The McClellan Hangover

Scott McClellan was a loser & where would he be without family connections (same as his boss)!

Reading through today's news - am noticing that Canadians beat us out for sex lives, & that Mexico & Liberia have established the death penalty but we haven't. We're right in there with China & Iran - really progressive ..

We're right in there with China & Iran - really progressive ..

Posted by: DiAnne at April 20, 2006 10:56 AM

Yeah, but I saved a lot on my car insurance by switching to Geico.

Rep. Tiles

Casey... good header.

It's not like anyone was putting a gun to Scotty's head to do the hard work of lying and stonewalling.

Then again...

We so enjoyed watching Jon Stewart's video compilation last night of Scotty dancing around questions. He may have a future in used car sales, or the mortuary business.

Meanwhile, for all of you who supported the Princeton kids' efforts to rebuild NOLA libraries, please help today by recommending and commenting on this diary: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/20/132321/212 . Josh wrote me that they raised a little more money yesterday, but this needs some oxygen and Kos can do it.

Casey:

Thanks for the thread header. Who can forget those noble words from the podium, spoken to us time and time again....

"I cannot talk about matters that are part of an ongoing investigation..."

(Originally posted these very lyrics on this very blog back on 12/15/05. Funny how the more things don't change, the more they stay insane...)

---------------

will we give them the election
when they keep filling our heads full of lies
can we trust in new directions
when their promises are in disguise

well someday the truth will catch us
I just hope it don't catch us all by surprise

we preach this thing religion
but we show no faith at all
we follow suit on sunday
but on monday forget it all

if the time should find us needing him
then my friend lord have mercy on us all

it's the same old wine
in a brand new bottle
it's the same old lies
in a brand new bottle

we teach our children virtue
then we send them off to war
then we ask ourselves the question
what the hell are we fighting for

if you suddenly find the reason
don't be afraid, open the door

it's the same old wine
in a brand new bottle
it's the same old lies
in a brand new bottle

don't drink the same old wine
from a brand new bottle

("same old wine", kenny loggins w/ jim messina, 1971)

----------------

it's the same old whine in a new boondoggle,
Otter

monkey:

No, I'm not really the leader of the free world... but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

bush-it daddy eight to the bar,
Otter

Hey CNN senior national correspondent John Roberts...

Yer doin' a heckuva job, Brownosie.

Every time our President has his back against the wall he gets a bit arrogant and displays bravado.

The online Free Dictionary defines bravado as such:

BRAVADO

1.
a. Defiant or swaggering behavior: strove to prevent our courage from turning into bravado.

b. A pretense of courage; a false show of bravery.

2. A disposition toward showy defiance or false expressions of courage

I gauge how much trouble he's in by how defiant he is acting.

Bush's "tell" is in his swagger.

It was there the week he ordered the strike on Iraq, and it's there now.

Free pie and chips? Why wasn't I invited?

FOX: Bush at all time low of 33%
Poll by conservative Fox News puts President's approval at all time low.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,192468,00.html

"There's peoples reputations at stake here."

George W. Bush

There's people's LIVES at stake HERE, Mr. President.

"If the people have no bread, then let them eat stakes."

-- M. "Heckuva Job, Marie" Bushtoinette

and be sure to put the point where the sunnis don't shine while you're at it,
Otter

"There's peoples reputations at stake here."

George W. Bush

HELP!?!

Q.
Do these people have no substance? Is this all about Daddy's reputation, and Dubya's reputation, and Rummie's reputation? Because if this is what this is all about, we have got a load of bigger problems than we ever imagined.

A.
Uh, yes.

Well, then, ......nevermind....

What about John Kerry's reputation?

Cindy Sheehan's?

Joe Wilson's?

Valerie Plame's?

Ann Richard's?

et al.?

Hmmmm......If the turdblossom is wilting, wonder if Fitzgerald's hound dogs have sniffed a scent leading right up to the little darling?

Bush expresses regret for protest
Welcome ceremony for Chinese president disrupted by shouting

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush on Thursday expressed regret to President Hu Jintao after a protester heckled the Chinese leader as he spoke during a White House welcome ceremony, an administration official said.

As Bush and first lady Laura Bush welcomed Hu and his wife, Liu Yongqing, with a military ceremony on the South Lawn, a screaming protester disrupted the event.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/04/20/bush.china/index.html

Oh, sinner man, where you gonna run to
All on that day?

I ran to Iraq, Iraq it was a meltin'
Iran to the sea, the sea it was a boilin'
Iran to the moon, the moon it was a bleedin'
All on that day

I ran to the Lord, said Lord won't you hide me?
Lord said, "Sinner man, you should'a been a-prayin'
All on that day"

Oh, bushie men, where you gonna run to?
Oh, neo men, where you gonna run to?
Oh, spinner men, where you gonna run to?
All on that day?

and it shall be easier for a camel to fit through a needle's eye,
Otter

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right

Little darling, the smile's returning to their faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...

Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun,
And I say it's all right
It's all right

don't let the blossom turd ya where the good lord heard ya,
Otter

Linked to without comment:

http://www.gosupercool.com/ebay/PB260045.JPG

been there done that got the resignation,
Otter

Bush is realizing our media system & crackdown on dissidents are not so different from China's.

NMP,

Well, hopefully, we did throw this woman in jail for years.

Today I don't have alot of hope for our leaders to see much of anything. The only thing they respond to is people rattling their delicate psyches and casting shadows on their reputations.

I've got news for them. Haven't got reputations left - most of them anyway. And that means their repuations world wide are not good. That's what happens to people when they are more worried about keeping the outward appearance shiney while allowing the inside to rot.

Shallow is as shallow does.

The GOOD NEWS IS......We know where they are vulernable. Their reputations. Now if we can't take that and run with it, what kinda warriors for the people are we???

I still say we write letters to the upper eschalon of religious right leaders and tell them how badly Rove goes against true Christian values, and that we want him out. Out...out of policy advising our president, and out of running the political campaigns in campaign election years. I can GUARANTEE you that if many of these big wig mainstream religious politicos knew the shenanigans Rove has pulled, they wouldn't want to be associated with him.

And we Ro-o-ove,
We Rove so far away-a-ay

we karls 'em as we sees 'em,
Otter

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0420iraq-costs0420.html
Posted by: battlebob at April 20, 2006 10:24 AM

These two paragraphs from the article caught my eye:
The issue will be hotly debated next week when the Senate takes up a record $106.5 billion emergency spending bill that includes $72.4 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The House passed a $92 billion version of the bill last month that included $68 billion in war funding. That funding comes on top of $50 billion already allocated for the war this fiscal year.

The bill is the fifth emergency defense request since the Iraq invasion in March 2003. Senate Democrats say that, in the end, they will vote for the measure, which congressional leaders plan to deliver to President Bush by Memorial Day. But the upcoming debate will offer opponents of the war ample opportunity to question the Bush administration's funding priorities.

{{{DumDum's war is funded by "emergency spending bills" - which Dems (and Repubs) "must" vote for or risk being called "unpatriotic" and accused of not supporting the troops. If Congress would refuse to pay for DumDum's war with all these "emergency spending bills" then they'd have to stop the war and be forced to bring the troops home.... Note the day the bill will have to be turned over to DumDum to sign.... He can crow about his patriotism and troop support, knowing full well he's blackmailed the entire Congress into voting in favor of his "emergency spending bill." Technically, the only "emergency" we have is how the heck to bring our troops home and stop the slaughter and needless waste of money for a war that will only enrich the coffers of his family and corporate cronies - oh, and let's not forget more money for Halliburton while we're at it....}}}

Just home .. listening to Ted Kennedy ..

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5353270

Otter:

I wouldn't like to be a flea
Under your collar, man,
I wouldn't like to be a flea
Under your collar, man,
I wouldn't like to be a flea
Under your collar, man,
Allll along that way....

Chuck in Houston

DiAnne:

I need a good scientific link on global warming -- I know your congressperson (Jim Insley?) is good on this. Could you please post a sound link?

Chuck in Houston

Just when you thought Clueless George couldn't get any stupider... Apparently, there were so many faux pas's in D.C. today when President Hu visited the WH. From what I heard on the radio today, China considered this an official state visit, but the WH refused to call it that and only gave them lunch. They did give a 21 gun salute, and luckily, no one was hit...But that's about the only thing that went right.

Here are some of the things I've read about...

- George pulled on President's Hu's jacket, under the premise of trying to make Hu go down a different set of steps off the podium... I'm not an expert on Chinese social graces, but from the look on Hu's face, I can only assume that this is absolutely not acceptable.

- George "patted" Hu on the back. Again, I just have a feeling that's not done in China...

- George failed to provide a translator for President Hu's speech for the news clips (on CNN etc.)

- There was a woman heckler who got really close to the podium and was allowed to go on for 3 minutes or more. The BBC report I heard said that she was a reporter who suddenly decided to let loose. Now, that sounds just a little bit like a set-up to me. Methinks I smell a Rover...

- George's usual brainless banter & babbling, which apparently was even worse today

And then, there's this one, which really takes the cake...

China Mistakenly Called by Taiwan's Name

WASHINGTON - The meeting between President Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao began with a gaffe Thursday when an announcer referred to China by the formal name of Taiwan, which China considers a rebellious province.

As Bush and Hu stood at attention outside the White House, an announcer said, "Ladies and gentlemen, the national anthem of the Republic of China, followed by the national anthem of the United States of America."

"Republic of China" is the formal name of the island 100 miles off the Chinese mainland. China is known formally as the People's Republic of China.

Taiwan is a most delicate issue for China. Beijing claims sovereignty over the self-governing island, which split from the mainland in 1949 as civil war ended on the mainland.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060420/ap_on_go_pr_wh/hu_visit_gaffe_1

So George has probably pissed off China now... Not a very smart thing to do with someone you owe LOTS of money to...especially at a time when you're planning to bomb another country who is on somewhat friendlier terms with China...

Commander InCompetent indeed...

Madame:

If that all is true, that is very depressing.

Chuck in Houston

The GOOD NEWS IS......We know where they are vulernable. Their reputations. Now if we can't take that and run with it, what kinda warriors for the people are we???

Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at April 20, 2006 08:16 PM

You have nailed it on the head. There is a reason I try to not get too bombarded by media - they "frame" things for us & I'm afraid of getting sucked in.

You managed to catch something they didn't want out .. a weakness .. a fear. They fear for their "reputations" and as you say, they really don't have much left.

Remember things like the Pew Report .. our national reputation has declined so much even since 9/11, when much of the world seemed to have goodwill toward us..despite some history of foreign policy messups & greed.

We do not need to bolster the "reputations" of those who are bleeding & destroying us. I have always wanted the deserving of the whole planet (the honest, the striving, the peaceful) to know that at least some of us are in solidarity with them.

Another quiet thing we can do that will have a bigger effect than we think is to follow as many "green" principles as we can. Al Gore does a great presentation & his speech, with alot more good stuff that we can do, is in the latest Vanity Fair. I posted a link & can do it again.

When I was in NYC, I met a neighbor of mine by coincidence & she's a painter. She has a beautiful painting that is of a tree. She made postcards of the painting & on the back they have alot of simple things any of us can do which cumulatively will help preserve our planet.

One reason we're not liked .. it's not just wars .. it's related though - it's greed & the amount of the world's resources we use & that we don't play fair re global warming.

The Vanity Fair also puts quotations around the word "won" when talking about how Bush "won" the election in 2000. & many of us are highly suspicous of the conditions around the 2004 election, which Bush "won." Imagine if these elections has resulted in Gore, Kerry, someone more of an environmentalist.

Maria Cantwell talked about how different & fantastic that would have been - John & Teresa were right there so it was so sad, to be in the same banquet room where we first saw Ohio fall to Bush. People were yelling things out about the fraud, so it's no secret how even mainstream Democrats here feel. We are, after all, the home of Bev Harris, Elizabeth Walter & others who have knocked themselves out around this issue.

In Vanity Fair, there is another author who talks about how Bush has devastated the environment. He tells how Houston has caught up with LA as most polluted & Texas is the most toxic state (in more ways than one). There is an article about the levelling of mountains to mine, and the photos show such horrible devastation that it doesn't look like something that can be on earth. There are days when only a few kids are sitting in school because so many are sick/can't breathe well. (West Virginia etc)

Let's organize around Earth Day, Mother's Day, May Day.
I realize there were some dissenting opinions about the immigration issue, which is very complex. Someone made an astute comment recently about how often it's Republicans who depend on cheap labor and foster immigration fraud at their companies, then they're the first to complain! They can't have it both ways. Please consider the employer practices before blaming those who work for them! There has been alot of scapegoating.

Well this is a long tangent, but I've been working 12 hours & have alot of pent-up frustration.

Chuck
Jay Inslee - I'll look into that.

I am here reposting a little report on Gore's message that came from a friend in New Mexico - it was rather a coincidence that he sent it just when I was looking for it!

http://tinyurl.com/oxmpl

http://tinyurl.com/pzfpf

The first is an inspiring article by Gore about the climate crisis we are facing. The second link is to a review of his documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, to be released in May. My favorite paragraph from the second article is:

You cannot see this film and not think of George W. Bush, the man who beat Gore in 2000. The contrast is stark. Gore -- more at ease in the lecture hall than he ever was on the stump -- summons science to tell a harrowing story and offers science as the antidote. No feat of imagination could have Bush do something similar -- even the sentences are beyond him.

My favorite part of Gore's article is:

So it is time for the good news: we can solve this crisis, and as we finally do accept the truth of our situation and turn to boldly face down the danger that is stalking us, we will find that it is also bringing us unprecedented opportunity.
. . . .
But there's something far more precious than the economic gains that will be made. This crisis is bringing us an opportunity to experience what few generations in history ever have the privilege of knowing: a generational mission; the exhilaration of a compelling moral purpose; a shared and unifying cause; the thrill of being forced by circumstances to put aside the pettiness and conflict that so often stifle the restless human need for transcendence; the opportunity to rise.

I don't know about China, but in Thailand you absolutely must not:
- put your feet up, as on a coffee table
- pat someone on the head or shoulders
- point your toes toward people

I was warned about these but I learned the hard way that you use a bowl to remove water from the water barrel for your bath. You do not climb inside the water barrel to bathe and then get stuck!

DiAnne:

For the guys I am working with, I need pure empiricism. They talk that language and pride themselves on analytical abilities (and not without grounds). I need geek stuff from rock-solid sources (we're talking geologists and engineers). I could expand on that but I am too tired! I'll save it for another day. Anyway, if you see anything that might save me several Googles please forward.

Thanks,

Chuck in Houston

from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk

Intercultural skills a "must" when dealing with china
Sometimes when gift giving across cultural borders, the thought isn't the only thing that counts.

At a seminar for building relationships in Chinese markets, the possibility for cultural misunderstandings was best exemplified when speakers and participants spent almost half an hour on this seemingly benign subject.

It started with a short skit about a long forgotten incident when the first President Bush gave the Chinese premier a pair of cowboy boots. That was a culture - and some might have even said a fashion - faux pas; in China, it's rude to give the gift of footwear.

Posted by: chuck at April 20, 2006 09:56 PM

Sadly, it's all true...

Article on jacket grabbing:
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=599452006
Photos: see number 9
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4927966.stm
More photos (you have to scroll down some. And there are some really funny ones of George being...well...George...on other occasions.)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x981917

Chuck
Here are some Jay Inslee links that I hope work, & also could look into The Apollo Project - I'll go ahead & post these links & I'll try them.:

http://www.house.gov/inslee/issues/environment/climate_letter.html
http://www.house.gov/inslee/issues/energy/ntl_issues.html
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jayinslee267809.htm
http://www.jayinslee.com/index.php?page=blogJayInslee
http://www.jayinslee.com/index.php?page=display&id=17&sub=1
http://www.grist.org/comments/soapbox/2005/05/18/inslee-apollo/
http://www.thebreakthrough.org/
http://www.evergreenpolitics.com/ep/2006/02/focus_on_the_fu.html
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002888182_kyoto25m.html
http://www.apollopac.com/about-jay.php

I'm The Decider

http://decider.cf.huffingtonpost.com/

CRANK UP THE VOLUME! ........clever!
(Courtesy Alan Castle)

Stir it up
bum ba-bum-ba-bum
Little darling
Stir it u-u-up
bum-ba-bum
Little darling

Chuck in Houston

DiAnne:

But this amp goes to 11!

Chuck in Houston

PS: Monkey, that goes out to you, and ALL of Cleveland!

But couldn't you just make 10 louder, and keep that the highest number?

But this amp goes to 11!

Chuck in Houston

Chuck.. I feel like English 101..First rule of writing a paper.. narrow your subject down!I figured a couple of quick Googles would find something.. Boy was I wrong!
Just what do you need?

I do have one google tip tho that not too many people know.. for what you're looking for go to
http://scholar.google.com click on the advanced, and you can narrow the search even futher.. I looked at only articles from 2004 2006 and only from Chemical and Material Science..
Interestingly, every thing I looked at seem to have a decided bias one way or another...

LT:

I settled with Wikipedia "Global warming." Lots of links, lots of references. I hope they all pan-out for facts-based-community folks.

Chuck in Houston

LT:

Basically, it is a ceteris paribus -- all other things being equal -- argument I am dealing with. Have non-human-activity-related variables been properly controlled from the point of view of an empirical and statistical model been accounted for? If so, how can that be demostrated?

Chuck in Houston

Been dazed and confused for so long it's not true...

Led Zep

Sorry, MD!

Chuck in Houston

PS: With the wisdom of latter years, MD, I can see how the song is, um, problematic. But I still hear it as an 18-year-old! Never thought of it that way at the time....

I have to share this with all of you. It's long, very long but this is the best-written defense of the retired generals who are speaking out that I've read thus far. It's by Gregor Djerejian of The Belgravia Dispatch, hattip to Oliver Willis for highlighting it.

Greg titled it, "Let the Swift-Boating of the Generals Begin"

He starts with:

We live in low, dishonest times, where spurious charges come fast and furious daily, but few can trump the cheapness of the recent attacks directed at some of the retired Generals that recently came out against Don Rumsfeld's stewardship of the war effort.

and then he continues on at some length to set the record straight and refute the noxious statements of both bloggers and alleged reporters.

read it all here...
http://www.belgraviadispatch.com/2006/04/let_the_swiftboating_of_the_ge.html

DW:

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him;
The evil that men do lives after them,
The good is oft interréd with their bones,
So let it be with Caesar…. The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answered it….
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest,
(For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all; all honourable men)
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral….
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man….
He hath brought many captives home to Rome,
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And, sure, he is an honourable man.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then to mourn for him?
O judgement! thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason…. Bear with me;
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me.

by William Shakespeare

Julius Caesar
Act 3, Scene 2,

Chuck in Houston

They call me the breeze, I keep blowing down the road
They call me the breeze, I keep blowing down the road
I ain’t got me nobody, I ain’t carrying me no load
Ain’t no change in the weather, ain’t no change in me
Ain’t no change in the weather, ain’t no change in me
I ain’t hidin’ from nobody, ain’t nobody hidin’ from me
I got that green light, babe, I got to keep moving on
I got that green light, babe, I got to keep moving on
I might go out to california, might go down to georgia, might stay home

j.j. cale

Monk:

Look's like I'll have to burn one and come back with an appropriate musical reposte!

Chuck in Houston

Burn = Tobacco in my dotage, FYI!

Got those Southborough blues....

Lord I was born a rambling man
Trying to make a living and dong the best I can
And when it's time for leaving
I hope you'll understand
That I was born a rambling man

Chuck in Houston

Storming, storming rain
I'm as lonesome as a man can be
Storming, storming rain
I'm as lonesome as a man can be
Oh the way you've been treating me
I realize it's not the same....

Oh I'm southbound
Lord I'm coming home to you
Oh I'm southbound
Lord I'm coming home to you....

Misc. Allman Brother lyrics, FYI...

Missin' a pretty good Rads show right now in Austin, senor Chuck.

the full lyrics (as on Huffington Post)

THE DECIDER (Koo Koo Ka Choo)

I am me and Rummy's he, Iraq is free and we are all together
See the world run when Dick shoots his gun, see how I lie
I'm Lying...

Sitting on my own brain, waiting for the end of days
Corporation profits, Bloody oil money
I'm above the law and I'll decide what's right or wrong

I am the egg head, I'm the Commander, I'm the Decider
Koo-Koo-Kachoo

Baghdad city policeman sitting pretty little targets in a row
See how they die when the shrapnel flies see mothers cry
I'm Lying...I'm Ly-ing...I'm Lying...I'm Ly-ing

Yellow cake plutonium, imaginary WMD's
Declassifying facts, exposing secret agents
Tax cuts for the wealthy leaving all the poor behind

CHORUS

Sitting in the White house garden talking to the Lord
My thoughts would be busy busy hatching If I only had a brain

CHORUS

Check out these photos from NYC:

http://silencedmajority.blogs.com/silenced_majority_portal

If you REALLY want to know what Louisiana looks like politically right now. And I mean how it actually LOOKS and FEELS.... This is it EXACTLY...

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042006S.shtml

I TRIPLE DOG DARE YOU TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT AMERICA.

AZ Republic LTE...
Are taxpayers paying GOP's bill?

Apr. 21, 2006 12:00 AM

I am confused and concerned about the changes in the White House staff.

I understand Karl Rove will continue to be one of three deputy chiefs of staff. Isn't this a high-paying position - funded by taxpayers?

I understand, from articles in The Arizona Republic, that his new role will be confined to that of getting Republicans elected this fall. How does that represent the best interests of all taxpayers? It would be wrong if Democrats or independents did it, and it is most certainly wrong - and I would think illegal - to spend taxpayer dollars on something so partisan.

Is anyone else concerned about his close ties to Jack Abramoff? Please explain how this can be legal

Today's Benson is a gas.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/benson/

Please explain how this can be legal

Posted by: battlebob at April 21, 2006 07:32 AM

Cuz The Decider done decided so.

Poppa Capp

I'm so glad that one courageous woman dared to bring the issue of religious and spiritual freedom to center stage.

It's time that the Chinese Communist Party stopped its campaign of terror against the Falun Gong.

It says quite a lot about the state of the world that in an era of sacred terror, of truly ludicrous religious ideologies running amok, one of the most defensible spiritual movements on the planet is subjected to the most indefensible persecution imaginable - and the world says nothing.

But I can understand why the thugs in Beijing are worried about the impact of the Falun Gong. They understand that the widespread practice of Qi Gong, like any true spiritual discipline, will ultimately undermine belief in their failed, soulless ideology.

But what I don’t understand is why President Bush doesn’t understand this?

Posted by: Matthew Carnicelli at April 21, 2006 08:18 AM

I'm not defending the Chinese Communist Party, but here's the way I see it...

Apparently, the Chinese authorities warned the WH about not letting in anyone associated with the Falun Gong, and the woman who was given WH credentials had a history of heckling Hu. (According to one of our least favorite journalists -- Dana Milbank -- a quick google search on the lady's name uncovered this...something the WH failed to do...)

But the bigger issue to me is this: when Clueless George goes anywhere -- whether it's in the US or to another country -- the list of demands is long and the cost is high (due to the amount of security needed to protect him...). Hell, even in the US, you know the great lengths they go to to protect George from seeing/hearing any hecklers.

Apparently, the Chinese made some demands too, many of which were unmet. And those that were half-baked concilations were done with the usual incompentence. And one could argue that some of them might have even been intentional.

Hu is a guest in our country and is the president of a country that is either a friend or foe, depending on our political whims. He should be treated with respect & dignity. But then again, that's way too much to ask of this administration...

Here's Milbanks' article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/20/AR2006042001946.html

As I see it, the issue of freedom of religious expression trumps diplomatic protocol. If you want to use the analogy of selling one's soul, then United States' dependence on Chinese capital to underwrite its profligate lifestyle is tantamount to making a pact with the Devil.

This woman is the Cindy Sheehan of the Falun Gong. If Cindy Sheehan is lionized for making George Bush's life miserable, then this woman should be as well. I'd bet that the number of Falun Gong in prison in China is larger than the number of US soldiers in Iraq.

Posted by: Matthew Carnicelli at April 21, 2006 08:57 AM

I'm not saying she didn't have the right of freedom of religious expression. I'm saying that it's another example of the hypocrisy of this damn administration.

You can't make a world-class omelette without breaking a few Egg Men.

and the paulrus is y'all,
Otter

Well Hu certainly didn't have any problems meeting with Bill Gates & Boeing workers & complimenting Starbucks.

I did have locals tell me it was eerie to have the airspace silent, so Air Force Two could come in. & that explains the 7 military helicopters I saw heading that way that morning.

The US government actually used to hire anthropologists & linguists to help the State Department & White House with protocol. I would much rather pay tax money for that than for propagandists with ties to Abramoff.

My friend who is a physical therapist took a Qi Gong class.
Where is the threat?

Neither China nor US is what I would call "free" - they are just wrangling competitors & in fact, we are developing a creditor/debtor relationship with them where we are the underling.

Yes Bush has "bravado" and tries to call the shots, but has less & less to back it up. As the guy who built our garage said, "America has a big gut" (re our economic potential), but I think we're in danger of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Christy - good article. I just heard from Andree & she had read articles where the segregationists are rearing up in US & the Le Pen followers are getting cocky over across the pond. These are groups that should be so marginalized we hardly hear about them, but they think their day is coming.

I am thee and ye are me and they are we and we are all together.

bushworld delenda est,
Otter

Just reading the article Christy posted about New Orleans -
thinking about the numbers of African-Americans organizing, the numbers of immigrants & families organizing, the numbers of people against wars in the middle east now, & the numbers of people who became more political during these last 2 elections, & wondering why it's so hard to make progress, despite all these numbers of people with huge grievances.

Then I think about the figures during Reagan years, and even worse now - the horrible deficits making social spending so hard, the military being so huge - like a big welfare system (especially counting Halliburton & the like). On top of that, tax breaks that have made the top 1-2% much much richer.

When it comes to money, that top 1-2% count for as much as the rest of us put together. & that makes things harder politically. A Marxist told me once that when the gap between rich and poor becomes large enough, revolution happens. We seem a long way from revolution, but it's horrible to think that we may have to go through alot of the intermediate pain, without any real resolution in sight.

Alot is hanging on the 2006 elections, but it isn't only NOLA that is full of corruption.

Posted by: madame defarge at April 21, 2006 09:05 AM

I don't disagree. And to make your point for you, Bush seeks to erect the same kind of great wall of emotional and ideological security around himself whenever he appears in public. God forbid a disgruntled American heckled him at one of his events - and God help the person who does, as we learned during the 2004 campaign.

My friend who is a physical therapist took a Qi Gong class.
Where is the threat?

Posted by: DiAnne at April 21, 2006 09:21 AM

What happened was that a movement emerged in China advocating that people do Qi Gong (which is a sort of Chinese yoga), and it was growing like wildfires. Apparently, many Communist Party officials were doing it, and loving it. This exponential growth began to worry Party officials.

Then, the leader of the movement (I don't remember his name at the moment) began to advocate some pretty innocuous things - like virtue and ethical values should guide politics and Chinese life. To the corruption-infested Communist hierarchy, this was taken as tantamount to a declaration of war. And so the crackdown began.

Here's a bit of economic info to tell any fiscally conscious Republican...

--snip--
The cost of the war in U.S. fatalities has declined this year, but the cost in treasure continues to rise, from $48 billion in 2003 to $59 billion in 2004 to $81 billion in 2005 to an anticipated $94 billion in 2006, according to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. The U.S. government is now spending nearly $10 billion a month in Iraq and Afghanistan, up from $8.2 billion a year ago, a new Congressional Research Service report found.

Annual war costs in Iraq are easily outpacing the $61 billion a year that the United States spent in Vietnam between 1964 and 1972, in today's dollars.
--snip--
Steven M. Kosiak, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments' director of budget studies, said, "If you look at the earlier estimates of anticipated costs, this war is a lot more expensive than it should be, based on past conflicts."
--snip--
Steven M. Kosiak, the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments' director of budget studies, said, "If you look at the earlier estimates of anticipated costs, this war is a lot more expensive than it should be, based on past conflicts."

The issue will be hotly debated next week when the Senate takes up a record $106.5 billion emergency spending bill that includes $72.4 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The House passed a $92 billion version of the bill last month that included $68 billion in war funding. That funding comes on top of $50 billion already allocated for the war this fiscal year.

The bill is the fifth emergency defense request since the Iraq invasion in March 2003. Senate Democrats say that, in the end, they will vote for the measure, which congressional leaders plan to deliver to President Bush by Memorial Day. But the upcoming debate will offer opponents of the war ample opportunity to question the Bush administration's funding priorities.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902594.html?nav=rss_politics

Didn't the Vietnam War stop only when Congress refused to give them more money?

Guns don't kill people. Dollars kill people.

'peacemaking' is not a noun,
Otter

Matthew
Yes & I suppose it would be considered a threat if conservative Republicans began taking up something like hot yoga!! or even karaoke! LOL

Also r/t China -
While driving to work I heard a local expert on China & energy interviewed on NPR. He made the point that the US tends to impose sanctions on countries with human rights problems, such as Iran or Angola. Then along comes China. They have a fledgling energy industry & huge growing energy needs - and they can't compete yet with the big energy companies like Exxon, Chevron etc. So they deal with the countries US has sanctions against, and their energy deals tend to be packages which include trade & aid components. Soon US & China are at loggerheads.

The guy also mentioned that China subsidizes its energy industry so gas prices, for example, are even cheaper (averaging $1.75/gallon currently). That encourages consumption. Granted, the Chinese wages are lower on the average but it wasn't so long ago I heard a member of the "middle class" interviews (on "Marketplace") who made $66,000/year & took cabs everywhere.

He also mentioned that neither US nor China is emphasizing energy conservation (reducing the demand side), but just wildly scrambling around the globe trying to increase the supply side (find new energy equities to buy etc).

What would I do without radio (then internet, then newspaper, forget tv).

Well 5000 protesters (or more) will probably greet Hu at Yale

http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=4799147&nav=3YeX

Posted by: DiAnne at April 21, 2006 10:55 AM

Pleased to meet Hu, hope you guessed my name.

Monkey
LOL

Posted by: battlebob at April 21, 2006 07:32 AM

BattleBob,

You have a REALLY GOOD POINT there.

Is Rove being paid off the White House Payroll to plot, plsn, and campaign on behalf of the Republicans?

Our tax dollars should not be used to pay his salary!!!