Bill Kristol is an IDIOT. WHY does he NOW work for The New York Times?

Via Think Progress, we find out the New York Times has hired neoconservative failure Bill Kristol as a columnist. What? He has been 100% WRONG about everything!

Kristol's the "Neocon" IDIOT who made SO MANY PEOPLE in Washington D.C. [and @ Fox News] SO STUPID & WRONG about Iraq, the Middle East, our military, WAR, strategy, politics, diplomacy, etc., and et. al. -- people like Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, Bolton, Perle and the rest of the "cakewalk" Neoconservatives.

He planted the seeds of almost all DICK CHENEY'S GENIUS IDEAS ABOUT WAR, and Iraq. He's an A.E.I. founder and a PNAC-ker. Bill Kristol's father invented[?] "neoconservatism"... (Irving Kristol; See here.)

He should be seen as a FOOL, a national pariah, a SCOURGE to be TARRED & FEATHERED, and PELTED w/ VEGETABLES + ROTTEN FRUIT... But nope! The New York Times sees fit to HIRE HIM as an OPINION COLUMNIST? "What the problem is?" Take your pick...

Kristol’s lies, distortions, and hawkish proposals are notorious. A sampling of the views that New York Times readers may now be reading on a weekly basis:
– Iran halting its nuclear weapons program is “another feather in the cap for Iraq invasion.”

– The U.S. should “put everything” behind Iraq escalation so we can bomb Iran and Syria...

– “Sober, serious” people want over 100,000 troops in Iraq when Bush leaves office.*

– Let’s “stretch our Army and Marines” for “another year or so” in Iraq.

– A presidential pardon for Scooter Libby would remove the “cloud hanging over his White House and over the war.” **

– College men are “very happy” that Plan B will now be sold over-the-counter because they can have “a wild night” and “the burden is off them.” ...

– Al Gore “got the Nobel Peace Prize for bloviating about global warming.”

* Sober, serious people think that dude should be @ Fox News; or better-yet in jail, for somethin'. NEOCONSERVATIVES ARE IRRELEVANT, RIGHT? THEY SHOULD BE SHUNNED BY SOCIETY; NOT HIRED BY THE "OLD GREY LADY!" The "paper of record?" I dunno, Herb.

** My favorite: Pardoning Scooter Libby "would remove the cloud hanging over" Bush/Cheney and their FAILED, LOST, and DISASTROUS IRAQ WAR... The "cloud." Hah hah ha ha! Bill, it's not a cloud... It's a hurricane; it's a tsunami; it's a disaster, it is a black hole. Jesus!

.............*DAYS GONE BY*.............

Auld Lang Syne

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?

CHORUS: For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup!
And surely I’ll buy mine!
And we'll take a cup o’
kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine;
But we’ve wandered many a
weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine;
But seas between us
broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand
my trusty friend!
And give us
a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll take a right
good-will draught,
for auld lang syne...

"Auld Lang Syne" is a song by Robert Burns (1759–1796), although... older folk songs, use the same phrase, and may well have inspired Burns.

In any case, it is one of the better-known songs in English-speaking countries, and it is often sung at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day. Like many other frequently sung songs, the melody is better remembered than the words, which are often sung incorrectly, and seldom in full.

The song's (Scots) title may be translated into English literally as 'old long since', or more idiomatically 'long long ago', or 'days gone by'...
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Part of This Juncture's popular
series, "The Songs We Sing".
Available soon in paperback!
Stay tuned... HNY, Herb.

PRESIDENT BUSH IS A MORON!

TOP-10 STUPIDEST THINGS PRESIDENT BUSH SAID; IN THE LAST YEAR:

The Dumbest Things
President Bush Said in 2007

10. "And there is distrust in Washington. I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I'm sorry it's the case, and I'll work hard to try to elevate it."
--interview on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007.

9. "I fully understand those who say you can't win this thing militarily. That's exactly what the United States military says, that you can't win this military."
--on the need for political progress in Iraq, Washington, D.C., Oct. 17, 2007

8. "One of my concerns is that
the health care not be as good as it can possibly be."
--on military benefits, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

7. "Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your introduction. Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit."
--addressing Australian Prime Minister John Howard at the APEC Summit... / ...Later, in the same speech: "As John Howard accurately noted when he went to thank the Austrian troops there last year..."
--referring to Australian troops as "Austrian troops," Sept. 7, 2007

6. "My relationship with this good man is where I've been focused, and that's where my concentration is. And I don't regret any other aspect of it. And so I -- we filled a lot of space together."
--on British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Washington, D.C., May 17, 2007

5. "You helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17 -- 1976."
--to Queen Elizabeth, Washington, D.C., May 7, 2007.

4. "The question is, who ought to make that decision? The Congress or the commanders? And as you know, my position is clear -- I'm a Commander Guy."
--deciding he is no longer just "The Decider," Washington, D.C., May 2, 2007.

3. "Information is moving -- you know,
nightly news is one way, of course, but it's also moving through the blogosphere and through the Internets."
--Washington, D.C., May 2, 2007

2. "There are some similarities, of course (between Iraq and Vietnam). Death is terrible."
--Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

1. "As yesterday's positive report card shows, childrens do learn when standards are high and results are measured."
--on the No Child Left... Act,
Washington, D.C., Sept. 26, 2007.
[~Compiled by -
Daniel Kurtzman]

I'm reserving comment, for now, on the list of "BUSHISMS." But I thought it might be
a fun way to... wrap-up* the year.

Peace & Love, Herb.

*NO, PUN INTENDED!

THANK GOD: For Harry Reid (this time), and God Bless Jim Webb!

NO MORE BUSH RECESS-APPOINTMENTS?

Senate Leader Harry Reid, and Senator Jim Webb deserve A LOT OF CREDIT FOR PREVENTING BUSH FROM MAKING ANY MORE "RECESS APPOINTMENTS," of incompetent/hack/criminals like he has APPOINTED before [Like John Bolton("Klondike Magoo")]. Reid, strategist, and Jim Webb, Junior Senator from VA, a military-veteran -- the guy who shows up during Holidays/Vacations/Etc., when the Senate is NOT IN SESSION -
- STOPPING BUSH!
WE THANK YOU BOTH!

A nine-second session gaveled in and out by Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., prevented Bush from appointing as an assistant attorney general a nominee roundly rejected by majority Democrats. Without the pro forma session, the Senate would be technically adjourned, allowing the president to install officials without Senate confirmation...

That's SO COOL. I guess you need to be in the Majority to do that? Don't ask me I am on vacation, Herb.

HAPPY HOLY DAYS*!!!

*Includes the Church of the Happy New Year!
"HAPPY HOLIDAYS", Herb.

BUSH/CHENEY? Scandals?? Shiii!!! ...'just to name a few:

Top Ten SCANDALS of 2007?

CREW has released a new report detailing
the “2007 Top Ten Ethics Scandals“:

1- No new enforcement mechanisms for congressional ethics;

2- Ted Stevens still sitting on Senate Appropriations;

3- Senate Ethics Committee looking into Sen. Craig, but not Sen. Vitter;

4- Millions of missing White House emails still unaccounted for;

5- Rep. Murtha’s abuse of the earmarking process remains unchecked;

6- Lurita Doan remains chief of GSA despite illegal conduct;

7- White House covering up its role in the firings of the U.S. Attorneys;

8- No Child Left Behind funds directed to Bush fundraisers who provide inadequate reading materials for kids;

9- Court decision regarding search of Jefferson’s office limits ability of DOJ to investigate other corrupt lawmakers; and

10- FEMA knowingly let Katrina victims live in hazardous trailers.

REALLY? ...REALLY?

Really? Because I think I could come up with 20 Bush/Cheney scandals off the top-of-my-head in five minutes, that'd out-scandal that Top Ten... Dang-git! Okay?

Give me a couple days, Herb.

DICK CHENEY... FREEZE!

JOE BIDEN WRITES THE WHITE HOUSE A NOTE:

...Please confirm that
the directive to preserve documents applied to the Executive Office of the President, including the National Security Council, in addition to immediate White House staff. In light of the Office of the Vice President’s record of fatuous arguments that it is not subject to the authority of the President, please also confirm that the directive included the Office of the Vice President and that the Office of the Vice President intends to comply.

God! At least Joey B's... workin'. At least, Herb.

...George W. BUSH/CHENEY, Dick! [1999 thru 2009] Do NOT Pass "GO" ...Go Directly TO JAIL!

THE BUSH-CHENEY DISASTER...[Spellchecking] That's a Herb-original; thank you!

[Note: may resemble something Howard Fineman said on Countdown, but -- like a fine whiskey, or rum --
much more refined, palatable.]

Keith Olberman is the ONLY News Anchor who SPEAKS THE TRUTH

It's a lotta words, but worth reading!
In full, from MSNBC's COUNTDOWN,
A "Special Comment," from KEITH OLBERMAN:

Finally, as promised, a Special Comment about the President's cataclysmic deception about Iran.
---
There are few choices more terrifying than the one Mr.. Bush has left us with tonight.
We have either a president who is too dishonest to restrain himself from invoking World War Three about Iran at least six weeks after he had to have known that the analogy would be fantastic, irresponsible hyperbole -- or we have a president too transcendently stupid not to have asked -- at what now appears to have been a series of opportunities to do so -- whether the fairy tales he either created or was fed, were still even remotely plausible.
A pathological presidential liar, or an idiot-in-chief. It is the nightmare scenario of political science fiction: A critical juncture in our history and, contained in either answer, a president manifestly unfit to serve, and behind him in the vice presidency: an unapologetic war-monger who has long been seeing a world visible only to himself.
After Ms Perino's announcement from the White House late last night, the timeline is inescapable and clear.
In August the President was told by his hand-picked Major Domo of intelligence Mike McConnell, a flinty, high-strung-looking, worrying-warrior who will always see more clouds than silver linings, that what "everybody thought" about Iran might be, in essence, crap.
Yet on October 17th the President said of Iran and its president Ahmadinejad:
"I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War Three, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them from have the knowledge to make a nuclear weapon."
And as he said that, Mr.. Bush knew that at bare minimum there was a strong chance that his rhetoric was nothing more than words with which to scare the Iranians.
Or was it, Sir, to scare the Americans?
Does Iran not really fit into the equation here? Have you just scribbled it into the fill-in-the-blank on the same template you used, to scare us about Iraq?
In August, any commander-in-chief still able-minded or uncorrupted or both, Sir, would have invoked the quality the job most requires: mental flexibility.
A bright man, or an honest man, would have realized no later than the McConnell briefing that the only true danger about Iran was the damage that could be done by an unhinged, irrational Chicken Little of a president, shooting his mouth off, backed up by only his own hysteria and his own delusions of omniscience.
Not Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mr. Bush.
The Chicken Little of presidents is the one, Sir, that you see in the mirror.
And the mind reels at the thought of a Vice President fully briefed on the revised Intel as long as two weeks ago -- briefed on the fact that Iran abandoned its pursuit of this imminent threat four years ago -- who never bothered to mention it to his boss.
It is nearly forgotten today, but throughout much of Ronald Reagan's presidency it was widely believed that he was little more than a front-man for some never-viewed, behind-the-scenes, string-puller.
Today, as evidenced by this latest remarkable, historic malfeasance, it is inescapable, that Dick Cheney is either this president's evil ventriloquist, or he thinks he is.
What servant of any of the 42 previous presidents could possibly withhold information of this urgency and gravity, and wind up back at his desk the next morning, instead of winding up before a Congressional investigation -- or a criminal one?
Mr. Bush -- if you can still hear us -- if you did not previously agree to this scenario in which Dick Cheney is the actual detective and you're Remington Steele -- you must disenthrall yourself: Mr. Cheney has usurped your constitutional powers, cut you out of the information loop, and led you down the path to an unprecedented presidency in which the facts are optional, the Intel is valued less than the hunch, and the assistant runs the store.
The problem is, Sir, your assistant is robbing you -- and your country -- blind.
Not merely in monetary terms, Mr.. Bush, but more importantly of the traditions and righteousness for which we have stood, at great risk, for centuries: Honesty, Law, Moral Force.
Mr.. Cheney has helped, Sir, to make your Administration into the kind our ancestors saw in the 1860's and 1870's and 1880's -- the ones that abandoned Reconstruction, and sent this country marching backwards into the pit of American Apartheid.
Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland...
Presidents who will be remembered only in a blur of failure, Mr.. Bush.
Presidents who will be remembered only as functions of those who opposed them -- the opponents whom history proved right.
Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland... Bush.
Would that we could let this President off the hook by seeing him only as marionette or moron.
But a study of the mutation of his language about Iran proves that though he may not be very good at it, he is, himself, still a manipulative, Machiavellian, snake-oil salesman.
The Bushian etymology was tracked by Dan Froomkin at the Washington Post's website.
It is staggering.
March 31st: "Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon..."
June 5th: Iran's "pursuit of nuclear weapons..."
June 19th: "consequences to the Iranian government if they continue to pursue a nuclear weapon..."
July 12th: "the same regime in Iran that is pursuing nuclear weapons..."
August 6th: "this is a government that has proclaimed its desire to build a nuclear weapon..."
Notice a pattern?
Trying to develop, build or pursue a nuclear weapon.
Then, sometime between August 6th and August 9th, those terms are suddenly swapped out, so subtly that only in retrospect can we see that somebody has warned the President, not only that he has gone out too far on the limb of terror -- but there may not even be a tree there...
McConnell, or someone, must have briefed him then.
August 9th: "They have expressed their desire to be able to enrich uranium, which we believe is a step toward having a nuclear weapons program..."
August 28th: "Iran's active pursuit of technology that could lead to nuclear weapons..."
October 4th: "you should not have the know-how on how to make a (nuclear) weapon..."
October 17th: "until they suspend and/or make it clear that they, that their statements aren't real, yeah, I believe they want to have the **capacity**, the **knowledge**, in order to make a nuclear weapon."
Before August 9th, it's: Trying to develop, build or pursue a nuclear weapon.
After August 9th, it's: Desire, pursuit, want...knowledge technology know-how to enrich uranium.
And we are to believe, Mr.. Bush, that the National Intelligence Estimate this week talks of the Iranians suspending their nuclear weapons program in 2003...
And you talked of the Iranians suspending their nuclear weapons program on October 17th...
And that's just a coincidence?
---
And we are to believe, Mr.. Bush, that nobody told you any of this until last week?
Your insistence that you were not briefed on the NIE until last week might be legally true -- something like "what the definition of is is -- but with the subject matter being not interns but the threat of nuclear war.
Legally, it might save you from some war crimes trial... but ethically, it is a lie.
It is indefensible.
You have been yelling threats into a phone for nearly four months, after the guy on the other end had already hung up.
You, Mr.. Bush, are a bald-faced liar.
--
And more over, you have just revealed that John Bolton, and Norman Podhoretz, and the Wall Street Journal Editorial board, are also bald-faced liars.
We are to believe that the Intel Community, or maybe the State Department, cooked the raw intelligence about Iran, falsely diminished the Iranian nuclear threat, to make you look bad?
And you proceeded to let them make you look bad?
---
You not only knew all of this about Iran, in early August...
But you also knew... it was... accurate.
And instead of sharing this good news with the people you have obviously forgotten you represent...
You merely fine-tuned your terrorizing of those people, to legally cover your own backside...
While you filled the factual gap with sadistic visions of -- as you phrased it on August 28th: a quote "nuclear holocaust" -- and, as you phrased it on October 17th, quote: "World War Three."
---
My comments, Mr. Bush, are often dismissed as simple repetitions of the phrase "George Bush has no business being president."
Well, guess what?
Tonight: hanged by your own words... convicted by your own deliberate lies...
You, sir, have no business... being president.