Flush: The Sound Of More Taxpayer Dollars Wasted Because Of The Actions Of The W, Rove And Co.

In case you didn't know it, the W, Rove and Co continually tosses good taxpayer monies after bad. No, I'm not talking about the billions of dollars being flushed into Halliburton's coffers by way of Iraq via no-bid contract awards. No, I'm not talking about the pallets of dollars lost in trying to bribe people in Iraq and Afghanistan to be our friends.

And no, I'm not talking about the FEMA trailers still undistributed to the people of NOLA, or the like. I'm talking about the law suit settlements to people who are mistreated and have their rights violated by the W, Rove and Co.

No doubt, this settlement discussed today will be the first of many:

Q Does the President have any regret that $80,000 in taxpayer funds is being paid to a couple that was forcibly removed from a presidential appearance in West Virginia in 2004 and sued the government and the government arranged this settlement?

MR. JOHNDROE: I've not discussed it with the President, so I'm not familiar.

Q Do you know if the Presidential Advance Manual is being modified in any way so that people who do nothing more than have an anti-Bush slogan on their tee shirt are removed from presidential events?

MR. JOHNDROE: I'm not aware of whether the manual is being revised or not. I think there are rules that govern the conduct of activities at presidential events and people try to adhere to them and, I think, for the most part, do.

Winning Hearts And Minds

If I were working for the W, Rove and Co, I'd be just about ready to toss in the towel for winning the hearts and minds of the American people, but that's the least of their worries. If we are to prevail in Iraq, they are going to have to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people. Trouble is, that ain't going to happen.

Have a look:

The camouflaged American soldiers, weary from hours of struggling to talk with Iraqis during a patrol in eastern Baghdad, laughed with relief after an Iraqi army major's wife met them at her door. The soldiers had no interpreter. She had a master's degree in English translation.

"Do you want to work for the Americans?" asked U.S. Army Lt. Anthony Slamar, 26. "Do you want a job as a translator?"

The woman stepped back into her darkened doorway.

"With you? No. Not with you. Do I want to die?" she said. "I am afraid of you, I'm sorry."

If our GIs can't get the wife of an Iraqi Major with a Master's Degree in English Translation to help them, we are SO screwed. She is supposed to be on our side, no? No doubt, she is holding out for a lucrative contract with the US Government at 10 to 100 times what they would pay her as a civilian employee. Even then, the job is not worth getting killed over, now is it?

This is a symptom of the larger problem caused by the illegal and illegitimate invasion of Iraq perpetrated by the W, Rove and Co. Any chance the bumbling idiots in the W, Rove and Co will be tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity after they are out in 2009? Don't hold your breath.

Super Bowl Sunday: Anesthesia For The Masses or Antidote For What Ails America?

I'm felling a little bit like Charlie Brown in the Halloween episode. You remember the one. Every one gets fantastic treats and when it comes down to answering the question, "What'd you get Charlie Brown," he answers, "I got a rock."

When given the Super Bowl Sunday slot for a BIO Feature post, I felt like I had another rock dropped in my bag. Really, aside from the sports blogaholics, how many people will be turning on their computers Sunday to surf political blogs as they tune in to the Annual event that draws more viewers than people who vote in presidential primaries?

Meanwhile, as the president trumpets all the "good" news he can spin, he proves once again, that he is not open to real and true negotiation:

Another important tool for eliminating wasteful spending is the line-item veto.

Sure, right. For a man who only issued one veto in his entire career as president and still couldn't get anything positive done, and manages our government like he managed his baseball team, he's asking for this like there is going to only be republican presidents for the foreseeable future?

Of course, the President is full of the usual W, Rove and Co suggestions. Watch out middle class, you're an endangered species:

Controlling spending also requires us to address the unsustainable growth of entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Excuse me, but didn't W sign the legislation to substantially increase costs of Medicare and Medicaid by means of a drug benefit? In hind sight, might we not have spent the money on Iraq instead of cutting programs that the American people already pay into?

Seriously, can you trust the man who perpetrated the largest bait and switch (WMD in Iraq) in political history on the American people? Let's have one last look:

I look forward to working with Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to address these challenges. Together, we can pass a budget that keeps our economy strong, keeps America safe, and makes deficit spending a thing of the past.

Really, I don't buy it. When you ask for the line item veto, it doesn't suggest that you are willing to work with people on either side of the aisle to fix what ails America. It says exactly what W has said over and over again in the face of great questioning regarding his "surge." "I'm still the decider:" fuck you, America.

But I got off on a rant. I'm really here to pose a question for today's feature. That is, as we face global warming, things worsening in Iraq that lead to more GIs KIA who won't be watching the Super Bowl with us, we have to ask ourselves a very serious question. Let's call this...drum roll please...

Windspike's Super Bowl Super Query

• Is the Super Bowl anesthesia for the masses or an antidote for what ails America?

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