WWW.PRESIDENTS"R"US.COM

The Missing Millions

The Bush White House’s signature style has been to dodge responsibility for it’s actions and havoc wrought by claiming to be “looking ahead” while not engaging in a “blame game.” Another trick is to package the unpalatable and unexplained as being part of a “program,” torture euphemism being the most prominent example.

Their latest exercise is less ghastly, but still one of the greats.

In a Good Friday court filing, the Bush Administration says many of it’s missing millions of emails are dead, and there will be no resurrection. The White House is placing it’s faith in the howling news chasm of the holiday weekend to disappear the story, and it appears it’s faith will be rewarded.

The White House filing says that, besides disabling an existing system to archive email, they now admit they destroyed computer hard drives without saving all the emails on them. They told the court that recovering emails from where the Bush Administration’s inattention or deceit put them would be hard or impossible because of this “refresh program,” so the judge should give them a pass.

The Associated Press is reporting the story off the White House filing, apparently alone in all the world. It’s story is worth reading in full, if only to appreciate the baldness of the Administration’s contempt, actual if not legal. Over and above the details of this case, every Administration is obligated to preserve all it’s records. The endless quibbling over access come later.

The National Security Archive and the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington have been fighting the White House on this, and their web sites have nothing on the latest White House whimsy. Media worthies who soiled themselves this week crosschecking the Hillary Clinton schedules with Presidential blow-jobs have been silent so far.

But nothing slows down White House preparation for Monday’s Easter Egg Roll.

Hope you had a great Sunshine Week!

Hugo Your Way & I’ll Go Mine

Along with a Trotsky quoting fan of a 19th century slave holder, one of the joys of Venezuelan politics is the freakishly heterogeneous alliance of groups opposed to Hugo Chavez.

The broad span is demonstrated in a recent article where Venezuelan student leader Stalin González laments the alleged persecution of fellow campus caudillio Richard Nixon Moreno.

Stalin & Nixon, Together At Last!

Harvard University Press is gushing over it’s new title, The Road to Dallas: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy.

“This is the unvarnished story.”

Also, apparently, un-reviewed by historians other than the author.

Checked Out

Now both Bush libraries may face the voter’s wrath.

The George W. Bush Presidential Library coming to Southern Methodist University remains under attack by Methodist church members. They hope to force a vote at a July church conference, overturning the church-linked school’s decision to accept the Library.

Everything Appeared In Order

Now a candidate has emerged to challenge the Texas Westbank Community Library District’s naming of a new branch for First Librarian Laura Bush.

Weak Branch?

The Austin Chronicle reports that disgruntled local veteran Alan Roddy has filed for the board’s May election, forcing their first vote since 2001. Roddy is lowering expectations in advance of the contest, while threatening to become a permanent part of the Bush Legacy:

“I’ll make them have an election every year. … That’s my victory.”

Choose, So He Won’t Have To

Today is your last chance to vote for an alternative George W. Bush library design, beating out the official plans by months if not years.

The Chronicle of Higher Education Back of the Envelope Contest closes today, so get to the polls.