Now the heretofore nearly-unknown federal Office of Special Counsel is mounting an investigation into the White House's involvement in the firing of at least one of the U.S. Attorneys.
From an L.A. Times article on the investigation -
But the Office of Special Counsel is preparing to jump into one of the most sensitive and potentially explosive issues in Washington, launching a broad investigation into key elements of the White House political operations that for more than six years have been headed by chief strategist Karl Rove.
The new investigation, which will examine the firing of at least one U.S. attorney, missing White House e-mails, and White House efforts to keep presidential appointees attuned to Republican political priorities, could create a substantial new problem for the Bush White House.
...It's been a bad week for Rove - first, Sheryl Crow dared to speak to him in a less-than-worshipful tone and now this.
Guess that being the President's hatchet man just doesn't have the cachet that it used to have.
Note: before someone says that the Office of the Special Counsel is engaging in a 'partisan witch hunt', know this - the OSC is an independent office led by a Bush appointee, Scott Bloch.
Nary a Congressional Democrat in sight.
On the other hand, Bloch *is* a Bush appointee; OSC may yet find a way to blame Bill Clinton for the missing emails.
Don't forget, even if a study doesn't yield the results you want, you can always just rig the final report.
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission, created in the aftermath of the hijinks during the 2000 Presidential election, is under fire.
From CQPolitics.com -
After the turmoil over the 2000 presidential election, Congress created a bipartisan commission that was supposed to do nice, non-controversial things: hand out some federal grants, do some studies, certify voting machines, promote voting practices that seem to work well.
Instead, the Election Assistance Commission is now surrounded by controversy and tough questions. And the same lawmakers who could barely be bothered to pay attention to its creation four years ago are putting it under the microscope now.
Democrats were enraged by the commission's handling of a report on voter fraud — the panel ordered up the report (which found little evidence of fraud), sat on the document for several months, then released a rewritten version that concluded "there is a great deal of debate" about how much voter fraud takes place. Republicans have contended that voter fraud is a big problem and benefits Democrats.
A second commission report on voter identification laws found that the laws can reduce turnout, particularly among Hispanics. The panel delayed releasing that report for months, then made it public even while refusing to endorse its conclusions.
...I'd like to say this is a surprise, but these guys (the Bushies) could politicize anything; expecting honest public service out of even the lowest-level Bushie is utter foolishness.
Of course, if shading the results doesn't work, outright lies are always an option.
From the KC Star -
A congressional committee chairman [Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA)] vowed Tuesday to investigate "deliberately" false Pentagon accounts of the 2004 death of Cpl. Pat Tillman and the 2003 rescue of Pfc. Jessica Lynch.
{snip}
Tillman, an NFL football player turned Army Ranger, initially was hailed by the military as a hero who died fighting the enemy. Only weeks later was his family told that he was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan.
...People died, and are dying today, because of the lies. No wiseass comment here.
Still waiting on the inevitable Administration spin about "scientific studies exciting teenage hormones" or some such tripe.
From the Eugene Daily Emerald (U of Oregon's campus paper) -
Teaching abstinence-only sex education in schools may have little or no effect on the time young people begin engaging in sexual activity, a recent study revealed.
The study suggests students enrolled in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex a few years after the class as compared to students who did not take an abstinence-only class. The study, funded by the U.S. Congress, also found students taking abstinence-only classes were no more likely to have unprotected sex.
...What a shocking development; telling teenagers not to have sex has always worked in the past.
Hasn't it??
:)
Note: The study report from the organization that conducted the study, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., is here.
Later!
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