Things I’ve Seen

Always happy to help google out…

–AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl
–AZ-01: Rick Renzi
–AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth
–CA-04: John Doolittle
–CA-11: Richard Pombo
–CA-50: Brian Bilbray
–CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave
–CO-05: Doug Lamborn
–CO-07: Rick O’Donnell
–CT-04: Christopher Shays
–FL-13: Vernon Buchanan
–FL-16: Joe Negron
–FL-22: Clay Shaw
–ID-01: Bill Sali
–IL-06: Peter Roskam
–IL-10: Mark Kirk
–IL-14: Dennis Hastert
–IN-02: Chris Chocola
–IN-08: John Hostettler
–IA-01: Mike Whalen
–KS-02: Jim Ryun
–KY-03: Anne Northup
–KY-04: Geoff Davis
–MD-Sen: Michael Steele
–MN-01: Gil Gutknecht
–MN-06: Michele Bachmann
–MO-Sen: Jim Talent
–MT-Sen: Conrad Burns
–NV-03: Jon Porter
–NH-02: Charlie Bass
–NJ-07: Mike Ferguson
–NM-01: Heather Wilson
–NY-03: Peter King
–NY-20: John Sweeney
–NY-26: Tom Reynolds
–NY-29: Randy Kuhl
–NC-08: Robin Hayes
–NC-11: Charles Taylor
–OH-01: Steve Chabot
–OH-02: Jean Schmidt
–OH-15: Deborah Pryce
–OH-18: Joy Padgett
–PA-04: Melissa Hart
–PA-07: Curt Weldon
–PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick
–PA-10: Don Sherwood
–RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee
–TN-Sen: Bob Corker
–VA-Sen: George Allen
–VA-10: Frank Wolf
–WA-Sen: Mike McGavick
–WA-08: Dave Reichert

Great article on religion in Australian politics from New Matilda (by someone who appears actually to have listened to the gospel reading last sunday…)

This was a time when it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than it was for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. But times have changed. We now have heavy machinery. If you’ve got the readies, there is no longer any problem forcing large quadrupeds through any aperture. Either manufacture a needle big enough to accommodate a camel or buy an engine with enough thrust to extrude a dromedary.

Which party is this guy from again?

Mike Bloomberg

Today, we are seeing hundreds of years of scientific discovery being challenged by people who simply disregard facts that don’t happen to agree with their agendas.  Some call it “pseudo-science,” others call it “faith-based science,” but when you notice where this negligence tends to take place, you might as well call it “political science.”

You can see “political science” at work when it comes to global warming.  Despite near unanimity in the science community there’s now a movement - driven by ideology and short-term economics - to ignore the evidence and discredit the reality of climate change.

I used to believe that George Bush’s approval rating couldn’t drop below 40 unless there was an unprecedented scandal. According to Pollkatz it’s now spent a month below 35.

How low can he go?

Published in the Sydney Morning Herald by Mike Carlton . I got to it from yourdemocracy.net.au via a tip from New Matilda.

HOWARD DIDN’T KNOW
With apologies to Banjo Paterson.

I had written him a letter which I had, for want of better
Knowledge, sent to where I met him at the wheat board, years ago
He was chairman when I knew him, so I sent the letter to him
Just on spec, to make the point, that “Howard doesn’t want to know”.
And an email came directed, not entirely unexpected
(And I think the same was written in some Middle Eastern bar)
‘Twas his CEO who wrote it, and verbatim I will quote it,
“Trevor Flugge’s gone to Baghdad and we don’t know where he are.
But when he left Australia, he was going to meet with Alia,
A trucking mob in Jordan, who were keen to grease the wheels
For 10 per cent commission, they could swing Saddam’s permission
To get our wheat accepted: it’s the mother of all deals.
But I guarantee, Prime Minister, that there’s nothing at all sinister:
The chaps at DFAT told us that the sums looked quite okay.
When you’re selling wheat in billions, what’s a quick 300 million?
If it keeps the Nationals happy it’s a tiny price to pay.”
Sitting here at Kirribilli, I’ve been thinking, willy nilly
That it’s somehow reminiscent of the children overboard:
But I can handle Rudd and Beazley as I always do, quite easily,
By endlessly protesting that there’s nothing untoward.
I’ll tell Bush next time I meet him at
The White House, when I greet him,
That I’m sure he’ll understand about the wheat board’s quid pro quo:
He’ll forgive this minor error in the global war on terror
When I look him in the eye and tell him Howard didn’t know.

This would be fun even if it wasn’t GWB…

(thanks to Hester)

From crikey.com.au, via brainsnorkel.com

AWB: Downer couldn’t see the wood for the trucking fees

A cheap gag from the comments at John Quiggin

John Howard: “Hey Kim, joke for yer - when is an Opposition not an Opposition?”
Kim: “I was just going to say that!”

A lot has been said recently about government advertising. There’s obviously a place for government funded advertising campaigns: at the moment there is a ‘are you ready for bushfires?’ campaign, and in the past we’ve seen plenty of welcome public health advertising and the like; it’s equally obvious that the current crop of blatent propoganda is an unacceptable use of taxpayer funds.

So, I’d like to add a little proposal. At the end of every advert, where we currently have “Authorised by”, add “This advert was paid for by the Australian taxpayer”. Then let democracy take it’s course.

This blog post was not paid for by the Australian taxpayer.

A few hours ago, a federal grand jury sitting in the District of Columbia returned a five-count indictment against I. Lewis Libby, also known as Scooter Libby, the vice president’s chief of staff.

The grand jury’s indictment charges that Mr. Libby committed five crimes. The indictment charges one count of obstruction of justice of the federal grand jury, two counts of perjury and two counts of false statements.

At the end of the day what appears is that Mr. Libby’s story that he was at the tail end of a chain of phone calls, passing on from one reporter what he heard from another, was not true.

It was false. He was at the beginning of the chain of phone calls, the first official to disclose this information outside the government to a reporter. And then he lied about it afterwards, under oath and repeatedly.

Fitzgerald’s Press Conference