Saturday, June 26, 2004

Yeah, OK. I said I was done posting, but Dick Cheney's latest outburst has prompted to me to write something. Personally, I found it completely hilarious that the Vice President of the United States allowed himself to be trolled by Senator Patrick Leahy to the point that he felt the need to tell him to "fuck off". Can you imagine if Vice President Gore, in the heat of an impromptu conversation, told Newt Gingrich to "fuck off"? Nah, neither can I. Not because democrats / liberals / progressives / whatever are more civil (I'm definitely not), but because they aren't so easily tweaked by wing-nuts in the course of casual conversation. Wing-nuts, on the other hand, can be sent into apoplectic fits with simple button-pushing (any anti-Bush statement, anti-war statement, etc.). Or a mention of Bill Clinton. Take your pick.

Which brings me back to the issue at hand: Dick Cheney must have a thinner skin than previously thought. I figured his hiding in "undisclosed locations" for long periods of time and speaking in wing-nut-only venues was standard procedure. But now I know it's because he's an inarticulate jackass with no logical defense of any of his, Junior's, or the rest of his administration's positions. Hey Dick -- when you finish babbling about the "link" that doesn't exist between Al-Queda and Saddam, see figure 1.


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                          Figure 1








Friday, June 04, 2004

Well, it's only been a few entries, but I've decided to close out this blog. Why? A couple of reasons. One, there are other, more dedicated political bloggers out there (see the 'links' and 'blogs' sections for my favorites) -- and I personally don't have the dedication (or patience) required to write good, to-the-point entries mashing on wing-nuts on a regular basis. The main reason is that I can't fathom why / how Junior continues to maintain the abysmal 40-something percent approval rating that he currently enjoys. Given the number of absolutely stellar fuckups committed by Junior and his administration, any person that still approves of the job he is doing needs to be euthanized for the good of the country. Seriously, how does Junior maintain the approval rating that he does?

The answer to this question is fairly simple -- and very troubling. Most of the 40-something percent of the population that proclaim support for the job Junior is doing are, simply put, dangerously stupid. The other remaining supporters are simply dangerous. Dangerous to themselves and most everyone around them. We all know the type: the lunatic at the party that feels the need prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that they're batshit crazy. That they're so crazy that no one should bother talking to or reasoning with them. That they're so crazy that they'll perform a naked swan dive off of the 4th story balcony into the hotel pool. And after breaking at least one limb and requiring immediate medical attention, will proudly say, "I told ya I could do it!"

As long as Junior has supporters like this, no amount of discourse, argument, whatever, will convince them that he is anything other than the second coming of Christ. And merely pointing out Junior's current problems and lack of viable solutions to these problems makes one a "Bush hater". Facts are stupid things, after all.

In the mean time, I plan on doing my part to piss off wing-nuts while making no attempt at reasonable arguments -- but not on a blog where I'm free to write one-sided editorials. The off-topic section of online discussion boards is a good place to irritate wing-nuts. Ever notice how quiet wing-nuts get when they collide with a left-winger that doesn't play nice? I have, and it's more than amusing.

And now, I'm off to amuse myself. In the meantime, see figure 1.


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                          Figure 1


Tuesday, May 04, 2004

So, Sinclair Broadcasting Group (SBG) has finally dropped its pretense of being a "broadcasting" type of company and has brazenly endorsed traditional Rovian methods of dispensing information. No big surprise there, but I am surprised at how blatant they were in their censorship and how transparent they were in their supposed "reasons" for not airing Nightline. Per the explanation on SBG's web page, reading the names and showing the pictures of all of the soldiers who have been killed in Iraq ". . .appears to be motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq." Sinclair spokeperson Mike Hyman added (about the Nightline broadcast), "There is no journalistic value here." It's apparent that the folks running SBG take their viewers as ignorant, apathetic, lazy, or all of the above since their political donations to Junior's campaign are a matter of public record. But keep going there, guys. You're doing a better job of demonstrating the idiocy of media deregulation than any 10 activist groups. But for a better demonstration of balls (literally too),click here. For those of you having trouble with this link, (or get stopped by the all too typical "Free Registration Required" screen), here is a quote from the article:
"Smith was reportedly driving a company-owned Mercedes when he was arrested in an undercover sting at a downtown corner frequented by prostitutes. A 31-year-old woman told an undercover officer that “she had just seen her regular date driving in the area,” according to court documents. Police followed the car onto an expressway, where they said they witnessed the woman perform oral sex while Smith drove north."

Yes, that's David D. (Dumbass?) Smith, CEO of SBG getting nailed in a prostitution sting. As a prostitute himself, you'd think he'd have learned a thing or two about these things. Then again, maybe he needs to see figure 1.

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                          Figure 1


Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Just a quick note about Karen Hughes and her comments indirectly comparing pro-choice women with terrorists:

Last I checked, pro-choice women weren't murdering doctors that provide abortions or blowing up family-planning clinics. Radical wing-nut-fundamentalist-christians hell-bent on saving the "unborn" were. But these same lunatics also support Junior, so it's Karen's job to keep them motivated. Hey Karen, re-retire, spend some more time with your family, and see figure 1.

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                          Figure 1


Friday, April 23, 2004

Today, Kerry disclosed a "partial list of his meetings with lobbyists since 1989" (in addition to his military records). Full story about the release here:

Kerry releases Navy, lobbyist papers, calls for Cheney records

According the article, Kerry had more than 200 meetings with "registered lobbyists" (euphamism-of-the-day-award here) since 1989. Most of us cynics expected there to be quite a few more meetings and/or names, and there probably are, since this is just a partial list. But Kerry wins some big points here by disclosing this list, partial or otherwise. On the other hand, we have Uncle Dick and his refusal to disclose the names of those executives, lobbyists, and others soon-to-be-indicted-on-numerous-counts-of-fraud that attended his closed door "energy task force" meetings. The Sierra Club and Judicial watch both filed lawsuits in 2001 in an attempt to obtain the names of those persons with whom Cheney met. Three years later, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in Cheney v. U.S. District Court, No. 03-475 on Tuesday, April 27. Given the number of energy companies that have been involved, directly or indirectly, in the list of scandals and investigations since 2001, I can understand why Cheney is still battling the disclosure of these names in court. Vice Presidents having closed-door meetings with now-indicted and soon-to-be-sent-to-federal-prison corporate executives *might* become a political liability in the 2004 elections. Then again, maybe not. Poll after poll continues to show that half of the country still supports Junior. Hooked on Phonics hasn't worked for everyone, apparently. But I digress.

Meanwhile, Bush's campaign has yet to respond to Kerry's call for disclosure from Uncle Dick about his task force. No matter, the media ("liberal", remember?) has downplayed Kerry's disclosure and instead focused on Kerry's wife and her refusal to make her tax returns public. Now, not only can wing-nuts and Bush appologists pretend that they still have the moral high ground (his ultra-rich, mega-millionare wife won't disclose her tax returns, so he MUST be hiding something), they can continue to yammer about Kerry "flip-flopping" on the issues. Wing-nuts and apologists conveniently ignore the fact that Google allows you to find pretty much anything, including information that may have been removed. Here is one such list of Junior's "flip-flops". Besides, the recent $40-50 million spent bashing Kerry had to have been worth something. And it was worth something. It purchased a simple phrase ("flip-flops") that wing-nuts and Bush apologists can speak (and maybe even spell) when confronted with complicated questions from their democratic friends. Now that's how you "energize your base". When you're not coming out in favor of Constitutional amendments banning gay marriage or you've run out of federal regulations to eliminate.

Recap for the slow:

Kerry: Discloses a partial list of meeting times with lobbyists (and their names) and asks Uncle Dick merely to disclose the names of people that met with him on his closed-door energy task force.

Media: Shifts this focus to Kerry's wife and her non-disclosure of her tax returns, which are filed separately from Kerry's own.

Cheney: Still hoping that his duck hunting trip treat for Scalia pays off.

See figure 1.

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                          Figure 1


Tuesday, April 20, 2004

The Bush campaign is reaching now. No, REALLY reaching. Bush's campaign manager, Ken Mehlman, actually said the following:

"Senator Kerry's record of nondisclosure and his flip-flop on this issue should concern voters"

Yes, he's speaking of Kerry's statement that all of his military records are available to the public. Kerry stated that his military records are available to the public in an interview on Sunday's "Meet the Press". By Tuesday, Kerry's campaign had begun posting 150 pages of his military record on Kerry's campaign website. I realize that a whopping TWO days had elapsed between Kerry's "Meet the Press" appearance and his posting of documents. Here's where I'm at a loss for words: Kerry's posting of his military records two days after making a statement to the media [that they were available] somehow compares to Junior's disclosing his military records after several years of questioning in the media? Not only that, but Junior's records don't substantiate ANY of the statements he's made about his supposed service in the National Guard. Kerry's disclosure of his military records was to squash idiotic statements made by some wing-nut chickenhawks who questioned the validity of Kerry's Purple Hearts.

Yes, wing-nuts are reaching into new levels of ignorance. Junior released "hundreds of pages" of his military records in an attempt to prove he spent time playing cards at a military base in Alabama. John Kerry is questioned as to whether or not he "deserved" to receive his three Purple Heart awards and is forced to release documents detailing where and when he was injured in combat.

OK, a recap for you slow wing-nuts:

Junior: Can't prove that he spent time and fulfilled his duties (sitting on his ass) at a military base in Alabama while in the National Guard.

Kerry: Questioned by chicken-hawks and forced to prove that the injuries he received while fighting IN VIETNAM were sufficient to merit Purple Heart awards.

Junior: Can't prove that he showed up for drills in Alabama.

Kerry: Questioned about the injuries he received during his TWO tours of duty in Vietnam.

Weak. See figure 1.

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                          Figure 1

Saturday, April 17, 2004

Republican Memorandum

Please stop submitting complaints about attacks on Bush by Moveon.org and other progressive groups. This is OUR political system. We the people built it, and we use it more than you do. If there are some truths that you'd rather not us know about Junior, tough. You republicans went along with his selection as your nominee in 2000, knowing full well that choosing the village idiot could pose future problems. See figure 1.

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                          Figure 1


Options

You've got lots of them. So many in fact, that you would need almost two functioning brain cells to see most of them. Don't ask us about any of these options, we'll only give you one: Have Junior resign. Granted, Cheney's heart could be a future issue, but we don't care. See figure 1.

Speaking Events

Junior has a hard time with these, no question about it. We know you've tried to limit the damage he can cause you and your party at unscripted media events. Only three press conferences in three years in office? That's got to be a new record low. Not only that, but you've had plenty of time to get Junior to pronounce the word "nuclear" correctly. We know he's an illiterate moron, but luckily for you, the majority of the uneducated populace still thinks he's a "nice guy". See figure 1.

The 9/11 Tragedy

Yes, this is slowly becoming a major liability for the republicans. All of those PDBs that Junior didn't read prior to 9/11 are going to be a campaign issue. We know he doesn't read anything but picture books, but someone probably should have read the PDBs to him. This may have been a bit tedious, since Junior was on vacation for roughly 40% of his presidency. That, and he should have probably appointed a National Security Advisor with relevant experience and some "personal responsibility". Also, whose brilliant idea was it to hold the republican convention in heavily democratic New York, near the site of the 9/11 tragedy? See figure 1.

War in Iraq

Who'd have thought that two religious factions that previously hated one another would join up because they hate the US more? Redeploying troops that Junior promised could come home is a good way to lose lots of military votes. Then again, since Junior and 90% of his administration never served in the military, we wouldn't expect them to understand. See figure 1.

The Economy

Junior has managed to lose more jobs in his first term as "president" than Herbert Hoover. We realize that Junior's disasterous retread of supply-side economics has created nearly two jobs in Iowa somewhere, but this doesn't help the other 99.999% of those who have lost jobs under his economic policies. Corporate profits are up 57.5% since the first quarter of 2001 and average CEO compensation is up 9.1% from 2002. Since Junior never had to work a job in his entire life, no one expects him to understand. See figure 1.

Summary

In summary, Junior has managed to destroy any and all goodwill that the US had after 9/11. He's also proven that having family connections will allow a complete imbecile with substandard test scores to attend multiple ivy league schools -- and somehow graduate with an MBA. While we all know that Junior prides himself on his MBA presidency, those of us who have worked in the corporate sector know that "running the government like a business" is not a positive thing. We'd all appreciate his candor in admitting that he is a propped-up failure, but accountability is something lost on most MBA types. Have Junior blame someone else, at least he's consistent. See figure 1.

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