Dick Cheney: Asshole

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The CIA withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress during the Bush administration on direct orders from then-Vice President Dick Cheney, current CIA director Leon Panetta told members of Congress, a knowledgeable source confirmed to CNN.

Constitution shmonstitution, Dick knows what is best for you! I am not advocating violence, but hypothetically, how much would you pay for just one punch to this lying prick's face? We'll start the bidding at $1000. Maybe that would wipe that perpetual sneer off of it...

Chuck Norris for president...of Texas!

Oh my GOD, this is my favorite story of the year so far.

(CNN) – Actor Chuck Norris has his eyes on the presidency, but not the White House.

Norris wrote that he would be interested in becoming the president of Texas, if the state were ever to secede from the Union.

“I may run for president of Texas,” Norris wrote Monday in a column posted at WorldNetDaily. “That need may be a reality sooner than we think. If not me, someone someday may again be running for president of the Lone Star state, if the state of the union continues to turn into the enemy of the state.”

The actor claimed “thousands of cell groups will be united around the country in solidarity over the concerns for our nation” and said that if states decide to secede from the union, that Texas would lead the way.

“Anyone who has been around Texas for any length of time knows exactly what we'd do if the going got rough in America,” Norris wrote. “Let there be no doubt about that.”

Apparently when the going gets rough, they'd run away.

What a patriot Chuck is. Remember when whiny liberals like Alec Baldwin threatened to leave the country if Bush was elected? Turns out they were good sports. Norris wants to leave and take states with him. He really loves his country, huh?

Pathetic whining. This is treasonous talk, I tell you! We should round up these traitors of the good old U.S. of A. and hold them indefinitely at Gitmo, IMO.

BTW, Chuck - lose the hairpiece. You're not fooling anyone.

P.S. - Check out some of the reader comments that follow the article. They are hysterical!

A day of hope

Yes, Hope has been used to death by Obama and his supporters but that is exactly what I felt today as he was sworn in. Hope that we can return to the ideals that make this country great, and hope that we can once again be governed by the Constitution, not stand by feebly as it is shredded by an imperial presidency.

Congratulations, President Obama and Vice President Biden. Good riddance, President Bush. And as you once so eloquently stated yourself, go f*** yourself, Vice President Cheney.

History

History was made in the United States tonight. I will go to bed tonight thinking that my children's future just may have gotten a little brighter. For that I am very, very grateful.

One last thing: McCain's concession speech was pure class. I was more impressed with him tonight than I have been since 2000. Bravo, Mr. McCain.

Just voted

I just returned from casting my ballot. The line was out the door when I got there, but it only took 45 minutes total for me to vote and be on my way. Not bad at all. I get the feeling that voter turnout is going to be massive all around the country and that the polls will have to be kept open hours longer than normal. This means we may not know who is president until very late at night.

From what I hear, Virginia will be the first state that will give an indicator as to how the presidential election will go. If Obama wins Virginia, it will be nearly impossible for McCain to get enough electoral votes. If McCain wins Virginia he will still face an uphill battle but the path will be easier for him. The polls there are supposed to close at around 6 PM central time, but as I said earlier, I think they will have to be kept open later to accommodate the huge turnout.

If you have taken the time to educate yourself about the issues and where each man stands, please vote in the presidential election today. I don't care who you support, just get out there and make yourself part of the process.

The Last Debate

Neither candidate landed a knockout and I really thought it was more of the same. Obama seemed more at ease and frankly more presidential. If anything, he seemed a bit dry and boring again. But he has a substantial lead in the polls, and his even demeanor won't hurt him. He wisely played it safe.

We got flashes of McCain's temper here and there; he never came unglued, but at times he looked very upset and almost shaking as he made his points. He didn't do badly, but he needed to do more than okay.

For the first time I thought McCain looked really old tonight. It seemed magnified to me. His eyes looked very red/glassy at times, too. He came off as the rude guy that always had to get the last word in, whether he was supposed to or not. In the middle part of the debate, my wife and I counted 3 straight subjects where he got to make the last point. Seemed pretty unfair to me, but Obama appeared gracious about it.

I don't know. I hate to pick on the guy because of his appearance because it should be about so much more than that. But once again, he did not present himself well, IMO. He looks extremely uncomfortable, especially when he walks, probably due to his old service wounds. I wish it weren't true, but it is. His obvious, constant disdain for Obama reminded me a great deal of the 2000 debates, when Al Gore showed his disgust for Bush with audible sighs and eye rolls. Ask Al how that worked out for him.

As an aside, I absolutely hate what the guy has become. He should have been able to retire as a man who served his country admirably for a long time. But he ended up embracing the Bush doctrine when it was popular (post 9/11) and hooked his wagon to it. He is now paying the price. One of my greatest disappointments in McCain is that after what Rove and Bush did to him in 2000, he forgave them and joined up. They basically shit on his family and played up the racial prejudice in South Carolina for votes and McCain forgave them. After all of his rants about "agents of intolerance" he ended up embracing Jerry Falwell when it became the politically expedient thing to do. I lost all faith in him then, realizing that (like most candidates) he would simply do whatever it took to get elected. He's no longer a special man, but a political flunky. That saddens me, because for a time there, he was more than that.

I also think that like Bob Dole, his chance came about 10 years too late.

I still think the election could turn at any moment. I'm not counting any chickens before they properly hatch. But if the polls remain accurate and Obama wins, it'll be sad to see the shell of John McCain slip off into oblivion.

Great article on "Troopergate"

So the panel decided that Sarah Palin abused the power of her office by trying to get her state trooper ex-brother-in-law fired. But what does it mean? Here is an excerpt from an excellent article from Time Magazine's web site. Just click on the text to get the full article:

Did Governor Sarah Palin abuse the power of her office in trying to get her former brother-in-law, State Trooper Mike Wooten, fired? Yes.

Was the refusal to fire Mike Wooten the reason Palin fired Commissioner of Public Safety Walt Monegan? Not exclusively, and it was within her rights as the states' chief executive to fire him for just about any reason, even without cause.

Those answers were expected, given that most of the best pieces of evidence have been part of the public record for months. The result is not a mortal wound to Palin, nor does it put her at much risk of being forced to leave the ticket her presence succeeded in energizing.

But the Branchflower report still makes for good reading, if only because it convincingly answers a question nobody had even thought to ask: Is the Palin administration shockingly amateurish? Yes, it is. Disturbingly so.

I have seen some people say that this entire investigation was some sort of partisan witch hunt to hurt Mrs. Palin and John McCain's chances of winning the presidential election. Please let's not forget that this investigation was undertaken before she was tabbed as McCain's running mate. Let's also remember that:

The REPUBLICAN Alaska legislature commissioned the investigation.

The REPUBLICAN commission moved with almost unanimity; REPUBLICANS controlled the committee.

The REPUBLICAN appointed Alaska Supreme Court was the end-all be-all on whether that report was released.

And this time line should be mentioned as well:

July 11th - Monegan fired.
July 19th - Monegan tells Anchorage paper he was pressured to fire Wooten.
July 28 - A bi-partisan republican dominate legislative council board vote unanimously to investigate the claims. Oct 31, 2008 is the deadline for a report to be completed.

Thanks to parsifal and jaymcb over at the Current Affairs forum at STLToday.com for that info.

Quick thoughts on tonight's presidential debate

McCain could not answer a question without getting in several attacks on Obama each and every time. I think the negative tone is going to hurt him. Obama, meanwhile, gave answers that were much too long-winded for a great part of the general public. He needs to say more by saying less. So I'd say McCain turned voters off and Obama put them to sleep.

McCain needed a convincing victory and did not get it. The gloves are really going to come off now as McCain has no choice but to pull out all of the stops. These last 4 weeks (not to mention the remaining debate) are going to be U-G-L-Y. This is the wrong year to go completely negative, as it reminds voters of the divisiveness of the Bush politcal machine. Unless something huge happens in the next few weeks, McCain is toast.

I've got a bad feeling...

It seems that Sarah Palin is now a full-fledged rock star and that Palin-mania is for real. The country is intrigued by her as the numerous magazine covers can attest. Her selection has rallied the GOP fully behind McCain now. I can see this continuing on through the election and I fear that any actual dirt the Dems dig up will not stick and will be seen as "dirty tricks" that will only serve to rally the Palin-maniacs even more. This could be very bad news for the Dems. It may take a major skeleton in her closet to derail McCain-Palin on their way to the White House. Even that may not be enough. With Rush Limbaugh and his Dittoheads (Dittiots?) spreading lies about Obama's tax plan, the Republican machine is rolling again, looking like the steamroller it has been since the early 90's. Couple that with more voting machine shenanigans sure to come in Ohio, and this is looking grim.

Ugh.

Obama picks Biden

Biden was who I wanted to get the Dem nomination for president, so I am happy in that regard. But I wonder how much this really helps Obama's candidacy. Biden is from the northeast and that area is pretty heavily doe the dems to begin with. I don't know how politically expedient this move is because I don't think Biden is going to bring a lot of voters over to Obama. With the Hillary supporters already threatening to stay home, I don't think this helps. I don't think Hillary should have been the pick, but I think she should have been given a little more public respect from the Obama camp. I do hope that Obama publicly announces a major role for her in his proposed administration. That may lead to some healing.

The old plagiarism charge against Biden is being brought up already. I am not sure how much damage it will cause since Biden acknowledged this long ago. But it is ammunition for the republicans and I fully expect them to use that and more. Biden's controversial quote about about Obama being the first "clean and articulate" african-american candidate is already being trotted out as well. What's so funny about that is that Obama obviously had no problem with what Biden was saying then, as he picked him as his running partner. But trust me, you are gonna be hearing a lot of white people telling black people how outraged they should be by what Biden said a while back. Classic stuff.

I am seeing a lot about Obama being ridiculed as the "Chosen One" by other camps. I don't get that charge at all because it was simply created by republican talking heads. It came about by what has been perceived as heavily slanted media bias towards Obama's candidacy. Whether or not such bias exists is irrelevant because Obama has had nothing to do with it. Obama has certainly not proclaimed himself as the "Chosen One" so why that is used against him personally, I don't understand. It is really a slam against the media but it has been twisted by others to actually be against Obama himself. Weird; you'd think if you really wanted to ridicule the guy that you would know the meaning of what you are saying.

For a, *ahem*, completely different take on Obama's candidacy, please check out my buddy Dave's blog by clicking right here. We may not agree on very much politically, but Dave is still my amigo. Rock on, Dave!

She just doesn't get it

Hillary Clinton has vowed to fight on in trying to capture the Democratic nomination for president, even though Barack Obama has a lead that cannot be overcome without some sort of manipulation of the super delegates. Evidently Mrs. Clinton is more concerned about her own ambitions rather than the good of the Democratic party, and in turn, the good of the country.

Senator Clinton has to realize that if she somehow gets the nomination now that a large percentage of voters, particularly African-Americans, are going to feel that she stole it, that she somehow robbed Barack Obama of what is rightfully his. Obama supporters will be bitter about this and will not automatically vote for Clinton in the general election. They may just sit the election out, feeling once again that their votes didn't count. Without a doubt, many African Americans will feel disenfranchised and be disgusted with the whole process. They will not support Clinton and may end up largely abandoning the Democratic Party, which many have accused of taking the African-American vote for granted. By taking the nomination away from Obama, Clinton could set her party back for a long time. You have to hope that she realizes this soon and does the right thing by stepping aside.

There are many things I admire about Senator Clinton. I hope I can soon add selflessness to the list.

Tortured logic

Eric Mink of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has written an excellent article on the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" and the Bush Administration's insistence that nothing is illegal if the President says so. See if you can follow the bouncing ball here: The Torture Memos.