In another sign of failure in Afganistan, opium poppy production shot up a whopping 61% this year in Afganistan signaling a setback for US efforts to suppress opium production in figures released by W (worst ever)’s White House.  NATO and US forces have been ineffective in suppressing either opium or the Taliban outside the city limits of Kabul.  The countryside belongs to the Taliban and increasingly they have the popular support of the Afgan people.

The anticipated record crop is seen as another boost for the resurgent Taliban as the Islamic guerrilla movement is often accused by US officials of using proceeds from drug sales to buy weapons and attract new recruits.  Click here to read more. 

In an op-ed piece in the Washington Post, Douglas Brinkley has witten an article entitled “Move Over Hoover.” The subject under speculation is whether or not George W. Bush Jr. is arguably the worst president that the country has ever had. If you think about it, that is saying something. Douglas points to Herbert Hoover, the depression era president, but certainly such a list should consider Richard M. Nixon, the Republican president most closely associated with Watergate. Doug Brinkley also believes that Waren G Harding, the Republican president, of the early 1920’s is deserving of the award. However, we point out that Harding didn’t start wars, kill people or deny civil rights as has been the custom of George W. Bush.

Click here to read more from Douglas Brinkley. Also in the Washington Post today, Eric Foner discussed the same topic and comes to the firm conclusion that W is indeed Worst Ever. Click here to read Eric’s informative article. Why not read them both and forward them to ….

The Pew Charitable Trust is a non-profit charitable organization formed for the purpose of educating the public and keeping tabs on what the public thinks and believes.  The Pew Charitable Trusts serves the public interest by providing information, advancing policy solutions and supporting civic life.  Among other things, they conduct extensive public opinion polling and publish their results on the internet.

The Pew Trust has conducted a state-by-state survey of various problems encountered by voters in our latest election.  They conclude that probems with voting machines, poll woker intimidation and long lines were present nation-wide.  Click here to read this facinating article. 

Democrats in the Illinois State Senate passed a bill to raise the minimum wage immediately to $7.50 per hour.  The measure includes a series of automatic increases that will raise the minimum wage to $8.25 over the next three years.  Republicans were of course, opposed.  Senate Minority Leader Frank Watson (R-Greenville) said he feared businesses would choose to operate out of neighboring states that abide by the lower federal minimum wage rate of $5.15 an hour.

Now for some more good news!
John Bolton, failed nominee, of the failed White House has resigned. Enough already get him out of there! W (worst ever) ended his efforts to have John Bolton confimed by the United Stated Senate as Ambassador to the United Nations and announced that Bolton will leave the post he has held for the past year.

John Bolton became the U.S. Representative to the United Nations on August 1, 2005, when President Bush named him ambassador during the congressional recess, after the Senate blocked his nomination. Bush resubmitted his nomination to the Senate in late July 2006, hoping to extend his tenure, which expires in January 2007.

Mr. Bush had planned to push for confirmation during the current lame-duck session of the Republican Congress, which would have allowed Mr. Bolton to continue as ambassador. But today’s announcement suggests that the White House realized it was not going to receive the necessary votes. Democrats and even many Republicans were opposed to appointment of this right-wing zealot.

Senator Christopher Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut and a member of the Foreign Relations Committee praised the decision. Last month he said the Bolton did not deserve confimation.

Mr. Bolton had a well-known history of disdain toward the United Nations, and his critics have said he is abrasive and represents a hard-line, conservative ideology at odds with the multilateral approach needed at the world organization.

Like many of the W (worst ever) White House, John Bolton did not believe in diplomacy. He belives in shooting first. We Democrats can be proud that this is perhaps the first “fruit” of the elections. Our thanks to Republican Lincoln Chafee whose efforts killed the attempt of the Repubican administration to push this nominee though the lame duck congress.

The BBC News as usual is calling a spade a spade. “Mr Bolton’s departure was announced by the White House on Monday morning – to the enormous satisfaction of those who believed he was too acerbic and too focused on American power to be a good ambassador for the nation.” Click here to read more.

Half an hour ago, we put on a story about the failed nomination of John Bolton. His abrasive behavior and determination to undermine the very institution to which he was seeking to become ambassador, the United Nations were completely responsible for the failure of W (worst ever)’s nomination. So what do we have now? This time we have Tony Snow Press Secretary to W (worst ever) lamenting the role of Democrats in frustrating the will of George. How clueless can you get?

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow said Monday that Democrats unfairly blocked John Bolton’s nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, saying he would have had enough votes to be confirmed.

“We think John Bolton — John Bolton had more — look, there were more Democrats who were going to vote for John Bolton than Republicans who were going to vote against — there were 58 announced votes in his favor,” Snow said at the White House daily briefing. “That’s bipartisan. And John Bolton was a successful U.N. Ambassador, and we grieve the fact that he was not rewarded for his success and honored for it.” Snow did not indicate who President Bush was considering as a potential successor to Bolton or how soon a new candidate would be nominated.

Please remember that Lincoln Chafee, Republican Senator from Rhode Island and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was, in the end, the chief opponent who killed the nomination of Bolton.

If you want to learn more about Tony Snow, try reading the text of his White House Briefing.  It actually gets halarious when the reporters razz him about Iraq.