The worst-kept secret in the world of Republican politics is the total lack of concern they have for the men and women who work for a living. It's the guiding hand of their tax policy -- a policy that robs from the poor and keeps giving to the rich. It's the continuing shame of the way they handled the tragedy in New Orleans.

And it's been the backbone of their handling of the Occupation of Iraq. The Party that long billed itself as the party of strong defense has pushed the armed forces to the breaking point with no sign of concern. They've broken the back of the National Guard and are so desperate to put boots on the ground in Iraq that they knowingly send men and women who are physically and mentally unable to serve back for fourth and fifth tours of duty.

Finally, as the failures continue to mount and the public turns away from them in droves, the gloves come off and a little bit of truth comes out of the mouths of the hypocrits.

House Minority Leader John Boehner told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that the blood American soldiers shed in Iraq is "a small price" to pay in service to the grand Republican plan for the Middle East.

The lives of our best and brightest young men and women is a small sacrifice to these people. They're more than happy to sacrifice them if it means they have better control of Iraqi oil.

At least they admit it, finally. It's been apparent to anyone who cared to look, but it's not the kind of accusation you make. Civilized societies do not treat their fighting forces as a disposable resource this way. But maniacs do. And these people are maniacs in the extreme, even while they wrap themselves in the false cloak of religion and "family values."

These people need to be relegated to the trash heap of history as quickly as possible. They need to be impeached and their machinations revealed and rooted out. The Constitution demands it. Democracy demands it. Morality demands it.

One of the things I looked forward to with the coming of a Democratic Majority in Congress was, finally, an end to the stranglehold Republicans have had on the language of debate. Sadly, that hasn't been the case.

For crying out loud, can we please, PLEASE, stop calling this Iraq situation "A Surge"?

A surge is a temporary thing. After a month, we're officially into "An Escalation!"

For that matter, we aren't engaged in a war in Iraq. Nothing's been declared. This is an occupation.

Better yet, let's just be frank and call it what it really is.

A total clusterfuck.

That giant flushing sound you hear is John McCain's credibility going down the drain.

It was inevitable that McCain's White House ambitions would collide with his need to carry water for the Bush Administration's illegal occupation of Iraq. And now it has.

McCain's ridiculous assertion that anyone could ride around Baghdad without body armor and without using an up-armored Humvee was bad enough. But flying to Iraq for a photo-op was a one-way, first-class ticket to the Twilight Zone. The Arizona senator has adopted George W. Bush's habit of asking the American public who they're going to believe -- Him or Their Lying Eyes.

The eyes have it.

McCain did a little shopping in a Baghdad market surrounded by 100 Marines, with three Blackhawk helicopters and two Apache attack helicopters flying overhead. Not even Paris Hilton shops with that big an entourage.

And then to stand in front of reporters and claim to have proven his point leads me to believe that John McCain has officially entered La-La Land along with Bush, his dog Barney and Joe Lieberman.

The vaunted Maverick has officially lost sight of the trail and is now wandering aimlessly in the mindless wilderness. At any moment he's going to launch into a monologue about missing strawberries.

More soon.

This is where the rubber is going to meet the road, and there's gonna be roadkill along the way.

George W. Bush is the kind of guy who does not like being told what to do and will not stand for being criticized, let alone scolded for his conduct. If you doubt that, just go back and watch a tape of his first debate with John Kerry during the 2004 debates. His facial expressions tell the story.

And, with Dick Cheney's balls to stand behind him, Bush is not one to give in to an enemy.

Which leads us to today's showdown on Capitol Hill. The Senate wants to talk to Karl Rove and Harriet Meiers about their role in the firing of United States Attorneys; Bush would sooner take his ball and go home. He offered to let them talk to his Consiglieri and his Brain, but Pinky insisted that it essentially be off the record: No transcript, no Oath, no Audience.

Under the Republican-Controlled Congress, such a show of haughty petulance was enough to cow Congress.

Thursday, it will call his bluff and, essentially, call him out at High Noon.

George W. Bush is bluffing with a bad hand. Alberto "Fredo" Gonzalez has been caught with his pants around his ankles and so have Harriet Meiers and the Turd Blossom. The only thing that can possibly save them is a court ruling as outrageous and as partisan as the one that put W in office in the first place.

The tide has turned, and it just the first in a long series of losing hands the White House is about to play.

The way it handled USAs, the way the FBI misused National Security Letters to circumvent the use of a search warrant to obtain sensitive information. And we haven't even begun a serious look into the Administration's handling of No-Bid/Cost-Plus contracts in both Iraq and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Paraphrasing an anonymous Democrat, "We've only had subpoena power now for six weeks and every tree we've looked up has had a cat in it. Give us six months and see what happens."

What happens is simple: These cats are about to get fixed.

More soon.

Is it just me, or does the mainstream media STILL not see the forest for the trees?

They're focused on the Alberto Gonzalez job watch now. Will he be forced out? Is W's vote of confidence the kiss of death (I swear, you could see the nitwit almost say "Heckuva Job, Al!")

Rightly, the media has picked up on the loyalty oaths the White House seems to have wanted from its USAs.

In a country where two presidential elections have been tainted by voter purges by Republicans, voter intimidation by Republicans, dirty tricks by Republicans in direct contact with Ken Mehlman inside the White House, these United States Attorneys were forced out because they refused to prosecute weak and/or non-existent cases of voter fraud against Democrats in the heat of a tight election in order to help Republicans in tight races.

The blatant hypocracy is blinding here and no one is reporting on it.

This just kills me.

Hello? Is anyone watching? Does anyone out there with a printing press or a broadcasting license have any integrity?

I'm still waiting.

More to come.

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me be the first to point out what will become painfully obvious: Karl Rove will be indicted and spend the next 10 years defending himself in court. Dick Cheney may escape indictment -- indicting a sitting vice-president would be unprecedented but, in this case, totally in line with his blatant violations of law -- but he will soon be forced to resign in disgrace. Alberto Gonzalez may be the first one out the door after last week's revelations about Patriot Act abuses and his firing of eight United States Attorneys, a scandal that has now roped in Rove.

These men and their henchmen should be relieved to know that hypocracy is not a a criminal offense.

And while I'm on the subject, allow me to digress momentarily to explain to the braindead chattering classes out there bleating about a pardon for Scooter Libby: There are rules prohibitting his pardon. Maybe if you spent a little time READING the Constitution and the rule of law instead of cheering on a president who consistently wipes his ass with both, you would know that.

Now sit down and shut up until you at least know what you're talking about.

More soon.

he’s not spoiled, he always smells this way

I’ve been sitting with this one now for several days.

The “I’d the decider” comment from our Sock Puppet in Chief has been gnawing at me. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I knew there was something more there than just the sheer stupidity of the President of the United States uttering something so incredibly inane.

And then it came to me. It wasn’t the “I’m the decider” line that had me going at all. Stupid as it was, it wasn’t all that revealing from the man who gave our lexicon a word like “Strategery.”

No, the line that’s been gnawing at me is the other one. It’s when the President of the United States says “I get to decide” that I get nervous.

You see, someone working out of the Oval Office who has some concept of the job would have told that reporter that it was his (or her) responsibility to make that decision. That holding the office of President of the United States made him the ultimately responsible party in whatever undertaking a member of his Cabinet makes.

But no.

George W. Bush treats the job like the Birthday Boy at Chuck E. Cheese. “I get to decide.” As in “I get to sit in the front seat!” or “I get to pick the pizza!” Take away that right and he might very well hold his breath until he turns blue.

We need a President who understands the magnitude of the office and the consequences that are brought to bear each and every time a decision is made. Not a spoiled little kid protecting the remote control.

More soon.