Torturing Bush

See Danziger cartoon.

How Honest is Krugman?

In yesterday's column, Krugman said:

That's why it's intellectually dishonest to say, as President Bush does, that immigrants do "jobs that Americans will not do."

He goes on to devote an entire column to the advantages and disadvantages of allowing immigration without mentioning the effect on our cost of living and inflation.

Low wage immigrants reduce costs of: food, health care, construction, car washes and other goods and services.

As consumers, we benefit enormously from the waves of low-labor-cost immigrants.

Krugman, as an economist understands this better than most people. Yet he never mentions it.

He accuses others of being dishonest. How honest is Krugman?

Republicans Are Becoming Unhinged

Patrick J. Buchanan in an article entitled Are the Neocons Losing It? seems to be "losing it" himself. Read the article and enjoy watching the right wing nuts going bats.

The Immigration Dispute

See the Danziger cartoon.

Bush Solves An Important Problem

An airplane was about to crash, there were five famous passengers on
board but only four parachutes left.

The first passenger said, "I'm Kobe Bryant, the best NBA basketball
player. The Lakers need me. I can't afford to die." So he took the
first pack and left the plane.

The second passenger, Hillary Clinton said, "I am the wife of the
former president of the United States. I am also the most ambitious
woman in the world, a New York Senator and a potential future
president." She just took the second parachute and jumped out of the
plane.

The third passenger, George W. Bush said, "Out of my way. I'm
President of the USA, the greatest and cleverest President in American
history. I'm even greater than my daddy. I have to lead the greatest
superpower nation in and out of war. Americans can't afford to have me
die." So he quickly grabbed the pack next to him and jumped out of the
plane.

The fourth passenger, the Pope, turned to the fifth passenger, a
Lubavitcher Rebbe and said, "I am old and frail. I don't have many
years left. As a good Catholic, I will sacrifice my life and let you
have the last parachute."

The Rebbe turned to him and said, "Thank you but we'll be fine. There
are enough parachutes for both of us. America's greatest and cleverest
President has just taken my Tallis (prayer shawl) bag."

Friedman Changes "Clients"

Friedman has given up on advising Bush because Bush does not read Friedman's columns and Bush listens only to his "higher father."

So what does Friedman do? He gives useless advice to India.

Speaking of which see the current Ted Rall cartoon.

A Quick Solution

Yesterday, Bush said: in response to a question about whether a day would come when there would be no more American forces in Iraq, he said that "future presidents and future governments of Iraq" would make that decision. See paragraph 3 in NYTimes page 1 article.

So, if the American people want to withdraw troops from Iraq, we have two choices:

1. Wait for January 20, 2009, or

2. Remove Bush and Cheney from office before that date.

Bush really spelled it out for us. What are we waiting for?

The "Here's My Money, Don't Bother Me" Approach to Investing

Jane Bryant Quinn advocates the single-decision approach to investing in a Newsweek article:

Autopilot for Retirement

Danziger Cartoons

Must see these two:

Able Seaman McCain II


and

Bush paints smiley on War's arse

Criticism (of Bush) From the Right Is Mounting

In a really harsh appraisal of the Bush Administration, Paul Craig Roberts (a former Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal) does not leave much unsaid. Here is the first paragraph:

On March 17, William Rivers Pitt wrote that Bush is "deranged, disconnected, and dangerous." In his March 20 Cleveland speech, Bush proved Pitt right.

Then the article becomes even better.

Friedman Misses the Point, Again

In a column entitled "Dubai and Dunces," Friedman calls us "ignorant, bogus, xenophobic, reckless" because Democrats and Republicans rejected the Dubai port deal.

The real dunce, of course is Friedman himself. He does not understand the obvious. We (Democrats and Republicans) do not worry about Dubai. We just wanted to give Bush a good kick in the butt and here was a chance.

That SOB has lied to us for five years. He, along with that ugly slack-mouthed monster, Cheney has repeatedly frightened us. They have told us how scary the Arabs are and now his stupid cronies sneaked this Arab deal past him and told us that we had to accept it.

Not only that, but the frat boy threatened Congress with a veto if they nixed the Dubai deal.

Well, that was the last straw. Congress told him exactly where to put that veto. Bush decided that he would have trouble sitting down if he followed their advice and instructed Karl Rove to call Dubai and tell them to withdraw the offer. No Congressional vote, no veto, no override.

A happy ending? Not at all. The whole sorry mess is bound to discourage foreign investors. But it was not our fault. It all goes back to Bush and his nonstop lies.

Censure and/or Impeachment

Talk of censure and impeachment fill the media. It's just that. It has no reality.

The Republicans, who would benefit from cleaning the slate by throwing Bush and Cheney out and promoting Denny Hastert to the Presidency clearly lack the courage or the discipline.

The Democrats who lack the numbers to do anything are completely irrelevant regarding censure or impeachment.

So, let us cut out the diversions and get down to the hard business of figuring out how to disentangle the U.S. from Iraq and let Bush and Cheney plan and implement their resignations. Regarding that last point, see the Oliphant cartoon.

Bush Administration Now Totally Incoherent

Rumsfeld testifying to Cogress:

"The plan is to prevent a civil war, and to the extent one were to occur, to have the — from a security standpoint — have the Iraqi security forces deal with it, to the extent they are able to," Rumsfeld told the committee.

See Yahoo News for complete story.

Impeach Bush?

There's a lot of chatter about impeaching Bush in the media, the blogs and even Wikipedia. Some gurus say that impeaching Bush would not help because Cheney would become President.

Congress could impeach both Bush and Cheney, especially since Cheney appears to be the one calling the shots.

Denny Hastert would become President and he would appoint a Vice-President.

Oddly enough this outcome would be much better for the Republicans than for the Democrats. The G.O.P. would be rid of the albatross around its neck and Hastert could run for President as an incumbent in 2008.

There would be no advantage to the Democrats.

The Republicans have majorities in both houses of Congress, so it’s up to them to start the process.

Will they do it? They show no signs of it, but I’ll bet it has crossed Denny Hastert’s mind.

Iraq: Theater of the Absurd

See Huffington's commentary.

Cartoons Regarding South Dakota

See the Auth and Oliphant cartoons. While you're there, see the Toles cartoon too.

Beware of Bush's Intellectual Corruption

See Cohen's column in the WashPost.

Could This Be A Way to Bring Peace to Iraq?

Question: What is the cause of the insurgency?

Answer: The Arab Sunnis (Saddam Hussein's compatriots) refuse to accept a partition of Iraq which leaves them with no oil. So they cause havoc to prevent what is clearly happening.

A solution would be to have the Shiite Arabs give up about one third of their oil to the Sunni Arabs in exchange for peace. Not likely. The Shiites hate the Sunnis with passion.

A better solution: The US offers the Sunnis $10 billion a year for the next 10 years and free services, similar to the Marshall plan. Sunnis can buy the oil they need and build up their infrastructure. If they restart the insurgency, the USDollars stop.

Cost to US is about one tenth of the cost of the war. Also no Americans killed or maimed.

So. Dakota Law Has Major Loophole

The loophole is that if a woman acquires abortion medicine as a precaution before she becomes pregnant, and uses it if and when she needs it, no one is breaking the SD law.

What Will George (41) and Barb Do?

See Danziger cartoon.

Bush Is Preparing a New Objective for the Iraq War

Bush's assumption that voting leads to democracy is obviously wrong and he seems to recognize this inconvenient reality.

The Bushies are having difficulties coming up with a new objective.

Any suggestions?

Bush Should Go to Iran

Hitchens offers an interesting idea: Bush should go to Iran, as Nixon went to China.

Two Cartoons and One Photograph

The neo-cons, note especially the depiction of Buckley: Danziger.

Bush in India.

Bumper sticker. Enlarge the photograph in Robinson's column.

Friedman Exposes His Ignorance (or Hypocrisy)

A public opinion poll has revealed that phraseology in asking a question affects the answer given. This is not exactly news. Public opinion researchers have known this for decades.

So, Friedman uses these poll results to claim that if politicians explain the possible benefits of a $2 dollar a gallon gasoline tax, Americans of all economic classes will overwhelmingly approve it.

Baloney!

When people are asked a question such as: "Would you approve a $2 per gallon gasoline tax if the tax would help to reduce global warming?" respondents instantly recognize what the "right" answer is. So, they give the right answer. It does not commit them to anything and it avoids a potentially awkward situation.

Answers to hypothetical questions on surveys do not, repeat do not, predict behavior. Pollsters know this and most politicians know this. Friedman does seem not know this or maybe cushioned by his high income, just doesn't care.

Not a good move, Tom.

Cartoons of the Day

The newest four cartoons on Danziger's website, especially the second and third cartoons.

A False Dichotomy from President Bush and the NYTimes

According to the Associated Press, President Bush decried the latest surge in sectarian violence Tuesday and said that for Iraqis "the choice is chaos or unity."

Amazingly, the NYTimes lead editorial poses the same false dichotomy: "The only alternative to civil war is, and has always been, a national unity government of Shiites, Sunni Arabs and Kurds."

There is at least one other perfectly obvious choice: peaceful separation into Kurdish, Sunni Arab and Shiite Arab nations. Issues would have to be worked out: division of oil revenue and governance of Baghdad and Kirkuk, for starters. If Bush would focus on that, maybe, just maybe the steam would go out of the insurgency.

Maybe we and the Iraquis could live peacefully ever after.

I could name two other major beneficiaries: the petroleum service companies and the international oil companies. There's lots of work to be done in Iraq and lots of oil to be pumped if stability can be established.

Oh, yes another goodie, the price of oil might drop a dollar or two per barrel.