Summer Reading

Just back from a week away for a little relaxation in the sun. So first I have few words of advice, if you are going to read a book on a beach then keep moving your chair around to tan around the book. I currently am burnt all over my chest and stomach except for a white rectangle across my chest where Scott McClelland's book"What Happened" was.

I actually happy to have gotten the chance to read two books over vacation, ending a long drought of not reading books. I read McClelland's book and Jim Webb's book "A Time to Fight".

I had serious misgivings about buying McClelland's book. I agree a little with Bob Dole that if the guy had a problem with what was going on he should have spoken up instead of waiting for a 7 figure book deal. Upon reading the book, Scott is very honest about his role and shortcomings in the process. Scott's overarching theme of the book is that the Bush administration went into permanent campaign mode and often would attempt to vilify anyone that opposed them. I don't think any of his revelations were a big surprise but it is interesting to hear them from someone that was on the inside. Although I think he is a little naive in some of his observations and proposed solutions to the permanent campaign, but he is correct that the Clintons were great at it but Bush perfected it. The only real question is can anyone end it?

Jim Webb's book was more interesting. If you are not a political buff a quick bio on Jim. He held several positions in the military eventually becoming the Secretary of the Navy under Reagan. After leaving the position due to differences with policy, he went on to become a journalist (on military affairs) but more prominently a best selling award winning fiction author. In 2006 Jim Webb ran for Senate in Virginia against a powerful Republican Presidential Hopeful George Allen. Jim Webb won a narrow victory. Since becoming a Senator, he has done an outstanding job including his recent championing of the GI bill. I am happy to say I gave money to his campaign., because he has been such a great Senator in just 2 years.

Jim's book was a combination of an autobiography mixed in with his views on prominent defining issues our country is facing. I must admit that for a best selling author, I was surprised by how many tangents he went on in the book. That aside, after reading his book I am even more excited about the possibility of him being Obama's VP. That folks would be a dream team. Jim Webb would be a pitbull an Obama administration. One of the biggest problems of the Bush administration was that Bush surrounded himself by like minded individuals who all sang kumbaya as they went off merily to war. Jim Webb is nobody's lap dog (unlike let's say Condoleeza Rice). Jim Webb had amazing historical perspectives in his book about military tactics and would be an incredible asset. As passionate as Webb is about military tactics, he is just as passionate about the great divide in the class structure in the US. A Time to Fight is a great read.

Next up I need to read Audacity of Hope. I bought it months ago when it came out and haven't picked it up. I hear that author is doing pretty well on his own.

Hitting George with a 5X5

One of my favorite features from by brother's blog is his semi regular 5x5. Since I have been a little lazy of late in updating my blog I thought I would 'borrow' his format for one post. So in honor of Scott McClelland's new book, I have for you a special 5x5 George Bush edition.

5 most evil members of the Bush Administration

1 Dick Cheney- He is so evil Karl Rove comes in #2.
2 Karl Rove- You gotta respect a good villain. There is nothing good about this soulless creep.
3 Paul Wolfowicz- The master architect for the failed Iraq policy
4 John Bolton- With a mustache and hair like that has the evil looks to go with his evil persona.
5 John Ashcroft- It's hard to imagine anyone evil enough to lose a governor's race to a dead man, but somehow he managed.



5 most incompetent members of the Bush Administration

1 Donald Rumsfeld- He would have made the evil list except I was keeping the lists separate. He was such a master of inocmpetence that the phrase Rumsfeldian Incompetence was coined in his honor.
2 Condoleeza Rice- How she has escaped the the criticism her incompetence warrants is beyond me.
3 Alberto Gonzalez- Think about this for a minute. This guy was Attorney General and now can not get a job in the private sector. Wow!
4 Paul Bremer- If ever our Iraq policy had a small window to succeed, this guy shut the window with authority.
5 Michael Brown- Heck of a job Brownie

5 Biggest Failings of the Bush Administration

1 Iraq- I could break it down into it's components and it could fill the full list, but the Iraq policy as a whole is a disaster.
2 Protecting our country- Failing to show leadership in the run up to 9/11 failed to prevent the biggest attack in US history.
3 Failing to capture Bin Laden- Deserves a separate mention than the above line. Think about it. This cretin is responsible for killing 3000 Americans and yet he still draws breath.
4 Katrina- To allow the slow response on American soil that watched as hundreds died needlessly and an American city was wiped out is unfathomable.
5 Opportunity lost- instead of uniting the world with the US post 9/11, the administration drew the line of either you are with us or against us. Citing Guantanamo and Abu Grahaib, many decided to be against us.

5 Policies that the Bush Administration has exploited for their gain

1 Iraq War- After watching how the administration ran over the anti war candidates in the 2002 mid terms, many Congressman fell in line fast.
2 Gay marriage- Gotta appease the base.
3 Stem Cell Research- How much progress could have been made if the administration had not exploited this policy to appease the Christian Right
4 Terror Threat- It's ironic how the terror threat hasn't been mentioned since the 2004 election.
5 FISA/Illegal warrantless wiretaps- No one has ever come out with a compelling reason why it was necessary to circumvent the FISA court (pr work on updating it)

5 Accomplishments of the Bush Administration that will have a lasting positive impact on our country

1 Social Security reform- nope
2 Immigration reform- nope
3 Middle East Peace- Nope
4 Energy Policy- Nope
5 Reduce Carbon Emissions- Nope

Mixed Bag

Geraldine Ferraro was back in the news today hoping to remind people that she wasn't voting for some guy named Hussein. Thanks Geraldine, we stopped caring about your thoughts when you proved yourself to be a bigot.

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The crowd that saw Obama speak in Oregon numbered over 80,000. Think about it. Who else could draw 80,000 people in Oregon? Could a free concert from U2 draw that many people? Springsteen? How about the Pope? I'm hard pressed to think of many more that could draw so many people. Truly astonishing.

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The few remaining holdouts on staying Republican just about all make the tax argument. Democrats will raise your taxes. It's true I'm paying less money in taxes, but I'm paying more in gas, groceries, my housing value is going down, my stocks portfolio isn't going up as much. The moral of the story is that sometimes you get what you pay for.

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Today is Kevin Garnett's 32nd birthday. 8 more wins and you can have the summer off.

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I've seen every episode of Lost and I must admit, I'm so confused that I do not have one theory of where this is going. This really is either the most brilliantly written TV show of all time or the worst. I have no idea. Ask me in two years when the series ends.

ABC should piss every one off and cancel the series the year before it concludes.

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Quick name three Bush administration accomplishments........

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I have now attended 7 of the 8 Celtic Playoff games 5 of which with my children. While the games have been great, it amazes me how much some fans can be idiots. I was in the Men's room, standing behind a guy that could barely stand but proclaimed that hew would drive home that night. It reminded me of an article I read this year that said basically Kevin Garnett didn't want to play here because it is the only place where he was ever called the dreaded 'n' word and it happened several times.

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Jon Lester pitched a no-hitter for the Red Sox tonight. A great accomplishment especially considering his comeback from cancer. Congrats Jon!

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Jim Webb has a new book out today, I can't wait to read it. In addition to being the current Senator of Virgina, lead candidate for VP, a former Reagan administration Secretary of the Navy, he is also a best selling novelist. I am glad to see that a lot of people are putting him on the VP shortlist, I hope Obama makes the call. This guy is a GREAT Senator and would be an outstanding VP.

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After tomorrow's primaries, Hillary is going to be making a claim that she is winning the popular vote (including Michigan which Obama didn't get a single vote). This is like watching a player past his prime not realizing that the clock has struck midnight. Think Larry Homes fighting Butterbean in 1995). Poor Hillary, everyone else has moved on and she has no idea it is over.

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Bob Barr is going to be a major thorn in McCain's side. He is going to put at least two states in play for Obama (Georgia and Alaska). Look for lots of Democrats to make donations to his campaign to make him viable.

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Lastly, congratulations to George Takei (of Star Trek and Heroes fame) on his engagement to long time partner Brad Altman now that California has lifted the ban on gay marriage. George is a part time announcer for the Howard Stern Show and called the show today to announce his engagement. Good for George and Brad. they have been together for 21 years and who is to say they have a less meaningful relationship than anyone else.

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Trail Mix

Barack Obama has had a pretty good week, after getting shellacked in West Virginia by over 40 points he quickly changed the conversation by announcing the Edwards endorsement. He has also picked up about 30 superdelegates in the last week to Clinton's 2 and has effectively shut her out of the national political conversation. Even the few remarks you hear from her lately from the trail are very conciliatory.

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Barack's biggest win of the week came in his late week tussle with Bush over his ignorant remarks while traveling in Israel. When John McCain jumped in too it gave Barack an opening to tie John McCain's policies with that of the current Idiot in Chief. Barack will take that opening every day of the week. If John McCain wants to suffer the same fate as the 3 recent congressional defeats in Republican districts, he should continue to side with Bush on issues. The best thing McCain could have done in this instance is sit on the sideline and let Barack hammer Bush. It's a losing proposition anytime McCain is publicly associated with the worst President in the history of the United States.

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I seriously think that after North Carolina Hillary Clinton is doing Barack Obama a favor by staying in the race (not intentionally). If she had dropped out after her NC loss, Barack would have still gotten smoked in West Virginia and Kentucky but it would have been much worse to lose to a candidate no longer running. Hillary is still pushing the Florida and Michigan issue because it is her last claim to the nomination, but other than that she has toned the rhetoric way down (either that or she doesn't have any media following her anymore).

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If I could give one piece of advice to Joe Lieberman it would be that it is better to be silent and thought to be a fool than to speak and remove all doubt. In other words "shut the f#$% up Joe you idiot".

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One of my the sites I read regularly is the DailyKos. This past week site founder Markos Moulitsas has been away on a family emergency and posting infrequently. Reading the daily kos without kos is like watching the Celtics without Kevin Garnett, there are other good players, but collectively not as good.

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I am surprised nobody has made the remark that the reason Clinton hasn't dropped out is because women aren't good at math. Let me be the first to make that sexist joke.

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The stories of racism that have been on the periphery of the primary is disturbing but the thought that in the year 2008 a bar owner would market T shirts with a monkey on them with an Obama 08 under it is despicable.

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After recent Democratic congressional wins in three Republican leaning districts I can't help but think the minimum of new Senate seats they pick up is 6 (with an out side shot at 8) and at least 25 congress pick ups. Of course the election won't be held today and it is a long way to November.

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Stupid Enough

When I first started this blog I gave an almost daily insult to our commander in chief. Lately I have left him alone, after all he is mailing in his last term just running out the clock.

However, there has been growing efforts to ratcheting up the rhetoric with Iran. Seymour Hirsh said a couple of years ago in his revealing New Yorker article, George Bush feels that it is his 'moral imperative' to act against Iran.

While I am not going to debate the merits of attacking Iran, I think you could have made a better argument in 2003 that we should have dealt with Iran vs Iraq (a better argument, but still very flawed). But it isn't 2003 anymore. In the current environment, there are bigger concerns than Iran.

Our economy and the world economy are more of a peril to our country than the possibility that in 3-5 years Iran could have a nuclear weapon. The ramifications of attacking Iran would be $7.00 a gallon gas prices, sky rocketing inflation, mass layoffs, weakening tax base for federal, state, cities and towns.

Just think about all of the above happening in conjunction with the banking crisis we are currently in and people mortgaged beyond the value of their homes.

Funding this war in Iraq has helped bring us to where we are today. Escalating to Iran would be a financial disaster beyond our darkest nightmares.

While you have to believe the administration knows all of this, I wonder what they believe is a bigger priority. You have to believe Dick Cheney is fully entrenched in the bomb Iran camp, but is President Bush stupid enough to risk it all for his moral imperative?

Cost of War

On the right side of the blog, there is a counter estimating the cost of the war on Iraq. Sometime in the next few days that counter is going to hit the $500 million mark. Other than the human cost of war which is far more costly, think of how much this war will cost this country when all is said and done. how much more would a war in Iran cost? think of that if you plan on pulling the lever for John McCain. On this post I've examined how that money could have been better spent.

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John Edwards can get a new haircut every day for the next 3.4 million years.

The Celtics could sign Vin Baker to a contract for $12 million a year for the next 41,667 years.

Mitt Romney could actually fund a campaign for President in which he would actually win.

You could write a check for every American in the amount of $1667

You could give you could give every child under 18 in the state of Florida a full 4 year scholarship to Harvard.

You could fund 29 major league teams to have the same payroll as the Yankees for the next 89 years.

You could spend $10,638 on health care for every one of the 47 million uninsured American citizens.

Sirius could sign Howard Stern through year 5578.

Hillary Clinton could lend her campaign $5mil 100,000 times.

You could buy a Prius for every black and Hispanic household in the United States. (I picked these groups because the numbers worked, don't be offended if you don't get a Prius.

You could buy enough ribbon to tie a yellow ribbon around the center of the earth 7466 times.

You could rebuild New Orleans 5 times.

You could subsidize every sub prime loan foreclosure to 100% of it's value 2 times over.

Lastly, it would take Barack Obama only a little over 8 years to raise the money to cover the war on Iraq at the rate he raised money in February.

The Legacy of King George

A great former football coach once said, you are what your record says you are. With that in mind lets give George Bush his Performance Appraisal:

click on the image for a better view:


After this review, the President is going to need to go on a performance improvement plan. Seriously, who are the 35% that give him high approvals. They must include the 19% of Americans that think the country is on the right track.

One Year and Counting

Lost amid the coverage of the Presidential election is that we hit a milestone this weekend. We now only have one year left of the worst President in history. When I look at the list of potential Presidents, I can't think of any (ok, maybe Huckabee) that would be worse than the current occupant.

This Presidency has been so incredibly bad, that Republicans no longer defend him.

I could list out the constant incompetence that they have displayed over 7 years but most of that is old news. Upon reelection in 2004, Bush stated that he won political capital and he intended to use it. During the last three years since he made those remarks, I can not think of one accomplishment that he can point to.

The next President is going to be faced with some extremely serious issues that will need to be addressed quickly. The new President will face a recession that could be the worst of my lifetime, an accelerated trend on global warming, a national debt that is spiraling out of control, a health care crisis of 50 million uninsured that is bound to grow during the recession, a looming Social Security/Medicare shortfall, a war that shows no signs of ending, and a continuing threat from extremists.

With all of the problems that face us we need a President that is sprinting to the finish line not one that is running out the clock. One year from now I hope we get someone that is going to work hard and address all the things that have been largely ignored for 8 years.

Assorted Thoughts on the 2008 Elections

It is great to see that an underfunded candidate like Mike Huckabee can come from down the pack to becoming a front runner without one single political consultant working for his campaign. That said, he would be the worst President of the lot, so please go away.

The band teacher at Hope High has produced some famous musicians, first a sax player now a bass player.

A John McCain Presidency scares me because of the potential he will preemptively attack Iran. Other than that, he may be the best of the lot.

Fred Thompson would be the laziest President since, um, George W Bush.

I've seen it 15 times and I am convinced the only thing real about Hillary crying was the real impact it had on the voting public.

John Kerry's endorsement of Barack Obama might have had more impact (instead of no impact) had he done it just before the NH election. With momentum swinging against Hillary, that was the time to put her away.

I know of one person who has said he will leave the country if Barack Obama is elected for no other reason than he is black. One more good reason to vote Obama!

If Mitt loses Michigan and is essentially eliminated from the race, it will be a shame we are no longer going to be able to watch the Romney Family (phoney) Reality Show.

If the Democratic Primary continues to be tight, the real power at the Convention will lie at the hands of John Edwards. That is the only reason he is sticking around.

John Edwards is the Muke Huckabee of the Democratic Primary.

I will never understand why Rudy decided against campaigning in New Hampshire. Iowa I can understand, but by staying out of it he opened the door for McCain.

The Clintons injecting race into the race is nothing more than reminding voters that Obama is black. On top of that bringing up cocaine use is scaring people. In elections that are decided by a few thousand votes, playing into people's fears could convince enough voters on the margins to sway a state or two.

Obama may not win, but his strategy was sound. While his advisers were on him in August and September to give more fire into his speeches he resisted saying people would burn out on them and he would save them for the sprint to the finish. Instead he focused on giving a lot of policy speeches boring but substantive. Now he is being criticized for nor focusing enough on policy.

The thought of Hillary and Barack being on the same ticket is very remote. There is genuine dislike between them, especially from Clinton who is mad because he is destroying her invincibility.

Hillary Clinton spent $40mil getting reelected as Senator of New York, when she was basically running unopposed. Any of that money could have been transferred into her Presidential Campaign war chest. How much do you think she wishes that she didn't waste all that money?

Sometimes when I listen to Ron Paul I think he is right on the issues. He also has the most passionate supporters. Other times I wonder who is crazier, him or his supporters.

I Told You So

Back in 2000, I was very pro Gore. Nothing will ever convince me otherwise that nothing short of deceptive illegal voter intimidation and fraud cost him the election. To date President Bush has turned out to be the worst President of my lifetime (including Nixon). This morning Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize.

While it would be tempting for the 50,996,116 of us that voted for Al Gore to say "I told you so" to the 50,456,169 people who voted for Bush. However, that just isn't true. I would much rather have seen GWB succeed. I would rather have a President who I could have respected.

On the day Al Gore took the spotlight again I feel compelled to ask:
Where would we be on Stem Cell research with President Gore?
Would we have gone into Iraq?
If we go into Iraq, would it have been managed so incompetently?
Would we have finished to job in Afghanistan, including making it more stable and less prone to terror?
Would he have kept the budget deficit from rising to near crisis levels?
Would he have made us less dependent on foreign oil?
Would he have dropped the ball on all the signs leading up to 9/11?

I can't help but think that on every one of these issues, President Gore would have succeeded where President Bush failed miserably. When I do think of how much better things could have been I can only say "I told you so".

Quick Links

First off is a quick interview with the Real President Clinton. President Clinton handicaps the Republican race for President and compares Barack Obama to himself when he ran.

I'm not always a fan of Peggy Noonan of the WSJ Editorial Page, but in this article is right on the money. This article says a lot about the lack of a serious dialogue and refusal of people to listen to those they disagree with.

Slate has an article about learning from the mistakes of President Bush. Also in the article is a mention of Saddam offering to leave Iraq one month before the invasion. Every time I think it is impossible for me to think less of this incompetent administration, I read something that proves me wrong.

Add two lawsuits to the list of problems for Michael Vick. Two banks are suing him for $2 mil each. When it rains, it pours (cats and dogs).

If you like lists, Forbes has the best. From the Celebrity 100, the most overpaid executives, the top 2000 global companies, and so on. Stop by this site, lots of interesting stuff.

Quick Links

First link is a series of military photos of the WTC towers on 9/11. Some of these are aerial footage shots I've never seen before.

A year ago Liberal Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee lost his Senate race despite having an approval rating of over 60%. The reason he lost was that Rhode Island voters felt it was more important to the country to have a Democrat Majority than a Senator they liked. If he weren't running as a Republican he would have won by a large majority. He has now rectified that problem a year too late.

Fox is reporting that U.S. Officials Begin Crafting Iran Bombing Plan. Does anyone envision a positive outcome on this? WTF!

Much to everyone's delight, despicable scumbag reclaims his rightful throne this week from Michael Vick. SI has a nice recap of why OJ is the most reviled figure in sports. The next time I want to hear about OJ is when his judge rejects his parole id in 20 years.
Stupid Ass!

I must admit, I liked Elizabeth Hasselbeck on Survivor more than The View. Although I find most of her opinions naive and ill informed, she is on an opinion show and she has the right to express those opinions. Somebody please tell that to Barry Manilow. Barry, Democrats encourage free speech, your stance brings you to the level of Ann Coulter.

Why now?

After watching Bush's speeh the other night, I couldn't help but ask why we should believe them now given their track record.

"Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent.”

State of the Union Address – 1/28/2003

"Evidence from intelligence sources, secret communications and statements by people
now in custody reveal that
Saddam Hussein aids and protects terrorists, including members of Al Qaida."

State of the Union Address – 1/28/2003

"Satellite photographs reveal that Iraq is rebuilding facilities at [past nuclear] sites."

Bush speech to the nation – 10/7/2002

Joe Wilson's favorite:
"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

State of the Union Address – 1/28/2003

"We know he's been absolutely devoted to trying to acquire nuclear weapons, and we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons."

VP Dick Cheney – “Meet the Press” 3/16/2003

"The Iraqi dictator must not be permitted to threaten America and the world with horrible poisons and diseases and gases and atomic weapons."
-- George Bush, Oct. 7, 2002, in a speech in Cincinnati.

"We know where [Iraq's WMD] are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south, and north somewhat."
-- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, March 30, 2003, in statements to the press.

"Our conservative estimate is that Iraq today has a stockpile of between 100 and 500 tons of chemical weapons agent. That is enough to fill 16,000 battlefield rockets."
-- Secretary of State Colin Powell, Feb. 5 2003, in remarks to the UN Security Council.

Theories from the Grassy Knoll

Let me start by saying, I love conspiracy theories. I make up many of my own. Most of them (including mine) are total BS. With the 9/11 anniversaries, conspiracy theorists are out in force. I saw this video yesterday of a theory that the WTC's were taken out by planned demolition. I will comment on the theories below the video.


911 inside job bush is a devil and so is blair

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According to Richard Clarke's book Against All Enemies (which I highly recommend), Richard's states something to the effect that in order to believe that a conspiracy could be true, you have to believe that people are able to keep a secret. Given the scale of the demolition, dozens of people would have needed to keep a secret. Is that remotely possible? Not in my opinion.

Then there is the PD theory. In order for this conspiracy to be true, you also have to suspend disbelief that this administration could actually execute something of this scale without F$@#ing it up. That alone is enough to convince me. These buffoons couldn't plan a 4 year old birthday party never mind execute the demolition of the most visible buildings in the Manhattan skyline.

This website has some details that debunk the WTC 7 demolition theory.

We all witnessed the planes going in on TV hundreds of times. I'm still surprised how well the WTCs held up after impact long enough for most people to flee.

The more popular conspiracy theory involves flight 77 into the Pentagon. This one is much more convincing.

From Crackle: more pentagon theories....

Good theory. Let's start with an eyewitness list:
http://www.geocities.com/someguyyoudontknow33/witnesses.htm
I know that 200+ people can be wrong, just thing of how many people voted for Bush (twice).

Not good enough? how about a forensic study?



If witnesses and a forensic study aren't enough, here is some additional evidence
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread79655/pg1. Lot's of pictures and other evidence.

I guess if none of this is believable, maybe the prospective new Attorney General Ted Oleson can look into it if he gets sworn in. After all, his wife was on the plaNE.

All these crazy theories, next thing you are going to tell me is that the Patriots cheat.

Would the Last one out please turn out the lights!

It's been a good month to be a Democrat. Let's see if I have the list of August/September departures.

Alberto Gonzalez resigned under pressure from Josh Bolton since he was seen as increasingly difficult to salvage.

Karl Rove resigned so he could spend more time with his family. In related news, his family all got jobs out of state.

Tony Snow is resigning September 15th so he can go back to earning a decent paycheck.

Senator John Warner is retiring at the end of the term. His seat becomes a very winnable seat should Former Democratic Governor Mark Warner decide to run.

Senator Larry Craig is resigning under heavy pressure from Republicans after engaging in a game of footsie in a public restroom.

While 3 of the departures are additions by subtraction for the Republicans, they add to the death by 1000 paper cuts that has been going on for two years. Worth noting, Senator Warner and Tony Snow are real losses as both were highly respected and very capable in their jobs.

All the while Republicans continue to stuggle with their choices for President while the Democratic Party has 3 front runners that would suit the party just fine.

Election day is still 14 months away, but the storm of momentum that swept away Republican majorities in the Congress, Senate and Governors in 2006 continues to roll downhill like a runaway freght train.

Quick Links

Today is the last day of the Rove administration. To celebrate the despicable criminal scumbag wrote an article about his former boss and man crush GWB.

Speaking of despicable scumbags. Slate magazine has a review of (if) I Did It. The Confessions of a Double Murderer. Two part review, both worth reading. Part 1 and Part 2.

Out of the Republican field for 2008, the candidate I respect the most is Senator McCain. Senator McCain was tortured by the Vietnamese for a few years and then was offered to be released (McCain's father was a General). McCain stuck to the Navy code of first captured, first released and refuse release unless those captured before him were let go. They weren't, he remained a prisoner for 2 more years. This is a 12 minute film with actual footage from his confinement produced by his campaign. Not quite the same leadership and sacrifice Romney's sons are showing campaigning for Daddy in their Winnebego, but sacrifice none the less.

Lastly, 10 questions for TO, the Terrific One. Topics ranging from Is Obama black enough to a question on Michael Vick. Quick but interesting interview.

Bush Bashing

I have refrained a bit from totally bashing the Administration. There are a million blogs that specialize in that and do a much better job at it than I do. Tonight two stories really annoyed me. One article in which the admistration manual on quieting dissenters is revealed and another article blaming George Tenet for 9/11 really iritated me. I go into both in more detail in the next two posts.

I know Bush's approval rating reflects numbers that contain positives from barely more than his immediate friends and family (and Barney), but why is it that nothing sticks to these guys.

Not accountability for errors leading up to 9/11 or failing to hold those responsible accountable or breaking laws on wire tapping or silencing critics or a failed Social Security plan or (how could I forget) misleading us to war or (almost as bad) having a bad war plan or leaving Afganistan a mess or failing to staff FEMA with experienced professionals able to help in emergency situations or failure to show leadership in fighting climate change.

I'm not one that thinks that the Administration should be impeached even though it deserves it, but what are the other options? Ultimately we get the government we deserve (although Gore won in 2000). We collectively knew they were incompetant when we (not me) voted for them again in 2004. Why do we do this to ourselves?

AAGGGGGHHHH!!!!!


I feel better. 517 days and counting (I feel worse again).