Bush in Prime Time

GratisNet: "It will be interesting to see what happens when the congress enacts neither his energy policy or his Social Security 'reform.' Five will get you ten that the arrogant bastard loses it much like he lost it in an Austin restaurant upon seeing Al Hunt having dinner with his young daughter during the 1992 campaign of Poppy. Hunt had written some uncomplimentary things about Poppy and C-plus Augustus stormed over to Hunt's table and proceded to dress him down using language that would embarrass a drunken sailor. It isn't going to be pretty but then the American people will finally know just what a poor excuse for a man George W. Bush truly is."

GOP & ethics

GratisNet: "Denny Hastert has given notice that he (and the GOP) are willing to repeal the ethics committee rules enacted to protect Tom DeLay (R-Thief). While this is good news if true, democrats need review this change of heart closely for if anyone in Washington has been shown to be brazen, bold faced liars it's the GOP and Hastert. The GOP needs to have their collective feet held to the fire on this matter. They need to be convinced that it is in their best interests to have a truly fair and bipartisan watchdog on ethical lapses in the House.

The fact that all of the GOP members of the committee have been beneficiaries of DeLay's questionable largess lends doubt as to their fair deliberations regarding DeLay. Allowing them to judge DeLay would be the same as allowing people, who had been given substantial amounts of cash and gifts by an individual, to serve on a jury in a trial involving that person. While one would hope they would be impartial, given the knowledge of human nature, one also knows that such a hope is illogical, which is why people who have a personal or business relationships with an individual at trial are never allowed to sit in judgement of that individual. The temptation to deliberate based on self interests & emotion rather than the facts would be too great."

Barry Goldwater nailed it.

GratisNet: "One of the reasons I voted for Senator Goldwater back in 1964.

However, on religious issues there can be little or no compromise. There is no position on which people are so immovable as their religious beliefs. There is no more powerful ally one can claim in a debate than Jesus Christ, or God, or Allah, or whatever one calls this supreme being. But like any powerful weapon, the use of God's name on one's behalf should be used sparingly. The religious factions that are growing throughout our land are not using their religious clout with wisdom. They are trying to force government leaders into following their position 100 percent. If you disagree with these religious groups on a particular moral issue, they complain, they threaten you with a loss of money or votes or both. I'm frankly sick and tired of the political preachers across this country telling me as a citizen that if I want to be a moral person, I must believe in 'A,' 'B,' 'C,' and 'D.' Just who do they think they are? And from where do they presume to claim the right to dictate their moral beliefs to me? And I am even more angry as a legislator who must endure the threats of every religious group who thinks it has some God-granted right to control my vote on every roll call in the Senate. I am warning them today: I will fight them every step of the way if they try to dictate their moral convictions to all Americans in the name of 'conservatism.' -- Sen. Barry Goldwater

That pretty much says it all regarding the born again charlatans and their, so far successful, attempt to hijack the Republican Party. I wonder how Catholics will react to Dobson's boy, Focus on the Family board member, R. Albert Mohler Jr. when he said, 'I believe that the Roman church is a false church and it teaches a false gospel,' Mohler said at the time. 'And indeed, I believe that the pope himself holds a false and unbiblical office.' These people no more believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ than did Adolph Hitler, although as he did, they constantly invoke his name in their sanctimonius rantings.

It is past time for America to wake up and recognize these people for what they are, lowlifes of the first order."

Pope Benedict XVI

GratisNet: "The new Pope is 78 years old. Can anyone seriously think that he was not an interim choice until the factions within the hierarchy of Cardinals sort themselves out? The 'discoveries' of his NAZI childhood past are inconsequential and can be ignored. Suffice it to say that Benedict XVI will not be with us over long. In any case we pray he has the wisdom to recognize the path the church must take in the 21st century and the courage to lead it on that path"

Republican's gift to America.

GratisNet

Right wing nutjobs threaten judges.

GratisNet: "Remember when the Schlaflys, Vieiras, DeLays, et al were crying 'Rule of law, rule of law?' Now it seems that they wish to threaten judges with 'impeachment and more' if they issue rulings not to their liking. Can anyone remember other countries that had such problems? If you answered Afghanistan, Iran, etc. give yourself a prize.

I seem to recall that threatening a federal judge is a felony so when will we see some indictments and orange jumpsuit clad wingnuts being frog marched into court? Or is that only for the likes of Susan MacDougal et al, supporters of democracy? It is past time for those republicans who are moral and ethical to speak up for their party and most importantly, America.

One grows weary of these right wing thugs who are working hard to replace the Constitution with the Bible. They are irate over Justice Kennedy refusing to allow states to execute 14 year old teenagers and they call themselves Christians. They call themselves compassionate. Other people know them as hypocrites.

Lord I am tired of these sorry bastards, enough so that I'm going off for a week or so for some R & R."

The people tire of Bush.

GratisNet: "So Bush's approval rating is at 45% and heading south. I am shocked!

I heard one comment in the MSM yesterday to the effect that while Bush's approval is in the toilet and heading lower, all bets are off if there is another terrorist attack like 9/11. That got me to thinking about the inconsistencies of the whole 9/11 event timeline and the events of that day. To make a long story short, I have come to disbelieve the official story of 9/11 but the reasons why I have come to this can wait for another day.

Suffice it to say that when Commander Codpiece's approval heads even further into the dumper, expect another 'terrorist' attack. I say here and now, and for the record, 'If Junior's approvals keep declining there will be another terrorist attack, one that will make 9/11 look like a Sunday School picnic.'

I can say this not because I am another Dunninger or soothsayer or fortune teller. I can say this because I know the nature of the gang of criminals and thugs who have gained control of our nation. They will stop at nothing to continue their control over America, partly because of their amoral nature and greed but mostly because they know that there will be a price to pay, a personal price, when they are turned out of power and the harsh light of truth shines upon their dastardly, craven and reprehensible deeds. The time of the gravest danger for our democratic republic is fast approaching and I fear for the America I have known."

Pope John Paul II

GratisNet: "The monumental journey of Pope John Paul II has come to an end and the world mourns the great loss. Humanity does not have so many men of goodwill and moral certitude that it can afford to be without one of the most influential of the genre. He was the Vicar of Christ to catholics but he was also a man of God who tried to bring the great religions of the world into a peaceful, and yes, respectful coexistence.

In short, he was a man of God. He was a man of understanding. He was a man of peace. But most of all, he was a man and he shall be sorely missed."

Terry Schiavo... again

GratisNet: "If I read or hear one more person say that while they oppose removing the feeding tube, they would not oppose 'heroic' measures being stopped, ie: respirators, etc. I will shout, ENOUGH already!

Do not these self righteous cretins realize what they are really saying? Do they really find no problem with suffocating someone (turning off a respirator) while depriving a person of food & water (via a feeding tube, which is a heroic measure, look it up) is a no-no?

If so, then it is not that they have a problem with killing the disabled then, it is only the manner in which the termination is accomplished. Some sanctity of life. Some Christians, Some hypocrites."

Terry Shiavo

GratisNet: "What can one say about the farce playing out over that poor woman? The republicans, totally selling out to politics, force the federal courts to rule on the state court actions. So much for their cherished States Rights. So far the feds have refused to intervene, as has the Florida legislature. Democrats, on the other hand, lacked the common sense, principles and yes, political courage, to not go along with those republicans in congress willing to destroy the integrity of the state court system as well as two centuries of jurisprudence. Shame on them.

Senator Frist. One could only hope that he takes his surgery skills more seriously than he does his attempt at diagnosing the state of Shiavo's awareness based on a years old video tape. One could hope that he is not just another slimeball politician trying to cash in on the troubles of this poor woman. One could hope but one would be diappointed. Interesting that he gave his diagnosis on the floor of the senate and not in a TV studio. Could it be that any member of congress cannot be held legally liable for anything they say on the floor of congress while it is in session?

The parents of Ms Schiavo. As a parent I can understand and have empathy for any parent who has to come to grips with the fact that their child is gone. What I cannot understand is why they cannot understand the their daughter has been gone for many years and it is only her body that is here, with the autonomic nervous system of the brain stem keeping her diaphragm moving and her heart beating. I do not understand why, if they are so concerned for her, they are not caring for her themselves, as they did for some time early in this sorry story.

The people, including the family of Ms. Shiavo) who are engaged (and have been for some time) in the character assassination of her husband are despicable. The media outlets that promote the tales of these people are even lower.

I would hope that her family comes to understand that it is in the best interests of everyone to recognize that Terry's spirit, or essence or whatever it is that makes a person a person, has long since left this plane of existence and it is past time to let her body do the same."

More random thoughts.

GratisNet: "Dan Rostenkowski and the late Jim Wright to be eclipsed as the most corrupt congressmen in recent memory by none other than Tom Delay who makes all who have come before look like altar boys in comparison.

Ulysses S. Grant, somewhere out there, rejoicing that his sorry administration has been replaced by that of the Lyin' King as the most corrupt in the history of America.

Warren G. Harding, somewhere out there, rejoicing that in comparison to the Lyin' King, he is the epitome of a successful president.

The Founders, somewhere out there, shaking their heads in bewilderment over what has become of their great experiment

Lady Liberty, hanging her head in shame over what the Lyin' King and his Band of Bullies have done to the time honored and cherished tenets of American democracy"

Random thoughts.

GratisNet: "Some random thoughts while coping with a medical emergency this past week.

Why is the congress holding hearings about steroid use in baseball? Please don't get me wrong, I believe that such use is wrong and is the only reason so many records, especially those relating to hitting, have been set over the past 20 years, but really. We have a regime that inserts faux journalists, and I am not referring to those employed by FOX News, working for faux news organizations into White House press conferences on a daily basis without doing even the most cursory background check. Why isn't the congress investigating this?

We have an ongoing debacle in Iraq, the result of going to war on a lie, on a plethora of lies. Why isn't the congress investigating this? We have the Coalition Provisional Authority, no it's not a purveyor of fine foods but the money squandering organization that was headed up by Paul Bremer (remember him?), having no clue as to the disposition of some $9 billion, yes that's nine BILLION dollars. Why isn't the congress investigating that? We have the obvious vote counting irregularities in Florida (2000), Georgia (2002) and Florida, Ohio, etc. (2004). Why isn't the congress investigating that, especially considering that the same irregularities occurring in Ukraine caused a great hue and cry in the self same congress over the 'integrity' of the vote, with calls for a new election?

We have the example of the Bush gang paying columnists and reporters (under the table, of course) to push their agenda in any number of areas. Why isn't the congress investigating this? We have the Bush gang using faux reporters (I'm not a reporter but I play one on TV), in faux news spots (which in another time and place would be called propaganda) to create infomercials in support of their dubious efforts to dismantle the positive changes of the 20th century, disguised as news that are distributed to local media the length and breadth of America, a practice that is in direct violation of US law. Why isn't the congress investigating this?

Why is the congress wasting our time and money with baseball and steroid use when each of the items noted above have several orders of magnitude more concern and impact upon America and its people? Why indeed. It is crystal clear that republicans cannot be trusted to put country above party. In that respect they are soul brothers to the apparatchiki of the old USSR and while it took some 70 years for the communist government to collapse and destroy the USSR (and nearly destroy Russia and the other republics in the process), republicans are on track to bring down democracy and totally destroy America as we have known it in a far shorter time frame."

How low have we sunk?

GratisNet: "Giuliana Sgrena says our troops fired without warning on her vehicle, on the open road to Bagdhad Airport. The driver of the car was a very experienced Iraqi driver, experienced in the ways of approaching US troops and checkpoints so as not to become a target. The man who negotiated her release was killed by a single shot to the head, after using his body to protect Sgrena, sniper perhaps? Of course the military explanation is totally at odds with Sgrena's account, are you surprised?

Sgrena says that as she was being released her captors told her to beware of the Americans for they would as soon you didn't go free. Why was that, why would American forces not wish her to be released? Is it, as rumored, that she has the goods regarding the use in the Siege of Falluja of chemical and biological agents forbidden by the Geneva Convention? Or perhaps her chief negotiator was the primary target because of what he may have been told or observed during the negotiaions that led to her release?

Our forces were told to expect a vehicle transporting her to the airport. Did not the message get relayed to the troops? If the message was relayed, does the event illustrate that our forces, for whatever reason, have become locked into a 'shoot first and ask questions later' mentality? Or is it simply because of the fact that they have blanket immunity from prosecution for anything that they do in 'the line of duty?' Either way does their action make you proud to be an American or does it make you want to gag at the thought of American forces emulating the inhumanity of the NAZI SS forces during WW2?

When will the American people finally have enough? Perhaps when Ms Sgrena writes her story, perhaps then it will become time for the thugs of the Bush regime to pay the piper. But don't expect to see anything in the American media for they will be too occupied with the likes of the Jackson trial, Martha's release, etc. then to cover the increasing descent into barbarism of our military forces or the inexorable movement toward fascism by the republican right.

The latest misadventure of our forces in Iraq say much about them but our reaction to such an outrage says even more about us."

Columbia University Democrats nail it.

GratisNet: "Columbia University Democrats came up with a slogan as to why they were democrats and not republicans:

'Because bigotry isn't a moral value.'

That about nails it, eh?"

Meltdown

Asian nations are deciding what they can do to limit their exposure to the
weakening dollar. Perhaps they will decide that our paper will soon be
a bad investment. United States government bonds, once the most stable
and solid of financial instruments have rapidly fallen to barely better
than junk bonds due to the fiscal irresponsibilty of Bush and the
republicans. They have cut revenues while dramatically increasing
spending, in fact they make the proverbial drunken sailor look like a
skinflint, a tightwad. The Europeans have pretty much come to the same
conclusions as the Asians and are currently rethinking their support
for the dollar as well as buying more of our bonds.

Where will it all end? At what point will the world, in self defense,
say enough is enough? Consider that with the Bush gang in the White House
and republicans in control of the congress, booming deficits are in our
future for as far as the eye can see. What does that portend for our
economy and that of the world? At what point will America's need for
money to fund current deficit spending as well as the interest due on
prior bonds and the redemption of prior bonds approach such levels as
to completely choke off the availability of capital for anything else?
What will happen to the economy, indeed to our society, when the
government sucks up all available capital in order to continue, and
pay, for its intemperate stewardship of the national finances?

Think if you will, no money for new homes. No money for mortages of
any kind. No money for business and industrial expansion. No money
for student loans, or automobile loans or loans of any kind. What
will that do to the "Ownership Society" charade Bush and his band of
fascists are trying to foist upon us? Quite simply the "Ownership
Society" will come to mean the the ownership society belongs to the
government and we have seen that before. In Russia, Germany, Italy,
Argentinia, Chile and banana republics everywhere. Whenever such ideas
have grown in the world, democracy and freedom have died. To be sure,
the fascists and dictators have always masked their goals with words
like freedom, democracy, honor, ethics but if history has taught us
anything it has shown that fascists, dictators and miscreants such as
Bush and his gang of thugs have no honor, ethics or respect for democracy
and freedom. They have only their avarice and need for power.

Wake up America for the point of no return for our democracy approaches
apace.

Andy Rooney

GratisNet: "'In the history of the world, several great civilizations that seemed immortal have deteriorated and died. I don't want to seem dramatic tonight, but I've lived a long while, and for the first time in my life, I have this faint, faraway fear that it could happen to us here in America as it happened to the Greek and Roman civilizations.

'Too many Americans don't understand what we have here, or how to keep it. I worry for my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren. I want them to have what I've had, and I sense it slipping away.'

Andy Rooney 60 Minutes (CBS) May, 2004

Andy Rooney is not the only person having such thoughts in these times. I, too, have the fear but it is not faint, nor far away but rather perilously close as long as Bush and his gang of fascists are in power. It is close as long as otherwise good, solid, patriotic citizens cannot or will not recognize the current regime for what it is.

Mark this well, for when America falls, it will be a long and hard fall and there will be no country in this world that will render assistance and that will be a measure of just how much Bush and his band of fascist miscreants have alienated the world. Squandering the massive goodwill built by our people since WW2 was not enough for these thugs, they had to act in such ways that brought scorn and derision from our former allies.

This regime has brought new meaning to the phrase, 'Ugly American' and in fact makes the novel of the same name seem like a fairy tale for preschool children."

Be on the alert

GratisNet: "Now is the time to be on the alert for other manifestations of the unamerican agenda of the Bush regime. While the proposed destruction of Social Security is being fought tooth and nail, it would behoove everyone not to forget that the attack on Social Security could well be a feint by Bush to keep the opposition engaged while ramming through the rest of his objectionable ideas.

Increased drilling in the ANWAR is one such idea. It matters not that even the most optimistic estimates for the reserves to be found there equate to less than a year of national consumption. It matters not that the damage to the environment, both flora and fauna will be extensive and, in fact has already been extensive in those areas of the arctic that have been exploited over the past 30 years. No, all that matters is that Bush repay his supporters in the oil bidness.

Updating, a quaint turn of a word, the Patriot Act to extend the duration and power of the regime to spy on its citizens, citizens who have done nothing, except perhaps engage in our constitutionally, and God given right of, dissent in opposing the unamerican activities of this increasingly despotic regime.

Introducing National Drivers License/ID legislation to make it stunningly easy to keep track of citizens. Perhaps this legislation is a precursor to an Internal Passport similar to that used by the former USSR to control their citizens. There already is more than adequate cooperation among the states regarding Drivers Licenses/IDs for wasn't that the object behind the reciprocal agreements made between the states, agreements to make their information available to one another upon showing adequate cause? There are those who would say that given the extent of the states cooperation, what would be the harm in a national system when we defacto have one now? The harm is quite simply this, under the current system it requires any number of state organizations to pass on requests for data, under the proposed legislation, that power would be given to one agency and as has been demonstrated amply in the past and most especially in the Bush regime, such power would be abused.

Contact your representative and senators to fight these and other intrusions by the Bush regime upon our national treasures, including the most precious of our treaures, our privacy and freedom."

PERRspectives Blog: Bush on the Couch

PERRspectives Blog: Bush on the Couch: "I agree with Joe. To borrow from Churchill, Never before has someone with so little to offer been given so much and done so little with it.
Posted by Jared on Wonkette February 11, 2005 02:37 PM"

Right on Jared!

What it means to be a Liberal.

GratisNet: Being a Liberal means having respect for the rights and opinions of others, even when those opinions are opposite yours and most especially when they are being shouted at you. Being a Liberal means having respect for the idea of equality, equality in education, equality in opportunity, equality in employment and equality at the ballot box. Being a Liberal means having the desire to promote the welfare of the people, all the people, and not being afraid or ashamed to admit that at times, government is the only organization large enough and strong enough to do the job.

Can anyone seriously imagine that minorities would have the right to vote, have the unlimited use of public facilities, etc. without the civil rights movement of the sixties, a movement that was driven by people proud to wear the label of Liberal? Being a liberal means believing in all those things that motivated the Founding Fathers to revolt against King George and those who would deny that simple truth are playing fast and loose with the history of those tumultuous times.

Finally, being a Liberal means that we are our brother's keeper, we do have an obligation, as a society, to help those who, for whatever reason, have fallen upon bad times and we most assuredly have a moral obligation to ensure that our elderly citizens can experience their twilight years with security and dignity. Being a Liberal means living the morality expounded in the tenets of Judeo-Christian teachings as well as those of Islam and the religions of the East. In other words, being a Liberal can be expressed as the ultimate morality, ie: Doing unto others as you would have done to you.

So the next time you hear someone from the "I've got mine and the hell with you" conservative crowd speak of morals and patriotism, remind them of what it means to be a Liberal and remind them that their political philosophy was wrong for America in 1776, for it was the philosophy of the Loyalists of that time, and it is most certainly wrong for America in 2005 and beyond.

Bush Stiffs Veterans, farmers, kids and the needy.

GratisNet: "The latest budget offered by the Lyin' King cuts pretty much everything in order to preserve the tax cuts for the wealthy enacted by the most anti-american regime ever to hold power in the nations history. Educational funding, cut. Programs for the needy, cut. Programs for family farmers, cut. and of course big budget cuts at the VA in addition to higher charges for services it provides.

The copay for prescriptions will increase over 200%. There will be an annual fee of $250 just to access the system for some classes of veterans. The net result of this will be reduced access to medical care for elderly and not so elderly veterans. This is the sorry excuse for a man that convinced veterans that he cared about them, that he alone would never forget them or the sacrifices they made. He lied!

To all veterans who voted for the sorry bastard I ask this, 'Are you proud of that vote, now?' To all Christians who voted for the sorry bastard I ask this, 'After his slashing programs for the elderly, the poor, education and the unemployed I ask this, 'Are you proud of that vote now?

When will the so called Moral Majority wake up and realise that the Lyin' King acts in a manner directly contradictory to the teachings of their Jesus Christ? None are so blind as those who will not see!"