Breaking: Warner will not seek 6th term

Damn, I bet the RNC is shatting all over itself regarding this news. The implications are endless.

Tags: John Warner

I didn't know a fat paycheck was expected to be a public servant.

Apparently Tony Snowjob thinks it is. He cited the lack of a decent paycheck as the reason he is leaving his job as Press Whore for BushCo.

Amazing.

Dana Perino gets her chance to run the gauntlet every work day and attempt to explain the bullshit moves by this White House in terms that won't make the average voter toss their collective cookies.

Tags: Tony Snow, Dana Perino

Bye Rove, don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!

No, he ISN'T leaving this way..damn it!
Today is Karl Rove's last day on the *cough* job. Lets send him off with a few remembrances of his 'best work' as Bush's Brain.
PlameGate..no more need be said on that.

Politicizing every department in the Federal Government.

Tell me, dear reader, what you remember with a cringe and a cussin when it comes to this pasty, overweight son of Satan.

Tags: Kar Rove, Bushs Brain

Hey Brotha..can you spare $50 Billion?

Thats the magic number Bush is now asking for to support the war effort in the middle east.

WTF did he do with the money they gave him a couple of months ago one might ask..According to the CommonDreams writeup:

The 50 billion dollars would be in addition to the 460 billion dollars in the fiscal 2008 defense budget and 147 billion dollars in a pending supplemental bill to fund the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

This is SUCH bullshit..pure, unadulterated bullshit. The Dem's need to cut off any more funding on this war. They need to go to NUTZ R US and rent a set for everyone.

I am out of town for the next 10 days..but I have internet..so I will be online but not as much as usual..that pool and jacuzzi are calling me :P

Artwork by The Worried Shrimp

Larry Craig is a CGR

Once again, our elected officials on the other side of the aisle are looking around embarrassingly while a republican gets caught with his pants down..or at the very least..tapping his foot like a mating call to the guy the next stall over.

Larry Craig is a CGR; Closeted Gay Republican.

It was announced Monday that he was busted earlier in June of this year, for soliciting sex in a public restroom in Minneapolis airport. It was Larry’s misfortune to hit on a cop that was patrolling the restroom because of repeated complaints about such activities. Larry took the plea bargain, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, which meant he didn’t have to plead guilty to the solicitation charge. So evidently Larry figures that means he didn’t do it. Larry Craig is going down fighting..oops, excuse the pun there, not intended..really, its not.

Right, and my momma can write the great American novel. In Larry’s world, never saying you did it aloud, means you didn’t do it period. In his press conference yesterday, ol’ Larry had this to say:

"I am not gay. I have never been gay." He went on to say, "I believe I can still be an effective leader for our state," and stated he would keep his plans to announce whether he will seek re-election next month.

Mr. Craig, wake the hell up and smell the coffee, or perhaps in your case the smelling salts. Mitt Romney dumped you like a fugly dude on blind date. He chastised your ass something fierce, to wit: “Mr. Romney first criticized Mr. Craig, who was also his Idaho chairman. "Once again, we've found people in Washington have not lived up to the level of respect and dignity that we would expect for somebody that gets elected to a position of high influence. Very disappointing. He's no longer associated with my campaign, as you can imagine… I'm sorry to see that he has fallen short."-and then, he promptly fired yo ass pal.

Mitt also invoked the name of Mark Foley..the last homophobe to get popped messing with individuals of the same sex…and dare I say…also a CGR, but I digress.

Now, the cow pie that Larry has stepped in is getting smeared all over the place. The upstanding Republicans in Senate are now calling for an investigation into Larry’s little flights of fancy that he takes when wandering around the men’s restroom at an airport outside of his district. If that’s not bad enough, CREW, an ethics group in DC filed a complaint with the Senate ethics committee seeking an investigation into whether Craig violated Senate rules by engaging in disorderly conduct.

It should be noted that Craig has faced rumors about his sexuality since the 1980s, but allegations that he has engaged in gay sex have never been substantiated. So, this isn’t a new allegation to ol’ Larry is it? But this time..he propositioned Johnny Law. Larry is basically calling the police report a lie and that his actions were ‘misconstrued’. Oh fuck me running..that is rich indeed! But I wasn’t born yesterday Larry so can the bullshit babe. From the police report:

Karsnia(the police officer) entered the bathroom at noon that day and about 13 minutes after taking a seat in a stall, he stated he could see "an older white male with grey hair standing outside my stall."

The man, who lingered in front of the stall for two minutes, was later identified as Craig.

"I could see Craig look through the crack in the door from his position. Craig would look down at his hands, 'fidget' with his fingers, and then look through the crack into my stall again. Craig would repeat this cycle for about two minutes," the report states.

Craig then entered the stall next to Karsnia's and placed his roller bag against the front of the stall door.

"My experience has shown that individuals engaging in lewd conduct use their bags to block the view from the front of their stall," Karsnia stated in his report. "From my seated position, I could observe the shoes and ankles of Craig seated to the left of me."

Craig was wearing dress pants with black dress shoes.

"At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moved his foot closer to my foot. I moved my foot up and down slowly. While this was occurring, the male in the stall to my right was still present. I could hear several unknown persons in the restroom that appeared to use the restroom for its intended use. The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot which was within my stall area," the report states.-Larry has explained this as he has a ‘wide stance’. Right.

Craig then proceeded to swipe his hand under the stall divider several times, and Karsnia noted in his report that "I could ... see Craig had a gold ring on his ring finger as his hand was on my side of the stall divider."

According to the police report, Craig handed the plainclothes officer a U.S. Senate business card during an interview with police, and asked the officer, "What do you think about that?"-Which last time I checked can smack of an abuse of power.

The newspaper, The Idaho Statesman has been checking Larry out for quite some time. This E&P writeup gives you all you need to know about what they uncovered or suspected.

Larry’s voting record has all the earmarks of an elected CGR..meaning he votes against anything that will allow the gays to obtain status as first class citizens here in the good old US of A., as per the CGR rulebook I believe. In recent years, Craig's voting record has earned him top ratings from social conservative groups such as the American Family Association, Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council- you know, the worldwide leaders of Theocratic bs in America.

Just a quick gander at his voting record on gay issues: Voted against gays being in the military, voted against gay unions, voting against legislation to ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, voted against expanding the federal hate crimes law to cover offenses motivated by anti-gay bias…just to name the headliners.

Yep, that is what the CGR’s do my dear reader..they say one thing and do another with vim and vigor! Sadly, they don’t have the brains God gave a dandelion to conduct their gay trysts in a secure location since they don’t want their CGR-ness to get out. He’s not on the Homeland Security committee is he? Man, I hope not.

A long and storied list of CGR’s is probably available online somewhere..It just has to be! Oh well, google at your leisure folks, I ain’t got the time. As you read this, I am traveling southward for 10 days to dog-sit for a well-off friend that has a pool, Jacuzzi, two wide screen plasma TV’s and a host of other benefits. I think will reside in the West wing this time around :)

Tags: Larry Craig, Republicans

Recommended Reads...

First, a humble thank you Chuck at The Divided States of Bu$hmeriKa for honoring me with the following award, and damn him for making me blush as well:

I am now rightly obligated to pass this award on to ONLY TWO OTHER BLOGS and link to the blog that bestowed this award on me (which I have done above). This is very difficult because I read plenty of blogs that are deserving,when I am able. Since I have to narrow my choices down to only two, I'll send this award on to the following two people that strongly believe in what they say:

Dave Away from Home

I heart Dave, he is spot on when he comments here and he does not mince words when it comes to corruption and the bullshit within our current administration. His insight makes me always think..and lord knows thats a good thing. It's a wonderful blog and should be on everyone's reading list.

My second choice is made because this woman speaks her mind, and she does it damn well. She's not shy by any stretch of the imagination. I love her spunk, intelligence and witty humor and I enjoy reading her daily. She delivers her pov with a wonderful snark and your missing alot if you don't read my dear ABB:

Angry Black Bitch

Please check them out. They are great and wonderful progressives that say things we all need to hear, and sometimes they walk to a different drummer and thats a damn good thing. We all need these types of folks in our blogging lives and I am proud to have read their wise words.

Now in the wise words of someone, I forget who...lets take the bastards in this administration down, ok?

Swiss Banker says our lending standards suck.

Amazing..the Europeans have finally figured out how fucked up our economy is and why. From the Telegraph.co.uk:

Switzerland's top banker has warned of massive losses from the unfolding credit crisis, describing the collapse in US lending standards as "unbelievable". Jean-Pierre Roth, president of the Swiss National Bank, said market turmoil was far from over as tremors from the sub-prime debacle continued to rock the world. "We're certainly not at the end of the story. There are question marks surrounding the development of the American economy," he said. "Something unbelievable happened. People who had neither income nor capital got credit with very attractive conditions. Now reality is striking back," he said.

Reality bites hard..

tags: American Economy, Housing Bubble, lending standards

Voices from the Gulf....

Tomorrow is the day Katrina hit. Here is a new video that shows how very little has changed for the residents of the gulf coast and NOLA specifically. There are still tens of thousands that can't come home. 30,000 families are scattered across the country in FEMA apartments, 13,000 are in trailers, and hardly any of the 77,000 rental units destroyed in New Orleans have been rebuilt.

Sign the petition

Urge the United States Senate to pass Senator Dodd's Gulf Coast Recovery Bill of 2007 (S1668) to assist the Gulf Coast region in rebuilding the infrastructure lost after the Katrina and Rita disasters.

Passage of this bill is an important step towards returning the Gulf Coast residents to their homes.

These are good, hard-working people that our government has forgotten..

DO NOT LET THEM BE FORGOTTEN.

Tags: NOLA, Katrina, Brave New Films, Voices from the Gulf

Maliki touts agreement on key laws..

From Jurist:

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki announced Sunday that sectarian leaders have come to an agreement on several contentious draft laws which have been identified by the US as key to the country’s progress. Under the new agreement, former Baath Party [party website, in Arabic]; members not convicted of any crimes will be allowed to participate in the political process and serve in the civil and military service and procedures will be established to allow the release of uncharged security detainees. One of al-Maliki’s advisers also indicated that the leaders have agreed to a draft law on the distribution of oil revenues . The proposals must all still be adopted by the Iraqi Council of Representatives [official website, in Arabic].

In early August, the Sunni Iraqi Accordance Front left the government after al-Maliki refused its demands that he pardon uncharged security detainees and let all government-represented groups participate in security matters. Later five Iraqi Cabinet ministers belonging to the secular and nonsectarian Iraqi National List announced a boycott of government meetings, effectively ending Sunni representation in al-Maliki’s government. The move prompted Shi’a and Kurdish leaders to create a new coalition government to ensure that the coalition government will maintain a majority in the 275-seat legislature and be able to push through legislation seen as essential to the stabilization of Iraq. Reuters has more. BBC News has additional coverage.

Ah yes..the Oil LAW..Of course, like Bush…Maliki saying doesn’t make it so..but we shall see won’t we?

Tags: Maliki, Iraqi Government, Iraqi Oil Law

Who will replace Gonzo??

Since Congress is still on 'vacation', and I use that word loosely, we can amuse ourselves by trying to second guess who the Decider-in-Chief will pick to be the next AG of our fair nation. First however, enjoy looking at a copy of Abu Gonzales resignation letter.

The name of Michael Chertoff has been bandied about. God save us if this asshat gets the nomination. He's about as useful as tits on a bullfrog in my humble opinion. All you have to do is link Mikie with Katrina for the love of Pete..also his job as part of the Whitewater prosecution team, that was a fruitful job no? Yes, Mikie was a damn judge and assistant AG..bfd..the man couldn't deal with an emergency if his life depended on it, just ask the folks in the Gulf region..But lets run with this just for a moment my dear reader..

Ok..Chertoff in..who takes over Homeland security? OMG..not Clay Johnson! That bag of batshit has as much experience as I do when it comes to a background on running the nations security and dealing with terrorists..no experience in the many responsibilities of the department, including immigration, air travel security, disaster response, and other aspects of our nation's homeland defense. Nope..but he does have a Bush Doll on his desk in his office AND he is one of Bush's oldest friends..from prep school no less my dear reader. I am sure that trumps anything anyone else in the Western Hemisphere has for the job of keeping us safe from terrorists.

LMAO..that will get him the job post haste..I swear to god it will..because all Bush really wants is a LOYAL BUSHIE.

Fuck it whether any of these guys are good for either of those jobs..all that matter is they love Georgie and they are big FANS of BushCo.

I call bullshit on this crap right now..but I doubt anyone will listen.

Oh, and Bush's little speech-i-fying about how Gonzo's good name was drug through the dirt? Give me a fucking break you asshole..Abu Gonzales was your best bud and ally..he singlehandedly allowed torture and put the Constitution at risk of disappearing by telling you wiretapping Americans was a good thing and legal. Read it and weep my dear reader:

"It's sad that we live in a time that a talented and honorable person like Alberto Gonzales is impeding [sic] from doing important work because his good name was dragged through the mud for political purpose

Oh fuck you Georgie..the man was his own worst enemy..and your best enabler. He is gone..suck it up and deal you fuckwit.

Tags: Michael Chertoff, Clay Johnson, Gonzogate

Gonzales has resigned, effective today..

AP is reporting that Alberto Gonzales has left the bulding! It's about friggin time, but it just makes you wonder why BushCo caved in now. The NYT has this info as well on their site:

Mr. Gonzales, who had rebuffed calls for his resignation, submitted his to President Bush by telephone on Friday, the official said. His decision was not announced immediately announced, the official added, until after the president invited him and his wife to lunch at his ranch near here.

Mr. Bush has not yet chosen a replacement but will not leave the position open long, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the resignation had not yet been made public.

Good riddance you worthless bag of batshit.

Tags: Alberto Gonzales, Gonzogate is over

August 29, 2005

The day Katrina hit the coast. The day normal life ended on the gulf coast of our United States. The day BushCo fell down on the job and all hell began to break loose. The day BushCo’s biggest domestic fuck-up began. Need I say more? nah..

Obama is unveiling his plan for fixing the region today. All or most of the Democratic candidates for President will be streaming into NOLA to point their fickle fingers of fate at BushCo and how crappy a job he and his cadre are doing. The NYT has a writeup of Obama’s grandiose plan to fix the region and the agency’s that deal with this kind of catastrophy. A small wisp of it:

The Gulf Coast restoration, Mr. Obama said, has been weighed down by red tape that has kept billions of dollars from reaching Louisiana communities. As president, he said, he would streamline the bureaucracy, strengthen law enforcement to curb a rise in crime and immediately close the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet in order to restore wetlands to protect against storms. Mr. Obama also said that he would seek to lessen the influence of politics in the Federal Emergency Management Agency by giving its director a fixed term, similar to the structure of the Federal Bureau of Investigatio n. The FEMA director would serve a six-year term, under Mr. Obama’s plan, and report directly to the president.

Doesn’t the head of FEMA report to the President now? He is also planning other big moves, ones that probably need to be made..such as opening a DEA office down there. My, that is all well and good, but I read recently the prisons are over-crowded already pal. Another snip of what he is planning to say:

“Let New Orleans be the place where we strengthen those bonds of trust, where a city rises up on a new foundation that can be broken by no storm,” Mr. Obama is planning to say Sunday, according to remarks provided by his aides. “Let New Orleans become the example of what America can do when we come together, not a symbol for what we couldn’t do.”

Man, he sure is good with the rhetoric isn’t he? But no where in the article do I see how he plans to pay for his great plans..Isn’t that just as important as what you plan to do? One should note that two years after the flood, only 40% of the FEMA money has reached the area. Just fixing that bullshit will go along way to fixing the region.

Tags: Katrina, NOLA, FEMA, Obama

Crossposted at Bring it On!

Petraeus playing politics..whilst dining with congressmen and women

The people in Iraq can't even get electricity 24/7 or running clean water. Yet Petraeus and our elected representatives are dining on lobster tortellini in Baghdad. This isn't the worst of it however. That Petraeus would sit in a comfortable environment and lobby for the surge whilst eating this elitist food is wrong on many levels. Its wrong because it sends the imperialist message that the masses can 'eat cake' and suffer whilst the elite mutha fuckas suffer notta damn bit. The masses of course being the millions of Iraqi's suffering through 115-120 degree temperatures without electricity, clean water or any of the other basic needs of a nation of human beings.

The NYT has a writeup entitled: Hear a General, Hug a Sheik: Congress Visits Iraq. It gives us a picture of what some of the congress did during their summer vacation. A snippet from the article:

The featured guest was Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American military commander in Iraq. With an array of charts and maps behind him, he told the lawmakers President Bush's troop buildup had produced "tactical momentum," a phrase that he would use repeatedly in Congressional briefings and that lawmakers are now beginning to use as well.

The meal was just one stop in a jam-packed tour that included visits with Sunni and Shiite tribal leaders ("a sheik engagement," the Pentagon itinerary said), a chat with the Kurdish deputy prime minister and the all-important photographs with hometown soldiers to show constituents at election time. Just another day in Baghdad in August, high season for Congressional travel to Iraq.

The trips, highly choreographed affairs known as codels, for Congressional delegations, are an annual rite of summer for lawmakers, but they have taken on fresh urgency. With Democrats running Congress and Mr. Bush's troop increase due for an intense re-evaluation in September, roughly 50 lawmakers have tromped through Iraq this summer, and their impressions are having a profound effect on the debate.

Such bullshit..so craptastic, I think my head will explode after reading it. So when we hear how bad OR good it is over in Iraq, just think of these fuckwits dining quite comfortably whist the people of Iraq tried to make it through another day without being poisoned by the water they drink, suffer heatstroke and die, or get shot or bombed by extremists groups as they tried to buy food for their kids.

I think the gauge for how the 'war is going' should be how the Iraqi's are suffering Are they suffering less or more? Do they have more basic necessities than they did a year ago? Just remember, we did this to them. We have turned Iraq into a bottom feeding third world natioin..but it was for their own good of course, according to BushCo.

crossposted at Bring it On! and Sirens Chronicles

Tags: Iraq Lies, congressional junkets, Petraeus,

Terror suspect database catches few terrorists but does capture anti-war activists

Almost 20,000 people ended up, for whatever reason, in the govt's terrorist database. That..is a lot of people wouldn't you say?

Get this...the govt wants to 'open up' the list to private entities. You know, we contract so fucking much of our needs out these days, it shouldn't surprise anyone that the fuckwits wish to make all sorts of lists, like the airline passenger list, available to people outside the govt. From the WaPo article:

A range of state, local and federal agencies as well as U.S. embassies overseas rely on the database to pinpoint terrorism suspects, who can be identified at borders or even during routine traffic stops. The database consolidates a dozen government watch lists, as well as a growing amount of information from various sources, including airline passenger data. The government said it was planning to expand the data-sharing to private-sector groups with a "substantial bearing on homeland security," though officials would not be more specific.

Of course they wouldn't be specific..please..its all a big freaking secret don't you know? Over half of the folks 'detained' were collared by the folks at Customs and Border Patrol. Another snippet of the WaPo article here:

Slightly more than half of the 20,000 encounters last year were logged by Customs and Border Protection officers, who turned back or handed over to authorities 550 people, most of them foreigners, Customs officials said. FBI and other officials said that they could not provide data on the number of people arrested or denied entry for the other half of the database hits. FBI officials indicated that the number of arrests was small.

So, if the number of arrests are small..why keep all this information on everyone? It's a valid question. It makes one wonder what qualifies someone to be included on this damn list. It makes on wonder who's civil rights are being violated and what is the determining factor for all this bullshit.

David Sobel, senior counsel with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy organization, said the numbers "suggest a staggeringly high rate of false positives with respect to the identification of supposed terrorists." He added that "this really confirms the long-standing fear that this list is inaccurate and ultimately ineffective as an anti-terrorism tool."

False-positives..gee, that makes ya feel all warm and fuzzy don't it? Nothing this dimwits do makes me feel warm and fuzzy with regard to protecting Americans by violating their civil rights. We do not know what they did to get on the list, we have no idea what the govt does with the information once its deemed the individual isn't a threat to America. But we do know this..THEY KEEP THE INFO FOR 99 YEARS. Let me type that again..they keep it for 99 freaking years.

Its all bullshit in a barrel folks.

If you think for one minute YOUR not on this list..think again. Being an anti-war activist could damn well land your happy ass on this 'database'. Let's take an example from the WaPo writeup, Francisco "Kiko" Martinez, a Colorado lawyer and civil-rights activist:

"A driver's license check revealed [Martinez] as a possible individual having ties with terrorism," a state trooper wrote after a 2004 stop near Chicago, according to one report.

Last year, Martinez sued the federal government, claiming that he was unlawfully detained and that he was included on a watch list as a result of his political activities.

Last month, he won a $106,500 settlement from federal, state and tribal authorities. Though the settlement did not address any of the underlying constitutional claims, Martinez asserted that it "shows that I shouldn't have been on this terrorism watch list in the first place" and that "the government is misusing this so-called war against terrorism to target its domestic political opponents."

Like I said..bullshit in a barrel.

Crossposted at Bring it On! and Sirens Chronicles


Tags: War on Terror, Federal Fuckwits at the Helm, Antiwar Activists, Government Database

Lest there be any doubt...

Espn is reporting that Michael Vick's father has issued a statement that Vick's 'thing' is and has been dogfighting. He asked people to stop sugar-coating this issue. Vick used to hold dogfights in his family's home in Newport News until his dad told him to knock it off.

Everyone and their mother is reporting Vick is suspended indefinitely from playing for the NFL. Its a just and correct move imho. This means he can apply for reinstatement after his jailtime is served.

If this doesn't end the race debate on this issue, I don't know what will. Michael Vick is one sick sumbitch, regardless of his color. From Daddy's mouth:

"I wish people would stop sugarcoating it," Boddie told The Journal-Constitution. "This is Mike's thing. And he knows it ... likes it, and he has the capital to have a setup like that."

Rudy hires a crop of Racists for his campaign

Well, well..isn' t this a bunch of bat guano my dear reader. Rudy has hired the fuckwits, aka the brains behind the Harold Ford smear commercial, to run his ad campaign.

Isn't that friggin special? Oh yeah, for people like us that pay attention, its SO damn disgusting I almost threw up a little in my mouth when I read it a few minutes ago. From the AP writeup:

WASHINGTON - Republican presidential contender Rudy Giuliani has a new team of media consultants with a strong record of electing GOP candidates, sometimes using controversia l ads.

The team is led by Heath Thompson and his Dallas-based firm, Scott Howell & Company. Thompson, as director of President Bush’s 2000 campaign in South Carolina, helped Bush to an 11-point victory in that state.

Last year, a commercial made by Thompson’s firm for Tennessee’ s U.S. Senate race was criticized for what the NAACP and others said were racial overtones.

That was THE most underhanded bullshit ad run during the entire campaign last year. And it worked! That fact alone should depress and sicken you. Harold was winning until the Rethugs pulled out their big guns. With Heath Thompson at the helm Rudy is guaranteed to wage an underhanded, no holds barred campaign.

Guess he’s desperate..i ts the move of a man that either thinks the voting public won’t know or give a damn..or he is desperate enough to win at any cost.

Sort of like George Bush did.

Crossposted at Bring it On!

Tags: Heath Thompson, Giuliani, racist,

Head of DoJ Civil Rights Div cutting and running.

This makes an even dozen I believe..or damn close to it. From WaPo:

The head of the Justice Department's embattled Civil Rights Division is to resign at the end of August, officials said yesterday, making him the latest in a series of senior political appointees to leave the agency amid continued controversy over Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.

Wan J. Kim, the assistant attorney general for civil rights since November 2005, has been closely questioned by congressional Democrats about the administration's policy decisions and allegations by former career officials of improper hiring within the division, mostly under his predecessor.

The hits just keep on coming at the DoJ...who's running the fucking place now? Is anyone home? Christ, it's a mess at our nations highest law office. The NYT gives us their spin here.

Tags: DoJ, Wan Kim, Civil Rights, cut and run

Allawi paying for lobbyists to tout him for Iraqi PM

To the tune of 150K a month, Allawi has hired one of the biggest stars on the lobbying circuit. The letter (click for larger) shows the whole contract and billing cycle for Allwai.

He is of course campaigning for Maliki's job. Gee, its almost like the Presidential election cycle here my dear reader!!!

Its a swiftboat campaign to boot!!!!

At least the Iraqi's have learned something from the American Democracy BushCo has been shoving down their throats.

Too bad its the smarmy side of Democracy.

Tags: Allawi, Maliki, Iraqi government, Lobbying

My President will be...

From Russ Feingold and the Progressive Patriots Fund comes this wonderful video. It seems during the YKos convention in Chicago a couple of weeks ago, PPF asked attendees to tell them one quality or attribute they wanted in their next President. Sadly, after watching the video I can testify that our current resident of the Oval Office has none of those great qualities in the video. The video reminds me of an old INXS video, the title of which escapes me.



If you go to their site, they have a download of the placard used in the video. They want you to fill it out and then take a photo of youself holding it to use on their website. A noble venture indeed my dear reader! Russ Feingold is one of the very FEW elected rep's that I still trust. Sadly, the list is getting smaller all the time...

Tags: Russ Feingold, Progressive Patriots Fund,

Fred ‘the Tool’ Thompson..is he for real?

As many know by now, Mr. Thompson has been made a bit uncomfortable recently by a blogger who has filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission. Lane Hudson filed a complaint that alleges Thompson has violated the FEC law regarding candidates for office called the ‘testing the waters’ clause. If you spend more than $5,000 on campaign activities, you're a candidate, whether or not you've officially declared. Within five days of receiving the complaint, the FEC must notify the Thompson exploratory committee and provide it with a copy of the complaint. An AP article states: "The law prohibits anyone who is 'testing the waters' from hoarding the money for use during his actual campaign. Potential candidates also cannot refer to themselves as candidates, can't run ads that publicize their intention to campaign or take steps to qualify for the ballot in a primary or caucus state."

Well, it seems Fred is going to have to explain himself to at least the FEC. This is a good thing to me, no one should be able to play coy AND take in millions in contributions. He has raised, according to the AP article linked above, at least $3.5 million so far and only spent a paltry $625K. That might be construed as hording, right? Thompson has 15 days to get his story straight for the FEC. I doubt that they will accept the answer our coy boy Fred gives to the Media, which is, he is "testing the water, and the water's warm."

The money Fred has raised is small potatoes compared to the likes of Obama, Clinton and the top 3 republican candidates. This might signal that Fred isn’t quite the charmer he is touted to be in the press. Add to that fact another staffer has left his campaign..er..his non-campaign and this brings the total to 4 that have either been demoted, fired or quit on ol’ Freddy so far..and he hasn’t even announced! His list of new hires is quite legendary however:

John And Jim McLaughlin as pollsters

Tim Griffin As Communications And Message Advisor.

Todd Zeigler As Part Of eCamapaign Team

Former Chief Speechwriter For Attorney General John Ashcroft, Ed McFadden As “Adviser.”

Former Senate leader and White House chief of staff Howard Baker

Former FOX producer Jim Mills

Thompson is supposed to represent the so far unrepresented southern conservative base. Hooking up with Howard Baker supports that assertion made in the press since Baker is the ‘godfather’ of southern conservatism. The other assertion made by the media is that Thompson represents the Reagan ‘aura’ reincarnated. I don’t know about that one my dear reader, but the media is sure playing it up as witnessed by this article entitled; Is Fred Thompson another Reagan? Hopefully people are considering more than the fact that both men were actors. As the article points out the obvious for us:

Both men come across as strong, authoritative figures on stage and screen. Their speaking voices are fluent and resonant, though vastly different. Reagan's was smooth, mellow, grandfatherly. Thompson's is deep, gruff, sometimes gravelly. Both men were blessed with the gift of gab and a flair for spinning a good yarn.

But the times are much different now than they were back in the days of Ronnie Ray-guns. There is a recession heading our way possibly with the housing debacle..a war that is highly unpopular with the majority of Americans regardless of party affiliation just to name to of the biggest issues. Reagan enjoyed a high popularity among voters and the times were good in the first administration. There was, true to republican form..the Iran-Contra coverup however. But enough on Ronnie..back to Freddie. David Johnson, a political consultant has this view of the Thompson/Reagan connection:

“Reagan was also the eternal optimist and, like Franklin D. Roosevelt, used his speeches to raise people's spirits. "That was Reagan's whole persona," Johnson said. "That's what his greatness was, very much like Jack Kennedy. Thompson, on the other hand, is more a 'just-the-facts' type of person. He doesn't lift to the oratorical lengths that Reagan or Roosevelt did or even Bill Clinton did."

As evidence, Johnson cited a speech that Thompson gave to a group of Republicans last May. Some complained that the address, Thompson's first as a prospective presidential candidate, was disappointing.

Lets not forget Freddie’s job during the Watergate Affair. Nixon, on those infamous tapes, referred to Thompson as "dumb as hell" but "friendly." Somehow I don’t see Fred as dumb, but I do think of him as typically smarmy ala most republican’s that say one thing but believe another. I still am not sure if he was a double agent during Watergate hearings either.

But the bottom line is Fred Thompson isn’t what he appears to be. He is well polished and changing his pov to keep from pissing off the Neocon right is something he excels at my dear reader. His Senate career was marked only by its lack of highlights and his lobbying career was intermittent between 1975-1993 but public disclosure records show he made around a million large during his lobbying career. He represented Westinghouse, two cable television companies, the Tennessee Savings and Loan League, the Teamsters Union's Central States Pension Fund, and a Baltimore-based business coalition that lobbied for federal grants. He also supported the bill that deregulated the savings and loan industry and some say caused the big S&L debacle.

And FYI..he did not vote to impeach Bill Clinton but he did support Scooter Libby and was on the advisory board for his legal defense fund. It’s interesting that he supported the Free Scooter Libby group..but had never met the man prior to his indictment. He also has stated in the last month that he would actively work to overturn Roe v. Wade.

For more dirt on Freddy, Wikipedia has a whole section entitled: Fred Thompson controversies on some things I haven’t even touched on..enjoy!

Tags: Fred Thompson, FEC

The Wingnuts have started a Pro-War group!

Sweet Jeebus in a speedo..Ari Fleisher your a friggin' tool dude..seriously...you are. TPM has an extensive writeup about Ari's new pro-war site called..oh lawd have mercy..

Freedom's Watch

I know..they grab all the great names for their sites don't they? By they I mean the pro-war wingnuts. Anywho...get a load of the TPM writeup:

A new right-wing group called Freedom's Watch is rolling out a $15 million ad buy across the country. The group, which is backed financially by various big-money donors for President Bush's past campaigns, is advocating in favor of the Iraq War in what a conservative answer to MoveOn.

The ads feature disabled veterans or the family members of fallen troops, saying that the Iraq War and 9/11 are linked and urging us not to give up in Iraq — or in their words, "surrender." And another message runs very strong through the ads: That withdrawal from Iraq can/will result in another 9/11.

"They attacked us, and they will again. They won't stop in Iraq," one veteran declares, as the screen shows a shot of the smoking Twin Towers. "We are winning on the ground and making real progress. It's no time to quit — it's no time for politics."

I will just say this..I hope Ari's little gang of bullshit artists suffers the same fate as Fox Noise's "Half hour NewsHour" tv show..which was recently shit-canned after it's current run is over. As for the soldier in one of their videos..sad to see your still drinking the BushCo koolaid dude..IRAQ DID NOT ATTACK US ON 9/11..THE SAUDI'S DID. Btw dear reader..they went full tilt by hiring a soldier that lost both of his legs for that video.

As for politicizing the Iraq War..wtf has George Friggin Bush done for his entire second term? Now I have read that the wingnuts at FW are targeting these ads in Republican-held districts so they can shame the Rethugs in office into continuing to support King George's madness in Iraq.

Oh, I forgot..the yahoo's at Freedoms Watch have learned how to make YouTube work for them..so you can enjoy all their propaganda video's at the TPM link. I personally refuse to put their garbage on my blog.

From Politico comes a list of the wingnuts that are running this asylum:

The board consists of Blakeman; Fleischer; Mel Sembler, a Florida Republican who was Bush's ambassador to Italy; William P. Weidner, president and chief operating officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corp.; and Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition.

The donors include Sembler; Anthony Gioia, a Buffalo businessman who was Bush's ambassador to Malta; Kevin Moley, who was Bush's ambassador to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva; Howard Leach, a former Republican National Committee finance chairman who was Bush's ambassador to France; Dr. John Templeton of Pennsylvania, chairman and president of the John Templeton Foundation; Ed Snider, chairman of Comcast Spectacor, the huge Philadelphia sports and entertainment firm; Sheldon Adelson, chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. and ranked by Forbes magazine as the third-wealthiest American; and Richard Fox, who is chairman of the Jewish Policy Center and was Pennsylvania State Chairman of the Reagan/Bush campaign in 1980.

Tags: Freedoms Watch, Ari Fleisher

30-3..are you kidding me?

Ok, I know this is a political blog..but for the love of PETE..the Orioles got tagged for 30 friggin runs? By Bush's old team the Rangers no less?

About the 7 men from the 82nd Airborne..gotta love their truthiness.

Cribbed from my daily email from Slate.com, it says it all for moi:

In April 2006, six retired generals called for then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's resignation. In May of this year, Lt. Col. Paul Yingling, an active-duty officer, wrote an article lambasting the Army's general officer corps as lacking "professional character" and "moral courage." Now, just last Sunday, seven infantrymen and noncommissioned officers--all finishing their 15-month tours in Iraq with the 82^nd Airborne Division--took to the New York Times op-ed page to dismiss prospects of victory as "far-fetched" and recent appraisals of progress as "flawed" and "surreal."

This last insiders' protest is the most jaw-dropping and may ultimately be the most potent. It is unusual enough to see officers--active or retired--publicly denouncing military superiors or civilian leaders for mistakes or deficiencies in wartime. But for NCOs--none higher in rank than sergeant--to air their contrary views on the war (and, implicitly, their sour views of high-ranking policy-makers) is, as far as I can tell, unprecedented: an act of, depending on your politics, great courage or outright insubordination--or, perhaps, both.

When the fox guards the henhouse..

Seems when Richard Stickler, King George's head Mine and Health Safety Administrator used to run mines he didn't have a real good record. Bet this is a shocker right? Not really..nope.

An article on a local ABC news website has this: "Stickler used to be a mining executive who - according to various media reports - ran mines which had several fatalities and "...an incident rate that was often twice the national average."

If that isn't enough..check out another quote from the article: "Also coming to light, is the fact that Stickler's nomination to head the mine administration was twice rejected by congress and rejected when republicans were still in charge."

Now, if the Repubes didn't want this fuckwit to run things..you KNOW he majorly sucked ass right? Seriously my dear reader..is there any question?

So what did King George do? What he always does when he can't slide one of his cronies into a postion..he gave him a recess appointment. Oh yeah..the same way Bolton got his job as UN Ambassador. Waited until Congress was on vacation and then just appointed the bag of batshit. That's how Georgie rolls isn't it...

Stickler is now being referred to as the new "Brownie"..fitting don't you think? Cat's out of the bag now Georgie..you worthless scumbag.

Tags: Richard Stickler, Utah mining safety, Administration of Mining and Health Safety, Recess Appointment

IraqSlogger going to pay-per-view

By that I mean as of September 1st, it will become a 'premium subscription service'. Well, la-dee-fucking-da boyz! Guess your ready for the big time now?

I have been reading IraqSlogger since it's inception roughly 8 months ago. I get their morning newsletter. No one is better at delivering ALL the Iraq news and issues better than IraqSlogger. They even give us the Iraqi newspapers that do NOT come out in English..meaning they translate them for us on their site. The founder, Eason Jordon was formerly a big time executive for CNN. To read a good writeup about Mr. Jordon and how he kissed BushCo's ass and drank the Koolaid during the run up to and beginning of the Iraq War as head honcho for CNN, check out this Alternet article.

Evidently, they are getting a rarefied audience which includes mucky-mucks in government both here and abroad. Strike whilst the iron is hot they say, so IraqSlogger is..to the tune of $60 bucks a month to access their site. Per the notice I got this morning:

Based on that, it's clear a large number of our readers come from the Iraq-focused professional community -- diplomats, analysts, policy makers, military personnel, government contractors, humanitarian workers, journalists, and scholars.

Guess I won't be relying on IraqSlogger for all my Iraq news needs after that date and evidently they don't need my readership base...we are the small, poor potatoes when it comes to internet readership.

To which I say..piss off you elitist snobs..I hope you fall on your fucking face. Even the elitist periodicals have a certain amount of accessible articles online. Recently the NYT has made the decision to stop charging for access to their 'premium' writers online. IraqSlogger is making the entire site a "paid subscription accessible only" site.

And $60 a month? No one is worth that...especially you Eason Jordan, you brown-nosing sumbitch.

tags: IraqSlogger, Eason Jordan

Thoughts on the Karl Rove Sunday spin-a-thon

I have read the transcripts and give NBC an F for not bringing up the MC Rove debacle. Of course thats because in the video David Gregory is seen alongside Krazy Karl dancing his dumb anglo ass off. Pussies.

The big surprize was Chrissy Wallace going after Rove like a hungry wolf on issues I thought were safe for the Fox Noise rightwing agenda. Like PlameGate. Wallace actually 'went to the tape' showing Bush running his pie-hole in the memorable press conference where he says NO ONE in his office is involved.

Anyone else swig some Mylanta and sit through any of the Rove Sunday Tour?

Winner of the "Dump Dick" video contest has been named.

With August being the anniversary of Nixon's resignation..damn, its been 33 years?? Democrats.com created a video contest, and they have announced the winner. Its a fine video too. The producer of the video is also the actress who phones Pelosi. Its pretty good, so take a minute to watch it:



Democrats.com had lots of entries which you can watch here.

tags: Impeach Cheney, Dump Dick

Israel has it's own immigration problem..Darfur refugees

And what they plan to do is refuse them entrance now. Seems they don't want all those illegal immigrants coming into their country. Even if they are escaping the same type of genocide that Jews fleeing Germany dealt with. They will be returning them to Egypt, which is interesting because Israel and Egypt aren't on the best of terms.

Just don't seem right to me.

Tags: Darfur, Genocide, Israel

The "Daily Show" actually goes to Iraq.

The show does a faux Iraq piece but this one, from TruthDig is real apparently. Monday the reports, which were made while a small group from the show appeared in Iraq with a USO comedy tour, start running. From TruthDig's writeup:

Beginning Monday, "The Daily Show" will air a series of reports from Iraq—the real Iraq—taped during a USO outing by "senior military analyst" and former decorated Marine Maj. Rob Riggle. Along with a field producer and writer for the show, Riggle ditched the green screen for a five-day stint titled "Operation Silent Thunder: The Daily Show in Iraq."

Must see tv!

Tags: The Daily Show, Rob Riggle

The man behind the Reagan curtain passes.

Michael Deaver died today at home from pancreatic cancer. He was 69. He was the man who molded Reagan into the image he projected to the public. This CBS news writeup has a good quote:

"When it came to conveying Mr. Reagan's message, the cry at the White House was, 'Leave it to Deaver,'" Knoller said. "He chose the settings and staging, and operated the bells and whistles, that helped President Reagan earn his reputation of being 'the Great Communicator' — but he couldn't have done it without Michael Deaver."

Adieu Mr. Deaver, you did one helluva job deceiving the American public.
Tags: Michael Deaver, Reagan

FISA court considering FOIA request.

I bet this news put a crimp in King George's vacation yesterday. According to the NYT:

In an order signed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, the presiding judge, on Thursday and released on Friday, the court called the A.C.L.U.'s motion "an unprecedented request that warrants further briefing."

The court ordered the government to respond on the issue by Aug. 31, saying that anything involving classified material could be filed under court seal.

The ACLU is claiming victory just by the mere fact that the FISA court and head jurist Ms. Kollar-Kotelly are even considering the FOIA request.

Tags: FISA, FOIA, ACLU

Its a Karl Rove Sunday on the boob tube

A fitting place for Turdblossom I think. He will be on Meet The Press, Face The Nation and last but exceptionally least...Fox News Sunday.

Christ, I can't wait..can you?

Tags: Turdblossom, Karl Rove

Countrywide Mortgage has problems..to put it mildly.

A day after the news broke that Countrywide Mortgage was having a bit of "financial problems"..customers lined up by the hundreds to yank their money out of the banking end of the corporation.

Countrywide Financial tried to assuage the worry and fear that they were going under. They are the biggest mortgage company in the nation, but they also were loaning money to folks that could not afford the homes they were buying. From an LAT writeup:

The parent firm borrowed $11.5 billion Thursday by using up an existing line of credit from 40 banks, saying the money would help the lender meet its funding needs and continue to grow. But stock investors, apparently alarmed that the company felt compelled to use the credit line, sent Countrywide's already battered stock down an additional 11%.

That doesn't send a warm and fuzzy message to Wall St. does it? Nor does it send a good message to their customers..the LAST folks they need storming the doors to withdraw their hard-earned cash. Some branches actually ran out of cash and customers were forced to leave their names and get on a list to withdraw their funds.

But, if you listen to Wall St and those wonderful folks in high finance..the housing market problem is just a little blip on the screen..right pal..shades of the Great Depression to me. Countrywide was playing fast and loose with the loans it was making..like many of the Mortgage brokers..as witnessed by this tidbit from the LAT writeup:

Countrywide recently was funding about $40 billion a month in mortgages. Of those, about half qualified to be sold to Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, and half were "nonconforming" loans the agencies don't buy, including sub-prime mortgages to higher-risk borrowers as well as jumbo loans, which account for 43% of all mortgages issued in Southern California.--Sub-prime is code for a shaky loan evidently.

tags: Countrywide Financial, mortgage industry, housing market








EDIT: If you want to know how bad off Countrywide is..here is a comment from a fellow blogger that I want everyone to see from my comments section: "Countrywide has my mortgage and it has nearly doubled in amount since last year which is why I'm trying to sell my house. No, it's not an ARM nor have I refinanced the loan or been late on any payments--in fact before it went up so drastically I was paying extra against the principle. They didn't pay my escrowed insurance, either, which I had to pay out-of-pocket to be reimbursed in June. Have I seen the reimbursement yet? Ha ha, good one! There's a website with hundreds of complaints about CW called "Countrywide Sucks" or something like that. A class action suit was mentioned on the site but I don't think there is one, yet."--Thats fucked up and I hope to God they all sue.

Verdict reached in Jose Padilla trial..

Per MSNBC: Jose Padilla was convicted of federal terrorism support charges Thursday after being held for 3 1/2 years as an enemy combatant in a case that came to symbolize the Bush administration's zeal to stop homegrown terror.

Padilla and co-defendants Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi face life in prison because they were convicted of conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim people overseas. All three were also convicted of two terrorism material support counts that carry potential 15-year sentences each.

The Jurist: A federal jury found Jose Padilla and his two co-defendants guilty Thursday on all charges against them. Padilla, Adham Amin Hassoun, and Kifah Wael Jayyousi were convicted of conspiracy to commit illegal violent acts outside the US, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, and providing material support to terrorists. They face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Padilla, a US citizen, was arrested in 2002 at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and subsequently detained as an "enemy combatant" at a Navy military brig in Charleston, South Carolina.

Initially accused of planning to set off a "dirty bomb" in the United States, Padilla went from enemy combatant to criminal defendant when he was finally charged with other offenses in November 2005. Padilla was transferred to civilian custody in January 2006 and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Tags: Jose Padilla, Gitmo

Fox Noise busted! Vandalizing Wikipedia

It’s all over the internets, FNC (Fox News Corp) has been busted vandalizing Wikipedia. From TV Newser:

Ungerleider writes, “Bloggers Geeks Are Sexy compiled a list of Fox News’ extensive Wikipedia edits - which, among other things, posted false information about the ratings of Fox News shows, accused Keith Olbermann of making light of Peter Jennings’ death and deleted ratings info for MSNBC programs.”

Typical for Fox Noise..nothing but bs and bravado coming out of that place.. unfair and unbalanced? You betcha!

Tags: Wikipedia, Fox Noise busted, FNC

Kucinich: DLC and Neocons on the same page.

"The Democratic Leadership Council's agenda is indistinguishable from the Republican Neoconservative agenda," he went on. "They want to continue to stay in Iraq. They reject the idea of a not-for-profit health care system. ... These analysts are ... trying to keep a politics that really helps support a privileged few at the expense of the many. So I'm the candidate of the people."

You got that right Dennis! Seems anything that supports the general population is considered liberal by the Republicans and the Republican-lite party..aka the DLC Democrats. Read the entire writeup of Kucinich's weekend visit with ABC's This Week here.

Tags: Kucinich, DLC

Fast-tracking death row inmates

Bush did the same thing when he ran the state of Texas. He is set to 'fast-track' death row inmates, removing what has been due process for an inmate sentenced to death for a crime. As the IHT article points out:

The US Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales - Mr Bush's top legal adviser during the spree of executions in Texas in the 1990s - is putting finishing touches to regulations, inspired by recent anti-terrorism legislation, that would allow states to turn to the Justice Department, instead of the federal courts, as a key arbiter in deciding whether prisoners live or die. The US is already among the top six countries worldwide in terms of the numbers of its own citizens that it puts to death. Fifty-two Americans were executed last year and thousands await their fate on death row.

Ah yes..our Decider-in-Chief will now decide who lives and who dies..how freaking ironic that Bush and his lap dog Abu Gonzales will have this power..power btw that the Democrats gave them.

Disgusting bit of record-setting by Georgie per the IHT article: President Bush has always been a death penalty enthusiast. The 152 prisoners he dispatched to their deaths in his eight years as governor of Texas set a high-water mark unmatched before or since.

I feel for the record, I should state that I have been a death penalty proponent until now. I felt comfortable that many of the checks and balances were in place to guarantee that an innocent individual was not put to death. With this new twist..I no longer feel the same.

Tags: death penalty, due process, Alberto Gonzales

The RNC ready to claim Executive Privilege

From Jason Leopold and TruthOut come this story:

The Republican National Committee said it will not abide by a subpoena and turn over documents to a Congressional committee investigating the firings of at least eight US attorneys last year because the RNC is waiting to see if the White House will assert executive privilege over RNC documents at the center of the controversy, according to an outside law firm retained by the RNC.

The White House has asserted executive privilege to block senior administration officials from testifying before Congress about their involvement in the decision to fire the federal prosecutors. Moreover, the White House has cited executive privilege in declining to turn over specific documents to Congress that may shed further light on the circumstances behind the attorney firings. The US attorneys believe they were fired for partisan political reasons. In some instances, the US attorneys said they were pressured by Republican lawmakers and RNC operatives to file criminal charges against Democrats at the center of public corruption probes prior to last year's midterm election as well as individual cases of voter fraud, which the attorneys said was based on weak evidence, in order to cast a dark cloud over Democratic incumbents and swing election results toward Republican challengers

Hell, isn't everything Executive Privilege by now under King George? We need Congress to move their ass..but wait..they are on vacation..never mind.

Turdblossum..The man, the myth...

The rancid bag of batshit...that is...Karl Rove. He led the charge that saw America becoming a warmongering, selfish, over-indulgent shell of it's former self. We borrowed millions to wage holy wars for oil..and..lol..democracy. The laugh is pure irony at the thought of what Democracy has become with Karl Rove writing the scripts and talking points.

Rove didn't make policy..he just spun it for BushCo. He was the fixer, he got the word out and tried to always put a decent spin on it..even if it meant saying the same damn things over and over and...over. He politicized Departments that had never experienced that level of party politics just to do their friggin jobs.

Now, he will write a book, become rich and speak to us only if we pay him to. Hopefully the final chapter will show that Rove failed and the Great Republican monarchy he tried so hard to help build...will crumble into a steaming pile of mierda in the next election cycle. Here is hoping America will make a left turn into the middle and walk away from the abyss that Rove helped create.

One can only hope this spin-meister won't be able to spin the historical perspective of George Bush's presidency.

Tags: Karl Rove, Turdblossum