Code Name: “Parlor Maid”

Talk about getting burned. Do these guys pay attention to anything? AP (05.24.06):

“The FBI missed many opportunities to identify a suspected Chinese spy and her FBI lover, including a tip that she ‘was in bed with’ the bureau’s Los Angeles office, a Justice Department internal review said Wednesday.

Katrina Leung, a Chinese-American paid informant for the FBI, and her handler, former counterintelligence agent James J. Smith, were able to deceive the FBI about their romantic relationship for nearly 20 years, Justice Department inspector general Glenn A. Fine said.”

Report Shows FBI Missed Chinese Spy

“In all, the FBI paid Leung $1.7 million over 18 years, Fine said.”

“FBI supervisors failed to act on two serious incidents just 10 months apart in the early 1990s that indicated Leung was passing classified information to China without FBI authorization, Fine said in the report’s 23-page executive summary.”

This thing was so bungled. Leung was indicted in May, 2003, on five counts of “obtaining, copying and retaining documents connected with U.S. national defense without authorization”. No espionage charges though. In January, 2005, the judge threw the case out “saying prosecutors illegally blocked the primary witness in her case — a federal agent with whom she carried on a decades-long affair — from talking with her attorneys.”

Rather than face a retrial, Leung subsequently pleaded guilty “to making a false statement and filing a false tax return”. In December, 2005, she was sentenced to three years’ probation and fined $10,000. Considering what the FBI paid her over the years, she can probably afford the fine.

The sweet ironies: Leung was “not only a Republican, but a well-connected GOP fundraiser. And not just any Republican fundraiser, but one who happened to be sleeping with one of the lead FBI agents investigating Democratic fundraising.”

More here, if you need more flabbergasting.

Holding Your Liquor

Jesus. This must be a world’s record. AP (05.23.06):

“Lithuanian police were so astonished by a breath test that registered 18 times the legal alcohol limit, they thought their device must be broken. It wasn’t.

Police said Tuesday 41-year-old Vidmantas Sungaila registered 7.27 grams per liter of alcohol in his blood repeatedly on different devices after he was pulled over Saturday for driving his truck down the center of a two-lane highway 60 miles from the capital, Vilnius.”

Driver Has 18 Times Legal Alcohol Limit

“‘This guy should have been lying dead, but he was still driving. It must be an unofficial national record,’ Saulius Skvernelis, director of the national police traffic control service, told the AP.”

Skvernelis described Vidmantas as being in “‘high spirits and grinning the whole time he was questioned.'”

“Medical experts say anything above 3.5 grams per liter of alcohol in the blood is lethal for most people.”

“Lithuania has one of the worst road safety records in the European Union. Last year, 760 people died in traffic accidents in this country of 3.5 million residents. Most were alcohol-related.”

Corporate Arrogance

Pension? Yeah, we got one of those. What’s your point? Business Week (05.29.06), via Daniel Gross:

“Scroll through the financial data of the biggest U.S. corporations and a surprising fact appears: Arguably the mightiest of them all, Exxon Mobil, has left its employee pension plans with the biggest funding deficit.

Its assets are $11.2 billion short of projected obligations, according to company figures as of Dec. 31 — greater even than the gaps at struggling Ford Motor and General Motors.”

Shortfall At Exxon

“Exxon could write a check for its underfunding this afternoon. The oil giant has $27 billion in its coffers. It generated free cash of $9 billion last quarter — almost enough to cover the pension shortfall. And it carries an AAA credit rating.”

So why won’t it? Doesn’t feel like it. Exxon says that because “it’s in compliance with all labor laws and regulations”, we can kiss its ass.

Dave sets us straight: “‘We strenuously object to the use of the word ‘underfunded’ because we are not, [according to] the terms of the people who set the regulations,’ says media relations adviser Dave Gardner. ‘The company has the wherewithal to meet its funding obligations, period.'”

“‘That’s not an investment we want to put more into at this point. Our financial strength provides excellent security for any pension.'”

“We’ll see.”, said Business Week.

And If They Don’t?

Reuters (05.22.06):

“John Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said on Monday that Iran’s leaders could stay in power and improve their ties with Washington if they ended their pursuit of nuclear arms.

He later insisted, however, that he had not meant to threaten Tehran with regime change if its leaders failed to do so.”

Iran regime can stay if ends arms pursuit

But hey, if they take it that way, what the hell?

Slowdown

Bloomberg (05.23.06):

“Toll Brothers Inc., the largest U.S. builder of luxury homes, said fiscal second-quarter earnings rose 2.8 percent, the least in three years, and trimmed its 2006 forecast as higher mortgage rates discouraged potential buyers.

Orders for Toll houses, which sell for double the U.S. average, plunged 33 percent to 2,076 in the quarter, the second decline following 10 quarters of gains, the company said on May 5 when it announced a preliminary tally of homebuilding revenue.”

Toll 2nd-Qtr Earnings Growth Slows; 2006 Forecast Cut

Earlier this month, Toll reduced its 2006 sales forecast, “the third reduction…since November.”

“Builders broke ground on the fewest homes in 17 months in April as housing starts declined 7.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.849 million, the Commerce Department said last week. The National Association of Home Builders’ index of buyer traffic fell to the lowest since October 2001.”

Rates up too. “The housing market fell into a deeper slump as the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 6.6 percent last week, the highest since 2002, according to Freddie Mac.”

Gonna be a long Summer for real estate.

Getting Better All The Time

Representative Murtha, The Early Show on CBS, via Think Progress:

“[T]here’s not only no progress, it’s worse than it was prewar. This thing has been mishandled so badly.

The American people needed to hear. We’re spending $450 billion on this war by the end of the year, $9 billion a month, and so we need to change course.”

Murtha on Iraq: ‘There’s Not Only No Progress, It’s Worse Than It Was Prewar’

How much worse? Judd provides a very nice summary table, drawn from the Brookings Institute’s Iraq Index:

	Prewar Estimate	Most Recent
Crude Oil Production (millions of barrels)	2.5	2.14 (4/06)
Electricity (megawatts)	3958	3600 (4/06)
People with access to potable water (millions)	12.9	8.25 (11/05)
People with access to a sewer system (millions)	6	5 (11/05)

Dress For Success

Might as well just put a big old sign on ’em. AP (05.20.06):

“More needs to be done to ensure the anonymity of federal air marshals, says a critical new report Congress will look into next week.

The draft report, ‘Plane Clothes: Lack of Anonymity at the Federal Air Marshal Service Compromises Aviation and National Security,’ cites the service’s dress code, which is supposed to prevent marshals from drawing attention to themselves.”

Report: Anonymity of Air Marshals at Risk

“In practice, the report found, ‘many federal air marshals indicate that the dress code actually draws more attention to the identity of the federal air marshals because of its rigid requirements that prevent federal air marshals from actually blending in with their surroundings.'”

This has been a hot-button issues for at least two years now, thanks to former air marshal director and clothes maven Tom Quinn. Washington Times (12.08.04):

“Thomas Quinn, director of the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS), paid a surprise visit to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Thanksgiving to thank the law-enforcement officials for their holiday work.

He reportedly was angered when nearly 30 marshals deplaned and only one was dressed satisfactorily.”

Dress code wearing thin on air marshals

Tom’s dress code engendered a bit of, uhhh, insubordination: “‘The ‘suit Nazis’ are out there, so the guys are hiding,’ said one senior official with the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS).’It’s sort of an underground operation.'” Marshals were also “turning off their government-issued cell phones so supervisors can’t find them for wardrobe inspections, and instead are using personal phones and beepers to send warnings when supervisors approach.”

Not that there was a lack of respect or anything. GovExec (01.06.06):

“Law enforcement officers said Friday they are optimistic a change in leadership at the Federal Air Marshal Service next month will help resolve ongoing problems plaguing the agency.

The agency’s director, Thomas Quinn, announced earlier this week that he will retire on Feb. 3.”

Federal agents ready for new air marshal director

“Quinn had a rocky relationship with some rank-and-file air marshals and other members of the federal law enforcement community, especially over the agency’s dress code and the ability of marshals to speak freely about problems without punishment. The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, for example, had called for his resignation.”

Jesus

Knight-Ridder came loaded for bear today (05.19.06), via Washington Monthly:

“It’s not just the way he’s doing his job. Americans apparently don’t like President Bush personally much anymore, either.

A drop in his personal popularity, as measured by several public polls, has shadowed the decline in Bush’s job-approval ratings and weakened his political armor when he and his party need it most.”

Americans don’t like President Bush personally much anymore, either

Karl says otherwise. “‘The American people like this president,’ White House political guru Karl Rove said last week. ‘People like him. They respect him. He’s somebody they feel a connection with.”

Karl’s said his assertion is based on “a private poll done for the Republican National Committee”. Unfortunately, the Republican National Committee “wouldn’t release a copy of the poll.”

Pew does a lot of polling. They release copies of ’em too. Pew Research Center (03.15.06):

“President Bush’s declining image also is reflected in the single-word descriptions people use to describe their impression of the president.

Three years ago, positive one-word descriptions of Bush far outnumbered negative ones. Over the past two years, the positive-negative balance has been roughly equal. But the one-word characterizations have turned decidedly negative since last July.”

Summary of Findings: Bush Approval Falls to 33%, Congress Earns Rare Praise

“Currently, 48% use a negative word to describe Bush compared with just 28% who use a positive term, and 10% who use neutral language.”

“The single word most frequently associated with George W. Bush today is ‘incompetent,’and close behind are two other increasingly mentioned descriptors: ‘idiot’ and ‘liar.'”

Incompentent, lying idiot? And Karl says the American people like the President?

Huh.

Here It Comes!!

The old doughnut hole. A disaster waiting to happen. Knight-Ridder (05.19.06):

“With its troubled launch and frantic final enrollment drive now history, the Medicare prescription-drug program is bracing for what could be its most significant public-relations hurdle yet.

In coming months, millions of older Americans and people with disabilities will face a lapse in coverage known as the ‘doughnut hole’ once their annual drug spending hits $2,250.”

Millions face a `doughnut hole’ lapse in Medicare coverage

“At that point, Medicare drug plans stop paying for medications and require members to absorb another $3,600 in out-of-pocket costs before coverage resumes.” Not only that, folks get to keep paying their monthly premiums!

“Of the 11.8 million Medicare enrollees whose plans include a coverage gap, the Kaiser Family Foundation had estimated that 6.9 million of them could hit the doughnut hole, but a staff researcher said that number probably would be higher because of higher-than-expected enrollment.”

“Federal actuaries at Medicare, however, had said the number would be around 5.3 million, but they now say that figure is too high because of cheaper medications and strong enrollment in plans with no coverage gaps.”

Either way, it’s gonna piss off a lot of seniors and their families.

When’s this all supposed to happen? Check back in late Summer, early Fall. Say anywhere from six to eight weeks before the November mid-term elections.

And guess who’s gonna get blamed?

Tax Cuts, Tax Cuts, Blah, Blah, Blah

Knight Ridder calls ’em as it sees ’em (05.17.06):

“When President Bush signed legislation Wednesday to extend lower tax rates for capital gains and dividend income through 2010, he suggested that his tax cuts are behind a surge of new revenue into the Treasury, and implied that it’s enough to offset the revenue lost by these reductions.

At a ceremony on the White House lawn, Bush said his tax cuts had helped the economy grow, ‘which means more tax revenue for the federal Treasury.'”

Tax cuts lose more money than they generate, studies conclude

“That’s just not true. A host of studies, some of them written by economists who served in the Bush administration, have concluded that tax reductions mean less money for the Treasury.”

“The cuts Bush extended Wednesday will cost the Treasury an estimated $70 billion over five years. They may help spur economic growth, but they still lose more revenue than they generate. And unless they’re matched by lower federal spending, they worsen federal budget deficits.”

“To be sure, tax revenues grew by $274 billion in 2005, a 15 percent increase over the previous year, and receipts are growing this year too. But does that mean the president’s 2001 and 2003 tax cuts generated enough additional revenue to pay for themselves?”

“‘No,’ said Douglas Holtz-Eakin. He was the chief economist for Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers in 2001 and 2002, then the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office until late last year.”

Would have happened anyway. “Holtz-Eakin said other factors were behind the surge in tax revenues. One is that revenues rise as the population and the economy grow. Revenues would have risen in the post-2001 economic recovery with or without tax reductions, just as they did in the ’90s.”

Even Snow fessed up. “Treasury Secretary John Snow conceded Tuesday that the much-touted tax cuts for capital gains and dividend income don’t drive today’s strong economy.”

“Asked by Knight Ridder if the tax reductions paid for themselves, Snow acknowledged that they don’t. He also acknowledged that economic growth and stock market gains were strong in the late 1990s, when the capital-gains tax stood at 20 percent and dividend income was taxed at rates as high as 38.6 percent.”

Well didn’t the tax cuts stimulate the stock market? No, says the Federal Reserve. “A recent paper by Federal Reserve economists Gene Amromin, Paul Harrison, and Steve Sharpe finds that the 2003 dividend and capital gains tax cuts did not raise U.S. stock values.”

So the tax cuts will lose more revenue than they generate “unless they’re matched by lower federal spending”. Where can we cut spending? How about the veterans? Yeah, that’s the ticket! AP (05.19.06):

“House conservatives, rejecting protests from fellow Republicans who said they were depriving troops of needed support, stripped $500 million in military construction projects from a veterans spending bill Friday.”

House Conservatives Cut $500M Off Vet Bill

Forget the vets. Let’s spend it on the fence. AP (05.18.06):

“President Bush sent Congress a $1.9 billion request Thursday to increase border security as supporters of sweeping immigration legislation reasserted control in Senate debate.

The White House said the money would pay for the ‘first 1,000 of 6,000 new Border Patrol agents that will be deployed in the next two years,’ as well as the temporary deployment of up to 6,000 National Guard troops to states along the Mexican border.”

Bush Requests $1.9B to Bolster Borders

Ahh yes. And about those 9,790 agents the President cut out of budget last year?

It would appear the political winds have shifted.

Minimum Two-Year Hitch

And no clear end date! AP (05.19.06):

“President Bush’s planned deployment of National Guard troops to the Mexican border would last at least two years with no clear end date, according to a Pentagon memo obtained Friday by The Associated Press.”

Guard Stint to Last 2 Years

Plus, we don’t know how much it’s gonna cost! “The one-page ‘initial guidance’ memo to National Guard leaders in border states does not address the estimated cost of the mission or when soldiers would be deployed.”

Arnold isn’t real keen on the whole idea. Hell, he might not even do it. “California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has said he has not yet decided whether to commit troops to the mission because he has serious concerns about how long the mission would last and whether the deployment would hinder the state’s ability to respond to a natural disaster or terrorist attack.”

Cold Sweat

Seems some of our esteemed legislators are becoming a bit more apprehensive about L’affaire de Cunningham. Boston Globe (05.19.06), via TPMMuckraker:

“At least three other federal investigations involving members of Congress are also underway, linked to questions about whether lawmakers traded the power and influence of their offices for hefty campaign contributions and lavish gifts.

‘There is some increasing panic among members who worry that there may be e-mails in which they sort of promised to do something that is contemporaneous with campaign contributions,’ said Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution.”

Congress bribery probe could deepen

Sort of promised? Ha! That’s a good one.

The legislators “are concerned that Justice’s Office of Public Integrity is looking at possible connections between campaign contributions and official action.”

And as well they should be. North Country Times (05.18.06), also via TPMMuckraker:

“After a recent report that he was not fully cooperating with ongoing probes, Randy Cunningham is ready to assist in a new examination of congressional corruption announced by the House ethics committee this week, his attorney said Thursday.

‘He will cooperate with that investigation just as he is cooperating with all the others,’ attorney K. Lee Blalack said of Cunningham, who is in prison after pleading guilty to accepting more than $2.4 million in bribe.”

Another probe in Cunningham case

“Last week, Rick Gwin of the Pentagon’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service complained Cunningham had not been cooperating in the manner his agency expected following the former 50th Congressional District Republican’s sentencing in March to eight years, four months in prison for bribery and tax evasion.”

It would appear this little misunderstanding has been resolved.

Method To The Madness

Turns out our old buddy Pat isn’t as nutty as it might seem. First the setup, from Media Matters (05.18.06), via TheCarpetbagger:

“Certainly the eastern — or, excuse me, the Pacific plates are — looks like they’re tearing apart. There are all kinds of evidences of earthquakes, volcanoes, et cetera, going on in the Pacific.

Now, if that comes our way, it’s going to be devastating. So we’re positioning supplies in California. We’ve got supplies positioned in Florida. We’ll have others, and, of course, we have a major presence in the Gulf right now.”

Robertson: “[I]f I heard the Lord right about 2006, the coasts of America will be lashed by storms”

Next, the pitch. “We’re there because we feel the Lord wants us to help people. We feel it’s our duty to help the poor and the needy.”

Finally, the close. “And so when you contribute $20 a month to The 700 Club, you are saying, ‘I care about people. I care about my neighbors, I care about my friends, I care about those who are suffering.'”

¿Quién da una mierda?

The Senate considers pressing matters of state. AP (05.19.06):

“Whether English is America’s ‘national language’ or its national ‘common and unifying language’ was a question dominating the Senate immigration debate.

The Senate first voted 63-34 to make English the national language after lawmakers who led the effort said it would promote national unity.”

Senate Votes Twice for English Language

Someone then pointed out that as worded, the legislation “would prevent limited English speakers from getting language assistance required by an executive order enacted under President Clinton.”

They then turned around and voted 58-39 “to make English the nation’s ‘common and unifying language.'”

“‘We are trying to make an assimilation statement,’ said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., one of two dozen senators who voted Thursday for both English proposals.”

Rubes. What a bunch of rubes.

Color Us Buggered

Allegedly, that is. Let us note at the outset that the good Father emphatically and uncategorically denies all allegations. AP (05.19.06):

“The Vatican said Friday it had asked the Mexican founder of the conservative order Legionaries of Christ to renounce celebrating public Masses and live a life of ‘prayer and repentance’ following its investigation into allegations he sexually abused seminarians.

Pope Benedict XVI approved the sanctions against [Reverend Marcial] Maciel — making it the first major sexual abuse disciplinary case he has handled since taking office last year.”

Vatican Disciplines Legionaries’ Founder

“The case is significant because Maciel is one of the most prominent Roman Catholic Church officials disciplined by the Vatican for alleged involvement in child sexual abuse. It is also noteworthy because Maciel was so warmly regarded by Pope John Paul II.”

Warmly regarded might be a bit of an understatement. “In January 2005, John Paul hailed Maciel for his ‘paternal affection and his experience.’ A few months earlier, the late pope praised Maciel on the 60th anniversary of his ordination, citing his ‘intense, generous and fruitful‘ priestly ministry.”

More warm regards. This first came to light in 1997, when nine former seminarians went public with numerous allegations of abuse during the ’50s and ’60s. Hartford Courant (05.19.06):

“The Vatican did not respond directly to the allegations.

Later that year Pope John Paul II appointed Maciel as his personal representative to a high-level meeting on the Americas, signaling his full support for the priest.”

Legion Leader Faces Sanctions

One could characterize the Vatican’s investigation under JP-II as being less than enthusiastic. Catholic Reporter (12.07.01):

“Without explanation, the Vatican has halted a canon law investigation of one of the most powerful priests in Rome, accused by nine men of sexually abusing them years ago as young seminarians.”

Sex-related case blocked in Vatican

Different story since Pope Ben took over. National Catholic Reporter (05.18.06):

“Capping a decade-long on-again, off-again investigation of accusations of sexual abuse, the Vatican has asked Fr. Marcial Maciel Degollado, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ, to observe a series of restrictions on his ministry.

In effect, Vatican sources told NCR this week, the action amounts to a finding that at least some of the accusations against the charismatic 86-year-old Mexican priest are well-founded.”

Vatican restricts ministry of Legionaries priest founder

This isn’t his first brush with the Holy See. “The Vatican investigated Maciel in the 1950s for alleged drug use, trafficking and misuse of funds but not for sexual misconduct. He was suspended from his duties as head of the order, but then reinstated after being cleared of all allegations.”

QOTD, by JP-II, on January 4, 2001, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the Legionaries by Maciel in 1941 [ed. – please turn your double entendre shields to maximum]:

“You have realized how this little seed, which the Divine Sower planted in several youthful hearts, is now a full-grown tree that shelters within it numerous priests, consecrated persons, and lay people whose ideal is to give their life for the spread of the Kingdom of Christ in the world.”