Howling Latina

That's right, the O'Reilly Factor is in a steep ratings slump. Especially when Michelle Malkin guest hosts his show.

Last Friday on July 27, Malkin happily told her blog readers to tune in and watch her spin in the No-Spin-Zone.

On the menu of promised "meaty topics" were the Dems news conference calling into question Gonzales' veracity during the Senate testimony.

Well, maybe not.

But she did pledge to talk about immigration; and illegals; and the Michael Vick outrage that threatened the Union; all the juicy racist meat she could conjure up to serve.

Still...it wasn't enough.

Bless her little heart, the batwinger lost nearly 100 points in the 25-54 demographic group from the night before. Perhaps next time she needs to enlarge her image to pinup size.

Meanwhile, Keith Olbermann of "Countdown" continues to close in on Papa O'Reilly. The prior evening, O'Reilly led Olbermann by less 100 points, 267 to 373.

Gone are the days when O'Reilly dominated Cableland. There's a new sheriff in town; and his name is Keith Olbermann.

Now why the gods of programming don't smarten-up and recruit a slate of progressives to knock Faux News from their perch remains one of the great mysteries of the world.

That is, next to the one that tries to explain why Malkin poses in a skimpy bikini on her Web site with absolutely no context. By the bye, the leaning on the wall is to give her body some curves and hide her small pooch.

All rightie, maybe politically dead is not the right word, but Fred of Hollywood is seeing his ballyhooed campaign for president fall apart and crumble right before his eyes.

Hopes ran high, but for the month of June, Thompson could only summon a mere $3 million, Politico reports; and now plenty of Republicans are worrying that perhaps his hyped campaign may turn out to be a thundering dud.

Initially, folks gathered around Superfly Fred and imagined the dauntless district attorney leading the charge of well-heeled ruffians into the battlefield of spin and win.

But alas, it seems that even GOP voters this year want a little meat of substance to go with their kool aid and "Law and Order."

So my dear GOPers, without District Attorney Arthur Branch to beat back the hippies in riot gear with billy clubs, there can only be one outcome: an even bigger whoopin' in '08 than in '06.

You see, you rubberstamped every lame brained idea out of the White House -- and even at this late date -- you continue to support Bush and Co.

It's apparent that you took the wrong lesson away from Watergate; it is not to bury the truth even deeper and obstruct justice. It is to bring forth the lies and crimes to the light with the knowledge that in doing so the public would reward you for rising above partisanship; maybe even a few of you would've survived.

But unfortunately, you failed miserably; and yes, that includes Specter, Collins, Warner and other so-called Republican centrists. Howling Latina knew Howard Baker and "Mac" Mathias; and none of you are Baker or Mathias.

You and your party will pay the price for corruption and cowardice -- as is only just. Indeed, after it's all over, the bloodbath after Watergate will seem more like Ronald Regan's 'Morning in America.'

Now hear are the catchy lyrics from "Fred is Dead" by Curtis Mayfield to keep your mind away from your problems:

Hey, hey...
Love, love...
Yeah, yeah...
Uh huh...
Freddie's dead.
That's what I said...
Let the man rap a plan; 'said he'd send him home.
But his hope was a rope, and he should have known.
It's hard to understand; there was love in this man.
I'm sure all would agree, that his misery,
was his woman and things.
Now Freddie's dead.
That's what I said...
Everybody's misused him; ripped him off and abused him.
Another junkie playin'; pushin' dope for the man.
A terrible blow, but that's how it go...
Freddie's on the corner now... if you wanna be a junkie,
wow...
Remember, Freddie's dead...
We're all built up with progress,
but sometimes I must confess,
we can deal with rockets and dreams,
but reality... what does it mean?
Ain't nothing said.
'cause Freddie's dead.
Hey, hey...
Love, love...
Hey, hey...
Yeah, yeah...
Huh huh...
Love, love...
Yeah, yeah...
Huh huh...
Yeah, yeah...

Oh dear, Howling Latina just finished reading an article in the Washington Post that caught her eagle eyes.

In yet another story about Gonzo's problems with Congress, the Post casualty drops a bombshell.

It seems there is yet another discrepancy between the record and Gonzo's words as they relate to the president's DWI in Maine and his call-up for jury duty in Texas while governor.

The judge, prosecutor and defense attorney involved in case have said that Gonzales met with the judge and argued that jury service would pose a potential conflict of interest for Bush, who could be asked to pardon the defendant. Gonzales has disputed that account. He made no mention of meeting with the judge in a written statement submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Now read very carefully, boys and girls.

The Post is calling reader's attention to yet another lie by Abu Gonzo that has escaped scrutiny by media and Congress.

Previously, Gonzales claimed that he never interfered on Bush's behalf in Texas to make boy-junior's DWI disappear. But....the record now says otherwise.

So who and what are you going to believe, the judge, prosecutor and defense attorney or Abu Gonzo's lies?

Yes, a pattern seems to be emerging. Our poor beleaguered war president finds more excuses for getting out of his civic duties than names in the Rolodex for the DC madam.

Gonzo is obviously the magic clean-up man.

Military service? AWOL? No problem; the record is wiped clean..

Jury duty? Just substitute executive privilege for conflict of interest and obstruct justice, that's all.

Howling Latina, right here and now, declares her support for Fred Thompson as the Republican presidential candidate.

You see, Hollywood Fred is a prison rights advocate who thinks there are way too many federal crimes and the government needs to get out of the business of incarcerating our men and women. Leave bondage to the good states.

Groups as diverse as the American Bar Association and the Heritage Foundation have reported that there are more than three thousand, five hundred distinct federal crimes and more than 10,000 administrative regulations scattered over 50 section of the U.S. code that runs at more than 27,000 pages. More than 40 percent of these regulatory criminal laws have been enacted since 1973.

[...]

]T]here are plenty of areas in criminal law where a federal role is appropriate. More and more crime occurs across state and national boundaries; the Internet is increasingly a haven for illegal activity. A federal role is appropriate in these and other instances. But today the Federal Bureau of Prisons has quadrupled in size in little more than 20 years.

Well, anything to reduce the incareration rates in America.

Of course as Talk Left points out, what about the war on drugs and the children...? Maybe Fred would like to be an honorary member of NORML and receive action alerts from Stopthedrug.org.

In any event, before people go thinking that the howler consumed some psilocybin mushrooms along with magic-laced brownies and milk, don't worry; she is in full command of her senses.

It doesn't matter whom the Republicans pick; the Dem candidate will ultimately win.

With an IQ in the 50’s, Floyd Brown, who can’t spell his own name, couldn’t have produced the confession that purportedly links him to a murder. He says the police pounded on a table and yelled at him [to] sign it.

And:

No physical evidence ties Brown to the crime, notwithstanding unethical police efforts to manufacture evidence against him.

After Maureen Dowd wrote her scorching op-ed about the $400 haircut of Democratic presidential candidate, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, lo and behold, a few weeks ago she wrote a fairly positive piece on Edwards, even if as Unknown Candidate notes, it's a bit of "fluff."

Here are some things you probably "don't know about John Edwards."

He never saw a single episode of “The Sopranos.”

He doesn’t like the opera, but his favorite musical is “Phantom of the Opera.”

His first date with Elizabeth was dancing at the Holiday Inn in Durham or Chapel Hill — he can’t remember which — sometime after which she made an ironclad rule that politicians should never dance.

Go ahead and read the rest; it's an interesting find.

Here are a few links to his disgraceful testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committte today via Think Progressive, Talking Points Memo, TPM Muckraker and Politics TV.

Yes, it's way, way past time to impeach. Why this bozo isn't even trying to make an effort to fool his audience.

Gonzo is making a monkey out of Democrats and congressional oversight; and our public officials entrusted to protect the constitution and the rule of law are letting him get away with it.

The fatal wound: "a cut approximately two and one-half inches deep into Sipe's trachea, larynx, and a major artery on the right side of Sipe's neck." It caused the young mother to "drown in her own blood," according to the trial record.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30.)

Privette, 74, was charged with six counts of misdemeanor aiding and abetting prostitution by renting a hotel room and paying for sexual acts, according to State Bureau of Investigation Agent Kevin Canty. Tiffany Denise Summers, 32, of Salisbury, was charged with six counts of misdemeanor prostitution, Canty said.

And:

Police said officers were investigating a forged check case, which led them to the prostitution charges. Privette on two occasions allegedly paid the prostitute with checks then reported those checks as stolen, officials said.

Melvin "Mel" Bray, who served as mayor of Dumfries from 2002 to 2006, was charged with "keeping a bawdy place," a misdemeanor. Police arrested eight others on prostitution and other charges after a raid on the clinic Tuesday night. They also seized about $20,000 in cash.

Bray, a former Marine who also has served as a Dumfries Town Council member and a county sheriff's deputy, vigorously denied the "bawdy place" allegation when reached by phone last night."I positively swear on a stack of Bibles I would not do that," he said.

"I would not stoop to that level and knowingly do something of that nature that would embarrass my family and those people who have supported me over the years."

In an interview, Justice Antonin Scalia told me that given the chance, he would probably vote to reverse New York Times Co. v. Sullivan.

Ms. Thompson, a purchasing official in the state’s Department of Administration, was accused by the United States attorney in Milwaukee, Steven Biskupic, of awarding a travel contract to a company whose chief executive contributed to the campaign of Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat. Ms. Thompson said the decision was made on the merits, but she was convicted and sent to prison before she could appeal.

In June 2007 a Republican lawyer signed a sworn statement that she had heard five years ago that Karl Rove was preparing to politically neutralize Siegelman with an investigation headed by the U.S. Department of Justice. Siegelman defenders point out that over 100 charges were thrown out by three different judges, and the investigating U.S. Attorney was the wife of his political opponent's campaign manager.

The Republican activist, lawyer Dana Jill Simpson of Rainsville, Alabama, filed a sworn statement saying that she was on a Republican campaign conference call in 2002 when she heard Bill Canary tell other campaign workers not to worry about Siegelman because Canary's "girls" and "Karl" would make sure the Justice Department pursued the Democrat so he was not a political threat in the future.

The board's options included commuting Davis' death sentence to life in prison or granting a stay of his execution while it considers the issues. Among those who argued for clemency for Davis during Monday's parole board hearing were friends, family and U.S. Representative John Lewis, an Atlanta Democrat and civil rights icon.Davis's lawyer said five witnesses who testified at trial spoke to the board on his behalf.

Let every man, woman and child of faith pray that Georgia's state Board of Pardons and Paroles will heed the cry for justice and commute the death sentence of Troy Anthony Davis; and that the Georgia Supreme Court will order a new trial.

As Howling Latina writes this post, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the hearing has been underway since this morning.

After listening to more than five hours of pleas to spare the life of convicted cop killer Troy Anthony Davis, the state parole board is now hearing from those who want the condemned inmate's scheduled execution tomorrow to proceed.

U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) sat on the front pew in the clemency hearing room, ready to support Davis' clemency request. Lewis left before the hearing was over, and did not comment to reporters. Davis' lawyers, Jason Ewart and Danielle Garten, declined comment after the hearing.

Oh where oh where are all those sanctimonious right-to-life religious zealots hiding...?

Where is their faux moral outrage...?

Thomas A. Porter was sentenced to die by Judge Chuck Griffith. Last March, a jury panel recommened that Porter be executed during the penalty phase of his trial. Griffith just merely confirmed the preordained today.

Like a script from Potemkin Justice, every death row recommendation by a jury panel in Virginia must be blessed by a trial judge. Yes, the Virginia criminal legal system makes elaborate phony rituals to give some semblance of deliberation by an esteemed public officer of the court.

But of course, each and every time, the judge simply ratifies what the jury panel recommended after their lengthy gut-wrenching deliberations of about...oh, usually 90 minutes or so.

Suffice it to say the system is very biased toward conviction and execution. To illustrate, let us hearken back to the penalty phase of Mr. Porter's trial. The Virginian-Pilot reported that defense counsel was not allowed to ask jurors to try to imagine life in the defendant's shoes.

Why that would be a LEGAL OUTRAGE!

When Capital Defender Joseph A. Migliozzi Jr., told jurors in his closing argument that "to understand Porter, they should 'step in this person's shoes,'" Circuit Judge Chuck Griffith went ballistic.

"That is an improper argument under Virginia law," Griffith said. "You are never to be asked to step inside somebody else's shoes. Never."

Indeed, the jury can witness tearful agonizing testimony from the victim's family and friends but defense can't even so much as ask jury members to empathize just a tad and try to see things from the vantage of the convicted.

And so it goes that Porter becomes the latest soul on Death Row in the commonwealth of Virginia. Folks should feel safer already.

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William Jefferson Clinton executed a mentally retarded man as governor of Arkansas on his way to the White House. This was his reasoned contribution to centrist politics. By Job, no softie on crime.

Clinton also signed into law the horrid Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act conjured up by Newtie and his band of GOPers in the Contract with America.

Time has an excellent article on the facts of the Troy Anthony Davis case, an innocent man about to be executed in Georgia. It's definitely worth a read and explains the genesis of AEDPA.

Facing political pressure one year after the Oklahoma City bombing and seven months before the presidential election, Clinton signed the bill, but inserted a somewhat incongruous signing statement that called for the federal courts to continue their oversight role.

The U.S. Supreme Court has totally ignored Willie's signing statement (which was too cute by half). They strictly interpret the act, "further restraining the ability of federal courts to grant new trials" as evidenced by their refusal to "give Davis one last hearing" last month even though six of the nine prosecution witnesses have recanted their trial testimony.

Hell, even former FBI director William S. Sessions thinks executing Davis would be a travesty in justice; and he SUPPORTS the death penalty.

Here is an excerpt from Time:

[T]here are serious questions whether, as Gingrich famously said, justice delayed is justice denied. The system of appeals can still stretch out over decades, but in Davis' case, many of those appeals are now being denied for procedural reasons. In his 2004 petition to the federal district court in Savannah, Davis presented recanted testimony, most of which involves witnesses who say police coercion caused them to wrongly implicate Davis. He also presented nine individuals' affidavits that suggested that the real murderer was actually the former acquaintance who first accused Davis of the crime.

No more Southern presidents; give me a progressive Mid-Westerner or a liberal West or East Coaster. In the meantime, get those impeachment papers ready for Gonzo, Bush and Cheney.

Jolly, jolly...this should be FUN!

This Sunday, Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., will go up against Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, mano-a-mano on "Meet the Press" to explain to the American people why the surge in Iraq has been a dismal failure and America needs to bring our soldiers home.

During the second half of the show, the guest panel will consist of Al Hunt of Bloomberg News, Mike Murphy, a GOP political consultant, Robert Novak of Chicago Sun-Times and Bob Shrum, a Democratic losing strategist.

The show touts Novak's appearance as the first one since his book, "The Prince of Darness:50 Years Reporting in Washington" was published.

Let's hope Timmy can find the time to ask his royal highness a few questions about the CIA legal scandal and what he thinks of Scooter's get out of jail card.