Thursday, April 27, 2006

Musings 140--It was not an intelligence failure...

The Bushies have spun the war in Iraq every way they possibly can. History and research, however, is proving that they were the gang that couldn't shoot straight, and didn't much care for any evidence that was presented.

Tyler Drumheller (see link) says that the Bushies had plenty of information that there were no weapons of mass destruction. Drumheller was the top spy in Europe during the run up to the war. He has 26 years of service to the CIA.

Drumheller said in a "60 Minutes" interview that the Bushies knew there were no WMD's because they (the CIA) had "turned" the Iraqi Foreign Minister. He said the Administration said that they didn't care, that the war was already in motion. Thus, Bush and his buddies lied to the United State's Congress and its people.

Journalist Robert Scheer wrote this recently: Imperial ambition turns truth-tellers into enemies, by default, because their goal is not the exaltation of the leader's power. No wonder so many national security professionals, be they top generals or intelligence officials, have gone public recently to denounce how the Iraq war has been sold and fought: The Bush administration's willful ignorance and buck-passing mocks their dedicated service to the nation.

Scheer sums his article up with a quote from Tyler Drumheller.

"It just sticks in my craw every time I hear them say it's an intelligence failure," Drumheller said. "This was a policy failure."

Musings 139--Snow, Rove, Exxon and Laura

There are lots of things in the news, but nothing much is pushing my blood-pressure buttons.

Tony Snow, who has carried the water for the Bushies at Fox News, will now be driving the truck as press secretary. Snow seems like an ok guy, but I lost faith in him when he went after John Kerry and recited the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth propaganda by rote. Being against Kerry for president was one thing, but smearing his reputation and his service in Viet Nam was above the pale. It was despicable.

Karl Rove testified before the grand jury for the fifth time yesterday. One can only hope that Pat Fitzgerald finally nails his nuts to the barn roof.

Exxon mobile "only" made 8.4 billion the first quarter of 2006. Now some senators want big oil to give a rebate of $100 to everybody. How stupid is that?

Laura Bush is the only one in the Bush Administration with numbers on the positive side. Those running for re-election are asking that Bush jr. stay home and send Laura. I think that is a good thing. If she speaks enough, surely some of her husband's stupidity will surface. It has to rub off. I mean, remember when someone said something about Texas and Laura responded with "don't mess with Texas." That was pretty hard to take.

And...so it goes...

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Musings 138--When the Feds come calling...

When I was a kid, I use to read the investigative pieces that Jack Anderson wrote. He was one of those guys that would get a piece of information and expand upon it forever. He was on the original "enemies list" during the Nixon years.

Well, Anderson died in December at the age of 83, but his papers and notes still live on. The FBI have suddenly taken notice that since Jack Anderson is dead, maybe they could snoop through his records--causally. Of course, if the Feds find anything that is "a matter of national security" then they would delete or destroy said files. (See Link)

Anderson's son, Kevin, says that the FBI are not getting a free pass to his father's records. "He (Jack Anderson) would be rolling over in his grave to think that the FBI was going to go crawling through his papers willy-nilly," Kevin Anderson told the Associated Press, Tuesday.

Years ago, I had the same type of experience with the feds, but mine was about firearms. At the time I was in the Marine Corps Reserve and, since I lived out in the sticks, my buddies would come out and site in their weapons. Apparently, one of my not so close neighbors called the Feds and said we were shooting automatic weapons. We were not. We just pulled the triggers really fast...really, really fast. Anyway, the Feds showed up one day, two of them in an unmarked tan sedan. They got out, put their sunglasses on and identified themselves. I was sitting on the front porch with my dog, Zach. The conversation went something like this:

Feds: Are you Thomas Murdock?
Zach: Grrrrrr.
Me: Yep.
Feds: Your dog is growling.
Me: Yep
Zach: Grrrrrr...
Feds: Does he bite?
Me: Not me...recently.
Zach: Grrrrrr...
Feds: Well, sir, we understand that you collect firearms.
Me: I have a couple.
Feds: We'd like to look through your collection.
Zach: Grrrrrr...
Me: Do you have warrant?
Feds: No sir, we were hoping that we wouldn't need one.
Me: Well, you do.
Feds: We can get one...pretty quickly.
Me: Fine.
Zach: Grrrr...
Feds: Ok, then...thank you for your time.
Me: Yep.

They got in their sedan and sat with the motor running for about 15 minutes. Zach and I sat on the porch and watched them. Then, suddenly they backed up and drove away.

Me: I guess they couldn't get a quickie warrant, after all.
Zach: Burp.... (He then closed his eyes and went back to sleep)

I never saw them again, but I viewed Zach in a whole new light. He had never growled at anyone before, and I felt that his judgment was beyond reproach. He had a way of cutting straight through the bullshit.

The lesson is simple: They can ask, but we can refuse. It doesn't make us any less a patriot. Even a dog can figure that out.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Musings 137a--The Decider Song...I am an Egghead

The following link seems to go pretty well with Bush jr. I give it to you without hesitation. (See Link)

With apologies to the Fab 4...

Musings 137--The "Decider" finally decides...

Bush jr. looking smirky and combative declared himself the "decider" in all matters, yesterday. Well, it ain't "the buck stops here," but it is close enough. (See Link)

It is now time to stop blaming everyone around Bush jr., aka the decider, and allow him to take the blame for everything that has gone wrong in his administration. He has now admitted it, it is all his fault. He decided...everything. Now it should be pay day...or pay back.

Let us look at what Bush jr. has "decided."

*to go war in Afghanistan...sort of.
*to go to war in Iraq because of WMD's that did not exist.
*to "out" a CIA agent for spite.
*to squander a surplus and have the highest national debt ever.
*to cut taxes for the rich.
*to fiddle while New Orleans flooded.
*to fix prescription drugs by making up a plan that no one understands.
*to fix social security, but did not.
*to leave no child behind, but did.
*to not take on big oil over higher has prices and higher profits for the oil companies.
*to run his girl Harriet for the high court.
*to tell teaches that they should present creationism in the classroom.
*to not fund stem cell research.
*to not believe in global warming...despite tons of evidence.
*to wire tap american citizens.

There are many others things that he decided, but I think the point is made. It is Bush jr. Not Cheney or Rumsfeld or anybody else. It has all been Bush jr. He is now taking credit for it all. Good!

Now he wants to decide if we should attack Iran. He says that the military option is off the table. Well, since Iran has not done anything to us (but then neither had Iraq, but they did shoot at our airplanes during fly-overs) he is deciding if a preemptive strike is necessary.

The Constitution of the United States says that only the congress can make war. Without congress to ok his preemptive strike. He cannot nuke Iran. Of course, he may claim that the vote that was taken to make war on Iraq is the same thing. It is not, but he will say it is. Congress neutered themselves when they gave Bush jr. the right to...ah, decide.

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Musings 136--Senator Rick, spaz, Playboy, and Dick.

Here is a less than glowing endorsement for Senator Rick Santorum.

In the course of a one-minute speech delivered recently at the Abington Township Rockledge Boro Republican Organization Annual Dinner this past Friday, Renee Amoore, co-chair of the state GOP committee, stated:"...Regarding Santorum, I know some of you may want to just hold your noses, but please vote for him anyway!"

Now about that "spaz" remark by Tiger... (See Link)

It's Tiger... He plays golf. He says dumb things. He plays golf. He is not a diplomat. He plays golf. He makes lots of money. He plays golf.

Now Playboy is on to something. (See Link 1) I think that the way to root out radical Islam is to dumb old issues of Playboy from airplanes. Saturate the earth with them and all the Mullaha's will either have strokes or lighten up. It really pretty easy. I have always felt that good-looking naked ladies were about where we ought to be politically. Clinton was a man before his time.

And...now we know that Colin Powell is placing the blame on old Dick. (See Link 2)

If not for the whistle-blower, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, President Bush’s falsehoods about the Iraq nuclear threat likely would never have been exposed.
On Monday, former Secretary of State Colin Powell told me that he and his department’s top experts never believed that Iraq posed an imminent nuclear threat, but that the president followed the misleading advice of Vice President Dick Cheney and the CIA in making the claim.--from the Robert Scheer article.

Of course, now he tells us. It is always a good time to speak up--after we have lost nearly 2,400 soldiers. Better late than never, Colin. If that makes Joe Wilson a hero, what does that make you?

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Musings 135--Misleader-in-Chief

So Bush jr. has his dingy caught in the national zipper. What to do...oh, what to do. Easy. Spin it and use the word "crass." Scott McClellan says that the president doesn't engage in "crass politics." What that means is...well, I don't know what that means, exactly. It is more of the Bushies throwing words and phrases at you that don't make much sense. It's kinda like the famous "OBGYN practicing their love" quote. (See Link 1)

Bush jr. has said time and time again that he wants to get to the bottom of the leaks out of the oval office. (See Links for at least 8 times.) Well, every morning he's been shaving the guy who is most responsible.

Is there anything that comes out of Bush jr.'s mouth that is truthful? Even his supporters are finding it hard to defend him now...and, they shouldn't.

The cold hard truth is that we are stuck with a president that invents stuff, has poor judgment and is an embarrassment to our nation. Our only hope is that he doesn't try to save his presidency by bombing Iran. Shades of Bill Clinton and the aspirin factory.

George W. Bush is a disgrace to the presidency of the United States of America. That is the truth of it. The only question is, can we last until 2008 with him at the top? It's going to be close. Be scared...be very scared. The Misleader-in-Chief is leading us to ruin.

Friday, April 07, 2006

Musings 134--Leaking from the top down.

In 2003 Bush jr. said he hated leakers and that they would be dealt with accordingly. I wonder if he will now fire himself? Nah, not a chance...he will get away with this just like he got away with starting an unprovoked war in Iraq.

Lewis "Scooter" Libby is now rattling off the events that got his ass charged with lying to federal prosecutors. He is telling them that it all came from the top. (See Link) It seems that Bush jr. feels that he has the right to declassify documents on a whim. Other presidents followed strict procedures when they declassified files. Of course, Bush jr. can do what he wants because 9-11 changed the world. I know this because he says it every time he speaks.

It is also interesting that Bush jr. said that he was going to lead his own investigation into who leaked information to the press. Well, no wonder we didn't see any evidence of him doing so. He already knew who the leaker was. When you leak from the top down, every body gets damp. "Scooter" is looking awfully drowned these days.

I just saw the AP News poll that said that Bush jr. was at 36% approval rating. It is his lowest yet. Well, if the american people are paying attention, he can still slide farther. I mean, seven more points and he is in the twenties. I'd love to see how that spin that. Hail, the Leaker-in-Chief! Drip...drip....drip....splat!

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Musings 133--The Hammer nails his coffin shut.

When Chris Mathews said last night that Tom DeLay was resigning his house seat, I immediately let out a "hallelujah." If there was one person that has screwed up the republican party, it is DeLay.

DeLay called the Hammer by his House of Representative colleagues, has been indicted by Ronnie Earles for money laundering in Texas. His top aids have been indicted and plead guilty to corruption charges stemming from the Jack Abramoff scandal. DeLay, himself, may be indicted in the same Abramoff scandal. It is a fact that lobbyist have flown him all over the country and wined and dined him on hundreds of occasions. His wife has even been part of the payoffs by taking monies as a consultant.

I wrote in Musings 96 that DeLay through the help of Jack Abramoff had made a deal with the Russians. If you haven't read that, take a look. A new article in this week's Time Magazine pretty much gives us the DeLay spin on things. (See Link)

Basically, Tom DeLay was the most powerful and corrupting influence in the U. S. Congress. His tendency to invoke the name of his god whenever possible, fooled a lot of right wing religious zealots. (He is at his best in the above Time link--the praying, I mean.) These zealots wanted leadership so much that they blindly followed the first politician that condemned abortion and homosexuals. DeLay filled the bill. He was their savior, they thought. They couldn't see that his hairdo hid his horns. Satan has a glib tongue.

By resigning, DeLay is trying to do damage control brought on by his former assistant chief of staff Tony Rudy. Rudy plead guilty to all kinds of charges on Friday. (See Link 2) Rudy's wife was apparently drawing a salary from an Abramoff consultant firm for doing little or nothing. Part of his plea is that she does not do jail time. This is the corruption right in DeLay's main office. There would be no way that he would not know what was going on. He now becomes known a Representive #2. There will be more to come.

I hear that Delay is permanently moving to Virginia. The reason is, that to get his name off of the Texas ballot he has to be dead or not a resident. Look out Virginia, here comes Tommy boy. I predict that he will open up his own lobbying firm. I hope I am wrong.

So crawl into the coffin, Tommy boy. It is time to nail it shut on you. My hope is that we bury you quickly and deeply. However, you are probably a vampire and will arise again when we least expect it. Lord knows you have drained the blood from this nation before.

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