Hooray for OUR Team

Ever get the feeling that SOME people in Congress don’t really have a clue they might be running a country? It’s more like they think,”Aaaahhh, politics is a team sport!” and proceed to vote as if getting the team to win is the most important part of their duty. I could say something nasty like, “Don’t they think the rest of the world knows that waterboarding isn’t some new EXTREME Watersport?” or wonder if they think it’s some new kind of golden shower. But this is a family cartoon and so I won’t 🙂

You wonder what’s in their minds. “But waterboarding is torture,” you say. “It WOULD be,” they counter, “if we were using it on enemy soldiers–but these people are not soldiers, they’re combatants.” You might counter, “that’s just semantics,” but rest assured, they have more semantics up their sleeves 🙂 “Torture is justified by the ticking bomb scenario. If there’s a ticking bomb and the only person who knows how to defuse it refuses to talk, you’re justified in torturing him.” “But there WAS no ticking bomb in Iraq.” “Well, how would we know that if we didn’t waterboard someone to find out?”

I ask you, doesn’t that make sense?

Who Knows What Evil Lurks In The Hearts Of Men? This Whole Administration Does–First Hand!

(AP) Many hopefuls keep Bush ties under wraps “Bush has yet to hold a single traditional campaign-style rally for one of his party’s hopefuls this election cycle…of six fundraisers Bush is headlining this week, all but one [~] for Alabama Gov. Bob Riley [~] are private, by agreement between the White House and the campaigns…this year, in the same time period between July and the end of September, nearly two-thirds of Bush’s political events are scheduled to be closed, held in private homes…” Invitation only, be sure to have your checkbook and Republican Party card in hand and be prepared to sign the loyalty pledge on entering.

In the meantime, people far more knowledgable than I have looked over the “compromise” between the mavericks and Bush about legalizing torture. Check The Nation The Pro-Torture Pact, The Washington Post, The Abuse Can Continue: Senators won’t authorize torture, but they won’t prevent it, either. and this press release from Amnesty International Amnesty International ‘Deeply Disturbed’ by New Detainee Legislation Everyone got what they wanted–Bush looks like he compromised when he didn’t, and McCain, Graham and Warner got their names in the paper making believe they were righteous. The farce goes on.

And not that I’m old enough to have heard it first run (unless my parents had it on before I was even in short pants hehehe) but my favorite oldtime radio program is, as if you couldn’t guess, THE SHADOW! Too bad the Alec Baldwin movie had such a LOUSY script…I wonder why there’s this modernizing cliche of providing the characters with a back story and then getting it ALL WRONG!

Just Because We Reached An Agreement, Doesn’t Mean We Have Keep It

(Reuters) Bush, Republicans forge terrorism interrogation deal

(AP) Deal on detainees quells GOP infighting

Let’s face it, the only people Bush is interested in saving by “clarifying” the Geneva Conventions was his own and Dickyboy’s sorry asses (well, Donald’s and Alberto’s too). By reaching a deal with his party’s “mavericks”, he gives them a win and makes a big show of being able to compromise. But have y’all forgotten something? The infamous Signing Statements. The president, our esteemed frat boy who used to brand pledges, is still going to be able to define what he decides is “cruel and inhuman”.

Your faithful cartoonist apologizes for the lack of his usual anal retentive technique–he jumped too hard into a diet (ain’t middle age awful? gotta watch that weight and cholesterol count) and had a rough day in the energy department. Not a bad drawing–just not as nitpicky perfect as my usual stuff. LOL. Fred’n’Bert will watch over me this weekend and forcefeed me a few carbs to get the engine running again 🙂 Y’all have a good one. Oh and belated birthday greetings to a special pet who’s helped almost as much as yon squirrels