If You Can't Lick'em, Lie About'em ...

Were pulling the curtain back, for a moment, on the Right Wing Freak Show.

Here's a copy an email today, from Human Events, apocalyptic over the new postal rate increase, sent by Michael Reagan.

Hysterical!

The gems ...

"That as a government-protected monopoly the U.S. Postal Service ..."

"But what really burns me up is that this postage hike was engineered in part by lobbyists for liberal media giant Time Warner and other large publishers to benefit themselves at the expense of smaller, conservative operations such as HUMAN EVENTS."

"The bottom line: HUMAN EVENTS' very survival may be at stake. Unless they raise $100,000 soon to defray the cost of this outrageously unjust postal increase, HUMAN EVENTS may not be able to continue publication."

"P.S. -- This postage hike threatens HUMAN EVENTS' very existence. If the Left gets away with this outrage, the consequences for the future of our country -- beginning with the upcoming presidential elections -- will be dire. We need your help now. Please be generous! Thank you."

You learn something new everyday ...

Here, I thought they only lied and fearmongered to the other side ...

Laugh, and piss your pants among yourselves ...

Dear Friend of HUMAN EVENTS:

You won't believe it... my father's favorite newspaper, HUMAN EVENTS, is facing a life-or-death struggle over a government-imposed mandate. It is all too ironic that government bureaucrats are threatening the future of what Ronald Reagan called his "favorite newspaper".

But it's true. Right now the very existence of HUMAN EVENTS is threatened in a way that would have made my father furious -- because it involves the Left's manipulation of Big Government to benefit some at the expense of others.

Unfortunately, the threat is so dire, so immediate, that it has prompted me, as a longtime friend of HUMAN EVENTS, to ask for your help -- help I have no doubt my father would have asked for, too.

Here's the situation. As you may have heard, the U.S. Postal Service just raised the cost of mailing a first-class letter yet again -- this time by one penny. Sounds like no big deal, right? But keep reading. For small publications like HUMAN EVENTS, it's not a one penny increase, it's worse -- much worse...

You see, the bureaucrats hit HUMAN EVENTS with not just a penny increase, but a one-two punch of postal-rate and fee increases that have driven up delivery costs by more than 20% in just the past 6 months!

First, HUMAN EVENTS' per-copy postal rate was raised 16.9%. Then they hit them with a brand-new "container fee" (don't ask -- it's absurd) that will hike their total increase to 20.3%.

Together, it adds up to a staggering sum that HUMAN EVENTS simply can't afford.

That as a government-protected monopoly the U.S. Postal Service can jack up postal rates as much as they want whenever they want, without worrying about free-market competition is outrageous enough. But what really burns me up is that this postage hike was engineered in part by lobbyists for liberal media giant Time Warner and other large publishers to benefit themselves at the expense of smaller, conservative operations such as HUMAN EVENTS.

So while conservative publications such as HUMAN EVENTS get hammered with increased delivery costs, the cost of delivering liberal Time and other Big Media publications decreased in some cases, and barely increased at all in others.

The bottom line: HUMAN EVENTS' very survival may be at stake. Unless they raise $100,000 soon to defray the cost of this outrageously unjust postal increase, HUMAN EVENTS may not be able to continue publication.

The alternatives are for HUMAN EVENTS to cut its editorial staff -- or to hike its subscription rates.

Both alternatives are unacceptable. Cutting editorial staff would harm HUMAN EVENTS' ability to report and comment on the urgent issues of the day you've come to expect, and raising rates would be an unacceptable burden to too many subscribers -- at a time when, as you are well aware, America needs its thriving alternative conservative voices more than ever.

But here's why I don't think HUMAN EVENTS will have to take either action: because of loyal supporters like you. I am confident you know the value of HUMAN EVENTS, and that you will respond, as you once did before when my father himself called on you with the following inspirational words:

"All conservatives are indebted to HUMAN EVENTS... for its faithful devotion to the conservative cause... I hope that Americans will respond generously so that HUMAN EVENTS can survive and prosper."

Please, friend, "respond generously" as my father once urged -- and together, we'll beat back this threat to HUMAN EVENTS' survival.

Sincerely,

Michael Reagan
Columnist, HUMAN EVENTS

P.S. -- This postage hike threatens HUMAN EVENTS' very existence. If the Left gets away with this outrage, the consequences for the future of our country -- beginning with the upcoming presidential elections -- will be dire. We need your help now. Please be generous! Thank you.

Wright's Right ...

If you didn't have a chance to catch the full program (and not just the press previews, endlessly played yesterday by the cable news pundits), head on over to Bill Moyers Journal, where you will see, clearly, how the Reverand Wright controversyis such an over-hyped, partisan, prejudiced bag of you-know-what.

Much of what Moyers and Rev. Wright discussed could have easily been a handful of break-out sessions, had it taken place the day of Obama's Race Speech.

Here's two passages, the full context, of what has been so hideously displayed in the video loops aimed at bashing Obama.

1. The God Damn America Brouhaha

REVEREND JEREMIAH WRIGHT: Where governments lie, God does not lie. Where governments change, God does not change. And I'm through now. But let me leave you with one more thing. Governments fail. The government in this text comprised of Caesar, Cornelius, Pontius Pilate - the Roman government failed. The British government used to rule from East to West. The British government had a Union Jack. She colonized Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Hong Kong. Her navies ruled the seven seas all the way down to the tip of Argentina in the Falklands, but the British government failed. The Russian government failed. The Japanese government failed. The German government failed. And the United States of America government, when it came to treating her citizens of Indian descent fairly, she failed. She put them on reservations. When it came to treating her citizens of Japanese descent fairly, she failed. She put them in internment prison camps. When it came to treating citizens of African descent fairly, America failed. She put them in chains. The government put them on slave quarters, put them on auction blocks, put them in cotton fields, put them in inferior schools, put them in substandard housing, put them in scientific experiments, put them in the lowest paying jobs, put them outside the equal protection of the law, kept them out of their racist bastions of higher education and locked them into position of hopelessness and helplessness. The government gives them the drugs, builds bigger prisons, passes a three-strike law, and then wants us to sing God bless America? No, no, no. Not God bless America; God damn America! That's in the Bible, for killing innocent people. God damn America for treating her citizen as less than human. God damn America as long as she keeps trying to act like she is God and she is supreme!

2. The Chickens Come Home To Roost Brouhaha

REVEREND WRIGHT: Yes, I did. I was trying to show how people- how the anger- and we felt anger. I felt anger. I felt hurt. I felt pain. In fact, September 11th, I was in Newark. September 11th, I was trapped in Newark 'cause when they shut down the air system I couldn't get back to Chicago. September 11th, I looked out the window and saw the second plane hit from my hotel window. Alright, I had members who lost loved ones both at the Pentagon and at the World Trade Center. So, I know the pain. And I had to preach to them Sunday. I had to preach. They came to church wanting to know where is God in this. And so, I had to show them using that Psalm 137, how the people who were carried away into slavery were very angry, very bitter, moved and in their anger from wanting revenge against the armies that had carried them away to slavery, to the babies. That Psalm ends up sayin' "Let's kill the baby-let's bash their heads against the stone." So, now you move from revolt and revulsion as to what has happened to you, to you want revenge. You move from anger with the military to taking it out on the innocents. You wanna kill babies. That's what's going on in Psalm 137. And that's exactly where we are. We want revenge. They wanted revenge. God doesn't wanna leave you there, however. God wants redemption. God wants wholeness. And that's the context, the biblical context I used to try to get people sitting again, in that sanctuary on that Sunday following 9/11, who wanted to know where is God in this? What is God saying? What is God saying? Because I want revenge.

REVEREND WRIGHT: The people of faith have moved from the hatred of armed enemies, these soldiers who captured the king, those soldiers who slaughtered his son and put his eyes out, the soldiers who sacked the city, burned the towns, burned the temples, burned the towers, and moved from the hatred for armed enemies to the hatred of unarmed innocents, the babies, the babies . "Blessed are they who dash your baby's brains against a rock." And that my beloved is a dangerous place to be. Yet, that is where the people of faith are in 551 BC and that is where far too many people of faith are in 2001 AD. We have moved from the hatred of armed enemies to the hatred of unarmed innocents. We want revenge. We want paybacks and we don't care who gets hurt in the process.

I heard Ambassador Peck on an interview yesterday. Did anybody else see him or hear him? He was on Fox news. This is a white man and he was upsetting the Fox news commentators to no end. He pointed out. You see him John? A white man he pointed out -an Ambassador! He pointed out that what Malcolm X said when he got silenced by Elijah Mohammad was in fact true. America's chickens are coming home to roost! We took this country by terror away from the Sioux, the Apache, the Arawak, the Comanche, the Arapaho, the Navajo. Terrorism! We took Africans from their country to build our way of ease and kept them enslaved and living in fear. Terrorism! We bombed Grenada and killed innocent civilians, babies, non-military personnel. We bombed the black civilian community of Panama with stealth bombers and killed unarmed teenagers and toddlers, pregnant mothers and hard-working fathers. We bombed Gadafi's home and killed his child. "Blessed are they who bash your children's head against a rock!" We bombed Iraq. We killed unarmed civilians trying to make a living. We bombed a plant in Sudan to payback for the attack on our embassy. Killed hundreds of hard-working people; mothers and fathers who left home to go that day, not knowing that they would never get back home. We bombed Hiroshima! We bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye! Kids playing in the playground, mothers picking up children after school, civilians - not soldiers - people just trying to make it day by day. We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and Black South Africans, and now we are indignant? Because the stuff we have done overseas has now been brought back into our own front yards! America's chickens are coming home to roost! Violence begets violence. Hatred begets hatred and terrorism begets terrorism. A White Ambassador said that y'all not a Black Militant. Not a Reverend who preaches about racism. An Ambassador whose eyes are wide open, and who's trying to get us to wake up and move away from this dangerous precipice upon which we are now poised--

Peck's Bad Boy

The Ambassador Peck Rev. Wright refers to?

From Counterpunch, Oct 11, 2001;

"Why it is that all of these people hate us. It's not because of freedom. It's not because Britney Spears has a belly button or because we export hamburgers. They hate us because of things they see us doing to their part of the world that they definitely do not like."

And this;

Edward Peck, former US Ambassador to Iraq and deputy director of President Reagan's terrorism task force.
PECK: You have to understand now. Just like the colonel here, I'm a veteran of the armed forces. I have had two tours of active duty in the Army. And I don't take a back seat to anybody in terms of patriotism. This is the greatest nation that ever was and may be the greatest nation that ever will be. But that's my view, and it is not universally shared. So we have come out with 21 pages of proof that Osama bin Laden was involved. I have read that material. That's allegations. That's not proof. It's an entirely different thing. Proof of what it means to us. So, yes, he's not a nice guy, Saddam Hussein. But I think that the costs to our nation and its interests of taking him out are probably vastly exceeding anything we would gain by doing it.

You can also check out this: Meet The (White) Man Who Inspired Wright's Controversial Sermon

Hmmm ... I didn't see, in that Obama-bashing, Rev. Wright video loop, any footage of Ambassador Peck and his criticism ...Then again, as we know from the revelations last week, the Bush Grindhouse didn't put anyone on television that they didn't approve of, so, it's very likely Peck didn't make Rumsfeld's, and Torie Clarke's list, as to going out and selling the war.

And I chuckle when I think of the Right Wing Freakshow, and their flying monkeys (they're already up-in-arms over it, here and here), salivating at the prospects of a McCain-Obama final, so they can claw and bash Obama with Rev. Wright ... This from the people with Hagee, Robertson, Falwell, etc in their closets ...

Why let facts and context get in the way, when it's just as easy to make things up and smear people ... Play the Fear Card and you hook'em everytime ...

Oh, what a tangled web we weave ...

Links

Bill Moyers Journal

Transcript of Moyers-Wright Interview

Watch The Video

Get Ready For The SuperSizeMe Fearmongering ... House Passes - Without Immunity - New FISA Bill

The Garlic seconds, and joins in heartily, Jane Hamsher's call for "Lets have a party!"

The Congress beat back the lies and fearmongering, and passed the new FISA Bill, by a count of 213-197-1.

From Glenn Greenwald;

"As impressive as the House vote itself was, more impressive still was the floor debate which preceded it. I can't recall ever watching a debate on the floor of either House of Congress that I found even remotely impressive -- until today. One Democrat after the next -- of all stripes -- delivered impassioned, defiant speeches in defense of the rule of law, oversight on presidential eavesdropping, and safeguards on government spying. They swatted away the GOP's fear-mongering claims with the dismissive contempt such tactics deserve, rejecting the principle that has predominated political debate in this country since 9/11: that the threat of the Terrorists means we must live under the rule of an omnipotent President and a dismantled constitutional framework."

So, what next?

If they stay-to-form ...

The Commander Guy, eyes slanted, lips pursed, sounding very much like someone who hasn't taken their meds, will vent against it, promising to veto it, if he doesn't get his ass-saving Telcom Immunity, and, accusing the Democrats of leaving the country at the mercy of terrorists.

Since its long established that facts, truth and losing a vote battle are mere fleas on an elephant, the GOP (perhaps another tearful performance from John Boehner), the Freakshow and other nitwits, will be screaming to the high heavens on how the Democrats are making the country unsafe, complete with vivid tales of nefarious terrorists, apparently hanging around right offshore, on the ready to bounce on us and kill all our families.

And on and on ...

Time to cue up Que Sera Sera...


Bonus Links

House Clerk: FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 145

James Oliphant: FISA bill passes House; time for Spring Break '08!

CNN: House challenges Bush on surveillance

The Gavel: House Passes FISA Amendments Act

Bush Grindhouse Launches "We Want Angel Back" Approach Over Telcom Amnesty

OMG! ... The Country Is Still Safe, and Standing!

The Ignornant Congressman from Iowa

This is nothing but pure, unadulterated hateful ignorance.

Rep. Steve King smears Obama’s name says: the al-Qaida, and the radical Islamists and their supporters, will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11

"I don't want to disparage anyone because of their, their race, their ethnicity, their name - whatever their religion their father, father might have been," King said just before doing just that.

"I'll just say this that when you think about the optics of a Barack Obama potentially getting elected President of the United States -- and I mean, what does this look like to the rest of the world? What does it look like to the world of Islam?

"And I will tell you that, if he is elected president, then the, the radical Islamists, the, the al-Qaida, and the radical Islamists and their supporters, will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11….

"It does matter, his middle name does matter. It matters because they read a meaning into that in the rest of the world, it has a special meaning to them. They will be dancing in the streets because of his middle name. They will be dancing in the streets because of who his father was and because of his posture that says: Pull out of the Middle East and pull out of this conflict.

So there are implications that have to do with who he is and the position that he's taken. If he were strong on national defense and said 'I'm going to go over there and we're going to fight and we're going to win, we'll come home with a victory,' that's different. But that's not what he said. They will be dancing in the streets if he's elected president. That has a chilling aspect on how difficult it will be to ever win this Global War on Terror."

And the guy is standing by his hateful ignorance!

Unfortunately, both the Podcast offered, and the YouTube of the interview, doesn't carry forward, to see what the reaction was of the interviewer, and if they challenged this cretin on his remarks

And this is not new.

Think Progress has The Hateful And Divisive Record Of Bigot Steve King

Two thing need to happen here;

1. Nancy Pelosi, and the entire U.S. Congress should drag him to the floor and give him an unbridled censure, for his ignorance and how that reflects on the body of Congress.

2. The good people of Iowa need to reject this moron, and send him dancing out of office and into the unemployment line.

Actually, we can add a third item.

The RNC/GOP should call for a calvacade of there Rightwing Freak Show stars, and include, perhaps led by John McCain, to go on Fox News with the statement that Barack Obama is not a Muslim or terrorist, but an American citizen, and U.S. Senator, and anyone spewing such ignorance will be shunned, blackballed, their employers should fire them, their supporters should disavow them, and they be, otherwise, persona non grata, in the discussion.

Criticize Obama, if you like, but on his policies, his record, his statements, not simply based on hateful ignorance.


Bonus Links

ABC News: King announced bid for fourth term

Radio Iowa: King suggests terrorists will celebrate Obama victory

Today's Must Read: Al Giordano's "Damn you, Barack Obama" ... It Lays Out What We Are Seeing Now

Hilllary Leaps To Dial Up Fearmongering With New Ad

"If one candidate is trying to scare you and the other one is try get you to think, if one candidate is appealing to your fears and the other one is appealing to your hopes, you better vote for the person who wants you to think and hope."
-- William J. Clinton, former President of the United States, October 25, 2004

Well, they did say, before the debate the other evening, they were going to throw the "kitchen sink" at Obama, but, little did we know, they were going to rip one out of the Bush Grindhouse to do so.

Quite the dose of Bush Grindhouse-style fearmongering.

Who did they consult for the, now, growing infamous, 3AM Ad - McCain?, Or, maybe John Boenher and the Republican Caucus?

Actually, TNR's Jason Zengerle, at The Plank, concurs;

"I actually thought this commercial was pretty effective--right up until the very end when I realized it was for Hillary. I wonder if McCain can just buy the first 25 seconds of it from her and then recut the ending so he can use it in the general election."

(And one commenter on TNR picked up on something, quite apropos - "Only the Clinton campaign would think mom would be checking on the kids at 3:00 am still dressed in her snazzy business suit.")

With the 3AM Ad featuring sleeping children, nothing like countering your opponents message of uplifting hope, with threatening everyone "If you vote for him (Obama), your children will die!"

Considering how she's run her campaign, it's rather ironic of them calling it the 3AM Ad - it looks more like they don't know what time it is, or whether to piss or wind their watches.

We already used the 'High Noon' theme (and for an earlier, Republican fearmongering effort), otherwise, it would be applicable here, clocks ticking away, at every turn, with the Clinton staffers softly, nervously, singing "Do not forsake me O my darlin' ..."

Hillary may have past experience with getting calls at three-in-the-morning, but I doubt they had anything to do with national security, no matter which house she was living in.

And, what specific experience does Hillary have to infer she should answer the "red phone" at 3AM?

Perhaps its insomnia, again, looking at her campaign to-date.

Pretty ballsy to put this out now, after going 0-11 in February. Did we miss the polls that showed voters are clamoring to find a candidate that can answer a telephone - be it 3AM or 3PM?

Is there some measurable data that shows, if you let the call drop to voicemail, then you are not presidential timber?

What if one of the staffers answers it, and it can be handled by them, or it can wait until the normal work day?

What if it is, simply, someone that misdialed?

And considering she hasn't, necessarily, been on the front lines of fighting the Bush Grindhouse on the Protect America Act, and holding the line of granting Telcom Immunity, she wants to highlight telephone calls, much like her voting for the war ...

Jesus, is the entire campaign asleep, or what?

Besides, if she wanted to do a telephone ad, Hillary should have gone with a "Sorry, Wrong Number" motif ... Perhaps, she could play the terrified Barbara Stanwyck role, tweaking the plot to be overhearing a terrorist plot on her line - on Day One - and snapping into action, thwarting the plans and showing everyone she's The Commander Woman!

Obama, responding to the ad today;

"I will never see the threat of terrorism as a way to scare up votes, because it's a threat that should rally the country around our common enemies. That is the judgment we need at 3:00 a.m., and that's the judgment that I am running for as president of the United States of America."

Perhaps, after March 4th, whoever is calling that 3AM telephone, or the Clinton office that produced it, will reach a recording - "The number you have dialed has been disconnected and no longer in service ..."

With crap like this, we can only Hope.


Bonus Hillary Telephone Calling Plan Links

Pam's House Blend: Latest Clinton ad sells experience with fear-baiting

ABC's Political Radar: Clinton Goes Nuclear: New Ad Tests Obama

Erza Klein: IT'S 3AM. AND MY AD IS STUPID

Marc Ambinder: Clinton's "Red Phone"

Chris Cillizza: Clinton's "3 a.m. Phone Call" Ad


Oh, save us Hillary... Save us!

OMG! ... The Country Is Still Safe, and Standing!

I have to say, I am having some difficulty writing this.

You see, my hands are trembling, making for many errors, while my body aches, still encased in fear.

It began early last evening, a fairly low-key Saturday night, with no special plans in place.

And once I remembered, it became anything but, and if I did have special plans, they'd be thrown out the window (that is before I wrapped them up with plastic and duct tape).

I kept staring at the clocks in the house, whatever room I moved to-and-from.

As I did this, I couldn't help hearing in my head, the theme song from 'High Noon', playing over-and-over ... At times, I would find myself quietly singing it ... "Do not forsake me O my darlin' ..."

Would they come in, by train, like Frank Miller?

It wasn't my wedding day, but, oh no, would I die alone? Should I run out, grab the first woman I see and get married - all before the stroke of midnight?

Would there be time to do all the paperwork? Make her my Emergency Contact, download and fill in a quick Last Will and Testament? Should I leave everything to her, should she survive?

Then another fear whacked me like a three-ton locomotive - Should I go out shopping?

The Commander Guy has, pretty consistently, advocated, urged and otherwise encouraged us to go out shopping, a don't-let-them- win-kind-of-thing ...

And this put me in a terrible state of confusion - do I go out shopping before it happens, or after it happens?

My computer was still downloading the Last Will and Testament, so I couldn't go out to The Google, and search for that.

And I still had windows to button up with the plastic and duct tape (moments like this, you can't help but curse that you live in a big house).

And the High Noon theme seemed to be getting louder and louder with each passing minute.

As I slapped the plastic against the last window that needed to be covered up, I noticed my next-door neighbors' windows were open and clear, no plastic-and-duct-tape on them ... Hmmm ... Poor bastards, I thought ... I hope it will be quick and painless for them ... I hope they're not hysterical screamers (this was a point where I was wishing the High Noon theme was playing louder in my head) ... I did make a note, in the notebook I started earlier in the day, to go down to City Hall - if it was still standing - and make an inquiry on my neighbors property ... Maybe, it I get there early ...

I checked the box of food and water I had stored, everything looked good.

OMG! ... What about ice? ... I quickly scanned my notebook, to see if I jotted down FEMA's number, to call them after it happens, and see if they still have any ice left.

Made a check, and the bathtub was still full of water, though it was considerably colder now (Hmmm, maybe I should have waited to do that last).

When I passed the next clock, the fear took a tighter grip of me.

It was well into the 11-O'clock hour and I couldn't help but obsess on how it will come ... A quick, bright flash, or a big, resounding boom? Damn, I thought, I should have left one window without the plastic and duct tape, so I could have a view, maybe keep sentry, perhaps seeing which way they will come from.

High Noon theme again ... If I did see them coming, what would I do?

Should I do something, or just call the authorities, and let them do something? Would there be enough time for that?

That quickly shifted to thinking, would the authorities believe me, or would they think I was one of them?

No camera in the cell phone so I couldn't talk with the authorities, snap a quick photo and email it to them all at once.

I quickly dug through the barricade I built in front of my den, deeming that as my last point of refuge, so I could get in there and dig out my camera (Old Minolta, but a good one, when they still made them with steel bodies), popped in a roll of film ... When they find my body, maybe I would have had time to snap a few pics that they could use in some future trial, if they ever catch them ...

I think the cacophony of the High Noon theme playing in my head, the smell of the duct tape and plastic wafting through the house, the dust the got kicked up breaking through the barricade, put me in a frenzy, as the clock was inching closer to the midnight hour.

For I was awoken, somewhere between the hours of 2AM-to-3AM, - startled awake, I should add - by a wicked sound.

I quickly realized that it was the wind, rattling my windows, not some al Qaeda terrorist attempting to break in and kill me.

I drifted off again, only to be startled a second time, when the alarm clock rang off this morning, fearing, for a moment that I had left my television on, and the Emergency Broadcast System was breaking in, not with their usual "weekly test" but with an "actual emergency".

I dressed quickly and ran out the front door - my street, my neighborhood was still intact!

No billowing smoke coming from any of the structures.

No charred, smoldering, blown-apart automobiles anywhere in sight.

The Protect America Act expired, but the country didn't.

Those lying sons-of-bitches.

Or maybe, just maybe, the terrorist know that the Protect America Act was only about protecting and giving the Telcoms immunity, and that the U.S. Government still has a boatload of options on tracing their calls, reading their emails and otherwise tracking them down.

Maybe the terrorists where all caught up in all the excitement of NBA Weekend, hanging out to watch the All-Star game ... Or the Daytona 500.

It's the President's Day holiday, so maybe their busy going through the newspapers, and planning on going automobile shopping.

Boy, that would be a kicker ...

After all of The Commander Guy's exhortations to go shopping, wouldn't that be the cat's ass if it was the terrorists who were the ones going out shopping?


Bonus Faux Fear Riffs

Jane Hamsher/Firedoglake: The FISA Dishonesty Hour

The Carpetbagger Report: Don’t believe the FISA hype — ‘The sky is not falling’

mcjoan/Daily Kos: How quickly we forget

Hey, Dems, Let'em Veto It! ... Here's All The Ammunition You Need!

There is a small, but fascinating. drama that is to play out in the nation's capital today.

Before sunset, the Senate resumes its' debate, and possible vote, on the Protect America Act, the FISA Bill that the Bush Grindhouse wants, the one that will give immunity to the telecommunications companies that went along with them in breaking the law.

After sunset, the Lame Duck Commander Guy will take to the podium, before a joint session of Congress, and deliver his final (Thank God!) State of the Union address.

Whether he crows, or carps, all depends on what happens in the Senate.

No doubt the Stepford Republicans will continue to block, and otherwise attempt to bully through what the Bush Grindhouse wants.

They, along with the Bush Grindhouse will be laying down the vibe - as they have all along - of fearmongering, claiming the Democrats will get us killed while they, thumping their chests, are the protectors.

Trust us, we'll take care of you ...

Fat chance.

So, Harry Reid, and all you other Democrats, here's your ammunition.

Bush Lied!

Over 935 times (and that's just a couple of years) on the threats to the country, to justify his preemptive, colossal mistake, in taking us into Iraq.

While we have all known this, it was documented last week... And with a searchable database, in case you want to cherry pick some of the juicy lies.

But wait, there's more bullets.

Why not force the Stepford Republican to explain, and justify, The Commander Guy's giving up on capturing Osama bin Laden?

Have them explain the need to continue this illegal wiretapping program, and the need to give immunity, because, if the bill isn't passed, the terrorists are going to come and get us.

Have him explain how his illegal wiretapping is only capturing the conversation of terrorists, and not American citizens.

Point out, that their fearless leader has already given up ... That he's content to pass it along to the next president, the justice due Osama bin Laden.

So much for the Republican being our protectors.

The Commander Guy has indicated he will veto the bill, if it is not exactly how it wants it.

Fine.

Let'em veto it! ... Let'em go out, and continue his lying, for he is the Emperor with no clothes! ...

Perhaps, someone, like Senator Feingold, or Senator Whitehouse, can read into the record the Bush Lying Report.

Let's have Senator Kennedy, or Senator Boxer read into the record the interview in which The Commander Guy says he's passing Osama bin Laden onto the next administration.

Let's hear from Lawrence Wright, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Looming Tower, on how he was wiretapped, and threatened.

The New England Patriots landed in Arizona last night, to fight for the Super Bowl.

It long past due that few patriots stand up and fight in Congress.

For all you Senators, vote against the bill, deny the immunity and let The Commander Guy piss-and-moan his way out the door in less than a year!

Protect America ... Yes, indeed ... Protect us, please!


Bonus Must Reads

Glenn Greenwald: What's at stake today in the Senate's FISA filibuster vote

Paul Kiel/TPMmuckracker: Today's Must Read

Yet Another "I'm Shocked ... Shocked To Find Gambling Going On Here ..."

Jeez ... They're not even trying to hide it, to act surprised ... Make an effort at not being blatantly overt ...

In our latest installment of "I'm Shocked ... Shocked To Find Gambling Going On Here..." (Second one this month), the Bush Grindhouse is up to it's usual tricks ...

In the AM

Bush Wants $46 Billion More for Wars

In the PM

Worried Bin Laden Urges Iraq Insurgents to 'Unite'

That's right, boys and girls, just as The Commander Guy digs in to batter the Congress again with his Invasion and Occupation Funding requests, right off the presses comes a brand-spanking-new Osama bin Laden tape.

And we have to give the spinmeisters some credit ... They're updating their fearmongering ...

Since we've been beaten over the head, via the PetraeusReportPalooza, on how the surging is working, and things are getting better in Iraq ... And those little bon mots tossed around last week, with no real ownership, but just enough oomph to get it in the headlines, on how AIQ, to use the lingo, is all but vanquished ...

So, they can't have OBL (more lingo usage) spouting off with new threats, boastfully. They've gotta have him sweating ... Nervous ... And, as you see above, it's a "Worried Bin Laden" today ...

I can just picture Cheney, and Hadley and assorted other Neocronies, sitting around, putting the finishing touches on it.

"Concerned ...Let's say he's concerned"

"No, Mr. Vice President, we need something more telling ... Remember, the surge is working, we've got them on the run."

"You're right ... You're right ..."

"Let's say he's worried ... Worried conveys just enough weakness that our people can embellish on, in the PR's, etc ... We can tweak all the numbers to show that he has cause to be worried, etc ... Let's us show our strength ... "

And then they all clink their Caffeine-Free Diet Sprite cans together in a toast ...

I know it’s a week early, but much like when the little children come around in their Halloween costumes (rumor has the "No Health Insurance" is the hottest get-up), try to act scared and surprised ... You want to make them feel good.

Bonus They're Out There Links

Crooks and Liars: Bush Says No To Children And Yes To War - Bin Laden Tape Shows Up Just In Time

Think Progress: Days After Claiming U.S. Less Safe Due To Iraq War, Counterterrorism Chief Suddenly Resigns

Truthout: Olbermann: Bush Used Bogus Terror Threat to Scare Votes for FISA Bill

Crooks and Liars: Keith Olbermann Updates The Nexus Of Terror And Politics - Creating Terror Scares