Ladies and Gentlemen, DICK

How do they get away with calling Kerry a flip-flopper, and getting that to stick in the minds of so many, when they themselves have flipped, flopped, and pretty much fucked everything up so?

Get ready to shake your head, roll your eyes, and then VOTE YOUR ASS OFF.


From ABC News' The Note today:

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Charles Pope looks at remarks by Cheney from 1992 on the ouster of Saddam when he told an audience at the Discovery Institute that "'the question in my mind is how many additional American casualties is Saddam worth?' Cheney said then in response to a question."

"'And the answer is not very damned many. So I think we got it right, both when we decided to expel him from Kuwait, but also when the president made the decision that we'd achieved our objectives and we were not going to go get bogged down in the problems of trying to take over and govern Iraq.'"

Pope Notes: "The comments Cheney made more than a decade ago in a little-publicized appearance have acquired new relevance as he and Bush run for a second term. A central theme of their campaign has been their unflinching, unchanging approach toward Iraq and the shifting positions offered by Democratic nominee John Kerry."

Here's the story The Note linked to. Click here.

What, Me Serve? (Part Two)

excellent illustration of the case for the troops and therefore against bush from September 17th's Now with Bill Moyers:

MOYERS: There's a poll in THE ECONOMIST this week that asks the question, quote, "How important is Mr. Bush's service in the National Guard?" A majority of respondents said not important at all. Do you think that's right?

PHILLIPS: Well, I'm not certain whether that's what people think. But I think they're absolutely wrong. And partly because the issue of why it's relevant hasn't been drawn very sharply.

As far as I can tell, George W. Bush because of connections, was made a second lieutenant without having to go through all the military ROTC-type experience or the classes or anything like that. And as a result, he's nominally a former officer of the American military.

But he is military illiterate. He has no idea of these things. And we have, for the first time in American history, a President who's a former military man who has no real understanding of the military, has shown no strategic insights, and is probably — there's no historic yardstick — but probably the first person by National Guard definitions to have been the equivalent of AWOL.

Now how you can send American kids over to Iraq with Humvees that aren't armored, without bullet-proof vests, without decent arrangements for transportation and health and do this when you were a guy who didn't show up for your own military training. Didn't take the courses that you had to take to be an officer in the U.S. Services, but he got there anyway. I think this is an enormous issue.

MOYERS: Do you think the past is relevant? He says the past is very important here.

JAMIESON: I think the past is relevant if you can show that the past indicates character flaws that are currently at play in some important policy dispute. So, for example, if you said that the National Guard service of President Bush indicates that he doesn't tell the truth about things and covers them up when it's convenient, then you might say, if you're making that charge about Iraq, that there is a character flaw there.

On the other hand, if you say he served honorably in the National Guard. He did what it took to get to that, whatever that was, even if it was minimalist, then I think it becomes less relevant.

MOYERS: Is it conceivable that the public will say we want somebody who is not truthful but decisive?

PHILLIPS: Well, people sometimes do that. They're not sure what they want.

shame, shame, shame...

What, Me Serve?

Why in the world, if the president doesn't support the troops, should troop-supporters support the president?

Take a look at this nifty little article in military.com. It'll tell you all about the battle of Fallujah and how the military commanders didn't want to go in. But the civilians in the White House said do it, so they did. And that month, April 2004, turned out to be the bloodiest so far for both sides, "liberators" and "liberated" alike

But, hey, wait! Then the president FLIP FLOPPED AGAIN and pulled out against the advice of those with the military know-how as well.

Maybe, just maybe, if Bush had shown up for his National Guard service he would have known one of the "basic U.S. military tenets" like choosing the time and place of battle so as to have the element of surprise.

I'm by no means a warrior, but if our leader is going to send our children into battle he best know what the fuck he is doing.

Support Our Troops!

And if you need another reason, check this out from today's Christian Science Monitor

"Nobody I know wants Bush," says an enlisted soldier in Najaf, adding, "This whole war was based on lies." Like several others interviewed, his animosity centered on a belief that the war lacked a clear purpose even as it took a tremendous toll on US troops, many of whom are in Iraq involuntarily under "stop loss" orders that keep them in the service for months beyond their scheduled exit in order to keep units together during deployments.

"There's no clear definition of why we came here," says Army Spc. Nathan Swink, of Quincy, Ill. "First they said they have WMD and nuclear weapons, then it was to get Saddam Hussein out of office, and then to rebuild Iraq. I want to fight for my nation and for my family, to protect the United States against enemies foreign and domestic, not to protect Iraqi civilians or deal with Sadr's militia," he said.

Specialist Swink, who comes from a family of both Democrats and Republicans, plans to vote for Kerry. "Kerry protested the war in Vietnam. He is the one to end this stuff, to lead to our exit of Iraq," he said.

'We shouldn't be here'

Other US troops expressed feelings of guilt over killing Iraqis in a war they believe is unjust.

"We shouldn't be here," said one Marine infantryman bluntly. "There was no reason for invading this country in the first place. We just came here and [angered people] and killed a lot of innocent people," said the marine, who has seen regular combat in Ramadi. "I don't enjoy killing women and children, it's not my thing."

As with his comrades, the marine accepted some of the most controversial claims of "Fahrenheit 9/11," which critics have called biased. "Bush didn't want to attack [Osama] Bin Laden because he was doing business with Bin Laden's family," he said.

Another marine, Sgt. Christopher Wallace of Pataskala, Ohio, agreed that the film was making an impression on troops. "Marines nowadays want to know stuff. They want to be informed, because we'll be voting out here soon," he said. " 'Fahrenheit 9/11' opened our eyes to things we hadn't seen before." But, he added after a pause, "We still have full faith and confidence in our commander-in-chief. And if John Kerry is elected, he will be our commander in chief."

the sticky sticky downside

as i've said in the past, for me, the absolute worst part of being a military brat was being yanked out of my reality every couple of years. the upside was seeing the world, the downside was the amateur Extreme Makeover i gave myself in each of those difficult, awkward years.

so when i heard the president announce that he was restructuring the military so that tours of duty would be extended to support families and "troop cohesion" i thought that was great. didn't even suspect that the downside could be so malevolent, so evil and so well thought out.

check out this situation at Fort Carson, Colorado Springs where soldiers, who have just returned from Iraq, are being blackmailed into either reenlisting or being sent back to Iraq.

oh, wait a minute, i've got that all wrong -- looky here:

Lt. Col. David Johnson, spokesman for Fort Carson, said, "They're interpreting what's being told to them wrong."

Johnson said soldiers are asked to fill out the form so the Army can determine the strength of the force. The Army's goal is to have cohesive units that stick together for three years with little turnover.

whew. how could i have been so wrong? good thing the bush squad thought of that cohesion thing a few months back...

How can America be so close, yet so far apart?

We are so evenly divided in numbers, and so vastly polarized on issues. Where there used to be a political spectrum, there is now only the political divide. We have devolved into a myopic, colorblind people who see only black and white, extremists one and all.

Is the unruly, inclusive, rebellious Left only truly united in their opposition to Bush? If so, have they not then allowed themselves to be defined by the bullying Bush Squad and their obedient, tractable minions? How did this happen? And was it not the hatred of Clinton - or any other outsider who might have stumbled into the Inner Circle - that united the Right in the first place?

And now it is undeniable that there was, indeed, a vast Right Wing Conspiracy to depose Bill Clinton.

But who could have known that the Right would have struck such a chord with the American/human psyche? One with such resonance ...

Of course, it was simply a matter of time and numbers before they'd happen upon such a strong, powerful, archetypical chord.

That it was Bill Clinton's phallus is just sadistic irony.

Because a big swinging dick is the perfect symbol for how we are all - fascist hippies and anarchist fundamentalists alike - getting fucked.

As Kobe likely said to his former accuser, [name withheld], "Oh no you don't! Bend over, bitch, and enjoy the ride, it's gonna be a long one."

Ha Ha Ha HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

So I have this republican relative and it's absolutely breaking my heart. I mean really hurting me hard, lump in the throat, 24/7, crying like a baby, way down deep, every waking hour breaking my heart.

Because he was my hero.

I could go into that now, but maybe another day... let me leave it at this: he grew up in a home where the n-word was rampant and wife-beating seemed normal -- or at least that's what the legend says ... and he left as a teenager and never did either of those things. Did exactly the opposite, actually. But like I said, I'll leave that story to another day. He was my hero.

Then something happened somewhere along the way and now he's a repug. And we can't talk politix anymore -- which, consequently, leaves me speechless.

But not only is he a repug, he's a Hawkeye-Pierce-kind-of-Army-Veteran yet he supports Bush, dittohead repug... now that leaves me downright apoplectic.

However, we are lucky enough to have the internet where we can share innocuous little scraps of rehashed jokebook humor and the type of cartoons that used to be xeroxed and passed around the office water cooler.

Like this little gem that he sent me today:

Subject: Government Jobs

A guy goes to the Government to interview for a job. The
interviewer asks him, "Are you a veteran?"

"Yes sir, I served two tours in Vietnam."

"Good, that counts in your favor. Do you have any service-related
disabilities?"

"I am 100% disabled. A mortar round blew off my testicles so they
declared me disabled, it doesn't affect my ability to work though."

"Sorry to hear about the damage, but I have some good news for you,
I can hire you right now! Our working hours are 8 to 4. Come on in
about 10, and we'll get you started."

"If working hours are from 8 to 4, why do you want me to come in at 10?"

"Well, here at the government, we don't do anything but sit around and
scratch our balls for the first two hours. No point of your coming in
for that."

I only wish I could send this back to him:

is that you what you did in the army? that was a gov't job wasn't it? i know that my teaching job is paid by taxes so i guess i'm working a gov't job too... i guess since i don't have any balls i don't have to go to work? don't know what i'll tell all those kids that i care so much about tho - i really don't want them to be left behind, so i guess i'll go in anyway, no matter how vilified i am on the radio as i drive to the school ... your son's teaching job is a gov't job too. then there's all those gov't jobs like firemen and trashmen and policemen but you'll never need to use them will you? or you'll never use those gov't doctors at the base either? oh well, let them - us - all stay home as long as we're just scratching our balls, why not? hell, just give us all a vacation, like the prez! he's got the ultimate gov't job of all!

I know that I sound snarky but I'm so discouraged.

I feel literally de-moralized. He really was my hero. He was by no means a big lefty but he taught me that we were all in the same boat, to respect people who were in need and to fight against injustice. Hell, he taught me to care. And half the time he did it by writing snarky letters. He was the town crank with a typewriter. If something bothered him enough it was worth writing a letter. He taught me to care. He taught me service.

Being a military brat is all about service. We are "in the service." Everyone else is a "civilian." My father and uncles and my grandfather and great grandfather were Servicemen. (No wonder I'm an "OCD Liberal" always looking for ways to be of service.)

There was a trade-off being in the service, we weren't as rich as other folks, we didn't get to choose where we lived, but we would be taken care of (medical care, housing, retirement - now those things are all in jeopardy for servicefolk) and we had the privilege of traveling the world and representing this great nation and serving our country. I really believed it, too.

Now I'm so fucking confused...

And I'm sure, if we could have a rational discussion about all of this, he would say that this was just a joke. I need to lighten up. Not take things so seriously. I guess, ultimately, I'm really just a humorless, pessimistic liberal. Looks like the joke's on me.

So while we're at it, let's yuck it up over this little giggle fest too! Why not?

"Just a scratch"



Ha Ha Ha

Might as well give it a try...

Jesus Bombing Bush OUT of the White House