Without DeLay

I have a regret about the whole thing. I just wish I could have voted him out. The problem is, when I moved back into town, I moved out of his district. Damn!

Also, his district is not just Sugar Land. No one ever mentions La Porte (on the other side of Houston, but still in his district).

From The Houston Press, back in 1999:

He had graduated from the University of Houston at the height of the Vietnam conflict in 1970, but chose to enlist in the war on cockroaches, fleas and termites as the owner of an exterminator business, rather than going off to battle against the Vietcong.

“Who was that idiot?” asked a TV reporter who arrived at the end of the media show. When he was told the name, it drew a blank. DeLay at that time was a national nobody, and his claim that blacks and browns crowded him and other good conservatives out of Vietnam seemed so outlandish and self-serving that no one bothered to file a news report on the congressman’s remarks.”

Obviously, the congressman would have stayed in the race, but the minorities took all the good spots again!

Good find, Dee! Have you been hanging on to it all these years? Yeah, I have vivid memories of the black and Hispanic guys beating down the doors to the local recruiting office back in 1970.

Of course Tom-boy is right. My friends Juan, Ruben and Miguel couldn’t wait to join the Army but some how ended up in the Navy. Hmmmm…..

Personally, I hope that Delay’s and Frist’s troubles are just the beginning of the end!!!

Sharon, I noticed most of the stories on NPR yesterday specifically mentioned that he could use campaign funds for legal defense. Say, you don’t think he went through this whole hard-fought primary just to raise money for the lawyers, do you? I mean, that would be… no, perish the thought.

Yes, that’s why none of us cared about the draft lottery: we knew that those greedy minorities would snatch up the cushy military jobs no matter how low our number. In fact, there were so few open positions that even someone whose father was George Bush had to settle for a position in the Air National Guard.

And it’s a shame there were no illegal drugs in the sixties, as they would have helped ease the pain of those turned away.

How come I feel like Rove stole my Hammer?

How about Douglas Rain (the voice of HAL in 2001) and Tom DeLay in 2008? We really need a ticket called Rain/DeLay.

Mr. waterfowler, I believe I read somewhere that you’re from Texas, is that right? Well, I’m feeling negative vibes from you right now and I must say that’s not the Lone Star way! When your horse stumbles, falls and breaks a leg, you whip out your side arm, put your friend out of his misery, bite your trembling lower lip, hoist the saddle to your shoulder and start walking to where you were headed. You don’t quit… ever. So don’t quit on me now. I need you, and all your friends here, to look on the bright side of things. I ain’t been convicted of nothing. I’ve got $1.3 million in the coffers and that ought to buy me some serious jaw-boning from my team of barracudas. And if everything goes to shit and I get jail time, well, I’ve always got that Presidential pardon as an ace in the hole. Of course, I’m counting on W., Laura, Karl, Harriet, Scooter, the boys from Bahrain, and Condi (and the Venezulan donkeys) still wanting the video of “The Lost Weekend on Orient Beach” to remain out of the main stream media. I watched it again last night and I think it’s safe to say, I won’t be facing any serious down time. Before you know it, I’ll be out making speeches @ 50 grand a pop and puffing of nothing but Cuba’s finest. Don’t cry for me. I have a vast right wing conspiratorial fortune socked away in un-numbered accounts in Zurich, the Caymans and Dubai. In many ways, it’s a relief to be shed of those assholes in DC. My new life starts right now! Yeehaw! Rules are for suckers! Look out world! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!

Former Representative Thomas DeLay (Soon to be on an island somewhere - but not San Quentin!)

so…(gasing for breath)…perfect…ginny

So, I’ve heard more than one Santorum reference along these lines. Somehow missed the original incident/soundbite. Anyone who can point in the right direction?

Just remember, Delay is (was?) an aid to sustained personal sexual intercourse, rather as DeLay has been an aid to sustained political sexual intercourse. But not to fear - DeLay’s replacement in the House leadership seems quite capable of continuing to provide the body politic with a continuing sustained screwing. The only thing that has changed is the driver.

Kimberly, thank you. Because why would I ever think to try Google? must. get. coffee.

And on the subject of taking politicians’ names in vain, there’s a movement on to make “napoli” a not-nice word, also:

“napoli (verb): To brutalize and rape, sodomize as bad as you can possibly make it, a young, religious virgin woman who was saving herself for marriage.

“Etymology: From State Senator Bill Napoli’s (R-SD) words on an acceptable description of rape that would merit an exemption from South Dakota’s abortion ban.”

So much for the claim that religion makes you stronger—Napoli thinks it makes you more susceptible to psychological damage.

But I digress. I can’t WAIT to hear what else Scooter has to say!

Okay, off target, but not really. I hoping you guys were listening to Neil Conan and Talk of the Nation during the first hour. He switched to a feed from a question and answer session that Bush had today in Charlotte. The person asking the question, my good buddy Harry Taylor, asked a very thoughtful and complex question about whether Mr. Bush was ashamed of his domestic spying program, his opposition to women having the right to choose to end a pregnancy, his abysmal record on the environment and a whole litany of affronts to common decency. Unfortunately, Harry addressed that question to George W. Bush and, in the end, it was wasted on the President. W gave his canned response to his Terrorist Survellience Program, blah, blah, blah, and did not go near abortion, environment, or shame. Surprisingly, Neil Conan presented the exchange as an example that Bush can, indeed, think on his feet when confronted with a hostile questioner. WTF. I want my NPR dues back!

Cooper, I think it’s a lesson in asking questions - you have to keep your focus narrow. Even a respondant with good intentions has a hard time keeping track of a multiple choice - how many times have you heard someone partially respond and then say “and what was the other part of your question??” Those who want to skate out of a tough question just pick and choose the parts that are easy.

One of my recreations is writing letters to the editor. I’ve found that two or three sharp sentances almost always get published. Hitting every single point means that none of your points see the light of day.

Condoleezza Rice is definitely the queen of dodging the direct question. With Bush you can always allow that maybe he simply didn’t understand what you asked because you used big words or complex sentences. With Rice you know damned well that she knows what she’s being asked, but has made the decision not to answer - and instead she dodges the question with a long, complex, multi-layered response that covers lots of territory but never comes close to answering the question - and woe betide you if you attempt to interrupt. We saw this during her (long-delayed) 9/11 Commission testimony, and I saw another example on The Daily Show the othr day. If she ever becomes President, press conferences will be worse than useless.

Ann, siobhan, Harold, all points well taken, especially the part about asking Bush tough, complicated questions with big words.

I think HT Tommy has had a fairly traumatic experience recently. He seems to be completely shedding his darker side - either that or he’s off his meds (or finally on them).

Geez, are we all going to dump NPR because Neil Conan screwed up? Other than the BBC, it’s still the only place you can get decent news. And I hear tell they have some funny weekend shows.

Dammit! My lawyer’s left-wing nephew survived the Rottweiler attack and is recovering in an Austin Hospital. Before the EMT’s picked him up, he must have stumbled onto the Abramoff cache out in the barn. Nuncio did a quick inventory and determined one laptop is missing, so obviously he’s at it again, sending out liberal claptrap and signing my name to it. I do not know or care about Harry Taylor and his attack on Bush. For all me, they can both be dipped in shit. Guido “The Neck” has gone to retrieve the laptop and to personally adjust the nephew’s medication and that should end that. I must be going soft - why would you even think for one moment that I would write such hog-wash? Wait a minute - I’m not soft; the whole rest of the world is soft - in the head! Bwaaa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Just Plain Tom DeLay

“Dammit, what is the name of the woman I’m thinking of at NPR?”

David, you are, of course, thinking of that chocolate skinned, silver throated vixen, Lakshmi Signh. And who can blame you? Woo-Hoo! I can’t get her off my mind, either.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2101212

Anne Garrels? Nina Totenberg?

Sylvia Pujoooooli? (Sorry, that’s kinda phoenetic - didn’t look up the spelling, but I’m pretty sure it must involve at least five “o”s in a row.)

Cooper,

I pulled up TOTN and listened to the clip you mentioned. I thought Conan was saying that Bush didn’t speak to a carefully screened audience like normal. I didn’t get that he thought Bush responded to Harry’s statement well. I like Neil, but he does seem to have a hard time “winging it” himself.

On a related note, I would like to say AMEN to everything Harry said. I also thought that Bush’s guttural “yeah?” and “finish your question!” statements, IMHO, reveal him to be as uncaring and disinterested in opposing opinions as I have feared he would be.

Murray,

Do you think most people want their politicians to be candid? Just curious. In my more cynical moments I think the general public just is just as disinterested in reality as Bush is. Politicians that speak their mind usually don’t get elected, even if they are right. That drives me crazy.

Reading this blog makes me think that maybe I am wrong and lots of people want to be engaged in the system. Then I start counting names…

*sigh*

Hi, I’ve emailed this blog a couple of times by using a laptop that belonged to one of my uncle’s clients. My name is Lemuel. I’m emailing from my cell phone as I am being driven down what has to be a badly rutted dirt road. I’m in the back of a pick-up truck, stuffed into a steamer trunk. There must have been another trunk also, with someone named Barry Mailer or Larry Naylor or something like that - I couldn’t hear him very well and he sounded like he had been drugged. He was babbling something about President Bush and humility and grace to feel ashamed of himself… It didn’t really make any sense to me, so I figured he was still kind of woozy. So am I. Anyway, we hit a big bump about 5 miles ago and his trunk bounced out of the back of the pick-up as we were going through one of the few south Texas desert towns. Talk about luck! His trunk split apart and I heard some of the townfolk shout in amazement as he stood up and brushed himself off.

I remember I was in the hospital in Austin; it seems that I had been attacked by some big mean dogs; dragged myself into a barn and slammed the door just before they attacked again; lights and sirens, we’re going fast on a smooth road like a dream; nice nurses - one was a pretty blonde - she gave me an IV line and injected something into the line and I slept and didn’t hurt anymore; someone pulling hard on my IV, I struggle, his shirt falls open, I see a gold chain and part of a tattoo on his chest - “…he Nec…” - he gives me a shot, but he’s a terrible nurse, but very strong I cannot fight he picks me up and I go black and I wake up in this trunk and Harry falls out and I’m still going down this rough road. Help me. Please.

David, I asked if we were all going to “dump” (i.e., give up) NPR, not “dump on.” Feel free to dump on them all you want, but when the day is done, how many places are there to go for decent news reporting?

My concern is that every political blog I read seems to specialize in eviscerating any news source that doesn’t tell the story in exactly the “right” way. That’s a unrealistically high standard; the best I hope for is that the person or agency telling the story tries as hard as possible to get it right. I don’t expect that everything I hear is going to tickle.

Hey Cooper—this blog has a photo and admiring article about your friend Harry Taylor:

http://www.pensitoreview.com/

Of course I have no idea how to use HTML tags. Sorry.

P.S. Tell Harry I think he’s cute.

MoveOn.org has set up a “Thank You Harry Taylor” website:

http://thankyouharrytaylor.org/

I also added my thanks. As I was composing my thoughts, I realized that the photo of Harry reminds me of the famous Norman Rockwell Freedom of Speech painting. Appropriate.

Siobhan, except for the look on the faces of the people around him. One woman looks like she just sucked on a lemon.

Stephen, re your thoughts in # 50 above on Neal Conan’s intro to the Bush v Harry Taylor segment - I have to admit that I was not listening that closely to what was being said until I heard the words “Charlotte” and “Harry Taylor”. I have since gone back and listened to the clip and you are correct. I guess I was picking up on Neal’s tone. I also guess I owe an apology to Mr. Conan. I must have still been fuming about an outrageous statement by an Administration hack from a previous program that Neal let go by with out a challenge. My bad. Thanks for pointing that out.

Ann, siobhan and Sharon - thanks for the links. I passed them on to Harry.

Harold,

She’s the lady, and a terrific one. I’m not surprised by siobhan’s report. I would have paid a scalper.

Maximum Bob,

Thanks for the correction. Dumping NPR would be a terrible thing. NPR Headline News is what I find the most disappointing, that and the general drift away from the kind of journalism Bill Moyers champions. I do share your reaction to blogs that eviscerate any news report not in sync with the bloggers’ views. Truth comprehensive enough to facilitate insight and information people in power don’t want you to have - those are the hallmarks of good journalism. It does seem to me that people don’t really want to hear it until they get the fact that they need to hear it. Sometimes that can only come from a Walter Cronkite. Wish Sylvia were taking over as anchor of the CBS Evening News. Hope Katie Couric blossoms into a substantive journalist. One never knows.

The best news program at the moment, in my judgement, is Democracy Now. Amy Goodman is a first-rate journalist, and fearless, Lobster love her.

Max Bob, having grown up in this region, let me hazard a guess. She is on a mission from God to boo and cast apersions, shame, and spite upon all that is not bound by the Holy chains of Jesus Christ All Mighty, Himself. And in doing this, she has her peak experience.

Forgive my cynicism. I’ll go to bed now.

Stephen,

I think that the public wants politicians to speak the truth as long as it agrees with them.

Here are Murray’s 5 laws of politics.

1. Do what ever is necessary to win.

2. Your primary job once elected is to be re-elected.

3. Because of rule #2, your primary function is campaign fundraising.

4. Never take a stand on a political issue; doing so will piss off at least half of the people. If you are forced to take a stand, over simplify the issue and put it in emotional terms, remember, the public doesn’t think, it feels.

5. Occasionally you must legislate, (an annoyance) and to do so means you must vote on an issue. This is your order of priority.

1. Contributors (see rule #3)
2. Impressing friends, mistresses etc.
3. Party
4. Whim
5. Conscience (don’t worry it almost never comes to this).

Here’s the thingabout here: At FA, 1) I’m never the most cynical person around, and b) it’s always entertaining. A rare combo.

Murray,

WOW, that was distressingly accurate. I’m going to go sit in the corner and cry for a while.

Siobhan,

I heard Car Talk talking about some great Tahoe spots. I was hoping they would mention yours!