The United States Supreme Court quietly convened last Friday to determine the need to schedule oral arguments on whether or not President-elect Barack Obama is a natural born citizen and, in turn, eligible for the office of President of the United States. Initially the application for the case of Leo C. Donofrio v. Nina Mitchell Wells, New Jersey Secretary of State was denied by the more liberal voting Justice David Souter. However, the conference was prompted after conservative Justice Clarence Thomas refiled and submitted the application. Twenty other cases (including Philip J. Berg, Esq. v. Barack Hussein Obama) have been filed nationwide which dispute either (1) Obama's status as a natural born citizen or (2) the authenticity of his birth certificate from Hawaii.
This is an extremely confusing situation (primarily due to the morons filing the cases) so I will attempt to explain everything as fully and succinctly as possible.
Moron: Admitting that he believes Obama's certification of live birth from Hawaii is legitimate, Donofrio explains the basis for his argument: "My lawsuit challenges [Mr. Obama's] status as a 'natural born citizen' based upon the fact that his father was a British citizen/subject. Mr. Obama admits, at his own web site, that he was a British citizen/subject at birth. He was also a U.S. citizen 'at birth'. He does not have dual nationality now but the Constitution is concerned with the candidate’s status 'at birth', hence the word 'born' in the requirement."
The Harrowdown Hill: With that being said, the fact that his father was a British citizen has no effect on Obama's status as a natural born citizen of the United States. Section 1401 of Title 8 of the U.S. Code states that an individual born in this country is considered to be a national and a citizen of the United States at birth. And to use Donofrio's "logic" against him (which isn't difficult to do), if he truly believes Obama's certification of live birth to be authentic, the argument against Obama's status as a natural born citizen is null and void. He was born in Hawaii to a mother who was a U.S. citizen. Now if Donofrio is also attempting to claim that Obama's previous dual citizenship plays a role in this situation, then he is completely wrong in that aspect as well. According to the web site of the Department of State, an individual who is automatically granted another citizenship (association by birth, for example) does not risk losing his/her U.S. citizenship.
Moron: In a signed affidavit for WorldNetDaily (a conservative web site with a questionable past), Ron Polarik, a supposed Ph.D. in Instructional Media, addresses Obama's certification of live birth and the difference between that document and a birth certificate.
The Harrowdown Hill: The problem is Polarik insinuates that Obama could have been born anywhere in the world but his mother would have still possessed the ability to register the birth with the Hawaii State Department of Health. This irresponsible assumption places a completely incorrect spin on the situation. As a matter of fact, the web site for the Hawaii State Department of Health states that a certification of live birth registers "a person born in Hawaii who was one year old or older and whose birth had not been previously registered in Hawaii". Is it me or do the terms "born in Hawaii" and "born abroad" seem to be complete opposites? What is amazing (or maybe it isn't once you think about it) is that Polarik is actually a pseudonym. In other words, one of the individuals claiming that the birth certificate of the next President of the United States doesn't even have the stones to use his or her real name. You will have to excuse me if I seem a little suspicious.
Morons: In their respective cases, both Philip Berg and Alan Keyes allege that Obama wasn't even born in the United States but in his father's native Kenya. One of the "reasons" that they and other conservative nutjobs are making this claim is a revised statute which, in their eyes, allows a birth certificate from the State of Hawaii to be issued for children born abroad.
The Harrowdown Hill: The Revised Statute 338-17.8 actually provides the Director of Health with the ability to issue a birth certificate to the legal parents who, while at the time of the birth, were living outside of the state but "had declared the Territory or State of Hawaii as their legal residence for at least one year immediately preceding the birth" of the child. As you can see, the legislation, created twenty-one years after Obama was born, does not speak specifically to children born outside of the U.S. However, that doesn't stop the right wing from manipulating the words once again. What's amazing is that these idiots can't get their facts straight and refer to the number of the revised statute as "338-178" (and not 338-17.8) all over the Internet. At the same time, I haven't heard too much from those same individuals concerning the birth announcements that were published in two local newspapers after Obama was born (http://whatreallyhappened.com/IMAGES/ObamaBirthStarBulletin.jpg and http://whatreallyhappened.com/IMAGES/obama-1961-birth-announcement-from-honolulu-advertiser0000.gif).
While we're at it, let's take a quick look at some of the individuals mentioned in the paragraphs above:
1. Leo Donofrio: Donofrio left his career as a practicing attorney in order to become a professional poker player. I am sure the fact that Donofrio has only won just over $46,000 this year and is the member of a two-bit rock band has nothing to do with his case, which was sure to generate public attention.
2. Philip Berg: Berg is currently serving as an attorney but has been sanctioned and fined in the past for ethics violations against his own clients.
3. Alan Keyes: Among other actions, Keyes (1) disowned his own daughter after admitting she was a lesbian, (2) attempted to intervene in the Terry Schiavo case and (3) publicly supported Roy Moore, the former Chief Justice in Alabama, for Moore's refusal to remove the Ten Commandments from his courtroom.
With all of this information in mind, it is extremely important to note that, according to Article II, Section I of the United States Constitution, "No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President". Sound like anyone we know? Could his last name be Obama?
Friday, December 5, 2008
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Both Hilarious and Poignant
This video is a hysterical response to California residents voting against Proposition 8: http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c0cf508ff8/prop-8-the-musical-starring-jack-black-john-c-reilly-and-many-more-from-fod-team-jack-black-craig-robinson-john-c-reilly-and-rashida-jones
Happy Holidays!
Laura Bush recently asked the members of the United States House of Representatives to select artists to showcase all 435 congressional districts by decorating ornaments for the Christmas tree at the White House. Of the approximately 370 submitted, the design by artist Deborah Lawrence from Seattle, WA was the only ornament rejected.
Chosen by Rep. Jim McDermott (R-WA), Lawrence created a nine-inch ornament which is covered with swirling red and white stripes and features a picture of McDermott. What's the big deal with all of that, you say? Well, since McDermott signed a resolution to initiate the impeachment of Mr. Bush, Lawrence glued text praising the resolution onto the ornament, including the phrase "Impeach Bush". Unfortunately McDermott and his office is now backing away from Lawrence by declaring that "We agree with the first lady's decision to remove it". Wonder what Laura Bush had to say about all of this? On Tuesday, Sally McDonough, Mrs. Bush's Press Secretary, stated: "I think it really is a shame and, quite frankly, not very much in the holiday spirit." However, the best quote from this whole situation is from Lawrence herself when she was asked about using a tree ornament as a medium to address political issues. Speaking at a White House event prior to her design being officially rejected, Lawrence had this to say: "I'm happy [Barack] Obama is going to be President but we have to hold Bush and [Mr.] Cheney responsible for heinous crimes. If Bush shows up to this event, I'll tell him that. If Laura Bush comes, I'll say, 'I bet you're glad the last eight years are almost over'." Bravo! Ironically, these ornaments are the only accomplishment in Mrs. Bush's eight long years in the White House.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Scared Yet?
After the federal government recently decided to guarantee $306 billion of Citigroup debt, the total cost of the financial crisis now exceeds $4.61 trillion. (Bloomberg calculates the amount that the American taxpayer is now on the hook for is actually $7.76 trillion, or $24,000 for every man, woman and child in this country.) To put those figures in greater perspective, the bailout has cost more than all of these big budget government expenditures – COMBINED:
- Marshall Plan -- Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
- Louisiana Purchase -- Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
- Race to the Moon -- Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
- Savings and Loan Crisis -- Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
- Korean War -- Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
- New Deal -- Cost: $32 billion (estimated), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (estimated)
- Iraq War -- Cost: $551 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
- Vietnam War -- Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
- NASA Budget -- Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion
Total: $3.93 trillion
That total is approximately $687 billion less than the cost of the financial crisis to this point. The only single event in U.S. history which even comes close to matching the cost of the current financial crisis is World War II. The original cost for World War II was $288 billion and the inflation adjusted cost is $3.6 trillion. The more than $4.61 trillion committed so far to the financial crisis is almost $1 trillion dollars ($979 billion) greater than the entire cost of World War II incurred by the U.S.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Only Two Months Left
With only a few weeks remaining until Barack Obama is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States, I wanted to provide a snapshot of how Mr. Bush and his cronies have openly ignored the Constitution, abused their power and insulted our intelligence. Therefore, I have included the following timeline, which includes just a small handful of the many blunders in the debacle known as the Bush administration:
2000
December: The conservative United States Supreme Court rules that Mr. Bush has "defeated" Vice President Al Gore in the presidential election. Life as we know it ceases to exist.
2001
January: Soon after Mr. Bush takes office, an overthrow of Saddam Hussein is planned during the very first National Security Council meeting. (Keep in mind that this is eight months before the September 11th attacks.)
February: Mr. Cheney conducts covert meetings with oil executives in order to develop a national energy policy.
March: Mr. Bush repeals a health regulation which would have reduced the levels of arsenic permissible in drinking water.
August: Mr. Bush receives a daily briefing titled "Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US". Despite this obviously important information, the Bush administration essentially does nothing.
September: (1) Nineteen Islamic terrorists attack the U.S. After being informed that a second airplane has been flown into the World Trade Center, Mr. Bush continues reading "The Pet Goat" with Florida schoolchildren for seven more minutes. (2) Following the attacks, the White House Council on Environmental Quality pressures the Environmental Protection Agency to downplay the risks of the breathing air at Ground Zero.
December: As Enron collapses, Mr. Bush distances himself from Kenneth Lay, the former CEO and Chairman of the disgraced company and a frequent contributor to Bush's political campaigns.
2002
January: The Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp opens; Mr. Bush states that detainees were not entitled to any of the protections under the Geneva Conventions.
March: While the White House asks the National Security Agency to start the practice of warrantless surveillance, Mr. Bush declares that he is truly "not that concerned" about Osama bin Laden. Apparently he wasn't kidding.
August: A memorandum from the Department of Justice defines torture as only extreme acts which cause pain similar in intensity to the pain resulting from "organ failure, impairment of bodily function or even death".
November: The New Hampshire Republican Party hires a telemarketing firm to jam telephone banks used by the New Hampshire Democratic Party and the Manchester Professional Fire Fighters Association during the election for the state's United States Senate seat. Key figures in the scandal have connections with the White House and the Republican National Committee.
2003
January: Citing a knowingly incorrect dossier from the British government, Bush claims in the State of the Union address that Iraq sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. When addressing the enormous fabrication, the White House Director of Communications later states that "The President of the United States is not a fact checker".
February: (1) Secretary of State Colin Powell presents false intelligence on Iraq to the United Nations Security Council. (2) Jeff Gannon (aka James Guckert), a "reporter" for Talon News and former gay prostitute, is issued a press pass by the White House.
March: The U.S. invades Iraq. Halliburton, the former employer of Mr. Cheney, is awarded a $7 billion, 5-year no bid contract.
May: Mission accomplished!?!
July: Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson blows the whistle on the Bush administration's claims that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction. As a result, Valerie Plame Wilson, his wife and an undercover Operations Officer for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is identified publicly by idiotic journalist Robert Novak; Mr. Bush promises to terminate the individual responsible for the leak.
2004
April: (1) Photographs of the atrocities performed at the Abu Ghraib prison are published. Testifying before the House and Senate Committees on Armed Services, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld later calls for the changes to ensure the abuse "doesn’t happen again". (2) Pat Tillman, a U.S. Army Ranger and former professional football player, is killed by friendly fire. However, the Pentagon reports that Tillman and his unit were attacked in an ambush in Afghanistan.
May: The Government Accountability Office concludes that the Department of Health & Human Services created fake news reports to promote the Bush administration's new Medicare drug benefit.
October: Numerous media outlets report the sightings of bulges under Mr. Bush's jacket during the presidential debates with Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). To view these pictures, go to http://homepage.mac.com/c.shaw/BushBulges/PhotoAlbum15.html. Normally I would avoid posting information on conspiracy theories but, let's face it, he's retarded. Therefore, this isn't much of a stretch.
November: Robert Stein, a comptroller and financial officer for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, is changed with stealing funds and accepting bribes totaling more than $2 million. Stein was hired despite serving prison time for felony fraud in the 1990s. By the way, $15 billion in U.S. funds have gone missing in Iraq.
December: (1) Mr. Bush nominates Bernard Kerik for the role of Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Kerik withdrew his name from consideration a week later due to the fact that he had previously employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny. In a separate matter, Kerik pleaded guilty in June 2006 to two ethics violations and was ordered to pay $221,000 in fines.
In November 2007, Kerik was also indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy, tax and mail fraud and providing false statements to officials from the White House and the Internal Revenue Service. (2) Speaking of inept public servants, Mr. Bush awards Presidential Medals of Freedom to Paul Bremer and George Tenet, who both played large roles in the train wreck better know as the Iraq War.
2005
January: "USA Today" reports that Armstrong Williams, an African-American political commentator, had been paid $240,000 by the Department of Education to promote the controversial No Child Left Behind Act on his nationally syndicated television show.
March: (1) Mr. Bush sticks his nose clearly into where it belongs and fights to keep the vegetative Terri Schiavo alive. (2) "The New York Times" reports that at least twenty federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and the Census Bureau, have produced and distributed hundreds of television news segments in the past four years for broadcast on local stations nationwide.
June: Philip Cooney, the chief of staff to the Council on Environmental Quality, resigns after documents reveal that, regardless of his lack of scientific training, he repeatedly edited government climate reports to cast doubt on the connection between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Less than a week later, ExxonMobil announced that Cooney would be joining the oil company in the fall.
August: Hurricane Katrina slams New Orleans and, due to the pitiful response by the federal government, all hell breaks loose.
September: Mr. Bush falsely claims that no one anticipated the levees in New Orleans to break from the force of Hurricane Katrina. However, videotape from the day before the storm made landfall clearly shows that Mr. Bush was warned about this very issue by Dr. Max Mayfield, Director of the National Hurricane Center.
October: (1) The Occupational Safety & Health Administration determines that numerous trailers provided to hurricane victims by the Federal Emergency Management Agency contain dangerously high levels of formaldehyde. (2) Harriet Miers withdraws her name from consideration for a seat on the Supreme Court after only twenty-four days. Meetings with senators following her nomination exposed her lack of knowledge of basic constitutional law concepts.
November: Oil executives lie to Congress regarding their secret meetings in 2001 with Mr. Cheney.
2006
January: Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleads guilty to three felony counts relating to the defrauding of Native American tribes and the corruption of public officials. Despite Abramoff's strong ties with his administration, Mr. Bush states that "I don't know him".
February: (1) Mr. Cheney shoots his friend Harry Whittington in the face while hunting quail (Who in the f--k goes quail hunting?). As to be expected, Whittington apologizes to Cheney: "My family and I are deeply sorry for all that Vice President Cheney and his family have had to go through this week." (2) George Deutsch, a presidential appointee to NASA, resigns after Dr. James Hansen, the director of the organization's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, charges that Deutsch attempted to prevent Hansen and his colleagues from openly discussing global warming.
April: Although seven retired generals call for Secretary Rumsfeld to resign, Mr. Bush eloquently utters: "I'm the decider and I decide what's best."
May: As the third highest ranking official in the CIA, Executive Director Kyle Foggo resigns. Foggo was eventually charged with fraud and other offenses in the bribery case of convicted Rep. Randy Cunningham (R-CA). This indictment was superseded and expanded with charges of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering relating to his interactions with defense contractor Brent Wilkes.
October: Lester Crawford, the former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, pleads guilty to violating conflict of interest laws by falsely reporting information concerning stocks he owned in food, beverage and medical device companies of which he was responsible for regulating. Crawford had resigned from his post in September 2005, only two months after being approved by the U.S. Senate.
November: On November 1st, Mr. Bush declared that Rumsfeld would serve as the Secretary of Defense for the length of his term as President. On November 8th, the day after Election Day, Mr. Bush announced that Rumsfeld would be resigning.
December: Despite positive performance reviews from the Department of Justice, eight U.S. Attorneys are forced to resign.
2007
February: "The Washington Post" publishes a series of articles detailing numerous cases of neglect at Walter Reed Army Medical Center reported by wounded soldiers and their family members.
March: (1) Scooter Libby, former chief of staff to Mr. Cheney, is convicted on one count of obstruction of justice, one count of providing false statements to federal investigators and two counts of perjury resulting from the Valerie Plame Wilson case. Contrary to his earlier promises, Mr. Bush commutes Libby's thirty-month prison sentence. (2) Steven Griles, the former Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior, pleads guilty to obstruction of justice in the Senate investigation of the scandal involving Jack Abramoff. (3) Last but not least, multiple cases of tainted food, pharmaceuticals and toys imported from China reveals a lack of regulation by the Bush administration.
April: (1) Testifying before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales uses the phrase "I don't recall" and similar statements a total of sixty-four times. (2) The White House reports that more than five million e-mails have been "lost".
May: Paul Wolfowitz resigns as President of the World Bank amidst an ethics violation investigation concerning his relationship with Shaha Riza, the organization's Senior Communications Officer and acting Manager of External Affairs for the Middle East and North Africa Regional Office.
June: "Time" magazine reports that, since 2003, Mr. Cheney and his staff have refused to file required reports with the National Archives and Records Administration. Mr. Cheney has argued that his office is exempt from the executive order (signed by Mr. Bush himself) requiring such actions because the Vice President's office is part of both the executive and legislative branches.
August: (1) After ignoring the Constitution for the majority of his term as Attorney General,
Alberto Gonzales resigns. (2) The International Committee of the Red Cross reports that the interrogation methods utilized in the CIA's secret prisons are "tantamount to torture" and violate international law.
December: (1) Reports surface that an administration official in the CIA destroyed videotapes of the agency's use of waterboarding techniques on detainees in the aforementioned secret prisons. (2) Howard Krongard, the head of the Office of Inspector General of the Department of State, resigned following accusations of averting investigations into contracting fraud in Iraq and a conflict of interest with Blackwater Worldwide, at which his brother was on the advisory board.
2008
March: During a videoconference with U.S. military and civilian personnel in Afghanistan, Mr. Bush delivers these wonderful sentiments: "I must say, I'm a little envious. If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed. It must be exciting for you...in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks."
April: The Government Accountability Office releases a report on combating terrorism with the title "The United States Lacks Comprehensive Plan to Destroy the Terrorist Threat and Close the Safe Haven in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas".
May: (1) Under investigation that he may have deleted files on whistleblowers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the office of Scott Bloch, Special Counsel at the Office of Special Counsel (OSC). The Special Counsel role is the highest ranking position in the OSC, which...yes, you guessed it...defends anti-discrimination laws and whistleblower protection for federal employees. (2) Scott McClellan, the former White House Press Secretary, writes in his new book that Karl Rove, the Deputy Chief of Staff to Mr. Bush, "had at best misled" him about his role in the Valerie Plame Wilson leak. (3) Finally, in what may be his most pitiful lie during his entire presidency, Mr. Bush claims that he quit golfing in August 2003 after the bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad in order to honor the fallen soldiers in Iraq. "I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf. I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal." Except for the fact that video evidence exists showing this disgrace of a human being playing golf in October 2003, only 3 months after his heartfelt "pledge".
July: (1) Mr. Bush ends a private meeting at the G8 summit by uttering "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter" with an enormous grin and then punching the air. This idiot faced additional criticism after Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, is described in the White House press package provided to journalists as one of the "most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for government corruption and vice". Describing the insult as "sloppy work", the Bush administration explained that a White House official had obtained the characterization of Berlusconi from the Internet without proofreading the information. (2) A former official from the Environmental Protection Agency claims that Mr. Cheney's office removed congressional testimony from a report on the public health consequences of climate change; the testimony was provided by Julie Gerberding, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control. (3) Karl Rove ignores a subpoena from the House Committee on the Judiciary to discuss the Valerie Plame Wilson scandal.
August: At his estate in Crawford, TX, Mr. Bush logs his 950th day away from the White House, easily surpassing the vacation record of Ronald Reagan.
2000
December: The conservative United States Supreme Court rules that Mr. Bush has "defeated" Vice President Al Gore in the presidential election. Life as we know it ceases to exist.
2001
January: Soon after Mr. Bush takes office, an overthrow of Saddam Hussein is planned during the very first National Security Council meeting. (Keep in mind that this is eight months before the September 11th attacks.)
February: Mr. Cheney conducts covert meetings with oil executives in order to develop a national energy policy.
March: Mr. Bush repeals a health regulation which would have reduced the levels of arsenic permissible in drinking water.
August: Mr. Bush receives a daily briefing titled "Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US". Despite this obviously important information, the Bush administration essentially does nothing.
September: (1) Nineteen Islamic terrorists attack the U.S. After being informed that a second airplane has been flown into the World Trade Center, Mr. Bush continues reading "The Pet Goat" with Florida schoolchildren for seven more minutes. (2) Following the attacks, the White House Council on Environmental Quality pressures the Environmental Protection Agency to downplay the risks of the breathing air at Ground Zero.
December: As Enron collapses, Mr. Bush distances himself from Kenneth Lay, the former CEO and Chairman of the disgraced company and a frequent contributor to Bush's political campaigns.
2002
January: The Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp opens; Mr. Bush states that detainees were not entitled to any of the protections under the Geneva Conventions.
March: While the White House asks the National Security Agency to start the practice of warrantless surveillance, Mr. Bush declares that he is truly "not that concerned" about Osama bin Laden. Apparently he wasn't kidding.
August: A memorandum from the Department of Justice defines torture as only extreme acts which cause pain similar in intensity to the pain resulting from "organ failure, impairment of bodily function or even death".
November: The New Hampshire Republican Party hires a telemarketing firm to jam telephone banks used by the New Hampshire Democratic Party and the Manchester Professional Fire Fighters Association during the election for the state's United States Senate seat. Key figures in the scandal have connections with the White House and the Republican National Committee.
2003
January: Citing a knowingly incorrect dossier from the British government, Bush claims in the State of the Union address that Iraq sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. When addressing the enormous fabrication, the White House Director of Communications later states that "The President of the United States is not a fact checker".
February: (1) Secretary of State Colin Powell presents false intelligence on Iraq to the United Nations Security Council. (2) Jeff Gannon (aka James Guckert), a "reporter" for Talon News and former gay prostitute, is issued a press pass by the White House.
March: The U.S. invades Iraq. Halliburton, the former employer of Mr. Cheney, is awarded a $7 billion, 5-year no bid contract.
May: Mission accomplished!?!
July: Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson blows the whistle on the Bush administration's claims that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction. As a result, Valerie Plame Wilson, his wife and an undercover Operations Officer for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), is identified publicly by idiotic journalist Robert Novak; Mr. Bush promises to terminate the individual responsible for the leak.
2004
April: (1) Photographs of the atrocities performed at the Abu Ghraib prison are published. Testifying before the House and Senate Committees on Armed Services, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld later calls for the changes to ensure the abuse "doesn’t happen again". (2) Pat Tillman, a U.S. Army Ranger and former professional football player, is killed by friendly fire. However, the Pentagon reports that Tillman and his unit were attacked in an ambush in Afghanistan.
May: The Government Accountability Office concludes that the Department of Health & Human Services created fake news reports to promote the Bush administration's new Medicare drug benefit.
October: Numerous media outlets report the sightings of bulges under Mr. Bush's jacket during the presidential debates with Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). To view these pictures, go to http://homepage.mac.com/c.shaw/BushBulges/PhotoAlbum15.html. Normally I would avoid posting information on conspiracy theories but, let's face it, he's retarded. Therefore, this isn't much of a stretch.
November: Robert Stein, a comptroller and financial officer for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, is changed with stealing funds and accepting bribes totaling more than $2 million. Stein was hired despite serving prison time for felony fraud in the 1990s. By the way, $15 billion in U.S. funds have gone missing in Iraq.
December: (1) Mr. Bush nominates Bernard Kerik for the role of Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Kerik withdrew his name from consideration a week later due to the fact that he had previously employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny. In a separate matter, Kerik pleaded guilty in June 2006 to two ethics violations and was ordered to pay $221,000 in fines.
In November 2007, Kerik was also indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy, tax and mail fraud and providing false statements to officials from the White House and the Internal Revenue Service. (2) Speaking of inept public servants, Mr. Bush awards Presidential Medals of Freedom to Paul Bremer and George Tenet, who both played large roles in the train wreck better know as the Iraq War.
2005
January: "USA Today" reports that Armstrong Williams, an African-American political commentator, had been paid $240,000 by the Department of Education to promote the controversial No Child Left Behind Act on his nationally syndicated television show.
March: (1) Mr. Bush sticks his nose clearly into where it belongs and fights to keep the vegetative Terri Schiavo alive. (2) "The New York Times" reports that at least twenty federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and the Census Bureau, have produced and distributed hundreds of television news segments in the past four years for broadcast on local stations nationwide.
June: Philip Cooney, the chief of staff to the Council on Environmental Quality, resigns after documents reveal that, regardless of his lack of scientific training, he repeatedly edited government climate reports to cast doubt on the connection between greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Less than a week later, ExxonMobil announced that Cooney would be joining the oil company in the fall.
August: Hurricane Katrina slams New Orleans and, due to the pitiful response by the federal government, all hell breaks loose.
September: Mr. Bush falsely claims that no one anticipated the levees in New Orleans to break from the force of Hurricane Katrina. However, videotape from the day before the storm made landfall clearly shows that Mr. Bush was warned about this very issue by Dr. Max Mayfield, Director of the National Hurricane Center.
October: (1) The Occupational Safety & Health Administration determines that numerous trailers provided to hurricane victims by the Federal Emergency Management Agency contain dangerously high levels of formaldehyde. (2) Harriet Miers withdraws her name from consideration for a seat on the Supreme Court after only twenty-four days. Meetings with senators following her nomination exposed her lack of knowledge of basic constitutional law concepts.
November: Oil executives lie to Congress regarding their secret meetings in 2001 with Mr. Cheney.
2006
January: Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleads guilty to three felony counts relating to the defrauding of Native American tribes and the corruption of public officials. Despite Abramoff's strong ties with his administration, Mr. Bush states that "I don't know him".
February: (1) Mr. Cheney shoots his friend Harry Whittington in the face while hunting quail (Who in the f--k goes quail hunting?). As to be expected, Whittington apologizes to Cheney: "My family and I are deeply sorry for all that Vice President Cheney and his family have had to go through this week." (2) George Deutsch, a presidential appointee to NASA, resigns after Dr. James Hansen, the director of the organization's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, charges that Deutsch attempted to prevent Hansen and his colleagues from openly discussing global warming.
April: Although seven retired generals call for Secretary Rumsfeld to resign, Mr. Bush eloquently utters: "I'm the decider and I decide what's best."
May: As the third highest ranking official in the CIA, Executive Director Kyle Foggo resigns. Foggo was eventually charged with fraud and other offenses in the bribery case of convicted Rep. Randy Cunningham (R-CA). This indictment was superseded and expanded with charges of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering relating to his interactions with defense contractor Brent Wilkes.
October: Lester Crawford, the former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, pleads guilty to violating conflict of interest laws by falsely reporting information concerning stocks he owned in food, beverage and medical device companies of which he was responsible for regulating. Crawford had resigned from his post in September 2005, only two months after being approved by the U.S. Senate.
November: On November 1st, Mr. Bush declared that Rumsfeld would serve as the Secretary of Defense for the length of his term as President. On November 8th, the day after Election Day, Mr. Bush announced that Rumsfeld would be resigning.
December: Despite positive performance reviews from the Department of Justice, eight U.S. Attorneys are forced to resign.
2007
February: "The Washington Post" publishes a series of articles detailing numerous cases of neglect at Walter Reed Army Medical Center reported by wounded soldiers and their family members.
March: (1) Scooter Libby, former chief of staff to Mr. Cheney, is convicted on one count of obstruction of justice, one count of providing false statements to federal investigators and two counts of perjury resulting from the Valerie Plame Wilson case. Contrary to his earlier promises, Mr. Bush commutes Libby's thirty-month prison sentence. (2) Steven Griles, the former Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior, pleads guilty to obstruction of justice in the Senate investigation of the scandal involving Jack Abramoff. (3) Last but not least, multiple cases of tainted food, pharmaceuticals and toys imported from China reveals a lack of regulation by the Bush administration.
April: (1) Testifying before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales uses the phrase "I don't recall" and similar statements a total of sixty-four times. (2) The White House reports that more than five million e-mails have been "lost".
May: Paul Wolfowitz resigns as President of the World Bank amidst an ethics violation investigation concerning his relationship with Shaha Riza, the organization's Senior Communications Officer and acting Manager of External Affairs for the Middle East and North Africa Regional Office.
June: "Time" magazine reports that, since 2003, Mr. Cheney and his staff have refused to file required reports with the National Archives and Records Administration. Mr. Cheney has argued that his office is exempt from the executive order (signed by Mr. Bush himself) requiring such actions because the Vice President's office is part of both the executive and legislative branches.
August: (1) After ignoring the Constitution for the majority of his term as Attorney General,
Alberto Gonzales resigns. (2) The International Committee of the Red Cross reports that the interrogation methods utilized in the CIA's secret prisons are "tantamount to torture" and violate international law.
December: (1) Reports surface that an administration official in the CIA destroyed videotapes of the agency's use of waterboarding techniques on detainees in the aforementioned secret prisons. (2) Howard Krongard, the head of the Office of Inspector General of the Department of State, resigned following accusations of averting investigations into contracting fraud in Iraq and a conflict of interest with Blackwater Worldwide, at which his brother was on the advisory board.
2008
March: During a videoconference with U.S. military and civilian personnel in Afghanistan, Mr. Bush delivers these wonderful sentiments: "I must say, I'm a little envious. If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed. It must be exciting for you...in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks."
April: The Government Accountability Office releases a report on combating terrorism with the title "The United States Lacks Comprehensive Plan to Destroy the Terrorist Threat and Close the Safe Haven in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas".
May: (1) Under investigation that he may have deleted files on whistleblowers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the office of Scott Bloch, Special Counsel at the Office of Special Counsel (OSC). The Special Counsel role is the highest ranking position in the OSC, which...yes, you guessed it...defends anti-discrimination laws and whistleblower protection for federal employees. (2) Scott McClellan, the former White House Press Secretary, writes in his new book that Karl Rove, the Deputy Chief of Staff to Mr. Bush, "had at best misled" him about his role in the Valerie Plame Wilson leak. (3) Finally, in what may be his most pitiful lie during his entire presidency, Mr. Bush claims that he quit golfing in August 2003 after the bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad in order to honor the fallen soldiers in Iraq. "I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf. I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal." Except for the fact that video evidence exists showing this disgrace of a human being playing golf in October 2003, only 3 months after his heartfelt "pledge".
July: (1) Mr. Bush ends a private meeting at the G8 summit by uttering "Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter" with an enormous grin and then punching the air. This idiot faced additional criticism after Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, is described in the White House press package provided to journalists as one of the "most controversial leaders in the history of a country known for government corruption and vice". Describing the insult as "sloppy work", the Bush administration explained that a White House official had obtained the characterization of Berlusconi from the Internet without proofreading the information. (2) A former official from the Environmental Protection Agency claims that Mr. Cheney's office removed congressional testimony from a report on the public health consequences of climate change; the testimony was provided by Julie Gerberding, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control. (3) Karl Rove ignores a subpoena from the House Committee on the Judiciary to discuss the Valerie Plame Wilson scandal.
August: At his estate in Crawford, TX, Mr. Bush logs his 950th day away from the White House, easily surpassing the vacation record of Ronald Reagan.
She Made Me So Proud
Since the election was more than two weeks ago, I am completely aware of the fact that this information is slightly out of date. However, just after Barack Obama was thankfully elected President of the United States, my family and I left for Disney World so I did not get the opportunity to post this. With that being said, my wife created the following list in response to comments from a misinformed Republican.
Valid Reasons to Vote for McCain/Palin:
1. You feel that women currently have too many rights.
2. You aren't really sure what the Constitution is.
3. You are afraid that someday your children might want an affordable college education.
4. You hate it when companies create jobs in the United States instead of shipping them to other countries. (Young Asian children really do make the best running shoes.)
5. Having the same grade point average as the President makes you feel special.
6. You feel that having the rest of the world hate you is a plus for U.S. foreign policy.
7. If Bill O'Reilly says it or you hear it on Fox Noise...I mean, Fox News...then it must be true.
8. You feel that, when the Bible says "Love thy neighbor", it only applies to people who are exactly like you. Everyone else doesn't count.
9. You think you are not middle class even thought you work at a desk job. (And aren't the one signing the paychecks.)
10. Black people totally freak you out unless you are watching MTV or they are checking you out at Target.
11. The last eight years have been great!
Valid Reasons to Vote for McCain/Palin:
1. You feel that women currently have too many rights.
2. You aren't really sure what the Constitution is.
3. You are afraid that someday your children might want an affordable college education.
4. You hate it when companies create jobs in the United States instead of shipping them to other countries. (Young Asian children really do make the best running shoes.)
5. Having the same grade point average as the President makes you feel special.
6. You feel that having the rest of the world hate you is a plus for U.S. foreign policy.
7. If Bill O'Reilly says it or you hear it on Fox Noise...I mean, Fox News...then it must be true.
8. You feel that, when the Bible says "Love thy neighbor", it only applies to people who are exactly like you. Everyone else doesn't count.
9. You think you are not middle class even thought you work at a desk job. (And aren't the one signing the paychecks.)
10. Black people totally freak you out unless you are watching MTV or they are checking you out at Target.
11. The last eight years have been great!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Winners and Losers
This year's presidential and congressional elections produced many winners (See: Obama, Biden, the American public). At the same time, aside from the obvious choices (See: McCain, Palin), the elections also uncovered a few previously unknown losers. The leader of this pitiful group is Joseph Wurzelbacher aka "Joe the Plumber" (or Joe Wurzelburger, as John McCain referred to him during the final presidential debate). The right wing continues to claim that Wurzelbacher is just your typical "everyman" but the evidence suggests otherwise:
- During his famous conversation with Barack Obama, Wurzelbacher asked this question to the presidential candidate: "I’m getting ready to buy a company that makes $250,000 to $280,000 a year. Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn’t it?" However, in a subsequent interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC's "Good Morning America", Sawyer inquired if Wurzelbacher was currently earning $250,000. His response was "No. No. Not even close." As proof, court records from a divorce show that Wurzelbacher earned only $40,000 in 2006.
- In January 2007, the Ohio Department of Taxation placed a lien against Wurzelbacher because he had not paid $1,182.98 in personal property taxes. Two months later, a second lien was filed against him for $1,261 owed to St. Charles Mercy Hospital.
- Although his nickname now is "Joe the Plumber", Wurzelbacher is not a licensed plumber. As a matter of fact, he hasn't even completed the apprentice program he started in 2003. Tom Joseph, Business Manager for the Local 50 of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry, declared that "[Wurzelbacher] has got no schooling, no licenses, he’s never been to a training program, union or non-union, in the United States of America". By the way, the association endorsed Obama for President. In addition, Wurzelbacher claims that he legally operates under his employer's license but, according to Ohio building regulations, he is required to maintain his own license in order to perform plumbing work.
- Since his encounter with Obama, Wurzelbacher joined with country music artist and producer Aaron Tippin to form a new partnership, which includes booking management firm, The Bobby Roberts Co., and publicity management concern, The Press Office. The requests have supposedly included a potential record contract with a major label, personal appearances and corporate sponsorships.
- Wurzelbacher has also started his own web site (http://www.secureourdream.com/) to "bring together individuals who want to help others while, at the same time, ensuring our government keeps answering our tough questions". Seriously, let's face it. This web site was created to allow this idiot to cash in on his newfound "celebrity". In fact, for an annual fee of $14.95, a Freedom Member will receive (1) full access to "Joe The Forum", where you may chat directly with Wurzelbacher, (2) a subscription to the "Joe The Blog" monthly newsletter, (3) free shipping on all "Joe The Plumber" merchandise, (4) a free signed copy of his forthcoming book and (5) the ability to "become an integral part of an American movement to restore our government to the people". Yes, you read all of that correctly.
- Most recently, during a campaign stop in Columbus, OH, an audience member directed this claim at Wurzelbacher: "A vote for Obama is a vote for the death to Israel, I'll guarantee you that." What was Wurzelbacher's highly informed response? "Well, you know what, actually I'll go ahead and agree with you on that one. You know...no, I agree with you. I really think that would be a problem."
- On FOX News's "Studio B" later that same day, anchor Shepard Smith amazingly confronted Wurzelbacher on his earlier comments: "Barack Obama has said repeatedly, time after time, that there is nothing more important than the United States friendship with Israel and that the United States will back up Israel every moment of every day if and when he becomes President of the United States. He could not have been clearer about it in his positions and in his speeches, and I just wonder what it is that makes you think that he's lying about that." Wurzelbacher responded by eloquently stating "Actions...you know, I've heard words and I hear words from politicians all the time, you know, but actions kind of give you an idea..." Following the interview, Smith added this before going to a commercial break: "I just want to make this 100 percent perfectly clear. Barack Obama has said repeatedly and demonstrated repeatedly that Israel will always be a friend of the United States, no matter what happens once he becomes President of the United States. His words. The rest of it -- man, some things -- it just gets frightening sometimes."
Friday, November 7, 2008
Hallelujah!
Aside from Barack Obama being elected President on Tuesday, there were three other fabulous results of the election:
1. Joe Biden, a fellow Fightin' Blue Hen from the University of Delaware, will soon be in the White House.
2. John McCain and his fake conservative image from the last two years were both soundly defeated.
3. Sarah Palin, the imbecile and b---h with absolutely no place on the national stage, was sent back home to Alaska.
1. Joe Biden, a fellow Fightin' Blue Hen from the University of Delaware, will soon be in the White House.
2. John McCain and his fake conservative image from the last two years were both soundly defeated.
3. Sarah Palin, the imbecile and b---h with absolutely no place on the national stage, was sent back home to Alaska.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Top 20 Reasons to Vote Tomorrow
20. Like it or not, there are a lot of individuals who will do whatever Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh tells them to do.
19. "The ballot is stronger than the bullet." -- Abraham Lincoln
18. Watch the documentaries "Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections", "Hacking Democracy" and "SiCKO" for evidence as to why.
17. "The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all." -- John F. Kennedy
16. The stakes have never been higher in terms of moving away from a drill and burn energy policy and a lie and die military policy.
15. "It is a way responsible citizens have a voice in the conduct of their nation. It is both a responsibility and a privilege." -- Madeleine Albright
14. At the current rate, when your children are adults, the United States will owe China more money than actually exists on the planet.
13. "Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote." -- George Jean Nathan.
12. There are 6.46 billion human beings who are not eligible to vote in this election but will still have to live with the results. And thanks to the 24th Amendment, you can do it for free.
11. As Emma Goldman declared, "If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal". And they did, in the Soviet Union, Cuba, North Korea, China, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Burma and other countries.
10. Twenty percent of registered voters who did not vote in 2004 claimed that they were "too busy" to do so.
9. "There have been many times in recorded history when one vote turned the tide. When women’s right to vote was ratified throughout America, the last state to ratify it was Tennessee. The vote came down to a tie on two successive votes. On the third try, one state representative changed his mind and decided to vote for it. That one single person’s vote gave Tennessee the final ratification to allow women to vote in America." -- Ben Nighthorse Campbell
8. In Australia, voting is mandatory. Despite major suppression and violence (and an almost complete boycott by the Sunnis), Iraq still had a higher percentage of voters than we did in 2004. And Malta turned out ninety-three percent of voters in the country’s most recent election, which was actually a down year.
7. In a recent poll, twenty percent of students at New York University stated that they would give up their right to vote in 2008 for an iPod touch. Seriously?!? A f-----g iPod touch?
6. Your father, grandfather or great grandfather was either wounded or killed in the defense of our country. Vote for his memory and for all of those individuals like him.
5. "To vote is human." -- Milton Glaser
4. "The idea of an election is much more interesting to me that then election itself. The act of voting is in itself the defining moment." – Jeff Melvoin
3. A vote is an opportunity to tell the truth. As George Orwell wrote, "In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act".
2. "Those who stay away from the election think that one vote will do no good. 'Tis but one step more to think one vote will do no harm." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
1. Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
19. "The ballot is stronger than the bullet." -- Abraham Lincoln
18. Watch the documentaries "Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections", "Hacking Democracy" and "SiCKO" for evidence as to why.
17. "The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all." -- John F. Kennedy
16. The stakes have never been higher in terms of moving away from a drill and burn energy policy and a lie and die military policy.
15. "It is a way responsible citizens have a voice in the conduct of their nation. It is both a responsibility and a privilege." -- Madeleine Albright
14. At the current rate, when your children are adults, the United States will owe China more money than actually exists on the planet.
13. "Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote." -- George Jean Nathan.
12. There are 6.46 billion human beings who are not eligible to vote in this election but will still have to live with the results. And thanks to the 24th Amendment, you can do it for free.
11. As Emma Goldman declared, "If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal". And they did, in the Soviet Union, Cuba, North Korea, China, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Burma and other countries.
10. Twenty percent of registered voters who did not vote in 2004 claimed that they were "too busy" to do so.
9. "There have been many times in recorded history when one vote turned the tide. When women’s right to vote was ratified throughout America, the last state to ratify it was Tennessee. The vote came down to a tie on two successive votes. On the third try, one state representative changed his mind and decided to vote for it. That one single person’s vote gave Tennessee the final ratification to allow women to vote in America." -- Ben Nighthorse Campbell
8. In Australia, voting is mandatory. Despite major suppression and violence (and an almost complete boycott by the Sunnis), Iraq still had a higher percentage of voters than we did in 2004. And Malta turned out ninety-three percent of voters in the country’s most recent election, which was actually a down year.
7. In a recent poll, twenty percent of students at New York University stated that they would give up their right to vote in 2008 for an iPod touch. Seriously?!? A f-----g iPod touch?
6. Your father, grandfather or great grandfather was either wounded or killed in the defense of our country. Vote for his memory and for all of those individuals like him.
5. "To vote is human." -- Milton Glaser
4. "The idea of an election is much more interesting to me that then election itself. The act of voting is in itself the defining moment." – Jeff Melvoin
3. A vote is an opportunity to tell the truth. As George Orwell wrote, "In times of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act".
2. "Those who stay away from the election think that one vote will do no good. 'Tis but one step more to think one vote will do no harm." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
1. Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
It Never Ends
The right wing jumped on the recent reports that Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has maintained a friendly relationship with Rashid Khalidi, the Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University and the Director of the Middle East Institute of the university's School of International and Public Affairs. The Republicans have tried to connect Khalidi with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which is a political and paramilitary organization representing the Palestinians.
The right fails to mention that the International Republican Institute (IRI) provided multiple grants in the 1990s to the Center for Palestine Research and Studies (CPRS), including one grant for $448,873 in 1998 (page 14). The CPRS was co-founded by Khalidi and the Chairman of the IRI is - surprise, surprise - Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). In fact, the relationship between Khalidi and the IRI extends as far back as 1993, when McCain joined the organization as Chairman. Supposedly a non-partisan organization formed to "advance freedom and democracy worldwide", the IRI has been accused of, among other things, training leaders of the 2004 coup d'etat in Haiti, as well as funding opposition groups for a destabilization campaign in the months leading up to the removal of democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. What adds to the ridiculous attempts by the Republicans to "connect the dots" between Obama and Khalidi is the following exchange from Thursday's "CNN Newsroom":
Michael Goldfarb (national spokesperson for the McCain campaign): "Look, you are missing the point again, Rick. The point is that Barack Obama has a long track record of being around anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and anti-American rhetoric."
Rick Sanchez (Anchor): "Can you name one other person besides Khalidi who he hangs around with who is anti-Semitic?"
Goldfarb: "Yes, he pals around with William Ayers, who is an unrepentant domestic terrorist."
Sanchez: "No, no, the question I asked you is, can you name one other person that he hangs around with who is anti-Semitic? Because that is what you said."
Goldfarb: "Look, we all know that there are people who Barack Obama has been in hot water." Sanchez: "Michael, I asked you to name one person, one."
Goldfarb: "Rick..."
Sanchez: "You said he hangs around with people who are anti-Semitic. OK, we have got Khalidi on the table. Give me number two. Who is the other anti-Semitic person that he hangs with that we, quote, all know about?"
Goldfarb: "Rick, we both now who number two is."
Sanchez: "Who? Would you tell us?"
Goldfarb: "No, Rick, I think we all know who we are talking about here."
Sanchez: "Somebody who is anti-Semitic that he hangs around with?"
Goldfarb: "Absolutely."
Sanchez: "Well, say it."
Goldfarb: "I think we know who we are talking about, Rick."
Sanchez: "All right. All right. Again, you charged that Khalidi is anti-Semitic. He would say that his policies on Israel differ from those of Barack Obama and many other people. But, either way, I guess we will have to leave it at that."
The right fails to mention that the International Republican Institute (IRI) provided multiple grants in the 1990s to the Center for Palestine Research and Studies (CPRS), including one grant for $448,873 in 1998 (page 14). The CPRS was co-founded by Khalidi and the Chairman of the IRI is - surprise, surprise - Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). In fact, the relationship between Khalidi and the IRI extends as far back as 1993, when McCain joined the organization as Chairman. Supposedly a non-partisan organization formed to "advance freedom and democracy worldwide", the IRI has been accused of, among other things, training leaders of the 2004 coup d'etat in Haiti, as well as funding opposition groups for a destabilization campaign in the months leading up to the removal of democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. What adds to the ridiculous attempts by the Republicans to "connect the dots" between Obama and Khalidi is the following exchange from Thursday's "CNN Newsroom":
Michael Goldfarb (national spokesperson for the McCain campaign): "Look, you are missing the point again, Rick. The point is that Barack Obama has a long track record of being around anti-Semitic, anti-Israel and anti-American rhetoric."
Rick Sanchez (Anchor): "Can you name one other person besides Khalidi who he hangs around with who is anti-Semitic?"
Goldfarb: "Yes, he pals around with William Ayers, who is an unrepentant domestic terrorist."
Sanchez: "No, no, the question I asked you is, can you name one other person that he hangs around with who is anti-Semitic? Because that is what you said."
Goldfarb: "Look, we all know that there are people who Barack Obama has been in hot water." Sanchez: "Michael, I asked you to name one person, one."
Goldfarb: "Rick..."
Sanchez: "You said he hangs around with people who are anti-Semitic. OK, we have got Khalidi on the table. Give me number two. Who is the other anti-Semitic person that he hangs with that we, quote, all know about?"
Goldfarb: "Rick, we both now who number two is."
Sanchez: "Who? Would you tell us?"
Goldfarb: "No, Rick, I think we all know who we are talking about here."
Sanchez: "Somebody who is anti-Semitic that he hangs around with?"
Goldfarb: "Absolutely."
Sanchez: "Well, say it."
Goldfarb: "I think we know who we are talking about, Rick."
Sanchez: "All right. All right. Again, you charged that Khalidi is anti-Semitic. He would say that his policies on Israel differ from those of Barack Obama and many other people. But, either way, I guess we will have to leave it at that."
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