In Simplified Chinese:
您的驴子是我的，感谢束。

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siun | 12.30.05 – 11:44 am | Great, great post. Rove always makes it a “soundbyte war.”
OT: I don’t think it’s “too late” but imo it is very, very serious. Ultra conservatives, such as George Will, Bruce Fein, and Barron’s are raising the identical 4th Amendment issues that we are. During the U.S. Civil War, the South sent agents (not in uniform) to burn down New York City with Phosphorus bombs. The Lincoln County War (Billy the Kid), The Johnon County War, the Arizona War (Shootout at the OK Corral) are all examples of “terrorist” actions where individuals and groups tried to usurp the 4th Amendment. Norah “Cotton Candy” O’Donnell is dead wrong, when she says “9/11 changed everything.”
OT: I really like your observation about “data mining.” Whose “data” are they “mining?” IMO there has been a lot of good debate at FDL about the Telcos, who we all pay for internet access. The Telco’s and their shareholders will play a huge role in this. As customers we can call our providers and ask them for a written statement that they did not turn over “our” data for NSA “mining.” If they are unwilling or unable to provide such a letter, we may have “standing.” With that said, it may be that the NSA provided the Telco’s with forged warrants. We need our Telco’s to tell us what is what.

“Spying on Americans”
“Rule of Law”
“Terrorists win if we give up our liberties”
siun | 12.30.05 – 11:44 am | #

Very good! Why can’t Dems simply do this? Is it that they lack the brains? Or the balls? I am beginning to think they lack both! They need to be shouting instead of cowering!

what’s chinese for “your ass is mine, thanks a bunch” party?

Republicans should be called “Repos” because the debt and deficit they have incurred has repossessed our children’s finanical future.

“I see Debt, people
tim shea | 12.30.05 – 11:27 am “

ROFL, that’s funny Tim.

“Borrow and squander conservatives!
westernotto “

That’s good too putting ‘conservatives’ in there.

National debt total history to 2003 is available. From those figures, and what is posted above one can compute the following presidential totals:

Bush I (4 years) $1.46 trillion
Clinton (first 4 years) $1.16 trillion
Clinton (sec. 4 years) $0.45 trillion
Bush II (5 years) $2.51 trillion
Present limit $8.18 trillion

So in dollar amounts (not inflation corrected) Bush I is responsible for 18% of the current debt total in 4 years, Clinton is responsible for 20% in 8 years, and Bush II is responsible for 30% in 5 years. From the table it is clear that Clinton was controlling the growth of the debt, and we know he generated a surplus in his second term budgets. Bush II has lost the surplus and exploded the debt.

Bush policies: “we bleed both blood and dollars”

ot and overdue – I know that folks like the “maroon” expression for morons and id it as brooklynese or scuh but the Maroons were and are the freedom fighters of Jamaica – freed slaves who refused to bow to colonial powers and who to this day maintain an independent region of Jamaica, Accompong.

”
QUICK LINX

ACCOMPONG – THE MAROON CAPITAL

Current day Maroons are the direct descendants of the first freed slaves in the Western Hemisphere –forebears who signed a Peace Treaty in 1738 with England to obtain their freedom after three long and exhausting ‘MaroonWars’. The ancestors of the Maroons were originally enslaved by the Spanish landowners that brought them to Jamaica from the Coromantee and Ashanti tribes in Africa. Accompong, a sleepy little town of about 200 residents, is an ancient Maroon village high in the mountains of rural Northwestern Jamaica. This capital of the Leeward Maroons is a seeming contradiction in time, as Accompong has modern stores and dwellings, alongside buildings that are over 100 years old.

‘ The Maroons were the freed or so-called ‘runaway Spanish Negro slavesÂ’ who regained their independent status in Jamaica during the late 1520Â’s, after the Spanish conquistadors gave up on the “Land of Wood and Water” as a source for gold, and turned their bloodlust for treasure to Mexico and Peru instead. By that time, the native Arawak Indians had already been exterminated by European diseases, forced labor and starvation. In their place, the Maroons became JamaicaÂ’s new indigenous people, and have been recognized as such by even the World Bank for example. The name Maroon is said to be derived from the Spanish cimarron meaning ‘wild,’ ‘untamed,’ or ‘fierce’”

http://www.rootzreggae.com/StElizabeth.htm

Honoring Cudjoe and Nanny, these peoples welcome visitors warmly and are a sign that resistance is possible even in the darkest times:

http://www.jamaicans.com/info/maroons.htm

All good but my favorite is:

New Republican Motto: “Charge it!”

Didn’t there use to be some jokes with the above as a punchline about women? Democrats should never miss an opportunity to feminize Republicans. We know they would do the same for us.

The susspicion about waiting a year to start the investigation of the the leak leading the the NYT story (Redd’s earlier post) applies equally to NSA. If the NSA request was not political, it would have been made a year ago (and probably never public). But announcing it a year later makes it a political act — by the director of NSA.

This suggests to me that the leadership of NSA is not above allowing the program to be used for political purposes, and that to me is at least as serious as allowing the program to be used for its stated purposes.

I think you got it, if you just change “Republican” to “conservative”. After all, it’s always “tax and spend liberals”, not “Democrats”. Borrow and squander conservatives!

err shepard.

more sam shepherd, less michael moore, drawling to cheney “fuck y’all and go fuck yourself. wanna say that to my face?”

Borrow and steal.

The CNN tack was particularly bad – the repubs have managed to limit the impact on the NSA story so far by
1- creating a sense that presidential powers are open to debate/interpretation –
2- by tossing in the confusing concept of dataming which also makes it sound like simply that stuff all those companies do and we’re used to it
3- and by repeating the mantra that the spying is only on contacts with foreigners (not little league games and potluck dinners)

so … here’s the test for the Dems – who have simply vanished on their holiday vacations while the WH spin machine keeps working – can the Dems mount a media campaign to counter these talking points?

There are some easy ones they could use:
1- “spying on americans” repeated as frequently as W says 911
2- “rule of law” as frequently as the WH says “just a little data mining”
3- “terrorists have won if we give up our freedoms” as frequently as W says “I am protecting you”

We also need to push back (though it may be too late) on the “intelligence failures before 9/11″ mantra – the intelligence was there – the PDB, Colleen Rowley, etc – and this “failure” idea is used over and over as the justification for all of these actions.

grand old profligates.

owe-nership society.

spenderellas.

grand ol’ pursesnatchers.

toborrow never dies

the buck stops somewhere else.

republican’ts.

.

Personally, I think the Republicans new moniker ought to be

CREDIT DENIED-BAD RISK

“It’s the White House that sat on this for a year. That tells me they didn’t want an investigation. The NSA is doing what they’re supposed to do (request an investigation).”

****

Wonder WHO in the White House? Did Abu Gonzales know of it? And is thereby totally derelict in his duty to USDOJ. He IS, after all, head of DOJ.

Hammer these fux over this.

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From Swopa: “Sadr Steps Inside the Tent”
http://www.needlenose.com/

How about “The Money Pit Politicians”?

“Red Ink Republicans” works for me…

Cindy Sheehan will be appearing on the Ed Schultz show today with guest Host Tony Trupiano,Congressional candidate for the 11th district of Michigan.
It should be interesting to hear what Cindy has planned for the coming year.
In the past year Cindy has shown great courage and dedication to the antiwar movement, and has served as a beacon for other antiwar protesters.

The show is on from 3pm to 6pm EST.

You can find your local station that hosts the Ed Schultz show here or you can stream the show live on your computer

Wilson46201,

” It is most interesting that the NSA was seemingly unaware or unconcerned about the leaks to the media for a year until it was printed in the NYTimes. It was the public exposure that bothered them it seems…”

It’s the White House that sat on this for a year. That tells me they didn’t want an investigation. The NSA is doing what they’re supposed to do (request an investigation).

Interest-Only, 6 month Adjustable Rate 2nd Mortgage with 3 points on the front and a 3 year pre-pay penalty.

Couldn’t top suggestions about Republican fiscal irresponsibilty, but how about:
“No rules; I’m right” Bush.

I like the “prodigal republicans” because it identifies them as wastrel children who have wandered away from the wise parent.

Connects on a religious level as well.

“I just got my life equity loan from DiTech.gov!!!!”

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Eric Schmeltzer: Russ Feingold: Introduce This
http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpo…..hdA–

what tim shea said

“Second Mortgage on America”

Folks will understand this.

It is most interesting that the NSA was seemingly unaware or unconcerned about the leaks to the media for a year until it was printed in the NYTimes. It was the public exposure that bothered them it seems…

“Now that it has become public, an investigation is necessary.”

I mean, huh?

We only investigate serious national security leaks when they become public? And, now that we all know about the NSA wiretapping, it’s that much more difficult for the investigators to isolate and identify guilty knowledge of the leak! And the trail is more than a year old. Way to go, DoJ.

Maroons. They’re maroons.

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PRIVACY

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“…in certain cirumstances…”

LMAO.

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2nd Mortgage in America
Additional subtitle:

I see Debt, people

How about “Why Bother”

Snow is part of the executuve branch and there is no requirement for them to follow any laws. What you have is a true do-whatever-you-feel-like conservative government.

I’m a foreigner. And like most of the world I’m either laughing at the absurdity of the United States or cringing in abhorrent fear of your totalitarian govenment.

Wilson46201,

CNN hasn’t read the latest update ; )

“The Justice Department’s investigation was being initiated after the agency received a request for the probe from the NSA.”

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..MlJVRPUCUl

Second thought: I like “borrow and squander” better.
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I like “2nd Mortgage on America”

It actually has a Reaganesque
tinny ring to it and leaves some room for subtitles about:
land of the debit card or some such deal.

On economic issues they’re Cook The Books Republicans.

Think Medicare “reform,” social security “reform,” tax “reform.”

On national security issues they’re Situational Patriots.

Think of Clinton’s airstrikes on Saddam in ‘98, while the Situational Patriots of the GOP impeached him for lying about fellatio.

Wasn’t that giving “aid and comfort” to our enemy?

A Situational Patriot named Malkin recently described the outing of an undercover CIA agent as a “kerfuffle.”

These phonies have no shame.
–

So far, I like “borrow and squander,” or “torture, borrow and spend,”

The “borrow and spend” phrase has been around for awhile and it has not really caught on. (Possibly because no Dem candidate uses it. They’re too busy fending off Repub slime attacks.)

We could also call them (Repubs) the party of “Reverse Robin Hoods.” (With the emphasis on “hoods”!)

I think we should call the Rethugs the “Screw the kids” party

in terms of screwing kids —- the GOP make NAMBLA look like rank novices. hmmmm . . . ever notice how many of them look like child molesters . . .

turdblossom, doughy pantload, ralph reed, big time, mAnn coulter, delay, frist, rush . . . these horrid fucks make richard speck look normal.

Greedy Old Pricks=GOP

CNN just brought up the fact it took a year to start the NSA-leak investigation and asked the Crawford-stenographer about it: “Now that it has become public, an investigation is necessary”

Drat, lunchbreak over.

Enjoy some Friday Baby Blogging on me.

The barrow and squander crowd have simply changed tactics. Before, it was “starve the beast,” so that they could drag the dminished government into the bathtup and drown it.

Now the tactic is to bankrupt the beast, but change the bankruptcy laws before hand, so the victim can’t get a fresh start.

Not my phrase (usually used to refer to the pirate CEO class), but I’ve always liked “Wreck it and Run” Republicans. (Nice alliteration, if nothing else.)

I think we should call the Rethugs the “Screw the kids” party

I’d say their policy on Social Security also bears out that nickname.

GOP: “Just charge it!”

How much longer will the Asian Central Banks be willing to prop up our economy by buying all of our debt by the hundreds of billions of dollars every year?

Maybe we’ll find out in 2006.

If that happens, the Bush presidency truly will be a FIERY WRECK!

Torture and Spend?
Lie, Torture and Spend?
Snoop and Spend?
Steal and Spend?

uhhhhhh?

I think we should call the Rethugs the “Screw the kids” party

Whoops, guess he’s not really “the Bush”. Makes him sound almost Biblical…

Robin Hood: Steals from the rich to pay the poor

Robbin’ Hoodwink: Steals from the poor to pay the rich, then tries to say he didn’t.

A point that Du and myself constantly have to stress to Westerners is that for the majority of people in the Middle East secularism is ineradicably associated with tyranny.

Well, if the Middle East would just get with the program and realize the Bush administration knows best how all people on Earth should be governed, then there’d be no problem. After all, everyone knows that inside of every foreigner, there’s an American trying to get out.

/wingnut

But, seriously, the Bush and his sycophants don’t even want a secular nation here. Why would they want one in Iraq? It’s Islam they don’t like, not religion (as long as it’s the correct religion).

I always use “Borrow and Squander” Republicans everytime I hear some asshole say “tax and spend Democrafts”. Shuts em the fuck up every time.

How about “Fuck You, America?” All these other slogans are just too wishy-washy for me.

I like “Borrow and Squander”

They rob the poor to pay the rich.

How about “Steal and Spend”?

heeee Mark — I hope you have an excellent meal. And please do post a link when you get your guide up. :)

I still don’t understand how that stereotype (Tax and spend dems) holds year after year.

The Republicans have convinced their little voter minions of two things:

1) That no “red stater” benefits from taxes, when in reality the top ten or so states drawing on federal largesse are “red”.

2) All their tax money is going to inner city Chicago, LA and New York so that black “welfare queens” can drive Cadillacs.

Even here in rural WI, this is essentially the belief of the conservatives. They are convinced that their tax money is going to people that don’t “deserve” it while the conservatives are just getting screwed. They each have a story of someone at the local Piggly Wiggly buying PBR with food stamps or getting paid more to “stay home and have babies” than to “do an honest day’s work”.

for Najan read Najaf sorry. Time to go and eat my typos increase exponentially when distracted by smells from the kitchen.

carried over from last thread as I’ve been EPU’d:

John Casper | 12.30.05 – 10:35 am | #

John you’re very welcome. A point that Du and myself constantly have to stress to Westerners is that for the majority of people in the Middle East secularism is ineradicably associated with tyranny.

What we’re seeing now is people who do want modernity (did you know that Iran has a very sophisticated bio-tech sector and that they recently cloned a sheep?) but who want it on their terms. Very crudely what we’re seeing is a massive backlash against very shallowly based “modernisation” that has been imposed either by outsiders or by very repressive regimes and never for the benefit of anyone other than a very small minority.

I’m in the process of finishing up a guide to Islamic activism aimed at Westerners the current schedule is for it to go online in the spring. i’ll post here when it does.

Finally on a personal note – thanks for your kind note both Du and appreciated it. We plan on writing to everyone who wrote when du and his fiancee get back in the New Year and before he ships out with his unit.

KM – i agree completely I can’t see Chalabi lasting long at anything though. He’s unpopular in both Tehran and Baghdad more importanlty he’s very unpopular in Najan and Qum.

Sam — I think they do realize it. But it’s the lesson learned from Bush I. You can raise taxes, but it won’t be on my watch. Shoving off actual responsibility to the next President and future generations. If it weren’t so pathetic, it would be laughable.

Samurai Sam has it right, every Democrat running in 06 should hammer his/her opponent over and over with “borrow and spend Republicans,” just like they have bleated for years about tax and spend Democrats.

Simplistic and silly, yes, but perhaps an effective taste of their medicine?

You have to wonder if they realize that cutting taxes to a deficit budget situation is not cutting taxes at all. It’s just deferring them, while adding interest expense. Maybe being in government should require a correspondance course in bookkeeping or something.

I still don’t understand how that stereotype (Tax and spend dems) holds year after year. All my banker and economist friends are clear that the economy is in better shape under dems, at least it has been in our lifetime. If this administration doesn’t break it, nothing will.

Happy New Fitz, everyone.

And this, of course, doesn’t take into account the budget for Iraq and probably expanded NSA budget.

Ah, Riesz — I’m hoping that the “spend my damn money wisely or not at all” crowd has the idiot faction of the party outnumbered. But maybe I spend too much time around lawyers to have a good sense of that. ;-)

“Tax and spend” has been replaced by “borrow and spend”. I remember once when taxes were actually considered a civic responsibility; that providing for the common defense, taking care of the handicapped and destitute and providing for good economic infrastructure was something that all Americans, not just liberals, were proud to do. Or am I dreaming?

Fiscal responsibility runs both ways, and the Republicans in their the hell with the consequences frenzy have now earned themselves the moniker of the “just spend it.”

That’s too abstract for the “cut taxes and kill the a-rabs” crowd.

Fitz! Happy New Year!

Oh, okay… borrow is too weak… yes, agreed…
STEAL AND SQUANDER
sounds great.

Yes, I admit “borrow and squander” Republican is a perfect moniker for them…