Poll Numbers

In one year, President Bush's approval numbers have dropped 20 points. The new CBS poll has him at 34% and Dick Cheney at 18%. Particularly upsetting to Republicans are this poll's numbers on National Security; Bush is at 41%, and the Dems have passed him at 43%. This is all so interesting when one considers the memory of Bill Clinton - the week he was impeached by Washington, the country rated him at 60% approval for the job he was doing.

Quote of the Day

"For all the talk about loose lips sinking ships, I can't think of anything any whistleblower has done that gives al Qaeda more information about our vulnerabilities than the terrible performance of this administration." -Digby

President Atticus

This is garbage - Chris Matthews feels that George W. Bush comes off like Atticus Finch in his handling of the Dubai Port Deal. As I understand it, the only restraint Bush exhibited was through ignorance of the facts, that John Negroponte had developed this payoff for the sheiks of the Emirates.

Atticus Finch was selected as the number one hero in an American film. He is a quiet man who fights for the rights of the poor, no matter their color. Contrast this with Bush's rampant cronyism and sweet deals for the most wealthy. In To Kill a Mockingbird, he is practically coerced into shooting a rabid dog that threatens his neighborhood by the local sheriff, because Atticus is the best shot in town. His son and daughter are amazed to find this out, because he never bragged about it.

Atticus' example is gently, truly Christian without blaring the fact the way that Dubya does. In fact, when he gives his young son his first rifle,he warns his boy never to kill a mockingbird, because they are harmless and only bring us joy.

I can't imagine Atticus Finch telling his enemies to "Bring it on." I certainly can't see Atticus in a flight suit. Heckuva job, Tweety.

Opening the Gates of Hell

Open Sesame. Today was marked by much more violence in Iraq. One hundred and sixty mosques have been torched. Many bodies have been found executed in Shia style, handcuffed with one bullet to the head. More car bombs. More IEDs. Richard Perle, on the air speaking to Chris Matthews, said we don't have to worry. You would have to search far and wide to find a less credible predictor than Perle. Read on...

Ski Dubai

One of United Arab Emirates's greatest claims to fame is the billion dollar Mall of the Emirates. This place has over 400 stores and its advocates insist that it is the largest mall outside of North America.

What really makes the mall special is Ski Dubai, an indoor ski slope built in their desert climate.Do you think these folks have enough money to burn ? One of these sheiks gave Bush's Daddy a million dollars for his library, so it's no surprise that UAE got such a nice offer from Dubya and Company.

Quote of the Day

In the words of Louis Brandeis, one of the greatest of our Supreme Court justices: “You can have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, or democracy, but you cannot have both.”

Quote of the Day

In his defense of the Dubai port deal President Bush said :

"And so people don't need to worry about security. This deal wouldn't go forward if we were concerned about the security for the United States of America."

This statement is from a politician who has staunched his entire bleeding career by repeating this date - September 11th.

Too Much

The Republican Culture of Corruption operates under a secret strategy : confuse them all with sheer numbers. In this government by Crony, there is just too much to keep up with that's so wrong.I don't think anyone finds it cute anymore that the Leader of the Free World says things like "incent" or "Great British." We don't have enough time to investigate one problem before another one rears its ugly head in our faces. Lies about the big issues, lies about the small things. At least Clinton stuck to oral sex and left it at that. Each and every move by BushCo seems to outdo the last outrage. For this tactic, I am activating The Flipper, or Electric Middle Finger, wirelessly.

Dead -Eye Power Throwing

Thanks to Jesus' General for sending me to the Fight Fast website. This one promises to help me physically and spiritually by teaching me to defend myself by throwing paperclips at my attacker thereby impaling he/she in the head.

Here's why you might not have heard of this before :
"I call this power throwing™ a "lost art" because there's just FIVE masters who understand this - and four of them are either dead… in prison… or just won't talk. So you simply can't find this anywhere for any price. I'm not kidding one bit when I say this is info is teetering on becoming a lost art."

What a great site !

The Civil War Has Begun

The civil war in Iraq has begun in earnest - Iraqi Shiites attacking Sunnis, and vice versa.

A Serious Security Concern

Folks, though I've thought we've come close before, now it really looks like we've walked completely through the looking glass. Reality is turned around 180 degrees, so that what seemed sensible is flipped over and what seemed inconceivably impossible is a fait accompli. The Bush Politburo and Hurricane Chertoff has announced that a Dubai company run by the government of the United Arab Emirates will now administer our sea ports in Miami, New Jersey, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.

Does the Pres really think that those terrorists out to kill Americans won't find it easier to get around our criminally weak port defenses when Arabs are running the show ? So this is how BushCo protects us ? This seems like the dangerously pre 9-11 kind of thinking that Mr. Rove and Mr. Cheney describe so often for us. This is coming from the government that secretly monitors mosques with geiger counters. I think someone needs to remind the Commander-in-Chief that the 19 Twin Tower killers were 15 Saudis, 2 Yemenis, and 2 from Dubai.

Furthermore, Bush trumpets his priorities by threatening to do something he has never done : to finally veto something. When a bipartisan selection of Congress choked on this one,he told the world today that he would veto any legislation against this action. Luckily, his word (especially in light of his former veto threats) isn't worth a pitcher of warm piss. Surely, Business is Business, and Capitalism is Capitalism, but this latest piece of greediness is just unreal. And totally, undeniably dangerous.

Success for Cheney's Company

Does this kind of report bother any of you like it does me? Capitalism is one thing, but this is just shamelessly cynical war profiteering.The VP's situation is an LOL conflict of interest,a continuous reminder of his consummate disregard for the American people he was elected to serve. Halliburton stock has gone up 14% already this year, yet it's only February. The company is preparing for a two-for-one stock split. I believe the VP has many, many thousands of shares. Now no bid contracts awarded out of his office have doubled their number. The question arises - how much money and/or power does one need ? Although Halliburton remains the sixth largest defense contractor, its KBR division is number one at the Pentagon. Just fine.

Raising Quail for Fun and Profit

Jon Stewart described how Cheney hunted his quail. The "hunters" would drive up to a covey of farm raised wingless birds, get out of their car, and fire at close range. This appears to be a real business as witness this site and magazine.

Miss Poppy

Above is a fridge magnet from the Miss Poppy's catalogue. Lots more amazing items here, like Next to the Last Supper gum.

Getting a Tag

Everyone needs to say : brrreeeport.

Training to Fight the Good Fight

Here is a statement from a program (run by a former Army man)called Combat for Christ, in which he offers to train our young men and women :
"Our Lord has developed within my heart a burden to train these young men and women. With this in mind, I began to draw upon my training as a Pathfinder in the U.S. Army. I reasoned that the methods employed in the Armed Forces of this nation had led to many victories and freedom to all. Why could we as Christians not glean the benefits of the same?"

Perhaps Just Ann Shouldn't Vote

Last week Ann Coulter was caught voting in the wrong precinct in Palm Beach, an offense that may carry severe penalties. It is unclear whether she was cognizant of her mistake, or if it even was a mistake. Her behavior does add credence to this quote from Ms. Coulter about women and voting :

"I think [women] should be armed but should not [be allowed to] vote. No, they all have to give up their vote, not just, you know, the lady clapping and me. The problem with women voting -- and your Communists will back me up on this -- is that, you know, women have no capacity to understand how money is earned. They have a lot of ideas on how to spend it. And when they take these polls, it's always more money on education, more money on child care, more money on day care."
-- Ann Coulter, Politically Incorrect, Feb. 26, 2001

Quail Hunting, Cheney Style

Go to this site to see what it's like to hunt quail with the Vice President.

Sneaker Attack

Just a thought on the Bush reportage of the Library Tower Jihad - it doesn't appear to me that it justifies warrantless wiretapping. After all, don't we all have to take off our shoes before we get on a plane ? I believe the solution was already in place.

A Fun, Depressing Site

Here's a great site with an amazing calendar you can pick up. It's called Despair.com.

If in Doubt, Never Take a Shot

Here's the photo all over the news today, after the Vice President shot Mr. Whittington, the funeral business lobbyist and fellow hunter, by accident. But it's certainly a curious story.The news was learned 18 hours after the shooting when the owner of the ranch, a Mrs. Armstrong,called her friendly local reporter. 18 hours ! What is wrong with this guy ?Many on the web wonder if this incident would have been reported at all. Mr. Cheney likes to keep a secret, except when he thinks he can get some political mileage out of one like the outing of Valerie Plame. Fortunately, Dick Cheney didn't shoot the flintlock pictured above or Mr. Whittington would assuredly be dead.

Daily Kos has described this hunt in the sordid terms it deserves. Apparently, the pheasants Cheney and 10 others hunted were raised in cages: then 500 were released on the morning of the hunt.Kos says that Cheney shot 70 birds himself. That sounds like a lot of shooting going on, but no real hunting. Correction: this refers to a hunt last year, not this weeks' quail hunt.

Jesus Shall Appear

In Foreign Affairs

"The Bush administration's use of intelligence on Iraq did not just blur this distinction; it turned the entire model upside down. The administration used intelligence not to inform decision-making, but to justify a decision already made." - Paul Pillar

Pillar's decription of the intelligence lead up to the Bush War makes a lot of sense. He deflects those who say that the current administration wasn't alone in assuming that Saddam had WMDs - after all didn't Bill Clinton think so too ? Well,guess what ? Big Dog was totally wrong, too.

This is part of a solid evaluation of the breakdown in using intelligence to set important government policy in Foreign Affairs.It seems obvious that the current regime put the cart before the horse, or rather ignored what the horse was telling them when they chose to. Mr.Pillar, who was in charge of the CIA's analysis until last year, also informs us that the Bush Administration didn't ask for any analysis of the results of their invasion until a year after the troops were sent in.Such thoughtlessness, such carelessness hurts our troops, and certainly doesn't protect Americans against terrorists.

At the Behest of His Majesty

For those of us who thought the Bush deconstruction of Social Security was thwarted - look again. In an undeniably sneaky way, Bush has put private savings accounts into His 2007 budget. By 2010,70 billion would be diverted from our needs in the regular SS to smallish private accounts. Then, in 2011 another 700 billion for these dubious accounts. And you thought retirees needed their retirement checks. I remember that the President in all His propaganda for this program, insisted that He couldn't possibly flesh out these accounts without input from our legislators. Apparently He has ignored our Congress again, hoping that He has enough totally partisan votes to slide this through.

Iyman Faris

For all the thousands of warrantless, illegal wiretaps the NSA made, the only al Qaeda terrorist they've caught (that we know about) is Iyman Faris. This man was apparently in contact with terrorists about a plan to sever the cables of the Brooklyn Bridge with a gas torch to cause it to fall. Intelligence was tracking him, so the authorities posted a police car at either end of the bridge. End of plan. The bridge was too hot for Faris.

If this was the sum total of all this illegal intelligence, it doesn't seem worth breaking the FISA laws.

Quote of the Day

Attorney General Torture Gonzalez' defense of warrantless wiretaps:

Gonzalez: "President Washington, President Lincoln, President Wilson, President Roosevelt have all authorized electronic surveillance on a far broader scale."

I suppose Wilson and Roosevelt had phones in existence during their time, but I really can't understand how Washington or Lincoln could have possibly done electronic surveillance.

A Terrifically Bad Idea

AOL and Yahoo want to set up a system to charge you and I one-quarter cent to "guarantee" that your e-mail gets through. How stupid do they think we are ? Don't answer that. We all know that if we start at one-quarter penny, it will build and build to lots more. Lots more for these two huge companies, nothing but cost for you and I. I heard about this at Boing Boing.

New Mission Accomplished

That Isn't Right

Sgt. Eddie Rebrook, one of our soldiers, was wounded in battle in Iraq, and as he bled the medic ripped off his body armor. Sgt. Rebrook tells us that his body armor was burned up and destroyed as a biohazrd. So he never got the armor back, but now, in order to be promptly discharged for his injuries, he is expected to pay $700 out of his pocket for the missing equipment (or else wait who knows how long to be released from his commitment).This thankless kind of treatment is abusive and insulting. Rebrook's mother said,"It’s outrageous, ridiculous and unconscionable.I wanted to stand on a street corner and yell through a megaphone about this." I agree with her.

One Way Bush Sidesteps Congress

Americablog reports on a tactic the Bush Administration uses to ignore or avoid the will of our Congress. You see, although the legislature voted to reject the sale of horse meat to other countries for food, the Republicans get past this by not funding the inspectors required to approve any horse for sale. This anti-horse group decided to have the slaughter houses pay for the necessary inspections. Sometimes it doesn't matter what our Senators actually vote for; that Republican bloc carries out BushCo's wishes anyway they can.That Dubya is some cowboy isn't he? YeeHaw !

Quote of the Day

"I recall vividly the Secretary of State walking into my office," Wilkerson told NOW (on NPR). "He said: 'I wonder what will happen if we put half a million troops on the ground in Iraq and comb the country from one end to the other and don't find a single weapon of mass destruction?'"
- Lawrence Wilkerson, Colin Powell's Chief of Staff quoting his boss

What's Good for the Goose

Those Muslim groups so upset by cartoon representations of their religious leader don't seem to be bothered much at all by anti-semitic portrayals in Arab publications. No matter how blasphemous the Jylland cartoons may be, can't these stiffs see the hypocrisy of threatening serious violence as a response to showing Mohammed as violent?? As above, Jews are often depicted as the stereotyped hook-nosed maniac crudely labeled with the Star of David. These are not isolated instances like the Danish examples; there are lots of these published and reproduced on the web. So, were any editors fired? I don't think so. The cartoon above is particularly offensive because it comes from our enlightened partner in the GWOT, Qatar.

That Indomitable Republican Spirit

"If I'm indicted, I'm running." -Bob Ney

Missing Photo

DumbandDubya has found one of those photos connecting George W. Bush and Jack Abramoff. I think this is an early one...

Protectionism

Among the many assertions that Bush made in his SOTU speech last night that I didn't understand was his talk about "protectionism." He seemed to be critical of such practices, because he said:

"Protectionists want to escape competition pretending that we can keep our high standard of living while walling off our economy."

Now these kinds of statements inspire feelings of cognitive dissonance in me when I hear them from our leader. I think of the protections in the form of tax breaks and subsidies given to a company like Exxon Mobil,that just last week posted the largest profit of anyone, anywhere,anytime. Does Exxon need protections? Apparently they do, because they got some in the Bush-Cheney hush hush secret energy plan.

I get that same confused feeling when I think of how Big Pharma is protected in Dubya's greatest piece of legislation, the Medicare Part D drug benefit. Millions of Medicare folks are forbidden to use their collective, competitive bargaining power to lower prices of drugs. The big companies are protected by this administration's bill. In fact, it almost seems like the insurance and drug companies could have written this law (maybe they did).

I would have to conclude that Dubya thinks protectionism probably is OK if it benefits the wealthiest among us.