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I WONDER WHY THE REST OF THE WORLD HAS A NEGATIVE IMAGE OF THE U.S.A.

Yeah! It's really weird.
I wonder why that'd be...

"... The US image remains abysmal in most Muslim countries in the Middle East and Asia and continues to decline among the publics of America's oldest allies."

Nine per cent of Turks, 13% of Palestinians and 15% of Pakistanis take a favourable view of the US. In Germany, the figure is 30%, in France 39% and in Britain 51% - all down on previous surveys. Only in Israel, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya do majorities believe US forces should stay in Iraq.

Ghana's good. I bet it's fun to vacation there, and Kenya. I'll check airfares! Thanks, Herb.

George W. Bush & Dick Cheney: The patients running the Asylum.

From an Atlanta Journal Constitution editorial:

The
ultimate failure(s) of the Bush administration... can be attributed to two basic flaws, both related to its pursuit and use of power.

First, it [tolerated] no dissent, internal or external. Dissent is invaluable; properly respected, it can act as a powerful internal compass for decision-makers trying to steer a responsible course. Even in a rigid institution such as the military, good officers encourage subordinates to voice dissent, with the expectation that such dissent ceases once an order is given.

But on issue after issue, the Bush administration denied itself that advantage. A revolutionary movement tolerates no dissent because it already knows all the answers.

There was one way, the party way and any who dared question or challenge that way — no matter how wise their counsel — were silenced. On issues such as Iraq, the repercussions of that approach will haunt this country for a generation.

Second, the administration valued [cronyism] unquestioned loyalty to its cause far more than it valued competence, which is another hallmark of a revolutionary movement. That misplaced emphasis explains how a small-time political hanger-on named Michael Brown ended up in charge of the Federal Emergency Management Agency when Hurricane Katrina hit [and the Country badly needed competent-management].

It explains how job applicants to serve in the Coalition Provisional Authority that ruled post-invasion Iraq were hired based on their sentiments about Roe v. Wade, not on their knowledge of Arab culture or [any] experience in nation-building.

It explains how highly regarded career lawyers in the Justice Department were pushed aside by Bush officials to make room for "real Americans" with far less ability but unquestioned loyalty, a phenomenon that was undoubtedly repeated in many other federal agencies as well.

The result has been a government obsessed with winning elections but not with establishing justice, insuring domestic tranquility or any of the other roles laid out for it in the Constitution. And that government is reaping its just rewards...

President Bush & Vice President Cheney Respond, As Expected, To Subpoenas From Senate Judiciary Committee...

Bush, Cheney, Rove, & Gonzales

It's coming into focus (metaphorically speaking):

The Lies & Times of "Big-Time" Dick Cheney... Part 1 of 4.

He's so... smart! And honest! Dick Cheney has consistently demonstrated his wisdom, leadership & competence, so why shouldn't we trust him without oversight or verification? Think of his Iraq & energy policies;
The guy's a damn genius; just let him spin his "gold" from the "straw" that used to be the USA. Damnit!
Right? ...Who, he what?
Oh my God... Nevermind.
(I thought* you said "Lon Chaney.")
Bush's V.P. Dick Cheney? The old-guy?

Apparently, he's runnin' it all!
[With no adult-supervision.]

Waxing or waning, Cheney holds his purchase on an unrivaled portfolio across the executive branch. Bush works most naturally, close observers said, at the level of broad objectives, broadly declared. Cheney, they said, inhabits an operational world in which means are matched with ends and some of the most important choices are made. When particulars rise to presidential notice, Cheney often steers the preparation of options and sits with Bush, in side-by-side wing chairs, as he is briefed.

Before the president casts the only vote that counts, the final words of counsel nearly always come from Cheney...

Whew! I feel safer... The short excerpt above (link for full-article) is from a four-part Washington Post story on Dick Cheney... Good stuff!

When future generations read this 4 part Post piece on Dick Cheney, I truly believe they will wonder: "Why wasn't he in JAIL by that time?" Mazel, Herb.
*Lon Chaney, Dick Cheney -- I get 'em confused.All apologies (due Lon).

Halliburton: FRAUD, DECEPTION, EXPLOITATION & GREED!

NO SURPRISES HERE. I'm sure it's just the tip of AN ICEBERG of Halliburton fraud (your taxes!) and deception. "F*CK YOUR RULES..."
...Halli' don't play that! [Dick Cheney comes to mind, again.]

Anthony Menendez, who was Halliburton's director of technical accounting research and training, has accused the world's second-largest oilfield-services company of using so- called bill-and-hold accounting and other undisclosed practices to "distort the timing of billions of dollars in revenue." In short, Menendez says this allowed Halliburton to book product sales improperly, before they occurred...
:::
Here's how Menendez, who reported to Halliburton's chief accounting officer, summed up the bill-and-hold issue in his complaint:

"(Halliburton routinely)
recognizes revenue when the goods are parked in company warehouses, rather than delivered to the customer. Typically, these goods are not even assembled and ready for the customer. (The United States government, esp. the military, is essentially their only customer.) Furthermore, it is unknown as to (whether or) when the goods will be ultimately assembled, tested, delivered to the customer... (if ever.)"

FRAUD UPON THE NATION, IN A TIME-OF-WAR. NO INTEREST... A PREGNANT WHITE-LADY IN OHIO WAS KILLED BY HER BLACK EX-BOYFRIEND. YES, LIKE LACI & A NEGRO SCOTT PETERSON. WHOA! And Halliburton sneaks-past the media, like a weasel! Again, Herb. [Paris?]

Our Federal Government Has Three Branches... Does Vice President Dick Cheney Have "Special Needs?"

Sorry, Dick, you don't get to pick which branch (executive, legislative, or judicial) you work in...

1) YOU'RE NOT A SENATOR, DICK!
...AND...
2) YOU'RE NOT A FRIGGIN' JUDGE!
...CLEARLY!

"Our Federal Government Has Three Branches..." That's 3 branches... plus a "Special Needs" limb for some who aren't elected and don't work well w/ others...

"JAIL?" Thank You... Drive-thru, Herb.

L.A. Times, this: "Bush should stop enabling his errant No. 2 and enforce the rule of law."

L.A. Times, that: "Bush claims oversight exemption too."

Why Can't George W. Bush Control His RECKLESS & DELUSIONAL Vice President?

DICK CHENEY'S A FOOL... [sloppy]
We're screwed...WHAT A DICK...

Vice President Cheney's office has refused to comply with an executive order governing the handling of classified information for the past four years and recently tried to abolish the office that sought to enforce those rules, according to documents released by a congressional committee yesterday.

Since 2003, the vice president's staff has not cooperated with an office at the National Archives and Records Administration charged with making sure the executive branch protects classified information. Cheney aides have not filed reports on their possession of classified data and at one point blocked an inspection of their office...
:::
Cheney's office filed annual reports in 2001 and 2002 describing its classification activities but stopped filing in 2003, according to internal administration letters released yesterday. Cheney's office made the case that it is not covered because the vice president under the Constitution also serves as president of the Senate and therefore has both legislative and executive duties...
:::
[So, recently,] Cheney aides proposed amending the order in a bid to abolish the Archives oversight office and explicitly exempt the vice president from its requirements...

He (Dick Cheney) should just attack their wives; or kill all the people that work in that office. Right? Or burn their houses down, and kill their pets and children. Halliburton can do most of that, stuff; except for the "pets." --HW

Senator John Kyl from Arizona, Bush's BlTCH. Rolls-over... Again!

Isn't prostitution illegal in Washington DC?
Mr. Kyl? Yeah... AND in Arizona, too! Damnit.

I feel sorry for the poor saps in Arizona, who've got him as their Senator and he only really
works [!] for the President.
Kyl's the parrot on Bush's right-shoulder, when Georgie visits the Hill... // NY Times excerpt (edited):

A (whore) Republican senator blocked a vote ("obstructionist" filli-bastard!) in the Judiciary Committee on whether to authorize subpoenas to the Justice Department to obtain secret legal opinions and other documents related to the (Bush admin.) National Security Agency’s (secret) program of (illegal) domestic eavesdropping...

Why-the-flunk does John Kyl care if the Senate sees DOCUMENTS in their investigation of unprecedented domestic-spying (by Bush's NSA)? HE DOESN'T CARE! HE'S WORKIN'! Errand-boy, Herb.

Even Bush's SUPPORTERS have "NO CONFIDENCE" left...

GOP fundraisers reveal that Republican-confidence in Bush is in a

"STATE OF COLLAPSE."

"Collapsing..."

THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ: NEOCON-OBSESSION TURNED REGIONAL DISASTER....

Gaza, and Lebanon join Iraqis: Let's... civil-war! Bush, the son [Oedipus Wrecks], making the father look oh-so-wise. So-wise! Hindsight, Herb.

The GOP Department of Justice

......The G.O.P. Department of Justice.....

Update 6/15:
"Qui Pro Domina Justitia Sequitur..."
~~~LATIN~~~
"We follow in defense of Lady Justice."

What is President Bush saying to LAW-ABIDING AMERICANS by keeping Al Gonzales as Attorney General, after he was caught REPEATEDLY-LYING?

WHAT KIND OF MESSAGE IS THE PRESIDENT SENDING TO OUR CHILDREN?Oh, that's not nice, Herb.

George Bush Desperate To Rush Thru Immigration Bill ("Amnesty?")

Generally, if Ted Kennedy & Gee Dub' ("quack") agree on a piece of legislation, we can safely say: That legislation sucks...

[Think, "No Children Left..."]
Specifically, the "IMMIGRATION" bill under consideration is too complicated to explain, in English; ...therefore it's (way!) TOO-COMPLICATED.

Republican "OBSTRUCTIONISTS" in the Senate, fillibuster "No Confidence" Vote on Gonzales...

DESPITE NO ACTUAL-CONFIDENCE IN BUSH'S LAZY-MEXICAN ATTORNEY GENERAL, AL "PEDRO" GONZALES,... YOUR TAX-DOLLARS HARD-AT-WORK. EVERYWHERE!
The G.O.P. Department Of Justice, had this to say:

"The Attorney General remains focused on the important issues that the American people expect him to address: securing our country from terrorism, protecting our neighborhoods from gangs and drugs, shielding our children from predators and pedophiles, and protecting the public trust by prosecuting public corruption. With so many pressing issues facing our country such as the threat of terrorism and the danger posed by gangs and violent criminals, we look forward to continuing to work with Congress to identify appropriate solutions to address these issues."

NO COMMENT. [Jesus Christ... (Almighty!)]

Phil Spect///Arlen Specter had this to say:

My own sense is that there is no confidence in the attorney general on this side of the aisle, but that the views will not be expressed in this format. Already some who have called for his resignation on the Republican side of the aisle have said they will not vote for this resolution. Others have declined to comment about his capacity but have said that this is not the proper way to proceed, that our form of government does not have a no-confidence vote. Is the principle reason for this resolution to help the Department of Defense (sic) or to embarrass Republicans? I think, clear cut, it is designed to embarrass Republicans. It’s designed to embarrass Republicans if the Senate says they have no confidence in the Attorney General...

Many on this side of the aisle, most, if not almost all, will vote against cloture here because there are ample reasons to vote against cloture. But as a I look at this matter as which is the more weighty, the more compelling, the more important – candidly stating that I have no confidence in Attorney General Gonzales or rejecting the outright political chicanery which is involved in this resolution offered by the Democrats, I come down on the side that the interests of the country and moving for improvements in the Department of Justice is to make a candid statement that I have no confidence in the Attorney General...

Back-in-the-day (Like a year ago!) we'd call it a "fillibuster." And we'd pretend like we were outraged (at them lib'rals). Today, it was "blocked.," every-where I saw the story -- print/online/tv-news... [?] Why? Spun, Herb.

BACK TO JAIL, WITH A STOMACH FULL OF XANAX*... Paris Hilton.

Poor Paris... John, at Americablog, broke-down and posted a Paris story (too). He has the history of Hilton's driving-problems and her court case, [here].

There's a DUI (drugs/alcohol), plus recklessly driving at night without headlights; Add probation, suspend the license, then: drive 70-mph in a 35-zone... [oi!] in a spankin'-new Bentley on that suspended-license! Then get an attorney, sweetheart.
(& a driver) Radio Free Paris, Herb.

*UPDATE, 6/11: 'Heard it on the tv (no link):: It was two (or three) "handfuls of Valium(tm)," so the story goes... Word/street!

Dick Cheney -- Desperate To Continue Bush's Illegal-Domestic-Spying Program.

More "General Hospital ICU..."
Well... it was Vice Pres. Dick Cheney who sent the White House thugs (Andy & Al) to the hospital, in 2003, to exploit an incapacitated John Ashcroft, who was heavily-medicated and recovering from major-surgery. The post-9-11 Justice Department authorization for Bush/Cheney's secret domestic-spying scheme was expiring.

They were (we assume) gonna stick a pen in his hand and scribble out a signature -- to continue their illegal spying program with (arguable) Justice Dept. authorization/approval -- WHEN (THEY KNEW) ASHCROFT DID NOT WANT TO SIGN... Ashcroft's Justice Department, by that time, had concluded that the NSA domestic-spying program was ILLEGAL.

Fox News... On The Countless G.O.P. + Bush Administration SCANDALS & INVESTIGATIONS

Tucker Carlson Lowers Your I.Q. Faster* Than Inhaling Spray-Paint...

He's the G.O.P. dude with the bow-tie, from CNN's Crossfire.

WARNING: Watch "Tucker," weekday-afternoons on MSNBC, at your own risk! [Yeah, he got his own show; it's like Oprah.]
So stupid, a caveman could debate him.

*Listening to him and/or watching his show on MSNBC - makes you stupid. Note: We do not promote 'huffing' household chemicals. Try it, instead of your favorite cocktail tomorrow... "Tucker:" You'll be dumb as a brick, long before the hour's up! He makes the stupidest assertions, using the most absurd reasoning imaginable (or none).

Okay, here's one example:
Tucker Carlton said (today) that disgraced former Cheney-aide & convicted-felon Scooter Libby doesn't deserve jail-time, because:

"He's a guy with a family,
he's got two kids..."

Give it a minute...
OH! THANK YOU! Good night, Herb.

"PRISON for 2.5 Years & a FINE of $250,000..." PARDON ME?

The most insidious
of traitors...
"Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff was sentenced
to 2 1/2 years
in prison Tuesday for lying and obstructing the (Karl Rove) CIA leak investigation — the probe that showed a White House obsessed with criticism of its decision to go to war."

I. Lewis Libby, Vice Pres. Dick Cheney's bitch.
The "I" stands for Irving. "Irving!" Ha-ha!
That's classified, Herb.

President Bush and Vice President Cheney Blurt-out Vulgar Language, Why Can't We? ...Court to FCC: "F.U.!"

NY Times:

If President Bush and Vice President Cheney can blurt out vulgar language, then the government cannot punish broadcast television stations for broadcasting the same words in similarly fleeting contexts.

That, in essence, was the decision on Monday, when a federal appeals panel struck down the government policy that allows stations and networks to be fined if they broadcast shows containing
obscene language.

I saw the same Federal Appeals Court opinion analyzed elsewhere thusly:

"HOW CAN THE GOVERNMENT REGULATE FOUR-LETTER WORDS WHEN THE THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN F**KING OVER THE ENTIRE COUNTRY FOR
THE LAST SEVEN YEARS?"

F**kin' Amen that... No--Sh!t, Herb.

GOD BLESS AMERICA...

...HOME SWEET HOME:
That's your Big-Boy, by the way...
A FULL-PAGE Washington Post ad!
Nice, Herb.

TYPICAL BIG-TIME DICK (CHENEY)

NY Times, editorial (excerpt):

( Seig-Heil! )...Mr. Cheney’s office
ordered the Secret Service
last September to destroy all records of visitors to the official vice presidential mansion.

This disdain for accountability is distressing, but not surprising. Mr. Cheney has had it on display from his first days in office, when he refused to name the energy-industry executives who met with him behind closed doors to draft an energy policy.

In a similar way, Mr. Cheney seems unconcerned about little things like checks and balances and traditional American notions of judicial process. At one point, he gave himself the power to selectively declassify documents and selectively leak them to reporters. In a recent commencement address, he declaimed against prisoners who had the gall to “demand the protections of the Geneva Convention and the Constitution of the United States.”

Mr. Cheney (thinks) no one, including congress and the courts, has the power to supervise or regulate the actions of the president. Just as he pays little attention to old-fangled notions of the separation of powers, Mr. Cheney does not overly bother himself about the bright line that should exist between his last job as chief of the energy giant Halliburton and his current one on the public payroll.

From 2001 to 2005, Mr. Cheney received “deferred salary payments” from Halliburton that far exceeded what taxpayers gave him. Mr. Cheney still holds hundreds of thousands of (Haliburton) stock options...

Reviewing this record-
-secrecy, impatience with government regulations, backroom dealings, handsome paydays — it dawned on us that Mr. Cheney
is in step with the times. He has privatized the job of Vice President of the United States.

OH, HE'S DONE A REAL BANG-UP JOB, TOO, EH? ...BACK IN THE DAY, WE'D TAR-AND-FEATHER THE TOWN FOOL.

"America's Dumbest Criminals" Featuring: ALBERTO GONZALES [Fed. Prosecutor Purge Scandal]

Alberto Gonzales: "Attorney General of the United States?" Please! America deserves better...
HE IS A DISGRACE! And, Gonzales recently THREATENED to stay around [Screwing up the Justice Dept. & obstructing investigations] as Bush's Attorney General, "until January 2009."
Uh... No thanks, Pedro!

RAW STORY:
After the (internal Justice Department) investigations began, Gonzales frequently failed to answer (basic) questions during Congressional testimony, insis-
ting that he was trying to avoid compromising the Justice Department's internal fact finding.
:::
"It is surprising how often a whiff of obstruction of justice has reared its head in the course of this investigation," (R-Senator Sheldon Whitehouse) said when introducing the Senate's no confidence motion against Gonzales with Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). "There's been the cloud of that hanging over this entire investigation."

<------------- TIME--LINE ------------->
March 15 - Monica Goodling has private discussion with Attorney General on firing of US Attorneys that she says in later Congressional testimony made her feel 'uncomfortable.'
March 16 - Goodling works her last full day at the Justice Department.
Also, US Attorney for Eastern District of Virginia Chuck Rosenberg is appointed interim Chief of Staff to the Attorney General.
March 19 - Goodling begins her leave of absence.
March 24 - AP reports that an internal investigation has been initiated at the Justice Department during this week (Goodling later stated she believes that Gonzales was discussing the matter with staff during this time period).
March 26 - The Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility and Office of the Inspector General write to the Senate Judiciary Committee and confirm that they are jointly investigating the firing of the US Attorneys after interim Chief of Staff Chuck Rosenberg settled a dispute over which office should investigate the matter.
April 6 - Monica Goodling resigns from the Justice Department.
April 19 - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee and says he is unable to answer a variety of questions due to the ongoing internal investigation.
May 10 - Gonzales appears before the House Judiciary Committee and again claims he cannot answer some questions due to the pending investigation.
May 23 - Monica Goodling testifies before House Judiciary Committee and states that Attorney General continued to discuss the firings of the US Attorneys after she went on leave on March 19.
May 24 - Senator Sheldon Whitehouse warns of a 'whiff of obstruction of justice' at the Justice Department in a press conference introducing the Senate's 'no confidence resolution' against the Attorney General.
May 30 - OPR and OIG write to the Senate Judiciary Committee to confirm that they have expanded their probe to cover politicization of hiring at the Justice Department.--END--

Nice timeline summary. Goodling's a crook and a liar in Jesus-freak's clothes, but whatever it's worth, she shreds the last bit of Gonzales's credibility. No wonder Al said "I don't recall" 67 times in three-hours (whatever.)... everything he answered and/or discussed in those hearings has proved a BALD-FACED LIE!

[Search: Timeline, USA Purge, U.S. Attorney Purge-Firings, Political Trials, Lies, Gonzales Lying Liar, Contamination of the Federal Courts, I-don't-recall, Time Line.]

NO... No, no! OH, BLODDY 'ELL!

LONDON-CALLING

Anti-abortion campaigners
are ready to launch a US-style
cultural war against the 40-year-old law that allows women in the UK to choose to terminate unwanted pregnancies - with politicians who are also practising Roman Catholics as their first targets.

MPs and other elected representatives who attend Mass but have not taken a hard line against abortion will be targeted by activists who say they should be disowned by the Church...

The "US-style cultural (abortion) war(riors)"generally don't give a hoot about "LIFE." ...Except in the fetus
[or a test-tube]. It's a ruse!

Once you're born: you can starve in Detroit, or burn in Rwanda; or die in Iraq for Dick Cheney; or die in Darfur, or Guantanamo, for all they care... HYPOCRITES.
Good Luck, Mates!