FURST!

Erik Estrada's stunt double belongs in prison

Good… but wake me up when they actually start building the gallows. I got a Chicken Little complex going with the Congress right now.

Gonzo needs to go...this year, not 2009. The time is now. Bush approval rating mist slip to 20%. Amazing but true. Congress needs to stop worrying about polls and just do the right thing.

And I would be really happy is some senators did not take August off. Granted, Congress is not in session. But they should be preparing for September. This nation is in crisis. Simple as that.

Nothing will come of this... and thats ridiculous.

so they appear to be growing some balls. how long before those balls get big enough to impeach the 2 people that actually matter.

"Commute" does not mean going to work any more

Can you spell patsy?
I knew that you could.

This is a good day to be a Dem.

And a really suck ass day to be a repuke.

I'm loving it!

:)

mister mix @ 11:

so they appear to be growing some balls. how long before those balls get big enough to impeach the 2 people that actually matter.

Gonzalez DOES matter. He is the stumbling block in the way of real action.

Specter told the press that he doesn't think the Justice Dept. will appoint a special pros. Who would decide something like this in the Justice Dept.? Would that decision be Gonzo's?

I would love to be optimistic, but when you're constantly disappointed, for years, it's pretty difficult to keep that pretense up.

How long would this investigation take? Then a trial? Why should Gonzales matter? Bush will just commute any sentence.

For heaven's sake, the Gang of 8--half of which were dems-- knew of the illegal spying and did/said nothing.

HillCountryGal @ 20:

Gort @ 18:

OT, but Dow is down 401, trading curbs put into effect.

If the rich get f**ked, they will turn on the Chimp faster than a Prius-driving, anti-war, card-carrying PETA member liberal.

You got that right!

Oh, my, is the tide finally turning?????

One can hope.

Fuck the poor, fuck the middle class, fuck the constitution and fuck America....but fuck with the rich in America and that is truly unforgivable. Let's see how Tony Snowjob spins this one and if he can put the blame on Clinton, the pressure's on!

Mr. Gonzales will argue that he did not lie. He's obviously been carving himself as awkwardly as possible the following defense: The program that the president acknowledged, and that everyone ELSE i.e., the general public, the Senate, and any logical person, is in fact several component programs. That is to say, monitoring of american emails is called the Enduring Carnivore Program. The monitoring of certain phone calls is called the Kill Katz program, and other phone calls are monitored under the Linda Tripp Lives Program. Now, if you go back and listen to the President's acknowledgent of a program, he only talks about facts relating to the Linda Tripp Lives program. And at every one of these hearings, I have been careful to state that I'm only talking about the component program that the President acknowledged. I.e., it all depends on what your definition of terrorist surveillance program is. So you see, because I was not hovering over a sedated Attorney General like a vampire hoping I could hold his hand and make him sign the authorization for the Linda Tripp portion of the program without that frigging Comey guy getting all Constitutional on me, I am not lying when I said it was not about that program which the President acknowledged.

Mwahahaha. I am Gonzo the Great!

S&T, painfully funny.

Ruthless People @ 25:

HillCountryGal @ 20:

Gort @ 18:

OT, but Dow is down 401, trading curbs put into effect.

If the rich get f**ked, they will turn on the Chimp faster than a Prius-driving, anti-war, card-carrying PETA member liberal.

You got that right!

Oh, my, is the tide finally turning?????

One can hope.

Fuck the poor, fuck the middle class, fuck the constitution and fuck America....but fuck with the rich in America and that is truly unforgivable. Let's see how Tony Snowjob spins this one and if he can put the blame on Clinton, the pressure's on!

If the rich turn on Bush that will just leave the Armageddon-lovin-gun-toten-Kool Aid drinkin-Christianistas...he'll be down to 20% approval rating by the end of the day.

pissed off patricia @ 26:

If they ignore all of the subpoenas and a special pros. is not appointed, what then?

We'll write their names up on the board and place checks next to the name of each Republican who continues to display bad behavior.

Here's what is sad or maddening. The attorney general of the US has made himself out to be the biggest liar or the most stupid bastard to walk upright, and the Republicans are still protecting him and supporting him. That sure as hell looks like playing politics to me. This is serious shit and they try to pretend it doesn't stink to high heaven.

Dale @ 33:

pissed off patricia @ 26:

If they ignore all of the subpoenas and a special pros. is not appointed, what then?

We'll write their names up on the board and place checks next to the name of each Republican who continues to display bad behavior.

And Pelosi will blink so hard and fast she goes into a seizure knocking over the impeachment table on her way down to the floor.

[...] C&L: [...]

pissed off patricia @ 35:

Here's what is sad or maddening. The attorney general of the US has made himself out to be the biggest liar or the most stupid bastard to walk upright, and the Republicans are still protecting him and supporting him. That sure as hell looks like playing politics to me. This is serious shit and they try to pretend it doesn't stink to high heaven.

Good point. If this is "not political," then why are the democrats the only one spotting the lies for what they are? No such thing as a partisan fib. If it's not the truth, it's a lie.

Che's Lounge @ 34:

I was just asking myself the same question last night. Where's the special prosecutor? Only someone like this can fairly investigate Al bunghole Gonzales.

Looks like the bottom just fell out of the well bucket of Wall Street. Circle your wagons folks. It's going to get crazy (er) in the coming months.

Yes, it is. This is turning into bigger than Watergate, or at least has the potential. I remember that year, it was not easy, and the stakes are alot higher now.

The Dow falling today should not be overlooked. If there is another big drop tomorrow, then all bets could be off...both on the economy and on these potential prosecutions. It can all start to unravel very fast. These things tend to take on a life of their own.

What a mess this imbecile has made.

Start the investigation now, go to trial August 2008, right after the Republican convention so that the voters are reminded that the Republicans can't be trusted; convict in September 2008 and let the sentence begin on January 21, 2009, right after Busholini leaves office. The sentence can begin earlier if Busholini and traitor Cheney leave office before January 21, 2009.

CONVICTING THIS LOUSE WILL PROBABLY BE LONG AND DRAWN OUT AND WE TAXPAYERS WILL HAVE TO FOOT THE BILL!! REMEMBER HOW LONG IT TOOK KEN STARR? I WONDER IF THIS "SPECIAL PROSECUTOR" WILL LOOK IN EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY.

Dhalgren @ 7:

And I would be really happy is some senators did not take August off. Granted, Congress is not in session. But they should be preparing for September. This nation is in crisis. Simple as that.

I believe Harry Reid plans on having Senate sessions every 9 or 10 days so that Busholini can't appoint another one of his incompetent puppets to some high ranking vacant position while Congress is not in session.

Asking the Justice Department to investigate Gonzales? Give me a break!
Impeach the whole lot, starting with Bush and Cheney.

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
- Mark Twain, a Biography

more at: http://www.twainquotes.com/Congress.html

Ironic that the endless Ken Starr persecution of Clinton resulted in the end of the Office of the Independent Counsel.

The need for an independent investigative/prosecutorial body has never been more acute.

If the Independent Counsel still existed, Bush's & Cheney's crimes would have been investigated years ago, even with a Republican majority.

How to save the republic and the Constitution:

1) Bring back the Fairness Doctrine
2) Bring back the Office of the Independent Counsel
3) Make presidential signing statements illegal, or limit their effect by making them subject to automatic review by a panel of federal judges.
4) Require the president to disclose all domestic intelligence programs to Congress, now and in the future.
5) Make it illegal for any military officer, legislator or cabinet officer to serve as a lobbyist within 10 years of leaving public office.
6) Full disclosure of all military contracts, and mandatory open bidding.
7) Take away the president's power to pardon members of his own administration.

White House: Subpoena? sorry, we're in the middle of the war on terra.
We don't have time to cloud our beautiful minds with that silly stuff right now.
Why don't you all go out and go shopping, the terrorist cells are getting stronger
and more coordinated, so shopping will help impede their ability to do us harm.

hadenuf @ 53:

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.
- Mark Twain, a Biography

more at: http://www.twainquotes.com/Congress.html

Thanks....What a wonderful and accurate quote..

Tim @ 46:

Good point. If this is “not political,” then why are the democrats the only one spotting the lies for what they are? No such thing as a partisan fib. If it’s not the truth, it’s a lie.

Isn't Specter seeing the lies for what they are?

Not really. Specter said that the subpoena of Rove is not for confrontation, but a bargaining tool. Specter said the Congress has 'no intention of enforcing' the subpoena.

At least if they subpoenaed Ashcroft, I might believe him if he said he didn't remember [when he was in the hospital].

Annoyed Canuck @ 55:

Ironic that the endless Ken Starr persecution of Clinton resulted in the end of the Office of the Independent Counsel.

The need for an independent investigative/prosecutorial body has never been more acute.

If the Independent Counsel still existed, Bush's & Cheney's crimes would have been investigated years ago, even with a Republican majority.

Not really. They managed to stuff the Special Prosecutor's office with repigs during daddy busch's admin.

Red Rover, Red Rover, send Karl right over!

Anybody on this thread live near the Blackwater compound in North Carolina?

I'm curious if there's any unusual activity going on there. With all this shit going down AND the Dow dropping like a lead balloon I'm afraid that terrorist attack they have penciled in for the summer of '08 might be moved up to an earlier date.

Ken Starr took so long because he was looking for things that weren't there. We got somethin' for the special pros right here. We know where he is, what he did. Get him!

Fine by me, lucid fiction. Have at it! :cool:

Yellow Elephant Safari @ 64:

Annoyed Canuck @ 55:

Ironic that the endless Ken Starr persecution of Clinton resulted in the end of the Office of the Independent Counsel.

The need for an independent investigative/prosecutorial body has never been more acute.

If the Independent Counsel still existed, Bush's & Cheney's crimes would have been investigated years ago, even with a Republican majority.

Not really. They managed to stuff the Special Prosecutor's office with repigs during daddy busch's admin.

Yes, it is possible to politicize the Special Prosecutor's office (Ken Starr being the prime example). It's not a perfect counterpoint to uncontrolled executive power.

But it isn't like the Supreme Court. The SP was not a lifetime appointment, and the Office had to be re-authorized by Congress every few years. So it's difficult to make the Office the servant of one party over the long term.

The OSP came into being because of Nixon's abuse of the Constitution, which were nowhere near as bad as Bush's. It is badly needed now.

enigma4ever at 66, Rove was under oath and testified before the grand jury five times, but Bush and Cheney were just questioned at the WH and were not under oath. Of course, it's still supposed to be a crime if they lied to the prosecutor even though not under oath. The fact that Rove testified five times without an indictment is why I said that I'm glad that the Democrats are going for a special prosecutor outside of the DOJ
this time.

Kevin @ 9:

Nothing will come of this... and thats ridiculous.

Ah, preaching the Dharma of Defeatism. How much I am coming to love these daily statements of disaffiliation and prayer for failure.

• AG Fredo and USA Taylor, are both cronies blocking justice. We need to remove both, and we WILL.

• Once they are gone, Special Prosecutors can be assigned to each topic of the now-uncovered-and-in-Congressional-evidence acts of criminality, conspiracy, and contempt for democracy and law.

It does not matter if that takes the rest of this year to get started.

INDICTMENT is the greatest fear of the neocon crony.

They love the political theater of impeachment -- they piss themselves every time they think about being put on a REAL trial.

Harriet Miers, an attorney and Supreme Court nominee, can't even show up -- because she would shit herself in fear. Boy Wonder himself needed Cheney at his side to testify to the Nine-eleven Commission (and, on the 'commission' part? The answer is YES, they did). Rove's name can't even be mentioned -- he's going to really love being treated like everyone else on his leg-chain.

Let's sic a hundred Special Prosecutors on the rightwing over the next ten years, and DEPOPULATE their encampments (like AEI, the Federalist Society, and the upper eschelon of the GOP).

Impeachment is a shoddy tool that can only focus on a single felon at a time. Special Prosecutors can empanel as many grand juries as are needed -- to run the whole lot of these crony bastards into prison.

• And let's BREAK UP Murdoch's little empire, with antitrust actions as soon as possible.

And, no, Bushco's pardon power will not be able to handle the load, and most of the convictions are going to come in years numbered in the TEENS. But that's OK -- with a loyal President in 2008, and both houses of Congress for fifty years, we are going to give the rightwing the comeupance of the millenia.

And they deserve it, the little darlings.

Meanwhile, eyes on the prize, and skip the Defeatist Dharma reports, which are already the biggest waste of electrons since Edison electrocuted an elephant. Oh, wait a second....

The White House and gonzo will simply say "Fuck You" to the proceedings - and will stall at any turn. This is all about protecting the cheney/bush administration's executive staff - at all costs.

The "fix" has been in for a long time, and gonzo will willingly fall on his sword, only to be pardoned of all wrongdoing at a later date - when cheney and bush cannot so easily be brought up on charges of treason, to face the rule of law.

Although I'm glad to see the speech and the seriousness and the call for a return to honesty, this all scares the hell out of me. I fully expect the White House to pull some other kind of stunt that will deflate ALL OF THIS. Will the Congress stand up and do the right thing or have they completely lost all authority in our nation? I'm serious. What IF? It's all set up. It's all ready for a complete power grab. In fact, I guess the power grab has already happened.
Bush and his smirking face will refuse to cooperate and then what? Tony Snow will spin like a top and then what? I'm shaken to the core about how deeply WRONG all of this feels to me. I fear a "terrorist" attack next, then Bush will grab all the power ala his directive. Then what?

hadenuf @ 58:

In Raleigh:
Nifong apologizes to lacrosse players

lol.....

Who might likely be appointed Special Prosecutor?

JudyLou @ 87:

Who might likely be appointed Special Prosecutor?

How about Judge Judy?

Doh!

If I were Gonzo, I would avoid any fishing trips with Dick Cheney. Remember Fredo?

BabushkaBlue @ 83:

I'm shaken to the core about how deeply WRONG all of this feels to me. I fear a "terrorist" attack next, then Bush will grab all the power ala his directive. Then what?

You can either be run by your paranoia, or you can take your life back.

This is not 2003. These bastards are ON THE RUN, and they don't have enough power for martial law, and they don't have enough power to stop the flood of EVIDENCE, and they don't have enough power to pardon their co-conspirators en masse.

Basically, they are GOING DOWN THE TUBES.

You can either laugh, or cry. My recommendation: SHOUT FOR JUSTICE, pin your pants up, and recognize that not all your fears are real.

• Can we have another 'terrorist attack'? H'yeah, we can (will). Will that allow these chumps to continue to hold power? Probably not. So why live like a coward? Be tough, be proud again.

Kudos to the Dems in Congress, for ALL THEIR HARD WORK since January.

It seems that they ought to be going through the ABA, rather than trying to dance around obstructions by the bush and the justice dept. If they can convince the ABA to disbar him, could he legally hold the office? Between perjury, legalized torture, warrantless surveillance it seems it's not implausible. Is there a way to petition the Bar assoc. for something like this? Any ideas...?

As with all the recent talk about impeachment I wonder if the calender is the only ally this administration has left. The clock is going to run out soon as far as Bush's pResidency is concerned but this disgusted American wonders if we can still persue litigation against these crooks when they finally and thankfully leave Washington. If they broke the law they should be held accountable and but does that accountability extend beyond the date of

DO it!

gonzo will sneak out friday afternoon.

The man with everything to hide and nowhere to put it.

SickandTired @ 27:

Mr. Gonzales will argue that he did not lie. He's obviously been carving himself as awkwardly as possible the following defense: The program that the president acknowledged, and that everyone ELSE i.e., the general public, the Senate, and any logical person, is in fact several component programs. That is to say, monitoring of american emails is called the Enduring Carnivore Program. The monitoring of certain phone calls is called the Kill Katz program, and other phone calls are monitored under the Linda Tripp Lives Program. Now, if you go back and listen to the President's acknowledgent of a program, he only talks about facts relating to the Linda Tripp Lives program. And at every one of these hearings, I have been careful to state that I'm only talking about the component program that the President acknowledged. I.e., it all depends on what your definition of terrorist surveillance program is. So you see, because I was not hovering over a sedated Attorney General like a vampire hoping I could hold his hand and make him sign the authorization for the Linda Tripp portion of the program without that frigging Comey guy getting all Constitutional on me, I am not lying when I said it was not about that program which the President acknowledged.

Mwahahaha. I am Gonzo the Great!

I agree. I said the same thing here yesterday, although not in as entertaining a way as you. What is a "program," anyway? It's quite easy to make artificial distinctions between different "programs" that cover essentially the same set of activities. Also, while we're on the subject of artificial definitions, someone yesterday made the very good point that the TSP is a legitimate-sounding term for the Illegal Wiretapping or Warrantless Wiretapping of American citizens (in direct violation of the FISA). It's up there with the Clear Skies Initiative and the Healthy Forests Initiative, and we should never buy into such false labeling, or else we will have already lost the issue.

They should have done this months ago!

TechnoHippie @ 108:

I don't understand why Leahy is giving Gonzalas a week when it only takes a split second to change your mind and tell the truth. At the very most, 24 hours. Then, if he still won't tell the truth, waterboard his ass.

And what does Leahy have against a Special Prosecutor?

This sort of news can make an Atheist say Amen................................................

The ONLY reson Gonzo is still in office is 'cause he KNOWS all the Texas DIRT on Bush. He KNOWS about Bush's fixed driving records, and cocaine history... and he KNOWS how all of Bush's National Guard records got disappeared. He's been protecting The Decider for a long time... now he gets protected BY The Decider.

I also think Bush is enough of a pragmatist that he can let Gonzo swing at the end of his own Hangin' rope... of the charges are a result of Gonzo's own stupidity (like these perjury charges.)

'Course, there's still a lot of legal horseshit Bush can sling at the Congress before THAT has to happen. It's all a big "fuck-you" game now... and Bush, Cheney, and Rove play that game like a Las Vegas Poker Tournament.

repubCHICKEN @ 112:

Let me get this correct, a special prosecuter is to be appointed. Time = 3 months. Prosecuter investigation takes place. Time = 12 months. Final hearing and appeals. Time = 3 months. Bush and Gonzolez leave office in 18 months. Who is laughing? You got it, Karl Rove, and the crime family. WAKE UP AMERICA! YOU LOSE!

Nope! There is a fast track method for impeaching a cabinet member that does not take as long as the impeachment of a President. John Dean has written about this extensively.

A member of the House puts forward the impeachment articles, it goes to the House Judiciary committee who acts as a grand jury (like they haven't collected enough materials and evidence on Gonzales already). The Judiciary committee then votes on whether there is sufficient evidence, if so... it goes back to the House for an up or down vote... with no debate. If yes... then it goes to the Senate and a trial must be held.

What if it takes too long or he resigns?

There is a precedent where an administration official resigned and was still brought back for impeachment!

Excerpt:

A central issue in the Belknap case was whether his resignation had terminated the jurisdiction of the Congress, and whether impeachment was still appropriate when his removal was no longer at issue. The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative J. Proctor Knott, who was trying the case before the Senate, explained the controversy as follows:

"Was the only purpose of this disqualification simply to preserve the Government from the danger to be apprehended from the single convicted criminal?" Knott rhetorically asked. "Very far from it, sir. That in reality constituted but a very small part of the design. The great object, after all, was that his infamy might be rendered conspicuous, historic, eternal, in order to prevent the occurrence of like offenses in the future. The purpose was not simply to harass, to persecute, to wantonly degrade, or take vengeance upon a single individual; but it was that other officials through all time might profit by his punishment, might be warned by his political ostracism, by the ever-lasting stigma fixed upon his name by the most august tribunal on earth, to avoid the dangers upon which he wrecked, and withstand the temptations under which he fell; to teach them that if they should fall under like temptations they will fall, like Lucifer, never to rise again."

http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20061215.html

In short... put him down and keep him down!

Gonzales must be impeached so that no Attorney General in the future will be tempted to abuse the power of that office like this ever again! He must be made an example of what will happen if this type of conduct is done again!

Once you've determined that lying comes so easily to someone like Alberto Gonzales you tend to wonder what else he's lied about. You want to review all of his past statements and wonder if those were lies too. Someone, like the media maybe, should check it out.