With every lousy poll that comes out for the Republican Congress, you have to think that some of them have asked themselves if it were possible for things to get any worse. If so, I have bad news for them. How does a prostitution scandal grab you?
Federal prosecutors are investigating whether two contractors implicated in the bribery of former Rep. Randall “Duke” Cunningham supplied him with prostitutes and free use of a limousine and hotel suites, pursuing evidence that could broaden their long-running inquiry.
Besides scrutinizing the prostitution scheme for evidence that might implicate contractor Brent Wilkes, investigators are focusing on whether any other members of Congress, or their staffs, may also have used the same free services, though it isn’t clear whether investigators have turned up anything to implicate others.
In recent weeks, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have fanned out across Washington, interviewing women from escort services, potential witnesses and others who may have been involved in the arrangement. In an interview, the assistant general manager of the Watergate Hotel confirmed that federal investigators had requested, and been given, records relating to the investigation and rooms in the hotel. But he declined to disclose what the records show. A spokeswoman for Starwood Inc., Westin’s parent company, said she wasn’t immediately able to get information on whether the Westin Grand had been contacted by investigators.
Wow. Kos’ Georgia10 and the TPM Muckraker have more. I can’t wait to see how this plays out.
Boo yah!
It’s not a scandal until it involves drugs, women, or both!
The big pile of GOP corruption is so staggering, it gives me a headache.
But, sometimes there is a little light…
Want to see what Democrats get arrested for? I couldn’t be Prouder.
Five Congressional Dems Arrested for Darfur Protest
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/28/15454/8830
by SusanG
Fri Apr 28, 2006 at 01:04:54 PM CST
From Reuters:
WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters)
– Five members of the U.S. Congress were arrested on Friday at a demonstration held at the Sudan embassy to protest atrocities in that country’s Darfur region, congressional aides said.
The lawmakers, all Democrats, were Reps. Tom Lantos of California, James McGovern and John Olver of Massachusetts, James Moran of Virginia, and Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, aides to McGovern and Lantos said.
PoliticsTV’s Democracy Channel has a special report, with video footage of the arrests, available in Quicktime or Windows Media.
The genocide in Darfur seems to be finally working its way into the world’s consciousness, with protests such as this – and, of course, with George Clooney’s help yesterday, when he appeared with conservative Sen. Sam Brownback and Sen. Obama in a press conference to underscore that the issue of preventing genocide should be a non-partisan effort.
“It’s not a political issue,” Clooney said. “There’s no right or left, there is no conservative or liberal point of view. There is only right or wrong.”
Amen.
Update: Check out swinginvoter’s diary which has some great photos in the comments.
As interesting as this scandal is, I’d much prefer to see our FBI agents tracking down terrorists than worrying about whether a politician screwed a whore or not. Talk about misplaced priorities.
How could it get any worse?
with humor…
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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/29/234846/828
Stephen Colbert smacks Bush down hard (WITH SPOILER QUOTES and POLL)
by TrueBlueMajority
Sat Apr 29, 2006 at 09:48:46 PM CST
Stephen Colbert just mercilessly slapped down George Bush from ten feet away. Bush had to sit there and smile and pretend he liked it and could do nothing to stop him. Delicious!
Colbert worked in everything–everything! He smacked down the Republicans on:
NSA wiretapping
Katrina
Global warming
capitalist kissing up to China
the Republican aversion to facts
secret prisons in Eastern Europe
bad reporting on WMD intelligence
the complicity of the mainstream media
retired generals attacking Rumsfeld
the 32% approval rating
Jeff Gannon
Plamegate
the relentlessness of Helen Thomas asking tough questions
the culture of corruption
selected killer quotes (rough transcription):
I give people the truth unfiltered by factual argument. I call it the No Fact Zone. Fox News, I hold a copyright on that term.
The government that governs best is the government that governs least, and by these standards we have set up a fabulous government in Iraq.
reality has a well known liberal bias
I stand by this man because he stands for things. Not only for things, he stands on things, like aircraft carriers, rubble and recently flooded city squares. And that sends a strong mesasge that no matter what happens to America she will always rebound with the most powerfully staged photo ops in the world!
The greatest thing about this President is you know where he stands. He believes the same thing Wednesday that he believed on Monday, no matter what happened Tuesday!
Fox News gives you both sides of every story, the President’s side and the Vice President’s side.
Write that novel you’ve got kicking around in your head–you know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the Administration–you know, fiction!
[Jesse Jackson] is a very challenging interview… It’s like boxing a glacier. Enjoy that metaphor by the way because your grandchildren will have no idea what a glacier is.
Mayor Nagin is here from New Orleans, the Chocolate City… Mayor Nagin, I’d like to welcome you to Washington D.C., the Chocolate City with a marshmallow center… and a graham cracker crust of corruption.
It may appear that he was bombing because the sheltered Fox News watching conservative crowd is unaccustomed to satire and have never heard themselves so throughly skewered before. Republicans don’t know how to laugh at themselves and the scattered Democrats are afraid to laugh heartily under the circumstances, but when they get home and watch it on Tivo they’ll have tears in their eyes just like me watching it from the safety of home.
I think Stephen the brilliant, the magnificent, the unparalleled, accomplished what he set out to do:
He also threw barbs at Bush and Cheney and selected other targets like McCain, Rove, McClellan, and Rumsfeld. He made rude gestures at Antonin Scalia. He showered rhetorical kisses on Helen Thomas.
Most important, he told them his name and they will never forget who he is. He didn’t do what liberals usually do and agree to make fun of liberals too in order to appease the crowd. He was so good that they will never ask him back. At least until the liberals are in control of Washington again.
I just figured out why I’m so happy about this performance.
He said everything I would want to say if I could force George Bush to listen to me as a captive audience for 20 minutes.
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C-Span : I am having difficulty getting schedule information on further airings, pardon me.
…………………………
check C-Span now
for Steven Cobert upcoming
as the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is on now, this noon, this Sunday.
Ha, Ha!
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At this rate Limbaugh will never get through his drug abuse therapy.