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Shrine to their Glory
This is seriously messed up.

A photo homage to Alphonso Jackson.

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Alphonso Jackson has decided to honor himself with giant photo exhibitions in two of the lobbies at HUD’s headquarters. The images are each “about 2 feet by 3 feet” and many feature Jackson with President Bush.

Jackson’s accomplishments include the fact that he is currently facing investigations by the FBI and the HUD Inspector General for improperly awarding a contract to a “golfing buddy.”

Integrity is something that happens to other people, for Republicans.

Source: Think Progress

FDA
So, as usual, we discover Bush administration ineptitude by following the trail of bodies.

The Chinese facility that supplies the active ingredient of the widely used blood thinner heparin was never inspected by the Food and Drug Administration because the agency confused its name with another just like it, agency officials said yesterday.

..

More than 350 adverse reactions to the drug have been reported to the FDA since the end of 2007, including a dangerous lowering of blood pressure, breathing difficulties and vomiting. Four patients who took the drug died. One of its two manufacturers, Baxter International, stopped selling its multiple-dose vials of heparin earlier this month, and yesterday the FDA advised doctors to prescribe alternatives.

Another 10 months of this! Hooray!

Source: The Washington Post

Charlie Wilson's Cartoon
Lest we forget who, you know, armed and trained the forerunners to Al-Queda, then turned them loose on an unsuspecting world.

Source: The Onion

Water Carriers
Yet another story about reporters, if they deserve that title, who let anonymous administration sources smear private citizens off the record, then cover for them when the person whose life they ruined tries to get justice.

A federal judge said Tuesday he will hold a former USA Today reporter in contempt if she continues refusing to identify sources for stories about a former Army scientist under scrutiny in the 2001 anthrax attacks.

...

"It's a travesty that a journalist can be essentially bankrupted for doing her job. This case is also particularly offensive because they know who some of these sources were," said Lucy Dalglish, executive director of the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press.

"I can't even imagine the chilling effect this is going to have on reporters' willingness to cover the next terrorist attack, or anthrax attack, or anything involving police," she added.

Hatfill, who worked at the Army's infectious diseases laboratory from 1997 to 1999, was publicly identified as a "person of interest" in the 2001 anthrax attacks. He is suing the Justice Department, accusing the agency of violating the federal Privacy Act by giving reporters information about the FBI's investigation of him.

Yes, it'd be just horrible if the next time around, reporters thought twice about accepting anonymous smears against people from the government, and then covering for their hatchet job friends when the victim tries to seek relief in the courts.

OH GOD NO

Source: Raw Story

Image of 2008 Campaign
Assuming McCain isn't destroyed by the scandal he's wrapped up in at the moment, this will be the defining image of the election year. Expect to see it a lot on tv.

Source: Firedoglake