Day: June 12, 2007

Liz Cheney to Join Fred ‘K Street’ Thompson’s Campaign

Jon Ponder

On MSNBC just now, Tucker Carlson said an announcement will come soon that Liz Cheney, the vice president’s not-gay daughter, is joining the as-yet unannounced presidential campaign of former Washington lobbyist Fred Thompson.

If he were to win in 2008, Thompson would be the first lobbyist elected president.

Since 2005, Cheney has served in the specially created job of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Near Eastern Affairs, in the U.S. State Dept. Assuming Carson is correct, at the Thompson campaign, she will join other GOP operatives said to include Cheney-family lackey Mary Matalin and U.S. attorneys scandal figure Tim Griffin, the former Bush White House official who recently resigned as the federal prosecutor in Arkansas after evidence implicated him in Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign voter suppression activities.

If he were to win in 2008,Thompson would be the first lobbyist elected president. During his 18 years as a lobbyist, his clients included General Electric and Westinghouse, and he successfully pushed the passage of the deregulatory legislation that led to the savings-and-loan crisis of the 1980s.

Thompson also briefly served as a U.S. senator representing Tennessee.

Quote du Jour

Buck Banks

Every great scientific truth goes through three states: First, people say it conflicts with the Bible; next, they say it has been discovered before; lastly, they say they always believed it.

— Louis Agassiz (1807-1873) Swiss-born American naturalist

State Approves Using Taxpayer Computers for Wiki Whitewash of Republican Florida Lt. Gov.

Trish

Is it vandalism or is it the way of the wiki?
Either way, Republican Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s administration says it’s O.K. to do it on the taxpayer’s dime. Um, as long as whatever you’re doing is favorable to his folks.

The Florida Progressive Coalition knew something was up when almost all the bad
stuff in their wiki on Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp was replaced with good. Most of the changes concerned stories about the state having to pay $50,000 in an age discrimination suit brought after Kottkamp fired an older state worker. See actual examples of the vandalism/editing. Oddly, references to Kottkamp’s support of flying the Confederate flag, long before Charlie picked him as his running mate, were left in.

As you know (but evidently no one in the White House or Justice Department does), computers can be identified. Tracing the IP address of the computer improving Kottkamp’s wiki info showed it belonged to the Florida Department of Management Services. Further checking placed the computer on the desk of Larry Ringers, the Lieutenant Governor’s chief of staff.

After weeks of demanding an explanation of how this does not violate the state’s own policy concerning the proper use of taxpayer-funded time and equipment, FPC received a reply on June 8 from Crystal Armstrong, the deputy secretary for Enterprise Information Technology Services at the Florida Department of Management Services.

Mr. Harper,

Modifications were made to the Lt. Governor’s biographical information. Changes were made from the computer of Larry Ringers who works for the Lt. Governor. By nature, and as referenced in your correspondence, wiki pages are publicly editable.

Thank You,

Crystal Armstrong

I guess we can take that as a “Yeah, we did it. So what?”

Rev. Huckabee Jokes about Edwards’ Haircut – But Does He Wear a Rug?

Jon Ponder

Is it a rug or the lighting? Left: Huckabee at the studios of WNYC in January 2007. Right: Another view.

Rev. Mike Huckabee, the former governor of Arkansas and current vice-presidential hopeful, is leading the Republican charge to diffuse Democrat John Edwards’ campaign to alleviate poverty by joking about Edwards’ expensive haircuts:

It is as instructive as it is unsurprising that the rightwinger leading the charge against helping the poor is an ordained Baptist minister.

“We’ve had a Congress that spent money like John Edwards at a beauty shop,” former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said to roaring laughter.

It is as instructive as it is unsurprising that the rightwinger leading the charge against helping the poor is an ordained Baptist minister.

But it is also interesting that he seems to have his own hair issues, as illustrated in the two photos above.

According to the Ten Commandments, it is a mortal sin to covet thy neighbor’s ass. But what about his hair, Reverend?

Since the Republicans and their cohorts in the media have made hair styles an important issue in the presidential campaign, I wonder if anyone will ask the good reverend if he wears a wig and, if so, how much does it cost, and who pays for its styling and upkeep.

If he’s not wearing a toupe, here’s a question our breathless TV newsers might then want to pursue: Should he? After all, we haven’t had a bald president since Eisenhower.