I’m sure that guys like Dick Cheney, Scooter Libby, Karl Rove, Donald Rumsfeld, Doug Feith, David Addington, Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Armitage, Richard Perle, John Bolton, Alberto Gonzalez, etc., etc., are at least thinking this sentiment. And, some are probably counting on it , too! A veritable rogue’s gallery of Bush conspirators and constitution shredders could conceivably get away with torture and other war crimes, because the buzz is that President Bush might issue a “blanket pardon” for just about all involved . . . even before any charges are levied. Heck, the Scooter might even make history, as the only man to be convicted in a government scandal, who then had his sentence commuted, by George W. Bush , and then also be pardoned for his part in the government sanctioning of torture and other war crimes, by (who else?) George W. Bush! Wow. What a distinction. I bet his family will be SO proud of him!

I think that most people would agree that pardons should be used very judiciously. Blanket pardons are highly suspicious and generally not ethical. (Unless they cover folks who violated some kind of unjust “law”.) But, guess who else this blanket might cover up? Duh-bya, hisself! For President Bush to pardon himself would make a total farce of the Office of the President, and would be his final abuse of power, and slap to the face of the American people. But, then again, we’ve gotten pretty good about turning the other cheek. Haven’t we???

I wonder. Is the United Nations obligated to honor the pardons issued by the President of the United States? Does anybody know? Despite the fact that they were initially set up as a puppet for the U.S. and U.K., they have been acting – in the last couple of decades – more as the independent international organization that they were always purported to be. Which is probably why the right-wingers can’t stand the U.N.! (Hey, they’re no longer playing the game!) But, we’re not talking about minor infractions here. We’re talking about torture! We’re talking about war crimes, being perpetrated by . . . the “good guys”! WE are are supposed to be above such things. WE are supposed to know better. Oy! No wonder we’ve lost the trust and respect of much of the free world. Obama certainly has his work cut out for him.

As much as the mere idea of a blanket pardon might be a travesty of justice, to people of good conscience, here’s what I think. Bush WON’T issue one. Why, you might ask? Why should he, might be the more relevant question. This is the United States of America. A traditionally most forgiving nation. And, one that seems to have a combination of: attention deficit disorder, and a VERY short memory. Anything that didn’t happen within the past month or two is ancient history. Right? Plus, despite popular support, most sitting politicians, and pending ones (Barack Obama, for one) are generally unwilling to put the country through the kind of intense drama that a Watergate, or Iran-Contra type hearing would present, especially considering the numerous hardships this country is currently facing. Here’s another reason for you. The utter arrogance of the George W. Bush administration. We didn’t do anything wrong! Executive privilege, yo! Little people have to obey the laws . . . not us. This has been the prevailing attitude for the past 7+ years. Why mess with a good thing?

As a final note, here is something for all of you to consider. The municipality of Dubai is NOT a member of the ICC (International Criminal Court). Nor does the United States have an extradition treaty with Dubai. It’s the ultimate, safe haven, neutral-zone for the highest flying crooks. Duh-bya, Dickie, Donnie and company, along with all their corporate crony/crook friends, who have raped and pillaged this once wealthy nation, have a very comfy sanctuary to retire to.

If you listen closely, you can almost here ol’ George saying . . . one more time: Bring ‘em on!

YUR

I was unable to verify the author of today’s solution. And, I’m unable to find this quote online.  (Still can’t find this particular quote, but Roy L. Smith makes the most sense.  He has a number of other quotes out there.  Thanks to Patty!)

“No business is a success which must ruin men to make money.” — Roy L. Smith

(The Karl Rove response: That depends on your definition of *success*.) YUR

Are the Republicans already conceding the NEXT Presidential election???

Sarah Palin 2012 scares . . . no one.  Just as she didn’t scare anyone in this year’s election.  She’s an attractive, lightweight, ex-mayor of Wasilla and first-term governor of Alaska, who appealed only to the extreme right-wing faction of the Republican Party . . . and Republican frat-boys.  She got her 15 minutes of fame . . . and then some, but what of it?!  Just because she was heavily produced – and I mean heavily produced – doesn’t mean that she brought an actual story, that could really resonate with the American voters.  No doubt she sent some moderate Republicans to Obama.

She was hand picked by Karl Rove – despite the denials – to bring in that loyal (& gullible) Republican base, the evangelicals.  Karl’s thinking:  Hey!  She’s white, she’s Christian, she’s pro-traditional family values (No Gay marriage), she’s Pro-Life, and . . . she loves to shoot AND skin critters!  She’s one of us!  Hoo-boy.  Her gender and her Mom-ness was partly to woo the moderates – both Republican and Democrat – who had been in the Hillary camp (and grumpy that she wasn’t offered the #2 slot), and to show those elitist Democrats that Republicans were the more inclusive and fairer party.  First born going to Iraq.  Ding!  Last born having Down syndrome.  Ding, Ding!!  17 year old daughter being pregos (Karl knew).  Ding, Ding, Ding!!!  And, her political inexperience only served to play up the perception of Obama’s inexperience.  Fortunately, and wisely, Barack and Joe refused to take that bait.  She played the bad cop to McCain’s good cop.  John would be more statesman-like, and chastise a woman for calling Obama a “terrorist”, then Sarah would turn around and infer that Barack was a “terrorist” – because of an association – and question his patriotism and American-ness.  She would get all folksy and wink, play the outsider role, say maverick a LOT, and hoped that her youth would counter-balance John’s . . . lack of youthfulness.  But, ultimately, her lack of gravity on the issues, her Alaskan baggage, her $150,000.00 wardrobe and makeup (hard to be common-folk when yer wearin’ Saks/Neiman’s suits), and her overall negativity were her undoing.  It might have taken a while, but enough people wised up.

In 2012 the Republicans won’t have anybody with the qualifications of a Chuck Hagel, a Dick Lugar, a Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, or some rising star???  Is Sarah Palin really their best hope?  She should be more experienced in 4 years, but she’ll, undoubtedly, be less perky. (Sorry, frat-boys!)  Folksy might not be in fashion in ‘12.  The Rovian negativity might be an unpleasant, distant memory, like McCarthyism, by then. (Hopefully)  No.  Sarah Palin 2012 is much more amusing, than scary.  She’ll likely be the answer to some political trivia questions, and a subject of Where Are They Now.  As long as she doesn’t carpetbag down to one of the lower 48, between now and 2012, I don’t think anyone has anything to fear from Sarah Palin.

YUR

This is happening today, 09/23/08, in Washington D.C., on a 35 foot ledge of the National Archive Building.  I, personally, think they should be including Karl Rove somewhere on their banner.  Dick and Duh-bya couldn’t have done . . . anything, without Baby Huey’s help!   YUR

(These men certainly are NOT slaves.)

The question just begs to be asked:  Do Republicans/Conservatives really NOT understand the concept of irony, or does chronic hypocrisy just lead to a form of blindness?  Just watch the following two short segments from Messrs. O’Reilly and Hannity, and if you’re not laughing too hard, come on back for further detail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmMVP6sr1XI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HThHKmZ2zQg&feature=related

Weren’t these the same bozos who were trying to blow off the whole (illegal) wiretapping, in violation of FISA laws, as much ado about nothing?  Wasn’t THAT all just a bunch of L-L-L-Liberal blathering?  And, wasn’t the argument at the time: “If you’re not doing anything wrong, then you have nothing to worry about.”?  Hmmm!  Now, I generally don’t watch these clowns all that often, and looking at Karl Rove (aka Baby Huey) just makes me physically ill, but I’d be willing to bet that these guys – just like some of my more conservative friends/relatives/coworkers - tried to argue that: the U.S. Constitution contains no express right to privacy.  So, this being the case, what is the major difference between some pencil-necked Federal geek listening into your phone calls or intercepting/reading your e-mails, under that very broad guise of “National Security”, and some pimply faced dweeb – probably living in his mom’s basement – hacking into someones Yahoo! e-mail account?  If Sarah Palin didn’t do anything wrong . . . then she has nothing to worry about.  Now, does she?  Are they afraid that there could be something damning in her e-mails?  Troopergate bombshells?  A possible list of books she was looking to ban?  Correspondences with some Alaska Secessionists?  Or, perhaps some kind of Rovian strategy e-mails, detailing how EVERYTHING in her life fit into their plan to win over the evangelical Christian fundamentalists, who had had strong reservations as to whether John McCain sufficiently met their requirements.  Hmmm! 

Now, check out the actual Gawker site, who had the chops to “publish” what this “anonymous” hacker came up with.  Scan down and read some of the comments that these Palin backers wrote in:

http://gawker.com/5051621/gawker-should-be-imprisoned-forever-says-everyone-except-lawyers

Wow!  What a classy bunch.  You know, for the party that believes in “family values” and the sanctity of man-woman relationships, they certainly have a strange fixation on a certain part of the human anatomy, the acts of sodomy, and issues of violence.  I’m sure that the Gawker people cherry-picked many/most of these comments, but still . . .  C’mon!

When they can’t dictate the terms they certainly DO seem to get their panties all in a twist, don’t they?  Isn’t all this faux OUTRAGE just peachy?

Your Uncle Rave

When John McCain first made his announcement that he had chosen the little known Sarah Palin, to be his running mate, I was as surprised as anybody.  Heck, you could’ve knocked me over with the proverbial feather.  Now, I had fully expected that he would choose a woman.  To me, it made the most sense.  It kills two birds with one stone.  First thing is, you essentially counter Obama’s “first”, and secondly, you stand a very good chance of drawing off a significant number of the disgruntled Hillary crowd.  But, these are the women that I was thinking of:  

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, of Texas.  She was already a “first” in her field – female Senator of Texas, and she’s got a resume – she’s got history – she’s got chops.  

I was also thinking of Olympia Snowe, of Maine.  Another known commodity, who commands great respect around the country.  You also get the extreme Northeast to the Southwest – spanning the U.S – with a ticket like that!  

I even thought they might give Condi a shot!  High-profile/recognition – DING!  Female – DING, DING!!  Black – DING, DING, DING!!!  She’s attractive, and undeniably – even though,  as an unabashed liberal this pains me - intelligent.  I guess the biggest drawback there was the Bush association.  With a 70% DISapproval rating I guess they just couldn’t afford to go there.  

So, we all got blind-sided by his choosing this pretty li’l thang, from . . . Alaska???  Did Johnny blow a gasket?  Did he forget to take his meds that morning?  What IS the deal, here?  Virtually, nobody knows this . . . this chippy.  She has zippo national/international experience.  And, compared to John, she looks like a teenager!  And then, a number of disturbing – but not necessarily Earth shattering – negatives were leaked/brought to light about the New Wonder Woman.  Namely, a couple of abuse of power investigations, hints that she sought to ban some books, and the revelation that her 17 year old, unwed, high school senior daughter was 5 months pregnant . . . and was going to have the child.  Pure fodder.  Pure – and intentional – distraction, in my opinion.  (More on this later.)  So, what was McCain thinking? 

Now, I’ve heard some, like Time Magazine’s Joe Klein, say that she was McCain’s 3^rdchoice.  Apparently, the RNC wanted to shove Mitt Romney down McCain’s throat.  This makes absolutely NO sense to me, considering Romney’s total FLIP-FLOP on abortion.  I give John credit for being smart enough not to allow them to take him there.  Supposedly, McCain wanted two guys that the RNC put the kibosh on.  Joe Lieberman, because he’s a prick/traitor – maybe not the reason the RNC didn’t want him, but I’ve ALWAYS wanted to say that in print – and Pennsylvania’s very respectable Tom Ridge.  Why the RNC wouldn’t jump at the chance of these two powerhouses is beyond me.  So, they’re not staunch Pro-Lifers!  They ARE credible, known commodities.  No, I’m not buying this 3^rdchoice business . . . not for a nano-second! 

I think this whole deal has the overpowering stench of Karl Rove.  Yeah, yeah, I know.  He’s now just a political analyst . . . on FOX News.  Ri-i-ight.  But, as long as this guy is breathing . . . as long as he’s not six feet under, or in an urn on somebody’s mantle, do you REALLY think that he’s not involved in this process . . . in some way?  Who better than Rove to come up with the scheme of partnering dear old John with the: young and attractive, NRA supporting, drill any/everywhere for oil and gas, Washington “outsider”, poster child for Anti-Choice?  Rove knows, very well, how telegenic she is.  She has a Bachelors of Science degree in Communications-Journalism from the University of Idaho, and she worked as a sports reporter on KTUU-TV, for two years.  Television “journalists” are more trained actor than journalist.  She knows how to feign concern and sincerity, and enthusiasm/perkiness . . . while on camera.  Rove and the RNC feel they have the New and Improved “Great Communicator”! 

No.  This wasn’t a John McCain senior moment, and this most likely was NOT a 3^rd choice.  This is their version of “the total package”.  A youthful, physically attractive female, with a family straight out of the Lands End catalog, with all the “family values” that the evangelical Christian fundamentalist/religious right (extremists) is (are) looking for.  And, don’t worry about the national/international “experience” thing.  John’s got that covered.  I’m not sure that “compliment each other” is the best descriptor for these two, but they do kind of balance each other well.  C’mon!  We’ve all seen how the cynical and calculating Republican power brokers operate.  They don’t make mistakes.  They make people see what they want them to see.  They’re the masters of smoke and mirrors.  No, this was very carefully planned.  I am certain of it. 

Your Uncle Rave