7. October 2011 by admin.

Will Richard, The Dick, Cheney never take the hint and just fade into retirement?

Previous former presidents and vice presidents retired to their compounds surrounded by Secret Service (such as George W. Bush) or devoted themselves to humanitarian causes (such as Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton).  Former vice-president and presidential election winner, Al Gore, has occupied his time by trying to convince Teapublicans that science exists. 

On the other hand, The Dick keeps elbowing his way onto cable TV to push his particular brand of hate and meanness. His most recent such foray was on CNN’s State of the Union, where he said that President Obama owes the Bush administration an apology.

An apology? For what? For cleaning up the two unfunded wars started by The Dick and his puppet Bush? For cleaning up the economic disaster left behind? For cleaning up the oil and financial industries run wild? For trying to restore our nation’s stature in the world after years of violating the Geneva Conventions? For finally tracking down the leaders of Al-Qaeda?

No, according to The Dick, President Obama should take back his criticism of the Bush administration’s tactics in the war on terrorism. More specifically, The Dick wants President Obama to take back statements from his 2009 speech in Cairo, in which he said the trauma of 9/11 caused America to “act contrary to our ideals.”

It appears The Dick had his feelings hurt (yeah, I know, it’s hard to imagine that he of the bionic heart has feelings) when President Obama denounced The Dick’s “enhanced interrogation” as torture. Of course, The Dick’s waterboarding technique is specifically defined as torture by the Geneva Conventions. But, despite that inconvenient truth, The Dick claims, “We were never torturing anyone in the first place. He (Obama) said we walked away from our basic fundamental ideals. That simply wasn’t the case.”

Even The Dick’s daughter piled on the current President. “He slandered the nation,” said Liz Cheney, “and I think he owes an apology to the American people.”

Proving that you don’t have to be male to be a Dick.

Posted in Current Events, War, George W. Bush, President Obama, Media, Economy, Politics, Cheney | Print | No Comments »

27. August 2011 by admin.

With Richard “The Dick” Cheney set to release his tell-all book about his term as dictator-in-waiting and puppet master of the George W. Bush presidency, the early reviews are all too predictable.  Apparently Cheney praises all those who agreed with him as smart, tough and patriotic.  At the same time, he portrays those who disagreed with him as stupid, naive and weak.

Reportedly, those who fit into the latter category are former Secretaries of State, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. 

Of course, he also continues to support his so-called “enhanced” interrogation methods, otherwise known as torture.  The methods he ordered to be implemented on captives in our “War on Terror” included sleep deprivation, ear-splitting noise, humiliation and, of course, waterboarding.  The latter technique is officially banned as torture by the Geneva Conventions of which the US is a signator.  Indeed, in the past, the US executed enemies who were convicted of using waterboarding on US troops.

Cheney is not only unapologetic for his role as Torturer-In-Chief, he has said he would do it all over again in the same circumstances.  If he has actually put those statements in writing, I couldn’t be happier!  Those statements would be a confession of war crimes, admissable in court.  Not a court presided over by his buddies, Justices Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Scalia and Kennedy.  But the International Criminal Court which has the authority to prosecute war crimes.

Once his book is published, Cheney may never be able to travel outside the US again without fear of arrest and prosecution.  Of course, that threat is not likely to stop someone as arrogant as Cheney.  So let’s hope he decides to tour Europe.  If you believe in the rule of law, Cheney’s arrest and subsequent trial could be of real benefit to world peace.

Posted in Current Events, Culture, Politics, Government, Cheney | Print | No Comments »

26. May 2011 by admin.

The Houston Chronicle’s Fuel Fix blog reports that Richard “The Dick” Cheney is gaga over Congressman Paul Ryan.  ”I worship the ground he walks on,” said Cheney.  ”I hope he doesn’t run for president because that would ruin a good man who has a lot of work to do.”

If voters didn’t already have enough reason to be wary of Ryan following his attempt to gut the Medicare program, this should raise some even larger red flags. Whatever, or whomever, Cheney favors is almost certain to mean greater largess for corporations (especially big oil) and trouble for ordinary working people.

Posted in Deficit, Current Events, Politics, Government, Medicare, Cheney | Print | 1 Comment »

4. May 2011 by admin.

Following the successful mission to find bin Laden, Richard “The Dick” Cheney was quick to claim part of the credit by saying that the mission justified our torture (aka enhanced interrogation) of political prisoners.

Say what?

It has been 10 years since the Bush/Cheney administration failed to take heed of warnings that Al Qaeda was planning an attack on U.S. soil, possibly with the hijacking of American passenger planes.  It has been at least 9 years since Bush/Cheney ordered the torture of captives in violation of the Geneva Conventions.  And more than 2 years since Cheney crawled back under his cloak of oil-stained money.

But it was Bush and Cheney who deserve credit for finding bin Laden?!!

That makes about as much sense as seeing our college students party following bin Laden’s death.  Celebrate, yes, but party?  Complete with chants of “USA, USA” and renditions of the “Na, Na, Goodbye” song? It’s as if they equated the killing of an individual (no matter how evil) to the winning of a championship basketball game.  And it’s hardly an image of our nation that will help us around the world. Better to reflect on the past and to pay tribute to those who died as a result of Bin Laden’s actions.  To consider how we can promote democracy and freedom around the world without the threat of war.  And to stop future terrorists before they strike without further compromising our own freedoms and resorting to measures such as torture.

Given Bush/Cheney’s actions and the fact that we’ve been at constant war for 10 years, that could take a good, long while.

Posted in Cheney, Terrorism | Print | No Comments »

12. June 2010 by admin.

I’ve written before about Bush and Cheney’s influence on our energy policy. The Bush family has deep ties to the Saudis and Kuwaitis. After WWII, the Bush family jumped at the opportunity to rebuild the Balkans oil fields. And Bush worked in the oil industry before running for public office.

In addition, Cheney was the CEO of Halliburton prior to gaining the office of Vice-President. Cheney received a $34 million bonus from Halliburton when he left for Washington. And Cheney held secret meetings on energy policy in the very first month of the Bush administration.

All of that raises some very troubling questions. For example, what role did Cheney’s relationship to Halliburton play in the company receiving billions of no-bid government contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan? What role did Bush’s desire to build a pipeline across Afghanistan play in the events of 9/11 and the ensuing war in Afghanistan? What role did oil play in the unprecedented pre-emptive invasion of Iraq?

While those issues are in question, there are many Bush/Cheney impacts on U.S. energy policy that are not. It was the deregulation of commodities that led to speculation, skyrocketing oil prices and record oil company profits during the Bush/Cheney administration. It was the Bush/Cheney administration that increased subsidies to oil companies, in spite of their obscene profits, and cut subsidies for alternative energy sources.

It was the Bush/Cheney appointees at the Minerals Management Service who were literally in bed with oil company executives. The Bush/Cheney administration gave oil companies the right to drill in national parks and other wildernesses. Despite evidence to the contrary, Bush/Cheney decided it was safe to expand off-shore drilling and to drill in ANWR (the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge). And it was the Bush/Cheney administration that allowed BP and other oil companies to drill a mile under the Gulf’s surface without a serious back-up safety plan. (Indeed, the BP safety plan for the Gulf addressed the impact on walruses!)

It’s time for an in-depth Congressional investigation of the oil industry and all those who have helped oil companies keep a grip on our energy policy while, at the same time, making them the most profitable corporations in the history of the planet.

© LaMaster Propaganda - All rights reserved.

Posted in Energy, Politics, Environment, Cheney | Print | No Comments »

6. June 2010 by admin.

Not long ago, Richard The Dick Cheney extolled the benefits of waterboarding U.S. prisoners. And during a speech in Grand Rapids last week, George W. Bush publicly admitted to the same crime. Bush said, “Yeah, we waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. I’d do it again to save lives.”

The problem for these unrepentent inquisitors (and for the United States) is that the U.S. signed the Geneva Convention against torture. Labeled the “Convention Against Torture And Other Cruel, Inhuman Or Degrading Treatment Or Punishment,” the document states that the parties to this Convention, have agreed as follows:

“…torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession…”

The document further states, “Each (signator) shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture. Each (signator) shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law…each (signator) shall make these offences punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account their grave nature.”

That doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room for our smug former president and former vice-president, does it?

Just to be clear, The U.S. tried and hanged some Japanese soldiers for torturing American prisoners during World War II with techniques that included waterboarding. As a result, our nation should not take Bush’s and Cheney’s confessions lightly. Otherwise the world community will forever label the U.S. as the renegade hypocrites we probably are.

Posted in Government, Cheney, Terrorism | Print | No Comments »

13. May 2010 by admin.

In the first 90 days of the George W. Bush administration, Richard the Dick Cheney held a series of secret meetings on the subject of energy policy.  Famously (or should I say infamously), the Dick refused to list those who were present and what was discussed, but it’s well-known that the meetings included more than 100 oil industry officials who drafted a wish list of demands.  In all likelihood, those meetings led to almost every single negative event over the past 10 years.

Think I exaggerate?  Consider this:

Over that 10 years, our nation has suffered through skyrocketing gas and oil prices.  We have engaged in two wars, which interestingly enough have involved two nations considered critical to the oil industry.  (It’s well-known that Iraq has large oil deposits, and Afghanistan is necessary for the construction of a pipeline to get oil from the Balkans to world markets.)  We have seen pressure from the Bush administration to drill for oil in the Atlantic National Wildlife Refuge.  We have seen a Republican-led campaign to expand off-shore drilling.  And we have seen the oil giant, Halliburton, awarded enormous no-bid government contracts in Afghanistan and Iraq by its former CEO, Richard the Dick Cheney.  (Of course, it’s only coincidence that Halliburton paid the Dick $34 million after he was elected Vice-President.)

There’s another troubling legacy of the Dick’s meetings.

An internal investigation of the Minerals Management Service in 2008 described a “culture of substance abuse and promiscuity” by workers at the agency which regulates the oil industry. The investigation by Inspector General Earl E. Devaney found “a culture of ethical failure” at the MMS royalty collection office in Denver.  The report pointed to parties for MMS personnel and energy company representatives.  Indeed, the report stated that MMS personnel and oil companies were literally in bed with one another.  In addition to the sex, the Inspector General also reported that MMS employees accepted drugs, illegal contracts and gifts, such as ski trips and golf outings from oil representatives. 

Even more troubling, the Inspector General reported that the Bush/Cheney gang at MMS “showed no remorse” when confronted with the accusations.  And though they were disciplined, most of those people are still employed by MMS as regulators of energy.

It doesn’t take much imagination to see that the current oil gusher and environmental disaster in the Gulf is the direct result of Bush/Cheney policies and appointees.   Indeed, just this week, a whistleblower came forward with information detailing a pattern of negligence and falsified tests by BP and other oil giants along with lax oversight by government “regulators.”

So what are the solutions to this mess?  (Of course, there is no solution to the ecological disaster taking place in the Gulf.  It will be decades, if not centuries, for the environment to recover.)  BP, Halliburton and Transocean should be held accountable for the environmental and economic disaster taking place in the Gulf.   Congressional Republicans should immediately release their holds on dozens of Obama appointees.  Congress should subpeona Cheney to testify under oath about his energy meetings. 

Most important, we all should push our representatives to vote for non-carbon renewable energy. 

Posted in Current Events, Energy, Politics, Government, Environment, Cheney | Print | No Comments »

24. April 2010 by admin.

The Tea Party members say their anger has nothing to do with racism.  Well, if their issues are big government, big deficits and corporate bailouts as they suggest, why all the anger now?  Why not aim the fury at the people who created our recession and debt?  Why not direct their fury at Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and the Republicans who created trillions of dollars of national debt?  Why no anger against George W. Bush for drastically increasing the size of government with his Department of Homeland Security?  Why no fury against George W. Bush for bailing out Wall Street?  Why the belief that President Obama was not born in the U.S.?  Why did no one demand to see Ronald Reagan’s, George H.W. Bush’s and George W. Bush’s birth certificates?  And why were they so willing to look the other way when Richard “The Dick” Cheney was allowed to skirt the Constitutional prohibition on the President and Vice-President being residents of the same state by claiming Wyoming as his residence instead of Texas where he actually lived? 

What has this President done to generate such anger? 

Since taking office, he has brought the nation out of the worst economic times since the Great Depression.  Since taking office, he has actually lowered taxes.  Indeed, taxes have rarely been lower.  Since taking office, President Obama has rebuilt our relationships and stature with all of our allies.  He has rid the world of more nuclear weapons to protect us from terrorism.  He has certainly not tried to ban guns as the Tea Party suggests.  As a matter of fact, he signed a bill permitting guns in National Parks, an act that prompted the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence to give Obama an “F” with regard to gun control issues. 

Then why the Tea Party claims that President Obama is un-American, a Socialist, a Communist and a Nazi? 

What is so unique about this President to generate so much anger and hate?  Hmmm, let me think … maybe it has to do with the fact that he is part Irish.  No?  Well, it certainly couldn’t be that he is half African-American.  That would be racist, wouldn’t it?

Posted in Guns, Constitution, Current Events, Tea Party, Culture, Taxes, Cheney, Economy, Government, Deficit, Terrorism | Print | No Comments »

7. March 2010 by admin.

Long before Richard (The Dick) Cheney wrote A Plan for A New American Century, which called for the use of the United States’ unparalleled military might to ensure even greater economic power, there was another Republican who believed in the manifest destiny of white Christian Americans.  He, too, subverted the U.S. Constitution in order to meddle in the affairs of other nations.  And, like Cheney, Bush, Wolfowitz, Pearl and the other neo-cons, he felt that it was the destiny, indeed the duty, of white Christian Americans to bring civilization to the rest of the world.

That man’s name was President Theodore Roosevelt. 

In reading James Bradley’s book, The Imperial Cruise, one cannot escape the fact that Roosevelt was a racist war criminal of the first order.  In addition, one cannot ignore the parallels with our previous administration and their religious conservative followers. 

Like Cheney/Bush, Roosevelt manufactured wars, questioned the patriotism of those who challenged his policies, annointed thugs to act as his surrogates, and water-boarded those who refused to submit to his will.  And, like Cheney/Bush, Roosevelt’s policies resulted in the deaths of thousands of U.S. soldiers and millions of non-white, non-Christian foreigners.  Moreover, it’s clear that his ill-conceived meddling in foreign affairs led directly to the Spanish-American War, WWII, the Korean War and, likely, the Vietnam War. 

Caring American citizens should be watchful that the past administration’s follies don’t have similar results.

Posted in Religion, War, Constitution, Government, Cheney | Print | No Comments »

28. January 2010 by admin.

Given the Republican response to President Obama’s initiatives, one has to wonder exactly what the Republican vision for our nation actually is.  To try to determine that, let’s look at recent events.  If Republicans had prevailed on their opposition to the TARP bailouts of Wall Street banks, most economists believe that the entire world economy would have collapsed and we would be in the midst of a 2^nd Great Depression.  Republicans argued against bailouts to General Motors and Chrysler which likely would have forced both into bankruptcy putting up to 10 million workers on unemployment.  Republicans fought the stimulus plan which, by even the most conservative estimates, has saved or created up to 2 million jobs.  And they have continued to whine about the growing deficits under Obama while lionizing Reagan for tripling our national debt.

The Republican alternative to Obama’s attempts to save our economy?  Tax cuts for the wealthy despite the fact that most economists believe such cuts would do nothing to alleviate our situation.  In fact, many feel that the tax cuts could make things worse!

Republicans have fought any form of banking regulation.  They have voted to keep the status quo on an unsustainable health care system that results in 33,000 deaths each year for lack of access.  They have voted against increasing benefits for military veterans.  Republicans refuse to allow the federal government to negotiate lower prices for pharmaceuticals as Canada and many other nations have done.  They are opposed to spending money to encourage the development of reasonable alternatives to fossil fuels.  They dismiss the international scientific community’s warnings of global climate change.  They have long stated their disdain for “entitlements” such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.  They are vehemently opposed to labor unions.  They are opposed to social services for the poor, saying that they should be the responsibility of faith-based organizations.  Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices voted to corrupt our election process by permitting corporations (even those based overseas) to spend unlimited amounts of money in support of candidates who favor their positions. 

Under the Bush/Cheney regime, Republicans started two wars with no clear plan on how to win them, and no plan to pay for them.  (Indeed, they intentionally obscured the actual cost of the wars – in terms of dollars and lives.)  And they awarded billions to Halliburton and other corporations through no-bid contracts. 

The Democratic Congress has shown a decided lack of unity and will.  But based on the Republican record, why would anyone want to return the Republican Party to power?  Or their even less-pleasant brethren – the members of the Tea Party?

Posted in President Obama, Corporations, Current Events, Tea Party, Teapublicans, Culture, Taxes, Health care, Economy, Government, Politics, Deficit, Cheney | Print | No Comments »