There is no end to it.

Taken as a whole, what you are describing, and what the American public must certainly be aware of by this point, is the singular intent and unrelenting effort at the highest levels of government to politicize the entire U.S. government down to the last decision maker and to subvert any attempt on the part of anyone in government or the media to find and expose the truth of the matter.

I'm with the War Room commenters eagerly awaiting Ashcroft's memoirs.

Keep in mind that unlike born-again pikers like bush and gonzales - and especially amoral demons like cheney - Ashcroft is the genuine article: a True Believer in jesus christ, not george bush. Oil-annointing and other weirdnesses aside, Ashcroft follows what he believes to be christ's teachings to the letter, and won't be swayed from them by political considerations.

My guess is that Ashcroft's passionate anger in that hotel bed had a great deal to do with gonzales pressuring him to abandon his libertarian religious beliefs (freedom from government spying) on the grounds of political expediency (help bush.)

After the last four years of catastrophes and corruption scandals, I think the bloom is off the rose of bush for most religious conservatives.

If Ashcroft's no-holds-barred memoirs - or testimony! - force them to choose between the genuine article and the knock-off, bush is dead meat.

The only positive aspect of the coverup is that it demonstrates that they know that what they are doing is criminal. And they've done this with so many things in this administration, you have to wonder how anyone can believe these people don't all belong in jail.

"... As always, the contempt which the Bush administration has for the rule of law is illustrated not only by their serial and conscious lawbreaking ..."

But who ever pays for these crimes? I think I will never live to see even a low level Bush criminal face justice, much less see the real culprits brought to justice.

How long can we tolerate these crimes and remain free?

There is also a story over at TPM Muckraker on this. The Whitehouse reveals a new, depraved, low.

In light of Reverend Fallwell's passing, it's crucial to keep this item in the news — focus the bright light of truth on this story and don't let it dim.

on God's green earth that Gonzales cannot be impeached now? (Not to mention his boss....)

Wow, this episode is really something. Aside from the very interesting revelations about Ashcroft, Card, and Gonzales, it demonstrates quite clearly that the administration KNEW what it was doing was illegal and yet they still went to such lengths to get Justice Dept. approval...

The scene is so melodramatic, it's like scheming family members trying to change the will on their patriarchs' deathbed.

The President won't fire a proven perjurer. If Alberto Gonzales were removed from the top law enforcement spot, there would be no one to prevent the law from being, well, enforced. Gonzales has a job til the day Bush leaves office when the chances of his being driven from office a la Nixon are zero, or indicted for his crimes a la, well, no other President, are greatly diminished.

Gonzales has been protecting this clown for quite a long time now. No reason to stop now.

Looks like its time to write my congresswoman and ask for impeachment on this topic again.

Imagine how deep this shit goes, given that they like to keep things quiet and the M$M has been relatively obliging. Exposure is key to show the public what this administration is about.

Check out these criteria in the context of the Bush administration and its treatment of the country. Do examples come to mind for each one?

• failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest/legal action
• deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure
• impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
• irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults
• reckless disregard for safety of self or others
• consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain steady work or honor financial obligations
• lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another

That would be the check list for anti-personality disorder (Reference: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). They're sociopaths, or rather, the administration is sociopathic. The inmates are running the asylum. Congress needs to get these guys under control before they get even more desperate and try something really crazy (e.g. http://tinyurl.com/2xvw4n). And then the public needs to seriously kick these guys out to the curb. Damn, what a waste of eight years.

I hope I'm wrong, but it seems like there's a fat chance that any of the important details will make it into the mainstream news cycle. I just looked at the Yahoo news headlines and right below "Expert: Iraq Will Become 'Terrorist Disneyland' if US leaves" is "Ex-official: Ashcroft Had Concerns Over Wiretaps." You have an alarming story about people rushing to a hospital in order to prevent a gross abuse of power by Card and Gonzales -- government officials who, in the words of Schumer, "were trying to take advantage of an ill and maybe disoriented man to try and get him to do something that many, at least in the Justice Department, thought was against the law." But "Had Concerns Over Wiretaps" -- that's their lead.

I am stunned. I just read through the testimony and Glenn's blog, barely breathing. Every day, it seems, there is some new revelation, some new affront to our fading democracy. And every time I read something like this, I say to myself, "Surely everyone will see now. Surely those who still support Bush, the war, the curtailment of civil rights, etc.--they will understand the great danger we are in and see the need to rise up from their apathy." But then it hits me--and no matter how many times this happens, the hit comes at me with all the force of a tidal wave--that even [i]this[/i] will not make any difference to the vast numbers of voters.

What will it take?