An investigative report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution today finds that HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt has been commandeering a private jet, intended to be used for public emergencies, to campaign for the Medicare prescription drug plan.

Leavitt used the emergency jet to travel to 90 cities in order to promote the Medicare prescription drug plan and to make appearances at pandemic flu meetings. Keith Ashdown, vice president for policy at Taxpayers for Common Sense, said, “This is a gold-plated jet to promote a boondoggle of a prescription plan,” Ashdown said. “He’s getting the CDC to pay for his own personal political travel.”

Leavitt’s use of the jet has had consequences:

During two of the CDC’s emergencies, Leavitt was traveling on the Gulfstream III jet, requiring the agency to use another plane.

The first emergency involved an individual who contracted anthrax. A second instance resulted from persons being subjected to radioactive material in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In both cases, CDC had to dispatch other planes because its emergency plane was being used for non-emergency purposes by Leavitt.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) said, “It is mind-boggling that the secretary would commandeer for his own personal convenience a jet that is supposed to be used by CDC for public health emergencies.” Leavitt countered that the private jet was essential for accomplishing the “breathtaking challenge” of signing up millions of senior citizens for the new drug benefit before the May 15 deadline.

At a press conference this morning, President Bush needled Los Angeles Times reporter Peter Wallsten after he stood up to ask a question wearing sunglasses. “Are you going to ask that question with shades on?” Bush said, telling Wallsten, “I’m interested in the shade look, seriously.”

But as Wonkette first noted, and which ThinkProgress subsquently confirmed, Wallsten is legally blind. Wallsten tells us he has a rare genetic disorder called Stargardt’s Disease. The disease is a form of macular degeneration that can be slowed “by wearing UV-protective sunglasses and avoiding exposure to bright light.”

Wallsten said Bush’s comments did not offend him at all. “I never advertise it to him. I’ve never told him.”

Watch it:

Transcript below: Read more

Throughout his tenure, President Bush and his staff have bragged about their efforts fighting crime. In his 2006 State of the Union address, Bush claimed, “Violent crime rates have fallen to their lowest levels since the 1970s.” In May 2006, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said the country had “a violent crime rate at its lowest level in three decades.”

But new FBI statistics released Monday show that crime has actually jumped under the Bush administration. Violent crime in 2005 increased at 2.5 percent, the highest rate in 15 years for violent offenses. In his FY 2007 budget, however, Bush proposed cutting local law enforcement funding by a total of 52 percent. Some examples:

– Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS): Since 1995, COPS has put more than 118,500 new law enforcement officers on the streets. But Bush’s FY 2005 budget proposed cutting funding for the COPS program for the fourth consecutive year, including eliminating all funding for hiring. For FY 2007, Bush is trying to cut COPS by another 76 percent.

– Byrne Justice Assistance Grants: These grants give state and local governments funds to “prevent and control crime and to improve the criminal justice system.” Bush’s FY 2005, 2006, and 2007 budgets proposed eliminating the grants. (Congress hasn’t eliminated them, but has slashed funding each year.)

– COPS Interoperable Communications Grant: Succcessful program awards technology grants to law enforcement and public safety agencies for enhancing communication. Bush proposed eliminating the program in FY 2005, and has again proposed its elimination in FY 2007.

Bush’s motto: Take a bite out of crime (prevention programs).

The right-wing blogosphere is crowing about an article in Investors Business Daily that claims that “President Bush may make good on his pledge to cut the deficit in half in 2006 — three years early.”

This is only true in fantasy land. Here’s are the facts:

1. Even accepting the most optimistic predictions, the deficit will not be cut in half. The article asserts that the deficit for this year may end up being $270 billion, or 2.1% of GDP. Even accepting that optimistic assessment, the 2004 deficit was $412 billion or 3.5% of GDP. For those of us living in reality, that’s not cutting the deficit in half.

The White House projected a deficit of $512 billion for 2004, but that never happened. At the time, budget experts warned the number was inflated for political purposes.

2. The budgetary outlook for 2006 has degraded by about $800 billion since Bush took office. In January 2001, the Congressional Budget Office predicted a $505 billion surplus for 2006. The optimistic deficit number pushed by International Business Daily is still $775 billion worse.

It shows a lot about the state of fiscal discipline in the conservative movement that these kind of numbers are cause for celebration.

about Ann Coulter: “Do you find her physically attractive, Tucker? … Mike, do you want to weigh in here as an older fellow. Do you find her to be a physically attractive woman? … OK, Rita, do you find her to be a physically attractive woman?” Matthews’ answer to his own question: “No, I find her — I wouldn’t put her — well, she doesn’t pass the Chris Matthews test.”

Buried at the end of a Miami Herald report today: “Also Tuesday, the military ordered all independent news media off the base by 10 a.m. Wednesday, and had arranged a flight to Miami to expedite their departure. … The correspondents came down to the base on Saturday to cover the aftermath of the suicides, at the invitation of the admiral in charge of the prison. The Pentagon canceled the invitation Tuesday night, despite protests from the newspapers.”

On Thursday, the House of Representatives will hold a debate on the Iraq war. Media reports say Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) “hopes to match the serious, dignified tone of deliberation that preceded the Gulf war, in 1991.”

ThinkProgress has obtained a “Confidential Messaging Memo” from Boehner instructing his caucus to conduct a very different kind of deliberation. Here’s a quick summary:

1. Exploit 9/11. The two page memo mentions 9/11 seven times. It describes debating Iraq in the context of 9/11 as “imperative.”

2. Attack opponents ad hominem. The memo describes those who opposes President Bush’s policies in Iraq as “sheepish,” “weak,” and “prone to waver endlessly.”

3. Create a false choice. The memo says the decision is between supporting President Bush’s policies and hoping terrorist threats will “fade away on their own.”

You can read the confidential memo for yourself HERE.