Executive versus Legislative, round a million

Congress wants to talk to top White House aides.  Bush tells Congress to go screw, the big kahuna gets to keep his advisers and their advice a secret.  Congress says “Hey, we’re one of the three branches and you aren’t a king.

Is it so bad that I see both sides here? Here’s my big problem right now; Bush won’t even explain how or why the concept of executive privilege applies.  He, or rather the entire White House, have grown so arrogant in their application of power that the refuse to explain where they get the right.  Could that be because it won’t withstand a challenge?  I don’t know.  I do know that Bush should have to explain his position to someone. even if it’s behind closed doors.

I understand that he wants to keep conversations between himself and advisers private.  I get that...and I support it.  However, Congress should (and I believe does) have the right to ask questions.  Once asked, those questions should either be answered, or a good (read: legal) reason should be given as to why they will not be answered.  No, it doesn’t matter that the whole thing is over a witch hunt (the AG firings issue) to begin with.  Congress has legally requested to speak with certain White House staff members.  The White House has returned a response that boils down to “We don’t have to listen to you and we don’t even have to tell you why.”

This is not a kingdom.  Bush doesn’t get to be the decider on everything.

Posted by JimK at 03:52 PM on July 10, 2007
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Categories: News,  Politics,  The Federal Government
Tags: politics Congress Bush government

Immigration Bill dead as a doornail

Ding, dong, shamnesty’s dead (for now).

The Senate drove a stake Thursday through President Bush’s plan to legalize millions of unlawful immigrants, likely postponing major action on immigration until after the 2008 elections.

Responding to a stinging political setback, President Bush sounded resigned to defeat.

‘’Legal immigration is one of the top concerns of the American people, and Congress’ failure to act on it is a disappointment,’’ Bush said after an appearance in Newport, R.I.. ‘’The American people understand the status quo is unacceptable when it comes to our immigration laws. A lot of us worked hard to see if we couldn’t find common ground. It didn’t work.’’

My God, it really is true isn’t it?  My President is an idiot.  The American people understand the status quo is unacceptable, and that your plan was 180 degrees in the wrong direction, Dubya.  You friggin’ ‘tard.  Most Americans did find common ground.  Left, right and center, the majority of us agreed that your bill sucked hairy hog balls.

George W. Bush.  Constantly and forever snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

Oh and also, it was nice of Lindsey Graham to try to paint everyone who opposes shamnesty as racists.  Again.

“There’s racism in this debate,” Mr. Graham said. “Nobody likes to talk about it, but a very small percentage of people involved in this debate really have racial and bigoted remarks. The tone that we create around these debates, whether it be rhetoric in a union hall or rhetoric on talk radio, it can take people who are on the fence and push them over emotionally.”

Thanks, Linds.  I really appreciate being tarred and feathered by the words of one or two kooks out of the hundred of millions of Americans who all banded together to tell you this bill was a sham.

Posted by JimK at 01:25 PM on June 28, 2007
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Categories: News,  Politics,  The Federal Government
Tags: bush politics illegal immigration lindsey graham

Vice President Dick Cheney needs a civics lesson

What the hell?

The Oversight Committee has learned that over the objections of the National Archives, Vice President Cheney exempted his office from the presidential order that establishes government-wide procedures for safeguarding classified national security information. The Vice President asserts that his office is not an “entity within the executive branch.”

What the...what the hell?  Can this be real?  What the hell?  Does the man not have a copy of the Constitution?

Article II

Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of four years, and, together with the Vice President, chosen for the same term, be elected, as follows:

Dick Cheney is simply wrong, and it’s high time he was legally reminded of that fact.  I swear, just when the Democrats screw it eight ways from Sunday and public opinion starts to shift, along come Bush & Cheney to steal defeat from the jaws of victory.

Posted by JimK at 10:05 PM on June 21, 2007
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Categories: News,  Politics,  The Federal Government
Tags: vice president dick cheney

McCain plays word games, calls me a racist

It’s right here.

“I think the Senate works in a way where relatively small numbers can block legislation, but I also think the more conservative, anti-immigrant, anti-legislation group were very well backed up by a very vocal group of people who were supporting them,” Mr. McCain said on ABC’s “This Week.”

You see it?  “Anti-immigration.” Screw you, Senator anti-free speech.  I’m anti ILLEGAL immigration, and you damn well know it.  The majority of American oppose ILLEGAL immigration (and back door, side door or any other entrance to amnesty).  You and the rest of the bought-and-paid-for Republicans and the desperate-for-more-voters Democrats who are calling us racists should be taken out back of the Capitol and metaphorically shot.  By which I mean you deserve to lose your damn jobs.

It’s all pathetic little word games to try to paint opponents of the bill as racists.  And this freedom-of-speech-hating jerk thinks he can get elected President?  Not on my watch he doesn’t.  Screw him and his new best friend Dubya.

Posted by JimK at 07:27 PM on June 11, 2007
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Categories: News,  Politics,  The Federal Government
Tags: politics illegal immigration crime John McCain

Harry Reid calls ILLEGAL immigrants “undocumented Americans.”

Via Hot Air, I snagged this video just in case Reid pulls it and somehow Hot Air explodes due to space invaders or something. More people should see and distribute this kind of material, it shows just how ridiculous the Democratic leadership in Congress is over issues that don't affect them, but will affect all of us.



What the hell? ILLEGAL immigrants are in no way "undocumented workers." That little word game was bad enough. Does this pompous ass really think he can shift the wordage and start calling them "Americans" this quickly? We haven't even accepted the first lie as the new label, why would we accept something this preposterous? You know it was intentional, he was reading off a script.

Look for other Democrats to either run screaming in the other direction from this, or to begin to embrace the phrasing themselves. If you hear it two or three times in the next few weeks, you'll know it's a new talking point.

What it is, in reality, is complete horse shit. Hey, secondary question - Where are the American reporters challenging Reid on this pile of festering crap he calls a label? If Bush says "nuke-you-lurr" it runs on all the wires and in every newspaper. Reid tries to slip one past us, further cementing some weird ideal that anyone who opposes ILLEGAL immigration is a nationalistic racist, and nary a peep from anyone but bloggers.

Oh, that liberal media.

Posted by JimK at 03:31 PM on June 09, 2007
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Categories: News,  Politics,  Crime and Criminals,  The Federal Government,  The Fourth Estate
Tags: politics, illegal immigration, crime, harry reid, media bias, congress

William Jefferson indicted

16 counts, including wire fraud, bribery and obstruction.  Nice.  Now I wonder if those Democrats that talked about this being the most ethical congress ever will remove him from the Homeland Security committee?  Will Michael Moore ever keep his promise to go after corrupt Democrats?

By the way, as I mentioned in that Moorewatch post, there is absolutely no doubt as to Jefferson’s guilt on at least one count.  Feds taped him taking the cash then recovered it later when they searched his house.  100% guilty on at least one count of bribery.

Will Pelosi keep her promise?  Who’s watching the Democrats and their culture of corruption while they watch the Republicans being corrupt?  Anyone?  Beuller?

Posted by JimK at 08:43 PM on June 04, 2007
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Categories: Michael Moore(on),  News,  Politics,  Crime and Criminals,  The Federal Government

Cartoons are terrorism - How we got here

This is not good.  Webcomic artist Matt Boyd was discussing buying a .22 bolt-action target rifle with a co-worker at his day job.  He specifically mentioned, with a bit of a sarcastic snark, that choosing such a rifle would make it damn hard to kill someone, it was expressly to plink at paper targets, so no one had anything to worry about.

Only some biddy, or group of nosey busybodies, decided there was something to worry about, complained, and Matt was fired.  Police showed up to check him out and everything.  It seems his jokes in the webcomic were taken as terroristic threats.  What.  The.  Hell?

So how’d we get here? 

Thank you favorite gun control advocate.  30 years of demonizing guns and gun owners has led us to this.  The Violence Policy Center, the Brady Campaign...they’re the biggest contributing factor here in my humble opinion. 

Thank your favorite lawyer.  A hundred-plus years of lawsuits for any and every little irritating thing has led us to this. 

Thank your favorite Human Resources officer.  50 years of bastardizing the useful (and needed) rules and laws about sexual harassment, then turning it into a ruthless campaign of attempting to eliminate virtually any and all natural human interaction in the workplace has led us to this.

Most importantly, thank your favorite Democrat politician.  In order to get elected, they’ve been simplifying these issues, reducing them to “with us or against us” (the irony!), demonizing anyone who doesn’t agree (on both sides of the aisle), and pushing for more and more and more governmental control over the whole mess.  They coddle the lawyers, they despise the gun owners, they turn good ideas into a quagmire of workplace etiquette that feels no more natural to a human than the set of an old episode of Star Trek.  They don’t do it to help you...they do it to get elected and stay elected, simple as that.

Oh, Democrats get help from plenty of Republicans too...take George Bush for example.  He’s no friend to gun owners.  He’s no fan of reducing the number of hoops one must jump through just to get through the day.  He’s no fan of reducing the...enthusiasm...with which law enforcement responds to nay given situation.  He’s no champion of personal responsibility.

This all comes full-circle back to what is wrong with this country - we all want our nanny to take care of every tiny little thing that brings us the slightest discomfort.  We can’t just let things go anymore.  We can’t laugh anything off, or use sound judgment to determine that someone isn’t a threat.  We just don’t use common sense anymore.  We’ve gotten so used to the government, or the HR department, or the cops or anyone else taking care of everything that we’re no longer able to do it ourselves.  Bad day?  Take a pill.  Offended by something?  File a lawsuit.  Don’t like some part of the culture?  Get a law passed that outlaws it.

We have too much help in avoiding life, and not enough help in learning how to deal with living in a society that is immensely diverse.  There’s another one...diversity.  To me, that means variety, with distinct differences that are celebrated and enjoyed.  To others it means crushing any sense of individuality until we all think and look and talk the same.  Diversity is not homogeneity.

I suppose ultimately I’m saying we’re no longer a nation of adventurers and builders and discoverers and dreamers.  We’re now a nation of simpering, sniveling pussycats who cry every time a dog walks by.  We chose this life and now we’re stuck with it.

Or are we?  Can we fix this before we end up like ancient Rome?

Posted by JimK at 04:59 PM on May 05, 2007
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Categories: Humor,  News,  Politics,  The Federal Government,  Guns - 2nd Amendment,  The Stupidity Of Man,  Things To Ponder
Tags: Matt Boyd guns firearms Second Amendment politics

Was the White House firing US Attorneys over porn?

Is it possible that most people that are following this story have at least one of the angles all wrong?  Was Brent Ward’s relentless crusade (along with Alberto Gonzalez of course) against porn the reason why some of the federal prosecutors lost their jobs?

Max Blumenthal says yes.  You’ll have to read the whole thing - not much of it would make sense excerpted out of context.  He makes the case that at least two of the firings were over refusals to prosecute simple obscenity cases - NOT CHILD PORN - just regular old obscenity.  You know, the thing that no politician has ever been able to define - ever.

I can’t express how much I hate the far Christian right as a political body.  Speaking of, check out this quick bite from Dave at Snarkbait re: James “Focus On The Family” Dobson.

But it’s people like Dobson and the religious right who have helped push me out of the Republican party.

Hear hear.

Posted by JimK at 08:33 PM on March 28, 2007
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Categories: News,  Politics,  Crime and Criminals,  The Federal Government
Tags: US Attorneys Alberto Gonzalez Brent Ward James Dobson

Bush Opens Our Border To Mexican meth smugglers and illegal immigration

Phyllis Schlafly on Bush’s latest screwup:

It is painful for me to note that the Bush Administration is less protective of U.S. interests than the late, unlamented Clinton Administration. To his credit, Clinton kept Mexican trucks off our highways except for a 25-mile commercial zone immediately north of the border.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters went to El Paso to make the announcement that for the first time, starting in April, 100 Mexican trucking companies will be allowed to make deliveries anywhere in the United States, and she put no limit on the number of trucks the 100 companies can operate. This is a major step toward Bush’s vision of a North American community.

To find out why the Bush Administration ignores the comfort and safety of ordinary American drivers like me, just follow the money. Big corporations are eager to have their made-in-Mexico-by-cheap-labor products delivered in the United States by Mexican drivers, who are paid 33 to 40 percent less than U.S. truckers.

George W. Bush will never face the voters again, but other Republicans will pay the price for his coziness toward Mexico and his elitist disregard for American workers. Even the Wall Street Journal, an enthusiastic supporter of the movement of goods, services and people, legal or illegal, across our southern border, admits that rising public opinion against the importation of cheap labor “helped propel Democrats to take back Congress in November.”

The jobs issue will be even bigger in 2008, and the cost to Republicans even more damaging.

Raise your hand if you think this will decrease the amount of Mexican meth and illegal Mexican immigrants coming into the United States.  Also, raise your hand if you think this will help secure the borders against terrorists of any kind.  Lastly, please raise your hand if you think this move will help Republicans and conservatives campaigning in 2008.

Everyone who raised their hand is an idiot.  Also, and this is peripherally related, if you can’t tell the difference between disapproving of legal immigration and disapproving of illegal immigration, then you’re also an idiot and I would kindly ask you to kill yourself before you reproduce.

New question: Has the Bush Administration done anything domestically in the last 6 months that was good?  I’d like someone to show me some good domestic agenda news.  I’m begging you.

Posted by JimK at 07:50 PM on March 14, 2007
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Categories: News,  International Events,  Politics,  The Federal Government
Tags: illegal immigration mexico bush politics republicans

Iraqi forces take control of Baghdad security

This sounds promising.

Iraqi security forces for the first time have taken control of Baghdad’s security, a senior military official said.

Iraqi security forces recently took control of Operation Fard al-Qanun, or “Enforcing the Law,” a plan designed by the Iraqi government and led by Iraqi army Lt. Gen. Abboud Gambar, said Army Brig. Gen. Joseph Anderson, Multinational Corps Iraq chief of staff.

U.S. forces are working in concert with Iraqi security forces to provide a 24-hour presence in the city, but Abboud and his staff now plan and execute the strategy from a new command post established in Adnan Palace in the Green Zone.

Anderson called establishing the Iraqi-led Baghdad operations command a “monumental feat,” and said that the Iraqi security forces have come a long way in the past month as a command organization.

Both the Iraqi police and the Iraqi army are “very capable, competent, … and the ability to plan and coordinate operations with coalition forces gets better every day,” he said.

Coalition and Iraqi forces have built joint security stations and combat outposts throughout the city to begin securing the area.

This presence represents a critical shift away from operating out of forward operating bases and instead maintaining a constant presence in the city – a presence that is needed to hold areas security forces have cleared, Anderson said.

“In the past, we have been able to clear areas, but were not able to hold the areas and secure them over time,” AndersonBaghdad over a long period of time.” said. “We must demonstrate our ability to maintain the security in

Anderson said making it safe for local citizens is necessary to develop the economic and political processes needed to achieve stability in the area.

About 20,000 Iraqi security force troops will eventually operate in Baghdad, he said. Currently, the 6th and 9th Iraqi army divisions and two national police divisions patrol the city.

Posted by JimK at 01:34 AM on March 04, 2007
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Categories: News,  The Federal Government,  War,  U.S. Military
Tags: military war iraq