Bush and Obama and Cheeeeney...

i really have been wondering for the last several days if there has been communication between George Bush and Barack Obama over everything going on. seems like the question has been answered by Mr. Obama himself:

In an interview with C-SPAN that will air in entirety at 10.a.m. Saturday, President Barack Obama acknowledged having had conversations with Bush since leaving office, though he insisted on abiding by "a general policy of keeping confidence with your predecessor."

Obama Has Talked With Bush Since Inauguration
Sam Stein, Huffington Post
May 23, 2009

personally, i thought that it was a certainty that they have been talking. i also believe that Obama probably has been talking to George H.W., Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter. i also speculate that George W. has been counseled by his father, George H.W. on how to respond or, rather, how not to respond to Cheeney's mutterings.

there is much talk that Mr. Bush and Cheeeeney were at odds towards the end of Bush's term in office. Bush himself said it was time to close Gitmo; Mr. Cheeeney has been continuing his talk to keep it open. something is obviously not right here.

now comes word that Mr. Cheeeney is hawking a book deal - Cheney Seeks Book Deal on Bush Years and More, New York Times, 5/22/09 - and the last few weeks of Cheeeeney's actions and behaviour seem to be even more self-aggrandizing as some have come to explain one reason for his whirlwind jaunt. it's almost a book tour being done BEFORE the book is published.

actually, no publisher has even bought the book yet.

not to worry there. someone is just waiting on the chance to jump on that. that person wants to make a lot of money. Mr. Cheeeeney seems to be investing on his reputation more than anything else.

well, he doesn't need the money. does he?

tea parties...

when i first heard about these winger/Republican/christianist/nut tea parties i immediately thought about the ones that the Mad Hatter had in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonder Land and Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There.

i mean think about it. they are protesting tax increases... FOR THE RICH!

well, here's some news for them. Obama has not had any tax plan passed as yet. what they are protesting is the tax plan that Mr. Bush put into effect, where he lowered the tax rate for the wealthiest people in the world and stuck it to the middle class! i don't think that these people are smart enough to understand this.

the tea parties were touted by the Republican leadership that doesn't know what its left hand is doing with its ass.

what are these people thinking? are they just so out of their minds that they will just let the Fox mumble-mouths and Tsar Rush* talk them into anything because of their hate and bigotry. that's exactly what's happening. they are lemmings. they don't think; they follow the party line - no matter what it is that is shoved down their throats.

and i'm serious about bigotry being one of the elements behind what's happening. i strongly believe at the core and heart of it all is white racism because of Obama's background and this is the way they can avoid the word racism!

they want to work on everyone's fear but it's their own unfounded fears that fuel their low-stoked fires and the leadership of the minority party and its spook-miesters know that full well.

they repeatedly talk about Obama putting socialism into place when, if you look at the majority of the protesters you might notice they are probably over 65. they are part of the largest socialistic program not only in the U.S. but in the world - Medicare

i would love to see a Republican lawmaker in the House or Senate bring a bill to the floor to do away with Medicare because it is a socialist program. something tells me that there would no longer be a Republican Party in existence.

talk about obfuscation...



Maxx thought i said pee party!
might as well have...


*i first wrote King Rush for Limbaugh but it dawned on me when i typed it that what he is after is replacing Tsar George. if there hadn't been a term limit on the presidency, ole Rush could have been in the planning stage of a Kremlinesque coup. think about it...

no one could make this stuff up...

i can't say anything else about this. if it were a t.v. show it would have won numerous Emmy awards. it would have been turned into a movie by Jack Black or Adam Sandler, but they too could never have written this stuff.

the Tsar certainly does give a new and definitive definition of the word clown.

no to mention the word obfuscation...

man did this look great...

it stopped! thank the fates. the nightmare of the last eight years is over. now, the mess has to be cleaned up.

i'm going to leave it in the sidebar for a couple more weeks, just to make sure it really is over...

the thing we'll miss about Tsar George...

yeah, i know it ain't gonna be much, but he was fodder for all the comics, and he did it by just being himself. here are some of the more memorable lines he used. no one, but no one, could have made these up...

"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully." — September 2000, explaining his energy policies at an event in Michigan.

• "Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?" — January 2000, during a campaign event in South Carolina.

• "They misunderestimated the compassion of our country. I think they misunderestimated the will and determination of the commander in chief, too." — Sept. 26, 2001, in Langley, Va. Bush was referring to the terrorists who carried out the Sept. 11 attacks.

• "There's no doubt in my mind, not one doubt in my mind, that we will fail." — Oct. 4, 2001, in Washington. Bush was remarking on a back-to-work plan after the terrorist attacks.

• "It would be a mistake for the United States Senate to allow any kind of human cloning to come out of that chamber." — April 10, 2002, at the White House, as Bush urged Senate passage of a broad ban on cloning.

• "I want to thank the dozens of welfare-to-work stories, the actual examples of people who made the firm and solemn commitment to work hard to embetter themselves." — April 18, 2002, at the White House.

• "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." — Sept. 17, 2002, in Nashville, Tenn.

• "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." — Aug. 5, 2004, at the signing ceremony for a defense spending bill.

• "Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many OB/GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." — Sept. 6, 2004, at a rally in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

• "Our most abundant energy source is coal. We have enough coal to last for 250 years, yet coal also prevents an environmental challenge." — April 20, 2005, in Washington.

• "We look forward to hearing your vision, so we can more better do our job." — Sept. 20, 2005, in Gulfport, Miss.

• "I can't wait to join you in the joy of welcoming neighbors back into neighborhoods, and small businesses up and running, and cutting those ribbons that somebody is creating new jobs." — Sept. 5, 2005, when Bush met with residents of Poplarville, Miss., in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

• "It was not always a given that the United States and America would have a close relationship. After all, 60 years we were at war 60 years ago we were at war." — June 29, 2006, at the White House, where Bush met with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.

• "Make no mistake about it, I understand how tough it is, sir. I talk to families who die." — Dec. 7, 2006, in a joint appearance with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

• "These are big achievements for this country, and the people of Bulgaria ought to be proud of the achievements that they have achieved." — June 11, 2007, in Sofia, Bulgaria.

• "Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your introduction. Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit." — September 2007, in Sydney, Australia, where Bush was attending an APEC summit.

• "Thank you, Your Holiness. Awesome speech." April 16, 2008, at a ceremony welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to the White House.

• "The fact that they purchased the machine meant somebody had to make the machine. And when somebody makes a machine, it means there's jobs at the machine-making place." — May 27, 2008, in Mesa, Ariz.

• "And they have no disregard for human life." — July 15, 2008, at the White House. Bush was referring to enemy fighters in Afghanistan.

• "I remember meeting a mother of a child who was abducted by the North Koreans right here in the Oval Office." — June 26, 2008, during a Rose Garden news briefing.

• "Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have helped transform 13 small colonies into a great and growing nation of more than 300 people." — July 4, 2008 in Virginia.

• "The people in Louisiana must know that all across our country there's a lot of prayer — prayer for those whose lives have been turned upside down. And I'm one of them. It's good to come down here." — Sept. 3, 2008, at an emergency operations center in Baton Rouge, La., after Hurricane Gustav hit the Gulf Coast.

• "This thaw — took a while to thaw, it's going to take a while to unthaw." Oct. 20, 2008, in Alexandria, La., as he discussed the economy and frozen credit markets.


you too can have an Ivy League education, just don't wish it on your kids...

presidential press conferences...

is it my imagination or does it seem like we've had more press conferences from President-elect Barack Obama since November 4th than we have in the entire eight years of the Tsar's regime?

just asking...

this is priceless, or maybe Payless...

I'm not going to insult you by including the now (in)famous shoe tossing video. It's been played to death and the clueless smile on the Tsar's face when it was happening was priceless.

BUT, Rude Pundit has a great idea as a followthrow...

This morning, the Rude Pundit decided to honor the efforts of Muntader al-Zaidi, the Iraqi shoe-tosser, by taking out a raggedy old pair of sneakers, putting them in a Priority Mail shipping box, helpfully provided by the United States Post Office, and shipping them to President George W. Bush at the White House. He included a note that read, "This is a farewell kiss from the American people, you dog."

Now there have been many actions suggested over the years on sending messages to the current regime in Washington, but this is not only unique it could possibly help some homeless people in the D.C. area, if the White House realizes that they could do something good for the first, errrr last, weeks in office!

you can get all of the information at the link to Rude Pundit.

thanks to Crooks and Liars for the heads-up...

your culture will adapt to serve as us...

this photo comparison has been around for the last eight years or so.

but have you seen this one?

it sort of explains a lot, don't you think?

We are the Borg.

You will be assimilated...

John McCain + George Bush = Al Gore + Bill Clinton...

just before falling asleep last night the similarity hit me.

in 2000 the ever-moral Al Gore basically refused to allow Bill Clinton to campaign for him. [a very large mistake in my opinion.]

in 2008 John McCain is not letting George Bush campaign for him.

both men fear/feared the influence of a negative slant their campaigns might have/had by using help from Bush and Clinton.

to not use two of the most successful politicians in recent history was a shame in former case and for the best in the present case.

let's hope that this helps McCain from being elected.

an answer to "Where is the President?"

Well, it seems there is a quick response to the question that Chris Matthews asked last night.

Tsar George is speaking at 10:10 EDT from the White House about he economic status.

i wonder if this is in direct response from Matthews asking the question on air, from the Mcpains intervening, from the Republican leadership pleading, or from the man realizing that, though he is lame [as in lame duck] he still has a job to do?

whatever the reason, what he says i'm sure it will be riddled in misconception and promises that can't be realistic.

i'm going to the gym...

an explanation...

i frequently, no always, refer to the current president as Tsar George. there are reasons for this.

while working on my B.A. i majored in History. my main focus was on constitutional history, but since i was also taking Russian Language classes, i took a number of classes dealing with Russian history. one of my Russian teachers actually was a member of the Romanov family and had gone into exile; so she had fascinating stories. i was entranced by the years leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and it's precursor in 1905. in my opinion the entire fault can be laid at the feet of the Romanov's.

there is a quote about Tzar Nicholas II that explains my feelings on the point:

In reality, he was a weak and indecisive man dominated by his wife and isolated from the socio-economic problems of his own country.

though no one can attest to Barbara Bush being dominating, the rest of the quote hits home about the last eight years.

the only thing i see Tsar George being decisive about in the last eight years was going to Iraq. there is another parallel between George II and Nicholas II in this:

The Russians had no contingency plans for a partial mobilization, and on 31 July 1914 Nicholas took the fateful step of confirming the order for a general mobilization. Nicholas was strongly counselled against mobilization of the Russian forces but chose to ignore such advice.

sound familiar?

so, hopefully, you can see why i have referred to Mr. Bush as Tsar George Bushanov. not because of the autocracy he tries to enforce but because as George Santayana said, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." [i even have it at the top right of this website...]

you may also be able to tell my connecting Dick Rasputin as Tzar George's sidekick. you can read about Grigori Rasputin and see the parallel's.

election update...

but not what you might be expecting...

while i was writing the last post on the Grand Sport Bugatti Veyron, my eyes were caught by three little widgets on the side of the website:

2008 Election Countdown: 79 days

The Official George W. Bush "Days Left in Office" Countdown: 155 days 11 hours 5 minutes 59.6 seconds

Cost of the War in Iraq: $546,169,702,441. [it's gone up since i typed that by several tens of thousands of dollars.]

does anyone really want to add 4 more years and $500 Billions of dollars to these counts?

the thought of McCain as president really does scare me...

UPDATE 2: Article of Impeachment...

House votes to send impeachment resolution to Judiciary Committee

The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to send articles of impeachment against President Bush to the Judiciary Committee for review.

The impeachment resolution’s sponsor, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, requested a recorded vote on the motion around 3 p.m. Wednesday, and 24 Republicans joined nearly all Democrats in voting to send the impeachment measure to the committee. The Raw Story, 10 June 2008

The problem is the Judiciary Committee has had the Articles of Impeachment against VP Rasputin Cheney since November and they've done absolutely nothing with them.

and, of course...

Speaker Nancy Pelosi is sticking by her earlier pledge to make sure impeaching Bush and Cheney is an option that remains strictly “off the table.”

like i said in the first post on this, Pelosi [is she the tsarina?] should be impeached first...

this Congress is setting a very dangerous precedent. it is its duty to police the executive branch and it refuses to do so. it is not only shirking its duty but also turning the Constitution into more and more of a piece of paper and not a living document.

Articles of Impeachment against the Tsar...

Rep. Dennis Kucinich has entered a Resolution of Impeachment against Tsar George. Previously he had done the same concerning VP Rasputin Cheney. That one was killed before it could reach a hearing.

Calls for this action have been repeatedly snubbed by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. [Why Pelosi opposes impeachment] Of course, this has also caused many people to call for her to step down or be fired from the Speaker's job. [Impeach Pelosi First]

Not only that, with only 147 days until the election and 223 days until the Tsar is gone from Washington, it's not going to happen. People want to just ride it out.
unless...





nah, won't happen. afterall, this is his general attitude...


...besides, who would you find to do it?

NYT and the Webb/Hagel GI Bill...

The New York Times hits the nail on the head with its editorial today - Mr. Bush and the G.I. Bill.

So lavish with other people’s sacrifices, so reckless in pouring the national treasure into the sandy pit of Iraq, Mr. Bush remains as cheap as ever when it comes to helping people at home.

The basic argument that he and Mr. McCain use is that with such a lavish gift of a college education, most service members will not re-enlist.

In fact, the Congressional Budget Office does predict that the number of re-enlistments will go down about 16%, BUT the CBO also predicts that the number of new enlistments, given the education incentive of the Webb/Hagel bill, will increase about 16%! It would be a wash. Of course, to finish his dirty little war, Tsar George would probably be happier if that would be 32%! Won't happen. No incentive; no increased enlistments.

One would like to think, given the bipartisan support of the GI Bill, that Congress will finally show the cajones the Democrats promised by overriding the threatened veto by the Tsar. It already is veto-proof given the support by which it was passed. The Republican wizards will be working overtime, you can be sure, to make sure the veto sticks if it comes to that.

The NYT's final say in the editorial is great:

By threatening to veto it, Mr. Bush is showing great consistency of misjudgment. Congress should forcefully show how wrong he is by overriding his opposition and spending the money — an estimated $52 billion over 10 years, a tiniest fraction of the ongoing cost of Mr. Bush’s Iraq misadventure.

Misadventure? They are too kind. Everybody else but the Tsar knows it's a total disaster...

no comment...

George W's Farewell at the Gridiron Club
9 March 2008
and, yes, he's actually singing...

two different takes...

While the U.S. is struggling and debating if the country is in a recession [it depends on which politician you listen to] Europe is feeling a different economic problem and I would bet it's all tied to the U.S. economy.

The banner headline in Le Monde today -

L'inflation s'installe en Europe

trans: "Inflation takes hold in Europe"

It reached 3.4% in March, the highest rate since the introduction of the Euro. The European Union declared that it is directly related to the price of fuel.

let's see... oil is around $110 a barrel right now. hmmmm? Tsar George and Rasputin Cheney both were involved with the oil industries and, i assume, the blind trusts that they had to establish when elected are probably ripe with oil stocks, options, etc.

do you think there may be some sort of connection?

just asking...

monday morning mayhem...

1. work ethic...



2. sex education...



3. World's Greatest Ass finalists...

it's down to three, folks:
















man, that's a hard one!


groannnnnnnnnnnnnn...

where's my rebate check?

For the first time ever I have to pay the IRS this year. It's because of all the refunds I got when I retired last year. Seems that the government agencies had me putting money into things for a number of years that I didn't have to pay into. Figures....

Since they were pensionable items there were no taxes taken out at the time. So, now, I have to pay the taxes on them.

My questions then are, if I'm paying taxes this year, do I get this economic stimulus package or not? Can I just deduct the $600 from what I have to pay? Do I get the entire $600 or a percentage because I made so much with the refunds? Do I have to file additional paperwork? Or am I just being stimulated where the sun don't shine?

i'm confused.

wait..., maybe i'm not.

no, i'm definitely confused...

'splain me, Lucy...

remember the frug, the swim, the twist...

there is a new dance craze...


it's called the
Lame Duck
with an emphasis on lame