Long gone is the notion that Pelosi and crew actually meant to keep their promise to “drain the Congressional swamp of corruption”… hell, they’re not even bothering to try and keep up the facade any longer. Their message is now, loud and clear, “We’re Democrats, we’re corrupt, and to hell with the rest of you.”

WASHINGTON (AP) - House Democrats rejected a Republican bid Tuesday to reprimand Rep. John Murtha, a senior lawmaker accused of threatening legislative reprisals against a GOP member who had crossed him.

Before and after the largely party-line vote, which caused some Democrats discomfort, Republicans taunted Democratic leaders about their campaign promises to run a more ethical and open Congress.

So much discomfort that all but 2 voted against taking ethics action against one of their own.

Murtha, known for his gruff manner and fondness for pork barrel projects, did not dispute claims that he charged across the House floor May 17 to confront Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich.

To make matters worse, the threat violated ethics rules put in place by this very Congress in January.

So what was Rogers doing that got Murtha so mad? He was trying to strike a $23 million earmark Murtha tried to attach to some legislation. You know, earmarks… those pork-barrel appropriations for special interests in a representative’s home district.

Rogers had tried unsuccessfully to strike a $23 million Murtha earmark—a targeted spending item—for a drug intelligence center in Murtha’s district.

In a House speech Monday, Rogers said Murtha threatened him by saying, “you will not get any earmarks now and forever.” Rogers, backed by House GOP leaders, said Murtha’s threat violated congressional ethics rules.

But never fear, according to the AP, Murtha is just “known for his gruff manner and fondness for pork barrel projects.”

And I guess William Jefferson just has a fondness for using freezers as piggy banks and Dianne Feinstein just has a fondness for appropriating government funds through her husband’s checking account. And the most ethical Congress ever just has a fondness for taking money from lobbyists.

“Democrats” and “ethics” go together like “Muslims” and “peace”.

If you’ve been listening to Democrat Joe Biden, it must be.

U.S. Sen. Joe Biden said that he would commit U.S. forces immediately to stop militia in Sudan’s Darfur region as long as there were reports of genocide.

He would commit troops immediately to an oil-rich, predominantly Muslim country, with suspected ties to al-Qaida and WMDs, that’s experiencing genocide?

And yet, he faults the Bush administration for “rushing to war” in Iraq when there was “no imminent threat”:

[Biden] believes the Administration went to war too soon, without a real coalition, without enough troops and without a plan to win the peace. As a longtime member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Biden knows that no foreign policy can be sustained without the informed consent of the American people. And of all the mistakes the Bush Administration made in Iraq, perhaps the biggest was that it never leveled with the American people about the lack of an imminent threat, the human and material cost of securing the peace and the need to plan not just for the “day after” but for the “decade after.”

For those of you keeping score at home, the Left is protesting the fact that President Bush sent troops into a predominantly muslim country with suspected ties to terrorism and alleged WMDs, whose leaders were committing genocide while demanding that President Bush send troops into a predominantly muslim country with suspected ties to terrorism and alleged WMDs, whose leaders are committing genocide.

Related:
Are They Really Anti-War or Just Anti-Bush?

Introducing John Edwards, the candidate for the common folks… just ignore the net worth nearly $30 million and the $400 haircuts, he’s still the guy that’s gonna help everyone out of poverty. In fact, he’s so eager to help college kids avoid poverty, he’s willing to come to campus to speak about it… for $55,000.

The candidate charged a whopping $55,000 to speak at to a crowd of 1,787 the taxpayer-funded University of California at Davis on Jan. 9, 2006 last year, Joe Martin, the public relations officer for the campus’ Mondavi Center confirmed Monday.
[…]
The candidate — who was then the head of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina — chose to speak on “Poverty, the great moral issue facing America,” as his $55,000 topic at UC Davis.

But hey, maybe he’s earning some poverty offsets by talking to his housekeepers and hairstylists for free.

OTHERS:
Allah responds to Edwards’ “but-but-but-I’m-not-a-hypocrite” question:

Edwards: “So would it be better if I had done well and now I didn’t care about people who are struggling?”

Allah’s response: “No, it’d be better if you led by example, liquidated 75% of that $40 million nest egg you’re sitting on, and showed us proles how someone committed to redistribution and income equality means business.”

In an unprecedented and historic pot-calling-the-kettle-black moment, Jimmuh Carter, the one-term President who presided over the energy crisis and stagflation, let dozens of Americans rot in the hands of islamofascists during the Iranian revolution and hostage crisis, and responded to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan by refusing to let Americans participate in gymnastics and the 100-yard dash, called President Bush the worst president evuh:

“I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history,” Carter told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette…

So how did the White House respond? In classic form:

“I think it’s sad that President Carter’s reckless personal criticism is out there,” Fratto told reporters. “I think it’s unfortunate. And I think he is proving to be increasingly irrelevant with these kinds of comments.”

Doesn’t Carter have some jew-hating to get back to?

UPDATE:
Mr. Peanut realizes his comments should’ve been aimed at the man in the mirror, then promptly backpedals. And he’s not even very good at that. He said his words were “maybe careless or misinterpreted.”

[Carter] said he wasn’t comparing the Bush administration with all those through American history.

And let’s look back at the words that were misinterpreted and not meant to compare the Bush adminstration with all those through American history:

“I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history.”

No, not the one referring to technology… the one referring to the Michael Moore’s of the world:

Short, fat people may get rights

BOSTON — Ellen Frankel stands just 4-foot-8 inches tall, a size that allowed larger co-workers to playfully scoop her up at the office and make remarks about her height. Some even patted her on the head.

Lawmakers are considering complaints such as hers as they review a bill that would make Massachusetts just the second state to bar discrimination based on height or weight.

We just keep sliding down that slippery slope, don’t we? Of course, lawmakers eager to pat themselves on the back for carving out yet another protected class to which they can pander for votes on ridiculous issues, ignore the law of unintended consequences… that employers may actually discriminate because of the law. Fearing reprisal for firing someone for reasons unrelated to their ‘protected status’ may result in employers not hiring said person in the first place. Just another ‘card’ that employers have to fear being played when they make legitimate decisions to release an employee…

Republican analyst Todd Domke sums it up best:

‘’We might as well add colorblind, left-handed, allergic-to-cashews, and get it over with.”

In due time, Todd, in due time…

I just wished liberals would get as concerned about protecting us from terrorist enemies as they are about protecting us from hurt feelings…

Looks like Republicans have caved and joined with Democrats to approve the acquisition of the U.S. by Mexico.

Key senators in both parties announced agreement with the White House Thursday on an immigration overhaul that would grant quick legal status to millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S. and fortify the border.

Of course, they toss in the “and fortify the border” to make it look like real immigration reform. That’s like putting a deadbolt on your front door after you’ve been burglarized. Nice goin’, guys.

I guess Congress figured they represent their voters.

Hundreds of illegal immigrants have registered to vote in Bexar County in recent years and dozens of them have actually cast ballots, canceling out the votes of U.S. citizens, 1200 WOAI news will report Thursday morning.

Figures obtained by 1200 WOAI news shows 303 illegals successfully registered to vote, and at least 41 cast ballots in various elections.

Trying to preempt criticism from conservatives, Republican Arlen Specter, said, “It is not amnesty.”

Silly me, how could I ever construe a bill that would “grant quick legal status to millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S.” as amnesty?

UPDATE:
Jim DeMint gets it:

“[T]he bill contains a new ‘Z Visa’ that allows those who entered our country illegally to stay here permanently without ever returning home. This rewards people who broke the law with permanent legal status, and puts them ahead of millions of law-abiding immigrants waiting to come to America. I don’t care how you try to spin it, this is amnesty.”

UPDATE 2:
Apparently, amnesty isn’t enough for some illegals…

David Guerra wants to be legal, but he says the path to citizenship offered by the Senate on Thursday would be too risky and too expensive…

Fine… then go back home!

It’s not enough for Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, either…

The Senate’s Democratic Majority leader Harry Reid confirmed debate would start on Monday, but expressed reservations about the pact, hammered out by top senators and key members of Bush’s cabinet.

“I have serious concerns about some aspects of this proposal, including the structure of the temporary worker program and undue limitations on family immigration,” Reid said.

Yeah, it’s just too damn hard to enforce law in this nation… so let’s just ignore them all.

____________________________________________
Got your bumper sticker yet?

Al Gore’s written a new book entitled The Assault on Reason.

When I first read that title, I wasn’t sure whether it was an autobiography or that was just describing the contents.

John Edwards reminds us about his “two Americas”…

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards and his wife reported $29.5 million in assets, including millions of dollars in a hedge fund he worked for part-time.

The couple also reported investment income of nearly $6 million over the past 16 months and earned income for Edwards of $1.25 million.

His biggest single source of earned income was his $479,512 salary from Fortress Investment Group, the hedge fund for which he was a consultant last year.

Edwards has made fighting poverty a signature element of his campaign. He has said his work for a fund that generally caters to the wealthiest of investors was designed to educate him about the relationship between poverty and wealth and should not overshadow his work for the poor.

And the lesson he learned? It’s a hell of a lot nicer being wealthy than poor.

UPDATE
Thanks, Daniel for pointing out my error. I inadvertently claimed Edwards was still in Congress while he worked at the hedge fund. I apologize for the error.

Given the speed at which global warming proponents declare the end of the world when the “average” temperature rises a degree or two in a given week or month, it’s only fair to ask whether this latest news is indication of a global cooling trend:

The average temperature in April 2007 was 51.7 F. This was -0.3 F cooler than the 1901-2000 (20th century) average, the 47th coolest April in 113 years. The temperature trend for the period of record (1895 to present) is 0.1 degrees Fahrenheit per decade.

Quick, run out and purchase your popsicle offsets…

Some in the MSM have been bashing blogs lately for not having the appropriate level of vetting to the stories we post. They claim that “real” news outlets have endless layers of review so only accurate information is disseminated.

Wrong. Watch as this MSNBC reporter cites the anti-Bush parody website WhiteHouse.org as she tries to assert the claim that Falwell had gained unprecedented influence over the Administration.

To add insult to idiocy, she tries to cover by clarifying that it was the .org and not the official .gov site that she was referencing.

If this passes for appropriate sourcing of MSM stories, imagine what they’re using to report on the rest of the day’s news…

Nice vetting, morons.