Satan Can’t Sleep Because of GOP Nightmares

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeThe trolls are out in full force today trying to beat down the Al Gore movement. As shown in this troll thread on Daily Kos and throughly debunked here the neo-cons will use any and all means and measures to lie where needed. It seems Rupert Murdoch's Sky News is twisting Al Gore's standard response of "I have no plans to run" into "I will not seek the office of the Presidency." Murdoch, for those not in the know, owns Fox News and now the Wall Street Journal, typically not known to be the bastions of truth. But I will give props to the Murdoch camp. By lying about Gore, it puts puts the meme out there that he is not a contender and forces Gore to denounce the statement. It should be further mentioned that for what ever reason, Rupert Murdoch is backing Hillary Clinton and at this point, Al Gore is the ONLY one who can disrupt her campaign. Notice how Fox News goes after Gore repeatedly and leaves Hillary mostly unscathed? And after Gore's Current.com video releases on Monday, Murdoch may have felt the time was right to ratchet up the attack on the Goracle. However, I am tapping my foot and I am not signaling for a Senator Craig reach-around. P.S. If you find time today, please take my reader survey.

The Goracle of Memphis and his stealth campaign.

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeOn May 20th, 2007 in the New York Times, Gore remarked... Having spent 30 years as part of the political dialogue, I don’t know why a 600-day campaign is taken as a given, and why people who aren’t in it 600 days out for the convenience of whatever brokers want to close the door and narrow the field and say, ‘This is it, now let’s place your bets’ — If they want to do that, fine. I don’t have to play that game. With recent Current TV video uploads, I must wonder what kind of campaign is he running? In marketing/advertising terms, this is a stealth product release. The candidate is running, but the paperwork hasn't been filed. The Current clips are strong. In the link above, some of thecommenters suggest Gore may be trying to frame the debate. I doubt this. First of all, with the exception of Edwards and Kucinich , none of the other Dem candidates really have an environmental platform that does anything about global climate change. If they aren't listening to Gore now, they never will. Gore has been successful in moving the issue to the front of the news, and the melting icecaps, crop failures and record drought have all backed him up with common sense observation - just ask the average family farmer. I have no idea what the game plan is for Gore but he has been successful in keeping himself and more importantly the issues he cares about, at the forefront of the news since he stepped in front of theMoveOn.org microphone and blasted the Bush administration over Iraq. Everything he claimed in his "In The Balance" book, his 2000 campaign and everything else since has proven to be right. Whereas everythingBushCo has said since then has turned out to be a lie. Bush may be the guy Middle America wanted to have a beer with, but once in office, Middle America learned Bush just stiffed them for the bar tab. As I speak with people across the country, they tell me they can't help but look at Gore and wonder "what if?" Since the Clinton/Gore administration was all over AlQaeda and the Taleban before Middle America knew they existed, would 9-11 have happened at all? Would all of America have their phones bugged and emails read? Would China have eaten our lunch? Would Summer at the North Pole feel like a spring day in Myrtle Beach? Would we be bogged down in a Vietnam style war in Iraq while ogling the oil underneath Iran? If Bush invades Iran, the US will control everything in the Middle East from Saudi Arabia to the former Soviet Union - from Europe to China. There hasn't been a land grab like that since (yes, I am going to say it so get over it already) the Nazi's controlled everything from Paris to with 15 miles of the Kremlin. Where Gore takes us from here is anyone's guess, except maybe Karl Rove. I think he might be sweating.

Who Is The White Man in Ahmadinejad’s Court?

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeI have been reading a lot of translations of Ahmadinejad's speeches and they parallel Bush's speeches. I find it amazing the two can both be so disconnected from reality or skilled in propaganda. Maybe they have the same strategist? Maybe Karl Rove is lending Mahmoud a helping hand? Seriously, Bush has made America more like Iran than any Iranian ever could.

Apocalypse Maliki

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeThere has been a lot of pushback on the blogs and on mainstream news about Bush's VFW speech yesterday - the quagmire, the cut and runners, etc. But there are a couple of uncomfortable other things from that speech that hasn't hit yet - at least they were "high flinch events" for me. Bush mentions the "killing fields" in his speech. I don't think most people know the killing fields were in Cambodia and not Vietnam, but the mention of it sent my brain into shock. Since Bush is now making the comparison, what are the other analogies? Is Iran, Bush's Cambodia? Yeah, yet another failed Nixon idea that Bush seems Hell-bent on recreating. If this is now like Vietnam, when will the draft come about? General Lute (you know, the war czar) has been running around DC preaching the virtues of the draft. The path ahead is dark and gloomy for sure with no end to the suffering in sight. Maybe Bush is trying to be like Nixon? Some of those parrallels have already been seen. China for example. Bush went to China and all I got was this lousy t-shirt made in Shanghai.

The question Bush can't answer.

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeThat is the big question isn't it? I know Cheney is the real President and Bush is the puppet, but how will things go without Rove? Will Rove simply phone it in? I don't think that level of governmental and media manipulation can occur if you are in the middle of Texas armed with nothing but a Blackberry. My theory is, the push into Iran will continue along with everything else on Cheney's to-do list, but Rove won't be around to hold together what is left of the GOP. That was something Rove was good at, keeping the Republicans in Congress on track even though BushCo was ripping the nation apart. Without Rove's hands-on cheerleading / arm twisting / bald-faced lies, I doubt the Congressional GOP will stay on track with President Bush as much as they have been. What will keep them on board? Cheney's warm, loving presence? If anything, Rove's departure may destabilize the GOP. At some point, they know they will need to start covering their ass and without Rove's people management skills, there may be a sea change coming for this White House. SPECIAL FAVOR SECTION Never let it be said liberals don't support the troops. During the first Gulf War, I began collecting books to send to my college friends serving in Saudi Arabia. I must have sent hundreds of books. When US troops got deployed to Iraq, I started doing it again but I knew the job was too big for one person to do it, so I set up Books For Soldiers, a 501 (c)(3) charity to send free books, dvds and video games to deployed US soldiers. But I wasn't that smart since I only thought the war would last 6 weeks tops in Iraq. What was I thinking? Now, FOUR years later, we are still shipping books. But today I need your help. There is a contest sponsored by VAJoe.com, they will contribute $2,000 to charitable military organizations next month in its Charity for Charities event. You can vote on your favorite charitable military organizations. The top four charitable organizations and a randomly selected organization will share $2,000 in donations from VAJoe. Books for Soldiers has been included in the event. The Alexa Traffic Rank for BooksForSoldiers.com is 242,975 and you would not believe our bandwidth bills! So these next few days, I am asking (begging actually) for your vote for Books For Soldiers. It won't take you 30 seconds to help a liberal out! CLICK HERE TO VOTE! A short, fast and easy site registration is required. P.S. Thank-you Michael Moore for supporting BFS. P.P.S. if you just want to donate, click here.

Meanwhile, Somewhere In A Parallel Universe...

With Rove gone, how far will Cheney go?

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlargeA great many of us have looked forward to the day when Rove left the White House for good, but have we really thought about a post-Rovian BushCo White House? I haven't. I have sometimes thought Cheney chaffed a bit at Rove's apparent closeness to Bush Junior - there were some places where the VP couldn't tread due to Rove's position. Cause God knows, anything that would disrupt Cheney's Fourth Branch Of Government is a bad thing. We have all seen how far Cheney is willing to push his power WITH Rove firmly planted in the Oval Office, but will Cheney now see ANY limits? How much of a impediment was Rove to Cheney? Don't get me wrong, I am glad Rove is gone, but I don't think the Democrats have a strategy in place to handle "All Cheney, All The Time." SPECIAL FAVOR SECTION Never let it be said liberals don't support the troops. During the first Gulf War, I began collecting books to send to my college friends serving in Saudi Arabia. I must have sent hundreds of books. When US troops got deployed to Iraq, I started doing it again but I knew the job was too big for one person to do it, so I set up Books For Soldiers, a 501 (c)(3) charity to send free books, dvds and video games to deployed US soldiers. But I wasn't that smart since I only thought the war would last 6 weeks tops in Iraq. What was I thinking? Now, FOUR years later, we are still shipping books. But today I need your help. There is a contest sponsored by VAJoe.com, they will contribute $2,000 to charitable military organizations next month in its Charity for Charities event. You can vote on your favorite charitable military organizations. The top four charitable organizations and a randomly selected organization will share $2,000 in donations from VAJoe. Books for Soldiers has been included in the event. The Alexa Traffic Rank for BooksForSoldiers.com is 242,975 and you would not believe our bandwidth bills! So these next few days, I am asking (begging actually) for your vote for Books For Soldiers. It won't take you 30 seconds to help a liberal out! CLICK HERE TO VOTE! A short, fast and easy site registration is required. P.S. Thank-you Michael Moore for supporting BFS. P.P.S. if you just want to donate, click here.

Cheney Del Morte

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing click to enlarge Some time ago my friend Jimmy and I had a big laugh when we chatted about what a "Redneck Tarot Deck" would look like. Willie Nelson as the Devil with his two ponytails sticking straight up and maybe Dolly Parton would represent The Universe. But what would the BushCo Tarot Deck be like? Not everyone can be Death and not everyone can be The Fool. That said, I think Halliburton would be a great representative of The Universe and Senator Vitter should grace The Lovers card. Ya know? What are your suggestions? Tarot on Wikipedia link.

Pardon Me (Part II)

Hat tip to Scrivener's Error.

Dick Cheney: Servant or Master?

click to enlarge I really do wonder who is in charge at the White House. Bush increasingly seems like a impudent child to me, more and more and the days drag by. Even this week, when I hear Pelosi or Reid speak-out forcefully against BushCo, I still feel a little shock in my brain - have I grown so accustomed to not seeing adults behaving like adults in Congress that I am still shocked when I see it? I am the most jaded and cynical person I know and still it jolts me somehow. Now when Congressional members of the GOP start doing it, something will truly be amiss. P.S. It is also a total coincidence that this is post 666 on my blog... or is it really?

Who will stand with Bush now?

click to enlarge Yesterday, on the 4th Anniversary of "Mission Accomplished," Bush vetoed the military funding bill. In that bill was funding for safer Humvees, Walter Reed restoration, body armor and the list goes on and on. It may have been my imagination, but Bush seemed even more cocky that usual - like his middle finger was pre-lubed. Also, during Nancy Pelosi's response speech, she seemed mad as hell. You could see the enriched anger in her face and hear it in her voice. From Bush's speech of May 1: The Democratic leaders know that many in Congress disagree with their approach and that there are not enough votes to override the veto. I recognize that many Democrats saw this bill as an opportunity to make a political statement about their opposition to the war. They sent their message, and now it is time to put politics behind us and support our troops with the funds they need. Someone is out to lunch. You mean the American people are making a political statement? Maybe we just want our soldiers back home from this unnecessary war, that you started by lying through you teeth to the American People. This one kills me: For example, Iraqi and coalition forces have closed down an al Qaeda car-bomb network, they've captured a Shi'a militia leader implicated in the kidnapping and killing of American soldiers, they've broken up a death squad that had terrorized hundreds of residents in a Baghdad neighborhood. General Petraeus was confirmed by the Senate in January, so you are telling me in the past 4 months, we have closed down ONE car-bomb network, captured ONE Shi'a leader and busted ONE death squad? That is your progress? We made better progress in Vietnam. Bring the troops home NOW.

Nancy Pelosi Hates The Economy

click to enlarge What is Nancy thinking? How dare she go against the Constitution and travel to Syria and Lebanon and try to disrupt the long-planned upcoming wars with those countries. She has even set us back in our attack on Iran. Thankfully, the Brits have helped us a bit with that Gulf of Tonkin maneuver. What is next on Nancy’s agenda? A peace plan with the Middle East? Can Congress even do such a thing? Will the democrats out-Rove Rove? If the Congress arranges for a peace treaty and more than 2/3rds of the Congress votes for it, does the President need to sign it for it to be ratified? Has that every been done in US history? What freak gave Congress that much power? This has the commie’s fingerprints all over it.

Fighting the Insurgents Here

click to enlarge Bush is between a rock and a hard place, actually he is between Iraq and the Constitution. I know the situation with the war is very serious but I can’t help but laugh as Bush lashes out at Congress for practicing oversight and following their Constitutional duties. Just like a petulant bully, Bush now is learning that he can’t get everything his way and he is even more frustrated by the general sentiment of the public not supporting him. Bush is also showing his general strategy for everything - get a bigger hammer. His way or the highway is all he knows. He shows the same unwillingness to talk with Congress as he did with Saddam before the war, with the UN (pick any day), North Korea and Iran. If you can bare to watch a Bush press conference, you know how hard it is to watch him talk - stuttering, stammering and repeating himself. Maybe that is why his only tool is war. Tantrums and bullets is all he knows. Death and deficits is all we get.

Karl Rove WILL answer the subpoena!

click to enlarge It just won't be the answer you want to hear. But it won't matter. I think if Karl Rove actually does testify, he will be just as evasive and belligerent as Inhofe was with Al Gore this past week. And Americans are getting very tired of the "blame someone else" tactic that spews like rat vomit out of the Bush White House. That crap is just played out. Americans are sick of this war. Bush's poll numbers are lucky to get out of the 20's and we all want answers. And our list of unanswered questions gets longer ever day. And I hate to say this, but I am surprised that this is now the mood of the Nation. I fully expected for the Bush lovers to love him forever. Whenever the right wing latches on to someone like they did Reagan, they never let go. Kinda like ebola. My other shock has been how cable news has been treating this story. For the most part, they have been giving BushCo grief over the bullshit deal the White House offered Congress. And to my utter shock, Chris "I bark at cars" Matthews has been beating the snot out of the White House position. AND WHAT THEY HELL HAS HAPPENED TO SCARBOROUGH? Sweet Goddess in the tree, Joe has totally left the plantation and has called BS on the whole thing. If you look back to a year ago, Congress was silent unless the Hammer was committing crimes. Who knows what Mark Foley was up to. And Bush was ripping the Constitution and the foundations of democracy to pieces. And against all of this, the GOP still embrace their most corrupt with warm, moist kisses. Case in point, Tom "The Hammer" DeLay. Why he is even allowed on TV to push his nonsense anymore I beyond me. If This Be Treason knocks it out of the park: I suppose Mr. DeLay might think he has written a twentieth century Confessions of Saint Augustine. He tells of his early career in congress when he was a drunk and a philanderer. Like George Bush, he says he was saved, that he met Jesus. It is strange to see this born again Christian on television. He is a gnome, a gargoyle, but he has gleaming white expensive new teeth, through which he lies shamelessly. Over the last 10 weeks, the Dems in Congress have turned the Government upside down and is shaking it as much as they can. All we can do now is watch all the cockroaches fall and hit the ground.

Everybody serves!

click to enlarge Oh yes, everyone has options. They can come and go and they all grovel at the feet of El Presidente. Bullshit. They all know what the other is doing. They are picking this nation apart in order to remake it in their own corrupt neocon fantasy. And the spear at which they are doing this is the US Military, which ironically, does not serve at the pleasure of the President, they are forced into it. Then once no longer able to carry out their orders due to injury, they are shipped back to Walter Reed where they are abused in a very hideous way. But the ones that remain, they are forced to serve AGAINST the interests of the Constitution and the We The People. And again, Rove is in the center of it all.