Screaming Me-mes! Free Speech or Loud Bully?

I have been to and seen many town hall meetings and as much as I appreciate political concern, I have no patience for ignorance, heated passion or anything that cannot be logically applied to an issue, and backed up with relevant facts. It embarrasses me that our media play unedited, live town halls which demonstrate our worst instead of our best intellectual thought.

I don't care what someone's position is; it never holds value to repeat something or to say it more loudly; and doesn't not change its truth. Loud idiots should never have an advantage over thoughtful, intelligent people.

When others across the globe see rednecks talking about "death panels", and for that matter, when one of those rednecks was a VP candidate, it makes America look like a nation of Jerry Springer University graduates.

I respect my conservative and liberal friends alike, as long as they don't confuse emotionality and quickened anger for "Americanism".

Personally, if I were a congressman and I held a town hall, I would lay down the law that there is as much a right to hear as a right to speak. When one speaks in a disrespectful way, just as in my classroom, I would immediately dismiss them.

These politicians, who fail to manage a respectful, intelligent discourse, should not have town halls, plain and simple.

If people scream, chant or disrupt in any way someone else's right to civil communication, and they refuse to leave, tazer them and drag them out. They may protest as loudly as they like outside the meeting as long as they don't disturb communication among those who came to advance real political thought.

American media who play unedited, live reports, are irresponsible and the people who see live reporting know they can misbehave and get on the air. Both are wrong, but ultimately, it is the media's responsibility to avoid being an unfiltered megaphone for idiots.

Palin's Alleged Affair; If True -- Hypocrisy

A recent story broke in the National Enquirer that Sarah Palin had an affair with her husband's business partner. It is already spreading in mainstream British papers and will no doubt hit our networks soon. Despite the bad taste this publication puts in my mouth, they are most often correct in matters of political seriousness. John Edwards was but one example. Normally, I wouldn't care about, much less morally judge one's politics by their personal lives, but I can't help but to find it interesting that the party of Christian conservatism who has waved their fingers at far too many others, is the party with the most sex scandals.

The only thing that makes this an issue, is that of hypocrisy among self-righteous dominionists. Clinton never pretended to be a religious person, though clearly a man of strong faith and conviction. I just find it so interesting that a huge majority of evidence suggests the Dem ticket has the most "family values"; personally, I say Sarah should keep getting laid as long as she can, as she will not be very hot much longer. She will age quickly before our eyes. As with most movie stars whose only appeal is sex, hers is only a couple of years away.

Sarah Palin is a typical housewife in midlife crisis, having realized her mediocrity despite her clear intellectual yearning. She wasted her youth and squandered her formal education, lackluster at best. Like many beautiful women, as her beauty faded, she sought other ways to get attention. People no longer liked her just for being cute.

In politics, she is still young, but her "cuteness" is soon gone. What is left is a sarcastic prose, a grating voice and a penchant for low blows. Her affairs only fit into a psychological profile of a woman who has coasted on sexual allure without any intellectual substance.

Palin's Objective Measuring Cup

The sad reality is (and hopefully the truth doesn't insult too many from non-competitive universities) a 3.3 average GPA is quite low compared to "competitive universities" that hover well over 3.7, and the average HS from which students come, is of far greater difficulty at Harvard and other top tiers. Most valedictorians cannot get into Harvard. It takes objective excellence. The quality of the average HS a U of I student attended would be nowhere near that of NY, Mass., well almost any other. Idaho is generally near the bottom when ranking public education, according to Kiplinger, #98 among publics.

It would seem to be common sense that Americans would demand such information about a Presidential candidate as GPAs, SATs, any objectively comparable data.

The fact is, Sarah Palin, by any stretch, is of a mediocre academic track, as is McCain. America allowed a coups d'etat (didn't elect) George Jr., and despite his poor academics, he went to the finest schools (with a D average). His presidency hasn't worked out very well. Hopefully, America has learned it's lesson from that fiasco.

Our President should be the brightest and best, not someone that simply "fits in" at the local PTA or drinking establishment.

I suspect Sarah's IQ is unimpressive or else it would be made public. The same can be said of any other data that somehow has been demanded in her "long political career". I guess Alaskans don't have much regard for objective standards, just redneck values and NRA membership.

What One Says When Told Of Sarah Palin Pick

1. Why didn't he just pick his wife Cindy if he just wanted a beauty pageant winner?
2. Why not Anita Bryant?
3. Sarah Palin, oh yeah, she makes great desserts, doesn't she?
4. Her foreign policy experience is that Alaska is adjacent to Russia.
5. Is that the best he could do?
6. Hey, anybody can be President in America!
7. Beauty Queen, Hockey mom, Mayor of a town of 5-thousand people, Governor of a rural state; hasn't she satisfied the Peter principle of being elevated to her highest level of incompetence yet?
8. Proof that McCain thinks with his guts; like a man with no head.
9. McCain, the next morning: "I'm sorry; what was your name? I was a little drunk last night."

Mr. Gonzales: Hitchin' a Ride!

Nuff Said!

Ex-US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales (ooh, that feels good)
was seen trying to get a ride back to Texas as quickly as you can say...
Karl Rove!

GOP Incumbents Up For Re-election Or Retirement, Double Dems

The composition of the Senate going into the 2008 election will include 49 Republicans, 49 Democrats, and two independents (Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who both caucus with Democrats). Of the seats up for election in 2008, 21 are held by Republicans and 12 by Democrats.

Above and Map Source: Wikipedia, 2007

It should be noted that any analysis political scientists do leads to one major conclusion, the Republicans have the most to lose in 2008. Statistically the change in the Senate alone, stands to beat the take over of US Congress by the "Contract of America" led by Newt Gingrich in 1994.

As this is a Presidential election year also, election fund-raising will be spread thinner than perhaps ever in history, as consistently Republicans have to spend almost double the amount spent by Dems in order to win by a thin margin.

With so many running for President as well, the competition for political money is at a fever pitch. And, as never before, middle lass Americans are expected to contribute more money because of the very organized and convenient machines developed for the internet.

As there are no statistical models for us to use in forecasting the cost per vote this time, both sides are in overdrive.

Vermont and Iowa already seem to suggest a huge margin of victory for the Dems in the Presidential races and as history dictates, the congress should follow suit.

Of course people like Tom Delay (disgraced GOP'er) are still gloating about the good ole days, and Newt even says he is likely to run for President in 2008 on 90.9 KCBI's "Jerry Johnson Live". Needless to say, his diehard supporters, all 10 of them, are pumped. We will see what Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani and John McCain have to say about that as Newt doesn't seem to have much chance of attracting anyone other than those who have read Meine Kampf twice, despite Newt's distancing himself from Bush, "Bush reminds me of Carter".

He will no doubt run on "values" despite his forced resignation for hypocrisy while trying to bring down Clinton. Maybe, there will be a new dictionary soon that will help him to redefine what most Americans think "values" are.

As the Dems in congress recently caved on war funding in order to get an increase in the minimum wage, many are accusing them of breaking promises. The real test will be in the next funding round in the fall. If they end this war or significantly pull back to a supervisory role, Dems will regain the faith of those who wanted everything now.

Hey Jude: Disappointment With Supposed Democratic Rescuers

Hey Jude!
by
Contributor, Jude Rouslin

Letter to Newly Elected Congress:

I am but one of the many citizens that made it possible for you to hold office. I think I remember a thank you speech somewhere along the way; speeches of a New Day. However that seems like such a long time ago .

I now realize as most Americans do, that those words you spoke in November of 2006 had absolutely no substance at all. Though, like many others, I did believe them at the time. Just as we believed your words of hope, change, accountability and morality. The only problem is, we assumed that your ideals would continue to be the same as ours and our Country would be reclaimed as ours. You would follow up on your campaign promises.

Unfortunately, the victorious celebration of regaining the House and Senate was short lived as we watched with shear indignation, the reality of your political character and the choices you made in our name. As it became more evident with each passing day, we knew we were once again far removed from the debate. And in the end, you made a choice. A choice which excludes the very principles the majority of voters hold in this Country.

Why did you decide amongst yourselves that the voters of this country were only worth the votes tallied and anything beyond that, well, we were excluded. How does it feel to have it be known that many in the democratic party are no longer viewed as the Sir Galahad's of our times? Reality is a difficult swallow but so too is your fall from grace.

By now, you've made it quite clear that neither of you represent the individuals that placed you in office. Your decision to not hold to your pre-election ideals... our ideals, proves many things, none of which I would think you ought to be proud of. But then again, perhaps we the voters were merely desperate for change and actually believed your rhetoric, sound bytes and slogans. It's quite clear that we the voters were simply the necessary medium which would pave your way to Washington. Nothing more, nothing less.

You are no different than those that have preceded you and America has learned another startling reality of human behavior and politics. The U.S. Political Arena is a total farce. It's a system that has been broken for quite some time and you are now part of the problem. Our government is no longer viewed as being filled with potential positive possibilities and hopeful solution.

Talk is cheap, as the adage goes, and so too, is the purchase of an elected official. For it is your actions by which you will be gaged by and remembered. Not the campaign slogans which you've failed to adhere to and make a reality.

So lets call this what this actually is. We no longer have a Government that is for the People and by the People. It has been transformed into a seedy dark private business and we the people are merely the road in which you've trampled upon in order to ensure your place in the Corporation . Once there, we the people are left behind once again and it's business as usual.

Government has been reduced to nothing more than a backroom business deal. Welcome to the Corporation of the United States, as we, the shareholders have no voice, votes, or say. It is your way once you step into the confines of the murky, seedy beltway.

I am ashamed, appalled, and sickened . I am tired of the lies, faux democratic hype, spin and above all, I am no longer disillusioned. That is the reality that you also must face in the next election. We the People have learned a very important lesson. Those that serve us as "Elected Officials", merely use the power of the people to win. Once the finish line has been crossed, you do not look back but rather proceed to ignore those that placed you there while you work out your own agenda filled with private promises in closed meetings to secure deals.

I suppose I could ask, how do you sleep at night, however, I think I know the answer. Very easily. And for that, you ought to be ashamed as you are no different than the last Congress. Our problem is that we actually trusted you to do what was right for America, not what was felt to be right for the Bush/Cheney agenda or your political career.

So, this has taught us that you are not the solution we all had hoped for, but rather, part of the problem. There are those that claim , the Democratic Party has sold us out. I disagree. As it is quite obvious your agenda was apparently already set in stone.And you merely told us what we so desperately needed and wanted to hear."Change In Washington" Didn't matter to you that it was a con, as long as your goals were reached and you won the election.

Ahh, but you might state, "We've been holding investigations, hearings,ordered committees which can be viewed on CNN, and have threatened to send subpoena's and add non binding resolutions." That is all fine and good, as window dressing. But let the truth be known, you've done nothing in terms of enforcing accountability, ending the Iraq Invasion which was based on Cherry picked intelligence. There ought not even be a debate concerning Iraq, when the basic premise was a lie to begin with. Anything after that is simply moot. You've missed so many opportunities when it comes to making individuals accountable for the injustices we've been forced to endure the world over.

How many times must the world see just what a charade your investigations have been? Despite the overwhelming evidence that corruption from the top down has grown like a cancer, along with years of obstruction of justice. Still, you've done nothing except to provide the continuation of a broken political system. In a real court of law, a real investigation or hearing, there would be those that would have already been charged with the RICO Act. After all, lets be real here, U.S. Politics has become nothing more than a cover for Organized Crime. And, I would rather place bets on the loyalty of the Mob, than Washington Officials at this point. At least there is honor and loyalty to some extent. You have no honor. Nor do you have a sense of loyalty to those that put you in office. How unfortunately typical for what has become Politics in America.

In closing I would like to say that the American People are tired of the abuse. Sickened by private agendas. And we the people are so distrustful of anyone right now. I see this Country being forced down a revolutionary road and and it will be a matter of survival and preservation. It will be in response to the abuse of power, ignoring your base, and selling out the entire Country for what? I blame you as well as the Congresses that have gone before you. You now have blood on your hands in terms of Iraq.

You also have proved that you also work in a "Decider" like fashion, by proclaiming that Impeachment is off the table. By who's authority may I ask? Certainly not the voter's. When will America be returned to it's people? America has had enough and the world will no longer be held hostage and lay victim to such a manipulative Industrial Military Complex driven by your Political Agendas. While you continue the charade by referring to America as a Democracy, people are dieing all over the globe. The United States of America has wreaked havoc over the entire world .

Let's be real here and call it what it actually is: Organized Global Crime, which you helped shape and forge as a willing participant . You've no humanity left and it is becoming increasingly clear that you are also a very large part of the problem, not the solution.

Jude A. Rouslin

Monica Provides Another Blow to the Executive!

Monica Goodling, the former Justice Department's White House liaison,
arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 23, 2007,
to testify before the House Judiciary Committee. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

I just couldn't resist the headline. This Monica does not wear a blue dress, but she may help to bring down her boss.

"I didn't mean to break the law," seemed to be the line of the day for Monica Goodling as it was repeated often in her testimony to congress today.

Her only experience since graduating from one of the lowest ranking law schools in the country, was at the Republican National Committee before she was hired at the Justice Department to interview future civil rights judges, supposedly non-political appointments.

Did she know the law before she started her job as a lawyer who job it was to know the law? Is it possible she didn't intend to ask applicants about their political affiliations?

But I didn't mean to:

• eliminate people as soon as she identified them as not having voted for Bush.
• delay or stop the hiring of many on the basis of their party membership.

I don't recall:

• if I received any emails from Karl Rove.
• if I was instructed to specifically avoid anyone who is not a Bush Crony.

Monica Goodling is a perfect example of how the administration hires people with no other qualification than sworn, blind loyalty to the President instead of the people.

I will leave to you to determine if this lawyer exercises "ignorance of the law". I just have to ask the obvious question, are lawyers supposed to have poor memories?

Related story - Who is Monica Goodling?

This would be funny except that it was too painful.
1min

GOP Made Their Beds, Slept With Dogs... Now What?

Hey Jude!
by
Contributor, Jude Rouslin


I began to think about the situation Republicans now face as a party. It's a multi-faceted issue. Given the fact that they supported , rubber stamped, and contributed to both Bush campaigns, they must be extremely uncomfortable today which makes me wonder about the psychology and motivations of their own actions and behaviors as well as the future of the Republican Party/RNC.

How does a group of Rep. Politicians as well as supporters, figure out how to go from here? Finding a new identity while at the same time trying to reconcile the fact they were the ones that created the monster. No matter what they say now, I can't help wonder where they place 6 years of ideological behaviors that were motivated by greed, self interests, hate and power.

I personally cannot forgive them and certainly do not feel sympathy for them now that they are pushed into a corner . Because the truth is, if they could have continued, they certainly would have. Had it not been for the eruption of public outcry that was finally able to push past the propaganda machine and MSM. I'm still angry for what they've help to create. However, now they're all jumping ship as fast as they can. The loyalist that they are: I find it so very hypocritical and it merely exemplifies how easy it is for them to change course once they realize that the problems they created are not going away.

Though they want to appear as if they finally cannot take the lawlessness any more? Hell, they were all caught and now they are doing what they do best. Strategies and plotting a new course of action that will help them to remain in their elected seats as individuals. Not a group. However their stripes have not changed. Their public statements have changed only. It means squat.

I suspect many Bush voters/supporters may feel a sense of betrayal, guilt, anger ... but the politicians that created and supported it, are now trying to find their way through a self made field of land mines. They've bullshat their way to to the top, have signed on to warring , no longer engaged in diplomacy, they've manage to buy and write their own self-serving policies via K street and now that the reality of their deeds are obvious. They have to find a new identity and cause.

How can they shed all their mandates, wedge issues and propaganda; then to face the voters now and state they are still a strong party with a purposeful and fair agenda that is good for America? What? Are they going to tell their base, "Oh forget all that stuff we managed to bang into your head, we're moving to plan B?" And can those conditioned brains actually turn it off and on so easily?

It's totally bogus. But I suspect that the Rep Party is going to have to go through years of readjustments and redefining. I think the Dems will also have to do some soul searching as well.

This may be the first time that an entire 'US party' has created such disastrous policies to the extent of effecting the entire globe, which in the end came back to bite them in the ass. They were all for corruption. They all stood by Bush/Cheney as long as they were able to reap the rewards, and it didn't matter who they screwed to meet their objectives.

If they were able to sell out America for their private gains, then what makes them think that they can be trusted? Because we all know that, had the regime not began to show signs of decay, those assholes would still be out their doing what they do best; politicizing the US government, dividing the country with propaganda and vileness that target emotions.

Hell, we know they are a devious bunch. They've worked hard and long over 50 years and they finally got the pay off, but it didn't last long. Now, they're faced with so many corruption charges and investigations it makes the head spin. They have infiltrated every office in our federal system to the point of near collapse.

So now, how do they take all of that undermining, and attempt or pretend to be honest?

Identity crisis for sure; but they're opportunist's and I feel as though there jumping ship is yet just another opportunity or strategy. All else be damned and they've no remorse for the evil they have injected into this country and around the globe. They can't even own up to what they've done. I'm frankly pissed each time a reporter states that another Rep. has denounced Bush as if it will make the dead come back to life; as if it will replace the trillions of dollars they have embezzled from our Treasury; as if it will somehow reverse the corruption, and take back the lies and the political machine that created it; as if it would bring back the displaced votes; as if it could reverse history.

I will never forgive them for making foreign and domestic policies based on greed, hatred, and arrogance, corruption and inventing an ideology that swept this Country after 911. They exploited for as long as they could and now they're jumping ship?

But they are not saying "we're sorry". It's not easy for me to just shove 6 years of evil, under a rug. We have come just inches from a fascist state and I doubt many people realize how close our democracy is from total collapse. We've got a long way to go to repeal the laws that were changed to only serve those in power and Multi National Corporations' interests.

As we demand accountability, and hold many more investigations concerning the fact that the Rep.'s desire to make our Country a one party system, we'll understand how they came extremely close to making it a reality. Plus, we are now faced with a population of people in this country that are continuing with the same ideologies and how does one eradicate the huge neo-conservative design in our citizens... that is, the ones that fell for it? How do we teach them that they were prayed upon due to their own personality flaws?

Even if our Government was placed back on track? They've created a monster and it may take a while to extinguish those hate filled greed motivated ideologies. So, even if the Rep.Party were to eventually redefine itself, they would not get the votes because many of their base, are still shouting the neo-conservative mantra that was instilled in them 24/7.

The Republican party may not be dead; however, it is on life support at this time and possibly for years to come; due to their own misguided strategies. They started the fire and scapegoating politicians will not be able to put out the flame for years to come. All is due in part to the NeoCon's infiltrating the Republican Party which the party swallowed and accepted with open arms.

Did they really think the Rep. politicians would remain loyal to the ideals they espoused in the face of getting caught? Hell, they used their own base and the citizens supported it for their own selfish agenda. Hopefully,they'll get what they deserve. Karma will slap them all in the ass.... and they'll blame anybody but themselves anyway.

Ahh, I needed that vent. Thanks for listening.

Jude


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