The Weekly Rewind

It’s Friday, time for The Weekly Rewind

Applaud: to the memories of those that lost their lives on September 11, 2001. You will never be forgotten…

Heckle: to just not getting it… six years after 9/11, a new CBS/New York Times poll reveals that 1 in 3 Americans believe that ‘Saddam Hussein was personally involved in” the attacks… despite so-many things being released that show otherwise… (Give me a break; get a brain of your own and realize that Hussein and Iraq had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11…

Applaud: to the memory and actions of Sgt. Omar Mora and Sgt. Yance Gray. Back in August, they were part of a group of seven active duty soldiers of the 82nd Airborne Division that wrote an op-ed in The New York Times called “The War As We Saw It” which expressed skepticism about “recent press coverage portraying the conflict as increasingly manageable.” This past Monday, Mora and Gray died in a vehicle accident in Western Baghdad. The courage they showed on the battlefield was as strong as the courage they showed in the media… let’s not forget their message…

Heckle: to political apathy run amok. A new poll shows that a pathetic 15% of Americans can name the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (John Roberts btw)… but 66% can name “at least one of the judges on the Fox television show American Idol.” (I don’t even know where to begin with this one other to say it’s sad, but unfortunately not at all surprising…)

Applaud: to today being the last day for Alberto Gonzales…

Heckle: to the National Review magazine. Back on May 9, 2005, the magazine ran a cover story proclaiming, “We’re Winning,” in Iraq (how’s that working out for ya there NR?). Said the article; “It is time to say it unequivocally: We are winning in Iraq.” (Riiiiiiight) Now, two years after declaring a “win” the National Review believes the war can still be won, saying in it’s Sept. 24 issue: “This war can still be won, but only if we have the nerve and the patience to see it through. Recent events on the ground, strategic interest, and morality all point to only one imperative: Stay.” (Ok, let me see if I understand this correctly… we won, but we didn’t win… so now we should keep a permanent presence in Iraq and stay there to make sure we win… Wow, with logic like that, the editors of the magazine could be members of the Bush(whacked) Administration…)

Partial Applaud: to at least showing some gumption, even though it’s way too little way too late. At a White House meeting earlier this week, “President” Bush spoke with Democratic leaders and said he planned to “start doing some redeployment.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) immediately interupted and said; “No you’re not, Mr. President. […] You’re just going back to the presurge level.” (Nice… way to go Ms. Pelosi. Too bad it seems to be all talk and no action; again…)

Heckle: to scary, scary thoughts. Gen. David Petraeus is interested in running for president. (God help us…)

Applaud: to the opinions of those that know. An ABC/BBC/NHK poll released earlier this week shows, since the escalation began, that Iraqi opinion has drastically turned against the U.S. occupation with many Iraqis seeing “deepening dissatisfaction with conditions in Iraq, lower ratings for the national government and growing rejection of the U.S. role with 65 to 70% of Iraqis saying the escalation has “worsened rather than improved security” while 78% say “things are going badly for the country overall,” which is an increase of 13 points since last winter… (and yet the administration says things are getting better. Maybe the administration should, I don’t know, listen to what the people of Iraq are saying instead of relying on others who aren’t living under the same conditions as the Iraqi people are; just a thought)

Heckle: to some incredibly bad economic and business news coming out this past week. First, consumer confidence dropped from 89.3 in August to 71.1 in September, the “lowest point in nearly 1 1/2 years” thanks in large part to an incredibly deep housing slump that is, needless to say, making some people worried not only about their own economic health, but also that of the country… this came to light soon after an economic forecast by UCLA predicted that “the nation’s economy will be so sluggish” next year that “any major hiccup could tip it into recession”, giving a gloomier outlook for jobs and the housing market. And have we mentioned that the cost of health insurance climbed nearly twice as fast as wages in the first half of 2007? (With news like this, who needs enemas… or enemies… or anemones…)

Applaud: to not letting a good program die without a fight. 46 senators, including six republicans, called on “President” Bush earlier this week to “rescind new administrative restrictions that will make it harder for states to expand their popular State Children’s Health Insurance Program.” (Way to go guys… too bad it will be crushed under Bush’s obliviousness…)

Heckle: to disturbing polling data. According to a poll of Pakistanis, Osama bin Laden is more popular in Pakistan than Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, with bin Laden having a 46% approval rating to Musharraf 38%… (The only thing I can think of that would be worse for Musharraf would be to have a lower rating than Bush… though I don’t ever see that happening…)

Applaud: to more appealing polling data that shows 60% of Americans believe that the US should “set a timetable to withdraw forces” from Iraq and “stick to that timetable” regardless of what is going on in the country… (one has to believe that the 40 or so other percent that don’t think a timetable should be set have to either be members of this administration or, at the least, married to members of this administration… there can’t be any other explanation…

Heckle: to Russian President Vladimir Putin s

Applaud: to a great quote from someone who has been putting his foot into his mouth a lot lately. Democratic Presidential candidate and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson commented on the New England Patriots’ “spying” incident, saying; “The President has been allowed to spy on Americans without a warrant, and our U.S. Senate is letting it continue. You know something is wrong when the New England Patriots face stiffer penalties for spying on innocent Americans than Dick Cheney and George Bush.” (Very well said Bill… very well said)

Heckle: to former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld calling Afghanistan a “big success.” (He’s been out of the Bush White House for a few months and yet he still has his rose-colored glasses on. While he gets heckled for this, he does get a…)

Mini-Applaud: to Rumsfeld’s incredibly candid response when a reporter asked him if he misses George Bush; “Um, no.” (Harsh… really harsh… with comments like that, Rummy won’t find himself invited to Bush’s next BFF sleepover…)

Applaud: to CENTCOM Chief, and General Petraues’ boss, Admiral William Fallon who doesn't think too highly of Petraues and, after meeting him the first time, described him as a “sycophant” and an “ass-kissing little chickenshit”… (Nice… couldn’t have said it any better myself Admiral…)

Applaud: to a new study that found “liberals tolerate ambiguity and conflict better than conservatives?” That’s right… and it’s all because of how our brains work, reported the study; “Liberals were 4.9 times as likely as conservatives to show activity in the brain circuits that deal with conflicts.” (And my snark about ‘using our own brains’ and not being ‘lemmings’ becomes more and more apt. Conservative whining about Liberal-educators to start in 5,4,3…)

And finally…

Applaud: to the return of our “gop Tool(s) of the Week” award but with a new, improved name that pays homage to “President” Bush; the ‘Cuckoo-Bananas Award’

This week it goes to House Minority Leader John Boehner (r-OH). He was interviewed on CNN earlier this week and when he was asked by Wolf Blitzer about “the Americans who are killed every month” in Iraq and “how much longer” the “military commitment is going to require” he replied that “The investment that we’re making today will be a small price if we’re able to stop al Qaeda here.” (Congratulations John, you’re this weeks; Cuckoo-Bananas winner)

Runner-up goes to the man himself, Commander Cuckoo-Bananas. In a speech that lasted a shade under 18 minutes, he mentioned al Qaeda 12 times even though a recent Congressional Research Service concluded that attacks from al Qaeda are only a small percentage of the violence in Iraq… so that helps explain the pathetic fact that 1 in 3 Americans believe that ‘Saddam Hussein and Iraq was personally involved in 9/11 attacks… because Bush apparently does as well

One last 'Snow' job?

In his address to the nation Thursday night, “President” Bush told us that he would endorse a long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq, saying;

“At the same time, they understand that [Iraq’s] success will require U.S. political, economic and security engagement that extends beyond my Presidency. These Iraqi leaders have asked for an enduring relationship with America. And we are ready to begin building that relationship.”

Uh-huh…

This morning, outgoing White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was interviewed on CNN;

Q: How long are we going to be in Iraq? Because the President last night was setting the stage for a long-term relationship with the Iraqis, which would include a U.S. military presence there.

SNOW: Yeah, well, the Iraqis want that.

Ummmmmmm.. not so fast there Tony… I think you may be wrong about that.

An ABC News/BBC/NHK survey of Iraqis released earlier this week showed that 79% of Iraqis oppose a U.S. presence and 57% approve of the insurgent attacks on U.S. troops…

But the Iraq people want our troops to stay…

Let me ask you a question Tony, was the lobotomy expensive or were you and the rest of the Bush-cronies able to get a group rate?

The Friday ‘BushWhack’ing

FRIDAY!!!!!

• “President” Bush addressed the nation last night and said that he will begin rolling back the ‘surge’ of troops out of Iraq… I’ll believe it when I see it., and I’m not the only one saying that as the Democrats and even some republicans are taking a wait and see approach. So stay tuned…
• Today is the last day for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales… do I need to say more?? Okay I will; don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out…
• Petraeus and Bush both said this week that security and politics are improving in Iraq… but other recent reports, and the death of Pro-American Sunni Sheik Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, suggest otherwise… makes you wonder what war the two of them are watching. My guess is ‘Star Wars’…
• Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei spoke to worshippers and said that Bush will be tried in court for his involvement in Iraq. (Ok, I’m gonna have to come down on the side of Bush here – hear me out please – and say that the Ayatollah needs to have some milk and cookies and go to bed as it will never happen. I’m not saying that Bush should or shouldn’t be tried, but when we start taking cues from ayatollah’s in Iran; something’s wrong…)
• And have we mentioned? That Bush referenced al Qaeda in his Iraq speech last night 12 times… 12 times in a speech that lasted just under 18 minutes… 12 times, even though a recent Congressional Research Service report came to the conclusion that attacks from al Qaeda are only a small percentage of the violence in Iraq… (This can NOT surprise anyone… this is a man and an adminstration that is still making connections to Iraq, Sadam Hussein and 9/11…)

The Thursday ‘BushWhack’ing

Reminder: “President” Bush speaks tonight… here’s a preview of what he’ll say;

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• Democrat Congressional leaders are looking to make “incremental” proposals that they hope will attract enough moderate republicans so legislation could be passed to change direction in Iraq…(Interesting idea and concept. If done properly it might just work – but I’ll believe it when I see it…)
• A story in the Washington Post says that Iraq is now “Petraeus’ War”… (give me a break. This war never belonged to any of the generals… this war belongs to one man and only one man; George Bush… okay, maybe a little Dick Cheney, but mostly Bush)
• White House mouthpiece Tony “Job” Snow is gone… now we just have to entertain ourselves with the antics of Dana Perino… who at times makes Snow look like a genius…
  In case you hadn’t heard (and judging by WaPo’s number of stories about it you haven’t) Fred Thompson is running for president…
• In response to new ethics rules, the Air Transport Association ruled that giving priority seating to Senators and Representatives would violate the rules – so they’re not doing it any more. (what does this mean? That they now have to fight for seating and stand in line like the rest of us… damn, I wouldn’t wish that upon my worst enemy…)
• And have we mentioned? That in an interview on CNN, anchor Wolf Blitzer asked House Minority Leader John Boehner (r-OH) about “the Americans who are killed every month” in Iraq and “how much longer” the military will have to be there? Boehner’s reponse was a terse; “The investment that we’re making today will be a small price if we’re able to stop al Qaeda here.”

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 Wednesday ‘BushWhack’ing

Wednesday...

• “President” Bush is drawing some harsh criticism (like this is anything new to him) from both Democrats and republicans because he is backing General Petraeus’s proposal to withdraw only 30,000 troops by next summer, despite a lot of Democrats, some republicans and a majority of the American public that want more dramatic changes… (This should not come as a surprise to anyone… this is the way the Bush White House works; ignore the public, ignore the parties, and do whatever the hell you want to do, regardless of the facts that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and US casualities continue to climb. January 20, 2009 can NOT come soon enough…)
• Rudy Giuliani can not be a happy camper now that Fred Thompson is in the race, as he’s seen his gop lead reach its lowest point of the year at 28%, down from 37%. Oddly enough, Thompson’s polling is 19%, more than double his previous polling position. (Hmmmmm, I wonder if the two are in any way connected… it’s so hard to express sarcasm in the written form)
• Hillary Clinton’s (D-NY) ties to Norman Hsu are not going to go away… at least not if the Fourth Estate has anything to say about it...
• Russian President Vladimir Putin dissolved the Russian government today by dismissing his long-serving prime minister, Mikhail Fradkov, and nominating Cabinet official Victor Zubkov as his replacement… and instantly throwing Zubkov ahead of the pack to replace Putin as president next year (the timing is a little curious on this, and one has to wonder what exactly Putin is up to… stay tuned)
• Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigned today, essentially putting an end to a weak political party that was absolutely crushed in parliamentary elections back in July. No word yet on a replacement, so, like above, stay tuned.
• And have we mentioned? That, according to Newsweek, a separate internal report that’s being prepared by the Pentagon will “differ substantially” from Petraeus’s recommendations and will recommend a “very rapid reduction” in American forces? More specifically the report will call for a drawdown of as much as two-thirds of the existing forces… (The White House’s ignoring of any Pentagon recommendations in five, four, three –)

Remembering 9/11/2001 - A Word from Scott

Six years ago on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, I was on vacation in Myrtle Beach, SC with my family. It was the first true vacation trip for my 8 year old son. He loved the beach the first moment he saw it and had tried to spend every waking moment in the sand and surf since we had arrived just 2 days earlier.

Even though most schools had started a week or two earlier, there was still a good amount of people who had chosen the ‘off’ season to bring their families to the beach. Sunday and Monday, children could be seen running back and forth playing in the waves and looking for seashells brought in by the tide and the waves.

The mood on the beach, and in the country for that matter, was as it had always been, relaxed and for the most part carefree. The tragic event that was about to befall us was incomprehensible to most people.

Yes, other parts of the world had suffered acts of terrorism over the years, and even our own embassies and military had tragic losses, but again, those occurred in other parts of the world. We as a nation saw ourselves as basically untouchable on our own soil. How wrong we were.

When I awoke that Tuesday morning, I did what I normally do, I staggered into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. Being that I was at the beach I decided to go out onto the balcony and take in the sounds and smell of the surf. I noticed the morning walkers out on the beach and a few families that were out early to try and get a pick of the shells that the early morning tide had washed ashore. All in all it was starting out to be a beautiful day.

Then I turned on the TV in living room…

As a habit I turned on the Today Show. Katie Couric and Matt Lauer were talking about reports coming in that a plane had just crashed into one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. I woke up my wife and told her what was happening. We sat and watched as NBC went to a live shot that was coming in from a helicopter over New York City. When I saw the smoke I thought naively that this must have been some terrible accident.

I was proven wrong not 17 minutes later when on live TV we watched as a second plane flew directly into the other tower.

My son had awoken by this time and was watching TV with his mom and dad. He was 8 years old and started asking dozens of questions. We answered him as best we could. We were transfixed by what we were seeing, and had nearly as many questions as he did.

Over the next hour we watched as reports came in regarding the possibility that other planes could be flying towards other buildings…. other targets.

Those fears were realized with reports of a plan crashing into the Pentagon, and a half-hour later reporting that another plane had crashed into the ground in Pennsylvania.

What was next? The White House? The U.S. Capital? What about other cities across the country? In my home state of Illinois my thought was of all the people in and around the Sears Tower.

As the hours passed my wife and I decided that we needed to do something in order to distract ourselves and our son from the horrific scenes that were on literally every TV channel. As adults we were dealing with a multitude of emotions at the loss of so many innocent lives. But for our young son, the images were only of un-imaginable destruction and the only emotions were confusion and anger.

Everywhere we went that afternoon, we ran into other families who were obviously out with their children trying to do the same thing. Children not old enough to grasp the gravity of the mornings events, were instead able to read the concern on their parents faces. And there was a somber calm at ever turn.

We understood what our children could not, that the world as we knew it had taken a drastic change and that nothing would be the same. Six years later, things are still changed.

Restrictions and heightened conditions surround us. The world that we grew up in may never again exist for our children and our grandchildren. My son, now 14 is still afraid to fly. He still has occasional questions but can now follow them up with statements of ideas of retribution for those who backed the cowardly 19. I think we have all had similar thoughts.

Are we as a nation doing everything right? Are we doing absolutely everything we can to protect ourselves, and still not infringe upon individual liberties? Have we gone over the top? I don’t have the answer. However, we have not had another attack on our soil since that fateful day.

Let’s take a moment to remember not only the national tragedy that occurred, but the thousands of personal tragedies that occurred. Today is a day to remember those friends and family members who were lost on this day. Some helping others, others just trying to live their lives.

Let us never forget.

cross-posted @ Scott's Rant Spot

Remembering 9/11/2001 - A Word from Kemp

I have twin daughters who, thankfully, were not yet born when our nation was attacked six years ago.

Six years… it hardly seems like it’s been that long, but it has…

Six years ago last night, a nation went to bed… not knowing the horror we would face the next day.

Every generation has an event that changes their perspectives and their lives… JFK’s assassination, the Challenger explosion, the Oklahoma City bombing…

But unfortunately, we had one that, for lack of a better word, trumped them all…

On September 11, 2001, millions of Americans watched in abject horror as those who were threatened by our freedom and our way of life savagely attacked our country.

Almost everyone can remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when they first heard about the attacks.

But life went on… like it should. As a whole, we were able to heal, but we will not, and should not, ever forget that day when our happiness, our freedom, our safety and our resilience seemed lost amid a sea of hopelessness, pain, remorse and newly-found vulnerability…

We got them back… we found our resilience, we rediscovered our freedom and our happiness, and while at times our safety is brought into question, we haven’t had an attack on our soil since that fateful day six years ago… we, as a nation, were able to move forward after the attacks, albeit sometimes slowly.

Although six years have passed since the events of 9/11, the spirits of those who lost their lives, the heroes and innocent people lost during that day, are still very much alive.

There will be ceremonies and services across the nation today to commemorate the horrific events of six years ago… a day that touched everyone in this country in some way.

But for some, 9/11 was much more than just a national tragedy, it was a personal one as well…

Family, friends, colleagues and neighbors were lost that day… and immeasurable lives around them were forever changed.

Let’s take moments today to remember them all and remember that the lesson to be learned from this horrific event is that the American spirit will prevail after being struck down and we will emerge stronger, and more confident, after a fall.



cross-posted @ Kemp’s Blog

September 11, 2001

We will never forget… ever

The Monday ‘BushWhack’ing

Another week begins...

• Today is the day… today Gen. David Petraeus gives his the White House’s report on the status of “President” Bush’s surge and already the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joe Biden (D-DE) is finding fault with the General’s assessment. More rhetoric from the Democrats… all debate and NO ACTION… (Though it’s a good bet that 98% of the American population know what Petraeus is going to say, his testimony – or whatever you wish to call it – should still make for some interesting theater…)
• As Karl “President” Rove gets ready to pack his bags and flee the ship, his replacement, Barry Jackson – former COS to Rep. John Boehner (r-OH) – is already getting started.
• New Hampshirians (New Hampshirites? Hampshires?) are not happy with Fred Thompson…
• The Democratic presidential candidates took part in the first-ever presidential forum in Spanish yesterday, and it wasn’t all lovey-dovey as Dodd (D-CT), Clinton (D-NY) and Obama (D-IL) got shellacked for their vote on building a great wall fence on the US-Mexico border. (Nice… good to know they didn’t kowtow just because they were Democrats. Makes me wish the republican candidates weren’t scared shitless to partake in a debate like this…)
• 60% of Americans say the US “should set a timetable to withdraw forces” and then “stick to that timetable regardless of what is going on in Iraq.” (Everyone else is seeing this? Why can’t the White House?)
• And have we mentioned? That a new study has found that “liberals tolerate ambiguity and conflict better than conservatives?” That’s right… and it’s all because of how our brains work, reported the study; “Liberals were 4.9 times as likely as conservatives to show activity in the brain circuits that deal with conflicts.” (And my snark about ‘using our own brains’ and not being ‘lemmings’ becomes more and more apt…)

The Weekly Rewind

Hello fans of the gridiron. It is the opening week of the NFL. Time to tailgate, have a beverage, and enjoy this weeks version of The Weekly Rewind. Let’s get to it ….

Heckle: to Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (r-CA) for saying somrthing incredibly inane. Earlier this week, "President" Bush met with China's President Hu Jintao at the APEC summit, this meeting provoked Rohrabacher to say; "If this were 1936, would President Bush be anxious to sit next to Adolf ? […] One bit of advice, Mr. President, I wouldn't be so anxious to use the toothpaste in your hotel room."

Heckle:to the White House seemingly not knowing what week it is. Earlier this week, Bush issued a statement wishing "greetings" to those " celebrating Rosh Hashanah"… I guess we're supposed to ignore the fact that Rosh Hashanah doesn't start until next week… more specifically at sunset on Sept. 12 th. (Nicely done guys… way to pay attention!)

Applaud:to knowing that the rest of world feels the same way. Bush’s arrival in Sydney was marked by protests. An established anti-war group called the Stop Bush Coalition called a small ‘unwelcoming ceremony’ in Sydney to kick off a series of protests culminating in a march by up to 20,000 people on Saturday. Authorities have locked down the city in the biggest security operation in Australian history. To our friends ‘down under’, thanks for the support, way to go! Just remember less than 500 days remain in the ‘WORST’ administration in history.

Applaud: to taking a step forward in the right (make that, Left ) direction. Just before leaving for its August recess, the House of Representatives approved a little-noticed amendment to its energy bill “that would allow members of Congress to lease only environmentally friendly cars.” The House energy bill would require all federal agencies to buy only low greenhouse-gas emitting vehicles for their fleets. Do you hear that? It is the sound of Al Gore applauding.

Heckle: to another example of the lies that mark this White House. An exchange of letters from 2003, released yesterday by former Iraq envoy Paul Bremer, reveal that Bush was told in advance of a plan to “dissolve Saddam’s military and intelligence structures.” The letters contradict claims by Bush “that American policy had been ‘to keep the army intact’ but that it ‘didn’t happen.’” Let’s see what kind of spin the administration tries to put on this one.

Heckle: OK, this is not a surprise to anyone who is concious. President Bush’s success rating in the Democratic-controlled House has fallen this year to a half-century low, and he prevailed on only 14 percent of the 76 roll call votes on which he took a clear position. The previous low for any president was in 1995, when Bill Clinton won just 26 percent of the time during the first year after Republicans took control of the House. I don’t care what anyone says, you will never take the ‘partisan’ out of politics.

Applaud: to thinking for themselves. Intelligence analysts dispute the Bush administration’s claims that sectarian violence has dropped in Iraq, noting the selective way the military categorizes deaths. “If a bullet went through the back of the head, it’s sectarian,” a senior intelligence official said. “If it went through the front, it’s criminal.” Wow, can the military be any more obviously stupid?

Heckle: Stupid is as stupid does. A half-hour before his Saturday news conference announcing his plans to resign, Sen. Larry Craig left a voice mail — at a number he apparently didn’t intend to dial — stating his intent to possibly rethink the decision.” Listen to the audio here. No more debate, I don’t care if his ‘conviction’ does get overturned. The audiotape and circumstances are more than enough, it’s time for this guy to go.

Applaud: to not so subtle reminders. The ‘Americans Against Escalation in Iraq’ have released a new ad calling out Bush’s suggestion that he will reduce troop levels. “Do they really mean it this time?” Watch the ad here. Hey guys, keep up the good work!

Heckle: to once again having your actions cloud your words. The nation’s Medicaid directors yesterday told the Bush administration that its new restrictions on the federally funded State Children’s Health Insurance Program will limit the number of children covered. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, the National Association of State Medicaid Directors “said the new standards reduce flexibility, making it difficult for states to expand coverage.” Nice, once again what happened to compassion? That’s right this administration has none.

Applaud: to fighting the good fight. Al Gore is working on a new environmental book titled ‘The Path to Survival’, a sequel to ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ that offers a blueprint on what can be done to fight global warming. The book will be released on Earth Day, April 22, 2008. Thanks Al ! Keep on leading and many more will follow.

Heckle: to a damn shame. Global warming “is already affecting the nation’s parks, forests, marine sanctuaries and monuments” and the federal government needs to do a “better job” addressing the issue, according to a new Government Accountability Office report to be released today. Ok, let’s not forget, if it is happening here, it’s also happening around the globe. It is time to take action and force the profit greedy corporations that are proven to have contributed to this problem to shell out the money and fix the problems that they themselves have created.

That’s it for ths week folks.

Be good, stay informed…..later.

The Friday ‘BushWhack’ing

It’s Friday and the end of a short work-week is almost done… have a quick ‘BushWhack’

• Army General David Petraeus has indicated that he might be willing to consider a drawdown of 3,500 to 4,500 U.S. troops early next year… but only if the “recent success” on the ground continues. (All fine and good; but I’ll believe it when I see it… must be my ‘defeatist’ attitude…)
• Seems to be like a lot of attention is being paid to a Democratic fundraiser, Norman Hsu, being wanted in connection with a 15-year old felony theft charge. From the way some media are reporting it, you would have thought that Hsu was responsible for the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, the insurgents in Iraq and everything else that is wrong with the world. Here’s a question; if he was a republican fundraiser, would we be hearing so much about him? I doubt it…
• In case you hadn’t heard, Fred Thompson is running for president…
• On October 1st, the Bush(whacked) Administration had planned on expanding the use of satellite and aircraft spy technology by local and federal law enforcement agencies… but a few Democratic House leaders asked the administration to delay the expansion and the legality of the plan. (Wow… are we seeing some cajones from the Democrats? Or are they simply blowing sunshine up our collective skirts?)
• And have we mentioned? That there’s a reason some world leaders roll their eyes when they have to meet our nation’s president? Yesterday during the APEC summit, he thanked Australia for hosting the OPEC summit and then brought up the “Austrian troops in Iraq,”… despite being in A-U-S-T-R-A-L-I-A… (What was it that the British newspaper asked after Bush was re-elected? How could 50,000,000 people be so dumb? Looking at our fearless leader, I think we may know why…)

The GAO vs the gop

We know that there has been little to no progress in Iraq… we know that the Bush(whacked) Administration is ‘cooking the books’ on the amount of violence… we know that republicans are starting to get desperate… so it should come as NO surprise that a republican would attack the GAO’s Iraq report…

This time it’s Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (r-FL) claiming that the GAO isn’t qualified to pass judgement.

Earlier this week at a House International Relations Committee hearing, ranking member Ros-Lehtinen tried to claim that the GAO was unqualified to render a judgment on the situation in Iraq and described the process of accountability as “unsettling,” saying; “I just feel uncomfortable listening to a report by the Government Accountability Office about a war effort.”

The accusations drew a critical response from GAO Comptroller General David Walker, who responded by defending the agency’s experience in such matters explaining that the work the GAO does is based on “looking at hard data, interviewing qualified individuals, and appropriate parties have an opportunity to review and comment on our work.” So in other words, they do the exact opposite of the Bush White House.

Walker continued by arguing that military experience is not a necessary requirement to offer a qualified opinion; “The President and the Vice President have no military or foreign policy experience. Does that mean I don’t respect their opinion? I do. They’ve got a lot of people who work for them that do. So I think it’s a false claim to say you know we’re not qualified to do this work. We’re eminently qualified to do this work. […] For the record, It’s my understanding that Secretary of Defense Gates does not have any military experience either. So frankly, I think we need to stick with the facts.”

(Facts? Facts? We don’t need no stinkin’ facts… just give us propaganda, thank you very much…)

As it stands now, Bush is desperately trying to keep republicans behind the surge and Ros-Lehtinen has drank the kool-aid while wearing the official Bush rose-colored glasses and has fallen in line, going as far as criticizing the GAO.

It seems to me that the gop could and would be better served by sticking to their old tenets of smaller government and fiscal responsibility rather than drinking the Kool-Aid of Bush and his merry band of cronies.

After all, Bush, like Tony Soprano, is the opposite of Midas – everything he touches turns to shit...

The Thursday ‘BushWhack’ing

• Goodbye Mr. Pavarotti – you will be missed…
• Thoughts and condolences to the friends and family of Rep. Paul Gillmor (r-OH), who was found dead in his DC apartment yesterday…
• A commission of retired senior U.S. military officers prepared a report that shows Iraq's army will not be able to take over internal security from US forces within the next 12 to 18 months (big shock isn’t it?) Oh… and they “cannot yet meaningfully contribute to denying terrorists safe haven.” (Bush(whacked) Administration backpedaling on benchmarks in 5, 4, 3, and there we go…)
• The saga of Larry Craig – aww who cares anymore…
• Perusing the NIE report I came across what has to be the best quote from it; “If a bullet went through the back of the head, it’s sectarian. If it went through the front, it’s criminal.” (Nice…)
• It’s officially official: Fred Thompson is running for president. (And his announcement was met with mass indifference as everyone who wasn’t living in a bubble already knew this. While his campaign was electric months ago, its leveled off dramatically in the last few weeks and he isn’t viewed as a gop savior anymore, so it should be interesting to see what effect, if any, his entrance has into the race; stay tuned)
• And have we mentioned? That Sen. Edward Kennedy cast his 15,000th vote in early August? This is something that has only been done twice before by Senators Strom “Methuselah” Thurmond and Robert “Methuselah Lite” Byrd… it’s not news; it’s the Washington Post…

Rove’s Ridiculous Rhetoric

Outgoing White House adviser Karl “Presdident” Rove wrote an op-ed in the National Review recently that extolled Bush’s greatness and predicted that “history will provide a more clear-eyed verdict on this president’s leadership than the anger of current critics would suggest.”

Uh-huh… anything more to say on the subject Karl?

“President Bush will be viewed as a far-sighted leader who confronted the key test of the 21st century. […] He will be judged as a man of moral clarity who put America on wartime footing in the dangerous struggle against radical Islamic terrorism. […] President Bush will be seen as a compassionate leader who used America’s power for good. […] I have come to understand true leadership leans into the wind. It tackles big challenges with uncertain outcomes rather than taking on simple, sure tasks. It does what is right, regardless of what the latest poll or focus group says. History demands much of America and its leaders and I am confident it will judge the 43rd president as a man more than worthy of the great office the American people twice entrusted to him.”

Uh… okay…I suppose anything is possible…