His Nazi Uniform Was At The Cleaners



Cheney, at a memorial service for Holocaust victims.

Defense Of Journalism Act

This past month, we've found out that the Bush Administration used government money to pay reporters for favorable coverage of their policies.

Of course, The New York Times and the major networks did it for free.

But the nerve of these so-called "journalists" is their denial that taking money to promote the Bush agenda is wrong.

It's basic journalism 101- to assure fairness and objectivity, a reporter must not accept gifts from the people he or she is reporting on.

Yet, we hear this from syndicated columnist Maggie Gallagher, who accepted $21,500 dollars to say that the Defense of Marriage Act was a good idea:

"Did I violate journalistic ethics by not disclosing it?" Gallagher said yesterday. "I don't know. You tell me."

Ok. I'll tell you. Yes. You did. What journalism school did you go to? The Josef Gobbels Propoganda Institute?

She said she would have "been happy to tell anyone who called me" about the contract but that "frankly, it never occurred to me" to disclose it.

Who would call her to ask about a contract nobody knew about? That's like saying, "Yeah, I knew there were prisoner abuses in Iraq. I didn't tell anybody because nobody ever asked me before." Oh, wait... Donald Rumsfeld did say that.

The thing is, while every aspiring journalist knows this stuff is wrong, the fact remains that it's not, technically, illegal. If the government wants to pay reporters to write that 2 + 2 = 5, they are allowed to do so, even though it's with our taxpayer money.

Commentator Armstrong Williams got paid $240,000 to say No Child Left Behind was better than sex and chocolate combined. He rightly pointed out, "I haven't broken any laws."

So let me propose this to the members of Congress. Make a law making it illegal for a government official to pay a reporter, media organization, or any outside spokesperson, unless such a payment is disclosed to the public beforehand.

It seems reasonable to me.

Now I have to go. I have to cash this check given to me by Bush to promote the invasion of Iran.

Freedom is on the march baby!!!!!!!

Inauguration Day

Tomorrow is a bright shining moment in American history, the day that we celebrate our new President and swear him into office.

What's that? You mean we have the same President? He's been in office for four years already?

Hmm. I guess it's not that big a deal. No need to celebrate, given that there's a war and all going on, and over 200,000 dead in east Asia.

No need at all... but the Republicans love a big fancy party for their big fat corporate donors to enjoy. So they'll have one alright. A 40 million dollar extravaganza.

A $40 million dollar extravaganza.

Bush originally pledged $35 million to the folks in Tsunami-land. I guess we know what comes first in Bush's mind.

That $40 mil of course, doesn't include the millions spent by the city of Washington D.C. to provide security for the event, which they are doing out of their own homeland security budget-tax dollars.

Where does the rest of the money come from?: Click Here

Your Tax dollars at work are paying for security at not one, not two, but nine simultaneous black-tie balls.

Hey, I appreciate the fact that Georgie wants to celebrate. Who wouldn't after being called an idiot for the past four years, and then prevailing in an election? He has every reason to celebrate.

But what could $40 million dollars buy instead?

800 houses
80,000 TV's
2,500,000 Maroon 5 CD's
1334 years of college education (at NYU)
20,000,000 Mamoun's Falafels

Those are fun, but here's some more important things you could buy:

267 Fully-Armored Humvees for our Troops in Iraq
61538 Bulletproof Kevlar Vests " "

Instead, they get an extravagant inauguration luncheon honoring them. Which none of those currently stationed in Iraq will be attending.

If you're a soldier in Iraq, what would you rather have? A ball and a luncheon honoring you thousands of miles away, or some body armor?

And 40 million is a low-ball figure. By the time the whole shabang is over, it could cost over 50 million.

For comparison's sake, Bill Clinton's second term inauguration cost 29.6 million. In peacetime. With a booming economy and a budget surplus.

50 million celebrating-- what? Things staying the same?

Money well spent?

--For what an inaugural should be like, check out this article--

Bush Is Infallible

Just read this little tidbit:

"(CBS/AP) President Bush says his re-election proves Americans agree with his decision to invade Iraq, and that as a result, there's no need to hold any administration officials accountable for mistakes made in planning for the war, or its aftermath

"We had an accountability moment, and that's called the 2004 elections," Mr. Bush said in an interview with The Washington Post for Sunday's editions. "The American people listened to different assessments made about what was taking place in Iraq, and they looked at the two candidates, and chose me."

So because he got re-elected, (by just over 50% of the population) there's no need to fix any mistakes that he or officials in his administration made?

Oh boy, we're in for a long four years.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!