"Restoring Honor and Dignity to the White House"

I suppose, by now, everyone has seen the latest video of our president flipping us off. Again.

George W. Bush is an embarrassment. He is a spoiled, old-money rich punk who never had to do an honest day's work in his life, had everything he ever "achieved" handed to him on a silver platter, never had to become an adult, never had to develop the tools necessary to function in civilized society. He is so inarticulate that he is barely coherent. When he does manage to convey a thought, it is likely that it is a lie. In word and deed, his actions are those of an ill-behaved adolescent.

Don't get me wrong about the finger thing. I am not a prude. I flip people off, too, if it makes my point, where appropriate. That is the issue: there is such a thing as appropriate behavior, and in this case, most especially, where it involves the man who holds what is possibly the most powerful position in the world. Anybody with any brains at all should be able to realize that when you are in that position, you should behave with a little dignity and restraint (conservative ideas apparently lost on contemporary neocons). You should also have the brains to realize that whenever cameras are on you, you are representing all of us, the American people, to the whole world. People all over the planet will see Bush's asinine behavior and believe that his undisguised loathing represents Americans' opinion of them. After all, a majority elected him, right?

How stupid and immature can Bush be? We're not talking about complex protocol or unfamiliar customs here, we're talking about fundamental knowledge; rules of behavior that most of us learn at an early age. Does George Bush hate the American people that much? Does he despise the whole world that much? One thing is certain - he is apparently, completely unaware of the significance of the office he holds. To him, it is just the family business; a position of royalty, not public service. And, having spent his life in the lap of luxury, blessed with power and priviledge, he propbably thinks that being a contemptuous, sneering lout is completely okay - it's normal behavior for him and his group.

What do you think the security implications are for saying "fuck you" to open cameras and microphones? Since it was not directed at anyone in particular, it was obviously intended for everyone. You. Me. Liberals, conservatives, independents, everyone. Americans, foreigners, allies, enemies, pacifists, insurgents, soldiers, first-responders, victims of war on both sides, christians, moslems, jews, hindus, bhuddists, everyone. George Bush says, "fuck you all." Way to win hearts and minds, George, you insipid ass. Way to "bring 'em on."

But wait, it gets worse. There are millions of people in this country who actually think all of that is okay. They react to Bush's flipping people off by saying that it only proves he is human; a good-ol'-boy just like them, someone they can "have a beer with," a plain old cattle rancher. They want their president to be an asshole. Even as they cloak themselves in piety and proclaim themselves to be morally superior to the rest of us, they don't hesitate to excuse the most appalling behavior imaginable when it is committed by one of their own. To them, I say, Fine. Here is our response.

Wouldn't it be nice if, next time, we managed to elect a president who is not a complete and utter embarrassment?

Me Too!

With respect to Curfew's "Turd Blossom" article, I'd like to add a chapter, too:

"Mr. Rove’s famous speech redelivered, moments after his icy veins are injected with industrial-strength truth serum." Read KARL ROVE ON SODIUM PENTOTHAL

Ha ha...

Turd Blossom

As told by CNN: KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) -- It may be President Bush's nickname for key political adviser Karl Rove, but some editors don't think it belongs in their newspapers.
About a dozen papers objected to Tuesday's and Wednesday's "Doonesbury" comic strips, and some either pulled or edited them. The strips refer to Rove, the White House deputy chief of staff, as "Turd Blossom."

Edited them? I wonder which nicknames seemed more appropriate. Any suggestions?

Censorship rocks.

Ca$hing In With Bu$h

The President and his cabinet will personally save hundreds of millions of dollars by repealing the estate tax. Not for us... for them. Isn't that wonderful? How nice for them! I'm sure they'll each do a lot of good in the world with all that money.

How many average working stiffs out there will benefit? How many average Joe's and Jane's are anxiously awaiting the repeal of the estate tax? It doesn't matter, because we'll all be happy to pay a greater share of the burden so the richest of the rich can demonstrate that old money never goes out of style.

That's okay. We will keep working harder for less money, while the Bush league eliminates overtime pay and throws parties for porn stars. After all, he only way to defeat those terrorists is on the strength of our "Christian values", right?

Doesn't this bug anyone?

Italy issued warrants for the arrest of six additional CIA agents (with 13 prior warrants issued) for the kidnapping and torture of Osama Nasr Mostafa Hassan whom they were investigating on terrorism related charges.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm dense and naive, but isn't there something fundamentally wrong with policing the world? Whatever happened to saying "please" (as in, could we "please" interrogate your terrorist?"?

For more of "the CIA's greatest hits", check out this link: (Or buy the book if you have $5 to spare.... large print and pictures = super awesome)

If I don't post for a while, I've been kidnapped and tortured. Call Italy for more info.

The Week

It’s been a big week in news. Between Rove, the Supreme Court, the PATRIOT act, a second round of bombings in London and Jude Law sleeping with his nanny it’s hard to know where to start. Some thoughts:

1) Lets try not to lose site of the FACT that Karl Rove, by confirming that Valerie Plame was a CIA agent, broke the law.

2) Arlen Specter should follow through with what he suggested to Bush and force a more moderate choice. Even if we all believe the Republicans are above nominating a judge that will follow their agenda, since he argued for Row versus Wade for Bush Senior we should exclude him from this process.

3) Each of the Democratic representative that voted to extend the PATRIOT act, please consider joining another party, preferably one that supports fascism.

4) The London bombings, although horrific remind us that we must deal with terrorism as a part of life. Let’s consider the thousands of people who have been victims of gun related violence in the US this year and the tens of thousands that have died of starvation worldwide, it gives terrorism a little perspective.

5) Jude Law, what the hell were you thinking? Your fiancé is hot.

RIP, James Doohan

I know this is off the usual topic, but a hero of mine has flown away. Scotty was always my favorite. I'll never forget that character. In all the articles I have ever seen or read that mentioned his name, no one ever said anything bad about James Doohan. He was always praised as the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet, and he was nice to his fans.

I'm not a star-struck guy, and there have been very few celebrities whose passing I mourn. But James Doohan is one. I'll miss him. His greatest adventure begins (click photo for more info).

Supreme Lack of Representation

This is not in any way a partisan concern, this is a legitimate concern for a balanced judiciary - well, at least a concern for keeping the current out of balance Supreme Court the way it is. If it can't get any better, we sure don't want it to get worse...

John Roberts, Bush's choice to succeed Sandra Day O'Connor, a swing vote on many issues such as Roe v Wade, may be better than a far, far right conservative (although the jury's still out), but he's still a man. His appointment would mean out of the nine justices, a whopping eight would be male. How can the voice of one woman, a Democrat no less, be heard through the din of eight men? The United States is over 50% women, but our highest court will be represented by one of nine. No matter what side of the fence you fall on, that is totally unbalanced.

The Neocon Oil Revenue Orgy

In "The Great Iraq Oil Giveaway," Chris Floyd explains:

"...Iraqi oil money that fell into the hands of the profiteer-in-chief, President George W. Bush. According to detailed audits and investigations by Congress, the Pentagon, the General Accountability Office, the International Advisory and Monitoring Board, and the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, more than $8.8 billion in Iraqi money under Bush's control simply went walking between October 2003 and July 2004, the London Review of Books reports. These were revenues supposedly earmarked for the Iraqi government -- but no one knows where they actually went...

"...looting on a scale not seen since the days of the Mongol Horde -- is just a single rivulet in the vast delta of corruption draining the conquered land. Christian Aid estimates that an additional $4 billion in unmetered oil export revenue was sold off under the counter, Saddam-style, to coalition cronies. Then there were the planeloads of cold cash spread around by Bush's "Provisional Authority" -- off the books, natch -- to "couriers," brokers, Western contractors, tribal leaders, "intelligence assets"...

"All of this money was stolen from the Iraqi people. In fact, every bit of Iraq's oil money was seized by Bush and transferred to New York's Federal Reserve Bank in May 2003... And oil revenues kept flowing to Bush's bank account after the conquest. All told, by the time Bush's personal viceroy, Jerry Bremer, did his "last days of Saigon" bug-out from Baghdad last year, the Crawford Caligula had run through $20 billion of Iraq's oil money.

"No one has been brought to justice for this monstrous -- indeed murderous -- thievery. And the oil barons preparing to feast on the new tenders needn't worry about such "quaint" notions as legality either. That's because Bush... recently renewed his infamous Executive Order 13303, the blanket immunity for all U.S. corporate interests involved in any way with Iraq's oil... The original edict was issued... May 2003.

"Bush's ukase applies to all traffickers in Iraqi oil -- as long as their loot finds its way, by hook or crook, into the coffers of "United States persons or entities." Bush declares flatly that any "judicial process" launched against these protected entities -- not excluding criminal proceedings for, say, fraud, corruption, extortion, even murder -- "shall be deemed null and void."

"Money and power, grabbed through violence and deceit: that's the real point -- the only point -- of Bush's "war on terror.""

Their is no war on terror, truthseekers. To the PNAC Neocons, this is business. They are in the business of war, and of energy. They want to possess everything of value. They will stop at nothing to take it, without remorse. They are vile, insidious, and lie to the world to satisfy their diabolical appetites.

By the way... at last official count, around 51% of Americans really like them. It is a sick, sad world, indeed.

The fictional conservative on Karl Rove

Obviously the people to blame in this whole Rove affair are Joe and Valerie Wilson. What were they thinking trying to go to some place in Africa to debunk intelligence that Cheney already told the analysts was the truth? Traitors. Anyway Valerie is a French looking, Republican hating, Hillary loving, mega bitch and her husband is a piss ant for taking orders from his wife. They are haters of freedom and democracy.

Karl Rove is nothing but honest. He has never done anything dishonest, ever. He is a patriot, a true American, a lover of freedom and democracy. The leftist, activist, socialist, liberal, freedom and democracy hating media is trying to convince the public that this great man did something wrong. They should be ashamed. Every media outlet that has furthered this lie should write a letter to Rove apologizing for their insolence. Imagine a world without freedom and democracy. That's a world without Karl Rove.

I apologize in advance for this post. I wanted to see what it was like to write a post from the conservative perspective. Fun really. Conservative bloggers would make great fiction writers.

Arlington

My alarm woke me up with the following country and western gem this morning.

"Arlington (Trace Adkins)

I never thought that this is where I'd settle down,
I thought I'd die an old man back in my hometown,
They gave me this plot of land, me and some other men, for a job well done,
there's a big white house sits on a hill just up the road,
the man inside he cried the day they brought me home,
they folded up a flag and told my mom and dad, we're proud of your son

Chorus:
And I'm proud to be on this peaceful piece of property,
I'm on sacred ground and I'm in the best of company,
I'm thankful for those things I've done,
I can rest in peace, I'm one of the chosen ones, I made it to Arlington

I remember daddy brought me here when I was eight,
we searched all day to find out where my granddad lay,
and when we finally found that cross,
he said, "son this is what it cost to keep us free" Now here I am,
a thousand stones away from him,
he recognised me on the first day I came in,
and it gave me a chill when he clicked his heels, and saluted me.

(Repeat Chorus)

and every time I hear twenty-one guns,
I know they brought another hero home to is

we're thankful for those thankful for the things we've done,
we can rest in peace, 'cause we are the chosen ones,
we made it to Arlington, yea dust to dust,
don't cry for us, we made it to Arlington"

If this guy died in Iraq then these have to be the most ridiculous two lines of music ever written:

"there's a big white house sits on a hill just up the road,
the man inside he cried the day they brought me home"

He didn't cry, he didn't even acknowledge that you are dead.

Moderate for the Supreme Court

Arlen Specter issued a thinly veiled warning to the President not to pursue a conservative candidate for the Supreme Court. Speaking to Brit Hume on the fair and balanced republican network he said the following:

"... where you have cases like the right to die and whether you're going to execute 17-year-olds, what you're going to do with medical marijuana, it is important to have somebody who is not ideologically bound in one camp or the other on one extreme or the other.

And I think that to achieve what the president wants -- and that is a dignified proceeding and somebody who will add luster to the court -- that he's going to try to find somebody to maintain that kind of balance."

Now that's got to piss off the evangelicals. It made my Sabbath.

CAFTA

Since I called this site neolibs.com I should be able to stand behind the one definition that is commonly used for neoliberalism as it relates to market fundamentalism. With the CAFTA debate on the agenda now is a good time to address this definition. Neoliberals are advocates of free trade between governments that support business through policy but not through tariffs or subsidies. I believe that allowing developing nations to compete on the same platform as developed nations is the best policy for ensuring equitable trade between nations and results in higher standards of living for citizens in these competing nations. Obviously it’s a utopian view and in reality the playing field is anything but level. Instead the wealthy western nations ensure they find methods for protecting their constituents at the expense of poorer nations and the agreements in principle seem sound but in reality are anything but free.

Although it’s not perfect, CAFTA is the chance for the American government to do something right for the people of Central America. The agreement will have a net positive effect on the lives of millions of people even if it results in reduced income for some US manufacturers. Socialists argue that free trade agreements result in a drop in workers rights and the trickle-down theory following the signing of an agreement never materializes. It’s up to governments to ensure that workers profit from CAFTA. Considering Central America’s current rate of poverty it’s difficult to imagine that a flow of money into these countries as opposed to a flight of laborers to the US will be detrimental. Union members must understand that nationalistic labor policy that suppresses the advancement of any citizenry is contradictory to tenets of their movement.

Support the OYE

Support Operation Yellow Elephant:
Get those young republicans off their chickenhawk asses and make them "Support the Troops"!

(click picture to enlarge)

Making the World Unsafe for Democracy

Mr Smorgasboard sent me this. It's written by Tom Engelhardt and definitely worth a read.

www.tomdispatch.com

The hurricane that didn't

"Dan Thomas of WEAR-TV retrieves equipment from his satellite truck in Navarre Beach, Florida."

I guess the irony of this photo and caption was lost to the folks at CNN. The coverage by FOX, CNN and MSNBC was yesterday was insane. Even my local news which never covers anything beyond my state had weather people in Mobile and Pensacola waiting to be decapitated by a flying roof. Do we really need to see reporters being battered by raging wind and rain to get the feeling of being in the hurricane? It does nothing for me and it doesn't help the people losing their homes.

London Calling

I guess it's about time I add my thoughts on the recent London bombings, too. Bush's response was the same old lie, saying that he'll track down the perpetrators. Right. Him and OJ Simpson are a regular Starsky and Hutch. Osama Bin Forgotten, indeed.

I want to offer a link to a favorite article called Why Do They Hate Us? which explains what Bush and his followers can't comprehend (or refuse to admit). Excerpt:

"...the security apparatus of this nation has been engaged in undermining freedom and democracy in other parts of the world, which have included the Middle East, among other regions, for the purpose of maintaining and expanding the power and fortunes of the privileged class. Furthermore, Americans have been lied to for decades by the government and our so-called free press concerning the basis and justification for these interventions. When I was first exposed to such information, my reaction was typical of most Americans, I did not want to believe it. I still wish it were not true, but there is no honor in burying your head in the sand. Past violations of the rights of other nations and indigenous peoples must be acknowledged and redressed, and we must prevent the occurrence of future indignity and loss of life. In short, if we are unwilling to acknowledge the darker periods of our history, we are not only doomed to repeat it, but we may find we are doomed by it as the thousands who died in New York City on 9/11/2001. [and in London recently - snc].

"In light of our history of interference with the politics, economy and society of regions like the Middle East, the answer to the question, "why do they hate us?" is not the coy yet typical response of our leaders... Rather it is that "they hate us" because we have attacked them. Our security apparatus has been engaged in military attacks, assassinations, and political and economic manipulation upon other sovereign nations that continues to this day. The people of the Middle East have been denied their natural political, economic and social evolution because of outside interference funded by U.S. tax dollars for several decades. However, as 9/11 [and the London incident - snc] indicates, those who have nothing to lose, have everything to gain by attacking their oppressors."

For further information, see also:

List of Illegal U.S. Interventions
Killing Civilians To Show That Killing Civilians is Wrong
A Century of US Military Interventions I
A Century of US Military Interventions II
A Chronology of U.S. Imperialism
History of US Interventions
List of U.S. foreign interventions since 1945
History of U.S. Interventions
U.S. Conduct in the Middle East Since World War II and the Folly Of Intervention

Time for a change

The bombings in London are further evidence that Al Qaeda's ability to attack has not been diminished since 9/11. Instead the war in Iraq has left the US and UK with a lack of resources to effectively protect their citizens. Walking through the train station today the state police with machine guns didn't make me feel safer. I know that next week they will be gone as funding for security in my area is running dry. At the federal level 18 billion dollars has been spent on the airline industry as oppsed to 250 milllion for mass transit systems. After all Bush's base prefer limos to trains (Bush said it himself: "You are the haves and have mores...you are my base.")

Meanwhile our soldiers are dying in Iraq, in a war that each day strengthens Al Qaeda; the image of US troops occupying Iraq strengthens their numbers and the lack of domestic security strengthens their ability to attack. I have no confidence in this administrations ability to protect my livelihood. They have repeatedly shown their determination to continue fighting a war that can only be won by changing their global image. Meanwhile they are adamant that there is nothing about the US image that needs to change. I'm stunned when people tell me they don't like George Bush but they are impressed with his resolve. His convictions continue to be wrong and are not in the best interests of this country.

The English will realize that they too have been lead astray by their leader. Blair has stood doggedly behind Bush in a war that has been detrimental to their country and has done nothing to make the world safer.

Winning the war on terror...

Posted to Flickr by Antarctic Lemur

Actors should act

Tom Cruise is a psychiatry professor, George Clooney is at the G-8 supporting Bush's plan for African aid and Janeane Garofalo is the liberal voice Fox turns to. Not a day goes by that a celebrity isn't touted as an ambassador, leader or expert. It's great that actors have an opinion but I'm sick of them being touted as the people we should turn to for knowledge on everything from AIDS in Africa to global warming.

Freedom and peace don't mix

Apparently if you are a peace organization in Winslow, Maine there is no place for you in the annual July 4 parade. I guess the irony of not allowing dissenters in a parade celebrating dissent was lost on the organizers.

The US Army recruiters were allowed to march. Got to love conditional freedom of speech.

Thanks to the friend who pointed me towards this.

Did Rove screw-up?

From the start it was clear Rove was the source of the leak that lead to the outing of Valerie Plame. Joe Wilson stated it immediately after and now the evidence points to Rove being the source. There aren't many people I dislike more than Rove. He's has been responsible for some of the most disgusting campaign tactics of anyone in US politics. Other countries do it meaner, case in point being Yushenko, but for an American he's quite a prick.

I'll be happy if this investigation goes somewhere and Rove is held accountable. It's amazing how arrogant Rove is to believe he can commit a federal crime without fear of retribution. If DeLay is any indication this may just be a blimp that will quickly fall from media attention.

Uncle Karl's Kids' Korner

An actual memo from Rove to Bush. It had not yet been screened to reduce the complexity, to make it suitable for the president.

Verizon Rebates

Not a liberal rant but one against the customer service of the mega-corporation Verizon. I bought a new Verizon cell phone last month and I took the time to send in all the required information to receive a Verizon rebate.

I received a letter yesterday stating I sent a copy of the UPC number when an original was required. I cut out the UPC number from the box and placed it in an envelope. I don't have a copier and now I have a cell phone box with a gaping hole in it. I always thought rebates were a scam...

Me: Can I you send me back the item that you believe is a copy of the UPC number?
Rep: No, once you send it to us it's our property.
Me: Why do you want to keep it if it's a copy?
Rep: Sorry sir it's ours.
Me: It's not a copy I definitely sent you an original.
Rep: The computer says it was a copy.
Me: The computer is wrong.
Rep: Sir, many people send us copies.
Me: Or your computer is often "wrong". Is this a scam?
Rep: Not at all.
Me: You have an unhappy Verizon customer here, is there anything you can do to follow up on this?
Rep: That may be sir but I'm afraid there is nothing I can do.
Me: Super

Weird thing is under a section titled "Original Information Submitted" on the back of the letter there is a UPC number. I wonder if someone hit the wrong check box. I am really frustrated by this. Verizon really should weigh the benefit of offering rebates against the chance of turning their customers against them. Anyone have a similar experience or are we the only people unlucky with rebates?

Just Testing...

Just testing Blogger Images. Seems to work!

Look at me, I´m Sandra Day

… lousy with virginité. So I guess the whole concept of checks and balances just went out the window. Instead we can look forward to abortion free society in which intellectually challenged 5 year olds are sentenced to death and brain dead women are saved from the sadism of arrogant doctors with the gall to believe they know more about medicine than an elected representative.

I know things are bad when I’m counting on Republican Senators in congress to be the "moderate" voice in government.