I DARE YOU TO PLAY THESE TWO VIDEOS AT THE SAME TIME

Both our current and future leaders released some videos recently... I will show you both.





If this Barney thing was made with tax payer dollars, I am going to lose my shit.

Decision to oust Dingell must be right, cause Republican Boehner is pissed

A good sign:

House Republican Leader John A. Boehner didn't have a vote in the contentious race for chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, but that didn't stop him from leveling a pretty harsh assessment of the result.

"This decision sends a troubling signal from a Majority that has promised to govern from the center," Boehner said in a statement from his office.

"They moved away from Chairman [John] Dingell [D-Mich.] because he is committed to approaching energy and environmental issues in a manner that protects American jobs," Boehner continued. "It is a disturbing sign that the leaders of the next Congress will be making decisions based not on what is best for the country, but for well-funded special interests whose priorities are far different from those of the vast majority of Americans."

Mr. Boehner, if we kill the planet, what is the fucking point of someone keeping their job? You had 8 years on the bully pulpit to fix it all up. Too late to stroke the shaft of the free market on this one.

FULL STORY on POLITICO

Flawlessly logical: Waxman wins powerful Chair

Above: Queen to King's Level One.

Like my favorite Vulcan, Obama seems to be good at playing 3-dimesional chess. This from Politico:

California Rep. Henry A. Waxman on Thursday officially dethroned longtime Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell, upending a seniority system that has governed Democratic politics in the House for decades.

The ascension of Waxman, a wily environmentalist, recasts a committee that Dingell has chaired since 1981 with an eye toward protecting the domestic auto industry in his native Michigan. The Energy and Commerce Committee has principal jurisdiction over many of President-elect Barack Obama's top legislative priorities, including energy, the environment and health care.

Waxman’s win is a big victory for environmentalists who want a more aggressive stance on global warming from the committee, and the vote showed the powerful hand of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Waxman ally, even though she officially remained neutral in the race.

The ousting of the ultimate Old Bull — just three months before Dingell was set to become the longest-serving chairman in the House — is also a shot across the bow for other senior lawmakers who have enjoyed a comfortable and unchallenged ride in their chairmen’s seats.

And the news of Dingell being dethroned has allegedly sent stocks lower today, another sign that big-business was hoping to keep him around. Sorry guys. It's hurts less if you just rip the band-aid off fast.

Read full Politico article here.

Waxman and Dingell both handily lose Congressional beauty contests, but one will soon be very powerful

This is a small machination in the Democratic caucus that could be very meaningful to making some real progress in Washington. Henry Waxman (California) is trying to unseat long time Democratic juggernaut John Dingell (Michigan) for chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Dingell has held that Chair for quite a while.

As I understand it, this critical position is key in making sweeping changes on environmental issues. Dingell, who seems to be catching on to the climate crisis, has nonetheless been in ardent opposition to auto industry regulation (including seatbelts, airbags, and fuel efficieny). Beholden to Michigan auto workers/voters and well funded by the auto industry, he may continue to hold back progressive legislation. He has been called the "go to" guy for the auto lobby.

In a recent interview on Frontline called "Heat", Dingell denies these allegations.

All that being said, he's not an overall bad guy. He's pushed for regulation and health care in his own right. He's just been a dumb ass on auto regulation.

Waxman, on the other hand, is a bulldog on reform, from what I can see. I believe he has been sent on a secret mission from Pellosi and Reid to unseat (or at least scare) Dingell to help the Obama agenda.

Here's some Bloomberg reporting on it:



Click here to see an clip from the excellent "Heat" Go 2:40 in for the part on Dingell.

Blackwater mercenaries "advise" Romney: This is getting serious, folks.

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has a senior advisor named Cofer Black. Mr. Black is currently the Number 2 man at BLACKWATER, the rent-a-soldier corporation who have been accused of killing Iraqi civilians and appear to have no legal or military consequences for their actions.

Questions for discussion:

• How much do you want a corporate-controlled military force to be involved in the political process of you country?


• How do you feel about a mercenary force gaining power and influence in the United States that does not have to answer to Congress, the US Military or the Judicial System?


• How do you feel about a corporation building it's own military force that not only is on the ground in Iraq, but has BOOTS ON THE GROUND IN THE UNITED STATES?


• What happens when a President's chief military advisor stands to gain billions from military actions?

LAST QUESTION: What happens when a militarily-reinforced corporation, whose soldiers are loyal to a COMPANY – not the COUNTRY – decide that a person, a group, or perhaps a President, is adversly affecting it's bottom line?

C'mon people. Stop judging your candidates on race, sex, religion, or appearance. This is really serious. Blackwater, despite an ongoing investigation and a direct order from the government of Iraq to leave the country, continues to grow in profit, power, and influence. You think Wal-Mart sucks? What about a military corporation with the ear of a sitting President.

Vote wisely. We're on a very slippery slope here. I have no axe to grind with Romney, but he's moving is some shady circles getting dubious info, and we've seen how that has gone since 2001. This is Revenge of the Sith shit we're playing with.

More info on this at: Democracy Now or huffingtonpost.com

Please read my earlier post on Blackwater

Charlie Chaplin: left wing liberal bastard, hates freedom, supports terrorism

I missed most of it, but I just happen to catch the end of some liberal whack-job's new propaganda flick. I think the dude's name is Chaplin and the "film" is called The Great Dictator. Now, I don't know much about this guy, but after listening to his speech (see clip below), I am enraged. How dare he speak this way about our President? Look Charlie, it's obvious you don't support the war in Iraq, but to call President Bush "a dictator"?!? I just hope Ann Coulter tears this Michael Moore wanna-be a new asshole when she hears about this.

His speech features all the standard-issue liberal talking points. For example, he blathers that "we don't want to hate and despise." You want to be soft on the terrorists? Move to France, le tramp. And the part about soldiers being used "as cannon fodder"... a typical liberal not supporting the troops and the sacrifices they make everyday so you can preach your pro-life/gay marriage/stem cell loving agenda. Save your east coast double-talk for someone who cares, Chaplin. I just wish there was still a Soviet Union so we could send your sorry arse into their Godless arms where you belong. And what's with the accent... you learn to speak playing polo with John Kerry? If I was the Vice-President, I'd invite you to go quail hunting... just so I could shoot you in the face myself.

Oh yeah -- and next time, spend a little more cash and get a color camera and a decent microphone. This isn't the 1930s.

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Seriously though, spend a few minutes and watch this clip. It is the last bit from his 1940 film The Great Dictator. Chaplin's words resonate as if he was talking about current events, though it was filmed 67 years ago. The players change though the game remains the same.

Rosie O'Donnell and blonde from "The View" have intelligent catfight on national television.

I know this one is a few days old now. Rosie O'Donnell ("liberal left") argues politics with Elisabeth Hasselbeck ("conservative right") on The View. So why bother doing a posting on it? I actually think that this level of debate is great to see on network TV -- and on fluffy daytime television no less.

Try to find this kind of ernest heart felt debate elsewhere on television... that people actually WATCH. Each one articulately stated her opinion and got heated without tossing coffee. Too bad our recent Democratic and Republican debates aren't as energetic.

It's unfortunate O'Donnell is not only leaving the show, but I hear has actually left. I think they may have started quite a few much needed conversations among housewives around the country. I also applaud the producers for skipping the commercial ques and letting it play out.

Of course now I'm getting physically ill for saying something nice about this show. Next I'll be finding reasons to think "Die Hard 2" was worth watching.

Thanks

While Congress and the Nation at large continue to endlessly debate -- about the President, the War on Terror, and the past, present and future of Iraq -- our soldiers continue to fight it out. Right now it's about 90 degrees F in Iraq, and they are out there, in full armor and aging vehicles. They get paid less that those Blackwater dudes, and have older equipment. Meanwhile, though most of us lead lives not radically unchanged before 9/11, their families continue to face the burden of missing loved ones. Kids miss their parents. Reservists miss the incomes they made before getting called to service. Some will never come back.

As cynical and desensitized as many (including myself) are these days, it might be appropriate to take a few moments to thank the idealists who think so highly of our country, for whatever their personal reasons, to protect it with their lives. Then we can get back to the cookout and the Home Depot trip.

Thanks to all of you, and be safe. I hope we get you home soon.

Image: Three Flags, 1958 by Jasper Johns

"So Tony, wanna bomb that A-rab TV station? heh heh"

So, did the George Dubbya Bush and Tony Blair administrations decide to intentionally bomb AlJazeera's headquarters or was it just some kind of weird inside joke?

For those saying "Al Who?": AlJazeera is the Middle East's version of CNN (or Fox News depending on how bias you think they are). They have just launched an English version of their news site.

This is an objective overview of the recent "Al Jazeera bombing memo" from the ever-wonderful wikipedia:

"The Al Jazeera bombing memo is an unpublished memorandum made within the British government which purports to be the minutes of a discussion between United States President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair. The Daily Mirror published a story on its front page on 22 November 2005 claiming that the memo quotes Bush speculating about a U.S. bombing raid on Al Jazeera world headquarters in the Qatari capital Doha and other locations. The story claims that Blair persuaded Bush to take no action."

This leeked memo has all ready put two British gents (David Keogh, a civil servant at the Cabinet Office, and Leo O'Connor, a research assistant to former Labour MP Tony Clarke) in jail for exposing the memo.

So what is going on here? Was it an accident or was Bush just so pissed that AlJazeera was showing images of civilians being killed in the assault on Fallujah he wanted to bomb it to shut them up.

Anyway, there is a huge gag order in Britian warning news organizations from leeking any more info on this, though many bloggers have posted icons like this one, pledging to publish the document:


And I will do so too. Because Bush hasn't done much to make me think he wouldn't bomb someone and lie about it.

Of course, the Daily Mirror doesn't add much credibility to the report when it shares the front page with "Posh And The Dwarf".

AlJazeera may not exactly be the most "Fair and Balanced" News source. That said, they are a "news organization" none-the-less, and as such, should have the right to blow crappy half-true news out their asses all they want without getting bombed... FOX News' ass is blowing 24/7/365, and no one bombed them yet. Hey I have an idea, maybe Bush should bomb FOX News too, just to make it even? Fox could even use that "FOX ALERT" screen graphic to tell everyone about the bunker busters heading for them.

The Washington Post's Take on this is HERE.
Tried to find a link on the AlJazeera site about the topic, but surprisingly, couldn't find a mention.