Light posting

Sorry I haven't been around today. I just got too much shit to do. I'll try to post something of substance after dinner.

Friday Cattle Dog Blogging

Princess Shayna keeps an eye out for her crazy friend across the street. As you can see, Mrs. F is doing better, able to sit up in the livingroom and read a book now. Steady progress.

"We achieved tactical surprise, but there wasn't anybody home..."

MyWay

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.S. and Iraqi troops pressed their sweep through a 100-square-mile area on Friday in a bid to break up a center of insurgent resistance, the U.S. military said. No resistance or casualties were reported.

"We believe we achieved tactical surprise," Lt. Col. Edward Loomis, spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division, said of the day-old Operation Swarmer. He said about 40 suspects were detained, 10 of whom were later released.

Center of insurgent resistance? 30 "suspects"? My dyin' ass! Sounds like some ignorant native with a cell phone saw the helicopters, deduced which direction they were headed, and dropped a dime on 'em. The insurgents didi'ed or went underground - oops, wrong war! - fired up their Toyotas and camels and boogied. I don't blame 'em. I wouldn't wanta tangle with the 101st Airborne either.

Civil War in America

Margaret Kimberley at AlterNet:

Every year the Sons of Confederate Veterans use the North Carolina statehouse to celebrate their annual Confederate flag day ceremony. It has become more common in recent years for some white Southerners to openly wax nostalgic for the days when their ancestors fought and died to preserve slavery.

It is easy to see a connection between present-day yearnings for a return to Dixieland and renewed efforts to threaten voting rights. It is less obvious to see similar connections with trends elsewhere in the country. South Dakota is a long way from South Carolina, but that state recently joined the battle to turn back the clock on civil rights and return to the bad old days when white men ruled and everyone else was subservient.

The right to abortion became the law of the land with the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. In the absence of that decision being overturned by the court, the action of the South Dakota legislature gives the finger to the United States Constitution and anyone who believes in it. South Dakota has fired on Fort Sumter. Congressman John Conyers stated, "Victory in the South Dakota case will give conservatives renewed momentum to challenge all the other freedoms we hold dear."

The 21st century Confederates are succeeding because no one is willing to stand in their way. The Argus Leader, the largest newspaper in South Dakota, announced it will not take an editorial position on the new law. Spineless editorial page editor Chuck Baldwin made this amazing comment about his decision to gag himself. "Rather than change anyone's mind, we would create another controversy."

Translation: The powerful have spoken, and I'm not bucking the system.

Civil rights and civil liberties are in grave danger. They will disappear if there is no willingness to fight for them. Preserving them will mean having to fight against some of our fellow citizens. We can fight with nonviolent methods, but there has to be a fight. The only alternative is to find ourselves back in the days when everyone knew his or her place and didn't dare step out of it.

That's exactly why we're here. All that's required for the wingnuts, government and civilian both, to succeed is for us to do nothing. Over my dead body.

Pay up, sucka

You are now $30,000 more in the hole than you were a couple days ago. My lovely neighbor:

In today's episode of Fuck The Poor, the Senate voted fuck everyone to raise the debt limit allowing the government [to] borrow another $781 billion without raising taxes or cutting frivolous spending. This means that each and every American now owes $30,000.

...

Congratulations. I don't know about you, but I got a problem with people spending our money like it's free.

Fear

I think Ben Wood brought it up in 'comments' here over the past week and Creature jumped on it last night. The Dems seem to be suffering from a Stockholm Syndrome-type affliction.

Feingold, Harkin, Boxer, Kerry, Menendez. What do these Democrats have in common? They have chosen to stand up for the rule of law and are willing to censure George Bush.* Count'em, five. What are the rest of them so afraid of? What have they got to loose [sic]? Nothing, according the to first censure poll to hit the streets today.

...

The Democratic 'base' (I hate that name, reminds me of the mouth-breathing Jesus freaks who are 'Bush's base' or al-Qaeda in a literal translation.) has shown they will back serious initiatives by our representatives if they'll only stand up for what is right. The polls back that up. Let's go get 'em.

Note to Dem House and Senate incumbents: I realize this blog isn't Kos or Eschaton, but if you want our support as Election Day nears, you'd better give us something to support. Right now, in my book, you're nothing more than the lesser of two evils.

American Theocracy

Well, if I haven't scared the crap out of you yet today, this one oughta do it. Salon reviews Kevin Phillips' new book.

American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century

Oil, religion, and finance are not new elements in U.S. politics, but as Phillips makes clear with his formidable command of fact, figure, and history, and his long experience as a political strategist and observer, we are now in new and dangerous territory. The Bush coalition has resulted in a dearth of candor and serious strategy - a paralysis of policy and a government unable to govern. If left unchecked - the same forces will bring a preacher-ridden, debt-bloated, energy-crippled America to its knees. With an eye on the past and a searing vision of the future, Phillips confirms what too many Americans are still unwilling to admit about the depth of our misgovernment.

Please go read the rest of the stuff. I liked (maybe that ain't the right word - it was a good book) American Dynasty about the Bushes and it wised me up a lot to what's going on. I hope they have this new book at Costco on Saturday.

Daddy's fucked it up so bad Mommy may not be able to fix it...

Good metaphorical rant at Clusterfuck Nation.

My own guess is that actual conditions in the household may be too far gone for even Mommy to set things right. Our situation with oil and natural gas are much more dire than the kid's realize. Dad's investments were idiotic and his portfolio is shredded. Not only is the house about to be repossessed, but the car and the home theater will be going with it. The bad 'hoods around the world are set to explode. The kids are going to have to grow up fast. Some will just go feral. Some will become Mommies and Daddies themselves, and they will try to form new households with the remnants of the old one. Maybe they can cobble together something like an American common culture out of whatever's left, and recreate some organizing principles for a family life that make sense.

Kunstler likens our nation to the Cleavers. Does that make Cheney Eddie Haskell and Rumsfeld Lumpy?

I wish he'd used the Nelsons. I wanta be Ricky.

Is another 9/11 in the works?

We here at the Brain have touched on this before, but Antiwar.com's Paul Craig Roberts says it well:

If you were President George W. Bush with all available US troops tied down by the Iraqi resistance, and you were unable to control Iraq or political developments in the country, would you also start a war with Iran?

Yes, you would.

If you were being whipped in one fight, would you start a second fight with a bigger and stronger person?

That's what Bush is doing.

Opinion polls indicate that the Bush regime has succeeded in its plan to make Americans fear Iran as the greatest threat America faces.

The Bush regime has created a major dispute with Iran over that country's nuclear energy program and then blocked every effort to bring the dispute to a peaceful end.

In order to gain a pretext for attacking Iran, the Bush regime is using bribery and coercion in its effort to have Iran referred to the UN Security Council for sanctions.

In recent statements President Bush and Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld blamed Iran for the Iraqi resistance, claiming that the roadside bombs used by the resistance are being supplied by Iran.

It is obvious that Bush intends to attack Iran and that he will use every means to bring war about.

One of the more extraordinary suggestions is that a low yield, perhaps tactical, nuclear weapon will be exploded some distance out from a US port. Death and destruction will be minimized, but fear and hysteria will be maximized. Americans will be told that the ship bearing the weapon was discovered and intercepted just in time, thanks to Bush's illegal spying program, and that Iran is to blame. A more powerful wave of fear and outrage will again bind the American people to Bush, and the US media will not report the rest of the world's doubts of the explanation.

Reads like a Michael Crichton plot, doesn't it?

Fantasy? Let's hope so.

I wouldn't put it past him.

My tinfoil hat ain't cuttin' it no mo'. Excuse me for a while. I gotta go out and get enough Reynolds Wrap to do my house!

"I've been all the way to the West Coast...almost to Ohio..."

NYPost

ALBANY - Gaffe-prone Republican attorney-general candidate Jeanine Pirro has done it again - bragging about her knowledge of upstate areas while erroneously claiming New York has a border with Ohio.

Pirro's bumble occurred during an interview on Albany's WROW-AM, as she bragged about her upstate credentials: born in Elmira and educated at SUNY Buffalo and Albany Law School. "I've been to Chautauqua County, which is all the way on the west coast, I should say the west end, of New York, bordering Ohio," the ex-Westchester DA said.

In fact, Chautauqua borders Pennsylvania. New York has no border with Ohio. Pirro later offered up another malapropism after acknowledging her geography mistake: "Am I better than that? Absolutely not."

If the Repubs scrape much farther for candidates, the barrel won't have a bottom left!

Stick it to him...

I like long sentences. Here's one of the grammatical kind from Will Durst:

I don't know about you guys, but I am so sick and tired of these lying, thieving, holier-than-thou, right-wing, cruel, crude, rude, gauche, coarse, crass, cocky, corrupt, dishonest, debauched, degenerate, dissolute, swaggering, lawyer shooting, bullhorn shouting, infrastructure destroying, hysterical, history defying, finger- pointing, puppy stomping, roommate appointing, pretzel choking, collateral damaging, aspersion casting, wedding party bombing, clear cutting, torturing, jobs outsourcing, torture outsourcing, "so-called" compassionate-conservative, women's rights eradicating, Medicare cutting, uncouth, spiteful, boorish, vengeful, noxious, homophobic, xenophobic, xylophonic, racist, sexist, ageist, fascist, cashist, audaciously stupid, brazenly selfish, lethally ignorant, journalist purchasing, genocide ignoring, corporation kissing, poverty inducing, crooked, coercive, autocratic, primitive, uppity, high-handed, domineering, arrogant, inhuman, inhumane, insolent, know-it-all, snotty, pompous, contemptuous, supercilious, gutless, spineless, shameless, avaricious, poisonous, imperious, merciless, graceless, tactless, brutish, brutal, Karl Roving, backward thinking, persistent vegetative state grandstanding, nuclear option threatening, evolution denying, irony deprived, depraved, insincere, conceited, perverted, pre-emptory invading of a country that had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11, 35-day-vacation taking, bribe soliciting, incapable, inbred, hellish, proud for no apparent reason, smarty pants, loudmouth, bullying, swell-headed, ethnic cleansing, ethics-eluding, domestic spying, medical marijuana-busting, kick-backing, Halliburtoning, New Deal disintegrating, narcissistic, undiplomatic, blustering, malevolent, demonizing, baby seal-clubbing, Duke Cunninghamming, hectoring, verbally flatulent, pro-bad- anti-good, Moslem-baiting, photo-op arranging, hurricane disregarding, oil company hugging, judge packing, science disputing, faith based mathematics advocating, armament selling, nonsense spewing, education ravaging, whiny, unscrupulous, greedy exponential factor fifteen, fraudulent, CIA outing, redistricting, anybody who disagrees with them slandering, fact twisting, ally alienating, betraying, god and flag waving, scare mongering, Cindy Sheehan libeling, phony question asking, just won't get off the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling, two- faced, inept, callous, menacing, your hand under a rock- the maggoty remains of a marsupial, oppressive, vulgar, antagonistic, brush clearing suck- up, showboating, tyrannizing, peace hating, water and air and ground and media polluting which is pretty much all the polluting you can get, deadly, illegal, pernicious, lethal, haughty, venomous, virulent, ineffectual, mephitic, egotistic, bloodthirsty, incompetent, hypocritical, did I say evil, I'm not sure if I said evil, because I want to make sure I say evil...

EVIL, cretinous, fool, toad, buttwipe, lizardstick, cowardly, lackey imperialistic tool slime buckets in the Bush Administration that I could just spit.

Impeachment? Hell no. Impalement. Upon the sharp and righteous sword of the people's justice.

I'm mellowing in my old age, so the other kind of 'long sentence' for the slime buckets would do. In Leavenworth. In lieu of that, the 'short drop' would be fine. Or their heads on a pike.

I told ya so...

I'm usually not one to say that, especially in a team setting where all should learn from missteps and move on to better things. However, after being called a traitor, unAmerican, a terrorist sympathizer because I disagreed with this President over the 'War on Terra' and the illegal war in Iraq, let alone the rotten domestic policy moves, it's nice to be vindicated. I told you so, you idiots.

...

"Do you all remember Scott Ritter, you know, the former chief U.N. weapons inspector who played chief stooge for Saddam Hussein? Well, Mr. Ritter actually told a French radio network that - quote, "The United States is going to leave Baghdad with its tail between its legs, defeated." Sorry, Scott. I think you've been chasing the wrong tail, again.

...

That was from the twit Joe Scarborough. No, Joe, you imbecile, Scott knew what he was talking about then, just as we vets who know something about the combat disciplines. You see, while all the amateurs talk 'strategy and tactics', the people who know talk 'logistics'. Ask a bunch of combat vets how hard it it to keep an occupying army on the ground without them turning into targets. Blood is thicker than water and Shi'ite and Sunni are Iraqis first and we'll always be Infidels.

It's all well and good to envision an ending that has us hailed as liberators, but I think France in World War Two was the only time it happened. Every other place we've 'liberated' now says 'Yankee go home'.

If you're gonna read history, you have to understand it too. The U.S didn't enter WW2 to become a colonial power. To see parallels to Iraq, you have to draw on the British, and French, colonial pursuits and our incursion into Vietnam when the French threw up their hands after 3rd Parachute Regiment died at Dien Bien Phu. Yes, Vietnam was supposed to have become a client-state of the West against the scourge of Communism. As much a colony as U.S. public opinion would allow. Too bad McNamara didn't get it either.

All these clowns, if they read history at all, certainly don't understand it. Yes, I, and a whole bunch of people smarter than me, told you so and you refused to listen. Guys like Scarborough are accomplice to the incompetent idiots who fucked this nation to Hell. Thing is, we have all your statements on record. Like MJS says:

...

Funny thing about the Internet: it's a great way to keep track of what was said by who, and when and where. Bloody Internet! Bloody Information Highway! Bloody Computers!

...

When it's time for a reckoning, I hope you all pay the price.

Screwing the vets...again

The great Bob Geiger:

In case you missed it in the Senate yesterday, Daniel Akaka (D-HI) proposed a bill to increase Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2007 and Republicans shot it down with extreme prejudice.

...

And you wonder why, among other reasons, this veteran has no use for Republicans? They only see soldiers as, to quote my esteemed colleague Gordon, 'cannon fodder and deck apes'. If you can't fire a rifle, you're useless ot them, regardless of any past service to this nation.

Yes I am

I am bashing the Dems lately. Know why? Because they're (not all of them) a pitiful excuse for an opposition party. You know who:

...

What the rest of the Democratic Party ain't gettin' is that the nation is fuckin' begging for the party to stand up and say, "Enough." Bush's poll numbers are in the tank despite non-stop coverage of every flea fart of a speech he gives, despite the political talk shows being filled to swelling with Republicans and Joe Lieberman saying how goddamned wonderful the President is, except for a minor thing here or there, like, you know, the war; with the bloviators of the air and of the Congress saying that it's unpatriotic to question the President; and without any serious news organization or investigative body exposing the rotten worm and maggot-filled underbelly of all the scandal that's eating away the nation. Turn that log over, and you'll retch from the disgusting sights and smells. Still, still, the public is done with this President. So you know what? Here's the big fuckin' conclusion, so listen the fuck up: [my ems]

...

Wake the fuck up.

More 'Strategists'

Robert Parry weighs in on these losers.

So, by the time he ran for president in 2004, Kerry was silent about his heroic investigations of the 1980s. He presented himself instead as a careful politician who spoke in a fog of nuance. Whenever he seemed poised to crush the bumbling George W. Bush, Kerry retreated into poll-tested platitudes.

As it turned out - as the younger Kerry would have understood - the greatest risk was to play it safe.

In life, you often don't get a second act. Except, of course, for Democratic "strategists," who always seem to get a second act, even a third and a fourth, no matter how often they lose. Strategist Bob Shrum, for instance, has been a chronic loser in presidential races but is still sought out by Democratic hopefuls, including John Kerry in 2004.

And, when they're not applying their cold hands to Democratic campaigns, the strategists can put a chill on any Democrat's principled behavior by whispering in the ears of journalists that a seemingly noble act is reckless, calculated or somehow both.

While Feingold's proposal could be viewed as a moderate step - expressing congressional disapproval short of impeachment - Washington Post reporter Charles Babington searched out unnamed "Democratic strategists" to make Feingold's plan look both craven and crazy.

The lesson for Democrats who want to stand and fight is that they must respond to this three-sided problem with a three-pronged solution: challenging Republican wrongdoing without fear or equivocation; building media outlets that will circumvent the smug mainstream press; and standing behind the rare Democratic politician who shows some courage.

Go read it.

Last night on The Daily Show there was a segment with Ed Helms interviewing Paul Hackett, who is "the rare Democratic politician who shows some courage" if there ever was one.

Helms also spoke to a 'Democratic strategist' who said pretty much what the 'strategist' in Fixer's post said: "Just stand back and let the Republicans screw up and we'll win".

Helms then said, and I paraphrase, "I know what you mean. I got robbed the other day. This bum was beatin' the crap out of me with a bottle. I didn't fight back because I knew eventually he'd hit himself with it and take himself out. Finally, he did. Even though I was beaten, battered, and bleeding, I felt I'd won."

Then, Helms played the 'strategist' to Hackett. Hackett was doing campaign commercials, telling the truth and standing on principle, and Helms would come in and get him to tone it down and in general remove all the substance so as not to be controversial and 'alienate' voters with facts. At one point Helms pointed at Hackett's Marine Corps Eagle, Globe, and Anchor emblem hanging on the wall and told him to "Oh, and lose that thing".

I think the skit illustrated the whole problem pretty well. If anybody's got a link to video of that, please let me know.

Update:

Thanks to the usual amazing in-depth research by Fixer, you can see the clip at Crooks and Liars. Enjoy.

Lou and the 'Strategist'

So I'm watching Lou Dobbs in the wee hours this morning (last night's show) and he's got that twit John Fund on, along with Michael Goodwin of the Daily News and Hank Sheinkopf a "Democratic political consultant and strategist". Lou stretches Fund's sphincter (not that I'm a big fan of Lou Dobbs, but I love it when he gets pissed) in this exchange:

...

DOBBS: A limit, and speaking of limits, debt limits. We are watching the national debt rise. The federal debt limit has just -- we're going to hit it this week. And at the same time, the treasury secretary says, John Fund -- John Snow says, "We don't want to have anything attached to this debt limit," like as the Democrats are calling for, "some reduction in federal spending."

The chairman, the new chairman the Federal Reserve on this very day says "Yes, we need to deal with the budget deficit."

FUND: We have a lot of federal spending because we have a broken budget process that's 30-years-old and out of date. The only time we have ever had substantive budget reform, Lou, is attached to a debt- ceiling bill. Perfect example in the 1980s. This is a tremendous lost opportunity if we just raise the debt and don't do something about the underlying disaster that is our federal spending machine.

DOBBS: Well you can talk about process but nonetheless, pro force, a very good economy, pro force bipartisan action. Bill Clinton was able and give the devil his due whether you're Republican or Democrat, he was able to create surpluses for three years with this process. This is about decisions that are being made by leadership both in the Congress and the White House that says the hell with the consequences.

FUND: Just remember...

DOBBS: You're a conservative.

FUND: ... those three years of surpluses, over half of that was the Internet bubble, which was a one-time.

DOBBS: Oh please.

...

And it goes on from there, Fund sputtering Rethug talking points every time Lou gives him the evil eye. Now, you'd think the Dem 'strategist', Scheinkopf, would take the opportunity to lay out a Dem plan to bring the deficit into line and reduce the hemorraging of money from the Treasury. You'd expect that, wouldn't you? If it were me, I'd grab Fund by the tie and slap some sense into him (or shit out of him; whatever works) but more civilized folks would say 'look, we quit throwing money at Halliburton and Iraq, roll back some of the Chimp's tax cuts for the wealthy, we might work our way out of this mess in a generation'. I mean, Lou even softened the Repuke up for ya. Jump on his ass, right? But no. This is the Dem 'strategy':

...

SHEINKOPF: We live in a land of sound bites. They've got to wake up. Every time they open their mouths, they make it easier for Democrats. Democrats just need to stand there, smile, let them keep doing what they are doing. [all my ems in quotes]

...

And you wonder why we lose. Some strategy, idiots.

The poor Slob-idan

Neocons eulogize their hero. Heh...

Spineless bastids

...

Republicans savored the Democrats' discomfort. Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., pushed for an immediate floor vote; Democrats protested, saying they hadn't yet read the resolution. Several Democrats offered empathy for Feingold's frustration but no overt support for his resolution.

...

What a bunch of losers. I want a new party. When your guy goes to the mat for you, you're supposed to back him up. How much Republican crap have you passed without reading it. That's part of the reason were in the situation we're in.

...

Several Democrats said that before any censure, they want the Senate Intelligence Committee to finish an investigation of the warrantless wiretapping program. In that program, the National Security Agency is allowed to eavesdrop on international calls and e-mails of U.S. residents when terrorism is suspected.

...

Oh, you mean the same committee who wants to change the law after the fact to absolve Chimpy McStupid of any crime? Idiots. Morons. Dickheads. Losers.

No choice at all

Sirotablog has this:

Election '06: GOP Culture of Corruption vs. Dems Culture of Weakness

The American Heritage Dictionary describes the term "weak" as "lacking firmness of character or strength of will, lacking aptitude or skill, lacking the ability to function normally or fully or lacking authority or the power to govern." Incredibly, even with President Bush at an alltime low, we are watching the Democratic Party in Washington fulfill all these definitions and more.

The question, then, of the 2006 election is really simple: will voters support the GOP's culture of corruption, or will they support Democrats culture of weakness? Because that's exactly what this election is really going to be about. Democrats will air lots of commercials hammering the GOP for the corruption scandals, and the GOP will air lots of commercials hammering Democrats for having no positions at all on major issues. You can already see their strategy - just look at how House Speaker Denny Hastert recently aired this message loud and clear.

Frankly, that's an awful comparison for Democrats. People certainly hate corruption, but polls show most believe both parties are corrupt. And people would likely rather have a corrupt party running the show, then one that is so weak, so indecisive, and so needlessly frightened of its own shadow that it can't take the most basic stands. And unless Democrats start turning this around, all their righteous, and well-grounded indignation at the GOP scandals will sound like whining and crying - not an effective call to remove the GOP from power.

"GOP Culture of Corruption" link (Jeez, how d'ya choose from that list?) goes to Americablog about Nortwist, whom I'd love to go quail hunting with. 'Nuff said.

"Dems Culture of Weakness" link (Jeez, how d'ya choose from that list?) goes to HuffPo:

In the face of this brazen unconstitutional power grab by a wildly unpopular president -- what do the Democrats do? Cower! It is hard not be repulsed by them.

The only prominent politicians I have any respect left for now are the four horsemen of the Democratic Party -- Al Gore, Russ Feingold, Howard Dean and Jack Murtha. They must rebuild this party from the ground up.

The cowards who run it now are more afraid of their own shadows, and the shadow of Fox News Channel, to ever stand up for the people who voted for them in the first place. The whole country is waiting for you stand up to these bullies. Will you, for the love of God and country, do it already?!

Two out of three of these posts are good. Fuck Norquist. I just put that there for reference. Go read.

There's no choice whatsoever in Election '06.

We can deal with weakness. We can't deal with Republicans.

So far, reality refuses to conform

Molly Ivins on Bush's foreign policy:

Until Sept. 11, except for staring deep into Vlad Putin's ice-blue eyes and concluding the old KGB shark had soul, Bush evinced little interest in foreign affairs.

And since then?

Unfortunately, reality uncharitably refused to conform to the Bush administration's demands -- in fact, reality kept blowing up in our faces. In Afghanistan and particularly in Iraq, reality turned out to be downright ugly about not obliging our blithe president.

So far, it looks as though Bush does better on foreign policy when he's being an isolationist. Maybe he should just stay home and cut taxes for the rich some more, or go expose some CIA agent for political payback against her husband, or just spy on a lot of American pacifists.

When I heard him deploring xenophobia (that's fear of foreigners) on the Dubai Ports deal, I did a double- take. Michael Chertoff of Homeland Security again has said the trouble with homeland security is that it threatens trade -- all important, all sacred trade, profits above all. For the umpteenth time, it is not only possible, but smart to insist on adjusting free trade for labor standards, for environmental standards and even so your ports don't get blown up.

Well, maybe, if we ever get a real president.

The RNC [hearts] me

This is in the mail when I get home from work.

Dear Friend,

I know that you are a strong grassroots leader on Long Island.

Which means you understand that the future of our country and President Bush's bold second term agendais at stake in the 2006 elections.

Good.

Will the liberal Democrats regain total control of Congress and roll back the gains the country has made over the last five years?

I certainly hope so. If those are gains, I'd hate to see what your idea of setbacks are, Kenny-boy.

The liberal Democrats are working to obstruct action on the President's positive policies in a cynical attempt to recapture Congress in 2006. Their left-wing allies are raising hundreds of millions of dollars and willing to pay any price to aid the Democrats' power grab.

Shit, I'm even putting tuna fish and powdered milk under my bed, but I feel safer sitting in my Haitian buddy's house with his chicken legs and orangutan scroti filled with voodoo dust hanging outside his front door.

You can make a difference by activating your membershp to the Republican National Committee for the 2006 election year. Please use the postage-paid envelope to become an RNC Sustaining Member for 2006 by sending your contribution of $100, $75, $50, $35 or $25 today.

I'm running for my checkbook. Tell you what, I'll send you a blank one and you fill in the amount. I mean, if I can't trust President Bush...

With your help, I am confident the Republican Party will be victorious in 2006. Please let me hear from you today.

Sincerely,

Ken Mehlman
Chairman, Republican National Committee

Stop, you're killing me. What's that I smell? Is that the scent of desperation? If you're hitting me up for money, you must be.

Where's that shredder...

Pi Day

Today is 3/14. Get it?

The Pimp-in-Chief

Ernie McCray does a nice job comparing the Oscar-winning song to our pimp.

And the pimp in the movie says "It's f--- up where I live, but that's just how it is. It might be new to you, but it's been like this for years." And he says something about how, when it comes down to what's happening in his world, "It's blood, sweat and tears." But our pimp shares no tears as he looks out at people who've shed blood and tears for years and years yet have no medical care or food to eat and have no place to live. And it's been like that for years, and others have tried to make it right but Dubya has absolutely no help to give. He's too busy pimp slapping folks in places faraway, trying to tell them how to live. But he doesn't have to knock us, we the people, around because as his "ho's" we only show our disdain in polls. Then we just walk the streets as pitiful souls who don't fully understand just how democracy goes.

Go read. You'll like it.

Aaarrrggghhh

Can't they get anything right? They had this case down; Moussalaoui was 'dead man walking'. They could have got this guy ritual colonoscopies for the rest of his life, had his arm ripped off and had him beaten to death with it, but they still couldn't leave well enough alone. The 'Culture of Corruption' raises it's ugly head again.

If their fuckups wouldn't be so serious, this government's actions would be comical. We could play a game; 'Let's See What They Fuck Up Next', make a weekly series out of it maybe? These clowns couldn't play by the rules, even if it was in their best interests. Fortunately, shit like this just adds ammo in our pile come November.

Speaking of November. Connecticut women, please get Holy Joe out of there. Ned Lamont is one of those candidates who will get a contribution from me.

Role models

If the Dems want one, they should just look at Russ Feingold. By the way, my vote and my money are going to Russ if he runs for President in '08. If any of you other incumbent Dems want a donation from me this year, you'd better start acting like the distinguished senator from Wisconsin, otherwise your opponent in a primary will get my cash.

The Right's Man

Don't care much for McCain? Neither do I. Here's Paul Krugman with a few choice words about him. Thank you, Tennessee Guerilla Women.

It's time for some straight talk about John McCain. He isn't a moderate. He's much less of a maverick than you'd think. And he isn't the straight talker he claims to be.

No offense, Mr. Krugman but, once again, DUH!

So here's what you need to know about John McCain.

He isn't a straight talker. His flip-flopping on tax cuts, his call to send troops we don't have to Iraq and his endorsement of the South Dakota anti-abortion legislation even while claiming that he would find a way around that legislation's central provision show that he's a politician as slippery and evasive as, well, George W. Bush.

He isn't a moderate. Mr. McCain's policy positions and Senate votes don't just place him at the right end of America's political spectrum; they place him in the right wing of the Republican Party.

And he isn't a maverick, at least not when it counts. When the cameras are rolling, Mr. McCain can sometimes be seen striking a brave pose of opposition to the White House. But when it matters, when the Bush administration's ability to do whatever it wants is at stake, Mr. McCain always toes the party line.

Mr. Krugman uses a lot of nicer words than I do to describe McCain's fellatorical relationship with the Chimp.

It's Monday

Ironic Times

TEXAS: DeLAY TROUNCES THREE CHALLENGERS IN GOP PRIMARY
Indicted congressman easily outpolls convicted child molester, confessed mass murderer and former Nazi prison guard.

New Website Traces Travels of $10,000 Bill
So far it's bounced around Washington, from a representative for a pharmaceutical firm, to a full-time lobbyist and finally into the hands of the Senate Majority Leader.

And in Sports:

U.S. Team Loses to Canada at World Baseball Classic
Americans complain Canadian players pay less for their performance-enhancing drugs.

Damn commies!

Republican Twilight Zone

Go watch this despicable, ridiculous Republican campaign commercial at Crooks and Liars.

A Political Act

From BuzzFlash:

On March 8, BuzzFlash ran an interview with Al Franken. The interview included this exchange:

BuzzFlash: You must be ecstatic that you didn't do an interview for the film "The Aristocrats." Are you familiar with the film?

Al Franken: I am. But I haven't worked up my "aristocrat." I suppose if I'd been asked to, I would have worked one up.

BuzzFlash: After you get elected, maybe you'll have to come up with the Senate version.

Al Franken: On the floor of the Senate - tell the aristocrat joke. I'd be the first senator to do that.

The problem with this is that if he actually told The Aristocrats joke on the Senate floor, he'd be escorted off in handcuffs and probably recalled in a landslide. Which is a shame, because it could go down in history as the only filibuster anyone actually listened to.

With that in mind, I humbly offer my take on this timeless joke:

The rest is Below the Fold.

Cars? Huh?

I am so late today. A week off work and I'm so out of it. Ranting will begin when I get home.

Norton out

NYTimes

Like her mentor, James Watt, the maniacally anti-environmental interior secretary under Ronald Reagan, Gale Norton came to Washington convinced that the pendulum of public policy had swung too far in favor of the protection of America's natural resources at the expense of their commercial exploitation - especially by the oil, natural gas and mining industries.

Ms. Norton has been an extraordinarily faithful steward of the Bush agenda - but not, we are sad to say, of the lands she was obliged to protect.

She was probably canned for not selling off our country fast enough. Either that or, like her namesake Norton motorcycle, she leaked oil on the Chimp's Oval Office rug.

Woman of Mass Derision

For all you Maureen Dowd fans out there, and you know who you are, there's a good article about her in the Guardian.

Dowd was always irreverent, but as the world turned darker, so her columns took on a grotesque flamboyance, became more a satirical cabaret - she put a spanner in the works of truthiness and made the calamitous shatteringly funny. "Vice" was Cheney - since the incident in which he shot his hunting partner, he's also now Shooter; General Karl is Karl Rove, Bush's chief of staff; Richard Perle, one of the most committed of the neocons, was the Prince of Darkness; W moved from the Oedipal Boy King to Top Gun. In April 2004 Dowd wrote her real scorcher, Bushworld, which later became the name of her collection of writings on the Bush administrations. It is a litany of deadpan statements, acidly and relentlessly pointing up the gap between the Bushies' reality and the real world: "In Bushworld, our troops go to war and get killed, but you never see the bodies coming home ... In Bushworld, the CIA says it can't find out whether there are WMD in Iraq unless we invade on the grounds that there are WMD."

As a friend of mine says as his secret to success, "Cold steel, hard cash, dry socks - and stay away from red-headed women!"

Fat chance, pal.

Feingold

I was gonna blog it but Ed beat me to it. Feingold is Ed's boy after all. Tell you what. If Russ runs in '08, he's got my vote.

Generals

Michael Gordon of the NYT and General Bernard Trainor (USMC Ret.) on Press the Meat with Timmy shilling their book about Iraq. The overwheling reason why I won't read it. Bernie Trainor to Timmy:

No one knew [in 2003] we'd be bogged down this long in Iraq.

I knew it, you fucking dickhead, and I was a lowly buck sergeant. Lotsa people knew it when the Chimp started rattling his sabre. How the fuck did you get to be a general and how many troops did you lose thanks to your stupidity? Moron.

Update:

Another moron on Wolfie, Sen. John Warner (R-Huh?) on 'redeployment' of U.S. forces in Iraq.

The Iraqis should have the primary responsibility of putting down the insurgency.

Another clueless fool who doesn't grasp the situation on the ground. Read my lips, shithead. There are no Iraqi units capable of operating on their own. Remember how Vietnam ended, you twit? We threw away 58,000 American lives for nothing and you seem bent on doing it again.

A game of Risk

Dave Johnson says it well:

...and then these darn things that never came up in the board game start happening and just mess everything UP for you. Like private sectarian militias - where are THEY in the board game, anyway?! And civil wars! There's no civil wars in Risk! And IEDs. And car bombs in the middle of crowds of police recruits. And you don't even NEED body armor in Risk...

Remember when the Repukes said 'the adults are in charge now'? Not adults, just frustrated college boys who can't get laid.

Dr. Strangedeal

The Economist [sub req'd] has some serious concerns about Bush's India nuke deal:

...This week America and others were insisting at the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran not be allowed to bend the anti-nuclear rules out of shape to further what are assumed to be its weapons ambitions. So why does Mr Bush propose doing just that for already nuclear-armed India?...

But it is one thing to have as broad and close a friendship with a nuclear India as the anti-nuclear rules allow. That is already in both countries' interests. It is quite another to knock aside the rules for India's sake. To be sure, Mr Bush is not proposing that other nuclear dabblers be given a welcome if they are persistent enough to succeed-though that will be the message Iran prefers to hear this week. Rather, he wants democratic, friendly, law-abiding India to be treated as an exception by Congress, which must first amend America's own laws if the deal is to go through, and by others in the NSG.

The problem here is that India could instead prove the exception that fatally weakens the rules. The devil is both in the deal's troubling detail, and in its likely knock-on effects.

India may not have signed the NPT, but America has. In doing so, it promised not to help other countries with their nuclear-weapons tinkering. It also pioneered the reinforcing principle that only countries that have all their nuclear facilities under international safeguards (India doesn't now and won't in future) should benefit from trade in civilian nuclear technology. If countries were going to sign the NPT and renounce nuclear weapons themselves, they needed assurance that as many others as possible would follow suit. To encourage them, treaty rights-help in enjoying the benefits of civilian nuclear power-were withheld from those that shrugged off or ignored its obligations.

...

This will come back to bite us in the ass, just as most of the Chimp's 'leadership decisions' have. With this deal, we're beginning a whole new arms race. One, with the instability in the world today, that will surely end in tragedy.

In addition, the beautiful Katrina vanden Heuvel noticed a new move by DoD that will no doubt heighten tensions instead of diffusing them. Did Rummy put every moron in the world at DoD or do they all have to check their brains at the door when they walk into the Pentagon nowadays?