The Blue State

Sydney parties hard

Our friends in Sydney, Australia brought in the New Year a few hours ago in style:

Video: Rumsfeld's on-air mishap of the year

If you are part of the Administration and cannot even sell your story to a conservative like O'Reilly, then you've got a problem.  Yesterday the O'Reilly Factor replayed an interview with our Defense Secretary from a few months ago.  Here is a short clip:

Click to watch clip >>> (Windows Media Player)

I must say that this was probably O'Reilly's most objective moment of the entire year.  Rumsfeld, on the other hand, not so good.  Just in case you are unable to watch the video, here is the transcript of Rumsfeld basically saying that America is "better off" because we made "the mistake" about weapons of mass destruction:

RUMSFELD: "As the President said recently, we have not found the weapons of mass destruction.  But that was a mistake we couldn't make.  You could not be mistaken on that."

O'REILLY: "But we did make the mistake."

RUMSFELD: "Well, the world's vastly better off because we did."

Try telling that to all the families of soldiers that have lost their lives.  Here's some advice Mr. Rumsfeld.  Say we made a mistake, say you made a mistake, and then say he American people deserve better.  Say that we are there now because we need to finish the job for democratic reasons.  Don't even talk about weapons of mass destruction.  When you do, it further erodes public faith in political leaders that make the ultimate decision to send their sons and daughters into harm's way.  That is not a good precedent.  Next time we need to use military action, we need to make sure that the public is behind the decision.  Rumsfeld is not helping things.

Exclusion in Iraq continues

The moderate magazine the Christian Science Monitor magazine acknowledged that the meeting between Kurds and Shiites this week excluded the Sunnis.

How come all this is happening after we can do anything about it?  Does the Pentagon not comprehend what is going to happen in Iraq if the Sunnis are not included in the government?  This is really frustrating, especially for Democrats like me that are against pulling our troops out immediately and want to see this whole thing work.

Video: Kerry takes credit for John Edwards's boldness

Yesterday CNN aired an interview from a few months ago with former presidential candidate John Kerry.  Other than losing his temper with Wolf Blitzer a few times, he appeared as though he indirectly parted ways with running mate John Edwards right after his election loss:

Click to watch clip >>> (Windows Media Player)

When asked to respond to John Edwards's admission that he was wrong about weapons of mass destruction and that he takes personal responsibility for that vote, instead of congratulating Edwards for being the first one to do so, Kerry said, "I said that before Senator Edwards wrote that."

Actually, I don't think so.  I challenge one person to find a statement from John Kerry that says he would not have voted 'nay' on the war resolution if he knew what he knows today.  And I remember when Edwards wrote that article, and I thought about how he was one of the first to be that bold and accept some responsibility. 

It's misleading to tell everyone that you would be a great alternative to Bush when you suffer from the same problem as the President: the inability to show some humility.  John Kerry these days sounds more like a grumpy old man than presidential material.  He is a smart guy and I admire him a lot.  But please John, don't run for President in 2008.  You make a very decent Senator.

Video: Gibson and O'Reilly get mad at Olbermann simply for quoting them

I recorded this clip a few days ago, but thought it would be best if I waited until the end of the year to post it.  It's that time, so here we are.  Keith Olbermann is finding himself in a bit of a feud with both Bill O'Reilly and John Gibson of FOX News because the MSNBC host quoted them making embarrassing statements.  As predicted, O'Reilly and Gibson responded with personal attacks, as most people caught off-guard would do.  Well, now it's Olbermann's turn to respond.

Sit back and relax.  You're going to like this:

Click to watch >>> (Windows Media Player)

Olbermann simply quoted John Gibson saying that those who aren't Christian will "have to answer for following the wrong religion."  Gibson flipped out.  Olbermann responded.  End of story, you ask?  We shall see in 2006.  But it goes to show that FOX News would rather hire a right-wing ideologue to pretend to be fair and balanced than find a truly objective host to fill that time slot in their daytime programming.

Corrupt guys finish first

It's only too fitting that the crooked man that fabricated intelligence to American reporters and was on the Pentagon payroll has now been named Iraq's Oil Minister.  Ahmed Chalabi, the Washington Post reports this morning, will fill the slot even though he did horribly in the Iraqi elections.  But with his deep-rooted connections in the government, we will be seeing this guy's name for a long time.

Chalabi will have a lot of work to accomplish, says the BBC:

Although billions of dollars have been spent oninfrastructure since Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled, fuel andelectricity production have not reached the levels maintained beforethe invasion.

Where did those billions go?  Actually, one should ask where the hundreds of millions worth of American taxpayer dollars went that Halliburton still cannot account for?

Video: Who said politics wasn't entertaining?

On last night's MSNBC show "Countdown", host Keith Olbermann presented the funniest presidential bloopers of the television era.  Everything from Dan Quayle's spelling problem to Al Gore's make-out session with Tipper at the Democratic National Convention is there.  Although, I think they went a little easy on Bush, after all there are countless mess-ups on his part over the last five years.  In fact, I own a calendar that presents a funny daily Bush quote.  But no one is perfect.  Here is Olbermann's "I am a jelly donut" blooper montage:

Click to watch >>> (Windows Media Player)

With all the humor in politics, thank God for "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart.  Here is a compilation from Dubyaspeak.com of the funniest Bush quotes of 2005:

• "And yet, 60 years ago, my dad fought against the Japanese -- manyof your relatives did, as well. They were the sworn enemy of the UnitedStates. I find it amazing -- I don't know if you find it amazing -- Ifind it amazing that I sit down with this guy [this guy = JapanesePrime Minister Koizumi], strategizing about how to make the world amore peaceful place when my dad and others fought him." (December 12, 2005)
• "This is an urban environment. Right over here is Juarez. Andpeople are able to easily come into the border - into Texas, in thispart of - in part of the border." (November 29, 2005)
• "That's what -- in other words, they have a strategy. Weunderstand that. And we have a strategy. And part of the strategy is tocall free nations together to form a coalition, to share informationand to find people before they hurt." (September 22, 2005)
• "Adam, I think about Iraq every day -- every single day -- becauseI understand we have troops in harm's way... [seconds later] And so,you know, I think about this every day -- every single day -- and willcontinue thinking about it, because I understand we've got kids inharm's way." (June 20, 2005)
• "And the second way to defeat the terrorists is to spread freedom.You see, the best way to defeat a society that is -- doesn't have hope,a society where people become so angry they're willing to becomesuiciders, is to spread freedom, is to spread democracy." (June 8, 2005)
• "It's in our country's interests to find those who would do harm to us and get them out of harm's way." (April 28, 2005)
• "The United States and the U.S. stand together in support of the Iraqi people and the new Iraqi government, which will soon come into action." (February 22, 2005)
• WASHINGTON POST: "Why do you think bin Laden has not been caught?"
  DUBYA: "Because he's hiding." (January 14, 2005)

Have a happy new year everyone!

Choosing your battles wisely

Amazing how the White House is so aggressive in getting the Justice Department to investigate the leak of the top secret spying program to the press, yet so evasive in cooperating with the other leak investigation.  A White House spokesman said late yesterday:

"The fact is that Al Qaeda's playbook is not printed on Page 1, andwhen America's is, it has serious ramifications. You don't need to beSun Tzu to understand that."

Wait, I thought they weren't supposed to comment on an ongoing investigation!

When the ball drops, there will be a lot to achieve in the new year

(Courtesy of Milt Priggee, Skagit Valley Herald, Cagle Cartoons)

The last straw in the case against Reaganomics

Everyone wants our economy to prosper.  Hopefully in the next five years we can echo the massive Dow and NASDAQ gains that took place between 1997 and 2000.  But it likely won't happen.  President Bush keeps on telling us like a broken record that our economy has turned the corner and is on the right track.  If it is on the right track, then why has the Dow Jones decreased in value over the course of the last year, as an MSNBC article this afternoon said?  The Dow Jones started 2005 at 10,783.01, and ended at 10,717.50.

But it's not just the short-term that is worrisome.  In March of 2001, the Dow Jones was higher than it closed today.  Look below for yourself:

Even though I did take both Macro and Microeconomics, I do not have a major in that department.  So I will not pretend to be an expert.  But I am a political science major, and I have been part of the continuing debate over the modern-day Republican fiscal policy.  The argument put forth by the Reagan-era intellectuals, many of which are still working in the Executive Branch, is that Reaganomics is the best supply-side way to grow the economy and create jobs.  For their sake, I'll agree that it does create jobs -- even if they are low-end jobs that don't lift people out of poverty.  But as the chart above illustrates, the stock market responded better to Clinton's fiscal policy than the one implemented under Bush-43.

Yes, yes, I know: we were attacked.  Of course were were.  As a result, the psychological shock-wave helped send our market into recession in 2001.  But it has been almost five years since those attacks.  What has Reaganomics done for us since then besides increasing the deficit, increasing the burden on the middle class, and giving more than one-third of the tax cuts to the richest 1% during a time when we are trying to pay for a war? 

It comes as little surprise that no Republican President has balanced the budget since Richard Nixon did in 1968.  He may have been a corrupt leader.  But on a positive note, at least Nixon new how to manage our Treasury without mortgaging the future of the young generation.

So with all that said, why aren't the Democrats talking enough about the economy?  The media keeps concluding that the economy is the GOP's strong point.  Why?  It's our domain, and we will make it an issue in 2006 so that in the Congressional midterms voters will know which is the more fiscally responsible party.