It's Always Been Stay Change the Course...

Has “President” Bush finally gone off the deep end?

Has the Administration finally run out of excuses?

Or is he growing something “special” on his new ranch in Paraguay?

This past weekend, in an interview with George Stephanap… Stephenappoh… Steppan… sigh… with George from ABC’s This Week, Bush said this:

“Well, hey, listen, we've never been ‘stay the course,’ George. We have been - we will complete the mission, we will do our job, and help achieve the goal, but we're constantly adjusting to tactics. Constantly.”

Really?? That’s odd… I (along with anyone with half a brain) seem to remember Bush and all his cronies saying just that many, many, many, many times… in fact, a search in the White Houses press releases shows Bush saying those exact words quite a lot:

August 30, 2006: “We will stay the course.”

August 4, 2005: “We will stay the course, we will complete the job in Iraq.”

April 16, 2004: “… and that’s why we’re going to stay the course in Iraq. And that’s why when we say something in Iraq, we’re going to do it.”

April 13, 2004: “And my message today to those in Iraq is: We’ll stay the course.”

April 5, 2004: “And so we’ve got tough action in Iraq. But we will stay the course.”

December 15, 2003: “We will stay the courseuntil the job is done, Steve. And the temptation is to try to get the President or somebody to put a timetable on the definition of getting the job done. We’re just going to stay the course.”

Maybe I’m missing something… maybe George was speaking in code... maybe I mistyped something on the White House website.

Let’s try again on Google and… oh, dear… look at these results for “George Bush” and “stay the course”… wow… that’s a lot of citing.

At least Dumbya can rest assured that he isn’t the only one in his administration to say it, with Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Snow all getting into the act.

Let’s be honest for a moment (I know that’s a quality that is hard to understand for all most some republican’s) and look at the facts; ever since “major combat operations” ended in Iraq and “Mission Accomplished” was hung on a carrier, we’ve been subjected to hearing about how the nation must “stay the course” in Iraq… we must “stay the course” in fighting the insurgency… we must “stay the course” for Democracy in Iraq… we must “stay the course” for the battle of terrorism…

But now, with support for the Iraq war waning at staggeringly high levels… with a true threat of a mid-term republican backlash looming, with bipartisan support falling by the wayside and by republican support slipping (not to mention the approval of Daddy), Bush and his people have suddenly decided that they had never maintained it was “stay the course.”

It’s not so much the message that pisses me off, as it’s the insult to our collective intelligence.

Don’t get me wrong; the message does, indeed, piss me off… but what’s more grating is the fact that this White House believes that people won’t remember the constant bombardment we’ve been under with the entire “stay the course” message… and now to say; “it’s never been stay the course” is both insulting and comical.

We should expect… nay… demand better from our elected leaders… and in two weeks the American public will have that chance, and we all need to send a message loud and clear… a message that says we demand better from our elected leaders… that’s why Scott and I hope that you will join us in voting for a change in 'course on November 7th… the country needs it.

The Weekly Rewind

We had a Rewind posted last week, but somewhere between Scott hitting ‘post’ and it showing on the ‘the tubes’ of the internet, Blogger (who bites it), lost the entire post…

So here’s this week’s… hopefully… if it gets lost, we left a trail of breadcrumbs for it to find its way back…

Applaud: to the masses. According to a new CNN poll, nearly half of all Americans think most members of Congress are corrupt (well, duh). This reflects a 12% rise since the start of 2006.

Heckle: to Bill “Whack-job” O’Reilly. Earlier this week on his radio show he stated that abortion is “never the case” that a “mother’s life is in danger” because one could “always have a C-section”… (What a tool…)

Applaud: to MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann. Earlies this week he addressed “President” Bush’s (false) claim that detainees will be able to “hear all the evidence against them” by stating: “Your words are lies, Sir. They are lies, that imperil us all.” (Wonderfully put Keith. Notice: if you’re a Liberal, Democrat, Progressive or simply if you’re not a lemming, and you don’t listen to Keith, you really should. He’s saying what we’re all thinking and he’s using an ever-growing audience to get that message out… we now leave this commercial break for our regularly-scheduled snark…

Heckle: to the death of habeas corpus. Sadly, what more can be said that hasn’t already been said (and ignored) by the right??

Applaud: to more screws turning tighter on more republican congressmen. Word came out this past week that federal agents are investigating ties between Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA) and Bogoljub Karic, who is a “wealthy Serbian businessman” who has close ties to former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic.” (Well, in Mr. Weldon’s defense… he’s just folling the herd off the cliff…)

Heckle: to what could very well be the dumbest quote about Iraq from Dick Cheney ever: “If you look at the general overall situation [in Iraq], they're doing remarkably well.” (Sorry Dick, I have a feeling if you ask the Iraqis they would have a very different answer. Wake up and smell the failure nimrod…)

Minor-Applaud: The Bush Administration (finally getting to the self-evident point we all saw months ago) declared its intentions earlier this week to rethink Iraq policy. I could say more, but it’s just easier to point you to articles by the Washington Post, the New York Times, the L.A. Times , and the Wall Street Journal.

Applaud: to a federal judge who ruled that records of who visited Dick Cheney's house and office must be released. (Truthfully, knowing what type of person he is… I don’t think I really want to know what he does in the comfort of his house and office… ewwwwwww….)

Heckle:to continuing problems and issues with Blogger that make it extremely difficult to post anything at times... like today.

That's it.

Take 'em as you will...

War on the Middle Class

What, Scott is actually posting and it’s not a weekend! That’s right, I am. Things have been fairly interesting in my life as a single parent, however I will not foist my thoughts and issues of that part of my life upon you in this forum. I will attempt to do some summarizing on my other blog. But I digress…..

Ok, we are approximately 3 weeks away from the mid-terms and drawing upon that fact is a man that we here at TBWA have come to think of as representing a good deal of (dare we say..) Common Sense; Lou Dobbs.

Mr. Dobbs has repeatedly shown himself to be someone who does not merely roll along with the status-quo (Kemp's note: or act like a lemming as I always say... back to you Scott) but takes a stand and challenges the close-minded elite class that has taken up long term (so far) residence in our nations capital.

Today I present to you an article from CNN in which Mr. Dobbs raises, once again, the issue of the battle being waged against the ‘middle-class’ in this country, which also happens to make up the majority of the population. I am placing the article here in it’s entirety in case the link was to become bad.

By Lou Dobbs - CNN.com

"War on the Middle Class" is the title of my new book and our special report on CNN. Wednesday we broadcast live from the front lines of this all-out war, and we talked to American families facing the tough issues that are all but being ignored by our elected officials in Washington. Our middle class is the largest group of people in the country, but they are also the least represented in our nation's capital.

It's been a tough decade for the American middle class, which has been experiencing stagnant wages in the face of rapidly increasing costs for health care and prescription drugs, soaring energy prices and escalating tuition costs. But worst of all, the middle class is up against a Congress that is driven by powerful corporations and dominant special interests.

We were excited to give the middle-class families participating in Wednesday's town hall meeting in Kansas City a voice, because all too often they are simply ignored by their elected officials and the national media.

I looked forward to hearing from people like Mary in Louisiana, who wrote our broadcast to tell us, "The two parties in power really don't represent me any longer and haven't for quite some time. I write letters to my representatives almost daily, and only occasionally do I get a reply. It's obvious that I don't matter to these people. It's definitely time for a voter revolution in this country."

Bob in Louisiana is also fed up with our leaders in Washington, and I suspect he has more than a little company. Bob wrote: "What ever happened to the concept in which politicians were elected to do the will of the people? Regardless of what the polls show the American people want done, it seems our brilliant elected officials always find a way to do just the opposite. What part of 'of the people, by the people, and for the people' don't they understand?"

It seems the best way to ensure prosperity in this country is to run for office, said B.L. in Michigan: "I wish like our members of Congress, I could supposedly work 80 days out of the year, vacation the rest of the year and still get a substantial raise, health benefits and a nice retirement package. If they had to eke out a living like most of us Americans, they might decide to cater to their constituents rather than the lobbyists and big corporations."

Congress has passed too many laws over the past few years contrary to the interests of the citizens they represent. One has to look no further than the bankruptcy bill, which was all but written by the credit card companies. Decisions like that led Jerry in Georgia to look forward to our elected officials leaving Washington to take another vacation: "The way I see it, Congress going home...is the equivalent of a cease-fire in the War on the Middle Class."

When our representatives are actually in session, they're constantly at odds with the will of the people. There's been no Congressional action on raising the minimum wage since 1997, and inflation has eroded wages as a result. The minimum wage in the 21st century now stands at its lowest level since 1955, according to the Economic Policy Institute and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Sean in North Carolina responded to my bringing up this issue by saying, "Lou, while I appreciate your support of an increase in the minimum wage, isn't it about time we institute a maximum wage in this country? Corporate America must be getting hernias by now from hauling away all the loot. When is enough enough?"

Daniel in Florida says, "I think the Senate pay should be directly related to the average pay of the middle class. If we go down, they go down, too."

What about the parents of our brave men and women in uniform fighting to preserve our values and freedoms? Paula in Texas said, "Lou, can you tell me why I should not be outraged to find out that my son and his fellow military personnel are receiving the lowest 2.2 percent pay raise for their efforts in Iraq, and yet the grand ol' body in Congress passes a hidden expense of $20 million for a 2007 Victory party for the successes in Afghanistan and Iraq? Now that is just an outrage. My son just returned from Iraq and I pray he doesn't have to go back. He might miss the party."

Finally, James in Idaho is thinking the unthinkable: "The middle class is a purposeful construct, a buffer keeping the poor from the throats of the rich. The continued destruction of the middle class will result in class warfare, social strife, social revolution in our country, if the trend is not reversed."

Voter turnout for this year's midterm primary elections fell to the lowest level for any midterm election in American history. I hope the working men and women and their families you watched and heard in our town hall meeting will inspire you to raise the number of votes counted on November 7.

I know that many of our loyal readers have similar thoughts to the opinions quoted in this article, I hope you will continue to question the status-quo and go the polls on November 7th. Since you’re going, why not bring a friend?

Be good, stay informed….later

President Obama?

Having done just about everything that the DSCC (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) has asked him to do – like traveling to 20 or 30 states this year to drum-up support for Democratic candidates, Junior Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) is quietly wondering about his answer to something that has become the million dollar question for the 2008 Presidential election:

Will he (Obama) run?

Currently in the midst of a national tour to tout his new book, “The Audacity of Hope,” Obama has been quietly examining whether to run for president in 2008 or not while at the same time reaching out to Democratic operatives and measuring the effect of a presidential run would have on his wife and children.

According to an article published in today’s Chicago Tribune entitled “Obama dips toe in 2008 waters” (online subscription needed), Sen. Obama has been “constantly calling” Democratic Strategist (and Al Gore’s 2000 campaign manager) Donna Brazile and “checking the water.”

Brazile went on to say that Obama has “gotten the presidential bug bite," and that she is scheduled to talk politics with Obama shortly after next month’s Mid-terms.

Adding fuel to the speculation fire, Time magazine devoted a cover story in recent weeks with the headline "Why Barack Obama Could Be the Next President."

Sure, Obama has been pussyfooting around any questions about a possible presidential bid since arriving in the Senate two years ago and for the last few months he has remained focused solely on helping the Democrats obtain a majority in the House and Senate in next month’s elections.

End of story, right?

Well… not so much.

Let’s look at what could be the most telling piece of evidence of his shifting thoughts, a vague, and yet still encouraging, statement that he gave when someone asked him if he would think about a run for the presidency after the November elections:

“When the election is over and my book tour is done, I will think about how I can be most useful to the country and how I can reconcile that with being a good dad and a good husband. … I haven't completely decided or unraveled that puzzle yet."

Sure, there will always be the chatter about his “lack of experience”, but I tend to agree with Huffington Post scribe Richard Greene, who stated: “It should be remembered that there was a rather young Governor with zero national or international experience who made the argument that one could and would surround themselves with people of great experience in those areas.”

And he did a damn good job… stories of cigars and red dresses notwishstanding.

Can’t we have the same hope for Obama?

I do...

Political 'Ph'unnies

Do you all want a good laugh? Then check out Radar magazine as they have named their “Top Ten Dumbest Congressmen”, and it’s chock-full of bipartisan goodness.

EDITOR'S UPDATE: Rolling Stone magazine has a list of the "Top Ten Worst Congressman"... it's also chock-full of bipartisan goodness.

The Week Ahead

It’s Monday… don’t ask what happened to this week’s Rewind. It was lost to the cosmos in an unfortunate on-line accident… these things happen.

If you’re going through the ‘dt’s because of a lack of a rewind, here’s this week’s Week Ahead to pacify you… enjoy!

• North Korea… nukes… ‘nuff said.
• Keep in mind that in just under 24 hours, the U.S. population will hit the 300,000,000 milestone. It’s predicted by the Census Bureau to hit tomorrow (Tuesday) at 6:46 am CT…
• Did you know that the U.S. Coast Guard has proposed to use certain areas of the Great Lakes as “permanent, live fire shooting zones” for training on some of their new weapins… including a 7.62 mm weapon that can blast as many as 650 rounds a minute and send fire more than 4,000 yards… (What could possibly go wrong???)
• Pay attention as more sheep come in from the cold as two republican senators, Chuck Hagel (R-NB) and John Warner (R-VA), are calling for new strategies regarding Iraq, with each saying the situation is getting worse and that is leaving the U.S. with few options. It should also be noted that Hagel, who just recently returned from an Iraq visit, said that Iraq was “drifting sideways.” (Always good to see sheep stray from the flock… isn’t it?)
• Keep an eye on the Illinois Governor’s Race between incumbent Rod Blagojevich (D) and challenger Judy Baar Topinka (R). Why? Because the voter’s don’t really like either candidate, but they know they have to vote for someone, so they’re more likely sticking with the incumbent. (I’ve been saying for months that this race is the epitome of the lesser of two evils… even more so than the 2004 Presidential race...)
• Pay attention as the Iraq Study Group is considering two main options: One is “withdrawing American troops in phases” and another option being to bring Iran and Syria into the country in a joint effort to stop the fighting. When asked about U.S. policy, one group participant stated that the plan is NOT “going to be ‘stay the course,’ ”
• Keep an eye on your civil liberties (lest they be taken away) as Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia argued that nothing in the Constitution supports abortion rights or affirmative action. He then warned (rather ominously) that “someday, you’re going to get a very conservative Supreme Court and regret that approach,” (Wow… when a Supreme Court justice starts to make threats, you know our country has gotten WAY off-track…)
• Keep tabs on House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and his blood pressure as both could blow through the roof any day...
• Pay attention as the mid-terms (and White House delusions of granduer) get ever-closer...

Take ‘em as you will...

Random Political Thoughts for a Thursday Afternoon

Where the hell did Wednesday go??

Anyhow, here ya go…

Money. According to the Commerce Department, as energy prices rose and a shortfall with China reached an all-time high, the U.S. trade deficit widened to a record $70 billion in August. (Color me unsurprised)

Hope. 70% of Americans are doing something they’ve never done before: discussing politics with family and friends. (Wait, that isn’t normal??) Experts say that the interested of U.S. voters is “at its highest level in more than a decade.” (Why? Two words: Dub. Ya.)

Obvious. For the first time since the 9/11 attacks, more Americans (36% to be exact) believe that the terrorists are the ones winning the “war on terror”, with 31% saying the U.S. and its allies are and 22% say neither side is winning. (Rather sad isn’t it? And yet, this administration has done what it’s always done… ignored the people and ignored the facts… January 2008 can not come fast enough.)

Numbers. The number of Iraqis who have died since March 2003 has hit 655,000, with a study at Johns Hopkins University finding a “steady increase in mortality” since we invaded the country and an even-steeper rise within the last year. (But they’re not in a civil war… no sirree….)

Blame. Never one to admit their own mistakes, the Bush administration has blamed U.S. intelligence agencies for all North Korea policy failures with White House officials telling the Washington Times that classified assessments stated: “Pyongyang did not have nuclear arms and until recently was bluffing about plans for a test.” (Sigh…)

Two-faced. A new book by ex on faith-based issues special assistant David Kuo states that Karl Rove is two-faced… (like you needed a book to tell you that…) and that he often referred to evangelical leaders as “the nuts.

Idiot. Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) tried to make his case for why “President” Bush should resume depicting the war in Iraq as part of a larger struggle against “Islamic fascism” by stating in an interview: “I don’t care if we offend our allies in the Middle East.” (Cause that strategy always works… offend our allies, piss them off, so when we need their help, they’re nowhere to be found… the man is a fuc**** moron…)

XX gop heavyweaight James Baker's Iraq policy commission has arrived at a (somewhat obvious) conclusion and have ruled out the prospect of victory for America in Iraq. (This isn’t some Liberal politician or Liberal blogger saying this… it’s James Baker…an underling to President’s Reagan, Bush Sr. and Dumbya… and he’s saying victory ain’t gonna happen… what the hell does this administration need to see to realize that???)

Shock. Former Democrat Presidential nominee front-runner Mark Warner isn’t going to run for president in 2008. (Shit… that doesn’t mean Hillary is the front-runner, does it???)

Kos. Kos thinks Kentucky Democratic congressional candidate Mike Weaver is an idiot… and after reading Weaver’s comments I have to agree with Kos; the man is a moronic imbecile…

All I have, take ‘em as you will…

How's that Axis of Evil working for ya W?

Remember the “Axis of Evil” rhetoric that Bush spewed in a State of the Union address a few years ago… there were three nations that the U.S. needed to monitor as they were breeding terrorists and such.

Do you remember what those three countries were?

Iraq. Iran. North Korea.

One of these countries is in civil war…

One is developing nuclear technology…

And one just exploded a nuclear weapon earlier this week (assuming they're not lying in order to test world reaction)

Now comes an article, an analysis is probably a more apt description, in today’s Washington Post that speaks of how Bush's axis of evil "is coming back to haunt him" (and maybe haunt the gop and put more harm on them next month…)

Specifically, it speaks to how U.S. relationships have deteriorated with each of the countries that are part of the axis.

Here’s a handy-dandy excerpt:

Nearly five years after President Bush introduced the concept of an "axis of evil" comprising Iraq, Iran and North Korea, the administration has reached a crisis point with each nation: North Korea has claimed it conducted its first nuclear test, Iran refuses to halt its uranium-enrichment program, and Iraq appears to be tipping into a civil war. . .

Despite Bush's idiotic, and way off the mark, rhetoric that Liberals are weak on terrorism, let’s face facts: it’s Bush and his cronies (read: party) that’s been weakening our diplomatic relations around the globe and, ultimately, turned a blind eye towards North Korea and Iran.

(You remember Iran right – the country that continues its uranium enrichment program, thumbing its collective noses at empty threats from the U.S. and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the world.)
With all his attention (and I use that term very loosely) on Iraq, he’s allowed the other two countries in the “Axis” to build themselves up and become more dominant.

How will this scenario end you ask…

I wish I knew...

The Week Ahead

Yes, it’s Monday. Columbus Day.

Which also means it’s time for The Week Ahead…

• Awwwww crap… pay a LOT of attention to North Korea as they may have detonated a nuclear device (especially since our “fearless” leader didn’t understand why he should worry about North Korea at all…) Everyone panic in four, three, two…
• Keep an eye on Dubya’s sanity. Yesterday, former Sr. Bush crony James Baker, (the Republican co-chairman of a bipartisan panel re-assessing Iraq strategy for Bush) stated that he “absolutely agrees” with the sentiments expressed by Sen. John Warner (R-VA) of setting a timetable for are redeployment from Iraq. (When a gop crony like Baker starts to disagree with you, you know you’re in deep…)
• Pay attention to Keith Olbermann. Why? For calling Bush out with this perfect quote” “Why has the ferocity of your venom against the Democrats now exceeded the ferocity of your venom against the terrorists?” Well said Keith, very well said…
• Keep an eye on Mark Foley… besides for the obvious reasons his fall from grace may be an ominous sign of things to come for the gop and a promising sign of things to come for the Dems… at least it will be unless the Dems somehow screw it up… again…
• Pay heed as a new Newsweek poll, released this past Saturday, showed President Bush's approval rating at 33%, which is a “new all-time low” for that poll. If this blog had tags, “Obvious” would be attached to this item…
• Pay attention as the races for several contested seats start to reach a boiling point. Some key races to watch (each one featuring one candidate – the republican – who seems to be crazy as a fuc**** loon): Allen* vs. Webb, Talent* vs. McCaskill, Harris* vs. Nelson, Reynolds* vs. Davis, (* denotes the crazy one)
• Keep an eye on Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s (R) sanity as he whines complains from prison about how the press has been treating him since he was found guilty of corruption. Uh, okay… maybe someone should send the ex-Senator that he was found guilty of a crime and is in jail… not daycare… for breaking the law. Dumbass…
• THIS STORY is sad and depressing. Please read it and then let your voices be heard. If you want to read more about women in Iran being stoned to death and how you might be able to help, then read THIS and THIS.
• Don’t let House Speaker Dennis Hastert out of your sight for a moment… though the majority of Americans want him to disappear. According to a CNN poll, 52% believe the Foley scandal should cost House Speaker Dennis Hastert his leadership post. With 31% saying he should stay, and 17% being idiots having no opinion. This comes at the same time as a handful of conservative papers calling for Hastert to step down.

That’s all I have, take ‘em as you will…

The Weekly Rewind

It’s the end of yet another week. The mid-terms are fast approaching, Iraq is falling into further chaos and danger, and the gop is acting like… well… like the gop.

Not many posts this week as Scott was uber-busy with work and I had a family emergency/tragedy occur in my family and was out of town… but no matter, we’ve made a return for this week’s Weekly Rewind.

Applaud: to a new record set by the Dow Jones Industrial average, which closed at 11,727.34 earlier this week, besting a record that had been held since January 2000, though. We’ll ignore the fact that if inflation is taken into account, the Dow would still have to go up another 2,150 points before it beats the “all-time high.” (Nevermind that ‘all time high’ jazz… in this day and age, considering who’s in charge in DC, good news is good news. Drinks are on me…)

Heckle: to Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL)… do I really need to tell you why???

Applaud: to approval ratings that, after enjoying a slight (and do I mean slight) uptick, are tumbling downward again. According to a new Time magazine poll, “President” Bush’s ratings have fallen from 38% in August to 36%. (I’ve always been a firm believer in not kicking a man while he’s down, so I’ll refrain from saying anything now… )

Heckle: to ignoring the warning signs. Months before the 9/11 attacks, both Donald Rumsfeld and John Ashcroft received a CIA briefing about an imminent al-Qaeda strike on America. (I’m not going to say anything except: Take that news as you will…)

Applaud: to more approval rating numbers according to a new NBC/WSJ poll and reflect a drop of three points since September… to 39%. (Couldn’t resist breaking this news out into 2 separate applauds…)

Heckle: to obviously not learning a lesson from mistakes in the past. Tucked away in last week’s homeland security bill was a law, passed by Congress, that established new job qualifications for the FEMA director. The new law requires a candidate who has “a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management” as well as stating they must have “not less than five years of executive leadership.” Commander Cuckoo Bananas signed it… hours later Dumbya issued a signed statement that said he could ignore the new restrictions. (Some people never learn… though it must be nice to be above every law in the land…)

Applaud: to repubican Senator John Warner (R-VA) for boldy stating, after a week in Iraq, that if “this level of violence is not under control and this government able to function” in two or three months, then the US government (and the Bush Administration) needs to ask if a “change of course” is due.

Tilted Applaud: to Bob “Waffle” Woodward and his new book that isn’t very kind to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The book describes him as “an arrogant, indecisive bumbler who won’t take responsibility for his mistakes — or even admit any.” (And this is different from every other Bush cabinet member… how???)

Heckle: to once again not learning a lesson from mistakes in the past. A new Justice Department report from the Inspector General says the federal Bureau of Prisons “does not read all the mail for terrorist and other high-risk inmates on its mail monitoring lists.” (Lovely…)

Applaud: to Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, who wrote a letter to CIA Director Michael Hayden requesting that a document that describes a “grim” picture of the situation in Iraq (and that she says is being suppressed by the Bush administration) be declassified. (The odds of the document seeing the light of day are slim, but isn’t it nice to see someone doing something?)

<b>Heckle: to Senate Majority Leader Bill “You can call me Dr.” Frist (R-TN) who wants to put the Taliban back in power as he urged support for efforts to bring “people who call themselves Taliban” and their allies into the government. (Brilliant thought there Bill… ya dumbass…)

Forced Applaud: Good news everyone, an Appeals Court in Cincinnati ruled that the government can continue to use its warrantless domestic wiretap program pending the Justice Department’s appeal of a federal judge’s ruling outlawing the program. (See that Mr. Pentagon guys… we at TBWA think it’s a good idea…)

Heckle: North Korea said earlier this past week that they will conduct a nuclear test to bolster its self-defense capability while world leaders “acted with alarm.” (I have really got to finish that bomb shelter…)

Applaud? Heckle? You decide… The Supreme Court began its term this past Monday… let’s just hope they do more than Congress did…

Heckle: to Wal-Mart for their attempts to make a cheaper, more flexible work force by capping wages, using more part-time workers and scheduling more workers on nights and weekends.” (I offer a new slogan for Wal Mart: “Buy American… and screw the American worker”)

Heckle: to once again not learning a lesson from mistakes in the past. British commandos in southeastern Iraq have “found nothing to support” the Bush Administration’s belief that Iran is providing weapons and training in Iraq. (Do ya think Georgie Boy cares?? It’s like Iraq all over again…)

Heckle: and sure to be on the discount rack before you know it, former Attorney General John Ashcroft is writing his memoirs. (I’ll just leave you to ponder that one on your own…

And for those of you not catching it, I was being sarcastic and snarky when I gave an applaud to the domestic wiretap program…

Quite a few more heckles than applauds this week… as my mood indicates…

It’s been a long and tough week for me, so I’ll bid you all adieu and, as always…

Take ‘em as you will...

The Weekly Rewind

Well here it is the end of another fun filled week (as my esteemed colleague says, it’s so hard to express sarcasm in the written form). However, being the end of the week, you know what that means, no not payday (ok, for some it might be payday), not laundry day (that’s Thursday), no it’s time for The Weekly Rewind. You know that little thing we do to go back and give a ‘quick-hit’ overview of some of the political happenings of the past week, as well as any major news events. So without any further delay, let’s get to it.

Before we get into the political dealings of the previous week I have to give a serious what the hell is wrong with this guy?, Heckle to just being senseless.

Another deranged idiot took children hostage at a school in Bailey, CO and when the standoff ended, a 16 student was dead as was the deranged idiot. With all the safety precautions that schools take today how was this 53 year old able to get into a school in the first place. At a later press conference the Sheriff stated that while the idiot (my word) held six girls hostage he sexually molested all of them. I am glad that the idiot is dead, but for what he did to those ‘children’ he should have suffered before he died. My heart goes out the girls family and all the children in Bailey whose lives have been forever changed by this senseless act.

Ok, let's get on to the political happenings of the past week.

Applaud: to telling the truth and nothing but the truth. At this weeks Democratic Policy Committee hearing on Iraq planning, retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste, the former commander of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division in Iraq, said the administration’s “plan allowed the insurgency to take root and metastasize to where it is today.” He and retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton declared that Rumsfeld must go. “He knows everything, except ‘how to win,’” Batiste said. Click here to see highlights of the hearing.

Heckle: to stating the obvious. “Americans clearly want a system that guarantees health care for everyone,” concludes a new report by the Citizens Health Care Working Group. The group was created by Congress and is composed of 15 members, including Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt. We needed a ‘group’ to tell us what we all already knew…nice waste of time and tax dollars.

Heckle: to facts behind the obvious. Since 2000, workers’ health insurance premiums have risen a total of 84 percent, while their wages have increased 20 percent and inflation has risen 18 percent.

Heckle: to a sad reality. Most of the 9 million uninsured children in the U.S. live in homes where at least one parent works full time,” a new Families USA report finds. “In more than one-quarter of the cases, there are two working parents.” This is truly sad when families with two working parents cannot afford basic health insurance benefits.

Heckle: to the number 6. Why?, well that is the United States’ position on the World Economic Forum’s competitiveness rankings, a fall from first last year. The U.S. lost its position as the world’s most competitive economy to Switzerland as budget and trade deficits prompted a slide.

Heckle: is it warm in here or is it just me? The Earth’s temperature “has climbed to levels not seen in thousands of years, warming that has begun to affect plants and animals,” the National Academy of Sciences reported. “This evidence implies that we are getting close to dangerous levels of human-made pollution,” NASA’s James Hansen said.

Heckle: See I knew it was warm! The journal Nature reports that Bush administration officials “blocked release of a report that suggests global warming is contributing to the frequency and strength of hurricanes,” the third such cover-up accusation in the last two weeks.

Heckle: I am sure glad that I don’t have to be the one to tell them. In a new sign of mounting strain from the war in Iraq, the Pentagon said that 3,800 U.S. soldiers will be staying in Iraq about six weeks beyond their one-year combat tours. Rumsfeld flew to the tiny nation of Montenegro with hopes of tapping a new source of troops for Iraq and Afghanistan. Hey how about seeing if any of the citizens of the tiny nation of Monaco are interested as well?

Heckle: And we all know how the first report went over. Bush terrorism adviser Fran Townsend acknowledged yesterday that a second intelligence estimate on Iraq exists, and will be released in January 2007. Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), ranking member on the intel committee, said yesterday the White House is deliberately withholding the second NIE until after November’s elections. Wow, what a surprise! The administration withholding potentially self-damning information until after an election, who would have been able to guess that one?

Heckle: Congress is on the verge of barring the construction of permanent bases for U.S. forces in Iraq. The ban, which was inserted into the annual defense spending bill, won House approval last night with the passage of the defense appropriations bill.

Applaud: Thank you Rudy. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani said yesterday, “The idea of trying to cast blame on President Clinton [for 9/11] is just wrong for many, many reasons, not the least of which is I don’t think he deserves it.”

Heckle: to still not getting it. The New York Times calls the “compromise” military commissions legislation about to be approved by Congress “a tyrannical law that will be ranked with the low points in American democracy, our generation’s version of the Alien and Sedition Acts.” Congress should hang it’s head in shame.

Heckle: to 'President' Bush on principles alone.

Heckle: to more of the same stupid stuff from this clueless administration. “The White House ignored an urgent warning in September 2003 from a top Iraq adviser who said that thousands of additional American troops were desperately needed to quell the insurgency there,” according to Bob Woodward’s new book. Woodward also claims “Bush’s top advisers were often at odds among themselves, and sometimes were barely on speaking terms,” and that Bush said as recently as November 2003, “I don’t want anyone in the cabinet to say it is an insurgency. I don’t think we are there yet.” Well George listen to your Generals and read the papers, do you think we are there now?

Heckle: I wonder if George is starting to realize the problems with misplaced loyalty? Former White House chief of staff Andrew H. Card Jr. on two occasions tried and failed to persuade President Bush to fire Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, according to a new book by Bob Woodward that depicts senior officials of the Bush administration as unable to face the consequences of their policy in Iraq. So when can we expect to see Donald’s resignation?…not soon enough.

That's all I got this week. Noticing not a lot to applaud, welcome to America under George W. Bush.

Be good, stay informed...later.

Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon

We’re halfway through the week, still celebrating our 1-year anniversary, and still doling out our spin on the political news of the day…

Since it’s Wednesday, we all know what that means…

No, not Ladies Day at the Quick Lube…

No, not Seniors Day at the carwash…

It’s time for TBWA’s Random Political Thought…

Not a surprise. Since 2000 health insurance premiums have risen 84% . Wages have 20% and inflation has risen 18%… (Hmmm, something’s amiss… oh, right… the average American worker is getting screwed with their pants on…)

Well, duh. A new report by the Citizens Health Care Working Group concludes that Americans (surprise, surprise) clearly want a system in place that guarantees health care for everyone”. The group was created by Congress and is composed of 15 members congressmen… (Did we really need a committee and a report to tell us this??)

Not a surprise, Part II. The journal Nature reports in the most-recent issue that Bush administration officials blocked the release of a report that suggests global warming is contributing to the frequency and strength of hurricanes… wait a minute, didn’t I put something in last week’s random about this?? What’s that? This is the third such cover-up accusation in the last two weeks?? Color me… not surprised…

This is progress? A coin flip decided the primary race for Alaska House of Representatives yesterday. Deadlocked in a 767-767 tie, incumbent Rep. Carl Moses and challenger Bryce Edgmon watched nervously as a “gold-and-silver commemorative coin spun through the air” and “landed on a sea otter pelt - tails up - giving” Edgmon the spot on the ballot.

We have comprehension! A recent Gallup Panel survey shows that the American public puts the primary blame on “President” Bush and NOT Bill Clinton for the fact that Osama bin Laden has not been captured with 53% blaming Bush and 36% blaming Clinton.

Speaking of Osama... Osama bin Laden is dead alive dead alive dead alive… screw it, let’s just say he’s something and leave it at that. Seriouosly, this is going to get more out of hand than the “Paul is dead” rumors…

Generally speaking, it’s a smackdown. Earlier this week the Democratic Policy Committee heard from retired Maj. Gen. John Batiste (the former commander of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division in Iraq) who stated that the Bush administration’s Iraq war planning “allowed the insurgency to take root and metastasize” to its present strength. As if that wasn’t damming enough, retired Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, along with Batiste, declared that Rumsfeld must go; with Batiste saying “He (Rumsfeld) knows everything, except ‘how to win.” (Ouch… I love it…)

Today’s Gratuitous Op-Ed Plug. Washington Post columnist Harold Meyerson’s “The Moderate Republican Scam.” Also, Garrison Keillor asks a very pertinent question: “Are photo ops ruining America?”

Not a surprise to anyone who isn’t a Republican. A big shocker came to light this week (PDF link)… and by big shocker I mean to anyone who can’t use their own brain, that the war in Iraq has created a new breeding ground for terrorists (well, duhhhhhh…) according to a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE). Naturally “President” Bush' is only allowing for a partial declassification of the NIE report… lest anyone learn the truth.

Not a surprise, Part III. It seems that “President” Bush's new torture bill “eviscerates the promise of Nuremberg.” See the title of this entry for my reaction…

First water wasn’t allowed, now words. THIS STORY is just sad and pathetic… but unfortunately, not at all surprising given who’s in charge in DC.

An army of (Brit)ons. British soldiers killed a high-ranking Al-Qaeda member in Iraq earlier this week… this is the al-qaeda member that previously escaped from an American prison in Afghanistan. (Well, at least we weren’t bailed-out by French soldiers)

Take ‘em as you will…

Economic Roller-Coaster

For the past few months years, the Bush(whacked) Administration and the gop have been sounding the horns about the phenomenal state of the U.S. economy.

Turns out they were lying.

I’ll give you a moment to get over the absolute shock of republicans lying about something…

...

In what can only be described as an enormous blow to the republican's spinning that the U.S. economy is “doing great,” the World Economic Forum has released their study for this year… and the news ain’t good.

Last year the United States had the #1 economy in the world.

This year… we have the sixth.

That’s right… #6… as in there are five nations in front of us.

(How did the World Economic Forum arrive at this number you ask? The study ranks countries around the world according to a range of criteria – including, but not limited to) macroeconomic policies, market regulations, technological development, education systems and public institutions – that the Forum thinks influences an economy's level of productivity, and therefore its ability to sustain economic growth, over a period of years.
Those factors are then combined with economic indicators and findings from a survey of business executives to arrive at the final rankings.)

In an article on CNNMoney.com, the World Economic Forum said stronger performing countries “were distinguished by their competent economic stewardship, investment in higher education and an emphasis on technological development and innovation.”

(Makes you wonder if that was the moment everyone in the forum looked at the republican budget priorities and started laughing their asses off )

Now… if you’re like me, you’re sitting at your computer, staring agape at the screen and wondering how our once-economically strong nation has fallen to sixth place.

I can name that tune in 2 words...

Dub. Ya.

You read that right… George W. Bush and his entire crony-led Bush Administration.

Granted, that may be a slight oversimplifying, but according to the Wall Street Journal’s Washington Wire: “The U.S.'s huge budget deficit threatens to make the country's economy less competitive… The Forum's annual study of global competitiveness says the U.S. is only the sixth most competitive economy in the world, slipping from first place in last year's ranking thanks to mediocre scores for its public finances.”

The forum went on to cite the administration’s “huge defense and homeland security spending commitments, plans to lower taxes further, and long-term potential costs from health care and pensions" as some of the reasons for the change in ranking.

To put it another way; we lost our position as the world’s most competitive economy due to budget and trade deficits.

Thanks Bush Administration!

...

Just so you know, Switzerland was ranked No. 1 in this year’s survey (thanks to what the Forum sees as a combination of efficient public administration and flexible markets) followed by Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Singapore.

Insert your own snarky comments now…

A Guest Post from . . .

Editors Note: As our week-long One-Year Anniversary celebration continues, we have another guest post to present. Up to now, this contributor was a lurker, dropping by this blog and the blogs of other blogmigos, but rarely leaving a comment. After seeing that we were celebrating one-year of existence, he decided to de-lurk in a grand fashion; by writing a guest post for us. An "open letter" if you will to the majority party... aka; the gop. This letter isn't so much a direct jab at the right only, but more so a direct jab to the right, left, and everything in between (but more so at the right). So sit back, relax, and read today's guest post:

Dear Majority party:

I often find myself throwing things at the television, my computer and the radio. Every time I watch, read or hear another one of your right wing Politicrat (is that a word?) espousing your right wing company line about how well the war in Iraq is going or why we NEED the government in our bedroom or why we NEED to cut taxes for the wealthiest among us while cutting funding for the poor, it makes me feel, well…. Ignored!

I don’t like this feeling and I want it to change. I want to read about good policy, not bought policy.

So here is what I propose. I would love to see the “Uniter” not divide us anymore. Let’s take politics back to the basics when we make policy decisions based on what is right for the country and not what is right for the lobbyists and their deep pocket clients. Let’s care about our citizens first and the lobbyists last. Why don’t you give equal access to the poorest among us and those without a voice. Why not start by being idealistic and caring. Just for one year. Then let’s see how this works.

Who am I, you might ask? Well, I am NOT Republican, nor a Democrat. I am part of the discarded along the roadside party and we are the fastest growing party in politics. We feel policy and politics should never be about who has the deepest pockets. A campaign contribution should never buy a meeting. Doing what is right should be your primary motivation. Because you see, caring about the people who elected you is not about left or right, it’s about right and wrong. Oh and we feel the majority party has never been more wrong and that needs to change.

Congratulations to Scott and Kemp and their BushWhacked Administration blog 1 year Anniversary.

You have a fan in Dad2twins.com

Peace.

Different Views

Caught wind of this via Wonkette.

Do you want further proof that we (meaning Americans) as a whole are becoming a nation of pop-culture whores?

The new issue of Newsweek is out.

Here’s the cover illustrations for the European, Asian & Latin American versions, all with the title for the cover story: “Losing Afghanistan"




Now here's the cover art and cover story title for theUnited States version:



Notice anything??

Yes… while the other three are pushing the serious topic of how the U.S. is losing the battle in Afghanistan, the U.S. version is pushing a story about Annie Leibovitz...

Pathetic... isn’t it??

I mean... come on now are you fuc**** kidding me?? A cover story on Annie Leibovitz???

I don’t know who to be more mad at: the media for fostering this absurdity and Bush-love mentality... or we the people for allowing us to be ‘dummed-down’ by the media.

Your thoughts??