What part of NO doesn’t the Chimperor understand?

oh and

FITZ!

&

ROOTZ!

and Thank you KEITH!

Bush is completely out of control.

And just what the hell is my Democratic party going to do about it?

Can you say “escalation?” I guess Nancy isn’t going to get her agenda done after all. Seems to me it’s time to pull the plug, as in put the idea of cutting off funds back on the table.

So much for “I listen to my generals on the ground!” Did you hear the part about how this is all General Casey’s fault? Democrats had better find an effective way of putting this mad man in check, or we’ll be needing a whole new Congress; one that knows how to play hardball with a murderous psychopath.

Read. Gilliard.

the president pens an op ed in the wall street journal and it’s as if he thinks everyone is in the same bubble he’s in.

he actually claims the deficit will be balanced if we continue his borrow and spend policies, he actually brings up 9/11 as if it’s associated with Iraq

and he makes this bizarre statement;

“If the Congress chooses to pass bills that are simply political statements, they will have chosen stalemate. If a different approach is taken, the next two years can be fruitful ones for our nation.”

EXCUSE ME?

the democrats BETTER make political statements, THEY BETTER make it CLEAR his presidency is A MISERABLE FAILURE, and if HE wants a fruitful presidency then HE had better act with congress, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND, if he doesn’t want a stalemate HE better act WITH THE MAJORITY OF AMERICANS and STOP trying to get us to follow his BIZARRE interpretation of the world, politics and life

perris at 7 — It’s just political posturing for his base. And really, does anyone even believe he wrote it himself? (And doesn’t that pretty much say it all in terms of how much respect the man gets these days, even from his “base”?)

O/t -
Max Mayfield retiring……..wonder what it feels like to be one of the most trusted people in America as compared to the most distrusted? God help all of us in hurricane territory b/c the shrubbery will install another of his toadie idiots in Max’s stead.

Oh, and a note to the writer poster of the op-ed in today’s wsj: F#*!*#@*k you & the chain saw you rode in on! “Common ground”, my bloody foot. R.I.H.! ie. Now, let me tell you what I really think!

We are a nation lost, fueled by fear.
When have you seen the President go to Chicago, New York, or Boston and talk to the country. All his speeches are given to a military audience. He communicates with the Dems through an Op Ed piece in the Wall Street Journal…
We are lost. Chief Justice Roberts says we have
a consitutional crisis because Judges don’t earn enough money. No, Mr. President we have
a consitutional crises because you fail to listen to the people.. You journey at your own risk, Mr. President….

Jack

Last night on Scarborough, Craig Crawford from Cong Quarterly floated a nifty trial balloon. He suggested that since Congress had paased abill athourizing the use of Force by the Shrub, they could pass a bill deauthorizing the use of force.

Just like that. Let him figure how to get out. I have heard severl pubits suggest, if somewhat indirectly, in the last few days that what Bush is going to do is stay in Iraq until he leaves office so that HISTORY will say that it was the president after him who lost the war.

You know all those crazy statemenets about how history will see this differently? He thinks the way to handle this is to blame somebody else.

Now this is a toally wild ass guess here, but if Shrub wants to shove the blame onto someone else is it better for his legacy that the next guy have been anti-war from the get go? or someone who voted for the war said she supoorted it, but then failed to win it when she became president?

If you are shrub/Rove and you figure there must be a Dem prez in 2008, but you want to make sure it is a one term presidency and that it does great harm to the Dem party,

How do you poison pill the winner in 2008?

Let the speculations begin!

Who are we now?

We have become the dark nightmare inside the American Dream.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 8

perris at 7 — It’s just political posturing for his base. And really, does anyone even believe he wrote it himself? (And doesn’t that pretty much say it all in terms of how much respect the man gets these days, even from his “base”?)

I was watching a Frontline rerun last night on PBS called “the dark side” about Cheney being the force behind the war. They mentioned something I had forgotten.

Scooter Libby wrote the pack of liesspeech that Clin Powell was instructed to deliver at the UN.

Bay State at 10 — well, to be honest, Roberts has a point about the judicial salaries…but it is far from the biggest problem we face in this country.

Thanks Christy. Bullseye, as per usual.

Bush will split the GOP over this.

Can I fix anyone a hot chocolate? No extra charge for marshmallows *g*

Note to CHS: it’s Ghirardelli!

LHP at 13 — That Dark Side frontline is quite well done, isn’t it? All of their shows on the foundations of the war and exploration of those at the heart of the policies have been superbly researched and methodically laid out. They are available on Frontline’s website, too, in case folks have missed them.

Just who are we now?

We are captives to a small group of megalomaniacs.

Most of the generals and a majority of Congress don’t want to escalate the war. Bush-Cheney knows this. This may all be a huge bluff so they can later say “I wanted to send more troops to win this war, and they (fill in the names) wouldn’t let me.

OTOH, they are crazy enough to go ahead with escalating this wretched war.

Yep, we’re captives.

Re the subway hero: Joseph Conrad said “Cowards and heroes are simply ordinary men who, for a split second, do something out of the ordinary.”

Christy Hardin Smith @ 14

Bay State at 10 — well, to be honest, Roberts has a point about the judicial salaries…but it is far from the biggest problem we face in this country.

I agree they are grossly underpaid. But the uge number of vacancies on the federal bench HAS NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO with judicial saleries. It has everything to do with Bush either refusing to nominate candidates to “punish” some districts, and more often with Bush nominating hacks that have the home bar associations up in arms and pressuring the Senate not to confirm.

Roberts is full of shit.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz on C-Span right now but it may be close to end of her session. OMG, they had two Dems on this morning!

Christy Hardin Smith @ 17

LHP at 13 — That Dark Side frontline is quite well done, isn’t it? All of their shows on the foundations of the war and exploration of those at the heart of the policies have been superbly researched and methodically laid out. They are available on Frontline’s website, too, in case folks have missed them.

I wondered if their decision to rerun just now was their own little contribution to generating pre-Fitzmas buzz. Ya’ know, get the folks in the Fitzmas spirit?
Remember, back when they would have been setting the schedule, the trial start date was still next Monday (of course it has been pushed back a couple times since then)

When is Chimpy’s ’sacrifice’ speech?

Re: Ghiradelli

Now that’s a San Franciso value I can get happy with!

OT – CNN – Guard suspected of making Saddam execution video has been detained

the menacing legacy of bush-cheney is just how they have salted for six long years every agency with toadies and political tool-bots, intelligence and law enforcement agencies among them. going forward, every intelligence report is suspect, every fbi initiative is tainted.
man, the cleanup is going to be hard.

Have good day all. I have to leave for a deposition in half and hour, so I think maybe it’s time to hit the shower.
Enjoyed blogging witcha all in my jammies!

I’m wondering how far the GOP will let Bush go before they turn on him and start making noises about joining the Dems in an impeachment drive. With ‘08 looming and Bush clearly out of his mind, they have to start seriously distancing themselves if they are to have any hope of at least maintaining the status quo in Congress. And they have to do it NOW.

McCain has to be shitting his pants right now – he’s so far up Bush’s posterior that it’s going to be virtually impossible to create some seperation.

It is cold here this morning, with a thick blanket of frost. Which means that the bird feeders are crowded with fluffed-out, hungry birdies. At the moment, it’s gorgeous and sunny, and I’ve got a full cup of hot coffee. Life is good. (For me, anyway, but I’m not so much of a selfish asshole that I think that applies to every other person on the planet. It’s called empathy, Junior — try hiring some sycophants that have that capacity for a change.)

on a backhanded good note, as we knew would happen, the president has refused documets leahy requested

we all knew he would refuse information he’s required to providew but it’s happened so soon, perhaps we can get this impeachment ball rolling sooner rather then later.

we couldn’t just walk in and impeach, we have to wait for an impeachable offence, which the president has conveniently provided even before we take our seats in control of the senate

from my blog if you will;

PESIDENT REFUSES BIPARTISAN PARTISIPATION

Well, to be honest, nobody really expected the president to act bipartisant, what he meant was “now that the democrats are in controll I want them to go along with everything I say just as the republicans did”

In performing the requirmments of his position, senator lehey requested information that is vital for oversite, obviously the administration doesn’t want oversite, they want to do whatever they want to do and they refused the documents required by the seenate;

It is disappointing that the Department of Justice and the White House have squandered another opportunity to work cooperatively with Congress. The Department’s decision to brush off my request for information about the Administration’s troubling interrogation policies is not the constructive step toward bipartisanship that I had hoped for, given President Bush’s promise to work with us.

I requested two documents concerning CIA interrogation methods, which the Administration recently acknowledged in a lawsuit, and other relevant information. The Administration’s refusal to provide any of this information other than forwarding a couple of public documents suggests that the President’s offer to work with us may have been only political lip service.

let’s hope the senator shows some balls and presses every tool at his disposal to force the president into following his oath of office, protect our constituion and provide the information he’sn required to proivide for oversite to take place

good luck senator leahy, bring back the constitution to our government and revoke the notions of a unutary executive

Has Murtha said anything about the upcoming escalation? Doesn’t he have (some)control over appropriations? Will the Dems “deauthorize” the war and cut off funding? Is there any Democrat who will lead the pack in saying “Hell no!” to Bush’s latest murder plot? Will there be a better time for the Democrats to put democracy back in their platform with prolonged action to right the many wrongs perpetuated by the thugs?

twolf1 @ 22

When is Chimpy’s ’sacrifice’ speech?

twolf1 -
Think CNN made some guesstimate earlier this morning but I was channel hopping; since they repeat themselves a dozen times, maybe will catch it later.

And was that a smasher SC Keith put on last nite, or what!

“Has Murtha said anything about the upcoming escalation?”

My guess, most Dems and the least bad in the GOP will line up behind the Baker Hamilton (ISG) Report, that’s the biggest fault line.

Tom @ 27

I’m wondering how far the GOP will let Bush go before they turn on him and start making noises about joining the Dems in an impeachment drive. With ‘08 looming and Bush clearly out of his mind, they have to start seriously distancing themselves if they are to have any hope of at least maintaining the status quo in Congress. And they have to do it NOW.

McCain has to be shitting his pants right now – he’s so far up Bush’s posterior that it’s going to be virtually impossible to create some seperation.

Now that is the nicest thing I have heard in ages! I’ll savor that along with a cuppa Waccamaw’s hot chocolate. Any left? Five small marchies please!

Waccamaw @ 31

twolf1 @ 22

When is Chimpy’s ’sacrifice’ speech?

twolf1 -
Think CNN made some guesstimate earlier this morning but I was channel hopping; since they repeat themselves a dozen times, maybe will catch it later.

And was that a smasher SC Keith put on last nite, or what!

man, if only he would field some questions after his speech, I’m pretty sure corporate media sees the excellant return on challenging this guy’s ability and integrity…it’s starting to happen more and more

someone, sooner or later, is going to ask him why nobody in his family supports his policy enough to enlist, someone somewhere is going to ask if he’s asked the twins to sacrifice

man, I can’t wait for that day

Woman on C-SPAN says she heard Faux News claiming that immigrants — legal and illegal — will be able to claim Social Security benefits.

They are already launching new scare tactics, aren’t they?

Christy Hardin Smith @ 28

It is cold here this morning, with a thick blanket of frost. Which means that the bird feeders are crowded with fluffed-out, hungry birdies. At the moment, it’s gorgeous and sunny, and I’ve got a full cup of hot coffee. Life is good. (For me, anyway, but I’m not so much of a selfish asshole that I think that applies to every other person on the planet. It’s called empathy, Junior — try hiring some sycophants that have that capacity for a change.)

christy, you can’t have empathy AND be a sociopath.
first things first.

Richmond,
Plenty left; I laid in a fresh qt of milk this morning. Here ya’ go. Glad you wanted the small marchies ’cause that’s all that’s in the cupboard ;-)

Waccamaw @
31

twolf1 @ 22

When is Chimpy’s ’sacrifice’ speech?

twolf1 -
Think CNN made some guesstimate earlier this morning but I was channel hopping; since they repeat themselves a dozen times, maybe will catch it later.

And was that a smasher SC Keith put on last nite, or what!

OK thanks. Yes, as usual, KO hits the nail on the head and drives it completely through the board.

Waccamaw @ 16

Can I fix anyone a hot chocolate? No extra charge for marshmallows *g*

Note to CHS: it’s Ghirardelli!

Hi – I did get your e-mail. Did you not receive my response?

And, oh yeah, Keith ripped Bush a gaping new one! Wow. Alls I can say. Wow.

Waccamaw @ 37

Richmond,
Plenty left; I laid in a fresh qt of milk this morning. Here ya’ go. Glad you wanted the small marchies ’cause that’s all that’s in the cupboard ;-)

Mmmmm. Perfect! Made with whole milk too. This really coats the inside of my mouth and belly -lingering tastes and textures. Thanks a bundle. I’m doing a lobster chowder toward the end of the week and can send some your way.

Good Morning Firedogs,

So what are we willing to sacrifice to pre empt this tragically needless waste of true American Treasure ?!?

are you ready to risk a moment or two of social awkwardness or discomfort ?

are you willing to sacrifice your image of a regular neighborhood joe/jane and look like a hippie ?!?

It is now time for all of us to do something – on a local level

- ask your neighbors to hold a prayer vigil on the block

- ask your minister/priest/rabbi/iman to sponsor a prayer vigil in the parking lot on Saturday night

- take same to a local city council meeting and ask them to hold a vigil for these folks and their families

- Should you be successful, let local media know as a means to give neighboring ‘burbs and towns ‘permission’ to do same

no, a clever sign on the front lawn will not cut it this time

we can no longer snark about the yellow ribbon magnets and do nothing ourselves

so many here have rightfully decried the erosion of civil liberties – it is time to employ what’s left of them and do our duty to stop this

just getting through the initial stumbles is half the battle, most of your neighbors – regardless of political stripe want these kids home now

I am doing all the above – it has at times been awkward or uncomfortable (small TX exurb in a once staunchly red county) – but I’ve been reading Gilliard long enough to have a clear picture of what these Americans are dealing with 24/7 and what awaits them in Sadr City – if a moment or two of sweaty palms in front of my neighbors is called for, I’ll just deal with it – there aren’t any IED’s btw here and the school bus stop

Steve is right to call out the Free Range Chickenhawks – but what are we doing ?!?

Quit waiting for the Progressive Rapture – No more lipservice – Get Out There !

good morning, all… coffee’s ready…

deauthorizing the AUMF AND making it illegal to take any profit for contractor companies might do the trick…

Chimpys speech will be next week.

I wonder what Leahy will do now that he has been denied the documents he has asked for.
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2….._0103.html

Waccamaw @ 20

Debbie Wasserman Schultz on C-Span right now but it may be close to end of her session. OMG, they had two Dems on this morning!

Interesting. I saw our SC Congressman Spratt who will be heading the Budget Committee on this morning followed by a rather pasty-faced little red-headed Repub who claimed the election was a referendum on scandals only (mmm, right, talking-points boy) – didn’t catch who he was as I was blow-drying my hair. Must have missed the other Dem after leaving for work.

And while we are at it, is this who we are? Because, if so, I am ashamed — holding someone prisoner and interrogating them says a lot about who we are as a nation.

Its interesting that the horror we know as Nazi Germany is probably 95% characterized in the popular mind by our images of prisoner treatment.

CBL – I admire your work. But will prayer vigils cut this time, any more than they did the last. I think we need to get Congress to move – and fast. How, and in what way, I don’t have a clue. But individual pressure needs to be brought on them through email, letters, and phone. I think a huge web driven petition might be a good idea. Remember the was a huge amount of response to web neutrality and it made a difference. Interestingly, this is an issue we share with perhaps 40% of the fundies. Would it help to have someone set up a Stop the War Escalation joint website and call for a campaign of letters, calls, etc.? We also need to find a way to respond to Repugs like Susan Collins (hold my nose) who is countering Lieberman and saying that the evidence of the generals suggests we need to pull back. Without a ground swell popular support, these political figures are just left swinging and will get picked off individually (as Murtha did) by the neo-con-thugs.

CNN – chimpy will expand on his WJS crap at 10:25 eastern today in the rose garden

twolf1 @ 48

CNN – chimpy will expand on his WJS crap at 10:25 eastern today in the rose garden

I think we need to e mail some or the press with some questions we’d like answered

yay

Mandrake -
Got your response to first one but not to the one dated 1-1-07 3:01 p.m. Message I sent shows up on in-box but no reply. Plez try again or use the phone number. Blankety-blank e-mail :-(

Richmond -
How about passing along that chowder recipe at the next “Pull up a chair”? And if you do anything wonderful w/crab meat, keep me in mind.

twolf1 @ 48

CNN – chimpy will expand on his WJS crap at 10:25 eastern today in the rose garden

christy, you’re read here at the lake by just about everyone.

I think it might serve well if you did a breakdown of the wsj piece the president “penned” so some of the pundants can be better prepared

looseheadprop @
11

Last night on Scarborough, Craig Crawford from Cong Quarterly floated a nifty trial balloon. He suggested that since Congress had paased abill athourizing the use of Force by the Shrub, they could pass a bill deauthorizing the use of force.

.
.
.

A couple of weeks ago I toyed with a variant of this idea. In particular, pass a clarification of the Sept. 18 AUMF that explicitly says Iran is not authorized. This would force a veto – the Senate probably would pass narrowly with some attendant collateral Rethug 2008 damage. On the failed override go to the Supreme Court.

Mandrake @ 6:29 -
That red-headed thug (apologies to other Redd-heads in the house *g*) is supposedly one of the new kidz the twits are grooming for a leadership role……ugh.

twolf1 @ 22

When is Chimpy’s ’sacrifice’ speech?

Not sure, but I predict the word “sacrifice” is not going to go over well with either the pampered classes or the poor. The former has no concept of sacrifice, and the latter is up to their necks in the sacrifice of their loved ones already.

Waccamaw at 53 — I believe he’s already acquired the nickname of “Howdy Doody” if it is who I am thinking it is.

tryggth @ 52

looseheadprop @
11

Last night on Scarborough, Craig Crawford from Cong Quarterly floated a nifty trial balloon. He suggested that since Congress had paased abill athourizing the use of Force by the Shrub, they could pass a bill deauthorizing the use of force.

.
.
.

A couple of weeks ago I toyed with a variant of this idea. In particular, pass a clarification of the Sept. 18 AUMF that explicitly says Iran is not authorized. This would force a veto – the Senate probably would pass narrowly with some attendant collateral Rethug 2008 damage. On the failed override go to the Supreme Court.

snowbird42 @ 44

Chimpys speech will be next week.

I wonder what Leahy will do now that he has been denied the documents he has asked for.
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2….._0103.html

Totally predictable. I’m glad Leahy acknowledged the hypocrisy of all this “cooperation with Congress” bull. I really hope they’re making a list.

mandrake @ 57

snowbird42 @ 44

Chimpys speech will be next week.

I wonder what Leahy will do now that he has been denied the documents he has asked for.
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2….._0103.html

Totally predictable. I’m glad Leahy acknowledged the hypocrisy of all this “cooperation with Congress” bull. I really hope they’re making a list.

it was totally predictable, and it’s actually a good thing if he uses it to press the issue and bring up hearings of misconduct

Catching up on the comments . . .

RevDeb’s right: go read Gilliard.

Waccamaw @ 16: one does not fix a Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate – there’s absolutely nothing broken to fix. You prepare it, you savor it, you lick the cup clean, and then you gaze longingly at the cupboard wondering how long you can hold out before you need another dose. Before she passed away, I used to send my grandmother in Nebraska a case of it each fall to get her through the winter. She lived to be 97. (Your milage may vary.)

Well I was goina say before hitting the comment button first :-( – —that I agree with the above. But also I see a problem, seems as if one of the plans afoot is to have Israel bomb Iran first, then we would have to go in to help out our ally. So, that scenario wouldn’t change the situation in any way because we will need to hold to current treaties.

By the way, at some point I could use a tutorial on getting the “edit this comment” button to work for me!

Waccamaw @ 53

Mandrake @ 6:29 -
That red-headed thug (apologies to other Redd-heads in the house *g*) is supposedly one of the new kidz the twits are grooming for a leadership role……ugh.

Yep. He looks like one. And, yes, no offense to the honorable Redd-heads intended!

Christy @ 55 -
Spot on! Quantity of people that age & coloration in Congress have to be in very short supply. But, but, but………Howdy Doody was a good guy! On the other hand, he was on strings.

Fly-by in busy life:

Thanks for your always solid posting, Christy.

History will record these years as America’s Dark Age. How long it will last is in our hands. Democrats are not a monolith. There are leaders among them. I think Edwards is one. I think there could be leaders among the Republicans as well. But the courage Wesley Autrey exhibited is what the times call for. Not poll analyses, not waiting for primary season, not testing fingers in the wind.

Acting. Decisively. With courage now.
Because it’s the right thing to do. And we all need to be about action, not talk now. Join fledgling campaigns. Write LTEs. Talk to your friends and family and neighbors.

The sooner we become the change we want, the sooner the BushCo barbarian horde can be pushed back in the dustbin of history where it belongs.

If you want some fine religious symbolism, to counter the mess described in the WaPo piece Christy linked to, try this from the Post’s Reliable Sources:

Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, found himself under attack last month when he announced he’d take his oath of office on the Koran — especially from Virginia Rep. Virgil Goode, who called it a threat to American values.

Yet the holy book at tomorrow’s ceremony has an unassailably all-American provenance. We’ve learned that the new congressman — in a savvy bit of political symbolism — will hold the personal copy once owned by Thomas Jefferson.

“He wanted to use a Koran that was special,” said Mark Dimunation, chief of the rare book and special collections division at the Library of Congress, who was contacted by the Minnesota Dem early in December. Dimunation, who grew up in Ellison’s 5th District, was happy to help.

[snip]

One person unlikely to be swayed by the book’s illustrious history is Goode, who released a letter two weeks ago objecting to Ellison’s use of the Koran. “I believe that the overwhelming majority of voters in my district would prefer the use of the Bible,” the Virginia Republican told Fox News, and then went on to warn about what he regards as the dangers of Muslims immigrating to the United States and Muslims gaining elective office.

Yeah, but what about a Koran that belonged to one of the greatest Virginians in history? Goode, who represents Jefferson’s birthplace of Albemarle County, had no comment yesterday.

Just “no comment” or was he stunned into silence? One can only hope to see more of that!

Christy,

It could be that judges’ salaries need to be increased to approximate the private sector, but I can’t support it until working people get a raise, too. The divergence of economic fortunes in this country is my second biggest concern, right behind the shredded constitution.

Back OT, Bush will, by fair means and foul, try to keep this war going into the next Administration. He will try to hang it around Democratic necks in the interim, and we’d be fools to let him. Pelosi & Reid need to oppose him from the get. And if Hillary and Joe (and every other DINO) want to stick by their guns, all the better.

Peterr -
Sorry……”fix” may be a Southernism. Your granmere was a lucky woman. But dija have to add that bit about looking for another dose?…..I’m off to the kitchen.

Richmond,

But will prayer vigils cut this time, any more than they did the last.

All of your suggestions are necessary – I’m employing prayer b/c my neighbors can relate – doesn’t much matter what vehicle we use, but it is long past time to use it

I was not ranting or chastising anyone in my comment above – just can’t watch another Peace Takes Courage youtube of American Military funerals and do nothing

she takes out another crudely fashioned analogy . . .

There is a bloodbath coming, thousands of Americans could die violently, needlessly -
Keith’s Special Comment is my August 6th PDB – now, will I ignore it or mobilize everything at hand to prevent it ?

diogenes at 65 — The problem with that is that in order to maintain any level of diversity within the judiciary, the judicial salaries have to be competitive. Otherwise, you end up only with folks who are already independently wealthy — trust fund folks, heavily corporate attorneys, etc. — donning robes, because folks who come from a poorer background, who don’t have family money to depend on, who have toiled in public interest sectors or who have been prosecutors or criminal defense counsel, as a few examples, don’t have the financial resources to take the jobs. A judge should not have to choose between caring for his or her family and the federal bench. And the nation should not have judges who only come from high-level economic circumstances as their only means of lifetime appointments.

It’s the same problem that you run into in any profession where there are public implications: Congressional staffers, journalism interns, etc. — you lose the perspective from all walks of life if you depend on family money as a subsidy for entrance.

Peterr @ 6:51 -

Thank you for the piece re. Keith Ellison; someone with this many “smarts” is gonna be fun to watch!

Peterr at 64 — Oh man — that is brilliant. hehehehehe

Brilliant Mr Ellison!

Looks like President Bush will be having some sort of discussion on Iraq and Congress at 10:25 am ET today, according to MSNBC. Anyone know if its a presser of some sort? (And, if so, isn’t that odd on the morning of Gerald Ford’s interrment?)

Richmond @
60

Well I was goina say before hitting the comment button first :-( – —that I agree with the above. But also I see a problem, seems as if one of the plans afoot is to have Israel bomb Iran first, then we would have to go in to help out our ally. So, that scenario wouldn’t change the situation in any way because we will need to hold to current treaties.

By the way, at some point I could use a tutorial on getting the “edit this comment” button to work for me!

Which browser are you using? It is my understanding that the “edit this comment” does not work when using Internet Explorer, but does work when using Firefox.

And now let me make an off topic request: does anyone have a link to a video and/or transcript of Tom Brokaw’s eulogy that he delivered yesterday, please?

it’s the surge news flash

Waccamaw @ 66

Peterr -
Sorry……”fix” may be a Southernism. Your granmere was a lucky woman. But dija have to add that bit about looking for another dose?…..I’m off to the kitchen.

Fix (southern translation): (1) to prepare something; (2) to prepare to do something

Ex. “I’m fixin’ to go to the kitchen.”
Translation: I’m off to the kitchen.

Ex. “I’m fixin’ some hot chocolate.”
Translation: I’m making some hot chocolate.”

:)

cbl- I didn’t take your thoughtful comment (and efforts) as a rant. To the contrary, I really praise what you are doing. I just wonder about how on other levels things can be undertaken as well.

I also don’t want Christy to get upset, suggesting that I want HER to do this and that above and beyond X 10 of what she is already doing.

However, my fear is that with the Dems victory, we may be cooling things with respect to them, when in truth, what they may need is a real popular outpouring on this – in whatever form.

Christy Hardin Smith @ 72

Looks like President Bush will be having some sort of discussion on Iraq and Congress at 10:25 am ET today, according to MSNBC. Anyone know if its a presser of some sort? (And, if so, isn’t that odd on the morning of Gerald Ford’s interrment?)

And C-Span1 is running the thug leaders “laying out *their* agenda for this session of Congress” sometime shortly after that.

Christy Hardin Smith @
68

diogenes at 65 — The problem with that is that in order to maintain any level of diversity within the judiciary, the judicial salaries have to be competitive. Otherwise, you end up only with folks who are already independently wealthy — trust fund folks, heavily corporate attorneys, etc. — donning robes, because folks who come from a poorer background, who don’t have family money to depend on, who have toiled in public interest sectors or who have been prosecutors or criminal defense counsel, as a few examples, don’t have the financial resources to take the jobs. A judge should not have to choose between caring for his or her family and the federal bench. And the nation should not have judges who only come from high-level economic circumstances as their only means of lifetime appointments.

It’s the same problem that you run into in any profession where there are public implications: Congressional staffers, journalism interns, etc. — you lose the perspective from all walks of life if you depend on family money as a subsidy for entrance.

Of course, if higher education were affordable to poor students, $212,000 would look pretty good to them.

In the near term, your point is taken. In the long run…

Excellent post – you’ve been really cooking of late.

New Year Resolution, or Bush just pissing you off that much? ;)

Here is something that just came to my attention, posted very recently on ThinkProgress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/…..-decision/

Administration Official: Troop Escalation ‘More Of A Political Decision Than A Military One’

CNN reports “President Bush is expected to announce his new Iraq strategy in an address to the nation early next week.” According to the BBC, “The speech will reveal a plan to send more US troops to Iraq.”

Last night on NBC News, Jim Miklaszewski reported that the new strategy will be announced next Tuesday, and that an administration official “admitted to us today that this surge option is more of a political decision than a military one.”

(snip)

Christy Hardin Smith @
72

Looks like President Bush will be having some sort of discussion on Iraq and Congress at 10:25 am ET today, according to MSNBC. Anyone know if its a presser of some sort? (And, if so, isn’t that odd on the morning of Gerald Ford’s interrment?)

CNN said he would be expanding on his WSJ scribblings

In one article, Iraq is ‘reporting’ that there were ‘more’ than 12k civilian deaths in 2006. A second article states 16273. I think both numbers are extremely low considering there were at least three months where there were 3k deaths each month. However, ‘we’ will never know the true number.

http://abcnews.go.com/Internat…..id=2765883
http://abcnews.go.com/Internat…..id=2764204

I have the uneasy feeling that ’sacrifice’ and ‘gays are acceptable in the military’ are trial balloons, or a way to soften the blow of re-instating the draft.

Ah the old full circle. In the beginning General Shinseki counseled for several hundred thousand troops but the Bush politicians and strategists vetoed him.

3 years, 3,000 US dead and half a trillion dollars later General Casey is counseling for fewer troops and Bush is overriding that advice.

At least Generals Fred Kagen and Bill Kristol support the escalation.

-GSD

Christy — incoming.

Feedback on status of request re: Levin.

;-)

OT — I think most of Grand Rapids and greater Kent County turned out today to pay their respects to their homeboy, Gerald Ford.

Stephen Parrish @ 7:11 -

Guess the quote from admin official admitting “this surge option is more of a political decision than a military one” will be the first AND last time we hear that from the MSM.

Stephen Parrish, CPA @ 79

Here is something that just came to my attention, posted very recently on ThinkProgress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/…..-decision/

Administration Official: Troop Escalation ‘More Of A Political Decision Than A Military One’

CNN reports “President Bush is expected to announce his new Iraq strategy in an address to the nation early next week.” According to the BBC, “The speech will reveal a plan to send more US troops to Iraq.”

Last night on NBC News, Jim Miklaszewski reported that the new strategy will be announced next Tuesday, and that an administration official “admitted to us today that this surge option is more of a political decision than a military one.”

(snip)

Keith Olbermann included Miklaszewski’s comment last evening… I hope Mik develops it into a report rather than just that quick (but believable) aside.
Hope he starts with which “administration official” made the observation/statement.

CNN – 2 minute warning until chimpy speech

chimp is live

I can find at least a few good things in presidential administrations I abhor. Nixon and China for instance. Reagan’s sunny and optimistic nature. But this administration for my money has absolutely no redeeming qualities. Maybe I’m wrong on this.

Chimpy in rose garden – welcomes the new congress. looking forward to working w/ them. have important things to do. time to set aside politics and focus on the future…

Christy asks “Who are we now?”

We are who we always have been, despite the leadership at the top. The US is more than its president, thank goodness. It’s more than its CEOs, more than its general and admirals, more than its blue-bloods. We are the People. We HAVE representatives, senators, presidents and governors, but we ARE the people.

“We the People of the United States of America, in order to form a more perfect Union . . .“

We may not be perfect – and GWB and his enablers in the House and Senate are certainly showing that to the world – but we can and must push to be more perfect than we have been.

Jefferson & Co measured their “perfection” against George III, which was not a terribly high standard. Sadly, we’ve got George LXIII as our benchmark – and there’s nowhere to go from there but up.

Given what we’ve been through for the last six years, a daily reminder of the job they’ve been elected to do seems to be in order. I’d love to see Nancy Pelosi open each session of the House by reading the Preamble of the Constitution.

Chimpy in rose garden – hope reps and dems can find common ground. gotta make sure we spend the peeps money more wisley

(should have done this shit 6 years ago asshole)

5 year budget proposal to balance budget by 2012

He said “spending restraint” — HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA — oh man. Coming out of his mouth with his cabinet standing behind him and on the backs of the GOP Congress that were earmark kings and queens, that is some seriously funny stuff this morning.

Oh…wait…

Chimpy in rose garden – budget all about guns and war

-entitlement programs – need to be reformed

-reform soc. sec, medicare, medicaid

-reform earmark process

-people want to end the secretive process of earmarks

Chimpy in rose garden – house reps passed strong earmark legislation

-earmarks, earmarks, earmarks

This piece of feces is now concerned about all of these procedural matters……Six years into the game.

No shame, this man has no shame.

Also, Georgie the Selfish wants to step on the Democrats by preempting their day of recognition.

-GSD

“Congress needs to . . .
“Congress needs to . . .
“Congress needs to . . .”

Whatever happened to the Deciderer?

Chimpy in rose garden – i call on congress to give the president the line item veto.

thank you for your time.

(now i will leave as fast as possible amid questions about the saddam execution)

Entitlement programs? Fredo, you are giving your wife shit for buying brand name toilet paper when you just went out and bought a fucking Hummer you asshole.

Who are we? A very few very wealthy people, and a huge lot of folks in terrible debt who struggle just to make it from month to month.

CNN “from the president – nothing new”

From Bush’s op-ed: “I believe government closest to the people is more responsive and accountable.”

I’ll bet he wrote that line. It certainly fits with his style of governing. He’s as distant as you can get from the people, and the least responsive and accountable.

“5 year budget proposal to balance budget by 2012″

Seriously, twolf1 — he’s suggesting this?

Cripes, he is DONE in 2007 with budgeting under a Democratic majority; he’s got NO place making any suggestions.

He’s trying to prop up the as-yet unnamed Repug presidential candidate, that’s all this is. Shallow, empty, useless posturing, a campaign donation in kind to the unnamed candidate.

Well, that was the usual waste of air-time………

Waccamaw @ 50

Mandrake -
Got your response to first one but not to the one dated 1-1-07 3:01 p.m. Message I sent shows up on in-box but no reply. Plez try again or use the phone number. Blankety-blank e-mail :-(

Waccamaw: that was my bad. Check your e-mail when you get a chance.

Rayne @ 103

“5 year budget proposal to balance budget by 2012″

Seriously, twolf1 — he’s suggesting this?

From his mouth to my keyboard. Dats what he said. CNN kinda laughed that off.

Bush and his Administration minions should be asked if the war is so important, why will no one from the Bush family serve? They need to be asked at every opportunity. It is curious that no one will ask.

What the Congress Can Do for America
Let them say of these next two years: We used our time well.

BY GEORGE W. BUSH
Wednesday, January 3, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST

http://www.opinionjournal.com/…..=110009473

Oklahoma kiddo – I can find one redeeming feature of this administration for you.

Me.

I would not have become a political activist here in the grassroots if I had not gotten so very f*cking angry with George W. Bush and his band of merry racketeers.

Want another redeeming feature?

FireDogLake.

And DailyKos, and MyDD, and Atrios, and so on…because I’ll bet these folks would not have been quite as inspired as they have been without George W. Bush and his band of merry racketeers in office, wreaking hell upon our country and world.

I’ll bet I can come up with others — like you, being here, with us. Bonus!!

Richmond @
47

CBL – I admire your work. But will prayer vigils cut this time, any more than they did the last. I think we need to get Congress to move – and fast. How, and in what way, I don’t have a clue. But individual pressure needs to be brought on them through email, letters, and phone. I think a huge web driven petition might be a good idea. Remember the was a huge amount of response to web neutrality and it made a difference. Interestingly, this is an issue we share with perhaps 40% of the fundies. Would it help to have someone set up a Stop the War Escalation joint website and call for a campaign of letters, calls, etc.? We also need to find a way to respond to Repugs like Susan Collins (hold my nose) who is countering Lieberman and saying that the evidence of the generals suggests we need to pull back. Without a ground swell popular support, these political figures are just left swinging and will get picked off individually (as Murtha did) by the neo-con-thugs.

Congress could start by yanking back permission to drop habeas corpus out from under hrh boosh & his insane dictatorship. Playtime’s over. The grownups should be in charge again.

New Congressman and American of Muslim faith, Keith Ellison with a brilliant political master stroke. Ellison will use Thomas Jefferson’s Koran for his swearing in ceremony.

Brilliant, brilliant.

-GSD

Waccamaw @ 104

Well, that was the usual waste of air-time………

I admire your intestinal fortitude in sitting through any of Bush’s ramblings. I can only take about 1 minute before I am scrambling for the remote!

Did he talk about how Congress pushing legislation for political purposes would only result in stalemate (as he did in his ghost-written letter)? Wow. My, my, passing legislation strictly for political purposes. Who would even dream of doing such a thing?! I can’t imagine. Let me think. Hmmmmm.

Rayne @
103

….a campaign donation in kind to the unnamed candidate.

I’ve gotta believe even the staunchest history revisionists in the Republican party will look back on the Bush administration as the beginning of the dark ages for true conservative concerns. Nothing this administration does from here on out will be good for anyone, including that unnamed candidate.

If it were not for the fact that these people have created such a huge circumference of scorched earth, one could make a case that the Bush administration has been good for progressive concerns; but, bad is simply bad and it will take years and very directed effort to make this ill earth grow again.

How many more Americans should be asked to die for a mistake and to prop up a President’s ego? How many more innocents should be caught in the crossfire for the same reason? How many more?

This is not, and never has been about the boy-king’s ego.

From Mission Accomplished by Justin Raimondo

Rather than listening to the Baker-Hamilton commission, the petulant frat boy who imagines himself Winston Churchill at the height of World War II is far more likely to pay attention to the recommendations of another report, this one prepared by the Two Chucks – Gen. Chuck Wald, former EUCOM commander, and Chuck Vollmer, president of VII, Inc., a Pentagon contractor – that paves the way for la fuite en avant times 10. “Rather than planning withdrawal from Iraq,” says the Wald-Vollmer paper,

“With the entry of Iran into the equation,the next phases of Operation Iraqi Freedom could possibly include … a major invasion of Iran and pro-Iranian forces against Western forces in the region and Israel, and/or a global energy crisis. We may be better served to plan for repositioning in this strategically important region. While withdrawal may be necessary in Iraq, withdrawal from the region would precipitate a global balance-of-power shift toward the Iran-Russia-China axis, which would be very detrimental for the energy dependent West.”

…

We keep hearing from Democratic critics of the war that the Bush administration has “failed,” because we can’t keep order in Baghdad and the Iranians are in a position of unparalleled influence not only in Iraq but throughout the region. Yet this evaluation is based on a series of remarkably naive assumptions, all of which have been proven utterly wrong.

America’s real war aims are another matter entirely, and they are coming into focus as the situation on the ground develops.

…

We have every reason to believe that the death and decomposition of the Iraqi state is precisely what they had in mind when they decided to invade in the first place.

…

Looked at in a larger context, it makes perfect sense that the War Party is now playing the “Shi’ite card,” as the visit of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim to Washington indicates. Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), met with the president, chatted with Condi, and took a tour of the Pentagon. If we’re looking for the true origins of the “surge” strategy in Iraq – the prospect of adding some 30,000 troops to “stabilize” Baghdad and rebel provinces – we need look no further than Hakim’s Dec. 4 speech [.pdf] to the U.S. Institute of Peace:

emphasis, and edits–mine

Stay the surge!

I read that budget “plan” last night and thought, My God, he’s completely unhinged. Batshit crazy. There’s nothing, nothing worth listening to anymore from the man. He can fight two wars and balance the budget, he says, without “rescinding any tax cuts” and of course continue gutting domestic programs. NO way can this admin continue for two years. I believe Gilliard is right. This is so over.

Thanks twolf1 yet again.

Your insta-blogging, so I don’t hav-ta watch… saves my sanity ;->

Mandrake @ 112 -
Still nothing; will check back in couple of hours in case there’s a clog in da toobz. Errands call…later.

Keith O ROCKS. For Bush, Let the stalemates begin. To the Democrats, cut the war and miltary funding, after all these are not Entitlement Programs.

Question: Can Congress appoint a special investigator of their own, under the aegis of oversight? Or is this a breach of the separation of powers?

Was just revisiting Al Gore’s speech 16-JAN-2006 to the American Constitution Society, in which he called for a special counsel to be named by the AG. But the AG obviously blew off this call, having his own conflicts of interest.

How do we override this? Will Waxman, Conyers and Leahy be enough, or do we need to appoint a an independent function — if we can?

Twolf1 -
Re.”Your insta-blogging”; you do it wonderous well.

Off-topic, and epu’d, but everyone should read how we should respond to this “bipartisan” bull. (via atrios)

The Sideshow

Digby warns that the Stepford Press is going all-out to tell each other how important it is that Nancy Pelosi rein in the partisanship in Washington. Every time a pundit says something like this, a little bell should go off in your head that says, “I must ask this person immediately how Pelosi is supposed to stop the Republicans from being so viciously partisan.”

It wouldn’t hurt to start reminding people that “what is partisan” and “what is good for the country” are two different issues, and it is the latter that matters. If the Republicans oppose programs that are good for the country, the Democrats have no choice but to appear “partisan” – because this isn’t about being a Democrat, it’s about being an American.

So when the Republicans oppose raising the minimum wage to $8.00 an hour, that’s partisan – and supporting a raise in the minimum wage is not. When the Republicans want to sneak giveaways to businesses into bills, they are being partisan. When Republicans oppose making it easier for Americans to buy prescription drugs at lower prices, that’s partisan. When Republicans turned the Medicare drug benefit into a giveaway for pharmaceutical houses, that was partisan, and if they oppose Democrats’ attempts to amend the benefit bill to lower costs, that will be partisan, too.

Wall St. is very excited about Nancy Pelosi taking over congress.

What will Cavuto say?

-GSD

yes, yes – excellent job twolf1 ! my psyche thanks you the reprieve

Dana (116) — I think we blow off Bush’s commentary to day at our own risk.

There should be a response that pushes this new talking point back down their throats.

We need to remind the public that 109th Congress* wrote checks that George Bush signed, and now there’s no money in the bank to cover them.

And the 110th Congress will have to figure out how to cover those checks in a hurry, even if it means raising taxes on the ultra-rich to do so.

edit: * need to make clear that it was the previous REPUBLICAN Congress that wrote checks it didn’t cover.

Adie @ 110

Richmond @
47

CBL

Congress could start by yanking back permission to drop habeas corpus out from under hrh boosh & his insane dictatorship. Playtime’s over. The grownups should be in charge again.

That would be good, but 1) unfortunately I think a majority agree with Bush, and 2) we also need some means to counter the war upsurge now.

Republican Wilson, NM, who has been drinking the kool-aide from the start had to spend TWO DAYS in Iraq to come to the conclusion, no surge. Oh and after the ISG report that Wilson said was absurd and what not.

Now saying “we can’t do for the Iraqis what they won’t do for themselves,” which I guess means they can’t stand up and we can’t stand up for them. Campaign was all about “whatever the Generals say, that’s what I’m for.” Now after 2 days–two days–No surge, no Generals.

Um, and the Generals–still the same from W: “You’re either with me or against me.” Blame and shame. I guess they’ll be retirin’ one after another now.

Adie @
117

Thanks twolf1 yet again.

Your insta-blogging, so I don’t hav-ta watch… saves my sanity ;->

Waccamaw @
121

Twolf1 -
Re.”Your insta-blogging”; you do it wonderous well.

cbl @
124

yes, yes – excellent job twolf1 ! my psyche thanks you the reprieve

No problem, that was an easy one – barely 2 minutes long and no questions. I have been watching Gorillas in the Mist over and over in order to sharpen my shrub-to-english translation skills. ;)

Gorillas in the Mist – *guffaw*

twolf1, you are a treat!!

twolf1 -
Typing/translation skills AND a world-class funny bone *g*

Thanks for the post, Christy.

Here’s Walter Shapiro in today’s Salon calling for a debate about Iraq and the future to start now:

(snip)

After six years of static cling, the 2006 elections created an opportunity for serious rethinking that has yet to be exploited. With the Democratic takeover of Congress, suddenly national issues are no longer defined by a yes-no George W. Bush loyalty test.

(snip)

But though the man hunkered down in the Oval Office remains armed with a veto pen and the mantle of commander in chief, the voters have left the Bush presidency twisting slowly, slowly in the wind.

Iraq poses the first challenge of the post-Bush world. Even though the Democratic Congress is not responsible politically or constitutionally for running foreign policy, it is in a position to spark a fresh debate over what should be done in Iraq now. The key word is “now.” Most of what has been written and said about Iraq in recent months has been backward looking — to the dubious premises behind the invasion and the incompetence of the American occupation.

With Bush reportedly poised to unveil his new military strategy next week, it is time to pose fresh, future-oriented questions about Iraq. If a “surge” in troop levels had a 20 percent chance of reducing the lethal nature of the civil war, would it be a risk worth taking? If America began a major troop withdrawal tomorrow, would more Iraqi civilians be alive in 2008? What should be the guiding philosophy that determines America’s next step in Iraq? Reducing U.S. military casualties? Saving Iraqi lives? Preventing further chaos in the region?

(snip)

Peterr @ 91
Sadly, we’ve got George LXIII as our benchmark

Um, surely you mean George XLIII? Because LXIII is 63…. (I don’t believe the Romans did it that way, they would have simply written it XXXXIII and left it clear.)

new thread

We as a nation have absolutely no regard for civil rights anymore either inside America or anywhere else on the globe. It is terribly embarrassing to me personally and really it is not truly representative of the people of America.
Bush ruined this country and undid 200 years of history in six short years.
Bigger questions are how do we fix this? Both inside and everywhere else that Bush tore up.
Bush literally tore up the whole wide world.

Richmond @
60

Well I was goina say before hitting the comment button first :-( – —that I agree with the above. But also I see a problem, seems as if one of the plans afoot is to have Israel bomb Iran first, then we would have to go in to help out our ally. So, that scenario wouldn’t change the situation in any way because we will need to hold to current treaties.

By the way, at some point I could use a tutorial on getting the “edit this comment” button to work for me!

Hold to treaties? What about Geneva? Seems to me that “holding to treaties” is optional.

P J Evans @ 131

Peterr @ 91
Sadly, we’ve got George LXIII as our benchmark

Um, surely you mean George XLIII? Because LXIII is 63…. (I don’t believe the Romans did it that way, they would have simply written it XXXXIII and left it clear.)

Um, surely you are right.

Perhaps it’s an aversion to typing XL after so many holiday feasts and treats over the last two weeks . . .

njr @ 86

Stephen Parrish, CPA @ 79

Here is something that just came to my attention, posted very recently on ThinkProgress:
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/…..-decision/

Administration Official: Troop Escalation ‘More Of A Political Decision Than A Military One’

CNN reports “President Bush is expected to announce his new Iraq strategy in an address to the nation early next week.” According to the BBC, “The speech will reveal a plan to send more US troops to Iraq.”

Last night on NBC News, Jim Miklaszewski reported that the new strategy will be announced next Tuesday, and that an administration official “admitted to us today that this surge option is more of a political decision than a military one.”

(snip)

Keith Olbermann included Miklaszewski’s comment last evening… I hope Mik develops it into a report rather than just that quick (but believable) aside.
Hope he starts with which “administration official” made the observation/statement.

This is exactly what I see! It seems that Bush is in full offensive mode (no pun intended.) I think this is wholly calculated to coincide with Congress’ return. The best defense is a good offense, and all of that. This is Chimpy’s way of daring Congress to oppose him, and when they do, it will be all of the “Democrat Congress” fault. We need to be smarter, better at this particular game of chess. I think we need a real strategy on this. It would be nice if Dems could learn to speak with one voice, but with Steny Hoyer as second in command, I’m worried that it will be a matter of speaking out of both sides of our collective mouths.

As to the Leahy thing, John Dean’s article makes sense here. We have enough of Abu Gonzales’ crap to last a lifetime. Impeachment proceedings should start on him very soon. We need to start picking off the President’s lieutenants and all his other officers, so that Bush will know that we’re serious. Gonzales seems as good a place as any to start. We need to drain his administration of their most noxious talent. Anybody know of anything that Rove has done that could pass as a high crime or misdemeanor, like maybe in his affiliation with Abramoff? Cut him off at the knees and you might as well have cut of the President’s head.

As for the guy that saved the other guy from the train, I love it, but I’m waiting for the axe to fall. As we know, no good deed goes unpunished, so I’m just hoping that he isn’t arrested for some petty crime or for being an illegal immigrant or something for his trouble. Seems to be what usually happens.

I was wondering, in the aftermath of Saddam’s grotesque execution by that gloating death squad, why there wasn’t more commentary about George Bush’s role the last time he was involved with executions, when he was the Death Penalty Decider for the state of Texas — in which capacity he had been known to do his own share of gloating. Poking about on the Web, I came across an October 2000 piece about Bush published by Derrick Z. Jackson in the Boston Globe. It seems remarkably prescient now — not just about the execution, but also about Bush’s fatal and costly hubris. Especially the title, “Bush’s Death Factory.”