Worst actor of the Year
Beating such established Hollywood hunks as Colin Farrell and Vin Diesel, US President George W Bush has won the Golden Raspberry Award for worst actor of the year for his appearance in Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11.
Den of thieves gets one deeper
Guess who's been appointed to the Department of Homeland Security's "Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee"? None other that Mr. D. Reed Freeman. Not ringing any bells? He's a former executive from Claria, better known as Gator. You probably recognize Gator as one of the more persistent adware/spyware items that you have to clean off of your computer. You might also recall that Claria was sued by The New York Times, Washington Post, Dow Jones, and other media outlets pertaining to Gator popup ads appearing on their web sites. The case was quietly settled out of court.
What will they do for an encore? Oh wait, I know. Muscle through the Social Security "privatization" plan (or whatever they're calling it this week) and put Ken Lay in charge of our investments!
Bald fetish?
"That's my own WMD!"
Rigorous Intuition has noticed a weird trend that Bush has taken. It's pretty disturbing actually. You can view more of this fetishistic behavior here.
Classless Action
It's open season on the average person. Let's be careful out there."The House of Representatives joined the Senate in sending a clear message to the nation: the rights of large corporations that take advantage of seniors, low-wage workers and local communities are more important than the rights of average American citizens," said Helen Gonzales of USAction, a liberal, pro-consumer activist group.
Trannies in DC
Chalk up another bizarre transideological initiative to Bush II. The President who threatened last week to use his first veto on a decrease in spending is today making another policy shift for his party with the class action reform. As opposed to enforcing state's rights and reducing federal intervention, the bill throws class action suits into the federal courts.
I guess the next thing we can look for is a universal health care plan from the guy.
Some Dicks are bigger than others
Richard Clarke has always been a self-serving narcissist, but the declassification of his blockbuster memo to Bush only proves the point. The January 2001 memo is cited as Cassandrian in its emphases on "al Qida" as a significant threat.
What is left to smolder, however, is the entire point of the memo, which are Clarke's final recommendations for the "Principals" to discuss. He lists four, with the first being "Threat Magnitude":
"Do the Principals agree that the al Qida network poses a first order threat to US interests in a number or regions [sic], or is this analysis a "chicken little" over reaching and can we proceed without major new initiatives and by handling this issue in a more routine manner?"
One never assists one's point by comparing it to Chicken Little, but one can certainly rake in lots of dough by publishing a tell-all that doesn't quite tell all.
BUSH PROMISES TO BRING TROOPS HOME THROUGH IRAN
Most Direct Route, President Says
Under pressure to detail an exit strategy for Iraq, President George W. Bush said at a White House briefing today that he would not designate an exact timetable for a withdrawal of U.S. troops but added, "The fastest way to bring the troops home would be through Iran."
After reporters audibly gasped, the president explained that bringing the troops home through Iran would be "the most direct route" and produced driving directions from Mapquest to back up his claim.
The Notorious B.U.S.H.
President Bush wasted no time in dispatching his newly designated gangbuster, wife Laura, to the mean streets of Philadelphia. That city, like other big cities, continues to be plagued by gang killings. Laura's mission, as Bush made it clear in his State of the Union speech, is to help halt that violence.
Greenless Acres
What would Bush like to do to our farmers, you ask?
_Propose slicing farmers' federal payments and other agriculture supports by $587 million in 2006 and $5.7 billion over the next decade. Payments to producers would drop by 5 percent, and the current $360,000 annual ceiling on those payments would be cut to $250,000.
Deep-Throated
The author of the 1993 biography of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, “Deep Truth,” today named George H.W. Bush the new chief suspect as famed Watergate source Deep Throat.
Special Delivery
Pataki Concedes That Aide Paid by Republicans Delivered Meals to His Home.
After maintaining for days that the duties of a personal assistant whom the state's Republican Party hired for Libby Pataki were political and not personal, aides to Gov. George E. Pataki said on Thursday that the assistant had "on occasion" picked up meals for the family.
The assistant, Michelle R. Stubbs, who is paid $50,000 a year by the party to help Mrs. Pataki, had in the past picked up prepared meals at the governor's mansion in Albany and driven them 100 miles south to the Pataki family's home in Garrison, said Kevin Quinn, a spokesman for Mr. Pataki.
