I got sent this last night - if it's yours, please let me know!
"Bush administration releases unsubstantiated documents supporting Iraq war. Dan Rather kicks dog." - headline on intarwebs.
Great moments in television
CNN's Jack Cafferty unloads on the US Congress:
CAFFERTY: How are you doing, Wolf? On a much lighter note, do you want to laugh out loud? Listen to this. House Republican leaders announced their plans for lobbying reform today. They're calling for a temporary ban -- temporary -- on privately funded travel by lawmakers and for lobbyists to disclose the gifts they give to House members. That's real draconian stuff, don't you think? House Speaker Dennis Hastert says these recommendations will, quote, "sustain the integrity of the Congress as we move forward," quote. Note to Mr. Hastert, the Congress has no integrity.
There was no immediate reaction from Democrats, who accused Republicans of creating a culture of corruption. The Senate is working on its own legislation. But, as you may recall, the Senate Committee recently rejected a proposal for an independent ethics office. This whole thing is a joke. They must think we're all absolute retards of some kind. They pay lip service to this stuff. There's no teeth in any of it. It's meaningless. And then they put out a press release saying, look what we did. We're preserving the integrity of the Congress. Unbelievable. Here's the question. What will the end result of ethics reform be on Capitol Hill? Email us at Caffertyfile@cnn.com or go to CNN.com/caffertyfile. Temporary ban on private trips, Wolf. That ought to clean it up, don't you think?
WOLF BLITZER: I remember when you showed us the roll call of that vote in that Senate committee. You probably got some reaction to that.
CAFFERTY: I don't remember. No, I don't think so. I mean, we got reaction from the viewers who are fed up to the gills with these clowns, but, no, none of the worms who voted against that thing had nerve enough to write to us because I would have read the letter on the air.
There was no immediate reaction from Democrats, who accused Republicans of creating a culture of corruption. The Senate is working on its own legislation. But, as you may recall, the Senate Committee recently rejected a proposal for an independent ethics office. This whole thing is a joke. They must think we're all absolute retards of some kind. They pay lip service to this stuff. There's no teeth in any of it. It's meaningless. And then they put out a press release saying, look what we did. We're preserving the integrity of the Congress. Unbelievable. Here's the question. What will the end result of ethics reform be on Capitol Hill? Email us at Caffertyfile@cnn.com or go to CNN.com/caffertyfile. Temporary ban on private trips, Wolf. That ought to clean it up, don't you think?
WOLF BLITZER: I remember when you showed us the roll call of that vote in that Senate committee. You probably got some reaction to that.
CAFFERTY: I don't remember. No, I don't think so. I mean, we got reaction from the viewers who are fed up to the gills with these clowns, but, no, none of the worms who voted against that thing had nerve enough to write to us because I would have read the letter on the air.
Later...
CAFFERTY: ... announced their plans for lobbying reform today. They've called for a temporary ban on privately funded travel by lawmakers -- temporary -- and for lobbyists to disclose the gifts they give to members. That'll happen. The question is, what will the end result of ethics reform be on Capitol Hill? Here's some of what you've written. I personally read a couple of hundred letters the last 40 minutes. Didn't see one -- not one -- that expressed any confidence in these people to do anything meaningful in the way of reform. Pretty sad commentary.
William in Huntington, West Virginia: "You assume those in Congress know what ethics are. How do you pick a bicycle when you've never seen a bicycle?"
Peter in Perry, Georgia: "There'll be no change. It'll be business as usual. You can't put crooks in charge of reforming all the other crooks. What you end up with is no change at all."
Bruce in Wisconsin: "There'll be no reform because Congress and the Senate have no ethics. There's one sure way to minimize this disgrace. Term limits, term limits, term limits." That's actually three ways, Bruce.
O. writes, "Concerning Congress' ethics, we have no one to blame but ourselves because we either voted for them or did not vote. The damage has been done. The solution is obviously to vote them out of office."
Jim writes, "I don't think there'll be any reform enacted by Congress, but you can be sure if one is enacted, it'll have loopholes big enough to drive Duke Cunningham's yacht through."
And Dan in Randolph, Maine, writes, "Come on, Jack. You don't really think those crooks and thieves are going to do anything to police themselves. They are collectively the single biggest group of overpaid losers on the planet."
Those are lovely comments about the United States Congress. They ought to be a ashamed of themselves. But they're not, are they?
William in Huntington, West Virginia: "You assume those in Congress know what ethics are. How do you pick a bicycle when you've never seen a bicycle?"
Peter in Perry, Georgia: "There'll be no change. It'll be business as usual. You can't put crooks in charge of reforming all the other crooks. What you end up with is no change at all."
Bruce in Wisconsin: "There'll be no reform because Congress and the Senate have no ethics. There's one sure way to minimize this disgrace. Term limits, term limits, term limits." That's actually three ways, Bruce.
O. writes, "Concerning Congress' ethics, we have no one to blame but ourselves because we either voted for them or did not vote. The damage has been done. The solution is obviously to vote them out of office."
Jim writes, "I don't think there'll be any reform enacted by Congress, but you can be sure if one is enacted, it'll have loopholes big enough to drive Duke Cunningham's yacht through."
And Dan in Randolph, Maine, writes, "Come on, Jack. You don't really think those crooks and thieves are going to do anything to police themselves. They are collectively the single biggest group of overpaid losers on the planet."
Those are lovely comments about the United States Congress. They ought to be a ashamed of themselves. But they're not, are they?
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