THE BLUE LINE

Not A Normal Nuclear Holocaust

2005-09-15T21:01:00.000-05:00

The president finally explained tonight why the government was not ready to respond to Hurricane Katrina: this was not a "normal" hurricane, so our government's "normal" response mechanisms could not handle the situation. Forgive me for my confusion, but weren't we supposed to be spending the last four years preparing for a mushroom cloud hanging over Manhattan? Perhaps the government was preparing for a "normal" Nuclear Holocaust? You know, just your everyday, normal armageddon.

Defining Image

2005-09-07T20:11:00.000-05:00

These superimposed pictures were taken on the SAME DAY. This image defines the Bush presidency.

Daily Show

2005-09-07T20:06:00.000-05:00

Jon Stewart:

"Katrina is President Bush's Monica Lewinsky. The only difference is that Monica Lewinsky didn't have 100,000 people trapped in her vagina."

Government Meltdown

2005-09-05T19:53:00.000-05:00

Winston Churchill:

The responsibility of government for the public safety is absolute and requires no mandate. It is in fact the prime object for which governments come into existence.

In that most basic of functions, our government utterly failed last week. It was as if we had no government at all.

Ha

2005-08-04T20:10:00.000-05:00

Look! Pigs Are Flying!

2005-07-29T22:55:00.000-05:00

We here at THE BLUE LINE give Republicans a tough time, but only because they deserve. Today, we give a Republican a big time salute because he deserves it. Senator Frist's decision to support stem cell research is big, bold and admirable.

Congrats to Senator Frist, who has proved against all odds that refreshing snowballs can fall in the most fiery depths of hell.

Bush Speaks To Covert CIA Operatives

2005-07-28T21:23:00.000-05:00

Administration Supports Torture (Again

2005-07-23T08:26:00.000-05:00

From the Washington Post:

The Bush administration in recent days has been lobbying to block legislation supported by Republican senators that would bar the U.S. military from engaging in "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" of detainees, from hiding prisoners from the Red Cross, and from using interrogation methods not authorized by a new Army field manual.

I've said it once, I've said it twice, and I will say it again. These are not good people. They are war criminals.

An Open Letter To My Boss

2005-07-18T12:30:00.000-05:00

Dear Boss,

I would like to make some modifications to my current terms. I believe you should hold the same standard for me that Goerge Bush holds for Karl Rove and the rest of his staff. That is, you will only commit to firing me if I break the law. Otherwise, I'm safe. So what do you say? Do we have a deal?

Thanks,
Evan

Case Closed

2005-07-18T12:13:00.000-05:00

From the "Classified Information Nondisclosure Agreement" Karl Rove signed in order ot get his security clearance:

"Before ... confirming the accuracy of what appears in the public source, the signer of the SF 312 must confirm through an authorized official that the information has, in fact been declassified. If it has not, ... confirmation of its accuracy is also an unauthorized disclosure."

At Last, I Agree With Karl

2005-07-17T20:26:00.000-05:00

"I've already said too much."

-Karl Rove speaking to Matt Cooper.

Benedict Rove

2005-07-15T13:55:00.000-05:00

Both of my readers have asked me in the last couple days why I haven't written much about Benedict Rove.

The bottom line is I don't feel like there is much point in arguing with these people. They are so dumb and/or such political hacks that you simply can't argue with them. Sorry, but it is just that simple. They insist on using up-is-down logic at every turn and simply do not have the the capacity for objective thought. It's like the people who claim that the situation in Iraq is clearly getting better since the increased violence is a sign that the terrorists are getting desperate...um, yeah, and if a nuclear bomb goes off in Times Square tomorrow we can rejoice in knowing that victory is at at hand. There is just no sense in arguing with people like this. They purchased a one-way ticket away from Reality-ville a long time ago.

So, my advice to my progressive friends is to pull up a chair, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the show. The entertainment value of this one is off the charts. I will get around to some not so inspired posts about America's favorite traitor soon, but just because I couldn't be more amused by the whole situation.

Quack

2005-07-14T20:35:00.000-05:00

So, um, what happened to Bush's Social Security plan? And what about John Bolton?

If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and looks like a duck...quack.

Michael Schiavo Is At It Again

2005-07-11T20:07:00.000-05:00

From "The Swift Report":

Florida Governor Jeb Bush has asked a state prosecutor to investigate possible links between Hurricane Dennis and Michael Schiavo. Governor Bush said that he connected Mr. Schiavo with the category 3 storm after realizing that Dennis spelled backwards is actually 'sinned.'

Happy Days

2005-07-11T20:03:00.000-05:00

Is anyone having as much fun with this Rove story as I am?

How Does Karl Look in Orange?

2005-07-10T09:27:00.000-05:00

Traitor.

Now What?

2005-07-09T17:28:00.000-05:00

We've taken down Afghanistan. We've taken down Hussein. Excuse the language, but we've blown a lot of shit up. Yet, according to our State Department, the level of international terrorist attacks is at an all time high. The terrorists have hit us hard in New York, Washington, Madrid, London, Kabul and Baghdad.

There has been more international terrorism in the last 4 years than in all of modern times combined. In any normal society this would be seen as an indication that our strategy is not working. We all need to understand that the rosey scenario where Baghdad falls and the terrorists sink with the ship just isn't going to happen.

We progressives have a few different ideas. Maybe it's time we take Plan B out for a spin.

The Question On Everyone's Mind

2005-07-01T14:10:00.000-05:00

Is Roe V. Wade about to die?

Abortion is likely to re-enter the American political scene as a major factor in determining votes, not just for the die hards on both sides, but for the swing voters as well.

Good, America really needed another issue to divide us.

Bush's Speech

2005-06-28T19:25:00.000-05:00

Yawn.

Definition of the Day

2005-06-27T22:08:00.000-05:00

quag•mire
Pronunciation: (kwag'mīur", kwog'-)
n. 1. an area of miry or boggy ground whose surface yields under the tread; a bog.
2. a situation from which extrication is very difficult

Chuck

2005-06-26T20:21:00.000-05:00

I really urge you to read this article about Chuck Hagel, the respectable Republican Senator from Nebraska.

Skeptics might say that he is just trying to carve out a niche for himself before he runs for president in 2008. However, I have to think his recent rebellion against President Bush is much more than a political game. He seems to be genuinely concerned that Iraq is turning in to the same war he fought in the Pacific decades ago. If other reasonable republicans will take the route that Senator Hagel has chosen, George Bush will be forced to change his failed policies. We progressives can scream our heads off, but it won't make Bush change a thing. But if Republicans start demanding action, the noise will be heard and action will follow.

We can't wait until a new president comes along. If we do, I assure you, we will lose this thing. Moderate, reasonable republicans are, quite frankly, the only hope we have of winning this thing.

UPDATE: Here is what Dick "We Will Be Greeted With Orgasms in the Street" Cheney had to say about Senator Hagel:

Since 9/11, we've had people like Chuck Hagel and other politicians and we've had people in the press corps and commentators who've said we can't do Afghanistan.

Chuck Hagel never said we couldn't do Afghanistan. He absolutely never said anything of the sort. It's a flat out lie. It's slander. It's why good Republicans are afraid to speak out. It's why we are losing this war.

Oops

2005-06-25T17:56:00.000-05:00

The most stunning poll results I have ever seen.

Forty-nine percent (49%) of Americans say that President Bush is more responsible for starting the War with Iraq than Saddam Hussein. A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 44% take the opposite view and believe Hussein shoulders most of the responsibility.

Did you ever think you'd see the day when the American people would blame their own president for starting a war more than they blame a maniacal dictator?

Good work, George. Quite a legacy you're building.

We do Have Reason to be Proud

2005-06-21T21:25:00.000-05:00

Click picture to enlarge

THE BLUE LINE Challenge

2005-06-19T21:23:00.000-05:00

In reference to the previous post, we here at THE BLUE LINE would like to offer our conservative readers an opportunity to get back at yours truly. Here's the deal.

If anyone can show me a public quote from any high level Bush Administration official explaining, before today, that our efforts in Iraq would be a "generational commitment," I will wear a "I Love W" tee-shirt to work for a week. I will take pictures and post them on this blog.

Rules
-No cheating (yes, with this group you do have to specify that cheating is against the rules)
-No lying (yes, with this group you do have to specify that lying is against the rules)
-"Generational" will be defined as 15 years or more
-"Commitment" can not be defined as buying oil
-Quotes that suggest the War on Terror will be a generational commitment are invalid. We are talking about Iraq.

Game on.

Mea Culpa

2005-06-19T20:40:00.000-05:00

Today, Condi Rice said:

"The administration, I think, has said to the American people that it is a generational commitment to Iraq."

Oh, yes, it's all coming back to me now.

Remember, Donald Rumsfeld said, "It could last six days, six weeks. I doubt six months." Clearly, the good Secretary was preparing the American people for a generational commitment. 6 whole months!

Also recall budget director Mitch Daniel's pearl of wisdom. "The United States is committed to helping Iraq recover from the conflict, but Iraq will not require sustained aid." Yes, like he said, we will have to provide aid to Iraq for a generation. What's so hard to understand, people?

And what was that Dick Cheney said about being greeted as liberators? "I think it will go relatively quickly, . . . (in) weeks rather than months." Clearly, he was trying to convey the fact that our soldiers would have to plant all those flowers that Iraqi children would give to them. And caring for flowers until they turn in to beautiful gardens can take generations! See? Dick made it clear for anyone who bothered to pay attention.

Don't forget good old Paul Wolfowitz, who in his infinite wisdom explained that, "There are other differences that suggest that peacekeeping requirements in Iraq might be much lower than historical experience in the Balkans suggests." He was talking about peacekeeping requirements. He said nothing about preventing violence. That, he clearly indicated, would take some 30 years.

I promise that from now on I will pay much closer attention to the words of Bush Administration officials. They've been stating the truth the whole time. I just wasn't paying attention.

Ouch!

2005-06-16T19:02:00.000-05:00

George Bush's approval rating on social security:

Approve 26
Disapprove 62

If you will allow me a moment of immaturity:

Haha!

Pop Quiz

2005-06-15T19:43:00.000-05:00

The following senators have refused to attach their names to a bill which formally apologizes for failing to outlaw the lynching of African Americans from 1880 to 1960:

Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Robert Bennett (R-UT)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Michael Crapo (R-ID)
Michael Enzi (R-WY)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Kay Hutchison (R-TX)
Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
Trent Lott (R-MS)
Richard Shelby (R-AL)
John Sununu (R-NH)
Craig Thomas (R-WY)

Pop Quiz: What do all of these senators have in common?

Need A Doctor?

2005-06-15T19:28:00.000-05:00

If so, I would highly recommend against seeing Dr. Frist.

An example of Dr. Frist's fine work:

"I question it based on a review of the video footage which I spent an hour or so looking at last night in my office," he said in a lengthy speech in which
he quoted medical texts and standards. "She certainly seems to respond to visual stimuli."

Pretty interesting diagnosis. Just one tiny little problem. Accorsding to the autopsy findings released today:

"The vision centers of her brain were dead" - meaning she was blind.

You Can't Handle The Truth

2005-06-11T17:44:00.000-05:00

The recent flap over Howard Dean's comment that the Republican Party is "basically a white, christian party" has been a potent display of just how much some people are offended by politicians who tell the truth. 2004 exit polls show the following break down...

Bush voters:
87.4% white
89.4% Christian

Gives a whole new meaning to "you can't handle the truth," eh?

UPDATE: "Of 3,643 Republicans serving in state legislatures across the country, only 44 of them are minorities, amounting to 1.2%. In Washington, 274 of the 535 elected Senators and Representatives are Republican. Exactly five are minorities."

Just the facts, ma'am.

Shut It Down

2005-06-05T18:48:00.000-05:00

Senator Biden promotes the only logical way forward. Shut down Guantanomo.

When cancer isn't treated early and aggressively, it spreads.

Mission Accomplished

2005-06-04T14:53:00.000-05:00

I had the honor of going to a wedding today...a republican wedding! Turns out they fall in love too. Who knew? Anyway, I was told by several republican friends that they read THE BLUE LINE and that it absolutely enrages them. "I scream when I read it," they told me.

To that, I say "cheers," "Amen," and "Mission Accomplished."

Exactly

2005-06-03T00:25:00.000-05:00

Stephen Colbert: That’s right, Jon, it just no longer has the credibility.
Stewart: The media?
Colbert: No, the truth.

Nixon the Hero, Felt the Traitor

2005-06-02T20:26:00.000-05:00

You just gotta love these right wing nut jobs. Their rantings over the last 48 hours since Deep Throat was revelaed have provided entertainment on par with a broadway show...a comedy, of course. It turns out, you see, that Mark Felt was a traitor to his country. He victimized the morally superior Richard Nixon. Yes, that's right, the man who revealed the president's crimes against the United States is the traitor. I keep waiting for Pat Buchanan, Gordon Libby, and Peggy Noonan to break out in to laughter as they inisist that the criminals were the ones who were of pure heart and mind, but it turns out they are dead serious. Pat Buchanan has gone so far to blame Mark Felt for the results of the Vietnam War. The very same people who considered Bill Clinton's willy to be a threat to national security still cling to the idea that Nixon was a great patriot. These, my friends, are the champions of moral values. And that Felt guy? He told the truth! What an animal!

Thanks guys. I needed a good laugh this week.

UPDATE: You've had a rough week. You deserve a good laugh too. Ben Stein, a member of Team Nut-Job, abides:

"So, this is the great boast of the enemies of Richard Nixon, including Mark Felt: they made the conditions necessary for the Cambodian genocide. If there is such a thing as kharma, if there is such a thing as justice in this life of the next, Mark Felt has bought himself the worst future of any man on this earth. And Bob Woodward is right behind him, with Ben Bradlee bringing up the rear. Out of their smug arrogance and contempt, they hatched the worst nightmare imaginable: genocide. I hope they are happy now -- because their future looks pretty bleak to me."

Culture of Life

2005-05-31T20:26:00.000-05:00

Save The Sperm!

2005-05-30T21:49:00.000-05:00

Paul Waldman makes the case that we need to stop the sensless murder of billions and billions of innocent sperm. They are people too!

President Bush has opened my eyes to what may be the greatest tragedy currently taking place in our nation. Embryos, he has told us, are "life" that must not be destroyed. Well, actually he says they're life that must not be destroyed, unless they're already being destroyed for the purpose of giving couples kids, which is OK, but not for the purpose of curing Parkinson's, which is not OK. But you get the idea.
He even held up for the cameras a group of "Snowflakes," kids who were created from said embryos. I looked at those children, then at my own children, and came to a sudden realization: we must stop the Great Sperm Massacre.
After all, every sperm is a potential life. Just as an embryo needs to be implanted in a woman's womb before it develops into a child, a sperm needs only an egg and an implantation to become a child. Yet we let these sperm die by the billions every day.
While we're on the subject, on This Week, Sam Brownback was asked whether he was in favor of banning the in vitro fertilization process in which embryos get discarded. Like a coward, he completely dodged the question. Leads one to think perhaps other conservatives should be asked the same question.

Memorial Day

2005-05-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

Today we remember the thousands who gave everything for absolutely nothing. Today we watch conservatives express outrage when Nightline dedicates an hour of time to honoring the soldiers who died in the war that said conservatives were too cowardly to fight themselves.

Today, we are forced to asked the question...how many more will we have to honor next year?

What If Senators Were Real People?

2005-05-26T22:10:00.000-05:00

What if senators had no health care? How quickly do you think they would pass a health care bill?

What if senators had to send their children to war? Would we have invaded Iraq? Would there be a shortage of armor?

What if senators couldn't afford their medication? Would we all be able to import cheaper drugs from Canada?

What if senators made the minimum wage? How quickly would it turn in to an actual living wage?

What if senators had to grow old with no dependable income? Would any of them be suggesting a cut in social security benefits?

It sure would be nice if senators, not to mention presidents, were real people.

The Culture of Torture

2005-05-26T21:40:00.000-05:00

Everyday we seem to learn more and more about the torturers in our mist. Whether our boys flushed a Koran or not, it is absolutely, positively inarguable that there has been systematic torture in American prisons spanning the globe- from Afghanistan to Iraq to Cuba.

"Even as the young Afghan man was dying before them, his American jailers continued to torment him." That was the fate of Mr. Dilawar, a 22 year-old Afghan, who, I might add, had committed no crime whatsoever.

Yet, we wait to hear the cries of outrage from America's self-appointed morality police. We wait to see the "culture of life" crowd rise up and demand that all innocent human life be valued and protected by the U.S. government.

Explain to me: How is it that the very people who insisted that we had to go to war to put an end to Saddam's torture chambers now stand silent as we run our own torture chambers?

UPDATE: Tom Friedman nails it. Just shut it down.

I Get To Be Cured. I Voted For Kerry

2005-05-24T18:59:00.000-05:00

Dear George,

In yet another act of defiance against the dark side, er, I mean you, the House of Representatives voted today, 238-194, to support embryonic stem cell research. Of course, it is all academic since you plan on vetoing a cure for parkinsons, diabetes, and maybe even cancer.

However, I would like to offer a compromise, just like those 14 senators did in an attempt to stop you and Dr. Frist from destroying over 200 years of senate tradition.

Here's the deal: You should approve funding stem-cell research, but you will only draw from the taxes of those who support such research. Now, I don't like free-riders, so you will have to agree that only those who fund the research will be eligible to receive any treatment that is discovered by stem-cell scientists. Being that you are so avidly opposed to stem-cell research, I am sure you would gladly refuse any available cures should you develop parkinsons, or if Laura gets cancer, or someday you have a grandchild with juvenile diabetes.

So what do you say? Do we have a deal?

Love Always,
Evan

This, That, and The Other Thing

2005-05-22T20:35:00.000-05:00

I really need to post on this thing more frequently. Unfortunately, THE BLUE LINE doesn't pay the bills. I pledge to try and post more often so that all my readers (me) will have something to enjoy. In a nutshell. here is what has been swirling around in my tiny brain...

filibuster: Let's say you ruled the most powerful institutions on the face of the Earth. How would you use that power? What agenda would you set? Healthcare? Energy Independence? Iraq? Poverty? The deficit? Or would you use your extraordinary power to ensure that 7 out of 218 judges are confirmed?

Rick Santorum: Yes, the man compared Democrats to Hitler. I don't think any further comment is necessary.

Iraq: I don't mean to be a pessimist, or a defeatist, but the truth is we are losing this thing. Something has got to give. What's the plan, George?

Newsweek: So let me get this straight. Newsweek goes to press with a story based on faulty information...the White House and Republicans are furious. George Bush goes to war based on faulty information....the White House and Republicans reaction? "Eh, shit happens."

NYT Story on Abuse in Afghanistan: What does it take to shame this country?

Healthcare: 45 million Americans still don't have any.

Oh The Irony

2005-05-15T08:33:00.000-05:00

"The people of Uzbekistan want to see a more representative and democratic government, but that should come through peaceful means, not through violence." -White House spokessman Scott McClellan

Chew on that one.

Need I Say More?

2005-05-11T20:28:00.000-05:00

Yes, this is real.

The Terrorists Are Coming! The Terrorists Are Coming!

2005-05-11T20:10:00.000-05:00

The White House has some serious explaining to do. USA Today reports:

The Bush administration periodically put the USA on high alert for terrorist attacks even though then-Homeland Security chief Tom Ridge argued there was only flimsy evidence to justify raising the threat level, Ridge now says. Ridge, who resigned Feb. 1, said Tuesday that he often disagreed with administration officials who wanted to elevate the threat level to orange, or "high" risk of terrorist attack, but was overruled.His comments at a Washington forum describe spirited debates over terrorist intelligence and provide rare insight into the inner workings of the nation's homeland security apparatus.

What He Said

2005-05-11T19:55:00.000-05:00

"`The culture of life,' I might say, is a phrase invented by the last pope. And what it meant was, you're opposed to death in the death penalty, in war, in euthanasia and abortion. The Republicans decide, 'Oh, we're a cafeteria [style]. We'll take the abortion and euthanasia but we will launch wars' and we will...I mean, George Bush has signed more death warrants than any other human being in this country."

-Andrew Sullivan

George Shows His Softer Side

2005-05-09T20:49:00.000-05:00

Occasional guest-poster Dave sent me some email this morning. I hope he doesn't mind my posting his thoughts.

I better see some nasty blogging about the Russia trip. This President can't have it both ways, by sandwiching his Russian love fest and militaristic orgy with visits to two Eastern bloc democracies. Where's the outrage? Where is the progress/benefits of this President's "close personal relationship" with"Vladimar".

Dave has the audacity to think that America should try to reap benefits from George Bush's televised romances with the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Russia. Next thing you know, Dave will be insisting that George shouldn't even have romances with evil dictators. Dave doesn't seem to realize that dictators are people too. They have feelings. They need to be loved and cherished and kissed on CNN just like me and you. It is George Bush's job...no, it is his duty, to honor thy dictators...and bomb thy other dictators.

While Dave and his progressive buddies are out there advocating getting tough on the enemies of democracy, George Bush has the wisdom and vision to understand that he must give dictators all the love he can muster...and expect absolutely nothing in return.

It's the "give a kiss on the ass, get a kick in the ass" approach to diplomacy. Thank goodness we have a president who understands the virtue of this tried and true methodology.

We Must Act! Paris Needs Us

2005-05-04T19:46:00.000-05:00

Good Boy

2005-05-03T20:24:00.000-05:00

"How am I going to leave those kids out there?"

2005-04-24T20:35:00.000-05:00

What a phenomenal piece of reporting.

Meltdown

2005-04-21T21:18:00.000-05:00

What the heck is going on? The Republicans, who barely lost a single political battle over the last four years, are coming apart at the seams. Consider the last few weeks:

Social Security privatization was DOA.
The Schiavo fiasco was a political disaster of epic proportions.
Tom DeLay is being beaten to a pulp by the champions of republicanism: Newt Gingrich, the Wall Street Journal, and dozens of former republican congressmen.
The John Bolton nomination is well on its way to becoming an embarrassment to the Bush administration as Voinovich, Chafee, and Hagel search for the safest way to jump ship.
Polls show overwhelming opposition to the republican filibuster shenanigans.

Is this just a brief moment of struggle for conservatives or are we witnessing a republican meltdown?

Public Service Announcement

2005-04-20T22:13:00.000-05:00

This is a public service announcement:

Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio) is a rock star.

We now return you to regularly scheduled programming.

Pope Shaquille I

2005-04-19T19:24:00.000-05:00

Some deep thoughts on the papacy.

If popes get to choose any name they want, why do they all choose the same boring names? Benedict? I mean, come on, there have already been 15 of them. What do we need another pope named after a delightful breakfast for? If I were elected pope, which I would have been if I hadn't withdrawn my candidacy, I'd choose a hip name. Something young people could relate to. Like Shaquille. Or Eminem. Or Vanilla Ice. Or The Pope Formely Known as Ratzinger. Millions would convert right there on the spot! Just imagine you heard this announcement from the Basilica today:

Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum, Dominum Josephum, Sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ Cardinalem Ratzinger, qui sibi nomen imposuit Shaquille.

Like I said, deep thoughts.

Heaven and Earth

2005-04-18T20:51:00.000-05:00

Click Picture To Enlarge

Look Who's Talking

2005-04-17T08:17:00.000-05:00

I'm watching the Sunday shows as Trent Lott suggests that people of faith are being persecuted (not the word he used). This is the typical line we here from the religious right who insist that the rest of us are somehow forcing our religion down their throats. I wish they could give me a single example of this religious persecution. It is they, not us, who try to impose their religious beliefs on the rest of the country.

They say no one can have abortions...forgive me if my memory doesn't serve me but I don't recall anyone ever trying to force a member of the religious right to have an abortion. They say their ten commandments should be posted in our schools and their prayers should be recited in our classrooms...you Jews, Muslims, and Hindus will just have to deal! They tell us when and how we all should die, even trying to impose legislation. They tell us who we can marry...I don't give a damn who they marry. They express outrage when public officials or even our shopping malls say "happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," like a bunch of children who want and need all the attention for themselves...meanwhile, we are happy to have their Christmas trees in our malls and even our White House. Some even want to outlaw birth control pills...have we ever tried to pass a law that says they must use birth control? Oh yes, just yesterday a liberal pharmacist was found forcing a pill down a Christian girl's throat, holding her mouth open with tweezers. And now they loudly and proudly tell the world that they want federal judges to make decisions based on scripture, because, you see, in America all people must abide by the rules of Christianity.

They stuff their religion down our throat and tell us we must all live our lives according to their moral and religious codes (it's called theocracy) while we let them live as they please.

I Kid You Not

2005-04-16T11:11:00.000-05:00

Tom Delay:

I blame Congress over the last 50 to 100 years for not standing up and taking its responsibility given to it by the Constitution. The reason the judiciary has been able to impose a separation of church and state that's nowhere in the Constitution is that Congress didn't stop them. The reason we had judicial review is because Congress didn't stop them. The reason we had a right to privacy is because Congress didn't stop them.

Okay, Republicans, let's see you defend this one.

Frist Joins In The Act

2005-04-14T21:57:00.000-05:00

Oh, this this is rich.

As the Senate heads toward a showdown over the rules governing judicial confirmations, Senator Bill Frist, the majority leader, has agreed to join a handful of prominent Christian conservatives in a telecast portraying Democrats as "against people of faith" for blocking President Bush's nominees. Fliers for the telecast, organized by the Family Research Council and scheduled to originate at a Kentucky megachurch the evening of April 24, call the day "Justice Sunday" and depict a young man holding a Bible in one hand and a gavel in the other. The flier does not name participants, but under the heading "the filibuster against people of faith,"

I'd like to take this time to make a confession. The reason I want the 200 year-old congressional filibuster rule to remain in place is because I want to wage war on people of faith. In fact, I hope that by taking down the filibuster we can take down religion itself. My true motives have finally been revealed.

Dr. James C. Dobson will be joining the majority leader at the event.

Is America Catching On?

2005-04-14T21:49:00.000-05:00

One thing that has been driving me crazy for years is the way Republican congressional leaders, particularly He Who Must Not Be Named, could say and do amazingly vile things without ever being held accountable by the press or by the American people. Is the sudden pressure on He Who Must Not Be Named a sign that America is at long last catching on? Thoughts to ponder.

If you don't get the Harry Potter reference get yourself to the nearest bookstore immediately!

I Regretfully Decline

2005-04-11T19:54:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers,

I am honored to see in our poll that I am in contention to be the next pope. There is no doubt that leading one billion Catholics would be an extraordinary opportunity. However, I have determined that my position as editor of THE BLUE LINE gives me far more influence over a vastly greater audience. As such, I regretfully request that the College of Cardinals withdraw my name from consideration. I am sure there is another fine young Jew who can handle the position with grace and integrity.

Regards,
Evan

When Did Tony Soprano Get Elected?

2005-04-09T23:17:00.000-05:00

It's getting scary out there. The party of moral values is starting to sound like the party of Tony Soprano...threatening to kill any judge who doesn't understand that the word of Tom Delay is the word of the Lord Himself. Don't we have some, um, laws against imposing death threats on federal judges?

It seems that Tom Delay and John Conryn have started a trend.

As he spoke about the sins of Justin Kennedy (a Regan appointee), Edwin Vieira told a crowd of congressmen, senatorial aides, and other high-powered conservatives that a good religious man, Joseph Stalin, yes, that Joseph Stalin, had the right answer:

"He (Stalin) had a slogan, and it worked very well for him, whenever he ran into difficulty: 'no man, no problem.'"

Yes, this is a reference to that infamous quote: "Death solves all problems: no man, no problem." Should we start getting a little nervous when the party of moral values starts trumpeting the wisdom of Joseph Stalin's death machine?

Oh, and one more thing...he got applause. We here at THE BLUE LINE will patiently await the swarm of conservatives who will surely line up to condemn these remarks, as well as the remarks for Sirs DeLay and Conryn.

UPDATE: The leader of the Christian Right, James Dobson, has added another classic judge slandering epithet to the Nut-Job Greatest Hits album. Dobson had the lovely idea of comparing "the men in white robes, the KU Klux Klan," to the "black-robed men" who sit on the Supreme Court. Yes, it is actually well known that the progressive members of the Supreme Court spend their spare time at Klan meetings...how else to explain all those pro-racial equality votes they have been casting?

Selective Moral Outrage

2005-04-08T09:23:00.000-05:00

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Before He Was Pope

2005-04-06T17:26:00.000-05:00

Wow. What an amazing story.

Nuttier Than A Peanut

2005-04-06T17:14:00.000-05:00

A republican friend recently accused me of having gone "nuts" with my political "outbursts." I would like to introduce my friend to the true face of a nut...Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas).

"Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that's been on the news and I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where
judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in - engage in violence."

So, I ask my buddy, what's the nut factor on this guy?

Pope

2005-04-02T20:24:00.000-05:00

After making light of the situation in the last post I feel compelled to make a quick comment about the pope.

He was a man who brought the church in to the 21st century - a feat that few other men could have accomplished with such grace and clarity. People of all religions can and should be able to agree that he had an enormously positive impact on the world. The days of a Catholic Church that treated people of other religions as sinful beasts not worthy of life has forever come to end, thanks in no small part to Pope John Paul II.

Breaking News

2005-04-02T19:33:00.000-05:00

We are receiving reports that the U.S. Congress will pass a bill declaring that the pope is forbidden from entering the Kingdom of Heaven until Tom Delay declares that he is in fact dead. Many religious scholars are expressing concern over the federal government's intervention in a matter that has previously been under divine jurisdiction. However, there is a consensus among political experts that it was only a matter of time before the Congress would choose to play a role in determining who can enter the after life and when they can do so. Although several doctors have declared that the pope died shortly before 2 PM Eastern Time, House Majority Leader Tom Delay continues to insist that the fight for his right to live must go on.

"These so-called doctors say that the Holy Father has passed away," Mr. Delay said. "On what evidence do these medical terrorists make such outrageous declarations? The pope talks and laughs and expresses emotions just like the rest of us. There is no way I will allow some out of control judge like Jesus to determine when the Holy Father can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He is thumbing his nose at the will of Congress. I call for this activist judge to cease and desist immediately or he will have to answer for his behavior. You know, the pope's fight is a lot like my fight on behalf of the conservative movement."

Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who is the only heart surgeon in the US Senate, has weighed in on the matter. "In my professional opinion," Dr. Frist said, "there is no evidence that the Pontiff is not alive. I have seen the video tapes of the pope's window and I can tell you with absolute certainty that it is a window of a living, breathing man."

Cable news commentators have also begun debating this controversial issue. "I don't care if polls say that 90% of Americans think the pope is dead," MSNBC's Joe Scarborough said in a heated tone. "The question Americans need to ask, and will soon ask, is why are liberals so eager to declare that the pope is dead? Why is this liberal Judge Christ so eager to take this innocent man from the Earth and place him in heaven? Do these liberals hate George Bush so much that they actually want to see the pope die? Because that is clearly what this is about."

Conservative backers of Mr. Delay's cause have begun to assemble in St. Peter's Square with signs that read "The Pope Is Not Dead," "Fascists," and "Activist Gods Must Be Stopped."

George W. Bush plans to cut his vacation in Texas short so he can return to the White House and sign the bill. "I stand with those who are for a culture of life," the president said. "How can you be for a culture of life and believe that the pope should go to heaven with no congressional review at the same time? Let us err on the side of life and let Mr. Delay make the final decision. The pope deserves nothing less."

Note to Protestors: There Are Other People In That Hospice

2005-03-27T00:08:00.000-05:00

I was wondering when we would start hearing about the other families in that Florida hospice- you know, the families who would prefer to say good-bye to their loved ones without having to walk through throngs of people carrying nazi symbols and signs reading "murderer."

Jennifer Johnson, barefoot and in her pajamas, ran to her grandfather's bedside once a hospice worker said his death was moments away. She got there — one minute too late. Johnson said the chaos outside the hospice where Terri Schiavo is dying kept her from saying goodbye.

When Johnson arrived, a police officer demanded identification; she had none. And after a hospice employee cleared her, another officer halted her for a search with a metal detector. The delays lasted three to four minutes — the last of her grandfather's life.

Family members visiting patients must pass through a police checkpoint to park, then show identification outside the door before another security screening inside. They also must walk by scores of signs decrying Schiavo's "crucifixion," "torture," and "starvation," plus navigate around hordes of media who have been camped outside.

"It's unconscionable to have a family member to be near the end stages of life and to get there, you have to walk through signs that say, 'Murderer.'"

"They've taken away hospice's greatest quality, that it is peaceful and serene and quiet and calming — and it's not fair," Johnson said.

How would you feel if your loved on was spending the last days of his or her life in that hospice? I've said it once and I will now say it again...these are not good people.

Speechless

2005-03-26T23:45:00.000-05:00

I am absolutely, positively speechless.

More than 16 years ago, far from the political passions that have defined the Schiavo controversy, the DeLay family endured its own wrenching end-of-life crisis. The man in a coma, kept alive by intravenous lines and a ventilator, was DeLay's father, Charles Ray DeLay....

There was no point to even really talking about it," Maxine DeLay, the congressman's 81-year-old mother, recalled in an interview last week. "There was no way he (Charles) wanted to live like that. Tom knew, we all knew, his father wouldn't have wanted to live that way."

When the man's kidneys failed, the DeLay family decided against connecting him to a dialysis machine. "Extraordinary measures to prolong life were not initiated," said his medical report, citing "agreement with the family's wishes." His bedside chart carried the instruction: "Do Not Resuscitate."

For the record, I will not be accusing Mr. Delay of "medical terrorism," "barbarism," or "murder."

Why Aren't Conservatives Enraged About Sun Hudson?

2005-03-26T00:44:00.000-05:00

Let's make this crystal clear: the Texas law signed by George W. Bush allows doctors to pull the plug even when the entire family wants to keep the patient on life support. Washington Post:

Perhaps the alleged contradiction generating the most buzz among bloggers this week is the story of Sun Hudson, a five-month-old boy who died last week after Texas Children's Hospital in Houston insisted on removing him from his ventilator. The hospital's decision was made possible by a law then-Gov. George W. Bush signed in 1999.

The measure allows for a patient's surrogate to make end-of-life decisions and spells out how to proceed if a hospital or other health provider disagrees with a decision to maintain or halt life-sustaining treatment. If a doctor refuses to honor the decision made by a surrogate, the case goes before a medical committee. If the committee agrees with the doctor, the guardian or surrogate has 10 days to seek treatment elsewhere.

Amid the gathering storm of the Schiavo controversy, Wanda Hudson fought a lonely battle to keep Texas Children's Hospital from removing her son from a ventilator. Mario Caballero, Hudson's Houston-based attorney said she prayed not only for her son's survival, but also for the sort of political intervention Schiavo had received. Neither Medicaid nor Hudson's bank account could cover the cost of prolonged care. When no other facility would accept him, Texas Children's pulled the plug, and Sun Hudson died seconds later, without fanfare or political outcry.

Astonishing

2005-03-25T00:10:00.000-05:00

How do people ignore the hypocrisy? How do they fail to lash out in rage?

On the same day President Bush interrupted his vacation and rushed to Washington to sign the Schiavo bill, a Texas hospital removed the breathing tube keeping 6-month-old Sun Hudson alive. According to The Houston Chronicle,the hospital's action, the first of its kind, was made possible by a 1999 bill signed into law by Bush, then Texas's governor.
That law allows hospitals to discontinue life-sustaining care even when doing so runs counter to the wishes of the patient's guardians. Before ending the patient's life under the law Bush signed, however, two conditions must be met. Doctors must deem that there is no chance for recovery and the patient must be unable to pay the hospital bill for continuing care.
It is almost impossible to watch the news and not see Terri Schiavo's face or hear her name. But virtually no one knew of Sun Hudson, who, thanks to another law signed by George Bush, died yesterday. A Texas bioethicist defended the hospital's decision by saying that it was not killing but "stopping pointless treatment."

How does anyone who supports George W. Bush look at themselves in the mirror every single day? And why the heck hasn't the "liberal media" been all over this one?

No Title Is Stong Enough for This Subject

2005-03-24T23:31:00.000-05:00

I have started to write about the Schiavo case several times in the past few days. I was planning on writing often and with a level of intensity I have never displayed here on THE BLUE LINE. However, every time I went to write, I began to feel sick to my stomach. In all my years of political observation, no issue has struck me more intensely than this one.

This last week has been an all out assault on decent Americans who have struggled with the most profound decision they will ever make. For that reason, it has been tough for me to come on to this blog and write my thoughts. A friend wrote a great post that I told him I would put on the front page. I never followed through because, after my initial posts on the subject, this issue began to touch me in such intense ways that I could not quite bring myself to even cut and paste an article about it until now. See his well written post here (he takes a well-deserved swipe at yours truly).

I have no opinion on what should happen to Terry Schiavo. Neither should you, because it is none of our damn business. It is not the congress' business and it is not Tom Delay's business.
The real issue here is whether or not we have the right to live our lives, and die our deaths, in a way we see fit. I won't tell any family what to do when their loved one is in a vegetative state. That there are people out there who are willing to accuse other families of "torture," "medical terrorism," "barbarism," and "murder," is an alarming indication to the status of American society. The fact that people who would speak such nastiness are among the most powerful people in the world is just plain scary. These people bring intolerance to a level this country has not seen since blacks were shipped to America to pick our cotton.

Polls show that over 80% of Americans would not want to live in a persistent vegetative state and similar majorities say that they don't want congress getting involved in these matters. Yet, Congress freely goes ahead and assaults us, not just with a theocratic law, but with demogoguery and vitriol that one would never expect to hear in a civil society. Republicans have been sick, Democrats have been pathetically spineless. It goes to show just how powerful a tiny majority of hateful Americans have become and how determined they are to impose their values on the rest of us.

Despite the vitriol coming out of Tom Delay's mouth, I still hope he never has to learn from first-hand experience just how wrenching this decision can be. I hope he never has to decide between letting a loved one suffer indefinitely and committing what he insists is "premeditated starvation." But I assure you this...if he ever does have to make such a decision I will not judge him as a person based on the decision he makes. I will, however, judge him for condemning so many decent people who have been forced to make a decision that is its own form of torture.

If you disagree with me on when to stop nutrition, fine. But if you disagree with me on the acceptability of the words spoken by some on the right this week, I am sorry to say that you are not a decent human being (not something I say about those who disagree with me on other issues). You are the enemy of everything that is decent, everything that is good, and everything that is tolerant in America. You are an enemy of democracy, of freedom of religion and of family values. You are a theocrat posing as a democrat. You ought to feel ashamed, if for no other reason than the amount of sadness and pain your political friends have placed on the thousands of families who have had to make these decisions; but you don't and you won't be ashamed, because people like you are incapable of anything resembling shame.

Don't Know Where To Begin

2005-03-21T19:18:00.000-05:00

So much to say about the topic of the day.

No Shame

2005-03-20T23:56:00.000-05:00

The following is from an internal republican party memo written to republican senators, as reported by the Washington Post:

This is an important moral issue and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important issue," said the memo, which was reported by ABC News and later given to The Washington Post. "This is a great political issue, because Senator Nelson of Florida has already refused to become a cosponsor and this is a tough issue for Democrats."

If this doesn't make you sick, you are sick.

Hypocrisy Reaches New Height

2005-03-20T23:47:00.000-05:00

If Terri Schiavo didn't have health care, we wouldn't be having this national discussion...she would have died years ago. If that had been the case, we wouldn't have heard a word out of Republicans about the "sactity of life." How many feeding tubes have been removed today alone because republicans don't think it is necessary to get them health care?

Wolfowitz is a Callous, Dangerous, Incompetent Jerk (Exhibit A)

2005-03-16T23:25:00.000-05:00

This will be a continuing series here at THE BLUE LINE. Stay tuned.

The prosecution enters into evidence Exhibit A:

"It's approximately 500, of which — I can get the exact numbers — approximately 350 are combat deaths." - Paul Wolfowitz, 3/29/2004

At the time of this statement, American deaths in Iraq totaled 722. 521 were combat deaths.

The End of The World

2005-03-16T10:26:00.000-05:00

Dear fellow humans,

Well, its official. The apocolyspe is upon us. We humans have enjoyed a nice little stint here on Planet Earth but I'm afraid our species simply wasn't cut out for long-term survival. Please try to have a happy apocolypse.

"Bush to Recommend Wolfowitz for World Bank."

Oh Happy Days

2005-03-13T21:14:00.000-05:00

Some suggest that I rarely post positive, uplifitng comments. Today, I take that myth head on with a post that is nothing but positive and uplifitng.

Pennsylvania
SurveyUSA. 3/10. MoE 4.5%.

Santorum (R) 42
Casey (D) 49

Warms my heart and lifts my soul.

Isn't It Ironic?

2005-03-12T02:33:00.000-05:00

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Give The Terrorists Weapons!

2005-03-08T21:53:00.000-05:00

The life of a terrorist sure is easy.

In all, officials approved 47 of 58 gun applications from terror suspects over a nine-month period last year.

For those who are bad with math, that is 81%. Eight out of every 10 KNOWN terrorists (or suspected terrorists) who try to buy a gun in the United States through legal channels are successful.

By now you are askiing the only logical question...how could this happen? But did you really need to ask?

The N.R.A. and gun rights supporters in Congress have fought - successfully, for the most part - to limit the use of the F.B.I.'s national gun-buying database as a tool for law enforcement investigators, saying the database would amount to an illegal registry of gun owners nationwide....John Ashcroft had blocked the F.B.I. from using (gun-buying) records to match against some 1,200 suspects who were detained as part of the Sept. 11 investigation.

The people who demand that the government must have the power to keep track of what we read in the library also demand that the government must not have the power to keep track of which terrorists are buying guns. Does anyone want to explain to me how gun-buying terrorists have more civil liberties than book-reading Americans? Does anyone want to tell me how the big, bad terror fighting Republican machine allowed the Patriot Act to pass without finding a way to restrict the ability of terrorists to legally purchase assault weapons?

Progressives aren't the ones who shrug their shoulders as the US government makes it easier for a terrorist to by a gun than for a 17 year-old to buy a cigarette. But we're the ones who won't protect America, right? Give me a break.

Bankruptcy

2005-03-08T21:10:00.000-05:00

Paul Krugman nailed it today.

Ted Kennedy introduced an exemption for cases of medical bankruptcy. Russ Feingold introduced an amendment protecting the homes of the elderly. Dick Durbin asked for protection for armed services members and veterans. All were rejected.

The soon to be world famous El Cep was the inspiration for this post. Check out his blog on religious issues and the government anytime you are trying to figure out if Democrats really are going to ban the bible. Do I go to a new level of dorkdom when I link to a friend's blog?

Greenspan

2005-03-08T20:59:00.000-05:00

Every now and then we here at THE BLUE LINE find a quote that is so intelligent, witty and powerful that it earns not only the title of "Quote of the Week," but also its very own post. Congratulations to Ron Brownstein of the LA Time for achieving this awesome feat.

Greenspan lamenting higher deficits is like New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner complaining about inflated baseball salaries.

Nurses Rock

2005-03-06T20:04:00.000-05:00

Dear Arnold,

What kind of idiot picks a fight with thousands of nurses? Did you really say that you were going to kick their butts???

Call me a left-wing bleeding-heart freak show if you wish, but I've never thought of nurses as "the special interests." Look, buddy, nurses have gotten quite a few of us through the worst times in our lives, and they did so while getting paid crappy money and working absurd hours. So keep your woman malesting, steroid enlarged hands off those nurses.

Love always,
Evan

Jesus Wins, 5-4

2005-03-01T21:03:00.000-05:00

Let me return to a theme I hit way back when. How would Jesus have ruled today if he sat on the Supreme Court? Would he have condoned putting 14 year-olds to death? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say "no" (my apologies to all you Christians out there if I am wrong on this one).

Today's supreme court decision to ban the state-sponsored execution of children, by a disgusting but predictably thin margin of 5-4, goes right to the heart of progressive ideas vs. conservative ideas. No religion I know of would condone the killing of kids or retarded people, but the 4 conservative justices of the Supreme Court and most conservative politicians believe we should do just that. It is astonishing to me that progressive politicians have not even tried to turn issues like this in to questions of religious morality. Why the heck aren't Democrats taking out to red America everyday and asking some very simple questions: Would Jesus kill children? Would Jesus kill the mentally disabled?

We are on the side of morality. Many of our positions are exactly the position Jesus would take. Why don't we ever talk about that? And when some Republican politician stands up in a debate and says that this shows how weak Democrats are, there is only one response I want to hear from his opponent: "Sir, do you think Jesus was weak?"

The Jew has spoken.

The Party of Less Government

2005-02-27T18:07:00.000-05:00

The party of less government wants the government to tell you who you can marry.

The party of less government wants the government to tell a woman what she can do with her own body.

The party of less government wants the government to force religion down your child's throat at school.

The party of less government wants the government to forbid you and your doctor from choosing to use medical marijuana when all other pain medication has failed.

The party of less government wants the government to tell families when they can and when they can not let a dying loved one die.

The party less government wants the government to have the ability to spy on you in the library.

The party of less government wants the government to have unlimited power to throw you in jail and throw away the key without due process.

The party of less government wants the government to be allowed to torture people who have brown skin- or white, if you are one of 'em whites who collaborates with brown people.

The party of less government wants the president to be able to pay journalists to make up news.
The party of less government wants the government to purge minority voters from voter rolls in Florida.

The party of less government wants the government to forbid you from suing corporations that have done you harm, no matter how grave the damage or reckless the act.

The party of less government wants the government to prevent you from buying medication from Canada.

Go figure.

Modern Judaism

2005-02-26T22:49:00.000-05:00

HELLO...?? GOD? Can you hear me now?

Courtesy of an email forward.

Bush Doctrine: Walk Loudly, Don't Carry A Stick

2005-02-26T19:21:00.000-05:00

"This notion that the United States is going to attack Iran is simply ridiculous. Having said that, all option are on the table." George W. Bush

Gee, thanks for clearing that up George. Of course, we couldn't attack Iran even if we wanted to. Anyone with a pea-sized brain knows that we are bogged down in Iraq for years to come. The fact that the Iranian government knows we are incapable of attacking them makes it all the more likely that they will build nukes. Why wouldn't they? We are as powerless as we have been in the last 60 years, and frankly, the Iranians would be stupid not to take advantadge of our quagmire.

We are a threat to no one because we can attack no one. We can not deter countries from building WMD because we attacked a country that wasn't building WMD.

Bush threw away all of our carrots a long time ago. Now we've also lost our stick.

The Hillary Factor

2005-02-21T20:25:00.000-05:00

After smartly hibernating for the last 4 years, Hillary is everywhere. She is flirting with soldiers in Iraq, positioning herself on abortion, starring on the Sunday talk shows, and enjoying valuable real-estate on the front cover of New York Magazine. And here is where it all gets bizarre: Democrats I know are suddenly assaulting her (myself included), while Republicans I know are singing her praises. Not to mention GOP superstars like Newt Gingrich, Lindsey Graham and Trent Lott all seem to have something good to say. What the heck is going on here?

Yes, the entire purpose of this post is to ask: what the heck is going on here?

Calling George Orwell

2005-02-18T20:20:00.000-05:00

Really, Orwell had no imagination. 1984 didn't describe anything as scary as this. Frank Rich:

By my count, "Jeff Gannon" is now at least the sixth "journalist" (four of whom have been unmasked so far this year) to have been a propagandist on the payroll of either the Bush administration or a barely arms-length ally like Talon News while simultaneously appearing in print or broadcast forums that purport to be real news. Of these six, two have been syndicated newspaper columnists ...the other four have played real newsmen on TV. .. (some of these) "reports," which found their way into news packages distributed to local stations by CNN, appeared in more than 50 news broadcasts around the country and have now been deemed illegal "covert propaganda" by the Government Accountability Office.

Big Brother ain't got a thing on these guys.

So I'm Not Crazy

2005-02-17T20:50:00.000-05:00

I have to admit that at times during the presidential campaign I started to question if I had become nothing more than an insane conspiracy theorist. I was, afterall, convinced that Tom Ridge was playing politics with matters of national security. This is a pretty serious charge and I sometimes wondered if I had just escaped from the looney bin. . But alas, I was not such a nut afterall (contrary to popular belief). From the AP:

Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge met privately with Republican pollsters twice in a 10-day span last spring as he embarked on more than a dozen trips to presidential battleground states...Ridge's get-togethers with Republican strategists Frank Luntz and Bill McInturff during a period the secretary was saying his agency was playing no role in Bush's re-election campaign were revealed in daily appointment calendars obtained by the AP under the Freedom of Information Act. "We don't do politics in the Department of Homeland Security," Ridge told reporters during the election season.

Remember how the Bush administration was releasing terror threat alerts every time an Arab man's pee missed its target during the campaign? "THE TERRORISTS ARE COMING, THE TERRORISTS ARE COMING!"

Take a wild guess at how many terror alerts have been released since Bush won re-election. How many screams of "ORANGE, ORANGE!"? Suspicious, no?

We Found Our Mojo

2005-02-12T17:08:00.000-05:00

Mind-Boggling

2005-02-12T10:10:00.000-05:00

So, how should we cut the ballooning federal budget? Cut the $50 million program for an indoor rainforest project in Iowa? Chuck the federal program that dishes out $35 million a year on aquatic invasive species research? Do something about $100 billion dollars in highway funds? Don't be silly! George Bush has a much better way of healing our budget wounds; stop healing our medical wounds.

Health and Human Services programs would face significant cuts. The Bush plan would kill seven Health Resources and Services Administration programs that earmark money for emergency medical services for children, hospital construction, traumatic brain injury and newborn hearing screening.

Let's get something straight here. George Bush needs to make these cuts because his tax cuts for gazillionaires led to trillions in lost revenue. That was a choice he made: tax cuts for guys with 4 homes over medical services for kids with no insurance. Well, maybe we can excuse Bush on this one since he has done so much to make improvements in the health system...oh, right. Bush supporters ought to be utterly embarrassed. I am.

Moral values, folks. Moral values.

Help Is On The Way

2005-02-10T22:51:00.000-05:00

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Russ Feingold

2005-02-08T22:57:00.000-05:00

The first Jewish president?

Welcome Dr. Dean

2005-02-08T22:45:00.000-05:00

Get ready to hear the Republicans telling every Dem who will listen that our selection of Howard Dean for party chair is one more piece of evidence that we are out of touch with the American people. Let them, ehem, scream. I have no idea whether or not this will help the party win more votes. All I care about is that we are finally being given our soul back. We are already getting our butts handed to us at the polls, we may as well go down fighting for what we believe in. I know I'm not saying anything new here, but I want to be on the record as being an anti-establishment progressive.

What if Iraqis Freely Choose Not To Be Free?

2005-02-06T14:46:00.000-05:00

The hardcore Shiites, aka religious nuts, are well on their way to massive victory in the Iraqi "elections." They are already talking about instituting religious law, which would make for a lovely replication of great beacons of democracy like, say, Nigeria. Women will be second class citizens and religious tolerance will be about as commonplace as it is in Jerry Falwell's neighborhood.

But this is what the Iraqis chose. So what happens if Iraqis choose not to be free? Does that count as freedom?

Will 1440 Americans have died for the sole purpose of giving Iraqis the chance to freely determine that they don't want to be free?

I don't understand why Iraqis would choose this style of government. But the difference between me and war supporters is that I understand that I don't understand. I understand that I, as an American, can not possibly comprehend the world view of people living in the Middle East. War supporters sincerely believed that they were perfectly capable of understanding how these people from an entirely alien culture would respond to our views on how a government should be run. The Iraqis would embrace our way of life because, well...because, dammit!

The good news is that the Iraqis are free! Accept for the women. And the Sunnis. And the Kurds. Okay, fine, so most of the country won't be free under Islamic law. But hey, at least we got all those weapons of mass destruction! Oh, right.

Birth Tax

2005-02-03T22:54:00.000-05:00

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Big Day in America

2005-02-03T22:49:00.000-05:00

Today marks the first time in the history of the United States that an international war criminal was made a member of a presidential cabinet. Congrats to Mr. Gonzales. Congrats to the American people.

All Class

2005-01-30T10:39:00.000-05:00

At an Auschwitz memorial, Cheney showed up in hiking boots, a ski jacket with his name on it and a ski cap embridered with "Staff 2001." Other world leaders wore dark overcoats and dress shoes. "He looked like some retard being shipped off to a ski camp for fat kids."

Is there any man in America with less class?

Game, Set, Match (or not)

2005-01-30T10:02:00.000-05:00

Saddam's statue fell...the war was worth it! George played dress-up on an aircraft carrier...mission accomplished! Hussein's sons were captured...peace has arrived! Saddam was captured...the war is over! The interim Iraqi government took office...game, set, match! Now the Iraqi election has come and gone. We'll be told that freedom is at hand, peace is now inevitable, and the war efforts have been vindicated. Yet, all of our war-supporting buddies will conveniently forget that after each "success" in Iraq, violence has steadily risen while we have continued to create a whole new generation of terrorists. The hawks in this country have become experts at declaring mission accomplished. Unfortunately, they aren't so good at actually accomplishing the mission.

When George Gets Bold

2005-01-28T09:29:00.000-05:00

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Gut Check Time

2005-01-27T08:15:00.000-05:00

This is a serious comment and I hope that even my republican friends will take a moment to seriously consider this issue. This may be the most important post that will ever appear on THE BLUE LINE.

The new congress has just started and our elected officials are back to work. John Kerry has put forth a bill that is so long overdue it is simply mind-boggling. The bill proposes ending America's longest standing national disgrace: the fact that 11 million children in the wealthiest society human civilization has ever known do not have health insurance. Put aside politics for a moment and just consider:

-1/4 of children are not fully up to date on their basic immunizations.
-1/3 with chronic asthma do not get a prescription for medications they need.
-1/2 of uninsured children have not had a well child visit in the past year.
-1 in 6 has delayed or unmet medical needs.
-1 in 5 has trouble accessing health care.
-1 in 4 does not see a dentist annually.
-1 in 3 had no health insurance during 2002 and 2003.

Folks, it is gut check time. Are you a political hack or are you willing to put up a fight for something that any decent person knows is right? If you have a conscience, your signature belongs right here.

Thank You.

Blog Shout-Out

2005-01-24T11:28:00.000-05:00

Talkingpointsmemo.com is complimentary reading to THE BLUE LINE.

Can't you see media elites and congressional staffers sniffin' around this blog each hour looking for new posts that mention them or their bosses? I believe that this is precisely what occurs when Joshua Micah Marshall does his thing. Marshall really has some leverage in the SS debate now, because he is that good (see references to Russert bumbling of SS mechanics, calling out other journalists for their word choice, and constantly monitoring public statements of elected officials). For those of you not familiar with this type of journalistic inquiry, it is called holding people accountable. Accountability is an administrative and political value that was once important to the American electorate and the media. This "accountability" thing is really interesting, let's try some more of it.

If There Were Any Justice...

2005-01-23T17:37:00.000-05:00

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