WH memo: How to deal with protestors

White House Manual Details How to Deal With Protesters - washingtonpost.com

Here's a link to the pdf -- http://www.aclu.org/pdfs/freespeech/presidential_advance_manual.pdf

Think you don't live in a country where characteristics of totalitarianism or fascism exist? This sounds like it came right out of the Cold War-era Soviet Union.

The White House has concocted a manual, known as the "Presidential Advance Manual," by which White House staffers can squelch potential protesters using the detailed techniques presented in the manual. The manual has been made available due to a subpoena filed in a case involving the ACLU and two anti-Bush protesters who were thrown in jail for wearing t-shirts that had slogans on them that might hurt Little Bush's feelings.

This kind of stuff is anti-democracy. So, the President proposes spreading democracy throughout the Middle East and world but doesn't really believe in it here. These guys are nothing if not hypocrites, talking out of both sides of their mouths. Gotta love the Repugnicans.

Tony Snow returns to work

Like I said before, I don't like his politics, but I don't wish cancer on anyone (or any other disease). I only wish him and his party political defeat.

Best of luck Mr. Snow. I genuinely hope that you beat this thing once and for all.

White House press secretary Snow returns to work - washingtonpost.com

Froomkin on the White House Correspondents Dinner

Dan Froomkin oftentimes sheds the right light on the things of importance:

But I was struck by what seemed to be among the sentiments emanating from the head-table:

• That the tragic Virginia Tech massacre required solemn observation and expressions of great respect, while the seemingly endless war that often claims as many victims in a day deserved virtually no mention at all.
• That a has-been impressionist was a more appropriate choice for entertainment than the acerbic and brilliant political satirist (Stephen Colbert) who last year hurt some people's feelings.
  

We're in "a war" for which dozens of our boys and girls are getting killed daily but we put our humor aside because it's been a "rough week" for those associated with VA Tech. Amazing.

Shouldn't we be saddened by both and do what we can to ensure that neither form of useless death never rears its head again? We have much more control over the deaths in the war than we do over some madman hell-bent on killing a bunch of people and himself, don't we?

Dan Froomkin - A Delusional Dinner - washingtonpost.com

If you love America, you've gotta read Dan Froomkin

Froomkin delivers great synopses about the White House and George Bush's meanderings every day. It's kind of like a White House journal. Very illuminating. He puts together articles from other journalists to make his points. This one is great:

And Baker notes: "With Congress already out of town for spring vacation, the president's news conference was an attempt to have the last word in Washington before flying to California and then to his ranch in Crawford, Tex., for a long weekend. He ridiculed lawmakers for leaving without finishing their war-spending legislation, but he opted not to use his power to call them back or to give up his own break."

I love how Bush always attacks the Democrats based upon his own weaknesses -- dodging the war, Bush made Kerry look like a war weenie; dodging a call to create a Department of Homeland Security, Bush creates one and then says it was his idea, the list goes on and on and on and on...

Even better, as the President becomes ever-more confused, befuddled, and discombobulated, White House correspondents have gotten him to revert to old Bushisms and new alike:

"But reporters' questions further snarled the Bush syntax. NBC's David Gregory got him to say 'My concern, David, is several,' CBS's Bill Plante got him to mention 'suiciders,' while Bloomberg News's Ed Chen elicited the phrase 'air traffickers' in lieu of airline passengers."

I will be unfortunate to witness the POTUS erupt on national TV and start blearing out cuss words and insults...but it could happen.
Dan Froomkin - Blame It on the Democrats - washingtonpost.com

Double Standard? Republicans visit Syria: Okay Dem Pelosi: Not Okay

I don't know why I don't like Nancy Pelosi; I admit, I know very little about her. But I have to give her props for her retort to the Bush administration over her visit to Syria:

It's interesting because three of our colleagues, who are all Republicans, were in Syria yesterday and I didn't hear the White House speaking out about that.

Why can't people see through the administration's hypocrisy and double standards?

White House spokesman Tony Snow: Cancer

Personally, I think the guy's a hack of a spokesman and a partisan to the nth degree. But all of us are human and bring some humanness to the world. Hopefully, Tony can survive his bout with cancer and come out a stronger, smarter, and more passionate man.

Good luck, Mr Snow!