Quotable

"For there is nothing mysterious about the foundations of a healthy and strong democracy. The basic things expected by our people of their political and economic systems are simple. They are:

Equality of opportunity for youth and for others.

Jobs for those who can work.

Security for those who need it.

The ending of special privilege for the few.

The preservation of civil liberties for all.

The enjoyment of the fruits of scientific progress in a wider and constantly rising standard of living.

These are the simple, basic things that must never be lost sight of in the turmoil and unbelievable complexity of our modern world. The inner and abiding strength of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which they fulfill these expectations."

~ President Roosevelt, 1941 State of the Union Address

Doolittle Supposedly "Unhurt" by Scandal

According to John Doolittle's chief of staff, he's not only on track to meet his goal of raising one million dollars for his campaign war chest, Doolittle is also strolling down the sunny side of K street whistling a happy tune impervious to all the media attention about his connections to indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Well, he does appear to have some money as reported by The Hill:

Meanwhile, Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.), an eighth-term congressman who has come under fire for using Abramoff’s skyboxes for fundraisers, finished the year with $300,976, after raising $183,503 in the fourth quarter, according to the campaign’s filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

Doolittle’s final 2005 tally is around $40,000 more than the congressman had at the end of 2003, according to campaign-finance records. Richard Robinson, Doolittle’s chief of staff, said the campaign is on pace to meet its fundraising goal of raising $1 million, adding that the congressman has not been hurt by the scandal.

The GOP Can't Find Someone to Step Up?

Despite the dark, ominous cloud of scandal hanging above John Doolittle's head these days, according to Whitney's story in today's Sac Bee, he may escape a challenge to his low-level House leadership position:

It appears that Rep. John Doolittle will get to keep his House leadership position, avoiding what could have been a costly price for his connections to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, congressional sources said Tuesday.

[...]

As of Tuesday, however, they were far short of the 50 signatures needed to succeed by petition. Lungren said Tuesday that his group will try another avenue Wednesday at a closed conference meeting by proposing a motion to open the election.

[...]

In addition, no one has stepped forward to say they'd run for conference secretary if the seat were declared open to challenge. The position is the lowest wrung [sic] on the House leadership ladder.

All this talk of reforming congress by the Repubs is just talk. Big surprise.

The Daily Doolittle

Paul Kiel over at TPM Cafe's "Daily Muck" begins his column with this:

Maybe we'll start calling this The Daily Doolittle.

I've thought for quite a while now that it's not a matter of if Doolittle will be indicted but rather when. The timing of the indictment will be a huge factor in how this election cycle plays out here in CA D4.

How I Wish...

the election wasn't stolen.

Prepare Yourself

For Bush's State of the Union Address

Doolittle: "No Comment" on Casino Letters

In his article about Doolittle's reaction to the casino letters uncovered by the AP's Freedon of Information Act request, James Rosen is careful to point out the impact the timing of this revelation may have on the congressman's future in House leadership:

The fresh controversy emerged at a sensitive political juncture for Doolittle. As secretary of the House Republican conference, he and other House leaders face possible challenges to their posts as early as Thursday from reformers bent on cleaning house in the wake of the Abramoff lobbying scandal.

This article provides the best overview of what is known at this time about Doolittle's involvement with Abramoff and their deal-making with regard to Indian Casinos. The Sac Bee regains its position as the paper of record for the Doolittle scandal.

Media's Role in Fostering Voter Apathy

Krugman aptly explains why media's mischaracterization of the Abramoff scandal as 'bipartisan' hurts the chances we have in key congressional races to "clean house." Short answer: it fuels voter apathy. Krugman's answer:

There have been both bipartisan and purely Democratic scandals in the past. Based on everything we know so far, however, the Abramoff affair is a purely Republican scandal.

Why does the insistence of some journalists on calling this one-party scandal bipartisan matter? For one thing, the public is led to believe that the Abramoff affair is just Washington business as usual, which it isn't. The scale of the scandals now coming to light, of which the Abramoff affair is just a part, dwarfs anything in living memory.

More important, this kind of misreporting makes the public feel helpless. Voters who are told, falsely, that both parties were drawn into Mr. Abramoff's web are likely to become passive and shrug their shoulders instead of demanding reform.

Quotable

"The Republican Party is at a crossroads right now. And that crossroads is where we are going to have to reform ourselves before the voters do it this fall."

~ Rep. Mark Souder, Indiana (R) quoted in NY Times article re: election of House Majority Leader on Thursday.

Connecting the Dots

AP Finds Doolittle Connection with Abramobb Clients

Erica Werner (AP Writer) continues her terrific investigative reporting on John Doolittle:

A California congressman who accepted campaign cash from disgraced ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff and used his sports box for a fundraiser interceded on behalf of two American Indian tribes that were represented by Abramoff's firm, documents show.

GOP Rep. John Doolittle wrote Interior Secretary Gale Norton in June 2003 criticizing the Bush administration's response to a tribal government dispute involving the Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa. In October 2003, Doolittle appealed in a letter to the secretary for quicker action for a Massachusetts tribe, the Mashpee Wampanoag, that was seeking federal recognition.

Both tribes signed on with Abramoff's lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig, that year. Sac & Fox hired the firm in May, the Wampanoags in November. Neither tribe appears tied to Doolittle's rural Northern California district, and Doolittle is not on the House committee that handles Indian issues.

The letters were obtained by The Associated Press under a Freedom of Information Act request.

What do you know? This story was picked up by Fox News.

May the Truth Prevail

A local newspaper in Doolittle's district has published an interesting article today about a letter sent from Doolittle to his list of supporters. He's seeking to raise $100,000 in January for his campaign war chest. I would have liked to have been there when some of these letters were opened. I can't imagine there are too many people eager to mix their money in with Abramobb's and Wilkes.

What I found most interesting in this article are the quotes by two of Doolittle's challengers: Lisa Rea (D) and Mike Holmes (R).

Rea:

Lisa Rea, a Lincoln resident who is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Doolittle in November, said developments in recent months indicate the need for a change.

"It shows we need clean candidates," Rea said. "There's apparently a pay-to-play government on Capitol Hill."

Rea added that Doolittle's is attacking the extreme left-wing without realizing that voters in his district are not extremists. Instead, they're concerned with a massive deficit and their own needs, she said.

"He's demonstrating that he's out of touch with his district and the needs of the common working man and woman," Rea said.

Holmes:

Holmes, Auburn's mayor, said Saturday that the letter indicates Doolittle is beginning to panic under the onslaught of national media coverage over campaign contributions and lobbying activity that has put the Roseville Republican in the uncomfortable glare of the spotlight. Holmes said he wasn't recruited by McCloskey and as a loyal Republican doesn't want to see District 4 in Democrat hands after November - just represented by a different Republican.

"His insinuation that I'm a liberal who is attempting to take control of Congress away from the Republican Party is nonsense," Holmes said. "Mr. Doolittle wants to blame others for the problems he's in and it's very convenient to blame the so-called liberal press and others. In actuality, the problems he's facing as far as ethics and whether money was properly given to him is caused by himself."

Auburn Journal article: Doolittle Lashes Out as Queries Mount.

How's Our Levee Holding?

Rex Rabin, Sacramento Bee

Quotable

"The truth is that only idiots and liars (actually, I guess the liars 'say' but don't 'believe') think the Abramoff operation was really bipartisan in any meaningful sense."

~ Josh Marshall

Match Point - Yep, It's Good(e)

Saw "Match Point" yesterday. More later... Just had to get this photo up to dispell some of the bad juju of all the Doolittle photos.

Well-cast and very well-marketed. I liked everything about this film...the sense of place...the Dostoevsky references...the photography...the music...much to mull over about luck - fate, lust, entitlement, misogyny and classism. Check out the beautiful website: There are no little secrets.

"But do you understand, I cry to him, do you understand that along with happiness, in the exact same way and in perfectly equal proportion, man also needs unhappiness!"

~ Dostoevsky

Doolittle: Up to His Earmarks in the K Street Project

Both the Washington Post and The Hill have stepped up their reporting on John Doolittle's connections to Jack Abramoff. Here's an excerpt from the WaPo story, K Street's New Ways Spawn More Pork:

In the latest example of these backstage dealings, Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Calif.) told The Washington Post that he helped steer defense funding, totaling $37 million, to a California company, whose officials and lobbyists helped raise at least $85,000 for Doolittle and his leadership political action committee from 2002 to 2005.

[...]

Doolittle said in a statement this week that as one of three California Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee, he frequently supports "well deserving projects throughout the state." The statement added that his support of PerfectWave Technology "was no exception and based completely on the project's merits and the written support of the military."

[...]

Shortly thereafter, individuals related to Wilkes and PerfectWave made large campaign donations to members of the GOP leadership, Doolittle and Lewis, who was then chairman of the Appropriations defense subcommittee. PerfectWave is housed in Wilkes's office building in Poway, Calif.

Doolittle and his leadership PAC received at least $85,000 from 2002 to 2005 from Wilkes, PerfectWave associates and their wives, and from Alexander Strategy lobbyists Edwin A. Buckham and Tony C. Rudy and their wives.

Wilkes was successful. Congress approved the first earmark for PerfectWave as part of the fiscal 2003 defense bill, which was passed in October 2002. That $1 million earmark was followed by an installment of $18 million in 2003 and another $18 million in 2004. Doolittle, whose district is in Northern California, was a guest at a fundraising dinner at Wilkes's office in San Diego in the fall of 2003.

Doolittle's office released a letter from a Marine Corps official dated last Feb. 25 that praised the PerfectWave technology. A spokesman for the House Appropriations Committee said there are no additional funds for the project in the fiscal 2006 budget because the Marines have not spent all the money that was earmarked.

Ney may be Rep. #1 but it's looking like Doolittle could emerge as the poster boy for the Republican Corruption Scandals of 06.

The Harder They Fall

Republicans are scrambling to clean their House -- but the dirt won't wash off

Great article in Rolling Stone by Matt Taibbi. Check out the intro:

"The Republicans are now and always have been the party of reform," said a grinning David Dreier, surveying the crowd of journalists in the congressional radio and TV gallery.

The nattily dressed House Rules committee chairman then paused, as if to give someone in the crowd a chance to chuck a bottle at his head. No one did. So he went on: "I see this," he said, "as a wonderful new opportunity for us . . ."

Again, he paused. No bottles, no rotten tomatoes, no clouds of flying dog-shit landing with a slap! on his receding forehead. Given what the Republican leadership might have expected, at a press conference unveiling a "lobby reform" package in the wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal (what Dreier meant by "this"), the event was a smashing success.

The entire piece is very good but the barbs directed at Dreier shine:

So in the end, to whom did the Republicans turn to be their white knight? David Dreier, a man whose very first act in last year's Congress was to write a Rules package that not only sought to rewrite the congressional rules to allow the majority leader to continue service while under indictment for a felony but also castrated the Ethics committee, changing its structure in such a way that the Republicans could unilaterally quash any further investigations of DeLay.

As chair of the Rules committee -- a murky body whose chairman has the power to rewrite bills entirely before they are voted on -- Dreier moreover was presumably the gatekeeper to much of the midnight shenanigans involving earmarks and last-minute insertions of paid-for corporate goodies in big pieces of legislation. Perhaps more than any other Republican, Dreier was a symbol of the institutional corruption that allowed DeLay to almost single-handedly manipulate Congress like a marionette for the Abramoffs of the world. As one Democratic staffer said to me, "Putting Dreier in charge of this is the biggest f#@%ing joke you can possibly imagine."

And since this article is about Republican corruption it's no surprise John Doolittle receives a mention.

[Photo: Reuters/Larry Downing]

Quotable

"In his 2005 address, the President said: "In the three and half years since September 11th, 2001, we have taken unprecedented actions to protect Americans." It took only seven months and the winds of Katrina to prove he was wrong. Americans have heard tough talk from President Bush over the last five years, but the reality is, his policies have made America less safe.

The President's failed record speaks for itself."

~ Senator Harry Reid, from Reid Addresses the Real State of Our Union.

There's hope

Attorney General's speech protested by Georgetown Law students.
Story: here.

[Photo: AP/Charles Dharapak]

Doolittle: Slimy from the Start

A history lesson from Steve Smith of the Idiotarian Savant:

It is no surprise to those of us who have followed his career from the outset that John Doolittle (R-CA) has been one of the Congressmen most caught up in the Abramoff imbroglio. To those of you who are just discovering what a frightening little man he is, here's a taste from the early days, when he was just a State Senator.

To summarize, back in 1984, his state senate district having been reapportioned into the ether by the legendary Phillip Burton, Doolittle moved into the district of a moderate Republican incumbent, Ron Johnson. Johnson, sensing the rightward shift of his party, decided to run as an independent, while the Democrats, significantly outnumbered in the district, put up (if that's the right word; the state party was unofficially backing Johnson, and the nominee barely campaigned) a sacrificial lamb.

Trailing in the last weeks of the campaign, Doolittle hit upon a cagey proposition. As the California Fair Political Practices Committee later put it:

Shortly before the election, Doolittle campaign consultant John Feliz coordinated the production of a mass mailer sent on behalf of Doolittle's Democratic opponent, Jack Hornsby. The consulting services of Feliz and a Doolittle fundraiser, Jim Grubbs, along with 60,000 mailing labels, were contributed by the Friends of John Doolittle Committee to the Friends of Jack Hornsby Committee. The mailer was sent to Democratic households as a tactic to bring Democratic candidate Hornsby into the three-way race with Doolittle and former state Senator Ray Johnson, thus pulling votes away from Johnson to Hornsby for the benefit of Doolittle.

Doolittle ended up winning the election by an eyelash, paid a token fine for his lack of ethics, and has slimed his way to bigger and better things ever since. As with the early career of Richard Nixon, whose campaigns against Jerry Voorhis and Helen Douglas portended even more egregious acts later in life, Doolittle's lack of anything that even remotely resembled an ethical core was evident from the start.

Quotable

"Frankly, the money was spent long ago anyway."

~ Rep. John Doolittle in response to a question about why he has not joined other elected representatives in returning money given to them by indicted Washington lobbyist, Jack Abramoff.

BTW - Have you had your Daily Muck?

Doolittle Owes Us a Real Explanation

Andy Furillo has added to his article about Doolittle's pre-taped interview on a conservative AM talk show that was broadcast yesterday. Here's how Doolittle's Republican primary challenger, Mike Holmes responded:

Mike Holmes, the Auburn mayor who is running against Doolittle in the Republican primary in June, called the interview that aired Monday "another Doolittle attempt to manipulate the media." He noted that Sullivan said on the air last week that he gave Doolittle the chance to kill the interview if he didn't like it.

"I didn't learn a whole lot new," Holmes said. "But Doolittle seemed to be defiant, and he showed no contrition for what has taken place. He still believes that everything he's done is legal, which may be true, but even if what has taken place is legal, there still are some ethical questions that need to be raised."

Ethical questions need to be raised and answered honestly and directly from Doolittle himself.

Here's an Op Ed piece Doolittle Has Some Explaining To Do from one of Doolittle's constituents calling him out for cowardice in his avoidance of both media and voters.

This story is gaining national attention: CBS News.

Doolittle is a Strange Bird

From Erica Werner's AP story picked up by the SF Chronicle:

Unlike other lawmakers who have rushed to shed money from Abramoff and his tribal clients, Doolittle refuses to do so, saying he sees no reason to give away money that was lawfully received.

"I just felt as a matter of principle that I wasn't going to be like the rest of my fellow politicians and like a flock of birds that's scared to take flight and leave everything behind," he said.

Doolittle has received at least $14,000 from Abramoff and $41,000 from his tribal clients, according to campaign records and an updated report by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Ned's take on the 'interview' at the Rest of Us.org.

Most thorough local press coverage: Auburn Journal.

Doolittle Waves Red Flag: "Investigate Me"

John Doolittle's pre-recorded cuppy cake interview with a Sacramento conservative talk show host aired today at 2 pm. I only heard a little of it on my way to an appt. but all I can say is, "What a weenie." Really.

Here's an quickie article from the Sac Bee (Andy Furillo) about Doolittle's first public comments about his relationships and involvement with the likes of DeLay and Abramobb:

U.S. Rep. John Doolittle says he wants the Department of Justice to "come investigate me" so he can clear his name in the Jack Abramoff lobbying and corruption scandal that has swept through Washington, D.C.

Doolittle, a Republican from Roseville, is one of a handful of members of Congress who published reports have linked with Abramoff, the lobbyist who has pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy and other corruption charges. But in an interview aired Monday on radio station KFBK in Sacramento, Doolittle said he has never been contacted in the two years since the Abramoff controversy first became public. He said he sent a letter to the Department of Justice last Thursday to speed the probe along as far as it would affect him.

"I said, 'Hey, if you're concerned about me, investigate me, because I'd like to get my name cleared," Doolittle said in the interview that was taped Thursday. "This has been hanging over our heads. I've probably had about a million dollars worth of negative publicity here locally, not to mention across the United States, where someone has put my name out there saying I'm one of (those under investigation), but I don't believe that. I think the fact they haven't contacted me should be a pretty good indicator. If there's any truth to that, come investigate me. Come contact me, because I know what the truth is, and I'll come out with a clean record."

Doolittle said he has no plans to return the money Abramoff contributed to his campaign committee, saying "I don't feel the least bit bad" about accepting what his office has characterized as legal contributions.

Doolittle has accepted $4,000 in campaign contributions from Abramoff and at least $140,000 more in contributions from the disgraced lobbyist’s associates and clients since 1999. Doolittle has refused to return any of the money from Abramoff since the lobbyist pleaded guilty earlier this month to conspiracy to bribe public officials and other corruption-related charges.

Doolittle also defended his wife, Julie, whose business records were subpoenaed in the investigation about two years ago. Julie Doolittle is president of a political fundraising company, Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions, that did work for Abramoff between 2002 and March 2004. John Doolittle said his wife was never asked to appear before a grand jury and that she has had only minimal contact with investigators since the subpoena was served.

I think Doolittle's going to be indicted in February, maybe March.

Doolittle & Abramoff

From TPM's Daily Muck in which my Congressman, John Doolittle again jumps out to lead the pack in the on-going Abramoff debacle:

John Doolittle's spokesperson has been misleading reporters and the public about how much he actually received from Jack Abramoff. She's said that he only received $4,000. He actually received $14,000. According to TheRestofUs.org, Abramoff gave $10,000 to Rep. John Doolittle's Superior California State Leadership PAC in 2000, bringing Abramoff's total personal contributions to Doolittle to $14,000. That $10,000 (which had gone unnoticed till now) is "believed to be the largest single contribution from Abramoff to a politician's committee."

Wipe Out

Here's an example of the type of 'sandbags' Congressman Doolittle is putting up against the tidal wave of the Abramoff scandal:

He's protecting God from wicked liberals.

You may recall the other sandbag he tossed on the pile before Christmas when his name started showing up all over the place in articles about DeLay, Cunnighman and Abramoff. Yes, that's right. Doolittle launched an effort to protect candy canes.

Quotable

"The idea of Republicans reforming themselves is like asking John Gotti to clean up organized crime."

~ Senator Harry Reid

Doolittle Plans to Keep Every Cent of His Tainted Money

This AP story was published as a "Top Story" on the Sacramento area CBS affiliate KOVR/Ch. 13:

Doolittle To Retain Donations From Abramoff
President Bush and numerous lawmakers have dumped campaign contributions from Abramoff.

(AP) LOS ANGELES Republican Congressman John Doolittle says he will not return any of the $50,000 dollars in political donations he received from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff or the Indian tribes Abramoff once represented.

A spokeswoman says Doolittle, of Rocklin, "has no intention of returning any contribution from anyone that was made in an ethical and legal matter."

President Bush and numerous lawmakers have dumped campaign contributions from Abramoff.

Abramoff pleaded guilty this week in Washington to mail fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion in connection with his lobbying activities, and in Miami to conspiracy and wire fraud.

Doolittle's campaign received $4,000 dollars from Abramoff, and his political committees banked another 46-thousand from tribes linked to the lobbyist.

Dirty Boulevard

Kevin Drum examines the nit and grits of the K Street Project and Jack Abramoff.

Observation:

One of the underreported stories of the past few years is the evolution of the Republican Party from being the party of capitalism and free enterprise to being merely the party of whichever business interests can help Republicans get reelected. There's a big difference between being pro-market and being pro-business — in fact, they're often diametrically opposed — but the difference isn't always obvious until something like the Abramoff affair shines a bright light on it. If the Democratic Party is smart, this will be a learning moment for the country about not just garden variety corruption, but about the true nature of how the modern Republican Party operates.

Quotable

David Letterman to Bill O'Reilly: "I have the feeling about 60 percent of what you say is crap."

I have the feeling it's closer to 80 percent.

Video clip at Crooks and Liars.

Howard Dean Asks Bush to Return Tainted Money

An article in today's Sac Bee by David Whitney and Margaret Talev, Abramoff Pleads Guilty in Scandal gives an excellent run down on implications of Abramoff's plea agreement. Most of the focus is on Ney and Doolittle. There was one tidbit of information that particularly captured my attention.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued a statement calling Abramoff "an example of the abuse of power and culture of corruption that the Republicans have brought to Washington."

Dean called on President Bush to return more than $100,000 Abramoff raised for his 2004 re-election.

Scott McClellan didn't seem to care for Dean's idea.

Back to Doolittle:

Doolittle's office said again Tuesday that the congressman has not been contacted by the Justice Department, hired a lawyer or returned any of the political contributions. "We are encouraged that this investigation is finally moving forward because the faster the truth is revealed the faster our constituents will know that Congressman Doolittle has done absolutely nothing wrong," said his spokeswoman, Laura Blackann. Doolittle was a close friend of Abramoff's and received tens of thousands of dollars in political contributions from Abramoff and his clients. His wife, Julie Doolittle, operates a business that was employed as a fundraiser by a charity that Abramoff admitted Tuesday he used to evade income taxes. Her business records were subpoenaed by a federal grand jury last year. Doolittle also used Abramoff's skybox at a Washington sports arena for a fundraiser. In addition, a former aide to Doolittle, Kevin Ring, was hired by Abramoff to be a lobbying associate. Ring cited his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination when questioned by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee last summer.

More Doolitte and Abramoff

From the Sac Bee:

Rep. John Doolittle

The California Republican's wife was subpoenaed last year in connection with her fundraising and event-planning company being previously hired by Abramoff. Kevin Ring, a former legislative director for Doolittle, later worked as a lobbyist with Abramoff. Abramoff donated to Doolittle campaigns. Doolittle was supportive of some of Abramoff's clients' positions and was among several lawmakers who wrote a letter trying to block a casino that Abramoff clients opposed.
(Source: McClatchy Washington Bureau)

Doolittle's Abramoff Connection

More on ramifications of Abramoff's plea from the WaPo:

Other lawmakers who had close dealings with Abramoff are Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.), Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Calif.) and other members of Congress involved with Indian affairs.

Prior to resolution of any issues involving DeLay, prosecutors are continuing to investigate two of DeLay's top former deputies, Edwin A. Buckham and Tony C. Rudy. Abramoff maintained a business relationship with Buckham, who runs the Alexander Strategy Group with Rudy.

Among the areas of interest are questions about client business steered to the Alexander Strategy Group at a time when the firm was hiring the spouses of members of Congress, including DeLay's wife, Christine DeLay, and Doolittle's wife, Julie Doolittle.

Christine DeLay was paid about $115,000 over three years while performing a special project -- contacting members of Congress to find out their favorite charity, according to here attorney.

Julie Doolittle, whose records have been subpoenaed by a grand jury, was hired by Buckham to perform accounting work for the Korea-United States Exchange Council, a nonprofit organization created by Buckham and bankrolled by the Hanwha Group, a Korean conglomerate, Justice Department foreign registration documents show.

Nifty summary about Doolittle's ties to Jack Abramoff on Think Progress.

Abramoff Accepts Plea Bargain

Bet things are tense in Washington DC today. From the LA Times:

Abramoff's plea opens up the prospect that he could begin unraveling for prosecutors a web of ties with members of Congress that has for weeks kept officials Washington on edge.

Abramoff would presumably present evidence about favors he provided to some members of Congress and their aides.

Under the agreement, Abramoff has agreed to plead to charges of conspiracy, public corruption and tax evasion in a case based here in Washington. In a separate case in Florida, involving the purchase of a casino gambling fleet, Abramoff has agreed to plead to two counts of fraud and conspiracy, according to his attorneys.

In return for pleading guilty to reduced charges, Abramoff is expected to provide testimony that could lead to the indictment of members of Congress and their current and former aides.

[Photo: Gerald Herbert/AP]

National Day of Forums on Ending the War

This coming Saturday, January 7th is the National Day of Town Hall Forums on Ending the War. Organizations such as Democrats.com and After Downing Street.org have joined together to encourage and support people in developing town hall forums throughout America. What's happening in your neck of the woods? Have you helped to organize a Town Hall Forum on the Iraq war? Are you planning to attend one?

Here's what's happening in my area:

January 7, 2006
Out of Iraq Town Hall Forum
1 to 3 p.m. SEIU-UHW Hall
1911 F Street in downtown Sacramento

Charles Brown, Lt. Colonel USAF Ret. democratic candidate challenging John Doolittle in California's fourth district, will be a featured speaker at the Out of Iraq Town Hall Forum sponsored by the Sacramento Coalition to End the War, Sacramento for Democracy, Progressive Democrats of America and Peace in the Precincts. The public is invited to participate. For more information contact Cathlyn Daly at dalywood@comcast.net or Karen Bernal at nekochan99@hotmail.com.

To find out about events in your area go to After Downing Street.org.

Doolittle Running for Cover?

One thing everyone seems to agree on is that Jack Abramoff's corruption and bribery case is getting hot. The gray areas seem to be in our thinking about who may go down with him.

Here's an excerpt from an item in the WSJ, Running for cover: Lobbyist Jack Abramoff may be about to cut a deal, and that's bad news for a lot of folks in the capital:

Entanglements. The scandal has already ensnared Rep. Bob Ney, an Ohio Republican. In his plea, Scanlon said Ney was the recipient of $14,000 in campaign contributions and lavish perks, including trips to the Super Bowl and meals at Abramoff's Washington restaurant, in return for favors. Ney placed a statement in the Congressional Record praising Kidan and Abramoff's purchase of the casino boat firm; the congressman has denied any wrongdoing, saying he was duped by the lobbyists. Rep. John Doolittle, a California Republican who received campaign contributions from Abramoff, is also under scrutiny. His wife's event-planning company was hired by Abramoff and has been subpoenaed by investigators. Doolittle has also denied wrongdoing.

And there's this ironic post over at Words Have Power: Doolittle - Oddsmakers Step In. In a nutshell, the bookies at Politics1 give Doolittle a 1 in 3 chance of 'retiring' in response to his purported associations with Abramoff.

Meanwhile, a newspaper in Doolittle's district prints an article highlighting the eight term Congressman's "ideological synergy" with California's 4th district:

Doolittle's strong showings in past elections, and the ideological synergy between him and his district, suggest that he will be a very tough foe even if all the potential factors against him come into play.

Josh Marshall weighs in: don't think it's only Repubs Abramoff may offer up in a plea bargain.

[Illustration: Roberto Parada for Mother Jones]

Townes Van Zandt

Be Here to Love Me

Right before Christmas, I saw the new biographical documentary about Townes Van Zandt, "Be Here to Love Me" in Austin, TX. Bittersweet story told by people who clearly loved the man. Filmmaker, Maragret Brown lets his music, fellow musicians & family tell the majority of the story. Ultimately, Townes died at home as a result of his alcoholism at age 52. He was found by his youngest son. If you have a chance to see it - do it.

From Be Here to Love Me, an interviewer remarks "all of your songs are so sad" and Townes, blinking after a sincere objection to the statement, can only come up with "not all of them... some are hopeless."