READER COMMENTS ON
"Inaugural Toons of the Moment"
(101 Responses so far...)
COMMENT #1 [Permalink]
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Teresa
said on 1/18/2005 @ 1:27 am PT...
If it takes $40 million to find and hold your balls, then I have lost confidence in the potency of this government.
COMMENT #2 [Permalink]
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czaragorn
said on 1/18/2005 @ 1:53 am PT...
Talk about a glutton - imagine wanting nine balls!
COMMENT #3 [Permalink]
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Teresa
said on 1/18/2005 @ 2:15 am PT...
As the great philosopher and prophet, Testiclese, said,"behold ye the President Genius whose Messiah has got him by his nine balls.
Repent you sinner, for the end is nigh!"
COMMENT #4 [Permalink]
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atty jimmo
said on 1/18/2005 @ 5:27 am PT...
Wonder how much Martin Luther King day cost America yesterday with no government employees working, banks closed, etc.
I find it interesting that nobody is condemning the "not a darn dime" fiasco, which only hurts labor, but somehow spending 40 million dollars of PRIVATE donations is wrong.
It will be interesting to see who the Democrats donate the cost of any inaugeration to that they happen to have in the next 100 years; if they ever see one again.
Braddo: please research what Bill Clinton SAID in 1998 about the Social Security Crisis which he then did NOTHING about.
COMMENT #5 [Permalink]
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atty jimmo
said on 1/18/2005 @ 5:28 am PT...
re: Democratic Underground.
I don't think that I have ever seen a worse bunch of America hating juviniles on the web. These people are SICK.
COMMENT #6 [Permalink]
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joan
said on 1/18/2005 @ 5:48 am PT...
jim, your spelling is getting painful. It's 'inaugural' and 'juvenile'.
Thank you Brad for the excellent toasting cartoon!!!
COMMENT #7 [Permalink]
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R.D
said on 1/18/2005 @ 5:54 am PT...
Give Jim a break- he probably spells better than
president aWol.
COMMENT #8 [Permalink]
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ATTY JIMMO
said on 1/18/2005 @ 6:02 am PT...
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Two-thirds of registered voters in the Iraqi capital say they will cast their ballots in the Jan. 30 election despite the threat of violence, an independent Iraqi newspaper survey found Monday.
A high turnout in Baghdad, a city of 5-6 million people, could raise the credibility of polls which are expected to be marred by suicide bombings by insurgents bent on sabotaging the vote in the country of 27 million.
LOOKS LIKE THE COMMUNISTS AT THE DEMOCRATIC UNDERGROUND AND THE LIBERALS ARE WRONG AGAIN.
COMMENT #9 [Permalink]
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czaragorn
said on 1/18/2005 @ 6:31 am PT...
LOL, Teresa! You can really see the testosterone-twisted priorities here - wishing for nine balls instead of a nominally functional brain or a code of ethics...
COMMENT #10 [Permalink]
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cheryl
said on 1/18/2005 @ 7:04 am PT...
Jim, maybe you should read Riverbend's latest submission. She doesn't seem to agree with you. Holding an election when you don't know who the candidates are because they are too afraid to identify themselves, in polling stations that are not publicized because they are afraid of being blown up does not really lend itself to a high turnout.
Read Riverbend's blog here: Baghdad Burning
P.S. The "insurgents" are actually "resisters". Get it right, will ya?
P.P.S. Sorry for going OT; he gets on my nerves.
COMMENT #11 [Permalink]
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Peggy
said on 1/18/2005 @ 7:19 am PT...
Yeah, Atty Jimmo - You're right - and the world is flat - whatever makes you happy, buddy.
COMMENT #12 [Permalink]
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atty jimmo
said on 1/18/2005 @ 7:28 am PT...
Cheryl:
Only an American Liberal would call Bathist Facists, Saddam loyalists, and foreign terrorists in Iraq murdering civilians to stop free elections "the resistance" when in fact the true resistance is the 24 million Iraquis that keep their heads up and hope for a Democracy despite the murderous intentions of those the American Liberals are supporting.
I don't know how you sleep at night Cheyl wiht such a warped perspective of who the bad guys in Iraq are.
I don't know how all the America haters at the Democratic Underground that hope and pray (to whom?) every day that more Americans die and the Bathist facists, Saddam loyalists, and foreign terrorist "resistance" win.
COMMENT #13 [Permalink]
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cheryl
said on 1/18/2005 @ 7:44 am PT...
Hate to burst your bubble, Jim. I'm Canadian. :laugh:
COMMENT #14 [Permalink]
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czaragorn
said on 1/18/2005 @ 7:48 am PT...
Yo! Yeah you, MumboDumboJimbo! I sincerely hope that you represent duhbaya when he's finally brought to justice - contingency basis, of course - say he gets 99 years, you get your 10% cut!
Hi all the rest - sorry, I couldn't resist feeding the troll.
COMMENT #15 [Permalink]
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ATTY JIMMO
said on 1/18/2005 @ 8:00 am PT...
UNITED NATIONS — An Iraqi-born American citizen will strike a plea deal with the Justice Department as part of the federal investigation into the U.N. Oil-for-Food (search) scandal, officials at Justice told FOX News.
The Justice Department will announce the agreement on Tuesday surrounding Samir Vincent (search), one of the men suspected of getting kickbacks as part of the multi-billion dollar scandal.
The exact nature of the charges to which Vincent will plead is not yet known. Vincent will agree to help the prosecution as part of the deal, officials said.
This case is being handled out of the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York.
Vincent's name was listed in the CIA's Iraq Survey Group (search) report released in October that cited the Oil-for-Food scandal extensively in its discussion of Saddam Hussein's ambitions. He was described as one of three U.S. citizens who were allowed to profit by selling Iraqi oil or the right to trade it.
The CIA report said that Vincent, a Virginia-based businessman, received about $4 million worth of Oil-for-Food vouchers over four years.
In 2000, Vincent led Iraqi religious leaders on a tour of the United States to push for an end to sanctions against Saddam. Among the people who the group met with was former President Jimmy Carter.
HAHAHAHA! THIS GUY MET WITH ----- JIMMY CARTER! LOOK OUT KOFFI, WE ARE CLOSING IN ON THE CRIMINAL UNITED NATIONS!
COMMENT #16 [Permalink]
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Winter Patriot
said on 1/18/2005 @ 8:06 am PT...
Cheryl: Thanks for reminding us of Riverbend and her blog (in comment #10). I have just been reading her piece "The Phantom Weapons" and from the following excerpt, you could almost imagine that she knows our friend Jim...
While we were aware the whole WMD farce was just a badly produced black comedy, it's still upsetting to hear Bush's declaration that he was wrong. It's upsetting because it just confirms the worst: right-wing Americans don't care about justifying this war. They don't care about right or wrong or innocents dead and more to die. They were somewhat ahead of the game. When they saw their idiotic president wasn't going to find weapons anywhere in Iraq, they decided it would be about mass graves. It wasn't long before the very people who came to 'liberate' a sovereign country soon began burying more Iraqis in mass graves.
When you have had enough of that image, please consider another very compelling paragraph from the same piece.
Terror isn't just worrying about a plane hitting a skyscraper…terrorism is being caught in traffic and hearing the crack of an AK-47 a few meters away because the National Guard want to let an American humvee or Iraqi official through. Terror is watching your house being raided and knowing that the silliest thing might get you dragged away to Abu Ghraib where soldiers can torture, beat and kill. Terror is that first moment after a series of machine-gun shots, when you lift your head frantically to make sure your loved ones are still in one piece. Terror is trying to pick the shards of glass resulting from a nearby explosion out of the living-room couch and trying not to imagine what would have happened if a person had been sitting there.
I encourage everyone to visit Riverbend's excellent blog, Baghdad Burning.
COMMENT #17 [Permalink]
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jpentz
said on 1/18/2005 @ 8:08 am PT...
:) Fox News. hehe
I think Brad allows Jimmo here for our entertainment. :rolleyes:
COMMENT #18 [Permalink]
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cheryl
said on 1/18/2005 @ 8:14 am PT...
Sorry you had to adjust my link Brad. I'm new to blogging and haven't yet learned how to do that. I also know not to feed the trolls, but I wonder how you guys have so much patience with Jim....
COMMENT #19 [Permalink]
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jpentz
said on 1/18/2005 @ 8:27 am PT...
Cheryl, it's not really patience. Jimmo is our comic relief
COMMENT #20 [Permalink]
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Phil
said on 1/18/2005 @ 9:01 am PT...
From another newbie (at least to this forum) it's appearing to me as if he isn't an attorney (if atty is insinuating what I think it is). His spelling is lacking in almost every post and he has a total absence of evidenciary reason. Just an opinion......no charge.
COMMENT #21 [Permalink]
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blog admin
said on 1/18/2005 @ 9:02 am PT...
To Cheryl (#18) and others:
You can post a URL here anytime. Sometimes the administrators change URLs to links, because it's easier for readers to click on a link than to copy and paste a URL. But there's no need to apologize.
COMMENT #22 [Permalink]
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Peg C
said on 1/18/2005 @ 10:02 am PT...
A.J. is also a plagiarist. Anyone else note the absence of quotation marks and attribution in several of his recent posts (most notably #15)?
When he feels the need to interject his "own" "ideas," the devolution to incoherent lunacy is precipitate.
COMMENT #23 [Permalink]
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atty jimmo
said on 1/18/2005 @ 10:04 am PT...
WISCONSIN VOTE FRAUD!
A state representative has been asking the Milwaukee Election Commission for information on the number of votes cast by voters who voted and registered on the same day (Wisconsin Law allows voters to register at the polls the day of the election). By law all same day registers are to be validated by mail immediately after the election (Their votes get counted regardless of their status).
Rep. [Jeff] Stone finally received an answer Monday of [last] week. He was told that there were 8,300 same day votes and approximately 900 were unable to be delivered. Assuming about one third of the same day votes will not be verified because there is no such address, etc., that would mean approximately 2400 illegal votes were cast. Sounds bad! Well.....
Rep. Stone today received a call from the Election Commission. They were a little bit off. They actually had 73,000 same day votes cast. 10,000 voter registration cards could not be sent because they have no addresses or incomplete or inadequate information. Using the same one third return rate that means in Milwaukee alone more than 25,000 illegal votes were cast. You can expect that the cities of Racine, Kenosha and Madison to have similar results.
By the way George Bush lost Wisconsin by 12,000 votes and Milwaukee votes 80% or more Democrat.
It's only after your vote is counted verification begins, with a follow-up mailing to verify you do live at the address and that the address is valid. Well, as of today, and in Milwaukee alone, 10,000 votes cannot be verified.
Bush lost the entire state by a mere 11,384 votes.
HAHAHAAH! VOTE FRAUD IN WISCONSIN! WHERE IS THE DEMOCRAT OUTRAGE!
COMMENT #24 [Permalink]
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snippet
said on 1/18/2005 @ 10:08 am PT...
The latest Washington Post/ABC News poll shows that 55 percent of Americans feel the Iraq war was not worth fighting, against 44 percent who think it was. Is anyone surprised that its becoming increasingly unpopular amongst we, the cake eaters?
The best that Bush can do now is sing high the praises of a newly "democratic" Iraq after the "elections" (I don't think there's enought lipstick for that pig) and then, get the fuck out (Ohh, the shame).
COMMENT #25 [Permalink]
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atty jimmo
said on 1/18/2005 @ 10:28 am PT...
In the 1940's almost 60% of America thought getting involved in a war with Hitler in Germany was a mistake, that it was none of our business.
COMMENT #26 [Permalink]
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jpentz
said on 1/18/2005 @ 10:29 am PT...
"Milwaukee alone more than 25,000 illegal votes were cast."
I would say Jimmo and the other like minded fascist neocons had a busy day running around Wisconsin.
COMMENT #27 [Permalink]
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VeryWorried
said on 1/18/2005 @ 10:56 am PT...
The troll remains ignorant of the fact that the Democrats (along with the Greens, the Libertarians and yes even some Republicans) are outraged by any and all voter fraud. It has been made abundantly clear, but the troll remains clueless.
COMMENT #28 [Permalink]
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czaragorn
said on 1/18/2005 @ 11:12 am PT...
I would ask everyone to scroll back and take a look at the course of this thread. Mumbodumbojimbo has succeeded in derailing it at several turns. Come on, let's just try to ignore him, starve him out, and stay with the program, which is, after all, reclaiming our heritage, throwing the bums out, good stuff like that.
COMMENT #29 [Permalink]
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Nana
said on 1/18/2005 @ 11:14 am PT...
Thursday is Jan. 20th, the big day. I don't know if anyone has mentioned it but www.not one damn dime.com has some great ideas for those of us who can't travel to DC.
COMMENT #30 [Permalink]
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czaragorn
said on 1/18/2005 @ 11:15 am PT...
Wow! Baghdad Burning is a must-read for everyone. Thanks, Cheryl and Winter Patriot!
COMMENT #31 [Permalink]
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joan
said on 1/18/2005 @ 11:21 am PT...
From #12
"....all the America haters at the Democratic Underground that hope and pray....every day that more Americans die...."
Wow. Yet another indication that our friend jim is a complete loon.
And I agree, Phil, his spelling is atrocious! If he's an attorney I'd eat my hat. If I wore one. I wonder if he says 'nukyaler'?
COMMENT #32 [Permalink]
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Nana
said on 1/18/2005 @ 11:21 am PT...
oops! forgot bushblackout.com and black-thursday.com are also good ones.
COMMENT #33 [Permalink]
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czaragorn
said on 1/18/2005 @ 11:22 am PT...
I did a rough count: 19 or so of the 30 posts on this thread are by, to, or about him who must no longer be named. We've been hijacked, and it's time it was stopped! Don't feed the troll! He's already clearly being fed by the repugnatrons.
COMMENT #34 [Permalink]
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joan
said on 1/18/2005 @ 11:23 am PT...
Thank you, Nana, #29...I'll check that out.
COMMENT #35 [Permalink]
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cheryl
said on 1/18/2005 @ 11:38 am PT...
I apologize folks; I'm afraid I started it. Won't fall for it again.
COMMENT #36 [Permalink]
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Winter Patriot
said on 1/18/2005 @ 12:08 pm PT...
Hi, Cheryl. It's nice to have you around. You really are Canadian, aren't you? Two apologies on the same thread on the same day! Canadians are so polite! I love 'em!
But (re #35) there's no need to apologize. You didn't start it. It's been going on for a long time. Everybody falls for it now and then.
I think it's ok to counter the disinformation that gets posted here. I would even say that it's necessary, to a certain extent anyway.
But Czaragorn is exactly right when he says we shouldn't let the trolls set the agenda here. It's a fine line, isn't it?
COMMENT #37 [Permalink]
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annrice
said on 1/18/2005 @ 12:18 pm PT...
The "Iraq Attack" compares quite poorly with World War ll. Try Vietnam. Far better match.
COMMENT #38 [Permalink]
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Ian Herold
said on 1/18/2005 @ 12:31 pm PT...
I can see that many of you are, at least, getting wise to the fact that you CANNOT debate this troll; you are only setting up his next dose of gasbaggery, by feeding him with your responses.
His one mission is to bait you into acknowledging him. Everytime you do, he wins.
To the good people posting on this blog, your future lies in looking HIGH and FAR over this boob's head.
COMMENT #39 [Permalink]
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Teresa
said on 1/18/2005 @ 12:39 pm PT...
It's one thing to be against a war before it happens. Entering one is a very serious act, and one would think the threat would have to be extremely apparent. If 55% of the people feel that the occupation was not worth it, that reveals completely the lack of real threat. Survival instinct translates into patriotism and sacrifice when an enemy is closing in. It is entirely natural.
We ALL know that this is a crime.
Who is going to pay for it?
COMMENT #40 [Permalink]
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Teresa
said on 1/18/2005 @ 12:47 pm PT...
Once again I am sickened.
A poor lost and greedy soul who was an activist in the 60's, called me this morning with the good news that his son just got a job with John McCain. They are on there way to DC to join in the festivities. He is no longer an associate of mine. I will not partake of his business product. I refuse to support anyone I know who is not actively protesting this insanity.
COMMENT #41 [Permalink]
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Teresa
said on 1/18/2005 @ 12:50 pm PT...
Excuse me, "their way".
Begone! All of them!
COMMENT #42 [Permalink]
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Paul
said on 1/18/2005 @ 1:53 pm PT...
If Kerry was being sworn in on Thursday, you guys would be so happy that $40 million was spent. You guys, I mean left kook fringe, are the biggest hypocrits in the world.
It must be difficult being you!
COMMENT #43 [Permalink]
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cheryl
said on 1/18/2005 @ 2:01 pm PT...
Thanks, Winter Patriot for the welcome! Since this Iraq thing started and with the *election* I've been reading a lot of blogs and thank god have discovered there are many, many Americans who haven't lost their sanity. Question is....what to do with the others? It must be very sad and frustrating to be American these days.
COMMENT #44 [Permalink]
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Teresa
said on 1/18/2005 @ 2:02 pm PT...
What a beautiful image. Thank you Paul.
Kerry being sworn in on Thursday.
COMMENT #45 [Permalink]
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joan
said on 1/18/2005 @ 2:17 pm PT...
As long as we're dreamin'...I'd love to see someone really grand being sworn in on Thursday...who would that be, in a perfect world? The Dalai Lama maybe? I love his sense of humor! Michael Moore? Haha! That would get some folks' bloomers in a twist! Garrison Keillor! He wrote a wonderful piece just before the election. Made me laugh & cry. Tim Robbins? I really liked his "What Would Jesus Bomb?" tee-shirt! I'm leaving women out entirely...somebody help me out here...
COMMENT #46 [Permalink]
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Peg C
said on 1/18/2005 @ 2:18 pm PT...
Two trolls on one thread. Wow! It must be a very strong thread to survive
Keep it up, everyone. Hi, Cheryl. Half my family is Canadian...and the other half wishes it were right now.
COMMENT #47 [Permalink]
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Peg C
said on 1/18/2005 @ 2:21 pm PT...
Joan,
Here's one: Bishop Desmond Tutu. Talk about fine, brilliant and well-informed man.
Peace and a progressive posterity
COMMENT #48 [Permalink]
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joan
said on 1/18/2005 @ 2:26 pm PT...
Peg~
Yes! He's wonderful! I saw him on Jon Stewart not too long ago, & Jon commented that he was the nicest person he'd ever met.
Oh, there you go...Jon Stewart! Haha! We've survived (barely) 4 years of Georgie...I think I'd enjoy 4 years of Jon's antics.
COMMENT #49 [Permalink]
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Teresa
said on 1/18/2005 @ 2:33 pm PT...
Remember the debates?
That ugly. slimy, disgusting cheap imitation of a man is this country's President.
Ahh, would that we could have a dignified, handsome , gentleman, with a good soul, sworn in as our Pres.
COMMENT #50 [Permalink]
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Teresa
said on 1/18/2005 @ 2:43 pm PT...
Joan, the woman you are referring to is being nurtured in a nest right now by some truly advanced , magnificent creatures. She is being fed ambrosia and drinking nectar of the kind and compassionate. She is being taught by wise seers, and she is being schooled in self-defense by the truly brave, who use the most advanced techniques of warfare... outsmart your enemy with genius as your weapon. Keep your blood circulating properly in its veins.
COMMENT #51 [Permalink]
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Peg C
said on 1/18/2005 @ 2:59 pm PT...
I like Tubbs-Jones. She's a great lady. And truly brave. But I'm afraid her "nest" isn't all that comfy right now.
COMMENT #52 [Permalink]
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Teresa
said on 1/18/2005 @ 3:23 pm PT...
Actually, it does seem as though some tough gals are coming to the fore.
The little sparring match , Boxer vs. Rice, is getting interesting.
COMMENT #53 [Permalink]
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cheryl
said on 1/18/2005 @ 4:30 pm PT...
Ha! Ha! Ha! Did you see the front page of CNN's internet site? Top headline says Bush: Better Human Intelligence Needed. I'll second that. By the way, has anyone ever heard of a leader anywhere in history that has such a way with words?
COMMENT #54 [Permalink]
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NasustheGreat
said on 1/18/2005 @ 4:31 pm PT...
Hey BradBlog folks, I feel your pain. Want to take out your knowledge on somebody, but don't want to feed the BradBlog trolls? Then sign up on http://www.vizzed.com/vizzedboard/ and help me fight the conservative nutjobs that run it. I'm NasustheGreat there and most of the action can be found in the Debate area. Help fighting the far right there would be appreciated! (Note: this is not an advertisement because I really can't stand the message board, I just want to beat these guys at their own game)
COMMENT #55 [Permalink]
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Supersoling
said on 1/18/2005 @ 4:50 pm PT...
How about this stark fact Trolls.....YOUR Resident is blowing 40 million plus on his Hee Haw back patting party, yet our soldiers who are dying everyday because they don't have the armor they need to protect themselves! How much armor would 40 million buy?This is a moral OUTRAGE.So take your moral values and shove em! You can't defend the indefensible, and I'm sure that history will not be kind to your position.
Oh, and by the way, John Kerry volunteered for combat duty and served with distinction while your boy was AWOL.
COMMENT #56 [Permalink]
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Winter Patriot
said on 1/18/2005 @ 5:10 pm PT...
It makes perfect sense to me, Super. We've got criminals running the 'justice' department, attack dogs in charge of 'defense', and some of the world's worst polluters 'taking care' of the environment. It's the same sad story wherever you look. So why shouldn't we have a coke-addled deserter as commander-in-chief?
COMMENT #57 [Permalink]
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Teresa
said on 1/18/2005 @ 5:24 pm PT...
COMMENT #58 [Permalink]
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atty jimmo
said on 1/18/2005 @ 6:24 pm PT...
The twits at the Democratic Underground are having spasms.
That whole bunch of America hating communists are concentrating their hate on every Democrat that has "failed them" and every liberal blogger that has not "gotten the message", including this one!
How I love to see the liberals chewing away at each other!
COMMENT #59 [Permalink]
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atty jimmo
said on 1/18/2005 @ 6:27 pm PT...
Brado:
We need a new thread. This one is worn out. Ask your Dad if you can use his computer, but stay off his Republican forums.
Brad, you DID know your parents were big time republicans, DIDN"T YOU???!!!!!!!!!
Check their donations out Brado.
COMMENT #60 [Permalink]
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atty jimmo
said on 1/18/2005 @ 6:32 pm PT...
In December 1998 after Clinton launched four days of air strikes on Iraq's suspected WMD targets, the California Democrat Barbara Boxer had a different reaction than displayed at hearings this day.
In 1998 quotes unearthed Tuesday afternoon by David Broder of the New York Times, Boxer claimed that Saddam had forced Clinton's hand.
"The president had no choice but to act today," she said in a statement ussued by her office. "Anyone who questions the timing of his decision ignores the fact that we committed a month ago to act if [chief U.N. weapons inspector] Richard Butler reported that Saddam was not cooperating."
"These critics are blinded by political considerations," Boxer added.
OH my GOODNESS!
COMMENT #61 [Permalink]
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cheryl
said on 1/18/2005 @ 6:49 pm PT...
Hi Peg,
Nice to see you again. The troll is back....he must be bored.
COMMENT #62 [Permalink]
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Winter Patriot
said on 1/18/2005 @ 7:25 pm PT...
In comment #43, our new friend Cheryl asked a very good [and extremely difficult] question:
[T]here are many, many Americans who haven't lost their sanity. Question is....what to do with the others?
I sometimes think that if we could fix the electoral system, we wouldn't have to worry about the others. But maybe I am too naive about that. Ignorance and stupidity are powerful forces in American politics and both are on the rise at the moment. They have been on the rise for a long time, to tell you the truth.
The public school system is weak and falling apart. The wingnut segment of the national media is strong and growing. It's no wonder that such a large portion of the electorate has such a big problem with reality. People are constantly being told what to think, but not how to think. So we're surrounded by people who believe whatever they are told, provided that it comes from a source they trust, and regardless of whether or not it makes any sense.
They believe that Bush is a great president with a track record of successful foreign and domestic policies, despite the clear fact that none of this is true. The same people [or at least the same type of people] believed that Ronald Reagan was a 'great communicator' because that's what they were always told, and despite the painfully obvious fact that the man could not construct a simple sentence all by himself. How could they not see that the label was a cynical lie? It's almost as if they were under a spell.
The same sort of spell is alive today, but it is even more powerful. How can we break that spell? It's a great question, Cheryl. It may be the most important question of our era. I have been thinking about it for a long time without finding any truly compelling answers.
I do know this, though. Many of the people who supported Bush are neither crazy nor unteachable. They are simply in the habit of trusting the major media and therefore they do not have any actual knowledge. For example, exit polls showed that a large number of Bush supporters believed that US troops had found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and that he would not have waged war against Iraq unless those weapons were actually there. I don't think these people are crazy or even stupid. They are simply ignorant. I don't mean this as a put-down. I just mean that they lack knowledge. And it's up to us to share that knowledge.
I usually find it easier to walk away from such people than to engage them in a conversation. But that's the wrong move. Many are comfortable in their ignorance and do not want to be woken up. But there are others who want to wake up and don't know where to start. We need to find these people and help them. It won't be easy and it won't be quick. But that's no reason to give up hope. We will never know what we can do unless we try.
COMMENT #63 [Permalink]
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STOP_George
said on 1/18/2005 @ 7:37 pm PT...
COMMENT #64 [Permalink]
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horkus
said on 1/18/2005 @ 8:25 pm PT...
Why do some people who comment on this sight (I won't mention who) refer to Bill Clinton as a liberal? A Liberal Democrat? No. A Liberal Republican? Yes. Clinton was as Liberal as Rudolph Guliani. He was not a hero in my eyes and probably not to many people who comment here. For Godsake, Clinton made friends with the reptiliacans and pushed through NAFTA. Both Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan disagreed with NAFTA. What's wrong with this picture? So, to all the idiots out there, quote Bill Clinton the Liberal Republican all you want if it pleases your little heart.
COMMENT #65 [Permalink]
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Peggy
said on 1/18/2005 @ 8:34 pm PT...
Well, it looks like a CNN's giving America a big hint - banner headlines BETTER HUMAN INTELLIGENCE NEEDED right over the head of DUMYA - but maybe it's a little too subtle for CNN's viewers.
COMMENT #66 [Permalink]
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cheryl
said on 1/18/2005 @ 8:42 pm PT...
I'm still laughing!
COMMENT #67 [Permalink]
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Peggy
said on 1/18/2005 @ 8:55 pm PT...
About DUMYA'S balls. A friend of mine thinks he's having an affair with Rice. I say no, because he can't get it up. That's why he's mad and likes killing and destruction. Is this on topic?
COMMENT #68 [Permalink]
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STOP_George
said on 1/18/2005 @ 8:57 pm PT...
Even the photo below the headline fits the "dumb" and "flustered" connotation --- although, pretty much any shot of Bush generates that impression in my books!
COMMENT #69 [Permalink]
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STOP_George
said on 1/18/2005 @ 9:09 pm PT...
BTW, Brad (or anyone else for that matter):
Go ahead and use that edited version of the CNN screenshot that I made for my site. Again, the URL is:
http://newsclipautopsy.b...cnn-finally-gets-it.html
Afterall, the gaffe is good enough to post on a few sites.
COMMENT #70 [Permalink]
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skinny
said on 1/18/2005 @ 9:27 pm PT...
I wish I had more time to better participate in these discussions...there's a lot of interesting people and ideas here.
I'm busy as a French teacher at a large high (2000 kids) school, although I feel my real job is to teach perspective. On that note: yes I have lived in France for quite some time and on several occasions, yes I like the French and their cheese, and yes, I'd like to express a hearty "fuck you" to all of the freedom-toast dumbshits out there. I'm completely sick of hearing from self-proclaimed "patriots" that haven't ever once left even their state (or even couch).
Now that I've gotten that out of the way--Cheryl and WinterPatriot bring up a salient points. I have to agree that media complacency and a failing education system are root causes in the creation of the Jimbos of the world.
There's 2000 kids at my school and two copy machines. My textbooks are from the late 80's. My room has no windows. Classes have 40+ students each. I've had some sitting on the floor for lack of desks. There are a total of 3 counselors servicing the entire student body--do the math. Every kid has to pay ($50 a pop) to take any sport, art class, music, or drama, so most don't. The district has been cutting entire weeks out of the school year (no wages) to make budget. This is only a partial list.
What's crazy, is this school is in a fairly affluent area with plenty of money. A car dealership recently (and generously) gave the school $75,000 to re-grass the school's football field.
So what are the big lessons that the kids are learning? Mostly that no one gives a shit about them, that it's everyone for them
I deal with every single exchange student that enters my school, and without fail, 100% of them are completely blown away.
I'll leave it there for now,
COMMENT #71 [Permalink]
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Freebird
said on 1/18/2005 @ 9:31 pm PT...
Very good point Winter Patriot in #62!
There is a high level of political ignorance in America because many people are in fact suffering from a lack of educational opportunities while others better educated may have other personal or selfish motivations for not being informed. Too little time to read or become informed, either because they really don't care (apathy) or because, as you say, they look for the easy way out by simply listening to those they trust (Fox News), even when they should mistrust!
Many people simply don't appreciate how power works and how they're being exploited. While still others are tied down by the pressures of everyday survival or locked into the distracting cycles of sports, entertainment, or reality TV. Then, of course, there are those who benefit from the status quo, who live comfortably, and could care less about inner city poverty or massacred Iraqi civilians. Let's not forget the British had plenty of status quo supporters during the Revolutionary War.
I guess I am becoming an increasingly impatient revolutionary, after having fought years of battles in politics and courtrooms. I have been witness to how the system works and works continuously to the advantage of those with wealth and power. As an environmentalist I am also well aware of how our natural world is exploited by those same forces, working against those in our natural realm who cannot realistically defend themselves against the onslaught of a greedy self-serving humanity.
So when I see how the powers that be assault our electoral system, wage criminal wars, and suppress alternative energy development, I simply see the unending destruction of our rights and liberties by the very same hands of those destroying our global environment. In many ways, we have become just as helpless as our rainforests, our poisoned oceans, and our fellow species that inhabit the Earth. We have become the prisoners of an illusion that we still matter...or still have power, which we do, but not in the way once believed.
So I am not going to argue with the right-wing infiltrators anymore. I'm not going to forget why I am still here with the small amount of hope I still have to work things through what I already know to be a hopelessly corrupt legal and political system. One that prepares once again to annoit a corrupt mass murderer and traitor, only to become another four-year nightmare for our country and world.
Nor am I going to argue that Bill Clinton, John Kerry, or any other Democrats are better than the others because to do so is to accept a dependence on a system that produces only the best of the worst, when I know we can do so much better.
Our Founding Fathers did what they could to change their system peacefully! They sent emmisaries and entreaties to the British Government and did what they could to convince others to help change a corrupt and tyrannical system. They worked within the system to do what is right, but at some point, they decided enough was enough and gave fair notice to the Crown through a Declaration of Independence.
The failure of our system today is represented by what will happen on Thursday. The recipient of that office has declared it should be a great day of celebration, justifying the cost by honoring a system that peacefully transfers power. As though we should be permanently satisfied that corporate royalty is better than monarchial royalty!
Yet I say to this MAN WHO WOULD BE KING, and to those who support him, that even with all the security in the world, there shall never be true security without true peace, and there shall never be true peace without true justice!
Justice for the poor and less fortunate! Justice for a clean and healthy environment and all that is natural that shares our world! Justice for citizens in the protection of their right to vote! Justice for those who have been murdered on 9/11, in Afghanistan, and Iraq so that favored energy concerns and military contractors could beneft from the crimes against our humanity, which only exemplifies the crimes we commit against all that is natural.
So I am a revolutionary! Temporarily patient that we can come together to do what is right. But the ignorant masses and the right-wing status quo of corruption and destruction should take no comfort that their simple or self-indulged idealistic life will continue uninterrupted, simply by ignoring the growing human and natural desperation that boils around them. That not only is a human revolution building against the tyranny of injustice, but a natural one as well. At some point, the Beloved Mother, as I call her, has a very violent tragic way of correcting an unnatural and unjust imbalance in her midst perpetrated by any species.
There is a better way to deal with all our human and natural relationships. Two men tied to the oil and gas industry, pretending to be leaders of our country, will not provide that path. So we have peacefully transferred power! I say...so what? With the injustice of election fraud, energy fraud, and war fraud, that peace is an illusion...a mirage in the desert...the quiet before the storm!
Freebird
COMMENT #72 [Permalink]
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skinny
said on 1/18/2005 @ 9:45 pm PT...
Damn Freebird (#71)...that was just too timely...
COMMENT #73 [Permalink]
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Peggy
said on 1/18/2005 @ 9:55 pm PT...
Dear Freebird - I agree with every word of #71 - millions of people agree, and something extraordinary will happen to bring them down - we are shaking the trees and drumming the drums - hate what they do, but pity them also - I guess they just have limited capacity in their brains for all kinds of understanding - Jesus said "They know not what they do". We need to persevere with the message, and it will get through to the masses.
COMMENT #74 [Permalink]
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Freebird
said on 1/18/2005 @ 9:56 pm PT...
LOL
COMMENT #75 [Permalink]
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Freebird
said on 1/18/2005 @ 9:58 pm PT...
Yes Peggy...you are right! Didn't see your last comment slip in there..I was following up on Skinny
COMMENT #76 [Permalink]
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cheryl
said on 1/18/2005 @ 10:07 pm PT...
Freebird-Hear! Hear! How eloquent! Never would I be able to put my thoughts into words like that.
COMMENT #77 [Permalink]
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Winter Patriot
said on 1/18/2005 @ 10:08 pm PT...
Yep! #71 is a keeper! Rock on, Freebird.
COMMENT #78 [Permalink]
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Skinny
said on 1/18/2005 @ 10:21 pm PT...
I was still working on my previous post, hit a wrong button, and pre-ejac-u-blogulated. Sorry about the incomplete thoughts in #70.
COMMENT #79 [Permalink]
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Winter Patriot
said on 1/18/2005 @ 10:23 pm PT...
re #78: No problem, Skinny. I would like to know more, especially about the exchange students, if you have the time to do more writing.
COMMENT #80 [Permalink]
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Teresa
said on 1/19/2005 @ 1:56 am PT...
Well, Czaragorn, she'd like to think of him as her husband, but I think she's more like his slave girl. She's always cowering in that yes, Massa, way.
COMMENT #81 [Permalink]
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Teresa
said on 1/19/2005 @ 2:20 am PT...
These are tense times and those who mistakenly pre-ejac-u-blogulate are completely forgiven.
In reference to getting through to people: they have to be brought to their knees, probably, in some personal way. Real trouble, and I don't mean a couple of fries short in an order of double fries, but heavy financial struggle, not being able to get care for a sick child, losing a home, things like that. If we keep going, repeating our ideas like mantras, offering concern and tangible solutions, they might come around. And not to judge them for coming so late.
If we can be like Rocks of Gibralter, we can watch them whirl around in confusion and eventually land in our spot
They will come when the time is right for each one.
They will tire of false promises.
Hey, Peggy. I, too, think he can't get it up. His impotency is astounding! I agree that this translates into murderous rage. He's scared shitless. There's some puny something about him.
COMMENT #82 [Permalink]
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Supersoling
said on 1/19/2005 @ 3:59 am PT...
What is happening in our country right now is a tectonic shift from all that we have known and believed about our national identity and place in the world . This has been happening slowly and at first almost unnoticeably with little earthquakes and jolts along the way.But the tremors are getting stronger and ,I think, building to something big.
I was shocked at the closeness, let alone the outcome, of the 2000 election. It was hard for me to believe that there were enough people who fell for **sh. And I'm not talking about Left, Right. I'm talking about thinking Americans. I think a lot of us were stunned.And so this is why such a huge effort was put into the2004 race, because I think that it finally dawned on us the seriousness of the situation. Now, I know we won this election,and no amount of screaming wingnuts telling me to get "over it" will change this. They had to steal this election because they have to maintain power in order to bring about their Self righteous agenda, These people are determined to win.
I think as Democrats, Independants, Progressives, etc., we are, by nature, at a disadvantage because of our natural tendency to want to work things out in a civilised manner, to talk over differences and embrace all kinds of people and ideas. But the time for kindness and compromise are long since past. We are in a fight for our survival and the survival of our Nation and the world. This is a fight we have come to late, but it is a fight that we will win because we have no choice.
As we all search for leaders who will fight for us , we , I beleive, must first look at ourselves and ask, what can I do as an individual today, to bring about some small change, or get one person to begin to question their beliefs.
I saw Peg C write on Velvet, that we don't have much time, and I agree. These are fast becoming desperate times, so we must all get busy with the business of saving ourselves,our children, our Country and our Planet
Just a thought..........
COMMENT #83 [Permalink]
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Supersoling
said on 1/19/2005 @ 4:04 am PT...
By the way,hello to all the fine, patriotic people gathered here.
COMMENT #84 [Permalink]
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Supersoling
said on 1/19/2005 @ 4:19 am PT...
One more thought. 55 million Barbara Boxers would make one hell of a noise. What a Badass! She displayed the backbone that is needed now.
COMMENT #85 [Permalink]
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Teresa
said on 1/19/2005 @ 4:24 am PT...
A big Hello, Supersoling. Great to have you here.
BB kicks ass!!!!!
COMMENT #86 [Permalink]
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czaragorn
said on 1/19/2005 @ 4:46 am PT...
Hi, Supersoling! With regard to your #84 post, here's a little story for you:
In 1952 Adlai Stevenson was campaigning in Connecticut, and after his eloquent stump speech (he wrote his own speeches, of course - imagine that!) a member of the audience called out, "Mr. Stevenson, you'll have the vote of every thinking American!" To which Adlai replied, "That's not enough! I need a majority!"
COMMENT #87 [Permalink]
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Peg C
said on 1/19/2005 @ 5:32 am PT...
Czaragorn -
We are Stevensonians from 'way back, but I'd never heard that one! I only remember the funereal feel of our lives when Eisenhower defeated him. Eisenhower! He'd be labeled a left-winger today! He actually thought that the world was better off without Hitler!
Lots of !!!!!'s this A.M. My aunt died a few hours ago and I've had 3 hours of sleep in the last 48.
You all are like a family. Keep talking!
COMMENT #88 [Permalink]
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czaragorn
said on 1/19/2005 @ 5:58 am PT...
Peg C,
Sorry to hear about your aunt. Hang in there!
I remember that dark night in 52 when Ike won. For some time after that my brother, who was two at the time, would raise his cup of OJ and say, "Adlai 56!" He was a quick study. Even back then the dems were the party of thinking Americans - doesn't say much for the repugnatrons...
COMMENT #89 [Permalink]
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joan
said on 1/19/2005 @ 7:33 am PT...
winter patriot~
Re #62...You wrote:
"It's almost as if they were under a spell."
Yes. they are indeed under the spell of constantly repeated disinformation, as of course you know.
It is up to us to communicate & join forces with people like Republican Chuck Herrin--his website is www.chuckherrin.com--and check out his "Empathy Training for Liberals" and "Empathy Training for Conservatives" and his other excellent comments. He seems to be a thinking, ethical man who is very concerned about the truckload of evidence that our voting system was stolen. He realizes the obvious, that a fraudulent voting system harms decent Americans, liberal, conservative & everything in between.
Another worthy individual was on the Daily Show last night: I cannot recall his name (Wallis?) but his book is "God's Politics". These people are truth-seekers & truth-tellers & they are on our side, the side of integrity & honest, sober debate on how to restore honor to this country.
Perhaps the Velvet Revolution will be the gathering place, I don't know.
What say you?
COMMENT #90 [Permalink]
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cheryl
said on 1/19/2005 @ 8:04 am PT...
"There's gonna be a freakers' ball...yes, yes, tonight at the freakers' hall...and you know you're invited, one and all....
Shel Silverstein
COMMENT #91 [Permalink]
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Paul
said on 1/19/2005 @ 9:35 am PT...
You all proved my point in Comment #42. However, you left off a couple of names - Lenin and Stalin.
COMMENT #92 [Permalink]
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bluebird
said on 1/19/2005 @ 10:05 am PT...
Peg C, also sorry! I hope you eat something and get some restl
# 91 Joan, we need guys like that, a friend just emailed me about it. I'm so resentful of my propaganda box, most of the time it sits there in traitorous silence. Jon Stewart and c-span occaisionally provide tiny and infrequent belches of truth.
Pat Robertson said: "You say you're supposed to be nice to the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians and the Methodists, and this and that and the other thing. Nonsense! I don't have to be nice to the spirit of the antichrist." (700 club)
Hmmmmm-- let's see , if protestants are the spirit of the antichrist ( the antichrist has a spirit? interesting), what does that make jews, agnostics, catholics, and atheists? My guess is cat food.
If they don't kill us first with their "pod people" approach to existence. They're inflated with such moribund and humorless sincerity that I'd think they were dead if they weren't standing upright.
Apathy has been their friend. They have the congress, presidency and almost the judiciary. They are infiltrating schools and state legislatures.
We dismissed them for years as annoying and stupid. Now the neglected mouse has become a giant sewer rat with ambition, power, and a really good suit. The more we neglect it, the bigger it gets. It mistakes cunning and deviousness for intelligence, and the world for it's cheese. It only had to figure out one thing : that most people don't care. But this was a mighty lesson and it learned it well. So now there's us and the rat (and it's army of corporate and military rat cronies), what are we gonna do?
One thing to do ( which I'm sure many of you are aware of) is work with Americans United, americansunited@au.org. Headed by Rev. Barry Lynn who's trying to keep church and state divided. This organization names bills just begging to be smacked by activist email, and lists chapters people can join.
COMMENT #93 [Permalink]
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bluebird
said on 1/19/2005 @ 10:28 am PT...
Hollywood has the money to fund a liberal TV news channel. How about it?
COMMENT #94 [Permalink]
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Peg C
said on 1/19/2005 @ 10:39 am PT...
Why not just that mythical construct, an honest, non-partisan, dedicated-to-truth TV news channel, Bluebird? If it acquires a reputation for being "liberal," it would be avoided like the plague by those most in need of a jolt of truth serum.
COMMENT #95 [Permalink]
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Freebird
said on 1/19/2005 @ 12:16 pm PT...
To Bluebird regarding #81,
Legally, a majority of Bush's own cabinet could declare him unfit for office and have him removed from power pending a hearing or objection.
Also, the House of Representatives could impeach Bush for treason, high crimes and misdemeanors, and refer him for a removal trial held in the Senate and presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Unfortunately, even if you could, once you remove Bush his replacement would be Richard Cheney! If any of you can picture that? LOL
Even though there are serious allegations against the White House for its role in 9/11 as well as war crimes, election fraud, and energy fraud, the question also becomes who will investigate and proscute those offenses? The Republican controlled Congress? The Justice Department and FBI under the control of Bush's close personal friend and legal confidant, Alberto Gonzales?
With a hand picked cabinet of loyalists and a Congress controlled by Republicans, the odds of a serious investigation, prosecution, removal, or impeachment would probably be next to zero!
Without a major scandal, mental breakdown or other serious physical or mental disability that prevents him from being able to perform his duties, or some other event that leads to his removal, we are basically stuck with him until January 20, 2009!
I know that sounds horrific when you think of it in terms of time/years, but probably an even more horrendous thought would be another Republican win in 2008 and 2012, along with continued control of Congress. May we be saved from such a future disaster!
Time will tell and the clock is ticking! Stay tuned!
Freebird
(PS: Our sympathies Peg C)
COMMENT #96 [Permalink]
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bluebird
said on 1/19/2005 @ 12:20 pm PT...
Freebird, thanks for # 71.
Freebird , Winter Patriot, or anyone who knows,
Do you know if we have any political or legal recourse to remove someone who's deluded and megalomaniacal beyond human comprehension and is making dangerous, reckless and immoral policies that threaten the safety of the world? Now it's Iran. What if Bush decided he wanted to eat babies, (yes it's blatantly against the law but so are war crimes and stolen elections.) how would we stop him? Did the Framer's make provisions for the ousting of lunatics from the oval office?
Is our system of laws set up to tolerate a Henry the Vlll, or a Caligula?
Do we have any power at all? To enforce anything? Other than the use of the imperiled filibuster and courts? I don't mean people power. I mean something set up within the framework of our laws? And if we don't, why not?
At some point could he be declared ill or incapacitated and removed from office?
Or, is it useless to talk about laws within our system, because almost everything is owned by Bush? Are Senator Boxer and Representative Conyers just going through the motions? At this point can they have any real affect on anything? I know they can sway public opinion, but I mean legally.
If it got bad enough for even repugs to desert him and vote to impeach him, that still wouldn't make him step down. Would anything?
I know that if some of these answers were yes we'd all be happy campers. I assume they're not, but some discussion would be nice.
COMMENT #97 [Permalink]
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bluebird
said on 1/19/2005 @ 12:23 pm PT...
Peg C.
I see your point, but I think "liberals" at this point in history really are the ones coming closest to "the truth". The liberals I know try to be fair. It's in their natures. How do you think we got this way? We were fair, and they weren't. You know that ANYTHING can get the reputation for being liberal, even senator Lieberman. Anything we do will be labeled liberal.
In this case, when the truth is told, it IS going to sound partisan, because the repugs have been doing all the dirty work. Not us. That's going to sound like liberal bias, even though it isn't. We aren't killing people en masse, that's going to sound like liberal bias. But it isn't. When we talk about the destruction of civil rights , that's going to sound like liberal bias, even though it isn't. When we talk about the economy, that's going to sound like liberal bias. Even though it isn't. It's not really that we own the truth, it's just that they don't have ANY of it. They aren't even trying for it. The "truth" is going to sound more friendly to liberals because we can actually see what's really happening! At this point in history, that is. I assume liberals will be honest and as unbiased as it's possible to be. So, to clarify the above, that's what was in my mind. If I hadn't used the word, people would have read it as subtext anyway. Imagine if I had said Hollywood could fund an unbiased television channel. HaHa. Would anyone believe that? The whole idea really would be to get the actual news. And the truth they want to hide, is the truth we want to tell. What I hope happens is that people will know from their own experiences that what we're saying is not "liberal" or "conservative", it's just plain reality. And as Teresa, I think, mentioned, when people are hit hard enough personally they will wake up and see this. They're not going to say , that's liberal bias, they're going to say, yeah, that's really happening to me. It's Not liberal, Not conservative, not spin, REAL.
Thanks for your comment.
COMMENT #98 [Permalink]
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joan
said on 1/19/2005 @ 12:43 pm PT...
Re #63...
Thanks to StopGeorge & Cheryl for that link, which led to this link
http://www.house.gov/jud...y_democrats/contact.html
...where you can send a message to Rep. Conyers & the Judiciary Committee supporting their request for an immediate investigation into the voting issue.
Re #50...
LOL! Would that be Wonder Woman or Barbarella? Just a li'l poke in the ribs, Teresa. I do loves ya, woman. And we sure could use a Superhero or two!
As far as other female potential prez candidates...I like Tubbs Jones, I like Boxer, I DID like Carol Mosely-Braun during her campaign, but she failed to support the challenge & so fell in my estimation, as did the entire Senate.
How could I have left John Conyers Jr. off my fantasy list!
COMMENT #99 [Permalink]
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czaragorn
said on 1/19/2005 @ 12:50 pm PT...
When Czech friends ask me how our most recent selection was possible, I explain to them that if Jesus were running against Satan in America the race would be too close to call - it's just the nature of modern-day Americans, I'm afraid (of course the repugnatrons would side with Satan, since Jesus would remind them too much of a hippy). As for Bullsh and Condi, it wasn't that long ago that she referred to him in public as "my husband, er, Mr. President..." (I'm afraid I can't refer to the specific situation, I just caught it in passing.) What do you think? A Freudian slip, or something from Victoria's Secret?
COMMENT #100 [Permalink]
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joan
said on 1/19/2005 @ 1:14 pm PT...
To Peg~
I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm just now getting down to reading all the past posts. Hope you can get some rest.
Re #s 95-98...
I agree that anything we say will be "disparaged" as 'liberal'. And so we need to EMBRACE that word, that label, whole-heartedly, as some here have already done. YES! Liberal! Meaning generous, unselfish, charitable, expansive, benevolent, bountiful!
COMMENT #101 [Permalink]
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bluebird
said on 1/19/2005 @ 2:42 pm PT...
#97, Freebird, thanks so much for taking the time.
I can't see impeachment happening either, or an investigation by Alberto Gonzales, or Bush's hand picked cabinet turning on him; he owns all the people and machinery for power. I'm casting around desparately for a Deus ex machina. I think it's us.
I know most of us think Cheney would be much worse than Bush, that his relative intelligence would guarantee even more mischief. However, if Cheney should replace Bush (if Cheney hadn't been impugned with him), do you think he would have the same holy emperor cache as Bush? Do you think the dominionists would be as cozy with him. Perhaps this is off target, but he seems more purely corporate, and less identified with the evangelical stuff. That could drive a wedge into this evil coalition.The fact that he's spoken up for his daughter might prove to be a wedge issue (the only good thing he's ever done). He also has no charm and apparently can be mean. W's audience at least think W has social skills and a kind heart (even though there's no apparent heart at all). And they like him for his stupidity. What about Cheney's ability to be hypocritical, an essential for this administration? He might not be very good at it. The "we're so Christian" mask might fall right off the administration and he'd lose that fundamentalist Christian base. Maybe. Just speculation about who would be worse, Bush or Cheney, and why it would be the case. Do we know the extent to which Cheney has made decisions for Bush? If he has made many of them, and Bush is frequently just a mouthpiece, then it's not as if we haven't met this dragon, he just wouldn't have the camouflage.
Probably someone's written a book about Cheney (or read one) and can give some real information.