If we had a liberal media, or for that matter an honest one, something like the following would be on the news this evening.

"Today, Vice President Cheney, speaking before a friendly audience at the American Enterprise Institute," (camera shows sneering Cheney and then pans overwhelmingly, white, male audience) "and threatened Americans with an imaginary Muslim plot to turn the whole world into a seventh-century caliphate." (camera shows women in burqas)

"The reason for the vice president's speech was to provide misleading talking points regarding the government's illegal and unconstitutional program to tap the telephones and read the email of ordinary Americans." (camera shows fancy headquarters of ATT and Verizon)

"Cheney argued that these companies, prohibited by law from providing customers' personal information to the government ever since widespread abuses were exposed in the 1970's, would refuse to help the government protect Americans if forced to defend themselves for their crimes. Of course, these companies happily complied, and were lavishly compensated, until recently when yet another Bush administration SNAFU led to late payment, and the telecoms cut off the government, as they would any other customer."

(ATT disconnect notice flashes on screen, then fades to Bush speech in 2004 about wiretapping)

"Of course, since the Bush administration is fully aware that that such spying is illegal, and Bush loudly and flatly denied such conduct had occurred as late as 2004, most people believe that the administration is really concerned about its own legal liability, and the telecoms supposed plight is just another in a long line of administration smokescreens."

(camera shows Colin Powell holding up bag of white powder)

And now, the weather.....

Paulpsd7..... Prepare yourself for the deafening crickets that will follow your post. I had been thinking many of the same things, but the stench of stoopid was getting so unbearable that I was forced to repair the balcony in despair rather than attempt to write, alphabetically or at random, why the specious and self-discrediting arguments of the trolls were, uh, less than valid. I commend you, heartily, for taking the time and effort to engage in this desperately needed and selfless endeavor.

Misdirection, projection, and maniacal subject-changing are sure to follow, undoubtedly accompanied by name-calling and addled generalizations, but I'm certain you have laid to rest any further accusations of paranoia, or equations of bravery and submission.

You have done this thread a service for which you are owed undying gratitude.

Pedinska..... Ewwwww!

Harry Reid naked. That's too hideous to contemplate; I'm sure he's short all over. God, those DC hookers have it tough.

The most remarkable thing about this post is that any Democrat, and any American, could possibly feel "cocky" about shamefully siding against the law, constitution, and western legal tradition to favor the powerful few over everyone else.

That's like feeling cocky about helping a hockey team beat up a cripple. It calls to mind Bush, at the beginning of the Iraq war, pumping his fist in the air, saying, "Feeling good." Is anything more revealing of an abusive, power-drunk personality than being proud, and exalted, to "win" a lopsided battle where others are clearly harmed, and the goal is so patently worthless and immoral?

High-fiving with Dick Cheney. Boy, that sure makes ya feel cocky.

Jebbie.... "W. Virginia readers is an oxymoron." Making fun of the dentally challenged is always good fun, even on a day like today.

Holly... You point out another Bush "triumph," the elimination of the blue spot (New Orleans) in Dixie. Sigh.

Walter_map....

One of the best books I've ever read about the Rockefellers is "The Asassination of New York," by Robert Fitch. (Verso, 1993) In it, he outlines the long-term, systematic destruction of the port of New York and the formerly massive manufacturing base it supported. Naturally, the goal was to pump up bad real estate investments the family had made over the years, and get rid of "messy" industries and the good-paying union jobs they provided to New York's non-elites.

I would encourage you to check it out.

Walter, I was only making that suggestion that you read the book assuming that, like me, you enjoy following interrelated subjects wherever they might lead, and derive great pleasure in pulling together seemingly unrelated trends and occurrences. That's definitely the impression I get from reading your excellent posts.

The reason I was evangelizing for that particular book, aside from its focus on another of the drearily repetitive assaults on working Americans' security by the overclass, was its fascinating particulars about the Rockefellers, and how their many mistakes and their relentless efforts to cover them, changed history in ways great and small.

One "contribution" of theirs was the World Trade Center, which Fitch calls, "real estate Stalinism," and how as the proposed uneconomic project was foundering unborn, David came up with the genius marketing idea of making it "the tallest in the world." Budgetary realities dictated that the buildings be redesigned much more cheaply to accomplish this, and the novel idea, enabled by the fact that the Port Authority was exempt from standard building codes, was to use hardly any structural steel in them. And we all know how that turned out.

Remember, even though we UTers show an unusualy firm grasp on the one language, we're still Americans, and therefore don't read (several) others. Please provide translations, since as Holly put it so nicely, "you can hear the banjos."

Alas.

We all feel dumb enough today.

Jebbie, it's easy to work "fell swoop" into a post, depressingly so. Just look at each sweeping victory handed to the 26%er in chief by his supine "opposition." I have to resist overusing it.