Friday’s Mini-Report

June 8, 2007

Today’s edition of quick hits.

* Gen. Peter Pace’s successor as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, is not exactly a non-controversial choice. Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), for example, said, “While I have deep respect for Admiral Mullen’s distinguished service, his view that this is a ‘generational war’ will not do anything to change course in Iraq. If we want to bring an end to our involvement in this civil war, we must do more than simply replace personnel — we must replace President Bush’s failed policy. Today’s move underscores the need for Congress to speak with clarity and adopt a firm, enforceable deadline for the redeployment of combat troops out of Iraq.”

* On a related note, why was Pace not renominated? According to an item in The Hill, Defense Secretary Robert Gates is replacing the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff “after heeding warnings from lawmakers that the current officers would go through a difficult renomination process amid debate over the war in Iraq.” (John Kerry released a statement saying, “It is a sad state of affairs when this Administration withdraws a general they believe is qualified simply to avoid having to publicly defend their failed Iraq policy.”

* The White House appears to be feeling a little antsy about its legal future: “With Congress expected to ramp up the number of probes into the Bush administration, the White House is beefing up its legal team, creating five new positions in the office of Counsel Fred Fielding.”

* Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who has quickly become one of my very favorite Senate Dems, became the first member of Congress to call for an independent analysis on the state of the war in September, telling ThinkProgress that Gen. Petraeus’ report may not be enough. “[H]ow General Petraeus chooses to balance those conflicting prerogatives is up to him and his conscience and I’m hoping and expecting that he’ll come back and speak very candidly to us,” Whitehouse said. But noting President Reagan’s maxim “trust but verify,” he added, “I don’t think it’s necessarily to distrust Petraeus to want to verify.”

* Chris Matthews serenades White House’s Dan Bartlett. Wow.

* Fouad Ajami described Scooter Libby as “a soldier in your — our — war in Iraq…. He can’t be left behind as a casualty of a war.” Breathtaking.

* NYT: “Senior House Democrats threatened Thursday to issue subpoenas to obtain secret legal opinions and other documents from the Justice Department related to the National Security Agency’s domestic wiretapping program. If the Democrats take that step, it would mark the most aggressive action yet by Congress in its oversight of the wiretapping program and could set the stage for a constitutional showdown over the separation of powers.”

* I’m starting to think Bill O’Reilly has a preoccupation with race.

* Congress Daily: “House Armed Services Committee members Wednesday accused a body armor maker with falsifying information about its product and making unsubstantiated claims that the Army rigged live-fire tests to set the firm’s vests up for failure.” Hmm.

* Remember earlier this week when Joe Scarborough speculated on whether Fred Thompson’s wife Jeri “works the pole”? Concerned Women for America condemned the MSNBC personality for attempting to “mainstream porn into everyday culture.” A spokesman for MSNBC said the outrage was “another example of a statement being taken out of context in the blogosphere.”

* I suppose it’s possible that there are better speakers than Bill Clinton, but I don’t think so.

* NYT: “New Hampshire will become the first state to repeal a law requiring teenage girls to notify their parents before having an abortion, under a bill that won final passage in the State Senate on Thursday. Gov. John Lynch has said he would sign the measure. The vote in the Senate was 15 to 9. The House vote, in March, was 217 to 141.”

* William Jefferson pleaded not guilty today to all of his many charges, vowing to fight to clear his name. I have a hunch it’s not going to work.

* And finally, in Alabama, Republican state Sen. Charles Bishop, in the midst of a debate on election reform, decided to punch Democratic Sen. Lowell Barron in the head. Bishop claims that he heard Barron call him a “son of a (expletive),” which Barron denies. “I responded to his comment with my right hand,” Bishop said. Alabama Public Television tape captured the whole thing on television. Said Republican Rep. Jay Love, “It’s certainly a black eye on the Legislature.” Interesting choice of words….

Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.

Chris Matthews serenades White House’s Dan Bartlett.

I’m too scared to click on this link. Someone else look for me please.

And finally, in Alabama, Republican state Sen. Charles Bishop, in the midst of a debate on election reform, decided to punch Democratic Sen. Lowell Barron in the head.

Can these clowns get any worse? (Don’t answer that.)

I’m telling you, it’s only a matter of time before a member of the GOP is found wandering the streets in a tiara, platform shoes and nothing in between.

re: New Hampshire. I remember a time when someone described NH as the Anti-Vermont. I think the Live Free or Die state is positioning itself to be a haven for people fleeing the Fundamentalists States of America.

  • “Live Free or Die” has always sounded like a threat. In the same vein, North Carolina’s “First in Flight” sounds proudly cowardly. And commercially, Cingular cell phone ads featuring the slogan “More Bars in More Places” sounds like an appeal to alcoholics and frat boys.

    What’s the Democratic party’s slogan these days?

  • Jefferson vowed to sell every last stick of furniture his family owns to pay for his defense. If this turns into a RICOH issue, our dear old Uncle Sammy’s going to take every last stick of furniture his family owns—so I imagine Jefferson’s using “defense costs” as an excuse to liquidate before the Feds can confiscate it all….

  • Out of context? Perhaps MSNBC can explain exactly what Scarborough meant, then, since I cannot figure out any way to interpret what he meant when he said she “works the pole”.

  • * And finally, in Alabama, Republican state Sen. Charles Bishop, in the midst of a debate on election reform, decided to punch Democratic Sen. Lowell Barron in the head.

    Is Alabama the new Taiwan Legislature? I remember when newscasts used to show Taiwanese parliamentary brawls as if they were a big joke.

  • … the White House is beefing up its legal team, creating five new positions in the office of Counsel Fred Fielding…

    Those who suggested that this time around in life Bush would have no one to bail him of a mess of his own making…

    Here is my hat…
    Please take a bite…

  • Overlooked in these proceedings, is the career boost that continuous war brings to the professional military man. Promotions come faster, more money is available to advance projects, military life is exciting..
    I have this on the authority of a cousin who was a West Point grad and career officer; he was passed over in peacetime too many times to make general. During the Vietnam war with 1st Air Cav, got promoted quickly to major within the minimum amount of time. He had to resign, according to the protocol in place at the time. So a military career person would welcome a permanent war…despite what he says publicly, despite what he says. Rank means money, social prestige and power…this applies mostly to the officer class, but it works for the enlisted just as well.

  • CB you misrepresented Alabama State Senator Charles Bishop’s actions. He didn’t punch Senator Lowell Barron in the head. He punched him in the neck. Barron said so himself!

  • In the same vein, North Carolina’s “First in Flight” sounds proudly cowardly

    Back when there were still unions, and textile workers, and manufacturing jobs in the Carolinas (early 80’s) one local had a ‘First in Flight — Last in Wages’ bumper sticker.

  • I guess that will teach General Pace to say that there was no proof that EFP’s were being supplied to the Iraqi insurgency by the Iranian government. A navy commander will make a “Gulf of Tonkin” type incident easier to slip under the radar in the Strait of Hormuz. I really hope I am wrong on the second part. There seem to be a lot of rumors flying around in some of the foreign press that after the early primary next year, Shrub will carry out his intentions with Iran.

  • And finally, in Alabama, Republican state Sen. Charles Bishop, in the midst of a debate on election reform, decided to punch Democratic Sen. Lowell Barron in the head.

    Someone is surprised that an Alabama peckerwood acts like, well, er, an Alabama peckerwood???

  • Hey Steve,

    Regarding your Paris post, you said that you’ve stopped watching television, and I can certainly understand why. I would encourage you to try, at least try, watching one of hour of political TV in the next six months or so. Just go watch the 7:00 o’clock version of Chris Matthews’ Hardball any dau of the week (if he has on wine me, dine me, Howard Fine me, definitely tune in).

    Why? If you think it’s bad, you have no idea until you actually experience it. It’s a truly baseless, wretched ordeal.

    So, tune in and see what you’ve been missing! Trust me, you’ll never, never ever, do it again.

  • Alibubba, @3,

    We seem to have the same “skewed” sense of delight in possible double entendres; that’s exactly what those mottoes say to me, too 🙂

    In the “open vein” thread, more news from Poland, via “Donosy” (which is a word I’ve never been able to translate to my satsfaction. “Donos” is a “report” of sorts, but made by a stealthy, paid, informant. “Donosy” is plural of that). Anyway…

    Remember Bush in the Czech Republic a few days ago? Talking about the freedom and importance of press at an event where the press wasn’t allowed questions? Today’s visit in Poland was better than that.

    Bush flew in for 3 hrs, saw one of the Ducks (the presidential one, not the prime ministerial one), and the topic of the conversation, “reportedly”, was the “American anti-missile shield”

    There were some anti-Bush demonstrations in front of the (Polish) President’s holiday villa at the seaside (where the meeting took place) but, according to both the media and police reports, the number of journalists and the number of policemen far exceeded the number of demonstrators.

  • “Scooter Libby as “a soldier in your — our — war in Iraq…. He can’t be left behind as a casualty of a war.”

    A war partly of his own making. The above statement reeks of irony.
    ~~~
    CB, I also like Sen. Whitehouse. I enjoy his excellent line of questions, and persistence, in various hearings I’ve watched.
    ~~~
    Re the White House’s beefing up it’s legal team… sigh… I suppose the taxpayers of this country are paying the salaries of these lawyers, who will be defending our lying, criminal preznit. It’s obscene. If he needs additional lawyers, let him pay for them out of his own pocket.

  • Although I often find that familiarity with a politician often engenders contempt in me, I, too, have been very favorably impressed with Senator Whitehouse. It is a (relative) pleasure to watch him question witnesses who come before the Judiciary Committee. So far, he seems to have both “game” and ideals. If my first impressions are correct, I think he could be a star.

  • What’s the Democratic party’s slogan these days?

    Nude erections for America!

    — Rian Mueller

    Oh, my God! They’ve outsourced sloganeering to Japan!!

  • Alibubba, @18

    The “nude erections” comes from the slogan Dems were floating a while back: “new directions”. Try to say it fast, in public, and you’ll have FCC after you and your money 🙂

  • Rian, when you ask what the Democratic party’s slogan is these days, are you confusing context perhaps?

    Journalist to Chinaman: How often do you have elections in your country?

    Chinaman: Evely molning.

    Maybe what Scarborough said was “does she work the poll”? Transcriptions can sometimes be misleading. OTOH, Thompson is 63 years old so he could have had a more personal concern in mind.

  • “* I suppose it’s possible that there are better speakers than Bill Clinton, but I don’t think so.” – CB

    I have to admit, CB…I agree wholeheartedly.

  • We can talk about how easy and efortless the speaches of Al Gore have become since he has become loosed of the chains of running for office…I believe he deserves every accolade…but it is this that makes a speach like President Clinton’s so much more remarkable. He is only half-loosed, if you will.

    President Clinton was the right President at the wrong time.

    Our country and the world would be much better served if he were to be our NEXT President.

    And I “say” that in full understanding (and memory) that I completely disagreed with his presidency on sooooo many issues.

  • I’m starting to think Bill O’Reilly has a preoccupation with race.

    I’m starting to think Shrill O’Really is an even bigger fucking idiot than even I could ever fully appreciate. I guess Shrill’s forgotten Denis Rader (Bind Torture Kill) not to mention all the “white-bread” guys who aren’t very nice at all.

    However, attempting to link his statement with some comment on the guy’s race is more than a stretch, it’s a waste of bandwidth.

    The problem with his comment is it promotes the idea that murderers are unwashed loners who leap out at you from the bushes. And why the fuck does he mention the perps. “money problems”? Is he suggesting that guys with money problems (99% of his audience I’d reckon) are a danger to our health and welfare? Fuckwit.

    A side note: I always thought white-bread was an insult, like red neck.

  • Libra # 20:

    Thanks. “New Directions” completely escaped me — because I don’t keep up with Democratic slogans. They’re usually awful. Actually, “nude erections” shows some promise.

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