Day: July 14, 2005

According to a new survey from the Pew Global Attitudes Project, concerns about Islamic extremism, already widespread in the West before last week’s terrorist attacks in London, are shared to a perhaps surprising degree by the publics in several predominantly Muslim nations, notably Morocco, Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia. Most Muslim publics also express less support for acts of terrorism allegedly committed in defense of Islam and less confidence in Osama bin Laden.

The survey, conducted in the spring among more than 17,000 people in 17 countries, found that Muslim and non-Muslim publics have very different attitudes toward the impact of Islam on their countries.

Publics in predominantly Muslim countries expressed concerns that Islamic extremism leads to violence, reduces personal freedoms, creates internal divisions and impedes economic growth. However, a majority are of the opinion that Islam is playing a more significant — and welcome — political role in their nations. Turkey is an exception; its public is divided over whether a larger political role for Islam is a good thing.

In non-Muslim countries, concern toward Islamic extremism is closely associated with worries that Muslims living in those countries resist adopting their nation’s customs and way of life. There also is a widespread perception — including among Americans — that resident Muslims have a strong and growing sense of Islamic identity, a development viewed particularly negatively in France, Germany and the Netherlands.
[…]

Alberto Gonzales might be [more] useless if he’s appointed to the Supreme Court, according to the Washington Post.

White House officials weighing the nomination of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales to the Supreme Court are considering whether a federal ethics law would require him to sit out cases of critical importance to the Bush administration once he was on the court…[H]e would have to disqualify himself whenever issues he worked on in the Bush administration came before the court.

…Anytime a justice recuses, there is the possibility of a 4 to 4 tie, automatically affirming the lower court’s judgment.

…Much of the White House review focuses on anti-terrorism policy, of which Gonzales was an architect while serving as White House counsel. But social issues Gonzales has dealt with as attorney general, such as assisted suicide and abortion rights, are also at stake.

Hey, it’s not like he’s duck hunting with the Vice President while the veep’s case is coming before the Court or anything.

This should make Bush’s other favorite inside Latino look better. The horrifying idea that Florida Sen. Mel “Do Nothing and Blame It on Aides the Few Times You Do” Martinez be considered for the post came up shortly before O’Connor’s announcement.

June 29, 2005 St. Petersburg Times:

When leaders of the Senate began talking about nominees for a possible vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, a familiar Florida name popped up: Mel Martinez.

The freshman senator was one of four people Democratic leader Harry Reid said he mentioned to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

Martinez learned about Reid’s comments midafternoon when reporters began calling his staff for comment. The suggestion was laughed off…

Reid offered Frist four suggestions: Republican Sens. Mike DeWine of Ohio, Mike Crapo of Idaho and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. He called Martinez “a skilled trial lawyer.”

I’d be laughing too if it wasn’t so awful to contemplate. The only funny part is how hard Mel tries, in popular GOP fashion, to avoid that “trial lawyer” label. Aren’t they the root of all evil every time a Republican runs for office? Lord, save us from these morons.

A report from a Florida news service today quotes Jeb’s take on the party line, including the requisite “if’s” and “who cares” and “what’s the big deals.”

Capitol News Service:

“If it’s illegal to out a covert operator, then Karl didn’t do it and he’s not a target of the investigation.”

How’s that for logic? If it’s illegal (a question only bandied about on FOX News), then Karl didn’t do it. If it’s not illegal, well now, it could be Karl after all. Wait, there’s more.

“But it’s really kind of a symptom of the putrid nature of Washington D.C. to pile it on without any facts. There’s a special prosecutor doing this investigation. Karl’s not a subject to that probe. I don’t think…I think it’s much to do [sic] about nothing, but we’ll see. Let the process work.”

Yeah, it’s just those D.C. types hitting a man when he’s down. And it’s not very important anyway.

It’s gratifying that so far, Bush and his Brain (does that make Cheney his Dick?) aren’t getting away with it this time. I mean these guys made a gay male prostitute in the White House briefing room disappear, so I figured they’d ooze their way of this one too. Heh.

Finally, Americans may be waking up to the reality of the fact that our country is under the worst management of its history. The new NBC/Wall St. Journal poll shows that then number of Americans who believe that President Bush is “honest and straightforward” has dropped to 41 percent.

The real number ought to be zero percent, of course, but it represents a nine point drop since January.

And get this: The survey, however, was taken just before the news came out that President Bush lied when he said he would fire anyone who leaked classified information. We now know Karl Rove leaked the information and we also know he hasn’t been fired.

Bush got no bounce from the terrorist attacks in London:

The survey… finds that respondents, by a 49 percent-to-46 percent margin, disapprove of Bush’s job performance. That’s a drop from the last NBC/Journal poll in May, when 47 percent approved and 47 percent disapproved. In addition, the only time when Bush’s job rating has been worse was in June 2004, when 45 percent approved of his performance.