Year: 2005

Bush Already Knows If You’ve Been Naughty or Nice

Trish

The Washington Post is carrying Bush’s holiday greetings to Americans, which features three messages – one each for people celebrating Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanzaa. In the future, these missives will be even more personalized…

“The season of hope and joy is upon us, although from what I hear in your phone calls to your mom, you need to get in the spirit a little more before the big visit. And quit calling Moviefone to get Christmas day showtimes – you’re going to hang out with your family and you’re going to like it.

You’ll be paying for that PSP for years, if you’re not in federal prison by then for supporting public radio, which I can’t help but notice you’ve been doing.

At this time of year, we must remember the less fortunate, which you’re going to be come January when all those credit card bills we’ve been monitoring come due. Remember, minimum payments are going to double and I’ve made it impossible for little folks like you to get bankruptcy protection. You’ll be paying for that PSP for years, if you’re not in federal prison by then for supporting public radio, which I can’t help but notice you’ve been doing.

And another thing – what’s up with buying that Al Franken book at Barnes & Noble? Your library records show you already checked it out, why do you need to own it? In the store security video, it was right next to the Bill O’Reilly book but your receipt shows you not only bought Franken, you bought the Jimmy Carter book too. You got some ‘splainin’ to do, buddy.

Let’s also ask God to protect those getting shot up in Iraq and Afghanistan for whatever reason they were supposed to be fighting over there. That reminds me – you need to use more gas and turn up the heat. Our DOT traffic surveillance cameras are in place on all major highways and bridges (I know you’ve noticed them, those little stands with the solar panels and antennas), and you’re not making enough trips – especially solo trips – in the SUV. Our economy depends on constantly increasing demand for oil, and you need to do your part until we come to drag you away in the middle of the cold, dark night.

Laura and I send our best wishes for a blessed holiday season for all Americans, and by that, I mean the ones who support us which you obviously don’t.

God Bless America! – George W. Bush”

Buzzflash Names Victoria Toensing ‘Gop Hypocrite of the Week’

Jon Ponder

“So Many Hypocrites, So Little Time” We heartily endorse Buzzflash‘s naming of Republican mouthpiece Victoria Toensing as its “GOP Hypocrite of the Week.”

In the 1990’s, Toensing and her husband (and law partner) Joe diGenova set the standard for GOP hackery with their relentless pursuit of every real and (mostly) imagined infraction of the law by the Clinton administration. And yet earlier this week, appearing on C-Span, Toensing literally laughed out loud at the idea that her Dear Leader should be investigated even though Bush admitted he violated the FISA law.

You’ll find a link to the video of Toensing scoffing at the law on the “GOP Hypocrites” page.

Logic, History and the Facts Prove That Pres. Clinton Did Not Break FISA Laws

Jon Ponder

Gop slime machine: It’s a classic Mayberry Machiavelli maneuver right out of the Atwater/Rove/Bush playbook. When your side has done something criminally malfeasant, kick up dust by claiming your opponents have done it too.

Think about it: If the corrupt Republicans who ran the Congress in the 1990’s had even suspected that Clinton’s actions were illegal – or if they could have found a way to contort the facts to make it appear he had broken the law – they would have impeached him much sooner than they did.

Reacting to news that George Bush admitted that he spied on Americans without bothering to get the proper warrants and thereby violated the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) law – while also shredding the U.S. Constitution and its prohibitions against against unreasonable searches and seizures — rightwing propagandists like Drudge and Byron York have floated the claim that Democratic presidents Clinton and Carter essentially did the same thing.

You don’t even have to know the facts in the matter to know that these are Big Lies. All you have to do is apply logic and a casual knowledge of Clinton era history.

During the entirety of his presidency, President Clinton was under investigation by the Republican Congress for matters large (the death of Vince Foster) and small (who paid the postage on answer to fan mail sent to the Clintons’ cat), and everthing in between – all of which turned out to be bogus. (They finally resorted to perjury-trapping him into a sex lie.)

The actions related to warrantless seizures taken by the Clinton Administration were legal and the Republicans in Congress were fully aware that these actions were being taken. Think about it: If corrupt Gop politicians like Newt Gingrich, Dan Burton and Henry Hyde had even suspected that Clinton’s actions were illegal – or if they could have found a way to contort the facts to make it appear he had broken the law – they would have impeached him much sooner than they did.

And the idea that Jimmy Carter – the last truly decent and honorable man to serve as president – would break the law is simply laughable.

Drudge, York et al are simply lying:

[…]

Forget Impeachment, Let’s Have a National Recall

Trish

California might be on to something, according to syndicated columnist and cartoonist Ted Rall, who made the case for a national recall instead of impeachment, and made it before the latest round of revelations. Rall wrote last month, when we thought exposing CIA agents they didn’t like and maintaining secret torture prisons was all Bush-Cheney were up to.

To “kill the hydra,” we have to get rid of them all, and that means a new election.

…our constitutional system only allows for impeaching individuals, not whole administrations. If Cheney is indicted and forced to quit, Bush will appoint a replacement–Washington scuttlebutt points to secretary of state Condi Rice. If Bush falls, Rice ascends. If something happens to Rice, the person she chose as vice president succeeds her. All the political hacks who lied and schemed and whose incompetence led to the current crisis of leadership–Donald Rumsfeld, Stephen Hadley, Karl Rove–stay in place. The hydra lives.

Rall rightly points out that simply impeaching Bush (and finding him unfit for office) would make no substantive change. To “kill the hydra,” we have to get rid of them all, and that means a new election.

One solution is to establish a California-style recall system on the national level. If a significant percentage of Americans loses confidence in the president and his administration to the extent that they’re willing to sign a recall petition, a special election should be held within three months. The number of required signatures should be high enough–California’s system calls for 12 percent of the number of people who cast votes in the preceding election–to ensure that recalls are only held as the result of widespread disgust among the citizenry.

To avoid disruption, the constitutional amendment creating the recall provision could prevent such elections from being held more often than, say, annually. And a recall won’t automatically result in a new party taking over the White House–just a new administration. But it would replace our current system of political stagnation with a more dynamic democracy.

“A more dynamic democracy.” I like the sound of that. Where do I sign the petition?

56 Senators Can Sleep Well Tonight

Trish

Thank you to all the brave senators who voted to defeat the so-called budget resolution that contained a provision for drilling in ANWR. By insisting that the ridiculous end-run tossed at them like spoiled produce by Sen. Ted Stevens at the last minute be removed from the spending bill, they showed remarkable integrity. In the case of Florida’s own Bill Nelson, the only Democrat to hold statewide office, it took true grit to risk being labeled anti-military in his re-election bid next year, when Republicans will be throwing all the wilted lettuce and squishy tomatoes they’ve got at him and will no doubt try to spin this into something it wasn’t. Thanks Bill, for always being counted on to do the right thing.

Retired Quakers Considered Credible Threat by Bush Spies

Trish

[Editor’s note: Two stories from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel were used in compiling this post]

A South Florida peace group is calling for a congressional investigation of domestic surveillance after finding itself a target.

The Truth Project, a group of largely Quaker retired folks, uses puppets, placards, and home-printed flyers to warn high school students about heavy-handed military recruiting efforts. Its targeting was uncovered this week in a Department of Defense document.

“I’m disabled, I’m 59 and if I’m a credible threat to the government of the United States, then either the government is terribly paranoid or terribly weak”

The 400-page document obtained by NBC described the group as both a “threat” and “credible…”

“I’m disabled, I’m 59 and if I’m a credible threat to the government of the United States, then either the government is terribly paranoid or terribly weak,” said Rich Hersh of Boca Raton…

[Michael] Foley, [associate professor of politics at Catholic University] said spying on groups like the Truth Project can be an inefficient use of government time and money. “There’s a lot of retirees, a lot of older people who are involved in protesting,” he said. “There’s not much alarming here. What do you expect Quakers to do?”

The government’s spy skills are almost as subtle as the activists are threatening.

[One member] said his group…has attracted government agents to meetings in private homes. Though the agents were disguised as anarchists, Del Papa said their footwear gave them away: Nike or Reebok running shoes, which to anarchists represent corporate greed.

“No anarchist is going to wear Nikes or Reeboks to a protest,” Del Papa said…

…several people reported hearing mysterious clicks and echoes during recent telephone conversations and noticing cars they considered suspicious pass by during meetings.

During one outdoor gathering by a Lake Worth canal, Marie Zwicker said she had seen men in a Boston Whaler cruise by, posing, unconvincingly, she added, as fishermen. “It was the wrong time of day,” she said.

Bush continues to lie, saying just yesterday that the only people being spied on were those on the giving or receiving end of international phone calls, with links to al Qaeda, or who represent a credible threat to America. He obviously can’t distinguish between someone disagreeing with him and the entire country being under attack. The man is mental and needs some serious – possibly residential – therapy.

Instead, his poll numbers shoot up with every lie, as Americans, eager for it all to go away, accept at face value both Bush lies and guys in suits fishing on a falling tide.

ACLU: FBI Using Counterterrorism Resources to Monitor Domestic Political Organizations

Buck Banks

Spies among us: The American Civil Liberties Union yesterday released a slew of documents it acquired through the Freedom of Information Act that indicate the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been investigating such terrorist organizations as Greenpeace, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. In a press release the ACLU said the FBI has expanded “the definition of ‘domestic terrorism’ to include citizens and groups that participate in lawful protests or civil disobedience.”

Among the documents released [yesterday] were more than 100 pages of FBI files on PETA. Multiple documents indicate ongoing surveillance of PETA-related meetings and activities, including a “Vegan Community Project” event at the University of Indiana during which the group distributed vegetarian starter kits to students and faculty, an animal rights conference in Washington, DC that was open to the public, and a planned protest of Cindy Crawford’s decision to become a llama fur spokesperson.

The ACLU said that FBI surveillance of mainstream organizations involved in public education campaigns has allowed the bureau to maintain files with names and other information on law-abiding Americans who support or participate in events organized by the groups. One file released by the FBI in response to a request for ADC’s records included a contact list for students and peace activists who participated in a 2002 conference at Stanford University, which focused on ending U.S. sanctions against Iraq.

“The FBI should be investigating real terrorists, not monitoring controversial ideas,” said Ben Wizner, an ACLU staff attorney. “Americans shouldn’t have to fear that by protesting the treatment of animals or participating in non-violent civil disobedience, they will be branded as ‘eco-terrorists’ in FBI records.”

2005 P.U.-Litzers Announced

Buck Banks

Media meatheads of 2005: For the 14th year in a row, Norman Solomon and Jeff Cohen have compiled their list of winners of P.U.-Litzers, which recognize the “stinkiest media performances of the year.” For full descriptions of the reasons behind the awards, go here.

  • “FIRST DO SOME HARM” AWARD — Radio reporter Michael Linder
  • SELF-PRAISE STEALTH PRIZE — William Kristol and Charles Krauthammer
  • PUT THEM IN CHAINS AWARD — Bill O’Reilly
  • MICKEY MOUSE JOURNALISM PRIZE — Correspondent Mike Barz and ABC
  • OUTSOURCED TO THE PENTAGON AWARD — New York Times reporter Judith Miller
  • ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MAN PRIZE — Bob Woodward
  • PRIME SLIME NEWS AWARD — Nancy Grace and CNN Headline News

Bill — What Does It Take to MAKE THE LIST?

Buck Banks

All we want for Xmas: Bill O’Reilly has updated his media hate list of “defamers,” adding The New Yorker magazine, and once again, Pensito Review ain’t on it. Frankly, the entire editorial staff is damned frustrated.

“I’m puzzled,” said Editor Trish.

“I’m bumfuzzled,” said Editor Jon.

We just don’t get it — we’ve repeatedly slammed and insulted the Billster, run really unflattering and even doctored images of him, and encouraged people to flame his Web site with messages about why they (and by extension, we) should be included on his hate list. What more can we do?

Here’s the latest update direct from O’Reilly.com:

A Message from Bill: Media Operations that Traffic in Defamation

The following media operations have regularly helped distribute defamation and false information supplied by far left websites:
– New York Daily News
– The St. Petersburg Times
– MSNBC
– The New Yorker Magazine
These are the worst offenders. In the months to come, we expect to add more names to this list. We recommend that you do not patronize these operations and that advertisers do the same. They are dishonest and not worth your time and money.

Though it probably won’t happen before Xmas, be assured that the Pensito Review editorial staff is committed to MAKING THE LIST. If you, gentle reader, have any ideas about how we can MAKE THE LIST, please post them in the “comments” section. We’ll give you a hat tip when we MAKE THE LIST.