Commentary Archives: Page 3 - these are in descending order...newest to oldest....
3/14/02 - Pickering Debate: A Study in GOP Hypocrisy-turned-Artform
*****UPDATE PICKELING*****
The GOP Senators are continuing to spin and lie their collective asses off while trying to defend Chuckie. How do you defend mediocrity and mendacity? Easy, if you're a GOP Shiite.
Stay Tuned.......
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*****YAHOO!!!!******
GOP bites the Big One. Democrats Have Balls. Lott sobs in the Senate. The Moron is 'hot'. Who cares?
I love this. Payback is a bitch, and the GOP got it back in spades today as they so richly deserved. And as long as the Dems have balls, the Brownshirts will be eating dirt in the foreseeable future.
I loved when Lott was whining and repeating the Moron's charges that the Dems have all of sudden created a 'Vacancy Crisis'. Oh really? Gosh, if there were so many seats to be filled how was that? Clinton sent nominees for every vacancy. Gee, could it be Satan?
Haha...there is a 'Vacancy Crisis' because of the GOP brownshirts tried to destroy Clinton and embarrass him by putting anonymous holds on his nominees; by never bringing certain nominees up for even a hearing; by character assassination; and by a brazen willingness to deliberately keep seats vacant so that when their guy got in, they could steamroller his right Wing nutcases into life-time terms.
So, I place the blame totally on the shoulders of the Brownshirts. Cry me a river, you scum.
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*****THOUGHTS DURING THE HEARING*****
Oh this is rich! Hearing Orrin Hatch whine about the 'smearing' of Trent Lott's homey, Chuck Pickering, is hilarious as well as bewildering. Hilarious in that when Hatch was Chairman of the Senate Judiciary, he presided over the worst politicalization of judicial nominees in history. Bewildering in that he seems to really believe his own sewage.
Hatch and his cohorts, including our esteemed AG, Mr. AssKKKroft, delayed, smeared, destroyed and humiliated over 30% of Clinton's judicial nominees.
Yes, folks, the Shiite GOP stonewalled and frustrated Clinton at every step. And was it based on principle? NO WAY! Clinton managed to nominate judges who were centrists, not the radicals the GOP, Hatch, AssKKKroft, Kyl, and others smeared them as such. But the GOP Brownshirts were determined to undermine Clinton at every step.
[Does anyone share my outrage over the GOP's tactics in trying to destroy a good President and keep him from doing his job?]
It was so bad that even a fascist like Rehnquist was annoyed with the Senate Republicans and said so publicly and often.
May I remind you all of AssKKKroft's character assassination of Missouri Supreme Court justice, Ronnie White when Clinton nominated White to the Federal Circuit Court? It was ugly! And the GOP slime in the Senate backed AssKKKroft so much that they rewarded him with the Attorney Generalship after he rightly lost to a dead guy.
But to hear the GOP weep, wail and gnash their teeth, you'd think that only the dreaded Left and Liberals work to derail judicial nominations. And, especially with a bogus 'War' on, the GOP raises the issue of Patriotism and Loyalty to the Moron as reasons for granting him a blank check in getting his way.
Waaaaaaaaahhhh! The spoiled Moron isn't going to get his way today.
Good!
And Trent Lott is going to have major egg on his face..and he'll be so maaaaaad that it'll be over easy in just a few seconds.
I give the Dems credit for having the unity and the balls to finally stand up to the shrill and hypocritical GOP jerkoffs who would have us believe that they, and they alone, were the only ones who ever opposed nominees on a morally principled basis.
What a joke! Do you think they really believe their own bullshit?
Maybe they're so pathological that they live in the Denial Zone. Or maybe they just think Americans and the Media are so stupid that we won't remember their horrific actions in destroying the lives and reputations of many, many good, decent and learned men and women that Clinton nominated.
Most likely, it's both.
I like payback. I love it when my guys stick it the GOP. Remember....like Carville has said, "How can American's trust the Democrats to defend the country when they won't even defend themselves?"
Enjoy the Roast..and enjoy the squirming entrails of Orrin and the GOP'rs. Today is a very good day!
Take care...Bob
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And for those of you who are sick to death of Dan Burton and his Jihad against Bill Clinton, please Click Here to read an archival column by Smokin' Joe Conason that details the awful and disgusting pardons George Bush I doled out after he was defeated by Clinton in 1992. It's enough to make you vomit.
But with the Moron in full retreat over the INS outrage (you know, re-upping the visas for 2 of the 9/11 murderers) it's nice to see how he, his thugs and the Media Toadies are treating this latest embarrassment. Am I wrong, or does the Moron continue to tout his MORALITY and INTEGIRTY and WILLINGNESS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY?
Then why has he yet to take any responsibility for the yawning shortcomings of his Administration? Why does he, coward that he is, continue to smear Clinton via his minions?
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Hero of the Week!
Yes, folks, it's Alec Baldwin again. He blasted the crap out of the Moron and his evil brother, Jebbie earlier this week. When attacked by the FL GOP, he laughed them off and said he would have left the country IF THE MORON HAD BEEN ELECTED. Seeing that the Moron was appointed, there's no reason for Alec to leave. Hell, we need him on the front lines bringing the fascist actions and secrecy and totalitarian tendencies of the group of traitors to the fore.
But, as is normal with the GOP brownshirts, rather than respond to the comments and statements and questions raised by Alec, Daschle, Byrd and Kerry, (because they can't) they vicously attack and smear the character of those asking the questions. The GOP brownshirts attack the patriotism and loyalty of those asking the questions rather than responding, because THEY CAN'T RESPOND!
Only recently are Dems and those of us who despise the Moron and his gang and who haven't been all that happy with the Dems in their bunnypants, beginning to show some backbone. How refeshing. I'd hate to see a Reagan Redux when the Dems just sat and took the abuse of the GOP without ever responding. How nice to see some payback.
I love it. Hope it continues.
Take care....Bob
3/11&12/02 - 6 Months & Counting - The Church of the Holy Pedophile - Bunnypants Dems
It's been six months since the WTC horrors. Every time I see footage of the jet crashing into the Tower and then the subsequent collapse of both massifs, my heart aches. It is a sorrow that I'll have with me for the rest of my life.
And there's the anger I'll have as well at the scum who did this.
They killed innocent people for some bullshit cause that has no reason or logic.
And, worst of all, they catapulted a dipshit into the role of a war leader.
But, they did manage to get rid of Barbara Olson. It just shows that it's an ill wind that doesn't blow someone some good.
While sad about 9/11, I still remember that the opening graphic of AWE is still true. Some things didn't change on 9/11. The Moron still stole the election; and his Thugs are still stealing America.
So, there you have it. The media whores are trumpeting 9/11 as the day that changed us forever.
How? Really, I mean how? Of course the Moron has been built up to superman dimensions. But his thugs are still pushing their fascist Right Wing agenda on the HomeFront under the guise of Homeland Security. Hell, why not cut to the chase and just call it 'Fatherland Security'?
After all, no one cares about Enron and the corruption of the Moron and his thugs. The GOP continues to rape America and blame Clinton for all that's wrong. That's rich. For a band of clowns who so loudly trumpet their morals and patriotism, when you scratch the surface, you find they have little of either.
But the Media Whores play on.
Talking about whores, here's what $70,000,000 could have bought US instead of trying to destroy a duly elected President over a hummer in the Oval Office:
Did we need this?
Enough already: A decade of allegations, special prosecutors and a blue dress was a decade too many.
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Originally published March 9, 2002What we could have done with $70 million:
* Hire 1,400 teachers for a year.
* Send 120,000 tons of food to Afghanistan.
* Give a dollar to every hungry person in the Horn of Africa.
* Compensate American farmers for the livestock they lose every year to coyotes.
* Buy 134,000 tons of imported black plate steel. (Tariffs not included.)
* Reconstruct the rail line from Samarkand to Bukhara along the route of Uzbekistan's fabled silk road.
* Provide early intervention for 24,000 young disabled children.
* Pay off Albert Belle's contract with the Orioles.
* Send 2,300 students to Ivy League colleges for a year.
* Purchase and renovate 48 houses for university presidents, just as nice as Towson's.* Show support for New York by buying a million tickets to Broadway shows. (Except The Producers, which is sold out until August.)
* Pay the difference in cost between building a ship in a U.S. yard and building one abroad.
* Overhaul 700 Chesapeake Bay skipjacks - if only there were that many.
* Pick up the tab for the Winter Paralympics.
* Remake Gone With the Wind, in today's dollars.
* Triple CBS' offer to David Letterman, thus saving Nightline.
* Give every American a 25-cent tax rebate.Any one of those would have been a better idea than this:
* Spend 10 years on an investigation into a $203,000 land deal that went sour; and when that investigation doesn't turn up much of anything, somehow redirect it into an obsessive effort to entrap the president of the United States in a lie over an affair.
"Well, I could have put him in prison if I'd wanted to," was what the current special prosecutor was saying this week, as he wrapped up the whole thing and prepared to close the case.
"What was that all about?" asked the rest of us.
Copyright © 2002, The Baltimore Sun
And Bobbie Ray Felon is probably going to run for senate in New Jersey. Trying to parlay that Clinton hatred into personal gain. Now, I ask you, who is the REAL WHORE?
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The Catholic Church, Pedophile Priests & Cover-Ups.....
Welcome to the Church of the Sacred Pedophile; Our Lady of the Cover-Up; Saint Molestatia, etc, etc.
What the priests did and how the Church hierarchy covered it up is one of the biggest scandals and shame in the Church's history.
I can't believe that the secular powers in Boston, for example, not only refuse to call for Cardinal Law's resignation, but are vigorously raising money to defend the Church and keep him in 'office'. The fact that the Vatican has kept largely quiet is disgusting.
Are the Church and Bernie Law taking their cues from the hypocritical GOP?
Bernard Law MUST GO! Hell, we impeached a Prez for consensual sex. How come no one is pursuing Law and his buddies in other cities for at the very least, obstruction of Justice? Eh????
WHAT AN INSULT!
WHAT AN OUTRAGE!!!
Priests, the folks who played football with you on Saturdays; the guys who listened to your problems at any age; the guys who heard your confessions on Saturdays and administered Communion on Sundays....the men we trusted are also the men who raped, terrified and abused our trust.
They molested young boys.
They abused their trust and age.
They are scum with no redeeming social value whatsoever and should be banished from the Church and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
And those in the Catholic hierachy, whether Cardinals or Bishops, ought to be brought to justice for their part in obstruction of Justice. Period. No discussion. Bernie Law, the archconservative who brought the Church into GOP politics, should be defrocked for his criminal behavior in covering up and buying off the victims of his charges' rapes and assaults.
And why is there little outrage?
Because the Right Wing defends its own. What is it this time for Bernie Law? These cases of pedolphilia were somehow youthful indescretions?
WHAT AN INSULT!
I was molested as a boy of around 5 or 6 (I don't remember) by a neighbor's teenage son. I'm just now coming to terms with it.
I remember the shame and the terror when I was threatened by this boy if I told. I remember how I couldn't face anyone. Trust of others became impossible for me. So I have great empathy for those who were abused by so many priests.
And it's a continuation of the abuse that Law doesn't resign and still puts the Church and its pedophile priests over the interests of the children. Once again, we see that money and right wings hypocrisy will spend and spin to overcome the most egregious sins of its brotherhood.
A pox on all their houses.
And they got Clinton on a consensual blow job. When you hear the Right wail about values etc., I hope you bring your barf bag.
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A Final Word About the Limpdick Democrats...
How are these clowns ever going to win anything other than dogcather in Debuque? Whne Daschle was first smeared by the Taliban GOP who compared him to Saddam Hussein, NOT ONE DEMOCRAT...NOT ONE!...TOO TO THE WELL OF EITHER THE HOUSE OF THE SENTATE TO CONDEMN THE VILE TACTICS OF THE GOP.
When the GOP came out and damned near called Daschle a traitor for have the audacity to ask some obvious questions about the end game of the Moron's War, NOT ONE DEMOCRAT STEPPED INTO THE WELL OF THE SENATE TO BLAST THE SHIT OUT OF TRENT LOTT...NOT ONE!
When the NRA came out and supported Virginia's GOP candidate for governor over the Democrat WHO HAD A 100% PRO NRA RATING, not one Democrat questioned the NRA's supposed 'neutrality' in elections or defended the Democrat who eventually won the election in a landslide.
According to James Carville in an interview with Salon.com, the Democrats are so scared of losing their advantage in the Senate and so scared of winning back the House, they are paralyzed. Everytim some DC doyen chides the Dems for one reason or another, the Dems quake in their collective bunnypants.
Voters can rightly ask if they can't defend themselves or their ideas, how the hell can the Dems defends the country?
Good question. And one that the Dem leadership is ignoring at its peril.
There are some good signs, though. John Kerry fought back against the GOP chickenhawks and kicked their collective asses.
This is good, but it's only one guy one time. Every time an GOP bully-boy smears a Democrat, there should be a designated ass-kicker who takes to the floor of the Senate and House and pummels the GOP in the harshest manner possible.
Maybe then, Americans might see the Dems as a party of backbone. Remember, if Clinton were a GOP'r and had been ruined by the Dems, he would already be on the way back to respectabilty and honor among the GOP.
The Dems have cast him aside and he was the last fighter. Look what he accomplished. And look what more he could have done had the Dems really backed him after the Senate Trial instead of running away from him.
I cannot respect a party that is always on the run. I despise the Taliban GOP. I've become an Independent and left the Democrats because I cannot stand their insular arrogance and unbelievable stupidity.
If wishes were horses.....let the Dems get their act together on the gun issue; let them be strong and stand up for the rights of all Americans; give them some backbone to start fights instead of running from them. Can't they see that's really what that 30% "Middle" wants to see in them?
But, I'm pissing into the wind here.
Take care....Bob
3/9/02 - The Moron Weeps? Give Me a Break! And, Let's Spy on our Neighbors!
Okay. Let me get this straight. Clinton weeps and he's ridiculed and pilloried by the Shiite GOP and the Brown Shirt Media. The Moron weeps (I'm sure it was a mild saline solution that helped) and he's showing compassion and great leadership.
What crap! WHAT AN INSULT! Again, do these jerkoffs really expect us to forget how they treated Clinton, the last elected and Great President?
And puhleeeeeeze, spare me the BS about the Moron as a caring leader who just hates sending young men into battle.
Really! Where was he? Do you really think this cowardly draft dodger gives a rat's ass about our soldiers? NO WAY! WHAT AN INSULT!
And why oh why do the Media parade this asshole on every single day? WHAT AN INSULT!
And why oh why do the Media cover that lying anti-semitic creep, Donald Duck Rummy every goddamned day? Does anyone actually believe anything he's saying?
WHAT AN INSULT!
And please, does anyone else see the frightening comparisons to the early rah-rah coverage of Vietnam 40 years ago? We're getting prime-time briefings; body counts; no admission of any mistakes, blah blah blah. It's the dreaded "Five O'Clock Follies" all over again.
Is America just constitutionally incapable of introspection or even the ability to learn from history?
I know we've got to protect ourselves. But we are now becoming the Colossus of the World. I don't care how pure our motivations or how justified our early actions, we are on a collision course with History.
Please, don't give me any crap about moral equivalency for what I'm about to say. Do you think that just for a moment we are so blinded by our moral righteousness that we can't see ourselves as others may see us? Do you think the Commies or the Nazis ever cared what others thought about them and their agenda? Sure, we don't want world domination, but in a sense, we do. We are fast becoming bullies because we can.
And that's not reason enough for us to pursue a permanent and ever widening war. We're going into the Phillippines; into Somalia; Yemen; Georgia; Sudan; Iraq. What does that say about our hubris?
Do we give any thought to how others might perceive us?
No way. We're right and just and God is on OUR side, goddammit!
Oh really? Then why has the Moron upped the Nuclear War ante by having very real contingency plans to be the first to make use of either strategic nuclear weapons (IBM's) or battlefield tactical nukes? We've even listed those against whom we'll make first use of IBM's...China, Russia (I thought they were our friends), North Korea, Iran, Iraq and whomever else the Moron and his Brownshirts don't like.
Do you think that maybe China or Russia will take offense at this plan? Do you think that maybe they'll ramp up their own nuclear weapons' development? Hmmmmmmm?
Does anyone in this Administration ever take the time to think through the consequences of their idiotic macho bullshit?
OBVIOUSLY NOT!
JEEEEZUS! What the hell has happened to any sense of National Sanity?
And the Dems put their feet in the water and then run away at the first sign of intimidation by the GOP and Right Wing Bully Boys. No wonder they can barely hold onto their members in the Senate.
And if that's not enough to rattle your cage, how about this? John AssKKKroft is now transforming national Neighborhood Watch Programs into Neighborhood Spy-On-Your-Neignbor Programs. Reminds me of the KGB's use of the little old ladies on stools in front of apartment buildings watching and reporting 'suspicious' behavior about thier neighbors.
Most of those folks were shot or disappeared into the infamous Siberian gulags. Just read Alexander Solsenhitzen(?) for a terrifying commentary on how that system worked.
But of course, we're Americans and we would never ever screw with neighbors we didn't like, now would we? Nah. We're all just God-Fearing Christians with no ax to grind. We just want to be safe.
What utter bullshit! WHAT AN INSULT!
And where is the outrage over this?
NOWHERE!!! It would be funny if it weren't so scary to see the GOP and their toadies in the Media and Hate Talk Radio froth at the mouth about the need for National ID cards; microchip ID implants; spying on your neighbor; continuous surveillance on our city streets; no dissent; no questioning of the Moron's corruption and secrecy; no questioning of the Moron's past drug abuse, forcing women to have illegal abortions, draft-dodging, cowardice and lies.
And remember these are theclowns who've been berating 'Liberals' for the last 20 years for imposing a burdensome government on us. Oh yes, that's just the damned hypocristy of the Shiite GOP and Hate Talk Radio. Get 'gummint' off the bcks of business, but ramp it up when comes to our privacy and personal lives. We must keep our guns but prevent women from having the right to do with their bodies as they will.
Can anyone say Andrea Yates?
The result is that America will be outraged when someone out there takes umbrage at not only our arrogance, but the very real threat we may be posing for the stability of the entire world.
Bill Clinton! Come back!!!!!!!
Take care...and stock up on guns and ammo while you still can. You heard it here first...the threat to our America will come from the Right and the Shiite GOP and their desire for total control of our lives. Count on it.
Bob
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Here's a reminder of just who in Washington has served America with Honor...and who didn't:
Who served in the military? from AWOLBush.com
Prominent Democrats
* House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt - Served his country in uniform, 1965-71
* House Minority Whip David Bonior - Served his country in uniform, 1968-72
* Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle - Served his country in uniform, 1969-72
* Former Vice President Al Gore - Served his country in uniform, 1969-71; recipient of Vietnam Service Medal* Bob Kerrey... Democrat... Congressional Medal of Honor, Vietnam
* Daniel Inouye... Democrat... Congressional Medal of Honor, World War Two
* John Kerry... Democrat...Silver Star & Bronze Star, Vietnam
* Charles Rangel...Democrat... Bronze Star, Korea
* Max Cleland... Democrat... Silver Star & Bronze Star, Vietnam
* Howell Heflin... Democrat... Silver Star* Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) - U.S. Army, 1951-1953.
* Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) - U.S. Navy, 1962-67; Naval Reserve, 1968-74.
* Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA) - two tours in Vietnam, two Distinguished Flying Crosses as a helicopter pilot, two Bronze Stars, and the Soldier's Medal.
* Ambassador "Pete" Peterson, Air Force Captain, POW, Democratic congressman, Ambassador to Viet Nam, and recipient of the Purple Heart, the Silver Star and the Legion of Merit
* Rep. Mike Thompson, D-CA: served in combat with the U.S. Army as a staff sergeant/platoon leader with the 173rd Airborne Brigade; was wounded and received a Purple Heart.
Prominent Republicans (This is tooooo rich!-Bob)
* Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert - avoided the draft, did not serve.
* Majority Leader Dick Armey- avoided the draft, did not serve.
* Majority Whip Tom Delay - avoided the draft, did not serve.
* Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott - avoided the draft, did not serve.* GW Bush - decided that a six-year Nat'l Guard commitment really means four years. Still says that he's "been to war." Huh?
* VP Cheney - several deferments, the last by marriage (in his own words, "had other priorities than military service")
* Att'y Gen. John Ashcroft - sought deferment to teach business ed at SW Missouri State And They Call Him General* Karl Rove - avoided the draft, did not serve, too much of a Republican.
* Former Speaker Newt Gingrich - avoided the draft, did not serve
* Former President Ronald Reagan - served in a noncombat role. He later seems to have confused his role as an actor playing a tail gunner with the real thing.
* "B-1" Bob Dornan - avoided Korean War combat duty by enrolling in college acting classes (Orange County Register article)
* Phil Gramm - avoided the draft, did not serve, four (?) student deferments* Senator John McCain - McCain's naval honors include the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. Why did the Bush campaign smear him so?
* Former Senator Bob Dole - an honorable man.
* Chuck Hagel - two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star, Vietnam. h
* Duke Cunningham - nominated for the Medal of Honor, received the Navy Cross, two Silver Stars, fifteen Air Medals, the Purple Heart, and several other decorations
3/7/02 - The Moron Waves at Stevie Wonder! The GOP Bully-Boy Brigade; Asskkroft
*****ALERT*****
AS SOON AS I GET MY COPY OF DAVID BROCK'S FINE NEW BOOK, "BLINDED BY THE RIGHT" I'LL READ AND REVIEW IMMEDIATELY!
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****And now...our pathetic First Moron****
Can you believe the Moron actually was frantically waving at Stevie Wonder last night to get his attention? Stevie Wonder, in case you've been living in a cave for the last 30 years, IS BLIND!
Ah, will we ever survive this frat-boy asshole?
And speaking of frat-boy, I'm looking forward to Alexandra Pelosi's documentary of the Moron in free fall while on the campaign trail. Oh sure, the GOP clowns from the 'Heartland' will approve of his antics. They'll say he needs to let off steam. Blah blah blah...
And yet, notice that in damned near every frame when the Moron's talking one-on-one with Ms. Pelosi, the plump presence of KKKaren Hughes is ALWAYS THERE to make sure he doesn't say something stupid when he tries to talk off the cuff? [That's 'extemporaneously' for you and me.]
I'll bet KKKaren and KKKarl have the Moron's testicles wired for small jolts when he strays from his script. Now that would be news, don't you think?
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Here's a piece from Spinsanity.org on the GOP Bully-Boys and their rabid and shameful attacks on real American Heroes like Daschle and Kerry:
Bully brigade
Limbaugh, Novak and Hannity smack down dissenters: Dare to disagree? You're helping the enemy!
By Brendan Nyhan (brendan@spinsanity.org)
March 4, 2002No one should be surprised by last week's attacks on the legitimacy of criticizing the war on terrorism. Since Sept. 11, pundits and government officials have repeatedly attempted to suppress dissent by arguing it helps the enemy. While the attacks on Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and other Democrats were widely repudiated over the weekend, efforts to stifle open political debate continue and may even grow, following a U.S.-led attack in Afghanistan that left at least nine Americans dead Monday.
Last Thursday, Daschle suggested that while the war on terrorism has been very successful thus far, further success "is still somewhat in doubt" and will be measured in part by whether the United States captures Osama bin Laden and Mullah Mohammed Omar. This prompted a firestorm of criticism from Republicans attacking the legitimacy of Daschle's statement rather than the issues he raised. Most notably, Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., issued a "Red Alert" press bulletin, stating "How dare Senator Daschle criticize President Bush while we are fighting our war on terrorism, especially when we have troops in the field," and Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., said Daschle's "divisive comments have the effect of giving aid and comfort to our enemies by allowing them to exploit divisions in our country."
Pundits from across the political spectrum condemned these attacks and defended Daschle's right to question the conduct of the war this weekend. On CNN's "Novak, Hunt & Shields," Secretary of State Colin Powell said, "They're raising questions. And I think that's what a loyal opposition does." In addition, the Washington Post fiercely condemned Lott, saying the United States "would be a weaker country if Sen. Lott succeeded in choking off debate."
Still, Lott was unbowed, saying on NBC's "Meet the Press" that "any sign that we are losing that unity, or crack in that support, will be, I think, used against us overseas." Lott also refused to disavow Davis' comments, saying he "wouldn't put it the way" Davis did but "we all have to speak our own mind."
This episode is actually only the latest in a string of attacks on dissenters since the war on terrorism began. The only thing different about the situation now is that politicians and pundits are finally starting to seriously defend critics' rights to make their remarks.
Immediately after Sept. 11, Andrew Sullivan suggested that leftists would "mount what amounts to a fifth column" and later attacked the putative "fifth column" as "the enemy within the West itself." Like Lott, Sullivan suggested that opposing or questioning the war aids terrorists, though he later disavowed "the shorthand of 'fifth column.'" Michael Kelly adopted a similar argument from George Orwell's writings during World War II, arguing that American pacifists "are on the side of future mass murders of Americans" and are "objectively pro-terrorist." Both arguments depend on nonrational reasoning that equates opposition to a preferred policy with an endorsement of an enemy's objectives.
The most infamous example of this kind of rhetoric, however, came in December, when Attorney General John Ashcroft bullied his critics into silence during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing:
"We need honest, reasoned debate; not fear mongering. To those who pit Americans against immigrants, and citizens against noncitizens; to those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty; my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists -- for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies and pause to America's friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in the face of evil."
Ashcroft was condemned fairly widely in the press, but he was able to shut down most direct congressional criticism of the administration's plans for military tribunals and its detentions of suspected terrorists.
Things have been quieter this year because criticism of the war from the left has largely subsided, but any serious challenge to the administration's war policies is still met with disturbingly irrational rhetoric. Last month, syndicated pundit Oliver North and radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh smeared Daschle for briefly questioning Bush's "axis of evil" formulation. Limbaugh told his radio audience that, "[i]n essence, Daschle has chosen to align himself with the axis of evil," while North claimed that Daschle "has now joined Ted Turner and the Ayatollah Khomeini and Saddam Hussein and Vladimir Putin, who are people who don't like the term 'axis of evil.'" North also alleged Daschle was "setting the ground works for our adversaries to take on American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines."
Today, despite the criticism Lott and Davis have received, several pundits are keeping up the attack. Here's what pundit Robert Novak said on CNN's "Crossfire" Friday:
"Barbara Krull sends me an e-mail saying, 'It is patriotic to debate foreign policy, especially when we have troops on the ground whose lives depend on our making sound policy.' Barbara, it was people like you who undermined our forces in the Vietnam War and brought Communist tyranny to a country that doesn't deserve it."
Similarly, the New York Post wondered Saturday whether Daschle and other Democrats would "trash" the principle that says you "don't encourage the enemy by appearing to be divided." And Sean Hannity of Fox News Channel's "Hannity and Colmes" said on Friday's show that Daschle "is communicating to our enemies that this nation is divided, that we lack resolve and that we have forgotten Sept. 11." Again, Novak, the Post and Hannity are using vague and reductionist reasoning to claim, like Lott and Davis, that dissent aids terrorists.
From Sullivan and Kelly in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks to Novak and Hannity today, assaults on the legitimacy of dissent itself have dominated much of the debate over the war on terrorism. Now, as President Bush moves toward a dramatic expansion of the conflict, a serious debate is necessary. As David Brooks of the Weekly Standard said on PBS's Newshour with Jim Lehrer, "It seems to me a debate the Republicans should be eager to have and not try to stifle." The American public has been very supportive of the war thus far; it deserves an open debate on the next phase.
I sometimes disagree with Spinsanity, but on this issue, they're right on target. I cannot begin to vent my anger at the Brownshirted scum from the GOP who are so quick to call anyone who questions the Moron ON ANY SUBJECT such vicious names...'traitors', 'commies' etc. I mean, I heard some guy named Savidge on Hate Talk Radio take off after Daschle with such vitriol he came close to calling for Daschle's murder.
This is despicable. But I'm not surprised. These jerkoffs are the same group of pond slime that have stoked hatred of Democrats, Liberals and the Government for the last 16 years. They plotted to destroy our last legally elected President. They have broken every rule of ethics practiced by both parties over the last 4 decades. They have lied and committed some of the greatest crimes in history. They are lying hypocrites (are there any other kind?); they have sexually abused their children (Susan Smith and her GOP thumper Daddy anyone?); they have committed more adultery than Bill Clinton or even other Democrats/Liberals could ever fantasize about; they have successfully covered up real murders and suicides (Enron's Baxter?); their Religious Right Wing buddies attack Marin County for John Lindh, but are strangely silent on Andrea Yates' VICIOUS MURDER OF HER 5 CHILDREN!
I could go on. I don't have time. And it makes me want to vomit. Maybe I could have lunch with the Japanese Ambassador and puke all over him?
I've got to believe that karma will catch up to these vile and evil scum.
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John AssKKKroft...what can I say?
Now we're being told that Alerts on terrorist attacks (The Crisco Kid yelling wolf!) will last our entire lifetime.
Hmmmm..do you think that the GOP Talibans will try to overturn the 22nd Amendment and allow the Moron to become pResident for life?
Wby not? Many other 3rd World countries have tried it. And it works for the political and corporate classes.
Why not in America?
Will someone please spike JA's afternoon punch with some LSD or let him get laid? Anything! Just get him out of there, okay? WHAT A MAJOR LEAGUE ASSHOLE!!!
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More on Andrea Yates and the Fundamentalist Nazi Christian jerkoffs who want you to be JUST LIKE ANDREA!
Marin County hot-tubbers?
Meet Harris County homeschoolers
Andrea Yates, 5 children, victims of fundie/Taliban dogma
Rigid and dangerous conservative "lifestyle" led to psychosis, murderYates's Freeper Husband took the stand to testify that the couple lived according to teachings of the "Perilous Times" newsletter (which promotes beliefs typical of most Southern Baptist conservative extremist Republicans, who control the Bush White House).
From the "Perilous Times" website:
"The Perilous Times is opposed to the homosexual agenda, the pagan agenda, the satanist agenda, the feminist agenda, the NWO agenda and the mother earth agenda!!
"If you cannot accept these terms then ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK of being offended when CONFRONTED with the fact of your SINFULNESS and YOUR LOST CONDITION. If you deny Jesus Christ then if you died the next second you would be sent into a Christ-less eternity of TORMENT and ETERNAL DAMNATION! All those who are lost and deny Christ enter in here AT YOUR OWN RISK of being offended and CONFRONTED WITH THE REALITY OF TRUTH!"
The "Perilous Times" site also features the words, "I am a socialist" scrolling across an image of Al Gore.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOUSTON - Russell "Rusty" Yates told jurors Thursday about how his wife, Andrea, lived by a rigid schedule as housekeeper and teacher and was allowed three hours each week to do whatever she wanted, alone, without her children.
"Man's the breadwinner and the woman's the homemaker," Mr. Yates said Thursday during Mrs. Yates' capital murder trial. Mrs. Yates pleaded insanity after admitting that she drowned her five children in June.
While he talked proudly of the couple's decision to toe a higher ethical line based on biblical teachings and lessons gleaned from a conservative newsletter called "Perilous Times," Mr. Yates coincidentally painted a picture for jurors of a bleak life bereft of any outlet for Mrs. Yates besides her children.
Mr. Yates, 37, told the jury that he and his wife agreed before their wedding in 1993 to a "traditional" marriage in which he would serve as sole breadwinner and she would be homemaker. The pact included being a stay-at-home mother, primary caregiver and, eventually, home-school teacher. Mr. Yates said that he controlled the cash and that she stuck carefully to an allowance.
Prosecutors say Mrs. Yates was fully aware of what she was doing when she drowned Noah, 7; John, 5; Paul, 3; Luke, 2; and 6-month-old Mary in the family bathtub.
Oh, that's rich. But do you hear talk radio jerkoffs railing about this awful crime and blaming the Revvvvveren Dobson?
Nope.
Just more crap and more crap trying to keep us divert us from the very real threat to America....THE MORON, ASSKKKROFT, KKKARL ROVE, THE ENRON CABINET, AND THE GOP CHICKENHAWK/TRAITORS IN THE MEDIA AND CONGRESS.
Take note my friends. Bread and Circuses...that's what the Media/GOP Cabal are feeding us. Ever notice that Joe Conason, Gene Lyons and now Bill Press are relegated the Web; that courageous journalists like them and others like Norm Solomon and Molly Ivins are relegated to sporadic columns in the nations' newspapers? Or that Bill Press is fired from Crossfire? That a limpdick like 'liberal' Alan Colmes is fodder for the loudmouth demogoguery and lies of that little potato Mick, Sean Hannity?
What gives here? I'm afraid America will have to go through Hell to get to Heaven.
Take care, all....Bob
Before I write more and catch up with my mail, I just want to say that I'm one happy camper to learn that Linda Tripp's got breast cancer. Karmic payback's a bitch, isn't it? And don't go criticizing me, okay? I'm finished being nice, especially after the rabid attacks on Daschle for speaking out against the Moron's War, okay?
And although I will continue to avoid cussin' as much as possible and will definitely not use the F*** word again, don't be surprised to see 'bullshit' and 'asshole' used to describe the Taliban GOP and the Moron. Fair warning. The gloves are off!
Here's my other new Dem hero, Senator John Kerry, D-MA, responding to Lott, DeLay and Armey for their vitupertive attacks against Daschle. I'm proud to post Smokin' Joe Conason with his comments as well:
'We will ask questions, and we will defend our democracy.'-Senator John Kerry
Kerry Fires Back At G.O.P. Snipersby Joe Conason
We are living in a time when scoundrels seek to bully the loyal opposition and demonize all dissent for their own advancement. That's why certain Republican politicians and pundits have assaulted Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and other Democrats in terms usually reserved for foreign and domestic enemies.
What has been even more troubling than this ugly campaign, however, is the passivity of those who are its targets.
Mr. Daschle and his colleagues have remained inert during recent weeks and months, while their adversaries compared him with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and accused him of giving "aid and comfort" to the nation's enemies. They have stood by in silence while authoritarian propaganda emanated from Republican fax machines and spread across the country. They've allowed the South Dakota Democrat, an Air Force veteran and bioterror target, to be taunted like a traitor by Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and other tough-talkers who avoided military service as if it were anthrax.
From the outset of the G.O.P. jihad against Mr. Daschle last autumn, it has been obvious that the motives of his critics are partisan and political rather than patriotic. Their aim is to regain control of the Senate next November, and they will use whatever divisive means are at their disposal. With no real provocation, Trent Lott, the former Senate Majority Leader, and Tom DeLay, the House Majority Whip, seized upon a few mild remarks uttered by Mr. Daschle about the Bush administration's policy and rhetoric.
His comments were not only careful and inoffensive, as always, but-as recent events in Afghanistan have proved-quite prophetic. "I don't think the success has been overstated," said Mr. Daschle, "but the continued success, I think, is still somewhat in doubt. Clearly, we've got to find Mohammad Omar, we've got to find Osama bin Laden, and we've got to find other key leaders of the Al Qaeda network, or we will have failed. We're not safe until we have broken the back of Al Qaeda, and we haven't done that yet."
The Republicans reacted as if mentioning the obvious is now worthy of punishment by a military tribunal. Mr. Lott, who missed the chance to serve in Vietnam, pretended to be outraged: "How dare Senator Daschle criticize President Bush while we are fighting our war on terrorism?" he cried, as if he hadn't repeatedly criticized Bill Clinton when Americans were in harm's way overseas. Mr. DeLay called the Daschle comments "disgusting." As for Mr. Daschle, he didn't retreat, but neither did he fight back.
So it was refreshing to hear at last from a patriot who found his voice and addressed the Republican Congressional leadership in the tone that they deserve. The first Democrat to speak up was, unsurprisingly, a Senator who has been both a war hero and a war protester.
On March 2, John Kerry took the podium at a political dinner in New Hampshire to defend Mr. Daschle, a colleague who is likely to become his rival for their party's Presidential nomination. What the Massachusetts Senator said about Messrs. Lott and DeLay-and, by implication, about all the would-be White House enforcers-deserved more attention than a single article in his hometown paper, The Boston Globe.
"Let me be clear tonight to Senator Lott and to Tom DeLay: One of the lessons that I learned in Vietnam-a war they did not have to endure-and one of the basic vows of commitment that I made to myself, was that if I ever reached a position of responsibility, I would never stop asking questions that make a democracy strong," he told the audience of New Hampshire Democrats, whose startled murmurs quickly erupted into a standing ovation.
"Those who try to stifle the vibrancy of our democracy and shield policies from scrutiny behind a false cloak of patriotism miss the real value of what our troops defend and how we best defend our troops," he continued. "We will ask questions, and we will defend our democracy."
A combat veteran who received three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star in two Navy tours-and who later founded Vietnam Veterans Against the War-Mr. Kerry has ample stature to challenge the character assassins and commissars of the far right. The day after the Concord dinner, he didn't hesitate to reiterate his rebuke, adding the name of another Southern-fried chicken hawk.
"My message to Trent Lott and Tom Delay and Dick Armey-each of whom did not have to endure the war in Vietnam the lesson I learned in that war is, the best way to defend American democracy and our soldiers is to ask the right questions at the right time."
Suddenly, it was the Republicans who had nothing to say.
THEY DON'T CALL HIM SMOKIN' JOE FOR NOTHIN'!!!!!!
AND YOU DON'T COME ANYMORE QUALIFIED TO BLAST THE MORON AND THE TALIBAN/NAZI GOP THAN WAR HERO JOHN KERRY! MY HEART'S UPLIFTED TODAY.
More to come...but I'm off. Go to the Cartoon Gallery. There's some new good stuff there.
Take care....Bob
3/2/02 - General Musings; Great GOP BS; Daschle, A Dem with BALLS! and a Movie
Tuttle, Conason, Lyons, Solomon, Huffington, JackHammer Mike....all new, all fun, all knowing!
I've got to get this off my chest. Have you ever received a package where the contents are protected by thousands of little styrofoam bits called 'popcorn'?
Huh? Ever? Then you know where I'm going here. This stuff is the work of Satan! Whoever invented it and saw its use as a cheap method of packaging, SHOULD BE DRAWN AND QUARTERED!!! If you don't know what that is, well, it's ugly...very ugly. Kind of like Keel-Hauling, only worse.
Have you ever tried to clean this offal after it's spilled on the floor? Are you really enchanted with its wonderful properties of static electricity? Have you ever tried to get it into a trash bag, let alone off your person? Huh?
Have you done so with aplomb or rage? Have you ever considered just firing one 00 Buck round into the mess on your floor? Huh? (Of course, you haven't done that because you're a responsible gun owner.)
Ah, but I digress...
Hey, how about that Tom "You da Man!" Daschle? I never thought I'd see the day when a Dem would actually question the Moron. And question him Tom did, in his usual calm demeanor that drives the GOP scum nuts. He's unflappable.
And how about the new tactic of the Nazi Moron and his brownshirts? Well, I don't know if they're as bad as the Nazis or the Commies. Take your choice. Both ideologies worked in secret; they did NOT TOLERATE any dissent; they never responded to any specific issues, only demonized their opponents, and eventually made them disappear.
Sound familiar? Just have a peek at the notorious hypocrisy and bold-faced lies as told to us by Trent Lott, Asshole-MS (from MediawhoresOnline)
TRENT LOTT ON WAR AND SUPPORT OF PRESIDENTS:
WINGER HYPOCRISY KNOWS NO BOUNDS WATCH
Lott: You can support the troops but not the president
...unless you're a Democrat and the president is a Republican
Daschle says US war effort lacks "clear direction"
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, in remarks immediately assailed by Republicans, said on Thursday there seems to be "expansion without at least a clear direction" in the administration's war on terrorism.
"Before we make commitments in resources I think we need to have a clear understanding of what the direction would be," the South Dakota Democrat told reporters, reflecting a growing Democratic concern.
Trent Lott reacts to Daschle comments - (02/02):
"How dare Sen. Daschle criticize President Bush while we are fighting our war on terrorism, especially when we have troops in the field."
- Trent Lott, February 28, 2002Trent Lott reacts to Clinton military action
(Operation Desert Fox - 12/98):"I cannot support this military action in the Persian Gulf at this time. Both the timing and the policy are subject to question. I am opposed to endangering the lives of brave American men and women in the military for action in Iraq that will not effect real change in that nation."
- Trent Lott, in midst of Operation Desert FoxSenator Lott, who surprised some Republicans with his statement of opposition to an overseas military enterprise, said he favored a "more clearly defined" operation
- (NYT, 12/98)
Once again I have to ask, does the Shiite GOP really think we're so stupid as to NOT remember his ugly remarks when Clinton put troops in harms' way? It's just a time-honored tactic of fascist pigs to attack the messenger and try to divert attention from the message. Lott and his gang cannot allow the Moron to be questioned in the light of day. He'll scurry like the cockroach he is..and so will his Gang of Thugs.
And speaking of the Moron. Ya gotta love his balls in repeating his 'Trifecta' statement. Tell me, is this the mark of a Great Leader or a dim bulb?
"And we've got a job to do at home, as well. You know, I was campaigning in Chicago and somebody asked me, is there ever any time where the budget might have to go into deficit? I said only if we were at war or had a national emergency or were in recession. (Laughter.) Little did I realize we'd get the trifecta. (Laughter.) But we're fine."
THE MORON IN NORTH CAROLINA, 2/28/02 FOR ELIZABETH "DON'T EVER CALL ME LIDDY!" DOLE.
Laughter? Excuse me, but didn't the cartoonist who portrayed the Moron flying a plane called 'Budget' into the Twin Towers of 'Social' and 'Security' get the tar beat out of him on hate talk radio and the clowns on Fox News?
But the GOP southern trash fat cats LAUGHED at the Moron hitting the TRIFECTA?
No outrage. No comments from the Media Whores. Silence from all sides.
It an INSULT! It's nauseating!
And then there's my former hero, Greta vonSustern. At least when she was on CNN she had more integrity than most pundits.
But last night on Fox, she hit bottom. I've not said anything about her makeover/surgery. That's her business. But the drift of her show is sickening.
She devoted last night to Dashcle's criticism of the Moron's war strategy. (Contradiction in terms) She had on Grover Nordquist, who's on the Southern Poverty Law Center's Extreme Right Wing Watch list. (Bet you didn't know some of the stuff ol' Grover's got in his recent past, did you? Nah, he's treated like someone who actually has something to say!); some Negro Named Goober Hudson who reminded of Damon Wayans on 'In Living Color' who played a black guy playing a bass fiddle and trying to be White! Goober got me laughing every time he opened his mouth and spoke thourhg his nose like a white guy!. I was remeinded of Eddie Murphy in the first Beverly Hills Cop when he chided a black BH detective for sounding like a White guy. Very funny.
Anyway, these two buffoons were balanced by ONE SUPPORTER OF DASCHLE, Art Torres of Californina. Now, for some reason Gretle gave Grover aural head and let him dominate the half hour. Even Goober barely got a word in. And as much as he tried, Torres was shouted down or interrupted by Gretle.
Do you think she's maybe orallating on Roger Ailes' ballolah?
And CNN canned Bill Press from Crossfire. What a shame. They're replacing him with the formidible tag team of Begala and Carville and expanding Crossfire to an hour. But Press has been the Liberal with Balls over the last 6 years, and they just canned him.
It sucks. I know Bill, and I know he'll land on his feet. Maybe Fox will have the balls to fire the limpdick Alan Colmbes and put Press against Hannity. Now that would be great. Hannity has no idea how to stand up to a Liberal with brains and balls.
I've got an idea. Go to Fox's web site and e-mail Roger Ailes with that proposal. Let's see how fair and balanced Fox really is, eh?
And e-mail Press to give him your words of support as well. I know he'd like that.
Well, I'm spent. It's the weekend and we're going to be out of town until next Thursday. We'll be dark until then. And my new project is to scan new images and add them to the photo pages.
In the meantime, enjoy the letters, the columnists and of course, ME, Bob Witkowski. Take care all...
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A Movie....We Were Soldiers...
Whew...I know some of you may pre-judge this film. When I saw the Moron with Mel Gibson, I felt the same way. Now that I've seen it, it's even more of an insult to know the Moron and his Gang may try to co-opt it for their own nefarious bullshit agenda.
Let me tell you that this film is one of the great war films ever made. It is actually quite anti-war. It certainly is anti-government. I was once again enraged at a government, President and Military that were so craven, so arrogant and so bloodthirsty that they sent my generation's finest off to slaughter.
Remember that the guys who went to Vietnam in 1965 and later, were drafted. Many of them believed the bullshit they were fed. But all of them went nonetheless and fought like warriors and died as brothers and family.
I was revolted at the carnage. I was reminded that no matter the spin put on Vietnam today by the Right Wing Media and political scum who want to rewrite history, Vietnam was wrong.
It was wrong.
And 58,000 young men and women died to protect the vanity of yet another Texas asshole and a jaded and woefully inept Military High Command.
I lost a friend there. He was a Huey gunship pilot. And he went down over a hot LZ while blasting as many of the enemy he could to protect his brothers on the ground.
That's a hero.
And when I see and hear the jingoism and flatulating flag-waving patriotic crap from a bunch of 20-somethings on hate talk radio and TV, my disgust has no bounds. Let's write to CNN and Fox and urge Jonah Goldberg, Tucker Carlson and the host of other chicken-shits to back their bombast with enlistment. Let's see them put their asses on the line.
But no! They're needed to carry the Right Wing Torch. They've got guys in the army now named Pedro and Jefferson and Bobby Lee doing their dirty work for them. And Pedro, Jefferson and Bobby Lee just don't see how they're being used to burnish to traitorous reputations of these latter day cowards.
Well, there's always hope. War sucks, but it's sometimes necessary. And there will always be brave men and women who will answer the call...even if it is another Vietnam.
(Sigh) So much waste; so much death. Remember to thank a Vietnam Vet. And don't ever believe what scabs like the Moron, Rummy and even Colin tell you. They're in it for themselves and their own egos and power. They are evil.
Once again, hats off to Tom Daschle, decorated war veteran...which is more than any Shiite GOP creep with the exception of Colin can say.
Bob
2/26/02 - The Yuks Just Keep On Coming!
First off, let me explain the length of this page. I try to keep each month's commentaries and such posted so you all can make ready reference to them or catch up. It'll all be cleared this Friday, and we can start with March!
Rob Crawford wrote a long and interesting piece that agrees with and takes issue with Mike's column, as well as provides a unique insight into teaching the Constitution to young students. Click Here
Once again, one of my favorite ways to relax is to watch the daily Arrigant Fleischer Road Show Press Briefings. In a Media Era where we are constantly having yet another meaningless News Alert with the Moron saying something stupid or Rumsfeld guffawing with the supplicant Pentagon Press Corps, it's nice to have the fresh air of Arri permeating the airwaves.
He's such a minor league asshole!
Here's a tidbit I saw yesterday between him and that Grande Dame of White House Correspondents, Helen Thomas. She was THE ONLY ONE WITH THE BALLS TO QUESTION THE PROPRIETY OF THE MORON'S APPOINTMENT OF THE UNLAMENTED FELON/TRAITOR JOHN POINDEXTER OF IRAN-CONTRA FAME. The Moron appointed him to DARPA, a secretive and highly sensitive department in the Defense Department. Helen took umbrage to a convicted felon being handed such a sensitive and powerful appointment. Here's Arri at his world class best:
Fleischer: I'm not aware of any appointment.
Thomas: Yet.
Fleischer: Let me just say about Adm. Poindexter, Adm. Poindexter is somebody who this administration thinks is an outstanding American and an outstanding citizen who has done a very good job in what he has done for our country, serving in the military.
Thomas: How can you say that, when he told Col. North to lie?
Fleischer: Helen, I think your views on Iran-Contra are well-known, but the president does believe that Adm. Poindexter served-
Thomas: It isn't my view, this is the prosecutor for the United States.
Fleischer: I understand. The president thinks that Adm. Poindexter has served our nation very well.
Yeah, that's right. John and Ollie the Coward served America very well. Yup. They lied, destroyed evidence, obstructed justice, funded an illegal war and traded arms for hostages with Iran.
You remember Iran, don't you? They're part of the Moron's Axle of Rose, or something like that.
Not to worry. The Moron and his gang of Thugs in the GOP always, ALWAYS, reward their felons. And for these law 'n order types, it's okay to beat the rap on a technicality as long as you're White and Right Wing.
Any outrage yet? Nah...I'm seeing a lot of outrage, but it gets no play. We keep seeing the Media disparage anyone who takes a shot at the Moron or those around him. It's sad...and very dangerous when every criticism of this Gang of Thugs is met with derision and the oft told stats that the Moron's really very popular.
Puke; barf; gag
Okay, I'm better now.
It seems that the Media is convinced that no one wants to hear anything bad about the Moron.
Well, here goes. How downright STUPID is it to throw $300 million dollars at a specious welfare reform to encourage welfare moms to GET MARRIED!?
Listen to this reasoning from the Moron and his bushlickers in the Media. The Moron cites statistics that proclaim children from two-parent households don't go to jail as much; don't drink as much; don't do drugs as much; and don't drop out as much as the children of welfare moms.
Has a nice sound of reason, doesn't it?
Well, let's apply some common sense. Nothing liberal here, just some down home common sense. Think about it. Just what kind of 2-parent families is the Moron citing? Could it be suburban, upper middle class financially secure families? Oh, no. Couldn't be them. They're the group where both parents are working to afford BMW's and Nintendo for their kids. No, according to Fatso Bennett, these are very baaaaad parents.
Okay, how about parents from the Heartland? Well, that might wash if there weren't an epidemic of spousal and child abuse in the dearly vaunted and saintly Heartland. And, there's always that pesky little thing called drug and alcohol abuse in the Heartland.
What's left? NOTHING! Two parent families are desirable. But you have to have 2 parents who CARE! Who care about their children. Who care about each other. Who care enough to love their children and spend time with them.
If you force or bribe people to get married to fulfill some sort of idiotic and unrealistic Norman Rockwell paradigm, you're going to get nothing but trouble and further desparation.
I've always believed it was a cancer on the Black Community over the years that the men planted their seed with reckless abandon and left the women holding the bag..and the children. There have been studies that show Black men by and large have a severe and very deep self-loathing and hence can only prove their worth by screwing [not the technical term] and fatehring children.
This is a problem. I don't question that. But Clinton did more to address that than the Moron did today. Hey Moron, it's not just FAITH alone that's going to solve welfare and the myriad problems that accompany it.
But once again, simplistic solutions from a simpleton. What else should we expect?
Oh, is this funny? Started out that way, but the more I read and write, the more pathetic it all becomes.
Actually this is pretty funny. I read a vitupertive editorial in, where else, today's Wall Street Journal. This is the former home of John "I Did NOT Beat the Crap out of my Girlfriend" Fund. Well, today they were fuming about the Democrats' 'piling' on of Moron judicial nominee, Chuckie Boy Pickering. You know, he's the guy from Mississippi who's just a little bit bigoted and a lot of Right Wing fascism. Well, the Dems don't want him on the Circuit Court. I don't blame them. But the WSJ was in high self righteous dudgeon.
Oh, the calumnity of it all! Oh those race-baiting hate-filled Democrats! Oh, how dare they hold up and possible quash Moron's nomination! After all, the Moron, because of his high ratings MUST GET HIS WAY ON EVERYTHING, ESPECIALLY JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS!
Uh, does stalling 48% of Clinton's nominations over 6 years ring a bell? Where was the WSJ then? Chasing Clinton's penis, I'm sure.
It just rings way too hollow to hear the WSJ and the wingnuts in the GOP howling at the moon on this one. The stench of hypocrisy and lies is more overwhelming than Fishkill on a windy day.
I have to wonder. Do these clowns really think no one remembers their foul deeds?
I guess so. After all, 1,600 Americans think the Moron is Gawd. And the rest of us should bend over.
NOT BLOODY LIKELY!
Take care....Bob
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From the One More Thing Dept:
I'm very sad at the passing of Chuck Jones, one of the creative geniuses behind Looney Tunes, Bugs, Daffy, Pepe lePew, Wiley Coyote, the RoadRunner, Porky and others. Mel Blanc gave them their personalities, and Chuck gave them their souls.
I'm really glad Hannah loves Bugs Bunny as much as I do. Chuck Jones left us all with a gift that will live as long as their are children...and adults who still act like children.
G'bye, Pal. Hope you keep creating in the Big Studio with Friz Freleng and Mel. Keep God chuckling. He needs all the help He can get these days.
2/24/02 - Moron Screws Vets - and they keep voting for him!
I received this note from a reader, Natasha, as well as documentation. It broke my heart and made me very angry. I cannot believe the callousness of the Moron and the utter complicity of the media to continue heaping praise upon him.
And while I support the grunts, I have to wonder just what they see in this guy when he continues to screw them over.
Dear Bob, I came across a link to your site some months ago and
immediately added it to my "favorites" list. One question: "HOW can
anyone even consider creating more when we're doing such a piss poor job
of dealing with the ones that are already here?" Am I talking about
children? Spent fuel rods? No, I'm talking about VETERANS OF WAR. I was
really touched by the sensitivity you showed toward the man to whom you
offered such long overdue thanks. Who of us reaching adulthood in that
era doesn't know or know of someone who never made it back, literally
and/or figuratively?
My "little" sister (who as a child amazed us all with her ability to
find the mothers of lost bobwhite chicks, or keep them alive if she
couldn't) is a "veteran" from the trenches of the now closed D.C.
General. Despite enormous family pressure she refused to work anywhere
that required digging in pockets for proof of insurance coverage before
treatment. Her minute in private practice lasted only until word spread
through the neighborhood that "Dr. Sargeant will help you. Don't worry,
if you're sick, she'll help you." Currently, her medical sensibilities
are assaulted daily at the V.A. She is so "by-the-book" that her
attempts to improve patient care cannot be faulted by her superiors, not
for lack of trying. But what I hear, when I call her to provide a safe
place to debrief, is a nightmare without end. And today I read the
enclosed articles. Hey, Bob, I don't even know why I'm writing you all
this, suffice to say I got a beloved sister already on the front lines
and 2 teenage sons... Maybe I'm just at wit's end.
Sincerely, Natasha
Here's the article Natasha enclosed with her letter. It's fascinating and frightening at the same time.
The Independent Budget: A Budget for Veterans by Veterans; Budget Plan a 'Bitter Pill' for Veterans
Wed Feb 20, 2:49 PM ETTo: National Desk
Contact: Richard Flanagan of AMVETS, 301-459-9600; David Autry of Disabled American Veterans, 202-314-5219; Bob Ensinger of Paralyzed Veterans of America, 202-416-7681; William Smith of Veterans of Foreign Wars, 202-543-2239
WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- What is being touted as "an historic increase in spending for veterans health" care is in reality an attempt to sugar coat a bitter pill the Bush administration wants sick and disabled veterans to swallow, major veterans groups warn.
"Pronouncements by the administration about the proposed budget could create some misunderstanding about veterans medical care funding," said authors of The Independent Budget. "The proposed $26.4 billion discretionary programs budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs (news - web sites) (VA) actually would do little to improve the funding picture for veterans health care."
Of the $25.5 billion the administration claims the budget will provide for veterans medical programs, $816 million will simply shift personnel-related costs to VA from the Office of Personnel Management. Another $1.6 billion is to offset inflation, higher pharmaceutical costs, and mandated VA employee pay raises. All in all, the administration plan would seek a $22.74 billion appropriation for veterans medical care - approximately $1.75 billion less than authors of The Independent Budget believe is needed.
Recommendations for funding levels and policy changes to provide VA with the necessary resources are detailed in The Independent Budget, co-authored annually by AMVETS, the Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the VFW.
For VA medical care funding, The Independent Budget recommends $24.5 billion, $3.1 billion above the fiscal year 2002 level. This recommendation takes into account health care inflation and a $1.5 billion identified shortfall in this year's VA budget.
Under the Bush administration's budget plan, certain veterans would have to pay 45 percent of the cost of their care each year, up to $1,500. Those veterans also would have pharmacy co-payments and continue to pay a portion of their medical care even after meeting the $1,500 annual maximum deductible.
"This clearly is a move to shift more of health care costs from the government to veterans," said The Independent Budget authors. "Congress and the Administration have an obligation to provide adequate appropriations to meet those needs. Co-payments from veterans or their health insurance should not substitute for appropriations."
The Independent Budget is a comprehensive policy document created annually by veterans for veterans. It serves as a guide to the Congress and the Administration as they develop the VA budget to meet the needs of our country's 25 million veterans. To view or download a copy of this year's Independent Budget from the Internet, go to www.independentbudget.org.
------ AMVETS-a leader since 1944 in preserving the freedoms secured by America's Armed Forces-provides, not only support for veterans and the active military in procuring receipt of their earned entitlements, but also community services that enhance the quality of life for this nation's citizens.
The million-member Disabled American Veterans, a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1932, is dedicated to one, single purpose: building better lives for our nation's disabled veterans and their families.
The Paralyzed Veterans of America, a veterans service organization chartered by Congress, has for more than 50 years served the needs of its members, all of whom have catastrophic paralysis caused by spinal cord injury or disease.
The VFW is a 1.9 million-member veterans service organization, now in its 102nd year, with a nationwide network of some 9,500 Posts and service officers working to build better communities and assist all veterans and their dependents with problems involving VA entitlements and pensions.
Well, there you have it. I don't think I can add much right now.
More to come......Take care, Bob
Well now, I've got some catching up to do.
First, a response to Mike's column from Derek in CA:
Bob, does [Mike's] 7% (what he says the bottom 46% of us RATS pay) take
payroll taxes into account? Probably not. Right-wingers always say that SS
and Medicare taxes are a separate thing. And if Bush and his band of
fascists didn't want to fund the tax cut with that money, he might have a
point.Here's a fact that few people know. During the time of the Reagan "tax cut
era" SS taxes were increased 95%.Like you, I'm not a soak-the-rich leftist. I think taxes should be fair.
While so many large corporations are getting away with not paying any tax at
all (while enjoying the American infrastructure that average suckers like us
pay for) small business owners are being taxed to death. These guys are
usually Republicans who think liberals are their enemy and praise further
criminal efforts to lower the taxes of large corporations.Sometimes I think middle class right-wingers are just fools.
Love your site.
Regards,
Derek
(Former resident of the Santa Catalina foothills)
I don't get in the way here. I just give a forum. Actually, Mike and Derek probably have more in common than one might think.
Here's a letter from Ken in Ohio on one of the moron's broken campaign promises. Remember when the GOP and Media called Clinton a liar for breaking ONE campaign promise? Moron's already got about a dozen, but he's still a man of morals and stature. Right! Far Right!
Bob,
You may remember my telling you that I live in extreme southern Ohio. This
was steel-mill territory, and the economy has been aching all these 30 years
due to the weakness of the American steel industry, due to the unfair trade
practices which the government will not address.
Bush washed over this place in a sea of red that looks like this year's
deficit. Can you IMAGINE my shock to see a commerical on the local CBS
affiliate this morning, ANTI-BUSH?!?
Sound Clip: The usurper, saying "We are going to help the steel industry
in Amurica"... and the narrator saying "Nothing has been done, Mister
President. Steel Families are hurting (etc etc, you get the gist)
It also gave a number to call the White House to "Make the President KEEP
HIS PROMISE!"
I WAS SHOCKED! Could it be that some cracks are finally starting to show in
the wall of silence? I predicted shortly after the election that no amount
of reason would wake up the billy-bobs and generation Y's who continue to
see Bush as semi-divine (ugghhhh). I also predicted that they WOULD listen
to their empty pockets, and rumbling belly. I am not saying "I told you
so", but I thought you would like this update from out h'yar in the
providences, "Bush Country"....(gawd, Eugene, Ah thank we done been HAD....)
That's rich!
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You know that I love Buzzflash.com as a source of really great news and commentary. But while they like my photos, they just can't seem to get beyond my love of the 2nd Amendment. It's tough to be pro-Choice and pro-Gun. I bet a lot of moderate GOP'rs feel the same way. Sigh...
I'm sure the Buzzies aren't going to like this, but what the hell!
From my friend, Craig:
G U N -R E F R E S H E R C O U R S E
a. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
b. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.
c. Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface.
d. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.
e. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?
f. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.
g. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.
h. If you don't know your rights, you don't have any.
i. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.
j. The United States Constitution (c)1791. All Rights Reserved.
k. What part of "shall not be infringed" do you not understand.
l. The Second Amendment is in place in case they ignore the others.
m. 64,999,987 firearm owners killed no one yesterday.
n. Guns only have two enemies: Rust and Politicians.
o. Know guns, Know peace and safety. No guns, no peace nor safety.
p. You don't shoot to kill; You shoot to stay alive.
q. 911 - government sponsored Dial a Prayer.
r. Assault is a behavior, not a device.
s. Criminals love gun control - it makes their jobs safer.
t. If Guns cause Crime, then Matches cause Arson.
u. Only a government that is afraid of it's citizens tries to control them.
v. You have only the rights you are willing to fight for.
w. Enforce the "gun control laws" in place, don't make more.
x. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.
y. The American Revolution would never have happened with Gun Control.
z. "....a government by the people, for the people...."
With a little work, you can probably redo the above and have it apply to being pro-Choice. See? I still don't think you can logically have one without the other. Those who are out to ban guns or severely control access to them are really no different than the loonies who want to ban abortions.
IT'S ALL ABOUT CONTROL! Yep. When it comes down to it, elements of the Dems and GOP want to control certain aspects of our lives. I find that repulsive. And I don't even argue it anymore with those who look upon my love of the 2nd Amenedment with disdain.
Leave me alone! Okay? I'm perfectly capable of making my own choices within both a spiritual AND Constitutional basis. My repugnance at those who want to meddle is only matched by my repugnance at the utter moral hypocrisy of the Moron and his toadies in the Media.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I love this one from my pal Duncan concerning parts of the now celebrated and terrifying Patriots' Act:
Now, while those same requirements still apply, the USA-PATRIOT Act further demands that every business"from your furniture store or car dealer to (presumably) your bookie and your drug connection"report you if you 1) make any cash purchase of $10,000 or more, 2) make any series of cash purchases that adds up to $10,000, or 3) make any cash purchases that look as if you might be trying to avoid the
$10,000 threshold by coming in just under it. (Columnist Vin Suprynowicz has pointed out that this is like fining you for going 43 mph in a 45 mph zone. But Its Not Just a Bad Idea; It's the Law!)
If you want to see the folly of excessive uber-Patriotism
and the stampede to trade liberty for a false sense of security,
read the above paragraph again, and slowly this time.
I hate to say it...but my former favorite Dem, John Edwards of North Carolina had a hand in authoring this abhorrent bill. I'm sure he'll regret it..and I'm sure down the road we citizens will regret it as well. The rush to a 'war' footing has been the most dismaying and disturbing I've seen in my lifetime. Again, I feel like I'm caught in Orwell's novel, "1984" where lies are truth; black is white; 2+2=5; China's our friend, China's always been our friend; Japan's our great ally, Japan HAS ALWAYS BEEN OUR GREAT ALLY. (Does Pearl Harbor ring a bell? Anyone?)
From: www.democrats.com
"My trip to Asia begins here in Japan for an important reason. It begins here because for a century and a half now, America and Japan have formed one of the great and enduring alliances of modern times. From that alliance has come an era of peace in the Pacific."
Hey Moron! - Daddy was shot down over the
Pacific in WWII during your "era of peace in the Pacific"!
And while I'm on a roll, here's the latest from our SAY WHAAAAAAAT? Department:
THE MORON IN CHINA:
"DIVERSITY IS NOT DISORDER. DEBATE IS NOT STRIFE. AND DISSENT IS NOT REVOLUTION."
Nice alliteration, toad, but how does that square with the following?
"IF YOUR NOT WITH US, YOU'RE WITH THE TERRORISTS!"
-MORON"AMERICANS NEED TO WATCH WHAT THEY SAY."
-ARRIGANT FLEISCHER"YOU NEED TO BE CAREFUL THAT YOUR DISSENT DOESN'T AIDE AND ABET THE ENEMY."
-ASSKROFT
Ah, the lies and duplicity of this gang of fascist scum. As Woody Allen opined in "Love and Death", 'It warms the cockles of my heart, and you know how I love hot cockles.'
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I've been getting a sense of reading various columns and magazines on the 'net that folks are beginning to come off the pro-War rally and have started questioning the Moron's motives and his true agenda. There are cracks in the dam. I can't wait for the burst.
But, it's also disheartening to read all the claptrap that's being served up by the print and electronic media and, of course, shrill talk radio. Hell, even Diane Rehm on NPR featured a panel today taht consisted of 2 Right Wingers and one Liberal. And she kept her mouth shut most of the time while the two scum tried to beat up on David Korn. And to listent to them justify the killing of innocent civilians in Afghanistan and dismiss the accidental deaths of over 20 US military personnel was nauseating. They're so cavalier, I wonder how they'd feel if one of their children died in 'military' accident? Hell, I doubt Tony Blankley would have any idea, seeing as how he never saw a day of combat in his wasted life.
I've got an idea. If Rush, and the gang of assholes on talk radio sooooo love this war and soooooo love America, why don't they volunteer? Don't see that happening now, do ya? And the poor saps in the military actually believe sewage like that really care about them.
What a pathetic joke.
Take care and stay safe.....Bob
2/16/02 - A Forum for a Conservative
I've said in the past that I would post writings of just about anyone. I do draw the line at bomb-throwing extremists on both sides, however. Just because someone says it, doesn't mean I have to post it. But, over the past few years I've been privileged to meet and know several 'good' Liberals and several 'good' Conservatives...people who think and yet remain passionate about their beliefs. I like that. I respect that.
So, what follows is a posting from my pal, Jackhammer Mike. I got to know him when I was on the air in Phoenix. He gave me hell back then, and we became pretty good friends. We find that we do agree on many issues and disagree on others. But Mike is thoughtful and he does his homework. Here's his thoughts on Campaign Finance Reform.
Enjoy!
Campaign Finance Reform...Another Amendment Trashed
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech,
or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to
petition the Government for a redress of grievances. "In case you are a victim of public education, that is the First Amendment
to the Constitution of the United States. Ratified on December 15, 1791.
Seems simple enough. And depending on the issue of the day, it covers quite
a lot of ground. I'll save the religious aspect of the first amendment for
another day and dive right in to the free speech wisdom of our Founding
Fathers, and the modern day trashing of our constitutional rights."The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it
necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the
Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall
call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either case, shall be
valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when
ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several states..."
This is the first part of the Fifth Article of the Constitution. Why do you
suppose the Founders made it so hard to change the constitution? And why do
current members of Congress find it so easy to circumvent the Constitution
as we know it?It all boils down to "if it feels good, do it." And I also believe it is
easy for Congress to pass laws without any public uproar due to the fact
that most people are ignorant of what is actually in the Constitution.
Instead of public educators teaching our children the proper way to install
a condom, they ought to be teaching our kids each and every sentence of the
Constitution.Case in point. The Shays-Meehan campaign finance reform bill. With the
current Enron scandal just now starting to boil over, it is going to be easy
for Congress to skirt the Constitution again. Just as it was after the
September 11th tragedy, the feel good crowd on Capitol Hill is demanding
action. Reform of our campaign finance laws is laughable. Do you really
think that imposing restrictions on the freedoms of the people, that it is
somehow going to stop a corrupt lawmaker? Apparently some of the brain
trusts on the hill think so.Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., co-author of the Shays-Meehan companion bill
in the Senate, argues that the "soft money" ban is necessary because
national political parties and issue advocacy groups run campaign ads before
elections with no disclosure requirements or regulation by the government.
"There is no longer a conduct of campaigns by the candidates," McCain
charged. "They're conducted by outside groups with huge amounts of money.
That's not fair." Uh, Senator McCain, have you ever heard of freedom of
speech.Issue advocacy groups are going to be prohibited from running issue ads
prior to an election or primary. You say "Good! I hate the NRA anyway. It's
about time someone shut them up. I belong to the Sierra Club and I hate how
those dirty target shooters leave their trash all over the place."Oh really... How about you 'Blue hairs?' Want free prescription drugs? fuggett
about it. AARP is now as impotent as a 75 year old. You union thugs are
going to love this bill. The final bill bans the two national parties from
using unregulated and unlimited "soft money" contributions that they have
targeted for specific elections to circumvent limits on "hard money"
donations from individuals. Corporations and labor unions also are barred
from running political advertisements in the days before an election. Ooops!
Looks like the Democrats and Republicans who support organized labor forgot
to tell you about that one.I can't leave out my fellow gun nuts either. Of course, they seem to
be the only group that is as outraged as I am about this. In an email
message to members Wednesday morning, Gun Owners of America (GOA) warned its
members that the "soft money" advertising ban would give liberal incumbents
a distinct advantage. "For instance, if anti-gun groups were prohibited from
broadcasting ads depicting pro-gun candidates, they would have little
trouble getting the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Enquirer
[sic], L.A. Times, etc., (all of which are exempt from the legislation) to
run the ads as Editorials," the message said. "Pro-gun groups rarely
receive any positive attention from the major media outlets," it added.And speaking of the media, what ever side of the aisle you are on, do you
really believe the the majority of the media is not biased in one way or the
other? If you are only allowed to hear information on candidates from the
talking heads on TV or the radio are you really going to hear the truth.
Will you take Clinton fund raiser, Sam Donaldson's view on a political
issue? How about Tony Snow? Will you take his view on a candidate as gospel?
How about your local newspaper for the only source of information on a
National political race. You can barely wrap fish much less rely on your
local paper to be fair and balanced.The "soft money" ban is necessary because national political parties and
issue advocacy groups run campaign ads before elections with no disclosure
requirements or regulation by the government. John McCain's own words. He
feels that without "Government regulation Politicians are doomed to
corruption." He also thinks you and I are too dumb to figure out who is
behind a political or an issue driven ad.Well, thank God that the Founders set up a system of checks and balances
within our Government. As soon as the blind sheep in this country realize
that their Ox is being gored, they will wake up long enough to challenge
this bill in the Supreme Court. We can only hope that they will uphold the
Constitution and the rights of the people.
Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech. Seems simple
enough. Too bad Congress doesn't think so.
There you have it. Feel free to respond and I'll post those as well. Thanks, Mike...There's a lot to think about there. I've only liked Campaign Reform because it embarrasses certain clowns in the GOP, as well as the Moron.
But I really believe that there should be no limits on Corporations, Unions and individuals. All I would require is that there be a national database available on the Internet that discloses who's giving what to whom. And printed in very large type.
No secret funds for Tom DeLay. No secret funds for Democrats. Just get it all out in the open within 12 hours of the donation. All candidates and campaigns would have to post that and the amount within 12 hours.
One thing above all that gets to me and hasn't been addressed in the Media so far is this; why do both Parties believe that having so much money will help them win an election? Think about it...we're being told to stop the funding so they don't hurt themselves! Hey, WHAT ABOUT THE PEOPLE? I MEAN, IT'S OBVIOUS THAT POLTICIANS BELIEVE THAT ALL THIS MONEY ACTUALLY HAS THE DESIRABLE EFFECT ON THE VOTERS AS TO WIN ELECTIONS FOR THEM!
The voters must take some responsibility for this. If money and special interest ads didn't work, THE PARTIES WOULDN'T USE THEM!!!!
It's the Voters, Stupid!!!! The voters all piss and moan about money, incivility, dishonesty, blah, blah,...But when a candidate doesn't take special interest money, sticks to the issues, and tells the truth, he's pummeled without mercy in the Press and by his opponent who often resorts to mud-slinging and negative ads.
Guess what? The poor schmuck who believed what he saw on TV about what the voters REALLY WISHED FOR, gets his ass royally kicked.
So, don't blame the money altogether...it's the Voters, Stuipd!
See ya later....Tuttle will be back soon and I'm sure Mike will have more to share.
Take care all..and stay safe...Bob
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Oh, one more thing - I'm 54 and didn't serve in Vietnam due to too many hits to the head playing football and Rugby. But for a long time, I've felt the guilt of not going. I remember when I grew up..it was when I saw my contemporaries spitting on Vets returning home. I knew that was over the line. The guys who went, went for various reasons. And we did not have the right to judge them so harshly and so hate-filled. I knew the Vietnam War was at best a sorry joke, and at worst one of the biggest lies perpetrated on a generation of good young men.
Still, those that were aginst the War did not have the right to shit on the guys who came home.
I saw a gentleman this evening in a restaurant. He was with friends and he wore a cap that proudly proclaimed him to be a Vietnam Vet.
I approached him and asked if indeed he were a Vet. He hesitated then nodded his head. I then apologized for interrupting his meal and told him I wanted to say something.
To my surprise and to my shame, he got a scared look in his eyes and backed away from me.
My heart broke.
I put my hand on his shoulder and told him I only wanted to thank him and that he deserved far more than he got.
I don't tell you this to make me look good. That's not my motivation at all. The look in his eyes said more than anything I could have imagined. And it hurt me to know that as a Country we had foresaken these good, simple and decent men and women who served when they were called and didn't ask any questions.
These brave folks are as much heroes to me as the NYFD guys who ran into the WTC on 9/11. In our super-patriotic fervor, we lavish praise and attention on them and the soldiers who kicked ass in Afghanistan.
But we continue to ignore the brave and valiant and unselfish men and women who just answered the call. They weren't volunteers. Over 50,000 died. I know they did what they thought was best. And I know they were abandoned and scorned for far too long.
Next time you see a Vietnam Vet, suck it up and thank him. It's the least those of us in our generation can do.
Good night...
2/13/02 - Letters, New Columns and More Thoughts...
Okay, lots of good new stuff. First, get over to the Conason/Lyons link for two new and as usual, great columns from the Dynamic Duo.
from Gene: read it all
DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN
AS I WAS saying, journalists seem to heed opinion polls more
than politicians. Take the Washington Post's February 9th editorial
rejecting Sen. Fritz Hollings' (D-S.C.) call for an Enron independent
counsel. "The coziness between the administration and Enron means that the
scandal could conceivably implicate political figures in ways that demand
an independent prosecutor," the Post concedes. "But that hasn't happened
yet; nobody has credibly alleged a crime by a member of the administration.
And as long as the focus of the inquiry remains on crimes by the
corporation and its accountants, the Justice Department can handle the
matter."Compare the same newspaper's January 5, 1994 argument that
Whitewater "represents precisely the kind of case in which an independent
counsel ought to be appointed. We say that even though-and and this should
be stressed-there has been no credible charge in this case that either the
president or Mrs. Clinton did anything wrong. Nevertheless, it is in the
public interest--and in the president's as well--to put the inquiry in
independent hands....Nor is it protection enough to say that the
investigation is in the hands of career [Justice Department] attorneys. To
whom do they report?"from Joe: same advice!
Bush's War Rhetoric Sounds Hollow Abroad
George W. Bush and his advisers appear to have misunderstood the American military triumph in Afghanistan
The wife of the White House wordsmith who thought up "axis of evil" sent around a boastful e-mail to her friends and acquaintances, but the inadequacy of that tropeand the policy it representshas already become so painfully plain that even our politest allies have taken unhappy notice.
With due respect to the speechwriter's proud spouse, "axis of evil" sounds like the name of a heavy-metal band, not a description of the problems we confront in an unstable world. What her husband has achieved is advertising, not analysis.
Second, in response to the 2/06/02 rant, my conservative pal, Jackhammer Mike wrote this: (it's pretty good)
Bobby,Bobby,Bobby
The lame lefties that read your site may fall for your latest propaganda
but no way is what you have written in your latest true. This crap looks
like it came from James Carville. C,mon Bob, have you no shame. I expect the
spin in the media but I expect you to back up your statements with facts.
Wow do you have some whoppers this time.
I can,t let the left get away with the bullshit that seems to flow from
every statement that they espouse. The following is some of your "facts and
"statements and my replies and facts to them. I must warn you and the
rest of the democRATs that might read this that the facts that I have come
from the National Taxpayers Union. I can hear you laughing now Bob. I will
point out to you that they are no friend to the left or right when it comes
to taxpayer issues. And with a little research everyone can see the pork
from both sides of the aisle.Tall Tales...
#1.How does a tax cut that gives 1% of Americans 40% of the tax largess
help the working
family?Let,s assume for the sake of argument that that is a true statement. What
is also true is that according to the IRS the upper 1.5% of tax filers pay
38% of all income tax dollars while the bottom 46% of tax filers pay only
7% of all income tax dollars.(NTU issue brief 109) I love how you lefties
like to portray an across the board tax cut as somehow unfair. The taxes
that all Americans pay is obscene and something along the lines of a flat
tax would seem to be more equitable.I don't agree that all taxes we pay are obscene. I do believe that a flat tax is obscene. Remember that it exempts all interest income which means that someone like, say Steve Forbes, can take a minimal salary from the magazine and pay a pittance on that, but continue to live lavishly on tax-free income generated by his immense trust funds. By the way, it seems that Daddy's bucks weren't that adversely affected by the Death Tax. I always loved that Steve was the propounder of the Flat Tax. In reality, this tax doesn't level the field, it hurts the bottom 90%. Remember, the Flat Tax has no room for any decutions.
#2. "Beware the GOP pleading for workers!" Come on, does anyone with
half a brain out there really think that the GOP tax cuts are going to help
America's working families?
I know your ilk hate the phrase "trickle down but have you ever heard the
phrase "trickle up? That's right trickle up. It is happening right now as
we speak. Since Sept.11 (which was the straw that broke the camels back, no
pun intended) family discretional spending has decreased. Business as well
as individuals have slowed spending and investing, thus the economy has
slowed to a snails pace creating layoffs and worsening the situation. It,s a
chain reaction that has a hard time stopping. It is true that the piss poor
small rebate that we got wasn,t enough to cover half of one months house
payment for me but it is a start.
Capital gains taxes if eliminated would spark this economy like nothing
you or I have ever seen. And another thing, you people on the left need to
stop trying to get people to believe that capital gains taxes are only paid
by the rich. I may be just a dumb plumber but I invest in the stock market
just like millions of americans do. I also get screwed if I make a profit.
the tax system as it stands punishes success.
One more point to drive this baby home. Do you really believe in double
and triple taxation Bob?I'm actually okay with a reduction in the Capital Gains Tax. Elimination? No. I don't believe that all taxes punish success although you can make a case for that. But if we're talking about words, well I think if you're successful, you do get your large piece of the pie, but you also have an obligation to pay dues to the great system that has made your success possible. We can always debate the size of your dues, but because we live in a Free society, doesn't mean that everything's free.
#3. How does eliminating the Estate Tax that only affects 10,000 American
families each yearhelp the working family? And spare me the GOP boohooing BS about 'saving the Family Farm.' There aren't that many family farms left. Most farmers actually enjoy
selling their land for huge profits and paying the capital gains tax.
This is one of the worst lines you have ever written. " Most farmers actually enjoy selling their
land for huge profits and paying the capital gains tax. I challenge you to
show me one person who enjoys paying 50% in taxes on something that has
taken a lifetime to build. And God help you if you can,t come up with the
money. Your benevolent government takes the whole nine yards not the 50%
owed to them. And the "Death Tax is not limited to farms, it is all
businesses. You may not care now Bob because you are alive and well( thank
God) and the exemption may be higher that what your photography business is
worth now but who,s to say that some big corporation might not someday buy
the rights to your pic,s when you die. Claudia and Hannah will spend tons on
lawyers and accountants to keep from getting hosed by the feds. Of course
many people already pay big bucks to protect their assets already. The real
tragedy is that most people believe that it is OK to tax people on their
estates because they see it as "taxing the rich. And many people do not
care about double taxation because they think that it doesn,t affect them.
They couldn,t be more wrong. And your trying to justify it by citing the
fact that the death tax only affects 10,000 people a year. Nice spin job Bob
this has been the liberal mantra for years. If the general population would
just take the time and wright down the all of taxes that they pay for one
year there would be another tea party and all of the tax and spenders in
Washington would be tarred and feathered. Most peopl pay 50% of their after
tax income in taxes when you combine all of the hidden taxes and not so
hidden taxes.
Okay, ya got me here. What I eventually got around to saying was that while I don't believe the Estate Tax should be eliminated for the reasons propounded by the Founding Fathers (a major dislike and distrust of aristocracy) I agree with you that 50%+ is ludicrous in the extreme. But remember that I've always proposed the following: $10 million tax free and a 10-15% tax on the balance. What's so 'leftist' about that? don't answer.
Well it,s been fun Bob. Hope all is well. As usual if you want to post
this that will be fine. I want to leave you with a few quotes and this
parting thought. Taxes punish achievement unless you work for the federal
government."The congress might well consider whether the higher rates of income
and profits taxes can in peace times be effectively productive of revenue,
and whether they may not, on the contrary, be destructive of business
activity and productive of waste and inefficiency. There is a point at which
in peace times high rates of income and profits taxes discourage energy,
remove the incentive to new enterprise, encourage extravagant expenditures
and produce industrial stagnation with consequent unemployment and other
attendant evils... Woodrow Wilson. State of the union address December
2,1919"Taxes are paid in the sweat of every man who labors because they are a
burden on production and are paid through production. If those taxes are
excessive, they are reflected in idle factories, in tax-sold farms, and in
hordes of hungry people, tramping the streets and seeking jobs in vain. Our
workers may never see a tax bill, but they pay. They pay in deductions from
wages, in increased cost of what they buy, or--as now--in broad unemployment
throughout the land. There is is not an unemployed man, there is not a
struggling farmer, whose interest in this subject is not direct and vital.
It comes home to every one of us...Franklin D. Roosevelt. October 19,1932"The most direct and significant kind of Federal action aiding economic
growth is to make possible an increase in private consumption and investment
demand--to cut the fetters which hold back private spending. In the past,
this could be done in part by the increased use of credit and monetary
tools, but our balance of payments situation today places limits on our use
of those tools for expansion. It could also be done by increasing Federal
expenditures more rapidly than necessary, but such a course would soon
demoralize both the Government and our economy. If Government is to retain
the confidence of the people, it must not spend more than can be justified
on grounds of national need or spent with maximum efficiency...John F.
Kennedy Speech to The Economic Club of New York December 14, 1962
I was all fired up and full of piss and vinegar and ready to rumble today...but I had a nice and relaxing day, so I've lost some fire. Don't worry. It'll be back. I can't go too long before the Moron and his Media Toadies anger me enough to start writing!
Take care, all...Bob
2/12/02 - Has it been 6 Days? Some Observations...
I was fondly remembering my days in Ancient History classes in both high school and college. Then I remembered one damning and cynical phrase that truly bench-marked the fall of the Roman Empire.
Something like, "Give the people 'Bread and Circuses' and they'll never realize what we're (Emperors & the Senate) really doing for ourselves AND TO THEM."
And it's happening right now as Empire America seeks to bestride the World while ridding us of Terrorists, when the real goal is to make every offending nation a new Democracy in our own image.
Nice sentiments, but actually very tricky and extremely dangerous. Tricky in that diplomacy, despite what the Moron thinks, is very very complex. Simple-minded s