Fresh Loaf

President George W. Bush yesterday issued 14 pardons and commuted two prison sentences in what surely will be one of the lame duck president’s most monumental acts in the last eight years. (Yes, I know, every president pardons ne’er-do-wells and scoundrels. Clinton had Marc Rich, Carter had Attila the Hun. Obama will probably pardon Predator.)

As Ken Layne at Wonkette accurately pointed out, a lot of the crimes Bush pardoned are run-of-the-mill — drugs, importing protected wildlife, and killing the nation’s majestic feathered symbol.

But with everything involving crime and silliness, there’s a Georgia angle. According to the Associated Press, among the folks Bush pardoned yesterday was in the most lotto-happy town in Jawjuh:

Obie Gene Helton of Rossville, Ga., whose offense was unauthorized acquisition of food stamps.

Yep. Food stamps. Is this “compassionate conservatism?”

The Chattanoogan:

Obie Gene Helton was sentenced April 1, 1983, to two years probation for unauthorized acquisition of food stamps. He was fined $500 and ordered to pay $875 in restitution, according to information provided by the Justice Department.

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Rupert Murdoch’s influence? Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal op-ed page featured this jaw-dropping editorial, which reads as if they’d picked up an Onion piece by mistake.

The treatment President Bush has received from this country is nothing less than a disgrace. The attacks launched against him have been cruel and slanderous, proving to the world what little character and resolve we have. The president is not to blame for all these problems. He never lost faith in America or her people, and has tried his hardest to continue leading our nation during a very difficult time.

Maybe the WSJ edit board decided to rewind after the election by smoking peyote.

(HT to Nobel laureate Paul Krugman.)

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BAILOUT: President Bush, looking concerned, nervous but still slightly amused, tells the nation that the “entire economy is in danger.”

PALIN: CNN’s Campbell Brown issued a rant to the McCain campaign Tuesday, calling for it to stop sheltering its VP candidate and treating her “like she is a delicate flower that will wilt at any moment,” in response to the campaign barring reporters from asking her questions at a U.N. appearance. Palin was then turned loose to Katie Couric Wednesday, and it did not go well.

MCCAIN: Suspends his campaign to focus on the economy, and asks Obama to postpone Friday’s debate if a bailout deal isn’t reached by then. Obama declines, saying “It is going to be part of the president’s job to deal with more than one thing at once.”

GAS PANIC: Still going on, and people are still fighting at gas stations.

MERGE PROTECTOR: Northwest Airlines’ shareholders this morning approved merging with Delta, whose shareholders will also vote today. Antitrust approval still awaits.

EURO TRIP: Gov. Perdue’s upcoming trip to Spain is expected to cost taxpayers $100,000 at a time when Georgia faces a nearly $1.6 billion budget shortfall and has asked state agencies, including the governor’s office, to cut back.

SHOOTING THE BREEZE: The Gainesville Times reports that relocated city slickers often are shocked this time of year by their neighbors outside, guns a-blazin’, because much of unincorporated Georgia allows residents to shoot guns on their own property.

UGA VS. ‘BAMA: Officials warn that Athens may be flooded with counterfeit tickets Saturday, as average real-ticket prices are more than $300.

TERROR LEVEL RED HOT: The New Englandish region (touché, Jimbo) isn’t establishing a good track record with bomb recognition. First there was the 2007 Aqua Teen Hunger Force scare in Boston; now the Philadelphia Phillies blew up some hot dogs before losing to the Braves Wednesday night.

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BUSH: Secretly ordered the recent covert military strike in Pakistan, according to the NY Times, a major detachment from the usual U.S. tactic of using unmanned Predator spy planes to fire at suspected al-Qaeda targets in the country.

MCCAIN: Leads Obama by 18 points in Georgia.

HURRICANE IKE: Barreling toward Houston and Galveston, expected to be a Category 3 when it hits Friday night. Thousands of coastal Texans are evacuating.

CAGLE: Will run for governor in 2010.

THE POACH STATE: Georgia is among the fast-growing states poaching teachers from more economically strapped states, such as Michigan.

EXCELLENCE DEFICIENCY: The Commission for School Board Excellence, formed at the request of the Georgia Board of Education, is recommending that Georgia should have more power to intervene in dysfunctional local school boards such as Clayton’s.

BOBBY COX: Will return next season.

TOUCH AND GO: A Fulton Superior Court judge dismisses a lawsuit by VOTER GA challenging the fraud-proofness of the state’s touch-screen voting machines. VOTER GA’s Garland Favorito says the group may appeal.

CUMBERLAND ISLAND: Will begin tours of its north end, which had previously only been accessible to visitors via a 17-mile hike.

UGA: Will face its first real test of the season as it enters SEC play against Spurrier’s Gamecocks in Columbia Saturday.

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HURRICANES: The high seas continue to use the Southeastern U.S. as their chipping green, with three more storms en route. Hanna was downgraded to a tropical storm this morning but may become a hurricane again; Savannah and cities from the Outer Banks to Miami are preparing for impact. Meanwhile, Gustav dawdles over Texarkana after sparing New Orleans the feared devastation. Still, Mayor Ray Nagin says it won’t be safe to return until at least Wednesday.

RAIN BARRELS: Especially useful during hurricane season.

RNC: Resumes today in St. Paul, with President Bush delivering a via-satellite speech at 9:30 tonight. Police have arrested nearly 300 protesters, and have charged 130 with felonies.

GRAY’S ANATOMY: Gray’s Reef, located 40 miles off the Georgia coast, shows effects of human pollution but is generally healthier than researchers had feared.

LOVE IN THIS CUB: The newborn panda cub at Zoo Atlanta has been put in an incubator for closer monitoring based on the behavior of it and its mother, Lun Lun.

BRIAN FINNERAN: Knows he’s lucky to be back on the Falcons’ roster after being out since 2005 with back-to-back knee injuries.

THE CHROME STRETCH: Google readies Chrome, its new browser it hopes will compete with Internet Explorer 8.0.

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THIS TIME IT’S PERSONNEL: City Council unanimously passes an ordinance requiring the mayor to get its approval before making additions or reductions to the city’s personnel, the latest in an ongoing melodrama between the council and mayor.

DEER IN HEADLINES: A six-legged deer found in Rome, Ga., is understandably popular.

BUSH: Went down to Georgia.

CHILDRESS: Hawks’ restricted free agent is considering an offer to play in Greece.

RIGHT TO AIR ARMS? U.S. House Homeland Security Committee chairman doesn’t think we should have guns at the airport.

ROCK DRUMMERS: Require at least as much physical endurance as soccer players, according to a recent British study that used Blondie drummer Clem Burke as its test subject.

LOOKS GOOD ON PAPER: Researchers and companies like Xerox are backing away from utopian visions of a paperless society that became popular in the late 20th century, using the phrase “paper-less” instead to focus on the more pragmatic, but less glamorous, goal of simply not wasting as much paper as we do now.

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What a difference eight weeks make.

On May 15, President Bush mocked Americans who want diplomatic dialogue with Iran — comparing them to appeasers who bargained with Hitler:

Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: “Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.” We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.

Last night the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper announced the U.S. plans to open a diplomatic mission in Iran.

Why the about-face? Yo no se.

Maybe those Iranian missiles last week made a bigger impression on the White House than I thought.

Maybe President Bush finally realized that, when oil is at $140 per barrel, oil-addicted nations should try to avoid threatening to start war that could reduce the world’s daily supply of oil by 40%.

Maybe Bush started reading my column.

Whatever happened, I can’t imagine the McCain campaign is pleased with Bush’s flip-flop.

McCainiacs can’t attack Obama for wanting to talk with Iran when President Bush is opening diplomatic missions there.

Bush can do McCain a favor though and denounce himself as an appeaser.

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Pres. George W. Bush today lifted an executive ban on offshore drilling. Kind of snobbish that only CEOs get to drill for oil off the coast, but whatever, I don’t make the rules.

Gov. Sonny Perdue applauds the move and urges Congress to act:

“With record gas prices straining the budgets of many Georgia families, we cannot afford to take any option off the table. It is imperative that we take a balanced approach of conserving, developing alternative energy technologies and increasing the supply of domestically-produced resources. I want to thank President Bush for his action today and I urge Congress to hear the voices of the American people who are asking for relief from our dependence on foreign oil.”

If Congress fails to act, Bush’s order will just go in a file cabinet somewhere.  Whether you’re fer it or agin it, contact your elected official and let them know.

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President George Bush recently attended the G8 Summit in Japan. His kind farewell to other world leaders convinced Americans abroad to continue stitching Canadian flags on their backpacks.

The Telegraph reports, with emphasis added:

The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change, ended a private meeting with the words: “Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter.”

He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock.

Mr Bush, whose second and final term as President ends at the end of the year, then left the meeting at the Windsor Hotel in Hokkaido where the leaders of the world’s richest nations had been discussing new targets to cut carbon emissions.

One official who witnessed the extraordinary scene said afterwards: “Everyone was very surprised that he was making a joke about America’s record on pollution.”

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George Bush was arrested for cocaine possession in Augusta.

Seriously.

(Tip o’ the crack pipe to Rogue109 at Peach Pundit)

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Amount Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign has raised in Georgia: $1,305,275

Amount Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign has raised in Georgia: $2,458,219

Number of votes Obama received in 2008 Democratic Presidential Primary: 704,247

Number of votes McCain received in 2008 Georgia Republican Presidential Primary: 304,751

Number of votes Sen. John Kerry received in 2004 Georgia Democratic Presidential Primary: 293,265

Number of votes George W. Bush received in 2000 Georgia Republican Primary: 430,480

Number of votes Libertarian candidate for President Bob Barr received in 2000 to win Georgia’s 7th District Congressional seat: 126,312

Number of votes independent candidate for President H. Ross Perot received in Georgia in 1992: 309,657

Last time a Democrat won Georgia in a presidential election: 1992

Sources: Center For Responsive Politics, Georgia Secretary of State

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Yo! Satan called and wanted to let everyone know that Hell’s getting frigid.

According to the Washington Times, the venerable right-leaning publication owned by a verifiable God, the Bush administration may push the U.S. Congress to pass a bill this week calling for action on global warming. The article says it wouldn’t be toothless resolution either, but a specific proposal aimed at reducing the nation’s contribution to the phenomenon. Better late than never?

So sayeth the paper of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon:

Bush administration officials have told Republicans in Congress that they feel pressure to act now because they fear a coming regulatory nightmare. It would be the first time Mr. Bush has called for statutory authority on the subject.

“This is an attempt to move the administration and the party closer to the center on global warming. With these steps, it is hoped that the debate over this is over, and it is time to do something,” said an administration source close to the White House who is familiar with the planning and who said to expect an announcement this week…”

Still, Republican members of Congress who were briefed last week let top administration officials know that they think the White House is making a mistake, according to congressional sources and others familiar with the discussions. Opponents said Mr. Bush could be setting off runaway legislation, particularly with Democrats in control of Congress.

Rumors vary as to whether it’ll be sector specific — say, forcing utilities to adopt a cap-and-trade system similar to that used in Europe — or a broad sweeping plan. Critics quoted in the article claim that the United States is already at the front of reducing CO2 emissions — something I find hard to believe — and that because of Europe’s system, the nation has been plucking manufacturing jobs because its less-regulative milieu is less harmful to the economy.

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