Tuesday, January 31, 2006

STATE OF THE UNION?

"I told all four that there were going to be some times where we don't agree with each other. But that's OK. If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." - George W. Bush

Monday, January 30, 2006

Fred Barnes Bush's waterboy and Neocon cheerleader.

Of the Republican conservatives Fred Barnes is one of the funniest (not intentionally though just like Scott McClellan) waterboys for the administration. He has a new book about Bush and is currently on tour promoting it. In a recent interview even he just like the mainstream media could not actually remember what George Bush's military record was. It is a very funny exchange. Andrew Sullivan has the transcript at the Daily Dish.

By the way did George Bush ever show up for that Navy physical? Does character still count for the Republicans? Bush still has not answered the questions.
And by the way how did George Bush get a Texas drivers license without his Maine DUI conviction showing up in the records. Anybody gonna ask Alberto Gonzales the guy who arranged it and is now heading the Justice Department? So much for character and truth in the Bush Administration.

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Thinking about the Challenger disaster.

Back in the late seventies I was working for a subcontracter of Rockwell that had the contract to build the Space Shuttles. My company was involved with some of the onboard communications electronics systems. I spent many hours testing and making sure all the devices worked properly including some over nights where we shook and temperature cycled the units in testing laboratories I left the job in 1979. But with each shuttle launch I felt a feeling of pride knowing that I did everything to make sure the devices I worked on were the best they could possibly be.

Fast forward to 1986 Ronald Reagan is in the Whitehouse and privitzation was all the rage and NASA was under pressure to have an ambitious launch schedule. There was pressure to have the shuttle in space with the first teacher for President Regans State of the Union speech. Add all that up and you have the Challenger disaster. There were some heros that day in 1986 they are the engineers who tried to stop the launch and you can read about them here.

Friday, January 27, 2006

Republican scrub job of Bush. What are they hiding now?

One thing about Bush and the Republicans these days is that they have to hide and bury the truth. The latest outrage from Bush's supporters is the scrubbing of any photos of President Bush and criminal lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Find out how this is happening at Talking Points Memo.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Dare not call it TREASON?

A very overlooked story by the mainstream media in this country is the sentencing of a Pentagon analyst named Larry Franklin. He gave classified and secret U.S. government information to employees of the Israeli Embassy and the Israeli "lobbying" group AIPAC knowing they would pass it on to the Israeli Government. In sentencing Franklin U.S. District Judge T. S. Ellis said: "The defendant did not seek to hurt the United States. He thought he was helping to bring certain information to the attention' of the security council."

HUH? Giving out United States classified and secret information to foreign governments is causing no harm?
As usual Justin Raimondo has taken out his razor and shows just what harm Franklin has done and what is going behind the scenes and how it will affect the United States.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Ford layoffs and the dying Middle Class.

With the Ford Motor Company annoucment that it will layoff 25% of it's workforce one has to wonder what will happen to many of these workers. While some will get and take buyout offers others will be called into the office and just be told to get out. It may be a slow process or a very quick one. These laid off workers I think will find it to be harder this time then in previous layoffs. Having been laid off a few times myself it seems I was always able to find a temporary job to carry me through until another higher paying position opened up. I pumped gasoline for a few months during one dry period many years ago. Today, even those temporary jobs may be harder to find. Thanks to the failure of the Federal Government to protect the borders the result of which has allowed millions of Illegal Immigrants into the country doing many of the jobs that would have helped some of the blue collar assembly line workers bridge the time between jobs. They will not be able to compete with the low wages the illegals are paid (and who get food and shelter from groups like Catholic Charities using U.S. taxpayer dollars) while the Ford workers will have a house and family to support. Even more bleak is the fact that there may not be any future jobs available that will pay as well as the jobs they were laid off from. Some of them will start the slow spiral downward and leave the middle class lifestyle that they have enjoyed and that is a tragedy for all of us.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Well ,salute my boots a four star spinner..

Gen. Michael Hayden, the former NSA director and who now holds the second-ranking job in the Office of the National Intelligence Director, John Negroponte. Was out there yesterday in his salute my boots uniform using his entrenching tool throwing more Bushit around trying to justify the Bush administrations warrentless use of wiretaps on American citizens. One of the things the four star spinner said was this:

"Had this program been in effect prior to 9/11, it is my professional judgment that we would have detected some of the al-Qaida operatives in the United States,"

Now where have we heard this before?

Monday, January 23, 2006

Turning the lights out.

I was watching MEET THE PRESS yesterday with James Carville, Paul Begala and Mary Matlin. Carville and Begala have just published a book called TAKE IT BACK. I was struck by something Begala said:

'I got the most important reviews for the book yesterday: Diane and I went to Houston, our friend Analie Sanchez was getting married. We went to lunch with my dad. ‘OK, Dad, what did you think?’ And it was interesting—he picked up on something that I’d forgotten was in the book, he said, ‘The thing that troubles me most’—and this is a guy who voted for Ronald Reagan and spent his career in the oil business in Texas, he’s no liberal—he said, ‘What bothers me the most was that President Bush hired a lobbyist from the mining industry to be the number two guy in the Interior Department.’ And that he says, in the book, he says, ‘My goal is to turn out the lights on the mine safety agency.’ "

I then opened up the Washington Post and read this story. But, maybe it's just a coincidence.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Rouge reading!

As they say in the Public Relations business there is no such thing as bad publicity and author William Blum has hit the jackpot with a recommendation from Osama Bin Laden for his book Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower," It might be good for President George Bush to pick it up himself or have First Lady Laura Bush read it to him. "What's that word Blowback mean again Laura?"

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Fill er up suckers!

I travel about six minutes to work and that is only three days a week. So I don't use much gasoline in the car. I may fill the tank up once every several weeks. Last night coming back from dinner in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of DC with the needle on "E" it was once again time to fill up. Thirty Four dollars later the twelve gallon tank was filled and my wallet a little emptier. I recall in the not to distant past $18.00 would top it off. I won't be back at the pump for three or four weeks unlike many of my fellow Americans where weekly fillups are the norm. As the Washington Post reports "Republican lawmakers who are home for a long January break said constituents are talking a great deal about high gas prices... " The reason for this is they are reminded every week at the pump how much they are paying. Well, what do they expect when Bush and Cheney two people from the oil industry are running things in the executive branch. Yes indeed fill er up suckers!

Friday, January 20, 2006

DC Corners

I spent several hours yesterday at the National Archives here in Washington. I was trying to find the date and on what ship a wiry French explosives engineer arrived in New York in October 1849. This research is for a book and documentary I've been working on for awhile now. After a few hours of eyestrain looking at microfilmed passenger lists I finally found the info I came for and called it a day.
I walked outside and sat on a bench facing the winter sun soaking up a few rays to prevent any occurrence of SAD (Seasonal Acquired Depression). When I opened my eyes I noticed in front of me a retangular slab of granite located on a patch of grass and trees just outside the National Archives. This was the memorial to President Franklin Delanore Roosevelt. Just a desk sized piece of granite with the words "In memory of..." Simple and plain and just what he wanted and where he wanted it. I must have walked by it a number of times and never noticed it until now.
Walking across the street to an ATM machine on the corner. I saw that FBI Headquarters is just across the street. I never noticed that too. I got my cash from the ATM and bought some Hot Dogs from a street vendor. Heading over toward a nearby bench to eat I looked up and saw I was sitting in front of Signatures restaurant. Signatures is the restaurant that is now the part of the focus of the Jack Abramoff corruption scandal. I sat down and thought of the irony of the cash machine located in the same building as the restaurant involved with the congressional money scandal located across from FBI headquarters. There is a lot of history on the corners of DC. You just need to look.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Whitehouse attempt at another whitewash.

"The White House is refusing to reveal details of tainted lobbyist Jack Abramoff's visits with President Bush's staff."

The Whitehouse Press Secretarty continues to stonewall the Press and the American people about any visits that disgraced Republican uber lobbyist Jack Abramoff made to the White House and who he met with . It's just another example about how the Bush administration has either contempt for the truth or is so corrupt that everthing has to be hidden. The legacy of this administration will be one of inept blundering and corruption. That is if impeachment does not happen first.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Karen Hughes Blues

While clueless Condi Rice refuses to apoligize about the snafu regarding the missle bombing in Pakastan. The Pakastani people are pissed and are hitting the street in protests and anger. Just a reminder they DO have nuclear weapons! Their leader General Pervez Musharraf is one bullet away from being an ex. It appears to be our own private Cambodia in the making. While we will have to wait for the blowback. David Corn has how another Texass crony of the President Bush will spin the story. While many of us here in the U.S. fail to understand the seeds of hatred against us that are sown when we continue to blunder along.

Monday, January 16, 2006

Hola Soccers! Err Suckers!

Eight illegal immigrants were arrested yesterday in upstate Brewster New York. They were caught playing soccer on a school field. There are a souple of things to note about this story that need closer inspection.

1) The WNBC website reported the status in true Orwellian journalism of the mainstream media by saying:

"Eight immigrant laborers that authorities say are undocumented aliens"

Instead of saying illegal aliens WNBC skirts around the words regarding people who have broken the immigration laws of this country even using the term "immigrant laborers" is bad reporting because obviously if they were caught playing soccer on a school field they were not working.

2) What really got my attention on this story is the following passage:
"Victor Padilla, Brewster's Hispanic liaison, said many immigrants are illiterate. He said they can't read English or Spanish, adding some of them don't even know how to count."

Even though "NO TRESPASSEING" signs were posted in English and Spanish they mean nothing to the current crop of illegals entering our coutry. These illegal immigrants are not the smartest people but smart enough to invade the Untied States and travel thousands of miles across our country evading the authorities. thanks to the FAILURE of the Federal Government to protect and secure our borders. Think about that next time you see the dollars spent on the Department of Defense budget! .How long does this have to go on before our Federal government starts listening to the people and get serious about protecting our borders and stopping the subsidizing this illegal labor force by middle-class taxpayers.

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Alito and the Republican blindness to conflicts of interest.

Judge Alito's defense of his handling of the Vanguard case shows the blindness of the Republicans to conflicts of interest. Alito's defense does not pass the common sense test and he should never have heard yet alone rule on this case. That is why it was overturned and handed to another judge. The fact that he took the case shows that his judicial judgment is questionable. Of course like many Republicans in Washington these days he blames the problem on someone else or I should say something else in this case a computer.
Looking at how the Republicans turned a blind eye to Alito's conflict of interest reminded me of another Republican who did not see a conflict of interest which also did not pass the common sense test. That is the issue of FCC commissioner Michael Powell's vote on the Time Warner/AOL merger even though his father Colin Powell was on the board of Directors of AOL at the time. .
And then of course there refusal of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Scalia to recuse himself from a case involving his close personal friend Vice President Dick Cheney. Scalia, Cheney, Alito and Powell and the Republicans in control of the government just don't smell the conflict of interest yet alone the stench of corruption that is Washington today.

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Are these Republicans still smiling?

A great photo at TPM with Ralph Reed and Jack Abramoff and... say does that gal work for Karl Rove?

How to read Ralph Reed. Following God or the money?

Ralph Reed the righteous Christian and Republican advisor to George Bush does not look so righteous once you read the emails from him and the Republican lobbyist bagman Jack Abramoff

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Speaking of Orwell. Does this sound familiar?

Every war when it comes, or before it comes, is represented not as a war but as an act of self-defense against a homicidal maniac.
George Orwell

Monday, January 09, 2006

Documented Orwellean Journalism

While reading the letters to the editor on Saturday in the Washington Post I came across one from Brad Fraley who is spot on in taking the editors of the Washington Post to task regarding the Orwellean word games some newspapers play regarding the illegal immigrant problem in our country. Here is his letter:

"While reading the Dec. 30 editorial "Manassas's War on Immigrants," I came across this phrase: "a demographic shift as Hispanic immigrants, legal and undocumented, move into what were once relatively homogenous neighborhoods."
I love the phrase "legal and undocumented." If someone in the country is "undocumented," then are they not here "illegally"? Which is the opposite of someone who is here "legally"? Or are there now three classes of immigrants: legal, illegal and undocumented? Does this new class apply only to Hispanic immigrants, or does it apply to anyone who manages to sneak, crawl, climb or run across our borders without proper "documentation"? And if that is the case, what is an "illegal" immigrant? Or have you done away with them and they are all now just "undocumented"? This does not seem fair to all the immigrants who went through the process to be here "legally."
An explanation of your paper's policy on the use of immigration-related terms would be greatly appreciated (but not likely)."

Right on Brad! Now if only Bart Jones and the editors at Newsday would read this maybe they would stop hiding behind Mr. Orwell and give us some truth on this issue. Some kudos to the Washington Post for at least publishing the letter but, how about more honesty in reporting and editing in regards to the illegal immgration issues.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

MEMO TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

TO: President George W. Bush
RE: Meetings for advice with former Secretaries of previous administrations.

Having a meeting with former Secretaries of State and Defense of previous administrations to solicit their advice on issues such as the war in Iraq is generally a good idea. Though in the future it would be a good practice to have such meetings before you send this country into a war and not after things have gotten messy. Otherwise it may appear to the public to be just another photo op designed to make it appear that you are listening to other voices other than the ones in your head.

BCP

Friday, January 06, 2006

Crazy Christians, Jews and bad Karma

That crazy Christian Pat Robertson is blaming Ariel Sharon's stroke on the Israeli leader's pullout from Gaza and because according to Robertson he is dividing Israel. What utter nonsense!
Everyone knows Sharon's stroke was caused by the prayers of the Palestinian Muslims praying for Sharon's demise because of the death and destruction caused by the Israeli occupation of Gaza. The Israeli pullout from Gaza was too little, too late. It could be that Robertson failing to realize that maybe the Muslim God can beat up his God.
But even if Robertson is right then we truly need to worry. Because the Hurricanes that damaged Florida in the last few years was also God's wrath. A direct result of Katherine Harris and Governor Jeb Bush using a faulty list to disqualify legal voters in the 2000 election effectively stealing the election for Jeb's Brother George Bush. I suspect God still may not be done with that state.
Katrinia no doubt was God's displeasure with the Louisiana Misissippi voting for Bush in 2004. Likewise the recent fires in Texas. As for the way things are going in Iraq....

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Dick Cheney lying again!

Like the Jon Lovitz character on Saturday Night Dick Cheney is lying again. While it does not surprise me it angers me because he and the group of lying Neocons and blunderers have caused the deaths of tens of thousands people on both sides and still can not tell the truth. The Washigton Post has the latest lies from the Vice Presidents mouth. Inside the cozy conservitive confines of the Heritage Foundation Cheney once again opened his mouth and out came the lies and distortions once again. In trying to justify the Bush administrations bypassing of the FISA court warrents Cheney said about the 9/11 hijackers : "we didn't know they were here plotting until it was too late."
But as the Poast article points out that Cheney did not mention that the government had compiled significant information on the two suspects before the attacks. And that the Bush administration already had the power to eavesdrop on their calls and e-mails, as long as it sought permission from a secret court that oversees clandestine surveillance in the United States. But, they did not do it despite warning flags that should not have been missed.. Or maybe it's just Dick Cheney's circular reasoning is at work again and perhaps he does not know he is lying.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Is Tom DeLay still smiling?

Is Tom DeLay still smiling? Here comes another mess out of Texas these days from George Bush to Tom Delay's plans to make the K Street Lobbying firms Republican occupied territory. It appears the "Hammer" is about to smash his thumb with his own tool. Or to put it another way DeLay a former exterminator is about to be caught in a trap of his own making. Jack Abramoff is about to spill the beans. Sit back and enjoy this show maybe just maybe we will weed a few more of the corrupt politicans out of Washington. at least that is my hope.

Monday, January 02, 2006

Where the real threat to American freedoms and liberty lies.

I think this article by T.J. Rogers shows us where the real threat to our American liberty and freedom lies. It can not be said often enough especially with Bush, Cheney and the Neocons running around in Washington.

Sunday, January 01, 2006

The BCP Republican Ugly Award of 2005

I was trying to figure our who should win the BCP Republican Ugly award for 2005. It was a toss up between the Congresswoman who questioned fellow Congressman Jack Murtha's patriotism for raising questions about our course in Iraq. Or the Presidents mom.
In the end I decided that Barbara Bush's comment while touring the shelter in Texas where many of the Katrina evacuees had been sent highlighted the condescending elitism of some of those in power in this country. Despite her grandmotherly appearance that comment spoke volumes about how the power elites think about those less fortunate in our country.