Stimulus money to be used to repair Governor's Mansion

At least it's a shovel-ready project:

While Gov. Rick Perry is criticizing Washington bailouts, state lawmakers are planning to use $11 million in federal stimulus money to help rebuild the badly burned Texas Governor's Mansion.

Approximately $10 million in state tax money will also be spent on a renovation, which is expected to cost about $20 million, officials said Thursday. A House-Senate committee agreed on the expenditures late Wednesday night.

The mansion was burned in an arson fire last summer.

Perry has railed against federal bailouts and what he called the free-spending, power-hungry ways of Washington. In January, he said Texas was endangered by Uncle Sam's "audacity."

Perry spokeswoman Allison Castle released a short, written statement late Thursday when asked about using stimulus money to renovate the mansion.

"We are continuing to work with lawmakers on the budget," she said.

Secede much?

The governor has been living in a three-story, limestone home with a heated pool, an outdoor cabana and a guest house.

The state is paying some $9,900-a-month in rent while the Governor's Mansion undergoes renovations, records show.

It's just completely within character for the irony to be lost on this guy.

Tom Tomorrow speaks for me

... as well as many of the torture apologists I seem to encounter (click for a larger image):


I'm getting pretty disgusted with the fact that I cannot seem to hear any honest political dialogue with the exception of cartoonists, comedians, a few people on MSNBC and a handful of bloggers.

The fascination with claptrap like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars serves as nothing but a collective "lalala I can't hear from you" from the hoi polloi, and it makes me sick to my stomach.

Michael Steele: Change the GOP cannot believe in

Michael Steele is presenting the Republican party's make-over in this "change is a teabag douchebag" address:



Sad and yet hilarious. Remember eight years ago when the conservatives were saying Howard Dean might say something untoward?

Michael Steele is so lame he cannot even be a decent douchebag. But because the Cheneys are taking the week off ...

Surely someone on the Right will stand up and claim this week's prize. Who's out there? Hannity? Coulter? Malkin? Don't let your side down now.

Newt? Sarah? Billo? Hello?

Your party needs you. Represent.

While we wait for a response, let's go ahead and put Harry Reid on the "Douchebag of the Week" list for agreeing with his Oklahoma Republican colleague, Jim Inhofe, that we can't close Guantanamo because that would mean we would have to put 'terrorists' in American prisons. And that is unacceptable.

Harry Reid -- like all the Republicans -- is terrified of those terrible 'terrists' in Guantanamo being held in a prison in this country. I'm not sure why; maybe because they might break out, or get out because they haven't committed any crime, or because they might convert our nice American prisoners to Islam and terrorism or maybe because we would have to finally give them those pesky "rights" like due process or free speech or something.

*slaps forehead*

Harry Reid is the weakest Senate majority leader I can ever imagine.

And the Douchie goes to ...

Liz Cheney, for her magnanimous sack of BS accusing the President of the United States of supporting the terrorists, and calling him "un-American":



Somebody take this horribly delusional person outside and shoot her for treason, or just for having a brain that has gone bad. Or something. Anything.

Honorable mention goes to our very own Governor Suckseed, for continuing to milk a dead horse (click on this one; it goes to Steven Colbert):

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If Rick Perry can find a new shtick, he's liable to earn membership in the Douchebag Hall of Fame.