The Friday ‘BushWhack’ing

Another end to another week…

• Sens. Clinton and Obama are on a unity trip that started in Unity, New Hampshire, a town in which they got the exact same number of votes in the primary… that was serendipitous…
• The Senate has finalized the bill that funds the Iraq (99%) and Afghan (.00000001%) wars and includes Sen. Webb’s 21st Century Bill and disaster assistance for the flood-ravaged Midwest… (good job guys, keep it up…)
• Speaking of things getting passed in Congress, the House approved a bill that gives financial help to mass transit systems that are facing a huge upswing in riders due to high gas prices…(naturally, because it would help the average American, republicans had to block something within the bill, and they chose to block the Democrats attempts to require oil and gas companies to drill on the millions of acres of government land and water on which they already own federal leases but on which they don’t drill… because that would make too much sense apparently. Why drill on land they already own when they can drill offshore and in ANWR… anyone want to try to defend this dumbass decision?)
• Democratic Sens. Feingold & Dodd were successful in getting the FISA bill tabled until after the July 4th break… a small victory yes, but a victory none the less that will allow them to twist arms convince more of their peers into opposing the bill when it’s taken up again after the break… stay tuned)
• Federal agents from the ATF raided Blackwater Worldwide this week as part of an investigation that is looking to find out if the private security company “sidestepped federal laws prohibiting the private purchase of automatic assault rifles.” (oooooo, this sounds promising, stay tuned)
• You can count California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger among those that think offshore drilling is a bad idea, saying “Anyone who tells you that this will bring down our gas prices immediately or anytime soon is blowing smoke. […] To look for new ways to feed our addiction (to oil) is not the answer.” (wow, what an incredibly smart, investigative and Liberal-type answer, thanks Mr. Schwarzenegger)
• SCOTUS struck down a portion of the McCain-Feingold bill that allowed opponents of wealthy candidates to exceed strict campaign spending limits… (because if its one thing conservatives don’t want is a level playing field, cuz that would force them to act more responsibly… and that would cause the world to collapse on itself, so we owe them our thanks. Snark, like sarcasm, is so hard to express in the written form)
• And have we mentioned? That it seems as though Vice President Cheney isn’t happy with the administration’s decision to take North Korea off of the terror watch list? Cheney was asked by Steve Clemons of The New America Foundation what his opinion was of the action and Cheney froze, saying; “I’m not going to be the one to announce this decision. […] You need to address your interest in this to the State Department. Upon which he declared that he was done taking questions, and left the room (sounds like there’s trouble in paradise…)

The Thursday ‘BushWhack’ing

Another day closer to Friday, another day closer to Friday...

• North Korea handed over information relating to its nuclear program yesterday, which instantly caused “President” Bush to call for the lifting of some sanctions against them…we at TBWA reserve opinion until more information is revealed.
• A handful of Democrat’s attempt to filibuster the FISA bill fell short yesterday as a pathetic amount of Senators, 15, voted against the bill in a procedural vote. (Sad… sad and pathetic. Sen. Obama supposedly has plans to battle this in the future, but I can tell you that he lost a lot of support and respect by some Liberals with his silence and apparently willingness to accept the bill as it was. If you have a plan Mr. Obama, now is the time…)
• Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith is stressing his history of working with Sen. Obama in a new campaign ad that started airing earlier this week… did I mention Mr. Smith is a republican Senator? Did I also mention that he’s one of the most vulnerable Senate republicans this cycle? (While the Obama campaign immediately made clear that he’s supporting Smith's Democratic opponent, this is an interesting strategy and, if successful, could change the way things are done. I suggest staying tuned to this race…)
• “White guilt”? Seriously Ralph, that’s your strategy? Hell, even Sen. McCain has a more sound strategy than that, and it involves fear-mongering and pancakes. I think you’ve finally gone round the bend…
• Sen. Obama’s campaign manger outlined his campaign strategy that comprises the primary goal of holding on to the 20 states that Sen. Kerry won (giving him 252 electoral votes) and then, in order to garner the 18 additional electoral votes needed to reach 270, campaign manager David Plouffe outlined a variety of strategies and initiatives… (considering the last few Democratic campaigns, this sounds like it has been designed to win. Utilizing the 50-state strategy that served him well in the primaries should help Obama in the general election. As always, stay tuned. Not only is this election historical, it’s going to be like nothing seen before…)
• Sen. Obama said yesterday that he disagrees with the Supreme Court decision that struck down the death penalty for child rapists, saying that states should be able to execute people for "heinous" crimes. (I agree with him… but then again, I’m a Liberal that supports the death penalty in most cases. How SCOTUS arrived at this decision is anyone’s guess)
• More SCOTUS news, they just ruled, 5-4, that Washington D.C.’s 32-year old law forbidding ownership of handguns is an unconstitutional restriction on the right to keep and bear arms… what could possibly go wrong?
• And have we mentioned? That 75% of Americans “blame President Bush’s economic policies for making the country worse off during the last eight years”? The results come from a LA Times/Bloomberg poll and the numbers don’t require anything more from me save this; long and far our country has fallen. Long. And far.

Karl Rove is Mr Irony

Last Sunday the NY Times ran an article that looked at the CIA’s interrogation of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, and in the process identified the name of the CIA agenct that interrogated him.

On yesterday’s “The O’Reilly Factor” former Bush crony Karl Rove criticized the Times for leaking the name of the CIA agent, saying; “T]hey’ve got a very callous view about our nation’s security and interests.”

Rove then went on to say that the US is put at risk when a CIA agent’s identity is leaked.

I love irony…

The Wednesday ‘BushWhack’ing

Hump day, mid week, let’s get to it…

• Sen. Obama is criticizing Sen. McCain’s energy plan and calling them “gimmicks” that will only “increase our oil addiction for another four years.” Obama’s plan on the other hand would include taxing profits from oil companies and then using that money to help families pay their energy bills, it would close the Enron-loophole that allowed that corporations to engage in unregulated speculation that drove up the price of oil and would raise fuel standards while investing $150 billion over the next 10 years in alternative energy sources. (So let’s see… Obama’s would try to get out from under the thumb of oil companies while McCain’s would continue to kiss their collective asses…)
• James Dobson is criticizing Obama because of comments he made in a June 2006 speech… a June… 2006… speech. (Um, Mr. Dobson, that was like 2 years ago, little behind aren’t you, you meddlesome schmuck?) Obama has fired back at Dobson and has even offered to meet with his cult group, Focus on the Family… (Won’t happen. The last thing Dobson wants to do is meet with someone and talk, he would rather listen to something that happened in the past and throw out accusations and attacks based on that)
• Markets are driving up the cost of oil and NOT the speculators…
• CNN continues to ask the tough questions; “What’s on Obama’s iPod?” though looking at his list, it sounds a LOT like my iPod…
• Sen. Clinton is turning her attention back to her senate duties…
• Acting like he’s one of the few Democrats with balls, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT) delivered an impassioned speech on the Senate floor last night in opposition to the FISA reform bill, saying; “Either the companies and the President acted outside of the rule of law, or they followed it. […] Either the underlying program was legal or it wasn’t. Because of this legislation, none of the questions will be answered.” Dodd was then joined by Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI and who I think would make an interesting VP choice) in saying that they would filibuster the bill “as long as it provides retroactive immunity” for the telecoms.” (What’s this, a backbone? Keep at it Mr. Dodd and Mr. Feingold, maybe you can entice more to join you)
• The House overwhelmingly passed a bill yesterday that will prevent a 10% cut in Medicare payments to doctors that was going to take effect on July 1. Good news, as the legislation probably would have lead to a plethora of docs opting out of treating Medicare patients, which is NOT something that this nation needs. Good to see there’s still some intelligence in the House…
• And have we mentioned? That former White House press secretary Scott McClellan apparently doesn’t like Vice President Dick Cheney? While speaking at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco last night, McClellan said that Cheney had a “terribly negative influence over this president” (tell me something I DON’T know) and even suggested some title ideas for a possible Cheney autobiography; “The Lies I Told,” or “I Upped Halliburton’s Income - So Up Yours.” (Nicely put Scott, well done. He also had a suggestion for Rove’s book; “The Lies I Told to Whom and Why” and Scooter Libby’s; “Well, Pardon Me”)

The Tuesday ‘BushWhack’ing

Another day closer to the weekend, thank God…

• An adviser to Sen. McCain apologized (which it seems is all he ever does) yesterday after he said that a terrorist attack on the US would be a “big advantage” for McCain… (How can anyone be this stupid? Charlie Black has said incredibly stupid things before, but this is probably the worst. If he stays around until November, I would be very surprised…)
• A political commercial “expert” told CNN that Sen. Obama’s decision to forego public financing is going to set the stage for him to create a “shock and awe” ad campaign…(God, I thought we had stricken those words from the American lexicon… what exactly a ‘shock & awe’ ad campaign actually consists of is anyone’s guess… but I think Obama would have cleaned McCain’s ad clock even if he DID accept public financing. McCain’s camp is, like McCain, rather stale. If they don’t pick-up on the significance of the intertubes, his campaign will fold like origami… stay tuned)
• CNN is still surprised that race is going to play a role in this campaign…
• Obama is “no Bambi”? Seriously David Gergen, that’s the best you could do???
• A new DOJ Inspector’s General report shows that high-ranking political appointees made moves that would allow them to “exert more control” over the DOJ’s prestigious hiring program, thus stocking it with “young conservatives in a five-year-long attempt to reshape the department’s ranks.” (Noooooo??? Reallllllyyy?? I never would have guessed… if you couldn’t detect the sarcasm in that statement, you need to see a doctor…)
• Former House speaker Dennis Hastert “managed to visit seven nations and run up a tab of just over $20,000 in taxpayer-funded overseas trips” in the last 11 months in office... compare that to Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) who took taxpayer funded trips to the lowly tune of $827.16… the contrasts are incredible, yet not surprising, aren’t they?
• Sen. Clinton wants help to absolve her political debt… (Honestly, this isn’t a new concept and has been done in the past by both parties. Why the outrage now shows just how narrow-minded and short-sighted some people can be…)
• And have we mentioned? That there’s another republican falling in line with “President” Bush and Sen. McCain in trying to take credit for Sen. Jim Webbs’s 21st Century GI Bill? Like Bush and McCain, Sen. John Cornyn (r-TX) is now trying to take credit for its passage even though he VOTED AGAINST IT!! (Do these three think the troops don’t pay attention to what goes on here at home? All three of them have seen, and will continue to see, their numbers drop among veterans after spewing off about the bill only to suddenly praise it after it gets passed. Here’s some advice fellas; they ain’t fooled…)

The Monday “BushWhack’ing

Another start to another week… in the words of President Garfield the cat; ‘I hate Mondays’

• Apparently the media just got word that race will play a factor in this year’s presidential campaign… as will flip-flopping… (that’s some mighty-fine reporting there everyone, you must have taxed your investigative skills uncovering these ‘shockers’)
• Sen. Obama told supporters at a Florida fundraiser that republicans will “try to make you afraid of me”… (too bad he’s right… and too bad that they will succeed with some narrow-minded people)
• Bob Barr is to the republicans in 2008, what Ralph Nader was to the Democrats in 2000… but you already knew that, didn’t you… apparently no one told the gop until recently…
• New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson acted as a supporter should yesterday, attacking Sen. McCain’s support of offshore drilling, saying; “You can't drill your way out of the problem.” (This is precisely what Obama needs; supporters that hold office attacking McCain so Obama doesn’t have to do it by himself. I have a feeling this isn’t the last time we’ll hear from Richardson, nor anyone else like him. I would guess Sen. Clinton isn’t far behind in launching a salvo at McCain’s camp. Stay tuned…)
• Congress has finally decided to focus on the current gas crisis and is turning its attention towards energy speculation. It seems some lawmakers are placing blame (rightfully so I think) on Wall Street traders for record oil and gasoline prices… (Great! Too bad they didn’t focus on that years ago when people first started calling attention to it…)
• The US attorney scandal just won’t go away for the White House. Today, attorneys for the White House and Congress are going to court to argue whether the House Judiciary Committee can force White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former Counsel Harriet Miers to testify about their roles in the scandal… (My question is; why wouldn’t they? Executive privilege shouldn’t be allowed in this circumstance, and if they have nothing to hide, they shouldn’t be scared; right???)
• Former UN Ambassador John Bolton is spouting off again… complying with my call last week to ignore everything he says, I won’t be posting it here. Though I will say the man is a mental furball with a 1970’s porno mustache with a desperate need for attention…
• Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol said that “President” Bush is more likely to attack Iran if he thinks (can he do that?) Obama is going to win the election… well, that’s certainly a logical and approved reason to attack another country… (this isn’t the first time Kristol has spewed this from his mouth, and he’s previously said that he got it from someone within the Bush(whacked) Administration… if they do end of attacking Iran, Kristol and the aforementioned mental furball should be dragged – forcibly if needs be – in front of a Senate committee and asked what they knew and when they knew it…)
• And have we mentioned? That McCain’s campaign violated a law and lied? As you pick yourself up from reading something so surprising (sarcasm alert!), consider this; not only did McCain violate McCain-Feingold by taking out a loan against his approved FEC financing… he then reneged on that financing and then his campaign spokesman lied about the loan's existence… (Um… where’s the outrage from the Fourth Estate? If this was Obama, the media would have been on it like it was another Brittany Spears head-shaving… but noooo, the free-ride that McCain has been enjoying since the presidential campaign began continues. My hope is that, eventually, someone in the msm will have the balls to dig into McCain’s past and discover that he’s much worse than a flip-flopper… but I’m not holding my breath)

The Weekly Rewind

If you’re like me and trying to conserve gas, stay inside and read this week’s edition of The Weekly Rewind… now with more ‘Heckle’

Applaud: to the Bush Legacy Bus Tour (yes Virginia, it’s meant to be sarcastic). Americans United for Change is launching the tour, which they describe as a “museum on wheels dedicated to chronicling the disastrous legacy of President Bush and the conservative policies he and his allies have pursued.” The bus is slated to hit the road on June 24th and is scheduled to make approximately 150 stops between now and Election Day… so keep your eyes open for it in YOUR town. I know I will…

Heckle: to all style and no substance. Yes, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Karl Rove’s attorney Robert Luskin asking to have him appear before them, but they hinted that they may be willing to accept that “Rove appear ‘without a transcript or oath,’ but without any limit on the committee’s right to seek sworn testimony later.” (Um… if given the chance to lie without any possible repercussion, don’t ya think that Karl Rove will lie? What kind of stupid crap is this? If you don’t have the balls to subpoena him and MAKE IT STICK, drop it and cower in the corner like you always do… schmucks)

Applaud: to something that should NOT be a surprise. Due to the media’s pathetic and galling political reporting, a new Pew poll finds that Americans are dissatisfied with political sound bites supplied by the main stream media and are thusly looking to the Internet for a more complete picture. Per the study, almost 30% of adults have used the Internet to read or watch unfiltered campaign material” while 6% have “contributed to a campaign using the Internet, up from a paltry 2% in 2004… (and with the media’s continues piss-poor job of political reporting, we can expect that number to shoot up even higher in the months, and years, ahead…)

Heckle: to conservative columnist George Will for being as inane as the party he follows. Speaking on the heels of a USA Today/Gallup poll that showed 55% of Americans think their families are worse off financially than they were a year ago, Will said they’re just misinformed and in reality are “better off today than they were in 2000-2001.” (The blinders and rose-colored glasses these guys have are amazing. How anyone with their own brain could think people are better off now is not only insulting to the intelligence of the average American, but mind-boggling naïve as well…)

Applaud: to news that not only makes me smile but that should have precluded him from speaking to the National Press Club but didn’t. Larry Sinclair spoke at the National Press Club earlier this week and continued to spout off his lies about Sen. Obama even though the Politico’s Ben Smith reported that Sinclair has a rather sordid history including a 27-year criminal record that specializes in “crimes involving deceit” such as forgery. In fact, the Pueblo County, Colorado Sheriff’s Office has Sinclair listed as “Wanted”… nice company to keep NPC. Who’s next? Scooter Libby… oh wait

Applaud Part II: to getting one’s comeuppance. Larry Sinclair was arrested after an appearance at the National Press club earlier this week and charged as a fugitive from justice after 2 US Marshals presented him with a warrant from the state of Delaware… it was discovered earlier this week that Sinclair not only has a 27-year criminal record but is a wanted man in Colorado (and apparently Delaware as well. (Good riddance to bad rubbish… and the NPC should be held accountable in some way as well for allowing a wanted felon from speaking at an event)

Heckle: to the results of a new World Public Opinion poll. The poll of 20 nations found that a sad and pathetic (or delusional) 2% say they have “a lot” or “some” confidence that President Bush will do “the right thing regarding world affairs” and ranks below, below!, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and barely beats Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf… (that’s some mighty fine company you have there George, good job)

Applaud: to House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) for his consideration of holding EPA administrator Stephen Johnson and OMB official Susan Dudley in contempt of Congress due to their “repeated refusal to provide subpoenaed documents to the Committee” regarding the White House’s role in the EPA’s rejection of California’s motor vehicle emission standards. (way to go Mr. Waxman… keep on them)

Heckle: to former House speaker, and eternal schmuck, Newt Gingrich. Appearing on Face the Nation last Sunday morning, Gingrich echoed the (sad and pathetic) conservative rhetoric and decried SCOTUS’ decision to restore the right of habeas corpus petitions to Guantanamo detainees and said; “This court decision is a disaster, which could cost us a city…” (Fearmonger much? Oh wait, you’re a republican so yes you do ya putz)

Applaud: to the passing and subsequent signing of a new law dubbed the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act. The bill will provides tax relief for military families and at the same time closes a loophole that had allowed defense contractors to avoid paying millions of dollars in payroll taxes and that now requires them to pay the taxes that finance Social Security and Medicare programs… (pwned!)

Heckle: to saying one thing and doing another. Less than a month after the Bush(Whacked) Administration declared polar bears as a threatened species, they are now giving oil companies permission to potentially harm them by giving seven oil companies legal protection if “small numbers” of polar bears are harmed while they search for oil and gas in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea. (Wow… I’m not an animal hugger per se, but this stinks of favoritism and I would hope someone decides to investigate how exactly this decision came to be…)

Applaud: to silence that speaks volumes and gives more fodder for the ‘republican party is more un-united than the Dems’ talk… former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declined to answer whether he will support Sen. McCain for president… perhaps it has to do with McCain saying back in 2007 that Rumsfeld will “go down as one of the worst secretaries of defense in history.” (I love political in-fighting, especially on the gop side)

Heckle: to doing a lot of travelling and having nothing to show for it… Per ThinkProgress, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has made 22 trips to Israel during Bush’s reign, the most recent coming last weekend… problem is, as Time’s Jerusalem Bureau Chief Tim McGirk notes, “[S]he has little to show for it” as there was “no fanfare, no motorcades snarling up the city’s traffic,” and she couldn’t even book a room at her usual hotel and had to settle for a “less grand” one. The best part of this story though (and the one that almost made this an applaud), is that Israeli TV announcers have “coined her name as a verb, meaning to go endlessly around in circles, accomplishing nothing.” (I think we’ve gotten a new mantra for the administration…)

Applaud: to honoring a political pundit with a HUGE football hunger. Sens. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), and Rep. Brian Higgins (D-NY) are going to introduce legislation to rename a portion of Route 20 near the Buffalo Bills’ stadium after Tim Russert who was a stringent Bills fan…

Heckle: to hyperbole from someone who is himself a hyperbole. Former DOJ official John Yoo wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed and condemned last week’s SCOTUS ruling as “judicial imperialism of the highest order,” claiming it gives rights to those “captured fighting against the U.S.” Glenn Greenwald responds, “[A] huge bulk of our ‘War on Terror’ prisoners, including those at Guantanamo, were not ‘captured fighting against the U.S.’ at all.” (Wow… talk about fear-mongering hyperbole… and someone with Yoo’s reputation really shouldn’t be talking about anything, let alone the law)

Applaud: to words that should calm fears, ease hearts and tranquilize minds. Asked whether she was interested in being Vice President, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Fox & Friends earlier this week; “It’s time for me to do something else. […] You have to know when your time is up, and it’s time for new blood.” (THANK GOD THANK GOD THANK GOD THANK GOD THANK GOD THANK GOD THANK GOD THANK GOD THANK GOD THANK GOD… and since it can’t be said enough, THANK GOD!)

Heckle: to a booth at the recent Texas republican convention that sold buttons asking, “If Obama Is President…Will We Still Call It The White House?” (Unacceptable on ALL levels. I understand this is the kind of idiotic racist crap we’re going to have to deal with in the months ahead, but for it to be condoned by a major political party is simply wrong and the company that makes the button – which I refuse to link to here – deserves to be boycotted en masse)

Heckle: to news that, considering whose in charge, isn’t surprising. The GAO issued a report that warns the “government does not have adequate privacy protections for the personal information it collects, shares and stores as part of the effort to fight terrorism” and suggests updating the Privacy Act to protect against the government’s “massive, massive data collections.” (Wow… who could have ever seen that a White House that can’t even keep track of their own emails wouldn’t be able to protect private information. Something needs to be done, but we know nothing will…)

Heckle: to a quote by CIA lawyer Jonathan Fredman that will (God-willing) eventually come back to bite the administration on the ass; “If the detainee dies, you’re doing it wrong.”

Heckle: to even more examples of this administration’s incompetence. A new audit by the GAO reports that after six years, and roughly $16.5 billion, the U.S. still lacks a solid plan to create a self-sustaining security force in Afghanistan, even though that’s the TRUE war of terror base... (way to go Bush(whacked) Administration! Keep up the good work)

Heckle: to the results of a new AP-Ipsos poll. The poll finds that a majority of Americans (8 in 10) Americans believe the country is “moving in the wrong direction” while only 17% (whom I imagine are Bush family members) say the country is going in the right direction. The survey also says that the overall level of cynicism is the “worst in almost 30 years.”

Heckle: to former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton. Sure, I could say ‘on general principles alone’, but he’s spouting off again, appearing on a radio show this week eh sad that “the best outcome” of an Obama presidency would be “a replay of the Clinton administration,” meaning “more embassy bombings” and “more World Trade Center attacks”: (Ummmm… the WTC attack under Clinton was a preview of the bigger one that occurred on BUSH’S WATCH you porn-mustachioed putz! Also, Bolton was one of the administration’s largest busts, why the HELL is he continually given a podium to speak his mind??)

All I have, take 'em as you will...

The Friday ‘BushWhack’ing

It’s around here somewhere… somewhere is the Thursday ‘BushWhack’ing. Have YOU seen it?

• Former Press Secretary Scott McClellan is speaking before the House Judiciary committee this morning and said, that while he does not think “President” Bush knew about the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame’s identity, he refused to give the same assurances about Vice President Dick Cheney… (If Cheney DIDN’T know about it, I would be very, very surprised…)
• Sen. Obama decided yesterday to not accept public financing, a decision that didn’t come as a surprise but has evoked some negative comments from his opponent. After all, if he were to accept the approximately $85 million in public financing, strict spending limits come with it and he is doing fine in his own fundraising… and that’s not even counting the Sen. Clinton supporters that started donating to him after she gracefully bowed out.
• A day after House and Senate leaders announced a bipartisan plan to overhaul the nation's wiretapping laws, “President” Bush thanked them for agreeing on a new domestic surveillance law and said; “It will help our intelligence professionals learn our enemies' plans for new attacks.” (Again… all I want is proof that it’s worked… that’s all… proof that it has stopped an attack and I’ll be more open to it. But for now, with no proof and telecom immunity attached, it’s a slap in the face of every American citizen and another step in destroying the US Constitution…)
• The House sent a war funding bill to the Senate yesterday. The bill is a $165 billion measure that puts no restrictions on the war-money Bush requested earlier (DUMBASSES!) and yet also includes more than $2 billion to help the flood-stricken Midwest and increases unemployment assistance and expands the GI Bill. (Despite my opposition to the Iraq war continuing, our troops need the money there AND Afganistan, and since the Dems attached flood assistance and an expansion of unemployment for 13 more weeks and strengthened the GI Bill, I think the bill is a plus…)
• No more flying without an ID… while I don’t understand why you wouldn’t fly without an ID in the first place or wouldn’t want to show it, it’s another stripping of privacy by the administration that has raised it to an art form…
• And have we mentioned? That a republican State Representative in Florida thinks McCain is being dis-honest about offshore drilling? While Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio favors drilling off the coast of Florida, he challenges McCain’s implication that drilling could lower gas prices anytime soon, telling the Miami Herald that McCain is making “disingenuous” argument that’s also flawed… (Wow, can anyone reading this think of better ways to describe McCain than ‘disingenuous’ and ‘flawed’? I can’t…)

Drilling for answers

I mentioned this morning about the amazing “coincidence” that a day after republican presidential candidate John McCain said the US should lift the federal ban on offshore oil drilling, “President” Bush held a presser this morning in the Rose Garden where he called on Congress to “pass good legislation as soon as possible” that would lift that ban and open up exploring the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) while also allowing states to permit offshore oil drilling.

While Bush said that, in order to relieve the “painful level” of gas prices, “our nation must produce more oil”, he also restated his insipid demand that Congress allow drilling for oil in the Alaskan Arctic Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) because it will “bring enormous benefits to the American people.”

The problem with that statement is the fact that members of his own administration disagree… in fact, an entire Bush(whacked) department disagrees with him as a Department of Energy report that was released last month found that drilling in ANWR would do little to reduce the price of oil. And that’s not all… back in 2005 the Energy Department estimated that there are nearly 18 billion barrels of oil available in the OCS, which is roughly double the reserves in the Arctic Refuge.
Thus, by 2025, drilling in Alaska and the OCS would shave around $2.25 off the cost of a barrel of oil meaning “little to no impact on the price at the pump, today or tomorrow.”
It's painfully obvious that republicans see opportunity in high gas prices to roll back environmental policies, such as the offshore ban, that have been in place for years… but for what gain?

Drilling in ANWR would take years and years to deliver oil to American pumps and still would only meet about 4-6 months of US domestic demand.

Offshore drilling, like McCain’s widely ridiculed (even by VP Cheney) gas tax holiday, is nothing more than a gimmick to not only avoid the necessary fixes, but also an appeasement to those people that can’t use their own brains and continually follow the lemmings over the cliff.

Not to shock you, but republicans don't have a solution to high oil prices. Drilling in ANWR and off our coast would not ameliorate prices now, and wouldn't do so for many years to come. As Americans we need to understand that it’s entirely possible gas prices will never come back down, and that cheap oil is a thing of the past.

Now the question is, what to do.

I’ll talk about that tomorrow...

The Wednesday ‘BushWhack’ing

Hump day, let’s get a humpin’…

• A day after Sen. McCain, the republican presidential nominee btw, issued the call for Congress to lift the ban on new offshore drilling, “President” Bush will ask Congress today to lift that ban… (wow, what a totally unforeseen coincidence... it’s so hard to express sarcasm in the written form)
• “President” Bush appeared at the wake yesterday of NBC political icon Tim Russert… (while I did not always agree with Russert or the questions he asked, he was a political pundit without reproach who had one of the firmest grasps of the political world ever seen… and to not be able to see him enjoy and report on this historic race will leave many, including us at TBWA, with an empty feeling…)
• Sen. Obama is trying to drum-up union support and is meeting with various levels of AFL-CIO leaderships today and tomorrow in DC. (While the union’s overall support is almost a given – they’ve already started a campaign against McCain – some of the unions within the AFL-CIO had earlier endorsed Sen. Clinton, including the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and those are the ones that Obama needs to woo)
• An Obama-Hagel ticket? The idea is percolating…
• Sen. Chris Dodd says he got no “sweetheart deals” from embattled mortgage lender Countrywide Financial, despite the Senate ethics committee beginning a preliminary investigation into the claims. Said Dodd; “I don’t know that we did anything wrong. I negotiated a mortgage at a prevailing rate, a competitive rate.” (I think this story will get worse before it gets better…)
• And have we mentioned? That republicans are finally getting something straight? And it only took them 2 weeks to do so. A few weeks back, a story started circulating about claims, since proven false, that China is drilling for oil off the coast of Cuba… even Vice President Cheney got in on the act before someone told him he was wrong. Despite that, some vapid conservatives, including Jean Schmidt (r-OH), continued throwing the story out there. Now, more than 2 weeks since it started, republican leaders are finally backing away from the story as Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Minority Leader John Boehner (r-OH) told Roll Call; “We’re not using the China talking point anymore.” (republicans… it’s like they have to be beaten over the head a dozen times before something sinks it…)

Smackdown

UK newspaper The Independent (UK) wrote a derisive editorial today reflecting on the final visit of “President” Bush and doesn’t hold any punches.

The piece metes out the truth unlike any US media outlet has had the courage to do. From the editorial;

“It is no exaggeration to say that Mr Bush has done more damage to relations between our two nations than any president in living memory. […] And whatever the future holds for transatlantic relations, there will be very few in this country who watched President Bush’s plane depart yesterday without a feeling of profound relief that the end of this disastrous presidency is finally in sight.”

Pwned!

We at TBWA have been saying for years that Bush has not only destroyed our nation’s standing in the world, but has also strained relations with some of our staunchest allies… and this editorial not only proves that January 20, 2009 will be a cleansing time for our nation, but the world as a whole.

Let the healing begin.

The Tuesday ‘BushWhack’ingd

• Sen. Obama got another big endorsement yesterday as former Vice President Al Gore not only backed Obama in a speech in Michigan last night but also slammed “President” Bush by urging Americans to reject Bush’s legacy of “incompetence, negligence and failure.” (oh, what could have been in 2000... sigh)
• The Bush White House has once again skirted the law and no one seems to care. A federal judge ruled yesterday that the White House Office of Administration is not required to turn over records about a plethora of missing e-mails. Essentially this means that the White House doesn’t have to disclose documents relating to its piss-poor e-mail system that has caused millions of White House e-mails to, well, we’ll say “disappear” for now. (This is pathetic. Everything the White House does should be easily accountable… and that goes for whichever party is residing there. With their reluctance and incompetence regarding their email system, once almost gets the idea that they’re, I don’t know; hiding something. But this administration would never do that, would they?)
• There have been a lot of news stories lately regarding Bush’s legacy… though I don’t know why. He’s still (unfortunately!) in office for another seven months (eep!), and he has plenty of time to polish his image. I just don’t think it can be done… the damage is too severe.
• SCOTUS has accepted a case that will determine whether top government officials can be held personally liable for (allegedly) knowing about or condoning the mistreatment of people detained after the 9/11. Stay tuned…
• Wolf Blitzer says: “Iraq will still have an 'enormous' impact at the polls.” (Wow… great investigation there Wolf, how’d ya figure that out all by yourself?? Sheesh…)
• Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made an unannounced visit to Lebanon yesterday and gave U.S. support for the Lebanese government's attempts to get past their political differences with the Hezbollah-led opposition.
• The NY Times has come to the self-evident point that people with their own brains saw a LONG time ago, that “McCain appears to have ceded some of his carefully cultivated reputation as a maverick” and on the primary election issues, McCain’s “stances are indeed similar to Mr. Bush’s brand of conservatism.” (Welcome to the club, we’ve got jackets)
• And have we mentioned? That in a new interview with Sky News, “President” Bush suggested something that should send a chill up everybody’s spine? He said that his family’s time in the White House may not be done, mentioning his brother, Jeb, as a future presidential contender. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please God, make it stop!!!

The Monday ‘BushWhack’ing

Hope all you fathers out there had a Happy Father’s Day, let’s get back to it.

• Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to the family and close friends of NBC political pundit Tim Russert. While we may not have always agreed with the way he did things, his knowledge, grasp and reporting of politics is still a standard by which other political reporters will long be compared to… thank you Tim.
• Sen. Obama laid out his tax and energy plans this past Saturday and at the same time took Sen. McCain’s plans to task… and people say he doesn’t have experience, the way he was able to laud his plans while simultaneously laying waste to McCain’s was executed well. Obama’s plans call for tax cuts for the middle class, raising taxes for the wealthy and giving more money into so-called “green energy.” (This as opposed to McCain’s which is to cut taxes for the wealthy and strip the world of its resources while we can and let out children worry about the consequences. I’m paraphrasing of course, but you get the idea…)
• CNN’s latest poll of polls shows that Obama has a 4 percentage point lead over McCain…
• “President” Bush drummed the Iran war drum once again on his current European trip. Appearing with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the duo announced another warning to Iran with new sanctions. It was after that that Bush said something that should make every person’s skin crawl; he hasn’t ruled out the use of force to end Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program, but added that he preferred to resolve the dispute diplomatically… (Wow, where have we heard that before? To answer your question, yes we should be worried. Very, very worried…)
• The UK press doesn’t like “President” Bush very much with most of them detailing his final Euro visit with disparaging assessments of his legacy… my favorite was the Daily Mirror's greeting to Bush with an emphatic: “Bush off!” before describing him in the article as “one of the worst American presidents in history.” The Guardians was a much more placid “Goodbye to all that.” Even the conservative-leaning Daily Mail criticized Bush by tying his trip to the deaths of five British paratroopers in Afghanistan. (You hear about these and you wonder if any US President has ever been more disliked and distrusted on a global scale than Bush. I suspect not)
• FEMA director David Paulison is defending the department’s giving away of an estimated $85 million in hurricane relief supplies by accepting the blame. Just kidding, he’s throwing Louisiana officials under the bus by saying they turned down the stockpiles… (raise your hands if this story surprises you… Wow, not a one)
• “He’s (Obama) got some bad connections, and he may be terrorist connected for all I can tell. It sounds kind of like he may be.” A republican congressman? Nope, it’s the words of Fred Hobbs, a Tennessee state Democratic Party Executive Committee member and super-delegate, when asked why he hasn’t endorsed Obama yet… the stupidity of some people is mind-boggling… and if he feels like this, he needs to be stripped of his super-delegate vote because he’s NOT a Democrat but yet another Southern conservative in Democratic clothing…
• And have we mentioned? That former House speaker Newt Gingrich is busy fearmongering? Appearing on Face the Nation this past Sunday, Newt said that SCOTUS’ decision to re-instill habeas corpus “could cost us a city.” (Wow, fear-monger much Newt? Explain to everyone WITH their own brain and NOT following the lemmings over the cliff how exactly it could cost us a city??? I’ll be waiting for your call or email…)

The Weekly Rewind.

Ok so we now know it is going to be Obama vs McCain. I am not going to rehash what has been all over the networks and cable channels this week. No that would be boring. Howe about some stuff that flew under the radar? Here we go with this weeks Weekly Rewind.

Heckle: to being consistently clueless. It seems that despite fierce opposition by Iraqis to his call for a long-term occupation of Iraq, ‘President’ Bush this week expressed confidence that a status of forces agreement would pass. Bush said that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki “appreciates our presence there” and suggested much of the opposition “is based on inaccurate media reports and misunderstandings.” Hmmm, okay let’s see where these ‘inaccurate media reports’ and ‘misunderstandings’ are occurring….stay together, now follow me….As reported at ThinkProgress and various news agencies…

• Top Iraqi officials are objecting publicly to the United States’ effort to establish permanent bases in the country. “The Americans are making demands that would lead to the colonization of Iraq,” said Sami al-Askari, a senior Shiite politician close to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. “If we can’t reach a fair agreement, many people think we should say, ‘Goodbye, U.S. troops. We don’t need you here anymore.’”

• Iraqi lawmakers say that the Bush administration is “demanding 58 bases as part of a proposed ’status of forces’ agreement that will allow U.S. troops to remain in the country indefinitely.” Jalal al Din al Saghir, a leading lawmaker from the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, called the deal “more abominable than the occupation.”

• Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is saying that “talks with the United States on a longterm security agreement have reached a ‘dead end’” because the U.S. proposals “do not take into consideration Iraq’s sovereignty.”

Well it seems that either our ‘President’ has no clue of what he is talking about, or Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has an evil clone that runs around saying the exact opposite of everything he does……hmmmmm I’m betting on the first scenario… which takes us directly into the next point…

Heckle: to not only being clueless but not having a conscience either. In an interview with the UK Times, President Bush said he regrets his legacy in making the world believe he was a “guy really anxious for war” in Iraq. But today, he added that “he had no regrets about the decision to invade Iraq.” Amazing, you gotta wonder what it's like to be that clueless!

Applaud: to the effort. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) said he’s not going to let his effort to impeach President Bush die a quiet death in committee. He said Wednesday that he’ll bring his resolution “back in 30 days if the Judiciary Committee…doesn’t act on it.” “In 30 days, I’ll be joined by many more” members, he said. With the short amount of time left, we doubt it will go anywhere, however we heartily applaud the effort Dennis.

Applaud: to…..wait for it. President Bush is increasingly drawing on selected events of the past to argue that history will vindicate him. Unfortunately for the president, many historians have already reached a conclusion. In an informal survey of scholars this spring, just two out of 109 historians said Bush would be judged a success; a majority deemed him the “worst president ever.” See I told you to wait for it….

Applaud: to more people seeing the light. In a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey out this week, 78 percent of respondents rate the economic conditions in this country as poor. That’s up from 75 percent in March. Only 22 percent rate the economic conditions in the country as good. Give it time and a few more of the 22 percent will wake up.

Applaud: for the effort , but you still gotta laugh at the image. Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has bought a new, fuel-efficient Vespa. According to the DC Examiner, “Mr. Macho recently stopped by the Vespa dealership in Glover Park and took home a LXV 150 scooter, which can reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour.” When asked about his purchase, Rumsfeld reported cackled, “Ha ha ha ha, I’ll get you and your little dog too!” Okay not really, but can’t you just picture it?

Applaud: to not keeping silent. This week the scientific academies of the G8 countries and of Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa “urged the world to act more forcefully to limit the threat posed by human-driven global warming.” They called on the industrialized countries to lead a “transition to a low-carbon society” and aggressively move to limit impacts from changes in climate that are already under way and impossible to stop. Ok, talk is nice, however all these countries need to put some actions behind their words or it’s just rhetoric.

Heckle: to once again pulling the rug out from under the average American. With soaring oil prices, Americans are increasingly turning to Amtrak, which saw record numbers in May when ridership rose a healthy 12.3 percent from a year earlier. The Bush administration, however, is of course threatening to veto legislation that would fund the passenger railroad for the next five years. What a surprise, one of our few pieces of infrastructure that could actually help is being threatened with being shut-down. Just another example of the ‘Bush-Whacking’ of America.

Heckle: to being once again being manipulated. As ‘President’ Bush travels across Europe to gain support for possible new sanctions against Iran, Israeli leaders have been working to lay the psychological foundation for a possible military strike if diplomacy falters. Reportedly in public threats and private briefings with American decision-makers, Israeli officials have been making the case that a military strike may be the only way to thwart Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Nice, here we go again. We screwed up in Iraq, so let’s try it again with Iran and this time let’s try the spin using a different ally. I can see Bush starting something near the end of his lame duck term and then running out the door to leave it to the next POTUS to deal with.

Heckle: to shortsightedness. Now the financial credit crisis is squeezing student loan programs that offer breaks to borrowers who enter critical fields such as nursing and teaching, as state-backed lenders in at least six states “have dropped or scaled back programs.” Ok so in about 10- 15 years when our kids are failing even worse than they are now, and when a large part of the population is in need of medical care we can slap the speculators and Administration officials who thought it wasn’t important to be pro-active. That is if we can find them.

And this weeks tool of the week is....... FEMA, for once again letting their stupidity show. A CNN investigation has found “FEMA gave away about $85 million in household goods meant for Hurricane Katrina victims.” A FEMA spokesperson said, “We determined that they were excess to FEMA’s needs; therefore, they are being excessed from FEMA’s inventory.” But Martha Kegel, the head of a New Orleans nonprofit agency, responded, “These are the very things that we are seeking right now.” I’m sorry can we just scrap FEMA and just start over with FEMA 2?

Finally, on a Sad note, Tim Russert of NBC died suddenly Friday at the studio in Washington doing what he loved. This was a man of great integrity who was respected and admired by both sides of the aisle. I spent many, many Sunday mornings watching him on 'Meet the Press' and considered him to be one of the fairest people in the arena of political reporting. I looked forward to his perspective on the issues. I will miss his wit, wisdom and insight as we enter this historic general election. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. God bless you Tim, you set a standard that will be hard for others to acheive.

That’s it for this week.

Be good, stay informed….later…

The Friday ‘BushWhack’ing

EDITORS NOTE: Since the nomination process is, for all intents and purposes, complete, we at TBWA are dropping the Friday Presidential Race ‘BushWhack’ing and will roll all election news into the normal Daily’s until we get closer to Election Day… thus saving you, and us, the horror of obsessing on the election while it is still 20 weeks away.

• CNN asks; “Do Lobbyists get a bum rap?” That’s some mighty fine reporting there Lou...
  Earlier this week Sen. McCain started questioning some of the past dealings of Jim Johnson, chosen by the Obama campaign to find a VP candidate. Johnson resigned, so now McCain is setting his sight (which I imagine is poor) on one of the two remaining committee members, Eric Holder. (Yes, heaven forbid McCain do something like talk about the issues, let’s instead just attack members of a committee looking for a VP candidate and who has very little weight in the grand scheme of the campaign. Sounds to me as if someone is nervous and starting to over-react by attacking every little thing…)
• Ron Paul has suspended his presidential campaign… yes, he was STILL running.
• “President” Bush is meeting with Pope Benedict XVI today… insert your own joke here, but remember to watch for lightening.
• The House voted 274-137 yesterday to extend unemployment benefits by 13 weeks… naturally because it helps the average American, the White House is threatening a Veto…though more than two-thirds of the House voted for the bill and that would be more than enough to override a presidential veto. The larger problem is that it faces an uncertain future in the Senate because it’s not known when they will take it up. (Once again, the average person gets screwed with their pants on, way to go guys!)
• A new Pew Research Center study found that interest abroad for the looming presidential election is skyrocketing. A majority of those polled believe the next president is likely to change U.S. foreign policy for the better, especially if that president is Sen. Obama (yay). The study also found that Bush continues to receive negative reviews internationally (not a surprise to anyone that hasn’t had their hands over their eyes or fingers in their ears). Expect to see more about this later today…
• The gop’s next target in the presidential race will be (shakes Magic 8 Ball)… Michelle Obama! (Yeah, cause going after the spouse is ALWAYS a good strategy… mark my words, if the right goes after Michelle, it will be open season on Cindy McCain, and for some reason I imagine her having a whole heckuva lot more juicer baggage…)
• Speaking of shaking a Magic 8 Ball. One of Clinton’s strategists says the reason her campaign faltered was due to strategy disagreements. (I can do them one better and sum it up more succinctly. It was due to Mark Penn… the man who failed to grasp many things – Obama’s strength, 50-state strategy, etc – was the downfall of the campaign and by the time they pushed him out, it was too late… personal note to Ms. Clinton; if you want to run again in the future, stay away from Penn)
• Attorney General Michael Mukasey said this morning that he is “disappointed” by the Supreme Court’s ruling on habeas corpus but doesn’t expect the decision to “unleash a torrent of court filings from detainees seeking their freedom.” Mukasey then said that they won’t “concern military commission trials, which will continue to proceed.” (Uh-huh… more skirting of the law perhaps?)
• And have we mentioned? That Vice President Cheney is a Kindergarten drop-out? While Cheney’s less-than-stellar record at Yale is common knowledge (he left — or was kicked out depending on whom you talk to — after two years) he revealed on a radio interview yesterday that he had to attend two kindergartens because he “got kicked out of one school and had to go to the other one.” (Wow… attitude problems at that early of an age – who would have thunk it?)