Robert Wexler Op-Ed
Sign his Petition - 150,000 already have.

According to the Washington Post, Pulitzer Prize-winning Post music critic Tim Page received a mass email from Mayor Marion Barry's press office last week. In the past, he'd apparently tried to get off the distribution list and was cursed at, he says, by the staff member he spoke with by phone.

So when he got this email about a local hospital, he sent a furious email to Barry's aide. We've sent plenty of emails we instantly regretted. Unfortunately, Page's was sent from his Post account, was especially nasty, and became public; it read:

"Must we hear about it every time this crack addict attempts to rehabilitate himself with some new -- and typically half-witted -- political grandstanding? I'd be grateful if you would take me off your mailing list. I cannot think of anything the useless Marion Barry could do that would interest me in the slightest, up to and including overdose."

A great majority of the country thinks the Iraq War was a tremendous mistake. Sixty percent say that we should set a timetable for withdrawal no matter what the conditions on the ground are. This is a position that is way to the left of the Democratic position (can we get anyone to represent us???). The country is sick to death of this war. And the people in DC and the people on TV don't get it!

They keep shoving the same garbage down our throats. There is a Washington bubble that exists outside of our reality. Every credible news organizations is reporting there is widespread ethnic cleansing in Baghdad and it has gotten far worse since the so-called surge. The level of violence is up, the ethnic cleansing is up, the Iraqi civil war is up and the Iraqis hate us even more now -- and all we see on TV is garbage about how the surge is working.

There were protesters shouting this morning when General Petraeus came to testify on the Hill. You know why they're shouting? Because the people in DC and the people who control the conversation refuse to hear from us, the American people. We don't have a choice at this point, the only way to get heard is to shout.

And that's exactly what I did this morning. What you see below is genuine anger. If the idiot conservatives who mindlessly support this barbaric policy in Iraq want to call me angry, go ahead. You're God damn right I'm angry.



I read the story of a 19 year old soldier who got all four of his limbs blown off recently. His arms and legs were only being held on by some skin. They could only save the top of one of his arms. And he had burns in 70% of his remaining body. All of that was for George W. Bush's pride and ego. They know we are in the middle of a civil war and there is no such thing as a unified national Iraqi government. Yet they still talk about progress and success and victory, as if they even know what those things mean in the context of Iraq.

If you're not angry about what's happening to our troops to protect George Bush and General Petraeus' egos, then I have to wonder whether you have a soul. This things isn't working and real people are dying and being torn from limb to limb to prop up the lies of politicians in DC. If that doesn't make you angry, I question your humanity.

More Young Turks Here

Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary of State, has topped GQ's list of the 50 Most Powerful People in D.C. It might seem like an odd choice, possibly even the kind of choice intended to drum up publicity for the list, but that would be cynical, as would saying the same thing about the fact that the magazine picked Ronald Reagan at #13. Dead former president Ronald Reagan. And anyway, it's probably just sour grapes that the scheduling of GQ's list conflicted with our list of the 50 MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN MY DREAM AFTER I ATE CHILI. Here is the beginning of the list; subscribe to News Bloggers magazine for the complete list.


1. JIM HENSON (1936-1990)
The most influential American puppeteer of my lifetime was also a major player in the dream I had after I ate chili. I was sitting somewhere, by a river. The river was blue, but not a natural blue. It was bright blue. Then, on the other side of the river, I saw Jim Henson. I knew him by his beard. He didn't say anything. It was almost like he was studying me so that he could later make a puppet version of me. This may not seem powerful, but it is, because it set the entire tone for the rest of the dream.


2. KATIE HOLMES (1978- )
Holmes was just heading down a path as a hot actress willing to take edgy (and occasionally topless) roles when she became the possibly sham bride of Tom Cruise. Evidently, this disappointed me more than I can admit when awake, because she was the second most powerful person in my dream. I can't say what role she played, exactly. Let's just say that L. Ron Hubbard is spinning in his grave, and that his grave is located right near a waterbed store.

Administrative judge Roy Pearson sued his local dry cleaners over a $10.50 pants alteration for $54 million (reduced in the course of litigation from $67 million, which included $15,000 to rent a car every weekend to drive to another dry cleaning service). After costing the immigrant Chung family tens of thousands of dollars of legal fees, Pearson lost. Now, because of his questionable judgment, he's being fired. Ah, justice.

Here are but a few of the gems from the comments this week. Thank you so much for being a part of our site, and keep the great quotes coming!

An Islamic Fundamentalist We Can Support
cdnbirch says, "Ghamadi is a breath of fresh air. Finally, a Muslim who says he takes the Koran literally, but finds ways to bring it out of the 7th century. I don't know how extensive his spin is, if he does away with all bigotry towards non Muslims, and women, but it sure is a step towards acknowledging human values. Imans won't buy it because it reduces their power, but maybe people will."

Lindsay Lohan vs. Erin Moran: Why Parents Matter
Cathe says, "Parents absolutely matter! But, what if you get stuck with not so great "role models"? As it seems Lindsey did. I'll tell you what you do. Distance yourself from poisonous people. They will only bring you down. Learn how not to act from parents like that. Surround yourself with positive, loving good intentioned individuals. Most importantly, learn to love yourself. It may be hard at first but well worth it in the end!"

O'Reilly Takes on Daily Kos ... and Hopes for a Hit
Dunkly says, "His "war against Christmas" crusade has been not only multi-episode, but multi-year! Something has to be said for that."

Quote of the Week: Faith Hill on Groping Etiquette
Donna says, "Those of you who think Faith was out of line or that this woman's actions were acceptable need to consider what you would think if a female celebrity were grabbed in the crotch or the breasts by a stranger. That woman is lucky she wasn't arrested - sexual assault is sexual assault, regardless if the victim is a celebrity or male. Paying money for a concert is not the same as paying money for sexual activity."

I'm not a guy who is very fond of protests. I'm also not fond of giving up a part of my Sunday. But I am going to do both of those things for the foreseeable future because I have had enough. When Bush commuted Scooter Libby's sentence it was the straw that broke the camel's back.

I am tired of politician's being above the law. I am tired of this administration breaking every conceivable law and endlessly violating the constitution. I am also tired of the ineffectual opposition party that never holds them to account.

So, we are going to try democracy the old fashioned way. We are going to get together and try to make our voices heard by our government. We will be doing protests every Sunday at 12Noon to 1PM. Just one hour every Sunday, starting this Sunday. All across the country, with one simple message: Enough!

If you'd like to join us, you can either come to the one Wes Clark, Jr. and I will be attending in LA or simply pick a spot in your hometown and show up with a sign or t-shirt. Wes explains the protest a little more in his Daily Kos diaries, where people are beginning to organize local get togethers or you can read more about it on Huffington Post or The Young Turks.

We want this to be low key and very open to all participants. We hope to see you there.

The Young Turks

The USA Today commissioned a project to figure out how much every household in America actually owes because of US government obligations. Now, we owe some of this money to ourselves (but real individuals who have to be paid back) and some to foreign governments like China and Saudi Arabia.

The paper asked the accountants to use the accounting practices of corporations, who aren't allowed to cheat unlike the US government. The government hides many of its debts with budget gimmickry, so you don't see how much we really owe. Well, the answer for how much we all really owe if the government used legitimate accounting practices is in the short video below. Hope you're ready:



Here's the USA Today article we reference above. To be fair, the number stated above is for every household, so you can combine some of those men, women and children. That makes it much easier to handle I'm sure. I hope you have a good idea how you're going to pay all that off, because the government certainly doesn't.

Young Turks on You Tube

My law practice has tied me up for a few days, thus limiting my opportunity to blog. In the meantime, emails pertaining to the termination of eight U.S. Attorneys have been made public. They revealed no improper conduct on the part of Alberto Gonzales, and consequently he is still the Attorney General.

But the email dump has not been for naught. Through them, the Washington Post was able to land a major scoop -- it detected ambition in Washington. The emails revealed (hold on to your hats) that Tim Griffin campaigned to land the position of U.S. Attorney in Little Rock. Imagine that -- a lawyer actually campaigned for a presidential appointment instead of waiting for it to fall in his lap. Not only that, Karl Rove wanted to help the career of someone who worked for him. Who would have thought that political connections play a role in who gets political appointments?

As I explain at Power Line, Griffin was actually well qualified for the position in Little Rock, having served as a special assistant in the U.S. Attorneys office there. Indeed, the prosecutor he replaced, Bud Cummins, referred to Griffin as his right hand. But in the excitement of uncovering the existence of ambition in Washington, the Post was unable to focus Griffin's qualifications.

I wish I could stick around and comment on Valerie Plame (who should play her in the movie: Lisa Kudrow? Virginia Madsen? Ellen Barkin? Maybe Tara Reid in one of those "I didn't know she had such depth!" roles?). I also wish I could write about Donald Trump's CNN trashing of President Bush. I'll say this: When Trump isn't being a complete slob, he's really compelling. His scandal sum-up with Maureen Dowd a couple months back and now this interview with Wolf Blitzer are spot on.

But I must leave this Hilton Hotel room. God bless Conrad Hilton, who must be spinning in the grave at the behavior of his great-granddaughter Paris. But the truth is, his hotel is even skeevier.

Before I leave, though, let me say one thing regarding my entry on American Idol's Melinda Doolittle. (Judging from the ferocity of the response, you'd think I'd compared her to Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, or Heather Mills.)

I never criticized her singing and I never meant to impugn her character.

I was merely suggesting that her uncontrollable weeping after her performance last Tuesday might be one facet of a sophisticated campaign to brainwash America through a shrewd combination of subliminal messaging and hyperemotionalism. In short, classic psychological warfare.

But it was just a suggestion.

More to the point, people, it's just a show!! Try to enjoy it.

Now I must do some sit-ups (towel on the floor!), take a shower, and take myself and my Billabongs out for a Chinese Chicken Salad!

From the National Review Online:

Pork-barrel spending has been cut in half after skyrocketing for seven straight years, according to the latest CAGW (Citizens Against Government Waste) Congressional Pig Book. Here's how it happened, and why budget hawks shouldn't be ordering champagne for the victory party just yet.

In late November of last year, as the GOP was recovering from the pounding it took in the elections, Sens. Tom Coburn (R., Okla.) and Jim DeMint (R., S.C.) thwarted the lame-duck majority's attempt to pass nine pork-laden appropriations bills in its last remaining weeks. Republican spending barons like former House Appropriations Committee chairman Jerry Lewis (R., Calif.) were furious, because they saw the bills as their last chance to fund pet projects and trade favors. But Coburn and DeMint promised to bring the Senate to a standstill by putting every earmark to a vote, so the Republicans turned the task of funding the federal government for fiscal year 2007 over to the incoming Democrats.

Read the rest of the article

The last one is the most important. Think about what it means. He obstructed justice. We could not adequately punish the people who outed a covert government agent and endangered her life, the lives of all of her contacts and national security because Libby obstructed justice!

We found out during the trail why he did this -- for politics. Classy. The Vice President decided to smear the administration's political opponents and ordered several people to out Valerie Plame, who was a covert CIA agent.

The Washington Post reports "FDA near OK of cattle drug despite threat to people". MicCheckRadio has a great breakdown of the story. Here are some highlights:

The drug, called cefquinome, is similar to some of the most powerful antibiotics used to treat diseases in humans. Scientists fear that its widespread use among livestock could create mutant strains of human diseases that are immune to antibiotics.

The big problem with Cefquinome? It is similar to an "antibiotic of last resort" in humans, meaning that if resistant strains developed (of diseases like meningitis and gastrointestinal infections in children), they would be nearly impossible to treat.

I guess they figure if they upgrade certain diseases to version 7.0 they can make new drugs and squeeze that much more money out of us...sort of like Windows or PlayStation. They're just so gosh darn clever!

The Young Turks

My fellow AOL blogger Scott Johnson of Powerline has written a lengthy review of my book The Enemy at Home which was published in the New Criterion. I probably wouldn't have seen it--I thought the New Criterion went out of business years ago--but it's been reprinted elsewhere. The title of the piece is "D'Souza Goes Native."

I'm writing a lengthy response to conservative critics like Johnson which will expose their errors of fact and logic, and their massive ignorance of Islam. Here I simply want to comment on Johnson's title. "In the four years he claims to have spent studying America and the West through Muslim eyes," Johnson writes, "D'Souza appears to have gone native." Among Midwesterners who haven't traveled far from home, this kind of reference is considered highbrow.

But see how Johnson botches the whole concept and in the process reveals his own small-minded nativism. When a Western guy goes abroad and casts his lot with the foreigners, in the process abandoning the values of his own society, he is said to have "gone native." But I am a native of Mumbai, India. I grew up in a multireligious and multicultural world where Hindu, Muslim and Christian influences were closely integrated. I am from one of the oldest Christian families in India. I learned English as well as two native Indian languages. From childhood I was exposed both to Western ideas, imported into India through the British, as well as non-Western ideas and influences.