OT: Election/Politics thread, Part 6

[RobVarak]

And so the moral of the story is....Obama has done little/nothing for ethics reform, and the press is in the tank for Obama. That doesn't make any sense.

The moral of the story is that despite Obama's "revolution" we've had no letup whatsoever in the volume or audaciousness of corruption in Illinois, and claiming otherwise (even in campaign puffery) is hypocritical and comical.

[bdoughty]

The moral of the story is that despite Obama's "revolution" we've had no letup whatsoever in the volume or audaciousness of corruption in Illinois, and claiming otherwise (even in campaign puffery) is hypocritical and comical.

Speaking of hypocritical.

Guess what is taking place in the city of Chicago this week.

Chicago to host 30th Annual Governmental Ethics Conference

http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webp ... =I+Want+To


The City of Chicago and its Chicago Board of Ethics, and the Cook County Board of Ethics, the Illinois State Board of Elections and the Illinois Executive Ethics Commission are proud to host the 30th Annual COGEL (Council on Governmental Ethics Laws) Conference, to be held at the Westin River North Hotel from December 7- 10, 2008.

COGEL is the preeminent professional organization for government agencies, organizations, law firms and individuals with responsibilities or interests in governmental ethics, elections, campaign finance, lobbyist laws and freedom of information. The Conference will draw more than 400 attendees from all over the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, the U.K. and Kenya. Plenary and Keynote Speakers include Professor Paula Franzese of the Seton Hall University School of Law, Ronald Gould, Former Assistant Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, and former U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Sullivan, Esq., a member of the Chicago-based law firm of Jenner & Block. Cook County Board President Stroger is scheduled to welcome attendees on the first full day of the meeting.

For further information, please contact the Chicago Board of Ethics at 312-744-9660, or see: http://www.cogel.org/

[RobVarak]

That's just priceless. If there were still an Old Testament God, the roof in that place would fall in.

I give you the Chicago Board of Ethics:



OK, this is even better:

Plenary and Keynote Speakers include Professor Paula Franzese of the Seton Hall University School of Law, Ronald Gould, Former Assistant Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, and former U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Sullivan, Esq., a member of the Chicago-based law firm of Jenner & Block. Cook County Board President Stroger is scheduled to welcome attendees on the first full day of the meeting.

That would be Todd "Urkel" Stroger, who inherited his position from his thoroughly corrupt father and who is the head of the nation's single largest patronage organization.

Somebody send John Kass to this thing...please? This is about the 50th time this week that I wished Mike Royko were still alive.

[Rodster]

Simply Classic !

Report: Jackson backers sought cash for Ill. gov.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081212/ap_ ... or_jackson

CHICAGO – Businessmen with ties to both Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson discussed raising $1 million for Blagojevich to help persuade him to appoint Jackson to President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, according to a published report.

Citing unnamed sources, the Chicago Tribune reports in a story for Friday's editions that businessman Raghuveer Nayak and Blagojevich aide Rajinder Bedi told attendees at an Oct. 31 meeting that they needed to raise the money for the governor to ensure Jackson's appointment.

[GTHobbes]

"Bush's Final F. U."

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/st ... s_final_fu

I hope this cocksucker rots for the s*** he's getting away with.

[greggsand]

"Bush's Final F. U."

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/st ... s_final_fu

I hope this cocksucker rots for the s*** he's getting away with.

GW is also trying to put an extra nail in the internet gambling coffin. Idiots, nothing like forcing people to go further underground...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/1 ... 43154.html

[wco81]

How can you question those actions, given his legacy?


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... 5069.story

[XXXIV]

I find it amazing that people actually expect him to say he sucked.

Welcome to earth. Enjoy your stay. Watch out for sharp objects.

[Feanor]

"Bush's Final F. U."

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/st ... s_final_fu

I hope this cocksucker rots for the s*** he's getting away with.

It will be a long time before America is cursed with a president as awful and callous as Bush. Hopefully.

[bdoughty]

It will be a long time before America is cursed with a president as awful and callous as Bush. Hopefully.

[Jackdog]

It will be a long time before America is cursed with a president as awful and callous as Bush. Hopefully.

President Bush done more for Africa than any other US President

The Upside of Bush's Foreign Policy
By ARTHUR BROOKS

One infrequently hears kind words uttered about President Bush in educated circles, particularly in the area of foreign aid. It is simply an article of faith, especially on the political left, that this administration has been an unmitigated disaster in improving America's position internationally, or helping the world's needy.

But here's a rare dissenting viewpoint: "I think he's done an incredible job, his administration, on AIDS. And 250,000 Africans are on anti-viral drugs. They literally owe their lives to America. In one year that's been done." Who made this radically pro-American claim? No doubt it was a Bush administration stooge, right? Wrong. These are the words of Bono, the Irish rock star and humanitarian activist. And here's what fellow rocker-activist Bob Geldof has to say: " � the Bush administration is the most radical � in a positive sense � in its approach to Africa since Kennedy."

This just has to be incorrect � it conflicts too much with established wisdom. And what do a couple of rock stars know about Africa, anyway? In this case, they know plenty. Here are a few facts that most Americans will not hear because they conflict with elite stereotypes about the Bush administration.

When Bill Clinton entered the White House in 1993, American aid to Africa began to fall from the levels reached during the administration of George H.W. Bush. In 1995, the American government cut development assistance to Africa � increasingly in the grip of an AIDS epidemic � by about 25%. By 1998, most estimates said Africa was receiving at least $100 million less a year in aid from America than it had received in the early 1990s. Furthermore, no aid was specifically earmarked for sub-Saharan Africa, which had to compete with Asia and Latin America for a total of $1.8 billion in undesignated development funding scraps. The Clinton administration suffered relatively little backlash in activist circles, where some were more comfortable criticizing drug companies for not giving away free AIDS drugs than for criticizing the Democratic administration for neglecting the world's poorest.

This makes it all the more shocking to consider what the Bush administration did when Mr. Bush took office in 2001. The president raised development assistance by 30% between 2001 and 2003, bringing aid to sub-Saharan Africa to the highest levels in American history. He also raised global HIV-AIDS funding by 36% his first year in office. By 2006, annual American aid to Africa had topped $4 billion. If Mr. Bush has his way, it will be nearly $9 billion by 2010.

Today, three sub-Saharan African countries � Uganda, Sudan, and Ethiopia � are among the top 10 recipients of American foreign aid.

While critics of Bush administration have faulted Mr. Bush for a lack of success in ending the genocide in Darfur, most fail to notice the administration's impressive success in ending the conflicts in the Congo and Liberia. Mr. Bush's diplomacy has not been achieved only at the barrel of a gun � he has met with almost three dozen African heads of state, an unprecedented diplomatic accomplishment for an American president.

Most of the Bush administration's accomplishments in Africa have received little press, and have provided few photo-ops. Africa is a part of the world not well covered by the press here, and American generosity there simply does not square with the press's typical caricature of the Bush administration � one that is sympathetic to elite opinion, but often resistant to actual data.

The achievements in Africa have been about saving lives and improving the lot of the world's most desperate people. These are the same people largely forgotten by past administrations, and who may very well be forgotten again after Mr. Bush leaves office.

There is plenty more that can be done in Africa still. We can increase our government aid. We can work to improve trade with Africa, starting with the elimination of agricultural subsidies in American and Europe that lower prices to African farmers and destroy the ability for indigenous markets to develop. In addition, there is the panoply of nongovernmental organizations doing heroic relief work on that continent.

Working for these goals is critically important. But so is the truth about what is really going on today. Next time your interlocutor assails the Bush administration for its hard-heartedness, remember Africa.

Bob Geldof in Rwanda gives Bush his props


KIGALI, Rwanda — Bob Geldof has parachuted into the White House travel pool here in Rwanda, and will join us on the flight from Air Force One to Ghana tonight.


He's going to interview President Bush for Time magazine and several European outlets, such as Liberacion, about aid to Africa for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and business development.


Mr. Geldof is an Irish rock and roll singer and longtime social activist who has helped, along with U2 rocker Bono, raise awareness about need in Africa. His most well known achievement is organizing the Live Aid concert in 1985, which raised money for debt relief for poor African countries.


But Mr. Geldof has remained closely engaged with African affairs since then, and he spoke off the cuff to reporters today who were waiting for a press conference with Mr. Bush and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.


Mr. Geldof praised Mr. Bush for his work in delivering billions to fight disease and poverty in Africa, and blasted the U.S. press for ignoring the achievement.


Mr. Bush, said Mr. Geldof, "has done more than any other president so far."


"This is the triumph of American policy really," he said. "It was probably unexpected of the man. It was expected of the nation, but not of the man, but both rose to the occasion."


"What's in it for [Mr. Bush]? Absolutely nothing," Mr. Geldof said.


Mr. Geldof said that the president has failed "to articulate this to Americans" but said he is also "pissed off" at the press for their failure to report on this good news story.


"You guys didn't pay attention," Geldof said to a group of reporters from all the major newspapers.

What an ass!! How dare Bush try too save Africans!! Callous cocksucker!!

[matthewk]

It will be a long time before America is cursed with a president as awful and callous as Bush. Hopefully.

C'mon now. It's obvious he's trying to bite her nose off

[RobVarak]

President Bush done more for Africa than any other US President

But, but...noted public intellectual and about 1 million meme-repeating brain dead mouth breathers have told me that George Bush hates black people! If I can't trust entertainers and journalists to give me an accurate picture of our leaders, to whom can I turn?

As for that girl in the wheelchair, clearly Karl Rove used the chip he's had implanted in Bush's head to command him to go and appear humane and decent for political gain.

[bdoughty]

But, but...noted public intellectual and about 1 million meme-repeating brain dead mouth breathers have told me that George Bush hates black people! If I can't trust entertainers and journalists to give me an accurate picture of our leaders, to whom can I turn?

Technically she is not an entertainer anymore, now that her Live show flopped BIG TIME and was canceled. Score another one for Bush, as it happened under his administration.

[bdoughty]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle ... 782422.stm

An Iraqi journalist was wrestled to the floor by security guards after he called Mr Bush "a dog" and threw his footwear, just missing the president.

The soles of shoes are considered the ultimate insult in Arab culture.

--------------------------




Gotta give Bush some props for the reflexes.

and jokes

"All I can report," Bush joked of the incident, "is a size 10."

[Jackdog]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle ... 782422.stm

An Iraqi journalist was wrestled to the floor by security guards after he called Mr Bush "a dog" and threw his footwear, just missing the president.

The soles of shoes are considered the ultimate insult in Arab culture.

--------------------------




Gotta give Bush some props for the reflexes.

and jokes

"All I can report," Bush joked of the incident, "is a size 10."

A venting fan of the "Rosie" show.

[GTHobbes]

I was just about to post that, bd....that's hilarious. I couldn't have made that up if I tried.

[JRod]

I was just about to post that, bd....that's hilarious. I couldn't have made that up if I tried.

And that perfectly concludes Bush's Presidency.

[XXXIV]

I was just about to post that, bd....that's hilarious. I couldn't have made that up if I tried.

And that perfectly concludes Bush's Presidency.

..the shoe throwers have spoken.

[bdoughty]

I was just about to post that, bd....that's hilarious. I couldn't have made that up if I tried.

Yea, it was pretty funny. Mind you I am no Bush fan, just do not think he is the great evil that some see him as. Cheney on the other hand...

[Teal]

Just in time for the holiday shopping season...


And not to be outdone, here's Bill:


Got my dad the Hillary one!

[Macca00]

3 Points;

1) I'm impressed by that monkey (no offence to ACTUAL monkeys) for getting that second throw in so quickly, he clearly trained for this.

2) Like bdoughty said, great reflexes by GW, that was awesome. During his term someone should do this to Obama so we can compare.

3) Liked the 'size 10' quip.

[DivotMaker]

Yea, it was pretty funny. Mind you I am no Bush fan, just do not think he is the great evil that some see him as. Cheney on the other hand...

Ditto.

[bdoughty]

Joe Biden is in big trouble for buying a puppy.

http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/12/j ... n_buys.php

You have to watch the video in that link. The comments are also priceless and full of delicious hypocrisy. Especially the Peta dope that reminds us of the liberal mantra, "do as I say, not as I do." Wonder how many dogs Peta put down today?


Edit: Nice ending to that video. 4 million animals are killed in SHELTERS each year.

http://www.petakillsanimals.com/petasdirtysecret.cfm

[Feanor]

Buying a dog from a proper breeder is fine, buying a dog from a puppy mill would be a disgrace.