When Bush came to office--installed by the Supreme Court after receiving fewer votes than Al Gore--I speculated that the new President would have to govern in a bipartisan manner to be successful. He chose the opposite path, and his hyper-partisanship has proved to be a travesty of governance and a comprehensive failure. I've tried to be respectful of the man and the office, but the three defining sins of the Bush Administration--arrogance, incompetence, cynicism--are congenital: they're part of his personality. They're not likely to change. And it is increasingly difficult to imagine yet another two years of slow bleed with a leader so clearly unfit to lead.
Bigot, homophobe, mental midget and all around asshat, Jim Inhofe really tried to show his ass during Al Gore's Senate testimony on global warming yesterday. Barbara Boxer was having none of it.
During today's hearings on global warming, global warming denier James Inhofe was asking Al Gore questions, but didn't want to hear the answers because he thought the responses would take "too much time". Barbara Boxer then explained to Inhofe how things work in Senate now. Boxer: "You're not making the rules. You used to when you did this (holding up the gavel), you don't do this anymore. Elections have consequences"
U.S. Funds Being Secretly Funneled To Violent Al Qaeda-Linked Groups
Seriously. WTF? This is BIG. Iran-Contra anyone? Can we please, please just remove this entire administration and start over? Pretty please?
New Yorker columnist Sy Hersh says the “single most explosive” element of his latest article involves an effort by the Bush administration to stem the growth of Shiite influence in the Middle East (specifically the Iranian government and Hezbollah in Lebanon) by funding violent Sunni groups. Hersh says the U.S. has been “pumping money, a great deal of money, without congressional authority, without any congressional oversight” for covert operations in the Middle East where it wants to “stop the Shiite spread or the Shiite influence.” Hersh says these funds have ended up in the hands of “three Sunni jihadist groups” who are “connected to al Qaeda” but “want to take on Hezbollah.” Hersh summed up his scoop in stark terms: “We are simply in a situation where this president is really taking his notion of executive privilege to the absolute limit here, running covert operations, using money that was not authorized by Congress, supporting groups indirectly that are involved with the same people that did 9/11.”
Correspondent Wil S. Hylton lays out the case for impeaching the VP in the March issue of GQ. He's even crafted six articles of impeachment and substantiated each.
Over the past six years, as the country has spiraled into military misadventure, fiscal madness, and environmental meltdown, the vice president has not merely been wrong about the issues; he has been duplicitous, deceitful, and deliberately destructive to the American democracy. These things can no longer be denied by rational minds. Read the full article.
An excellent editorial on why the public isn't falling for Bush's standard technique when it comes to Iran. Dreyfuss also nails Bush on his miserable showing at Wednesday's news conference - the one that sent my blood pressure into overdrive:
All by himself, the president is trying to turn Iran into a scary, al-Qaida-allied, nuke-wielding menace. But he's not fooling anyone. The potent "war president" of 2002-2003 is now an incoherent, mewling Wizard of Oz-like figure, and people are paying attention to the man behind the curtain.
OK, so King George's little "news conference" has given me a migraine. George Bush and his cabal are dangerously out of control and they are about to get us into an even bigger mess than we're already in. So, here's my rant:
GWB is bound and determined to get us into a war with Iran, and anyone who believes otherwise just isn't paying attention or is in deep denial. At this point, if the Administration says one thing, you can bet the opposite is true. Worst part is they are using the same tried and true combination of deception, misinformation and distorted intelligence that got us into a quagmire in Iraq to fabricate a case for war with Iran. For the life of me, I don't know why the Press Corps even bothers to show up for a "news conference" unless it's for comic relief.
Here's just one example of what the great decider had to say about allegations that Iran is providing the Iraqi Shia opposition with weapons:
"Here's my point, either they knew or didn't know. What matters is, is that they're there. What's worse, that the government knew, or that the government didn't know?"
Sir, you haven't a fucking clue, much less a point. All signals point to some sort of US military action against Iran in the near future (with what army, I'm not sure). If you are going to bomb Iran into the Stone Age, it matters a great deal whether or not the Iranian government "knows" these weapons are being funneled into Iraq.
Furthemore, why are we suddenly rattling sabers over this new, grave threat to our troops when weapons of Iranian origin have been noted in Iraq for over two years. For that matter, what about the Chinese, Russian, and yes, American-made weapons that have been used against our troops from the beginning of this debacle? Let's just invade everyone!
There really needs to be a nationwide cry for this man's resignation. It is long, long overdue.
Earlier this week, First Lesbian, Mary Cheney, who is due to spew forth her demon spawn in a few short months, addressed the criticism she has received from America's bat-shit crazy religious extremists.
“When Heather and I decided to have a baby, I knew it wasn’t going to be the most popular decision,” Ms. Cheney said, referring to her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe. She then gestured to her middle — any bulge disguised by a boxy jacket — and asserted: “This is a baby. This is a blessing from God. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate, on either side of a political issue. It is my child.”
You almost - ALMOST - want to sympathise with her, but Dan Savage is having none of it. I have to agree wholeheartedly. She and her party gave the likes of James Dobson a place at the table and made their hate mongering part of the political discourse. You can't just take that away when it becomes inconvenient to your personal life. It's been inconvenient for the rest of us for quite some time.
Nice try, Mary. Yes, it’s a baby, not a prop. My kid isn’t a prop either, but that never stopped right-wingers from attacking me and my boyfriend over our decision to become parents. The fitness of same-sex couples to parent is very much part of the political debate thanks to the GOP and the Christian bigots that make up its lunatic “base.” You’re a Republican, Mary, you worked on both of your father’s campaigns, and you kept your mouth clamped shut while Karl Rove and George Bush ran around the country attacking gay people, gay parents, and our children in 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. It’s a little late to declare the private choices of gays and lesbians unfit for public debate, Mary.
You've got to read the rest. He doesn't pull any punches. [AMERICAblog]
