I said it, but Greenwald said it better when he writes that the assisted suicide case shows the Administration’s true colors: [O]nce the Bush Administration took power, democratic processes in this area ceased to matter. John Ashcroft was hell-bent on putting an end to physician-assisted suicide in Oregon because he personally believes it to be morally wrong, and he wasn’t … Read More
MLK’s Ideals
George W. Bush, 1/16/06: Martin Luther King lived on that admonition to call our country to a higher calling, and today we celebrate the life of an American who called Americans to account when we didn’t live up to our ideals. How true. Unfortunately, if MLK were alive to day, he would be asking President Bush for an accounting. King … Read More
No Sense At All
Josh Marshall: Says Cheney … "And Steve Hayes is of the view — and I think he’s correct — that a lot of those documents that were captured over there that have not yet been evaluated offer additional evidence that, in fact, there was a relationship that stretched over many years between Saddam Hussein and the al Qaeda organization." …So … Read More
Compelling Logic?
2005 Wingnut Of the Year, John Hindrocket gushes over Bush’s speech in Louisville, Kentucky yesterday. Hindrocket writes: You can read it all here. Please, please do. Here are a few excerpts, but they can’t begin to capture the sincerity and the compelling logic that President Bush put forward. Let me briefly address the "sincerity" issue. Nobody is seriously questioning the … Read More
Bush: Alito Not Quite Qualified Yet (But Will Be Soon)
I’m not following the Alito hearings much*, but I note in passing that Bush said today that Alito is "imminently qualified" to serve on the high court. Maybe I’m setting the bar too high, but I think we should have nominees who are already qualified. * Firedoglake is doing some blogging coverage of the opening day of hearings. But … Read More
Ah! That Explains It!
Many have wondered why Bush has not vetoed any bills in the entire history of his Presidency. BTCnews has a theory as good as any: Bush doesn’t veto bills because in his view, he doesn’t have to; he can simply ignore the ones he doesn’t like.
Soft Wind Touches Outer Edge Of Bubble
To demonstrate that he does not live in an insular bubble where bad advice and groupthink are the norm, Bush and his advisors met yesterday for a "consultation" with former secretaries of state and secretaries of defense of previous administrations. Thirteen in all, including the most experienced man in the room (whether you like him or hate him), J. Robert … Read More
Bush Critic Ends Up On No-Fly List
Jim Moore is a former TV news correspondent and author. He has an Anglo name, pays tens of thousands of dollars every year in taxes, has never been arrested, has never been late with a credit card payment, and "cries after the first two notes of the national anthem". He’s also a Bush critic. He is best known for the … Read More
Sago Genesis
(1) West Virginia coal firms raised $275,000 for Bush. (2) The Bush administration cut 170 positions from federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and has not proposed a single new mine-safety standard or rule during its tenure. (3) Only 1 miner survives West Virginia coal mine incident. Now, am I suggesting that Bush is responsible for the Sago explosion? … Read More
The Sago Mine Explosion
Well, it doesn’t look good for the 13 miners, according to the latest stories. Whether they survive or not, it’ll take months — maybe years — to determine what caused the mine mishap and whether it could have been prevented. But right now, one wonders if this could have been avoided. Scott Shields finds an interesting article from the New … Read More
President Brush
Not long ago, I made an off-the-cuff comment that Bush must have a lot of brush at his Texas ranch, since he seems to be clearing it much of the time. Apparently, the Bush devotion to brush-clearing is pathological: On most of the 365 days he has enjoyed at his secluded ranch here, President Bush’s idea of paradise is to … Read More
Military Not As Crazy About Bush
From the Military Times: Support for President Bush and for the war in Iraq has slipped significantly in the last year among members of the military’s professional core, according to the 2005 Military Times Poll. Approval of the president’s Iraq policy fell 9 percentage points from 2004; a bare majority, 54 percent, now say they view his performance on Iraq … Read More
Bush And The NSA Wiretapping
This topic has been churning in the blogosphere and media for 48 hours now (at least), and I have nothing new to add. But I am absolutely appalled at the poor defense given to the action, as a matter of constitutional law. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution is quite simple: There shall be no warrantless search and seizures of … Read More
29 Months – The Reality Gestation Period
George Bush, 12/14/05: It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong. George Bush, 7/14/03: I think the intelligence I get is darn good intelligence and the speeches I have given are backed by good intelligence. Rule of thumb: Next time Bush assures us about something, don’t take it to the bank — wait at least … Read More
The “Heckuva Job” Curse
President Bush sat down with Fox News’ Brit Hume yesterday: HUME: Is he here to stay as far as you are concerned? BUSH: Yes. End of my term is a long time, but I tell you, he is doing a heckuva good job. I have no intention of changing him. Flashback: "Brownie, you’re doing a heckuva job."