Decisions....Decisions...

I don't know which I am more pleased with-

The Democrats taking control of the House and possibly the Senate, or Rumsfelds resignation...

Both are appealing in their own ways. At the moment I will go with the joy that goes with Rumsfelds resignation. The only caveat is that it should have happened a couple of years ago, but better late than never.

Later.

No more Rum(sfeld)

After six crappy, demoralizing and devastating years at the Pentagon, "President" Bush has just announced that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has resigned and that he is nominating former CIA head Robert Gates to replace Rumsfeld.

Gates, by the way, has had more than his share of troubled nominations, such as his first time around when he couldn't get confirmed as CIA Director because of a myriad of questions about his role in the Iran-Contra Affair.

Ya know... I've been thinking that Christmas was starting early this year... and now I'm sure!

Mwahahahahahaha...

It's somewhat hard to write when you're gloating, but our mid-term election wrap-ups are forthcoming... watch for them...

No More Rummy

Lost amid all the hoopla of today's midterms (don’t get me wrong – it’s very, very important hoopla) is the fact that the editorial board of the Army Times, Navy Times, Air Force Times and Marine Times are all (yes: ALL) calling for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Ronald Rumsfeld.

It’s an interesting and required read… so if you haven’t had the pleasure to read it, enjoy it here.

TIME FOR RUMSFELD TO GO

"So long as our government requires the backing of an aroused and informed public opinion ... it is necessary to tell the hard bruising truth."

That statement was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Marguerite Higgins more than a half-century ago during the Korean War.

But until recently, the "hard bruising" truth about the Iraq war has been difficult to come by from leaders in Washington. One rosy reassurance after another has been handed down by President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: "mission accomplished," the insurgency is "in its last throes," and "back off," we know what we're doing, are a few choice examples.

Military leaders generally toed the line, although a few retired generals eventually spoke out from the safety of the sidelines, inciting criticism equally from anti-war types, who thought they should have spoken out while still in uniform, and pro-war foes, who thought the generals should have kept their critiques behind closed doors.

Now, however, a new chorus of criticism is beginning to resonate. Active-duty military leaders are starting to voice misgivings about the war's planning, execution and dimming prospects for success.

Army Gen. John Abizaid, chief of U.S. Central Command, told a Senate Armed Services Committee in September: "I believe that the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I've seen it ... and that if not stopped, it is possible that Iraq could move towards civil war."

Last week, someone leaked to The New York Times a Central Command briefing slide showing an assessment that the civil conflict in Iraq now borders on "critical" and has been sliding toward "chaos" for most of the past year. The strategy in Iraq has been to train an Iraqi army and police force that could gradually take over for U.S. troops in providing for the security of their new government and their nation.

But despite the best efforts of American trainers, the problem of molding a viciously sectarian population into anything resembling a force for national unity has become a losing proposition.

For two years, American sergeants, captains and majors training the Iraqis have told their bosses that Iraqi troops have no sense of national identity, are only in it for the money, don't show up for duty and cannot sustain themselves.

Meanwhile, colonels and generals have asked their bosses for more troops. Service chiefs have asked for more money.

And all along, Rumsfeld has assured us that things are well in hand.

Now, the president says he'll stick with Rumsfeld for the balance of his term in the White House.

This is a mistake.

It is one thing for the majority of Americans to think Rumsfeld has failed. But when the nation's current military leaders start to break publicly with their defense secretary, then it is clear that he is losing control of the institution he ostensibly leads.

These officers have been loyal public promoters of a war policy many privately feared would fail. They have kept their counsel private, adhering to more than two centuries of American tradition of subordination of the military to civilian authority.

And although that tradition, and the officers' deep sense of honor, prevent them from saying this publicly, more and more of them believe it.

Rumsfeld has lost credibility with the uniformed leadership, with the troops, with Congress and with the public at large. His strategy has failed, and his ability to lead is compromised. And although the blame for our failures in Iraq rests with the secretary, it will be the troops who bear its brunt.

This is not about the midterm elections. Regardless of which party wins Nov. 7, the time has come, Mr. President, to face the hard bruising truth:

Donald Rumsfeld must go.

At last… someone within the echelon of the government that has the eyes and ears of our brave men and women that risk their lives for an unjust war has fired what one can only hope is the opening salvo of ending the employment of Rumsfeld.

Now... go back and check out the election results...

Just Do it...

I voted !!

Now get out there and do your part before the polls close....

GOTV!

I've voted... have you???

Some rambling thoughts....

This past weekend it was Kemp's turn to work magic on the Weekly Rewind and he did a brilliant job as always! But I just had a few things that have been rolling around inside my head that are just screaming to see the light of day. Lucky for you I thought I would throw a few of these out here into the blogosphere....

• First off, I just gotta take a second and give a literal scream in response to the constant bombardment of negative political ads that assault me during the morning and evening news broadcasts. Here's an idea, how about an ad where instead of telling lies about your opponent, you actually tell the truth about yourself?! I think the last time I saw an ad like that it was a parody on SNL….pretty sad. Republican or Democrat both sides are guilty of this and the American public has to take a stand or this will never change.
  
• With over 100 servicemembers killed, this October became the fourth deadliest month for American Troops since the war began. As a veteran myself, my continuing comment is that this is tragic and sad.
  
• I still don’t get it. Am I the only one who finds it disturbing that the White House has 'regular' conference calls with various religious leaders....?? Not only that but they are categorized as 'advisory' conference calls..?? Separation of church and state? It seems like the church is setting (or at least influencing policy for the state....
  
• The Bush administration is now targeting unmarried adults up to age 29 as part of its abstinence-only programs. Ok, I am going on the record right now as saying that this has not worked in the past and will not work now. Singles have had and will continue to have sex especially in their 20’s, that is just what they do… Maybe they should spend the money and resources to develop an abstinence-only program for evangelist leaders?
  
• Are the conservatives really that stupid or do they just not think before they say something stupid? More top conservatives try to back away from Bush’s Iraq policy. House leader Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH) told CNN this past week, “What’s happening in Iraq is not a direct reflection on me.” Wait, hold on, keep that thought......So I guess your prior support for the failed Iraq policies of the administration were not a reflection on you either?
  
• Sometime you gotta love Jimmy Kimmel. After the administration jumped on John Kerry (D-Ma) for his ill-stated comments last week, Jimmy had this to say on his late night talk show. "I think it's important to note that nobody hates the troops more than decorated war hero John Kerry. We're all very, very lucky that we have draft-dodgers like George Bush and Dick Cheney to point that out to us." You know I would send copies of that to George and Dick but I don't think they would get the fact that the joke is on them.
  
• The White House announced that Dick Cheney is going hunting on election day. I am sure the Secret Service will be wearing kevlar vests as they promise to take one for the V.P., and not take one FROM the V.P.
  

Well that's all I will foist upon you at this time. Tomorrow is the mid-terms and just think, on Wednesday morning we can all wake up knowing that we will not be assaulted by negative ad after negative ad.

We can also wake up knowing that the conservative stranglehold on the congress will be over.

As for the claims that if democrats take control that they will raise taxes. Well if the Bush tax cuts are not extended some may see that as a tax increase.

However smart people will see it as a return to the status quo of how things were when Bush took office.

You know, when the country actually had a surplus instead of a large out of control deficit, and also when the economy was actually working..you know interest rates AND gas prices were low.

So when you go to the polls tomorrow ask yourself, are you better off now then you were before Dubya stole the White House? If you take an honest and unbiased look at your life, you know the answer is no.

Be good, stay informed….later

Oh yeah, don’t forget to vote tomorrow…it’s important.

V-O-T-E-!

There’s less than 24 hours to go and while many politicians (and Liberals) are contemplating sedatives (if not something stronger) there is an election tomorrow and we at TBWA want everyone to get out and vote…

You can’t vote by sitting in front of your computer (at least not yet).

And you can’t vote by sitting on your couch at home…unless of course you have an absentee ballot.

You have to go to your respective polling place and pull the lever, punch the chad, push the button, scan the optic or fill-in the oval (which one of those do you think sounds sexual?).

In short; you must vote.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat, republican, Independent, Libertarian, Communist, Green or even a Mickey Mouse party fan… you must get out and vote.

If you think your ballot is worthless and doesn’t carry any weight you’re wrong.

According to The Voters Paradox by Leon Felkins and Mack Tanner the importance of any single vote declines the more voters as having made a rational decision.

The other side of the coin says that with fewer voters, the influence of an individual’s vote rises. Furthermore, if you don’t’ vote, you’re allowing others to speak for you… and that ain’t right.

You want another reason? Voting is a profound statement of our democracy, a birthright if you will, that no one, absolutely no one, should take for granted and ignore.

Every voice counts.

Every opinion counts.

Every vote counts.

So get your ass out to the polls and vote tomorrow.

Now… if you want to use your own brain and make an informed decision that will help our country, then vote Democratic.

If you want to screw the country with it’s collective pants on while maintaining the status quo, then vote republican.

If you feel guilty and want to vote your conscience while drinking coffee from a styrofoam cup, vote Green party.

If you want to vote with an eye on common ownership, vote Communist.

If you want to vote with an eye towards being free to do whatever you want, vote Libertarian.

However you decide to vote… just vote.

Cross-posted at Kemp's Blog and Scott's Rant Spot.

The Weekly Rewind

It's that time again, time for The Weekly Rewind

Applaud: I’m not necessarily a fan of Jay Leno, but I have to throw out an applaud for this quote from The Tonight Show: “President Bush warned Democrats not to celebrate (the mid-terms) too early. This is from the guy who put up the 'Mission Accomplished' sign three years ago.”

Heckle: There’s been yet another theft of personal data from a Veterans Administration facility, making it the third such theft in less than a year. This time it was a computer containing the personal data of military veterans that was stolen back in September from a V.A. hospital in Manhattan. Why are we just hearing about this now you ask? Because V.A. officials only sent a letter out to the veterans whose information was stolen within the past two weeks… way to be on top of things guys…

Applaud: to conserrvatives fears once again being undounded. Four years ago the state of Oregon raised their minimum wage despite conservative attempts to claim that it would hurt the economy. The Wall Street Journal examined those claims and found that (surprise, surprise!) “none of these fears materialized” and the state’s job growth is still strong… once again, the republicans have absolutely no clue, and that doesn’t surprise me in the least…

Heckle: to the new winner of the “Dumbest Quote About the Status of Iraq Award.” This one goes to U.S. Maj. Gen. Caldwell, who stated “Every great work of art goes through messy phases while it is in transition. A lump of clay can become a sculpture. Blobs of paint become paintings which inspire.” Uh… okay… The Chicago Trib’s Frank James had the best response to this quote: “I’m not making this up, he actually said this.”

Applaud: to the ever-growing number of conservatives running away from Bush. House leader Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH) is just the latest republican to run as far away from Bush as they can as she told CNN earlier this week: “What’s happening in Iraq is not a direct reflection on me.” (Must not gloat… must not gloat… must not gloat…)

Heckle: to trying to cover-up the failings of their administration. The Bush administration has delayed the release of an annual hunger report (that’s usually released in October) until after next week’s mid-terms. This comes at the same time that it was announced that the House ethics committee report on the Foley page scandal won’t be released before Election Day either. Hmmmm… seems to me the administration is tying to bury some bad information … but this administration wouldn’t do that, would they??? No, I didn’t think so… (it’s so hard to express sarcasm in the writen form…)

Applaud: to more lemmings coming in from the cold. Almost 70% of Americans disapprove of Dubya’s handling of Iraq (meaing only 29% approve – which matches the lowest mark of his presidency) and can see through the rhetoric that amounted to nothing more than a change in language but not policy. (I love it when a plan, starts, coming together…)


Heckle: to our beloved country losing its status and position in the world. Because of the current administration’s actions, the U.S. is now seen as a “threat to world peace” by countries that are our neighbors and by countries that were once our allies. This according to a new survey of Great Britain, Mexico, Israel, and Canada. The poll shows “just how far the country’s reputation has fallen” (Way to go administration… way to go… fuc**** idiots….)

Applaud: to not being bullied by the current administration. Inspectors general from NASA and the Commerce Department are going to investigate if Bush and his cronies strong-armed their political appointees and prevented their climate researchers from conveying their findings about the greenhouse effect to the public. (Nice… looks as though things are starting to unravel at a higher clip for Bush than before… hope if keeps up…). However, this ties in nicely with this heckle:

Heckle: to the State Department who, in order to protect Bush and his cronies, screened all public statements and writings for criticism of the Bush administration before they would decide if they should be used for foreign affairs gigs. (Come on now… does this really surprise anyone??)

Heckle: to what appears to be never-ending stupidity from this administration. A federal government web archive of Saddam-era documents was shut down after weapons experts said some of the documents that were posted “could help states like Iran develop nuclear arms.” (Brilliant… absolutely brilliant…)

Hmmmmm.... the heckles seem to vastly outnumber the applauds. I won't say anything about that save for this: remember to vote on Tuesday, November 7th... our nation depends on it.

(Okay... that last part was a little much, but it's true. So do your civic duty and vote. And if you don't, then you lose all right to complain about politics...)

Take 'em as you will...

Random Political Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon

Seeing as how we missed this week's Week Ahead (where has this year gone??), here's this weeks handy-dandy Random post, enjoy... or not...

Back to the table. It what should be a positive sign, Kim Jonh Il made the decision that North Korea will return to six-nation nuclear disarmament talks. Granted, it’s almost a certainty that nothing new will arise, unless, as former State Department official David Straub says, both the U.S. and North Korea “bring significantly different approaches to the talks.” (Actual progress or an attempt by the Bush Administration to attempt one final success before next week’s mid-terms? Whatever the reason for it happening, it has to be viewed as a good thing…)

The Numbers Know. According to a new Wall Street Journal poll, 63% of Americans disapprove of President Bush’s handling of the Iraq war. (About time people started to come around…)

A 29-Year Old Virgin? Seeing every other program of theirs get ignored or dropped, the Bush administration is “targeting unmarried adults up to age 29” as part of their abstinence-only program… (What? The administration can screw the people, but the people can’t screw other people? That hardly seems fair… And really, if people are busy screwing each other, then who would be left for the administration to screw?)

Sad. In case you hadn’t noticed, and judging my the media’s incredible lack of covering this story you probably haven’t, the U.S. military suffered it’s fourth deadliest month in Iraq last month (October) that saw more than 100 serivcemembers killed.

Attack of the Allen. Liberal blogger Mike Stark was physically accosted yesterday at a campaign event by staffers of Sen. George Allen (R-VA). Now comes word that Virginia police are investigating the incident and are trying to determine the names of the perpetrators and… wait; sniff, sniff… ya smell that?? It smells like… desperation…

The Blame Game. A leading proponent of the Iraq war, and a conservative to boot, says that the Bush administration is “dysfunctional” (that’s putting it mildly). While Richard Perle doesn’t think Bush is to blame (then who… exactlly??), he does say that if the administration can’t create a program to find nuclear material on its way to the US, then it has to be replaced by “an administration that can.” (Ignoring the fact that he says Bush isn’t to blame, Perle is dead-on…)

Uh, okay. CNN is reporting that “President” Bush will be out on the campaign trail this week to rally the GOP base in five states… my question is this: Really????

Katherine Harris Update. Still delusional by thinking she’s going to win, but it’s now official that she has, what I would call, run the worst campaign in U.S. history. She has won no endorsements from any paper in Florida, which means that her opponent, Bill Nelson, swept every editorial endorsement in the state. Every. Single. One. (I’d offer my thoughts on this, but how can you add to something that already is drowning in snark?) BTW, the two of them have a debate tonight… should be entertaining..

Shameless Op-Ed Plug of the Week Lou Dobbs has been on fire recently, and he’s not letting up. This week he says that middle-class America will be “getting the bird” no matter who wins control of Congress next week… (If you actually read the article, you definitely get a sense that he thinks the middle-class would get screwed harder if republicans maintain control… and he’s right.)

Whew. Rather then announce a verdict before the mid-terms, it seems that the verdict for Saddam Hussein might be delayed until after next week’s elections. If you listen closely, you can hear Dems all over the county utter a collective; ‘Whew!’

Not a surprise. apparently, when you cast a vote for a Democrat in Florida, the voting machine changes your vote to Republican. When asked about this, the election “official” stated “This is not uncommon.” (Anyone who was around for the 2000 election isn’t surprised by this… how else would you explain a Bush victory?)

All I have, take ‘em as you will…

The Weekly Rewind

Hey there folks it’s that time of the week again. Yes that’s right it’s time for a little thing we like to call the weekly rewind. But first let me take this opportunity to give a shout out to all the fans of the Redbirds following last nights World Series win. Great job guys! But I digress….

We are now less than two weeks to the mid-term elections and you know that the parties are both making mistakes. You know saying and doing things that in hindsight they wish they could take back, but alas they can’t. So let’s see what’s going on in this wonderful world…..on to the rewind.

Heckle: as if the problem in Darfur wasn’t bad enough already. This week came word of problems with the previously signed Sudan peace agreement. Well, the hardening conflict is increasingly taking place along porous borders among some of the least stable countries in Africa, threatening to ignite a wide conflagration in the heart of the continent. Why is this a problem? Well, if the fighting intensifies the U.S. would be forced to either participate in or take the lead in some type of peace-keeping effort. As if our military was not stretched out enough already.

Applaud: to breaking with the administration. Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) called yesterday “for direct talks with North Korea aimed at easing a nuclear standoff.” Direct talks are “inevitable,” Lugar said. Specter added, “I think we ought to use every alternative, including direct bilateral talks.” The Senators are correct in that we would eventually end up in direct talks, why prolong the inevitable?

Heckle: to opening your mouth and scaring the wrong people. Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder writes in a new book that Bush’s frequent references to God in their meetings before the Iraq war had made him wary. “What worried me, despite a relaxed atmosphere to our talks, and to a certain degree what made me skeptical was how much it came through that this president saw himself as ‘God-fearing’ and saw that as the highest authority,” he said. Whatever happened to separation of church and state?

Heckle: to hearing it from the horses mouth. According to a poll conducted by the State Department, majorities of Iraqi youth in Arab regions of the country believe security would improve and violence decrease if the U.S.-led forces left immediately . Hmmm let’s see this is the current or up and coming generation of insurgents telling us that they don’t want us there…. Are we going to listen?

Heckle: to I told you so. Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said yesterday that he “might need to call for an increase in American troop levels in Baghdad” to stem the violence there, and that Iraqi troops would not be able to take over combat operations for 12-18 months. For all those who have forgotten, let’s review, 1) if you are going to go invade Iraq make sure you go in with not only enough troops, but also a winning strategy. 2) Don’t plan on Iraqi troops meeting any of our pre-determined piss poor planning deadlines.

Applaud: to people finally waking up to reality as represented by the number 19. That is the percent of Americans who believe the United States is winning the war in Iraq, an all-time low. Another poll showed that fifty-four percent of Americans believe the U.S. economy is getting worse. Hmmm, wages have remained stagnant, prices have gone up, gas costs as much as a gallon of milk, and the housing market is beginning to regurgitate. Yep seems like it is getting worse. Gee George I guess that $600 tax advance and the cuts that accompanied it were a good idea. I almost forgot, the deficit is large enough that our great-great grandchildren will be paying for our bills. Nice job George.

Heckle: to a consequence of the worsening economy. 36 percent of Americans have reduced the amount they save for retirement due to the burden of rising healthcare costs, up from 25 percent in 2004. In 2006, healthcare premiums for employers and their workers climbed two times faster than both wages and inflation.

Heckle: to yet another slap in the face to parents and students. The College Board reports that the cost of obtaining a four-year university degree continues to outpace inflation. Tuition and fees at four-year public universities rose 6.3 percent from 2005 to 2006. At the same time, the amount of federal financial aid available through Pell Grants declined to a new low. I fear what the situation may be like when my son and Kemp’s children are ready for college.

Heckle: to getting deeper. The House ethics committee spent more than six hours Monday grilling Scott Palmer, who has been Dennis Hastert’s chief of staff for more than 20 years. Kirk Fordham, who was Mark Foley’s former chief of staff, said he “alerted Palmer several years ago to his concerns about Foley’s friendships with pages.”

Heckle: to leading by example. “Several governments around the world have tried to rebut criticism of how they handle detainees by claiming they are only following the U.S. example in the war on terror,” U.N. anti-torture chief Manfred Nowak said yesterday.

Heckle: to signing a bill that has no teeth. At a public signing ceremony on Thusday, President Bush signed a bill authorizing 700 miles of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border. The decision to have a public ceremony is a reversal for the Bush administration, which had appeared reluctant to tie itself so publicly to the enforcement-only measure. Ok let’s dig a little deeper into this new bill that the Republicans wanted signed with lots of hoopla. First, the measure offers no money for the fence project that would only cover one-third of the 2,100-mile border. And second, Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, both Texas Republicans, had wanted to amend the fence bill to give local governments more say about where fencing is erected. What happened? They lost that battle, but Republican leaders assured them the Homeland Security Department would have flexibility to choose other options instead of fencing, if needed. This looks to be Republican pork-barrel politics at it most obvious.

Heckle: to taking it right out of our pockets and into theirs. $10.49 billion: Exxon’s third-quarter profit, its second highest total ever.

Applaud: to standing up and telling Rush to shut-up. Responding to accusations made by Rush Limbaugh, Michael J. Fox said he was neither acting nor off his medication for Parkinson’s disease. “The irony of it is that I was too medicated,” Fox told CBS’s Katie Couric, adding that his jumpy condition as he spoke to her reflected “a dearth of medication — not by design. I just take it, and it kicks in when it kicks in.”

Finally a very sad comment that I will not disgrace with neither an applaud or a heckle. As of Thursday the total number of troops who have died so far this month in Iraq is 96. Which makes this month the bloodiest since October 2005. Five American troops were killed during fighting in Anbar Province on Thursday. Our elected leaders need to wake up and accept the fact that no matter how long we were to stay in Iraq, the minute that we pull out troops and leave the running of Iraq to the citizens of Iraq, the violence will erupt until one tribal faction dominates the others and takes hold of the country. We have become the occupying force that the President insisted that we would not, and this is quickly beginning to be this generations Vietnam. It’s time we either do the job right or get out before more Americans die.

Be good, stay informed….later.

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

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

Has the Administration finally run out of excuses?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Weekly Rewind

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

That's it.

Take 'em as you will...

War on the Middle Class

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

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

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

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

By Lou Dobbs - CNN.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Be good, stay informed….later

President Obama?

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

Will he (Obama) run?

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

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

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

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

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

End of story, right?

Well… not so much.

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

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

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

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

Can’t we have the same hope for Obama?

I do...