Um...yea...uh...about last night...
Hubby's sore throat from Sunday got to be too much for him for regular OTC stuff, so he insisted on going to an immediate care clinic, and it took F...O...R...E...V...E...R. Believe me, I would've much rather have been here, and, after my $hitacular first day back to work after over 2 weeks off, I so did...not need the day to end the way it did.
So, y'all forgive me?
Let's get to "this day in history." On this date in 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted 27-11 to recommend President Richard M. Nixon's impeachment on a charge that he had personally engaged in a "course of conduct" designed to obstruct justice in the Watergate case. It was shortly after this that Senator Barry Goldwater did what no other GOBPer would have the guts or love of country (as opposed to party) to do today; he went to see President Nixon to tell him, probably literally in not - so - family - friendly language, that the jig was up. How 'bout what he called Dick Nixon?!
Speaking of having guts, Norman Lear is 88 today. One of my earliest memories is seeing my Dad absolutely laugh his hind quarters off every Sunday night during All in the Family. The end of this particular episode is pretty high up on my list of most funny EVER!
Finally, to end on another mammal with guts, on this date in 1940, Bugs Bunny made his debut in the Warner Bros. animated cartoon "A Wild Hare."
Let's Countdown - as wascally as we wanna be - HA! ;D
Man, I missed a hell of a show last night – including "my guy," DAMMIT! Oh well, that’s why God invented DVRs. ;D
#5 "Battle Plans" AKA "The Bush League" AKA "2010 Republicans, by George" AKA "The Republican Par – Tay" AKA "The Elephant in the Bedroom" - The midterm election is in 98 days, as Lawrence pointed out. OK gang, do I need to get my little "chart" again about how leadership of committees will change hands of the GOBP wins? Believe me; I’m not crazy about any politicos these days, Dem, GOBP, or otherwise. But, look at the alternative. Hell, THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE, which is damn sad.
Dems plan to run against GWB – again. I can see that working to a point; the mess laid at President Obama’s feet was created by the ghouls of the previous administration. But, Dems have to show some chutzpah on how they are going to counter – act "the party of No" instead of just capitulating to them all the time – to a group of people who early on made it very clear they were going to fight E...VERY...T...HI...NG! Ya’ can’t win all the time just by trashing the previous occupants. "Senior" Dem officials are going to work & tell their candidates to remind we, the voting public, how Congress acted (or didn’t act) between 2000-2008. An issue a week is going to be covered beginning with the August recess? Seriously?! Well, if that truly happens, it’ll be a damn refreshing change to being both figuratively & literally on vacation during last year’s recess when Grandma ExGov TurkeyLover’s death panels & other tea bagger nonsense was allowed to percolate the color the HCR debate & so much else for the rest of the damn year.
Again, I’ll believe it when I see it. Yea! I’d like to see a whole lot of Rep. Joe "May I kiss BP/BS’s a$$" Barton in LOTS of ads; let’s see him apologize to Siberia – bound Tony Hayward over and over and over and over and over and... ;D Marco Rubio has publicly said he wants to raise taxes on the middle class but restore GWB’s tax cuts for the most rich among us?! ‘Scuse me...
Here’s Eugene Robinson! And, he agrees with me about strateegery in bringing up GWB ad nauseum for the next 98 days! YES!!
I loved Lawrence’s question. If Dems are running against GWB, and the GOBP is running against President Obama, who’s running FOR anything? And that, boys & girls, is one of the many reasons politics is in the state it’s in. Eugene doesn’t think tea baggers are going to 110% fall in line with the GOBP. Well, maybe not THAT much, but I’ll put the odds at a good 75 – 80% because of 2 factors: "birthing" & race. Tea baggers are LOUSY with those no matter what ‘ol what’s his name tried to say about the subject. ;D Small Price to Pay Goldilocks has been, apparently, spending a lot of his time trying to get his fellow ilk to not work & "play" so well with female lobbyists. Hell, I bet most of the GOBP is secretly damn grateful that it’s FEMALE lobbyists being...uh...well...entertained. HA!
Mitchie McConnell is taking the "leadership" in the tarrantinoing of the bill that will help undercut – a little – the retched Citizens United case. So, as far as Mitchie’s concerned, take all them girl lobbyists to the Kentucky Derby as much as you want, and fer sparks’ sake, DON’T JIBBER – JABBER about it! Alex Wagoner gets to talk "disclosure" of all sorts tonight – lucky! Yea, the NRA got oodles of exemptions in this bill (*&^%$#@!), and labor unions didn’t get their "NRA carve out" that they did in the House. And, the GOBP doesn’t want anyone anywhere disclosin’ ANYTHING – unless it’s good ‘ol fashion "opposite marriage" – type relations. Did Lawrence say DC is "abuzz" about all this lobbyists entertaining stuff?! Is there a new vibrator factory in town because of all the "activity"?! HA! And, I truly learn something new every day on this show; Small Price to Pay Goldilocks is a color – not – found – in – nature bar fly! NEATO!
#4 "Day 99" AKA "The Powers That BP" - Oil began spewing from a newly – damaged well along the Gulf Coast today. Well, when you have so much of a good thing, why stop it?! *&^%$#@! I thought Lawrence’s segment last night about BP/BS’s "safety director" was incredibly powerful & SPOT ON! Send that guy to Siberia, too! He & Tony can keep each other warm with their big severances.
Wow, Tony just don’t learn, does he. Now, he’s crying that he’s been vilified here. Well, dear, if the oily shoe fits... BP/BS Chairman Carl – Henric Svanberg (the "small people" guy, remember?) thinks replacing Siberia – bound Tony with Bob Dudley is just what his company needs to brighten up their image in our fair country. Senator Jeff Merkley had the "pleasure" of grilling the BP/BS "safety dude" yesterday. And, I would’ve given SENATOR Franken (suck on it, BillO!) a standing "o" while watching yesterday’s segment, but I was riding my stationery bike & would’ve hurt myself. ;) Senator Merkley hopes Mr. Dudley will change the BP/BS corporate "outlook." Don’t hold your breath, honey. Senator Merkley also expressed his belief that other oil companies are acting on a much higher level safety plan. Uh, hasn’t it been proven they all have the same disaster "response" plan or lack thereof? The cutting & pasting revelations don’t exactly instill me with confidence, ya’ know!
** More free health clinics are on the way! YAHOO! Washington DC will get one August 4th; too bad one couldn’t be put together during the HCR debate! A 2 – day clinic will be held in New Orleans to coincide with the 5 – year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina (Aug. 31 & Sept. 1). I know a lot of us are tapped out, but y’all know where to go to do what you can with your money or your time. **
#3 "Wikileaks" AKA "War & Leaks" - I wasn’t here last night to comment on the big ‘ol document leak about our efforts in Afghanistan. After a day to "process" what little I know & seeing last night’s segment & hearing the New York Times reporter talk about the documents on NPR today, as long as war or combat strategy or any other information that was going to put American lives at risk more than they already are wasn’t published, and it sounds like the Times took great pains to ensure that wouldn’t happen, I don’t really have a problem with it. It doesn’t appear that really a whole lot of new information was released that people closely following our efforts there don’t already know. Whoever dropped the ball in ensuring the "classified" nature of this information should probably get a pink slip, but it’s like the whole media blackout on American war dead coming back here for the final time. So, if we don’t see this last poignant leg of soldiers’ journeys or don’t read about the gritty horrible grinding nature of what’s going on in Afghanistan, THAT DOESN’T MEAN IT’S NOT HAPPENING. Again, unless lives will be put at risk or families’ wishes dictate otherwise, the more information the better. In light of all this, Congress passed more funding for Afghanistan fighting today, and, if I’m hearing details correctly, it was another "supplemental" shtick like what GWB used to pull for funding Iraq. YEA!
Can someone remind me again why we’re giving so much damn aid to a country that looks like it’s helping our enemies hurt us?! Rep. Dennis Kucinich got to debate potential spreading of our forces into Pakistan. He voted against HCR before it turned into the less – than ideal product we ended up with, so his emails to me now go directly to SPAM. Senator McCentury, of course, got all hot & bothered about the document release, but the general in the committee room today discounted the negative effect on chain of command while absolutely not liking the fact the documents were released. Rep. Lynn Woolsey is here to talk about "winning" (or not "winning") in Afghanistan. More Dems & GOBPers voted AGAINST the war supplemental than ever have before. The tide of support of our strategy in Afghanistan is slowly turning to the "no" side. Rep. Woolsey wants to send civilians to Afghanistan?! Honey, you think AQ or the Taliban or whatever nutjobs are over there will have qualms about killing civilians?! They didn’t have qualms about killing civilians on September 11, 2001.
#2 "Do Not Vote for My Dad!" AKA "Father of Deride" - A judge’s primary in Oklahoma got real personal – real REAL personal! OUCH! John Mantooth’s daughter won’t be nominating him for "Father of the Year" anytime soon, I guess. So, what’s this guy’s political affiliation? If he’s a GOBPer, it’s not exactly like there’s not precedence for not – so – chipper father/daughter relations. I give you Alan Keyes & his daughter.
#1 "For Whom the Bell Doles" - Bell, CA is in Los Angeles County & has a population of around 40,000 – not exactly huge but not exactly a one – stoplight – in – the – whole – damn – town town, either. OK, which Countdown staffer is the "Papa" fan?! ;D The poverty rate in that town is among the highest in that area & in the country, but their town "leaders" are doing just fine, thank you very much. DID YOU SEE THOSE DAMN SALARIES?! Over three quarters of a million dollars for a "city manager"? If I was the piddly assistant city manager, I’d be pi$$ed as hell that my boss was more than doubling my salary! The 3 city offices cited make more money per year than President Obama does. OK, how have these guys NOT been ridden out on a rail by now? And, how ‘bout that city council meeting?! While the shouting was all fun & good, they still didn’t reach the fisticuffs level of foreign counterparts. ;D Maybe, they’ll work on that for the next meeting. Christina Garcia is a community organizer in the area; uh – oh, I’m surprised she hasn’t gotten disparaging comments on St. Sarah from Wasilla’s Facebook page about "community organizing." And, even though these people in charge are making quite the lives for themselves at their local citizens’ expenses, unless some sort of fraud is proven, the people will have to continue to pay for their pension funds!