For the first time ever, both Bush and Cheney will speak at the 2008 Conservative Political Action Conference. Cheney's speech is scheduled for Thursday February 7th at 11am and President Bush will speak on Friday.
Additionally, attendees can expect to meet with all four GOP candidates. McCain, who originally passed on the conference, is rightfully fearful of what could happen in his absence. (It's hard to tell which is more daunting -- facing immigrant-despising Conservatives or being rallied against by a rabble rouse more formidable than Hitler's WWII gatherings, in his absense.) Many Conservatives are simply looking for a leader to carry their base, so this event could have a large impact on undecided voters.
I'm still wondering how many people will go hog-wild with their $600 - $1200 rebate checks, purchasing big screen TVs, stocks and making downpayments on new cars... and how many people will just use the money to pay off sub-prime loan interest, credit card bills and past due heating bills.
Dick and Lynne traveled to McLean, Virginia to check out the progress on their new $1.5 Million Chateau. They began building the 12,765-square-foot home in 2000 and with four-bedrooms, nine-bathrooms (including his and hers bathrooms off the master bedroom), as well as his and hers libraries (each with fireplaces)... Dick and Lynne could literally live in the same house and never see one another!
Cheney stopped in Charlotte, North Carolina to make a private speech at the South Tryon Headquarters, regarding "the economy." Residents could care less about the VP's visit, except for the troublesome traffic congestion it will likely create.
Daughter of the VEEP, Liz Cheney, joined Mitt Romney as his senior foreign policy adviser, after having initially endorsed Thompson's failed bid for the White House.
Yet it's unlikely that Brattleboro residents will have their way: Vermont is the only state President Bush hasn't visited since he took office in 2001. (Could this all be the byproduct of pent-up resentment and bitterness, perhaps?)
It should be duly noted that Brattleboro, Vermont has an annual "Wingnut/Anarchist/Folk-Punk Music Festival" and a "Strolling of the Heifers" event each June. Additionally, public nudity was not discouraged until this past July when they voted 3-2 to "ban public nudity within 250 feet of a school or place of worship" (due to public complaints).
"Congress never intended to grant privacy rights to enemies overseas, yet because of modern technology, the law began to have that very effect," Cheney commented, underscoring the urgency of quickly updating FISA before the February 1st expiration date. I wonder if they'll wake legislators up in the middle of the night on January 31st to read the updates. That has GOT to be getting old!
Lott left after a 16 year congressional career to allow a "younger voice to represent Mississippi in the Senate." (Apparently Wicker is "56 years young," compared to Lott's 66 years).
This event was one of the only documented cases of a Cheney smile.
According to several sources, the emails that Cheney deleted allegedly had to do with the outing of Valerie Plame, as well as Cheney's secret dealings with oil and gas executives.
It appears some members of the "Liberal Media" (and by Liberal Media we mean "Fascists") don't believe that there could have been 16 days of no email coming in or out of Cheney's office. Cheney doesn't strike me as an avid emailer... I would guess he's as flaky as a California Surfer. (Think about all the meetings and parties he skips to go hunting.)
So perhaps he just wasn't getting back to people in a timely fashion and they were getting sick of being last on Dick's list so they took a one day break here and there to "show him." It was probably just coincidence that it happened to be around the time of certain inquiries into the Vice President's activities. There are always inquiries after all, aren't there?
Nancy Pelosi remains a "Loyal Cheney." Despite being greeted at airports with "Impeach Cheney" buttons and bombarded by fellow Democrats, she's sticking to what she feels is the higher road.
“It was my belief that an impeachment of the Vice President or the President … would be very divisive in our country, and that is what I believed then,” she recently told reporters. “It should have come to no surprise when I became Speaker I said it again, and I continue to hold that view.”
Maybe those cheap-ass activists should have tried t-shirts, hats, mugs...
Last week Cheney hung out with Canadian Premier Ed Stelmach inWashington for a half hour to discuss oil and trade. Despite environmental activists protesting Canada's "dirty oil" and several laws in California and other green states that may block trade from Canada, the Premier remains confident after his talks with VP Cheney.
"The vice-president is very aware of the province of Alberta in terms of a very stable, safe, secure supply (of oil) and also is aware of the environmental practices that we're now applying in developing those resources," Stelmach said in an interview. "He knows full well the importance of Alberta to the United States' continued supply of oil."
If there's one thing Cheney loves, it's greasy talks of oil... lots of it... pouring down from Canada by the discounted barrel. Ed seems to be grovelling... are you, Ed? Relax... you're in good hands with the United States... the US would never do anything negligent towards Canada... NAFTA is your friend...
Denver lawyers hope to oust Cheney on grounds that he "tried to censor a man who disagreed with his Iraq policies by arresting him." There are varied accounts as to what happened that 2006 day in Beaver Creek when Steven Howards touched Cheney on the arm and spoke his mind about the "reprehensible policies" in Iraq.
Look, Steven, when Cheney's in town to chill out with Gerald Ford and do some fishing, the last thing he wants to think about is your ideological viewpoints on Iraq! It's sort of like the time they tried to interrupt President Bush while he was reading to young children for something as silly as that the World Trade Towers being bombed... Geez!
"Short of sending Dick Cheney to Alaska to personally club baby polar bears to death, there's not too much that the administration can do that is worse for polar bears than oil and gas development in their habitat," Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity tells Salon.
Later today the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming will assess the polar bear situation while considering leasing 30 million acres of land to oil companies for drilling. Currently one-fifth of the world's polar bear population lives on that land, according to scientists. The leasing would begin as soon as February 6th, leaving little time for wildlife advocates to protest.
Kassie Siegel added, "This administration is racing to hand out as many entitlements for fossil-fuel development as they can," says Siegel. "They know that regulation of greenhouse gases is coming. They know it's inevitable."
Finland hasn't exactly warmed up to the Bush Administration. No officials have visited since 2002, but PM Matti Vanhanen scheduled a meeting with Dick Cheney this past Tuesday to discuss energy and climate issues.
Vanhanen described the meeting as "the most important political event of his current visit to the United States" -- which basically means he beat out Bill Gates and Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Who says Cheney isn't a celebrity?)
Cheney and Vanhanen discussed Afghanistan, Kosovo, and the NATO partnership for Peace programme. Vanhanen wanted to push policy change to address global warming, which he says he was pleased with, while Cheney wanted to know what's up with Russia.
In the end, the Finnish Prime Minister seemed happy with his meet-and-greet and declared that bilateral relations between the US and Finland are tip top.
How do over 10 million government emails just vanish? Sure, it's easy to hit the old "delete" button... but there seems to be a sticky web of half-stories and missing information that has any experienced archivist utterly baffled. Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald realized the emails were missing when he was looking into indicting Cheney and Rove.
Do You Remember George McGovern? Former Senator George McGovern ran against Richard Nixon in 1972. Now he's re-emerged as a strong advocate of Cheney impeachment hearings. He avoided judgment during the Nixon impeachment because he feared it would be seen as "personal vengeance," but now he feels our very democracy is at stake...
McGovern commented, "They [Bush and Cheney] "They have repeatedly violated the Constitution. They have transgressed national and international law. They have lied to the American people time after time. Their conduct and their barbaric policies have reduced our beloved country to a historic low in the eyes of people around the world. These are truly 'high crimes and misdemeanors,' to use the constitutional standard."
Interestingly enough, McGovern wrote the LA Times back in April in response to disparaging comments Cheney made about McGovern's 1972 run. Perhaps politics are always just a little bit personal.
The California Nurses Association has released advertisements and petitions calling for every American to receive "Cheneycare."
They argue that tens of millions of Americans paying for private insurance would not have received the care that Cheney recently received for his heart attack.
They're calling for a single-payer national health care system, much like Kucinich or Obama proposed.
Cheney Takes Aim At Pakistan
In a furtive Sunday meeting with Pakistan, Cheney, Bush and Condi Rice discussed the possibility of expanding CIA authority to hunt down terrorists in Pakistan.
Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mohammad Sadiq's position was clear: "Pakistan's position in the 'war on terror' has been very clear - that any action on Pakistani soil will be taken only by Pakistani forces and Pakistani security agencies."
The increased pressure comes as a result of Benazir Bhutto's assasination and alleged reports that "Al Qaeda is looking to destabilize the Pakistani government." One can understand Cheney's worries -- with the current state of emergency, rioting, eight people killed at government-sponsored "Peace Movement" office buildings and the arrest of Bin Laden's chief bodyguard Amin al-Haq last week.
Author Charlie Savage chronicles Cheney's abuse of power and describes secret tactics used by the Bush-Cheney duo that push the limits of executive power in his new book, Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy.
Read an interview with the author here.
In November and December, the Vice President met with auto makers in Detroit to discuss greenhouse gas emission standards. California, along with seventeen other representatives, were calling for stricter standards in their states. However, many were dismayed when EPA head Stephen Johnson shot down their request after private talks with Cheney ended.
One EPA staff member told the LA Times, "Clearly the White House said, 'We're going to get EPA out of the way and get California out of the way. If you give us this energy bill, then we're done, the deal is done."
Henry Waxman and Barbara Boxer are among some White House doubting Thomases, looking to further scrutinize Cheney's role in the decision.
California governor (and beloved Terminator) Arnold Schwarzenegger said, "It is disappointing that the federal government is standing in our way and ignoring the will of tens of millions of people across the nation."
I wasn't aware that Hillary was such a stand-up comedian... but apparently the mere thought of Cheney conjures up images of Darth Vader and generates a positive crowd response for the 2008 candidate. Watch the video here.
What's your New Years Resolution?
For some, it's impeaching the Vice President.
Bob Wexler is Dick Cheney's latest nemesis...
Who Is He?
Democratic Bob has served in the House of Representatives since 1997, representing Florida's 19th District. You may have caught him on The Colbert Report when Stephen asked him to complete the following statement, "I enjoy cocaine because..." and he responded, "It's a fun thing to do!" Bob has a real sense of humor, but when it comes to Dick Cheney's shenanigans, he's not laughing.
What Is He Doing?
Bob started campaigning aggressively in September to impeach the Vice President.. He started a website WexlerWantsHearings.com, hoping that he could get just 50,000 signatures to a petition calling to impeach Cheney. Surprisingly, in just two weeks, he received 170,000 signatures!
Why Is He Doing It?
Suddenly, the land that Dick Cheney co-presided over has turned into a scurvy lynch-mob that could rival the towns people in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. For some, Cheney's statement that he's impervious to hearings because he's "not part of the executive branch" was the last straw. For others, the blame for our rush to war must surely land on the Vice President's shoulders.
For Wexler, it's both of those things, but mostly a deep-seated frustration with the inability to get anything done in Congress. Bush has vetoed every promise the Democrats have made: stem cell research, troop withdrawal and children's health care, to name a few. Bob believes, if pursued, the hearings can encourage honest dialogue, in addition to serving as a symbol to Bush (that Congress isn't weak) and to the American people (that Democracy can still work.)
* Check back for regular updates to this section!
