Month: March 2006

Pre-IED Blast from the Past: What Bush Said as He Sent Us Into Iraq

Trish

It’s hard to read the words our president uttered as he committed us to war in Iraq. It’s hard to remember life before this albatross was tied around our necks, and it’s hard not to wince at the utter pretense and sanctimony of this idiot.

I mean no disrespect to the men and women who accepted this burden…but the Iraq War sucks. Big time.

Here, with a couple of comments from me, is what Bush said three years ago. As you read this, please keep in mind that 2,316 Americans have died as a result of this indulgence, along with 204 “Coalition” members. Between 33,600 and 37,800 Iraqi civilians have been killed. And the numbers of wounded and maimed from all nations involved is inestimable.

I mean no disrespect to the men and women who accepted this burden, and sincerely thank them for being willing to protect me and extend the freedoms America once represented to other people. But the Iraq War sucks. Big time.

In his address at 0315 GMT Thursday, [March 19, 2003] Bush said:

“My fellow citizens, at this hour American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.

On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein’s ability to wage war. These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign.

More than 35 countries are giving crucial support, from the use of naval and air bases, to help with intelligence and logistics, to the deployment of combat units. Every nation in this coalition has chosen to bear the duty and share the honor of serving in our common defense.

[…]

Note to DC Dems: Reporters Hate You

Jon Ponder
When reporters asked George W. Bush a question, he would answer, “No comment, asshole.”

Paul Waldman via Alternet.org:

Here’s a news flash, Democrats: The Washington press corps hates you. They think you’re a bunch of losers. And the way to get them to stop writing these stories is not, repeat, not to be nice to them. Do what George W. Bush used to do – when he was working on his dad’s campaigns and a reporter would ask him a question, George would walk away with a “No comment, asshole.” Treat them like dirt, and maybe they’ll start respecting you like they do the Republicans. Because the strategy you’re currently employing sure isn’t working.

Just think about it – the next time Dana Milbank asks you a question, instead of thinking, “Oo boy, I might get my anonymous comments in the Washington Post!”, say, “No comment, asshole.” The next thing you know he’ll be writing that you’re confident and strong.

BREAKING: Bush May Have Authorized Warrantless Home Searches

Jon Ponder

Keith Olbermann had breaking news on Countdown tonight: US News & World Report is reporting that the White House may have authorized warrantless physical searches of homes of United States residents in the months after the 9/11 attacks.

The Fourth Amendment says:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Update: Crooks & Liars has video of the Countdown segment here.

Update 2: Here is the transcript:

[…]

Failure of Initiative: Schwarzenegger’s Bush-Level Incompetence May Cost Him Re-election

Jon Ponder
I’ll reiterate my plea to the governor: Arnold, do everybody a favor and retire in January. You can be on the set of “Terminator 4” within hours after the inauguration of Gov. Angelides or Gov. Westly.

Boondoggle redux: Yesterday the big news out of Sacramento was that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger failed to get his massive public works initiative out of the state legislature, which means it will not appear on the June ballot. The “Rebuilding California” proposition may make it onto the November ballot but even if it does, it will be too late to help the governor’s re-election chances.

After Schwarzenegger’s disastrous performance last year, he came out with the proposal for Rebuilding California in December, intending to get it onto the June primary ballot so that he would have at least one accomplishment to run on.

Without it, all he has to show for his time in office is basically — nothing.

Today we learn that the initiative failed to make it out of the legislature because the Democrats and Republicans quickly learned that the governor was trying to play them off each other. He ticked off his fellow Republicans when they found out that he was privately claiming to Democrats that he had GOP support in the bag:

[…]

I Owe $30,000 — And So Do You

Trish

I just found out I’m deeper in the red than I thought. But at least I’m not alone. Every single American is right there with me, thanks to a Senate vote today to increase the national debt to $9 trillion. We’re all paying the price for Bush’s bad decisions, like tax breaks for the rich, pre-emptively going to war in Iraq and a delayed response to Hurricane Katrina.

It’s the fourth such move increasing the debt limit by a total of $3 trillion since Bush took office five years ago.

The measure allows the government to pay for the war in Iraq and finance Medicare and other big federal programs without raising taxes. It passed hours before the House was expected to approve another $91 billion to fund the war in Iraq and provide more aid to hurricane victims.

The partisan vote also came as the Senate continued debate on a $2.8 trillion budget blueprint for the upcoming fiscal year that would produce a $359 billion deficit for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

…It’s the fourth such move increasing the debt limit by a total of $3 trillion since Bush took office five years ago.

So how much is $9 trillion? Well, it’s got 12 zeros, but…

“It’s hard to understand what a trillion is. I don’t know what it is,” confessed Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, this week when debating the government’s staggering fiscal obligations.

This is so going to screw up my credit rating…
Comment by: mikefromtexas

It doesn’t help that the standard hand-held calculator comes nowhere close to computing numbers in the trillions. About the best it can do is 99,999,999.

John Nolan, a mathematics professor at American University in Washington, said… “But in terms of practical numbers it’s just overwhelming.”

So he conjured up a spending spree, something Americans might be able to relate to. “If you spent a million dollars a day for a million days (2,739 years),” you’d hit $1 trillion, Nolan observed…

The federal government has been on a spending binge. Just since 2002, the Republican-controlled Congress has had to hike the Treasury Department’s credit card limit four times, for a total of more than $3 trillion.

Allowing Bush’s tax cuts in the first place was idiotic but continuing to squander America’s former wealth this way is criminal. The worst part is we’re all going along with it. Is it O.K. if I post-date my check?

GOP Reps Call for Impeachment — in 1999

Jon Ponder

What will we tell the children?

In 1999, Republicans in Congress were outraged over presidential mendacity:

  • Former Representative, now Senator, Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina):

    “The president of the United States sets [sic] atop of the legal pyramid. If there’s reasonable doubt about his ability to faithfully execute the laws of the land, our future would be better off if that individual is removed. And let me tell you where it all comes down to me. If you can go back and explain to your children and your constituents how you can be truthful and misleading at the same time, good luck.”

  • Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Pennsylvania), current chairman of the House Judiciary Committee:

    “[The] rule of law should apply to everyone, no matter what excuses are made by the president’s defenders… We have done so because of our devotion to the rule of law and our fear that if the president does not suffer the legal and constitutional consequences of his actions, the impact of allowing the president to stand above the law will be felt for generations to come –laws not enforced are open invitations for more serious and more criminal behavior.”

  • Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Illinois), who was then chairman of the House Judiciary Committee:

    “There is a visibility factor in the president’s public acts, and those which betray a trust or reveal contempt for the law are hard to sweep under the rug…They reverberate, they ricochet all over the land and provide the worst possible example for our young people.”

Jessica Simpson Opts to Avoid GOP Taint

Jon Ponder

During the Republican Convention in 2004, the GOP scrounged around the entertainment business to come up with celebrities they could trot out. Among the names on the list were Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson (with an average IQ lower even than their Dear Leader’s). None of these luminaries showed up for the convention, or at least that’s my recollection, but now one of them — the famously soon-to-be divorced star of “Newlyweds,” Jessica Simpson — has decided not to attend a GOP fundraiser, even though she will be in Washington on the night of the event:

oncerned about politicizing her favorite charity, singer-actress Jessica Simpson on Wednesday turned down a invitation to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush, a snub that left Republicans dismayed.

The apparent final word that Simpson would be a no-show at a major Republican fund-raiser with Bush and congressional leaders on Thursday night came after a day of conflicting reports from her camp and organizers of the event.

The blond star of the film “The Dukes of Hazzard” still plans to visit Washington on Thursday to lobby members of Congress on behalf of Operation Smile, a non-profit venture offering free plastic surgery for disadvantaged children overseas with facial deformities.

People close to Simpson said she declined a request to appear that same evening at the gala fund-raiser of the National Republican Congressional Committee — even after she was offered some private face time with Bush — because Operation Smile is a non-partisan group.

“It just feels wrong,” one Simpson insider told Reuters on Wednesday, adding that the actress keeps her political views private. “She would love to meet the president and talk about Operation Smile … but she can’t do it at a fund-raiser for the Republican Party.”

NRCC spokesman Carl Forti said he was surprised at Simpson’s position.

“It’s never been a problem for Bono,” he said, referring to the U2 rock star who has met regularly with political leaders of all stripes to promote various causes, including Third World debt relief. “I find it hard to believe she would pass up an opportunity to lobby the president on behalf of Operation Smile.”

Maybe she’s not as dumb as she appears.