Unless the 10 years started in 2007, then it’s Clinton’s fault.

As long as all he does is whine, I will be a happy camper. Every time I hear that he has some “legacy” project in the works I cringe in fear of some monster clusterfuck to make all of his previous clusterfucks seem trivial by comparison.

He’s pretty stupid, but I think even he can count to ten.

well, he CAN count to ten but that doesn’t mean he DOES count to ten

he doesn’t

On the list of great shames of the USA, re-electing Bush in 2004 is going to be among them.

you can rest assured, he was not re-elected anymore then he was elected in the first place

this has been a silent coup, the puppet was first installed in our government by a group of men in black robes, these are the real “men in black”

the second term happened with the help of electronic voting

I think he means a decade or so, comma, before he arrived, i.e. Leach-Bliley. Like any other Republicans, he knows the buck-passing talking points. In fact, the little pissant is very much on message.

W’s been looking more befuddled than usual these days.

Blaming his dad would be consistent with the psychology described in Bush on the Couch.

Close Yale and Harvard.

Thanks Jane.

digg

The Bush family pathology runs even deeper than Cheney’s bunker. Classic stance for a dry drunk (same as for an active alcoholic) is: “The buck stops there, baby. Dontcha be blamin’ me.” Likely to be a blue Christmas for the little prince, Bar, Poppy and Jeb, eh?

What a scary book ! I have given copies as gifts – not sure the giftees always liked it. :)

He’s blaming Clinton again unless his decades consist of twenty years, which wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

Did anyone see that lout Hitchens on Matthews the other night? He’s asked about Jones and he launches into a rant about Petraeus then goes right into the old charges against the Clintons as if it was 1995 again. Maybe in his alcohol besotted mind it is.

this is just a taste of what we can expect any time the old guard right-wing conspiracy nuts are allowed any air time at all. I liked the way Obama shut down the reported who was trying to bait him about remarks about Hillary the other day and I’m ecstatic about the ostracism of the faux journalists from Faux news.

Now bring back the Fairness Doctrine.

Chief Privacy (HaHa) Officer of the Homeland Security Department up on C-span 2

I have a friend who’s a therapist who at first argued it was unethical for a psychiatrist to opine on someone without having treated him (in which case it would be unethical to reveal anything, of course). At a later time, I caught him doing the same thing, pointed it out, and he retracted.

I loved the book, which I read in 06. Explained a lot of things I was having trouble understanding.

He really looks like crap in that photo. Pretty much captures the essence of the guy, imo.

I thought he was talking about the decade before he became prez, which would go back to 1990. That his father left Iraq “unfinished” bolsters that interpretation.

Remember, Bush wasn’t elected in 2000; he was selected. And in 2004 Ohio Diebold gave it to him again.

What a consistent life Bush has led: everything given to him on a silver platter; everything he touched destroyed; and after every crash of his own making, others came along to clean up the mess.

His path was strewn with wreckage before he became president, and now it is strewn with blood and broken bodies as well.

The only thing bothering him now is the spotlight on it all.

Not only the men in black – I’ve yet to forgive Justice O’Connor; she was the swing vote in Bush v Gore.

In truth, the mechanisms that have led in our current economic upheaval were unleashed under the Reagan administration and continued, more or less unabated, from then on. Of course, Bush II’s policies contributed in no small measure to the hastening of the inevitable outcome.

Naw, he was blaming Clinton. He just can’t count. Gramm-Leach-Bliley repealing Glass-Steagall was in 1999 and the Commodities Futures Modernization Act (CFMA) was in 2000. As selise showed in her recent oxdown diary, although the Congress was controlled by the Republicans, these moves were pushed by both sides with no real objection or thought.

But the 2004-2005 housing bubble happened very much during Bush’s watch and his Administration was instrumental not just in letting it happen but in making it happen.

“It wasn’t me!”

George W. Bush

Bush:

decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over a decade or so, before I arrived,

and like Jane said “He’s pretty stupid, but I think even he can count to ten.”

He’s blaming all of the above. It was either Rachel or Keith last night who characterized W’s response as: it’s like the weather. Stuff just happens.

Of course, we know how he reponded to the “weather” too.

So not only did he do nothing to prevent predictable events, he only made them worse after the fact.

… but his friends did make out like bandits …

Interpreting your comment seriously for the moment, that probably has a lot to do with why he does not understand the wreakage he has wrought.

After eight years of an active pursuit of incompetence it is necessary to go back more than that to deflect responsibility.

Exactly – he has always surrounded homself with other rich guys. If they’re doing well, then everybody else must be doing well, too. He would never stoop so low as to see how the other 95% live.

Continuing with my amateur psycho-babble, Bush is in a classic shame cycle. Never mind that he largely brought it on himself. That he has this time screwed up on the international stage versus, say, the football field or the corporate board room. That people have been laughing at him, making fun of him, disliking (and in some cases hating) him. For all his cowboy cojoniness, I’m guessing this is pretty hard to manage. For most of us, when we screw up big, bigger, biggest, it doesn’t find its way to the headlines. Laura has her hands way full.

Breaking Onion oh, Washington Times news. We have won the Quagmire in Irak! Or maybe you would you believe we are on the cusp of VICTORY! KKKarl and Smiley Kristol say so. Plus Kommander Guy is not the Worst President in the last 50 years.

Free bright shiny balloons and puppies for everyone. No more foreclosures and everyone gets bailed out by Paulson! (Actually the last 2 sentences are not true.)

Yup. Pure alcoholic behavior. Do or say ANYTHING to avoid admitting you screwed up anything ever.

Couple days ago, he said “I wish the intelligence were better” regarding Iraq. Translation: “I sincerely apologize for someone else screwing up.”

“I think when the history of this period is written, people will realize a lot of the decisions that were made on Wall Street took place over a decade or so, before I arrived,” he said.

Bush is again appealing to facts not in evidence. 3/4 of Americans think he is doing a bad job so Bush appeals to the judgment of history mostly because it will happen I suppose “a decade or so after he leaves.”

But look too at the distanciation, the use of the passive “were made” and the impersonal “took place”. In what looks like a Freudian slip, however, Bush says that it was Wall Street, not Washington that made these decisions. And in fact that has been an ongoing problem which has gotten much worse under his Administration, that industry has been allowed to write the laws for its own benefit.

But as eCahn note at #21:

So not only did he do nothing to prevent predictable events, he only made them worse after the fact.

Bush was President for 8 years. Why did he not act to avoid or mitigate the effects of bad decisions made by others?

That’s good as far as it goes, but it really is time for someone on the national stage to point out that this is exactly how an alcoholic talks, whether he’s currently drinking or not.

Mistakes were made. (continuing the passive voice…)

I wonder who’s coaching him on how to posture at the end? Let’s get the WH visitor log.

You can add the D leadership (and followership for that matter).

Actually, the total inability to articulate a timeline, much less two complete sentences in a row, is more signioficant to me than the possibility he may have meant to drop blame on Poppy.

His next sentence was referring to the decade ‘during I arrived’: a construction so erronious as to defy interpretation. But I would guess that the decade he was referring to was meant to be something like 1996-2006.

Whatever.
9-11, Katrina, Financial system meltdown… All occurred well into his w3atch, and they are on his CV.

The log won’t reflect those who burrow up from the bunker, I’m guessing. *g*

No coaching.
He has heard these words so long he is able to parrot them without assistance.

That’s good as far as it goes, but it really is time for someone on the national stage to point out that this is exactly how an alcoholic talks, whether he’s currently drinking or not.

Well, that has been the problem for the last 8 years. Bush has made very little sense during any part of his time in office, but the media have never called him on any of his lies, inconsistencies, or general inanity.

I bow to your infinite wisdom … and I am not saying that because Christmas is fast approaching … *g*

From my field of expertise, there are motivational speakers who lend credence that victims caused it on themselves and poor people are lazy.

I think this mindset is prevalent among the Corporate & Political Leaders in America … that if you take any opportunity to make $$$, you’re a good guy and that’s all that matters.

I would rather he did not escape his legacy.

Morning Jane!

Thank you for this discussion. I just haven’t had the spine to endure watching the Gibson interview yet, but I see I must. Dubya’s “take” on things boggles the mind. I keep from panicking by realizing he has only a few short weeks to hold office. But what’s chainey up to, and if junior doesn’t read but just signs on cue, are we going to endure years of disentangling the web of deceit enveloping the current bigwhitehouse?

Perhaps, eh? Thank heaven for the toobz and for good people with sharp minds sharing space and ideas. Help us sort it out and decide how to proceed. We’re ready, even if a bit tattered around the edges.

P. E. A. C. E.

Gotta be Karen Hughes, doncha think? Doubtless she’s been brought back to write that memoir nobody wants to buy.

And as for “wish the intelligence were better”…yeah, given how you cherry-picked the intelligence that fit your agenda, Bushie, we wish your intelligence were better, too.

OT via TPM, some good news:

A report in the Washington Post suggests that Nora Dannehy, the prosecutor assigned by Attorney General Michael Mukasey to look into the U.S. attorney firings, is taking an aggressive approach to the job.

The Post says Dannehy “has been meeting with defense lawyers, dispatching subpoenas and seeking information about the events, according to legal sources familiar with the case.”

Is anyone else having trouble with FDL remembering you? I have to login each time I come back on all three computers I use…

Wasn’t it dear old Ronnie who started that “mistakes were made” crap? He did it so well and people believed and so it continues with Rs.

Loo Hoo are you using FF?

Bush says that it was Wall Street, not Washington that made these decisions.

Looks like he was acknowledging the truth of the situation. Wall Street free market extremists dictated what policies Bush was to implement. Bush complied.

It takes raw courage to call out an alcoholic for his alcoholic behavior. That said, an intervention at the highest level was absolutely called for. I know I’m going all Bill W here, but I think we all have seriously misunderestimated the calculus of booze/absence of booze in Bush’s life, and therefore in ours. Grew up with alcoholic parents and observed a few alcoholic friends. This is a Very Big Deal. And, as you say, has been for most (all?) of W’s adult life. I’m guessing he goes severely snarky when challenged about anything.

38 for you not sure what happened there I tried

Early in W’s presidency, I watched whatever that annual conservatives convention is called on cspan. That was before we knew how seriously he would screw up, and in the glow of the Afghan success. Those guys were bending over backward to praise W’s speeches and other public utterings. He was rereshingly direct, spoke like a real person, powerful, etc. I couldn’t believe my ears. It was a real lesson in rationalization for me.

Ooooh. Well done. Graceful, short and sweet. I feel a terrific bumper sticker comin’ on. Thanks for this and your earlier efforts.

You are wise beyond your years. ;->

Me, too. Someone suggested recently that if I stop deleting cookies, that would resolve the problem. The computer ate my cookies!!

I love the implication that there was absolutely nothing that he could’ve done about it, that the laws/regulations were somehow fixed and unchangeable.

Close Yale and Harvard.

This is one of the best damn comments in the last month.

May all their Christmases be bluuuuue…..

I don’t logout & therefore don’t have to login. FDL slipped up once about a month ago iirc.

We now have a whole political party in alcoholics denial.

yellowsnapdragon@45 said:

Looks like he was acknowledging the truth of the situation. Wall Street free market extremists dictated what policies Bush was to implement. Bush complied.

suggested revision:
Looks like he was acknowledging the truth of the situation…extremists dictated what policies Bush was to implement. Bush caved in.

pretty much works in all situations

barbara you are so right. No one could say it better.

Laws? Regulations? Interesting how Bush’s regard for law shifts to suit his issue du jour.

I’ve forgotten who originated that phrase. You could be right. But it works so well for Rs.

There’s a setting on our computers, separate from the FDL page, that wipes the log-in information every time we leave the site. Maybe it sneaked onto your computer in an anti-virus update(?) We sort of like ourse kept like that, as it should probably assure one of a bit more security, should anyone else gain access to your machine.

caution: I am NOT expert in these things. I’m only on a “need to know” basis even with our equipment. Maybe someone else can help you more.

Two whole parties.

I don’t logout either but a while back FF got hinky and it won’t remember my log in cookies anymore, even whe I reset it to remember my cookies. PIA every time I restart the browser.

At home I am. Worked this time just fine, thanks.

Hey! My dear, sweet, honest, brilliant brother graduated from Yale.

Careful what you wish for. ;->

Yup. Wall Street made the decisions.

And Bush and his henchmen told the country that it was best to let Wall Street make the decisions.

Heh. “Mistakes were made” has a long and illustrative history. One wag called it the past exonerative tense.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistakes_were_made

Mistakes were made. It appears to be Reagan’s 1987 State of the Union address, in reference to the Iran-contra scandal.

On the list of great shames of the USA, re-electing Bush in 2004 is going to be among them.

I’ve never,ever, ever been ashamed of my country. The USA has nothing to be ashamed of and never will.

-s-

See my wiki link. They trace it back to Ulysses Grant. Nixon & his minions had quite a propensity for it too.

Thanks for the followup. Nearly had the big one. “What happened to Beerfart???”

Right you are. Of course, I was just a kid when Grant said this. *g*

When a company announces massive layoffs their stock goes up; today it was announced that there were 250k more unemployed in Nov and the market is up. Whose friend is Wall Street? (rhetorical question)

Oh here’s a question of curiosity. When the WH does transprits of W’s interviews, do they fix up the grammar?

But seriously, you’re right, jane. There have been so many shameful things in the last 8 years, it’s probably best to just bundle them up under the single heading of re-electing an idiot.

But cutting taxes for the wealthy magically fixes all economic problems.

That’s the Republic mantra. Of course, the owners of the Party benefit disproportionally, but the masses are not supposed to notice that.

Early in W’s presidency, I watched whatever that annual conservatives convention is called on cspan. That was before we knew how seriously he would screw up, and in the glow of the Afghan success. Those guys were bending over backward to praise W’s speeches and other public utterings. He was rereshingly direct, spoke like a real person, powerful, etc. I couldn’t believe my ears. It was a real lesson in rationalization for me.

must disagree – i think the “afghan success” was another fabricated narrative, and thought so at the time. W’s order for a military commission and gonzales’ lies about it in the nyt, rummy’s declaration that the geneva conventions did not apply, etc…. were all during that time.

“It’s muh Daddy’s Fault!”

Damn right it’s his Daddy’s fault (Poppy, you were in the Navy — why didn’t you use a condom instead that that balloon?)

Or, as a friend crudely put it about an attorney who inherited a sinecure from His Daddy, “The better part of Xxxx, Sr dripped down his mama’s thigh.”

Apologies Firedawgies, I guess I’m not far along enough in whatever step of the program it takes to be able to wallow in shrubobelia without breaking out in hives.

I’d better bookmark this fine discussion and return later.

Carry on and THANK YOU for proceeding with the important business of the Lake. You are terrific! Huzzah!

Just please don’t pick on Yale & Harvard too awfully much. Some very fine folks might be listening in and have their feelings hurt. Guilt by association is a dubble-edged sword.

It is Poppy Bush’s fault for pulling the strings to get the Decider into office back in December 2000.

We ask what is the matter with Kansas but we could just as easily ask what is the matter with Harvard and Yale. What does it say about the country that so many of the nation’s elites come from these and a handful of other schools or that the nation’s elites have failed us so badly, not just under Bush but for decades now? They do not seem to produce the best and the brightest but rather the wealthiest and best connected.

My phrase “Afghan success” was used deliberately to evoke how the speakers at the convention were viewing W at the time they were making their comments. And none of us knew about all the other stuff in real time.

I also knew that Afghanistan wouldn’t be a success early on. Rummy said “We don’t do nation building.” It was a dead giveaway. But that’s not the way most saw it.

Obama Transition Reaffirms Commitment to Employee Free Choice Act
Pach up

Gonzalez went to Texas

The problem lies in “power corrupts” not in the schools the powerful went to.

Precisely so!

sigh…

Go ahead. Pick on Smith while you’re at it.

Just remember, Molly Ivins graduated from there, as did Redd.

There are those such as Obama who earn degrees at those schools.
There are those such as Bush who purchase degrees at those schools.

My phrase “Afghan success” was used deliberately to evoke how the speakers at the convention were viewing W at the time they were making their comments.

got it. thanks.

And none of us knew about all the other stuff in real time.

maybe i’m still confused – which other stuff are you referring to?

W’s order for a military commission and gonzales’ lies about it in the nyt, rummy’s declaration that the geneva conventions did not apply, etc…. were all during that time.

me too, and i grew THE BEST DAM CABBAGE at the county fair!

Now THAT’s raw power!

correlation or causation?

I’ll pick on Wellesley (Hillary, Albright, Cokie Roberts) and I went there.

It is very important to call the Deans of these Universities to account.

There is much much more incompetence there.

ah. but i did know that in real time. that’s why i was freaking out – i didn’t have anyone to talk to about it and didn’t even know of any progressive news sources. probably because i only started paying attention (as in trying to check things out for myself) on sept 12, 2001. before that i was content with npr etc.

Your wisdom is blindingly clear and bright to behold.

No snark, Just friendly, appreciative thoughts. ;->

Do the deans have a lot to do with the social networks involved?

What a weasel. Born with a silver spoon….a coddled, spoiled, irresponsible, jerk. What would we have expected except this final dissing of the country? He was too chicken to go to Vietnam, not that anyone should have had to, but more than willing to put others in peril all over the world. The sooner this creep is back in Crawford, the sooner the country can sigh with relief.

The fact that he’s too stupid and self-centered to fully comprehend all the harm he’s done doesn’t make his statements any easier to hear.

Hugh,

Univer$ity Pre$ident$ (and Chancellor$ and Provo$t$) alway$ look to the health of the endowment. That require$ them to a$$iduou$ly court their donor$ and tend carefully to their need$, le$t the donor$ forget about Auld Ivy’$ de$perate need for dollar$.

I’m told this is more pernicious in private schools than public-assisted campuses. At private schools, one effect of this need is that the descendants of prominent alumni have a separate admissions path. Prescott Bush (W’s grandaddy) was on the Board of Trustees for Yale, and that’s how Dumbya got in. The Registrar’s Office will not knowingly do something to piss off a member of the Board of Trustees. The fact that Dumbya didn’t need any financial aid made the decision to admit that much easier.

I’ve often speculated as to whether Jorge Arbusto of Permian High School in Odessa, TX would have been admitted to Yale (or any other Ivy) with Bushies’ grades and SAT scores. The answer I always come up with is, no way in heaven or on earth.

Good on you. It took me a long time to catch on to a lot of it, and the public a lot longer. (Not to mention the 22% who still don’t get it.)

Am familiar with the feeling of being the only one who knows something. Was freaking out over the absence of WMDs in Iraq before the invasion. My friends thought I was nuts. The most informed & thoughtful told me that Scott Ritter was a pederast.

They can certainly look at the problem of unbridled greed and offer more courses like Tal Ben Shahar teaches.

No thanks to Wellesley. I hated it.

This business of the schools fuckwads went to is garbage. The schools have nothing to do with it, graduating both flakes and solid citizens.

Do the deans have a lot to do with the social networks involved?

I don’t think that these schools can charge the tuitions that they do on the basis of the quality of their educations. You can get an as good or better education at many state schools. It is the connectivity that accounts for all the extra bucks although they throw in the small class size and individual attention malarkey for laughs.

The same applies to McShames admission to Annapolis.

oh my. NOW you’ve done it.

at Cornell back in the dark ages of the 60’s, state-of-the-art computers less powerful than an ipod filled whole rooms, and were the objects of great pride and excitement.

at the forefront of research, using these magnificent beasts, were some high-powered scientists working on “artificial intelligence”.

these fellas crafted a little humorous thingie once in awhile, being creative n’ all that good/bad stuff.

the punch line of their favorite joke, erm:

Why, dean’s brains are the most valuable, of course
…
…
…
because they’re so rare!

bad-da-boom!

Maybe I’m oversimplifying … when studies came out to show kids were more overweight than ever, our school board implemented a 15- minute exercise every morning and handed out leaflets on healthy snacks and fun activities.

From this viewpoint, I am saying that these prominent Universities have a hand in this … to grow future leaders that imbibe the ideals of Napoleon Hill.

LOL … point taken.

Yes, my moment of revelation came when Powell did his WMD presentation at the UN. All during it, the two thoughts that kept alternating in my mind were: Is that all there is? and We are so screwed.

Petro!

-G

GregB !

I would guess, from everything we’ve seen of him as President, that he had someone else doing all the heavy lifting when he went to college …. someone paid to write papers for him, seldom attended class, lousy attitude, and professors who passed him on because of his generations of political connections. I went to a wedding reception at the Yale Club, NYC, in 2002. They have a reception room lined with portraits of the Presidents who are Yale graudates. His father was there, Wilson, Clinton, I can’t remember who else. But it pains me greatly that his portrait will hang there for generations. It should pain Yale as well. He’s the worst advertisement for the school that I can imagine.

What are the ideals of Napoleon Hill?

In my era, college was for subject matter (and contacts as someone already pointed out), not character formation. That was supposed to take place at home.

Actually, the schools fuckwad went to IS relevant. That’s where his social network was formed. I really believe that if W had gone to a college in keeping with his modest abilities, we would never have heard of him.

And low-information people look at his vita and say something like, “Wow, Yale and Harvard Bizness! He must be pretty smart.” The problem is that they don’t know how to read a transcript from someplace like Yale. I’m sure the indicators, “This clown is a Bozetto,” are all over the transcript. Remember, he didn’t get in UT Law, despite his connections.

My epiphany came when I saw Colin Powell in the cafeteria of the UN use the contents of the vial of anthrax to salt his hard boiled egg.

-G

now i’m embarrassed that it took me so long… but we all only have so much attention to give to the various things in life. it makes sense that we would just go along with the CW until provoked to reconsider past assumptions. anyway, it gives me hope that the 22% (or whatever the number is) will have some experience that will make them question their assumptions too. and there is probably a lot more than i am still missing, but may find in response to some new provocation.

I’m sorry you were unhappy there. It’s rough to be stuck in a situation like that. Thank heaven you came out the other side of it whole and beautiful. Nary a scar shows. I was simply luckier at Smith. Escaped a lot of the meat-grinder and faux-schtick by being a nobody, assigned to a little bitty older home/turned “dorm-ette”. Made good friends and learned a lot. Even grew up a tad. (ongoing…) ;->

The schools have nothing to do with it, graduating both flakes and solid citizens.

I couldn’t agree more.

aHAHAHA!

I knew well before Powell that there were no WMDs, so I waited with baited breath to see how he would present nothing as something. I have told the story several times here already, so I won’t repeat it, but I was at a hedge fund on the day and watched the end of it with all the top dogs there. They were really impressed with the evidence, and took a dim view of me when I pointed out that a satellite pic of 4 rectangles with red circles drawn around them hardly constituted evidence, let alone proof.

You’ve got part of the causality backwards. He went to those schools because of his contacts.

One of my favorite of the little jokes I saw there:

Somewhere next to an outlet-type thingie on the side of the huge computer, some wag installed a little light, with a tiny sign labelled, “Coffee Ready”.

So much for the stuffy scientist rumor…

It’s called the “legacy admission.” for real, serious.
My class at Columbia (architecture) had a real wing dinger admission in that category, a child of a famous architect (who dated Jackie in Pre-O days). This legacy admission couldn’t draw her way out of a paper bag!

Actually, it’s a feedback loop, so causality runs in both directions.

His family name got him in. While there he was able to develop his social network, and gained the cachet inherent in being a graduate of those places.

ecahn and hugh – on the issue of missing WMDs, i left a comment at the end of hugh’s last diary that may be of interest. imo, from the standpoint of the establishment, bushco’s failure was that the lies were too transparent.

Perhaps what we should be saying is that Yale and Harvard owe an extra bit to society to teach their students, and especially their legacies, about ethics and service to country.

A Masters in Business shouldn’t be given to people who are demonstrably ethically-challenged.

You can’t know everything, especially in real time.

That’s why my favorite form of learning is hearing something obvious that you never heard before or thought of yourself. It becomes part of your mental kit bag for all of the future.

(Recent example: Palin is a popular gov because she is in a state where people live off oil revenues during a period of high oil prices. Am eagerly awaiting her ratings after the welfare payments adjust to lower oil prices.)

Napoleon Hill

Completely agree, home is where character development and values should be imbibed. But teaching Corporate responsibility and accountability has to be done in Colleges as well. “Not getting caught” is not the same as “innocent of all wrong doings”.

parents’ contacts perpetuated to the next generation via harvard and yale?

I’m looking for the lurking mod! Are you there?

I’m just not a school friendly person. I didn’t like any of the schools I went to except high school. I’m an autodidact.

Thanks for the link. I never heard of him.

Oh yeah, it’s serious.

And FHM, as the son and grandson of four-star flavor Admirals, McCain was also a legacy admission.

Think of how much better off we would all be if Bush were an autodidact: sitting in some 3rd rate insurance office shuffling papers?

That’s pretty much it.

As of the invasion of Iraq, Bush had been president for over two years, and in charge of the nation’s intelligence services. He was de facto responsible for the quality of their product. But he refuses to own even that level of responsibility.

But much more directly he and his top advisors, especially his vice president, tampered with the product fixing it around their pre-chosen policies. In that sense he was directly responsible for the very low quality of that product.

And, after lamenting the quality of a product whose quality was his defacto responsibility and after having tampered with the product deliberately to lower the its quality, he would not bring himself to say that he’d have done anything different had the product been of high quality (which it was before he tampered with it).

What this jackass is really saying is that he wishes they’d found some WMD in Iraq, so he’d not look like such a fool.

Seriously, lurking mod are you there, I have something very important to say. You can discount it later if you want. but I know I am right.

Hey, pos — way OT question. Do you still play (posaune, that is)?

yes

Please, give us a break! Gonzalez went to the AF Academy for 2 years and quit just before he would have had to commit to a long term of service. He transferred to Rice. He obtained his JD at Harvard Law School.

Please read “Think and Grow Rich”, it is an eye opener on how this pioneer of motivational speaking envisioned CorpAmerica functioning.

yeah, it was my “first” life via Curtis Institute.

I suspect most schools make a stab at it. I guess I err on the side toward pessimism over whether teaching ethics can be accomplished, without full cooperation on both sides. The basics probably do get set pretty much in stone long before the student arrives at college. Perhaps the only audience a college can preach to is the converted, about techniques and specific situations.

LOL. However, if we’re imaging places we’d rather W be, I;m not sure shuffling papers at an insurance company would be at the top of my list. *g* (Disclosure: I did exactly that for a year in the 1960s.)

Cool. I started out as a music performance major (trombone) and changed majors when I realized I had better chance of making the NBA than getting a seat in one of the majors.

In the “go figure” confession category:

I, on the other hand, was not mature enough to cope well with high school, and was absolutely miserable.

College woke me up and let me grow. (parents were a bit heavy on the careful side, approaching “smother” mode, heh, though dear dear folks)

Wow. another posauner at FDL! cool! are you a singer now?

There are 2 choices on amazon. Which would be your preference: the original or the new & revised?
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb…..&y=22

hee hee. I love it when musicians infiltrate the sports, and vice versa!

they actually CAN get along quite nicely, eh? ;->

Okay, I hope you can see what is happening. If you need further instruction, I will be happy to provide it.

You’re probably correct. Big eye-opener for me was a Michael Lewis (”Liar’s Poker) interview not long ago wherein he told the story of students writing to him after the book came out asking how they too could break into Wall Street (6 figure incomes at that time).

He had thought the book would be a lesson in what not-to-do; the students were using it as a primer for how to get rich quick.

Some, but mostly a slushpumper with community groups.

The screen name is an homage to Peter Shickele…

I haven’t seen the “new and revised” version, I read the original book, which I got from my local library.

I had great friends in high school. Just the right people for me at the right time in my life. For example, it took one of them about 3 sentences to convince me to become an atheist. That happened, of course, because I was already internally ready and all he needed to do was say the words out loud. And that happened in so many other ways, that they shared my way of looking at the world and could and did articulate it. The anedote I mentioned is just the most dramatic.

The portrait of W is particularly striking with his silly grin. William Howard Taft hangs on the wall as well. But it is Clinton and the Bush senior which pains me as well. You may note that the tax exempt status of the Yale Club is in doubt because members complain they cannot get rooms on the weekends due to the plebian weddings which are booked into the Yale Club by non-members to generate revenue for the Club.

Am familiar with the feeling of being the only one who knows something. Was freaking out over the absence of WMDs in Iraq before the invasion. My friends thought I was nuts. The most informed & thoughtful told me that Scott Ritter was a pederast.

You, too? I had a literal screaming match with a Lieber-lover Democratic colleague in the run-up to the 2003 invasion. I’ve been too polite to stick it to him in the aftermath, though I don’t doubt he would have rubbed my nose in it had weapons been discovered. He just couldn’t get his brain around the fact that preventive war is not only morally wrong, it’s actually a war crime.

Hey doll, I am wrong, or is this person trying to get us to believe in something else?

I played JV basketball in HS, Adie. I had no chance of making the NBA … and less of winning one of the half-dozen jobs I wanted. Getting a wind, brass or percussion seat in a major is all about talent, connections and some luck (being in the right place at the right time.)

The wire choir is a different deal.

Once on vacation, I was pinned in a corner by a “born again”, to whom I stated that I’m an atheist.

“Really ?” came the shocked reply.

With a straight face, I said, “Swear to God !” and ran away while he tried to unwrap his mind …

Moral of the Story: Watching M*A*S*H was a true education.

to the lurking mod, If you don’t mind that we, as progressives look like a bunch of idiots due to Adie, god bless you. This person is bad news.

Heh. One of the reasons I found this place is that it includes people who see the same things I do.

As for your friend, I’d find a way of politely reminding him of your disagreement without rubbing it in. I think you can’t change his mind, but he should be made aware.

And the other party is in classic co-dependency and refuses to do anything that would upset the delicate balance of their relationship.

Bradford and Father Martin could do some serious help for the country by running a joint seminar in the capitol building.

Maybe the room they used for the Moon coronation is available.

Adie is an old friend at the Lake

“Belief” has zero to do with my life, but have to get into the weeds on it because it seems to be so important to other people who have power over us.

Am I the only one who finds something wrong with this headline … Obama taps Richardson … *g*

Good for you. I’ll try to remember that if I ever run into that situation.

Hey eCahn, what do you think the chances are we’ll be seeing the M3 numbers published by the Fed again?

I’m not with you on that one. It’s a common locution.

Just because someone is an old friend, doesn’t mean they have not become a problem. I say reread everything they have written.

I have to say, watching Colbert gives me tons of ammo to use against fundies and religious zealots …

If it was “…taps that Richardson” I’d buy it.

I don’t do money supply. During my career it was meaningless because the relationship between it and the economy changed so radically in the postwar period. Not saying it’s useless for all purposes, just that it did not fit into the job I was doing.

I know … as a youngster, my mind was warped with British humor, I see innuendos all the time …

Our kid had a terrific time with both music and sports in h.s. Good friendships, and a whole different sort of learning not found in books.
He had no chance to make anything from the sports other than having fun and honing teamwork skills. Music ongoing, and yes, the market there is miserable right now, as I imagine you must be aware. It takes patience and dedication. We’re proud of him, and his work seems very well received by others.

Job-skills aside, we’re blessed by having had two solid, compassionate citizens grow up in our house.

Best to you and yours.

I trust you exactly because you question us to do it. I trust your opinion exactly because that is what it always has been.

Thank you for that.

i have no idea….

Thanks. I just remember that when I saw how big it had grown before the numbers were kept secret bailout was written all over it. I thought it was gonna be the airlines right after the 2004 election.

I say take everything with a grain of Salt and above all, don’t take yourself too seriously.

I feel blessed to have such different opinions here … you cannot grow unless you are challenged with juxtapositions.

Yes..partially..on the White House page..sometimes they mention when he gets applause..

((( Adie )))

Thanks for responding. I figured they probably fixed him up. However, in the YouTube days he’s not safe.

I’m confident Rove is hard at work on that. /s

Lots of people buy their degrees. At least 10,000 gov’t, military, and education people.

http://www.spokesmanreview.com…..p?ID=15898

Good. I’m happy if Rove wastes his time on an impossible task.

Obama finally called on a Foxer at today’s presser.
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/…..-question/

Thanks.

And the point is to raise solid citizens. The economy will eventually straighten out, and we might even do some things that will speed up the recovery.

if you ever had any doubt, at all, about someone right wing having something on your words/language, I know who it is. If you think it isn’t possible or probable, God Help you. I would like to, help youl

I am forever amazed that these politicians don’t realize that fact. I swear to the bitter end that McCain never figure out that his words of wisdom are there for us to enjoy for all time!

He just never stopped saying,”I didn’t say that” and appeared to believe that he was getting away with it. Bush seems to be under the same delusion that you tube doesn’t exist.

There someone on cspan2 who worked on international trade under Clinton who is arguing that there’s nothing wrong with free trade except that people don’t like it. Now there’s an ideologue for you.

Musta been an architect of NAFTA …

You’d a thunk they’d a figgered it out after George Allen lost his election, huh?

Obviously. His stats were interesting though. Sez that free trade is more popular in Canada and Mexico (Pew polls) than in the U.S. He didn’t cite numbers so I don’t know how much more popular, but the Mexico thing surprised me. I guess all the Mexicans who don’t like Nafta are now illegal immigrants in the U.S. and so not available to the poll takers.

That was the most mystifying thing about the McCain campaign … they stuck to Rove’s playbook even when there was plain evidence it no longer worked …

The original FTA is popular in Canada. NAFTA … not so much … we’d prefer Fair Trade …

There’s a new post waaaaaaay upstairs…

After reading Think and Grow Rich, please e- mail me your thoughts.

Are you on Facebook ?

((( twolf1 )))

Maybe it’s time to move several flights upstairs.
http://firedoglake.com/2008/12…..the-press/

It won’t be for awhile. I let books pile up in my shopping cart then order a bunch. No, I’m not on facebook.

OK, my eeee mail is c42ch * hotmail*

NAFTA is not popular in Canada except with corporations and rich people. I remember how horrified Canadians were when jobs vanished to Mexico. Trust me..it is ongoing hatred of NAFTA everytime we see something that is stamped Made in Mexico. Not that we are too fond of the Made in China stamp, either.

If NAFTA and GMO seeds didn’t exist, then Mexicans would not have to work in America. GMO destroyed the farms of the poor just as they are now doing in India, Irag, etc…

Just because someone has been around for a along time doesn’t mean they are okay. doesn’t mean they aren’t from the other side.

This is the third year in a row that Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez has give free heating oil to Alaska villages.

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/604080.html

The Lake is a big place, there is room for a diversity of opinions. It seems like a previous misunderstanding may still be clouding the issue here and it would be best to let this one go.

Interesting that Chimpy can’t remember what day it is today much less anything about what happened over the last eight years…He’s making it all up as he limps along – just like the rest of his days….

As the worst president EVER, along with most of his bozo friends, become the new layer of scum on the new pond at chimpy’s pig farm, MAYBE just MAYBE a newer and reflective (introspection) group will have the chance to root out all the incidents of damage caused by these lunatics.

It’s going to be a tough job because the Rovian smear machine is everywhere and the roots run deep. MAYBE the notification of the political ambassadors around the world that they are all FIRED as of Jan. 20 2009 is encouraging news but let’s wait a bit longer to see if this is a trend not just a fluke..

Idea: Since it’s customary for ALL US attorneys to get replaced with the transition to a new president, let’s see some action there next…

The ‘other’ side?

The other ’side’?

‘The’ other side?

Oh my goodness!

You mean they are not ‘human’?

Thank you for warning us.

Are ‘they’ everywhere?

You say we can identify ‘them’ by their words?

Silly me, I thought that the language was being perverted for political reasons, you know where ‘clean’ means filthy and the use of nuance is clear, evident evidence of mental effeteness and patriotic sloth … (one just knows that such ‘persons’ do not wear their flag lapel pins properly).

Doubtless, I shall never again be able to view FDL with the same sense of trust and community as was once the case.

There ARE, afterall, many suspicious ‘persons’ here …

Seriously, thanks for the chuckle, sophiehunter.

;~D

I’m fine, thanks, and very appreciative of the pat on the shoulder.

I may double-lock the doors tonight. sigh.

I think I called myself a “compassionate heathen” on a few occasions, including just a few threads ago. Is that a crime? I don’t proselytize. At least I don’t mean to. Some people call everyone else in their realm a heathen, if they disagree in the slightest. I suggest anyone bothered by my presence in this forum simply don’t talk to me. Shun me if it seems appropriate. I’m a grownup.

I have laid claim to having done quite a number of things in my lifetime. A good description you might use will end in, “and master of none.” I have not lied about any of those experiences I have had. The music, the horse-training (yes, including dressage & winning in western pleasure dressed as an Indian, and no, I won’t part with the ribbon), the ethology, education & published work, the partly titanium knees, the stay-at-home gardening-mom, ad nauseum. All true.

I cannot fight against anyone who refuses to believe me. Good golly, even my pseudonym here is the same nickname I acquired at the ripe old age of 2 (two). I am what I am. I care about others. I hate fighting. I hate lying and do NOT indulge. I hate war, but weep for the warriors.
…
Dang. I’m shouting aren’t I. I do NOT want to be a focus of this website.
I just blew my privacy out the window without the protection of facebook. What else need I do?

Simple acknowledgment of my existence as a bonafide member of this community means a great deal to me. I need no more.

If my carrying on as I always have bothers anyone, I guess those so offended will have to figure some way to accommodate that annoyance as best they can.

No more need be said on this subject by you dear pups. I love this community of caring folks, the mental exercise, the learning experience, yes the friendship. I’m not going to leave. I cannot for the life of me think of any reason why I should do so.

there. another perfectly fine thread blown to smithereens for no good reason. i promise not to do it again.

With deep apologies to leaders, mods, and other Firepups. /rant

OH, youuuu, fella you!

Final confession for now: as a biologist, I consider myself an animal. *g*

Bush says that it was Wall Street, not Washington that made these decisions.

Looks like he was acknowledging the truth of the situation. Wall Street free market extremists dictated what policies Bush was to implement. Bush complied.

It’s what happens when the inmates take charge of the asylum.

Adie, you is one of da bestest!

You done merely (if unintentionally) provided ‘us’ an opportunity to learn.

As to your ‘rant’?

Let ‘er rip!

Seems ‘appropriate’ as well as ‘proper’, to this curmudgeon.

DW

Always hard to know how to respond to classic passive/aggressive tactics — or even what/who it is you’re responding to.

Enjoy reading you, as you express your unique personality through your writing in a most charming way.

We is all ‘animals’ (or, as my youngest used to put it, “am-in-als”) here, Adie.

;~D

Thank you much. You’re very kind.

I think we can all exist on the same planet, pretty much.

Jane has done something wonderful in creating this Lake community.

You’re RIGHT, Mayfly. The book by Greg Palast (The Best Democracy Money Can Buy) explains just how we got shackled with GWB in both 2000 and 2004. (Used at Amazon.com for less than $5.00.)

What I think will happen in FL: Martinez will step down, Crist will appoint Jeb to finish out the term. Jeb will run again 2010, then shoot for Repub candidate for pres 2012.

God Forbid!!! I hope I’m wrong.

Naw, he was blaming Clinton. He just can’t count. Gramm-Leach-Bliley repealing Glass-Steagall was in 1999 and the Commodities Futures Modernization Act (CFMA) was in 2000. As selise showed in her recent oxdown diary, although the Congress was controlled by the Republicans, these moves were pushed by both sides with no real objection or thought.

I read the timeline and almost all of the quotes. selise did a good job and picked some amazing quotes to tell the story. It’s hard to condemn those people when their own words tell the story.

I don’t know the contents of those deregulating laws and I wonder if the bad mortgage lending became possible because of those laws. Who wrote the law which allowed mortgages to be bundled and sold into the market as a mortgage-based collateralized debt obligation (CDO)? Which law allowed a mortgage to be split up and resold in a dozen CDOs? Who wrote the laws which bind mortgage servicers from reworking mortgages to fix them? Who specifically created the credit default swap, as opposed to other equity trade swaps?

selise did well, but there are a lot of details to this scam which make it work and make it nigh on impossible to undo. Enquiring minds want to know specifically who did each piece of this puzzle. If selise wants to measure up to emptywheel then there’s more work to be done.

It would all make a great scandal tell-all book, wouldn’t it?

I don’t know that Dubya is blaming his father. I think he is saying Wall Street more or less forced all kinds of politicians to deregulate and set up the dynamic which led to our recent disaster. He’s saying, “not me” AND “really nobody is to blame”.

But, when he refers to the “haves and have-mores” as his “base”, then I start thinking he means they’re his base, the base, his al qaeda.

Then when Al Qaeda says we’d better do what they want or they’ll kill our economy and stock market…and then the market crashes…and then AQ says they did it, despite the fact we have looked at it and can pinpoint precisely what caused it.

Well, all that makes me think Wall Street IS Al Qaeda and they’ve been blackmailing all politicians for over a decade to do what they want or else they’ll kill the economy. Zawahiri? Who knows, maybe they fund that organization and feed them lines to say.

But, now that the cat is out of the bag and we laugh at Zawahiri because we know it was changes to law instigated by Wall Street lobbyists, then what do we do? Obviously we fix the economy, but how do we provide proper justice to the guilty?

Does this mean we can connect the dots between Wall Street and AQ? At that point would AQ vanish into the mist as though they had never existed? bin Laden? Gone forever or was he just a hired hand who shaved his beard and melted back into the crowd of his home country?

I can’t help but think the recent attack in Mumbai is nothing more than a fancy distraction. Find the link between that and Wall Street, not Lashkar-e-taiba, and the whole charade vanishes. Pull back the curtain on those little men!

I think that what you’re missing in his statement is that he said the decisions made on Wall Street during the decade before he came to power. Maybe he’s not really blaming anyone, but is saying that a bad trend began on Wall Street began a decade ago. Has nothing to do with Clinton or his dad.

Just for the record, I have been pointing out Bush administration issues and inconsistencies since they started — both Bush presidents, all four terms. Now, while we are all bashing Bush and feeling superior a significant number of us are looking a bit silly. Not only is Jane unable to subtract 10 from 2008, so are a lot of us readers. Shame on us for taking the media’s word. (Bet they don’t have the honesty to post this response.) For once in his life, W is somewhat correct. No, Clinton is not responsible for our current economic mess! We consumers let ourselves be lead, now as a nation and as individuals we must learn to double check everyone’s facts and figures, especially when they have their hand in our pocket.

Well, looks like you got it through.
And welcome.

selise did well, but there are a lot of details to this scam which make it work and make it nigh on impossible to undo. Enquiring minds want to know specifically who did each piece of this puzzle. If selise wants to measure up to emptywheel then there’s more work to be done.

LOL! measuring up to emptywheel is probably the furthest thing from my mind. just trying to contribute a bit as i am able.

that said, i agree that there is a lot missing from the story. i hope to add a series of diaries (and add lots more to the timeline) – but only on the legislative history. so, i don’t think i will ever be able to give you what you are looking for… but hopefully i can a few pieces to the puzzle.

We consumers let ourselves be lead, now as a nation and as individuals we must learn to double check everyone’s facts and figures, especially when they have their hand in our pocket.

Please forgive, but I always resented use of the editorial “We”. Especially in cases such as that which you revive as retrospective evidence.

Maybe the Molly Ivins’ and Ann Richards’ et al were overshadowed and unfortunately ignored, but warnings were out and about for all to examine.

Negligence was surely exhibited by some, but not by all involved in leadership positions.

Thank you for your comments, notwithstanding my lingering resentment that more did not join in to put on the brakes before we reached the current circumstances which will bedevil us and our brethren for many years to come.

wow
{{{Adie}}}