Sooner Be Blue

Mostly politics, a few current events, a squirt of seltzer down yer pants .. a little blog for my rambles and rants.

2007/6/30

Late-night jokes 6/30

@ 05:31 AM (12 months, 15 days ago)

"This week they had the annual congressional baseball game. The House Republicans beat the House Democrats 5-2. Typical of both parties -- the Republicans kept stealing, and then after the game, the Democrats demanded a recount." --Jay Leno
 
"According to a new Gallup poll, the new Democratically-controlled Congress has the lowest approval rating in the history of Gallup poll-taking. Only 14% of Americans have confidence in Congress. 14%! Even HMOs are at 15%. At least with the HMO, they put a rubber glove on first." --Jay Leno
 
"The government of Iraq is under a lot of pressure from President Bush to find a fair way to share their huge oil profits. You know, like we do here in this country." --Jay Leno
 
"Elizabeth Edwards called Ann Coulter on Chris Matthews' 'Hardball' yesterday to complain about the attacks on her husband. See, it's a good thing Coulter hadn't attacked Rudy Giuliani, or she would have had three angry wives calling" --Jay Leno
 
"Ralph Nader talking about running for president again. He's been accused of being a spoiler. You know what that is? A spoiler is a politician who ruins the chances of another candidate. For example, Al Gore's spoiler was Ralph Nader. George Bush Sr.'s spoiler was H. Ross Perot. John Kerry's spoiler was John Kerry." --Jay Leno
 
"Earlier this week President Bush took part in the taping of the Ford's Theatre gala that will air this December on ABC. It's a Christmas show and they tape it in June. It's always awkward taping six months in advance. For example, right now President Bush is still without a clear cut strategy for Iraq. But come December ... no, I guess we'll be okay." --Jay Leno
 
"A new poll says that 40% of Americans still believe that Iraq was responsible for 9/11. Unfortunately, two of those people -- Cheney and Bush " --Jay Leno
 
"In a 5-4 decision the court found against the student's speech rights, as the court felt that 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' constituted an implied pro-drug message. Said the student whose actions five years ago started the whole case quote, 'I did what, now?'" --Jon Stewart
 
"Tony Blair meets with the Pope, hopefully he'll get the Swiss Guard deployed to Iraq. Plus, the administration considers closing Gitmo, I assume because it's cheaper to store our prisoners in India." --Stephen Colbert
 
"Over the weekend, the president kick-started the Holiday Season by pre-taping his appearance for ABC's Christmas Galleria. ... I believe the Constitution declares him the Christian in Chief. So to everyone who criticizes the president for not firing Alberto Gonzales, give him a break, you can't fire a guy at Christmas." --Stephen Colbert
 
"You remember Dick Cheney, he's the vice president of the United States. He shot an old man in the face and didn't tell anybody. Eventually, the news got out. Turned out the old man was fine. It was a hilarious story, and the old man ended up doing the right thing [on screen: atty Harry Whittington apologizing to Cheney's family for the amount of media coverage]. At the time we all thought, 'My God, how do you shoot an old man in the face ... and get him to apologize? Ohh, Cheney. He must be evil. What's he hiding? What are his secrets?' Well, as it turns out, what he was hiding is everything." --Jon Stewart
 
John Oliver, on Cheney claiming the systems of checks and balances do not apply to him: "He is correct. For Dick Cheney exists neither in the executive branch nor the legislative, yet simultaneously in both. He is neither man nor beast, yet has elements of the twain. He is at once everything and nothing, substance without form, shape without motion, time without reason. He is the highlander."
 
"The New York Times says Ralph Nader is thinking of running for president again. We couldn't be more excited. ... Nader says he rejects the term spoiler. It's a lot better than loser." --Jay Leno
 
"CNN has video from the Middle East of a suicide bomber graduation ceremony. 300 suicide bombers graduated. You thought you hated it when your kid moved back home after graduation." --Jay Leno
 
"The CIA has released some documents that detail illegal and scandalous activities they were involved in more than 30 years ago. The activities include wiretapping of phones, warrantless searches and opening citizens' mail. Thank God that kind of thing can't happen today." --Jay Leno
 
"Hillary Clinton has chosen the Celine Dion song 'You and I' as her campaign theme. I understand Bill was leaning towards 'My Humps.'" --Jay Leno
 
"For his campaign, John Edwards has chosen a theme song from 'Hair.' ... And Giuliani chose 'All My Exes Live In Texas.'" --Jay Leno
 
"Congress now has a 14% approval rating, the lowest in the history of poll taking. You know what that means? George Bush is now the popular guy." --Jay Leno
 
"President Bush is hosting a visit by the president of Vietnam. He didn't want to go, but his father couldn't get him out of this one." --Jay Leno
 
"Hillary Clinton has a new campaign ad that spoofs 'The Sopranos' finale. In the ad, she orders carrot sticks at a diner, then switches the jukebox to a Celine Dion song. Hillary's calling the ad a lot of fun, and Bill is calling it a chilling window into his personal hell." --Conan O'Brien
 
"It was announced this week that Hillary Clinton has finally picked a theme song for her campaign. Now if she could just pick a position on Iraq." --Jay Leno
 
"Hillary Clinton has picked 'You and I' by Celine Dion as her campaign theme song. In a related story, John McCain's campaign song also by Celine Dion. It's the theme from 'Titantic.'" --Jay Leno

2007/6/29

One legacy Bush&Cheney can count on

@ 06:57 AM (12 months, 16 days ago)
 
Poll: Because of Bush the Rest of World Thinks US Sucks
 
Thank Goodness! .. it's not just me being paranoid. At least I beat the rush and didn't trust him from the very start.
 
From timesonline: "Global distrust of President Bush is mutating into an almost worldwide sentiment of antiAmericanism, according to the world’s most comprehensive poll of international opinion, published yesterday.
 
The Pew Institute’s survey of 45,239 people in 47 nations shows support for the US has dropped sharply among traditional allies in the West, including Britain, as well as substantial declines elsewhere in Latin America, Eastern Europe, China and the Middle East.
 
It found “a broad and deepening dislike of American values and a global backlash against the spread of American ideas” – although US technology and popular culture is still held in high regard. [..]"
 
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1996629.ece
 
Let's see, I'm trying to think .. who *does* like us? There's Albania .. and Mexico for sure .. and I think Australia...
 
Does Canada still like us? I forget...
 
I am thinking maybe Iceland or Greenland might still like us...
 
I was gonna say the North Pole because Santa lives there but the Russians just stole it.
 
Well, after all, here inside America the Bush/Cheney regime is held in very LOW regard by our OWN people. Why should we be surprised when foreigners have figured out the same thing. But they shouldn't distrust individual Americans .. that would be missing what's really going on, since that smell of corruption and incompetence is coming from INSIDE the White House .. NOT from without.
 
Yet .. we did elect him TWICE.
 
I caught some of his speech the other day .. the one where he was talking about how he tried to improve American/Muslim relations after 9/11. You could tell he was expecting applause .. but didn't get any. Then someone -- my guess is a planted audience member -- suddenly started clapping .. which spurred the whole room. It was classic.
 
Ah well .. he'll always have Albania ... if not his watch ...
 

2007/6/28

You don't know Dick ...

@ 07:32 AM (12 months, 16 days ago)

 

...Cheney, that is .. but the Washington Post's series of four articles about his Vice Presidency should open your eyes. Here's the last one:

http://tinyurl.com/2qgrjg

Imagine how different history would have been if Cheney had spent as much energy on issues of national security in early 2001 as he did in chasing a few votes in the Pacific Northwest ...

I remember reading about all those rotting fish. Needless to say, the power and refinery industry was a heavy contributor to the Bush-Cheney campaign. Just a coincidence though .. I'm sure.

And now we learn for the first time why Christie Whitman quit as EPA administrator. It isn't good enough that she resigned because, "I just couldn't sign it. The president has a right to have an administrator who could defend it, and I just couldn't."

Well Christie, the American people have the right to have an EPA administrator who tells us the truth. Why didn't you go public back then? And don't think going public now will save your reputation from when you assured 9/11 workers that the air at ground zero was safe to breathe.

And now we know why Karen Hughes had to leave .. and Colin Powell (two more who have served the nation poorly).

Any non-Cheney loyalist went bye-bye...

Cheney thinks it's more important to have yes-men trash the rights of we the people than work for our best interests.

He is so bloated with power it's a wonder he hasn't gotten rid of Bush.

Cheney monkeys around with laws and regulations and ends up gutting those laws and regulations of their original meaning.

He reclassifies people and institutions so they become exempt from the rules that are clearly designed to govern them. Like captured terrorists are "illegal combatants" .. slipping through supposed loopholes in the Geneva Conventions.

And torture techniques are redefined as "special interrogation" or whatever ...

And the FISA court supposedly lacks jurisdiction over the same activities the FISA court was created to oversee ...

And power-plant upgrades are redefined as "maintenance" so they won't be governed by clean-air regulations ...

And now Cheney has the VP's office falling between the Executive and Legislative branches, so no rules apply to it -- on and on and on.

It's government by loophole, an underhanded slippery approach to the law.

The Supreme Court's recent ruling in "Hein" is a good example -- taxpayers can sue over government appropriations of money to religious groups .. EXCEPT when the appropriation is conducted by the Executive branch. Meaning that all future appropriations will be by the Executive branch. So no one can sue.

This whole Cheney mess is really very simple -- apply Occam's razor. Why would someone so obsessively fight any oversight into his activities if they were legal?

They wouldn't.

 

2007/6/27

Who will be the last Republican to go down?

@ 07:10 AM (12 months, 18 days ago)

Time is running out for these Captain Ahab Republicans who are lashed to the White House Whale .. and willing to drown rather than contradict their incompetent leader.
 
Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) -- the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee -- made a speech Monday on the Senate floor declaring that President Bush's Iraq plan isn't working and called for withdrawing most American forces.
 
He's not even waiting until September and Gen. Petraeus's report.
 
Lugar's speech can be read on his Web site: lugar.senate.gov
 
Could this Lugar speech be the tipping point that other Republicans have been waiting for to rush to the other side for political cover come November 08?
 
Because next, Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio spoke up .. said we need a change in policy and he's writing Bush a letter to urge him to embrace a Plan E (a plan for exit).
 
Sen. Lugar called for Bush to downsize our military's role in Iraq .. to move some troops to Kuwait and other nearby countries .. to keep a smaller number of troops in Iraq's Kurdish region, and areas outside Iraqi cities. Our military would continue to fight terrorists, train Iraqis and deliver economic aid .. BUT would STOP spinning their wheels in the middle of the bloody Iraq civil war.
 
Well well well .. now, when the right-wing media attacks Democrats for being partisan and unpatriotic on Iraq, we can direct them to Lugar's and Voinovich's comments.
 
Democrats who have had this position for the last couple of years have been called left-wing terrorist-lovin' loonies.
 
And these Republicans can talk the talk, but when it comes time to walk the walk .. will they fade away softly whistling?
 
Because wasn't it just a couple of weeks ago that Lugar voted in lockstep with the GOP against any attempt for Congress to check Bush's failed policy?
 
Anyway .. we'll take every anti-war Republican we can get ..
 
Too bad most of them are too chickenshit to capitalize on America's unhappiness with Bush's War.
 
The White House called Lugar yesterday and is going to send an official over to talk with him later in the week. Oooh .. a thug from Godfather Cheney's office no doubt.
 
I'm waiting for Sen. John Warner, R-Va. -- an influential Republican on military affairs -- to speak up. He's teetering on it .. and his voice would *really* carry weight. Warner called Lugar's speech "very helpful and constructive."
 
I just want us out of Iraq. Every Republican defector gets us closer to that goal. I have a vested interest in this -- we have a young Marine in our family who'll end up there very soon. We've already had one over there.
 
I want our kids home. It's like pulling teeth, but I'll take what I can get in getting enough votes to first stop a Senate filibuster, and then getting enough to override a veto.
 
More here: "Key GOP senator calls Bush Iraq strategy a failure"

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/06/27/MNGLMQMM2Q1.DTL

 

2007/6/26

The CIA flashes "family jewels"

@ 07:05 AM (12 months, 19 days ago)
 
"CIA to Air Decades of Its Dirty Laundry"
 
Oooh, assassination plots, human experimentation and illegal wiretaps Oh My!
 
No kidding, why now? They certainly aren't doing this out of the goodness of their black little hearts .. or some sudden conversion to an open government. So what's the real reason? This kinda creeps me out ..
 
Are we being told this to distract us from something else .. to buy them cover time for something else about to hit the fan? You can be sure it wasn't done just to enlighten history professors and we the people.
 
It's probably intended to be a titillating distraction .. maybe to try and make the sins of today's CIA and the Bush administration seem less oppressive by comparison.
 
"See .. look what happened before .. so it's okay for us to do .. uh, what we do now."
 
Sad to say it might be another 40 or 50 years before we fully know what the Bushies were really up to as they careened along their unconstitutional and criminal path.
 
Like today's CIA operating secret prisons in Eastern Europe, handing over terror suspects to rogue states like Egypt to be tortured for information .. spying on American citizens, etc. .. etc. .. etc.
 
From the Washington Post:
"The CIA will declassify hundreds of pages of long-secret records detailing some of the intelligence agency's worst illegal abuses -- the so-called "family jewels" documenting a quarter-century of overseas assassination attempts, domestic spying, kidnapping and infiltration of leftist groups from the 1950s to the 1970s, CIA Director Michael V. Hayden said yesterday.
 
The documents, to be publicly released next week, also include accounts of break-ins and theft, the agency's opening of private mail to and from China and the Soviet Union, wiretaps and surveillance of journalists, and a series of "unwitting" tests on U.S. civilians, including the use of drugs.[..]"
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/21/AR2007062102434.html?hpid=topnews
 
Here's a link to The National Security Archives:
 
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB222/index.htm
 

2007/6/25

MoDo on Tricky Dick Deuce

@ 05:53 AM (12 months, 20 days ago)

Maureen Dowd, The New York Times, June 24, 2007
 
WASHINGTON - It’s hard to imagine how Dick Cheney could get more dastardly, unless J. K. Rowling has him knock off Harry Potter next month.
 
Harry’s cloak of invisibility would be no match for Vice’s culture of invisibility.
 
I’ve always thought Cheney was way out there — the most Voldemort-like official I’ve run across. But even in my harshest musings about the vice president, I never imagined that he would declare himself not only above the law, not only above the president, but actually his own dark planet — a separate entity from the White House.
 
I guess a man who can wait 14 hours before he lets it dribble out that he shot his friend in the face has no limit on what he thinks he can keep secret. Still, it’s quite a leap to go from hiding in a secure, undisclosed location in the capital to hiding in a secure, undisclosed location in the Constitution.
 
Dr. No used to just blow off the public and Congress as he cooked up his shady schemes. Now, in a breathtaking act of arrant arrogance, he’s blowing off his own administration.
 
Henry Waxman, the California congressman who looks like an accountant and bites like a pit bull, is making the most of Congress’s ability, at long last, to scrutinize Cheney’s chicanery.
 
On Thursday, Mr. Waxman revealed that after four years of refusing to cooperate with the government unit that oversees classified documents, the vice president tried to shut down the unit rather than comply with the law ensuring that sensitive data is protected. The National Archives appealed to the Justice Department, but who knows how much justice there is at Justice, now that the White House has so blatantly politicized it?
 
Cheney’s office denied doing anything wrong, but Cheney’s office is also denying it’s an office. Tricky Dick Deuce declared himself exempt from a rule that applies to everyone else in the executive branch, instructing the National Archives that the Office of the Vice President is not an “entity within the executive branch” and therefore is not subject to presidential executive orders.
 
“It’s absurd, reflecting his view from the first day he got into office that laws don’t apply to him,” Representative Waxman told me. “The irony is, he’s taking the position that he’s not part of the executive branch.”
 
Ah, if only that were true. Then maybe W. would be able to close Gitmo, which Vice has insisted he not do. And Condi wouldn’t have to worry every night that she’ll wake up to find crazy Dick bombing Iran, whispering to W. that they have to do it before that weak sister Hillary takes over.
 
“Your decision to exempt your office from the president’s order is problematic because it could place national security secrets at risk,” Mr. Waxman, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, wrote to Cheney.
 
Of course, it’s doubtful, now that Vice has done so much to put our national security at risk, that he’ll suddenly listen to reason.
 
Cheney and Cheney’s Cheney, David Addington, his equally belligerent, ideological and shadowy lawyer and chief of staff, have no shame. After claiming executive privilege to withhold the energy task force names and protect Scooter Libby, they now act outraged that Vice should be seen as part of the executive branch.
 
Cheney, they argue, is the president of the Senate, so he’s also part of the legislative branch. Vice is casting himself as a constitutional chimera, an extralegal creature with the body of a snake and the head of a sea monster. It’s a new level of gall, to avoid accountability by saying you’re part of a legislative branch that you’ve spent six years trying to weaken.
 
But gall is the specialty of Addington, who has done his best to give his boss the powers of a king. He was the main author of the White House memo justifying torture of terrorism suspects, and he helped stonewall the 9/11 commission. He led the fights supporting holding terrorism suspects without access to courts and against giving Congress and environmentalists access to information about the energy industry big shots who secretly advised Cheney on energy policy.
 
Dana Perino, a White House press spokeswoman, had to go out on Friday and defend Cheney’s bizarre contention that he is his own government. “This is an interesting constitutional question that legal scholars can debate,” she said.
 
I love that Cheney was able to bully Colin Powell, Pentagon generals and George Tenet when drumming up his fake case for war, but when he tried to push around the little guys, the National Archive data collectors — I’m visualizing dedicated “We the People” wonky types with glasses and pocket protectors — they pushed back.
 
Archivists are the new macho heroes of Washington.
 

2007/6/24

From torture to tortured logic

@ 07:19 AM (12 months, 21 days ago)

This latest crap to come from the White House and the FOURTH branch of government (AKA "Go f**k yourself" Cheney) should have patriotic Americans demonstrating in the streets.
 
It seems that Vice President Cheney says that his office is not subject to a law requiring disclosure of executive records .. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., said okay, then they'd amend a spending bill that funds executive operations .. so that money for Cheney's office and home would be put on hold until he clarifies which branch of government he belongs to.
 
http://feeds.sfgate.com/~r/sfgate/rss/feeds/news/~3/127254536/article.cgi
 
Rahm Emanuel is one smart cookie and he knows how to fight fire with fire -- or in this case, politics with politics.
 
Cheney shouldn't be able to "morph" the status of his office at will to suit his political purposes.
 
But, hey .. we've known all along that Cheney made the office of the VP the "Office of the Vice President/But Really the President."
 
Why can't Cheney just be a straight shooter <snort> and follow the rules? The rules defined in Article II of the Constitution -- that the office of the VP isn't actually part of the executive branch of government.
 
What Bush and Cheney are actually telling us is that they can make up their own laws that exempt them from any oversight whatsoever .. and when we show them the actual wording of the stated Executive Order that says just the opposite, their reply is "Well, the President signed the Order and he knows what he intended it to mean."
 
What this is *really* all about is Cheney's office leaking classified information when it suits their agenda. An investigation into how they safeguard classified information would show they only safeguard Cheney's arse.
 
And when those in government whose job it is to keep track of these things ask nicely and are rebuffed .. guess who they go to next for help? Gonzales' Justice Department. Fancy that. And you know he's hopping right on it.
 
Ever notice how crazy stuff happens when the White House has something bigger to hide? It seems that something controversial always comes up, causing a big commotion that overshadows whatever else is going on behind the scenes. I think there's more to this than meets the eye ......
 

2007/6/23

Late-night jokes 6/23

@ 06:26 AM (12 months, 22 days ago)

"There's no such thing as a "green" shopping mall. Developers in Chicago are building the first "environmentally sensitive" mall. Yes, nothing says "I care about the planet" quite like a vast, air-conditioned temple to disposable consumerism. Surrounded by 300 acres of concrete. "Look, honey, the Wetzel's Pretzel has organic salt!" Some things are just never going to be easy on the environment. Like a mall, a jumbo jet or the septic tank at Rush Limbaugh's house."--Bill Maher

"Stop swimming with the dolphins. You're not communing with nature. You're scaring the shit out of a fish. You get into the water with the dolphins and stroke them and kiss them and climb on top of them for a ride, and they pretend to enjoy it. Just like your wife. Besides, there's a much easier way to get up close with a dolphin: open a can of tuna."--Bill Maher

"New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has quit the Republican Party ... and has become an Independent. ... Bloomberg says he has no plans to be president. Now don't confuse that with President Bush, who has no plans as president." --Jay Leno

"Yesterday, big announcement. Senator Clinton picked the winning [campaign] song during this clever parody of 'The Sopranos' finale. Clever, of course, because it compares the Clintons to a notorious crime family. ... Parody? Or is that what they call in the business, 'getting ahead of the story?'" --Jon Stewart

"In other big political news, Michael Bloomberg, the popular mayor of New York City, has left the Republican Party. ... This act thoroughly decimates the elfin, effete, and Jewish wing of the Republican Party. ... But is there something more? [on screen: reports on rumors Bloomberg will run for POTUS]. ... I assume some of the media feel that the mayor's personal wealth could overcome his image as a short, Jewish, effete, Jewish, bachelor, Jewish, presidential candi-Jew." --Jon Stewart

"New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is leaving the Republican Party and becoming an Independent, possibly to prepare for a White House run. Well nice try, Bloomberg. You can't just choose to be Independent. It's not like being gay." --Stephen Colbert

"Kind of a scandal brewing for presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani. ... Yesterday, a top aide to Rudy Giuliani was busted for possessing and distributing cocaine. When asked about it, Giuliani said, 'Cocaine? I asked him to get me Rogaine'" --Conan O'Brien

"Do you know who's being suggested as the next Commissioner of Baseball after he leaves office? President Bush. He's a big baseball fan. President Bush, Commissioner of Baseball? And you thought the games would never end now." --Jay Leno

"According to USA Today -- this is why Congress has such a low approval rating -- 72 members of Congress have given over $5 million of campaign money to relatives or companies owned by relatives. There is now a bill in Congress that would ban nepotism in politics. President Bush says he will sign it ... as soon as he runs it past his dad and brother Jeb." --Jay Leno

"As always, the big question with a new operation ... what to call it? Obviously four years into the war, we've already used Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Together Forward, Iron Hammer, Warhorse Whirlwind, Bulldog Mammoth, Panther Squeeze, Red Dawn, Rock Slide, Rifles Fury, Centaur Rodeo. By the way, not only is every one of those a real operation, but each one of them also the title of a Fred Thompson movie" --Jon Stewart

"The White House announced that this summer President Bush plans to meet with the president of Mexico. The two presidents will meet in the capital of Mexico ... Los Angeles." --Conan O'Brien

"A judge has turned down Scooter Libby's request to delay his prison term. In fact, the judge gave him an extra three months just for having the stupid name 'Scooter.'" --Jay Leno

"The Republican Party here in California has obtained a special visa to hire a Canadian to be the state deputy political director, 'cause they say they can't find a qualified American to do the job. Apparently, working for Republicans is one of those icky jobs Americans just don't want to do." --Jay Leno

"The Pentagon is admitting it did experiment with a gay bomb. They say it's no big deal. They were experimenting for the weekend. The wives were out of town. They were just curious. I was told alcohol might have been involved." --Jay Leno

"Republican presidential candidate Sam Brownback kicked off a 1,200-mile campaign trip through Iowa. Brownback said, 'I'm not gonna stop until I find someone who knows who the hell I am.'" --Conan O'Brien

"Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich is heading an 'Impeach Dick Cheney' movement. First of all, how many heart attacks has Cheney had? Five? Six? Want to get rid of this guy? Buy him a cheeseburger." --Jay Leno
 
"Cheney had an operation on his heart this week. Talk about microsurgery." --Jay Leno
 
"All of the candidates have released their financial statements. Turns out Bill Clinton made $10 million from speaking engagements last year. See that sounds glamorous, but imagine all those nights in a hotel room, Hillary half-way across the country, him sitting there by himself all lonely." --Jay Leno

"Iran's parliament has voted in favor of a bill that would give the death penalty to people convicted of making pornography. Under Iran's penal code, that's one of the worst criminal offensives they have. To give you an idea of how strict it is, you get 20 years just for saying the phrase 'penal code.'" --Jay Leno

"Dan Rather came out swinging this week. He said that CBS and Katie Couric are tarting up the news. Tarting up the news? As opposed to Dan, who just made up the news" --Jay Leno

"I have the latest on the presidential campaign. Hillary Clinton has launched a new website where people can get all the latest Hillary news. In a related story, John Edwards has launched a new website where people can order his secret blend of shampoos and conditioners." --Conan O'Brien

"Some Albanian stole George Bush's wristwatch. I was going through the files and I believe he is the first president to be robbed since ... well, Al Gore" --David Letterman

"The Pentagon has admitted they once tried to develop a gay bomb -- a bomb that would turn enemy soldiers gay. They said their goal was to turn the Iraq war into a musical. ... Gay bomb? Talk about a troop surge. ... I believe the main ingredients in the gay bomb are an agent orange with a chartreuse accent." --Jay Leno

"Scooter Libby is going to jail unless President Bush acts quickly. And the city of New Orleans says, 'Good luck with Bush acting quickly'" --Jay Leno

"One of the key battlegrounds in our gay culture war is actually key battlegrounds. I'm talking about gays in the military. The 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy has thrown our armed forces into chaos in the middle of a war on terror. ... We cannot waiver on this issues, folks, and thank God none of the Republicans did in their recent presidential debate [on screen: none of the GOP WH '08ers raising their hand when asked if gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military]. I say their silence speaks volumes. Plus, they kind of had to keep it down because Mary Cheney's baby was sleeping in the next room" --Stephen Colbert

"California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger told a Latino group if immigrants want to learn English, they should not read foreign-language newspapers. The Latino group told Arnold, 'How about you tell us how you learned English, and we'll do the opposite.'" --Conan O'Brien

"Republican presidential candidates Sam Brownback and Tom Tancredo both promised if they are elected president, they will pardon Scooter Libby. So, sorry Scooter, you are going to jail." --Conan O'Brien
 

2007/6/22

Golf Bloopers

@ 05:58 AM (12 months, 23 days ago)

http://bigpicture.typepad.com/writing/2007/06/golf_bloopers.html

Read the rest of this entry ... (17 words left)

2007/6/21

Is there room in the Republican clown car?

@ 06:40 AM (12 months, 24 days ago)

You know the Republican presidential offerings are crap if a guy who hasn’t even announced he's running is higher in the polls.
 
From Angus Reid Global Monitor: - "Fred Thompson is barely leading in the race for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in the United States, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 28 per cent of respondents would support the actor and former Tennessee senator in a 2008 primary.
 
Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani is a close second with 27 per cent, followed by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney with 10 per cent, and Arizona senator John McCain also with 10 per cent. Support is lower for former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and Kansas senator Sam Brownback.[..]"
 
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/16181
 
I think it's funny how the GOP spends so much time bashing Hollywood .. but give them any tired ol' actor and they’ll want to make him president.
 
Of course we have yet to see how Thompson will hold up once he actually enters the campaign and has to compete directly with other candidates. How will he do once the blood-letting gets going good?
 
So far, Fred has the allure of the new kid in town .. GOP voters already know the things they don’t like about the other guys. Thompson's rise to the top pretty much tells us how the other GOP hopefuls have failed to fire up the imagination of the party they want to lead.
 
Odd that all the cash Mitt Romney has pulled in hasn’t given him more than 10% .. and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and Kansas Senator Sam Brownback might as well just fold up the tents with their 2%. McCain is still on a steady downward spiral.
 
Republicans are ripe for the next idol worship cult .. they'll be susceptible to that  GOP grade-B actor siren call ...
 
My bet is that Thompson will get the GOP nomination.
 
Sorry to say, but as bad as it looks for the Republican field, I still can't forget how easily the Democrats can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
 
Especially when it seems like the tiny edge we have comes from a lot of negative attitudes about the GOP guys rather than genuine excitement about someone in our own clown car.
 
We do know one thing -- Bush will leave skid marks as he tears out of the Oval Office .. the happiest guy to leave since James Buchanan handed the Civil War over to Lincoln.
 
My prediction is that he'll hit the bottle and rarely be seen outside of Crawford, TX.
 
<trying to imagine George Bush on the lecture circuit>
 
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
 

2007/6/20

Great-grandson wants Geronimo's bones

@ 07:14 AM (12 months, 25 days ago)

Geronimo was a man of the land and one of the last Indians to lay down his gun. He never belonged trapped on a reservation and, if these are his remains, he deserves to be placed at rest .. buried on his tribal land with his family and not disrespected as a rich boys' frat house curiosity piece.
 
"SANTA FE, N.M. — Legend has it that Yale University's secretive Skull and Bones society swiped the remains of American Indian leader Geronimo nearly a century ago from an Army outpost in Oklahoma.
 
Now, Geronimo's great-grandson wants the remains returned.
 
Harlyn Geronimo, 59, of Mescalero, N.M., wants to prove the skull and bones purportedly taken from a burial plot in Fort Sill, Okla., are indeed those of his great-grandfather. They are now said to be in a stone tomb that serves as the club's headquarters.
 
If they are proved to be those of the Apache warrior, his great-grandson wants them buried near the Indian leader's birthplace in southern New Mexico's Gila Wilderness.[..]"
 
http://tinyurl.com/2ld57q
 
There is absolutely no reason that the skull and bones should not be returned. If the Apaches were holding Prescott Bush's bones (George W's grandfather) , nobody would even have this discussion.
 
As for paratroopers yelling "Geronimo!" when they jump from the plane, Wikipedia says this:
 
"The 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment's motto and slogan was named after him. In 1940, the night before their first mass jump, U.S. paratroopers at Fort Benning watched the film Geronimo and a Private Aubrey Eberhardt announced he would shout the name when he jumped to prove he was not scared. The trend has since caught on elsewhere. This unit was the first Airborne unit in U.S. History."
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geronimo
 

2007/6/19

E-mail boomerangs?

@ 06:22 AM (12 months, 26 days ago)

It's time to subpoena the hard drives. When a reporter asked White House Press Sec. Tony Snow about Karl Rove's 140,000 lost e-mail messages, he said: "That is a whole lot of e-mail."
 
"Bush Aides' Misuse of E-Mail Detailed by House Committee
From the Washington Post Tuesday, June 19, 2007:
"White House aides made extensive use of political e-mail accounts for official government business, despite rules requiring that they conduct such business through official communications channels, according to new evidence disclosed yesterday by congressional investigators.
 
The Republican National Committee told the investigators that White House senior political adviser Karl Rove alone sent or received more than 140,000 e-mails between 2002 and 2007, more than half of which involved individuals using official ".gov" e-mail accounts, a report from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said. [..]"
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/18/AR2007061800809.html?hpid=moreheadlines
 
From computerworld.com, on computer storage:
"Here's a side note to Congress: If the White House is telling you it lost those questionable e-mails, that means the mail client that authored the mail, the e-mail server that sent the e-mail, the e-mail server that received the e-mail and the e-mail client on the other end all lost the same e-mail -- a rather unlikely scenario.[..]"
 
I'm not surprised that the Bushies would stoop so low as to hide their official communications to avoid prosecution for crimes they knew full well they were committing .. nor that the Republican Party willingly destroyed all the evidence.
 
To be fair, I'm sure that, over 4 years, even Karl Rove didn't actually send/receive 140k legitimate business-related e-mails .. a lot of them were probably spam.
 
However, if even ONE is lost, because it was done through an outside address, they broke the law. The law states that the Bush administration MUST save e-mail.
 
It is illegal for non-gov't e-mail accounts to be used to conduct gov't business. The Presidential Records Act was passed during the Nixon administration .. it calls for the preservation of all official records of and about the president.
 
So, bypassing government record-keeping regulations is the main issue here .. you have to wonder why they would rather risk possible punishment for destroying e-mail than face the consequences of making all that e-mail public.
 
There is plenty of evidence that RNC e-mail accounts were used intentionally to avoid proper governmental record-keeping. From CNN:
 
"Waxman's committee released another chain of e-mails it said illustrated the type of exchange taking place on the account. The e-mails began with a February 2003 message from Abramoff to Susan Ralston, the former executive assistant to President Bush's top political adviser, Karl Rove.
 
In the chain, Abramoff advised Ralston that an upcoming Interior Department gaming compact with a Louisiana Indian tribe would be "an anathema to our supporters down there."
 
When an associate notified him that his e-mail had been forwarded to another White House aide, Abramoff replied, "Dammit. It was sent to Susan on her RNC pager and was not supposed to go into the WH (White House) system.[..]"
 
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/04/09/white.house.emails/index.html
 
Why would so much government business be hidden from public view?
 
It's clear as day. Rove, et al were/are trying to turn to the federal government into an arm of the Republican Party. Last I heard, the fusion of Party with Government is called Fascism.
 
The country knows what's going on .. that's why Bush's approval rating is at 28%.
 

2007/6/18

A true cockleburr of a song

@ 05:25 AM (12 months, 27 days ago)

"We Can't Make it Here Anymore"

Read the rest of this entry ... (545 words left)

2007/6/17

Jobs that no American wants to do?

@ 06:41 AM (12 months, 28 days ago)
 
I guess there's no such thing as a competent Republican .. because the California GOP searched high and low and couldn’t find one. So they have to outsource from other nations.
 
It really is life imitating art .. looky here:
 
"The California Republican Party has decided no American is qualified to take one of its most crucial positions — state deputy political director — and has hired a Canadian for the job through a coveted H-1B visa, a program favored by Silicon Valley tech firms that is under fire for displacing skilled American workers."
 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/06/14/MNG3DQF4U11.DTL
 
Wait, it gets better -- Matthews was hired by Michael Kamburowski, the state GOP’s chief operations officer, who is .. wait for it .. an Australian citizen.
 
Is that funny or what? The immigration bill failed mostly because the top dog conservatives in Congress spoke out against Bush's guest worker program .. they saw it as basically granting amnesty.
 
Yet, when it comes to putting immigrants into high level positions in the GOP .. you don't hear a peep from them.
 
Well, when you stop and think about it, so many positions in the Bush administration are going empty because no one wants them .. there must be a limited pool of Americans to choose from .. so maybe they can come up with some sort of Bushie guest worker program to help fill them.
 
What does it say about the GOP that they import their hired guns? And just for the record, I don’t care who the California Republican Party hires. I’m sure these two guys are perfectly capable political professionals. It's the hypocrisy that's disgusting.
 
Of course, I’m guessing these guys are both white .. not that there’s anything wrong with that.
 
See, it’s not that Republicans don’t want immigrants taking American jobs -- it’s just that they don’t want "the non-Party-faithful" taking American jobs. The entire immigration mess would probably go away in a minute if the GOP could guarantee that only Republican immigrants were picking the strawberries …
 

2007/6/16

Late-night jokes 6/16

@ 05:22 AM (12 months, 29 days ago)
 
"Director Steven Spielberg has announced that he will endorse Hillary Clinton for president. He says he likes Hillary because she combines the warmth of the raptors in 'Jurassic Park' with the charisma of the mashed potato tower in 'Close Encounters.' ... You'd think he'd endorse Dennis Kucinich after giving him the lead role in 'E.T.'" --Jimmy Kimmel

"This just in: al Qaeda is claiming credit for the vague ending of 'The Sopranos.'" --David Letterman

"George Bush ... was in Albania and his watch was stolen. ... They have a description of the guy. They say the suspect is armed and punctual. ... It's not a laughing matter. Don't kid yourselves. It's an important watch. It's the one Cheney uses to hypnotize him" --David Letterman

"Here's some broadcasting ugliness. ... Dan Rather, who used to host the 'Evening News' here at CBS, said this about Katie Couric, who is now hosting the 'CBS Evening News.' Dan Rather said ... she is tarting up the news. Dan followed that comment by saying, 'Bring me another whiskey sour.'" --David Letterman

"The country of Iran announced this week they're going to publish the writings and speeches of the Iranian president ... which, of course, answers the question 'What's the worst Hanukkah gift you could give someone?" --Jay Leno

"Last week when President Bush was in Albania, they named a street after him. During the street naming ceremony, Bush told the Albanians, 'I am honored to be standing here on Lame Duck Boulevard'" --Conan O'Brien

"President Bush made a stop in Albania on Sunday. Unlike just about every other place he's ever been, they really like him there. They love him. They mobbed the president, and he ate it up. The only problem is that they may have also stolen his watch. ... Today the White House said the president's watch was not stolen. They said he took it off before he started shaking hands, which means there are two possibilities. Either ... Albanians stole the president's watch, or the president took off his watch because he doesn't trust Albanians. Neither scenario paints a particularly rosy picture of Albanian-American relations." --Jimmy Kimmel

"President Bush is back from his European tour. He became the first president ever to visit Albania. He got a hero's welcome. Although there was one awkward moment, when he told the crowd, 'I love the Albino people.'" --Jay Leno

"People were lining the streets, waiting to cheer President Bush. ... In this country he has a 28% approval rating, but in Albania, he's a God. It's like that whole David Hasselhoff's a star in Germany. ... He was so popular over there Albania actually named a street after President Bush. It's a dead end street, but it's the thought that counts." --Jay Leno

"The mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, has announced he is separating from his wife. As former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani calls that, 'The first step to the White House.'" --Jay Leno
 
"Fred Thompson's on the show tonight. After leaving the Senate, Fred was a regular for years on 'Law & Order.' That's typical Hollywood typecasting. He's a Republican ... so Hollywood automatically puts him on 'Law & Order.' See, if he was a Democrat, he would have been the young stud pool boy on 'Desperate Housewives.'" --Jay Leno

"According to the L.A. Times ... Fred Thompson closing in on Giuliani in the polls. He's second. He's popular with what they call the Republican base. He's considered a straight shooter. Don't confuse that with Dick Cheney, who is a shooter who can't shoot straight." --Jay Leno

"According to a new poll out today, Hillary Clinton's lead in the polls is due to her support by women. ... See, she's attracting the woman vote and Bill is attracting the other woman vote." --Jay Leno

"Vice President Dick Cheney is going into surgery. He's having a new pacemaker installed. ... Doctors are confident that Cheney will be up and sneering in no time." --David Letterman

"George Bush was touring through Albania and he's shaking hands with people and someone steals his wrist watch. ... The Secret Service jumped right on it and they turned in a description of the watch. Mickey's gloves are white. His pants are red. His buttons are yellow. It's all part of George Bush's 'No Pickpocket Left Behind' program." --David Letterman

"This week in the country of Albania, President George Bush was mobbed by adoring, cheering crowds. Bush was overheard saying, 'I wonder who they're mixing me up with.'" --Conan O'Brien

"He's back in Washington now. ... Earlier today, President Bush gave a speech at a Republican luncheon where he pushed his immigration bill. Reportedly, the Republicans in attendance didn't care for the speech, but the guys in the kitchen loved it." --Conan O'Brien

"CBS News reports that the Pentagon once considered building a bomb filled with hormones that would turn enemy soldiers gay. ... Experts say the gay bomb would have meant battlefield victories for the U.S. and higher ratings for the Tony Awards" --Conan O'Brien

"This weekend, President Bush visited Albania and everywhere his motorcade drove, he was greeted with cheers and applause. The Albanians were really excited, and kept saying, 'Look, a car!'" --Conan O'Brien

"Yesterday, President Bush talked about his immigration bill and said, 'The political process is two steps forward, one step back.' Then Bush said, 'It's just like the Hokey Pokey.' Then he did it for 40 minutes." --Conan O'Brien

"I have good news to report. Americans were greeted this week as liberators! The bad news? The country was Albania and we've never invaded." --Jon Stewart

"Sometimes it seems like Americans don't appreciate President Bush. He is currently at a 29% approval rating in this country. I assume the other 71% are undecided. We Americans sometimes forget there are people all over the world who don't even have a President Bush. When our commander-in-chief made a visit to Albania he got a hero's welcome, swarmed by mobs of adoring fans. And if you missed that footage, just click over to Fox News. I believe they're running it on a loop." --Stephen Colbert

"A lot of people have asked, 'Why the big response'? Isn't it obvious? He's a strong leader, he's spreading democracy, and in Albania, it is effectively still 2002."--Stephen Colbert

"So to the Albanians, the president has just recently launched a highly popular war in Afghanistan. There's no Iraq, no congressional page sex scandal, no Jack Abramoff, no wire-tapping, no secret prisons, no torture, no Valerie Plame, no Abu Ghraib, no no-bid contracts, no Hurricane Katrina, no attorney firings, no contents of Karl Rove's basement freezer. Oh. I'm sorry, I may have spoken too soon. I don't know if that one's broken yet. It's going to be big." --Stephen Colbert

"President Bush was in Rome ... and had a big gaffe at the Vatican. President Bush is in trouble for calling the Pope 'sir' instead of 'your holiness.' Hey, it could have been worse. I'm surprised he didn't call him the 'Popester'" --Jay Leno

"Joint Chiefs of Staff [Chair] Peter Pace is leaving his job. He's the one who announced that all homosexual acts are immoral, and so is adultery. No wonder he left. He attacked all the members of Congress." --Jay Leno

"Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide, Scooter Libby, was sentenced to 30 months in prison. However, the sentence could be cut short if Vice President Cheney needs a heart transplant." --Jay Leno

"By a vote of 93-5, the Louisiana state House has voted to make it illegal for teachers to have sex with their students. Here's my question: Who are the five people who voted for it?" --Jay Leno

"Paris Hilton is behind bars, but still no word on Osama." --David Letterman
"There seemed to be tension between President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin ... President Bush thinks this is good. He thinks a new Cold War could help end global warming." --Jay Leno
 

2007/6/15

Time for a little six string Texas blues

@ 07:47 AM (12 months, 29 days ago)
 
He's been gone since '91-- helicopter crash -- but Stevie Ray Vaughan is still one of the greatest electric blues/rock guitarists ever .. right up there with Hendrix, Clapton and Page.
 
"Texas Flood" has so much raw emotion .. he felt every note he played. You ain't lived until you've slow danced it with your honey in some smoky honky tonk ....
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAxLgGVRV64&mode=related&search=
 

2007/6/14

G'wan, you know you're interested

@ 06:06 AM (13 months, 1 day ago)
 
I guess it's time to stop pretending that people aren't interested in Paris Hilton .. they definitely are. Maybe so they can watch her suffer .. just like people who watch NASCAR for the crashes .. or Hockey for the fights.
 
Seems the LA Times has been busy crunching numbers to answer the most important question of the day -- was Paris Hilton really treated more harshly than the average drunk next door? Apparently, yes.
 
"The Times analyzed 2 million jail releases and found 1,500 cases since July 2002 that — like Hilton's — involve defendants arrested for drunk driving and later sentenced to jail after a probation violation or driving without a license.
 
Had Hilton left jail after four days, her stint behind bars would have been similar to those served by 60 percent of those inmates. But after a judge sent her back to jail Friday, Hilton's attorney announced she would serve the full 23 days in jail. That means Hilton will end up serving more time than 80 percent of others in a similar situation.
 
....Because of the high media interest, Hilton was one of few inmates whose premature release received publicity — and the judge who originally sentenced her took notice. She is believed to be the first inmate in years who actually was sent back to jail to serve more of her term.[..]"
 
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-me-paris14jun14,0,404958.story?coll=la-home-center
 
It irks me that we even know her name, yet alone anything about her personal life.
 
It's a sign that something is terribly wrong with this country when MSNBC cut away from an interview with Colonel Rick Francona on the Defense Secretary replacing the Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace, to show Paris Hilton leaving her house to attend court.
 
Thanks to the infotainment "news" that Mainstream Corporate Media feeds us 24/7, voters are following the troubles of some rich girl more closely than what we're doing in Iraq ..  war is sad, thinking is hard... hey look, shiny thing .. Paris!
 
Shame on all of us.
 
PS -- if you want real news, watch Jim Lehrer .. or John Stewart.
 

2007/6/13

Wascawy wibewals were right again

@ 11:23 AM (13 months, 1 day ago)
 
A federal appeals court in the 4th circuit has ruled that George Bush can't simply declare a US resident an "enemy combatant" and then lock him up forever without a trial.
 
The first surprise is that Bush lost .. this is the most conservative appellate court in the country.
 
'Disastrous Consequences for the Constitution'
 
"Using piercing language throughout the opinion, the court wrote, "The president cannot eliminate constitutional protections with the stroke of a pen by proclaiming a civilian, even a criminal civilian, an enemy combatant subject to indefinite military detention.
 
"Put simply, the Constitution does not allow the president to order the military to seize civilians residing within the United States and detain them indefinitely without criminal process, and this is so even if he calls them 'enemy combatants,'" the opinion continued.
 
The opinion stated that the sanctioning of such presidential power "would have disastrous consequences for the Constitution — and the country."
 
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/story?id=3266823&page=1
 
Hard to think of anything that draws a finer line between the rule of law and fascism.
 
I want George Bush, and all who support him and his policies, to explain why the American justice system isn't capable of handling a few bad terrorists? I mean, we give a lawyer and a jury trial and appeals to mass-murderers like Timothy McVeigh, to traitors who spied on our country for the Soviets, and to men who tried to kill the president, etc. etc. etc.
 
I can't believe that America's justice system and America's freedoms aren't up to the task when it comes to terrorists.
 
As Colin Powell noted last weekend on Meet The Press, no one has given a very good explanation for why our tried and true, time-honored, system of justice supposedly falls short when the bad guy is named Osama or Ahmed?
 
"I would close Guantanamo — not tomorrow, this afternoon. I’d close it. And I’d not let any of those people go. I would simply move them to the United States and put them into our federal legal system. The concern was, well, then they’ll have access to lawyers, then they’ll have access to writs of habeas corpus. So what? Let them. Isn’t that what our system’s all about? .... I would get rid of Guantanamo and I’d get rid of the military commissions system, and use established procedures in federal law or in the manual for courts martial.[..]"
 
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19092206/page/4/
 
Where was Powell's tough talk against the Bushies when it would have counted?
 
Not too long ago Colin Powell was described as the most trusted man in American politics. Then he caved and was the chief salesman of the decision to invade and occupy Iraq.
 
So why is he trying to rehabilitate his credibility now? Where was that kind of moral authority when the country needed it?
 

Presidents who suck

@ 11:06 AM (13 months, 1 day ago)
 
Bill Maher:
"Jimmy Carter must be shipped off to Guantanamo Bay. The former U.S. president and current Al Qaeda operative--Jimmy Carter, launched an unprovoked attack upon democracy itself by telling an Arkansas newspaper that the Bush Administration has been the worst in history. And people were shocked... Arkansas has newspapers?!
 
But, once again, we were sucked into a phony controversy about who said what and how it hurts George Bush's feelings. Because when you hurt George Bush, you hurt America's feelings; and when you hurt America's feelings, you hurt the troops. And when that happens, Tinker Bell's light goes out and she dies.
 
Now, as for Carter's assertion, I was up all night on Wikipedia doing an exhaustive study of former presidents. And while other presidents have sucked in their own individual ways, Bush is like a smorgasbord of "suck." He -- he combines the corruption of Warren G. Harding, the war-mongering of James Polk, and the abuse of power of Richard Nixon.
 
Nixon got in trouble for illegally wiretapping Democratic headquarters. Bush is illegally wiretapping the entire country!
 
Nixon opened up relations with the Chinese. Bush let them poison your dog.
 
Herbert Hoover, who was literally named after a machine that sucks--sat on his ass through four years of Depression, but he was an actual engineer. And if someone told him about global warming, he would have understood it before the penguins caught on fire.
 
Ulysses S. Grant let his cronies loot the republic, but he won his Civil War.
 
Harding...Harding sucked, but he once said, "I am not fit for this office and never should have been here." So at least he knew he sucked. He never walked offstage like Bush does after one of his embarrassing, language-mangling press conferences--with that smirk on his face like, "Nailed it!" Or maybe that's just the look you get when you have a showdown with the Democrats, and you win. Like he just did with Iraq. You don't get to become the worst president ever without a little help from the other side.
 
You know, I like Jimmy Carter, but when the Republican "fake outrage" machine pretended to be so upset at his remarks, Carter did what Democrats do, and backed down. He said his words were careless and misquoted, and the sun was in his eyes, and his hearing aid went out, and he was molested by a clergyman."
 

2007/6/12

The pickpocket of the century

@ 08:28 PM (13 months, 2 days ago)
 
Here's a news clip of our president in Albania -- the only pro-Bush country left on the planet. Watch closely after he crosses to the second crowd .. there he is, shaking hands with the crowd, surrounded by several very nervous Secret Service guys. Then a whole bunch of hands go around his left wrist .. and "poof" his watch is gone! Suckers stole his watch!
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKDdF6vfjoo&eurl=
 
I don't know why, but I think the whole incident is funny as hell.
 
I was shocked that the Secret Service let him plow into the crowds at all.
 
And why do the Albanians get to swarm all over him and we can't even ask him a question?
 
Someone once said nothing is true until it has been officially denied.
 
So the White House officially denied that the President had been robbed. One official said Bush had removed it himself and put it in his pocket. Another official said he put his arm behind his back so the SS could take it off.
 
Typical. Who you going to believe -- the White House or your Lying Eyes?
 
That was one continuous video and clearly shows he had it on one moment and it's gone the next. Where does it show him stopping and removing it?
 
Why does the administration deny something as simple as this? Maybe because they didn't want to insult Albania -- Bush's last friend in the world -- by publicly stating that they stole his watch?

Is it on Ebay yet?
 

Okay, next let's hold a "Confidence" vote

@ 07:02 AM (13 months, 3 days ago)

GOP backs Gonzales .. were any of us surprised? And it's really bad when Democrats can't even push through a no-confidence vote on a serially incompetent political lackey .. the head of the danged Justice Dept. no less.
 
And that Bush's sheer pigheadedness would force the need for such a vote.
 
Well, that's okay -- at least now the Republicans OWN the mess in the Justice Dept. Clearly, Gonzales is still the preznit's personal lawyer .. not the people's lawyer .. AND follows orders from Rasputin Rove.
 
From the The Associated Press: "The 53-38 roll call Monday by which the Senate voted against considering a no-confidence vote on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Sixty votes were needed to bring up the resolution.[..]"
 
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-06-11-gonzales-roll-call_N.htm
 
So, the Republicans decided to stick together and stick up for Gonzales. Maybe they didn't want to weaken Bush even more. Maybe Ronnie Regan's 13th commandment kicked in -- thou shalt not dis a fellow Republican.
 
They should be thinking about 2008 .. because voters will only remember that Republicans have been defending Gonzales.
 
It's understandable that Democrats wanted to win this vote .. BUT, on another level, they may have lost the battle, yet won the war. Gonzales is highly unpopular, not only with Democrats, but Independent voters and many Republicans as well. The press and the late-night comedians reeeally like him. He continues to be high-profile, a symbol of cronyism and incompetence .. with just a dash of sleaze.
 
So any negative Gonzales stories will continue to get front-page and top-of-the-newscast play. And there should be a clip of ol' George saying that Gonzales has done nothing wrong.
 
The righties know -- From skuzzy Robert Novack's June 11th column:
 
"Just when it seemed George W. Bush’s sinking prestige with his Republican base had bottomed out, his stock hit new lows. The president’s seeming indifference to the sentencing of Scooter Libby was bad enough. But it coincided with Bush’s apparent determination to retain his friend Alberto Gonzales as attorney general against congressional pressure to depose him.
 
....Prevailing opinion among Republican office holders, contributors and activists could not differ more from Bush’s posture. They regard Libby as a valuable public servant who faces serious prison time thanks to prosecutorial abuse made possible by Bush administration decisions. They see Gonzales as an embarrassment to the party who presides over a hollow Justice Department while presidential staffers search for Senate votes to block a no-confidence motion.
 
....One Republican who did not watch her words last week was Washington lawyer Victoria Toensing: “If the president can pardon 12 million illegal immigrants, he can pardon Scooter Libby.” Toensing is joining the procession supporting the still-unannounced run for president by Fred Thompson, who is unequivocal in his outrage over Libby’s fate and asserts that he would pardon him.
 
...In contrast, Republican insiders are enraged by Bush’s retention of Gonzales, whom they consider a political and governmental disaster. Beyond his affection for Gonzales, the president is reported to fear that a new attorney general could not be confirmed without pledging to name a special prosecutor to investigate the firing of U.S. attorneys. That explanation suggests a lame-duck regime, preferring to stay with a crippled, leaderless Justice Department.
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/10/AR2007061000979.html
 

2007/6/11

So this is "Plan B"...

@ 09:44 AM (13 months, 3 days ago)

From the NY Times: "BAGHDAD, June 10 — With the four-month-old increase in American troops showing only modest success in curbing insurgent attacks, American commanders are turning to another strategy that they acknowledge is fraught with risk: arming Sunni Arab groups that have promised to fight militants linked with Al Qaeda who have been their allies in the past.

....In some cases, the American commanders say, the Sunni groups are suspected of involvement in past attacks on American troops or of having links to such groups. Some of these groups, they say, have been provided, usually through Iraqi military units allied with the Americans, with arms, ammunition, cash, fuel and supplies.

....But critics of the strategy, including some American officers, say it could amount to the Americans’ arming both sides in a future civil war.

....In exchange for American backing, these officials say, the Sunni groups have agreed to fight Al Qaeda and halt attacks on American units. Commanders who have undertaken these negotiations say that in some cases, Sunni groups have agreed to alert American troops to the location of roadside bombs and other lethal booby traps.[..]"

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/world/middleeast/11iraq.html?ref=world

I saw it on CNN too -- the US military confirmed that it is arming Sunni insurgent factions so they can help us fight al-Qaida.
 
Okay, now let me get this straight --we are supporting the Shiite gov't in fighting "insurgents" that are Sunnis...and we are arming the Sunnis to fight al-Qaida .. and probably to defend themselves against the Shiite death squads that we arm and support??
 
It's been a short way baby from not talking to your enemy to making nice and giving them AK47's and grenades. A young soldier told the CNN reporter he couldn't get used to taking last month's enemy on patrol with his unit, seeing them armed with rifles and ammunition .. because they have American blood on their hands. But he figured if the new plan worked out, and they knew where to look for bad guys, bombs, etc., then some American lives could be saved.
 
I sure hope so .. because where are we going to run to hide our faces if those Sunni insurgents turn those weapons against US? ...
 

He'll always have Albania

@ 07:16 AM (13 months, 4 days ago)

Don't they have TV in Albania?
 
"TIRANA, Albania, June 10 — His poll numbers may be in the basement, but when he zipped through this small, relentlessly pro-American nation on Sunday, President Bush was treated like a rock star.
 
....The United Nations Security Council is considering a plan for independence, but Russia objects. On Saturday in Rome, the president agreed that there should be a deadline to end the United Nations talks, saying: “In terms of a deadline, there needs to be one. It needs to happen.”
 
But on Sunday, Mr. Bush tried to backtrack when asked when that deadline might be. “First of all, I don’t think I called for a deadline,” Mr. Bush said, during a press appearance with Mr. Berisha in the courtyard of a government ministry building. He was reminded that he had.
 
“I did?” he asked, sounding surprised. “What exactly did I say? I said deadline? O.K., yes, then I meant what I said.” The reporters laughed.[..]"
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/11/world/europe/11prexy.html?hp
 
Gah .. into the near-beer again? I really don't think it's too much to ask the president of the United States to take his own policies seriously enough to actually know what they are.
 
I saw the unusual footage of Bush in Albania being manhandled by townspeople along a two-lane main street. No protesters anywhere with their "Stop American Imperialism" bullsh*t. He was kissed, cheered and bowed to by a nation which .. obviously doesn't read US news.
 
I wonder if Albania had to weed out any evil liberals and progressives as Busies do in his public appearances here at home. In fact, the NY Times said that a two-day effort to find anyone of prominence who might have something snarky to say about the US turned up just one name .. and that person was out of the country.
 
It was almost as if Bush has moved out of the worthy-of-contempt phase and into the worthy-of-pity phase. Clinton at the end of his term was weakened but well liked .. Reagan at the end of his term was weakened but in the first stages of deification. Bush is ignored when he isn't being ridiculed .. even by his own side.
 
The softer side of me was glad to see an American president being received with such warmth. I hope the Bushies took a lot of footage for whenever he's feeling dissed about his low US approval ratings. He'll always have Albania.
 
Just don't tell the Albanians that Bush was very ambivalent about US involvement in Kosovo during the 1999 campaign. He criticized Clinton for not pulling the US military out quickly enough:
 
"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is." George W. Bush, 4/9/99
 
"I think it's also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn." George W. Bush, 6/5/99
 
Heh .. I know, ironic innit.
 
Another thing I found out about Albania -- Thousands of young Albanians have been named Bill or Hillary thanks to the Clinton administration’s role in rescuing ethnic Albanians from the Kosovo war.
 
Of course, now there will be a rash of babies named George Bush Mohammed Whozit.
 

2007/6/10

You don't have to be straight to shoot straight.

@ 11:50 AM (13 months, 4 days ago)
 
Nobody can say it like Mo-Do .. sometimes I don't agree with her, this time I do.
 
Outing the Out of Touch
 
By NYT columnist, MAUREEN DOWD, June 10, 2007, WASHINGTON
 
Be honest. Who would you rather share a foxhole with: a gay soldier or
Mitt Romney?
 
A gay soldier, of course. In a dicey situation like that, you need
someone steadfast who knows who he is and what he believes, even if
he's not allowed to say it out loud.
 
Hypocrisy is the homage vice pays to virtue, as the gloriously gay
Oscar Wilde said. And gays are the sacrifice that hypocritical
Republican candidates offer to placate "values" voters - even though
some candidates are not so finicky about morals regarding their own
affairs and divorces.
 
They may coo over the photo of Dick Cheney, whose re-election campaign
demonized gays, proudly smiling with his new grandson, the first baby
of his lesbian daughter, Mary.
 
But they'll hold the line, by jiminy, against gay Americans who are
willing to die or be horribly disfigured in the cursed Bush/Cheney war
in Iraq.
 
Peter Pace, whose job as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff became
a casualty of Iraq on Friday, asserted in March that homosexual acts
"are immoral." Yet in May, he wrote a letter to the judge in the
Scooter Libby case, pleading for leniency for the Cheney aide. Scooter
always looked for "the right way to proceed - both legally and
morally," General Pace wrote of the man who lied to a grand jury about
the outing of a spy, after he pumped up the fake case for the war that
has claimed the lives of 3,500 young men and women serving under the
general.
 
At the G.O.P. debate in New Hampshire last week, the contenders were
more homophobic than the mobsters on "The Sopranos," unanimously
supporting the inane "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Even Rudy
Giuliani, who loves to cross-dress and who stayed with old friends, a
gay couple, to avoid Gracie Mansion when his second marriage was
disintegrating, had an antediluvian answer.
 
Wolf Blitzer asked him about the Arabic linguists trained by the
government who have been ousted from the military after being outed.
 
Mr. Giuliani, who procured three deferments to avoid Vietnam, replied
that, with the war in Iraq raging, "This is not the time to deal with
disruptive issues like this."
 
If he's so concerned with disruptive issues, maybe he should start
worrying about this one: Two straight guys who slithered out of going
to Vietnam are devising a losing strategy in Iraq year after year. W.
and Dick Cheney have fouled things up so badly that Robert Gates and
Tony Snow are now pointing to South Korea - where American troops have
stayed for over half a century - as a model.
 
Mitt Romney agreed with Rudy on the issue. Instead of going to
Vietnam, Mr. Romney spent two and a half years doing Mormon missionary
work in France. Isn't that like doing Peace Corps work in Monte
Carlo?
 
At the memorial for Mark Bingham, the gay 6-foot-5 rugby player who
was on Flight 93 on 9/11, John McCain said he might owe his life to
the young man who helped fight the hijackers, bringing down the plane
aiming to crash into the Capitol.
 
But Senator McCain wants gay troops to stay closeted. The policy, he
said, is "working." But it's not. The Army in Iraq is like that
exhausted nag Scarlett O'Hara whipped on to Tara. Yet Republicans
surge on, even as they expel gays.
 
In a Times Op-Ed piece Friday, Stephen Benjamin, a gay Arabic
translator eager to go to Iraq, told how he was dismissed when the
Navy learned his status. "Consider," he wrote. "More than 58 Arabic
linguists have been kicked out since 'don't ask, don't tell' was
instituted. How much valuable intelligence could those men and women
be providing today to troops in harm's way?"
 
He noted that 11,000 other service members have been shoved out since
1993 and speculated that if the Army had not been so short of Arabic
translators, the cables that went untranslated on Sept. 10, 2001,
might have been translated, preventing 9/11.
 
In 2000, the British military began letting anyone who served say if
they were "a poof," as one squadron leader put it. Sarah Lyall wrote
in The Times that the military reports that none of its fears "about
harassment, discord, blackmail, bullying or an erosion of unit
cohesion or military effectiveness have come to pass."
 
America has been Will-and-Graced since Bill Clinton had his kerfuffle
on the issue in 1993. Tolerance has blossomed, especially among
younger Americans. According to a Pew poll, 4-in-10 Americans say they
have close friends or relatives who are gay.
 
The Republican field seems stale and out of sync. They should have
listened to the inimitable Barry Goldwater, who told it true: You
don't have to be straight to shoot straight.
 

2007/6/9

Pace out

@ 07:24 AM (13 months, 5 days ago)

What's more important? Some old guy being pushed out of the Military, or some vapid heiress in trouble with the law?
 
The head of the Joint Chiefs just rolled by .. but General Peter Pace and his replacement seem to be inconsequential .. CNN/Fox apparently think that Paris Hilton's hearing is the bigger story ever .. one that REALLY affects all of our lives.
 
So a lot of us almost missed this --> Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced that General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of our military, will be stepping down. He's not going to re-nominate him.
 
If all goes according to plan, Pace will be replaced by Adm. Michael G. Mullen, chief of NAVAL operations, when the former leaves office on September 30. Vice Chairman Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani Jr., will also be replaced.
 
Gates's press conference and statement were unusual because the defense secretary gave no good reason about letting Pace go. No excuses about "spending time with his family."
 
Pace will be the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff not to be renominated for a second term since the military formed the joint chiefs position 21 years ago. And they sure did like him while he spooned with Rummy.
 
From nytimes.com: "Gates said he intended to re-nominate Pace and Giambastiani but after consulting with senators of both parties came to the conclusions "that because General Pace has served as chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the last six years, the focus of his confirmation process would have been on the past rather than the future."
 
He said the confirmation process would have the possibility of being quite contentious. "I am no stranger to contentious confirmations, and I do not shrink from them," Gates said. "However, I have decided at this moment in our history, the nation, our men and women in uniform, and General Pace himself would not be well-served by a divisive ordeal in selecting the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."[..]
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/08/washington/08cnd-military.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
 
Let's see .. in the last few months we've already seen the departure of Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Feith, Hadley, Casey, Abizaid, and Zalmay Khalilzad .. and Pace is now the latest to go.
 
Bush probably likes turnover because it gives him a reason to be optimistic. Petraeus is in charge, so now we'll start winning. Gates is in charge, so now we'll start winning. War Czar Lute is in charge, so now we'll start winning. Pace's replacement is in charge, so now we'll start winning.....
 
"A divisive ordeal" huh? I'll show him a divisive ordeal -- America is divided on the further prosecution of this war by something like 72 percent AGAINST to 28 percent FOR.
 
Also, "past rather than future" sounds like they're worried that Pace's reconfirmation hearings will turn into a hearing on Iraq. The White House probably told Gates they wanted to avoid that.
 
Well, Pace did stick his foot in his mouth about gays in the military, and there was that time he didn't know the number of casualties when they asked him .. and he wrote that love-letter to a judge for Libby.
 
But I doubt those are the reasons. All the Pentagon and White House will say is the US military "needs a new direction after years of being strained by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan."
 
So next a NAVY man huh? Wait a minute .. there may be a method to their madness. Could that new direction be straight to the Straits of Hormuz?
 
Because it's interesting that both the combatant commander for US Central Command, William J. Fallon, and the guy chosen to replace Pace, Michael G. Mullen, are Navy admirals.
 
Navy admirals leading a battle in the sand.
 
Mullen is a proponent of the 'Long War' theory, "...This war is going to go on for a long time. It's a generational war." He believes the eternal occupation of the ME is a good and necessary thing. So a big middle finger to all of you who thought there was any chance of drawing ourselves out of this impossible mess.
 
Scuttlebutt sez that Fallon is dovish on Iran .. so who is surprised that our military's two highest profile jobs will soon be held by guys who know a thing or two about protecting sea lanes such as .. the Straits of Hormuz.
 
Hello? Am I the only one worried about this shift from a 'land war' focus to that of a 'sea-based' operation? An air war fought from carriers with sea-launched missiles?
 
The Navy has to keep the shipping lanes open to assure the continued flow of oil to the Western world.
 
It always comes back to the oil. Our kids' lives soak into the bloody sand every day, not to bring democracy to Arab tribes like they told us, but to keep our oil teat open.
 

2007/6/8

Late-night jokes 6/8

@ 05:23 AM (13 months, 7 days ago)
 
"They say it's just a matter of time before former senator and 'Law & Order' actor Fred Thompson gets into the Republican race. Apparently, 10 rich white guys doesn't offer enough choices to the voters. They need 11 rich white guys." --Jay Leno

"So nobody saw the Republican debate? There haven't been that many white people on TV since NBC canceled 'Friends.'" --Jay Leno

"According to the Boston Herald, observers are saying that Hillary Clinton looks like she's had some work done. In fact, she has changed her appearance so much in the last year, at one of the campaign rallies, Clinton accidentally hit on her." --Jay Leno

"Leaders from the eight wealthiest countries in the world are gathering in Germany for what they call the G8 Summit. The G8 was created in 1975 to give Europeans who aren't into soccer something to riot about.... "--Jay Leno

"Scooter Libby has been sentenced to 30 months in prison ... even though he is a good friend of Vice President Dick Cheney. Hey, he got off easy. Cheney's other friends got shot in the face." --Jay Leno

"A low-level researcher at Yale University has been arrested for a scam he was running out of the Yale Law library. The guy claimed to be a lawyer and was charging illegal immigrants $5,000 a piece to get a greencard. They say this is the biggest scam pulled off at Yale since, I guess, George Bush got his diploma" --Jay Leno
 
Daily Show correspondent John Oliver, on lightning striking Rudy Giuliani while he was speaking about abortion at the GOP debate: "No, it was not a coincidence. That was divine endorsement. Or, in this case, God saying, 'Vote for anybody but Rudy Giuliani.' And God said onto the people of New Hampshire, 'a thrice-married New York City cross-dresser, oh, for the love of me.'"

"In New Hampshire all 10 Republican presidential candidates took part in the debate. Experts say it was like many of history's classic debates, except with eight extra people." --Conan O'Brien

"A federal judge sentenced Scooter Libby to 30 months in prison for lying. I believe prison is not the place to be when your nickname is Scooter." --Jay Leno

"A Republican presidential debate was held in New Hampshire. ... You know that you're not the party of diversity when even people in New Hampshire are saying, 'Man, those guys are white.'" --Conan O'Brien

"The third Republican presidential primary debate was held in New Hampshire. This is a very important debate ... because the election is only one year, four months, three weeks and six days away. There are 10 Republican candidates. ... There are now, I think, more Republican candidates than there are Republican voters remaining." --Jimmy Kimmel

"Scooter Libby, former aid to Vice President Cheney, was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Afterwards, Scooter said, 'I just hope I have the chance to clear my incredibly stupid name.'" --Conan O'Brien

"Lewis Scooter Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, is going to the hoosegow for outing Valerie Plame as a CIA agent. Scooter Libby's getting a 30-month sentence and a $250,000 fine and, of course, an opportunity to discover Islam." --Jon Stewart

"He received a ludicrous 30 months in prison. 30 months? He only obstructed justice for a couple of hours." --Stephen Colbert

"Some speculate President Bush will pardon Libby right before he serves jail time, while others ... know he will." --Jon Stewart

"Louisiana Congressman William Jefferson was indicted Monday on multiple counts of corruption. Among the evidence, $90,000 in cash found hidden in frozen food boxes in Jefferson's freezer. Now, I know it sounds bad, but it was actually just some boxes of Jimmy Dean's 'money-wrapped sausage on a stick.'" --Jon Stewart

"On the downside, Jefferson faces 235 years in prison. On the upside, now we know what it takes for the federal government to pay some attention to a black man from New Orleans" --Jon Stewart

"This week, President Bush is at the big G8 Summit in Germany. Many Germans are protesting his visit. See, that's when you know things are bad ... when the Germans think you're invading too many countries." --Jay Leno

"Vice President Dick Cheney said today the surge policy is working. In fact, gas prices have surged almost $4 a minute." --Jay Leno

"In the Democratic debate the other night, the most prominent candidates got the most questions. Obama got 16, Hillary got 15, Edwards got 13. Poor Chris Dodd ... waited 41 minutes before he got a single question. And that question was, 'Uh. What's your name again?'" --Jay Leno

"During the Democratic debate, all the candidates said that if they were elected, they would get rid of the military's 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy for gay soldiers. 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' will be replaced by the new policy, 'Don't Tell Me You're Wearing Those Boots With That Gun.'" --Conan O'Brien

"Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani is paying his wife $125,000 a year to help him write his speeches. She's writing his speeches for him ... and you can tell. Like last week, he gave a speech about what awful bitches the first two wives were." --Jay Leno

"How about that pipeline thing? The authorities busted up that plot. They were going blow up the pipeline to JFK. ... Here's the scary part: it turned out the guys doing this ... were called homegrown terrorists. And who says President Bush hasn't created new jobs?" --David Letterman

"President Bush in Europe for the big G8 Summit ... and his approval rating is very low. Right now, he's less popular than that tuberculosis guy." --David Letterman

"Speaking of threats to public safety, I don't know if you watched the Democratic presidential debate  ... I didn't. But I assume I would have been really impressed with the way Hillary, Obama, and Edwards cemented their status as frontrunners; Gravel said somethin' batsh*t crazy; Richardson talked about New Mexico; Biden said you can't ship Richardson back to Mexico; and Kucinich called for the deployment of an all-butterfly army." --Stephen Colbert

"After serving eight years in jail, assisted suicide doctor Jack Kevorkian was on 'Larry King Live.' When Kevorkian saw Larry King, he said, 'I swear, he was like that when I got here'" --Conan O'Brien

2007/6/7

He responded with an obscene gesture

@ 05:34 AM (13 months, 8 days ago)

The twisted case of Coconut Road...

Remember the bridge to nowhere? To an Alaskan island with a population of less than 50? A bridge that would be almost as long as the Golden Gate and higher than the Brooklyn Bridge? It was Alaskan Rep. Don Young, who tried to bring home that bridge bacon .. worth $941 million. When the country found out about it, plans were stalled.

Now look what he's up to in Florida. He approved a $10 million earmark to extend Coconut Road in Bonita Springs so it could join up to I75.

The Republican congressman of that district says he did not seek the money. County authorities have twice voted not to use it.

What does Florida have to do with a congressman from Alaska? Nothing but money.

From the NYT:
"The Coconut Road money is a boon, however, to Daniel J. Aronoff, a real estate developer who helped raise $40,000 for Mr. Young at the nearby Hyatt Coconut Point hotel days before he introduced the measure.

....A consultant who helped push for the project spelled out why its supporters held the fund-raiser. "We were looking for a lot of money," said the consultant, Joe Mazurkiewicz. "We evidently made a very good impression on Congressman Young, and thanks to a lot of great work from Congressman Young, we got $81 million to expand Interstate 75 and $10 million for the Coconut Road interchange."

....When he was approached near the House floor by a reporter, Mr. Young responded with an obscene gesture."[..]

http://tinyurl.com/24y9zg

Yes, yes .. $40,000 certainly would make a "very good impression" .. and he didn't have to mess around with stacks of aluminum foil packages ...

Why is it legal if the money goes into a politician's PAC, but illegal if it goes into a politician's freezer?

Welp .. it just goes to show that Republicans are SO much better at corruption than Democrats! Always have been, always will be .. it's their job. ;-)

 

2007/6/6

Republican rivals spar

@ 08:40 AM (13 months, 8 days ago)

Cliches! Get yer hot cliches here! No fresh air from the Republican debate .. when you insist on believing in something that isn't working .. cliches are all you have left.
 
Fred Thompson -- not OFFICIALLY a candidate YET -- was surely watching somewhere.. and smiling....
 
And I pity you fools who were playing drinking games and had Ronald Reagan as your drinking phrase. You should've drawn 'impeachment' .. you'd be stone-cold sober all night.
 
So let's see now .. Republicans think invading Iraq was a good idea based on bogus intelligence and Bush effed it up .. but it's all Saddam's fault. So let's stay there to honor our fallen soldiers .. and create lots more of them while we're at it.
 
My friend called the debate a little creepy .. like a redneck swamp .. the Southern Crazies Bayou .. enter at your own risk.
 
I just thought it was funny .. but not as funny as the farting scene in "Blazing Saddles."
 
Who the hell are these guys trying to court? Don't they know they're scaring the hell out of average Americans when they try to appeal to the Bush cult?
 
What you saw on stage last night were paid lobbyists for the oil, pharmaceutical, insurance, and finance industries .. and unwilling to change that arrangement.
 
I'm sorry .. but McCain is starting to morph into Don Rickles .. or maybe that animated, evil doll Chucky.
 
They were asked how they would use GWB and Tommy Thompson said he would certainly not send him to the United Nations to represent the United States. Then he said he would send Bush out on the college lecture circuit ..  I fell off my chair laughing.
 
It was also funny when McCain said, "... if anyone can think of a better idea [for immigration reform than the McCain/Kennedy bill] ... " and ALL the other candidates start waving their arms and hands.
 
They talked about how socialized medicine will ruin everything .. ignoring that free market principles have already done that. Boy, the new Michael Moore movie about healthcare will send these guys to the moon.
 
Wolff asked them about Iran. Is it acceptable to talk to them? Then he spiced it up by asking if it's okay to nuke them.
 
Duncan Hunter would use nukes... but carefully.
 
At least we found out that most of these guys can pronounce Nuclear.
 
It was interesting all the ways some of them flip-flopped and danced around "gays in the military." McCain says "Don't ask, don't tell" is working. Then why have over 9,000 been kicked out since the attack on Iraq, including dozens of needed Arabic linguists?
 
Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney flip-flop more than Circus Soleil.
 
Best moment in the debate was when the Lawd sent some lightning bolts to disrupt Rudy's microphone when he talked about abortion. I'll bet that really sent the evangelical righties into a happy tizzy .. they already know he's headed straight to hell for his position on abortion.
 
Second funniest answer: Tom Tancredo saying GWB would not be allowed to darken the door of the White House ever again after 2008. How many of the others were thinking the same thing?
 
Tancredo is the one who whines that he has to "Press 1 for English" .. is thinking about removing all the books in Spanish from libraries .. he says Bi-Lingual countries DON'T work. Tell that to Switzerland (four languages), Belgium, and Canada.
 
Mitt Romney is all for making English the national language, but he runs campaign ads in Spanish.
 
American racism seems to be a carousel .. are we ready to jump on again?
 
Ron Paul got a *lot* of anti Iraq war applause. Go figure.
 
They were asked if they would pardon Scooter Libby .. they seemed incensed over his tough jail sentence and $250,000 fine. Next thing you know, Bill Clinton and perjury were mentioned .. like lying about a blow job can be compared to Scooter lying to cover up the outing of a CIA agent.
 
My dream debate -- for either party -- is to have a campaign forum where the candidates are standing on stage, and the public lines up and can ask one question point blank to a single candidate. No moderator, no pre-scripted questions, no pre-screening of the audience.
 
...also, next debate would be more fun if they'd have trap doors.
 

2007/6/5

Freezer burn

@ 07:05 AM (13 months, 10 days ago)

I hate corruption more than I love Democrats ...
 
As you know Rep. Bill Jefferson (D-LA) was just indicted on 16 counts of public corruption .. that's the guy who hid foil wrapped stacks of cash in his freezer .. "For someone else.", he said.
 
Anyone who thinks I'll give him a pass because he has that 'D' after his name is crazy. We need to crack down on corrupt scum in government, no matter what letter is after their name.
 
I just want them to get at the truth .. and the truth may mean the slammer.
 
Yep, let our system work .. it's a little corroded but the wheels still turn pretty good. After all, we got Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, Bob Ney and Randy "Duke" Cunningham ...
 
From the Washington Post, June 5, 2007:
"Federal authorities accused Rep. William J. Jefferson yesterday of using his congressional office and staff to enrich himself and his family, charging the Louisiana Democrat with offering and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to support business ventures in the United States and several West African nations.[..]
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/04/AR2007060400683.html?hpid=topnews
 
I'm shocked, SHOCKED, to hear that there are corrupt politicians in Louisiana.
 
It took them long enough to indict him .. two years .. and it's still being sorted out. Some are saying Jefferson could beat the rap on the technicality that evidence was gathered in his Congressional office raid. You'd think FBI video and bribe cash in the freezer is hard enough evidence for a conviction.
 
BUT -- if they use evidence garnered from his Congressional office this could turn into a Constitutional fight .. could unlock the door to other indictments .. of other Congresscritters.
 
Why didn't Congress have him step down long ago, when the cloud of suspicion first arrived? Our system of 'innocent until proven guilty'?
 
Only in Louisiana can a politician who hides $90,000 cash in his freezer be re-elected in a run off. They must like him for some reas