Do You Really Want the Truth About the Bush-McCain War?

Then read this enlightening piece, a guest editorial on Juan Cole's page by William R. Polk, an authority on the history of the Middle East. It's a long post, but it will be worth your time. And you may be struck as hard as I was by the concluding section:

The strategy behind these operations is what the Neoconservative advisers to President Bush have called “the Long War.” A leading member of the Neoconservatives, James Woolsey, a former director of the CIA, said he hopes it will not last more than 40 years. The cost of such a generational conflict has been estimated at more than $17 trillion dollars.

More important, in the long period of stress, the American way of life would be severely challenged, perhaps irreparably damaged. The real cost could be the destruction of the world in which we live and the replacement of our civic, cultural and material “good life” by something like nightmare George Orwell predicted in his novel 1984.

At minimum it would greatly increase the risk to us of terrorism.

But we should be aware that what Woosley and others have discussed is not just rhetoric or speculation – it is given substance by operational plans, dedicated military personnel, operating from 737 – I repeat seven hundred and thirty seven -- existing bases worldwide, with already constructed and positioned weapons, and sustained by an already allocated budget.

In the spring of 2006, before he left office, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld approved three plans to fight the “long war” beyond Iraq and Afghanistan. Among other actions that have now been implemented, the Special Operations Command – now made up of 53,000 men and working with an already allocated budget of $8 billion for fiscal year 2007 – has dispatched Special “Ops” forces to at least 20 countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia. These teams are loose cannons, not under the control of regular American embassies and allowed to engage in covert warfare not only against groups regarded as terrorists but even against states. Although they could involve us in war with any number of countries, they are treated as though not subject to Congressional oversight or decision.

They are, as I said, loose cannons. But they are not working on their own. Their use has been justified by the March 2005 “National Defense Strategy of the United States of America” which calls for the US (and I quote) “to operate in and from the global commons-space, international waters and airspace, and cyberspace...to surge forces rapidly from strategic distances [to where adversaries may seek to deny us access and] to deny adversaries sanctuary...[These campaigns]may entail lengthy periods of both major combat and stability operations [or] require regime change...”

Not surprisingly, the conservative journal, The Economist, editorialized, “the Neoconservatives are not conservatives. They are radicals. Their agenda adds up to a world-wide crusade. With all its historic, anti-Muslim connotations, it is precisely the word most calculated to perpetuate movement down the path desired by the Neoconservatives, permanent, unending war.

Is permanent war – one Iraq after another – to be our future?

**********

Now remember which presidential candidate is most devoted to the "long war", and which of them has promised Americans will stay in Iraq for 100 years if necessary. Remember which one says this war was the right thing to to do. Remember which one is warning there will many more wars. Remember which one is now TOTALLY beholden to the radical right that wants a worldwide religious war with Islam.

Now remember what the price of John McCain winning the White House would be.

Is McCain Mentally Stable Enough to Be President?

It's a legitimate question, explored here:

McCain: Consistently WRONG on Iraq

He tries to come off like the big expert on this issue, and brags about the "success" of the Surge (i.e., escalation),but Steve Chapman nails him here:

The point of the surge was to catalyze rapid progress that would facilitate our departure. But now the Pentagon says that come July, we'll still have more troops than the 132,000 we had before. When Lt. Gen. Carter Ham was asked if the number will fall below 132,000 by the time Bush leaves office, he replied, "It would be premature to say that."

McCain says the current "strategy is succeeding in Iraq." His apparent definition of success is that American forces will stay on in huge numbers as long as necessary to keep violence within acceptable limits. We were told we had to increase our numbers so we could leave. Turns out we had to increase our numbers so we could stay.

Five years after the Iraq invasion, we've suffered more than 30,000 dead and wounded troops, incurred trillions in costs and found that Iraqis are unwilling to overcome their most basic divisions. And, no end is in sight. If you're grateful for that, thank John McCain.

Yes, folks, the Bush-McCain war grinds on day after day after day. And yes, it DOES matter who gets elected president on 4 November.

McCain Doesn't Just Court the Radicals, He IS a Radical

From the great Charles Pierce here:

One waits in vain for the television and newspaper pundits to abandon their novelization of John McCain, Renegade Maverick Moderate Centrist Tough Guy. John (Jesus Is My X-Man!) Hagee wasn't enough. Standing there like a garden gnome while President 19 Percent fairly well soaked him in a great shower of Fail wasn't enough. And I suspect this won't be enough, either. But, make no mistake. The CNP is the nuttiest of the wingers and the wingiest of the nuts. This is the creme de la crazoid. Throw all of these people in a sack, roll it down a hill, and there'll always be an influential lunatic on top. To call these people medieval is to insult Charlemagne. To call these people ultramontane is to insult Pius IX. To call them reactionary is to insult two generations of Buckleys. Anyone who wonders why St. John hasn't distanced himself from a raving nutball like Hagee need only look here to discover why. He doesn't want to do so. He not only needs the likes of these people to get nominated, he prefers their company. He agrees with them. His entire campaign has been an extended negotiation regarding the terms of the lien on his soul he's given them in exchange for their support. They are the most important part of his base outside of that part of it currently wearing Tim Russert's underwear.

Ha ha! Priceless!

Why Does McCain Get a Pass on Bigoted Scumbag Hagee?

Steve Benen wants to know here:

OK, I’ve just about given up. John McCain actively sought the support of an anti-Catholic, anti-gay, anti-Muslim, anti-woman, and anti-Semitic televangelist, and despite widespread condemnations from a variety of circles, reporters simply won’t cover the story or push McCain for an explanation. As Andrew Sullivan put it, John Hagee is “a white Farrakhan, but the media has essentially given McCain a pass.”

But bloggers continue to gift-wrap this controversy for the media, making it especially easy to cover this story, which they surely would if McCain were a Democrat and Hagee weren’t a conservative white evangelical.


And Matthew Yglesias wants to know here.

McCain and his staff actively sought out Hagee's endorsement, he appeared and campaigned with Hagee, he said he was proud to be backed by Hagee. Hagee is, in short, part of McCain's political strategy. Now he tells us he doesn't agree with Hagee about everything. Well, which things? Are we supposed to believe that McCain's not into the bigotry, or the foreign policy aimed at apocalypse, but just likes Hagee because of their shared opposition to gay marriage? Is McCain going to be courting Osama bin Laden's endorsement? It's reminiscent of McCain's on-again, off-again quest for the support of "agents of intolerance" like Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. McCain's trying to wink with one eye to a segment of the electorate, wink with his other eye at his fans in the media, and somehow maintain a reputation for straight talk throughout all this.

Boys and girls, it's simple. The major media--especially NBC's "Big Three" of Tim Russert, Brian Williams, and Chris "Tweety" Matthews are totally and utterly in the tank for McCain. Remember, folks, the phrase "Liberal Media" is right wing bullshit. Large, conservative corporations now control vast areas of our news media, and they want the Democrats to go down again. They always will. This is the reality we're up against.

If a Democrat had actively sought the support of demented scum like Hagee, NBC would be covering it 24/7, and everybody damned well knows it.

And Now, Some Words from John McCain's Favorite Preacher

I Will Be a Viciously Negative Bastard From Now On

The current primary season has left me emotionally numb. If you want to know the God's honest truth, I've never really worked up a huge amount of enthusiasm for either of our contenders, although I prefer Obama. (I just wish he had waited until 2016, but that's another issue.) Just thinking about Hillary being our nominee makes me feel tired and depressed, although I will not renege on my earlier pledge to support her. But in fact, I have given Obama and Clinton $0 this year, and I've just felt strangely detached. So tell ya what I'm gonna do: since I can't work up any enthusiasm FOR anyone, and I'm feeling pessimistic about our chances in November (given the rancor and division in our party) I'm just going to attack St. John McCain.

Every. Freaking. G-d damned. Bloody. Day.

*I'm going to go after him for being a fraudulent "straight talker", the "enemy" of the lobbyists who has 59 different lobbyists working for him, accepts favors from them, and is essentially bankrolled by them.

*I'm going to go after "Mr. Honesty" who hid hundreds of thousands of pages of Abramoff documents when he was in a position to do so.

*I'm going to after the man who begged ANTI-CATHOLIC, APOCALYPTIC LUNATIC John Hagee to support him for an entire year.

*I'm going after the man who has a ZERO rating from the League of Conservation Voters.

*I'm going after the phony "maverick" who votes with his party 80-90% of the time.

*I'm going after the man who crawled to the very people who slimed his own family in 2000, asking for their support.

*I'm going after one of the biggest cheerleaders for what can rightly be called THE BUSH-McCAIN WAR, one who has pledged to make our country's involvement in this tragedy PERMANENT.

*I'm going after someone who may yet involve us in a devastating war with Iran.

*I'm going after the one man in the whole Senate who should NEVER have caved in to Bush on torture--but yet did.

*I'm going after "Mr. Strong Principles" who has changed his views on taxes, overturning Roe v. Wade, seeking support from the Religious Right, and any number of other issues--whatever was expedient.

*I'm going to go after the economic simpleton who wants to make Bush's catastrophic tax cuts for the rich permanent.

*I'm going after the man who will do NOTHING about our health care problems, and who has been consistently hostile to women's rights and labor unions.

*I'm going after the man who will appoint more Scalias to the Supreme Court.

I will do this out of despair. Our party needs a compromise candidate for president desperately, but that won't happen. (It wouldn't be fair, I suppose, but I think it's the only way out. Parties have done it before.) The Republicans will turn our own words against whoever our nominee is, and do so relentlessly. And, in my semi-professional opinion, Hillary Clinton has essentially poisoned the well for Obama. Her remarks that McCain has experience and Obama doesn't will be played over and over and over again if Obama is the nominee. She has killed Obama, politically, with that statement, which she has repeated. It was always going to be hard as hell to win white voters over to Obama; 20% of Democratic voters in Ohio said race was a factor in their decision. Now, Hillary has given them cover. They're not bigoted; they just prefer experience. She has made it unlikely that Obama can pevail in the GE by the amount of blood she's drawn from him. (Humphrey did the same thing to McGovern in '72. I saw it personally.) Hillary is saying, if I can't have it, nobody on our side can. And she is the weaker of our two candidates, and will be a major drain on Red State Democratic tickets.

I've watched politics for over 40 years. This year SHOULD have been our golden opportunity, but being a Democrat, I have plenty of reasons to doubt that it will be. So instead of just bitching and moaning, I think I'll sublimate my grief into rage and take it out on McCain. What else can I do?

Oh, and one more thing: our greatest leader, Al Gore, chose not to run (and I can't blame him, but I wish he had); our most eloquent defender of the poor, John Edwards, was knocked out, and the man who has the best combination of progressive values and long experience was a non-starter: Christopher Dodd, defender of the U.S. Constitution in the Senate.

You better WATCH yourself, Mac!

The True Voice of the Conservatives

Sometimes they really let their guard down and tell you exactly what they think. I took this post verbatim and in full. See what you think:

Deadly Ricin Poison Found In Vegas Hotel

Could this be used to clean out the trash candidates we have in our Presidential Campaign this year?

Ricin poison is easy to make from castor beans. Castor beans are legal to buy, can be gotten throughout the country or via the internet. Even more interesting is that the internet is full of "how-to" information explaining how to cook the husks of castor beans into this poison, but if you inhale it while you're making it, you're dead!Since as little as 500 micrograms of ricin can kill an adult, I wonder if smearing some on a glove then shaking hands with. . . . . . Barak Obama or Hillary Clinton or John McCain. . . . would have some effect? Probably not. But I wonder if loading some in a straw equipped with a one-way valve at one end to protect the user, would allow ricin powder to be blown in the direction of a candidate for inhalation? HMMMMMMM. It's a good thing that I obey the law and have no intention of doing something like this personally!

I bet there are folks out there, however, who might agree with me that the political choices we have this year warrant dramatic action to save our republic. After all, do we really want a mixed-race, mongrel negro, half-breed in the most powerful political office on the planet? I can see it now, Barak Obama doing for America what Robert Mugabe did for Zimbabwe. . . . or what Nelson Mandella did for South Africa. . . . skyrocketing crime, disease and a collapsed economy. No thanks.

How about Hillary Clinton -- who is so pathetic, she couldn't even stop her husband from getting blow jobs in the Oval Office! Yea, she'd make a great leader. NOT!

Then we have John McCain, who allegedly betrayed his fellow Vietnam vets while they were in a P O W camp during the war. McCain allegedly got medical care that his fellow troops did not; allegedly got good food that his fellow prisoners never got and who, just last year, voted to give away our country by offering a sort of Amnesty to the millions of illegal aliens here. No thanks.

Yes, I see good reason for the political candidates this year to be gotten rid of and from my viewpoint, ricin could be used by some nefarious person to accomplish that. It's the type of weapon that Secret Service cannot protect anyone from. What are they gonna do, check everyone for straws as they enter a campaign venue? And once the poison is delivered, there is no treatment and no cure. Death is 100% guaranteed.

Hal Turner is a good buddy of Sean Hannity, the greasy little punk who spreads right-wing propaganda on Fox "News". Little Seany Boy has said nothing about any of this. If this post by Turner isn't an incitement to violence--and thus NOT protected as free speech--then I'm not sure what qualifies as incitement. It's putting the suggestion into the head of some right-wing cretin out there to go ahead and be a "hero".

This is the reality of life in America now. Deal with it. And if Barack Obama--"a mixed-race, mongrel negro, half-breed" as this piece of racist filth so charmingly puts it--is indeed made a target, you'll know who to look to.

[Thanks to Davefromqueens and poster State Department for this.]

You Need to Read Glenn Greenwald Every Day

If you have the time. No one is doing a better job of attacking the right wing idiots and weak kneed Democrats who are destroying this country than he. I've added a link for him on the right side of the page. His column today on right wing media hack/propagandist Howard Kurtz is here and is absolutely deadly. Greenwald knows an important truth: the Beltway Media have been doing their damnedest to torpedo every Democratic candidate for president over the last three decades. Kurtz is a fraud, and Greenwald destroys him. Go read Glenn and learn how to take these little conservative media whores apart like a cheap watch.

DAMN IT, Stir Up a Firestorm About McCain and Hagee!

John Hagee is one of the most dangerous people in America. Hagee is ACTIVELY trying to bring on his lunatic vision of the Apocalypse, as you can read here in Sarah Posner's outstanding article in AlterNet two years ago. The merest summary of his insanity is terrifying. Hagee advocates a preemptive war with Iran, and is working feverishly to achieve it. Hagee is also one of the crudest, ugliest bigots in America, attacking the Catholic Church as "The Whore", blaming Jews for bringing the Holocaust on themselves because of their ancestors' "disobedience"(!), and declaring that New Orleans was destroyed for planning a Gay Pride parade! Hagee is a horrifying, evil, sick man. And he's warmly endorsed John McCain, after McCain actively solicited Hagee's support.. My question is: what are YOU going to do about it?

We can't just let this die. We progressives have shown many times that when we work as a team, we can get big results. We helped cripple ABC's fairy-tale, anti-Clinton propaganda about 9/11. We helped spread the "Macaca incident" that helped destroy George Allen. We can keep this story rolling, too. The right wingers frame so many things successfully because they grab them and refuse to let go. Well, I say, let's refuse to let go of this. Let's use it as a club to smash McCain every single damned day. McCain is cynically trying to kiss the ass of the worst right wing religious fanatics and lunatics in America while presenting himself as a "maverick", a "moderate", and a "straight shooter." We need to call McCain on this, and do it relentlessly. So far today I've written The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Washington Post, and Meet the Press. But there's a lot more I intend to do. The national press has to HEAR FROM US.

First, here's some background on the whole Hagee record:

Evangelical Right: the John Hagee Archive

Bill Moyers Journal

The Jewish Daily Forward: When We Let John Hagee Speak for Us

A Christian Denunciation of Hagee's Eschatology

Another Outstanding Article by Sarah Posner.

Second, here's a set of links you can use to send your opinions:

Contact MSNBC, Today, Brian Williams, Dateline, and Meet the Press here. (Links are on the page).

Contact any of the CBS News programs here. (Form will allow you to choose various programs.)

Contacts for ABC News programs can be found here.

Contact CNN here.

Contact USA Today here.

Contact The Los Angeles Times here.

Contact PBS here.

Contact The Washington Post here.

Contact The New York Times here.

Contact The Chicago Tribune here.

Please post any other contacts you wish in the comments. Everything will help.

Remember, McCain is trying to have it both ways, sucking up to bigots while soliciting votes from moderates and independents. With the Hagee endorsement, McCain has handed us a powerful weapon to ruin his campaign. We can reveal McCain for the two-faced, double-talking fraud that he is. We can also inflict serious damage on his support from Catholics.

Do you want John Hagee visiting a McCain White House, giving advice to "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" John McCain? If not, let's get to work! There's too much at stake here for you NOT to act.

Just in Case You Weren't Sure

John Hagee: Lunatic, War Advocate, Con Man, McCain Supporter

Watch this if you want a sense of who John McCain EAGERLY accepts support from.


Rapture Ready: The Unauthorized Christians United for Israel Tour from huffpost on Vimeo.

(Hat tip to Ryan for alerting me to this.)

Tim Russert's Double Standard for McCain

Tim Russert, who, as you know, I think is a complete idiot and a curse on the American political system, recently tried to tie Barack Obama to Louis Farrakhan, on the basis of nothing whatsoever. In a line of questions in the most recent Clinton-Obama debate that for all the world seemed like Massah Tim interrogating Uppity Negro Barack, Russert badgered Obama about Farrakhan's unsolicited "endorsement" (if that) of the Illinois Senator, and repeatedly tried to get Obama to use the language that Massah Tim insisted he needed to in rejecting Farrakhan. The whole display was disgusting, to say the least. Russert was deliberately trying to corner Obama and whip up a non-existent "issue" between Obama and American Jews.

However, John McCain has received the enthusiastic endorsement of one of the most militantly insane far-right religious lunatics in America, John Hagee. How demented and dangerous is Hagee? Glenn Greenwald is on it. Here are some highlights of Hagee's McCain acceptable views:

* All Muslims are programmed to kill and we can thus never negotiate with any of them. From an NPR interview Hagee gave to Terry Gross in 2006:

TG: If you use the Bible as the basis for policy, is there any room for compromise? And if you use the bible as the basis for policy, should Muslims use the Koran as the basis for their policy, and then again, what possible basis is there for compromise at that point?
JH: There is really no room for compromise between radical Islam --
TG: I'm not talking about radical Islam. I'm just talking about Islam in general.
JH: Well Islam in general -- those who live by the Koran have a scriptural mandate to kill Christians and Jews.

* God caused Hurricane Katrina to wipe out New Orleans because it had a gay pride parade the week before and was filled with sexual sin. From the same interview:

JH: All hurricanes are acts of God, because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they were recipients of the judgment of God for that.

The newspaper carried the story in our local area, that was not carried nationally, that there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that the Katrina came. And the promise of that parade was that it would was going to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other gay pride parades.

So I believe that the judgment of God is a very real thing. I know there are people who demur from that, but I believe that the Bible teaches that when you violate the law of God, that God brings punishment sometimes before the Day of Judgment, and I believe that the Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans.

* The End Times -- Rapture -- is imminent and the U.S. Government must do what it can to hasten it, which at minimum requires: (a) a war with Iran and (b) undying, absolute support for a unified Israel, including all Occupied Territories (hence, Joe Lieberman's love affair with them). From Christian Palestinian Daoud Kuttab in The New York Times (h/t PZ Meyers):

A small minority of evangelical Christians have entered the Middle East political arena with some of the most un-Christian statements I have ever heard. . . . [Rev.] Hagee, a popular televangelist who leads the 18,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, ratcheted up his rhetoric this year with the publication of his book, "Jerusalem Countdown," in which he argues that a confrontation with Iran is a necessary precondition for Armageddon (which will mean the death of most Jews, in his eyes) and the Second Coming of Christ. In the best-selling book, Hagee insists that the United States must join Israel in a preemptive military strike against Iran to fulfill God's plan for both Israel and the West.

Hagee believes that "the president's support for Israel fulfills a biblical injunction to protect the Jewish state," which "will play a pivotal role in the second coming." These views are not unrelated to Hagee's support for McCain. Quite the contrary; Hagee cited McCain's so-called "pro-Israel views," his belligerence towards Iran, and his social conservatism as reasons for the endorsement. And in critical contrast to Obama and Farrakhan, McCain actually seems to share some of Hagee's more twisted views, as evidenced by McCain's joyful singing about dropping bombs on Iran.

Pretty damned shocking, isn't it? Pretty damned horrifying, in my opinion. Now, here's the $64,000 question:

How many of you think that Timmy Boy is EVER going to ask his hero St. John McCain about Hagee's desperately vile opinions? Anyone who thinks Russert will hold McCain to the same standard that Timmy Boy applied to Uppity Negro Barack is a fool. The MSM is stacking the deck in favor of McCain. If we don't spread the alarm far and wide, we're going to regret it for the rest of our lives.

John McCain OWNS the Iraq War

He does so because he personally takes credit for the "success" of the "Surge" (escalation), which apparently is so "successful" that none of the U.S. forces can be withdrawn at any time in the near future. McCain has been, other than Bush and Cheney, the war's biggest booster, supporter, and cheerleader. He STILL thinks it was a good idea, even though NONE of the stated reasons for waging it turned out to be valid, and despite the fact that it has done tangible harm to our struggle against the terrorists in Afghanistan. He is of the bizarre opinion that the United States should declare a permanent presence in an Arab state, apparently without bothering to ask those Arabs if they even want an American presence in their country at all. By virtue of the fact that McCain thinks the war was such a good idea, let him share responsibility with Bush for the following:

Almost 4,000 dead Americans
About 30,000 wounded Americans
Countless thousands of soldiers and Marines with PTSD
Anywhere from 100,000 to perhaps 600,000 dead Iraqi civilians
Some 2,000,000 permanently displaced Iraqi civilians
Five hundred billion dollars spent on the war--so far
The colossal damage done to U.S. foreign policy interests
The presence of Al Qaeda in Iraq (since they weren't there before)


Remember, people, McCain has ASKED for this. So remember:

IT'S THE BUSH-McCAIN WAR NOW

Hear John McCain's Harshest Critic

And no, friends, it ain't The New York Times:

Georgie Boy Strike Again!

The ratio of our national debt to the U.S. Gross Domestic Product had been declining under Bill Clinton's intelligent, rational economic and fiscal policies. In 2001, the most recklessly irresponsible, incompetent administration in the last 150 years came to power. Look what happened next:

Yes, ALL of the progress made in reducing the national debt to GDP ratio has been undone in the last seven years. This quote from Angry Bear says it best. Referring to the progress Clinton made, he says:

Of course, George W. Bush wanted to change all that so he pushed for the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts and signed the Prescription Drug Benefit and has engaged our nation in a costly war that has had the unfortunate side effects of reviving Al Qaeda and making Iran the dominant player in the Middle East. Not only is the debt to GDP ratio projected to pass where it was as of 1992, it is projected to pass where it was in 1996.

If Bush’s tax cuts are made permanent and if this Iraq War continues, what is to change this upward trajectory for the debt to GDP ratio? If John McCain thinks ending earmarks will be sufficient fiscal restraint, let me suggest that he does not even understand arithmetic.

Yes, folks, Bush screwed us all royally. And now his good friend John wants to keep screwing us every way from Sunday as well.

Don't say you weren't warned.

Soviet America

Former Governor Don Siegelman of Alabama was railroaded into prison by a corrupt Karl Rove. 60 Minutes did a report on it. Let's let Larisa Alexandrovna take it from here:

Now, let me tell you what has been going on. As 60 Minutes was putting its show together, the White House put pressure on CBS -- the parent company -- to kill the show. Over the last few days, as word got out that the 60 Minutes show would air tonight, Karl Rove's associates began planting defamatory stories about journalists working on this story (see example here) and attacking the whistle-blower who came forward, Dana Jill Simpson. If you recall, Ms. Simpson testified, under oath, to Congress about Karl Rove's involvement in politicizing the DOJ. What you may not know, however, is that her house mysteriously caught fire and she was run off the road in the weeks leading up to her testimony. [Emphasis added]

Damn, this crap is getting scary. If you're a progressive, this will piss you off. If you're any kind of American, it SHOULD piss you off. Make sure you look at the links if you think I'm exaggerating.

Just what in the HELL is going on in America? Why is the former Democratic governor of Alabama in prison? And why ISN'T Karl Rove?

Here, by the way, is the 60 Minutes Story. (There is a brief commercial message preceding it.)

Well, Let's See

1. He claims to be Mr. Anti-Lobbyist but he's involved with them up to his neck, and he has more lobbyist ties than Clinton and Obama combined.
2. He claims to stand on principle but he's kowtowed to the Radical Right on taxes and torture, and he's crawled to the Religious Right's leadership and basically kissed their asses.
3. He's embraced and endorsed the people who smeared him and his family in 2000 because his fanatical ambition trumps his family loyalty.
4. He lies constantly about points 1-3.
5. He jokes about bombing Iran.
6. He says he'll stay in Iraq for 100 years if necessary.
7. He has an explosive, unstable temper.
8. He will extend all of the Bush Administration's attacks on the Constitution and all of its disastrous economic policies.
9. He criticizes Bush for not vetoing bills that he (himself) voted for.
10. He promises a lot more war in the future.

But, other than that, McCain would make one hell of a president.

McCain Has FIFTY-NINE (Yes, 59) Lobbyists Raising Money for Him

Straight Talk Express? More like the Double Talk Express.

Obama's U.S. Senate Record

Also impressive. (Courtesy of Helenann on DKos.) I'd like to reprint the bulk of it here:

Of the 15 bills Senator Obama sponsored or co-sponsored in 2005-7 that became law:

Two addressed foreign policy: Promote relief, security and democracy in the Congo (2125) Develop democratic institutions in areas under Palestinian control (2370).

Three addressed public health: Improve mine safety (2803) Increased breast cancer funding (597) Reduce preterm delivery and complications, reduce infant mortality (707).

Two addressed openness and accountability in government: Strengthening the Freedom of Information Act (2488) Full disclosure of all entities receiving federal funds (2590)

Two addressed national security Extend Terrorist Risk Insurance (467) Amend the Patriot Act (2167)

One addressed the needs of the Armed Forces Wave passport fees to visit graves, attend memorials/funerals of veterans abroad (1184).

Of the 570 bills Senator Obama introduced into the Senate during the 109th and 110th Congress (Senate Bill numbers are in parentheses), they can be summarized as follows:

25 addressed Energy Efficiency and Climate Change Suspend royalty relief for oil and gas (115) Reduce dependence on oil; use of alternative energy sources (133) Increase fuel economy standards for cars (767, 768) Auto industry incentives for fuel efficient vehicles (1151) Reduce green house gas emissions (1324) Establish at NSF a climate change education program (1389) Increase renewable content of gasoline (2202) Energy emergency relief for small businesses and farms (269) Strategic gasoline and fuel reserves (1794) Alternative diesel standards (3554) Coal to liquid fuel promotion (3623) Renewable diesel standards (1920) Reducing global warming pollution from vehicles (2555) Fuel security and consumer choice (1994, 2025) Alternative energy refueling system (2614) Climate change education (1389) Low income energy assistance (2405) Oil savings targets (339) Fuel economy reform (3694) Plug-in electric drive vehicles (1617) Nuclear release notice (2348) Passenger rail investment (294) Energy relief for low income families (2405)

21 addressed Health Care Drug re-importation (334) Health information technology (1262, 1418) Discount drug prices (2347) Health care associated infections (2278) Hospital quality report cards (692, 1824) Medical error disclosure and compensation (1784) Emergency medical care and response (1873) Stem cell research (5) Medical Malpractice insurance (1525) Health centers renewal (901, 3771) Children’s health insurance (401) Home health care (2061) Medicare independent living (2103) Microbicides for HIV/AIDS (823) Ovarian cancer biomarker research (2569) Gynological cancers (1172) Access to personalized medicine through use of human genome (976) Paralysis research and care (1183)

20 addressed Public Health: Violence against women (1197) Biodefense and pandemic preparedness and response (1821, 1880) Viral influenza control (969) End homelessness (1518) Reduce STDs/unintended pregnancy (1790) Smoking prevention and tobacco control (625) Minority health improvement and disparity elimination (4024) Nutrition and physical education in schools (2066) Health impact assessments (1067, 2506) Healthy communities (1068) Combat methamphetamines (2071) Paid sick leave (910) Prohibit mercury sales (833, 1818) Prohibit sale of lead products (1306, 2132) Lead exposure in children (1811, 2132)

14 address Consumer Protection/Labor Stop unfair labor practices (842) Fair minimum wage (2, 1062, 2725, 3829) Internet freedom (2917) Credit card safety (2411) Media ownership (2332) Protecting taxpayer privacy (2484) Working family child assistance (218) Habeus Corpus Restoration (185) Bankruptcy protection for employees and retirees (2092) FAA fair labor management dispute resolution (2201) Working families flexibility (2419).

13 addressed the Needs of Veterans and the Armed Forces: Improve Benefits (117) Suicide prevention (479) Needs of homeless veterans (1180) Homes for veterans (1084) GI Bill enhancement (43) Military job protection Dignity in care for wounded vets (713) Housing assistance for low income veterans (1084) Military children in public schools (2151) Military eye injury research and care (1999) Research physical/mental health needs from Iraq War (1271) Proper administration of discharge for personality disorder (1817, 1885) Security of personal data of veterans (3592)

12 addressed Congressional Ethics and Accountability Lobbying and ethics reform (230) Stop fraud (2280) Legislative transparency and accountability (525) Open government (2180, 2488) Restoring fiscal discipline (10) Transparency and integrity in earmarks (2261) Accountability of conference committee deliberations and reports (2179) Federal funding accountability and transparency (2590) Accountability and oversight for private security functions under Federal contract (674) Accountability for contractors and personnel under federal contracts (2147) Resctrictions awarding government contracts (2519)

10 addressed Foreign Policy: Iraq war de-escalation (313) US policy for Iraq (433), Divestiture from Iran (1430) Sudan divestment authorization (831) Millennium Development Goals (2433) Multilateral debt relief (1320) Development bank reform (1129) Nuclear nonproliferation (3131,977,2224).

9 address Voting/Elections Prohibit deceptive practices in Federal elections (453) Voter access to polls and services in Federal elections (737) Voter intimidation and deceptive practices (1975) Senate campaign disclosure parity (185) Require reporting for bundled campaign contributions (2030) Election jamming prevention (4102) Campaign disclosure parity (223) Presidential funding (2412) Integrity of electronic voting systems (1487)

11 addressed Education Increase access of low income African Americans to higher education (1513) Establish teaching residency programs (1574) Increase early intervention services (2111) Middle school curriculum improvements (2227) Public database of scholarships, fellowships and financial aid (2428) Summer learning programs (116) TANF financial education promotion (924) Higher education (1642) Build capacity at community colleges (379) Campus law enforcement in emergencies (1228) Support for teachers (2060).

6 addressed Hurrican Katrina Hurricane Katrina recovery (2319) Emergency relief (1637) Bankruptcy relief and community protection (1647) Working family tax relief (2257) Fair wages for recovery workers (1749) Gulf coast infrastructure redevelopment (1836)

5 addressed the Environment Drinking water security (218, 1426) Water resources development (728) Waste water treatment (1995) Combat illegal logging (1930) Spent nuclear fuel tracking and Acountability (1194) Asian Carp Prevention and Control Act (Introduced in Senate)[S.726.IS ]

4 addressed Discrimination Claims for civil class action based on discrimination (1989) Domestic partnership benefits (2521) Unresolved civil rights crimes (535) Equality or two parent families (2286)

4 addressed Homeland Security Judicial review of FISA orders (2369) National emergency family locator (1630) Amend US Patriot Act (2167) Chemical security and safety (2486)

Like I said, impressive.

The Vile Hate Campaign That is Building Against Obama

The incomparable Glenn Greenwald strikes again, here, laying out the contours of the loathsome attacks on Barack Obama being cooked up by the vicious, hard-core radical right and being circulated through our mainstream media by the right wing's favorite lap dogs. A sample:

...in one of the most repulsive screeds in memory, courtesy of National Review's Lisa Schiffren, former Dan Quayle aide, the fact that Obama's parents are a mixed-race couple strongly suggests they were probably Communists, because who else, besides Communists, would marry outside of their own race? She cited an equally repellent article by AIM's Cliff Kinkaid, entitled Obama's Communist Mentor, which "reveals" that "through Frank Marshall Davis, Obama had an admitted relationship with someone who was publicly identified as a member of the Communist Party USA." ...

Most importantly of all, the guardians of our political discourse -- the Chris Matthews and Howie Kurtzs and Mark Halperins and The Politicos, all of whom dwell in Matt Drudge's kingdom -- traffic almost exclusively in puerile, vapid fixations with these types of petty conflicts and substance-free controversies. They're the decadent ringleaders of the freak show which dominates our political discourse and dictates the outcome of our elections. ...

It's vitally important to remember that our political life is suffuse with lowlifes and hatemongers like this. Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter -- the heart and soul of the right-wing -- aren't going anywhere, nor are the media-connected, Swiftboat-spewing operatives who function in the shadows and the sewers. As Digby pointed out yesterday, the Right has already created a new, extremely well-funded organization -- overseen by the incomparably slimy and truth-free Ari Fleischer -- preparing to unleash exactly this sort of bile. As Digby said, the Democratic primary is exceedingly polite when compared to what is coming: "Just wait until you see what Ari Fleischer and his quarter of a billion have in store for us."

Just wait, indeed. If Obama is the Democratic nominee for president, all of us who love this country and are trying to save it from horrible policies of the Lunatic Right are going to have to be Obama's attack dogs. I'm fully ready to play such a role, and I hope you are, too. The Right and its friends are killing America; if we don't step in to rescue it, who will?

Obama's Illinois Senate Record

Click to enlarge

Impressive. (From the New York Times originally)

OK, I Give Up. I'm Switching My Endorsement to Neutral

I was mildly for Obama. Now, I'll just say that I'll support whomever everybody else ultimately decides on for the Democratic nomination. I think jettisoning John Edwards was a mistake. And our strongest conceivable candidate, Al Gore, chose not to make the race. This will, I think, turn out to be a tragedy.

I am pessimistic now. Seeing how deeply divided the Democrats are, how ugly the primary season has gotten, and how ludicrously many of the supporters of the two major candidates are behaving, I am discouraged. The Republican machine will be able to throw heavy ammunition at either Clinton and Obama, and I don't think the Democrats have learned how to fight back effectively. In Clinton, we have someone bitterly hated by almost half the population. In Obama we have someone who perhaps is trying to seize the brass ring prematurely, someone who needs more time at the national level.

I therefore believe that John McCain is the favorite to win the presidency, and that this will push America into irreversible foreign policy and economic disaster. At a time in our country's history when it is desperately necessary for us to remove the right-wingers from power, the Democrats, I believe, will again shoot themselves in the foot and come up short.

In other words, we're screwed. Have a nice day.

Ah, Sweet Love

John McCain: Moral Sell-Out

He went through unspeakable suffering when he was a prisoner of war. He felt the depths of the inhumanity of which our species is capable. If there is ANY man in America who should be working to stop our government from using torture on suspects, it is John McCain. So what did he do today? He voted to allow it.

This isn't the first time he's caved on this issue. (Read this; it will shock the hell out of you.) But it's a particularly craven sell-out, inasmuch as McCain is simply trying to curry favor among the knuckle-dragging Neanderthals who comprise the pro-torture "base" of the Republican Party, people who have no idea what this country is about and, moreover, don't give a damn. McCain wants to be a hero to these lowlifes. That's why he is betraying his own deepest principles.

Gee, John, maybe Ann Coulter will like you now.

A Cheney Play List from Lance

Man, that Cheney image is gonna give me a seizure!

BTW, check out Lance's bizarre, wonderful blog Pizza Teen here.

Never Forget. Ever.

If you want a third term for Bush, you know who will give it to you.

"That's an argument I want to have."

(Thanks, Geneve!)

The Myth of McCain the "Moderate" and "Independent"

John McCain is still called "maverick" and other such nonsense by much of the MSM, when in fact in many ways he's a reactionary, one of the most radical right wingers in the Senate. He's also a devoted Bush supporter. Arianna Huffington spells it out clearly here:

I hate to be the one to break up a love affair, especially with Valentine's Day just around the corner, but I can no longer stand idly by and watch the media and independent voters continue to throw themselves at the feet of John McCain.

The John McCain they fell in love with in 2000 -- the straight-shooting, let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may maverick - is no more. He's been replaced by a born-again Bushite willing to say or do anything to win the affection of his newfound object of desire, the radical right.

And we've got the money shot of his betrayal on tape: McCain singing the praises of Karl Rove, calling him "one of the smartest political minds in America," and saying, "I'd be glad to get his advice."...

What is it going to take for you guys to face reality? McCain verbally stroking Rove should be the equivalent of that great scene at the end of The Godfather where Diane Keaton's Kay watches in horror as Al Pacino transforms, in the kiss of a ring, from her loving husband Michael into the next Don Corleone. This ain't the same man you married.

Of course, McCain's embrace of Rove is just the latest proof that the new McCain bears no relation to the old.

The old John McCain once rightly called Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and like-minded religious bigots "agents of intolerance." The new John McCain now slavishly seeks their endorsement.

The old John McCain talked about trying to do something about global warming and encourage renewable energy. The new John McCain didn't show up for a vote last week on a bill that included tax incentives for clean energy, even though he was in DC. And then his staff misled environmentalists who called to protest by telling them that he had voted for it.

The old John McCain once stood tall as a fearless leader on immigration, co-sponsoring a humane, bipartisan reform bill with Ted Kennedy. The new John McCain, when asked during a recent GOP debate whether he would support his own proposal, replied: "No, I would not." In other words, he was for his core beliefs before he was against them.

So McCan has backed an amendment that would limit the right to habeas corpus, has endorsed an Arizona constitutional amendment that would not only ban gay marriage but deny benefits to unmarried couples of any kind (lest those pesky gay people find some kind of loophole), and has discovered a newfound support for teaching "intelligent design" in schools.

The old John McCain once tried to take the mantle of true conservatism away from George W. Bush. The new John McCain is now essentially running to give America a third Bush term - and, indeed, will even out-Bush Bush when it comes to staying the disastrous course we're on in Iraq.

I've said it before, I'll say it again (and again and again):

NO THIRD TERM FOR BUSH

NO TO MC CAIN!

Ann Coulter's Ranting Hatred, Part 792

The ultimate Republican really outdid herself at the latest conservative blood-fest, CPAC. Her vicious, ugly rhetoric was directed at John McCain, presumptive Republican nominee for president. If you can stand it, here's an excerpt:

"A serious case could be made to support Hillary Clinton," she declared, offering the analogy of Winston Churchill backing Stalin in the fight against Hitler in WWII. "I'm not equating Hillary Clinton to Stalin, and if I did I apologize to Stalin's decedents... I'm not comparing McCain to Hitler. Hitler had a coherent tax policy." Later, she added, "The only way I can promise that I won't vote for Hillary Clinton is if John McCain appoints her as his vice president."

Yes, Hillary is worse than Stalin, but not even she is as bad as McCain, who is evidently worse than Hitler.

As insane and beyond the pale as those remarks were, for me this was even worse:

As for former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani: He "enthusiastically supported torturing terrorists," she said to great applause. "McCain hysterically opposes dripping water down the terrorist's noses."

Yes, folks, in order to be a REAL conservative, you must now be actively PRO-TORTURE. Annie said so (to great applause, as it said). The only Republican candidate who actually knows what that kind of hell is really like is opposed to it, so therefore he's weak and unfit to lead the country. This is how deep and profound the evil and sickness of the Right in America has become. And the wild popularity of Coulter among the hard core Right is yet another indication of this evil and sickness. I mean, my God, how in the hell does this scum even dare to open her mouth about McCain being unwilling to fight terrorism? How does she DARE to question McCain's bona fides on torture? She's beyond perverse. I guess that's why all the little boys in Young Americans for Freedom love her so much.

Look, I'm working against McCain. But he's basically more decent and honorable than most other Republicans. He doesn't deserve the kind of batshit hatred he's getting from the Republican hard core types.

And if there were a just God, Coulter would be a little smoking pile of ashes right now.

An Obama Supporter Who Knows His Stuff

Impressive.

Mr. Straight-Shootin', Maverick Independent!

Update: 14.7 Million Democratic Votes Last Tuesday, Only 8.9 Million GOP

That works out to 62.3% Democratic, 37.7% Republican.

I like those numbers even better.

Oh, Willard. One More Thing

Now that your sons are no longer needed to help Dad's campaign, I'm sure you'll have them all sign up for the armed forces now so they can fight the terrorists (not like those Evil Libruls!). As one commenter on Salon put it, they could become The Fightin' Romneys!

I'll hold my breath to see if it happens.

Phony, Plastic Fraud Romney Drops Out

And says he's doing it to prevent a Democratic victory and a "surrender to terror".

Ah, that Willard. A lying, no-class gutter politician right to the end.

Good riddance to this assclown.

(By the way, Willard, sorry about that $35 million of your own money you spent to fall flat on both of your faces. Heh.)

On the Democratic Side, A Super Tuesday Tie

Obama and Clinton each got around 48% of the total popular vote tonight in the various Democratic primaries and caucuses. Clinton won decisively in California; Obama won more states in total. And as I've said before, I WILL GLADLY SUPPORT EITHER ONE IN THE GENERAL ELECTION.

But the bigger winner was the Democratic Party itself. More than 12,000,000 people voted in the Democratic primaries, by one estimate, and only about 8,000,000 in the Republican contests. That works out 60-40 in favor of the good guys. I'd gladly take that ratio on 4 November.

Now, the task will be to tarnish the media-bestowed halo on St. John McCain. I respect John McCain--but I'm going to do everything I can to prevent him from being president. He has embraced every single one of the disastrous Bush policies, even repudiating his own sensible rejection of Bush's tax cuts for the super rich. If you want perpetual war and economic disaster, McCain will be your man.

No third term for Bush--No to McCain!

The Republicans: The REJECTED Party

Reading Glenn Greenwald's column from yesterday alerted me to the new Washington Post-ABC poll, a survey which leads to an inescapable conclusion: The Republican Party has been utterly rejected by the vast majority of the American people. Key findings:

BUSH: Approve--33%, DISAPPROVE--65%. Strongly approve--21%, STRONGLY DISAPPROVE, 56%(!)

HOW BUSH IS HANDLING IRAQ: Approve--33%. DISAPPROVE--65%

HOW BUSH IS HANDLING THE ECONOMY: Approve 30%, DISAPPROVE 67%.

CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS: Approve--30%, DISAPPROVE--63%

CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS: Approve--39% DISAPPROVE--54% [Note: Many of the disapprovers have, in other surveys, tended to be Democrats who want Congress to STOP BUSH.)

HANDLING OF ISSUES: Every single one is a DEMOCRATIC advantage. The breakdown is as follows:

ECONOMY: 52-33

IMMIGRATION: 40-37

IRAQ: 48-34

BUDGET DEFICIT: 52-31

TAXES: 48-40

FIGHTING TERRORISM: 44-37

HEALTH CARE: 56-29

So Greenwald's question is my question, too:

WHY DOES THE DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP CAVE IN SO MUCH???

The George W. Bush Tax on Your Children and Your Grandchildren

Contemptuous of the American people and their needs right to the bitter end, Bush has submitted his last official budget. It calls for THREE TRILLION DOLLARS in spending. It calls for a $400 BILLION PLUS deficit (which is in itself a lie, since much of the deficit is cleaned up with financial smoke and mirrors.) It calls for a huge increase in the already insanely high defense budget. It calls for slashing aid to the sick. And, of course, it calls for making Bush's wildly irresponsible tax cuts for the wealthy permanent. Digby lays it out bluntly:

In one sense, this is the work of a President who's basically gotten everything he wanted for seven years, trying to come up with a final act that's as audacious as humanly possible. In another, this is really all the conservative movement can come up with. They rely on a media and a populace that doesn't delve into the intricacies of the budget, and so they feel free to announce their spending priorities to the world. And this is what they are when everything has been stripped away. It's theft on the grandest scale, a massive reshuffling of wealth upwards, a kind of corporate Marxism where those who deserve it least get the most. There isn't anything new or groundbreaking here, just a naked grab for cash in the final year.

Now who in the hell, exactly, is going to pay the Chinese and Japanese back for all the money Georgie Boy is throwing around? You guessed it--your kids and your grandkids. Bush's so-called "tax cuts" are simply tax deferrals, a way of putting everything on the credit card. Never forget:

MORE THAN 40% OF THE ENTIRE NATIONAL DEBT ACCUMULATED SINCE GEORGE WASHINGTON HAS BEEN PILED UP UNDER GEORGE W. BUSH.

And EVERY Republican still in the running for president has promised to continue his suicidal fiscal policies. McCain, Romney, and Huckabee are committed to destroying this country's economy. Never forget that, either.

George W. Bush: the worst president in American history, a miserable failure on every level, a war criminal, and destroyer of America's economic future. No wonder he's a hero to the Republican "base".

A Statement from Barack Obama

Imagine a president who's an intelligent, thoughtful man who uses the English language beautifully. The mind reels. Imagine further a progressive president. The mind trembles in happy anticipation.

Obama for President

Dr. StrangeMcCain

The Honorable John Edwards Withdraws

His campaign was doomed by the 15 year-old children who control political discourse in this country, such as the utterly cretinous Maureen Dowd. Most of the mainstream media were transfixed by such idiotic matters as Edwards' hair, or the bizarre assertion that no rich man could actually care about the poor. Again, the overgrown adolescents in the news have chosen our candidates for us by deciding who gets covered and who doesn't. America deserves better. In my view, it deserved John Edwards.

Giuliani Falls! The Republic Can Breathe a Little Easier

Rudolph "9-11" Giuliani has officially dropped out of the Republican presidential nomination race. Giuliani has the mentality of an authoritarian. He is also a pathological liar and a relentless self-promoter. I'm glad he's out, I'm glad he was humiliated, and all I can say is, it couldn't have happened to a more deserving person.

Bye, Rudy! Make sure to let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

Reflections on Reading Random Threads About Politics

--The hard core conservatives hate, and I mean HATE John McCain with a fury that has to be seen to be believed. I know their hatred for the Clintons is utterly batshit insane, too, but I really have a hard time thinking these people will swallow their bile and get out and support Mac in the fall if the GOP nominates him. I mean, they've accused him of every vile thing imaginable, including betraying his fellow POWs (an obscene charge). What will happen if they have to choose on 4 November between the Queen of the Damned and the Traitor of the Hanoi Hilton? Stay tuned.

--Ron Paul's supporters, otherwise known as Paulbots, rear their strange little heads all over the place, invading one thread after another with their assertions that "only Dr. Paul" can save America. It's sort of weirdly entertaining, like a Mountain Dew commercial as imagined by Salvador Dali.

--Giuliani's impending demise is being met largely with malicious glee.

--Conservative pinheads (redundancy?) continue to spew out the terms "Democrat Party" and "liberal media" with Neanderthal-like exuberance. You can almost feel the spit jumping out of their keyboards as they type.

--Bush is largely ignored, laughed at, insulted in surprisingly creative ways, or defended only weakly. It's as if he's disappearing before our eyes.

--Supporters of the various candidates are doing everything but exchanging gun fire with each other. More and more threads are degenerating into tiresome flame wars marked by increasingly vicious profanity.

And democracy marches on!

It's the Great Fried Chicken Controversy!

Yes, Mike Huckabee is criticizing how Mitt Romney eats fried chicken! And CNN made it a headline!

Honest to God, every time I think politics and the way it's reported in this country have gotten as stupid as humanly possible, I get surprised. You'd think I'd know by now.

Obama's Victory Speech, South Carolina

Wow. I mean, wow.

(Thanks, Lance)

They STILL Think the Iraq War Was a Good Idea

Make sure you check out Huckabee's reply especially.



It's pretty sad when Ron Paul is the only sane one up there on this issue.

Now THIS F***ING Pisses Me Off

You know, in my immediate family 6 out of 7 of us are females (my wife, three wonderful stepdaughters who are now grown women, and two beautiful granddaughters). I saw my Mom struggle to raise four kids by herself; I saw my sister rise in a largely male dominated profession. I was strongly pro-ERA. You might say that women's issues are extremely important to me, and that respect for women is very high in my heart. That's why when I saw this bullshit I was ready to punch out the lights of the half assed Republican scum that came up with it. (Be sure to check the graphic out, and no, I won't post it.)

I'm for John Edwards and, failing that, Barack Obama. (Al Gore remains my true hero.) I am not for Hillary, although I will strongly support her in the general if she is our nominee. But by God, I'm not going to stand for this level of Republican gutter politics. (Can't you just see these little right wing BOYS who came up with this laughing and saying, "Duh, we called Hillary a c--t! Awesome, dude!")

We knew it was going to be rough, and this is just another example of how our "morally upright, family values" opponents intend to play it. I hesitate to publicize this filth, but I smell blowback in this effort, big time. Somewhere around 52% of the electorate is made up of women. If this is how the Republicans intend to "humorously" fight the first woman major party nominee, then I think a lot of women are going to g-d damned angry. This kind of misogynist shit may play with the cretins at Free Republic, but it sure as hell ain't gonna play in the general public. (And anyone who called any of my gals that name would have his face altered by yours truly.)

Occasionally, we get to see what our political enemies really are. Let this asshole Stone push this garbage. Let the little Republican boys wear this "funny" shirt. And then let every woman (and every man who loves and respects women) see what political party is associated with this viciously anti-woman garbage--and vote accordingly

The Damning Case (Click to Enlarge)

Something I Think You Need to See

It's this article from Chalmers Johnson in TomDispatch.com which paints an ominous picture of the financial future of the United States. Key excerpt:

Many neoconservatives and poorly informed patriotic Americans believe that, even though our defense budget is huge, we can afford it because we are the richest country on Earth. Unfortunately, that statement is no longer true. The world's richest political entity, according to the CIA's "World Factbook," is the European Union. The EU's 2006 GDP (gross domestic product -- all goods and services produced domestically) was estimated to be slightly larger than that of the U.S. However, China's 2006 GDP was only slightly smaller than that of the U.S., and Japan was the world's fourth richest nation.

A more telling comparison that reveals just how much worse we're doing can be found among the "current accounts" of various nations. The current account measures the net trade surplus or deficit of a country plus cross-border payments of interest, royalties, dividends, capital gains, foreign aid, and other income. For example, in order for Japan to manufacture anything, it must import all required raw materials. Even after this incredible expense is met, it still has an $88 billion per year trade surplus with the United States and enjoys the world's second highest current account balance. (China is number one.) The United States, by contrast, is number 163 -- dead last on the list, worse than countries like Australia and the United Kingdom that also have large trade deficits. Its 2006 current account deficit was $811.5 billion; second worst was Spain at $106.4 billion. This is what is unsustainable.

It's not just that our tastes for foreign goods, including imported oil, vastly exceed our ability to pay for them. We are financing them through massive borrowing. On November 7, 2007, the U.S. Treasury announced that the national debt had breached $9 trillion for the first time ever. This was just five weeks after Congress raised the so-called debt ceiling to $9.815 trillion. If you begin in 1789, at the moment the Constitution became the supreme law of the land, the debt accumulated by the federal government did not top $1 trillion until 1981. When George Bush became president in January 2001, it stood at approximately $5.7 trillion. Since then, it has increased by 45%. This huge debt can be largely explained by our defense expenditures in comparison with the rest of the world. [Emphasis added]

Give it a read if you have time. I'd be interested to know what you think. This issue is so much more important than the trivia most our media concentrate on that there is simply no comparison. This is about the life and death of America itself.

Yes! One Year from Today he's GONE!!

Yes, in the midst of our throwing spitballs at each other over which candidate did what in Nevada, we're overlooking a happy fact: the worst president since James Buchanan is THROUGH, GONE, OUTTA HERE one year from today, baby! What can we do to A: Celebrate this. B. Make W's life wretchedly miserable in his last year in office? My suggestions for B.:

1. Force the Democratic leadership in Congress, especially the Senate, to stop letting the Republicans block everything by just threatening a filibuster. Throw legislation in their faces again and again. Make them go ON RECORD in an election year for repeatedly blocking the people's business.
2. Come together in strong UNITY after a nominee has been selected, either after 5 February or later. And stop this damned, petty squabbling amongst ourselves, which is demoralizing many of us. The Democrats must present a UNITED FRONT. I don't give a damn WHO our nominee is--I'm going ALL OUT. And the Republicans need to know we mean business on this.
3. No more Bush appointees to the Supreme Court should a vacancy occur. Hold Schumer to his word.
4. Enforce the contempt of Congress rules against the Administration officials that are arrogantly ignoring subpoenas.
5. Push the investigations of Bush-Cheney corruption even harder, especially against Halliburton and Blackwater.
6. Continue the Democratic boycott of Fox "News". In fact, I wouldn't even let those assholes onto the floor in Denver.
7. Tie Bush around the neck of every Republican running for office, including St. John McCain should he be the Republican nominee. They were more than happy to prosper when W was semi-popular; let them politically die with him now.

Any others you can think of?

HAPPY ONE YEAR COUNTDOWN DAY!

The Catastrophe of Republican Fiscal "Management"

From the inimitable bonddad:

The Federal Debt began to explode under Ronald Reagan and George Bush the Elder. Notice how it leveled off in the 1990s under a DEMOCRATIC president. And then notice the apocalyptic turn it has taken under the Boy King, George the Tragic.

Three conservative presidents. SEVENTY PER CENT of all the national debt in our history. A staggering burden for our children and grandchildren. Welcome to the legacy of the modern Republican Party.

Mr. Straight Talk in Action

Lying Racist Scum Going After Obama

One the disgusting frauds who spearheaded the Swiftboat lies against John Kerry has turned his vile mentality against Barack Obama in a display of racist-fueled hatred that has to be seen to be believed. (The whole website, by the way, is unimaginably sick and twisted, and is filled with savage hatred for John McCain as well.) Here is a telling excerpt from the article if you don't have the stomach to read it for yourself. It regards Obama's response to a question about intervening in Kenya:

American conservatives already suspect that Obama Jr's much proclaimed opposition to America's war against Muslim terrorist [sic] in Iraq is more about his Muslim heritage than peace. Obama Jr's "I don't think we're at that stage yet" answer to Sawyer stirred immediate reaction from a former U.S. Congressman who saw the Sawyer interview. "Yet? We all know what that means. If elected, at what stage will Barack Obama be willing to send American servicemen and women into the Kenyan meat grinder."

Since the Kikuyu tribe of President Kibaki was the target of the killings and members of the Obama Jr's Lou [sic] tribe were doing the killing, one can image what the Kikuyu tribe thought of U.S. presidential candidate Obama Jr's plea for peace.

Aha! Obama's not only a secret Muslim, he opposes fighting terrorism and his true loyalties lie with his ancestral tribe in Kenya! The whole article, by the way, shouts "Muslim! Muslim! Muslim!" and repeats every single right wing canard about Obama's upbringing and faith.

Karl Rove, of course, is already sending out the dog whistles to the Right. Keith Olbermann caught the sound (via Raw Story):

"No official endorsements for Senator Clinton today," Olbermann stated, "but it sure appeared as if Karl Rove was back to backing the candidate he'd love to see beaten ... writing an op-ed in the now Murdoch-owned Murdoch Street Journal, in which he explains why Mrs. Clinton won in New Hampshire and otherwise eviscerates Senator Obama, saying of the Illinois Democrat's performance at the debate Saturday, 'His trash talking was an unattractive carryover from his days playing pickup basketball at Harvard, and capped a mediocre night.'"...

The racist slant of Rove's op-ed has already been widely noted among bloggers, with one of the more vehement writing, "When you take into consideration the malevolent genius of Karl Rove - The god damned Johnny Appleseed of fear harvesting - and understand that the higher echelon of the Republican base is being spoon-fed a concoction that consists of a feminist-socialist lesbian wife of a shill president or a lazy, jive-talking, b-ball playing huckster boy politician from Chicago ... Rove's ability to triangulate issues and interweave them with subtle strereotypical imagery would be fun to read if it was fiction. Unfortunately in real life, the fat master has stirred and is testing the waters to see if his style of politics still plays."

And in a blast from the past, here:

It took only 31 minutes for the Republicans to start the racist attacks against Barack Obama. At 7:27 PM, Jim wrote an article here at Irregular Times about a leak from Senator Barack Obama’s staff indicating that Obama will be running for President of the United States in 2008.

At 7:58 PM, an anonymous reader wrote that Barack Obama’s campaign for President is just “typical black behavior trying to “move up” in the world before he knows better to really do it”.

It will take all of our strength to fight this racist filth. The progressive blogosphere must be resolute in waging war against the Republicans who are pushing these lies and stereotypes. Any disputes we have among ourselves pale in comparison to the 180 degree separation between us and the right wing. We need to remember that, and Clinton supporters, Edwards supporters, and Obama supporters must all fight as one against the Republican fear campaign.

They're not getting away with it again. Not this time, G-d damn it. Not ever.

Hat tips: MyDD, Pandagon

Disgusting Neo-Confederate Idiots Backing Huckabee

The appalling story can be found here.

I think I've made my views on all this crystal clear, but just in case you missed them, here you go:

Here

and

Here.

My quote from the above cited post:

The Republicans who defend the Confederate flag are KISSING THE ASS OF RACISTS in order to win the votes of RIGHT WING REDNECK IDIOT NEANDERTHAL PINHEADS.

[And that goes double for Huckabee.]

Screw the Confederacy now and forever.

An Episode of Gilligan's Island Never Before Seen

(Hat tip: Sullivan)

Another Reason to Love Jon Stewart

Mike Huckabee: Walking Disaster Area

First, his proposal for a national sales tax to replace the income tax would be an utter disaster.

Second, he thinks the Constitution should be rewritten to conform to "God's standards"--presumably as determined by him.

Third, there's this:




Other than Giuliani, Huckabee is the most dangerous candidate in a wretchedly bad Republican field. That says something.

Bush on the Verge of Setting New Unpopularity Record

ABC News has the story here. Noteworthy findings:



Just 32 percent of Americans now approve of the way Bush is handling his job, while 66 percent disapprove. Bush's work on the economy has likewise reached a new low. And he shows no gain on Iraq; despite reduced violence there, 64 percent say the war was not worth fighting, 2 points from its high.

Intensity of sentiment, moreover, remains very heavily against the president. Fifty-one percent strongly disapprove of his work overall, while just 16 percent strongly approve -- strongly negative by better than a 3-1 ratio.

Bush is at career lows in approval in three groups as well as overall -- among liberals (9 percent approve of his work), moderates (24 percent) and independents -- the center of American politics -- among whom just 25 percent approve.

The president's low overall ratings fuel one other result, perhaps an obvious one: Seventy-nine percent of Americans say his successor should take the nation in a different direction.

SEVENTY-NINE PERCENT WANT A NEW DIRECTION. Do you hear that, all you pathetic clowns in the Beltway Mainstream Media? All of your ass-kissing, fawning, lap-doggery, and overall trying to push George W. Bush down our throats has failed miserably. He's the worst president since James Buchanan, maybe the worst in American history, and the American people know it. Democrats, wrap this wretched little failure of a "president" around the throats of EVERY Republican running this year--and watch the Republican Party get demolished from one end of America to the other.

The Ugly, Perverse Sickness of Chris Matthews

See it here if you can stomach it.

It says something very bad that an obnoxious buffoon like this has a prominent voice in our country's political process. He's just the worst, and his loathing of any strong or powerful woman just borders on mental illness. Hey MSNBC: Get this idiot OFF THE FREAKIN' AIR. Yeah, he's entitled by free speech principles to spread any misogynistic crap he wants to, but he's NOT entitled to national airtime to do it.

Michigan Democrats, Vote Romney!