Nameless GenX Blog

A Bad Week to be a Republican

 

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

It all started with Keith Olbermann's Special Comment on the George W. Bush (The Idiot), characterizing him with deadly accuracy as "a nightmarish blight on our lives". If you missed this Pulitzer-Prize caliber commentary, click here to see it in its full glory (12 minutes and worth every second).

No time for that? This brief excerpt says it all:

"Mr. Bush: January 20 will be celebrated as a day of soul-wrenching, heart-felt thanksgiving, because your faithless stewardship of this presidency will have finally come to a merciful end."

As an aside, I'd like to take this opportunity to commend Keith for his fine work – he exemplifies three Great American principles:

1. Freedom of the Press
2. Truth in Journalism
3. Women Go Crazy 'But a Sharp Dressed Man

(and no worries, Keith, WE know who the cold-blooded killers are)

 

Thursday, May 15, 2008

It was as if the rage against the Republican Machine took flight, landing the next day in Israel to give voice to The Bush-McBush tag team "appeasement" political ploy at the expense of the sensibilities of both Israeli's and Jewish-American voters – invoking Hitler's Invasion of Poland in 1939? During their Independence Day celebration? And to top it all off, The Idiot goes to Saudi Arabia the very next day to try to chat up the Sheik of Arabi on the Bush-Cheney $20 Billion WMD Saudi Appeasement Plan.

Of course, The Democrats responded immediately to this pathetically transparent fear-mongering tactic (what was that about no unity in the Party?)

• Senator Obama's no-nonsense response to this nonsense: "It is sad that President Bush would use a speech to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of Israel's independence to launch a false political attack. The president's extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel."

• Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi: "I think what the President did in that regard was beneath the dignity of the Office of the President and unworthy of our representation at that observance in Israel."

• Senator Hillary Clinton: "President Bush's comparison of any Democrat to Nazi appeasers is offensive and outrageous, especially in the light of his failures in foreign policy."

• Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Senator Joe Biden: "This is bullshit." (Go, go, Joe!)

But who needs the Democrats to make this case, anyway? The Republicans have their own spokesman, Congressman Tom Davis (R-Virginia), whose treatise about the state of the GOOP hit the news wires in the midst of all of this: "The Republican brand is in the trash can... if we were dog food, they would take us off the shelf."

Then there's the beauty part: McSame's 2013 Fantasyland Speech got knocked right off the news by the Democratic show-of-strength response. (Oh, and BTW Johnny: since you'll be working for me, the next time I see you I expect you will be prepared with the Detailed Project Plan & Budget for each of your 2013 Fantasies.)

And the extra beauty part: The California Supreme Court struck down state laws that banned gay marriage for Californians, despite the best efforts of the Flag-Pin Wearing Patriots on the right to squash the human and civil rights of Gay American Citizens (that's right: efforts to squash the human and civil rights of American Citizens.)

And the extra, extra beauty part: The Webb-Hagel 21st Century G.I. Bill (Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act S.22/ H.R. 5740, passes the House, despite 159 Republican "nays". So now it's on to the Senate for this Bill, where it is expected to pass in spite of the McBush-Lieberman steadfast efforts to block it because it will hurt Armed Services retention rates. Sadly, then it's on to the expected veto by The Idiot who, despite "giving up golf" for the troops, does not believe they deserve a college education in return for their brave and honorable service.

 

Later That Same Day

Bush-McBush's whole "appeasement" premise was, of course, completely debunked in time for the prime-time news hour with quotes from The Idiot's Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, The Idiot's Secretary of State Condi Rice, and Senator McBush himself, all of whom are permanently captured on video stating that the U.S. must seek diplomacy with Iran, including Gates's statement only one day earlier that, "We need to figure out a way to develop some leverage with respect to the Iranians and then sit down and talk with them."

If that wasn't enough, Hardball rolls around at 7:00 in the east. There we see young Neo-con Tucker Carlson – the wunderkind of the GOOP who has his finger so on the pulse of the nation that his show got cancelled – comparing McSame's one-term 2013 plan to "Nixon in '68 coming in to end the war." [buzzer sounds]. No mention of the fact that it took Nixon two terms filled with further Vietnam escalation – a full seven years – before the Fall of Saigon and those helicopters leaving in defeat. Also, no mention that this tragic day in U.S. history came only four months before Nixon was forced to resign in shame due to his unprecedented corruption.

And the piece de resistance of this fun-filled news day: This dumbf*ck neo-con and his mimeographed GOOP talking points got severely hardballed by my hometown compadre, the great Chris Matthews:

 

Friday, May 16, 2008

And the bad news just keeps on coming....

Three McSame lobbyists-cum-campaign-staffers are forced to resign, including Doug Davenport, who lobbies on behalf of the Brutal Myanmar Dictatorship that is now denying food and water to its own cyclone-ravaged people. Update: Two more McSame lobbyist resignations over the weekend - that's 5 lobbyists down, 50 to go, there, Johnny, and I won't even mention Cindy McBush's $2 million in investments in Chinese oil interests in Sudan and their direct relationship to the genocide in Darfur. (oops! guess I just did...)

The hate-preaching, rifle-toting, racist, sexist, toothless bumpkin Huckabilly takes one for the team, committing political suicide with his "unintentional" endorsement of Senator Obama's assassination. (Interesting how his little joke hit the stage before that chair hit the floor, isn't it?) DING DONG! The last best hope of the EVILangelicals ever seizing power is DEAD !

To end this with some warm & fuzzies for my Fine Progressive Friends... Florida Congressmen Robert Wexler stated that, because Karl Rove is now ducking Congressional subpoenas, it is entirely possible that Rove will be "hauled in front of Congress by the Sergeant at Arms". Please take a moment to picture that scene

(Oh, yeah, I almost forgot the GOOP response to all of this: Hussein, Hussein, Hussein, Wright, Hussein, Hussein, Hussein ... )

 

Need a Good Laugh at McSame's Expense?

If you ever watch CNN's Anderson Cooper 360, you know they have this cutesie photo caption contest every night. Here is last night's photo: Senator John McCain tours the Ohio eWaste Recycling plant in Obetz, Ohio. Naturally, I ran right over to my laptop and added my caption:

"I'm such a clueless old bastard, I don't know what the fuck I'm looking at."

Not bad, right? Then I started reading the captions posted by my fellow Americans and found that I, the Nameless GenXer, am not worthy.

My friends, THIS is what makes America great

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Let me get this straight. You want ALL of this shredded into confetti for the Republican Convention? Ed, Sidney OH

Yes sir, it's right over there. Speaking of waste... heh heh… Those complimentary fiber muffins from breakfast are catching up to me, too. Hollis, San Francisco CA

So where's the box where they stored the Ark of the Covenant? Hagee needs it. Lloyd, Texas

And over there you'll find Dick Cheney's old emails, a few cigars left over form the Clinton years, and a "Dewey Wins" button. Joe, Los Angeles CA

Few people realize that campaign donations from most red states are actually used appliances. Fahad, NYC

McCain carefully chooses items for his White House Man Cave. Joe, Los Angeles CA

Senator? I have no idea what you are referring to when you say it looks like Fibber Mcgee's closet. Is that from an old TV show? What's that? It was from before TV? Doug, Brookfield WI

And the beauty part is that once we turn these "donated goods" into cash at the flea market, the Federal Election commission has no way of tracking it ….Hey, is that The Press back there? Lloyd, Texas

You see, we can actually register these knickknacks as Republican voters. Smart, huh? Jonathan, Birmingham AL

Officially becoming the Republican Nominee, John McCain is shown the secret hiding place of "missing" Al Gore votes. Jonathan, Birmingham AL

Yes, Mr. McCain. If we removed those held by your wife, these would be all of your assets. Carmen, Toronto, Canada

McCain searches for a running mate in the warehouse of misfit candidates. Lloyd, Texas

I've got it ! We'll back the Social Security Trust Fund with recycled junk bonds! John, Latrobe PA

Now, in that box over there is where you will find all of the dirt or Senator Clinton. Unfortunately, we have yet to find anything on Senator Obama. Jocelynn, Fairfield CA

I'm afraid you'll have to leave, sir. This is working-class Ohio and those without flag pins are not permitted. Ellie, Wilmington DE

The government finally takes inventory of supplies that were supposed to be sent to Hurricane Katrina victims. Kim, Bolingbrook IL

And that right there is the wheel that fell off the Straight Talk Express. Dan, San Diego CA

Sir, if you'll just step into that box over there, that is where we recycle used politicians. Heather, Ontario, Canada

John McCain visits the "Museum of Stuff that Used to be Made in the USA." Tony, Campbell OH

No, John…they say you need to be more conservative, not conserve more. Tony, Campbell OH

Any kitchen-sinks maybe? I'm gonna need plenty during the general election! Kristien, Antwerp, Belgium

Yes sir, that's from China, this is from China, it's all from China, but don't worry, sir, American jobs are still safe. Cory, Florida

Yes sir, we are going to take all these things and change them into something else, kind of like the way you were against the tax cuts, but now are for the tax cuts. Cory, Florida

Yep! The White House sent over those e-mail servers about three years ago. Lloyd, Texas

Yes, sir! We sure do give a senior citizen discount! Dori, Arizona

And they said I couldn't get a job in the private sector because of my age... Thank you, Goodwill :-) Kent, Illinois

Yes, Mr. McCain. It is the year 2013 and this is what's left of our country. Carmen, Toronto, Canada

John McCain explains how he is a big fan of recycling and cites these examples of how he recycles: Bush policies, Bush campaign strategy, and Bush slogan "live the high life on money earned by your family and/or inherited by your wife. " Mark, Albuquerque NM

And over there, Senator, are the recycled Republican approval ratings, all ready for your use! What's that? You want new approval ratings and not Bush's recycled ones? And you call yourself a conservative… April

Got any Wayne Newton on 8-track? John, Latrobe PA

Yes, my friends, I certainly support a strong Flea-Market economy. Gail, Portsmouth NH

These? These are all office products, Senator… fax machines, computers, laser printers, you know, stuff someone your age would have no CLUE how to use… Vanessa, Charlotte NC

Yes, sir! This is a compilation of all the wonderful things people can get with the $18 they get from your gas tax holiday! Aaron, Loveland CO

During your 100 year war we will run out of ammunition, but with all the lead in these toys made in China, we should be able to sustain the effort a bit longer. Aaron, Loveland CO

Hey, I remember those computers with the green screen and the little cards you slide through. Wow, that was a while ago... I think I was only 60. Alisha, Las Vegas NV

And right over here, Senator, is where we keep the false promises. Steve, Los Angeles

That's right, Bush had made such a mess that we do not know what to clean up first. Any idea what we should we do with the Democrats in that there grill? Shell, New York

This comes from all the houses that we foreclosed. Four more years and we can make a KILLING on this stuff! Ted, Canada

My friends, I have toured that damage and I can faithfully say recycling is the number one threat to our nation, and we will take on the insurgent recyclables for one hundred years! Danny, Toledo OH

People can recycle stuff? I had no idea….Wow, there are so many new things I have to learn…Who knew? Ishani, California

I'm sorry, sir, but we just can't sell this Republican Brand anymore. Richard

Sorry, Senator, I was going to show you around the whole plant, but my boss just told me I was being laid off because this plant is being moved to Columbia. Clifford, Lehigh Acres FL

...

How to Diffuse the Flag Pin Crisis

The guy is a freakin' genius. {And I'm not even counting the impeccable timing of rolling out the Edwards and NARAL endorsements to rain on the West Virginia White Supremacist Parade.}

Harry Truman: The Last GenX President

In the wake of the wretched "debate" reality TV show that ABC staged last Wednesday, who woulda thunk that Senator Clinton would unwittingly point out the singular strongest argument for Senator Obama!

[BTW: spoon-feeding American Idol "journalism" to the lowest common denominator of American society? Gibson looking down his nose at these two dignified candidates – one of whom will be the next President of the United States? Interrupting them while they were speaking? Just another example of the utter lack of respect that now exists for the Office of The President, thanks to the Village Idiot Bush.]

Thanks for letting me vent, there... so, anyway, the next day, while bashing the no-nonsense Senator Obama for getting annoyed by this nonsense, Senator Clinton invoked the immortal quote from 33rd President Harry S. Truman:

"The buck stops here."

Hmmm… let's see… Harry Truman (1884-1972)... a heartland Democrat who inherited the Presidency from Franklin D. Roosevelt in April of 1945. Upon taking office, he asked all of FDR's cabinet to remain in place, but told them that, while he was open to their advice, he was in charge and would be the one making decisions. A few months later, Truman was faced with the toughest 3:00 AM decision any president has ever faced – to nuke or not to nuke – and history has judged that he made the right call. The buck stops here. End the war.

Harry "Give 'em Hell" Truman was a member of what is known as the "Lost Generation" – the generation of Earnest Hemingway, "The Great Gatsby" and the early feminist Flappers, who spent their twenties and thirties bucking the establishment, bringing the "roar" to the Roaring 20s in flagrant disregard of the temperance ladies (the preachy Boomers of the day) who brought them Prohibition – i.e. the singular stupidest attempt at legislating morality that any preachy generation has ever come up with.

Truman has been described as "a hard to fool realist of blunt and staccato expression, immune to criticism, who told the truth with startling frankness". His Lost Generation has been characterized collectively as tough, gritty, gruff, dispassionate, pragmatic, streetwise, self-confident, clear-headed, savvy, perceptive and practical.*

Any of this sound familiar? It should. Senator Barack Obama exhibits these same personality traits and is often described in these same terms. This, of course, is no coincidence – it is the reason why Generation X is also known as "The New Lost".

I remember the flag at my grade school being flown at half-mast when Harry Truman died in 1972. At the time, of course, I didn't know or care much about him, but in researching Truman for this piece, I came across an anecdote about him that made me smile, struck by a sense of generational affinity towards him.

Truman shocked many when he attended his disgraced patron Pendergast's funeral a few days after being sworn in. Truman brushed aside the criticism, saying simply, "He was always my friend and I have always been his."

Imagine that. Having the guts to stand up for your friend – do the right thing – even if it's politically unpopular and might effect the next ten minutes worth of opinion polls.

---

*	Generations: A History of America's Future, 1584-2069 © 1991 by William Strauss and Neil Howe. BTW – If you think generational stereotypes are unfair or just plain bogus, have a look at these prophetic excerpts from this same seminal study of American Generations.
NOTES:
1)	Before the Hillary fans have their usual "Boomer righteous fury" cow: I believe that Hillary would bring the best of "the buck stops here" intentions to the Office. Unfortunately, she has demonstrated time and again how easily she can succumb to the Boomer bad habit of putting "politics" ahead of "doing the right thing".
2)	A little history lesson for all the right-wing sheeple who foolishly believe that Senator McSame can defeat Senator Obama in the general election:

Top Three Things I Learned from the April 16 Democratic Debate

1	That light teal color looks really nice on Senator Clinton – she should definitely go with that over the yellow, whenever possible. And Hillary? I already know that Bill Clinton was a better President than George Bush – no need for you to point that out ten times.
2	Next time I see Ted Turner, I'm going to give him a big hug for inventing cable news. I mean, seriously, Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos? Is this what ABC News has come to? Definitely taken a nosedive in the twenty-five years since I've seen it.
3	Senator Obama showed remarkable restraint* when posed the question about the singular most crucial issue in this campaign: flag pins. Barack's response about how he works for the veterans in the Senate was dead on. And dammit! He missed a golden opportunity to slam John "Warmonger" McCain for voting against every piece of legislation intended to support the troops, not to mention McCain's refusal to support the new GI Bill because the neo-con war profiteers are more concerned about supporting army retention rates than supporting the actual troops.

*	If I were posed with the all-important flag pin question my response would have been, "Thanks for the question, Pat. This is why the first thing I'm going to do when I'm President of The United States of America is introduce legislation that requires a minimum IQ test for voters." And please allow me to lose my GenX attitude for a sec, while I slip straight into my Jersey attitude:

Hardball Follow-Up with Senator McCain

A Post Mortem

Senator McCain has had twenty-five years in Washington to hone his politician double-talk express, so no big surprise that he came prepared with the same-old, same-old Bush v2 talking points all set to go. Obviously, an hour isn't enough to delve into any of the campaign issues in depth and Chris tried, despite the totally predictable GOP party line babble out of the Senator. Here are the Hardball follow-up questions I would have liked to have seen, if time had permitted.

Torture

McCain: "My point is that for the future of this country, we have to make sure that we remain a nation that does not do things that our enemies do. And I promise you, my friends, I'll close Guantanamo Bay and we will never torture another person in our custody again."

Kudos to you Senator for admitting that it is not just the liberals who know the Bush Administration is guilty of these war crimes. Does this mean that you will throw your full support behind efforts to prosecute Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Wolfowitz, Yoo and all persons now employed by the Executive Branch, the State Department, the Justice Department, who have committed national and international war crimes in blatant disregard of the United States Constitution and worse, in the name of all Americans, including yourself?

Small Town America

McCain: "These people were the ones that went through the Great Depression and then went to war and made the world safe for democracy, and came home and built a better nation than we have today."

Senator, are you aware that it is now the year 2008, that World War II ended 63 years ago, and that the number of living Americans who "went through the Great Depression and then went to war" now make up less than 4% of the population?

McCain: "And I think that it's from the small towns and the large, but, from all over America, that people have hope and optimism and faith in this nation and their future."

Hope, optimism and faith in this nation and their future? With all due respect, Senator, what planet are you living on?

Earmarks (aka Pork Spending)

McCain: "One of those areas where we Republicans have failed as much or more, in my view, than the other party is in spending. We let spending get completely out of control, to the point where we have lost the confidence of the American people. In the last two years, the president signed into law two big spending bills that had $35 billion worth of earmark projects on it."

Damn! $35 billion in earmarks in two years! Of course, that pales in comparison to the $300 billion the Bush Administration has borrowed from China to spend on sustaining the Hostile Occupation of Iraq over the same two year period - not to mention the ongoing $12 billion per month that you promise to spend on Iraq for at least four more years - or until they embrace American-style Democracy - or until every last American soldier is dead, even if it takes one hundred years.

In light of these facts, it is perfectly understandable that your campaign strategy is to highlight the "pork spending" talking point as often as possible; however, do you really believe that the average American taxpayer is so stupid that they do not realize that the "out of control" spending habits of the Republican Party have nothing to do with "pork" and everything to do with sustaining the Hostile Occupation of Iraq?

(And I'll cut you a break, Senator, by not asking how you intend to finance the "there will be other wars" that the Republican Party is gleefully planning so as to obtain more oil rights for Exxon/Mobil.)

Coming Soon: War with Iran

McCain: "In the Iranian situation, as we all know, overwhelming evidence is that they are developing nuclear weapons. I think, at the end of the day, we can't allow them to have nuclear weapons. But I think that we should join together with other nations, the French, the British. By the way, in case you haven't noticed, we now have a pro-American president of France, which shows, if you live long enough, anything can happen in this world, as you know."

Dude! Nice try changing the subject! But this is Hardball and I can't let you off the hook so who, specifically, is the we all in your statement as we all know? And where is this overwhelming evidence? Being manufactured by some Justice Department flunkie as we speak?

{giggles}

Seriously though, you continue to promote the Bush policy that Iran must be the next oil-rich sovereign Islamic nation that the United States should target for invasion and subsequent occupation – or, as stated in your own straight-talk words, that you believe we should bomb, bomb, bomb. You're among "my friends" here Senator, so which of the following is the real straight-talk express reason why you support starting a war with Iran:

a) You are mandated by the Republican National Committee to exercise your Executive Authority to break whatever laws you deem necessary to 1) ensure that U.S. oil companies can freely trade the blood of young Americans for Iranian oil and 2) boost the earnings of private military contractors, while continuing to allow them to operate out of the Cayman Islands so as to avoid paying corporate and individual income taxes.

or

b) You truly believe that the Iranian people:

  - desperately want American-style democracy imposed upon them
  - will instantly renounce Islam in favor of Evangelical Christianity
  - will welcome U.S. troops as "the great liberators"
  - will lay down their arms (and roses) at your feet.

(Or is it just that you GOP megalomaniacs are so darned disappointed that it didn't work out this way in Iraq, that you just want another crack at it with a different Muslim crowd and if a few thousand more American lives must be sacrificed in this effort, who cares?)

or

c) You agree with your official endorser Rod Parsley, the for-profit televangelist and leader of The American Taliban, that it is the sacred duty of the United States to attempt to eradicate Islam from the face of the earth, in much the same way as Hitler attempted to eradicate Judiasm (hopefully with better results than Hitler got).

The "Rights of the Unborn"

McCain: "And I want to say that the rights of the unborn is one of my most important values."

A couple follow-ups on this one, if I may.

1) You solidly maintain the GOP party line that you are committed to protecting the rights of "the unborn", but what about the "born" Senator? Specifically, what about the four brave and honorable Americans who were actually "born" twenty-odd years ago and were killed yesterday, April 14, 2008, by hostile fire in Iraq? Do you not believe in their right to life?

2) It's clear that the United States Armed Forces are stretched to their limits carrying out the Occupation of Iraq, and there are simply no more volunteers to deploy in the planned Occupation of Iran, which will certainly require an army of equivalent size. Where exactly are you going to get the bodies to fill the body bags, Senator? The draft? Oh, OK. So how do you rectify your commitment to the "rights of the unborn" with the fact that you are willing to command an entire generation of the "born" to die in some dessert hellhole because Cheney wants those gosh-darned oil reserves?

Ah… only kidding, Senator…that was a rhetorical question. We already know the answer is that the GOP is all for protecting the sanctity of life when it comes to getting votes from the EVILangelicals, but has no regard whatsoever for the sanctity of life when "life" stands in the way of corporate profits.

Anything you'd like to say in conclusion, Senator?

McCain: "Thank you, Chris."

[Senator Stands Up, Faces Audience, Fixes Combover, Plasters Kindly Grandpa Smile on Face]

"My friends… if you think Al Queda is scary, just wait until you see the Terrorize the Sheeple into Agreeing that Conquering Iran is a Good Idea (and don't forget that Barack Obama's middle name is Hussein) campaign that the Karl Rove School of Vicious Attacks Division of the Good Old White Boys Club will be rolling out in a few months to brighten up your summer."

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Notes: Ah, you're off the hook Chris – I still love ya. Truth is, I watched this interview online this morning. Last night, I was busy watching the Flyers Playoff Game and may it never be said that Philadelphians don't have their priorities straight. And yes, I am still bitter over Game 6 of the 1980 Stanley Cup Finals, but not nearly as bitter as I am about the crimes against humanity committed in my name by the evil Cheney regime.

Hardball Questions for Senator McCain

An Open Letter to Mr. Chris Matthews of MSNBC

Dear Chris,

I was born and raised in greater Philadelphia, too, and I love it when you chat up DelVal politics. I also like Ed Rendell and we shall see if The Guv bet on the right horse in this race. Speaking of PA politics, your recent interview with Senator Arlen Specter about his struggle with cancer was very endearing – he is a survivor and kudos to him! I know the focus of the interview was the Senator's book and you were not wearing your hardball hat, which is, I'm sure, why you failed to ask him the hardball question:

"Yes, it's wonderful that a second opinion saved you from cancer, but what about the tens of millions of Americans whose healthcare insurance doesn't cover second opinions and instead pushes patients straight into bureaucratic 'in-networks' where junior underwriters make healthcare decisions based on the cost of the treatment, rather than the well-being of the patient? And what about the millions more who have no healthcare benefits at all?" Once again, this interview was understandably warm & fuzzy and I get why you softballed him.

At the opposite end of that spectrum is your upcoming Hardball College Tour interview with Senator John McCain, candidate for President of the United States. If you, Chris, succumb to the free ride that this pathetically weak candidate gets from the press, spend the hour yukking it up with him like he were everybody's favorite doddering uncle, fail to nail him with the hardball questions, then my high regard for you will be diminished and I will never view "Hardball" the same way again.

By hardball questions, I mean the ones that will expose Senator McCain for the unpatriotic, two-faced fraud that he is. Here are the five questions I would insist that he answer if I had the opportunity you are given.

Question 1: Your Hypocrisy
You are running on little else but a "Support the Troops" platform, but your voting record and lack of support for the new G.I. Bill clearly contradict this claim.

Senator McCain: Why do you NOT support the troops? And more to the point, how can you face yourself in the mirror?

Question 2: Your Association with Criminals
Senator McCain: If elected, do you intend to support the prosecution of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Wolfowitz, Yoo and all persons now employed by the Executive Branch, the State Department, the Justice Department, who have committed national and international war crimes in blatant disregard of the United States Constitution and worse, in the name of all Americans?

Question 3: Your Cluelessness About the Enemy
Obviously, Bin Laden's big plan was to draw you neo-con dumbf*cks into a war, which has now devolved into a bloody and hostile occupation of a sovereign Islamic nation, thereby:

• increasing the September 11 death toll by 4,000 and counting
• stretching our military personnel and families to their limits, and hampering our ability to react with agility to situations that arise elsewhere in the world
• putting massive strain on our fiscal resources, forcing us into exponentially increasing debt
• bringing about drastic inflation of the cost of oil and gas (with the help of Cheney's pals the Saudis who, of course, also finance Al Queda)
• arousing catastrophic levels of hatred for America and Americans, not only on the part of Al Queda, but of the entire Middle East and Islamic nations around the world

Senator McCain: Have you really gone so far around the bend that you do not understand that taking down our buildings will never take down The United States of America, but the disastrous warmongering policies that you espouse today most certainly will?

Question 4: Your "Patriotism"
The brainwashed sheeple on the right all view you as some kind of patriot, but I respectfully disagree with that. A veteran and war hero? Certainly? A public servant? Sure, you've been paid to be a public servant for many years. Too bad you have not always been an "honorable" public servant, or one that is able to recognize or speak the truth. You conservatives talk a good game about preserving the American way of life, preserving the future for your children, preserving the founding principles of this great nation. Of course, quite the contrary is true – the Republican Party has succeeded in frittering it all away since the day your patron saint Ronald Ray-guns took office (albeit with a brief respite during the Clinton Administration).

Senator McCain: Do you actually believe that your flag lapel pins (made in China) succeed in covering up the fact that you and your ilk do not believe in truth, justice or the American way for anyone but your private contractor war profiteer buddies, good old boy oilmen, and those who believe it is the destiny of the United States to bring about Armageddon so they can punch their personal tickets to heaven?

True Patriots are those who put country above self and religion. What you do is demonstrate every day that you put the personal profits and religious beliefs of the few above those of the many.

True Patriots have woken up to, and are sickened by, the fact that all you neo-cons really care about is preserving your fortunes, keeping all the wealth in your families, while the rank and file citizens of the United States of America suffer. Throughout the course of history, these are the conditions that have brought about Revolution.

True Patriots know that you, Senator McCain, are a doddering puppet of the radical right. You are not up against Senator Obama or Senator Clinton – you are up against the hundreds of millions of ordinary citizens who are enraged by what has become of our once-proud nation in the eight years of criminal, corrupt and religiously tainted policies of the "grand" old party in general and the Bush Administration in particular.

True Patriots are now pursuing the course of toppling this evil neo-con regime before it is too late, before you hate-filled warmongers succeed in destroying all that you claim to love and wish to conserve. We will not allow America to be defeated by Al Queda or by its evil counterpart, the Neo-Conservative & Evangelical Sponsored Insane McCain War Machine.

Senator McCain: I ardently disagree with your supporters on this point. You, sir, are not a True Patriot.

Question 5: Your Famous Temper
This one's a bit personal so you can dodge it if you like, but Senator McCain: Why do you think it's acceptable to call your lovely wife a c*nt in public?

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Notes: I attempted to post this open letter to Chris on the MSNBC Hardblogger site.  It was not published (big surprise.)

I hereby put out an appeal to all my fine progressive compadres, here and elsewhere on the web, for additional hardball questions for Senator McCain, with the goal of delivering a definitive list to the moderators and sponsors of the upcoming Presidential Debates. Feel free to leave a (moderated) post here or to email me directly with your hardball questions.

...

Hillary's Next Movie and The McSame Sequel

My last post was about how Hillary's new Pennsylvania ad made me laugh out loud because of the irony of her statement "It's time to level the playing field against the special interests" debuting on the same day as the special interest threat letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

This latest 3:00 AM ad about the economy also made me laugh out loud, this time on pure comedic value

Even more amusing is McSame's parody of this ad – especially in light of the Major Economic Policy speech he gave last week, in which he lucidly (according to the associated propaganda email) stated that his Economic Policy is that he has no Economic Policy. Speaking of economics, and in poor John's defense, he really has no choice but to re-use the other candidates' ideas and we all need to get used to the low budget nature of his campaign, considering the fact that the GOP base: 1) hates his guts and 2) have had to tighten their belts because of the 2008 YTD nosedive in earnings on their investments. I suppose there is the possibility that his fund-raising will rebound just as soon as the neo-cons and EVILangelicals pull their cash out of the American markets and invest in Euros and gold.

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The Two Faces of Hillary

I live in the Philadelphia TV market and I actually laughed out loud last night when I saw the new Clinton Pennsylvania TV ad for the first time. Here's an excerpt for you:

Hillary: "It's time to level the playing field against the special interests."

What's so funny about that? Nothing at all about the quote – it was the timing that made me laugh. The ad came on during the evening news, only a few moments after the coverage of yesterday's big story: the letter sent to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by a group of wealthy and prominent donors to the Clinton campaign. Seems these fat cats are really mad at Speaker Pelosi because she had the unmitigated gall to say that the super-delegates should support the candidate who emerges from the nomination contests with the most pledged delegates (i.e. the winner of the popular vote). Here's a quote from this letter, signed by some of Clinton's biggest fund raisers:

"This is an untenable position."

In all fairness, I must add that Senator Clinton has stated something to the effect of she knew about the letter to Speaker Pelosi, but didn't know what it contained. I was sorta hoping that Hillary would denounce and reject this letter but, like, whatever...

Sadly, it's not just Hillary's wealthy pals who are insisting that my vote for Senator Obama doesn't count and that it's up to the "smart" super-delegates to make her the nominee – she has said this herself. What I want to know is:

What exactly does Senator Clinton owe these wealthy campaign donors special interests in return for their financial support? (I'm thinking it must be pret-t-t-ty major for them to resort to threatening the most powerful Democrat in Congress.)

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Just Say No (to Nancy)

I found myself reaching way back into my memory banks to pull up recollections of Nancy Reagan's two terms as First Lady. First thing that comes to mind is "abstinence will solve the AIDS problem." Oddly enough, twenty-five years of the AIDS epidemic have passed and as recently as February 17, 2008, we have the Village Idiot Bush trotting out the same old Reagan stance, insisting that a large portion of funding for global AIDS prevention be used to preach abstinence.

And then there was Nancy being the public face of the "Just Say No" campaign, part of her husband's "War on Drugs" (what is it with the Republican fixation on "war" as the solution to all problems, anyway?) At the time, Reagan's critics pointing out that his anti-drug program didn't address the related social issues of unemployment, poverty, and family dissolution, and labeled his feeble approach to the drug problem as simplistic.

Simplistic? Those critics were kind. I would describe it as: totally clueless about what was really going on in those days. Besides being a total joke to every single person I met in the 80s (just say no... ha, ha, like, just say no to ray-guns, dude) it was a monumental waste of taxpayer dollars and, in the end, did nothing about the drug problem except jack up the price of street drugs, resulting in larger profits for the drug lords and, oh yeah, the poppy growers in Afghanistan (hey, why not? let's not forget that Reagan, Rumsfeld et al were also supporting The Taliban at the time).

With that said, it comes as no big surprise that yesterday, the 86 year-old Mrs. Reagan endorsed Candidate McCain, yet another doddering Republican relic who is totally clueless about what's really going on, not to mention a fork-tongued puppet of the lunatic right, hell bent on carrying on the traditions of Bush-style incompetence and Cheney/Rumsfeld-style corruption. Oh, and just for laughs, McCain has within the past week revealed through his own words his cluelessness about:

• the non-winnable situation in the Iraq   (Senator McCain: How exactly do you define "winning" in Iraq?)
• who the real enemies in the War on Terror are   (and how exactly is your "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran" plan going to make Americans safer from Al Queda's growing legions?)
• the economic meltdown caused directly by the neo-con Bush regime   (and how exactly are your corporate tax cuts going to reduce the financial burden on my grandchildren caused by the cost of Bush's War?)

Sorry, got off track there for a sec... the point is: no self-respecting GenXer would consider a political endorsement from Nancy Reagan as anything other than totally irrelevant to the problems that face our nation in 2008.

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