My favorite song
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: wally pleasant
Topic: instigating
https://yellowdogmi.tripod.com/wallypleasant-IWasaTeenageRepublicanGeorgeBushMegamix.mp3

The Sunday Rant
Mood:  smelly
Now Playing: Mexican Sky-Cross Canadian Ragweed
Topic: general grumpiness
Okay time to get back to current events. Lots to talk about today.
I read on Friday about Condoleezza Rice's upcoming trip to the European continent and how she plans to tell our Allies leadership to back off questioning the U.S. about our secret prisons. That is a great way to inspire loyalty but it doesn't really surprise me. Mr. Bush is still trying to find a way to torture information out of prisoners, even though he has pledged to Senator John McCain that he will comply with current law that prohibits torture and inhumane treatment of captives. Our shining light on the hill gets dimmer everyday this imbecile is in charge.
Other effects of his leadership or lack there of; Bulgaria and Ukraine plan to withdraw their collective twelve hundred troops this month. According to the Associated press six other nations plan to follow suit after the first of the year. Apparently our allies don’t buy this stay the course rhetoric either. The bright spot is that maybe with a draw down in Iraq we can finally find Osama.
Okay the heavy stuff is over. Now for the fun. Apparently the US Military has been paying Iraqi Newspapers to print positive stories about the occupation and rebuilding. In a story by Jim Abrams of the Associated Press Donald Rumsfeld says of the President “He’s very troubled by it”. Personally I don’t believe it for a second. He did the same thing in America and could not get away with it. Do you remember payments made to so-called journalists to support his private accounts that would fix social security? This administration has a huge problem with information. They want to edit and/or approve any information released to the American Public. Need more examples? OK
Vice President Cheney s energy task force-went to the Supreme Court to hide who he met with.
John Bolton-Could not be approved by the Senate so they refused to release any documents relating to his tenure with the state department or the Justice department
John Roberts- Senate confirmed him without the release of documents related to his tenure in the Solicitor Generals office.
I do not mind this Administration closely guarding secrets that relate to national security. I do mind them calling everything a national secret. I thoroughly believe in the Freedom of information act and open meetings laws.
I could probably go on for a while on this subject but my carpal tunnel is kicking in and OSHA won’t pay me, as this is a public service related injury. Check out the new links. More tomorrow. As always vehemently vex your elected representatives and the media with all of the opinions and problems that you can. Till tomorrow. Adios
TWR

Leave our Heroes alone
Mood:  incredulous
Now Playing: Elvis- Blue Christmas
Topic: more specific grumpiness
I am still catching up from all the things that pissed me off last week. Please amuse yourself with this while I come up with a new bitch of the week. I know it reads like a rerun. What can I do.
With the Thanksgiving Holiday coming quickly the administration took time for a feel good photo op. On Tuesday the President took the time to grant a Presidential Pardon to two turkeys that as you read this are being whisked away to Disney World. No I'm not talking about Karl Rove and Scooter Libby. Almost every year the office of the President grants a pardon to a turkey, sparing them the fall of the axe. This is a Presidential tradition dating back to Truman. Every President has participated in this tradition except for Jimmy Carter. He was able to avoid the publicity stunt for his whole four years in office. I am guessing that Mr. Bush was hoping upon return from his South East Asia trip that he could put a lid back on the Jar of allegations and recriminations about the war in Iraq and the bad intelligence used to promote his case for war. Taking a page from the Gipper a photo op was natural way to distract the masses. Those lucky turkeys that avoided the axe. Sorry sir, some of us are still paying attention and are intent on holding your feet to the fire.
Speaking of publicity stunts that is what occurred several weeks ago on the floor of the House of Representatives. The junior congresswoman from Ohio, Jean Schmidt chose to impugn the reputation of the distinguished representative from Pennsylvania John Murtha. Murtha retired as a colonel from the Marine Corps after 37 years and has served in congress for thirty more. GOP Congressional leaders disavowed any knowledge of what she was going to say and have since jettisoned her overboard. Same disingenuous rhetoric with a new twist. The president and his number two have realized that the American public is sick of watching them attack the patriotism and character of our war heroes. We have seen this page from their playbook many times before. When they don't want to talk about our concerns they shotgun slanderous lies and lousy opinions about their opponents in an attempt to silence dissent and avoid embarrassing questions. It has happened to John McCain, Max Cleeland, John Kerry and now Murtha. I am sure there are many more unknown victims. Please keep the heat on them. Tell them that dog won't hunt anymore. Please harass them. Please tell them that torture and secret prisons are not American Value's. Please tell them that misleading the American public into starting a war is not a way of supporting our troops. Please tell the President that he has granted the only Pardons that are acceptable to the American Public. Please tell them that they are off the hook for the next three years. All that we want to see from them is protection from terrorism on our own soil and the fiscal restraint that they ran on. We don't need you to fix social security. We don't need you to fix the tax code. Please concentrate on your mandate. Protect us at home. Don't blow our collective allowance on beer bashes for your drunken buddies from the oil industry. Greedy bastards.

I am just catching up after the holiday weekend. The new twist Jean Schmidt has accepted money from Tom Delay and is also under an ethics investigation in her home state. Here's to hoping she hangs from the yardarm or at least gets ousted. As always please endlessly exasperate your elected officials with your opinions and complaints. Check the new links they will show you where to find them.

Oh yeah. Go NAVY! What a kick ass game.
TWR

Badger a Blowhard
Mood:  party time!
Now Playing: Kurt South- Pawn shop guitar
Topic: instigating
I want to dedicate this installment to Theodore Roosevelt Heller. Here is his obituary from the Chicago Tribune.
Theodore Roosevelt Heller, 88, loving father of Charles (Joann) Heller; dear brother of the late Sonya (the late Jack) Steinberg. Ted was discharged from the U.S. Army during WWII due to service related injuries, and then forced his way back into the Illinois National Guard insisting no one tells him when to serve his country. Graveside services Tuesday 11 a.m. at Waldheim Jewish Cemetery (Ziditshover section), 1700 S. Harlem Ave., Chicago. In lieu of flowers, please send acerbic letters to Republicans. Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals, Douglas MacIsaac, funeral director 847-229-8822. Published in the Chicago Tribune on 10/10/2005

It was the line in the bold letters that caught my attention. I appreciate the sentiment. Below is the letter that I sent to Robert Novak. Unfortunately I received no reply. If you feel inclined to abuse the blowhards I have included a list of links and phone numbers at the end. Pick a topic and unleash a torrent on the overpaid hacks of the Republican Party.
Mr. Novak,
I read your column from Monday March 21st where you lament the undisciplined defections of the Republican Party on budget issues. You labor the fact that they were not strong enough to gut Medicaid spending. The points that you made are facetious. If we really wanted to control spending we could eliminate wasteful pentagon programs that are not working. The missile shield has failed every major test yet still we fund that instead of providing medical care for the poorest among us. The administration continues to pour money down the rat hole of star wars even though the threat from ICBM's has diminished over the last decade. Any other CEO would have slashed the budget for this boondoggle years ago. Another hypocisy of this administration is the championing of Life. The late hour intercession of the legislative branch in the fight to pull the feeding tube of Mrs. Schiavo has been billed as supporting life. If this administration truly valued life they would value the quality of life. Not just the quality of life for America's most well off. I applaud the republicans who voted there conscious. They showed that not all of the GOP is out of touch with the values of America's mainstream. Stop your strident whining. Your foe
Terry Reed
PS. I think that you are despicable. I hope that you are incarcerated for your refusal to give up the name in the Valerie Plame case.

P P S. DROP DEAD

Now this may seem like a harsh thing to send to doddering old GOP dunderheaded hack, however what I was hoping for was that he would see that there were blue staters that did not like him. I don’t like him because he is not objective. Below is a list of others and the countries major newspapers. Please let them know how you feel.

NATIONAL TALK RADIO SHOWS
SHOW HOST CALL IN #
The Rush Limbaugh Show Rush Limbaugh 1-800-282-2882
Sean Hannity Show Sean Hannity 1-800-941-7326
Tony Snow Show Tony Snow 1-866-408-SNOW
The Laura Ingraham Show Laura Ingraham 1-800-449-8255
Hugh Hewitt Show Hugh Hewitt 1-800-520-1234
The Mike Gallagher Show Mike Gallagher 1-800-655-MIKE
Imus in the Morning Don Imus 1-800-370-4687
Michael Reagan Show Michael Reagan 1-800-468-MIKE
G. Gordon Liddy Show G. Gordon Liddy 1-800-GG-LIDDY
The Michael Medved Show Michael Medved 1-800-955-1776
The Lars Larson Show Lars Larson 1-866-509-LARS
Neal Boortz Show Neal Boortz 1-877-310-2100
Glenn Beck Show Glenn Beck 1-888-727-BECK
Rusty Humphries Show Rusty Humphries 1-800-449-8255
Bill Bennett's Morning in America Bill Bennett 1-866-680-6464
The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly Bill O'Reilly 1-877-9-NO-SPIN
The Jim Bohannon Show Jim Bohannon 1-866-505- 4626
Dr. Laura Laura Schlessing 1-800-DR-LAURA
Janet Parshall's America Janet Parshall 1-800-343-9282
Michael Savage Show Michael Savage 1-800-449-8255
The Larry Elder Show Larry Elder 1-800-222-5222
The Dennis Prager Show Dennis Prager 1-877-243-7776
News Beat with Blanquita Cullum Blanquita Cullum 1-800-510-TALK
Dateline Washington with Greg Corombus Greg Corombus 1-800-510-TALK
Battle Line with Alan Nathan Alan Nathan 1-800-510-TALK
Hot Talk with Scott Hennen Scott Hennen 1-800-279- 9329
The Bob Grant Show Bob Grant 1-800-321- 8828
The Dolans Show 1-800-321- 0710
Good Day USA Doug Stephan 1-877-541-5250
Jason Jarvis Show Jason Jarvis 1-860-676-8306
Jason Jarvis Show Jason Jarvis 1-860-676- 8306
Common Sense Radio With Ollie North Ollie North 1-888-99-NORTH
Point of View Marlin Maddoux 1-800-351-1212
The Bob Grant Show Bob Grant 1-800-321-8828
The Don Kroah Show Don Kroah 1-888-293-9282
The Ken Hamblin Show Ken Hamblin 1-800-462-6479

Emails
ken mehlman mailto: Chairman@gop.com
karl_c._rove@who.eop.gov
robert.novak@cnn.com

letters@nytimes.com,letters@latimes.com,editor@usatoday.com,letters@washpost.com,letters@newsweek.com,letters@usnews.com,letters@time.com,wsj.ltrs@wsj.com,letters@slate.com,info@ap.org,tips@upi.com,letters@nypost.com,news@edit.nydailynews.com,drudge@drudgereport.com,evening@cbsnews.com,wolf@cnn.com,cnn@cnn.com,comments@foxnews.com,Oreilly@foxnews.com,Foxreport@foxnews.com,nightly@nbc.com,today@nbc.com,hardball@msnbc.com,msnbcreports@msnbc.com,info@cnbc.com,newshour@pbs.org,atc@npr.org,morning@npr.org,rush@eibnet.com,gousa@whitehouse.org,webmaster@hannity.com,my2cents@airamericaradio.com
http://www.billoreilly.com/
rush@eibnet.com fax212-445-3963 You can write Rush at:
The Rush Limbaugh Show
1270 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
mailto:joe@msnbc.com


Ps. If anyone can find me Ann Coulter’s email I will provide some sort of prize.
Thanks TWR

Posted by yellowdogmi at 4:36 PM CST

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The real death tax
Mood:  caffeinated
Now Playing: molly hatcher- flirtin with disaster
Topic: general grumpiness
Where democrats shoot themselves in the foot.

The real death tax

On the eve of the vote about banning smoking in all public places in Chicago I spent some quality time with my significant other. Being unemployed and basically broke we spoke of a “free Christmas” where we gave each other presents of sentimental value. She was angling for me to give up smoking. This is the thing she has angled for, for many years. We got into a discussion of the pending smoking ban as we sat in a non-smoking sports bar in Skokie Illinois. I am almost forty. I recall buying smokes for under a dollar a pack when I started smoking. Over the last twenty years smokes have increased 250%. This is the real death tax. They are taxing a dying population to recoup the cost on the healthcare system of all of the smoking related dieses. It is an attempt to wean us from the thing that is killing us. Of course we won’t be around long enough to organize to fight this unfair tax. It is sort of like taxing Heroin. We need it. We will pay.
Typically republicans don’t care they keep giving our money away to tobacco growers to plant other crops or not to plant at all. Besides less people means more money in the social security trust fund they can siphon off to spend on their war.
I am not promoting smoking. I just want to be able to go to my favorite watering hole and light up. I don’t blame democrats for trying to offset expenses incurred by the medical system from this industry. I think they should aim their efforts at the corporations that continue to profit from marketing death and not the helplessly addicted minions. But then again as I said we are a dying population. By the time we get organized most of us will be dying. Oh yeah, this is what democrats would call a funded mandate. Just out of curiosity put unfounded mandates in your browser. As always please beleaguer boisterously your elected reps about everything. Remember the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Mmmm grease.
TWR

Wreck of the UAW
Now Playing: cross canadian ragweed- a night at the wormy dog
Topic: surly
I am spending the Thanksgiving weekend with my friends and family. We are currently lapsing into our turkey comas. It has been a long week for me. I have been ensconced in front of a TV equipped with cable. Big doings in this neck of the woods. As I sit tonight 11:20 on mid November Monday night Andy Provenzano is telling us that an artic chill will be here by Thanksgiving. We are right now within twenty-five miles from where they used to build oldsmobiles. GM has announced the layoffs of thirty thousand employees. I sit in a bedroom community of Lansing Michigan. Our Governor is promising funds to help train for jobs of the future that won't be shipped overseas. Bless her for understanding our greatest fears. I would like to be able to point my finger at her but I am not a man in the know. Many of the people that I grew up with are going to be affected. Michael Moore would be pissed if this were Flint Michigan. In a musty old hall in Detroit no one is praying, the bell won't chime but once for the UAW Local 520. The sadness and strife will also affect people in Oklahoma and Tennessee among other places. I don't know much of anything about their communities but I can envision the stress this will put on a portion of the American community that is already quivering from the specter of a possible bird flu epidemic. The holidays will be sparse for the heartlands. But then again we are at war. With that all said I consider the opinion that I have a lot to be thankful for. I could express a litany of people I need to mention and make this a trite letter to my family and friends. Instead please remember you, know who you are, and so do we. Which brings me back to my favorite topic of dissertation. I was alarmed at the talks I have heard of quarantines and surveillance in anticipation of a bird flu epidemic.(oh yeah- check out the stock symbol RHHBY.PK. THEY ARE MAKING A BUCK ON THE SCARE. If you come to my neighborhood please remember that I am respectfully declining the opportunity to participate in your "little fire drill". I mean you no harm but please respect my rights as a United States citizen and leave my brethren and me alone. TWR

ad hoc ergo propter hoc
Mood:  irritated
Now Playing: you might just let it go. Jack Johnson
Topic: more specific grumpiness
The Latin from the topic line was stolen from an episode of the west wing. The meaning as described by Martin Sheen is “ before therefore after”. The rough translation describing the cause and effect relationship that is often the case. Sheen’s character goes on to doubt this relationship. Much as our own administration has disavowed or ignored questions about their relationship with Joe Wilson and his wife Valerie Plame. The administration has either misdirected reporters or refused to respond to allegations that the disclosure of Mrs. Plames identity as a CIA employee was the calculated payback for criticisms launched by Mr. Wilson of the administration. Recent indictments of Mr. Cheney’s aid Lewis “Scooter” Libby highlight the transgressions of this administration. For months I have been howling for the head of another top administration official, Mr. Karl Rove. While he is not yet under indictment for the affair his status remains in question. We are waiting for the other shoe to drop. While waiting I thought to ask the question, What did Dick Cheney know? When did he know this? I think they are two pertinent questions that should be answered by the Vice President.
Meanwhile with his polls plummeting the President has embarked on a trip to Southeast Asia to lick his wounds. Nothing-big there. He is borrowing a trick from Bill Clinton’s playbook. Here is what I find interesting about the trip. During this trip to the Asia/Pacific Economic Conference the President is expected to deal with two continuing American issues. First the ban on importing U.S. Beef into Japan and the lopsided trade surplus with China. Here is what his National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley had to say. “I don’t think you’re going to see headline-breakers” from the presidents trip. How is that for support from your own people? I imagine Karl Rove is all ready plotting some nastiness for that astute gentleman when he returns back to our soil. I have to applaud him for speaking truth to power. I don’t expect to see any major advances from the president either and the only head lines I can envision is if he pukes in the Japanese prime ministers lap like his father did. Anyway… Farewell, I am off to kill a turkey. I’ll catch up in a few days. As always harass your elected officials frequently with fervor. TWR

Help a canuck kid eh!
Mood:  mischievious
Now Playing: It's a shame about Ray
Topic: instigating
I have updated one of my links. There is a child in Canada who is proposing a boycott of McDonalds to draw attention to the unfair taxes we impose upon Canadian Lumber. Under NAFTA we penalize the Canadians because every summer they pay college kids to replant trees. While this is a sound environmental policy of a foreign nation we tax them because their government is subsidizing their timber industry. Please pass this link on to your friends and relatives. We should join with this young man with his boycott to show that we support the environmentally friendly policies of Canada. Peace. Talk to you soon. TWR

The party of Ideas
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: Wide open spaces
Topic: instigating
If you my faithful readers were to take a consensus of my friends they would say that I have been nothing but critical of the President and his administration. Today I thought that I would try to find something good about him. I really admired his plan to go to Mars. Personally I propose sending him and all of his cronies. But seriously I think that is an admirable goal. It speaks to our collective human nature as explorers. Manifest destiny has stalled with the occupation of all corners of this planet. The other benefit that I see is that at the rate they are plundering this planet we will need a new planet to find resources on.
I have also heard it advanced that the Republican Party is the party of ideas. I tend to disagree with this premise. They have Ideas but most of them are bad. Like the elimination of taxes on capital gains and shifting the tax burden to people that toil too many hours for their wages. I have again lost my focus. This is not to be critical of the republicans. This is to advance a few of my ideas that are needed in this age to advance our nation. So here goes. Please hear me out.

1. I think that we should centralize the means of gaining access to our country. I believe that if we limited the number of international airports we would be able to better screen terrorist threats. I believe that we could get by with three international airports. One on each coast and one in the Midwest. This Idea is also contingent on an investment in high-speed rail. With the financial failures and dangers of commercial air travel this would be a wise investment. We could build a transcontinental line that would be able to transport travelers in a comparable time frame from coast to coast with out the risks associated with air travel. With the financial drain on the airline companies of higher energy costs this makes sense. An added benefit would be the jobs created by the commitment to this plan. I am not saying we eliminate air travel, I am saying that we should be selective in which markets are served and do it more intelligently.

2. If you didn’t like that idea you will hate this one. I expect it to be highly unpopular. I normally oppose privatization of public services as a knee jerk reaction to republican policies. I believe that public utilities such as phone and electric companies should be held as a public trust. I typically oppose deregulation as it allows corporations to milk us dry with assets developed by our tax dollars. However there is one area where we could privatize a public service that would be beneficial to all Americans. I think that the time has come to dismantle the postal service. With the advent of email, online bill paying and privately held companies servicing a need we could eliminate the U.S. Postal Service at a great savings to tax payers. Perhaps we provide an incentive to Bill Gates like a tax-free year if he donates a system and hardware to help us. The long-term benefits could help reduce the deficit that this administration is intent on saddling us with.
These are just two ideas that make sense to me. I believe a great many things. I also believe that it is time for us to review and revise our constitution. We should further enumerate our rights. We should eliminate the Electoral College. I believe that it is time for a new constitutional convention. We could redefine this great representative democracy. We now have tools that were not available to our forefathers. It is time to update our systems and processes for the benefit of all of our citizens. Let me know what you think.

Words from Bird land
Mood:  accident prone
Now Playing: don't fear the reaper
Topic: Catching up
Okay time for me to weigh in again. I don’t want to gloat about the indictments of Scooter Libby. I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. How long before Karl Rove is indicted. Anyway better fish to fry. I live in fear. I live in fear that the redwings won’t make the playoffs. I live in fear that the Spartans will get a crappy bowl bid or not. What I don’t fear is what the administration has been hyping for a solid two weeks. The official panic of the month is over bird flu. There have been approximately seventy deaths attributed to this virus, most of which have occurred in Southeast Asia. For two weeks the major media have been talking of a potential pandemic. True these things have happened in the past but are we really going to start quaking in our boots over every new virus. In a rare show of foresight by Mr. Bush, he has proposed spending roughly seven billion dollars to prepare for the impending epidemic. Of course he wants to spend this money on a vaccine that won’t necessarily work on this strain. I applaud his ability to finally take on an issue before it becomes a problem but I believe that this is just a tactic to deflect from his current troubles. Sinking poll numbers. Does anyone remember what happened when he was suffering like this before? I can hear the conversation between him and Karl now.
Mr. Bush “we need them to fear something.”
Mr. Rove “how about the terrorist? We could raise the alert level. Quote some unspecified threat”
Mr. Bush “no damit that won’t work again. Come on think of something before I am forced to accept your resignation”
Mr. Rove “ Let’s see. How about something health related. With all of those people with out health care we can scare the shit out of America. No one will notice how much your popularity has plummeted and we can get on to messing with the middle class while I still have time. How about bird flu.
Mr. Bush. Brilliant!
Mr. Rove Brilliant!
Okay that may not be exactly what happened but how far off can I be. Mr. Bush’s commission on revising the tax code just reported back and decided to screw the middle class by eliminating the deduction for interest on mortgages. They have to have something to distract us with. Not to mention this new Supreme Court nominee. Oh, yeah. The other problem with his spending spree. We don’t have the cash to spend 7 billion dollars on a flu vaccine that won’t work. He gave the money away in his tax breaks. This deficit spending is going to screw with whomever takes over next. We won’t have cash to do anything, interest rates are going to spike. He calls himself a fiscal conservative. Yeah right. Back to the subject at hand. If we are in fear, he can come to our aid and we won’t question his other decisions. Sorry. I wake up everyday and tremble with my own fears. I won’t adopt the ones you need me to. All I fear is three more years of this dishonest spin we get from our so-called leadership. Remember all we have to fear is fear itself. Fear not. Go in peace.
TWR