5 Political Cartoons

Covering Up Ineptitude

The White House is having shit-fits over the press for exposing the stories of wiretapping and the collection of domestic phone calls by the NSA. As a matter of fact, they have initiated investigations into the reports as potential criminal activity. Following are a few comments...

From Bush Out (by Gandhi) - reporting on a Raw Story article - click here to read more...

Defending journalists who have been castigated as traitors for exposing government blunders, New York Times columnist Frank Rich writes that any "witch hunt" for traitors should begin in the White House, RAW STORY has found.

"What really angers the White House and its defenders about both the Post and Times scoops are not the legal questions the stories raise about unregulated gulags and unconstitutional domestic snooping, but the unmasking of yet more administration failures in a war effort riddled with ineptitude," Rich writes.

"It's the recklessness at the top of our government, not the press' exposure of it, that has truly aided the enemy, put American lives at risk and potentially sabotaged national security," Rich continues. "That's where the buck stops, and if there's to be a witch hunt for traitors, that's where it should begin."

Living in a Cloud

Here's more proof that Conservatives are absolutely nuts. The current administration is buying a growing economy on the backs of our children - with huge trillion dollar debts that are going to come crashing down around our ears at some point if we don't get control. And the believers won't even acknowledge it. Read the article and just keep in mind - $10,000,000,000,000 debt ceiling.

From Lawrence Kudlow - Christian Science Monitor - click here to read more...

As all the pollsters are telling us, there's an inverse relationship between rising gasoline prices and President Bush's falling approval ratings - most especially his approval rating on the economy. Of course, these polls describe a certain national angst over energy that harkens back to the dreadful 1970s. But there's a better reality out there: Namely, the upturn in gas prices simply is not stopping the economy the way it did three decades ago.

Today's economy may be the greatest story never told. It's an American boom, spurred by lower tax rates, huge profits, big productivity, plentiful jobs, and an ongoing free-market capitalist resiliency. It's also a global boom, marked by a spread of free- market capitalism like we've never seen before.

Fun with Dick and Cheney

A wonderful post on the development of the Angry Liberal Club. Why aren't you a member?

From Boing Boing - click here to read more...

I’m angry about the shredding of the constitution…illegal wiretaps…falsified intelligence…secret prisons… use of torture as an accepted means of interrogation…Terry Schiavo…the war on science…denial of Global Warming…the fascistic secrecy of our elected officials… presidential signings that declare the President above the law…the breakdown of the wall between church and state…the outing of a clandestine CIA agent for purely partisan political gain…the corrupting influence of K Street… the total sell-out of the legislative process to corporate interests… appointments of unqualified cronies at every level of government…Harriet Miers…Brownie…Abu Ghraib… Scooter …the complete mismanagement of the war in Iraq…the lies about the complete mismanagement of the war in Iraq…the grotesque budget deficits… the pathetic response to Katrina… a civil rights division dedicated to undermining civil rights…an environmental protection agency that refuses to protect the environment… (Take a breath, Angry Liberal Guy.)

And I’m angry about a smug, simple-minded, incompetent, unqualified President, and a press that denies the obvious fact that we have a smug, simple-minded, incompetent unqualified President.

If these things don’t make you angry, I have to ask -- what the hell is the matter with you?

Polls are telling...

The polls on the President and his behavior continue to deteriorate. I fear that he really has a sick mind...

From MSNBC - click here to read more...

Has the Bush administration gone too far in expanding the powers of the President to fight terrorism? Yes, say a majority of Americans, following this week’s revelation that the National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone records of U.S. citizens since the September 11 terrorist attacks. According to the latest NEWSWEEK poll, 53 percent of Americans think the NSA’s surveillance program “goes too far in invading people’s privacy,” while 41 percent see it as a necessary tool to combat terrorism.

Snooping, Spying and Tracking

As I read more and more about the Bush administration wiretapping phone calls into and out of the country, and now with the snooping into phone calls made within the U.S., what bothers me the most is what we don't know. What else is going on that we've not been made aware of yet? This is getting really spooky.

From Investors Business Daily - click here to read more...

Telecommunications are facing lawsuits seeking billions of dollars in damages for the decision to turn over calling records to the government, the New York Times reported Saturday.

A federal lawsuit was filed in Manhattan yesterday seeking as much as $50 billion in civil damages against Verizon on behalf of its subscribers.

Under telecommunications law, the phone companies are at risk for at least $1,000 per person whose records they disclosed without a court order, according to Orin Kerr, a former federal prosecutor and assistant professor at George Washington University.

Acerbic Political Images

Lack of Leadership is Evident

(Click this title to link to the PDF article)

Give Me Liberty...

There's no need for the national database of phone calls - it's all about increasing the President's sense of power and his ability to control every facet of our lives. If we allow this power to grow unabated, he'll soon be spying on your toilet bowls to monitor what you've been ingesting...

From Newsday.com - click here to read more...

Up until now, the White House has practically tempted Democrats to challenge the warrantless surveillance program against al-Qaida revealed in December, believing Bush could paint Democrats as shying away from tough steps to fight terror.

But political analysts and privacy experts say yesterday's revelation of a massive U.S. database of phone records will stoke new voter anxiety and dent Bush's line of attack, for a simple reason.

Bush wants records of every phone call made in America, according to published reports, taking away the it's-only-the-bad-guys defense of the earlier program that reassured many Americans, analysts said.

Tax Cuts and Looming Disaster

From the New York Times - click here to read more...

WASHINGTON, May 11 — The Senate voted 54 to 44 on Thursday to pass almost $70 billion in tax cuts, mostly for the nation's wealthiest taxpayers. The action ensures that virtually all of President Bush's tax cuts will be locked in place until after the next presidential election.

The measure, which the House passed Wednesday, would extend Mr. Bush's tax cuts on stock dividends and capital gains by two years, until 2010, and shield about 15 million taxpayers for one year from an increase in the alternative minimum tax.

The vote, largely along party lines, was a significant victory for Mr. Bush and beleaguered Republican leaders, who had viewed the tax cuts on stock market profits as a defining party issue and had credited them with jump-starting economic growth and reducing unemployment over the last three years.

I personally find great irony in this report - as well as so many other like it. They point to the tax cuts and the booming economy and creat the illusion that the reduced taxes are what is driving the strong economy. In reality, it is the huge national debt - the money we are borrowing (or printing, as it were) - that is buying this strong economy. We Americans are wallowing in debt - both personal and collective - to finance the spending spree we are on.

Imagine running your own household budget like this. You would appear to be the wealthiest people in town - yet be on the very verge of financial ruin. And so it is with the U.S. Watch out - the collapse is coming.

An Electoral Revolt?

Is it finally coming to the tipping point? The Iraq war contines to go badly - wiretapping both at home and abroad - the total absence of a workable energy plan (other than to pass huge profits on to the oil companies) - massive tax breaks for the wealthy - deficit spending the likes of which the world has never seen - lies and secrecy which violate the U.S. Contitution. And those are just the GOOD things about the Republican party!

From the LA Times - click here to read more...

Rep. John Murtha, the hawkish Democrat who stunned Washington last year with his call for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, said Thursday that American forces will come home next year -- either because of public pressure or a Democratic-controlled Congress.

The Pennsylvania lawmaker predicted a political tidal wave in November, comparable to the post-Watergate class of 1974 -- when he was first elected -- or the Republican rout in 1994 that will give the Democrats control of the House.

His estimate: Democrats will win 40-50 House seats -- far more than the 15 necessary to take charge from Republicans.

Political Cartoons and Fun Images

(Click any image to view in original size)

Assorted Political Images

More Countries to Hate Us (or U.S.)

If President Bush is trying to make the world into one big enemy of the U.S., he is sure doing a good job!

From the London Times - click here to read more...

President Vladimir Putin took a swipe at the hungry "wolf" of America today in a strident state-of-the-nation address in which he said that post-Soviet Russia should build up its economic and military might.

... His comments betray increased anger over what Kremlin leaders see as Western attempts to influence the affairs of Russia and its relationships with its former neighbours Soviet neighbours, such as Ukraine or Belarus.

"We must always be ready to counter any attempts to pressure Russia in order to strengthen others' positions at our expense," Mr Putin said. "The stronger our military is, the less temptation there will be to exert such pressure on us."

Mr Putin pointed out that Russia's military budget is 25 times less than that of the United States. "Their house is their fortress - good for them," he said. "But that means that we also must make our house strong and reliable."

The Lie Master

George W. wouldn't know the truth if it kicked him in the balls...

From That's Going Too Far - click here to read more...

Which brings us to Bush’s fish story, mentioned in my posting below. Yesterday, someone in the Bush castle corrected 43’s statement about the highlight of his presidency. “Perch” was replaced with “Bass.” So now the highlight of Bush’s presidency is catching a 7.5-pound bass on his lake, which, for a bass, is not particularly large. But the story doesn’t end there.

As others have uncovered, several years ago Bush actually listed the fish that were stocked in the lake on his ranch. Bass wasn’t on the list. Perch was.

So now we have a fish story that was originally a lie (or one of Bush’s many faulty biographical memories), revised to be a totally new lie, probably by some overpaid political hack who knows less about fish than me.

Assorted Political Images

(Click on any image to see it in its original size)