The Weekly Rewind

You know why you’re here, so let’s just get right to it.

Heckle: to $4.109. That was the average price of a gallon of gasoline earlier this week, setting a new record. According to AAA, gas prices have risen 40 percent in the last year. We just keep getting screwed deeper and deeper, but at least the pace is slowed from a sprint to a stroll……it still hurts like hell.

Applaud: to avoiding a knee jerk reaction. The Congress voted to override President Bush’s veto of a Medicare bill aimed at forestalling an 11 percent cut in payments to doctors taking care of Medicare patients. The House voted 383 to 41 to override the veto, while the Senate voted 70 to 26. We need a long term solution to what will become a bigger problem and we need serious thoughts and discussions NOW.

Heckle: to lives cut down due to misguided thinking. Nine American soldiers died last Sunday , in the worst violence against Americans in Afghanistan in three years. The killings illustrated the growing threat of Taliban militants and their associates, who in recent months have made Afghanistan a far deadlier war zone for American-led forces than Iraq. Which once again points to the fact that our beef is with the Taliban, (which knows no country) and not the country of Iraq who we conveniently invaded. Our focus should not be on Iraq or even Afghanistan, but on the Taliban.

Applaud: to our troops bravery and determination. It was reported that the Taliban insurgents who attacked a remote American-run outpost near the Pakistan border on Sunday outnumbered allied forces almost three to one and some breached the NATO compound in a coordinated assault that took the defenders by surprise. The attackers were eventually “driven back in a pitched four-hour battle.” Once again, our focus should be on fighting the Taliban. Ours troops should be commended for their grit and determination in fighting back this overwhelming force.

Applaud: to waking up. On Wednesday, Pentagon leaders announced that a surge in forces in Afghanistan will occur “sooner rather than later.” The moves are expected to happen within weeks, as officials prepare to lower troop levels in Iraq. And I am sure for our troops already in Afghanistan, this cannot happen soon enough!

Heckle: to the fact we cannot be this blind. In Afghanistan, “the killing of civilians in foreign military airstrikes is shattering Afghans’ support for keeping international troops in their troubled land and driving angry young men into the arms of the Taliban.” A spokesperson for NATO explained, “There is a perception problem.” You think? We seem to have a big problem in this area of the world with people’s perceptions. Could it be that we truly suck in communicating our intentions and our purpose? And maybe the fact that we don’t seem to give a crap about the people who actually live there and are just trying to live their lives and take care of their families? Yeah it’s a possibility. This administration is not known for its communicative skills.

Heckle: to combining the church and state. The Bush administration is seeking to require “all recipients of aid under federal health programs to certify that they will not refuse to hire nurses and other providers who object to abortion and even certain types of birth control.” The proposed rule would force hospitals, clinics and medical schools to sign “written certifications” as a prerequisite to getting federal funds. I’m sorry is the country being run by Americans or by the Vatican?

Heckle: to “remain calm, all is well”, yeah sure it is. Earlier this week, President Bush tried to calm consumers troubled by the economy, but his words had little effect. By the end of the day on Tuesday, the Dow had closed at its lowest level in two years, and the government reported that prices had jumped at their sharpest pace in 27 years. Sorry Mr. Bush, too little, way too late. Remember Kevin Bacon at the parade panic near the end of Animal House?

Heckle: to just plain criminal. According to internal Army documents, “shoddy electrical work” by private contractors at “American military facilities” in Iraq is causing more “deaths and injuries from fires and shocks than the Pentagon has acknowledged.” There were 283 fires between August 2006 through January 2007. What a surprise, the Pentagon not being honest and upfront about something as serious as this. Not only do our troops have to live with the fact that every time they go out on patrol they may not come back. They also have to worry that they may die taking a shower, or sleeping, or just relaxing back at base camp. There is no excuse for this and the companies responsible should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

Be good, stay informed….later.

Five years on

On March 19, 2003, “President” Bush announced; “My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.”

Each year on the anniversary of the US-led invasion, Bush has given a speech full of rhetoric and spin, this year was no exception (HT to Daily Kos):

Year One: “There are still violent thugs and murderers in Iraq, and we're dealing with them.” U.S. Fatalities: 583

Year Two: “Iraq's progress toward political freedom has opened a new phase of our work there.” U.S. Fatalities: 1,522

Year Three: “We are implementing a strategy that will lead to victory in Iraq.” U.S. Fatalities: 2,319

Year Four: “There's been good progress.” U.S. Fatalities: 3,224

Today, Year Five: “No one would argue that this war has not come at a high cost in lives and treasure ­ but those costs are necessary when we consider the cost of a strategic victory for our enemies in Iraq .” U.S. Fatalities: 3,990 U.S. Casualties: 40,229

Over the course of five years, Bush has changed his goal of saving the world from (nonexistent) dangers of Iraqi WMD's to a desire to not losing...

Remember; when the war started, the administration predicted that it would cost $50 billion to $60 billion to oust Saddam Hussein, restore order and install a new government. Five years on, the cost of the war is “roughly $600 billion and counting” per the Pentagon, with economist Joseph Stiglitz putting the “long-term cost at more than $4 trillion” an estimate he says is “excessively conservative.”

And that’s not the only things that supporters of the war have gotten wrong… consider these disastrous quotes:

“Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof---the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.” - President Bush, 10/7/02 (hard to create mushroom clouds without WMD’s, isn’t it?)

“We will, in fact, be greeted as liberators.” - Vice President Dick Cheney, 3/16/03 (Yeah, not so much… and now we’re like the house guests that couldn’t get the hint to leave)

"The only people who think this wasn't a victory are Upper Westside liberals.” - Charles Krauthammer, 4/19/03 (or people that AREN’T lemmings and can use their own brains…)

“[Liberals] can't deny that President Bush has won his two wars, and won them resoundingly.” - Paul Mirengoff, Powerline, 4/26/03 (wanna bet we can’t deny it? The Taliban and al Qaeda are back in force in Afghanistan, and the insurgent violence in Iraq is increasing again…)

And the best ones come from ‘The Decider’’ himself; “I believe that the success will be fairly easy.” - 9/24/02 (I guess that depends on what your definition of ‘fairly easy’ is…)

“We will win this conflict. We will win it easily.” 1/22/03 (I refuse to snark this as a means to honor all families that have lost loved ones in this misguided war)

And then there’s this March 24, 2003 quote from the man who vows to continue Bush’s wayward ways in Iraq; Sen. John McCain: “[T]here’s no doubt in my mind, once these people are gone, that we will be welcomed as liberators.”

If McCain gets elected, we probably will be in Iraq for 100 more years… if it’s Clinton or Obama, we will start pulling troops out within six months of them taking office… we all know that a complete pullout would do more harm than good, but it’s time to start reigning in the amount of troops we have over there.

Not only would that protect our soldiers, it would also force the Iraqi’s to act and move forward. I think, and this is merely my opinion, that the Iraqi government has been slow in making any progress because they know the US-led coalition is there to prop them up.

We shouldn’t be… not anymore.

Spinning something that can't be spun

Once again the unique way this administration views things is coming to the front… and by unique I mean naïve, inane, muddled…

Two reports are being released this week, one from The Atlantic Council of the United States (ACUS) and the other from Center for the Study of the Presidency (CSP), and both paint starkly negative views about Afghanistan (AKA The War that George Forgot).

Retired Marine Corps Gen. James Jones led the ACUS report which concludes that

“progress achieved after six years” in Afghanistan “is under serious threat. […] Make no mistake, NATO is not winning in Afghanistan,”

This is not totally suprsiring as many critics have been saying that the success of ousting the Taliban and, in turn, putting al-Qaeda on the run has been ebbed by the lack of attention this adminstration has paid to that war… now it’s getting a little more attention with the release of these reports.

Though that isn’t going to stop the Bush(whacked) Administration from donning its rose-colored glasses and spinning the violence that has befell the country.

Case in point; Defense Secretary Robert Gates…

Gates is not only downplaying the upswing in violence in Afghanistan but is trying to spin the violence the administration is acknowledging as being good…

You read that right… something that most 5-year olds can distinguish between, violence is bad, no violence is good, is being spun as good by a supposed intelligent adult.

Last week Gates attempted to claim that “NATO has had a very successful year in 2007″ and that the significant increase in suicide bombings in 2007 was the “manifestations of a group that has lost in regular military terms.”I’m sorry… what? An increase in violence is a positive? Are we living in opposite land?

And what’s more, Gates wasn’t done… while he admitted that there is a “rising security issue” there, he spun that by saying that that was because the Taliban are turning to terrorism, having failed in conventional military conflict with the NATO allies…

Huh?

Maybe reading his whole comment verbatim would clear it up…

““And so we are seeing more suicide bombings, more use of (improvised explosive devices), and so on. These are actions of people whose conventional military efforts have failed,” […] The rise in violence and attacks like we saw in Kabul are manifestations of a group that has lost in regular military terms in 2007 and is turning to terrorism as a substitute for that.”

Yeah, that didn’t work…

Granted, spinning an upward spike in violence as signs of progress is a common Bush(whacked) Administration tactic used in Iraq as well as Afghanistan… in fact, ThinkProgress even reminds us of some of them:

June 2007, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow described intense new levels of violence in Iraq as “signs of success.”

May 2005, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld declared “So suicide attacks, whether in Okinawa or in Baghdad today, are not a sign of strength. They’re a sign of desperation.”

March 2004, Vice President Dick Cheney brushed off the (insurgent) attacks as a sign of ‘desperation’ among U.S. foes…

What I see reek is more so a sign of desperation from this administration… trying to tie an increase of attacks and overall violence as any kind of success… it just doesn’t work that way, no matter what political ideologies you may have. So allow me to put this into words that even Bush could understand;

More violence… baaaaaaaaad.

Less violence… goooooooood.

Is there a way to ingrain this into the administration’s collective brain?I didn’t think so…

Rummy's Ruminations

This story is a few days old, but I think it speaks volumes about the Bush(whacked) Administration…

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld gave an extensive interview with GQ magazine recently and had some very interesting and enlightening things to say.

Ignoring for the moment that he said he had no regrets, he said this about the war in Afghanistan;

“Look at Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, 28 million people are free. They have their own president, they have their own parliament. Improved a lot on the streets. […] “It’s been a big success!”

Um… okay… though I guess if you compare the Afghan war to the Iraq war it’s been, in his words, a “big success”.. but is it really?Well, if you decide to do something radical and, I don’t know, look at facts, it’s far from being a success and instead remains an abandoned war on terrorism… consider:

Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan’s president said recently that the level of security in his country has “definitely deteriorated”, but a former national security official called that “a very diplomatic understatement.”
The Taliban has carried out “103 suicide bombings in Afghanistan in the first eight months of 2007”, which is an increase from last year of 69%
For the second straight year Afghanistan has “produced record levels of opium” thanks to a “staggering 45 percent increase in the Taliban stronghold of Helmand Province.”

But ‘it was a success’… though I guess that depends on what your definition of success is… if it’s allowing the Taliban to get back to pre-war strength than, by all means, it’s been a success.

And if you look even deeper, you can find proof that Rummy had a role in the deterioration of the country considening that back in February 2002, then Secretary of State Colin “Wish I never joined Bush’s cabinet” Powell made a proposal that “American troops join the small international peacekeeping force patrolling Kabul and help Karzai extend his influence beyond the capital.”

Rumsfeld blocked his proposal.

While his boasts of success in Afghanistan are good, his best quote came when the interviewer asked him whether he misses President Bush… said Rumsfeld; “Um, no.”

Ouch… that’s gotta hoit…

But he said he still sees Cheney… no word if he plans to go hunting with the him though…

And the most revealing moments came when Rumsfeld admitted that not only did he try to resign three times before he actually left. But that he wrote a memo before the Iraq invasion that contained “at least” two-dozen warnings about what might happen.

Despite everything, Rummy still thinks that Bush will be vindicated someday and, over time, will be appreciated for his strengths and national security accomplishments…

I would write more, but my sides hurt from laughing too much…

The Day Ahead

Couple of things to monitor as the day progresses (yeah, they do this over at Wonkette and Think Progress… so why not do the same thing here?):

• WaPO: One of our bases in Afghanistan was hit with a bomb while Vice President Cheney was visiting. (Said Cheney after the bomb hit; “I’m awake…”)
• CNN: Former aide to Bob Ney (R-OH) has pleaded guilty in the Jack Abramoff case. (Another one bites the dust…)
• Chicago Tribune: The city of Chicago hits the polls today (When was the last time Richard Daly was scared about an election?)
• WaPo: new polls suggest that age is an important factor when considering presidential candidates, not so much gender or race (buh-bye href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/26/AR2007022600313.html?nav=hcmodule">favors a pullout in Iraq. (And this is new information… how??)
• NY Times: Libby case will continue with 11 jurors and will not see the insertion of one of the alternates ()
• Boston Globe: Newspaper somehow obtains document with Mitt Romney’s (R-MA) campaign strategies (Miraculously, ‘Looks stiffer than Al Gore’ not on the list…)
  
  

The Weekly Rewind

Today’s post takes place between 5:00 pm and 5:15 pm...

...

Sorry, I’ve apparently been watching too much “24”.

It’s Friday, and we all know what that means… it’s time for Blog of the Week winner; The "Bush"-Whacked Administration’s ‘Weekly Rewind.’

So sit back… relax… and allow us to wrap-up the week that was in the world of poltics…

Applaud: to funny news items. According to ABC’s he Blotter’: If the jury finds Scooter Libby guilty it could spur Fitz and his merry band of investigators to “explore further whether Cheney was involved in conspiring to obstruct justice.” (Wait a minute… can the Prince of Darkness really be investigated??)

Heckle: to spinning statistics that shouldn’t be spun. A government audit found that a majority of the statistics on terrorism cases from the Justice Department are “highly inaccurate” and they routinely counted cases that involved “drug trafficking, marriage fraud and other unrelated crimes.” (Foregoing any of the standard marriage jokes, this is just wrong. We are talking about terrorism here, and we should only be counting the true cases of terrorism – not using things that aren’t terrosim-related just to pad the statistics)

Applaud: to the Pandering of the Week from Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). Earlier this week the Senator said that he would rate the Bush(whacked) administraion’s record on Global Warming as “terrible,” and was “very happy to see the president mention global warming and a renewed commitment from the administration to this issue.” He then added a curt, “It’s long overdue.” (I know, I know… applauding him for pandering is bad… but it’s more so an applaud of the snark than the act itself. After all, with all his pandering, McCain is proving himself to be quite un-electable..)

Heckle: to this sobering statistic from the National Health Statistics Group: U.S. spending on health care is “expected to double to $4.1 trillion over the next decade” with health insurance premiums expecting to rise 6% annually as well.

Hopeful Applaud: to Army Vice Chief of Staff Richard Cody, who stated earlier this week that he will “take responsibility” and will make sure that all problems are fixed at the hospital. (Let’s hope problems are fixed and changes are made… our brave men and women deserve better care and better residance)

Heckle: to news that, somehow, doesn’t take me by surprise. According to a stufy done by Mother Jones, the “rate of fatal terrorist attacks around the world,” along with the “number of people killed in those attacks” has “increased dramatically after the invasion of Iraq.” Even if you discount terrorist acts in Iraq and Afghanistan, which the study did, there was still a “35% rise in the number of attacks and a 12% rise in fatalities.” (Color me; not surprised.)

Applaud: to UK lame-duck Prime Minister Tony Blair. Since he’s a lame-duck now, he’s seemingly cleaning his conscience. Days after announcing that the UK would be going againt the White House and withdrawing some of its troops, he continued to show his own will yesterday when he “declared himself at odds with hawks in the US Administration” over Iran, telling BBC News, “I can’t think that it would be right to take military action against Iran. What is important is to pursue the political, diplomatic channel.” (What’s that saying; ‘Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.’ Apparently Blair has finally grown himself some balls realized that Bush lied about Iraq – welcome to the Club Mr. Blair, we’ve got jackets – and he is NOT going to let that happen again. Mark my words, everytime Blair opens his mouth from now until he leaves office will be against whatever Bush may be proposing)

Heckle: to, once again, something that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Even though the Bush(whacked) administration swears that it’s not considering military action against Iran, the BBC reports that US contingency plans for air strikes on Iran “extend beyond nuclear sites and include most of the country’s military infrastructure.” (But we’re not considering military action… just like we exhausted all avenues of diplomacy towards Iraq… and if you believe that, I have a bridge to seel you in Florida. Good traffic, mostly drug smugglers, but )

Applaud: to targeting the proper demographic. According to a new study by the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center (BISC), Ballot initiatives for increasing the minimum wage boosted “voter motivation in five targeted states in 2006.” The study went on to say that voter motivation and reported interest in the election was “disproportionately high” among African-Americans, unmarried voters and women. (And with Senate Finance Committee member Chuck Grassley (R-IA) saying that he may block the recently passed minimum wage bill unless a larger tax cut package is included, the Democrats should continue to reap the rewards for republican idiocy and hypocrisy. Now, if only the Democrats can unite and stop arguing like toddlers, we’d be golden)

Heckle: to “revolving doors” (no, this isn’t about Michael Dukakis’s 1988 crime plan) Remember those 39 lawmakers who got booted out of office last November? Seems that five of the 39 are now at firms that lobby Congress including Sen. Conrad “Don’t Call me Monty” Burns (R-MT), who just last year said that “Congress is not for sale.” (Hey Congreess, that ‘revolving door’ lobbying restriction is working really well… it’s so hard to express sarcasm in the written form…)

Half-hearted Applaud: to Rep. Thomas M. Davis (R-VA), the top Republican on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Applauds for ripping the army a new one earlier this week when he released a statement that said the army has known for years about “shortcomings at Walter Reed” but did nothing. The applaud is half-hearted because, being a member of Oversight, don’t you think he would have known about this before… and maybe he could have done something?? But obviously, that’s merely conjecture…

Heckle: to Rush “Drug Mule” Limbaugh. The conservative blow-hard radio host said on his program earlier this week: “If we launched attacks on Iran and Syria today and went heavy metal, pedal-to-the-wall, this country would be cheering. The Democrats and the media would be in panic, but the people in this country would be cheering.” (Okay, first of all, Limbaugh wouldn’t know what the people in this country wanted if it came up and bit him on his fat ass… second, the people in this country have clearly shown that they don’t want the U.S. to attack Iran, at least not yet… and third, Limbaugh needs to stop wearing his rose-colored-conservative glasses long enough to see what is going on in this country. A change is coming… God willing…)

Applaud: to what I am sure is more Dog and Pony show theatrics, but the fact they’re doing it is still a sign of hope. A few Senate Democrats are going to unveil a plan next week that will aim to repeal the 2002 Iraq war resolution. (Ok, it probably is all for show, but still… it could work. This is something to definitely keep an eye on next week…)

Heckle: to Vice President Dick “Bunker King” Cheney. When he was asked about Tony Blair’s announcement that the U.K. will cut troop levels in Iraq by 1,600, Cheney said the move was “actually good news and a sign of progress in Iraq.” Never mind the fact that a Pentagon report starkly contradicted the White House’s “rosy” rhetoric. (Noooooooo…. Cheney bent the truth???? I can’t believe that. After all, Cheney is a stand-up guy who never lies... Ow, I think I just rolled my eyes right out of my head…)

Applaud: to Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, who gave a “detailed and businesslike” summary of the prosecution’s case against Scooter Libby earlier this week that was a stark contrast of the summary of the defense laywer, Theodore Wells, who decided to go the “Drama Queen” route and countered with an “intensely emotional defense” complete with a crying episode at the end… (Who does Wells think he is, Judge Larry Seidlin?? Thank you, thank you… I’m here all week…)

Heckle: to Bush’s escalation plan. Because of his plan 14,000 National Guard troops will return to Iraq next year after seeing their time between deployments shortened in order to “meet the demands of President Bush’s buildup.” (Nice… just nice. I’m sure the troops and their families are thrilled by the prospect of having their time cut just so Bush can try to save his ass legacy…)

And finally...

Yesterday I wrote a post about the Obama/Clinton feud. Give it a read if you haven’t yet. As Democrats and Liberals, we need to send a message to the party that we need to stop the in-fighting, come up with a united front and do what we can, all of us, to defeat the republicans in 2008 and beyond. It’s a moral imperative…

Take ‘em as you will...

Random Political Thoughts

Want some Random Political Thoughts? Here you go… enjoy;

Walking his own line. You can add yet another former ally turning their back on Dubya. Lame-duck British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced this week that the the U.K. will cut troop levels in Iraq by 1,600 (from 7,100 to 5,500). Naturally, the White House tried to put a positive spin on it with Vice President Dick “Dick” Cheney stating that the move was actually good news and a “sign of progress” in Iraq… (Uh… okay… sure… Tell me Mr. Cheney, what color is the sky in your world?). In more ‘other-nations-are-being-smarter-than-us-and-slowly-withdrawing-troops-from-the-quaqmire-of-Iraq’ news, it’s expected that Denmark will follow Britain’s lead and announce plans to withdraw its 460 troops from Iraq. (Losing them will hurt because… because… yeah, I got nothin’…)

Good luck. A little more than two months after suffering a brain hemorrhage, Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) has left a Washington hospital and has entered a rehabilitation facility. (God speed Senator…)

And for his next failure… “President” Bush wants to reform our nation’s health-care system and is aiming at the reform to be a huge part of his final two years in office. The problem is that nearly half of Americans don't trust Bush to reform the nation's health-care system, at least that’s what a new Wall Street Journal Online/Harris health-care poll found. When respondents were asked how much they trust the president to come up with good policies for improving and reforming the U.S. health-care system, 49% said “not at all” and 16% said “not much”. (When Dubya goes to sleep, does he have nightmares of pollsters?? These are not surprising numbers… yet they do bring a smile to my face…)

Cronyism: Texas Style. Six (long, agonizing, disasterous) years into the presidency of George Bush, his loyal Texan corps, those who accompanied him to Washington from Austin, are still a force to be reckoned with inside the White House and, according to the NY Times (New motto: We suck less than the other NY papers) remains a steady source of comfort for a president that is becoming increasingly isolated.

To the jury-mobile! Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald gave a “detailed and businesslike” summary of the prosecution’s case against Scooter Libby, with Mr. Fitzgerald saying that Libby; “told a dumb lie and got caught.” Then it was Libby’s chief defense lawyer Theodore Wells turn, and he decided to go the “Drama Queen” route and countered with an “intensely emotional defense” complete with sob-ending, (and by sob ending, I don’t mean a sad ending, I mean he actually cried) “He’s been under my protection for the last month. I give him to you. Give him back to me.” After those words, Wells “teared up, sobbed audibly” and sat down. (Sigh… I don’t even know where to begin…)

Unsettling news. The Washington Post (new motto “Not like the NY Times anymore… we’re much worse”) started a reporting series this past Sunday about the “deplorable conditions” at Walter Reed Army Hospital (PART 1, PART 2, PART 3). Now, swift action has been promised, and two Midwest Senators, Barack Obama (D-IL) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), have also promised swift action. (My question is this; with the conditions as bad as they are at the hospital, it seems as though it’s been like this for a while... how come we’re just finding out about this now? Granted, with the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq the hospital is probably over-taxed with patients… but this is supposed to the military’s best hospital. And the way the White House is trying to spin it… something very strange is going on here, but I just can’t quite put my finger on it…)

2008 Presidential Race Update. Barack Obama is in California asking for money from Hollywood heavyweights like Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington & Steven Spielberg (which I guess means that Hillary will have to settle for Spielberg’s non-Union Mexican equivalent… trust me, some people get that…)… Hillary Clinton is hoping to have Bubba take her Senate seat should she win the White House (anything to keep him away from the WH interns)… John McCain is still rolling over to suit whichever group he’s addressing at that moment (he’s this race’s version of Bob Dole… )… Mitt Romney is already starting-up the media war (still won’t help…)… and John Edwards is… keeping strangely and unusually quiet…

I apologize now for putting this image into your head. According to Ariel Sharon’s new biography, “President” Bush once told him that if he (Bush) ever got his hands on Osama bin Laden, he would “screw him in the ass.” (I don’t think anything else needs to be said as that line speaks for itself…)

All I have, take ‘em as you will…

The Weekly Rewind

It’s that time again… Friday… and you no what that means…

No, not the early bird special at the Sizzler…

It’s time for The Weekly Rewind.

It’s been an interesting week, with rhetoric debate about the Iraq escalation plan, an attempt to get bailed out of another war, and so much crap about Anna Nicole Smith that every time I hear the latest item about her, I die a little inside…

Here we go…

Applaud: to defections. More and more republicans are coming down in favor of the Democrat-led escalation resolution, and not all of them are in danger of being unseated.. meaning that some of them are, ohmhgod, voting their conscience… quick, call Hell to see if it’s frozen over…

Heckle: to utter, unbiased, unadulterated stupidity. Just when you think republicans have said the craziest thing you’ve ever heard, they surprise you. The chairman of the Texas House Appropriations Committee, Warren Chisum, doesn't believe that the earth revolves around the sun, Yes, you read that right; a grown man who doesn’t believe that the earth revolves around the sun so much that he distributed a memo pitching the website of, evidently, bat-shit crazed wingers, who believe the earth doesn't spin on its axis or revolves around the Sun yet stands still… and just when you think it couldn’t get any better, you then find out that this group believes that Copernicus was part of a Jewish conspiracy to undermine the Old Testament… you can’t write shit like this I’m telling ya. It would be hilarious if it weren’t true…

Applauds: to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Earlier this week she “strongly endorsed binding legislation” that would require the Bush(whacked) Administration to seek congressional authorization even before the thought of military strikes on Iran enters their collective minds… (oops, too late…). Now she’s tied her support for Dubya’s war-funding request into strict standards of training, equipping and resting combat forces. (I think it would be safe to say that Ms. Pelosi has larger balls than her predecessor, Dennis Hastert, ever did…unfortunately, I still have doubts that Congress will be able to stop Bush from doing anything he wants to do… he’s really like an over-aged frat-boy in that regard…)

Heckle: to incredibly unrealistic assumptions and piss-poor analysis. According to documents that have just been releasd, the U.S. Central Command’s original war plan for invading Iraq “postulated in August 2002 that the U.S. would have only 5,000 troops left in Iraq as of December 2006.” (Uh, yeah… I think we’re a little off the mark on that one. 5,000 troops LEFT in Iraq, and here we are, February 2007 and we’re getting ready to send 20,000+ additional troops over there. All you people out there who defended this administration’s war-planning strategy still want to defend it??? Didn’t think so…)

Applaud: to the House Ccommittee on Government Reform for unanimously passing strong new whistle-blower protections, thus ensuring court reviews of whistle blower complaints and extending protection “for the first time to the F.B.I. and to intelligence agencies where wastefulness is draped in secrecy.

Heckle: to hookers at the point… or maybe more appropriately; hookers at the Come-on-I-wanna-lay-ya. In a 25-count indictment disclosed yesterday against Defense contractor Brent Wilkes shows he was able to boondogle a plethora of Pentagon contracts by giving then-Rep. Duke Cunningham, besides cash, a prostitute on August 15, 2003 and, at the Congressman’s request, a different prostitute for the second evening, on August 16th… (First of all; eeeewww… second of all; eeewww again… third; is this what they mean by ‘poleing the electorate’?)

Applaud: to the power of Progressive Blogs. Earlier this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) launched a new blog (named The Gavel). Later in the week, a group of conservative House members issued a release claiming Pelosi had “violated copyright and trademark law” by “using pirated content” from C-SPAN, suggesting that “the Speaker bring the gavel down on ‘the Gavel Blog.’” (Naturally, within hours, the group who led the charge learned that their legal analysis was stupid idiotic petty wrong and retracted their complaint… Nice way to show that bi-partisanship you were all crowing about before the session began. And it also makes you wonder what exactly this group of conservatives didn’t want peopl to see. Dumb. Asses.)

Heckle: to lowering your standards. The number of waivers that the Army has granted to recruits with criminal backgrounds has grown 65% in the last three years… (Meaning, once they shoot the enemy, they then take their wallets…)

Applaud: to the end of the Scooter Libby case. Scooter Libby’s defense team has rested. Now, with Libby having decided to not testify himself, it’s over… and all paths lead to the White House. Now we just have to wait to see whose path it leads to…

Heckle: to dumbing down your comments. During the House’s Iraq debate, Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) explained her support for sending tens of thousands of U.S. forces to Iraq with language you would usually only hear in a trailer park:

“In the South, we have a wonderful saying and it goes like this: Get ‘er done. Our soldiers want to get it done and come home, and our President wants the same thing, and this Congress should demand the exact same thing. Let’s get out there and get ‘er done.’

Come on now,that has to be an impeachable offense, right?? Saying something as inane as that on the floor of the House of Representatives… what’s next? You might be a redneck…

Applaud: to more gop dominoes falling. Governor Jim Gibbons (R-NV) is being investigated by the FBI for failing to report gifts from a military contractor that he received while he was a member of Congress… (no word if hookers were involved or not…)

Heckle: to quoting quotes that aren’t actual quotes from the person you’re quoting… During yesterday's House debate on Iraq escalation, Rep. Don Young (R-AK) repeated a misquoted quote from Abraham Lincoln, a “quote” that was used in a Washington Times op-ed piece by Frank Gaffney. Disregarding the fact that the quote was never delivered by Lincoln, a point which Gaffney admits, Young is refusing to retract his statement and using the toddler-like excuse that the paper hasn't printed a correction yet either… (Usually I would use this space to say something akin to; What. A. Tool. But for this one, I prefer; what. A. Child. Grow up, Representative… grow up…)

Applaud: to the news that, for now, North Korea has agreed to nuclear disarmament… does that mean we can stop panicking? Probably not, it is Kim Jong Ill we’re talking about here, and he’s more bi-polar than... well... anyone...

Heckle: to Michelle Malkin. Just because I can…

Applaud: to the American public. A USA Today/Gallup poll finds 63% of Americans want all U.S. troops out of Iraq by the end of 2008…

Heckle: to delusions of grandeur. WaPo Op-Ed columnist David Broder says President Bush is poised for a political comeback… Uh…. Okay… Let me ask you Mr. Broder; what color is the sky in your world?

Applaud: to the Fark poltical headline of the week. “"Leadership" issue plays to Giuliani's strength. "Not sticking your weener in other women while still married" issue plays to his weakness”

Heckle: to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). 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??)

And finally…

Half-Hearted Applaud: to the House of Representatives for “rebuking” Bush on his troop-escalation plan (246 for, 182 against). Why is this a half-hearted applaud you ask? Because it amounts to less than a slap on the wrist and won’t stop Bush from doing a damn thing. But, I suppose, it’s better than nothing… but not by much. For those of you who want to see it, here’s the text of the resolution:

Disapproving of the decision of the President announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That—
(1) Congress and the American people will continue to support and protect the members of the United States Armed Forces who are serving or who have served bravely and honorably in Iraq; and
(2) Congress disapproves of the decision of President George W. Bush announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.

Tomorrow, the Senate votes, and at least four GOP Senators (Smith, Warner, Snowe, and Collins) have said they will switch sides and back the Democratic-led resolution.

All I have, take ‘em as you will and have a good weekend.

Let's talk about wars...

The Dog and Pony show that is the House of Representatives’ Debate on Iraq escalation continues, and now we’re seeing republicans jumping sides and coming out against Bush’s Iraq escalation plan (but NOT the President himself… go figure) in droves.

How many rethugspublicans are going to jump you ask? One particular republican lawmaker stated that the gop house leadership has 50 to 60 republicans on their watch list and are expecting anywhere between 40 and 60 to switch sides by the time the debating ends tomorrow.

Will this actually do anything?

I doubt it.

Let’s be honest, “President” Bush doesn’t listen to anyone but his cadre of cronies (Cheney, Rice, Rove, et al) while blatantly ignoring the will of the American people, the will of Congress, and the will of other world leaders. He wants what he wants, and he doesn’t seem to care how he achieves that… So why would the escalation in Iraq be any different?

(Come to think of it, why should we expect this administration’s dealings with Iran to be any different?? I really need to get back to work on that bomb shelter…)

And while we’re on the subject of failed wars, let me use this space to talk about a speech Bush gave this morning. In the speech, he declared the war in Afghanistan as a success… apparently ignoring the facts that we never caught bin Laden (even though we know for a fact he was there), the Taliban are enjoying a nice resurgence in the country, and the plans we had in mind for the country (ya know, like being able to read a book without fear of retribution) have gone the way of the Dodo.

Because of this, the “President” has released his much-less ballyhooed Afghanistan escalation plan…

Let me see if I have this straight… Bush royally fucks-up screws-up the war in Afghanistan by turning his feeble mind and ever-decreasing attention span to erasing his Daddy’s failures, namely Iraq & Saddam Hussein. He does this even though (and there is proof out there) the U.S. not only had the Taliban on the run, but Osama bin Laden and Al Qaida on the run as well.

Fast forward five years… he’s screwed up two wars, Iraq and Afghanistan (the latter being the true “war-on-terror” battleground) and now he’s saying, nee – demanding – that other NATO countries help us out by sending troops to Afghanistan stating in his speech at the American Enterprise Institute

“When our commanders on the ground say to our respective countries ‘We need additional help,’ our NATO countries must provide it.”

They "must" provide it… do you really want to go there Dubya? Saying they “must” provide help? Even your staunchest allies in Europe have washed their hands of you and you’re going to have the audacity to demand they provide troops???

Do you even know who your friends are anymore?

Do you even know what the hell you’re doing anymore??