Liberties-Schmiberties?

It’s the start of another week, which means it must also be time for another Bush-Crony to venture to Capitol Hill to defend the latest Administration screw-up/Constitutional recession order.

On today’s docket is Attorney General Alberto “Liberties - Schmiberties” Gonzales.

Gonzales is in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee today to defend the administration's domestic eavesdropping program while calling it an essential “early warning system” against further terrorist attacks which Shrub (sorry, I mean Bush… I really have to stop doing that) authorized after the September 11 attacks in order to monitor international telephone calls and e-mail messages of U.S. citizens with the aim to track down terrorism suspects.

Gonzales also denied any and all accusations that the White House has and is breaking the law, which he covered in a prepared statement, which you can read HERE.

It should be noted that many Senators (both Republican and Democrat btw) are challenging the administration's statements that the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. Congress gave the “President” any authority to conduct the domestic eavesdropping that is being carried out by the National Security Agency, who says the program was designed to monitor contacts between radicals abroad and associates in the U. S.

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) (the top Democrat on the committee) insisted Bush had acted “illegally without safeguards” and that the president and Justice Department “do not have unchecked powers to decide what laws to follow.”

The bigger problem the administration has it evident in the hearing’s opening when Chairman Arlen Specter (R – PA) stated that while “the president of the United States has the fundamental responsibility to protect the country ... the president does not have a blank check.” (Why is that a problem you ask? Because Specter is a member of Bush’s party and is not the only one to think that Bush has gone too far with this program)

Other critics believe that the program violates the privacy guarantees in the U.S. Constitution AND violates the law that regulates the monitoring of communications (the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA) which made spying on American citizens in the United States illegal without the approval of a special secret court (my question is this… if all it takes to get a wiretap legally is the approval of a SECRET court, why not just do that… it’s a secret court anyway so, theoretically, no one would know about it. Why violate National law and the US Constitution? That’s what makes my head hurt… trying to figure out why they would violate the law and Constitution when all it takes is Secret Court approval… I’ll say it again; when all it takes is Secret Court approval… but I’m getting off the subject)

Gonzales said Congress had provided the legal basis for the program by authorizing the use of force (again, I’ve said this before…the use of force includes wiretaps? What? Are they hitting the terrorists with the wires?) against terrorists after the September 11 attacks, adding that congressional leaders had been briefed about it more than a dozen times since (and I am sure in each of those dozen times they were informed in the most straight-forward, non double-speak, no-spin-attached wording ever… uh, huh… sure… and if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you in Baghdad… a nice bridge... overlooking the Green Zone)

He said FISA did not always provide the lithe “early warning system” that the government needed in order to protect the country, adding that seeking more explicit authorization from Congress would have spilled intelligence secrets and wasted time (wasted time???)

Gonzales said U.S leaders going back to the first president, George Washington, had authorized the warrantless surveillance of the enemy to fight wars such as the Revolution, the Civil War and World War Two (show me the proof. I want proof more than an AG in 2006 says that Washington used warrantless surveillance. That could very well be the dumbest argument from the Administration yet…)

Gonzales refused to give any examples of how the domestic surveillance program has protected the country (that’s something else I want, proof that the eavesdropping has resulted in a terrorist attack being prevented. It doesn’t look as though it is helping, but what do I know?)

Gonzales is a Bush-Crony of the highest order and will act the way his master will tell him to. He will not say anything of much importance this week and will only cause those of us on the left to bang our heads against the wall at his complete lack of candidness.

Add to that that Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) confronted Gonzales about Bush’s now-famous quote that “a wiretap requires a court order.” When confronted with the quote, Gonzales’ defense essentially boiled down to the fact that “the President is not a lawyer.” (Brilliant defense Mr. Gonzales, I can see why you are the nations’ number one lawyer…like we really need someone to tell us this?)

Besides that fact that Gonzales' rhetoric-filled and empty testimony means absoluelty bupkis, it seems to be that when all is said and done (and whether or not you agree or disagree with the wiretaps) American's civil liberties are still being violated and American laws are still being broken. And the Bush-“Whacked” Administration continues to push America deeper and deeper into a trove of dissonance and animosity and is leaving the guided-principles that this country was founded on in the dust.

It is time that this administration is held accountable. Will that ever happen?

Stay tuned…

The Weekly Rewind

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, honored guests… my fellow Americans…

We are fortunate to be alive at this moment in history, as never before have this many in our nation had the opportunity to read and enjoy The Bush Whacked Administrations’ Weekly Rewind. Why? Because we live in an age of possibility…

Some one hundred years ago we moved from farm to factory. Now we move to an age of technology, information, and global competition where everyone and their brother has a blog. But none… none are as informative, intelligent and thought-provoking as TBWA. And with that, I give you this week’s “Weekly Rewind”.

Applaud: to Coretta Scott King who passed away this past week at the age of 78. Your elegance, your spirit and your devotion to your Husband's memory was massive, and you truly brought grace and dignity to the Civil Rights movement.

Heckle: to that loud and annoying buzzing sound I heard coming from Washington DC on Tuesday night, around 8-9 pm CST. I swear, it was like a nasty humming in my ear…. buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... Did anyone else hear it?

Applaud: to the brilliant smack down the Democrats did on Tuesday’s SOTU. The moment Bush said, “Congress did not act last year on my proposal to save Social Security…” Democrats gave him a standing ovation. Nice. Very well-played everyone. Wish all of you could act with that much backbone ALL THE FREAKIN’TIME!

Heckle: to the House GOP conducting elections like it was Florida 2000. How? Well, they are redoing the vote after the first count showed more votes cast than Republicans present at the Conference meeting. Wait a minute... who's that huddling near the ballot table? Is that Katherine Harris?? Oh my God, don’t look directly into her eyes!

Heckle: to new blood that’s, not so new. The GOP, as mentioned above, voted for a new majority leader this past week, electing John Boehner (R-OH) to the position. Supposedly, at least according to the GOP Leadership, a “Post-Abramoff Mood” shaped the vote for Boehner, who replaces disgraced (but whom is still ignorant of that fact) Tom DeLay. Will he be any better? Who knows, all we can say is stay tuned…

Heckle: to the day the music died. On this date in 1959, Buddy Holly (22), The Big Bopper (28), and Richie Valens (17) died in a plane crash soon after taking off from Clear Lake, Iowa. Bopper and Valens had taken the seats of two members of Holly's band, Tommy Allsup and Waylon Jennings. An Applaud within a heckle to the fact that your music and your all-too short lives will NOT be forgotten.

Heckle: to a series of fires that have damaged multiple (the number jumps from 5 to 6, depending on which media outlet you read) rural-Alabama churches overnight while investigators try to determine whether or not they were arson. Most of the churches were Baptist and all of them were in Bibb County. Stay tuned…

Heckle: to the passing of Samuel Alito as the next Justice of the SCOTUS. Hard to gauge what’s more pathetic… HIS pathetic attempts to hide his loyalties during the SOTU on Tuesday night or the democrat’s feeble attempt’s to block his approval. Can I take back my applaud from above?

Applaud: to NOT following the herd. The top climate Scientist at NASA has been told by the Bush administration stop talking about global warming… as of now, and Monday when I saw the interview on CNN’s American Morning, he is not heeding the administrations advice. Gotta respect anyone who won’t kowtow to Dubya’s hired-goons (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, etc) Now an FBI-led watchdog agency has launched an investigation into NASA Inspector General Robert W. Cobb amidst charges of retaliating against whistle-blowers. As I always say on this site, ‘Karma, baby!’

Applaud: ‘There’s a better way’… ‘nuff said.

Applaud or Heckle (your call): to what I am sure is eventually going to be called “T-Shirt Gate.” At the end of the day, I think the take away should be.... don't wear a t-shirt to the congressional gallery for a State of The Union speech...it's just tacky, no matter who you are, what your beliefs are, or what side of the aisle you may represent.

Applaud: to new Justice Alito, for not siding with Scalia, Thomas and Roberts and voting to block a Missouri death penalty case. Not so much for the decision itself (I personally support the death penalty in most cases) but more-so for going against the grain and not following the lemmings over the cliff. Enjoy our applaud now Justice Alito because I have a feeling that will be the LAST time you will EVER see an applaud on here for you.

Heckle: to this quote from Commander Cuckoo Bananas. Why a heckle? Well, read it and tell me how it’s not a lie.

“Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires---a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so. It's important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution" ---President George W. Bush April 20, 2004

Uh….ok? While I am split on the wiretap issue (ok for non-domestic, not ok for domestic), I am more concerned with the fact that Shrub (Bush) is blatanly lying to the American people now. What changed from April 20, 2004 – February 2006?

Applaud: to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for donating $100 million towards stem cell research. Bravo Mayor Bloomberg, bravo. (The gift was give anonymously, but his gift’s rarely stay anonymous for long) Did I mention he was a Republican and that he is, once again, going against his party’s wishes? Gotta love it when a Republican lemming strays from the herd and refuses to jump off the cliff with the rest of them (you really must ask yourself how many times I can use* that allegory in 1 Weekly Rewind)

Heckle: to John Bolton. Now this is just wacky. It was his turn to chair the Security Council meeting and nobody was there on time. So what did Mr. Bolton do? He made a list of the times that all the members showed up! This is the U.N. Mr. Bolton, not grade school.

Applaud: to a rebirth? The brilliant Donna Brazile, who was Al Gore's 2000 Presidential campaign manager, told CNN recently that she thinks the former VP is the only Democrat who could seriously challenge Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (New York) for the party's nomination in 2008. You have to ask yourself, with as much Bush-bashing that Al has been doing, you really have to wonder if Gore think about getting back onto the field. As of right now he’s not talking, but stay tuned…

Heckle: The Line item veto. President Clinton signed the “Line Item Veto Act” in April 1996,only to see it struck down two years later by the Supreme Court deeming it unconstitutional. Now Shrub (sorry, I must stop doing that) Bush is trotting it out again, even mentioning it during the SOTU. Well, since he has now stacked the Supreme Court with a couple of government Bush-men, he must think he can bring it back to life. Yeah, I don’t think so…

Applaud/Heckle: Again, I am not sure about this one as it could go either way. The plan could be useful, but it could also teach a whole new generation to ignore the Constitution. Yesterday, the Department of Homeland Security trotted out an animated family of mountain lions to lead a public service campaign (Titled ‘Ready Kids’) aimed at getting families to prepare for natural disasters or terrorist attacks. I guess you can call this the new and updated version of ‘Duck and Cover’

The applauds and heckles are evening out my friends. Could we be on a national shift to the left? We must be patient and wait. But let’s remember this; as we continue on this journey of self-discovery, the nation turns it’s lonely eyes to you… goo goo ga joo.

Groundhog Day & Political Wordplay

Q&A
Q: What's the difference between Groundhog Day and President Bush's State of the Union Address?

A: One is a meaningless ritual wherein we look to a creature of little intelligence to prognosticate for us... the other involves a woodchuck.


QUOTE MACHINE:
"On Groundhog Day, old timers think they can predict whether it's going to be an early spring or six more weeks of winter by whether or not the groundhog sees his shadow, or, as President Bush calls it, 'reliable intelligence'." - Jay Leno


NEWS ALERTS:
Just after daybreak this morning, the groundhog saw George W. Bush's shadow and ran back into his hole, signifying three more years of screwing the country with its pants on.

In more breaking Groundhog Day news, Vice President Dick Cheney emerged from his secret undisclosed location (assumed to be a bunker under a Denny's Restaurant in Alexandria, VA) this morning and scared several small children, thus ensuring six more weeks of declining approval ratings for the president.
-- from PBen @ the Daily Kos

Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon

Before I get on with this week’s installment I must ask… what was that loud droning sound coming from Washington DC last night between 8 & 9 central time?? I could have sworn it sounded like an adult from the old “Peanuts” cartoons…

Anyhow, Scott and I were going to use this time and space to rant and rave about the nothingness that was the President’s State of the Union speech last night, but rather than moan and groan about the lies and inaccuracies of last night’s speech, it’s time we get on offense and concentrate on the looming midterms. MoveOn.org has a 3-step plan to win in ’06: 1) Hold Republicans accountable. 2) Encourage Democrats to stand up and fight. 3) Get out the vote.

Anyhow, here we go with this week’s exciting installment of RPTFAWA...

President Bush to Traipse Across the Country. President Bush will take his SOTU “message” (such as it is) on the road Wednesday as he travels to Tennessee to tout his plan to increase American economic competitiveness and to cut U.S. dependence on imported oil. On Thursday Bush is scheduled to take his act to Minnesota. This should make for some interesting theater, as I am sure he will get a lukewarm response from many. Although, as carefully orchestrated as his past visits have been, it will probably be the same ol, same ol. (Personally, I haven’t heard or seen such claptrap since I was forced to read “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” in college. Talk about your pieces of crap…)

Even without an Opponent, Hillary’s Chest Grows & Grows (War Chest that is). Despite the fact that her GOP opposition has plunged into Illinois-GOP-Style disarray, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has forged ahead with a forceful fund-raising campaign that took in nearly $6 million in the final three months of 2005, giving her campaign $17.1 million in the bank. Now, with the absence of any real significant threat to unseat her, conjecture is now growing about her precise political ambitions. (Scott and I have said it before, and I’ll say it again. NO! She is not electable; she will take votes away from more electable Dem. candidates and will screw us over more than if John Kerry tries for the nomination again. Listen to me Mr. Dean: New blood… we need new blood)

Alito Sworn In. The Senate confirmed ‘Sam’ Alito on Tuesday (coincidentally just hours before the SOTU… hmmmm, I’m sure that wasn’t planned – no matter how hard you try, you just can’t express sarcasm in the written word) as the 110th justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and immediately took the front-row seat of Sandra Day O'Connor at the SOTU later that night. The vote, 58 for and 42 against, was the second-narrowest Supreme Court confirmation in more than a century. (Come on now, shouldn’t that tell you something about this nominee???) Judge Alito’s biggest decision yesterday, according to the Washington Post, was whether to clap or not clap at the President’s drivel. I wish we could all hope that that’s the ONLY thing he ever has to make a decision about… but that’s unlikely.

“There is a better way.” (We need to get some t-shirts printed up with this slogan, now people!!) Using the phrase that is sure to become the Democratic/Liberal call-to-arms for the midterms and the ’08 Presidential election, newly elected Governor Tim Kaine (D-VA) delivered the Democratic response to the SOTU last night… and easily smacked down the Republicans. The smack down was good, but not as good as the smack down the Dems laid down when Shrub (sorry my bad, Bush) stated, “Congress did not act last year on my proposal to save Social Security," and the Democrats applauded and gave him a standing ovation. Nice. Wonderfully played everyone. (Click HERE to read the transcript of Kaine’s rebuttal or HERE to see it)

More SOTU Ejections. Cindy Sheehan (who I am not a particular fan of btw) wasn’t the only person escorted out by Capitol Police during last night’s SOTU. The wife of Rep. C.W. Bill Young (R-FL), Beverly, said she was ejected during the SOTU on Tuesday for wearing a T-shirt that said, “Support the Troops Defending Our Freedom.” Capitol Police told a different accounting of the incident, with a Capitol Police Sergeant stating “She was not ejected from the gallery. She did leave on her own.” (So we have begun to turn into this kind of a society now… stay tuned…)

Nominee says laws ‘adequate.’ The nominee to oversee coal mines stated on Tuesday that current mine safety laws are “adequate” and that many problems result from mine operators that ignore safety regulations. Richard Stickler, facing some pointed questions from Democrats, declined to endorse any of the new safety measures being called for, such as increasing the number of mine-rescue teams, requiring communication equipment that could help locate trapped miners or the so-called ‘safe-rooms’ that saved the lives of some Canadian miners earlier this week. It should be noted that the United Mine Workers opposes Stickler’s nomination and has long been pressing Bush to withdraw it. (No such luck as, once again, the administration shows its complete lack of support or respect for ANY union or blue-collar workers in this country)

Newsflash! GAO Faults Federal Government for Katrina Response. The General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report that showed it was a failure of federal leadership that caused the massive breakdown of Federal response to Hurricane Katrina. (Well, duh. All I can say, as I’ve said on this site many times… Karma,baby! What goes around, comes around)

Revenge of the Daschle? It seems former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) may be serious about running for president in ‘08? Today Mr. Daschle will make his second trip to Iowa and will give a speech at Iowa State University that will, most likely, criticize the President on a wide range of issues including, but surely not limited to, energy policy. Stay tuned…

Take them as you will…

Goodbye...

Mrs. King…the world is poorer for your absence and we will miss you. Your elegance, your spirit and your devotion to your Husband's memory was massive, and you truly brought grace and dignity to the Civil Rights movement.

Sorry...

Due to personal reasons, this weeks Weekly Rewind will not be posted... we apologize for the inconvienence. Thank you.

Poll Position

If you haven’t noticed lately, we have been keeping the poll question up for 2 weeks rather than 1 in order to get a better snapshot of what you, the readers, are thinking… and it’s working as we are getting more votes and thus (hopefully) generating some thought about things going on in the wide, wide world of politics.

The last poll asked the question: “Do you think Senator Specter too easily dismissed the CAP allegations against SCOTUS nominee Samuel Alito?”

The results have been tabulated (the Supreme Court tried to interfere but were beaten back with a stick) and here they are:

• A whopping 73% of respondents thought “Yes” that Senator Specter (R-PA) dismissed the CAP allegations against SCOTUS nominee Samuel Alito too quickly.
• A healthy 24% believe “No” and that his involvement was not that big of a deal. To that, that is your opinion and we respect you for it.
• And 3% of voters said they didn’t pay attention to the hearings and don’t care. I only have one word for that: pathetic. You don’t have to necessarily watch the hearings, but you should at least pay attention to what is going on. Why? Because this process, nomination, debate and decision will have a direct impact on us as a society for years and years to come… ya schmuck.

But I digress…

Scott and I would like to thank all of you who took the time to vote in the poll, and ask you to partake in the next poll.

The new poll question is:

“Does “President” Bush have the constitutional power to approve wiretaps and spying without a court order?”

Take a gander above, vote, and let us know your opinion on the important issues.

The Weekly Rewind

It’s Back! It took a vacation, got lot‘s of rest, and now it’s back and ready to go. What is it? Surely you jest, you didn’t forget did you? You know you can’t live without it. So without any further delay……. LET”S GET READY TO REWIIIIIIIND !…. (Thanks Michael Buffer)

That’s right it’s The Weekly Rewind. Volume 2, Number 1.……Here we go.

Heckle: To President Bush, it’s been a few weeks, but remember just on general principals alone.

Heckle: To Medicare Part D, aka: the prescription shell game. It is now the end of January, the first month of the new, highly touted Medicare prescription drug plans (yes PLANS as there are over 500 different ones around the country). In this first month many pharmacies have been fronting the cost of seniors prescriptions as the coverage information has not been available from the Medicare system to tell the pharmacies which plan someone may be covered under. Once again, why didn’t the administration come out and tell everyone that part D coverage would be automatic when you get part B, raise the monthly premium to cover the plan and cover prescriptions like any other medical plan? Because they left it up to the pharmaceutical industry and the insurance carriers to develop plans that would give the appearance of being a drug plan to benefit all but in reality would make profits for the industries and also confuse the public.

Heckle: The Alito confirmation process. In a vote down party lines, the SCOTUS nomination of judge Samuel J. Alito was forwarded to the Senate where he is expected to win confirmation by enough votes to avoid a filibuster. If you think that the administration is running over civil rights now, just wait. Once he is confirmed and on the SC watch the clock start to turn back. Also watch how quickly the administration will want to bring issues before the court. (Like going to a casino and playing the slot machine that has been rigged to pay out every time….)

Applaud: to some Senate democrats for finally ‘growing a pair’ and declaring their intent to vote against the Alito confirmation. You better get moving guys as time is running out....tick, tick,tick...that is the sound of our individual freedoms slowly ticking away on the conservative clock.

Heckle: to those same democrats for taking so long to get with the plan and voice opposition.

Heckle: to Senator and former Presidential candidate John Kerry. (What you guys are heckling a named liberal?…you bet your ass we are..) Kerry decided to fly back from Europe where he was attending World Economic Forum in Switzerland saying that he wanted to work to stop the approval of Alito. Hey John, you’re a little, no wait, a lot late.

Heckle: to White House Press Secretary Scott (Scooter) McClellan. After Ford Motor Company announced that it will be eliminating up to 30,000 jobs and close a number of U.S. plants, Scooter responded to a reporters question by stating the “overall economy is going strong”. What’s next there Scooter? How about telling us that we have a ‘chocolate’ economy or maybe a mocha-latte economy. It’s an interesting juxtaposition when you can say the we have a strong economy that is putting people on unemployment.

Applaud: to Republican Senators (once again ,you bet your ass we are applauding a couple of conservatives) John McCain (Az) and Tom Coburn (Ok) for announcing to their Senate brethren that in the wake of the continuing scandals involving lobbyists, they will challenge special ‘pet projects’ that are placed into spending bills until the practice is stopped. We at TBWA applaud the stance that the two of you are taking.

Heckle: To Canada. After almost two decades of liberalist party rule the conservatives have taken over the majority in the parliament and will also hold the prime ministers office. The U.S. sees this as improving relations between the US and Canada. (Conservative birds of a feather fly together) Hopefully the party doesn’t do to the Canadian economy, what their ‘cousins’ have done to the US economy.

Heckle: The White House and Clueless George are still defending the “Wiretapping of America’ as legal. They go even further in stating that if the Congress tries to pass legislation legalizing/authorizing the warrantless wiretaps that it will actually help the enemy. (Kind of like the old ‘If I told ya, I’d have to kill ya…) and the best part is that the Pres stated that the program is actually designed to “protect civil liberties”. Typical, the administration could care less about civil liberties until they can utter the phrase in there own defense.

So, there you have it. Noticing that the teeter-totter on the political playground is stuck to the ground on the ‘heckle’ side. Welcome to the scary realization that we are living in an Orwellian society also known as George W. Bush’s America.

January 28, 1986

“We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them,this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and ‘slipped the surly bonds of earth’ to ‘touch the face of God.’”

President Ronald Reagan on January 28, 1986 from the Oval Office in an Address to the Nation regarding the Shuttle Challenger disaster earlier that day.

The State of the 'State of the Union' Address

Let’s review something… “President” Bush has delivered four State of the Union addresses, or SOTU, with the 5th one on the (bleak) horizon, and with each one he and his “Administration” have promised big things.

The State of the Union is a ritual that is broadcast live on television and radio to millions of people, not just in the U.S. but also around the world. And it is a stellar (and guaranteed annual) opportunity for a president to hawk his wares directly to the American people (and other lawmakers) and trumpet their administration.

And while the results of Bush’s SOTU’s have been lacking (we’ll get to those shortly) he has been fortunate that all four of his SOTU’s have been molded to fit the moment. Consider these:

1. Bush delivered his first SOTU in January 2002. Mere months following 9/11 terrorist attacks.
2. SOTU number 2 came a few months before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
3. SOTU number 3 was embroiled with his re-election themes of terrorism, Iraq, terrorism, Medicare, terrorism, staying-the-course. You get the idea.
4. SOTU number 4 (last year's) was the first once since the 9/11 attacks that was focused on domestic issues rather than terrorism, Iraq, terrorism, Iraq, terrorism, staying-the-course, etc.

This brings us to this years SOTU. A SOTU that will see Dubya delivering the speech amid quickly falling (and tepid) job approval ratings, looming midterm elections, anxieties over continuing U.S. troop deaths in Iraq, cynicism about how legal his eavesdropping program to foil terrorists is and a lobbying scandal that is a threat to many Republican members (his own party btw) on Capitol Hill.

Now let’s take a quick travel back in time (just allow Mr. Peabody and Sherman time to set the WABAC controls to teleport all of us back to 2002… ) to get a quick glance at some of his more spectacular SOTU misses.

Among the swings and misses:

• His plans to overhaul Social Security. This was a key cog in last year's speech. The plan had a lot of fervor out of the gate, but has since failed to gain any traction and has since fallen by the wayside. Not even his 3- or 4-month tour (which I like to call ‘Bingo George and his Traveling Elixir Sideshow and Musical Caravan”) to rally support could put the American people at ease over his plan. (Ya know, sometimes the collective intelligence of the country surprises you and they make an intelligent choice. It’s just too bad they didn’t make an intelligent choice in 2000 or 2004 and we could have avoided all this mess)
• Another strike from last year was Bush putting forth his definition of an “ownership society,” a concept that pushed for the embracing of his drive to privatize Social Security and create personal health savings accounts. How’s that working out for all of you? Hello? Can everyone in Louisiana and Mississippi hear me?
• Another strike: the president's admonishment of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD’s). Remember those? One of the primary reasons given to the American people and the world for invading Iraq. Now that we found them… what’s that?? Wha-, nothing was found? They had to have found one missl- None? Maybe a little bom-, nothing?? At least some chemicals… no? Oh… well, never mind…
• Remember his statement about Britain having learned that Saddam Hussein had sought “significant quantities” of uranium from Africa. That one was true—, what, you’re kidding me, that one too? Oh… well, never mind...

Granted, besides quite a few swings and misses, Bush has had some announcements from previous SOTU address that, in a sense, were successful… but soon imploded, such as:

• Tax cuts that he boasts have primed the economy. Uh… sure… whatever you say Herr Bush. Never mind that a US Commerce Department report that was released today (Friday, January 27th) shows the U.S. economy ending 2005 on a soft note due to consumer spending growing at the slowest rate since 2001. Add to that the businesses were less eager to boost investments in 2005 as well and you have an economy that doesn’t seem to ‘primed.’
• Four words: “No Child Left Behind.” That was Bush’s “education initiative” that was enacted in 2002. How did it fail? Well, it would take too long to list all the reasons here, so instead I’ll just point you to a well-written article (HERE) about its failings and be done with it.
• It will be very difficult for Shrub… sorry, I meant Bush, to equal the success of his first address in 2002 that was propped up by national unity following 9/11 as he received rousing applause from both Democrats and Republicans and enjoyed job approval ratings that exceeded 80 percent (presently they are hovering around 43%).
• Bush also pledged that year to put all terrorists out of business and famously spoke of the so-called “axis of evil” (not to be confused with the asses of evil) nations; North Korea, Iran and Iraq.

While the “axis of evil” phrase has taken root into the American lexicon, keep in mind that

• no WMD’s were found in Iraq
• any and all diplomatic efforts to suppress North Korea's nuclear ambitions have, thus-far, failed
• U.S. (and European) diplomats have not been able to persuade Iran to stop enriching uranium, which should be pointed out is a step in making nuclear weapons.

Bush also stated in his first speech that the federal budget would run a deficit for the first time in four years (which, non-coincidentally, was during the Clinton administration). Dubya said it would be short term if Congress had to hold down spending… that’s not how things have worked out. The deficit in 2002 was $159 billion, and that has climbed up to $337 billion for the current budget year. At this rate it will exceed $400 billion by the end of 2006.

What’s the point of this post?

To get across that Bush is, and will forever be, a tool; a simple, unknowing, intelligent-lacking, empty-headed tool.

Not just a tool for the Conservative Right mind you, but also a tool for all the empty-headed, can’t-think-for-themselves, Ann-Coulter-loving, empty shirts.

Of course, that's just my opinion...

Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon

Wednesday is known as many things… ‘Hump Day,’ ‘Mid-week,’… well that’s about it.

But now you can add RPTFAWA (Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon) to the list of aliases for Wednesday.

And now… without further ado…

I Spy. Attorney General Alberto “I-Love-the-Smell-of-Wiretaps-in-the-Morning” Gonzalez decided to teach a history class on Tuesday in an attempt to spin the Administration’s ‘Domestic Spying Program’… (wait, we just got a memo in the TBWA office, it’s now being called the ‘Terrorist Spying Program’… wait, another memo just came in… it should now be called the ‘Screwing the Nation with their pants on Program’… wait, here’s another memo… ah forget it…) Gonzalez used the axioms of past presidents George Washington and Franklin Roosevelt while defending the program’s usage. Let me give you a clue here Al, George and Frank are rolling over in their graves at what your administration is doing.

On the floor. As expected, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the SCOTUS nomination of Samuel Alito on Tuesday in a vote that went strictly down party-lines. As the debate turns to the Senate floor, Democrats are refusing to rule out a filibuster in order to block the confirmation. Alito has the commitment of 51 senators, but still lags behind and under the 60-vote threshold that is needed to guarantee a full-floor vote and prevent a filibuster. BTW, the Chicago Tribune, usually a bastion of Republican-love, has an editorial in today’s edition that DOES NOT ENDORSE Samuel Alito and says he should NOT be a SC Justice. It’s worth a look.

White House not cooperating. It seems that the Bush administration knew what Hurricane Katrina would do to New Orleans in the days leading up to landfall and either dragged their feet or simply didn’t act on the news. (Karma, baby!) Now they’re being accused of dragging their feet on complying with the Senate probe. To make matters more pathetic, the White House is now citing the confidentiality of executive branch communications, the White House disclosed on Tuesday that it does not plan to turn over certain documents about the hurricane. The administration also will not make any senior White House officials available for sworn testimony before two Congressional committees investigating the storm response. Nice… it seems the administration is using the standard ‘Ignore it and it will go away’ game plan. As I’ve said in this blog many times, and in earlier in this random thought… ‘Karma, baby!’

Ryan Trial Continues in Illinois. Former Gov. George Ryan’s son-in-law, Michael Fairman, testified Monday that Ryan's co-defendant, Larry Warner, once lent him $5,000 a few months before Fairman declared bankruptcy due to a gambling addiction, and doesn’t remember paying Warner back. The son-in-law also disclosed that he received $55,000 in Ryan campaign funds in 1996 and 1997 while admitting he didn't do any political work for the money. Once again, all together now: ‘Karma, baby!’

Running for Re-election. Is there something in the water in DC that makes people clueless? Undaunted by speculation (within his own party) that he may have to give up his seat in Congress because of a corruption probe (Name’s Abramoff, Jack Abramoff) Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) announced on Wednesday that he will run for re-election this year. While support in his home district has not ebbed, the Chairman of the Ohio Republican party stated last week that Ney should resign if he is indicted. Not surprisingly, Ney didn't catch the subtle hint of 'leave now and don't ever come back...'

Bush to visit India & Pakistan. President Bush announced yesterday that he will travel to India and Pakistan in March. The central topics for the visits will likely involve discussions about terrorism, democratic governance (yeah, like this administration has any clue what THAT is) and the recent U.S. airstrikes in Pakistani territory. The ‘recent’ airstrikes… discussions in March… nothing like striking while the iron is hot there Bush-boys.

Vapor-lock, beltway style. Efforts to resolve House and Senate differences over a revised USA Patriot Act have stalled (now do you catch the vapor-lock references?) rising from privacy issues. The main disagreement centers on provisions that would allow FBI agents to get records on terrorism suspects, who have very limited options for challenging such searches.

Senator seeking information on subpoena of Google. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee asked AG Alberto “Torture Master” Gonzales what steps are being taken to protect Americans' privacy rights as the Justice Department demands information about Internet searches, specifically the JD’s request from Google. Leahy was asking about which types of information was being sought, how the department intends to use the information while protecting individual privacy rights and civil liberties and whether it will issue any additional subpoenas. Well, I would tell you more, but the less waves I make online, the better off I’ll be when the administration gets to me.

U.S. has Military Options Against Iran. Even while they say that they are working on diplomatic efforts to head off an Iranian nuclear bomb threat, it’s been learned that the United States has military options in place against Iran should the need arise. Ok, let’s review… battling in Afghanistan, battling in Iraq, yeah, I think we could spread the military out even thinner… that’s a good plan. But, having said that…

Military Not Overextended says Rumsfeld. Secretary of Defense Donald “I-love-the-smell-of-torture-in-the-morning’ Rumsfeld on Wednesday disputed Associated Press reports that suggested the U.S. military is stretched thin and close to a snapping point due to operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. (The article went on to say that the military may not be able to recruit and keep enough troops that would allow for a defeat of the Iraqi insurgency) Rumsfeld stated, “This armed force is enormously capable.” Sure, we’re trying to believe you Don, we really are, but those of us who passed 1st grade arithmetic are having trouble seeing the math behind the rhetoric.

Take ‘em as you will…

I guess I expect too much...or am I just oversimplifying this

Just how far out of whack are the priorities in this country? Tonight I was given a prime example on the local news in Chicago.

Today in this nation we had some significant events/announcements;

• Ford Motor Company announced the plan to close 14 manufacturing plants and cut as many as 30,000 employees from it’s work force. (If the UAW wants a hint of what may be next, just look at the example they have in Caterpillar….the writing is on the wall.)
• The SCOTUS turned down a request to review a patent infringement ruling against Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry. This sets this stage for the potential shut-down of all BlackBerry service. (I don’t think that it will happen but the possibility still exists, conventional wisdom says that RIM can keep selling and servicing alive with a settlement to the patent holder of $800 million to $1 billion…..)
• The state of West Virginia was quickly moving forward (too bad the Federal Gvmt can’t do the same) with legislation to make the mining industry safer in that state. Among the proposals is one that would mandate the wearing of electronic tracking devices by miners, and another that would mandate the creation of reserve oxygen stations positioned throughout the mines. (By days end, both of these had been passed by the W. VA House and Senate and signed into law by the Governor.)
• Alan Crotzer was freed after serving 24 years in a Florida prison for crimes he was convicted of, but DNA tests proved, he did not commit.

So which one of these stories made the top story on the local news in Chicago? (Keep in mind that it was announced as “Breaking News”..) Was it job cuts affecting thousands, technology about to be turned off for millions, improved safety for miners or any of the other important/newsworthy stories in this country or around the world??

No, the top story was that a settlement had been announced in an incident at the United Center (Where the Bulls ’NBA’ and Blackhawk’s ‘NHL’ play.)

What was the “incident” you may ask? (go ahead, you may ask….yes, you in the back… oh you want to know what the incident was? Sure let me look up the details on the local Chicago websites as I don’t know either….ok here it is..) Last week during a game between the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks, the wife of Antonio Davis (Knicks Forward) had gotten into a supposed argument with a Chicago Bulls fan. Antonio (who was on the court playing) witnessed the ’argument’ and climbed into the stands to defend his wife. No punches were thrown, no pushing or shoving occurred, just some words back and forth and maybe some hands placed on others. Following the incident the fan had asked for an apology and threatened to sue. However today everyone made nice and said in a joint statement that “common sense” should prevail.

Now with everything else of true importance going on, this ‘settlement’ was THE top news story in Chicago.

Note to self….The next time I want to know about things that really matter and may affect the lives of tens of thousands of Americans as well the economy, remember not to look to the news stations in Chicago…. priorities?

I know it’s my fault!! I forgot to tell the news stations that I could give a rats ass about an argument between 3 people at a sporting event that doesn’t mean ANYTHING to anyone except the 3 people involved.

And many of us wonder why so many people are unfamiliar with current events.

Be good, stay informed….later

You say 'Sc'Alio, I say 'Bork'Alito, let's call the whole thing off...

While taking stock of TBWA’s most recent posts, Scott and I realized an error…

We haven’t lent our unique wit, wisdom and knowledge to anything recently about the SCOTUS nomination of Samuel Alito (or ‘Sc’Alito or ‘Bork’Alito – use whichever you prefer)

So, we decided to rectify that and the two of us drew straws to see who would write this post and I won…or lost… depends on your POV.

Quite a lot has happened since the softball game that was the Alito confirmation hearing ended last week, so let’s look into the events of the last few days.

A cavalcade of Democratic senators (which include a few that supported John Roberts nomination as Chief Justice) announced this week that they will oppose Samuel Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

Why? Well, we’ll get to that momentarily. But first, let’s keep in mind that this development is seriously underscoring the sharp partisan divide that has evolved over Alito's nomination. Chief Justice John Roberts was confirmed with a total of 78 votes and had solid bipartisan support behind him… it looks as though the exact opposite will happen with Alito.

While Democrats appear to be uniting in their opposition to Alito, they are not as united when it comes to the option of pursuing a filibuster or not. (A filibuster, btw, that seems less and less likely with each given day)

While the filibuster option seems to be losing steam, the Democrats are more united than ever in their desire to ask for an extended floor debate over the confirmation. Why? Because the Dem’s firmly believe what the polling data shows, that the more the American people learn about Alito's record and writings, the more they will oppose his addition to the high court. It should also be noted that Richard Durbin (D-IL), in his role as the Minority Whip (esentially the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate behind only Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)) has the job to count votes for and against Alito and he has said that he won't know until Tuesday if there are enough strong opponents to filibuster Alito's nomination.

Democrats who have now announced that they will vote against Alito are the aforementioned Richard Durbin (D-IL), Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), who is the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Ken Salazar (D-CO), Max Baucus (D-MT) Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Ron Wyden (D-OR). To keep tabs on who gets added to this list, check out this link from Daily Kos.

It should be noted that Leahy, Salazar and Baucus voted in favor of Roberts’s confirmation as Chief Justice.

So, getting back to what I promised earlier, why are these Democratic Senators shying away from voting yes on the confirmation of Alito? Well, besides the fact that it would signal the end of the world were he to be confirmed, the senators in question warned that Judge Alito would not provide a judicial check over the ever-widening growth of presidential power and that he wouldn’t be suitably attentive about protecting the rights of ordinary Americans such as you and me. Including, but not limited to concerns over the “President’s” authorization of warrantless eavesdropping on American citizens.

Specifically, some of the Senator’s have their own reasons to not back the nomination. Kennedy called Alito's record “clear and ominous” on issues of executive powers. Kennedy continued by stating that “The record demonstrates that we cannot count on Judge Alito to blow the whistle when the president is out of bounds.”

Another Senator, Richard Durbin, said he would not vote for Alito because, in replacing Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (who often was a critical swing vote on the court and was the fifth vote in 148 out of 193 SCOTUS cases that were decided by a 5-4 margin) Alito’s views on privacy, abortion and executive power were out of step with mainstream public opinion. Add to that the fact that Alito was evasive in answering questions on some of these questions during the confirmation hearings.

(Only one Democratic Senator, Ben Nelson (D-NE), has announced his support for Alito. To which I say ‘you are a tool sir.’)

As of right now, no Republicans in the Senate have announced an oppositional stance on Alito with most, if not all, expected to vote for his confirmation. Senator Jim Jeffords, a Vermont Independent who usually votes along Democratic lines, has not yet announced how he will vote.

Senators John Sununu (R-NH) and John Warner (R-VA) announced their support for Alito after meeting with him earlier this week. Alito also visited some Democrats this past week, paying visits to Tom Carper (D-DE) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ), neither of which has yet to announce how they’ll vote.

As Republicans come together around Alito, conservative organizations announced plans to air radio/television ads in states (North Dakota, South Dakota, Louisiana and Arkansas) that Bush carried in 2004 but are represented by (at least one) Democrat in the Senate.

The Judiciary Committee (which has 10 Republicans and 8 Democrats) is expected to vote on and approve Alito's nomination next Tuesday (in a vote that will seemingly be split down party-lines) with the full Senate expected to debate and vote on the nomination later that same week.

The Democrat’s need to take the bull by the horns and do what has to be done to try and derail the Alito nomination. Stop resting on your ‘laurels’ and act… don’t just talk, DO SOMETHING.

And along those lines, let me close with a quote from an Alito posting on Daily Kos by Armando, who sums up things nicely;

“And all you Democratic Senators who dream of being President someday, remember that Alito is 55, he'll be around for a while. And when you want to call yourself pro-choice when you run for President, I guarantee you someone will be there to remind folks how you voted on the Samuel Alito nomination.”

Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon

It’s Wednesday, we all know what that means.

“E-Ring” on NBC? Uh, no.

“Skating with Celebrities” on Fox? Uh, no.

“South Beach” on UPN? You’re kidding me, right??? UPN is still around?

No, it’s time for another installment of ‘As the Shrub Turns’… otherwise known as Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon or RPTFAWA.

Last week we hit a nerve with our reading public to the extent that our site and last week’s RPTFAWA got a shout-out over at Democratic Underground. (Click here to see the shout-out)

It’s another Wednesday, so we go at it again and hope we touch another nerve with the American public.

Abramoff at the White House. Convicted über-lobbyist Jack Abramoff had a “few staff-level meetings” at the White House, but press secretary Scott “Don’t call me CJ” McClellan refused to disclose who met with Abramoff or what they talked about. (Why is it whenever I hear McClellan’s name I think of the phrase ‘hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil’?) Now, people are acting with surprise that Abramoff even visited the White House, to which I say; “I am shocked. Shocked to find gambling in this establishment.”

White House Calls Gore Hypocritical. (Hello Kettle? This is The pot… you’re black) After Al Gore’s raucous and inspiring speech on Monday the White House called Gore out and ordered AG Alberto Gonzalez to toss accusations about national security during the Clinton Administration his way. The Associated Press has since smacked down those accusations. Having said that, we should be thankful to the White House because every time they try to argue their points with Gore, it keeps the story, and thus his speech, in the public eye for that much longer. Good work guys.

Donkey vs. Elephant Lobbying Measures. Forget dueling banjos, how about dueling lobbying measures. Both parties are poised to offer up their own measures to restrict lobbying. The Republican's offering, not surprisingly, has a few loopholes; the largest being a trip could be privately financed as long as it includes the exchange of a campaign check. The Democrat’s offering has not been announced yet (that should be coming sometime this afternoon) but I am sure it will also have some loopholes as I don’t see either side willing to give away EVERY lobbyist perk they receive. Stay tuned.

Medicare Problems + Bush Administration = PR Campaign #2. The implementation of the Administration’s ts new Medicare prescription drug benefit wasn’t as seamless as had been promised. (The Miami Herald called the implementation an “unmitigated disaster. Nice choice of words) Rather than explain the collassul screw-up, the White House is launching another PR campaign. Brilliant! That’s just what the country’s elderly need more than easy access to their medication… more spin. (Here’s a concept, abandon the plan, go back to the way it was, then start over from the beginning and put together a Medicare plan that doesn’t look and sound as if it were put together at an Amway rally)

Pat Roberts— (sorry) Ray Nagin apologizes. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin apologized today for being “insensitive” when he expressed his desire to see the city return to its majority-Black status and for saying God had sent Hurricane Katrina to punish America. Apparently Mayor Nagin has been taking lessons from Pat “What-can-I-say-next-to-make-me-look-&-sound-like-an-absolute-idiot” Robertson. Everyone repeat after me; ‘Don’t make God has smited comments’, ‘Don’t make God has smited comments’, ‘Don’t make God has smited comments’. Say that 50 times a day for a week, and maybe it will get through some people’s thickheads.

Roberts questions McCain-Feingold. SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts expressed doubt this past week about legal restrictions put upon political ads by outside groups under the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. At issue is a stipulation that bans the use of corporate or union money for ads that identify federal candidates two months before a general election. If Roberts votes against the restriction in question and if O'Connor is off the bench by the time the court issues its new ruling, which may set-up the possibility of a 4 - 4 deadlock… a deadlock that would be broken by a new justice. It starts.

Take ‘em as you will…

I spy, with my little eye...and ear... and listening device...

Ever since the story broke about King George’s “domestic eavesdropping program”, he, the White House and many other conservative lemmings have been saying that they broke no laws and the law was not an infringement on the civil rights of any U.S. citizen (Immigrants who aren’t U.S. citizens but here legally are another story all together…)

Now the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee (remember him, Ted Kennedy’s good friend and verbal sparring partner) has expressed skepticism over Commander Cuckoo-Bananas’ domestic eavesdropping program. Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) joined a chorus of Republicans and Democrats by questioning the legal justification of the law. It’s even gotten to the point where the committee will hold hearings in February on the decision to allow the National Security Agency program to continue without court approval. Specter also has told administration officials that he believes they are on shaky legal ground. (Like this is anything new for this administration…)

In his defense, Dubya’s puppeteers (you know;Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, etc) have maneuvered him to point to a congressional resolution that was passed after the 9/11 attacks that authorized him to use force in the fight against terrorism for allowing him to order the program into existence. The program authorized eavesdropping of international phone calls and e-mails of people deemed a terror risk. (How, in God’s name, is this considered ‘use of force’? Maybe they were threatening to whack the country upside the head with the phone receiver so Bush and Company decided to whack them over the head with the receiver first… that must be what they mean by ‘force’)

Specter said on ABC's “This Week”, “I thought they were wrong. There still may be different collateral powers under wartime situations. That is a knotty question.” Speaking in general terms Specter said that impeachment and criminal prosecution are possible in the event a president acted unconstitutionally. (Uh, ok… I don’t even no where to begin with that sentence)

A number of members of Specter's committee, including Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) have also expressed doubt about the administration's legal basis and is looking to the hearings to help clear things up.

The hearings are being planned for early February, with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as the main attraction.

But… let’s keep in mind that Specter is a Republican Bush-lackey, so he also added this little morsel; “I don't see any talk about impeachment here. I don't think anyone doubts the president is making a good-faith effort. He's acting in a way that he feels he must.”

What?

I seem to remember that we as a nation heard arguments like this during the Iran-Contra affair in the 80’s. Is this printed in the Republican handbook?

When in trouble, do the following in this order:

1. Blame others.
2. Shift blame to them evil Democrats.
3. Accept half-assed responsibility.
4. Do #3 followed immediately by stating you are/were acting in a way that you feel you must in order to protect the country.

Huh? Did I miss something? Isn’t that something we try to teach our children not to do? Blame others and then justify that what they had done (which is usually bad) to make it seem less bad? I remember this lesson from my parents, and have already started that with my kids… but here we have the GOP doing that exact thing.

So… you have comments from a leading Republican Senator. A fire-branding speech by former Vice-President Al Gore on Monday (if you haven’t read it or seen it… click here to read it and here to view it. You will NOT be disappointed!). Attorney General Alberto Gonzales rejecting Gore’s calls for a special counsel. The ACLU (who… despite being a liberal… I am not a big fan of) prepping a lawsuit against the administration over US domestic spying. The White House blasting Gore’s 'hypocrisy'. You throw all those things together and you have yourselves a good old-fashioned, DC-donnybrook forming.

Ain’t it grand?