Dicky's Doodles &Scribbles

Cartoons,editorials and comment about current events and more.

Friday, March 30, 2007

Rovian Rap!


Recently Karl Rove performed his own version of a hip hop rap tune at the Washington Press Dinner. His performance was a little weak but should he decide to pursue a new career I thought I would help him out with a little rap.
Rovian Rap

I’m Karl Rove and I think I’m cool
I’m into politics I’m a Bushie fool.
Some think my means are crude
I work for the Prez and I’m his main dude!

I use swift boat tactics and dirty tricks
I can fight real dirty and get in my licks.
Don’t care if I lie to half the nation
As long as we have a victory celebration.

Gettin’ down and dirty don’t bother me none
Just as long as we git her done!
All that matters is money and power
I enjoy it when I got it, every hour.

Aint no place for a timid mouse
‘Be running things in the Bush White House.
With all the poll numbers down real low
I need to find another way to go.

A weak President just aint right
But we aint goin’ down without a fight.
Soon I will look ahead to 08
And I will help Jeb Bush to celebrate!

Links:










http://www.impeach07.org/

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Not Another Actor For President!


Fred Thompson To Run On "Law And Order" Platform?

Fred Thompson, a former United States Senator, prosecutor, and film and television actor is considering joining the wide open race for the Republican presidential nomination for the 2008 election.Thompson is perhaps best know for his role in the NBC series “Law & Order.” He has also appeared in many other TV spots and a number of movies. In addition to having been a senator he has been a district attorney and served as Minority Counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee.Thompson first appeared on screen in the film “Marie” in 1985, portraying himself in the fact-based story of a high-profile case he handled in Tennessee. Since then, he has appeared in numerous movies and television programs, including the features “In the Line of Fire,” “Die Hard II,” and “The Hunt for Red October,” and the series “China Beach,” “Wiseguy,” and “Matlock.” Thompson is showing surprising strength in early poll numbers, especially since he has not formally launched a campaign as of yet. Many on the far right of the GOP are saying he might be the much sought for "conservative" candidate. These folks believe that Giuliani and McCain's overall support is soft and someone like Thompson might be successful.Of course we have had one screen star as President. Many still hold up Ronald Reagan as a great President but in reality he was a farce. He was a front man for the cadre of special interests who backed him and he set a record for the number of convictions, indictments and investigations which took place concerning members of his administration. He wrecked the PATCO union of air traffic controllers for which we are still suffering and his economic policies helped exacerbate the inequities in income and privilege we now experience. His overblown defense budget and Star Wars spending mushroomed the budgfet deficits at the time and are now increased by another reckless GOP so-called conservative.We don't need Fred Thompson for President. Let him stay on the screen.










Sunday, March 25, 2007

Some Neely Family History


I don't usually put things like this in my blog but my sister sent me this from a local paper near her home of Daingerfield, Tx.
This article and pictures illustrate a big part of my family heritage.
My dad's picture is on here, along with my grand parents and uncles and aunts from my Daddy's side of the family.
Click on the text and pics for a larger image, which is readable.



Thursday, March 22, 2007

G.W.; "I Speaka Da Spanish Mooey Beano!"




President Bush's Trip to Latin America Is All About Denial By Mark Weisbrot

This column was printed by the Contra Costa Times (CA) on Sunday, March 11. Thanks to Mark Weisbrot for permission to use it.

"State of Denial" is the title of Bob Woodward's famous book on the Bush team's road to disaster in Iraq, but it would have served just as well for a description of their Latin America policy. This week President Bush heads South for a seven-day, five country, trip to Latin America to see if he can counter the populist political tide that has brought left governments to about half the population of the region. Carrying vague promises of a joint effort on ethanol production - but no offer to lower tariffs protecting the US market - President Bush hopes to entice Brazil into taking his side against his nemesis, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. This is a fantasy. President Lula da Silva of Brazil made a point of visiting Venezuela for his first foreign trip after being
re-elected last October. There, he presided over the dedication of a $1.2 billion bridge over the Orinoco river, financed by the Brazilian government, while he lavished praise on Chavez and gave the popular Venezuelan president an added boost in his own re-election campaign. The Bush Administration's policy of trying to isolate Venezuela from its neighbors has only succeeded in isolating Washington. Last week President Nestor Kirchner of Argentina, speaking in Caracas, flatly rejected the notion that Argentina or Brazil should "contain President Chavez," whom he called "a brother and a friend." In another thinly-veiled swipe at Washington, Kirchner said: "It cannot be that it bothers anyone that our nations become integrated." At the same time he announced that Venezuela and Argentina would jointly issue a "Bond of the South" for $1.5 billion. If Washington is in denial about the political reality of Latin America, it is even more in denial about the economics. For twenty-five years our government has pushed a series of reforms throughout the region: tighter fiscal and monetary policies, more independent central banks, indiscriminate opening to international trade and investment, privatization of public enterprises, and the abandonment of economic development strategies and industrial policies. The Bush team thinks that these reforms, known as "neoliberalism" in Latin America, were just the right formula to stimulate economic growth. In fact, Latin America's economic growth over the last 25 years has been a disaster - the worst
long-term growth failure in more than a hundred years. From 1980-2000 GDP per person grew by only 9 percent, and another 4 percent for 2000-2005. Compare this to 82 percent for just the two decades from 1960-1980, and it is easy to see why candidates promising new economic policies have been elected (and some re-elected) in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Uruguay, and Venezuela. They also came close to winning in Mexico, Peru, and Costa Rica. The left governments that have introduced new economic policies have done pretty well: Argentina has grown by a phenomenal 8.6 percent annually for nearly five years, pulling more than 8 million people out of poverty in a country of 36 million. Bolivia has increased government revenue from hydrocarbons by about 6.7 percent of GDP, an amount that would equal $900 billion in the United States, and is using the additional revenue to help its majority poor. Venezuela is also using the government's increased take of oil production to provide health care, education, and subsidized food for the poor.
All of these governments have succeeded by implementing policies that Washington opposed. President Bush will get a good reception from the right-wing governments he is visiting: his close allies in Mexico, Colombia, and Guatemala. Colombia is in the midst of a huge national scandal over the responsibility of government officials for mass murder and assassinations of political opponents. More trade unionists are killed in Colombia each year than in the rest of the world combined. Guatemala is another right-wing ally with a terrible human rights record: two weeks ago, three Central American parlimentarians were murdered by a Guatemalan police death squad. All three governments have been linked to narco-trafficking, but President Bush will likely praise them for their cooperation in the war on drugs. It's all about denial. The political and economic changes sweeping Latin America are a serious break with the failed policies of the past. Washington's influence has collapsed, and is not likely to recover.
Mark Weisbrot is Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC


Links:










Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Bush And The Hornets' Nests!


He can't leave 'em alone!

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Chiquita Banana? Ay Chihuahua! Caramba!



The following is an AP story that appeared on the net yesterday. It seems Chiquita Banana has been paying protection money to both far right and far left para-military terrorist groups in Colombia.
There have protests for years against the way the business of growing bananas was conducted, saying that the buying of bananas was providing "blood money" for violent militant groups.


Chiquita to Pay Fine in Terror InvestigationBy MATT APUZZOAPWASHINGTON (March 14) - Banana company Chiquita Brands International said Wednesday it has agreed to a $25 million fine after admitting it paid a Colombian terrorist group for protection in a volatile farming region. The settlement resolves a lengthy Justice Department investigation into the company's financial dealings with terrorist organizations in Colombia. In court documents filed Wednesday, federal prosecutors said several unnamed high-ranking corporate officers at the Cincinnati-based company paid about $1.7 million between 1997 and 2004 to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, known as AUC for its Spanish initials. The AUC has been responsible for some of the worst massacres in Colombia's civil conflict and for a sizable percentage of the country's cocaine exports. The right-wing group was designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization in September 2001. Prosecutors said the company made the payments in exchange for protection for its workers. The company also made similar payments to the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, according to prosecutors. Colombia's banana-growing region is a zone over which leftist rebels and far-right paramilitaries have fought viciously. Most companies have extensive security operations to protect employees in the area. "The information filed today is part of a plea agreement, which we view as a reasoned solution to the dilemma the company faced several years ago," Chiquita's chief executive, Fernando Aguirre, said in a statement. "The payments made by the company were always motivated by our good faith concern for the safety of our employees." Colombia has one of the highest kidnappings rates in the world. Arrangements between companies and either guerrillas or paramilitaries are not uncommon but it is impossible to know how much money is paid each year. Chiquita sold its Colombian banana operations in June 2004. Details of the settlement were not included in court documents but Aguirre said Chiquita would pay $25 million in fines, which it set aside this year. The company reported the deal to the Securities and Exchange Commission. A plea hearing was scheduled for Monday. The payments were approved by senior executives at Chiquita, prosecutors wrote in court documents. Prosecutors said Chiquita began paying the right-wing AUC after a meeting in 1997 and disguised the payments in company books. "No later than in or about September 2000, defendant Chiquita's senior executives knew that the corporation was paying AUC and that the AUC was a violent paramilitary organization," prosecutors wrote in Wednesday's court filing. Company attorneys made it clear the payments were improper, prosecutors said. "Bottom line: CANNOT MAKE THE PAYMENT," the company's outside counsel advised in February 2003, according to an excerpt of a memo included in court documents. In April 2003, company officials and lawyers approached the Justice Department and told prosecutors they had been making the payments. According to court documents, the payments continued for months. The document filed by federal prosecutors is known as an information. Unlike an indictment, it is normally worked out through discussions with prosecutors and is followed by a guilty plea.
Associated Press writer Toby Muse in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Alberto Gonzales; Another Political Hack InThe Bush Administration!

Alberto Gonzales has proven to be a very poor Attorney General. He is just another sad chapter in this failed administration. Below is a poem/song(?) which is a paean to Bush administration.























I’m A Political Hack Workin’ For The Prez!

Lately my office has come under attack
Those jackals in the press are on my back
Whistleblowers said things are all screwed up
And what’s more they say that I’m corrupt!

The President said I was doing a heck of a job
I was kissing his ass and polishing his knob!
I gave lots of dough for his election campaign
Now I’m collectin’ mine on the gravy train!

So some of my work is called sub-standard
That’s no reason to hang me by a lanyard
I admit that some mistakes were made
But we kept them all deep in the shade.

I serve at the pleasure of the President
It don’t matter where all the money went
Skill and integrity that’s what I lack
I got my job because I’m a political hack!

I’m A Political Hack
Workin’ For The Prez!
Doing a heckuva job
No matter what anyone sez.
I got my job because of loyalty
And if liberals hate me
That’s OK with me!

Links:
http://midlifemutations.blogspot.com/
http://www.ostroyreport.blogspot.com/
http://fuzzyandblue.blogspot.com/
http://orwellsgrave.blogspot.com/
http://jcdesigns.blogspot.com/
http://majikthise.typepad.com/
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/
http://www.slate.com/
http://www.dailykos.com/
http://www.impeach07.org/

Sunday, March 11, 2007

FBI Charged With Improper Surveillance


Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has admitted mistakes were made in some FBI surveillance activities under the "Patriot" Act.
Once again the FBI has engaged in illegal activities in its conduct while attempting to ferret out possible domestic and foreign enemies.
The FBI under Robert Mueller has hearkened back to the days of J. Edgar Hoover when protection of the civil rights of American citizens took a back seat to the political goals of the sitting President and his party.
Remember COINTELPRO?
COINTELPRO is an acronym for a series of FBI counterintelligence programs designed to neutralize political dissidents. Although covert operations have been employed throughout FBI history, the formal COINTELPRO's of 1956-1971 were broadly targeted against radical political organizations. In the early 1950s, the Communist Party was illegal in the United States. The Senate and House of Representatives each set up investigating committees to prosecute communists and publicly expose them. (The House Committee on Un-American Activities and the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, led by Senator Joseph McCarthy). When a series of Supreme Court rulings in 1956 and 1957 challenged these committees and questioned the constitutionality of Smith Act prosecutions and Subversive Activities Control Board hearings, the FBI's response was COINTELPRO, a program designed to "neutralize" those who could no longer be prosecuted. Over the years, similar programs were created to neutralize civil rights, anti-war, and many other groups, many of which were said to be "communist front organizations."
COINTELPRO was a disaster and led to many violations of the civil rights of American citizens and was basically an attack by the U.S. government on dissent. This was just one of many abuses of power carried out by Hoover's FBI. It seems that once again a sitting president is out to infringe on the liberties of Americans in order to pursue his highly questionable policies.

Friday, March 09, 2007

Newt Is A Big Fat Hypocrite!!


Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says he's no hypocrite. Gingrich made the assertion in an interview with James Dodson, the founder of the conservative evangelical group Focus on the Family.Gingrich admitted to being involved in an extramarital affair at the same time he was attacking President Bill Clinton for his. This is not new news but is undoubtedly something Gingrich, who is planning a possible run for the Presidency in 2008, wishes would go away.The following is from an AP story which appeared online today.

"The honest answer is yes," Gingrich, a potential 2008 Republican presidential candidate, said in an interview with founder James Dobson to be aired Friday, according to a transcript provided to The Associated Press. "There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards. There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards." Gingrich argued in the interview, however, that he should not be viewed as a hypocrite for pursuing Clinton's infidelity. "The president of the United States got in trouble for committing a felony in front of a sitting federal judge," the former Georgia congressman said of Clinton's 1998 House impeachment on perjury and obstruction of justice charges. "I drew a line in my mind that said, 'Even though I run the risk of being deeply embarrassed, and even though at a purely personal level I am not rendering judgment on another human being, as a leader of the government trying to uphold the rule of law, I have no choice except to move forward and say that you cannot accept ... perjury in your highest officials." Widely considered a mastermind of the Republican revolution that swept Congress in the 1994 elections, Gingrich remains wildly popular among many conservatives. He has repeatedly placed near the top of Republican presidential polls recently, even though he has not formed a campaign. Gingrich has said he is waiting to see how the Republican field shapes up before deciding in the fall whether to run. Reports of extramarital affairs have dogged him for years as a result of two messy divorces, but he has refused to discuss them publicly. Gingrich, who frequently campaigned on family values issues, divorced his second wife, Marianne, in 2000 after his attorneys acknowledged Gingrich's relationship with his current wife, Callista Bisek, a former congressional aide more than 20 years younger than he is. His first marriage, to his former high school geometry teacher, Jackie Battley, ended in divorce in 1981. Although Gingrich has said he doesn't remember it, Battley has said Gingrich discussed divorce terms with her while she was recuperating in the hospital from cancer surgery. Gingrich married Marianne months after the divorce. "There were times when I was praying and when I felt I was doing things that were wrong. But I was still doing them," he said in the interview. "I look back on those as periods of weakness and periods that I'm ... not proud of." Gingrich's congressional career ended in 1998 when he abruptly resigned from Congress after poor showings from Republicans in elections and after being reprimanded by the House ethics panel over charges that he used tax-exempt funding to advance his political goals."

Gingrich is a hypocrite. He is a power hungry, crooked, ruthless and an idealogically driven partisan when it comes to politics and he would be a terrible choice to be President of the United States. Gingrich is saying he is not a hypocrite because he "didn't lie under oath." What a spin! He also took an oath, three times exactly, that is marriage vows, which are in effect an oath proclaiming you will not commit adultery.
No Newts is good Newts!

Links:

Bush Visits Latin America


When G. W. Bush was running for President he was the Governor of Texas. He said that as president he would be on top of Latin American affairs and he was knowledgable about our southern neighbors because "Texas is next to Mexico!" He was also widely reputed to speak Spanish fluently.
Now, of course, we know he has ignored Latin America and because of his policies in international affairs Latin America is showing signs of defiance towards the U.S.
And his Spanish is scarcely credible. Of course we all know he can't speak English fluently either.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Brownie Award


The Brownie is an award for the person most deserving for being the most inept, incompetent, corrupt or all of the above in the service of the U.S., state or local governments.
The Brownie is named after former FEMA director Michael Brown of Katrina recovery fame.
The first Brownie went to Brown, its namesake. The second was given to Porter Goss the most inept CIA director in history.
Nominations are now open for the next award.
Who will be the next to hear those immortal words..."you're doin'a heckuva job!"

Jim Nicholson Nominated For Brownie Award


Jim Nicholson is a political hack appointed by President G.W. Bush January 26, 2005, to be the fifth Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Nicholson has been the target of some pointed questioning recently in light of the scandal at Walter Reed Army Hospital and the VA system in general. Nicholson seemed arrogant and out of touch in his TV appearances. On the air with ABC's Bob Woodruff Nicholson made light of the large numbers of Iraqi vets seeking help saying many of them are receiving "dental care." He maintained that the VA was " doing a good job."

This recent revelation about out patient care at Walter Reed puts such an assertion in question to say the least.This scandal also reaveals how important it is to the Bush administration to "support the troops."
It was announced on ABC News today that under Nicholson's tenure a contingecy plan to help ease wounded soldiers from military care back into civilian life was scrapped by Nicholson shortly after he took over the bureau.
Nicholson, an attorney by trade, is a former chairman of the Republican Party and has a reputation as a hard-nosed partisan. Nicholson has also been instrumental in developing large formerly pristine areas of Colorado into condo cities.He is a decorated combat veteran of the U.S. Army in Vietnam.
Nicholson is a good nomination for this year's "Brownie Award!" The "Brownie" is named after former FEMA director Michael Brown who heard those immortal words from President Bush "You're doing a heckuva job Brownie!"
Links:
http://www.dailykos.com/
http://www.impeach07.org/

Monday, March 05, 2007

Walter Reed Hospital; Another Example of the Arrogance and Incompetence of the G.W. Bush Administration!


Friday, March 02, 2007

Today Is Texas Independence Day


Today is Texas Independence Day. On this date in 1836 delegates from the then Mexican colony of Tejas declared independence from Mexico.
The war had begun the previous year and would end with the Texian victory at San Jacinto several weeks later.
The siege of the Alamo (pictured here) would end after a 13 day sruggle on March 6, 1836.
Myths have grown around the Alamo and the war in general. History can be a bit messy but these events are still celebrated and remembered here in Texas.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

Will We Be Left In The Dark?






We all need electric power. That is a must in our modern society. Our economy, our security and our very health depends upon it. We have a near intolerable system of electric generation and distribution today. It is past time to begin investing more heavily in 'green' power, wind, solar and other innovations.
The following is a letter I sent to the state director of the Public Utilities Commission. Dear Mr. Hudson:
I hope you are well and that this is a good year for you and all of us here in Texas. I am concerned about the rising costs for electricity. I applaud the recent decision by your commission to stop a rate increase by AEP.
I am disabled, single and experiencing a number of health problems. I live on my Social Security disability and it doesn't stretch far enough. I live in a small, one bedroom apartment and I currently have a past due electric bill, from CPL, of $126.00 which I will pay when I get my next SS check this Friday. A new bill will be here soon. I will have the same problem.
During the summer my bill topped $300.00 once and was over $200 all summer. This is an extreme hardship. I am sure many other folks are in similar, or much worse situations. Deregulation has been, frankly, a disaster and should be ended. This 'motto' (slogan?) is on your web site by your picture.
Advancing Innovation Through Competition
In my opinion there is no truth in this what so ever! Where is the innovation? Where are the savings? Who is responsible for full time, efficient electric generation and transmission? Why do we suffer so many outages, even in good weather? What will happen when we do suffer a severe weather situation such as a hurricane or a tornado?
It is, frankly, ridiculous for so many companies to call themselves "energy companies" when they produce no energy and maintain no transmission lines. It is a case of middle men in the way of the consumer.
No new power plants are being built, as of now, and some current ones, such as the Barney Davis power plant near where I live, are being considered for closure. Why? That would be stupid!
Electric power is a necessity. It should not be a commodity for sale in the marketplace. I sleep with a C PAP machine at night to enable me to breathe. Without power I could not sleep safely. I should be able to depend on reliable and affordable electric energy.
Every municipality or rural district should produce its own power and the power grid should be a backup for emergencies. This is a public duty and should not be at the mercy and vagaries of some nebulous energy market.
Public ownership should be restored to power and the needs of a community should be more important than profit for so called energy companies with slick media campaigns!
Sincerely,

Dicky Neely
Corpus Christi, Tx.