Thursday, January 29, 2009

Taking A Few Days Off

I've got plans for a long weekend. There most likely won't be any new posts here until next Monday

Enjoy the big game, everyone!

Back On Barack's Tax Cuts

Several posts ago I made mention that the tax cuts in the stimulus package being tossed about in Congress were nothing new. In fact, I have direct knowledge of two people who got stimulus checks under George W. Bush who paid no income taxes in the previous year. In fact, one of them was an elderly woman in a nursing home who had also not paid any medicare or Social Security taxes in the previous year.

Media Matters...

Summary: Discussing President Obama's meeting with congressional leaders to discuss the economic stimulus plan, CBS' Chip Reid reported that "when Republicans criticized tax refunds for people who don't pay taxes, sources in the meeting say the president said, quote, 'I won,' referring to the election and making it clear he's sticking with that part of the plan." In fact, Obama has not proposed giving tax refunds to "people who don't pay taxes"; he has proposed giving the tax credit to "working families," which means they pay Social Security and Medicare taxes.

Uncle Jay Explains the News - January 19th


The Afghan Kid

One reason the Taliban might be having trouble recruiting suicide bombers...



Click on the image to view larger...
--
--

Wall Street Bonuses

I can't verify the accuracy of this chart - nor can I remember where I found it. BUT - and that's a big but - if it is accurate, Wall Street bonuses are declining - just not enough to suit most of us.

Republican God

You KNOW God is a Republican!

Republicans Poke Fun

Harry Reid looks funny with all that hair - it took me a minute to recognize him.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Great Words

"Today, in one of his first official acts as president, Barack Obama had an emergency meeting with his top economic advisers to find out just, you know, what the situation is. And, apparently, it didn't go well, because after the meeting, Obama sold North and South Dakota." -Conan O'Brien

"Actually, after going to ten inaugural balls last night and dancing more than Cloris Leachman in nine weeks of 'Dancing With the Stars,' the new president was up and in the office at 8:35 in the morning and then he was at church at 9:30. Is it a good sign that after one hour of being president, he decided the best thing he could do for the country is pray?" -Jimmy Kimmel

"Nice to have you all here. As you all know, George Bush is no longer president, so there'll be no monologue." -Jay Leno

A Democratic Sex Scandal


More outrage. It takes a special kind of self-confidence to step out as a gay politician and get elected, even in a city as liberal as Portland, Oregon. I'm sure Sam Adams has had to be strong and have an unbelievably strong sense that whatever he does and says is right. But there's also got to be a screw loose when he breaks the law or betrays the trust given to him by the public - that he was a moral person and deserveed public office.

A Democratic scandal - and I'm not very pleased about it. This stuff should be left to the Republicans. And if you're going to behave this way, stay the hell away from running for public office.

From Portland News...

For thousands of gay Portlanders, Sam Adams' election last year fulfilled their most ardent hope: to finally transcend stereotypes of sexual identity.

His ascension to the mayor's office -- not as a symbol of progress but as a smart, hardworking technocrat -- marked a new phase in the relationship between Portland and its gay residents: the difference between having a place at the table and sitting at the head of it.

Now, the revelations surrounding Adams' sexual relationship with a teenager and his subsequent lies about it have sown anguish among gay Portlanders.

Whether they think he should resign or not, they say his fall from grace plays into the ugliest of stereotypes about gay men -- stereotypes that Adams himself decried when a potential primary opponent accused him of having sex with an underage youth.

Mike Relm REMIX! Obama Girl Duet With Obama


The Ted Haggard Story Continues

If you've read my blog before, you know that hypocrites drive me crazy. None more so than religious hypocrites. I have no gripe with folks who have strongly held religious beliefs, even though I don't share those beliefs, but when they try to impose their values on the nation as a whole, then I think it's time to speak out and resist their advances.

Ted Haggard was/is one of those who most deserve our scorn. As the former head of a mega-church and the National Association of Evangelicals, Ted was adamantly against gay rights. Even though it has now been disclosed that he was/is gay, he continues to admonish those who believe gays should have equal rights under the law. (I don't care what rights they give gays in their church - it's up to gay folks to decide if they need to belong to a church that hates them.)

Now the story expands in scope. Ted will be featured in an HBO documentary and his former church is now letting it be known that his homosexual indiscretions extend beyond what Ted himself has revealed - he also had gay sex with a youth in his church to whom hush money was paid.

Here's a link, and below is some text of an article posted by The Gun Toting Liberal....

Have you been wondering what had ever happened to “The Tedster” since the last reports from many moons ago saying his “gayness” had been “miraculously” healed by the Glory Of God? I know I’ve personally been preocupied with his whereabouts and “what’s-he-up-to’s” ever since then along with (I’m just guessing) yourselves and all of our friends and family members. Well, folks — thanks to the Associated Press (Yahoo! News), we can all sleep at night again.
------------------
But, you see — Ole’ Teddy Boy was a much, MUCH larger hypocrite and a MUCH “badder boy” than anybody outside of New Life Church had even began to suspect. New Life had paid off one of his (young, YOUNG adult) victims; one of Uncle Ted’s congregants at the time according to the current New Life Pastor Brady Boyd. OOPS. Well, he didn’t REALLY say they “paid him off”, he said they did NOT actually pay him off; they just felt really sorry for the young man so they paid for his college education and paid for his counselling in exchange for his promise to keep his mouth shut about it. My bad — that misinterpretation could have happened to anybody, correct? My first thought was “hush money” but now I see how wrong I was upon second look.

Edward Current - Give God More Credit

Edward argues that we need to give God more credit for miracles such as the plane landing on the Hudson.


Amazing Inauguration Photo

The image on the linked web site (see below or click on the mini-image that I've posted) is called "Fullscreen Gigapan Viewer" and it is incredible. When you first view it, it will fill the window in your Internet browser. But click on the image and use the wheel on your mouse or the legend in the upper left of the screen to zoom in. Click and hold on the image to drag it around.

You can zoom in so close that you can see the music on the pages of the band members, or zoom in on Obama's fingers.

Incredible. Have fun.

Click here to jump to the site.
-
-

Post Inauguration

Where have Bush and the gang been hiding out since the inauguration? Not sure, but could this photo give us a hint - or have I been dreaming again?

Chickenhawk Poster

A Thought On Survival of the Fittest

Republicans Lie?

Should We Prosecute

I've seen a little bit of chatter on the blogs about behind-the-scenes actions in Congress which might lead up to some prosecutions of Bush administration officials. It will be interesting to follow this and see where, if any place, it goes.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Great Words

“Barack Obama said his first act as president will be to pardon Aretha Franklin’s hat.” -Jay Leno

“Two million people attended the inauguration, compared to less than 500,000 when Bush was inaugurated four years ago. But that makes sense because four years ago, you know, people had jobs to go to.” -Jay Leno

“And Michele Obama’s inaugural ball gown, which she wore during the first dance — beautiful gown — was created by a designer with the last name of Wu, which is a great name for a designer, isn’t it? Because when you walk in, people go ‘woo!’ You know, Wu is so much more fortunate than that other designer, Elliott Eh.” -Jay Leno

“Yesterday, when President Bush returned to Texas, people who were there to greet him were holding up signs that said, ‘You made us so proud.’ Afterwards, the people admitted that the store was out of ‘You totally embarrassed us’ signs.” -Conan O’Brien

“President Bush is back in Texas, unemployed like much of the rest of America. Bush reportedly spent the day cataloging his papers, outlining his memoirs, and sketching out plans for his presidential library. Just kidding. He spent four hours seeing how many Reese’s Pieces he could hold between his toes. 38, it turns out.” -Jimmy Kimmel

“The new season of ‘Lost’ kicked off tonight. If you haven’t seen it, ‘Lost’ is about a group of desperate people out of touch with the world. It’s based on the true story of the Republican Party.” -Craig Ferguson

Countdown: Still Bushed! Jan. 23, 2009

These are fun to watch from time to time. In this one - Hillary At State, Veterans Affairs, and Gitmo.


Obama To Republicans: I Won


I think President Obama has been a little naive as he has tried to reach out to Republicans - to stop some of the nasty talk in Washington - but they have snapped at his hand as he reached out with an olive branch of peace. He recently held a meeting in the White House to discuss the stimulus plan, but instead of trying to work with the President, Republican leaders tried to wrest control from him. His response to them, finally, was "I Won." The point being of course, that the voters wanted to try HIS proposals rather than what the Republicans had to offer.

From Politico, in case you want to read more...

President Obama listened to Republican gripes about his stimulus package during a meeting with congressional leaders Friday morning - but he also left no doubt about who's in charge of these negotiations. "I won," Obama noted matter-of-factly, according to sources familiar with the conversation.

The exchange arose as top House and Senate Republicans expressed concern to the president about the amount of spending in the package. They also raised red flags about a refundable tax credit that returns money to those who don’t pay income taxes, the sources said.
There is more to this than meets the eye, of course. There always is when it comes to Republicans. Last year, in the spring of 2008 when President Bush sponsored a tax rebate in order to stimulate the economy, HIS stimulus package gave money to workers who did not pay income taxes in the previous year. I have two family members who do not pay income taxes and got that stimulus and can verify this.

Stupid damn hypocritical Republicans.

Is this my outrage post of the day?

Toddler Learned From Bush

This is cute - a little girl explains how much she learned from President George W. Bush. And says goodbye.




via Crooks and Liars

Joe Bruno Indicted

It's another Republican scandal - this time in New York State. I was never introduced to the man, but I have been in his presence and I have heard him speak. I always thought he was a fairly nasty guy, but that was just me.

From Wikipedia...

Joseph L. Bruno (born April 8, 1929) is an American businessman and Republican politician. He was the Temporary President of the New York State Senate and its majority leader.

On June 23, 2008, Bruno announced that he would not seek reelection to the State Senate in 2008. On June 24, 2008, Bruno stepped down from the positions of Senate Majority Leader and "temporary president of the senate", but remained a State Senator. On July 18, 2008, Bruno resigned from the New York State Senate.

Under the New York State Constitution, the "temporary president of the senate" performs the duties of the lieutenant governor when that office is vacant, or its office-holder is out of state.[1] He represented the 43rd New York State Senate District.

On January 23, 2009, Bruno was indicted on eight counts of corruption, including mail and wire fraud.[2]

And from the Albany Times-Union...

A federal grand jury indicted former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno on felony charges Friday, alleging he used his elected position to extract $3.2 million in private consulting fees from clients who sought to use his influence.



A defiant Bruno, who is the sole person charged in the 8-count indictment, criticized the U.S. Attorney's office and an ''overzealous'' FBI for conducting what Bruno characterized as a ''politicized'' criminal investigation of his business dealings. During a brief news conference following his appearance in front of a federal magistrate, Bruno vowed to go to trial to fight the charges as he accused federal authorities of conducting ''a three-year fishing expedition that . . . stinks.''

Right-Wing Parrots

In order to read the fine print in this image, you'll need to click on it and view it larger.

Repuglicans On The Prowl

The Republican rhetoric is getting uglier than ever. I guess they think that if they can trap the US into a deeper depression and lose the wars under Obama, they can win back the White House and Congress. To anyone without blinders on, it is pretty obvious that the GOP wants to submarine anything that might help the nation. It is so sad.

Eonomic Perspective - Cartoon

Obama Fights For His Place

Bill Kristol - Outspoken Conservative

Bill Kristol, the conservative, Republican columnist is all over the place. He appears on Fox News quite regularly, he writes for a conservative magazine quite often, and he WAS (key word: WAS) the conservative columnist for the New York Times for 1 year. Yep - one year. They didn't renew his contract because his facts were wrong so often and his opinions often lacked logic.

But don't cry - the Washington Post just hired him to do a monthly column. This guy CAN self-promote with the best of them.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

US undermined Iran after they helped us in Afghanistan

Under George Bush the U.S. managed to screw up most everything it touched with regards to foreign affairs. Here is a decent argument about why Iran has become more militant toward the U.S. than they were previous to 9/11.


Andy Borowitz Reports the News

Andy Borowitz reports on an important story breaking out of D.C. proving that Barack Obama is still working to improve this country every day. Click here to read the whole article.


Obama Sends Biden on ‘Special Mission’ to Antarctica

High-level Trip Could Last
Four Years,
President Hints


In the first major initiative of his presidency, President Barack Obama today dispatched Vice President Joe Biden on what he called “an important and special mission” to Antarctica.

The news of Mr. Biden’s unexpected trip appeared to take the Vice President by surprise, as he was in the middle of making a joke about Chief Justice John Roberts to members of the press corps when the President interrupted him with the news.

TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE Trailer

A stunning inquiry into the suspicious death of an Afghani taxi driver at Bagram air base in 2002, the film is a fastidiously assembled, uncommonly well-researched examination of how an innocent civilian was apprehended, imprisoned, tortured, and ultimately murdered by the greatest democracy on earth. Intermingling documents and records of the incident with candid testimony from eyewitnesses and participants, the film uncovers an inescapable link between the tragic incidents that unfolded in Bagram and the policies made at the very highest level of the United States government in Washington, D.C.


Hugh's Huge List


Hugh has made a huge list (nearly 400 entries) of Bush "scandals." (I'm not sure that they're all scandals, but they all certainly show actions which were screwed-up and mismanaged). A great resource. Click on any of the items in the list and get some detail as to the problems,

Click here
or click on the image (snapshot of the site) to review Hugh's choices.

Hugh must have spent quite a bit of time on this.

Security "You Were Out" Memo Pad Under The Republicans

Click on the image to view larger

Republican Bumper Sticker

Trickle Down Economics And Its Consequences

Vote Republican - Cartoon

Want to return to the stone age? Vote Republican.

The "Yes We " Can

Another bit of the Obama memorabilia out on the streets - the "Yes We" Can t-shirt...

Bush Welcomed Obama

So it seems President Bush put on a good face in welcoming President-elect Obama to Washington, but he couldn't help but get in one last dig...

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Caroline Kennedy - Why Did She Bail?

Caroline Kennedy's request to be appointed as US Senator from New York after Hillary Clinton was appointed as Secretary of State was out of place - in my opinion. She really had no right to the position - she hadn't paid her dues to the Democratic Party, she was a strong supporter of Michael Bloomberg for Mayor of New York City (he was/is a Republican, self-proclaimed independent), and Caroline just didn't seem to have the personality for the job. Now, if she wants to campaign and run for the job in 2010, that's great - then we'll find out what she's made of.

In the meantime, there is a lot of speculation as to why she dropped out of the running. Gawker did a great job of summarizing the possibilities...

1. She was incompetent, and pulled out to avoid the embarrassment of not being picked

2. She had tax and nanny issues

3. Her marriage is a sham

4. She had an affair with Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.

And you can read more about all of these over on Gawker's web site.
---
---

Christopher Cox Leaves

I hadn't heard this, but it sure sounds like good news to me...

From The New York Times. Read more by clicking on the link.

Word comes from the Securities and Exchange Commission that Christopher Cox left the chairmanship on Tuesday. There was no announcement, although he had said earlier that he would leave at the end of the Bush administration.

Mr. Cox was brought in by President Bush at a time when Republicans were mad that the previous chairman, William H. Donaldson, was voting with the Democrats on contentious issues. His mandate was to restore unity, and at first he seemed an ideal choice. He had been a securities lawyer, many years earlier, and his tenure as a Republican congressman from California had shown him to be more willing than most to compromise across the aisle.

He was determined to avoid a split commission, with the result that little got done. At the insistence of one Republican commissioner, Paul Atkins, the commission slowed down the enforcement process. Some cases languished for months — even after settlement deals were reached — while the commission pondered whether the companies had agreed to pay penalties that were too high.

Mr. Cox had a politician’s nose for public relations, which did not serve him well as the manager of an overtaxed regulatory agency. When reporters reacted with outrage to receiving subpoenas, he withdrew them in a way that held the staff up to ridicule. Similarly, when the Bernard L. Madoff scandal broke, he issued a statement that seemed to him to be an agency apology, and that seemed inside the agency to be a case of a chairman abandoning the people who worked for him.

More Outrage


Time for my daily dose of outrage....

A few days ago under the title of Great Words, I posted a quote from Dr. Henry Kissinger that explained that when the gap between the richest Americans and the poorest (even middle class) Americans becomes too great, there will be a political rebellion, The point of such a rebellion, in my interpretation of the words, will be to bring the wealthy back closer to the center.

The wealthy have used their greed to bilk the American middle class out of billions. While they frolic in the luxury of their deep, thick piles of cash, earned by trashing our economic system, the rest of us pay the price. In my opinion, the election of a liberal Democrat to the presidency reflects that rebellion.

Take a look at this crap, posted by Uncle Bob on Daily Kos...

The Financial Times reported that Merrill Lynch accelerated its normal time schedule for awarding bonuses and distributed $ 4 billion dollars on Dec 29, just 3 days before its takeover by Bank of America. At the same time Merrill posted $15 billion in losses for the fourth quarter. The total compensation for Merrill Lynch employees in 2008 was $15 billion.

That’s way more than just an outsized sense of entitlement, that’s flat-out stealing. And the money for this comes from, you guessed it, the US government. The Bank of America was prepared to back out of the deal once the size of the Merrill Lynch loss became apparent. The deal was completed only after guarantees of government money by the US Treasury.

Prayer In School - Replay

I can't help but wonder if this will wind up in the Supreme Court? From the Daily Herald in Illinois...

A U.S. District Court judge struck down the state's much-maligned "moment of silence" law, ruling that it was too coercive and crossed the First Amendment line barring government from establishing a religion.

Judge Robert W. Gettleman entered a permanent injunction banning enforcement of the law, ruling that its requirement that students must use the time for prayer or silent reflection amounted to a tacit endorsement of prayer.

"The statute is a subtle effort to force students at impressionable ages to contemplate religion," wrote Gettleman.



via Carolina Nautrally
---
---

Republican Motivational Poster

Blameless

Still Poking Fun At Sarah Palin

You've got to be a little older to get this - or do a Google search on Paladin or "Have Gun Will Travel" to get the reference.

Fox News Cartoon

Great Words

Bush on books...

Goosama bin Laden

Bush To Obama Morph

Click on the image to view it larger...

Warning To America

Thanks be to heaven - God has given word that Barack Obama's administration will be filled with evil - that he will create a police state in America and ruin the nation. Satan will gain a strong foothold in America under Obama and Obama is not really a Christian.

As I said - thank heavens that we have been warned. God, the all-powerful and all-knowing being who rules over all of the earth, chose a woman who is not American (country not identified - Canada? Great Britain?), who does not give her full name, and who spread the word of impending American doom on an obscure web site. And God spoke to her in a dream

The Lord is so clever - he can never be blamed for not warning us. The word has been shared. We could step in to stop all of this, but we choose to ignore the words of this prophet.

Click here to read the rantings of this woman possessed by the spirit and wonder that she was chosen to speak the word of God.

Then, if you are American, run - yes, turn and run - for the exits.

(And they say that religious nuts aren't delusional.)

Great Words

Here are some funny words from the past week or two...

David Letterman: "One percent of Americans participating in this poll believe – believe -- Dick Cheney is the best Vice President ever. Everybody else in the poll believes that that one percent should be wearing funny hats."

"Listen to what Barack Obama did today. He worked on the stimulus plan, had a classified intelligence briefing and met with Congressional leaders. Meanwhile, John McCain backed over his mailbox." --David Letterman

"Today was Joe Biden's first full day as vice president. Yeah, advisers say Biden spent most of the day watering his hair." --Conan O'Brien

"Yesterday, when President Bush returned to Texas, people who were there to greet him were holding up signs that said, 'You made us so proud.' Afterwards, the people admitted that the store was out of 'You totally embarrassed us' signs." --Conan O'Brien

"Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts made a mistake during the swearing in of Barack Obama. That's the second mistake the Supreme Court has made with a president, if you count the time they declared Bush the winner." --Jay Leno

"The new season of 'Lost' kicked off tonight. If you haven't seen it, 'Lost' is about a group of desperate people out of touch with the world. It's based on the true story of the Republican Party." --Craig Ferguson

“Osama bin Laden has released a new tape where he displays a shortness of breath, and experts say it raises questions about his health. See, that’s how you know this war has been going on too long, okay. When our enemies start dying of natural causes.” -Jay Leno

“But I want to tell you, it’s so cold. It’s so cold that Sarah Palin shot herself a brand-new coat.” -David Letterman

Bush staffer who has been there from the beginning reminisces, says Barney the dog is meaner than Cheney ---Fark Headline

“Well, all across the country, this is kind of sad, unemployment offices are swamped with people waiting to file for unemployment insurance. It’s gotten so bad that the offices are overwhelmed and can’t function. I got an idea. Why don’t you hire more people? They’re right there in line. Speed this whole thing up!” -Jay Leno

--------------------

Di you know that if you rearrange the letters in the words “illegal immigrants” and add a few more letters, it spells out:

What the hell are you doing here? Go back to wherever you came from and don’t come back until you’re legal.

How weird is that?

---from Bits & Pieces by Jonco

Friday, January 23, 2009

Will Farrell As George W Says Good Bye


Diane Sawyer Soused?


This is a funny video, but it's not embeddable - you'll have to click on the link to watch it.

Did Diane Sawyer stay up a little too late? Or hit a few too many of the inauguration balls? The next morning on ABC's Good Morning America, Diane was sure acting goofy and slurring her words. Perhaps a bit of the bubbly to celebrate our new king?

Click here or click on the image to jump to the video.

75% Of The Religiously Unaffiliated Identify with Dems

I guess I'm not alone.

Click here to read the article on Yahoo News.
----
----
----

Ikea White House

This is funny. A site called Political Irony (click the link to see the photos) reports on a living Ikea ad in which they set up a room to look like the Oval Office, except it was all done with Ikea furniture.

As part of its “Embrace Change” ad campaign, Swedish furniture manufacturer IKEA has set up a replica of the President’s Oval Office in the main hall of DC’s Union Station — except that it has been refurnished with furniture from IKEA. Oh, and a new flag:

Using Religion As A Cover

I do not understand how Obama can be so bright, yet allow so much of the Bush administration's program of faith-based charity work using government funds to continue.

To me, devout religion is often a cover for deeply flawed personality traits. The guy in the following story can't even claim "a moment of weakness." This went on for months.

From Jonathan Turley...

Another representative of the faith-based political movement has been arrested on morals charges. Police have been looking for a man for years who solicited prostitutes on the Internet under the name “Sullivant Guy,” “Broad Street Guy,” “Toby” and “God O Thunder.” It turns out that “God O Thunder” is allegedly Robert Eric McFadden, who was the director of Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

McFadden is accused of trading information about street hookers and online escort, including his personal recommendation of some prostitutes and ways to avoid arrest.

McFadden, 46, was charged with seven prostitution-related counts, including charges that he promoted a 17-year-old prostitute online.

Best Buds?

An interesting question - which McCain is back in the Senate? The guy who would do anything to appeal to his base - or the maverick?

Safety Poster

Creating An Enemy - So You Can Defeat Him

Republicans - Becoming Anti-American?

Where is their loyalty to our nation now?




via Carolina Natually

Great Words

I picked this up from an investment newsletter I follow called John Mauldin's Outside the Box dated January 12th, 2009...

"Any system produces winners and losers. If the gap between them gets too great, the losers will organize themselves politically and seek to recast the existing system -- within nations and between them.

--Henry Kissinger, in the Economist

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Great Words

“President Bush will soon be gone from the White House, but he’s not going to fade away. He’s only 62 years old and he says there are still plenty of challenges to fail to meet, there are still goals to fall short of, and people to disappoint.”

-Jimmy Kimmel

SUV-mounted Dillon Aero

LittleNuclearBastard on You Tube claims that the secret service is installing some modern Gatling guns in SUV's and that they might well be in use by the Secret Service to protect the President. Did you see the flotilla of black SUV's following the President's limo at the inauguration the other day? Check out the video...


Did Bush Leave a Legacy?


Some might think that Bush didn't leave anything positive behind, but over at Consortiumnews.com, they have a different idea...

George W. Bush’s gift to the American Republic may be that he has discredited a host of right-wing theories and practices – “trickle-down economics”; “self-regulating markets”; “tough-guy” foreign policy; the “imperial presidency”; and the notion that “government is the problem.”

What Will History Say?

Judging President Bush...


Edward Current Gets a Voice Mail From God


Bailout Banks Cheating Us?

I guess there's something about me that likes to be outraged at least once or twice a day. Following is a clip from the Washington Post that irritates the daylights out of me - and I'm one who favors bailing out the banks.

Most of America's largest publicly traded corporations -- including several that are receiving billions of dollars from U.S. taxpayers to finance their recovery -- have set up offshore operations that could help them avoid paying U.S. taxes on their profits, a government study released yesterday found.

American International Group, Bank of America, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are among the companies that are getting bailed out by U.S. taxpayers while having subsidiaries in locations where they can avoid paying U.S. taxes, according to the Government Accountability Office.

The 43 Who Helped Make Bush The Worst Ever

Gather.com does a marvelous job of pointing to the majority of wing-nuts who supported and worked with George W. Bush to nearly destroy the country.

Here's a clip...

1. Dick Cheney -- The worst Dick since Nixon. The man who shot his friend while in office. The "most powerful and controversial vice president." Until he got the job, people used to actually think it was a bad thing that the vice presidency has historically been a do-nothing position. Asked by PBS's Jim Lehrer about why people hate him, Cheney rejected the premise, saying, "I don't buy that." His top placement in our survey says otherwise.

Gun Owners

Watch out - quite a few of them are crazies...

Bush Was Gonna Kill Us All

Obama Cartoon


Obama was a constitutional law professor, and now, following the Bush administration, he's trying to piece it all back together.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Everybody Wants a Piece

He's so popular and offers such hope that everybody wants a piece of our new President. In this video, the Irish claim a piece of Barack O'Bama...




via Bits and Pieces

Letterman's Finale on Great Speeches

Letterman's summary of Bushy's great speeches...


Bush Would Sell Out Anyone

I just watched a swearing-in ceremony on CNN in which Barack Obama promised a greater openness and higher standards of honesty in his administration. Once again I felt renewed and fresh and hopeful about my government. Man, I do like this guy.

But just after that I arrived at the computer to continue making a few posts and I saw something else on Bush from a few days ago that just made me roll my eyes back into my head and offer a silent thank you that he's gone. He had no ethical standards - he'd sell out his mother to the devil if he thought it would further his own political ends.

Check this out, from Yahoo News...

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was left shame-faced after President George W. Bush ordered her to abstain in a key UN vote on the Gaza war, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Monday.

"She was left shamed. A resolution that she prepared and arranged, and in the end she did not vote in favour," Olmert said in a speech in the southern town of Ashkelon.

Religion Is An Evil Force

I wonder about folks who speak of religion as a force for good. Do they ever listen to themselves? The man quoted below claims to be one of them - he reads the same books, worships the same God and icons - and this is what he gets from it.

That's why I do not hesitate today in calling on godly Americans to pray that Barack Hussein Obama fail in his efforts to change our country from one anchored on self-governance and constitutional republicanism to one based on the raw and unlimited power of the central state.

It would be folly to pray for his success in such an evil campaign.

His name is Joseph Farah and he's just another among the wing nuts. Do you suppose he's proud of himself for writing this? Click on the link to read his entire post.

Republican Off The Deep End

It seems like we should be able to create a new word to describe the insane ramblings of Republican wing nuts. Somehow"stupid" just doesn't seem strong enough and "moronic" is an insult to real morons. Whatever word you choose to use to describe them, Sean Hannity may well be their king.

A report and a video which I found both of at News Hounds. Click on the link to read more...

Sean Hannity, ever on the lookout for new ways to smear Democrats, achieved a creative breakthrough last night (1/17/09) on a special weekend edition of his new solo show. Without bothering to investigate any other facts beyond Senator Charles Schumer's 2004 earmark for a group called GeesePeace, Hannity and FOX News were ready to allege that Schumer is to blame for the crash of the US Airways flight last week. Later in the program, Hannity warned that if it happens again, Schumer would be responsible for any ensuing deaths. In concert with Hannity's smear, a banner on the screen read, “Buck stops at Chuck?” With video.

Thomas Jeffereson On Firearms