Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon

What is wrong with us? For the last few weeks, Scott and I have been suffering from a severe case of writer’s block (blogstipation as I like to call it).

When will it end?

To pacify the unruly mob that has sent us emails asking where we are, we are attempting to continue on with our short-posts like the Rewind, The Week Ahead (which took Monday off in observance of the 9/11 anniversary, and this one; Random Thoughts.

Look for us to get our writing mojo back within the next few days as our writing and snark talen has to be around here somewhere…

Anyhow, enough excuses, here’s this week’s ‘Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon’

Spin Zone. Pay attention to your safety as Al Qaeda’s second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, released a videotape (coinciding with the fifth anniversary of 9/11) that (besides stressing the fact that he still free as a bird) where he addressed the West and said; “Your leaders are hiding from you the true extent of the disaster.”

Blah, blah, blah. Listen to the droning from Washington as, once again, Dubya is trying to correlate the Iraq war with America’s safety and had the balls to say, on the 5th Anniversary of 9/11, to say that failure in Iraq would leave the United States more vulnerable than ever to Islamic extremists and terrorism attacks. terrorism attacks.

Losing her mind? Keep an eye on Condi Rice as I (and others) think she is losing her mind… witness this quote from her earlier this week regarding the state of the country in the five years after 9/11; “I think it's clear that we are safe - safer - but not really yet safe.” Well gee, thanks Condi, that cleared things up really well… have you been taking elocution lessons from Dubya? How many times do we have to tell you, what happens in the bedroom, stays in the bedroom… sorry, I meant ‘boardroom’…

Not up where we belong. The trade deficit in July has reached $68 billion (yes, with a ‘b’) which is a record level for a single month. “This year the overall deficit is running at $776bn, which, if met, would set a record for the fifth year in a row.” Fifth in a row… wait a minute… why, that almost directly correlates with Dubya’s reign of terror… who’d a thunk it???

Really slow news day. Radar magazine examined the worst congressional hair and labeled Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) as having “dead animal hair,” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) having “painfully precise bangs,” and Rep. Cynthia “Slappy” McKinney (D-GA) having “just-nuts hair.” The magazine tried to legitimize this story by saying that hair is “… one of the first things voters notice” and can have a negative impact on their campaign. I can destroy that theory in one example Wink; the gubernatorial race in IL… helloooooooo????

Well duh… A new study “closes the loop” and shows that human-induced global warming is indeed having an effect on the worlds weather by making hurricanes more violent and more common. Lovely… yet the conservatives still think it’s a myth… what the hell more proof do they need? A goddamn tidal waving washing over the Capital? Idiots…

The trail is cold. The clandestine U.S. commando unit whose job is to capture or kill Osama bin Laden have not received a credible lead in over two years according to an article in the Washington Post reports. (Well, sure, Dubya isn’t worried about him, so why should we as a nation be worried about him? I’m sure he’s sitting in his cave somewhere, watching YouTube and playing on his X-Box and not thinking about the United States at all… yes Virginia, that was sarcasm…)

Arm twisting. Vice President Dick “Dead-Eye” Cheney, White House Chief of Staff Josh “Don’t call me John” Bolten, and former British Prime Minister Margaret “Still more popular than Tony Blair” Thatcher were putting pressure on senators earlier this week regarding detainee legislation and urging (read: pressuring) them “not to be too restrictive in setting legal limits on CIA interrogations of enemy combatants.” (And the senators should listen to Ms. Thatcher… why??? Hell, come to think of it, why should they listen to Cheney and Bolten now??)

Iran update. A diplomat has told AP that Iran may be willing to consider complying (temporarily) with a U.N. Security Council demand that they freeze uranium enrichment. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in responding to the offer, suggested that the U.S. might suspend its pursuit of U.N. sanctions against Iran if the suspension can be verified. (Wow, do my eyes deceive me? Or is that a softening of our nation’s stance??? Could it be that someone with brains realized that getting into a war with Iran right now would not be a good idea for us? I am impressed… though I am still finishing that bomb shelter…)

Gratuitous Op-Ed Plug of the Week. Keith Olbermann’s wonderful 9/11 oration. Read it and see it HERE… you won’t be dissapointed.

And last but not least…

Hastert Can’t Sing. Crooks and Liars has video from Monday’s Senate tribute to the 9/11 anniversary. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert not only can’t sing, but he doesn’t even know the words to our National Anthem… witness the train-wreck for yourself…

Take ‘em as you will…