fitz!

…Fitz me once. Can’t Fitz me again.

Colbert!

supercaliFITZilisticexpialidocious !!!

fristy fitz!

Burning man?!

A real campaighn? OMg- I would think I had died and gone to heaven…..

Suspicians always nag.

Hell! To the Ramparts! KagroX!

sorry:-)

Great balls of fitz!

Man! I got EPU’d… Fitzgerald!

I got epu’d but it’s more relevent here:

Did anyone see this?

Much bigger than the Dukestir. Rick Gwin, the Pentagon’s special agent in charge of the Cunningham investigation, on the scandal’s reach: “This is much bigger and wider than just Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham. All that has just not come out yet, but it won’t be much longer and then you will know just how widespread this is.â€
From Think Progress

So are you saying the Republicans are fuming? But must disagree with the premise, the Republicans are not out of gas. They are full of gas.

I guess we’ll find out when the GOP runs Jeb against the media’s Hillary in ‘08…. please god nooooo!

a thought from previous thread: none of Jeb’s military-age children have seen fit to join our heroes in Iraq fighting Islamofascism over there so we wont have to fight Islamofacism in Pensacola or Tallahassee ! (Jenna and not-Jenna are also AWOL in the GWOT)(but Cheney shot an old man in the face)

Can I just say how happy I am to have found an article topic for which I could use this particular photo? *g* I don’t know why, exactly, but the picture just makes me giggle.

The Dems will wake up once they realize the true power of the blogroots. Some of them will have to go–with Joementum. We have the power to shape the Dem party while the GOP wanders in the wilderness.

New Pic of Rove giving reporters the finger…after being asked about his possible indictment this week…This is the for real pic.

http://www.unconfirmedsources.com/?itemid=1691

Angie, you are a peach! thanks for the Raw Story link – just couldn’t get it to work

btw everyone, not a peep on Speaker Hastert’s site about today’s, um, celebration

Matt O. is graduating this weekend so he won’t be doing his regular column but his series on war profiteers fits in here nicely.

http://www.firedoglake.com/cat…..fiteering/

Again, from last thread, as much as I’d like to think the Republicans are out of gas, they seem to still be able to do a lot of damage in the meantime, like making the tax cuts permanent. Kinda sounds like a cheap ploy to me, to avoid talking about accountability and oversight . . .

Any possibility of getting the Senate Democrats to (a) hang tough against this, and (b) convince the Snowe/Chafee types to ditch the Dubya line?

Redd, the picture evokes memories of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert….

cbl #19

So in honor of Goss will there be hookers? Inquiring minds want to know.

cbl #4 – LOL. You are too witty for words!

Hugh @ 23,

not sure, but where in the hell are all the presstitutes ????

Whatever Joe Klein and Richard Cohen and John Dickerson and Bob Shrum (etc ad nauseum) say the Dems should do, they should do the opposite.

The Democrats are really bad at being Republicans – they just havent quite figured out that this is now a political asset, not a liability.

btw, several days ago I posted a “Nigerian money scam Email” on the WaPoo Blog where it has persisted — I bet Richard Cohen has already sent his bank information in anticipation of millions being deposited !

Sadly, the Democrats won’t take Digby’s advice, or Jane’s, or mine, or any of the hundreds of other people who’ve written the same thing. They’re committed to the “just don’t screw it up” path to success.

Along these same lines, twolf1 in the last thread mentioned the rude pundit’s observations which includes gems like this: “But, really, at this point, a reasonably well-trained monkey or a deviled ham sandwich could do a better job in the Oval Office.”

Here in NoVa, it looks like we’ll have Jim Webb challenging George Allen’s Senate seat. The “experts” are saying it could be a race to watch.

My first question to Mr. Webb, assuming he’s the Dem’s candidate, is, do you support efforts to impeach, and remove from office, George W. Bush?

Dems must take a stand on something-the rule of law, for instance.

Speakin’ of the corruption scandals Billmon is hilarious today on “Nine Fingers” and Pokergate/Hookergate or whatever it’ll be called/gate:

“Ken Silverstein at Harper’s and Justin Rood at TPM Muckraker give us some more details on the life and times of Brant Bassett — a.k.a. “Nine Fingers,” the CIA operative who lent a bit of Austin Powerish international-man-of-mystery flair to Brent Wilkes’s poker and prostitution parties, which otherwise read like something from the script of Porky’s II.

Or, to quote a T-shirt from an Alaska bar that used to be (and maybe still is) famous in certain elite drinking circles: Liquor in the front, poker behind.

But I liked Nine Fingers a lot better before he had a name, when we could imagine him tracking Bin Ladin across the scorching sands of Baluchistan, or running a mole inside the Russian embassy in Islamabad, or refusing to cry out as Hezbollah kidnappers cut off his pinkie and mailed it to the CIA station chief in Beirut along with their ransom demands. You know, spy shit. With someone who looks like Harrison Ford, except craggier.

But instead we find that Nine Fingers is actually a washed up old spook turned congressional staffer on the take. Maybe he really did give his finger for his country in some vital covert mission, but it’s also possible that he just lost it in a copying machine accident. Either way, the more we know about Nine Fingers the worse, from the point of view of dramatic tension.

Wonkette — or whoever ghosts for Wonkette now that she’s writing sex books — claims that Nine Fingers also happens to be a well-known Dick Tracy villain, like Flatop, the freelance hitman with a head shaped like an aircraft carrier, or Pruneface, the Nazi spy who dabbles in weapons of mass destruction. (Now you know where Cheney and Rumsfeld get all their good ideas.)

I’m not well-versed enough in Dick Tracy lore to say if this is true, although I very much want it to be, just as I badly want to believe in Ana Marie’s promotional image as a nymphomaniac blogger with a taste for anal sex — because it makes the story much more interesting. Unfortunately, I can’t quite buy that one either.

No, I’m afraid the only connotation the nickname Nine Fingers raises in my mind comes from Tolkien, not Chester Gould, and it’s Frodo the Nine Fingered, praised with great praise in too many stanzas of pseudo-Norse saga. But that would only work if Frodo had gone over to the Dark Lord and spent a career running death squads into Gondor — before retiring to serve as staff director to one of the Nazgul. And J.R.R. still would have had to shoehorn those prostitute and poker parties in somewhere, maybe in that scene in the Orc fortress. “

You can read the whole piece at:

http://www.billmon.org

Via Froomkin, John Podhoretz apparently has the official WATB explanation for why Bush’s poll numbers are plummeting:
John Podhoretz writes in his New York Post opinion column with one possible explanation: “Republicans and conservatives have grown weary of defending Bush. They’ve been fighting and fighting and fighting for years, and they see no letup in the hostility toward him or in the energy and determination of his critics. Faced with that implacable opposition, they’ve grown not disaffected but disheartened.”

Waah, waahh, waahh! The Bush Administration has done nothing to make anyone dislike them, but constant incivility and meanness from those irrational Bush-haters has worn out all the good, patriotic, citizens, can’t you see?

Funny, the poll results I saw said large majorities disapproved of Bush’s policies, not that they were “disheartened” in their approval. And even if you believed his WATB explanation, comparing to Clinton’s support through and after the impeachment, it would mean that he’s admitting we’re better than the Right even at the one thing they are good at, which is trashing the opposition!

The tide is turning. By 2008 Democrats and Independents will be paying a lot more attention to what Jane and Christy are saying than to what Richard Cohen of WalPo or Thomas Friedman of NYT are saying. The NeoCon pundits of the mainstream media are loosing their influence and this is a very positive development. In the meantime, Hillary Clinton had her benefactor, Rupert Murdoch, will become more irrevelent.

Kazuza!

I think “any six year old” is being too kind.

Of course Dem’s should speak out loudly and often about the failures of the Repugs. I still think Dems can win big with a do nothing strategy, but I would prefer they speak out and stand for something.

If Dem’s can’t think as well as a six year old and figure this out, if they run and hide b/c they actually fear Tweety and others claim’s that “scandals” and “failure” are bipartisan, then we need new Dems who can think at an adult “six year old” level.

>is it not possible that the American people would like to find out what happened to the billions missing in Iraq?

Cujo359 #28: Sadly, the Democrats won’t take Digby’s advice, or Jane’s, or mine, or any of the hundreds of other people who’ve written the same thing. They’re committed to the “just don’t screw it up†path to success.

You may well be right about the incumbents, but I have higher hopes for some of the challengers.

I find many six y/olds have a highly developed sense of justice so this could work.
Is it just that all those people died for a lie?
Is it just that they say we are not an empire of bullies when we are building huge forts?
Is it fair that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer?
Is it fair and just that the most just tax gets called bad names and is scrapped when we need the money to play doctors and nurses?
Is it fair that this crazy Start wars game gets all this money we need for hurricane games?
The bullies want to go everwhere but we can’t go anywhere and they want to have big parties and not invite us and they put dogs on us if we go near their place.
They are spying on us and stealing from us and its just not fair!
Yeah – lets tap into a childs sense of fair play and simplify the message. Republicans are criminals and have to go to jail for the rest of their lives – Democrats are only human and we have to keep a very close eye on them to make sure that they don’t turn into Republicans. We are lucky we have some pretty good rules – they are in the constitution. The rules of the game.

OT but I notice in the FAS secrecy newsletter there are a couple of PDFs re the AIPAC trial.
James Risen and some of our legal buffs might want to look at them. IANAL…I very anal actually. Like some six year old kid.

OT The 47 nations have been chosen for the new Human Rights Council. Terms which were determined by lot are staggered to provide a rotating membership.

The take home message is: don’t expect much. By making the primary criteria geographic region and popularity within the UN rather than a solid human rights record the Council ends up with numerous major human rights violators. My favorites are such bastions of liberty as Saudi Arabia, China, Pakistan, Russia, and Cuba.

The complete follows:

Africa (13 seats)

one-year term: Algeria, South Africa, Tunisia and Morocco
two-year term: Gabon, Ghana, Mali and Zambia
three-year term: Cameroon, Djibouti, Mauritius, Nigeria and Senegal

Asia (13 seats)

one-year term: Bahrain, India, Indonesia and the Philippines
two-year term: Pakistan, South Korea, Japan and Sri Lanka
three-year term: Bangladesh, China, Jordan, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia

Eastern Europe (6 seats)

one-year term: the Czech Republic and Poland
two-year term: Ukraine and Romania
three-year term: Azerbaijan and Russia

Latin America and the Caribbean (8 seats)

one-year term: Argentina and Ecuador
two-year term: Brazil, Peru and Guatemala
three-year term: Cuba, Mexico and Uruguay

Western Europe and other developed nations (7 seats)

one-year term: Finland and the Netherlands
two-year term: Britain and France
three-year term: Canada, Germany and Switzerland

Sorry – My followup was
As far as I know, this question has never been asked directly to an administration official. Does anyone else find this as remarkable as I do

Hi Christy -

Thanks for your great work!

While the national Repugs are running on fumes, here in California the Dems seem to have been huffing the fumes.

Seems the CA Dem leaders may block the impeachment resolution already introdcued in the California legislature. They have to keep their powder dry for expected hardball budget negotiations – with a minority party in electoral freefall.

(see excerpt from Raw Story below)

On Monday I learned the Democratic leadership of both State Houses, former Governor “Moonbeam” Brown, and at leat of Arnold’s Democratic opponents for Governor will be campaigning with Arnold in the run up to the general election fo rbadly needed bond measures.

The same California Dem leaders who prize a tactical advantage in budget negotiations over survival of the Constitution are using their keen strategic skills to plan…photo-ops with the guy who has beaten them in emotive imagery for the last few years.

When the Repugs run out of fumes, they may want to check in with their helpers in the CA Dem leadership.

If the CA Dems will enable Arnold’s next election bid, they’ll certainly enable the Repugs and share whatever they’re huffing.

OT: I generally avoid AmericaBlog because of Aravosis’ occasional pet peeve wig-outs, but dropped by to find this (sorry, haven’t practiced block quotes yet):

Great article on Colbert in the Chicago Sun-Times
by John in DC – 5/10/2006 12:43:00 PM

This article goes far beyond defending Colbert. It’s a message to the networks about their coverage, what it is, and what it should be. This is a must-read.

From the TV critic:

How’s this for a newsworthy lead? It was perhaps the first time in Bush’s tenure that the president was forced to sit and listen to any American cite the litany of criminal and corruption allegations that have piled up against his administration. And mouth-tense Bush and first lady Laura Bush fled as soon as possible afterward….

… If NBC News let in audiences during its broadcasts, those people might also laugh at the president.

But the TV news corps, the unthinking and unblinking herd of pack journalists, prefer to laugh with the president, and kiss many viewers goodbye.

Well, since the wars are part of the corruption, Noam Chomsky has a new piece out today, more at the link.

>>>>>>>
By “just war,” counterterrorism or some other rationale, the US exempts itself from the fundamental principles of world order that it played the primary role in formulating and enacting.

After World War II, a new regime of international law was instituted. Its provisions on laws of war are codified in the UN Charter, the Geneva Conventions and the Nuremberg principles, adopted by the General Assembly. The Charter bars the threat or use of force unless authorized by the Security Council or, under Article 51, in self-defense against armed attack until the Security Council acts.

In 2004, a high level UN panel, including, among others, former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, concluded that “Article 51 needs neither extension nor restriction of its long-understood scope … In a world full of perceived potential threats, the risk to the global order and the norm of nonintervention on which it continues to be based is simply too great for the legality of unilateral preventive action, as distinct from collectively endorsed action, to be accepted. Allowing one to so act is to allow all.”

The National Security Strategy of September 2002, just largely reiterated in March, grants the US the right to carry out what it calls “pre-emptive war,” which means not pre-emptive, but “preventive war.” That’s the right to commit aggression, plain and simple.

In the wording of the Nuremberg Tribunal, aggression is “the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole” — all the evil in the tortured land of Iraq that flowed from the US-UK invasion, for example.

The concept of aggression was defined clearly enough by US Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson, who was chief prosecutor for the United States at Nuremberg. The concept was restated in an authoritative General Assembly resolution. An “aggressor,” Jackson proposed to the tribunal, is a state that is the first to commit such actions as “invasion of its armed forces, with or without a declaration of war, of the territory of another State.”

That applies to the invasion of Iraq. Also relevant are Justice Jackson’s eloquent words at Nuremberg: “If certain acts of violation of treaties are crimes, they are crimes whether the United States does them or whether Germany does them, and we are not prepared to lay down a rule of criminal conduct against others which we would not be willing to have invoked against us.” And elsewhere: “We must never forget that the record on which we judge these defendants is the record on which history will judge us tomorrow. To pass these defendants a poisoned chalice is to put it to our own lips as well.”

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0510-33.htm

via Josh:

Foggo “really more of a victim here”, says lawyer.

The republicans have always “stood” for wealth… making it, protecting it… “respecting” it. For them money is ev everrything and government is only a scheme to distribute the people’s money to the corporate “elite”… such as Martin Marietta, Northrop, McDonnel Douglas and all the usual suspects who have been skeering the american people and the world for 6 decades in order to make lots of cash.

In order to play in politics you even need big cash because you gotta feed the “advertising” pigs, and media pigs. And the fund raisers and so on and so on.

The NYTimes did an obscene article about corporate jets, how much they cost, who uses them, why and when and who ultimately pays for them. This follows on the revelations about CEO compensation. Let’s not forget, what movies stars, professional atheletes and muscisians make these days and it is no wonder that it is all about money money money… and more money. THAT IS AMERICA to the republicans…

Edward Deevy @ 32:

Grammar Police drive-by…

loose – adj. – not fastened, restrained or cantained.

lose (losing) – v. – To be unsuccessful in retaining possession of; mislay

(one of my very few pet peeves)

Carry on!

:-)

Shouldn’t we get a search warrant for Jeff Guckerts arsehole?
A man’s finger is missing here! Oh the hot military humanity!

not fastened, restrained or cOntained.

Jeez!

I’ll shut up now.

Behind, so this may have been posted/discussed. WaPo’s Dan Balz article on how the “centrist” Dems want to shape Dem message about being strong on national security.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/…..01485.html

Another phony debate from the DLC that assumes anyone who thinks the Iraq adventure was a strategic blunder that harmed efforts to deal with terrorism is assume to be “weak,” so to be “strong,” we have to buy something indistinguishable from “stay the course” in Iraq. This is the DLC version of the Rove strategy.

Face it. The Democrats are just professional enablers of the Republicans. Both parties have the same masters. Your so called democratic two-party system is neither. What occurs as the democratic process in the US amounts to nothing more than a smokescreen for the masters to hide their real agenda behind.

Gotta love The Deciderer, on the Medicare Drug plan “deadline.”

“Deadlines are important.”

Yeah, except when they’re NOT, like in Iraq.

Dipwad.

re 39 -

Raw Story:

“I think there is a shot,” Koretz said when asked what odds Assembly Joint Resolution 39 has of winning passage. “The question is whether the leadership will let it move. There are a lot of bipartisan issues we’re trying to work on this year,” he added. (Text of the resolution.)

Democrats control both houses of the California Legislature. But leaders may be wary of losing Republican support for budget and tax measures, which require a two-thirds majority for passage under California law, one legislative insider told RAW STORY.

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2….._0509.html

ccmask, that is damn funny! You sure it’s real?

Let’s make sure KO, TDS and Colbert have seen it.

44 “loose” can be a verb also but clearly he meant “lose.”

Actual headline from RAW STORY;

President’s plans found in trash

Sometimes they just write themselves.

t- wrt my link @#18….I just realized that it is a satire site!! I guess my first clue would have been the unconfirmed sources name…..

The loopy Chimperor has been looking for his lost mojo in California with Arnie…noop…not there…try Florida…no – not there. Don’t need another double.
This is harder than looking for WMDs isn’t it?
I have a feeling after next week he’ll be staggering like ‘ Emile’ in ‘ Robocop’ just after his bath in toxic waste and Josh ‘ 10 fingers’ Bolten will be screaming, ‘ GET AWAY FROM ME MAN!’

CA Democrat leaders have a whole of of explain’ to do on many fronts. Am still waiting for an explanation for their state Leadership’s recent tete to tete as guests of AT&T weekend golf orgy in Pebble Beach.

Yeah, the same AT&T who spy on we hapless Americans for the Bush/Cheney criminal cartel, without apology.

And don’t even get me started on their local handmaiden: the Pebble Beach Company who think they have the right to clear cut the last standing old growth coastal Monterey pine forest for another golf course among other development.

I thought the graphic up top was a still frame outta “Mad Max” movie.

Especially because we seem to be stubbornly and inexorably plodding onward to that very scenario.

Bush and World War III

In case you missed it….

Asked by CNBC’s Larry Kudlow last Fruday if he had seen “United 93,” Pres. Bush said: “I have not. I wouldn’t call it a lighter note. And I suspect the movie touched you.”

Kudlow: “It did.”

Bush: “And it’s a — it’s a remembrance of the nature of the world in which we live. And it’s also a remembrance of the heroic action that Americans were — are willing to take in the face of danger. I haven’t seen it yet. I will see it.”

Kudlow said: “The late Scott Beamer’s dad, David, was on our program. He wrote a great article in the Wall Street Journal, and he said, essentially, that when the passengers retook that plane, he called it the first counterattack for World War III.”

Bush: “Yeah.”

Kudlow: “I didn’t know if you saw. I don’t know if you have a thought on that.”

Bush: “I believe that. I believe that it was the first counterattack of World War III. It was — it was unbelievably heroic of the — of those folks on the airplane to recognize the danger and — and save lives” (”Kudlow & Company,” CNBC, 5/5).

http://hotlineblog.nationaljou…..world.html

Thanks for the nice mention, Christy. I’m a huge fan of your site. Cheers, clb72

Itching? Man Christy, I have been scratching so hard that I am getting raw!

And I thought the graphic was a take-off on Mad Max as well. It’s a beauty!

Bustednuckles #53 – But I unerstand from MSNBC news that today Bush’s talking points are about Identity Theft and how to protect yourself against!!!

mark simmons 34, 38 – I’m pretty sure no one’s ever asked the administration that questions. And OT, but I wonder if you are by chance the painter who lives in Florida?

s/b “that question,” not “questions.”

The Dems should adopt Ray McGovern’s approach. They need to have the facts at their fingertips. He carried a briefcase of clippings to the Rumsfeld speech in Atlanta, caught him in a lie and had Rumsfeld’s own words to prove it. CNN is wondering if the anti-war movement is “getting organized or something”. Hell yes it is, and the Democrats need to get a clue and do the same.

One contract is worth $21.2m

Democrats on the house homeland security committee sent a letter to the department’s inspector general on Monday, questioning whether Shirlington Limousine was qualified to get the two contracts – one for $3.8m in April 2004, and another for $21.2m in October 2005.

The committee plans to discuss the contract at a previously scheduled May 18 hearing on contracts, hiring processes and security clearances.

US homeland security department spokesperson Larry Orluskie said the $21.2m contract with Shirlington Limousine, is “performing exactly as expected”.

Orluskie said the contract is for 12 minibuses and 16 drivers to shuttle US homeland security employees between the department’s various offices in the Washington area.

It also provides 10 additional drivers to chauffeur department executive staffers in US homeland security-owned sedans.

http://www.news24.com/News24/W…..26,00.html

OT but the NY Observer has done a humorous send up of the Ahmedinejad letter!

Props to Jim McDermott over on HuffPo-
_____

…America is strong because of the protections within the free flow of information—it’s our First Amendment to the Constitution.

But the President and Republican majority want to tell you what to think through the outright control of information.

Geoffrey R. Stone, author and law professor at the University of Chicago, wrote an article in the New York Times the other day called “Scared of Scoops.â€

As the writer points out, the Administration’s primary tactic is intimidation.

When in doubt, they try to make you afraid.

When unpopular, they try to make you afraid.

When they are losing their hold on power, because of their record, they intend to make you afraid.

The only reason you know this President has no energy plan for America is because he can’t hide the price of gasoline at the pumps.

He’d make it a secret if he could, so don’t be surprised if the President tries to classify the price of gasoline as a national security matter.

In a nation where free speech is the last line of defense against absolute power, they don’t want you to know, because the more you know, the worse they look.

CNN about to show CONGRESSIONAL HONORS after break.

I don’t get it, I really don’t.

With the Goss resignation, G*d has handed the Democrats a chance to put Cunningham, wiretapping, and prostitutes all under the klieg lights at the same time. G*d does not offer you such chances very often.

The public does not need a long “re-education” campaign a la the Heritage Foundation’s 20-year Social Security reform campaign. This doesn’t need framing. Having Congressmen and DCI trading crooked contracts at hooker-supplied poker parties is a pretty simple sell.

When this sort of opportunity in life comes, you must GRAB IT. Spin the hearings out for weeks. Lead every question with, “Would you, like your Republican predecessor…”. Ask tough questions about the partisan witch hunt. Ask “Would you ensure that when the CIA analysis is correct, such as it was in Iraq, that the President would heed it?”. Ask, “Would you allow the President to enquire about the political affiliations of your employees when he didn’t like their conclusions?” Ask, “What would you do to ensure that nobody like Dusty Foggo could be hired?” Ask “Can you explain what mistakes your predecessor made that you would not repeat?” Ask, “Have you in your time at NSA ever authorized, under any program, eavesdropping on domestic-to-domestic calls of any journalists or political opponents of the president without a warrant?” Ask “Do you understand the Fourth Amendment asks for probable cause?” Ask “Do you think it would endanger national security if you attended hooker-supplied poker parties with CIA contractors?” Even ask, “When were you asked to be DCI?”, followed by, “Were you surprised at the timing?” Surely the questions could be wordsmithed, but there’s plenty to show how much bad faith has been going on in our intelligence agencies.

Sure, there’s a risk, it could backfire, you could lose. It could happen. It’s not about spine, it’s a calculation. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is a risk worth taking.

jinny 61

That’s because the Dems are weak on identity theft, and weak on perch.

Burning Man !!!

OK, I`ll settle down a bit

The ReThuglicans are in deep, deep stuff & to think that “We the people…” are going to be actually rescued by the other party to “the dance” of corruption is a DEADLY DELUSION

I know “We…” are busy BUT

Time to stand up and take charge folks !

“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” – R. Buckminster Fuller

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m itching for a smackdown of the GOP rubber stamp brigades. – CHS

Dittozilla! Not only does RepubCo not want to be reminded of it’s f’ups, it wants to keep the populace ignorant just on general principles. Knowledge is power. Power to the people.

to speak perch, ants to dream
ay, there’s the the rub

Punaise (#40):

Two Thumbs Up on the Chicago Sun-Times article.
A bonus is the complete text of Colbert’s masterful play.

“Splash says:
May 10th, 2006 at 11:15 am
Whatever Joe Klein and Richard Cohen and John Dickerson and Bob Shrum (etc ad nauseum) say the Dems should do, they should do the opposite.
The Democrats are really bad at being Republicans – they just havent quite figured out that this is now a political asset, not a liability.”

**********************************************

Splash has just recommended the Constanza Strategy for all sane Democrats.

Here, here!

-GSD

Oh, how I hope we have a Fitzmas Friday, wherein are announced the next BushCo indictments.

Bring ‘em ON, Fitz!

punaise 6 – looks like it. Or burning elephant.

From Prof. Cole’s blog today(scroll down): In addition to asking where the reconstruction billions have gone, we must ask where the 200,000 AK47s the US, apparently via several shell/cover arms dealers, shipped to Iraq sometime in the last 2 years. Looks like they were diverted to the insurrection. I wonder how many of our brave lads and lasses have been murdered with these particular guns. F*uckwads. Incompetence rules.

PS I have no earthly idea how to link this stuff. Are there tutorials I’ve been to lazy to find?

punaise @ 11:30 am (#42) – According to this Harper’s article, Foggo was the Leo Getz (”whatever you want, Leo Getz“) of the CIA. Like Leo, he sounds like a dodgy character.

YearlyKos Panel to Discuss Election Reform

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/5/10/135922/381

punaise – ant rub? Yeowch, that’s gotta hurt!

The Golden Perch – Coining a Phrase

What will be the GOP’s “golden perch” in the upcoming elections? So far, it seems to be fear of impeachment. Will they bring back the tired tried and true gay marriage? They already had to throw the WMD golden perch back. Whatever it is, I’m sure an alarming number of citizens will buy into it. Don’t forget, Rove can still call in ideas from jail.

OT – Tornadoes in Alabama — FDLers take cover

@73 – oh punaise, get thee to a punnery.

imperchment

ant rub does wonders for wrinkles — and is also good when blackening perch over open flame.

Watertiger is too, too funny.
http://derenegade.blogspot.com…..touch.html

BobbyG >”…Jim McDermott…As the writer points out, the Administration’s primary tactic is intimidation.

When in doubt, they try to make you afraid.

When unpopular, they try to make you afraid.

When they are losing their hold on power, because of their record, they intend to make you afraid…they don’t want you to know, because the more you know, the worse they look.”

Yea Jim ! (my once Congress person)

He was one of the few that made sense (with essentially this same rap) in “Fahrenheit 911″

Time for “We the people…” to stand up !

“The only barrier to a successfully sustainable planet is ignorance.” – R. Buckminster Fuller

“But there’s this nagging suspician that there are too many Democratic politicians who are listening to the consultants…” I am so disappointed in Senator Hillary Clinton. Not all that long ago I supported her for president with all my soul. I feel let down, Hillary. I thought you would be a good pick to pick up the pieces after Prince George had stripped this country of all it’s dignity. I figured it was time to give a woman a ’shot’. After all, history clearly shows that men have done a pretty fair job of screwing things up. The real tragedy of it all Hillary, is that you still have time to “pull it off”. But I’ll wager you don’t. Pity. Senator, you need to break with the DLC, the Iraq war, your advisors and perhaps even with the “big dog’s” advice.

twolf 81

Can Goss and Cunningham’s Golden Perch awards be mounted?

Leslie 82 – I broke those vow(el)s long ago

BobbyG @ 11:55 am (#67) – I used to be in McDermott’s district, and he still makes me proud I helped vote him in.

One problem with classifying the price of gasoline – you couldn’t sell it to people. Not an insurmountable problem, but the idea of the “free market” party setting up a government program to buy gasoline and then give it away to the public is ironic, to say the least.

punaise 73

delightfully appalling

Willy Shakes is spinning in his grave:

to sleep, perch, ants to dream
ay, there’s the the Shrub

I wonder of any of you have tried thinking about the current situation from the point of view of someone who isn’t as immersed in things as we are. I know people who never read a newspaper – even online – and never watch more than the weather and sports portion of the local news. They don’t watch the Sunday morning shows, they don’t watch Hardball or Wolf Blitzer or Lou Dobbs or Hannity & Colmes. They listen to music on the radio, not talk. No Air America, no Rush Limbaugh.

What are they bitching about these days? Gas prices and – in most of Maryland – a looming 72% increase in their utility bills. Older people are complaining about Medicare Part D. When they venture an opinion about Iraq, it’s usually based on something someone told them they heard, and it’s usually wrong. Ditto on Iran.

I know we can’t conquer the entire universe of ill-informed people, but I’m sure I – like many of you – do my part to make inroads when and where I can.

My point is that I don’t think people are going to vote on the minutiae of who is and isn’t corrupt, who did and didn’t lie about Iraq. I think they’re going to vote on economic issues like flat wages and rising prices, disappearing jobs, the middle-class squeeze, and things like border and port security and who is going to extricate us from Iraq, and keep us out of another war.

WE want Bush and the rest of the gang to pay, and pay dearly, for what they have wrought. WE want acknowledgment and affirmation that we were right about the wrongs. The folks who aren’t paying attention to the details just want things to be better – higher wages, lower fuel costs, more equitable tax treatment, an end to the drain of the Iraq war.

I think we have to look toward November as though it might be the only payback we get, as if the elections themselves were the affirmation we were looking for. I think we have to look to every local race as a building block in the foundation of a better America. If we can do that, we will automatically be better off and I think the rest will play out as it will. Most of America will be grateful if the effort is in improving their lives and not in vendetta politics that produces no tangible benefit.

I’m not saying we should just be polite and play nice. I think we have to be rude if that’s what it takes, and play to win. I think it has to be clear that the fight is for those who can’t fight for themselves – we need to be champions in the true sense of that word, and be seen to be fighting for the people because we believe in the people, and not look like we’re just using the people to get back at the big, bad Republicans.

Rant over; sorry.

OT – Mary Cheney, from an excerpt in her new book:

From the beginning, Governor Bush had made it clear that he wasn’t just looking for a running mate who could help him get elected. He wanted a running mate who could help him govern. [my bold]

Not that this isn’t something almost everyone already knows, but it is quite stunning to see her admit it!

Is anyone else tired of Rethug women titling their books My Turn? Mary Cheney = the new Nancy Reagan?

Punaise #42. That is fascinating language. You would think the lawyer would simply declare that Foggo “Is really more the victim here.” Just interesting qualification of his “innocence.”

kirk murphy 88

Just like a hooker at a Wilkes party, they can be mounted in your hotel room or on your cell wall. Kind of like Billy Bass. That’s why he’s out of stock.

when she had a cold, but did margaret mead to study cultural ant-rub-ology?

Great rant, Anne.

BobbyG –

OT response to an EPU’d conversation.

Google ‘carl johnson rocky flats’ to see some hair raising facts about plutonium lethality.

Rocky Flats was the DoE plutonium machining facility 17 miles NW of Downtown Denver. Carl Johnson was the director of the Jefferson County Health Department. CJ did a study that correlated cancer rates with plutonium soil contamination downwind from Rocky Flats — and correlated the dispersal patterns with prevailing winds.

Some of his findings — a 122% increase in testicular cancer in areas closest to the plant.

There were two major plutonium fires at Rocky Flats — in 1956 and 1967. After the 1967 fire, college kids were hired to do the cleanup — couldn’t risk the health of those highly skilled plutonium machinists.

Dr Johnson also found an eight fold increase in brain tumors in Rocky Flats workers — but this may have been due to beryllium exposure, rather than plutonium. The DoE dismissed his findings.

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_J._Johnson

In 1976 he was the Director of the Jefferson County, Colorado Department of Health. He reported that soil around the Rocky Flats plant contained 44 times more plutonium than the government claimed. In 1977 he reported higher-than-average rates of leukemia and cancer among the local people. In 1980 he reported that plant workers had eight times more brain tumors than expected. In 1981 he was fired. He later won a whistleblower lawsuit against Jefferson County, Colorado. In 1985 he lost an election to become the Boulder County, Colorado Director of Health.

OT: Apparently, someone at the Washington Post Blog has gone insane. They’ve hired a columnist who believes that imprisoning people at Guantanomo Bay indefinitely without trial is, well, wrong somehow. He also seems to think that officially conducted background checks for prom dates might be a troublesome development. Not sure what happened, but I’m sure they’ll correct this mistake soon.

they’ve grown not disaffected but disheartened.

Glad they haven’t given up on the affectation.

OT Thanks for the Dahr link from back thread Siun. Even b4 the details of Abu Ghraib broke – all you had to do was watch non-US television to see the crowds of women and children and sons and daughters standing around American detainment facilities, holding picture, signs etc. trying to find out if their relatives – pulled from their homes or disappeared off streets – where there. They looked scared and desperate and very reminiscent of crowds of mothers in So.America during prior regimes carrying pictures of their missing children – except that they did not even have the luxury of a shared language or culture when they could find someone to ask.

No doubt some of their relatives were bad people – no doubt some of them were bad people. Still, the system of roundups without ever letting people know what happened to those taken was very simply bad. In the, “not good and closer to evil†sense of bad. Oddly enough, after the scandal broke, Rumsfeld could appear (like Venus in a clamshell, except not) at Abu Ghraib and in an exercise of largesse suddenly there were lists of names and hundreds released. WTH was going on that it took the AG scandal and PR dod trip to finally get a system of documenting who we had and allowing family to know? Oooops. Forgot – we had that same system adopted formally in the US too. Round up citizens for secret detention and families get no answers. Good to see we exported even our more recently adopted values.
>>>>>>>>>>>
Still OT – Great McGovern synopsis of his Rumsfeld interchange at truthout:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/050906C.shtml

Anne 93 – Rantastic

Ok. Who said “10 fingers Bolton” Funny!

We should give them all soprano-type nicknames.

Punaise, I think you owe us all an ant-rub-ology for that one, honey.

Well, THIS went down great with lunch:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/…..index.html

As long as we’re makin’ nicknames, can we call Condi “Stinkeye?”

punaise (#73)

if the perch be

in the tub

can it be purged?

or only if

it’s swallowed

perch ance,

with koolaid……

Oh Crap Alphonso, you picked a helluva week to give up __________(your snark here)

Developing via Raw Story -

Rep Louise Slaughter has asked HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson to provide info on limo contract -

SHIRLINGTON LIMOUSINE WON A $519,823 HUD CONTRACT: Aside from $25 million in DHS contracts, Shirlington Limousine has also been awarded a half-million dollar HUD contract, as well as a $142,000 Federal Highway Administration contract. [Ken Silverstein, “More Details on Shirlington Limousine,” Harper’s Magazine, 5/3/06]

Anne #93 and Foland #69:
I agree. There is no reason not to come out swinging on energy and corruption/national security/Iraq-missing-money nexus right now. Energy prices are in everyone’s faces every day. On energy it is very easy to find old quotes and rationales for serial boo-boos and feckless government tax give-aways by Bush administration that show that the Bush/Cheney energy policies have been a miserable failure. And more importantly, will continue to be. And even more importantly, Bush and Bushite wing of GOP are eager to continue down Energy Policy Failure Road on to economic oblivion. Wonkitude is not needed to understand.
I think that Foland is correct that a little effort will reveal ways to tie together corruption, incompeent terrorist and disaste security preparation, and Iraq boondoggles and failures, national security problems unaddressed, etc., and do so in a way that is very truthful and accurate (as opposed to truthy). That will take slightly more work than energy, but not much. And Hayden hearings good place to start.
Time to start is now. Once you get pulbic’s attention, then time to seque to long term education campaign to correct long history of distortion and plain old-fshioned lies spread by reactionay wing of GOP and their vast, rich, sleazy (and since Abramoff, probably flat out illegally financed) thinktank and political opinion marketing machine.

Anne @ 12:18 pm (#93) – The trouble with saying an election is about something is that it’s about that something to some people, but not everybody. The sort of people you describe are sadly common in America. They probably are voting only for the reasons you describe, plus perhaps a general sense that the economy is none too good (remember, they don’t pay attention to Wall Street or GDP growth, either). They know that Fred down the street lost his job because the plant closed, and he probably won’t find a job that pays as well or has health care.

However, I know that I’m concerned about corruption, and even more concerned about the erosion of liberty in the vain hope that this will somehow make us safe. There are plenty of others who will, as well. Our votes do count for something, and if we make it clear that this is what we’re voting for, and that the candidate, regardless of party, who has shown a willingness to work for honest government that doesn’t trample our civil rights will get our vote regardless of party, we have some power, too.

Until that day dawns, however, not much will change.

mommybrain 104

“what else could I write
I don’t have the right
…
Find my nest of salt
Everything is my fault”

Nirvana – All Apologies

(now, back to work…..)

Democratic strategy suggestion: Run a laundry list of the debaucles, and end with, Had enough?

Rather than slug out the details of all the wrong decisions and corruptions, just list them. We’re all exhausted about it, maybe not over the same issues, but the list is mighty long. It’s the big-tent list.

And I truly believe the American public has had enough.

ck – Rocky Flats – it wasn’t just college students – as a Californian, I first heard of RF in the mid-80’s when it was reported high school drop out rent a cops were the rule for security – was it 60 minutes ? showing one of these guys actually working through a box of Ding Dongs, as the sole security person on night shift duty – whoo boy, was it James Schlesinger as Reagan’s Energy Secretary ?

ck -

No doubt.

But we’re not talking “a few grams” of the stuff either. I worked for a long time in an environmental radiation lab in Oak Ridge, doing dose/exposure programming and radlab QC. My wife is an NQA-1 qualified Lead Auditor of some 20 years experience. She has done work at Rocky Flats, INEL, Livermore, Los Alamos, ORNL, Mound, Fernald, Grand Junction, Nevada Test Site (where she was cleanup QA mgr for almost 12 years), she was on the Alaskan Chariot cleanup project, audited the Silkwood files… etc etc etc…

We know a little bit about radiation risks. This simplistic “a thimble fill of plutonium could kill all life on earth” stuff is crap.

Anne 93

Love the rant, but I think the big picture of corruption is what brings all the little things like gas prices, utility bills, and Medicare part D into focus.

Why did the republican congress prohibit Medicare from using its size to negotiate prices with Big Pharma? It’s all about $$$$, especially that which flows into the campaign coffers.

Why does Bush ask for the power to raise vehicle fuel milage requirements himself, instead of asking Congress to exercise its existing authority to raise the standards? It’s all about power, not serving the needs of the country.

Power and Money – that’s the Dubya Double.

If Dems could learn to tie the little things into the Big Story, things would start to move.

Seeing a picture of Burning Man on FDL was two of my favorite worlds colliding. Thank you, Redd!

noblejoanie @ 12:39 pm (#112) – If nothing else, a list saves time. Sort of like doing view foils for a presentation – just be able to address each bullet point in detail.

one for the road -
Jackson Browne, co-opted for the new GOP chorus:

Running on – running on empty
Running on – running blind
Running on – running into the sun
But I’m running behind

GrandmaJ — I left some additional information on the Riviera for you at the end of the thread before last. (Now that’s what I call being EPU’d.)

Great rant Anne – but I also want to say that I know a lot of people who don’t read or listen to news either. And its not just gas prices, though that is one issue that is in their face on a daily basis. It is also health care (get someone going on a tear about health insurace companies and you will see some real anger!), education for their children, wages, inflation and so on. And it isn’t such a stretch for people to “get” that there is a connection between all of these issues in Washington and the rampant corruption. No, they aren’t likely to spend the time figuring out the ins and outs of who is who and what they did, but the overall meme is sinking in.

In most people’s mind, a criminal is a criminal is a criminal. Also, most people DO judge a person’s character by the company they keep.

All this a long-winded way of saying that it should not be hard for the meme-makers to link the Rubber Stamp Republican Party of Corruption with high energy prices. Particularly when both Bush and Cheney are Big Oil Guys….

BobbyG @ 12:40 pm (#114) – This simplistic “a thimble fill of plutonium could kill all life on earth†stuff is crap.

Well, if you could deliver it accurately enough …

BobbyG @ 105 –

That article was heart-wrenching. It really brought home the fear these young kids experience – I couldn’t bring myself to watch the video. I kept thinking about the two young Marines from my community, best friends who enlisted together, and because one got sick at the end of his training, weren’t able to be deployed together, as planned. These were boys who went to high school with my girls. Football and lacrosse players, great students, great kids – on their way to being great men. They were killed exactly three months apart, and it tore people up.

Stories like this abound, and it’s such a waste.

Anne (#93):

Cogent, pertinent, and not at all a rant.

We need to pursue and be tenacious. The other side will show their true colors, as they are so fond of doing. All we have to do is stand up to them.
We are on the moral high ground. It is not theirs, as they would have everyone believe. We simply have to claim what is ours.
We are the ones who will not back down. Amen.

The Pivotal question: Will the election fraud issue finally break out?

Suppose that the approval ratings of Bush, the Republicans, and the Congress continue to fall, and that by November, the polls show Bush’s numbers in the high twenties and the Congress in the teens. And suppose that the same polls reveal that the Democrats have a thirty-point lead over the Republicans in the “generic†vote for Congress. Now imagine that the election returns show that despite losses in both houses, the Republicans retain control, thanks to a few “miraculous†upsets in key races, all in favor of the GOP.

http://www.opednews.com/articl….._storm.htm

I meant to say, linking the link the Rubber Stamp Republican Party of Corruption with high energy prices and lousy health care, high perscription drug prices, the high cost of college tuition, the failure of public schools to truly educate the young and so forth.

Steve Gilliard hits one out of the ballpark.

America, WWII, Nuremberg, our war crimes.

53 Bustednuckles says:

May 10th, 2006 at 11:37 am
Actual headline from RAW STORY;

President’s plans found in trash

Sometimes they just write themselves.

No, no, no, the President’s plan were trash.

We need a good “rant” from the Dems. An angry, shouting rant from half a dozen prominent Dems on the floor of the Senate and another in the House, yelling at the sleaze, the lies, the horrors, and demanding that the Repubs do something about the country’s real problems instead of Repub-roots distractions and more tax cuts for the already too rich. A “had enough” demonstration on live TV. Shut the Senate down until they get a promise to investigate war profiteering. We need some theatre, and less hand wringing, and certainly no more “position/posturuing towards some mythical center. IMO, this would do the country, and the party, wonders, and make it very clear what the 2006 elections should be about.

ProfFoland 69 – I agree that it is an opportunity. I also think it brings out the ability to do some interesting questioning on classification and declassification of docs. And getting CIA director’s input b4 declassifying CIA intel and duties to inform and advise Congress.

I would like to see them hit the Exec Order that prohibits classification of information about illegal activities. Do you know of any superceding Order that allows for the classification of illegal activities? What would you do if asked to classify information about illegal govt activities? What would you do if given an Order to classifiy and cover up illegal activities. What penalties do you think apply to someone who classifies information about illegal activities. Embarassing information? Will you be releasing the CIA internal review for 9/11 culpability in a redacted format? Etc.

And on probable cause – I’d like to see that asked, but more so – why is it that NSA is above and beyond the warrant requirement of the 4th? And have the Keith and Katz quotes about unilateral executive determinations, however “reasonable†not being a substitution for a warrant. And dig in on the data mining – AT&T suit and his statements that NSA was NOT engaging in datamining. What he views as his obligation to be truthful to Congress and to the American people. When he views his obligations to the CIC supercede his obligations not to lie to Congress or mislead the American people.

Just a few fluffers.

Cujo -

Can’t happen. So, it’s simplistic and a canard to even bring it up. Radiation toxicity is WAY more complex than people have the patience to comprehend. Makes for nice “ain’t it awful” scary talk, but that’s about all, in practical terms.

None of which is to imply that we should be cavalier with the handling of stuff like Pu isotopes.

scarecrow 128-

The day of or day after rove’s indictment would be a good time.

BobbyG @ 12:49 pm (#130) – Sorry, shoulda used the smiley thing, I guess.

Anne -

My Dad is almost 90. He left a leg behind in Sicily during WWII. He suffers the residual after-effects to this day, his dementia notwithstanding.

These young kids can look forward to 50-60 years of varying levels of chronic misery. And a Bush-eviscerated VA to have to deal with. Sux.

Well, it’s starting….Preznut has asked Jeb to go to the Haiti Rene Preval inauguration in his name.
Jeb’s wife can probably pick up some good souvenirs…….

I’m with you scarecrow # 128!

Instead the rethugs have proclaimed Health Week in the Senate– a farce of epic proportions while w touts his Medicare D horror on the road again. His version of a traveling side show.

I would love to see a spectacular blowup on the floor with democratic lions, tigers and bears calling out the cowardly wingnuts.

scarecrow 128

I’m sending that to my senator. Perfect.

ccmask #124: I used to be skeptical on this election fraud issue, but then I thought about how much people have naturally accepted election fraud accusations in local big city (mostly Democratic) machines for years. And then about GOP attempts to smear each and every Dem GOTV and minority voting effort as voter fraud. At very least, Dems need to answer every GOP charge with a defense, and, if justified, an attack on GOP shenanigans. In Congressional election year, local GOP machines should be just as suspect as Democrat machines, and if media plays GOP talking points and spin, need to very loudly attack that as well. So I am converted on election fraud issue.

Campaign slogan?

We are for the Constitution and the Geneva Conventions.

Everything else is just details.

wolfie promises news about the SS and Abramoff and bad news for rethugs in new poll numbers to be released at the top of the hour.

BobbyG 114 –

No question, that ‘thimble of plutonium’ story is crap. Hell, if all of the plutonium in the world were turned into sub micron particles and dispersed into the stratosphere, it would cause a huge spike in cancer rates, but only for 50 years or so; once it was in the soil, most of it would be contained.

ProfFoland re: Mary @ at 12:49 pm – This is something I’m also interested in, so please, if you know something, dish. It’s astonishing to me that this subject has received no attention by either politicians or the news. I feel like I’m missing something.

That elephant head is on a first generation Caravan — I owned one of those!

No critter attachments, though . . .

I think there’s enough in the coming elections to satisfy everyone’s pet peeve, and like some of you have pointed out, it’s easy to connect the dots between much of what is going on, and the corruption that has obliterated the legislative process. I was just engaging in a little thought exercise, trying to figure out what my issues would be if I weren’t as informed as I like to think I am, and what would get me to vote if I normally wouldn’t bother. It’s hard to think like that, as someone who always votes, and always took the kids with me and gave them the same “voting is the responsibility one accepts for the privilege of living in a free society†speech every time.

I am, I confess, married to a Republican, who made noises about not voting for Bush in 2004, but ended up doing it anyway. He, too, is someone who always votes, so even though he talked about maybe just not voting, I knew it was just talk.

There’s probably some humor in the fact that one of our kids is a Democrat, and one a Republican, but I try to just be pleased that both girls care and both girls vote.

twolf1 — Okay. If the announcement comes during the Hayden confirmation debate, that works. Leahy could do that one. I was also thinging about the middle of some debate about extending the capital gains tax cut, or some provision on gay marriage. Anything to emphasize that the Repub’s priorities are not the country’s.

Mary #101: Even b4 the details of Abu Ghraib broke – all you had to do was watch non-US television to see the crowds of women and children and sons and daughters standing around American detainment facilities, holding picture, signs etc. trying to find out if their relatives – pulled from their homes or disappeared off streets – where there.

Yeah, I remember long before the scandal broke reading about the families trying to find out where their relatives had been taken, and when they’d know if they would be released, and that they’d heard of horrific conditions there. My idiot O’Reilly-listening brother-in-law still thinks the only reason Abu Ghraib caused such problems was because the NYTimes published articles about it, as if the Iraqis found out about it from that!

NPR is saying that Katherine Harris will not have to face a challenger in the rethug primary. Seems like her little talk with Dubya had an impact!

Ot

Christy, Whatever became of the rest of our rubber stamps,or did I miss something.[:^)

Anne at 143 — I, too, married a Republican. But I somehow managed to convert him at some point along the line. He’s still fiscally conservative, but he’s just as disgusted with the asshats in the White House as I am at the moment.

ck-

Also: The major isotopes Pu have VERY long half-lives. This is usually spun as exacerbating the risk, but actually the reverse is true. A long half life means a much slower disintegration rate (conventionally measured in “DPM” – disintegrations per minute per quantity), so it would take lengthy proximate continuous exposure to result in the kind of ionizing cell/genetic mutations that lead to malignancy. By contrast, I-131 has an 8.05 day half-life (the shit that blew airborne all the way around the planet within a week of Chernobyl). You don’t wanna be around that stuff very long in any significant quantity.

After I wrote my weekly “Get rid of Hillary” note to Howard Dean/DNC this morning, I’m wondering if anyone else is doing this on a regular basis. Can’t hurt.
dna

professor rat 36, why oh why do I read while eating?
IANAL too, LOL…

Christy – I am glad to hear you use the word “asshat”. I think it’s a word that needs to be used more often ;)

shorter BobbyG: Pu stinks

Busted at 147 — we’re working on a couple of differnt plans for the rest of the stamps at the moment. I promise…we are planning to put them to very good use. *g*

“Anne at 143 — I, too, married a Republican.”

LOL!

I married an unabashed Registered Dem Jimmy Carter Librul.

Cujo359 at #117

I agree that Dems need to be able to address the items on the laundry list of Republican sins, but keeping it simple, to the point, ending with Had Enough seems to me an effective, winning strategy.

Whenever Dems put out what they’d do differently, it just gives the Republicans a chance to distort and twist and spin.

Let’s keep them on the defensive. They control every branch of government. The buck stops at their door.

I have had enough. And I don’t think I’m alone.

Hayden’s confirmation hearing scheduled for next Thursday acc to CNN.

BobbyG 149 –

The other thing that is often overlooked, is that plutonium and uranium are heavy metals, like lead and mercury — all of them are very toxic, with or without radiation considerations.

Have you seen photos of birth defects from Iraq and Afghanistan? ‘Depleted Uranium’ at work.

twowolf1 — you know, I’m not certain where I picked up the word asshat. But it sure seems to fit the idiots at 1600 PA ave., doesn’t it?

OT? I think/guess? Remember when the Goss info came out and there was also a story that an UnderSecretary at DOD might be resigning? Did I imagine that? Anything ever happen with it? Was it wistful imaginings?

101 and 145- same situation, families making camp outside Pul-i-Charki and Bagram in Afghanistan. RIP Dilawar and countless unknown others.

Maybe offtopic, but of interest:
Looks like Joementum campaign still using IBM XT machines to run Lotus 1-2-3:

“The Lieberman staff seemed at least somewhat warm to my request, telling me that they were discussing it despite some apprehensions within the campaign about whether it would be prudent to engage the blogosphere. Nevertheless, over the course of two or three months, I’ve been asked to wait — indefinitely. In other words, for the time being, Senator Lieberman would not speak with me.”

http://www.mydd.com/story/2006/5/10/12820/8376

How about: “Had enough? Don’t just vote to make it stop, vote to make it better, vote to make it work.”

Anne at 93

The way the Republicans have won is because of their framing, their view of the world, which is through their prism of Fear.

Which is what they’ve gotten the American public to buy into

At the end of the day, each and every “bad” issue for the repugs reinforces every other. So, in that sense, they are all important, and it doesn’t matter what distance you view them from. What particular issue initially captures a voter’s imagination isn’t really important, it is just important that it does – whether it be corruption, health care, Katrina, etc. And once it does, any and all other “bad” information will reinforce that original perception. It is a “game” that the Repug’s can’t win, for the simple fact that they have nothing to combat any bad perceptions with at the moment – if the Repugs are inept (e.g. Katrina), then it suports that they are corrupt (e.g. Abramoff/Delay/Cunningham/Goss-Foggo; or are in bed with the oil companies), and if they are corrupt, then it supports that they lie (i.e. the Iraq War, the outing of Plame), and if they lie, then it makes sense that they are inept; and on and on, pick your issues.

The German’s have better word than what we would call perception,(as is often foreigner’s have a better word)which word is zeitgeist. And the present zeitgeist (in its English usage) is a nightmare for the repugs that is not going to change, and which exists whether from a micro or macroscopic view.

We (i.e the FDL community or the whole left blogosphere) may pay attention to (if not harp on) certain issues like corruption, but as Cujo notes, some issues don’t need any media (i.e. personal well being (whether economic, health care, etc.). But at the end of the day, corruption and any other “minutiae” help reinforce the perception/zeitgeist.

At various times the concept of the “tipping point” has been broached. Well, I don’t know when it was reached, but I know it has been reached. Chimpco is a “loser,” and repugs in general are seen as not caring aboutthe lices/concerns of ordinary people. That perception is what will allow Dem’s to win more than any “single” issue or even standing for something (other than “we” are not “them’).

From a marketing perspective, there is nothing left to market for the repugs. It is one thing to be Karl Rove and try to sell lies when perception is good (thanks to Clinton, ironically enough), it is another to try and sell lies when perception is against you. Sadly, it is not the lies themselves, but the actual (and perceived) failures).*

I might have a part 2 at some point in the future. But only if I think the above makes sense after I post it.

_________________________________
On a prior thread there was a discusion about the fall in ratings for Faux News, and the point I didn’t have time to make is that it has nothing to do with the truthiness of Faux, but the failures of the admin. It is not the lies, you can sell and promote lies so long as you are successful – like in a Ponzi scheme, it is the failures that would make people not watch Faux.

ck -

Yep. Good point. Chemical toxicity, apart from any rad considerations.

The reason they use depleted uranium is because of the mass, the density. Way heavier than lead or other munitions metals. That’s what gives it its armor-piercing force on impact.

Bad stuff.

Asshat

The Republican party. Thoroughly corrupt, dangerously incompetent, and totally out of gas.

As “The Onion” reported, Democratic leaders are struggling to maintain their sense of hopelessness going into the fall elections. I, on the other hand, am convinced that they can still screw it up. If anyone can blow a sure thing, it’s the Democratic leadership.

Totally off-topic: Is everyone else enjoying the Cheney/Kerry/Edwards catfight as much as I am?

#146 “NPR is saying that Katherine Harris will not have to face a challenger in the rethug primary. Seems like her little talk with Dubya had an impact!”

Wow, maybe she DID threaten him with something!

twolf1 – big guffaw! thanks for my daily bellylaugh.

WASHINGTON (MSNBC/AP) – CIA director-nominee Michael Hayden has told at least one Democratic senator that he may be open to changing the law that governs eavesdropping on U.S. soil to allow the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance…
_____

OK, hammer Tony SnowJob on this. WHY, if Bush already thinks he can do it anyway within His Plenary Authority, why is Hayden now saying they may asked for FISA revision to make it “legal”?

I’d be all over them on this.

I nominate twolf1’s @ 167 picture to replace the gracious and beautiful pachyderm for the GOP symbol.

Oscarsmom says:
May 10th, 2006 at 1:23 pm

“…Wow, maybe she DID threaten him with something!”
____

That IS in fact very interesting. Maybe she’ll also now get some Medal of Freedom award.

They all have dirt on each other.

Frank Probst — “the Cheney/Kerry/Edwards catfight” — what is that?

note: I can’t take any credit for the photoshop work in the asshat picture. I just did a google image search for asshat.

BobbyG,

The really sad part of du is that not only are birth defects and cancer rates going to skyrocket for the Iraqis, but for our people over there exposed to that shit as well.It is now being blown all over the middle east as dust.It will wind up in India, Pakistan and China shortly.A very good weapon short term,small quantity. Very bad long term, High concentrations.

Judicial Watch has just received the “official” Secret Service records regarding Jack Abramoff’s visits to the WH…ready? T-W-O (count ‘em – that’s one…two) visits.

Check it out.
http://judicialwatch.org/whlogs1.shtml

Totally off-topic: Is everyone else enjoying the Cheney/Kerry/Edwards catfight as much as I am?

What a show! Of course the rethugs are going to love her for “standing up” to liberals. Though I love Edward’s snarky comeback, that the Cheney family is a great role model for all of America! haha.

Okay, firedogers, it’s time to start including this blog in the charmed circle. It really and truly is. The Republican Party’s hypocrisy on gay Americans is nauseating, and they have to start being called on.

And, by the way, does Ken Mehlman have a girl friend yet?

http://americablog.blogspot.co…..marie.html

Oscarsmom and BobbyG,
That’s what I thought, too. Just shaking her saline bags isn’t enough, I think, to change Jeb’s mind.

This is making the rounds of some gooper acquaintances:
http://www.ontheissues.org/CA/…..un_Control
Which they translate as “Oh no! She’ll ban guns!” when she wants nothing to do with banning guns. So if you hear this being said, fight it.

I just want to confess that all this heavy metal talk about plutoniom and uranium is waaaay over my head. Even though I know what they are, can spell and pronounce them properly.

mayan 77 –

the second time was probably just because he forgot his gold plated umbrella.

didn’t McClellan say that it wouldn’t be an accurate record?

Sure is quiet out there on the Fitz front.

Mayan,

Tell the folks at the NSA we said hello.

-GSD

“…shaking her saline bags…”

ROTFL!!! hahahahahaha…

Anne at 93, and to all others who feel compelled to rant:

Never, ever say you’re sorry. The best rants I’ve read on this site, one way or another, pretty much sum up how we all feel. No apologies needed.

Bustednuckles– your post reminded me of this tragedy:

>>>>>>
Tuwaitha was heavily looted for a period during the war, and there has been particular concern about barrels which once stored low-enriched uranium, known as “yellow cake”.

The barrels were emptied and sold to local people for $2 each by looters. Many used the barrels to hold drinking water or food, or to wash clothes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3009082.stm

Senator Dick Durbin just said it all. He SAID IT ALL. He has just spent almost an hour on the Senate floor, laying it all out with regard to HEALTH INSURANCE in this country. He was speaking about, and eviscerating the misguided Enzi bill. At the same time he eloquently, clearly, and powerfully offered a bill he has co-authored with Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas which – GET THIS – would offer the SAME INSURANCE PLAN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ENJOY to small businesses across the country… “Simple Justice” indeed. Dick Durbin just spoke the words we have all been thirsting for…

I was hanging on Durbin’s every word, as he emphasized key point after key point about the current failures of our insurance system, how the Enzi bill adds to them, and how the Durbin/Lincoln bill would help solve them. If every American could have heard his presentation, Democrats who are on board his approach [John Kerry proceeded to earnestly back up Durbin in a speech on the floor (he is a co-sponsor)] would be carried into office on the shoulders of the people, with cheers. I sincerely hope C-Span2 will rerun Durbin’s comments. He voiced every sentiment heard on the blogosphere and in everyone’s daily lives. AMERICA, YOU HAVE BEEN HEARD BY DICK DURBIN, and he spoke for ALL of us today, May 10, 2006, on the floor of the United States Senate, where he offered ACTION to follow-up his words. Will any Republicans hear him?

Bloggers everywhere — please give Durbin, Lincoln and Kerry the kudos they deserve, if you get a chance to see today’s presentation [because Bill Frist has just done his best to foreclose any chance for the Senate to have any debate or vote on the Durbin/Lincoln bill].

OT – Any fdl folks on the Monterey Peninsula heading to Yearly Kos care to car pool to San Jose airport?

“cheney/edwards/kerry catfight” – Okay, never mind. No, not enjoying this.

BobbyG @ 171 –

Agree – agree- agree!

They do this crap all the time – claim they have authority, it’s all legal, what’s the problem, and then they take a “well, if it would make you happy and get you off my back we’ll change the law†attitude which, in my book, is an admission that they know what they’re doing isn’t consistent with the current law. Or as some of us like to say, “illegal.â€

Grrrr.

CNN – time mag, has more evidence of another Abramoff visit to the White House – other than the 2 records released by the SS.

scarecrow, raw story has the details of the ‘fight’.

http://www.rawstory.com/

GSD -> I don’t quite get the reference. Forgive me.

go, Fitzers, go!

new thread

Noway should there be any changes that allow for a warrantless program – it is unconstitutional. Allowing for changes in applications, longer periods for delay applications, etc. (for the “program of which the President has spokenâ€) and actually a different approach period for datamining issues, are well and good to be discussed. But you can’t “legalize†the unconstitutional.

The former NSA director who has finally spoken up a bit has that one spelled out. If you had exigencies (which we did), you would fall, for intelligence purposes, within the same category as law enforcement exigencies to do a short run immediate aftermath program without warrants. BUT, after a limited amount of time, you need judicially supervised warrants (to comply with the 4th) and laws to facilitate obtaining those warrants (to prevent violation of FISA) and going on for half a decade without those is illegal, unconstitutional, wrong and also prevents input on highest and best uses of time, efforts and technologies. (BTW – do we ever get to hear about the Bolton intercepts?)

timewarp -

Simply put, metals like uranium and plutonium are SO heavy, SO dense, that the atoms therein are unstable because of the very high intra-and-inter-atomic forces that ensue from being packed so (relatively) closely together. So they start spitting out particles (e.g., electrons, protons), which releases energy (e.g., heat).

Now, in the case of depleted uranium, most of the “radioactive” sub-atomic particle energy is gone, but a lot of chem/metal “mass” remains, making the stuff handy for armor-piercing projectiles.

Frank 168:

No.

:)

“Hell, at this point, more people disapprove of Bush and his administration than oppose gay marriage.”

http://rudepundit.blogspot.com/

angie — thanks. I figured it out; my Little Dog just went to sleep for a moment.

Speaking of Congress, please read this!

S. 1955, the Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization Act (HIMMA), was introduced by Sen. Michael Enzi (R-WY) and is slated for a floor vote in the U.S. Senate the week of May 8. This legislation, if enacted, will strip away almost all state-enacted consumer protections for people buying insurance individually or through their employers.

Check out this site and call your Senators…please.

http://www.familiesusa.org/iss…..ance/enzi/

Sorry, bad link! It will take you to the site, but wrong page. Click to the homepage for more info….

MrEMan -

That is the Enzi bill that Dick Durbin was speaking against with such principle (per my #189 above). Voting starts on it tomorrow, Thursday. The Republicans have shut down any other options for debate on other bills relating to their declared “Health Care Week” except for this Enzi bill. Some “Health Care Week.” I should note that a co-author of the Enzi bill is none other than Ben Nelson, “Democrat” of Nebraska.

Clearly this is an effort to try to sell a sham bill to the Senate so that Republicans can go back home and declare to their BUSINESS OWNER constituents: ‘We heard ya, guys — you’re all set now (and don’t worry that we have screwed over your employees and the rest of the American people yet again – we’ll keep mum about it if you will).’

The Durbin/Lincoln alternative is Senate Bill 2510 — but it is not on the floor for debate or a vote, and won’t be if Bill Frist & Karl Rove and Company have anything to say about it.

The problem is that there are too many democrats who want to grow up to be republicans. Democrats have been fooled into believing that we live in a republican world. Everyone wants to be rich. Everyone wants to have a maid. Everyone wants to drive a status car. Everyone believes in dog eat dog. Everyone believes in god. Everyone wants to live in a home bigger than they could possibly need. Everyone wants to forget about oil shortages, polluted air and water, over population, poverty, in fact, everyone wants to forget about responsibility except to themselves and their immediate families. Everyone wants privileges that are not extended to others. Everyone believes that senior citizens cost too much. Everyone wants to pay their labor next to nothing while charging their customers the maximum the market will stand. Everyone wants to be the BMOC in whatever size pond they dwell in. Everyone wants the finest schools for their children, and everyone wants to feed off the desires of everyone else. Don’t they? Are we all republicans?

How many people would not ask someone to do a job that they would not do themselves? How many people put responsibility first if not to their fellow Americans then to the health of the country? How many people want to be good with their hands? How many people believe that doing the mundane acts of everyday life bestow integrity and humility upon them? How many people would ride a bicycle if their work was close enough? How many people believe that it is better to help your brothers and sisters rather than use them as stepping stones to achieve goals? Are there many people who do not feel submissive in the presense of those with great power and wealth? Who values objects that are made personally though rendered poorly? Must everyone be a professional or a merchant to deserve respect? How many people are willing to roll up their sleeves and do the “dirty work” that others will not do? How many people value labor, self-reliance, and honorable behavior? How many people do not snicker when they hear the phrase, “A man is only as good as his word?”

The root of all evil, “Never give a sucker an even break.”

Year after year, Republicans pass trillions of borrowed Chinese dollars to their contributors via tax breaks and no-bid contracts. And the next generation gets stuck with the debt! If there’s a just God, anyone who votes Republican will burn in Hell.

Professor Foland at 69. Right on. Thank you.