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We remember Ike warned us about the dangers of the "military industrial complex" and how we’ve ignored the advice for nearly a half-century. After all, what the hell did he know about that stuff?
Farewell addresses have now become the norm. But not before a "live audience" of sycophants. Eisenhower spoke from the Oval Office and so have his successors like Reagan and Clinton. But not ol’ 43, he has to speak from the East Room, three-fourths filled with his remaining supporters, all 204 people out of nation of more than 300 million, and utter 15 consecutive minutes of laughable and tragic delusions.
Who else would ever do such a thing?
How fitting.
(video idea shamelessly lifted from Res Ipsa Loquitur)
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Good morning, Attaturk. Thanks for the post.
It was a pleasure to skip the goodbye from the
outgoing Presidentfucking fuck that destroyed the military, the economy, diplomacy, our global moral authority….you know, the country. I for one am thrilled his reign of terror and destruction is finally at an end.AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…
Citizen Attaturk and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:
It’s not only fitting but maybe a reflection of God’s sense of humor that the spopiled child of the oligarchy should be spoken of in the same breath as poor ol’ Tricky Dick Nixon…because, if you yougsters remember, the only reason Nixon ended up ridin’ the wingless rail out of town was because he was NOT a child of the priviledged class and actually was pretty smart and represented the interests of the poltroons better’n the old Chimpenfeuhrer ever did.
I’m beginnin’ to think that maybe the oligarchy’s direct rule is over for a generation er so because history will not be written by the corporate stenographers but by the living academics and children of the terror and crsis brought on by the rule of the priviledged class.
I sure hope Jeb of Florida dwecides to run in 2012…then we ken put the whole family out of it’s misery or at least share ours with them.
KEEP THE FAITH ANS PASS THE AMMUNITION, NO PROSECUTIONS-NO JUSTICE, NO JUSTICE-NO PEACE!!!
In but four days he will belong to history. And history has been waiting for him. Oh, yes.
Do you have the feeling that the monster is so large and out of control that nothing can stop the train wreck?
Sure we want to put those who got us here in the defense table to face the charges and have them pay a price for the hell they caused. But will it matter as the ship goes down?
My sense is that many realize that we can inflate more bubbles to keep the hull afloat and spend time and money constantly adding new inflation devices as the existing ones fail, but to fix it we need to toss out the baby with the bath water and no one seems to want to say we need a radical re do. Our banking system is a farce, The financial sector is nothing but a casino for those who have accumulated “wealth” which is nothing more than illusions – numbers on a page – certificates. A strange dance where wealth has become two things – consumer products and numbers on a statement.
Why do we need wealth? Why do we need growth? Why do we not bother to re think these assumptions the the face of how bad we have done with the old assumptions?
We don’t have a democracy of anything close to it? What is the evidence? That you get to vote once every two or four years?
Where do you see democracy in your life? In your workplace?
Wherever you look there is an oligarchy, a hierarchy of power and privilege. You are told that if you play by the rules you can get yourself some of the power and wealth. Those are the prizes.
We pay only lip service to democracy and human rights. When rights interfere with profits or the status quo they are swiftly set aside or even better ignored.
So many people buy the myths, play by the rules and so few manage to get the prizes. The rest get the shaft.
Nixon’s line: Give em the shaft.
We got it.
Being so near now to the end of this guy’s last day as American President it was an uneasy decision to sit in front of TV and give him another audition. Was really done with this guy several years back as is and this farewell address did not change anything.
Seeing that assembled group of dopes,dupes and dummies plus Cheney the Water Torturer and Condi the Israeli/AIPAC Water Carrier front and center only reminding one again why it was such a disappointment this bunch “won” the 2000 election or surely worse still the 2004 election as well. Sheesh.
Really–four years of this gang’s reign of error and misrule was already too much–so they got four more as well? For the love of the saints! Too bad Rummy,Wolfowitz,Feith and Gonzales were not seated in the front row as well just to complete the photo op feel of this gathering. Was Karl Rove in there somewhere too?
It was disconcerting seeing SOD Gates seated next to SOS Rice who both then stood there putting the hands together and judging from camera lens exchanging comments about how “good” the Shrub’s last throw out was.
I hope BO leaving Gates in charge of the Five Side Star Building will not prove a bad decision. Seeing Gates standing there next to Rice giving The Decider a round of applause was not comforting.
As for the fact,truth and history revision and distortion the Bush WH Ministry of Propaganda did not fail to provide another stellar collection of omissions,misdirects or just plain wrong/not true reads of history.
In particular when Shrub claimed Americans had done nothing in ME to bring what came on 9/11. Actually WashingtonDC and too many Americans have been mucking around and meddling in ME for several decades. OBL did not just fall out of nowhere with what drives him and AQ. Nor is the long running American tilt/slant in favor of Israel’s truly brutal occupation of Arab Palestine and too frequent run amok Israeli militarism forays(see Gaza today please or see Lebanon Summer 2006 please) not of consequence.
After about 13 minutes The Decider bid us farewell. Too bad it came four years already too late after 2004 election or indeed ever became possible for the first four years from 2001 to begin.
That President Gore ever got shoved aside by this bunch will remain a true American tragic outcome.
Enough of the damn Bush Clan in the WH.
The last(for now) of the USN high priced sitting duck target super sized aircraft carriers is now named for this clown prince’s father–G.H.W.Bush–I sure as hell hope G.W.Bush never gets an American Navy ship named after him.
Enough of the damn Bush Clan in the WH. It is just about over. Finally.
Morning All, My masochism led me to attempt to endure the morons bye bye speech. After it started I was so dumb struck by the imbecility. I could have sworn that he said that he has left the country cleaner. Was I just swept up in the delusion of the moment?
101 hrs & 36 min
Good morning, pups. It’s Bobo and Krugman again. Bobo is babbling about “An Economy of Faith and Trust,” and he gurgles that this crisis represents a flaw in the classical economic model and its belief in efficient markets. Prof. Krugman, who actually knows what he’s talking about, gives us “Forgive and Forget?” in which he says if we don’t have an inquest into what happened during the Bush years, this means that those who hold power are above the law and can abuse their power.
Here they are.
The coffee, tea and hot chocolate are ready, and I’ve got yeast waffles this morning, with Vermont maple syrup or honey butter. We’re in the freezer here (well, for us it’s freezing) with a temperature of 30° and a brisk breeze that makes it seem colder. Laughing warms me up, so I’m sharing this from World-O-Crap with you. It’s breaking news on some of W’s plans for 1/20/09. It made both me and Mr. Marion in Savannah howl. Have a great day.
i listened too. wasn’t struck dumb until the end. got my voice back now though.
love your count down timer… and am loving it even more the closer to 000 it gets.
morning marion, thanks for the goodies for mind and body.
i’ve never heard of yeast waffles, how are they made?
Jane’s going to be on Washington Journal this morning.
7:45-8:05 FRED BARNES Weekly Standard
Editor http://www.weeklystandard.com
Topic: Guest will offer a defense of the Bush presidency. He recently wrote a piece for the Weekly Standard talking about the achievements over the last eight years.
8:05-8:10 ED GILLESPIE
Remote Counselor to Pres. George W. Bush
Topic: Guest will discuss the presidency of George W. Bush & the policies implemented during his terms in office.
8:10-8:25 Newspaper Articles/Phones
8:25-8:40 BRUCE BARTLETT
Former Deputy Asst. Treasury Secretary
for Economic Policy, 1988-93
Topic: Guest advised both Presidents Reagan & George H.W. Bush on economic policy & will discuss how Pres. George W. Bush’s policies are a departure from traditional conservative ideals.
8:40-9:00 JANE HAMSHER
FireDogLake Blog
Founder http://www.firedoglake.com
Topic: A look at President George W. Bush from a long-time critic of the administration.
9:00-9:15 Newspaper Articles/Phones
9:15-9:45 CHRISTOPHER HILL
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian & Pacific Affairs http://www.state.gov
State Department
Topic: U.S.-Asia Relations, as well as six party talks successes and disappointments, the role of China & South Korea in the region, Americans position around the world and his future in the State Department under Pres.-elect Obama.
9:45-10:00 Newspaper Articles/Phones
it’s only 8 here, that’s cold.
It’s a recipe we found in the new Fannie Farmer Cookbook, called Raised Waffles. Here it is:
The mixing is done the night before, and all you have to do in the morning is add a couple of eggs and some baking soda. They’re crisp on the outside and delicate on the inside.
1/2 cup warm water
1 package dry yeast
2 cups warm milk
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/4 tsp baking soda
Use a rather large mixing bowl — the batter will rise to double its volume. Put the water in the mixing bowl and sprinkle in the yeast. Let stand and dissolve for 5 minutes. Add the milk, butter, salt, sugar and flour to the yeast mixture and beat until smooth and blended. (We use a hand mixer to get rid of lumps.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand overnight at room temperature. Just before cooking the waffles beat in the eggs, add the baking soda, and stir until well mixed. The batter will be very thin. Pour about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of batter into a very hot waffle iron. Bake the waffles until they are golden and crisp. The batter will keep well for several days in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!
12 here. But we’re going for a balmy high of 26.
Woo Hooo Jane on WJ. Great way to celebrate getting down to double digits on the count down!
101 hrs & 3 min
In one hour and 3 minutes, it will be under 100 hours! What a milestone! It’s 12 degrees in my part of GA and I don’t plan on going out until the sun rises. brrr.
From the ridiculous to the sublime… watching Chimpy’s faux-saintly thirteen-minute Song of Himself, followed abruptly on MSNBC by coverage of the miraculous landing of US Airway’s Capt. Sullenberg in the Hudson River, with nobody killed and few injuries. The captain was the last person off the plane, walking the aisle twice to make sure everybody got out. all 155 of them.
As far as ironic juxtapositions go, I can’t think of anything in my lifetime to beat it. And you?
thank you! i will make a note of it to try sometime.
Yeah well it is minus 5 here so you are in a positive heat wave.
Lucky you! Same temp here in D.C., and I have to drive my a.m. carpool of sullen adolescents…
7:59 EST
They cancelled a few of the schools north of me. lol Don’t tell your adolescents.
That sounds downright snuggly warm.
From the top of the Post:
Be afraid, very afraid.
It is warm 22.5 here forecast to hit 54 today. Snow is almost all gone. My son got word yesterday that he is being transfered from FL panhandle to Minot ND. They are excited to be leaving the humidity and heat.
100 hrs & 53 min
Minus 12 in Des Moines.
I can only imagine how bad it is in Minnesota.
Did anyone watch Bush’s farewell address? I made some tea, listened to music and read.
I just checked, -40 (air temp), THAT’S RIGHT MINUS 4-FUCKING-ZER0! In International Falls, MN.
Obama gets the helm of a nation and an economy which is heading to the bottom and he won’t be able to stop it. But he’ll get the honor of being at the gone when we slip under the waves for good. And he’ll probably be blamed for it too.
During the debate, Obama spoke about the entitlements needing reform. He said that one solution might be to take off the cap on those earning over 200,000. (I think that it was 200,000)
brrrrr
my dad, worked for a couple of years in the 50’s on the dew (defense early warning) line in canada and he used to tell me stories of water freezing before it hit the ground when it was colder than -40F. don’t know if any of the stories were actually true, but shit that is cold.
incompatible with life
That is a good thing when it comes to bugs.
100 hrs & 40 min
And how cold was it? Boiling water froze so fast that the ice was still warm. That’s how cold.
LOL. i may be gullible, but not that gullible.
When you make “Urinecicles”, THAT’S COLD!
Once when living in Chicago the temp hit -31 degrees, actual temp, not wind chill. Bundled up and went out for a walk to see what it was like. Very cold!
When Nixon left office, we were still ‘America’. If anything, exactly as we should be because a bad president was impeached (the system worked). Nothing he did diminished who we were as a country. Not so with Bush. And some of the blame goes to Congress because Bush should have been impeached years ago. The system didn’t work and Bush destroyed the U.S. of A.
I wouldn’t have a problem with that,
but there is no way the “reforms” will end there.
SS is currently solvant for the next 40 years.
Obama and the Dems need to focus their energy elsewhere.
Medicare is a more pressing problem,
but the middle of a can’t-say-it-but-it-begins-with D. is not
the time to be playing around with it, and playing
into the Republic’s hands.
Let’s face it, technically Soc Sec is funded but it is not in a lock box. Therefore, it has been raided like everything else. Hopefully, the other reforms have to do with medicare. If Obama actually lowered the retirement age, it would creat jobs. Maybe I should say free up extra jobs.
Twenty minutes is an awful short time…..especially if she has to take questions from some of the raving idjits who’ve been calling in already and it looks like she’s already outweighed time-wise against the other *guests* who’ll probably support him. :-( But if anybody can beat those odds, Jane can. :-) And thank Dog that odious greta isn’t moderating today.
As long as the current Republican Party exists along with their sycophants and co-conspirators in the corporate media, the U.S. will never be able to dig itself out the hole slavish adherence to conservative ideology has brought. Unless the Obama administration holds these criminals, on all fronts, acccountable the most he can hope for is to just bail water to keep the ship of state barely afloat. Without accountability the dye will have been cast and it’s only a matter of time before the once luxurious liner slips under the waves.
That is soooo old fashioned we are now “The Homeland”.
Re fuckin with Soc Sec. Lift the damn cap limit on payments which is, I believe, at 90$k right now and there will be enough money to reduce the overall payment.
That video of the sex pistols guy was worth getting up for! And an absolutely PERFECT synopsis in “song” for Bush. I downloaded it and sent it around. FAB!
And raise the benefit accordingly? Will that work if the benefit is also raised?
So what is temp. in your neck of the woods?
Fred Barnes
:0===|
After Holder’s testimony, I’d be surprised if Bush didn’t issue a wide range of pardons. Of course, knowing Bush and is cronies, he could already have a Supreme Court that would say if the President did it, it’s legal.
Was anyone here impressed by Holder? Did he inspire confidence? Did he seem to be ‘the best and the brightest’? Me…not so much.
Swim’s up
No, and to the horror of my fellow progressives, I do think that there should be a means test. My brothers mother in law received two state pensions and still cashed her late husbands Soc. SEc. cheque. Her two state pensions , back in the ’70s totaled in excess of $4k and they came with free health care and she had no mortgage a home worthy of a millionaire and a stash of money that put all her grandchildren through college and gave them a pile of dough to start out on life. She should not have taken Soc Sec as she never worked a bloody day in her life and absolutely did not need the money.
It’s a balmy 22. Supposed to get up to about 50 today. I think it’s freezing, but my blood has thinned since I moved out here!
Too dry where I am. we’re gonna blow away this spring….if Bush hasn’t stolen that too!
I had a friend who was the majority stock holder in Lee jeans and she cashed HER SS check too. I think that is so totally gauche! I loved her tho, in spite of it. At least she was a damn good teacher and didn’t sit around on her butt by a pool. Left me a nice inheritance too…………….!
Or as Trotsky put it, ‘You may not be interested in history, but history is interested in you.’
It’s minus 27 C here in Montreal. I took our little dog out this morning for a walk and he broke.
rofl!!!
perfect video for this auspicious event
Wish to disagree with your means testing, the SS contract was designed to avoid that trap. How are you going to get anyone to agree to pay for insurance if they are to understand that no insurance will be paid in the event they are successful or fortunate in life. All will believe they will be successful, therefore not pay into the insurance.
Your brothers mother-in-law should be the example of what should be the goal, it is the kind of wealth that builds, not destroys. Imagine, all the grandchildren given the very tools with which to make themselves successful. This is akin to teaching another to fish, not just giving them a fish. This could not have happened had she been reduced to a hand to mouth state of existence. This was what once those retirement plans were designed to produce. I really think you owe a reconsideration for what your brother’s mother-in-law did for her family, and maybe a reassessment of what rich and what wealthy really are. This incidentally is the kind of rich or wealth that is going to protect those of the EU against the worst ravages of the coming economic collapse, there is a stored economic utility which to fall back on in hard times, “fat” if you will. Those there are so economically reduced by their own and the countries debts, there is only “lean” to tide yourselves over.
Am nearly out of these pages and not planning to return. I hope you find this EPU. All the best….
Nixon did it too! That’s priceless.
The irony, I suppose, is that Bush majored in History at Yale.