Hypocrisy 101
Hypocrisy 101
Early in the week I was watching some of the posturing regarding a congressional resolution against Iran for its nuclear ambitions. Under Bush the Lesser, which is saying something given the benchmark, the US has resumed creating nuclear weapons and is poised to resume nuclear testing. The US is the only nation having used nuclear weapons in anger. Arguably, Israel is the second most likely nation to use them again. In any event, here we go again, the drumbeat for a war against Iran is building.
The preemptive, illegal invasion of Iraq has seriously destabilized the Middle East and the world by creating enemies faster than the US can kill them. Democracy, and peace, begin at home. By our actions they will know us, in other words. Unfortunately they do, thanks to BushCo.
How much worse can it get? We're about to find out, I'm afraid.
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The other night, we went to some friends' home for a monthly film viewing. Our hosts selected "Butterfly", a Spanish film about life in a village just prior to the Spanish Civil War in the 30's. In most ways it was a beautiful and pleasant story about people living and working harmoniously, enjoying life.
While most of history's focus on pre-WWII Europe's fascist landscape deals with Germany and its Brownshirts, the film reminded me that Italy had its Blackshirts, and Spain, unknown to me, had its, what I would call, Purpleshirts. Hard for me to identify the hue accurately. My first thought, when the lights came on, was the US version would doubtless be Redwhiteandblueshirts. It wouldn't, however, roll off the tongue.
Global Eye
"But a militarist state must have war: to justify its draconian rule (and those $550 billion 'defense' budgets), to find new fields for dominion and swag, and to seal with blood its illegitimate compact with the people, seeking to make them complicit in its crimes, which are committed in their name, for their 'security.' Fortunately for the militarists, Bush has promised war in abundance. Just this month, the Pentagon released its new strategy, heralding the newly dubbed 'Long War' against terrorism, where U.S. forces will be deployed, openly and covertly, 'in dozens of countries simultaneously' for decades to come. The plan is designed to 'ensure that no foreign power can dictate the terms of regional or global security'-- except, of course, for the dictatorial foreign power emanating from the Potomac."
We must defend our nation's principles
"What is most troubling about this is that it is not an isolated incident. We see the same pattern reflected in the president's decision, in the same stroke of the pen, as he signed Senator John McCain's amendment outlawing torture - to reserve the right to ignore Congress and authorize torture of people, if he sees fit. What is troubling is not merely the spying or the torture. Rather, by claiming to be above the law, President Bush is undermining the very thing that distinguishes us from our terrorist enemies."
The trust gap
"We can't think of a president who has gone to the American people more often than George W. Bush has to ask them to forget about things like democracy, judicial process and the balance of powers — and just trust him. We also can't think of a president who has deserved that trust less."
Is the president above the law?
"Roberts later said he believed the President's authority was 'above laws passed by Congress.' In other words, George W. Bush is a dictator with absolute authority and no one, not the law and certainly not Congress, has the power to question or override that authority."
Harper's Weekly Review
Iraq war vet abandons Ohio political bid
"National Democratic leaders, especially Sen. Charles Schumer, added to that pressure by telling his top fundraisers to stop sending money, Hackett said."
This is a huge story showing the lack of significant differences between the Repugs and Dems. Factor in Hackett's disdain for Smirk's war for oil and Schumer's pro Israeli bent, and it's clear that "Merica's best interests are minor considerations compared to the needs of special interest groups and big money.
Bush's priorities: Found in translation
"In a speech last week to the Business and Industry Association for New Hampshire, President Bush explained his mindset when determining how to spend American taxpayer dollars. 'Of course, you'd like to take a vacation every week, you know, some exotic place -- but you've got to set your priorities -- you can't do that. You want do this or do that, go to a fancy restaurant every night, but that's not setting priorities.' Given the make-up of his budget, President Bush apparently thinks that funding priorities like education, veterans' health, and a strong defense is akin to buying a cruise to Tahiti. Below, we've translated some other Bush's other priorities, as evidenced in his proposed 2007 budget. (For the best coverage of the latest budget news, visit American Progress' new Budget Blog.)"
President wants to end seniors' food program
"Now President Bush wants to eliminate the program, one of 141 federal initiatives that his proposed new budget would scrap or cut dramatically. He is proposing to shift people in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program over to food stamps."
Bush administration spent over $1.6 billion on advertising and public relations contracts since 2003, GAO finds
"Today Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Rep. George Miller, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, and other senior Democrats released a new Government Accountability Office report finding that the Bush Administration spent more than $1.6 billion in public relations and media contracts in a two and a half year span."
Well, eh, eh, we got ta have our, you know, priorities. A priority, by the way, is when you believe one thing's more important than another. That's why I'm president . . . eh, eh.
How governments, bankers, seccret lodges, the Vatican and thr Mafia impacted international politics in the 1970s and 1980s
"Italian politics have not fundamentally changed course since the corrupt and conspiratorial 1970s; on the contrary, social and economic conditions have driven the entire elite to the right. The country is presided over by the most right-wing figure in postwar history, an individual who has almost complete control over the media (as the head of the executive, Berlusconi oversees the public RAI radio-TV network, in addition to owning the largest private network)."
This isn't mainstream by any means, but it supports the idea of a global right-wing conspiracy.
Pentagon prepares for military strikes against Iran
"An article in last weekend’s edition of the Sunday Telegraph in Britain confirms that the US is drawing up plans for air and missile strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Long-distance B2 bombers, each carrying up to 20 tonnes of precision bombs and flying from bases in the US, would 'most likely' be involved."
H. Con. Res. 341: Condemning the government of Iran for violating its international nuclear nonproliferation . . .
"Passed: On Agreeing to the Resolution: H CON RES 341 Condemning the Government of Iran for violating its international nuclear nonproliferation obligations and expressing support for efforts to report Iran to the United Nations Security Council"
Deja vu.
Bush administration seeks funds for regime change in Iran
"Speaking to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared that the US would 'actively confront' Iran and called for an extra $75 million to fund anti-Tehran propaganda and to support opposition groups inside and outside the country. Last year just $10 million was allocated to such activities."
I wonder if the budget includes sending Karen Hughes and Kindasleezy into Iran to personally help establish democracy.
Lab officials excited by new H-bomb project
"For the first time in more than 20 years, U.S. nuclear-weapons scientists are designing a new H-bomb, the first of probably several new nuclear explosives on the drawing boards.
"If they succeed, in perhaps 20 or 25 more years, the United States would have an entirely new nuclear arsenal, and a highly automated factory capable of turning out more warheads as needed, as well as new kinds of warheads."
Selling war against Iran: Propaganda campaign portrays Iran as a pariah state
While U.S. forces and their allies are continuing the destruction of Iraq and sadistic torture of Iraqi civilians, the phantom of Iran 'threat' is being amplified across the world. Speculations about possible U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran have reached a stage of war propaganda by Western media and Western pundits. The aims are: to demonise Iran and keep the public in state of war, and create a smokescreen to divert the public from greater war crimes in Iraq and Palestine."
WWIII or bust: Implications of a US attack on Iran
"Witnessing the Bush administration's drive for an attack on Iran is like being a passenger in a car with a raving drunk at the wheel. Reports of impending doom surfaced a year ago, but now it's official: under orders from Vice President Cheney's office, the Pentagon has developed 'last resort' aerial-assault plans using long-distance B2 bombers and submarine-launched ballistic missiles with both conventional and nuclear weapons."
Martial law here soon to follow.
China rushes to complete $100B deal with Iran
"China is hastening to complete a deal worth as much as $100 billion that would allow a Chinese state-owned energy firm to take a leading role in developing a vast oil field in Iran, complicating the Bush administration's efforts to isolate the Middle Eastern nation and roll back its nuclear development plans, according to published reports."
How dare the yellow bastids! That's our oil.
The Pentagon's war on the Internet
"The Pentagon has developed a comprehensive strategy for taking over the internet and controlling the free flow of information. The plan appears in a recently declassified document, 'The Information Operations Roadmap', which was provided under the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) and revealed in an article by the BBC.
"The Pentagon sees the internet in terms of a military adversary that poses a vital threat to its stated mission of global domination. This explains the confrontational language in the document which speaks of 'fighting the net'; implying that the internet is the equivalent of 'an enemy weapons system.'"
Operation "1984".
Senate panel decides against eavesdropping inquiry, for now
"Earlier today, the Senate handed the administration a victory as it voted, 96 to 3, not to hold up the Patriot Act to incorporate changes urged by Senator Russell D. Feingold, the act's most persistent critic."
Police state.
Patriot Act moves closer to renewal
"Feingold, who is considering seeking his party's presidential nomination, plans to make the Senate spend several more days on the bill. He complained that Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., had used procedural maneuvers to prevent him from trying to add more protections for people investigated by the government."
Feingold (D-cajones) a patriot against the "Patriot Act" may make a good president.
Doing the president's dirty work
"Is there any aspect of President Bush's miserable record on intelligence that Senator Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is not willing to excuse and help to cover up?"
No. Hard to determine which of the many GOP senators or representatives are the scummiest; however, Roberts would make the top ten list.
Surgery before diagnosis
"In an attempt to head off a congressional investigation into President Bush's illegal domestic spying program, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) announced yesterday that he had reached an agreement with the White House to 'fix' the National Security Agency (NSA) wiretapping program. Roberts did not give any specifics about the agreement. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Capitol, a dispute broke out among conservative members of the House Intelligence Committee over the scope of their own inquiry into the surveillance program, with Chairman Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) pushing for a more limited inquiry. The developments yesterday indicate the success of Vice President Dick Cheney's closed-door cajoling of lawmakers in his own party, having convinced them for the time being not to launch a full-scale investigation into the administration's intelligence-gathering activities. Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV), ranking member of the intelligence panel, explained the meaning of the most recent developments. 'It is apparent to me that the White House has applied heavy pressure in recent weeks to prevent the committee from doing its job. Although some members of this committee indicate they need more time to decide on what action to take, I believe this is another stalling tactic.'"
Names on US terror list quadruple
"The National Counterterrorism Center maintains a central repository of 325,000 names of alleged international terrorism suspects or people who aid them, a number that has more than quadrupled since the fall of 2003, according to counterterrorism officials."
Advise and assent
"THAT THE UNITED STATES Senate has a body called the Intelligence Committee is an irony George Orwell would have truly appreciated. In a world without Doublespeak, the panel, chaired by GOP Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, would be known by a more appropriate name — the Senate Coverup Committee."
A surge in whistle-blowing and reprisals
"Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the number of insiders alleging wrongdoing in government - either through whistle-blower channels or directly to the press - has surged, as have reprisals against them."
Whistleblower says NSA violations bigger
"A former NSA employee said Tuesday there is another ongoing top-secret surveillance program that might have violated millions of Americans' Constitutional rights."
Senators push probe of claims against FBI
"Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, urged the Justice Department's inspector general to determine whether the FBI denied a promotion to agent Bassem Youssef after Youssef complained about FBI management to another member of Congress, Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va."
Whistleblowers are more patriotic than the patriots pushing the Patriot Act.
Who will blow the whistle before we attack Iran?
"Let's see if we cannot do better this time than we did on Iraq. Patriotic truth tellers, we need you! In an interview last year with US News and World Report, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel said that on Iraq, 'The White House is completely disconnected from reality ... It's like they're just making it up as they go along.'"
Judge orders action on spying documents
"A federal judge dealt a setback to the Bush administration on its warrantless surveillance program, ordering the Justice Department on Thursday to release documents about the highly classified effort within 20 days or compile a list of what it is withholding."
Lawyers group slams Bush on eavesdropping
"The American Bar Association told President George W. Bush on Monday to either stop domestic eavesdropping without a warrant or get the law changed to make it legal."
'The Americans are breaking international law . . . it is a society heading towards Animal Farm' - Archbishop Sentamu on Guantanamo
"Dr Sentamu, the Church of England's second in command, urged the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) to take legal action against the US - through the US courts or the International Court of Justice at The Hague - should it fail to respond to a report, by five UN inspectors, advising that Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay should be shut immediately because prisoners there are being tortured."
US rejects UN report on Gitmo
"'These are dangerous terrorists that we're talking about that are there,' spokesman Scott McClellan said."
The Pillsbury Doughboy speaks.
US pursues "inoculation" strategy to curb Chavez
"In what she termed an 'inoculation'' strategy, Rice said she had sought support from Europe and other Latin American nations to highlight U.S. charges that the populist Chavez abuses his power to target political opponents and business leaders."
Those damned foreign democracies are unAmerican.and need to be stopped.
Chavez threatens to cut off oil to US if it 'crosses the line'
"Chavez, who did not clarify how Washington might incur such a sanction, apparently was reacting to Thursday’s call by US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice for an international 'united front' against Venezuela."
US and Israel deny plans to drive Hamas from power
"American and Israeli officials warned again Tuesday that they would cut off aid and transfers of tax receipts to a Hamas-led Palestinian government if it did not renounce violence and recognize Israel. They said, however, that they had no plans to oust such a government."
Israeli cabinet oks economic sanctions
"The Israeli Cabinet on Sunday approved a halt in monthly transfers of tens of millions of dollars to the Palestinians, in the first response to Hamas taking control of the Palestinian parliament."
Palestinians ordered to return US aid
The United States has asked the Palestinian Authority to return $50 million in US aid because Washington does not want a Hamas-led government to have the funds.
Syria switches to euro amid confrontation with US
"Syria has switched all of the state's foreign currency transactions to euros from dollars amid a political confrontation with the United States, the head of state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria said on Monday."
War threats follow countries dumping US dollar: Countries dump dollar in dealings for oil, dumping the dollar - Syria, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela
" . . . on the one hand there is the Iranian decision of opening the first oil bourse priced in Euros on March 20th, 2006 in Teheran, available to all oil producers of the region . . . ."
Does this mean Iran will be bombed before March 20th?
Iraq economy falls below pre-war levels
"The Bush administration on Thursday conceded that key sectors of the Iraqi economy had fallen below pre-war levels because of the insurgency, but insisted it was making enough progress on the political and security fronts to press ahead with reductions in US forces.
Iraq and the US share common ground.
Iraq: What Cheney truly has to answer for
"'Violence, police corruption and the blurry lines of guerrilla warfare are clouding any hopes of victory. ‘It's apocalyptic out there. Life has definitely gotten worse for’ Iraqis, said Maj. Curtis Strange, 36, of Mobile, Ala., who works with Iraqi troops in Samarra. ‘You see Samarra and you almost want to build a new city and move all these people there.’"
US has royalty plan to give windfall to oil companies
"The government is on the verge of one of the biggest oil and gas giveaways in U.S. history, some $7 billion over five years."
Audits show millions in Katrina aid wasted
"The Federal Emergency Management Agency recognizes it 'made many, many mistakes,' and is working on improvement, said Homeland Security inspector general Richard Skinner. 'But they're not where they should be. In some cases, the government will have little legal recourse to recoup payments to contractors for payments.'"
Billions wasted in Iraq?
"Billions of dollars are unaccounted for, and there are widespread allegations of waste, fraud and war profiteering. So far only one case, the subject of a civil lawsuit that goes to trial this week, has been unsealed. It involves a company called Custer Battles, and as 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft reports, the lawsuit provides a window into the chaos of those early days in Iraq."
Is BushCo setting a record for graft and corruption? Rhetorical question.
Bush budget would cut popular health programs
"President Bush has requested billions more to prepare for potential disasters such as a biological attack or an influenza epidemic, but his proposed budget for next year would zero out popular health projects that supporters say target more mundane, but more certain, killers."
Bush's policies don't promote growth: The economic evidence is clear - the president's tax changes have not worked to improve the health of the economy.
"The economic evidence is clear: the president’s tax changes have not worked to improve the health of the economy. Business investment, employment, and wages have all underperformed past recoveries. Furthermore, the choices made in the president’s budget put at risk the future health of the nation by running massive deficits and by cutting back on important national investments in education, science, and energy."
Can a finite system (earth) with limited resources survive the aim for infinite growth by a species that does not control its population nor its desire for the satisfaction of unlimited wants?
US gov't $25 mln from debt ceiling
"The Treasury said its total public debt subject to the statutory debt limit rose $10.03 billion on Thursday to $8,183,975,000,000."
Quotes from http://www.bartcop.com/ and others:
CHURCH AND STATE: THE GOLDEN SOLUTION (c)2006 Stan Tenen
In Judaism, it is said that all of Torah is summarized by "Torah on one foot" -- the Golden Rule -- "Don't do to others what is hateful to you. The rest is commentary; go and study." This Golden Rule stated "in the negative" is required to stop violence, vengeance, and chains of abuse dead in their tracks.In Christianity, the Golden Rule is also supreme: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
The Golden Rule is central to every spiritual tradition.The Golden Rule is also central to the "theory of mind" that makes us human. (This "objective" rational validation has been discussed by arch-skeptic, scholar, and scientist, Michael Shermer, in his columns in Scientific American, and in interviews and discussions on PBS.) The public idiom also includes the centrality of the Golden Rule, because everyone -- everyone indeed -- knows that "What goes around comes around." (Except, it seems sometimes, overly fervent "politicians".)
Religious people bemoan the secularization and bowdlerization of our society, and long for the teaching of their tradition's spiritual rules so as to bring a semblance of peace and sanity that is lacking in the exploitive, commercial (read "ungodly") world. Secularists and people who believe that religion is best served when it's kept completely separate from the state, also bemoan what's happening to our society. However, they refuse to impose one group's religious beliefs on another in response, because they know that this would be counterproductive, and lead only to more strife.The fact is that fervent advocates of their own faith (or politics) are not following the Golden Rule, because they certainly would not want themselves or their children to be subject to such advocacy in turn. In other words, fervent proselytization rejects the understanding that it's a law of nature that "what goes around comes around".
The Golden Rule tells us that those selling one faith will find themselves and their children sold another._Proselytization of the Golden Rule itself_ -- the root principle of _all_ our faiths and sciences -- leads to respect for each and every one of us, and for each and every faith and tradition.The world has never been, and certainly is not now, a monoculture.---Except in one regard: We all believe -- religious people and secular people alike, scientists and scholars alike, capitalists and socialists alike -- the Golden Rule. This is because, while it is our religious traditions who have most voiced this teaching, its original source is in all of us. All but the most unintelligent primate knows that others have feelings, and deserve the same respect and treatment that they wish for themselves. So, here's my proposal. Public schools (such as those in the US, where this is a current issue) should not teach the particular principles of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, or Buddhism (other than to mature students in comparative religion classes). Instead, they should teach the root principle underlying all of these traditions, and the traditions of skepticism, science, and scholarship as well. We don't teach the Ten Commandments; we teach that people who believe in the Ten Commandments should be respected by people who do not, and vice-versa -- because this is the Golden Rule. As a side-benefit, as it turns out, the Ten Commandments and the great principles of the other faiths of the world can be logically derived from the Golden Rule. It's not the gilded, greed-driven "invisible hand" of Adam Smith that guides the affairs of mice and men, but rather, the Golden Rule from the Hand of God and the mind of man coequally, that is the natural "temple" of intelligent and caring people. This, we can teach ourselves and our children. This is the idea that changed the world: "I speak for myself by what I do."
Stan Tenen Sharon, MA31 Jan 2006
Bush Explains Medicare Drug Bill
Verbatim Quote Submitted on 2005-12-13 16:35:14
WOMAN IN AUDIENCE: 'I don't really understand. How is the new plan going to fix the problem?'
Verbatim response:
PRESIDENT BUSH: "Because the -- all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculated, for example, is on the table. Whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those -- changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be -- or closer delivered to that has been promised. Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a series of things that cause the -- like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate -- the benefits will rise based upon inflation, supposed to wage increases. There is a reform that would > help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those -- if that growth is affected, it will help on the red."
You would not expect this from the mouths of children, so why ...
Surgeons Talk
Five surgeons are discussing who makes the best patients to operate on. The first surgeon says "I like to see accountants on my operating table because when you open them up everything inside is numbered."
The second responds "Yeah, but you should try electricians! Everything inside them is color coded."
The third surgeon says "No, I really think librarians are the best; everything inside them is in alphabetical order."
The fourth surgeon chimes in: "You know, I like construction workers. Those guys always understand when you have a few parts left over at the end, and when the job takes longer than you said it would."
But the fifth surgeon shut them all up when he observed: "You're all wrong. Politicians are the easiest to operate on. There's no guts, no heart, no balls, no brains and no spine, and the head and the ass are interchangeable."
Squared away marine
As Vice-President Cheney returned to the White House from his recent hunting trip to take his medicine from the President, he descended from the helicopter onto the lawn. He is carrying a baby pig under each arm.The squared away Marine guard snaps to attention, salutes, and says: "Nice pigs, sir."
The Vice-President replies: "These are not ordinary pigs, these are pot-bellied pigs that make nice pets. I got one for George and one for Laura.”
The squared away Marine again snaps to attention, salutes, and says, "Nice trade, sir."
Associated Free Press and Globe – February 17, 2006(Cheyenne, Wyo.) Vice-President, Dick Cheney, was in Wyoming today addressing the Wyoming Legislature. Cheney at one time was a resident of Wyoming, before relocating to Texas in the early 90’s. He then became the Vice-Presidential nominee in 1999. His nomination raised some eyebrows, because the Constitution prohibits both the President and Vice-President being from the same state. He smoothed over this controversy by claiming still to be a resident of Wyoming, and the furor subsided.
On this most recent trip to Wyoming the Vice-President was there to smooth over his latest difficulties. The Legislative body welcomed him warmly, and when introduced, he was told, “We’ll always consider you a native son, no matter where you reside.”
Mr. Cheney then delivered his speech to explain his actions surrounding his hunting accident, where he accidentally shot his hunting companion. He was on a quail hunting trip in Southern Texas, and then failed to report shooting his companion for some time. After the speech the Legislators gave him a standing ovation and patted him on the back.
Afterwards, some of the Legislators questioned Mr. Cheney about the lukewarm support of the President in his press release about the incident. Several of them suggested that the President would better understand how these accidents can happen, if Mr. Cheney would take Mr. Bush quail hunting with him more frequently."
"'Go F**k yourself, America?' Is that what Cheney was thinking? Maybe he figured, 'if it was good enough retort for Pat Leahy, it is good enough to tryout on America.'"
-- Larry Johnson, Link
"There was so much snow in Washington, D.C., Dick Cheney shot a fat guy thinking he was a polar bear."
-- Leno
"Can you imagine the outcry from the right wingers if Al Gore shot a guy? Rush Limbaugh, et al, saw scandal and conspiracy when the Clintons went to church. Republicans would have been calling for congressional hearings. The cable whores would have had special graphics in place, and ominous theme music playing every time they went to a commercial."
-- JBK, Link
"Who's calling the shots at the White House? Dick Cheney, of course. There are lots of lessons to be learned from the Cheney shooting and the ensuing press blackout. But the evidence suggests that Cheney isn't interested in learning any of them. Instead, the public is getting an opportunity to learn some lessons about Cheney. And lesson number one is that Cheney gets his way."
-- Dan Froomkin, Link
"The reason they didn't release the facts about the Cheney shooting right away is they said "We had to get the facts right." That's never stopped them in the past."
-- Craig Ferguson
"Moms, dads, do not let your kids go on hunting trips with the vice president. I don't care what kind of lucrative contracts they're trying to land, or energy regulations they're trying to get lifted -- it's just not worth it."
-- Jon Stewart
"Did you know that Dick Cheney tortured the guy for a half hour before he shot him?"
-- Jay Leno
"Now I understand why Dick Cheney keeps asking me to go hunting with him."
-- James Brady, Link
"All kidding aside, in fairness to Cheney, every five years he has to shed innocent blood or he violates his deal with the devil."
-- Jimmy Kimmel, forgetting about Iraq,
"The general rolling over on the part of the American press allowed the war to happen. The press is extremely chastened by that. I think we all know how bad it was."
-- Daniel Okrent, pretending the press now gets it Link
"It is an outrage that the Democratic Party has forced Paul Hackett out of the race for U.S. Senate. Hackett brought credibility on the number one issue facing the nation - the war in Iraq. The Democratic Party loses credibility on that issue because they had a hand in his decision."
-- Jon Stoltz, director of Veterans Political Action Committee Link
"Blind faith in Bush is the very opposite of all that which conservatism has stood for for the last four decades. The anti-government ethos espoused by Barry Goldwater and even Ronald Reagan is wholly unrecognizable in Bush followers, who – at least thus far – have discovered no limits on the powers that ought to be vested in George Bush to enable him "to do good" on behalf of all of us. And in that regard, people like Michelle Malkin and Jonah Goldberg are not conservatives. They are authoritarian cultists. Their allegiance is not to any principles of government but to Bush. The rage-based reverence for Bush -- and the creepy, blind faith vested in his goodness -- is not a movement I recognize as being conservative or even American."
-- Glenn Greenwald, Link
"American conservatives have watched dumbfounded as their Republican Congress and Bush engineered the largest expansion of the federal government in modern history."
-- Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Link
"It's time for an award to John Boehner. Mr. Boehner was elected to reform House Republicans, who are feeling the heat from lobbyist scandals. Well, he rents his apartment from a lobbyist who had clients who had interests in legislation that Boehner sponsored. And for that, Mr. Boehner, you've just won a pair of Stephen Colbert's big brass balls."
-- Stephen Colbert,
"All we ask is that we not turn into a country like Iran, where the president can do anything he wants."
-- Howard Dean, being mean to the self-appointed Emperor, King
"From a short item inside the Times' business section Sunday: 'War always has winners and losers -- on both sides.' Some 'indisputable winners' so far? Defense contractors. Courtesy of the Times, we find Halliburton's profits are up 292 percent.'"
-- Tim Grieve, Link
"Barack Obama is the Donovan McNabb of the Senate."
-- Rush the vulgar Pigboy, reminding us why football fired his racist ass, Link
"During my stewardship here, I'm going to put everybody under oath when we have testimony, as we do on confirmation hearings."
- Judi Chair Arlen Specter, April 5, 2005 Link
"It is my judgment that it is unnecessary to swear Alberto Gonzales."
- Judi Chair Arlen Specter, Feb 6, 2006 Link
"Saint King Dumbf**k could: stumble to the podium at his next PC drunk, blow a .30 on a breathalyzer, take a dump on stage, perform a public abortion, behead his wife, blow Cheney, sell Michigan to the Chinese for a pound of noodles, light a few farts, boil a few bunnies - and he would not be impeached."
-- jtree, who knows the Democrats pretty well, Link
"Every senator in this chamber is partly responsible for sending 50,000 young Americans to an early grave. This chamber reeks of blood... It does not take any courage at all for a congressman, or a senator, or a president to wrap himself in the flag and say we are staying in Vietnam, because it is not our blood that is being shed. But we are responsible for those young men and their lives and their hopes."
-- Sen. George McGovern, Sept 1, 1970, Link
Early in the week I was watching some of the posturing regarding a congressional resolution against Iran for its nuclear ambitions. Under Bush the Lesser, which is saying something given the benchmark, the US has resumed creating nuclear weapons and is poised to resume nuclear testing. The US is the only nation having used nuclear weapons in anger. Arguably, Israel is the second most likely nation to use them again. In any event, here we go again, the drumbeat for a war against Iran is building.
The preemptive, illegal invasion of Iraq has seriously destabilized the Middle East and the world by creating enemies faster than the US can kill them. Democracy, and peace, begin at home. By our actions they will know us, in other words. Unfortunately they do, thanks to BushCo.
How much worse can it get? We're about to find out, I'm afraid.
* * * *
The other night, we went to some friends' home for a monthly film viewing. Our hosts selected "Butterfly", a Spanish film about life in a village just prior to the Spanish Civil War in the 30's. In most ways it was a beautiful and pleasant story about people living and working harmoniously, enjoying life.
While most of history's focus on pre-WWII Europe's fascist landscape deals with Germany and its Brownshirts, the film reminded me that Italy had its Blackshirts, and Spain, unknown to me, had its, what I would call, Purpleshirts. Hard for me to identify the hue accurately. My first thought, when the lights came on, was the US version would doubtless be Redwhiteandblueshirts. It wouldn't, however, roll off the tongue.
Global Eye
"But a militarist state must have war: to justify its draconian rule (and those $550 billion 'defense' budgets), to find new fields for dominion and swag, and to seal with blood its illegitimate compact with the people, seeking to make them complicit in its crimes, which are committed in their name, for their 'security.' Fortunately for the militarists, Bush has promised war in abundance. Just this month, the Pentagon released its new strategy, heralding the newly dubbed 'Long War' against terrorism, where U.S. forces will be deployed, openly and covertly, 'in dozens of countries simultaneously' for decades to come. The plan is designed to 'ensure that no foreign power can dictate the terms of regional or global security'-- except, of course, for the dictatorial foreign power emanating from the Potomac."
We must defend our nation's principles
"What is most troubling about this is that it is not an isolated incident. We see the same pattern reflected in the president's decision, in the same stroke of the pen, as he signed Senator John McCain's amendment outlawing torture - to reserve the right to ignore Congress and authorize torture of people, if he sees fit. What is troubling is not merely the spying or the torture. Rather, by claiming to be above the law, President Bush is undermining the very thing that distinguishes us from our terrorist enemies."
The trust gap
"We can't think of a president who has gone to the American people more often than George W. Bush has to ask them to forget about things like democracy, judicial process and the balance of powers — and just trust him. We also can't think of a president who has deserved that trust less."
Is the president above the law?
"Roberts later said he believed the President's authority was 'above laws passed by Congress.' In other words, George W. Bush is a dictator with absolute authority and no one, not the law and certainly not Congress, has the power to question or override that authority."
Harper's Weekly Review
Iraq war vet abandons Ohio political bid
"National Democratic leaders, especially Sen. Charles Schumer, added to that pressure by telling his top fundraisers to stop sending money, Hackett said."
This is a huge story showing the lack of significant differences between the Repugs and Dems. Factor in Hackett's disdain for Smirk's war for oil and Schumer's pro Israeli bent, and it's clear that "Merica's best interests are minor considerations compared to the needs of special interest groups and big money.
Bush's priorities: Found in translation
"In a speech last week to the Business and Industry Association for New Hampshire, President Bush explained his mindset when determining how to spend American taxpayer dollars. 'Of course, you'd like to take a vacation every week, you know, some exotic place -- but you've got to set your priorities -- you can't do that. You want do this or do that, go to a fancy restaurant every night, but that's not setting priorities.' Given the make-up of his budget, President Bush apparently thinks that funding priorities like education, veterans' health, and a strong defense is akin to buying a cruise to Tahiti. Below, we've translated some other Bush's other priorities, as evidenced in his proposed 2007 budget. (For the best coverage of the latest budget news, visit American Progress' new Budget Blog.)"
President wants to end seniors' food program
"Now President Bush wants to eliminate the program, one of 141 federal initiatives that his proposed new budget would scrap or cut dramatically. He is proposing to shift people in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program over to food stamps."
Bush administration spent over $1.6 billion on advertising and public relations contracts since 2003, GAO finds
"Today Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Rep. George Miller, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, and other senior Democrats released a new Government Accountability Office report finding that the Bush Administration spent more than $1.6 billion in public relations and media contracts in a two and a half year span."
Well, eh, eh, we got ta have our, you know, priorities. A priority, by the way, is when you believe one thing's more important than another. That's why I'm president . . . eh, eh.
How governments, bankers, seccret lodges, the Vatican and thr Mafia impacted international politics in the 1970s and 1980s
"Italian politics have not fundamentally changed course since the corrupt and conspiratorial 1970s; on the contrary, social and economic conditions have driven the entire elite to the right. The country is presided over by the most right-wing figure in postwar history, an individual who has almost complete control over the media (as the head of the executive, Berlusconi oversees the public RAI radio-TV network, in addition to owning the largest private network)."
This isn't mainstream by any means, but it supports the idea of a global right-wing conspiracy.
Pentagon prepares for military strikes against Iran
"An article in last weekend’s edition of the Sunday Telegraph in Britain confirms that the US is drawing up plans for air and missile strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Long-distance B2 bombers, each carrying up to 20 tonnes of precision bombs and flying from bases in the US, would 'most likely' be involved."
H. Con. Res. 341: Condemning the government of Iran for violating its international nuclear nonproliferation . . .
"Passed: On Agreeing to the Resolution: H CON RES 341 Condemning the Government of Iran for violating its international nuclear nonproliferation obligations and expressing support for efforts to report Iran to the United Nations Security Council"
Deja vu.
Bush administration seeks funds for regime change in Iran
"Speaking to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared that the US would 'actively confront' Iran and called for an extra $75 million to fund anti-Tehran propaganda and to support opposition groups inside and outside the country. Last year just $10 million was allocated to such activities."
I wonder if the budget includes sending Karen Hughes and Kindasleezy into Iran to personally help establish democracy.
Lab officials excited by new H-bomb project
"For the first time in more than 20 years, U.S. nuclear-weapons scientists are designing a new H-bomb, the first of probably several new nuclear explosives on the drawing boards.
"If they succeed, in perhaps 20 or 25 more years, the United States would have an entirely new nuclear arsenal, and a highly automated factory capable of turning out more warheads as needed, as well as new kinds of warheads."
Selling war against Iran: Propaganda campaign portrays Iran as a pariah state
While U.S. forces and their allies are continuing the destruction of Iraq and sadistic torture of Iraqi civilians, the phantom of Iran 'threat' is being amplified across the world. Speculations about possible U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran have reached a stage of war propaganda by Western media and Western pundits. The aims are: to demonise Iran and keep the public in state of war, and create a smokescreen to divert the public from greater war crimes in Iraq and Palestine."
WWIII or bust: Implications of a US attack on Iran
"Witnessing the Bush administration's drive for an attack on Iran is like being a passenger in a car with a raving drunk at the wheel. Reports of impending doom surfaced a year ago, but now it's official: under orders from Vice President Cheney's office, the Pentagon has developed 'last resort' aerial-assault plans using long-distance B2 bombers and submarine-launched ballistic missiles with both conventional and nuclear weapons."
Martial law here soon to follow.
China rushes to complete $100B deal with Iran
"China is hastening to complete a deal worth as much as $100 billion that would allow a Chinese state-owned energy firm to take a leading role in developing a vast oil field in Iran, complicating the Bush administration's efforts to isolate the Middle Eastern nation and roll back its nuclear development plans, according to published reports."
How dare the yellow bastids! That's our oil.
The Pentagon's war on the Internet
"The Pentagon has developed a comprehensive strategy for taking over the internet and controlling the free flow of information. The plan appears in a recently declassified document, 'The Information Operations Roadmap', which was provided under the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) and revealed in an article by the BBC.
"The Pentagon sees the internet in terms of a military adversary that poses a vital threat to its stated mission of global domination. This explains the confrontational language in the document which speaks of 'fighting the net'; implying that the internet is the equivalent of 'an enemy weapons system.'"
Operation "1984".
Senate panel decides against eavesdropping inquiry, for now
"Earlier today, the Senate handed the administration a victory as it voted, 96 to 3, not to hold up the Patriot Act to incorporate changes urged by Senator Russell D. Feingold, the act's most persistent critic."
Police state.
Patriot Act moves closer to renewal
"Feingold, who is considering seeking his party's presidential nomination, plans to make the Senate spend several more days on the bill. He complained that Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., had used procedural maneuvers to prevent him from trying to add more protections for people investigated by the government."
Feingold (D-cajones) a patriot against the "Patriot Act" may make a good president.
Doing the president's dirty work
"Is there any aspect of President Bush's miserable record on intelligence that Senator Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is not willing to excuse and help to cover up?"
No. Hard to determine which of the many GOP senators or representatives are the scummiest; however, Roberts would make the top ten list.
Surgery before diagnosis
"In an attempt to head off a congressional investigation into President Bush's illegal domestic spying program, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) announced yesterday that he had reached an agreement with the White House to 'fix' the National Security Agency (NSA) wiretapping program. Roberts did not give any specifics about the agreement. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Capitol, a dispute broke out among conservative members of the House Intelligence Committee over the scope of their own inquiry into the surveillance program, with Chairman Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) pushing for a more limited inquiry. The developments yesterday indicate the success of Vice President Dick Cheney's closed-door cajoling of lawmakers in his own party, having convinced them for the time being not to launch a full-scale investigation into the administration's intelligence-gathering activities. Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV), ranking member of the intelligence panel, explained the meaning of the most recent developments. 'It is apparent to me that the White House has applied heavy pressure in recent weeks to prevent the committee from doing its job. Although some members of this committee indicate they need more time to decide on what action to take, I believe this is another stalling tactic.'"
Names on US terror list quadruple
"The National Counterterrorism Center maintains a central repository of 325,000 names of alleged international terrorism suspects or people who aid them, a number that has more than quadrupled since the fall of 2003, according to counterterrorism officials."
Advise and assent
"THAT THE UNITED STATES Senate has a body called the Intelligence Committee is an irony George Orwell would have truly appreciated. In a world without Doublespeak, the panel, chaired by GOP Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, would be known by a more appropriate name — the Senate Coverup Committee."
A surge in whistle-blowing and reprisals
"Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the number of insiders alleging wrongdoing in government - either through whistle-blower channels or directly to the press - has surged, as have reprisals against them."
Whistleblower says NSA violations bigger
"A former NSA employee said Tuesday there is another ongoing top-secret surveillance program that might have violated millions of Americans' Constitutional rights."
Senators push probe of claims against FBI
"Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, urged the Justice Department's inspector general to determine whether the FBI denied a promotion to agent Bassem Youssef after Youssef complained about FBI management to another member of Congress, Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va."
Whistleblowers are more patriotic than the patriots pushing the Patriot Act.
Who will blow the whistle before we attack Iran?
"Let's see if we cannot do better this time than we did on Iraq. Patriotic truth tellers, we need you! In an interview last year with US News and World Report, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel said that on Iraq, 'The White House is completely disconnected from reality ... It's like they're just making it up as they go along.'"
Judge orders action on spying documents
"A federal judge dealt a setback to the Bush administration on its warrantless surveillance program, ordering the Justice Department on Thursday to release documents about the highly classified effort within 20 days or compile a list of what it is withholding."
Lawyers group slams Bush on eavesdropping
"The American Bar Association told President George W. Bush on Monday to either stop domestic eavesdropping without a warrant or get the law changed to make it legal."
'The Americans are breaking international law . . . it is a society heading towards Animal Farm' - Archbishop Sentamu on Guantanamo
"Dr Sentamu, the Church of England's second in command, urged the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) to take legal action against the US - through the US courts or the International Court of Justice at The Hague - should it fail to respond to a report, by five UN inspectors, advising that Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay should be shut immediately because prisoners there are being tortured."
US rejects UN report on Gitmo
"'These are dangerous terrorists that we're talking about that are there,' spokesman Scott McClellan said."
The Pillsbury Doughboy speaks.
US pursues "inoculation" strategy to curb Chavez
"In what she termed an 'inoculation'' strategy, Rice said she had sought support from Europe and other Latin American nations to highlight U.S. charges that the populist Chavez abuses his power to target political opponents and business leaders."
Those damned foreign democracies are unAmerican.and need to be stopped.
Chavez threatens to cut off oil to US if it 'crosses the line'
"Chavez, who did not clarify how Washington might incur such a sanction, apparently was reacting to Thursday’s call by US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice for an international 'united front' against Venezuela."
US and Israel deny plans to drive Hamas from power
"American and Israeli officials warned again Tuesday that they would cut off aid and transfers of tax receipts to a Hamas-led Palestinian government if it did not renounce violence and recognize Israel. They said, however, that they had no plans to oust such a government."
Israeli cabinet oks economic sanctions
"The Israeli Cabinet on Sunday approved a halt in monthly transfers of tens of millions of dollars to the Palestinians, in the first response to Hamas taking control of the Palestinian parliament."
Palestinians ordered to return US aid
The United States has asked the Palestinian Authority to return $50 million in US aid because Washington does not want a Hamas-led government to have the funds.
Syria switches to euro amid confrontation with US
"Syria has switched all of the state's foreign currency transactions to euros from dollars amid a political confrontation with the United States, the head of state-owned Commercial Bank of Syria said on Monday."
War threats follow countries dumping US dollar: Countries dump dollar in dealings for oil, dumping the dollar - Syria, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela
" . . . on the one hand there is the Iranian decision of opening the first oil bourse priced in Euros on March 20th, 2006 in Teheran, available to all oil producers of the region . . . ."
Does this mean Iran will be bombed before March 20th?
Iraq economy falls below pre-war levels
"The Bush administration on Thursday conceded that key sectors of the Iraqi economy had fallen below pre-war levels because of the insurgency, but insisted it was making enough progress on the political and security fronts to press ahead with reductions in US forces.
Iraq and the US share common ground.
Iraq: What Cheney truly has to answer for
"'Violence, police corruption and the blurry lines of guerrilla warfare are clouding any hopes of victory. ‘It's apocalyptic out there. Life has definitely gotten worse for’ Iraqis, said Maj. Curtis Strange, 36, of Mobile, Ala., who works with Iraqi troops in Samarra. ‘You see Samarra and you almost want to build a new city and move all these people there.’"
US has royalty plan to give windfall to oil companies
"The government is on the verge of one of the biggest oil and gas giveaways in U.S. history, some $7 billion over five years."
Audits show millions in Katrina aid wasted
"The Federal Emergency Management Agency recognizes it 'made many, many mistakes,' and is working on improvement, said Homeland Security inspector general Richard Skinner. 'But they're not where they should be. In some cases, the government will have little legal recourse to recoup payments to contractors for payments.'"
Billions wasted in Iraq?
"Billions of dollars are unaccounted for, and there are widespread allegations of waste, fraud and war profiteering. So far only one case, the subject of a civil lawsuit that goes to trial this week, has been unsealed. It involves a company called Custer Battles, and as 60 Minutes correspondent Steve Kroft reports, the lawsuit provides a window into the chaos of those early days in Iraq."
Is BushCo setting a record for graft and corruption? Rhetorical question.
Bush budget would cut popular health programs
"President Bush has requested billions more to prepare for potential disasters such as a biological attack or an influenza epidemic, but his proposed budget for next year would zero out popular health projects that supporters say target more mundane, but more certain, killers."
Bush's policies don't promote growth: The economic evidence is clear - the president's tax changes have not worked to improve the health of the economy.
"The economic evidence is clear: the president’s tax changes have not worked to improve the health of the economy. Business investment, employment, and wages have all underperformed past recoveries. Furthermore, the choices made in the president’s budget put at risk the future health of the nation by running massive deficits and by cutting back on important national investments in education, science, and energy."
Can a finite system (earth) with limited resources survive the aim for infinite growth by a species that does not control its population nor its desire for the satisfaction of unlimited wants?
US gov't $25 mln from debt ceiling
"The Treasury said its total public debt subject to the statutory debt limit rose $10.03 billion on Thursday to $8,183,975,000,000."
Quotes from http://www.bartcop.com/ and others:
CHURCH AND STATE: THE GOLDEN SOLUTION (c)2006 Stan Tenen
In Judaism, it is said that all of Torah is summarized by "Torah on one foot" -- the Golden Rule -- "Don't do to others what is hateful to you. The rest is commentary; go and study." This Golden Rule stated "in the negative" is required to stop violence, vengeance, and chains of abuse dead in their tracks.In Christianity, the Golden Rule is also supreme: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
The Golden Rule is central to every spiritual tradition.The Golden Rule is also central to the "theory of mind" that makes us human. (This "objective" rational validation has been discussed by arch-skeptic, scholar, and scientist, Michael Shermer, in his columns in Scientific American, and in interviews and discussions on PBS.) The public idiom also includes the centrality of the Golden Rule, because everyone -- everyone indeed -- knows that "What goes around comes around." (Except, it seems sometimes, overly fervent "politicians".
Religious people bemoan the secularization and bowdlerization of our society, and long for the teaching of their tradition's spiritual rules so as to bring a semblance of peace and sanity that is lacking in the exploitive, commercial (read "ungodly") world. Secularists and people who believe that religion is best served when it's kept completely separate from the state, also bemoan what's happening to our society. However, they refuse to impose one group's religious beliefs on another in response, because they know that this would be counterproductive, and lead only to more strife.The fact is that fervent advocates of their own faith (or politics) are not following the Golden Rule, because they certainly would not want themselves or their children to be subject to such advocacy in turn. In other words, fervent proselytization rejects the understanding that it's a law of nature that "what goes around comes around".
The Golden Rule tells us that those selling one faith will find themselves and their children sold another._Proselytization of the Golden Rule itself_ -- the root principle of _all_ our faiths and sciences -- leads to respect for each and every one of us, and for each and every faith and tradition.The world has never been, and certainly is not now, a monoculture.---Except in one regard: We all believe -- religious people and secular people alike, scientists and scholars alike, capitalists and socialists alike -- the Golden Rule. This is because, while it is our religious traditions who have most voiced this teaching, its original source is in all of us. All but the most unintelligent primate knows that others have feelings, and deserve the same respect and treatment that they wish for themselves. So, here's my proposal. Public schools (such as those in the US, where this is a current issue) should not teach the particular principles of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, or Buddhism (other than to mature students in comparative religion classes). Instead, they should teach the root principle underlying all of these traditions, and the traditions of skepticism, science, and scholarship as well. We don't teach the Ten Commandments; we teach that people who believe in the Ten Commandments should be respected by people who do not, and vice-versa -- because this is the Golden Rule. As a side-benefit, as it turns out, the Ten Commandments and the great principles of the other faiths of the world can be logically derived from the Golden Rule. It's not the gilded, greed-driven "invisible hand" of Adam Smith that guides the affairs of mice and men, but rather, the Golden Rule from the Hand of God and the mind of man coequally, that is the natural "temple" of intelligent and caring people. This, we can teach ourselves and our children. This is the idea that changed the world: "I speak for myself by what I do."
Stan Tenen Sharon, MA31 Jan 2006
Bush Explains Medicare Drug Bill
Verbatim Quote Submitted on 2005-12-13 16:35:14
WOMAN IN AUDIENCE: 'I don't really understand. How is the new plan going to fix the problem?'
Verbatim response:
PRESIDENT BUSH: "Because the -- all which is on the table begins to address the big cost drivers. For example, how benefits are calculated, for example, is on the table. Whether or not benefits rise based upon wage increases or price increases. There's a series of parts of the formula that are being considered. And when you couple that, those different cost drivers, affecting those -- changing those with personal accounts, the idea is to get what has been promised more likely to be -- or closer delivered to that has been promised. Does that make any sense to you? It's kind of muddled. Look, there's a series of things that cause the -- like, for example, benefits are calculated based upon the increase of wages, as opposed to the increase of prices. Some have suggested that we calculate -- the benefits will rise based upon inflation, supposed to wage increases. There is a reform that would > help solve the red if that were put into effect. In other words, how fast benefits grow, how fast the promised benefits grow, if those -- if that growth is affected, it will help on the red."
You would not expect this from the mouths of children, so why ...
Surgeons Talk
Five surgeons are discussing who makes the best patients to operate on. The first surgeon says "I like to see accountants on my operating table because when you open them up everything inside is numbered."
The second responds "Yeah, but you should try electricians! Everything inside them is color coded."
The third surgeon says "No, I really think librarians are the best; everything inside them is in alphabetical order."
The fourth surgeon chimes in: "You know, I like construction workers. Those guys always understand when you have a few parts left over at the end, and when the job takes longer than you said it would."
But the fifth surgeon shut them all up when he observed: "You're all wrong. Politicians are the easiest to operate on. There's no guts, no heart, no balls, no brains and no spine, and the head and the ass are interchangeable."
Squared away marine
As Vice-President Cheney returned to the White House from his recent hunting trip to take his medicine from the President, he descended from the helicopter onto the lawn. He is carrying a baby pig under each arm.The squared away Marine guard snaps to attention, salutes, and says: "Nice pigs, sir."
The Vice-President replies: "These are not ordinary pigs, these are pot-bellied pigs that make nice pets. I got one for George and one for Laura.”
The squared away Marine again snaps to attention, salutes, and says, "Nice trade, sir."
Associated Free Press and Globe – February 17, 2006(Cheyenne, Wyo.) Vice-President, Dick Cheney, was in Wyoming today addressing the Wyoming Legislature. Cheney at one time was a resident of Wyoming, before relocating to Texas in the early 90’s. He then became the Vice-Presidential nominee in 1999. His nomination raised some eyebrows, because the Constitution prohibits both the President and Vice-President being from the same state. He smoothed over this controversy by claiming still to be a resident of Wyoming, and the furor subsided.
On this most recent trip to Wyoming the Vice-President was there to smooth over his latest difficulties. The Legislative body welcomed him warmly, and when introduced, he was told, “We’ll always consider you a native son, no matter where you reside.”
Mr. Cheney then delivered his speech to explain his actions surrounding his hunting accident, where he accidentally shot his hunting companion. He was on a quail hunting trip in Southern Texas, and then failed to report shooting his companion for some time. After the speech the Legislators gave him a standing ovation and patted him on the back.
Afterwards, some of the Legislators questioned Mr. Cheney about the lukewarm support of the President in his press release about the incident. Several of them suggested that the President would better understand how these accidents can happen, if Mr. Cheney would take Mr. Bush quail hunting with him more frequently."
"'Go F**k yourself, America?' Is that what Cheney was thinking? Maybe he figured, 'if it was good enough retort for Pat Leahy, it is good enough to tryout on America.'"
-- Larry Johnson, Link
"There was so much snow in Washington, D.C., Dick Cheney shot a fat guy thinking he was a polar bear."
-- Leno
"Can you imagine the outcry from the right wingers if Al Gore shot a guy? Rush Limbaugh, et al, saw scandal and conspiracy when the Clintons went to church. Republicans would have been calling for congressional hearings. The cable whores would have had special graphics in place, and ominous theme music playing every time they went to a commercial."
-- JBK, Link
"Who's calling the shots at the White House? Dick Cheney, of course. There are lots of lessons to be learned from the Cheney shooting and the ensuing press blackout. But the evidence suggests that Cheney isn't interested in learning any of them. Instead, the public is getting an opportunity to learn some lessons about Cheney. And lesson number one is that Cheney gets his way."
-- Dan Froomkin, Link
"The reason they didn't release the facts about the Cheney shooting right away is they said "We had to get the facts right." That's never stopped them in the past."
-- Craig Ferguson
"Moms, dads, do not let your kids go on hunting trips with the vice president. I don't care what kind of lucrative contracts they're trying to land, or energy regulations they're trying to get lifted -- it's just not worth it."
-- Jon Stewart
"Did you know that Dick Cheney tortured the guy for a half hour before he shot him?"
-- Jay Leno
"Now I understand why Dick Cheney keeps asking me to go hunting with him."
-- James Brady, Link
"All kidding aside, in fairness to Cheney, every five years he has to shed innocent blood or he violates his deal with the devil."
-- Jimmy Kimmel, forgetting about Iraq,
"The general rolling over on the part of the American press allowed the war to happen. The press is extremely chastened by that. I think we all know how bad it was."
-- Daniel Okrent, pretending the press now gets it Link
"It is an outrage that the Democratic Party has forced Paul Hackett out of the race for U.S. Senate. Hackett brought credibility on the number one issue facing the nation - the war in Iraq. The Democratic Party loses credibility on that issue because they had a hand in his decision."
-- Jon Stoltz, director of Veterans Political Action Committee Link
"Blind faith in Bush is the very opposite of all that which conservatism has stood for for the last four decades. The anti-government ethos espoused by Barry Goldwater and even Ronald Reagan is wholly unrecognizable in Bush followers, who – at least thus far – have discovered no limits on the powers that ought to be vested in George Bush to enable him "to do good" on behalf of all of us. And in that regard, people like Michelle Malkin and Jonah Goldberg are not conservatives. They are authoritarian cultists. Their allegiance is not to any principles of government but to Bush. The rage-based reverence for Bush -- and the creepy, blind faith vested in his goodness -- is not a movement I recognize as being conservative or even American."
-- Glenn Greenwald, Link
"American conservatives have watched dumbfounded as their Republican Congress and Bush engineered the largest expansion of the federal government in modern history."
-- Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-CO), Link
"It's time for an award to John Boehner. Mr. Boehner was elected to reform House Republicans, who are feeling the heat from lobbyist scandals. Well, he rents his apartment from a lobbyist who had clients who had interests in legislation that Boehner sponsored. And for that, Mr. Boehner, you've just won a pair of Stephen Colbert's big brass balls."
-- Stephen Colbert,
"All we ask is that we not turn into a country like Iran, where the president can do anything he wants."
-- Howard Dean, being mean to the self-appointed Emperor, King
"From a short item inside the Times' business section Sunday: 'War always has winners and losers -- on both sides.' Some 'indisputable winners' so far? Defense contractors. Courtesy of the Times, we find Halliburton's profits are up 292 percent.'"
-- Tim Grieve, Link
"Barack Obama is the Donovan McNabb of the Senate."
-- Rush the vulgar Pigboy, reminding us why football fired his racist ass, Link
"During my stewardship here, I'm going to put everybody under oath when we have testimony, as we do on confirmation hearings."
- Judi Chair Arlen Specter, April 5, 2005 Link
"It is my judgment that it is unnecessary to swear Alberto Gonzales."
- Judi Chair Arlen Specter, Feb 6, 2006 Link
"Saint King Dumbf**k could: stumble to the podium at his next PC drunk, blow a .30 on a breathalyzer, take a dump on stage, perform a public abortion, behead his wife, blow Cheney, sell Michigan to the Chinese for a pound of noodles, light a few farts, boil a few bunnies - and he would not be impeached."
-- jtree, who knows the Democrats pretty well, Link
"Every senator in this chamber is partly responsible for sending 50,000 young Americans to an early grave. This chamber reeks of blood... It does not take any courage at all for a congressman, or a senator, or a president to wrap himself in the flag and say we are staying in Vietnam, because it is not our blood that is being shed. But we are responsible for those young men and their lives and their hopes."
-- Sen. George McGovern, Sept 1, 1970, Link
posted by Jerry | 7:50 PM
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