Loathing Gonzales !

Here's his sanctimonious mug....

...the faces of his sycophants behind him tell the whole story.


Aviation Pro: democraticunderground.com
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"Hello to our friends and fans in domestic surveillance."

The 18 Percent Congress

By David Swanson

If you were a member of Congress, wouldn't you behave completely differently from how most members of Congress behave? I mean, if you had not gone through the process required to become a congress member, but just suddenly became one tomorrow, wouldn't you behave as though you had an ounce of decency? Wouldn't you take your responsibility at least as seriously as your power and your ego? Wouldn't you at a bare minimum seek to represent the wishes of the majority of your constituents, the way you were taught in elementary school a representative is supposed to represent? I have to assume you would, as I assume I would, as I assume a majority of Americans would.

If I were a member of Congress, I would be constantly polling my constituents to find out their views of an issue. And if I felt passionately that they were wrong, I would seek to persuade them. If I could not persuade them, I would vote their view rather than my own. My own view would be suspect in my own mind, not that of a majority of my constituents living outside the Beltway and its influences. And if my constituents' views were too unpopular with moneyed interests to bring in the funds needed to reelect me, then I just wouldn't be reelected. But, of course, all of us with that attitude will never be elected in the first place.

There are people (18 percent of the country) who approve of Congress right now. That's a smaller percentage than believe in UFOs. I'm not going to try to explain it. The other 82 percent are of more interest. Some of them simply oppose anything run by Democrats. Some of them are fed up with the Democrats' refusal to stand up to the Republicans. Some blame the Republicans even though they're the minority. Others find little of any use in either party, but are passionate about the growing gulf between Congress and the people it supposedly represents.

Congressman Jerrold Nadler recently told some of his constituents that he knows that a majority of them want Bush and Cheney impeached, but that he doesn't think they've thought it through, that they would come to regret it and blame him for it if he acted on their demands. But if we don't have a public that is capable of thinking things through, then we have a bigger problem on our hands than even a criminal president and vice president. Nadler would seem to have given up on the idea of a democracy, not in Iraq but here in the United States. If he has an argument for why impeachment is a bad idea, he should make it publicly. Then he should poll his constituents. If he hasn't changed their mind, then he should act on their wishes. I guarantee they would not blame him for doing so.
Con't

if Gore did what Bush isdone, no doubt CM wld. be fine w/it all!

Submitted by dr on Sun, 08/19/2007 - 3:01pm.
that was pretty good.
Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 08/19/2007 - 12:32pm.
do my eyes deceive...a compliment in here...damn..watch the skies

____________

I expect folks ain't been remiss to hand outta a compliment to you b/c they're stingy, CM.

It's more on account of you seldom say anything that ain't just been salvaged outta the rancid vats of ditto-head septic tanks.

Or it might could be b/c you take a sadist's delight in irritating folks w/the sophist's bad-faith sport of setting up and knocking down pathetic straw-men arguments and then rustling yer pom-poms 'n declaring, "Oh, my, what a clever boy am I! Liberals suck! Conservatives rule! Yay! Goooo team!"

It's a tired, mean-spirited, deceitful shtick that any of us can get any day of the week from Rush "the Oxycontin Kid" Limbaugh or Sean "Who Knew Jughead Hadda Evil Twin?" Hannity or Bill "Feel My Falafel of Love!" O'Reilly or Michael "Yeah, So I'ma Closet Wiener, So What!" Savage.

The iron law of movement-conservative barratry: reactionary sophistry is the very flotsom and jetsam upon which rats and their assorted parasites cling to when they abandon a transparently sinking ship.

Liberal smoking bans? The menace of global warming? That's the best you can do, CM? In our times? In these times? Methinks the movement-conservative doth protest too much.

Reflexive pearl-clutching over the unspeakable horrors of the liberal nanny-state while gamely ignoring actual authoritarian measures like government-sanctioned torture, the abdication of the 4th amendment, the on-going illegal NSA wire-tapping, and the hijacking of the U.S. military (and Constitution) against the will of the people and then daring -- fucking daring -- the Congress to call the executive's bluff by declaring a Constitutional crisis that somehow (gasp!) doesn't involve a blowjob, well, nothing short of impeachment would even begin to placate you, CM, if a Democrat had done any -- a.n.y. -- of the things that Bush has done. 'Fact, right now, this very moment, CM, if a Dem had done any of what Bush has done, you'd be shrieking from the treetops like a howler monkey (hypocritically, 'course, but rightly, for a blessed change) about how a "lawless authoritarian rogue presidency" is undermining our basic American freedoms and liberties and values and must be stopped.

But b/c Bush calls himself a "conservative", and b/c you identify yourself as what Bush calls himself, and b/c the toadies who follow Bush call themselves "conservative", and b/c you respect these toadies, you check your conscience at the door and willfully ignore the (transparent, on-going, unremitting) travesties of (movement-conservative) governance, travesties that you would not fucking dream of remaining silent about if those measures were initiated, much less enacted, by anyone but "one of your own".

I call bullshit, CM.

Specifically, I call reflexive, ditto-head, party-over-country, tribalistic bullshit.

Here's a deductive exercise for you, CM. Do you expect our boy-king to reign forever? Is it possible ("gasp! noooooo!") a Democrat could win the White House next cycle?

Maybe you oughtta think about how awful your life will be if ("horrors!") Hillary inherits the "unitary powers" that Cheney/Bush seek to establish and make precendentary.

(It's enough to make a reactionary hysteric like you join the local right-wing militia, I expect. Course, maybe the masochist in you would secretly delight in such a development. A valid reason to vilify Dems/liberals? What self-disrespecting movement-conservative wouldn't exult in that? After all, if it's bad for the country but CM still gets to deride liberals, then no matter the cost, it's all worth it, right?)

Jesu-Maria, but I am sick beyond belief of the shrieking harpies of the right who would never dream of allowing the offenses committed by the Bush administration to perpetuate and metasticize but for the embarrassing-but-true fact that Bush is (supposedly) "one of them". So it's all OK.

That says, forcefully, CM, that you are willing to allow the country to go to shit merely to assuage your wounded vanity. Evidently, you have that pathetically selfish distinction in common w/our pundit class.

But hey, go on beating the drum about Gore crying wolf! Beware the "scare-mongering of the liberal global-warming hoax"! (The new Green menace!)

Someone might actually ask us all to stop shitting in our collective beds, and Lord knows we wouldn't want that.

After all, that's just the way movement conservatives like it.

Pig, meet shit. Roll as desired.

Domestic Surveillance !

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See Ya Karl!Don't Let the Door Hit Ya in The Ass on the Way Out!

Ya Pig!!
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Who are these people?

Who are these people?
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 08/13/2007 - 2:06pm.
These will also provide insight relating to "our" trolls,
as if you need that. ;)

Opus!

Limbaugh's fan base, an inside look.

Digby on Illegal Spying and Unitary Executive Power

Queen Bycicle race

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)-my response to Repub.Congressional Hacks!

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)-my response to Repub.Congressional Hacks!

I wish Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) was my congressperson!This man knows what the Hell is going on!And,that snippy Repuke congressional Hack standing up and demanding that Rep.Nadler's remarks about Bush's illegal act's be taken out of the record!That makes me want to throw-up!"Patooie!"included!

That's like the second time in aweek some Republican Congressional Hack has stood up to do that!It might not be in the congressional record anymore Asshole.But,Anyone who dosen't have Political Syphilis of the brain knows Damn well those Statements are True,and Should be keeped in the Congressional record.Bullshit in,Bullshit out!Illegality in,Illegality out!To those Repuke congressional hacks damnding that the Congressional record be cleaned of The Truth,I say"Ihope your Children are Proud!"If they only knew Asshole!!

And,to "I withdraw my truthful and accurate statement..."Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)
children.You should be Very Proud of your Father!He is a Very Good Man!

Tonight's e-mail to my Congressional DemBots!

Vote 'em Out

by Dover Bitch

Personally, I thought this part was pretty good while it lasted:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

*******
The Democrats have seriously alienated a significant portion of their base and they will not replace those voters with the Fox News viewers they sought to appease. It's not easy to win an argument (if it's possible at all) against people who claim there's no difference between the parties. Right now, the results are the same as they were seven months ago.

The goal, however, has to be to change the composition of the Democratic Party. There is no alternative that has a better chance of success. The only other choice is to give up. Why do that?

We need better Democrats. There are too many right now who are totally worthless.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/vote-em-out-by-dover-bitch-digby-is-in.html

Ps.You know what damage the Bush Adminastration can do in 6 months! So,I don't want to hear your excuse that this FISA Bill is only good for 6 months..

Please Impeach! Thank you.

Rep.Sheila Jackson Lee On FISA

Submitted by toniD on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 8:51am.
Sheila Jackson Lee On FISA
By Jane Hamsher on Sat Aug 4, 2007 at 10:30 pm

Democrats cave in to Bush

Democrats cave to Bush on expanded spying

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"We're hugely disappointed with the Democrats,'' said Caroline Fredrickson, legislative director for the American Civil Liberties Union. `"The idea they let themselves be manipulated into accepting the White House proposal, certainly taking a great deal of it, when they're in control - it's mind-boggling.''

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,,-6827014,00.html

Bernie Sanders rips into Budget Office nominee

Submitted by toniD on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 12:15am.

Bernie Sanders rips into Budget Office nominee
By: Nicole Belle @ 1:16 PM - PDT


Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) does an incredible job of questioning Bush’s nominee for the White House Budgeting office Jim Nussle. Listen to him and please, if you’re so inclined, let him know how much you appreciate him looking out for the average American.

$32 BILLION to the Walton family alone, but we couldn’t come up with federal funds to fix the bridge in MN?

State decides to secure electronic voting machines

Secretary of State orders more precautions be taken against tampering, and withdraws support of the InkaVote Plus machines used in Southern California.
By Jordan Rau and Hector Becerra, Times Staff Writers
August 4, 2007

During Politicized FISA

Submitted by toniD on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 12:40am.
During Politicized FISA Debate, Nadler Forced To Withdraw ‘Truthful And Accurate Statement’ That Bush Broke The Law
Yesterday, under heavy political pressure from the White House, the Senate approved a bill that provided expansive spying authority for the Bush administration. The White House had earlier rejected a compromise bill that provided powers sought by the Director of National Intelligence, opting instead to play politics with the issue.

Moments ago, the House passed the White House-backed Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) bill by a 227-183 vote.

During the heated House floor debate over the legislation, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) said the White House-backed FISA legislation was nothing more than a political ploy:

This bill is what Karl Rove and his political operatives in the White House have decided they need to win elections. That’s not national security. That’s political warfare.

I do not believe we will soon be able to undo this damage. Rights given away are not easily regained. This bill is not needed to protect America from terrorists. The only purpose of this bill is to protect this administration from its own political problems and cynicism, and its own illegal actions it has taken outside the law without any authorization.

In a symbolic move that reflected the efforts by many conservatives to politicize the FISA debate, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) immediately rose and asked that Nadler withdraw his statement that the Bush administration had conducted illegal activities.

After some pause, Nadler said he would withdraw his “truthful and accurate statements” in order to proceed with the floor debate. Issa, unhappy with Nadler’s retraction, said, “He is not withdrawing it if he claims they’re accurate.” Nadler responded, “I’m withdrawing them without any reservation but I retain my opinion.” Watch it:


Issa’s comments reflected the nature of the FISA debate — conservatives were more concerned with providing political cover for the White House than passing legislation that addressed national security concerns.

Nadler’s comments are hardly inaccurate. The current FISA debate was precipitated by the fact that a court had ruled the administration’s spying actions were outside the law. Just this week, Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) revealed a secret court ruling that found “a key element of the Bush administration’s wiretapping efforts illegal.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2007/08/04/nadler-issa-fisa-politics/

Neoconservative Group Linked to Rampant Idiocy

Submitted by bibimimi on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 1:16pm.

August 3, 2007
Associated Press

WASHINGTON, DC.— Political observers say they have observed cherry picked intelligence linked to the slaying of countless Iraqi citizens and close to 3,600 American soldiers during a series of strategic releases and cynical manipulation of public fear and opinion.

Colleagues said Richard Perle, William Kristol, noted idiot Douglas Feith, and other members of the Project for the New American Century had been working on a story about remaking the Middle East. They sold the film rights to the Bush Administration who within 5 years time blew the thus-far over trillion dollar budget and have yet to produce anything but death, destruction, disease and auto-ethnic cleansing. When plague theory ultimately runs it's course, the film reportedly will finance itself with untold reserves lying beneath the sand and corpses.

--no link. see? any monkey...

Is Thursday Good For You?

Submitted by Crank Bait on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 11:42am.

dan,
On one side of the political influence balance there is the cash and lobbyists of wealthy citizens and companies.

On the other side is a large group of people gathering together with a common goal.

The cash and lobbyists continue to work for their wealthy masters while the wealthy masters are on the golf course, whereas the large group of people must take a day off from work.

The deck is kinda stacked...

Republican Sexcapades

Voting Officials Face New Rules to Bar Conflicts

We Have a Big Conflit of Interest in San Diego!

In San Diego, for example, after being the chief elections officer for over a decade, Deborah Seiler went to work in 1991 as a customer service and sales representative for two voting machine vendors. In 2004, she left the industry to become a top election official again, first in Solano County and now in San Diego, where one of her duties is to negotiate contracts for purchases of voting machines or services used in her county.

Con't

Democrats Plan to Assess Voting State by State

NYT:
By JACQUELINE PALANK
Published: August 2, 2007
WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 — The Democratic Party will announce on Thursday a state-by-state effort to identify potential problems in how elections are administered before the 2008 presidential election.

In the 2000 and 2004 elections, there were widespread instances of voters being turned away from the polls because of a shortage of voting machines or the illegal removal of their names from registration lists. And despite changes made in federal election law in 2002, the 2004 election demonstrated that many states and localities were not enforcing them.

The committee will ask staff members to interview election officials in the country’s more than 3,000 counties, said Anna Martinez, director of the committee’s voting rights institute. Ms. Martinez said the interviews would address type of voting machines, how many are sent to a polling place and how absentee ballot requests and voter registrations are handled.

The 2002 law expanded the government’s role in regulating elections and voter registration.
Con't