There are so many things about Tom Delays conviction that are bringing me unabashed joy. The first of which is me being happy that the most immoral, vicious, nasty and corrupt politician in the last 50 years may finally get his due. But one of the really enjoyable parts is Delays reaction. You see, the man so far right and wacky he makes Freepers step back and take a breath. This is the man wh declared he couldn't serve in Vietnam beacuse all the blacks were taking up all the open spots. The man who compared the EPA to the Gestapo. So his reaction to the indictment has just brought out his crazy side. From Think Progress we get the following:

When the indictment was announced Delay called it:
This is one of the weakest, most baseless indictments in American history.

Yep thats right. Not even falsely accused murderers have had it this bad. Nothing in American history has ever been this baseless.

But my absolute favorite is when he goes into right wing tinfoil conspiracy mode. Here he tells CNN that he has “evidence” that this is all a vast left wing conspiracy orchestrated by Nancy Pelosi and other liberals. When asked to produce this “evidence” he saiys he will do it “When it’s timely”

That’s a neat trick. I have evidence that Tom Delay masturbates to child pornography. I will of course only release this evidence whe I think the time is right. Until then I will go on CNN and MSNBC and talk about it.

Notice he still uses his favorite tactic of leaving off the ic in democratic. So instead of calling it the Democratic Party he call's it the "Democrat Party". It's one of his most juvenile of insults.

Red Sox 2005 Wookie of the Year

Tucker Carlson apparently still has a show on MSNBC. I think they moved it to the 1AM next to Ron Popeil, but it’s technically still on TV. He had Bill Maher on the other night to talk about Katrina and he devolved into his favorite pastime, bashing Bill CLinton. Cuz that’s always the overriding focus of the wingnuts. Christ himself could be reborn, walk amongst us and end all suffering, and Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity would each host 2 hour specials about how they think Clinton is still acting like a phony.

Maher nails him on a number of points, especially his endless straw man arguments and “Hey I never supported Bush” line.. It’s really nice to watch.

Watch the video here, courtesy of the invaluable Crooks and Liars.

Bid for an independent investigation into what went wrong with Hurricane Katrina is blocked by Republicans.

Tom Delay says the Government is running at peak efficiency and there is nothing available to cut from government spending. The truth is of course the exact opposite. This is the same man who asked children who were forced to evacuate NO from Katrina "Now tell me the truth boys, is this kind of fun?"

Our future Chief Justice (not the dead racist one) admits he's not "up to speed" on the first amendment.

Why does 55% of America hate America?

It depends on the meaning of the word "responsibility"

"To the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility"
George Bush

How about you are DIRECTLY responsible? Who appointed cronies with ZERO disaster experience to FEMA, and who thought of FEMA as "an oversized entitlement program"? Who slashed its budget to pay for its tax cuts? YOU are responsible for those dead bodies in Louisiana just as you are responsible for the dead soldiers in Iraq who had to scrounge dumps for something to use as body armor.

Kayne West for President.

Star Wars, The Musical.

The Most Extraordinary Space Investigations.

Cats in sinks.

Dictinonaraoke.

Funky furniture.

Finally, a video game I'm dying to play.

Rue McLanahan cuts right to the central issue of this past week.

I'm confused. I thought "Brownie" was doing a heck of a job?

WASHINGTON - Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown is being removed from his role managing Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, government sources said Friday.

Quote of the day:
There are some things the president can do; there are some things the government can do," Smith told about 300 worshippers during a rollicking two-hour service. "But God can do all things. I want you to know he's never late. He's always on time."
Rice later echoed the call for patience.
"The Lord is going to come on time — if we just wait," she said.

The Lord will get there on time. It's FEMA that will be too late.

Something to keep in mind during the emotional tributes to Chief Justice Rehnquist:

Wrote memorandum supporting Plessy v. Ferguson

Justice Rehnquist wrote a proposed constitutional amendment designed to limit the enforcement of Brown v. Board of education

Wrote memorandum endorsing Texas’ “Whites Only” Primaries

Fought passage of ordinance permitting blacks to enter stores and restaurants.

Harassed minority voters in Arizona.

Owned property containing restrictive covenants barring the sale of his property to nonwhites and Jews.

Voted to grant Bob Jones University tax exempt status

And of course, the biggest disgrace of all:
Bush Vs. Gore

ALso, Alan Dershowitz puts it all into perspective with this essay, which starts:
Chief Justice William Rehnquist set back liberty, equality, and human rights perhaps more than any American judge of this generation.

The greatest national disaster in our countries history. Possibly tens of thousands dead, in large part due to the incompetence of this administration. What is their # 1 priority right now?

Making sure to blame someone else. Oh yeah, and photo ops, Lots of em!

Some highlights so the deep disgust about Bush's overwhelming amoral incompetence that has led to the deaths of thousands sinks in that much more:

From MSNBC:
Even as Katrina was bearing down on the Gulf Coast that Sunday night and early Monday, Aug. 28-29, and the national hurricane center was warning of growing danger, the White House didn't alter the president's plans to fly from his Texas ranch to the West to promote a new Medicare prescription drug benefit.

By the time Bush landed in Arizona that Monday, the storm was unleashing its fury on Louisiana and Mississippi. The president inserted into his speech only a brief promise of prayers and federal help.

He continued his schedule in California, and he didn't decide until the next day that he should return to Washington. But it took him another day to get there, as he flew back to Texas to spend another night at his home before leaving for the White House
[snip]
Bush had raised eyebrows on his first trip by, among other things, picking Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., instead of the thousands of mostly poor and black storm victims, as an example of loss. "Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house, he's lost his entire house, there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch," Bush said with a laugh from an airplane hangar in Mobile, Ala.

Later in Biloxi, Miss., Bush tried to comfort two stunned women wandering their neighborhood clutching Hefty bags, looking in vain for something to salvage from the rubble of their home. He kept insisting they could find help at a Salvation Army center down the street, even after another bystander had informed him it had been destroyed.
And at his last stop that day, at the airport outside of New Orleans, Bush lauded the increasingly desperate city as a great town because he used go there and "enjoy myself , occasionally too much."

From The Salt Lake Tribune via Talking Points Memo:
As specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.

Sure, this Adminstration is the most incompetent in the history of this country, but that doesnt matter, because they can do one thing really well. Lie and shift blame to someone else:

In a reflection of what has long been a hallmark of Mr. Rove's tough political style, the administration is also working to shift the blame away from the White House and toward officials of New Orleans and Louisiana who, as it happens, are Democrats.

George Bush. Bringing "honor and integrity" back to the White House, one dead body at a time.

"What I’m hearing which is sort ofscary is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone isso overwhelmed by the hospitality."And so many of the people in the arena here, youknow, were underprivileged anyway, so this--this (shechuckles slightly) is working very well for them."
- Barbara Bush, the woman Nixon admired because "she knows how to hate."

From Sunday's Meet the Press:


RUSSERT: You just heard the director of homeland security’s explanation of what has happened this last week. What is your reaction?

(President of Jefferson Parish in New Orleans, Aaron Broussard)BROUSSARD: We have been abandoned by our own country. Hurricane Katrina will go down in history as one of the worst storms ever to hit an American coast. But the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina will go down as one of the worst abandonments of Americans on American soil ever in U.S. history. … Whoever is at the top of this totem pole, that totem pole needs to be chainsawed off and we’ve got to start with some new leadership. It’s not just Katrina that caused all these deaths in New Orleans here. Bureaucracy has committed murder here in the greater New Orleans area and bureaucracy has to stand trial before Congress now.
[snip]
I want to give you one last story and I’ll shut up and let you tell me whatever you want to tell me. The guy who runs this building I’m in, Emergency Management, he’s responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, “Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?” and he said, “Yeah, Mama, somebody’s coming to get you.” Somebody’s coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody’s coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody’s coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody’s coming to get you on Friday… and she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night! [Sobbing] Nobody’s coming to get us. Nobody’s coming to get us. The Secretary has promised. Everybody’s promised. They’ve had press conferences. I’m sick of the press conferences. For god’s sakes, just shut up and send us somebody.