So we've got less than one thousand more days of Bush. More and more candidates will start surfacing soon for the job of president. Right now, McCain and Hillary are certainly front runners in discussions for propective candidates. What kind of messes do they need to clean up after Bush leaves?

Technorati Tags: Bush, McCain, Hillary Clinton, presidency, elections

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What else do you want to talk about today?

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Today is primary day in Kentucky. So... who did you vote for?

Technorati Tags: Kentucky, primaries, elections

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There's an interesting article over at Kos about the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). This is an allied organization consisting of Russia, China, states of the former USSR, and a number of observer nations including India and Iran. They are a treaty organization to act as a foil to the United States. It's a pretty big foil.

One comment is the organization's investment into South American recently. It's interesting because there's a lot going on here. I recommend reading it. What're your thoughts on the matter?

Technorati Tags: Shangahi Cooperation Organization, Russia, China, World War III

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It looks like the fine governor of Kentucky faces a variety of charges, all of which leave our state with a black eye with the rest of the country. The Herald Leader currently has a decent story and Mark Nickolas' Bluegrass Report has some great insight into the matter.

The indictments are the culmination of a long investigation by the Attorney General's office into violation of the law involving hiring and not following the rules of the merit system.

Right now, none of the top state Republicans are talking about any of this.

An interesting little side note:

Fletcher becomes the third sitting Kentucky governor to be indicted and the first since Flem Sampson was charged in 1929 with receiving improper gifts.

Some other notes about the situation:

The indictments came exactly a year after a transportation personnel official, Doug Doerting, walked into Stumbo’s office on May 11, 2005, and dropped off boxes of e-mails and documents showing questionable hiring decisions, which started the investigation.

But the timing was more than symbolic.

The one-year window to charge someone with violating or conspiring to break state merit employment laws was set to expire Saturday.

That’s the anniversary of the May 13 firing of transportation cabinet inspector Mike Duncan, who claims to have been terminated once administration officials learned he had supported Fletcher’s Democratic opponent in the 2003 governor’s race.

His firing was the last in a string of personnel decisions alleged to be politically motivated.

Fletcher was specifically charged yesterday with political discrimination in connection with that move.

The indictment says the governor “willfully ordered, directed, approved or otherwise participated” with previously indicted Transportation Cabinet Secretary Bill Nighbert, Deputy Secretary Jim Adams and former Administrative Commissioner Dan Druen to fire Duncan, a merit employee.

It's a sad day when this happens in Kentucky. IT goes to show though that Fletcher was a lousy leader in Kentucky. He made poor choices for advisors and instead of supplanting the Republicans into power, he managed to injure the party for years. The question is how long will this last. Of course he could pardon himself.



Technorati Tags: Kentucky, Ernie Fletcher, culture of corruption, Republicans

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The war over civil liberties continues to be fought and a major battle is coming. In the wake of Porter Goss's boot from the running the CIA, one according to the NYT, the main candidate for the replacement is one General Michael V. Hayden.

But General Hayden, the principal deputy director of national intelligence, would also face serious questions about the controversy over the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program, which he oversaw and has vigorously defended.

So we're going to get a man in who vigorously defends violating the rights of Americans. I guess this just makes him one in a line for the current administration.







Technorati Tags: Bush, Porter Goss, Michael Hayden, Domestic Surveillance, civil liberties

Technorati Tags: Bush, Porter Goss, Michael Hayden, Domestic Surveillance, civil liberties

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I've not weighed in yet on the whole issue of Stephen Colbert's vicious attack on the president and mainstream media. All I have to say is it's about damned time. His humourous and scathing attack is in the greatest tradition of political satire and if the president can't handle it, his skin is too thin for the job.

I've gotten a link to the segments. This will take you to the first one and then you can view the others from there.



It's interesting that some people at Comedy Central take their jobs very seriously as comedians in their original and true sense. Unfortunately, more won't say the same thing and many news folks are brutally critical of all sides of the political spectrum more.

Alternet has an interesting take on the thing, particularly referring to Bush's speech in March of 2004 when he poked fun at not finding the WMDs:

The backlash only appeared a day or two later, and not, by and large, emerging from the media, but from Democrats and some Iraq veterans. Then it was mainly forgotten. I never understood why Sen. John Kerry did not air a tape of the episode every day during his hapless final drive for the White House.

In any case, another 1,900 Americans have died in Iraq since Bush's ha-ha home video. As it happens, the Downing Street memo, and a similar British document that surfaced recently, suggested that Bush doubted WMDs existed and "fixed" the intelligence to take the nation to war. What a riot.

At that same Downing Street memo forum at the Capitol last year that Milbank mocked, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, after cataloguing the bogus Bush case for WMDs and the Iraqi threat, looked out at the cameras and notepads, mentioned the March 24, 2004 dinner, and acted out the president looking under papers and table for those missing WMDs. "And the media was all yucking it up ... hahaha," McGovern said. "You all laughed with him, folks." Then he mentioned soldiers who had died "after that big joke."

The media needs to be slapped around and the president needs to be put on trial for high crimes, misdemeanors and stupidity.

Technorati Tags: Stephen Colbert, George Bush, WMDs

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It's been a while since I've posted and for my regular readers (if there are any left) I apologize for my intermitten posting over the last few weeks. I've had a lot going on but I aim to rectify the problem.

One thing, as my pal Greymagius pointed out, is an insanely crappy senate bill, SB 1955. The Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act, also called the Enzi bill(after it's primary sponsor, Michael Enzi, R- Wyoming).

Check out DailyKos for a little more info and details. Needless to say, this bill is pure unadulterated evil perpetrated by the Republican Senators (and one Democrat) to strip human beings of basic medical care. While I'm a little late on this, folks here in Kentucky could expect to lose silly little things like:

Alcoholism Treatment
Ambulatory Surgery
Bone Marrow Transplants
Bone Density Screening
Dental Anesthesia
Diabetic Supplies/Education
Emergency Services
Home Health Care
Mammography Screening
Mental Health (General)
Mental Health (Parity)
Metabolic Disorders (PKU)
Minimum Mastectomy Stay
Off-Label Drug Use
TMJ Disorders

So just remember, you lovely ladies out there will lose out on mammograms. We crazy people won't get our Ritalin and Prozac and your grandmother won't have that home health nurse to help take care of her. Did I mention that Medicaid is being cut, the states can't make up the difference and Medicare won't catch all the baby boomers. Really... this is just social Darwinism at its new high point.

Technorati Tags: Enzi bill, SB1955, health insurance bill, social darwinism, DailyKos

Technorati Tags: Enzi bill, SB1955, health insurance bill, social darwinism, DailyKos

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