What Did They Know?

And when did they know it? This Gannon thing is really picking up some major steam. I enjoy this show almost as much as the Kerik debacle.

This time it's New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg asking the tough questions.

Dear Mr. McClellan,

I am writing to request that you immediately release documents to my office relating to the White House press credentials of James D. Guckert, a.k.a. "Jeff Gannon." Specifically, I am seeking documentation related to the question of which name Mr. Guckert/Gannon used when applying for credentials, and which name was on the official White House press credentials he received. Additionally, I am seeking documents indicating whether Mr. Guckert/Gannon received a "hard pass" or daily passes from your office. Despite your assertions to the contrary, at least one White House reporter has revealed that Mr. Guckert/Gannon appeared to have "hard pass" credentials.

As you may know, Mr. Guckert/Gannon was denied a Congressional press pass because he could not show that he wrote for a valid news organization. Given the fact that he was denied Congressional credentials, I seek your explanation of how Mr. Guckert/Gannon passed muster for White House press credentials.

I have led the effort in the Senate to investigate a number of instances of troubling propaganda efforts by the Administration. The Government Accountability Office has agreed to my requests to investigate various attempts at media manipulation: fake television news stories touting both the new Medicare law and the "No Child Left Behind" education program; a study rating individual journalists on their "favorability" to Republican education policies; and the payment to journalist Armstrong Williams.

Since the Armstrong Williams controversy became public, Administration payments to two other journalists, Maggie Gallagher and Michael McManus, have come to light. Given the backdrop of these scandals, coupled with Mr. Guckert/Gannon's role in recent White House press briefings and press conferences, it is understandable that the circumstances of Mr. Guckert/Gannon's credentialing have raised suspicion.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely, Frank R. Lautenberg

It's always a bigger deal when the Senate gets into the act.

No One Could Have Imagined

Do you remember when Condoleezza said that at the 9/11 hearings? In case not, from the transcript, here are her exact words:

"No one could have imagined them taking a plane, slamming it into the Pentagon" -- I'm paraphrasing now -- "into the World Trade Center, using planes as a missile."

Guess what, you lying sycophant, someone, namely the Federal Aviation Administration, imagined exactly that, and they warned you about it FIFTY-TWO times!

Federal Aviation Administration officials received 52 warnings prior to Sept. 11, 2001, from their own security experts about potential al-Qaida attacks, including some that mentioned airline hijackings or suicide attacks, The New York Times reported.

The Times said in Thursday editions that a previously undisclosed report by the 9/11 commission that investigated the suicide airliner attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon detailed warnings given to FAA leaders from April to Sept. 10, 2001, about the radical Islamic terrorist group and its leader, Osama bin Laden.

In case you're scoring at home - that's 52 more than the number of things she did as National Security Advisor to help prevent the deaths of 3000 people.

So now you're thinking. That's weird. Why am I just hearing about this now?

The Times said that a classified version and a partially declassified version of the 120-page report were given to the National Archives two weeks ago.

Two weeks ago, eh? That would be January 27th. Care to take a guess what happened on January 26th? Correct! That would be the day that the Senate voted to promote this incompetent fool to Secretary of State.

If this is a nightmare, I'm ready to wake up now.

Joe Wilson - American Hero

Ambassador Joseph Wilson (Valerie Plame, Niger, yellowcake) is interviewed in Daily Kos. Apparently, this Gannon fellow was part of the conspiracy that outed Valerie Plame. Joe's got some choice words for the Bush administration and the lazy, irresponsible mainstream media:

"I have no reason not to ensure that the truth is told and I am tired of the way in which the Republicans have smeared my family and myself for no reason other than to perpetuate their lies to the American people. I did not like fascists when I fought them as a diplomat for 23 years and I don't like them now in my own country."


"I think that in the absence of a responsible national media, the blogs play an important role in trying to shed light on various issues, including the bona fides of so-called White House correspondents as well as tackling questions overlooked or ignored by the national journalists. I also believe that the nature of the profession has changed to the detriment of good investigative journalism. No longer is there a quest for the truth so much as there is this apparent need to present both sides of an issue even if one is nothing but lies and distortions. Giving the same value to fiction as to fact in the interest of so-called fairness is to mislead the American people and the press has become party to that."

Nice. Read the whole thing, it's chock-full...

More on Gannon

From Daily Kos:

New York Representative Louise Slaughter writes:

Dear Mr. President:

In light of the mounting evidence that your Administration has, on several occasions, paid members of the media to advocate in favor of Administration policies, I feel compelled to ask you to address a matter brought to my attention by the Niagara Falls Reporter (article attached), a local newspaper in my district, regarding James "JD" Guckert (AKA Jeff Gannon) of Talon News.

According to several credible reports, "Mr. Gannon" has been repeatedly credentialed as a member of the White House press corps by your office and has been regularly called upon in White House press briefings by your Press Secretary Scott McClellan, despite the fact evidence shows that "Mr. Gannon" is a Republican political operative, uses a false name, has phony or questionable journalistic credentials, is known for plagiarizing much of the "news" he reports, and according to several web reports, may have ties to the promotion of the prostitution of military personnel [...]

And just this morning we have learned that "Mr. Gannon" has resigned his post at the, so called, Talon News amid growing concerns over his controversial background and falsified qualifications. In fact, it appears that "Mr. Gannon's" presence in the White House press corps was merely as a tool of propaganda for your Administration.

America - Where the Poor Go to Die

While the rich are laughing all the way to the bank because of Bush's regressive tax cuts, the poor are starving or freezing to death. Hey at least they have a choice. Salon combs through Bush's new budget, and finds some wholly unsurprising cuts in social programs.

While Bush continues to skim off the top of the Social Security trust fund to pay for various initiatives and reduce the debt (while warning of its imminent bankruptcy), he has requested an additional $19.2 billion for the Pentagon, for a total of $419 billion -- and that excludes the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Compare those numbers to the money being cut for essential social services and it's obvious where this administration's priorities lie: The total budget for the Food Stamp Program alone could fit into the defense budget 13 times. Here are some details about proposed cuts to other programs millions of Americans rely on.

CUT: $57 million from the Food Stamp Program

CUT: $200 million from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program

CUT: $361 million from the Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund

CUT: Community Development Block Grant programs

CUT: Upward Bound, Talent Search and GEAR UP

CUT: $48 million from the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Program

CUT: The stateside Land and Water Conservation Fund

Let us reflect on Grover Norquist's famous quote:
"My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."

Hot Gay Hypocrisy

We have a big one today. Settle down... A big story. Remember Jeff Gannon, the White House's favorite softball-lobbing shill? Well, he's out at Talon News. Out and FABULOUS!

Daily Kos has the story:

Jeff Gannon aka Jim Guckert, and gay smut
by kos

Oh man, reality is truly stranger than fiction.

"Jeff Gannon", the White House press propagandist "correspondent" for the fake "Talon" news service, turns out to be using a nom de plume.

A group of dKos diarists have been peeling away the layers of Gannon's fake persona, summarized by World O'Crap. In one of those diaries, this revelation is made by Radically Bitter: Among the domains owned by Gannon/Guckert are these:

jeffgannon.com
Hotmilitarystud.com
Militaryescorts.com
Militaryescortsm4m.com

In case this isn't clear enough, those last three are gay sex-themed names. Suddenly, his picture looks appropriately in character.

So why is this relevant, other than today seems to have become "Republicans and sex hypocrisy day"?

In reviewing White House press conferences from the past year, Media Matters for America has noted numerous instances in which Gannon's lobs -- leading questions that often include false assumptions favorable to the Bush administration -- have allowed McClellan to move to friendlier turf, away from having to answer questions on such issues as the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment; [...]

So in addition to the "hypocrisy and sex" thing, we've got the "hypocrisy and gay" thing.

And no, this wasn't planned. It's not my fault the other side unloaded so much hypocrisy in a single day.

(In a sign of how I've lost complete control over this site, I note, with great irony, that I found out about the domain thing from Atrios.)

Update: There is some concern that focus on the more salacious details of Gannon's hypocrisy detracts from more substantive discussions and investigations currently going on by various diariests.

In a way, that may be true. Gannon is a propagandist, funded by god knows who, who essentially provide McClellan a lifeline whenever the White House press corps backs him into a corner.

I, along with most liberals, couldn't care less if one of our colleagues or employees is gay. That's a problem with right wingers, not our side.

So say Guckert's outing costs him his gravy train at Talon "News", and he is replaced by someone else, would that kill the issue?

I don't think so, but I could be wrong. Personally, I think it would add fire to the crusade if they cut him loose. And it's not as if the "propaganda" angle is tied to Guckert. That one belongs to Talon News, independent of which sycophant they have infesting the White House press room every day.

Ezekiel 25:17

"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men..."

[ed. - it's a movie quote, not a bible quote, so delete that email you started writing. Delete it!]

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is gettin' all up in the president's grill. It's making for some good reality TV.

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid questioned President Bush's honesty on Tuesday and said he wanted "the boys at the White House" to know he wasn't losing any sleep over the Republican Party labeling him an obstructionist.

It was the second straight day the Nevada Democrat grew animated in response to the GOP criticism, and he said, "When you have a real bad chafe, is that what they call it, it's hard to get soothed."

The object of Reid's ire was a lengthy RNC document headlined "Sen. Minority Leader Determined to Obstruct President Bush's Agenda."

The White House refused to denounce the attack. "You can talk to the Republican National Committee about what they did. I'm not familiar with all the aspects of what they're doing," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. The RNC is chaired by Bush's former campaign manager and works closely with White House officials to advance the president's legislative agenda.

Are we meant to believe that the president doesn't know what the RNC is up to? Isn't he, you know, the head of the Republican party? I'm pretty sure I remember him winning an election recently or something. The RNC isn't some rogue terrorist agency that Sydney Bristow is trying to infiltrate. I think they're even listed in the phone book! You have a phone, don't you, Mr. McClellan? Sure you do...

By coincidence, Reid and his wife were Bush's guests at a small White House dinner on Monday night. The president broached the subject of the RNC criticism, Reid said, adding, "That was a private conversation I'm not going to discuss."

Ooooh... How much fun would that dinner have been?

Reid: Could you pass the salt? (asshole)

Bush: What was that?

R: Uh... Nothing! Do you have the salt down there? (lying prick)

B: I'm sure I heard something that time.

R: Must have been a passing airplane.

B: I don't think they let airplanes pass over the White House anymore.

R: Strange. So! Laura, you look great! (you married a lying shill for extremist religious freaks and polluting multi-billionaire corporate bastards)

B: Now, you just wait a gall-durn minute!

Ah, to be a fly on the wall...

Surprise! *yawn*

Yeah, big surprise - Bush is a liar. Who knew?

The White House released budget figures yesterday indicating that the new Medicare prescription drug benefit will cost more than $1.2 trillion in the coming decade, a much higher price tag than President Bush suggested when he narrowly won passage of the law in late 2003.

And it's a crappy program to boot! Oh yeah, and those evil, terrorist-loving Democrats predicted that, didn't they? One man's obstructionist is another man's truth-teller, I guess.

Beginning with his January 2003 State of the Union address, Bush pledged to keep the total cost of the drug benefit to $400 billion over 10 years. An estimate by the Congressional Budget Office was close to Bush's figure.

But shortly after Bush signed the program into law in December 2003, the White House revised its projection to $534 billion, but it never offered a detailed breakdown of that estimate.

Last March, Richard S. Foster, Medicare's chief actuary for nearly a decade, said administration officials threatened to fire him if he disclosed his belief in 2003 that the drug package would cost $500 billion to $600 billion. Lawmakers in both parties accused the administration of concealing important information that could have derailed passage of the bill.

Does anyone remember those quaint times when a "pledge" meant something? Remember how it used to be a requirement that the president not lie? They've got it down to a science - only lie if no one will care for longer than a day. Lucky for Bush, no one cares about anything for more than a day, unless there's a dead, white pregnant girl involved. And even then, she'd better be cute.

Promotion Day!

Seems the victors are spreadin' 'round the spoils.

Karl Rove, the senior political strategist who orchestrated President Bush's re-election campaign, has been promoted to deputy chief of staff, a job that will involve him in most White House policy and not just politics.

Rove will now coordinate White House policy developed within the Domestic Policy Council, the National Economic Council, the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council...

Oooh... I just got the shivers.

Rove will retain his title as senior adviser and continue to oversee strategy to advance the president's agenda.

Duh! Er... what this guy said:

"Empowering Rove in this way shows that Bush cares more about political positioning than honest policy discussions," said Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee. "Bush knows that Rove is neither an economic nor a national security expert. He is simply an ideological strategist. ... Clearly, Bush thinks political manipulation matters more than keeping the president honestly informed about the state of the country."

There are others, but this one's my favorite:

Michael Gerson... will focus on the president's compassionate agenda, human rights and advancing freedom and democracy.

What's that? Mr. President, I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but I've seen what you think advancing freedom and democracy looks like and uh... not so much with the compassion and human rights. Maybe you should split those up.

Same Torture Time, Same Torture Channel

Typically, American television producers see a reality show in England and turn it into a ratings champ here in the States, (see Survivor and American Idol to name two). Finally, the US came up with something that UK producers plan to turn into gold. Gold, Jerry!

From the Guardian, so I'm not making this up:

C4 lines up Guantánamo-style torture show.

I smell a hit!

Dude! Put Down the Knife!

Little break from politics for ya, folks. Just do me a favor - remind me never to go to Wales.

Rugby fan cut off his own testicles.
A Welsh rugby fan cut off his own testicles after his team beat England, police confirmed today.

Makes sense to me...

As If Fear of Death Wasn't Bad Enough

Three easy steps that you can take to become an asshole (if you happen to be president):

1) Cut taxes on rich people. (this can be accomplished any number of ways, but look first to capital gains taxes, taxes on interest, and taxes on dividends)

2) Start a war for no good reason on trumped up evidence. (ideally sending undertrained soldiers without the proper equipment needed to save their lives)

3) While the soldiers are still being killed daily, inform them that you're cutting their health benefits and make those deadbeat "injured" soldiers pay for their own food while they're recovering in the VA hospital. (mentioning that you're going to extend the rich guy tax cuts at this point is not recommended, although if you did, you would then be eligible for the annual "W" Douchebag of the Year Award)

There Is No Crisis

Michael Kinsley proves that Bush's Social Security scheme is not only a scam, but mathematically destined to fail:

The usual case against privatization is that (1) millions of inexperienced investors may end up worse off, and (2) stocks don't necessarily do better than bonds over the long run, as proponents assume. But privatization won't work for a better reason: It can't possibly work, even in theory.

Read the rest of the proof. I'm sold.

Thoughts on the Super Bowl Halftime Show

Paul still has the same bass guitar from the old days. Do you think he has those custom made? I seriously doubt that it's the exact same bass he played on Ed Sullivan.

Isn't it strange that they'd have an Englishman play the Super Bowl considering how uniquely American football is? Most of the limeys I've met don't even know the rules.

"Hey Jude" and "Live and Let Die" were a given. But I thought "Drive My Car" was a nice choice. Rubber Soul is a great record.

Paul may have lost the magic, (which is what we'd be saying about John as well, if he wasn't dead), but he's still one of the greatest songwriters ever to have lived.

Did they really have the crowd spell out "na" with cards under their seats during "Hey Jude?"

Paul was fine, and halftime shows are a pointless waste of time, but I think it's utterly ridiculous that they chose to do something dull and uninteresting because they're so paralyzed by fear of the religious nazis who feel the need to impose their idea of family values on the rest of the thinking people in the world. I mean, it's only him because they know he won't be exposing his breasts during the show. But what does it say about the contemporary music scene that they had to pick a guy who played four songs, the most recent of which was the theme song from a 1970s James Bond film?

I'm surprised it's only 7-7 at halftime. I thought I wanted the Eagles to win to stick it to Limbaugh, but Tom Brady went to my alma mater. I've decided that I'd like it if he were considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.

I Hate To Say I Told You So

Wait a minute... I love saying I told you so!

Turns out the voter turnout in Iraq wasn't anything like what they said it was. I mean, we knew that was coming, right?

From Editor and Publisher:

Everyone, of course, is thrilled that so many Iraqis turned out to vote, in the face of threats and intimidation, on Sunday. But in hailing, and at times gushing, over the turnout, has the American media (as it did two years ago in the hyping of Saddam's WMDs) forgotten core journalistic principles in regard to fact-checking and weighing partisan assertions?

It appears so. For days, the press repeated, as gospel, assertions offered by an election official that 8 million Iraqis went to the polls on Sunday, an impressive 57% turnout rate. I questioned those figures as early as last Sunday, and offered the detailed analysis below on Wednesday. Finally, on Thursday night, John F. Burns and Dexter Filkins of The New York Times reported that Iraqi election officials have quietly "backtracked, saying that the 8 million estimate had been reached hastily on the basis of telephone reports from polling stations across the country and that the figure could change."

Ultimately, this isn't about Iraq per se, but once again the lazy, irresponsible media. It's like they see it as their job to be a cheerleader for Bush, or if you prefer, for the United States' foreign policy. But that's not what the press is for. They're supposed to be the caretakers of truth. And with that duty, they're asleep at the wheel. I could go on, but The Daily Kos says it better than I would:

Ultimately, the war will go on whether 95 percent of Iraqis voted, or 10 percent did. But this is symptomatic of the American press' laziness and willingness to uncritically regurgitate whatever spin "officials" deliver to them.

Perception in this country is now that the elections were a huge success. And after yammering on and on about the great voter turnout in Iraq, none of these media outlets will report the final, actual numbers, in anything more than a back-page blurb.

Once again, Americans will have a distorted view of the actual situation on the ground. And once again, when it comes to Iraq, deceit will be the name of the game.

Propagandist-in-Chief

Slate has a funny article about Bush's penchant for lying and playing loose with facts, The Propaganda President. Hey, any article that starts with these opening paragraphs is worth reading:

If "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il of North Korea and George W. Bush ever meet, I suspect the two will bond like long-lost brothers. Both men are first-born sons of powerful fathers who partied like adolescents well into their adult lives, after which they submitted to their dynastic fates as heads of state.

Both avoid critical thought, preferring to surround themselves with yes men and apply propagandistic slogans to the onrushing complexities of justice, culture, economics, and foreign policy. Bush churns out buzz phrases with the best of them: He believes in "compassionate conservatism" and fancies himself part of the "army of compassion." He's the "reformer with results" who embraces the "culture of life." He shouts his paeans to "liberty" and "freedom" (a combined 27 times during last night's State of the Union speech, according to today's Washington Post) while reducing civil liberties at home.

Isn't that spot-on? Read the rest...

Hot Girl on Cartoon Action

The Republicans are so batshit crazy, they don't even know what to attack anymore. If it's not SpongeBob, it's PBS just happening to show a pair of real-life lesbians in the background of a kid's show.

They don't want homosexuality to become commonly accepted, I understand that, despite the fact that I think they're dead fucking wrong. But in the case of this show, it was that the PBS cartoon went to a farm to learn about cows, and it just happened to be a farm run by some lesbian couple. In fact, only an adult would even know that they're a lesbian couple. Two women on a farm - it's not like they dug through a chest of dildos or something.

But that's all beside the point. This incident displays the true cruelty of the Republican party. Without putting a value judgment on homosexuality, the fact is that there are at least a small percentage of children growing up in same-sex parent homes, right? There is nothing in the world the GOP can do to stop that. I personally know at least one little girl whose father came to realize that he liked men and had to move out of mommy's house. Inexplicably, he is still a good man, and a great father. Shouldn't we, as a society, help those children out as best we can? If we keep our kids thinking that homosexuality is some terrible thing, these kids, however few, will grow up ashamed of their parents, confused and alone. The other kids at school won't know better than to pick on that kid unmercifully, that's how kids are. This poor, innocent kid - who Republicans pretend to care about - will grow up all messed in the head with a completely spoiled childhood.

Just for that kid's sake, shouldn't we do what we can to expose all kids to non-conventional families (whatever that means - there's nothing "conventional" about my family) to, at the very least, let them know that they're not alone; that they're not in a freak family? I think we should. The Republicans think that kid should grow up a schoolyard pariah as punishment for his or her parent's "sinful" behavior. And that's the only thing to be ashamed of here.

Horrible State of The Union

I don't mean the speech, I mean the freakin' Union. Man, are we in trouble...

Anyway, I bet you've been wondering, "Hey, why haven't those geniuses over at DoG written about the president's speech on Wednesday?" Well, I had planned to, and I had some nice snarky comments about the way Bush does a take to the camera after every sentence like the Church Lady after she says, "Satan!" Or wondering if that soldier's parents were the only two parents the president could find because of the strict requirements for a seat next to Laura for all non-Iranian spies: straight, white, still married, and not hating the president for killing their son.

But after a day of thoughtful reflection, I decided that all of the blogs and leftish websites out there had covered the lies in excruciating detail. I have little to add. If you're searching for some good debunking, Think Progress did a fabulous job.

They're Getting Sneakier With Their Propaganda

But a Big Mac's a Big Mac, they just call it Le Big Mac.

Turns out the White House issued press credentials to some dude (Jeff Gannon) who writes for an extreme right-wing website. I guess credentials aren't such a big deal, I could probably get them, right? (wrong). The problem is that the folks at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue have this nasty habit of always calling on him. The Boston Globe investigates (with my emphasis):

Jeff Gannon calls himself the White House correspondent for TalonNews.com, a website that says it is "committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news coverage to our readers." It is operated by a Texas-based Republican Party delegate and political activist who also runs GOPUSA.com, a website that touts itself as "bringing the conservative message to America."
...

When Bush called on Gannon near the end of his nationally televised Jan. 26 news conference, he had just been questioned about Williams and the Education Department funds, an embarrassment to the administration. Gannon's question was different.

"Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the US economy," Gannon said. "[Minority Leader] Harry Reid was talking about soup lines, and Hillary Clinton was talking about the economy being on the verge of collapse. Yet, in the same breath, they say that Social Security is rock solid and there's no crisis there. How are you going to work -- you said you're going to reach out to these people -- how are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?"

As it turned out, Reid had never talked about soup lines. That was a phrase attributed to him in satire by Rush Limbaugh on his radio show.

Last year, during the presidential campaign, Gannon's comments could be even more pointed. In a Feb. 10, 2004, briefing with McClellan, for example, Gannon rose to deliver the following:

"Since there have been so many questions about what the president was doing over 30 years ago, what is it that he did after his honorable discharge from the National Guard? Did he make speeches alongside Jane Fonda, denouncing America's racist war in Vietnam? Did he testify before Congress that American troops committed war crimes in Vietnam? And did he throw somebody else's medals at the White House to protest a war America was still fighting?"

It's disgusting, isn't it? As I've said in the past, the government propagandists don't necessarily have to be paid directly from our tax dollars. If the government is passing legislation that helps them financially in return for positive press, it's the same thing - just conveniently harder to prove quid pro quo.

But you know what? That’s not even the point, really. As a matter of principle, the White House Press Room should be populated only with journalists to ask questions, and the White House communications people to spread lies. That’s the way the system works – Question? Lie. Question? Lie. It can’t go – Lie? Lie. Follow-up lie? Lie. The whole thing breaks down!


[UPDATE: Media Matters for America has more on the subject. Turns out Mr. Gannon's bio mysteriously disappeared from the Talon News website since this little affair has come to light.]

It's Not Racist to Be Against Torture

The Republicans are cramming everybody's head full of garbage like this:

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, set up a large photo of Gonzales on an easel on
the floor.
"To have this man, who has come from nowhere, from the most humble of
circumstances, who typifies the struggle every immigrant family to this
country has gone through, to not give him this opportunity when he is fully
qualified for it, I think would be a travesty," Hatch said.

And there are a million other quotes like it. "Shameful to deny this man a cabinet level position just because he's Hispanic." "To pull himself up from nothing and accomplish all that he's accomplished only to have his career derailed by a group of sore loser obstructionists is appalling." Etc.

There are two things to be ashamed of here, and both fall on the Republicans. In the first place, it is BushCo who are the racist ones. Gonzales was at least partially chosen specifically because he is Hispanic. They chose him so they could use their race baiting tactics in order to browbeat the weak-kneed of the Democratic party (of which there are far too many) to vote for him.

Secondly, it is shameful that they completely disregard the United States' pro-torture policy. When I turn on the television these days and I see "journalists" (talking heads only slightly more informed than those from I Love the 90s) actually debating under what circumstances torture should be allowed, I feel like my head is going to explode. In a matter of only months, our corrupt government was able to walk us down the road from a noble, if misguided, mission to spread freedom and democracy, to a place where torture is acceptable, and the Iraqis will accept our vision of their country or have their balls torn off by rabid dogs. And we find no outrage. Just "civilized" (cable news' version of civilized, anyway) discussion of the pros and cons of torture.

It's torture, people. Do you understand what that means? Torture! Remember these photos? This is what our government engages in, and Gonzales was integral in fashioning that policy. It turns my stomach to think about it. And that's why Democrats or anyone with a soul opposes Gonzales. I have no problem with Hispanics, or people who worked their way out of the working class. I have a problem with people who condone torture.