Inspire Political Discourse

Loser George W. Bush Absent From Office During His Presidency

Did you know.......that George W. Bush spent a total of 483 days at his ranch in Crawford, Texas during the eight years of his presidency? That's approximately 1.3 years, people!

We knew that he totally f*ucked up our country, from his insistence on going to war with Iraq based on false intelligence (which I believe he well knew was false at the time), to his egregious attacks on our Constitution, to the failed policies of "No Child Left Behind", to his inability to find and prosecute Osama bin Laden for the deaths of the thousands who died horrific deaths in the attacks on September 11, 2001,  to his response to Katrina from that said same ranch in Crawford.

What may not have been clear until now, is the total amount of time that Bush spent vacationing in Crawford . 483 days. Unbelievable.

So.......I am thinking that we should demand that a year of his salary be repaid to the American people. After all, while it would be a token amount, rather like throwing pennies in a fountain, it could be used to offset the deficit by a token amount. Fair is fair, after all.

Source: Huffington Post

Scroll or click for Monday's political news round-up.

Daily Political News Round-Up - Wednesday, December 3, 2008

►John Brennan forced out of consideration for CIA director by the Obama team, thanks in large part to liberal bloggers.

“Former CIA official John Brennan, once considered the top choice to serve as CIA director in President-elect Barack Obama's administration, was pressured by the Obama transition team to pull his name from consideration, according to friends and former intelligence associates.
Brennan's withdrawal, offered in a Nov. 25 letter to Obama, came after liberal bloggers mounted an opposition campaign against his possible appointment.”  NPR

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►Wingnut Alert: Senate leadership to craft legislation that will clear the wingnut hurdle to Hillary Clinton's appointment as Secretary of State. Bolding is mine.

“the Senate leadership is working to craft legislation that will make it possible for her to take the post despite a Constitutional clause saying that members of Congress are ineligible to take an appointed post if the salary for the post in question has increased while the member was in elected office.

The Senate's efforts, which would cut the Secretary of State's salary back to what it was when Hillary was reelected to her current term, come in response to a declaration yesterday by the winger group Judicial Watch that the Constitution blocks her from serving.”  TPM

The Siege in Mumbai Ends - IPD Weekend Update Nov. 29-30, 2008

Sunday, November 30, 2008

►Top Indian security official resigns as death toll reaches 183, and questions are asked regarding India's preparedness for this type of attack.

 “As an investigation moved forward, there were questions about whether Indian authorities could have anticipated the attack and had better security in place, especially after a 2007 report to Parliament that the country’s shores were inadequately protected from infiltration by sea — which is how the attackers sneaked into Mumbai.
Home Minister Shivraj Patil, responsible for public safety and internal security as one of the most senior members of the government, resigned on Sunday to take responsibility for the failure of the country’s intelligence services and military to prevent the attacks in Mumbai.”  NYT

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Saturday, November 29, 2008

Terror in Mumbai - IPD Daily Political News Round-Up - Friday, November 28, 2008

 ►The State Dept. has ordered FBI agents to Mumbai today to investigate the terror attacks that killed four American citizens. Er, did I miss something, or isn't the FBI's mission to operate in the US, while the CIA operates out of the country??

“Intelligence officials looked urgently for clues about the identify of the attackers, a crucial unknown as Indian officials charged, without giving details, that "elements in Pakistan" were involved. A tentative rapprochement between the two nuclear-armed rivals could hang in the balance, and a U.S. counterintelligence official cautioned against rushing to judgment on the origins of the militants.”  AP report

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► According to ABC News, George W. Bush hopes to be remembered for "liberating" the Iraqi people, according to an interview conducted by his sister for the oral-history organization StoryCorps for the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.
Excuse me, but WHAT the frack?? Does he really believe that that is what he did? Oh hell, never mind. This requires an entire separate post over the weekend. But I have to say in response to his statement --- freakin' ludicrous.

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►Senate democrats are preparing health, economic and spending legislation that they hope will land on Obama's desk when he takes office on January 20. Go dems!

“Given the severity of the problems facing the nation, officials on Capitol Hill and in the Obama team say Democrats have put their schedule on fast-forward rather than allowing the usual lull between the start of the new Congress, this time on Jan. 6, and President-elect Barack Obama’s swearing-in two weeks later.
Lawmakers and staff members are already laying the groundwork for a running start, and Congress is scheduled to remain in session once its expanded Democratic majorities are sworn in.”  NYT

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Daily Political News Round-Up - Monday, November 24, 2008

►Joe Biden's longtime aide and friend, Edward Kaufman, has been named to replace him in the senate.

“Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner announced on Monday that she would name Mr. Kaufman, the senator’s chief of staff for 19 years and a close personal friend, to fill the vacancy through 2010. Mr. Kaufman, 69, said he intended to retire after two years, leaving opening the possibility that Senator Biden’s son Beau, the state’s attorney general, could run in 2010.” NYT

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►According to ABC News, Susan Rice will likely be Obama's UN Ambassador.

“ABC News has learned that Dr. Susan Rice has emerged as the leading candidate to be President-elect Obama's nominee as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.” Jake Tapper - ABC News
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►Obama announces economic team appointments - Obama has formally announced the appointments of Tim Geithner as Secretary of the Treasury, Larry Summers as Director of the National Economic Council, Christina Romer as  Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, and Melody Barnes as Chair of the  Domestic Policy Counsel.  ABC News, live. 12:10pm EST.

View the video and the transcript here.

:: Melody Barnes to Run Domestic Policy Council »Think Progress
:: Obama Introduces His Economic Team  »HUFFPO
:: Obama announces economic team »Jake Tapper - ABC News

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►Yet another big bail-out of a financial services company announced by President Bush this morning. Citicorp is the latest to be added to the taxpayer dole. On the plus side, the stock market reacted favorably to the announcement.

“Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks climbed for a second day after the government said it will guarantee $306 billion of troubled Citigroup Inc. assets and Democratic lawmakers pledged to pass an economic stimulus package by January.” Bloomberg.com

:: Massive effort to rescue Citigroup »HUFFPO
:: Regulators approve a radical plan to help Citigroup »NYT

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►P-E Obama has appointed Professor Christina Romer, of UC Berkeley, to Chair President Elect Obama's Council of Economic Advisers. Great choice, kudos to Obama.

“Romer wrote, if not the book, at least the chapter for Encyclopedia Britannica on the Great Depression [pdf].” HUFFPO

:: Obama names Romer to lead Council of Economic Advisors »NYT
:: Obama appoints Christina Romer »Jake Tapper - ABC News

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►Bronx burough president, Adolfo Carrion Jr., considered for cabinet appointment.

“Adolfo Carrión Jr., the Bronx borough president, is being considered for a senior position in the Obama administration, possibly as secretary of housing and urban development, people involved in the transition said on Saturday. Mr. Carrión was elected Bronx borough president in 2001 and re-elected in 2005. He is one of several prominent Hispanic officials reportedly under consideration for a cabinet post; Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who is considered the country’s most influential Hispanic politician, is a contender for secretary of commerce.” NYT

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>It's Torture, Not "Coercion" and Euphemisms are Unacceptable
>Full Transcript and Video of President-elect Obama's Weekly Video Address to the Nation, November 22, 2008
>Video of President-elect Obama's Weekly Address to the Nation as He Promises to Take Action on the Economy Immediately Upon Taking Office
>Jon Stewart and the Somali Pirates

It's Torture, Not "Coercion" and Euphemisms are Unacceptable

An excellent op-ed piece by Andrew Sullivan of The Daily Dish, Sullivan refuses to go with the popular practice of using euphemisms to describe what exactly was authorized by the American government concerning the use of torture, and forces the reader to look at the reality.

“This is the defining line of torture: not some arbitrary comic book technique, but a psychological and physical fact: pushing another human being to the point where choice becomes unavailable to him or her. You can do this in any number of ways; it can take  three seconds of electrocution or it can take two months of sleep deprivation, hypothermia and darkness. But the line it eventually crosses is the same line.

(Photo: a detainee killed by US forces in Abu Ghraib prison, after being beaten and forced into a position with his arms bent back over and behind his head, with a hood restricting his breathing. All the techniques used against him were authorized by president George W. Bush.)” [.....]

RELATED - RECENT POST

>Full Transcript and Video of President-elect Obama's Weekly Video Address to the Nation, November 22, 2008
>Video of President-elect Obama's Weekly Address to the Nation as He Promises to Take Action on the Economy Immediately Upon Taking Office
>Jon Stewart and the Somali Pirates
>Sarah Palin and the Turkeys
>Daily Political News Round-Up - Friday, November 21, 2008
>The Obama Administration: a Listing of the Obama Cabinet, White House Staff, and Cabinet - Level Positions

Political News Round-up - Tuesday, November 18, 2008

►Eric Holder to be named Obama's attorney general [Holder was Clinton's deputy attorney general], and thus the first Aftrican-American US Attorney General. According to Charles Gibson on ABC World News, two senior Democratic senators told ABC that they expect Holder to be confirmed.

“President-elect Obama has decided to tap Eric Holder as his attorney general, putting the veteran Washington lawyer in place to become the first African-American to head the Justice Department, according to two legal sources close to the presidential transition.”  NEWSWEEK
:: Holder to be named attorney general   »MSNBC
:: Barack Obama picks Eric Holder as first black attorney general  »Weekly Telegraph - UK

►As we told you yesterday that he would, Lieberman has kept his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee but lost his chairmanship of the Environment and Public Works subcommittee, which is a minor post. This so ticks me off. Update: New movement - LOL- today is "International Laugh at Joe Lieberman Day".

“How about we make the rest of the calendar year International Grow Some Mother Fracking Balls Day, and deluge the rest of the Senate Democrats?”  Jason Linkins

Reversing Bush 43's Midnight Regulations

Good news on W's efforts to enact last-minute regulations which will further decimate our environment, and benefit only large corporations.

There is a little known law which should provide for a simple reversal of regulations enacted between October 3, 2008 and January 15,2009. That law is the Congressional Review Act of 1996, and essentially, it will allow Congress to reverse these regulations with a joint resolution that is not subject to filibuster in the Senate.

| Source - Politico

Image credit - AP

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>Obama and Bush 43 in the White House Together

>Obama Confronts Guantanamo

Obama and Bush 43 in the White House Together

Hmmm....is it just me, or does W. look like he is hurrying to get away?

Image source, NYT

Obama Confronts Guantanamo

As Obama plans for the close of Guantanamo, which is expected to occur early during his presidency, he is faced with tangled legal and moral decisions, some of which will bring down the wrath of the Republicans, and the ire of the Democrats.

Before you jump on the "Bash Obama" bandwagon re Guantanamo, take the time to research¹ and intelligently consider the issues. The choices he must make are not easily accomplished nor considered for this former professor of constitutional law, but I believe that he will make the best decisions re Guantanamo, while necessarily protecting our national security. There are no perfect choices in this matter.

The possibilities, in brief

Bush 43 Hard at Work on Last Minute Decimation of the Environment

George W. Bush can not rest until he has destroyed the environment, following Cheney's admonition to "drill now, drill everywhere". In one of a number of last minute assaults on our environment, Bush 43 is now busily destroying Utah.

From the New York Times:

On Tuesday, the bureau announced that it would soon begin selling oil and gas leases — essentially the right to drill — in some of the most beautiful and fragile areas. [in Utah]

Why I am voting for Barack Obama

The issues are important. And in almost all cases, I agree with Obama's policy statements on how specific issues should be addressed. Not that I would expect to agree with all of any one individual's ideas..

But, there are other reasons that I will vote for Obama that are not about specific issues, but are just as compelling, and perhaps more so. For in the end, it is the character and intellect of the man who holds the office that matters most.

Another Call For Palin to Step Down

►Sarah Six-pack Needs To Put Country First by Stepping Down - The Huffington Post

In the freakishly hamfisted world of Sarah Palin, Mike Judge's neighbor is qualified to be vice president of the United States.

Yesterday, Palin said the following to talk radio wingnut Hugh Hewitt:

"Oh, I think they're just not used to someone coming in from the outside saying you know what? It's time that a normal Joe Six-pack American is finally represented in the position of vice presidency, and I think that that's kind of taken some people off guard, and they're out of sorts, and they're ticked off about it."

There's so much awfulness in this quote, it's difficult to know where to begin. Out of sorts? Ticked off? Oh you betcha.

For the last eight dark years we've had a president who continues to be framed as a Joe Six-pack type. And it's been a disaster. No-one, at this point, is disputing the toxicity of the Bush presidency.

Here's the difference, though, between President Bush's Joe Six-pack persona and Sarah Palin's. For better or worse, George Bush -- and I can't believe I'm writing this -- had attained a respectable level of schooling while also coming from a family deeply rooted in American politics. In other words, be it the fake Crawford "ranch" and his cowboy drag, George W. Bush is mostly pretending. He's "Joe Six-pack" insofar as he's running away from his silver-spooned, cheerleading, Skull & Bones background. That doesn't mean he's any less ignorant. He's still a disconnected, incompetent nothing. But at least he possesses something resembling the heft required of the office. And it's worth noting for the sake of context that he initially ran for president as the "guy you want to have a beer with" in 1999 and 2000 -- a time of relative peace and prosperity. Bored Americans figured, Whatever. Might as well.

Sarah Palin, on the other hand, is, by all indications, a bonafide hooplehead -- so dangerously out of her depth and so delusional -- perhaps blinded by ambition -- that she is in total denial about the real-world ..........Continue reading here.

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Breaking News: The Republicans Have Defeated the Bailout Plan

►On the Brink: Dow Plunges on Fears House will Not Pass Bailout - ABC News

House Republicans shocked the White House -- and the stock market -- by refusing to approve the Bush administration's gargantuan Wall Street bailout today.

The House vote was expected to be close for the $700 billion rescue plan, but the chance of it passing was put in peril when 132 Republican members of the House voted against it. Only 66 Republicans voted for it.

The impact of the vote was felt even before the voting was concluded. The DOW plunged as the votes were being counted and it was apparent that passage was unlikely. As the voting continued the Dow plummeted to 700 points, then recovered. Continue reading here.

►House Rejects Bailout Package, 228-205; Stocks Plunge  - New York Times

WASHINGTON — In a moment of historic import in the Capitol and on Wall Street, the House of Representatives voted on Monday to reject a $700 billion rescue of the financial industry. The vote came in stunning defiance of President Bush and Congressional leaders of both parties, who said the bailout was needed to prevent a widespread financial collapse. Continue reading here.

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• House Opens Debate on Bailout Legislation

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• Fed Pumps Cash Into System as World Financial Markets Fall

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• ANALYSIS: Dr. Paulson's Tough Medicine, In a Pill the Public Can Swallow

• Lawmakers Urge Action on Bailout

• Text of President Bush's statement

• A Gut-Wrenching Ride

• Full Coverage: Turmoil on Wall Street

• Breakdown of the Final Bailout Bill

Stock Markets Worldwide Plunge as Congress Debates Bailout

►Stock Markets Fall Sharply as Congress Debates Bailout Plan - Washington Post

Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, September 29, 2008; 12:58 PM

Stocks took a steep dive around the world today as troubles in the European financial sector offset news that congressional leaders had reached a hard-fought consensus on the $700 billion bailout legislation. The Federal Reserve responded by injecting hundreds of billions of dollars into the U.S. and world financial markets. Continue reading here.

RELATED ARTICLES:

• House Opens Debate on Bailout Legislation

• Bush: Congress Must Pass Bailout Bill

• Fed Pumps Cash Into System as World Financial Markets Fall

• Government Launches Fannie and Freddie Probe

• ANALYSIS: Dr. Paulson's Tough Medicine, In a Pill the Public Can Swallow

• Lawmakers Urge Action on Bailout

• Text of President Bush's statement

• A Gut-Wrenching Ride

• Full Coverage: Turmoil on Wall Street

• Breakdown of the Final Bailout Bill

Anger in UN Over US Financial Crisis

►Upheaval on Wall St. Stirs Anger in the U.N. - The New York Times

UNITED NATIONS — Wall Street and the Bush administration’s record of financial oversight came under attack at the United Nations on Tuesday, with one world leader after another saying that market turmoil in the United States threatened the global economy

“We must not allow the burden of the boundless greed of a few to be shouldered by all,” said President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil in an opening speech that reflected the tone of the gathering. Continue reading here.

RELATED ARTICLES:

►US Financial System in Worst Shape Since Depression - How This May Affect the Election

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►Finger-Pointing in Financial Crisis Is Directed at Bush

►$700 Billion for Largest Financial Bailout in US History

$700 Billion for Largest Financial Bailout in US History

►Administration Is Seeking $700 Billion for Wall Street Bailout - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration on Saturday formally proposed to Congress what could become the largest financial bailout in United States history, requesting virtually unfettered authority for the Treasury to buy up to $700 billion in mortgage-related assets from financial institutions based in the United States.

The proposal was stunning for its stark simplicity: less than three pages, it would raise the national debt ceiling to $11.3 trillion. And it would place no restrictions on the administration other than requiring semiannual reports to Congress, allowing the Treasury to buy and resell mortgage debt as it sees fit.  Continue reading here.

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►US Financial System in Worst Shape Since Depression - How This May Affect the Election

►Dazed Capital Feels Its Way, Eyes on Election

►Finger-Pointing in Financial Crisis Is Directed at Bush

Technorati Tags: US economy,US financial system,federal bailout,Capitol Hill response to financial system disaster,US financial crisis,Bush to blame for financial crisis,economy,Republicans,politics,election,2008 elections,money,finance,wall street,George W. Bush,George Bush,the Shrub,George W.

Pointing Fingers at Bush Re the Financial Crisis

►Finger-Pointing in Financial Crisis Is Directed at Bush - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — For his entire presidency, George W. Bush has tried to avoid the fate of his father, brought low by a feeble economy. Now, as the financial crisis radiates far beyond Wall Street, Mr. Bush faces an even grimmer prospect: being blamed, at least in part, for an economic breakdown.

“There will be ample opportunity to debate the origins of this problem,” Mr. Bush said in the Rose Garden on Friday. “Now is the time to solve it.”

But in Washington, on Wall Street and on the presidential campaign trail, the debate has already begun.  Continue reading here.

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►US Financial System in Worst Shape Since Depression - How This May Affect the Election

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►Dazed Capital Feels Its Way, Eyes on Election

►McCain Tries to Link Obama to Financial Crisis

Technorati Tags: George W. Bush,George Bush,the Shrub,George W.,US financial system,US financial crisis,Bush to blame for financial crisis,Republicans,2008 elections,politics,finance,wall street,economy,us economy

US Financial System in Worst Shape Since Depression - How This May Affect the Election

►Dazed Capital Feels Its Way, Eyes on Election - The New York TImes

WASHINGTON — The huge bailout of the financial system that the Bush administration and Congress are rushing to draft will leave taxpayers with at least part of the bill at a time when high gasoline prices, job losses and stagnant incomes have already helped produce an overwhelming sense that the nation is on the wrong track.

Policy makers cannot say where it all ends. News reports are unrelentingly talking of “crisis.” After decades of deregulation and free-market fealty, antiregulation, small-government Republicans are putting the government in control of a big chunk of the financial sector.

All of which has left Washington in the midst of a political convulsion that both parties are struggling to understand and  Continue reading here.

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►Dazed Capital Feels Its Way, Eyes on Election

►Finger-Pointing in Financial Crisis Is Directed at Bush

►$700 Billion for Largest Financial Bailout in US History

►McCain Tries to Link Obama to Financial Crisis

►Obama Rapid-Response Ad Skewers McCain - The Huffington Post

Technorati Tags: US economy,US financial system,federal bailout,Capitol Hill response to financial system disaster,Democrats,Republicans,politics,effects on election,election,2008 elections,finance,money,wall street,fannie mae,freddie mac,Merril Lynch,Lehman Brothers

Wall Street Giants Fall

►The Demise of the Wall Street Giants - cbsnews.com

Samuel Hayes, finance professor emeritus at Harvard Business School, said the Bush administration may get a lot of blame for the situation, which could benefit Obama. Continue reading here.

RELATED: 

►US Financial System in Worst Shape Since Depression - How This May Affect the Election

►Dazed Capital Feels Its Way, Eyes on Election

►Finger-Pointing in Financial Crisis Is Directed at Bush

►$700 Billion for Largest Financial Bailout in US History

►McCain Tries to Link Obama to Financial Crisis

►Obama Rapid-Response Ad Skewers McCain - The Huffington Post

 

Technorati Tags: US economy,US financial system,federal bailout,Capitol Hill response to financial system disaster,US financial crisis,Bush to blame for financial crisis,economy,money,finance,wall street,fannie mae,freddie mac,Merril Lynch,Lehman Brothers,Republicans