Before they could relinquish the title of "lame duck" and slither off with just being "lame" ... And cutting it close, before the weight-challenged lady sang, we finally discover something - one thing - The Bush Grindhouse is actually good at (well, perhaps not good, but proficient);
"When workstations are at the end of their lifecycle and retired ... the hard drives are generally sent off-site to another government entity for physical destruction," the White House said in a sworn declaration filed with U.S. Magistrate Judge John Facciola."
Deep, in the bowels of the White House, a Terry Gilliam-inspired, Brazil-like office, with futuristic-type computers, all types of drone-looking, officious government workers, sorting through and sending White House emails, through color-coded tubes, to be shredded.
Than the memo/order comes.
Someone - Congress, a plaintiff, whoever - is looking for all emails related to "Fired U.S. Attorneys", only, because there's so much email shredding traffic going on - plus all the illegal NSA wiretapping that's hitting the line - there's a glitch, and a search is conducted for "Flying U.S. Attorneys".
Before the sun sets, hundreds of attorneys across the land, that happen to be licenced pilots, are rounded up (and how ironic would it be that, at least, one of them, is named "Buttle"?)
We, of course, take our title from Lenny Bruce, and his hysterical riff, Religions, Inc.
For Catholics, today (actually last evening) begins their, more-or-less, Super Bowl weekend, and the big trio of festivities with Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and the big day, Easter Sunday.
The Garlic, has, on occasion, waded into the minefield of religion, so we offer you today a look back, at a handful of the more popular posts.
"With the big wins in Texas and Ohio, the widening lead in Pennsylvania," Wolfson barked, clearly agitated, "Now, everyone is running off looking at his passport".
"They look at his passport, but not hers? ... It's just like the debates... I'd say something fishy is going on here."
Clinton, apparently still out campaigning as the news broke, quickly integrated the news into her stump speech, offering the voters of Florida and Michigan the opportunity to look at her passport.
"I don't want to see these voters, of two of our most largest, and significant states, being left out of seeing my passport ... That's just not fair."
"So long Scooter, we're through with you ...We'll have nothing to do with you ..."
No, I. Lewis "Scooter:" Libby isn't a jockey who was accused of throwing the English Derby, he was a member of the Bush Grindhouse, Vice President Death Vader's Chief of Staff who assisted outing a covert CIA Agent Valarie Plame, for the purpose of political retribution, lied about it, covered it up and was convicted of Perjury and Obstruction of Justice
"When a member of the Bar is convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude, disbarment is mandatory," the three judges wrote in their order. "This court has held that obstruction of justice and perjury are crimes of moral turpitude. Since respondent was convicted of each of these offenses, as the Board concluded, disbarment is mandatory under D.C. Code.
Kind of seems like some old time military "cashiering ceremony" is in order with a formal parade, where they call the miscreant out and break his sword and force him to leave.
I guess we'll have to settle for future disbarring in New York. Sets a nice precedent.
I wanted to link to the website - ScooterLibby.Com- but, apparently, they've taken it down and, rather ironically, the first Ad listing on the former link is for "Mini Power Scooters" (you can go here to see a partial listing of what was on it)
Oh, how the petty and twisted fall ...
Then again, it's a little more than eight-months to wait for the Christmas Pardon List
Not sure the other members of the campaign team aren't a litte nervous.
If you see them sweeping their telephones, or running outside to use the pay phone in the gas station or donut shop across the street, you'll know that Carly has them spooked.
Perhaps, getting the equipment on the cheap, from a certain on-line auction, that a certain new addition to the team has a bit of knowledge about will help.
But if they are seeking help, the call for such may be enormous.
Another piece of evidence on that there's No Intel Inside is the Maverick Man himself.
"...Of course, right now I’m less worried about Bush the First and Bush the Second than I am our would-be Bush the Third, John W. McCain, a man who can’t seem to tell Shi’a from Shinola ..."
McCain has, both verbally, and his campaign, in writing, has spoken of Iran training Al Qaeda operatives, then sending them back into Iraq to wreck the country, attack our soldiers and just commit overall terrorism.
Only, there a wee, little problem with that.
Iran, and the majority of Iraq, is Shiite.
Al Qaeda is Sunni.
Since Flyboy was in the Vietnam war, someone on McCain's Campaign should explain to him that, with what he keeps saying, it would be equivalent of the North Vietnamese wanting to send their soldiers to the USA, for training, to go back and fight in South Vietnam.
No way, Jose.
And then, just it case it does sink in, have a staffer stand by the Senator, in case he smacks himself upside the head too hard, that he falls over.
In January he reaffirmed his support for the deployment of thousands of additional US troops in Iraq.
"When I raise my hand and vote to send young men and women, American men and women into harm's way and fight a war, I am committing to accomplishing the mission," McCain said, putting himself in stark contrast to Obama and Clinton who are seeking troop drawdowns from Iraq.
Yeah, Jesus, but can he tell them who the enemy is? Who they will be, or should be, fighting?
If he's this confused, eight-months before the election, and if he were to win, can we trust that he would even know what country to deploy the troops to?
Announcer: [opening narration for most episodes] Two American scientists are lost in the swirling maze of past and future ages, during the first experiments on America's greatest and most secret project, the Time Tunnel. Tony Newman and Doug Phillips now tumble helplessly toward a new fantastic adventure, somewhere along the infinite corridors of time.
Maybe she could take the Dr. Ann MacGregor role (there's a vibe for this; on the show, the part was played by Lee Meriwether, who also, around the same time, played Catwoman).
But, me thinks, after getting an earful of her toxic BS, Drs. Newman and Phillips would program the dials, and send her through the tunnel, sans a return trip, and, possibly, with an eye towards saving mankind, destroy the machine, once she's been deposited, oh, say in the cave around 500 BC.
Ahhh...now he slips it to us! "Fourscore and seven," indeed! He's bringing us back to the Marxist rant of 1776, completely ignoring the Constitution of 1787 in rhetoric as he has in practice. I'll believe we're all equal when I'm as tall as Lincoln, or as ugly. And the slaves he's so fond of may be his equals, but I'm damned if they're mine.
The O.K Corral may soon lose it place in history, being reduced to a pillow fight.
If the Supreme Court goes the direction that they all but signed, sealed and delivered yesterday, Charlton Heston won't have to worry about anyone prying anything out of his cold, dead hands.
"Five of the justices, a bare majority, signaled that they thought the amendment gave individuals a right to have a gun for self-defense. It was not limited to arms for "a well-regulated militia," they said."
"The clauses of the Second Amendment -- "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" -- have long vexed constitutional scholars. The Supreme Court's last major ruling on the subject, in 1939, stressed the militia-related aspects of the provision.
"Dellinger opens by whooshing us back in time to the framers, who, he says, used the words "bear arms" to mean "rendering a military service." Chief Justice John Roberts immediately asks why the framers wrote "the right of the people" if they merely meant "the right of the militia." Justice Kennedy spoils any suspense by telling Dellinger, in the form of a question, that he has no problem "de-linking" the two clauses to read the first as "reaffirming" the right to a militia and the second as enshrining a right to bear arms. Justice Antonin Scalia does Kennedy one better and contends that the two phrases "go together beautifully." That's five votes to create a fundamental right to bear arms, only eight minutes into the argument."
"Earlier today, they said, Rose tripped in a pothole while walking on 59th Street in Manhattan. He was carrying a newly purchased MacBook Air and made a quick (but ultimately flawed) decision while falling: sacrifice the face, protect the computer. “In doing so, he pretty much hit the pavement face first, unfortunately,” they said.
How soon before we see the first advertisement from Dell, or some other laptop competitor, cautioning that "MacBook Air's are know to cause facial injuries"?
"He is expected to recount, in detail, how he came to know Rev. Wright, how he came to admire Rev. Wright, the history and meaning of the Trinity church, and address the controversial remarks attributed to Wright.
He is also worried that Wright and church will get caricatured unfairly.
Since everyone is paying attention to Obama and race, the basic thought, according to advisers, is why not give a big speech about... Obama and race."
He's been in the big show for a while now, and, be it his 2004 Convention speech, or out on the stump, he's shown he can hit the fastball.
While the MSM, and Cable News, seems to take glee, in showing the montage of video clips of Reverend Wright (and the Freakshow is having a field day with them), they are often, in most cases, presented out-of-context.
It isn't discussed why Rev. Wright is angry, or hostile, only that he is, and he is Barack Obama's guy, therefore, Obama must endorse what Rev. Wright is saying.
And stating, for three-or-four days that he doesn't, isn't enough, hence today's big Obama speech.
We looked around the World Wide Web, the blogosphere and found some good posts, to counterbalance, better yet, to, hopefully, enlighten, the single-prisim people.
"We know Obama's minister's name because he told us. And until we all grow up and decide we're really going to have a country with a genuine separation between church and state, and no religious litmus tests, we are going to have candidates introducing us to their religious mentors, and various other ways of trying to out-god each other. This would certainly be as good a time as any to revisit the wisdom of that habit and engage in a little self-reflection on whether it's actually helping our country in any discernible way."
"I always figured that if Barack Obama's presidential campaign took off, media attention would eventually focus on the Reverend Jeremiah Wright and some of his more colorful sermons. I was expecting it to be more of a general election, swiftboat type issue than an issue in the primaries, though. I guess I never really figured a Democratic rival would pursue an electoral strategy based on stirring up white resentment. A failure of the imagination I guess.
Conservative double standards are rarely as soul-crushingly obvious as this one. Hinderaker has no problem with Republican politicians associating themselves with (and indeed aggressively seeking the endorsement of) people like Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, John Hagee, and James Dobson, men who have track records of saying crazy, hate-filled things that Rev. Wright can't possibly compete with. Moreover, if we're looking for segments of society into which "irrationality has penetrated deeply," we need look no further than the conservative evangelical community which forms the base of the Republican party and to which Republican politicians endlessly pander."
"Amid all the righteous noise made about Rev. Jeremiah Wright, it was David Gergen on Anderson Cooper's show who made the most pertinent observation. The veteran GOP operative with bipartisan ties informed the audience that black America is having a different conversation than white America, so one cannot apply the CNN, Fox, or MSNBC framework to African-American concerns.
That it took a power broker like Gergen to make this obvious, important point further reveals how fixed our "national dialogue" remains. This of course allows all manner of patriotspeak to flow unimpeded, for there's nothing that the Liberal Media loves more than to prove its nationalist bonafides. After all, who do you think keeps the American flag lapel pin industry in the, er, black?"
With kitchen sinks coming at him from all directions now, I hope the Superdelegates and DNC are paying attention.
Kelly Evans, from the WSJ, speaking on MSNBC this morning, glossed over the failure and collapse of Bear Stearns as a "unique situation".
Really?
Just about everyone else writing or commenting on this believes this is the start of a conga line (hmmm, Prez Prado's Mambo No. 5 might be a good soundtrack) and we'll be reading about future financial institution failures like a baseball box score.
It took the Bush Grindhouse nearly a week to respond to devastation in New Orleans, brought by Hurricane Katrina, yet they snap into action - ON A SUNDAY - to bailout a corporate bandit like Bear Stearns.
Did they bury the footage?
Were investment bankers, mortgage officers, bond traders, standing on the roof of Bear Stearns, waving white sheets with "Help" scrawled on them?
Were masses of these greedheads huddled in the lobby of the Bear Stearns building, perhaps having gone for hours, without a cappuccino, or bottle of mineral water?
"WHAT are the consequences of a world in which regulators rescue even the financial institutions whose recklessness and greed helped create the titanic credit mess we are in? Will the consequences be an even weaker currency, rampant inflation, a continuation of the slow bleed that we have witnessed at banks and brokerage firms for the past year?
Or all of the above?
Stick around, because we’ll soon find out. And it’s not going to be pretty."
This is a good read, as Morgenson goes on a blistering listing of Bear Stearns' failure, greed, arrogance, mismanagement, like a DA reading a long rap sheet.
"It’s true that Henry Paulson, the current Treasury secretary, still says that any proposal to use taxpayers’ money to help resolve the crisis is a “non-starter.” But that’s about as credible as all of his previous pronouncements on the financial situation."
And this;
"As I said, the important thing is to bail out the system, not the people who got us into this mess. That means cleaning out the shareholders in failed institutions, making bondholders take a haircut, and canceling the stock options of executives who got rich playing heads I win, tails you lose.
According to late reports on Sunday, JPMorgan Chase will buy Bear for a pittance. That’s an O.K. resolution for this case — but not a model for the much bigger bailout to come. Looking ahead, we probably need something similar to the Resolution Trust Corporation, which took over bankrupt savings and loan institutions and sold off their assets to reimburse taxpayers. And we need it quickly: things are falling apart as you read this.
Yeah, J.P. Morgan got a steal, and likely that price was inflated, but we hope that Bear Stearns is held accountable, beyond the embarrassment of just ending up Penny Stock aisle.
And, no doubt, start counting the times The Bailout Commander, and his surrogate son, John McCain, call for making the Bush Tax cuts permanent.
We've bashed Hillary and Daily Kos diarists are stopping writing!
OMG!
Quick, everyone, start believing in Hillary! ... C'mon, you can do it ... If you start believing in Hillary, the Daily Kos diarists will start writing again ... Believe in Hillary ... That will get them writing again ... C'mon, start believing ... We need everybody to say they believe in Hillary ...We can't let these Daily Kos diaries die! ...
Shout it out and clap your hands - "I believe in Hillary!" ... "I believe in Hillary!" ...C'mon, shout it out ... "I believe in Hillary", "I believe in Hillary", "I believe in Hillary" ... Keep clapping your hands ... "I believe in Hillary" ... "I believe in Hillary" ...
Feathers are flying out in the big, bad, blogosphere.
Well, they're kicking sand at Hillary too, and the Hillary people don't like that very much.
From Alegre, who is apparently leading this "strike";
"I’ve decided to go on "strike" and will refrain from posting here as long as the administrators allow the more disruptive members of our community to trash Hillary Clinton and distort her record without any fear of consequence or retribution. I will not be posting at DailyKos effective immediately. I will not help drive up traffic or page-hits as long as my candidate – a good and fine DEMOCRAT - is attacked in such a horrid and sexist manner not only by other diarists, but by several of those posting to the front page."
(Remember, clap your hands and say "I believe in Hillary")
UPDATE: I asked Kos himself, Markos Moulitsas, what he makes of all this.
His response: "First, these people should read up on the definition of 'strike.' What they're doing is a 'boycott.' But whatever they call it, I think it's great. It's a big Internet, so I hope they find what they're looking for."
But wait, it gets better.
More from Alegre;
"Until then, I’ll take up the WGA strike motto: "We write. You wrong." when it comes to DailyKos, and say the following to anyone reading this diary right now...
If you're sick of the way Hillary – a good and decent Democrat - has been vilified and attacked... if you've EVER recommended one of my dairies on this or any other site then please join me in this effort. Let's take a stand here and now and tell the world we will no longer remain silent in the face of the sexism, anger, irrational hate, lies and attacks against Hillary. Nor will we add to the bottom line of a site that continues to lead the charge in fueling it."
Hmmm ... I wonder, if Alegre stood on table (well, since this is an on-line thing, she'd have to use a video cam), a la Sally Field, in 'Norma Rae', holding up a handwritten "Hillary" sign, and slowly, Dkos diarists all across the land stopped tapping on their keyboards, until the entire blogosphere (or, their little slice of Daily Kos) fell silent?
(Remember, clap your hands and say "I believe in Hillary)
What if Norma Rae goes around and organizes all the little Tinkerbells and they gain concessions, power ...
And part of that is WE HAVE TO BELIEVE IN HILLARY!
That it will be a violation, a crime, if we don't believe in Hillary! ... Oh, Jesus ...
Quick, everybody, stop clapping your hands, stop saying "I believe in Hillary" ... Don't do it .. Stop, immediately ... Stop, please ...Before it's too late!
"I don't believe in Hillary" ... "I don't believe in Hillary" ... "I don't believe in Hillary" ...
While you're out on "strike", you Pro-Hillary Daily Kos diarists, see if you can come up with a better answer for this, than what your girl came up with ...
