Batten Down The Hatches

Here it comes. Washington Post (08.31.06):

“President Bush and his surrogates are launching a new campaign intended to rebuild support for the war in Iraq by accusing the opposition of aiming to appease terrorists and cut off funding for troops on the battlefield, charges that many Democrats say distort their stated positions.”

Bush Team Casts Foes as Defeatist

Here are the misrepresentations: “that Democrats are promising voters to block additional money for continuing the war”, and that “‘retreat from Iraq would satisfy the appetite of the terrorists and get them to leave us alone.'”

Facts? They don’t need no steenkin’ facts. When “(p)ressed to support these allegations, the White House yesterday could cite no major Democrat who has proposed cutting off funds or suggested that withdrawing from Iraq would persuade terrorists to leave Americans alone.”

The line they’re taking is that “those are logical interpretations of the most common Democratic position favoring a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq.”

In other words, they’re making it up. Again. Rumor, innuendo, hearsay.

Man, the smell of their desperation is so palpable.

Leninists Like Linux

Technically, they’re Marxists, not Leninists, but what the hell? AP (08.31.06):

“A southern Indian state plans to switch all school computers from Microsoft Windows to the free Linux operating system, an official said Thursday.

The changeover on computers used in some 12,500 high schools in the state of Kerala is set for Friday, and teachers are being trained on the new software, said the state’s education minister, M.A. Baby.”

India State to Dump Windows for Linux

“The state is ruled by communist politicians and its top elected official, Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, has long been a supporter of free software, railing against the dominance of Microsoft’s Windows when he was a state legislator.”

Given Kerala’s population, this would be tantamount to the voters of California electing a Communist government. Though it wouldn’t be that hard to find a Winger to claim that’s already the case.

We didn’t realize just how popular the Communist Party is in India. Not only have they been elected to run the state of Kerala, but West Bengal and Tripura as well.

It’s that damned democracy stuff. Folks just go off and vote any which way.

Don Flips Out

Scared of his own shadow, he is. LATimes (08.30.06):

“Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday compared critics of the Bush administration to those who sought to appease the Nazis before World War II, warning that the nation is confronting ‘a new type of fascism.’

‘Once again, we face similar challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism,’ Rumsfeld said. ‘But some seem not to have learned history’s lessons.'”

Rumsfeld Says Critics Appeasing Fascism

“Rumsfeld did not directly accuse any specific critic or group of advocating the appeasement of terrorists, and he did not identify the administration opponents who were the focus of his criticism. Surveys have shown that although most Americans believe the Iraq war was a mistake, they support U.S. efforts to track down terrorists.”

Harry says Don just doesn’t get it (08.29.06):

“If there’s one person who has failed to learn the lessons of history it’s Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld ignored military experts when he rushed to war without enough troops, without sufficient body armor, and without a plan to succeed.

Under this Administration’s watch, terror attacks have increased, Iraq has fallen into civil war, and our military has been stretched thin.”

Rumsfeld Doesn’t Get It

Rumsfeld’s an idiot. After what he’s done these past five years, if you put any stock in anything he says, you’re an idiot too.

War By Deceit

A timeline, from Mother Jones, via Washington Monthly:

“The first drafts of history are fragmentary. Important revelations arrive late, and out of order. In this timeline, we’ve assembled the history of the Iraq War to create a resource we hope will help resolve open questions of the Bush era.”

Lie By Lie

“What did our leaders know and when did they know it? And, perhaps just as important, what red flags did we miss, and how could we have missed them?”

The Company You Keep

George has another plan. This one’s “a critical component of our freedom agenda.” Washington Post (08.29.06):

“President Bush launched an initiative this month to combat international kleptocracy, the sort of high-level corruption by foreign officials that he called ‘a grave and corrosive abuse of power’ that ‘threatens our national interest and violates our values.’ The plan, he said, would be ‘a critical component of our freedom agenda.’

Three weeks later, the White House is making arrangements to host the leader of Kazakhstan, an autocrat who runs a nation that is anything but free and who has been accused by U.S. prosecutors of pocketing the bulk of $78 million in bribes from an American businessman.”

With Kazakh’s Visit, Bush Priorities Clash

“Not only will President Nursultan Nazarbayev visit the White House, people involved say, but he also will travel to the Bush family compound in Maine.”

George invites this man into his home? How telling.

Speaking of violated values. Back home, Nursultan “has banned opposition parties, intimidated the press and profited from his post, according to the U.S. government. But he also sits atop massive oil reserves that have helped open doors in Washington.”

Nursultan ain’t the only one. “In April, the president welcomed to the Oval Office the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, who has been accused of rigging elections. And Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hosted Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the president of Equatorial Guinea, who has been found to have millions of dollars stashed in overseas bank accounts.”

Ahhh, Kazakhstan! They have their share of hunting accidents. Suicides too.

That they involve the untimely deaths of opposition political figures is obviously an unfortunate and tragic coincidence.

Ethically Challenged And Loving It

LATimes (08.30.06):

“The Bush administration’s troubled outreach efforts to the Middle East and other areas of the world were dealt more bad news Tuesday with new allegations of impropriety by the man who oversees the federal government’s broadcasts to foreign countries.

Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, a Bush appointee who chairs the Broadcasting Board of Governors, directed staff to do personal work and used government resources for his private racehorse operation, a new report by the State Department’s inspector general indicates.”

Foreign Broadcasts’ Chief Accused of Impropriety

“Forced to resign last year as head of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting amid revelations of impropriety, Tomlinson also doubled-billed the Broadcasting Board of Governors for working some of the same days as at the CPB, according to the report, a summary of which was obtained by The Times.”

Ken “refuted the allegations in a statement released late Tuesday.” He said he was “‘very proud of what [he has] accomplished for U.S. international broadcasting.'” Ken is a “former editor of Reader’s Digest and friend of Bush political strategist Karl Rove.”

Well then. Color us surprised.

This is funny. “The horses, according to track records, include Karzai, as in Hamid Karzai, and Massoud, from the late Ahmed Shah Massoud, references to Afghan leaders who have fought against the Taliban and the Russians, as well as Panjshair, the valley that was the base used by forces to overthrow the Taliban.”

In addition to owning at least three racehorses, Ken has been combatting liberal influence for a while now. This is a man who knows how to get a little on the side, too. Wetting his beak, so to speak.

Quit Yer Whining

Get that lazy spouse of yours out there working. LATimes (08.30.06):

“The Census Bureau’s annual snapshot of economic health in America offered a yellow warning light for the middle class, as an unchanged poverty level and a widening erosion of health insurance coverage tarnished news that household income was finally beginning to rise.”

Middle-Class Workers Ailing in Census Checkup

The Administration is telling everyone who’s still listening that this is just great. George’s budget director, Rob Portman, said “the economy’s ability to bounce back from the 2001 terrorist attacks and Hurricane Katrina a year ago ‘is a testament to the strong work ethic of the American people, the resilience of our economy and pro-growth economic policies, including tax relief.'”

They won’t tell you that household income rose “partly because there were more households in which a second adult joined the workforce”. They also won’t tell you that “(e)arnings of full-time workers fell during that period”.

They will tell you that “(m)edian household income rose enough to wipe out the last two years of declines.” They won’t tell you that “from 2000 to 2005, the median household income fell 2.7%.” They also won’t tell you that the “richest fifth of households received 50.4% of all income, the highest level since the Census Bureau began compiling such data in 1967.”

And while you’re at it, keep those kids of yours from getting sick. “The number of uninsured children increased by more than 350,000 in 2005, to a total of just over 8.3 million, despite a government program to provide coverage to low-income children.”

“But most of the increase in the ranks of the uninsured was among working-age people, particularly those in their mid-40s to mid-60s. Nearly 80% of the uninsured were U.S. citizens, despite a popular perception that many are illegal immigrant laborers.”

Yippee!!

Watch for the celebrations to begin. The poverty rate didn’t go up. AP (08.22.06):

“The nation’s poverty rate was essentially unchanged last year, the first year it hasn’t increased since before President Bush took office.

The Census Bureau reported Tuesday that 37 million Americans were living under the poverty line last year — about 12.6 percent of the population. That’s down from 12.7 percent in 2004, but census officials said the change was statistically insignificant.”

U.S. Poverty Rate Unchanged Last Year

“However, the number of people without health insurance increased to 46.6 million in 2005. About 45.3 million people were without insurance the year before.”

“The last decline in the poverty rate was in 2000, during the Clinton administration, when it dropped to 11.3 percent.”

That goddamn Clinton. He’s responsible for everything.

May Hurt?

AP (08.29.06):

“One Republican senator [Conrad Burns (R – MT)] described his house painter as a ‘little Guatemalan man.’ Another [George Allen, Jr. (R – VA)] called an Indian man a ‘macaca,’ a type of monkey.

Just as the GOP is pushing for minority voters, the two recent gaffes have fed the perception among some blacks, Hispanics and Asian-Americans that Republicans are out of touch with the changing face of the nation.”

Republicans’ Comments May Hurt at Polls

“‘There is disconnect at some level,’ said Michael K. Fauntroy, a professor of public policy at George Mason University. ‘The country is becoming browner and new voters, particularly new immigrant voters, don’t respond favorably to (offensive) comments.‘”

Really.

C’mon. George Jr. is a Confederate fantasist. What kind of shit do ya think he says when he’s boozin’ with his buddies? Give us a freakin’ break.

Has there been any impact? Hey, you make the call. Hampton Roads Daily Press (08.29.06):

“Democratic Senate candidate James Webb, down by more than 10 percentage points in the polls in late July, has moved ahead of Sen. George Allen in the latest Wall Street Journal/Zogby Poll.”

Webb leads Sen. Allen slightly in latest poll

“The figures are part of a trend that has been building since Allen referred to Webb campaign worker S.R. Sidarth, a northern Virginia native of East Indian descent, as ‘Macaca’ and then said to him, ‘Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia’ during an Aug. 11 campaign stop in Breaks, a small southwestern Virginia town on the Kentucky border.”

The Golden Era Of Profitability

NYTimes (08.28.06), via FirstDraft:

“With the economy beginning to slow, the current expansion has a chance to become the first sustained period of economic growth since World War II that fails to offer a prolonged increase in real wages for most workers.

That situation is adding to fears among Republicans that the economy will hurt vulnerable incumbents in this year’s midterm elections even though overall growth has been healthy for much of the last five years.”

Real Wages Fail to Match a Rise in Productivity

Real wages are down since 2003 even though productivity “has risen steadily over the same period”?

Uhhhh, well actually, it’s worse than that. For the past five years, real wages haven’t gone anywhere. Don’t believe it? Go see for yourself. Check the box for “Constant (1982) dollars”, then hit the “Retrieve data” button towards the bottom.

For July, 2006, the average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers in 1982 dollars was $8.16. Same as they were in October, 2001.

So if real wages have been stagnant, but productivity has been rising, where’s all that money going?

Ha! Say no more. “(C)orporate profits have climbed to their highest share since the 1960’s. UBS, the investment bank, recently described the current period as ‘the golden era of profitability.'”

Wages and salaries “now make up the lowest share of the nation’s gross domestic product since the government began recording the data in 1947….”

Pope As A Dope

Did you know the sun used to orbit the earth? Guardian (08.28.06):

“Philosophers, scientists and other intellectuals close to Pope Benedict will gather at his summer palace outside Rome this week for intensive discussions that could herald a fundamental shift in the Vatican’s view of evolution.

There have been growing signs the Pope is considering aligning his church more closely with the theory of ‘intelligent design’ taught in some US states.”

Pope prepares to embrace theory of intelligent design

“Advocates of the theory argue that some features of the universe and nature are so complex that they must have been designed by a higher intelligence.”

But of course. What we do not understand could only be the work of the Gods. Or aliens.

Flash: Women Have Breasts

They wind ’em tight in Poland, too. Reuters (08.25.06), via Huffington:

“A white scarf was discretely added over an artist’s depiction of a mermaid with an exposed breast on a poster advertising the 2006 Miss World contest, after officials in Warsaw’s conservative administration deemed it too suggestive, the artist’s agent said Wednesday.

“[The] poster originally showed a mermaid on a seesaw, the strap from her red top slipping over her shoulder to reveal one of her breasts.”

Warsaw demands censorship of Miss World poster

The mermaid (breasts and all) is the city’s coat of arms. Has been since 1622. There are statues of her everywhere.

On the other hand, “Warsaw’s acting mayor is former Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz, whose Law and Justice party espouses conservative moral values such as no sex outside marriage and strict controls on abortion.”

And that pretty much explains it.

Kazimierz “No Titties” Marcinkiewicz
Dunno about you, but to us, Kaz looks a little bound up.

Ha, Ha

What Stevie really regrets is that he got caught. AP (08.26.06):

“U.S. Senate candidate Stephen Laffey said he regrets that he wrote columns denigrating gays when he was a college student.

Laffey, the mayor of Cranston, acknowledged writing the columns in a story published Saturday in the Providence Journal. The paper reported that it received copies of the columns anonymously in the mail earlier in the week.”

Senate Hopeful Explains Anti-Gay Columns

“Laffey, 44, running a closely watched race against moderate Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee, said whoever sent the articles wanted to smear him before the Sept. 12 primary. He called the writings ‘sophomoric political satire’ and said they do not represent his views.”

“‘Do I regret some of these things? Sure,’ he said. ‘But at the time, we were just having fun. We thought it was funny.'”

Yeah, he used to be an idiot, but he got better.

A Reexplanation

Got to give her credit. She sure can weasel, eh? Orlando Sentinel (08.26.06):

“U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris sought Saturday to smother a campaign brushfire stoked by an earlier claim that failure to elect Christians to public office would allow lawmakers to ‘legislate sin.’

Harris, appearing at a gun show in Orlando, said she did not mean to offend non-Christians in her comments to the Florida Baptist Witness last week.”

Harris tries to douse furor over remarks to Baptists

According to a statement released by what’s left of her campaign organization, she says what she was actually doing was “addressing ‘a common misperception that people of faith should not be actively involved in government.'”

On the other hand, what she really said was that God “‘chooses our rulers,’ that voters needed to send Christians to political office and that God did not intend for the United States to be a ‘nation of secular laws.'”

She also said that if “‘you are not electing Christians, tried and true, under public scrutiny and pressure, if you’re not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin.'”

She also said that if “‘we are the ones not actively involved in electing those godly men and women,” then “we’re going to have a nation of secular laws. That’s not what our founding fathers intended and that’s [sic] certainly isn’t what God intended.'”

Yesterday, Katherine said it broke her heart “if people were upset with her interview.”

This woman will say anything to anyone.

Theocracies “R” Us

Boy wouldn’t it be a ton o’ fun if Katherine and her Krew took over. Washington Post (04.26.06):

“Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) said this week that God did not intend for the United States to be a ‘nation of secular laws’ and that the separation of church and state is a ‘lie we have been told’ to keep religious people out of politics.

‘If you’re not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin,’ Harris told interviewers from the Florida Baptist Witness, the weekly journal of the Florida Baptist State Convention. She cited abortion and same-sex marriage as examples of that sin.”

Rep. Harris Condemns Separation of Church, State

“Harris, a candidate in the Sept. 5 Republican primary for U.S. Senate, said her religious beliefs ‘animate’ everything she does, including her votes in Congress.”

Katherine is a kook. And a liar to boot.

As Keith Olberman noted (via Crooks And Liars), it looks like even God’s voting Democratic in this one.