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The Newspapers of Record
There's this kind of crap-masquerading-as-journalism out there to unpack and it's not from the pages of People Magazine, but you'd never know it. It's from The New York Times and The Washington Post as they engage in a breakneck speed race to the bottom of the barrel.
First up, yesterday's front-page tabloidism from NYT:
When the subject of Bill and Hillary Clinton comes up for many prominent Democrats these days, Topic A is the state of their marriage — and how the most dissected relationship in American life might affect Mrs. Clinton's possible bid for the presidency in 2008.
Here's a real question for all of you: When the subject of Hillary running for president in 2008 comes up, does your mind go straight to the panty-sniffing questions of the sexual state of their marriage, or do your questions run more towards the, "Is this the candidate that's going to get us out of this hellhole of problems that the Bush Administration has caused for us?"
I thought so.
The dynamics of a couple's marriage are hard to gauge from the outside, even for a couple as well known as the Clintons. But interviews with some 50 people and a review of their respective activities show that since leaving the White House, Bill and Hillary Clinton have built largely separate lives — partly because of the demands of their distinct career paths and partly as a result of political calculations.
50 people? When you interview five people for a story like this, it's the writer's decision to do it. When you interview 50, it's the editors. Enough said. The message is pretty unmistakable. If Hillary runs, we will all be treated to endless months of discussions about Hillary as the frigid bitch and Bill Clinton's penis.
Congratulations New York Times. You have now made yourselves the moral and information equivalent of the supermarket tabloid, The Globe, which ran this headline on Tuesday:
_"BUSH MARRIAGE BREAKUP! Exclusive! Separate lives in the White House ... Nasty fights ... Booze problems ... Laura urges counseling"
Nice.
Not to be outdone, The Washington Post yesterday published this drippy Bill Frist as sexy-hairy-gorilla-alpha-male-superhero story:
The houses were dark on Bill Frist's street. A morning bird chirped; the others were waiting for dawn. But Frist was awake, and his bedroom light was on. "I'm going to take a shower," the Senate majority leader said brightly. Ten minutes later, the blow dryer roared.
Paging, WaPo editors, pick up the purple prose courtesy phone please, paging the WaPo editors...
In the kitchen, Frist's wife, Karyn, was brewing coffee and remembering their life before politics. For 20 years, Frist had worked as a heart transplant surgeon. He had stitched hearts into more than 150 lives.
One Saturday night, Karyn recalled, "we were supposed to go to a movie. He walked out in his scrubs." Instead of taking Karyn to the theater, Frist brought her to the operating room. "To see the human body alive -- without a heart in it."
But wait, there's more...
Frist, at heart, is a doctor. At 5:45 a.m., before a recent Senate workday, he prepared for a quirky slice of surgery. During congressional breaks, Frist, 54, has been known to fly to Africa to operate. But in Washington, he has quietly cultivated another practice: gorillas at the National Zoo.
[...]
Frist, in a gray suit, picked up his file marked "ZOO" and said, "We've got to be on time to open the Senate."
And then he stepped into the phonebooth to change into his superhero scrubs...
He climbed into the back of his black SUV; his driver steered toward the zoo. "I gravitate towards insurmountable problems," Frist said, his long legs spilling between the front seats. "I try to use creative solutions." One day, he hopes to cure AIDS or cancer. He sucked on the stem of his glasses: "The typical person around here may not understand."
Yes, because if you are not superhero, Bill Frist, you are just a dumbass who doesn't give a crap about anyone else.
At the zoo hospital, a team of four veterinarians, three technicians, an animal keeper and a veterinary dentist were wheeling a 350-pound gorilla into surgery as Frist arrived. They would perform an ultrasound of the heart, a root canal and a physical. Frist joined the team, as he had on other mornings, tying on a mask. He unbuttoned his business shirt, revealing jungle-pattern surgical scrubs and a pair of hairy, toned biceps.
"A little bit like Superman," said the dentist, Chuck Williams.
Very little.
Frist snapped on rubber gloves. He leaned over the operating table, gripping the corners. An oxygen monitor beeped.
[...]He pressed his stethoscope to the gorilla's chest and narrowed his eyes. Kuja, a silverback patriarch, was breathing isofluorine. He was the Senate majority leader of the gorillas, who negotiated disputes, back-slapped the ape boys and owned exclusive mating rights with the females. When Kuja started to stir, a veterinarian injected more anesthesia. One backhanded swipe could break Frist's neck.
Frist listened to the heart; the gorilla's lub-dub sounded human. "When you're this close, you feel this kind of oneness with them," Frist said. The stink of ape sweat and gorilla testosterone soaked his hair and clothes. "Gorillas, people, men. You look at the people here, a symphonic flow of people pitching in. It's the oneness of humanity."
Afterward, Frist buttoned himself back up, into his blue shirt and into his senatorial reserve. "I need to be talking to the Israeli prime minister in 18 minutes," he told his driver as the SUV rumbled toward the Capitol.
And back out of the phonebooth...
At 9:30 a.m., Frist opened the Senate, gripping the corners of the lectern, as he had the operating table. Across the city, rolling in a bed of hay, Kuja opened his eyes and grunted. The gorilla kept touching his tongue to his tooth. Something had changed inside of the beast while he slept. Frist smiled and spoke unremarkably from the lectern, reeking of silverback testosterone.
Yes, it's writing that will challenge the gag reflexes of the strongest among us.
And those are our newspapers of record. Embarassing, aren't they?
I am opening the nominations for a different newspaper of record. I nominate The Minneapolis Star Tribune.
How about you?
(I forgot to post this at the time, having taken FAR too long on writing this already, but big giant hat tip to Atrios for pointing me to this story. And as a post script, I find it extra irritating that this was not only on the front page, but also as the lead story on the New York/Metro/Region page, as to inflict maximum damage on Mrs. Clinton's campaign for re-election to the United States Senate.)
Skilling and Lay guilty
Enron former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling and founder Kenneth Lay were found guilty today of conspiracy and fraud in the granddaddy of all corporate fraud cases. On the sixth day of deliberations, a jury of eight women and four men convicted the former executives of misleading the public about the true financial health of Enron, the giant energy company that collapsed in late 2001.
www.cnn.com
type slow, miss thread change.....
Is it just me, or my gloomy rainy morning mood? Is anyone getting the sensation that an awful lot of things are in 'circling the drain' mode? I am not superstitious, I don't see things as omens. But, I can't seem to shake this sense of dread, impending doom feeling.
You go off and read the blogs, the ones we all read and link to, and everything is just at it always is. Places that do snark are snarky. Places that do serious commentary are serious. Maybe it's just time marching on toward November. Does anyone get the sensation that more of what is posted is given over to the feeling that time is running out?
I'm not being specifice here because I don't have just one thing to be zeroed in on. No matter what it is that I read, and truly for the most part, there is nothing screaming 'LAST CHANCE' that I can put my finger on, but it's almost implied somehow.
So, I started to think. (DANGER!!! tut thinking!!) Look, we can all trace the source of our disgust to the SCOTUS decision of 2000, and explain it away. But, that didn't satisfy me. I'm the first one to agree that W. is a disaster, the worst of the worst. So, okay, it's him, but it's not just him and his band of thugs.
So, for me it's been like looking at a Republican Cosa Nostra gone haywire. We've talked about them as though they are all on the same side, doing the same bad deeds for the same common goal. But, that just doesn't fly anymore. At least not for me. Outwardly, they all support each other, but on the side, they all seem to be grabbing as much as they can, even to the point of poaching on each other's turf. It's called ORGANIZED CRIME for a reason.
So, is that it? The feeling that something far bigger, and much more dangerous has evolved? If 'A' was tied to 'B' was involved with 'C' who did business with 'D' etc. etc. then at some point you would be able to put all the proper players in their spot on the chart. It's not working out like that. Oh, go ahead and have a laugh at my expense, if you have to, but what I keep coming back to is that the ORGANIZED CRIMINALS are way more interested in their own personal gain than they are about the 'family.'
Of course it's easier and more efficient to keep lining their own pockets if they are in power, and of course absolute power corrupts. It's not that. It's the fact that every big or little corruption taken ALONE, might not have the power to do unimaginable significant damage. The disaster, if it comes, is from the overlap. The thing is, I think that there are quite a number of dirty players with their hands on the dirty money who thought they were the only game in town. The others scams they weren't aware of, and let's be serious, Duke Cunningham didn't call up Tom DeLay to tell him he was taking bribes, it didn't affect them. They were getting theirs.
And, if its' catching up with them, okay, I'm all for crooks getting caught. I'm all for bribers being hauled in and taken apart. I should be overjoyed that someone is singing about someone else to try to keep their sorry butt out of jail. Seize the money, lock them up, off with their heads. That should satisy me, logically, I'm supposed to be overjoyed. So, why do I keep thinking that the worst is still to come?
Bad people in big trouble are very dangerous. Big name lawyers who charge big fees and file big briefs to keep their big crooks free. They all have their muscle out there, leaning on whomever needs to be leaned on. The little guy gives up the guy on the next step up the ladder, and the investigators slowly do what they can to get to the top. It's reasonable to assume that just as much money, if not more is changing hands now as it was in whatever was the original scheme. Imagine what it must be like, right now, to know that it will eventually get to you, if it hasn't already.
I have my doubts that all of them are worried, in the sense that they think they have all their bases covered, and that whatever scheme they were invovled anyone would dare to inform on them. That absolute power thing has a tendency to make one think they are also untouchable. They look at someone like Tom DeLay and rationalize that he made himslef too big, or shot off his mouth too loud, or sailed much closer to the edge than they did. Or they covered their bases better. Or they weren't as dumb as a Duke Cunningham. Nothing like thinking of yourself as the smartest crook on the block, or worse yet, thinking you're not a crook at all.
But, still, dangerous, oh so very dangerous, because as the net starts to get other people, they must start to wonder, not so much how well they will be able to cover their own dirty deals, but how the other guys deals somehow could fracture their own. If they'd only known so and so was doing such and such, then they would have done this instead of that. From shiftless and crafty, they start to get angry.
Is it only money that changed hands, money for contracts, money for campaigns, money for the sake of money? Have they rationalized it to themselves that no one got hurt? Everyone made money off this deal, it's all good. I know what I'm thinking, and it's such a cliche, but where are the bodies? Not simply the defense contracts that have led to military deaths, although those are despicable. And, no I don't think for one minute that every Republican has a hit man on staff going out and offing the snitchers in real life. Politics is much too genteel for that.
We've been astonished to see that their is no level too low to stoop. That it's really possible to be sickened and shocked every day at a new revelation. Assuming it reaches far and wide and touches as many as it does, in politcs, in business, in contracts, in lobbying, we're shouting with glee about who is 'going down.'
It's the victims I can't get out of my head. The names we can all recite are not the victims. We keep track of who is being invetigated, and who paid off, and who got paid, but it's still presented as a kind of white collar crime, and that's wrong. These are not victimless crimes. We've been harmed, each of us, and probably some people are not in the least bit aware of it. All that money came from somewhere, and it bought votes in Congress that damaged people in ways they have yet to even feel. Or fathom.
Maybe that's it. We're so used to being screwed over by the 'rich and powerful' that it's no shock at all and it's no use being upset about it because thats just the way of the world. Maybe I'm feeling the doom and gloom because we are going to feel the effects from this madness for a very long time. In our wallets, sure, but in ways that will hurt much more as time goes on.
It's going to get worse before it gets better. For some people, the dream of getting better is probably long gone. A toppled political leader is not a joyous thing, it's shameful. It shows the entire world that graft and self interest is alive and well, and that buying a politician is pretty darn easy. There is dirty money out there with blood on it, and we haven't seen all of it. I know, I know, blame the ones who voted for them, who put them in power, blame the media. I know full well who to blame, and who lied, and that the truth has to come out. That covers the legal side of things, provided there aren't pardons being bought and paid for on a daily basis. I just can't get over the creeping feeling that there is a very big 'BOOM' we still haven't heard, and perhaps aren't in any shape to prepare for.
Hooray - perp walk!!!!
Oh Boosh,
You may not know us but we're your brothers
We've been living in this neocon hell
You don't know our kind in your world
But fairly soon the time will tell
Oh Boosh,
Telling me the things you're gonna do for me
I ain't blind and
I don't like what I think I see
Takin' it to the streets
Takin' it to the streets
Takin' it to the streets
Takin' it to the streets
We'll take this message to our brothers
We will find them everywhere
Wherever people live together
Tied in politics' despair
Oh Boosh,
Telling us the things you're gonna do in DC
We ain't blind and
We don't like what we know we see
Takin' it to the streets
Takin' it to the streets
Takin' it to the streets
Takin' it to the streets
Check out Bob Fertik's piece at democrats.com about Bill Keller & the NY Times coverage, hat-tip to kos's post:
NY Times' Bill Keller, adulterer
http://democrats.com/bill-kellers-marriage
Casey,
I also nominate the Toledo Blade and the Cleveland Plains Dealer for more quality journalism. They've still been on the election trail and Tom Noe and the Republican inbreading of corruption in Ohio.
to talk without thinking is to shoot without aiming
to talk without thinking is to shoot without aiming
to talk without thinking is to shoot without aiming
to talk without thinking is to shoot without aiming
to talk without thinking is to shoot without aiming
to talk without thinking is to shoot without aiming
to talk without thinking is...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBz994YWUV0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MlpR04_czk
I'm not ready to make nice either,
Otter
John Kerry on Enron Convictions
“Unimaginable corporate greed hurt families, bankrupted life savings and destroyed lives.
“Kenneth Lay and Jeff Skilling will soon be behind bars for a very long time, but their victims must not be forgotten.
“For this to be a major accountability moment for corporate corruption and backroom insider deals, the way business is done in Washington must change too. Protecting workers’ pensions and shareholders’ investments must become a real priority in a city that too often has done too little to change a culture that allows the Ken Lays of the world to play by their own rules.”
I like the Seattle Post-Intelligencer & San Francisco Chronicle.
Executives Take Company Planes As If They're Their Own
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/10/business/10jets.html?ex=1148702400&en=dc77eaafa58d59d7&ei=5070
With Links to Board, Chief Saw His Pay Soar
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/24/business/24board.html?ex=1148616000&en=18badd827e5be6dc&ei=5087%0A
These are from my Republican Uncle Jerry & it's stories like this that made him stop supporting people like Cheney, Libby, Rove, Lay & Skillings, not to mention Abramoff, Delay & the rest of the White Collar criminals. He also became aware that Oursourcing was starting to affect white collar as well as blue collar jobs.
He is still fairly socially conservative but not nearly to the point some of them are. He likes to make fun of PC things, hemp, hippies etc. but I can live with that. He also now disdains O'Reilly, Coulter, Limbaugh etc. & is really into NY Times Op-Eds & is proud to have son & niece who are "bloggers."
I read the Frist ape story yesterday and thought to myself, "No wonder he got it so wrong on Terri Schiavo, he has been focusing his medical skills on zoo animals.".
Posted by: oncall at May 25, 2006 03:13 PM
... and explains why he understands the chimperor so well.
White House Calls
Sorta on topic...
Rove-Novak Call Was Concern To Leak Investigators
By Murray Waas, National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
On September 29, 2003, three days after it became known that the CIA had asked the Justice Department to investigate who leaked the name of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame, columnist Robert Novak telephoned White House senior adviser Karl Rove to assure Rove that he would protect him from being harmed by the investigation, according to people with firsthand knowledge of the federal grand jury testimony of both men.
more...
http://news.nationaljournal.com/articles/0525nj1.htm
The fact that a jury has found the two former executives guilty is encouraging. American citizenry has grown tired of corporate and government malfeasance. I can only hope that when the elections arrive in November, Americans will not be bamboozled by extraneous issues unrelated to the real problems facing America.
The sad fact tutter and oncall is that Bush's last act as president will likey be a pardon of his Pioneer buds Lay and Skilling.
Posted by: oncall at May 25, 2006 03:24 PM
I wish for that too, in a big way, but elections are certainly no trial, and there is far too much peripheral bullshizznit out there to mushroom cloud the issues... put out there for sport, mind you. (see swifties)
I object.
Speaking of I OBJECT!!!!!!!!!!!
Breaking News: PRESIDENT BUSH ORDERS DOCUMENTS SEIZED FROM REP. WILLIAM JEFFERSON'S CAPITOL HILL OFFICE SEALED FOR 45 DAYS
"This period will provide both parties more time to resolve the issues in a way that ensures that materials relevant to the ongoing criminal investigation are made available to prosecutors in a manner that respects the interests of a co-equal branch of government," Bush said.
In a statement, Bush said he recognized that Republican and Democratic leaders in the House had “deeply held views” that the search on Jefferson’s Capitol Hill office violated the Constitution’s separation of powers principles. But he stopped short of saying he agreed with them.
“Our government has not faced such a dilemma in more than two centuries,” the president said. “Yet after days of discussions, it is clear these differences will require more time to be worked out.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12973390/
Breaking News: PRESIDENT BUSH ORDERS DOCUMENTS SEIZED FROM REP. WILLIAM JEFFERSON'S CAPITOL HILL OFFICE SEALED FOR 45 DAYS
Posted by: monkey at May 25, 2006 03:54 PM
anyone care to comment on just how sinister this is? I had my creeped out moment for the day.
Posted by: tutterfly at May 25, 2006 12:40 PM
Sounds like time for another OHMIGODLOOKATTHETERRORISTBOMB!!! event.
“Our government has not faced such a dilemma in more than two centuries,” the president said.
No chit, chimplock.
No justice department or executive branch has ever done such a thing... and no, whatever Jefferson is "accused" of (not yet indicted or charged), does NOT measure up to the worst dilemma in over two centuries.
... and co-equal branches of government?????
PUH-LEEEEEEZ!
We ain't buyin' yer load of crap, dipwad.
monkey:
Your 03:24 PM post IS on topic. The stranglehold the WH has on the MSM is quite evident. I believe its very much linked to Rove trying to shiv the Dems prior to his looming indictment.
Didn't Satan say: "Sometimes, you end up doing your best work when under extreme duress..."
Veritas
Actually, I wonder if something is being ignored.
Huge explosion in cargo at Istanbul airport, & minor mention of investigation into "sabotage" but no mention of terror attack, then a Kurdish group actually takes credit for it. We hear almost nothing. Seems suspicious to me, as the Kurds always seem to be the good guys (to US administration), when in Iraq.
Posted by: tutterfly at May 25, 2006 12:40 PM
It is not just the money that motivates these criminals, it is the rush they get when they exercise their power. I have always believed that most people who get involved in politics do it for the feeling of power it provides them. Yes, some do it for their sense of civic duty, but mostly it is their vanity that energizes them.
The gay marriage issue gets me going like no other, so I was glad to see this today:
Last week, I wrote asking you to sign a petition telling Senator Frist that "the Senate should be working on real issues - not writing discrimination into the Constitution." More than 40,000 of you responded. Let's reach 50,000 before Congressional recess begins tomorrow.
If you have already signed the petition, please forward an email to your friends and family asking them to add their names. If you have not signed yet please visit:
http://giveemhellharry.com/realissues
Republicans are down on the mat and facing an electoral map that is now tilted against them. Bill Frist is hoping to resurrect his leadership and raise his Presidential profile by turning to Karl Rove's playbook of "distort, distract, and divide." It is sad to see that Republicans are willing to sacrifice the Constitution, a sacrosanct document for their short-term political goals.
These tactics will not stop us in 2006. The American people are fed up with the "do nothing Bush Republicans" and pandering to the extreme right wing in their party will do them no good - we will win in November.
Democrats stand ready with real solutions for the country. This Memorial Day, Democrats will be focused on the high gas prices that are squeezing millions of American families. Unfortunately, Bush Republicans would rather focus on purely divisive maneuvers than real solutions that address the growing energy crisis.
However, now we must stand against this desecration of the Constitution. Please sign the petition by visiting:
http://giveemhellharry.com/realissues
Thank you,
Harry Reid----
Posted by: oncall at May 25, 2006 06:35 PM
Vanity... and dare I say it? It's the sexual adrenalin rush of POWER. There's just nothing, but nothing, like the appearance of (or actual) power as an aphrodesiac....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060525/ap_on_go_pr_wh/raid_on_congress
Bush orders FBI-Congress documents sealed
WASHINGTON - President Bush stepped into the Justice Department's constitutional confrontation with Congress on Thursday and ordered that documents seized in an FBI raid on a lawmaker's office be sealed for 45 days.
The president directed that no one involved in the investigation have access to the documents taken last weekend from the office of Rep. William Jefferson (news, bio, voting record), D-La., and that they remain in the custody of the Justice Department's solicitor general.
Bush's move was described as an attempt to cool off a heated confrontation between his administration and leaders of House leaders of both parties, particularly Speaker Dennis Hastert.
Hastert and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said they were asking the House counsel to meet with the Justice Department to work out a resolution.
Bush's order "gives us some time to step back and try to negotiate with the Department of Justice," said Hastert.
Likewise, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said it would "provide additional time to reach a permanent solution that allows this investigation to continue while accommodating the concerns of certain members of Congress."
The president said he recognized that Republican and Democratic leaders have "deeply held views" that the search violated the Constitution's separation of powers principles. But he stopped short of saying he agreed with them, declaring the end goal was to provide materials relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation to prosecutors "in a manner that respects the interests of a coequal branch of government."
"Our government has not faced such a dilemma in more than two centuries," Bush said in a statement. "Yet after days of discussions, it is clear these differences will require more time to be worked out."
Hastert, R-Ill., and Pelosi, D-Calif., responded with their own statement: "Today, we are directing the House counsel to begin negotiations with the Department of Justice regarding the protocols and procedures to be followed in connection with evidence of criminal conduct that might exist in the offices of members."
{{{More on link.}}}
NEGOTIATE?!? Harrumph... the time for NEGOTIATING with neocons is LONG PAST. And what the h-e-double toothpicks is Nancy Pelosi doing in the middle of all of that negotiating "for a resolution." Resolution to/for WHAT? If The Cretin ordered the papers sealed, that means something nefarious is in those papers. Back off, Pelosi, and let the FBI do their law enforcement jobs without any interference from politicians!!! That IS what they are hired to do, after all: investigate illegal activities (no matter who does those illegal activities)....
IMHO, the only thing that will happen with papers 'under lock and key for 45 days' is give the crooks in the White House time to pull any papers or memos or phone records pertinent to what could CONVICT ol' Dennis the Menace Hastert if he's involved with Abramoff and others who have so recently gone down in flames - and/or there is info in those papers that ties Dead-Eye Dick and/or The Cretin and/or Turd Blossom and/or other politicians of note we don't know about yet to something besides what we already know about....
I'm tired of being treated like a mushroom, being kept in the dark and being fed $h!te. Whatever 'truth' is in DC nowadays has been shrouded in darkness and covered with that same stinky $h!ite. No matter who it is, their activities, if illegal, need the light of day, and the FBI (and/or any other law enforcement agency) needs to be able to do their investigations without any interference from politicians on either side of the aisle. I'm heartily sick and tired of the EXTREME secrecy of the current administration, and the total lock-down on truth since The Cretin was given his office by SCOTUS in 2000. ENOUGH ALREADY!!! Time for truth to will out and be exposed to the light of day again.....
John Kerry Votes for Immigration Reform
Below is a statement from Senator John Kerry on the comprehensive immigration reform measure that passed the Senate on a vote of 62-36 this evening.
“Immigration reform should be about making America safer, not dividing our country. It’s disgusting that many tried to do just that. Our own immigrant grandparents would be ashamed of these tactics.
“Through my wife, I know firsthand the very deep love of America that immigrants feel. The promise that you can come here, work hard, and earn your way to American citizenship is fundamental to who we are as a country. That’s why I supported this immigration reform bill; because it’s humane, realistic and responsible.
“I am pleased that my amendment to strengthen border security and add 1,000 additional Border Patrol agents on the border next year passed. This plan will strengthen our borders, provide a path to legalization for the approximately 11 million undocumented workers currently living and working in the United States, create an effective guestworker program with strong labor protections, and hold employers accountable for hiring American citizens first.
“I am proud to vote for honest, comprehensive immigration reform—reform that has a real chance of solving the immigration crisis in America today.”
If you missed Bush in tonight's news conference, you missed an Oscar winning performance.
Joe Scarborough ripped Bush a new one for Bush's cynical comments when Bush reflected upon the mistakes that he (Bush) made in the war. Scarborough was mericless, in his critque and referred to it as syle over substance.
"I just can't get over the creeping feeling that there is a very big 'BOOM' we still haven't heard, and perhaps aren't in any shape to prepare for"
Tutter
Amen Tutter, Bring on the boom. The only way this nation will start to heal itself is to rip away the nonsense obscuring the vision of so many good Americans.
It will be a trying time, socially and economically. But it must be done, we have lived in a fantasy world paid with credit and loans, which are coming due for payment. Its simple Math, something our government cannot grasp.
As far as Senator Clinton, and President Clinton.....i know a lot of Republican business people that would give an arm and leg to have them back in the White House....Unless something unforeseen occurs, we may see another President Clinton placing this country back on Track.
Posted by: Toolmaker at May 25, 2006 09:01 PM
We *are* living through the boom of a thousand cuts. We are witnessing the erosion of the the separation of powers in our Capitol. Once that is completed, we wont need a boom. All we will need is the weak purr from a kitten to blow us over.
OC...in IRC (forgot to write down your email address!)
OnCall
I heard Bush on radio - backtracking from saying things like "wanted dead or alive" and "bring it on" - which might have been misinterpreted in some parts of the world (like in his own country?)
Worse yet, Tony Blair - talking about how "ghastly carnage" is not supposed to shock us but actually inspire us to stay the course - that general idea. He is like the biggest bullshitter on earth, like Bush if he was eloquent - no real improvement.
The transcript
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5433122j
read it or hear it - it's ludicrous
I mean - this is out of context - but that's not my point.
My point is that Blair is justifying "ghastly carnage" that wouldn't have had to even exist had we not gone into Iraq.
"every piece of ghastly carnage on our television screens, every tragic loss of our own forces -- we see that as a setback and as a failure when we should be seeing that as a renewed urgency for us to rise to the challenge of defeating these people who are -- who are committing this carnage, " (Tony "Poodle" Blair)
Bush talked about the WMD we "all" thought were there. We didn't "all" think they were there. Remember all the signs about "let the weapons inspectors do their job"? Remember the comments Bush made about the UN being "irrelevant?"
These guys - too little too late & very bloodly hands.
I just can't get over the creeping feeling that there is a very big 'BOOM' we still haven't heard, and perhaps aren't in any shape to prepare for.
Posted by: tutterfly at May 25, 2006 12:40 PM
Woman, I think you're on to something there - even if it does creep me out to read in your words what I've been feeling and thinking for a long time...
I can think of several scenarios for the big 'boom' you're talking about, and no matter how I try to figure out ways around the evil those scenarios imply, I just don't see any escape from insane reality unless The Cretin is IMPEACHED (and all of his appointees and staff are fired, or resign en masse). My biggest fear is that the de facto dictatorship will become a declared dictatorship (and the attendant more awful illegal and absurd realities that would go with that if it ever comes to pass - and right now it looks like a good probability, not just the most idiotic thought that's ever crossed my brain)....
Since the 2000 installation of the nitwit pRes, everyone has "misunderestimated" him and his PNAC and corporate cronies. At every step along the way, since day one, people have acted like: 'Well, that's just absurd; he's all blunder and cowboy b.s. and he wouldn't actually DO that...!' Be fair; isn't that pretty much what most of us thought leading up to his illegal attack of Iraq when even Lamestream Media used to let a few blurbs of reality in with their nightly snooze, and it was even broadcast then that there was no evidence for WMDs before his illegal attack, invasion, and occupation? I had a fleeting moment thinking 'he wouldn't actually do that 'cuz that's just plain stupid,' and I had a brief moment of thinking Congress would stop the insanity of his illegal actions. I was more wrong than I've ever been in my life in thinking Congress would stop him, or that Lamestream Media would do its job. "Misunderestimating" absurd stupidities has gotten us to where we are - aided and abetted by the wimpiest Congress in history, and a Press Corpse that is dead (in the corporate realm).
It's long past time for people to stop "misunderestimating" the reality of the illegal absurdities The Cretin and his cronies can do, have done, and will continue to do, as long as they are tolerated in their seats of power (and aided and abetted by the Wimpy Congress and Lamestream Media Press Corpse). If we are to return to being loyal to our Constitution and the Bill of Rights, it is going to be NECESSARY to impeach the whole lot of 'em, not just leave impeachment as a wishful dream to rid us of the most corrupt administration in the history of this country. (That leaves something worse with Dead-Eye Dick in the wings, most will say... well, he can be impeached, too, if he isn't charged by the grand jury for outing Plame! If this country is in the middle of impeachment proceedings, maybe it will keep those arrogant bastards from illegally attacking Iran and starting another war.... Better to have people talking about impeachment proceedings than letting our "leaders" start another illegal war....)
'Oh, he wouldn't actually DO something that stupid, would he?' is hanging in the air like a giant cartoon thought-bubble hanging over us regarding the absurd notion that Iran is an imminent threat to us, and we know perfectly well that The Cretin and his corporate cronies want to illegally attack, invade, and occupy Iran, just like they did in Iraq (Osama Been Forgotten, and he was let go when he was cornered in Tora Bora, remember?). Yet, we all know that's exactly what will happen if they are not stopped. Congressional bleats of opposition are weak - they're all occupied with side issues. Lamestream Media, when not blathering on and on about side issues, keeps repeating The Cretin's and the Pentagon's warmongering rhetoric and propaganda, and sheeple still believe the nonsense spoken by the Press Corpse about the imagined 'threat' Iran poses, just like they believed the nonsense about the imagined 'threat' Iraq posed....
I don't "misunderestimate" the pResnitwit's absurd stupidity any longer, whether the topic is an illegal invasion of another country or any other thing he thinks he can get by with, like declaring himself the dictator of this country, declaring martial law (and hiring private mercenaries to enforce his dictates), and cancelling elections. He would, and he will, because he can... if no one stops him. Since 2000, he's been indulged like a spoiled brat that people feel sorry for because he can't even speak a coherent sentence and his stupidity has been assumed; no one's stopped him, so who's to do so in the future if he dreams up any other power grab by whatever shaky legal "interpretations" of our laws and our Constitution? (Well, okay, true, he is essentially a stupid coward with egomaniacal delusions of grandeur, but he has smart puppet masters who know how to inflate his ego, and that shows up in his speeches, and his Freudian slips about 'things would be so much easier if he were the dictator...'.)
Wake up, Wimpy Congress! Only you, as our elected representatives and senators can stop the absurd stupidity and insanity of The Cretin, the Vice Cretin, and their corporate cronies! Certain exceptions in Congress noted, but they are not the majority, and they don't get sustained, daily, Lamestream Media attention from the Press Corpse either.... The LIES and the illegalities need to be exposed and harsh reality needs to be dealt with by the citizens of this nation! Or would you rather just see massive protest marches and demonstrations to force you to get the criminals impeached as impetus for you to act? When it comes to The Cretin, the Vice Cretin, and their Criminal Cabal that espouses PNAC aims, truth is, indeed, stranger than fiction, and I firmly believe that there is literally nothing they will not do to stay in power. Literally. Nothing.
We need a very big broom to sweep out the criminals inhabiting DC at the moment, and the focus needs to shift from all these idiotic side issues that could be solved with good common-sense thinking and common-sense dialogue and common-sense laws (something in short supply since 2000 because now it seems all laws written must somehow benefit corporations one way or another) to main issues that are deadly serious and have heavy consequences for us on the world stage: illegal war, illegal detention of prisoners, illegal torture, illegal (___) and illegal (___)... fill in the blanks... and LIES need to be exposed.
Like it or not, The Cretin, Vice Cretin, and the Criminal Cabal have put us in a position where we are now a third-world rogue nation with a mentally unstable "leader" who has ordered the manufacture and testing of more "new-kew-ler" bombs (and we all know he will use them if he has his way). We are now the kind of nation with the kind of leader that our "leaders" deplore and speak against as "justification" for pre-emptive strikes (do it to them before they do it to us, whether they're a threat or not)....
I sometimes think the only reason half of the rest of the world's leaders of other countries haven't formed alliances and pre-emptively attacked us is because they feel sorry for the majority of us citizens who strenuously object to the de facto dictator and his corporate cronies, and they would rather have the friendship and good opinion of the common citizens of this nation than that of the few people who are our installed "leaders" (and people in other countries probably know better than we do that the 2000 and '04 elections were rigged/stolen). Likely other nations are as impatiently waiting for our '08 election as we are, since our wimpy neocon-controlled Congress is so reluctant to start impeachment proceedings (assuming some of the worst-case scenarios do not happen and the elections happen on time). Yes, I'll humbly and gratefully accept the pity of other nations... because the alternative in our own back yards is... boom.....
Want to know what that BOOM was?
Ever notice bush took us directly back? He regressed us almost perfectly in a few years what took 130 years to accomplish.
The first to go was voting rights.Vietnam part 2. Enviormental rights . Putting a DOG DOCTOR as head of Womens Health, well that says it all. Chrurch and state barricades gone. Like a whirlwind the Robber Barrons had returned, and the carpet baggers, and the industry giants have gone from glory back to rubble.
And now that boom.
That was the vaccuum that ensued as soon as we stopped 4 years of killing each other.
A boom, yes. But also... Historically familiar.
We are out of time.
Georgie has the upper hand now. And we now know for a fact he will kill as many as he has too. He already has.
If he knows he can not get away with rigging November, then you all better prepare for a long cold winter. He will act before then.
He will never just give it all back. He has already proven he will sacrifice his own in droves.
Like a battered wife, you must quit hoping that he really is sorry this time and will never do it again. He will LITERALLY escalate this dirty relationship into murder. Who will stop him?
He is about to do his level best to take the ultimate war prize. He only has a few months at best to try, or the opportunity will be forever beyond reach. And it really isn't that hard to do.
All he has to do is get us to kill each other.
Posted by: Christy at May 26, 2006 12:09 AM
Christy, a friend of mine has this way of immitating GWB that is rather funny in a pathetic sort of way. You have to put on your pirate face and voice and your crazed man look too. And then you say, "IF I CAN'T BE PRESIDENT THEN NOBODY ELSE CAN..."
Oh well, I'm sure it comes across better in real life than typed across a screen.
We've had a late post on the Youtube/Lieberman thread which some may find of interest...
-------------------------
Paul Bass' excellent article ("Joe's Getting Blogged Down") was written before he was aware that all the Ned Lamont related video at YouTube is collected under a single umbrella group called "Nedheads".
http://www.youtube.com/group/nedlamont
The group now comprises approximately 350 members and 100 short video's.
Posted by: Scarce at May 26, 2006 07:54 AM
Posted by Casey Morris at May 25, 2006 11:24 AM
After reading some of their editorials, I think the Boston Globe seems to be a pretty good newspaper.... Not sure if they're consistent, but I've read a few good editorials from them.
And, for the record, I don't give a flyin' flip what happens in the privacy of Hillary and Bill's home behind closed doors. It's none of my business, quite frankly. If they are satisfied with their private lives, that's fine with me. Whoever has enough time on his hands to count the number of days and nights and hours they've spent together needs to get a second job to occupy his time - or, better yet, he needs to get a life and stop paying such close attention to the private lives of others.
Now, what political opinions Hillary or Bill have.... that's very much our business.... We all need to know what political opinions they hold, and why....
Ditto any other politicians.... I want to know what they're going to do about impeaching The Cretin and the Criminal Cabal, what they're going to do to stop the illegal war in Iraq and bring all the guard and reserve troops home from Afghanistan and Iraq and how soon that is going to happen, and what they're going to do to stop DumDum and RumDum from illegally attacking Iran, and what they're going to do to shut down and stop the illegal detention of prisoners and illegal torture at Gitmo... (y'know..., serious life-altering issues, not those fake issues Lamestream Media keeps yapping about while creating noise pollution....).
And, as far as Frappe Frist... he's not qualified to be a doctor, let alone a vet where the patients can't talk back. The person who wrote that article also needs to get a life. There really are far more serious issues to think about and to write about than Frist's visit to the zoo.... Anyway, Fristie breathing on zoo animals could endanger the lives of the zoo's inhabitants with some kind of Frist Flu, so it's advisable to keep zoo animals safe from his presence.
Christy
http://www.csj.org/studyindex/studywomen/study%20_womenbatter.htm
Compares psychology of batterer & cult leader, including what happens when victim tries to escape. Interesting.
Benson on global warming
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/benson/
Christy -
Who's going to be the Paul Revere?
Or for another analogy, we're like the frogs in boiling water. Y'know how when we got in the water was nice and cool but they keep turning it up degree by degree? All the warmth makes us lethargic too.
I do not doubt there will be another Big Event to keep us all in line or get us hating each other. The immigration issue almost did that, although they couldn't whip up enough anti-immigrant fury among their talkshow fans to start any large-scale riots.
Riots in America? They would have to take away football.
Or Home Shopping. Or fast food. Or porn. My son says that would do it.
Canadian version, unintentionally comical (Laurel & Hardy)Regrets? Bush now admits he has a few
May 26, 2006. 01:00 AM
TIM HARPER
WASHINGTON BUREAU
WASHINGTON—U.S. President George W. Bush offered a rare admission last night that his loose, cowboy-style rhetoric in the early stages of the protracted Iraq war was a mistake.
Toward the end of a subdued, 50-minute news conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair — dubbed by some The Lame Duck Summit — Bush uncharacteristically did not hesitate when asked about mistakes he had made since the March 2003 invasion.
"Saying `bring it on,'" he said, in reference to an ill-advised taunt to Iraqi insurgents in the summer of 2003.
"The kind of tough talk, you know, that sent the wrong signal to people. You know, I learned some lessons about expressing myself in maybe a little more sophisticated manner ... `wanted dead or alive,' that kind of talk."
He also said the U.S. has been paying for the 2004 Abu Ghraib prison scandal "for a long period of time."
Blair said in retrospect, he had underestimated the strength of the insurgency. "The biggest reason Iraq has been so difficult is the determination by our opponents to defeat us,'' he said.
Blair is on the way out as prime minister and Labour party leader and was asked by British reporters if last night marked his last official meeting with Bush.
Although Bush will survive until January 2009, he has fallen below 30 per cent in approval ratings in this country.
Both face immense pressure to bring their troops home from Iraq, but both maintained last night they cannot do so in the short term.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1148593811934&call_pageid=968332188492
TOP 10 SIGNS OF THE IMPENDING U.S. POLICE STATE
Allan Uthman, Buffalo Beast
From secret detention centers to warrantless wiretapping, Bush and Co. give free rein to their totalitarian impulses.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/36553/
??? Impending??? We're already there; like the frogs in warm water that Veritas alluded to, most just don't realize it yet (especially the politicians!). Guess they're too busy watching football or porn or reality shows (or too busy trying to cover their butts so they aren't the objects of law enforcement investigations) to pay attention....
Veritas, my love...
"Who's going to be the Paul Revere?"
There is no more Paul Reveres. It is too late.
There is no rescue coming.
"The immigration issue almost did that, "
That issue is not over yet, and that is EXACTLY what is was DESIGNED to do.
There are three significant factors that all of you MUST start seeing LITERALLY.
1. An army of rascists is now on the border. Armed. And waiting to fill up those brand new detainment facilities KBR built for JUST SUCH A CRISIS.
2. The entire Port of Orleans has been 'militarized' and now does he not only have war ships in the port but it is sitting right on top of the g*dddamn strategic reserves.
3. Bushs stated intentions to send uniformed soldiers to the border.
People keep seeing it as 'coincidence'. There was no coincidence why he left 40,000 people behind to die. The longer he waited to mount a rescue the more maximum damage could be acchived. The MORE damage, the less likly the aftermath looks...calculated.
The changes in border laws began almost immediately as soon as bush took office. He now has everything PERFECTLY in place to start his own little Civil War right here.
I tried telling yall this several times over the last few years, nothing has changed except it is getting closer now. All this time he has prepared more and more. Do any of you honestly believe he wont use the strategic advantages that he betrayed us all to accomplish?
But Paul Revere is dead. And really, it is already too late to send word anyway.
What is coming can not be stopped.
Posted by: NonnyO at May 26, 2006 08:48 AM
Nonny-This wasn't the Boston Globe. This waws the supermarkert tabloid magazine, The Globe. Like the National Enquirer, only with less lawyers on staff (just in case there was any confusion in my story).
Posted by: Casey Morris at May 26, 2006 02:12 PM
I checked the link - I do realize The Globe and The Boston Globe are two different media outlets....
It's a couple of The Boston Globe's editorials I've appreciated....
I've never read The Globe, but realize it's a little rag of a 'newspaper.' Sounds to me like they're trying to capitalize on the name of Shakespeare's theatre....