A Few Days Left: Quote of the Day 1/14

With a new message out from Osama bin Laden today, Dick Cheney's comment below bears mentioning. Wolf Blitzer asked the VP about his disappointment over not being able to capture the man who orchestrated the largest ever attack on America.

His response? We've still got a few days left... and some words of support for the domestic spying and torture policies that have kept us all so safe these past few years.

There's a legal principle (noted on The West Wing) that deals with this kind of reasoning: Post hoc ergo propter hoc. That B follows A does not mean that A caused B.

Krugman Explanations, Obama Expectations

Two notes from the New York Times:

In the Op-Ed section, Nobel laurate Paul Krugman accuses Republicans of "whining that almost defies belief."

Did Alberto Gonzales, the former attorney general, really say, “I consider myself a casualty, one of the many casualties of the war on terror”? Did Rush Limbaugh really suggest that the financial crisis was the result of a conspiracy, masterminded by that evil genius Chuck Schumer?

Yeesh, I hope not.

Krugman believes the Republican party's problems are far more entrenched than the missteps of a failed administration, and stretch back to their Southern strategy that developed in the wake of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, when the "G.O.P. decided, in effect, to make itself the party of racial backlash."

But what ails the party is more than a shift in demographics, argues Krugman. Instead it's their anti- government philosophy that doomed them to incompetence and lost the confidence of the American people.

Consequently, the Obama administration has an opportunity for bold action unmatched even in the Clinton years. Krugamn hopes they seize it.

What a convenient segue...

We highlighted Dick Cheney recently saying he anticipated the incoming Obama administration to embrace President Bush's expansion of executive power:

"Once they get here and they're faced with the same problems we deal with every day, then they will appreciate some of the things we've put in place..."

Well Cheney's theory will be put the test real soon. The Times reports that the Obama administration must submit a brief to the Supreme Court "on one of the most aggressive legal claims made by the Bush administration — that the president may order the military to seize legal residents of the United States and hold them indefinitely without charging them with a crime."

The position of the new President, a former Constitutional law professor, will go along way toward defining the kind of change so many believed in.

At the heart of the case is "Ali al-Marri, a Qatari student who was arrested in Peoria, Ill., in December 2001. The Bush administration says Mr. Marri is a sleeper agent for Al Qaeda, and it is holding him without charges at the Navy brig in Charleston, S.C. He is the only person currently held as an enemy combatant on the mainland, but the legal principles established in his case are likely to affect the roughly 250 prisoners at Guantánamo."

Among the many cases on the docket, experts say a shift in course is most likely in Al- Marri's.

From the article:

Many legal experts say that all of the new administration’s options in Mr. Marri’s case are perilous. Intelligence officials say he is exceptionally dangerous, making deportation problematic.

Trying him on criminal charges could be difficult, too, in part because some of the evidence against him may have been obtained through torture and would not be admissible.

And staying the course in the Marri case would outrage civil libertarians.

“If they adopt the Bush administration position, or some version of it,” said Brandt Goldstein, a professor at New York Law School, “it is going to be a moment of profound disappointment for everyone in the legal community and Americans generally who believe that the Bush administration has tried to turn the presidency into a monarchy.”

"Cheney Out"- Quotes of the Day 12/16

"Once they get here and they're faced with the same problems we deal with every day, then they will appreciate some of the things we've put in place... We did not exceed our constitutional authority, as some have suggested. The President believes, I believe very deeply, in a strong executive, and I think that's essential in this day and age. And I think the Obama administration is not likely to cede that authority back to the Congress. I think they'll find that given a challenge they face, they'll need all the authority they can muster.

"Guantanamo has been very, very valuable. And I think they'll discover that trying to close it is a very hard proposition. They're unlawful combatants. And you if you're not going to have a place to locate them like Guantanamo, then you either have to bring them here to the continental United States and I don't know any member of Congress who's volunteering to have al Qaeda terrorists deposited in his district."

"We're on the downside of a recession that may be the worst since World War II. And if the automobile industry goes belly up now, there's a deep concern that that would be a major shock to the system."

- Vice President Dick Cheney on the Rush Limbaugh Radio Show. Cheney's support for an auto bailout has some produced some unlikely liberal allies.

His comments on Guantanamo and expansive view of executive power are decidedly less surprising.

Is this some sort of hilarious joke?

I wanted to ignore John McCain's nomination of Sarah Palin for Vice President out of reverence for last night's speech. But the move deserves at least 10 quick observations:

1. There are 3 types of vice president, and before Al Gore there was only 1. Gore was a trusted adviser, in the room when many key decisions were made. His opinion mattered. Dick Cheney ran the country. Before 1992, vice presidents had two functions: don't embarrass the administration and don't get in the way. Joe Biden is a pick in the Gore mold, Sarah Palin is a pick in the Charles Curtis mold.


2. For those of you familiar with sports and gambling: The over/ under on the number of words John McCain ever says to Sarah Palin in his entire life: 95


3. It was a political move, and that's OK, we understand that. But what is inexcusable, is that yesterday John McCain chose a woman whose experience outside of 2 years as governor was as mayor of an Alaskan village of 9,000. Yesterday also happened to be Sen. McCain's 72nd birthday.


4. Say what you will-- Sarah Palin is not a bad looking lady.


5. The idea that women will vote for John McCain because he put a woman on the ballot is deeply offensive.


6. The notion that Sarah Palin can be compared to Hillary Clinton is insulting.


7. I guarantee those glasses are fake.


8. The GOP wanted a woman, but they also wanted someone who would satisfy the right-wing (pro-life, "unsure" about global warming). So, it's no wonder they had to search so far, wide and weird to find someone to fit the bill.


9. Barack Obama has shown faith in Americans' ability to see beyond ploys, and willingness to choose optimism in the face of doubt. Meanwhile, John McCain has made the exact opposite wager.


10. The number one criterion in choosing a VP, by definition, is whether or not the individual can be an effective president if necessary. Barack Obama's case for superior judgment was made a whole lot easier yesterday.

Dick Cheney: That's Funny!

Quote of the Day 4/3: So?

"So?"

- Vice President Dick Cheney being confronted with the statistic that 2/3 of Americans feel the War in Iraq is not worth it. See below...

Cheney Blasts Dems, Phallic Symbols Abound

In an interview with the Politico, Dick Cheney went off on the Democratic leadership and their agenda. He said that senior House Dems like John Dingle and John Murtha, "March to the tune of Nancy Pelosi to an extent I had not seen, frankly, with any previous speaker... I’m trying to think how to say all of this in a gentlemanly fashion, but [in] the Congress I served in, that wouldn’t have happened.”

When asked if the men had lost their spines in following the first female Speaker, Cheney said: "They are not carrying the big sticks I would have expected."

Asked to be more specific, Cheney said:

"Look, the problems with the Democratic leadership run deep, balls deep. Their agenda has been held up... and who knows what their guys are packing. All I'm going to say is: polls indicate they're losing support. And when it comes to politics, size matters."

Straight from the WTF Department...

According to Lynne Cheney's new book, Blue Skies, No Fences her husband is (distantly) related to... wait for it... Barack Obama. Yup, Mrs. Cheney did extensive research on the Vice President's family tree, and the two are 8th cousins.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, Cheney and Obama are 9th cousins, while Cheney and his boss are 11th cousins.

Damn, I guess when you go back far enough we're all related.


Other revelations in Mrs. Cheney's book include:

Hillary Clinton and Kenneth Starr are 4th cousins.

Patrick Ewing and Michael J. Fox are 3rd cousins, once removed.

Rush Limbaugh plays golf with Satan.

Snoop Dog's great great grandmother once had lunch with Tipper Gore's 8th cousin.

Paul Bryce's 10th cousin dated Derek Jeter's relative in 1889.

Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen are brothers.

David Hasselhoff and Ralph Macchio had the same barber until 1987.

And I once split a cab with Kevin Bacon.

Dick Cheney vs. Nancy Pelosi: The Blink-Off

Writing that last post on Nancy Pelosi reminded me of this hilarious bit Letterman did after January's State of the Union address.

I think they went back and did it with another clip later, but I couldn't find that one.

In case you missed it...

I heard about this a couple of days ago, and The Daily Show ran it last night. It's probably been around for a while, but if you haven't seen it you should...

A 1994 interview with Dick Cheney (then a fellow at a conservative think-tank) reveals that as Bush 41's secretary of defense, Cheney didn't think going into Baghdad was a good idea because of the chaos it would cause. He talks about warring factions, interference from Iran, the destabilization of Turkey, and abandonment by allies that supported the Gulf War.

Ultimately, Cheney says, Saddam just wasn't worth that many American lives.

Okay, so if 9/11 made it worth it to get Saddam, where was this talk from Cheney in the lead up to war? In fact, Cheney said we'd be greeted as liberators, and the whole thing wouldn't take more than a few weeks. Maybe he made a grave mistake, but what changed his mind from 1994 to 2002?

We deserve an answer.

We probably won't get one.

Information Revolution... for what?

On June 26, 2007, a day that will live in infamy, Paris Hilton was released from prison, serving only 3 days of her 45 day sentence. Oh how the public was outraged. No longer was anybody Republican or Democrat, Conservative or Liberal, Black or White, Rich or Poor! They stood together and fought for Justice! Babies were crying, citizens were burning tires in the streets, Tibetan monks were dousing themselves in gasoline and burning themselves alive! Our system is broken, the citizens claimed. It needs to be fixed! (Obviously, I am being overly dramatic).

While the Libby controversy may not be as sexy, as say Britney Spears smashing a car with an umbrella, it by far out weighs the historical significance. Yet where is the outrage? I myself was bothered by it, but I have difficulty finding someone to discuss that with. While we as people should take the responsibility to learn about the current affairs of our country it shouldn't become an investigation. That is what the news media is supposed to be for. Why are we uninformed? In a study done this year, 2007, only 29% of Americans could identify Scooter Libby (http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=319). I wonder how many people could identify Monica Lewinsky. Blame needs to be put entirely on the media for this reason, the information revolution. With the advent of the interent, 24 hour cable news and the multitude of newspapers one could buy, you would assume that Americans would be more fully aware of this nations affairs and current events now more than ever, right? Wrong, we as Americans are far less knowledgeable today than our predecessors of 17 years ago. How is this possible in the age of information? Where information is so easily accessible. It's because the media has put "actual" news on the back burner while putting Anna Nicole, Paris Hilton, Mel Gibson and Britney Spears on the forefront and blinding us from important news. The media companies now are more concerned with bottom line profits than they are at informing the public of issues and events that affect their lives and the lives of their children. The media has an absolute obligation to prioritizing relevant and important information over company profits. Gone are the days of investigative journalists. They have been replaced by loud mouthed political pundits, who seek to demonize those who's opinions they differ with and create further division in already divided country.

The day after Paris' release from prison I couldn't walk into a deli, the supermarket or my office without hearing somebody expressing their indignation for her shortened sentence, yet after Scooter Libby's commuted sentence and the politically motivated firings of 8 U.S. attorney's, no talk, no outrage. There was embarrassment and fury when Mark McGwire took the 5th amendment refused to testify over steroids in baseball, but when George W. Bush claims his exceptionally broad executive privilege over anything and anyone that has the slightest smell of a scandal, nothing. Barry Bonds is booed in every ball park he steps into because he cheated at a "game", while Dick Cheney can walk into a stadium of cheering citizens after deliberately presenting questionable or even false evidence that led the country to an aggressive war based on false pretenses that has led to the deaths of thousands. Does anyone care? Yes we do care. However, we have not been given the opportunity to care.