Hmm, title says it all. Might as well be a copy of the Constitution on there too. I’ve avoided blogging anything about 9.11, as so much is out there, from the issues with the ABC docudrama, the politicization of the anniversary (for instance, Bush laying the wreath at the site of the WTC, with only Republican representatives with him), etc, etc, etc. I simply wish that at some point, those that differ on domestic issues, can rationally approach our global issues on a united front, and sanely resolve the conflicts that effect our security, both home and abroad. I’d also like to see the powers that be see that the continued death and injury that befalls our military overseas is not a price worth continuing to pay, and find diplomatic solutions to resolve the civil war in Iraq.
Tag: bush
“We Know Who You’ve Been Talking To…”
“It’s time for you to get some new cell phones, quick,” the source told us in an in-person conversation…Other sources have told us that phone calls and contacts by reporters for ABC News, along with the New York Times and the Washington Post, are being examined as part of a widespread CIA leak investigation.
When will it stop? What has to happen for the voices of the sanity and democracy to rise above this administration and reign it back in?
I’ve not posted about this really, as it seems everyone else has said it more eloquently than I, but at this point, I think people simply need to continue to put it out there, don’t let it go away with another news cycle about another cute blonde disappearing in the tropics (as sad as the story is, it shouldn’t be prime time news, every night).
And instead of coming clean tonight, he’s going to talk about sending soldiers to the southern border.
Hat tip to Bob Harris for the link
Father Knows Best
Father Knows Best (Quicktime Movie) Americans United
George Says…
This is great. You too can tell George what to say
File Under: “No He Didn’t”
President Says DeLay Is Not Guilty of Money Laundering
I hope that he will, ’cause I like him, and plus, when he’s over there, we get our votes through the House,” Bush told Fox News’s Brit Hume.
What happened to the “if anyone in my administation is guilty…”. Someone must know something we don’t.
Could This Be Rumsfeld’s Last Stand
House Panel Subpoenas Rumsfeld on Katrina Rumors have flown for weeks, months, hell, years, that Rumsfeld was on his way out. News reports have surfaced that the Bush administration, in attempts to woo moderate Dems, was going to name the military genius and failed VP candidate Lieberman, to replace Rummy. But Rumsfeld stands by his declaration that he wasn’t going to retire any time soon. But could the White House take this opportunity of a Republican led inquiry into the Katrina response to throw Rumsfeld under the bus and use his departments handling of the things, and not the hot potato of Iraq as the “last straw” to force out Rumsfeld, and temporarily deflect attention, and at the same time, protect, the so far, under the radar Andy Card?
Family Upset Over Soldier’s Body Arriving As Freight
10News.com So our tax dollars can fly Cheney and his staff all over the country on fund raising jaunts, and stump speeches, but we can’t give the men and women who fall in the line of duty fighting his war the proper and respectful transport all the way from the battle field to their home town. Just one more disgusting fact from this administration.
More Proof of the Ineptitude in the Bush White House
Qaeda-Iraq Link U.S. Cited Is Tied to Coercion Claim – New York Times
Next we’ll read that they were getting their information from scrap pieces of paper they found in the Starbucks on Kandahar.
I’ll Publish the Memo
Old bubbles back global warming theory
Old bubbles back global warming theory
You MR 37% approval rating, I know you don’t read the newspaper, but perhaps someone can pass along the journal Science to him so he can read the study first hand…
Ethics Classes
Washington Post
Bush’s response has been so far to not comment, and send his entire staff, including Rove, to ethics class. A whole hour long on how to handle classified documents. That’s the best he’s got? Not quite the “heads will roll if anyone in my administration was involved” attitude his little John Wayne act tried. I’m sure though the Republican’s will applaud such a move. Next, geography lessons for the President.
Bush Administration Wins Emmy
Well, in a round about way. John Stewart and his show The Daily Show won an Emmy Last night for some kind of comedy show. I didn’t watch the awards, rarely have. I was busy with my own comedy of errors, but that’s another story. But in some fashion, if he didn’t do it last night, Stewart has to share that award with the Bush administration. Know that Stewart is an equal opportunity critic, and his jokes are only pointed towards those who blow it, not one party or another.
But my real question is this – Does this award create an even greater undercurrent of anti-administration disdain, or does painting The Daily Show as pure comedy, and not satire, minimize the sad truth that is at the core of most of Stewart’s show?
Let There Be Light
Brian Williams – MSNBC.com Is reporting that miraculously a half hour before the Prez arrived for his big speech, the power came on in New Orleans. And like clockwork, an hour after he left, it went off. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation I mean, those left behind don’t really need it for anything, do they?
Poor Mr Brown
Poor, poor, Mike Brown. He feels humiliated that he was pulled out of New Orleans. How bloody humiliated are the people living in conditions in the hurricane stricken region? How much money of ours has been squandered in the lack of preparation? And to that end, is this another “falling on the sword” loyal lap dog? At what point will the Bush administration, and Bush specifically be held responsible for appointing lap dogs like Brown. How many deaths will it take? Obviously more than 2000, as Iraq has proven. But how about the 45 dead bodies that were found in the hospital today? Were they preventable? I wonder how they felt about the privatization of Social Security?
Bush Suspends Minimum Wage in Federal Contracts
Proclamation Apparently, there’s provisions that state the Labor Secretary sets a minumum wage to pay various levels of laborers and “mechanics”. Well, Bush has suspended this provision. It’s written into the provision that he can, and in some circumstances, I can understand why. But we are talking about Bush, and Cheney, and I can see how some corporate contractors seize an opportunity to not pay laborers a federally mandated min. rate, but still charge their “normal” fees. So prior to the Hurricane, a skilled worker in NO would have been paid a certain rate if working on a federal contract, now he will be paid less. Good thing those tax cuts went to those who needed it most…
Rehnquist Passes
As if our country doesn’t have enough on its plate, it is being reported Chief Justice Rehnquist died today. So we are still arguing the merits of Roberts (to no avail), and now the discussion of which ultra-right wing judge will move up to replace Scalia, as he moves to Chief Justice. Unless Bush pulls the PR move and names Sandra Day O’Conner, he has found the perfect distraction from his debacle in the delta.
Rehnquist Passes
As if our country doesn’t have enough on its plate, it is being reported Chief Justice Rehnquist died today. So we are still arguing the merits of Roberts (to no avail), and now the discussion of which ultra-right wing judge will move up to replace Scalia, as he moves to Chief Justice. Unless Bush pulls the PR move and names Sandra Day O’Conner, he has found the perfect distraction from his debacle in the delta.
Trickle Down Economics?
Census Economic Briefing RoomsHmm. Household income stagnat in real dollars, poverty up, uninsured Americans, up, homeownership down a percent, yeah, sounds about time to take a vacation. If my fellow Americans do not put this Administration and those that have supported it on a very long vacation starting next year, I’m gonna start pricing guns and land in Montana…anyone else in?
Where’s George?
Potentially one of the worst natural disasters in the last 25 years, a breakdown in the Iraqi constitution, soaring crude oil prices, and where’s George? Hunkering down in Mississippi? No. Meeting with experts on alternative energy? NO. Bringing together representatives of the Sunni and Shiite factions to work out a compromise? Hell no. He’s sitting with a bunch of retirees in Sun City stroking them about the advantages of privatized Social Security. Oh, sure, you say, “he did tell the folks in Lousiana and Mississippi that the country would pray for them. You know, on second thought, go back to Crawford George, and take the rest of the year off.
When In Doubt, Lie
So I caught part of the President’s speech today at the VFW conference today, and as the pressure is mounting on both sides of the aisle (that was Republican Chuck Hagel, Vietnam Vet, saying that Iraq was looking more and more like Vietnam, right?), and what did I hear him invoke? Ah, the old September 11th mantra. Is he foolish enough to think that people are still buying that, or am I foolish enough to think people have seen through the smoke screen and realize that Iraq has nothing to do Sept 11. Either way, with all the bickering and jostling for election positions, the GOP sure isn’t sending a united message, and the Dems are still figuring out how Dean got elected to head the party. Meanwhile, I feel we are on a ship at 1/2 throttle with the wheel tied off so we just keep going in a big circle. Every once in a while, we see land, and think we are going to be ok, only to veer away, back to sea. Please, can we find someone, anyone, to stand up and take the wheel?
More Bush vs the Environment
Howl of the Wolf May be Heard Again in Northern Forest – National Wildlife FederationIn an attempt to once again circumvent the law, the Bush administration attempted to lump several subspecies of the Grey Wolf together to so as to take the NE Grey Wolf off the endangered list. Luckily, a judge didn’t see it that way, and ruled that there was no evidence that the research from several years ago was reversed.
In a related note, a similar case was ruled on on the West Coast regarding a species of salamander, in which the administration tried to lump several species together so as to remove them from the endangered species list.
One can only assimilate that the reason to remove these species is so development can infringe on the habitat of these endangered species. I’d like to know a little more about what kind of development that would be.
If I had been Bush…
Ah, the trials and tribulations of off line life vs on line life…Anyway, I was sitting with some friends, talking geek talk, and made a political analogy off the top of my head, that after second thought, wasn’t a bad idea, in some contexts. The idea was this…if the right wing machine was so-o-o-o worried about one Hillary Rodham-Clinton running for president, and the effects a Hillary presidency would have on the agenda, then why not appoint her to the Supreme Court? She was a Washington lawyer at one time, and there was discussion of appointing a non judge anyways. It would have totally taken the wind out of the lefts sails, and taken her out of any running for presidency. Sure, she would have been some what influential on the Supreme Court, but she would have been only one of nine. Then they could have put a serious conservative to replace Rehnquist, and set a conservative to be Chief Justice.
Ah well, it was a common sense and Microsoft analogy anyways…
Does Bush Ever Listen to What He Says?
So I’m sitting here working, listening to CNN in the background, and the President is doing a press conference with the Prime Minister of Australia, and they open the floor to questions. Obviously, the two pressing issues that arise are the Supreme Court and the “Leak”. First question is about the Supreme Court, and whether or not it’s important to name a woman to replace O’Connor. So, he stumbles around, as usual, and then says this doozy, “ I want to be known as the kind of person who does what he says he’s going to do…“Link to transcript of press conference.
Now, concerning the “Leak”, didn’t he say that if anyone that was involved worked in the White House, they’d be fired? And hasn’t he basically recanted that statement in the last few days? So, Mr. President, which is it going to be, a “person who does what he says he’s going to do”, or a person who does what he’s told to?
And for a funny little read on Rove, check out “Perfect project: Rove deserves a Rove makeover” at the Miami Herald (note, it is a subscription site, so you may want to go to Bugmenot and get a login.)
Jon Stewart Has it Right,Again
Now, don’t get me wrong, I despise the Rove machine, and all it stands for. Which really however, is the root of what Jon Stewart said this evening about the Rove/Plame “scandal”, and that is, it’s not really about legality issue, its just another example of how this administration on the surface says and does one thing (see videotapes of Rove being interviewed, denying any involvement at all, McClellan vehemently denying any White House involvement, Bush’s statement about firing leaks), then under the surface the White House was involved, Rove did have a hand in it, and Bush has no intention of firing, not to mention even distancing himself from those involved (see the smirk on Rove’s face today exiting Air Force One with Bush). All the allegations of back room deals, war for oil, all come rushing to the surface when situations such as this occur. The logical conclusion has to be that if they are capable of lies about outing a CIA agent, or if not out right outing (we still don’t know who the first Novak source is) then why wouldn’t someone believe that Cheney really did have closed door meeting with the energy companies, or that the administration really did have a plan before 9.11 to invade Iraq, and that contracts with Halliburton were already in place? As the old saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Chief Justice O’Connor?
So it seems with all the speculations in Washington on whether or not Rehnquist will step down, and how Bush is going to stack the court for years to come with conservative judges, the angle is being played that if he does step down for health reasons, that O’Connor should be nominated for the Chief Justice position. The New York Times reports that a conversation was had between some senators and Justice O’Connor on the very subject and that she said she was “flattered” and that she didn’t say no. I find it an interesting move, as she’s been lauded by both sides since her resignation, and find it hard to believe that Bush would be able o escape public opinion on the matter. If she were nominated, it would be a slam dunk conformation, and if she wasn’t nominated, the Republicans would be painted in a light that perhaps the dems could pull more seats in Congress in ‘06. I wonder what pressure there is now on Rehnquist to stick it out as long as possible, when just days before the hope was that he’d step down?