Wake Up Call

"One day you're gonna rise from your habitual feast and find yourself staring down the throat of the beast they call the revolution."
- Bruce Cockburn

Ex-AIDS Czar is Ex-Rx CEO

I forgot to mention the cozy connection between Randall Tobias and the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. HE WAS THE CEO! Remember this is one of Bush's appointments, one of his boys...of the same lot that help dictate and write prescription drug benefit policies no doubt. Not only is he a pharmaceutical fat-cat who was preaching one thing and doing another, but he's about the most naive person on Earth (or the world's worst liar). I say this because when he resigned his ambassador/AIDS Czar post due to his name surfacing in the DC Madame's records, he did so not in a humble mea culpa, but by stating he was only "calling on the girls for massages." How dumb does he think people are?

I Can't Count Them Fast Enough

I've always said that for every one democrat sleaze-ball or crook, there's at least ten repugnacans. Let's see if I can connect the dots on this one. Hmm, where to start. Let's start with a guy named Bobby Livingston. Few probably remember him, but he was the Congressman, and House Speaker designate at one point, who was snared back in the late 90's in what I'll call the "it takes one to know one" Larry Flynt investigation into corrupt or otherwise hypocritical politicians who espouse moral values and then are found out to be doing just the opposite. Along comes another moral pillar called Davey Vitters who takes Livingston's congressional seat. Fast forward a few years. Well, low and behold, Vitters' (now a senator and regional chairman for that phony Giuliani's presidential campaign) name shows up on Deborah Jeane "D.C. Madam" Palfrey's list of customers. Mind you, Davey was a congressman from 1999 to 2004--all the while representing the good people of Louisiana in a fight against vice and all that is evil. Hmm, who could have helped uncover another fraud? Yep, you guessed it, Larry Flynt strikes again. Also in Palfrey's black book is an interesting fellow named Randy Tobias. Who's this you ask? Well, let me tell you some of what he promoted--sexual abstinence. He did this in his Bush appointed post as the United States Global AIDS Coordinator. What do all these hypocrites--Bobby, Davey, Rudy, Randy--have in common? I'll give you a hint, they ain't democrats.

Rudy - the urban myth

He's a one-trick pony and that's one phony pony. A must see testimonial from New York's finest.

Harriet the Defiant

I certainly expected no less. Remember, Bush will protect Harriet and his crew of cronies [Cheney, Condi, Gonzo, Wolf, and a handful of other crooks] to the end. He or one of his flunkies saw how shook up Sara Taylor got today when she testified that she had a letter that said she had executive privilege not to testify! And they weren't going to take any chances that the old crow Miers would fumble. Nice that Bush didn't give Sara the same advice --don't even show up to testify.

Hog Wash Double-Speak Libby Nonsense

At least that's what I call this administration's talking points regarding the Libby commutation and what a "harsh punishment" Scooter still faces.

In his half-baked justification of the commutation/clemency, Bush states that he said from the outset that the White House staff and anyone serving in his administration would be expected to fully cooperate with the Justice Department...blah, blah, blah...but he conveniently leaves out the point he made about holding such criminals to account!

Well, let me break it down to you Bush, prison is being held to account. Your fake explanation of how harsh a penalty Scooter still faces is a joke and you know it. Let's take these one at a time:

Bush Nonsense - The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged.

The Truth: First off, time has a way of leading people to forget crooks. Look at how Nixon was revered in his later years and upon his passing. But more importantly, this seems to imply that Scooter would be pounding the pavement looking for a job as an attorney at a law firm or perhaps as a public defender. What a joke! Do we even know if he's worked an honest day in his whole life (more about the Scooter's work history here)? He's a neo-con bureaucrat for God's sake! He'll get another cushy 'appointment' as a consultant or aide. He doesn't have to rest on his reputation.

Bush Nonsense - His wife and young children have also suffered immensely.

The Truth - While Scooter's wife and young children may have suffered, this comes with the territory of "don't do the crime if you can't do the time" or in Libby's case, "Don't do the crime because you won't do the time but you'll put your family through hell." So, I ask you, was he thinking of his family when he covered for his boss? Nope, he was thinking of himself mainly, then the other cronies. He should have thought of his family when he lied and obstructed justice. Of course he should have thought of them long ago too when he decided to be a corrupt repugnacan lackey.

Bush Nonsense - He will remain on probation.

The Truth - So what (see Reputation above).

Bush Nonsense - The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect.

The Truth - This is a total joke, right? Bush had to be smirking when he wrote that (assuming he wrote it). $250,000 may be a lot of money to you or me, but for folks like Libby, his ex-boss Cheney, Wolfie and the rest of the stuffed shirts, it's like chump change. He'll write a book or get a speaking engagement that'll have that paid for in less time than it took to lie under oath. While I don't know Libby's exact net worth, I find the list of cronies/members of his defense trust quite interesting. Let's just say people such as Steve Forbes, yes, that Steve Forbes, won't leave Scooter in the soup kitchen line too long. Scooter won't pay a penny out of his own pocket, and even if he does it won't be money he earned.

Bush Nonsense - The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting.

The Truth - Again, this is inconsequential because of the points I made above. Scooter does not have to get a real job. A felony conviction would haunt the average Joe, but he (what the hell is his first name anyway? Oh, here it is and more.) is not the average Joe. When you're as connected as him, these normal consequences are truly meaningless. SoCalDem puts it best here.

This is how it works, from Gonzo protecting Bush (e.g., keeping the drunk driving conviction from surfacing), to Harriet Miers 'earning' Bush's allegiance (we see the wonderfully astute way that this manifested with her supreme court nomination), and so on. So, again, what rubbish spews from Bush and his mouth piece Snow-job about how harsh the sentence still is...nonsense!

Paris Does Time, Libby Pays Fine

Thanks to "the right is wrong" for the title of the post, the juxtaposition of which points out the shear lunacy and corruption--once again--of this failed administration/presidency. It's just more of the same, "we're above the law" attitude. Naturally this was planned from the start. I knew that this would be the shrub's course of action--to give the platitude of "let justice run its course"--knowing full well, if/when it came down to it and Libby faced prison, the shrub would be sure to save Libby's ass. And if he wasn't found guilty or if his appeals weren't exhausted, the shrub could hide behind his holier than thou "I'll justice run its course" remark. Well mr. president, you may have let it run its course but you have most certainly not let justice prevail. You have preempted it once again. This latest unfortunate, but all too expected, action is simply another log of the fire of the shrub's failed presidency.
More later...right now I have to go puke.