W, affectionately known as Worst Ever in these pages, went out of his way to “stick it” to the Democrats. Yes this is the same guy who’s incensed by Democrats playing “partisan politics” with the troops bill.

So any way, today with Congress in a one week recess, he makes three “recess appointments” to thumb his nose at congressional oversight. The New York Times reports that President Bush used Congress’s Easter break today to defy Democratic lawmakers and appoint three officials who have already drawn heavy criticism on Capitol Hill.

The president used recess appointments to install Sam Fox, a major Republican donor from Missouri, to be ambassador to Belgium; Andrew G. Biggs of New York to be deputy commissioner of Social Security, and Susan E. Dudley of Virginia to be administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the office of Management and Budget.

Naming the three while Congress is in recess allows Mr. Bush to avoid the Senate confirmation process. The recess appointments allow the three to remain in their posts until the end of 2008, virtually the end of Mr. Bush’s second term.

Mr. Bush’s use of the recess appointment device, which is authorized in the Constitution, was an unmistakable gesture of defiance against the newly empowered Democrats. He has previously used the tactic to install judicial appointees unpopular with Democrats and to seat John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations. Click here to read more.

Pre-War Intelligence Is Proven Wrong Again According to Declassified Iraq Documents

Captured Iraqi documents and intelligence interrogations of Saddam Hussein and two former aides “all confirmed” that Hussein’s regime was not directly cooperating with al-Qaeda before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, according to a declassified Defense Department report released yesterday.

The declassified version of the report, by acting Inspector General Thomas F. Gimble, also contains new details about the intelligence community’s prewar consensus that the Iraqi government and al-Qaeda figures had only limited contacts, and about its judgments that reports of deeper links were based on dubious or unconfirmed information. The report had been released in summary form in February.

The report’s release came on the same day that Vice President Cheney, appearing on Rush Limbaugh’s radio program, repeated his allegation that al-Qaeda was operating inside Iraq “before we ever launched” the war, under the direction of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the terrorist killed last June. Read more in the Washington Post.

The chief aide to Alberto Gonzales who helped coordinate the attorney firings at the U.S. Justice Department resigned today. You will remember that Marcia told Congress that she would take the Fifth Amendment for any and all questions related to the scandal. Critics have charged that a group of U.S. Attornies were fired for political reasons; either for slowing down prosecutions of Democrats or for conducting prosecutions of corrupt Republicans. It has become apparent that Karl Rove and Harriet Miers at the White House instigated the affair and that Alberto Gonzales, a twenty year employee of the Bush family, got stuck with carrying the water bucket.

In any case, the New York Times reported that Monica Goodling, the Justice Department official who helped coordinate the firings of eight , an episode that has jeopardized the position of Attorney General, resigned today.

Ms. Goodling, who has been on leave from her post as the Justice Department’s liaison to the White House, told Mr. Gonzales of her decision in a terse letter, a department official said.

On March 26, Ms. Goodling’s lawyer notified the Senate Judiciary Committee that she would invoke her constitutional right to refuse to testify in an inquiry about the dismissals — not because she had anything to hide, but because she did not expect fair treatment in the current climate of political hostility, the lawyer said.  With Monica leaving, Alberto is left standing alone on the stage.

In a development that may presage the “next” stage in the occupation of Iraq, Muqtada al-Sadr urged Shiites everywhere to end their cooperation with American forces. In the past few weeks, as U.S. troops entered Bagdad, many comentators have noted that the levels of violence had seemed to decline. A big part of that came from the withdrawal of the Mahdi in an apparent effort to avoid a confrontation.

The “withdrawal” of the Mahdi army was followed by stepped up attacks by Sunni militia on Shiites. And then, late last week, of attacks by U.S. troops in Sadr City. Click here to read the story in the Washington Post.

If Sunni and Shiite forces independently begin to target Americans instead of themselves; then the violence and American casualties could escallate rapidly. Thank you, George! The Iraq Study Group warned last year that certain triggering events could propel Iraq into uncontrollable chaos and violence.

It appears that massive anti-American demonstrations will be held tomorrow in Najaf. The Mahdi Army will be there.  The demonstrations may serve as a lightening rod.

Paul Wolfowitz, one of the chief architects of the Iraq War, was appointed by W (Worst Ever), two years ago to lead the World Bank. It was before the elections, so his Senate confirmation sailed through congress. In accordance with conflict of interest rules, his live-in lover Shaha Riza, who then worked at the World Bank, was transfered to the U.S. State Department. However she is still getting paid by the World Bank. So Paul, as the chief of the bank, broke departmental rules and policy and ordered a fat 50% raise for his gal. Her compensation now exceeds bank guidelines and this has naturally been leaked to the press.

No, no, Paul not so fast and loose! The staff of the World Bank today called for him to resign. Click here to read more from the Associated Press. Paul appologized to his staff today, but it seems not to have had the effect he wanted. His apology didn’t ease concerns among the bank’s staff association, which wants him to resign.

The growing controversy has overshadowed major development meetings this weekend and is raising fresh questions about whether Wolfowitz will stay on the job. The White House, however, naturally expressed confidence in the embattled bank president.

The Government Accountability Project, a watchdog group, estimated Riza’s salary at $193,590 as a result of the job transfer and pay raises. The group says she was paid by the World Bank and remains on the bank’s payroll. The World Bank would not comment on Riza’s compensation, citing confidentiality concerns.

The Washington Post is also covering the story and they noted: “Wolfowitz did not specify exactly what role he played. But his statement came on the same day the Web site of the Financial Times newspaper reported the existence of a memorandum that Wolfowitz wrote spelling out how the bank should handle the career of his romantic partner, Shaha Riza.”

Our regular April meeting will be held Saturday, April 14th 2007. Paul Fuschini will be with us from Humane Borders. The meeting starts at 3:30 pm following a half hour of social interaction. As normal, the meeting will be held at the Activities Center (HOA #1) at 64518 E Galveston Lane. Following the meeting we will have a pot luck buffet at the home of one of our members. See you there!

Mike Madden and Ryan Konig
The Arizona Republic

Sen. John McCain has spent nearly two-thirds of the money he raised for his presidential campaign this year, leaving him with less than half the cash his major opponents have in the bank.

McCain, an Arizona Republican who raised less money than former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, also spent a bigger percentage of his campaign treasury than his rivals, according to federal reports filed electronically over the weekend.

From January through March, McCain raised about $13 million. But he spent $8.4 million, leaving him with just under $5.2 million at the end of the quarter. The campaign reported $1.8 million in debt, as well.

The figures underscore the difficult political position McCain is in as he struggles to restore some energy to his bid for the White House. Once the heavy favorite in the GOP field, McCain now trails Giuliani by double figures in some national polls. He also lags former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson, who has not announced whether he will run. Click here to read more.

The Pinal County Democrats hold their meetings at 7pm on the third Wednesday of each month in Florence. We generally gather for a dutch treat supper at about 5:30 pm at the A&M Pizza on Highway 287 west of Florence. This is great opportunity to meet and greet fellow Democrats in an informal setting. The meeting is held at the offices of the Pinal County Attorney at 31 N Pinal St. Carpooling is generally available from SaddleBrooke.

With all this talk about Bushies, you have to qualify your reference as to what kind of Bushie is under discussion. For example, there are Katrina Bushies who are plain incompetent. Then there are World Bank Bushies or Iraq War Bushies or even Iran Bushies. Alberto Gonzales who is normally an AG Bushie yesterday testified about “Loyal Bushies.” According to Gonzales that was the real test, if you are a “Loyal Bushie” you got to keep your U.S. prosecutor job.

However, yesterday, Alberto was a “Forgetting Bushie” as he replied “I don’t remember…” 74 times to questions from United States Senators while testifing under oath. Oh well, I guess he can take solace from the fact that his deputy, Kyle Sampson, could not remember 122 times. Read more about this in the Washington Post. But if you would like to laugh a little, follow this link to PoliticsTV.com where Comedy Central reviews Gonzo’s testimony.

Now Administration Officials and the Chair of the House REPUBLICAN Conference Committe are throwing Gonzo under the bus.  CNN reports that several administration officials and the House Republican Conference chairman said Friday that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should step down, following the harsh response to his Senate testimony on last year’s firing of eight U.S. attorneys.

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee grilled Gonzales for hours Thursday about the dismissals.

The attorney general has been roundly criticized for his handling of the shakeup and for the shifting explanations Justice Department officials have given for the changes.

Gonzales said more than 60 times that he “couldn’t recall” certain incidents. His former chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, used that explanation 122 times during his testimony weeks ago.

Detractors say the Justice Department has not been straightforward about the reasons the attorneys were dismissed. The controversy has led to allegations of political interference with pending investigations. Click here to read more.