Bush Gets Cool Reception From Censored Soldiers

Now that we are nearly four years into the quagmire that is Iraq, public attitudes are changing towards the war. The American public is now solidly against it. Democrats in D.C. are now against it (Lieberman obviously doesn't count as a Dem). Even moderate Republicans like Smith and Hagel are coming out against it.

The most fervent supporters of the troops have always been the troops. We here on the left care about them and want them home, wingnuts claim to care about them by sticking magnets on their SUVs and wanting more of them to be in harm's way to win an unwinnable war. Yet it is the soldiers' duty to protect his brothers and sisters who fight on the front line. It is their duty to support the commander-in-chief as he leads them into war.

For years the troops gave the President enthusiastic responses. Bush has relied on using our troops as a backdrop to his misbegotten policy blunders to give an illusion of support. On Thursday, January 11th 2007, this wasn't the case.

Except for the grilling Rumsfeld received by soldiers asking for body armor, the troops have been highly supportive of the President and especially when he visits them face-to-face. However yesterday wasn't that day over at Fort Benning.

Buried on page A12 by WaPo:

Soldiers being soldiers, those who met the commander in chief Thursday saluted smartly and applauded politely. But it was hardly the boisterous, rock-star reception Bush typically gets at military bases. During his lunchtime speech, the soldiers were attentive but quiet. Not counting introduction of dignitaries, Bush was interrupted by applause just three times in 30 minutes -- once when he talked about a previous Medal of Honor winner from Fort Benning, again when he pledged to win in Iraq and finally when he repeated his intention to expand the Army.

The soldiers are told to be a good audience for the President, but they do not have to go over the top. Being polite is sufficient for the commanders. However those commanders were still wary of their troops' opinions of Bush and decided to silence them from talking with reporters.

Eventually frustrated journalists were allowed to speak with a few selected soldiers. A hand-picked few hardly represented how these brave men and women feel about the President's recent decision to send the 3rd Brigade Combat Team from the 3rd Infantry Division back to Iraq, two months earlier than previously reported.



Another typical PR move by the White House. The President gets his photos without hearing how the troops really feel about the escalation Bush has saddled our military with. As the military's support for the war plunging, expect more cool responses to come.

David Greene from NPR reported on this story as well, listen to it here.

Greek Terrorist Attack U.S. Embassy in Athens

News reports are still coming in about the latest attack on U.S. interests abroad. According to Reuters a huge explosion ripped through the embassy at 5:55am local time on Friday morning (10:55PM EST).

Reuters:

ATHENS (Reuters) - An explosion ripped through the U.S. embassy compound in central Athens on Friday, a police source said.

It was not clear what caused the blast and there was no immediate word on whether there were any casualties.

Police cordoned off all roads around the embassy.

Police officials at the scene said that whatever caused the explosion damaged the official embassy sign outside the mission, but there was little other indication of the extent of damage inside.

What was that meme Bush was saying about keeping the war in Iraq? Anyways, hopefully no one was seriously hurt and the damage is only to the building.

Update #1

Apparently the blast occurred outside the building and only shattered some glass on the third floor. No one was injured in the blast. This was the first attack on the embassy since a rocket propelled grenade was fired at it on February 15, 1996.

Update #2

Apparently it was a terrorist attack after all, according to the AP:

ATHENS, Greece - An anti-tank shell was fired at the U.S. Embassy early Friday, striking the front of the building but causing no injuries. A senior police official said the blast was an act of terrorism, raising fears of a resurgence of far-left Greek militant groups.

Police cordoned off streets around the heavily guarded building after the explosion shortly before 6 a.m. The shell struck the third floor and smashed glass in nearby buildings.

Investigators were examining what they believed was the device used to fire the rocket shell from a construction site near the embassy.

"This is an act of terrorism. We don't know where from," Attica Police Chief Asimakis Golfis said. "There was a shell that exploded in the toilets of the building ... It was fired from street level."

With Senator Bruno, it's all in the family

Father and son shown here in 2003: NY Times photo

It looks like the Bruno family is in a heap of trouble with federal investigators. The F.B.I. opened up an inquiry last year into the Senator's shady dealings and have now stumbled upon his son's connections to the matter.

From the NY Times today:

The younger Mr. Bruno was instrumental in persuading the wife of Mr. Abbruzzese to pay $90,000 for almost 12 acres on Pond View Way from a partnership involving Senator Bruno, according to an owner of the partnership. Weeks before that November 2004 deal was completed, a Canadian racetrack owner that had hired Kenneth Bruno as a lobbyist formed an advocacy group with Mr. Abbruzzese that would urge an overhaul of the state’s horse racing industry, an issue in which Senator Bruno has been playing a major role.

Kenneth Bruno’s involvement in recruiting buyers for the partnership’s land, including Mr. Abbruzzese’s wife, was critical to reviving a moribund project in which Senator Bruno had a 25 percent stake, according to James D. Featherstonhaugh, a lawyer and lobbyist who also owned 25 percent of the partnership, the First Grafton Corporation.

Peeling the onion that is Republican corruption in New York is worse than shedding tears, it is evidence that things need to change up in Albany. Hopefully these investigations will help Spitzer's quest to reform our state's government. We certainly need it.

Condi Take Two: Don't question President Bush, ever!

Not only does she love Fox News, she loves the President and his 'new' plan even more. Undying loyalty without regard for reality is the standard for the Bush Adminstration.

"It's bad policy to speculate on what you'll do if a plan fails when you're trying to make a plan work."

This is from today's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings. Condi didn't stop there however, she added on that the destabilization of the region had nothing to do with President Bush 'bringing to democracy' to Iraq.

Speaking about the actions of Iran and Syria, which she repeated were destabilizing Iraq and the broader Middle East, Rice said the two states were engaging in "extortion" rather than diplomacy with the United States.

Leave it to her to assess blame on anyone and everyone other than herself and her boss.

George W. Bush: The New Lincoln?

In the run up to last night's speech by the President his supporting pundits went out into media land and tried to compare Bush to Abraham Lincoln. Their reasoning? Bush has been firing generals until hefinds one that wants to win the war. Oy, well at least it wasn't for their orator skills. I've never read transcripts of Lincoln's works that contained 'um' and 'durrr' so that one is off the table.

The Daily Show sums the spin up perfectly, check it out here from Crooks and Liars.

Condi (hearts) Fox News

Right-wingers love Fox News for their blatantly slanted view of the world which generally falls off the plane of reality. So it should be no surprise that policymakers and Bush Adminstration officials love Fox too for letting them get away with all of their lies about reality.

Reuters picked up this gem in their open microphone this morning:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice let slip her news media preferences Thursday, saying, "I love every single one" of Fox News network's correspondents and also favors CBS anchor Harry Smith.

In comments overheard on an open microphone between morning television interviews, including one with Fox, the top U.S. diplomat said: "My Fox guys, I love every single one of them."

But Rice told an aide that when she was next in Iraq she would like to do a "one-on-one" interview with CBS "The Early Show" anchor Harry Smith.

"He's a decent guy. I know they are, like, 55 in the ratings, but I like him," Rice said in comments monitored by Reuters on a television feed.

Well who wouldn't love Fox News hacks, they are so....um, willing and able to take anything Bush and his cronies say at face value without practicing that thing called......journalism. By the way the 'I like Harry Smith' bit was pretty harsh when she added that he was 55th in the ratings, ouch!

Pelosi bans smoking: Means more than she says

"The days of smoke-filled rooms in the United States Capitol are over."

Nancy Pelosi, quoted by CNN, after she banned smoking in the Speaker's Lobby.

LBJ is to Bush, as Vietnam is to Iraq

People have been making the comparison for quite sometime now. As the fourth anniversary of the invasion approaches, there is still no end in sight. Last night Bush announced that he will has already started deploying an additional 21,500 troops into Iraq. There are also news reports that show he is becoming increasingly hostile with Iran. G-d (or whatever you ascribe to or not) help us all if the Escalator keeps escalating with the Iranians.

Just as hostilities poured out all over Southeast Asia with the help of Nixon and Kissinger, Bush is going all out on his own. The insanity is increasing ladies and gentlemen.

Take a look at these comparisons (from AttyTood):

LBJ, Jan. 10, 1967: This forward movement is rooted in the ambitions and the interests of Asian nations themselves. It was precisely this movement that we hoped to accelerate when I spoke at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore in April 1965, and I pledged "a much more massive effort to improve the life of man" in that part of the world, in the hope that we could take some of the funds that we were spending on bullets and bombs and spend it on schools and production.

GWB, Jan. 10, 2007: A successful strategy for Iraq goes beyond military operations. Ordinary Iraqi citizens must see that military operations are accompanied by visible improvements in their neighborhoods and communities. So America will hold the Iraqi government to the benchmarks it has announced.

LBJ, Jan. 10, 1967: We have chosen to fight a limited war in Vietnam in an attempt to prevent a larger war--a war almost certain to follow, I believe, if the Communists succeed in overrunning and taking over South Vietnam by aggression and by force. I believe, and I am supported by some authority, that if they are not checked now the world can expect to pay a greater price to check them later.

GWB, Jan. 10, 2007: The challenge playing out across the broader Middle East is more than a military conflict. It is the decisive ideological struggle of our time…In the long run, the most realistic way to protect the American people is to provide a hopeful alternative to the hateful ideology of the enemy – by advancing liberty across a troubled region.

There are many more comparisons via the link above. People this is getting crazier by the day. I watched that 'speech' last night with sadness and rage combined into one. Sadness for our country and our troops that take the brunt of Bush's actions, rage for Bush's unconscienable acts as Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces and as President. This insanity must stop, we need to take action against him. The only option is to impeach him, the sooner the better for all of our sakes.

Chronicle and CBS cover Spocko-KSFO battle

San Francisco's CBS affiliate and the Chronicle have seen the 'blogswarm' over Spocko's fight against the hate-filled bigots on right-wing radio station KSFO. The coverage has been mostly fair to favorable of Spocko's quest to stop the endless stream of hate and bigotry that spews from the mouths of their 'personalities' such as Melanie Morgan.

CBS 5 did a wonderful story on Tuesday, here's their print story and the YouTube:



The SF Chronicle article states mainly the facts, though there is something interesting towards the bottom. Apparently the pressure is being felt by KSFO, so much so that they will interrupt their regularly scheduled programming tomorrow at 3pm EST to hold a 'town hall' to discuss what's going on. It might be to complain about losing advertisers or be more substantive. Based on what is emitted at the station in the past, I remain skeptical to how this will all play out. You can fire certain people but if the message of hate stays the same it won't make a difference.

KSFO's Program Director Ken Berry had this to say in the Chronicle:

In a statement Wednesday, KSFO program director Ken Berry said, "Many of the remarks attributed to KSFO on the Internet are old, lacking context and, in some cases, outright lies. When our hosts have stepped over the line, they have apologized and have been reprimanded."

Berry declined to specify Wednesday which remarks were old or lies or who was reprimanded. Instead, at noon Friday, KSFO will pre-empt regular programming to allow four KSFO personalities cited in Spocko's e-mails to answer questions on-air about the controversy from the public, bloggers and media. "I don't tell people what to say, but I do think there will be some mea culpas there," Berry said.

So you know, this will probably just be a half-ass PR event to quell anything in the community that may take them down.

Bush changes course in Iraq........NOT!

Most of you know Bush gave a big, weighty (think: marshmellow) speech tonight on how he is going to fix the mistakes that he 'owned' up to. Of course it is a bunch of bullshit. There is really no reason to talk about what he said, we have all heard it before. Blah, blah, blah, more troops to secure victory, blah, blah, blah. The only thing that is going to change is that there are more troops to be caught in the crossfire of a darkening civil war.

Dick Durbin gave the Democratic response moments later. It was dignified, well spoken and in opposition to the President. Personally I like Keith Olbermann's take on the situation tonight. He laid out the President's lack of credibility with bullet points for all to understand.

Here's the video (from C&L):



Another excellent segment by my hero Keith. If anyone deserves a Presidential Medal of Freedom, it's him. Olbermann is actually speaking in defense of freedom and against Bush's litany of lies and authoritarian approach to the American public's overwhelming disapproval on how the war is being handled.

Public Storage rips off Iraq War Vet!

Another insult to the troops and Army Reserve Spc. Patrick Rogalin in particular came from the corporate world recently. Patrick went off to Iraq a year ago, putting $8,000 worth of his stuff into a locker outside St. Louis, Missouri. An automatic payment system was set up and off he went.

Patrick survived his tour unscathed, though all of his belongings had disappeared while he was gone. Apparently Public Storage had auctioned everything off!

Imagine going to war, serving your country, and a damn corporation screws you over because of circumstances out of your control. Where is the troop support here?

Here's the story, from the Army Times:

Rogalin said he put his belongings into a Public Storage unit near St. Louis before shipping out and set up automatic payments with the company. But while he was in Iraq, he said, someone accessed his checking account and wrote more than $900 in worthless checks, which caused his storage payments to bounce. After learning of the problem from his bank, Rogalin opened a different account. He resumed making payments to Public Storage.

“When I got back I called Public Storage to find out the status of my account and they told me the contents of my storage container had been auctioned off in June because the bill hadn’t been paid,” he said.

Rogalin said Public Storage never told him his account was in trouble, or that everything he owned — clothes, books, electronic gear, furniture, magazines and other property — was going to be sold.

You think that's bad? It gets worse. Even though the contract states that his stuff was insured for up to $5,000, all the company did was give him $2,000 and an apology. After not even bothering to let Rogalin know of what was going on with the situation they try and screw him over twice.

Rogalin didn't stand for this and protested to Public Storage. Did Public Storage realize the error of their ways? No of course not, they turned around and threatened him.

“I called them back and told them this isn’t anywhere near right,” Rogalin said. “They upped their offer to $2,500 and gave me seven days to accept it or get nothing."

He said he rejected the $2,500 but does not have enough money to fight the company in court. He said he’d like to get the $5,000 due him under the contract.

Let Public Storage know how you feel here!

Apples and Politics: The new iPhone

Usually the cliche reads 'Don't compare apples and oranges' but in 2007 apples and politics go together exceedingly well. The new iPhone from Apple, Inc. is all the rage. As long as you put yourself on the waiting list and willingly to part with about four to five hundred dollars, you can get one of these state of the art products. Combining the iPod, phone, browsing the internet with Safari and a 2.0 megapixel camera, it seems to have it all.

With all these goodies, political junkies (like me) and organizers alike are thrilled to see this hit the market. The possibilities are endless. One blogger named Tacky at DailyKos already spelled out the possibilities.

According to Tacky, he/she sees:

1. Lists are generated
2. volunteer wakes up, logs into their campaign account
3. volunteer is presented with a set of available lists to work and picks one
4. the list comes up with a satellite/map google maps hybrid and directions from their location
5. when in the precinct, volunteer touches the next house on their map. They get voter names, the form they're filling out and a custom script for that voter if there is one (think voter vault)
6. After visiting the home volunteer fills out form and hits submit
7. results are available instantly to hq
8. after precinct is walked, phone goes into predictive dialer mode if volunteer chooses to call and HQ desires it. Not homes or inacessables are called on speakerphone with voter information on display. Forms filled out just like walking.
9. when done, volunteer logs out of precinct. Unfinished contacts can be reassigned dynamically as other volunteers log in.
10. campaign ninja plans tomorrow right after dinner

Cutting volunteer and staffer hours are like stars dancing in campaign manager's eyes. If there was ever a necessary waste of time on a campaign it was data-entry. The die-hard volunteers always came through at 3am to finish the task, yet imagine that enthusiasm bubbling out when they knocked on the doors of potential voters.

Apples and politics, happily merged together to cut down on data-entry hours and make more time for other things. America Coming Together used handhelds in the last Presidential race on a limited basis, though the 2008 race should see much more of this. For Apple's sake they better have a quality product behind yesterday's demonstration, you never know what glitches might come out and sway people back to Blackberries and Treos.

Republican Senator Smith: Iraq is not our fight

Where are your GOP Senators at five in the morning? I don't know if Dubya was still snoozing at that time but Gordon Smith (R-OR) certainly wasn't. He went on CNN to tell the world, or the few that were up on this side of the globe, that he is opposed to Bush's troop escalation and will back Senator Kennedy's plan to vote on any troop increase. This vote will pin Bush and his remaining cronies into a corner to show that they are responsible for the mess in Iraq. The failure that is this war was caused by Bush and his followers alone.

Check the video out, Smith's comment comes around the 1:05 and 2:00 min marks:



Smith wants the Congress to have the tools of accountability, good for you Senator. Of course Smith has wavered in his statements in the past so we can only judge by his actions and not his cable news appearances. Maybe the Senator is conflicted, perhaps certain influences (i.e. Republican leaders) have made his positions flimsy, who knows. The thing is Senator, stay off the course and you may save your job in 2008, maybe. I know Oregon will certainly be watching.

Even Ollie North knows Iraq is like Vietnam

Ollie is hardly one to tell the truth unless it slaps him pretty hard in the face. He managed to lie to Congress when it was his ass on the fire, but now that everyone is piling on Bush he decided to heap himself on too. The retired Colonel went on the O' Falafel Factor to express this view.



Note how Bill O prefaces North's commentary by saying 'Some Democrats say....' Typical O'Reilly bullshit. Despite North's checkered past he has been to Iraq eight times recently and has seen that troops on the ground want more Iraqi troops, not Americans. Also in the clip he notes how this escalation is eerily similar to LBJ's actions in the mid to late 60s in Vietnam.

O'Reilly tries to compare him to Nancy Pelosi and is shrugged off. Nancy wants to hold Bush accountable for his actions, therefore Bill is not a fan of her. G-dforbid the Congress fulfill its constitutional duties, right?

Finally Bill tries to get North to say that Democrats wants to lose in Iraq since we want to get the hell out of this quagmire that has killed thousands of our troops and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. Colonel North avoided the pointed question. Good for you, still not a fan of yours but I'll give credit where its due.

Disney: The Right-Wing Mouse

Obviously the situation keeps deteriorating over at the Mickey Mouse network. Evidence of right-wing bias could be seen last year from ABC/Disney's political director Mark Halperin leading up to the election.

Lately Spocko has been battling ABC/Disney's rightwing propraganda talk radio station KSFO. Now they have taken it a step beyond. Gutter mouth Glenn Beck has just been hired for political commentary on Good Morning America. The racist bigot will be appearing regularly in the mornings to give us a dose of wingnut spin. In case you didn't read my earlier post on him, check it out here.

Media Matters asked why on Earth would GMA allow him on their show last month. Well now we have our answer. They were obviously testing him for a contract and since he didn't pull a Michael Savage they gave it to him. According to the NY Post yesterday, Beck was given the job due to a spike in ratings after talking about Islamic extremism. You can always count on Glenn to play on people's fears. As a winger he is skilled at it.

More from the NY Post article:

"Glenn is a leading cultural commentator with a distinct voice," said Jim Murphy, senior executive producer of "Good Morning America." "At times, he is the perfect guest for many of the talk topics we cover on morning news programs."

CNN Headline News said Tuesday that Beck will make several single-topic specials this year, after a previous one - on Islamic extremism - set a ratings record for the network.

Beck will make specials on people who believe in the apocalypse, Islam in America and the "myths of global warming," the network said. The first will air in late February or early March.

I think I'm going to be sick. Please write to GMA and tell them how ridiculous this is.

More Evidence that Global Warming is a myth

The damning proof:

From the Pittsburgh Tribune Review

No that picture is not from last spring, it was just taken in Oakland, PA outside of Pittsburgh. Looks like Melanie Morgan has found another liberal enemy to attack, those evil cherry trees are spreading the myth of our changing climate. The cherry trees are now on the lying liberal hitlist along with The Weather Channel and Al Gore and the rest of the reality-based community.

That woman really needs to get a grip, and take a look at the article from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

Early signs of spring 2007 sprouted in Western Pennsylvania before the first snow of the year -- brief flurries -- fell Monday.

"Some plants can be fooled by warm weather," said Steve Grund, a botanist with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. "Flowering is triggered in plants by one or the other, or a combination of, day length and temperature."

The average high temperature in Pittsburgh last week was nearly 54 degrees -- more typical of the last week of March than the first week of January, when high temperatures are usually in the mid-30s and tree branches are covered in snow, not buds.

Seriously when are all wingers going to get it through their thick heads that the shtick ain't gonna fly anymore?

Port Authority saves the George Washington Bridge

Heaven knows there are too many advertisements in New York, especially if you have to go to Times Square. Even more was coming in a place once thought unlikely. The Port Authority signed a $3.2 million dollar deal last week with Geico to plaster that little green lizard gecko all over our beautiful bridge.


From the Gothamist

Thankfully there was a huge backlash from level-headed New Yorkers that brought the agency to its knees, ultimately cancelling the deal and leaving the bridge as it is. The New York Times has more.



Of course this does not solve the problem that the PA faces as costs are rising to maintain the bridges. The problem may even escalate as authorities debate selling the bridge to a private enterprise. It wouldn't be a first, since that toll-road in Indiana that was sold to foreign-owned Spanish-Australian consortium Cintra-Macquarie. What will happen to the Port Authority's problems, only time will tell.

Hannity Apes Olbermann: Fails Miserably

I nearly fell off of my chair when I learned FoxNews gasbag Sean Hannity has tried to copy KO's Worst Person in the World by introducing his own worst person segment on his new show, titled "Enemy of the State."

His first target was Sean Penn, an actor and activist who is dedicated to everything that Sean Hannity hates. Ideals such as freedom, democracy, liberty, decency, human dignity and generally all things sympathetic to a just, civil society.





First off, we all know this

From TPM Cafe:

By Eric Kleefeld | bio
Great Moments In Fox News Dept. Forget Keith Olbermann's "Worst Person In The World" contest — it's now been completely upstaged by a new Sunday contest on Fox: Sean Hannity's "Enemy of the State" award. Last night, Hannity's new Sunday night program aired for the first time, and from here on he'll award his "Enemy of the State" prize — a term originating with ancient Roman dictators placing bounties on rivals — on whatever red-state abortionist, anti-war activist, or run-of-the-mill Democrat who has attracted Hannity's ire that week. Imagine Hannity in that famous Twilight Zone episode, as the ranting Chancellor putting to death the old librarian portrayed by Burgess Meredith, and you'll get the idea. So who won the first "Enemy of the State" prize last night? To watch the segment and find out, view our YouTube here.

Great job TPM on identifying this nonsense.


Hannity thinking he can save the world in his own deluded head

So why oh why would Hannity start with Sean Penn? Perhaps it's because Penn has called him a 'whore' in front of a televised audience? Perhaps its because he won a First Amendment Award last month?

Penn also recently wrote an open letter to pResident Bush, a clear offense to Hannity. God clearly told Bush to run for President and be our first dictator, these 300 million fools and the billions beyond our borders just don't understand.

Items in the open letter that might offend Hannity:

Take a close look at your most vehement media supporters. See the fear in their eyes as their loud voices of support ring out with that historically disastrous undercurrent of rage and panic masked as "straight tough talk." How far have we come from understanding what it is to kill one man, one woman, or one child, much less the "collateral damage" of many hundreds of thousands.

I wonder who he's talking about? Hmmmmm. Are ya afraid? Well you should be.

Or maybe he thinks he is part of the second coming?




It could just be Hannity trying to impress his master Rupert, being the good little wingnut that he is. Seeing how Keith Olbermann has been climbing the mountain that is cable news this is obviously a cheap knockoff.

Keith had this to say about Hannity as he awarded him the bronze last night:

The bronze goes to Sean Hannity of Fox News Channel, establishing a new weekly segment called Enemy of the State. He selected Sean Penn as the first recipient. OK, we’ll just skip the rip-off aspect of this, Sean. If you want everyone to think of my show and my book when you launch into this segment, be my guest. But to use that phrase, the one that Roman dictators used to apply before the Centurians would go and stab their enemies in the throat?

Oh gawd what an awful site that is. Personally he is one of my top candidates for 'enemy of the state.' He goes right along with Rush, Melanie Morgan, Michael Savage, Glenn Beck and all those that preach hate with such disdain for the freedoms of the constitution.

Smell a gas leak? It's still New Jersey

As yesterday's news initially focused on Greenwich village as the site of the awful smell that was rampant across the city, the jokes were flying about New Jersey. Before you say it, I know, most of Jersey doesn't smell that way and yada yada yada.

Well today the NY Daily News reported that the smell actually did come from New Jersey. Officials determined that the stench originated across the Hudson in Secaucus, NJ.

While the exact source and cause of the odor is still not clear, Charles Sturcken of the city Department of Environmental Protection said the agency was "pretty sure it came from New Jersey."

Specifically, the heavily industrialized Hudson County waterfront with its chemical plants and port terminals as well as the Secaucus area, Sturcken said. Seven people in the Garden State were briefly hospitalized as a result of exposure to the stench.

So it didn't come from New Brunswick or Morristown, but it ain't NYC.

Abramoff and Bush: BFF!

The photo Bush said never existed....well it exists, ha!

Football season ends in New York, but the insanity never ends on LGF

This weekend the New York Jets and Giants exited the playoffs after losing to the Patriots and Eagles respectively. Although technically they are New Jersey teams since they play in the Meadowlands across the Hudson, but that is besides the point. What I am interested in here is the wingnuts at Little Green Footballs obsession with CAIR (Counsel on Islamic-American Relations).

CAIR's mission is to promote understanding and peace between two different societies, so that a dialogue can be established that can help the world become a better place. Yeah its idealistic but we need ideals so that we can work within the parameters of the real world. If we don't try to make things better than what the hell are we doing here?

From their website:

CAIR seeks to empower the American Muslim community and encourage their participation in political and social activism.

So LGF, whats up with all the hate? In my humble opinion it seems that the right fears anything different than their harden, narrow-minded views of their Judeo-Christian upbringing. To them, Muslims are different and therefore people to be feared and hated, to be put down at all costs. The recent uproar of Congressman Keith Ellison's swearing in has to really have them going nuts. Right-wingers can always be counted on to be crazy over something and they didn't fail us on this occasion.

Congratulations to Keith for standing up to them with grace and dignity while LGF and others like them continue to scream unabated. Using Thomas Jefferson's Quran was icing on the cake for those standing up for the constitution while further infuriating the right, since they know deep down inside that they are wrong. Goodluck in the 110th Congress, we all have high hopes for you!

Melanie Morgan (hearts) The Weather Channel

Dear Melanie usually has quite a mouthful for her devoted wingnut followers. She constantly spews hate speech at anyone that does not think, act or look like her. Today it seems she has it out for the The Weather Channel of all places. Yes, the cable outlet and website apparently has fallen to the darkside of liberalism.

According to Melanie, TWC's recognition of climate change's devastating effects on the Earth is actually meant to scare people into thinking that what man and his industriousness actually has an effect on the planet that we all reside on.

Some of her wankery from C&L:

Far-left political ideologies are being promulgated through ever-increasing mediums, and recently I noticed that a once-vaunted American television network, The Weather Channel, had succumbed to the cancerous spread of liberalism.

[..]The Weather Channel is now engaged in a con job on the American people, attempting to scare the public that their actions are destroying the planet by creating a global warming crisis. Read full article here (Warning: may be migraine-inducing)

Well, well, sounds like a whole lot of INsanity to me. Congrats to Spocko on his continuing battle fighting the freaks at KSFO that allow this craziness to air in the San Francisco area. This type of hate and delusion needs to be put to an end. I am all for debate on issues that affect our nation and world, but please, let it be centered in the realm of reality.

New York Gas Leak-Updated

Everything smells the way it is supposed to over here in Kips Bay. Unfortunately the smell of gas has been reported all over from Midtown to Battery Park and over in Jersey City. Of course this may not be news in Jersey City (sorry couldn't resist) but some schools and offices have been evacuated mainly on the westside of the city.

The PATH train service has been cut between 33rd St and Journal Square, NJ while the WTC trains to NJ are still running. The Mayor is coming out now to speak on the incident. Bloomberg announced there is a small leak at Bleeker and 6th Ave, though it can't account for the widespread smell. The mercapton in the gas is added to natural gas to allow people to detect the usually odorless and tasteless substance.

The city's air sensors do not report elevated levels of natural gas throughout the city, nor is there a large drop in pressure in the gas lines as reported by ConEd. This all looks like an unpleasant Monday morning for those on the westside and hopefully it will pass shortly.

If you want to stay tuned, listen to 1010WINZ.

10:53 Update: PATH trains are now all opened.

11:30 Update: Channel 7 now reports the location has been pinpointed to 10th and Bleeker, more to come.

Worst Person In the World in Jersey City

I don't go to New Jersey very often, but my blog had to make a virtual visit for this story. Last Friday Jersey City made Keith Olbermann's Worst Person in the World. Even worse than O'Reilly being his usual self and Michelle Malkin's role in the arrest of an Iraqi police officer, JC's Deputy Mayor Ador Equipado took top honors. What was his offense you ask?

I would sum up this as being a grade-A scumbag. Before performing a civil marriage ceremony, Equipado gave the bride and her mother applications for his privately owned phone service. After the couple waved off his sales attempts Donnell Morrison and the groom became man and wife. Unfortunately the Deputy Mayor continued his harassment.

Even though the couple paid the marriage fee of $28 beforehand Equipado wanted an additional $50. When the mother of the bride questioned him about it, he said, "Consider it a donation to me." Thankfully the groom was persuaded by his new mother-in-law not to give Equipado any more money.

Since this did happen in Jersey City, the story doesn't end there. City officials dragged their heels when the couple demanded justice. Finally the couple took their case to the Jersey Journal, which ultimately resulted in the Deputy Mayor's resignation. Oh and in case you are wondering, he is a Republican...surprise....surprise.

70 Degrees in January!

I returned from a warm Washington, D.C. Saturday afternoon to find an equally warm Manhattan. Wearing a t-shirt on the 6th day of the new year was quite a shock to say the least. Of course it really isn't that surprising is it? Climate change is increasingly screwing with the weather. Whether it produces abnormal snowfall in Colorado or record-breaking warmth here in the city, trouble is coming quick over the horizon.



So on that note, I present fellow Manhattanite Jill Sobule's song titled 'Manhattan in January'. A great spoof on the changing climate that mocks the 'benefits' of our warm weather. Found this on the Huffington Post, so here is the link for it.

Save Tom Tomorrow!

The Village Voice is going through some massive cutbacks and the new owners have Tom Tomorrow on their hit list. His cartoons are some of the funniest in the nation. It is a travesty to trample on such talent. A larger version of the cartoon below can be found here.



In case you haven't seen any of his works, there are plenty to see here at his blog. If you like what you see please sign this petition and have your voice heard. If there are enough signatures we can hopefully get Tom reinstated. Go to it!

Local Blogger Photos

After scanning a list of local NYC blogs, I found one that is listed near my own subway stop with some great photos from around the city. Goeres has a whole host of photos, here are a few of my favorites:

White House Magic Tricks: Now You See It...Now You Don't

The White House is very good at making things disappear if they aren't good for the White House. The Bush Adminstration is skilled in the practice of witchcraft and has many success (or so it thinks) under their belt. A few examples include putting a curse on Valerie Plame, Jose Padilla and other victims of senseless torture.

Well know that the Democratic Congress is starting to make the Legislative branch live up to its constitutional duties the White House is waving its magic wand again. Republicans are rife with corruption that goes all the way up the food chain. Dozens if not hundreds of lobbyists and similar ilk have visited the White House to promote their corporate masters' greed at the expense of the American public.

Democratic leaders want to see those records and should have no problem since the White House belongs to the people and all should be available to see...but Bush is having none of that accountability stuff. It's um, un-American or somethin like that. Yeah, only traitors want oversight, yup!

Well apparently a federal judge has a different view and is demanding the Adminstration turn over the documents. So in his authoritarian/dictatorial way, we find out that the Secret Service and Bush signed a memorandum early last year to prevent the public from seeing this information.

From the AP:

The memo last spring was signed by the White House and Secret Service the day after a Washington-based group asked a federal judge to impose sanctions on the Secret Service in a dispute over White House visitor logs for Abramoff.

The chief counsel to another Washington-based group suing to get Secret Service logs calls the creation of the memo "a political maneuver couched as a legal one."

"It appears the White House is actually manufacturing evidence to further its own agenda," Anne Weismann, a Justice Department lawyer for 19 years and now chief counsel to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said Friday.

The White House and the Secret Service declined to comment.

No comment you say? No comment means you are guilty, guilty of withholding information that belongs to the people among hundreds of other offenses. You sir are a criminal and this is one more example that you are trying to hide all of your egregious wrongs.

This is what hate sounds like

It is common knowledge that hate radio, also known as right-wing talk radio or conservative talk radio dominates the marketplace. Well as a proud progressive I can't stand the garbage that spews out onto every microphone in wingnut land. Some say I should just ignore it. Though that really isn't enough. Watch this A/V below and let me know what you think. Does that type of discourse belong in a civilized nation?



Disgusting isn't it? Well there is something better to do than just ignore it. The Rwandans did not ignore the hate that spewed out over their airwaves and as a result the hate boiled over into a terrible massacre that was the genocide of 1994.

We can do better, we can fight them and land punches where it hurts. They are called advertisers. When advertisers pull out program managers listen. We can affect change. Check this diary out by Mike Stark from DailyKos and get into action today!

Army Tells Dead Soldiers To Re-Enlist!

Talk about not keeping your records straight! The Army sent re-enlist letters to 275 soldiers who are already casualties of war, whether killed or injured. With all the sacrifice for a war that is being fought at the whim of a mad man, also known as George Bush, this just another outrage.

CNN is reporting that 5,100 letters sent to troops who left the force before Christmas. What a wonderful time for a family to get that letter by the way. Well 200 of those were injured troops, seventy-five had paid the ultimate price.

From CNN:
The Army did not say how or when the mistake was discovered. It said the database normally used for such correspondence with former officers had been "thoroughly reviewed" to remove the names of wounded or dead soldiers.

"But an earlier list was used inadvertently for the December mailings," the Army statement said, adding that the Army is apologizing to those officers and families affected and "regrets any confusion."
So much for a thorough review of the list. This ranks up there with Rumsfeld signing letters to fallen troops' families with an auto-sig machine. Rumsfeld didn't care about the troops then and the Pentagon doesn't seem to care to take the time to figuratively slap the families that lost a loved one in the face. At least the army is sending letters of apology....but still, if I were a family member mourning the loss of my father, mother, brother, sister, aunt, uncle or cousin I would be extremely pissed when I opened that letter.

Sansara Taylor is my hero

In my post yesterday covering the World Can't Wait's panel discussing impeachment of the President I mentioned Sansara Taylor at the end. There were no links sad to say because the one good one I found didn't do her justice. Well the search is at an end. Please lend your eyes and ears as she took on O'Lielly himself yesterday afternoon.

Here's the YouTube video:



He resorts to name calling, saying she's a lunatic. Typical of the garbage that spews from Bill's mouth. Yet Sansara prevails. Why? Because Sansara speaks truth to power and Bill is nothing but a right-wing shill.

Debate: Scarborough versus O'Reilly?

Oh it's on now! Scarborough challenged Bill O'Lielly to a debate after Mr. Falafel said everyone at NBC hates Bush. Now that would be an interesting battle between a conservative ex-Congressman and a giant ass-kissing bully. Scarborough challenged him on his MSNBC show and called Bill a suckup to the Republican party.

From MSNBC (bottom of transcript):

Scarborough: And I challenge you to debate me anytime, anyplace, anywhere, and find one thing I have said on this program over the past year that is not consistent with the conservative congressman who was against military adventurism when I was in Congress, that was against exploding deficits, that was against reckless spending and against turning Congress into the type of swamp that we Republicans have turned it into over the past six years!

That doesn‘t make me liberal, that makes me conservative! That may make you, though, a suck-up, if you defend the Republicans that have done that to this country and to our party over the past six years! (full transcript below the fold)

I'll definitely watch that, seeing O'Reilly turn a bright shade of red is always a great sight!

Glenn Beck Has No Soul

We all know Glenn Beck is a despicable human being in so many different ways. Recently he displayed his bigotry towards Keith Ellison, the new Democratic Congressman from Minnesota who just so happens to be a Muslim. Big deal Glenn, get over it!

Yesterday's comment hit a little too close to home. As a New Yorker that loves his city very much, Glenn Beck went over the top with me and probably a great many fellow New Yorkers. In response to NOAA's Christopher Landsea comments that a large hurricane in a specific position could flood most of the city and result in a heavy loss of life, Beck said "Actually, that would clean the streets out. It might not be bad."

You sir are going to hell!




Why is that outrageous? Why shouldn't I just SMFPH? Couldn't Beck's bad jokes just refer to the city's litter problem? No, when it comes to Beck and his racist, bigoted attitude....my gut says he means something far more insidious.

CNN has no right having this man on the air every night, poisoning the minds of hapless individuals that flip to CNN Headline News. For someone who never has seen him before he gives off this 'aw shucks, I'm just a regular guy' vibe at first and then attacks like a rabid animal.

Here are just a few examples:

Glenn beck told a seven year old that wrote a poem about Africa to go there and never return.

He called Cindy Sheehan a slut.

He called Katrina victims 'Scumbags'.

Threatened that Muslims will be looking through a razor wire fence at the West

And of course the comment that started all the commotion around Keith Ellison:

I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.'

New York City is my home. A hurricane packing a 30 ft storm surge is no laughing matter. It can kill thousands and destroy the lives of millions. The geography surrounding New York can double the impact of a hurricane's force. LiveScience rates this catastrophe in their top 10.

From Live Science:

Because of the population density, a successful evacuation of vulnerable low-lying areas in and around New York City and metropolitan New Jersey would actually have to start sooner than what is typically ordered in Florida and elsewhere, officials have determined based on studies by the Army Corps of Engineers.
But hurricanes move more quickly and become very difficult to predict when they head north of the Carolinas. In a likely scenario, experts say, there might only be hours of warning.

History reveals that New York and the Northeast have been hit hard before, and with little warning. Scientists say the next major hurricane to strike the city is a question of when, not if.

'When' is the key word. In 1938 New York faced a similar situation:

In terms of fatalities and property damage - the 1938 hurricane stands as one of the worst disasters in American history. In a matter of hours, 600 people were killed, 3500 were injured, and more than 75,000 buildings were damaged. The states of New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, suffered their worst natural disaster in recorded history. The tidal wave like storm-surge that hit Long Island and Rhode Island was so severe, that earthquake instruments 3,000-miles away recorded it on seismographs. As a final cruelty - the residents of the northeast had little or no warning that this extreme meteorological event was unfolding before them.

The economics of the matter are also gigantic, from NY Magazine:

Were another Long Island Express to barrel in, AIR Worldwide Corporation, an insurance-industry analyst, estimates $11.6 billion in New York losses alone. On AIR’s list of “the top ten worst places for an extreme hurricane to strike,” New York City is No. 2, behind only Miami. New Orleans is ranked fifth.

Some of the damage wrought by the Hurricane

So you can see this is serious business. Michael Bowman has proposed building strategic barriers to keep the storm surge. Whether it would work or not is debatable yet it is essential that something must be done.

To make a joke about this is the farthest thing from funny. You think New Orleans is laughing about Katrina? You think the Indonesians and Sri Lankans and everyone affected by the Tsunami two years ago are laughing?

Glenn is a sick bastard, the man bastard needs to go now. Wake the **** up CNN!

Listen to Cindy Sheehan: Now With Pics and Video

The White House Sidewalk Is Closed

Many visitors and residents in Washington know that Pennsylvania Ave. was closed to traffic back in 1995 due to some unfortunate events. The people's house has become more and more closed off as time goes on. Back when it was built horse carriages would come up to 1600 Penn. to ask for directions in the fledgling city.

Now it is of course much different. Today it got worse than I have ever seen it. My friends were in town with their kids so one of our stops was the White House. Despite the filth that resides in it now, the building is very impressive. Anyway, as tourists we took pictures in front of the North Portico on the redesigned Pennsylvania Ave. We were having a good time, chatting up passer-bys and what not, minding our own business and then I got pissed.

A security guard came up to us and demanded that everyone leave the sidewalk immediately. Everyone was told to back up and not obstruct the sidewalk between the gates that open up for the driveway beyond. I was in shock, along with everyone else there. How could the people's house be so closed off that you can't even stand in front of it. Perhaps George didn't want to see a few dozen people standing outside. Perhaps he'll build a wall soon, perhaps he'll construct a forbidden city and completely shut himself off from reality since he is so out of touch with it.

World Can't Wait Protest in D.C.

Recommended by:

discocarp

Riling up the crowd

Go Cindy!

Cuz you know it is!

Still mad and you can't blame her

Joshing Politics

New Excuses To Not Pay Your Bills

Well Bush has gone and done it again. Invading our privacy and ruining what our country was founded on seems to be his mission while residing on 1600 Pennsylavania. Now he can open up our mail as he chooses, casting the judiciary branch aside yet again. As I write this from 700 Pennsylvania this morning I tried to come up with a silver lining for the latest travesty from the White House.

So here it is, have you ever gotten threatening letters from credit card companies and other such ilk? Well now you have an excuse to say you 'didn't get the mail'. The letter they wrote you after not paying for four months had to be threatening. Since it was threatening it might infringe on your security and being that you live here in the States you thereby live in the nation. Hence, national security is being violated. So when you see that envelope in the mail, it can be grounds for being snatched up by our bill o'rights breakin' President.

The Washington Post Finally Gets It on Blogs

Okay to be fair it isn't the paper as a whole. Though this is a good story about someone smelling the coffee about how blogs work and how they are trouncing print media.

So I'm in D.C. right now for the big celebration and all the wonderful events that surround the sea-change starting to occur within the beltway. My free hotel room happens to be in Maryland where my cousin lives. Over the last couple times I've stayed here I explained the essence of blogs (IMHO). Specifically how they generate participation rather than have an audience to shout at and hopefully shout to from the Sunday Talk Show circuit if they are considered at a high status, as in print media. Of course not everyone fits the ideal but you know what I am getting at.

Anyways, so she works for a great progressive organization inside the beltway and talks to a lot of print media, specifically in the science world. Her conversation yesterday with the Science editor of WaPo (doing a quick google I found to be Rob Stein brought the light shining on his face. With the WaPo cutting staff, who has written a lot of great articles) back being interjected into the conversation, my cousin mentioned how blogs are taking over where print media has given up. He countered that there is no peer review and blah blah blah. My cousin so vallantly retorted that the citizen participation by active and well-read bloggers and activists are actually the ultimate peer review, since the well written and credible bloggers stand out among the millions. And then by some magic of the universe he said, "I never thought of it in that way." Congratulations Ron, by the way, can you share that with Deborah Howell when you have a chance? Thanks!

Photo/VideoBlog of Jim Webb's Inaugural Party

First the videos of Jim. I apologize for the shaky picture, the crowd was stomping quite a bit on those wood floors.

Recognizing A Hero

This isn't political but this story is worth hearing about.

From the NY Times:

Mr. Autrey was waiting for the downtown local at 137th Street and Broadway in Manhattan around 12:45 p.m. He was taking his two daughters, Syshe, 4, and Shuqui, 6, home before work.

Nearby, a man collapsed, his body convulsing. Mr. Autrey and two women rushed to help, he said. The man, Cameron Hollopeter, 20, managed to get up, but then stumbled to the platform edge and fell to the tracks, between the two rails.

The headlights of the No. 1 train appeared. “I had to make a split decision,” Mr. Autrey said.

So he made one, and leapt.

Mr. Autrey lay on Mr. Hollopeter, his heart pounding, pressing him down in a space roughly a foot deep. The train’s brakes screeched, but it could not stop in time.

Five cars rolled overhead before the train stopped, the cars passing inches from his head, smudging his blue knit cap with grease. Mr. Autrey heard onlookers’ screams. “We’re O.K. down here,” he yelled, “but I’ve got two daughters up there. Let them know their father’s O.K.” He heard cries of wonder, and applause.

Congratulations and thank you Mr. Autrey, you are truly a hero. I can only hope that I would be as brave as he was if I ever found myself in a similar situation.

An Inconvenient Truth For Willard Scott

The Today Show's Willard Scott called global warming into question yesterday by mentioning the wintry weather Denver has been experiencing lately. Are you kidding me? The guy lives in New York right? The weather is supposed to be in mid to high 50s for the next two days!!! That isn't January weather ya #%&@#!* ass!

So apparently all the scientistsare wrong, Al Gore is wrong, the icebergs breaking off in northern Canada are wrong and the polar bears going extinct are wrong. Well excuse me Mr. Weatherman. Maybe if you woke up and paid attention to the world outside of your teleprompter you might notice a thing or two.

Yes that is Willard Scott.

Media Matters documents the incident in full, here are the details:

On the January 2 edition of NBC's Today, weather reporter Willard Scott introduced his weather report by asking co-host Meredith Vieira if she was "a global-warming fan" and whether she "believe[d] in global warming." Vieira responded that "something's going on, 'cause it's warm here" in New York City. Scott then suggested that recent temperatures cast doubt on the existence of global warming: "From Savannah all the way up to Boston, we're having unheard-of warm weather, but ask the folks out in Denver and Colorado. ... [They are having] the coldest winter they've had in years. So it all depends on which side of the Mississippi [River] you're hanging your hat."

Are you serious? It depends on which side of the Mississippi you are on? Maybe you didn't know but weather patterns are connected all over the globe. I guess Mr Scott skipped that class on climatology. Perhaps he didn't see An Inconvenient Truth. Perhaps he slept through 2006. Well it is time to get off your ass and get a clue. Speaking of getting a clue, maybe NBC could give him a little help by telling him to keep his big mouth out of the global warming debate (BTW there is no debate, Global Warming exists!).

Tell NBC what you think of that performance here.

Bush Declares War on Democrats

You want a war buddy? Well you got yourself one. It is on now! With your track record in battle the odds are stacked against you. You lost your oil company, Sammy Sosa, Afghanistan is a mess and we all know about Iraq.

Today Jerome a Paris on DailyKos wrote a brilliant article on Bush's speech. The highlighted portion below shows what Bush is really saying behind the rhetoric. Bush's thinking is in bold.

Shared responsibility

"Together, we have a chance to serve the American people by solving the complex problems that many don't expect us to tackle, let alone solve, in the partisan environment of today's Washington. To do that, however, we can't play politics as usual. Democrats will control the House and Senate, and therefore we share the responsibility for what we achieve."

Now that you won, you are responsible for everything I fucked up and will fuck up, but you should not be nasty like we were when we had all the power, because that would not be nice.

That mix of whiny contempt and breathless arrogance is quite typical of this administration.

I believe

"I believe that when America is willing to use her influence abroad, the American people are safer and the world is more secure."

When we bomb the shit out of furners, we scare the shit out of the rest of the world, and that's good.

"I believe that wealth does not come from government. It comes from the hard work of America's workers, entrepreneurs and small businesses."

Money comes from workers, and stays with companies and their shareholders, as it should be, because we destroyed the government's ability to have a sane economic policy.

There is plenty more in the article, go ahead and read it.

This Is What A Democratic Governor Looks Like

It is only January 2nd and already things are looking up for New York. Our new Democratic Governor Eliot Spitzer wasted no time in getting to work. He was sworn in when the ball dropped and by the end of the day had enacted five executive orders that will help pave the way for reform in Albany.

Here are two of them via the Daily Gotham:

Executive Order Two forbids campaign contributions by any state employee covered by the order to any campaign for governor or lieutenant governor, and bars state employees from running for office, both state and Federal, unless granted a leave of absence or upon resignation. The order covers employees of state agencies and public authorities like the MTA.

Executive Order Three creates a requirement for all state agencies and public authorities to submit to the secretary of the governor, by March 1st, a schedule of all meetings subject to the Open Meetings law, and to ensure that all such meetings be broadcast via the internet. While the order provides for exemptions, in

circumstances in which such webcasting is either impractical or inappropriate [...].

...it creates the requirement of openness through broadcasting as the default.

That is what accountability looks like. That is what fighting corruption looks like. Who is this Pataki person again? Good riddance.

Never do this when running for the White House

As one who has been forgetful of things in the past and present, I have learned that the phrase above is something to keep in mind as I try to keep my things together. Important documents have to be kept close at bay. When I was little they were my school papers and now they are contracts, research documents and spreadsheets.

Well apparently a man with an important document forgot this old adage and left his 140 page Master Plan to win the White House in 2008 in a hotel room! Yes folks thats right, Rudy Guliani left his secret plan for all to see. The first paper to get their hands on it is the NY Daily News.

Oh man, this a juicy one. Imagine your faults laid out in bullet point for all to see and scrutinize. Sure everyone here knows about the ex-wife, the current wife, the businesses and such. Yet there is so much more. So let's give a big hand to Rudy G's aides for putting this masterpiece together.

The loss of the battle plan is a remarkable breach in the high-stakes game of presidential politics and a potentially disastrous blunder for Giuliani in the early stages of his campaign.

The document was obtained by the Daily News from a source sympathetic to one of Giuliani's rivals for the White House. The source said it was left behind in one of the cities Giuliani visited as he campaigned for dozens of Republican candidates in the weeks leading up to the November 2006 elections.

Hmmm, I wonder which campaign that could be? McCain? Huckabee? Brownback? Romney? PatakiRudy's shadow? All scumbags capable of an easy political manuever, especially one that Rudy allows to get out like that.

So what else is in there? Well the most important thing early on in a Presidential campaign is cash, cash and more cash. According to RWG as he is known in the master plan. The goal is $100...million...dollars. That includes a massive push for $25 million dollars in the next three months. Well I'll be darned, that's some good old-fashioned math. Of course you need fundraisers for that and well, Rudy is losing them one after the other.

Some of the leading figures in American business and finance appear as the "prospective leadership" of Giuliani's campaign, and their names appear elsewhere with instructions for Giuliani to call and seek their support. Two of the top figures on Giuliani's list, New Jersey mega-fund-raisers Lew Eisenberg and Larry Bathgate, have already signed on with McCain, as has another Giuliani target, FedEx CEO Fred Smith.

In a memo that appears in the dossier, Giuliani aides Dickerson and Roy Bailey urge him to court financier Henry Kravis particularly avidly.

"You need him to be a Wall Street industry leader," the memo says.

McCain announced Kravis' support last month.

The plan also anticipates his recruiting top GOP fund-raiser Cathy Blaney in New York on a retainer of $260,000 and her Florida counterpart, Ann Herberger, at $216,000. But between the plan's preparation in the fall and today, Blaney became the chief fund-raiser for the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, while Herberger reportedly has signed on to the presidential campaign of Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Ouch! Looks like some people want to invest in New York City and scum up in Massachusetts rather than work for our beloved ex-Mayor. Personally I think the guy never had a chance. The marital bliss mentioned in the papers from time to time are never good for those crazy primary-votin Republicans.

It also turns out that Rudy might just want to stay in the private sector which is a sure money-maker instead of taking a risk and trying to make a difference in Washington for the common American out there suffering under tutelage of George Bush. Oh wait, that sounds idealistic, sorry, that doesn't mesh with pure unadulterated greed that is so commonly associated with Republicans.

One final humorous note: If Rudy William Giuliani's bid does get off the ground, he will take this advice from the President. Rudy will be handing out cute baseball themed names to his top donors. Such names include "Sluggers" for 50K, "MVPs" for 200K and Team Captains that can raise one...million...dollars.

I hope to see a dossier like this on all of them, let them eat their own well before 2008.

Jib jab's Year in Review

Another great Jib Jab, thanks guys!

Nuckin' Futs! The JibJab Year in Review | Send To Friends | Funny Animations at JibJab

Happy New Year!

Just got in from a night out in NYC. The closest I got to Times Square was 7th Av and Central Park South, heading for a party in Hell's Kitchen. The crowd was ridiculous to say the least. Anyways, before I head off to sleep, I wanted to leave you all with a great YouTube video of crooks that are no longer with us as we start 2007. To put it bluntly, they won't be missed.