Darth Cheney's Take on Oil Prices
From the Democratic Underground:

Back in 2000, George W. Bush used rising gas prices as a campaign issue. He said, "I think the president ought to get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say, 'We expect you to open your spigots.' ? The president of the United States must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price." Meanwhile, spokesman Scott McClellan was telling reporters that rising gas prices were an example of "failed leadership." Well guess what? Now that oil is more expensive than it's ever been, it's suddenly somebody else's fault - specifically, John Kerry and John Edwards. Whuh? How did that happen? At a campaign event last week, Dick Cheney "blamed his Democratic opponents and their opposition to the Bush administration's energy policies" for rising gas prices, according to the Los Angeles Times. If you feel like pounding your head against your desk at the unbelievable temerity of that statement, please, go ahead. Okay, so let's get this straight - when Bill Clinton was in office, rising gas prices were a sign of "failed leadership." Now that George W. Bush is in charge, rising gas prices are a sign of, um... hey! Look over there! It's John Kerry's fault! Ah, the Responsibility Administration is hard at work once again...

Bad Movies
It turns out the Brittney Murphey disaster is as bad as I feared. Read it and weep.

Also, without having to post a review from someone else, I can tell you that The Bourne Supremacy was also as bad I feared. Matt was great, but the direction and script were pretty bloody awful. And Franka! I won't give away plot, but I can tell you I was pretty upset over her character's "development".

Taxes? We Don't Need No Stinking Taxes!
From the Center for American Progress:

Just one day after attending a church service where the topic was the excesses of wealth, President Bush joked about taxes, saying "the really rich people figure out how to dodge taxes anyway." The statement was a sharp departure from his past tough talk on tax enforcement. Just four months ago, the president claimed he wanted "to make sure that tax cheaters are found, make sure the IRS gets after those who don't pay taxes; make sure that the system is fair for those of us who do pay taxes. We want everybody paying their fair share." Unfortunately, though, yesterday's quip was far more indicative of the White House's record on taxes than the tough talk from before. The Bush administration has simultaneously reduced audits of the biggest corporations (many of which finance its political campaigns) while increasing scrutiny of indivduals. More specifically, that increased scrutiny has fallen on the working poor, even as high-income and corporate tax cheating increases.

BWAH!!!
From the stump:

On August 5, 2004, Bush said, "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." ?Washington, D.C.

This guy is such a brainiac. Quick trivia: Did you know that he ran every company he was ever in charge of into the ground? Frightening, but true.

And the Hits Keep Coming
It's not genocide. Really. No, really. C'mon, I'm being totally serious.

Another Reason to Hate Roger Clemens
I'm hitting the pause button on the politics again because something has come in under my radar that I feel warrants linkage. Roger Clemens sinks to a new low...if that's even possible.

Unhappy? We Don't Really Care.
Quote: "Why don't they get new jobs if they're unhappy ? or go on Prozac?" Bush campaign worker Susan Sheybani's musings on employee options in the weak U.S. job market.

Become a Citizen and Republican on the Same Day!
From July 23rd's Miami Herald:

"The citizenship ceremony in Jacksonville seemed to go off as usual, with a crowd of nearly 200 people going home as new Americans.

Just before the new citizens left the June 29 event, an immigration official directing the swearing-in urged the them to stop by a voter registration table -- a not uncommon sight at naturalization ceremonies.

But this table was unusual: Those handing out forms were Republican volunteers -- and the party affiliation box had been checked off ahead of time to make all of the new voters members of the GOP."

~~

What will the Pubs think of next? Is it not enough that they stole the LAST election?

Two Americas
Just liberal nonsense? The numbers don't lie.

From American Progress:

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE SHOWS THE TWO AMERICAS: Slate's Daniel Gross puts some numbers behind Edwards' Two Americas theme. In the past, different income groups have generally trended the same direction in terms of consumer confidence. And if the economy were undergoing a broad-based expansion, if a rising tide were lifting all boats equally, you might expect that trend to continue. But under President Bush, that has changed. Today, the over-$50,000 and under-$50,000 groups are moving in opposite directions: between December 2003 and June 2004, confidence in the over-$50,000 set rose from 99.3 to 104.1. In the under-$50,000 set, it fell from 87.4 to 85.5." As Gross notes, "the growing pessimism of the poor and the growing optimism of the rich?suggest the economy's improvement isn't helping everyone."

Seniors Should Die
From American Progress:

"Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) ? a longtime advocate for a meaningful prescription drug benefit ? is expected to address Medicare and health care issues in his speech to the Democratic National Convention tonight. His address is well timed: yesterday, the Bush administration released 1342 pages of proposed regulations for the final prescription drug benefit which takes effect in 2006.

Starting in 2006, the new law will enable large corporations to collect massive government subsidies even if they significantly rollback their retiree prescription drug benefit. The new regulations make corporations eligible for government subsidies of up to $940 per retiree as long as they provide drug coverage that mimics the Medicare drug law. The proposed rules give companies four different ways for companies to demonstrate they are doing so. But most companies already provide drug coverage which is superior to the new Medicare benefit. Thus, companies could collect the subsidy even as they roll back coverage ? at a total cost to taxpayers of $89 billion over ten years.

While the administration found plenty of cash for corporations, many seniors with high drug costs will be left in the lurch. After paying an average of $420 in premiums and a $250 deductible seniors are still responsible for paying up to 25% of their drug costs up to $2,250 a year. But seniors with drug costs in excess of $2,250 a year, even though they will continue to pay premiums and have satisfied their deductible will receive no assistance whatsoever for their next $2850 in prescription drug costs. This gap, known as "the donut," has many seniors justifiably concerned about their ability to pay their drug bills in the event of a serious illness. But Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson dismissed their concerns saying "Only a pessimist would look at a doughnut and complain about a hole."

So basically, they?re planning to bleed the senior citizens of this county dry. I can only follow this to its logical conclusion: you bankrupt seniors so that they can?t afford their prescription drugs, they stop taking the prescription drugs because they can?t afford them, they start dying because they?re not taking their prescription drugs and they end up saving the government a ton of money on nursing homes and old-person paraphernalia.

Of course there will be some who will be able to take advantage of Medicaid but it?ll only be a matter of time before the drain on resources becomes unbearable and the system crashes allowing for the cycle to perpetuate itself.

It?s like a reverse abortion. Or a more drawn-out euthanasia every human being has the right to life. Unless you?re old. Then you need to die and die fast.