Another Slap to the Bush Administration

A Federal judge, John Bates, ruled that Bush's aides are not immune to Congressional subpoenas.

Bates, who was appointed to the bench by Bush, issued a 93-page opinion that strongly rejected the administration's legal arguments. He noted that the executive branch could not point to a single case in which courts held that White House aides were immune from congressional subpoenas."

"That simple yet critical fact bears repeating: the asserted absolute immunity claim here is entirely unsupported by existing case law," Bates wrote. (from Matt Apuzo, AP)

Looks like Harriet Miers, Josh Bolton, and Karl Rove aren't off the hook yet.

"House Panel Votes To Cite Rove For Contempt"

...Along strict party lines, of course, provoking Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the top Republican on the panel to say: "Instead of conducting witch hunts, we should consider bipartisan legislation to reduce the price of gas, reduce crime and secure the borders." Like the Republicans were non-partisan all the years they were in control of the House and Senate...
Personally, I hope the investigations into the crony-laced Justice Deptartment continue and whomever was involved gets their just rewards, although I really doubt we'll find out the whole truth until much later.

Amee In Her New Crochet Creation

Birthday Antics

These are from Mia's 11th birthday, July 13th. The rain didn't stop the kids from having a great time.

Bee's Knees

A Skirt and .25 Automatic

Just Like During the Last Election Cycle...

...when people were arrested for "trespassing" (on public property, no less) at Bush/Cheney events in 2004. Keep telling yourself this stuff doesn't happen here.

Do Your Homework

Please don't get your "facts" from 30 second sound bites or Yahoo! headlines. It's easy to check the accuracy of things we hear or read. For example: you're likely to hear over and over in the coming months, from the McCain campaign and the RNC, that Obama has voted for higher taxes 94 times. Take the time to read this. Factcheck.org is a nonpartisan site devoted to clarifying the spin of politicians of both parties. And for those emails that circulate around with the latest urban legend, there's Snopes.com. Did you get the email with the image of the US soldier with a black patch on his arm that said "Doing the Work of" above flags of France and other countries? See the above shots, the top one from the email, the bottom the original. Gosh, what you can do with Photoshop! The full story here. I heard a woman interviewed today in Minnesota, who, when asked why she wasn't going to vote for Al Franken, said "I've heard a couple of things on Yahoo! and the radio." When pressed about what she had heard, she said "I don't know. I just have a gut feeling." Please remember most of the media, especially TV, is a for-profit business, and sensational news gets ratings (ad money!). Do your homework! Be informed! It's not that hard.

Some Infrared Shots

I loaded a roll of infrared film in my camera last summer, and didn't shoot it until this past weekend. The film base had a mottled fog, but I think it made some of the shots look cool and creepy. I couldn't decide whether I liked the lighter or the darker version of one shot, so here's both, and another I liked as well.

A Pinup For Your Holiday Weekend

I haven't posted any figure photos in quite a while. Here's one I shot a few years ago that I hadn't done anything with yet.

Presidents and Generals and Reporters

I'm generally disgusted with the way the media covers the election campaign, but yesterday really irritated me.
Wesley Clark, on "Face the Nation," was asked about McCain's military service and made the argument that heroic military service does not substitute for executive command experience. In the course of the interview (here's the clip) Bob Schieffer said that Obama hadn't flown a fighter plane and been shot down, to which Clark replied "Well, I don't think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president." That sound bite, out of context, has been aired again and again, and portrayed as an attack on McCain's military service.
Clark's point was that military experience does not equate to leadership. Two of our greatest presidents during wartime, Lincoln and FDR, didn't have any military experience to speak of, Lincoln having served in a volunteer militia company and fighting only mosquitos, as he put it, while Lincoln's best general, Grant, was a particularly inept president, with an administration rife with corruption. Reagan, who served in a WWII motion picture unit (an actor), performed very effectively as president.
Clark is attacking the McCain camp's assertion that his military service qualifies him to be president, not McCain's service itself, which Clark has repeatedly honored.
I must note that in his own previous presidential bid, Clark touted his own military experience, but he has also pointed out that in his overall command of US and NATO forces in Kosovo, he had to deal with strategic and diplomatic issues, not just ground troops. In 2004 Clark also touted John Kerry's service record; obviously, it's election year politics to a degree, but the Clark interview is not an attempt to demean McCain's service, but an attempt to point out that military service is not the same as leadership, judgement, etc.
(Gosh, if being a veteran qualifies someone to be president, I could run...)