Wordless Wednesday: Politics Makes Strange Bedfellows

Open Letter to Republican Tea Party Members

We had eight years of Bush and Cheney, but now you get mad?

• You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.


• You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.


• You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.


• You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.


• You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.


• You didn't get mad when we spent $1 trillion on said illegal war.


• You didn't get mad when over $10 billion dollars (in hard cash) just “disappeared" in Iraq.


• You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.


• You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.


• You didn't get mad when they didn't catch Bin Laden.


• You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed hospital.


• You didn't get mad when they let a major US city drown.


• You didn't get mad when they gave a $1.6 trillion in tax breaks to the rich.


• You didn’t get mad when, using reconciliation; a trillion dollars of our tax dollars were redirected to insurance companies for Medicare Advantage -- which cost more than 20% more for the same services that Medicare provides.


• You didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark, and our debt hit the thirteen trillion dollar mark.

No, but you did get mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans... oh hell no!

Does Dick Cheney Seem Like a Rabid Dog to You?

Former Vice President Dick Cheney had a good run. He was a longterm congressman from his home state. He ran a large and successful Fortune 500 company. He served for eight years as our nation's vice president. He raised children who appear to be very loving and loyal to him.

With all that positive karma in his life ... why does it seem that former vice president Dick Cheney is going stark-raving mad?


This week Cheney criticized President Barack Obama's ability to handle national security after the Justice Department appointed a special prosecutor to investigate CIA interrogation abuses.

Cheney said the intelligence obtained from harsh interrogation techniques had saved lives.

"The people involved deserve our gratitude. They do not deserve to be the targets of political investigations or prosecutions. President Obama's decision to allow the Justice Department to investigate and possibly prosecute CIA personnel, and his decision to remove authority for interrogation from the CIA to the White House, serves as a reminder, if any were needed, of why so many Americans have doubts about this Administration's ability to be responsible for our nation's security," Cheney said.

Earlier this year, Cheney had asked the CIA to declassify two memos that he said showed the effectiveness of using harsh interrogation methods on terrorism suspects.

The CIA in May rejected that request, but on Monday released the documents, with classified portions blacked out.

"The activities of the CIA in carrying out the policies of the Bush Administration were directly responsible for defeating all efforts by al Qaeda to launch further mass casualty attacks against the United States," Cheney said.

Cheney simply refuses to be silent. Why can't he be more like Dan Quayle or Walter Mondale?

Brattleboro vs. George Bush-Dick Cheney

Drumbeats from Latimer Williams informed us of a sleepy town in Vermont that is truly pissed off at George Bush and Dick Cheney. I imagine that Dennis Kucinich would have won the Brattleboro precint vote this year if his presidential campaign kept going long enough. Kucinich wants to impeach Dick Cheney while the good people of Brattleboro want Cheney and his boss, George Bush, indicted and arrested for war crimes, perjury or obstruction of justice if they ever step foot in Vermont.

Perhaps Kurt Daims is just mad that Vermont is the only state George Bush has not visited since he became president in 2001. Does Vermont have an airport?

Good Day for Democrats

Today was an unusually active day for political wonks:

1. Trent Lott announced his decision to resign from US Senate. It is actually fun to watch republicans in congress scurrying about like roaches with the lights turned on 'em!


2. Dick Cheney goes to the hospital because of an irregular heartbeat and ends up having more surgery on his heart. For the sake of his family, I hope that the surgery is successful enough for him to live, however, it would be great if this guy has to resign. If not, it is a shame that he wasn't impeached earlier.


3. Al Gore visits the White House today. Ironic when you consider that George Bush and Al Gore battled it out for the presidency in 2000. You got to beleive that Al Gore will be smiling inside as he reflects on how poorly Bush as done as our president over the past 7 years.

What will happen next in the world of national politics?