Daily Music Selection“I [Ralph Nader] asked Bruce Fein, an associate deputy attorney general under Ronald Reagan, constitutional rights litigator, author of books and articles and many Congressional testimonies on the imperial presidency, and its unlawful penchant for Empire, for his reaction. Here is his response: ‘Former President Bush’s selective memoir is a little like Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark. With the exception of authorizing waterboarding, a form of torture, Bush neglects his serial vandalizing of the Constitution and the federal criminal code: five years of illegal surveillances of Americans on American soil; a war against Iraq without proper authorization by Congress; illegal detentions of enemy combatants without accusation or trials; hundred of unconstitutional signing statements professing an intent to refuse to faithfully execute the laws; unconstitutional defiance of congressional subpoenas; and, employing unilateral executive agreements to circumvent the treaty authority of the Senate over military commitments.” ‘Despite his constitutional literacy, President Obama has balked at faithful execution of the laws against torture, warrantless spying on Americans, or obstruction of justice perpetrated by Bush and his servile minions. On that score, Obama resembles President Nixon, who was impeached by the House Judiciary Committee and forced to resign for sneering at his constitutional…
By W.B. Dunne Here is an example of a statement that the NP thinks typifies the right-wing subterfuge of our discourse: (h/t to Crooks and Liars) Matt Kibbe: “Well I think if you look at whats happened down there, its a sad story of government incompetence as well as negligence on the part of BP. And I think what you have to look at is when there is a natural disaster like this we do expect our government to do some things and to do them well. And the whole point of limited government is you want the government to be competent at those few things that we need it to do and this is an example where the government was asleep at the switch and theres a series of regulations that led to deep drilling as opposed to more economical and safer options.” Take a look at that first sentence Always CYA with I think, in case down the road you need to say, I USED to think to escape enhanced techniques of interrogation! “Well I think if you look at whats happened down there, its a sad story of government incompetence as well as negligence on the part…
In the spirit of the late Mike Royko’s Slats Grobnik, here are comments from the unFoxed Vox Populi: – L.A. Mike, who was born and lived in Los Angeles for most of his life, on the Republicans paying $2K for simulated lesbian bondage at the Voyeur Club: “What wrong with those dudes? It’s really stupid. For half that price in L.A. you could rent a motel room, hire a couple of hookers, see the same show up close and join in if you felt like it. You’d even have enough left for a bottle of some primo liquor. That’s really a stupid waste of money.” – V.J., a small business owner for over 20 years, on Obama’s tax plan: “I’m a middle-class small business owner and everybody was telling me, ‘watch out, Obama’s gonna raise your taxes!’ I just got my tax forms back from my accountant and I’m paying $800 less this year than last, and he specifically said it was thanks to two deductions Obama put through. If this is Obama’s big tax increase for the middle-class, keep it coming!” – Anna, who worked in state government for 20 years, on Sarah Palin: “I don’t get it …
By W.B. Dunne I dont know who these guys are, but they are discussing things! (Lightly edited for readability.) Re: Good News survey Date: 2010-03-14, 10:39PM Thanks for the first semi-civil response [to] Good News! I see I am gaining ground with you. I am more than happy to engage in this sort of positive exchange, and we may see me receive my ambassadorship yet! 1. Do you believe in ‘spread the wealth’? I believe in widespread generosity and the existence of a social safety net for those unable to contribute. I certainly agree with the enforcement of the tax code that requires fair and equitable contributions by all citizenry, especially corporations, to provide for the needed infrastructure and public projects. There needs to be a solution to the reality that allows 2/3′s of US companies paying zero tax via loopholes. I believe in the taxes collected being used to lift the condition of the citizenry through education, to provide for defense, law enforcement, and healthcare. I certainly believe that the pre-Eisenhower tax brackets are fair and should be re-imposed. (Keep in mind that this is more money than you and I will ever make.) Yes, I believe in the…
