Welcome to The Now

After President Bush's wiretap bait-and-switch doubletalk, there's been a lot of whispers about the dreaded "I" word . Some people/place of note: Editor&Publisher , Tony Blankley , Senator Barbara Boxer , Senator John Kerry , The Washington Post , Pat Buchanan , Keith Olberman and Rush Limbaugh . So I guess it's time to stop making execuses and do a real poll, right?

As of this week, only 8 states have a favorable approval of President Bush , Kansas is on the fence , and the others don't think he's so hot. That's 41 states who don't approve (for those who are counting).

And the West too, apparently .

The recent Iraq elections? Some Iraqis think something shady went down . Maybe they think something's shady because of the ridiculous increases in petrol prices since the elections . And as an American, I can understand why they think something's shady. After all, there's that little issue of Preisdent Bush spying on Americans in the name of fighting terrorism. I mean, I know he basically said that any American-to-American domestic contact didn't get recorded, but is he really sure ?

While everyone debates what "power" the President of the United States has, let's not forget that important document called the Constitution. First of all, the "Commander In Chief" thing applies to the military only . Not civilians. Seccond, he/she must take an oath to " preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States ." You may now resume your regularly scheduled debates (already in progress...)

The BRHT is in full effect now that VP Dick Cheney flew in to cast the final vote on a suspicious budget . But if you believed John Edwards during the 2004 debates , it's not hard considering that Cheney was against: Head Start, banning plastic weapons that can pass through metal detectors, the Department of Education, funding for Meals on Wheels for seniors, a holiday for Martin Luther King, and a resolution calling for the release of Nelson Mandela in South Africa.

New Bolivian President Evo Morales says US President George Bush has become that which he swore to destroy .

Vice President Cheney says that Bush should have even more executive power , and that those who agree are traitors to the cause . I guess that includes FISA judges . And conservative thinktanks . And Congress .

The title says it all......and pics don't lie. Ok, well maybe they do...SOMETIMES. But in this case, we all know Bush isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer on this or any other planet. Care to disagree? If that's so, you can cram it with coconuts, you ugmo :)

Did Cheney finally decide to go to Iraq because Senator Clinton asked him to ?

The WashingtonPost says that President Bush's speech tonight shows his humble side . I'd argue that humble people don't use ultimatums. They don't say things like "Yet now there are only two options before our country -- victory or defeat" knowing that there are people who want to stop terrorism but think the President's methodology is flawed .

ThinkProgress points out how that as former National Security Advisor (and current Secretary of State) Condeleeza Rice should have been aware of Bush's decision to allow wiretaps on American soil (read: spy on Americans). More specifically, they argue that this professional relationship should have allowed her to know what the legal precedent is, regardless of her legal experience. I'll take that point one step further: if Condi is one of the four females who also double as President Bush's confidants (the others being Karen Hughes, Harriet Miers and his mom), she probably did know . She may not be a lawyer, but she knows enough about law not to say anything incriminating on a popular Sunday morning news show.

The House of Representatives is pushing a border-themed immigration bill that doesn't seem to endorse all of President Bush's ideas . I don't know about everyone else, but it seems that the only thing Congressional Republicans are willing to publicly back Bush on is Iraq. Every other issue (torture, Social Security, the Patriot Act) has ended up creating splinter groups. Why? The 2006 mid-term elections are right around the corner (politically speaking) and many Republicans believe Bush has his best interests ahead of their survival. Living in a bubble can give people that impression.

The Senate torpedoed any chance of getting the Patriot Act (aka "Your Freedom for Safety Act") renewed today. But considering that President Bush was getting the National Security Agency to backdoor his plan to spy on American citizens (under executive orders), I'd say the Patriot Act was little more than a formality.

Ann Coulter wants to be arrested. Really .

Finally: President Bush will ask for $1.5 billion in levee repair for New Orleans . But why do I get the impression that he won't be as passionate about this as his tax cuts , the Patriot Act and Operation: You Broke It, You Buy It ? Maybe it's because he's never toured the country talking about how important it is for America to have New Orleans rebuilt. Or maybe it's because he hasn't pressured his fellow Republicans in Congress to put the issue on the front burner. One thing's for certain: noise being made by both of Louisianna and Mississippi is getting too loud.

That fork coming out of Donald Rumfeld's back? Never-you-mind. President Bush thinks he's doing a heckuva job . Why didn't Bush just put a horse's head in Rummy's bed? Or a rose , even?

As we enter the next stage in Operation " Let's Bring Democracy to the Middle East So Their Locals Won't Fly Planes into American Buildings Anymore ," I'm curious as to why the American media isn't really asking who these supposed leaders are and what political parties are gaining mojo . President Bush: " We are living through a watershed moment in the story of freedom ." To bad he can't say the same about Katrina Victims. As you can see, nothing's really changed . And things are getting worse .

32% think impeachment is the way to go as far as dealing with President Bush. While a change in direction may be in order, I think getting a Republican-controlled Congress to even do an investigation is a Herculean accomplishment.

A TV station in Charleston did a survey of what should be taught in shcools as far as the "how did we get here?" theories. Evolution got 12%. Intelligent Design beat it out with 16% but was itself beaten by Biblical Creationism , which got a whopping 36%. 30% thought a combination would be effective. I'd take that as a sign that those of Christian background don't really buy ID, and don't see it as a reasonable alternative to BC.

I didn't get a chance to experience much of Richard Pryor's comedy, mostly because my parents didn't think his vulgarity and blunt honesty was going to help make me a productive citizen in society. Also, the "shock comedian" in my generation was more or less Eddie Murphy (who with no shame admits that he was influenced by Pryor). One thing I didn't know about Pryor was that as he aged, he began to reflect on his style as an up-and-coming comic. One of his regrets? The frequent use of the "N"-word , which means many things to many people.

Just when things couldn't get worse for the Philadelphia Eagles, it does. Now the President of the Local NAACP chapter is criticizing Donovan McNabb. ESPN has a quick take , a poll and President J. Whyatt Mondesire's reaction to McNabb's reaction . I don't agree Mondesire that McNabb is a mediocre QB, but I do think the "I changed my style because people expect black QB to play this way" reasoning was pretty lame on Donovan's part. If being a running QB helps your team win games, why change? Both sides have flaws in their arguments. This bickering didn't need to involve race (which Donovan injected) and it certainly doesn't help the Eagles improve as a team.

Back -to- back -to- back speeches on how good the American economy and Iraq War is seems to be bringing President Bush out of his slump . But will people take this "plan" seriously for long? Of course, Katrina “ has fallen so far off the radar screen, you can’t find it ,” as evidenced by the latest White House updates on the manner.

Aspiring Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito decides he has better things to do than to visit the Congressional Black Caucus . But his supporters said that the fact that Alito has shunned black leaders shouldn't let people think Alito would shun black people as a whole. From Sarah Wall, senior advisor of the RNC: "Judge Alito personifies the qualities President Bush said he would seek in a Supreme Court justice and African Americans can have confidence in. A man of great personal character, Alito has shown a mastery of the law and a deep commitment to justice and equality -- particularly during his time as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, where he's best known for prosecuting violations of civil rights,” Wall said. “I have no doubt, once confirmed, that he will serve us well." Well, I guess that settles that. I mean, it's not like Alito was the President's second choice , right? Whatever. In his absence, let's just remember what his past decisions...

With America two years into the War in Iraq, researchers have been able to do some studies on soldiers who have returned home. Unfortunately, what they've found is far from good news: alcohol abuse and divorce rates among the veterans have risen . Of the many reasons we have to withdrdraw, this should be near the top of this list. Why can't our government/adequately re-intergrate our brave soldiers back into society? Maybe it isn't something that a session or two with a psychologist can't fix; maybe the root cause has more to do with the actual conditions on the ground in Iraq (and Afganistan) than situations that typically affect a soldier in wartime.

I've been under the weather lately, and to ease my pain I bought the first complete season of LOST. So before I go any further, I want any fans who don't want surprises exposed to skip this post; it may contain spoilers for you. You have been warned. Some General Observations: Watching a show's entire season over a weekend as opposed to one episode a week gave me a unique perspective on how things unfolded last year. You notice little inconsistences and your concept of time changes. When you watch a show and it ends, you move on with your life: there's work, housecleaning, shopping, eating, socializing, blogging and countless other things you do before the next episode. Time passes. So when you watch the next episode and a character says, "It's been a week since we did 'X'," and "X" happened last week, subconciously you believe it. But when you watch back-to-back-to-back episodes you're more skeptical for some reason. I checked some...

Yesterday President Bush had a victory strategy released to the public and spoke about it . I would like to do a detailed breakdown of both as soon as possible, but for now I'll says this: Now you have a victory plan? Whatever happened to pre-war planning? The fact this document (and the connecting speech) came out when it did tell me a few things: 1. Murtha's press conference had more of an impact than the White House wants to admit. 2. Despite rumors to the contrary, Bush does care about the polls (or at least his trusted advisors do). 3. This document was released early enough to get Bush's Iraq War supporters enough time to make their rounds on TV, on the radio and online and praise him for "being detailed." Other than that, what else is there to say at this point? Well: 1. President Bush obviously wants the American people to forget that he had wanted to invade Iraq a long time ago . 2. His comparing the War on Terrorism to WWII is not valid and his "s...

Abortion returns to the SCOTUS spotlight. Just remember that Alito is currently jockeying for this job (I wonder how he'd do ?).

Earlier today, Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld made a rather blunt remark about security around our borders, basically saying that there wasn't any. This coincides with President Bush, who gave two vastly uninspiring border speeches on Monday and today about the subject. He did manage to re-endorse his to have illiegal immigrants work temporarily, a plan that has Republicans and Democrats alike upset (I guess he can be a uniter). Bush's tone at home did not affect his policy on Iraq; he still thinks a pullout without victory is wrong . But he's not too clear about "victory" is. Nevertheless, it doesn't stop the military from tapping a 52-year-old granddad . Bush does plan on giving a speech tomorrow. It is supposed to be his most detailed address on progress in Iraq. Some think if Bush begins a pullout (aka, troop reduction) it's win-win for him and Republicans . But I think that would require Bush blaming the Democrats for making such a decision, and t...

Don't you hate it when you take a couple extra days off from work, only to get sick during that time? Well, in my case, it gave me a chance to catch up on my movie-watching, both old and new... Before I got under the weather, I managed to catch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire . Without giving too much away, I think it was better than the first two but not as good as the third. And at the rate things are going, I'm not sure if Draco will ever be considered a worthy adversary. One thing though: I don't see the problem with the "kids" being older than the characters they play; has anyone heard of Beverly Hills, 90210 ? I'd rather see 16-year-olds play 14 then 30-year-olds play 17. Elektra in eight words: Great special effects, good fight scenes, poor plot. Flight of the Phoenix : sometimes movie makers are given a choice of making a movie just naughty enough to get an R rating or diluting it to get a PG rating. Phoenix was one of those movies. The movie co...

As conservative columnist Ann Coulter disgraces Rep. Jack Murtha, Condi Rice hints at troop reduction . Oh, and Michael Brown plans to help other businesses try and not let people die like he did. Hope everyone (who celebrates it) enjoyed their Turkey Day. Now go to the mall and get to shopping! :)

It a sense, Dick Cheney is the perfect Vice President (at least for George W. Bush). There was never a threat of him trying to usurp Bush for outright control of the White House and the Republican Party. This fact has gone along way to building up Bush's confidence and his effectiveness as he's navigated through his first (and now second) term. However, the positives that come with Cheney also has negatives . A person who has semi-presidential powers but no presidential aspirations won't typically care about things like PR, poll numbers or the role of Congress. Why should he; he's not running for anything. As long as his base is satisfied he's done his job. So his harsh words for Iraq war critics (most recently among them Rep. Murtha) should not come as a surprise. Cheney is the only member of the Bush Administration who has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Halliburton will be waiting for him when he finally decides to leave public service again (although his...

Iraq Leaders want a timetable for US troop withdrawal . Will they be added to the list of "cut & run" critics created by the Bush Administration?

President Bush didn't like some questions the Chinese press asked him the other day, so he tried to beat a hasty retreat . Little did he know how analogous his attempt would be to his options in Iraq (video can be seen here ). It appears that with Iraq as well, the exit strategy will not be quick and easy . Oh yeah: and what did Bush actually accomplish in China ?

Wasn't it about a month ago that defenders of Vice President Dick Cheney (and President George Bush) were saying that outing Valerie Plame was not treason, but typical D.C. politics ? If that's the case, than why isn't the same logic applied to those insinuating that President Bush and his administration misled us to war? According to Cheney , such comments are treasonous: "...the suggestion that’s been made by some U.S. senators that the President of the United States or any member of this administration purposely misled the American people on pre-war intelligence is one of the most dishonest and reprehensible charges ever aired in this city. Some of the most irresponsible comments have, of course, come from politicians who actually voted in favor of authorizing the use of force against Saddam Hussein. These are elected officials who had access to the intelligence, and were free to draw their own conclusions. They arrived at the same judgment about Iraq’s capabilities...

Let's take a break from the "Did Bush Lie" Debate for a moment. Being politics and all, proving such a thing in a court of law (public opinion is very different) will take some time and money, and quite honestly there are better venues for both. While it's common knowledge (to those who follow politics regularly, anyway) that Bush has a very small circle of people he gets advice from, it's very likely that he'd blame any "misunderstanding" of information on the CIA. It would then be up to the CIA to prove that they didn't change any information Bush didn't ask them to, which is highly unlikely at this stage. But there's a different debate that hasn't gotten much airtime: what is Bush's responsibility in all of this? When he was declaring that "major combat" was over (a very slick way of phrasing the situation, BTW) under a "Mission Accomplished" banner, I don't remember hearing him mention a bi-partisan Co...

Nat'l Sec. Advisor Hadley told Washington Post editor/author Bob Woodward about Valerie Plame's identity. Woodward told lawyers this during questioning about the CIA leak. But Woodward never really told the WaPo, and he's sorry . If Hadley is indicted, will he resign too? And how much bad news can the White House take before President Bush has to speak on this (instead of continously trying to defend the Iraq War)?

That's a question some are asking. In the past, the area was little more than a refueling station . No President has really "gone" there for anything else before. The country wasn't part of the Coalition of the Willing , so there are no Iraq War ties...or are they? Officially , the purpose is to "discuss with President Bagabandi important issues in U.S. -- Mongolian relations, sharing views on international problems, and affirming the warm relationship between the American and Mongolian peoples." This could be a recruitment run: " children and youth under 35 make up 70 percent of the population and the average age is 21 year ." But considering that only 6% of the country is Christian ( 50% are Buddhist Lamaist, 4% are Muslim and 40% are listed as "none" ) it could also be part of the "We Love Muslims Tour" that Karen Hughes was a part of .... and still is ...with varying degrees of success . Of maybe he's just looking for...

President Bush may lose another ally : British Prime Minister Tony Blair. According to BBC News, there are those who think his time has come and gone . The significance? Blair was the last of the "major" World Leaders that stood by Bush and his "attack Iraq" policy. And by Bush alienating France, Germany and most of the UN, he has precious few allies left to make his "Coalition of the Willing" look legitimate.

Bush went all "Puff Daddy" (during the "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems" video) when describing how he chooses his judges . But recently Joe and Jane Voter learned that 20 years ago SCOTUS nominee Sam Alito was "personally" against abortion rights and some affirmative action programs (if you are a woman or a minority or both you should be a little worried by now). I'm sure some Alito-lovers will say, " that was so long ago !" but regardless it means one of two things: either President Bush wants abortion outlawed (and civil rights reduced) or he's a hypocrite. UPDATE: It's Alito who's the hypocrite . Should a man who lies to get a job be considered for the Supreme Court?

The real intentions of the Senate Republicans were revealed as they knocked down an effort by Senate Democrats to get a commitment from President Bush to withdrawal troops. All Republican Senators voted against this amendment. The Democrats who voted against this were: Bill Nelson (D-FL) Ben Nelson (D-NE) Mark Pryor (D-AR) A lighter measure was adopted . Apparently, getting answers and re-affirming our troops that Iraq will not be like Vietnam was not part of the Senate Republican's strategy. They were really just bummed because the Democrats released their outline for withdrawal ( yesterday ) and wanted to stay one step ahead politically.

Well looky here! It seems that Democrats have ideas afterall. Check out this plan for Iraq (as delivered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid): First, 2006 should be a significant year of transition to full Iraqi sovereignty, with Iraqis taking more and more responsibility for their own security. It’s time to take the training wheels off the Iraqi government. Iraqis must begin to run their own country. In 2006, the US and our allies must do everything we can to make that possible. Second, the Administration must advise the Iraqi people that U.S. military forces will not stay indefinitely in Iraq, and that it is their responsibility to achieve the broad-based and sustainable political environment essential for defeating the insurgency. Third, the President needs to submit – on a quarterly basis - a plan for success to Congress and the American people. This plan must specify the challenges and progress being made in Iraq, timetables for achieving our goals and estimated dates for redeplo...

President Bush prides himself on being clear. I can only assume by "clear" he means "people understand my beliefs" and not "my speeches are easy to translate from politicise to plain 'ol english." Because if he means the later, his ability to be clear is as good as his multitasking skills. His speech last Friday made many points, but there's not much of a consensus on what the overall message was. Normally I could care less about such things (his speeches have never been a rallying cry for our troops, in fact, more often than not it has provoked the enemy more than our allies) but this time it's different. This time around his theme seemed to revolve around making sure our troops are doubt free, but reactions from the masses indicate they don't really know what Bush was trying to accomplish. Or maybe people are just reading what they want to read. I don't know. You be "The Judge:" Bryan Preston (via Michelle Malkin ) believes ...

Didn't I say he was getting battle-ready ? I believe I did. But I never knew President Bush would use Veteran's Day to rehash 2004 Election talking points . Or revisit the 2004 debates. He knows he won the election, right? Unfortunately for Bush, the American people are having Voter's Remorse . Not supplying soldiers for a war that could have been prevented will do that sort of thing. As well as allowing torture (even if you don't publicly endorse it ). And moving more swiftly for Supreme Court nominees than rescuing drowning and starving victims of a natural disaster. Yeah, those type of things tend to bend people the wrong way . So Bush, like any person who is taking a beating, goes to his strength. Unfortunately, the Ol' 9/11 Well is starting to get dry. Most people accept that the terrorists that were behind 9/11 were not the same group of people running Iraq. New evidence is popping up everyday that further proves that the Bush Administration had the CIA use ...

It looks like Virginia has a new governor, and a DEMOCRATIC one at that. Tim Kaine took the election by a 52% margin while Jerry Kilgore got 46%. This election was particularly nasty. A Kilgore ad alleged that Kaine’s opposition to the death penalty meant he would not have executed Hitler. Kaine cites his Roman Catholic beliefs for his opposition to capital punishment, but insisted he would carry out death sentences because they are the law. The funny thing was that President (Boo) Bush came out to Richmond International Airport for a time Monday evening to try to rally support for Kilgore. I guess he didn't realize that he hurt Kilgore's chances because Bush's approval rating being at an all-time low at 36% I believe it was (or is). It was a nice shot of mud to the face of Kaine, but ultimately futile. Looks like times are changing.....

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to be a fly on the wall of 2 people gettin' down? well fellas this is for you! The Carolina Panthers got rid of two cheerleaders who were arrested at a bar where witnesses told police the women were having sex with each other in a restroom stall. Renee Thomas, 20, of Pittsboro, N.C., and Angela Keathley, 26, of Belmont, N.C., were fired Monday for violating a signed code that bans conduct embarrassing to the team or organization, Carolina Panthers spokesman Charlie Dayton said. The women were not in town to perform at Sunday's game between the Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Thomas was charged with battery for allegedly striking a bar patron when she was leaving the restroom. She was released from the Hillsborough County Jail on $500 bail before police learned she had given them a driver's license belonging to another Panthers cheerleader not in Tampa Detectives were trying to determine how Thomas got the driver's license ...

One Shaq injury and now people are writing off the Miami Heat . Jump to conclusions much , people? If anything, the Heat's demise will be because of their new parts (which they really didn't need ). They didn't need a 3-point shooting point foward . Or a crazy-passing, trigger-happy point guard who needs decaf . Or the ghost of a once-decent one-on-one guard . What they need is Shaq, Wade and some selfless role players. What they need is for Wade to figure out that he's the best player on the team. And while they're at it, back Stan Van Gundy as coach and play some defense (it was the Pacers for goodness sakes ; not the Suns ). Besides, Shaq's knee doesn't seem that bad anway .

So Tom DeLay (Republican form Texas and House Majority Leader) is facing a conspiracy case, right? The prosecutor is Ronnie Earle, a Democrat. The first judge assigned to the case was accused of giving too much money to Democrats, making him (according to DeLay's lawyer) biased towards the case (never mind that DeLay's own lawyer has given as much money to Democrats ). So a new judge is chosen. Let's get the trial underway, right? Wrong. Earle comes back: " I'm sorry, this new judge has given money to Republicans. He's biased too !" This could go on for awhile. Grab a chair and get some popcorn.

Yesterday, Scott McClellan effectively told the press that there is a "new" new standard for when the White House will officially comment on issues related to the outed CIA Agent, one Valerie Palme Wilson: Q Kind of a housekeeping question. You repeatedly say that you’ve been instructed not to comment on the CIA leaks case, because there’s an ongoing investigation. Can we infer from that that when Fitzgerald announces his investigation is completed you will be in a position to comment? MR. McCLELLAN: I said I’d be glad to talk more about it after it’s come to a conclusion. Q Well, would that mark the conclusion? MR. McCLELLAN: Would what? Q The end of the Fitzgerald investigation. MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there’s an investigation and legal proceeding. And the comments I make – Q So now you’re adding court cases. MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Bob, I think any time there’s been a legal matter going on, we’ve said, that’s a legal matter. Q No, what you said is, you can’t comment on an ongoin...

Blaze's last post ? Based on this report.

Sorry guys. I know I haven't been around much lately, but I've been really busy with work, school (sometimes I even get to sleep! Yay!), and my other projects I'm working on in addition to The Now, but now I'm back, and I have a funny thing on Kanye and 50 Cent. So here goes...... For those of you who don't know by now, some time ago Kanye said "George Bush doesn't care about black people". Personally, I'm inclined to agree, but it seems 50 Cent doesn't. Big surprise, right? Anyway, 50 told ContactMusic.com that he felt "they responded to it the best way they can". He also said "What Kanye was saying, I don't know where that came from". This isn't the first time 50 (Curtis Jackson) took a shot at Kanye. This past September in an interview with MTV, he said he felt that Kanye was popular because of him, because "After 50 Cent, (hip-hop fans) was looking for something non-confrontational, and they went after first...

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid pulled out a rare rule today (called Rule 21) to send the Senate into a closed session . The Purpose: talk about the methods and investigation that led America to war with Iraq. The Problem? Before this, the Senate was working on the budget. And traditionally, the Senate Leaders talk about doing these sort of things beforehand (it's a courtesy, not a rule). So expect some Republican Senators to say things like Reid doesn't care about America or he wants to have big government. Of course this is silly; any one with working knowledge of Parli Pro or even Robert's Rules know that half the battle in politics is being able to use rules (especially obscure ones) in your favor. Ignorance of the rules is not an excuse. And for so-called policymakers, it's border-line comical that anyone would complain to this degree. I mean, your party has majority control for goodness sakes. For a raw text of Reid's speech, try this out . Or even better, h...

Karl Rove is still under investigation .

It's Libby . Five counts .

As I was waiting to hear news on Rove and Libby's future (which, it seems, will be delayed) last night, I was watching an NBA preseason game between the Golden State Warriors and the Phoenix Suns. I overheard former Wizards coach Doug Collins wax how Golden State was on the rise. Read that last sentence again. I almost choked on my McChicken Sandwich when I heard it myself. Let's get something straight: there's a short list of Cinderella teams in the NBA, and the Warriors aren't on it. Check their previous seasons and their pre-season reccord thus far. this is not a franchise with a recent history of turning things around. I don't care what the survey says . Putting one overrated psuedo-point guard on your roster isn't going to make you a playoff contender. They're certainly not winning their division , and that's the easiest way to get a playoff spot. And considering that they'd got to be better than the Clippers , Lakers , Hornets , Blazers , Wolv...

Now that Miers is gone, many think the President will nominate a hard-nosed conservative to throw to his base (and hopefully improve his poll numbers). I say Bush should do the opposite. Pick someone worse than Miers to show those republican critics how right he was! "But who," you ask? Well: 1. Failed Dot-Commers: They need the work, they're used to big failures, and they have even less judicial experience. 2. Harvey Birdman : It shows that Bush is reaching out to Animated-Americans, and Harvey has won a case or two. 3. Florida Governor "Jeb" Bush : He's not doing so hot in Florida. Help a brother out. 4. Former Senator Bob Dole : We all know how he feels about abortion , so you got that covered. 5. Stephen Johnson, EPA : It's not like he's really done anything . Really . 6. Karen Hughes : This shows that there's even worse cheerleaders than Miers. C'mon, now. It's not like the President wanted a fight anyway, right? His image is a...

Following up on his previous pleads , J.E.B. Bush falls on the sword to salvage his brother's image.

Harriet Miers, the most / best qualified person President Bush could find, has withdrawn her nomination for the the Supreme Court.

Both cocky and comical, Starscream was easily one of the most popular characters in the Transformers Universe. Because of a good combination of good character writing (both the comic book and the cartoon) and the voice talents of Chris Latta , Starscream also became a critical character. I suppose the thing that I liked about the character was that even though he knew it was a uphill battle to rule the Decepitcons, he never made his intentions hidden. His goal was to rule, plain and simple. His methods for achieving this goal, however, was usually a secret until the last possible moment. And his "allies" varied in both loyalty and effectiveness, making his attempts to overthrow Megatron (or whoever was leading at the time) even more entertaining. His downfall, in just about every case, was his vanity. Take " Transformers: The Movie " for example: instead of striking a spiritually and physically weaken contigent of Autobots (a move that would have surely put him in t...

One of the reasons I wanted to do this page was I wanted to have the ability to relate what's going on now to the past and also speculate how it affects the future. Another reason was more common among bloggers: to rant and ramble. I think I'll be able to kill to birds with one stone. For those who don't know, it's 2005. In one fantasy's universe , that was a very important date . Every now and then, until the end of the year, I'll ponder on how the characters involved in this universe still impact us today. Not only will this lighten the mood, but it will be a nice change of pace.

The horrible events of September 11th, 2001 resulted in a death toll between 2,752 and 2,986 depending on your source. After that, President Bush declared a War on Terror that involved going after a man named Bin Laden in Afganistan and then a man named Hussein in Iraq. Bin Laden got away and Hussein is on trial. Some people questioned the reasons for going to Iraq (mainly because the people there did not attack the U.S.) and they were dealt with in various ways. The President continued to insist that the best way to prevent such attacks by people who came from here , here , here and here was to continue to wage war in Iraq. He promised to keep another disaster from harming Americans and we gave him another term to prove it. As of today, 2,000 American soldiers have died because of this particular military strategy. Soon after his second term began, Hurricane Katrina and it's aftermath asked the question: Can the President and his people truly protect us from natural disasters ...

There is a new battle on the horizon: the fight to make Patrick Fitzgerald (he's the guy doing this ) the new villian of the Bush Administration. His supporters -both those close to the President and those just sympathetic to his philosophy - have already started. However, the White House has yet to officially strike. But that doesn't mean they won't . Remember that prior VOTBAs have included: Osama Bin Laden , Saddam Hussein , John Kerry , Joe Wilson , and The U.N . Of course, if attacking doesn't work, President Bush can just pardon every guilty person (unless someone stops that too ).

The Tennessean reports that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist knew what the deal was even though he claimed earlier that he was in the dark: Before : "I had no information about HCA or its performance that was not publicly available when I directed the trustees to sell the stock," Frist said Monday, referring to the sale by administrators of his blind trusts. "My only objective in selling the stock was to eliminate the appearance of a conflict of interest," Frist's statement said. Now : Records filed with the Senate show that trusts held for Frist and his children received as much as $2.3 million in HCA stock between January 2001, when Frist established blind trusts in an attempt to minimize conflicts of interest, and last June, when he ordered his trustees to sell all the stock he had left in the company. Most of the HCA stock was transferred into the blind trusts once family partnerships set up to manage substantial wealth that Frist's parents left to rela...

Awhile back I expressed my surprise at Condi Rice's brushes with racism. After reading Eugene Robinson's article , I guess I can see why. In a nutshell, Rice was sheltered. Completely. Her dad was guarding the house with a rifle at the front porch while she was practicing her piano lesson inside. Her friend was one of the victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing in Birmingham, Alabama , but she's not exactly shell-shocked about the ordeal. Which leads me to this: I guess I can't fault her for her ignorance of the past because she was protected from it. Also, I can't fault her on not getting up to speed because she was never encouraged to do so. However, I don't want to hear anyone using her as an example of the "progress" of race relations. Her whole life has been keep separate from that issue, so I don't see any reason to bring her into it now. I hearby deem this occurence -the situtation of being a minority without going through the tri...

When I read that White House is huffing and puffing over the Onion's latest display in political humor , I was shocked. You'd think that having to introduce a new (potential) Fed Chairman and dealing with inevitable indictments would keep you busy. Especially for a White House where the President is notoriously bad at multitasking. But nooooooo. They have to pick on a group of guys whose "news" is as real as these fellas . Flexing your muscles just to show you still have some authority is hard work.

You can say what you want about Karl Rove's version of Replublicans (personally I agree with what's here ). You may even argue of what his absence may mean for President Bush. One thing's for certain: Rove has no one to blame but himself. His biggest shortcoming? Wanting to be known. True kingmakers are content with staying in the background, operating from behind the curtain and manipulating things from the sidelines. They don't want public recognition. They shun awards. They are suspicious of praise and publicity. But Rove couldn't help himself. Being called the President's "brain" can really inflate you ego, ya know. Once he decided to have an official position with Bush's administration, it was all over. It's like the Loch Ness Monster suddenly deciding to be the spokesperson for Red Lobster. Now we see, without a shadow of a doubt, who you are and what you're about. In short, you've been made fair game.

Before I start, let's remember the one rule about George W. Bush: the man cannot multitask. So, let's say you are the President of the United States. You've campaigned as a religious hardcore conservative even though it's becoming more obvious that you're a borrow-and-spend moderate who likes to use special interests to keep your party together and your opposition fractured. After two questionable elections, a poorly conducted war based on "fixed" information, the worst federal response to a natural disaster n recent history, and the possibility that members of your administration and party may be going to prison for various charges, your polls are low and sinking. You try to boost them by teleconferences and speeches, but it doesn't work. So you try a "presidential action;" something you're allowed to do as president to remind people that you can still be presidential. The problem is, this action (nominating another person for the Suprem...

Timelines regarding the outing of Plame (which Scott McClellan still won't really talk about now that it's obvious someone's in trouble ) can be found here , here and here .

Did President Bush really have higher standards when he was a bright-eyed candidate running for the highest office in America? If so, he should stick to them , even in these dark times .

I don't plan on buying from Wal-Mart anytime soon. At least until they explain why their PAC gave money to an indicted member of Congress... after he was indicted .

Highlights from Scotty's latest press gaggle , which goes over a certain debated photo op : Q So you're saying this was not a staged conversation for PR purposes? MR. McCLELLAN: This is an event where there's coordination that goes on and we work closely with the Department of Defense. They worked to pull together some troops for the President to visit with and highlight important topics that are going on right now on the ground in Iraq. The President is going to continue speaking out about what we're working to achieve in Iraq and he's going to continue talking about the vital mission that we're working to achieve there. The stakes are high in Iraq. This is right up there at the top of our list of priorities. As the President said in the remarks, his most solemn duty and the most solemn duty of our men and women in uniform, like those he was talking to, is the safety and security of the American people. I just don't know if some are suggesting that what our...

The Washington Post tries to translate some of Bush's body language . By the way, what was with all of his jaw grinding ? Is it really bruxism ? If so, which one of the causes could it be? But it's nothing compared to the signals he's trying to give conservatives who still aren't to thrilled with his SCOTUS nominee.

Fox News' own Bill O'Reilly makes a keen observation .

Quick: besides both being presidents, what does George Bush and Bill Clinton have in common? How about a grand, but flawed domestic idea in their second term ? Of course, Clinton had his pre-Monica popularity to fall back on when his idea flopped.

How's this for funny? In Pawtucket, Rhode Island, 2 6-year olds got into a fistfight over a pacifier! yup that's right, a pacifier. This began on monday. One of the children dropped his pacifier and another picked it up and refused to give it back, prompting the boy to punch the other boy in the face, and the boy with the pacifier retaliated. Police then said the mother of one of the boys said she wanted the whole thing documented so she couldn't be accused of child abuse by the school.

President Bush dropped this little gem during today's speech (which didn't make the networks, BTW): No act of ours invited the rage of the killers, and no concession, bribe or act of appeasement would change or limit their plans for murder. Well, that's not what Capitol hill is being told . Nor is it what the people believe . Esecially when it's obvious -even to a history major like Bush- that there were "acts" on our part that invited rage: namely giving Bin Laden (and his ilk) weapons to fight Communism than leaving them high and dry to fight civl wars once Communism was no longer a threat to American Society. The President shouldn't listen to polls, you say? Well, when the polls said that people believed Saddam Hussein was linked to 9/11 , Bush did nothing. In fact, he promoted the theory until the truth was too big to ignore . But there's no reason for denial anymore: there is a link between Iraq and the terrorists who attacked the US on 9/11. T...

If take a good look at the picture on this link , you'll notice our new nominee for the Supreme Court helping President Bush with some documents. First: It these are the "Bin Laden is gonna getcha" warnings we've heard about before, Miers isn't much of a briefer. Second: I've heard of helping your friends get a job, but promoting your own laywer to the Supreme Court? Why would someone need to do that ?