Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Those Godawful "Kool Kids"
The "Kool Kids from Beltway High," otherwise known as the mainstream media, are well underway in shaping the coverage of the 2008 presidential election. Issues? Why yes, um...there's the Edwards haircut, Hillary's cleavage and Bill's "baggage," there's Obama's pussyfooting, yada yada jing jing jing! With this level of sophistication, was it any wonder the MSM's lead-up to yesterday's Democratic "debate" put heavy emphasis on calling out the wimpy men to attack Hillary "before it's too late!" The theme leading into the primaries has been established: if the Dems don't give us some ad hominem fireworks, by God we'll goad them into it! And for God's sake, don't make the fireworks about anything meaningful! Just enough so we can sell some advertising!
Some related articles worth reading: at LG&M, a sharp look at the cancerous Maureen Dowd and her unhealthy obsession with the Clintons; Eric Boehlert over at Media Matters has a piece on Colbert's sham run and how it says a lot about the MSM coverage of the campaign; and Taylor Marsh has some observations about how Timmeh and the boys handled Hillary during the "debate."
Boehlert has it right when he says the "press has decided to cover presidential candidates as celebrities, as personalities...[it's all about] which candidate was fun to be around and which one was authentic." Yeah, just as Tweety, MoDo, Ceci Connolly, Broderella, Timmeh and the other Kool Kids saved us from boring, inauthentic Al Gore in favor of the "who-would-you-rather-have-a-beer-with" Dumbya.
There isn't a wall long enough to line all these witless evil-doers up against...
Rethug Gay Watch
Rethuglican State Representative Richard Curtis (WA) admitted to having sex with another man in a Spokane hotel, after being threatened with blackmail. Curtis and the man met in a Spokane adult video store, and later had a tryst in Curtis' hotel room. The police report indicated that Curtis was dressed in womens' clothing, including red stockings and a black sequined top, in the video store. Curtis later claimed to the press that he was not gay. Heh heh heh, must have Larry Craig as a media advisor. Rethug family values live on!
(Bonus chuckle: check out Rep. Curtis' Village People mustache in the link - - kinky!)
(Bonus chuckle: check out Rep. Curtis' Village People mustache in the link - - kinky!)
Quote of the Day
"There's only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, a verb, and 9/11. I mean there's nothing else." Sen. Joe Biden on the Mayor of 9/11, Rudy Giuliani.
"Huh? A Brown Islamofascist 'Terrist' Didn't Start It?"
News Item: A California wildfire that destroyed 38,000 acres was started by a boy playing with matches.
The Reich Wing must be sooo disappointed. But then, they still have Iran.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The Pod Men
There are signs that Rudy "Tooty" Giuliani's campaign is becoming uncomfortable with the visibility of his extremist foreign policy advisors, particularly Norman "Bomb Iran Now" Podhoretz, and Daniel "Bomb Iran Yesterday" Pipes. As these two neoconservatives are making the interview rounds with the press, they are proving to be not ready for prime time, much less a political campaign, as their extreme, belligerent views are aired. "Pod" keeps pushing for an immediate military strike on Iran.
Rudy Tooty himself is increasingly seen as an ill-informed, authoritarian "small man in search of a balcony" (as writer Jimmy Breslin once described him). And the "mainstream" opinion leaders are beginning to notice these nutjobs advising another nutjob that has a chance to be the next President.
Rudy Tooty himself is increasingly seen as an ill-informed, authoritarian "small man in search of a balcony" (as writer Jimmy Breslin once described him). And the "mainstream" opinion leaders are beginning to notice these nutjobs advising another nutjob that has a chance to be the next President.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Pammy Jugs, Superstar!
Can Malkin "top" this? (We believe she can, since both are grads of the Fooliard School of Musical Fascism!)
Chalabi Your Butt-Boy?
Ahmed Chalabi, the corrupt Iraqi Dead-Eye Dick and the neo-con dimbulbs wanted to parachute into Iraq to set up a provisional government after "Mission Accomplished," looks like he's being maneuvered (or is maneuvering us) into being Prime Minister Maliki's replacement. Recently seen at Gen. Petreaus' side meeting with tribal leaders, the reptilian Chalabi seems to be on the verge of a comeback, thanks no doubt to the influence of Dead-Eye and his band of merry incompetents. Chalabi, who is all-too-willing to serve as the assministration's butt-boy if it propels him into power, has a history of corruption and double-dealing that turned even the CIA against him. Chalabi=Saddam Lite? Isn't democracy grand, people of Iraq?!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Sunday Night Fried Onion
The Onion once again has captured the zeitgeist of Rethug world, as "Rep. Michael Gelinas (R-NE)" introduces his bill to facilitate underage chat rooms on the Internet tubes.
"The Most Dangerous Nation: Pakistan"
That's right. Not Iran, not Syria, not North Korea. Pakistan.
This week's Newsweek magazine has a thorough write up on the "perfect storm" that characterizes Pakistan: unstable government, significant al Qaeda presence, nuclear weapons. A good and sobering read.
What is the Bush Assministration doing about the threat? Planning for a strike on Iran, and running out the clock on their miserable presidency.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Odds Are, It's A Rethug Politician
Cedar Rapids, IA police arrested a 47 year old man, and charged him with indecent exposure after he was caught in an office building restroom with his pants down, lying next to an inflatable, anatomically correct doll.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Kill The Wabbit, Kill The Wabbit. . . .
Citizens of Duchess County, NY need to be on alert this weekend, as Dead Eye Dick will be on a hunting trip there. Also, liquor stores and bars need to make sure that Dead Eye isn't served alcohol before hunting. Finally, it would be best for lawyers, "phony soldiers," and Senator Patrick Leahy (Dead Eye to Leahy: "Go f**k yourself") to avoid the Clove Valley Rod and Gun Club for the duration of his visit.
Faux News, Your 'Terrist' Network
Why are we not surprised that Faux News is actively promoting the scenario that the California fires were set by al Qaeda? And for two days straight, and without any evidence! Citing an FBI memo from four years ago, the Foxies don't seem to notice that the memo doesn't list California as a possible al Qaeda arson target. Authorities believe two of the more than dozen fires appear to be arson, but that didn't stop Fox and Friends, including the excitable Steve "Douche" Doocy, and others from leaping on the story as if it were a second 9/11. Expect the same nonsense to be trotted out as the 2008 elections approach, with Faux News doing its best to elect "homeland security" Rethugs.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Chimpy's War on the Poor
News item: Chimpy is proposing to cut money from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which assists low income and elderly Americans with home heating costs. This, when home heating oil costs are expected to reach record highs this winter, due in large part, of course, to Chimpy's misbegotten Iraq adventure.
(illustration from Jesus' General)
"Wake Me If They Discuss Iran"
In an example of both the caring Bush Assministration and your tax dollars at work, Dead Eye Dick nodded off during a White House cabinet meeting on the California wildfires. Such concern! Maybe Dead Eye's been staying up too late studying military maps of Iran. Can you hear Dumbya, noticing his boss dozing off, whispering "hey, let's all sneak out of the room. . .heh heh heh"?
(photo: An earlier picture of Dead Eye being briefed on the children's health insurance program)
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Quote of the Day
Rove's Justice Department
Word continues to get out about how Rove's White House operation attempted to damage or derail Democrats before and during elections, using the Justice Department as its tool. The latest evidence comes from a Rethug political operative, who says that an investigation of former Democratic Governor Don Siegelman of Alabama was accelerated by the U.S. attorney's office at the White House's insistence. The heat was turned up on Gov. Siegelman after a meeting of the prosecutors with Rove's office, and right before his reelection bid. If anyone thinks the Bush Assministration wasn't trying to subvert the electoral process (remind you of Florida in 2000?), there's a bridge for sale in Brooklyn.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Glenn Beck's Dreck
Why are we not surprised that, in the face of the California wild fires, wingnut loon Glenn Beck says that a lot of the people that "hate America" - - for Beck that would be the Preznit - - are losing their homes in the fires. It was people of Beck's ilk that sat on their hands when Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans' ninth ward, and damaged much of the city. After all, what he saw were black people suffering - - the kind that hate the Prezn, oops, America.
And this clown has his own TV show. For shame.
And this clown has his own TV show. For shame.
PanDumbya's Box
As Pandora's box contained a host of calamities, so it appears does PanDumbya's box. When he decided to let al Qaeda off the hook and pursue his family's old nemesis Saddam Hussein, he unleashed a series of calamitous events in the Middle East, with many events yet to reach their ugly peak. The loss of allied support that we had gathered after 9/11 to go after al Qaeda and their Taliban hosts, the lies and misinformation developed to justify attacking Iraq, the miserably failed occupation and subsequent uprising: one lie and bungle after another. And now a strengthened al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Turkey poised to invade the Kurdish region of Iraq, and this nutty Assministration and its neocon allies making ominous war noises toward Iran. This should settle the world's Muslims down all right.
Hail the conquering moron!
Monday, October 22, 2007
Quote of the Week
"A polite assessment of Romney's -- and Giuliani's-- enthusiasm for a line-item veto would resemble a 19th-century scholar's assessment of a rival's translation of Plato: 'The best translation of a Greek philosopher which has ever been executed by a person who understood neither philosophy nor Greek.'" -- George Will (!), WaPo, 10/21/2007
Wingnut Financier's Woes, Cont'd
When we last tuned in on major wingnut financier Richard Mellon Scaife his private world was starting to implode. Well, today's WaPo article on this dirtbag's messy divorce is good for many laughs. Remember, this was the putz that paid millions to "reporters" from the American Spectator to dig up dirt on the Clintons (referred to as the "Arkansas Project"). It seems that he was involved with a former prostitute while married to his wife of 16 years. She's now suing for divorce, and the best part is Dickie didn't have a prenuptual agreement. So his $1.3 billion piggy bank for right wing causes is about to be diminished a bit. Bwahahahahahahah.
One memorable snip from the article:
"Dickie, as he's known to his handful of friends, acquired a mean streak at an early age, according to his now-deceased sister. . .His trouble with alcohol started when he was at prep school, and he later was tossed out of Yale when he rolled a keg of beer down a flight of stairs and broke the legs of a fellow student."
Deserves everything that's coming to him.
One memorable snip from the article:
"Dickie, as he's known to his handful of friends, acquired a mean streak at an early age, according to his now-deceased sister. . .His trouble with alcohol started when he was at prep school, and he later was tossed out of Yale when he rolled a keg of beer down a flight of stairs and broke the legs of a fellow student."
Deserves everything that's coming to him.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
The Holy Rollers' Poll
The so-called "Values Voters" (actually the theocratic front for the Rethugs) held a revival in Washington over the last few days, and the Rethug candidates for President came to troll for support. Who did the voters value? A straw poll of the faithful shows that Willard "Slick" Romney was the slight favorite at 27.6% over Mike "Hick" Huckabee at 27.1%. Rudy Tooty? Johnny Walnuts? Foghorn Leghorn? They finished well down in the pack, with Rudy Tooty and Walnuts getting under 2% from America's Taliban.
So the dream theocratic ticket in 2008 would be Slick and Hick?
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Pakistan, Again
This is getting to be a daily alert, but today's NY Times article describing Pakistan's precarious state should scare the bejesus out of us all. Pakistan has all the ingredients of disaster: political unrest, nuclear weapons, key areas dominated by al Qaeda and Taliban supporters, growing hostility of the people to U.S. policies in the Mideast. Meanwhile, the Bush Assministration is bogged down chasing a relative handful of "al Qaeda" in Iraq, while beating the drums of war against . . . .Iran.
Figures.
Figures.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Rethug Quitters, Cont'd.
Sen. Mel "Hasta La Vista" Martinez, chairman of the Rethuglican National Committee since January 2007, is calling it quits after just 10 months. Martinez claims he's accomplished the goals he set for the Rethug Party. And those would be continued corruption, scandal, and obstruction. Heck of a job, "Hasta"!
Dangerous Situation in Pakistan
When the Bush Assministration's attention shifted from the 9/11 terrorists in Afghanistan to invading Iraq in order to settle a Bush family grudge while grabbing for more oil, the original attackers have been able to use the distraction to mobilize, recruit and rebuild their network in the mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Now, Pakistan is teetering on the verge of chaos, with the terrorist bombing attempt on former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's life. As it was, the attempt killed over 130 of her supporters. As we pointed out over the past year, Pakistan is the sole Muslim country with nuclear weapons, and al-Qaeda is gaining strength there, as the Taliban is gaining strength in Afghanistan. Dumbya's obsession with Saddam Hussein is coming back to haunt us all.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Rethug Quitters
Two Rethuglicans are announcing their intent to back away from the political fray:
Former Speaker Dennis "Super Size Me" Hastert will not be completing his term in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Sen. Sam "Who?" Brownback will be dropping out of the Presidential race, not that anyone noticed he was in it to begin with.
Former Speaker Dennis "Super Size Me" Hastert will not be completing his term in the U.S. House of Representatives, and Sen. Sam "Who?" Brownback will be dropping out of the Presidential race, not that anyone noticed he was in it to begin with.
"Going After Gore"
We almost missed this one. Evgenia Peretz has a great article in the October Vanity Fair. It nicely point out the concerted efforts of the "mainstream media" to reduce Al Gore to a punch line in the 2000 race, apparently thinking as Dana Milbank and others have put it, that Dumbya was someone they would "rather have a beer with." Tweety, Ceci Connolly of the WaPo (which in its coverage of Gore's Nobel Prize, continues the campaign to denigrate what Gore has accomplished), and the execrable Maureen Dowd(y) of the New York Times: with "liberal media" like this, who needs Rupert Murdoch?! The article is long, but fascinating. Many of these "press corps" nimrods (called the "Kool Kids of Beltway High") are the same ones parroting the RNC press releases about John Edwards' hair cut, Hillary Clinton's "cackle," etc. It never ends with these pus bags.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
In Memoriam
We lost our aunt Barbara late yesterday after a long, difficult struggle with pulmonary fibrosis. She was a strong, no-nonsense person who was fully engaged in life right up to the end. You could always count on her to puncture any ridiculous statement with a loud "Oh, brother!" She was married to our uncle for over 40 years, and shared his joys and travails with the same aplomb. We and all her family and friends will miss her terribly.
Photo: Arthur Durkee (Fish Lake, Wisconsin).
Dumbya Sinks to New Record Low
The latest Zogby poll shows the preznit's approval rating dropping from last month's record low of 29 percent to a new record low of 24 percent! That's not Nixonian numbers, that's Idi Amin, Adolph Hitler, and Snidely Whiplash numbers! One wonders, as does Tom Toles in today's WaPo, why the Rethug candidates are so busy trying to position themselves as "the Real Republican," when Dumbya and his assministration has so thoroughly discredited the brand. Time to retrieve the "Know-Nothing" brand from history's dustbin? It fits!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
"Th' Polls, Ah Say, Th' Polls Say Whut??"
Fred "Foghorn Leghorn" Thompson is sinking in the polls faster than a lead frog with cement shoes in a pond. From a September high of 27 percent, Foghorn is now at 19 percent support among Regthulican mouthbreathers. He's cancelled several appearances over the last few days, so the polls are bound to go lower. It looks like his campaign really did peak the day he announced. . . .
Stalkin' Malkin Still Walkin', Talkin'
Sadly No is reporting the latest from our favorite wingnut crackpot stalker and her next S-CHIP target: 2-year-old Bethany Wilkerson. The Carpetbagger Report has some info about the Wilkersons that would make it difficult for Malkin, Limpballs and the rest of the Rethug water carriers to smear the family, not that they won't give it their best shit... er, shot. If she keeps this up, even Fux "News" might be forced to "resign" her from their rats nest.. er, network. Or not. (Man, I'm having a hard time hitting the right keys this morning!)
Monday, October 15, 2007
Stalkin' Malkin Walkin'
Rabid wingnut stalker/talker Michelle Malkin is reported to be leaving Fux Network's O'Reilly Factor shriek-fest, allegedly over a verbal spat with Geraldo "Capone's Treasure" Rivera over the immigration issue a few weeks ago. However, Fox's corporate heavyweights appear to be unhappy with Malkin's bizarre stalking of 12 year old Graeme Frost, who delivered the Democratic response to the Decider's veto of children's health insurance legislation. Enraged, Malkin drove past the Frost home in Baltimore, interviewed neighbors and acquaintences of the Frosts, published false information on her website, and generally tried to dig up, pass along (or manufacture) whatever dirt she could. But, while she's gone from "O'Liely", Malkin will certainly turn up on other Fux gigs. They can't help themselves.
Fred Hiatt, Fourth Estate Wanker Extraordinaire
On the same day the WaPo published an editorial essentially saying the surge was working and the assministration's critics were wrong about the level of violence in Iraq, Post correspondent Salih Saif Aldin was shot in the head and killed while covering a story in a Baghdad neighborhood. Should we expect editorial page editor and neo-con acolyte Fred Hiatt to send a condolence letter to Aldin's family, noting the progress made by his assministration in curbing violence? The execrable Hiatt is also responsible for adding more crackpot neo-cons (Frank Gaffney, Jr., Michael Gerson, Robert Kagan), to the already-full stable of right-wing horses' asses assembled on the WaPo editorial page (George Will, Charles "Kraphammer," Robert Novak, and the occasional half-page gas bubble emanated by the rotting Henry Kissinger). Walter Lippmann, Eugene Meyer, and Katherine Graham are doing 100 rpm in their graves.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
New Evidence That Reaganomics Worked!
The Onion has evidence that's trickled down proving once and for all that the Ronnie Raygun economic philosophy that Rethugs have long practiced works!
Gen. Sanchez Speaks Out
Retired Army Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez, the former top commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, has denounced Bush's Iraq War as a "nightmare," marked by "catastrophically flawed" war planning, and called the surge a "desperate" move that would fail to achieve its objectives. He went on to call Dumbya's handling of the war "incompetent." Sanchez is the most recent in a long line of Generals who have blasted the Assministration's war policy, including former U.S. Major Generals Paul Eaton, and John Batiste.
Any moment now, chickenhawks in the wingnut world will grind out the "phony soldier" smear against Sanchez for daring to criticize the Decider's wisdom.
Any moment now, chickenhawks in the wingnut world will grind out the "phony soldier" smear against Sanchez for daring to criticize the Decider's wisdom.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Congrats
To Vice President Al Gore for winning the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. The man who was elected President in 2000 and who has raised the world's awareness of global warming/climate change shares the prize with the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Thinking about how much better this country and the world would have been with a President Gore, rather than the dimwit now holding that office, can cause severe depression.
Going After The Criminal "Cowboys"
The New York Times reports that a group of Iraqis have filed suit in U.S. District Court seeking damages against the mercenary security firm, Blackwater USA. Families of the killed and injured are intent on getting justice and compensation for their loss when Blackwater gunmen opened fire in Baghdad last month without reasonable cause, according to numerous eyewitnesses. U.S. soldiers arriving at the scene moments afterward report finding no AK-47 or other insurgent-linked bullet shells in or around the victims or their cars, despite Blackwater's claims. Lt. Col. Mike Tarsa said, "it appeared to me that they were fleeing the scene when they were engaged. It had every indication of an excessive shooting."
Blackwater's founder, Erik Prince, is the son of a wealthy Rethug car parts mogul, and is himself a big contributor to Rethuglican and right-wing causes. His arrogant, smirking demeanor at last month's hearings should have signalled everyone that these criminal cowboys for hire have no concern for the lives of innocent Iraqis or for winning their hearts and minds.
Blackwater's founder, Erik Prince, is the son of a wealthy Rethug car parts mogul, and is himself a big contributor to Rethuglican and right-wing causes. His arrogant, smirking demeanor at last month's hearings should have signalled everyone that these criminal cowboys for hire have no concern for the lives of innocent Iraqis or for winning their hearts and minds.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Movie Time
Please check out Into the Wild, a new film directed by Sean Penn, and starring a great ensemble of actors, including Emile Hirsh, William Hurt, Vince Vaughn, Catherine Keener and Hal Holbrook. Hirsh and Holbrook, in particular, are terrific. The musical score by Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam is one of the strongest in recent memory (the film "Once" being a rival). The film is based on the story of Christopher McCandless, a young college grad in the early '90s who hit the road on a voyage of personal discovery and love of nature, and who died alone in the Alaskan wilderness in 1992. Very moving, great acting and breathtaking visuals.
Morning News Roundup
Some items that caught our eye this morning:
-- Gail Collins writes in today's NYT that Fred "Huckleberry" Thompson demonstrated in the recent Rethug "debate" that he "A) has all his marbles and B) is a terrible candidate." The article, "Calvin Coolidge Redux," also contains good thumbnails on the "debate's" other pygmies.
-- "Fox and Friends" had (M)ann Coulter on this morning trying to convince the hard-core cranks and crackpots that are the show's and Fux's audience that "conservatives" have "wit." She has a new book out, apparently, entitled "If Democrats Had Brains, They'd Be Republicans." Heh-heh. If it reveals the extent of wingnut wit, it's got to be a very thin book with very large print. And if (M)ann Coulter had an Adam's Apple, she'd be a man... uh, wait a minute...
-- The latest Quinnipiac poll shows Hillary beating Rudy Toot Toody in 3 battleground states (Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) by as much as 6 points. Rudy led in all 3 states in April.
-- The MSM have been abuzz lately about a reported rift between Sec. Rice and VP Deadeye Dick Cheney over how to deal with Iran. With the neocon chickenhawks beating the drums for a military strike, and Dumbya's track record of going along with whatever surrogate-daddy Deadeye wants, we have an uneasy feeling, to say the least, about how this is going to end.
-- Gail Collins writes in today's NYT that Fred "Huckleberry" Thompson demonstrated in the recent Rethug "debate" that he "A) has all his marbles and B) is a terrible candidate." The article, "Calvin Coolidge Redux," also contains good thumbnails on the "debate's" other pygmies.
-- "Fox and Friends" had (M)ann Coulter on this morning trying to convince the hard-core cranks and crackpots that are the show's and Fux's audience that "conservatives" have "wit." She has a new book out, apparently, entitled "If Democrats Had Brains, They'd Be Republicans." Heh-heh. If it reveals the extent of wingnut wit, it's got to be a very thin book with very large print. And if (M)ann Coulter had an Adam's Apple, she'd be a man... uh, wait a minute...
-- The latest Quinnipiac poll shows Hillary beating Rudy Toot Toody in 3 battleground states (Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) by as much as 6 points. Rudy led in all 3 states in April.
-- The MSM have been abuzz lately about a reported rift between Sec. Rice and VP Deadeye Dick Cheney over how to deal with Iran. With the neocon chickenhawks beating the drums for a military strike, and Dumbya's track record of going along with whatever surrogate-daddy Deadeye wants, we have an uneasy feeling, to say the least, about how this is going to end.
Labels:
coulter,
Fox News,
Fred Thompson,
Iran,
Republican Party
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Quote of the Day
"Any politician who believes their words can be an adequate substitute for the symbolic power of the American flag is sadly arrogant and horribly mistaken." CNN blowhard Lou "Shoot a Mexican for Me" Dobbs, commenting on political and media figures declining to wear a flag pin.
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." President John F. Kennedy, in contradiction of Dobbs' wisdom.
(photo: Dobbs guarding the border against illegal "Meskins")
A Wish Granted
Noted in the Washington Post: Last month, John Richard Ferguson, 73, was fly fishing in the Kispiox River in Canada. He landed a steelhead, and after the guide measured the fish and a friend took pictures, Ferguson bent over and suffered a fatal heart attack. He had told his wife, Janine, earlier that day that he wanted to die with a fly rod in his hands and a steelhead on his line.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Unintended Consequences
Dumbya's war on Iraq is having additional unintended consequences for Iraq's neighbors. Leaving aside the flood of Iraqi refugees pouring into Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia, Turkey is now faced with cross-border attacks by Kurdish guerrillas operating from northern Iraq/Kurdistan. The simmering conflict between the Turks and Kurds is starting to reach the boiling point. Turkey is a member of NATO, so does that mean that if Iraqi Kurds are guilty of aggression against our ally, we will come to Turkey's aid? Someone should ask Dumbya.
Bush Assministration Leak Undermines Intelligence Source
Well, the Bushitters have loaded up and shot themselves in the feet with both barrels. The Washington Post reports that a recent Bin Laden tape was provided to the White House by a private intelligence company in advance of its release by al Qaeda. The private company told the Assministration not to divulge the tape before al Qaeda released it, so as not to compromise their source. Of course, within hours Assministration officials had disseminated the tape to its favorite outlets, prominently Fux News. In doing so, they compromised an intelligence source, and allowed al Qaeda to tighten its security (and probably execute someone).
Heckuva job, Bushitters!
Heckuva job, Bushitters!
Monday, October 8, 2007
Quote of the Day
"This Administration doesn't make decisions based on facts, it makes facts based on decisions." Hillary Clinton, speaking in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
(h/t Time's Swampland)
(h/t Time's Swampland)
Brit Report: "War on Terror" Failing; Iraq a "Disastrous Mistake"
The Oxford Research Group has issued a report , according to Reuters, saying the "GWOT" is failing and producing more al Qaeda recruits. As if more confirmation of the Bush Assministration's catastrophic decision to go into Iraq rather than destroy al Qaeda were needed, Paul Rogers, the report's author, said the invasion had helped establish a "most valued jihadist combat training zone," and that even if recommended actions were taken to reverse course, it would still take "at least 10 years to make up for the mistakes made since 9/11." So much for the Rethugs being the party that can be trusted to fight the war on terror. The report, entitled "Alternatives to the War on Terror," also warns against the Assministration's apparent drift toward war with Iran, saying it would make matters "far worse." Given Dumbya's proclivity for choosing exactly the wrong path, what's the betting that we'll be attacking Iran in the near future?
Rethugs Set for Debate on Who Will Lose by Smallest Margin
As the post-middle-age crop of white men who are the Rethug presidential candidates gather for tomorrow's "debate," which is only notable because it will be Huckleberry Fred's debut, Hackwhackers has a bold prediction: the name Clinton will be spoken at least 10 times more than the name Bush. Rudy Toot Toody is already running against Hillary like he won the nomination; expect the other Rethugs to try to get the juices going in the die-hard base by getting on the Hillary-bashing bus, too. Meanwhile, nominee-in-his-own-mind Rudy Toot Toody would have a hard time carrying one precinct in his home town, according to Michael Goodwin in the NY Daily News.
Pictured above: recommended annual prostate exam for Rethug presidential candidates.
Pictured above: recommended annual prostate exam for Rethug presidential candidates.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Friday, October 5, 2007
Quote of the Day
"If we took away womens' right to vote, we'd never have to worry about another Democrat president." (M)Ann Coulter, offering sage political advice to Rethugs, who have already lost the African American and Hispanic vote in 2008 and beyond.
Rethug Values, Cont'd.
Shocking, shocking news that another Rethug politician has been caught toe tapping in a public restroom. This time, it's St. Bernard Parish, LA councilman Joey DiFatta, who was stopped not once, but twice, since 1996 for lewd behavior in a public restroom in a department store. Of course, he denies doing anything wrong, despite in one incident telling the police officer in the next stall "I want to play with you." Surely, Joey just meant he wanted to play cops and robbers with the officer.
Those Compassionate Conservatives
Paul Krugman has a great op-ed article in the New York Times, in which he dismantles right-wingers for their disdain for the working poor, the sick, and children. Not that this is new: Ronald "Raygun" spoke on TV in 1964, saying that the estimated 17 million Americans who went to bed hungry "were all on a diet." Right winger Wee Willie Kristol recently thought it was clever to joke about the veto of the children's health insurance bill by saying, "whenever I hear anything described as a heartless assault on our children, I tend to think it's a good idea." Interestingly, it was noted in Krugman's article that a study of Dumbya's famous verbal slips shows that they occured when he was trying to sound concerned or compassionate; he was strongest grammatically when he talked about punishing people.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
The Lewd Larry Saga, Cont'd.
A Minnesota judge has ruled that Rethug Senator "Lewd" Larry Craig can't withdraw his guilty plea, stemming from an airport bathroom sting in June. Although he had earlier promised to resign from the Senate if his plea couldn't be withdrawn, he's making noises that he may appeal and drag it out. Yes! It would be great to see the Rethugs squirm for a few months as Lewd Larry's name pops up in news reports and late night monologues, over and over again. Go, Larry, go!
Meanwhile, Lewd Larry has been assigned new office space (see photo) in the Senate Office Building, pending his appeal. He's being careful not to tap his foot.
UPDATE: Lewd Larry's saying he's going to finish his term in office. The plopping sounds you hear are Rethugs unloading in their pants.
Farewell Sneaky!
Rethug Senator "Sneaky" Pete Domenici (Rethug-NM) is expected to announce today his decision not to run next year. Sneaky has been damaged by his involvement in the U.S. Attorney scandal, when he tried to strong-arm U.S. Attorney David Iglesias into pursuing phony "voter fraud" allegations against Democrats just prior to the November 2006 elections. Sneaky has long been a Bushit enabler and a loyal patron of the oil/gas/nuclear energy industries. Best of all, his departure puts another Senate seat in the likely "D" column, with some strong Democratic contenders including Rep. Tom Udall, and Albuquerque mayor Martin Chavez.
(photo: Chimpy and Sneaky, happy together)
Start of the Race
Fifty years ago today, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first satellite to orbit the earth. It marked the beginning of the "space race." Those of a certain age in the U.S. can remember the shock and concern it caused, as the Cold War was heating up and the USSR seemed to be technologically superior. This caused the U.S. to accelerate its space program, and twelve years later, the U.S. landed a man on the moon.
(photo: Sputnik I being launched from the Baikonur Cosmodome, October 4, 1957)
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Dumbya to Uninsured Kids: Drop Dead
Presidunce Dumbya vetoed the children's health insurance bill this morning, and slipped off to a Pennsylvania speaking engagement to avoid the inevitable questions. The bipartisan bill (18 Rethugs in the Senate supported the bill) would have added another 4 million children for health care coverage. Bushit's reasoning for vetoing the measure? It might be a first step toward government-run healthcare. Another, more likely, reason? The insurance would be funded by an increased tax on tobacco, forcing a key Bushie industry to take it in the shorts.
Congressional leaders have said that they will keep passing the bill and sending it to the White House. Many Congressional Rethugs are furious because the Decider has once again hung them out to dry.
Limpballs and Lies
Pill-popping, teen prostitute-using radio talk winger Rush Limpballs is backpedaling from calling war veterans who oppose Dumbya's Iraq misadventure "phony soldiers," lying that his comment referred to a single soldier and was taken out of context. It's clear from his own transcript that he and a caller were discussing soldiers (plural) that spoke out against Dumbya's war. Senate Democrats have a resolution prepared which condemns Limpballs, a chickenhawk who ducked service in the military, and VoteVet.org has a terrific response from an injured Iraq war vet, who challenges Limpballs to call him a phony soldier to his face. Limpballs will never accept that challenge, instead referring to the injured vet as a "suicide bomber" against him. Interestingly, the vet, who also served in Afghanistan, was injured by a roadside bomb. Limpballs has no decency.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
"Ah Found, Ah Say, Ah Found A WMD, Boy!"
"Foghorn Leghorn" Thompson can't quite grasp reality, can he? In an appearance before a small group (becoming smaller with each day, hopefully), he insisted that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction before we invaded, despite even Dumbya's own admission that they didn't have them. That case was closed years ago, and virtually no one (even most Rethugs) disputes the fact the the WMD justification for war was hollow. Kind of like Foghorn's "haid."
Anita Hill Responds to Smear
In an op-ed piece in today's New York Times, Anita Hill responds to Justice Clarence "Injustice" Thomas' angry, self-serving smear of her in his new book, "My Grandfather's Son." Thomas continues to misrepresent Hill's character and motivations in the section dealing with charges of sexual harrassment in his troubling Senate confirmation hearings in 1991, and Hill knocks them down in her article. Thomas is not only the most reactionary justice on the Court today, he is widely viewed as the most right-wing since the early 1930s. According to Jeffrey Toobin's book "The Nine," Justice Scalia was asked what the difference was between his and Thomas' philosophy. Scalia reportedly said "I'm a conservative, a textualist, and an originalist, but I'm not a nut." Nut is right, and an angry one at that.
Monday, October 1, 2007
5 and 0, and Fifth
The Changing Justification for War With Iran
An article in the New Yorker by Seymour Hersh details the Assiministration's, and particularly Dead Eye Dick Cheney's, determination to attack Iran. Knowing that the public won't buy the story that Iran is on the verge of having a nuclear weapon (analysts are telling the Assministration that it's at least 5 years away), Cheney, and the numbskull he has to pretend to work for, have been focusing on Iran's supplying of explosives to Iraqi Shiite militia as a new justification. A former intelligence officer also says Cheney's group haven't planned for what will happen when - - not if - - Iran retaliates, probably by stepping up activities within both Iraq and Afghanistan. After witnessing the results of short sighted planning in Iraq, this should be another debacle in the making just in time for the next President to try to clean up.
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