Memory is the SECOND thing to go

...and I can't remember what's first...

Okay, okay...it's an old joke, but then again...

The reason I'm bringing it up at all is because I had one of those horrible, horrible moments yesterday afternoon while listening the All Things Considered on NPR. I was listening to a story about Republican carping about the Democrats so-called "100 Hour Plan". That is, the legislation that they will take up and (presumably) pass in the first 100 hours of their majority status in Congress. The Republicans were carping (more like whinning, really) about "being left out of the process". They were complaining ibtterly about the Democrats drafting their legislation behind closed doors and not allowing Republican amendment, modification or input to the process.

Does that sound familiar?

Of course it does. That's what has been going on with the Republican-controlled Congress for at least six years and remnants of the process go all the way back to Newt Gingrich's "Republican Revolution" in 1994. And, most certainly the process dates back to Tom Delay's leadership era and his vaunted "K-Street Project".

So as the host pointed out, isn't this carping (whinning) a bit...er...ahhhh....HYPOCRITICAL? What NPR did then, apparently in the interest of balance, was interview a Republican to refute these charges. Here's the transcript of that interview.

But Florida Republican Adam Putnam says the situations are not similar.
"The difference is the important point here is that the American people were promised a new way of doing business in the 110th Congress," Putnam says. "There was clearly a high level of frustration in the heartland about the way people viewed the workings and procedures in this building, and they were promised a fresh approach, a fresh start."

Now aside from displaying the phenonemon that there is absolutely no depth to which a Republican Office-holder won't sink to defend his party, there was a horrible feeling that I must have forgotten something during the '06 campaigns. You see, hidden in the words "fresh approach" and "a fresh start" was the code words that President Bush and Dick(head) Cheney have been using for the past week:

CIVILITY

Somehow I can't remember any of our candidates on either the National, State, or Local level ever running on a pledge to "restore civility" to government. (The only thing close was REPUBLICAN candidate for Attorney General, J. B. VanHollen promising to restore "dignity" to the AG office which was a veiled slam at Incumbent AG Peg Lautenschlager's DWI charge while in office....but that was a REPUBLICAN and not a pledge of civility either)

I thought I was suffering from a case of early-onset Alzheimer's until I read Digby this morning....he starts out with this piece from a Washington Post Oped:

The episode illustrates the dilemma facing the new party in power. The Democrats must demonstrate that they can break legislative gridlock and govern after 12 years in the minority, while honoring their pledge to make the 110th Congress a civil era in which Democrats and Republicans work together to solve the nation's problems.

and then he gives me the "money shot".......

Really? I remember the Democrats' campaign pledges to restore openness, although I think they were mostly discussing the need to shed light on the most secretive administration in American history. But I honestly don't remember them running on restoring bipartisanship and working with Republicans to solve the nation's problems.

snip

The Dems ran on a platform to stop the Republican insanity, not to "work with them" and I think those of us in the Democratic base might have noticed if they did that. The only person in the country who ran explicitly on his bipartisan credentials was Joe Lieberman and he was running against a Democrat.

Thank GOD! It's not Alzheimers!

As always this Republican theme has been blasted loudly over the great Republican Noise machine and they have MISSED NO OPPORTUNITY to play the theme.

Bush used it in his guest editorial in the Wall Street Journal yesterday.

Cheney, Bush 41 and Bush 43 mentioned the words civil or civility repeatedly during the funeral of former President Gerald Ford (don't get me started on the utter tastlessness of using the funeral to play out a political theme.)

As Digby rightly points out, this is a nasty little trap set for our Democratic leadership and they would be wise to recognize it and avoid it. I think the best thing for Nancy, Harry and company to do right now is plow ahead with their "100-Hour Agenda" and ignore the carping. Pretty soon the news media will have to start paying attention to what the Democrats are doing and ignore the Great Republican Wurlitzer....

btw: If you want an example of how the "Wurlitzer" works, tune in to Ben Mehrens show on WPR at 4 PM today....he has the American Enterprise Institute on to talk about the challenges to the Democratic Congress....so the Repubs get another hour to spew their talking points.....

Image at top: Is a picture of the sculture "Memory" by French....beautiful work....

Tomorrow will be historic

Why?

Well, if you can identify this woman, you probably already know why......

That's right, Nancy Pelosi will be the first woman to preside over the House of Representatives.

Congratulations Nancy....we love you

That's Right! (Bill Kristol)...YOU'RE WRONG!

Wow!

I don't know anybody who could be wrong so often and still.....still end up with a sweet gig at Time Magazine as a "Star Columnist".....

Anonymous Liberal substituting for Glen over at Unclaimed Territory gives us the whole story. Here's a snippet or two:

By Anonymous Liberal--On March 17, 2003, on the eve of our invasion of Iraq, Bill Kristol wrote the following:

We are tempted to comment, in these last days before
the war, on the U.N., and the French, and the Democrats. But the war itself will
clarify who was right and who was wrong about weapons of mass destruction. It
will reveal the aspirations of the people of Iraq, and expose the truth about
Saddam's regime. It will produce whatever effects it will produce on neighboring
countries and on the broader war on terror. We would note now that even the
threat of war against Saddam seems to be encouraging stirrings toward political
reform in Iran and Saudi Arabia, and a measure of cooperation in the war against
al Qaeda from other governments in the region. It turns out it really is better
to be respected and feared than to be thought to share, with exquisite
sensitivity, other people's pain. History and reality are about to weigh in, and
we are inclined simply to let them render their verdicts.

Now, you would think that being so incredibly wrong about such an important subject might hurt your career prospects, and that would probably be true in any other field. But in the world of Washington punditry, being consistently and catastrophically wrong about everything is apparently not an obstacle to advancement. As David Corn reports, TIME Magazine has invited Kristol to become one the magazine's new "star" columnists

You should read the whole article. It documents Kristol's writing and just how incredibly wrong he has been every step of the way. Here's a short list:

All Brent Scowcroft's arguments against the war are wrong.

The Shiia vs Sunni conflict is a myth

The establishment of a Islamic Fundamentalis state in Iraq is a myth

and my all-time-personal favorite:

April 28, 2003:

The battles of Afghanistan and Iraq have been won decisively and honorably.

enjoy

Graphic: The Anti-Nostrodomus courtesy of Crooks and Liars

Lots to talk about today...

First, Digby makes a profound remark or two that ends up getting quoted by James Wolcott of Vanity Fair.....it seems that the leaking the the theme of Mr Bush's speech which was leaked to the press yesterday has ruffled more than a few feathers.

The theme, (in case you missed it) is SACRIFICE! Digby has a few choice words for it

...during the time when everyone felt they were doing their patriotic duty by flying as many flags on their cars as possible, it probably would have been inspirational. Sadly, that time passed some time ago, when Iraq was revealed as a strategic and moral cock-up of epic proportions. Now calls to sacrifice for this useless, meaningless meat-grinder are going to sound like somebody's been sneaking into Laura's prescription tranquilizers. (emphasis mine while roflmao).

As much as I'm horrified to see Junior adopt the McCain Doctrine of escalation,
I'm very pleased to see him adopt his rhetoric of sacrifice. Everything Junior
touches turns to garbage and he's going to pull McCain into the rancid compost
heap right along with him. I think it's quite obvious that Americans have
decided they've sacrificed quite enough for the honor of the neocon
codpiece.

And Digby wasn't the only one incensed at the new meme (theme). Keith Olberman saw fit to do another "Special Comment" on it last night....it was more like a rant...I think it lasted almost eight minutes. Here's a link to it on Attaturk's page.

And.....speaking of the ever present Attaturk, he does a little Guest blogging over on Atrio's pad where he tees off on the latest information about Saddam's execution. It seems this just keeps getting worse and worse.

You have to hand it to the Bush Administration, they've managed to oversee the
creation of an Iraqi government ("government?" let's be generous) that was
obviously put together to handle situations with the same level of "competence" and "integrity" as their patrons. ...a prosecutor at the trial that condemned Mr. Hussein to death, said that one of two men he had seen holding a cellphone camera aloft to make a video of Mr.
Hussein’s last moments — up to and past the point where he fell through the
trapdoor — was Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Mr. Maliki’s national security adviser.
But they are going to "investigate" so I am sure that the fact 'Maliki's
Stephen Hadley' was going all Cellphone B. DeMille (as well as mocking Hussein
and dancing around the gibbet) will have no affect on the impartiality of the
inquiry.If this guy really is the Stephen Hadley of Iraq, I figure he probably dances like Elaine
Benes making things even more absurd (they took it to "11").

And finally, a right-wing talk show host goes on the air to suggest that he "may have to assassinate" certain members of Congress....does the FBI rush in and shuttle him off to Gitmo?....Nope...instead he gets a primo spot at the RW blog World Net Daily (know in our circles as World NUT Daily) Here's the clip:

A radio talk-show entertainer whose earlier statements that he "may" have to
assassinate members of Congress if the wrong people were elected Nov. 7 now has set a timetable for those killings. In a statement on his website, Hal Turner noted that a newspaper has reported that a bill granting amnesty to illegal aliens is expected to be enacted in January, when the Democratic Party takes control of the U.S. Senate and House. "ANY MEMBER OF CONGRESS WHO INTRODUCES, CO-SPONSORS OR VOTES IN FAVOR OF ANY SUCH AMNESTY WILL BE DECLARED A DOMESTIC ENEMY AND WILL BE CONSIDERED A LEGITIMATE TARGET FOR ASSASSINATION," Turner posted on his website

There's tons and tons of more "good stuff" on the web today....I may post again later.

Those poor, poor, poor Republicans...

sob (as in crying, not sonofa.....)

They're just victims don't ya know? Those mean old Democrats are picking on them by not "playing fair" in the House.

gimme a break!

Dems won't even be sworn in until tomorrow and already the Repubs are crying. Take a look at these quotes via Digby

Republicans aren't yet an official minority in the House, but they're already beginning a campaign to portray themselves as victims of a heartless Democratic majority.

In a "Dear Colleague" letter circulated to fellow Republicans, three House GOPers are trying to push a "Minority Bill of Rights" -- based on a two-year-old proposal by then-Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).Here's the prime quote:

"Unfortunately, as you are well aware, the Democrats' forty-year reign over the
House was plagued by consistent, systematic efforts to usurp the rights and
privileges of the Republican minority," write Reps. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Eric
Cantor (R-VA) and Tom Price (R-GA).

TPM references this WaPo article in 2004 when Pelosi introduced the bill:
Thursday, June 24, 2004; Page A23House Democrats' anger at heavy-handed Republican tactics reached a new level yesterday, with the chamber's top Democrat asking the House speaker to embrace a "Bill of Rights" for the minority, regardless which party it is.In keeping with the general atmosphere of the House these days, aides to Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) said he will not respond to the two-page proposal from Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

It's worthy to note that when Nancy Pelosi introduced the bill to protest Republican abuses of the Democratic minority in '04...she was roundly criticized by Hastert and a few others. (including David Drier R-Ca)

I should have guessed it. The only way the Republicans can escape accountability for the incredible messes they've made of everything from healthcare, Iraq, New Orleans..the constitution....is to blame it all on the Democrats...somehow they've got to make all this our fault

Just a note to our good friend Jane Hamser over at Firedoglake....it appears that Jane is a bit "bummed out" that she was beaten out of the "Top Twenty Most Annoying Liberals" list by Right Wing News. I can't see how you missed it! I LOVE your posts....I think any rightwinger who isn't annoyed by your posts simply isn't paying attention....maybe you just haven't insulted the right right wingers....maybe you should annoy some of their "stars" a little more often...

btw: First place went to the king of liberals KEITH OLBERMANN

If you want to seen Keith's latest rant/special comment click here....

Of course, don't forget to stop in at Miss Cellania for a daily dose of humor......

Sheriff Tom got some "ink"

I don't know if this appeared in the Rapids Paper but this clip from the Marshfield News-Herald today is pretty flattering to Sheriff Tom.

Click here for the link.

and a snippet or two:

Stopping drug trafficking in the county has been a priority for Reichert. Last spring, the department, with the help of a Marshfield officer and the Central Wisconsin Drug Task Force, announced the largest drug bust in Wood County history.

The sheriff's department is moving forward with its focus on keeping children safe. Deputies currently are conducting security checks at schools across the county, Reichert said.

snip:

Reichert also plans to continue another program he started during the past 18 months. Besides holding weekly office hours in Marshfield, Reichert will hold office hours in each community in the county at some point during the year.

Tax savings also are a priority for Reichert during the next four years. Reichert is working with department members to manage the patrol fleet of vehicles more efficiently, he said. He's also working to ensure the county gets the most cost-effective vehicles for the job.

"We've started so many programs during the last 18 months that the focus is going to be on continuing them," he said.

Click on the link to read this very flattering story...

About those New Years resolutions.....

From newly-discovered blogger, Miss Cellania:

Thought for today: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. ~Mark Twain

Shamelessly lifted from "One Man's View from Lansing, Kansas", another New Year's Wish/Toast

My Wish for You in 2007May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts. May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for $100 bills. May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips! May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires and may happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy. May the problems you had forget your home address!In simple words ............May 2007 be the best year of your life!!!

from the same site, a bit of a joke:

Jack (No, not this Jack, tee hee.) wakes up with a huge hangover after attending his company's Christmas Party. Jack is not normally a drinker, but the drinks didn't taste like alcohol at all. He didn't even remember how he got home from the party. As bad as he was feeling, he wondered if he did something wrong.Jack had to force himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple of aspirins next to a glass of water on the side table. And, next to them, a single red rose!

Jack sits up and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and pressed. He looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order, spotlessly clean. So is the rest of the house.He takes the aspirins, cringes when he sees a huge black eye staring back at him in the bathroom mirror. Then he notices a note hanging on the corner of the mirror written in red with little hearts on it and a kiss mark from his wife in lipstick: "Honey, breakfast is on the stove, I left early to get groceries to make you your favorite dinner tonight. I love you, darling! Love, Jillian"

He stumbles to the kitchen and sure enough, there is hot breakfast, steaming hot coffee and the morning newspaper. His son is also at the table, eating. Jack asks, "Son...what happened last night?""Well, you came home after 3 A.M., drunk and out of your mind. You fell over the coffee table and broke it, and then you puked in the hallway, and got that black eye when you ran into the door. Confused, he asked his son, "So, why is everything in such perfect order and so clean? I have a rose, and breakfast is on the table waiting for me??"His son replies, "Oh THAT!... Mom dragged you to the bedroom, and when she tried to take your pants off, you screamed, "Leave me alone, I'm married!!"

Okay. It's 2007....so far so good...(snark)

What are your hopes, aspirations, goals for the new year?

Post 'em if you've got 'em!