Overlooked and over the top -- OrlandoSentinel.com

Overlooked and over the top -- OrlandoSentinel.com: "This type of commentary is not just a breeding ground for hatred. It is also driven by dubious reporting and outright falsehoods. Throughout the presidential campaign, many of these shock jocks made considerable efforts to scare voters away from Obama. Reports that Obama was not a U.S. citizen were relayed with conviction on talk radio and repeated without substantiated evidence until they were engrained into our collective subconscious.

These dubious stories, repeated over and over, come to be accepted as fact. Talk radio serves as an effective echo chamber, reinforcing conservative talking points, rumors, half-truths and innuendo. Even after a story is debunked, the damage is often already done; the conservative narrative becomes embedded in media story lines and is accepted as conventional wisdom."

Good article on talk radio. Mostly a bunch of chicken shits that hide behind a microphone and let others fight for them.

Paulson says U.S. lacked tools to tackle crisis: report | Reuters

Paulson says U.S. lacked tools to tackle crisis: report Reuters: "Paulson praised his successors, saying 'They have got a great team and they don't need advice. I really believe that.'"

Man, this must have pissed the man-child Rush Limbaugh off. Can you imagine giving any quarter to the incoming enemy. Yes, enemy. The incoming Obama Administration is so corrupt, so criminal that even though he (Obama) hasn't even taken the oath on the Koran...I mean Lincoln Bible, that we can blame him for all our upcoming sins...I mean financial problems.

The Biggest Business Scandals Of 2008; From Jerome To Bernie

The Biggest Business Scandals Of 2008; From Jerome To Bernie: "While some business observers lament the government's decision to let Lehman Brothers fail in September, headstrong CEO Richard Fuld was widely criticized for earning $240 million between 2005 and 2007 while making decisions that doomed the venerable firm, earning him the dishonor of being named The Financial Times' 'Overpaid CEO' of 2008. Most recently, it was revealed that Fuld and his colleagues evaporated $75 billion by not planning for an orderly bankruptcy."

One of Rush Limbaugh's celebrity CEO's "that is worth every dime of his compensation." Right.

Make Room! Make Room! - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Make Room! Make Room! - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "Make Room! Make Room! is a 1966 science fiction novel written by Harry Harrison exploring the consequences of unchecked population growth on society.[1] The novel was the basis of the 1973 science fiction movie Soylent Green, although the movie changed much of the plot and theme.
Set in then-future August 1999, the novel explores trends in the proportion of world resources used by the United States and other countries compared to population growth, depicting a world where the global population is seven billion, subject to overcrowding, resource shortages and a crumbling infrastructure. The plot jumps from character to character, recounting the lives of people in various walks of life in New York City (population around 35 million)."

The movie, Soylent Green, is about global warming and what happens when natural resources are depleted. I found it ironic that the lead character is played by Charlton (dead head of the National Rifle Association we are as conservative as you can get) Heston. These "conservatives" are so full of shit it can make your head spin. They have no principles or values that last beyond their next need.

An Oral History of the Bush White House: Politics & Power: vanityfair.com

An Oral History of the Bush White House: Politics & Power: vanityfair.com: "Ari Fleischer, Bush’s first White House press secretary: After the recount, the disputed election, a lot of people said you needed to start to trim your sails: What are you going to cut back on as a way to show outreach to the other party? The president rejected that line of thinking, making the case that mandates are created by presidents with ideas, and he was going to follow through on the ideas that he ran on."

These people have no clue. Rush Limbaugh and all the chattering class of "conservative" Republicans went overboard on Bill Clinton's narrow popular vote victory. Rush Limbaugh even said over and over on his program that "Clinton did not have a mandate". Ever wonder how many times Rush said GWB had no mandate? Zero, even though Bush outright lost the popular vote in 2000 and needed the federal courts (Supreme) to get him in office.

An Oral History of the Bush White House: Politics & Power: vanityfair.com

An Oral History of the Bush White House: Politics & Power: vanityfair.com: "After a disputed election and bitter recount battle in Florida whose outcome is effectively decided by the Supreme Court, George W. Bush is sworn in as the 43rd president of the United States."

I had forgotten about this, but the current crop of "conservative" Republicans have always held that state courts, not federal courts, should decide state issues...such as vote counting problems or voter registration rules. But, in this case the Republicans wanted the federal courts (Supreme Court), that had a conservative majority, address this issue. Kind of like the case for unfettered free-market systems that it is now apparent that they don't believe in.

Op-Ed Columnist - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com: "The truth is that Bush did as terrible a job fighting terrorism as he did responding to Katrina — who would have thought that Osama would still be out there, making videos, 7 years later? But on the terrorism front, and even in Iraq, the administration could invent a reality that impressed the public.
When Katrina struck, however, everyone could see the reality on their TVs.
So what happened with Katrina wasn’t that the administration started to fail; what happened was that for the first time its failures were visible to all."

He had Limbaugh, Fox "News" and every other swinging dick "conservative" Republican spinning what the public could not see, after Katrina...not so much.

'Famous last words' of the financial crisis - Economy in Turmoil- msnbc.com

'Famous last words' of the financial crisis - Economy in Turmoil- msnbc.com
" I don't think the government ought to be involved in bailing out companies" President George W. Bush, July 15, 2008
A great President indeed. According to Rush Limbaugh and Fox "News."

danieldrezner.com :: Daniel W. Drezner » Read it and weep

danieldrezner.com :: Daniel W. Drezner » Read it and weep: "I easily could imagine and expected there to be financial turmoil. But the extent of it, O.K., I was naïve in terms of—I knew a lot about regulation but not nearly as much as I needed to know, and I knew very little about regulatory powers and authorities. I just had not gone into it in that kind of detail."

This quote, from Henry Paulson, shows exactly why GWB will be remembered as the worst President this country has elected to the office. From Paul Wolfowitz to Monica Goodling to Don Rumsfeld to Heckuva job Brownie, this man put absolute incompetant individuals to head critical agencies. And that's not even taking into account the Iraq war (no WMD's) and all the other blunders this man has made.

Op-Ed Guest Columnist - The Pre-Blame Game - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Guest Columnist - The Pre-Blame Game - NYTimes.com: "But to hear some Republicans tell it, the bad times are Obama’s fault. On the day after the election, Rush Limbaugh said, “The game has begun.” He meant the blame game, and it took less than 24 hours for him to get started.
“We now have the largest market plunge after an election in history,” he said on Nov. 6. “Thank you, man-child Barack Obama.”"

Somehow I missed this. This shows just what a real chicken shit Rush Limbaugh is. You see, he really wants to refer to Obama as "boy" but he does not have the balls to do this. But, he is brave enough to compare a 13 year old girl to a dog on national TV. What a hero.

Hale "Bonddad" Stewart: Senator McConnell -- Idiot of the Highest Order

Hale "Bonddad" Stewart: Senator McConnell -- Idiot of the Highest Order: "Let me get this straight. A Senator who oversaw one of the largest expansions in government spending in history is now concerned about spending? According to the CBO, total government outlays under Bush and the Republican controlled Congress from 2001 -2006 increased from $1.8 trillion to $2.4 trillion -- that's an increase of 33%. At the same time -- again under Republican rule from 2001 to 2006 -- the total debt outstanding increased from $5,807,463,412,200.06 at the end of fiscal 2001 to $8,506,973,899,215.23. And now a man who helped to oversee this is complaining about spending? Excuse me?
A note to Senator McConnell. The equation for GDP is simple. Here it is
C+I+E+G = GDP.

He wants Obama to fail and is willing to bring the country down to help in that effort.

Ex-Aides: Bush Never Recovered From Katrina

Ex-Aides: Bush Never Recovered From Katrina: "'It allowed everybody to believe that this Sarah Palin-like president _ because, let's face it, that's what he was _ was going to be protected by this national-security elite, tested in the cauldrons of fire,' Wilkerson said, adding that he considered Cheney probably the 'most astute, bureaucratic entrepreneur' he'd ever met.
'He became vice president well before George Bush picked him,' Wilkerson said of Cheney. 'And he began to manipulate things from that point on, knowing that he was going to be able to convince this guy to pick him, knowing that he was then going to be able to wade into the vacuums that existed around George Bush _ personality vacuum, character vacuum, details vacuum, experience vacuum.'"

It would appear that is exactly what is in the space normally occupied by a brain in Presidents Bush's cranium... a vacuum.

Sarah Palin's daughter gives birth to son - Politics- msnbc.com

Sarah Palin's daughter gives birth to son - Politics- msnbc.com: "ANCHORAGE - The teenage daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has given birth to a son, People magazine reported Monday."

Lets go back to that old Republican standby "abstinence." Of course it works, they said it did.

Lawyers, Guns and Money: WaMu: The Power of Yes

Lawyers, Guns and Money: WaMu: The Power of Yes: "During Mr. [Kerry] Killinger’s tenure, WaMu pressed sales agents to pump out loans while disregarding borrowers’ incomes and assets, according to former employees. The bank set up what insiders described as a system of dubious legality that enabled real estate agents to collect fees of more than $10,000 for bringing in borrowers, sometimes making the agents more beholden to WaMu than they were to their clients.

WaMu gave mortgage brokers handsome commissions for selling the riskiest loans, which carried higher fees, bolstering profits and ultimately the compensation of the bank’s executives. WaMu pressured appraisers to provide inflated property values that made loans appear less risky, enabling Wall Street to bundle them more easily for sale to investors.

“It was the Wild West,” said Steven M. Knobel, a founder of an appraisal company, Mitchell, Maxwell & Jackson, that did business with WaMu until 2007. “If you were alive, they would give you a loan. Actually, I think if you were dead, they would still give you a loan.”"

Come on now, Mr. Kudlow has already informed us that it was the predatory borrows not the predatory lenders that caused this mess.

Crooks and Liars

Crooks and Liars: "And for the record, it's unadulterated crap that the left would never accept Bush. In the days after 9/11, Bush coasted on record approval ratings, ratings that showed that the WHOLE country--right, left and sideways--were all pulling for him. He pissed it away with declaring war on a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 and ignoring the entire Gulf Coast during Katrina. The left looked at his actions, not some made-up reasoning of entitlement to the office.
Figures that once again, Lowry doesn't know his ass from his elbow. Why does he keep getting on these programs? Isn't it about time we get someone who knows what they're talking about?"

Well put.

Robert J. Elisberg: Dick Cheney: the Only Person in the World Who Doesn't Know Why He's Unpopular

Robert J. Elisberg: Dick Cheney: the Only Person in the World Who Doesn't Know Why He's Unpopular: "Further...of course Dick Cheney follows the polls. Politicians follow polls more readily than pigs follow a trail of garbage. That doesn't mean they all act on what the poll says. But sure as the sun rises, politicians follow polls. And this administration, perhaps more than any in U.S. history, has made polls its lifeblood and followed them in order to appeal to its base and find issues to divide the country.
Of course, the biggest proof that Mr. Cheney was lying and that he actually does follow polls is that he answered the question. When asked to explain his low approval rating, he didn't respond, 'What??! I'm unpopular?? Really?!!!! No way. You're serious. No way. Yipes, I had no idea.' No, instead, he answered the question. And acknowledged that he knew he was, indeed, unpopular.
He just said he didn't know why."

When up is down and they say they don't do something, you can bet they do. Every time.

Daniel Kurtzman: 2008's Most Laughable Political Antics

Daniel Kurtzman: 2008's Most Laughable Political Antics: "Most brutal Palin insult: It was humiliating enough when McCain aides called Palin a 'diva' and a 'whack job,' while accusing her of 'going rogue,' throwing temper tantrums, and not knowing that Africa was a continent. But the most devastating sound bite came from a McCain aide who described her shopping spree as 'Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast.'"

Daniel Kurtzman: 2008's Most Laughable Political Antics

Daniel Kurtzman: 2008's Most Laughable Political Antics: "Best epitaph on the Bush years: In his parting words at his final G-8 Summit, President Bush ended a private meeting with world leaders by saying, 'Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter.' According to press reports, he then punched the air and grinned widely as the rest of those present looked on in shock. Who said he never had an exit strategy?"

Chip Saltsman Leads GOP To Soul-Searching Period

Chip Saltsman Leads GOP To Soul-Searching Period: "'The core play in the GOP playbook for 44 years has been the magic negro playbook,' said Simon Rosenberg, head of Democratic organization NDN and one of the most well-versed party figures on racial politics. 'They don't have another play or another playbook. Whether it is Willie Horton, or welfare queens and tax and spend, or the way they have dealt with immigration... they don't have a play in their playbook that doesn't start with the exploitation of racial divisions... They are going to have to reject 44 years of GOP politics in order to have any chance in the 21st century America.'"

There was a time, not long ago, if a southern man decided to register as a Republican he would be shunned by his entire family. Lincoln was a Republican, Sherman was a Republican, even Grant was a Republican. Richard Nixon changed all that with the "Southern Strategy." That's the strategy that has been used ever since. Its all they have.

Kerik Pleads Not Guilty to New Charges - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com

Kerik Pleads Not Guilty to New Charges - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com: "As part of a superseding indictment, Mr. Kerik, 53, was arraigned on new allegations involving the preparation of false tax returns. Mr. Kerik was originally indicted in November 2007 on corruption, conspiracy and tax fraud charges."

Another Republican Patriot spreading his wings under the justice system of the United States. Wasn't he in line to head Homeland Security?

Crooks and Liars

Crooks and Liars: "Rove: I think that will be a big part of it. I think history is going to see him as a man who put America on a war footing in a struggle that will have shaped the nature of this century. He will be seen as someone who liberated Afghanistan and Iraq. Fifty million people now live in freedom in those two countries who did not know freedom before. And he will also be seen as somebody who's created a strategy to confront terrorism that is going to make America and the world safer in the years to come.
Look, judgments of history are harsh in the short run and unfairly so many times. Harry S. Truman left office. In fact the slogan at the time was 'To err is Truman'. He left town not very popular and yet history regards him now as a much different person and I think this President is not going to leave office with that same state. He's going to be at a relatively low ratings but much better than some of his predecessors. History though is going to be kind to him at the end. I'm absolutely confident of that."

Nope. Your wrong Karl, there is no comparison between Truman and GWB. Lets list a few of Truman's accomplishments
Successfully defended S. Korea
Desegregated the military
Began the recovery of Europe through the Marshall Plan
Ended World War II
Set in motion "containment" of Communism

Now lets list President George W. Bush's
Allowed the country to be attacked and over 3000 killed while he vacationed at a fake ranch in Texas
Started a major conflict by mistake (where is the WMD?)
Is now losing a major conflict (Afghanistan) by incompetence
Created a Cabinet level Agency (Homeland Security) and dumped into it FEMA and appointed a horse show
Promoter as head to watch over the drowning of a city while he was giving a birthday party to John McCain
Somehow lost an airplane full of cash (literally pallets of hundred dollar bills)
Stomped all over the Constitution
Has presided over the worst financial crises in more than a generation

Now how in the hell is that going to go away for future historians. It won't, it will be worse because he will not have spinners like Rove and Limbaugh to speak for him.

Amazon.com: Tear Down This Myth: How the Reagan Legacy Has Distorted Our Politics and Haunts Our Future: Will Bunch: Books

Amazon.com: Tear Down This Myth: How the Reagan Legacy Has Distorted Our Politics and Haunts Our Future: Will Bunch: Books

Maybe someone will get this for me next year. You know, during the Holiday Season.

Wall Street Faces Worst Yearly Drop Since 1931

Wall Street Faces Worst Yearly Drop Since 1931: "NEW YORK — Investors are preparing to close out the last three trading days of 2008, a year in which Wall Street has logged its worst performance since Herbert Hoover was president.
The ongoing recession and global economic shock pummeled stocks this year, with the Dow Jones industrial average slumping 36.2 percent. That's the biggest drop since 1931 when the Great Depression sent stocks reeling 40.6 percent.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index is set to record the biggest drop since its creation in 1957. The index of America's biggest companies is down 40.9 percent for the year."

Yup, lets send another Republican to replace Obama in 2012. Lets send Sarah Palin.

Op-Ed Columnist - George, Abe, Rick and Barack - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - George, Abe, Rick and Barack - NYTimes.com: "But I also have to admit that I look forward to Obama’s inauguration with a surprising degree of hope and good cheer."

He is a liar. He, along with Rush and the rest of the so called "conservatives" want him to fail miserably. Nothing could make them happier but for Obama to fail. Number one, he is the first black man elected President and they want him to fail. Number two, he is a Democrat and they want him to fail. And they want him to fail big.

The Beautiful Machine - washingtonpost.com

The Beautiful Machine - washingtonpost.com: "Sosin, Rackson and Goldman could hardly contain themselves as they labored over a business plan at Sosin's kitchen table in his apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Their timing happened to be exquisite. The staid Wall Street of their fathers' generation was gone, replaced by an anything-goes culture that applauded the kind of path they were charting during the final months of 1986.
Their plan fit perfectly with another revolution they saw unfolding in Washington. Ronald Reagan's unwavering belief in free markets -- and his distaste for regulation that put hurdles in the way of entrepreneurs -- had steadily spread through the government. 'The United States believes the greatest contribution we can make to world prosperity is the continued advocacy of the magic of the marketplace,' Reagan told a U.N. audience that fall."

More evidence that RR will not be treated as kindly by historians as he is by AM radio hacks.

Study: Teenage 'virginity pledges' are ineffective - Washington Post- msnbc.com

Study: Teenage 'virginity pledges' are ineffective - Washington Post- msnbc.com: "Teenagers who pledge to remain virgins until marriage are just as likely to have premarital sex as those who do not promise abstinence and are significantly less likely to use condoms and other forms of birth control when they do, according to a study released today."

Another Republican plank for the ash bin of history. Reminds one of that other Republican plank...markets will police themselves. These folks have no credibility whatsoever.

Mrs. Bush: Bush presidency not a failure - White House transition- msnbc.com

Mrs. Bush: Bush presidency not a failure - White House transition- msnbc.com: "WASHINGTON - First lady Laura Bush disagrees with critics who call the presidency of George W. Bush a failure.
'I know it's not, and so I don't really feel like I need to respond to people that view it that way,' Mrs. Bush said in a television interview that aired Sunday. 'I think history will judge and we'll see later.'"

She can disagree with critics all she wants, but the basic fact remains, her husband was so bad and Republicans so out of touch, that this country elected a black man as President. I never thought I would see that.

Op-Ed Guest Columnist - The Pre-Blame Game - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Guest Columnist - The Pre-Blame Game - NYTimes.com: "Down the road, Iraq may fall back into the chaos of sectarian violence, and if that happens, Bush will wash his hands of it. That’s the premise of a new book, “Unintended Consequences: How War in Iraq Strengthened America’s Enemies,” by Peter W. Galbraith.
“The pretense that the surge is a success and that therefore the United States is winning the Iraq war,” he writes, “is the opening salvo in a coming blame game as to who lost Iraq.”
On the incoming tide, Obama is trying to keep the last eight years at arm’s length. Two wars, two million lost jobs in 2008, the worst unemployment in 15 years, a budget deficit that could reach a trillion dollars — all of that is an inherited burden, Obama says.
But to hear some Republicans tell it, the bad times are Obama’s fault. On the day after the election, Rush Limbaugh said, “The game has begun.” He meant the blame game, and it took less than 24 hours for him to get started.
“We now have the largest market plunge after an election in history,” he said on Nov. 6. “Thank you, man-child Barack Obama.”
His colleague in intellectual dishonesty, “the deeply unsubtle Sean Hannity,” as The Economist called him, picked up the talking points on the “Obama recession”— his words, more than a month ago."

And to think that the people that listen to these two nut jobs (chicken hawks also) believe them.

Gang holds up freight train in Mexico - Americas- msnbc.com

Gang holds up freight train in Mexico - Americas- msnbc.com: "MORELIA, Mexico - A gang of about 20 men armed with assault rifles robbed a train in the western Mexican state of Michoacan and carted off some of its freight, the state prosecutor's office said Saturday."

Somehow it seems that Rush and Fox "News" would try to blame this on Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter. If you disagree please explain how we cannot blame George Bush based on the same logic. Hmmm.

Florida State routs Wisconsin in Champs Bowl - College football- nbcsports.msnbc.com

Florida State routs Wisconsin in Champs Bowl - College football- nbcsports.msnbc.com: "Florida State, playing in its NCAA-leading 27th-straight bowl game, improved Bowden’s career record to 21-10-1."

Thank you, Coach Bowden, it has been many years of fun. I remember the 1-10 team, the year I came on board.

The Associated Press: 14 hurt in NY when car crashes into Hanukkah party

The Associated Press: 14 hurt in NY when car crashes into Hanukkah party: "'He makes an abrupt left turn. It actually forces the car that's parked along the side of the road up onto the sidewalk,' Nassau County police Lt. Kevin Smith said. 'His car careens through several plateglass windows, enters the building and comes to rest after basically running over ... several people.'"

I'll be willing to bet this guy is a Republican. You know how pissed they get at people on the sidewalk and all. You will recall that sidewalks are a socialist form of redistributing the hard working peoples money. We don't need sidewalks, everyone should drive a big heavy car or truck and these things would not happen.

Man in Santa suit kills at least eight at holiday party -- newsday.com

Man in Santa suit kills at least eight at holiday party -- newsday.com: "As he had in years past, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo volunteered to serve as an usher at his church's midnight Mass on Christmas Eve."

Man I guess this alter boy was a little pissed at his wife or something. I would assume that he is a Republican cause he is religious you know. Liberals are the anti-Christ so I guess they would not do such deeds.

Pardon Lasts One Day for Man in Fraud Case - NYTimes.com

Pardon Lasts One Day for Man in Fraud Case - NYTimes.com: "The developer, Isaac R. Toussie, who was listed Tuesday as one of the beneficiaries of the president’s constitutional power to wipe away a criminal record, is not being pardoned “based on information that has subsequently come to light,” the White House said late Wednesday afternoon.
The terse White House statement did not elaborate, but officials familiar with the case said that presidential aides — and perhaps President Bush himself — were concerned about appearances, because Mr. Toussie’s father, Robert, donated $28,500 to the Republican National Committee last April, for what apparently was his first political contribution. He also donated $2,300 to the presidential campaign of Senator John McCain."

For Gods sake, this President f**k's up everything he touches. Really, he tries to take back a pardon. I don't know if that can be done.

Keith Olbermann Hits Conservative Trifecta: Names Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, George Will Worst Persons

Keith Olbermann Hits Conservative Trifecta: Names Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, George Will Worst Persons: "Will took the bronze for his column suggesting that liberals are trying to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine, specifically to derail the right's hold on talk radio. However, as Olbermann pointed out, Will could not name any Democrat who pushed for the Fairness Doctrine because none have done so."

I think this is pretty funny in that it helps to confirm my view that Republicans need to have something to scare the public about to attract support. Other wise, they are just blowing smoke and nobody believes their loony ideas.

Open Left:: The New Purpose of Fox News

Open Left:: The New Purpose of Fox News: "I sort of understand Rove's strategy of insisting that George W. Bush is an intellectual heavyweight, even though he's obviously just a dolt that loves fart jokes. Rove enjoys tweaking liberals by preying on their insecurities, which he used to do when he was powerful and the Bush administration was taken seriously by insisting that they were effete eggheads out of touch with the real America. Only, now, there's nothing whatsoever admirable about the Bush Presidency and no one really believes Rove is a political genius, and so Rove is reduced to pretending that Bush is some sort of bookworm. Take that, liberals! Or something like that.
I think someone should establish a musty hospice for the careers of dated political operatives, and stick Rove there. Oh wait, an embarrassing political attic already exists, and it's called Fox News."

The jig is up. Most of the country has woken up to the fact that GWB is a light weight and Rove won elections by adopting the Atwater plan. And the most important point I think is that these guys are a bunch of chicken shits. From their water carriers (Rush, Fox News, etc, etc...) to the politicians themselves. George W. Bush and Little Dick Cheney reacted like scared school children after 9-11. The initial response was pretty much what any garden variety politician would have done, so no big kudos there, but every decision after that will be viewed as juvenile and petty. Pretty much what Republicans are today juvenile, petty, and not so much brave at all. Just scared little boys.

PERRspectives Blog: Bush Repeats Promise of Mideast Peace by January

PERRspectives Blog: Bush Repeats Promise of Mideast Peace by January: "As he heads off to Israel to commemorate that nation's 60th anniversary, George W. Bush is nothing if not optimistic about the prospects for Middle East peace. Even as his negotiating partners are incapacitated by scandal and internal conflict, the lame duck President reiterated his January promise to produce an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement by the time he leaves office eight months from now."

I just looked at the headlines stating over 200 dead and thousands injured when Israel launched a massive air strike into the Gaza Strip. Yep, thank God we have had George W. Bush as our President. As this May article shows he is going to bring peace to the Middle East. He promises, and he is optimistic. I bet old Rush will be all over this success story Monday morning. Huh?

BILKED OF ALL HIS 'BENJAMINS' - New York Post

BILKED OF ALL HIS 'BENJAMINS' - New York Post: "Bertrand, who said he spoke with his brother almost every day, also disputed claims that Madoff's victims should have suspected something was wrong much earlier because the returns on investment were too good to be true.
'Over four years, my gain was 17 percent - that's not crazy,' he said.
Rene-Thierry managed a multibillion-dollar fund for European investors and reportedly put three-quarters of the money in Madoff's hands.
Bertrand said he would be joining class-action lawsuits against Madoff and the Securities and Exchange Commission."

Typical Republican. Wants to sue the Securities and Exchange Commission (supported with taxpayer dollars) to bail out his poor investment strategy.

Santa-suit killer lost job, wife - Crime & courts- msnbc.com

Santa-suit killer lost job, wife - Crime & courts- msnbc.com: "The 45-year-old Pardo, accused of killing nine people and injuring three others, wasn't well-known by neighbors, who described him as a quiet man. Friends said he volunteered as a church usher."

Typical right wing evangelical Republican. Loyal Bush supporter and Limbaugh listener. Probably gets all his news from Fox and Friends.

TPM Election Central | Talking Points Memo | Candidate For RNC Chair Sends Out CD With Song Called "Barack, The Magic Negro"

TPM Election Central Talking Points Memo Candidate For RNC Chair Sends Out CD With Song Called "Barack, The Magic Negro": "Chip Saltsman, the former campaign manager for Mike Huckabee, has distributed a goodie bag to committee members that includes a CD by Paul Shanklin, a writer of right-wing parody tunes who is often featured on Rush Limbaugh. The 'Magic Negro' track, which first gathered controversy in the Spring of 2007, featured Shanklin portraying Al Sharpton as an Amos & Andy stereotype, ridiculing white liberals who support Obama.
Saltsman defended the choice of the Shanklin CD, telling The Hill: 'Paul Shanklin is a long-time friend, and I think that RNC members have the good humor and good sense to recognize that his songs for the Rush Limbaugh show are light-hearted political parodies.'"

Good humor and good sense indeed. This is from the same folks that compared a 13 year old girl on national TV to a dog. What a brave group these guys are, Mike Huckafuck and Rush Limbaugh, throw in Sarah Palin and you've got a quorum.

Talking Points Memo | Not So Fast!

Talking Points Memo Not So Fast!: "As you've seen, I've become increasingly interested in this question of whether or not the president can withdraw a pardon, as President Bush has attempted to do in the case of Isaac Toussie. I've consulted a few experts and reviewed various cases. And I'm increasingly convinced that the president did not have the power to do this, notwithstanding the fact that few press reports seem to have taken this possibility very seriously.
Let's break this down piece by piece.
No one disagrees that a presidential pardon cannot be revoked or taken back. The only question here is whether the Toussie pardon had in some sense not yet become official.
And there are two arguments floating around about why this pardon wasn't set in stone yet before the president decided to take it back.
First is the argument put forward by the White House itself, that the president had sent requests for pardons to the Pardon Attorney but that the Pardon Attorney had yet to 'execute and deliver grants of clemency to the named individuals.' According to the White House press release from Wednesday, the president got to him before he'd done that and 'directed the Pardon Attorney not to execute and deliver a Grant of Clemency to Mr. Toussie.'"

Another example of the incompetence of this f**ker. Hell, I'm not even going to refer to him as "President" Bush anymore. I wonder if old Rush boy is going to come to the Presidents defense, you know, carry a little water.

Obamas visit aquatic park in Hawaii - White House transition- msnbc.com

Obamas visit aquatic park in Hawaii - White House transition- msnbc.com: "On Christmas Day, Obama ventured from his home to thank Marines and sailors at the base. He spent more than an hour at the dining hall, posing for pictures between the ham, roast beef and turkey on the buffet. The trip came well after the network evening news programs had aired, a move that allowed him to visit without the suggestion of exploiting the military to get on TV."

That's not going to matter to Rush and all the good folks at Fox News. They are going to say he "exploited the soldiers" any way so he should go in prime time anyway.

Op-Ed Columnist - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com: "I’m also with Barry Ritholtz that Bush’s emphasis on homeownership was not the problem. Bush favored homeownership; I’m sure he also favored marital fidelity; his influence on homeownership and his influence on adultery were probably comparable. It’s Bush’s opposition to financial regulation that did the evil deed."

No its not. Its Jimmy Carters fault, just ask Rush.

Pricing in a Bush Presidency | The Big Picture

Pricing in a Bush Presidency The Big Picture: "'Stocks sold off again today as the markets is pricing in the likely impact of a George W. Bush presidency.
Since Bush has emerged as the polling leader in March, stocks have been hit hard. The NASDAQ has fallen 37%, while the S&P500 and the Dow are both down 20%, placing equities squarely in bear market territory.
Various Wall Street strategists have expressed concern regarding how a new set of Bush monetary and overseas policies could impact equities.
'My biggest concern is that the promised Bush tax cuts will be in extremely expensive. That would create huge deficits and be extremely inflationary' said Peter Leslie, a trader on the CBOT floor.' Governor Bush has promised to reduce captial gains and dividend taxes, and lower the marginal rates on the nation’s biggest earners. He has not explained how these tax cuts will be funded.
Maverick Capital fund manager Henry Carlyle is more concerned with government spending than Tax cuts. The Dallas resident stated 'I have followed Governor Bush in Texas, and fiscal discipline is not his strong suit.' Cabot expects a big increase in federal spending and budget deficits that will have ramifications for both inflation and an interest rates."

What was it that Rush was saying about Obama and the market? Of course Rush was wrong but what the hell he always is wrong.

NYT: Blaming Bush for the Wrong Things | The Big Picture

NYT: Blaming Bush for the Wrong Things The Big Picture: "“Former Presidents Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Reagan all have some responsibility, but far less. Bush Senior is probably the least culpable. Reagan did not reappoint Fed Chair Paul Volcker, and replaced him with Alan Greenspan. Regardless of other actions, this alone haunts his legacy, and gives the Gipper some degree of responsibility."

Someone recently e-mailed me a picture of the Gipper with the question "don't you miss this guy"? Well, actually no. He had a lot of people fooled (including himself) but he will go down as just another incompetent Republican President. A good majority of his admirers believe he personally defeated the communists, when actually it was imploding without any help from him.

NYT: Blaming Bush for the Wrong Things | The Big Picture

NYT: Blaming Bush for the Wrong Things The Big Picture: "From Reagan to George W. Bush, each President of the past 25 years bears some responsibility for contributing to the belief that we can let markets govern themselves.
Of the four Presidents over that period of time, President George W. Bush is the one with the seemingly greatest culpability. Not just because this crisis happened on his watch — although that is reason enough to give him a fair share of responsibility. More significantly, the basis of his culpability is that he shared Greenspan’s and Gramm’s radical belief system — that markets could police themselves, and that all regulation was inherently bad. This philosophy colored all of the President’s appointments to key supervisory positions, as well as his legislative agenda."

Period.

Think Progress » Limbaugh’s Crazy Conspiracy Theory: Democrats Started The Economic Crisis To Help Elect Obama

Think Progress » Limbaugh’s Crazy Conspiracy Theory: Democrats Started The Economic Crisis To Help Elect Obama: "Here’s how Limbaugh’s conspiracy theory goes: Schumer caused on run on IndyMac bank in California this summer, in order to create a feeling of financial panic amongst the public. Democrats then capitalized on this panic with electoral wins in the White House and Congress. The purpose of gaining this power, according to Limbaugh, was to nationalize U.S. industries:"

Millions of Americans actually listen and believe the shit that comes out of this guy's mouth. Number one chicken hawk liar. A pussy. Man, he pisses me off.

The Bush Boom

The Bush Boom

Go to this comedy site. I swear, you make this stuff up.

The Housing Bears Are Wrong Again by Larry Kudlow on National Review Online

The Housing Bears Are Wrong Again by Larry Kudlow on National Review Online: "Homebuilders led the stock parade this week with a fantastic 11 percent gain. This is a group that hedge funds and bubbleheads love to hate. All the bond bears have been dead wrong in predicting sky-high mortgage rates. So have all the bubbleheads who expect housing-price crashes in Las Vegas or Naples, Florida, to bring down the consumer, the rest of the economy, and the entire stock market."

See previous post. This article was written in 2005 also. How this F**K continues on CNBC with any credibility is just ludicrous. This guy shouldn't even be in a 7-11 advising customers on which beer tastes great or is less filling. Shesh. By way, Las Vegas leads the nation in foreclosures and personal bankruptcy's, and Naples leads the way on condo crashing.

Safe as Houses - New York Times

Safe as Houses - New York Times: "I used to live next door to a Russian émigré. One day he asked me to explain something that puzzled him about his new country. 'This place seems very rich,' he said, 'but I never see anyone making anything. How does the country earn its money?'
The answer, these days, is that we make a living by selling each other houses. Since December 2000 employment in U.S. manufacturing has fallen 17 percent, but membership in the National Association of Realtors has risen 58 percent."

This article was written in 2005 by Paul Krugman. You would have thought that maybe Greespan or Bernanke would have picked up on this and advised the Bush administration to give a closer look at what was going on. But no, they kept their collective heads in the sand because everything was just peachy. Of course, all the talking heads made fun of economists that predicted exactly what is now occurring. They were liberals, hate America firsters. I just don't see how Limbaugh, O'Reilly and crew have any credibility at all. Maybe its the entrainment, you know, comparing a 13 year old girl on national TV to a dog, or yelling at someone you disagree with to shut up.

Retail Sales Plummet - WSJ.com

Retail Sales Plummet - WSJ.com: "'This will go down as the one of the worst holiday sales seasons on record,' said Mary Delk, a director in the retail practice at consulting firm Deloitte LLP. 'Retailers went from 'Ho-ho' to 'Uh-oh' to 'Oh-no.''"

I hope Jimmy Carter is happy, he caused all this. Just ask Rush or anyone at Fox News.

Op-Ed Columnist - Barack Be Good - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - Barack Be Good - NYTimes.com: "Like the New Deal, the incoming administration must greatly expand the role of government to rescue an ailing economy. But also like the New Deal, the Obama team faces political opponents who will seize on any signs of corruption or abuse — or invent them, if necessary — in an attempt to discredit the administration’s program."

Que Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly, Boortz, Fox News, Micheal Medved, Dan Wiener (Micheal Savage), Kristol and just about all of AM radio.

Federal Cases of Stock Fraud Drop Sharply - NYTimes.com

Federal Cases of Stock Fraud Drop Sharply - NYTimes.com: "WASHINGTON — Federal officials are bringing far fewer prosecutions as a result of fraudulent stock schemes than they did eight years ago, according to new data, raising further questions about whether the Bush administration has been too lax in policing Wall Street.
Legal and financial experts say that a loosening of enforcement measures, cutbacks in staffing at the Securities and Exchange Commission, and a shift in resources toward terrorism at the F.B.I. have combined to make the federal government something of a paper tiger in investigating securities crimes.
At a time when the financial news is being dominated by the $50 billion Ponzi scheme that Bernard L. Madoff is accused of running, federal officials are on pace this year to bring the fewest prosecutions for securities fraud since at least 1991, according to the data, compiled by a Syracuse University research group using Justice Department figures."

Wait. I thought all this was Jimmy Carter and predatory borrowers fault. According to Rush Limbauhg and Larry Kudlow its not the administrations fault, no sir, they believed the market would police itself. It is...with taxpayers money.

Army Officials Say Many More Active-Duty Troops Are Needed - washingtonpost.com

Army Officials Say Many More Active-Duty Troops Are Needed - washingtonpost.com: "The Army needs to add at least 30,000 active-duty soldiers to its ranks to fulfill its responsibilities around the world without becoming stretched dangerously thin, senior Army officials warn.
'You can't do what we've been tasked to do with the number of people we have,' Undersecretary of the Army Nelson Ford said in an interview last week. 'You can see a point where it's going to be very difficult to cope.'
Already, the Army lacks a strategic reserve of brigades trained and ready for major combat, officials said, and units being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are receiving new soldiers at the last minute, meaning they have insufficient time to train together before crossing into the war zone."

Just more evidence of the Bush administrations disdain for the military. Maybe they should tap into the College Republicans...a real hot bed of chicken hawkism!

Op-Ed Columnist - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - Paul Krugman Blog - NYTimes.com: "So Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, and Karl Rove all claim that the financial crisis was a liberal conspiracy, generated either by evil mastermind Chuck Schumer or by wily journalists.
Why does such stuff flourish? Probably because there is no punishment for it — as long as you’re on the right, and I mean right, side. Let Michael Moore point out, entirely correctly, the close ties between the Saudis and the Bush family, and he’s blasted as a crazy conspiracy theorist. On the other hand, let Donald Luskin suggest, in 2004, that George Soros is planning to engineer a financial crisis to defeat Bush, and he gets to publish front-page articles in the Washington Post Outlook section declaring that there isn’t a recession."

I've often wondered about this. Rush and the clan routinely state falsehood, take statements out of context and flat out lie. Then are paid millions annually to do it. But, if some far out, never heard of, liberal says something a little on the loony side then all hell breaks loose and every liberal in the country is attacked by the right.

Obama: Lincoln Bible For Inauguration

Obama: Lincoln Bible For Inauguration: "President-elect Barack Obama will take the oath of office using the same Bible upon which President Lincoln was sworn in at his first inauguration. Obama will be the first President sworn in using the Lincoln Bible since its initial use in 1861.
'President-elect Obama is deeply honored that the Library of Congress has made the Lincoln Bible available for use during his swearing-in,' said Presidential Inaugural Committee Executive Director Emmett Beliveau. 'The President-elect is committed to holding an Inauguration that celebrates America's unity, and the use of this historic Bible will provide a powerful connection to our common past and common heritage.'"

How many right wing nut jobs predicted that he would use the Koran? How many called into talk radio with predictions that he would use the Koran and was told by the host to "hold on, we don't know that yet". Not one. From Rush Limbaugh to Neil Boortz the accusation was put there and the hosts played on it.

Arianna Huffington: Laissez-Faire Capitalism Should Be as Dead as Soviet Communism

Arianna Huffington: Laissez-Faire Capitalism Should Be as Dead as Soviet Communism: "'There is no question we did not recognize the severity of the problems,' claimed Al Hubbard, Bush's former chief economic adviser. 'Had we, we would have attacked them.'
But the mistake wasn't in not recognizing the 'severity of the problems' -- the mistake was the ideology that led to the problems. Communism didn't fail because Soviet leaders didn't execute it well enough. Same with free market fundamentalism. In fact, Bush and his team did a bang-up job executing a defective theory. The problem wasn't just the bathwater; the baby itself is rotten to the core.
William Seidman, the longtime GOP economic advisor who oversaw the S&L bailout in 1991, cuts to the chase: 'This administration made decisions that allowed the free market to operate as a barroom brawl instead of a prize fight. To make the market work well, you have to have a lot of rules.'
Even Alan Greenspan, whose owl-eyed visage would adorn a Mount Rushmore of unregulated capitalists, has begun to see the light, telling a House committee in October that he 'made a mistake in presuming that the self-interests of organizations, specifically banks and others, were such that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders and their equity in the firms.'"

When you have folks running the Federal Government that do not believe in Government, then this is what you get. Incompetence and crony capitalism rule the Republican Party and unfortunately the country.

Op-Ed Columnist - A Race to the Bottom - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - A Race to the Bottom - NYTimes.com: "If we see teachers and autoworkers as our enemies, we are in serious need of an attitude adjustment."

As Rush Lmbaugh and Larry Kudlow would have us do. What a couple of Punks. Chicken Hawks too.

Betrayed by Madoff, Yeshiva University Adds a Lesson - NYTimes.com

Betrayed by Madoff, Yeshiva University Adds a Lesson - NYTimes.com: "“In elevating to a level of demiworship people with big bucks, we have been destroying the values of our future generation,” he said. “We need a total rethinking of who the heroes are, who the role models are, who we should be honoring.”"

I remember listening to Rush Limbaugh one day extolling the virtues of the "celebrity CEO" and how they are worth every penny they are paid. These guys are the heroes he said. He also said it was "patriotic to headquarter offshore" so the corporation would not have to pay its fare share of taxes. It is exactly that type of thought that has gotten this country where we are. Rush Limbaugh is no patriot and he does not love this country. He may say he does, but then again he is also a liar.

Guantanamo prisoners may head to Europe - Washington Post- msnbc.com

Guantanamo prisoners may head to Europe - Washington Post- msnbc.com: "The Bush administration 'produced the problem,' Karsten Voigt, coordinator of German-American cooperation at the German Foreign Ministry, said in a telephone interview. 'With Obama, the difference is that he tries to solve it.'"

This part I forgot to include in the previous post.

Guantanamo prisoners may head to Europe - Washington Post- msnbc.com

Guantanamo prisoners may head to Europe - Washington Post- msnbc.com: "The willingness to consider accepting prisoners who cannot be returned to their home countries, because of fears they may be tortured there, represents a major change in attitude on the part of European governments. Repeated requests from the Bush administration that European allies accept some Guantanamo Bay detainees received only refusals."

This is a good sign, it shows how the Bush administrations "go f**k" yourself policy did not work. Maybe the world will be on our side again. Maybe this is the "change we can believe in".

Bloomberg.com: Special Report

Bloomberg.com: Special Report: "Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- The FBI has engaged in “triage,” taking agents off terror and other crimes to respond to a cascade of financial frauds such as the alleged Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme, the head of the bureau’s New York criminal division said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation was forced to reallocate its manpower in New York to deal with recent frauds involving subprime mortgages, auction-rate securities and Madoff, who prosecutors said confessed this month to bilking investors out of $50 billion, FBI official David Cardona said in an interview."

And the hits keep coming. I wonder what al-Qaeda is doing while our attention is diverted to this mess. Of course we can always feel safe in the fact that GWB has kept us from another attack (or so he says). Again, just a little reminder, it was eight years between the first World Trade Center attack and September 11th.

Great Minds of Conservatism « The Opinion Mill

Great Minds of Conservatism « The Opinion Mill: "The problem for conservatives is that Bush was everything they want in a president. And now they have to live with the afermath."

I have long argued that Bush and the Republican Party of the past thirty years is in no way conservative. These people long for power only to help themselves and their friends. They are not patriotic, compassionet or even very smart. And the country has bought it hook, line and sinker. Until now.

Pew Research Center: Blagojevich Framed as Obama's First Crisis

Pew Research Center: Blagojevich Framed as Obama's First Crisis: "Just how big was the Illinois 'pay to play' story last week? At 28% of the newshole, it generated more coverage than the Russia-Georgia war (26% from Aug. 11-17) and even topped what had been the messiest political scandal of the year, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's dalliance with a prostitute (23% the week of March 10-16). It was the No. 1 story online, on cable news, and in the radio sector and accounted for nearly half the airtime (44%) examined on cable last week."

Its official...Rush, Sean, O'Reilly, and Fox News are part of the drive by media. They were just as deep in this as any other news organization.

Chris Kelly: Is Caroline Kennedy our Sarah Palin?

Chris Kelly: Is Caroline Kennedy our Sarah Palin?

You really need to read this article to understand the current mess in the Republican Party. In a nutshell, Brent Bozell of, whatever he has currently made himself head of, tries to make the claim that Caroline Kennedy is unqualified for the Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton. He actually tries to make the case that the slaughterers daughter has a bit more on the ball. This is the kind of bs being put out by the "think" tanks that support the Republican Party.

Op-Ed Columnist - China to the Rescue? Not! - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - China to the Rescue? Not! - NYTimes.com: "It’s good advice. China is not going to rescue us or the world economy. We’re going to have to get out of this crisis the old-fashioned way: by digging inside ourselves and getting back to basics — improving U.S. productivity, saving more, studying harder and inventing more stuff to export. The days of phony prosperity — I borrow cheap money from China to build a house and then borrow on that house to buy cheap paintings from China to decorate my walls and everybody is a winner — are over."

It all started when we elected an actor to be President of the United States. Phony Prosperity. Indeed, that is what the Republican years, interrupted with Bill Clinton, will be seen as.

Jim Hoagland - The Madoff Generation - washingtonpost.com

Jim Hoagland - The Madoff Generation - washingtonpost.com: "don't know what to call the generations on the rise, but Generation Xcess would do just fine for the one now in charge of global affairs. We have taken the greatest financial, technological and political opportunities the world has ever offered and abused them for our own pleasures, greed and egos. We read about Bernie Madoff so avidly because deep down that is particularly true, but not uniquely true, of Americans. Bernie was one of all of us who refused to vote for politicians who would raise our taxes and make the nation live within its means, even as we went to war. Bernie was one of all of us who did not demand more diligent supervision of financial markets as long as the outsize returns kept flowing. And in his own special way, Bernie was one of all of us who wasted energy in myriad forms, kept on consuming imported goods even when it meant going into debt to foreign lands that do not wish us well, and cut budgets for regulatory and law enforcement agencies even in the fat years. , Bernie is one of us. He got what he could while he could."

I have long held that "baby boomers" attitude is "I got mine, screw you". And now the folks under thirty are going to pay. They are growing up in an era now of depressed jobs, little to no manufacturing base, huge budget deficits that the only way to eliminate will be with large tax increases or severely cut government services. I am not talking about entitlement programs, but the very services that keep this country safe and running smoothly. Everything from roads and bridges to the Coast Guard. Good job, you selfish boomers.

The Reckoning - Bush’s Philosophy Stoked the Mortgage Bonfire - Series - NYTimes.com

The Reckoning - Bush’s Philosophy Stoked the Mortgage Bonfire - Series - NYTimes.com: "Never once, Mr. Paulson said in a recent interview, has Mr. Bush overruled him. “I’ve got a boss,” he explained, who “understands that when you’re dealing with something as unprecedented and fast-moving as this we need to have a different operating style.”"

Having watched GWB over the past eight years, maybe Mr. Paulson needs to CHA as Mr. Bush will only say "I did not know Hank was doing what he was doing".

The Reckoning - Bush’s Philosophy Stoked the Mortgage Bonfire - Series - NYTimes.com

The Reckoning - Bush’s Philosophy Stoked the Mortgage Bonfire - Series - NYTimes.com: "From his earliest days in office, Mr. Bush paired his belief that Americans do best when they own their own home with his conviction that markets do best when let alone.
He pushed hard to expand homeownership, especially among minorities, an initiative that dovetailed with his ambition to expand the Republican tent — and with the business interests of some of his biggest donors. But his housing policies and hands-off approach to regulation encouraged lax lending standards."

I thought it was Carters' fault. It had to have been Carters' fault. Or maybe it was the CRA's fault. By God, it would not have been the fault of the free-market system. The free-market system would not have let us down.

The Reckoning - Bush’s Philosophy Stoked the Mortgage Bonfire - Series - NYTimes.com

The Reckoning - Bush’s Philosophy Stoked the Mortgage Bonfire - Series - NYTimes.com: "It was Sept. 18. Lehman Brothers had just gone belly-up, overwhelmed by toxic mortgages. Bank of America had swallowed Merrill Lynch in a hastily arranged sale. Two days earlier, Mr. Bush had agreed to pump $85 billion into the failing insurance giant American International Group.
The president listened as Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, laid out the latest terrifying news: The credit markets, gripped by panic, had frozen overnight, and banks were refusing to lend money.
Then his Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., told him that to stave off disaster, he would have to sign off on the biggest government bailout in history.
Mr. Bush, according to several people in the room, paused for a single, stunned moment to take it all in.
“How,” he wondered aloud, “did we get here?”"

"How did we get here?" Well, WTF do you think, you jackass. Maybe because you listened to Rush Limbaugh instead of a Nobel Prize winner in economics like Paul Krugman. Or did you really believe the World Wrestling Federation Strongman Larry Kudlow's attempt at economics. I wonder if Larry ever warned anybody off the Madoff gig, or was it to prestigious to stay away from. I started following national politics in 1973, and I have not seen this level of incompetence in all these years. At least Nixon had folks that knew what they were doing. Maybe wrong, not always right, and surely on the wrong side of the law (of course, they were Republicans) but at least they knew how to do it (well, except G. Gordan "the burglar" Liddy). It seems President Bush only employs incompetents.

The Reckoning - Bush’s Philosophy Stoked the Mortgage Bonfire - Series - NYTimes.com

The Reckoning - Bush’s Philosophy Stoked the Mortgage Bonfire - Series - NYTimes.com: "“We can put light where there’s darkness, and hope where there’s despondency in this country. And part of it is working together as a nation to encourage folks to own their own home.” — President Bush, Oct. 15, 2002"

Wait a minute! I thought only Jimmy Carter and Barney Frank encouraged home ownership. That's what Sean and Rush say. Hell, Jimmy brought on this whole economic crisis.

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 12/19/2008 | Palin soap opera: Drug in Levi's mom's case is oxycontin

McClatchy Washington Bureau 12/19/2008 Palin soap opera: Drug in Levi's mom's case is oxycontin: "Wasilla resident Sherry L. Johnston, mother of Bristol Palin's boyfriend, faces a Jan. 6 court date for an oxycontin-related arrest at her home by Alaska State Troopers."

I think I read somewhere that her and Rush are hookin' up.

Advocates for Action on Global Warming Chosen as Obama's Top Science Advisers - washingtonpost.com

Advocates for Action on Global Warming Chosen as Obama's Top Science Advisers - washingtonpost.com: "'The Bush administration has been the most remarkably anti-science administration that I've seen in my adult lifetime,' Nobel laureate David Baltimore, former president of the California Institute of Technology, said in an interview. 'And I do think that there will be a sea change in the Obama administration with the respect shown for the findings of science as well as the process of science.'"

And don't forget government. The administration (and most conservatives) is profoundly anti-government. That is why we are in the shape we are.

Dan Froomkin - New Marching Orders - washingtonpost.com

Dan Froomkin - New Marching Orders - washingtonpost.com: "Bush told CNN's Candy Crowley on Tuesday: 'I've abandoned free-market principles to save the free-market system.'"

Someone needs to explain to this guy that that is not possible. You either believe in the free-market system or you don't. If you do believe in the free-market system, then you would have faith in the idea that the market will work it out. You do not worry about the repercussions that the failure of a particular industry will do to the economy. But, as with just about all of this Presidents beliefs, they are just thin air.

Dan Froomkin - New Marching Orders - washingtonpost.com

Dan Froomkin - New Marching Orders - washingtonpost.com: "'What might have damaged Bush's legacy most was his administration's mixed record of competent governance. Between Iraq, the government's flawed relief effort in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and more minor missteps over the Dubai ports issue and other matters, the government 'brand' deteriorated badly during the Bush years. In late April 2008, just 37% expressed a favorable view of the federal government, about half of the percentage of five years earlier (73%).'
Asked to describe Bush in one word, the most frequently-mentioned description in the latest survey was 'incompetent,' -- just as it was in February 2007 and March 2006. Pew reports that the biggest gainers since 2004 were 'incompetent,' 'idiot,' and 'ignorant.'"

And to think that 37% have a favorable view. My God, what does it take for these people to wake and smell the coffee

McClatchy Washington Bureau | 12/19/2008 | More Palin family trouble: Levi's mom's been arrested

McClatchy Washington Bureau 12/19/2008 More Palin family trouble: Levi's mom's been arrested: "WASILLA, Alaska — A 42-year-old Wasilla woman was arrested Thursday at her home by Alaska State Troopers with a search warrant in an undercover drug investigation. Sherry L. Johnston was charged with six felony counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance.
Johnston is the mother of Levi Johnston, the Wasilla 18-year-old who received international attention in September when Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd, announced their teenage daughter was pregnant and he was the father. Bristol Palin, 18, is due on Saturday, according to a recent interview with the governor's father, Chuck Heath."

Good old GOP family values. Up front and in your face, these folks believe in personal responsibility. Oh, and Sara believes in that good old GOP idea of abstinence.

TPM Election Central | Talking Points Memo | In Private Memo, RNC Chief Concedes That GOP Is Bereft Of Ideas, Vows Change Of Direction

TPM Election Central Talking Points Memo In Private Memo, RNC Chief Concedes That GOP Is Bereft Of Ideas, Vows Change Of Direction: "'Republicans have grown accustomed to having our party recognized as the `Party of Ideas,' but we must acknowledge that many Americans today believe the party is stale and does not deserve that label,' reads one of the memo's starker assessments, adding that 'we have not used our principles to provide solutions to the kitchen table concerns of middle-class America.'"

I think what the RNC Chief needs to acknowledge is that simply because they said they are the party of ideas does not make it so. I don't know how many times I heard Rush state that the Republicans are the party of ideas. What ideas? Tax cut after tax cut, deficit spending, nation building in the middle east, gutting every regulatory office in the federal government (hmmm...what was that guys name, Made-Off), dismissal of science based advice by NOAA and NASA, I could go on and on and on. Simply saying it does not make it so.

Talking Points Memo | Breaking News and Analysis

Talking Points Memo Breaking News and Analysis: "But for those who are keeping track, the oddest thing about the story so far is how the SEC was alerted repeatedly over the last decade of potential problems with the investment arm of Madoff's operation. They actually did open a few looks into his firm. But they never seemed to look in the right places. They'd look at the non-problematic part of the operation and not the part on the 17th floor where all the weird stuff was going on. Or they'd push for changes that would give them greater access to his books and then never follow up on that greater access."

And who picks the head of the SEC. Who picks all those political appointees that fill the supervisory roles...you guessed it, George W. Bush. This is just another example that will help show the utter incompetence of the Bush administration.

SEC Didn't Act on Madoff Tips - washingtonpost.com

SEC Didn't Act on Madoff Tips - washingtonpost.com: "The Securities and Exchange Commission learned about what it describes as one of the largest securities frauds in history when Bernard L. Madoff volunteered his confession, raising questions about the agency's ability to police the financial marketplace."

Yes, lets go with Rush Limbaugh's free market theory. We only have to invest in small market AM radio stations that have a 5:oo PM drive time DJ that can parrott Republican (Cumulis Broadcasting ) talking points and then Invest in Madoff (or Made Off) funds. Of course it is a little more complicated than that, but suffice it to say a major f.u..

Report: Iraq rebuilding woes due to poor planning - Conflict in Iraq- msnbc.com

Report: Iraq rebuilding woes due to poor planning - Conflict in Iraq- msnbc.com: "WASHINGTON - A detailed official history of the U.S. effort to reconstruct Iraq after Saddam Hussein's overthrow in 2003 blamed its failings on 'blinkered and disjointed' prewar planning, a deadly insurgency and wasteful and ill-managed contracting.
The 500-plus page document also asserts that the Bush administration, in early stages of the war, exaggerated the number of Iraqi forces trained to help American troops provide adequate security.
The study, 'Hard Lessons: The Iraq Reconstruction Experience,' was produced by a special U.S. auditing group that has dug deeply into the multibillion-dollar reconstruction effort since 2004. It is a detailed summation of the findings from many previous audits and reviews by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, led by Stuart Bowen."

Another in the series of the worst Administration in the history of the United Sates of America. Hell it has gotten to the point that it is easier to find FU's than it is to find what they did right. I invite anyone to point me in the direction of a success.

Time For Christians To Wage War on "The War Against Christmas" Whine - Progressive Revival

Time For Christians To Wage War on "The War Against Christmas" Whine - Progressive Revival: "One of the the most depressing aspects of the Advent season is the perennial reappearance of the 'War Against Christmas' argument in some conservative political and religious circles. This story-line, most visibly associated with Fox News' Bill O'Reilly, is based on the idea that Christians are being mortally offended, and perhaps even threatened in their religious liberties, by department-store decisions to peddle their wares under the slogan of 'Happy Holidays' rather than 'Merry Christmas.' The 'War Against Christmas' theory also feeds on the usual tedious and marginal fights over publicly-authorized Nativity scenes and equal access to other seasonal religious or even anti-religious messages.
I think it's time for Christians to reclaim Christmas by declaring war on the whole 'War on Christmas' whine, and on the planted axiom that Jesus Christ needs to be proclaimed on department store facades and municipal squares. More generally, Christians should be offended by the idea that commercial or government neutrality towards religious expression represents some sort of persecution--a grievous insult to the sacrifices of true Christian martyrs, past, present and future."

You should read this article in its entirety. It really gives credence to the fact that O'Reilly and company are just making money with ratings.

The Satirical Political Report - An Offbeat Look at the Hot-Button Issues of the Day » UAW to GOP Senators: YOU Should Take a Pay Cut

The Satirical Political Report - An Offbeat Look at the Hot-Button Issues of the Day » UAW to GOP Senators: YOU Should Take a Pay Cut: "“COMPARED TO THEIR COUNTERPARTS IN THE JAPANESE PARLIAMENT, IT’S CLEAR THAT THE U.S. CONGRESS IS VASTLY OVERPAID. WITH THREE DAY WORK WEEKS, BEING OUT OF SESSION HALF THE YEAR, AND SUBSIDIZED PENSIONS AND HEALTH CARE, THE AVERAGE SENATOR MAKES ABOUT $3000 PER HOUR…. AND FOR ALL THAT, THE GOP STILL TURNS OUT SHIT AMERICANS WON’T BUY.”"

This is kind of funny. Perhaps ol' Corker will work a few more hours to help get things going again.

Crooks and Liars

Crooks and Liars: "Noted Iranian-Canadian blogger Hossein Derakhshan is believed to have been arrested in Iran. He recently went back to Iran on a visit and subsequently disappeared. Jerome at MyDD notes that 'Hossein has been at the forefront of the huge Iranian-Persian blogosphere, advocating for the use of the internet as a means for social and political reform in Iran, but he's also made a lot of enemies on both sides, for his non-conformist viewpoints.'"

I know Rush is serious about Freedom of Speech on AM radio, but is he really concerned about Freedom of Speech. Does Rush believe in this doctrine on the Internet? I don't think you will hear him being quite as vociferous about the Net as he is about AM radio and the millions Clear Channel pays him to prop up those AM stations. It is all about money.

Sen. Tom Coburn, R.-Oklahoma

Crooks and Liars: "The position of attorney general, although it's appointed by the president, is very different from all the rest of the appointments. Because he is all of us, every citizen in this country, the chief law-enforcement officer of this land. His loyalty is not to the president, his loyalty has to be to the Constitution. It has to be to the responsible bodies that guide this country."

This is Senator Tom Coburn's statement on the nomination of Eric Holder for AG in the Obama administration. Where was Senator Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, when anyone asked Attorney General Alberto "I do not recall" Gonzalez, anything. AG Gonzalez' only real competence was his loyalty to GWB. Period. I do not believe you can find one reference by Senator Coburn that questions the AG's ability to represent the country and not GWB. I do not think that the current crop of Republicans have any credibility on this issue.

Salon.com Politics | The White House vandal scandal that wasn't

Salon.com Politics The White House vandal scandal that wasn't: "The White House vandal scandal that wasn't
How the incoming Bush team nudge-nudged a credulous press corps into swallowing a trashy Clinton story.

I just do not think the Obama team will play the Frat-boy games the GWB guys did. There were no missing 'w' keys from the keyboards, no glue in the door locks, no keys to doors hidden anywhere, no pick up trucks backing up to the White House hauling off priceless portraits. I know, Rush said it over and over during the first two years GWB's first two years, it just wasn't true. Read the article and if you have any evidence (other than Rush saying it is true) let me know and I will pay to hire a lawyer to make a claim in the name of the United States.

The hunting of the president resumes | Salon

The hunting of the president resumes Salon: "If Blagojevich's own pungent words don't answer the supposed questions about Obama, then perhaps the explicit exoneration offered by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who ran this investigation, should suffice. The quoted portions of the Blagojevich wiretaps represent a very small percentage of the conversations taped and monitored by the FBI. Knowing Fitzgerald, it is safe to assume that his agents heard nothing that implicated Obama or members of his transition staff in the Blagojevich scheme.
While that should be obvious, don't expect the excited Republicans to calm down anytime soon. Having nothing to sustain them for the moment except a whiff of Democratic scandal, they can hardly help themselves. They will persist in their partisan efforts to undermine the new president."

Rush just can't understand how Obama did not know about this as it was happening. Of course, by asking that question, Rush is implying that Obama knew about what was going on. Even good old Neil Boortz cannot understand how this could be happening all around Obama and he and his aides knew nothing of selling the seat. How difficult is it to deny something that can't be proven? Obamagate come on Rush just say it.

DRUDGE REPORT

DRUDGE REPORT 2009®

I just read an article on Powell's interview with CNN. In the interview Powell says that the Republican Party needs to stop listening to Rush Limbaugh. One of the comments from some nut job named Chris actually believes that Mr. Powell would not have said that in the same room with Rush. Excuse me? I know it has been a while since the public has seen Mr. Powell in uniform, but can you really not know that this guy was an Infantry officer during Vietnam and achieved the rank of Four Star General. I guess this guy believes the hype Limbaugh puts out about his own bravery. There is a big difference between volunteering for the military in a time of war and having your daddy gets the local Physician to rule you ineligible due to a pimple on your ass. One is called a true American Hero, the other is a chicken hawk wimp that makes fun of 13 year old girls on national TV.

CNN.com - Audit: U.S. lost track of $9 billion in Iraq funds - Jan 30, 2005

CNN.com - Audit: U.S. lost track of $9 billion in Iraq funds - Jan 30, 2005: "An inspector general's report said the U.S.-led administration that ran Iraq until June 2004 is unable to account for the funds.
'Severe inefficiencies and poor management' by the Coalition Provisional Authority has left auditors with no guarantee the money was properly used,' the report said.
'The CPA did not establish or implement sufficient managerial, financial and contractual controls to ensure that [Development Fund for Iraq] funds were used in a transparent manner,' said Stuart W. Bowen Jr., director of the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction.
The $8.8 billion was reported to have been spent on salaries, operating and capital expenditures, and reconstruction projects between October 2003 and June 2004, Bowen's report concluded."

Almost 9 billion dollars down the memory hole. You can bet some graduate student 20 years form now will be spending a lot of time trying to figure how that happened. And he will come to the conclusion, as over 75% of Americans have, that George W. Bush was the most incompetent President in our history.

ABC News: More Jobs Carnage: 573,000 File for Unemployment

ABC News: More Jobs Carnage: 573,000 File for Unemployment: "Initial applications for unemployment benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 573,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That was nearly 50,000 more than economists were expecting and up from a revised 515,000 the week before.
The last time so many Americans filed new jobless claims in a single week was in 1982, although the labor force has grown by about half since then.
Adding more damage to the already ravaged labor market, Bank of America said it expected to cut as many as 35,000 jobs over the next three years, including some from investment bank Merrill Lynch, which it agreed to buy in September."

I just can't wait until 2012 when Sarah Palin and Joe Wurzelbacher are sworn in. This Obama recession nightmare is killing me. Thank God I have Rush to listen to every day and he keeps me up on the latest stuff I need to know.

Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » A Bailout Plan the GOP Can Support

Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » A Bailout Plan the GOP Can Support: "Additionally, I am aware that Michigan has a ginormous Muslim population and has almost instituted Sharia Law. I think you can understand what needs to be done.
We need to invade Michigan and rebuild the state from the ground up. We will be greeted as liberators, we have clear supply lines, and we can easily rebuild the auto industry with the kind of money we spend on other countries we invade. Hell, our new Secretary of State, Hillary of Clinton, spent the better part of the past year fighting for the rights of average folks from Michigan, so think of the good will we have with the public. This is very doable. Just tell Congress we will give KBR no-bid contracts to fix Detroit."

Now here is a bailout the Plantation Caucus can believe in and vote for. Its even close enough that the chicken hawks might want to pick a weapon...no they would not want to do that.

VDARE.COM: DID YOU FORGET??!!—VDARE.COM NEEDS YOUR HELP NOW!

VDARE.COM: DID YOU FORGET??!!—VDARE.COM NEEDS YOUR HELP NOW!: "This year, the economy is tanking—in large part because of the subprime mortgage scandal large caused by irresponsible lending to immigrants, long documented here at VDARE.COM."

Here. In case some right wing nut job happens to fall on this blog, take note of the above link and help this guy sell the BS Hanitty, O'Reilly, and the folks at Fox "News" promote that war on xmas crap. I better watch out as O'Reilly might send his guys over to my house for not spelling you know what to his liking.

Plantation Caucus

Did Rachel Maddow refer to the Southern Senators that voted down the Auto Bailout as the Plantation Caucus? That's pretty good. I just read a guy referring to the homeless in my town as Urban Outdoors men. That's good to. Oh, and I guess I spoke to soon about Senator Bob Corker. He is a jerk.

Joseph E. Stiglitz on capitalist fools: About Us: vanityfair.com

Joseph E. Stiglitz on capitalist fools: About Us: vanityfair.com: "The truth is most of the individual mistakes boil down to just one: a belief that markets are self-adjusting and that the role of government should be minimal. Looking back at that belief during hearings this fall on Capitol Hill, Alan Greenspan said out loud, “I have found a flaw.” Congressman Henry Waxman pushed him, responding, “In other words, you found that your view of the world, your ideology, was not right; it was not working.” “Absolutely, precisely,” Greenspan said. The embrace by America—and much of the rest of the world—of this flawed economic philosophy made it inevitable that we would eventually arrive at the place we are today."

This is a great article from a Nobel prize winner. The blame game continues but Stiglitz pretty much boils it down to 5 specific items that occurred on the Reagan, Clinton, and G. W. Bush watch. And ultimatley that Rush Limbaugh stand by...the free markets ability to do everything except have sex with a human.

Dan Froomkin - Pack of Liars - washingtonpost.com

Dan Froomkin - Pack of Liars - washingtonpost.com: "The Associated Press reports: 'George W. Bush's presidential library domain name has been retrieved after a Web developing company accidentally let it expire -- and it apparently came at a high price.
'Raleigh, N.C.-based Illuminati Karate paid less than $10 for the GeorgeWBushLibrary.com domain name and sold it back earlier this year for $35,000 to the library's contracted Web developers, Yuma Solutions, said George Huger, lead Web developer for Illuminati Karate.'"

Geesh, these folks are so incompetent they can't even hang on to a domain name. Seriously, these are a bunch of highly paid intellectuals (usually called elites if they are a Democrat) that goofed. Sure $35,000 is small change to them...maybe the problem with these folks is that $35,000 is small change.

Op-Ed Contributor - Generation No - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Contributor - Generation No - NYTimes.com: "“YOU know you have arrived when you get interviewed by the 29-year-old instead of the 22-year-old,” the 57-year-old foreign service officer said to me with a laugh. It was late 2005, and this three-time ambassador had just been interviewed for a top post at the Department of State.
Her interviewer was part of a large corps of 20-somethings — some were in their early 30s — who ran the Office of Presidential Personnel. Many of them were sons or daughters of supporters of President George W. Bush. Others had connections through congressmen. With few exceptions, they had one thing in common: very little experience and a very big attitude.
Another top foreign service officer called me after his interview to be ambassador to a volatile African country. “The problem was,” he told me, “the kid interviewing me could not pronounce the name of the country I was being interviewed for. It made for an awkward interview until he just started saying ‘the country we are considering you for.’”"

Here is another example of what historians will be looking at when judging GWB. Not necessarily this article, but at flow charts, and who was in charge of what and when. Rush and the Sean won't be around to spin things.

Mark Nickolas: This Sucks, but I'm Rooting Against the Auto Bailout...

Mark Nickolas: This Sucks, but I'm Rooting Against the Auto Bailout...: "But the truth is, the American auto industry has done an abysmal job for decades when it comes to building non-SUV vehicles that are both appealing to the eye and the wallet. In fact, outside of the SUV lines, I can't think of a single American car that would even make my Top 10 list right now. If I want style and performance, I'll take a Lexus or BMW or Acura any day. For durability and gas mileage, I'll take a Prius or Civic or Camry. For a solid car at a lower cost, some of the Hyundai models are finally appealing to me. Other than Jeep, I never find myself looking at American cars. Ever...and I am presently looking."

What a great job the Executives at Ford, GM, and Chrysler have done over the past 20 years. Jesus Christ, these guys have exceeded every exception a short term investor would have...except, the country was looking for some long term ROI. Oh well, thats not what the CEO's had in mind.

Rep. Barney Frank: Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Does It Again

Rep. Barney Frank: Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Does It Again: "That same year, when the Bush administration insisted that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac raise the percentage of below-median income homeowner mortgages they bought, I was correctly quoted in a Bloomberg article on June 17th as saying that this would 'do some harm,' and the writer noted that 'Frank's comments echo concerns...that the new goals will undermine profits and put new homeowners into dwellings they can't afford.'
It was a consistent series of statements like that on my part, and efforts to act on them --although these were often unsuccessful when I was in the minority -- that led frequent Republican economic appointee and Wall Street Journal contributor Larry Lindsey to write in April of this year that 'Barney Frank is the only politician I know who has argued that we needed tighter rules that intentionally produce fewer homeowners and more renters. Politicians usually believe that homeownership rates should - must - go ever higher.'
In fact, I was one of the supporters in 1994 of the legislation that directed the Federal Reserve to restrict inappropriate mortgages at the subprime level, and I also lamented Alan Greenspan's refusal to implement this - a refusal which he in a forthright manner acknowledged recently was a grave error. When he refused to do this, I and others in Congress, mostly but not only Democrats, pushed for legislation to restrict subprime mortgages."

This is the money quote. The Ayn Rands of America have attempted to put the blame on this entire crises on the left and particularly the poor. Just listen to Rush or Fox "News" on any given day. But the facts do not support their arguments. But when has reality driven anything for current "conservative" Republicans.

Rep. Barney Frank: Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Does It Again

Rep. Barney Frank: Wall Street Journal Editorial Board Does It Again: "For example, on February 18, 2002, at a hearing on the budget I said 'I am in favor of trying to help lower-income people get the advantages of homeownership...but almost by definition, the large majority of poor people are going to need rental housing.' On March 6, 2004, the National Journal reported that 'When the FHA's plan to insure subprime loans was included in a Senate-passed appropriations bill, Frank...a staunch supporter of low-income housing, wrote a highly critical letter urging that the measure not be included ... Not only had the House committee not examined ...the proposal he said then, but the measure also offered no protection against lenders inappropriately steering people towards these high-cost loans. Nor did it offer safeguards to ensure that participants 'were fully suitable for homeownership.''"

Here is the Wall Street Journal assisting the Fox "News" project to dumb down America on the mortgage crises. It is always best when you screw up royally to blame someone else. Anyone.

A new Senate star emerges from the auto row - Capitol Hill- msnbc.com

A new Senate star emerges from the auto row - Capitol Hill- msnbc.com: "Folksy, wry, and relentlessly focused on detail, Corker has outshined all his GOP colleagues on the Banking Committee and most of his Democratic ones in interrogating the auto industry executives and UAW President Ron Gettelfinger."

Finally, a real Republican emerges from the trash heap of the past fourteen years.

Pentagon faulted for not preparing for roadside bomb threat - Yahoo! News UK

Pentagon faulted for not preparing for roadside bomb threat - Yahoo! News UK: "The US Marine Corps asked the Pentagon's inspector general to perform the audit after coming under fire for setting aside an urgent request from field commanders in 2005 for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) armored vehicles.
'DoD (Department of Defense) was aware of the threat posed by mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in low-intensity conflicts and of the availability of mine-resistant vehicles years before insurgent actions began in Iraq in 2003,' the audit found.
'Yet DoD did not develop requirements for, fund, or acquire MRAP-type vehicles for low-intensity conflicts that involved mines and IEDs,' a summary of the report said.
'As a result, the department entered into operations in Iraq without having taken available steps to acquire technology to mitigate the known mine and IED risk to soldiers and Marines,' it said."

Just another dry report that some graduate student will use in his thesis proving the incompetence and disdain for the American military by the administration of George W. Bush. Just salute and do it. Do not ask questions as the chicken hawks know it all.

Watchdogs Chide Treasury on Bailout - WSJ.com

Watchdogs Chide Treasury on Bailout - WSJ.com: "In separate testimony, the Government Accountability Office and a congressional oversight panel said Treasury has doled out billions of dollars to banks with no way to ensure they comply with government-mandated restrictions, or they are using the money to help increase the availability of credit to consumers.
The four-person oversight panel, in its first report to Congress, said it found Treasury has 'administrated the [Troubled Asset Relief Program] without seeking to monitor the use of funds provided to specific financial institutions.' (Read the full oversight panel report)
'Treasury cannot simply trust that the financial institutions will act in the desired ways; it must verify,' the 38-page report said.
Gene Dodaro, acting comptroller general of the U.S., acknowledged the program has been in place only a short time, but said GAO 'found that Treasury has yet to address a number of critical issues.'
These include basic problems such as how to ensure banks are complying with executive compensation and dividend restrictions, and the broader issue of how to measure the success of the program. Treasury has also failed to formalize plans for the upcoming transition to the administration of President-elect Barack Obama, and has not established a system of internal controls.
'Until these issues are resolved, there is heightened risk that the interests of the government and taxpayers may not be adequately protected and that [Treasury] may not achieve its mission in an effective and efficient manner,' Mr. Dodaro said in prepared remarks before the House Financial Services Committee."

Here is another example of what historians will be looking at sometime in the future. And it will show the incompetence and contempt for the American Taxpayer by the Bush administration in a major way.

Media Matters - Hannity complained of DOJ bias in rapid Stevens prosecution, but Stevens reportedly requested speedy trial

Media Matters - Hannity complained of DOJ bias in rapid Stevens prosecution, but Stevens reportedly requested speedy trial: "Summary: On his radio show, Sean Hannity complained of Sen. Ted Stevens' speedy trial on corruption charges, contrasting it with Rep. William Jefferson's case, saying that 'justice moves at lightning speed' for Republicans like Stevens. Hannity added, 'Not only do you get indicted, you get tried, you get convicted in record time, but the Justice Department moves so fast, it's like some kind of national emergency.' But Hannity did not note that Stevens and his attorneys reportedly requested a speedy trial following his indictment so that Stevens could 'clear his name' before Election Day."

Just another example of a Fox "News" presenter dumbing down America. And he does it five days a week on national TV, and A"thank God Rush saved it"M radio.

Joe the Plumber: McCain "Appalled Me," Made Me Feel "Dirty"

Joe the Plumber: McCain "Appalled Me," Made Me Feel "Dirty": "While Wurzelbacher was critical of McCain, he gushed about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. 'Sarah Palin is absolutely the real deal,' he said.
You know, I only got to spend a short amount of time with her but, you know, it was been asked if I felt any presence when I was with John McCain or Barack Obama. You know, with Sarah Palin, I don't want to say I felt a presence but she definitely had energy and she definitely went to work for American people, and it disgusts me on how often they try to bash her just for her sincerity. It's just, you know, she really wants to work for America and I mean, I wish people would listen to her and let them, and let her work for us. You know, she wants to serve us. She's not looking for power."

Man, I just can't quit her. Please God, Sarah and Joe or Sarah and Huckaf**k, or Sarah and Baseball Mitt. Please God, just keep Sarah and Joe the Plumber at the top of the Republican Party. The country needs them.