Gap widening

Just to be clear, when you vote for Republicans, this is exactly what you're voting for.

Top executives at major U.S. businesses last year made as much money in one day of work on the job as the average worker made over the entire year, according to a report released on Wednesday.

Chief executive officers from the nation's biggest businesses averaged nearly $11 million in total compensation, according to the 14th annual CEO compensation survey released jointly by the Institute for Policy Studies based in Washington and United for a Fair Economy, a national organization based in Boston.

At the same time, workers at the bottom rung of the U.S. economy received the first federal minimum wage increase in a decade. But the new wage of $5.85 an hour, after being adjusted for inflation, stands 7 percent below where the minimum wage stood a decade ago.

"CEO pay, over that same decade, has increased by roughly 45 percent," the study found.

And thanks for the Bush administration's (read: Cheney's) tax cuts, they pay less tax too.

Reminder

"The demand for a five-tool defender, a 25-homer guy, a guy who can drive in 100 runs is pretty clear in today's marketplace." —Scott Boras, on J.D. Drew, November 2006

What's the demand in today's marketplace for a 7-homer guy who can drive in 46 runs?

More stupid explanations

If Cheney’s spokesperson gave the stupidest explanation in history, this one is a close second.

“The Statesman has engaged in this witchhunt. In pleading guilty, I overreacted in Minneapolis because of the stress the Idaho Statesman investigation and the rumors it has fueled all around Idaho.”

Whatever you say, Republican senator from Idaho. It’s the newspaper’s fault you pleaded guilty to lewd behavior in a men's room. Whatever you say.

Frankly, the only reason I give two shits about this is because of the hypocrisy of your public stances on homosexual issues. Look, if you did it, admit it. (Oh yeah, you did. In court. But that was the Idaho Statesman's fault). It’s perfectly OK to be homosexual. it’s not OK to be a lying hypocrite who refuses to take responsibility for his actions.

Shit, even Michael Vick was man enough to admit what he did and say he was wrong. Eventually.

Note in this article how Mitt Romney (Craig was the Romney campaign’s liasion to the senate, don't you know) manages to work in a Bill Clinton reference, though these sort of activities appear to be almost exclusively popular among Republicans:

“Yeah, I think it reminds us of Mark Foley and Bill Clinton. I think it reminds us of the fact that people who are elected to public office continue to disappoint, and they somehow think that if they vote the right way on issues of significance or they can speak a good game, that we'll just forgive and forget,” Romney said on CNBC’s “Kudlow & Company.”

Really, Mitt? Bill Clinton? I was thinking more like Bob Allen. The parallels between his case and Craig’s are so much clearer: The men’s rooms, the homosexuality, the Republicanism. It didn’t really remind me of Bill Clinton at all.

UPDATE: The “wide stance” defense.

Cheney flip flopped on Iraq because ...

Ready for the stupidest explanation in history? A Cheney spokesperson, on Five Deferment Dick’s 1994 comments that invading Iraq would lead to a “quagmire” and his subsequent flip flop:

CBS 5 contacted the Vice President's press office Wednesday, where a spokesperson reacted to the video by saying: “He was not Vice President at the time, it was after he was Secretary of Defense. I don’t have any comment.”

Oh, now it makes perfect sense. Perception of reality depends on your job title.

If only Cheney were never named vice president.

More rats to desert sinking ship

Tony Snow announced that he’s packing his bags, and he's not alone. The link includes a list of Bush administration officials who have resigned since the November elections.

But what strikes me about Snow’s announcement (who can blame people for distancing themselves from Bush?) is Snow’s explanation for why he plans to resign:

“I’ve already made it clear I’m not going to be able to go the distance, but that’s primarily for financial reasons. I’ve told people when my money runs out, then I’ve got to go.”

Am I really supposed to believe that Snow can’t get by on what he’s being paid to lie for George Bush? According to a source with knowledge of Snow’s compensation—Tony Snow—he’s making well above the minimum wage:

“I think my salary's like $162,000 or $163,000,” Snow told Les Kinsolving last year. That same year, USA Today reported that

From 2001 to 2004, average family income fell 2.3%, to an inflation-adjusted $70,700 from $72,400 in the 1998-2001 period. By contrast, from 1998 to 2001, average income jumped 17.3%. Median income — the midpoint of the income range — rose 1.6% to $43,200.

Nah, Republicans aren’t out of touch with average Americans at all.

Political compass

Your political compass
Economic Left/Right: -7.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -6.87 (plot it)

Where do you fall on the chart? Take the test.

Who’s report is it anyway?

Set your faces to stun, because I know dishonesty on the part of the Bush administration will come as a surprise.

Despite Bush’s repeated statements that the report will reflect evaluations by Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, administration officials said it would actually be written by the White House, with inputs from officials throughout the government.

It’s called “controlling the message.” There was no way the Bush administration was going to say its Iraq policy depends on Gen. Petraeus’ report without already knowing what that report is going to say.

The Bush administration might look the other way at urgent warnings of imminent attacks, but when it comes to PR, little is left to chance.

How they voted

On letting the Bush administration spy on you with almost no meaningful oversight:
House
Senate

Senate passes CHIP expansion

And by a veto-proof majority, to boot.

The vote was 68-31. Does anyone care to guess the party affiliation of every single senator who voted against expanding children's access to health care?

To see the list of amoral swine who voted against the measure, click here. Then print it out for easy reference next time you're in a voting booth.

It's interesting that negotiations over FISA expansion broke down right around the time this measure passed. It makes you wonder if Congress was offering to let George get his jollies listening to our phone calls and reading our e-mail if he agreed not to block children's access to health care. But with the measure passing by such a wide margin, perhaps they told Bush what he can do with his veto threat.

Simple math

Outsourcing + tax cuts that lead to fewer inspectors at our ports + a massive trade deficit + foreign borrowing to keep our economy artificially afloat until just after a certain asshole moves back to Texas = this.

Mattel Inc. is recalling 1.5 million Chinese-made toys worldwide because their paint may contain too much lead -- the latest in a deluge of product safety scares that have tainted the "made in China" brand.

The recalled toys made for Mattel's Fisher-Price unit include popular preschool characters like Elmo and Big Bird along with dozens of other items.

Does anybody know of a reliable source of non-toxic, non-tainted, non-poisonous — you know, safe — children's toys?