The Corker Doctrine to the Rescue! ! ! !

Today Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) introduced legislation to cap Executive Compensation at troubled companies at a $400,000, effectively making The Corker Doctrine, the law of the Land.

The Corker Doctrine holds that:

Workers at troubled American companies should earn no more in pay, benefits and BONUSES than workers employed at comparable foreign companies.

Now the Bill is not online yet, so I can't prove it, but you just gotta believe that the Father of the Corker Doctrine, Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) himself, is the driving force behind this legislation. There can be no doubt that Ol'Corky is a co-sponsor on this bill.  He probably wrote it himself. They'll probably call it the Corker-McCaskill Act when it becomes law.

The Corker Doctrine could not have been meant to apply only to workers' on the factory floor like autoworkers.  No Way!  It had to be extended to those at the top who helped create the mess.  Soon we'll see that Bob is not just concerned about the wages earned by autoworkers, he's also concerned about those at the top who with one hand reached for taxpayer bailouts, while pocketing the cash with the other hand. 

Way to go Bob!   We knew you wouldn't let us down.

UPDATE: The Corker - McCaskill Bill, S. 360, is online now, but Bob Corker is not listed as a Co-Sponsor.  Odd.  Very Odd, but it is still early and maybe there is a typographical error or something.

The GOP finds its Voice?

With the economy all screwed up and job losses mounting, I know a lot of people have been asking themselves:

What would Willard Milton Romney, aka Mitt, do to turn the economy around?

You haven’t? Neither have I, but I have the answer. And while Mitt stands firmly along side his fellow Republicans in opposition to the Democrats approach, Romney’s answer is:

A Stimulus Plan!

But he favors a Stimulus Plan that contains new spending for essential projects while eliminating spending on non-essential projects plus, and get this, TAX CUTS. 

I guess this is about what you'd expect from Weasely Willard who became famous for criticizing his political opponents for holding the same views that he holds, or used to hold 5 minutes before.

EDITORIAL NOTE: Warning.  The link above takes you to Willard Romney's Website.  Click on link at your own risk.

Headline for the Day – a blast from the Past

Rove: Bush hardly worst president

Without recapping Rove’s point that is unfair to constantly second guess Bush’s Blunders, I guess you could make an argument that Bush is not the Worst President, though it looks like he gonna give the Harding Administration and the Pierce Administration and The Buchanan Administration a serious run for the bottom slot.  

And what about Nixon, he sucked, too? 

But people only just criticize Bush without bringing up the possibility that he may only be the second or third worst president. Poor George just can’t catch a Break.

Question for the Day

"One of the most important lessons from recent operations is that military success does not equate to victory," ~Secretary of Defense Bob Gates - page 7 of 48.

Bob Gates seems to be saying a War is not necessarily over just because you have taken the foe's flag.  Thus, Victory requires something more because once you break a country you own it.

But what if the President declares the battle won and the Mission Accomplished?  Or still yet, what if Bill Kristol declares that President Bush already won the Iraq War?  

Surely these declarations have to account for something. I wonder, who is right, Gates or Kristol? 

Executive Bailout - The Corker Doctrine to the Rescue?

With the walls crashing down all around, word is out that Executives on Wall$treet skimmed $18.4 Billion in Bonus Compensation last year.  As their firms failed, banks shuttered, our 401k floundered they made out like Bandits.

As this news gets out, you’d think that Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) would be blowing a fuse at this very moment!

As you may recall Bob Corker is the principal architect of The Corker Doctrine, which holds that:

Workers at troubled American companies should earn no more in pay, benefits and BONUSES than workers employed at comparable foreign companies.

The Corker Doctrine is a matter of principle, just as the Monroe Doctrine or the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine and The Bush Doctrine. With 18,400,000,000 Dollars lining the pockets of the Titans of Finance from tanking firms, surely Corker should be calling a Press Conference at any moment to demand firm application of the Corker Doctrine.

So far Bob Corker remains silent.  But expect a mighty roar from the Father of the Corker Doctrine at any time.

UPDATE: No word from Corker yet.  But he should comment soon.  

Editorial Note: I mistakenly listed the "Bush Doctrine" along with the Monroe Doctrine and the Roosevelt Corollary as declarations of principle.  It turns out that the Bush Doctrine merely consists of a series of changing self justifying explanations for the invasion of Iraq.  This mistake has been corrected above.

Quote of the Day

“We can all agree, as sad as it is, that he (Bush) wasn’t winning any popularity contests.  And history shows that unpopular presidents are usually a drag on everybody else who wears that political label.” ~ Mitch McConnell reflecting on the sad presidency of George Bush

Of course Mitch loyally did everything stupid thing Bush asked him to do.  So this unpopularity is not just George Junior's fault, but also Mitch McConnell's fault.  But one thing Mitch can't afford to do now is to let down The Base, right Mitch?

Operation Numbnuts - The Strike Farce Strikes!

The Red State Strike Farce has put GOP Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Notice.  

He must say no the the Stimulus Bill passed by the House of Representatives. Now this would be funny, but these Wingnuts are Hardcore and they are serious.

I take it that this means the same valiant opposition launched by House Republicans to the stimulus bill is now expected from Senate Republicans. And how does Operation Numbnuts work:

"We need to send Mitch some balls.

Seriously.

We’re teaming up with the Don’t Go Movement to do just that. Go here and send Mitch some balls. The House GOP can hold the line. Mitch and the Senate GOP should do the same and oppose the stimulus bill.

Mail the balls to Mitch’s Louisville Office:

Sen. Mitch McConnell
601 W. Broadway
Room 630
Louisville, KY 40202
Phone: (502) 582-6304

They can donate them to a local youth program, I’m sure. And they’ll get the point. And thanks to Don’t Go for helping us spread the word.

The Senate GOP Leadership needs to stand up for the GOP, not kowtow to the Democrats."

I think this is gonna work.  With friends like this, how can Mitch McConnell go wrong?

The GOP needs a hero.  Unfortunately, it has Mitch McConnell.

Principle and Opportunism are one in the Same?

As far as the stimulus bill goes, I’ll have to plead ignorance.  I have not read much about it, but even if I had to the time to check it out, it probably wouldn’t make me much smarter.

But one thing stands out on the House vote on the Bill.  Not a single Republican voted for it. 

ZERO.  

Apparently newly re-discovered principles regarding fiscal responsibility were the cause.  This is striking for several reasons, one because Tax Cuts are included in the bill and another because Obama personally met with House Republicans to discuss the bill and common interests.  

How is this striking? It is striking because George Bush never extended such a courtesy to the House GOP all while demanding unquestioned fealty from them. And while Bush shunned the House Leadership they still rubber stamped every bad bill George Bush demanded without any regard to their newly re-discovered principles.

This leads us to the Quote of the Day:

Indeed, the sudden unanimous opposition of House Republicans to this bill mainly accomplishes one thing, which is to remind everyone of how gutlessly the Republican leadership acquiesced to whatever the Bush administration wanted and how they only managed to discover some interest in resisting massive expenditures when someone from the other party is in the White House. This highlights the past fecklessness and opportunism of the current Republican leadership.

This seems correct assessment to me.  There sure is a strange cast of clowns in Washington these days.  

I was watching the TeeVee yesterday and former GOP Majority Leader Dick Armey was on yammering away that Washington was broken and nobody is really responsible for the mess.  This is the same Dick Armey who opposed the Preventive War in Iraq, was in a position to stop it and the Authorization of the use of Force, but eventually rolled over after a personal request from Cheney.  I can’t remember which “Bush Fucked Up, Read All About it” book this is in.  There are so many and I lose track some times. 

So yeah, these guys did whatever George Junior asked for in spite of any consideration of principle. And now they deserve to wander in the wilderness.  As long as Obama does not pull a Bush and if the Democratic Congress can reasonably police its own, I suspect they will for years to come.

Fine Whine

Karl Rove, a man involved in so much of the awesomeness of the Bush Administration, offers this critique in today’s WSJ Opinion Journal: Obama is mismanaging the White House Staff because he’s not doing things the way George Bush did them back in the glory years.

It is rumored that as many as 160 people will be in the West Wing under Mr. Obama. Under President George W. Bush there were about 60. My old, modest-seized office has been carved into four cubicles. This reduces the space for ad hoc meetings in personal offices, where so much West Wing work once took place.

The space crunch comes because Mr. Obama has moved several positions that once had offices in the EEOB into the West Wing. These include public liaison, intergovernmental affairs and political affairs. This reflects the importance he places on these offices' marketing efforts.

Space is also short because the ranks of senior staff have been increased. There is a chief of staff, of course, but also two deputy chiefs, and three senior advisers. Some senior aides now have chiefs of staff of their own. That is new.

All of this matters because management structure affects decision-making and determines the range and quality of voices the president hears. That impacts policy outcomes. (emphasis mine)

I don’t know what point he’s trying to make.  It seems to me you could’ve locked George Bush in a room with the most capable people in the world giving the most able advice and he’d still fuck things up. 

So as far as the “decision-making” and the “quality of voices that a president hears” I think the Public is quite pleased that there will be a Break from the Bush way of Business in the White House. 

And of course Komrade Karl does not mention that Dick Cheney also had a staff of 60 working for him to supplement the “decision-making.”

More Blowback from Bush’s Blunders - Chapter 92

Bush always said he wanted a consequential presidency.  Let’s check back in with our ongoing series tabulating the disaster that was the Bush Administration.  This time it is Weapons Systems that will now bear the burden of Bush’s misuse of the Military.  Cuts are inevitable: 

Defense Secretary Gates today acknowledged that steady increases in defense spending over the last seven years will soon end and warned that the Pentagon will have to make tough choices on many of its high-priced weapons systems.

 "One thing we have known for many months is that the spigot of defense spending opened by 9/11 is closing," Gates told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "With two major [military] campaigns ongoing, the economic crisis and resulting budget pressures will force hard choices on this department."

The Obama administration's amended fiscal 2010 budget request expected on Capitol Hill in April will reflect the budgetary pressures on the department, said Gates, who added that he opposes "across-the-board adjustments, which inefficiently extend all programs."

Gates did not single out specific programs that would be targeted for cuts, but listed efforts in each of the services that have experienced contract or program performance problems. Those include the Army's Future Combat Systems and Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter, the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship, and the Air Force tanker replacement program.

Now some critics of Bush may not be worried if the World’s only Superpower removes some of these weapons systems from the wish list.  This is true.  However, if you were a Bush supporter and one in favor of a strong defense, how can you judge Bush to have been anything other than a failure?  Left, Right and Center, all are bearing the burden of the Bush disaster. 

George Bush has proclaimed that we will have to wait 50 years to fully judge his Presidency.  This is true to some degree.  But as things come undone over the coming years, and history unfolds, more of Bush’s legacy becomes available for judgment.   

Heckuva Job Junior.

Conservatism Death Watch

Quote of the Day:

He (Bill Kristol) is easily among the most intelligent, creative, and articulate conservative voices in America

Neoconservative, Conservative, what’s the difference anymore?

UPDATE: While the nutters at the Corner may miss Wee Willy Kristol, RedState ain't having any of it. Kristol is not a Real Conservative, it is proclaimed.  And of course he is right, Kristol is an opportunist first and foremost.  But no doubt RedState will welcome Kristol back into the fold in 2012 to promote Sarah Palin. 

Twin Quotes for the Year

Rudy Giuliani:

When the election is over, we are all Americans and will support the new President. Because if he fails, we all fail.

Rush Limbaugh: 

I hope he fails.

Does Rush Limbaugh hate America?  

Routing for failure is not patriotic.  If the President fails, we all fail. America fails.  He must've forgotten the Bush Administration already.  It was a failure and we are all paying the price.

Quotes of the Week

Jon Meacham:  Andrew Jackson was a tough, tough guy. He carried two bullets with him during his life. One bullet came from a gun fight and another bullet from a duel. He was a tough guy.

Stephen Colbert: Bush Choked on a pretzel.

Not word for word, but close.  

A Charge to Keep, Part II?

Sarah Palin looking for a Book Deal?

Word on the Street has it that the Wingnut from Wasilla is looking for 11 Million Dollars for her memoirs.

I think I've heard this story already.  It ends badly.

UPDATE:  NYtimes review of "A Charge to Keep, Part I."

One might criticize ''A Charge to Keep'' (taken from the title of a Methodist hymn of commitment to God) as a wasted political opportunity to explain a potential president. But that is Bush's problem. A greater concern is that this book is an honest reflection of all there is in a potential president.

No substance? Yep, that is all there was.

New Rule: The Corker Doctrine

Headline of the Day:

Bailout Triggers Exec Pay Worries

Attorneys specializing in executive compensation are hearing from banking and finance executives forced to sign waivers of any right to challenge reductions in pay or benefits required when banks accept federal bailout money.

"People affected by the new rules are very skittish," said Stephen Zweig, a New York partner who is head of the employee benefits group at Ford & Harrison.

[…]

The rules vary somewhat in the separate programs, such as mandates that only automakers sell their private jets, but all prohibit incentives that encourage "unnecessary and excessive risks"; mandate "clawback" provisions for repayment of any bonus based on bookkeeping later proven to be inaccurate; and forbid "golden parachute" severance packages.

Paycuts are not fair, say executives, some of whom were only at the helm when the titanic hit iceberg, while others were responsible for the design of the Titanic.

But protestations of no fair only get you so far.

Query that to Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) or any of the autoworkers that Ol’Corky thinks get paid too much for his liking. As I remember Ol’Corky was pretty adamant that GM workers should be paid no more than workers employed at foreign auto companies.

This all leads back to the Corker Doctrine, which holds that American workers should receive no more compensation and benefits than workers at comparable foreign companies, (i.e., if executives run their company into the ground and need a federal loan).

Now a New Rule.

If you advocate wage cuts for folks on the factory floor at troubled companies, you must show equal enthusiasm for wage cuts to executive compensation at those same troubled companies.

Thus it has fallen to Bob Corker to put these ungrateful executives in their place and call for immediate reductions in executive compensation to bring wages and benefits in line with compensation paid at comparable European, Japanese or Canadian companies.

Corker must do this immediately or the Corker Doctrine may be seen as a political gimmick and Ol’Corky could be seen as an opportunist. Corky can't have this, can he?

UPDATE: So far Corker remains silent on Executive Pay Cuts. He was vocal about whacking those on the factory floor, but is silent about the Executives. No Larry King. No Press Conferences. Nothing. I don't understand why he remains silent on Exec Pay in light of his stand on cutting wages for Factory Workers.

The Leader of the Free World is once again an American

Staff Report. 

WASHINGTON -  President Obama took over as the Leader of the Free World earlier this week as he became the 44th President of the United States of America.

President Obama takes over from the former leader of the free world, the President of France, who became the de facto leader of the free world during the second term of Former US President Bush after it became clear that Bush had no interest in the job.  

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's term as Leader of the Free World was marked by his successful diplomacy bringing an end to the Russo-Georgian Conflict.  Sarkozy's other accomplishments included diplomatic initiatives to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions. 

"It was quite a whirlwind assuming the Leadership of the Free World, especially after the previous guy (Bush) just walked away from the job," reflected Sarkozy.  He continued, "I'd like to think I did the best I possibly could under the circumstances, uh, I mean the Free World was really a mess when I started." 

President Obama's agenda as Leader of the Free World will be filled by multiple failed initiatives under taken during the Bush era, many of which require immediate attention. 

There is no word on which failed Bush initiative President Obama will try to clean up first.  All indications are that it will be a full time job over the next 4 years.

Restoring Science to its Rightful Place

Quote of the Day:

"All I know is there's water where it didn't use to be, and it's my responsibility to deal with that."

Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen, repeating Bush Administration dogma on melting polar ice caps.

After years of first denying the possibilities of a changing climate, Bush, eventually, grudgingly acknowledged the possibility. However, he decided to do nothing about it. The Bush Administration even went so far as to alienate allies, muzzle scientists and censor government reports on the subject. Nothing new here.

So would it surprise you to learn that just days before leaving office, President Bush issued new national security directive, NSPD – 66, on Arctic Security to address the effects of global warming? 

New waterways are opening in the Arctic as polar ice caps shrink, even the Bush Administration understood this fact.  

Thawing of the Arctic will allow new transportation shortcuts and new energy exploration, even the Bush Administration came to understand this fact.  

But what the Bush administration could not do was allow science to have a roll in understanding the changes to the Arctic and to the planet as a whole.

With these guys it has always been faith based ideology above facts.  And the results have been disasterous.

Let’s add restoring science to its proper role and cleaning up the censorship and obstructed scholarship that occurred during the last Eight Years as another burden passed off to future generations.

Heckuva Job Junior.

UPDATE: Headline of the Day: Scientists relieved at end of Bush era

Headline of the Week

House committee chairman vows vigorous oversight of Obama administration

Thus it begins with the Democratic Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee pledging to maintain vigorous oversight of the Executive Branch.

"I feel strongly, as does the new president-elect, that congressional oversight should not go away just because the administration and Congress are run by the same party," said Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., at a panel discussion hosted by FTI Consulting and the public affairs firm FD Dittus Communications. "Congress has a responsibility to the citizens of this nation to check on the executive branch regardless if it's a Republican or Democratic administration."

Will Congress start doing its job now by exercising proper oversight? It is better than the alternative.

I tell you, if there was one thing that George Bush needed out of Congress, it was oversight. He got the opposite.

By never telling George Junior No, and by rubber stamping every bad decision Bush made, the Republican Congress did a great disservice to the Public Interest and ultimately to the Republican Party and George Bush’s legacy. The results are on display for all to see.

THREATDOWN---Wingnuts Beware

RED ALERT --- RED ALERT --- RED ALERT --- RED ALERT

A Warning has been issued to all Wingnuts and former Bush Administration employees.  

There is a new Sheriff in town who has the AUTHORITY (according to Bush and All of Greater Wingnuttia) to arrest and detain anyone who may be deemed an enemy to the State without a warrant or charges or trial or any due process of any kind.

Be on the alert for FBI agents, people with crew cuts or new members of your church.  These people may work for the Barack Hussein Obama or worse Hillary Clinton.

Be careful of what you say and be careful of what you think.  AVOID BLOGGING AT ALL COSTS!

You may be classified as a detainee and detained indefinitely.

I repeat, a warning has been issued to all Wingnuts who believe the Commander in Chief has the authority to do whatever he feels like, without consequences, because we are in a time of War.

Be careful of what you say and be careful of what you think.  AVOID BLOGGING AT ALL COSTS!

RED ALERT --- RED ALERT --- RED ALERT --- RED ALERT

The New Day

This passage struck me as an important departure from the current approach to foreign policy (and the goals stated in the 2004 inaugural address):

...we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.

Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.

And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

Absent was the assertion that America's security depends upon democracy abroad, replaced with the a goal of peace and dignity. Maybe I am reading more into this than is there.

Then the next line is a firm rebuke of the Bush Doctrine:

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.

They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint. We are the keepers of this legacy.

Text of the Speech is here. 

A rebuke of the Bush Doctrine, which in its most base element was the right to do whatever you want without regard to the interests of others, international law and norms of behavior, is the first step in getting the Nation back on track.

Feels good referring to the Bush Administration in the PAST TENSE. It certainly does.

Thus Ended George Bush’s Tragic Reign of Error

As the clock has just struck just past 12 pm US Eastern Standard Time, the transition of power has occurred and the Bush Administration's final throes have come mercifully to an end.

While Bush is headed back to Texas, you may think that we won’t have George Bush to kick around anymore, but au contraire mon ami, this is not true. Not one bit.

You see over the next 25 years or so, whenever something breaks, and it won’t matter what breaks, there is a good chance that it is either going to be his fault or at least partly traced back to his disastrous Reign of Error.

Even as Bush retreats into the tall grass, he won’t be able to ditch his legacy. The ghost of Herbert Hoover is going to be enjoying some company for a while, I think.

UPDATE: Herbert Hoover's Great-Grandaughter on Bush's Legacy: Don't Count on Vindication.

Quote of the Day

"It has been an awesome eight years. The days are long, but the years are short. … If you ever want a nice meal, come and knock on our door in Dallas, Texas." 

~ George Bush, at farewell celebration titled Crossing Stumbling over the Finish Line.

Mission Accomplished Watch.... Bush Missed Abroad

Who will miss Bush when he’s done gone back to Texas.  Today is his last half-day on the job. 

Bush's disaproval number is at 73% with large percentage of Americans wanting Bush not take a public role after his Presidency. Wingnuts love him, though some admit he's made a couple of mistakes.  

But will Bush be missed overseas?

I’d say countries in Africa will miss Bush. By all accounts, Bush’s efforts to increase Aids funding to Africa has been admirable. 

Israeli Politicians and Chinese Commie Leaders will miss Bush. Israeli Politicians enjoy the blank check Bush has extended from time to time, albeit not every time it was asked for. And Chinese Leaders recognize that Bush has not extended his Freedom Agenda to Red China and appreciate this decision.

Georgian President Milli-Saakashvilli, a major contender for The Feith Award which is presented in honor of TSFGOTFOTE, will probably miss Bush and the Neocons he hung around with.

Who else will miss Bush: Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Cuba's former president Fidel Castro and Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will all miss Bush’s presence on the international scene, I suspect.  Somebody hiding in a cave along Pakistan’s northwest border may miss not having Bush around, too. 

Legacy Watch - Yellow Liberal Rags are Mean

Presented in honor of George Junior's last full day on the job, here's a quick round up of opinion pieces today on the Bush Administration.

By most accounts (but not all) things did not go quite as well as planned during the last eight years. As a matter of fact 3 or the 4 links indicate things went poorly under Bush. While one suggests that we'll all (not just comedians, presumably) will start missing Bush sooner than we realize.

A Disastrous Eight Years Under Bush

By his own yardsticks, his administration was an abject failure. He was a divider, not a uniter. He was "the decider" who led the country into a war of choice on what proved to be false pretenses. His administration was neither compassionate nor conservative. It ran up record deficits while giving tax breaks to the wealthy and creating a culture of government neglect that left some Americans trapped in a netherworld of neglect after Hurricane Katrina, and continues to keep all of us gripped by the angst of an economic system that remains on the brink of collapse.

What Bush Leaves Behind

"After eight unreflective years, George W. Bush has suddenly turned contemplative, arguing in a flurry of exit interviews that his record (as Mark Twain said of Wagner's music) is better than it sounds.

[…]

Bush would like to be remembered as another Harry S. Truman, a president who left office deeply unpopular because of a long war and a recession but who eventually won credit for laying a foreign policy foundation that endured for half a century. But Truman sponsored the Marshall Plan and helped launch NATO; will Bush's Department of Homeland Security look as impressive half a century from now?

He's more likely to be compared to Lyndon B. Johnson, a Texan whose domestic ambitions were derailed by a costly war. Bush's reach, like Johnson's, exceeded his grasp; he vastly overestimated the United States' capacity to make other countries behave like democracies under American tutelage. But Johnson enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1964; can Bush point to any comparable achievement?"

A Short Term Failure but could it rise to a level of mediocrity in the Long Term? The Bush Presidency: 

"Starting tomorrow, all eyes turn to Barack Obama's inauguration. Today, George W. Bush's fade-away is the main event.

There's no way to neatly summarize eight years. But as a newspaper that has supported Bush through two gubernatorial and two presidential races, we can draw this conclusion:

History could very well view him differently, particularly his domestic achievements, but at this point his presidential failures, sadly, overshadow his successes and may for some time.

[…]

When Bush set out from here, we hoped for a course-changing administration. We welcome him back as friend and neighbor, and history may look more kindly on him. But he returns – unfortunately – with defeats overshadowing achievements. That's not what we would have predicted eight long years ago."

Now for another take. We can always count on the citizen journalist at Red State to blow the whistle on the Yellow Liberal Rags that make up the media. Here's a wingnut kicking it old school-style in a post that could be titled Heckuva a Job and we’ll miss you:

"A Farewell to President Bush, A Decent Man

[...]

A true dispassionate history of the Bush Administration will not be written for a generation. Time must pass to let emotion settle out of the mixture. When it is written, it will almost certainly judge George W. Bush to have been a fundamentally decent man who strived to do his duty and did not shirk the responsibilities of leadership, often at great political cost. He will be remembered as a president who prevented another terrorist attack against great odds, while freeing 50 million Muslims from oppression. And he will be remembered for having received no credit for any of it while he was in office. There will come a moment, much sooner than anyone now believes, when the country will collectively miss George W. Bush – when an old fashioned leader is required. On that day, Mr. President, you will finally have earned a measure of the respect that you were denied in your years in the White House. Thank you, sir, for a job well and faithfully done."

I saw an editorial cartoon the other day showing an alien exiting a flying saucer holding a sign that said "Take me to your Leader." An Earthling responded "Do us both a favor and come back next week." That about sums things up.

UPDATE: There are Yellow Liberal Rags overseas, too.  Check out this summation of International Editiorials.

It is Robert E Lee Day today, believe it or not

Of course today is the MLK holiday where public employees and school children enjoy a day off in honor of Dr. King.

However in Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi, it is also the Robert E. Lee Birthday celebration.

With Barack Obama's inauguration tomorrow an old Faulkner saying comes to mind:

The past is never dead. It's not even past.

The Robert E. Lee Birthday Birthday recognition day is more a relic from the past than anything else at this point. In the future, I suspect that these holidays will be treated about the same way as the 100 year old monuments with religious references like the ten commandments. Such monuments do not violate the First Amendment because they are thought to be traditional displays of a different time and are, in fact, a cultural anthropological resource.

A few people may get wound up about the holiday, but most people, I believe, are not even aware of it. But I may be wrong. Jefferson Davis's 200 Birthday is coming up. Let's see what the good people of Alabama do to celebrate the Jefferson Davis State Holiday this June.

Wasn't Jeff Davis dressed like a woman when he was captured?

Wisdom from Newt

I was just listening to the radio and heard Newt Gingrich tell me that America's greatest foriegn policy challenge is the emerging civil war in Mexico.

Mexico is the greatest foriegn policy challenge?  What about Radical Islam?  Aren't the terrorists just one step away from taking over the world?  

Someone needs to remind Newt that he needs to make a decision.  He is either with the wingnuts or he's with the terrorists. Period. 

Post Script: If the situation in Mexico is so serious, why weren't politicians talking about this challenge instead of telling us that we may need to go war with Russia during the presidential campaign?

Number of the Day - Legacy Watch

George Bush is set to check out with a historic low approval rating - 22%.  

No other President has left office with a lower approval rating.  No other President has left office with a disapproval rating as high as George -  73%.

These records belong to George.

He earned them both.

Yeah, that about sums it up

Nearly Over. Mercifully. What a Relief.

All Over but the Crying

 Effective close of business today, George Bush's Tragic Reign of Error comes to all but an end.  Bush Administration staffers are heading to the exits for the last time at this very moment.

And while they have to turn in their keys, blackberrys and hall passes and prepare to leave the White House behind, we are the ones stuck with the mess.  

Heckuva job guys.

Still have the pardons to look forward to, but it is all over but the crying. 

Smells like..... Victory!

One of the funnier incidents that happened this week, happened in the Tennessee State General Assembly ( the lower house) as the 99 members of the Assembly chose its next Speaker.

With the GOP in the majority in the State Senate and in the Assembly for the first time since reconstruction, albeit by a 50-49 margin, Republicans were set to appoint their first Speaker since 1968.

But as President Bush may say, things didn't quite go according to plan.

As the vote was tallied, the GOP chosen canditate for Speaker, Jason Mumpower, lost to a fellow Republican by a 50-49 vote as all 49 Democrats along with the new Speaker, a moderate Republican, voted in unison. Republicans howled with righteous rage on the Assembly floor as the State Patrol was called to keep the peace.

As the debaucle unfolded, it became clear that the much hoped for neverending series of anti-gay and abortion votes would not come to pass this term. RedState called for purity tests, having concluded that loyalty oaths could no longer be relied upon. Wingnuts at RedState went so far as to post the home address of the new Speaker on line amid calls for reader retribution.

It was quite the show. But anyway, news broke yesterday that as Tennessee Republicans arrived at the capital the morning of the vote, they came armed with 100s of state Flags for public employees to raise and fly over the Capital Building in honor of the GOP's return to power. Speaker Candidate Mumpower ordered grounds crews to raise and lower 65 such heirlooms up the flag pole in honor of himself.

And then this little gem:

Mumpower also paid a state photographer more than $500 to chronicle his day, beginning at 7:30 a.m. The House didn't complete its vote for speaker until more than six hours later.

Wonder what Mumpower is gonna do now with all those flags and the photos chronicling his bewilderment and rage. Dude brought his family, his family bible to be sworn in upon and even secured loyalty oaths from other Republican. Then... Bam. Never saw it coming.

And apart from the Flag Fiasco and the Photos, the funny thing is that the same thing happened just two years ago as the GOP finally gained a majority in the Tennessee State Senate only to see Democrats out fox them and elect a Democrat as Speaker of the Senate.

When the inmates run the assylum, crazy things happen.

At least Mumpower won't be the first second GOP speaker since reconstruction. Maybe Mumpower can donate his 65 flags to the new speaker. I bet some democrats may be interested as well.

Update: Check out this Comment Thread. Plenty of unkind words for Mumpower. They are kicking the poor fella while he's down.

FURTHER UPDATE:  The speaker who wasn't has more to say about being outfoxed.  From now on he's "triple verifying" all the legislative type things that require his attention.

"If anything is affected this week, it is that business will no longer be done on the basis of someone's word. It will be done by verification, and double verification and triple verification, that what someone says is what they mean, and what they intend to do"

Good idea.