These Boots Are Gonna' Walk All Over You

So, if being into masochism makes you a masochist, does being into fashion make you a fascist?

National Enquiring minds wanna know.

And does being into Condi make you a ricist, too?

I couldn't help but notice the boots - a bit of a leather fetish - & a little ironic

~dear polly:
Thanks for the insightful reminder of how Everything, (and we do mean Everything!) is staged and scripted in the current administration! As the weather warms up this spring the capivated press will no doubt catch Condi in her swimsuit and treat us to headlines about bikinis and how that relates to global warming diplomacy!! yikes!
But then, what can we expect from our main-stream-corporate-owned -media...they know what sells a story!
Imagine the relentless headlines in the run up to '08, if we get a Hillary v. Condi matchup...Hillary's black pantsuits v. Condi's Matrix look....

As long as they're critiquing SoS Condi's clothes, they don't have to print items like this instead::::

Condoleezza Rice's Credibility Gap
A point-by-point analysis of how one of America's top national security officials has a severe problem with the truth
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=40520

Lies, Damned Lies And Rice
by Harley Sorensen
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0214-29.htm

Sen. Jay Rockefeller: WMD Flap 'Far From Over'
Democrat Calls Rice 'Dishonorable' for Blaming CIA Director
by Steve Inskeep
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0713-03.htm

Bush Allows Bad Beef from Canada, But Not Safe Drugs
26 February 2005

The Bush administration has been adamant about not allowing the import of safe drugs from Canada. Yet, they have agreed to expand the import of beef from Canada (as of March 7th), despite documented cases of mad cow disease. Talk about twisted double standards.

The American people should be guaranteed the highest standards of quality and safety control when it comes to our food. Likewise, we should be guaranteed access to low cost medications. Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer, the first Democratic Governor in Montana in 16 years, spoke out about this double standard in today’s Democratic Party Radio Address:

http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=428

Thank you Dick,

As a French, only supposed to think about fashion (how many centuries will it take you to understand, WE don't give a damn about it, we just believe in style, and the less i it costs , the best.. Got it?) I am appalled at the way your media give so much cover to Condi's attire.
What do Political Sciences mean to them?

So what? No one noticed overseas. She was just properly dressed.

This is not what you may read about women in power in Europe. We have a Minister of DEFENSE in France, no one ever brags about what she is wearing, but about what she is doing. And the troops love her , for being so simple.
We don't care about what Condi is wearing (gee, I can do that everyday if I want, but I don't) that's not policies!
Stop mixing everything!

Waouh! Will Smith on my screen for the Césars = your Oscars. Wlll chose to come to Paris, learned his speech in French, got his award, chastized Bush and now it's Sofia Coppola getting her award...

Time to stop thinking we only listen to accordeon music, and that Brigitte Bardot is the top movie star...she's over 70.
We're not!

Just ran across this on topic piece:

These boots are made for running for President

"Condoleezza Rice's Commanding Clothes" is the headline for a piece in The Washington Post:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived at the Wiesbaden Army Airfield on Wednesday dressed all in black. She was wearing a black skirt that hit just above the knee, and it was topped with a black coat that fell to mid-calf. The coat, with its seven gold buttons running down the front and its band collar, called to mind a Marine's dress uniform or the "save humanity" ensemble worn by Keanu Reeves in "The Matrix."

As Rice walked out to greet the troops, the coat blew open in a rather swashbuckling way to reveal the top of a pair of knee-high boots. The boots had a high, slender heel that is not particularly practical. But it is a popular silhouette because it tends to elongate and flatter the leg. In short, the boots are sexy.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3395977/

~~I can't help thinking what fun the political cartoonists will have with those boots of Condi's...until then, if you're interested, here's a few political Condi-cartoons, courtesy of Slate and the professional cartoonists index:
:)
http://tinyurl.com/63maa

If you dems keep wondering about that hell of a pair of boots, stop wondering why you lost the the elections.

THIS IS NOT POLITICS.

Stop writing and messing about the symbols.
it's not worth it. maybe she was just cold in Germany, and dressed appropriate to it. But for heavensake stop making a big event out of nothing.

Bush's trip to Europe = 0, this is the only thing that should be written about, and worried about...

Andree... focused like a stiletto heel.

You are absolutely correct... however, the posts here are pointing to the absurdity of the media focusing on that very thing.

These boots are made for mocking.

Time for new threads.

hey Polly!
File this in the "no kidding" department :)
I went to CBS news website to look for news and found this today:::

Nancy Sinatra Walking Back To Fame

Feb. 27, 2005
(CBS) Nancy Sinatra, who has appeared in box office smashes with Peter Fonda and Elvis Presley and who is famous for recording the hit "These Boots Are Made For Walking," is trying hard to break back into show business.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/25/sunday/main676626.shtml

Sen. Jay Rockefeller: WMD Flap 'Far From Over'
Democrat Calls Rice 'Dishonorable' for Blaming CIA Director
by Steve Inskeep
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/0713-03.htm

Posted by: on.to.victory4Dems at February 26, 2005 03:39 PM

I've always liked Senator Rockefeller, but seeing this just reminds me how i can not believe, after having pointed out her mistakes and calling her dishonorable, and him being the ranking member of the intelligence committee, he could have possibly voted to confirm condi as sec. or state! (with or without her "sexy" boots)

Mark,

That superficial media American world gets me crazy. We are not used to it.

I can even tell tell you that the conservative media system, or propaganda, is starting to be thought in France, not as a model but something to be fought, in journalism schools.

So, boots? Big deal, in comparison of what is going in the States.

Yess, our students are learning how to fight it.

Andree... again, you are absolutely correct. It is EVERYTHING that is wrong with America, the tabloid style journalism.

I remember when a little sleazy show called "A Current Affair" began airing back in the early 90's I believe, hosted by a truly obnoxious Bill O'Reilly, and thinking, "you've gotta be kidding".

Then came Jerry Springer, and presto, the dumbing of America was well underway.

The White House should be moved to Madison Ave... it's all about ratings, who's whereing what, who'd doing who... it's pathetic.

again-

where are the muckrakers?!?!

offbeat story:::
Makes me wish we still had Al Gore & the SS "lockbox":

Social Security Trust Fund Sits in Drawer

By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent

PARKERSBURG, W.Va. - The Social Security trust fund really does exist — nestled in the bottom drawer of an unremarkable government file cabinet.

It's in a pair of white loose-leaf notebooks holding plastic page covers. Each caresses a piece of paper representing a bond worth a staggering amount of money. Say, $8,577,396,000.00 ($8.577 billion), due on June 30, 2013, with 6.5 percent interest.

Sort of.
Actually, the entire setup is, well, a setup:
continue~
http://tinyurl.com/3wlxr

A serious dose of reality::

Bad News for You is Good News for Them

By Jim Hightower, AlterNet. Posted February 26, 2005.

By holding down your wages, corporations fatten their profits, stock prices rise, and Wall Street's high-rolling investors rejoice.

The headline said it all: "Weak U.S. job growth boosts market."

You see, when there's bad news on your street (the lack of new jobs), there's joy on Wall Street. As one market analyst explained it: since the economy is not spinning out enough new jobs even to keep up with the increase in the number of new workers entering the job market, "there's not a lot of labor-cost pressure in the system."

When economists use the term "labor cost," they mean you – or, more specifically, your wages. By holding down your wages, corporations fatten their profits, stock prices rise, and Wall Street's high-rolling investors rejoice. Twisted as it is, this in fact, is the goal of economic policy in the U.S. today. Another market analyst explained that January's lack of job growth has created the perfect economic environment: "It really is the sweet spot," he gushed.

Unless, of course, you need a job or are struggling to make ends meet on stagnant wages, which includes most people. Nearly 8 million Americans were officially unemployed in January, and on average they had been out of work for nearly 20 weeks. However, yet another market analyst said we shouldn't worry: "I'm not totally gloomy about the [job] outlook," he declared – but, then... he has one.
continue~
http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/21365/

Bush's catch-all phrase... also known as, "Making People Believe He is a Uniter"

From today's radio address on Social Security...

We need to act now to fix Social Security permanently."

Bush said "all options are on the table" for making the system stronger "with the exception of raising the payroll tax rate."

FromTuesday, February 22, 2005, in Brussels...

"This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. Having said that, all options are on the table," Bush said.

But wait! Is it new???

Washington Post
Thursday, March 14, 2002

President Bush declared yesterday that "all options are on the table" -- including nuclear weapons -- to confront states that threaten to use weapons of mass destruction, as he issued his strongest warning to date that his administration plans to take on Iraq's Saddam Hussein.

Remarks by President Bush and Prime Minister Koizumi in Joint Press Conference
Tokyo, Japan
February 18, 2002

"And I reiterate that, that we've got a coalition of freedom-loving nations that can work together to, hopefully, help them change their behavior. I also explained to him that all options are on the table and that I will keep all options on the table. Other than that, there are -- there's nothing else to talk about".

Tuesday, March 4, 2003 The Baltimore Sun
Bush Says Military Force Now an Option on North Korea

While Bush has previously said that "all options" were on the table in dealing with the North Korean threat, yesterday marked the first time he specifically mentioned military action.

Lifting the Lid: U.S. Companies Hide Bad News Deep in Releases
Sat Feb 26, 2005 07:30 AM ET

By Michael Flaherty

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Burying bad news is back with a vengeance.

Investors may have thought the days when companies hid massive net losses, focused on some kind of weird adjusted measure of earnings and talked mumbo jumbo about their prospects died out with the dot-com bust. But a glance through some of the reports coming through in the past week shows that just isn't the case.

Take Clear Channel Communications Inc. (CCU.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , for example. You won't find any mention of its quarterly net loss of $4.67 billion until page 9 of the earnings statement. The company's quarterly results, reported on Friday, were hit with a $4.9 billion write-down -- and that wasn't deemed important enough to mention until page 7.

"The charge doesn't upset me, it's the fact that it was so hard to find," said analyst Peter Mirsky of Oppenheimer & Co. "It's disturbing that the company wouldn't be a bit more forward about it."

snip>

While those rules appear to have cleaned up some of the most egregious behavior, companies still find a lot of wiggle room to mask their true performance.

"Unfortunately, it's business as usual," said Donn Vickrey, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Gradient Analytics, a financial research firm. "Nothing much has changed. The worst scenario is when they actually portray a pretty poor quarter as their best yet."

more>

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7747167

NO SURRENDER !!!

This should be tres interessante:

http://www.vanityfair.com/commentary/content/articles/050214roco05

Vanity Fair
March 2005

OHIO'S ODD NUMBERS
BY CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS

Andree cheri,

It's satire. Although, a real question is, why would this appearence conscious group have her dress one way in France, another way in Germany and still another way in the US? Of course, no one would comment on it if she actually did a job other than head cheerleader for a corrupt administration with an immoral foreign policy, but, I digress...

The fact of the matter is, she's a liar, and, in my opinion, quite likely, most likely indirectly responsible for the murder of thousands. What she ought to be wearing is handcuffs and leg irons as she travels from one federal prison to the next. But that's just this girl's humble dream a talkin'

DiAnne,

About the international team watching the elections, I will quote again one of their members I saw on TV:
"it was easier and fairer to check votes in Albania than in America".

Albania? The homeland of mafia in Europe.
Think twice.
I forgot, you've got a holy mob! Who's got values?
Mob values.

Spinnaker,

I understand, but due to what is going on in America, it looks so "idiot"

If we have to attack a political figure, we never go, even for satire, for the wrapping but for the core.
We really take poltics seriously. this is not something we discuss from time to time, but that is "on the table" everyday. It's a kind of hobby, we loooove it!
If you can tell the difference, I'm not sure it works for the average American who buys for free what the media report...

The boots were useless to crush our moral conscience, but they won't read it in the headlines, and that's all they read and understand. Trip to Germany = Boots and long coat.

My papers are filled with articles worrying a lot about United States, the Bush regime and the failure of economy. That's all we care about.

Biggest problem with Condoleezza is that she is a neocon's neocon - tried to scare poor yokels with the threat of a mushroom cloud. I agree that the orange jumpsuit with leg irons would be fitting.

I dunno, Andree, if that's how you define the "average American", then I doubt you'll find any of those hanging around this particular website.

(Actually, I'm not sure that it's even possible to really define what an "average American" is, or even an "average Frenchman/woman" for that matter.)

But, although it might not seem that way when the majority of blogposts here are basically just "filled with articles worrying a lot about United States, the Bush regime and the failure of [the] economy"...

The average DCPer really *does* do more than just read and repost other people's articles about the political situation here in the States... most of us really *do* think independently about what we read and hear, discuss our passionate opinions and logical thoughts regarding the various issues involved, plan how to change what we see around us, and then go ahead and take action on those plans to make a difference in the real world.

Some days that's just more obvious on the blog than others, is all... *ahem*

just my own $.02,
Otter

In an on-going attempt to understand the complex minds of our political leaders, later tonight I'm watching "Night of the Living Dead."

"Brains!..."

I do think that since 9/11 and since Bush has been in power, I've seen more political involvement, activism & awareness than at any time since the Vietnam war, & that includes by myself!

I have also seen growth (and again talking about myself too) in ability to process, evaluate, analyze, synthesize information. I had 3 degrees but some real holes in my education when it came to making sense of the media, history etc. & I'm still working at it!

On top of that, I think that the time leading up to the war and this last election cycle has been a massive learning experience for all of us - funding, working together, the media, polls - how domestic & foreign policy are linked because of economics & how none of us are really separate because of globalization.

I don't know about "typical" American but I CAN say with frustration and embarrassment that I know people with 6 years post-high school education who can't be bothered to follow the news for weeks at a time "because it's depressing" and so on.

I suppose there are some like that in every nation but they shouldn't be surprised when the lose their jobs, their savings, etc. and have no clue why.

I can also say that with the exception of a few specialty shows, television media and some of the "news" magazines is very poor quality.

Newspapers and public radio are better but are under threat. Our media is owned by FIVE conglomerates whereas a decade ago there were 50.

It is not exaggeration to say the situation is somewhat better in Canada & in Europe because I've seen it myself when travelling but Rupert Murdoch and his ilk are a threat everywhere.

It is gratifying that there has been a growth in popularity of political/related books, documentaries & of following/discussing and disseminating news over the internet. I also think it's a sign of mediocrity in the mainstream media and of limited access that we should have to develop our own underground systems of finding out what's going on.

Newt Gingrich is running for President of the United States in 2008.

"Winning the Future" is what the Republicans are pushing. (That's his book). We need to rebut the stated principles and frame what we need to get through to the American people & get started now.

Let's call it his "Contract on America."

from Elizabeth:

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=128

This Gannon story is weird. Why did the White House pick a shill with such a sordid background?

It is amusing that Bush claims to be so big on security when in fact they appear to know so little about the backgrounds of those with whom they do business, i.e. Chalabi, Kerik, Gannon/Guckert.

More sobering reality to plan for:

Electoral College Analysis: America Gets Redder

Robert Novak notes at the end of this weekend's Inside Report that a study has shown that the 2010 census should add at least 6 Electoral College votes to "Republican-dominated red states." 

A projection by Polidata, a Republican-oriented political mapping and redistricting firm, shows population trends will make Republican-dominated "Red" states more influential in winning presidential elections and determining control of Congress after the 2010 census.

The new study forecasts that "Red" states will pick up a net six electoral votes, with Florida and Texas gaining three each. The "Blue" states carried by John Kerry, according to Polidata, will lose a net six electoral votes, led by New York's loss of two.

Under this distribution of electoral votes, George W. Bush could have been elected last November without carrying Ohio.

This projection points to probable Republican control of the White House and the House of Representatives far into the future. It makes more urgent the contention by Howard Dean, the new Democratic national chairman, that his party needs to do much better in "Red" states.

If this scenario indeed plays out, and the states voted as they did in 2004, the GOP candidate would cruise to a 292-246 Electoral College victory in the 2012 presidential election.  (Bush defeated Kerry 286-252 in 2004)   Of course that's an eternity away in terms of a political calendar, but it shows that at some point the democrats will need to adjust their "southern strategy."

That may make 2008 desperation time for the dems as far as regaining the White House and makes the election of northeastern liberal Howard Dean to lead the Democratic Party even more curious. 

And it is clear that continuing to blow off the south will lead to one Electoral College disaster after another for the democrats.

Besides being a very well informed and informative lot, when you are not out in your communities being proactive, you find a little time occasionally to share your wit on the blog. The ability to laugh at the absurd is priceless.

(And Polly, loved those t-shirts!)

"The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it."
-- P.J. O'Rourke

absurd is as absurd does,
Otter

Posted by: Andrée - France at February 26, 2005 06:24 PM

Andree:

Somebody asked me so I'll ask you. What has happened to Europe's gas and oil prices over the last 4 years--up, down, or the same?

Kansas On My Mind

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/25/opinion/25krugman.html?

He talks about the slimers.

Andree,

The media here is dead. That's why we call it the White House Press Corpse. It began to die sometime after Ronald Reagan removed the regulations on foreign ownership and the number of media outlets one company could own. As a result, we now have media that talks about dumb crap like Condi's boots. How depressing is it that one of the few halfway decent newspapers, The Washington Post, assigns a repoter to cover what the Secretary of State is wearing. And then that reporter does a sexpose on it...

I know what your newspapers say because I read them. it's the only way I can get any real sense of what is going on in the world. Le Monde, Der Speigel, la Prensa en espagnol. C'est un situation tres difficil. Mais, j'espere avec beaucoup de travail, la change, non?

I'm sorry I don't have a link for this other than it comes from Ben Cohen's "Working for Change" site. It's great.

Christian right mum on Gannon Affair

They were livid over SpongeBob Square Pants' participation in a video advocating tolerance, and fuming about Buster the Bunny's visit to a lesbian household. So where's the outrage from the Christian right over the Jeff Gannon Affair? Despite a chunk of time having passed since the Gannon Affair was first uncovered, Christian right organizations are still cloaked in silence. As of February 24, there wasn't any news about the Gannon Affair available on the Web sites of Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, the American Family
Association, or the Traditional Values Coalition. As best as I could determine, no special alerts about the Gannon Affair have been issued; and no campaigns have been launched to get to the bottom of the matter.

Curious about this wall of silence, I phoned several Christian right groups on Tuesday, February 22, hoping to find someone who could comment on the Gannon Affair. This is what I found:

· Dr. James Dobson's Focus on the Family: I filled out an interview form and waited to hear back. Several hours later, a FotF administrative assistant called me to say that no one there could answer my questions about Gannon. She said a lot of folks were out sick and no one was available. "Would someone be available tomorrow or Thursday," I asked. She pointed out that no one would be available the following day or the day after to talk about this issue. "Next week?" "No."

· The Family Research Council: I spoke with Amber Hildebrand, FRC's Media Director. She said "We haven't made any public comments about this. There have been other pressing issues that have taken precedent, although this came as a shock to FRC." Hildebrand said she would see if FRC's Vice President of Government Affairs Connie Mackey, would talk with me. At press time (Thursday evening) Mackey has not called.

· The Traditional Values Coalition: I filled out an interview form and waited for a call back. As of 2.22, TVC Action Alerts are focused on the persecution and subsequent dismissal of charges against the "Philadelphia 5," a group of fundamentalists that disrupted a pro-gay activity in Philadelphia in order to preach "the Gospel to homosexuals," and on Columbia House for developing "a new subsidiary called Hush to market pornographic materials in association with
Playboy and other pornography companies." At press time no one had returned my call. After making a second call, a TVC spokesperson told me that "no one is available to speak on that topic right now."

· The Free Congress Foundation: Over at Paul Weyrich's Washington, DC-based organization, Jill Farrell, the Director of Communications told me that she hadn't "heard anyone say anything at all" about the Gannon Affair.

The editors at Town Hall, the Heritage Foundation's one stop shopping center for conservative ideas, and the Rev. Donald Wildmon's American Family Association, currently involved in trashing HBO's Bill Maher over recent remarks he made about religion, didn't return my calls. Charisma News Service and the Christian Response Network didn't respond to my email questions about their lack of coverage of the Gannon Affair.

That was then...

While waiting for callbacks, my minds eye drifted back to the Clinton White House. Tim Bannon, a liberal activist, had made his way into a presidential press conference; Bannon had been attending press briefings for nearly two years, under the name Slim Cannon. No one seemed knew much about FallOnNews.com, the Internet news service he worked with, but many suspected it was a front group for the Democrats.

Clinton had been taking a well-publicized beating over the Monica Lewinsky Affair. At the president's first press conference in quite some time, he called on Cannon, who asked the following question: "Mr. President, given revelations about House Speaker Newt Gingrich's serial affairs and the abandonment of his wife when she had cancer, and given that Congressman Bob Livingston has a similar record of perfidious peccadilloes, and given stories about the sexual
shenanigans of a host of televangelists including Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart, could you please comment on whether the right wing media, isn't selectively focusing on the Lewinsky Affair, and doesn't want to deal with sexual scandals in its own backyard?"

Less than twenty-four hours later, a host of right wing Web sites -- suspicious that Cannon may have been planted by the White House -- discovered that Slim Cannon's cannon was prominently featured on a number of gay porn sites, and that in his off hours he may have been a gay "escort." Intrepid researchers find out that Cannon had been privy to secret documents before any other duly accredited White House reporters.

"Clinton's gay consort" became the right's theme for the next several months.

Reality-based fans will recognize that the above scenario never happened. If a Tim Bannon, as Slim Cannon, had insinuated himself into the White House on President Clinton's watch, and lobbed softball question after softball question, all hell would have broken loose. Right wing media, and the pulpits and newsletters of fundamentalist Christians, would have been ranting and raving:
"Where's the outrage?" Bob Dole's mantra from his failed 1996 presidential campaign might actually have finally resonated. The mainstream media would have no doubt jumped on board.

This is now...

What has actually happened bears some resemblance to our fictitious scenario. The major difference is that the scandal involving Jeff Gannon, whose real name is James D. Guckert, is happening on President George W. Bush's watch. The vituperative voices of the right are quiet and their voracious appetites for sex, slime and salacious details about Democratic dalliances have disappeared since it's a GOP scandal.

On the heels of the payola scandal involving Bush Administration payoffs to Armstrong Williams, Maggie Gallagher and McManus -- a loose coalition of the shilling -- along comes the Gannon/Guckert affair.

James D. Guckert, as Gannon, represented a conservative news site called Talon News. Somehow, within a short time of his entering "journalism," Gannon was able to get credentialed and attend numerous White House briefings and lob softballs at White House officials. According to DemocraticUnderground.com, "Gannon was actually in the White House as early as February 28, 2003 -- a month before Talon News even existed. Gannon also got called on by President Bush at one of his rare news conferences. Gannon ended his question with "How are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality?" referring to Senator Hillary Clinton and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.

Details of the Gannon/Guckert affair are still being uncovered. Thanks to the blogosphere and largely through the efforts of Media Matters for America and John Aravosis' Americablog we are learning more than we ever wanted to know about someone we rather no little about. These blogs, and a handful of other enterprising bloggers, blew the lid off Gannon's shameful charade. Beneath the lid was James D. Guckert in pre-fig leaf Garden of Eden splendor: As a contributor to such sites as Hotmilitarystud.com, Workingboys.net, Militaryescorts.com, MilitaryescortsM4M.com and Meetlocalmen.com, Gannon's cannon is on full display.

"'Jeff' has now quit Talon News," writes Frank Rich in the February 20 edition of the New York Times, "not because he and it have been exposed as fakes but because of other embarrassing blogosphere revelations linking him to sites like hotmilitarystud.com and to an apparently promising career as an X-rated $200-per-hour "escort." (For more on all of this including links to some of Gannon/Guckert's Web sites, see Americablog.)

There are innumerable aspects of the Gannon/Guckert Affair that should keep curious mainstream reporters busy for quite some time: how did Gannon/Guckert get into all those White House press briefings and the President's press conference?; Was he on the payroll of Team Bush?; Did he play a role revealing Valerie Plame's CIA employment? -- the investigation is ongoing; how did he get by with being a phony right wing reporter by day and a gay prostitute by night?

A few weeks back, Buzzflash.com editorialized: "The Gannon story touches upon everything from manufactured news to manufactured 'reporters' to the Valerie Plame affair to websites that have a connection to the White House, but appear independent, to a Bush Cartel hypocrisy about gays, to payola, to scripted Bush news conferences, to who knows what. This is a BIG media story that should be on the cover of the New York Times and Post."

Unable to speak with representatives from Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council and the Traditional Values Coalition, I turned to Joe Conn of American United for Separation of Church and State and John Aravosis, the creator of Americablog.

In a telephone interview, Conn said he wasn't surprised that there hasn't been any response from Christian right organizations because "The religious right is pretty much a team player when it comes to the Bush Administration. Unless it's an issue like same-sex marriage -- a core issue of their agenda -- they will give the president a pass."

"Clearly this is an example of the religious right's hypocrisy," Conn point out. "If it was Bill Clinton they would be in total uproar."

Via e-mail, I asked Aravosis why he thought the Christian right was being silent about the Gannon Affair.

"Because they're hypocrites," he wrote in an e-mail. "They know this scandal is hurting Bush and they put politics ahead of their God. That's how petty and un-Christian they are."

"Am I correct in thinking that they certainly would have responded to a similar situation if Bill Clinton was still president?," I asked. Aravosis responded with tongue firmly implanted in cheek: "Do you think the religious right would care if Bill Clinton welcomed a gay hooker to the White House, and then slipped him classified intelligence information? Let me think about that one."

This is an outrage. I sent it to Senator Kerry.
(from Canadian website)

http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/CRG211A.html

Tom Ridge now sits on Board of Home Depot

Tom Ridge, the former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and former governor of Pennsylvania, was named to The Home Depot's board of directors.

From Homeland In"security" to Home Depot.
For Selling *lots* of Duct tape, this man gets a cushy job

ATLANTA (Feb. 25) - Tom Ridge, the former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and former governor of Pennsylvania, was named to The Home Depot's board of directors, the home improvement retailer announced on Thursday.
"Tom Ridge served his country with great distinction, and we are honored to have him join our board, where we expect that his unique global experience and perspective will make a profound contribution to our company and our shareholders," said Bob Nardelli, chairman, president and CEO.

As Homeland Security chief, Ridge pushed a a short-lived 2003 campaign urging Americans to have duct tape and plastic sheeting handy to protect themselves from a possible chemical and/or biological attack. The campaign was widely criticized as ineffective and unnecessary, but it prompted many people to buy the materials. Some retailers reported running out of the supplies.
Both Home Depot and rival Lowe's Cos. were among the stores that benefited from the "duct tape" campaign.

Business news site MarketWatch reported that Home Depot even set up special Homeland Security displays that pushed sales of the sticky substance and plastic along with batteries and bottled water.

See this story and more at  http://www.tomjoad.org/republicanfunnies.htm
Home of "Republicans Say the Darndest Things"

Posted by: spinnaker at February 26, 2005 11:39 PM

Spin,

To be fair to the WaPo, it should be noted that the paper's editors didn't even see fit to run the story on Condi's attire as a sidebar to their serious coverage of her travels in Section A. Instead, the story ran as a fashion news/feature on the front page of Section C -- the Post's "Style" section.

Posted by: Bob Evans at February 27, 2005 01:01 AM

Bob

It seems the conservative women are up in arms about the WP's fashion coverage of Condi...

CWA Denounces The Washington Post's Misrepresentation of Secretary Rice As Liberal Double-Standard

Concerned Women for America (CWA) responded to The Washington Post's description of Condoleezza Rice's attire on her trip to Wiesbaden Army Airfield in today's Style section, calling it an offensive and disrespectful statement toward a newly appointed Secretary of State, which confirms the double-standard set by liberal media. This is an insult the Post wouldn't dare direct toward a left-wing administration.

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3312

Personally I think the whole thing is hysterical. I'm not a fan of Condi's by any means but honestly I see nothing wrong with the way she was dressed nor do I see anything wrong with media discussing it.

Powerful men wear power suits. Why shouldn't powerful women?

Andree mentioned above that this would not be a topic of discussion in the French news, and I would agree because the French are not uptight about fashion, powerful women or whether or not a fashion statement might denote some sort of sexuality.

An editorial about the current administration and the press, from the Crawford, Texas hometown newspaper:

excerpt:
"The ghost of the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates has stirred from his sleep and is smirking at an exposed White House, not only for Gannon’s supposed eruption from the closet, but for the Administration allegedly harboring a propaganda operative as a mouthpiece to denounce gays while touting the edicts of the supposedly moral right-wingers.
It’s enough to make some red states blush a deeper shade with embarrassment.

The White House has skewed the honest efforts of the real press and, with the creation of a fake media sponsored by the Federal government to shamelessly exploit the public, has cast a shadow on the integrity of the motives of this Administration and the inbred secrecy that is its idol.
President Bush has always been adversarial to the news media, for he cannot stomach that which it represents — the morality of truth and the exposition of dark yet relevant secrets. Take the caskets in Iraq, or the sexual tortures of Abu Ghraib that are unique to this Administration."
continue~~
http://www.iconoclast-texas.com/Columns/Smith/08smith.htm

Excellent Doonesbury today.

" Bush doesn't THINK about anything - he just BELIEVES things, so he is never conflicted with reality."

http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/

NO SURRENDER !!!

Andree mentioned above that this would not be a topic of discussion in the French news, and I would agree because the French are not uptight about fashion, powerful women or whether or not a fashion statement might denote some sort of sexuality.

Posted by: Pamela at February 27, 2005 03:25 AM

Good point. If the papers were serious, they are petty & patronizing toward powerful women and women readers. & them additional commentary on the outfit & the coverage that I saw was completely ironic, especially hinting that Condi was wearing Nazi-like boots. That was my take immediately, like omg.

..kind of like with Wolfowitz & his friends pit on his comb in F/9-11..even scruffy Michael Moore found it gross & undignified & horrible & memorable & stupidly funny & sickly repulsive enough to visually comment on

I am noticing a resurgance of art with political commentary as things become more chaotic and messed up.

To paperdolls@tomtierney.com (Dover Books guy)

Would you please design a paper doll book and dress the neocons?

Please include Condoleezza Rice with her Nazi boots & also Paul Wolfowitz with a comb to use spit to slick down his hair.

I love your work, particularly your Prince Charles, Pope and Reagan paper dolls.

I am hard at work on an anti-Bush crafts book for children.

A fan

DiAnne