Hope & Sanity Or Not

So, maybe there is a little hope; a little sign of some residual sanity in the country. But no, Obama has to effing screw that up as well. Again I say - why the hell did anyone for for this jackass?

But, then again, Obama is the biggest argument against the likely Repugnican nominee, Romney - because the question becomes why bother - they're one in the same - no leaderships skills, no convictions, just a lot of empty rhetoric. We already have that so is it really worth their going to the polls to switch out one for the other - I guess will see which one the nutjobs on the right hate the most. Either way our country is doomed for at least another 4 years.

I'll Stick With My Maybe ...

on Elizabeth Warren's temporary appointment. So did he make her an adviser/assistant to merely avoid a confirmation battle or so he could throw a bone to progressives ahead of the midterm elections hoping an appeasement will get them out to the polls? You know what I think; only time will tell. Kick some ass, Elizabeth.

Speaking of Unlikely Events ...

The preposterousness of heaven aside, does anyone really think those two would have made it there?

A First .... Maybe

Is Obama actually going to do something intelligent and beneficial? I certainly have my doubts but then again, I suppose he could appoint her as pure gesture and render her powerless - that wouldn't surprise me (he's certainly into empty rhetoric and gesture). We'll see.

The Perfect Note

Well, the perfect song actually. I'm still plodding through my iTunes library and am on the Ys now (sorting by song title) and came upon this song and thought there couldn't be a more apt expression of what progressives think about Obama's performance to date. Take it away, Stevie:


We are amazed but not amused
By all the things you say that you'll do
Though much concerned but not involved
With decisions that are made by you

But we are sick and tired of hearing your song
Telling how you are gonna change right from wrong
'Cause if you really want to hear our views
"You haven't done nothing"!

It's not too cool to be ridiculed
But you brought this upon yourself
The world is tired of pacifiers
We want the truth and nothing else

And we are sick and tired of hearing your song
Telling how you are gonna change right from wrong
'Cause if you really want to hear our views
"You haven't done nothing"!

Jackson 5 join along with me say
Do da walk- hey hey hey
Do da walk- wow wow wow
Do da walk- co co co
Do da walk- naw naw naw
Do da walk- bum bum bum
Do da walk

We would not care to wake up to the nightmare
That's becoming real life
But when mislead who knows a person's mind
Can turn as cold as ice un hum

Why do you keep on making us hear your song
Telling us how you are changing right from wrong
'Cause if you really want to hear our views
"You haven't done nothing"!
Yeah

Jackson 5 sing one more time say
Do da walk
Do da walk- oh
Do da walk- co co co
Do da walk- sing it Jackie!
Do da walk- bum bum bum
Do da walk- um
Sing it loud for your people say
Do da walk- um um um

Do da walk- stand up be counted, say
Do da walk- co co co
Do da walk- ow
Do da walk- bum bum bum
Do da walk- ah hum

Fun with Venn Diagrams

Exhibit A

Nontrivial Empty Gestures for $600, Alex

A gift for the investor who has everything.

What is a stimulus package.

In an election year we can depend on the usual bipartisan 50 point drop in I.Q. of our elected representatives. Hey Congress ... try stimulating this.

The Headline That Should Have Been

IOWA VOTERS DIVIDED ON WHO SHOULD LEAD COUNTRY

Anything other than that dismisses the votes of the majority of Iowa caucus participants.

Two things are crystal clear from the Iowa caucus yesterday. A three-way Democratic split demonstrates that Iowans are in some disagreement over which specific candidate should be the nominee, but the nearly 2:1 Democrat:Republican caucus turnout and the fact that Hillary, the 3rd place Democratic vote-getter received nearly twice as many votes as the leading Republican candidate, Huckabee, leaves little doubt as from which party Iowans think the next president should come.

Obama's Premature Ejaculation Oration

Yes, with more than 60% of the caucus voters in a single state voting for a candidate other than him, he makes a speech as if he's not only won the Democratic nomination, but the presidency.

...Years from now, you'll look back and you'll say that this was the moment, this was the place where America remembered what it means to hope...

America? Hardly. Yes, this the change we need. We've never had a sanctimonious empty suit in the White House before.

Breaking News: Craig in Court

Evidently the judge has decided not to decide yet. He won't likely be deciding 'til after the 30th. Poor Larry ... it's a conspiracy.

Priorities

                                      [click pic to biggie size; data from here]

Yes, to ensure (in theory, because in actuality this is a state-run program) no one gets covered that shouldn't and the funding levels will have no regard to cost of living (that is people who live in areas like NY where the salaries are higher but the cost of living is as well - the income cut-offs remain the same); they'll vote it down. Get the troops out of Iraq? No. Ensure the troops have as much time at home as on tour in Iraq - no. Keep voting for these fiscal conservatives [what an oxymoron that is] and they'll keep digging us into a hole any time they're left to govern.

Update: It appears that Mr. Simpson voted in favor of the bill today.

If I were a cynic, I might suggest that he did so knowing that The House did not have a veto-proof majority so his vote was moot. Mike can have his cake and eat it too. He can tell his constituents (of which I thankfully am not one ... oh wait -never mind) that he understands, it's a travesty that the program didn't get renewed but, after all, he voted for it. So he is, of course, blameless.

That's what I might suggest were I a cynic but, then again, you have to admit that vote was a 180-degree turn from his earlier position:

...The Democrat bill is an underhanded, devious step towards Hillary-care: a government-run, government-mandated health insurance plan for everyone, regardless of income, age or citizenship.

...This bill is bad for Idaho and bad for children.

I believe I've previously discussed other aspects of Rep. Simpson's presentation of the bill.

Cynic? Who, me?

Fun w/ Venn Diagrams

Irony: Alive and Well

About whom would you think this statement might be made:

You've isolated your nation. You've taken a nation of proud and honorable people and made your country the pariah of the world.

This would have been my guess -but I would have been wrong.

No, this was George W. Bush commenting on someone else - not the other way around. Specifically, his comment was directed at the Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Did anyone catch Scott Pelley's interview with Ahmadinejad on 60 minutes last night?

Was it just me or was he totally out of line with his arrogant and accusatory tone right at the outset:

PELLEY: Mr. President, do you intend to press your request to visit the World Trade Center site in New York?

AHMADINEJAD: Well, it was included in my program, if we have the time and the conditions are conducive, I will try to do that.

PELLEY: But the New York Police Department and others do not appear to want you there. Do you intend to go there anyway?

AHMADINEJAD: Well, over there, local officials need to make the necessary coordinations. If they can't do that, I won't insist.

PELLEY: Sir, what were you thinking? The World Trade Center site is the most sensitive place in the American heart, and you must have known that visiting there would be insulting to many, many Americans.

AHMADINEJAD: Why should it be insulting?

PELLEY: Well, sir, you're the head of government of an Islamist state that the United States government says is a major exporter of terrorism around the world. [my emphasis]

One has to wonder if Scott would have asked this of any member of the monarchy from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (you know the country from which came the majority of 9/11 hijackers). But chances are some of them have already visited there - they certainly would not be denied. And, why exactly would it be insulting? There is no evidence and, as far as I know, no claim to date that Iran had anything to do with the attacks (merely the entirely false and premeditated claims that Saddam/Iraq was involved).

Next, Pelley basically accuses Ahmadinejad's government of killing Americans in Iraq based on our government assertions that he takes as fact. Ahmadinejad then questions whether Pelley is a journalist or a politician and mentions that Saddam's WMDs were facts as well.

Ooh, an American journalist being questioned as to their role as journalist or Administration Mouthpiece -not something that happens often here, that had to hurt.

Pelley, again speaking for all Americans, attacks Ahmadinejad for smiling when he's querying him about having American blood on his hands.

Hmmm - inappropriate smiling. Does that evoke a picture of anyone? Has Pelley or anyone else in the MSM asked George W. Bush about the sh*t-eating smirk planted on his face even when discussing the sacrifice of our troops in Iraq?

Ahmadinejad then illustrates that he's more aware of the position of the American people with regard to Iraq than either the DC punditry or, apparently, Scott Pelley and he questions whether Mr. Pelley has the right to speak on behalf of the American people.

Pelley doesn't have the right to speak on my behalf - that's for certain but, more importantly, is this anyway for an American journalist to address the leader of another country? Never mind that it's ludicrous at this juncture to take anything that the Bush administration states as fact, Pelley's demeanor is as insulting, arrogant and counter-productive as Bush's foreign policy.

Near the end of the interview, Pelley insists that Ahamadinejad name a trait that he admires in Bush. Excuse me? I, as a patriotic American (one who actually served in the military) can't come up with a single redeeming quality of George W. Bush and given all the insulting rhetoric Bush has spouted about Ahmadinejad he's suppose to what ... turn the other cheek and say something nice about George?

The very premise of the question is absurd and when Ahmadinejad turns it around on Pelley, the best that he can come up with is that Bush is a religious man. Speaks volumes.

Finally, Pelley quotes Bush's comment referred to above and asks him to respond to it. Okay, I am not the only one who thought the quote was about rather than from Bush. I queried two people today (who did not see 60 minutes), reading the quote and then asking them to tell me to whom the quote was referring - the immediate response was Bush in both instances. Here's the exchange in the interview:

PELLEY: I take it you can't think of anything you like about President Bush.

AHMADEINEJAD: Well, I'm not familiar with the gentleman's private life. Maybe in his private life he is very kind or a determined man. I'm not aware of that. I base my judgment on what I see in his public life. Having said that, I think that President Bush can behave much better. There were golden opportunities for President Bush. He should have used them better.

PELLEY: I asked President Bush what he would say to you if he were sitting in this chair. And he told me, quote, speaking to you, that you've made terrible choices for your people. You've isolated your nation. You've taken a nation of proud and honorable people and made your country the pariah of the world. These are President Bush's words to you. What's your reply to the president?

AHMADINEJAD: Well, President Bush is free to think as he pleases and to say what he pleases. I don't oppose the freedom of speech. I believe in freedom of speech. President Bush is free to say what he pleases. But these would not change the truth. So that President Bush knows the Iranian people are dearly loved today. We can very well put this to the test to find out who has become isolated. Again, maybe one of my friends could go to another country and a friend of President Bush could go to the same country, find out which one of us is isolated. You're free to choose any country you like. I don't think that President Bush has said these things. Rather, I prefer to think that this is your impression of what the president has said.

PELLEY: I'm quoting the president directly for the record.

AHMADEINEJAD: This is a direct quote? So, well, this tells me that there's a great divide between us.

A great divide indeed. Another thing that struck me when reading the transcript of the interview today was the, how shall I say it, creative editing that went into the broadcast as well. Let's just say that you might come away with a different impression of Ahmadinejad's responses in reading the transcript than from having watched the 60 minutes presentation. What a shoddy piece of journalism.

The Right Rights

What a great week for democracy in America.

It's good to know that Craig, who's fighting for rights he perceives he is owed as a member of the elite senatorial class, could take time out of his busy schedule to show up in DC and join Crapo to vote to deny the rights of others:

1) Habeas corpus - Never mind that our forefathers thought this right so important they sought to address it in the constitution, nonetheless congress with its passing of The Military Commissions Act back when the freedom-and-independence-loving Republicans were in power in 2006 suspended this right. Democrats attempted to restore the right but the GOP really isn't into the restoration of rights.

2) No taxation without representation. It seems to me there was a revolution or a war of some kind fought over this one but, again, Republicans don't think the population in the District of Columbia, which is greater than that of the state of Wyoming, deserves to be represented in congress. Blocked again by the individual-rights-loving Republicans. Of course, unlike the lily-white-red-voting Wyomingites the majority in D.C. are black and typically vote blue.

Did I miss anything? Oh yes, while our esteemed senators are willing to allow more of our young men and women die in Iraq to cover Bush's ass they stood up and condemned Moveon.org's ad calling General Paetreus out for the political whore that he is. Well, we've reached a new low now with our representatives condemning free speech on our dime.

As Edmund Burke said, all that's necessary is for good men to do nothing. Imagine if Colin Powell would have had the courage to speak up and resign before he enabled this administration to get us into this war in the first place, if Paetreus would have had the integrity and resolve to put forth the truth in his testimony before congress. Two generals ... good little soldiers both.