William K. Wolfrum

By William K. Wolfrum
Special to WilliamKWolfrum.com

WASHINGTON — In a shocking political maneuver bound to send shock waves through Washington, the estate of Ronald Reagan has announced that the corpse of Reagan will be throwing its hat in the ring for a full-fledged run for the GOP nomination for the 2008 U.S. Presidential election.

“When we say ‘throwing his hat in the ring’ we mean that figuratively, of course,” said Reagan campaign manager William Casey, who himself died in 1986. “No one can fit in Regan’s shoes, not even Ronnie, because of decay, but he really comes the closest.”

With a weak field of conservative hopefuls lining up for the GOP nomination, and pundits lamenting the lack of a “true Reagan Republican,” many have come out to support the Reagan campaign.

“You need to accept the fact that it’s a lackluster field out there,” said Reagan adviser John Sears. “We have very little doubt that a dead Ronald Reagan will literally destroy anyone the Democrats can throw at us. Ronnie vs. Hillary? Forget about it.”

The move apparently took many Democrats by surprise, and leaders seemed unwilling to say anything bad about the man so many refer to as “St. Ronnie.”

“Ronald Reagan was a great American,” said Sen. John Kerry. “Is America ready for a 96-year-old President that will have been dead for more than four years? We’ll have to let the voters decide.

“And when I say ‘was a great American,’ I believe I mean ‘is a great American,’ ” added Kerry. “I’m really going to have to research this some before I comment more.”

Some democrats have openly supported a Reagan run.

“In a time when America is too weak to fight in a never-ending war, Reagan is a man who could lead us,” said Sen. Joe Lieberman. “I’d vote for him, or pretty much anyone my party, I mean the GOP, nominates.”

For their part, Conservative pundits have been unequivocal in their support for the former President.

“Honestly, he doesn’t look a day over six months dead,” said Michelle Malkin. “A man with the testosterone Reagan packed is still incredibly potent up to 10 years after his death, and that’s a scientific fact.”

Sears pointed out that while many point to Reagan’s fight with Alzheimer’s Disease as a possible stumbling point for the campaign, he pointed out that the Reagan’s illness has now been in remission for nearly two years.

“Indeed,” said Instapundit’s Glenn Reynolds.

Indeed many are excited about the possibility of the U.S. re-entering a “feel-good” era of economic development.

“Reaganomics actually makes a lot more sense with the great man being dead,” said Alan Greenspan, who, appearances aside, maintains life.

Reagan’s biggest fan, radio entertainer Rush Limbaugh said he will devote as much time as possible between trips to the Dominican Republic to stump for Reagan.

“This man single-handedly destroyed communism,” said Limbaugh on his radio show. “If he’s maintained any physical integrity at all - say, he still has an arm attached - this is a no-brainer. The terrorists have to be shaking in their shoes now.”

Regardless of the early support, a long campaign likely is going to cost the Reagan campaign much more than his rivals, as refrigeration costs will likely be massive, though reports have trickled in that the Reagan campaign has already received millions of dollars in campaign donations from religious right organizations.

“Who better to campaign for pro-life causes than a dead man,” said anti-abortion spokesperson Shelley Shannon. “He truly understands the issue on a level few can.”

Time will tell whether this new Reagan era will explode as the previous one did, but Sears made it clear, his man has shaken off the cobwebs and maggots, and is ready for a tough campaign.

“Oh, it’ll be hard, we understand that,” said Sears. “But look at all the supporters John McCain has, even though it’s obvious he passed away sometime during the 2000 Presidential campaign.

“People are saying the Republican party is dead, and we want to look the American people straight in the eye and say ‘Exactly. Vote Reagan,’” added Sears.

–WKW

Now that Iran is in full saber-rattling mode and holding British troops it appears that those who predicted a U.S.-Israel attack on Iran by April may well have been correct.

There are, of course, many who will say that Bush is in no position to go to Congress to obtain Congressional authorization, and will need an “event” to undertake a war on Iran, but even that seems fairly unimportant.

Because when all’s said and done, George W. Bush and those like him are trying valiantly to change the U.S., and are succeeding. They despise democracy. They will tell you flat out that the U.S. is the greatest nation in the world, then will decry immigration and homosexuals while spying on their own citizens and discussing reining in free speech. They hate what the U.S. is, and they are working to change it.

So Bush and his PNAC overlords won’t be going to Congress, hat in hand, requesting permission to get us stuck in Iran. They don’t need Congress. Really, do you think this recent talking point by Tony Snow is an accident?

(Congress) does not have constitutional oversight responsibility over the White House, which is why by our reaching out, we’re doing something that we’re not compelled to do by the Constitution, but we think common sense suggests that we ought to get the whole story out, which is what we’re doing.

Now, this may have been spoken in regard to the attorney scandal, but it’s going to go much deeper, And you’ll be hearing it more often, as the Neocon death brigade works overtime to make sure as many Americans as possible believe that the U.S. Congress is impotent and weak, and that the Executive Branch is the only thing that matters.

Is this what the framers of the Constitution believed? No, but they could care less. Bush and the people pulling his strings want to fundamentally change the United States. And they will gladly destroy it, and/or drag the entire world into a Middle Eastern nightmare to do it.

The attack on Iran is coming. There’s no way Bush leaves office without attacking them, and making a final determined effort to obliterate the U.S. Constitution and the American Way once and for all.

–WKW

(Note: I’d long meant to tackle John Dean’s recounting of Watergate, “Blind Ambition” and have recently started reading it. I will be giving short recaps of the book over the following weeks.)

Blind Ambition

Chapter Four: Linchpin of Conspiracy

Synopsis: Fred Fielding (photo above) calls boss John Dean to let him know that the Washington Post has broke the story that James McCord of President Richard Nixon’s reelection committee and four unnamed Cubans were arrested trying to bug Larry O’Brien’s office at the Democratic National Committee headquarters. One of the Cubans has a check from Howard Hunt, a CIA Operative and member of the White House “plumbers” unit. Fan, meet shit.

Mitchell, Ehrlichman and Haldeman all play it cool, while most in the White House blame G. Gordon Liddy, even though they all knew he was a lunatic in the first place and continued to let him operate. Everyone works - generally with Dean’s help - to get themselves and the President distanced from the stupid affair, which only serves to pull everyone deeper into trouble. The fact that the money used for the operation was from Nixon’s campaign fund is a big issue, as the campaign has had a total scofflaw attitude regarding campaign finance laws. Dean takes a while before he realizes he’s just as screwed as everyone else as the cover up continues unabated, as everyone from Nixon on down plots how they should handle things. More money is siphoned from the campaign funds for a clandestine “hush money” payment to the Cubans and McCord.

Money quote 1: “John, never, I repeat, never, has an Attorney General that I know of, as long as I’ve been here, and that’s quite a while now, reversed a major case after an investigation has begun and turned up evidence of a criminal violation.” — Assistant Attorney General Henry Peterson to John Dean, after Dean had been instructed to find out if the Justice Department had some type of vendetta against union labor leaders.

Money Quote 2: ” … And there was a phony State Department cable, whose obvious purpose was to convince the reader that President Kennedy had ordered the assassination of Vietnam’s President Diem. The phony cable was accompanied by several memos between Hunt and Coulson on how to leak the contents to Bill Lambert of Life Magazine.” — Dean’s recollection of what he found when going through Howard Hunt’s White House safe. Other findings included a pistol.

Previous:

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

–WKW

It is somewhat apropos that Evander Holyfield has managed to stick himself back into the limelight of boxing’s heavyweight division. In a time when hypocrisy is one of the nation’s greatest exports, it seems natural that Holyfield should be in the mix.

In an era where Dick Cheney pounds the desk with one hand while clutching his chest with the other as he questions the patriotism of any that oppose him - while being part of an administration that abuses wounded U.S. veterans by leaving them in mold-drenched, cockroach-infested hospital rooms - Holyfield is the prototype boxer. And in a world where Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich preach family values while divorcing their wives and having sordid affairs, Evander should thrive.

Holyfield has long been one of sports’ great hypocrites. Here’s a man who is widely admired and given endorsement deals for his warrior spirit and Christianity. And while Holyfield deserves respect for his accomplishments and his work inside the ring, his behavior has consistently been an embarrassment, albeit mostly ignored.

Holyfield has fathered at least nine children out of wedlock. He is on his third marriage. And now, his name has come up prominently in a massive steroid scandal. And as evidence uncovered by Sports Illustrated points directly at Holyfield (or “Evan Field”), he proclaims his innocence.

But Holyfield fights on, an inspiration to a nation that expects its role models to be consistently bad people. Perhaps not surprisingly, even in the ring Holyfield has many critics, who point to his repeated use of his head as a weapon in the ring, the same head that caused Mike Tyson to psychologically break and bite off a chunk of “The Real Deal’s” ear.

Holyfield recently stopped a limited fighter by the name of Vinny Maddalone, continuing his comeback and inspiring Michael Woods to write a fawning column - “Is this comeback the real deal for Holyfield?” - over him. While Woods is correct that Holyfield may have success against some of the more mediocre heavyweights of this era, his comeback should come to a screeching halt if he has the hubris to face someone of the size and quality of Wladimir Klitschko.

While you can’t count Holyfield out in the ring, the comebacks of 44-year-old fighters tend to end up with said fighter face down on the canvas being counted over. And while we hope Holyfield is able to get through this latest incarnation of his fighting career sans permanent injury, we know that his reputation will stay as clean as it ever has.

Because whether its in the ring or on “Dancing with the Stars,” Evander Holyfield is the perfect fighter and celebrity for a generation that adores hypocrites.

–WKW

By demanding that the U.S. Congress give him whatever he wants, the moment he wants it, President George W. Bush has delighted his base.

“One of the most urgent legislative priorities is to fund our troops fighting the war on terror. I’ve asked Congress to pass an emergency war spending bill that gives our troops what they need, without strings and without delay,” said Bush.

Bush went on to add that not passing a spending bill meant that U.S. troops could face shortfalls larger than they already do. Then he promised to veto any bill that wasn’t exactly what he wanted and allow for an open-ended war.

Bush’s base (listed below*) was thrilled at the manly attitude of the President. Of course, Bush’s point was clear - the vast majority of Americans are cowards and he has no interest in their opinions.

Disapproval on Iraq Hits Record

A record number of Americans disapprove of the war in Iraq, and a clear majority now favors the eventual withdrawal of U.S. forces, even if civil order has not been restored there — potentially a tipping point in public attitudes on the war.

While solutions remain vexing, for the first time ABC News/Washington Post polls show a narrow majority of Americans support setting a deadline for the withdrawal of U.S. forces. Two-thirds oppose George W. Bush’s troop surge; most oppose it strongly.

* Bush’s current base (subject to change):

–WKW

Marines face U.S. probe in Afghanistan deaths

Marines accused of shooting and killing civilians after a suicide bombing in Afghanistan are under U.S. investigation, and their entire unit has been ordered to leave the country early, officials said Friday.

Army Maj. Gen. Francis H. Kearney III, head of Special Operations Command Central, responsible for special operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, ordered the unit of about 120 Marines out of Afghanistan and initiated an investigation into the March 4 incident, said Lt. Col. Lou Leto, spokesman at Kearney’s command headquarters.

A spokesman for the Marine unit, Maj. Cliff Gilmore, said that it is in the process of leaving Afghanistan, but he declined to provide details on the timing and new location, citing a need to preserve security.

In the March 4 incident in Nangahar province, an explosives-rigged minivan crashed into a convoy of Marines that U.S. officials said also came under fire from gunmen.

As many as 10 Afghans were killed and 34 wounded as the convoy made an escape. Injured Afghans said the Americans fired on civilian cars and pedestrians as they sped away.

I understand there are a lot of Afghans who don’t feel the same, but I have sympathy for the Marines in question, and truly hope there is some alternative explanation for this situation. If things are as they appear, the Marines in question are certainly culpable, but the real blame goes much further up.

War is Hell. And the fact is, the Neocon death brigade running the nation don’t give a shit about actual soldiers. They are only fodder for political photo ops, and for the war machine, as President Bush made so eloquently clear today.

But the men and women who are serving the U.S. out of a sense of pride, are being continually shoved back into the hell of war, and it should be no surprise when they act like devils. PNAC slaughtered those civilians just as much as the Marines did, if in fact that is what happened.

Now I wonder if there will be any type of apology to the Associated Press for destroying the filmed evidence they had of this grisly affair.

As Associated Press Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll said:

“In democratic societies, legitimate journalists are allowed to work without having their equipment seized and their images deleted.”

But the sad fact is, the same people who don’t give a shit about the troops, don’t much give a shit about democracy, either.

–WKW

(Updated below)

When CNN’s Glenn Beck said this to Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison:

“I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, ‘Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.’

One would have thought that Ellison understood that Beck’s an insane entertainer who’ll say anything he thinks will get him noticed, and was hired by a news channel desperate to appeal to the 70-and-older club. Sadly, it appears Ellison is trying to show Beck that he can be as bloodthirsty and interested in endless war as any red-blooded American loon.

Democrats hunt for votes to set Iraq deadline

House Democrats say they are determined to change course in Iraq, but their leaders are still trying to gather the votes to make that happen.

A vote is scheduled for Friday, but Democratic leaders say that if they don’t have the numbers, it won’t happen.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said they’re at least one or two votes short of the 218 needed to pass binding legislation with a firm deadline — August 31, 2008 — for combat troops to leave Iraq.

The deadline is contained in a supplemental funding bill — legislation that President Bush has promised to veto if it contains such a provision.

The biggest resistance isn’t coming from the other side of the aisle — although Republicans are mostly united in opposition — but rather from a handful of undecided Democrats, including freshmen Reps. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, Brad Ellsworth of Indiana and Hank Johnson of Georgia.

Ellison’s stance on this issue must perplex Fox News’ John Gibson, who has already written off the entire state of Minnesota as an enemy of the State, in his rant: Minnesota: America’s First Somali-Muslim State?

Update: Ellison voted for the resolution, which George Bush then misrepresented and promised to veto. The way to “support the troops” it appears, is to send them into never-ending battles, and then ignore them after they’ve served as fodder.

–WKW

We’re told anyone can be a success and then watch as a chosen few reap rewards.

We’re told to save for a rainy day as a national debt reaches numbers few can even understand.

We’re told to be humane and then watch as heinous inhumanities are performed in our name.

We’re told we are free and then watch them work to take our freedoms away.

We’re taught to revere those that fight for us and then watch them disrespect our veterans and soldiers.

We’re told our Constitution is one of the great documents in history and then watch many decry it as a nuisance.

We’re told we have privacy even as it becomes crystal clear that they are watching us.

We are taught to be honest while under a deluge of lies.

We are taught to be proud citizens as they show anger that we want to know what they are doing.

We are taught we are the greatest nation on the planet even as the planet looks at us more and more with revulsion.

We are taught to respect the law even though they don’t.

We are American citizens. What is to be expected of us?

–WKW

Governments will fight to avoid having to be transparent to citizens.

–WKW

Watching the 40 Year Old Virgin, I was hit with a rush of nostalgia when Steve Carell’s character, a toy collector, opened up a box containing a Steve Austin “Six Million Dollar Man” action figure. When Carell looked through the toy’s “bionic eye” it hit me with a rush - I had one of those, and I couldn’t have liked it any more.

It had a bionic arm, as well as a bionic eye, and wore the red polyester jump suit that was all the rage in those heady, early-70s days. At ChipRowe.com, he takes a look at all the “bionic” toys of the day. Lee Majors was totally the man back then. Married to Farrah Fawcett and starring as the “Six Million Dollar Man.”

It was nice to remember. That was a seriously kick-ass toy.

–WKW