Bottom Drops out of Bush Administration
I have said this before and I shall say it again...I knew the second term was going to be a cluster-fuck. I knew that what went around in the first term just had to come around if Dubya has a second term. Not only was I right, I was more right then I even allowed myself to believe. Again I don't mean to be all "nah-nah I told you so" about all of this as I don't think it is all that awesome to watch our government slide so far into the abyss that we may as well elect circus clowns (real ones) to govern from here on out. The surprise I am once again attempting to extol is that I thought the fit wouldn't really start to hit the shan until well into like 2007. Instead, perhaps aided by Katrina and the rapid decline of Iraq, 2006 has been non-stop with the Bush failure. I really can't think of anything that has gone well for numb-nuts, not a thing.

Today yet another nail has been gloriously driven into Dubya's coffin (History will ultimately decide how 'The Decider' will be remembered but it ain't looking good) in case a 31% approval rating wasn't enough. There is this doozy that has lit up the blogosphere this week. Now, while I am not all a flutter as the NSA scandal that started this year worries me more. This is really just a massive database and if you have ever managed a database what can you know from this information. However, that is not the point as the better question is why the fuck do the Bushies need to do this?

-Or-Why the fuck is our telecom companies, who are also busy trying to co-opt the Internet, so complicit in this?

-Or-Why the fuck do they need this information in the first place?

-Or-What the fuck do they intend to do with this potential invasion of privacy to the point of violating the 4th amendment information?

Congress got huffy today all about this and which actually caused dickhead to roll out and give a quick talk all about how everything is peachy. However, even the other assholes in his asshole party seem to have had enough. Hell one conservative, Jonah Goldberg, even went as far to call Bush a Liberal because he has strayed so far from Conservative values (Hat-tip to Billmon.)

So, Nixon's end arrived in large part due to his own party turning on him and I believe we are seeing the same sort of shit happening now. After all, Bush's approval is only a few percentage points away from Nixon's career low...When he resigned...Can that happen to Dubya?

Word on the streets is all about how the Democrats intend to fire up all sorts of investigations when they win back Congress and Rove's strategy is to promote this notion (like a Hillary Clinton President, it seems that all this talk comes from the right) that all of government will be halted while the Democrats try and embarrass everyone on the right with investigations into these alleged "crimes" and they also are trying to show how they will play nice-nice and do things conservatives like.

Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser, and GOP leaders are well aware of the problem and are planning a summer offensive to win back conservatives with a mix of policy fights and warnings of how a Democratic Congress would govern. The plan includes votes on tax cuts, a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage, new abortion restrictions, and measures to restrain government spending. (Thanks Americablog)

Rep. John Conyers is a name you will start seeing more of in the Republican talking points as he is a Rep who has seriously used the dirty impeachment word. He also may head the judiciary committee next year and may actually be in a to do something about that dirty 'I' word. Stay tuned kids. One thing that would help all of this along might be for the Democrats to, as Senator Feingold has already said, "get out of their foxholes." and maybe, I don't know, pick up the ball and run or something?

How does Bush feel about all of this? Well, he just thinks Jeb would be great for Bush III. Man if Bush II is this bad what would part III be like?

Lost in Translation
First of all, allow me to say Stephen Colbert's speech in front of Dubya last weekend was priceless and super balls!

The left blogosphere is alight with all sorts of praise and joy that someone would dare speak the truth, no matter how tongue in cheek, right to the man's face and should you wish to express thanks go to thankyoustephencolbert.com.

IN other news; Juan Cole, a well regarded history professor from of Michigan had recently been horrifically misquoted without permission on Slate.com by one Christopher Hitchens regarding Iran's awesome president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Now, I am not too interested in the issue at hand regarding Hitchen's idiotic methods of reporting (see the actual post for details) so much as some rather enlightening items Cole had to say about dear Ahmadinejad that characterizes American understanding of Iran and how we bullshit ourselves to buy into America's next great enemy.

To be sure, I am not seeking to show everyone how Iran is so great and we all need to be buddies. Ahmadinejad is definitely a nutter and surely isn't our pal in the world and will never really will. However, did he really say he wanted to wipe Israel off the map? Cole says;

I object to the characterization of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as having "threatened to wipe Israel off the map." I object to this translation of what he said on two grounds. First, it gives the impression that he wants to play Hitler to Israel's Poland, mobilizing an armored corps to move in and kill people.

But the actual quote, which comes from an old speech of Khomeini, does not imply military action, or killing anyone at all. The second reason is that it is just an inexact translation. The phrase is almost metaphysical. He quoted Khomeini that "the occupation regime over Jerusalem should vanish from the page of time." It is in fact probably a reference to some phrase in a medieval Persian poem. It is not about tanks.

Hmm, that is a little different than actively threatening to invade Israel, don't you think? Do you believe that this will be corrected within the American lexicon/media discussion regarding Iran? Of course not! The more we think Iran is being run by a nutter and there is no alternative other than bombing Iran into nothing the better. Cole continues;

He made an analogy to Khomeini's determination and success in getting rid of the Shah's government, which Khomeini had said "must go" (az bain bayad berad). Then Ahmadinejad defined Zionism not as an Arabi-Israeli national struggle but as a Western plot to divide the world of Islam with Israel as the pivot of this plan.

The phrase he then used as I read it is "The Imam said that this regime occupying Jerusalem (een rezhim-e ishghalgar-e qods) must [vanish from] from the page of time (bayad az safheh-ye ruzgar mahv shavad)."

Ahmadinejad was not making a threat, he was quoting a saying of Khomeini and urging that pro-Palestinian activists in Iran not give up hope-- that the occupation of Jerusalem was no more a continued inevitability than had been the hegemony of the Shah's government.

Quite different from the usual rhetoric we are told by our super-good media! Cole goes on to point out:

As for the matter at issue, Ahmadinejad is a non-entity. The Iranian "president" is mostly powerless. The commander of the armed forces is the Supreme Jurisprudent, Ali Khamenei. Worrying about Ahmadinejad's antics is like worrying that the US military will act on the orders of the secretary of the interior. Ahmadinejad cannot declare war on anyone, or mobilize a military. So it doesn't matter what speeches he gives.

Moreover, Iran cannot fight Israel. It would be defeated in 72 hours, even if the US didn't come in, which it would (and rightly so if Israel were attacked). Iran is separated by several other countries from Israel. It has not attacked aggressively any other country militarily for over a century (can Americans say that of their own record?) It has only a weak, ineffective air force. So why worry about it?

What is really going on here is an old trick of the warmongers. Which is that you equate hurtful statements of your enemy with an actual military threat, and make a weak and vulnerable enemy look like a strong, menacing foe. Then no one can complain when you pounce on the enemy and reduce his country to flames and rubble.

The War-machine in Washington are clearly establishing a pre-text for war with Iran and it's evil, villain leader. Sound familiar? Kind of Iraq-ish? Will anyone in Washington ever learn? Will any of us learn to scream loud enough so that this ridiculous conflict doesn't happen? Cole drums his anti-war drum quite loudly at the end of his post and if you haven't read it yet, please be sure to check it out now.

Gas Prices and the "free" internet
So, drop your pants and undershorts people! Yes, the gas prices are now at the same place they were when we were peaking in Katrina's aftermath last year. There isn't even any crisis other than Big Oil is having a crisis that they only have enough money to buy the world over three times and not 12 like they have been planning.

Bush even tried to do something, he launched an investigation and decided to lift some of those environmental restrictions that slow Oil production down. OooWEE! That'll do pig! Somehow, I feel that Big Oil will just profit some more and nothing will really change except that we are supposed to be used to over $3 a gallon and better like it when it goes over 4 or maybe even 5! Gee I sure hope they jostle my balls some during that assfucking!?

In other news, there has been a move getting some attention here in blogoland about how the Internet may be sold to the fun-loving, people first minded corporations (AT&T and Verizon) which will clearly make everything better. For the details check this and also this. Pretty awesome, eh?

I am starting to empathize with the Iranian President anymore. That said, there is at least this small nugget of joy. Despite the fact that it's way too late (2004 is now ancient history) America is now clearly aware that George W. Bush is a fucking moron. 32% at CNN!? He is a mere 5 or so percentage points away from Nixon levels! Which is good for the 2006 midterms bringing some power back to the left and screwing George out of his "legacy" with non-stop inquiries and if we are super lucky, impeachment.

The scary part is that he might go loco and invade Iran anyways...What does a loser have to lose?

This just makes me ill!
So, perhaps it's the rabid, anti-gay sentiment purported by a very small group of fucking retards. Perhaps it's the fact that this is yet another horrible casualty of a horrible war. Maybe it has a lot to do that said casualty is from my hometown and graduated from my High School...This article makes me fucking sick! (emphasis added)

'Patriots' outnumber protesters at Marine's funeral

Five members of a small Kansas church demonstrated today outside the funeral of a Marine from south suburban Lansing, but left when hundreds of counter-protesters turned out to shield family members from their display.

Members of Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka have been traveling around the country to demonstrate at military funerals, contending that God is punishing America with war casualties for its tolerance of homosexuals and generally welcoming the combat deaths.

Today, they came to the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Philip J. Martini, 24, who died in combat of a gunshot wound April 8 in Iraq's Al Anbar province.

This time, however, the demonstrators were met by nearly 200 "Patriot Guard Riders," a biker group, which shielded family members and other mourners outside Holy Ghost Church at 170th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue in South Holland.

When a gray hearse carrying Martini's body arrived at the church, all that could be seen on the street was a sea of black biker leather and American flags waving in the wind.

"What's going on across the street is wrong, and this family has every right to be protected from seeing that stuff," said Patriot Guard member Chuck Dryden. "I'm here to make sure they don't see it."

Earlier, Westboro spokeswoman Shirley Phelps-Roper told reporters, "This nation is being punished by a raging mad God."

Phelps-Roper, who wore a blue T-shirt with an anti-gay message, was surrounded by other demonstrators holding signs that read, "God Hates America," "Not Blessed Just Cursed" and "God is America's Terror." Her group protested for about an hour in front of the church.

"I am the only patriot standing here," she said. "I am the only one that has enough concern for the soul of my nation and wrath of God pouring out on her head to tell you what you need to do to fix it."

Referring to Martini's parents, Phelps-Roper said, "They brought that pain upon themselves. They raised that child for the devil."

Westboro's protests have spurred legislatures in 27 states to pass or propose restrictions on protesting near funerals. The Illinois General Assembly is considering such a bill.

"They do cause pain and turmoil for so many families at a time which should be truly sacred and prayerful," Bishop James Wilkowski, head of the Evangelical Catholic Diocese of the Northwest, told CLTV.

But the Westboro group left after being interviewed by the media and before the funeral service began, avoiding a confrontation with Martini's family. No arrests were reported by police.

An hourlong funeral service followed, attended by Martini's family, friends, veterans and a Marine honor guard. Martini was a 2000 graduate of Thornton Fractional South High School in Lansing and on his second tour of duty in Iraq.

He played football and baseball during high school, where he was known as a popular and athletic young man, his father, also named Philip, said. Martini joined the Marines in 2003 because he wanted to make a difference, his father said.

Ya know, I am against this war, this administration and all the other tell-tale liberal signs. However, I am not against the troops. No matter how unjust the conflict they are to do their business as needed and ordered and the circumstances are irrelevant. I am always proud of the troops and thank any vet I meet simply for serving. Something I didn't and couldn't do (physical reasons).

This vapid display of ignorance that God is punishing troops for Gay people? They have the nerve to show up at a fucking funeral with this surreal, close-minded BULLSHIT!? FUCK, I say we close Kansas for this.

Yeah, yeah it's only five mother fucking crazies form there but SHIT Kansas has all that Intelligent design wack-a-loons down there. Close that fucker down, evacuate the regular folks and burn that state to the ground. Fence it off and direct America's sewage system to empty on the remains.

Like Gay people are from America? Like they haven't been a part of society long before fucking Christianity, Jesus and the whole ball of holy wax? Absolutely disgusting.

I am glad the bikers showed up...However, why is left to bikers to protect Lansing's military dead?

Drumbeat for Iran has grown LOUDER!!!
Topic: Let's invade Iran!
I have been keeping my eye on anything having to do with the U.S. and Iran for the last few years and you may have noted that the MSM has also recently stepped up the Iran rhetoric.

I must say that I am scared shit-less of this situation. The Bush has stated lately that any specific war plans or talk of air strikes is "wild speculation." However, if you look at all the pieces it appears that they are actually doing almost the exact same kind of things they just fucked up with in Iraq for the last three years. It's like motherfucking deja vu and it feels like there is absolutely nothing I can do about it.

Nothing.

While a few in the senate are still working towards doing SOMETHING/ANYTHING to oppose heir Bush it is having little affect. Thus far 2006 has been nothing short of a scandal plagued year. It seems like every single week something negative happens to the Bush machine, or comes out about something shitty the Bush machine has already done and nothing ever seems to come of it.

I have mentione Peter Daou's Bush scandal strategy on here before and I believe that it was (and continues to be) dead on. Feingold pu forward the motion of censure and the rest of congress seems to not support it. I wrote Obama and Durbin (my senators) and have heard back from Obama:

I agree with Senator Feingold that the Administration's attitude toward congressional oversight and the FISA law has been cavalier and arrogant. We are a nation of laws, and those laws should be applied to all of us, from humblest citizen to the president of the United States. No president should be allowed to knowingly and willing flout our laws, and I believe the President exceeded his authority with his domestic wiretapping program. The justifications offered that the president possesses inherent presidential authority under Article II, or was granted that authority in the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force -- seem to contradict prior precedent and our constitutional design.

But my and Senator Feingold's view is not unanimous. Some constitutional scholars and lower court opinions support the president's argument that he has inherent authority to go outside the bounds of the law in monitoring the activities of suspected terrorists. The question is whether the president understood the law and knowingly flaunted it, or whether he and his aides, in good faith, interpreted their authority more broadly than I and others believe the law allows. Ultimately, this debate must be resolved by the courts.

Disappointing, but what is he supposed to do, rip off his shirt and lead the charge to dis empower this freaky demagogue we have running America into some kind of repressed, distracted, unaffected empire? Who could do that? I mean, oppose, lead and actually fight for the America we thought we were? That said, Obama made a good point here:

Also, a censure resolution does nothing to deal with the underlying problem of unchecked executive power. It would not force the president to modify his domestic surveillance program or force the Senate Intelligence Committee to do its job.

In order to do that, Congress must reassert its constitutional role in overseeing the domestic surveillance program. And it should bring the warrantless wiretapping program back under the authority of the court established by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Therefore, my focus is on crafting an effective surveillance program that both combats terrorism and contains meaningful judicial review of wiretapping, which is the most effective way to restore balance between the battle against terrorism and the rule of law.


Congress does need to reassert it's authority and I believe the best way to do this, and move forward in re-claiming our America is by seeing to it that the Donkeys get back the senate (and if miracles can occur, the House). Not to say, the Democrats have all the answers..They don't. But man I would rather have ten Democrats getting blowjobs daily instead of this one Bush.

Bush's new strategy to attempt to bolster his dismal poll numbers, I believe is to beat the Iran drums louder. This shit scares me stupid. We will not have a little war with Iran, it will be a big one. Even if we only do the air strike option (the most talked about option.) There is a lot of shit all over the blog-o-verse about this. I highly recommend reading Americablog's "Message for the Democrats' and Seymor Hersh's latest article in the New York Post.

There are a couple things that bug me about all of this, chief of which is the notion that Dubya and Co. seem to think that actually using nukes (perhaps underground bunker buster style) just about blows my mind. Why that is even an option frightens me. Can you imagine this President using Nukes? You fuckers on the right who still support this clown probably think it's GREAT! Turn that sand to glass, right? Do you people have any idea how shitty that will be? Environmentally? Repercussions? Counter Attack? World War? Ugh, I can't even go on.

The other thing is that all that I said above is a mere moot point because I keep hearing all this talk about The President of Iran claiming that he believes the end of history is only a few years away. Here in the U.S. you hear culture of fear-esque tales from insane lefties who believe that their insane counterparts on the right also truly believe that Judgment day is soon upon us. This explains the re-election of George Bush pretty well, doesn't it? The total ignorance towards the global warming debate, the continued wasted time and nonsense proferred by the drug war and the war on porn, abortion, gay marriage...Must keep the sins to a minimum so that more of us will get into Heaven in the next few years! They always say the end of the world would begin with a war in the middle east!

So why bother caring about the future? WE'RE ALL GOIN' TO HEAVEN AND THE REST WILL BURN IN HELL!!!
It's Judgment day and this one has no Terminators. So, cash in your 401Ks and get to praying!

I for one am holding out for the end of the world orgies. That better happen dammit! Screw all this running around looting and panicing bullshit we should all get laid!

man, I know this all comes off as paranoid delusions and I truly hope that is all they are...I didn't make this shit up though...There are people who do believe this shit. I am a non-believer when it comes to religion however I have fallen into a few self-fulfilling prophecies in my own life...Can it be possible for two countries lead by nutjobs to do the same?

Censure
You know, Senator Russ Feingold from Wisconsin has become my fucking political hero. I thought is motion of censure this past Monday demonstrated leadership and gravitas and as Colbert might say, BALLS.

I am so disappointed in the rest of the Democrats for remaining a pile of political vaginas stuck in the dirty shoebox of the Republican party. Sorry for the graphic-ness but I am so pissed off at those fucks. Can they support this at all? No. Why? They are mad thwart Feingold didn't bother wasting time by trying to gain their support before announcing his motion. Thus, in their and the fag-off Republicans view, he has created a losing motion.

Well, duh? Of course it's going to lose, man!? It's a Republican congress. However, I appreciate the gesture and I am glad that, at the very least, somewhere in the history books there will be a footnote that at least mentions that SOMEBODY in our government KNOWS that America is in a real bad place and we have been driven there against our will by an ego maniacal jack off named George.

I wrote Senator Feingold thanking him for his stand on being just one of 10 senators to not vote for the Patriot Act re-newal a week or two ago. I thanked him for his clear opposition and leadership and I respect his voice and his stand. The rest of the Dems are, as always, just pissing away another opportunity to take a page from the Republican play book and start taking a strong stand.

Seriously, COME ON GUYS! Take the fight to the floor, grow some fucking guts and take our licks...Who cares if you might lose some abstract ground as the ass heads on the right re-circle their wagons so to speak.

OH NO! Now they have talking points and reason to re-unite over what that dastardly Feingold did by trying to tell the truth and hold some measure of responsibility to our dimwitted President. OH NO!?! They are gonna bounce back from their dissent with the Ports deal and re-unite and then win all the 2006 elections!?! OH NO, let's just hide in our corner of the senate and fear that, despite Dubya's approval rating being in the mid to low thirties, that they are still going to win because we are a bunch of un-focused, wimps who hate America and have no "plan."

Golden opportunity Senators. I implore you to support Feingold, unite and make a real fight and quit pussy footing around. You ass wimps in Congress also should listen up and get behind Rep. John Conyers and his impeachment inquiry. God DAMMIT keep the heat on these assholes so we can begin all the hard work we need to do to get America back. I am so fucking sick and tired of they way things are and the way they are going. I am sick of the Right, the Republicans, the War, the fear, the religious right, the abortion issue, the gay marriage issue, the war on drugs, the war on porn...

And while I am making requests of the Democrats I must ask one other thing...

Not Hillary Clinton. Don't do it. Don't shoot your toes off by throwing such a polarizing person into the race...not this one, not in 2008. The red meat that would give the Roves of the world? The animosity that would give to the Rush Limbaugh set? The fact that Hillary thinks it is important to stop and complain about video games that have been out on the market well over a year because there was video game sex in them? N-O. We need someone like Wesley Clark, Russ Feingold, Bill Richardson, Paul Hackett..Or if you can find one a Democrat, Iraqi War vet who is also a woman...Who is not Hillary. If you go with Hillary then we will continue to be fucked.

Can things really get worse?
Yes, another month has flown past and things continue in their downward spiral for our now officially beleagured administration.

I have grown weary of attempting at keeping up with each individual scandal/occurance as there are so many and the 'blogoshpere' has been erupting every couple of days be it Cheney shooting people, port security being out-sourced to a country which supports terrah, illegal wiretaps, Scotter Libby Cheney hellspawn, Jack Abramoff and the world of lobbying and fuck all knows what else that we don't even know about yet.

Additional Abu Graib pictures a UN call to close down Gitmo...It never ends. I have opinions on all these issues but in the short of it I have a simple, childish point I would care to make.

I told you so.

I have been saying it for the last few years that all the dumb, poorly thought out and downright awfully stupid bullshit this administration was never just going to go away, blow over or ultimately be proved justified by a sweeping wave of cum-on-your-face freedom. Instead it was (and has) to lead to scandal on top of scandal, a public that can no longer trust or support a cabal of lying, secretive assholes. Worst of all, especially if you are Iraqi, a huge, blistering herpe sore that neevr will fully heal and likely will erupt into civil war at literally any fucking moment.

I still hold some hope that somehow an impeachment arises in the next year or two. The NSA thing seemed bloody likely but Dubya and Co. got all the pussy Dems to back off by waving his big 'national security' stick in their faces.

When oh when will one of the Democrats finally going to step up and grow some nads and take these fuckers on for real? When is the challenger going to come forward and take the lead, for real? I don't want to hear about Hillary and her centric appeasing, we need to stop and ban video games that have been out for over a year bullshit. That is not going to fucking cut it. We need someone who doesn't polarize but also comes off as if he or she is large and in charge. Will fight when needed and wont be de-railed by a bunch of swift-boat kind of right-wing machine noise. Russ Feingold in Wisconsin...I have my eye on you fucker. You definitely are heading in the right direction...Stand up and trhow some punches, god dammit.

Dick Durbin, quit the game playing and step up to the plate. I know, I know they kicked you in the balls pretty hard a while back with all that torture talk but you and I both know that was bullshit and you should not have apologized. Am I the only person who saw the new Abu Graib pictures and felt that they were worse? I doubt it. We torture and it sucks and you shouldn't have backed down.

We don't need President Durbin but we do need some solid fucking leadership in Congress. You, Reid, Kerry, Kennedy, Feingold, Obama get it together and figure out who should go for the gold in '08. If Richardson in New Mexico is as good as I think he might be start trotting that guy out. If the guy from Viginia is good lets start hearing what he has to say, man. John Conyers out of Detroit ought to be taken more seriously motherfuckers.

The time is now to start spitting, kicking below the belt and tearing assholes open whenever possible. It is beyond the plae that only now, five plus years into our collective Bush nightmare does it appear the "mainstream" is catching on that Dubya and his merry band of greedy fools is destroying our integrity, our security, reputation, national pride and in my opinion is driving us on the road directly to the same kind of failed empire status we see Russia in.

Is it not a little ironic that currently in the NBC winter boredlympics that we are tied in third place with Russia for gold medals? How many people even care enough to know even that much? Not me. Fuck this shit...I want to live in the happy, free #1 and everyone loves it America I was told about when I was a kid. Was it really just a myth? Must we be this villan forever? On this planet on this day we are not the winners, the good guys instead we have become this sort of empire where the people are oppressed by distraction and popular culture and barely seem to know or really even care about what we are really doing.

The ride always ends somewhere...

Been a while...
Working too much, no time for blogging anymore. So sad.

Not that it matters, no one reads this anyhow and I realize this is more a journal of political thoughts that I drop in on from time to time...

If you do read this, THANKS! and Sorry for no posting since Christmas!

The big State of the Union came up earlier this week and as a result an old friend asked via e-mail what kind of questions woudl YOU ask the President if you could. I came up with this:

#1) Mister President, I understand your dissatisfaction with those of your 'critics' who appear to be fighting 'battles of the past' and continue to use 'hindsight' as wisdom and 'criticism' as a strategy. However, I can't help but notice that most of the current woes of today appear to be a direct result of YOUR actions. Yet you wish to have debate without dissent and apparently without taking any responsibility for your past actions that, even to the layperson paying minimal attention, appear to be best described as direct consequences of your misguided (at best) actions. Please tell me what kind of debate should we be having?

#2) I like the "America" you describe in your State of the Union address. I really wish I could live there where the union is strong and there is hope for the future. Alas, I live in the America where none of what you talked about is readily visible or tangible what-so-ever. Can I borrow $200,000,000.00 so I can join YOUR America?

#3) Your continued use of scare tacticts and patriotic pride when talking about your probably illegal NSA wiretapping is diverting from the actual argument this issue presents. We all want Al Queada stopped if possible and if they are talking to people here on the phone and it would benefit us to listen to them then I am all for it! No one wants to "sit back and get hit again." That being said, all you have to do is either get FISA approval on any domestic wiretaps (that 72 hour loophole is handy so that you can maintain your speedy work) and/or have Congress legally approve of your well documented (albeit secret) actions. So my question is, do you think they will play the tape of the State of the Union of you admitting that you are basically violating fourth ammendment rights and that you somehow have Steven-Seagal-as-President powers (Above the Law) during the Impeachment inquiry?

3a) And by the way, please stop assuming and connecting people who oppose your tactics both past and present, your strategies and your freaking war that we all somehow are a) cowards b) hate or otherwise don't support the troops c) hate America. If any of that were true we wouldn't bother bringing up any of this in the first place.

#4) Last but not least, will you admit publicly that Chuck Norris would and could kick your crazy ass!? http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/

Merry Christmas?!
Wow!

"The volume of information harvested from telecommunication data and voice networks, without court-approved warrants, is much larger than the White House has acknowledged, the officials said. It was collected by tapping directly into some of the American telecommunication system's main arteries, they said."

This was snuck out late in the day on Christmas Eve...Like they do on fridays when they hope no one will notice it.

Can you see what I see?

Can you hear what I hear?

...Impeachment...

Frosted Mini-Wheats
The conservative kid in me fears an impeachment as a great way to hobble an already troubled government from accomplishing much of anything but being drowned in Impeachment proceedings and other legal nightmares. With a war (or two) going on, ongoing Katrina recovery and a number of important domestic issues at sensitive impasses we cannot afford to pull the rug out from under our leaders.

The liberal adult in me thinks we are already drowned in stupidty directly related to a number of idiotic and vaguely dictator-ish decisions which an impeachment might be necessary "worse" so that things may eventually "get better." The Iraq war is bullshit executed on a false and poorly thought out premise. This has cost the lives of too many Americans and an unknown (and likely staggering, "maybe 300,000!?") number of innocent, non-Americans that I cannot for the life of me think of Dubya as anything short of a war criminal.

I have been hinting at the scary "I" word here and there since 11/3/04 (the saddest day for America besides 9/11) as I just can't imagine this mess really going on for four more years. To my suprise, it all started to crumble THIS year as opposed to some point in late 2006 or 2007 as I predicted. Yet, still throughout Katrina, dwindling poll numbers, Downing Street Memos, ludicrous surpreme court nominees, anything Cheney says or does, the "plamegate" indicitment(s), the obvious lack of success in Iraq...And lord knows what I am leaving out...The word Impeachment never officialy came up. Sure, a speaker at the Downing Street Memo hearings (held in a basement room of the capitol) mentioned it but no one "important" has. Therefore, everytime I mentioned it I was met with wide-eyed, "yeah, rights." That would be impossible and with a republican controlled legislature...?

2006 could bring much change, especially if things in early 2006 continue on this current spiral. Assuming Dubya's new, "talk early and often to the people and press with a new found candor" campaign succeeds maybe the winds will subside.

Luckily, the same man who pursued the Downing Street Memo issue when no one else cared...Rep. John Conyers from Detroit...Has not given up:

Impeachment

To quote David Spade, "There I said it."

*update*
OH YEAH! It has begun...

"Ron Hutcheson, White House correspondent for Knight Ridder Newspapers (known as ?Hutch? to the president), observed that "some legal experts asserted that Bush broke the law on a scale that could warrant his impeachment.? Indeed such talk from legal experts was common in print or on cable news.

Newsweek online noted a ?chorus? of impeachment chat, and its Washington reporter, Howard Fineman, declared that Bush opponents are ?calling him Nixon 2.0 and have already hauled forth no less an authority than John Dean to testify to the president?s dictatorial perfidy. The ?I-word? is out there, and, I predict, you are going to hear more of it next year ? much more.?