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January 22, 2005
We sanction what we used to condemn
The image to right is a propaganda poster issued by the U.S. government in 1942 (National Archives page) to publicize the realities of Nazi brutality.
The painting in the poster is eerily similar to an image we're all too familiar with. Sadly, torture and brutality in places like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo blurs the distinction between the war crimes of Nazi Germany and the torture sanctioned by our government.
America is now in the business of endorsing what we used to condemn. How in a million years is that not grounds for impeaching the regime who allowed it and, in fact, sanctioned it?
10:10 PM | Comments (15) | Posted By Bob Cesca
More erect frogs on Dobson kiddie site
This is becoming more than a little creepy.
The Dr. James Dobson cartoon characters "Toad" and "Tad" from his kiddie site Ribbits.com each have anatomically correct bulges. The green Dobson frog, "Tad" (right) seems to be calling out to kids to join him... while he sports wood.
You'd think he'd police his own cartoon characters before he (and Stay-Puft Falwell) attacks characters like SpongeBob, the Tele-Tubbies, and the Muppets. CNN article.
UPDATE: In case you're wondering whether Dr. Dobson and "Focus on the Family" owns the boner toads on Ribbits.com... Domain name information here.
02:15 PM | Comments (14) | Posted By Bob Cesca
Erect frog on Dobson kiddie site
Dr. James Dobson is on a homophobic crusade against SpongeBob for promoting tolerance towards the gay community.
However, I clicked over to Dobson's Family.org website and onto his kiddie section called "Ribbits". Cute enough, except for the frog with the giant erect penis -- WHAT?! A purple frog with a big ol' woody. Dr. Dobson! An erect purple frog? A horny toad, if you will? Gasp!
Write to Dr. Dobson or simply dial 1-800-A-FAMILY and ask him why he's forcing children to look at frog boners.
UPDATE: More Dr. Dobson frog boners found. Thanks to commenter DiDi.
12:29 AM | Comments (26) | Posted By Bob Cesca
January 21, 2005
Blowing off steam on a Friday night
After a long week of outrage, I need to do this.
"Mmmmmm-doy!"
Thank you.
09:18 PM | Comments (0) | Posted By Bob Cesca
Rummy fears arrest for war crimes
Fearing arrest by German authorities for war crimes, Donald Rumsfeld has cancelled a planned trip to Munich.
Rumsfeld has informed the German government via the US embassy he will not take part at the Munich Security Conference in February, conference head Horst Teltschik said.
The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights filed a complaint in December with the Federal German Prosecutor's Office against Rumsfeld accusing him of war crimes and torture in connection with detainee abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.
Full article. By the way, remember that Alberto Gonzales was also named in the case.
08:06 PM | Comments (3) | Posted By Bob Cesca
No 'freedom' or 'liberty' for Gay America
Earlier this week, we noted a pending appeals court case in Indiana (article) in which the state's ban on same-sex marriage was being challenged.
Yesterday, while Mr. Bush preached to the world about freedom and liberty for all people, the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the ban. The court opinion is shocking and sad:
An Indiana Court of Appeals decision upholding the state law banning same-sex marriage came down to the issue of natural reproduction -- not morality, religious tradition or gay rights.
The court ruled Thursday that the ability of heterosexual couples to procreate naturally is distinction enough to justify the law.
Full article from the Indianapolis Star.
I'm still trying to figure out how the hell gay marriage will disrupt straight marriages. If gay couples marry, will there be a decline in straight marriages? Is there, like fossil fuels which Republicans love, only a finite number of marriages available in the world? Questions, questions, questions. And the only answer is contained in the biblical book of Leviticus. Good source.
Meanwhile, Stay-Puft Richard Land was on NPR's "Fresh Air" (listen here) last night and insisted that the debate over the separation of church and state is over -- won by the religious right. Okay. Fine. Can we tax and regulate Land's Southern Baptist Convention now? Tax the shit out of them? Help pay down the deficit, perhaps? These shmendricks have no clue. Don't they realize that when you merge church and state it gives the state free reign to interfere in the church? Stupid, stupid.
05:57 PM | Comments (0) | Posted By Bob Cesca
What kind of a Christian is this man?
We know that the Terrorist-In-Chief does not read newspapers. But you have to wonder if this self-proclaimed "Christian" has read his own handbook, also known as the Bible. Particularly the two passages below.
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Verily, I say to you, they have their reward. - Matthew 6:5
Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. - Matthew 26:52
03:01 PM | Comments (2) | Posted By John Christian Plummer
Who's the terrorist?
From the dais yesterday:
I ask our youngest citizens to believe the evidence of your eyes.
The girl above is a citizen of our newest colony in Iraq. Unfortunately, she only has one working eye, but I daresay she knows more about evidence than the well-protected terrorist we inaugurated yesterday.
02:08 PM | Comments (1) | Posted By John Christian Plummer
The fruit of the World's #1 Terrorist
From the bullshit-a-thon yesterday:
All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: The United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors. When you stand for your liberty, we will stand with you.
My guess is that the little boy with the "shock and awe" burns above isn't enthralled by this crap in the same way that the pundits are. He knows who is oppressing him and his country: WE ARE.
For more on the horrifically ironic day yesterday, read this excellent piece in the Independent.
01:40 PM | Comments (1) | Posted By John Christian Plummer
We say again: "Freedom, Mr. Bush?"
Reuters: "A demonstrator hit by streams of pepper spray fired by police has water poured into his eyes after protestors clashed with police on Pennsylvania Avenue several blocks from the White House."
His words:
America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies, yet rights must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured by free dissent and the participation of the governed.
Free dissent and participation of the governed in America is met with arrests, detention, public mockery, insults, and pain. Is this the kind of freedom you seek to export to other lands, Mr. Bush? You and what army? Literally. What army?
12:23 PM | Comments (0) | Posted By Bob Cesca
John Kerry ready to take off the gloves
The Washington Post today picked up on a hint of what we're going to see from Senator Kerry this year. Make no mistake... John Kerry is ready for a brawl that'll make Election 2004 seem like a polite thumb-wrestling match.
This article is worth reading from beginning to end.
12:01 PM | Comments (1) | Posted By Bob Cesca
SpongeBob wants to turn your kids gay!
And so do a multitude of other popular cartoon characters from PBS, Nickelodeon, and the Disney Channel. This according to the American Family Association, one of two conservative Christian activist groups protesting an educational video that will be distributed to 61,000 US elementary schools this March. The video (envision a kind of "Band Aid" for the toddlers-to-tweens set) features an all-star set of TV's most popular animated characters performing a remake of the 1979 Sister Sledge song "We Are Family"...
...sounds pretty gay so far. Especially when you add in guest appearances by Whoopi Goldberg and Bill Cosby, clearly two of the gayest celebrities out there.
Wha-? Actually, according to Ed Vitagliano of the American Family Association, the message of tolerance and unity promoted in this video carries an undercurrent of celebrating homosexuality, because the website for the We Are Family Foundation (the group setup by legendary songwriter and producer Nile Rodgers which created the video) pledges tolerance and "respect for people whose abilities, beliefs, culture, race, sexual identity or other characteristics are different from my own."
Read the news item here...
...or read about it with a scary so-called "Christian" slant.
09:38 AM | Comments (0) | Posted By
Freedom-Lovers protest in London
A candlelight vigil in London to honor the dead in Iraq, and to speak out against the inauguration of the world's #1 terrorist.
04:09 AM | Comments (1) | Posted By John Christian Plummer
Freedom-Lovers protest in Japan
A Buddhist monk in Tokyo at the time of the Bush inauguration. "The voice does the Buddha's work." Shakyamuni would be proud.
04:05 AM | Comments (0) | Posted By John Christian Plummer
Freedom-Lovers protest #1 Terrorist
This is South Korea at the time of Bush's inaguaration. SOUTH Korea.
04:01 AM | Comments (2) | Posted By John Christian Plummer
Mainstream media spots Nazis, too
Earlier this month, we published a "quiz" called "Who Said That?!" in which we compared a statement made by Rudolf Hoess to statements made by torture advocate (and co-executioner of retarded people) Alberto Gonzales.
And yesterday, the Los Angeles Times published a commentary titled "A Nuremberg Lesson", making the Gonzales/Bush/Nuremberg/Nazi comparison with the very same Hoess quote.
Bravo to writer Scott Horton and the editors of the Los Angeles Times for shedding light on this similarity in the mainstream media.
01:35 AM | Comments (0) | Posted By Bob Cesca
January 20, 2005
Chertoff has ties to Bin Laden financier
Lynne Cheney said of John Kerry just after the third debate, "He's a bad man."
Never-the-less, her husband's boss seems to have a penchant for nominating bad people to the most important positions in his cabinet. And Michael Chertoff is looking a lot worse that Bernie Kerik ever was. And that's saying a lot. Maybe not as bad as a torturer and an executor of retarded people (Al Gonzales), but somewhere above Kerik and below Gonzales on the Dastardly Index.
It seems as though Chertoff has ties to 9/11 terrorism financier Magdy Elamir:
Federal Appeals Court Judge Michael Chertoff’s ties to the financiers of the Sept. 11 attacks may prevent his confirmation as Homeland Security Chief.
According to a June 20, 2000 article in the The Record of Bergen County, New Jersey, Chertoff defended accused terrorist financier Dr. Magdy Elamir.
Elamir’s HMO was sued by the State of New Jersey to recoup $16.7 million in losses. At least $5.7 million went "to unknown parties... by means of wire transfers to bank accounts where the beneficial owner of the account is unknown," according to the article.
Yeah. This is worse than Tasers, nannies, bronze busts, and defective doors. A LOT worse. Oh wait, there's more:
In 1999, Magdy Elamir and brother Mohamed were named suspects in Operation Diamondback, an FBI/ATF undercover infiltration of Pakistani arms merchants who sought to arm Osama bin Laden with conventional and nuclear weapons, according to independent researcher and former New Jersey police officer Allan Duncan and taped transcripts with FBI informant Randy Glass.
Read the full article here.
11:08 PM | Comments (0) | Posted By Bob Cesca
"FREEDOM"
Protesters clearly enjoying Mr. Bush's definition of "freedom", also known as "hosing dissenters with pepper spray".
Mr. Bush today:
The leaders of governments with long habits of control need to know: To serve your people you must learn to trust them.
And:
America's belief in human dignity will guide our policies, yet rights must be more than the grudging concessions of dictators; they are secured by free dissent and the participation of the governed. In the long run, there is no justice without freedom, and there can be no human rights without human liberty.
And people exercising dissent at his inauguration were showered with pepper spray and beaten by security forces.
05:39 PM | Comments (4) | Posted By Bob Cesca
Speeding past the 'bad news'
The presidential limo speeding past the 'bad news' (above). You know, because Bubble Boy only wants to see and hear good news.
The Chicago Sun-Times has a fairly thorough summary of today's protests here.
05:35 PM | Comments (1) | Posted By Bob Cesca
Protests cover most of parade route
During the motorcade procession today, the protests were loud, scathingly visible, and covered much of the parade route.
In fact, in the NBC coverage of Bush's speech, protesters could be clearly heard in the background.
One woman disrupted the last few seconds of the address -- and within fairly close proximity to Bush.
From what I could tell, security was trying to haul her away and the crowd began to cheer the security. Bush thought the cheering was for him and awkwardly paused during the last line, "we are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom," before uncomfortably wrapping up with, "May God bless you, and may He watch over the United States of America."
04:48 PM | Comments (2) | Posted By Bob Cesca
Cheney pegged with snowballs
04:44 PM | Comments (0) | Posted By Bob Cesca
FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!
By our efforts, we have lit a fire as well - a fire in the minds of men. It warms those who feel its power, it burns those who fight its progress, and one day this untamed fire of freedom will reach the darkest corners of our world.
He said the word "freedom" 27 times. Freedom... except for the gay community, women, minorities, dissenters, etc. But are we really going to spread freedom with warfare (fire) in every dark corner of the world? Or was this just an unfortunate metaphor?
01:12 PM | Comments (3) | Posted By Bob Cesca
Definitions
"The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons."
Sound like what's been happening in Iraq? It happens to be the American Heritage Dictionary definition of "terrorism."
01:10 PM | Comments (1) | Posted By John Christian Plummer
Begin the impeachment
"The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." - The U.S. Constitution.
After 9/11, Congress passed the "War Powers Act." It said:
“The president is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons.”
Bush was asked in January 2003 if there was a link between the Hussein government and 9/11. He replied: “I can't make that claim.”
The invasion of Iraq was illegal. You can read more about Bush's law-breaking here. You can sign a petition to impeach here. And you can really get the ball rolling by contacting your congressperson, and stumping for them to take action.
Lying about fellatio; lying about WMDs and 9/11? Both are lying. Both should receive the same response: impeachment.
11:59 AM | Comments (3) | Posted By John Christian Plummer
Great inaugurals: Franklin D. Roosevelt
Today we will be presenting a series of truly great inaugural addresses given by truly great presidents. It's remarkable how the words and deeds of these past presidents underscore the vast inadequacies of Mr. Bush: his mendacities, false deeds, and the evil times he's brought down upon this nation.
FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT
FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS
MARCH 4, 1933
President Hoover, Mr. Chief Justice, my friends: This is a day of national consecration, and I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our nation impels.
This is pre-eminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper.
So first of all let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear. . .is fear itself. . . nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.
In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days. In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels: taxes have risen, our ability to pay has fallen, government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income, the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade, the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side, farmers find no markets for their produce, the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone.
More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.
Yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of locusts. Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply.
Primarily, this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failures and abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.
True, they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit, they have proposed only the lending of more money.
Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored conditions. They know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers.
They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish.
The money changers have fled their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths.
The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.
Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money, it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.
The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow-men.
Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be values only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit, and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing.
Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance. Without them it cannot live.
Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This nation asks for action, and action now.
Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously.
It can be accompanied in part by direct recruiting by the government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our national resources.
Hand in hand with this, we must frankly recognize the over-balance of population in our industrial centers and, by engaging on a national scale in a redistribution, endeavor to provide a better use of the land for those best fitted for the land.
The task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the values of agricultural products and with this the power to purchase the output of our cities.
It can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss, through foreclosure, of our small homes and our farms.
It can be helped by insistence that the Federal, State, and local governments act forthwith on the demand that their cost be drastically reduced.
It can be helped by the unifying of relief activities which today are often scattered, uneconomical and unequal. It can be helped by national planning for and supervision of all forms of transportation and of communications and other utilities which have a definitely public character.
There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped merely by talking about it. We must act, and act quickly.
Finally, in our progress toward a resumption of work we require two safeguards against a return of the evils of the old order: there must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments; there must be an end to speculation with other people's money, and there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency.
These are the lines of attack. I shall presently urge upon a new Congress in special session detailed measures for their fulfillment, and I shall seek the immediate assistance of the several States.
Through this program of action we address ourselves to putting our own national house in order and making income balance outgo.
Our international trade relations, though vastly important, are, to point in time and necessity, secondary to the establishment of a sound national economy.
I favor as a practical policy the putting of first things first. I shall spare no effort to restore world trade by international economic readjustment, but the emergency at home cannot wait on that accomplishment.
The basic thought that guides these specific means of national recovery is not narrowly nationalistic.
It is the insistence, as a first consideration, upon the interdependence of the various elements in and parts of the United States. . . a recognition of the old and permanently important manifestation of the American spirit of the pioneer.
It is the way to recovery. It is the immediate way. It is the strongest assurance that the recovery will endure.
In the field of world policy I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbor. . .the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others. . .the neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements in and with a world of neighbors.
If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize, as we have never realized before, our interdependence on each other: that we cannot merely take, but we must give as well, that if we are to go forward we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of Bøê Coêine, becaus =Dêithout such discipline, no progress is made, no leadership becomes effective.
We are, I know, ready and willing to submit our lives and property to such discipline because it makes possibly a leadership which aims at a larger good.
This I propose to offer, pledging that the larger purposes will hind upon us all as a sacred obligation with a unity of duty hitherto evoked only in time of armed strife.
With this pledge taken, I assume unhesitatingly the leadership of this great army of our people, dedicated to a disciplined attack upon our common problems.
Action in this image and to this end is feasible under the form of government which we have inherited from our ancestors.
Our Constitution is so simple and practical that it is possible always to meet extraordinary needs by changes in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form.
That is why our constitutional system has proved itself the most superbly enduring political mechanism the modern world has produced. It has met every stress of vast expansion of territory, of foreign wars, of bitter internal strife, of world relations.
It is to be hoped that the normal balance of executive and legislative authority may be wholly adequate to meet the unprecedented task before us. But it may be that an unprecedented demand and need for undelayed action may call for temporary departure from that normal balance of public procedure.
I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require.
But in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me.
I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis. . .broad executive power to wage a war against the emergency as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.
For the trust reposed in me I will return the courage and the devotion that befit the time. I can do no less.
We face the arduous days that lie before us in the warm courage of national unity, with the clear consciousness of seeking old and precious moral values, with the clean satisfaction that comes from the stern performance of duty by old and young alike.
We aim at the assurance of a rounded and permanent national life.
We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed. In their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action.
They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership. They have made me the present instrument of their wishes. In the spirit of the gift I will take it.
In this dedication of a nation we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us! May He guide me in the days to come!
11:30 AM | Comments (0) | Posted By Bob Cesca
CBS-Times poll: Bush approval at 49%
The inaugural-eve polling data from CBS News / NY Times shows that Bush enters his second term with neither a mandate nor "the will of the people".
Right direction: 39%
Wrong direction: 56%
Approval rating: 49%
(Clinton: 60%, Reagan: 62%, Nixon: 51%, Ike: 73%)
Safer from terrorism: 29%
Deficit bigger: 66%
U.S. winning the war on terror: 39%
11:05 AM | Comments (1) | Posted By Bob Cesca
'Honoring Service, Ignoring Veterans'
Today's inaugural theme: "Celebrating Freedom, Honoring Service". Mr. Bush has cut veterans benefits and left thousands of troops without the armor and equipment they need. Meanwhile, Mr. Bush has done nothing to honor the service of these men:
Approximately 33% of homeless men are veterans, although veterans comprise only 23% of the general adult male population. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans estimates that on any given night, 299,321 veterans are homeless (National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, 2003).
Yet millions of dollars are being spent on this "War President's" party today. National Coalition for the Homeless.
09:27 AM | Comments (0) | Posted By Bob Cesca
Great inaugurals: John F. Kennedy
Today we will be presenting a series of truly great inaugural addresses given by truly great presidents. It's remarkable how the words and deeds of these past presidents underscore the vast inadequacies of Mr. Bush: his mendacities, false deeds, and the evil times he's brought down upon this nation.
JOHN F. KENNEDY,
JANUARY 20, 1961
Vice President Johnson, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chief Justice, President Eisenhower, Vice President Nixon, President Truman, reverend clergy, fellow citizens, we observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom--symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning--signifying renewal, as well as change. For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.
The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe--the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.
We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this Nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
This much we pledge--and more.
To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do--for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.
To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom--and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.
To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required--not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge--to convert our good words into good deeds--in a new alliance for progress--to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.
To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support--to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective--to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak--and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.
Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.
We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.
But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course--both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.
So let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.
Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.
Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms--and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.
Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.
Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah--to "undo the heavy burdens ... and to let the oppressed go free."
And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.
All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.
In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us again--not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are--but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.
To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do--for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.
To those new States whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom--and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.
To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required--not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
To our sister republics south of our border, we offer a special pledge--to convert our good words into good deeds--in a new alliance for progress--to assist free men and free governments in casting off the chains of poverty. But this peaceful revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile powers. Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggression or subversion anywhere in the Americas. And let every other power know that this Hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house.
To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support--to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective--to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak--and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.
Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.
We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.
But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course--both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war.
So let us begin anew--remembering on both sides that civility is not a sign of weakness, and sincerity is always subject to proof. Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.
Let both sides explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us.
Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals for the inspection and control of arms--and bring the absolute power to destroy other nations under the absolute control of all nations.
Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors. Together let us explore the stars, conquer the deserts, eradicate disease, tap the ocean depths, and encourage the arts and commerce.
Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah--to "undo the heavy burdens ... and to let the oppressed go free."
And if a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion, let both sides join in creating a new endeavor, not a new balance of power, but a new world of law, where the strong are just and the weak secure and the peace preserved.
All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.
In your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course. Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty. The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.
Now the trumpet summons us again--not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are--but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, "rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation"--a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.
Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility--I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it--and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.
08:53 AM | Comments (0) | Posted By Bob Cesca
Armitage: Exporting fear and anger
The cuddly and warm Richard Armitage, the outgoing Deputy Secretary of State, on Iraq and how we've "exported freedom and democracy":
"I'm disappointed that Iraq hasn't turned out better. And that we weren't able to move forward more meaningfully in the Middle East peace process."
Then, after a minute's pause, he adds a third regret: "The biggest regret is that we didn't stop 9/11. And then in the wake of 9/11, instead of redoubling what is our traditional export of hope and optimism we exported our fear and our anger. And presented a very intense and angry face to the world. I regret that a lot."
Full article. Tip courtesy dKos.
08:37 AM | Comments (0) | Posted By Bob Cesca
January 19, 2005
America's future rocks today?
JANUARY 18, 2005 -- Mr. and Mrs. Bush partying with pop star Hillary Duff during the "America's Future Rocks Today: A Call to Service" inaugural concert.
JANUARY 18, 2005 -- An Iraqi child covered in blood shortly after the car in which she was riding was fired upon at a checkpoint in the city of Tal Afar yesterday. Full story and photo essay at the BBC.
07:51 PM | Comments (2) | Posted By Bob Cesca
What would Churchill say?
The Brits have joined the disgraced. But at least their mainstream media, which is funded by tax dollars, covers the story. Read it and see more horrible photos here.
05:43 PM | Comments (4) | Posted By John Christian Plummer
O'Reilly caught lying about 'his unit'
Al Franken played this throughout his show yesterday and it's a beautiful thing. On the "Radio Factor", O'Reilly lied and said he had served in combat with 'his unit', implying military service. Fortunately, a caller exposed the very real fact that O'Reilly never served in the military.
DOWNLOAD THE MP3 of this historic audio.
Shut his mic off.
UPDATE: James Poling has issued a "Sgt. O'Reilly" challenge:
...anyone that can prove O'Reilly's claim, including O'Reilly himself, to have been in a firefight in a combat zone will get whatever money we raise. If after a certain period of time no one comes forward, all of the money will be donated to Media Matters for America. I'm sure Billy boy will love that.
11:07 AM | Comments (5) | Posted By Bob Cesca
Condoleezza Rice 01.18.05
"I do agree that the tsunami was a wonderful opportunity to show not just the US government, but the heart of the American people, and I think it has paid great dividends for us."
Not surprised. 9/11 was a "wonderful opportunity" for them to wheel out their destructive foreign policy which had been cooking in the neocon think tanks for over a decade.
10:24 AM | Comments (0) | Posted By Bob Cesca
Bush salutes the troops, cuts benefits
During a tribute to the troops yesterday at the MCI Center, Mr. Bush told nearly 7,000 soldiers in attendence:
"As we prepare to celebrate our nation's 55th presidential inauguration, I can think of no better way to begin than by giving thanks for our freedom and those who make it possible."
Of course, as soon as he's sworn in, he plans to propose a budget to Congress that cuts veterans benefits. Remember this item from the The Washington Post?
Veterans programs are also expected to be pinched [in Bush's proposed budget], with flat funding, higher deductibles and co-payments for health care and a squeeze on benefit eligibility, aides said.
While you watch and cringe tomorrow at the sight of Bush becoming weapy and puffing his chest as he pays tribute to the military, know that while he salutes them with one hand, he's stabbing them in the back with the other. Of all his trespasses, this has to be the penultimate in the man's pathological affinity for hypocrisy.
08:50 AM | Comments (1) | Posted By Bob Cesca
January 18, 2005
Condoleezza is full of shit
The most dangerous person to ever sit in the National Security Advisor chair is up for promotion. And she gave her usual smile-and-lie performance before the senate in her confirmation hearing. This time, she even lied about her lies.
But Condi has nothing to fear. She's certain to be confirmed. "Democratic" Senator Diane Feinstein even said, "she would make a fine secretary of state."
It fell once again to Feintein's fellow Californian Barbara Boxer, who really should be on the short list for 2008, to stand up for truth, justice, and the American way of being truthful and just. Boxer called Rice on her lies about Iraq and WMDs. Condi responded, "I really hope that you will refrain from impugning my integrity." Boxer shot back: "I'm not. I'm just quoting what you said."
Read the rest here. And go here to thank Senator Boxer and tell her to keep acting like a Democrat.
06:49 PM | Comments (0) | Posted By John Christian Plummer
Too late, Mr. Kerry
From the Boston Globe today:
"My friends, this is not a time to pretend. We're here to celebrate the life of a man who, if he were here today, would make it clear to us what our agenda is. And nothing," Kerry said, his voice rising in anger, "would he make more clear on that agenda than, in a nation that is willing to spend several hundred million dollars in Iraq to bring them democracy we cannot tolerate that, here in America, too many people are denied that democracy."
Why didn't John Kerry talk like this from July to November of 2004?
The Democratic Party needs Josh Lyman. Run on your strengths, guys, not from them.
Errol Morris has a terrific and relevant piece on Kerry's mistakes in today's Times. Well worth a read.
06:35 PM | Comments (0) | Posted By John Christian Plummer
EXCLUSIVE: Bush's Second Inaugural
Reality Based Nation has acquired an advanced draft of Mr. Bush's Second Inaugural Address. We're honored to print it here in full. Bob Cesca, Editor.
Chief Justice Rehnquist, distinguished guests and my fellow citizens.
I want to start by saying, Karen Hughes is manning the ear piece today. That's right. I'm wired for sound. But who gives a flying shit when you've got political capital and a mandate, right? (Laugh) I can do whatever I want and my fellow Republicans will back me up. Like with that torture stuff. Hell, when that one broke loose, I thought, "Crap! Game over." But leave it to the friendlies. They're actually digging the torture – even that waterboard thing. Thanks for the back-up, El Rushbo!
Speaking of torture, the campaign was long and sleepy wasn't it? I thought my opponent had me cow-tied and horse-whatevered after those debates but along came my good buddy Osama "Stretch" bin Laden – I call him "Stretch" because he's like, what, seven feet tall? Anyway, Stretch came along and released another tape and BOOM! Four more years. Thanks, Stretch.
(Acknowledge tall, vaguely disguised middle-eastern man to the left.)
See? Bin Laden's right here with me. Political. Capital. I dare you to report that one, CBS. Go ahead. I dare you. What's the matter? Nothing to say now? (Pretend to cough the word: "asshats".)
It's a great day for democracy. I feel good. You feel good. In fact, you have no choice but to feel good because it's my job to tell America when it should feel good. Thankfully, when I have my morning brieferings, I invite my staff into the Oval Office and they tell me that everyone in the world is feeling good. Except when that Tsunami struck Indiana. Then they told me the American people felt sad. I didn't like that so I gave Rove a swift Texas chop to the throat. Now he only tells me good stuff. It's his job to tell me good stuff.
So the war is going really well. At least that's what "Stumpy", "Peg-Leg", and "Gimpy" told me. They're the only three soldiers who have lost limbs in the war. That's a good thing, isn't it? Only three. Small price to pay for bringing our brand of peace to Iraq.
As for small prices, that's what their benefits will cost after I cut veterans benefits in my budget. It's my job to make the hard choices. Sorry there, Stumpy. But I'm appreciative. That's why you and your buddies (remove envelope from pocket) will get these handmade coupons for "One free backrub" from the knowing hands of Colin Powell. He's quitting anyway, so he has some free time, don't you Oreo?
(Acknowledge Colin Powell seated somewhere far away.)
After he's gone, we get to blame stuff on him, too. That's good news.
As we enter into another four years together, I'd like to give everyone a hint about who's going to screw things up. Ready for the hint? Here it is: "Not me." It's the job of the president to deflect criticism. For example, after I'm done monkeying with Social Security, and there's a massive economic collapse, I'll just blame everything on my domestic policy advisors for not giving me the right numbers. Especially "Four Eyes", "Geek", and "Stretch 2".
Heads up, boys. Because when we pay the right-wing pundits to rip you some new cornholes, you'll wish you had given me the correct trust fund projections before you went and screwed everything up for America. See how I did that? America thinks you're guilty, I'm innocent, and nothing's been done yet. You can accomplish anything when you have a White House Office of Propaganda.
Speaking of which, to all the pundits in attendance today, blank checks have been left under your chairs. I like to call those checks "Best Speech Ever Vouchers". One exception: Ann Coulter. From this day forward, we're going to pay her with cupcakes and methadone. It's my job to tell Ann when she's starting to look like the crippled sister from Pet Sematary.
So here's the clip for your shows. Roll tape. Ready?
(Work up crocodile tears)
The tragic events of September the Eleventh.
And cut.
This day is all about celebrating freedom. God's precious, beautiful gift of freedom.
Some years ago, a day or so after I stopped drinking, the invisible detox spiders on my face were especially itchy. So for the first time in my life, I prayed to God to make the spiders go away. God told me he'd make the spiders go away if I'd bring his gift of freedom to the world.
So I agreed to spread freedom in the name of the Lord. Freedom to marginalize non-Christians; freedom to execute retardeds; freedom to restrict the rights of the gays; freedom to bomb our enemies into the stone ages; freedom to torture and abuse prisoners; freedom to leave generations of debt to our children; freedom to ruin acres of treasured forest; and unprecedented freedom to my industrial contributors to pollute the shit out of the air, land, and water. Nothing will stop me from spreading freedom.
Nothing.
And if there's a threat to freedom, I'll label it a "moral crisis" and pick up more freedom to do whatever the hell I want with no fear of accountibility or blame.
May God bless me and my friends. And may God bless the the parts of the United States of America that support me.
(Shake hands with naked Hannity under the podium.)
12:01 AM | Comments (0) | Posted By Bob Cesca
January 17, 2005
Bush Hates Earth
The bloody mess in Iraq has cost over $150 BILLION. That's your money, folks. How many of your tax dollars have been spent to curb global warming?
Well, the thing of it is, Mr. Bush doesn't believe people have anything to do with global warming. What's a planet to do?
Fortunately, a collection of environmental groups and U.S. cities are taking the feds to court to force them to recognize our role in global warming, and to do something about it.
The lawsuit, slated to be argued in U.S. District Court in San Francisco in April, seeks to require two U.S. development agencies to conduct environmental assessments on coal, natural gas and petroleum projects they financed in developing nations, including China and Mexico.
Read the rest here.
04:10 PM | Comments (0) | Posted By John Christian Plummer
WATCH: Gay marriage rulings in KS, IN
Two blood-red states have gay marriage rulings expected to come down any time now. On a day when we celebrate the wisdom and life of Martin Luther King, Jr., it's staggering that there are places in this nation actually considering the idea of limiting civil rights for a segment of our citizenry.
Indiana
Indiana has already banned gay marriage, but an appeals court ruling is expected to come any day now with regards to a challenge of the law. Three gay couples filed the suit well over a year ago, and attorneys are expecting the case to go to the Indiana Supreme Court. The delay, says Attorney General Steve Carter, is due in part to there being no legal precedent.
Kansas
A state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and civil unions passed the Kansas state senate by a vote of 28-11 and will be voted on in the house sometime before February 11. KC Channel:
"Can we be sure that no activist judges or officials exist in Kansas?" said Sen. Dennis Wilson, R-Overland Park, who voted for the measure. "An amendment to our constitution is the only way to protect the sacred institution."
We're waiting on those amendments banning spousal abuse and divorce, Senator Wilson, since you're so bent on protecting the "sacred institution". Contact the state senator: Phone: 785-296-7383
Email: wilson@senate.state.ks.us
02:03 PM | Comments (1) | Posted By Bob Cesca
See the Stars
"It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence."
Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke those words the night before he was murdered. They were true then, and they are more true today.
Our nation is one of the chief exporters of violence, not only through the unlawful war in Iraq, but through our manufacturing of missiles, land mines, and various combat weapons.
We are also one of the chief exporters of hate and fear, those twin engines that move violence along at such an alarming pace.
Dr. King devoted his life to opposing fear with hope, hate with love, and violence with non-violence. He was beaten, jailed, and, eventually, murdered. But as he said the night before he was killed, he wouldn't have chosen another time in which to live. Here's an excerpt:
"I would turn to the Almighty, and say, 'If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the twentieth century, I will be happy." Now that's a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land. Confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.
And another reason that I'm happy to live in this period is that we have been forced to a point where we're going to have to grapple with the problems that men have been trying to grapple with through history, but the demand didn't force them to do it. Survival demands that we grapple with them. Men, for years now, have been talking about war and peace. But now, no longer can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it's nonviolence or nonexistence."
The temptation for despair in these troubled times is tremendous. But as Dr. King makes clear, we must be inspired by our struggles, not become the victim of them.
For a man who was hated by much of his own nation to make the above statement would seem impossible. But I believe that is precisely his point; it is because he was born black in racist America, born poor in classist America that he was forced to do something about injustice, and that he forced himself to see hope.
In the Bush era, we have the president authorizing torture, we have wars fought on lies, we have shades of Vietnam and the Third Reich all around us. Things are dark. But do not become a victim of despair. Follow the example of Dr. King. See the stars.
12:41 PM | Comments (0) | Posted By John Christian Plummer
Bush flip-flops on marriage amendment
Bush to the Washington Post:
Senators have made it clear that so long as DOMA is deemed constitutional, nothing will happen. I'd take their admonition seriously... Until that changes, nothing will happen in the Senate.
White House counsel Dan Bartlett to the Washington Post:
[The above statement] does not change President Bush's view about amendment, the need for an amendment. And he'll continue to push for an amendment.
How about this, Mr. Bush: Equal rights, status, and protection for all citizens. Is that so difficult?
09:59 AM | Comments (1) | Posted By Bob Cesca
'I ain't gonna study war... no more.'
09:00 AM | Comments (1) | Posted By Bob Cesca
January 16, 2005
Washington Post: Vote 'nay' on Gonzales
The Washington Post editorial board is urging Senators not to confirm Alberto "Fredo" Gonzales. It's a scathingly sharp and straight-forward indictment of the attorney general designate.
Some [Senators] expressed dismay at his reluctance to state that it is illegal for American personnel to use torture, or for the president to order it. A number of senators clearly believe, as we do, that Mr. Gonzales bears partial responsibility for decisions that have led to shocking, systematic and ongoing violations of human rights by the United States. ... At a time when nominees for the Cabinet can be disqualified because of their failure to pay taxes on a nanny's salary, this reluctance to hold Mr. Gonzales accountable is shameful. He does not deserve to be confirmed as attorney general.
Let's see here. We finance torture. Our Senators endorse those who advocated allowing torture. America, of all the nations on this planet, is now synonymous with the practice of torturing prisoners and detainees.
"Freedom is the almighty's gift to the world," Bush likes to say. Sadly, the world now believes that torture -- the worst brand of human rights violation -- has become the fine print in that deal. We're handing out candy bars with razor blades buried between the nougat and caramel.
02:21 PM | Comments (2) | Posted By Bob Cesca
Torturers 'punished' with new contracts
Two U.S. civilian contracting firms implicated in the Abu Ghraib torture scandal have been fired. That's what I'd write if we lived under a truly legal and moral administration. But actually, the Pentagon just awarded CACI a $16 million contract renewal while Titan is getting $164 million.
Steven Stefanowicz from CACI International has been accused of ordering general abuses, while Titan's John Israel has been charged with perjury and Adel Nakhla from Titan has been accused of raping an Iraqi boy.
And we're renewing their contracts.
It was also alleged that CACI interrogators used dogs to scare prisoners, placed detainees in unauthorised 'stress positions' and encouraged soldiers to abuse prisoners. Titan employees, it has been alleged, hit detainees and stood by while soldiers physically abused prisoners.
Imagine you're a Jihad leader who is already predisposed to hate America. Next, imagine that you've read in the papers that the American taxpayers are financing torture contracts to the tune of millions. Now ask yourself: Why do the Jihadists hate us? We pay taxes, those taxes are used to finance torture. In the eyes of the insurgents in Iraq and Jihadists abroad, who's going to be lumped in with the guilty? Sleep tight.
01:59 PM | Comments (2) | Posted By Bob Cesca
Hate mongering was campaign gimmick
In what will surely prove a boon to truthful bloggers everywhere, George Bush, Jr.'s recent interview with the Washington Post continues to amaze. Certainly, as Plummer points out below, the interview reconfirms that Bush is a moron. No two ways about that. But at the end of the interview he reveals that he has no intention of passing any same-sex marriage laws, despite campaigning heavily in favor of a constitutional ammendment banning the practice. Now,
The president said there is no reason to press for the amendment because so many senators are convinced that the Defense of Marriage Act -- which says states that outlaw same-sex unions do not have to recognize such marriages conducted outside their borders -- is sufficient. "Senators have made it clear that so long as DOMA is deemed constitutional, nothing will happen. I'd take their admonition seriously. . . . Until that changes, nothing will happen in the Senate."
So, it's okay to incite bigotry and hate just to insure that you get to become the "president of everybody".
Read more here.
01:17 PM | Comments (2) | Posted By Jim Biederman
"The President of Everybody"
"It's important for people to know that I'm the president of everybody."
That is one of many statements being made by the dumbest famous person currently alive (and, yes, I'm including Vince Neill, Jessica Simpson, and the guy with the chin beard from N*Sync in that analysis). I know it's not a nuanced critique of our fearful leader to say he's a moron. But there's no nuance about his stupidity. He's an idiot. I'm not trying to be funny about this. It's not funny. It's awful.
Among other doozies, the Boy Emperor explains to us why Osama Bin Laden hasn't been captured: "Because he's hiding."
If you want other complicated matters explained to you in a way that a mentally-deficient three-year old would understand, read the whole Washington Post article, which is at truthout.org, here.
12:22 PM | Comments (0) | Posted By John Christian Plummer
Holy crap! Bush not responsible for Iraq
According to MSNBC.com, a Washington Post interview with George Bush, revealed this little gem:
President Bush said the public's decision to reelect him was a ratification of his approach toward Iraq and that there was no reason to hold any administration officials accountable for mistakes or misjudgments in prewar planning or managing the violent aftermath.
So there you have it, for the 51% of you who voted for the fucker (and who most likely now make up the 56% disaproval rating on his handling of Iraq) you can't hold him responsible because you voted for him. From the rest of us, thank you all very much!
12:22 AM | Comments (0) | Posted By Jim Biederman
