Let's end the day with the Rick Perry mugshot.

Courtesy of CBS News: 

Gov. Rick Perry, R-Texas, turned himself in Tuesday afternoon to be booked and have his mug shot taken at the Travis County Justice Center. The governor was indicted last Friday on two felony counts of abuse of power, which he called "baseless political charges." 

"I'm here today because I believe in the rule of law. And I'm here today because I did the right thing," he said as he entered the courthouse. "I'm going to enter this courthouse with my head held high knowing the actions that I took were not only lawful and legal, but right," Perry added, promising promised that he would veto funding for the Travis County-based Public Integrity Unit again if was given the chance.

Perry maintains that the indictment is a political attack that infringes upon his right of free speech as both a governor and a private citizen. 

"This indictment is nothing short of an attack on the constitutional powers of the office of governor," Perry added. "There are important fundamental issues at stake. And I will not allow this attack on our system of government to stand. I'm going to fight this injustice with every fiber of my being. And we will prevail. We'll prevail because we're standing for the rule of law," he said.

God I love that picture!

I hope someday to see another former Governor face in a similar mugshot.

As for Perry's contention that this is all a political witch hunt, here is a Texas blogger and political expert who begs to differ: 

First, he used the veto to threaten a public officeholder. This is abuse of the power of his office. Presidents and governors frequently use the possibility of vetoes to change the course of legislation. But that is considerably different than trying to force an elected officeholder to resign. What Perry did, if true, can be politely called blackmail, and, when he sent emissaries to urge Lehmberg to quit even after his veto, he may have indulged in bribery. According to sources close to the grand jury, Perry dispatched two of his staffers and one high-profile Democrat to tell Lehmberg if she left her office the governor would reinstate the PIU budget. One report indicates there may have been a quid pro quo of a new, more lucrative job for the D.A., which is why this case has nothing to do with his right to use the veto. 

But that’s where Perry will focus his public defense. 

Of course, he will also continue his argument this is another manifestation of partisan politics in Austin. That claim is as misleading as his veto rhetoric. There wasn’t a single Democrat involved in the investigation and indictment. In fact, Perry appointed the presiding judge in the case, Billy Ray Stubblefield of the 3rd Judicial District. Stubblefield named retired Judge Bert Richardson of Bexar County (San Antonio) to handle the grand jury investigation, and Richardson picked Mike McCrum to be the special prosecutor in the case. McCrum, who withdrew his name from consideration for U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, had the support of the two Republican Texas U.S. Senators and the state’s Democratic officeholders, which hardly makes him a Democratic Party hack. (A Washington gridlock over the confirmation process in the U.S. Senate caused him to withdraw.) 

That all makes it hard to sell the partisan attack narrative that reporters are spreading for Perry. 

The idea that he was concerned about Lehmberg’s drunk driving is also fatuous nonsense. Two other Texas D.A.s were arrested for DUI during Perry’s tenure in office and he spoke not a discouraging word about their indiscretions. Kaufman County D.A. Rick Harrison drove the wrong way into traffic and was found guilty of drunk driving in 2009 and in 2003 Terry McEachern, D.A. of Swisher County, was convicted of a DUI. Perry said nothing. It’s probably only coincidental that both of those individuals were Republicans and did not oversee an investigative unit responsible for keeping elected officials honest in the capitol.

I can hardly wait to see how this whole thing plays out. 

Hey Bristol, where is "bar hopping" listed under family values?

(Photo courtesy of Brancy's blog.)

Courtesy of the National Enquirer:  

So much for family values! Party-hearty Bristol Palin has shipped off her 4-year-old son Tripp to Grandma Sarah in Ari­zona so she can go wild on the bar scene in Alaska, say sources. 

“Since her son left last month, it’s been nonstop partying and club­bing for Bristol,” a family insider told The ENQUIRER. 

“Bristol is hitting the local bars and acting like she’s a single girl without a worry in the world.” 

Disclosed an eyewit­ness: “While Tripp is away, Bristol is at play. She’s been a regular at the Mug-Shot Saloon in Wasilla and other bars in nearby Anchorage.” 

To complicate matters, sources say the 22-year-old single mom has been making it difficult for baby daddy Levi Johnston, 23, to spend time with their little boy. 

Levi, her former fiance who mar­ried last year, was stunned a few weeks ago when Bristol told him she would be moving to Arizona with Tripp in September and returning to school. 

Then, just days later, Bristol texted Levi that Tripp was already in Arizona with Mama Grizzly Sarah, the ex-governor of Alaska and former Republican vice-presidential candi­date. 

“Now Levi has no idea when he is going to see his son again,” said the insider. 

Returning to what school? When did Bristol ever actually attend school in Arizona?

As for the drinking I had already received one e-mail saying that Bristol was whooping it up in Anchorage, and was just waiting for confirmation. And here it is.

I have to admit that I am a little surprised that Bristol would visit the Mugshot in Wasilla considering how disliked the family is and how muhc the National Enquirer is willing to pay for information.  I mean I know she is not exactly a rocket scientist but still....

Well I guess NOW we know why Bristol was MIA during the Palin family's SarahPAC funded Arizona "vacation" earlier this month. (Exactly what part of their life is NOT a vacation these days?)

I feel badly for Levi again, sort of.  We all did try to tell him that he needed to fight Bristol in court or she would never stop pulling this kind of thing, but he was never quite willing to take it that far.

I mean let's face it this is the "What's in it for us" family. They do not do ANYTHING for anybody else unless it benefits them in some way. And that includes their children.

Such a shame that this news comes out right after Palin started to pimp her daughter as the newest thing in political pundits. But then again, considering Bristol's past escapades, is anybody really shocked?

Nobody living in Wasilla, that's for damn sure!

South Carolina election gets ugly, and weird.

Courtesy of Slate: 

 Mark Sanford's "weird your way to winning" campaign strategy comes replete with moves such as getting sued for harassing his ex-wife and "debating" (and still somehow losing to) a cardboard cutout of Nancy Pelosi. Sanford, a Republican, is running in a special congressional election on May 7 in South Carolina against Elizabeth Colbert Busch, who has the added advantage of being Stephen Colbert's sister. Now, the head-scratching tactics have caught on with those shadowy third party operations that run push polls. As Think Progress writes, voters in South Carolina claim to have received push polls from Survey Sampling International, at the behest of a non-disclosed client, that ask a bunch of leading questions about Sanford's Democratic opponent. A sample of the reported questions: 

- “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you she had had an abortion?” 

- “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you a judge held her in contempt of court at her divorce proceedings?

- “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if she had done jail time?”

 - “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you she was caught running up a charge account bill?” 

Hey, they don't have to prove these accusations, since there are question marks at the end! Plus, we should remember that Colbert Busch can actually accuse Sanford of billing the taxpayers for his two-timing trip to Argentina.

This "push poll" is disgusting and very indicative of how the Republican party does politics these days. 

Elizabeth Colbert Busch has talked publicly about her divorce, though until recently has never discussed that she was arrested for contempt of court during the proceedings. However Drudge managed to get their hands on an old and faded copy of her mugshot and has now plastered it all over Right Wing news sites.

Of course that arrest was twenty years ago, under extenuating circumstances, and since that ONE INCIDENT Colbert Busch seems to have had little trouble staying out of court, and out of jail.

Still that has not stopped some shadowy group supporting Mark Sanford from making internet only political ads comparing Colbert Busch to axe murderer Lizzy Borden. (Yeah, because you know THAT seems reasonable.)

All I have to say is that if South Carolina allows this weaselly, lying, POS to win this election, they should be ashamed of themselves.

I mean the man literally debated a card board cutout of Nancy Pelosi!

How can ANYBODY take this douchebag seriously?

Well I certainly hope that South Carolina doesn't.