Senator Craig Stays in Washington for His Appeal

"I da ho" Senator Larry Craig remained in D.C.'s "hallowed stalls" of government based on advice from his attorney. Had he attended his legal challenge, the Senator may have passed the now famous airport men's room. Such an event would certainly mean hordes of camera clicking "popperazzi". It doesn't do to return to key facts in the case, umless you have the right attorney. "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit." Let's hope Larry's attorney doesn't ask the arresting cop to bend over.

Clinton Supports Bayh's Golden Goose

Indiana Senator Evan Bayh endorsed Hillary Clinton for President today. He waited for her to reveal her health care plans and rightfully so, Mrs. Susan Bayh sits on the board of WellPoint, the huge health insurer. Exercising options the last few years added considerably to the Bayh family's household income. My guess is he would have thrown his ample support behind another candidate if Hillary really wanted to cut out the middlemen, which happens to be the family's $1.3 million golden goose since 2004.

Recall Senator Bayh had his name in the Presidential hat for all of two weeks. The manufactured reason for quiting was "he dropped out of the race amid evidence that Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois were building formidable campaign organizations." Yet a later article spoke of the formidable organization Evan built in Iowa, now benefiting other candidates. So Evan dropped out for another reason. Did it have to do with the serious money Susan made flipping her WellPoint options? The timing is suspicious. No matter what, Evan's grateful, even magnanimous. Feel the goose, Hillary? Could this be the beginning of a long term relationship?

(I tried to post the Bayh WellPoint tie on CNN's Political Ticker endorsement piece but the moderator scrubbed it. It seems the Clinton team runs a tight media ship, capable of coming out with guns ablazing.)

It Isn't Coming, It's Here!

The Bush administration wants Congress to give it broader spying powers so it can pre-emptively arrest and taser any students simply owning a copy of Greg Palast's "Armed Madhouse", much less asking questions of the losing candidate in a manipulated election at ground zero of the voter fraud. Agents of government will be able to enter one's home and turn on the sprinkler system to prevent the dreaded brown lawn. This is just in case any 70 year old great grandmothers decide that's not a useful way to spend their meager Social Security checks.

And to keep prisoners from reading any library material that could "discriminate, disparage, advocate violence or radicalize", convicts will no longer have access to any such printed information, much of it religious in nature. However, they will live next to other hardened prisoners 24 hours a day in a verbal graduate school of crime, broken into gang oriented classes.

Just as the armed forces has an approved form of religion, so too will prisons. Open up for fire and brimstone, the prosperity gospel, might beats right, and the religion of free markets. As for those of us not yet behind bars without habeas corpus, there's no need to open your front door. Courtesy of Congress, President Bush already has a copy of your key...

Bush Record on "Fair & Transparent" Probes

On ironically the same day as Senator Larry Craig's return to Washington and its "hallowed stalls of government", U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice promised the Iraqi Prime Minister a "fair and transparent probe" of the Blackwater Security Company incident where eight Iraqi civilians died. Why should the Iraqi people place their faith in a Bush launched investigation as their record is dismal? The internal investigation into the CIA agent leak never occurred as promised and convicted perjurer Scooter Libby received a presidential pardon, but there's much more.

After Hurricane Katrina, the Bush team created their Lessons Learned report with the aim of preventing such a disastrous response from happening again. Sec. Rice used the same language regarding the Blackwater incident. Yet, the author of the Katrina report left out the hospital with the largest death toll post landfall. That hospital company had just been purchased by The Carlyle Group weeks before the deadly storm struck. The White House also omitted the trade group that coordinated the evacuation of acute care patients in FEMA's place.

The Bush administration contracted out the investigation into British Petroleum's Texas City refinery explosion that killed 13 people. James Baker of The Carlyle Group headed up the $2 million taxpayer funded inquiry. While the oil company failed to invest in process safety equipment and establish rigorous safety procedures, management got a free pass in the report. Guess who hired the BP CEO on duty when the tragedy occurred? He's now heading up The Carlyle Group's European energy portfolio.

So Mr. al Maliki, be very wary of a Bush led investigation. The pattern involves whitewashing what happened and exonerating their friends. Who is Mr. Bush closer to, Blackwater execs or the Iraqi people? As for Condi Rice, she's been irrelevant on the world stage for how long now?

Alberto's Teary Goodbye

Justice Department Chief Alberto Gonzales said goodbye to his co-workers this past Friday. My imagination had it going like this:

"I'm really gonna miss you guys. Who can remember those hours spent scheming to lean the next national election our way by dumping uncooperative attorney generals?"

All the heads shook side to side.

"Who can remember our purging voter rolls for much the same reason?"

More denials.

"But who can forget those late night hours spent around the tattered sofa in the basement of the White House, smoking the no-no and jamming to Purple Haze while President Bush played RISK, only the whole board was the Middle East?"

Cheers and tears flowed freely. The crowd cried "we love you Alberto". Yes, Mr. Gonzales runs with a funny crowd, long on loyalty and short on memory. What will the nation do when Alberto is recycled into public service in the future? Will we remember?

New Russian Bomb Takes Out "Objects & Buildings"

The Russians announced a new bomb. The Vacuum Bomb is as powerful as a nuclear weapon but leaves no radioactive fallout. However, like a nuclear bomb it generates enough force to destroy alot of things, to "cause widespread devastation."

The bomb works in two stages. First, a detonator scatters a fuel widely through the atmosphere where it mixes with that necessary combustible, oxygen. Then a charge ignites the solution. It's similar to jet fuel scattered through the air in a plane crash into a tall skyscraper, but on a much larger scale.

This development has me confused given President Bush's assertions that "democracies do not war." Why would democratic Russian need to develop such a weapon? Why do they need to destroy objects and building in other countries?

But what I really want to know is how such a large explosion can occur and not kill or maim people? How hot is the fire generated by the vacuum bomb? What does that do to human hair and skin at varying distances from detonation? What does the temporary vacuum do to human physiology? Does it cause already burned lungs to collapse? Did you know the United States already used a version of the weapon in Operation Desert Storm? And they shall beat their thermobaric bombs into plowshares...

The Hole in Our World

There's a hole in the world

Made by anger

Planned by leaders who claim to be right

Executed by followers who sought glory

Yet the biggest hole is inside

It cannot be filled by hate

It grows in size with each purposeful attack on others

The gaping hole can only be filled with what our leaders refuse to practice

Respect, mutual cooperation, and love