Where were they when we needed them?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/28/dan-rather-cbs-lawsuit-bush

This is an interesting piece about Dan Rather and his lawsuit against CBS and their firing of him post 2004 election. Good for him. Although he was the king of hyperbole, he is a decent guy who got severely shafted. As he points out, no one has disputed the facts of the Dauphin and his weaseling out of service in Viet Nam, and what is to me, the most significant point, is how supine the press has been during the Bush administration. The list of people that they proposed to "investigate" the 60 Minutes story was riddled with right wing ideologues. Ann Coulter? please. This is a woman who thought it was a terrific idea to send white powder to the NYT as a joke. The press has never really talked about their abject failure to examine the so called evidence leading up to the war in Iraq. As David Gregory said, it wouldn't have been polite. No doubt, now that a Democrat is in the White House, they will find their so called spines.

So what?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/22/AR2008122201852.html

This is a good column by Eugene Robinson. It contains an astounding quote from Bush. Just when you thought you were suffering from outrage fatigue, the Doltish Dauphin ups the ante. Apparently, in an interview with Martha Raddatz on ABC, Bush took credit for defeating al-Qaeda in Iraq. When Raddatz pointed out that al-Qaeda had not been in Iraq before we invaded, he answered, "So what?" So what? So what? Ask the parents of the 4,000+ dead Americans, ask the parents of the horribly injured Americans, ask the Iraqis whose country we have decimated, ask the Americans who have seen billions of reconstruction dollars poured down a rat hole in Iraq with no positive outcome (unless you count obscene Haliburton profits), ask the Americans who care about our image in the world, the list could go on and on. Honestly, the man apparently could care less. As he once famously said, "Who care what you think?"

House of Shame

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/business/21admin.html?hp

This is a long and depressing article in the NYT detailing some of the intense crony capitalism that went on in the Bush administration, and his blind faith in unregulated markets. The extent to the damage that the Bush administration has done is unthinkable. I lay the entire Wall Street debacle at his lumbering feet. So much for the CEO presidency. The rampant stupidity and disregard for warnings about the house of cards that was sure to collapse is astounding. Was it willful ignorance or did they ignore every warning because they were getting rich. This bone ignorance brought the world Bernie Madoff who used his connections at his Fifth Avenue synagogue to find victims for his ponzi scheme.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/21/opinion/21rich.html?ref=opinion
Frank Rich's column details the absolute rampant crookishness and the different worthy charities, universities, pension funds, and people of Madoff. What on earth could he have been thinking? He reminded me of that horrible pharmacist in the mid-west who watered down chemotherapy drugs, so he could be a big cheese at his church. How can these people live with themselves.

Trying to make my peace

I am still not over Pastor Rick, who looks strangely like a bizzaro world Chuck Todd. A friend of mine thinks that Obama is basically a-religious and paid no attention to Rev. Wright as he was blathering on. Another possibility is that he has spent a great deal of time in many churches and realized that priests/ministers/rabbis/etc. say wacky things all the time, and assumes no one really listens because he tunes out. A friend who is married to a non wacky rabbi, told me that she has drunk so much Kool Aid that she has accepted the Pastor R choice. I have sure drunk a lot of Kool Aid, but am not there yet.

Snake oil

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/17/rick-warren-obama-invocat_n_151877.html

I know I vowed never to criticize Barack Obama, but I have to say two words - Pastor Rick? Not only is he an anti choice, anti stem cell, raging homophobe who equates being gay with being a pedophile or being incestuous, the guy is a rather creepy self promoting marketing marvel. Apparently, you can get Pastor R's deep thoughts if you have deep pockets and are willing to pony up. He was down right rude at the so called Saddleback Forum, constantly interrupting Barack, but letting McCain skate. He also didn't call McCain out on his initial lying about being in a cone of silence. Despite all outreach, most evangelicals will never be stalwarts of the Democratic party. There are many decent religious leaders, why pick such a turkey who puts his thumb in the eye of his staunchest supporters? It is one thing to be inclusive, but Pastor R is a hideously divisive figure

Mass Exodus

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-interior16-2008dec16,0,1401718.story

People seem to be fleeing the Senate - Ken Salazar is the latest refugee. I thought the Senate was an august body that was aspired too, and that once entered, one never left. It seems that some doddering Senators have been there forever, and no matter how horrible they linger on, witness Strom Thurmond, Jesse Helms, etc. But I guess since the only thing that seems to go on in the Senate these days is a big nothing, it must be a discouraging place to be. Harry Reid seems incapable of holding the repugs feet to the fire. I don't think that most of the public know that all the Republicans do is obstruct, obstruct, obstruct. I think the Repugs would cool their jets if they actually had to filibuster everything bill they want to stop. I think the emphasis on the sixty seat super majority in some way has given the Republicans in the Senate liscence to do whatever they want. Why should it take sixty senators to get anything done?

The holiday spirit - pink slips for all, and for all a good night

http://thenewshole.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/12/12/1713569.aspx

The Republicans are up to their usual ways of destroying the country in order to score cheap political points. The read polls and decide it is really good idea to sink the struggling auto industry and eliminate millions of jobs just so they can union bust. GM has already announced that they have to temporarily close many plants. I saw Gettlefinger on one of the talking heads shows, and he said accurately I think, that no matter what the UAW agreed to, the Repugs were going to sink any bailout. Best line so far, hat tip to TPM, was one union official in Louisiana who said, Vitter can pay for prostitutes, but not the American worker.