likesunday

Finally a worthwhile Twitter use

Little Known Fact: Sarah Palin.

I actually purloined this from a Twitter feed; how do I accredit that?

Er...Thanks, Bryant...

and that's a wrap...

In case anyone thought I'd strayed lately- 'the 50 dumbest things Bush ever said'. Yes, we've seen these lists before, but this has the added fun of video clips.

More 'awfully familiar' patterns in regards to the build-up for the Iraq War and crafting a case to strike Iran [from reddit]

Kudos to Kucinich who hasn't let his impeachment effort, futile as it may be, let up a bit:

#

November 9, 2007

The Honorable John Conyers, Jr. Chairman Committee on the Judiciary 2138 Rayburn HOB Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Conyers

I am writing in support of H. Res. 799, the Articles of Impeachment which were referred to the committee relative to the Impeachment of the Vice President of the United States of America.

Recent reports indicate that the Vice President is attempting to shape the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran to conform to his misperceptions about the threat Iran actually poses. Much like his deceptive efforts in the lead up to the Iraq war, the Vice President appears to be manipulating intelligence to conform to his beliefs.

If the reports are true, they add additional weight to the case for impeachment. I believe impeachment remains the only tool Congress has to prevent a war in Iran. This information relates directly to the Article III charges in the resolution. I urge your timely consideration.

Sincerely,
/s/
Dennis J. Kucinich
Member of Congress

Seems like fantastic timing. Resources are spread thin, people are paying for their own body armor, veteren's benefits have been consistently cut, one of our outsourcing arms has moved to Dubai presumably because of investigations, and the military itself is increasingly outsourced (Halliburton, KBR, Blackwater- also under investigation). How 'bout WWIII?

Perhaps this isolation tactic hasn't served us so well, after all.

When the Going gets Weird, the Weird get Ice Cream

Haagen-Dazs 'caramelized pear & toasted pecan' ice cream, to be exact.

*swoon*

I've been curiously avoiding any of the current political asshattery, but finally something to take me out of my apathy. The headline says it all, really- "Bush vows to veto kids' health bill".

At issue is the Children's Health Insurance Program, a state-federal program that subsidizes health coverage for low-income people, mostly children, in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private coverage. It expires Sept. 30.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers announced a proposal Friday that would add $35 billion over five years to the program, adding 4 million people to the 6.6 million already participating. It would be financed by raising the federal cigarette tax by 61 cents to $1 per pack.

The idea is overwhelmingly supported by Congress' majority Democrats, who scheduled it for a vote Tuesday in the House. It has substantial Republican support as well.

‘The health of our children is far too important’
But Bush has promised a veto, saying the measure is too costly, unacceptably raises taxes, extends government-covered insurance to children in families who can afford private coverage, and smacks of a move toward completely federalized health care. He has asked Congress to pass a simple extension of the current program while debate continues, saying it's children who will suffer if they do not.

"Our goal should be to move children who have no health insurance to private coverage — not to move children who already have private health insurance to government coverage," Bush said.

Way to connect the dots there, George.

Snark

Top 10 Bush t-shirt slogans

My favourite:

18. Bad president! No Banana.

In all seriousness, the corrupt nature of this government is venturing into surrealism. Karl Rove. His cronies- McNulty...Sampson...Goodling...all resigned, in shame. All that just since March. Going back further in the Administration's history is truly a head-scratching experience.

As far as Iraq now...who are the good guys over there? As long as the Saudis are in play, it's all a big ruse, isn't it. They fund the Sunni. For all the hate talk of Israel, that's where this is headed, if genocide is to be avoided. While we're at it, maybe set up a Palestinian state officially.

Because in the end, it doesn't matter, does it. These are people bent (yes, radical followers, ever-increasing in numbers) on killing each other and anyone seen circumventing their way of life just by existing (this is a culture that stones women when their ankle-skin shows because the man is tempted to rape- not that the man is an evil bastard, no, never that). Huge swaths of under-educated or carefully educated (brainwashed?) zealots on 2 continents and fanning out, determined that pre-Enlightement standards be reverted to. All with hypocrisy built right in, because the rich never pay the same dues.

Makes hope in world peace a bit naive.

FUBAR

Warning that the U.S. cannot waver at “this crucial moment,” President Bush said Wednesday in a nationally televised speech that he would dispatch 21,500 U.S. troops to the war-torn nation in a last-ditch effort to stem sectarian violence there.

The president said the increased military presence would help break the cycle of violence gripping Iraq and “hasten the day our troops begin coming home.”

In more body bags, no doubt. Whatever the plan, if results aren't seen quickly, that will send an interesting message to Iran. Who laughs at us anyway, judging by the nuclear intentions.

What I find remarkable: the almost complete blackout on coverage on what the heck's going down in Somalia. It went from fireballs on the telly to absolute silence (and denial of presence, even). Either we're executing on some crazy shit there, or that silence portells of dire times.

Snow under the devil's hooves

Bush calls on Congress to slash spending.

In other terms- what's a lame duck to do but try and salvage the precious little left of a worthwhile legacy?

When left to hands of Iraqis, actions are created that lead to even more division. Options are limited, and the longer choosing one takes, the more people will die in ugly ways. I am not sure how a 3-nation split can be avoided, unless slavery or genocide is in the mix.

I'm currently reading a book called 'Good Muslim, Bad Muslim", in which- if the first 50 pages are any indication- one is called to exonerate all Muslim action and take blame for Western actions propelling the extremism we see today. While I see value in the separation of a cultural ideaology vs. an historical one, it's a bit short-sighted to base a thesis on "Well, you started it". Considering the Amazon comments for this book, it's my American Imperialist myopia clouding true insight. Do I believe this, in my heart? Not a bit. Terrible things have been done in the name of religions, in the name of a deity, for thousands of years. Western culture did not start this. Neither did colonization. The author repeatedly uses South Africa as a litmus of comparison, namely the Western European/American influence is that of the Afrikaaner in SA, and the fundementalist, extremist Muslim is that of the virtually enslaved Black South African (during Apartheid). I am continuing to read in hopes that this veritable crusade (ironic phrasing alert) against the nefarious influence of globalization eases into something a bit more practical, discernable even.

Without having done any intensive studies, it is my untutored opinion the world's current rift between religious followers and associated Nation-states has a heck of a lot more to do with money and power than any thumb-screws the West is supposedly putting world commerce to. In context, this means oil, namely.

We are being kissed by the same power units that are funding our enemies (if not now, in very recent past). Likely, the trail will show the reverse true. I've begun to wonder just what political commentary was wrapped within those old Tom and Jerry cartoons, if Cold War allegory has morphed to whatever good cop/bad cop scene we have today.

Back in '04

I just found this gem roaming the 'internets' tonight:

Classic. [from a Christian Reverand's website...Probably a good one, I didn't see a Falwellism once on his site]

Yippeee

Pres. Bush declassifies an intelligence report on Iraq in efforts to bolster election year Red State blues.

Thank-you, Mr. President, for confirming fears on both sides of the fence and showing Clinton was as dead-on as ever in his assessments.

Politics in general could use a whole lot less 'try' and a whole lot more 'do'.

Local Hat Tip-

Need a compelling reason to vote Pederson? Or Kyl, for that matter? AZCongresswatch has thoughtfully been blogging all that I wish I had (there's so much happening nationally, globally, I have to constantly play catch up at home).

Requiem.

"When the Levees Broke: a Requiem in Four Acts", currently in HBO programming for September, is simultaneously an indictment, a a funeral for a friend, a celebration (of culture), and ultimately heart-breaking.

An interesting tie to Big Oil in this story I did not know. I'm betting you don't, either, unless you are from there or you've watched this documentary. This could easily have been entitled, "The Rape of a People"...not just African-Americans (but as 70% of the pop. of NO, mostly), but of the citizens of the state of LA. That Big Oil tie may have you seeing this whole tragedy in a new light.

A couple of weeks ago, I was curious, and went searching for public accounts of how Katrina affected them. I was stunned. Sickened. Many of us watched terrible things unfold on our tv screens, helpless, even more helpless when accounts of rapes, of killings and other atrocities were reported. Then, about a week or so later, the Damage control team set in, reassured the Public at Large these were grossly inflated accounts. That the Superdome experience was not the horror reported, only one meal a day and babies dehydrating- myth, legend. These public accounts tell a very different story.

I'd try and go back, link some of these sites for you, but I'm heartsick at the moment and don't think I could handle the exercise. That does not mean I don't think you should take a bit of time to search these recants out yourself. You will know them by the anger, the grief, the loss of faith. Some pretty big names out there reporting these stories, with the same tales.

Why bother? Why, to make it better, of course. To not be the person to glibly decry that these people are 'making out pretty good'. To support the cause of rebuilding.

To vote with this in mind. Every Time.

Na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na...Hey Hey Hey

Latest 'Get Your War On' goodness. Bet he never figured on 5 years worth of material. As Bob would say, "Jihadsploitation!".

Hot & Bothered.

For no damn good reason other than I'm a real mood for kvetching, I present to you my Top Ten Things That Currently Bug Me:

1. Cliched use of natal analogies.

First it was 'birthing pains of Democracy' (I don't remember my son's birth hurting like the deaths of 50-100 civilians a DAY does). Now, unbeknownst to anyone with a pulse (or is that a brain scan), New Orleans is experiencing a spectacular 'Rebirth'. Really. Was it the 800.00 a month insurance costs for a 500k home (private, most insurers won't cover now), the 65% debris and sludge yet to be cleaned up, or the mass exodus of citizens with few who have returned that is the tip-off of such a grand re-awakening? Or did the bodies still being recovered do it for him?

    2.  Daily American soldier and civilian Iraqi deaths not even making front page news anymore.

Either the liberal conspiring media is asleep at the wheel, or something a bit more true is at work- the apathy of Amer-ih-cuhns is so damn complete even War doesn't sell.

    3.  Media Standards.

Cite point 2 above, add a dose of Karr and a dash of washroom conversation and you'll see what I mean.

    4.  Hawaiian shirt Fridays.

If you're wardrobe is so stricken by golf shirts and other business casual ware that wearing a shirt with flowers or palm trees breaks the monotony and makes you feel like you have a voice again, more power to you. Don't just all of you do it on the same damn day. Kinda negates the originality and fun factor, folks.

[What, you thought this was just going to be about hurricanes and cluster bombs?]

    5.  Sanctimonious Assholes.

So, sure, given, right? Recent example: I take my toddler on my own to Village Inn, figuring a meltdown there would be less invasive than say, establishments with table cloths and linen napkins. As it happens, said toddler does indeed meltdown, when after a madcap and zany episode of crayon, sugar packet, and jelly tossing, he is punished by having his cherished Binky ("Bink-KHEE" in toddler) taken away. This results in a rash of wails, so we take a trip for a moment to the outside atrium so he could fully appreciate the gravity of the situation. As I am carrying him away, a lady at an adjacent table murmurs to husband and 3-4yr old, "What is she doing to her kid?"

Backstory: 10 minutes before, this mom and dad were asking their daughter if she wanted Fruit, or FRENCH FRIES. I emphasize this way because that is exactly how this little girl was pitched. One- sell up the fruit. Two- even better, how about You decide what's best for your child to eat instead of dreamily expecting them to make these decisions and not end up with problems?

So, I seethed, and now I release to you, dear readers, secure in my own sanctimonious knowledge that discipline trumps nutrition-threatening lassitude. 

   6.   Stolen Applause.

Just that. Those who deserve tributes should receive. Those that receive should acknowledge. Just sayin'.

   7.  Public Gymnasiums.

I began the trek back to physical fitness last night, dusting off the old membership and joining forces with a friend. It was fine, I feel good- but the dread is there. The 'oh boy, there are only 20 treadmills and 19 are occupied and I see 3 others heading in the same direction and do I be nice or do I throw a shoulder into it' internal dialogues that start with treadmills, move on to ellipticals, show again at leg machines, and finally ease off with a completely clear stretching/ab mat. Bleh.

    8.  Okay, back to what you'd expect- Civil War Denials.

Allawi- "Stage one of Civil War". CIA Analysts, allegedly, Civil War. Sen. John Warner, chairman of Armed Services Committee, "all out Civil War". Gen. John Abizaid, Head of Central Command, "I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I've seen it, in Baghdad in particular, and that if not stopped it is possible that Iraq could move toward civil war".

So, what part of 'sitting ducks in crossfire' is confusing to our leaders?

    9.  Qwest.

This company makes the list due to the dazzling 250mbps download speed they provide. No, nix that- this makes the list due to the fact that when I lived two blocks over I had a 1.5mbps download speed...for $10 less a month. I am told I should 'check back monthly' for service area statuses.

So if you ever wondered why I never viewed those videos you sent, or why I, unlike the rest of web-enlightened peers, have not caught YouTube fever- now you know.

    10.   Religious Nut-bags.

Don't think that one requires any elaboration.

What's bothering You these days?

In the land of the Blind...

It does one no good to see.

Move along now- the NSA has your life on file anyway, what's a daily update. We've all seen Will Smith movies, it's no mystery (yes, that's tongue planted in cheek).

What I don't get- everything is so locked into technology now, how can it be that Osama is on the loose? Besides the fact that the 10 year old Osama-dedicated CIA taskforce was cancelled a year ago, I mean. [link from Tom Tomorrow- see sidebar] Yes, yes, okay, we're all looking very hard for him still- a wonderful thing- but in an age where we can see spittle on the ground from Space how is a walking, talking, video-tape making man's heat sig escaping the grid? The man's ascetic, not primitive. Money is changing hands (and thanks to NYT- er, I mean Fox and CNN months earlier who published the exact same story, only the NYT used pictures that Rumsfeld himself -- Pause for breath--gave the okay on- read your Billmon and internets people), that's traceable. When Al-Jazeera gets a big, fat videotape, who's dusting for fingerprints?

I'm betting someone. A lot of money- excuse me, I meant a LOT of money- is in the bin laden family, with Saud ties so tight if coal sphincters you could process diamonds. And we tend not to piss off the Sauds. Something about the money (and the Power it hath wrought) aforementioned.

So if it's all about the money anyway, insofar as what actions we're really ever going to take, why the puppet show. To give Americans a common enemy? Cuz Gosh knows I feel unity...every 'Love it or Leave it' sticker just fills me with such hope. Even with Gaddafi (pick your own spelling), the Public was mollified at least with a failed assassination attempt.

Maybe that's the plan- let him live long enough to turn the tide, do 'good works'. The Libyan Pres. is no saint, but is now cooperative...mostly. Less 'you cross this line, you die' antics (now taken over by NK).

Myself, though, I'd rather see him dead. Guess that's the vengeance-hungry Barbarian in me.

Treason, you say?

Considering much of the brew-haha over financial reports and news outlets, this article (thanks, Coeus!)is of particular instance.

The President has himself outlined many of the steps Homeland and other agencies are/were taking to prevent another 9/11 tragedy. True, he didn't name institutions in particular- it is instead implicit that they could be any and/or all of them.

Before commenting, encourage one to actually read the article. Notice that doesn't always happen when linking to 'leftist' brethren!

When Right is Wrong.

It's lazy to do this- but presented with a choice  of uneasy plagarism and laziness-

Please just go read.

Otherwise entitled, "The Defense of Brownie."

Realizing my phone will be 'extra-tapped'...

Just how is it that Clinton was made to pay for a perjury charge (and Repugs like to say, a Felony), yet the current CIC makes an equally felonious move (would argue much, much worse- Clinton trying to not hurt his wife is a far cry from publicly pissing all over the 4th Amendment)- yet not one peep about impeachment?

Come on, you dumb Dems- SPINE, BALLS, TEETH, who's holding them all?

Don't worry- Gonzalez is looking to alter the law after the fact to protect the President- must be 'paying it forward', huh?

sunova...

Is there NO END to the corruption of this Administration?

Chickenhawk Row

YOWZA!

That's gotta hurt.

NWO

Billmon, as you might expect, gets it exactly right on the latest Patriot Act news.

Yea. Yay Orwell, Nay Jefferson. And the magic microchip gets implanted in our skin just when? Mark of the Beast indeed.

hahahahahahahahahahahaha

Hillary example of"angry and adrift Democratic party" that just so happens to make up damn near close to 50% of the country...

We are as angry and adrift as the Administration is 'compassionate and conservative'.

I can't wait to hear the spin on this that somehow has her saying this as a Nazi allegory.

As seen on the Internets

Will an inquiry take place as is being requested into President Bush's conduct in conjunction with the genesis of the Iraq war (as allegedly exposed by the Downing St. memo)?

More importantly, will it matter if one does? This Administration (Rove, see Rove) is on Mao's level when it comes to Nationalist propaganda (could make another comparison, but will let the Goebbels one lie)- and so many lap it up like sedative-laden honey. Congress is weighted, the Senate is weighted- the pendulum is fast swinging more and more "Right". I don't believe for a second if he was found impeachable that he actually would be impeached.

Unless that downward momentum from such an upswing swept through so rapidly...

nah...doesn't historically play out.

Some days, I'd like to hole myself and family up in a compound somewhere in the thick of nowhere (say, Wyoming, or maybe Montana) and wait this Presidency out.

Rats in the air

The Downing St. memo mainstream media seems determined to hide from the public.

Who polices the policy makers...

No repercussions, several dead, and no logic yet found to be solid.

The Crown is about to fall (or be taken away). Brat princes are never treated kindly by history, and this one will fare no differently.

Vox Populi

Just perhaps not the little people.

Yep, because those people either a) weren't there by nature of the event (thousands in cash money or title being the ticket price), or b) are off fighting in Iraq.

Wonder if everyone got their own golden lyre or just the man on top?

Sure, it's capitalism, and people should have the right to do what they want with their money, even when it's crass, insensitive, and stupid. Just would be nice if for once these people could see what their utter vanity and total lack of comprehension of World events (people dying daily in Iraq- the war we 'won' May 2003 just keeps ticking along, and helllooooo 220k PLUS dead overseas from the Dark Sith of Tsunamis) makes America look like- even to many of its own members. I am not suggesting that there shouldn't have been an Inauguration- he won, happy happy, the Party has every right to celebrate. It is more the...extreme level of ostentation involved that is a bit...gross. If a Hollywood Dem threw this kind of gala, Conservatives would be all over it as just one more example of the spoilt Hollywood elite...and guess what- they'd be right (even a stopped watch...).

To add to that- I am sick sick sick of being told that I am anti-American because I believe there are more solutions to problems than the ones presented by the GOP, many of which are short-sighted, heavy-handed, and only in the interests of those getting their drunk on this evening. Why protecting women's rights, those of minorities (and yes, Gays, since so many are bent on destroying them because of their own inadequacies and ignorance), trying to keep the air and water quality good for us and future generations (and my baby), teaching people how to avoid situations they aren't ready for (read: condoms), the wonders of Science (Evolution and You), and healthcare for all those that need it (Hippocrates, where are you) are evil and inferior to plans to make and protect money without regard to the nuisances of ethics to the GOP'ers is honestly mind-boggling to me. I'm all for money, in so far as what it represents, what it can obtain...and hell yes it is a problem of distribution (and education behind it).

In short, I guess, I just really need to get out that I AM an AMERICAN, by your God/s of choice, and if you don't like it...

Well, ummm, I mean...

Fuck You.

How's that for a nice, Liberal message (forgive the borrowing from VP Cheney, sometimes the dang shoe just fits so well)?

Well said

Exactly.
[from the excellent Stand Tall]

If not voting your conscience...

Vote your wallet.

I voted yesterday; early voting is the way to go! In and out in 30 minutes. Tons of people were there to vote, awesome. Young, old, minorities, caucasians, demographic all over the board.

Go Kerry!!!

Update:

I forgot to mention the reason I had to go to the polls early. You see, knowing that I was expecting a child but not knowing exactly when, I applied for an absentee ballot. Twice.

Never an absentee ballot did I see- but I did get 2 voter registration cards.

No funny business with Dems' votes in battleground states, huh?

From the mailbag

Tom send this election predictor link. As a Dallas Cowboys fan, I have no issue whatsoever rooting for GB this Sunday!

tinmf (sorry, that's all I have for a moniker) sends this amusing How-to on election signage creation.

Cass sends this Guardian article outlining Bush's Civil Rights record (or lack thereof).

And lastly, saw this on msnbc today- yet one more reason my next laptop may just be an Apple (although this should be pc-compatible).

Music, plus up to 25k of digital photos? Yippee!

You forgot something...

The Mother of all Conspiracies

Whose name adds up to the AntiChrist's?

Jeez, take a guess.
[from mom]

Heh.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Bush's agenda could top $3 trillion
President doesn't emphasize 10-year price tag
[Obvious?]

The expansive agenda President Bush laid out at the Republican National Convention was missing a price tag, but administration figures show the total is likely to be well in excess of $3 trillion over a decade.

A staple of Bush's stump speech is his claim that his Democratic challenger, John F. Kerry, has proposed $2 trillion in long-term spending, a figure the Massachusetts senator's campaign calls exaggerated. But the cost of the new tax breaks and spending outlined by Bush at the GOP convention far eclipses that of the Kerry plan.

This is without taking costs for Iraq and Afghanistan and other targets into account.

But don't worry- we'll just cut back on security, education, and the like.

The administration has been secretive about the cost of the war and the likely impact that the bulging defense budget and continuing cost of tax cuts will have on domestic spending next year. The White House put government agencies on notice this month that if President Bush is reelected, his budget for 2006 may include $2.3 billion in spending cuts from virtually all domestic programs that are not mandated by law, including education, homeland security and others central to Bush's campaign.

"The Bush team has gotten a lot of traction with the point that the Kerry numbers and rhetoric don't add up," said Kevin A. Hassett, director of economic policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. "It behooves them now to demonstrate that theirs do."

Proof in Numbers

Well, jeez, if you put it like that...
[from Skippy]

Criminy!

People actually voted for this guy...and will do so again.
[from milkandcookies]

The World truly has lost its collective mind (or by latest polls, 44% anyway).

Please sign here...

If you're going to cherry-pick your audience, perchance it might be a good idea to start further upstream.

A Republican National Committee practice of having people sign a form endorsing President Bush or pledging to vote for him in November before being issued tickets for RNC-sponsored rallies is raising concern among voters.

When Vice President Dick Cheney spoke July 31 to a crowd of 2,000 in Rio Rancho, a city of 45,000 near Albuquerque, several people who showed up at the event complained about being asked to sign endorsement forms in order to receive a ticket to hear Cheney.

"Whose vice president is he?" said 72-year-old retiree John Wade of Albuquerque, who was asked to sign the form when he picked up his tickets. "I just wanted to hear what my vice president had to say, and they make me sign a loyalty oath."

Nick Lucy, a 64-year-old veteran and Democrat, said he was turned away from a May 7 rally in Dubuque, Iowa, at which President Bush spoke even though he had a ticket given to him by a local Republican leader. Lucy, who was not asked to sign a form, said he has seen every president since Ronald Reagan, but he was denied access because he is not a registered Republican. He is a Democrat and a past commander of the American Legion in Dubuque who plays taps at veterans' funerals.

"They asked the police to escort me out of there," Lucy said. "I wasn't going to disrupt anything, but I probably wasn't going to clap a lot, either. Every rally the president goes to everyone is cheering for him because they're handpicked."

I wonder if you get a complementary hood and armband for attending?

Why so glum, chum?

Believe it or not, this actually isn't an Onion story:

President George W. Bush is taking powerful anti-depressant drugs to control his erratic behavior, depression and paranoia, Capitol Hill Blue has learned.
[pilfered from Spade Hammer]

The prescription drugs, administered by Col. Richard J. Tubb, the White House physician, can impair the President’s mental faculties and decrease both his physical capabilities and his ability to respond to a crisis, administration aides admit privately.

“It’s a double-edged sword,” says one aide. “We can’t have him flying off the handle at the slightest provocation but we also need a President who is alert mentally.”

Tubb prescribed the anti-depressants after a clearly-upset Bush stormed off stage on July 8, refusing to answer reporters' questions about his relationship with indicted Enron executive Kenneth J. Lay.

“Keep those motherfuckers away from me,” he screamed at an aide backstage. “If you can’t, I’ll find someone who can.”

Looks like the Wizard is a bad influence on his President?

Taking with a grain of salt, as clearly a left-leaning site (not that I have issues with this, understand); will be watching to see if any other outlets are ballsy enough to pick this up.

On a future Prez note (fingers and toes permanently crossed), Kerry has a hell of a speech. Still need to go out and watch it, along with Clark's- maybe we have enough fire in the belly after all!

uhh...

Couldn't Bush speech-writers do better than plagerize- out of context, at that- an undergrad's term paper?

Is Castro so unblemished a target it's necessary to make shit up?

The CIC is winning the hearts and minds of Cubanos everywhere, I'm sure.

Ouch...

Garry Trudeau has some choice memories of his days at Yale with fellow classmate, George W. Bush.

Way more concerned with the man's current actions, but surely lends a certain...perspective into the man's character development.

True Colors

President Bush declines to speak at annual NAACP Convention.

Bush spoke at the 2000 NAACP convention in Baltimore when he was running for president.

NAACP spokesman John White said Wednesday that Bush has declined invitations in each year of his presidency -- becoming the first president since Herbert Hoover not to attend an NAACP convention.

No need to pretend anymore, huh!

A helping hand

During a prime time press conference on April 13, President Bush was asked to name a mistake that he has made since taking office and what he has learned from it. Bush, who was unable to answer the question, admitted "maybe I'm not as quick on my feet as I should be in coming up with [a mistake]." But weeks later, Bush still hasn't answered the question. In the interest of assisting the President with this surprisingly difficult task we've compiled this list of 100 mistakes he has made since taking office:

100 Mistakes for the President to Choose From

I will say- and this is rare- that President Bush seems to be making a decent effort to address the fallout from the prison abuse situations, most recently with taking Rummy himself to task. Think Sen. McCain has a valid demand on what actions were taken since Nov/Dec when most of these events were reported.

Ugliness, no matter how you look at it.

More flip-flops...

Oddly enough, not just in words, but actions.

Nope, not John Kerry at all, but our fearless leader.

Methinks he doth protest too much...

So, the White House has launched a 'full offensive' against Richard A. Clarke's allegations.

99% of the refutations I've read have attacked Clarke's credibility, and have read very little concretely able to prove anything was misstated. While it is amusing watching Rice and others give the exact same rhetoric to the media ( Jon Stewart brilliantly, as usual, had a piece on this on Wednesday's show), the only conflicting information is in comments made to CNN where quick soundbites were made to reassure the public that left out particular failings. Which, as the mouthpiece of the people who should be reassuring the public at the time, you could see why he'd do.

This is a man who's served faithfully four Presidents- three of them Republican, a true 'Hawk'. Voted Republican in 2000. Not really the type to come out of this expecting any real personal gain- in fact, seeing how O'Neil, Kay, and Plame have been treated, would expect his career to be attacked in much the same way.

Particularly amusing to me is this portrayal of a 'disgruntled employee'.

Considering the man's track record, who really believes he has that much to worry about? This is a man who'll be just fine.

And as a wrap-up- could Condoleeza Rice not recall any more conversations that others clearly witnessed? Gee, I wouldn't want her, as my employee, to testify for the 9/11 commission, either. She makes Pres. Ronald Reagan look like an elephant in comparison.

And both the Pot and the Kettle wore Black

President Bush opened the White House and Camp David to dozens of overnight guests last year, including foreign dignitaries, family friends and at least nine of his biggest campaign fund-raisers, documents show.In all, Bush and first lady Laura Bush have invited at least 270 people to stay at the White House and at least the same number to overnight at the Camp David retreat since moving to Washington in January 2001, according to lists the White House provided The Associated Press.

Amazing, Clinton gets roasted for having campaign contributors stay in the Lincoln bedroom, and the supposedly liberal press lets out nary a negative peep on Bush for doing the same thing as the previous 2 Presidents to Clinton.

Guess between Murdoch and the Clear Channel regime, journalists just can't afford to have any balls anymore.

Er...

Between this picture (insert WWII nemesis joke here)-

and this truly stunning, ballsy, misguided, and- oh Fuck it - wrong wrong wrong usage of personal tragedy for political gain, one really does have to wonder what sort of fascist monkey Pres. Bush is using as a PR manager.

While I do appreciate the increase in votes for the ABB campaign, the idea that this is the image we give to the Free World of the leader of America turns my stomach.

Now I know most of my well-intentioned but deluded Bush-supporting friends could give a flying fig for world opinion, but see, it does help us in many ways to not be the isolationist, imperialistic island-unto-ourselves we have been the last 3 years. More help for our soldiers in fighting foreign battles and seeking nefarious evil-doers ( Osama, see Osama), for one. Better trade relations (somewhere read that this contributes somewhat to the strength of the dollar vs. foreign currencies, but lost the source)- heck, better 'relations', period. Environmental accords on a global scale. Credibility- that's a good one. When you fly in the face of world opinion and turn out to be wrong (If Only I could remember where I put my biological weapons of mass destruction), it's a heck of a lot harder to get support next go-round- when your facts might actually be in line that time.

But I digress. In terms of today's ad fiasco, that leaves Kerry with a point earned, and Bush wiping away mud from his eyes.

Progress, you say?

Know I've been laying low, and that this has already been making the Blogtopia rounds, but better late than never:

Claim vs. Fact: The President on Meet the Press.

Opening statement by John Podesta, Pres./CEO, Center for American Progress, in full:

"President Bush wouldn't have agreed to an hour long network interview without a good reason and today he had one: in the span of a week he's faced the dual challenges of a loss of credibility on the war in Iraq and his management of the economy.

"His statement this morning that he would cut the deficit in half is simply laughable. Analyses by independent organizations like Goldman Sachs, the Concord Coalition, the Committee for Economic Development, and Decision Economics all project deficits of about $5 trillion over the next decade, even assuming a return to strong growth."

"The President's statement that there is ‘good momentum' on the job creation front is dishonest: while we are averaging 72,000 new private sector jobs created per month, at that pace, it would not be until May 2007 that this President would have created his first net job. President Bush is well on his way to having the worst job creation record since the Great Depression. His bragging today only served to reinforce his lack of credibility on managing the nation's economy.

"And what the President referred to as a "word contest" regarding the threat from Iraq is, in fact, his attempt to change the rationale for going to war and rewrite the history of what has occurred. His argument today that Iraq had the capacity to make weapons of mass destruction and pass them into the hands of shadowy terrorist networks is inconsistent with the intelligence provided to him.

President Bush sought to restore his credibility today and he clearly failed to do so."

Hear, Hear.

Incidentally, Watchblog, where I also post (should be seeing something from me there soon, as I've been remiss what with all the travel and getting back into the grind), has been attributed with breaking the Kerry/intern scandal- but erroneously. The person that has been named was not even working on the Clark campaign at the time- Matt Drudge missed a little step there.

If you haven't been to the site, you really should check it out. Three political angles are represented (Dem, Rep, and 3rd-party- mostly Libertarian from what I've seen, but some Green in there), so something for everyone.

Also, if anyone has any suggestions- from a Dem standpoint- as to what issues to highlight for this 2004 election year, would welcome.

And lastly-received a kind note from a writer, Jason Bengtson, asking if I would consider a shout-out to a book he wrote going to press April 16th this year. The book is entitled, A Pack of Filthy Jerks, and is described as 'a dark comedy about the economic working classes (among other things)'. Amazon, BN.com, and PublishAmerica will be where one can purchase said tome. The writer kindly attached a copy, so this is just the heads up until I read and can give you the actual 'star-rating'.

He called me a 'prominent blogger'. Giggle.

Oh, the far-reach of ego and flattery's effects!

Time for the deluge

Being out of the blogging game for the past little while has made me realize how much I enjoy this. Although, I will say, Montreal is an amazing, gorgeous city ( and frickin' COLD, mind you), so could have been time worse spent.

Onto the usual (crosspost with chapel-perilous)-

A well-wrought refutation of the Dubya "deserter" accusations...

While I did find some humor in the following statement-

"It's time to set the record straight.... Bush may have received favorable treatment to get into the Guard, served irregularly after the spring of 1972 and got an expedited discharge, but he did accumulate the days of service required of him for his ultimate honorable discharge." -

there are bigger- and vastly more important- policies and stances to cover this 2004 election.

Well, are you?

The Nation wants to know, Are you better off than you were 3 years ago?

You don't say!

An Op-Ed piece from the NY Times makes the obvious point that many are questioning the current veracity and leadership of the current Administration.

People are saying terrible things about George Bush. They say that his officials weren't sincere about pledges to balance the budget. They say that the planning for an invasion of Iraq began seven months before 9/11, that there was never any good evidence that Iraq was a threat and that the war actually undermined the fight against terrorism.

But these irrational Bush haters are body-piercing, Hollywood-loving, left-wing freaks who should go back where they came from: the executive offices of Alcoa, and the halls of the Army War College.

I was one of the few commentators who didn't celebrate Paul O'Neill's appointment as Treasury secretary. And I couldn't understand why, if Mr. O'Neill was the principled man his friends described, he didn't resign early from an administration that was clearly anything but honest.

But now he's showing the courage I missed back then, by giving us an invaluable, scathing insider's picture of the Bush administration.

Noticed that the lately cowed 'liberal' voice of the media is finally showing some teeth again.

Woot!

Doesn't get better than this

President Bush, State of Union address
[via Chapel Furnace, my occasional blog home]

I played this three times straight...seriously that good.

That's our Bush!

Scathing commentary in the British press on President Bush.

A bit harsh, as much as I dislike his policies.

I wonder if sentiment towards an opposition party head has always been much like this, against the figurehead more than the actual party ( or in the U.K.'s case, country)?

However, some nice little mediabites:

Bush telegraph: selected presidential facts

In May 2001, Bush's government gave $43m to the Taliban.

Bush has never attended a funeral or memorial service for a soldier killed in Iraq.

In August this year, Bush took the second-longest holiday ever by a US president: 28 days.

Bush's 16-member cabinet is the wealthiest in US history, with an average fortune of $10.9m each.

As governor of Texas, Bush executed 152 prisoners.

Sixty-one people who raised $100,000 for Bush's 2000 election campaign have since been given government posts.

Nine members of Bush's Defense Policy Board sit on the board of defence contractors or are advisers.

Bush owns more than 250 autographed baseballs.(??? we care because...)

Bush has been arrested three times: for stealing a Christmas wreath from a hotel; for ripping down the Princeton goal posts after a Princeton-Yale game; and for drunk driving.

Bush infuriated the Russian media by spitting a wad of chewing gum into his hand before signing 2002's historic Treaty of Moscow with Vladimir Putin.

While appearing on the David Letterman show in 2000, Bush was caught surreptitiously cleaning his glasses on the jacket of the programme's executive producer, Maria Pope.

Checkered past

Much like many of this country's wealthiest families (and corporations), the Bush family has been linked for years to shady dealings with the Nazi party.

Many like to counter that all dealings with the Germans ended in 1939 by Prescott Bush, before the U.S. involvement with the war.

Here's new findings that counter that assertation from the New Hampshire Gazette.

An excerpt opining the finding's relevance:

"The story of Prescott Bush and Brown Brothers Harriman is an introduction to the real history of our country," says L.A. art book publisher and historian Edward Boswell. "It exposes the money-making motives behind our foreign policies, dating back a full century. The ability of Prescott Bush and the Harrimans to bury their checkered pasts also reveals a collusion between Wall Street and the media that exists to this day."

Sheldon Drobny, a Chicago entrepreneur and philanthropist who will soon launch a liberal talk radio network, says the importance of the new documents is that they prove a long pattern of Bush family war profiteering that continues today via George H.W. Bush's intimate relationship with the Saudi royal family and the bin Ladens, conducted via the super-secret Carlyle Group, whose senior advisers include former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III.

In the post-9/11 world, Drobny finds the Bush-Saudi connection deeply troubling. "Trading with the enemy is trading with the enemy," he says. "That's the relevance of the documents and what they show."

Lawrence Lader, an abortion rights activist and the author of more than 40 books, says "the relevance lies with the fact that the sitting President of the United States would lead the nation to war based on lies and against the wishes of the rest of the world." Lader and others draw comparisons between President Bush's invasion of Iraq and Hitler's occupation of Poland in 1939 - the event that sparked World War Two.

I'd like to know the full truth of this story for its historical importance more than I'd like this to become a witch hunt. Certainly there have been precedents laid down by this family with WW2 involvement and the support of eugenics programs post and prior, not to mention dealings with questionable (understatement) business partners; however, believe it's important to focus on today's activities more lest they get buried by mining for the past.

Not to say that if these forays result in clear guilt of dealing with the enemy after it was established as such that justice shouldn't be served, naturally.

Oops, did I say that?

Silly fuckin' me.
Sam Smith, writing for Harper's, uses direct quoted text from shrub officials to paint a picture of the history of the Iraq war.
[from cursor]

I say, I say, I know where we can find those darn WMDs. I mean, I mean...

I said, I did Not have relations with that...

Ah, hell, where did my Cheney go, Boy?

Maybe not according to Matthew, Mark, et al

"The Gospel of Supply Side Jesus"

As told by Al Franken ( yes, That one) and Don Simpson.

Now that's the fine art of satire in full-blown motion.

Can't wait for the cartoon

And don't forget...

It's not all about victims...

Sometimes answers lurk beneath the surface. Very few are willing to stir the waters.

Well, not all are of this timid ilk-
Spade Hammer has something to say. Others have been saying the same the past 2 years- myself no exception- but nice to have a tidy, concise archive to point to. Fox News isn't going to cut it. Heck, even MSNBC will not dare to delve to deeply into those questions few are willing to ask ( don't want to distract from the revenge efforts, doncha know).

Not to say anyone associated with 9/11 doesn't deserve their entrails served up to them in rank water on a septic platter; but if mistakes aren't examined, how to prevent future ones? This isn't ( just) about calling someone to task for reading to a bunch of children 'while the city burned ' kind of thing. This is about understanding why fundamental pieces of government broke down that day. And how it is that no one was allowed to ask ,"Why?"- not even those who lost loved ones.

Reminds me of the end of 'Vanilla Sky'.

"Open Your Eyes"

Better to do so for oneself, than to have them forcibly opened again.

Bush and Freud...er

From the Guardian, an unsettling breakdown of an American psyche:

As the alcoholic George Bush approached his 40th birthday in 1986, he had achieved nothing he could call his own. He was all too aware that none of his educational and professional accomplishments would have occured without his father. He felt so low that he did not care if he lived or died. Taking a friend out for a flight in a Cessna aeroplane, it only became apparent he had not flown one before when they nearly crashed on take-off. Narrowly avoiding stalling a few times, they crash-landed and the friend breathed a sigh of relief - only for Bush to rev up the engine and take off again.
Not long afterwards, staring at his vomit-spattered face in the mirror, this dangerously self-destructive man fell to his knees and implored God to help him and became a teetotalling, fundamentalist Christian. David Frum, his speechwriter, described the change: "Sigmund Freud imported the Latin pronoun id to describe the impulsive, carnal, unruly elements of the human personality. [In his youth] Bush's id seems to have been every bit as powerful and destructive as Clinton's id. But sometime in Bush's middle years, his id was captured, shackled and manacled, and locked away."

Kind of makes one think, "Long live the id!".

Read on for an outline of how this profile often manifests a hatred towards typically disenfranchised groups. Not much will be a surprise, sadly.