February has President's Day, on which we celebrate the nobility and character of our leaders past.

But this year, every day in February '06 was President's Day or (for about a week) Vice-President's Day, but not in a good way. Instead of celebrating the honesty of Lincoln and Washington, we commemorated the ignobility, inebriation, and poor character of Bush and Cheney. Almost every day, there was another tale of bribery, incompetence and dishonesty.

Don't blame me. I'm from Washington State!

Dada Month Proclaimed:

In a relatively sane bit of political news, Dada month has been proclaimed: Feb. 4, April 1, March 28, July 15, Aug. 2, Aug. 7, Aug. 16, Aug. 26, Sept. 18, Sept. 22, Oct. 1, Oct. 17 and Oct. 26. If you think there is something peculiar about that announcement, you need to learn about dada ... and think about other political headlines of today.

New: U.S. Department of Scandal, Corruption & Incompetence!

According to The Onion, President Bush has announced a new cabinet-level position to coordinate all current and future scandals facing his party.
"Tonight, by executive order, I am creating a permanent department with a vital mission: to ensure that the political scandals, underhanded dealings, and outright criminal activities of this administration are handled in a professional and orderly fashion," Bush said.

The centerpiece of Bush's plan is the Department Of Corruption, Bribery, And Incompetence, which will centralize duties now dispersed throughout the entire D.C.-area political establishment. The Scandal Secretary will log all wiretaps and complaints of prisoner abuse, coordinate paid-propaganda efforts, eliminate redundant payoffs and bribes, oversee the appointment of unqualified political donors to head watchdog agencies, control all leaks and other high-level security breaches, and oversee the disappearance of Iraq reconstruction funds. He will also be responsible for issuing all official denials that laws have been broken.

"Many of the current scandals in Washington are crucial to the success of my priorities for the nation," Bush said. "The Department of Corruption will safeguard these important misdeeds."

More at http://www.theonion.com/content/node/44892

Support Senate Resolution 350!

Senate Resolution 350 is a clear statement that the 2001 Authorization for Military Force does not authorize the President's warrantless domestic surveillance program. Please review the language of the resolution -- it makes a compelling case itself -- and then add your name in support: http://www.tedkennedy.com/res350

This is not a "liberal" or a "conservative" thing. It's an American thing.

All powers of the President come from Article 2 of our Constitution, enacted in 1789. The Bill of Rights, including the 4th Amendment's warrant requirement, came AFTER that, and therefore OVERRIDE Article 2. Therefore, any argument about "implicit" powers of the President ignores the "Original Intent" of the Constitution.

By ignoring the courts, the President has undermined our system of checks and balances.  We have to show the White House, the Republican leadership and the American people we are united to protect our country and ready to prevent politics from getting in the way of national security. Take this opportunity to endorse Senate Resolution 350: http:/tedkennedy.com/res350

A Police Procedural

Let's see how Cheney's story would play out if he were not a rich, elite guy in the White House:

SHOOTER: "Hello, 9-1-1, there's been a man shot."
COPS: "OK, we're sending over a squad car and an ambulance."
SHOOTER: "No, don't bother. I've got my own ambulance."
COPS: "Well, if there was a shooting, we still have to send someone over."
SHOOTER: "No, don't bother, it was an accident."
COPS: "An accident? Are you sure?"
SHOOTER: "I'm quite sure. It was just one of those things. No need to investigate."
COPS: "Well, was anyone drinking or taking drugs? We should administer a breathalyzer."
SHOOTER: "Don't worry, no-one was impaired. Take my word for it."
COPS: "Oh, ok. Thanks for calling!"

Oh, yeah, that's how it'd go down. Ya think?

Enjoy Enron Email (...and Learn Too!)

Now you can enjoy selections from Enron's email here: http://www.enronemail.com/
And learn a few lessons:

• If you're going to steal, don't boast about it electronically. It's much more permanent than you think!
• If you are conducting private business on company time (...and who has not???) don't use corporate email; instead use browser-based email such as gmail or yahoo. Otherwise, the whole world may someday be reading your love letters and prostate exam results
• Don't be evil. The internet never forgets!

  ---

Enjoy Populist Radio on the Web

You don't have to like all of the above, but isn't it great to have choice!

What Is Populism?

American politics have always featured a battle between the regular people and the Tories. Tories still basically regret losing the American Revolution; they have money (most of them born rich) and think they are just better than those of us who work for a living.

Today, the Tories or gentry have taken over the Republican Party but they have always been happy to insinuate themselves into whatever institution suits their purpose. They're great at persuading ordinary people that populism is dangerous, when it is just voting for your own interests as a person who works for a living!

More info: http://www.rewinn.com/9992

I Cannot Tell A Lie, said the President

Wasn't Washington great? He could have made himself an all-powerful Executive. He didn't. There was no internet for factchecking his speeches; no cameras to show the results of his decisions; not even Quicken to keep track of the money that he could have, but did not, choose to give to his cronies.

But Washington was an honest man. What a great quality in a President!

Not All Glaciers Are Melting!

Are you worried that melting glaciers may raise ocean levels, inundating coastlines and triggering massive damage. Fear Not! NASA scientists have discovered a glacier that is not only not melting, but actually growing: http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/mshelenslidar.html

It is, of course, the glaciation on Mt. St. Helens. So all we need to do is detonate a few thousand volcanos in Greenland, Siberia and Antarctica: problem solved!

Why Is Reality Weirder Than Fiction?

Do you ever get the feeling that reality has turned all strange? Just look at the current news, and try to invent stranger stories than the President ordering the outing of a spy, or a Vice-President shooting some guy. You can't, and it is for one simple reason: Fiction has to make sense!

Reality has no such constraint - it can get as weird as it likes.  Just for the sake of weirdness balance, here's some stuff that in normal times would be odd but if you saw it on the news today, you just might believe it!

OK ... now, which are real, and which are fiction?

What If Cheney Is Being Honest?

In hunting, it is always the responsibility of the shooter to verify the target.

But the day after Dick Cheney shot his pal in the face, GOP operatives were telling us it was not his fault.

It was the fault of the victim for being behind Cheney. Cheney was gunning down small birds and the guy was in the way. It's not Cheney's fault that the tall guy in the orange vest  got in the way. You can't expect Cheney not to defend his interests by blasting away. If someone got injured, captured, tortured or killed, it was his own fault for being to blame.

Above all, it was not Cheney's fault.

NOTE: four days later, Cheney finally comes out and says it was his fault. I guess the GOPpies who blamed the victim were wrong. Huh, who knew?

What If Bush Is Being Honest About Abramoff?

What if Bush is telling the truth?

When George says he doesn't know Abramoff ... what if he really does have no memory of the people he named to his transition team?

Remember, Bush fried a LOT of brain cells with coke and alcohol ... and he's obviously been hitting the bottle lately. That can hurt your memory!

What if the hundreds of thousands, or millions of dollars, the Abramoff admitted paying in bribes, is too small an amount for Bush to remember. After all, in the 2004 Presidential debates, he admitted not even knowing that he owned a share in a small business. That was just too small an amount to remember; what if Abramoff's bribes were just pocket change to him?

Remember, of $8.8 BILLION (with a "B") in American taxpayer money is known to have disappeared into Iraq with no accounting what-so-ever ... much of it in the form of cash handed out in bricks. So what's a few million here or there? Petty cash!

What if the bribes Abramoff admitted paying went not to Bush but to people who actually made the decisions ... meaning Bush is just a clueless figurehead, taking orders from whoever Abramoff paid off?

Maybe Bush is being honest just this one time. Maybe Bush is just be a brain-addled clueless figurehead with too much access to taxpayer money!

Is that REALLY a comforting thought ?   - 2/11/0

Jeffords For (Vice) President!

With the revelation today that Dick Cheney ordered the outing of WMD-hunting spy Valerie Plame comes the inevitable: Outing a spy in time of war is treason, and Congress has a duty to impeach traitors. Each member shall be extensively quizzed on this in November ... and it's not too soon the ask them now, at http://www.house.gov .

The problem is, who would replace Cheney? Undoubtedly he would resign with some medical excuse, to avoid disgrace and a long impeachment trial that really hurt the GOP.  Bush would then pardon Cheney, and nominate a  replacement for the Senate to approve. But who could get through the Senate without a long, drawn-out process that the GOP would fear?

A Senator is the obvious choice; they all know each other and there's a certain amount of collegiality. But the pick would have an enormous advantage in the presidential race of '08, and so would be opposed by his rivals.

Meanwhile, the GOP's backroom boys don't want to give away any Senate seats since they'll need them all to keep control after the tsunami of voter anger this November.

The obvious candidate is Jim Jeffords. 

Jeffords has no presidential ambitions, and no following in either party. He's not part of the Republican majority, so he's no loss to the GOP machine. And the Democrats would have a hard time opposing him because he's the one man in recent memory who resigned from the GOP on grounds of principle.

Jeffords, as a man of principle and of experience, would be a good choice for America, and that may be his only weakness. When the Democrats take back the House in November, pressure for impeaching Bush could be held back only by fear of his replacement.  President Jeffords would be GOOD for America; that makes him Bush's most unlikely nominee. - 2/10/06

Energy = Money: Save Both!

At today's prices, the easiest way to save money is to save energy --- and it's patriotic too! GreenRibbonPledge.org has a list of easy, no-cost energy-saving (money-saving) tips here: http://www.greenribbonpledge.org  For example, you can save energy (money) by keeping your car tires inflated! -2/10/06

Winner Declared in ABRAMOFF/BUSH PHOTO CONTEST
 

Which is the BEST photo of Abramoff giving a big bribe to George W Bush?
 Since the Bush Crime Family is using the Secret Service to locate and destroy any ACTUAL photos of the dynamically bribeaceous duo, it's left to PHOTOSHOP to fill in the gap.

It's understandable Bush doesn't want the photos to leak out. He denied knowing the guy. Then, when Bush was reminded that Abramhoff was a  major money contributor, Bush couldn't remember meeting him. Then, when Bush was reminded that Secret Service logs revealed Abramoff  had visited the White House many times, Bush's spokesman said those were mere "staff-level meetings. Then when it was revealed Abramoff had taken millions of dollars from a foreign dictator to arrange a meeting with Bush, which did in fact later occur ... and when it was revealed the Abramoff has a prominent place on Bush's official transition team ... and when it was revealed that there were photos from at least five separate occasions showing Bush and Abramoff together .... Bush ordered that all copies of those photos be found and kept from the public.

Think about that. The president is hiding photos of him shaking hands with a member of his transition team. Why is that?

Is it that Abramoff has confessed to bribing public officials? Is it that the dictator got something from George W Bush that America would not like? Who knows?

America wants photos of these two Republican leaders who have such an outsized appetite for money ... and America has a right to pictures taken with taxpayer-funded moneys in the taxpayer-funded White House.

So ... until Bush caves under pressure from righteously angry Americans: check out the photos. One of them won the official contest, but which do YOU prefer?

David Hasselhoff Video: Hooked On A Feeling!
It's funny. There's no excuse for it otherwise: http://www.youtube.com/watch.php?v=Gi2CfuqcUGE
(Look, this is my site and I don't have to be serious all the time!)

Another Slimeball Resigns In Shame!
The Bush Administration Political Appointee George C. Deutsch, who ordered the gagging of NASA scientists who did not conform to ideology ... has been outed as a liar and resigned in disgrace! More information in the Houston Chronicle here!
It seems that Mr. Deutsch neglected to be truthful on his employment application; he just invented some facts about having a college degree. Is this a lie? Only if he knew it was untrue! Maybe he spent so much time drinking that he just didn't recall whether he'd actually earned the degree he claimed. After all, his sole qualification for the gig, other than the fictional degree, was being a Republican operative on Bush's campaign. Isn't that enough for NASA?
Question: Do they even bother running background checks on these guys ... or is ideological correctness more important than actually telling the truth on employment applications?
For more information, see http://scientificactivist.blogspot.com/  - 2/8/06

The Young Lawyer's Conundrum by Patrick J. Schiltz.  This thoughtful article is a must-read for anyone contemplating a career in the law:
"Courses on legal ethics are among the least popular courses in the law school curriculum, even less popular than courses on taxation. Nothing makes a law student's eyes glaze over as quickly as the phrase "legal ethics." There are many reasons for this, but the most important is probably that law students do not think they will become unethical lawyers...
"In fact, as I tell the students I teach, they will probably begin to practice law unethically in at least some respect within their first year or two in practice. This happens to most young lawyers. It happened to me, and it will happen to my students, unless they do something about it." Continued here.

Operation Unmet Needs
As we enjoy a well-earned Sunday of fun & football, don't forget those less fortunate. Perhaps you can help someone in your own community: http://www.unmetneeds.com/
-2/06/06

Support the Troops: Send Them To Congress!
Maybe if a few Iraq/Aghanistan vets get into Congress, we might get some effective action instead of the current total mess. It's easy to help; hop over to Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America PAC: http://www.iavapac.org/  - 2/2/06

Addiction To Oil: We Need A Twelve-Step Program
Bush was right to call America "addicted to oil" but he offered no effective remedy, probably because he's part of the Higher Power that holds us captive. We can't rely on him and his oil buddies but that's o.k.: green technologies are the next big opportunity! If you are a small businessman, carpenter, roofer, or anyone with energy and willingness, google Green Roofs and think, "Can I make money installing these things?" It's the American way: Doing Well By Doing Good! - 2/1/06

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