Open Thread

by Steve

Here are some items for your consideration:

Former Colin Powell Chief of Staff Lawrence Wilkerson, who got headlines earlier this month for his criticism of Cheney and Rummy for running a foreign policy cabal inside the White House, tagged Cheney for the second time by claiming that the detainee abuse policies and their noncompliance with the Geneva Conventions has its roots in Dick Cheney's office and his new Chief of Staff David Addington.

Kenneth Tomlinson, a GOP hack with direct ties to Rove who was placed at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting with orders to get rid of Bill Moyers and turn PBS into a taxpayer-supported version of Fox, was himself bounced from the CPB Thursday. He is also now the subject of an inquiry to determine if he has misused public money and hired phantom staff, and the inquiry has emails of his that came from Karl Rove.

Five years after telling the country that honesty and integrity would return to the White House, Bush told his staff to attend ethics training next week.

The Jack Abramoff corruption inquiry has now dragged in Ohio GOP representative Bob Ney, after yesterday’s revelations that Tom DeLay used Abramoff to funnel tribal money to himself. New emails have tied Abramoff to former industry lobbyist and Gale Norton’s Number Two J. Stephen Griles at the Department of the Interior. Abramoff has also cast a cloud over two GOP senators, including Conrad Burns who is up for reelection next year. Which is why ethical John McCain will look the other way and not pursue this matter.

A day after the GOP Senate voted to cut Medicaid, food stamps, and child care while blowing billions in Iraq and at the Pentagon, the Senate is reconsidering all the pork in the highway bill.

A UN audit board is recommending that the United States repay Iraq for over $200 million for Halliburton contract work done in 2003 and 2004 that was poorly done, or done at inflated prices.

And John Dean has re-read the Fitzgerald indictment last week of Scooter, and concluded that Fitz has Cheney in his sights on a possible conspiracy charge.

Your turn.