A Spork in the Drawer

Headline Of The Day

Absence of Bush and Cheney cheers Republican delegates

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Happy Birthday!

I noted an anniversary below but it's worth remembering that it's also St. John's 72nd anniversary of being on this planet. Here's how he celebrated his 69th as a major American city was being destroyed:

Ian Welsh notes: "McCain's an asshole. He's a man who called his wife a c*nt in public. He has a violent temper and he's hated by many of his colleagues. And most of them are wandering around pretending that he's some sort of plaster saint."

My friends, that's change you can believe in!

(Note: Nothing in this post is to be construed as criticizing John McCain's service in Vietnam.)

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Line Of The Night

Sen. Bob Casey: "John McCain says he's a maverick. But he's voted with Bush over 90% of the time. That's not a maverick. That's a sidekick!"

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Artificial Timeline

Who's Neville Chamberlain now?

Just you wait, appeasers: Iraq will be blitzing Poland any day now.

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Life In These United States

Political author writes anti-Bush book. Political author finds himself on terrorist watch-list.

Chalk it up to coincidence, eh?

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No One Could Have Predicted...

...that Condi Rice would refuse to interrupt her vacation to deal with the Russia-Georgia crisis.

Or that George rather play grab-ass in China than, I don't know, be a president.

Or that BushCo™ point to everyone but themselves for the Clusterfuck in the Caucasus.

Meanwhile, Newsweek's John Barry says we should send in the 82nd. Airborne to help Georgia. And yes, he fills his column with references to Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.

Apparently the thought of thermonuclear war never crossed his mind.

I won't even get started with the usual neocon suspects.

In short, a normal few days for life during the BushCheney regime.

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How To Handle A Heckler

Photographer insists on Pledge of Allegiance before Obama rally

Now, if anyone is even suspected of not supporting St. John they're arrested. But then, McCain has learned well from his masters.

[Via Matt Welch.]

---

UPDATE: By way of Romanesko, it turns out the heckler was a photographer for Bloomberg News. Says a spokeswoman for Bloomberg, “He was hired for that assignment, and there are no more assignments scheduled[.]”

I should think not.

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Time Flies

It's hard to believe that it's been seven years since George was informed that "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S."

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Eight Years Ago Today...

...Texas Gov. George W. Bush said:

“So when I put my hand on the Bible, I will swear to not only uphold the laws of our land, I will swear to uphold the honor and dignity of the office to which I have been elected, so help me God.”

How'd that work out?

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Nancy Must Go

Speaker Pelosi new depths:

Nancy Shipes of Woodstown, NJ: Why have you taken impeachment off the table as an option for President George W. Bush?

Pelosi: I took it off the table a long time ago. You can’t talk about impeachment unless you have the facts, and you can’t have the facts unless you have cooperation from the Administration. I think the Republicans would like nothing better than for us to focus on impeachment and take our eye off the ball of a progressive economic agenda.

So, according to Nancy, presidents can only be impeached if they agree to be impeached. That must come as news to Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton, and, yes, Richard Nixon.

Pathetic.

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EO12333

So George has overhauled our beloved spy agencies.

Dandy.

I like this bit:

Left essentially unchanged is a prohibition against assassinations of foreign leaders, as well as long-standing restrictions on "human experimentation," the document states. It asserts that the intelligence community would "maintain or strengthen privacy and civil liberty protections."

Since we know that "privacy and civil liberties protections" have, in actuality, been defenestrated it's probably safe to assume that "assassinations of foreign leaders" and "human experimentation" are A-OK as well.

I mean, as long as we're engaging in double plus good doublespeak here.

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W

John Gorenfeld has the trailer for Oliver Stone's W.

I'm of two minds about Stone: The historian in me is appalled by his treatment of, shall we say, facts (see: JFK) but the artist in me thinks he's a pretty darn good (if wildly inconsistent) filmmaker.

At any rate, W ought to be...interesting.

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Whoops!

Iraqi PM Nuri al-Maliki thinks that Obama's 16-month timeline is the bestest.

St. John responds:

I don't think that this is what George was looking for when he came up with the "time horizon".

Or should that be "event horizon"?

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Down Down Down

Meanwhile, on the Left Coast:

Less than a quarter of California voters – 24 percent – said they approve of Bush's job performance, compared with 71 percent who said they disapprove.

The latter mark is higher than Nixon's 70 percent disapproval rating in August 1974, the same month he resigned from office after his role in the Watergate scandal was revealed.

184 days.

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A Little Late

Speaker Pelosi:

God bless him, bless his heart, president of the United States -- a total failure, losing all credibility with the American people on the economy, on the war, on energy, you name the subject[.]

When you "take impeachment off the table", Nancy, all you're left with is inconsequential television interviews.

Idiot.

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America's Neville Chamberlain

Appeasement:

President Bush has authorized the most significant American diplomatic contact with Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, sending the State Department’s third-ranking official to Geneva for a meeting this weekend on Iran’s nuclear program, administration officials said Tuesday.

This comes on the heels of news that the White House is considering a diplomatic office in Tehran.

President Bush makes the historic announcement.

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Our Preznit...

...still doesn't know the price of gasoline and admits that offshore drilling of oil won't reduce produce any oil soon (but it's "going to change the psychology.")

I understand that the president doesn't pump his own gas but given that it's a kinda big topic these days shouldn't some aide check prices and let him know? Y'know, so he doesn't sound like a complete idiot.

On second thought, ignore that last sentence.

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Preznent Make Funey

George:

The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change, ended a private meeting with the words: "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter."

He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock.

No comment.

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Unpopular

The GOP convention:

First is the question of how to give President Bush a forum as the party's two-time nominee but at the same time keep McCain at a distance from the unpopular incumbent. The answer, according to McCain aides, will be to have Bush give a speech on the first night of the convention—a Monday—and let him have the moment to himself. McCain isn't scheduled to arrive in Minneapolis-St. Paul, the convention site, until Tuesday at the earliest, after Bush leaves, which means that, at this point, the two men won't be seen with each other that week.

It wasn't all that long ago that George was considered to be the Second Coming of Christ by the party faithful. Now he's less popular than ptomaine poisoning.

Now that's art!

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Four More Years!

No, really. By way of Sadly, No! we find Write in Bush 2008:

Yes, we can vote for George W. Bush in 2008. We have the right to write in the name of our chosen candidate, regardless of whether or not he is officially on the ballot.

We know that George Bush was God's Candidate in 2000. We know that George Bush was God's candidate again in 2004. And George Bush has been God's president for the last 8 years.

Trust in God and vote your faith. Keep America safe. Write-in George W. Bush for President in 2008.

Now, I know what you're thinking: "spork, isn't there an amendment to the Constitution limiting a president to two terms or ten years?" Yes, gentle reader, that is correct. But irrelevant:

What about "term limits"

The important thing to understand about so-called "term limits" is that they are man's law, not God's Law. The God who parted the Red Sea is surely not worried about so-called "term limits". When you vote your faith you let Almighty God take care of the details.

Presidential term limits are not in the Bible. And they were not in our Constitution until added by an activist congress in 1951.

That settles that!

Here's the thing: Part of me thinks that the site is a put-on but, then, there are people who really do think this way. I'm genuinely not sure.

Of one thing I am certain, though: The last 7½ have killed satire dead.

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High Treason

Who is Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell?

If Rev. Caldwell's name sounds familiar, it may be because he is the same Rev. Caldwell who introduced President Bush at the 2000 Republican National Convention and last month officiated at Jenna Bush's wedding ceremony at the presidential ranch in Crawford.

A Loyal Bushie!

Hang on, I accidentally left out the last sentence of that paragraph. Let me fix that:

This election Caldwell is firmly in the Obama camp and doggedly trying to help the campaign bring other pastors and parishioners along.

It turns out that Rev. Caldwell has launched a new website on which he published a statement that begins:

James Dobson doesn't speak for me.

It continues from there; you get the idea.

The WaPo notes that Caldwell "still considers Bush a personal friend." I doubt that George feels the same.

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Can't Take Him Anywhere

About George's recent visit to the UK:

British Airways has criticised Heathrow owner BAA for allowing George Bush to fly into the UK's biggest airport, forcing the cancellation of at least 69 flights and disrupting the travel plans of 40,000 passengers.

Willie Walsh, BA chief executive, said he was angry that the presidential entourage, which included two Boeing 747 jets and four helicopters, caused chaos 10 days ago as runways were closed and planes grounded. "The decision to allow President Bush and his fleet of aircraft to fly into Heathrow rather than a military base was one all of Heathrow's users could have done without," he said. "I am also angry that this was allowed."

Walsh said the disruption began two days before the president's visit on June 15 and lasted for the two days that his party stayed in the UK. Heathrow was reduced to one working runway for 30 minutes on June 15 and 16, after its other runway was closed temporarily for the arrival and departure of Air Force One.

This is by no means the first time that chaos has resulted form George deciding to visit some place. This previous October an antique plane airshow in Hagerstown, MD, had to be shut down due to a presidential visit. (Several pilots who didn't get the message were "escorted" by fighter jets and investigated by the feds.)

Really, it comes down to this: If it is so dangerous for a president - any president - to go anywhere then he should simply be locked in the White House for four or eight years. Maybe the occasional trip to Camp David but that's it.

The sort of chaos that develops bacause of presidential trips just isn't worth it.

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Embarrassing

Unlike a pair of British reporters, George doesn't know that the Supreme Court is the top court in the land.

And pointing it out is "slanderous."

(With video.)

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Nobody Likes Him Part Deux

Even the "news" media is counting down the days:

Local journalists, and those who made the trip from Dublin, were not too happy to be kept in a marquee on the hill watching the rest of the proceedings on big screen television.

Might they not have done this from their offices?

Their mood wasn't helped by the sight of the White House press corps heading with the president to their own big tent by the castle - where, apparently, the Guinness-on-tap was waiting.

However, reporters were amused to hear that it was only a skeletal White House press corps, known as the "Death Watch" pool.

Those reporters were only there in case George W Bush was assassinated.

Notice, also, that George didn't visit the Irish Republic - probably to avoid running into Irish journalist Carole Coleman. (YouTube.)

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Nobody Likes Him

The leader of Britain's Conservative Party, David Cameron:

“Sorry,” he admitted sheepishly to the audience at the Royal Horticultural Society, “I’ve got to go off and meet President Bush – not the best thing to say to a group of environmentalists, I know.”

Even the head of the Tories is embarrassed to meet George.

216 days.

[Via Yglesias.]

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Today's Mavericky Goodness

Taking a cue from George:

Says Fox's Shep Smith:

I reported at the top of this hour that the campaign had told us at Fox News that the audience would be made up of Republicans, Democrats, and independents. We have now received a clarification from the campaign and I feel I should pass it along to you. The McCain campaign distributed tickets to supporters, Mayor Bloomberg, who of course is a registered Republican, and other independent groups.

Predicts Nicole Belle: "Next, McSame will be demanding loyalty oaths."

Four more years!

Regrets

George assesses his own rhetoric:

"I think that in retrospect I could have used a different tone, a different rhetoric," Bush told the Times as he flew across the Atlantic on Air Force One.

The phrases he used to win support for the war such as "bring 'em on" and "dead or alive" he said, "indicated to people that I was, you know, not a man of peace."

Or how about, "Fuck Saddam. We’re taking him out.” Gosh, and now he regrets using such bellicose language. I'm sure the 4,000+ dead Americans, 600,000+ dead and 3,000,000+ displaced Iraqis are shrugging and saying, "Hey, it happens. don't beat yourself up."

But then there's always lying:

"One of the untold stories of Iraq is that we explored the diplomacy a lot," he said. "We all wanted to solve this 'disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences' in a diplomatic fashion. After all, I went to the United Nations security council."

Sorry, George, that legacy your so worried about is already set and statements like this won't change reality.

Finally, George denies that he's lame duck:

"There's plenty of energy on the democracy agenda, the freedom agenda, right now," he said.

This can't be considered as anything but a sick joke.

222 days.

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Hugs (Compared)

This?



(REUTERS/Jason Reed)


Or this?





You decide!

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Reminder

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Support Screw The Troops!

George:

President Bush asked Americans to pay tribute to veterans by pausing on Memorial Day for "a moment of remembrance."

[...]

"At that moment, Major League Baseball games will pause, the National Memorial Day parade will halt, Amtrak trains will blow their whistles and buglers in military cemeteries will play taps," he said Saturday in his weekly radio address.

And what better way to recognize Memorial Day than to veto a 3.9% pay raise for our soldiers?

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[cue nelson muntz]

On Tuesday the Preznit is traveling to Phoenix to raise money for St. John. How's that going?

Sources familiar with the situation said the Bush-McCain event was not selling enough tickets to fill the Convention Center space, and that there were concerns about more anti-war protesters showing up outside the venue than attending the fundraiser inside. [emphasis added]

Another source said there were concerns about the media covering the event.

And we wouldn't want that pesky media getting footage of George and John together. It might hurt somebody's chances in November.

[Via Fez Boy.]

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Headline Of The Day

Bush and McCain's Awkward Embrace

"Awkward"? Looks rather loving to me:

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Dripping With Irony

Happy Law Day, USA!

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, in accordance with Public Law 87-20, as amended, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2008, as Law Day, U.S.A. I call upon all the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I also call upon Government officials to display the flag of the United States in support of this national observance.

To compound the irony:

On Law Day, U.S.A., our Nation celebrates our belief in the equality of each person before God and renews our commitment to strive to bring America ever closer to its founding ideals.

I thought we had a belief in the equality of each person before the law. Apparently it's all about some deity. Who knew?

Nearly 800 years ago, the Magna Carta placed the authority of government under the rule of law[.]

Would this be the same Magna Carta from which we derived Habeas Corpus? You know, the right that we no longer have? That Magna Carta? Or is there another one of which I'm unaware?

[Via TPM.]

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Happy Anniversary!

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His Petulancy Strikes Again

From this morning's presser:

Q Can I just add to that, a couple weeks ago —

THE PRESIDENT: No, you can’t. This is the second follow-up. You usually get one follow-up, and I was nice enough to give you one. I didn’t give anybody on this side a follow-up, and now you are trying to take a second follow-up.

Q Can I just say —

THE PRESIDENT: They just cut off your mic. You can’t, no.

Q A couple weeks ago you said —

THE PRESIDENT: Now she’s going to go without the mic. This is awesome.

"This is awesome"!?

265 days.

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Tell Me He's Not Drinking

REUTERS/Yuri Gripas


[Stolen from Attaturk.]

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Better Copy Editors Please

Misleading (to say the least):

In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday, 28% of Americans approve of the job Bush is doing; 69% disapprove. The approval rating matches the low point of his presidency, and the disapproval sets a new high for any president since Franklin Roosevelt.

That makes it sound like FDR was an extraordinarily unpopular president. He wasn't. What they mean is that presidential popularity polls began since he was president.

That's the sort of thing a competent editor catches.

Now for the good bit:

President Bush has set a record he'd presumably prefer to avoid: the highest disapproval rating of any president in the 70-year history of the Gallup Poll.

[...]

The previous record of 67% was reached by Harry Truman in January 1952, when the United States was enmeshed in the Korean War.

Furthermore, ARG pegs George's approval rating at 22%.

272 days.

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Gratuitous Pope Snark

(Max Rossi/Reuters)
Again with the arm!



(Max Rossi/Reuters)
Spot the Nazi!

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You Know You're A Lousy Person When...

...a former member of the Hitler Youth won't break bread with you:

Q: I’m sorry, the Pope doesn’t attend a dinner in his honor?

MR. STANZEL: No.

Q: How does that work?

MR. STANZEL: He doesn’t come into the building.

Q: But then it’s not a dinner for the Pope, is it?

MR. STANZEL: It’s in honor of his visit. There will be leaders from the Catholic community from all over the country who are in town for that visit.

Q: Is there a reason the Pope doesn’t attend the dinner?

MR. STANZEL: I don’t know. I don’t have the full extent of his schedule.

Not even the promise of Wiener Schnitzel and Blutwurst could get Ratzi to sit down with George.

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Why Predicting And Cluelessness Don't Mix

By way of Pony Boy we see that Harris has found:

This pessimistic attitude is not just towards the country as a whole. Just one-quarter (26%) of Americans give President Bush positive ratings on his job while just under three-quarters (72%) give him negative ratings. This is down from February when 28 percent gave him positive marks and 69 percent have him negative ones. This current rating also ties his lowest ever positive rating which was first reached in July of 2007.

Whenever I see one of these presidential popularity poll I think back to this David Broder column published on 16 February, 2007 - well over a year ago:

It may seem perverse to suggest that, at the very moment the House of Representatives is repudiating his policy in Iraq, President Bush is poised for a political comeback. But don't be astonished if that is the case.

It should be noted that Broder still has his job.

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He's Ugly And Nobody Likes Him

An unscientific poll of 109 historians finds:

At least two of those who ranked the current president in the 31-41 ranking made it clear that they placed him next-to-last, with only James Buchanan, in their view, being worse. “He is easily one of the 10-worst of all time and—if the magnitude of the challenges and opportunities matter—then probably in the bottom five, alongside Buchanan, Johnson, Fillmore, and Pierce,” wrote another historian.

[...]

One historian indicated that his reason for rating Bush as worst is that the current president combines traits of some of his failed predecessors: “the paranoia of Nixon, the ethics of Harding and the good sense of Herbert Hoover. . . . . God willing, this will go down as the nadir of American politics.” Another classified Bush as “an ideologue who got the nation into a totally unnecessary war, and has broken the Constitution more often than even Nixon. He is not a conservative, nor a Christian, just an immoral man . . . .” Still another remarked that Bush’s “denial of any personal responsibility can only be described as silly.”

In fairness to George another historian hedged a bit saying, “It is a bit too early to judge whether Bush's presidency is the worst ever, though it certainly has a shot to take the title. Without a doubt, it is among the worst.”

Quite a legacy.

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Alone Again, Naturally

(REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)


[Via watertiger.]

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Stretching

David Gregory praises George:

If [Obama] talks about what you do in response to a crisis, either you have the right intelligence and you have the right response. Well, there’s not a lot of argument that Bush had the right response to 9/11. He didn’t jump to invade Iraq even though there was some argument that he should do that in the room.

Oh, good for George.

It would seem that MSNBC traded in the inane kneebiter Tucker Carlson with the inane kneebiter Stretch Gregory.

A fine state of affairs, indeed.

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Na'Gonna Happen

Bush tries to salvage legacy on world stage

At this point even most Republicans are wanting it over.

292 days.

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Is He Having A Laugh? Pt. 2

Fantasy:

President Bush, saying that "normalcy is returning back to Iraq," argued Thursday that last year's U.S. troop "surge" has improved Iraq's security to the point where political and economic progress are blossoming as well.

[...]

"Some ... seem unwilling to acknowledge that progress is taking place," Bush said in a speech at the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio. He accused war opponents of constantly shifting their critique, adding: "No matter what shortcomings these critics diagnose, their prescription is always the same — retreat."

Reality:

In Basra, there seemed to be no breakthrough in the fighting by either side. As much as half of the city remained under militia control, hospitals in some parts of the city were reported full, and the violence continued to spread. Clashes were reported all over the city and in locations 12 miles south of Basra.

[...]

As a possible sign of the rising instability in the region, saboteurs blew up one of Iraq’s two main oil export pipelines from Basra, Reuters reported. The oil pipelines were regular targets for insurgents earlier in the Iraqi conflict, but Thursday’s sabotage was the first time in several years that the southern oil supply route had been disrupted, and oil prices rose briefly after the attack.

Government by delusion.

ADDED: "Normalcy":

The State Department has instructed all personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad not to leave reinforced structures due to incoming insurgent rocket fire that has killed two American government workers this week.

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Is He Having A Laugh?

George touts his "rebate checks":

There's a rough patch right now in our economy, but I'm confident in the long term we'll come out stronger than ever before. One of the most decisive actions a government can take is to give people their money back so they can spend it, and that's exactly what we've done. In the second week of May, a lot of folks are going to be getting a sizable check. And I'm looking forward to that day, and I know they are as well.

There's no doubt that George, as he has all his life, will build on his millions thanks to "friends". The rest of us...

[Via Think Progress.]

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The Wit And Wisdom Of Dick Cheney

After more than five years (and counting) and the deaths of more than 4,000 (and counting) American troops and hundreds of thousands (and counting) Iraqis just who does Dick feel sorry for?

The president carries the biggest burden, obviously[.]

So?

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Oh Snap! Part The Second

The great Gene Kelly's widow slaps MoDo:

Re “Soft Shoe in Hard Times” (column, March 16):

Surely it must have been a slip for Maureen Dowd to align the artistry of my late husband, Gene Kelly, with the president’s clumsy performances. To suggest that “George Bush has turned into Gene Kelly” represents not only an implausible transformation but a considerable slight. If Gene were in a grave, he would have turned over in it.

When Gene was compared to the grace and agility of Jack Dempsey, Wayne Gretzky and Willie Mays, he was delighted. But to be linked with a clunker — particularly one he would consider inept and demoralizing — would have sent him reeling.

Graduated with a degree in economics from Pitt, Gene was not only a gifted dancer, director and choreographer, he was also a most civilized man. He spoke multiple languages; wrote poetry; studied history; understood the projections of Adam Smith and John Maynard Keynes. He did the Sunday Times crossword in ink. Exceedingly articulate, Gene often conveyed more through movement than others manage with words.

Sadly, President Bush fails to communicate meaningfully with either. For George Bush to become Gene Kelly would require impossible leaps in creativity, erudition and humility.

Patricia Ward Kelly
Los Angeles, March 16, 2008

For the hell of it here's Kelly with the leg-alicious Cyd Charisse in "Singin' in the Rain":

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Friday Funny

Ladies and gentlemen, the comedy stylings of Mr. Karl Rove:

Well I’ve been privileged to work for two men who’s last name is Bush. George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush are two pretty remarkable men. And I’ve learned a lot from them, learned a lot about life, learned a lot about character, learned a lot about loyalty and trust and honesty and straightforwardness.

Please remember to tip your waitress!

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Your President

Honestly, what can one say?

U.S. President George W. Bush got an earful on Thursday about problems and progress in Afghanistan where a war has dragged on for more than six years but been largely eclipsed by Iraq.

[...]

"I must say, I'm a little envious," Bush said. "If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed."

"It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks," Bush said.

Would it be churlish to point out that when George was younger and not gainfully employed he did have a chance to help a young "democracy" succeed? To experience the romance of confronting danger? Y'know, a little place called "Vietnam"?

After 7+ years I'm still occasionally surprised by Little Boots' complete lack of self-awareness.

[Via Steve Benen.]

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Cui Bono?

They're not even pretending anymore:

The Environmental Protection Agency weakened one part of its new limits on smog-forming ozone after an unusual last-minute intervention by President Bush, according to documents released by the EPA.

EPA officials initially tried to set a lower seasonal limit on ozone to protect wildlife, parks and farmland, as required under the law. While their proposal was less restrictive than what the EPA's scientific advisers had proposed, Bush overruled EPA officials and on Tuesday ordered the agency to increase the limit, according to the documents.

[...]

Solicitor General Paul D. Clement warned administration officials late Tuesday night that the rules contradicted the EPA's past submissions to the Supreme Court, according to sources familiar with the conversation. As a consequence, administration lawyers hustled to craft new legal justifications for the weakened standard.

[...]

The effort to rewrite the language -- on the day the agency faced a statutory deadline -- forced EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson to postpone at the last moment a scheduled news conference to announce the new rules. It finally took place at 6 p.m., five hours later than planned.

[...]

Lisa Heinzerling, a Georgetown University law professor who specializes in the Clean Air Act, said Dudley's letter to the EPA represents "a misunderstanding of the statute, a misunderstanding of Supreme Court precedent and a misunderstanding of the science as the expert agency understands it."

The truly damaging thing is that the next president - even a Democrat - won't seek to hold anyone accountable. We have to move forward and not dwell on the past, don't'cha know. Granted, the number of criminal and civil trials that would be needed to set things right would cause the justice system to collapse under the sheer weight of it all. Nonetheless, by allowing this - and so many other - outrages to stand legitimizes them.

I blame Gerald Ford.

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Greenbacks

Or perhaps we should call them "Bushbacks":

Antique store owners in lower Manhattan, ticket vendors at India's Taj Mahal and Brazilian business executives heading to China all have one thing in common these days: They don't want U.S. dollars.

[...]

"Gone are the days when we used to run after dollars, holding onto them for rainy days," said Vijay Narain, a tour operator in the city of Agra where the Taj Mahal is located. "Now we prefer the euro. It gives us more riches."

In Bolivia, billboards feature George Washington's image on a $1 bill alongside a bright pink 500 euro note, encouraging savers to turn to the euro to tuck away money earned abroad or sent home in remittances.

[...]

The problem right now, is that "people just don't want to be holding U.S dollars and U.S.-based equities," Sylvester added. "If you are an investor with a million dollars to invest, you look for the highest yield — you're looking at South Africa, Australia, New Zealand."

Meanwhile, the price of an ounce of gold approaches $1000 and a barrel of oil briefly hit $111.

The only question, really, is how long will it take us to recover from the BushCheney Era?

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"I’m just a simple president."

So sayeth George.

Emphasis on "simple", natch.






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Fun But Meaningless News

Stay out of Vermont, George and Dick:

Voters in two Vermont towns on Tuesday approved a measure that would instruct police to arrest President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for "crimes against our Constitution," local media reported.

The nonbinding, symbolic measure, passed in Brattleboro and Marlboro in a state known for taking liberal positions on national issues, instructs town police to "extradite them to other authorities that may reasonably contend to prosecute them."

It would be nice if someday before too long the Administration was held responsible for their crime but, hey, you know it's never going to happen.

Helluva country we live in.

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Holy Cow!

19%

I smell a statistical glitch. We'll see.

[Via Political Wire.]

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Tyrant

Pierce:

For the past couple of weeks, they've just gotten blatant about it. The administration of George W. Bush is bound by no law, bound by no precedent, bound not even by the forms of democratic self-government, let alone its actual substance, which is being used as a throw-rug in John Yoo's den these days. They will torture and the Congress can do nothing. Their powers to spy, to search, and to seize are unlimited and Congress is not remotely entitled to know even what those powers are. They can imprison without trial. They can force corporations -- and, indeed, individuals within the government -- to violate the law. They are not subject to treaties. They are not subject to oversight, nor even subpoenas. Read this swill from yesterday. Through his actions, and from the mouths of his minions, George Bush is now claiming fully the powers of a tyrant, by any reasonable definition of the term.

[...]

...Now, a group of very obvious extremists -- Dick Cheney is an authoritarian bully and a personal coward. His approval rating is 19 percent in the country and 100 percent in that hall. Res ipse loquitur. -- gathers in Washington, and not only do the party's most prominent political figures truckle and beg, your liberal media puts the worst of them on the air, as if they were serious people and not simple public vandals. Jesus Christ in Air Jordans, what in hell was David Bossie, a thug and a hoodlum, doing on Jim Lehrer's program last night? Tom DeLay is under indictment, for pity's sake. Why was he on MSNBC, grinning at Chris Matthews and lying about climate change? Mitt Romney's speech was a sprawling landfill of demagogic swill. It was treated as, well, statesmanlike by people who believe that John McCain is not conservative enough. This is plainly nuts, and any respectable conservative would work tirelessly to wring these crackpots out of the movement before the whole mess goes over the cliff again. Somebody should, you know, take out an ad or something.

Read the whole thing.

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The State Of Things

People just want it to be over:

It's almost as if people can barely stand the thought of President Bush and Congress anymore. Bush reached his lowest approval rating in The Associated Press-Ipsos poll on Friday as only 30 percent said they like the job he is doing, including an all-time low i