Arnold Schwarzenegger could never be President – Enron went out of business, after all

Shocking exactly nobody, Arnold Schwarzenegger is making noises about running for U.S. President. And while the 12th Amendment stands in Schwarzenegger’s way, making it unlikely the Austrian bodybuilding Republican could even try and be Prez, what really will hurt is the fact Enron went out of business.

Because, face it, they made him Governor of California.

–WKW

NBA using referee betting scandal as “bogus reason” to stay out of mobbed-up Las Vegas

Could it be that the NBA and David Stern are secretly thrilled that one of their refs destroyed the integrity of the sport? Here’s what former Las Vegas Councilman and current gadfly Steve Miller has to say about the NBA’s Tim Donaghy problem:

According to INSIDE VEGAS contributor and former Chicago Crime Commission member John J. Flood, the NBA issue is not as it seems. The NBA desperately wants to have nothing to do with Las Vegas. The referee scandal is a bogus reason — one of many — given to conceal the actual problem. The real reason is that our city is represented by a mob-associated Mayor. Oscar Goodman’s organized crime background and current connections with O.C. will keep our city from being considered a legitimate home to professional sports teams until he leaves office hopefully in 2011.

There you have it. The NBA wants to avoid having a team in a city with a Mayor who appears to be mobbed-up to the gills. Luckily for them, one of their refs went and helped them out. And the Las Vegas Review-Journal is making sure everyone knows:

JOHN L. SMITH: NBA scandal prompts the usual media hand-wringing about Las Vegas

Veteran NBA referee Tim Donaghy probably has a closet full of striped shirts. Now it appears he’ll be getting pants to match.

News that the NBA official was implicated in a cheating scheme makes me cringe, but not for the usual reasons.

Not because it’s surprising to learn a professional sports referee is susceptible to corruption. It’s no shock. In leagues where players and coaches make millions, officials are arguably the most vulnerable — especially if they have a heavy gambling Jones.

Not because it’s mortifying for the league’s image-conscious commissioner to admit one of his referees has been slow dancing with illegal bookies and aspiring knuckle-draggers, although it is. Surely Commissioner David Stern will have something glib to say on this matter.

The Donaghy news made me cringe for this reason: Whenever a betting scandal breaks, hand-wringing from the national media about Nevada’s legalized sports book industry soon follows. It never fails.

In this case, it took about five seconds for some writer to reach the conclusion that Las Vegas shouldn’t have an NBA franchise because an NBA referee has gambled.

Hello, Logic-Impaired Hot Line?

One example comes from Newsday’s Ken Berger, who instructed the NBA commissioner: “Here is the first thing Stern must do: Wipe Las Vegas off the NBA map for good.”

Oh, John L. Smith, you unwitting pawn of the man. It has nothing to do with gambling. It’s all about the Mafia.*

Read more of Steve Miller’s rants here.

–WKW

*The author would like to point out that he has no reason to believe the mafia actually exists, and in the off chance that they did, he’s sure they are fine fellows who deserve their own NBA Franchise if that’s what they really want.

New York Sun remains convinced Dick Cheney could be President

Ira Stoll of the New York Sun does his best to bend over backward for Stephen Hayes and Dick Cheney. Because, really, a book on Cheney – written by a slobbering sycophant – is really what will make people look at him and think “Oh yeah, he’s the kind of guy who should be running the U.S.”

Cheney’s Chance

The book quotes Senator McCain as saying, “Dick doesn’t like campaigning.” Nothing in the Hayes book suggests that Mr. Cheney is about to do it — except for that the vice president spent nearly 30 hours cooperating with the author and apparently gave the okay for many of his friends and colleagues to grant similar access. The Richard Cheney described in this book isn’t vain enough to do that simply for his reputation in history. My own guess — okay, hope — is that Mr. Cheney has taken a look at the Republican presidential field and sees an opening. If Iowa and New Hampshire Republicans start receiving copies of ” Cheney” in their mailboxes, Mr. Cheney’s popularity may yet begin to climb.

And remember, a lot of the reason Cheney is not liked is due to the media, and Bush’s fear that he’d “outshine him.” It has nothing at all to do that the Vice President is the most openly psychotic fascist to ever hold a place in the Executive Branch (except when he doesn’t hold a place there).

Some of (Cheney’s lack of popularity) may be blamed on a hostile press, and Mr. Hayes also reports on a dynamic within the Bush administration in which presidential aides sought to keep Mr. Cheney’s profile low so that he didn’t outshine the president. Some of it may have to do with Mr. Cheney’s personality — “not a hugger,” as the president put it.

Don’t read the whole article if you’ve just eaten. You’ve been warned.

–WKW

Iraq soccer team reaches Asian Cup final – Iraq fans killed celebrating

When your nation has been turned into one never-ending civil war, good news is hard to find. Iraq’s national soccer team, however, did their part in giving fans something to cheer about, as the squad earned a spot in the Asian Cup finals by beating South Korea by penalty kicks to reach the finals.

Nonetheless, in a war-torn nation like Iraq, the biggest victories tend to be tapered by the loss of lives.

Bomber kills 11 soccer fans in Iraq

BAGHDAD – A suicide bomber struck soccer fans celebrating Iraq’s victory in the Asian Cup on Wednesday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 31, police said

The victims were among the thousands who took to the streets of the capital after the country’s national soccer team beat South Korea to reach the tournament’s final.

The man detonated his explosives belt in the middle of a crowd of people cheering the victory near a well-known ice cream shop in Baghdad’s western neighborhood of Mansour, police said. Police and hospital officials gave the casualty toll, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give information to the media.

…

The successful run in the Asian Cup has been a cause of much joy in this wartorn country, with Iraqis saying the mixed makeup of the team showed the country’s rival ethnic and religious factions can unite despite years of sectarian violence.

–WKW

As a matter of fact, Bush and neocons want a constitutional showdown

While the Associated Press did a good job calling President Bush on his latest terror attack, they sort of missed the boat when it comes how desperately Bush and his neocon co-conspirators want a constitutional showdown over executive privilege.

2 Bush aides to face contempt citations

WASHINGTON – Heading toward a separation-of-powers showdown, House Democrats prepared contempt of Congress citations against two White House aides who have refused to comply with subpoenas for information on the abrupt firings of federal prosecutors.

The White House has said that Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former legal counselor Harriet Miers, among other top advisers to President Bush, are absolutely immune from subpoenas because their documents and testimony are protected by executive privilege.

House Judiciary Committee Democrats, led by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., reject that claim and have drafted for a vote Wednesday a resolution citing Miers and Bolten with contempt of Congress, a federal misdemeanor punishable by up to a $100,000 fine and a one-year prison sentence.

The panel’s vote is the first step on the road to a possible constitutional showdown in federal court.

If history and self-interest are any guide, the two sides will resolve the dispute before then. Neither side wants a judge to settle the question about the limits of executive privilege.

The last line is as false and misleading as could be. Just because former Presidents wanted to avoid constitutional showdowns, doesn’t mean this one feels the same. In fact, after stacking the courts and spending the last six years politicizing every department in government, they desire these types of confrontations.

Bush, Cheney and the rest want their judges to rule Congress completely out of business if possible. They’ve been laying the groundwork for this showdown since Day One. It really shouldn’t be that hard to see after all this time.

–WKW

A hysterical George Bush is losing the Associated Press

Ah, the good old days, basically everything from Sept. 12, 2001, to, say, a month ago. Those were dreamy days for George W. Bush and the neocon war machine. Bush would talk, reporters would transcribe, and that was the news.

Then, 2007 came, anti-war sentiment bloomed, and the Associated Press discovered that stories may have more than one side; Why, just today Bush was hysterically shreiking about Al Qaeda and Iraq, and how they Democrats will kill everyone if you let them, and the AP actually looked twice:

Bush warns anew of terror threat

By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer

CHARLESTON, S.C. – President Bush, trying to justify the Iraq war, cited intelligence reports Tuesday he said showed a link between al-Qaida’s operation in Iraq and the terror group that attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. Democrats dismissed Bush’s argument.

“The merger between al-Qaida and its Iraqi affiliate is an alliance of killers and that is why the finest military in the world is on their trail,” Bush said at Charleston Air Force Base, a launching point for cargo and military personnel headed to Iraq.

Citing security details he declassified for his speech, Bush described al-Qaida’s burgeoning operation in Iraq as a direct threat to the United States. Bush accused critics in Congress of misleading the American public by suggesting otherwise.

“That’s like watching a man walk into a bank with a mask and a gun and saying, ‘He’s probably just there to cash a check,’” Bush told troops at Charleston Air Force Base.

…

Al-Qaida had no active cells in Iraq when the U.S. invaded in March 2003, and its operation there is much larger now than before the war, U.S. intelligence officers say. The war itself has turned into a valuable recruiting tool for al-Qaida, senior intelligence officials concede. Bush denied that the war triggered al-Qaida’s operations in Iraq.

As the President of the United States goes completely off the deep end and is thisclose from just pulling out a gun and aiming it at U.S. citizens while screaming “Why aren’t you terrified?!?!?!?” it’s nice to see that the AP is trying to be more than stenographers.

–WKW

Alberto Gonzales a lying scumbag – but at least the N.Y. Times should know FISA was updated

So, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales got up in front of Congress again and lied his ass off, and probably came with in 10 seconds of telling them to screw themselves and that he was bullet-proof.

But the guy’s a scumbag criminal, so that’s neither here nor there.

One of his lies is rather irritating, however, especially considering how easily the mainstream media just accepts it, and how easy it is to debunk:

From the N.Y. Times

Mr. Gonzales said he wanted to focus on his department’s “No. 1 priority, keeping our country safe from terrorists, and the urgent need, quite frankly, for more help from Congress in this fight.” Specifically, he said, Congress should update the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to address the vast advances in telecommunications technology in recent years and ease restrictions on gathering intelligence.

From Glenn Greenwald, here’s what President Bush said in Oct. 2001 – after FISA had been updated:

The changes, effective today, will help counter a threat like no other our Nation has ever faced. . . .

We’re dealing with terrorists who operate by highly sophisticated methods and technologies, some of which were not even available when our existing laws were written. The bill before me takes account of the new realities and dangers posed by modern terrorists. It will help law enforcement to identify, to dismantle, to disrupt, and to punish terrorists before they strike. . . .

Surveillance of communications is another essential tool to pursue and stop terrorists. The existing law was written in the era of rotary telephones. This new law I sign today will allow surveillance of all communications used by terrorists, including e-mails, the Internet, and cell phones. As of today, we’ll be able to better meet the technological challenges posed by this proliferation of communications technology. . .

And then the next day Bush said:

The bill I signed yesterday gives intelligence and law enforcement officials additional tools they need to hunt and capture and punish terrorists. Our enemies operate by highly sophisticated methods and technologies, using the latest means of communication and the new weapon of bioterrorism.

When earlier laws were written, some of these methods did not even exist. The new law recognizes the realities and dangers posed by the modern terrorist. It will help us to prosecute terrorist organizations — and also to detect them before they strike. . . .

Surveillance of communications is another essential method of law enforcement. But for a long time, we have been working under laws written in the era of rotary telephones. Under the new law, officials may conduct court-ordered surveillance of all modern forms of communication used by terrorists.

So really, this is more for the media then to Gonzales. The current Attorney General is a liar, so he’s plenty aware that FISA was updated. Maybe it’s time others caught on to that as well. Click here to read the rest of Greenwald’s post.

–WKW

Galveston, Texas officials selling out their citizens and their past

It is one thing to feel saddened by humanity’s lack of foresight when it comes to Global Warming. But when leaders ignore basic history in order to profit is when you start to realize that the term “blood money” no longer carries with it much stigma.

To wit: The Republican-led Galveston City Council will agree to allow a development which will sever the area’s sea wall, which was created more than 100 years ago following the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, in terms of lives lost.

Basically, the Council commissioned geologists to study the effect of the development on the area, then after not liking what the geologists had to say, ignored the report and will proceed anyway.

Critics: Galveston development goes against logic

[Read more]

Cuban boxers defect from Pan American Games – Fidel blames U.S., German mafia

For Cuban boxers Guillermo Rigondeaux and Erislandy Lara, free health care wasn’t enough to keep them in Cuba, as the pair defected from the Cuban team in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during the Pan American Games.

Speaking out against the defection, Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro blamed the U.S., as well as the German mafia.

“In Germany a mafia exists that is dedicated to select, buy and promote Cuban boxers in international competitions. They use fine psychological methods and many millions of dollar,” said Castro.

Rigondeaux, 26, won a gold medal during the Sydney Olympics, and was considered by many to be Cuba’s best fighter.

In December, three other Cuban boxers – Yan Barthelemy, Yuriorkis Gamboa and Odlanier Solis – defected during a tournament in Caracas. They now box professionally in Germany.

During the recent Gold Cup held in the U.S., Cuban soccer players Osvaldo Alonso and Lester More also defected.

–WKW

Victory Caucus – news aggregator site

On the Internet, few sites are any less interesting than news aggregators. Sure, some can be handy for some, but for the most part, they’re sites that just link to other people’s sites and work.

To find an example of such a site, head over to VictoryCaucus.com.

“Check out the new site, which has a lot of useful news-aggregation features.” says Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit, funneling hits its way to give Victory Caucus a brief appearance of success, as reported by Glenn Greenwald.

TownHall also sent some hits its way.

“Hats off to N.Z. Bear for pouring himself into the effort to get information on the war into a form that is easily accessible and easily referenced,” writes Hugh Hewitt.

And Captain Ed mentioned it.

“The Victory Caucus has its new website up and running, and NZ Bear has applied his talents towards expanding the information on Iraq and Afghanistan to put data in easy reach,” writes the Captain.

And Pajamas Media.

And Hot Air.

“N.Z. Bear’s Victory Caucus is back. It’s packed with new features that make it a dashboard for keeping track of the war. Very cool!” writes Bryan.

And John Weidner waxes poetic of the value of a solid, yet patriotic news aggregator, destined to leave those wimpy, liberal news aggregators eating its dust:

“Take a look at N.Z. Bear’s revamped Victory Caucus. It’s very impressive.

I’ve been able to write with confidence about the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns, because I follow New Media sources that give a better picture than what we get from the perverted Old Media. (Or, as one of the Fadhil Brothers termed them long ago, The Gasping Media.)

But now there’s a really good aggregator of these sources.”

Well, you get the point. Stay tuned for the crowing next week when they gloat that Victory Caucus got 495 billion unique visitors in its first week. Then listen for the crickets in a month or so when it levels off at 75 hits a day. It is a news aggregator, after all.

–WKW

Atention Baby Boomers: The Weekly Standard thinks you’re a bunch of cowards

Dean Barrett of The Weekly Standard makes it clear and doesn’t stutter: The Baby Boomer generation was a bunch of cowards.

The 9/11 Generation: Better than the Boomers.

In the 1960s, history called the Baby Boomers. They didn’t answer the phone.

Confronted with a generation-defining conflict, the cold war, the Boomers–those, at any rate, who came to be emblematic of their generation–took the opposite path from their parents during World War II. Sadly, the excesses of Woodstock became the face of the Boomers’ response to their moment of challenge. War protests where agitated youths derided American soldiers as baby-killers added no luster to their image.

Few of the leading lights of that generation joined the military. Most calculated how they could avoid military service, and their attitude rippled through the rest of the century. In the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s, military service didn’t occur to most young people as an option, let alone a duty.

But now, once again, history is calling. Fortunately, the present generation appears more reminiscent of their grandparents than their parents.

So stop you’re whining about Vietnam, and being drafted, and serving your country. William Kristol and The Weekly Standard think you were cowards. And being that none of them have ever been anywhere near an actual war, they know.

–WKW

The U.S. in 2007: No one has the right to know anything the President is doing, ever

For staunch supporters of President Bush and his policies, how often can you say “Oh, he would never take advantage of this rule” or “They’d never abuse that new law” or “We can trust them” or “If you haven’t done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about”?

Because by my count, those terms have had to be bandied about on a loop for the past six years. And every day, the government gets less and less transparent.

Congressman Denied Access To Post-Attack Continuity Plans

WASHINGTON — Constituents called Rep. Peter DeFazio’s office, worried there was a conspiracy buried in the classified portion of a White House plan for operating the government after a terrorist attack.

As a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, DeFazio, D-Ore., is permitted to enter a secure “bubbleroom” in the Capitol and examine classified material. So he asked the White House to see the secret documents.

On Wednesday, DeFazio got his answer: DENIED.

“I just can’t believe they’re going to deny a member of Congress the right of reviewing how they plan to conduct the government of the United States after a significant terrorist attack,” DeFazio said.

Homeland Security Committee staffers told his office that the White House initially approved his request, but it was later quashed. DeFazio doesn’t know who did it or why.

“We’re talking about the continuity of the government of the United States of America,” DeFazio said. “I would think that would be relevant to any member of Congress, let alone a member of the Homeland Security Committee.”

Bush administration spokesman Trey Bohn declined to say why DeFazio was denied access: “We do not comment through the press on the process that this access entails. It is important to keep in mind that much of the information related to the continuity of government is highly sensitive.”

–WKW

Can you help Pinkie find a home?

Pinkie is a 12-year-old Basset Hound in Alabama that needs a loving home. She’s willing to travel to the right owners, so if you or someone you know want to give a loving dog a safe and caring home, contact the fine folks at Alabama Basset and Bloodhound Rescue, who go the extra mile for “senior” dogs:

Here at ABBR we are devoting our time, resources and space to help Senior dogs of all shapes and breeds. Each year, more and more seniors are dropped at the shelters in the South. Everyone of them with slim or no chance of getting adopted…think about it..when someone says “that’s an old dog”, haven’t you walked on..you think of your children and what it would do to the family to take him home and then loose him right away.

Now with more seniors showing up in the shelters, all the rescue folks are trying to make room for just one more..well we now have a way that you can help…it is called being a Guardian Angel to one of hounds. We will be giving regular updates on these kids and all it would take is a monthly donation or if you can’t do monthly then a one time donation will go a long way to help with medical treatment, food & long term care.

You can find Pinkie’s “Home Page” by clicking here, or find out more at Shakesville. If you want to look locally for a Basset to adopt, check out the Daily Drool, which has links aplenty to regional rescue centers.

–WKW

Breaking: William Kristol explodes from hypocrisy

WASHINGTON — The rear section of Time Magazine star columnist William Kristol exploded today, leaving the neo-conservative leader hospitalized and in stable condition. Attending physicians have said they believe Kristol is the first human to ever literally explode from intellectual dishonesty.

“We all knew that hypocrisy builds up,” said Dr. Sven Hanson of Toronto, where Kristol is being treated. “We actually refer to this as the “Trickle-Down Theory” of intellectual dishonesty. This is, however, the first confirmed case of some one exploding from it.”

The incident occurred in the offices of The Weekly Standard, the right-wing politics magazine of which Kristol is editor. Kristol had just returned from filming a segment for Fox News Sunday, where he had claimed that Demcoractic candidates for President had become ideologues due to the fact that they were attending the YearlyKos Blogger Convention. Upon returning to his office, Kristol began complaining of severe intestinal cramps, a recurring condition, sources say.

Several staffers saw the explosion and quickly rushed to the side of their collapsed colleague.

“It was really terrifying,” said one staffer who asked not to be named. “There were little bits of Bill flying everywhere. Yet each of the bits, in their own way, managed to look quite smug.”

Kristol, a leading advocate of the Iraq war, as well as an advocate of a first-strike attack on Iran, was said to be under evaluation at Toronto General Hospital. Sources say he was taken across the border by helicopter after learning that his health care plan did not cover ailments brought on by rank hypocrisy.

According to Dr. Hanson, Kristol was forced to be sedated, as he continually railed that anti-war activists had willed the condition upon him, which was making his condition worse. Hanson said it’s quite likely more prominent pundits and politicians will suffer from the same malady.

“During President George W. Bush’s recent colon exam he also procedure to eliminate some of the hypocrisy that has built up over the years,” said Dr. Hanson. “But there are quite a few people at risk here. For instance, I’d keep my distance from Bill O’Reilly or at least wear a raincoat if you’re around him. He could go at any time.”

–WKW

Hopkins outclinches Wright: Complete, indepth analysis

Bernard Hopkins was awarded a unanimous decision over Winky Wright, helped largely by the fact that he’s partners with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.

Indepth analysis

It was just a nightmarishly bad fight. The 12 minutes David Beckham played against Chelsea was a nonstop orgasm in comparison. Captured terrorists should be shown the fight on a loop. It was actually a 12-round clinch, not a fight. That about covers it. Putrid stuff.

–WKW

« Previous Page — Next Page »