WaxWorks
|
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Goodbye, My Friend
I hope you'll indulge me for a moment as I remember a good friend who recently passed away.
He had a true love for both the Godfather movies and Las Vegas, so this Hyman Roth monologue from The Godfather Part II has special meaning:
There was this kid I grew up with -- he was younger than me. Sorta looked up to
me -- you know. We did our first work together -- worked our way out of the
street. Things were good, we made the most of it. During Prohibition -- we ran
molasses into Canada -- made a fortune -- you father, too. As much as anyone, I
loved him -- and trusted him. Later on he had an idea -- to build a city out of
a desert stop-over for GI's on the way to the West Coast. That kid's name was
Moe Green -- and the city he invented was Las Vegas. This was a great man -- a
man of vision and guts. And there isn't even a plaque -- or a signpost -- or a
statue of him in that town! Someone put a bullet through his eye. No one knows
who gave the order -- when I heard it, I wasn't angry; I knew Moe -- I knew he
was head-strong, talking loud, saying stupid things. So when he turned up dead
-- I let it go. And I said to myself, this is the business we've chosen -- I
didn't ask who gave the order -- because it had nothing to do with business!
Thanks
Very little surprises me these days, but this sure did, although perhaps it shouldn't have. It appears that Justice Alito wrote James Dobson, leader of the religious right, anti-abortion group, Focus on the Family, a thank-you note.
Here's the text of the letter:
Dear Dr. Dobson,
This is just a short note to express my heartfelt thanks to you and the
entire staff of Focus on the Family for your help and support in the past few
challenging months. I would also greatly appreciate it if you would convey my
appreciation to the good people from all parts of the country who wrote to tell
me that they were praying for me and for my family during this period.
As I said when I spoke at my formal investiture at the White House last
week, the prayers of so many people from around the country were a palpable and
powerful force. As long as I serve on the Supreme Court, I will keep in mind the
trust that has been placed in me.
I hope that we will have the opportunity to meet personally at some point
in the future. In the meantime, my entire family and I hope that you and the
Focus on the Family staff know how much we appreciate all that you have
done.
Sincerely Yours,
Samuel Alito
Wow. "As long as I serve on the Supreme Court, I will keep in mind the trust that has been placed in me." And he hopes that they get to meet personally. I'm surprised that Alito hasn't hired him to be a clerk.
Let's remember that Alito said that he would approach Roe with an "open mind" during his confirmation hearings. I guess perjury under oath in front of the Judiciary Committee means nothing to these people, huh? But it was the Democrats who were out-of-order when they harshly questioned Alito, so said the mainstream media.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Black Jack
This Vanity Fair feature on Jack Abramoff is a true must-read.
And the picture on the first page of a smiling Abramoff and DeLay golfing together is priceless. Something tells me we're going to see that picture quite a bit in November, particularly if you live in DeLay's district in Texas.
Here's some of the money quotes.
"Any important Republican who comes out and says they didn't know me is almost
certainly lying."
On Newt:
Newt Gingrich, whose spokesman Rick Tyler tells Margolick that "Before
[Abramoff's] picture appeared on TV and in the newspapers, Newt wouldn't have
known him if he fell across him. He hadn't seen him in 10 years." A rankled
Abramoff says "I have more pictures of [Newt] than I have of my wife." Abramoff
shows Margolick numerous photographs: "Here's Newt. Newt. Newt. Newt. More Newt. Newt with Grover [Norquist, the Washington conservative Republican
Über-strategist and longtime Abramoff friend] this time. But Newt never met me.
Ollie North. Newt. Can't be Newt ... he never met me. Oh, Newt! What's he doing
there? Must be a Newt look-alike.... Newt again! It's sick! I thought he never
met me!"
On Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT), who is up for reelection in 2006:
Every appropriation we wanted [from Burns's committee] we got. Our staffs were
as close as they could be. They practically used Signatures as their cafeteria.
I mean, it's a little difficult for him to run from that record.
On Saint John McCain:
"Mr. Abramoff flatters himself," Mark Salter, McCain's administrative assistant,
tells Margolick. "Senator McCain was unaware of his existence until he read
initial press accounts of Abramoff's abuses, and had never laid eyes on him
until he appeared before the committee."
Abramoff says, "As best I can remember, when I met with him, he idn't have his eyes shut. I'm surprised that Senator McCain has joined the chorus of amnesiacs."
On Ken Mehlman:
Ken Mehlman, who recently claimed he didn't really know Abramoff. According to
documents obtained by Vanity Fair, Mehlman exchanged e-mail with Abramoff, and
did him political favors (such as preventing Clinton administration alumnus
Allen Stayman from keeping a State Department job), had Sabbath dinner at
Abramoff's house, and offered to pick up Abramoff's tab at Signatures,
Abramoff's own restaurant.
And President Bush:
President Bush, who claims not to remember having his picture taken with
Abramoff. According to Abramoff, at one time, the president joked with Abramoff
about his weight lifting past: "What are you benching, buff guy?"
Interestingly, Abramoff says that he considered selling his pictures with Bush to help pay off the Indian tribes but decided against it, in part because the Democrats said they would use it against Republicans politically. But Abramoff then blames Rove and others in the White House for making that more than a one-day story.
Monday, March 06, 2006
