GOP Update - or - Why I Love Them So

secrets & lies

the ny times is reporting that shortly after gonzo came to lead the justice department in february of 2005, a secret document was circulated that permitted "an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the central intelligence agency."

according the the times:

the new opinion...for the first time provided explicit authorization to barrage terror suspects with a combination of painful physical and psychological tactics, including head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures.

...

the classified opinions, never previously disclosed, are a hidden legacy of president bush’s second term and mr. gonzales’s tenure at the justice department, where he moved quickly to align it with the white house after a 2004 rebellion by staff lawyers that had thrown policies on surveillance and detention into turmoil.

that W is a real fucker....

this one will have legs, my friends. mark my words.

happy feet

senator larry "wide stance" craig (r-idaho) was once again denied pleasure today. a minnesota jugde denied craig's request that his guilty plea be withdrawn. for those of you who may not remember (but really, how could you not?), craig had plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct as a result of his tap, tap, tapping in a minneapolis airport mensroom.

he's such a naughty, nasty, dirty, little boy.......

hennepin county district judge charles porter ruled that the guilty plea was entered "accurately, voluntarily and intelligently." i.e. too little, too late.

from cnn:

in a sharply worded, 27-page order, the judge found the idaho republican had freely given his plea after extensive discussions with prosecutors and after waiving his right to an attorney.

"The defendant, a career politician with a college education, is of at least above-average intelligence," porter wrote. "he knew what he was saying, reading and signing."

back to his beard in idaho, i guess.....

on a side note: congressional republicans canceled a press conference they had planned for today because they knew every question would concern craig.

you can run..... but you can't hide.

oh, snap! update: just read that larry craig has vowed to serve out his current term in the senate and not resign. good, good, good.... stay in the senate. stay in the news. make the GOP squirm.

craig is the best thing to happen to the republicans since jim jeffords!

domenici's degeneration

the AP is reporting that senator domenici intends to announce that he suffers from "frontotemporal lobar degeneration, a progressive disease that in some forms can cause dysfunction in the parts of the brain important for organization, decision-making and control of mood and behavior."

in domenici's prepared statement, the senator will say:

the progress of this disease is apparently erratic and unpredictable. it may well be that seven years from now, it will be stable. on the other hand, it may also be that the disease will have incapacitated me. i am not willing to take a chance that the people who have so honored me with their trust for 40 years might not be served as well as they deserve in the united states senate.

of course, there's also that big cloud of controversy surrounding his involvement with the firing of prosecutor david iglesias.

but ya know..... this excuse flies too.

another side note: dems dream candidate to replace domenici in the senate? governor bill richardson. of course, his camp says he's dedicated to winning the white house. but - well - let's be honest with one another.

of course, i was somewhat predicting richardson would be hill's candidate for veep. especially since she and barack don't seem to get along.

then again....my ideal ticket: clinton/obama 2008.

i'm just saying.....

anyway - keep up the good work, republicans. you're making 2008 look all shiny and bright for the dems.

e.