Friday, December 22, 2006

Hey, Dean! Yo, Pelosi! Why impeach?

* this is the final para of the NYT article about the naval buildup near Iran:
"As an example, at present there are about 45 warships deployed in the Persian Gulf and waters across the region from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, with a third of those supplied by allies, which this month include Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Pakistan and Britain."
I wonder who will be america's allies next month?

* AP:
" Former ambassador Joseph Wilson asked a federal judge Wednesday not to force him to testify in the CIA leak case and accused former White House aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby of trying to harass him on the witness stand."
* don (grumpy don):
Hey, Dean! Yo, Pelosi! Why impeach?

Two words: signing statements.

It's one thing to thumb your nose at the law and the process by which it's made, but to do it OVER 700 FUCKING TIMES in 6 years is beyond criminal. It's undeniable evidence of intent to consistently defy the law.

Oh, btw, the whole defence of being able to pull all of this 'cause he's a "wartime president"? Kinda requires being at war. Y'know, as in "declaration of-", which can be enacted by, yes, you guessed it, congress. "The Global War on Terror" is a tagline, not a policy or a strategy or, for that matter, A WAR. Throw that bullshit line on the pile of evidence that he doesn't give a fuck what congress, the people or anyone else thinks.

He will not listen. He will not play nice. He'll say he will and then, when you're not looking, he will fuck you. You might not know it right away (though Cheney's smirk'll be a tip off; get him too) or exactly how, but you will have been fucked. Don't expect dinner and flowers before or after.

He will not willingly step down, he will not go on his own, and he might not go quietly (gods, I hope not...), but he (and his team) have to go. He still has 2 years left in his term and if you believe he gives two choleric shits what Congress and the people think, you're almost as far removed from reality as he is.

3 comments:

Don said...

...allies, which this month include Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Pakistan and Britain.

Curious about Bahrain & Pakistan, which share a body of water and a border, respectively, with Iran. No sign of the US's new buddy India in there, but with their history with Muslims in general and Pakistan in particular, maybe not a bad idea.

Speaking of Iran's borders, it's also interesting that yesterday in Turkmenistan, their immediate northern neighbour, the President-for-Life, um, reached the end of his term, so to speak. Already there are some reports of a scrabble for power and, needless to say, speculation that he'd been poisoned (text in German). He had a reputation for keeping the world at arm's length, so it'll be very interesting to see what his successor(s) do... when the dust settles.

* don (grumpy don):

I object! That was irate, dripping sarcastically rantastic Don. (Grumpy is my first 15 conscious minutes in the morning when the caffeine and nicotine haven't kicked in. Not pretty...)

Anonymous said...

This said,

"...at present there are about 45 warships deployed in the Persian Gulf and waters across the region from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean, with a third of those supplied by allies, which this month include Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Pakistan and Britain."

Who pays the allies for this expenditure of fuel? Are the allies doing this because they are getting covert reimbursement?

Did the story say what kind of ships the allies provide? Are they warships? Are they support ships, hospital ships, floating casinos?

lukery said...

steveA - i'm not great on the military hardware side - but the article says 'warships' - so i'm gonna go out on a limb and assume they are warships.

btw - aside from my original snark, there's something very weird in the 'this month' formulation. i have no idea what it means, if anything - but those words are either meaningful or completely extraneous. i dont know the journo, so i cant comment on why he may have included that expression. if larisa, for example, put those words in there, i'd be confident that it wasnt an accident