The Weekly Rewind

Applaud: to Congress for finally growing a set and standing up to “President” Bush. Last week he vetoed a water projects bill, but Congress overrode it, making it the first time they’ve mustered enough votes to override Bush. (About time… how about we make it a frequent thing?)

Heckle: we applaud irony, but not like this. During a White House press briefing earlier this week, spokeswoman Dana “God I miss Tony” Perino condemned Pakistan President’s Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s declaration of “emergency rule”, saying that the Bush(whacked) Administration is “deeply disappointed” by the measure and believes it is never “reasonable” to “restrict constitutional freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism”… yes, she actually said that. (The Heckle is for the two-facedness of the administration and the fact that they don’t see the irony in her statement…)

Applaud: to having the guts to tell the truth about something many of us saw coming weeks, if not months ago. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that the economy was “going to get worse before it got better” and was going to “slow noticeably.” He also said that inflation was likely to “increase overall”, meaning all those republican lemmings who keep saying the economy is strong are as full of hot air as our current Commander in Chief…

Heckle: to the Senate for confirming, in a 53-40 vote, retired Judge Michael Mukasey as Attorney General. Yes, he was confirmed… despite the fact he refused to call waterboarding torture… six Dem voted for Mukasey… meaning, in my mind, that they should be targets for ousting in the next election cycle…

Applaud: to Barry Richard. For those who don’t know the name, he was the lawyer that “achieved fame for his successful representation of George Bush in the Bush v. Gore recount suits.” Now, he’s set to give a speech blasting the administration at the National Association of Former U.S. Attorneys’ (NAFUSA) annual conference. His beef? He told the National Law Journal that, as a constitutional lawyer, he’s “concerned with the Bush administration’s assault on American liberties … how the administration deals with habeas corpus and the administration’s posture on electronic surveillance. This administration has gone farther than any other.” (Excellent… blast away Mr. Richard, blast away…)

Heckle: to ruining the nation’s credit rating. The amount of publicly held U.S. debt is now at $9 trillion, marking the “first time ever” that the amount has breached $9 trillion, and we have Dumbya to thank for it as, back in September, he signed a measure to increase the debt limit ceiling to $9.815 trillion from $8.965 trillion… (God, he’s like a college student with a credit card…)

Applaud: to a majority of the American public. 75% of Americans are “eager for a change in direction” from the agenda and priorities of “President” Bush. The results come from a Washington Post/ABC News poll that also shows a scant, and apparently insane, 24% believing that Bush and his cronies are leading the nation on the right track. (Fab.U.Lous.)

Heckle: to cronyism continued. republican Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani refused to say earlier this week if he would pardon his old friend Bernie Kerik if he were elected President, saying; “It wouldn’t be fair to ask that question at this point.” (Sigh… at least he didn’t mention 9/11 when discussing it, oh wait – he did…)
Applaud: to a seemingly spark of a soul within this administration. Newsweek’s Michael Hirsh wrote this week that “Condoleezza Rice is, by her own admission, not ‘that self-reflective.’ But in an interview in her office on Thursday the secretary of state took a moment to contemplate the improved security situation in Iraq. ‘I’m sure there are lots of things we might have done better,’ she said.” (Wow… first Powell, now it appears that even Rice is getting tired of her employers inability to do anything. The question is, will we see her jump ship before the end of their reign of terror? Stay tuned…
Heckle: to the White House for impeding investigation of their “evisceration” of congressional testimony by CDC President Julie Gerberding on the “Human Impacts of Global Warming.” Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) wrote to President Bush last week requesting a “full accounting” of what occurred during the review process, but the administration is stonewalling her efforts by whining claiming executive privilege. (And once again the Bush(whacked) Administration thumbs their collective noses at the law... and no one seems to want to challenge them on it…)

Applaud: to House leaders that are pushing Senate Democrats to force tepublicans to stage more filibusters in order to give Americans a clear view of who is obstructing change,” (That’s all fine and good, and I believe that republicans are a primary component of the obstruction… but to fully excuse the Democrats is something I can not do… they must shoulder part of the blame and do whatever they can, even this, to combat it…)

Heckle: to disingenuous people, specifically “President” Bush. During his joint press conference with French President Nicholas Sarkozy earlier this week, a reporter asked Bush where he stood “on Iraq and your domestic debate on Iraq.” Bush insisted that “freedom’s happening” and said; “If you lived in Iraq and had lived under a tyranny, you’d be saying: God, I love freedom.” (God I love freedom?? You can’t do that to the English language… but of course that’s never stopped Bush before, so why should it now…)

Applaud: to news that REALLY shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. A study bu a nonpartisan group shows that programs that focus exclusively on abstinence have not been shown to affect teenage sexual behavior. (what was the line from The West Wing, you show a teenage boy a lug wrench and they’ll think about sex… seems to sum up my feelings pretty well…)

Heckle: to former President George H.W. Bush, who gave an interview this week on Fox “News” where he said warned that more Bushes may run for public office in the future… God help us!!!

Applaud: it’s the economy stupid… ‘nuff said.

Heckle: to piss-poor comments. In an interview earlier this week, former UN Ambassador John Bolton complained about the tone of the battles raging in DC right now, citing the opposition to Michael Mukasey. Bolton then described the confirmation process for Mukasey as a “kind of torture.” What a fucking tool…

Applaud: a posthumous honoring this week to President Gerald Ford for questioning Bush’s warrantless surveillance program, saying “I would never do it. […] It surprises me they worry that they think they have to do it. I was dumbfounded when I heard they were. I didn’t think it was necessary. Where does he get his advice?” (A lot of people have been asking that Mr. Ford… my guess is an alien visible only to him by the name of Gazoo…)

Heckle: to losing more conservative allies as republican political strategist Frank Luntz wrote to Bush White House official Scott Arogeti saying that he wants to get his name removed from the White House mailing list because he’s irritated with, well, with everything Bush does really…

Applaud: to Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)… wow, never thought I would write that, for his resolution to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. Yes, it’s all for show, but it still makes for some interesting theater…

Heckle: to the Democrats for having no balls. Notwithstanding their rhetoric about not wanting to hand President Bush another ‘blank check’ for the Iraq War, odds are they will give him another blank check with no strings attached. (Pathetic… absolutely pathetic…)

And a personal message to Bill O’Reilly; maybe the war on Christmas isn’t a reaction to the religious aspect of the holiday but more so a reflection on the fact that we’re sick of being inundated with Christmas stuff before Halloween is over. At least that’s my feeling…

This week’s gop tool of the week has an added bonus, the Democrats are included. This week we give it to the republican national committee for, as I said in this morning’s Daily ‘BushWhack’ing, acting like children on a playground. The rnc is going to penalize five states, New Hampshire, Florida, South Carolina, Michigan and Wyoming, for holding presidential primary elections before February 5, 2008. The Dems merit a mention here because they will likely follow suit. Both parties should be ashamed of themselves for this incredibly stupid idea… and the reasoning behind it is as idiotic as the action itself. If we want to eliminate the states’ whining about their place in the presidential primary process, go to a National Primary and be done with it. Otherwise, let the states decide themselves when they should hold their specific primaries. I’ll ignore for now the fact that the republicans, supposedly bastions of small government not interfering with how states operate, are acting to stop states from operating on their own.