Worst...president...ever
Ca. reporter meets White House correspondent/heroine Helen Thomas:

She seemed to have sympathy and affection for everyone but George W. Bush, a man who she said is rising on a wave of 9/11 fear - fear of looking unpatriotic, fear of asking questions, just fear. “We have,” she said, “lost our way.”

Thomas believes we have chosen to promote democracy with bombs instead of largess while Congress “defaults,” Democrats cower and a president controls all three branches of government in the name of corporations and the religious right.

“This is the worst president ever,” she said. “He is the worst president in all of American history.” - link. Word.


Why didn't you smack bowtie-boy with this a few times last night, Begala??
Democrats.com is asking "isn't it time for the NY Times and the rest of the corporate media to tell the truth about Bush and abortion? First, on policy and personnel issues Bush is an anti-abortion extremist. Second, Bush is an utter hypocrite because - according to the usually reliable Larry Flynt - his own girlfriend had an abortion in Texas when it was still illegal before 1973. This is a story all of the White House reporters knows, but no one will report."

...............fume..............

Prosecutors find 100 uncounted ballots in Elections Supervisor Oliphant's Office
Hi Jeb! State prosecutors have found a tray of unopened absentee ballots that the Broward County elections office never counted during the September primary. The ballots were postmarked as early as a week before the election and appeared to contain all the necessary information to have been deemed valid votes, sources said. Prosecutors found about 100 ballots in a mail tray inside a file cabinet at Elections Supervisor Miriam Oliphant's Fort Lauderdale office during a search late Tuesday afternoon. - link.

Update
Jerry Thacker has withdrawn his name under pressure after characterizing AIDS as the "gay plague." - link.

Things that make you go 'hmmmmmmmmm...'
U.S. Jobless Claims Rise by 18,000: The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose by 18,000 last week, story here.

Prove it, you unpatriotic traitorous commies! The Wall Street Journal last week quoted oil industry officials saying that the Bush administration is eager to rehabilitate the Iraqi oil industry. According to the officials, Mr Cheney's staff held a meeting in October with Exxon Mobil Corporation, ChevronTexaco Corporation, ConcocoPhilips, Halliburton, but both the US administration and the companies deny it. - From The Guardian.

Affirmative asshole: Even with all the tutoring he received, for example, Bush's mediocre grades at Andover and his SAT scores would not have qualified him for Yale were it not for the historical affirmative action policy for whites known as "legacy admissions," whereby the scions of alumni are let into the most prestigious Ivy League colleges through the back door. - Robert Scheer.

"Christ can rescue the homosexual." Compassionate conservative Bush selected Jerry Thacker, a Pennsylvania marketing consultant who has characterized AIDS as the "gay plague" and called homosexuality a "deathstyle," to serve on the Presidential Advisory Commission on HIV and AIDS. Thacker is a graduate of Bob Jones University and was a "member of the university faculty for seven years." - The San Francisco Chronicle.

"When Iraq is liberated, you will be treated, tried, and persecuted as a war criminal." - the Oaf of Office, Washington, DC, 1/22/03.

NBC-WSJ Poll Shows Bush Under 50% In 2004 Matchup With Kerry
This just in, at drudgereport: A new NBC/WSJ poll shows: 41% "will probably vote for President Bush" if he runs for reelection in 2004; 34% will "probably vote for the Democratic candidate"; 3% will "vote for another party's candidate"; 16% said it "depends on who his opponent is"; 6% were not sure. -- 48% would vote for Bush; 31% would vote for John Kerry; 4% said it depends; 3% said neither/other; 14% were not sure. -- 51% would vote for Bush; 32% would vote for Richard Gephardt; 3% said it depends; 6% said neither/other; 8% were not sure. -- 50% would vote for Bush; 34% would vote for Joe Lieberman; 3% said it depends; 5% said neither/other; 8% were not sure.

Hey - Saddam is evil and must be destroyed!

“Bush league war”
Still living in a happy little fantasy land, where a benevolent, morally-clear statesman - handpicked by Jesus - works to make our world a better place? Read this and then tell me Rummy and pResident Evil don't sound absolutely insane:

"This is not Desert Storm,” one of the Joint Chiefs told Rumseld. “We don’t have the backing of other Middle Eastern nations. We don’t have the backing of any of our allies except Britain and we’re advocating a policy that says we will invade another nation that is not currently attacking us or invading any of our allies.”

An angry Rumsfeld, who backs Bush without question, is said to have told the Joint Chiefs to get in line or find other jobs. Bush is also said to be “extremely angry” at what he perceives as growing Pentagon opposition to his role as Commander in Chief.

“The President considers this nation to be at war,” a White House source says, "and, as such, considers any opposition to his policies to be no less than an act of treason.”

Sources say the White House has ordered the FBI and CIA to “find and document” links between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

“The implication is clear,” grumbles one longtime FBI agent. “Find a link, any link, no matter how vague or unproven, and then use that link to justify action against Iraq.” - Doug Thompson, at Capitol Hill Blue.

Good God.

NBC/Wall Street Journal Poll: Bwwwaaaaaahaha!!
"President Bush’s popularity ratings - once among the highest of any president in the past 60 years - are eroding across the board, according to a new NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll. Bush is losing ground in several key areas, including foreign policy, the economy and his handling of the war on terrorism.

"The poll of 1,025 adults, sampled for opinions between Jan. 19 and 21, showed the president’s approval numbers moving steadily downward over the past seven weeks.

"The data indicate that Americans are increasingly dissatisfied with important aspects of Bush’s performance in the Oval Office. The president’s overall approval rating slipped to 54 percent, down from December’s 62 percent." Read the whole glorious thing, at MSNBC.

U.S. Promises to Hold Iraqi Oil 'In Trust'
....no matter how long it takes!

Colin Powell promised that a U.S. military occupation would hold Iraq's oilfields "in trust" for the Iraqi people. In an interview with U.S. newspapers on Tuesday, released by the State Department on Wednesday, Powell said the BFEE oil cartel Bush administration was studying different models for managing the Iraqi oil industry if the United States invades. "If we are the occupying power, it will be held for the benefit of the Iraqi people and it will be operated for the benefit of the Iraqi people," he said.

What a boob.
Meanwhile, in Dick 'dick' Cheney's secret bunker/steakhouse, high-fives and toasts were being exchanged amid shouts of 'suckas!' and 'hey - aren't we all Iraqis?!'

Link update
Please welcome Interesting Times and Ted Barlow.


Edinburgh update
When I was there in September I took some of those ghost tours through part of the vaults in the underground city - very spooky.
The following is from a piece in the UK News:

The entrance to a labyrinth of medieval streets in the Scottish capital Edinburgh have been reopened nearly 400 years after the area closed because of an outbreak of the plague.

Workmen knocked a hole through the floor of the city chambers on Tuesday to uncover a historic staircase that forms the entrance to Mary King's Close, a tourist attraction due to open in April after extensive redevelopment.

Local folklore says city officials shut down the close when the Black Death struck in the mid-17th century, leaving 400 plague sufferers to die.

Attractions include a house regarded to be one of the best existing examples of a 17th century Scottish home. Researchers have found historical documents detailing how families lived in the close during Edinburgh's 17th century plague epidemic.

"It (the close) looks at life throughout the centuries for the people in Edinburgh and we have brought to life accurate and historical information from that time," a spokeswoman for the project told Reuters.

The horrors of the plague and talk that the close was haunted made it a no-go area for many of the city's residents.

Around 100 years after the plague struck, the Royal Exchange, now the city chambers, was built over the area, leaving a network of medieval streets and narrow walkways untouched.

I couldn't believe Dumbya was calling people "major-league assholes" when he was running for president...
Repugs and their little whores in the media were having a field day earlier when Sen. John Edwards was caught chewing gum on C-Span.

"I couldn't believe John Edwards is running for President chewing gum on the stage on CSPAN!" one prat of a TV producer told drudge. A clearly disgusted Colin Powell was heard to mutter "at least he can sit and chew gum at the same time - and without choking."

I'm pretending this seed is your tiny little brain, you smirking empty war-head...


Chimpy McChickenhawk had a temper tantrum yesterday when most of the planet basically told him "fat chance, fratboy." Watch out, everyone: the shit is about to hit the fan.

Bad rerun
What will the BFEE's Gulf-of-Tonkin be? An anonymous anthrax letter to the Kurds?

In the face of mounting doubts about the war at home and downright hostility abroad, Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld sorely need some provocation they can either point to or invent.

The new Bush doctrine claiming the imperial right to wage pre-emptive war is so shameless that the administration may well launch the bombers with no fig leaf at all. But you can bet it will continue to look hard for any possible pretext. - Adam Hochschild.



Moral clarity
For every person protesting on the streets of Tokyo, Islamabad, Cairo, Damascus, Moscow, London, Washington and elsewhere, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of others who share their worries. The momentum of these demonstrations is certain to build in the coming weeks. Consensus is also proving elusive among Britain's traditional allies. The widely distrusted George Bush is a particular handicap in Europe; a majority of Germans, for example, finds him more frightening than Saddam. - from an editorial in the Guardian.

Unca Dick, where's my crayolas?
pReznit Poopypants is taking his box of crayons thick Sharpie pen to the first draft of his handlers' State of the Union address (scheduled for January 28), determined to justify war with Iraq while outlining a domestic policy agenda geared toward re-election, CNN is reporting.

"The president believes that State of the Unions should be about big things. This State of the Union will describe his vision of what role the United States should play in the world, how to bring help to the American people who need help and compassion, and how to strengthen the economy," White House spokes-tool Ari Fleischer said with a straight face, apparently addressing a group of kindergartners.

An early draft clearly outlines Drinky McHappycrack's bold, morally clear, statesmanlike proposals, if you ignore the doodles of Dick Gephardt being strafed by fighter jets: Saddam is hiding weapons of mass destruction, has ties to terrorist groups and is an imminent threat to the United States.

He also will try to explain why he is preparing for war against a dictator who may not have a nuclear weapon while sticking to diplomacy in North Korea, which has at least one nuclear bomb and could soon make more.

SOTU Fun: Count how many times he says "nookuler"!

CNN & Time bury another poll
Democrats.com is reporting that CNN and Time are again scrubbing their own polls that show just how bad Napoleon Bonehead's job approval ratings are (they've dropped to 53%, just 1% above the LOWEST approval figure for his entire residency. Compare that to Bill Clinton's second-term job approval ratings, which only dropped to 52% right after the Monica Lewinsky story broke in January 1998, and the following week jumped 16% to 68% {http://www.pollingreport.com/clinton-.htm}). Karl Rove doesn't want America to know the truth - that Bush has pissed away all of the support from 9/11 - but he couldn't stop James Carville last night, who managed to rant about it and bitchslap Bob Novak at the same time.


...and the NY Times lies about Bush's popularity
What a tool: NY Times political propagandist correspondent Adam Nagourney writes, "Bush is riding high as he prepares for his re-election campaign. He is a popular Republican president in an increasingly Republican country." This is an utter, disgusting, pandering bald-faced lie. Bush is not "riding high" - he spent the weekend hiding from hundreds of thousands of protesters by going to Camp David. He is not "popular" - check out this past weekend's poll numbers. This is not "an increasingly Republican country," since Al Gore beat Bush by 540,000 votes while getting the second largest number of votes in American history. Democrats.com supplies Nagourney's e-mail - adamnag@nytimes.com - in case anyone would like to ask him what his price was, or how it feels to be a whore for the GOP.

Quote of the day
"Who appointed the idiot Bush as the world's police officer?" - Iraqi envoy Ali Hassan al-Majeed, 1/20/03.


France gives finger to Fratboy F*cktard
I love this blurb by the Washingtoon comPost: U.S. Schedule Put at Risk By U.N. Debate. How dare they try to delay our holy oil war for the sake of caution and reason! Don't they know Squinty the Squatter's poll numbers are dropping?!

France promised a "major diplomatic fight" yesterday, including use of its veto power, to prevent the U.N. Security Council from passing a resolution authorizing military action against Iraq.

France's opposition to a war, emphatically delivered by Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, is a major blow for the misadministration, which is pouring tens of thousands of troops into the Persian Gulf in preparation for a military conflict this spring.

With Russia, China, and Germany willing to wait on the inspection process, only BFEE poodle Tony Blair is siding with the bushies. Even Colin Powell sounded as though his family was being held hostage by Karl Rove, somewhere beneath Dick 'dick' Cheney's undisclosed secret bunker/steakhouse.

"We must be careful not to take unilateral steps that might threaten the unity of the entire coalition. In this context we are strictly in favor of a political settlement of the situation revolving around Iraq," Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said at the UN.

Powell replied: "We cannot fail to take the action that may be necessary because we are afraid of what others might do. We cannot be shocked into impotence because we are afraid of the difficult choices that are ahead of us."

But the French wouldn't have any of it. France would never "associate ourselves with military intervention that is not supported by the international community," de Villepin said. "We think that military intervention would be the worst possible solution." So f*ck you.

Bloghopping
Kevin at Hep to the Jive watches Joe Millionaire - so you don't have to.
Great pics of empty warheads at MediaWhoresOnline and SK Bubba.
Beer Mary explains why she's got issues.
Ellen may be able to help you with your questions regarding butt-plugs, at AMCGLTD.com.
Hesiod lists The Top Ten Causus Belli Discovered by Hans Blix, at Counterspin Central.
Skippy writes a damn fine letter to Lou Dobbs.
The Aaron Brown take-down at Blah3!
Martin Luther King, Junior's I Have A Dream speech is posted at the Storm.

Quote of the day
"It seems that people are finally beginning to figure out that the smirking dingbat masquerading as leader of the free world only supports a leg up for rich, stupid C students when it comes to college admissions. And who is coming to his defense? Why none other than Condolleeza Rice, the ultra-right, doctrinaire idiot who sold out our national security to political considerations - completely dropping the ball on Al Qaeda despite Sandy Berger's warnings." - Pundit Pap.



Canadians Clobber Coward of Crawford
Bush impatiently insisted last week that "time is running out." But for what?

With the Iraqis on their knees, offering no resistance to U.N. inspectors, it's hard to imagine what time pressures are posing problems here - other than the U.S. election timetable. (Doesn't that infernal Hans Blix realize Bush needs a war victory to launch his re-election bid? What the hell is Blix thinking, dragging these inspections out like this?)

Some of those keenest for war in the Bush administration - including Bush, vice-president Dick Cheney, senior officials Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle - never served in Vietnam. Sometimes called "chickenhawks," they make up for their shyness about going into battle themselves with their enthusiasm for others doing so. (Bush avoided Vietnam by joining the National Guard, and then failing to show up for guard duty for months at a time.)

But with the massive U.S. assault about to be unleashed on enfeebled Iraq, the Pentagon may have finally found a way to wage a war so safe (for U.S. soldiers) that even a young George Bush wouldn't have been scared to participate. - from an editorial in the Toronto Star.

Smoke this
Smirky the Crack Chimp's "smoking gun" strategy for launching war against Iraq has utterly failed, because the discovery of 11 empty chemical weapons shells convinced the world that inspections are working. This has made the Busheviks insane: "Some administration officials say they have lost control of the public relations aspects of the inspection process."

The misadministration, concerned that a "smoking gun" may never be found, is starting to panic. They're 'urgently assembling an argument that Iraq's withholding of weapons information, and its refusal to make scientists freely available, should persuade our allies to back the use of force against Saddam Hussein.' Yes, that's right: any obstruction by Iraq in interviewing scientists bribed by the bushies is likely to be considered a cause for war.

A leading Arab-language newspaper in London, Al Sharq Al Awsat, reported in December that based on "Iraqi sources" and charges by Iraqi diplomats, it was apparent that at least three top Iraqi weapons experts had been "subjected to pressures and offered financial incentives" to defect or "cooperate" with American intelligence officials. - the NY Times (with thanks to democrats.com).

Update: Iraq said today it was encouraging its scientists to be interviewed privately by U.N. inspectors as part of an effort to do more to help inspectors verify that Iraq is complying with U.N. disarmament demands.




Hall of Shame
The award today goes to CNN, for obediently assuming the position and blatantly airing WH propaganda when they knew all along it was totally bogus. Their breaking nooze alerts! last week regarding the CHEMICAL WARHEADS FOUND IN IRAQ!! were disgraceful. Anyone with internet access already knew the shells were empty. They win the "WTF, You F*cking Dickheads?!" red-ass-of-ignominy prize for last week.

Extra Credit: Aaron Brown whining over the what's-up-with-CNN? letters he's been getting. Pussy.

Alassea Séregon, writing from Drivensno, West Rime -
It was one of those weekends. Bitterly cold - it may have gotten as high as 15 degrees - so of course all the power went out. The dogs and cats quickly got dibs on all the sunny spots, damn them, so we had to trudge out back and dig out armfuls of kindling from the frozen woodpiles so we could start a fire. Luckily we have a fireplace. I basically sat there the rest of the weekend, drinking coffee, smoking cigars, and once the power came back watched The Fellowship of the Ring - wow. I mean, wow! The passage through the Mines of Moria was one of the most intense scenes ever. Saruman needed some serious buttkicking. And I want one of those elf tree-houses.

What's your Elvish name? Find out here.




A Stirring in the Nation
"Mr. Bush and his war cabinet would be wise to see the demonstrators as a clear sign that noticeable numbers of Americans no longer feel obliged to salute the administration's plans because of the shock of Sept. 11 and that many harbor serious doubts about his march toward war. The protesters are raising some nuanced questions in the name of patriotism about the premises, cost and aftermath of the war the president is contemplating. Millions of Americans who did not march share the concerns and have yet to hear Mr. Bush make a persuasive case that combat operations are the only way to respond to Saddam Hussein." - NY Times Editorial.


"They couldn't ignore us this time."
"To be truly patriotic in America today," a vet named Tom said, "you must be against wasting our guys in a stupid war for oil and empire. This is not about national security, this is about a group of chickenhawks who have no idea what war is and wanting to use our military for their personal interests." - Regis T. Sabol writes about Saturday's huge demonstration in DC, at Intervention Magazine.


pReznit Pinhead's poll numbers plummet
The AWOL Warmongering Wonderboob's job approval plunged to a pitiful 53 percent in a new CNN/Time poll released over the weekend, and to an equally putrid 56 percent in a Newsweek poll.

By 60 percent to 35, people in the Newsweek poll (released Saturday) said they would prefer that the misadministration back down, shut the f*ck up, and give the U.N. weapons inspectors a chance. - link.

It's really cold!!!



Last night on Crossfire
James Carville: Tell me what merit got George W. Bush into Yale? Affirmative action -- he says we've got to do everything merit based. What merit got him into Yale?

Susan Molinari: There was a point that he, in fact, had decent grades.

Audience: ....wild laughter, hooting....




Thousands rally to protest BFEE's war
Protesters rallied by the thousands in the bitter cold of Washington on Saturday and in capitals worldwide in a passionate show of dissent against war with Iraq. The cry "No blood for oil" echoed from America's National Mall to the streets of Pakistan. Some of the demonstrations planned around the country for this weekend:

Arizona: In Tucson, 40 groups have a march and rally.
California: San Francisco rally, starting 11 a.m. at the foot of Market Street at Embarcadero, march to Civic Center Plaza.
Florida: Rallies in Tampa, St. Augustine and Venice. Tampa marchers plan to go to main gate of MacDill Air Force Base, headquarters of Central Command.
Iowa: 11 a.m. march in Des Moines from Grandview College to the Statehouse, followed by rally.
Massachusetts: Vigil and rally in Cambridge, 10 a.m. to noon.
Minnesota: 9 p.m. candlelight vigil at Lake Harriet in Minneapolis.
Missouri: St. Louis rally, march and interfaith service Monday, starting 10 a.m. at the Old Court House.
Nevada: In Las Vegas, noon rally from the Bellagio fountains to the Tropicana and back. In Reno, rally at the University of Nevada.
New York: In Albany, a candlelight march at 4:30 p.m. Friday from the Capitol. Schenectady march Saturday.
Oregon: 1 p.m. rally and march in Portland, with about 50 groups participating.
Vermont: March and rally in Montpelier.

In Lansing, Mich., several hundred people met at a church before marching 20 blocks to the state Capitol. "It's just great enthusiasm here, and a great spirit of peacemaking," said the Rev. Fred Thelen from Cristo Rey Catholic Church. Signs said: "Peace is Patriotic" and "Iraqis are not evil."

Demonstrators also staged peace rallies worldwide. 5,000 people marched through downtown Tokyo, carrying toy guns filled with flowers and wearing face masks that parodied Bush. The crowd, made up largely of students and laborers, was orderly. More than 400 New Zealanders demonstrated in Christchurch. In Moscow, a few hundred people agitated outside the U.S. Embassy in a protest organized by a branch of the Communist Party. People turned their backs to the building, and signs called the United States a "Global Cannibal."

Three dozen bushmoonie freepers people turned out by the Vietnam War Memorial to show support for Bush's policy on Iraq. - links here and here.

After two days of computer problems, I think I'm finally back online.



"it would all be so much easier if Clinton were still in the White House"
Why the British don't trust Hopalong Headcase.

The perception persists that the Prime Minister is being sucked into conflict on the slipstream of an American President driven by a thirst for oil and revenge on behalf of his daddy.

Across British public opinion, George Bush is seen as the global village idiot. This is a one-dimensional caricature of the man - albeit a caricature that he has rather encouraged. The point is that the cartoon cowboy image is now pretty indelibly stuck.

The broad British view of George Bush is that he is Ronald Reagan without the brains. One of the Prime Minister's own advisers on foreign policy privately describes the American President as "cretinous". - Andrew Rawnsley, of The Observer.




Bush Racking Up "Frequent Liar Miles"
Strategy of "lie and rely" relies on media to disseminate Dubya’s deceptions.

Throughout Campaign 2000, candidate Bush test-piloted “lie and rely.” He lied to a Dallas Morning News reporter to keep hidden a drunk-driving conviction. He lied repeatedly to the national media about his own and Al Gore’s economic plans. Did so in speeches and again in the debates.

The lies traveled far and wide. Amazingly, they remained airborne even after repeated puncturing by New York Times columnist and Princeton economist Paul Krugman. From that experience, Bush learned an invaluable lesson: So long as the airwaves remain loyal, “lie and rely” can override isolated, ink-based exposure. - Dennis Hans, at The Scoop.





Calendar quote for the day
"The Bob Jones policy on interracial dating, I mean I spoke out on interracial dating. I spoke out against that. I spoke out against interracial dating. I mean, I support inter - the policy of interracial dating." - our Churchillian statesman, the Crackwacky Wonderboob, 2/25/00 (from the They Misunderestimated Me! calendar).





Today's top stories, concerning Emperor Snippy:
Consumer Sentiment Slips Again in January - link.
Trade Deficit Surges to a Record High - link.
Factories Quiet, Consumers Glum - link.
Stocks Skid; Techs Drag Market Lower - link.
Blix Not Worried About Found Weapons - link.
Protesters Rally Against War on Iraq - link.
Iraq Mends Russia Ties with New Oil Deals - link.
S.Korea's Roh Urges U.S. to Talk to North on Crisis - link.
Poll: Americans Need Convincing on War - link.
Turkey: Can Give Only Limited Help to Iraq War - link.

then there were these:
Bush Proposes Limit on Malpractice Damages - link.
Bush Lawyers Urge Top Court to Back White Students - link.

The hard-working Squinty McSquirtypants will be spending the weekend hiding out at Camp David.
I'm sure Faux Nooze is painting a much rosier picture for him. Still, Karl's panties have to be getting awfully sweaty these days.