Jon Stewart on Sarah Palin

Jon Stewart can usually wrap up everything that needs to be said about in an issue in one funny package.

Obama Right Again

Remember how they ridiculed Obama for his comment about keeping our tires inflated? They should have looked before they laughed. It turns out that the Federal Government backs up his claims, and even Arnold, a Republican, is pitching the same solution. Check out ecodriving.com. It's worth a look.

Gov. Schwarzenegger
by burghnews

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This is the kind of story that most people won't read even if their eyes pass over the headline. It's a lot easier to keep walking around with a mind filled full of the cliches that were poured in during our brainwashing years . . . . . . God bless America, greatest country in the world, democracy, freedom, etc. That's what they're counting on . . . . . that nobody cares about what they're doing. They're counting on the fact that enough people still believe that we live according to higher moral values than the rest of the world, and that whatever we do is right because we're somehow superior to everyone else and our actions are dictated by God.

However, my hunch is that those tapes were destroyed because what was on them was so disgusting and horrifying that it would make Antonin Scalia throw up. The tapes would have ended this ridiculous debate about the definition of torture. Even the most radical, right-wing, fundamentalist, neocons would be unable to support it in the name of God or anyone else.

We're living in a thinly disguised dictatorship run by a bunch of thugs that would rival any banana republic. While Bush is sending young men and women to die for "freedom and democracy" he's making a mockery of it at home.

And, it won't be over next year if any of the Republican candidates are elected. With the exception of Ron Paul, who has as much chance as the proverbial snowball, all of them will continue to consolidate power in the Executive and continue this dicatorship.

If Osama Bin Laden's motives were to destroy our country, as Bush claims, then he is succeeding. We need a president who's smarter than Osama Bin Laden. That's my slogan for this election year.

He Really is Detached from Reality

How do they keep from laughing at his news conferences? 

During his White House press conference this morning,George W. Bush was asked what he thought about Hillary Clinton's idea of sending his father and her husband on a "worldwide goodwill mission to restore the country's good name abroad."

The president's response: Been there, done that.

"It's what I do during my presidency," Bush said. "I go around spreading goodwill and talking about the importance of spreading freedom and peace."

Think Progress was first with the obvious rejoinder: Over the course of the past two years, world public opinion of the United States has trended steadily downward. Back home, a slew of public opinion polls taken this month put the president's approval ratings in the just-above-freezing range.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Mike Huckabee speaking to the camera, Christmas tree in the backdrop, “Silent Night” playing subtly in the background, says, “Are you about worn out of all the television commercials you’ve been seeing? Mostly about politics. I don’t blame you. At this time of year sometimes it’s nice to pull aside from all of that and just remember that what really matters is the celebration of the birth of Christ and being with our family and our friends. I hope that you and your family have a magnificent Christmas season. And on behalf of all of us, God bless and Merry Christmas. I’m Mike Huckabee and I approve this message.”

Watch it here.

After your knee stops jerking in approval or disapproval, think about this. What's wrong with this picture . . . if anything?

Campaigning While Female

Vapid, driveling, inane, insipid, jejune, nothing, tasteless, tiresome, unimaginative, uninspiring, uninteresting, unpalatable, vacant, vacuous, mean-spirited, low class, and empty. How many words can I find to describe the level of political discourse in this country? What does it say about those who spew this mindless drivel and those who listen to it and believe it? Yesterday, the campaign reached its lowest and meanest point so far with the comments by Rush Limbaugh about Hillary Clinton's appearance. If it weren't for his 14 million "ditto-heads" who hang on his every word, he would be a comical sideshow who wouldn't deserve an ounce of ink or a sliver of the air waves. But, he speaks and thinks for 14 million people in this country, including the president and vice-president who regularly appear on his program. Every person, Republican, Democrat, Hillary supporters and haters, with an ounce of intellectual integrity should be offended by these comments. This transcends politics. It reveals the ugly attitudes we have toward aging and women in this country. Take the time to read this article. It will only take about 5-10 minutes. Then, tell at least one other person that bags under the eyes have nothing to do with a person's ability to be a competent president.

"After a close-up of her face appeared on the Drudge Report, Hillary Clinton was found guilty of -- horrors! -- aging."

Bush vetoes kid's health bill . . . again.

While he's beating down the Democrats in congress to get his $200 billion for the war, he's vetoing health care for thousands of kids. Says we can't afford it. We all know that whether you're an individual, family or a country, we find the money to do what's important to us. We know what's important to George Bush. 

Don't they have better things to do?

The Democratic-led House was able to pass an extremely important bipartisan resolution yesterday -- by a vote of 372-9 -- which "recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world"; proclaims that Christmas is "a holiday of great significance to Americans"; decrees that "Christians and Christianity have contributed greatly to the development of western civilization"; explains that "on December 25 of each calendar year, American Christians observe Christmas, the holiday celebrating the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ"; and "expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world."

They can't/won't end the war, but they can do this. With all of the important things that need to be done, they spend time on this kind of feel-good crap. Get ready for another four years of neocon rule. There's no way these wimpy Democrats are going to defeat the junk yard dog Republicans. I fear for our country.

What Crisis?

How can anyone be this disconnected from history, especially someone in such a high position? No, I'm not talking about Bush, I'm talking about his press secretary Dana Perino who didn't know about the Cuban Missile crisis. Read this and just shake your head in disbelief. 

You can tell a lot about an executive by the type of people he or she puts in important positions. Bush's appointments only confirm what we already knew about him. He is incompetent and should not be in this position. 

Quotation for the Day

It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important.
- Martin Luther King Jr.

Are You Worried Yet?

If you're not worried about our future, you will be after catching up on this news. As you may have heard this week, the recently released NIE report revealed that Iran is NOT pursuing a nuclear weapon - in fact, it abandoned its program in 2003! Yet Bush was invoking the threat of WWIII based on Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons within the last month. This is a story that should be followed, and a good place to start is by watching Keith Olberman's eloquent comments about this president and his penchant for disregarding facts in favor of his own version or reality. Even if you're a Bush supporter, you have to be worried after getting the facts about this.

If, like me, you wonder where the outrage is, you'll find that it resides with Keith Olberman. He is one of the few commentators who "tell it like it is" without holding anything back. I'm afraid he's going to be whisked away in the middle of the night soon, so you'd better listen to him while you can.  

It's Started

Pay attention, and you'll get a lesson in how American politics works today. You don't win by building yourself up in the eyes of the electorate - you win by tearing down your opponent by whatever means necessary. In view of the success of the Swift Boat Veterans for "Truth" during the last campaign, it looks like this tactic will become a part of the political toolbox. As you know, the Swift Boat Veterans injected a lie about Kerry's military service into the media. It circulated long enough to pull him down in the polls even though it was all fabricated.

Now, they've already started to "Swift Boat" Obama. You would expect the National Enquirer to pick up this stuff, but not the Washington Post. But, there it is - a big headline with the words Obama and Muslim on the same line. Millions of people will give this a quick read, believe it and start a conversation all over the country that will sound something like this:

Did you hear that Obama is a Muslim? If he's elected, he'll take the oath of office on the Koran instead of the Bible. This must be a new terrorist strategy - get one of their people on the inside so they can control our country. I ain't votin for no Muslim for president - that's for damn sure!

Of course, there is no truth to this, but truth has no place in today's campaign. That virus will do enough damage to severely weaken, and perhaps defeat Obama. A friend of mine recently told me that she sure was glad that Kerry didn't get elected. When I asked why, she looked at me incredulously and said, "because of that veteran thing." I finally uncovered what she meant - it was the Swift Boat campaign. After seven years, she still believed that she had the "truth" about Kerry.

Wake up. Think. Vote smart. It's probably the most important thing you'll do next year.

The Good Life . . . . according to Bush

"I'm feeling pretty spirited, pretty good about life." -- George W. Bush, asked today if he isn't feeling a little "troubled" about his standing with the American people.

I would think he'd be a little troubled about all the death and destruction he's caused over the last five years.

Jackie and Dunlap Keep Us From Crying

Jackie and Dunlap, our Red State Update friends, might be the best political commentators out there. The current state of affairs with our candidates and our resident just makes you want to cry, but Jackie and Dunlap find the humor in it while parodying the Red State constituency that put these guys in office. Listen to them talk about Giuliani in the current edition in the sidebar. Once you stop laughing, you start to wonder how this guy could be so far up in the polls when he was doing the same thing they tried to hang Clinton for doing. He was using city vehicles and security to visit his mistress in the Hamptons while he was still married. On top of that, he billed the expenses to the taxpayers. Are the Republicans really considering a first lady that was having an affair with the president while he was still married? It sure helps that Jackie and Dunlap can find the humor in this. Check it out in the sidebar.

Don't Bother Him With Facts

Bush can't seem to handle anything, even facts, that get in the way of his view of the world. You would think that we could all breath a sigh of relief in view of the recent NIA report showing that Iran had cancelled efforts to develop a nuclear weapon in 2003. Most rational people would back off the beligerent rhetoric about World War III, and start some serious diplomacy. Not Bush. In his news conference today, true to form, he didn't change his mind even in the face of facts. It's hard to believe that after the Iraq fiasco, he's doing the same thing with Iran.

Will This Help Her or Hurt Her?

"I want a long term relationship. I don't want to just have a one night stand with all of you." -- Sen. Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail in Bettendorf, Iowa, trying to convince a crowd to caucus for her, so that she can win Iowa in November 2008, as quoted by ABC News.

You Can Fool Some of The People Some of the Time

You can't fool all of the people all of the time, but you can fool some of the people long enough to get them to vote the way you want them to. Gone are the days when we could have a reasonable amount of confidence that our news sources would check stories for authenticity before they ran them. But, with the competitive nature of the media today, a company that takes two weeks to check out the latest scandal story will be left behind.

Political operatives use this to their advantage. They can slip a story into the fast-moving river of news that might be false. But, like a virus, it will do enough damage to accomplish its objectives. The objective of the right is not to win elections by significant majorities - it's just to win. In their view, 51% is as good as 100% because it gives them the power they want. They don't have to worry about influencing large numbers of people - just one vote is all they need to put them over the line. Once they get that vote, they're not concerned about how it looks or if they got caught. They got the vote, and that's all that matters. Once they have the power, they're not all that concerned with governing for the benefit of all the people.

Both sides do it, but it is more of a Republican strategy. We need to exercise our power of critical thinking and question everything, from both parties. If we assume that every political message is an attempt to manipulate and deceive us, then we'll do the hard work of checking the facts. The outcome will be a more intelligent and well-informed vote.

It's Only Bad When Democrats Do It

Remember how indignant and morally superior the conservatives were about Clinton's extra-marital activities? It will be interesting to see how they spin Giuliani's exploits. He was carrying on an affair with his current wife while he was still married to his former, and he was billing the city for expenses to visit her in the Hamptons. Read about it here.

Who Could Object to This?

The American system of government is founded on two counterbalancing principles: that the majority of the people govern, through democratically elected representatives; and that the power even of a democratic majority must be limited, to ensure individual rights.

Majority power is limited by the Constitution's Bill of Rights, which consists of the original ten amendments ratified in 1791, plus the three post-Civil War amendments (the 13th, 14th and 15th) and the 19th Amendment (women's suffrage), adopted in 1920.

Our mission is to preserve all of these protections and guarantees:

• Your First Amendment rights - freedom of speech, association and assembly; freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.
• Your right to equal protection under the law - equal treatment regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin.
• Your right to due process - fair treatment by the government whenever the loss of your liberty or property is at stake.
• Your right to privacy - freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into your personal and private affairs.

We work also to extend rights to segments of our population that have traditionally been denied their rights, including Native Americans and other people of color; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people; women; mental health patients; prisoners; people with disabilities; and the poor.

If the rights of society's most vulnerable members are denied, everybody's rights are imperiled.

Who could object to these principles? This is the mission statement of the ACLU, copied directly from their web site, which is held in contempt by many conservatives and members of the religous right. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson included them in their list of people who were responsible for bringing down God's wrath on us in the form of 9/11. Makes you wonder about people who would oppose an organization committed to these goals doesn't it!

Evidence Against Evolution

Remember the stereotypcial Southern sherrif in the movies with the big pot-belly who called blacks "boy" and used "n*****" without hesitation? He was always filled with a sense of certainty about his superiority as he sat comfortably in his ignorance like cattle in a feedlot standing in their own shit. I've always felt that he's lurking beneath the surface of some Republicans. He's had to go underground because he's not as socially acceptable as he once was - thank goodness for that. But, every once in a while you find him peeking out like a little chick struggling to break the thin shell of his egg.

Here he is sticking his ugly head out in the form of an e-mail sent by Arkansas state senator Denny Altes to a television station. In the e-mail on the television station’s Web site, the message attributed to Altes states that he’s for "sending the illegals back but we know that is impossible."

"We are where we were with the black folks after the revolutionary war. We can’t send them back and the more we p*** them off the worse it will be in the future. So what do we do," the e-mail states. "I say the governor needs to try to enforce the law and sign the letter of understanding... and at least we can send the troublemakers back. Sure we are being overrun but we are being outpopulated by the blacks also. What is the answer, only time will tell." Altes has represented the Fort Smith area in the Legislature since 1999, when he was elected to the House. He served two terms there and has been a member of the Senate since 2003.

The U. S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey estimates that in 2006 Fort Smith had a black population of about 9 percent and a Hispanic population of about 13.6 percent.

Things like this are funny until you realize that this is an elected official whose constituents have kept him in office for the last eight years. He must represent their views as well. Evolution is supposed to improve the species. I don't think it's working here. Chalk this one up for the Creationists!