Karl Rove's comments Re: Downing Street Memo

On MSNBC:

ROVE: I'm glad you brought that up because I want to put that in context. First of all that is the British — a Brit making a comment about what he perceived to be U.S. policy.

~~First off, this is an individual taking notes of minutes; these are not comments. Does Rove seem to think a man from the United Kingdom is unable to write as well as one from America? Some of the greatest and most popular writers we have ever had came from the UK.

But remember the time frame, it is months and months and months before the balloon goes up in Iraq. And in those intervening months there was plenty of time planning for post-war efforts, vast amounts of planning. You never know exactly how a war is going to plan out.

~~He's completely avoided the question so far about the memos; notice he has NOT denied their existence so far, nor treated them as fakes, as many cons were "hoping".

~~He's already contradicted himself totally; does it seem like American troops were READY for a post-Saddam Iraq? CLEARLY not. And neither, then, was the Bush Administration.

Napoleon once said, 'vast numbers of refugees enormous problems with food aid'- did not happen. Vast uprising- didn't happen. That we would see a vast uprising by hundreds of thousands of Iraqis- didn’t happen.

~~Interesting he's thinking about Napoleon at this point, considered by some to be one of the most shameful and ruthless conquerors in world history. Thinking about world conquering, Rover? Sit boy, Sit!

~~It's happening right now. Over 1,300 Iraqis killed in nearly a MONTH from attacks, and these aren't vast uprisings?? This is worse than Israel and Palestine!

War is ugly, but a lot went very well with this effort and in part it was because the United States government and our coalition partners used the months to plan for any eventuality.

~~Again, referring to the memo saying there was hardly an exit strategy. Again, Rove is lying.


SPEAKER: But if you're talking about the number of troops necessary, the level of American casualties, the force and intensity of the insurgency…did the president mislead the American people about the cost of the war or was he just simply surprised by what happened?

ROVE: I would go back to the president’s statements over the last several years and I would defy you to find one speech which he talked about Iraq where he doesn’t say there would be difficult times ahead, that we had a long road to hope that a great deal of sacrifice was going to be called for by both the American people and by the Iraqis to achieve this goal.

~~We would dare Rove to go back to any of those same speeches and find an instance where Bush says, "We have no choice. We must invade Iraq and take out Saddam."

Look, we do not underestimate the ferocity and the anger and the viciousness of the people that we face. We are in a war. Some people may treat it as a law enforcement matter and be worried about indictments from the U.S. attorney from the southern district of New York. But we recognize this administration and the American people we are in a war and the only way you have a successful outcome in the war is to aim for a complete and total victory, which is exactly what we’re doing.

~~That was all Rove would say. Notice there is nothing really answered here; just a pack of lies.

Earlier on he was asked about the opposition to this needless war, and he says:

ROVE: I’m not certain that I agree with your assumption. You can find a poll and ask any questions you want, but I believe that if you say to the American people, ‘is it in the interest of the United States to see a stable and democratic Iraq arise at the center of the Middle East and should we do whatever is necessary to make that happen?’ that I’m sure Americans would say yes.

~~Yes, Mr. Rove, we need to stay in Iraq, but if we hadn't rushed to war with them, we had some vastly different outcomes possible. Notice he speaks about polls not meaning anything; just as Bush has said countless times.

Rove and Bush both live in fantasy-land!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/

...TheScribes...

And now, a message to the Republican Right

A brief message to the Knuckledragger wing of the Republican party:
You guys are idiots. Plain freakin' idiots. In fact, we've never seen such a collection of morons in our lives, and that includes the Nixon band of fools! Well, they weren't exactly stupid, they were more arrogant, short-sighted and interested in illegalities. HEY! That's just like our current administration!

When we say idiots and morons, we don't mean people who spend their time walking into walls or sticking their hands into paper shredders.

Bottom line; you guys are wrong. And you're wrong so often and on such a massive scale that science should come up with a new term for your species: homo republican stupidus. Only you guys would think you were being called homosexuals, and you'd go out and kill one another.

Which, when it's all said and done, ISN'T such a BAD IDEA.

The catalyst for this reality-based rant is the Terri Schiavo autopsy. But this isn't about the Schaivos or the ethical and moral questions that arose during that awful episode. It's about looking into the rear-view mirror and seeing that you Bible-thumping heathens and your attack poodles in the media got it all wrong.

AGAIN.

Terri wasn't following that balloon with her eyes, Dr. Bill "Fudd" Frist, because she was blind. She didn't say "Mommy," Sean "S**thead" Hannity, because her cognitive abilities were gone. She wasn't strangled, Dr. William "Dick" Hammesfahr, but thanks for proving just how pathetically wrong you "experts" on the rabid right were in this case. You screwed up big-time because you idiots dove into what you thought was a "hot button issue" without a clue what you were doing. You couldn't have been more wrong.

But the Schaivo embarrassment is just one more stinking turd on your Republican "Dungheap of Wrong."

You were all wrong on Iraq. Completely, utterly, insanely wrong on everything. The list has gotten too long to print.

You're wrong on global warming. And now we know you'll resort to doctoring scientific documents to hide your wrongness.

You're wrong on the nation's security because we know that our ports, borders and infrastructure still aren't adequately protected. You're so wrong that we've been at terror threat "Yellow" for 1,206 days now, and at "Blue" or "Green" for zero.

You're wrong on those idiotic tax cuts. They haven't stimulated job growth in the slightest, nor have they helped the middle or lower class. Any idiot could see that, and we're surprised you don't because you are such an extra-special class of idiots.

You're wrong for plunging our country $7.7 trillion into debt. What the HELL were you thinking? Have any of you ever balanced a checkbook in your life?

You're wrong for trying to fool us into thinking that throwing Social Security into the gnashing jaws of Wall Street will solve the (minor) problem we'll face 35 years down the road.

You're so wrong---oh God, how you're just lame-brained here---for ignoring the massive health care crisis in this country. A grade of F- to you for that one!

You're wrong on stem cell research.
You're wrong on "intelligent design."
You're wrong on this crazy missile defense shield.
You're wrong to force a cookie-cutter education "plan" on states without paying for it.
You're wrong to send an abusive s**thead to be our ambassador to the United Nations even though he openly despises it.
You're wrong to embrace a radical, hateful religious faction of your party while---wink, wink---you claim to welcome all religions.

There isn't a duncecap big enough to fit your big fat arrogant heads. There isn't a corner big enough for you to take a time-out in. You guys have been so absolutely, positively wrong about everything that it boggles the reality-based mind. And not just wrong---but willfully wrong.

We just wanted you to know that, you filthy, stinking radical Republican hacks.

Hope we didn't spoil your golf game.

...TheScribes...

Fair and Balanced??

You've got to wonder what Fox News is thinking these days.

Incredible, damning evidence that proves beyond a shadow of doubt that Bush rushed to war with Iraq to settle Daddy's old score, and they don't seem to find it fit to print on their website, but they DO however seem to waste a lot of bandwidth scoffing it on the TV shows.

Not one person has come forward to suggest, "Well, yes we might be wrong." Because Fox News sides with the Bush Administration in every way, shape and form. Like the extremely ugly, pimply-faced toadie that follows around the bully of the school, Fox News is the epitome of the neoconservative movement, gladly being led around by the leash by an organization so powerful, it controls the courts, the Congress and the Senate.

Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity and other minions can't POSSIBLY be serious when they talk about such things as the elimination of liberals, Bush's stellar record in office, and other atrocities. It's GOT to be a gag; a gimmick they use to sell their books and gain a popularity base, whether for love or hate.

So now we're wondering if Fox News is REALLY serious about the news they so brashly trumpet along the internet and airwaves, or is it all just a desire to make themselves out as the "bad boys" of the news media, a desire to feed into the right-wing audience in order to gobble up ratings. After all, people will watch anything controversial. And what's more controversial than a news show that sneers at the Downing Street Memos?

Has Fox News successfully become the new World Wrestling Federation of the news world, gearing up for high-level acting and acrobatic postering staged well in advance?

Well, guess there's only one thing we can say, loyal readers.

We reported, you decide. ;-)

Faux News: We DISTORT, You COMPLY!

...TheScribes...

There are some days ....

You know, there are some days when getting out of bed just isn't worth it. Paul received a dawn phone call from his girlfriend Siti in Singapore telling him that her uncle had died. While she was here, he was taken ill and the past 6 weeks have been really hard on her and her family. After her own father passed away, this uncle was intimately involved in the raising of Siti and her sisters, so its like she lost her father all over again. Our love, thoughts and prayers are with her and hers in this time of sorrow. Paula was also raised by her uncle (and also her mother who died last year) and knows what's its like to lose such a strong influence.

After that call, it was hard to go back to bed, so up we got, meeting each other in the hall, where along with the cats, we sort of had a moment of silence and hoped that all would be well with Siti in Singapore.

Then we came down and read all the news and emails and Paula started to make a beeline back to bed! After seeing all the headlines in the NY Times, checking out CNN and then getting a note from TrueMajority Action, she felt as if her entire belief system was under fire. You all know of course that the Patriot Act has a provision that allows the Fehbiies (FBI in Paulaspeak) to get a secret court order to secretly confiscate library and bookstore records and that no one can tell the subject of the search that the search is being conducted without going to jail. Last year, a brave congressman got this heinous piece of legislation overturned and there was much rejoicing. Of course the heinous leadership in the House (Delay and Hasstert) managed to declare that the voting was not over, and armtwisted and hammered their party members so that the already passed law awas overturned. Well, Congressman Sanders ia again trying to get this wicked provision that saps at our very liberty and core of our sense of who we are as a people, overturned again. We are betting that the ex-exterminator from Texas, with the ethics problems, will again try to brandish his hammer and strike at the core of liberty again. Its enough to make you sick. We urge everyone to got to http://action.truemajority.org/campaign/Freedom_to_Read_Act
and sigh a petition to be allowed to read, we'd really appreciate it.

So far, its been a really stressful day. Perhaps tomorrow will be better, meanwhile, it might just be a good idea to go back to bed and start over again!

Did the Ohio GOP steal money?

From the Associated Press a week ago, we were rather alarmed to hear a growing story about stolen coins. Now, okay, coins are stolen all the time, usually because most of America is incredibly stupid NOT to keep coin collections in a bank or a private trust offshore. :-) Paul once had a coin collection; sure, silver coins, a few gold ones, some rare old Indian nickels, etc. Got tossed in the trash during an errant sweep of his bedroom when he was 16. :-P

So what is the big deal about these particular coins in Ohio? It's a major investment here, actually. $10 to 12 million in rare coins gone from the Ohio Workers Compensation Fund. Ouch. This translates to nearly a QUARTER of the total funds available for the Bureau of Workers Compensation of $55 million, which got into rare coins in the late 1990s as a way to hedge its investments in stocks and bonds.

Now authorities want to go after the former fund manager, Tom Noe, a private coin dealer and Republican donor who led the coin investment. Of course, what the media forgot to mention was that Mr. Noe is ALSO the head of the Lucas County Republican Party.

The story follows:

The Associated Press -- Thursday, May 26, 2005; 7:55 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A scandal over Ohio's investment in rare coins deepened Thursday as authorities learned that more than $10 million in coins may now be missing. The state said it would prosecute and sue the fund's former manager.

Authorities originally had suspected that coins worth an estimated $400,000 had vanished, but an attorney for the fund manager told inspectors that $10 million to $12 million is missing, the state attorney general's office said.

That is about 20 percent of the $55 million investment by the Bureau of Workers' Compensation, which got into rare coins in the late 1990s as a way to hedge its investments in stocks and bonds.

"Such criminal action is outrageous and will not be tolerated," Gov. Bob Taft said in a news release. "We will pursue all legal avenues possible to recover these funds for injured workers and employers."

The focus of the investigation is Tom Noe, a private coin dealer and Republican donor who led the coin investment. Democrats have alleged that Noe was awarded the state's business in return for campaign contributions to Republicans, who control most of state government.

Officials do not know what assets are missing or where those items are supposed to be, bureau spokesman Jeremy Jackson said. Investigators had gone into Noe's coin shop under a court order issued Thursday morning, but weren't able to remove coins from their cases to inspect them and verify authenticity, Jackson said.

The bureau had made $15.3 million from the investments while Noe has collected about $3.8 million in commission. His shop outside Toledo had one of the two largest coin caches in the collection.

About a dozen cars were in the shop's lot Thursday, and a sign on the door read, "Closed for inventory." No one answered a knock.

"Mr. Noe will continue to cooperate with the investigation," said Jud Scheaf, a legal partner with Noe's attorney. He could not provide more details.

Questions about the investment surfaced in April when The Blade newspaper of Toledo found that two 1800s-era gold coins had disappeared. Noe said they were sent to a Colorado coin dealer but got lost in the mail in 2003.

The newspaper then reported that 119 other coins were missing. Noe said he thought the coins had been stolen by the Colorado dealer, whom he hired to assist with the fund.

The state responded by announcing plans to sell off its coin collection, which represents less than 1 percent of the bureau's total $14 billion in investments.

© 2005 The Associated Press

------------------------------

We know, we know, Bush is highly insulated and this will never get back to him at all. But it just goes to show you the illegal, and immoral and just plain smarmy nature of these people. We knew the elections in Ohio were going to be close, and also knew the GOP would have to pull out all the stops to win the state.

Boy, did they ever pull them out!

Like a magician producing a bunny from a hat...


...TheScribes...

Ok, so we are a little obsessed

Ok. So everyday,like clockwork, we check our online bank account. It's a little obsessive but on several occasions it has been worth it. Once a restaurant charge was several dollars over what it should have been. A couple of calls - to the deli and the bank and it was cleared right up. Another time (and another bank) we checked and discovered that all our money had been used to buy hip-hop clothes and shoes by a guy, using Paula's stolen card. Money was returned and again no hassle. That triggered the obsessive checking (that and when we were really really poor, instead of moderatly poor, we had to make certain we weren't overdrawn).

So today. Over the weekend we found an old cell phone that had some units left on it. Since it was a prepaid one, we decided to reactivate it and use it to call our friend Siti in Singapore. Better we should have used a landline. Paula carefull followed all the instructions to reactivate online. She even bought new minutes so that we could have a nice chat. She put in her credit card and it told her it wasn't authorized. Sadly, she cancelled the transaction and wondered why, since there was money available and we were nowhere near our limit. Flash to Sunday. Much to Paula's surprise, when we checked the account on Sunday, we found that the credit card charge had gone through. We hadn't received any minutes or pin numbers or whatever but they had charged us. On Monday the nice lady at the bank reversed the charge and gave us our money back after we explained the situation. We though it was over.
Oh dear no. Today, we blithely checked our balance and discovered that once again the $32.39 was gone from our account. Not a lot, but still. After a lot of searching we found the resolution number to Tracfone. The guy there, a man named Taurus argued with me that they never sent the stuff through. We told him that the money was gone from our account. We got the bank on the phone and this guy, a bull like his name, tried to talk through both the nice lady at the bank and Paula. Bottom line - they had charged the account, denied it and somehow moved us to Illinois from Ohio. After he hung up, the bank lady gave us her personal extension, since she fears that Tracfone will try to pull a fast one and put the charge through - and she wasn't going to let that happen. Who says banks can't be nice - or at least the people who work for them (Yay KeyBank).

Bottom line - check your accounts daily. Someone may be trying to pull a fast one