Hey, remember the U.S. attorney scandal? Fishy potentially-motivated-by-partisanship firings of nine U.S. attorneys by the White House?

Well, Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, hasn't forgotten. At the Democratic National Convention yesterday, Talking Points Memo's David Kurtz asked Leahy for reaction to the news that a U.S. district court judge has refused to stay an order that former White House aide Harriet Miers is legally required to testify about the firings.

Strange. At www.YouTube.com/watch?v=XO71HX8fi4 (Im not sure if that's a capital 0 or a zero) you can see it. I ran into it this morning. I had to watch it a few times to get that it was real.

If you are trying to figure out how we got the housing/mortgage crisis, this article might help: www.alternet.com/election08/87999 - it's kind of what I had expected, but I didn't have a name. I couldn't read too far into it today, it was too inflammatory in effect on me.

I think I fried my brain yesterday, trying to focus on women's issues, and then losing all I had written because it was over 30 minutes. Probably there's a way to mark and copy, but I don't know how. And my brain just feels burnt. So - what was it I had in mind to write?

Listening to the response (or lack therof) of most Congressional Democrats to Bush's shameless actions regarding the war, I'm reminded of a poignantly funny article from the Onion titled "Democratic Mob Censures Bush in Effigy."

Humor aside, we have to acknowledge that the Democrats' hesitance is tactical folly, as well as unethical.

Bush and the conservatives clearly have no confidence that a Republican will win in 2008. They are setting the stage for a Democratic president to absorb the failure of the war, and to force them into a situation where they have the most awkward, prolonged withdrawl possible.

This is why there is so much reference to Vietnam, and the conservative historical revisionist myth that the war was winnable, but was lost because of the peace movement.

Taking decisive action to oppose Bush is the only way to avert that catastrophe, and start bringing our brothers and sisters home at last. It doesn't matter if the Republicans may filibuster our demands in the Senate - let them become the emblems of callous partisanship. It doesn't matter if Bush keeps vetoing the withdrawl demands - let him continue to brand the war as a Republican failure.

Democracy cannot exist without compromise. But it can just as easily wither under excessive compromise than it can under excessive force. Now is the time for boldness, not deal-making.

Following the Republicans' block of Senate's no-confidence vote on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales yesterday (53-38, 7 short of the 60 needed), President W. offered this; "They can have their votes of no confidence, but it's not going to make the determination about who serves in my government."

A few Sunday nights ago, my Dad and I were watching a program on channel 13 about Iwo Jima which, presumably as intended, sparked me to think about war. The aged military man in his button shirt and typical old man khakis recalled how he had, more than once, seen a dead Japanese soldier on the ground at Iwo Jima. Looking for a souvenir of sorts on this particular occasion, the younger version of this man approached the body and upon seeing the soldier's wallet falling out of his pocket, bent down and opened it. He immediately found a photo of this now dead man with his wife and two boys. The American soldier says he paused, prayed and then proceeded to close the wallet, putting it back deep inside the other's pocket.

I say again, war is so f stupid. And here's a few reasons why.

The Good News:

Paul Wolfowitz resigned from the World Bank, effective June 30th... 'Nuff said.

The Bad News:

Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty officially blamed his children's college finances for his resignation. Hmm... worse cover-up EVER!

The Ugly News:

Sadly, Alberto Gonzalez is still Attorney General. Well... Congress may have a full plate, but as the NY Times pointed out, he's impeacheable, you know!

Did anyone catch McCain at the De La Hoya - Mayweather fight Saturday night?

If you look at the third row at the left of the screen, you should be able to make out the Senator and his wife. (clip below)

From Iraq to Katrina to Iraq again--and every other issue in between--the Bush Presidency has been marred by a series of shameful, incompetent, and dangerous policy decisions. If his last veto on the Iraqi spending bill weren't enough, Bush is ensuring to secure his legacy as a failed presidency.

This Administration is quite frankly the unwanted gift that keeps on giving: The abundance of incompetence mixed with the paucity of accountability.

Even after Foley's "Page-gate" scandal, You wouldn't think an abstinence-only advocate frequently calls an escort service for, well, their "services," BUT...

The Winner of this week's "Bless His Heart" Award:

President Bush!

But seriously, Mr. President...