"The decision makers in this case were the attorney general and the counsel to the president," he told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "I and others made staff recommendations but they were approved and signed off on by the principals."

The White House response was notably muted.

"I'm going to have to let the attorney general speak for himself," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

That "FWOOMP!" sound you're hearing is Alberto Gonzales going up in flames.

Ex-Aide: Gonzales Signed Off on Firings | The Huffington Post

The onetime senator from Tennessee is known to many Americans for playing New York District Attorney Arthur Branch on "Law & Order" and an admiral in the film "The Hunt for Red October." But his real-life record as a no-nonsense lawmaker who also served as the minority counsel to the Senate Watergate committee is appealing to party activists dissatisfied with the current crop of Republican hopefuls.

I'm not sure "President Fred" has quite the ring to it, but if he steps in, he's probably the instant front runner for the red team. He hasn't been in government during the Bush administration so he's not polluted by that and everyone already has seen his face. Money may be an issue, but...

If he throws in, I think he gets the nomination walking away.

A 'Law & Order' Presidential Candidate? - washingtonpost.com

"What can I do with a Liberal Arts Degree?"

Just take a look. It's pretty self explanatory. And sad/funny.

University of Alabama | College of Arts & Sciences

"In beloved Iraq, blood is flowing between brothers, in the shadow of an illegitimate foreign occupation, and abhorrent sectarianism threatens a civil war," said the king, whose country is a U.S. ally that quietly aided the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

I think it's time to go.

Abdullah: U.S. Occupation 'Illegitimate' | The Huffington Post

Monica Goodling, a senior Justice Department official involved in the firings of federal prosecutors, will refuse to answer questions at upcoming Senate hearings, citing Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, her lawyer said Monday.

"The potential for legal jeopardy for Ms. Goodling from even her most truthful and accurate testimony under these circumstances is very real," said the lawyer, John Dowd.

The party is over. This is something that reaches straight into the oval office. The removal of these attorneys, by law, can only be executed by the President. Not the Attorney General, not his chief of staff, not the White House chief of staff, The President. Here's the future. Gonzales, who pissed off the other 85 US Attorneys is looking at removal and likely prosecution, but he's not the fall guy on this, he can't be because he can't actually fire the attorneys.

Mr. Nixon? Your car is in front again?

Gonzales Aide to Invoke Fifth Amendment | The Huffington Post

With Contex, it Makes Sense.

And now for something completely different...

Like Scratches in the Sand - Like Comics, In a Way.

It is the policy of The Washington Post not to publish anonymous pieces. In this case, an exception has been made because the author -- who would have preferred to be named -- is legally prohibited from disclosing his or her identity in connection with receipt of a national security letter. The Post confirmed the legitimacy of this submission by verifying it with the author's attorney and by reviewing publicly available court documents.

---

The inspector general's report makes clear that NSL gag orders have had even more pernicious effects. Without the gag orders issued on recipients of the letters, it is doubtful that the FBI would have been able to abuse the NSL power the way that it did. Some recipients would have spoken out about perceived abuses, and the FBI's actions would have been subject to some degree of public scrutiny. To be sure, not all recipients would have spoken out; the inspector general's report suggests that large telecom companies have been all too willing to share sensitive data with the agency -- in at least one case, a telecom company gave the FBI even more information than it asked for. But some recipients would have called attention to abuses, and some abuse would have been deterred.

I found it particularly difficult to be silent about my concerns while Congress was debating the reauthorization of the Patriot Act in 2005 and early 2006. If I hadn't been under a gag order, I would have contacted members of Congress to discuss my experiences and to advocate changes in the law. The inspector general's report confirms that Congress lacked a complete picture of the problem during a critical time: Even though the NSL statute requires the director of the FBI to fully inform members of the House and Senate about all requests issued under the statute, the FBI significantly underrepresented the number of NSL requests in 2003, 2004 and 2005, according to the report.

I recognize that there may sometimes be a need for secrecy in certain national security investigations. But I've now been under a broad gag order for three years, and other NSL recipients have been silenced for even longer. At some point -- a point we passed long ago -- the secrecy itself becomes a threat to our democracy. In the wake of the recent revelations, I believe more strongly than ever that the secrecy surrounding the government's use of the national security letters power is unwarranted and dangerous. I hope that Congress will at last recognize the same thing.

My National Security Letter Gag Order - washingtonpost.com

She said a supervisor demanded that she and her trial team drop recommendations that tobacco executives be removed from their corporate positions as a possible penalty. He and two others instructed her to tell key witnesses to change their testimony. And they ordered Eubanks to read verbatim a closing argument they had rewritten for her, she said.

Let me preface this by saying, I'm a smoker. That said, why on earth would the Bushies want to go easy on the tobacco companies in a case that was already won??? I can only come up with one answer, and i is so that the tobacco companies give the money to support Republicans rather than payment in the settlement.

Any other ideas, please post them.

Prosecutor Says Bush Appointees Interfered With Tobacco Case - washingtonpost.com

Mr. Gonzales believed that the prosecutor, H. E. Cummins III, the United States attorney for Arkansas, was dismissed for performance reasons, the e-mail suggested. But his deputy, Paul J. McNulty, testified that Mr. Cummins had been replaced to create a vacancy for J. Timothy Griffin, a political ally of the White House political adviser Karl Rove.

Now why would Karl Rove care about having one of his cronies in place as the US Attorney in Arkansas? Oh, that's right, that's where one of the likely opponents in the next election lived through the 80's. Let's put our boy down there so we can stir up more on her come election time so we can get someone in the White House who won't look too close at what we were doing and send us all to jail.

New E-Mail Gives Details on Attorney Dismissals - New York Times

Feinstein said that on May 10, Lam "sent a notice to the Justice Department saying that there would be two search warrants sent in the case of Dusty Foggo and a defense contractor. The next day, an e-mail went from the Justice Department to the White House."

The May 11 e-mail was from D. Kyle Sampson, chief of staff to Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales, to White House Deputy Counsel William Kelley. "The real problem we have right now with Carol Lam … leads me to conclude that we should have someone ready to be nominated on 11/18, the day her four-year term expires," it said.

Can you say "Obstruction of Justice?" No? How about Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations? Too hard? Try RICO. See? Isn't that easy?

Democrats turn up heat on firing of U.S. attorney - Los Angeles Times