AUSTIN, Texas -- A jaw-dropping article in The Texas Observer (www.texasobserver.org) shows that two lobbying clients of Jack Abramoff paid $25,000 to Grover Norquist's group for a lunch date and meeting with President George W. Bush in May 2001. Abramoff brought the Indian chiefs to the White house at the request of Norquist, a leading "movement conservative" in Washington. In addition, Abramoff obtained $2.5 million in contributions from the Indians for a nonprofit foundation run by his wife and himself.

The White House guests were the chiefs of two of the six casino-rich Indian tribes represented by Abramoff and his partner Michael Scanlon, former top aide to House Majority Whip Tom DeLay. The $25,000 check from the Coushatta tribe of Louisiana is made out to Americans for Tax Reform, an anti-tax group founded and directed by Norquist.

Norquist, Abramoff and Karl Rove have worked together for 30 years, since they were national leaders of the College Republicans. Norquist, DeLay and Abramoff are all key players in the "the K Street Project" to turn the Washington lobby corps into an arm of the Republican Party.

I remember many jokes on cable TV about the Democratic Party selling access to the Clinton White House.

My money says those same folks won't give a fiddler's-fuck about this.

Jun 7, 8:43 PM EDT

A Look at U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq

As of Tuesday, June 7, 2005, at least 1,676 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. At least 1,286 died as a result of hostile action, according to the Defense Department. The figures include four military civilians.

The AP count is the same as the Defense Department's tally, last updated at 10 a.m. EDT Tuesday.

The British military has reported 89 deaths; Italy, 25; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 17; Spain, 11; Bulgaria, 10; Slovakia, three; Estonia, Thailand and the Netherlands, two each; and Denmark, El Salvador, Hungary, Kazakhstan and Latvia one death each.

Since May 1, 2003, when President Bush declared that major combat operations in Iraq had ended, 1,538 U.S. military members have died, according to AP's count. That includes at least 1,177 deaths resulting from hostile action, according to the military's numbers.

Since the start of U.S. military operations in Iraq, 12,861 U.S. servicemembers have been wounded, according to a Defense Department tally released Tuesday.

I remember well the coverage of Bush's landing on the aircraft carrier in his little dress-up jumpsuit. It was slavish, obsequious, and even worshipful. What would the folks who enjoyed that reportage have thought if they could have seen into the future?

May 1, 2003 was over TWO YEARS ago.

Fifteen hundred and thirty eight families have had the unimaginable horror of servicemen ringing their doorbells since that arrogant little bastard strutted across the deck to tell us it was over.