Cue The Gloomy Organ Music ...

I gotta tell you, when I read these posts, a rather sick feeling enveloped me.

I mean, talk about an incredibly, almost unbelievable, extraordinary coincidence ...

Back in September, Larisa Alexandrovna (and Muriel Kane) had a piece up on The Raw Story, noting this;

Michael L. Connell was served with a subpoena in Ohio on Sept. 22 in a case alleging that vote-tampering during the 2004 presidential election resulted in civil rights violations. Connell, president of GovTech Solutions and New Media Communications, is a website designer and IT professional who created a website for Ohio’s secretary of state that presented the results of the 2004 election in real time as they were tabulated.

Today, on her blog, At Largely, Larisa has this;

One of my sources died in a plane crash last night...

He has flown his private plane for years without incident. I know he was going to DC last night, but I don't know why. He apparently ran out of gas, something I find hard to believe. (See Update 3 below). I am not saying that this was a hit nor am I resigned to this being simply an accident either. I am no expert on aviation and cannot provide an opinion on the matter. What I am saying, however, is that given the context, this event needs to be examined carefully. If you want to understand the context more broadly, I suggest you read this article I did a while back about the break-ins and arson cases that Siegelman and others have experienced

In case you need it spelled out, from Emily Levy, over on The BRAD BLOG;

BREAKING: MIKE CONNELL, GOP 'IT GURU', KILLED IN SOLO PLANE CRASH ... Said Recently Threatened by Karl Rove, Had Beeen Key Witness in OH '04 Election Fraud Case ...Built Alternate WH Email System, Websites for Bush, McCain, Swiftboaters, '04 OH Election, More...

The Akron Beacon Journal is reporting that the private plane of the GOP's highly-placed "IT guru" Mike Connell's went down in Lake Township, Ohio on Friday evening. Connell was killed in the crash and is reported to have been the only person on board. There are no reports of anyone on the ground being hurt, though his plane crashed in a residential neighborhood.

Anderson, over on Newshoggers, comments, wryly;

It's too bad guys who wind up as "key witnesses" in cases against political dynasties like the Bushes don't have better knowledge of the history of their own government. They might be a little less inclined to fly in small single engine airplanes.

Like we said at the top ...

"Incredible, almost unbelievable, extraordinary coincidence ..."

This may be something along the lines of The Parallax View Bush Ohio 2004

Stay Tuned to this one ...

Our Ignorant Dolt of the Week ... Karl Rove!

Yes, we're a day, or two late with it ...

Partly due to the need to be lazy yesterday, and, as usual, there were a few choice candidates in the running of our weekly IDOTW.

Like, how can you ignore the still-on-going saga of the Illinois governor?

This is absolutely hysterical, unless you happen to live in Illinois, in which case, I suspect, doctors, and chiropractors, are doing a booming business, treating the citizens in the Land of Lincoln for severe cringing.

The Senate Republicans certainly showed IDOTW mettle, carrying the GOP flag for busting unions, submarining the bailout of The Big Two.

Even The Commander Guy made a late run at it, sneaking off for his Mission Accomplished Victory Tour in Baghdad, only to be shown his sub-20's ratings aren't limited to this country.

That message delivered to him in the form of two thrown shoes.

But in the end, it was hard to ignore the Turd Blossom.

Now, you can make an argument, that Bush's Brain (yeah, I know, an oxymoron), should be grandfathered to the status of Grand Ayatollah of Ignorant Dolts, much as we have done with the Ultimate Pinhead, Bill O'Reilly (Happy Holiday, there, Bill'o!).

But since he's sticking his grubby nose in a lot of places, we'll keep him in the field-of-play, for now.

Let's see, what heights did the Son-of-the-Golden-Cock-Ring reach to, to snatch that IDOTW title ...

Well, for one, he is threatening to muck up the waters, looking to continue to pull strings, and go to battle against the incoming President Obama, on his choice of Attorney General.

Looking back at what he has left in his wake, I find it abstruse that the Congressional Republicans would want him to take the helm of anything, to have him give them anything, even the time-of-day, which, you would have to double-check, to see if it was legit, or if it was smear.

I mean, Jesus, Cheney, of all people, warned the Congressional Republicans to get off their asses, get a glove, get in the game, otherwise they will cement the GOP as "the party of Herbert Hoover".

Oh yeah, related to that, he also got together with the other idiot, O'Reilly, to blow kisses, back-and-forth, how the media is in the tank for Obama, that all the troubles we have now - the devastated economy, global warming, escalating unemployment, a melted-down Wall Street, are all being overplayed by the media, to make Obama look good.

There's also the above-mentioned Commander Guy, and how Rove is spearheading reviving/rebuilding/creating/purchasing/pulling-out-of-thin-air, The Bush Grindhouse legacy.

Extremely arduous task, no doubt, but you just gotta roll up your sleeves, and get to it, one thrown shoe at a time.

All good IDOTW things, but where we dump the bucket of Gatorade over him, is his call for a new Republican day.

In the Murdoch rag last week, Rove penned 'How the GOP Should Prepare for a Comeback', and, if it is an actual report, or certified policy paper, I suspect the subtitle to it would be "The Wide, White World of Karl Rove".

He, essentially, repackages the last eight-years, looks to steal a few things from the Democrats, calls on Newt Gingrich to open up some new Republican Brownshirt Camps, capture the youth vote, and this gem;

Finally, ideas are always the most important currency of politics and never more so than after a party loses. The relationship between GOP policymakers and conservative policy thinkers should be strengthened.

Déjà vu, anyone?

Like the the PNAC, and AEI, didn't have enough of a say, helping the Bush Grindhouse lie us into a war.

No where, in his grand plans, does the Rove call for the Republicans to become diverse.

Pitch a big tent, for sure, but make sure we have the same gatekeepers, and lets keep the party for us, not for "them".

No Karl Rove.

The only thing you need to prepare for, is to walk up to the podium, and collect The Garlic's "Ignorant Dolt of the Week" award.

Something tells me, this will be the first, of many to come.


Bonus Rove IDOTW Riffs

Digby: New Strategery Same As The Old Strategery

Wonkette: Karl Rove: Everything Is Awesome For Republicans!

Amanda Terkel and Matt Corley: Karl Rove's sly deal with Fox ...The GOP mastermind is billed as a top campaign analyst for the cable news network. But he has his fingerprints all over John McCain's White House bid

Ed Secretary Spellings On Turning Down Date With Rove: "He Was So Inept And Inartful"

"Can we have our $40,000 back?"

Karl Rove, Living In An Etch-A-Sketch Kind of World

Our Ignorant Dolt of the Week ... Rick Warren!

As usual, we had a few different candidates this past week, doing their darnedest, vying, yearning, longing, to be named The Garlic's Ignorant Dolt of the Week.

Take the Turd Blossom, for instance.

Along with attempting to pass of the rotted, fetid eight-years of the Bush Grindhouse as freshly-caught fish, he's planning on writing a book and "naming all the Bush haters".

Here's a tip, Son-of-the-Golden Cock Ring, it might be easier just to ask people to raise their hands, of those who can, at minimum, stomach The Commander Guy.

And his old, Rovian ways are working on at least one person.

Chris Wallace, of Faux News.

Wallace bought passage on the S.S. Bush Legacy Restoration Barge, dropping to his knees for the Grindhouse.

From Think Progress;

Last Monday, at a screening of Ron Howard’s new film “Frost/Nixon,” Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace vociferously defended President Bush against criticism by Howard that Bush has abused the office of the presidency in a way similar to President Richard Nixon. “Richard Nixon’s crimes were committed purely in the interest of his own political gain,” said Wallace. Wallace claimed that it was a “gross misreading of history” to say that Bush abused his power “for pure political self preservation” like Nixon did.

You whore yourself like that Chris, just for a "special exit interview" with Darth Vader?

Like that's going to be some earth-shattering, breaking news?

Did you miss the Little Scooter's trial?

Cheney must be sizing you up to take Little Timmy Russert's place, to feed his propaganda to, without the worry of any kind of push back.

All fine efforts, but the IDOTW has to go to the Purpose-Driven-Carny, Rick Warren.

I guess, since hustling the networks into doing an infomercial, for his "Blazing Saddleback" event during the campaign, complete with the mysterious, magical, "Cone of Silence", has him, boldly grabbing the baton from that other television preacher/God's Ninja, Pat Robertson, and issuing off death warrants for our enemies.

WARREN ENDORSES HANNITY'S WARMONGERING...

Pastor Rick Warren has a reputation for being far more stable and grounded than religious right leaders and TV preachers like Pat Robertson, but it's worth remembering that he's not exactly a moderate.

Last night, on Fox News, Sean Hannity insisted that United States needs to "take out" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Warren said he agreed. Hannity asked, "Am I advocating something dark, evil or something righteous?" Warren responded, "Well, actually, the Bible says that evil cannot be negotiated with. It has to just be stopped.... In fact, that is the legitimate role of government. The Bible says that God puts government on earth to punish evildoers. Not good-doers. Evildoers."

Well, I guess, if it's a Purpose-Driven political assassination, than it's cool with the Big Guy, Upstairs.

Here's the transcript of the exchange, from The Wonk Room;

HANNITY: Can you talk to rogue dictators? Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust, wants to wipe Israel off the map, is seeking nuclear weapons.

WARREN: Yes.

HANNITY: I think we need to take him out.

WARREN: Yes.

HANNITY: Am I advocating something dark, evil or something righteous?

WARREN: Well, actually, the Bible says that evil cannot be negotiated with. It has to just be stopped. And I believe…

HANNITY: By force?

WARREN: Well, if necessary. In fact, that is the legitimate role of government. The Bible says that God puts government on earth to punish evildoers. Not good-doers. Evildoers.

HANNITY: I’m just gotten, thanks to my wife, who you know, you know, been reading the Old Testament. Because as a good Catholic growing up, I studied more the New Testament.

WARREN: Just ignored that part.

HANNITY: I ignored the Old Testament. But what about King David? What about the — all the battles, all the conflict, you know, going back - - you know, Abraham — Adam and Eve and their children, going forward?

WARREN: The point is, there are some things worth dying for. There’s no doubt about that. And I would die for my family. I would die for my freedom. I would die for this country.

HANNITY: If somebody broke into your house, you would be justified to kill them?

WARREN: I would be justified to protect my family. Absolutely.

HANNITY: And if it took killing them?

WARREN: Absolutely.

HANNITY: But it’s not murder at that point?

WARREN: No. Murder is not self-defense.

Perhaps, Warren can plead insanity, since he was in discussion with The Royal Nitwit, Hannity, but I think its something more than that.

With the transition of power, from The Bush Grindhouse, to Obama, there must be some rumblings amongst the Bible Thumpers.

Who's going to lead the eyes-closed rabble of the Republican Far Right through these next four-years of darkness.

You can't just talk about doing good deeds, doing the Lords work.

No, you have to define, interpret the Lords work, mix in a little blood and guts, do a little Jimmy Cagney and talk about mowing down all those dirty rats.

Sorry, but attempting to consecrate the Bush Doctrine into a modern day Holy Grail, that takes a lot more moxie than just huckstering the networks, and trying to sell yourself as one of the good Bible Thumpers.

Nosireebob! ... That only gets the purpose-and-killing-driven Rick Warren the crown of our Ignorant Dolt of the Week


Bonus Purpose-Driven IDOTW Riffs

Melissa McEwan: Quote of the Day

Spencer Ackerman: Religious Wars, There’s No Reason Why They Sent You To Die

Think Progress - Warren: Bush’s ‘Peace Award Was Not About Peace’

Thomas Schaller: The attention-driven Warren, Book III

The Raw Story - Ron Howard: Jon Stewart should do Bush exit interview

The Gawker: Chris Wallace Defends Bush Against Mean Ron Howard

Robertson May Have, Inadvertently, Caused Hajj Stampede Deaths ...Was Working On New Material For Bush Video Blitz, Testing New Curses and Condemnations

Breaking News! Robertson Held For Questioning In Falwell Death; Threats Against Chavez, Sharon Make 700 Club Founder 'Person of Interest'

Beam Me Up Scottie!

It still is, thinking back to last evening, something awesome, incredibly unreal, and thoroughly satisfying.

I wonder how many Republicans today, cued up their DVD's, to look back at the Republican Convention, and watch all those speakers mock Barack Obama for being a "community organizer".

Yeah, you showed'em, alright!

Obama kicked ass, that then knocked their teeth out for mumbling about it.

If it were a road race, Obama came damn-near close to lapping the Dead Campaign Express.

Also, it was rather interesting watching it all unfold.

MSNBC seemed slow, on the take, to call states for Obama.

And, if MSNBC was slow, CNN was absolutely petrified, seemingly fearing to put that "Best Political Team on Television" in a position were they would actually have to say something of importance, and not just prattle their own talking points.

And the sets ...

OMG!

Who sold them on going with the look of a bad Las Vegas floor show?

It was like a Cirque du Soleil idea, only missing the Cirque du Soleil imagination and talent.

MSNBC's virtual set appeared like the ripped it right out of the Michael Douglas-Demi Moore movie 'Disclosure'.

I half expected, the program to be torn apart, ending in acrimonious charges of "political harassment" by the end of the evening.

All that play between Rachel Maddow and Pat Buchanan during the course of the campaign coverage, the fighting and arguing, leading to a "steamy encounter", with Buchanan the injured party, claiming Maddow was working her "liberal ways" on him.

The first showing of this came early in their coverage, when they threw it over to Ann Curry (moonlighting from her usual "other members of the cast" Today Show post) for some Exit Poll mishmash.

Curry walked into the 'Disclosure' set, and, Walla!, a virtual reality snowcone-type thingy popped up with the hyped data.

I'm surprised that didn't go all in on this virtual stuff.

Think of the possibilities they could have had, bringing back Little Timmy Russert, to ghost-whisper election nuggets to his former colleagues.

And what happens to The Commander Guy's buddy "Stretch"?

David Gregory's show, 'Race To The Whitehouse', if we believe the title, closed its' curtain last evening, the race being over.

Do they retitle and repackage?

Yes they do, coming on air this evening, same set and graphics, but now called "1600" (see, that happens to be the address of house the previous version of the show was racing to ... Yes, you can use the word"stretch" here, as well)

And CNN ...

Holy Electronic Hijinks, Batman!

If MSNBC was running with the Son of Kirk movie theme, CNN went full bore a retro vibe of Star Trek, beaming reporters and others in for interviews via holograms.

I would have like to been on the set for that, if only to see Wolf Blitzer turn from his usual screaming at large flat screens, to screaming at empty greenscreen space, which I am sure still has the leader of "The Best Political Team on Television" totally freaked out today, ducking at shadows and pigeons.

Over at the Faux News Network, the only thing missing was a mournful Astor Piazzolla dirge, to accompany the long faces (and in Brit Humes' case, a face so long, only Elastic Man could possible match it).

And, for a moment, I half-expected a wonderful, possible, FCC moment.

Just as Hume and Turd Blossom finished looking at the ever-growing Blue map, and Rove riffing, Joe Pesci-style, as he watch the goons beat his brother to death in 'Casino', on the shortening ways McKKKain could still "pull it off", Hume tells him that Ohio just got called for Obama.

For a split-second, time was suspended, awaiting a foot stomp and plaintive cry of "Fuck!"

Fred Barnes?

He was so spooked and shaken, it took him about five-minutes to spit out one sentence.

But, then again the only sentence that matter was that Barack Obama was elected to become the 44th President of the United States.


Bonus Bonus

Astor Piazzolla (1921 - 1992) "Milonga Del Ángel"

John Cleese on Olbermann

If you happened to be watching 'Countdown' last evening, you were rewarded with a little treat.

John Cleese, live, in-studio.

For the final segment, Olbermann had the Monty Python veteran in for a chat on Joe The Dumber, and a new poem (Cleese, last month, wrote a poem, slamming Sean Hannity, that Olbermann read on the program), bashing Olbermann's obsessive target, Bill O'Reilly.

The best of it was Cleese riffing on "If Karl Rove worked for the Democrats" ... It's hysterical!

Check it out here;

Countdown: John Cleese on Joe the Prop Oct. 31, 2008




Extra Bonus!

It appears, if it survives the writing and run-through process, a parody of Olbermann on Saturday Night Live this evening.

Citizen's Arrest ... Brilliant!

Well, Well, Well ...

We've finally seen some movement on our call of a year ago.

Last July, The Garlic put forth, since the 110th Congress wasn't going to do anything (apparently, due to a lack of tables) regarding the lawlessness of the Bush Grindhouse, that it would be up to us, everyday Americans, to jump into action, and make a "Citizen's Arrest".

And there would be benefits to it;

There must be some tiny hamlet, some Main Street USA berg that would be willing to put themselves on the map, become the saviors of our nation. A Sheriff with balls, a U.S. Attorney ready to swing back for justice.

Think Truth or Consequences, New Mexico... You can change your name to Citizen's Arrest and really cash in on it.

Leave history for a moment. For starters, think of the economic boon it would be.

The MSM media camped out for weeks, eating in your diners, sleeping in your motels (if you have a hotel, even better), shopping in your stores. Same for the protesters that will show up.

We're talking millions here.

Well, say hello to Des Moines, Iowa!

Via Think Progress;

Last Friday, police in Des Moines, Iowa arrested four people who attempted to make a citizens’ arrest of former top White House aide Karl Rove, who was in town to speak at a GOP fundraiser. A retired minister and three members of the Des Moines Catholic Workers community were cited for trespassing. However, according to a press release, the judge presiding over the case praised their efforts ...

Bravo!

They've broke the ice, and the aim needs to be higher, but there you go.

The first, of hopefully many more, effort to bring this criminal regime to justice.

Let's go people ... The clock is ticking ...

Yeah, Karl, We Certainly Know The Type

Obama is "coolly arrogant"?

At a breakfast with "Republican insiders" Monday morning, ABC News reports, Rove said of Obama: "Even if you never met him, you know this guy. He's the guy at the country club with the beautiful date, holding a martini and a cigarette, that stands against the wall and makes snide comments about everyone who passes by."

Yes, Karl, and you watched, didn't you ... You stared ...

And it burned you, didn't it.

Maybe, helping them with their homework, their tests, only to see them lip-locked with Joe Jock after school.

Or going to your prom, stag, sitting at the geek table, with all the other little dateless geeks.













But now, years later, your at the club, watching "him" ... Again ...

Being the doughy, spectacled geek, living in someone else's shadow, downing shots of hard liquor, bitterly making cutting, angry comments, from the other side of the room, at the family's legacy table, your perch, on everyone else in the room - especially the Muffys and the Biffs - smug in self-praise, that your bile musings are the vindication that you won, you came out on top, not them, so take that all you cheerleaders, all you football heroes ...

Even Margaret Spellings thought he was a bowser;

Spellings paused, then said: "Have you met Karl Rove?

"He was so inept and so inartful," she added. "I mean, I couldn't even understand."

Hmmm ... Not exactly martini-and-beautiful-date suave, I would say.

Well, there's always the solid gold cock ring to fall back on ...


Bonus Rove

Rove / Nixon (Karl hits at the 3:55 mark)

John Cole: Country Clubfoot In The Mouth

Steve Benen: Rove picks the wrong metaphor to slam Obama

Jeff Fecke: Everybody Knows That Guy!

Kyle E. Moore: The Name Game

Karl Rove, Living In An Etch-A-Sketch Kind of World

Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard In Bush Grindhouse, Over Scott McClellan's New Book

News Item: Former White House spokesman: Bush used 'propaganda' to sell war

10. Mr. President? ... It's the rocking-chair company... They want to know the new name you want on the other chair

9. Was Scott the one that gave Jeff Gannon the White House Press Passes?

8. Anyone check it see if he's an illegal immigrant?

7. No Dana, of course it's different... We've always kept you in the loop ...

6. No, Mr. President ... Yes, it is a book, but we wouldn't call it Ek-A-Lec-Tic

5. Mr. McClellan, this is the Vice President's office calling ... The Vice President would like to know if you are free this coming weekend, to join the Vice President on a hunting trip

4. We don't want this one coming back on us ... Check all the records for the President saying "Heck of a job, Scottie"

3. Any word back from the Minneapolis Airport? ... Did you tell them to look at all the security camera footage, for McClellan going into the Mens Room?

2. Anyone call Fox yet?... Tell them we want, two, maybe three-weeks of hit jobs

1. Worry about the media? ... They'll eat up our Iran bullshit like happy soup - Just like they swallowed the Iraq stuff


Bonus Beam Me Up Scottie Links

Trex: When Good Droids Get Mad, Go Bad, and Get Even

Scarecrow: McClellan Throws Bush, Cheney, Condi, Rove, Libby, . . . Under Bus

Barry Crimmins: A Dim, Shiny Liar

emptywheel: George Bush Authorized the Leak of Valerie Wilson’s Identity

Phoenix Woman: Complicit Enablers

Will Bunch's Attytood: UPDATED: We need an investigative reporter to investigate the reporters

CSI Hillary RFK Gaffe

Emptywheel, over on Firedoglake, has a most interesting post today, a breakdown on how the "scoop" of Hillary Clinton's RFK Gaffe came to be.

No, not the classic, reporter-rushing-into-city-room, all breathless, and then an explosion of reporters flooding the scene, all yelling "Get me rewrite!".

No, not even any shoe-leather was applied.

In fact, as Emptywheel notes, the reporters covering Hillary that day were completely out-of-the-loop, as was the ground-zero, Argus Leader;

So: the NY Post to Drudge to the editors to the reporters actually "traveling" with Hillary ...

Whether or not it was Aravosis or Drudge who decided this comment had to be a story (nice company, Aravosis), it was, at last according to both Aravosis' account, some random guy reading the news who did so--he told them they might have a big scoop. And, ultimately, it was a newspaper reporter watching the live feed of an interview from someplace comfortable who first reported the comments--it was neither the press corp reporters who were traveling "with" Hillary nor editors of the Argus-Leader with whom Hillary was meeting.

The Politico is pouring out its' heart, bemoaning that the scoop wasn't a SCOOP ...

Go read Emptywheel's "A Return to Zapruder in the Live-Stream World", it's a good one ...


Meanwhile ...

Hillary is spending time on the reverse treadmill, wearing belt, with digging tools hanging from it, so she can shovel her way out of this incredible faux paus.

In an article in the New York Daily News, with the headline of "Hillary: Why I continue to run", Hillary is all Mea culpa city, to a certain extent, and back on her soapbox, spinning her unique brand of electoral math, and, of course, gaffe aside, she's still the best candidate out there;

I am running because I still believe I can win on the merits. Because, with our economy in crisis, our nation at war, the stakes have never been higher - and the need for real leadership has never been greater - and I believe I can provide that leadership.

Finally, I am running because I believe I'm the strongest candidate to stand toe-to-toe with Sen. McCain. Delegate math might be complicated - but electoral math is not. Our campaign is winning the popular vote - and we've been winning the swing states we need to get 270 electoral votes and take back the White House: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Arkansas, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, Michigan, Florida and West Virginia.

Little Hillary, er, we mean Georgie Stephanopoulous, to the rescue!

And running interference for her, to make sure she has a clear path, gaffe behind her, completely forgotten, was Little Hillary, er, we mean Georgie Stephanopoulous.

While the bigger news coming out of This Week, With George Stephanopoulos was his interview with Turd Blossom, Karl Rove, and Rove stammering and babbling a non-denial denial of his involvement in the Siegalman Case, Little Hillary, er, I mean Georgie, jumped all over Obama Campaign Manager David Axelrod, regarding Hillary's RFK gaffe.

Little Hillary, er, I mean Georgie, pressed, virtually badgering Axelrod, seeking a commitment that the Obama Campaign wasn't going to bash Hillary over her RFK gaffe, repeating himself, repeated asking if the Obama people sent out Keith Olbermann's Special Comment on Hillary's RFK gaffe.

It was embarrassing ... Little Hillary, er, I mean Georgie, seemingly was uninterested in any other campaign news, other then getting Axelrod to say they would leave Hillary alone.

This ABC News post doesn't do justice to the mugging, not even mentioning, other then the show title, Little Hillary, er, we mean Georgie.


And, in the Sour Grapes Department today ...

The Former President;

"Clinton also spoke against bullying superdelegates to make up their minds, saying, "I cant believe it. It is just frantic the way they are trying to push and pressure and bully all these superdelegates to come out. 'Oh, this is so terrible: The people they want her. Oh, this is so terrible: She is winning the general election, and he is not. Oh my goodness, we have to cover this up.'"

"She is winning the general election today and he is not, according to all the evidence," Clinton said. "And I have never seen anything like it. I have never seen a candidate treated so disrespectfully just for running. Her only position was, "Look, if I lose I'll be a good team player. We will all try to win but let's let everybody vote and count every vote.'"

Well, they got a lesson on running a primary campaign, so I suppose, they'll need some extra instruction on losing, with a little class.

Roughly two-weeks left ... If we are lucky ...


Bonus Links

Boy, And We Thought Russert and Williams Sucked

She Was The One She Was Waiting For!

"Oh ... THAT Conspiracy ..."

Three "Must Reads" From Al Giordano

It's Only April, What's Card Selling?

Well, this is a pleasant surprise ...

Surfing around, and then, rather suddenly, espying this story and zeroing in on it;

Andrew Card Now Afraid Of One Party Rule

What?

The P.T. Barnum of the Bush Grindhouse back in the headlines ... One of the seminal members of the WHIG cronies, who set the standard for any-and-all future administrations, when they want to initiate a campaign of lies and falsehoods, offering;

Not long after, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card was asked why the administration waited until after Labor Day to try to sell the American people on military action against Iraq. Card replied, `From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August.'

It's April, so what's up with this?

From C&L's Nicole Bell;

At the America Small Business Summit 2008, former Bush White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card laments what the potential abuses Democrats might commit if they hold the majority in both houses of Congress and the White House. Funny how that didn’t seem to be an issue when the Republicans were in charge.

"But I worry, if we have a president that gets elected with significant momentum and his or her party is sharing the possibility of running Congress with overwhelming majorities that there would be a rush to do stupid things in the first hundred days. And the first hundred days could produce a lot of mistakes that would take years and years to undo. So that’s something I think we should be cautious about or thinking about. Not just who the next president is, but what will our government look like when they take the direction that the president has to offer. I actually kind of like having a deliberative process in the House and the Senate that causes people to work really hard to get legislation passed to change some of the things happening in our economy. It’s good and it’s bad. It’s frustrating when it doesn’t happen on the good side fast enough, but sometimes, it’s a blessing when bad things don’t happen because we woke up to recognize the consequence of the action."

Hypocrisy, thy name is Republican.

Whatever it is, whatever he is offering, whatever he is selling, speak in their language, from one of their icons ...

Just Say No!


Bonus Andy Card

Timothy Noah/Slate: Is Andy Card an Idiot? Esquire sure makes him look like one

Ken Rudin/NPR: Andy Card Leaves a Stacked Deck

SilentPatriot/C&L: Jon Stewart to Andy Card: “Come to the light side..”

Bolton: Card Had White House In Coma; White House Shake-Up Causes Bolton Snafu; Fiery UN Ambassador Thought Bush Reaching Out To Him; Lambastes Card and “that little bean-counting pansy”


My Pet Andy

Good Post Alert - Larisa Alexandrovna's "Mississippi Justice: Bush US Attorney targeted my wife, supporters and friends"

Here's yet another glimpse of the Bush Grindhouse justice system

Larisa Alexandrovna, over on The Raw Story, has a great piece today, of some serious shenanigans that played out down in Mississippi

Mississippi Justice: Bush US Attorney targeted my wife, supporters and friends

Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz Jr. was indicted in 2003 on charges relating to his receipt of a loan guarantee from trial lawyer Paul Minor - a personal friend and the largest Democratic donor in Mississippi - to help defray campaign debts. A Bush-appointed US Attorney, Dunnica Lampton, brought charges of bribery against Diaz, Minor and two other Mississippi judges. Diaz was acquitted of all those charges... Within days of his acquittal, Diaz was indicted for a second time. He was again acquitted.

Normally, a criminal investigation begins after a crime is committed," Diaz told me. "Investigators are sent out to gather evidence and a list of suspects is drawn up. Sometimes an investigation is begun after a complaint is made about suspicious activity. In our case neither of these things occurred."

"In other words," he continued. "An individual was singled out for examination from the federal government and prosecutors then attempted to make his conduct fit into some criminal statute. This is not how our system of justice is supposed to operate."

More of Karl Rove's vision of an America under Republican Majority

Check it out, it's a great interview.


Bonus Links

Good Posts Alert - Larisa Alexandrovna's "The Permanent Republican Majority"

Larisa Alexandrovna: Alabama Democrats are Under Attack

This Is Huge! ... Siegalman Released On Appeal!

"Have darkness ... Will travel."

I was tempted to title this "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House", playing off the theme we ran with yesterday.

But that was a comedy, and Jim Blandings (played by Gary Grant; Mrs. Blandings, the lovely Myrna Loy) was a ad man, not a lying, covert-CIA-Agent-exposing, Turd Blossoming, Railroading-Democrat-Governors-into-jail, thug of the Bush Regime.

Karl Rove's next move: A million-dollar home on Florida's Emerald Coast

"Whatever the next chapter of Rove's life has in store, some of the action will probably take place in Rosemary Beach, Florida, where he bought land in 2002.

According to political journalist Jim Moore, many factors probably influenced the timing of Rove's resignation--including the desire to cash in on lucrative speaker's fees and the prospect of reinventing himself as a political pundit on the national stage.

"Ultimately, though, what probably appeals to Karl the most is being a sort of freelance Dr. Evil," Moore –- a Rove critic -- explained in an email to RAW STORY. "He can do his work now for hire under the guise of any organization that wants to hire him or he can do it for fun and generally avoid the restraint of party or candidate. Have darkness. Will travel."

That isn't getting off to a good start.

Late last year, it was reported the hawking of his memoirs wasn't, exactly, setting the publishing world afire, and, very recently, he got hounded at one of his speeches, with an attendee asking "Can we have our $40,000 back?"

And what digs!

Rosemary Beach, Florida bills itself as a vacation community, but Rove's home is no beach bungalow. His Dill Lane pad is a 2,578-square-foot cedar and white stucco structure with a stoop, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, and an outdoor shower. Opposite the main house, separated by a small walled courtyard, is a two-story carriage house with a two-car garage on the ground floor.

But, we're not sure the locals are all to happy with the move.

One waitress who works at Bud & Alley’s restaurant downtown, said she's seen Rove and his guests sequestered in the large downstairs area of the popular eatery. Saying she was happy not to have been his server, she quipped, “I would have told him what I thought of him and gotten fired.”

Check out and read (it's loaded with pictures) Karl Rove's next move: A million-dollar home on Florida's Emerald Coast

And one last thought ...

Is Rove setting himself up in The Sunshine State for legal reasons?

Isn't there something about Florida, and Florida law - one of the things that has kept a roof over O.J. Simpson's head - that, in losing lawsuits, you can't have your residence taken, or pensions carried away?

Perhaps someone more versed in this law can weigh in on it, in the comments (and, perhaps, we may post a follow-up, as this story develops).


Bonus Karl "New Math" Rove Riffs

Libby Spencer/Newshoggers: A small serving of justice for Siegelman

Steve Benen/The Carpetbagger Report: After having been railroaded by Rove machine, Siegelman released

Oxymoron of the Day: Karl Rove at an Idea Festival

Karl Rove: “Be prepared! Find the bastards. And pile on!”

Karl Rove, Living In An Etch-A-Sketch Kind of World

Oh No! ... Missing White House Emails ... Lawyers That Fly ...

The sand in the hourglass almost ran out ...

Before they could relinquish the title of "lame duck" and slither off with just being "lame" ...

And cutting it close, before the weight-challenged lady sang, we finally discover something - one thing - The Bush Grindhouse is actually good at (well, perhaps not good, but proficient);

White House: Computer hard drives tossed

"When workstations are at the end of their lifecycle and retired ... the hard drives are generally sent off-site to another government entity for physical destruction," the White House said in a sworn declaration filed with U.S. Magistrate Judge John Facciola."

Rest assured though, the Bush Grindhouse isn't sitting idle, they're not ignoring the subpoenas, and they do want to come clean and resolve any lingering issues as to how they usurped the Constitution, corrupted the government and operated, basically, day-to-day, violating the law.

"The White House says it does not know if any e-mails are missing, but is looking into the matter."

I see a movie coming out of all this

Deep, in the bowels of the White House, a Terry Gilliam-inspired, Brazil-like office, with futuristic-type computers, all types of drone-looking, officious government workers, sorting through and sending White House emails, through color-coded tubes, to be shredded.

Than the memo/order comes.

Someone - Congress, a plaintiff, whoever - is looking for all emails related to "Fired U.S. Attorneys", only, because there's so much email shredding traffic going on - plus all the illegal NSA wiretapping that's hitting the line - there's a glitch, and a search is conducted for "Flying U.S. Attorneys".

Before the sun sets, hundreds of attorneys across the land, that happen to be licenced pilots, are rounded up (and how ironic would it be that, at least, one of them, is named "Buttle"?)

(Or, someone can make a commercial ... Rather than use a stereotyped American Indian, standing in litter, a small tear on his cheek, they can go with a stereotyped computer technician from India, standing next to a pile of destroyed White House hard drives, with a small tear on his cheek)

They destroy the hard drives ...

From just about any other entity, any other administration (except, of course, Nixon's), that would sound reasonable, professional, sober ...

From this regime, though, it's about as valid as saying "the dog ate them".

Time to for another cue up of Que Sera Sera...


Bonus, Not Lost, Links

Praire Weather: Bush's medication has kicked in, the servants have scrubbed the scene of the crime and removed all evidence

Jaspon Leopold/Truthout: Missing White House Emails Match Plame Time Frames

Paul Kiel/TPM: A Short History of The White House Email Retention Policies

The Carpetbagger Report: Years of White House emails reportedly gone forever

Think Progress: Fratto: ‘We Have Absolutely No Reason To Believe Any E-mails Are Missing’

Chopped Garlic: "Emails? We ain't got no emails! We don't need no emails! We don't have to show you any stinking emails!"...


Bonus Bonus

Clip from BRAZIL (Buttle's Arrest w/ Eng subs)

Larisa Alexandrovna: Alabama Democrats are Under Attack

This is getting beyond ridiculous!

The Injustice Department has already bagged one Democrat Governor, and may be setting their sights on a second, and now this screaming news from Larisa Alexandrovna;

Alabama Democrats are Under Attack

"Now for the latest nightmare - the brown-shirts arrive. Honestly, this is so unreal, I have no words (emphasis mine):

"Montgomery, AL - Alabama Democratic Party Executive Director Jim Spearman today called into question the method by which U.S. Marshals attempted to serve legislators subpoenas to appear to testify in a grand jury proceeding. Reporters were apparently tipped off by calls stating U.S. Marshals were coming to the Alabama Statehouse to serve some legislators. "The drama surrounding these actions and the U.S.

Department of Justice's disruption of a legislative session for the routine serving of a summons to appear in court sends a poor signal to Alabama citizens who are already complaining about partisan political interference into the federal prosecution of former Democratic Governor Don Siegelman," says Spearman.

These ladies and gentlemen have not been charged with a crime and could have been served by other means in their local communities, not in Montgomery during a legislative session in front of TV cameras and reporters." Spearman stated. State law actually prohibits serving members of the legislature while they are in session. Section 29-1-7 of the Alabama Code protects members from this kind of action by U.S. Marshals yesterday. In fact, the Marshals could have violated this law by their disruption of the session and have been charged with a misdemeanor."

Larisa has been all over what's going on in Alabama and you can catch up on the Siegelman Case here

So has Scott Horton, over at Harpers


And for the primer ...

The Permanent Republican Majority Part I

The Permanent Republican Majority Part II

The Permanent Republican Majority Part III

"Can we have our $40,000 back?"

Our Etch-A-Sketch Boy was out on the circuit yesterday, at University of Iowa and, well, it didn't go so smoothly.

From KCRG-TV;

"It quickly became a hostile evening for Rove.

Protesters rallied together against Rove hours before he even took the stage.

"He's a traitor for outing a CIA agent and he's the one who really crafted the rhetoric for the invasion of Iraq," UI student Keri George said.

When Rove tried to start speaking, jeers from the crowd immediately interrupted him."

And this, from Think Progress;

During the lecture, Rove lashed out at hostile questioners, telling one man his comment showed “a simple, stupid mind” and chastised what he said were “stupid statements” from the audience. Rove also said that former Amb. Joseph Wilson “lied” about his 2002 trip to Niger and accused an audience member of “perpetuating libel” on the U.S. military for asking about the real number of deaths in the Iraq war:

Responding to a question about CIA operative Valerie Plame Wilson’s outing, Rove, seemingly joking, added:

"I haven’t been indicted yet, but I fully expect to be by the end of the year."

At the end of the talk, an audience member shouted at Rove: “Can we have our $40,000 back?” Rove replied: “No, you can’t.”

Seems to be shaping up for a Twilight Zone type of life of Herr Karl ... You remember, the episode where the degenerate criminal (Larry Blyden) dies and thinks he's gone to heaven, but he's really in hell (with the devil portrayed by the rotund Sebastian Cabot).

Well, we can only hope ...


Bonus Rovian Riffs

Oxymoron of the Day: Karl Rove at an Idea Festival

Top Ten Cloves: Things Markos Moulitsas Will Have To Look Out For When Working With Karl Rove At Newsweek

Developing Story! Rove Has Gone From “Bush’s Brain” To “Bush’s Drain”; White House In Crises, As Rove Takes Credit For North Korean Nuke Test; Sources Say ‘Bush’s Brain” Weary From Sinking Polls, Fundraising; Too Tired To Come Up With New October Surprise