More realizations...

Over the weekend we were treated to another former US General slamming the Iraq war and the Bush(whacked) Administration’s strategy (a term I use very, very loosely…)

Retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the former top American commander, gave a speech in which he offered up an extensive condemnation of the four-years the U.S. has been in Iraq.

Not only did he say that that administration’s war plan was “catastrophically flawed, unrealistically optimistic”, he also said that the Bush(whacked) Administration’s handling of the war was incompetent. He then denounced the current “surge” strategy as a “desperate” move that will not achieve long-term stability before saying that the US was “living a nightmare with no end in sight.”

Well, duh…

The number of people who are starting to see this for the first time is staggering, but not surprising. It was only a matter of time before people’s minds caught up with their eyes and they saw what a true mess the Iraq war is.



And following hot on the heels of Gen. Sanchez’ comments that the Iraq war is a “nightmare with no end in sight”, 12 former Army captains have come out declaring that “five years on, Iraq is in shambles,” and that “short” of a military draft, “our best option is to leave Iraq immediately.”

So much for the Bush(whacked) Administration’s claims that all in the military support the war… but the 12 soldiers weren’t done… they went on to say;

“As Army captains who served in Baghdad and beyond, we’ve seen the corruption and the sectarian division. We understand what it’s like to be stretched too thin. And we know when it’s time to get out. […] To continue an operation of this intensity and duration, we would have to abandon our volunteer military for compulsory service. Short of that, our best option is to leave Iraq immediately. A scaled withdrawal will not prevent a civil war, and it will spend more blood and treasure on a losing proposition. America, it has been five years. It’s time to make a choice.”

When will this administration see this for themselves??

The Tuesday ‘BushWhack’ing

Another day, another payment to a program that I will never receive money from.

• Headlines you love to see in the NY Times: “Democratic Candidates Keep Outraising Republicans.” Things are still not going well for the gop in the fundraising race. In addition to the fact that the DCCC has a lot more money than their gop counterpart, the leading Democratic presidential candidates raised twice as much money as the republicans this summer. Hell, Hillary has $35 million in her war chest… (Now, if only the Dems would get off their ass and, I don’t know, DO something…)
• Rudy Giuliani would be prepared if Aliens (the kind from outer space, not from other countries) attacked the U.S… uh, huh…
• CNN reports that the gop presidential candidates are breaking Ronald Regan’s so-called 11th commandment and are focusing their vitriol on each other rather. (I, personally, do not think that there’s anything wrong with that. The in-fighting they are doing can only help the Democrats in the long run… and if that is indeed the case, I’m all for it…)
• And have we mentioned? That a republican Senator may be joining the retirement cavalcade? A spokesman for Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (r-TX) will not seek re-election so she can focus on running for governor of Texas. (I know it’s trite to say this now, because we’ve been saying it so much, but it’s oh-so-fun… will the last republican leaving DC please turn off the lights. But in all seriousness, the republicans are hemorrhaging, and the Democrats need to focus their energy in beating them and, possibly, having control of the House, the Senate AND the White House after November 2008…)

WTF?

As if we needed more proof that some people are not only idiots, but shouldn’t be allowed to come within 1 mile of a voting booth, we get this ‘gem’…

“President” Bush was in Rogers, Arkansas today, and during a Q&A, one individual stood up and told the president that a lot of his friends wished that Bush could serve “another four years.”

What the hell is wrong with these people?

The economy is circling the drain… the Iraq war is a lost cause… Afghanistan is a forgotten war in the White House… the gop is in disarray, primarily because of the current commander in chief… and the war-drums are beating for Iran…

All of this, and there are STILL some people in this country who think this man is doing a good job.

It’s absolutely mind-boggling… no, let me call it what it is; pathetic…

The Monday ‘BushWhack’ing

Weekend is done… Monday is here.

• House republicans are hurtling themselves over the cliff falling into place behind “President” Bush and his SCHIP veto… they just don’t get it, do they?
• Following on the heels of Ralph Regula (r-OH) announcing his retirement last week, another republican is retiring at the end of their term. This time it’s Rep. David Hobson (r-OH), who made the announcement that he’s retiring at the end of his term Sunday, making him the 11th Republican House member to announce his retirement… I know it’s almost trite asking this, but will the last republican leaving DC please turn off the lights? Especially if you’re from Ohio…
• Ridiculous Political Headline of the Week comes from WaPo: First Lady's Influence Goes Global… uh-huh, sure it does…
• Remember those rules implemented towards regulating the effects that lobbyists have? Yeah, not surprisingly, everyone is finding ways around the rules. And they didn’t see this coming??
• And have we mentioned? That you don’t mess around with Sam Donaldson? During a Sunday morning appearance on ABC’s “This Week”, right-wing columnist George Will mocked the Nobel committee for awarding the Peace Prize to Al Gore, saying that all Gore does is engage in “hyperbole” and was droing on and on that there is no “planetary crisis” until Sam Donaldson of ABC News interrupted him;“Now if you and Sen. Inhofe want to continue to stick your heads in the sand, I’m going to make it out. I’m old enough and I’ll will probably get out of here before the earth collapses. But I have grandchildren, George.” But Sam wasn’t done. When Will went on to say that a paltry number of the American public considers global warming their top concern, Donaldson then pointed out that “not long ago, the vast majority of the American people endorsed the strike against Iraq too. You telling me now that people haven’t gotten on to this problem, as they should, is not to say that the problem does not exist.”

The Weekly Rewind

Applaud: to falling like flies. Becoming the tenth republican to retire this cycle, it’s been confirmed that Rep. Ralph Regula (r-OH) will announce his retirement very, very soon. (Will the last republican leaving DC please turn off the lights?)

Heckle: to the smearing of a 12-year old, which shows the true nature of republicans. All of you attacking this kid better be careful, karma has a way of coming back to bite you on the ass…

Applaud: to winning YET again. First he was the true winner of the 2000 presidential election…then an Oscar, and a Grammy, and now former Vice President Al Gore has been named a co-winner, along with the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. The committee awarded them the prize early Friday in recognitiong of “their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.” (Way to Al, way to go…)

Heckle: to dwindling numbers. No, I’m not talking about the dwindling of republicans in Congress, but rather the number of the Iraq war coalition. Originally there were 49 nations in the coalition… that number has now plummeted to 21. (How long until it’s a coalition of 1?)

Applaud: to seemingly knowing where the TRUE war on terror is. The US Marine Corps wants to remove its forces from Iraq and send them to Afghanistan so they could take over the lead combat role there. (Interesting turn of events isn’t it? Stay tuned…)

Heckle: to “President” Bush and his pathetic claims that the U.S. economy is currently “vibrant and strong” and is full of “good news for people here in our country.” Luckily though, a new AP poll leads to a:

Applaud: to the American people for NOT believing the spin. A new AP poll shows that a “growing number of people say the economy is the nation’s top problem” and don’t agree with Bush’s assesment… keep spinning George, people aren’t believing it…

Heckle: to inane comments. During this past week’s republican debate, moderator Chris Matthews asked Mitt Romney if he would get congressional approval in order to “take military action against Iran.” Romney’s response was a less-than-stellar; “You sit down with your attorneys and tell you what you have to do.” (Putz…)

Applaud: that 70% of registered voters think “President” Bush’s $200 billion Iraq war supplemental spending request should be rejected or, at the least, conditioned on redeployment… (But will the administration care? Absolutely not…)

Heckle: to something that shouldn’t come as a big surprise. The opening of the obscenely large US embassy in Iraq has been delayed indefinitely… I know, it’s hard to believe. Apparently there is a laundry list of problems that the Kuwaiti contractor is trying to fix… nice oversight there guys… way to go.

Applaud: to a study that tells non-lemmings what we already knew. A wide-ranging study of abortion concluded that abortion rates are similar in countries where abortion is legal and those where it is illegal… meaning, for those of you who have trouble using your own brain, that outlawing the procedure does VERY little to deter women seeking it and, shockingly (sarcasm alert!) that abortions were found to be much more dangerous in countries where it was outlawed… (what else can be said?)

Heckle: to unwelcome, but not totally surprising, news. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey recently said that the Army will need “three or four years to recover from the strains of repeated deployments to Iraq”… even with the supposed drawdown of US forces next year… (And still, the administration is war-mongering towards Iran… what part of this equation do they NOT understand?

Applaud: to a bad week for Blackwater USA. Let’s see, the UN is urging the U.S. to establish some kind of process that would not only hold security contractors accountable for “unjustified killings” but would also ensure that offenses committed in Iraq by “all categories of U.S. contractor employees” would be “subject to prosecution.” And have I mentioned that this came on the heels that the Associated Press is reporting that the State Department is looking to “phase out or limit” the use of private security guards in Iraq,… meaing a more than likely cancelation of Blackwater USA’s contract with the US. And lest we forget, the Iraqi government also wants the U.S. to “sever all contracts” in Iraq with Blackwater within six months and pay $8 million in compensation to each of the families of the 17 people murdered by the firm’s guards last month. (Sucks to be them, doesn’t it. though it’s probably too little, too late…)

Heckle: to stupidity in the form of the Bush White House. For years a private monitoring group had access to al Qaeda’s Internet communications system… until the Bush(whacked) Administration got wind of it, leaked it, and the access was blocked… smooth move there guys…

Applaud: to the British think tank Oxford Research Group, who stated that, six years after 9/11, the “‘war on terror’ is failing” and is “fueling an increase in support for extremist Islamist movements.” The group went on to state that the sky is blue, water quenches your thirst and a “fundamental re-think is required” if al Qaeda is to be rendered ineffective… (why is is that people in foreign countries can see this, but many in this country can’t??)

Heckle: to grossly overstepping their bounds… The NSA and other government agencies retaliated against Qwest because the telephone company refused to go along with a phone spying program… what country do we live in again?

Applaud: to the ever-dropping approval ratings for Mr. Bush as his most recent job approval rating according to the latest Gallup poll is below his previous reading of 36%. Not being one who enjoys the misery of others… that’s a lie, I do… I won’t reveal the actual number other than saying that it’s approaching Nixonian levels… heh, heh, heh…

Heckle: to Rudy Giuliani. Apparently not expecting people to actually look into it, his campaign web site claims that he was responsible for the staggering growth of the New York City police force by 12,000 officers. Turns out that someone DID look into it and the actual increase was about 3,660, or about 10%. His assertion that it had something to do with 9/11 starts in five, four, three…

Applaud: to the news that federal investigators are hinting that a fresh wave of campaign-related theft and corruption investigations of Members of Congress are moving quickly and may mean that there are more indictments on the horizon… couldn’t have happened to a better group of people.

Applaud: to Colorado State Rep. Debbie Stafford for refusing to go over the cliff. She’s fed up with the gop and has left the republican party and joined the Democrats. Ouch, that ones gotta hoit…

Applaud: to John Cole. Read my earlier post and you’ll understand why…

And now it’s time for this week’s republican tool of the week. Lot to choose from, Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin… but the one most-deserving in my eyes is Fox “News” Radio host John Gibson. Earlier this week, following the school shooting in Cleveland, he said on his radio program “All right, it turns out, though, the kid in Cleveland who did the shooting today -- three teachers, three students -- white. [...] And I could tell right away 'cause he killed himself. Black shooters don't do that; they shoot and move on.” (What a dumbass…). Just when you think the banter couldn’t get worse, it does as it turns out they’re trying to guess the race of the shooter so they can figure out what type of music to blame the shooting on… must be nice to live in a world that exists only in the minds of republicans. Makes it easier to be a biased, racist prick…

Another one bites the dust

I was going to write a post about the gop’s smear-campaign aimed at a 12-year old boy… but instead I will let John Cole, a republican… after this disgusting display he’s now a former republican… give his opinion;

“If you look through this family’s dossier, it appears they are doing everything Republicans say they should be doing- hell, their story is almost what you would consider a checklist for good, red-blooded American Republican voters: they own their own business, they pay their taxes, they are still in a committed relationship and are raising their kids, they eschewed public education and are doing what they have to do to get them into Private schools, they are part of the American dream of home ownership that Republicans have been pointing to in the past two administrations as proof of the health of the economy, and so on.

In short, they are a white, lower-middle-class, committed family, who is doing EVERYTHING the GOP Kultur Kops would have you believe people should be doing. They aren’t gay. They aren’t divorced. They didn’t abort their children. They aren’t drug addicts or welfare queens. They are property owners, entrepeneurs, taxpayers, and hard-working Americans. I bet nine times out of ten in past elections, if you handed this resume to a pollster, they would think you were discussing the prototypical Republican voter. Hell, the only thing missing from this equation is membership to a church and an irrational fear of Muslims and you HAVE the prototypical Bush voter [...]

I simply can not believe this is what the Republican party has become. I just can’t. It just makes me sick to think all those years of supporting this party, and this is what it has become. Even if you don’t like the S-Chip expansion, it is hard to deny what Republicans are- a bunch of bitter, nasty, petty, snarling, sneering, vicious thugs, peering through people’s windows so they can make fun of their misfortune.

I’m registering Independent tomorrow.”

A poster at consertive website Free Republic spun information about the family which allowed him to claim that the boy was actually a rich kid who was being pampered by the government and that the boy and his sister attend wealthy schools that cost "nearly $40,000 per year for tuition" and live in a well-off home.

The only problem is that none of that is true. Rather than spin information to use as ammo, ThinkProgress did the unthinkable and did some investigative journalism and found that the boy has a scholarship to the private school, Yes, it costs $15K a year, but the family only pays $500 a year.

The boy’s sister attends another private school to help her with the brain injuries that occurred due to her accident. This school costs $23,000 a year, but the state pays the entire cost.

Their “lavish house” was purchased sixteen years ago for $55,000.

Last year the family made $45,000 combined and have never earned more than $50,000, combined, a year…

The conservative pundits (Limbaugh, Malkin, etc) are so fucking desperate to defend Bush’s decision to cut SCHIP, that they are now launching baseless and uninformed attacks against a 12 year old child and his family.

The gop is neither passionate or family friendly… they’re a group of feckless thugs who WILL get theirs in the end via a little thing called Karma, baby!

Count on it…

The Thursday ‘BushWhack’ing

One day closer to Friday...

• The Army is lowering their recruiting standards… and paying officers $35K to re-up… no, that’s not a sign of desperation at all. Sigh, it’s so hard to express sarcasm in the written form…
• The Bush White House is fighting Democratic changes to their surveillance act… Voting along party lines the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees approved a bill that would require the government to get approval from a special intelligence court for surveillance… not sure why the Bush White House would be against this bill. Sigh, it’s so hard to express sarcasm in the written form…
• In a case so complex it’s akin to understanding Quantum Physics, SCOTUS is debating the extension of executive powers. At issue is a rape and murder case that involves the power of the US judiciary, the authority of the World Court, Congress’ role in the enforcement of treaties and states abilities to ignore a presidential directive. This case could have far-reaching results, so stay tuned…
• And have we mentioned? That Vice President Dick “President” Cheney is no longer the gop fundraising ace he once was? Not that long ago, Cheney was popular enough to charge donors $4,200 for a handshake and a photo… but now he’s become much less sought-after for congressional republicans looking for fundraising help. At this point in 2005 Cheny had headlined fundraisers for 10 conservative incumbents. This year? One… for Rep. Sam Graves (r-MO)… sometimes the snark is clear enough that I don’t even need to add to it; this is one of those times…

The Wednesday ‘BushWhack’ing

Back from my trip and ready to get back to it.

• The gop presidential contenders held a debate yesterday and, for the first time, Fred Thompson participated… no word on if the debate was held this early so Mr. Thompson could make the Early Bird special at The Sizzler.
• A former aide to “President” Bush has opined on the above-mentioned gop candidates and wasn’t kind. Former White House counselor Dan Bartlett was brutally honest in his assessments, calling Fred Thompson the campaign's “biggest dud,” that Mitt Romney has “a real problem in the South” because of his Mormonism, that Mike Huckabee's last name is too hick, and that John McCain could pull a repeat of his 2000 performance and win New Hampshire yet still lose the battle… ouch, and that’s coming from a fellow republican…
• As if we needed more examples of why congress’ approval ratings are lower than Bush’s, we are presented with this: there’s a resolution in the House that would label the deaths of Armenians as “genocide.” Oh, did we mention that the deaths of the Armenians was during the Ottoman Empire… which was more than 90 years ago… (our troops are still waging a senseless war… the economy is falling apart… our civil liberties are under attack… bin Laden is STILL running around… but let’s worry about this. I have nothing against Armenia, my middle name is, in fact, Armenian, but this is still somewhat sad that this is the only resolution/bill that the House can muster…)
• And have we mentioned? That Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey held a press conference yesterday? During the presser, Casey said that “It’s going to take us three or four years and a substantial amount of resources to put ourselves back in balance” and restore US forces to peak capability…and despite this, the White House and a handful of republicans are pushing for military action against Iran… with what, I have no idea.

The Weekly Rewind

Good day sports fans. As a Chicago fan when someone is in the playoffs you’ve gotta root for them. This year it’s the Cubs. They are down 2 games in the best of 5 playoffs and tonight they either live to play another day or go down swinging… we will see what happens.

While we are waiting let’s kick back and enjoy what we like to call The Weekly Rewind.

Applaud: 70 percent: Americans who want funding for the war to be reduced. Bush’s approval rating stands at 33 percent. Just 29 percent approve of the job Congress is doing, although the public rates congressional Republicans (29 percent) lower than congressional Democrats (38 percent). Once again we yell and wave our arms, but no one in Washington seems to care.

Heckle: The Anti-Defamation League is calling on Senator McCain to “reconsider and withdraw” his comment over the weekend that the Constitution established America as a “Christian nation.” I’m sorry, I may not agree with the Senator, but I do believe that while not expressly written, that the founding fathers did have in mind a Christian nation at our founding.

Applaud: Congress is pushing legislation to give Inspectors General “greater budgetary independence.” The measure would also make it harder for the administration to fire the the watchdogs. The White House is threatening to veto the bill. Of course they are, why would they want to be held accountable for their actions this late in the game?

Heckle: The State Department launched its own blog last week, called “Dipnote.” People have already complained “that the white print on a black background makes it hard to read” Finally, “unbiased news directly from the federal government, a news source long noted for truthful, unbiased reporting,” the Washington Post’s Al Kamen mockingly writes. Nicely done Al, I couldn’t have said it better.

A sad state of affairs: There were 317,000 applications for unemployment benefits last week, an increase of 16,000 from the previous week, and the biggest jump in four months. Analysts believe the increase could be a further sign that the labor market is slowing under the impact of the worst slump in housing in 16 years. A Heckle to the administration for continually trying to tell us that the economy is great. Any working American can tell you that they are not better off then they were 6 ½ years ago.

Applaud: Bush’s veto of SCHIP has divided conservatives. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) said yesterday, “We’ve got to do what we can to try to override” the veto. “If we’re truly compassionate, it seems to me, we’d want to endorse this program,” added Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT). A big thank you to the Senators for seeing what is painfully obvious to most Americans. Let's spread some of that to you fellow 'compassionate'conservatives.

Heckle: Over and over, President Bush confidently promised to ‘solve problems, not pass them on to future presidents and future generations.’ As the clock runs out on his eight-year presidency, a tall stack of troubles remain and Bush’s words ring hollow. And we were not going to be an ‘occupying army’ in Iraq. Anyone remember that??

Applaud: With bipartisan support, the House is expected today to take up legislation that would make it clear that U.S. laws apply to all armed private contractors hired for overseas missions.” The Bush administration opposes the bill, warning it would have ‘unintended and intolerable consequences’ for national security. Why is it that every time something goes against the administration it will always be bad for National Security? It’s gotten to the point of Chicken Little….

Applaud: Final score: Boxer 3, Inhofe 0. Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) has repeatedly challenged Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-CA) authority over the Senate environmental committee. During one hearing, she had to inform him, “You don’t make the rules anymore.” Yesterday, Boxer slammed down Inhofe’s assertion that she couldn’t invite sitting senators to the hearings, pointing out that in Sept. 2006, he invited Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN). “I don’t mind if we have disagreements, but…let’s get the facts right,” she admonished him. You get ‘em Senator!

Applaud: Some business leaders are drifting away from conservatives “because of the war in Iraq, the growing federal debt and a conservative social agenda they don’t share.” Some business people want bolder action on global warming as well, leaving the “core business vote” up for grabs. It’s about time!

And finally, This weeks “Tool of the Week” is the Department of Defense. Why? Well, besides being tool of the Bush Administration they are also busy thinking of ways to screw our troops. How, well consider the 2,600 members of the Minnesota National Guard, who when they came home from Iraq, had been deployed longer than any other ground combat unit. The tour lasted 22 months and had been extended as part of President Bush's surge.1st Lt. Jon Anderson said he never expected to come home to this: A government refusing to pay education benefits he says he should have earned under the GI bill. "It's pretty much a slap in the face," Anderson said. "I think it was a scheme to save money, personally. I think it was a leadership failure by the senior Washington leadership... once again failing the soldiers." Anderson's orders, and the orders of 1,161 other Minnesota guard members, were written for 729 days. Had they been written for 730 days, just one day more, the soldiers would receive those benefits to pay for school. "Which would be allowing the soldiers an extra $500 to $800 a month," Anderson said.

The Veto crayon strikes again...

Once again the Veto crayon was removed from its box and used to dash the hopes of millions of kids as “President” Bush vetoed the SCHIP bill… and unlike his last veto of stem-cell research (which also had wide-ranging support), he did it without a plethora of children behind him… and with good reason.

On September 27th – 30th, a Washington Post/ABC News Poll asked this question; “There's a proposal to increase federal spending on children's health insurance by 35 billion dollars over the next five years. It would be funded by an increase in cigarette taxes. Supporters say this would provide insurance for millions of low-income children who are currently uninsured. Opponents say this goes too far in covering children in families that can afford health insurance on their own. Do you support or oppose this increased funding for this program?”

Support? 72%

Oppose? 25%

Unsure? 3%

Sooooooo… a large majorty of respondents said that they DID approve of the plan…

But once again, Bush wielded his crayon and vetoed the plan…

Reaction has been swift from both sides.

rEPUBLICAN Sen. Orrin Hatch (r-UT); “Unfortunately, I believe that some have given the president bad advice on this matter, because I believe that supporting this bipartisan compromise to provide health coverage to low-income children is the morally right thing to do. I hope that we can muster enough votes to overturn this veto.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA); “It's very sad that the president has chosen to veto a bill that would provide health care for 10 million American children for the next five years. ... I don't think the president wants to say to the American people that he as the decider, the self-proclaimed decider, wants to decide what children get health care and which children do not.”

rEPUBLICAN Sen. Gordon Smith (r-OR); “I believe this is an irresponsible use of the veto pen. I hope the House can garner enough votes to override the President.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV); “Never has it been clearer how detached President Bush is from the priorities of the American people. By vetoing a bipartisan bill to renew the successful Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), President Bush is denying health care to millions of low-income kids in America.”

rEPUBLICAN Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. (r-LA); This is an important program with bipartisan support, and I'm committed to a responsible extension. ... Any long-term extension must include an effective plan focused on enrolling children who currently qualify but who for whatever reason are not signed-up, anything less is irresponsible.”

Even rEPUBLICAN Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, who very well could be a witch that eats children; said; “I believe there are valid concerns about expanding SCHIP, but the president should sit down with Congress so we can continue the SCHIP program within the scope of its original mission, which is to insure as many children as possible who are too poor to afford private insurance but do not qualify for Medicaid.”

And reaction from non-politicians?

American Academy of Pediatrics president Jay Berkelhamer; “Today's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) will have a serious negative impact on low-income children and their families across this nation.”

Chair of the AMA’s board of trustees Edward Langston; “The number of uninsured kids has increased by nearly 1 million over the past year, and action must be taken to reverse this trend. The AMA strongly urges members of Congress from both political parties to stand on the side of America's parents and children by voting to override the veto.”

What does the president not get regarding the program??

As I’ve said many, many, many times before; January 20, 2009 CANNOT COME SOON ENOUGH…

The Wednesday ‘BushWhack’ing

I’ll be out the rest of the week, so enjoy a hump-day, might-as-well-be-Friday edition of TDBW...

• Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has opened up a surmountable lead not only in fundraising, but in the polls as well. She now has a 33% lead over Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), her nearest competitor. (At one time I thought she was unelectable… now I’m not so sure. Stay tuned as this presidential race should be a good one…)
• While Ms. Clinton is enjoying a huge lead and seems to be the Democratic frontrunner, the gop’s poll leader is anything but. Former NYC Mayor Rudy “Buy me for $9.11” Giuliani leads all gop candidates, but the lead is unsettled to say the least as Fred Thompson has almost doubled his support since his official official announcement. (Like the Dems, stay tuned as this race should be interesting as well… but for vastly different reasons. Like who will drop out and/or snap first. My guess is on McCain…)
• In a show of bipartisanship that hasn’t been seen in a long, long while, the House voted yesterday, 377-46, on a bill that gives the Bush(whacked) Administration 2 months to give Congress its plan to withdrawal our forces from Iraq. (This is all fine and good, but we all know that Bush doesn’t care what anyone else wants. Only himself… expect this to be ignored/attacked/criticized by the White House very. Very soon…)
• “President” Bush vetoed SCHIP… despite a majority of Americans supporting it… a majority of Democrats supporting it… and more than a few republicans supporting it. Once again, as mentioned above, Bush ignored the people and did what he pleased… the man is a tool.
• And have we mentioned? That Former Bush(whacked) Administration lawyer Jack Goldsmith is speaking out? Yesterday he said that the administration’s surveillance program was “the biggest legal mess I had ever encountered.. […] [T]he White House so tightly restricted access to the National Security Agency’s program that even the attorney general and the NSA’s general counsel were partly in the dark.” (What else can be said that hasn’t already been said?)

What's the next step?

As mentioned briefly in this morning’s ‘”BushWhack’ing,” a new Washington Post-ABC News poll shows that a majority of Americans want to see funding for the Iraq war cut, with 70% opining that the allocated money be slashed and a scant 25% supporting the $190 billion war funding request.

And despite the best attempts by the traditional media to paint the picture that only the “far left, anti-war wing,” of the Democratic party wants Congress to cut funding for Iraq… look closer at the poll results that shows close to seven in 10 Independents want Congress to cut back funds, nine in 10 Democrats and 46% of republicans… yes, 46% of republicans want Congress to cut back funds.

Sure, the chances of seeing the money reduced are about as good as the chances that Brittany will be voted Mother of the Year… but surely the Democrats can manage to remove their collective heads from their collective asses long enough to grasp the concept that the American public, the public, wants some bold moves to end the war and thus wouldn’t mind an antagonistic stance when it comes to the allocation of funds.

To that end, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee David Obey is playing like he might do just that… saying in a press conference this morning that he has “no intention of reporting out of Committee anytime in this session of Congress any such request that simply serves to continue the status quo.”

What does that mean exactly? That he won’t, for the time being at least, allow a blank check to leave his committee’s hands…

The poll also shows that there is deep dissatisfaction with both “President” Bush and Congress (though I don’t think we actually needed a poll to tell us that) partly because of the Iraq policy stalemate between the White House and Congressional Democrats… which, again, is not at all surprising.

The Senate has already passed the defense policy bill that authorizes another $150 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with the final tally being 92-3… though the Senate bill doesn't guarantee that the money will be spent; only a separate appropriations bill will manage that.

So what we're looking at is an impasse in the House Appropriations Committee, and the question comes down to this; will Obey shut it down, or will he just… obey?

The Tuesday ‘BushWhack’ing

Let’s take a quick tour of all that’s going on today in the world of politics...

• A new Washington Post/ABC News poll finds that most people in the U.S. oppose “President” Bush’s planned veto of SCHIP… oppose congressional republicans on upcoming policy battles… and want funding for the war cut… (And we needed a poll to tell us this? Seriously?)
• Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told the AP that… I’m sorry, it’s just too absurd to even type. Click HERE to read what he says about illegal immigrants and the environment…
• Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) raised more than $20 million this past quarter… too bad he’s not putting it to better use. I’m sorry, but Obama is starting to appear that he is indeed all style and no substance. He needs to start speaking out more (not just about Hillary) and needs to start laying out some of his plans. Otherwise he’s going to find out what the bad part of the nomination process feels like…
• A new congressional account of State Department and company documents shows that Blackwater USA security contractors have been involved in at least 195 “escalation of force” incidents, all since early 2005, and that Blackwater personnel tried to cover up at least one killing by providing a false report. (There’s no doubt that Blackwater does provide security in Iraq, but the problems still resides in the fact that they don’t have any oversight. If the company wants to provide security, then some kind of oversight needs to be created… or there will be many more incidents like these…)
• And have we mentioned? That a coalition of eight states are suing the Bush(whacked) Administration? The eight states – New Jersey, Maryland, Arizona, California, Illinois, New Hampshire, New York and Washington — are suing the administration over SCHIP, or more specifically the states object to new rules that “make it harder for them to provide coverage to children in middle-income families.” (At least someone in this country is thinking of the children… won’t someone please think of the children?)

Next stop, Iran

Despite our military being stretched to the absolute limit… the Bush(whacked) Administration is setting its eyes on attacking Iran sooner rather than later.

The Sunday Telegraph revealed in an article published yesterday that the American air force is working with military leaders from the Gulf to “train and prepare Arab air forces for a possible war with Iran.”

Lovely…

And then there was an article in The Guardian that reported that John Bolton, who did such a damn good job as the US ambassador to the UN that he wasn’t asked to come back, reportedly has told Tory delegates in England that attempts by the Europan Union to negotiate with Iran had failed and that he saw no alternative to a pre-emptive strike on suspected nuclear facilities in the country.”

What the hell is wrong with this administration?

The Iraq war is a clusterfuck…

Afghanistan (where al Qaeda actually is located) has been all but forgotten by the administration…

And now this administration wants to invade a country that is stronger and more ready from a military aspect than Iraq ever was?

I really have to get that bomb shelter finished…

The Monday ‘BushWhack’ing

Blue Monday… and by ‘blue’ I mean depressing, not raunchy…

• Having solved the Iraq quagmire, the House and Senate are preparing to shift their focus towards a more domestic agenda… (Solved what now?)
• Apparently it’s news to the Washington Post that fundraising is a major player in the presidential race… the article goes on to say, well, nothing really…
• For the fifth time since 2001 (coincides nicely with Bush coming to power, doesn’t it?), Congress is increasing the debt limit by $850 billion to $9.815 trillion. (And once again the effects of the Presidency of Mediocrity ® shows its ugly head…)
• The trial for former defense contractor Brent Wilkes starts today. Wilkes is accused of channeling over $700,000 to disgraced ex-Congressman Duke Cunningham “in the form of both cash and perks ranging from a Sea-Doo jet boat to the services of two prostitutes at a high-end Hawaiian resort.” (The question now is; will Wilkes take anyone else down?)
• And have we mentioned? That the bill drafted by Rep. Duncan Hunter (r-CA) aimed at cutting off all federal funds to Columbia University now has a name? Because the school invited Iranian President Ahmadinejad to speak, Hunter (a true American… yes, that was sarcasm) doesn’t want the school to receive any federal money. And the name, after a nationwide search, is ‘Restore Patriotism to University Campuses Act’… (Doesn’t quite roll off the tongue though, he should have named it something like the “Trying to Make My presidential Campaign More Revelant Act”…)