Great TMW 'toon

[Click for larger image]

I haven't posted one of his cartoons in a while, but Tom Tomorrow really hit the nail on the head this week. As his blog notes, did anyone really honestly believe that the GOP fools at bottom of the political barrel, a.k.a. the GOP hate mongers Ann Coulter, Bill O'Lielly, Sean Insanity and Rush Limbaugh, were all really going to sit on the sidelines and not support McCain vs. Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton? Yea, sure.

They may not love McCain, but they certainly aren't going to sit idly by as one of the aforementioned Democrats makes a spirited run for the White House. It's going to be a very ugly campaign indeed, and some of the b.s. has already begun. The latest New York Times report about McCain having an inappropriate relationship with a lobbyist just gives the far-right blowhards an excuse to half-heartedly get behind Judas John's candidacy.

Al's back - Attack! Attack!

Well, that didn't take long. Less than 24 hours after An Inconvenient Truth took home two Oscars, including Best Documentary, the Swiftboating of Gore (Above, with Truth's Director, Davis Guggenheim) has begun, led by GOP shill Matt Drudge.

Now Gore's utility bills are being discussed all over the Internet. I'm not even going to get into specifics, because frankly it's a waste of my time, but at first glance, his energy bills are higher than the national average, and Drudge's Website goes on to list the dollar amounts of his bills. What's lost in the right-wing rhetoric is that Gore also owns a house much larger than the national average. In less than 10 minutes this morning, I read with glee on a few Websites, including the right-wing blog Wizbang, conservatives who are busting Gore's balls for owning a large home (and also John Edwards).

Can you imagine? Conservatives, the party of the rich and shameless, decrying the estates of Gore and Edwards? Both men have earned large sums of money; Gore as a politician and activist, and Edwards first as a trial lawyer. They weren't born with silver spoons in their mouths, like some presidents we know. But, I digress.

Predictably, right-wing hate mongers immediately went on the attack. Cue footage of Sean Insanity, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, etc. People, if Ann Coulter said that 9-11 widows are enjoying their husbands' deaths, what do you think she'll say about Al Gore's energy habits?

Some conservatives are blubbering about how environmentally friendly President Bush's Crawford "Ranch" is, and how it gets no press. It doesn't, and that's not fair. But honestly, how can conservatives expect Bush to get good press about what he's done on his ranch, when he's done virtually nothing beneficial for the environment as president? Someone, anyone, tell me five meaningful things he's done to help curb greenhouse gases since taking office. He did do one meaningful thing, right after taking office - he broke a 2000 election campaign promise for mandatory caps on carbon dioxide emissions. Oops. But hey, Mr. President, nice job on making sure your "ranch" is environmentally friendly. Now, how about doing something environmentally friendly for the rest of the country, since you haven't for over six years as president?

These attacks come as no surprise, though. Much of the effort to combat the science and reasoning behind global warming has come from Big Oil, which has billions of dollars at its disposal to distort and deceive. Who among us expected Big Oil and its paid-for politicians (and the pundits who support them) to just go away and give Al his due?

Gore has responded by saying that he purchases carbon offsets to make up the difference for his energy consumption. Call me incredibly presumptuous, but I believe him. Why wouldn't I? If Gore cared that little about the environment, why would he go around the globe trying to combat it? Why not just retire? Or give the occasional speech for a nice speaking fee and continue teaching, thereby leading a low-profile life?

Instead, Gore chooses to lead, to try to make a difference. Yes, he is indeed a horrible man.

Part of his response to right-wing snooping into his utility bills is this:

He buys 100 percent of his electricity from renewal power sources (Tennessee Valley Green Power Switch). What is Green Power Switch? The revolutionary idea is simple - harness the natural power of the wind, the sun, and the earth to create an energy source that's usable in our homes and everyday lives. TVA and local public power companies, working in cooperation with the environmental community, developed Green Power Switch as a way to bring "green" power - electricity generated by renewable resources (for example, solar, wind, & methane gas) - to Valley consumers, where Gore lives.

Seems pretty reasonable to me, but of course, what are the chances that his answer and explanation will mollify conservatives? About as much of a chance as our leaving Iraq anytime soon. Hmm, I can see how that would annoy conservatives. Maybe that's what I'll do from now on - whenever conservatives have a point, I'll just bring up the War in Iraq, then deny that I was making any kind of connection. Kind of like President Bush brings up 9-11 whenever he wants to make a point about anything, including Iraq.

One final thought - people wonder why good candidates never want to run for public office. This would be an example. The politics of personal destruction has so denigrated our political process, it's to the point where you would almost have to be crazy to seek higher office these days. Gore is probably laughing to himself this morning and shaking his head. Could anyone honestly blame him for saying to his wife, Tipper, over scones and fresh crepes (because that's what snobby, polluting liberals eat every morning for breakfast) "You wonder why I don't want to run for president again? This is why."

Pathetic and sad.

I still hope he runs. And if he does, I hope he has a lot more fight in him than he did in 2000. I have no doubt that he would, but all along he's been a long shot to run. This morning, the odds of a Gore candidacy are probably got a little longer.

Well, I spent about twice the amount of time on that as I thought I would. Vandra tells me I spend too much time blogging, and she's absolutely right, but sometimes I can't help myself - I have this incessant need to ridicule right-wing stupidity when I see it.

Hannity's retarded Gore bon mot

Sean Insanity just won't let the global warming debate rest. Hey, you neo-con artists lost this argument, pal. You can't win them all, and sometimes you're on the wrong side of the debate. I'd be delighted if intellectual heavyweights like Sean Hannity would admit defeat and start adding to the discourse by coming up with solutions to global warming, in lieu of attacking people who are trying to solve the problem, like Al Gore.

But, as he is wont to do, Hannity won't rest until he gets in a few licks against the horrible liberals who are trying to do humanity a favor by helping to save the environment, the planet, and everyone who lives on it. Even uncouth, college drop-out losers like Sean Hannity.

Early last week, Hannity put this little nugget of wisdom on his Website:

Can't do your own homework, Sean? Now you have to have people send you stuff? Pretty lazy for the leading fear and hate monger on Fox State TV.

Anyway, Gore's success in raising public awareness and the public discourse on global warming made him an inevitable target of conservative heavyweights like Sean Hannity.

So, all last week Hannity and his small-minded sycophants were gearing up for the big exposé on Gore, who, it appears, uses private jets from time to time.

I couldn't get ahold of any video footage from Hannity's nitpicking piece on Gore that aired last night, but then again, I didn't look that hard, either. If you're really feeling in a self-hating mood, you can view the video Here.

Anyway, cue the transcript from one of the previews that aired on Fox late last week:

MARTHA: According to Sean Hannity, the truth may be a bit inconvenient for Al Gore. The global warming globe trotting former vice president is flying around on private jets, and those jets it seems are quite bad for the environment. Joining us now is Sean Hannity. Hey, Sean.

HANNITY: Martha, how are you?

MARTHA: I am well, thank you. I know on Hannity’s America, you’re working on this investigative report. Tell us what you found.

HANNITY: You've know, we've heard the term "limousine liberal"? We’ve got a new term. "Gulfstream liberals."

[…]

HANNITY: Anyway, so Al Gore portrays himself in this movie - An Inconvenient Truth - he's traveling around the world, lecturing about the damage of climate change, etc. So we decided to look into a little bit of his background, and even for example if you go to the website for his film, it has a carbon calculator. We decided to calculate the carbon used by Al Gore for what we've been able to document in terms of his own travel.

MARTHA: And what'd you find?

HANNITY: That's a big secret. Sunday night.

[…]

HANNITY: You know what, Martha, if they’re not willing to lead by example, I think that's hypocritical. The idea that somebody can get in a private jet — we are going to calculate the carbon emissions and fuel usage on a private jet — for them to think that they're so much more important than the rest of us. We’ll let our audience decide. But my attitude is, if you really want to lead on this issue, then you’ve got to lead by example.

##

The actual piece, that ran a little longer than six minutes last night, was about as exciting and persuasive as the transcript above.

Hannity ran a few video clips of Gore getting on a private jet, as well as him putting Robert Kennedy Jr. on the spot on his show about flying on a private jet.

Then Insanity showed his intellectual acumen by attempting to coin a term that no doubt got Ann Coulter all hot and bothered - "Gulfstream Liberals."

Pretty clever, Sean.

A few thoughts...

First, you gotta lead by example, right Shawn? Just like all of those conservatives rooting for the war are packing their kids off to the war zone, right? Or, just like those against stem cell research are adopting snowflake babies to make a political statement, too, right Shawn?

Second, why am I even wasting my time with this? Eh, I've spent this much time on this, I might as well take it all the way through.

Anyway, secondly, I'm sure Gore is doing about 50 times what Hannity is doing to cut down on his carbon emission contribution to the environment. The carbon dioxide that Gore is putting into the air is probably greatly offset or perhaps even neutralized by the other steps he's taking to cut down on his carbon emissions. And even if Gore isn't carbon neutral, whatever emissions Gore is responsible for is certainly going for the greater good. He has done more than any other American in the non-scientific community in the last 25 years, or longer.

Third, if Gore did lead by example, does anyone in the world think that Hannity would follow? Me neither.

Fourth, this is hackneyed Hannity at his most predictable - if you've lost the argument, go on the attack to change the subject. We aren't falling for it.

But, I saved the best for last.

A little digging of my own unearthed something pretty delish about Rudolph William Louis Giuliani III, Insanity's new buddy and 2008 Republican presidential candidate. (Yea Sean, I do my own research, moron.)

It seems that Rudy is quite the diva when he travels, and his demands make one wonder if he thinks he's already president. Among his demands, according to a New York Daily News story on February 17, 2007:

• A $100,000 speaking fee
• A private jet to transport him to and from the event, that must be a Gulfstream IV or bigger, a $30 million jet capable of speeds in excess of 600 mph
• Once there, Rudy demands "one sedan and one large SUV," and booked into a hotel room "with a king-size bed, on an upper floor, with a balcony and view," plus four additional rooms on the same floor for his posse.

You can view a copy of Rudy's contract Here, at The Smoking Gun.

I wonder if Hannity will question Rudy on his demands the next time the so-called America's Mayor is on his show?

That'll happen during the sixth year of the Gingrich Administration.

One final thought - does anyone reading this honestly think that Insanity has never traveled in a private jet? Then again, I guess there would be no moral conflict there, since in Hannity's twisted, selfish, purely partisan mind, global warming is some liberal myth; a conspiracy dreamed up by America-hating liberals to destroy this country.

Rudy's in. McCain's twin?

Add another hat to the '08 race - Rudy's in. "America's Mayor" has officially thrown his hat into the wide-open 2008 presidential race. This announcement really didn't come as much of a surprise to many, and certainly not to me.

In many ways, Rudolph William Louis Giuliani III's candidacy will be good for the political discourse over the next 18 or so months. At first glance, Rudy brings a buffet of good things to the table to launch a presidential campaign.

For starters, I love his roots - he made his bones as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Cigar Aficionado did a piece on Rudy following 9-11, and the piece sums up his legal résumé in part much more eloquently and succinctly than I can:

Giuliani's convictions read like a lawyer's dream come true. He successfully prosecuted and won 100-year sentences against the heads of the major Mafia crime families in New York, including "Fat Tony" Salerno, of the Genovese family, "Tony Ducks" Corallo, of the Lucchese family, and Carmine "The Snake" Persico, of the Colombo organization; the Bonnano family boss, Rusty Rastelli, was indicted but actually sentenced for another crime and Paul Castellano, of the Gambino family, was assassinated before the sentencing hearing. Giuliani also helped break up the Pizza Connection, a $1 billion heroin drug smuggling ring. The investigation led to the arrests of more than a dozen people around the country. He prosecuted very-high profile corruption charges against top politicians in New York. He sent Stanley Friedman, a former deputy mayor and head of the Bronx Democratic Party, to prison for 12 years for acting as a middleman in a bribery scheme. And, he convicted Mario Biaggi, a U.S. congressman from the Bronx, on bribery charges.

He also had other victories, too; most notably launching the investigation that eventually put Michael Milkin in the slammer and winning a conviction against Wall Street financier Ivan Boesky.

Pretty impressive.

His two terms as mayor are a study in contrasts. Putting 9-11 aside for a moment, he had many other victories - most notably cleaning up the sex and sleaze in Times Square and dramatically lowering crime in the city. For instance, according to the Cigar Aficionado piece, felony crimes declined 57 percent during his term as mayor, and the murder rate during the same period declined by 68 percent. Some say he doesn't deserve all of the credit for those statistics, but they occurred while he was mayor, so he deserves at least part of but not all of the credit.

But, as with all candidates, he's not without his warts, either.

He has a Bill Clinton-like reputation for adultery. (And, as a Clinton supporter, I don't mean to soft-shoe either man's indescretions - both are inexcusable.) My favorite example of Rudy in deep doody is when he called a press conference to announce his intentions to separate from his second wife, Donna Hanover, before Hanover knew of his plans. This all happened because the press in New York broke the story that Rudy was having an affair with Judith Giuliani neé Nathan (now his third wife). That's classy. Hey, at least Democrats didn't try to impeach him for the offense.

Other controversies during his mayoral reign include: his 1999 attempt to censor the Brooklyn Museum if the museum did not remove a number of works in an exhibit entitled "Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection." (a battle his administration later lost in court); his defense of the NYPD over a number of brutal assaults and scandals during his administration (and in every case, he always rushed to the defense of the NYPD, critics be damned); his attempt end-run around New York City's charter limiting its mayor to two terms, by trying to stay beyond his mayoral term in the wake of 9-11, a proposal sharply rejected by the mayoral candidates, most notably future Mayor Michael Bloomberg; his handling of the air quality issue at Ground Zero and surrounding areas following 9-11; and New York City's lack of preparedness prior to 9-11.

That last criticism I'd like to take a moment to elaborate on. By writing that I believe Rudy has to shoulder some of the blame for NYC's lack of preparedness for 9-11, I don't mean that the city under his leadership could have prevented 9-11. What I am saying is that the city, specifically the World Trade Center, was attacked in 1993. It's amazing to me that eight years later, the city still had basic communication difficulties during the chaotic moments following the towers' being attacked, and the aftermath of the collapse.

For instance, why in the world did Giuliani maintain the city's Office of Emergency Management headquarters (believed by many to be a terrorist target) inside the World Trade Center? Many accounts have the Giuliani Administration more interested in fighting turf wars than taking much-needed steps to protect the city.

I certainly give Giuliani much deserved credit for his handling of 9-11 in the hours, days and weeks following the attacks. It's not a stretch to say that she displayed a lot more courage and derring-do than President Bush did in the immediate aftermath of the attacks. But, and this is probably politically incorrect to write (and I couldn't possibly care less), but didn't Rudy do what any mayor would do who had even mediocre leadership skills? Rudy did what any good and decent American would do as mayor in that position - he rallied the city, attended the funerals, and went to the extra mile to reassure, revive and restore America's largest city. For that he deserves credit, but I dunno about all of the praise that's unquestionably heaped on him. He also mishandled a lot of things in the aftermath of the attacks, but that's gets short shrift in the media. To be fair, any mayor would have made mistakes in that mayhem, but he's constantly being portrayed as the mayor on the white horse following 9-11. Puh-lease.

Anyway, it's a question I know that won't get asked in the mainstream media, which is already sharpening its skills at routinely giving Rudy a tongue bath.

Besides 9-11, one of the most recent Rudy-love fests the press have given Rudy since 9-11 was at the 2004 Republican National Convention, where he gave a well-publicized speech. In it, he let fly a few whoppers about his reaction immediately following the attacks. Take a read:

At the time, we believed that we would be attacked many more times that day and in the days that followed. Without really thinking, based on just emotion, spontaneous, I grabbed the arm of then Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, and I said to him, "Bernie, thank God George Bush is our president."

I say it again tonight. I say it again tonight: Thank God that George Bush is our president, and thank God...

And thank God that Dick Cheney, a man with his experience and his knowledge and his strength and his background is our vice president.

Al Franken, on the floor of Madison Square Garden during Giuliani's speech, grabbed the arm of an acquaintence and said, "He just made that up." Spot on as usual, Al. Funny how there was no mention of Giuliani's having said that in his bestselling book, Leadership, according to Franken. I freely admit I haven't read the book, but I'll take Franken's word on it, since he has read the book.

And honestly, does anyone really believe that Giuliani's first thought after two jumbo jets slammed into the World Trade Center towers was "Bernie, thank God George Bush is our president"?!? What a steaming, smelly load. Of course, we'll never have any way in knowing, because only Giuliani, Kerik and God know of Rudy made up the quote for the GOP sychophants at the convention, and the first two aren't talking.

Anyway, so far, what I know about his political views says to me that he's a study of contrasts. He's for abortion and stem cell research, but against civil unions and a hard line on immigration. He's also pro gun control.

These stances, when viewed as a whole, would paint him as a moderate Republican, and one I'd faintly consider voting for if the Democratic Nominee were to be a disaster (with the field of strong candidates, I rate the chances of that happening at next to zero).

However, therein lies the drawback - Rudy the moderate can't possibly hope to get the nomination from a religiously hijacked Republican Party. As politically astute as he is, surely he realizes this.

As of late, some cracks are starting to appear in the foundation of Rudy the Moderate.

Above, Giuliani appears on college drop-out Sean Insanity's show, kissing up to the Fox State TV crowd. Note to Rudy: This is NOT the way to court the moderates you are going to need if you hope not only to secure your party's nomination, but also the presidency.

Predictably, Rudy's historical stance on abortion is also changing. Recently on Insanity's show, he was quoted as saying, "I hate [abortion] ... However, I believe in a woman's right to choose." Regarding Roe v. Wade, "That's up to the court to decide," he said.

Rudy will be a formidable candidate, no doubt, but, like every other candidate in the field, he has some obstacles to overcome.

Hopefully, he won't veer far to the right to try and win his party's nomination. I fear that any candidate with any hopes of capturing the GOP nomination will have to do just that. I just hope he doesn't sell out to do it, thereby becoming John McCain's twin.

GOP strafes Pelosi regarding plane

I got a pretty big kick out of the non-story story from this past week - how Nancy Pelosi was requesting an enormous airplane for her trips to and from California. I have to give credit to the press, for the most part, about this story though (but not in all cases).

A few Republicans, most notably staff at the Republican National Committee, tried to make political hay out of Nancy Pelosi's request for an airplane for trips to her home state of California and back. What many of Pelosi's detractors conveniently forgot was that former Speaker Dennis Hastert also had access to a plane to his home state of Illinois.

Each and every Speaker of the House should have secure, sufficient protection, which should include a secure aircraft, and it doesn't matter who the speaker is, or from what party.

This policy began following 9-11, since the speaker is third in line to the presidency, and I'm happy that policy is in place.

However, a report on the CBS Evening News by Sharyl Attkisson this past week stated: "The fuss is over whether Pelosi should fly on the same small jet used by her predecessor Dennis Hastert ... or the much bigger military 757."

However, Attkisson's report neglected to mention that the White House and the House Sergeant at Arms both defended Pelosi's need for a plane that can fly nonstop to and from her district on security grounds, if such a plane with that capability is available.

Here's a press release from the House Sergeant at Arms, as reported in Talking Points Memo:

February 8, 2007

As the Sergeant at Arms, I have the responsibility to ensure the security of the members of the House of Representatives, to include the Speaker of the House. The Speaker requires additional precautions due to her responsibilities as the leader of the House and her Constitutional position as second in the line of succession to the presidency.

In a post 9/11 threat environment, it is reasonable and prudent to provide military aircraft to the Speaker for official travel between Washington and her district. The practice began with Speaker Hastert and I have recommended that it continue with Speaker Pelosi. The fact that Speaker Pelosi lives in California compelled me to request an aircraft that is capable of making non-stop flights for security purposes, unless such an aircraft is unavailable. This will ensure communications capabilities and also enhance security. I made the recommendation to use military aircraft based upon the need to provide necessary levels of security for ranking national leaders, such as the Speaker. I regret that an issue that is exclusively considered and decided in a security context has evolved into a political issue.

That's not all. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow also thought the whole issue was a non-issue, too stating:

[The White House] position, which is, as Speaker of the House, she is entitled to military transport, and that the arrangements, the proper arrangements are being made between the Sergeant of Arms office in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Department of Defense. We think it's appropriate, and so, again, I think this is much ado about not a whole lot. It is important for the Speaker to have this kind of protection and travel. It was certainly appropriate for Speaker Hastert. So we trust that all sides will get this worked out.

On Thursday of last week, Tony Snow came right out and said that he thought the whole story was "unfair to the speaker."

That didn't stop some from coming after Pelosi anyway, facts be damned.

The Republican National Committee, while Tony Snow was defending Pelosi, issued a press release with this heading:

I won't even get into the details of the press release, which I have read, but I'm sure you can guess.

As Media Matters reported:

A February 9 Washington Times article by Rowan Scarborough and Charles Hurt flatly stated that the C-20, one of the military planes used by former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) for domestic travel when he was speaker, "can make the nonstop flight year-round" to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D) California district from Washington, D.C. But media reports from the previous two days had reported that the C-20 cannot make it to California nonstop under all conditions. The article by Scarborough and Hurt did not attribute its contrary assertion about the flying range of the C-20 to anyone.

Capt. Herb McConnell, the spokesman for the 89th Airlift wing at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, was quoted by ABC News two days earlier saying that the C-20 is "able to make a coast-to-coast flight at times during the year, but not when there are strong headwinds such as during the winter." Also, on February 8, the Los Angeles Times reported that the aircraft used by Hastert "require[d] ideal weather conditions to make the cross-country trip without stopping to refuel."

Of course, my favorite Republican Strategist and Pollster, Frank Luntz, weighed in on Sean Insanity's show with his own ill-informed propaganda, first, with this:

LUNTZ: And let me tell you, Sean, this situation with Nancy Pelosi and the aircraft -- that's going to play very badly for the Democrats, and I think that's going to reflect badly on Hillary Clinton who, at this point, is the front-runner.

Later in the same show, this exchange, and it's amazing that Alan Colmes actually grew a set, for once:

COLMES: Frank, you took a shot at Nancy Pelosi. The fact of the matter is: She did not initiate this. It came from the sergeant of arms. Conservatives are making a bigger deal of this than really exists. And we got very little press when there was a Denny Hastert issue when he asked for the same thing. So, you say it's going to resonate and be -- and hurt the front-runner for the Democrats. I disagree. I -- where are you getting this information?

LUNTZ: Well -- no, here's the issue. The public said "no" to the Republican Party in 2006 because they thought that they'd gone native -- that they'd gone Washington -- that there wasn't a sense of accountability. But they will say the same "no" to the Democrats if they seem to be -- abuse their power. And she doesn't need a huge, gigantic plane.

COLMES: She didn't ask for one. She just wants a nonstop --

LUNTZ: If she wants to deny everybody else from flying -- you know what?

COLMES: -- doesn't want to have to refuel. It's a security issue whether or not she should stop to refuel.

LUNTZ: She does -- it is not a -- it is not a security issue. She doesn't need a plane, and American taxpayers -- I can promise you, Alan -- the American taxpayers don't want to be paying for her private flights in huge jets.

COLMES: But it's not her decision, it's the sergeant at arms. She doesn't make that decision, Frank.

SEAN HANNITY (co-host): All right, we gotta run.

LUNTZ: She can say no. She can say no.

MICHAEL BROWN (Democratic strategist): The American taxpayers do not want to pay for a war they don't agree with --

HANNITY: She was offered the plane.

LUNTZ: Just say no, Alan.

HANNITY: She -- he's asking for the bigger plane. She, herself is asking --

COLMES: She didn't make that decision.


HANNITY: -- and it would be $300,000 round trip for the American taxpayer.

COLMES: It was not her decision.

LUNTZ: Exactly.

HANNITY: This is a bad political play, Frank. Frank, I agree with you.

##

Luntz has a long history of disparaging Pelosi, saying on Insanity's show last year, "I always use the line for Nancy Pelosi, 'You get one shot at a face lift. If it doesn't work the first time, let it go.'"

First of all, as someone who looks like Howdy Doody (left), Luntz (below, right) has preciously little room for criticizing Pelosi's appearance. Secondly, Luntz should grow up - leave the elementary put-downs to bloggers and such - you're supposed to be a professional. Wait, you consistently appear on Faux News - so much for being a professional. Okay, this IS the sort of thing we should expect from you. Forget everything I just said - keep meeting our lowered expectations of you, Luntz.

I know I'm writing and bringing a lot to you about this, but it's just one example of how the radical Republican press forges ahead, facts be damned.

Give Pelosi her damned plane, like every speaker deserves, and get on with the business of running the country and making our lives better. Republicans seem pretty angry that Democrats so far have made some progress, so we get this pseudo scandal about an airplane.

Quick! Run for your lives! Hillary's in!

You never forget your first, and I got my first "Hillary is the sign of the devil" forward since she declared her candidacy for president in 2008 from one of my aunt's friends a few days ago.

I'll let the idiocy speak for itself, other than to quickly note that I discovered, after a little research, that Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan and the senior Bushes also still have Secret Service protection (as they are entitled to, as all ex-presidents and their wives are). In 1997, the Republican-controlled Congress passed, and President Clinton signed into law, a bill that limits Secret Service protection to 10 years after leaving office. This was done for a good reason - former first families were essentially using the Secret Service as a limo service. (I have this on pretty good authority - I personally know a former Secret Service agent who was on presidential detail.)

Former first families of both parties are guilty of this. Does anyone honestly think that the Carters, Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan or Lady Bird Johnson are really in any danger? They are not.

Also, the forward below mocks the Clintons for moving to New York so Hillary could run for the Senate. Didn't the Bushes used to live in Connecticut? In fact, or current prez was born there. This is America - people are free to move and live where they like.

Anyway, enough from me - check out this gem. I tried to recreate the forward with the colors, and of course, the priceless pictures. I replied to all the recipients with my brief thoughts on this truly eloquent forward (and I actually kept those thoughts brief, even though this post is not. Sorry.) and asked the sender to refrain from sending me any more of this garbage.

Well, enjoy. My comments appear in parenthetical references, in red. ...

"United We Stand!!"

"The real definition of Rotten"

You really should be sitting down when you read this one.

Gold Star Mothers (G.S.M.) is an organization made up of women whose sons were killed in military combat during service in the United States Armed Forces.

(Too bad GSM has 3,000 new members, and growing, on President George WMD Bush's watch, all for a lie in Iraq. Anyone with a plan on how to get out of this mess, write to the president at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C. 20081-0001. Trust me, he needs the advice, but it's doubtful he'll listen.

Just like he didn't listen to the Baker-Hamilton Commission, a bipartisan group that made over 79 recommendations, with a report that was 160 pages in length. But, all I ever hear is the president and Congressional Republicans (but the number of the latter is shrinking) who whine that the Democrats have no plan. The last I read, Nancy Pelosi and Congressional Democrats want to put most of those recommendations in place, but Bush and Cheney continue to ignore those recommendations. How much taxpayer money was wasted there?)

Recently a delegation of New York State Gold Star Mothers made a trip to Washington, D.C. , to discuss various concerns with their elected Representatives.

According to published reports, there was only one politician who refused to meet with these ladies. Can you guess which politician that might be?

Was it New York Senator Charles Schumer?

Nope, he met with them.

Try again.

Do you know anyone serving in the Senate who has never showed anything but contempt for our military? Do you happen to know the name of any politician in Washington whose husband once wrote of his loathing for the military?

(The Clintons grew up in the 1960s and went to college during Vietnam. Despising the military then was about as exclusive as the white pages. How dumb does the author of this e-mail think I am? I guess pretty dumb.)

Now you're getting warm! You got it!

None other than the Queen herself, Hillary Rotten Clinton!

(Rotten? Wow, that's original - almost as original as my admittedly lame "Bill O'Lielly" [thanks, Al Franken]. And the picture is priceless - God, I love Photoshop and people who have this much time on their hands. Hey, I guess I have a lot of time on my hands, too. Oops.)

She refused repeated requests to meet with the Gold Star Mothers.

Now, please don't tell me you're surprised. This woman wants to be President of the United States -- and there is a huge percentage of voters who are eager to help her achieve that goal.

May you sleep in peace always...and please...hug or thank a veteran for that privilege.

(So, I guess people should not hug or thank Senator John Kerry, the '04 Democratic Nominee who was Swiftboated and made to look like a traitor for winning three purple hearts and a bronze star medal. At right, a churlish rube at the GOP 2004 Republican Convention shows her thanks to Kerry by wearing a purple heart Band-Aid. Does that qualify as thanking a veteran?

What about hugging Dick Cheney, the beneficiary of five deferments, who is one record as saying he had "other priorities" during the Vietnam War, or the president himself, who, in the words of Maureen Dowd, so famously leapfrogged over thousands of other applicants to get a spot on the Texas Air National Guard to "protect Texas from Oklahoma.")

Think about this one!!

Don't forget, our girl, Hillary Rodham Clinton, as a New York Senator, now comes under this fancy Congressional Retirement and Staffing Plan. It's common knowledge that, in order for her to establish NYS residency, they purchased a million+ dollar house in upscale Chappaqua, NY. Makes sense.

Now, they are entitled to Secret Service protection for life. Still makes sense.

Here is where it becomes interesting. The mortgage payments hover at about $10,000 per month. BUT, an extra residency had to be built within the acreage in order to house the Secret Service agents.

The Clintons now charge the Secret Service $10,000 monthly rent for the use of said Secret Service residence and that rent is just about equal to their mortgage payment, meaning that we, the tax payers, are paying the Clintons' mortgage, their transportation, their safety and security, their 12-man staff, and it's all perfectly legal.

(So, if it's legal and you're upset, Commander, write your legislators and press to have the law changed. Quick! Before another Democrat gets in the White House and we have to needlessly spend taxpayer money to keep said Democrat and the first family safe.

I wonder how much the government has paid and will pay for the extra facilities on the president's Crawford Ranch, during his presidency and after? And Nixon's Western White House? Or Reagan's?

If you do some research, [unlikely that Sean Hannity, the probable author of this forward, did much research or that he even knows the meaning of the word - he didn't even finish college] there are some interesting figures out there, specifically with Nixon's improvements to his homes, all at taxpayer expense, while he was president. But hey, let's not let numbers and facts get in the way of a Hillary Swiftboating.

Anyone who wants to complain about taxpayer money being wasted should read about the Starr Report - $70 million, all to investigate a blow job. For you mathematicians, that's 7,000 months of the government's alleged payments to the Clinton's for the Secret Service's facilities at their Chappaqua home, but I digress.)

Sincerely, Cmdr. Hamilton McWhorter U.S.N. (retired)

P.S.: Please forward this to as many people as you can. We don't want this woman to even think of running for President. (Too late.) So, just how many people can you send this to? (None.) It will take no more than 2 minutes. Thanks. (Now that I didn't forward it, will something bad happen to me in 10 minutes?)

##

Thanks for your service to our country, Commander. However, since you have so much time on your hands, if, in fact, you are the author of this e-mail, perhaps you have time to write to the president to implore him to end this idiotic and stupid war. While you're at it, maybe you can illustrate to him the real costs of combat in terms of human sacrifice, much less the hundreds of billions being spent to rebuild a country we were so intent on destroying. Because the president has no idea about combat, since he and his vice president took pains not to go when their generation was called to fight.

Ultimately, I don't know if Hillary is qualified to be president or not - that's what I hope to find out during next year's presidential primaries - who the best qualified candidate is. However, I'm reasonably confident that she's more qualified and a great deal brighter than the current occupant of the oval office.

And I'm not forwarding this e-mail to anyone, but it sure was fun debunking it. If I get any more like this, my DELETE button is one keystroke away. Let's quit fighting the pseudo-wars of the 1990s against the Clintons, and let's turn our energies to finding Osama bin Laden, the man responsible for the 9-11 attacks, and also toward ending the War in Iraq.

Have a nice day.

John McCaned - straight talk express derailed

I've been waiting for a video compilation like this for a looong time. (I need to work on getting some video editing skills so I can do these myself.)

When are politicians going to learn that one hasn't been able to get away with lying about your past positions since the dawn of the video tape era? Presidents and politicians of both political parties are just a few examples in a long list of people who haven't learned this valuable yet simple lesson.

I've been saying for months (wait, check that - since I started this blog a little over 10 months ago) that judas john mccain is a turncoat sellout who has done more flip flops than 10 John Kerrys and will say virtually anything to be elected president.

Well, here's a pretty good compilation to prove it (above). It's part of a pretty good Website that you should check out - lots of mccain double-speak and outright lies.

Politicians must think the American people are pretty stupid, thinking we'll forget about some of this stuff. Well john, we're not stupid, and many of us don't forget, either.

The only drama left regarding mccain is whether the mainstream media will continue to lick his boots by referring to him as a "straight talker" and "maverick." I'm betting yes.

Hey mccain - do yourself a favor and don't resign from the Senate - because if you do, you won't have a seat to sit in when the music stops in '09.

So long, sell out.

Okay, he'll probably still make a run, and maybe even a strong one, before the Republican primaries are over next year, but I don't think he'll get the nomination. To be honest, my dream ticket for the Republicans is mccain/Lieberman. That would be money, prove endlessly entertaining, and also pretty damn beatable in '08.

Haven't had enough of the straight talker? Okay, here's more...



This one is a bit of an oldie, but it's still a goodie. It's from last fall regarding the North Korean crisis. This clip is of mccain and college dropout Sean Insanity griping about what we gave the North Koreans in the early 1990s during the Clinton administration, and also mccain telling everyone, in effect, to just shut up and stop criticizing the president.

What's funnier -- mccain blaming the North Korea crisis on President Clinton, or Insanity griping about the approximately $1 billion we gave North Korea?

When Clinton was in office, at least we had a dialogue with North Korea, and we were actually in the country. We can say neither now.

And the $1 billion? That's about 1/400th of what we've spent in Iraq, and there's no end in sight to that particular disaster. Of Bush's stupidly titled "Axis of Evil," who is the biggest danger to us now - North Korea, Iran or Iraq? A distant third would be Iraq, and that was true even before we got rid of Hussein.

We invaded Iraq for a quick triumph - we needed a feel-good victory dance following 9-11, because Bush reasoned we needed to celebrate our military might (and show it to the world) after the embarrassment and tragedy of 9-11.

Guess we got a little more than we bargained for, eh, Mr. President?

Okay, one more, just because it's so fun. This is addictive...



Here's a recent Meet the Press clip where mccain claims that Jerry Falwell is not an "agent of intolerance," a 180 degree switch from his position in 2000. I love how host Tim Russert uses mccain's own words from six years ago against him.

Keep in mind, since 2000, Falwell has blamed 9-11 on homosexuality and abortion. He's more of an agent of hatred and intolerance than ever, yet there's mccain, bowing down to Falwell and the radical religious right.

My favorite moment is when mccain opines that "a visit to Liberty University [which Falwell founded] is no different than a visit to Ohio State." The only explanation I can come up with is that judas john is off his meds. Can a visit to Bob Jones University be far behind? When is the David Duke endorsement? (A quick aside - am I the only one amused by the fact that one of the most conservative, religious schools in the country is known by the acronym "BJU"?)

Anyway, is there any constituency on the right with a butt too small for mccain to kiss to try and win the nomination?

Nope.

Air America lives

As a subscriber and listener of Air America since the network began, yesterday was bittersweet. The fledgling liberal radio network announced yesterday that it has been purchased by SLG Radio LLC, an entity controlled by Stephen L. Green. The sale is expected to close by mid-February. The announcement was made by Air America CEO Scott Elberg.

"We are extremely pleased to have reached this agreement with Mr. Green, which will solidify Air America’s future," said Elberg. "When you combine Steve Green's business skills and successes -- with his brother Mark Green's history as a respected progressive policy voice, including as a frequent guest and host on our network-- Air America will be in the best hands to sustain our powerful radio voice, expand our reach and broaden the audience."

I know I'M pleased about it. No one can tell me that there isn't a demand for a liberal radio network in this country, because there is. Look at all of the people who voted against Bush in '04 and against his party in '06? No one can make the case to me that this radio network can't survive. It's just been unfortunate that it's had poor management.

Yesterday also marked the announcement that Al Franken will be leaving Air America, effective February 14. That was a disappointment to me - I've listened to Al since day one. His material is good, but his voice and radio hosting skills are wanting. But, in the end, he brought me to the network, and I love his knowledge, wit and political smarts.

Fans of Franken shouldn't weep, though. We haven't heard the last of him, via his great books, or perhaps as a candidate. He has expressed interest in running for the Senate in his home state of Minnesota.

Yesterday, he said he will make his decision soon. I for one think he has as much smarts as many who occupy the Senate chamber today.

So long, Al. It's not an overstatement that if it weren't for your star power, Air America would have gone under probably long ago, so well done. And keep writing those books and engaging rightist blowhards.

And sorry, Matt Drudge, Bill O'Lielly, Rush Limbaugh and Sean Insanity - you don't get to have your Air American funeral. Boo hoo.