This country was founded on liberal principles.--Robert Reich on Hannity & Colmes.

Au contraire, Mr. Walking Talking Safety Net.

Isn't it interesting that as our Senators held yet another hearing (Anti-Bush pep rally) and then didn't bother to question Army Major Gen. Antonio M. Taguba. Yup, he was to testify before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday, May 11, 2004, in Washington. Taguba is the author of a Pentagon report that found numerous "sadistic, blatant and wanton criminal abuses" at Abu Ghraib, a U.S.-run prison complex near Baghdad, Iraq. Instead they one-by-one launched into anti-policy, anti-Bush screeds.

And if that wasn't counter-productive and boring enough, WILK once again chose to carry the latest anti-Bush hearing rather than sticking with The Sue Henry Show. Silly muckers. More torture. Rather than listening to Sue, I get stuck with John McCain's sniveling voice and Ted Kennedy's drool-a-thon. Thank Allah the homeowner intervened and filled my ear while Teddy Kennedy and the boys droned on and pretended that 'Strip Twister' was a form of sadistic torture.

I'm curious. Isn't swimming away from a car and leaving a young girl to drown a form of sadistic torture? Or would that technically be a form of murder? Nevermind.

And the big guns in the media business neglected to mention that the following senators, all except for one being Democrats, were notified of the criminal abuses at Abu Ghraib as early as February.

They would be Senators Jack Reed, Mark Dayton, Robert Byrd, Bill Nelson, Evan Bayh, Mark Pryor, Edward Kennedy, Benjamin Nelson, Hillary Clinton, Joseph Lieberman, Daniel Akaka, Paul Sarbanes, John D. Rockefeller, Governor Mark Warner and Rep. Roscoe Bartlett. And despite the Pentagon having released a press statement on January 16 announcing that alleged abuses were being investigated, those very same senators were supposedly blind-sided by the pictures and abuses from Iraq. There's a little-used word in politics that would aptly describe them: Liars. Political grandstanders. The lone exception being Joe Lieberman who was one of the few voices of reason while Kennedy led his anti-Bush shock troops in battle. Ooops. I mean into the "hearing."

So who's next to be called to a "fact-finding" hearing? The President's personal barber?

I keep telling wifey...

...that these terrorist cornholers get way, way too much credit from the talking heads on the video advertising box. Sorry kiddies, but you don't need a degree from a correspondence school to dip an M-80 into glue, roll it in BBs, repeat that process over and over, and then toss the step-mother of all bombs into a church full of dozing sinners. They may be diabolical, but they aren't cunning and they're not freaking geniuses. Quite the contrary. They are the holiest of the murderous sociopaths and that's about it.

Was it a stroke of genius to blow up a few trains in Spain on the eve of a presidential election? Did that prove that we're somehow overmatched? Or did it do more to prove that Europeans are prone to seat-wetting when directly attacked?

A lady in Kingston told me today that these terrorists can grab us at any moment and we could end up just like that Berg kid from Philly. So...stay out of their usual haunts and visit Virginia Beach instead. What a freakin' knee-slapper. Oh, no! Are you saying that Gage and I shouldn't visit Tikrit this summer? Dammit! Actually, we have folks like those holy sociopaths right here in this country. It's funny though. In this country they are called serial killers. In the Middle East, as in many other rapidly slipping spots on the globe, they're referred to as Muslims. Hmmm. And we execute the f**kers over here, right?

So are the terrorists too smart for us? Lemme see. As a country, we were contemplating a mass suicide after seeing the naked Iraqi photos and the geniuses went and sharpened up the Ginsu knife. I guess they mistakenly figured that if they went and sawwed some kid's head off and blamed it on the prisoner abuses, that'd be enough incentive for Teddy Kennedy to stay sober and continue attacking Bush clear through to election day. And while our senators were spewing venom at General Taguba, they were notified that an American kid had been beheaded on videotape for all of Islam to enjoy. Rutro! Time to put the brakes to the political hate speech, get Teddy a bottle of two, and seek out some polling numbers before even considering a resumption of the attacks on the president.

And despite all of the prowess the terrorists supposedly possess, the numbers are saying that the terrorists went and f**ked-up again. Nearly everyone I've encountered since the Berg video was released to the world are talking about carpet bombing key points east of here and due west of Pakistan. As a nation we were more than willing to beat ourselves up all by ourselves. And then the holy sociopaths went to hacking again. And in response, many Americans are saying it's now time to take the gloves off, put the politics on hold, and get this war over with already. Can't say I blame 'em much. How do you break up a Bingo game in Iraq?

Yell B-52.

Hey...I was right for once. From the e-mail inbox:

*******.......you are well advised to be enthusiastic about creeping phlox, aka "Mountain Pinks." The plant spreads nicely (somewhat slower than you've been led to believe, but covers a lot of ground over a few seasons). It's in bloom about now, for about two weeks and is gorgeous. Then, it remains neat and green, never higher than 2-3" thus never needs mowing, chokes out weeds, is disease- and insect-resistant. Doesn't look brown & ugly during winter, and springs back to life late Feb., early Mar.

West Nanticoke Dude*******

That's it, baby! Get the mayor on the phone. I finally went and got me a city job: Manager of the Phlox Department. Yeehaw!

Seriously though, it sure as heck beats cutting grass that stands four feet high.

Have you ever...

...been inside of the infamous call center? You know, THE call center. Mcg's call center. I've never been in there before today and I doubt that very many city residents have seen the inside of that cavernous facility, even though they are all paying dearly for it. Well, wonder no more.

It's freakin' HUGE in there. It's like being inside of Madison Square Garden without having to feel total embarrassment for that pint-sized asshole, Spike Lee. If he ever jumped up on a ladder and got in my face, I'd have my little sister kick the bullsh*t out of him.

Any-mucka-muck, the call center is an example of mucho wasted space. Instead of the gymnasium effect, an entire second floor could have been constructed within it's rather large confines. But, then again, consider who oversaw that project. Heyna? We're probably lucky it hasn't collapsed, exploded and sunk into a fiery pit never to be seen again much like Carrie's house after she killed John Travolta and damn near everyone else she encountered.

I dropped by there about 1:30 this afternoon to see how the volunteer flag assembly program was going for this weekends rapidly approaching Healing Field kick-off. At that point, the crowd was sparse at best and comprised mostly of senior citizens. At that point, a rabbit's foot seemed like our best option.

I rolled back down there around 4:30 pm and was hailed by a tired-looking Sign Dude, a.k.a. Larry, who was sitting on the tail of a U-Haul truck rented to transport the 4,000 flags or so. As it turned out, the place filled up with lots more volunteers and the flags are assembled and ready for Saturday morning. I wandered in there for a few pics and the crew at that point was dominated by teenagers at that point.

Now all we need is for enough people to volunteer to parade 1,500 flags to Kirby Park at 9 am, Saturday morning. Hint! Hint!

Ross Street firehouse. 9 am. Be there.

As I continue to babble, even more folks are installing the rebar at Kirby Park that will hold the flags in place come Saturday.

To date...

... I have not seen anything in the local papers, but May 9-May 15 is National Police Week, which is a tribute to all law enforcement officers both past and present. Rather than calling SAYSO and repeating some ridiculously ancient cliche that no longer applies, why not surprise the hell out of them and do something nice for them for once. What the hell, drop off a dozen...er... a dozen packs of Juicy Fruit chewing gum at headquarters. Or treat them to a kind and supportive word or two when they hit Turkey Hill for a Gatorade and a dozen...er...a dozen cans of Kodiak.

No foolin' this time. They are the only folks standing between you and the drug-dealing folks that recently relocated here from the Jamaica section of Queens. Let them know we appreciate their being there for us.

Wowie Zowie! Bike Frame Dude now has his own web site. Want a customized, one-of-a-kind bicyclette? It awaits you in downtown Wilkes-Barre at Around Town Bicycles. Ask for Rich Adams. And ask him about "The Grundik."

While we're doing bikes, we might as well take a sneak peek at SNAKE's new bike.

Whoa Boy! If you're currently collecting unemployment, forget that benefits extension the Democrats were promising. The measure failed by one vote, with only one senator failing to vote on it. That senator? The one constantly trying to talk down the economy. The AWOL senator? John "Flip-Flop" Kerry.

So remember. If your benefits run out and Rent-A-Center comes looking to repossess your 21 billion jiggawatt boom-box-it's all George Bush's fault. Just as long as we're clear on that. It's Bush's fault.

He eats newborn babies. Did you know that?

What the hay? Let's piss-off Ethel once again. She freakin' hates NewsMax.com with a passion 'cause it doesn't cowtow to her usual heroes-the frustrated communists. I'm sorry, did I say communists? Sorry about that. The 'frustrated quasi-moderates' during an election year and frustrated communists during every other year. Heyna? Every four years, they gotta lie and move toward the center. Otherwise, liberals/socialists don't have a chance at the polls. They gotta pretend they're something they're not.

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Kerry Fails to Extend Jobless Benefits

Because Sen. John Kerry keeps refusing to show up for the job for which he is still on the taxpayers' dole, the Democrats today failed in their election-year ploy to extend federal jobless benefits yet again despite the booming economy.

The Senate rejected the stunt by one vote. The only one of the 100 lawmakers not voting was Kerry, who deemed it more important to attack the president in the Bush stronghold of Kentucky.

Although Democrats didn't gripe about the 5.6 percent unemployment rate when Bill Clinton was running for re-election in 1996, now they claim the same rate is a tragedy.

"Keep our social compact, and extend these needed unemployment benefits," blubbered Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., noted the economy's recent addition of 900,000 jobs and said, "The employment picture in this country is looking up, by any measure."

'Pretend'

Here's what Kerry had to say today in Louisville about the unemployed: "We can't just stand back and pretend that they aren't struggling."

Political consultant Dane Strother told the Associated Press: "He needs to understand he's probably not connecting with anyone outside that room."

Note to Sen. Baucus: Why not direct your wrath at your work-shirking colleague from Massachusetts? If you can find him, that is.

Note to Kerry: You so seldom show your face at work, perhaps it's time for you to stop accepting your big fat salary and instead apply for jobless benefits. Especially now that the lines are so short.

Hee! Hee!

CYA