Random Political Thoughts

Wednesday… I’ve shoveled myself out and now have a walking path, so here you go with this week’s Random Political Thoughts…

Remembering Dead Eye Dick. It was one year ago this week that Vice President Dick “Dead Eye” Cheney “accidentally” shot his “friend” and lawyer Harry Whittington. (And he still can’t escape it. Cheney is scheduled to go fly-fishing this month in Tasmania. Someone, with a sense of humor like yours truly, wrote to the local newspaper, “Please assure us that Dick Cheney is coming to Tasmania to fish and not to shoot.” When you start getting heckled by Tasmanian newspapers, you know you’ve become a laughing stock…)

Prisoner 24601. The number of waivers granted to Army recruits that have criminal backgrounds has skyrocketed to 8,129 in 2006, drastically up from 4,918 in 2003. That’s about a 65% increase in the last three years… (Yeah… this should end well…)

Poll, polls and more polls. A new USA Today poll shows that 63% of Americans want all U.S. troops home from Iraq by the end of 2008. A CBS poll shows 63% of the public disapproves of the President’s escalation. (All these numbers and Congress can’t find the balls to debate, much less intervene, about the escalation… all the while the White House ignores, once again, the will of the people. I’ve said it before here, and I’ll say it again. January 2009 can NOT come soon enough…)

It Was Only a Matter of Time. Looking for love and afraid that the person you might find will not be Mr. Rright, but instead will be Mr. Left? Worry no more as political matchmaking sites are springing up faster than Anna Nicole Smith memento’s on eBay. ActForLove.org will help Liberal progressives find love while ConservativeDates.com aims for conservatives (If VP Cheney is in charge of shooting, you should get matched right away. What’s next? Dating sites for dogs… oh, wait….)

Not Paying Attention. Methinks Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) has lost his mind. Earlier this week he said that he’s extremely concerned about the possibility of a “Tet Offensive” in Iraq that would “switch American public opinion the way that the Tet Offensive did” during Vietnam… (Uh… Senator… more than two-thirds of Americans already oppose the war… what more do you want??)

Here We Go Again? “President” Bush held a press conference today and said that Iran is supplying weapons to insurgents in Iraq but stressed that he is not using this issue as a “pretext” for a war against Iran… (and I totally believe him, don’t you? I mean, has he ever given the world American people any reason to not believe everything that comes out of his mouth?? Sarcasm becomes me…)

Making Scott Evil Proud. Dolphins and sea lions have been trained to detect and apprehend waterborne attackers and could be sent to patrol a military base in Washington state soon (Ignoring the fact that Dr. Evil has been heard laughing maniacally nearby… how exactly would dolphins and sea lines apprehend a perp???)

The Forgotten (& True) War on Terror. Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, the man who commanded U.S. forces in Afghanistan for 21 months has gone on the record saying that “The intelligence has gone cold on Osama bin Laden.” He threw down more sunshine by saying he also expects a fresh offensive by the Taliban this spring. (Mr. Goodnews Happy Guy he ain’t… but this doesn’t come as a surprise to me. The Taliban has already regained a foothold in the country and has been attacking our troops constantly, most people don’t know that because the MSM has been ignoring it and giving us hourly updates on the latest news about Anna Nicole Smith instead)

Dog and Pony Show. The House of Representatives has started debating the escalation of troops in Iraq. Nobody is paying attention because: A - It’s not going to have an effect on the administration. B - Everyone knows this debate is purely for show. C – A chance to spout more rhetoric than a campaign stop. D - All of the above. If you guessed ‘D’ you would be right.

Scooter Trial. the defense in the Scooter Libby is poised to rest their case soon with neither Libby himself or VP Cheney taking the stand. (regardless of who takes the stand next, I think some damage has been done and someone, though I’m not sure whom, will be going to jail. Unfortunately I don’t think it will be Cheney… and that has me a little bummed…)

Op-Ed Piece of The Week. this week I’ve chosen an op-ed piece from The Hill, which for those of you that do not know, is the newspaper for and about the U.S. Congress. The piece is entitled “Game plan”, written by Brent Budowsky and it’s definitely a must-read.

Doesn’t Know When to STFU. Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John “Don’t Call me Michael” Bolton says the deal with North Korea is rewarding their “bad behavior” and is sending “bad signals” to Iran. (First of all, if North Korea actually follows through, which is never for certain when dealing with Kim Jong Ill, it essentially means nuclear disarmament for them… which is a good thing. The U.S. isn’t giving them anything that we haven’t given other countries before, and if it stops them from making nuclear weapons, it’s worth it. And to Mr. Bolton I say: you aren’t the ambassador anymore, why don’t you shut up, trim your ugly-ass mustache and get a new job… ya schmuck)

A Political Prognosticator’s Dream. This is already going to be the most wide-open Presidential campaign in eons, and it seems anyone and everyone on both sides (republicans and Democrats – ignore Nader… please… for the love of God ignore Nader!!!!) is going to, at the least, form an exploratory committee and consider a run. Something that carries a lot of weight within Congress but is essentially ignored by the public is the so-called Capitol Primary. A win in this “primary”, unofficial as it is, definitely helps to build momentum for candidates, but with such a wide-open field, the support from members of Congress may be beneficial and helpful to those that are making a run for the White House and are already on the outside looking in, I guarantee you that this Presidential election is going to be one for the books and one that everyone, and I mean everyone needs to pay attention to.

All I have, take ‘em as you will…