Via Talking Points Memo here is another extraordinary story to add to our little collection of anecdotes about the GOP presidential candidates:
Followers of radical Islam must be deterred from committing a nuclear attack on U.S. soil, Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo said Tuesday morning, saying that as president he would take drastic measures to prevent such attacks.
"If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina," the GOP presidential candidate said. "That is the only thing I can think of that might deter somebody from doing what they would otherwise do. If I am wrong fine, tell me, and I would be happy to do something else. But you had better find a deterrent or you will find an attack. There is no other way around it. There have to be negative consequences for the actions they take. That's the most negative I can think of."
As if King George hasn't fucked things up enough already, the proposed policies and solutions to the threat of terrorism from this GOP presidential candidiate is to make things so much more fucking worse.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Bush's Department of Justice Still Working Hard to Protect Repbulicans?
Wow, you'd think the Republicans' political hacks in the DOJ would be very careful these days considering that the Attorney General is facing possible impeachment after he perjured himself in testimony to congress during the ongoing investigations into the NSA wiretapping program. I mean considering that the AJ's recent actions and testimony were so bad that Fox news couldn't even find a conservative to defend Gonzo on the air.
Well, maybe not.
This diarist at Daily Kos came across something interesting in a Washington Post article about the search of Republican Senator Ted Stevens' Alaska home:
The blog Is That Legal? notices something funny buried in today's Washington Post story about the FBI and IRS search of Sen. Ted Stevens' Alaska home:
Stevens said in a statement that his attorneys were advised of the impending search yesterday morning. (emphasis mine)
Apparently the blogger from Is That Legal? was a federal prosecuter and finds the possibility that someone from the DOJ would have notified Stevens' attorneys of the search warrant a little suspicious.
I guess we'll just have to see if there is anything more to this, but I have to say that anytime I think it's not possible that these people can be even more outrageous and stupid, I'm always wrong.
Well, maybe not.
This diarist at Daily Kos came across something interesting in a Washington Post article about the search of Republican Senator Ted Stevens' Alaska home:
The blog Is That Legal? notices something funny buried in today's Washington Post story about the FBI and IRS search of Sen. Ted Stevens' Alaska home:
Stevens said in a statement that his attorneys were advised of the impending search yesterday morning. (emphasis mine)
Apparently the blogger from Is That Legal? was a federal prosecuter and finds the possibility that someone from the DOJ would have notified Stevens' attorneys of the search warrant a little suspicious.
I guess we'll just have to see if there is anything more to this, but I have to say that anytime I think it's not possible that these people can be even more outrageous and stupid, I'm always wrong.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Quote of the Day~Whores and Pianos
Via Talking Points Memo, the Seattle Times describes the perjury prone Attorney General:
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales portrays himself as the piano player in the bordello, unaware of what is going on around him.
Is it possible that the party of moral values is turning into the party of good times with whores? (For additional examples see here, here, and here).
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales portrays himself as the piano player in the bordello, unaware of what is going on around him.
Is it possible that the party of moral values is turning into the party of good times with whores? (For additional examples see here, here, and here).
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Quote of the Day~Recruit College Republicans for a Shopping Spree in Iraq
More good news from Iraq, via Americablog, Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann has this to say about her trip to one of Saddam Hussein's palaces:
"It's absolutely huge," she said. "I turned to my colleagues and said there's a commonality with the Mall of America, in that it's on that proportion. There's marble everywhere. The other thing I remarked about was there is water everywhere. He had man-made lakes all around his personal palace -- one for fishing, one for boating."
Of course, the stores are a little different over there, so check out the neat little comparison chart at Americablog as you start preparing your next vacation.
I think this bit of remarkable insight into the situation in Iraq could be useful in couple of ways.
First, military recruiters are having an increasingly difficult time reaching their recruitment goals and are having to lower the standards required for military service. And yet, all the while, some of the most staunch supporters of the war in Iraq are to be found among College Republicans. See this post and video, Generation Chickenhawk: The Unauthorized College Republican National Convention Tour. Although College Republicans have a sincere belief that we have to fight the terrorists over there so we don't have to fight them over here and that the war on terrorism is, uh like, our generation's World War II, they have a profound antipathy to actually serving in Iraq and potentially putting themselves in the way of a roadside bomb. I would have thought that lower recruitment requirements would have had a positive impact on the ability/willingness of College Republicans to enlist. For example, while I'm sure that most College Republicans haven't had enough experience this early in their political careers and activism to have acquired a criminal record (just give them time and a little more experience), but even among the prodigies of the movement that may already have been indicted and/or convicted of a crime, the fact that the military can now recruit criminals to serve in Iraq has had little impact on recruitment levels among these military age Republicans. So, perhaps this "Mall of Iraq" angle would provide a little more of incentive if used by military recruiters to get College Republicans to actually follow in the footsteps of The Greatest Generation .
Second, I'm sure that the firm that is handling the "Madison Avenue" marketing techniques recommended in this report ordered by the Pentagon to brush up the Iraq War Brand in an attempt to renew Americans' excitement for the war could use this angle as well.
"It's absolutely huge," she said. "I turned to my colleagues and said there's a commonality with the Mall of America, in that it's on that proportion. There's marble everywhere. The other thing I remarked about was there is water everywhere. He had man-made lakes all around his personal palace -- one for fishing, one for boating."
Of course, the stores are a little different over there, so check out the neat little comparison chart at Americablog as you start preparing your next vacation.
I think this bit of remarkable insight into the situation in Iraq could be useful in couple of ways.
First, military recruiters are having an increasingly difficult time reaching their recruitment goals and are having to lower the standards required for military service. And yet, all the while, some of the most staunch supporters of the war in Iraq are to be found among College Republicans. See this post and video, Generation Chickenhawk: The Unauthorized College Republican National Convention Tour. Although College Republicans have a sincere belief that we have to fight the terrorists over there so we don't have to fight them over here and that the war on terrorism is, uh like, our generation's World War II, they have a profound antipathy to actually serving in Iraq and potentially putting themselves in the way of a roadside bomb. I would have thought that lower recruitment requirements would have had a positive impact on the ability/willingness of College Republicans to enlist. For example, while I'm sure that most College Republicans haven't had enough experience this early in their political careers and activism to have acquired a criminal record (just give them time and a little more experience), but even among the prodigies of the movement that may already have been indicted and/or convicted of a crime, the fact that the military can now recruit criminals to serve in Iraq has had little impact on recruitment levels among these military age Republicans. So, perhaps this "Mall of Iraq" angle would provide a little more of incentive if used by military recruiters to get College Republicans to actually follow in the footsteps of The Greatest Generation .
Second, I'm sure that the firm that is handling the "Madison Avenue" marketing techniques recommended in this report ordered by the Pentagon to brush up the Iraq War Brand in an attempt to renew Americans' excitement for the war could use this angle as well.
Outrage Epidemic
I have not been able to post anything for almost a whole week. I've been keeping up with things, but there have been a couple of days in the past week when I have forbidden myself to even read a blog or sit through a whole night of Countdown with Keith Olbermann. I have also sat down a couple of times to post something but have just been completely overwhelmed with the urge to shut myself in the basement and scream until my vocal chords suffer permanent damage. Yes, I know there is no excuse for this, but I have had a bad flare up of outrage fatigue. This is a chronic condition and has become somewhat of an epidemic, so I wanted to share some of the ways that I have dealt with this problem over the past week.
The important thing is not to completely shut down, hence no total outrage blackout. However, a day or two of obliviousness has been necessary for me and I think has allowed me to get it under control more quickly than I otherwise would have. However, the most effective way that I have dealt with my flare up of outrage fatigue is by taking some time to drink...a lot...spend more time with my friends and focus on some personal stuff. Oh, and of course, I should be a little more specific about the drinking therapy--the vodka shots chased with beer and the giant bottle of cheap wine early on a Sunday afternoon were especially good.
The important thing is not to completely shut down, hence no total outrage blackout. However, a day or two of obliviousness has been necessary for me and I think has allowed me to get it under control more quickly than I otherwise would have. However, the most effective way that I have dealt with my flare up of outrage fatigue is by taking some time to drink...a lot...spend more time with my friends and focus on some personal stuff. Oh, and of course, I should be a little more specific about the drinking therapy--the vodka shots chased with beer and the giant bottle of cheap wine early on a Sunday afternoon were especially good.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Quote of the Day~It's Not Obstruction When We Do It
Digby on Republican obstruction and Republicans' history of blaming Democrats of obstruction when they held up confirmation of King George's judicial nominees:
It is so rich listening to these Republicans decry the tyranny of the majority and stand up for the inalienable right to filibuster after their tiresome "up-or-down vote!" mantra of the last six years. Nobody ever accused them of being intellectually consistent....The Republicans are betting that the public will blame the indulgent parents when the children run wild and it's a pretty creative plan for a party that has a deeply loathed president and monumentally unpopular agenda.
Republicans are only obstructing a vote on withdrawing the troops from Iraq and, well...everything else.
It is so rich listening to these Republicans decry the tyranny of the majority and stand up for the inalienable right to filibuster after their tiresome "up-or-down vote!" mantra of the last six years. Nobody ever accused them of being intellectually consistent....The Republicans are betting that the public will blame the indulgent parents when the children run wild and it's a pretty creative plan for a party that has a deeply loathed president and monumentally unpopular agenda.
Republicans are only obstructing a vote on withdrawing the troops from Iraq and, well...everything else.
The Latest from the Party of Obstruction
One thing you can always count on Republicans for is more of the same. This is just great. We have our intelligence agencies warning us of resurgent operations by al-Qaeda in Pakistan with intelligence officials "cit[ing] heightened concerns that al-Qaeda is regrouping, reorganizing and -- based on recent threats delivered by Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri -- increasingly confident of its ability to conduct similar relatively low-scale attacks against U.S. or other Western targets." The situation in Iraq continues to worsen, and a vast majority of Americans want a withdrawal of troops from Iraq but we just get more Republican obstruction.
Americablog describes Republicans' tactics in response to the latest attempts by Democrats to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq as "a permanent filibuster on any Iraq related issue." The Washington Post reports:
Majority Leader Harry M. Ried (D-Nev.) had hoped to convince Republicans to allow a simple-majority vote on a Democratic proposal to withdraw most U.S. troops from Iraq by next spring, But GOP leaders held firm to a 60-vote threshold for passage -- a routine maneuver in today's closely divided Senate but a number Democrats have been unable to meet all year. And Republicans decried Reid's decision for a marathon session as a stunt....
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) responded to Reid with a counteroffer: an automatic 60-vote threshold for all key Iraq amendments, eliminating the time-consuming process of clearing procedural hurdles. Democrats agreed to similar terms on several Iraq votes earlier this year, and all the controversial war-related votes held since Democrats took control of the Senate in January have required 60 "yeas" to pass.
"It's a shame that we find ourselves in the position that we're in," McConnell said. "It produces a level of animosity and unity on the minority side that makes it more difficult for the majority to pass important legislation."
Assuming neither side blinks, the Senate is expected to vote Wednesday on the Democratic amendment, offered by Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl M. Levin (Mich.) and Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.). It would require Bush to begin reducing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq within four months, while reassigning remaining forces to specific missions, including the training of Iraqi security forces and counterterrorism operations. Under the proposal, most U.S. troops would leave Iraq by April 30, 2008....
(Emphasis mine). Seems like I've read about this kind of thing recently:
Americans elected a new Congress to get things done. But the conservative minority has chosen a strategy of obstruction in the Senate. They have used the threat of a filibuster to delay or block virtually every major initiative. Bills with majority support....Conservatives boast about the “success” of their strategy in discrediting the new majority. As Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott, R-Miss., put it, “the strategy of being obstructionist can work or fail. So far it’s working for us.”
Americablog describes Republicans' tactics in response to the latest attempts by Democrats to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq as "a permanent filibuster on any Iraq related issue." The Washington Post reports:
Majority Leader Harry M. Ried (D-Nev.) had hoped to convince Republicans to allow a simple-majority vote on a Democratic proposal to withdraw most U.S. troops from Iraq by next spring, But GOP leaders held firm to a 60-vote threshold for passage -- a routine maneuver in today's closely divided Senate but a number Democrats have been unable to meet all year. And Republicans decried Reid's decision for a marathon session as a stunt....
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) responded to Reid with a counteroffer: an automatic 60-vote threshold for all key Iraq amendments, eliminating the time-consuming process of clearing procedural hurdles. Democrats agreed to similar terms on several Iraq votes earlier this year, and all the controversial war-related votes held since Democrats took control of the Senate in January have required 60 "yeas" to pass.
"It's a shame that we find ourselves in the position that we're in," McConnell said. "It produces a level of animosity and unity on the minority side that makes it more difficult for the majority to pass important legislation."
Assuming neither side blinks, the Senate is expected to vote Wednesday on the Democratic amendment, offered by Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl M. Levin (Mich.) and Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.). It would require Bush to begin reducing the number of U.S. troops in Iraq within four months, while reassigning remaining forces to specific missions, including the training of Iraqi security forces and counterterrorism operations. Under the proposal, most U.S. troops would leave Iraq by April 30, 2008....
(Emphasis mine). Seems like I've read about this kind of thing recently:
Americans elected a new Congress to get things done. But the conservative minority has chosen a strategy of obstruction in the Senate. They have used the threat of a filibuster to delay or block virtually every major initiative. Bills with majority support....Conservatives boast about the “success” of their strategy in discrediting the new majority. As Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott, R-Miss., put it, “the strategy of being obstructionist can work or fail. So far it’s working for us.”
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