Countdown: The Bush Legacy-Eight Years in Eight Minutes

Keith Olbermann sums up the last eight years.

Bush: Sub-Prime IQ Is Not The Only Inherited Problem

Wendell Goler on Fox News defending the complete failure that is George Bush:

"This president inherited a budget surplus, but he also inherited what he called 'the trifecta of bad times.' ... He inherited the 9/11 attacks. He inherited the recession and he inherited some tough times on Wall Street."

How did Bush inherit 9/11? I guess he thinks doing nothing is the same as inherit.

Bush inherited his sub-prime IQ, he inherited the 2000 election from the Supreme Court, everything else is his own doing.

I think history will be documented in the very near future showing all the ways Bush destroyed America. We may do things wrong from time to time, but we expose the problem, correct it, and move forward.

Source: Washington Monthly

Ted Haggard: Hetero With Issues? Umm, No.

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Obama's Weekly YouTube Address

In his final weekly address before assuming office, President-elect Barack Obama speaks about the upcoming Inauguration activities, a tradition at the heart of our democracy.



Source: youtube.com/user/ChangeDotGov

R-E-S-P-E-C-T In The Middle East

President Shimon Peres in the Jerusalem Post:

While many note that Hamas was democratically elected, Peres contended that "democracy is not just the outcome of elections. Democracy is a system that respects laws."

Mahmoud Abbas, he reminded his audience, had received 62% of the vote, which made him the legitimate leader of all the Palestinian people. But Hamas revolted against him and killed many members of Fatah, brutally dropping them from the tops of buildings.

"I don't think they respect anything," said Peres.

So I get the respect point of view, but do you disrespect back?

Then there's this circular problem: Israel's aim, he said, was to provide a strong blow to the people of Gaza so that they would lose their appetite for shooting at Israel.

Peres goes on to talk about his fear of Iran getting involved with supplying arms in Gaza, the "aim was to prevent an Iranian takeover of Gaza and Iranian weapons from entering Gaza".

So if you pummel someone into the ground, and then fear they might be bailed out by a bigger thug, maybe you should not beat the shit out of Palestine. You are just wishful in thinking you are going to bomb the will out of a centuries old problem.

What current Palestinian fighter is going to cave and look back at his ancestry and say "I'm the guy who gave up"?

Source: JPost

Obama Transcends, Conservatives See The Light

If Obama can soothe and convert the modern American Conservative, Iran will be a piece of piss:

"What is interesting is the fact that he would want to do this. And you see that since his election he has kind of reached out to people that may not be ideological allies, to Rick Warren, the pastor who will be at his inaugural, to John McCain, whom he has treated with a lot of dignity and respect, and to a bunch of right wing columnists last night, in part, because I think he is a guy who is intellectually curious and wants to exchange ideas, but also in part he wants to co-opt the vast right wing conspiracy.

And I'm here to tell you that, speaking for myself, he has succeeded. I am brainwashed entirely. I'm in the tank, and I am a believer of hope and change and, above all, audacity,"

- Charles Krauthammer, on Fox.

Source: RealClearPolitics

Bush: "All Life Is Sacred" Unless I Kill You

From the man who vetoed S-CHIP, executed the most people in Texas history as Governor and started a useless war that killed hundreds of thousands of innocent women and children:

In one of his final actions in the White House, President Bush on Thursday declared Jan. 18 to be “National Sanctity of Human Life Day.”

“All human life is a gift from our creator that is sacred, unique and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world,” reads the presidential proclamation.

For Bush, all life is sacred, unless it's brown. And talks funny.

Why doesn't the pro-life movement just call themselves "pro-embryo". They don't care once the baby is out of the womb.

It's like Clinton in his last week claiming "I Don't Get Blowjobs" day.

Source: Politico

Sullenberger: Poster Child For New Era

Welcome to the age of competence. Putting the right person in the right job. Someone who takes responsibility and makes the best of a bad situation.

Chesley Sullenberger, known as "Sully," the pilot of the US Airways plane that crashed into the Hudson River is being hailed as a hero for successfully landing the plane without any major injuries or fatalities.

A former Air Force fighter pilot, "Sully" was lauded by New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg, who hailed Sullenberger's actions as "masterful".

Source: HuffPo

Vitter: Adulterer Casts Lone Nay Vote

Vitter has some big balls, and like hookers to play with them while he is in a diaper.

"Today, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 16-1 to approve President-elect Obama’s nomination of Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. Casting the sole “nay” vote was Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), who was concerned about Bill Clinton’s “multimillion dollar minefield of conflicts of interest.”

Vitter has long been a Clinton foe, calling on President Clinton to step down in 1998 because of his affair with Monica Lewinsky. In 2007, Vitter also revealed that he had been a client of the D.C. Madam’s escort service, but refused to resign."

Vitter, just like Newt Gingrich, have affairs as they condemn others doing the same thing. And they paid. At least Bill got his for free.

Source: ThinkProgress

Republicans Get The S-CHIP Scared Out Of Them

Get rid of Bush, start to take care of kids in America. Change we can believe in.

"What a difference an election makes. Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the S-CHIP bill by a wide margin of 289 - 139. George Bush repeatedly vetoed similar legislation. President Obama will sign it."

This is the new way of doing things, get the Republicans to sign the right bills, instead of watering them dowm.

Source: AmericaBlog

Eric Holder: Waterboarding is Torture

Alberto Gonzales was a sham of an AG. Complete hack. Eric Holder answer the torture question like a man. Waterboarding is torture.

So much credibility and principle Mukasey and others were willing to shed in order to protect the indefensible policies of the past 8 years...the AG is the attorney of the nation, not one man.



via Washington Monthly:

Holder's response was both unequivocal and encouraging: "If you look at the history of the use of that technique, used by the Khmer Rouge, used in the Inquisition, used by the Japanese and prosecuted by us as war crimes. We prosecuted our own soldiers for using it in Vietnam. I agree with you, Mr. Chairman, waterboarding is torture."

Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) followed up, asking if foreign countries would have the authority to waterboard U.S. citizens, if they deemed it necessary for their national security. "No, they would not," Holder replied, "It would violate the international obligations that I think all civilized nations have agreed to -- the Geneva Conventions."

And finally, Leahy asked whether the president has the authority to override the law regarding torture. Holder responded, "Mr. Chairman, no one is above the law. The president has a constitutional obligation to faithfully execute the laws of the United States."

Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld must be starting to feel the heat.

Woodward: Just Take What Bush Did And Do The Opposite

Bob Woodward, author of four books on George Bush, offers some advice to President-elect Obama in his column today:

1. Presidents set the tone. Don't be passive or tolerate virulent divisions.

2. The president must insist that everyone speak out loud in front of the others, even -- or especially -- when there are vehement disagreements.

3. A president must do the homework to master the fundamental ideas and concepts behind his policies.

4. Presidents need to draw people out and make sure bad news makes it to the Oval Office.

5. Presidents need to foster a culture of skepticism and doubt.

6. Presidents get contradictory data, and they need a rigorous way to sort it out.

7. Presidents must tell the hard truth to the public, even if that means delivering very bad news.

8. Righteous motives are not enough for effective policy.

9. Presidents must insist on strategic thinking.

10. The president should embrace transparency. Some version of the behind-the-scenes story of what happened in his White House will always make it out to the public -- and everyone will be better off if that version is as accurate as possible.

Or just do the opposite of what Bush did. Obama will file this sage advice under "No Shit Sherlock".

Not too much respect for Bob Woodward because he gained access to this President, failed to provide a true lens of the abuses of the government, and then tried to be the great journalist after the fact speaking out against Bush when it appeared that Mr. Bush had, indeed, squandered the dreams that American citizens held.

Source: WaPo

Obama Dines, The Conservatives Whine

The division of the country under George Bush is getting better. Liberalism, science, facts, oversight, transparency, competency, engagement, debate, and the desire to to bring people together are all back in vogue.

Whereas Bush needed his coterie of cave-dwelling thugs to isolate him from new ideas and conflicting points of view, Obama has no problem meeting with his perceived enemy, the conservatives. Witness last night when Obama went to George Will's house for a dinner with fellow echo chamber and perennially wrong pundits Bill Kristol, David Brooks, and Charles Krauthammer. Who cares?

But as Jonathan Chait of TNR points out:

"Imagine this counterfactual: George W. Bush (or maybe a victorious John McCain) sat down before his first inauguration with Paul Krugman, E.J. Dionne, and Frank Foer. Would conservatives have reacted with the same equanimity? No, I think they'd have gone nuts. And the reason is that they wouldn't have confidence in Bush or McCain to be surrounded by liberal ideas without being deeply influenced by them. I don't think they'd have reacted this way if, say, a President Mitt Romney did the same thing.

And that's why liberals aren't having a cow. They know that Obama understands far more about policy than any of his right-wing dinner companions, is used to being exposed to opposing ideas, and won't come out of that dinner telling his staff, "Hey, did you know we cut half the capital gains tax and raise more revenue?"

A dinner with liberals would have put O'Reilly, Limbaugh and Hannity on Code Orange. Their fear of intellect is so obvious. The world of Bush and McCain, where hitting your head against the wall and not blinking is rewarded, is over.

Andrew Sullivan adds:

"I found the lack of liberal snittiness about last night to be a sign that Obama has us all on a learning curve. What matters is not who's up or down, or who's in or out. What matters is what he's proposing to do and whether it makes sense. This is quite a change for Washington and it will take adjustment. But it makes a lot of sense.

I mean: If you're concerned with government before politics, as Obama is, and intellectually confident, as Obama is, you are not afraid to encounter any number of countervailing opinions. Obama isn't afraid. Increasingly, I think his greatest strength is simply his emotional intelligence in this respect. He knows that people need to feel engaged, respected and not neglected - especially his domestic opponents and America's enemies.

I also predict that Obama will win over the conservative intellectual elites in Washington as effectively as he did at Harvard and Chicago. He won't win over the pure partisans. But the intellectually honest and open-minded ones? You watch."

I'm sure George Will is in the Book of the Dead to most hardcore conservatives.

Source: Andrew Sullivan

Make Your Own Oba-icon

No need to get artist Shepherd Ferry involved to make you an icon like Obama's "Hope", you can do it yourself.



Obamicon. Obamacon. Obam-icon. Obama-icon. Obama-con

Source: Obamiconme.com

Obama Official Presidential Portrait

Just think of the impact as this is hung up in schools across the country. The kids will have a true role model to live up to. Viva la revolucion!

How long before it ends up on a collector's coin set info-mercial?

No Press, No Worries, Israel Bombs Away

With Israel refusing to let journalists and press into the Gaza warzone, the internet will be where most accounts disseminate. This is testimony from Jawad Harb, who works for CARE in Gaza:

The leaflets came yesterday, telling us our neighbourhood would be attacked. The whole population of the area is terrified. We have nowhere to go. My neighbour checked at the UNRWA shelter but it was full. Overflowing. There is nowhere to go. We waited to be bombed.

The bombs came today. It was terrifying. We have nowhere to run. There was an air strike every five minutes. Thick black smoke 100m-150m away from us. People were scared, ran outside of their houses and gathered together in the street. 300-350 people in the street. The street was the safest place. If our house is bombed, we'll get trapped and die like the people we saw on television.

My children have seen the dead bodies of children on television.

With 1000 dead, these attacks show our value system and what certain lives are worth. 1000 dead Americans and we greenlight a third world war. 1000 dead Palestinians and it's just another Wednesday.

Source: http://we.care.org

Sarah Palin's Pregnancy Decision Map

You're a 44 year-old mother of a 7 1/2 month old premature fetus with Down's Syndrome. You're from Alaska but you find yourself in Texas when your water breaks.

What do you do?



Source: Click here for bigger image

Huckabee Sucker Punches Palin

Republicans need to call each other out before they are all go down the drain with Bush. Mike Huckabee, former fat guy and failed Presidential nominee, took a swipe at Sarah Palin. Right idea, just 3 months too late. Sadly these are 2 people who have an eye on 2012.

Huckabee: "Now I must say I did not think that either the Charlie Gibson interview or the Katie Couric interviews were unfair. In fact, if anything, Katie Couric was extraordinarily gentle, even helpful. [Palin] just... I don't know what happened. I can't explain it. It was not a good interview. I'm being charitable."

Source: Esquire

Virgin Visions? Shudupaya Face

Your made-up story is not official until the biggest maker of tales, contradictions and venerations of hysterical visions approves you. They need to figure out true and false claims? All miracles shall happen according to their book of rules? No exceptions.

Here's a heads up, broseph, they are all false.

Catholics who claim they have seen the Virgin Mary will be forced to remain silent about the apparitions until a team of psychologists, theologians, priests and exorcists have fully investigated their claims under new Vatican guidelines aimed at stamping out false claims of miracles.

The Pope, Benedict XVI, has instructed the Congregation for javascript:void(0)the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly the Holy Office of the Inquisition, to draw up a new handbook to help bishops snuff out an explosion of bogus heavenly apparitions.

The Catholics are very good about telling people to keep quiet, especially little boys. Control issues.

Too bad they can't stop the "Virgin Mary on a grilled cheese" from being sold on eBay.

Source: HuffPo

Bush In Full Denial Over Katrina, Still

"Don't tell me the federal response was slow," Bush said in regard to Katrina. OK. How about it didn't exist for a few days. You abandoned an entire city. Part of the reason you had 30,000 rescues that you brag about is that you totally left everyone there to die. What about the elderly that drown at the nursing home?

BTW, he called them "helicopter and Coast Guard drivers". S my D, George.



Campbell Brown: "Mr. President, you cannot pat yourself on the back for that one," she then said. "We will debate the war in Iraq, debate national security, the economy, and the rest of your legacy. Those debates will continue for years to come. But on how you handled Katrina, there is no debate."

Source: HuffPo

Obama: Run DC

Barack Obama will RUN DC.

Lawrence Lessig On The Colbert Report

Larry Lessig announces the Change Congress "donor strike" from the greenroom of The Colbert Report.

Commit to not give to candidates!



Source: http://change-congress.org/video/

Might Does Not Make Right

Letterman: Cheney Lie Count

David Letterman's "Dick Cheney Lie Count" from 01-09-2009

"One of the great successes in the intelligence business in the last century"

Bush is Type A[**hole]

Bush on writing his book no one is waiting for and no publishers are bidding on:

"I am a Type A personality that -- you know, I require things to do, and I bet once I get going on this book, I'll be able to get 'er done."

Does he know what Type A means? I think because he has been called an asshole so many times time, he thinks that is what it means.

Source: Fox Noise

Medvedev Odds Spike In Death Pools

Office betting pools that put odds on who is about to die, or Death Pools, will see spikes in Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's odds.

He "took another apparent swipe at Vladimir Putin, rebuking the prime minister's government for moving too slowly to alleviate the country's economic crisis," the Financial Times reports.

"Most Russians had believed Mr Medvedev would play second fiddle to Mr Putin, who named him as his chosen successor ahead of presidential elections last year."

Source: Financial Times

Job Losses Dramatic No Matter How You Look At It

Worst year for jobs since '45. And Bush also has 2001 to brag about, too.



To be fair, the civilian labor force today is 40% larger than it was in 1982 and more than twice as large as it was in 1945. Job losses last year amounted to about 1.7% of the labor force, but in 1945 the equivalent number was nearly 5% and in 1982 it was nearly 2%.

You can fight over percentages for dramatic headlines, but when you lose your job it doesn't matter. The bigger story is Bush and modern Republicanism drove this country into the ground.

NOTE:"Factoring in discouraged workers, unemployment is closer to 9.4%," said Peter Morici, an economist at the University of Maryland. "Add workers in part-time positions that cannot find full-time employment and the hidden unemployment rate is 14.5%."

Source: Kevin Drum

Gaza: Sowing The Seeds

Gee, if only there were a popular saying that conveyed the idea that you could win many battles and still lose the war.

I'm sure all those bombs know to avoid hitting innocent people.



Photo: Artillery shells explode in the air to lay down smoke cover over Palestinian homes as the Israeli army battles Hamas militants in the central Gaza Strip January 12, 2009 as seen from Israel's border with the Palestinian territory.

Source: Andrew Sullivan

Joke The Plumber In Israel: Let's Get Rid Of People Like Me

Joke the Plumber is now a journalist. Some right-wing website sent him to cover the recent Israeli attacks in Gaza. As per the low thresh hold for Republican intellect, Joe Wurzelbacher continues to show the world what an 80 IQ is all about.

First off, Joe claims the media never gets it right, there's always something left out of the story. Must be the filter and bias he is alluding to.

"I think media should be abolished from, uh, you know, reporting. You know, war is hell. And if you’re gonna sit there and say, “Well look at this atrocity,” well you don’t know the whole story behind it half the time, so I think the media should have no business in it."

The media should have no business in reporting it? Then who should? What about all those great stories about war, Joe? Oh, war is hell. I forgot.

I think what he is saying is he should have no business reporting it because he is media's dim celebrity of the day, he is not a reporter. I'll give him credit for eliminating his own job as he is doing it. Does he show up for a leaky sink and say plumbers should be eliminated?

But getting back to Joe's stellar reporting. He must have some insight as to how the media only gets half the story. I mean journalism is all about cutting through to the facts. Maybe he can counter by showing how to ask real questions

While touring a facility of spent rockets with the head of the Government Press Office, Danny Seaman, and an official government photographer, Wurzelbacher provided smiles for the veteran journalists watching him at work.

"I have thousands of questions but I can't think of the right one," he said at the start of his interview with Seaman.

The Right Wing has accepted a clown for a President for 8 years, I guess they have no problem with a clown like Joe covering complex Middle East issues.

Source: AmericaBlog