Profoundly Stupid Statements

I am bereft.  Maybe it was the holidays and people were focused on other things.  But, I am feeling so starved lately for Profoundly Stupid Statements.  Since the change of administrations a year ago there has been a real drought of really, Profoundly Stupid Statements.  I think we all got spoiled by the absolute surfeit of Profoundly Stupid Statements during the last decade until this year.

Oh sure, we’ve had quite a few since Obama went in office coming from the so-called ‘Conservative’ faction.  Statements about Death Panels, statements comparing a national health care plan to the Nazi Third Reich and such like.  But nothing like what went on before during the Bush years.

 And, who can forget GW Bush’s absolute treasure trove of such things as:


"I think if you know what you believe, it makes it a lot easier to answer questions.  I can't answer your question.", or,

“ . . .I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God.”

(That one sort of reminds me former governor “Ma” Ferguson of Texas saying many years ago,  “If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, then it's good enough for Texas.” )

And then, so much came from Bush’s staff, like White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer’s:

“It's incumbent on those who believe Iraq has no weapons of mass destruction to come forward and tell us where they are.”

And, from his Attorney General john Ashcroft:  “I feel the best way to ensure Americans' freedom is to tighten restrictions on that freedom in any way possible. Only through wiretaps, illegal searches and seizures, unfettered government intrusion, a controlled media and a complete crackdown on free speech can we ensure the liberties of all people." 

And, from Bush's FEMA director Michael Brown  after Hurricane Katrina:  "Considering the dire circumstances that we have in New Orleans, virtually a city that has been destroyed, things are going relatively well." 

Of course Brown then received his deserved congratulations from President Bush at the time:  “You’re doing a heckuva job Brownie!”


(Maybe I'm making the rash assumption here that Bush was referring to the thorough brown-nosing job he was getting from Brownie.)

Dubya’s mother, not to be left out, when asked if she ever thought about the dead American soldiers returning home from Iraq replied sweetly:  "why should I waste my beautiful mind on that?" 

Maybe it’s a family thing because coming from his father before him was the delightful: “The Democrats just want to ram it down my ear with a victory!”

Sarah Palin all on her lonesome seems to be trying to file the void - with a bit of help from others.  One of my favorite Sarah Palin claims is her theory the “In God We Trust” motto (completely unconstitutional by the by) being moved to the edges of coins is a conspiracy by the Obama administration. In fact, the decision was made in 2007 under Bush and later reversed by Congress.  And who can ever forget Palin's claim about reading newspapers to Katie Couric: "All of 'em, any of 'em that have been in front of me over all these years."


You betcha!

And I loved it when asked about her duties of Vice President she answered,  "As for that VP talk all the time, I'll tell you, I still can't answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day?" 

Equally priceless is Palin’s remark made when resigning as governor of Alaska (quitting):  "It may be tempting and more comfortable to just keep your head down, plod along, and appease those who demand: 'Sit down and shut up,' but that's the worthless, easy path; that's a quitter's way out."

Congress often got into the Profoundly Stupid Statement act as well:

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN):  "I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out under another, then under another Democrat president, Jimmy Carter. I'm not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it's an interesting coincidence."

Sen. Orrin Hatch, (R-UT): “Capital punishment is our way of demonstrating the sanctity of life.”

Former Sen. Larry Craig, (R-ID):  "I have a wide stance." (After being caught soliciting gay sex in the men’s room at the airport)

Former Sen. Rick Santorum, (R-PA): “ Isn't that the ultimate homeland security, standing up and defending marriage?"

Former Sen. Ted Stevens, (R-AK): "And again, the Internet is not something you just dump something on. It's not a big truck. It's a series of tubes. "

Former Sen. Tom Delay, (R-TX), When told to stop smoking his cigar in a restaurant due to federal regulations:  "I AM the federal government."   Delay also once remarked:  "Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare, the teaching of evolution in the schools, and working mothers who take birth control pills."

Former Governor Wally Hickel, (I-AK):  “You just can’t let nature run wild”

Former  U.S. Rep. Richard H. Baker (R-LA) after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans: “We finally cleaned up public housing in New Orleans. We couldn't do it, but God did.”

Rep. Mary Bono Mack, (R-CA):  “This Iraqi thing will blow over”

Of course other governors besides Sarah Palin got into the act:

California’s Arnold Schwarzenegger:  "I like the color red because it's a fire. And I see myself as always being on fire.”, and,  “ I think gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman"

There was SC Governor Mark Sanford’s email to his Argentinian lover made public:  "I could digress and say that you have the ability to give magnificent gentle kisses, or that I love your tan lines or that I love the curve of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of the night's light - but hey, that would be going into sexual details…”,

And Sanford’s remark when the details of his illicit affair became public knowledge :  This is "very damaging stuff"  (Who’d have ever thunk it?)

Even the Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele gets going:  “We need to uptick our image with everyone, including one-armed midgets."

Not to be left out, political commentators can not be stopped:

Rush Limbaugh claimed Mark Sanford would "not have had an illicit affair if his state had not been forced to take  stimulus money by the Obama Administration."  Rush claimed a depressed Sanford simply said “To hell with this!” and engaged in his affair after losing spirit.  I'm assuming he did this with a straight face.

Ann Coulter was quite succinct in saying:  "My only regret with Timothy McVeigh is he did not go to the New York Times Building." 

Hey, you just can’t make this stuff up!   I guess it may all just be part of a tradition going back many years:


“I’m the only person of distinction who has ever had a depression named for him.” ~  Republican President Herbert Hoover as the 'Great Depression' took hold.

For reasons of space, I am of course leaving out the Dan Quayle years here. There's a whole book in that guy in himself. But, unfortunately the eight years of GW Bush allowed him to push Quayle into second place.

And, sadly for we aficionados of Profoundly Stupid Statements, it looks like we’re going to be getting by on a bare minimum for a while.

Beating The Hell Out of Very Dead Horses

Back in August, 2007 I posted in this blog an open letter to Alaska's senators at the time, Ted Stevens, and Lisa Murkowski. In that letter I used the analogy of 'Beating a Dead Horse.' The phrase has come to mean insisting on re-doing something that has not worked.

No matter how many times you point errors out to people, some will stubbornly remain hell bound on doing things their way. Some simply will not allow realities to intrude. Such is the state the 'conservative' wing of the Republican Party finds itself today. It is in fact, in a state of denial.

Conservative Republicans today implacably insist on their 'bed rock basics' which they claim as their 'core values'. To wit:

• Anti-abortion, & denying individuals the right to choose;

• Christianity as the basis for our government;
  

• Lower taxation - especially for the already rich;

• 'Social conservatism' which translates into denying civil rights for homosexuals;

• Supporting the right for anyone to purchase, own and use military assault weapons.

But unfortunately for today's Republicans, here are the stark realities:

• On abortion: Poll after poll show that a majority of Americans identify themselves as 'pro-choice' or support an individual's right to choose;

• On Christianity in government: A large majority of Americans defend separation of church and state, despite a majority who claim to be Christians;

• On Taxation: No one likes to pay taxes, but every rational person recognizes the need for taxation 'for the common good'. Polls show people are split about even on the current level of taxation:

• On civil rights for homosexuals: A hefty majority of Americans support full civil rights for homosexuals, including marriage. Several states have recently passed laws permitting marriage between homosexuals;

• On the ownership of assault weapons: A majority of polls show a majority of Americans support stricter regulation on gun ownership, and registration of guns.

Where does this leave conservative Republicans and their insistence on their 'core values'? Well, ahem. Solidly to the right of the majority of Americans. Leave aside for the moment the Republicans' generic demonization of anyone who disagrees with them as 'un-American' or even traitorous. Leave aside their insistence on the wholesale use of fear tactics to the disgust of most Americans. And, even leave aside their asinine and implacable policy of refusing to even talk with anyone perceived as an 'enemy' (read, 'anyone of opposite or different political persuasions').

How can you expect to come to terms with someone like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, Fidel Castro of Cuba or Hugo Chávez of Venezuela if you refuse to even talk to them for Heavens sakes? Such attitudes leave few options short of blockades, economic sanctions or war, none of which promote amicable relationships. Sometimes I am bound to wonder just what planet these kinds of Republicans are from anyhow?

After losing two straight elections, Republicans are said to be in disarray today, as Barack Obama and Democrats in general ride on waves of approval, optimism and hope. I see this as the inevitable result of the recent Republican 'head-in-the-sand' positions on nearly everything, and their denial of political realities. They have in truth, moved very, very far from the Party of Lincoln. It is even conceivable we might see the total disintegration of the Republican Party as we know it.

But, I don't think so. Sure, the capture of the party by the radical southern and western factions, allied with evangelical Christians, has moved the party far to the right of everyone else. Yet, there remains a core of decent, moderate people at the heart of the party who can still see the realities. Though pushed to the side at the moment, I believe clearer, saner heads will eventually prevail to bring the party back towards the center. Otherwise they are finished. Americans in general do not want radical fanatics running our country. We simply will not permit it for long.

After eight years of right-wing excess, Americans are now solidly pulling the reins back towards the center. The Republicans have little choice but to rejoin the majority of Americans if they hope to retain any credibility as a party. I sincerely hope they may do so.

And beating long-dead horses just won't cut it.

Holy Cow - you just can't make this kind of stuff up!

Wow! I've been turning over some rocks looking into some of the stuff swirling around Sen. Ted Stevens and his attempts to get his seven felony convictions overturned. This is pretty bizarre.

Some new information is turning up concerning Bill Allen (the ex-VECO CEO) and his modus operandi. During Stevens' trial, Allen's nephew Dave Anderson submitted an affidavit which helped convict the senator. Now Anderson is trying to disown the affidavit and claiming that among other things, that Allen has a murder plot against his life

Recall that one of Allens' conditions demanded for cooperating with the FBI on prosecuting Stevens and the other Corrupt Bastards, was that his own children (Allen's) be left alone and not charged with anything. In other words, Bill himself would take the fall for everything. (I got the same sort of impression when Bernard Madoff confessed' to his two sons who then 'turned' him in. This is the ponzi scheme affair where Madoff is accused of stealing $60 Billion from investors.)

Now, new information about Dave Anderson, an ex-VECO employee who worked on Steven's 'cabin' is coming out. Anderson you will recall, says he submittecd an affidavit believing he and twelve others had an immunity agreement with the FBI. The FBI disagrees, and now Anderson says he submitted false information in the affidavit, and Stevens' lawyer is trying to get the convictions thrown out using that as one excuse.

Anderson also claimed that an Anchorage journalist 'saw documents' which would validate his claim for immunity.

Now, here's some background from that very journalist on the claim, and on Allen's almost unbelievably evil activities. If any of this is true, it is revealing of the methods Bill Allen apparently operated under. Murder plots and bulldozing the guy's house? This old boy is a real bully and doozy - and apparently totally used to getting his way. Holy Cow - you just can't make this kind of stuff up!

Holy Cow - you just can't make this kind of stuff up!