Scotty Beams Up....

Not only are the rats deserting the Ship of State, but some are squealing once safely away.

The latest, and maybe loudest, squeal comes in the form of a pre-publication excerpt from a memoir by former White House press secretary, Scott McClellan.... "WHAT HAPPENED: Inside the Bush White House and What's Wrong with Washington," to be published next April....

"I stood at the White House briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.

"There was one problem. It was not true.

"I had unknowingly passed along false information, and five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the president's chief of staff and the president himself."

McClellan says he was in that position because he trusted the president: "The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."

Restore the credibility of The Decider and the White House by suggesting to the press day after day that Rove and Libby had no involvement in the publication of the name of covert CIA operative Valarie Plame.

While McClellan did finally take this baby step toward full disclosure.... these events happened in the summer of 2003. He's coming forward only now, after the Plame investigation and Libby's conviction for perjury and obstruction of justice, and after Bush pardoned Libby. Where's Scotty been?

This story just broke, the shock waves are just hitting. It's impact while as yet unknown could very well affect the upcoming elections and end careers. Stay tuned....

Turkey Pardons Turkey

It's sad really, The Decider spares a turkey the usual sentence of the season, while allowing two U.S. Border Agents to remain wrongfully imprisoned.... even though an enraged public has been clamoring for their pardons.

At least the Mexican drug smuggler the agents were trying to apprehend, Osvaldo Aldrete Davila, is finally under arrest, and now facing charges for smuggling drugs into our country numerous times.... even during the agents' trial using the immunity border pass issued to him by U.S. Attorney Sutton for his testimony against the agents.

So, until the agents' appeal is heard, and this travesty is overturned, remember these few things to be thankful for:

"Snowflake" Defense Secretary Rummy got the axe.

Political manipulator Rove flew The Decider's coop.

Attorney General Gonzo no longer gobble-gobbles for his White House dinner.

And, be especially thankful that starting next January we set into motion the means to rid ourselves of the "foul" Bush.

Wishing all a hopeful Thanksgiving.

Ignoring the "I" Word

Let's take a break from Iraq.... the White House blitz of propaganda about our "progress" in Iraq featuring fables from Gen. Petraeus, and bogus anniversary hype tying 9/11 to Iraq.... promise, that's the last time the "I" word will appear in this post.

How about some White House gossip? In "Rove Replacement Seen as Highly Partisan Go-Getter," by Michael Abramowitz (WaPo) he dishes some savory stuff.

Rove's replacement is.... his longtime deputy Barry Jackson described by a GOP acquaintance from Capital Hill as.... "none of this 'let's get along' kind of stuff...the man behind The Man." The man behind Turd Blossom's throne now has his own crappy attitude.

In his new book, "Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush" by Robert Draper, he recounts that when the White House chief of staff Bolten approached Don Rumsfeld's old press secretary, Torie Clarke, about becoming White House press secretary, she told Clarke she would rather commit suicide. Guess that's a "no."

Draper also reported that when asked to help woo Henry Paulson to become Treasury secretary, our humble Boy George snapped, "He should be begging me."

And, the final word from our bike boy.... Bush, at the opening of his speech to business leaders attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit last week, told Australian Prime Minister John Howard.... "Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit..."

Just sit down George.... we're begging you.

Bush is Naming Names

OK, you know that President Bush is into nicknames. For example, he calls his political guru, Karl Rove, "Turd Blossom." Now, that's a really good nickname, except for the Blossom part.

And, you know that he gave himself the crown of "The Decider." We've had to watch in horror as he has decided us into national turmoil.

Now, The Decider has anointed himself with a different nickname. While speaking to the Associated General Contractors of America recently, and opining on whether the Congress or the commanders should decide how many U.S. troops are needed in Iraq, The Decider said: "And, as you know, my position is clear - I'm the Commander Guy."

As Eugene Robinson wondered in "Lost in the Fog With Commander Guy," is he The Decider or the Commander Guy.... "Or does he spend some days deciding and other days commanding."

As our Commander Guy, here is his latest pearl of wisdom about the war in Iraq.... "Either we'll succeed or we won't succeed." Deep.

The Shield of Injustice

It was impossible to watch without wincing.

Attorney Gonzales' tortuous testimony before the Senate Judiciary committee last week was compared to watching the clubbing of a baby seal. Except, Gonzales isn't a baby seal, he's a very useful White House front man, a pretend Attorney General shielding a pretend President and his political thugs.

During his testimony, Gonzales fell on his sword, taking full responsibility for the firing of eight U.S. attorneys while at the same time professing complete ignorance of the reasons for their dismissal.

This flimflamming so impressed "Heck of a job Brownie" Bush that he rushed to declare that Gonzales' performance had "increased my confidence in his ability to do the job."

With each layer of corruption uncovered by the now Democratically-controlled Congressional oversight committees, we find that the national interest, and the law, take a back seat to the White House agenda.... all politics, all of the time.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) has turned over the White House rock of the private briefings on Republican candidates during the last midterm election.

Senior officials in at least 15 government agencies were subjected to White House presentations on how they could affect election outcomes.... a violation of the Hatch Act forbidding political pressures meant to influence the outcome of elections.

In the briefing to the General Services Administration.... "conducted like all others by a deputy to chief White House political adviser Karl Rove.... two slides were presented showing 20 House Democrats targeted for defeat and several dozen vulnerable Republicans."

This prompted the GSA administrator to ask how GSA projects could be used to help "our candidates," according to half a dozen witnesses.

The abuse-of-power odor emanating from the White House flows over our nation like a backed up sewer. Even a sacrificing Gonzales can't mask the stench forever.

Bush Power Failures

The Decider derided Bill Clinton for his personal behavior, and promised to bring a new moral tone to the White House.

What a joke.

The latest chapter of the Bush administration's ongoing trashing of our country and government are the "lost" Karl Rove emails sought by Congress in various abuse of power investigations. We're talking about at least four years' worth of missing emails diverted to the Republican National Committee account that the White House has admitted was an improper use of a political email account to conduct official business.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, in an angry speech on the Senate floor accused the White House of lying about the matter..... "You can't erase emails, not today.... They've gone through too many servers. Those emails are there-- they just don't want to produce them. It's like the infamous 18-minute gap in the Nixon White House tapes."

Then there is the sorry spectacle of our Attorney General Alberto Gonzales rehearsing for weeks about his "story" before appearing before a congressional committee next Tuesday regarding firing of U.S. attorneys and other abuses of his office.

Even though going through mock testimony sessions lasting up to five hours a day, an insider admits that Gonzales still can't get his story straight. The White House is stonewalling demands by Congress for testimony and records related to the prosecutor firings. The Bushies are insisting that Rove and other aides be interviewed privately, without a transcript and not under oath. An aide to Gonzales has refused to testify, taking 5th amendment protection to avoid self-incrimination.

The latest revelation of a Bush insider's high moral tone comes by way former under secretary of defense, Paul Wolfowitz.... a manipulator of intelligence before the invasion of Iraq.

In 2005 he was awarded the presidency of the World Bank where Wolfowitz now admits he made a "mistake" by personally orchestrating a high-paying job and guaranteed promotions for a bank employee with whom he is romantically involved. His 200 staffers are so taken with him that they began hissing, booing and chanting "Resign.... Resign" when he attempted to address them after they angrily demanded his resignation.

This is our morally bankrupt Bush administration, hiding behind a smokescreen of religion and patriotism, mouthing a moralism totally disconnected from their scurrilous actions.

Subpoena Showdown

Today The Decider threatened a legal showdown with congressional Democrats.

He doesn't want his "brain" Karl Rove, and his less-than-Supreme former counsel Harriet Miers to testify under oath about the firing of eight U.S. attorneys last year... and no transcripts.

But Committee chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) wasn't having any of it.... "Testimony should be on the record, and under oath," he said. (WaPo)

To show they mean business, the Senate handed the blustering Decider his Stetson today.... by an overwhelming 94 to 2 vote they revised the Patriot Act so that Attorney General Gonzales can no longer appoint interim U.S. attorneys without Senate confirmation.

The two dissenting votes.... Senators Christopher Bond (R-MO) and non-announcing-press-conference presidential candidate Chuck Hagel (R-NE).

The Decider said of the embattled and politically damaged Gonzales, "Yes, he's got support with me. I support the attorney general."

That can only mean one thing. Gonzales will soon be gone. Just ask Rumsfeld.

Show Gonzales the Door

At a recent press conference, the highest law enforcement official in our land said in response to why he hadn't answered congressional inquiries about the firing of U.S. Attorneys: “I think that the American people lose if I spend all my time worrying about congressional requests for information, if I spend all my time responding to subpoenas.”

This is Bush's idea of justice.... an Attorney General who puts himself above the law.

So.... the Democratic-led House Judiciary subcommittee has issued subpoenas to the fired prosecutors and will start hearings on Tuesday.... prompting Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) to fess up.... admitting he contacted fired U.S. Attorney Iglesias who said he was being pressured by Domenici about the pace of a corruption probe of Democrats.

"Administration officials acknowledged Friday that the White House approved the unusual firings, in which seven of the prosecutors were called Dec. 7 and asked to resign, even though most had positive job reviews. An eighth prosecutor, in Arkansas, was informed of his firing earlier, opening the job for a former aide to presidential adviser Karl Rove." (WaPo)

For his unwillingness to enforce immigration and other laws inconvenient to the Bush administration's agenda.... for going after and prosecuting law enforcement officers while protecting a drug smuggler.... for firing and replacing competent U.S. Attorneys for political reasons.... and, while as White House counsel, personally approving Bush's program for warrantless domestic wiretaps which circumvented the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and lying to Congress about it.... Attorney General Gonzales has to go.

Rid us of this blight upon our system of justice. Congress.... impeach Gonzales!

DC Sopranos Sing

..."sacrifice the guy that was asked to stick his neck in the meat grinder."

Is this a mob boss fingering his pigeon on the Sopranos?

In a way, yes....the political equivalent.

This message was given by "Tony" Cheney to "The Ba-Da-Boom Crew" instructing them that the fall guy for the leak that Valerie Plame was a covert CIA agent would be "Scooter" Libby, and not "Turd Blossom" Rove.... "Big Boss" Bush's front man.

Oh yes, Cheney is the capo trying to shield Bush from any connection to the crime.... the falsifying of intelligence that took us to war in Iraq and the perjury committed by Libby in trying to cover for his bosses. But the cops, in the form of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, are slowly closing in.

You have to look no further than the response to a query posed by Wolf Blitzer (CNN) to Cheney about Cheney's pregnant gay daughter to see the real "Tony".... the stone wall and threatening-glare shot at a genuflecting Blitzer says it all. Archconservative Cheney's intimidation and refusal to discuss an obvious political paradox is exactly how he and his back room boys operate.

But, these political mobsters, despite all their strong-arm tactics, are being sucked into the legal vortex of Libby's perjury trial, exposing the corruption swirling through the Bush administration.

Matthew Cooper, Time magazine's White House reporter in the summer of 2003, told jurors yesterday that President Bush's top political aide, Karl Rove, was the first administration official to privately tell him that former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson was married to a CIA officer. (WaPo)

Looks like Turd Blossom is fingered after all.... now we want to hear all of the Sopranos sing!