Ted Stevens Can Take His Corrupt Swag and Choke on It

Good Morning Papamoka Readers! In what could only be bad news to those of us who care about ethics in government, the Obama Administration's Justice Department today asked a federal judge to drop all charges against former Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska. As usual, politicians who break the rules go free. I find it so depressing.

A jury convicted Stevens last fall of seven counts of lying on his Senate disclosure form in order to conceal $250,000 in gifts from an oil industry executive and other friends. That is a VERY BIG DEAL whether you want to try to belittle it or not. I worked in the Senate, and lying about major gifts is a major no-no. It effects everything, especially the integrity of your votes.

I also met him. He is a very nasty piece of work. Stevens is a creepy little man who is directly responsible for tearing the Alaskan wilderness to pieces. The man never saw a piece of wilderness he wasn't willing to lease to a mining, oil or logging company. He spent his entire career trying to turn government protected land, owned by all Americans, into Alaskan corporate fodder.

He always claimed it was about jobs. Funny thing, like most Republicans, he never fought hard to use the billions in federal dollars - or oil/mining/logging dollars - for education or the creation of new industries. He was mediocre when it came to fighting for quality higher education. He never fought for anything much except those depressing blue collar jobs.

What does that tell you? It tells me that he promoted blue collar values and passions for one reason, so that he [and his political career] could benefit from the industries that need such workers. It was nothing more, nothing less.

Btw, I looked into it. Except for being a major supporter of natural resource industries, he paid little attention to Alaska's potential for other industries. Overall, Stevens did very little to promote a better future. Feel free to let me know if I'm wrong, but I can't find anything - and he had a LONG career. Explain to me what he did to help Alaskans move beyond just a few, crude, environmentally destructive industries?

The way I see it, he was a bought-and-paid-for, one trick pony. Interesting, how many other Republicans would fall into that same category? I'll bet more than a few. I think it's time we learn from the Ted Stevens of this world, and outgrow them.

His environmental legacy, comprised mostly of golf course and vacation home vista preservation, will go down as one of the worst in American history. Despite his personal love of hunting and fishing, his loyalty and passion for logging, mines and oil will anger preservationists for years to come.

Like the Long family of Louisiana, who helped destroy the wetlands and most of the "Sportsman's Paradise" in favor of the oil and gas industry, Steven's will be remembered for low wage jobs, dirty industries, carcinogenic waste, and poor overall economic development. He delivered millions each year to Alaska, but the state has very little to show for it. Where did that money go? You tell me.

Oh well, one more corrupt politician will be allowed to live his golden years out in peace and quiet, enjoying his spoils. When will this nation learn that unless we do a better job of prosecuting those who break our laws, we will continue to be victims of the treachery and manipulations of very bad people? I only hope Attorney General Eric Holder, and President Barack Obama, know what they're doing when they let people like Stevens go without a good fight.

Enjoy your retirement Ted, because if the universe does ask for payback, then you have a lot to account for after it's all over. Your nastiness alone should be enough to score you a hot seat. Who knows, maybe you'll be forced to mine or log for the rest of eternity - without gloves! At least you lost the election, and you're very old, so hopefully your bile - and ability to destroy - will grow less toxic very soon.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Hopefully Mugabe's Days are Numbered

Good Morning Papamoka Bloggers - Over on my own blog, Our Rants & Raves, I announced that I plan to write more extemporaneously from now on - express more personal opinion without as many news citations. I hope you like it. If you disagree with me, simply challenge me by posting a comment and I'll be happy to cite my sources.

So, as part of my new casual decent into personal opinion, I would like to start by saying that somebody, anybody, needs to either arrest or shoot Robert Mugabe.

Without pointing out too many specifics, I would like to say the man has destroyed his nation - Zimbabwe - in a way that George Bush only wishes he could have done here. Though George did a very good job I might add.

For those who haven't been following the news, Zimbabwe has been spiralling out of control for years now, ever since Mugabe enforced land reforms that threw out the colonialists (who knew all about farming) and destroyed what some used to call the "bread basket" of Africa.

After he stole elections, he forced thousands of people from their suburban homes into the wilderness, and after plenty of other horrible things, created what is the highest inflation in the world - so high it's impossible to quote. The man has destroyed the infrastructure and the people.

The nation's lack of resources has now led to a massive cholera epidemic that has killed over six hundred people so far. The African thugs who have supported Mugabe are starting to see the epidemic bleed into their own borders, so now it appears they might actually do something about removing the criminal.

My least favorite - and our least effective - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in South Africa now trying to make something happen. I hope she's more effective than usual.

So, in my new casual style, I will also introduce another new blog instrument - THE WORST PERSON IN THE WOLD today. I say that Robert Mugabe wins that dubious honor.

I don't want to advocate violence, but when somebody is KILLING HIS PEOPLE, I am left with no choice except to say get rid of him - at least wound him so he leaves. Hopefully somebody will do something about it.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Good Men Should Not Be Destroyed Over Stupid Mistakes

Good Morning Bloggers and Happy Pre-Thanksgiving - After living in NYC for a while I admit that I'm a huge fan of Eliot Spitzer, but I also admit that a Governor should not be caught paying prostitutes - big time conflict of interest on many levels.

I also agree with many of the conspiracy theorists that he was a possible victim of a Bush Administration hit job.

I think they were trying to knock him out of power. I haven't been bothering to talk about it, but I am THRILLED to see the New York Times do a piece on it. It deserves to be investigated. The Times is reporting that a congressional panel will ask why an eight month federal investigation into a prostitution service led to the exposure of Spitzer, and then pretty much disintegrated. It looked like they were out to get Spitzer? Doesn't it?

The prosecutor has said that politics played no role in the pursuit of Spitzer, but that has not satisfied many of us. Spitzer spent his career pursuing Wall Street wrongdoing, and many of us believe that he created a few grudges. Many wanted him to fall.

Even though I believe there are many pressing issues related to Bush that should be investigated, I'm still happy to hear the House Financial Services Committee will be looking into it. They plan to hold hearings that could include testimony from the United States Treasury’s law enforcement unit, along with Spitzer’s bank, North Fork, and HSBC, a bank used by a company connected to the prostitution service. I've read a lot about the issues involve, and it sounds pretty good to me.

Of course, Republicans are screaming about how the Democrats are interested in political "retribution." What the hell are they talking about? What is wrong with exposing Bush Administration witch hunts? No government should be allowed to destroy good people over small issues (like Gingrich did to Clinton, which I still think was wrong) to wipe out their power.

What if Democrats, while in power, tried to expose Republicans who sleep around or hire prostitutes, just to destroy their power base? I think that would be wrong too. Law enforcement needs to expose those situations quietly. They don't need to destroy lives, careers, and families over something that amounts to rogue behavior, or a weak constitution. People make mistakes of the "heart." Do you feel comfortable casting the first stone?

The bigger question is whether the Bushies were trying to keep him from exposing larger crimes they were committing - in New York, on Wall Street? It sounds perfectly reasonable to me.

I'll be keeping an eye on this one. I think it will come out that the Bush Administration destroyed Spitzer to keep him from exposing their own wrongdoings in the financial sector. I wonder how many lives the Bushies destroyed over the past eight years to cover their tracks? I'm sure the number's very high. Hopefully it will eventually be revealed, and justice will prevail. Well, I can hope.

We pride ourselves on giving people second chances. He did so many good things to help New York and the nation. He deserves our respect, not our derision. Think about forgiving him this Thanksgiving, and let's try to bring him back.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Can We Please Get Rid of Alberto Gonzales?

Good Morning Papamoka Bloggers - In my quest to keep us mindful of the Bush crimes, The Raw Story and I continue to focus on certain Administration scum who continue to amaze us, or screw us, depending on your point of view.

Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and John Conyers (D-MI) are upset and demanding answers from Attorney General Michael - all law is relative - Mukasey because of new revelations that "taxpayers are paying up to $24,000 per month to foot former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's legal bills," according to Raw Story.

The senators are supposedly demanding to know the details of the arrangement, which are being kept confidential. I tell you, Mukasey is a crook and a pig. I know many of you felt pity for him when he fainted the other day. I think of myself as pretty sensitive, but to be honest I could care less when a criminal of his caliber faints. The man could go into a coma and I wouldn't care. He's a lying crook who helps Bush and his band get away with God knows what!

Btw, I begged and pleaded with my Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) to vote against Mukasey's installment. She didn't have good reasons to believe him at the time, and has expressed many regrets since. So, Senator, I hope you know that you SCREWED UP BIG TIME! Everybody saw what he was during those hearings except you and Schumer(D-NY). You guys risked our nation on your foolish beliefs and we paid the price over the past two years. I lost a LOT of respect for you that day.

Anyway, I digress, so back to the story about Gonzales. This is one more area where internal Justice Department findings showed that Gonzales allegedly "politicized the department" and is personally liable for his actions. He broke the rules. So, the Senators are wondering why, with good reason, the Justice Department is paying to defend Gonzalez? He is being sued, so he should be forced to pay himself.

It doesn't make sense. Then again, when has anything related to the Bush Administration made any sense. The MAN IS SCUM. He should be forced TO PAY BACK THAT MONEY.

This is just one more example of how the Bush crime family is raping America and stealing from us. This needs to stop. I'm writing my representatives as well as Leahy and Conyers and I hope you do the same. It's easy, just search for their names using Google and you will find their websites.

Now that Obama is elected, it's tempting to think only about what is good. Unfortunately, we need to remain vigilant and demand justice for all the injustice over the past eight years. Please, help me keep demanding investigations, indictments, perp walks, and jail terms. They deserve it.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Miserable Republican Felon Ted Stevens Needs to Go

Good Morning Papamoka Bloggers - I have another RAVE this morning. Politico is reporting this morning that CONVICTED REPUBLICAN Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), the "misery of the Senate" who is facing possible expulsion from the Republican Conference next week, is "contacting his Republican colleagues and urging them "to give him a chance" and hold off on any such vote until his legal appeal is resolved."

I don't know about you guys, but I LOVE IT when an old miserable bastard like Ted Stevens, a man who has done very little for his constituents or for mankind, is being forced to BEG his fellow senators to keep his job.

This came about after Republican Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) publicly declared that he will offer a motion next Tuesday to kick Stevens out of the Republican Conference, thus stripping him off his committee assignments. In response, Stevens has been calling his GOP leaders and other colleagues urging them to hold off.

Politico is reporting that "Stevens is assuring his fellow Republicans that he will step down if he loses his appeal, but in the meantime, he wants them to hold off on kicking him out of the Republican Conference." I say THROW THE OLD CANTANKEROUS CURMUDGEON OUT!

I remember him from my days working in the Senate. He was a miserable old bastard then, and from what I read he's worse now. He has been a thorn in the side of the Senate for decades, and it's time for him to GO!

The longest-serving Republican in Senate history was convicted last month on seven counts of failing to report more than $250,000 in improper gifts. I don't care if he maintains his innocence and refuses to resign from the Senate. Drug dealers act the same way. The man is a convicted FELON and should be forced OUT, unless you Republicans want to keep FELONS in your ranks.

Stevens BEGGING his colleagues makes me feel very happy. Let's hope this is only the beginning of many Republicans begging for their jobs, or freedom from jail. Hopefully we'll come to a day when George Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and Donald Rumsfeld are all BEGGING for their freedom. I look forward to that day.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Senator Stevens of Alaska Guilty

Ted Stevens of Alaska was found guilty on all counts of corruption. Sad part is, he just might not see even one days jail time because he is a U.S. Senator. Special rules for the special people I guess.

This whole trial started when Stevens had some free home renovations done and never claimed them on his federal paperwork. Over at MSNBC they have this to say on it...

Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each count, but under federal sentencing guidelines, he would likely receive much less prison time, if any.

Stevens' trial hinged on the testimony of Bill Allen, the senator's longtime drinking and fishing buddy. Allen, the founder of VECO, testified that he never billed his friend for the extensive work on the house and that Stevens knew he was getting a deal.

Stevens is a legendary figure in Alaska, where he has wielded political influence since before statehood. His knack for steering billions of dollars in federal money to his home state has drawn praise from his constituents and consternation from budget hawks. - MSNBC

Video Link

The old tote board of corrupt Republican politicians needs to add one more to the count. This news does not play well for the Republican Party that is already facing difficult elections nationwide in both the Congress and the Senate. John McCain is not helping matters and seems to have greased his coattails. This is not good at all for the Republicans.

Papamoka

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Keating 5 and John McCain

John McCain is not Lilly white when it comes to fraud in the banking industry here in America. Did you know that the number “Five” in the "Keating 5" is the number of U.S. Senators including John McCain involved in the Savings and Loan crisis a few years back? John McCain was a close friend to Charles Keating of Lincoln Savings and Keating courted the Senator like a wolf on a hunt to protect his own ass. It turns out that John McCain did not have to be hunted, he went directly to the wolves den. Not just once but multiple times. That den was alpha male run by Charles Keating. Corruption, deception, and accounting fraud was something that John McCain not once spoke up against. John McCain participated on a fraud on the banking system in America and said nothing! Apparently bank fraud was not a problem for him when lavished and dotted over by Charles Keating.

This video is a bit long but full of information for you to think about. When Lincoln Savings went under it wasn’t the millionaires that lost their savings. It was regular folks in America that could not afford it. And still John McCain did NOTHING! Check out the video…

Video Link



So are we to trust John McCain when we have to bail out Wall Street today to the tune of $700 Billion after McCain’s $3.4 Billion dollar ignorance and refusal to stand up for America when he was in fact part of the Savings and Loan markets collapse just a few years back? John McCain was cited by the Congress for an ethics violation in the Keating case.

Voting your wallet or pocket book seem so much more important when you have a Senator that already has stolen the life savings of hundreds of thousands of Mid Westerners through Charles Keating and all that Senator John McCain got for it was a slap on the wrist! Trust is a very large part of American politics and how often do you leave your wallet out once you have been stolen from? Ya DON'T!

Vote your wallet!

Papamoka

PELOSI & REID FOLLOWING A PATH TO IRRELEVANCY

By Michael Linn Jones

Ever heard of Al Smith? He was once governor of New York, and the first Roman Catholic in a major party to run for the presidency. This was in 1928, and he was nominated by Franklin Roosevelt. That year Roosevelt won election as governor of New York himself.

Smith lost the election to Herbert Hoover. Some might say the nation lost the election, too, considering what followed. In 1932 Smith was one of Roosevelt's rivals for the Democratic nomination for the presidency. In the years that followed Smith was a strong opponent of Roosevelt's New Deal. For all of his progressive attitudes of that time, Smith was a firm believer in government action needing the close cooperation of business.

FDR was born rich. Al Smith was a classic rags-to-riches story. One of the problems with rags-to-riches is that many forget all about the rags as soon as they see the riches. Al Smith was far from being a bad man; in fact, a good one really but not in step with the realities facing the nation at that time. As President of the Empire State Building, Smith found himself in the circle of the wealthy. And, according to historian William Manchester, he liked it. (THE GLORY & THE DREAM, VOL.1)

Brevity requires an injustice to the memory of Governor Smith, but certain aspects of his career remind me of the current Democratic leadership in the House and Senate. It can be very difficult to articulate some thoughts; to put them into words that capture both the meaning and emotion. Here is my best shot:

The election results of 2006 was a message of sorts. A lot of people were fed up. Yes, Iraq was a big topic but not the only one. Voters weren't exactly on the war path yet were also beyond patience. After six years of a presidency that was somewhat short of competence and honesty, along with a Republican Congress that was more cooperative than Hitler's Reichstag, people wanted a strong gulp of Jack Daniels.

What they've gotten is near-beer. The highly-touted Democratic victory in 2006 is a Roman Candle that is sputtering. And with very few sparks. House Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Harry Reid have a big problem. The majority of the people who allowed them to gain the positions they now hold are not represented. That is, the voters.

No, there will be no talk of impeachment; no talk of de-funding the Iraq War (which is the ONLY recourse of Congress, really) nor anything else that might rock the boat. For that boat floats upon the invisible sea of campaign cash. In order for their nets to continue to haul in a harvest, that boat must be stable. The rules of life in America (which they write) must remain essentially the same.

When something needs to be done, there is something worse than doing nothing. And that is to APPEAR to be doing something when in fact doing little more than nothing. And THAT is the story of the Lilliputian Legistature in 2007. The boat remains steady, the nets keep hauling in the silent harvest, and a holding pattern is established that awaits the self-destruction of the Republicans.

In times past, there were convergence points; economic and social forces removed the status quo from the stage. It usually is unpleasant but somehow inevitable. In Europe, 1848 was such a time, not to mention the French Revolution.

Here, there is the Civil War, the Great Depression, and 1968. That particular year is relevant because that is when the Democratic Party started to dissolve from being a voice of millions to a thousand voices of narrow-minded interest groups. The glue that held the party together was diluted on purpose.

The years the Democrats spent out of power were not so much because of the effectiveness of the Republicans (which was considerable nonetheless) so much as their own slide to irrelevancy. What mattered to the party didn't matter to the people. Or vice versa.

Despite all the political science and election specialists, there are forces that build, much like along a geological fault line. They can be ignored (and usually are) for a very long time. But sooner or later those in power discover that their usual remedies no longer work. When the balance is lost no one knows what will happen.

But like Al Smith, Pelosi and Reid and all those they truly represent (and they are NOT "little people") have climbed to the heights and find they like it there. The rarified air of power not only corrupts, but blinds.

In the end, misused power has no power at all. It just creates a vacuum that will be filled by radical change. That does not always equate with wisdom or good.

****************************

Cross posted at Michael Linn Jones.com & The Van Der Galien Gazette

Working the System and it’s Legal?

Picture courtesy of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

How sweet would it be to just work short of two dozen years and retire for life with a full pension. Let’s just sweeten the pot and give you one hundred percent paid medical insurance for life. Would that not be the ultimate job or what?

No you would not be working for some drug cartel or some underworld mob family with friends for life so to speak. Nope, working for this good old boy network in good old Mass A Two Sticks is where you need to fill out an application.

It gets better… How could that be you dare to ask? I’m going to tell you how and you will want to call our 1-800 number and place your order today! You can retire and find state work elsewhere and still collect a full pension without limitations. How can this be Papamoka you might say. Well the Boston Globe has the scoop and this is what they have to say…

MBTA's retirement plan pays off for two
Ex-officials get pension, work government jobs

By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff
August 21, 2007

Two former top officials at the MBTA are taking advantage of the generous terms of the agency's retirement plan, which allow employees to begin receiving a full pension at an early age, while simultaneously collecting six-figure salaries in other government jobs.

Former MBTA general manager Michael Mulhern, 48, who became executive director of the MBTA Employees Retirement Fund after retiring, takes home more than $350,000 a year: a salary of about $225,000 and a pension of about $130,000.

James Rooney, 49, a former deputy manager at the MBTA, now makes $255,000 as executive director of the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority, while drawing an MBTA pension of more than $70,000.

If they were employees covered by the state pension plan, they would have qualified for much less. To get a full pension, most state employees must wait until they are 65, but MBTA workers can receive a full pension after 23 years of service, regardless of age.
If they had retired from the state, Mulhern would have qualified for a $35,000 pension and Rooney just $3,000, and they would have faced strict limits on how much they could earn in a government job.

As the MBTA struggles to pay its bills and has been forced to raise fares three times in six years, some specialists say the pension plan is a fringe benefit the state can no longer afford. The T receives one-fifth of every sales tax dollar paid in Massachusetts. - Boston Globe

WOW! Does anybody think this is not a sweet deal or what? It gets better… using accumulated sick and vacation time that is good for life you can buy into the early retirement with saved time! If that isn't good enough I hear that you can buy into the plan with cash! Place your order today. The MBTA takes Mass sales tax only. Some conditions apply... ummm somewhere but apply for your pension today! This offer (loop hole) may end soon... or not?

I for one thought that the MBTA was a state run agency but apparently they have a different set of rules to go by. Why should the MBTA have such a sweet heart deal when every other state government job is limited to the laws laid down for state pensions?

Then you have to ask yourself, why the hell isn’t the legislature fixing this hideous and abusive loop at tax payers expense? Jim Braude of 96.9 FM Talk Radio hit the nail on the head today when he stated, and I’m paraphrasing, that it is a simple fact of life that the legislature is not going to fix it because it may upset the trough that they one day hope to feed at.

You as a voter don’t even have a say as to fixing this mess and the legislature will turn its back on this issue just as Finneran proved that it could be done when he over ruled the repeal of the income tax rollback voter approved ballot question. When it comes to disgusting waste, you only have to look as far as Beacon Hill and the gutless gentry club that is our legislature.

Years ago they tossed tea into Boston Harbor for just such a similar outrage. Now all we have to do is flip a few tea bags out the window as we pass through the ever leaking Big Dig tunnels. Please stop and pay the toll though at the end of your protest. Our state really needs the money.
Papamoka

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Special thanks to 96.9 FM Talk radio and the Boston Globe on this post...

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Rove Finally Leaves in Disgrace

Picture courtesy of the White House

While some people on the right side of the political spectrum will call Karl Rove a saint for his party he is in fact a political disgrace to his President and the Republican Party. Karl Rove was nothing but a bully on the political radar and if you got in his way, either being wrong or right, he would plow through you like a farmer turns the soil every spring. His message was the President’s message and screw you if you thought otherwise.

While he served this President he screwed over his political party for a generation or more because of the isolationist ideology attitude he convinced the President to follow. “You are either with us or against us.” That statement is not by any means the way America was meant to be. That is not by any means the way the founding fathers or past President’s ruled the nation by. Could you picture Jefferson or either Roosevelt’s stating that as a fact to the world? Could you picture Lincoln saying that while he struggled to save the Union and died believing that it could still be saved.

Karl Rove’s only contribution to this country is that he dissolved a once great nation of proud Americans into a nation of “With us or against us” mentality. That is all he did. Sorry to say but he was very successful in doing just that. In his accomplishment he brought the President of the United States down with him. Truman would have been cheered knowing his approval rating was that high in comparison to President Bush.

Division in politics will always be a fact of life in America but Karl Rove raised it to a level that no other President has accepted as a rule to govern by. Karl Rove was this President’s political strategist and with that comes the blame for two separate America’s. That fact is all over the politics of the coming election for President in 2008.

Papamoka

Cross posted at the Gun Toting Liberal

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Can Bush Stop the Congressional Investigation?

I’m sorry to report but this Liberal has to agree with the President and you will have to excuse me while I swallow that little bit of vomit that just came up. As much as I detest the never ending games President Bush is playing with the Congressional investigations, his closest aides and advisers should be covered by executive privilege.

Confidence in your aides and advisers is critical to the American Presidency and setting a precedent where that advisory capacity is in harms way of future President's trust will set a very dangerous precedent.

Congress should have solid facts in hand that point exactly at any aide or any office holder to levy charges. If there are true facts that can be backed up by more than one source then by all means the President should release his aides to testify.

I’ll be the first to say that W needs to be taken down a notch but I do not want to see the office of President become a figure head without power. As much as this sitting President has abused the office of President our Congress has to make sure that they do not cripple the office to enforce their own interpretation of the Constitution.

Over at the New York Times they have this to say about today’s events…

Bush Won’t Deliver Records or Aides in Prosecutor Case

By DAVID JOHNSTON and NEIL A. LEWIS
Published: July 10, 2007

WASHINGTON, July 9 — President Bush invoked a broad interpretation of executive privilege on Monday in his confrontation with Congress over the dismissal of federal prosecutors, refusing to comply with subpoenas for documents and blocking testimony from former White House aides.

Mr. Bush’s counsel, Fred F. Fielding, in a combative letter to the Democratic chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, said the White House and the two legislative panels had reached an impasse. The letter, which also said the White House would refuse to turn over materials explaining Mr. Bush’s legal claims, appeared to place the executive and legislative branches on a collision course.

Mr. Fielding wrote that Mr. Bush would not turn over any records related to the dismissals and that he had instructed Sara M. Taylor, the former White House political director, and Harriet E. Miers, the former White House counsel, to refuse to testify in hearings this week. - New York Times

Our Congress is botching this investigation. Far too many cooks and not enough preparation to make the damn meal. All the vegetables are peeled, the potatoes are ready, hell all the spices are lined up as well but somebody forgot to bring the damn meat to the kitchen!

President Bush will live out this Congressional storm because the Congress and the people chasing after him are not all chasing the same horse that left the barn years ago. While they make the recipe look interesting they have other intentions and that is what the political game is all about. Something to think about as you sit in your Congressional seat is the fact that if you put the first knife in the President’s political back then what could happen to you if you ever aspired to the office of President of the United States of America at some point in time down the road?

When President Nixon was taken down, it put the country and our government in crisis for years. Can our nation afford that kind of crisis today given world events? Who is the next football player from Michigan or the Peanut Farmer to fumble through the dissolved office of President? Who is the former movie star to bring back American pride?

As much as I hate to say it, President Bush has made the Reagan Teflon suit look like sandpaper and he will walk out of office clean as a new born babe. History however will restore his legacy to that to which it really was. Smoke and mirrors. The smoke will clear and the mirrors will shatter with what the truth really is. If he had taken down the house of Bush with his Presidency will be up solely to the historians to tell and write about. If his actions were noble then that too should be written and explained. There are far too many what if’s in our nations future path and this President is courtesy of invitation only audiences.

President’s should have advisors and a confidence in their thoughts and those thoughts should be protected. Executing the office of President should be done so with utmost concern for the law and if laws were broken then it is up to the person in the office to decide if he is just or worthy of his people. We are a nation of laws and not personal ideology. If laws were broken then the Congress must investigate and do as it must to protect the Republic regardless of the pains of the past.

Papamoka

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Is the Bush Conspiracy Proven at the Pump?

Given the fact that raising the minimum wage to a decent level could break the economy of America according to President Bush I think that the prices at the pump are going to pretty much bury the American people for the good graces of our President. I was talking to a good friend of mine this evening and he brought this comparison up.

When Exxon/Mobile posts a $30 Billion dollar profit for one three month span is that going to wake people up to know that our President is corrupt and sacrificing his people for his few oil Barron friends? What does it take to make the people wake up and know that the fix is in and Bush is sitting there in the Oval office chucking the bird at the American people because we know that he is an idiot? From where he sits it looks like we are all the idiots. From where his friends in the oil industry sit the sky is green with cash, yours, mine and anyone driving a car in America.

Over at the Boston Herald they have this to say about this issue…

Gas prices soar above $3 a gallon and toward $4 in some areas
By Associated Press
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
- Updated: 04:05 PM ESTNEW YORK -

For all their complaining as they pay $3 a gallon or more to fill up their cars, few American drivers have yet to reach the point of cutting back.

That’s the message from government statistics showing that demand for gasoline is only just starting to level off even as refinery outages and tight supplies have sent pump prices soaring by 43 percent since the end of January.

And brace yourself: experts say with gas already closing in on $4 a gallon in Chicago and San Francisco ahead of the peak summer driving season, higher prices could be in the cards.

"I drive 55 miles each way to work every day," said Sandy Colden, of Medford, N.J., one recent morning while loading groceries into her Honda Pilot SUV. "So I really don’t have a choice, unfortunately." – Boston Herald

President Bush and his crew of thieves are stealing from all Americans by punishing us for simply being Americans and not agreeing to his political ideology. That ideology is summed up with your seeing things his way or taking the highway. Pick an article in any paper and the corruption and boldness of the deception in his administration is printed every single day! What better way to put the knife to your people’s throat than at the good old gas pump?

What really boggles my mind is that he isn’t just screwing Democrats and Liberals over with his lack of concern for the cost of gasoline at the pump is the simple fact that he is screwing over all Americans regardless of political affiliation.

This man is not the President of America as much as he is the protector of big oil and turning the other way as they rape Americans on a daily basis. Democrat or Republican, Bush is pissed and we will pay through the nose till he is gone. Only till he leaves office will this situation be corrected and even then the Robber Barron’s of today will walk away with pockets full of cash. Your cash, my cash, our senior’s cash, our grocery money, our kids college money, our retirement money, our new born babies’ money for formula and the list goes on and on. How much have you as a person or as a family had to cut back to afford the raping at the pump courtesy of this administration? How much more are you willing to give up and still defend this man that dares to call himself the leader of the free world?

There are emails out there suggesting a boycott of certain gas stations and I for one participated today. Moving forward in my life I will never purchase gas from the gas stations listed in them and if you want a voice in this fight then you should do so as well. I’m boycotting Exxon Mobile for the rest of my life. If they are going to screw me over at the pump anyway with a guy or gal making minimum wage manning the pumps then I am telling you that we should tell them to screw! I’ll spend my fifty dollars to fill my tank at another gas station just down the street. I’m fed up and I am sure that you are too. Be proactive in your disgust and send the message to the corporations bending you over the barrel at the gas pump.

Moving on and according to the Bush mentality and political thought process, the minimum wage hike will kill the economy? Small businesses will collapse; death and destruction to mid sized companies will lend a hand at bringing on a recession. Think again! Mr. President, you and your lack of defending the people and the supper table at home are killing the American economy. Wake the hell up will you! You sir, and your friends in big oil have taken far too much away from my families supper table and we can not afford you or them anymore. This President should be shown the exit post haste.

Let the investigations begin and if Nancy Pelosi doesn’t have the guts to do it then she too should step aside. America is crying for help and all of Washington is looking the other way. Enough is enough! I can't afford politicians that look the other way while my family suffers for their ignorance of what the people at home need.

I'm asking my readers to boycott Exxon Mobil not for just me but for yourself. Send a loud and clear message from your own wallet!

Papamoka

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