Soy Blue

Domeneci lets Oil Cartel's off the Hook

Yesterday one lone Democratic US Senator chose to do the the unthinkable and filibuster Sen. Domenici's "anti-price gouging energy bill" although you wouldn't have known it becasue none of New Mexico's newspapers reported it.

 

"Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden (news, bio, voting record) tied up the Senate for more than 4 1/2 hours Thursday trying to force a vote on a plan to end subsidies of energy companies that lease federal land."

Sen. Wyden did so because Sen. Domenici's price gouging bill would not apply to big oil companies and would basically only affect small, mom and pop retailers. 

Section 2 of Domenici's bill states"

“(for purposes other than resale)” thereby exempting the price gouging when gas is sold from one person to the other for the purpose of selling it again.

Section 3 also states it exempts price gouging of wholesale prices.  So, if Exxon jacks up the wholesale price of gas and then follows the law when it sets the retail price, they didn't’t gouge.

A friend noted that " gas prices are higher mostly because of oil company exploitation, not because the price of oil is going up at the same rate.  Oil companies are using the futures market as an excuse for massive price increases. If global instability were the only cause for high gas prices Exxon would not have reported $8 billion in profits.  We can't leave out the oil companies from this story."

Crooks and Liars did a remarkable job of capturing video of Sen. Domenici going bat shit over Sen. Wyden's Amendment.  I don't think that I've ever seen anyone on the floor of any legislative body vociferously come to an industry's defense like Sen Domenici did for the world's oil cartels.

Compare how Sen. Wyden stood tall and Sen. Domenici frighteningly tried to talk down his amendment.  It's really sad to see how weak Sen. Domenici is completely bought and paid for  by the big oil cartels.

See for yourself

With full compliments to Crooks and Liars  Video-QT

Tony Snow was just named bush's new press secretary.  I wonder if he'll be receiving any backpay?

In case you missed it, yesterday the Las Vegas Sun published an editorial
on Republican attempts to mislead America and hide their effort to make 12
million immigrants into felons.

Not just Nevada, all across the country the Republican effort to revise
history has fallen flat. Last week ABC7 in San Francisco got it exactly
right  .

Republicans are running an ad on Spanish-language radio stations in cities
with large Hispanic populations, including Albuquerqe, that claims Senate
Minority Leader Harry Reid's Democratic "allies" have voted to "treat
millions of hard-working immigrants as felons."

Of course, as anyone who has paid attention to the immigration debate in
Congress knows, it is the Republican-led House that has wanted to make it
a felony to be an illegal immigrant.

In contrast, it has been the Democrats and some moderate Republicans who have opposed making illegal immigration a crime. They instead have advocated legislation that would make it possible for illegal immigrants to gain citizenship after several years and meeting a number of requirements.

So what's behind the Republican National Committee's patently false ad?
Politics of the worst kind. Republicans in the House are taking a beating
for their punitive approach to immigration, and because Republicans
everywhere might get tarred by the House's shortsighted tactics to curry
favor with the Republican political base, the GOP is trying to confuse
voters.

If President Bush and his fellow Republicans, particularly the leaders in
Congress, wanted to show some leadership, they would condemn this ad.

Otherwise, it would appear that they really aren't serious about passing
immigration reform and are more interested in trying to score cheap
partisan shots in an election year.

How pathetic.

Pat Frisch HEARTS Heather Wilson

Pat Frisch has Republican Rubber Stamp Congresswoman Heather Willson on as a guest this morning on his talk show and gave Heather a complete pass when he asked her about her connection to the weak and cowardly, cut and run, Tom Delay and his shake down, dirty money  that Heather has benefited from .

To Pat's credit he asked her if she returned any on the money that she sold her votes for ( my characterization) and Heather replied that she did...but only the contributions she received from this cycle.

That's going to be her line, she returned or donated to charity only the contributions  she's received during the present election cycle.

What a hypocrite, sounds like a flip flop to me but I guess all the money before this cycle was ok because he wasn't yet indicted.

How tied up is Representative Wilson with the Tom DeLay/Jack Abramoff scandal?  Wilson has taken:

• $46,959 from Tom DeLay's ARMPAC.
• $6,000 from Bob Ney, the first congressman to be implicated based on the Jack Abramoff guilty plea.

Dime con quien andas y te dire quien eres!

The latest Cook Political Report/RT Strategies poll shows "that the dismal numbers for President Bush and national Republicans have not only jelled, but hardened."

Key findings:

• President Bush's approval rate is now 37%, down three points from the previous month.
• In the generic congressional ballot, Democrats beat Republicans 46% to 36%.
• The approval rate for congressional Republicans is now just 38%.
• In a 2008 presidential matchup, John McCain beats Hillary Clinton, 44% to 39%.

And in case you were wondering why the First Lady was in town for heather last week...

While President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney "remain popular in most Republican circles and many candidates or office holders would be delighted to host them," reports the Chicago Tribune, "there also are districts in some parts of the country where GOP political strategists are fashioning a backup plan to build upon a successful strategy from the 2004 campaign: Send Laura Bush."

Said a senior Republican strategist: "Is the first lady more popular in suburban districts and the Northeast? Yes. While the average donor in Cincinnati might have six pictures of the vice president, they may not have any of her and they'd be excited to see her."

Ahhh nothing like having that first cup of joe in the morning and checking in with New Mexico's shrill right wing propagandists for another day's worth of manufactured conventional wisdom.

This morning's WMQB details how the state gop blasted US Senate Democrats for "blocking real immigration reform" and circulated an opinion editorial by Ruben Naverette to back up their position.

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA, what a load of weak and pathetic propaganda!  Come on gop, y'all can do better than that, after all it's your president that has lied and spun us into a war in Iraq based on lies and has taken to using Nixon's playbook making the law up for his own needs when it comes to illegally tapping our phones.

What's so weak and pathetic about my charges you may ask?  Last time I checked Republicans controlled the Presidency, and Congress and when your own party controls all three branches and they still can't pass a bill into law then, well then that party has a serious organizational problem. 

But that's politics, with these rubber stamp republicans it's all about distraction and bait and switch, I can't fault them for that, it's up to people to decide.

Here's the real story and not to pimp others stuff, but this is a great round up on how the immigration deal fell through

Bill Frist's presidential ambitions trumped his responsibilities as
Majority Leader on the Senate’s immigration debate. Eager to score needed political points for his '08 presidential ambitions, Frist short-circuited the process and introduced his own, enforcement-only bill last month.

Forced to relent in the face of criticism from his fellow Republicans,
Frist embraced a compromise that dealt with the 11 million illegal
immigrants currently living in the U.S. But this morning, Frist told
Republicans to vote against the very compromise he called a “breakthrough” just yesterday. And now Frist won’t even commit to debating immigration before Election Day.  The Washington Times summed it up this morning, reporting that Frist was (as of press time) an “enthusiastic supporter” of the Hagel/Martinez compromise, but he “did not explain his apparent change of heart.” [Washington Times, 4/7/06]

Como se dice "FLIP FLOP?"  Yo creo que la pallabra es   

   

Rhe-poo-bli-can-no-govern

Read more on the flip for a timeline of the Frist-Flops:

Someone's getting an audit...

VIDEO: Bush Event Goes Off Script             

God I love the folks over at Think Progress!            

This morning in Charlotte, a Bush PR event on the war on terror went off-script when a man named Harry Taylor took the microphone. Watch the video:

“‘I feel like despite your rhetoric, that compassion and common sense have been left far behind during your administration,’ Taylor said, standing in a balcony seat and looking down at Bush on stage. ‘And I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and grace to be ashamed of yourself.’”

Read below for the full exchange:

               

Q You never stop talking about freedom, and I appreciate that. But while I listen to you talk about freedom, I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. If I were a woman, you’d like to restrict my opportunity to make a choice and decision about whether I can abort a pregnancy on my own behalf. You are –

Spoiled, argumentative, cheating penny ante children

That's Tom Delay in a nutshell.  Scooter Libby in a nutshell.  George Bush in a nutshell. 

Today the White House's credibility suffered yet another blow.  No surpise there  but after repeatedly denying any involvement in the leak of the identity of an undercover CIA officer, new court filings assert that the President was involved with authorizing the now indicted Scooter Libby to disclose classified information to reporters as part of a politically motivated effort to tarnish its critics.

I'm going to follow up Maggie's post earlier this morning regarding the revelation that president bush authorized the leaking of Valarie Plame's disclosure as an undercover CIA agent with a little game we'll call, THEN AND NOW.

White House: Then and Now:

NOW: Americans Learn That the President Authorized Libby's Disclosure
of Classified Information to Judith Miller.  According to the
Government's filing in the Libby Case, Defendant's participation in
a critical conversation with Judith Miller on July 8 (discussed further
below) occurred only after the Vice President advised defendant that the
President specifically had authorized defendant to disclose certain
information in the NIE. Defendant testified that the circumstances of his
conversation with reporter Miller – getting approval from the President
through the Vice President to discuss material that would be classified
but for that approval – were unique in his recollection. . . . During
the conversations that followed on July 12, defendant discussed Ms.
Wilson's employment with both Matthew Cooper (for the first time) and
Judith Miller (for the third time).  [Government's Response to
Defendant's Third Motion to Compel Discovery, United States v. I. Lewis
Libby, 04/05/06]

THEN:  The President Denied All Knowledge of the Leak

President Bush:  "I don't know of anybody in my administration who leaked
classified information. If somebody did leak classified information, I'd
like to know it, and we'll take the appropriate action." [Chicago,
Illinois, 9/30/03]

President Bush:  Yes. Let me just say something about leaks in
Washington. There are too many leaks of classified information in
Washington. There's leaks at the executive branch; there's leaks in the
legislative branch. There's just too many leaks. And if there is a leak
out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has
violated law, the person will be taken care of.  . . .  I have told our
administration, people in my administration to be fully cooperative. I
want to know the truth. If anybody has got any information inside our
administration or outside our administration, it would be helpful if they
came forward with the information so we can find out whether or not these
allegations are true and get on about the business. [Chicago,
Illinois, 9/30/03 ]

President Bush:  I'd like to know if somebody in my White House did
leak sensitive information. [10/28/03 ]

President Bush:  Responding to media question referring to "anybody who
leaked the agent's [Valerie Plame's] name," and the question, "Do you
stand by your pledge to fire anyone found to have done so?" the President
responded: "Yes. And that's up to the U.S. Attorney to find the facts."
[Press Conference, Savannah, Georgia, 6/10/04 ]

President Bush:  I want to know the truth. I have no idea whether
we'll find out who the leaker is, partially because, in all due respect
to your profession, you do a very good job of protecting the leakers.
[Fox News, 10/8/03  ]

President Bush:  asked if someone committed crime, they will no longer work
in my administration.� [USA Today, 7/18/05]

Scott McClellan: "The President has set high standards, the highest of
standards for people in his administration. He's made it very clear to
people in his administration that he expects them to adhere to the highest
standards of conduct. If anyone in this administration was involved in it,
they would no longer be in this administration." [White House Press
Briefing, 9/29/03]

Scott McClellan:  "Let me answer what the President has said. I speak for
the President and I'll talk to you about what he wants . . .If someone
leaked classified information, the President wants to know. If someone in
this administration leaked classified information, they will no longer be
a part of this administration, because that's not the way this White House
operates, that's not the way this President expects people in his
administration to conduct their business." [White House Press Briefing,
10/7/03]

Sen. Reid has the money quote:

"In light of today's shocking revelation, President Bush must fully
disclose his participation in the selective leaking of classified
information. The American people must know the truth."

Now more than ever.  Now more than ever.

Immigration, Get Local

Two quick things you can do to educate yourselves and get involved regarding the issue of immigration.

1. Go to the National Day of Action site and sign their petition telling Congress that we need real, comprehensive immigration reform – not anti-immigrant scapegoating.

If you can make it to Santa Fe or Las Cruces this Sunday, you can also participate in a March for Immigrant Justice.  More details below the fold.

2. If you have about 12 minutes, I would strongly suggest watching this speech yesterday at an NDN immigration event by Frank Sherry, the head of the National Immigration Forum, the main national coalition promoting responsible immigration reform. 
It may be  the single best speech I've heard  on why we must move forward towards a realistic comprehensive immigration plan.   

To get to the video please  click on "the case for comprehensive reform."  and here for the video.

Ground Control to Madrid Campaign

Things are really looking good for Patricia Madrid's campaign but there always room to kick it up another notch.  The following post was too good to only post a fraction of it so i'll post it in it's entirety compliments of Georgia 10 of Daily Kos.

The Week the Gloves Came Off

by georgia10

Thu Apr 06, 2006 at 08:22:40 AM PDT

Below is a fiction piece, based on sentiments from the community about what it would really mean to "take the gloves off." Just fiction, but that doesn't mean it can't become reality.

On Monday, April 10th, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi offered her twelfth privileged resolution to hold the Rubber Stamp Republican Congress accountable for its abuse of power. For the twelfth time, Republicans voted to shut down debate on these issues. The House erupted into chants of "Shame!, Shame!, Shame!". Minority Leader Pelosi called for quiet, and a hush fell over the Chamber. She leaned into the podium, and in unwaivering voice, declared "This Republican Congress can continue its rubber-stamping of failed policies, but Democrats aren't going to provide the ink anymore. Enough is enough."

And thus the gloves came off.

After that vote, she led a stream of Democrats out of the chamber, down the hallway, through the doors and onto the Capitol steps. The media gallery scrambled, cell phones buzzed. The cable shows interrupted their coverage of whatever frivolity they were engrossed in at the moment to report: BREAKING NEWS: DEMOCRATS WALK OUT IN PROTEST.

And soon, Americans see. They see amassed on the Capitol steps the Democratic Party, a beautiful sea of diversity, radiating that palpable strength of spirit that comes from knowing that the time has come to do the right thing.

Nancy Pelosi goes first.  She declares that it is time to give America its Congress back.  "The Congress belongs to you, America, and not Republican lobbyists like Jack Abramoff. The Congress belongs to you, America, and not the oil companies and drug industries that have posted record profits. The Congress belongs to you, America, it should work for you, and the Democratic Party is going to get it back on track."

And thus the gloves came off.

 

• That Monday, a complaint was filed against Tom Delay for his shocking abuse of power. 
  
• That Tuesday, House Democrats walked to the gates of the White House, holding banners reading "Where's Osama?" and "Bring Our Troops Home".  They presented to the guard (since of course, the President wouldn't meet with them) a letter, signed by all House Democrats and some Republicans, demanding the President present a plan for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq by the end of 2006.
  
• That Wednesday, they again stood resolute at the gates of the White House, joined now by Senator Landrieu,  demanding that the President call for full funding of the Katrina recovery.  "Bodies are still being found in New Orleans as another disastrous hurricane season is upon us. Enough is enough. We can't afford to wait," Democrats said to reporters and the supporters who gathered to cheer them on.
  
• That Thursday, Rep. Slaughter's GOP corruption report  appeared on EVERY House Democrat's webpage.  "We will do everything in our power to ensure Republican corruption isn't swept under the rug," Pelosi stated.
  
• That Friday, in the morning, with the sun beaming down upon them, the House Democrats gathered on the steps once more. Before them were hundreds of supporters, cheering, raising brooms into the air, holding signs reading "CLEAN UP THIS REPUBLICAN CONGRESS!"  Pelosi looked into the sea of cameras before her, and declared that the very first bill to be passed be a Democratic Congress will be the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act. The very. first. bill. "Because America needs its Congress back," Pelosi said, "and we're going to give it back to them."

And thus the gloves came off