Wednesday edition - April 25, 2007

The scandal, to me, begins with the fact that we have a president who is so insecure with his own intelligence that he appoints the most mediocre people in the world to positions of immense authority. And that's why so many people in his own party don't like Alberto Gonzales. Because he's another Harriet Miers; he's another Mike Brown. This is why our government is so screwed up, because it's staffed by these idiots. So that George Bush can walk into someplace and say, "I'm the smartest guy in the room." – Bill Maher

The-World-Is-A-Safer-Place-Without-Saddam News

• US Military Deaths in Iraq at 3333 Forbes, NY

• www.iraqbodycount.org

• Al-Sadr condemns wall; Diyala bomb kills 4 Iraqi police USA Today

• Iraqi wearing suicide belt attacks police station in Iraq International Herald

• Insurgents target Baghdad bridges AP

• Kuwait balks at forgiving Iraq's debt AP

• More than 700,000 Iraqis fled homes since shrine bombing AFP

• Ranger alleges cover-up in Tillman case AP -

• Bush says Iraq buildup may be reviewed by September Reuters

"No one suffers more than their President and I do." - Laura Bush on the Wars

Troop Abuse

House Democrats have burrowed into the histories of Private First Class Jessica Lynch and Corporal Pat Tillman, holding up their cases as egregious examples of officials' twisting the truth for public relations in wartime.

They received help in making their case at a hearing Tuesday from witnesses who have mostly shied away from the spotlight: Lynch herself; Tillman's mother, Mary; and Tillman's brother, Kevin, who enlisted in the army along with him after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

 

Will This Monica Talk?

A House committee voted Wednesday to grant immunity to Monica Goodling, a key aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales during the firings of eight U.S. attorneys. She had refused to testify, invoking her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.

Disturbing News

• 10 die as storms hit Texas-Mexico border AP

Following Bush's Lead

The Iraqi government withheld recent casualty figures from the United Nations, fearing they would be used to present a grim picture of Iraq that would undermine the coalition's security efforts, U.N. officials said Wednesday.

"Reviews of Gonzales' performance were mixed. 99.99% of the people who saw it felt he embarrassed himself. The other .01% was this guy [on screen: Pres. Bush]" --Jon Stewart, on Alberto Gonzales' Senate testimony

Republican Shenanigans

• Gonzales Tries to Mend Fences on Capitol Hill Congressional Quarterly

• Specter: Gonzales has lost credibility Uniontown Herald Standard

• Frustrations With Wolfowitz Boiled Over at Meeting New York Times 

• Former White House aide writing memoir AP

In Case You Didn't Have Enough To Worry About

Missile defense. Space weapons. A new nuclear warhead design.

Issues from the 1980s? Yes – and issues for today. This spring has been a time of traveling back to the future for US strategic weapons policy as old controversies return in new geopolitical contexts.

The US government says it is just trying to adapt to a new world of threats. For instance, a proposed missile defense site in Eastern Europe is meant to counter Iranian long-range missiles, according to the White House.

But America's old cold war adversaries don't see things quite the same way. Russia and China appear to be worried that the burgeoning missile-defense system and possible new US weapons – such as nonnuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles and a new nuclear Reliable Replacement Warhead – really are aimed at them.

“And in testimony yesterday, Alberto Gonzales admitted the firing of US attorneys was mishandled. He said, yes it was mishandled, but he was only marginally involved. Well, that’s a good alibi. ‘I am not involved in my own job. Thank you. I have no idea what’s going on.’” - Jay Leno

 

Rock-The-Voter News

• Obama accuses Giuliani of fear-mongering AP

• Democrat says expect online gambling bill Thursday Reuters

• Federal election law faces challenge AP

"I'm getting just a little bit concerned about the 2008 presidential election. Election Day is only 19 months away ... and I hate to say it, but there doesn't seem to be a clear cut winner yet. Come on, media. It's your job to preemptively anoint someone so we all know who to give our money to." --Stephen Colbert
 

Biz-Tech News

• Oil prices up ahead of inventory report Houston Chronicle

• The Dow Jones industrials cross 13,000 AP

• FDA: More animals got tainted food Boston Globe

• CBS Radio Show Hosts Suspended After Prank Call New York Times

Almost Six Years Later...

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposed a new requirement Tuesday for nuclear reactor builders to consider how they might increase protection against an airliner crash.

“Wal-Mart announced this week they’re going to open up thousands of health care clinics in their stores. Apparently, they got a great deal on some really cheap doctors from China.” - Jay Leno

Bush-Prison-Torture News

• Guantanamo Bay Canadian is second detainee charged in Afghanistan war Concord Monitor, NH 
   

CBS ANNOUNCES NEW PROGRAM — ‘CSI: THE WHITE HOUSE’

Go-F***-Yourself News

• Blood clot in Cheney’s leg slowly fading, doctors say Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, IN

Email

Subject: Legacy of Karl Rove

Masterpiece toon.

You are one of my heroes, along with Anna Politkovskaya.

I beg you to start selling your front toons, printed in A3, and signed by you.

I bet you would be getting a bit more tartex on your bread.
 

Kari

Thank you, Kari, for the ten year ego lift but you way overstate my talent.

I bet I'd love the Tartex Shiitake pate!

I also love your idea about selling signed phototoons.

Anyone interested?

For a $50 donation, I will include your favorite toon signed by me.

Just e-mail me and let me know which toon and your mailing address.

Offline Donation

Lisa Casey

PO Box 88

Ashford. AL 36312