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Via Crooks and Liars, the San Diego Union-Tribune has a story of bread lines on U.S. military bases:

The women and children who formed a line at Camp Pendleton last week could have been waiting for a child-care center to open or Disney on Ice tickets to go on sale.

Instead, they were waiting for day-old bread and frozen dinners packaged in slightly damaged boxes. These families are among a growing number of military households in San Diego County that regularly rely on donated food.

As the Iraq war marches toward its fourth anniversary, food lines operated by churches and other nonprofit groups are an increasingly valuable presence on military bases countywide. Leaders of the charitable groups say they’re scrambling to fill a need not seen since World War II.

Too often, the supplies run out before the lines do, said Regina Hunter, who coordinates food distribution at one Camp Pendleton site.

“Here they are defending the country. . . . It is heartbreaking to see,” said Hunter, manager of the on-base Abby Reinke Community Center. “If we could find more sources of food, we would open the program up to more people. We believe anyone who stands in a line for food needs it and deserves it.”

There is something really, really wrong with this country right now.

The Bush Administration and the rubber-stamp Republicans in Congress make a lot of noise about supporting our troops, but it’s just that — just noise.

You can bet that no millionaire has had to wait in a long line for his fat tax cuts. No oil executive has had to wait long for his next subsidy. The GOP knows how to Support Our Millionaires.

It’s time for a change, by God. It’s time for a change.

It was thirty-three years ago today that the “Saturday Night Massacre” happened.

The Watergate scandal had been growing for more than a year, and independent special prosecutor Archibald Cox was getting too close for comfort. Richard Nixon wanted Cox fired.

Attorney General Elliot Richardson wouldn’t do it, so Nixon fired him.

Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus wouldn’t fire Cox, either, so Nixon fired him, too.

Finally Nixon found a man with no such scruples about the rule of law, Solicitor General Robert Bork, who fired Cox and had Cox’s staff locked out of their offices.

But firing Cox didn’t end Nixon’s troubles. For the first time, the talk of impeachment in Washington was deadly serious. For Nixon, the Saturday Night Massacre was like O.J. Simpson’s televised “Bronco chase” — people who had believed in Nixon’s innocence wondered why an innocent man would act so guilty.

History repeats. From TPMmuckraker:

House Appropriations chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) is under federal investigation for possible improprieties in how he oversaw Congress’ spending of $900 billion annually…

This evening, Congressional Quarterly reports that in a round of calls Monday evening, Lewis fired 60 investigators who had worked for his committee rooting out fraud, waste and abuse, effective immediately. As in, don’t bother coming in on Tuesday.

More evidence this is the Worst Congress Ever.