Author: Thomas More

In a post on Balloon Juice about how Dick Cheney accidentally shot someone on a quail hunting trip in Texas:

How come we never hear any good news about hunting accidents?

(Just for the record: the man Cheney shot was *not* Scooter Libby. And to be fair, he probably shouldn’t have been wearing that novelty quail costume.)

UPDATE: I find the sentence “Dick Cheney shot a guy in the face” to be strangely invigorating.

UPDATE II: In response to leads like this from the Washington Post:

“Vice President Cheney accidentally sprayed a companion with birdshot while hunting quail on a private Texas ranch.”

Atrios has an object lesson.

If there is a shred of justice and decency left in this country by then, Russ Feingold should be President come January 2009.

I hope we can wait that long.

• Those who criticize the government are routinely branded as traitors.
• The executive branch has unlimited power, and no accountability to either the people or the legislature.
• Political opposition is nearly non-existent.
• The government takes prisoners who are tortured and held without representation or charges for months or years in secret facilities.
• Intellectuals and universities are routinely considered fifth columns. Anti-intellectualism is rampant.
• Those who strive for civil liberties, both at home and abroad, are demonized.
• The government has started a war that has no definition, and no end. Only the government has the power to define this war and its combatants, however it sees fit.
• The press participates eagerly in the propagandization of the people, and requires no accountability from the government.

Where do we live? What year is this?

…and all the other spineless Dems who will have to stop acting like beaten dogs and abused spouses before something gets changed in this country:

This isn’t about keeping us safe. This is about whether the President is above the law.

Is that too hard to understand? Because if it is, or you can’t articulate that simple, basic idea to the public, then pack your bags and go home. Now.

When Sen. Joe Biden asked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales whether al Qaeda members wouldn’t just *assume* they were being monitored on the phone, leak or no leak, Gonzales responded:

“If they’re not reminded about it all the time in newspapers and in stories, they sometimes forget.”

Wily terrorist scum or Forrest Gump? You decide.

UPDATE: Another gem from Gonzales:

“President Washington, President Lincoln, President Wilson, President Roosevelt have all authorized electronic surveillance on a far broader scale.”

UPDATE II: True, but sad, words from a site called “Right Wing Nut House”:

“No GOP senator would ever do anything to harm Bush in the NSA hearings. Ever. The Dems are in the minority. Hence the outcome of these hearings is immaterial, and thus so are the hearings.”

Apparently Attorney General Alberto Gonzales wasn’t under oath when he testified today about the NSA spying program. This is because Russ Feingold, bless his heart, demanded that Gonzales be sworn in, and the Republicans blocked it.

Honor and credibility. Yep.

The U.S. Attorney General isn’t willing to say, under oath, why the illegal domestic spying program was, in, fact, legal.

When is enough enough? What’s the tipping point? Does it exist?

AKA “I’m so sick of this shit, Part Deux”

“Secondly, there are such things as roving wiretaps. Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires — a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we’re talking about chasing down terrorists, we’re talking about getting a court order before we do so. It’s important for our fellow citizens to understand, when you think Patriot Act, constitutional guarantees are in place when it comes to doing what is necessary to protect our homeland, because we value the Constitution.”

-George W. Bush, April 20, 2004

More evidence now comes out that Bush told Tony Blair months before the start of the war in Iraq that the U.S. was going to attack no matter what – the weapons, any real threat, didn’t matter. Further, Bush floated a plan to disguise a U.S. spy plane as a United Nations plane, trying to goad Saddam into shooting it down and thus justify the already-inevitable conflict.

But that’s OK, right? Yeah. No problem there. Nope. It’s all good. Protecting us. 9/11. Terra. Yep.

Hey, is “Survivor” on?

“I don’t know why Republicans would feel any concern aboout the 2006 election. If Democrats continue on the path they’ve been on for the last 13 or so months – that is, capitulation, wimpiness, flip-flopping – the GOP should expect either the status quo or to pick up seats in the House and Senate. They’ll deserve it, because at least they want to fight for their side, no matter how evil their intent may be.”

–Oliver Willis

Mrs. K: Anyone have any questions?
Bart: How would I go about creating a half-man, half-monkey-type creature?
Mrs. K: I’m sorry, that would be playing God.
Bart: God shmod! I want my monkey-man!

That’s about all it warrants.