Week in Reviewsies: CAFTA, SCOTUS, Plame, and Rove

Newsie's Week in Reviewsies: CAFTA, SCOTUS, Plame, and Rove

Democratic Officeholder(s): Blue Ribbons, Runners-Up, and Penalty Box
Blue Ribbon(s)
* Sen. Harry Reid: "On our 100th day, let's review the Republican agenda

Runner(s)-Up

• Cheers to Paul Begala for sending out this DSCC email this past week. Via Hotline: "You already know about the whacked-out, nut-case, out-of-the-mainstream right-wing views Rick Santorum spouts in his new book," and "I'm here to tell you that it doesn't stop there." More: "Santorum acts, talks, writes -- and votes -- like he's the senior senator from the 13th Century, not the junior senator from Pennsylvania." He "makes Trent Lott look like Michael Moore."
  
• Finance Com. Passes Kerry Plan to Protect Pensions, by kerrycrat
  
• What Obama has been up to lately
  
• A Victory for Clean Water
  
• AmeriSave: A Democratic Plan for Retirement Security

Penalty Box

• The CAFTA 15.
  
• Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D) Thou art inept.
  
• DKos member lapin is unhappy with her CAFTA-Yea-voting Democratic representative

Pinocchio Politicians...Phony, Weak, Useless, Incompetent, Hypocritical, Radical, Petulant, Regressive, Corrupt & Power Hungry Right Wing "Worse Than Nixon" Republican "Do As I Say, Not as I Do" Coward Watch!

From around the blogosphere. Items from various sources or compiled by me; some commentary is mine.
News & Outrage(s) of the Week

• Sen. Shelby of Alabama is supposed to be under investigation. But shh, don't remind Pat Roberts that he's being a partisan hack.
  
• Setback in Denver Three Case
  
• Sen. Pat Roberts, BushCo apologist and total hypocrit
  
• DeLay up to his old tricks Jackass. And kudos to Rep. Waxman (D-CA) for calling DeLay on it.
  
• Wherein A Wingnut's True Nature Is Exposed, by lapin
  
• The Capitulation of John McCain, by RenaRF
  
• VIDEO: Operation Pink Elephant: Rick Santorum says no to contraception
  
• [Update 2: Army Times Pissed] Frist Chooses NRA over Troops, by QWQ
  
• Fallout from the Sensenbrenner judge intimidation affair, by dmsilev
  
• Duke Cunningham scandals: The gift that keeps on giving
  
• Hotline: "According to VA Dems, the VA GOP "is trying to absolve itself of responsibility for criminal activities by seeking insurance to pay for its role in an eavesdropping scandal." Dem legislators "said the GOP lied when it said in a court filing" in 6/04 "that it had no insurance to cover its liability." VA GOP exec dir. Shawn Smith "said it answered 'none' to relevant insurance agreements" in 6/04 because Union Insurance Co. "had denied it liability coverage" (Whitley, Richmond Times Dispatch, 7/29). The party "contends that is should have been covered because it did not know about or condone the eavesdropping on calls" among Dem lawmakers and Gov. Mark Warner (D) in '02 (Bellantoni, Washington Times, 7/29)."

Ohio GOP

• OH-2 candidate Jean Schmidt has gotten caught in the culture of corruption
  
• Hotline: "U.S. Atty. Gregory White, a leader in the multi-agency task force investigating GOPers, asked Taft to call Pres. Bush on his behalf 8/02, records released by Taft's office 7/28 show. Those records "show a relationship between one of the lead attorneys" in the state's "biggest corruption scandal in decades," and the gov whose admin "is under intense scrutiny." The DoJ and WH could not say what role, if any, Taft played in the appointment. DNC spokesperson John Earnest: "To restore faith in the probe, an impartial investigator should be appointed to find out whether tainted funds were funneled to the President's re-election campaign" (Wilkinson/Eder, Toledo Blade, 7/29)."
  
• Taft staff charged in Ohio, expected to plead & cooperate, by Hypothetically Speaking
  
• Chairwoman for Bush in OH - tampering with taxes? By Jeff Seeman for Congress
  
• WakeupCall: "Chief Columbus City Prosecutor Stephen McIntosh said 7/26 he'll file criminal charges against OH Gov. Bob Taft's(R) ex-CoS Brian Hicks for not reporting stays at coin dealer Tom Noe's FL vacation home "at below market rates" (Toledo Blade)."

Plame, Rove, etc.

• Since I want to try and focus on all of the other issues going on right now, I'll link to the daily Plame investigation updates at Penndit.
  
• Treasongate Roundup 7/25/05
  
• Plame Roundup 7/26/05
  
• Plame Roundup 7/27/05 Will CNN finally fire Bob Novak?
  
• Plame/Turd-Blossom-Gate Roundup 7/28/05
  
• Plame/Turd-blossom-gate roundup 7/29/05

Republican(s) Off Message

• Stuart Bowen does a surprisingly good job, so BushCo want to get rid of him
  
• Sen. Olympia Snowe has not decided if she's going to support John Roberts for SCOTUS

National Security/Foreign Policy/War/International Issues, News & People in the News

War, Military

• Calling BS n my GOP Senator, by vmibran
  
• Iraq: Throwing Good Money After Bad, by Coldblue Steele
  
• Missed Recruiting Goals: It's the Message, by BarbinMD
  
• The Wounded: Stories and Pictures, by MSOC
  

Military release uses same quote for two different bombings

• Army Major's Testimony Destroys 'Few Bad Apples' BS, by lapin
  
• Civil War in Iraq? The lengths to which the right will justify it all.
  
• Just another flight from Atlanta, by wtbrowning

National Security, Terrorism

• Homegrown US terrorists.
  
• Congrats to the Brits for some fine police work in catching those 4 suspected bombers.  Jeers though to shooting an innocent man.  
  
• The Heroes of the Pentagon's Interrogation Scandal -- Finally, the JAG Memos
  
• Flashy tactics won't defeat the terrorists: Intelligence and policing by consent are the keys to beating the bombers, not a US type 'war on terror'
  
• 2002 Effort to Charge London Suspect Blocked by Justice Dept., by mcjoan
  
• International consensus: Bush terrorism strategy failing. Will the national media cover this extensively?

From Around the World

• More Bad Environmental News: Arctic Sea Ice Melting, by Steven D
  
• CNN correspondent talks about reporting from Niger and the food crisis there.
  
• The little Chinese Seamstress and the Big, Bad Government, by OtherLisa
  
• Snapshots from Around the World 7/28/05

Domestic Issues & Other Issues, News & People in the News

Check this out
* Heat waves caused by CO2...

SCOTUS:

• Senate Democrats have forum so that you can ask John Roberts a question.
  
• John G. Roberts... more conservative than some Reaganites?
  
• Unprecedented: WH will not release Roberts tax returns, by pontificator
  
• WakeupCall: "An ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that 64% of adults believe that John Roberts should publicly state his position on abortion before being approved by the Senate (release)."
  
• Dems Should Go JU-JITSU on the Roberts Nomination, by pontificator
  
• Talk Left notes that John Roberts has a lack of experience in some key areas
  
• A Senate Strategy Memo, by KagroX
  
• Roberts: "No memory" of belonging to Federalist Society, by BarbinMD Who knows? Maybe someone'll catch him lying during the Senate confirmation hearings.
  
• Gonzales says that Roberts is not obligated to follow Roe v. Wade
  
• Justice O'Connor Blasts Republicans, by bonddad
  
• Primer on the history of the Solicitor General's office

• Stem cells, an angry mother, and my opponent, by Jamie Wall
  
• Energy bill = Access to bomb grade uranium, by Senator Russ Feingold
  
• Energy Breakthroughs! 100+ mpg Plug-in Hybrids, New Wind Turbines, by Sherlock Google
  
• Attention CO, NM, WY, UT Kossacks - NEPA Hearing!, by environmentalist
  
• Hispanics are New Hate Crime Target, by eugee
  
• Missing Pregnant 25 YO Mother Alert (Non-White Division), by Richard Cranium
  
• CAFTA coverage all over, but especially here.
  
• Beware: Bait-n-Switch on CAFTA, by Congressman Frank Pallone
  
• Analysis: South was key to CAFTA vote, by ProgressiveSouth
  
• South is key battleground for CAFTA vote, by ProgressiveSouth
  
• Hate mail & gay news roundup, by pamindurham
  
• Governors go to Japan to hunt jobs; Japanese employers prefer Canadian education & healthcare, by mhojo
  
• AFL-CIO split, a View from the South, by Progressive South
  
• The Next Phase of the SS Privatization Push: More Lies
  
• USAToday editorial on the estate tax
  
• Durbin, Santorum, Casey and Inconsistency, by NeilDB
  
• Wellstone Memorial Near Completion, by Patriot for Al Gore
  
• SEIU and other unions split from AFL-CIO.

On TV this weekend from The Hotline: Sunday -- Meet the Press hosts NASA admin. Michael Griffin, Discover commander Eileen Collins, Discovery pilot James Kelly Discovery mission specialist Charles Camarda, Washington Post's David Broder, Wall Street Journal's John Harwood, National Review's Kate O'Beirne, and Washington Post's Gene Robinson. Face the Nation hosts Collins, Kelly, Camarda, and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA). This Week hosts Collins, Kelly, Camarda, retired astronaut Buzz Aldrin, ex-Sen. John Glenn (D-OH), and Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA). Fox News Sunday hosts Collins, Kelly, Camarda, and Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Chris Dodd (D-CT). Late Edition hosts Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Sens. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ), and Egyptian PM Ahmed Nazif.
      Other Weekend Shows -- Road to the White House features the appearances by Gov. Tom Vilsack (D-IA) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) at the DLC convo (C-SPAN, SUN, 6:30 p.m.). "After Words" features Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) interviewed by National Journal's Kirk Victor (C-SPAN2, SUN, 6 p.m.).

Campaign News Update: 7/23 to 7/29 2005, 2006, 2008 Campaign News & Analysis HoR, Sen, Gov, Pres

Media News Monday (RWCM coverage here): 7/25/05 Media News Monday: Stephen Colbert, Plame, Novak, Bloomberg News. Plus, all the usual suspects. Interesting stuff in the trends section.