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New Year - Same Ol', Same Ol'...
Author: BobR    Date: 01/02/2009 13:31:13

With the new year comes hopes and dreams of change and improvement. Such is the stuff of New Year's resolutions, psychic's predictions, and retrospectives, the latter seeming to indicate we have a clean slate with which to start over. For most people, however, this new year won't actually start until Jan 20th. Until then, we have to deal with the same old shit from 2008.

We can certainly count on the Bush Administration to obstruct justice and claim "Executive Privilege" right up to the very end. This time, it's Mukasey trying to protect Cheney:
The Justice Department this week released Attorney General Michael Mukasey's recommendation that President Bush invoke executive privilege in refusing to release to Congress transcripts of Dick Cheney's conversations with the FBI.

The seven-page letter (pdf), dated July 15, argues that disclosure of such records would hinder future presidents' ability to receive guidance from their advisers because Cheney's conversations detailed internal White House deliberations. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee requested the transcripts along with other documents related to its investigation into the leak of former CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity.

A bipartisan committee report has already determined the claim was inappropriate, and a separate report (pdf), that the committee has delayed voting on recommends holding Mukasey in contempt of Congress. It's unclear if the committee will ever vote on that report; a spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

I guess I should add that a Democratic-majority Congress will continue to wring it's hands and do nothing.

We can also count on Bush doing nothing (he stayed on vacation in Crawford while Israel got medieval on Hamas), while claiming to be "working hard":
President Bush in his New Year’s message to the nation vowed to keep working hard in the less than three weeks that he remains in office.

Bush, who has held several interviews in recent weeks that looked back at his presidency, used his last New Year’s message to “thank the American people for trusting me with the honor of serving our great country.
[...]
“Earlier this year, I promised that I would sprint to the finish of my time as president,” he stated. “We are working hard to keep that promise.”

Apparently he thinks the finish line is in Crawford, TX.

We can also count on FAUX News to carry water for the most brain-dead of the Republican party, if their New Years Eve coverage is any indication:
Throughout last night’s New Year’s eve broadcast, Fox News Channel allowed viewers to send in New Year’s greetings and wishes via text message. The messages were then scrolled across the bottom of the screen, replacing Fox’s normal crawling news headlines. While most messages were cordial, Fox allowed at least one racist message directed toward President-elect Obama to be broadcast. The message referenced Rush Limbaugh’s “Barack the Magic Negro” song:


Oddly, Bush's policies are being undone in the most unlikely of places. It was announced that Iraq is taking over the Green Zone, and our troops are essentially reporting to the Iraqi leadership. One of their first actions will be to close a base near the Iranian border used for staging dissident attacks on Iran:
Iraq plans to close a camp for Iranian dissidents who used to cross into Iran to mount assassinations and sabotage - a decision that has sharpened political differences between Baghdad and Washington.

Camp Ashraf, about 80 miles north of Baghdad, came under Iraqi control yesterday in a broad security handover that forms part of the US withdrawal agreement concluded late last year.

Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffaq al-Rubaie, led a delegation of defence and interior ministry officials to the camp last weekend, warning its 2,500 male and 1,000 female inmates that "staying in Iraq is not an option". The Iraqi government said it "is keen to execute its plans to close the camp and send its inhabitants to their country or other countries in a non-forcible manner".

US troops disarmed the opposition group known as the Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) after the 2003 invasion. They removed hundreds of armoured vehicles donated by Saddam Hussein but kept the camp intact because some Bush administration officials allegedly saw the MEK as a potential tool for regime change in Iran.

The Shia-led government in Baghdad has forged close relations with fellow Shias in Tehran and rejects such ambitions. It insisted that the US/Iraq security agreement contain a promise that Iraq would not be used for attacks on Iran or any other country

So apparently Bush is working hard to replace a government antagonistic to Iran with one that is allied with Iran. Heckuva job there Bushie!

I wonder how FAUX News will report it?


 

79 comments (Latest Comment: 01/03/2009 02:32:35 by TriSec)
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Comment by wickedpam on 01/02/2009 13:52:09
Morning :hug:

Comment by BobR on 01/02/2009 14:22:39
This is pretty amazing: mixed-race couple gives birth to mixed-race twins - for a second time

Comment by BobR on 01/02/2009 14:25:51
Comment by Raine on 01/02/2009 14:30:40
Good Morning....

Comment by TriSec on 01/02/2009 15:07:03
Morning, folks! Heading out to play in the snow later today...



Regarding the NASA/Pentagon thingy....done correctly, I think it could be a good idea. The sad fact of the matter is most of our technological innovations in the last century were all done by or for the military. Cutting through some red tape and making it easier for that technology to reach the civilian markets would probably be a good thing.



(to cite one example, the first military jets flew in the 1939 (Germany) and 1941 (England), but it wasn't until the Boeing Model 707 (USA) in 1958 that jet travel became commonplace...)





Comment by Raine on 01/02/2009 15:07:58
I made no resolutions to break!

Comment by TriSec on 01/02/2009 15:21:35
I made one resolution that was actually witnessed (at work), but I made it an easy one to keep: Eat more cake!





Comment by Will in Chicago on 01/02/2009 15:24:23
Good morning, bloggers!! Excellent post BobR!



I expect FAUX News to bury anything unflattering to Fearless Leader.

Comment by BobR on 01/02/2009 15:25:08
Quote by TriSec:

I made one resolution that was actually witnessed (at work), but I made it an easy one to keep: Eat more cake!





Cake?... not donuts?

Comment by wickedpam on 01/02/2009 15:27:13
Quote by BobR:

Quote by TriSec:

I made one resolution that was actually witnessed (at work), but I made it an easy one to keep: Eat more cake!





Cake?... not donuts?




cake donuts ;)



Comment by TriSec on 01/02/2009 15:28:50
Comment by velveeta jones on 01/02/2009 15:35:47
Morning all!



:yawn:



slept in today. Fighting a cold.

Comment by TriSec on 01/02/2009 15:44:27
BEWARE THE COOKIE PUSS!!!





http://adweek.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/cookiepuss_1.jpg






:sprint:



Comment by Raine on 01/02/2009 15:48:31
:rofl: Cookie Puss!



those carvel Commercials used to creep me out... the ones when Tom Carvel was still alive trying to tell us all to eat the Cookie Puss...

Comment by Raine on 01/02/2009 15:52:31
I also found Fudgie the Whale scary too...

Comment by Raine on 01/02/2009 15:54:35


Comment by Raine on 01/02/2009 15:55:45


Comment by livingonli on 01/02/2009 16:29:20
Good morning.



Carvel Ice cream cakes killed the blog.

Comment by wickedpam on 01/02/2009 16:34:40


Comment by starling310 on 01/02/2009 16:38:04
Yo.Yo. Wassup Blogmies (Blog Homies). . . it could have been BloMies, but that's just wrong.



Everyone have a lovely New Year holiday?

I am "back at work;" logged into my work laptop, sitting at my kitchen table.



Cold day in CT...Brrr.



I spent the week doing Rodent Relocation. So far, I have caught "Desperaux1" and "Desperaux2." They have been relocated to the Middlefield Hiking Trails, sent on their way with a Ritz cracker and Peanut Butter. Hope they make it. Poor little guys.



Got invited by a VERY ATTRACTIVE doctor to go snowboarding this weekend at Stowe Mountain. $80/day for lift tix + food + lodging. Had to turn it down.

Hate being a responsible adult.

: sidenote : my lady friend, Sacha, and I have not been a couple since September. It's no big thing...we are ridiculously incompatible, but remain good friends. For those of you wondering "Why is star mentioning a new lady??? Tsk. Tsk."

Comment by livingonli on 01/02/2009 16:38:25
I guess it's that kind of day.

Comment by livingonli on 01/02/2009 16:42:06
Quote by starling310:

Yo.Yo. Wassup Blogmies (Blog Homies). . . it could have been BloMies, but that's just wrong.



Everyone have a lovely New Year holiday?

I am "back at work;" logged into my work laptop, sitting at my kitchen table.



Cold day in CT...Brrr.



I spent the week doing Rodent Relocation. So far, I have caught "Desperaux1" and "Desperaux2." They have been relocated to the Middlefield Hiking Trails, sent on their way with a Ritz cracker and Peanut Butter. Hope they make it. Poor little guys.



Got invited by a VERY ATTRACTIVE doctor to go snowboarding this weekend at Stowe Mountain. $80/day for lift tix + food + lodging. Had to turn it down.

Hate being a responsible adult.

: sidenote : my lady friend, Sacha, and I have not been a couple since September. It's no big thing...we are ridiculously incompatible, but remain good friends. For those of you wondering "Why is star mentioning a new lady??? Tsk. Tsk."


Well, it happens. Then again, these days my relationship prospects are between zero and nil.

Comment by starling310 on 01/02/2009 16:43:32
Quote by livingonli: Well, it happens. Then again, these days my relationship prospects are between zero and nil.












Comment by livingonli on 01/02/2009 16:49:39
Thanks,

Comment by livingonli on 01/02/2009 16:51:07
Did anyone see when they ran Show Biz Bugs yesterday on Cartoon Network that they cut the whole last minute and a half where Daffy consumed explosives in a devil costume. Are they that worried that it will inspire kids to swallow gasoline, gunpowder, and Uranium-238?

Comment by starling310 on 01/02/2009 16:52:01
: scans blog :



Those cookie puss commercials used to FREAK ME OUT!



Couldn't we make the "Resolution" holiday take place in a warmer month? I would more inclined to run more, for example, if it were not 9 degrees.



Comment by livingonli on 01/02/2009 16:57:37
The winter weather makes me want to move to a warmer climate.

Comment by clintster on 01/02/2009 17:04:17
OK, people, I am going to undertake an experiment. On my old blog, I am going to be posting every day of the year, with a twist. Check it out.

Comment by BobR on 01/02/2009 17:04:55
Quote by livingonli:

The winter weather makes me want to move to a warmer climate.


In 6 months, the summer weather will make me want to move to a cooler climate.

Comment by BobR on 01/02/2009 17:06:50
Quote by clintster:

OK, people, I am going to undertake an experiment. On my old blog, I am going to be posting every day of the year, with a twist. Check it out.


The twist being... ?

Comment by Scoopster on 01/02/2009 17:21:26
Afternoon all.. Busy busy end-of-year end-of-month stuff to do! Plus the monthly meeting, and now we're going out to lunch! :party:



Ugh resolutions.. well I made a couple.



- to finally and completely quit smoking. I got real close last year..

- to lose at least 50 lbs., and not gain it back...

Comment by Mondobubba on 01/02/2009 17:28:20
Quote by starling310:

Yo.Yo. Wassup Blogmies (Blog Homies). . . it could have been BloMies, but that's just wrong.



Everyone have a lovely New Year holiday?

I am "back at work;" logged into my work laptop, sitting at my kitchen table.



Cold day in CT...Brrr.



I spent the week doing Rodent Relocation. So far, I have caught "Desperaux1" and "Desperaux2." They have been relocated to the Middlefield Hiking Trails, sent on their way with a Ritz cracker and Peanut Butter. Hope they make it. Poor little guys.



Got invited by a VERY ATTRACTIVE doctor to go snowboarding this weekend at Stowe Mountain. $80/day for lift tix + food + lodging. Had to turn it down.

Hate being a responsible adult.

: sidenote : my lady friend, Sacha, and I have not been a couple since September. It's no big thing...we are ridiculously incompatible, but remain good friends. For those of you wondering "Why is star mentioning a new lady??? Tsk. Tsk."




A doctor? you turned down a doctor? What, wait! Huh, where did the Jewish mother come from. Never mind me. :blush: Hello from the Study Bunker everybody!

Comment by Mondobubba on 01/02/2009 17:30:52
Quote by wickedpam:

Quote by BobR:

Quote by TriSec:

I made one resolution that was actually witnessed (at work), but I made it an easy one to keep: Eat more cake!





Cake?... not donuts?




cake donuts ;)







mmmm cake donuts. :drool:

Comment by m-hadley on 01/02/2009 17:32:35
Mornin' Blogmies (I agree with you 100% Star "Blomies" is just plain wrong :P),

Funny Clinster, you have resolved to blog every day, while I believe that one of my resolutions will be to blog less and live more - I am cutting way back on my cable - I'll lose MSNBC (Buh-bye Rachel - it was fun while it lasted :D) and "Intervention" my two favorite shows. So, much less TeeVee for me - I found out during a local test that the TV in my bedroom will quit working completely on Feb. 17th or whatever the date that the switch from analog to digital happens. So I may renew my Netflix subscription - haven't decided yet. Think I'll start reading some of the hundreds of book I've acquired over the last couple of years - boring, I know, but it's cheap entertainment and that's what I'm looking for at the moment. Fewer gadgets, more time outside, more time curled up with a good book, more time at the bark park with the boys... That's my new year's resolution - FWIW. I will continue to check in with 4F of course - I haven't lost my frickin' mind :dance:

Cheers,

mfaye & :peace:

Comment by starling310 on 01/02/2009 17:48:38
Roomie, I have been thinkin' of getting rid of cable, but I'M SCARED!!!!

Comment by m-hadley on 01/02/2009 17:55:43
Quote by starling310:

Roomie, I have been thinkin' of getting rid of cable, but I'M SCARED!!!!




Heya Star, Dahling,

I am not removing myself completely from the cable TeeVee world, just cutting back to basic cable (network channels, PBS, ESPN and WGN - I think). It drops my bill by about $30.00/mo. Enough to notice, anyway. I recommend doing that initially - don't try to go completely cold turkey - I would be scared for you, too :D

Cheers,

mfaye :fbump:



Comment by starling310 on 01/02/2009 18:04:48
Quote by m-hadley:

Quote by starling310:

Roomie, I have been thinkin' of getting rid of cable, but I'M SCARED!!!!




Heya Star, Dahling,

I am not removing myself completely from the cable TeeVee world, just cutting back to basic cable (network channels, PBS, ESPN and WGN - I think). It drops my bill by about $30.00/mo. Enough to notice, anyway. I recommend doing that initially - don't try to go completely cold turkey - I would be scared for you, too :D

Cheers,

mfaye :fbump:





Is it still Digital, meaning do you have a cable box? Or, does the cable just plug into your tv?



Maybe after the final season of "L Word" I will do it.



Comment by velveeta jones on 01/02/2009 18:08:21
Star!! On the blog!!



Were that Velveeta was younger, and not married......... :p

Comment by livingonli on 01/02/2009 18:08:22
Since I work in the industry, I can't cut my TV although I do think that many channels are useless. I wonder if the economy is going to kill off some of those superfluous digital channels that just duplicate existing programming. And it sucks that Comcrap bumps MSNBC to digital forcing you to get a digital box to watch it and pay extra.

Comment by starling310 on 01/02/2009 18:10:55
Quote by velveeta jones:

Star!! On the blog!!



Were that Velveeta was younger, and not married......... :p






Wha....



I never knew.....



: gosh :

Comment by wickedpam on 01/02/2009 18:13:32
Quote by m-hadley:

Mornin' Blogmies (I agree with you 100% Star "Blomies" is just plain wrong :P),

Funny Clinster, you have resolved to blog every day, while I believe that one of my resolutions will be to blog less and live more - I am cutting way back on my cable - I'll lose MSNBC (Buh-bye Rachel - it was fun while it lasted :D) and "Intervention" my two favorite shows. So, much less TeeVee for me - I found out during a local test that the TV in my bedroom will quit working completely on Feb. 17th or whatever the date that the switch from analog to digital happens. So I may renew my Netflix subscription - haven't decided yet. Think I'll start reading some of the hundreds of book I've acquired over the last couple of years - boring, I know, but it's cheap entertainment and that's what I'm looking for at the moment. Fewer gadgets, more time outside, more time curled up with a good book, more time at the bark park with the boys... That's my new year's resolution - FWIW. I will continue to check in with 4F of course - I haven't lost my frickin' mind :dance:

Cheers,

mfaye & :peace:






Don't we have a blog or forum library where we can swap books? I mean if your looking for other books to read that is.



Comment by starling310 on 01/02/2009 18:15:12
Quote by wickedpam:

Quote by m-hadley:

Mornin' Blogmies (I agree with you 100% Star "Blomies" is just plain wrong :P),

Funny Clinster, you have resolved to blog every day, while I believe that one of my resolutions will be to blog less and live more - I am cutting way back on my cable - I'll lose MSNBC (Buh-bye Rachel - it was fun while it lasted :D) and "Intervention" my two favorite shows. So, much less TeeVee for me - I found out during a local test that the TV in my bedroom will quit working completely on Feb. 17th or whatever the date that the switch from analog to digital happens. So I may renew my Netflix subscription - haven't decided yet. Think I'll start reading some of the hundreds of book I've acquired over the last couple of years - boring, I know, but it's cheap entertainment and that's what I'm looking for at the moment. Fewer gadgets, more time outside, more time curled up with a good book, more time at the bark park with the boys... That's my new year's resolution - FWIW. I will continue to check in with 4F of course - I haven't lost my frickin' mind :dance:

Cheers,

mfaye & :peace:






Don't we have a blog or forum library where we can swap books? I mean if your looking for other books to read that is.







Ooh...yes, mala..Thank you for remembering. I started it!



The lovely Mondo and I swapped a book based on that.

I don't know if anyone else has found it useful.



Comment by Raine on 01/02/2009 18:20:32
Quote by clintster:

OK, people, I am going to undertake an experiment. On my old blog, I am going to be posting every day of the year, with a twist. Check it out.


breathtaking.







:P

Comment by starling310 on 01/02/2009 18:20:53
: bumped the "Book Shelf" blog :



Uhh...did the appearance of the blog JUST change?



Comment by Raine on 01/02/2009 18:22:50
Hi all. I've been floating around the intertubes today...



and sketching a bit, and getting ready to make some homeade Split pea soup.







Comment by trojanrabbit on 01/02/2009 18:24:40
I sometimes record the local station's overnight show here, depending upon what's scheduled so I can listen to it later. In any event I've been waking up to some version of an overnight show on WBZ for many many years.



Probably because CBS is in such wonderful financial shape, most of the overnight crew was axed as of last night. Don't know if the host (Steve LeVeille) knew about it, but his holiday fill-in didn't know until the callers filled him in during the first hour. I didn't know until I started editing the recording.



The overnight shows have been a staple on 'BZ for decades, because they have coverage to most of the US and Canada. Rumor has it the replacement will be some syndicated crap or worse - infomercials. I see one station leaving my car radio presets.



It's worse than the feeling I had when I lost Stephanie (until I found the 'cast)

Comment by clintster on 01/02/2009 18:25:18
Quote by Raine:

Quote by clintster:

OK, people, I am going to undertake an experiment. On my old blog, I am going to be posting every day of the year, with a twist. Check it out.


breathtaking.







:P




Thankees.





Seriously, my plan is to blog every day with a post corresponding to the number of the days in the year. Obviously, it's gonna be kinda difficult in the early going to communicate anything substantive, but I am looking to expand as my word limit does. This should be fun. :)

Comment by wickedpam on 01/02/2009 18:26:55
Quote by starling310:

: bumped the "Book Shelf" blog :



Uhh...did the appearance of the blog JUST change?







There was a recent update - you must be seeing the new sleeker verison



Comment by livingonli on 01/02/2009 18:28:38
Infomercials are bad enough on TV, who is pathetic enough to listen to them on the radio?



Then again, New York's sad excuse for a progressive talk station runs them in the late morning, overnights and on weekends.

Comment by BobR on 01/02/2009 18:29:42
Quote by starling310:

: bumped the "Book Shelf" blog :



Uhh...did the appearance of the blog JUST change?



It changed about a month ago. Perhaps you need to update your bookmark (it should NOT read "www.FourFreedomsBlog.com/BlogList.php")