Monday Stuff

I'll give Orrin points for honesty here, but not much else...

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...and I wanted to put this up one more time before the year ends.

Doomsy's Do-Gooders And Dregs (2009 - Pt. 8)

Not quite finishing up here, but close (Part One is here, Part Two is here, Part Three is here, Part Four is here, Part Five is here, Part Six is here, Part Seven is here, and I also posted here)...

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

David Horowitz, for writing here at his blog that “The Fort Hood killings are the chickens of the left coming home to roost.” (I guess this is what happens when you can no longer file nuisance lawsuits claiming liberal bias on college campuses – you face such a struggle to remain relevant somehow that you resort to garbage like this…by the way, a dishonorable mention goes out to Eric Etheridge, the New York Times “Opinionator,” for helping to spread this manure - here is the reality point of view on this)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and CEO of Goldman-Sachs, who said he was doing “God’s work” here while running a company described as “the site of the best cash-making machine that global capitalism has ever produced, and, some say, a political force more powerful than governments” (I seem to recall that He expelled the moneychangers from the temple…I believe they thought they were doing “God’s work” also)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Rupert Murdoch, for agreeing with Glenn Beck that Obama is a racist (yes, we know what Murdoch is, but this is still too far, even for him)

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, recently stricken with leukemia, for claiming here that “it’s a just and noble cause to make health care available for everyone” (best of luck, big guy)

Commemorative Harry Kalas “Outta Here” Citation Of The Year

Lou Dobbs leaves CNN, thus putting to rest K.O.’s impression of him that actually was starting to get on my nerves (here and here)…

Dregs of the Year Nominee

E.J. Dionne, who wrote here that poor women should “learn to live with” the odious (Dem congressman Bart) Stupak-Pitts abortion amendment (I used to respect this guy)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

And speaking of that, I should add that just about every week I point out how awful the U.S. Congressional Republican Representative from PA-16 is, but I’d like for you to read the following excerpt from this post and pay particular attention to some of the language in the amendment Pitts sponsored…

A day before (HR 3200) passed out of committee, Stupak co-sponsored, and voted for an amendment written by Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA)--distinct from the now notorious "Stupak amendment"--that would have limited the government's ability to include abortions in benefits plans to cases of incest, life of the mother, and forcible rape.

The Pitts amendment actually passed, 31-27, with the support of several Democrats and all Republicans. But the "forcible" language--legally significant--was a bridge too far.

In a parliamentary maneuver, chairman Henry Waxman actually voted "aye", according to a House aide, in order to retain the prerogative of bringing it up for a second, unsuccessful vote. Between votes, Waxman conferred with some of the bill's Democratic supporters to convince them to help shoot it down.

It’s bad enough that Pitts would author an amendment limiting abortions in the case of rape, period. But that wasn’t good enough for Pancake Joe (and yes, Stupak signed onto it, which was bad enough, but Pitts originated it). No, Pitts somehow thought about this enough to decide there were somehow degrees of horror in rape itself, to the point where he decided that he should try to exclude “forcible” rape only and not bother with rape where, say, a guy slips something into the drink of a woman, she ingests it and passes out, and then he takes her somewhere and commits his criminal act. For this, Pitts earns a special citation (and any “Democrat” who actually voted for this amendment should be voted right out of office).

These are the calculations of a monster, his nauseating “pro-life” and supposed human rights concerns notwithstanding. Any woman who actually votes for this guy truly suffers from Stockholm syndrome.

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

Ashleigh Banfield, returning to network TV news at ABC after an exile for speaking out against the Iraq War in 2003 (and read this HuffPo article and try NOT hating NBC News President Neil Shapiro who ultimately fired her)

Dregs of the Year Nominees

All of the Bucks County Democrats and independents who sat on their hands during the election and allowed David Heckler to defeat Chris Asplen for DA, Mike Burns to defeat Ron Smith for District Judge (long odds there I know, but still), Dan McLaughlin to defeat Fran McDonald for LMT Supervisor, and (worst of all) Simon Campbell and Kathleen Zawacki to defeat Colleen Klock and Jon Shain for Pennsbury school board. This was embarrassing, people!

Question of the Year

Asked here by kos…

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

Rep. Louie Gohmert of (where else?) Texas, who claimed here that the Dems “want another terrorist attack so they can pass a new jobs bill” (and “the great unwashed” immediately erupts into applause…or, as a commenter noted, is calling this supposed bill “new” the closest the wingnuts will ever get to admitting that the stim actually created jobs?)

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

David Broder, for claiming that Obama has to hurry up and make a decision on Afghanistan “whether or not it is right” (obviously, as BarbinMD notes, Broder’s ass won’t be on the line here, nor that of anyone he knows, apparently)

Dregs Of The Year Nominees

Repug Senator Richard Burr of South Carolina and the co-sponsors of s.3167, The Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act, that allows any of our returning veterans affected with PTSD to continue to own a gun until a judge determines that they shouldn’t (uh, and what kind of a critical need does this address again?).

And by the way, Jim Webb gets a sub-citation here for supporting this monstrosity (hat tips to Jay Ackroyd and Jesus’s General).

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Doug Hoffman, the third-party candidate endorsed by “values” conservatives such as Sarah Palin, Rick Santorum and Dick Armey in the NY-23 U.S. Congressional election this year (as opposed to that bad, “lu-bu-ruul” Repug Dede Scozzafava) for blaming his loss on ACORN here (nah, your defeat at the hands of Bill Owens had nothing to do with the fact that you were utterly clueless on the issues in your district, with this seat now in Dem hands for the first time since the Civil War, did it?)…and by the way, let’s wait 5 minutes and see if Hoffman unconcedes again (here)

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin, who sent a correspondence to Dem legislator Patrick Kennedy in 2007 saying it would be “inappropriate” that he receive Communion because he’s pro-choice, and here, he “ask(s) respectfully” of Kennedy “that you refrain from doing so" (and Tobin is surprised that Kennedy told everyone this – how clueless is Tobin anyway?)

Obviously, Bishop Tobin believes we live in a theocracy, which we plainly do not (and don’t hold your breath waiting for Tobin to criticize this, by the way).

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

Mark Halperin of “The Page” for this wretched idiocy (I’m not even going to try and describe it; all I’ll say is that it has to do with that Ben Stiller/Cameron Diaz movie “There’s Something About Mary,” which actually had some funny moments, and Sen. Mary Landrieu)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, for claiming here that “we did not have a terrorist attack during President Bush’s term” (sometimes there are no words, people)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

President Obama (and yet again, yes, you read that correctly) for failing to sign an international treaty banning land mines (here...also for this, along with a citation to AG Eric Holder)

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee (Special "It Takes A Train To Laugh, It Takes A Sleigh To Cry" Citation)

A certain Robert Allen Zimmerman gets the nod for recording a Christmas album for which all proceeds will go to charities for the homeless and hungry in the United States, Britain and 80 poor countries (here).

Turkey Of The Year

Repug U.S. House Rep Mike Pence of Indiana, who found a way to slam Obama and the Democrats in the GOP’s Thanksgiving holiday message (here, a symptom of this idiotic mindset)

Dregs of the Year Nominees

Durbin and Di-Fi for opposing the shield law (noted here, with an update here)...

Dregs of the Year Nominees

The assclown Philadelphia Flyers fans who cheered when referee Stephane Auger was hit by a puck and knocked to the ice in a game against the Washington Capitals on December 5th (and by the way, the Caps won 8-2...ha ha)



Dregs of the Year Nominee

The University of Virginia staff who alerted their families of gunman Seung-Hui Cho's 2007 attack an hour and a half before they notified the students (noted here - I'm a bit shocked by how this story came and went, to tell you the truth)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Barney Frank for this...

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

Ben Nelson for this (and kudos to Barbara Boxer for using this as a comeback)

Do Gooders Of The Year Nominees

Seton Hall Law School for this

Un-Reported Story Of The Year

This (OMIGOD - ACORN!)...wonder if they'll get their federal funding back now, which was taken away here? Need I even ask?

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

Speaking of ACORN, Judge Nina Gershon gets the award for this (Congress can't target funding of a particular group like ACORN, though I'm sure that won't stop the Repugs and chicken Dems from trying to pass idiotic legislation trying to do just that).

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

Julian Bond, chairman of the NAACP, for saying here that “Gay rights are civil rights” (let's hope and pray that this kills this whole notion that, on balance, African Americans have a natural antipathy towards gays because of religious issues)

The “And I’ll Bet Nobody Knew That The Guy Providing Intel To Reagan On The Grenada Invasion Was Cleaning The Bedpans At The Medical School Either” Citation

As noted here, an Iraqi cab driver supposedly provided WMD "intel" to Tony Blair prior to the invasion...and speaking of Iraq, what Atrios sez here.

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

Richard Miniter, the former Opinion Page editor of the Moonie Times, who, as noted here, sued the paper and the “rev” himself alleging breach of contract, emotional distress and damage to his reputation (Miniter says he was pressured to attend a Unification Church event and was harassed over his refusal to sign a fraudulent document to help an executive).

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

New Jersey State Senator William Baroni, the lone Republican who has said he plans to support legislation for marriage equality, as noted here (and he's a Roman Catholic, it should be noted...the story tells us that a vote in the legislature was postponed as of 12/9; supporters of the legislation are trying to get it passed and over to Gov. Corzine's desk before he leaves office next month and is replaced by Chris Christie, who of course would veto it)

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

Repug U.S. House Rep Robert ("Man, that's a good point!") Wittman of Virginia for this

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

All kinds of reasons to cite Baby Newton Leroy Gingrich on an almost bi-weekly basis, but this is despicable even for him

The “What A Shame He Couldn’t Raise Himself From The Dead After All” Citation

As noted here, Oral Roberts, noted “miracle” faker, is called home to God in December (presumably, though you never know…odd numerical twist that he passed at 91, having raised $9.1 million with that stunt in 1987 to raise $8 million, lest he die)

The “Slavish Worship By The Punditocracy At The Altar Of Our Corporate ‘Betters’ For No Reason Other Than To Further Enshrine The Feel-Good Mythology Of Our Miserable Status Quo” (Got All That?) Citation

Time Magazine names Ben Bernanke Man of the Year (here - I defer to profmarcus on this one, and also to Kevin Drum here)

Inopportune Historical Reference Of The Year

Moon Unit Bachmann implorers those teabaggin' wingnuts that they are "the charge of the light brigade," forgetting, as Jed tells us here, that the charge was a military disaster.

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

Pitcher Cliff Lee, acquired by the Phillies last season for their drive to the playoff and the World Series last year, going 7-4 for the Phils with a 3.39 earned run average in the regular season and 4-0 in the playoffs with a 1.56 ERA (Lee was responsbile for both Phillies' wins in the Series against the New York Yankees).

Recently, though, Lee was traded to the Seattle Marines as part of the deal that brought pitcher Roy Halladay to Philadelphia from Toronto (noted here, so the Phillies basically traded third baseman Jason Donald, catcher Lou Marson, and pitchers Jason Knapp and Carlos Carrasco for nothing).

I just wanted to note Lee's contribution and say thanks, and good luck (against everyone except us, of course...some say he didn't want to "lock in" to a deal with the Phils, though Lee has denied that).

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

James Bain, who, as noted here, was recently freed after more than three decades in prison; a DNA test showed he did not kidnap and rape a 9-year-old boy in 1974 - Bain was quoted as saying "I'm not angry"...God bless him

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Tweety, who claimed here that the netroots "get their giggles from sitting in the back seat and bitching" (yeah, well, when we end up having to apologize all over the place for misogynist remarks about Hillary Clinton...here...then we'll feel contrite, OK?)

The "Cannot Distance Myself Far Enough From My Failed Vice-Presidential Run, Even Though I'd Still Be Hunting Moose And Rousting Meth Dealers In Wasilla If It Weren't For A Certain Arizona Senator" (phew) Citation

Sarah Palin was spotted wearing a blue visor with the McCain-Palin logo hidden by what would look like a magic marker (yes, I promised to eventually ignore her, but this was too precious)

Dregs Of The Year Nominee (The "Privacy Rights? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Privacy Rights!" Citation)

Rep. Todd Lamb of Oklahoma, who, as noted here, helped draft legislation to post informatiom about women's abortions online (and a Do Gooder citation to Oklahoma County District Judge Daniel Owens, who denied the state's motion to dismiss the case challenging this monstrous law, putting the measure on hold until a February 19 hearing)

Dregs Of The Year (At Least) Nominee

Dr. Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, the former South African health minister who died in December; she drew international censure for questioning the causal connection between H.I.V. and AIDS and for promoting dietary measures rather than drugs to treat AIDS, a policy that was held responsible for hundreds of thousands of premature deaths (here)

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

Rep. Jim Campbell, a veteran Republican state legislator in Maine, announced he’s leaving the party over its inability to solve his state’s and the nation’s broken health care system (here). In a statement, Campbell expressed frustration with the party, saying he wants to “send a message” to Republicans in Washington to stop blocking health care reform for “partisan gain” (welcome to the fight)

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee (Special Heartbreak Citation #1)

Former Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Dave Pear, who, despite winning a Super Bowl and receiving the accolades of adoring fans, wishes he had never played football due to the trauma it has ended up inflicting on his body, or as he tells us here...

"My life is simple," he says. "It's hard to get out of bed, but eventually I do. I try and do a little walking on the treadmill. I take naps. I go to physical therapy once per week. I read my Bible."

He is, in basic terms, a train wreck -- a football-inflicted train wreck. Pear walks with a cane and, often, simply doesn't walk at all. He suffers from vertigo and memory loss. Over the past 18 years, he has undergone eight surgeries, beginning with a Posterior Cervical Laminectomy on his neck in 1981, and including disc removal and rod fusion in his back (1987), arthroplasty in his left hip (2008) and, earlier this year, four screws removed from his lower back. Though he chalks up his physical ailments to snap after snap of punishment, he pinpoints the biggest problems back to 1979 and '80, his final two NFL seasons. While playing for Oakland, Pear suffered a herniated disc in his neck that never improved. Despite the unbearable agony, he says the Raiders urged him to keep playing.

And by the way, the oh-so-mighty-and-august National Football League (and the players association under the late Gene Upshaw) definitely earn Dregs citations for their treatment of former stars such as Conrad Dobler (never thought I'd feel sorry for him in particular), Wally Chambers and Earl Campbell.

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

I've given him a couple of Dregs citations, so I think it's only fair to give President Obama another nod here for the Copenhagen Accord, arrived at with the cooperation of a surprising array of parties from the developing world, including leaders from Brazil, South Africa, India, and China, as Think Progress tells us here. This is a first step toward finishing a new internationally ratifiable agreement on climate change, which leaders hope will happen as soon as possible in 2010.

Yes, it's imperfect, but it's a start (and more than we ever got out of Commander Codpiece on this, which was bupkus of course)...and also for this...and in the matter of the Franken amendment, "nobody could have predicted" this, of course...except everybody maybe?

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

Part-time songwriter Orrin Hatch gets it for inserting a $50 million amendment into the health care legislation for abstinence-only programs to be run by the states; as the Times notes in this editorial, "A Congressionally mandated study released in 2007 found that elementary and middle school students who received abstinence instruction were just as likely to have sex in the following year as students who did not get such instruction" (God, how many MORE times must that be pointed out?).

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Det. Mike Baylor, the Washington, D.C. plainclothes police detective who allegedly pulled his gun out and waved it at a large group of people in a snowball fight at the corner of 14th and U streets NW on December 19th when his personal vehicle was hit, as noted here (idiot - h/t to Atrios for the Washington City Paper story)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

RNC spokesperson Gail Gitcho, who, when commenting on a matter concerning the fact that RNC chairman Michael Steele has received thousands of dollars in speaking fees since becoming chairman, said that "Many Democrat and Republican national chairmen have regularly received outside income" (here)...

I'm not aware of the existence of a "Democrat" Party any more than I am aware of the existence of a "Republic" Party, Ms. (?) Gitcho. And if Steele wants to spend his time preparing for speeches instead of trying to come up with opposition-party strategy (aside from just saying "No" and being obstructionist, of course), that's fine with me.

Dregs of the Year Nominee

U.S. House Rep Parker Griffith of Alabama, who, as noted here, recently switched his party allegiance from Democratic to Republican; he was one of three House Dems who voted against the health care bill, the stimulus measure, and the cap-and-trade bill (don't let the door hit you on the way out, loser...and kudos to the DCCC for this)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Angie Langley, who started the "My Congressman Is Nuts" blog as a protest against Alan Grayson; now I'm not opposed to her right to free speech, but as noted here, Langley doesn't even live in Florida's 8th district, so she misrepresenting herself (but of course, as far as Langley is concerned, IOKIYAR)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Repug U.S. House Rep Tom Price of Georgia (of course) who agreed with the statement here that President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder may have a "disdain" for America

Stupidest Left/Right Convergence Of The Year

Jane Hamsher teams with Grover Norquist to call on AG Eric Holder to investigate Rahm Emanuel over some alleged impropriety with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which prompts two responses: 1) Does anyone think Holder will seriously pay attention to it, and 2) Why would anyone trust Grover Norquist on anything? (Jed L. at The Daily Kos has good stuff on this here)

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee (Special Heartbreak Citation #2)

Salvation Army Maj. Philip Wise, who, tragically, was shot to death in front of his three adopted children (here)

Dregs Of The Year Nominee (Special M.I.A. Citation)

Even though every other member of that body voted one way or the other on health care reform, the final vote of 60-39 tells you that someone didn't think stating "yea" or "nay" on that landmark legislation was worth his or her time. And who might that person be who was derelict of duty? Why, it was none other than departing Senate Repug Jim "High and Tight" Bunning of Kentucky (thoroughly in character - as this tells us, it was one of 21 missed votes this month!)

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

Ranking House Intelligence Committee Repug (yep, he's pretty "rank" all right - ba-dump!) Pete Hoekstra gets it for blaming the Obama Administration here for the recent aborted attempt by Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab to blow up a plane, though he ended up setting himself on fire in the process (somehow I don't think MENSA will be knocking on this guy's door...and yes, I know we're fortunate that we can joke like that).

Hoekstra said as follows...

“People have got to start connecting the dots here and maybe this is the thing that will connect the dots for the Obama administration”...

Maybe it's a bit too much of a shock for Hoekstra to realize that he can't find someone else that he can use for purposes of sock puppetry (see Line, Joke), but as noted here, the Obama Administration has been pretty much focused on Yemen already and didn't need Hoekstra or anyone else to remind them about it.

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

Mary Matalin, for claiming here that Dubya "inherited" both the recession that began his presidency and the 9/11 attacks (the zombie lies with these life forms truly never die)

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

Jasper Schuringa, the passenger on Flight 253 from the Netherlands to Detroit who, as noted here, "tackled" suspected terrorist Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, the guy who tried to detonate a bomb on the plane (and this Daily Kos post asks a good question)

I'll end this next time.

Saturday PM Stuff

Alan Grayson stands tall again in support of Brave New Films' "Rethink Afghanistan" campaign (more here)...



...and I guess this means Christmas is over - sigh.

More Saturday AM Stuff

God bless our service people - here are some holiday greetings...



...and Turner Classic Movies remembers those who left us from the movie biz in '09 (h/t The Daily Kos).

Saturday AM Stuff

Actually, if PBS wanted to air a "tribute" to Commander Codpiece, I think the most appropriate programming they could schedule would be a test pattern for an hour to indicate what would have happened if Number 43's cabal had had its way and utterly defunded public television (and I think Wayne Slater is being waaay too kind to Glassman, IMHO)...

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...and I think this is a fitting video response.

Merry Christmas '09!

Time for Bing and Bowie...



...and the granddaddy of them all.

Wednesday Stuff

I love the look on the faces of some of the Santas here (h/t The Daily Kos...ho, ho, ho)...



...and this is one of the evergreen tunes of the season that I saved to nearly the end.

Doomsy's Do-Gooders And Dregs (2009 - Pt. 7)

We're about 3/4s of the way there (Part One is here, Part Two is here, Part Three is here, Part Four is here, Part Five is here, and Part Six is here)...

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Hate radio host Neal Boortz, who compared Obama to a child molester here (truly no line these people won’t cross, but we knew that)…

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

Yes, I know Max Baucus recently stood tall here, but I don't believe that balanced out the fact that his committee really goofed on health care reform (here).

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee ("Nah, Just Kidding" Citation)

This would have been a real shocker, but Bill Orally briefly qualified for this remark about the public option, though he returned to form here.

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

Bill Orally again for receiving a “Press Courage” award, though the press was barred from attending (here)

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Jared C. Monti (courage for real, as opposed to O'Reilly's brand) - Rachel Maddow tells his story below...

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Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

I’ve dumped on Bob Casey a lot, rightly I think, but I should also give him credit for being one of seven votes here against that ridiculous Senate resolution from Repug Mike Johanns banning funding for ACORN as a result of that even-more-ridiculous sting video from that creep James O’Keefe (Yes, the DC office screwed up, but how about counting the good work ACORN does, which more than balances out this mistake, as well as the fact that the ACORN office in question didn't break any laws, whereas that's still an open question concerning the conduct of O'Keefe and Hannah Giles?...kudos also to Bernie Sanders, Kirsten Gillibrand, Patrick Leahy, Roland Burris, Dick Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse for joining Casey; more on ACORN later).

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Fred Barnes, for saying here that Obama’s wise decision not to try and deploy a “Star Wars” missile defense shield could lead to a development worse than the Cuban Missile Crisis (guess what, you asshat – Obama’s decision was seconded by Brent Scowcroft, who’s forgotten more about matters of national security than you’ll ever know)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Butler, PA Repug State House Rep Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, who halted a resolution to recognize October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives because, as he put it, “it has a homosexual agenda” (and as Mike Morrill tells us here, “on the same day, also on the House floor, he made matters worse. The House was about to vote on increasing marriage license fees from $3 to $28, with the increased amount going to a fund for victims of domestic abuse. Metcalfe opposed the measure, calling the funding a domestic violence programs 'a slap in the face to family values.'2 The bill passed despite his outrageous claim.”)

(I'm sure we'll be hearing from Metcalfe in 2010, by the way; he has also sponsored a bill to make teacher strikes illegal in PA, which new Pennsbury School Board member Simon Campbell will do his best to publicize, of course, being more concerned about Harrisburg than he is about his own school district.)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Michael Schwartz, chief of staff for Tom Coburn, who basically said here that porn makes you gay (didn’t work on me – h/t The Daily Kos)…

Do Gooders Of The Year Nominees

As noted here, the following NFL football teams made the highest campaign contributions to the Democratic Party:

The St. Louis Rams (also worthy of rooting for them, even though they’re real bad, because they have ex-Eagle coach Steve Spagnuolo as their head coach)

The San Francisco 49ers

The Philadelphia Eagles (yep, despite the fact that they were cheapskates with Brian Dawkins, Tra Thomas and Sheldon Brown, though they were inexplicably generous to Michael Vick)

The New England Patriots (despite the presence of Bill Belichick)

The Buffalo Bills (despite the presence of T.O.)

The Oakland Raiders

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Ivan Marte, the ex-chairman of the Rhode Island Republican Hispanic Assembly, who quit the Repug Party over the Joe Wilson “You Lie” outburst (here)…

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

Former Bushco ambassador to Poland Victor Ashe here for noting the fact that our embassies are getting more and more expensive (and a supplemental citation to James Gordon, formerly of ArmorGroup, the company contracted for security in our Kabul embassy, for blowing the whistle on the antics going on there)

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

Sen. Al Franken, for, as noted here, “reading the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution to David Kris, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, who was testifying to the Senate Judiciary Committee to urge reauthorization of expiring provisions of the USA Patriot Act” (seems Al wasn’t happy with the answers he was getting from Kris in response to questions he was asking about why the provisions should be reauthorized…there were reasons why we stuck it out with him during the Norm Coleman recount nonsense, and this is one of them)

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

Dem Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, for slapping down that idiot Jon Kyl of Arizona here on the question of whether or not maternity care should be covered in the health insurance reform legislation…

The “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year – For White People Only, I Guess” Citation

Andy Williams, he of the omnipresent white turtleneck sweater at Christmas, said that he thinks President Obama “wants the country to fail” here (let me know when your '60s variety show is ever syndicated, OK dude?)…

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

So many reasons for this one, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce gets it in particular for, as the New York Times puts it here, being “way behind the curve” on global warming (and kudos to Nike and the other companies who have resigned their memberships in protest)

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

Dem U.S. House Rep Alan Grayson of Florida for pronouncing that the Repugs “want you to die quickly,” in response to the statements noted by The Daily Kos here (also, Grayson happens to be, in effect, telling the truth)...also for this

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

BET co-founder (and major donor to VA Repug gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell) Sheila Johnson, for making fun here of Dem gubernatorial candidate Creigh Deeds’ habit of stuttering and stammering when speaking (somehow, I think she can find more substantive reasons to disagree with Deeds than that if she so chooses – she later apologized)

Do Gooders Of The Year Nominee

The English rock group Muse for telling Glenn Beck to withdraw his endorsement of them here (which he did - the update, however, tells us this whole citation is questionable)

Dregs Of The Year Nominees

Repug Sen. Jeff Sessions and every other clown from his party in that body of Congress (including serial philanderer David Vitter) who voted against Sen. Al Franken’s amendment barring the awarding of federal funds to any company that “restrict(s) their employees from taking workplace sexual assault, battery and discrimination cases to court,” as a response to KBR/Halliburton’s actions against gang-rape victim (and employee) Jamie Leigh Jones, as noted here (Do-Gooder nominations within this citation to Franken and, especially, Jones)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Bob Dole thinks Bob Dole would have won the 1996 presidential election if the media had listened to Bob Dole and highlighted the Clinton business with Monica Whatsername, even though the WaPo “spiked” a Bob Dole story about Bob Dole having an affair, as noted here…nice.

Dregs Of The Year Nominees

Don Imus (God, is he STILL around?) for saying here that, after 9/11, President Obama was “the second attack on America” (also to “Straight Talk” McCain for laughing at it…and I give Imus no credit for admitting that it was a dumb thing to say; yep, so how come you even opened your mouth about it in the first place?)

Dregs of the Year Nominees

The offending employees of CIGNA for their treatment of Hilda Sarkisyan, a mother who, as Will Bunch tells us here, “marched into (the company’s) headquarters on a chilly fall day, 10 months after the company refused to pay for a liver transplant for her daughter,” and yelled out "You guys killed my daughter,"(the diminutive San Fernando Valley real estate agent declared at the lobby security desk). "I want an apology."

Cigna employees, looking down into the atrium lobby from a balcony above, began heckling her, she said, with one of them giving her "the finger."

At times like this, I wish stupidity and arrogance were pre-existing conditions, because all of those CIGNA bastards would surely lose their own coverage.

Do Gooder Of The Year

President Obama has to get the nod here for winning the Nobel Peace Prize (and of course it’s indirectly a slam at Dubya –so what?)…

…and having a lot to do with this also; the U.S. jumps from seventh to first in a poll by the Nation Brand Index (NBI).

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

Repug strategist Floyd Brown, for launching an impeachment drive against Obama here (inevitable I suppose from a bunch of partisans with no clue whatsoever about how to solve our myriad problems, which they largely created after all)…

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Robert Lowry, Repug U.S. House candidate running against Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida’s 20th district for next year, who used pictures of Wasserman Schultz for target practice at a gun range, noted here (I wish this were only a bad joke)

Do Gooder of the Year Nominee

Dem NJ Congressman Rush Holt for winning congressional approval of a measure to mandate videotaping of interrogations (here)

Non-Story Of The Year

The utterly ridiculous “will she or won’t she support health care reform” saga of "President" Olympia Snowe (I think we have our answer here, assuming there was ever any doubt)

The “No Truth To The Rumor That His Next Work Will Be A Bird Feeder In The Shape Of A Swastika” Citation

German Artist Ottmar Hoerl posed 1,250 garden gnomes with their arms outstretched in the stiff-armed Hitler salute in an installation that he called “a protest of lingering fascist tendencies in German society” (here)

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

Repug U.S. House Rep John Shadegg, who ranted here that health care reform will result in “Russian gulag, Soviet-style gulag healthcare” here (and we’re supposed to take members of his political party seriously after disgusting garbage like that – a new low indeed)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Bill Maher, believe it or not, for arguing against getting the H1N1 vaccine during an interview with Bill Frist on “Real Time” (here, with Frist actually the voice of reason on this…I know Maher is on this “anti-medicine” and “anti-religion” kick, but what works for him may not work for others)

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Louisiana justice of the peace Keith Bardwell, who refused to issue a marriage license to an interracial couple because he believes such marriages “don’t usually last very long” (here…you just bought yourself one sweet lawsuit, buddy)

Stupidest Halloween Costume Of The Year

The “Illegal Alien” here (Fix Noise thought it was hilarious, of course)…

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

I hate to do this, but I have to give it to Dave “Mudcat” Saunders for saying here that it’s “bullshit” to blame Creigh Deeds for the eventual loss of Va.’s gubernatorial seat (read this kos post and try explaining to me how Saunders is actually right).

Dregs of the Year Nominee

Steve Forbes here, for going all “humuna, humuna, humuna” when Glenn Beck complained about being nominated as one of the “scariest people” of 2009 (Forbes is a pussy with waaay too much money and not the slightest inclination of how to use it constructively)

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

Dede Scozzafava, named as the Republican to run for the U.S. House in New York’s 23rd district, who was basically blackballed for not being conservative enough by the likes of Just Plain Folks Sarah Palin Dontcha Know and former Senator Man-On-Dog; after the wingnuts endorsed third-party candidate Doug Hoffman, Scozzafava gave the Repugs a great big middle-digit-raised-on-high by endorsing Dem Bill Owens (here and here)…

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

Bob Schieffer, for comparing the shortage of flu vaccine (presumably blaming Obama, and it’s not Obama’s fault) to Bush’s handling of Hurricane Katrina here; you know, it really is a sign of the moral bankruptcy of our corporate media that Schieffer is allowed to pontificate about anything having to do with Dubya when Schieffer’s brother Tom was a co-owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team with Number 43 (oh, but Tom gives to Democratic candidates also – riiiiight - more here)…

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

Me, for proposing that Bart Stupak be nominated as Commerce Secretary here before he turned into a total anti-choice wanker on health care reform here (thanks, Bart, for giving Catholic Democrats a bad name)

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

Terry McAuliffe, for dropping himself into Virginia just enough to totally screw up the Democratic primary contest for governor, taking out Brian Moran (who should have been the nominee) along with himself and thus ensuring that the useless Creigh Deeds emerged as the nominee, who of course got steamrolled by Repug Bob McDonnell on election night

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

This goes out to any Internet-based enterprise that claimed that they were discontinuing “support” of web browser IE6, thus encouraging users to upgrade to Google Chrome, Firefox or IE8.

Now I certainly am not a fan of Microsoft, but really, how much does, say, a web hosting service “support” one browser or another besides resolving configuration issues? And how many years has IE6 been out there? At this point, what is there left to “support? Nothing, that’s what.

And isn’t it con-vee-nient that, right next to the note on the site that claims that that site will no longer support IE6, there are links to upgrade to the browsers I noted above?

You know why these sites decided not to “support” IE6 anymore? It’s because they’re all getting a cut for forcing users to upgrade from the companies that developed the other browsers, that’s why.

Just be honest and admit it and not act like cowards for a change, OK?

Dregs Of The Year Nominee

Chris Matthews, for putting down the Corzine campaign here for the commercial implying that governor-elect Chris Christie (still having a hard time trying to fathom that) is fat (yeah, that probably was brainless by the Corzine people), when Matthews has regularly criticized Al Gore and Al Sharpton for their periodic weight gains (h/t Atrios)

Dregs of the Year Nominees

Anyone who “jumped the line” ahead of school-age kids to receive their H1N1 shots before those who needed it most got their injections (including NBA and NHL players, noted here, and Goldman-Sachs/Shitty Group employees here, to name those who come immediately to mind)

The "Oh, But A Change Of Heart Comes Slow" Citation

MTV and, in particular, the band U2 here for sponsoring/performing a concert at the Brandenburg Gate to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall and, in so, doing, building an – ahem – six foot wall around the concert venue so people from the street couldn’t see the show (can you say irony?)

Dregs Of The Year Nominee ("Where No One Wants To Know Your Name" Citation)

Actor John Ratzenberger, known partly for his role as Cliff Clavin in the 1980s sitcom "Cheers," who slammed the Democratic health care bill as a form of socialism at the 11/5 “Tea Party” rally/meetup/press conference/whatever the hell that bozo Michele Bachmann is calling it right now (here)...

"These are Woodstock Democrats," (Ratzenberger) said at the rally. "We have to remember where their philosophy comes from. It doesn't come from America. It comes from overseas. It comes from socialism. And socialism is a philosophy of failure."

So let this remove any doubt once and for all that Ratzenberger is truly the same obnoxious buffoon as his “Cheers” character.

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

Rich Stearns, who runs World Vision, which, according to this story “(sends) the impoverished around the world thousands of team championship caps, jerseys and T-shirts produced before the World Series and Super Bowl and then rendered unusable for marketing in the United States when teams don't win the title” (the Phillies’ stuff after the World Series loss was a hit, as it turns out)

(Presumed) Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee (Commemorative PFC Jessica Lynch Citation)

Sgt. Kimberly D. Munley, who reportedly shot Fort Hood attack gunman Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan and thus saved the lives of people Hassan otherwise might have killed, though upon further review as they say, it appeared that she did not (here)

Do Gooder Of The Year Nominee

Repug U.S. House Rep Anh “Joseph” Cao of Louisiana (he won the seat after William Jefferson, he of the $90G in the freezer, lost) for being the only House Repug to vote in favor of health care reform (here)

We're getting close to the end here; I don't know if I'll finish this up next time or not - we'll see...

Where The Rubber Meets The Road (12/23/09)

As reported in last Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer, here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress were recorded on major roll-call votes last week (and I also posted here).

House

Jobs, benefits spending. Voting 217-212, the House sent the Senate a bill (HR 2847) to provide $74 billion to create or preserve publicly funded jobs in areas such as education, law enforcement, school and housing repairs, and highway, airport, and mass-transit construction. The bill also would appropriate $79 billion to fund unemployment checks and COBRA health benefits for the long-term jobless and help states meet Medicaid obligations, among other social safety-net outlays.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.), Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Allyson Y. Schwartz (D., Pa.), and Joe Sestak (D., Pa.).

Voting no: John Adler (D., N.J.), Michael N. Castle (R., Del.), Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Here is the press release from Patrick Murphy’s office explaining this vote, which was just flat-out bad as far as I’m concerned.

For about the 150th time, can we please forget about the deficit for the moment until this still-moribund economy actually creates jobs instead of shedding them and people are no longer losing their homes??!!

And this is par for the proverbial course as far as Adler is concerned; no sense even wasting my time commenting on it.

2010 military appropriations. Voting 395-34, the House approved the conference report on a $636.3 billion fiscal 2010 military appropriations bill that includes $128.3 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and $28.3 billion for service members' health care. The bill (HR 3326) funds a 3.4 percent military pay raise; caps production of the F-22 Raptor fighter jet; funds C-17 cargo jets over Pentagon objections; and appropriates $15 billion for procuring seven Navy ships and $6.3 billion for buying 6,600 Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) all-terrain vehicles.

A yes vote was to approve the conference report.

Voting yes: Adler, Andrews, Brady, Castle, Dent, Fattah, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Murphy, Pitts, Schwartz, Sestak, and Smith.

Wow, even Pancake Joe voted for it? Color me shocked!

National debt limit. The House voted, 218-214, to raise the national debt limit by $290 billion to $12.39 trillion. Now awaiting Senate action, the bill (HR 4314) would extend Treasury borrowing authority until about Feb. 11, at which time Congress would vote again to raise the debt ceiling.

A yes vote was to raise the national debt ceiling.

Voting yes: Andrews, Brady, Fattah, Holden, Murphy, Schwartz, and Sestak.

Voting no: Adler, Castle, Dent, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Pitts, and Smith.

The last thing in the world I want to do is give ammunition to the wingnuts running against Patrick, but at least Adler is consistently wrong in that he voted against the jobs bill and against raising the debt ceiling. I don’t see the point of opposing the jobs bill in the name of fiscal prudence while supporting an increase in the debt ceiling.

Senate

Drug importation. Voting 51-48, the Senate failed to reach 60 votes needed to pass an amendment under which individuals and businesses could import U.S.-made, federally approved pharmaceuticals from Canada and other countries at retail costs much lower than in U.S. stores. This amendment was offered to a pending health-care bill (HR 3590).

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.) said: "As much as we want to cut costs for consumers, we cannot afford to cut corners and risk exposing Americans to drugs that are ineffective or unsafe."

A yes vote backed drug importation.

Voting yes: Arlen Specter (D., Pa.).

Voting no: Thomas Carper (D., Del.), Bob Casey (D., Pa.), Ted Kaufman (D., Del.), Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), and Robert Menendez (D., N.J.).

As noted here, Lautenberg sponsored an amendment that competed with the amendment sponsored above by Sen. Byron Dorgan (Lautenberg’s amendment approved of importing the drugs provided they could be FDA certified), which actually garnered more votes than Dorgan’s, even though both fell short of the dreaded “60 votes needed for passage to prevent yet another Repug filibuster” scenario (I don’t think Lautenberg’s was necessary, to tell you the truth, but it only served as “a spanner in the works,” as they say, Big Pharma being REALLY big in NJ and all that).

And the only reason Specter actually supported Dorgan’s common-sense, consumer-friendly amendment is because of Joe Sestak’s primary challenge (and by the way, to help Admiral Joe, click here).

Health-bill taxes. Voting 56-41, the Senate tabled (killed) a Republican bid to delay until 2014 the start of new taxes that would help pay for HR 3590 (above). While most of the bill's new programs and benefits would be delayed until 2014, its taxes would begin before then, some as early as 2010.

A yes vote was to kill the Republican motion.

Voting yes: Carper, Casey, Kaufman, Lautenberg, Menendez, and Specter.

Catchall 2010 budget. Voting 57-35, the Senate approved the conference report on a $447 billion catchall spending bill (HR 3288) for 2010 composed of six appropriations bills that Congress has failed to enact individually. Covering the budget year that began in October, the bill funds military construction projects; dozens of independent agencies in areas such as financial regulation and disaster relief; about 4,800 earmarks totaling $3.7 billion; and the budgets of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Commerce, State, Justice, and Housing and Urban Development. The bill also clears $650 billion in fiscal 2010 entitlement spending for programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and veterans' benefits.

Sen. Ted Kaufman (D., Del.) said the bill takes "tremendously important steps toward creating a better and safer climate. More than $1.2 billion are intended to help us face the threats of climate change."

A yes vote was to send the bill to President Obama.

Voting yes: Carper, Casey, Kaufman, Lautenberg, Menendez, and Specter.

2010 military appropriations. Voting 88-10, the Senate sent President Obama the conference report on a $636.3 billion fiscal 2010 military appropriations bill that includes $128.3 billion for war in Iraq and Afghanistan and $28.3 billion for service members' health care.

A yes vote was to pass the conference report.

Voting yes: Carper, Casey, Kaufman, Lautenberg, Menendez, and Specter.

This week, the House is in recess, and the Senate continues to debate health care, of course.

Tuesday Stuff

Kind of drifting into a holiday mode here without the usual political videos, though there is some stuff I want to get to before year-end (probably about three more "Do-Gooders And Dregs" posts, among other items).

In the meantime, here's something a little mellow from a seventies icon...



...and something a little more flipped-out from a guy popular a decade later.

Much Wingnut Ado Over A "Bush Dog" Dustup

Over at Irrational Spew Online, someone named Stephen Spruiell is crowing here over a defection from the U.S. House Democratic ranks, and that would be someone named Parker Griffith of Alabama who just announced that he would become a Repug.

Well, considering Griffith’s horrible voting record, as noted here, that really isn’t much of a surprise (and good for the DCCC here).

However, that didn’t stop Spruiell from saying the following…

…that puts the Blue Dog scoreboard at:

Retirements: Dennis Moore, John Tanner, Bart Gordon, Brian Baird.

Defections: Parker Griffith.

We need a ticker to keep track of these.

Not yet you don’t, unless, of course, Spruiell has difficulty counting beyond the number four (in that event, I believe Spruiell could purchase an educational aid of some type from Fisher Price).

But if it’s a ticker he wants, then he might need one to keep track of the following Repug defections from Congress…

109th (here):

28 November 2005 - Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham - Republican - California CD 50 resigned, effective at close of business 1 December, from the U.S. House after pleading guilty to Federal charges involving bribes, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion.

9 June 2006 - Congressman Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay - Republican - Texas CD 22 resigned. House Majority Leader DeLay was indicted on one count of criminal conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme by a Texas grand jury on 28 September 2005. House rules required him to relinquish his leadership position. Mr. Delay was renominated in the 7 March 2006 Texas Primary but withdrew his nomination 4 April and announced his intention to resign on 11 May.

29 September 2006 - Congressman Mark Foley - Republican - Florida CD 16 resigned and withdrew his candidacy from the General Election. Mr. Foley had received his party's nomination in the 5 September primary.

3 November 2006 - Robert "Bob" Ney - Republican - Ohio CD 18 resigned. He pleaded guilty on 13 October 2006 to charges of conspiracy and making false statements in the Jack Abramoff scandal.

110th (here):

Dennis Hastert (resigned from the House; seat won by Dem Bill Foster)

Richard Baker (resigned from the House; seat won by Dem Don Cazayoux)

Tom Davis (resigned in advance of retirement)

111th (here):

Mel Martinez (resigned from the Senate)

George Voinovich (resigned from the Senate)

Jim Bunning (resigned from the Senate)

Sam Brownback (resigned from the Senate)

“Kit” Bond (resigned from the Senate)

(Also, as noted here, Spruiell had an issue with K.O. referring to Obama’s predecessor as “Mr. Bush,” even though that “dastardly liberal” Bill Buckley did the same thing.)

To be fair, there have been plenty of Democratic member changes in Congress over that time for a variety of reasons, including winning the presidency (Obama in the Senate), winning the governorship of New Jersey (Jon Corzine, who handed off his Senate seat to Bob Menendez in ‘06; as we know, Corzine lost his bid for re-election this year), and deaths (Bob Matsui and Tom Lantos in the House and Ted Kennedy in the Senate).

Also, if Spruiell’s point is that the Dems would have to play defense in the election cycle coming up as well as 2012, I should point out that that’s something that has been known for some time (much as the Repugs had to do so in 2006).

And though I would rather that the Democrats do so on the wings of passage of a health care bill that actually is more than about 60-70 percent of a loaf, as it were (as opposed to what will likely pass), I would rather be in their shoes at this moment than that of a national party whose primary hope for electoral success lies with a bunch of “teabaggin” values-voter throwbacks to the earlier part of this decade (happily now over) who think that Obama is trying to control one-sixth of the economy, who believe we will sacrifice jobs in the name of reversing the horrific effects of climate change (assuming that is still possible), and who actually have bought and will buy Sarah Palin’s book.

Update 1 12/23/09: Maybe another on the way (here)? No big loss (h/t Atrios).

Update 2 12/23/09: I hope this fraud ends up having to pay every penny owed back to the DCCC, with interest (here).

Monday Stuff

I'm too busy doing hallucinogenic drugs to look for political videos, so I'll just put up some holiday stuff here - first, something stirring and traditional...



...and something that isn't.

“Torture Yoo” Delivers A Christmas Lump Of Coal

As long as Philadelphia’s conservative house organ of record continues to give column space to one of Bushco’s most notorious enablers, then I and/or others will have no choice but to respond.

Here is some true balderdash (trying not to use bad words) from yesterday’s column (and I’ll try also to avoid Yoo’s laughable editorializing about Obama “growing up,” “(leaving behind) the apologies,” and “recognizing reality”)…

…instead of fleeing Afghanistan, as many in the antiwar left hoped, Obama is sending an additional 30,000 troops. Instead of accelerating the drawdown of American forces in Iraq, Obama is keeping to the Bush timetable.

Uh, no.

If Obama were truly keeping with “the Bush timetable,” then he would be continuing to short change our military in that country while engaging them in the black hole of Mesopotamia with no end in sight; indeed, one of the many problems is that there never was a “timetable.” And while I don’t agree with Obama’s actions in Afghanistan, I understand that he at least is trying to resolve the war in a manner that he thinks is best; I’ll admit that the drawdown over there should take place a lot earlier than the “glide slope,” as National Security Adviser James Jones put it, of July 2011, but however insufficient, this constitutes an improvement from the wretched mistakes of Obama’s predecessor.

As this story tells us (with more here, by the way)…

The problems began in early 2002, former Bush administration, United Nations and Afghan officials said, when the United States and its allies failed to take advantage of a sweeping desire among Afghans for help from foreign countries.

The Defense Department initially opposed a request by Colin L. Powell, then secretary of state, and Afghanistan's new leaders for a sizable peacekeeping force and deployed only 8,000 American troops, but purely in a combat role, officials said.

During the first 18 months after the invasion, the United States-led coalition deployed no peacekeepers outside Kabul, leaving the security of provinces like Helm and to local Afghans.

''Where the world, including the United States, came up short was on the security side,'' said Richard Haass, the former director of policy planning at the State Department. ''That was the mistake which I believe is coming back to haunt the United States now.''

The lack of security was just one element of a volatile mix. Twenty years of conflict had shattered government and social structures in Afghanistan, the world's fifth poorest country, where the average life expectancy is 43.

American officials said the country was more destitute than they had envisioned, yet the $909 million they provided in assistance in 2002 amounted to one-twentieth of the $20 billion allocated for postwar Iraq. Officials quintupled assistance to $4.8 billion by 2005, but then reduced it by 30 percent this year.

The Taliban leadership, meanwhile, found safe haven in neighboring Pakistan. And Robert Grenier, the C.I.A.'s former top counterterrorism official and Islamabad station chief, said Pakistani officials largely turned a blind eye to Taliban commanders, who later seeped back across the border.

And as noted here, as of March 2008, we had about 142,000 of our military deployed in Iraq, with about 31,000 deployed in Afghanistan. That tells you all you need to know about how Bushco failed to prioritize the conflict that truly mattered.

It should also be noted that, in a column ostensibly having to do with foreign policy, Yoo engages in the typical right-wing fearmongering on domestic issues by saying that Obama “wants to nationalize one-sixth of the economy by taking over health care,” and wants to “limit greenhouse gas emissions, which will result in energy rationing.”

These idiotic remarks could laughably be dismissed as the product of a hopeless partisan, as indeed they should be, though concerning health care in particular, the following should be noted (here)…

Obama has rejected a British/Canadian-like single-payer reform and most policy makers are looking for a “uniquely American solution” that preserves the employer-sponsored system and creates a hybrid public-private partnership. In other words, American reforms would look a bit like the Swiss health system in which the government “leaves the provision of health care and health insurance in private hands” but creates a marketplace within which insurers can compete on price, and not avoid insuring the sickest patients.

And this was written in April, while Ted Kennedy still drew breath and long before the public option and Medicare for All were drug into a Senate cloakroom somewhere and bludgeoned to death by the Repugs and their pals Max Baucus, Kent Conrad, Blanche Lincoln, Ben Nelson, and of course Joe Lieberman, among others.

And Yoo’s line that “Congress has conveniently forgotten how to howl about an imperial presidency,” is laughable (funny, but I don’t recall any member of Congress yelling out “You Lie!” to Dubya, though they would have been correct to do so, bad manners and all). But the following line in his screed stating “the attacks on Bush were always more about partisan politics than the Constitution” is too repugnant to go unanswered; in reply, human rights lawyer Scott Horton tells us the following from here…

(Last March) the Obama Administration released a series of nine previously secret legal opinions crafted by the Office of Legal Counsel to enhance the presidential powers of George W. Bush. Perhaps the most astonishing of these memos was one crafted by University of California at Berkeley law professor John Yoo. He concluded that in wartime, the President was freed from the constraints of the Bill of Rights with respect to anything he chose to label as a counterterrorism operations inside the United States.

…

John Yoo’s Constitution is unlike any other I have ever seen. It seems to consist of one clause: appointing the President as commander-in-chief. The rest of the Constitution was apparently printed in disappearing ink.

After enduring another exercise in propaganda like this from Yoo, it would seem that the Inky never got the memo about the “good will towards men” that is commonly cited as an inspiration for our holiday celebrations. And the former Bushco stooge’s latest ramblings should be treated with the same seriousness we devote to tales of toy-making elves, jolly snowmen in silk hats, flying reindeer and sugar-plum fairies.