Sheesh. This blogging stuff is hard work, or as the Preznit would say, Heckuva job, OFG! Nevertheless, I feel the need to recap our political situation at this point in time, the waning days of the Republican Party.
First off, there seems to be a swabbing of the decks at the good ship lollipop. Bertie Walnuts, aka Alberto Gonzales finally crashed under the weight of his own incompetence. The strangely familiar refrain of an inability to correct the boy king, Bertie fell victim to the urban legend of a snake being able to hypnotize a bird in flight, bringing to its doom. He conflated loyalty to country and constitution with fealty to person hood clothed in ideology. Certainly the frat-boy mentality and clubby towel-snapping ridicule of monikers like "fredo" goaded him into behaving like a dog in the back window of an El Dorado, his head constantly bobbing up and down for approval.
Certainly the republicans and their legions that people the mighty right wing wurlitzer blame the Democrats. As I have stated before, nationally, there are nine hours of rightard hatespew driving their chickenhawk killdozers over the American airwaves for every one hour of everybodyelse. This, of course, needs fixing in the context of radio. See, terrestrial radio is a fixed and finite universe. They cannot throw an extra sig of paper on the press to cover more shit, and the radio universe is a publicly held universe. Right now, blogs are the only counter-prevailing force for the hate-spew put out by Oxy morons, phone-sex enthusiasts and slant-head-Hannities. There exists no real opposition in the blogosphere from the right. Last count I got to date was since the Dean campaign, we on the left have raised $26 million and the right, somewhere north of $300 thousand.
Yes, the right blogosphere is fat and stupid and even their mother's don't like them very much.
I hate to reduce the muscle of the left blogosphere to dollars and cents, but unfortunately, this is what politics understand. Still, it seems there understanding wanes significantly.
Bertie Walnuts is out. Karl Rove is out. Tony Snow is out. The Republican majority in the Senate is out. The Republican majority of the House is out. And yet, even Speaker Pelosi's muscular language of a "new congress is in town," which was elected to conclude the Republican Reign of Terror, we still have:
An escalation of the occupation of Iraq, fully funded, with no strings attached. Codification of the Bush warrant less wiretapping program, running unabated and unchecked, giving the Administration congressional approval to shred civil liberties. Continuation of the suspension of Habeus Corpus. The founding principle of free people that says its government cannot snatch them from the streets and imprison them with no explanation to a judge or anyone else. Giving the boy king the exclusive authority to determine what torture is...the same guy who blew frogs up for kicks as a child.
In other words, to contrast Speaker Pelosi's admonition, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Congress is confused. Yes, Nancy, it is really swell you increased the minimum wage. Yes, we are so happy you made it easier to afford college for our kids and it is so kewl you passed the 9/11 commission recommendations, like 12 years after they were, you know, recommended. Health care for the kids and ethics reform are good too, but holy fucking shit, quit mowing the fukkin' lawn while the house is burning down!
End it. End all of this authoritarian cultism that preaches that all will be well if we have enough cops/soldiers on the streets. Do not lead from the center as defined by those who have drug this nation 1200 miles to the right. End the occupation. End the warrantless wiretapping. Re-establish Habeus Corpus. End torture. End free trade that is not fair and only benefits multinational corporations. Enact card check for the establishment of Unions. Roll back the tax cuts of the Bush/Bush/Reagan regimes. Establish a 91% tax rate on incomes over $3 million and perhaps we wouldn't have CEO's making 400 times what the average worker makes. Eliminate all offshore tax havens and any benefits of outsourcing labor.
It doesn't matter what the rightards say, because they will bad mouth you whatever you do. It is time to do what you were elected for, and the main thing is to defend and protect the constitution, something Republicans do not believe in. Republicans are corporatists, not Americans.
Monday, September 03, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Sacrifice
I had a little dust-up at work the other day with a co-worker over the Iraq war. A defender of the war, and die-hard Republican, my co-worker directed a lecture, actually a scold, about the need for sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy. Or something. The lecture was a sophomoric and petulant attempt to shame me into supporting the invasion/occupation/escalation of the PNAC agenda. It was also mixed with a small bit of spittle.
I agree with the need for sacrifice for Dick and Dubya's most excellent adventure, but it should not be so compartmentalized. The pain and blood and death sacrifice being borne almost entirely by our all-volunteer army, their families and friends. And in typical Republican fashion, the payment for this war is punted well out of reach, falling as a sacrifice to our grandchildren. This Administration has a war, an occupation, expanded the federal government by forty percent and cut taxes to its billionaire corporate donor base.
So where is this sacrifice? If indeed, as the rightards vehemently point out that America being invaded by 20 box-knife wielding fanatics is an existential threat to end life as we know it, then perhaps each and every American should share in this sacrifice.
Re-institute the draft. No wussy-assed loopholes like "five deferment Dick Cheney" or anal cyst OxyMorons. Two years of Mess-O-Potamia for all. The Democrats just initiated the PayGo system, which means, like, pay as you go. Apply this to Iraqistan. No new funds issued until the last tab is paid in full. One would definitely have to eliminate the billionaire tax breaks. Perhaps everyone else's taxes would have to double--or triple.
I'm down with that. Perhaps if the sacrifice, in real time, of suffering and funding for the disaster known as Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL) visited the hearts and bank balances of each American, the 30 percent domestic support it enjoys would evaporate, and people would take to the streets, banging a pot or a pan, demanding an end to this fruitless disaster.
But mostly it remains Somebody Else's Problem. As Drifty so elegantly pointed out, people are perfectly happy to just sit at home and watch "Poo-Flinger Island" and "Smell My Wife."
As far as the occupation escalation, can someone please explain to me how arming and training people involved in a civil war is supposed to quell the violence. With more guns and better training?
I agree with the need for sacrifice for Dick and Dubya's most excellent adventure, but it should not be so compartmentalized. The pain and blood and death sacrifice being borne almost entirely by our all-volunteer army, their families and friends. And in typical Republican fashion, the payment for this war is punted well out of reach, falling as a sacrifice to our grandchildren. This Administration has a war, an occupation, expanded the federal government by forty percent and cut taxes to its billionaire corporate donor base.
So where is this sacrifice? If indeed, as the rightards vehemently point out that America being invaded by 20 box-knife wielding fanatics is an existential threat to end life as we know it, then perhaps each and every American should share in this sacrifice.
Re-institute the draft. No wussy-assed loopholes like "five deferment Dick Cheney" or anal cyst OxyMorons. Two years of Mess-O-Potamia for all. The Democrats just initiated the PayGo system, which means, like, pay as you go. Apply this to Iraqistan. No new funds issued until the last tab is paid in full. One would definitely have to eliminate the billionaire tax breaks. Perhaps everyone else's taxes would have to double--or triple.
I'm down with that. Perhaps if the sacrifice, in real time, of suffering and funding for the disaster known as Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL) visited the hearts and bank balances of each American, the 30 percent domestic support it enjoys would evaporate, and people would take to the streets, banging a pot or a pan, demanding an end to this fruitless disaster.
But mostly it remains Somebody Else's Problem. As Drifty so elegantly pointed out, people are perfectly happy to just sit at home and watch "Poo-Flinger Island" and "Smell My Wife."
As far as the occupation escalation, can someone please explain to me how arming and training people involved in a civil war is supposed to quell the violence. With more guns and better training?
Saturday, June 23, 2007
The Big Picture Conservative Machine
Work hard and play by the rules and you will succeed has been the American mantra for generations. But what chance does a regular American have when the deck is stacked so decidedly against him or her? Consider the modern-day conservative machine cobbled together not for the benefit of America, but for the benefit of the wealthy elite. What began as a memo in 1970 to the National Chamber of Commerce by Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell saying that all of our best students are becoming anti-business because of the Vietnam War, and that we needed to do something about it. Powell's agenda included getting wealthy conservatives to set up professorships, setting up institutes on and off campus where intellectuals would write books from a conservative business perspective, and setting up think tanks.
Business folks took this advice seriously, coupled with Republican scandals that resulted in running a Republican President out of town.
Captains of industry set up non-profit think tanks like the Heritage Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, and converted earlier ones like the American Enterprise Institute and the Hoover Institute to benefit their own corporate interests. They carefully peopled these symbiotic organisms with the fruit of their loins, children with double doctorates carefully bred and nurtured to provide sustenance to the maw of the elite.
There are thousands of such organizations across America, located in every state, closely affiliated with the local chambers of commerce and genetically linked with Corporate CEO's who routinely make 500 times more than his average employee. The sole purpose of this machine is to maintain this outrageous imbalance of economic distribution, which bears no relevance whatsoever on the profitability of the company.
But it doesn't end there, since this is all quiet lobbying behind the scenes intended to nothing more than perpetuate Corporate wingnut welfare. It also extends into the airwaves, the so called fourth estate, also known as the media
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Hailed to foster competition, it in fact reduced the number of major media companies from 80 to six in twenty years. This was preceded by the death of the Fairness Doctrine during the Reagan Administration which demanded radio stations to provide balanced programming.
The birth of the mighty right wing wurlitzer had begun, and a cancer began to grow on the body politic. The right wing noise machine caters to the low-hanging fruit, the easy boogeyman, pointing at the dirty fucking liberal hippy as the irrational reason of all societal problems. Liberals want to take all the money from hard working Americans and give it to lay-about coloreds, welfare queens and illegal immigrants. The lazy and hateful ideology they spew is not countered whatsoever in over 90 percent of the country, according to Ed Schutlz, a popular progressive radio talk show host. This is backed up by a recent study done by a liberal think tank known as The Center For America Progress which shows:
This is one of those things that is fundamentally true while being simultaneously patently false. Stay with me here. One hundred and forty four "journalists", nationwide, made campaign contributions from 2004 through the first quarter of 2007. There are over 116,000 journalists in America. This is a toenail clipping of the body politic, not some rampant liberal press. Besides that, those who did contribute to Democrats were copy editors and sports reporters from sisterfuck Alabama, not editorial writers for the New York Times, or Washington Post.
We are not done yet folks, because even with armies of sooper smart lobbyists from think tanks, the fruits of the loins of captains of industry invading our state-houses and Federal government by the platoon, and a million decibels of rightard spew blasting "it's all about icky libruls keeping you down," still, even with all that, the best the mighty conservative machine can do at the ballot box is forty percent.
Hello Ralph Reed , James Dobson, and Jerry Falwell. These three, along with many other pious and upright Christianists preached intolerance and hatred against any and all that would oppose the Glorious Conservative Revolution. Indeed if one supported the babykilling sodomites, one should expect eternal damnation. No need to address the poor and downtrodden or environment or any other issue of society that was about to be gobbled up by corporatists on their way to an industrial lunch because that may hamper the millions of taxpayer dollars they get for "faith based initiatives."
Think I'm done? Hah, you silly blogreader! Even with armies of Doctorates invading Washington and millions in corporate PAC's flooding in being blanketed with a million decibels of rightard radio and the soothing dulcette tones of the Pentecostal preacher urging "vote Republican or suffer eternal damnation," it still ain't enough!
Enter massive purges of voter rolls and the privatization of voting machines with closed source software that flips votes on command and three minute waits in Republican precincts and eight hour waits in democratic ones and still, we have a sitting President who complained to the Supreme Court in 2000 that if Florida kept counting votes he would be irreparably harmed. The court agreed, which I guess means he would have lost. But he won by a one vote Supreme Court margin.
This is the Republican Party and how they came to power. The results are all around us. Strong on sales, short on delivery, unless of course you are a member of their trifecta.
Business folks took this advice seriously, coupled with Republican scandals that resulted in running a Republican President out of town.
Captains of industry set up non-profit think tanks like the Heritage Foundation, the Manhattan Institute, and converted earlier ones like the American Enterprise Institute and the Hoover Institute to benefit their own corporate interests. They carefully peopled these symbiotic organisms with the fruit of their loins, children with double doctorates carefully bred and nurtured to provide sustenance to the maw of the elite.
There are thousands of such organizations across America, located in every state, closely affiliated with the local chambers of commerce and genetically linked with Corporate CEO's who routinely make 500 times more than his average employee. The sole purpose of this machine is to maintain this outrageous imbalance of economic distribution, which bears no relevance whatsoever on the profitability of the company.
But it doesn't end there, since this is all quiet lobbying behind the scenes intended to nothing more than perpetuate Corporate wingnut welfare. It also extends into the airwaves, the so called fourth estate, also known as the media
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Hailed to foster competition, it in fact reduced the number of major media companies from 80 to six in twenty years. This was preceded by the death of the Fairness Doctrine during the Reagan Administration which demanded radio stations to provide balanced programming.
The birth of the mighty right wing wurlitzer had begun, and a cancer began to grow on the body politic. The right wing noise machine caters to the low-hanging fruit, the easy boogeyman, pointing at the dirty fucking liberal hippy as the irrational reason of all societal problems. Liberals want to take all the money from hard working Americans and give it to lay-about coloreds, welfare queens and illegal immigrants. The lazy and hateful ideology they spew is not countered whatsoever in over 90 percent of the country, according to Ed Schutlz, a popular progressive radio talk show host. This is backed up by a recent study done by a liberal think tank known as The Center For America Progress which shows:
the Center for American Progress concluded that 91 percent of weekday talk radio is conservative, compared with liberal content at 9 percent. The group, which said it analyzed 257 news and talk stations owned by the five biggest radio broadcasters, calls for stricter media-ownership limits and public-interest requirements.In other words, a handful of media owners are effectively silencing the political voice of 70 percent of the people. One may say this is stupid, since advertising is the lifeblood of media and one should go where the money is. This is true. Since General Electric is a major media holding company, it is interesting to note that its PAC donated over $800,000 to the Republican party last year and about half of that to the Democrats, a pattern that is consistent in the past several years. But you won't find that on Faux News. They point to the fact that journalists give to the Democratic party 9 to 1 over Republicans.
This is one of those things that is fundamentally true while being simultaneously patently false. Stay with me here. One hundred and forty four "journalists", nationwide, made campaign contributions from 2004 through the first quarter of 2007. There are over 116,000 journalists in America. This is a toenail clipping of the body politic, not some rampant liberal press. Besides that, those who did contribute to Democrats were copy editors and sports reporters from sisterfuck Alabama, not editorial writers for the New York Times, or Washington Post.
We are not done yet folks, because even with armies of sooper smart lobbyists from think tanks, the fruits of the loins of captains of industry invading our state-houses and Federal government by the platoon, and a million decibels of rightard spew blasting "it's all about icky libruls keeping you down," still, even with all that, the best the mighty conservative machine can do at the ballot box is forty percent.
Hello Ralph Reed , James Dobson, and Jerry Falwell. These three, along with many other pious and upright Christianists preached intolerance and hatred against any and all that would oppose the Glorious Conservative Revolution. Indeed if one supported the babykilling sodomites, one should expect eternal damnation. No need to address the poor and downtrodden or environment or any other issue of society that was about to be gobbled up by corporatists on their way to an industrial lunch because that may hamper the millions of taxpayer dollars they get for "faith based initiatives."
Think I'm done? Hah, you silly blogreader! Even with armies of Doctorates invading Washington and millions in corporate PAC's flooding in being blanketed with a million decibels of rightard radio and the soothing dulcette tones of the Pentecostal preacher urging "vote Republican or suffer eternal damnation," it still ain't enough!
Enter massive purges of voter rolls and the privatization of voting machines with closed source software that flips votes on command and three minute waits in Republican precincts and eight hour waits in democratic ones and still, we have a sitting President who complained to the Supreme Court in 2000 that if Florida kept counting votes he would be irreparably harmed. The court agreed, which I guess means he would have lost. But he won by a one vote Supreme Court margin.
This is the Republican Party and how they came to power. The results are all around us. Strong on sales, short on delivery, unless of course you are a member of their trifecta.
Senator Coburn; Good Republican--Bad American
U. S. Senator Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, is earning his bonafides as a conservative by shielding racists from prosecution under the guise of being fiscally conservative. No expense is too great for the neocon war on brown people in a country that was not a threat, did not attack us and had no connection to 9/11, but less than 10 million dollars is way too much money to spend investigating and prosecuting murderers of Americans defending civil rights in America.
The bill, H. R. 923, the Emmitt Till Unsolved Civil-Rights Crime Act, focuses on hate crimes of the civil-rights era prior to 1970, sailed through the House last week with only two votes opposed. It was expected to sail through the Senate by unanimous consent, but Coburn placed a hold on the bill for budgetary reasons.
Senator KKKoburn feels perfectly fine spending unlimited fundage killing foreign people of questionable pigmentation but is unwilling to spend a pittance to prosecute those who do so, even if the victims are Americans attempting to exercise the right to vote. One wonders if he is opposed to African-Americans or civil rights, or both. Why does the Senator oppose the defense of Democracy in America yet fanatically support its exportation by military force?
On behalf of all Oklahomans, allow me to issue this public apology for the oxygen Senator Coburn is using up that could be going to some useful purpose.
For more info and background on this bill and what it means, please read this outstanding post by Meteor Blades. mcjoan weighs in here, and, as usual, what Digby said.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Made His Mark
Some people say tut-tut, there oughta be a law, and some people break the law to fix it. I am referring to the law against tattooing in Oklahoma, the last state in the Union to have such a ban. The law was recently changed, thanks in large part to a frustrated young artist named D.J. and several of his buddies.
Al Lindley, a local Democratic Representative in Oklahoma City had written legislation to legalize and regulate the profession and bring it out into the open. It languished in committee for seven years.
DJ and Co. said "fuck this shit" and opened up a tattoo shop storefront with bold signage and flashy graphics right out in broad daylight. They commenced to giving tattoos. To cops and prosecutors and bikers. Hell, everybody gets tattoos these days, even your very own Oilfieldguy's daughter is a tattoo artist in Lost Wages, Nevada.
His open and notorious defiance of the law was short-lived however, and I watched on the teevee as they froggermarched DJ and Co off to the pokey.
"Dood," one of the wayward tattooers said to the cameraman on his way to the squad car, "the law says, like, permanent markings, and like, they got lasers that can remove tattoos, so we feel they aren't so permanent."
I grinned and shook my head at the obvious stoner argument. Still, I admired their pluck. Tilt on, dood!
About a week or so later, the defense attorney had her chance in front of the camera. She viewed it as a constitutional issue involving freedom of expression, and her clients method of expression was tattoos.
Now that, my friends, is an argument. Seems Lindley's languishing legislation got some wind beneath its wings, and that is how a bill becomes law.
DJ, and a small group of defiant "outlaws" challenged the system, risked the loss of freedom and fundage for what they believed was a righteous cause.
Can we all give a polite golf applause to our modern day Don Quixote's?
But this is not the end of the story. You see, I have softened you up, perhaps invoked a hint of admiration for DJ. I met him through my daughter who is good friends with his wife, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Seven of Nine, and they have a new baby.
The other night DJ was having a barbecue at his house with several friends. In the crowd was a recently separated young lady, whose ex-boyfriend showed up with several friends un-invited. Harsh words were exchanged, and the jilted boyfriend broke a baseball bat over DJ's head and stabbed him with it.
DJ is young and tough, but he will have to continue life without a spleen, his recovery will be slow, but he will recover. He has no insurance, a young wife and a new baby. Last time I checked it costs between 40 to 50 thousand dollars to have a spleen removed.
I plan to pass the hat. I won't be putting up a donate button, because a) I'm too fukkin' stoopid, and b) I do not care for any money to pass through my hands. We will be having a benefit for DJ next month at a local eatery. For those in the blogosphere, check back here and I will give mailing info to an account we will set up for him.
I'd like to show this guy some love, dragging Oklahoma into the 21st century and protecting a damsel in distress. What's not to love?
Al Lindley, a local Democratic Representative in Oklahoma City had written legislation to legalize and regulate the profession and bring it out into the open. It languished in committee for seven years.
DJ and Co. said "fuck this shit" and opened up a tattoo shop storefront with bold signage and flashy graphics right out in broad daylight. They commenced to giving tattoos. To cops and prosecutors and bikers. Hell, everybody gets tattoos these days, even your very own Oilfieldguy's daughter is a tattoo artist in Lost Wages, Nevada.
His open and notorious defiance of the law was short-lived however, and I watched on the teevee as they froggermarched DJ and Co off to the pokey.
"Dood," one of the wayward tattooers said to the cameraman on his way to the squad car, "the law says, like, permanent markings, and like, they got lasers that can remove tattoos, so we feel they aren't so permanent."
I grinned and shook my head at the obvious stoner argument. Still, I admired their pluck. Tilt on, dood!
About a week or so later, the defense attorney had her chance in front of the camera. She viewed it as a constitutional issue involving freedom of expression, and her clients method of expression was tattoos.
Now that, my friends, is an argument. Seems Lindley's languishing legislation got some wind beneath its wings, and that is how a bill becomes law.
DJ, and a small group of defiant "outlaws" challenged the system, risked the loss of freedom and fundage for what they believed was a righteous cause.
Can we all give a polite golf applause to our modern day Don Quixote's?
But this is not the end of the story. You see, I have softened you up, perhaps invoked a hint of admiration for DJ. I met him through my daughter who is good friends with his wife, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Seven of Nine, and they have a new baby.
The other night DJ was having a barbecue at his house with several friends. In the crowd was a recently separated young lady, whose ex-boyfriend showed up with several friends un-invited. Harsh words were exchanged, and the jilted boyfriend broke a baseball bat over DJ's head and stabbed him with it.
DJ is young and tough, but he will have to continue life without a spleen, his recovery will be slow, but he will recover. He has no insurance, a young wife and a new baby. Last time I checked it costs between 40 to 50 thousand dollars to have a spleen removed.
I plan to pass the hat. I won't be putting up a donate button, because a) I'm too fukkin' stoopid, and b) I do not care for any money to pass through my hands. We will be having a benefit for DJ next month at a local eatery. For those in the blogosphere, check back here and I will give mailing info to an account we will set up for him.
I'd like to show this guy some love, dragging Oklahoma into the 21st century and protecting a damsel in distress. What's not to love?
The Big Dick
Apparently, Dick Cheney is a government unto himself and claims his office is not an entity within the Executive branch.
The Sith Lord is a brutal infighter. He has proposed modifications that would eliminate oversight and review by the Attorney General--not that he's all that concerned with Bertie Walnuts--who has problems of his own.
Dick Cheney's nonchalant history of abusing national security secrets for partisan political gain is stunning. During the run-up to the Iraq invasion, he cherry-picked certain items from the National Intelligence Estimate that helped the neocon vision of Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL) and leaked it to his favorite media bitch, Judith Miller via Scooter Libby.
The NIE is a classified document. It is important to remember the war in Iraq began on March 19, 2003.
Congressman Waxman notes:
I wonder why?
Waxman, being no shrinking violet, even in the face of evil ideology, continues:
Welcome to the land of Republicans. It's a long way from America.
H/T to Think Progress.
So, "Top Secret" does not apply to Dick Cheney and he can willy-nilly out CIA operatives if their husbands get crosswise with the Sith Lords evil ideology. If the pesky congresscritters try to get an attitude about it, he uses the Dark Side of the force and Jedi mind tricks.Washington, D.C. — The Oversight Committee has learned that over the objections of the National Archives, Vice President Cheney exempted his office from the presidential order that establishes government-wide procedures for safeguarding classified national security information. The Vice President asserts that his office is not an “entity within the executive branch.”
As described in a letter from Chairman Waxman to the Vice President, the National Archives protested the Vice President’s position in letters written in June 2006 and August 2006. When these letters were ignored, the National Archives wrote to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in January 2007 to seek a resolution of the impasse. The Vice President’s staff responded by seeking to abolish the agency within the Archives that is responsible for implementing the President’s executive order.
In his letter to the Vice President, Chairman Waxman writes: “I question both the legality and wisdom of your actions. … [I]t would appear particularly irresponsible to give an office with your history of security breaches an exemption from the safeguards that apply to all other executive branch officials.”
The Sith Lord is a brutal infighter. He has proposed modifications that would eliminate oversight and review by the Attorney General--not that he's all that concerned with Bertie Walnuts--who has problems of his own.
Dick Cheney's nonchalant history of abusing national security secrets for partisan political gain is stunning. During the run-up to the Iraq invasion, he cherry-picked certain items from the National Intelligence Estimate that helped the neocon vision of Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL) and leaked it to his favorite media bitch, Judith Miller via Scooter Libby.
The NIE is a classified document. It is important to remember the war in Iraq began on March 19, 2003.
Congressman Waxman notes:
In 2001 and 2002, your office had provided the National Archives with data on its classification and declassification activities, as required by the executive order. Your office ceased to provide this information in 2003, and has refused to provide it in each year since. No rationale for this change in policy was provided to the Archives at that time.
I wonder why?
Waxman, being no shrinking violet, even in the face of evil ideology, continues:
Your office may have the worst record in the executive branch for safeguarding classified information. As Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald established, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, your former Chief of Staff, leaked the identity of a covert CIA operative to several reporters in June 2003. Mr. Libby was convicted in March of perjury, obstruction of justice, and false statements for lying to a grand jury and to FBI agents in order to conceal his role in the leaking of this information.
The prosecution of Mr. Libby also revealed that you apparently misused the declassification process for political reasons. In July 2003, you reportedly instructed Mr. Libby to leak to the media portions of an October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate regarding Saddam Hussein’s purported efforts to develop nuclear weapons. Your selective declassification of this information was apparently made outside the formal declassification process and done as part of a damage-control effort you undertook to defend the Administration’s rationale for going to war in Iraq.
In a separate incident, Leandro Aragoncillo, a former aide in your office, pleaded guilty in May 2006 to passing classified information to plotters allegedly trying to overthrow Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Mr. Aragoncillo reportedly disclosed numerous secret and top secret documents to Philippine officials over several years while working in your office.
Private Government absolutely resistant to any oversight that has seized the power to wiretap, jail and torture its citizens without judicial or congressional review.
Welcome to the land of Republicans. It's a long way from America.
H/T to Think Progress.
Close Gitmo
I've seen stories flying around about the closing of the detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It needs to be done, but I don't see how the Administration can do this. They only have two real options, and that is to either put them into the American justice system, which means bring charges and provide them with legal counsel, or cut them loose. A third option would be detain them in other military bases, but that is just more of the same.
Open hearings would subject this Administration more accusations of torture and perhaps the reveal that some of the "evidence" used to detain these "enemy combatants" is thinner than a gnats ass stretched across a rain barrel. Evidence gathered by torture would be inadmissible, and surely such claims will be made. Guards will talk, defending themselves with orders from headquarters.
No doubt some bad hombres are housed in Gitmo. They deserve to be brought to justice. Those who cannot be convicted deserve freedom.
This administrations hesitancy is not out of concern for the illegal activities of Gitmo prisoners, but of their own.
To a modern day conservative, all problems can be solved with enough police on the ground, and just the utterances by their Glorious Leader of the magic words "enemy combatant" is enough to grab them by the scruff of the neck and toss them in jail.
Indefinitely.
No Judges, no lawyers, no "phone call."
And they can be tortured, or crush their sons testicles in front of them.
It helps if the "enemy combatant" is of questionable pigmentation, but it is not required; anyone will do, even an American.
A government that can jail people based only on its own will with no proof or requirement thereof is something completely alien to the definition of America.
This government is called Republican. It is no longer possible to be a good American and a good Republican. In other words, Republicans are bad Americans.
The government of bad ideas and authoritarian cultists who ignored all pre-911 warnings and on that fateful day, when Dear Leader was told "America is under attack," impersonated a bull looking at a new gate for seven minutes.
Let the bad guy get away.
Invaded the wrong country.
Spied on his own people, in violation of the law.
Could not manage a Safeway, much less a national disaster (Katrina) or a global war on terror.
And now Gitmo, full of rat bastids ready to dime out the petty little torture thugs in the White House.
Can't cut 'em loose and can't let 'em talk. What is a Preznit to do?
Open hearings would subject this Administration more accusations of torture and perhaps the reveal that some of the "evidence" used to detain these "enemy combatants" is thinner than a gnats ass stretched across a rain barrel. Evidence gathered by torture would be inadmissible, and surely such claims will be made. Guards will talk, defending themselves with orders from headquarters.
No doubt some bad hombres are housed in Gitmo. They deserve to be brought to justice. Those who cannot be convicted deserve freedom.
This administrations hesitancy is not out of concern for the illegal activities of Gitmo prisoners, but of their own.
To a modern day conservative, all problems can be solved with enough police on the ground, and just the utterances by their Glorious Leader of the magic words "enemy combatant" is enough to grab them by the scruff of the neck and toss them in jail.
Indefinitely.
No Judges, no lawyers, no "phone call."
And they can be tortured, or crush their sons testicles in front of them.
It helps if the "enemy combatant" is of questionable pigmentation, but it is not required; anyone will do, even an American.
A government that can jail people based only on its own will with no proof or requirement thereof is something completely alien to the definition of America.
This government is called Republican. It is no longer possible to be a good American and a good Republican. In other words, Republicans are bad Americans.
The government of bad ideas and authoritarian cultists who ignored all pre-911 warnings and on that fateful day, when Dear Leader was told "America is under attack," impersonated a bull looking at a new gate for seven minutes.
Let the bad guy get away.
Invaded the wrong country.
Spied on his own people, in violation of the law.
Could not manage a Safeway, much less a national disaster (Katrina) or a global war on terror.
And now Gitmo, full of rat bastids ready to dime out the petty little torture thugs in the White House.
Can't cut 'em loose and can't let 'em talk. What is a Preznit to do?
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Party With Warm And Happy Furry Puppies
I've been meaning to write about this Unity '08 piece of shit political party. Spokeshead Sam Waterston whines that the two parties have become so polarized that they fail to address the concerns of the American people. So they sniff and decide they will step off a hundred paces from everybody else, which would be the middle woodnit? and hammer an impudent little stake in the ground, hoist a flag from it and declare a new Merika.
Whatta putz!
Yo' you twitchy dickhead over there with the geeky looking nukylar wedgie posing as a flag, move about a thousand miles to the left and you will find the cold and the tired and the huddled masses that used to be the middle class, and you will find that all you stoopid sumbitches exist only in the fantasyland of corporate America, where campaign donations keep corporate welfare flowing, the food, drug, earth, wind and fire monopolies well protected from the vermin of the voters. Except for the voters who support their cause, which is to protect us from homosexuals and secular humanists that hate all your corporate profits because you love Jesus.
The last twenty five years stands as a stark testament to the failure of conservatism. The very mention of its name is a boot in the face of any family interested in improving their station in life. It exists as an anchor of prevention.
A thick and stifling mud of racism and male dominance and blotting out of anything new and creative and vibrant. Only the old roots stand fast. New shoots and perspectives and channels and views are blotted out and smitten, removed from the calendar and the womb. The day is shut. A meaningless viewless sameness is all that exists with conservatism.
All problems shall be solved with enough police on the ground. Seen and unseen, the lidless eye of conservatism shall not blink and shall not rest until every hill is shoved into every valley. Nothing shall stick up and impugn the senses with deviance.
And now, as the desolation of conservatism creeps into view of the American psyche the people are aghast. Entrails of mother earth are vomited out into huge slag heaps in multinational corporations rape for profit. The skies dim and the wind is thickened in a massive hoax against Republicans like Inhofe and the oil corporations that fuel his campaign.
Democrats, for a generation, were lost in the woods being led by feckless sluts like Shrum saying to be elected you must pay fealty to the creeping and shapeless mud of conservatism that defines nothing.
And now, we reach the point of absolution, where the people of America wake up from their long nightmare of strangulating leadership, furious at their plight, ripping control of the Democratic party from the DC insider pundits, and demanding their government behave like a mechanism to benefit not just the privileged, but everyone.
Food, drug, earth, wind and fire.
And here comes Sam, with his happy, warm, furry puppy party, with posies in his hair, skipping and whistling "Oh, what a beautiful morning! Oh what a beautiful day...!"
Stuff it Sammy. Those of us on the left are not willing to gather at the river and sing kumbaya with a bunch of fucking warmongering neoconservatives that just spent the last thirty years labeling anything other than the dense mud of their sick, dark ideology traitorous America-haters.
Republicans have earned the right to lose in spectacular fashion. Do not deny them this right by attempting to split the 70% opposition vote.
Whatta putz!
Yo' you twitchy dickhead over there with the geeky looking nukylar wedgie posing as a flag, move about a thousand miles to the left and you will find the cold and the tired and the huddled masses that used to be the middle class, and you will find that all you stoopid sumbitches exist only in the fantasyland of corporate America, where campaign donations keep corporate welfare flowing, the food, drug, earth, wind and fire monopolies well protected from the vermin of the voters. Except for the voters who support their cause, which is to protect us from homosexuals and secular humanists that hate all your corporate profits because you love Jesus.
The last twenty five years stands as a stark testament to the failure of conservatism. The very mention of its name is a boot in the face of any family interested in improving their station in life. It exists as an anchor of prevention.
A thick and stifling mud of racism and male dominance and blotting out of anything new and creative and vibrant. Only the old roots stand fast. New shoots and perspectives and channels and views are blotted out and smitten, removed from the calendar and the womb. The day is shut. A meaningless viewless sameness is all that exists with conservatism.
All problems shall be solved with enough police on the ground. Seen and unseen, the lidless eye of conservatism shall not blink and shall not rest until every hill is shoved into every valley. Nothing shall stick up and impugn the senses with deviance.
And now, as the desolation of conservatism creeps into view of the American psyche the people are aghast. Entrails of mother earth are vomited out into huge slag heaps in multinational corporations rape for profit. The skies dim and the wind is thickened in a massive hoax against Republicans like Inhofe and the oil corporations that fuel his campaign.
Democrats, for a generation, were lost in the woods being led by feckless sluts like Shrum saying to be elected you must pay fealty to the creeping and shapeless mud of conservatism that defines nothing.
And now, we reach the point of absolution, where the people of America wake up from their long nightmare of strangulating leadership, furious at their plight, ripping control of the Democratic party from the DC insider pundits, and demanding their government behave like a mechanism to benefit not just the privileged, but everyone.
Food, drug, earth, wind and fire.
And here comes Sam, with his happy, warm, furry puppy party, with posies in his hair, skipping and whistling "Oh, what a beautiful morning! Oh what a beautiful day...!"
Stuff it Sammy. Those of us on the left are not willing to gather at the river and sing kumbaya with a bunch of fucking warmongering neoconservatives that just spent the last thirty years labeling anything other than the dense mud of their sick, dark ideology traitorous America-haters.
Republicans have earned the right to lose in spectacular fashion. Do not deny them this right by attempting to split the 70% opposition vote.
Scooter Saves Shooter; Sentenced To 30 Months
Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, Scooter Libby, was sentenced today to 30 months in a Federal Pen, fined a quarter of a million dollars, 2 years of probation when he gets out of the hoosegow and 400 hours of community service, for being a liar and obstructing justice.
This whole sordid affair began with Ambassador Joe Wilson standing up to the Bush Administrations bogus claims in the run-up to the war with Iraq of Saddam seeking yellow cake uranium from Niger.
Ambassador Wilson has a history of bravery in the face of overwhelming odds.
In the '90s, in the run-up to the first Iraq war, Wilson was stationed in Baghdad and received a note telling him all citizens under his care had to be registered and refusal to comply was a capitol offense. But to register, folks had to show up in person, which would just replenish Saddam's hostages.
Joe Wilson refused, being determined to protect those under his care, asked a Marine to fashion a hangman's noose. Mr. Wilson then proclaimed that if Saddam intended to kill him, he would "bring his own fucking rope."
Sounds like a bonafide hero to me.
And his wife was just as deeply involved in the protection of America. Valerie "Plame" Wilson was a spy for the CIA and worked in the area of nuclear proliferation of Iran.
Again, not something you would want to cast aside lightly, especially in light of her many years of service, training and experience, especially these days.
But Joe was dismayed the Administration kept slinging their Nukyalar crap about Iraq and the Niger connection, even after he had checked it out and found it was without merit. So he went public two days after the fourth of July in '03 with his op-ed piece published in the NYT titled, "What I Didn't Find In Niger."
The Administration was incensed and started behaving like third-grade sandbox bullies trying to figure out how to slam Joe Wilson. One of the exhibits in the trial was Joe Wilson's article, tore out of the NYT's with Dick Cheney's handwriting on it providing talking points to his minions.
One was something to the effect "Did his wife send him on this junket?"
Shortly thereafter, Valerie's name appeared in Bob Novacks column, ending her career and endangering the lives of anyone she had ever had contact in the Middle East. The message was clear; do not aide Americans in intelligence because they do not even protect their own.
The CIA requested an investigation, which Scooter Libby obstructed by lying repeatedly.
To aide Judge Reggie Walton in his decision for sentencing over 160 people wrote him letters. People like Henry Kissinger and Paul "horndog comblicker" Wolfowitz and Ronald Dumsfeld and John Bolton and l'il Dougie "stupidest man on the planet" Feith and Mary Matalin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff "I hate faggots" Peter Pace.
The defense whined and pleaded with the judge not to release the letters, because them dirty internet bloggers would mock them. The Judge disagreed and released the letters, so let the mocking begin!
As a general overview, most of these letters point out what a massively important person the letter writer is by using two or three paragraphs up by stating, "I..me...I...me...blah, blah, blah. and then they throw in something about Scoots being a real swell too.
They usually conclude with heartrending plea for leniency for the sake of Scooter's wife and children.
Ambassador Wilson and his wife have children, and the mother of these children's career has been ended.
And the neocons got their war which removed from all doubt that Republicans cannot do anything right whatsoever. Americans will pay dearly for a long time for the catastrophic reign of the Republican party.
Go over and peruse the letters at smoking gun. Every defender of Scooter Libby urges leniency for perjury, obstruction of justice and giving false statements. These are the same partisan hacks that demanded Bill Clinton's head for perjury during his impeachment hearing.
This whole sordid affair began with Ambassador Joe Wilson standing up to the Bush Administrations bogus claims in the run-up to the war with Iraq of Saddam seeking yellow cake uranium from Niger.
Ambassador Wilson has a history of bravery in the face of overwhelming odds.
In the '90s, in the run-up to the first Iraq war, Wilson was stationed in Baghdad and received a note telling him all citizens under his care had to be registered and refusal to comply was a capitol offense. But to register, folks had to show up in person, which would just replenish Saddam's hostages.
Joe Wilson refused, being determined to protect those under his care, asked a Marine to fashion a hangman's noose. Mr. Wilson then proclaimed that if Saddam intended to kill him, he would "bring his own fucking rope."
Sounds like a bonafide hero to me.
And his wife was just as deeply involved in the protection of America. Valerie "Plame" Wilson was a spy for the CIA and worked in the area of nuclear proliferation of Iran.
Again, not something you would want to cast aside lightly, especially in light of her many years of service, training and experience, especially these days.
But Joe was dismayed the Administration kept slinging their Nukyalar crap about Iraq and the Niger connection, even after he had checked it out and found it was without merit. So he went public two days after the fourth of July in '03 with his op-ed piece published in the NYT titled, "What I Didn't Find In Niger."
The Administration was incensed and started behaving like third-grade sandbox bullies trying to figure out how to slam Joe Wilson. One of the exhibits in the trial was Joe Wilson's article, tore out of the NYT's with Dick Cheney's handwriting on it providing talking points to his minions.
One was something to the effect "Did his wife send him on this junket?"
Shortly thereafter, Valerie's name appeared in Bob Novacks column, ending her career and endangering the lives of anyone she had ever had contact in the Middle East. The message was clear; do not aide Americans in intelligence because they do not even protect their own.
The CIA requested an investigation, which Scooter Libby obstructed by lying repeatedly.
To aide Judge Reggie Walton in his decision for sentencing over 160 people wrote him letters. People like Henry Kissinger and Paul "horndog comblicker" Wolfowitz and Ronald Dumsfeld and John Bolton and l'il Dougie "stupidest man on the planet" Feith and Mary Matalin and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff "I hate faggots" Peter Pace.
The defense whined and pleaded with the judge not to release the letters, because them dirty internet bloggers would mock them. The Judge disagreed and released the letters, so let the mocking begin!
As a general overview, most of these letters point out what a massively important person the letter writer is by using two or three paragraphs up by stating, "I..me...I...me...blah, blah, blah. and then they throw in something about Scoots being a real swell too.
They usually conclude with heartrending plea for leniency for the sake of Scooter's wife and children.
Ambassador Wilson and his wife have children, and the mother of these children's career has been ended.
And the neocons got their war which removed from all doubt that Republicans cannot do anything right whatsoever. Americans will pay dearly for a long time for the catastrophic reign of the Republican party.
Go over and peruse the letters at smoking gun. Every defender of Scooter Libby urges leniency for perjury, obstruction of justice and giving false statements. These are the same partisan hacks that demanded Bill Clinton's head for perjury during his impeachment hearing.
Saturday, June 02, 2007
The Evolution Of The Crazy Church Lady
It seems Peggy Noonan is deeply offended by the titular head of her party; Republican/Conservative, doing exactly what they have always done--what they have been trained for--which is to promote the agenda of corporatists and monied interests by attacking the opposition as traitors who do not know what is good for them. Only this time, weary from carrying water for an incompetent and blatantly ideological administration, the crazy church lady gets her french pedicured toenail stepped on. She huffs:
Now, up until this point, the mighty right-wing wurlitzer has been silent on these very points. The tribal group-think of conservatism and Reagan's eleventh commandment, "thou shall not speak ill of another conservative," not only prevented them from pointing out the destruction of America, but directed them to label anyone who did so as far-left Michael Moore Bush-haters.
Let us continue to peek in at Ms. Noonan clutching her pearls and desperately fanning her face.
Well, gee golly gosh. The poor dear is a victim of Conservative S.O.P. which is demonization of your opponents so you can get your way. Peggy dear, to maintain your lifestyle you simply must be supplied with an endless supply of virtually powerless servants. Please do as you're told and do not question your betters, especially out loud. Remember the eleventh commandment.
Oh fer cryin' out loud. Peggy sprays this ink all over the Wall Street Journal as if she just now parachuted into the middle of the latest maladministration fecal fest. It's like Patrick Duffy just stepped out of the mutherfukkin shower on "Dallas" or sumthin.
It is open warfare within the Republican party, Wall Street who enjoys cheap labor and purchases the fuel for the Republican campaign machine, and the right-wing wurlitzer that generates profits from ad revenues based on low information, knuckle-dragging rascists, aka Republican voters.
Poilitics requires money and votes. This is the essence of the failure of conservatism. The interests of the corporatists are in direct conflict with the interest of the voters, violently, in the Republican party. In effect, they are hoist by their own petard as a result of their "southern strategy."
The biggest mouth-from-the-south, Bill O'Reilly hosts pro-comprehensive immigration plan Senator John McCain (R-AZ). via Atrios:
Completely aside from the fact that we have two guys whose names begin with O' and Mc, feel their "white cultural dominance" is threatened, indeed an existential threat as real as al qaeda, requiring some serious brown ass-kicking even closer to home, one wonders why O'Real McCoy doesn't have any Apaches or Navajo's involved in this little powow.
For a cherry on top of this little discussion I am including a brilliant collection of essays gleened from the comments of Firedoglake by a dear friend I have never met, Valley Girl. Hugh, very much tongue-in-cheek defends English as Our National Language. I begin here, with part three: Be careful, it may be a French invasion.
Or perhaps, Latin is a better defense.
Here, Hugh begs us to stay on the path and be wary of gorillas, or something:
For the sake of posterity here are parts one and two (follow the links) and Hugh even put up a yiddish version.
Hugh offers no version for Native Americans. Their language was not suitable to be integrated into American. And now, those who claim to hold a monopoly on the definition of American are fighting amongst themselves.
It is ironic that many in the Republican Party who do not believe in evolution are now throwing poo at each other.
Peggy Noonan wrote, "that personal loyalty is not a good enough reason to put anyone in charge of anything, that the way it works in politics is a friend becomes a loyalist becomes a hack, and actually at this point in history we don't need hacks."
Unfortunately, we did not hear such language coming from such learned and worthy scribes as Ms. Noonan until recently. One wonders at what point does such behavior cross the line from defensible to unacceptable.
I would presume to venture the O'Rielly defense (insufficiently racist) or the porch light defense (June bugs seek out the brightest porch lights) or both.
Conservatism cannot fail, people merely fail conservatism. A conservative can spend all the money s/he wants, quadruple the size of the federal government, but if they fall in the polls (porch light dims) by not being sufficiently racist they are failed conservatives.
[...]For almost three years, arguably longer, conservative Bush supporters have felt like sufferers of battered wife syndrome. You don't like endless gushing spending, the kind that assumes a high and unstoppable affluence will always exist, and the tax receipts will always flow in? Too bad! You don't like expanding governmental authority and power? Too bad. You think the war was wrong or is wrong? Too bad.
[...]
Now, up until this point, the mighty right-wing wurlitzer has been silent on these very points. The tribal group-think of conservatism and Reagan's eleventh commandment, "thou shall not speak ill of another conservative," not only prevented them from pointing out the destruction of America, but directed them to label anyone who did so as far-left Michael Moore Bush-haters.
Let us continue to peek in at Ms. Noonan clutching her pearls and desperately fanning her face.
[...]But on immigration it has changed from "Too bad" to "You're bad."
The president has taken to suggesting that opponents of his immigration bill are unpatriotic--they "don't want to do what's right for America." His ally Sen. Lindsey Graham has said, "We're gonna tell the bigots to shut up." On Fox last weekend he vowed to "push back." Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff suggested opponents would prefer illegal immigrants be killed; Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said those who oppose the bill want "mass deportation." Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson said those who oppose the bill are "anti-immigrant" and suggested they suffer from "rage" and "national chauvinism."
[...]
Well, gee golly gosh. The poor dear is a victim of Conservative S.O.P. which is demonization of your opponents so you can get your way. Peggy dear, to maintain your lifestyle you simply must be supplied with an endless supply of virtually powerless servants. Please do as you're told and do not question your betters, especially out loud. Remember the eleventh commandment.
[...]
Why would they speak so insultingly, with such hostility, of opponents who are concerned citizens? And often, though not exclusively, concerned conservatives? It is odd, but it is of a piece with, or a variation on, the "Too bad" governing style. And it is one that has, day by day for at least the past three years, been tearing apart the conservative movement.
[...]
Oh fer cryin' out loud. Peggy sprays this ink all over the Wall Street Journal as if she just now parachuted into the middle of the latest maladministration fecal fest. It's like Patrick Duffy just stepped out of the mutherfukkin shower on "Dallas" or sumthin.
It is open warfare within the Republican party, Wall Street who enjoys cheap labor and purchases the fuel for the Republican campaign machine, and the right-wing wurlitzer that generates profits from ad revenues based on low information, knuckle-dragging rascists, aka Republican voters.
Poilitics requires money and votes. This is the essence of the failure of conservatism. The interests of the corporatists are in direct conflict with the interest of the voters, violently, in the Republican party. In effect, they are hoist by their own petard as a result of their "southern strategy."
The biggest mouth-from-the-south, Bill O'Reilly hosts pro-comprehensive immigration plan Senator John McCain (R-AZ). via Atrios:
Bill O'Reilly: But do you understand what the New York Times wants, and the far-left want? They want to break down the white, Christian, male power structure, which you're a part, and so am I, and they want to bring in millions of foreign nationals to basically break down the structure that we have. In that regard, Pat Buchanan is right. So I say you've got to cap with a number.
John McCain: In America today we've got a very strong economy and low unemployment, so we need addition farm workers, including by the way agriculture, but there may come a time where we have an economic downturn, and we don't need so many.
[crosstalk]
O'Reilly: But in this bill, you guys have got to cap it. Because estimation is 12 million, there may be 20 [million]. You don't know, I don't know. We've got to cap it.
McCain: We do, we do. I agree with you.
Completely aside from the fact that we have two guys whose names begin with O' and Mc, feel their "white cultural dominance" is threatened, indeed an existential threat as real as al qaeda, requiring some serious brown ass-kicking even closer to home, one wonders why O'Real McCoy doesn't have any Apaches or Navajo's involved in this little powow.
For a cherry on top of this little discussion I am including a brilliant collection of essays gleened from the comments of Firedoglake by a dear friend I have never met, Valley Girl. Hugh, very much tongue-in-cheek defends English as Our National Language. I begin here, with part three: Be careful, it may be a French invasion.
OT in Defense of English as a national language Part III
This may seem like déjà vu for some of you since I have already written twice vis-à -vis the importance of English as our national language. But one of my bêtes noires is the laissez faire attitude and dégagé manner of our current President who makes one gaffe and faux pas after another in what is supposed to be his native tongue. Not everyone, I know, can write or speak with élan or panache but at least Bush should be able to find the mot juste from time to time (’suicider’ being only the most recent atrocity). To be frank, it offends my amour propre to see this daily sabotage of English camouflaged as Texan bonhomie and good old boy naïveté. Nor do you have to be a member of a soi-disant élite to feel this way but just a true blue linguistic patriot like me. The raison d’être of English as a national language movement, as I see it, is to use the force majeure of the federal government in the promotion of the proper use of English. This legislation would drag Bush from his semi literate cul-de-sac and require him to speak English for the first time in his life, comme il faut and sans détours. Gone would be the days of our acceptance of his manque of rhetorical savoir faire and toleration of his many linguistic défauts. The débâcle that is his language skills would have at last received its coup de grâce or, at the least, be rendered hors de combat. I say without a soupçon of malice and with a complete sang froid that that is a day I would dearly like to see.
Or perhaps, Latin is a better defense.
In defense of English as a national language Part V
We are one nation from the Rio Grande to Montana, from Florida to Los Angeles and San Francisco. As one who is an aficionado of English, I say it is this language that binds us and our nation together. English is too important to become a political piñata. It has helped make us Número Uno in the world. We should keep it and although there is little chance of us losing it, if we did lose it, we could lose the whole enchilada and that would be plain loco. However unlikely, we could be left pronto with zero, zip, nada and that would be muy malo for us all.
Understand those who support English as the national language are not waging a guerilla war on some but are making a sincere effort to create a unifying and unitary ambiente simpático for us all. Nor is it an act of machismo by the current jefe and his junta. Indeed Bush’s pregnant pauses are the very opposite of this. They bespeak a man embarazado and that is an embarrassing state of affairs indeed. No, amigos, compañeros, English as a national language is an act of faith, an auto de fe, as it were, of our rights. Let us not say hasta la vista, baby to an idea whose time has come. Let us embrace our inner pendejo and have the cojones to bid adiós to our doubts. To those who ask in the plaza of public opinion, ¿Qué pasa? here, let our answer and our language be clear: ¡Que será será!
I am not sure, but I think this is in English:
OT Something for Friday: in defense of English as a national language Part VII and last
Our language like our borders is in crisis. Its autochthonic ethos is threatened by the paradox of a heterodox dogma of inclusion. This embrace of linguistic schizophrenia must be anathema to all those who love the orthogonal logic of our native idiom. We must shed our dystopic entropic psychology of cataleptic catatonia with its apathetic anergy of cultural polymorphism. Polyglot iconoclasts under the aegis of heterogeneity and with a nostalgia for the exotic are making a hecatomb of our language. They accuse us of seeking our therapeutic in a sophistic xenophobia. Alas, this is not some paranoid phantasm. We stand at the edge of the abyss on the horns of a dilemma surrounded on all sides by catastrophe, cataclysm, holocaust, and a full tetrahippal apocalypse. In such a toxic atmosphere, we, the hoi polloi, must be the catalyst of a cathartic apologia leading to the agathic agape of a pragmatic paradigm of an English only hegemony.
Hugh offers no version for Native Americans. Their language was not suitable to be integrated into American. And now, those who claim to hold a monopoly on the definition of American are fighting amongst themselves.
It is ironic that many in the Republican Party who do not believe in evolution are now throwing poo at each other.
Peggy Noonan wrote, "that personal loyalty is not a good enough reason to put anyone in charge of anything, that the way it works in politics is a friend becomes a loyalist becomes a hack, and actually at this point in history we don't need hacks."
Unfortunately, we did not hear such language coming from such learned and worthy scribes as Ms. Noonan until recently. One wonders at what point does such behavior cross the line from defensible to unacceptable.
I would presume to venture the O'Rielly defense (insufficiently racist) or the porch light defense (June bugs seek out the brightest porch lights) or both.
Conservatism cannot fail, people merely fail conservatism. A conservative can spend all the money s/he wants, quadruple the size of the federal government, but if they fall in the polls (porch light dims) by not being sufficiently racist they are failed conservatives.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Support The Troops
For some reason this warm happy furry puppy slogan has been translated into meaning endless financing to keep our troops mired down in a civil war.
You can't support the troops unless you insist they remain hostage to a lunatic White House policy of Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL).
Town scold Jonathan Alter over at Newsweak cajoles the dirty fucking hippy far left of hurling epithets like "Dick Cheney Democrats" for voting in favor of the Iraq capitulation bill. He rightfully points out that the razor thin majority held by Democrats is insufficient to override a Presidential veto.
The unspoken claim about defunding the war is the default belief that President Bush would simply let them sit there until they ran out of ammo and fuel and food and were completely overrun and slaughtered by the enemy.
Is this why the Democrats signed a blank check to The Mad-Man-In-Chief? If they didn't "support the troops" no one else would? The President would leave them stranded?
That seems to be the view among the American people. Certainly the compassionate conservative-in-chief would bring troops out of theatre if no funding existed, wouldn't he?
Shedding a little light on this matter would be a mighty public service by our intrepid media. Perhaps someone should ask Dubya if the war were defunded, would he abandon the troops to slow starvation and certain death. For a follow-up it would be curious to know if Bush did decide to bring the troops home, due to congressional defunding, how many American troops lives would be saved as a result.
I have been truly stunned overall at the across the board defense of the Democrats votes on this issue last Thursday by the media. It is as if they sensed the white-hot anger of a thousand supernovas was about to be released, and they instinctively reached for the fire extinguishers.
They completely missed a golden opportunity to gleefully point out the spineless nature of Democrats. Perhaps they knew others would be using that term quite prodigiously and decided to use their time, like Jonathan Alter, to cast pearls of wisdom before the dirty fucking hippy crowd of ignorance.
As far as the claim "Democrats in Congress had no choice" is knee-slapping funny. The issue of Iraq was the ignition that sparked groundswell opposition across America that Democrats rode into power. For them to merely turn around, drop their laundry, bend over and grab their asscheeks as an invitation for an empty cod-piece-in-chief to have his way with them, is an affront to every political activist nationwide.
Popularity ratings of Dick Cheney and the Iraq war are in the same range as explosive diarrhea, and several social diseases, so please refrain from labeling those opposed to such things as dirty fucking hippies, who everyone knows is all that peoples the antiwar left.
We have every right, in fact a duty, to be extremely disappointed in the blank check the Democratic congress just sent to a degenerate chicken hawk war junkie. We categorically reject the notion that we are being big ol' babies for not welcoming with open arms the continuation of a catastrophe that will only result in more death and misery, with absolutely no benefit to American national security.
The rest of Mr. Alter's article explains why Thursdays vote could not have played out any other way, and grudgingly it makes sense, only because the Democrats have completely failed on messaging.
If the tables were turned we have no doubt their would have been an endless stream of Republican operatives given ample media time to screech about the obstructionists Democrats trying to slake their unquenchable thirst for power from the blood of our troops.
What I cannot abide by is this idea of the antiwar left (most Americans) labelled as juvenile for wanting their Representatives to represent the wishes of (most Americans) to end the war. Those Representatives like Rham Emmanuel who try to put lipstick on this pig and call it a "victory" will suffer the fate of any mealy-mouthed politician.
Let's make it real simple. This vote will be a death sentence for many in our military, who fight for Democracy in a country that wants it less than us.
You can't support the troops unless you insist they remain hostage to a lunatic White House policy of Operation Iraqi Liberation (OIL).
Town scold Jonathan Alter over at Newsweak cajoles the dirty fucking hippy far left of hurling epithets like "Dick Cheney Democrats" for voting in favor of the Iraq capitulation bill. He rightfully points out that the razor thin majority held by Democrats is insufficient to override a Presidential veto.
The unspoken claim about defunding the war is the default belief that President Bush would simply let them sit there until they ran out of ammo and fuel and food and were completely overrun and slaughtered by the enemy.
Is this why the Democrats signed a blank check to The Mad-Man-In-Chief? If they didn't "support the troops" no one else would? The President would leave them stranded?
That seems to be the view among the American people. Certainly the compassionate conservative-in-chief would bring troops out of theatre if no funding existed, wouldn't he?
Shedding a little light on this matter would be a mighty public service by our intrepid media. Perhaps someone should ask Dubya if the war were defunded, would he abandon the troops to slow starvation and certain death. For a follow-up it would be curious to know if Bush did decide to bring the troops home, due to congressional defunding, how many American troops lives would be saved as a result.
I have been truly stunned overall at the across the board defense of the Democrats votes on this issue last Thursday by the media. It is as if they sensed the white-hot anger of a thousand supernovas was about to be released, and they instinctively reached for the fire extinguishers.
They completely missed a golden opportunity to gleefully point out the spineless nature of Democrats. Perhaps they knew others would be using that term quite prodigiously and decided to use their time, like Jonathan Alter, to cast pearls of wisdom before the dirty fucking hippy crowd of ignorance.
May 24, 2007 - It isn't easy to make the case for capitulation and gamesmanship when human lives are at stake, but I'm going to try. That's because many Americans—especially on the left—don't understand why Democrats in Congress had no choice but to proceed the way they have this week on the war in Iraq.Okay, let's unpack what Mr. Alter is saying here. First off, let's just eliminate the modifier "especially on the left", M'kay? Well over sixty percent of Merkins, you know, folks who like baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet, are opposed to the war in Iraq. That isn't even "many Americans", that is actually "most Americans."
As far as the claim "Democrats in Congress had no choice" is knee-slapping funny. The issue of Iraq was the ignition that sparked groundswell opposition across America that Democrats rode into power. For them to merely turn around, drop their laundry, bend over and grab their asscheeks as an invitation for an empty cod-piece-in-chief to have his way with them, is an affront to every political activist nationwide.
[...]Well, Mr. Alter, in November the primary issue was Iraq; either you are for it or against it. In a completely stunning election, that even defied "the math" as established by Karl Rove, the pro-war assholes, aka Republicans, lost both the House and the Senate. The message was "End The Fucking War." Now, when you win on primarily a single issue, you better damn well deliver.
But it's one thing to be tough; it's another altogether to criticize any member of the party who doesn't vote with MoveOn.org and others on the antiwar left as “Dick Cheney Democrats” cruising for a primary challenge, or at least a flaming from the liberal blogosphere.
[...]
Popularity ratings of Dick Cheney and the Iraq war are in the same range as explosive diarrhea, and several social diseases, so please refrain from labeling those opposed to such things as dirty fucking hippies, who everyone knows is all that peoples the antiwar left.
[...]Aw, now the town scold is chiding us as wayward children, who won't eat our veggies and shit. Perhaps he has confused us with the bratty Motherfucker in the Oval Office who wants everything his way with no strings attached or he'll stomp his baby Gap boots. This is the whole point. We have an infantile dry-drunk frat-boy snot with his twitchy finger inches from the button. A rubber-stamped congress got us into this mess. There is no adult at the steering wheel of the mightiest country in the world and we are adrift, heading for an abyss of third-world status.
It's fine to urge opposition to the Iraq spending bill, but it's juvenile to toss around threats or make it seem as if voting wrong on this bill means you aren't sincerely against the war. In fact, what's going on inside the Democratic Party now is a family argument about tactics, not principle.
[...]
We have every right, in fact a duty, to be extremely disappointed in the blank check the Democratic congress just sent to a degenerate chicken hawk war junkie. We categorically reject the notion that we are being big ol' babies for not welcoming with open arms the continuation of a catastrophe that will only result in more death and misery, with absolutely no benefit to American national security.
The rest of Mr. Alter's article explains why Thursdays vote could not have played out any other way, and grudgingly it makes sense, only because the Democrats have completely failed on messaging.
If the tables were turned we have no doubt their would have been an endless stream of Republican operatives given ample media time to screech about the obstructionists Democrats trying to slake their unquenchable thirst for power from the blood of our troops.
What I cannot abide by is this idea of the antiwar left (most Americans) labelled as juvenile for wanting their Representatives to represent the wishes of (most Americans) to end the war. Those Representatives like Rham Emmanuel who try to put lipstick on this pig and call it a "victory" will suffer the fate of any mealy-mouthed politician.
Let's make it real simple. This vote will be a death sentence for many in our military, who fight for Democracy in a country that wants it less than us.
The Goodling Version Of Justice
A couple of things trouble me about the recent testimony of Monica Goodling before House investigators. The first was her reference to the allegations of Tim Griffin, protege of Karl Rove installed as the US Attorney for Arkansas without congressional approval, being involved in "caging" during the 2004 Presidential elections.
In 1981, Republican operatives engaged in this practice by targeting areas populated heavily with minorities. Those who fail to respond to certified mail are then challenged at the polls for proof of residency, having the option to return home to get a utility bill and come back to the polls and rejoin the process at the end of the line at the polls.
Or, they may be offered a provisional ballot that may not be counted unless the vote is close.
In Ohio, some 100,000 provisional ballots from 2004 remain uncounted today.
Since 1986, the Republican party has been under a restraining order from engaging in the practice of "caging" as the result is voter suppression and election fraud.
This law has been ignored, and one of its alleged practitioners is now the US Attorney in Senator Clinton's old backyard, one can only surmise, to root through her panty drawer for any buttscoot stank Mr. Griffin can dredge up.
The second disturbing revelation by Ms. Goodling was the discussion of testimony between her and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
The Justice Department has not refuted Goodlings claim, but characterizes the meeting as an attempt to "help Goodling."
Numerous times during Gonzales' testimony he complained his inability to answer certain questions was due to his inability to talk with people within his DoJ. Clearly Mr. Gonzales is aware, by his own numerous admissions, that his discussions with Goodling about the matter were illegal.
An internal investigation is also ongoing, which further points out Gonzales' own admission that discussing testimony is a very serious matter.
The President has termed the investigation into his Justice Department and Alberto Gonzales as "political theater", and complaining that is "drawn out".
Constant stonewalling by the DoJ and White House has prevented congress from adequately discharging their oversight responsibilities, however, it is remaining less clear whether President Bush's obstinate support of Alberto Gonzales will be enough to protect to the Attorney General, much less hide the stain that blankets our entire Justice system.
On Feb. 15, Griffin suddenly announced that he had “made the decision not to let my name go forward to the Senate” for approval. Instead, he will serve indefinitely as an “interim” prosecutor. By avoiding Senate approval, Griffin will also avoid having to answer questions under oath about his role in a plan to suppress Florida votes — primarily those of African-American servicemembers — in the 2004 election.Caging is a direct-mail term that describes the practice of requiring a response from the receiver. Those who do not respond are eliminated from future mailing list.
In 1981, Republican operatives engaged in this practice by targeting areas populated heavily with minorities. Those who fail to respond to certified mail are then challenged at the polls for proof of residency, having the option to return home to get a utility bill and come back to the polls and rejoin the process at the end of the line at the polls.
Or, they may be offered a provisional ballot that may not be counted unless the vote is close.
In Ohio, some 100,000 provisional ballots from 2004 remain uncounted today.
Since 1986, the Republican party has been under a restraining order from engaging in the practice of "caging" as the result is voter suppression and election fraud.
This law has been ignored, and one of its alleged practitioners is now the US Attorney in Senator Clinton's old backyard, one can only surmise, to root through her panty drawer for any buttscoot stank Mr. Griffin can dredge up.
The second disturbing revelation by Ms. Goodling was the discussion of testimony between her and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
[...]
Goodling said for the first time Wednesday that Gonzales did review the story of the firings with her at an impromptu meeting she requested in his office a few days before she took a leave of absence."I was somewhat paralyzed. I was distraught, and I felt like I wanted to make a transfer," Goodling recalled during a packed hearing of the House Judiciary Committee.
Gonzales, she said, indicated he would think about Goodling's request.
"He then proceeded to say, 'Let me tell you what I can remember,' and he laid out for me his general recollection ... of some of the process" of the firings, Goodling added. When Gonzales finished, "he asked me if I had any reaction to his iteration."
Goodling said the conversation made her uncomfortable because she was aware that she, Gonzales and others would be called by Congress to testify.
"Was the attorney general trying to shape your recollection?" asked Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala.
Goodling paused.
"I just did not know if it was a conversation we should be having and so I just didn't say anything," she replied. She added that she thought Gonzales was trying to be kind.
Democrats pounced.
"It certainly has the flavor of trying to get their stories straight," said Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., a member of the committee.
[...]
Alberto Gonzales peppered his own testimony before congress numerous times with "I can't recall," insisting that he was unable to discuss any facet of the matter of the forced resignations of the 8 US Attorneys with anyone in his department because he did not want to interfere with the investigations.
The Justice Department has not refuted Goodlings claim, but characterizes the meeting as an attempt to "help Goodling."
Numerous times during Gonzales' testimony he complained his inability to answer certain questions was due to his inability to talk with people within his DoJ. Clearly Mr. Gonzales is aware, by his own numerous admissions, that his discussions with Goodling about the matter were illegal.
An internal investigation is also ongoing, which further points out Gonzales' own admission that discussing testimony is a very serious matter.
The President has termed the investigation into his Justice Department and Alberto Gonzales as "political theater", and complaining that is "drawn out".
Constant stonewalling by the DoJ and White House has prevented congress from adequately discharging their oversight responsibilities, however, it is remaining less clear whether President Bush's obstinate support of Alberto Gonzales will be enough to protect to the Attorney General, much less hide the stain that blankets our entire Justice system.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
US Military Plans Surrender In Iraq
World-wide shock and awe resulted from the United States Military announcing it cannot defeat its enemies in Iraq and are prepared to negotiate for peace.
Chief architects of the American surrender and terrorist negotiator in Iraq is General David Petraeus and U. S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, according to CNN.
"The enemy" in Iraq has consistently been declared "terrorists" by the Bush administration for years. The American policy of not negotiating with terrorists has been in place for much longer.The officials cited an inability to maintain current troop levels into the summer as a reason for the changed course.
"We have been focused too long on defeating the enemy," one official said. "We need to bring them to the negotiating table."
Chief architects of the American surrender and terrorist negotiator in Iraq is General David Petraeus and U. S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, according to CNN.
Congress Issues Blank Check
Congress approved a blank-check funding for President Bush's continuing occupation of Iraq. In a pitiful fashion, they huffed and puffed about the "benchmarks" included, that amount to requiring a bludgeoned rape victim stand up straight and act right, or the rehab money will be revoked.
We appreciate all the hard work the Democrat majority has done since given the majority position to end the war in Iraq. But the five thousand pound obstinate elephant shitting in the living room removes the right to brag about all the dust bunnies cleaned out of the corner.
We understand Democrats do not have the votes to override a Presidential veto, and we do not, at this moment care. The only vote that matters is the vote an individual member casts. When it is demonstrated that Democrats cannot do what they were elected to do, end this war, it makes it difficult to vote for someone who refuses to represent the will of the people.
This vote takes place before Memorial Day, a time when America honors her Veterans and fallen soldiers. We have soldiers now, in harms way. Placed there by President Bush, in Iraq, a country that was not a threat to us, did not invade us, had no connection to 9/11 or Osama bin Laden.
What exactly will this funding accomplish? According to Bush:
We appreciate all the hard work the Democrat majority has done since given the majority position to end the war in Iraq. But the five thousand pound obstinate elephant shitting in the living room removes the right to brag about all the dust bunnies cleaned out of the corner.
We understand Democrats do not have the votes to override a Presidential veto, and we do not, at this moment care. The only vote that matters is the vote an individual member casts. When it is demonstrated that Democrats cannot do what they were elected to do, end this war, it makes it difficult to vote for someone who refuses to represent the will of the people.
This vote takes place before Memorial Day, a time when America honors her Veterans and fallen soldiers. We have soldiers now, in harms way. Placed there by President Bush, in Iraq, a country that was not a threat to us, did not invade us, had no connection to 9/11 or Osama bin Laden.
What exactly will this funding accomplish? According to Bush:
[...]Not to mention June and July. This is what your vote has bought on the eve of memorial day.
This summer is going to be a critical time for the new strategy. The last of five reinforcement brigades we are sending to Iraq is scheduled to arrive in Baghdad by mid-June. As these reinforcements carry out their missions the enemies of a free Iraq, including al Qaeda and illegal militias, will continue to bomb and murder in an attempt to stop us. We're going to expect heavy fighting in the weeks and months. We can expect more American and Iraqi casualties. We must provide our troops with the funds and resources they need to prevail.
...
And so, yes, it could be a bloody -- it could be a very difficult August, and I fully understand --
[...]
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Educating The Ignorant
Before any neocon or their apologists are allowed to abort American Principles, also known as the children of Democracy, they must undergo an intensive deprogramming regime.
(edited by an oil filter)
...
Conservatism, as a rule, is not in the best interest of the neocon; that neocons are often misled or ill-informed about its risks to their own physical or emotional health.
...
These are poor, wayward children that deserve all the sympathies our widdle pearl-clutching souls can muster. At least this is the latest and shiniest attempt to dress-up the pending coathanger laws surely set to come forth in light of last months Supreme Court decision upholding the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act.
Flush with pride with victory of seizing partial title to a woman's womb, the authoritarians will carry their message to state houses all across the country in their goal of subjugating women.
"Informed Consent" is the shiny new title for the pocket-knife used to whittle away at a woman's right for self-determination. Counseling will be mandatory because as every misogynist rightard knows, women are just silly and need to be told what's best for them.
If a girl is raped by her father, she simply must give birth to her brother.
Or, get permission from her father, get preached to by a state-appointed fundie, probably watch some heinous videos, all in order to terminate the pregnancy. "Informed Consent" is so patronizing it borders on the ridiculous.
Thank goodness we have Nancy Keenan, the head of NARAL, to derail this effort.
In light of Nancy Keenan's remarkable track record of unfettered mediocrity, why does she still have a job? The movement to defend against the onslaught against reproductive rights in today's climate demands strong and fearless leadership.
Nancy, you ain't it.
(edited by an oil filter)
...
Conservatism, as a rule, is not in the best interest of the neocon; that neocons are often misled or ill-informed about its risks to their own physical or emotional health.
...
These are poor, wayward children that deserve all the sympathies our widdle pearl-clutching souls can muster. At least this is the latest and shiniest attempt to dress-up the pending coathanger laws surely set to come forth in light of last months Supreme Court decision upholding the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act.
Flush with pride with victory of seizing partial title to a woman's womb, the authoritarians will carry their message to state houses all across the country in their goal of subjugating women.
"Informed Consent" is the shiny new title for the pocket-knife used to whittle away at a woman's right for self-determination. Counseling will be mandatory because as every misogynist rightard knows, women are just silly and need to be told what's best for them.
If a girl is raped by her father, she simply must give birth to her brother.
Or, get permission from her father, get preached to by a state-appointed fundie, probably watch some heinous videos, all in order to terminate the pregnancy. "Informed Consent" is so patronizing it borders on the ridiculous.
Thank goodness we have Nancy Keenan, the head of NARAL, to derail this effort.
In light of Nancy Keenan's remarkable track record of unfettered mediocrity, why does she still have a job? The movement to defend against the onslaught against reproductive rights in today's climate demands strong and fearless leadership.
Nancy, you ain't it.
Neverending War
Democrats grant the occupation an additional four months.
President Bush's occupation of Iraq is a terrorist multiplier. But it only gets worse.
So when the funding runs out in September, and General Petraeus delivers his assessment on Iraq to the Congress, can their be any doubt what he will ask for?
Funny thing is, this "second surge" (and at what point does it qualify as an escalation?) does not enjoy the fanfare and muscular approach used by the empty codpiece-in-chief.
Clearly, this occupation and escalation has done little more than mire down the sons and daughters of America in a country that was not a threat and did not attack us. It has been a disaster of epic proportions, radically weakening our military and completely draining our treasury.
And as far as the one responsible for attacking us on 9/11, what has been the effect on him and his organization?
Congress needs to end this war, because Bush never will. To paraphrase TRex, George Bush conducting a Global War On Terror, is like changing a dirty diaper with a molotov cocktail. He hasn't done anything about the shit, and now everything's on fire.
In grudging concessions to President Bush, congressional Democrats intend to draft an Iraq war-funding bill without a timeline for the withdrawal of U.S. troops -- and shorn of billions of dollars in pork-barrel spending on extraneous domestic programs, officials said Monday.Unable to override the President's veto and unable to respond to ludicrous claims from the rightard enablers--like our military will run out of bullets unless chimpy gets his way--the Democrats capitulate to financing the occupation and terrorist recruitment and donation vehicle known as Iraq.However, the legislation would include the first federal minimum wage increase in more than a decade, a top priority for the Democrats who took control of Congress in January, the officials added.
While details remain sketchy, the measure is designed to close the books by Friday on a bruising veto fight between the president and the Democratic-controlled Congress over the war. It would provide funds for military operations in Iraq through Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.
President Bush's occupation of Iraq is a terrorist multiplier. But it only gets worse.
This “second surge” of troops in Iraq, which is being executed by extending tours for brigades already there and by deploying more units, could boost the number of combat troops to as many as 98,000 (from 52,500) by the end of this year. When support troops are included, the total number of U.S. troops in Iraq could increase from 162,000 now to more than 200,000 — the most ever — by the end of the year.
So when the funding runs out in September, and General Petraeus delivers his assessment on Iraq to the Congress, can their be any doubt what he will ask for?
Funny thing is, this "second surge" (and at what point does it qualify as an escalation?) does not enjoy the fanfare and muscular approach used by the empty codpiece-in-chief.
...
The little-noticed efforts to reinforce U.S. troops in Iraq are being carried out without the fanfare that accompanied President Bush’s initial troop surge in January.
[...]
Retired Army Maj. Gen. William Nash, the U.S. commander who led NATO troops into Bosnia in late 1995, asked to comment on the findings, said: “It doesn’t surprise me that they’re not talking about it. I think they would be very happy not to have any more attention paid to this.”
[...]
Clearly, this occupation and escalation has done little more than mire down the sons and daughters of America in a country that was not a threat and did not attack us. It has been a disaster of epic proportions, radically weakening our military and completely draining our treasury.
And as far as the one responsible for attacking us on 9/11, what has been the effect on him and his organization?
...
In one of the most troubling trends, U.S. officials said that Al Qaeda's command base in Pakistan is increasingly being funded by cash coming out of Iraq, where the terrorist network's operatives are raising substantial sums from donations to the anti-American insurgency as well as kidnappings of wealthy Iraqis and other criminal activity.
The influx of money has bolstered Al Qaeda's leadership ranks at a time when the core command is regrouping and reasserting influence over its far-flung network. The trend also signals a reversal in the traditional flow of Al Qaeda funds, with the network's leadership surviving to a large extent on money coming in from its most profitable franchise, rather than distributing funds from headquarters to distant cells.
Al Qaeda's efforts were aided, intelligence officials said, by Pakistan's withdrawal in September of tens of thousands of troops from the tribal areas along the Afghanistan border where Bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman Zawahiri, are believed to be hiding.
Little more than a year ago, Al Qaeda's core command was thought to be in a financial crunch. But U.S. officials said cash shipped from Iraq has eased those troubles.
"Iraq is a big moneymaker for them," said a senior U.S. counter-terrorism official.
[...]
emphasis added
Congress needs to end this war, because Bush never will. To paraphrase TRex, George Bush conducting a Global War On Terror, is like changing a dirty diaper with a molotov cocktail. He hasn't done anything about the shit, and now everything's on fire.
Bertie Walnuts Thuggery
Video Link Here.
You simply must watch that video. It captures the essence of James Comey's testimony about the late night visit by Bertie Walnuts and Andy Card to John Ashcroft's sick-bed.
The authorization was set to expire on one of the Bush Administrations highly dubious and sooper sekrit "Spy on America" programs, and to them, enemies included anyone who threatened their power.
Ashcroft and Comey had discussed the program, and had decided not to re-authorize it. Immediately after that, Ashcroft took ill and before he went in for surgery, filed the paperwork to deputize Comey to act in his stead.
Mrs. Ashcroft, being a good spouse, barred all contact from anyone to her husband while he recovered in ICU.
But the White House called to say they were sending over their two top thugs to badger Ashcroft, while he was in pain and heavily medicated, into signing a permission slip for the unlawful acts of the White House.
Comey was notified of the surreptitious meeting and he called FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, and the race was on to John Ashcroft's soon-to-be-crowded hospital room.
President Bush refuses to answer whether he ordered Bert and Ernie, er, I mean, Alberto Gonzales and Andy Card to the bedside of a heavily sedated, recovering man to browbeat him into signing a document he had no authority to sign, or whether he thought this was okey dokey, lapsing into his usual dodge of not talking about a sooper sekrit program, designed to protekt wimmins and chilluns from Islamomunifascistic radicals.
Now this whole sordid spectacle took place a full 2 and a half years after the implementation of the program. The Gestalt theory of applied law is well and thriving in the Bush administration. Even after Comey refused to authorize a program that had been in existence for 2 1/2 years for having "no legal basis", Bush continued the program for another two and a half weeks before "modifying" it to prevent mass resignations from top officials.
Asked why Bert and Ernie tried to get a signature from one unauthorized to do so, they gave the "dog ate my homework" excuse.
From Newsweek:
Heckuva job there, Bertie. Now, he is our illustrious Attorney General. The Republican mantra is behave or be replaced. Sorta like the General before the war who claimed we need 400,000 troops in Iraq, or the post-occupation Generals who were opposed to an escalation.
You simply must watch that video. It captures the essence of James Comey's testimony about the late night visit by Bertie Walnuts and Andy Card to John Ashcroft's sick-bed.
The authorization was set to expire on one of the Bush Administrations highly dubious and sooper sekrit "Spy on America" programs, and to them, enemies included anyone who threatened their power.
Ashcroft and Comey had discussed the program, and had decided not to re-authorize it. Immediately after that, Ashcroft took ill and before he went in for surgery, filed the paperwork to deputize Comey to act in his stead.
Mrs. Ashcroft, being a good spouse, barred all contact from anyone to her husband while he recovered in ICU.
But the White House called to say they were sending over their two top thugs to badger Ashcroft, while he was in pain and heavily medicated, into signing a permission slip for the unlawful acts of the White House.
Comey was notified of the surreptitious meeting and he called FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, and the race was on to John Ashcroft's soon-to-be-crowded hospital room.
President Bush refuses to answer whether he ordered Bert and Ernie, er, I mean, Alberto Gonzales and Andy Card to the bedside of a heavily sedated, recovering man to browbeat him into signing a document he had no authority to sign, or whether he thought this was okey dokey, lapsing into his usual dodge of not talking about a sooper sekrit program, designed to protekt wimmins and chilluns from Islamomunifascistic radicals.
Now this whole sordid spectacle took place a full 2 and a half years after the implementation of the program. The Gestalt theory of applied law is well and thriving in the Bush administration. Even after Comey refused to authorize a program that had been in existence for 2 1/2 years for having "no legal basis", Bush continued the program for another two and a half weeks before "modifying" it to prevent mass resignations from top officials.
Asked why Bert and Ernie tried to get a signature from one unauthorized to do so, they gave the "dog ate my homework" excuse.
From Newsweek:
Comey didn't tell the Senate panel that the bad feelings were stoked even more the next morning when White House officials explained the hospital visit by saying Gonzales and Card were unaware that Comey was acting A.G. (and therefore the only person authorized to sign off on the surveillance program), according to a former senior DOJ official who requested anonymity talking about internal matters. Top DOJ officials were furious, the source said. Just days earlier, Justice's chief spokesman had publicly said Comey would serve as "head of the Justice Department" while Ashcroft was ill.
Heckuva job there, Bertie. Now, he is our illustrious Attorney General. The Republican mantra is behave or be replaced. Sorta like the General before the war who claimed we need 400,000 troops in Iraq, or the post-occupation Generals who were opposed to an escalation.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Why We Fight Them Over There
I guess we just have to file this one under slack jawed amazement via USAToday:
Uh, I got nuthin'.PHOENIX (AP) — A military contractor is recruiting current and former agents with the U.S. Border Patrol to teach Iraqis how to secure their national borders.The U.S. State Department has asked Virginia-based DynCorp International to find 120 people with Customs and Border Enforcement experience to go to Iraq for the training.
The company already has 700 police trainers in Iraq. The department made the request for border security trainers in late March.
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano said she was worried that DynCorp's effort is distracting from security along the U.S.-Mexico border. She and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson wrote President Bush this week to say the deal "makes no sense."
"We should be focused on supporting our nation's security efforts along the Mexican and Canadian border instead of hampering (the Customs and Border Patrol) by sending our best agents to a war zone in Iraq," the governors wrote.
Support Attorneys By Donating To Republicans
Money donated to political campaigns can be spent to keep crooked legislators out of jail, according to Federal Election Commission rules, as long as the charges resulted from political activity. Tom Delay, indicted former House Majority Leader (R-Abramhoff) tops the list of the biggest spender on legal fees from his campaign chest, with over one million dollars. Keep in mind, all of this money comes from campaign contributions. In fact, the top ten biggest "keepin' they asses outta jail" politicians are all Republicans. Here is a list compiled by USAToday:| Former Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas | $1,100,000 |
| Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif. | $905,800 |
| Former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif. | $570,000 |
| Former Rep Bob Ney, R-Ohio | $518,000 |
| Rep. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill. | $285,000 |
| Former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla. | $253,800 |
| Former Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont. | $160,376 |
| Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif. | $149,200 |
| Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va. | $140,000 |
| Former Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa. | $132,025 |
Not on this list is Ted Klaudt, a Republican state representative from South Dakota who faces the following charges:
A former South Dakota lawmaker is accused of molesting his own foster children and legislative pages.
Ted Klaudt, 49, a Republican rancher from Walker, faces a long list of charges: eight counts of rape, two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of witness tampering, sexual contact with a person under 16, and stalking.
Court documents mention five possible victims. Three were foster children between the ages of 15 and 19 who lived with Klaudt's family. One is a cousin of one of those girls, and the fifth is a friend of Klaudt's daughter.
In the most disturbing accusation, the girls say Klaudt had them convinced they could earn up to $20,000 by donating their eggs to a fertility clinic. And even though he has no medical training, the girls say Klaudt did all the supposed "exams" and "procedures" himself.
Tristero, over at Digby's dug out a list of bills this perv has been working on. As one would suspect, it is total dominion of men and old white fundies over not men parts. Oh, and everybody gets guns.
Yeah, give these guys your money and your vote.
H/T to DownWithTyranny!
How Low Can Bush Go?
President Bush still commands a solid popularity among his die hard base, that unflagging thirty percent of authoritarian cultists who pledge their undying fealty, at least until resolute Commander Guy threw in the towel on his War On Brown People. Nowhere is the presence of Bush lovers more apparent than in the rightard half of the blogosphere, many of whom coagulate in the fetid swamp of the Free Republic. Freepers, as they are called, have thrown Bush under the bus. via Wonkette:
Yes, these are comments from the last bastion of the famed Bush base. See, when you build a party upon the foundation of law and order resulting in the protection of things and property values at the expense of people, especially the "other" people, you should expect such a reaction.
Bush clearly violated the law with his domestic warrant less wiretapping program, but the rightards defended it by calling anyone who called his actions criminal "terrorist sympathizers."
He promises to veto a bill that recognizes if some redneck catches some fairy mincing down his block and runs over him in a pickup truck, two crimes have occurred--murder and terrorizing a group of people. So who here is the terrorist sympathizer?
The Bush administration shredded the constitution by eliminating habeus corpus and his hard right thirty nary flinched.
I guess the only law rightards want applied by a Republican, is the law of white supremacy
- dEPORT tHE pRESIDENT aND cLOSE tHE bORDERS.
- We still have Tancredo, Hunter and Fred Thompson on our side. This bill wont go anywhere when our representatives start receiving our faxes
- The rule of law has just been thrown out the window. I agree that impeachment is in order.
- And the SELL OUT of the AMERICAN people begins!
- Bring my Step-Son home from Iraq now El Presedente. You don’t deserve his service.
- Bush blasphemy! Shameful leader!
- I’m done with him on this and many other issues. I’ll never vote for him again. Illegal invaders are going to kill us all.
- “BUSH SUCKS” And the leftists blogs are now PROUD of this fool! What a dichotomy.
- I just said the same thing to my husband - my nephew has been ordered back for the second time after being home for only 10 months. I want them home now, why fight and die for this country of Mexico. I just can’t believe I worked so hard to get this man elected not once but twice. NEVER AGAIN - no more money and no more volunteer hours for the grand ole GOP
- His brother Bill was the first black president, now we have the first Hispanic president.
- The conservative movement has now been set adrift….like so much jetsam. Our champion has become our betrayer, IMHO.
- My husband just recently retired and we where planning on going back to Texas but we are now seriously considering Australia. It looks better and better each minute. Our kids want to leave also !!! And you are right, we have been betrayed.
- An thus the united States of America is being sold out by those that claim to love her. May they rot before they die. I see the end of my great nation, the shining star in a morass of mediocre to outright scum countries.
- This is what happens when you kill 40 million unborn US citizens.
- I pray he gets IMPEACHED. This is a dark day in America.
- I have long thought that BJBilly was the worst president in history, now I am not so sure………..At least Clinton stuck to BJs instead of trying to f*ck the entire country, like Jorge.
- Look this is what it all boils down to, these people in Washington are no different than the celebrities in hollyweird,they do not respect the rule of law or the ten commandments. These people feel they are above the law and can do as they please. And that means they can turn the United States into a third world country.Right now these Washington jackasses are NOT paying attention to Iran because they are too busy making life easier for the RICH in MEXICO.
- The invasion of the United States by the criminal army of Aztlan is complete.
Yes, these are comments from the last bastion of the famed Bush base. See, when you build a party upon the foundation of law and order resulting in the protection of things and property values at the expense of people, especially the "other" people, you should expect such a reaction.
Bush clearly violated the law with his domestic warrant less wiretapping program, but the rightards defended it by calling anyone who called his actions criminal "terrorist sympathizers."
He promises to veto a bill that recognizes if some redneck catches some fairy mincing down his block and runs over him in a pickup truck, two crimes have occurred--murder and terrorizing a group of people. So who here is the terrorist sympathizer?
The Bush administration shredded the constitution by eliminating habeus corpus and his hard right thirty nary flinched.
I guess the only law rightards want applied by a Republican, is the law of white supremacy
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Deadlines For Thee, But None For Me
President Rexall Ranger just luuuvs him some deadlines. Remember this from March 17, 2003?
[...]
Saddam Hussein and his sons must leave Iraq within 48 hours. Their refusal to do so will result in military conflict, commenced at a time of our choosing. For their own safety, all foreign nationals -- including journalists and inspectors -- should leave Iraq immediately.
[...]
High noon, or midnight, or something. Definitely a deadline. When violence raged prior to the first Iraqi election, and a threatened Sunni boycott which would virtually guarantee a permanent and violent divide in Iraq, our Rexall Ranger stood firm on the deadline of January 30, 2005:
President Bush yesterday flatly ruled out any delay in Iraqi elections scheduled for Jan. 30 despite the unrelenting insurgency, rejecting Sunni Muslim boycott threats and framing the vote as a critical step toward bringing U.S. troops home.
In his strongest reaffirmation of the election plan, Bush attempted to end any doubt about whether the vote would go forward after days of debate among Iraqi politicians. Organizations representing the once-powerful Sunni minority have demanded the elections be put off until security is restored, while leaders of the majority Shiites have insisted the balloting proceed.
"The elections should not be postponed," Bush said. "It's time for the Iraqi citizens to go to the polls. And that's why we are very firm on the January 30th date."
Sounds like a deadline to me. Then there was the Iraqi constitution. Our Tin Star Texan stuck to his guns:
[...]
Bush, who instinctively dismisses doubters and abhors changing course, again stuck to the plan. "We've got to keep the deadline there to force the parties to make the hard decisions to reach compromise," Bush told advisers, according to Hadley.
[...]
Dayamm. There's that word--deadline--coming right out of Dubya's own mouth--if you can believe Hadley. But we all know what happened on Iraq's constitution. They were a little late on the deadline, punted on the hard stuff, which are still the main points of contention today, primarily sharing of the revenue. Seems some sillies are having a little trouble rewarding their past tormentors. It is a small wonder Iraq is such a disaster when Dubya peoples his brain trust for the war with people like Douglas Feith:
[...]
Former undersecretary of defense Douglas J. Feith, a key architect of the war, said the political process has not been perfect but that Bush was right to stick rigorously to the timetable. "That was a calculation," he said. "It involved some risk. It turned out not only not to be a disaster but a great success."
[...] my bold
Uh, yeah Doogie Howitzer, craptacular. Rumor has it Dougie beats the side of head because it feels so good when he stops.
Now the congress attempts to place some deadlines on Bush. But he stamps his baby Gap boots and calls everybody names. Lately he is warming up to the idea of "benchmarks" for Iraqi's.
It's not that the President was for deadlines before he was against them before he was for them, it is deadlines that apply to him, or any rules whatsoever, like torture, or habeus corpus, or warrantless wiretapping etc.
There is an expert in field in dealing with these types of people: Supernanny! No one is better at dealing with spoiled brats than her, I mean, Mary Poppins she ain't. Perhaps we should pass the hat and buy the boxed set for Pelosi and Reid. Or, they can just use the CliffsNotes:
Lower yourself to their level so you can see eye to eye.
Use a stern voice.
Waggle a disapproving finger and say:
"This is unacceptable."
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
To Blog Or Not To Blog
I came across this post from Atrios, about why Matt blogs. Atrios was sorta worried about the way the regular media was covering politics, so he sorta jumped in to do his bit. Cool. Now Matt descends into the realm of the town scold, telling others how and what to expect when they blog.
Matt may be doing a huge service here, I have no way of knowing. Neither do I know if anyone is linking to my blog or why. I do not really care. Perhaps there are those who blog merely for traffic or recognition, and if they don't get it they require a tissue.
Fuck that. I'm a big picture sort of guy and do not go into "niche" blogging. In case anyone hasn't noticed, this is not a battle for the margins of Democracy, but a war for the very heart and soul of our country.
We now have over 300 million people in this country and the government of this nation is allegedly "of, by and for the people".
Conservatives, aka, Republicans do not represent the people. The role of Government, according to Republicans, is to provide a strong national defense, and maybe some roads and bridges.
The private sector should be left alone to prey on its victims without interference from the government.
Did you get that? That is what I call "big picture". In case you didn't get it, let me repeat myself:
The private sector should be left alone to prey on its victims without interference from the government.
However, progressives and non republican lite democrats (DLC) tend to view government as a mechanism to benefit the people of America--all Americans, even and especially minorities.
The reason most Americans do not have cholera is because we chlorinate our water. It is just as important to administer the commons in our homeland as it is to hunt terrorists abroad. We cannot turn over our commons like air and water to private companies for profit while republicans move to limit their liabilities in the judiciary.
Do you see how this works?
And now my cat is dead. The concern from this administration for national security fills my mouth with ashes when bin Laden is in the wind and these cocksuckers can't even protect my goddamm cat.
And when an entire city drowns the best they can do is call the victims stupid and lazy. Go ahead and vote for anyone with an R attached to their name. You are getting fucked in the ass without a reacharound you stupid sonofabitch.
And Matt, That's why I blog. I promise not to cry if you don't link to me, and I won't draw a pony for Atrios for one.
Hell, the only thing I draw is flies in the summertime.
Matt may be doing a huge service here, I have no way of knowing. Neither do I know if anyone is linking to my blog or why. I do not really care. Perhaps there are those who blog merely for traffic or recognition, and if they don't get it they require a tissue.
Fuck that. I'm a big picture sort of guy and do not go into "niche" blogging. In case anyone hasn't noticed, this is not a battle for the margins of Democracy, but a war for the very heart and soul of our country.
We now have over 300 million people in this country and the government of this nation is allegedly "of, by and for the people".
Conservatives, aka, Republicans do not represent the people. The role of Government, according to Republicans, is to provide a strong national defense, and maybe some roads and bridges.
The private sector should be left alone to prey on its victims without interference from the government.
Did you get that? That is what I call "big picture". In case you didn't get it, let me repeat myself:
The private sector should be left alone to prey on its victims without interference from the government.
However, progressives and non republican lite democrats (DLC) tend to view government as a mechanism to benefit the people of America--all Americans, even and especially minorities.
The reason most Americans do not have cholera is because we chlorinate our water. It is just as important to administer the commons in our homeland as it is to hunt terrorists abroad. We cannot turn over our commons like air and water to private companies for profit while republicans move to limit their liabilities in the judiciary.
Do you see how this works?
And now my cat is dead. The concern from this administration for national security fills my mouth with ashes when bin Laden is in the wind and these cocksuckers can't even protect my goddamm cat.
And when an entire city drowns the best they can do is call the victims stupid and lazy. Go ahead and vote for anyone with an R attached to their name. You are getting fucked in the ass without a reacharound you stupid sonofabitch.
And Matt, That's why I blog. I promise not to cry if you don't link to me, and I won't draw a pony for Atrios for one.
Hell, the only thing I draw is flies in the summertime.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Piss On The Fire And Call The Dogs
It is time to draw the curtain on the PNAC misadventure known as Iraq. We should not have invaded to begin with, it was poorly done and now that we have "delivered Iraq" from the stranglehold of a Tyrant into the welcoming bosom of democracy, it is clear they must want it worse than us, or it just won't happen.
The latest warfare on the homefront entails the battle of the razor-thin democratic majority, a majority that owes fealty to Americans, not whacky dirty hippy lefties, there are not enough of them, but the Americans that just shook their heads at Bush and his little band of apologists for the war in Iraq.
The bill to fund the troops was vetoed by Bush because it included a time to go date.
As much as the corporate media try to paint democratic leaders being held hostage by the far left, it just is not true. Unless the dirty fucking hippy crowd is now defined as seventy percent of America. Dude!
It is time to go. Never worry about how Republicans will try to spin and blame the failures on Democrats because they will do that no matter what.
I suppose the Dems will toss out a 3 month band aide for funding until they get their collective shit together. This will be done mainly to get Boner (R-tobacco) and McConnell (R-anti pillowcase) from screeching that our troops are pinned down and running out of bullets.
These guys are soulless and morally bankrupt corporate shills that continually ratchet up the hyperbole in hopes of making it on teevee.
The time this buys for the dems will allow about a one-half FU (Freidman Unit) to expire. During this interim it will provide an opportunity to peel off more Republican support from the Presidents "Majik Pony Plan" (all this manure, got to be a pony here somewheres--geddit?) to get enough votes to override a Presidential veto.
It matters not what happens politically here in America when the Democrats are finally successful in pulling our troops out of Iraq--according to Republicans, it will be the Democrats fault.
This is what they do. Republicans cannot govern because they do not believe in governance. They are very adept in formulating shiny talking points to promote social Darwinism, a concept they deny the creator.
If, after we depart and a bloodbath ensues, they will shout very loudly how right they were while wrapping themselves in the bloody flag. Consider how unhinged and screechy conservatives like Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Bush, Wolfowitz, Cheney and Rumsfeld have been up to this point, when they have been wrong virtually all the time.
Now imagine how screechy they shall become if, by some accident, they get lucky and get one right. I can't remember who said "Ten thousand monkeys typing on ten thousand typewriters for ten thousand years will produce the entire works of William Shakespeare.
They are bound to get one right once in awhile.
But if the other happens--the Americans pull out and the Iraqi's say, "Gee golly gosh, I guess we better sorta figure this thing out," and produce a stable government.
Then the Republicans will say, "We managed to hold to our principles just long enough and stave off the dirty fucking hippy horde to allow this to happen."
These shitwhistles are asshats. Fuck'em. The dog barks while the caravan marches on. I urge the Democrats to hold fast and do not capitulate to the resolute decider codpiece in chief. This man is irrelevant. All pressure must be placed on those republicans in vulnerable districts. Target them mercilessly in their own districts with their own hate-filled warmongering Bush ass-kissing ads possible. Shake down all lefties for money to buy the ads. Any Dem in a safe seat with a vast warchest must be coerced to pony up.
It is time to go.
The latest warfare on the homefront entails the battle of the razor-thin democratic majority, a majority that owes fealty to Americans, not whacky dirty hippy lefties, there are not enough of them, but the Americans that just shook their heads at Bush and his little band of apologists for the war in Iraq.
The bill to fund the troops was vetoed by Bush because it included a time to go date.
As much as the corporate media try to paint democratic leaders being held hostage by the far left, it just is not true. Unless the dirty fucking hippy crowd is now defined as seventy percent of America. Dude!
It is time to go. Never worry about how Republicans will try to spin and blame the failures on Democrats because they will do that no matter what.
I suppose the Dems will toss out a 3 month band aide for funding until they get their collective shit together. This will be done mainly to get Boner (R-tobacco) and McConnell (R-anti pillowcase) from screeching that our troops are pinned down and running out of bullets.
These guys are soulless and morally bankrupt corporate shills that continually ratchet up the hyperbole in hopes of making it on teevee.
The time this buys for the dems will allow about a one-half FU (Freidman Unit) to expire. During this interim it will provide an opportunity to peel off more Republican support from the Presidents "Majik Pony Plan" (all this manure, got to be a pony here somewheres--geddit?) to get enough votes to override a Presidential veto.
It matters not what happens politically here in America when the Democrats are finally successful in pulling our troops out of Iraq--according to Republicans, it will be the Democrats fault.
This is what they do. Republicans cannot govern because they do not believe in governance. They are very adept in formulating shiny talking points to promote social Darwinism, a concept they deny the creator.
If, after we depart and a bloodbath ensues, they will shout very loudly how right they were while wrapping themselves in the bloody flag. Consider how unhinged and screechy conservatives like Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Bush, Wolfowitz, Cheney and Rumsfeld have been up to this point, when they have been wrong virtually all the time.
Now imagine how screechy they shall become if, by some accident, they get lucky and get one right. I can't remember who said "Ten thousand monkeys typing on ten thousand typewriters for ten thousand years will produce the entire works of William Shakespeare.
They are bound to get one right once in awhile.
But if the other happens--the Americans pull out and the Iraqi's say, "Gee golly gosh, I guess we better sorta figure this thing out," and produce a stable government.
Then the Republicans will say, "We managed to hold to our principles just long enough and stave off the dirty fucking hippy horde to allow this to happen."
These shitwhistles are asshats. Fuck'em. The dog barks while the caravan marches on. I urge the Democrats to hold fast and do not capitulate to the resolute decider codpiece in chief. This man is irrelevant. All pressure must be placed on those republicans in vulnerable districts. Target them mercilessly in their own districts with their own hate-filled warmongering Bush ass-kissing ads possible. Shake down all lefties for money to buy the ads. Any Dem in a safe seat with a vast warchest must be coerced to pony up.
It is time to go.
Propaganda
No one in the reality based community has ever denied that Faux "News" was nothing more than a propaganda tool for the Republican party, indeed getting its "news" from the blast faxes of the RNC and the White House.
But, to be "fair and balanced" they sometimes get their talking points from their BFF, Al Qaida. I'm not kidding.
As an armchair consultant, allow me to field this question for the Senator.
OFG: Now Wally, I think the fact this administration, prior to 9/11, received over 52 separate warnings, including a PDB stating Osama Determined to Attack Inside the US and not taking any action, or even calling a meeting, instead opting to take multiple lengthy vacations shows which party is soft on national security.
Further, the fact that Al Qaida makes more videos than Girls Gone Wild, and that Zawahiri and bin Laden are taking up oxygen that could be going for some useful purpose illustrates that this administration has done little more than recruit more terrorists.
Just. Too. Easy.
But, to be "fair and balanced" they sometimes get their talking points from their BFF, Al Qaida. I'm not kidding.
WALLACE: Let's talk about one aspect of that. The Democrats now seem in a race to try to come up with a plan to get out of Iraq.
Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number two Al Qaida leader, says the bill that you Democrats sent the president is proof of the American defeat in Iraq. And we'll talk about the details in a moment.
But does your party run the risk of being seen by the American people, as they were after Vietnam, as soft on national security?
Now, smirky Wallace, posed this question to the senior Senator from CT, the real Democrat and Presidential candidate, Chris Dodd.
As an armchair consultant, allow me to field this question for the Senator.
OFG: Now Wally, I think the fact this administration, prior to 9/11, received over 52 separate warnings, including a PDB stating Osama Determined to Attack Inside the US and not taking any action, or even calling a meeting, instead opting to take multiple lengthy vacations shows which party is soft on national security.
Further, the fact that Al Qaida makes more videos than Girls Gone Wild, and that Zawahiri and bin Laden are taking up oxygen that could be going for some useful purpose illustrates that this administration has done little more than recruit more terrorists.
Just. Too. Easy.
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