Delicious philippic from SFGate: “It is now becoming increasingly easy to actually dare to think that, in less than one year’s time, Dubya will begin packing his bags, jamming into his Spongebob duffel his map of the world coloring book, English-to-English translation dictionaries, mangled pocket edition of the U.S. Constitution, Bibleman action figure set and a “Mission Accomplished!” sweatshirt, and heading off to face his destiny as one of the bleakest, most morally repellent chapters in all of American history…”
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Good points. Does this mean Air America’s reason for existing will be over? I’m getting really tired of those smug asshole idiots like Randy Rhodes and Mike Malloy. Thom Hartmann’s a jerk, too.
1 years 2 months 5 days 17 hours 59 minutes 7 seconds
http://politicalhumor.about.co.....hclock.htm
Unfortunate for us that, if current trends continue, after this clock counts down we’ll have another 8 years of, in one case, the next dynastic presidency or, in the other, the next corrupt and incompetent dictator.
It’s less depressing to watch local politics, oddly enough.
Recovering from the Dumbya years will be like recovering from motion sickness only the nausea and overhang in your guts will last at least a generation.
“Unfortunate for us that, if current trends continue, after this clock counts down we’ll have another 8 years of, in one case, the next dynastic presidency or, in the other, the next corrupt and incompetent dictator.”
YellowPup,
Man, you hit that nail squarely on the head!!
Perhaps readers of HA are not aware of the unusual decsion GWB has made t move his home to the United Arab Emotrates after 09?
CLICK HERE
You forgot to mention his copy of the flight schedule to Paraguay.
@1 “Randy Rhodes … Mike Malloy … Thom Hartmann”
Great American patriots, all three.
@4 “the next dynastic presidency or … the next corrupt and incompetent dictator”
Somehow Dumbo managed to be all these things rolled into one.
Assuming a Democrat ends up in office (and my god, are they trying to throw away their momentum?) I hope the next administration won’t make the same huge mistake the current one did by automatically rejecting everything coming out of the previous administration.
The Bushies decided pretty much across the board that if the Clinton administration did it it must be bad and therefore tossed out. That included a lot of good with the “bad” and set us back quite a bit (see Korea, Kyoto, the Middle East).
While there is a lot less to like in the current administration and plenty of dreck to remove, I hope the decisions of what to cut will be made rationally rather than ideologically.
I mean, for me that’s the whole point: replace incompetence with competence and removing the ideological blinders.
-OM
All-Mail Voting In Jeopardy For 2008 Election
King County elections director Sherril Huff says the county may not be able to certify its Diebold equipment in time for next year’s presidential election because of vendor delays.
“Huff said the equipment vendor, Premier Election Solutions (formerly Diebold Election Systems), slowed the certification process in order to address security vulnerabilities found in California and Florida government-sponsored reviews. The California study found that election equipment made by Diebold and several other manufacturers was vulnerable to hacking and tampering with election results.”
Quoted under fair use; for complete story and/or copyright info see http://seattletimes.nwsource.c.....ns18m.html
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Diebold equipment is “vulnerable to hacking and tampering,” how about that? What does this tell you about the last two presidential elections (does anyone still doubt they were stolen?), and the electronic voting machine anomolies (on Diebold machines, of course) in Snohomish County? Rossi lost because his boiler room hackers underestimated how many votes they had to steal in Yakima and Snohomish counties, the only two counties to use touch-screen voting machines in 2004.
the best thing is that many of the incompetent and corrupt people that Bush has brought in and many of the idealogues will be gone. The real problem is the “loyal busghies” that have now infiltrated the federal government and courts.
Here is the corrupt and incompetent roll call or rogues gallery:
“heck of a job” Brownie – the Katrina disaster is what happens when you try to run FEMA like a dog show.
Rumsfeld: the only known unknown was his lack of intelligence and forsight. What an idiot!
Paul Bremer: I don’t like Baathists – so let’s outlaw them and the whole army – oops, there is an insurgency of armed people, where did they come from? Instead of bringing in experts to rebuild Iraq, let’s bring in idealogues straight from college
Gonzalez: The constitution is what Bush tell me it is and the president is above the constitution. What, me be incharge and actually what is going on??? Obviously, the state AGs were fired by divine intervention.
David Yoo: “I can find a legal rationale for anything the president wants to do” – a pretend lawyer who thinks checks and balances refers to his checking account.
David Addington: If I bully enough people than Dick cheney will get his way – world domination and unlimiting hunting.
Dick cheney: He defines the word snarl. One can just imagine him putting pins on the map and saying – take out that country, I don’t like them. Negotiation? We don’t do that…Let’s screw up american prestige and ruin th emilitary instead.
condaleeza Rice: the ultimate enabler…
GWB: How many times can he say terrorists are bad guys or this is hard work – when he has never worked hard in his life? How many words does he mispronounce? He couldn’t even get into UT law school and it is very telling that he is the first president with a criminal record..
David Safavian (GAO): convicted of corruption – ’nuff said
karl rove:
evil mastermind – should have been convicted for outing a CIA agent.
Karen Hughes: Gee – why is our standing in the world lower than it has ever been?
Yup – it is time for this most corrupt and incompetent adminsitration ever to slime off into the sunset. Time for some real adults to take over.
Air America will be needed more than ever then. There needs to be an alternative tot he Right Wing noise machine, which will only be stronger without Bush in Office. Now some Democrats did try to take over Pacifica a few years ago, but Pacifica’s director at the time did not count on something. Pacifica is different from Corporate or even NPR, no commercial advertisers or sponsors. It’s founder, a pacifist, new that corporate money would just harm the integrity of his network. Although it was listener-sponsored(listeners subscribing, unlike Hartman’s definition of Listener-sponsored), the Listeners had no control, as Lew Hill(Pacifica Founder), felt that everybody would love a pacifist, except when there is a war. He kept control centralized with him and his successor. After the struggle which Pacifica people call the Pacifica Civil War, they did something new. Democracy Radio! Each listener subscriber gets a vote for candidates to the local board of a Pacifica affailiate. KPFA in Berkely is doing some interesting coverage of the Oil Spill, with some insight that you would not find on Corporate Radio, or even Air America.
KPFT in Houston, a few months ago was shot at, but that did not scare the volunteers there on that 100,000 watt FM station. Being terrorized by those who do not like them has happened before, like the KKK destroying their transmitter, twice in 1970.
Oh, by the way, Mike Malloy is no longer with Air America Radio, he was fired last year. He got on with a new outfit, Nova M Radio, but was picked up by several Air America Affaliates. As for Thom Hartman, I listen tot he podcasts of his local and national shows, and they are interesting. In a way, he uses a Right-WIng Radio Tactic when he has the people from the other side on, although he at least lets them get a word in edgewise. I listen to podcasts of Dave Ross(I give them the priority download, over just about any other national host). Another non-Air America host who is on AAR affiliates that I like is Stephanie Miller, who unlike Ron Reagan, did not mind bringing up her famous father, and his running mate. In fact, when she interviewed Ron Paul, she asked him, almost the first thing, “Congressman, what happened to my father’s and Barry Goldwater’s Republican Party?” By the way, Clout on Air America Radio has offered airtime to Republican Candidates.
Report Faults Shoddy Mine Safety Inspections
“Government investigators have found that the Mine Safety and Health Administration failed to conduct required inspections last year at 107 of the nation’s 731 underground coal mines.
” … [T]he Labor Department inspector general also found ‘significant inspection and supervisory deficiencies’ in the agency’s inspections of the Crandall Canyon Mine in Utah, where six miners died in August and three more people were killed in a failed rescue attempt after the roof caved in.
“The inspector general also concluded the agency had misstated the number of inspections it conducted, apparently to inflate its rate of completed inspections. …
“The report also said inspectors had often failed to document many activities they were supposed to conduct, such as taking samples of coal dust or checking high-voltage circuits. …
“As one reason for the failure to do all the inspections, the report noted that the number of agency inspectors had fallen to 496 in 2006, from 605 in 2002, an 18 percent decline, while the amount of underground mining had increased by 9 percent. …
“The inspector general also noted that agency internal reviews had found similar problems in inspections at three other mines where there had been fatal mining accidents.”
Quoted under fair use; for complete story and/or copyright info see http://seattletimes.nwsource.c.....nes18.html
Roger Rabbit Commentary: The Bush administration doesn’t give a damn about worker safety. That’s why they’ve cut the mine inspection budget, fired inspectors, and allowed unsafe operators to stay in business. To them, it’s all about making profits for their fat-cat buddies, and to hell with the workers and their families. American workers will be in danger for as long as Republicans are in power.
Why are we not surprised that, months after the Crandall mine disaster dropped out of the headlines, we find a story buried in the back pages of the newspaper that shoddy and indifferent inspections were conducted at the mine where 9 workers lost their lives?
That’s what happens when you put coal barons in charge of inspecting their own mines. The corrupt Bush administration did the same thing with meat inspection. Bush wanted to fire all the federal meat inspectors and give taxpayer money to the processing plants to hire their own inspectors — who, of course, would find nothing wrong with diseased or rancid meat if they wanted to keep their no-longer-civil-service-protected jobs. American food is no longer safe to eat. There have been countless recalls of tainted and dangerous beef since Bush took office, and children have died from eating it. Bush is a child killer.
Yeah what we really need is more Left Wing Noise Machine(TM). Thanks.
You have come to the right place.
Pentagon Uses Marines As Guinea Pigs For Medical Quackery
The fishwrapper published a major expose today on quack medical devices marketed as “biofeedback machines” and the con artists behind them. Their coverage includes this shocking story:
“During the past two years, injured Marines at Camp Pendleton near San Diego have been used as unwitting test subjects for an unproven energy-medicine device. Troops were not given a choice about being treated by the InterX 5000, a handheld device purported by its manufacturer to reduce pain by using electrical frequencies.
“Micah Allison, an athletic-trainer intern involved in the treatments, said she tried to downplay to the troops that the device was experimental. ‘We would have to try and find a way to explain it without them freaking out,’ she said.
“The military doesn’t know if the device works, Defense Department officials said. The InterX also is being used at a naval hospital in San Diego, an Air Force base in New Mexico and, by later this week, on the Iraq battlefield, according to military officials ….
“Col. Brian McGuire said … ‘It’s an FDA-approved device that’s been through clinical trials to meet the FDA standard’ …. But in fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn’t approve devices like the InterX 5000 … [a]nd no clinical trials about the InterX 5000 have been submitted to the FDA ….
“Getting the energy device on a military base was a marketing coup for Neuro Resource Group. … It loaned the … machines to … athletic trainers … and encouraged them to use them on their clients. At the same time, the military had begun to hire civilian athletic trainers to help reduce and treat injuries. A civilian athletic trainer brought the InterX 5000 to Camp Pendleton, McGuire said. …
“Neuro Resource Group … has funded eight clinical trials. None has provided scientific evidence that the device relieves pain ….”
Quoted under fair use; for complete story and/or copyright info see http://seattletimes.nwsource.c.....rx18m.html
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Quack medical devices have proliferated since a Republican-controlled Congress weakened FDA oversight in 1997. Now, our soldiers are being used as test subjects and our troops in Iraq are being subjected to quack treatments. Meanwhile, the crooks are making hundreds of millions of dollars.
@15 RR:
that is the mode of operation of the Bush clowns – drown government by neglect and the appointment of incompetent adminstrators.
Claim that privatization is better and destroy the framework of government.
Eliminate government oversight by making all regulations “voluntary” and have the fox (industry) self-police itself (the henhouse). Put oil executives in charge of the energy policy (and we get sky high oil prices and no regulation). Put coal companies in charge of safety at coal mines (see the results in mine safety). Put drug companies incharge of writing Medicare benefits (who has the highest prescription drug prices in the world?). Put bankers in charge of policing the monetary system (sub-prime – no problem!). Put mining and timber companies in charge of interior and the list goes on…
We end up with more profits, no regulation and the people of this country being hurt by the lack of oversight that allows for profit over the well-being of the people. In fact, this is standard republican credo (starve government so that it is small enough to be strangled in a batthtub).
Less than a year away before we find out who the next republican will occupy the oval office. Cool. I can’t wait.
@9 What, exactly, of the Bushrove nightmare is worth saving?
the next republican will occupy the oval office
May it be Mitt “Jesus is Satan’s brother” Romney.
Eat shit, DOOFUS the cur!
10 “What does this tell you about the last two presidential elections (does anyone still doubt they were stolen?)”
Nobody whose entire world view doesn’t consist of his or her own hemorrhoids.
22 Mitt in his heart of hearts has the same religion as any of the leading candidates: devout worship of money and power.
A Republican in the White House in 2009? Thanks for the laugh.
Shh – We want to ruin this country while you pig fuckers are left behind to die.
I think the question here is, did he actually get through the coloring book?
All we can expect from another republican white house administration is ‘more of the same’. Any democratic nominee is the only sane choice. The only way the republican party can win is one way or another rigging the election once again. 2008 will be a nasty year of political shenanigans orchestrated by corporate whore media. Perhaps Bill O’Reilly will suffer a disabling stroke, Rush Limbaugh an artery-clogged heart attack, and spare us citizens a bit of their ilk’s treasonous vitriole.
Let’s pray to GOD** that he doesn’t fuck up much more than he already has.
** Allah, Jaweh, Jevohah, whatever.
ArtFart says:
10 “What does this tell you about the last two presidential elections (does anyone still doubt they were stolen?)”
Yeah votes were stolen from George Bush in Ohio,Missouri,Pensylvania and definitely King County. But he still won by over 3 million. What’s your point?
30 The one you hang your hat on, you cocksucker.
If the liberals call this economy and the state of the nation “fucked up”…. I want four more years.
It’s going to happen. Hillary will be the nomonee and she can not afford to answer a straight question because if the truth gets out she is sunk. You can’t hide in a national election. Nearly 50% already say they will never vote for her (of course that make sense because Clinton never got close to 50% either). Repubs will win if the party isn’t split…easily.
What democrat is going to win the nomination? Hillary? You can’t be serious! She is only there because her husband was president, she never held elected office before she bought the seat in New York. I’m all for a woman being president, but for crying out loud can’t she get there without her husband leading the way. Nevertheless I would have supported Hillary more if she would have been honest about the Lewinsky issue. She kept quiet and stood by her man because she wanted to be president someday and she knew she needed Bill for that. She is just as much a whore as Bill and Monica! And I don’t mean a politcal one.
Obama may have less experience but at least he earned his votes. Edwards is a loser, not even a decent VP nomination.
Obama is the only choice!!!!
@32 “If the liberals call this economy and the state of the nation ‘fucked up’…. I want four more years.”
You’d like gasoline and heating prices to triple again? You’d like another 50% increase in food prices? How about another 50% devaluation of the dollar? Or, just for kicks, how about adding another couple percent to the unemployment rate? Oh, and while you’re at it, why not increase the national debt by another 40% — and sell the IOUs to China? And, hey, let’s toss in another 2,000-point decline in the Dow average, but then, dogs are too stupid to own stocks. Your only portfolio is the piles of dried-up dog shit in the backyard.
I wish I was able to share the optimism of some of the rest of you. I’m coming to think more and more that things are going to get one hell of a lot worse before they start getting better. How bad? Think of some combination of the Great Depression, the American Civil War, and the chaos following the breakup of Yugoslavia, all rolled into one.
@9. What policies of the Bush administration are worth carrying over?