Happy Passover

To all the Raisinettes who celebrate, Gut Pesach….
from the Raisin….

…and from Mighty Matzohmouse

Being Stinkin’ Rich Can Be So Taxing

April 18 (Bloomberg) — John McCain, who has clinched the Republican presidential nomination, reported $405,409 in income last year and paid $118,660 in federal taxes, according to tax returns made public today. He gave $105,467 to charity, the records show.

His campaign didn’t release tax returns for his wife, Cindy, who is chairman of the Phoenix-based Hensley & Co., one of the largest beer distributors in the U.S.

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Bandar and the Brits

From Newsweek:

A scathing British court ruling could create more legal problems for Prince Bandar, head of Saudi Arabia’s National Security Council and the former Saudi ambassador in Washington, over his alleged role in a massive multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving a major British aerospace firm.

…snip…

The Justice Department is investigating allegations that U.K.-based British Aerospace Systems (BAE) paid millions of dollars in bribes to Bandar and other Saudi officials—in possible violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Bandar, whose close ties to the Bush family earned him the nickname “Bandar Bush,” has retained former FBI Director Louis Freeh to represent him in connection with the Justice Department probe.

…snip…

Last week the British High Court ruled that then-Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government may have interfered with the rule of law in December 2006, when it ordered the British government’s Serious Fraud Office to shut down its own bribery investigation, allegedly after Bandar threatened to cut off Saudi cooperation with U.K. terrorism investigations if the inquiry continued.

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Oh, kids, there is so much to this story, but I will leave it to you to read the whole thing for yourselves. In the meantime, we’ll sing!

To the tune of Bennie and the Jets
Music by Sir Elton John
Lyrics by Bernie Taupin
Performed by Sir Elton John

Hey kids, this might make you skittish,
Seems there’s somethin’ cookin’,
Between Bandar and the British,
We’re gonna check the news tonight,
So stick around,
You’re gonna hear about corruption,
Look what I have found…

If Condi doesn’t move her office to Baghdad, I will be personally offended!

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department is warning U.S. diplomats they may be forced to serve in Iraq next year and says it will soon start identifying prime candidates for jobs at the Baghdad embassy and outlying provinces, according to a cable obtained by The Associated Press.

A similar call-up notice last year caused an uproar among foreign service officers, some of whom objected to compulsory work in a war zone, although in the end the State Department found enough volunteers to fill the jobs.

Now, the State Department anticipates another staffing crisis.

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What’s McCookin’: Recipe for Embarrassment

Here’s the story, kids–on Captain Underpant’s website, there was a section called Cindy’s Recipes. Supposedly, they were old family recipes that Cindy whipped up often in each one of her 8 homes. I’ll let Wonkette tell you the problem:

A New York attorney was searching Google for some recipe by famous Food Network chef Giada DeLaurentis — this is what attorneys call “billable hours” — when she found those same exact recipes on John McCain’s website, ridiculously labeled as “Cindy’s Recipes.”

The stolen recipes (“Ahi Tuna with Napa Cabbage,” “Passion Fruit Mousse,” etc.) include word-for-word rip-offs of at least three Food Network recipes, along with another plagiarized from teevee cooking lady Rachel Ray.

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Now what are we gonna do with this case of Pope Tarts?

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A smiling Pope Benedict XVI arrived in the United States on Tuesday afternoon to start the six-day, two-city journey that will take him from the White House to the halls of the United Nations.

The papal plane, Shepherd 1, touched down at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to cheers from a crowd of invited guests gathered for the event.

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Reversal on Fortune

From The New York Times:

The Democratic National Committee is planning to file suit against the Federal Election Commission Monday in an effort to compel it to investigate Senator John McCain’s withdrawal from the public financing system for the primary.

The lawsuit, which is to be filed in United States District Court in Washington, is largely a procedural move, unlikely to change anything in the dispute in the immediate future. The D.N.C. filed a complaint with the commission in February, challenging Mr. McCain’s right to pull out of public financing.

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No wonder he’s smiling. Why follow the law if you know you can get away with breaking it?

Sick Love: The Story of Little Jerk

From Politico:

If anyone else called him “little jerk,” Sen. Lindsey Graham might be offended.

But the jab comes from Sen. John McCain, so he wears it like a badge of honor.

“If John’s not belittling you, you’re in trouble,” Graham said. “He calls me lots of other names, too, but they’re not appropriate for the newspaper.”

McCain and Graham aren’t just friends. They’re inseparable, so much so that colleagues, staffers and journalists have begun making cracks about the relationship between the freshman senator from South Carolina and the man who would be president.

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