The Little Dictator that Would

George W. Bush.

Rip Van Winkle

Arlen Specter.

Senators on the Judiciary Committee accused President Bush of an "unprecedented" and "astonishing" power grab on Tuesday for making use of a device that gave him the authority to revise or ignore more than 750 laws enacted since he became president.

...

A lawyer for the White House said that Mr. Bush was only doing his duty to uphold the Constitution. But Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, characterized the president's actions as a declaration that he "will do as he pleases," without regard to the laws passed by Congress.

Outside of the fact that this has been public knowledge for quite some time now, despite the established media not covering it, Glenn Greenwald has written a book that heavily references it, I'm glad to see this is a revelation to Specter.

This is just the latest of Specter's feints at sticking up for the Constitution. Whether it's standing up for FISA, or swearing in AG Abu when he gives testimony, he'll give up when his taskmasters give him a dirty look.

Hilarious

The Poor Man.

Vindication

Glenn Greenwald gets a pony.

Primary Fights, Blogs and Activism

Mr. Bowers.

Home Turf

I should have been there instead of here at work:

President Bush, saying nuclear weapons in Iranian hands poses a "grave threat" to the world, used a commencement address today to warn Tehran again to suspend all uranium enrichment activity and join multi-country talks on containing its nuclear program.

...

"If Iran's leaders want peace and prosperity and a hopeful future for their people, it should abandon its quest for nuclear weapons," Bush told the graduating class of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y., about 20 miles east of Manhattan.

Of course the established media would ignore such a thing, but since I'm from Great Neck - Kings Point - I happen to know there was a planned silent protest on the way to the academy in respect of the 2500+ ("Just a number" if you're Tony Snow) and to demonstrate that people from Great Neck do not agree with Bush or his policies. But if you were reading the WaPo - quoted above - or the NYT, you would never know that was the case.

If something happens, and the established media does not cover it, does it really happen?

Time to Go Joe

More good news. From kos:

Today, former Connecticut Democratic Party chairman George Jepsen will endorse Lamont. While the endorsement itself may mean little for Lamont (I doubt many people care or know who Jepsen is), it does mean another round of positive press for Lamont, and another painful news cycle for Lieberman.

Of course, according to Lieberman, Lamont and his supporters are just a bunch of crazies. Joe, meet Chris Matthews. Chris, meet Joe.

Time to Go Joe

Accept responsibility for the consequences of your actions.

Holla.

Important Legislation

I'm glad Congress is looking out for us in the best possible way:

A U.S. House of Representatives committee on consumer protection says it will hold a hearing on the topic later this month, with a focus on "informing parents and protecting children" from the alleged dangers of those types of games.

Introduced by Rep. Jim Matheson, a Utah Democrat, the proposal would make it illegal for anyone to sell, rent, or attempt to sell or rent video games rated "adults-only" to minors under age 18, or "mature" video games to anyone under age 17. The Federal Trade Commission would be permitted to levy fines of up to $5,000 per violation. That approach is nearly identical to a bill unveiled last December by U.S. Senate Democrats Hillary Clinton and Joseph Lieberman. They propose imposing fines o

r community service hours on any business that sells or rents video games with a "mature," "adults-only" or "ratings pending" tag to anyone under age 17. That measure has not yet gone up for debate.

Oh boy, moral majority Dems are trying to win over values voters. Allow me to explain why this is stupid.

1. The fundies are never going to believe that Democrats represent their values. It just aint happening.
   
2. Trying to prevent a "mature" video game, whatever the hell that means - just turn on some daytime tv and never mind trying to sell a nation on war all the time - from getting to "minors" is neither a liberal nor a progressive idea. It's boneheaded.
   
3. Trying to beef up your "centrist" creds aint going to work for you, it's just gonna get us angier and angrier with you.
   
4. DO YOUR JOBS! We've got a war, skyrocketing energy prices, an economy on a slow, downward spiral, just about everything thinkable - and even some unthinkable - crises ahead of us, and no one in this defunct Bush administration or Republican caucus has any sort of plan except to profit themselves. GET TO WORK!