by TChris

Today brought the latest of Jeb Bush's many denials that he's interested in running for the presidency. Even Jeb's father thinks Jeb is a liar.

The elder Bush said "the timing's wrong" because Jeb Bush has said "he doesn't want to do it." But the former president then added: "Nobody believes that."

Bump and Update: Woodward confirms.

Update: Cadillac Tight points to the 1981 statement of Ronald Regan who pardoned Mr. Felt. Slate reported in 1999 that Nixon suspected Mark Felt and has the tape transcripts between him and H.R. Haldeman. Today at Slate, Tim Noah says Told You So.

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Original Post

Raw Story reports on the new Vanity Fair article, available free here (pdf), in which former FBI agent W. Mark Felt, now 91, finally admits to being "Deep Throat," the confidential source used by Woodward and Bernstein to unravel Watergate.

The Washington Post reports today that many in both parties believe President Bush has spent his political capital.

The series of setbacks on the domestic front could signal that the president has weakened leverage over his party, a situation that could embolden the opposition, according to analysts and politicians from both sides. Bush faces the potential of a summer of discontent when his capacity to muscle political Washington into following his lead seems to have diminished and few easy victories appear on the horizon.

Ralph Nader and Kevin Zeese argue in the Boston Globe, that it's time for the "I" word.

The Downing Street Memo campaign could make things significantly tougher for Bush.

Why is it that lies about sex are worse than lies about war? Atrios, Daily Kos and David Sirota explain.

Seattle Weekly reports that Ralph Reed's $20,000. a month retainer with Microsoft has come to an end.

When it was recently revealed that Microsoft had employed religious conservative Ralph Reed as a political consultant, it was logical to wonder if his $20,000 monthly retainer was somehow related to the company's temporary refusal to support a gay-rights bill in Olympia, which failed.

The reason for the divorce does not appear to be related to the gay rights legislation.

One source notes that Reed was on a Microsoft retainer while helping run the George W. Bush presidential campaigns of 2000 and 2004, raising ethical questions. But Reed now has gone a step further and filed to run for public office himself—lieutenant governor of Georgia, thought to be a step toward an eventual White House run. Having a political candidate on the payroll would be a clear ethical conflict for Microsoft.

But, the Weekly notes, the plot thickens:

Great find by Crooks and Liars....the May issue of Harper's with this long expose on Colorado Springs as a mecca for the radical right. Go read, Soldiers of Christ.

Check out this editorial in the Los Angeles Times today calling on Senator Bill Frist to resign.

The longer he tries to run the Senate, the more he looks like a bungler whose only principle is personal advancement.

Ouch. But so true. [hat tip Huffington Post.]

Who knew Dick Wolf had such a sense of humor? Tom DeLay fumes at a Law and Order episode

According to a transcript excerpt supplied to the magazine Broadcasting & Cable by Delay's office, the show's finale features a white supremacist who kills a judge's family, and the killing of an appellate judge. As the detectives hunt for the judge killer, Detective Alex Eames, played by Kathryn Erbe, said "Maybe we should put out an APB for somebody in a Tom DeLay T-Shirt."

Crooks and Liars has the video

This afternoon, Joe Trippi will unveil 'Change America' during a blog conference call originating at O'Hare airport where he will be gathered with United Airlines flight attendants who recently lost their pensions.

The Internet-based campaign will provide information and tools to help Americans organize for action in their communities against irresponsible corporate behavior. Trippi, who raised the effectiveness of Internet campaigning as campaign manager for Howard Dean, will talk with bloggers about Change America’s first project: urging action against corporations that dump employee pensions while management feathers its own nest.

The blog conference call will originate from the headquarters of the United Airlines flight attendants in Chicago. Trippi will unveil the new Web site, www.changeamerica.com, along with the Internet grassroots project.

The site will also highlight the attack on retirement security. I can't particpate in the call, but check the website later this afternoon, it's a good cause.

Not to beat a dead horse, but John Nichols over at the Nation explains why the Compromise is a bad deal and shares the view that Democrats buckled under.

This "compromise" may have averted the "nuclear option" for a time. But it will saddle the federal bench with more bad judges. That's a bad deal, especially when there is such overwhelming public sentiment for maintaining the right of senators to block inappropriate judicial nominees. Democrats were right to oppose Brown, Pryor and Owen. They will come to regret cutting the deal to let these unacceptable nominees -- and the others who are now sure to be nominated by the Bush Administration -- to be approved.

In today's update, Nichols calls Owen's confirmation "blackmail" and says,

....Four years of successful efforts by civil rights, women's rights, religious and consumer groups to prevent confirmation of the right-wing extremist were undone Wednesday.

by TChris

Sentencing an 11 year old to hard labor because she didn’t do her homework is an outrageous abuse of power (the student should have told her principal to pound salt), but equally abusive was the principal’s decision to terminate the employment of a teacher who took pity on the poor girl.

As discipline for neglecting homework, a fourth grade student in the East Lynne (Missouri) School District was ordered to pick up rocks from a playground near the road in front of the school. Teacher Christa Price complained to Superintendent Dan Doerhoff that the punishment was both extreme and dangerous. Doerhoff didn’t care about the girl’s safety (or about the image of “school as penitentiary” he was creating), so Price used her free period to help the girl pick up the rocks.

At contract time in March, Doerhoff recommended firing Price, who until then had glowing performance evaluations and was liked by parents and praised by colleagues.

Doerhoff cited the teacher’s “insubordination” as grounds for termination. Even more troubling is Doerhoff’s refusal to sign the certification required for Price to find another teaching job.

To their credit, seven of the ten classroom teachers in the district resigned to protest Doerhoff’s autocratic style. Doerhoff didn’t learn from the protest; he simply filled the positions with other teachers. Nor did he learn from the girl’s perceptive comment that being forced to haul rocks in a five gallon bucket "made me feel like a slave." He does allow, however, that the adverse publicity might make him think twice about assigning hard labor to fourth graders.

One day after the awful compromise on filibusters, Republicans already think they can use the same strategy to force a compromise on social security. Lindsay Graham says:

Some who forged the deal expressed hope that the agreement would create momentum for compromise on other knotty issues, such as Social Security and immigration.

"Watch this group when it comes to major problems that the nation faces, like Social Security," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. "I think we have created momentum for the idea that if you constructively engage each other, the political reward is high."

Unfortunately, he's probably right. My trust is gone right now. The Democrats said they would not back down on Priscilla Owen and Janice Rogers Brown and they did. Why should we believe they won't back down on privitization? Why rally the troops only to have the leaders cave in? I think I'll save my energy for Sensenbrenner's new mandatory minimum, "five years for passing a joint", "snitch or go to jail" bill.

But, I forget. It's my social security they're talking about. Social Security I'm already entitled to. Bush can't have it. Guess I'll just take a short breather and then get back in the game. For those of your ready to start now, Bill Scher of Liberal Oasis writes in this Star Tribune op-ed (and Daily Kos agrees):