Newsie's WiR: Bush, Chafee's Spine and Voinovich's Guts Go AWOL

Newsie’s Week in Reviewsies: Bush, Chafee’s Spine and Voinovich’s Guts All AWOL This Past Week

This regular meta-diary focuses on the best overlooked diaries (didn’t get front-paged or on to the recommended list) from the past week; it was once called “Week’s Best Diaries You Didn’t Read.” This column also includes information from elsewhere in cyberspace, blogosphere PSAs, and my own commentary. Diaries are listed because:

they’re fabulously written & have SUBSTANCE
they’ll educate you on candidates and states.
newsworthy items that got lost in the mix
there was research involved (copyright rules must be followed)

Please add to the list in the replies or email me links you’d like to see included. For previous editions, search my diaries for them. Consider subscribing to my diaries if you never want to miss an edition. Opinions expressed in the links are not endorsed by me. Archives are here as well.

Democratic Officeholder(s) of the Week!
Blue ribbon goes to… FilibusterFrist! who went to D.C. to continue their filibuster…and cheers to the officeholders who joined them!

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!

Items (copied, pasted or reworded) from various sources or compiled by me; some commentary is mine.

DeLay’s Dirty Baker’s Dozen
When churches do unholy things… The NC church that is kicking out non-Bush voters and the Ohio Catholic church that is trying to cover its ass on molestation laws.
Ney is in trouble… for helping sell planes in the Middle East. And “winning” enough money gambling to pay off some debt.
(House Race Hotline) American Prospect’s Levine writes, “Take pity on poor” Rep. Bob Ney (R), “who insists he’s just another victim of lobbyist Jack Abramoff” and consultant Michael Scanlon. Unlike the Indian tribes that paid $82M “to that scamming duo,” the Rep. “at least got campaign donations and a lavish trip” to St. Andrew’s golf course out of them. “Whether he got more than that is now a matter of interest” to the DoJ, according to a source who “says that the probers are seeking to discover whether Ney received any illegal donations from Abramoff” (5/10).
Ney, DeLay and Abramoff
Spokane Mayor West who hates gay people… two allege that he made overtures to underaged boys
More sexual abuse victims of Jim West Americablog has been all over the situation this past week.
Did Mitt Romney Illegally Use Corporate Funds to Pay Off Consultants?
Right wingnuts who suck at their jobs.
Big News on Jack Abramoff – Foreign Government Link, by SwingVoter
DeLay hearts worker abuse in the Marianas islands
DeLay Scales Back Power Plays: GOP leader is beginning to realize that controversy over lobbyists is threatening his political career.
Ohio GOP Rare Coin Scandal roundup
Larry Flynt says Bolton won’t answer questions about troubled marriage
ex-CIA director John McLaughlin backs up allegations about Bolton
Conservatives warn about Bolton.
Right wingnut Rick Scarborough
Reid Calls Hatch on Hatch’s Filibuster Bullshit
Frist lies about the up-or-down vote claim.
Rep. Sherwood and his mistress…more details of their relationship. Funny.
NYT: After FL Legislative Session Ends, Jeb Bush Feels Sting of Defeat
(WakeupCall) Grover Norquist said ATR has received nearly $1.5M from Indian tribes in the past 5 years “and that he arranged for tribal leaders to attend meetings to discuss tax policy” with Pres. Bush (Boston Globe).
RMN: Gov. Bill Owens and wife reconciliate after a two year separation. He was kicked out of his house, and he wants to come back now.

More blogs that frequently have posts that deal with this topic:

DNC’s Case File. Scandal Man: A Guide to the Ethics Violations, Abuses of Power, and Corruption of DeLay
Tom DeLay’s House of Scandal
Jack Abramoff and Friends
Drop the Hammer on DeLay
Republican Noise Machine from MyDD
DCCC blog: The Stakeholder
First Draft
For video on the worst of the phony Republicans, visit Crooks & Liars.
The Daily DeLay is updated regularly & has action items.
TAPPED from The American Prospect.
The Fly Trap at The Gadflyer

My Pet President?: Even More to the Story than you think, by Magorn

Smilin’ Norm Coleman update, May 12, by jimdscott Regular update on Sen. Coleman from MN.

Vid of Hager bragging about killing Plan B on WH orders found, by Magorn

Dr. Hager will not re-up at the FDA, by RevDeb

Hart(R-PA): leave Delay ethics panel or give up law license, by balletshooz The Dems ought to put a strong challenger up.

SENATOR KENNEDY: Republicans Breaking Senate Rules, by Crystal Patterson

Priscilla Owen: boy died? not my problem, by bigskiphazzy

6th Circuit nominee donations to Spencer Abraham, by joan reports

Bush’s Economic Report Card: An F, by bonddad

Damning analysis of leaked memo, by Christian Dem in NC

The Return of the Swift Boats Writer! by StevenD

Bush: A Crisis of His Own Making, by pacified

“Physician of the Year” Scam Linked to Rep. Tom Reynolds, by dietznbach

Debunking Kudlow, by bonddad

UT-Sen: Hatch the hypocrite, good news at the Dem Convention, by Mormon for Democracy

Henry Rollins rips Enron and Bush, by asdfasdf

Appeals court sides with Cheney on Energy Task Force suit, by lipris

Outrage of the Week
The Bush administration periodically put the USA on high alert for terrorist attacks even though then-Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge argued there was only flimsy evidence to justify raising the threat level, Ridge now says.

Right Wingnuts Off Message

Alexander and other lawmakers said the rules established in the REAL ID Act will have unintended consequences. Driver’s license examiners trained to decide whether a person can parallel park will have to determine whether an applicant is an al-Qaida terrorist, he said.

[…]

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, vice chairman of the National Governors Association, has said “if more than half of the governors agree we’re not going down without a fight on this, Congress will have to consider changing” the rules. Huckabee also is a Republican.

“If you think a trip to the division of motor vehicle is a bad experience today, wait until the REAL ID takes effect,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said.

Action Alert
How close is your representative to scandal-plagued Tom DeLay? Take action against him/her.

Right Wing Corporate/Controlled Media (RWCM) Watch

(Hotline) Sunday — Meet the Press hosts Egyptian PM Ahmed Nazif, Washington Post’s David Broder, Wall Street Journal’s Paul Gigot, BBC’ Katty Kay, and Washington Post’s Eugene Robinson. Face the Nation hosts Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA), New York Times’ Elisabeth “Hack” Bumiller and Washington Post’s Colbert King. This Week hosts Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) and Dem strategist Paul Begala. Fox News Sunday hosts NSA Stephen Hadley and Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Late Edition hosts Hadley and surprise!!!! Sens. Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Joe Biden (D-DE). Saturday — Capital Gang hosts Sen. John Sununu (R-NH).
Houston Chronicle: O’Reilly a Bald-Faced Liar, by heterodoxy Too Funny
AP on the GOP payroll?, by becca00
The “Liberal Media” Strike Again, by kaineforgovernor
Phony Journalists for the NRA, by doink
Debunking the Drudge-Novak Dissing of Dean, by wyethwire
Broder, do not go to the Dark Side, by wolverinethad
My Own Wingnut Columnist, by folkbum
Blog Regionalization: MSM is Paying Attention in Philly, by danielua
The Right Wing Smear on Reid: Anatomy of Killing a Story by That “VLWC”
Brooks & Tierney columns are almost identically stupid.
Laura Bush’s Joke Writer
Media News Monday 5/9/05, by Newsie8200
Penndit’s RWCM Watch & Media News Link Listing

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

For more on these issues, check these out:
PDBs from Soj Fantastic daily resource. Subscribe to Soj!
Daily War News from a veteran
Laura Rozen’s blog War and Piece
Juan Cole’s Informed Comment
The Washington Note
Flogging the Simian by Soj

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

Attention: Deficit Disorder, by Robert E. Rubin
Taking the “Public” Out of Public Lands
New Democratic Think Tank: New Politics Institute Feat. Joe Trippi and Markos!
(Gov.com) MN Star Trib: As debate on a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage languishes in the state Senate, a Star Tribune poll shows that 52 percent of adults in the state oppose gay and lesbian legal unions, an increase of 10 percentage points over last year. (Newsie: This is in line with other data showing midwesterners increasingly opposed to gay marriage.)
Democratic Presidents are better for the economy than Republican ones
Blog-Journalism: My Interview with Deacon at East Waynesville Baptist Church, by southlib
NC Church flip-flops on ex-communicating non-Bush voters
Moronic Energy Bill Soon to Celebrate 4th Birthday by Meteor Blades at Next Hurrah
CAFTA and Democrats from MyDD
Sirota on the whinging from the moderate to conservative House Democrats. Pelosi did the right thing. Personally, I usually identify myself as a moderate Democrat, but if I go issue by issue, I’m liberal on some and centrist on others. There should be leeway for differences within the party. That’s what makes us better than robot Republicans. However, there are ways of disagreeing with the party that won’t hurt the party, and there is some legislation that is absolutely unacceptable for any Democrat to vote for. IMO, there ought to be some leeway on social issues, but on economic issues, by and large, there’s rarely any reason for any Democrat to stray. Unless the rep is representing a district or state that depends so heavily on keeping one or two businesses happy and employing people in that state (and therefore, the only way to get re-elected is to keep that one business happy), there’s really no excuse.
70% of Americans will see benefit cuts under Bush’s Social Security “plan.”
Paul Krugman Smacks Down David Brooks
Ideas on how to Lower gas prices
Reid v. Frist from The Decembrist
DKos Student Roll Call