Fox News has confirmed that Tony Snow — who months ago called President Bush “impotent” and “an embarassment” — will succeed Scott McClellan as White House press secretary.

UPDATE: Fox News just reported that Snow will be named Press Secretary at 9:10 am EST.

has advocated a hard line against leaks by government whistleblowers, “Roberts himself was involved in disclosing sensitive intelligence information [in 2003] that, according to four former senior intelligence officers, impaired efforts to capture Saddam Hussein and potentially threatened the lives of Iraqis who were spying for the United States,” Murray Waas writes. Roberts’ case is an example of “how rank and file intelligence professionals now have much to fear from legitimate and even inadvertent contacts with journalists, while senior executive branch officials and members of Congress are almost never held accountable when they seriously breach national security through leaks of information.”

being used to block over-the-counter access to the emergency contraceptive Plan B: one agency researcher said the drug could “lead adolescents to form sex-based cults centered around the use of Plan B.” Back in reality, peer-reviewed studies have debunked this point, and also shown that 1.3 million abortions could be prevented if Plan B were available without a prescription.

[UPDATE: Also see what Tony Snow has to say on the issues.]

Fox News’ Tony Snow is expected to be named White House Press Secretary. Here’s some of what he’s had to say about the President:

– Bush has “lost control of the federal budget and cannot resist the temptation to stop raiding the public fisc.” [3/17/06]

– “George W. Bush and his colleagues have become not merely the custodians of the largest government in the history of humankind, but also exponents of its vigorous expansion.” [3/17/06]

– “President Bush distilled the essence of his presidency in this year’s State of the Union Address: brilliant foreign policy and listless domestic policy.” [2/3/06]

– “George Bush has become something of an embarrassment.” [11/11/05]

– Bush “has a habit of singing from the Political Correctness hymnal.” [10/7/05]

– “No president has looked this impotent this long when it comes to defending presidential powers and prerogatives.” [9/30/05]

Read more

The 10-year effort to repeal the estate tax (aka the Paris Hilton Tax) on heirs of the super wealthy has been financed and coordinated by just 18 families, according to a new report by Public Citizen and United for a Fair Economy.

The families include “the candy magnate Mars family, Waltons of Wal-Mart fame, Kochs of Koch Industries and Dorrance family of the Campbell’s Soup Co.” Together, they are worth a total of $185.5 billion. The estate tax repeal would “collectively net them a windfall of $71.6 billion.”

Bending to the will of these families, House and Senate conservatives are proposing to permanently repeal the estate tax — or seek a “compromise” that is nearly as bad — even though such a move would cost over three quarters of a trillion dollars in the next decade. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) has promised a vote on repeal in May.

Meanwhile, a new poll finds that 57 percent favor reforming or leaving alone the estate tax; only 23 percent back repealing it. And for good reason: Americans are about four times as likely to be hit by lightning than to have to pay estate taxes on small businesses or farms.

Earlier this month, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPRo) should not be used to lower gas prices. Today, President Bush announced he’s going to stop filling the SPRo to lower prices, calling it a way to show “we’re serious” about reducing the cost of gas. Watch the two clips back-to-back:

Transcript: Read more

Prospective White House Press Secretary Tony Snow has reportedly “asked for guaranteed access to the president’s ear and to an unusually large degree of latitude to reconfigure the WH press operation. … Snow, not content to be a herald, also wants near-complete control over what he says from the podium, be it bromides, platitudes or substance.”

UPDATE: “Tomorrow, Republicans close to the White House expect Pres. Bush to formally name Tony Snow as his new press secretary.”

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) explains how. Repeal gratuitous tax breaks for rich oil companies. Use the money to pay for a 60 day holiday on the federal gas tax. Gas prices will go down by about 18 cents.

Yesterday, President Bush joked about his difficult bike ride through the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument:

I just spent some quality time in [Congresswoman Mary Bono's] district, and I forgot to tell you that I had the privilege of riding my mountain bike in the desert, as well. The national monument that she helped put together to preserve open spaces – she’s got a lot of humility, she didn’t name the national monument after herself. If I were to name it I would say, Really Hard Bike Ride Monument.

But the Palm Springs Desert Sun reported that by riding through the area, Bush had ignored the “voluntary avoidance” guidelines at the Monument. The guidelines are meant to protect a species of endangered bighorn sheep:

Jim Foote, acting manager of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, said the Clara Burgess trail is also among those monument managers ask people to avoid part of the year to prevent disrupting endangered Peninsular bighorn sheep.

The trail is one of about 10 in the monument under a “voluntary avoidance” program. People are asked to stay off the Clara Burgess trail from Jan. 1 to June 30 during the sheep lambing season, he said.

If this latest Bush bike ride was like his others, a “massive entourage,” including a “long convoy of SUVs and off-road vehicles,” came along for the ride.

Apparently the White House isn’t involved in the Bureau of Land Management’s “comprehensive, multi-agency planning effort … to ensure the survival of the sheep.”