, in other words, going into Iraq. And so I decided to declassify the NIE for a reason. I wanted to see -- people to see what some of those statements were based on. So I wanted to see -- I wanted people to see the truth and thought it made sense for people to see the truth. And that's why I declassified the document.

Sounds like a flip-flop to me. While declassifying information is not illegal, the fact that leaking intelligence led to the death of a CIA agent, Valerie Plame, has got to be some kind of illegal. Maybe conspiracy even. Certainly it violated the Intelligence Identities Protection Act. It's also possible that the President can order a killing, but then again, Plame wasn't a terrorist.

Back at a 2003 Press Briefing, then Whitehouse Press Secretary, Scott McClellan said that "The President expects everyone in his administration to adhere to the highest standards of conduct. No one would be authorized to do such a thing..." Now, I could go through a whole list of "highest standards of conduct" violations that have been made by leaders of the Republican party. On a side note, if you read this briefing, you might almost feel bad for Mr. McClellan too.

Bush has repeatedly claimed to not know who leaked the information, and that leaking classified information is a serious matter. He also has said that he would punish whomever was involved in this leak.

A few words for you Mr. President: honesty, integrity, trust. All words that are small enough that you should know their meanings. I'm pretty sure you've said all of them at various points in your life. And to quote Stewie Griffin, "When you least expect it, your uppance will come!"

Abuses by SCOTUS already

During the 2004 presidential election, there was more at stake than the United States presidency. There was also the issue of the Supreme Court.

With the passing of Chief Justice William Rehnquist and the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, Bush had the chance to appoint 2 justices to the highest court in the land. This will leave a lasting impression on civil liberties and policy in the United States. In doing so, Bush has also scored a victory in the war on terror for him, and a serious blow to civil liberties that are guaranteed to citizens in the United States Constitution.

This victory has to do with the United States's policy of detaining American citizens captured in the United States without any criminal charges or a trial.

By a 6-3 vote, the court sided with the Bush administration and refused to hear an appeal by Jose Padilla, who was confined in a military brig in South Carolina for more than three years after Bush designated him an "enemy combatant".

The Justice Department apparently had urged the Supreme Court to reject Padilla's appeal after the DOJ moved to bring criminal charges against him in November. Padilla is now accused of being part of a cell that provided financial aid and recruits for terrorists overseas. Padilla's appeal was one vote short of getting the four vote approval needed to hear the case.

My prediction, the Supreme Court will reject the proposal to hear the case of Bush's domestic spying program due to "national security concerns."

Human Animal Hybrids Legal in Kansas

On Saturday, the Kansas House shot down a bill outlawing Human-Animal hybrids. This is significant in that now, should scientists want to try to create a real life mermaid (or merman), it's not explicitly illegal in Kansas. The vote was 63-52 against the proposal from Rep. Mary Pilcher Cook (R-Shawnee) that would have made it a felony to create a hybrid embryo or 'nonhuman life form' with human brain tissue.

Concerns about such hybrids, or "chimeras," are part of a larger debate over human cloning and medical research with embryonic stem cells. Pilcher Cook offered her ban as a substitute for a bill creating a new legislative committee on biosciences.

Bring on the science.

Censure Bush

Sen Russ Feingold (D-WI) has called for a censure of President Bush for the wiretapping scandal. While he says that this should not preempt the change to the 1978 FISA law, he claims that it will send a message:

"It's an unusual step," he said. "It's a big step, but what the president did by consciously and intentionally violating the Constitution and laws of this country with this illegal wiretapping has to be answered."

Feingold apparently did not discuss this with other Senators, so he has no idea how much support he'll have for the resolution. Additionally, there are no Republicans that are expected to support this resolution.

Russ, it was a fine effort, you might want to try to get some support before you introduce a resolution such as this [pdf 159k].

DeLay will spend primary night at a fundraiser

According to CNN, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay will spend tonight, Texas primary night, with two former Washington lobbyists.

It's quite ironic that with DeLay's ties to Jack Abramoff, he apparently hasn't learned anything about dirty laundry.

DeLay faces three opponents in the Republican primary. For the first time in the 22 years he's held office, he is up against a serious challenge after being forced out of his job as House majority leader amid corruption and campaign finance scandals.

Along with criticism from the Democrats and the public, DeLay is also getting mud flung on him from his challengers. Tom Campbell, who is the largest thr

DeLay's support is growing weak as well in his district. The Chicago Tribune reports that a poll conducted in January by The Houston Chronicle showed that a quarter of DeLay's 2004 supporters were undecided this year, nearly 20 percent said they would vote for another candidate, and only about half of the people who voted for DeLay in 2004 said they would send him back to DC.

To add more fuel to the fire, the New York Times reports that producer Robert Greenwald is releasing a film this spring entitled, "The Big Buy: How Tom DeLay Stole Congress".

It will be interesting to see how this all plays out in November.

Cheney was drunk

Even though this may get some people put on watch lists, Doug Thompson over at Capitol Hill Blue claims that there is a Secret Service Report in which agents claim that they saw several of the hunters consume alcohol before and during the hunting trip where Cheney shot his friend, lawyer Harry Whittington.

According to those who have read the report and talked with others present at the outing, Cheney was drunk when he gunned down his friend and the day-and-a-half delay in allowing Texas law enforcement officials on the ranch where the shooting occurred gave all members of the hunting party time to sober up.

Now, a day and a half is well enough time to get any alcohol out of one's system, although according to this article, doctors that treated Whittington have been ordered by the Secret Service to "never discuss the case with the press."

I think I smell a cover-up.

Chicago for RNC 2008? Nope.

The Republican National Committee, on February 15th asked 31 cities to submit proposals for hosting the 2008 convenction. These cities are: Anaheim, Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Memphis, Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, and Tampa.

Chicago, one of the cities asked to submit proposals said, Yeah, no, we don't think so.

...a spokeswoman for Mayor Richard Daley says City Hall isn't interested.

Go Chicago!

Pentagon releases Quadrennial Defense Report

The Pentagon released the Quadrennial Defense Review, a 92 page report that is required every 4 years and takes a 20 year outlook of the Defense Department.

The Houston Chronicle reports that the QDR calls for a $439 Billion budget for 2007, to be sent to President Bush on Monday. Notable other highlights are:

• The number of soldiers assigned to psychological warfare and civil affairs units--in heavy demand in Iraq and Afghanistan--will increase by 3,700, or about one-third.


• A new five-year, $1.5 billion program is planned to develop medical countermeasures for bioterrorism threats.


• Minuteman III land-based nuclear missiles will be cut by 10 percent, from 500 to 450.


• Special operations forces will be increased by 15 percent.


• The plan does not recommend elimination of any major weapon system.


• Naming China the Most Likely Country to Challenge US Military Power.

I want to expand upon this last item a bit. By going into Iraq without the help of other United Nations member states, the US tested international relations with it's allies. The QDR makes special note of the importance of working with our allies in the future.

However, by naming China as the Most Likely Country to Challenge US Military Power (among emerging powers along with Russia and India), does that really indicate to the world that we're ready to work with our allies? This article is slighty contradictory to itself, by saying that China is a threat, and that the US is willing to work with China to "be a constructive partner in the community of nations," according to Undersecretary of Defense Ryan Henry. Henry also said that "The United States needs to be prepared in case China chooses a course that results in confrontation."

One question that needs to be addressed is, what other countries would we work with to prepare for a conflict with China? It's obvious that South Korea has it in it's best interests to coordinate with the US. Perhaps the United States could get Japan on it's side as well, but pitting those two countries against China (which will undoubtedly have North Korea on it's side), would have broad consequences that will reach far beyond Asia.

It is worth mentioning though, that the security of the world does, in my mind, depend on keeping certain countries in check, but countries in the past that have tried to fight 3 wars in 3 different areas have all lost. Right now, we're up to 2 wars.

Impeach Bush

Apparently, it's time to impeach Bush. Well, we all knew that it was time, and it has been for a while. The thing is, his poll numbers are in the toilet, and coalitions are forming to get the movement going. In fact, there is even a Wikipedia article regarding it!

Administration sources said the charges are expected to include false reports to Congress as well as Mr. Bush's authorization of the National Security Agency to engage in electronic surveillance inside the United States without a court warrant. This included the monitoring of overseas telephone calls and e-mail traffic to and from people living in the United States without requisite permission from a secret court.

This is all pre- State of the Union last night. That speech is a whole 'nother topic.

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