WTF Is It Now?!?

Even the wild beasts of the veldt know that Ashcroft is full of shit.


Anal Probe Edition


A little bit of love goes a long way in our lives. It can provide us with higher highs and lower lows. But, if it comes with a persistent burning sensation, see your physician.





I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK

A top secret report warned top officials of the F.B.I. in the months before Sept. 11 that the bureau faced significant terrorist threats from Middle Eastern groups like Al Qaeda but lacked enough resources to meet the threat, senior government officials said.

The internal assessment, one of the bureau's most closely held documents, found virtually every major F.B.I. field office undermanned in evaluating and and dealing with the threat posed by groups like Al Qaeda, the officials said.

The document, called the Director's Report on Terrorism, provided detailed recommendations and proposed spending increases to address the problem, officials who have seen it said.

Despite this assessment, the bureau failed to win an increase in the Justice Department spending request submitted shortly before the Sept. 11 attacks. On Sept. 10, Attorney General John Ashcroft rejected a proposed $58 million increase in financing for the bureau's counterterrorism programs.

Read more at the NY Times. Seems as if Jesus John was too busy goosestepping all over the medical marijuana and right-to-die cases to bother his little head with something Bill Clinton's admin had warned about.




'Continued incompetence and inaction'

Vice President Dick Cheney has been asking Americans to be on the lookout for "things that are out of the ordinary or unusual."

Well, Mr. Vice President, now that you mention it, something odd did happen recently: You and other high-ranking administration officials began frantically clanging the terrorism alarm bells without offering any real evidence of an increased risk.

The recent Chicken Little routine was actually designed to distract the public from the developing scandal over the administration's failure to better protect the country against terrorism.

From Stephen Winn's editorial at The KC Star.




Heard on Crossfire:

Paul Begala: Let me tell you what the Securities Exchange Commission is up to. The SEC is actually investigating just how far from the normal by the books Halliburton and Andersen strayed in their accounting under Cheney. At issue whether Halliburton used fuzzy math in claiming $100 million in revenue, a big deal when reports of the firm's income for 1999 was just over 400 million. Cheney apparently claims ignorance of the whole deal. After all he was only the CEO pulling down $36 million. Of course we're still waiting for Mr. Novak and his fellow Republicans who supported an eight-year investigation of the 20-year old penny ante land deal to call for an independent council in Cheney Gate.


Paul Begala: "Mr. Novak," writes Kathleen Warren, "I heard you state what a liar President Clinton was. Please, could you give me a list of politicians that don't lie. If you could do that, you'll be a genius."

Novakula: Ronald Reagan never lied.

Paul Begala: Ronald Reagan -- he said we didn't trade arms for hostages.

Novakula: He didn't remember. OK, Paul you really need to -- I don't really understand this. This is Alphonse Muhlenberg of Richmond, Virginia. He says, "Paul, you really need to let the 2000 presidential election go. So what if Clarence Thomas cast the deciding vote to install Bush in the presidency in violation of the Twelfth Amendment and U.S. Code Title 3, Chapter 1, Section F? You won't worry so much about the Constitution once Bush and Ashcroft dismantle that annoying document. So, relax, Paul, and enjoy our slide into authoritarianism."



Coffee break!