Saturday, June 30, 2007

The Weekly Rewind

Whoo-hoo! It’s the end of another week. Sure, I’m happy about the weekend, but I’m more happy about The Weekly Rewind…

Applaud: to prooving that not all high school students don’t pay attention to the world around them. Earlier this week “President” Bush was given a letter that was signed by 50 high school seniors from the Presidential Scholars program. The letter urged a halt to “violations of the human rights” of terror suspects held by the US. (Nice going kids… keep it up)

Heckle: to yet another deadly week in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Applaud: A new poll finds that “liberal ideas” are gaining with young Americans, who are “more likely than the general public to favor a government-run universal health care insurance system, an open-door policy on immigration and the legalization of gay marriage.”

Heckle: to the staggeringly high number of recess appointments used by “President” Bush; 105… To give you some comparison, at the same point in his presidency President Clinton used his recess appointment powers to install a scant 42 people. (But then again… Clinton was for the people, Bush is for himself…)

Applaud: to the news that the American bald eagle was officially declared safe from extinction in the lower 48 states and has been removed from the Endangered Species list… now let’s hope we don’t push it to the brink of extinction again…

Heckle: to News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch… I could just say on general principles alone, but I’d rather throwdown with the fact that his “vast media holdings” give him a “gamut of tools” that he could use to enhance his financial and political interests to attack “adversaries, sometimes viciously.”

Applaud: to the U.S. Conference of Mayors who endorsed, albeit narrowly, a resolution that calls for the Bush(whacked) administration to “begin planning for the swift withdrawal of troops from Iraq” because the war, in their words, is reducing federal funds for “needed domestic investments in education, health care, public safety, homeland security and more.” (Nice move by the mayors that endorsed it…too bad it, like everything else, will fall on deaf ears at the White House)

Heckle: to the number of bills (239 to be precise) the House of Representatives has passed and sent to the Senate only to see them get held up by conservatives who are “objecting to just about every major piece of legislation” brought up by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)… insert your own snarky, smart-ass comment here.

Applaud: to telling it like it is. Earlier this week, U.S. attorney John McKay, one of the attorneys thrown out in AttorneyGate, spoke out. Turns out he initially supported the nomination of Alberto Gonzales to AG and even told some of his “lawyer friends” (who knew lawyers had friends…) that “Yyu’re gonna like this guy — he’s humble, he’s honest, he’s hard-working, and he’s smart.” Mr. McKay followed that up by saying that Gonzales’ “proved me wrong.” (Wow, who knew attorneys had feelings…)

Heckle: to this bit of news. The U.S. commander of a new offensive north of Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Mick Bednarek, said earlier this week that Iraqi forces “may be too weak to hold onto the gains.” (Well, duh) He went on to say that the Iraqi military doesn’t even have enough ammunition and that they’re “not quite up to the job yet.” (Well, duh again… especially when you take into account the findings of a bipartisan congressional investigation released earlier this week. The report showed that the US has invested $19 billion to train and equip nearly 350,000 Iraqi soldiers and police since toppling Saddam Hussein, but added that the “ability of those forces to provide security remains in doubt.” Kind of makes you doubt our troops will ever come home…)

Applaud: to the House for passing voter deception legislation. The bill aims to increase punishments for those who “knowingly convey false information with the intent to keep others from voting.” (Great news indeed… but it still has to gain approval elsewhere… and that might directly contradict their voting strategies…)

Heckle: to Hallicheneyburton. A federal audit found that KBR, a former Halliburton subsidiary, didn’t “keep accurate records of gasoline distribution, put its employees in living spaces that may be larger than warranted, and served meals that appeared to cost $4.5 million more than necessary under a contract to perform work in Iraq.” (And this surprises you… how?)

Half-hearted Applaud: to the Bush(whacked) administration for (finally!!) “exploring ways of offering Congress a compromise deal on Iraq policy.” Even though they’re looking into purely to avoid some harsh battles in the coming months, the fact that they are even discussing something like the advocation of a “sharply decentralized Iraq” is a step in the right direction… let’s just hope it’s not a rope-a-dope

Heckle: to ending something that most people realize should have ended years ago. The U.N. Security Council voted 14-0, with Russia abstaining for reasons passing my understanding, to “immediately shut down the U.N. bodies key to monitoring Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programs under Saddam Hussein.” (Well… I guess it’s “official” now, huh… idiots…)

Applaud: to a plan that U.S. commanders took their sweet ol’ time to arrive at… namely their plan for a summer of “stepped-up offensives against Al Qaeda in Iraq.” Granted, they’re doing it to “tailor their strategy” because they expect that “Congress soon will impose a timeline” of troop withdrawal…

Heckle: to just not getting it. The immigraton debate is done George, let it go… get over it…

Applaud: to a bipartisan group of 145 members of the House that sent a letter to “President” Bush that urges him to close Guantanamo Bay and transfer the detainees to military prisons in the US. The letter, in part, stated:”The global war on terror cannot be won through military might alone. It is a war of ideas and philosophies. A liability of our own creation, the existence of the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay is defeating our effort to ensure that the principles of freedom, justice and human rights are spread throughout the world. We look forward to working with you on what we hope is a shared objective to close the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay.” (Nicely put everyone, keep the pressure on him… hopefully he’ll get the hint someday)

Applaud: to approval numbers that only a mother could love… and she’s getting more and more distant. A new Fox “News” poll shows Bush’s approval rating at a paltry (or scant if you prefer) 31%… which is a new low from the previous low of 33%.. awwwww, poor Georgie…

Applaud: to Rep. Rahm Immanuel (D-IL) for pushing an amendment to defund Vice President Dick “President” Cheney’s office since, as Dick said earlier this week, he’s not a part of the Executive Branch… nicely played Rahm… too bad it didn’t work.

All I have, take 'em as you will.

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