Clipmarks | BartendingBear's 'bush administration' clips

A Nation of Village Idiots

Sat, 20 Sep 2008 00:58:25 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Thanks, Phil Gramm. No better than a shill at a three card monty table on the sidewalk.

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Don't let them tell you this economic meltdown is a complicated mess. It's not. Our national financial crisis is readily understood by anyone who has seen greed and hypocrisy.

Conservative Republicans always want the government to stay out of business and avoid regulation as long as they are making lots of money. When their greed, however, gets them into a fix, they are the first to cry out for rules and laws and taxpayer money to bail out their businesses. Obviously, Republicans are socialists. The Bush administration has decided to socialize the debt of the big Wall Street Firms. Taxpayers didn't get to enjoy any of the big money profits on the phony financial instruments like derivatives or bundled sub-prime paper, but we get the privilege of paying for their debt and failures.

The public bailout of

AIG is estimated at $85 billion. According to one report, that's more than the Bush administration spent on Aid to Families with Dependent Children during his entire time in office.

BushCo Continues To Expand Govt. Secrecy

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:41:18 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: You don't need to know. Shut-up and PAY!

Clip Source: www.prwatch.org

A coalition of "consumer and good government groups, librarians, environmentalists, labor leaders, journalists, and others," OpenTheGovernment.org, has found that secrecy by the Bush administration continues to expand. The top twenty-five government departments in terms of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests all continued to carry serious backlogs. In 2007 there was a two percent increase in FOIA requests over 2006, as well as a decrease in the number of documents declassified. "These trends indicate that citizens will have to wait even longer to know what their government is doing," said Patrice McDermott, Director of OpenTheGovernment.org. Government secrecy is also expensive for taxpayers. "The report estimated the government spent almost $200 to maintain secrets for every dollar the government spent declassifying documents, a five percent increase over the 2006 ratio."

The current administration continues to refuse to be held accountable to the public.

Does Bush Believe McCain Was Tortured?

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:22:16 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: What a bunch of ass-fucks BushCo is, John McSame included.

Clip Source: andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com

In all the discussion of John McCain's recently recovered memory of a religious epiphany in Vietnam, one thing has been missing. The torture that was deployed against McCain emerges in all the various accounts. It involved sleep deprivation, the withholding of medical treatment, stress positions, long-time standing, and beating. Sound familiar?

According to the Bush administration's definition of torture, McCain was therefore not tortured.

Cheney denies that McCain was tortured; as does Bush

These torture techniques are, according to the president of the United States, merely "enhanced interrogation."

No war crimes were committed against McCain.

so the false confessions that McCain was forced to make were, according to the logic of the Bush administration, as accurate as the "intelligence" we have procured from "interrogating" terror suspects.

When they are used against future John McCains, the victims will know,

that their own government has no moral standing to complain.

Bush Library Donations - Selling Highest Level Access

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 13:33:34 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Diplomatic Contacts For Sale - Cheap! Inquire Within

Clip Source: thinkprogress.org

The Sunday Times reports Stephen Payne, a Bush pioneer and a political appointee to the Homeland Security Advisory Council, was caught on tape offering access to key members of the Bush administration inner circle in exchange for “six-figure donations to the private library being set up to commemorate Bush’s presidency.”

In an undercover video, Payne is seen promising to arrange a meeting for an exiled leader of Krygystan with Dick Cheney or Condoleezza Rice. (Not President Bush because “he doesn’t meet with a lot of former Presidents these days,” Payne says. “I don’t think he meets with hardly anyone.”) All it will take for him to arrange this high-level meeting, says Payne, is “a couple hundred thousand dollars, or something like that”:

PAYNE: The exact budget I will come up with. But it will be somewhere between $600,000 and $750,000, with about a third of it going directly to the Bush library. […]

Watch the startling video here.

Tags: it, doesn't, get, any, more, scummy, than, this

Bush & Friends May Still Hang Together - Literally

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 05:12:36 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: If Congress won't do it, working lawyers and academia will.

Clip Source: www.abajournal.com

The dean of Massachusetts School of Law at Andover is planning a September conference to map out war crimes prosecutions, and the targets are President Bush and other administration officials.

The dean, Lawrence Velvel, says in a statement that “plans will be laid and necessary organizational structures set up, to pursue the guilty as long as necessary and, if need be, to the ends of the Earth."

Other possible defendants, he said, include federal judges and John Yoo, the former Justice Department official who wrote one of the so-called torture memos.

“We must insist on appropriate punishments,” he continued, “including, if guilt is found, the hangings visited upon top German and Japanese war criminals in the 1940s."

Velvel elaborates in an introduction to a series of articles published in The Long Term View (PDF). He writes “there is no question” that Bush and other officials are guilty of the federal crime of conspiracy to commit torture.

Tags: hang, them, high, for, treason

Iran Is Still Good Business For The US

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 06:39:42 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Imagine that!

Clip Source: www.cnbc.com

Nuclear weapons? No way. But there are plenty of items on Iran's shopping list the United States is more than happy to supply: cigarettes, brassieres, bull semen and more.

U.S. exports to Iran grew more than tenfold during President Bush's years in office even as he accused it of nuclear ambitions and sponsoring terrorists. America sent more cigarettes to Iran — at least $158 million worth under Bush — than any other product.

Other surprising shipments during the Bush administration: fur clothing, sculptures, perfume, musical instruments and military apparel. Top states shipping goods to Iran include California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin, according to an analysis by The Associated Press of seven years of U.S. government trade data.

The fact that the United States sells anything to Iran is news to some.

Though some trade with Iran is legal, some businesses prefer that people not know about it.

Are You On The Govt. Detainee List?

Wed, 21 May 2008 17:18:18 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: "ARE YOU ON THE LIST? The federal government has been developing a highly classified plan that will override the Constitution in the event of a major terrorist attack"

Beware of a false-flag operation. It's a trigger to put martial law in place and dissidents behind bars. Read the clipped source. Then, GO MAKE SOME NOISE WHILE YOU CAN!!

Clip Source: www.radaronline.com

In the spring of 2007, a retired senior official in the U.S. Justice Department sat before Congress and told a story so odd and ominous, it could have sprung from the pages of a pulp political thriller. It was about a principled bureaucrat struggling to protect his country from a highly classified program with sinister implications. Rife with high drama, it included a car chase through the streets of Washington, D.C., and a tense meeting at the White House, where the president's henchmen made the bureaucrat so nervous that he demanded a neutral witness be present.

The bureaucrat was James Comey, John Ashcroft's second-in-command at the Department of Justice

in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he described how he had grown increasingly uneasy reviewing the Bush administration's various domestic surveillance and spying programs. Much of his testimony centered on an operation so clandestine he wasn't allowed to name it or even describe what it did.

Karl Rove Believes He Is Above The Law

Tue, 13 May 2008 18:35:04 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Emotionally, I believe this man deserves the "harsh interrogation" our government believes is "OK". Rationally, he should be subpoenaed and if he fails to honor that legal move arrested and tried. Frankly, I see him as a terrorist of a stripe equal to that of any foreign nationals we have identified as such.

Clip Source: www.montgomeryadvertiser.com

A House Judiciary Committee deadline passed Monday with former White House adviser Karl Rove standing by his refusal to testify about allegations that he pushed the Justice Department to prosecute former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman.

n his latest offer to settle the matter, Rove sent the panel a letter offering to respond to questions in writing, according to his attorney. But he reiterated that he would not testify publicly and under oath.

Committee leaders did not immediately answer questions about how they will respond. Earlier this month, they threatened to subpoena Rove if he did not agree to appear voluntarily by Monday.

The dispute is the latest in a standoff between President Bush and Congress over testimony from current and former White House staffers on a variety of issues.

The White House has balked at requests for staff testimony, arguing that the administration has no obligation to respond to congressional demands for the details of internal deliberations.

BushCo's "Gross Incompetence" Cost Billions - Ex US Commander In Iraq

Sun, 04 May 2008 01:08:02 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Would someone PLEASE IMPEACH THESE ASSHATS!!! This ineptitude isn't criminal, but they have done more than enough that is. HANG 'EM HIGH!

Clip Source: rawstory.com

In a new memoir set to be published May 6, the former commander of US forces in Iraq provides new intimate details of the goings-on at high levels of the Bush Administration in the first year of the Iraq war.

His sharp tongued conclusion: "Hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars were unnecessarily spent, and worse yet, too many of our most precious military resource, our American soldiers, were unnecessarily wounded, maimed, and killed as a result. In my mind, this action by the Bush administration amounts to gross incompetence and dereliction of duty."

Sanchez commanded the US military in Iraq from 2003-2004. The three-star general was relieved of his commander in 2004 following the Abu Ghraib scandal, and in 2005, was told his career was over and he wouldn't be promoted to a fourth star.

US "...was clueless on counterinsurgency" - Paul Wolfowitz

Thu, 01 May 2008 21:55:17 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Intel? We don't need no stinkin' intel! We can ride in on our horses while wearing our cowboy hats and shoot the place up, though.

Clip Source: www2.nysun.com

Paul Wolfowitz, in his first public remarks on the Iraq war in years, said the American government was "pretty much clueless on counterinsurgency" in the first year of the war.

The former deputy secretary of defense said yesterday that the force sent to Iraq was adequate for fighting Saddam Hussein's military, citing the speed with which American troops toppled the regime. But Mr. Wolfowitz said no one in the Bush administration anticipated that Saddam would order his security services to wage an insurgency after their formal defeat on the battlefield.

his remarks yesterday have special relevance, because in the run-up to the war, the deputy secretary of defense downplayed testimony from a retired Army chief of staff, General Eric Shinseki, who told Congress that postwar stabilization operations would require several hundred thousand troops.

On February 27, 2003, Mr. Wolfowitz told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the estimate was "wildly off the mark."

Sex Abstinence Programs Don't Work Say Experts

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:32:10 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: BushCo, meanwhile, ignores logic and science... AGAIN!

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Programs teaching U.S. schoolchildren to abstain from sex have not cut teen pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases or delayed the age at which sex begins, health groups told Congress on Wednesday.

The Bush administration, however, voiced continuing support for such programs during a hearing before a House of Representatives panel even as many Democrats called for cutting off federal money for so-called abstinence-only instruction.

"Vast sums of federal monies continue to be directed toward these programs. And, in fact, there is evidence to suggest that some of these programs are even harmful and have negative consequences by not providing adequate information for those teens who do become sexually active," Dr. Margaret Blythe of the American Academy of Pediatrics told the committee.

the American Public Health Association and U.S. Institute of Medicine testified

American Psychological Association and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also issued statements

Carl Rove Named In Plot To Dump U.S. Att. Patrick Fitzgerald

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:26:43 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Why am I not surprised??

Clip Source: www.suntimes.com

A prosecutor told the judge in the Tony Rezko corruption trial Wednesday that a witness is prepared to testify about efforts by top Republicans to get the Bush White House to fire U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald at a time he was spearheading investigations of Gov. Blagojevich's administration.

The key players, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie E. Hamilton, were Robert Kjellander, a Republican National committeeman from Springfield, and Kjellander's old friend, Karl Rove, who, at the time was a top White House adviser.

A prosecutor said Wednesday that witness Ali D. Ata would testify that Rezko told him Robert Kjellander was working with Karl Rove to replace U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald (above).
(Brian Jackson/Sun-Times)

Rove, through Washington attorney Robert Luskin, and Kjellander denied they sought to oust Fitzgerald,

Kjellander was a college classmate of Rove and is a former treasurer of the Republican National Committee.

What Will George W. Bush's Legacy Be?

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:54:07 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: One phrase sums it up for me... anti-American.

Clip Source: www.theinformationparadox.com

How will the history books salvage anything positive from the last eight years of the George W. Bush presidency? With other presidents, scandal and success seem to be mixed, and if not mixed, an administration is usually labeled ineffective at worst. With G.W.B there is little from his time in office that can held up as a success or accomplishment, and more than a fair share of items that can be viewed as complete and utter failures. George W. Bush and his administration seem to have caused nearly irreparable damage on the world stage and unfortunate regression in domestic policy.

So what will we remember of George Walker Bush?

September 11, 2001

The Patriot Act

The Afghan War

The Iraqi Quagmire

Torture

Water Boarding

Abu Ghraib

Falsified intelligence

Suppression of climate science

Sinking economy

Soaring gas prices

Sinking public opinion

The Katrina debacle

Cheney shooting someone in the face

Wire Tapping

Loss of Habeas Corpus

Firing of U.S. Attorneys

Alberto Gonzalez

Scooter Libby

Enron

Blackwater

A Litany of BushCo. Lies About Iraq

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:11:20 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Video tape is a wonderful thing.

Clip Source: whatthe.blogetery.com

[Video]

Compilation of lies the Bush administration told leading up to the Iraq war, the lies they told during the war to cover up the initial lies, then the admissions of lying when they were all lied out! Watch how certain Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Powell, Rice, and Wolfowitz were about things initially, only to later act as though there was no possible way to be certain.
They are trying to lie their way into war with Iran…DON’T BUY IT PEOPLE!

2nd Mistrial In Sears Tower Terrorism Case

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:42:43 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: BushCo. talks tough, but can't deliver convictions. They seemingly can, however, entrap with style.

Clip Source: www.truthout.org

A federal judge in Miami declared a second mistrial Wednesday in the case of six men accused of plotting to blow up Chicago's Sears Tower, and attack other targets, when a second jury failed to reach a verdict on the charges.

The decision is a setback for the Bush administration, which had touted the case as an example of the government's ability to prevent terrorist attacks but has failed to win convictions in two attempts.

The prosecution had based its case on hundreds of FBI audio and video recordings, including one that showed the men pledging allegiance to al-Qaeda. The oath-taking ceremony was led by an FBI informant, known as Brother Mohammed, posing as an al-Qaeda operative.

Bruce J. Winick, a professor at the University of Miami law school. "I think this was a case of premature prosecution. They should have surveilled more carefully

to see if this plot was really going anywhere or if it was

a bunch of poor unfortunates rising to the

bait of someone who's spreading around $50,000."