Weekend Catch-Up. Bush's Supreme Nominee (Longer Version). Red Sox Update.

Bush's Supreme Nominee. The More We Know, The Less We Like Him...

In yet another disgusting display of the blanket of secrecy that surrounds this White House, the Bush Administration is refusing to release confidential memos that U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts wrote when he worked for presidents Reagan and Bush I. Reuters News excerpt:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration does not want to release confidential memos that U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts wrote when he worked for two Republican presidents, a White House adviser said on Sunday.

Former Sen. Fred Thompson, named by President Bush to steer (as the main fixer, apparently James Baker was unavailable...) Roberts' confirmation through the Senate, disputed calls by some Democrats to turn over all the documents from Roberts' tenure at the White House and Justice Department.

"The administration's been pretty consistent on that, in fact, I think very consistent, in that (confidential documents) will not be forthcoming," Thompson said during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press." "Conversations he has with his priest, conversations he has with his doctor or his wife or his client are matters that are off limits, basically," said Thompson, a Republican who represented Tennessee in the Senate.

Notice how Thompson led off that last sentence by referring to priests. More proof that this pitiful administration is guided by religious insanity and not logic.

Democratic senators said they want to see all the documents in order to understand Roberts' views on issues such as abortion, workers' rights, women's rights, civil rights and the environment. "We need to know things about him that two years on the (federal appeals court) in the District of Columbia don't tell us, whether that's through documentation or his answers to questions," Sen. Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said on "Meet the Press."

Roberts argued before the Supreme Court as the principal deputy solicitor general during the presidency of Bush's father. He also worked in the Justice Department in 1981-1982 and in the White House counsel's office during Ronald Reagan's presidency.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (D - Rubber Stamp), ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, disagreed with Thompson's stand that Roberts' documents are covered by attorney-client privilege and said many previous nominees had agreed to make the same type of documents public. "Those working in the solicitor general's office are not working for the president. They're working for you and me and all the American people," Leahy said on ABC's "This Weak with Judas Maximus."

Full story: http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-07-24T182414Z_01_N24542680_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-COURT-ROBERTS-DC.XML

I hate to have to say this again, but if the Clinton Administration had shown such complete and utter contempt for the confirmation process as to do what this gang of thugs is doing, the screams from the corridors of power would be audible from Bangor to San Diego. Why don't the Democratic rubber stamp pussies stand up and demand to see these documents? Are they in terminal surrender mode?

As if things weren't bad enough, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez weighed in with this pile of bullshit:

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the administration would look at the Democrats' document requests on a case-by-case basis and would be "as accommodating as we can."

"We understand that this is a very important decision by members of the Senate and they do need information to make an informed decision and we're going to work as hard as we can to reach the appropriate accommodation," Gonzalez said (lied) on "Fox News Sunday."

Here are some of the things we do know about Mister Roberts:

1. As U.S. deputy solicitor general in 1990, Roberts stated the first Bush administration's belief, in a brief, that the Supreme Court decision on abortion should be overturned.

2. That as part of his belief that the aforementioned decision should be overturned, he represented those tolerant Christians in Operation Rescue.

3. He was part of the Bush legal team that James Baker assembled to game the system in the 2000 presidential election.

As my headline reads: The more you know about this man, the less you like him. Which isn't saying much since I didn't like the empty suit to begin with. Call it general principles, call it instinct, but at least the evidence shows that this man, if confirmed, will help President Bumbling Idiot continue in his foolish attempt to drag us from the 21st century back to the 13th.


Red Sox Update

The Red Sox dropped a 6-4 contest to the White Sox in Chicago today to split their four-game series with the Pale Hose. After getting a quick 1-0 lead thanks to David Ortiz's 25th home run of off former Yankee batting practice pitcher Jose Contreras, Bronson Arroyo was touched up for 6 runs over 6 2/3 innings as the White Sox bats got to the wiry right-hander early (five of the runs scored in the first three innings, including a two-run homer by second baseman Tadahito Iguchi, his 8th).

Contreras pitched into the 6th inning (and surrendered Jason Varitek's 15th homer) before White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen realized he'd gotten all he could from the big righty and the bullpen took over. Lefty Neal Cotts was the most impressive of the relievers. He was followed by an almost as impressive Cliff Politte and a wild Damaso Marte. Marte began the top of the ninth by walking both Johnny Damon and, after getting Bill Mueller, walking David Ortiz, and, since Damon and Ortiz are lefties, and Marte is a lefty, he did a crummy job of pitching to them. Closer and former Red Sox disaster Dustin Hermanson then came in, and after giving up a one-out an RBI single to Manny Ramirez (who struck out three times against Contreras), he got Trot Nixon to fly out, and John Olerud to ground to to end the game.

The Red Sox are now 1 1/2 games in front of the second place Yankees, who beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California, USA, North America, Western Hemisphere, Planet Earth, Solar System, Milky Way Galaxy by a score of 4-1 to avoid being swept by the halos. The third place Orioles lost 6-2 to get swept by the Tampa Bay Deviled Eggs, part of a five-game losing streak. The Sox now travel to Tampa Bay to take on the suddenly hot Eggs in a three-game series starting tomorrow night.