Foley

A tough week for America

Posted by Jeff

The ongoing drama of the Iraq war has sapped this country of credibility, cash and the good will of our armed forces, but this past week or two has been even more depressing.

First, Bush openly advocates for a pro-torture/anti-Geneva conventions bill that eliminates Habeas Corpus. Then, the White House refuses to release the full results of the NIE study showing that Iraq is contributing to Islamic radicalists call for Jihad. Then, Condi Rice denies that she was briefed by the CIA just prior to 9-11. And finally, House GOP leadership refuses to take responsibility for harboring a pedophile at the top of their child protection platform in Congress.

1 comment

Spinning the Unspinnable

Posted by Billbar

You've got to hand it to the Wall Street Journal editorial staff. They take their partisanship seriously. While fair weather Republicans like Michelle Malkin, Bay Buchanan, and the folks at the Washington Times are distancing themselves from the House Republican leadership in the wake of the Mark Foley scandal, the diehard partisans at the Journal continue onward, undeterred. To them, nothing is unspinnable, even a scandal in which House Republican leaders appear to have turned a blind eye to a sexual predator in their midst in order to retain control of a contested congressional seat. These guys live for the challenge of defending the indefensible.

Post a comment

"When I am King/You Will Be First Against the Wall..."

Posted by Billbar from firedoglake

You know, of all the pathetic examples of Reich Wing queers who carry water for the Republican party, I think Matt Drudge may well be the lowest of the low. Worse than man-whore Jimmy/Jeff Gannon/Guckert. Worse than Ken "Girlfriend in a Coma" Mehlman. And yes, worse even than Mark "Chicken Hawk" Foley. Because Drudge, for whatever reasons, is so deeply buried in the Wingnut Wurlitzer's inner workings that he can float their talking points far, far ahead of everyone else. He is an essential greasy little cog in their propaganda machine, the one that enables them to pervert the national dialogue before it even begins. Drudge toes the GOP party line before most of them have even read their morning faxes from Karl Rove's office.

Post a comment

Moonie Times: Resign, Mr. Speaker

Posted by Billbar from Washington Times

House Speaker Dennis Hastert must do the only right thing, and resign his speakership at once. Either he was grossly negligent for not taking the red flags fully into account and ordering a swift investigation, for not even remembering the order of events leading up to last week's revelations -- or he deliberately looked the other way in hopes that a brewing scandal would simply blow away. He gave phony answers Friday to the old and ever-relevant questions of what did he know and when did he know it? Mr. Hastert has forfeited the confidence of the public and his party, and he cannot preside over the necessary coming investigation, an investigation that must examine his own inept performance.

Post a comment

Ex-Rep. Foley Checks in to Alcohol Rehab

Posted by Billbar from Forbes

"I strongly believe that I am an alcoholic and have accepted the need for immediate treatment for alcoholism and other behavioral problems," Foley said in a statement, Roth confirmed to the AP. The FBI, meanwhile, said late Sunday it "is conducting an assessment to see if there's been a violation of federal law," according to FBI spokesman Richard Kolko.

Post a comment

What the Foley Affair Says About America

Posted by Jeff

For some reason, there’s something reminiscient of Abu Ghraib when I think of the Foley Scandal. While Abu Ghraib was much worse than one pedophile in Congress (still serious), the way the Republicans are trying to minimize the scandal and punish only the lowest level perpetrators rather than those that knew or were responsible to enforce the law is similar. Today the White House was framing the scandal as just “naughty emails”...and perhaps Abu Ghraib as just “naughty photos”.

Foley checking in for supposed alcoholism treatment is a nod to the right wing. Homosexuality, even pedophilia, is just inappropriate behavior caused by being under the influence of alcohol. He’s probably hoping for a tearful apology and to run again one day. When will the religious flock get that they are often led by the most corrupt?

Post a comment

Former Pages Describe Foley as Caring Ally

Posted by Billbar from New York Times

Matthew Loraditch, who worked as a page with Ms. Gallo and Mr. McDonald in 2001 and 2002, said a supervisor had once casually mentioned that Mr. Foley “was odd” and that he later saw sexually explicit text messages that Mr. Foley had sent to two former pages after they left the program.

1 comment