FITZ and Impeachment Now !

Lysistrata! (and Fitzy)

Neuro - I left links below, but I got an “awaiting moderation” comment and a held post? I think it will pop through though.

EPU’d

Think Progress has the video of cheney’s dirt pitch and the booing. still cracks me up…..

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/.....-baseball/

If Newt’s wives couldn’t trust him, why should we?…I do believe that was the refrain when the Rethugs were talking about Clinton….

“Gingrich is not to be trusted.”

This cannot be repeated enough.

Leslie Blitzer reporting on CNN that Cheney got some “boo’s” when he threw out the baseball. “DC is heavily Democratic so it’s not so surprising.” Lesliebabes, when you are down at 18%, a hell of a lot of folk of all persuasions dont like you!

Heh. I just sent out a similar message to our Roots Project Groups, and there you are Jane, with the same message.

For those who want to join Root Project groups, email me at Pachacutec01 at gmail dot com with only the name of your state in the subject line. In your message, you can identify yourself by your on screen nick name if you like.

I am setting up groups by state to coordiante on local lobbying and activism, LTE’s meetings with senators and representatives, etc. It’s a great way to make FDL friends in real life.

Amen Sister!!!!

Newt got where he got because he is canny enough to say what will resonate. He is like the Ann Coulter of politics. He is good at reading the public mood and then exploiting it. He has no real principles (unlike some goopers who do believe what they say they stand for). No, he has an unrelenting craving for power and attention.

Remember, this is the guy who invented Tom Delay. And who paved the way for the Rove-Bush machine.

Do not trust him. And do not take your eyes off him. He has patiently and carefully been rehabilitating himself for years.

If I’m not mistaken, Newt was one of the signatories to the PNAC “manifesto” (I think it was 1997).

PNAC neocons believe they have the right to lie to the public to advance their agenda (this charming moral position was staked out by their hero, Leo Strauss).

So anything Gingrich says needs to ALWAYS be taken only when one has access to an entire salt mine.

[OT — Have missed chatting with you guys very much. Am SO sorry (in the sense of feeling sorry for myself) that I can only rarely post no. In spite of being sick (respiratory ailment with its initial source in a dreadful allergy season in AZ), we’re preparing for a trip “back home” to the Philly area — Mr. K8 is attending a conference as a stand-in for the boss who’s unable to attend. The boss has kindly agreed — actually, he suggested it — to pick up my air fare and hotel. Then we’ll be staying on afterwards for our first ever real vacation, to see all the large extended family who live in the PA/NJ area. Hope to have access to siblings’ internet accounts to check in here, to read the wonderful offerings of our hostesses and guest writers, if nothing else. It’s been years since I’ve been “home” so every spare minute should be spent talking with relatives. But still, my FDL addiction means I HAVE TO at least follow the main posts. Say a prayer, please, if you are so inclined that my sinus/ear/throat problem clears up SOONEST, at least before boarding the aircraft next week. Thank you! Hugs to all my pals here! XOXO!]

Aye (to what you said) of Newt.

Wasn’t he a signatory on the original PNAC plan to overthrow Saddam?

Froomkin at WP has very scary post on how close we are with war in Iran

http://www.washingtonpost.com/...../BL2006041 100508.htm

Too bad he is going on vacation

What is with these guys? What kind of man would stick to a childish moniker– Newt and Scooter. Oh mebbe it is because carrying a cutesy nickname hides their murderous and evil agendas.

Not very well, I might add.

Thanks, Jane great post and a great big AMEN!

Oops, should be “only rarely post NOW” (not “no”)

I don’t think there’s any room on this particular bandwagon for Newtie, especially if he wants on to make himself look more attractive as a 2008 candidate.

With the record that exists on his up-until-now stand on the war, this latest position ought to be dead on arrival.

Why anyone would trust Newt “oh, by the way honey, I know you’re dying of cancer, but I have a new girlfriend now, so can you sign these divorce papers” Gingrich is beyond my ability to comprehend.

Agree 100% about the likes of Specter and Graham; maybe there’s a kernel of principle that emerges now and again, but they stomp it to death in order to pacify the people who keep them in office.

recently Mr. Gingrich was giving a speech and he was introduced by some dizzy moderator who said he was the first speaker they’d ever had named after a lizard. For real!

I think Molly Ivins said a lot about Newtie in a couple of paragraphs:

On top of everything else, Rumsfeld is now circulating a grand strategy for the Long War written by Newt Gingrich. Am I the only person covering politics who ever noticed that Newt Gingrich is actually a nincompoop? When Newt bestrode the political world like a colossus (Time magazine’s Man of the Year in 1995), many people took him seriously — but he was a fool then, too. The Republicans were so thrilled to have someone on their side who had ideas, they never seemed to notice Newt’s were drivel.

From orphanages to space colonies, it was all shallow but endearingly enthusiastic futurism. Gingrich was the kind of person who read a book or two on something and would then be quite afire as to how this was going to fit into some shining future. Republicans are so amnesiac, they didn’t even snicker when Newt turned up recently posing as a respected party elder to give them advice on ethics. Ethics. Next, family values.

What would we do without the reality-based community? :)

punpirate 17

Yes like I said, Newt is (like Coulter) a jester in the true sense of the word.

Don’t let Fukuyama off the hook. Why, why, why is anyone listening to these people? If you took someone off the streets of New York and pulled them into your studio, there is a greater than 50% chance that they have a better track record than either Newt or Fukuyama on Iraq. A lot of people were saying from day one that this scenario would happen–it’s not hindsight. Krugman is so right: if you had foresight, you were shrill. If you recognize the problems only too late, you’re principled and conscience-driven.

Scary quote of the day on Iranian nuclear intelligence reports, from Froomkin’s column, by Ms. Jane Harman, ranking Democrat on the intelligence committee:
“Based on lessons learned from Iraq, Harman said she would like to know how many sources U.S. intelligence officials have, how confident they are of their information and whether there are any dissenting views.”

Ms. Harman, you had to wait for the Iraq debacle to learn to ask those questions? Suddenly I understand how we got here.

Eight months ago astute friend of mine said

“….keep your eye on Newt, he’s the slickest cloakroom positioner the GOP has “

It’s time for a Newt Gingrich-Chris Hitchens steel cage death match. Let them confuse each other to the stinky drunk hypocritical end.

1,019 DAYS SINCE MARCH 20,2003

The Democrats are scared shitless about what their gunna do with this mess if they take power and they refuse ta run on impeachment because they don’t wanna be responsible for makin’ the tough decisions with an administrative beaucracy completetly taken over by fascist stooges. We gotta start usin’ the “f” word (fascist)folks and every one a those slitherin’ sons a bitches, startin with Newt, have gotta be tatood with the war and corruption so they never get media face time again.

We must label the Republican Party as the fascist party of war and corruption, every single wedge issue they could use to change the subject has now been blown up thanks to our latino brothers and sisters. The fascists must be exposed and the rest of this year must be a frontal assault on the war, corruption and the economy.

There doesn’t hafta be a single unified plan for remakin’ the entire world that these Nazis have fucked up. First we hafta harness the anger and fear of the regular folks and aim it straight at the fascists. We politically destroy the Republican Party in November and force the Democrats to govern from the left because the right has been thoroughly discredited.

KEEP THE FAITH, WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERY SINGLE DEATH OVER THERE AND GOD IS WATCHIN’!!

Christy and Jane,

thank you both for the Rubber Stamps - can’t wait to show the video to my family this evening. Thanks for everything.

Jane you are right to get everyone out front on this war-mongering, Richard Perle blowin’ pig. Have myself a little wound up right now thinking about Iran, so it’s not the best state of mind to formulate a plan of attack, sure hope there are things we can do individually and as a group to ruin Neut’s little party.

btw, I find it wildly coincidental these statements were made after Delay bowed out - chickenshit

Get a beer or a glass of wine and go read;

‘Mutually Assured Dementia’

http://billmon.org/

Digby

Newt also said in his next breath how easy it would be to take out Iran. Scary……

Gingrich is WORSE than Rummy ,Rove et al.He needs to crawl back into whatever hole he has been hiding in.He is trying to make a comeback,again. He is truly one that you need to keep an eye on at all times. nefarious bastard.

Newtie wrt to Bringing Freedom to Iran “We’re not using much of our Navy or Air Force.”
yikes

Warning:

Many newts produce toxins in their skin secretions as a defence mechanism against predators. The Taricha newts of western North America are particularly toxic; the Rough-skinned Newt (Taricha granulosa) of the Pacific Northwest produces enough tetrodotoxin to kill an adult human foolish enough to swallow a newt. Note that in order to produce harm, the toxins have to enter the body by being ingested or entering a break in the skin; it is safe to handle newts provided one thoroughly washes ones hands before eating.

This is just to good to pass up and you can throw Gingrich in for good measure.

http://filmstripinternational.com.

Newt is not to be trusted, just ask his wives.

This is not Newt foreskaing Iraq. This is Newt giving the green light to Iran: A student asked if that [preventing Iran from becoming nuclear capable] would be possible now, considering the United States’ involvement in Iraq.

“Could we do it technically? Yes,” Gingrich said. “We’re not using much of our Navy or Air Force.

“If Iranians don’t think you’re prepared to replace their government, they’ll never consider (a) deal.”

and never forget his “Democrat Party” bullshit (along with Luntz and Rush, which still ticks me off), and his attempt to smear Bill Clinton and Liberals with Susan Smith’s murder of her 2 children.

Here’s what Gingrich said about it: “I think that the mother killing the two children in South Carolina vividly reminds every American how sick the society is getting and how much we need to change things. The only way you get change is to vote Republican. That’s the message for the last three days [before the upcoming election].”

The other biggie MizJane and others need to ask about is how much this is about the nuclear program and how much it is about “regime change.”

I’ll be d*mned to a life of perdition (which is pretty likely anyway - esp since I am going to miss Good Friday services ) if I didn’t hear someone on CNN today actually talk about the fact that the dialog is scarily ponging between weapons programs and regime change, with the US saying it is open for diplomacy, but it won’t talk directly to the Iranian regime.

The blonde even asked questions like, “how do you exercise diplomacy effectively if you are not speaking with the regime” almost like she had a crash course in “hmmm, how does that work?”

Hopefully, Jane’s not waiting for Newt to come give her the same lesson.

“apostaSy” (just like “ecstaSy”, both are greek)

of course, the same message goes for prof. fukuyama and all the other cattivi collaboratori

Guy was my Rep. back when he was speaker and I still lived in GA. Scumbag. That’s the only label that fits. Anyone who would serve divorce papers to his wife on her hospital cancer bed after cheating on her for years is a scumbag. That he did it while stoking the witch hunt for the Clenis is that much worse.

Newt was musing out loud the other day about the possibility of running for President. Anybody catch that?

OT
From the front page of our local paper. Someone in a nearby town burned a cross on a family’s front yard.
http://www.centralohio.com/app.....emplate=BA
I don’t even know what to say.

Mrs. K8

Try the sinus rinse. I tried it recently and it has helped quite a bit. Louisiana has things blooming all year long so I have fits. I got this thing from Walgreens, it is a little plastic bottle and it comes with little salt packets. Inexpensive and not painful. I usually get a sinus infection once a month but this has helped keep them at bay.

I hope you have a good trip!

I still remember him on NPR talking about why Colin Powell “must go.” His reasoning? Powell did not share the president’s vision of the Middle East and was thus fit to be thrown under the bus. Newt doesn’t get a free pass here.

Tommy Yum, I have heard Newt definately NOT rule out running for president on the Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC with my very own ears.

Gingrich did not repudiate the doctrine of pre-emptive war (aka: might makes right). He parrots that “tactical errors were made, but the strategy is sound” weasel-code recently unveiled to rationalize the greatest foreign policy disaster in our history.

He counsels leaving behind a “small force” in Iraq at Fort Alamo.

He would support a unilateral attack upon Iran, albeit only one that employed tactical nuclear weaponery. Just the itty-bitty stuff.

If Newt lived in Afghanistan, he’d be hanged for his apostasy….just a thought :)

…and, by the way, Jane, I love your filthy mouth!

Senator Specter is being two-faced on investigating this White House in re criminal acts. Recall how he was concerned about the violations of the FISA act? Well, when Feingold decided to introduce his Censure Resolution, Specter kept interrupting him like a spoiled child. Then Specter concucted some theory that FISA was unConstitutional. This is all after Specter announced he would hold hearings into this scandal, but then chickened out.

We will have to have a Truth and Reconciliation council when this nightmare of doublespeak and slaughter is over. In the meantime, there should be an “admission of error and apology” available for those who pimped the war and now have seen the light. (Fukuyama comes to mind.)

I welcome each and every one of these intelligent fools to sign such a statement. Only then will their awakening to the facts of the world that that they have created be acceptable.

I have a theory about our motives in Iraq over at Dailykos

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/11/16250/2713

This is somewhat topical.

Short answer: it’s about China. I’m interested in feedback.

Anna –

Thank you! Funny you mention a salt rinse. I just got back from the sink where I did a warm salt water gargle, followed by the ever-disgusting warm-salt-water-in-palm, then up-the-nostrils snorting routine, and now I’m heading off in a minute to use our little “nasal steam machine” (bought at Walgreens).

We also bought for each of us something called a saltpipe — a sort of porcelain upside-down horn through which one inhales, dispensing microscopic salt (from ye olde salt mines) throughout the respiratory tract.

What do you do with the Walgreen’s salt rinse, spray it up the nostrils? Also — are you allergic to mold, too, as I am? If you are, NOLA must have been (or still is) an allergy horror. BTW — you and your family are still on our prayer list. Hoping you are coping as well as possible with all the outrageous (continuing) aftermath.

[Sorry, everybody, for the OT sinus “shop talk” — it’s that time of year for many of us.

Shakespeare in the Scottish Play knew Gingrich was bad news:

Second Witch: -
Fillet of a Fenny Snake,
In the Cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of Newt, and Toe of Frogge,
Wool of Bat, and Tongue of Dogge,
Adder’s Fork, and Blind-worm’s Sting,
Lizard’s leg, and Howlet’s wing,
For a Charm of powerful trouble
Like a Hell-broth boil and bubble.

Speaking of Ann Coulter.

FDLers are so plugged in — would going into Iran finally turn the Rs against this administration since it would be political suicide? (Honestly, with this many people against Iraq, I don’t think the same people are going to say we need to keep the Rs in because we’re at war in Iran.)

Otherwise, where do you all think the tipping point is? At what point does the realization that the Rs could lose both houses move them to turn on the White House?

Let’s hope every Democratic candidate uses him to their advantage and then chunks his nasty arse into the trash bin when they’re through with him.

And, CT FDLers, please send your e-mail address to Pachacutec [pachacutec01@gmail.com] — we only have two of us so far in the Roots Project.

Kirby:

Not to make anyone piss themselves, but Digby has some unsettling reality spray to apply to this issue:

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com.....0524847497

Whose kids does Newt want to leave at Ft. Alamo?

More on Jane (Harman): They really need, also, to focus on who they get any intel from. I posted quite a few threads back about the Risen info to CIA assets in Iran being outed in 2004. If you read anything much, Risen or others, you will very quickly see that Rumsfeld has HATED having any kind of independent, analytic intel wing and has been successfully posturing from the beginning to militarize intel, directly under him, so that it can be effectively propagandized any way he wants. Just as he and Cheney basically militarized Justice and along with cratering independence, also required compliance with overcoming the Constitution and militarizing the investigation and trial and treaties and Conventions processes. I have seen several references to the fact that the intel coming in from Iran now is from military units, responding directly through Rummy – I think he’d just as soon we folded CIA and it sounds like he’s got Goss pretty much on board with that too.

I know this was posted yesterday, but the Afghan story really blew me away. http://tinyurl.com/nd2ca Buried towards the end,
The briefing said that efforts against Afghan officials were coordinated with U.S. special operations teams and must be approved by top commanders as well as military lawyers who apply unspecified criteria set by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Given that the “specified criteria†so from from DOJ and what’s left of military GC is that “the President can do anything and there are no rules on conduct of war or on military or civilian justice, detention or interrogation†I’m not sure what the deal is with having military lawyers involved at all — ANYONE can apply Rummy’s unspecified criteria. Why have someone pretend to be a lawyer when they do it?

Someone, Buzz Flash or the Tequilla Treehouse guy…maybe, once posted a two or three photos under the heading, “Ladies and Gentlemen, we have our Monica moment” of Bush looking at and then hugging Jimmy Jeff in a very brokeback manner.

On the last thread, jim preston wondered “A little off-topic here, but I was wondering what level of civil disobedience the FDL’ers would think would be appropriate to try to stop US action against Iran?” I think this is a good question and one we may need to be thinking about more as we learn more and more disturbing facts about the Iran issue. I am personally more in favor of peaceful demonstration, but I’m interested to know what people think. The Immigration issue has recieved more national attention than it might otherwise have done because immigrants showed up to have thier say. The demonstrations during VietNam had an effect on national opinion when there were far more people supporting the administration then. I just wonder sometimes if a mass demonstration in Washington would bring out people who are silently suffering, iow, people who don’t have communities like firedoglake. Congress isn’t going to act, I just feel it, and I don’t know enough about the military to know whether what Hersh says about the leaders would work. I can’t imagine the level of thier frustration at Rummy telling them they need to pull soldiers out of thier asses to prepare for Iran.

On the radio program I mentioned earlier today, a woman called in who had lived in Iran with her military husband, has other family members in the military as well. She was horrified about the things Hersh was saying. So after 2, 3 or 4 deployments, there may be military families who need a way to express thier indignation.
Just thoughts, not new ones, but the urgency feels very much more real.

two or three photos under the heading, “Ladies and Gentlemen, we have our Monica moment†of Bush looking at and then hugging Jimmy Jeff in a very brokeback manner.

Sybileze –

I remember seeing pics of Bush in a clinch with a bald (shaved head) guy, but it/they were proven NOT to be Jimmy/Jeff. Mr. Shaved Head could only be seen from the back, and he was tracked down and proven to be someone else, IIRC.

But it would be great to have such a picture of Georgie with J/J, wouldn’t it?

timewarp and Amilius, great snark.

Mrs. K8
January 26, 1998 Project for the New American Century: Neocon letter to Clinton: Elliott Abrams, Richard L. Armitage, William J. Bennett, Jeffrey Bergner, John Bolton, Paula Dobriansky, Francis Fukuyama, Robert Kagan, Zalmay Khalilzad, William Kristol, Richard Perle, Peter W. Rodman, Donald Rumsfeld, William Schneider, Jr., Vin Weber, Paul Wolfowitz, R. James Woolsey, Robert B. Zoellick
Don’t have the link but it wouldn’t be hard to find.

I agree with Jane and Digby. These guys are like vampires. You keep thinking they’re dead and then like Richard Nixon there they are again. It really does get you thinking about garlic and wooden stakes and such. How many times do they have to be totally discredited before it sticks or is this just another consequence of this nation’s case of historical Alzheimers?

Well, Ok, I agree that Newt needs to be exposed for his previous posture. I suppose the “nuta and bolts” to this is to….just continually point this out in writings? I can’t think of any other way.
And if Newt, and other neocons, say that “they’ve had a change of heart”…”they’ve re-evaluated the facts on the ground”, etc etc…then as we castigate Newt, what do we say about many Democratic leaders who took an inital stand for the war? There’s got to be a way to thread the needle, I’m just not seeing it. Thank you for this article. Ghostman

Hey, *ilson!

Did you have to remind ol’ Frogge here that Newt’s eye and my Toe go into the same broth? For the record, the closest I ever got to the Newtster was standing next to him while he pissed in the Atlanta airport.

I did suggest that maybe he should use the restroom next time.

He said something about marking his territory, which he still seems to be doing today with no less odiferous results.

And let’s just say that from where I stood, it would take him a LONG time to mark any significant territory, if you get my drift.

Peace out, newtie.

By way of Raw Story:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200.....epublicans

E-Mails Show Abramoff’s Donation Leverage By JOHN SOLOMON and SHARON THEIMER, Associated Press Writers

A Republican Party official and Jack Abramoff’s lobbying team bluntly discussed using large political donations as a way to pressure lawmakers into securing federal money for a tribal client, according to e-mails gathered by prosecutors.

The e-mails detail how Abramoff’s team worked to leverage assistance from the White House, Congress and the GOP to get a reluctant federal agency and a single Republican congressional aide to stop blocking school construction money for the Saginaw Chippewa tribe. The e-mails were obtained by The Associated Press.

Abramoff’s team ultimately prevailed when the congressional aide was overruled, several lawmakers pressured an Interior Department agency and Congress itself set aside the money for the tribe. Lawmakers who helped got thousands of dollars in fresh donations from Abramoff’s team.

Federal bribery law prohibits public officials from taking actions because of gifts or political donations and bars lobbyists from demanding government action in exchange for donations.

Abramoff’s team repeatedly discussed donations as the reason Republican leaders should intervene for the Saginaw, the e-mails show.

(snip)

BTW, Stephen Parrish, if you’re around, I will get that PNAC guy’s name when I listen to the program again at 8. You can also hear it at http://www.wbur.org/

or you can download it at
http://www.onpointradio.org/

Jane, update on Rubber Stamps:

Mary Ellen the owner of Stamps Unlimited, Inc. just called me. She said, “to please give everyone her sincere Thanks for the wonderful extra business and how much she appreciated it.” She wished us luck and to have a good time with our project.

She’s a very, very nice lady and has a great laugh. Said they were a little overwhelmed at first from not having much warning but that they had fun filling the orders. She also mentioned that if we come up with more projects in the future that she will make a special page on her site for us with a special promotion code to use. She’s on her way home and is going to look for the video.

(I had fun talking up FDL and the blogs in general. Is there a Thank You to her company on the video announcement thread?)

Pach (53)
Everyone needs to check out his link. I agree wholeheartedly that this administration will strike Iran before the elections — the only question remaining is whether it will go nuclear.

I don’t believe that a strike will pull the country together and vote R in November. We will probably get hit again once we stir up that hornet’s nest, and I think Americans will be really pissed off this time at our government for stirring it up.

My question remains — is there a tipping point at which the Rs in Congress say “No mas,” and turn on this White House because they don’t want to go down with them?

Hugh –

Thanks for that info! In trying to figure out where I got the mistaken notion that he was part of that manifesto-writing crowd, I just googled PNAC and Gingrich.

It seems that a second letter was sent on May 29, 1988 TO Gingrich (and Lott) in an effort to lobby Congress [after Clinton responded to their *first* take-out-Saddam missive by stating his administration would concentrate their attention on bin Laden and Qaeda].

Here’s a good article on PNAC’s efforts agitating for a Saddam take-down during the Clinton years, by Jason Leopold (Feb 2004):

http://www.shoutmonthly.com/iraqterror/pnac.html

Back to the sinuses topic — the inexpensive little plastic pitcher at Walgreen’s is sold under the name Sinucleanse, and you basically pour lukewarm salt water into one nostril and it runs out the other. It takes a little practice to get the knack of it, but it’s not uncomfortable (believe it or not) and it sure does help. Another thing I swear by is also sold in the drugstore — Simply Saline. It’s just what it says it is, in a spray can with a long nozzle. And you spray it up your nose. That’s a big help too.

Good luck! (Sinuses are in themselves an argument against “intelligent” design.)

OT — just saw that video of Matt — it was GREAT, kudos to all but my husband is in hysterics: where the hell, he wants to know, is Homeland Security? He was able to get all the way into the building, up the elevator, and into Spector’s office with what could have been a bomb (ok, it was an open basket but still, SOMETHING could have been hidden in there), and zippo, nada, zilch. Where, for example, was the goon who stopped Rep. McKinney?

We’re both still chuckling, though — and I am sure it made ol’ Arlen Rubber Stamp’s day. Next, I think, we should all chip in and buy him a spine…

How many times do they have to be totally discredited before it sticks or is this just another consequence of this nation’s case of historical Alzheimers?

Or is it plain old brainwashing? A collective form of Stockholm Syndrome, in which a people held hostage (most know in their guts Bush-Cheney came to power through a coup d’etat, that they are liars and crooks, which is why they don’t bother with the “news”) has come to identify with its captors.

I would really really love to hope that it is possible the the wonderful spirit (and example - why can’t we mobilize similar anti-war protests all around the country?) shown in the immigration rallies will mark the beginning of the re-awakening of a sleeping giant known as the American Public.

And speaking of the Stockholm Syndrome, what the hell is wrong with Italy?

Yes, go read Bilmon. I am glad to see he is posting as acerbicly as ever.

Mrsk8, those were the pics i saw. You’re right, jj’s face wasn’t showing, but it sure seemed like him and was at the end of a press conference while jj was still a honcho (?) at talon news (?).

Seems I read somewhere that Snootie Nootie served notice he was divorcing his ex-wife while she was in the hospital. This is the same nut that was railing against the Big Dog’s peccadillos at the same time he was conducting some of his own. Gingrich is such a low-life neocon nitwit goose stepping war monger. It’s hard to realize that Newt boy and Jimmy Carter germinated from the same state. Some have said Gingrich has past ties to Ralph Reed, another infamous Georgia Republican crook currently attempting to hoodwink the voters in his run for the office of Lt. Governor. Actually Gingrich is dangerous because of his deep connections within the Republican party and his unique ability as a behind the scenes operator. He needs to be exposed and stopped. If it’s possible to imagine, Newt could very well be a worse president than Czar Bush. If he ever gets the chance. That is.

Strawhat,
Another thing you can do is to take 6-7 washcloths and dampen them with warm to hot water out of the tap. Then, put them in a slow cooker (I know it is often the only use crock-pots get these days.)

Set the pot on low. Take out the top washcloth and tilt your head back or lie down and place it across the bridge of your nose and across your cheeks. Cover with plastic wrap, and when it cools down, put it on the bottom of the other washcloths. You can do this as often as you like, and you’ll always have nice moist heat, which penetrates deeper and helps open the sinuses so they can drain.

You can also place the washcloth on your forehead if that’s where your pain is.

They ALL have hidden agendas!

Primordial Ooze — if you’re here, I left you a nod at (119) last thread.

Yet another new poll out- Cook Report Poll shows Clusterfuck at 37%- about the same as the other recent polls.

Billmon:

It appears our long national journey towards complete idiocy is over. We’ve arrived.
[…]
There simply isn’t a precedent for the world’s dominant superpower turning into a rogue state — much less a rogue state willing to wage nuclear war against potential, even hypothetical, security threats. At that point, we’d truly be through the looking glass.
[…]
A country that nukes other countries merely on the suspicion that it may pose a future security threat isn’t the equal of anybody. America would stand completely alone: hated by many, feared by all, admired only by the world’s other tyrants. To call that a watershed event seems a ridiculous understatement.

[…]
When a culture is as historically clueless and morally desensitized as this one appears to be, I don’t think it’s absurd to suppose that even an enormous war crime – the worst imaginable, short of outright genocide — could get lost in the endless babble of the talking heads.[…]
What’s truly scary, though, is the possibility that even though the other members of what we jokingly refer to as the international community don’t share Bush’s delusions, they may be willing to humor them as long as it is in their own narrow self-interest to do so (in other words, as long as they’re not the ones being nuked.) Maybe power really is all the justification that power needs. In which case the downhill path for America – the most powerful country that ever was – is likely to be very steep indeed.

Mutually Assured Dementia

The sinus saline wash is an Indian remedy and the original product is called a neti pot, part of a yoga cleanse. It doesn’t really matter which one you use, but neti pots are very pretty sometimes.

http://www.jalanetipot.com/

;-)

No. Fucking. Prisoners.

Jane, you obviously did not get the Executive Order on this. Apparently, that is just one of the many things that can be done to prisoners. Their children, too, for that matter. A legal opinion is a terrible thing to waste.

Under the heading of “If They Matedâ€

WHIG + OSP = ISOG
http://www.tnr.com/blog/theplank?pid=13282

Unsurprisingly, this has led to grumbling at NEA, with staffers complaining the Bush team has set up its own Iran shop and has been making end runs around the State Department’s traditional bureaucracy.

NO! Say it ain’t so- uh, Joe?

Does this mean that ISOG has emerged as the latest equivalent to the Pentagon’s Office of Special Plans, a secretive cell to stir the imaginations of Paul Krugmans everywhere? Hardly. According to State Department and Pentagon officials, ISOG has no role to play on security issues, doesn’t coordinate at all with White House efforts against Iran at the United Nations, and confines itself to promoting regime change from within.

WHEW! That’s good to hear. If you thought that Liz Cheney, the head of ISOG, had some kind of special “White House†ties you might worry more, but as long as the Pentagon tells ush there’s no coordination, then I guess it’s all fine.

Cheney, Cheney, why does that name sound so familiar?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Cheney

zennurse –

Any civil disobedience should be peaceful, IMO. Anyone interested in such action should read the works of Gene Sharp who wrote multiple volumes on the long history and more recently detailed theory of nonviolent action and how to make it very effective, how to stategize and devise tactics.

Much info at:

www.aeinstein.org

This is his Albert Einstein Institute (for the study and teaching of successful creative nonviolent action). This guy helped out folks in Serbia (the students used his handbooks to bring down Milosevic without violence), and in many places around the globe. I own several of his books and they are jammed full of very useful information, how to organize, for instance. And even how to assess where your “movement” is and how to build it and how to assess risks, etc.

Can’t recommend this guy and other folks at the institute enough.

Oklahoma kiddo,

Actually, I am pretty sure that Newt is a transplant to Ga. I might be wrong, but I think I remember that he was born in western PA.

BTW - there is another interesting parallel between he and Clinton. Gingrich is not the surname he was given at birth (McSomething-or-other). His birth father bailed and he was later adopted by his mother’s 2nd husband. That marriage produced a sister, Candace, who is a lesbian. She is a gay rights activist.

attention
billmon
has a must read.

“Mutually Assured Dementia

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve been at least a little bit surprised by the relatively muted reaction to the news that the Cheney Administration and its Pentagon underlings are racing to put the finishing touches on plans for attacking Iran — plans which may include the first wartime use of nuclear weapons since Nagasaki.” read on

I’m interested in the sinus talk:) Is a nasal saline spray as good as a wash? Not sure I know the difference to start with.

Oklahoma kiddo says:
April 11th, 2006 at 3:09 pm

It’s hard to realize that Newt boy and Jimmy Carter germinated from the same state.

Newt Gingrich was born in Pennsylvania. For more biographical information about him, please click on the following link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newt_Gingrich

Plameologists: have a ball:

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com.....3185238872

He was born Newton McPherson in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the son of Newton Searles McPherson and Kathleen Daugherty. His parents separated soon after Newt’s birth, and his mother raised him by herself until she married Robert Gingrich, who adopted Newt. Gingrich has a younger half-sister, Candace Gingrich, who was born when he was already a young adult. Gingrich rarely saw her when she was growing up.

Gingrich’s adopted surname has been generally pronounced “Ging-ritch” since his entry into public life. However, his adoptive family has always pronounced the name “Gin-grick,” as would be customary in the Pennsylvania Dutch ethnic milieu.

Gingrich attended school at various military installations and graduated from Baker High School, Columbus, Georgia, in 1961. He received a B.A. degree from Emory University in Atlanta in 1965. He received an M.A. in 1968 and Ph.D. in 1971 in Modern European History from Tulane University in New Orleans. He taught history at West Georgia College in Carrollton, Georgia, from 1970 to 1978.

(Sinuses are in themselves an argument against “intelligent†design.)

Strawhat –

LOL!!! Too funny.

Thanks for the advice. I actually already do most of it, although I had been putting wet washcloths in the microwave and zapping ‘em for a few seconds. I like the crockpot idea. The sinus rinse is easy to do cheaply: salt mixed with warm water, then poured from the glass into cupped palm over the sink, bend head over and snort contents of palm into sinuses, then spit it out after it runs down the throat. Disgusting, but effective and frugal. Thanks for your suggestions. I see you, too, have sadly become an expert on the topic. (Not willingly, I presume.) :-)

How close is fitz to getting Cheney. David Corn has an article, hat tip to TPM:

http://www.davidcorn.com/archi.....y_cons.php

The Pennsylvania Dutch- by the way- are really Pennsylvania Germans- confusion over the german word for “german”.

Kudos to Jane for forcefully stripping the phony bark off Gingrich so that the not to be trusted opportunist underneath is clearly visible.

Thanks guys for the geographical corrections of Newt’s hatching place. I was referring to his political germinations. I think he did most of his damage thus far from Georgia. Is that right?

Primordial Ooze —

Cross match Larry Johnson’s timeline to another timeline:

Event Seven - 6 May 2003. Nick Kristof writes in the New York Times, “I’m told by a person involved in the Niger caper that more than a year ago the vice president’s office asked for an investigation of the uranium deal, so a former U.S. ambassador to Africa was dispatched to Niger. In February 2002, according to someone present at the meetings, that envoy reported to the C.I.A. and State Department that the information was unequivocally wrong and that the documents had been forged.”
5/8 1:09 - 7:10 (unusually long) (1:45-2:26)
5/9 9:49 - 11:38 (no briefing)
5/14 5:15 pm - 6:56 pm (second evening visit)

Event Eight - 6 July 2003. Ambassador Wilson’s op-ed appears in the New York Times.
7/15 12:15 (no exit) (12:38-1:23)
7/17 4:43 - 6:13 (12:36-1:17 — doesn’t match)

Was our fiddy-dollar-two-day-journo-cert-man-whore helping with the fallout from these events?

Just sayin’…

So Newt is suddenly on our side? Ha.

Marketing 101: Use ‘em. If they want to suddenly back your position for their own personal agenda/evil purpose, well that’s just great. Use ‘em and don’t give ‘em a thing, don’t trust ‘em as far as you can throw their fat asses. Just use ‘em.

marky –

Saline spray is useful to keep sinuses moist (although at our house we use a humidifier in the winter, and in spring and fall the evaporative cooler puts moisture in the dry desert air), but does not do as much to clean out the sinuses — unless you used at least an ounce or two each time you used it. But that would get expensive.

Better and much more effective is the salt water snorting technique I mentioned above. I absolutely HATE doing it, just from an “ick” factor (it’s not painful or anything), but it works very well.

marky #46

Possible strikes against Iran using nuclear weapons to play some kind of indirect game with China just isn’t credible. Iran is a country of 70 million people with considerable reserves of natural gas but significantly smaller oil reserves than Iraq. Gaining possession of them wouldn’t be worth the cost or blowback.

Control/possession of oil is vastly overrated. Who cares who owns it? It’s a great talking point and I am sure that there are a lot of Iraqis and Americans who think that that is why we are there. But it misses the point. Yes, it is the oil but it’s not the ownership, it’s the stable flow that counts. It is in this strategic sense that our policy has failed so miserably in Iraq and would fail in Iran. We make war and the oil does not flow and the supply becomes unstable.

As for China, it deserves to be a focus of American strategic thinking economically, politically, and militarily. The simple truth is that it has not been. The War on Terror and Iraq after pushed it off the screens. China and India will both be major players in the future. Yet little time or thought has been spent on deciding what kind of a relationship we want to have with them and what kind of relationship they want to have with us.

Bizarre! It is just bizarre that Newt thinks he can redeems himself. Is he delusional? Where do these crazy disgraced republicans get their bizarre ideas?

Bizarre. Bizarre. Bizarre!

I will never hear of Newt without recognizing his artful use of ad hominem insinuation that those who opposes him just frankly crazy.

Ha-ha. Now we have actual crazy in the White House. Whaddya think, Newt?

Margo 38 — sigh. Same thing happened in the next town over last fall, and I personally felt shamed as well as horrified and more mad than any Christian ought to be, ever. It really shook me to my core — and even though the decent people of the community ended up holding a candlelight vigil one Sunday night offering up love, forgiveness and inclusion, and even though no one really thinks this was much more than some messed up high school kids who didn’t really even understand what they were doing, there were still too many frightened minority members and grossed-out non-minority members for this event ever to be forgotten. I am glad we went to that vigil, though — it was a show of support and at least semi-cleansing, though I am not sure anything removes that stain. Just think for a minute about BURNING Jesus’ cross — eeeeeeeekkkkkk, even WITHOUT the racist meaning!!!!!!!

re: 71
Oklahoma kiddo says:
April 11th, 2006 at 3:09 pm

“”Seems I read somewhere that Snootie Nootie served notice he was divorcing his ex-wife while she was in the hospital.”"

IIRC it is even more horrid: he served his wife while in the hospital with cancer . . . and then played the deadbeat dad refusing to pay alimony / child support.

newt is a singularly disgusting little fucker . . . an evil little chickenhawk fer sure.

i hope he does mount a run at the presidency; it would be fun to wahtch him get mccained . . .

How in the world did THREE women make the same mistake with this evildoer?

I believe it was Henry Kissinger who once said that political power was a most powerful aphrodesiac …

nice post, jane. make him wear this war like a colombian necktie of OJ fame.

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