Who's Godfather Now?

Billmon has The Godfather on the brain. He keeps advising liberals to develop that cold ruthless practicality of Michael Corleone. I doubt Bush has been reading Billmon, but today he settled all family business.

Bolton:

Speaking at the White House, Bush said he was sending Bolton, a 56-year-old lawyer, to the United Nations with his "complete confidence."

Rove:

"Karl's got my complete confidence. He's a valuable member of my team," Bush said

Roberts:

But the Bush team said the memos from Roberts's service as deputy solicitor general are not covered by the law and should remain confidential. The result has the White House arguing that those papers deserve more protection than those produced by the White House counsel's office, which directly advises the president.

Hackett:

"He called the commander in chief a son-of-a-[expletive]," said NRCC spokesman Carl Forti. "We decided to bury him."

Executive right to torture:

The White House says it will oppose any restrictions on the president's ability to conduct the war on terrorism and protect Americans.

Among the detainee amendments is one that would expressly prohibit cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody. Another would define "enemy combatant" and put into law the procedures the Bush administration already has in place for prosecuting detainees at Guantanamo.

I'm suddenly reminded of Michael, when, at the end of the movie, he looks his wife in the eyes and tells her he didn't kill his brother-in-law: WaPo

The Pentagon acknowledged yesterday that two former members of the military team handling prosecutions of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had alleged last year that the trial system was rigged in favor of the government.
A Pentagon spokesman said, however, that the prosecutors' charges had been "thoroughly investigated" and dismissed as unfounded. While declining to reveal specifics of the allegations, Lawrence Di Rita said an investigation determined they were "much ado about nothing."

What does it all mean? It means Paul Hackett sleeps with the fishes, and if Frist is still thinking of stem cell legislature, he should keep an eye on his horse. Note to Joe Wilson: leave the country if Bush gets scheduled for a baptism. It's not personal, it's just business.