INFURIATING! (Note: This post has been expanded)

Even though the "big bloggers" are talking about Washington Post "ombudsman" Deborah Howell's outragous attempt to preserve the Bush line on Abramoff, I must have my say.

On January 15, Howell wrote a column filled with deliberate lies, in which she claimed that Abramoff "had made substantial campaign contributions to both major parties." She also intimated that the Washington Post had covered up these phantom donations to Democrats.

Today she offered an "apology" which turns out to be almost as deceptive as the original outrage.

I wrote that he gave campaign money to both parties and their members of Congress. He didn't. I should have said he directed his client Indian tribes to make campaign contributions to members of Congress from both parties.

"Directed"?

If Howell has one-half of one molecule's worth of evidence that Abramoff DIRECTED any Indian anywhere to give one dollar to any Democrat that otherwise would not have received it, let her produce her proof. If she can't offer any, she should stop writing altogether.

Here are the facts: Indian tribes generally give to Democrats. They have every right and every motive to do so; historically, Democratic politicians have been more likely to show a sympathetic interest in their causes. Any Republicans or Republican-friendly columnists who believe that these perfectly legal contributions are "tainted" should join forces with those progressives who call for the public financing of elections.

The only Indian tribes who gave substantially to Republicans were those working with Abramoff.

Of the top 10 political donors among Indian tribes in that period, three are former clients of Abramoff and Scanlon: the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of California. All three gave most of their donations to Republicans -- by margins of 30 percentage points or more -- while the rest favored Democrats....

Clearly, Godfather Jack directed those donations which went against historical patterns. If the tribes also allowed some additional money to go to their traditional Democrat allies, so what? The money would have gone to members of that party anyway, even if Jack Abramoff had never existed.

In fact, if Abramoff weren't around, Democrats would have received much more. The tribes were victimized by a Republican extortion racket: Those who didn't play ball with Jack would soon have their casino operations targeted by fundamentalist kingpin Ralph Reed and his hordes of activist Christian "wackos." (That's not my word: It appears in cynical emails from within the Abramoff mob.)

I say Democrats who received money from any Indian tribe -- even the ones which got "jacked" by Jack -- should keep it. The Indians want them to have it. They gave to Republicans only out of fear.

Howell complains about the battalions of awful, awful liberals who sent her so much nasty email. I say: Good show! There is no reason -- no reason on earth -- why columnists and newsfolk should not fear us as much as they fear the conservative hordes.

Howell has no reason to carp. I've been on the recieving end of a reactionary barrage -- death threats, accusations of communism, pleas for my soul, the works. I know what it's like. And I say screw it. We can't convert or even converse with those apes -- but we can match their firepower. It's time our side started hitting back instead of maintaining the "Thank you sir, may I have another?" stance.

Howell still makes contact information available: "Deborah Howell can be reached at 202-334-7582 or atombudsman@washpost.com." Tell her that she should quit if she cannot prove her lying claim that Democrats received money entirely due to Abramoff's direction. Don't let her change the subject or rephrase the question.

Folks, we've had an impact. Don't wimp out now. Let her have it! Force her to offer a second apology. Be mean, be stern, be profane, be reasonable, be gentle, be loud, be soft, be whatever your temperament tells you to be. But BE HEARD.

Incidentally, she also writes: "To all of those who wanted me fired, I'm afraid you're out of luck. I have a contract. For the next two years, I will continue to speak my mind."

Some may be under the impression that by "speak her mind," she means "read my script" and "take my pay-off." I suspect that if she were to write several columns in favor of -- say -- a cessation of aid to Israel, the WP powers-that-be would soon find a loophole in that "contract" of hers.