Hey George Bush!

www.thankyoustephencolbert.org
I saw you at the White House Correspondent’s dinner the other night. That was funny. The deeper it cuts, the funnier it is. Takes a tough guy to sit there and take that. You haven’t been too willing to take criticism over the past couple years. I’m glad you’re getting out there more, taking a couple knocks. Giving a couple knocks, too. Here’s to more “plo-fliber-ation” of talkback from the White House. I remember the criticism you took on the “war tour” a couple months ago, too. Proving that you can take criticism is good, but it’s only part of the job description for President. We’re criticizing you about Oil, Corruption, and many other things. It’s time for the next step, I think. You’ve proved that you can hear it, now we need you to listen.

A pleasure to eat you

Hey Discoverboating.com!
That commercial you keep showing on CNN… the one where all these happy boaters wave to each other and smile as they glide effortlessly past?  What kind of malarkey is that?  Heck, once, I was crowded out of the channel onto a sand bar by a Sheriff’s boat!  The only friendly boater is one that’s anchored in a cove passed out drunk.  The rest of them act like the fish they’re trying to catch… greedy, insecure, and mean.  You’d be better off showing 30 seconds of fish feeding if you want to really show people what boating’s like.

Flight 93

Movie Homepage
“United 93” opens in theatres today.  There’s another movie about the Twin Towers coming out this fall.  Scottage asked me if I’d like to go tonight.  No, thanks.  I’m not against the movie.  It doesn’t outrage or frighten me.  I’m comfortable with the way I feel about 9/11.  For now at least, I don’t need to spark discussion or provoke thought about 9/11.
I remember one thing more than any other about 9/11.  After the second plane hit, I got into my truck and drove to 7-11.  I sat in my parking spot and stared at the brick wall in front of me.  The next thing I remember was pounding the steering wheel with all my strength.  I was a little surprised that it wasn’t breaking.  That’s what I wanted to do.  I slumped down crying.  That’s when a guy came up to me and said that everything would be ok.  He was wrong, but it was a nice sentiment.
It’s a common human response.  We represent events as single images.  That’s the image that pops up for us when we remember an event.  My disappointment that the steering wheel wasn’t crumbling under my assault broke the spell for me.  So, I remember it.  9/11 evokes other images for me.  After I work through some of those, I’ll go see the movie.  For now, I’m comfortable with progressing at my own pace.

An Oily Stain

Exxon made 8.4 billion in the first quarter of 2006. Their stock fell today, because investors expected them to make 9.25 billion. Exxon’s retiring CEO will take home about 400 million worth of bonuses. Lots of money floating around, all of it seems to be sticking to those oily fingers. So, what’s an oil exec to do? Bring out the pundits! They can spin anything. Hey, they might even get some free drilling concessions out of this whole deal… it’s happened before. They’re already eyeing the Florida Straits. Right now, the straits are drilled by Chinese and Indian companies. US companies have trouble getting into the area because that would mean doing business with Cuba.
It’s a tricky dilemma. On the one hand, opening up a relationship with Cuba is anathema to any good conservative. On the other hand, denying the wishes of big oil? I don’t see that happening. A true Catch-22 if ever there was one. It should be interesting to see which of these two choices they go with. I think the whole discussion of drilling in the Fla Straits will disappear until after the midterm elections. Meanwhile, the pundits unleashed by the mother ship have been lighting up the airwaves defending their masters. They’re starting to sound like Cigarette manufacturers. Maybe we are addicted to oil after all. :)
Defending Oil Profits - CNN
Today brings a new analogy. “Exxon’s profits are much lower than other companies… it just looks large because Exxon is a large company.” In other words, if Mr. Exxon was running a 7-11, he’d have trouble feeding his family.
Yeah, on planet Klatu, where a slurpy costs $1,500
It doesn’t make sense. Even if Exxon’s profits are relatively smaller than other companies, it just means that Exxon is too big. When a company gets so large that a bad quarter is still the 5th largest profit in history, something has become unbalanced. Remember, capitalism only works when there is “free” competition between companies. What benefit does a cartel of monopolies like ExxonMobil offer an individual like me, or you?

New, Improved! With more FEMA!

Alright, everything they said about creating a new emergency agency made sense. The new director should have direct access to the president when there’s a national emergency… FEMA should still be under the DHS. I’m not as keen on this one, but it’s not too bad. 10 regional offices responsible for regional disaster relief. I like this one… not as many trailers sitting around.
The first thing I thought was that they were just Firestoning the whole thing. Remember all the hub bub from a couple years ago? People driving their SUVs were crashing because they didn’t fill up their tires with enough pressure. Everyone blamed Firestone, with some merit. Lack of maintenance on the owner’s part doesn’t completely cover up a design and manufacturing flaw. Anyway, Bridgestone, parent of Firestone, just changed the brand name of most of their tires. Hey, it won’t explode if it says Dayton on the side, will it? It worked, now Firestone is starting to advertise again after a 5 year hiatus. Do you think 5 years was an arbitrary requiem to greed? Or a suitable time out of the spotlight? Ford still uses Goodyears last time I checked. I suppose Ford will quietly switch back… as Henry reportedly told his good buddy Harvey “I’ll take any tire as long as it’s round and cheap, and it doesn’t even have to be round.” If you’re familiar with the quote, yes, I misquoted it for dramatic effect.
So, what does this all have to do with FEMA being dissolved? How many ways are there to prepare for, and deal with, disasters? No matter what you call it, it will still be FEMA. NEMA (national Emergency Management Agency?) might be a good name. The responsibility will still be the same. After they’re done renaming the agency, I hope they pay some attention to where the rubber meets the road.

E=MC2

I’ve been thinking about plasma, and matter, and energy. SO, what does this equation mean to me? Everyone’s familiar with E=MC2 when it comes to big things like nuclear weapons. A small amount of matter turns into an enormous amount of energy.
The same thing applies to everyday life… it’s just not as obvious. Unlike Uranium or Plutonium, everyday objects want to stay in their current state. An apple is too stable to really make energy out of. If you could, though, there’s enough matter there to create a ton of energy.
Think of the light spectrum. Light at the upper end, reds, etc, are more energetic than the colors at the bottom of the spectrum, blues for instance. As you go lower in the spectrum, the waves become less and less energetic.
In Einstein’s equation, energy and matter are interchangeable. At one point, energy should coalesce into matter. E=MC2 represents the boiling point between matter and energy. Not only the explosive release of energy in a bomb, but also the slow transition from matter to energy and back again. Plasma, like you see in a plasma ball, is something between energy and matter. Plasma glows because the atoms in the ball are constantly losing, then gaining back, electrons. The glow is the energy released. Imagine seeing that out in the universe. What a marvelous thing to see! Sunlight streams from a star, then, coalesces into a dust cloud.

Flowers for Chernobyl

Advocacy site

It’s a cruel joke that flowers grow in abandoned gardens all over town next to reactor 4. Everything looks normal, but the very air is deadly. If you live there, chances are your life is irrevocably shortened.
The accident at Chernobyl is an indictment of…? You decide.
-The pumps that move coolant back and forth in the reactor were powered by the electricity produced by the reactor. When the reactor failed, the power for the pumps also failed. This accelerated the failure; made it inevitable. It was a serious design flaw that’s not allowed in western reactors.
- A test of the coolant system had resulted in an imbalance between the cooling tanks in the reactor. The day shift postponed a scheduled test of the pumps. The night crew wanted to get the test done to put a feather in their caps. When the pumps were turned off, the coolant imbalance made the reactor heat up. Ambition made people cut corners in safety.
- The accident became a unique event when the night crew disregarded protocol and safety rules by pulling all but 6 control rods from the reactor. That’s the point where the reaction got out of control. Everything blew up a little while later. Poor training? The Soviet system was replete with technicians pushed into positions of great responsibility, but little prestige. A good recipe for poorly motivated workers.
So, who do you pin the responsibility on? Everyone and no one, I think. Chernobyl was caused by human nature, as much as anything specific. The designer needed to fix a technical problem, and chose the simplest solution. The technicians had plenty of meltdown close calls before it finally happened for real.
Like so many of us who are responsible for less important things...
We get away with it, until we don’t.
How close did you come to rear-ending that car last week?

My Senate Speech

Given the opportunity to speak before the Senate, what would you say? Say one of your state’s Senators ceded you 5 minutes of debate time to speak on any topic you like. Pretending that I was there, this is how I regaled the dog for 5 minutes.

The vision of our country’s creation is in stark defiance of all human history. As Washington wrote, and speaks to you every year, our nation is an experiment worth taking. As citizens, you and I share a common bond of Nation. Patriotism alone doesn’t describe this bond. We defend against the tyranny of history, and the greed of Man. Washington’s legacy is written in the very air we breathe in this chamber. The notion that free citizens can govern themselves to the benefit of all lies at the heart of our Republic. What benefit have you brought to that vision? How have you fulfilled Washington’s vision of a nation united North, South, Atlantic, and Western? What words would inspire you to see through a new grant of governance to us all? I have only a single voice, but I raise it here, before you all.
Desist from rhetoric, fulfill your charter, and represent your fellow citizens who depend on you for so much. Whether we avoid the fate of the ancient republics depends entirely on you. This trust in our future has been granted to you. Don’t screw it up.

Your Momma, Usama

AlJazeera.net transcript

Hey Bin Laden! What’s that drivel you’re spouting this time? You’re no better than Bush. He lies and distorts the truth to manipulate us. Sounds like what I just read from you. Don’t try to be reasonable with me; you’re not very good at it. Those “subtle” little cues about “the oppressor” don’t make me feel pity for you. That’s life. No one in the world can say they aren’t bound by larger forces. Yes, my government has done questionable things in the past and present. So have you. Don’t moralize with me, we’re both too dirty. Making threats won’t make us go away. You just don’t understand how America works. We would have gone along with something reasonable in 2000. Now, you’re just a butcher. Your days of pontificating to the American people are over. Now, every statement is a threat. You may attack us in the next couple months; you may even influence the outcome of the November elections. You still won’t win in the end. The reason is simple. The people you claim to represent are decent, just as we are here in the USA. Someday, we will reclaim the promise of our creation and cast off the burden that you and Bush represent. I look forward to that time. I don’t think, you will live to see it, but I wish fervently that you could. My wish is that you look out onto a peaceful world from a glass cage. Rot in your cave, Bin Laden.

Truth for Oil

As truth is my muse, those oil pundits make me mad.  Now, I’ve heard two different ones complain about environmental regulations putting an effective moratorium on Refinery building.  Truth is this.  We need refined petroleum products.  We need a clean environment.  We require fuel for our society to prosper.  We require healthy citizens for our society to prosper.  This is the fundamental conflict that oil executives pose whenever they discuss supply and demand… profits, too.  Well, here’s another truth.  Oil companies built the Alaska Pipeline.  One of the largest engineering projects in the world up to that point.  It’s hard to describe the expanses, complexity, and environmental regulations, in play on the pipeline.  It cost billions to build and stretches across an area that is hard to appreciate on most map projections.
Shell oil is capable of investing 5 billion dollars building the Troll offshore oil platform.  That investment has repaid them with current orders worth 120 Billion dollars.  What profit margin could an oil company expect to reap from new refineries?  Probably not much.  It’s true that Environmental issues make new refineries expensive to build.  Every company has cost centers that don’t generate as much profit as others.  Since oil companies own the entire process, from extraction to retail sales, consider refineries a cost center.  Say one new refinery cost $20 Billion dollars to build.  Exxon made more than $36 billion last year.  So, the investment of 8 months’ profit would be required to build our imaginary refinery, or pay for all the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew.  I don’t care how stringent the environmental regulations are, there are still a couple bucks left over to build new refineries.  What possible difference could it make to Exxon’s bottom line?  They’d amortize the construction over 50 years, and they’d be in line for heavy funding from the government.  Even biting the entire thing off in one fiscal year wouldn’t be too bad.  Telling the shareholders that you just made a $16 billion dollar profit last year won’t get any CEO fired.  It would still pay for that crazy retirement package.  It would even pay for some much needed research and development in new energy production.
That’s another thing that really upsets me about our current oil situation.  No matter how legitimate the causes, I’m paying through the nose for gas.  That profit, that dazzling wealth, won’t go one inch towards making a transition towards a new energy source.  Instead, money is lining pockets on an unprecedented scale.  Once we are forced to change from an oil standard to, say, a Hydrogen standard, I’ll STILL be paying through the nose to fill up.  It will just be a new excuse.  Instead of investing these record profits.  Instead of investing a small percentage of these record profits, oil companies will rely on you and me to rework their entire infrastructure to handle Hydrogen.  So, we’ll pay twice, when we shouldn’t have to pay once.

Just do it.doc

Mr. Feingold, Mrs. Slaughter:

I’m writing because you both represent my best hope for the Democratic Party. I just want to make a complaint to management. I’ve copied in the dnc.org web form.

I’m a liberal. I’ve been waiting a long time for the Democrats to do something, anything. When we hear about the opposition party in another country, England, perhaps, they are a vibrant and vocal group. They “Oppose” the majority party. They stand for the minority. One of the founding principles of the US is that the rights and voice of the minority party will be heard. Majority rules. That’s taken for granted in a Republic. When the other 50% of the people are snubbed at the policy table, though, it is the responsibility of the minority party to demand consideration.

When the Patriot Bill renewal was voted on in the senate, it passed 89-10. All of the democrats complained about the more onerous parts of the law, but then didn’t do anything about it! What is the point of talking about something when you refuse to act on your principals? Most of them grumbled all the way down the aisle to vote in favor of the darn thing. The same thing happens on issue after issue. The Republicans make fun of Democrats for not having any beliefs. They’re right!

At what point does compromise cross the line into collusion? What is the point of voting for a democrat who will simply vote the same way as the Republican? Is that Democrat’s angry words outside the Senate chamber enough for you? It isn’t for me. Russ Feingold is right… Censure, Environment, Budget, Homeland Security, Disaster Preparedness, Foreign Policy, Corruption, Gerrymandering, Corporate Influence, Judicial Intimidation, Trade imbalances, National debt, Fiscal Policy, TAKE YOUR PICK! Just do something. How many more issues do Democrats need to campaign on? How many more issues will fall to the conservatives because it isn’t the “Right Time”?

I write, I talk, I think, I VOTE. I fulfill my end of the bargain every day. What weakness in the Democrats makes them incapable of meeting their obligation?

Thanks
James Heaney

They’re Going to get us

Just so you don’t get too wrapped up in contrivances of Mankind, here are some natural threats we all face. Today is the 100th Anniversary of the great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. These disasters are inevitable, just part of the natural processes of our earth. Some are “transitory”, just a few million years. The volcanoes of Hawaii will eventually become dormant as they move further away from the hot spot that created them. Others are just coming into they’re dangerous phase for us little humans. Here’s a short list.

La Palma
This island was created by a unique kind of explosive volcano most of the island is made up of sandy, loose soil. Columns of hard magma split the island down the middle, making large water traps. Every time the volcano erupts, the water super heats. This puts tremendous stress on the magma columns that actually hold up the island. In 1971, part of the island slid about 4 meters towards the see. La Palma is getting ready to skip the mother of all stones across the Atlantic Ocean. The kerplunk will wash a wave over west chester.

Yellowstone Park has such spectacular geological features because the Earth’s molten core is extra close to the surface, heating all the water in the park. All that land is just a cap for an enormous pool of magma. Every 600,000 years, this crust collapses into the magma, creating an eruption. On a scale that none of us humans have ever witnessed.

San Andreas Fault
Sure, California isn’t going to fall off into the Pacific, but it will be crushed under Idaho. The pacific plate, including San Francisco and Los Angeles is slowly sliding under the North American Plate. In the far future, California will slowly get thinner. The area of the San Andreas Fault is so fractured, that it’s hard to predict which particular crack will slip, causing an earthquake. That slipping and cracking is a constant thing, though. Small earthquakes are common place (geologically). Large Earthquakes are inevitable.

Fire with the Frying Pan

CNN Coverage
ABC Coverage

Today brings us another instance of a questionable statement from the president.  ABC  broke the story.  Basically, President Bush has been caught in… well, not lies, exactly.  A mis-statement, perhaps?  How many of them can you remember?  Just in the past 12 months?  I used to work with a guy who “stretched the truth”  He looked at the world through anecdotal eyes.  Once something was “true”, everything bent around him to conform to that notion.
I was driving with him for work.  He kept hinting at a relationship with the lady who answered the phones.  “We need to decide what to do with the fish tank when we move.”  “We’re thinking about getting a dog.”  Pretty obvious that he wanted me to think that he and the help desk lady did service calls after hours.  So, I’m curious, because the Help desk lady had told me that she was engaged… not to droopy.  She’s aghast when I ask her about it.  She hounded me for a week after “Say you’re making it up!”  Evidently, droopy wasn’t Help Desk Lady’s squeeze, but her own personal stalker.  We, ah, set him straight the next day.
Bush seems like the same kind of person to me… not the stalker part, just the stretching part.  I know as well as you that they wanted us to believe a bunch of things that haven’t turned out to be “true”

• Iraq is a few months away from launching nuclear tipped missiles at Europe


• Noone knew that the Levies would be overtopped


• Putin is an honorable guy


• Saddam Hussein helped the 9/11 terrorists.


• Several others

It’s not that the administration is getting caught in bald faced lies every week.  They’re getting caught in stupid little lies all the time.  They’re lying about things that they know they’ll get caught on, but they don’t care.  It’s more important to make the world look right than it is to BE right.  Getting Droopy to drop the whole stalker thing took an intervention of Drug-like intensity.  Who does the intervention if the President is addicted to stretching the truth?

38

Well, I’m 38… had to count it up this morning.  1968.  I look at the TV, and the picture’s just better.  The topic is the same.  Mass protests in the streets, emptying cities into the streets to protest.  I heard on that TV that they were all illegal aliens.  Sorry, you don’t fill the streets of over 100 cities and towns with illegals.  Citizens are genuinely angered by our policies toward immigrants.  The same talking head complained that the rage of the far left had spread into the middle.  That anger is spreading because there are good reasons for it to spread.  It’s not just the tree-huggers that are mad now.  The introverted liberal is starting to talk with friends, write on a blog.  These small reverberations are swelling out of every city.  Well, 100 of them, at least.
We’re seeing a social movement in its infancy.  This is the same kind of outrage that led to Ghandi’s independence movement and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Civil rights movement.  Of course, these two men do not encompass the totality of their causes.  They are iconic leaders that embody the best notions of peace and justice.  Without a leader, or a group of leaders, the immigration reform movement may wither under the many competing strategies.  I hope that a peaceful movement grows out of these demonstrations.  The most successful vehicles for social change have always been peaceful.  It’s the nature of our society.  We’re hungry for peace, fearful of change, and not nearly as bad as you might think we are.

Dear John Gibson

John, I found myself disagreeing with you on a recent occasion. In the classic style, and over the top, I will now flame you ;)

What Carnival gopher hole did Flock of Seagulls whack Eddy Munster over the head to come up with your gnarled countenance?
What Orwellian nightmare molded your thoughts into your current dali-esque view of the world? (I’ll refrain from anymore “your momma jokes”)
A rat, replete with sensors plugged into its brain, can still winnow its way through the simple maze to that small grain of cheesy truthiness. Tell me I’m wrong.

Only the twisted logic of a dog dragging its butt over a carpet can spew such nonsense as I heard last night. That felony towards civility was inflicted on me by YOU, sir.
I find you deficient in view, breadth, and percipience.
You’re a mean one, Mister Grinch. Tell me I’m Wrong

My ire is nearly spent, so I’ll spare you my denouement. Besides, O’Reilly is on in a little while :)

Gospel of Judas

I just read  the Gospel of Judas for the first time.  Wow.  It makes a case for one of the most reviled characters in history.  Oh, yeah, get ready for the end of the world, too.
The name Judas evokes so many images for me.  For you, too, I think.  He represents fundamental iconography in our society.  Now he says he didn’t do it.

Judas describes several conversations with Jesus about the creation and end of Humanity.  There is a lot of dense talk about Aeons, angels, Realms and such.  I’ll have to read that part again.  Jesus describes a perfect generation, a fulfillment of Man.  That’s when Saklos’ time of rule will come to an end, and the world will end with it.  Like I said, I have to read it again.
Jesus asks Judas to turn him into the Romans.  That’s the bombshell.  Judas protests, but Jesus convinces him.  Jesus tells Judas that future generations will revile him… until the time before the perfect generation, when Judas’ true role in Jesus’ death will be revealed.  

The finding of this gospel is in itself a revelation of Judas’ true role in the crucifixion.

According to this gospel, we’re very close to the end times.  This poses a real problem for the evangelicals.  End times theology is an integral part of their faith.  The gospel of Judas, though?  That would be like letting Cindy Sheehan guest lecture at the mega church.  So far, everyone I’ve asked, who cares, has rejected this testimony out of hand.  I’m curious to see how they feel after reading it a couple times.  I wonder how I’ll feel after reading it a couple times.
I can’t wait ‘til the Jehovah’s Witnesses knock on my door again.

Scooter with Square Wheels

When Scooter Libby said in court that President Bush authorized the release of Valerie Plame’s CIA identity, I was surprised. I thought it was Rove all the time. This fits a little crookedly, but I’ll run with it until more info comes out.

I don't think it matters which person in the inner circle leaked this. This group moves like a flock. As contentious as congress is, the Executive branch has been pretty organized. Sure, I think they’re making mistakes, but they’re jumping in all together. That kind of solidarity has been rare in recent administrations.

The Administration’s intention WAS to quell Wilson's article.
The Administration’s intention IS to get away with it.

They’re getting hit kind of hard by Scooter Libby’s testimony. If nothing else, it points that media spotlight on this thing. They tried to declassify Valerie Plame’s record. They’re locking the barn door after the horses have run away again. Declassifying the information after the fact isn't a time machine and doesn't make it right.

I remember Bush saying, in very strong terms, that anyone who knowingly leaked Plame’s identity would be fired. Where does this leave us? Even if it turns out to be all above board, Bush is still yanking our chain. It happens time after time. I’m tired of it, because nothing he says is above scrutiny. He stood up in a press conference and said that the insurgents were getting direct aid from Iran. The reporters naturally asked the general standing nearby what proof he had. He had never heard of it.

Ethics

Hey Tom Delay!  What’s with that thing you said last night about Cynthia Mckinney?  Did I hear that right?  If the House ethics committee doesn’t start an investigation of her, you’ll introduce the idea to them? WHAT?! Pots, Kettles, black…
You may have been high-fiving your staffers, but you’re not going to have nearly as many friends as you did a couple days ago.  The closer the trial gets, the less you’ll have.  I had a ball listening to your tin-plated threats yesterday.  You were like the talk show Santa Claus.  I saw you every hour on the hour.  They didn’t sell the war as hard as you’re trying to sell yourself right now…  Collar starting to feel a little tight?
So, you’re going to make sure that the house is operating under ethical guidelines for the next two months?  Until you leave because you’ve been indicted in Texas?
By the way, that came from an interview you gave to Hannity and Colmes 04-05-06.

I couldn’t believe I heard right.  In a political body like the house, your power is measured by the influence you wield.  Tom’s talking like he just accepted the Majority Leader position again… not tucking his tail between his legs.  That takes chutzpa.  I’ll give him that.  I can laugh at what he says because I know he’ll be in Duke Cunningham’s shoes in a couple years.
He can put the same spin out on TV over and over again.
He can cling to the evangelicals all he wants.
He can give the same Mega-Church speech 100 times.
But,
For every day he’s offended our sense of justice, he’ll spend another playing chess with “Bubba”.

Rock, Paper, Scissors, HAMMER!

So, Tom “The Hammer” Delay is quitting.
Not only will he not be seeking re-election in 2006.
Not only will he be vacating his congressional seat within two months.
He WILL be moving out of the state!  From Texas to Virginia.
That’s like the Lone Ranger telling Tonto that he wants to Drop out and Tune in.
That’s like Scooby letting Shaggy have the Scooby treats.
That’s like Duke Cunningham Demanding his day in court.
Oh, yeah.  Remember that one?  The Duke-Stir stood in front of the Capitol building demanding a speedy trial, so he could go back to the people’s business.  8 months later, he’s crying in front of a courthouse.  Delay’s announcement had that same ring to it.
Mad, with a nervous twitch.  He knows this is the big one.  He could really go to jail over this.  Being a martyr isn’t nearly as fun as getting away with it.
I guess he still has the diehard neo cons batting for him, right?  Not so much.  Unless they change their tune, most of the neo-con hierarchy is trying to look busy.  I think he’ll get support from the “Religious Right”.  He all but put out the Bat signal asking for help “from his faith”.  Look for a lot more “War on Christianity” stuff coming out this summer.
Not a bad idea, actually.  Delay can rely on a large grassroots organization to move mountains for him.  He’ll need it, too.  They call him “The Hammer” because he’s wielded power in Washington in a Big Stick kind of way.  His friends rally to him because they owe him something, not out of loyalty.  Abermoff looks like the vehicle for those favors.  The Texas State Legislature was the mark.  It was an intricate loop of financing and politics.  Shakespeare had something to say about getting tangled up in one’s own lies.  Now that it’s coming at him from both the financial and political sides, Delay doesn’t have a lot of wiggle room.  His best angle may be to play the ultra Neo-Con Religious poster boy.  Until he stands in front of a courthouse crying over a statement.

Jill Carroll Release statement

Jill Carroll released a statement about her captivity today.

CNN Coverage
FoxNews Coverage
Christian Science Monitor Coverage

I’m glad to see that Jill has addressed all the critics out there. I’m still puzzled over the criticism she’s received. What did she do but get kidnapped? What is there to criticize? I would have read Barney Lyrics to get out that situation. We’ve seen other kidnap victims make similar statements. Many of them are criticized for not… what? “Toughing it Out”? The folks who are so vehement should try seeing the world with a little more compassion. Compassion, after all, was the reason that Jill went to Iraq in the first place.

Jill Carroll

Wow, Fox News is starting to realize that they don’t like Jill Carroll.
The tenor of Fox’s coverage has been changing since Jill Carroll’s release. At first, they were just quizzical that she was wearing headwear. In Iraq. Being interviewed by an Islamic TV reporter. Receiving a Koran from the Ambassador. What should she wear? A NASCAR T-shirt?

Today, Fox is extending the metaphor. Sure, some of Jill’s statements are parroted propaganda. Fox is whitewashing everything Jill has to say, though. I can only assume that they’ve read some of her articles. Now, her “liberal” views are just part of the terrorist brain-washing campaign. John Gibson is already writing articles about it. He’s speculating about Stockholm syndrome and North Korea style brain washing. Come on John. She still has important things to say. She dedicated herself to the Iraqi People; telling their story. Don’t just dismiss it all as brain washing because she doesn’t agree with US policies in Iraq.

It loosely ties in with the message that Liberals love the terrorists. We’re characterized as weak. None of us can really evaluate terrorism or security policy because we’re “under their spell” to one degree or another.

When Jill Carroll eventually comes out with her book or does an interview, they have the perfect counter message queued up.
The Fox weekend miniskirts seemed aghast that Jill Carroll’s treatment could make her so un-American. Sounded like Pity with a dash of Disgust. I guess they practice on the bum outside their health club.

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