The Audacity of Whine.

Hillary pulls off the wins she had to have and Obama and his supporters whine in return. That, and spin the loss so hard that they could be mistaken for a child's top.

All the controversy over delegate counts. Have you ever seen a God awful mess as the democrats have for their nominating process? I have a simple suggestion.

It takes electoral votes to win a presidential election, so why not have the number of each states delegates equal the number of electoral votes it is entitled to? Then, at any given time, a logical baseline would be available to check on the strength of the leader. Oh yes, winner take all rather than allocating delegates, which will avoid the current ridiculous scenario.

Each states delegates could be a multiple of their electoral votes so that as many party faithful as required can go to the convention.

I do not think that Obama is ready for the big time, witness his unease with the legitimate questions regarding Rezco, his Senate record, et al. If he cannot handle the tactics used by the Clinton campaign, what the hell is he going to do in the General Election?

At the risk of being called racist by Obamabots, McCain and the republicans will beat him like a rented mule.

The Politics of Hope?

From Yahoo News:

CHICAGO - Sen. Barack Obama predicted Wednesday that Republicans will

have a dump truck full of dirt to unload on Hillary Rodham Clinton if
the former first lady wins the Democratic presidential nomination,
and said he offers the party its best hope of winning the White House
this fall...

I suspect that the republicans are already drooling at the prospect of an Obama candidacy and not only from the racist viewpoint.

The man has no experience but he has, with this comment, proven that his "Audacity of Hope" should have been entitled, "The Audacity of Hype."

It goes without saying that the republicans will run a filthy campaign against whomever is the democratic nominee.

After eight years in the White House with Bill plus her time in the Senate, Hillary has shown that she can play hardball. On the other hand, even the most superficial criticism has Obama crying foul. Could it be that the image he has taken great pains to create is somewhat less than truthful? What skeletons lie in his closet?

The republicans will be sure to let us all know should he become the nominee.

Hillary does not excite me, John Edwards was my choice, but she stands head and shoulders over Obama whose main talent seems to be delivering speeches written by someone else.

Horserace!

With Hillary's New Hampshire win in the face of polls suggesting that she would be thumped and John Edwards' respectable showing comes the realization that the race for the democratic nomination is still very much up for grabs.

What can be seen is that Obama and Hillary are suddenly picking up the populist bent which keeps Edwards close to them in the quest for the prize.

What then to attribute the stunning result? How about the fact that when she showed a bit of her human side the day before when she succumbed, just a bit, to the stress caused by the pace of the campaign the major media all jumped on her as if she were an axe murderer?

She cannot win for losing with the clowns and talking heads that make up the media. When she displays no emotion they fault her for being uncaring yet when she slips and shows a bit of her human side they fault her for being weak, faking it or both.

In any event the real story of Iowa and New Hampshire, to my mind, has been the number of voters participating in the primaries. Turnout has been spectacular, which is a good thing and the fact that democrats are turning out in numbers roughly doubling that of republicans should tell us something.

To my mind, the disparity is a sign that independents have had enough of the disaster that is the Bush presidency and if the trend continues through to November, it will likely mean a democrat in the White House but more importantly, it will also likely mean a congressional sweep that will make 2006 look like small potatoes.

So hold on to your hats and hang on tight for this thing isn't over yet and for the first time in a long, long time we may have a convention where neither candidate has the votes required for the nomination.

That would not be a bad thing.

Veteran's Day

Remember.

"A veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America', for an amount of 'up to, and including my life.'

That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it." - Author unknown.

Amen, brother!

Mukasey.

Judge Mukasey should not be confirmed as Attorney General. However, it is likely that he will be so let us hope for the best.

He would not say if the near drowning technique of enhanced interrogation known as waterboarding was torture and as such, illegal under either the Constitution, U.S.Code or international treaties of which we are a party. He did say that personally he was against such torture techniques, so perhaps there is hope.

Perhaps the pertinent question that should have been asked was if he intended to place the Constitution and the rule of law above loyalty to party or president, the oath of office, after all, requires exactly that. After the disastrous tenure of Alberto Gonzales, the country demands nothing less.

The Attorney General, while a political appointment of the occupant of the Oval Office, nonetheless has a duty, no, an obligation to place the Constitution and the law above all else, period. It has been said that Mukasey's judicial record has been mixed, so perhaps there is hope.

The events in Pakistan are an example of what may be in store for America, an emergency declaration, suspension of the constitution and Martial Law. I wonder if the American people would protest as boldly as the people of Pakistan seem to be doing to show their opposition to a dictator.

These are dangerous times for America and the world. There are some who would welcome a dictatorship here, they are what has been referred to as Bush's base, that 24%-30% of the people who see and will see nothing wrong with whatever excess or abomination he brings upon our nation.

The near drowning torture technique is merely the tip of the iceberg. The time has come to rein in the imperial presidency. The survival of the Rule of Law and the Constitutional government left us by The Founders requires it and Judge Mukasey might, just might, be the man who would step into the breach and tell the petulant, spoiled little bully in the White House, enough!

Time to remove both Bush & Cheney | Capitol Hill Blue

Time to remove both Bush & Cheney
October 8, 2007 - 6:27am.

These madmen must be driven from office

By DOUG THOMPSON

George W. Bush is an American Hitler. We can no longer deny that unpleasant reality and we must face the sad fact that the President of the United States is an international war criminal, a despot who sanctions torture and a madman who is nothing less than a mass murderer.

Impeachment of this criminal is no longer an option. It is a necessity. Bush, along with his partner in crime Dick Cheney, must be removed from office. They must be arrested and tried for their crimes and, upon conviction, they must be punished to the full extent of the law.

Time to remove both Bush & Cheney | Capitol Hill Blue

Doug Thompson nails it.

Blogged with Flock

Hypocrisy.

Moveon.org is lambasted over the Petraeus/Betray us ad. Pseudo comedian Rush Limbaugh says that returning iraq veterans who are against war are phoney soldiers and gets nary a mention from the msm.

What the episode does show is the depth of republican hypocrisy and proof positive that it is the conservative republican who is the phoney. Phoney, as in phoney patriot. Phoney, as in phoney supporter of the troops.Just when you think you have seen republicans, in general and conservatives, in particular, sink as low as they could possibly go, they demonstrate anew that they have yet to reach the bottom in their journey to total hypocrisy & dishonor.GratisNet

Blogged with Flock

Fear the truth.

Why is it that the Blogs on the right seem to have a problem with comments? I came across this conservative blog and, after having posted a few comments, the last of which posed some fairly simple questions for the blogger to answer in defense of his position regarding Bush's War on Iraq. I find that he has eliminated the comment option, which is a sure sign that his arguments cannot stand up to scrutiny.

His is not the only right wing blog that has no comments section. It seems that these bloggers are so insecure in their positions and so reluctant to engage in debate that they eliminate the one feature that makes blogging, on the left or on the right, so worthwhile. That is to engage in an interchange of ideas and most of all, to have the opportunity to back up their words with facts and thereby become part of the reality based environment but alas, they choose to remain in a fantasy world where they can pull "facts" out of the air and never face the requirement that made Missouri famous.

Getting rid of the garbage.

Gonzales resigns. Good riddance to bad, very bad, rubbish.

Now the dems need to seriously work at removing the remaining fetid trash of this filthy administration.

Neutralizing hate.

"The terrorists hate us for our freedom." -- George W. Bush.

That would certainly explain the assault on amendments 1, 4 & 6 by this, the most vile administration in the history of our nation. They are merely trying to eliminate that which the terrorists hate about us.

Ok, that was a joke. A tasteless joke but a joke nonetheless. The fact remains that we have the most lawless administration in the history of our nation with the presidency taking on the mantle of an emperor, choosing which laws to obey and which to ignore, all in the name of "protecting" us from terrorists.

The Attorney General, testifying before the congress, engages in a course of serial perjury and the congress does little more than wring their hands and issue meaningless warnings, which is bad enough but that is not the worst of the existing situation. To republicans, lying under oath is only very bad when lying about a consensual sex act between adults, while lying under oath, about the facts regarding the politicizing of the Justice Department is not a big deal.

The President decides that regardless of the laws enacted by the congress in accordance with the Constitution, he and he alone will decide which to follow and which to ignore. While a president failing to act IAW the law is a grave and present danger if that president happens to be a democrat, republicans of today do not feel that it is that big a deal if the president in question is a republican.

The congress, republicans and democrats alike, had best finally awaken to the grave danger their inaction and, at times, acquiesence in the face of the unamerican power grab and throttling of of the Bill of Rights by this administration of cowards and fools.

I fear we have come to a momentous fork in the road on the path to our future as a nation. One way leads to a renewed respect for the nation handed down to us by The Founders, with the liberty of the people restored by the healthy application of the checks and balances they put in place with the Constitution. The other path leads to the destruction of their dream of freedom for the people and of the shining light they created called The United States of America.

The terrorists don't hate us for our freedom. The terrorists don't hate us, the people. The terrorists hate George W. Bush and his band of neocon imperialists for what they have done, and continue to do, to their homelands.

Somewhere The Founders are surely weeping at what has become of their great experiment.

Enough!

An email I sent to Pelosi and Reid this morning.

May I tell you how disappointed I am with you and the rest of the democrats for allowing the deranged cretin in the White House even more latitude in violating our civil liberties? Suffice it to say that as of today, I no longer consider myself a democrat and will change my registration to Independent at my first opportunity.

You, and the rest of the democrats, are enablers of the first order and when our republic is destroyed by the psychopath at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, it will be you and your cohorts who will have made it possible.

Bush's colonoscopy.

Bush's colonoscopy went as planned, with a number of polyps being excised. Upon his emergence from the light sedative, hospital staff were somewhat perplexed by his behavior and so ordered a battery of tests, both psychological and physical.

Doctors were mildly surprised to learn that Bush's IQ dropped 5 points as a result of the procedure.

Iraqistan

Iraq is doing to us what Afghanistan did to the USSR. If we don't get out of Iraq, and soon, our army will be destroyed, our economy will be in shambles and, like the USSR in the late 80s, we will have become irrelevant. We shall be despised but we shall be irrelevant.

Such will be the legacy of George W. Bush and his band of bungling, incompetent and arrogant neocons.

Perhaps the one good thing that will come out of this disaster will be a democratic majority for another 40 years, but only if the democrats get their act together and listen to the people who put them back in control of congress.

If it takes stopping the funding to stop the war, then stop the funding. That is what the people elected democrats to do.

Stain

Much has been written and said about how much shame and ridicule the stain on The Blue Dress brought to The United States. I would suggest that whatever shame and ridicule associated with The Stain was directed at the reaction to it by those conservatives of virtue.

How much shame and ridicule has been caused by the current administration because of their arrogance, most especially after the events of 09-11-01, in dealing with the following?

How large a stain on the reputation of the United States was caused by the current administration abrogating the Kyoto Treaty because of its belief that Global Warming was a hoax? How much scorn has come our way because of this administration allowing faith based laymen the final say over reports dealing with global climatic research from scientists at NASA, NOAA, etc.?

In the immediate aftermath of 9-11, when virtually the entire planet was behind us, how long did it take for this administration with its attitude of hubris and contempt for any opinions but its own, to begin to reduce, dramatically, the number of countries willing to aid us in the effort to punish those responsible for 9-11? How large a stain did that represent?

Can the size of the stain on our honor, morality and ethics as a nation be imagined after this administration declaring that the Geneva Accords were quaint and outmoded possibly be quantified?

How large was the stain resulting from the unwarranted war in Iraq, a country with absolutely no connection to those responsible for 9-11 and with no means whatsoever to attack or otherwise harm us? The lies told in an attempt to justify the war brought a stain beyond measure upon the honor and integrity of the United States. The lies that continue to be told in an attempt to hide the stunning incompetence, unpreparedness and ineffectiveness in dealing with the growing insurgency, a result of the continuing occupation of Iraq has shown us to be something less than invincible much in the manner that the adventure of the USSR in Afghanistan during the 80s did for their reputation. How large the stain of our Iraq misadventure of preemptive war?

The list goes on. Renditions. Arrest and detention without charges or benefit of counsel. Torture as an interrogation technique. Widespread spying on American citizens, in direct violation of the laws and constitution. The attempted politicization of the Justice Department to an extent never seen in the United States, in fact only seen in despotic governments such as the old USSR and the much maligned Banana Republics, for example. Implementing measures designed to hold down voter turnout in areas with populations historically aligned with the Democratic Party.

Can the size of the stain caused by the assault upon our civil rights and the very foundations of our nation be even imagined? Can the amount of ridicule and disdain caused by the ignorance, hubris and incompetence of this administration be overstated?

The unfortunate lapse of judgement that produced the Blue Stained Dress pales to insignificance by the unrelenting assault on international order, our civil rights, on the very foundations of our nation by the petty, arrogant and incompetent members of this administration. Easily the most inept and corrupt group ever to have held the reins of power in the United States. Worst. Ever.

The Veto

This evening George W. Bush, with the stroke of his veto pen, delays funding for the troops in Iraq, funding allocated by the supplemental spending bill passed by democrats and republicans.

Let it be known that the only person interested in cutting funding is the coward who resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The democrats should pounce on this like a cat on a bit of cheese!

The War

The congress will send the Iraq emergency-funding bill, with mandates for withdrawal, to the White House on Tuesday. Bush has said he will veto the bill. Let him, after which put the override to a vote and make the Republicans in the congress go on record as supporting the continuation of the bloodletting debacle in Iraq. When the override effort fails, as it will, enact the same bill and send it down Pennsylvania Avenue Again making much public questioning as to how a Bush veto is "supporting the troops" and who is truly responsible for the war funding emergency. Do this with each veto and sooner rather than later, the veto will be overridden because republicans will not wish to lose their congressional offices in November 2008.

If the republicans do not come around they risk doing to their party what they thought they were doing to the Democrats in 2002 & 2004, IE: driving the party towards extinction.

Bush will never accept the congress telling him "no" on anything, let alone Iraq. He is a spoiled, self centered child who has always gotten his way and when things didn't work out, as they have not his entire life, he could always rely on Poppy or Poppy's friends to come to his rescue and pick up the pieces.

His cousins have said,, that as a child playing games, when Bush found himself at a disadvantage he would change the rules so that he would come out on top. My question is, what changes to the rules (IE: The Constitutional form of government) is he planning now that it becomes increasingly obvious that with each passing day his disadvantage grows by leaps and bounds?

This, then, is the greatest danger to our republic. Not Iraq, not Iran, not Radical Islamists, not a global war on terror, not evens the misnamed Islamo-Fascism. No, the greatest danger to our republic sits in the Oval Office, a mentally unhinged George W. Bush, a man devoid of a sense of honesty, ethics or morality

AttorneyGate

Gonzales prepared two weeks for his appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday? Did it really take that long to prepare to answer "I don't recall" over 70 times during the course of the questioning?

It was hard not to feel embarrassed for Alberto, such was his display of forgetfulness. One could imagine that perhaps he was suffering from early onset dementia. What we saw was a living, breathing example of Sgt. Schultz, from the old "Hogan's Heroes" television show of the 60s. "I know NOTHING!"

His performance in and of itself demonstrated that he is not qualified, likely never was qualified to be Attorney General. Had he any sense of decency and ethics he would have announced his recognition on the spot. That he did not speaks volumes to his deficiencies of character.

Only Senator Hatch, in full pucker mode, gave him any respite from the heavy questioning from the members on both sides. Senator Coburn (R-OK) pointedly suggested he resign.

Attorneygate

Eight US Atorneys fired for ever changing reasons. Why? Were seven of these people collateral damage so that this corrupt administration could get rid of the real target, Carol Lamm? Talking Points Memo has begun to follow the trail of the money used to buy Cunningham his yacht.

Think on it. Carol Lamm was continuing the Cunningham investigation with an eye towards Dusty Foggo, Brent Wilkes and Mitchell Wade. Was she getting too close to someone in the White House? The answer seems quite obvious from here.

History to repeat?

Is the sorry episode from the Nixon administration, namely, the resignation of VP Spiro Agnew about to be repeated with Dick Cheney?

Cheney once again has life threatening medical episodes, this time recurring blood clots in his legs. Is this a prelude to giving credence to his resignation, for medical reasons? What would be the advantages to such a scenario?

With Cheney out of the way, a republican of sterling reputation could be chosen to replace him. I understand that the chance of finding a republican, as Nixon did in Gerald Ford, with a reputation for honesty and ethical conduct from the current crop party faithful would be a tall order, indeed, but such action would solve many problems facing the Republican Party in 2008.

Who knows, perhaps the few republicans in the senate that place country above party, would follow the example of their predecessors in 1974, and give George W. Bush the same ultimatum given to Nixon.

Republicans, those who haven't imbibed the Kool-Aid to excess, know that every day the disaster that is Iraq continues, their chances to avoid electoral disaster in 2008 diminish. They know that every week that goes by brings the likelihood that yet another scandal within in this most corrupt of administrations will come into public view, an outcome that will also greatly diminish their prospects for 2008.

The Libby Trial

The opening days of the Libby trial have been interesting and enlightening. The witness testimony thus far, seem to show a number of things:

1. Cheney was up to his neck in this sorry, sordid affair.
2. Libby was being tossed under the bus by the WH in order to protect Karl Rove.
3. The sacrificing of Libby to protect Rove has driven a wedge between the VP and the WH.

Speaking of Karl Rove, where has he gone? Into seclusion? Abducted by aliens? Iranians? Does anyone know? Has anyone seen him?

Regarding Cheney, the manner in which he is being portrayed in the Libby trial could mean that Bush and his defenders have decided to throw him under the bus in an effort to get him to resign for "the good of the president and the party."

This will not work. Cheney will have to be dragged kicking and scowling from this administration. On the bright side, as long as Cheney is out there in an official capacity, making his delusional statements, it can only benefit those who are relatively sane, which is to say moderate republicans and more importantly, democrats come 2008.