The Problem with the Middle Yeast

From The New York Times:

On May 7, Dunkin’ Donuts began running an ad on its Web site and others, featuring the celebrity chef Rachael Ray holding a cup of the company’s iced coffee while wearing a black-and-white fringed scarf.

…snip…

On May 23, the conservative blog Little Green Footballs posted an item that likened Ms. Ray’s scarf to the type typically worn by Muslim extremists. The blog said that the ads “casually promote the symbol of Palestinian terrorism and the intifada, the keffiyeh, via Rachael Ray.”

Later that day, the conservative blogger Michelle Malkin chimed in, likening the scarf to a keffiyeh and calling it “jihadi chic.” Then the story, as they say on the Internet, went totally viral.

Thank you, Little Green Footballs and Michelle Malkin! My only question is–what took you so long? I never trusted this guy….

Time to make the donuts, my ass!! More like Time to make the IEDs!

Book ‘Em, Scotty!!

From the Chicago Tribune:

WASHINGTON — The Bush White House, long accused by outside critics of misrepresenting the facts to make the case for war in Iraq and other matters, has launched a personal counterattack against harsh accusations of “deception” from a longtime insider who worked closely with the president.

White House aides past and present are strongly dismissing the words of Scott McClellan, who served as President George W. Bush’s press secretary and now has written a book accusing Bush of misleading the public about the war and more.

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Scotty McChicken Comes Home to Roost

From Politico:

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan names names in a caustic passage from a forthcoming memoir that accuses President Bush, Karl Rove and Vice President Cheney of being “involved” in his giving the press false information about the CIA leak case.

…snip…

“I stood at the White house briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the seniormost aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby,” McClellan wrote.

“There was one problem. It was not true.”

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The Bucks Start Here

May 27 (Bloomberg) — John McCain’s challenge in winning the presidency isn’t unique. George H.W. Bush in 1988 and Al Gore in 2000 also struggled to chisel an identity separate from a two- term incumbent president of their party.

There’s one big difference: in 1988, Ronald Reagan had a 51 percent approval rating, according to Gallup surveys, and in 2000 Bill Clinton’s was 57 percent. Today, President George W. Bush’s rating is 28 percent and the leading House Republican political analyst, Virginia Representative Tom Davis, said the president is “absolutely radioactive” for party candidates, including McCain, the presumptive presidential nominee.

So why is the Arizona senator going to appear with Bush in Phoenix tonight for a closed-door fundraiser? McCain, whose fundraising totals are dwarfed by those of Democratic candidate Barack Obama, needs Bush to bring in money and signal to conservative Republicans that he can be trusted.

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Monkey Business

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush’s former chief political adviser denied meddling in the Justice Department’s prosecution of Alabama’s ex-governor and said Sunday the courts will have to resolve a congressional subpoena for his testimony.

“Congress, the House Judiciary Committee, wants to be able to call presidential aides on its whim up to testify,” Karl Rove said. “It’s going to be tied up in court and settled in court.”

Last week, the committee ordered Rove to appear July 10. Lawmakers want to ask him about the White House’s role in firing nine U.S. attorneys in 2006 and the prosecution of former Gov. Don Siegelman, D-Ala.

Also under congressional subpoena are Bush’s chief of staff, Joshua Bolten, and his former counsel, Harriet Miers. The White House is citing executive privilege, the doctrine intended to protect the confidentiality of presidential communications, in refusing to let them testify.

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Look what a time-saver I found! I didn’t have to photoshop Chimpy; he was already in the movie!! 😀

I Smell Something Burning!

From the Arizona Republic:

John McCain’s upcoming Memorial Day weekend getaway with three prominent vice-presidential possibilities has rekindled intrigue about his Republican running mate.

McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, has invited 10 couples to his family’s rustic cabin near Sedona.

The guest list includes political allies such as Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, as well as Mitt Romney, his erstwhile White House rival and former Massachusetts governor.

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Maybe Denny’s has a small room in the back….

From Phoenix Business Journal:

A Tuesday fundraiser headlined by President Bush for U.S. Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign is being moved out of the Phoenix Convention Center.

Sources familiar with the situation said the Bush-McCain event was not selling enough tickets to fill the Convention Center space, and that there were concerns about more anti-war protesters showing up outside the venue than attending the fundraiser inside.

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Getting Back to Fundie-mentals

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — John McCain on Thursday rejected the endorsement of televangelist John Hagee after it was reported that the pastor once argued the Nazis operated on God’s behalf to root out Jews in Europe and get them to Palestine.
McCain’s rejection of Hagee was followed by the pastor’s withdrawal of his endorsement of the Arizona senator. Hagee had said in March that McCain sought his endorsement, but McCain has found himself repudiating a number of controversial remarks made by the minister since then.

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