Frank Rich: Hillary is the New Gore - He Sighed; She Laughs

In a column that inadvertently reminds us of the 'liberal' media's assault on reason -- or obsession with weighty issues such as John Edwards’ hair, Hillary Clinton’s cleavage and Al Gore's sighs, longtime liberal pundit and Al Gore basher Frank Rich joins in the media whining about Hillary Clinton’s laughter.

Turns out, Rich sees Hillary as just another automaton like Al Gore:

What I saw on television last Sunday was the incipient second coming of the can't-miss 2000 campaign of Al Gore. . . Like the former vice president, she often came across as a pontificator and an automaton — in contrast to the personable and humorous person she is known to be off-camera. . . Then there was that laugh. The Clinton campaign's method for heeding the perennial complaints that its candidate comes across as too calculating and controlled is to periodically toss in a smidgen of what it deems personality. . . Now Mrs. Clinton is erupting in a laugh with all the spontaneity of an alarm clock buzzer.

Yeah, cause who could possibly find the U.S. media laughable?

This from the liberal pundit who helped put Bush in the White House in 2000 with mindless commentary such as:

Frank Rich (3/11/00): Eight months to go—but hey, who's counting?—and we're stranded with two establishment, tightly scripted, often robotic candidates who are about as different from one another as J. Crew and Banana Republic.

Frank Rich (11/4/00): In 2000, the fool is the guy who works 24/7 and lets us see all the sweat. That would be Al Gore, who is a hyperventilating fount of worst-case scenarios and details we don't want to bone up on (Dingell-Norwood, anyone?). He is the truly stupid one.

Frank Rich (11/18/00): Collectively Mr. Gore and Mr. Bush have succeeded in uniting the country in exactly one bipartisan belief—that neither of them deserves to be president. While Mr. Bush may spare us Mr. Gore's insufferable, schoolmarmish tone, his “affable” alternative is to speak to us as if we've all been held back together with him in grade school.

Gee, I can hardly wait for the general election.

The New Old Frank Rich
From Rich to rancid (all in a morning's post)
That's Rich
NOW DO YOU BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY A DEMOCRAT WON'T BE ELECTED PRESIDENT IN '08?
Hillary Clinton: She Who Laughs

Frank Rich Politics News Hillary Clinton Liberal Media Al Gore 2000 2008 New York Times

Hillary's 'Cackle' OR She Who Laughs Last at the Sexist 'Liberal' Media

Wicked witches cackle and so does Hillary Rodham Clinton, sayeth our liberal media.

From the New York Times, we learn that the first woman ever to rise to the position of viable presidential candidate -- or "hellish housewife" Hillary Clinton -- has a laugh that is better dubbed "The Cackle."

The Times columnist didn't exactly have an original thought - at the very least, he could have credited Rush Limbaugh.

But it seems like only yesterday when Hillary was a humorless and cold and calculating woman bitch with a voice that "'some men' think .. sounds like 'fingernails on a blackboard.'"

And the witch is not deferential, damn it!

But one of the many 'joys' of watching a woman run as a viable candidate for the U.S. presidency is the excruciatingly harsh spotlight that suddenly shines on the everyday sexism that continues to keep so very many women in our traditional place.

And the more they pile it on, the more a vote for Hillary looks like a vote against the sick sexism that assaults all women in this man's world!

That Clinton Cackle
The Last Laugh
Sexism (with a capital S)
No laughing matter
Hillary Laughs at Fox News (video)

Sexist Politics News Hillary Clinton Liberal Media Feminist Witches Cackle New York Times Misogyny Sexism

Bruce Springsteen: Livin' In The Future (Video)

Bruce Springsteen: "Over the past six years we've had to add to the American picture: rendition, illegal wiretapping, voter suppression, no habeus corpus, the neglect of that great city New Orleans and its people, an attack on the Constitution. And the loss of our best men and women in a tragic war."


"This is a song about things that shouldn't happen here happening here. So right now we plan to do something about it, we plan to sing about it. I know it's early, but it's late. So come and join us."

Bruce Springsteen: Livin' In The Future (Live) Rockefeller Plaza Center 2007, NYC

Bruce Springsteen News Bush Politics Protest Music Video Anti-War America

Iowa Instructor Fired for Blaspheming Adam & Eve

Welcome to the Bible Belt, Red Oak, Iowa!

If you want to teach in an Iowa Community College, you should probably be prepared to teach that snakes have a tradition of talking, eating the wrong apple can bring on the downfall of mankind (sic), and the manly ribcage was the precursor to the womanly womb.

In other words, Iowa is preparing students for jobs in the Bush Administration.

Southwestern Community College instructor Steve Bitterman says he was fired for teaching that the Adam and Eve creation myth IS a myth.

And they say the South has a Bible Belt problem!

Des Moines Register

“I’m just a little bit shocked myself that a college in good standing would back up students who insist that people who have been through college and have a master’s degree, a couple actually, have to teach that there were such things as talking snakes or lose their job,” Bitterman said.

Bitterman reportedly uses the Old Testament in his course on western civilization, but teaches from an academic standpoint. “I put the Hebrew religion on the same plane as any other religion. Their god wasn’t given any more credibility than any other god,” Bitterman said. “I told them it was an extremely meaningful story, but you had to see it in a poetic, metaphoric or symbolic sense, that if you took it literally, that you were going to miss a whole lot of meaning there.”

He apparently referred to the story of Adam and Eve a “fairy tale” in a conversation with a student after class, but the student was offended, and threatened to call an attorney. The next thing Bitterman knows, his classroom services are no longer needed.

“As a taxpayer, I’d like to know if a tax-supported public institution of higher learning has given veto power over what can and cannot be said in its classrooms to a fundamentalist religious group,” he said. “If it has … then the taxpaying public of Iowa has a right to know. What’s next? Whales talk French at the bottom of the sea?”

And on a related note: What Does the Bible Really Teach Us?

Iowa Adam and Eve Community College News Bush Politics Religious Fundamentalism American Education

Letterman Compares Bush to Iran's Ahmadinejad

David Letterman jokes about a resemblance between Bush the Commander Guy and Iran's President Ahmadinejad. Presumably Letterman thinks both of these jerks are despised presidents who ignore the will of the people in order to do whatever they damn well please.

Will Congress pass a resolution condemning Letterman?

Raw Story:

David Letterman on Thursday announced a segment on "George Bush vs. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad," promising also that each joke "will be punctuated with a ridiculous sound effect."

..[S]ome of the more interesting comparisons:

"Ahmadinejad: Member of the Islamic Society of Engineers.
Bush: Member of the Chuck Norris fan club."

"Ahmadinejad: Speaks in broken, hard-to-understand English.
Bush: Speaks in broken, hard-to-understand English."

"Ahmadinejad: Holocaust denier.
Bush: Global warning denier."

And finally, "Ahmadinejad: Underlings refer to him as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Bush: Underlings refer to him as 'President Numbnuts.'"

Raw Story has the David Letterman video clip.

David Letterman Ahmadinejad Iran News Bush Politics Dictators America Jokes

Oprah: All Americans Need to See Michael Moore's Sicko (Video)

Michael Moore on Ophrah -
Video clip 1 of 6. . .

Because the health care plans of Democrats Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama are all woefully inadequate.

Ophrah: All Americans Need to See Sicko


Michael Moore Sicko News Politics Democrats Oprah Universal Health Care Single Payer

Krugman: Hired Gun Fetish

By Paul Krugman

Sometimes it seems that the only way to make sense of the Bush administration is to imagine that it’s a vast experiment concocted by mad political scientists who want to see what happens if a nation systematically ignores everything we’ve learned over the past few centuries about how to make a modern government work.

Thus, the administration has abandoned the principle of a professional, nonpolitical civil service, stuffing agencies from FEMA to the Justice Department with unqualified cronies. Tax farming — giving individuals the right to collect taxes, in return for a share of the take — went out with the French Revolution; now the tax farmers are back.

And so are mercenaries, whom Machiavelli described as “useless and dangerous” more than four centuries ago.

Read more . . .

Paul Krugman Bush Mercenaries Politics Republican
News

Crossing the Tennessee Police State Border to Buy Cigarettes Can Get You Arrested

File this one under freedoms on the march. Starting today, Revenue agents from the State of Tennessee will be staking out stores in bordering states in order to arrest Tennesseans who try to save a few dollars by crossing the border to buy cigarettes.

Anyone caught bringing more than two cartons into the state will be arrested and may have their car seized. If this regressive state had an income tax, it wouldn't have to support itself by stealing property from ordinary citizens.

The State of Tennessee has been seizing cars and bank accounts of sick and elderly Tennesseans caught using medical marijuana for years now.

As the saying goes, first they came for sick and elderly medical marijuana patients, then . . .

Knoxville News Sentinel:

Starting today, state Department of Revenue agents will begin stopping Tennessee motorists spotted buying large quantities of cigarettes in border states, then charging them with a crime and, in some cases, seizing their cars.

Under state law, bringing more than two cartons of cigarettes into the state without paying Tennessee taxes is a “Class B” misdemeanor, carrying punishment of up to six months in jail and/or a $500 fine. Bringing 25 or more cartons is a “Class E” felony, with minimum penalty of one year in prison and a maximum of six years plus a fine of up to $3,000.

In addition, the specific state statute dealing with untaxed cigarettes provides that vehicles used to transport more than two cartons “are considered contraband and are subject to seizure,” says a Department of Revenue statement.

Farr said that agents have been instructed to seize any vehicle carrying more than 25 cartons of cigarettes without Tennessee tax stamps. In cases where three to 24 cartons are involved, he said vehicle seizure is “at the officer’s discretion.”

Discretion? Give me an effing break! Revenue agents in this state would be better termed ‘thugs.’ Dressed in apparent flak jackets and jack boots, the cretins have been known to intimidate, threaten, bully, and scare the hell out of elderly cancer survivors before hauling away cars, bank accounts and anything else that strikes their thuggish fancy.

[Disclosure: a few years ago, a family member -- elderly cancer survivor – had his car and bank accounts seized by TN Revenue agents thugs long before he had his day in court for the crime of medical marijuana, at which time he received more punishment.]

Tennessee, sounds like an effing police state to me.

Tennessee Says No to Free Trade. With Mississippi.
Domestic Surveillance
Revenuers going after out-of-state cigarette buyers
What Happened To The Free Market?
Become a felon in Tennessee -- cheap!
But a Carload of Hookahs is No Problem
May I See Your Cigarette Papers, Please?
Cigarette surveillance program begins today Knoxville News Sentinel
Tennessee Cigarette Gestapo
via memeorandum

Freedom on the March Tennessee News Revenue Agents Cigarettes Politics Police State Dept. of Revenue Border States Taxes

Shame on GOP Candidates for Snubbing Black Issues Presidential Debate

The circles in the photo are where former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, and Sen. John McCain of Arizona would have stood if only the Republicans had not skipped the debate at the historically black Morgan State University in Maryland.

Today the white men are suffering from an abundance of media criticism.

Some of the best criticism came last night from the GOP candidates who bothered to show up and have no chance in hell of winning the presidency.

Mike Huckabee: "I want to be President of the United States, not just President of the Republican Party...frankly, I'm embarrassed. I'm embarrassed for our party and I'm embarrassed for those who didn't come, because there's long been a divide in this country and it doesn't get better when we don't show up."

Sam Brownbeck: "Disgrace that the others aren't here. They're sending a message of narrowing the debate! "I'm sorry - I'm sorry to you, and I'm sorry to those watching that they're not here."

And "Representative Tom Tancredo of Colorado noted that he was the only Republican candidate who showed up this summer at a forum held by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People."

Four empty podiums
Republicans Snub Another Debate - Still Don't Like Blacks, Latinos, Gays, etc.

Giuliani Morgan State University News 2008 Politics Tavis Smiley Romney McCain Fred Thompson Republican Party PBS Debate Racism

Fred Thompson Didn't Know About Death Penalty Cases

And the list of things that Tennessee's Frederick of Hollywood "didn't know" continues to grow. Now we learn that Fred Thompson didn't know about the recent headline news regarding the death penalty.

Obviously, Fred Thompson also didn't know that if you are going to run for president, you should probably pick up a newspaper from time to time. This country does not want another president who didn't know there was a hurricane in New Orleans.

One of these days, I will be writing that final Freddie Thompson didn't know post: Freddie Thompson Didn't Know Somebody Else Got the Nomination.

FRANKLIN, Tenn. - Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson said Thursday he was unaware that a federal judge had ruled last week that lethal injection procedures in his home state were unconstitutional.

Thompson also told reporters he was unaware that the U.S. Supreme Court agreed this week to consider a Kentucky case about whether lethal injection violates the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Thompson's support for the death penalty was a major part of his campaign platform when he first ran for the U.S. Senate in Tennessee in 1994. Asked for his response to the recent Tennessee and Kentucky cases, Thompson responded, "I hadn't heard that. I didn't know."

Fred Thompson: Clueless About Jena 6
Thompson Doesn't Know What he Thinks About the Schiavo Case
Fred Thompson is the New Coke Says George Will (heh)

Lethal Injection Fred Thompson Republican News 2008 Politics Tennessee Grandpa Fred Louisiana

Jena 6 D.A. Thanks Jesus for Being on His Side

CNN is showing the video clip of Jena 6 prosecutor Reed Walters standing inside an actual courthouse and thanking the Lord Jesus for saving Walters and the town from "the trauma" that has been "thrust" upon them.

Cause the protesters would surely have turned violent if not for the intervention of Jesus on behalf of white folks.

Never mind the trauma inflicted upon the Jena 6. By "trauma" Walters clearly means all those pesky protesters and the nasty glare of the national media spotlight.

When the D.A. has Jesus on his side, good luck getting justice.

Walters also said "he won't appeal a court decision to put the matter in a Louisiana juvenile court."

Associated Press:

"The only way — let me stress that — the only way that I believe that me or this community has been able to endure the trauma that has been thrust upon us is through the prayers of the Christian people who have sent them up in this community," Walters said.

"I firmly believe and am confident of the fact that had it not been for the direct intervention of the Lord Jesus Christ last Thursday, a disaster would have happened. You can quote me on that."

Reed Walters says Jesus saved Jena from Negro Horde!
BREAKING NEWS: JENA 6 PROSECUTOR THANKS JESUS FOR HIS PROTECTION

Reed Walters Racism JENA 6 Louisiana News Politics Race The South

No Pro-Choice Text Messages for You - Verizon is The Decider

Update: Verizon has reversed its Naral decision! Within hours of the front page New York Times story, the resulting blog storm, and NARAL's request to supporters to send e-blasts to Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, Verizon announced that it WILL allow pro choice text messaging. That was fast!

Verizon Wireless has decided to block pro choice text messages because the corporation judges them to be "controversial or unsavory." So, no Naral Pro-Choice America text messages for you - IF you are a Verizon Wireless customer.

And why would you want to be one?

Verizon Wireless has rejected a request from Naral Pro-Choice America, the abortion rights group, to make Verizon’s mobile network available for a text-message program.

The other leading wireless carriers have accepted the program, which allows people to sign up for text messages from Naral by sending a message to a five-digit number known as a short code.

Sign up for Pro-Choice Text Alerts on Your Cell Phone.

via The Sideshow

Verizon Censors Pro-Choice Text Messages
Verizon Decides You Can't Get Txt From NARAL
Verizon Blocks Messages of Abortion Rights Group
Verizon censors abortion rights group
A World Without Net Neutrality
Nah, There's No Need for Net Neutrality After All
Verizon: “We Can’t Hear You Now” “We Heard You!”
Verizon Rejects Pro-Choice Text Message
Verizon rejects pro-choice texting program
Texting & the Law
Telcos censor anti-forced pregnancy text messages, just like they'd love to do on the Internet, if they get control of it
Verizon Blocks Pro-Choice Text Messaging

Abortion Politics News Pro Choice Roe v. Wade Reproductive Freedom Verizon Wireless Net Neutrality Naral Censorship

NH Democratic Debate Highlights (Video)

In last night's New Hampshire Democratic presidential debate, the top Democrats offer no guarantee that the Iraq War will be over, or the troops will be home by 2013.


Democratic Debate News Dartmouth New Hampshire Politics Iraq

NH Debate: Hillary Is NOT Bill (Video)

One of the lighter moments in last night's debate was when Hillary Clinton said: Hey, I'm NOT Bill Clinton.


Update: Washington Wire: Sen. Hillary Clinton (D., N.Y.) dodged a curveball thrown at her by moderator Tim Russert in tonight’s debate after she disavowed the use of torture against terrorists, even in extreme circumstances, only to be told her husband took the opposite position on Russert’s Meet the Press. “Well, he’s not standing here right now,” Clinton responded. The moment brought her huge applause, and her campaign promoted the clip as “Tonight’s Video Moment.”

Volunteer Voters: Hillary Defines Herself Apart From Her Husband With Force And Wit

Democratic Debate News Dartmouth New Hampshire Politics Hillary Clinton Bill Clinton

Bill Clinton Blasts GOP on MoveOn Ad (Video)

Bill Clinton Puts the MoveOn.org General Betray-Us Controversy in Perspective

Bill Clinton Blasts the GOP

Fox News: The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted to condemn the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org for a recent advertisement attacking the top U.S. general in Iraq. . .

TPM: This one came out of nowhere: The House of Representatives, which of course enjoys a much larger Dem majority than the Senate, just voted overwhelmingly to condemn MoveOn for its ad criticizing General Petraeus. . . An astonishing number of House Dems -- 146 -- voted to condemn the antiwar group, versus only 79 who didn't. That's two-thirds of House Dems voting for this thing. No Republicans voted against it.

Apparently, the Dems were forced to vote on the measure by a "GOP procedural maneuver."

Isn't it just great to have a Democratic controlled Congress???

Udate - Enclave: Cooper Joins Blackburn and House Majority to Fight Newspaper Ads Rather than Terrorism

Bill Clinton Bush News MoveOn.org Republican Politics Swiftboaters Betray Us Democrats

Bush: Yes, Childrens Do Learn

Remember when George W. Bush famously asked: "Is our children learning?"

Well, yesterday the dummy answered his question:

"Childrens do learn."

Childrens may learn, but presidents apparently don't. Why do they let this fool speak in front of children? Bush's statement was made in front of a room full of kids. Teachers were there. It was a made-for-tv event.

The event drew New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings plus teachers and about 20 fourth and fifth graders from P.S. 76.

Only in America do the people elect a president who can't handle the language. Why did Republicans inflict this madman upon the country?

The White House has cleaned up the online transcript.

Bush fulfills H.L. Mencken's prophecy: "On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron." [via]

Funny Bush Graphics

Republicans Bush News Education Joke Politics Miserable Failure

Democrats Debate in New Hampshire

It's debate night! The Democratic presidential candidates debate at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire tonight. The show airs on MSNBC at 8pm central and is set to be moderated by NBC's Tim Russert.

With Clinton way out front, she will almost certainly be the target of some serious attacks tonight. Based on past performances, pretty well no one expects those attacks to come from Obama.

According to a new poll by WMUR/CNN, Clinton leads Obama by 23 points and she leads John Edwards by 31 points, in New Hampshire.

I think we can expect Russert to bring up MoveOn. If so, that means more donations and more new members. Bring it on!

There are 405 more days until election day and 482 more days before we dance in the streets and drink champagne to celebrate the odious Commander Guy's retirement on Inauguration Day 2009.

Democratic Debate News Dartmouth New Hampshire Politics Hillary Clinton Obama Edwards

No Gays in Iran and No Gays in the GOP! What a Coincidence!

Human Rights Campaign statement on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that there are no gay people in Iran:

"Today's assertions by President Ahmadinejad that there are no homosexuals in Iran would be simply absurd were it not for the fact that international human rights watchers have long documented some of the most horrific acts of persecution and violence committed against gay people in Iran. These acts of terror have included incarcerations, beatings, and brutal executions. Ahmadinejad's denial that there are gay people in Iran shows the extent to which he devalues the lives of the many citizens his government has and continues to violate."

Senator Larry "Not Gay" Craig now says he won't resign until "legal determinations" are made. Lusty Larry wants to keep his job. Today, a Minnesota judge will hear Larry's "petition to overturn his guilty plea on a disorderly conduct charge in Minneapolis."

Americablog -- Iran president: "We don't have homosexuals in our country"

Homophobia Ahmadinejad Iran News Gay Politics Columbia University Larry Craig

Iranian University Presidents Denounce Columbia's Lee Bollinger

Lee Bollinger, who has been dubbed the world's rudest host, is now facing backlash on numerous fronts. The Columbia University president's insulting comments to Iranian President Ahmadinejad were such 'fighting words' that you have to wonder if Bollinger is, in fact, a loyal Bushie.

I mean I know Bush diplomacy when I hear it.

A number of Iranian University Chancellors would like to return the hospitality, and so have invited Bollinger to visit Iranian universities. The Iranian academians claim that, unlike Americans, "Iranians are very polite and hospitable toward their guests."

The invitation comes with a list of ten cruel questions meant to counter the ten questions Bollinger posed to the President of Iran. Most of these questions would be better put to the President of the United States, but no one in their right mind thinks that Bush could handle that! Can Bollinger?

Excerpt from An Invitation to Bollinger from Iranian University Chancellors:

We, the professors and heads of universities and research institutions in Tehran , hereby announce our displeasure and protest at your impolite remarks prior to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent speech at Columbia University. . .

Why has the US military failed to find Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden even with all its advanced equipment? How do you justify the old friendship between the Bush and Bin Laden families and their cooperation on oil deals? How can you justify the Bush administration's efforts to disrupt investigations concerning the September 11 attacks?

Read more . . . [via memeorandum]

Bollinger's Jerry Springer Moment

Bush Diplomacy United Nations United States Ahmadinejad Iran News Xenophobia Politics Columbia University America Jingoism Bush Lee Bollinger

Dowd: Ahmadinejad's Visit

Fruitbat at Bat
By MAUREEN DOWD

[...] New York’s hot blast of nastiness, jingoism and xenophobia toward its guest, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, only served to pump him up for his domestic audience. Iranians felt that their president had tied everyone in knots, including the “Zionist Jews,” as Iranian state television said. The Times reports that Mohsen Rezai, a former head of the Revolutionary Guards, was on TV criticizing the rude treatment his president received: “It is shocking that a country that claims to be civilized treats him that way.” . . .

After the Bay of Pigs, J.F.K. and his advisers worried that American foreign policy would no longer seem intelligent. W. doesn’t even try for an intelligent foreign policy. He wallows in a willfully ignorant foreign policy. And this week, his irrational ways were contagious.

The Daily News headline, “The Evil Has Landed,” was one of the milder imprecations. Consider this reasoned analysis from Greg Gutfeld of Fox News: “So the foul-smelling fruitbat Ahmadinejad spoke at that crack house known as Columbia University today.”

. . . Even some in the anti-Ahmadinejad audience gasped a bit as Columbia’s president gave the meanest introduction in the history of introductions . . .

Read the whole thing . . .

Maureen Dowd United Nations United States Ahmadinejad Iran News Xenophobia Politics Columbia University America Jingoism Bush Lee Bollinger

Bush Reads U.N. Speech with Phonetic Guide for Dumb Presidents

Now we know how Bush finally learned how to pronounce nuclear [NU-CLE-er]. A draft of Bush's U.N. speech complete with phonetic spellings appeared on a U.N website before the embarrassed White House had it yanked down.

I'm guessing that the challenged Commander Guy has a grade school teacher write in the phonetic spellings for him. Or maybe Laura does it.

The speech included these helpful spellings for the Poser-in-Chief:

• Kyrgyzstan [KEYR-geez-stan]
• Mauritania [moor-EH-tain-ee-a]
• Harare [hah-RAR-ray]
• Mugabe [moo-GAH-bee]
• Sarkozy [sar-KO-zee]
• Caracas [kah-RAH-kus]

Hmmm, so the new French President's name is Sar-KOzee.

I guess he was just rubbing it in when a reporter asked Press Secretary Dana Perino: "Does the president have a hard time pronouncing some of these countries's [sic] name?

Sounding like she was pouting, Perino fired back: "I think that's a [sic] offensive question. I'm going to just decline to comment on it."

Duh. Like the whole world doesn't already know the answer.

Over at Foreign Policy, we learn that even with all the special help, Bush still managed to mangle some of the pronunciations. That's our Republican pResident! Gawd help us if we can't do better.


The Swamp: Bush speaks of some hard-to-pronounce countries

Graphics via Huffington Post

Bush News U.N. Speech Politics Phonetic Guide Miserable Failure

On Al Gore, the Nobel Peace Prize, and the Presidency

In an article titled, Run, Al, Run, Christopher Hitchens asserts that Al Gore will almost certainly win the Nobel Peace Prize.

And then, and only then, will the beloved statesman make up his mind about a bid for the presidency.

Hitchens says he has informed sources. I take back every mean thing I ever said about Christopher Hitchens.

Slate:

On Oct. 12, we shall hear again from Oslo, and I will be very surprised indeed if the peace prize is not awarded to Albert Gore Jr. . . .

Several people, some of them well-informed, have been saying to me that Gore will wait until the Nobel committee's announcement before he makes up his mind. Should he make up his mind to run, he could alter the entire equation. . . [I]f it takes a Scandinavian kick-start to alter the odds, then for once one can hope that the heirs of Alfred Nobel will have a more explosive and catalytic effect than they had intended.

Send your pleas to: The Office of the Honorable Al Gore, 2100 West End Avenue, Suite 620, Nashville, Tennessee 37203.

Al Gore News President Gore 2008 Politics Democratic Candidate Tennessee Run Al Run Climate Crisis Nobel Peace Prize

Cubans Walk Out During Bush’s UN Speech (Video)

Good news! Bushie didn't call any world leaders "EVIL" in his United Nations speech. Bad news - the Commander Guy pissed off the Cubans when he said Cuba should get them some free elections like we have here in the glorious USA.

Ahem.

So the Cubans -- who hate us for our freedoms and who recalled what happened to that other country that Bush said needed to be free -- walked out.

But if Bush wasn't pissing off world leaders, or doing his best to spark Divided & Warring Nations, the clueless cowboy wouldn't be awake.

Cubans Walk Out on Bush at U.N.

Bushie skipped the U.N. Climate Summit. Some eighty world leaders attended, but the despised Commander Guy simply could not bear to be in the same room with the star of the event, the beloved Al Gore.

Bush News U.N. Cuba Politics Climate Summit Al Gore

Ralph Nader May Ride Again

Speaking of righteous rage and love/hate relationships, the "Ralph Nader Democratic Caucus Campaign Draft Committee" is recruiting campaign workers in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Earlier this year, Nader issued a statement, or threat, making it clear that if centrist Hillary Clinton gets the Democratic nomination, Ralph Nader will ride again.

Of late, few doubt that the nomination is hers.

Americablog: Is Ralph Nader planning to put yet another Republican in the White House?
MyDD: Democrats proving Ralph Nader was right all along!
Raw Story: Ralph Nader criticizes 'spineless, gutless' Democrats for not impeaching Bush

Ralph Nader News 2008 Hillary Clinton Politics Bush Democrats Republicans

Shuster to Rep. Blackburn: When Was the Last Time a New York Times Ad Ever Killed Somebody?

Video: MSNBC's David Shuster v. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn) and the MoveOn.org Ad

David Shuster filled in for Tucker Carlson last night. Poor Marsha! For once in her clone life, the woman's nonstop boring repetition of RNC talking points did not save her. Marsha had a very bad, no good, terrible, awful time, and David Shuster needs his own show!!!

MSNBC shows all the potential of becoming a lefty cable news station. Bleeding heart liberal Keith Olberman's Countdown is their hottest show. Please email them and urge them to give David Shuster his own show. They're hungry at MSNBC, so they listen. viewerservices@msnbc.com

MoveOn.Org: David Shuster v. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn)

Shuster: "Let's talk about the public trust. You represent, of course, a district in western Tennessee. What was the name of the last solider from your district who was killed in Iraq?"

Blackburn:"The name of the last soldier killed in Iraq uh - from my district I - I do not know his name -"

Shuster: "Ok, his name was Jeremy Bohannon, he was killed August the 9th, 2007. How come you didn't know the name?"

Blackburn: "I - I, you know, I - I do not know why I did not know the name..." [Snip]

Shuster: "But you weren't appreciative enough to know the name of this young man, he was 18 years old who was killed, and yet you can say chapter and verse about what's going on with the New York Times and Move On.org." [Snip]
Longer Version: GOP Hypocrisy over MoveOn.org Ad

Shuster: "But don't you understand, the problems that a lot of people would have, that you're so focused on an ad -- when was the last time a New York Times ad ever killed somebody? I mean, here we have a war that took the life of an 18 year old kid, Jeremy Bohannon from your district, and you didn't even know his name.

Marsha Has a Poll on Her Website

It has been totally freeped by dkos readers. At this writing:
The surge is working - give it more time 4.96 %
It's too early to tell - wait and see 0.79 %
Not enough progress - begin troop withdrawal 5.02 %
It's a failure - pull the troops out now 89.23 %

Email MSNBC: viewerservices@msnbc.com

Dkos: David Shuster HAMMERS Repub on MoveOn ad (update 2)
David Shuster Should Sit In For Ratings-Killer Tucker Carlson More Often
Holy Shi‘ite !
D-Day: Blackburn is supporting Freddie Thompson
Memphis Flyer: Maybe Blackburn forgot she wasn't on Fox.
MyDD: YOUTUBE-NBC's Schuster CRUSHES Repub Marsha Blackburn on Iraq and MoveOn ad
Rep. Marsha Blackburn Exposed as Phoney
Crooks and Liars: MSNBC, get that man his own show!

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Father Dies in Baghdad Day After Son is Born

Hendersonville, Tennessee: " On Friday, Mrs. Reeves delivered her seven-pound, 14-ounce boy into this world without complications. . . "

"One day's joy turned to sorrow on Saturday as a bomb detonated as Joshua Reeves' Humvee drove down a Baghdad street. Leslie Reeves, a Hendersonville native who had returned to be with her parents while she delivered, was still in the hospital with her new baby when she learned she was a widow."

Iraq News Bush SURGE Politics Hendersonville Tennessee

Madman in the Oval Office Quote of the Day

"I truly think the Republicans will hold the White House."

pResident George W. Bush, September, 2007

Bush News 2008 Republican Politics

More on Politics and Racism at Paul Krugman's Blog

Paul Krugman has more on the subject of his last column Politics in Black and White. Check out Bubba Isn’t Who You Think-- over at Krugman's cool new blog: The Conscience of a Liberal.

Paul Krugman Racism JENA 6 Louisiana News Politics Race The South

The Ugly Side of the G.O.P.

Anti-Black
By Bob Herbert

I applaud the thousands of people, many of them poor, who traveled from around the country to protest in Jena, La., last week. But what I’d really like to see is a million angry protesters marching on the headquarters of the National Republican Party in Washington.

Enough is enough. Last week the Republicans showed once again just how anti-black their party really is. The G.O.P. has spent the last 40 years insulting, disenfranchising and otherwise stomping on the interests of black Americans. Last week, the residents of Washington, D.C., with its majority black population, came remarkably close to realizing a goal they have sought for decades — a voting member of Congress to represent them.

A majority in Congress favored the move, and the House had already approved it. But the Republican minority in the Senate — with the enthusiastic support of President Bush — rose up on Tuesday and said: “No way, baby.”

… The Republican debate is scheduled for Thursday. But Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson have all told Mr. Smiley: “No way, baby.”

Read more . .

Racism Giuliani D.C. News 2008 Politics Tavis Smiley Romney McCain Fred Thompson Republican Party PBS Debate Racist GOP

Hillary 'Beats Up' 5 Guys on 5 Talk Shows (TPM Video Highlights)

Hillary Laughs at Fox News

My favorite of the talk show hightlights are the moments when Hillary is laughing at Fox News guy Chris Wallace. Clinton should go on Fox and laugh at the fools more often. Her reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. Admittedly, I did not check with Rush and his league of goons. According to Chris Matthews, Hillary went on five talk shows and beat up five guys. And one of Matthews' guests opined that Hillary ate them for breakfast!

Scroll down for the question of the day. Seriously.

Hillary Laughs at Fox News

via TPM: Resistance is futile!

Can Clinton Be Stopped? -- The Hillary Clinton who appeared on five Sunday morning shows was a formidable political candidate: poised, polished, knowledgeable. The package she presented was designed to send a message to her Democratic rivals: catch me if you can.

Bush: Hillary Clinton Will Be Democratic Nominee

Hillary Clinton Bush News 2008 Gender Politics Media Talk Shows Fox News Chris Wallace

Harold Ford for DLC Governor of Tennessee? Can't We Get Lieberman?

It was bad enough thinking about Billie Frist's dream -- everybody else's nightmare -- of becoming Tennessee's most incompetent governor. Now we have to contend with Fox News Democrat Harold Ford's dream too?

Gee, maybe Joe Lieberman will come on down and join in the race to finish the state off. I mean social scientists already refer to Tennessee as a third world state.

Fortunately, the country is moving left and by the time the homophobic Frist and Ford incompetent peas in the same rightwing theocratic pod get a shot (in 2010), we will have universal healthcare and we will have some Democrats who actually represent the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party. Yes, a novel concept, known in some circles as the inevitable Bush legacy.

In the meantime, all I can say about the Tennessee church lady's favorite DLC DINO candidate is YUCK!

Nashville City Paper: A close advisor to former Congressman Harold Ford Jr. met with prominent Tennessee Democratic Party officials recently to talk about Ford’s interest in running for governor in 2010. . . The main topic discussed in the meetings is Ford’s interest in running for governor in 2010. . . Tom Lee, a Nashville attorney who advised Ford during the Senate campaign, sat in on one of the meetings and said Ford is “deeply interested in public service.”

“And we felt it was important to let people know that he is seriously looking at running for governor in 2010,” Lee said.

via Volunteer Voters
The Cat Killer Wants to Be Governor
Frist v. Ford for Governor?
Governor Ford?
Ford to chat with NRA

Harold Ford Bill Frist Democratic Party News Tennessee Politics DLC Governor Fox News DINO Homophobic

Attorneygate: Rachel Paulose Investigated for Racism, etc.

Is it just me, or is racism breaking out all over the country? The U.S. Attorney in Minnesota, Rachel Paulose is under investigation for castigating one of her employees with terms such as: "fat," "black," "lazy" and "ass."

If you think this U.S. Attorney sounds like someone who was handpicked by the Gonzales Justice Department, well, gee, how did you guess? Paulose is a former special assistant to Alberto Gonzales and one of Monica Goodling's best friends. Is there any other way to get a job in the Bush Administration?

Paulose was one of more than a dozen Bush administration insiders who were appointed to U.S. attorney posts under Gonzales. Her predecessor, veteran prosecutor Thomas B. Heffelfinger, had been identified as a potential firing candidate by senior Justice aides, but he resigned on his own in early 2006 and said he never knew he had been targeted. . . Former Gonzales aide Monica M. Goodling testified at the House Judiciary Committee in May that Paulose's conservative credentials were one reason that she was appointed as interim U.S. attorney in early 2006 instead of another candidate.

The alleged racist is also under investigation for some other crimes:

The federal Office of Special Counsel is looking into allegations that she “mishandled classified information, decided to fire the subordinate who called it to her attention, retaliated against others in the office who crossed her, and made racist remarks about one employee.”

And the Bush Administration just keeps on imploding. [via]

Attorneygate Bush Rachel Paulose News 2008 Politics Minnesota Gonzales Racism Republicans