The Good Old Days

And we're worried about Joe Camel????!! A blast from the 60s:

The 800 lb Gorilla......

There's an issue we repeatedly refuse to face. More on it in a later post, but here are two appetizers on the subject:

Chicago Trib

CNN

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing.......

I don't mean to sound cold or cynical, but what the heck's up with this picture from today's WaPo attached to a story about a V-Tech memorial vigil? Are these people really this desensitized to advertising?

Caponed

The History Channel and other sources proudly remind us that there are many ways to skin a cat from a law enforcement perspective, once we are sure that all the circumstantial as well as the inadmissible evidence is sound but not necessarily court-proof. The infamous example is that of Al Capone, a gangster and killer of epic proportion, yet skilled enough to avoid the smoking gun for his illegal activities. So the feds took a different approach, asserting that although his income, while illegal, was still subject to federal income tax. So they nailed him on tax evasion.

The new oversight congress is taking much the same approach with the woefully inadequate current federal AG, Alberto Gonzales. Here is a guy who is so unqualified for his current position that in the real world he'd struggle to achieve county prosecutor in a rural post. But due to a combination of PC pandering and a talent for being a yes man he's ridden coattails to the top.

The fact that he's flown cover for so many anti-American, anti-democracy activities (read: torture, illegal surveillance, cancelling habeas corpus among others) necessitates that this cancer be excised as soon as possible, and by any means necessary.

Our sound bite culture, as well as the sophisticated spin machine on the far right make it difficult if not impossible to objectively weigh all the evidence and reach a collective, thoughtful decision on the AG; it's always gonna be a Sharks-Jets scenario. Given that, I think the Dems are pursuing the best case destination, the thread that, while it may not have the strongest preponderance of evidence does have sex appeal to capture the public psyche enough to weather the spin storm.

May I also state that any American, regardless of party, regardless of issue, that supports the idea of Executive Branch members who have evidence of impropriety against them and are refusing to answer questions on the record and under oath should have their citizenship revoked.

Nostalgia

A favorite. Enjoy while YouTube still supports it (till Viacom kills it) Go to YouTube and search on the Honeymooners to get other episodes:

Part 2
Part 3

The Beginning of the End?

Of our national nightmare.
Behind the scenes, the Dems are undoing the hijacking.
One of them.

Shocking Video from Indonesia

What I MEANT to Say Was...........

Click to enlarge.

Republican Righteousness

An interesting WaPo column about Republicans' outrage that the 110th congress' majority party is not letting them participate in the initial direction of the legislative agenda. Amazing. There is no ethical, moral, or hypocritical boundary these guys would even hesitate crossing.

Click on the Seattle PI editorial cartoon below (or right click and choose "view image") for a larger view:

Helter Skelter

They say that the definition of insanity is repeating the same mistakes over and over and expecting different results. This definition fits to a T George Bush's "plan" (it's more of an adjustment than a plan) to escalate the occupation of Iraq.

This latest cynical attempt to run out the clock on his watch demonstrates his continuous and blatant total disregard for what is right for the U.S. and the American people. Increasing the troop level in Iraq by 15% is like offering a person suffering from hyperhydration a glass of water. Every credible authority on the situation on the ground in Iraq agrees that U.S. troop presence in the country is the main reason for the level of the violence. This is a problem in need of a political solution, not a military one. Our military forces are designed to fight wars, not police anarchic cities.

And of course we are hearing a new wave of old hyperbole and meaningless rhetoric from W and his rapidly dwindling pool of sycophants. "The Dems have no plan, we're fighting them there so we don't have to fight them here, failure is not an option" and on and on. One change, W has recently broken new ground by talking to reporters other than FOX folks, such as his recent appearances on 60 Minutes and The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. Unfortunately he's still sputtering the same tired material: simplistic generalizations, childish metaphors, and gross misinformation which show he either doesn't understand the complex issues or doesn't care. And he's still doing it in an arrogant, cynical, condescending manner. Like a sarcastic cheerleader. As conservative David Brooks put it, "he needs to talk to people as adults, not down to them as 5 year olds".

The problem is there is no good option anymore, it's going to be ugly any direction we go at this point. The best option would have been to not invade in the first place. The second best option would have been to go in with sufficient troop levels to initially maintain order. And the third best option would have been to preserve the civil and social infrastructure. But those doors have closed years ago. The absolute worst option is to stay the course, but add more fuel to the fire with additional troops.

No More Hunger

Well, it looks like our rightie friends in DC have solved yet another of our nations many problems! No longer will any American go hungry. Amazing! They may experience some, well, er, low food security. But hunger? C'est histoire.......

Read it and weep.....

Fresh Ideas From the GOP

He's baaaaaaaacckkkkkk!!!!!!

Looks like last week's mid-term election results had a profound effect on the Republican party. They seem to recognize a new direction is needed.

Christians United Against Christ

It always blows me away how many self-professed "Christian" organizations preach and emphasize the exact opposite of what Christ actually taught, prefering to spread hate and intolerance. The latest example.

Ed Bradley

Wow. Knock me over with a feather. Like most folks I was shocked to read of Ed Bradley's untimely (whatever that means) death today. A fabulous reporter. A good man.

Can We Talk (Joan Rivers style)???

I don't like to gloat, and I don't like when it's done to me. It's not constructive.

But can I take a moment to say nyah nyah nyah?

We deserve it. You pompous, righteous blowhards have been slamming us with your "fair and balanced" crap for 12 years.

Time to show you get as good as you give.

I am enraptured (no pun intended) with the rightie response today. My reaction:

Now we're subjected to the big government tax 'n spend group again

• Yeah, as opposed to the folks who have driven a record surplus into a record debt, with no end in sight. Can you say DHS?? The reality (as opposed to the empty rightie rhetoric) is that the Reps have proven they've never met a spending bill they didn't love. Except they don't tax for the revenues, they borrow. Its like dropping a teenage girl off at the mall with an unlimited credit card.

Osama bin Laden is joyful now

• Oh, did I fall asleep just now? Oh yeah, that old Rove/Copperfield sleight of hand

Well, the Dems had better perform now or....

• Or what? You're gonna return congress to the pedophiles, crooks and druggies?

The Dems didn't win it, the Reps lost it

• Yeah, whatever you need to believe to relieve the sting. The Dems have learned some things about campaigning over the last 6 years. They were focused and disciplined. They worked very hard and stayed on message. They didn't get drawn into false choices or hypotheticals. Tens of thousands of volunteers made millions of phone calls, rang millions of doorbells, contributed millions of dollars, sent millions of eMails, and hosted thousands of activism parties. Air America and other underpaid (in some cases unpaid) broadcasters did tens of thousands of shows getting the message out, and did the media circuits. Maybe the Reps incompetent governance made it the huge blowout it was, but the Dems earned the victory.

As Lou Dobbs said, the voters have told you that it's now your turn to shut up and listen.....

Someone PLEASE Pinch Me.......

If I had false teeth they'd have dropped out of my head when I saw this article this morning. It's so shocking that it seemed like perhaps it was just a prank. But it's not. Here's the man that is probably one of the 3 or 4 people most responsible for the war in Iraq criticizing the current administration for bungling the effort in interview for an upcoming Vanity Fair issue!! This, the guy who was drawing up plans to invade years before W knew there was a country named Iraq, the guy who wanted to go in with 40,000 troops and bitterly criticized General Shinseki for wanting to use 250,000 troops (the good General was then unceremoniously dumped), pointing his finger in blame!!!! He's also part of the "we'll be greeted with flowers and candy", and "oil revenues will pick up the tab" crowd.

If there was ever a shred of honor, honesty, character, responsibility, compassion and/or accountability in the NeoCon movement it surely has been choked out years ago......

Chicken Counting

Dems everywhere are gleefully antsy for next Wednesday to dawn, believing their party will definitely be in control of the House, and possibly the Senate. Not so fast, folks, remember that old admonishment about counting and chickens and hatching and such.

As much as it hurts me to say this, I believe this is what'll happen: If the Dems do pick up the House (which I doubt) it'll only be by one or two seats. This would be a disaster, as they'd not be able to get anything of substance done in the next two years, yet would take all the blame for the righties past mismanagement of government giving the Reps plenty of cannon fodder in '08. And the Senate? It will remain firmly in rightie hands. My reasons?

• Remember, to these guys winning is not everything, it's the only thing. There's nothing, absolutely nothing that they won't do to hang onto power. If you think things have gotten as ugly as they can get over the last week, wait until their so-called "72 Hour Plan" kicks in tomorrow.
• The Republican gerrymandering projects over the last 12+ years make a Dem win all but impossible.
• The righties know that if the House Dems get subpoena power more than a handful of political careers and personal lives are going to be ruined. The stakes are just too high to let the people decide.
• The vote manipulation and outright fraud we'll see next week (and are already seeing this week) will make '04 and '00 "irregularities" look like jaywalking. But this time we're much less likely to be able to prove it due to the fact that the vast majority of folks will be voting on electronic machines without a dependable audit trail.
• Lastly, this little article in Barron's slipped in under the radar a few weeks ago with little fanfare, but it's simple and sobering. (Though WaPo is still hopefull)

The Rest of the Story

While I am tired of John Kerry's bumbling public relations (see previous post), make no mistake: The righties, knowing full well what he really meant, intentionally promoted the misinterpretation regardless of what the effect on "The Troops" might be as a result, so long as there was political hay to be made from it. And what chutzpah, after all, they're the folks that did the real harm with a misguided and botched invasion of Iraq, and stripping desperately needed benefits when the vets come home. Even in my own area, that fraud McGavick is scrambling to get some of it. But the NYT says it much better than I could.

Well, as long as we're speaking of Iraq, there's a story that got pretty much buried by the Kerry flap. A classified document prepared by USCentCom leaked to the NYT shows the military's (and presumably the government's) true assessment of the "progress" in Iraq. Here is the story they ran two days ago. I'm surprised CNN didn't cover it, as they seem to have "grown a pair" in recent months. Click on the image above to see a larger version of the chart in question.

Shut the %$#@ Up: Part III

Is any progressive besides me tired of John Kerry?

Senator Kerry is a talented, dedicated and effective public servant. And he would have made a decent president, sparing us 4 more years of pain under Commander Cuckoo Bananas.

But the good Senator is not the Great Communicator. He proved that in 2004.

I take him at his word, that he merely meant to deride W with his "botched joke" two days ago. Especially after hearing parts of the speech which preceded and followed the part that's gotten so much attention over the last few days. But a seasoned politician, particularly a veteran United States Senator, should have an instinct to avoid even being in the same neighborhood with the comments he made. The RNC folks are peeing themselves over this one. Those sharks know blood when they smell it.

And then his ego prevented a graceful exit. Instead he subjected us once more to that awkward, clumsy Kerry shuffle. The comments required a nuanced explanation. Then the explanation required a nuanced explanation. A painful flashback to 2004. The Great Equivocator.

Enter the leftie talking and writing heads. More explanation. Thin claims that all reasonable people would not have mistaken Kerry's comments, that the White House is intentionally making a mountain out of a molehill.

Next, righties everywhere wrap themselves in the flag once more and feign cynical, phony shock at this insult to our "brave men and women in uniform". The righteous demands for an apology. Then, on script, the declaration of the apology being either too little, or too late, or both.

Two sad things about this: First, the veneer of Iraq was finally wearing thin for the righties. So what does the good Senator do? He gives them a giant October present. Second thing? There's more than a little truth to his unintended meaning, and politicians on both sides of the aisle know it.

The good part? Any progressive who forgot the lessons of 2004 is reminded again why the Senator should not get his or her support in the 2008 presidential primaries.

Elmer Gantry

This is not your father's Republican party.

I don't know what the Republicans stand for these days. They used to claim to be the party of smaller, less intrusive government, fiscal restraint & responsibility, personal accountability, defender of the military, and states' autonomy on personal issues. They believed in habeas corpus and the Bill of Rights. But over the last 12 years their actions, incredibly, demonstrate the opposite intent on all these issues. And they are incapable of civilized, constructive dialogue about any national issue, preferring to spread fear and hate with clever, meaningless, mean-spirited sound bites. And like the German Reich of the 1930s (as well as many other autocratic repressive governments in history) they angrily brand a dissenting voice as being in bed with some simplistic two-dimensional enemy, like the fictional superhero villains. They only speak in negative terms, never in hopeful possibilities.

I hear people defend the party, calling the current bunch in charge NeoCons, a temporary fringe religious bunch who are not true Republicans.

But the name on the door is still "RNC" (and if you want a taste of their positive message, check this out).

But trying times can make strange bedfellows. I find myself reading some sane, constructive conservatives like George Will. I actually listen to Pat Buchanan (though I don't agree with most of his opinions, they are well reasoned). And Lou Dobbs has clearly turned a corner

Toward the former, Mr. Will, I recently read a column of his where he quite astutely separates and analyzes two flavors of modern conservatism (I believe there are three). He uses the Mark Foley debacle as a backdrop.

Speaking of Foley, I actually read a female rightie columnist trying to minimize the Foley thing by saying we have to "separate true children" from teenagers, and that men between the ages of 16 & 18 at their "muscular peak", as if that explained everything (others have made similar arguments, though not to this extent). So much for black & white right and wrong. Equivocation and nuance where it serves us. Definitive clarity where it does.