Tag Archives: George W. Bush
Rubio Calls for IRS Commissioner to Resign?
Republican Tea Party (GOTP) darling and frontrunner for the party’s 2016 presidential nod is proving – yet again – how he’s not ready for prime time. While trying to demonstrate how tough he is, and how much he’s “on top of things”, Senator Marco Rubio’s reportedly sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew strongly urging Lew, and President Obama, to “demand the IRS Commissioner’s resignation, effectively immediately.” There’s just one problem, there is no IRS Commissioner.
Fact is the last IRS commissioner, Douglas Shulman, was appointed by President George W. Bush in March of 2008 and resigned in November, and furthermore, considering the rate at which the GOTP has stonewalled everything in the Senate it’s very unlikely the President could get anyone appointed to the position, perhaps that’s why he hasn’t even tried?
Poor Marco, so clueless; is he really so misinformed that he didn’t know, or is the Senator’s staff so full of misanthropic misfits that no one bothered to check before making their boss look like a moron? At any rate, the junior senator from Florida signed the letter, and, as Harry Truman might say, “The buck stops there.”
Bush says he’s “comfortable” with his legacy?
Former President George W. Bush has said during a recent interview with the Dallas Morning News he’s comfortable with his decision-making regarding the Iraq War.
“I’m confident the decisions were made the right way,” Bush explained. “It’s easy to forget what life was like when the decision was made.”
Actually, no it’s not; we were recovering from the 9-11 attack, troops in Afghanistan were closing in on Osama Bin Laden, our nation’s debt and deficit were nowhere near where you left them and U.S. troops hadn’t started torturing prisoners.
“I’m comfortable with what I did,” he said. “I’m comfortable with who I am.”
Well, that makes two people I suppose, you and Dick Cheney.
Bush’s legacy will be one of abject failure; he failed to keep American’s safe, ignoring intelligence reports prior to the attacks on 9-11; he failed to get Osama Bin Laden, and probably allowed him to escape into Pakistan when he invaded Iraq; he led the country off a fiscal cliff into the worse economic downturn since the Great Depression. He’s not just a failure however, he’s a delusional failure, there’s no other explanation for being “comfortable” with one of the worse presidencies in United States history.
Hannity’s a liar and an idiot
The Leprechaun, Sean Hannity’s at it again, telling one big whopper after another. Tonight’s lie came during his FOX News program (9 Jan 13) when he claimed no president had ever made use of recess appointments until President Obama, I just heard him say it, you can’t make this stuff up; but of course almost every President since – and including – George Washington have made recess appointments.
President Washington appointed South Carolina judge John Rutledge as Chief Justice of the United States during a congressional recess in 1795.
Some additional examples?
New Jersey judge William J. Brennan was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 through a recess appointment. This was done in part with an eye on the presidential campaign that year; Eisenhower was running for reelection, and his advisors thought it would be politically advantageous to place a northeastern Catholic on the court. Brennan was promptly confirmed when the Senate came back into session. President Eisenhower, also using a recess appointment, designated Charles W. Yost as United States ambassador to Syria.But wait, that’s not all President Eisenhower made two additional recess appointments, Chief Justice Earl Warren and Potter Stewart.
President George H. W. Bush appointed Lawrence Eagleburger Secretary of State during a recess in 1992 because Eagleburger had in effect filled that role after James Baker resigned.
And according to the Congressional Research Service, President Bill Clinton made 139 recess appointments while President George W. Bush made a record 171 recess appointments, and as of 5 Jan 12, President Barack Obama – who Hannity claims is attempting to “by-pass the Legislative Branch creating an imperial presidency” – had made only 32 recess appointments.
Hannity’s an idiot, and anyone who ever takes him seriously is also an idiot. Like too many people working at FOX he wouldn’t know a fact if it came and bit him on the nose.
Who’s kept us safer?
How many embassies have been overrun on Obama’s watch again?
A conservative friend continues to post this question, as though it’s been a dozen or more with hundreds of Americans killed by terrorists since President Obama was inaugurated; this conservative mind set made me wonder which party’s kept Americans safer both at home and abroad, and since conservatives have raised the question, attempting to hint that President Obama has somehow failed in protecting American interests and Americans from terrorist attacks, and also hinting we’d be better off again under a rough and tough Republican like Willard Romney let’s take a look at the record since 1975 as to which party seems to be able to keep Americans and our interests better protected, either due to terrorist groups being afraid of our “perceived” toughness, or due to actually physically preventing attacks.
24 Jan 75 (FORD), bomb set off in historic Fraunces Tavern, New York City, NY, killed 4 and injured more than 50 people. Puerto Rican nationalist group (FALN) claimed responsibility, and police tied 13 other bombings to the group.
19 Aug 74 (FORD) U.S. ambassador to Cyprus Rodger P. Davies killed by sniper fire during a demonstration against American policy by Greek Cypriots at the embassy in Nicosia
16 Jun 76 (FORD) U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, Francis E. Meloy Jr. was kidnapped by a Palestinian separatist group and shot along with U.S. economic counselor Robert O. Waring as both diplomats headed to present their credentials to the new Lebanese president in 1976.
Three terrorist attacks, seven Americans killed (including two ambassadors), one embassy/consulate attacked/overrun by terrorists under Republican President Gerald Ford.
14 Feb 79 (CARTER) Adolph Dubs, Ambassador to Afghanistan, Dubs was taken hostage in Kabul and was killed during the rescue attempt.
4 Nov 79 (CARTER), Iranian radical students seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking 66 hostages. 14 were later released. The remaining 52 were freed after 444 days on the day of President Reagan’s inauguration.
Two terrorist attacks, One American (ambassador) killed, one embassy/consulate overrun under Democratic President Jimmy Carter
18 Apr 83 (REAGAN), U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon destroyed in suicide car-bomb attack; 63 dead, including 17 Americans; the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
23 Oct 83 (REAGAN), Shiite suicide bombers exploded truck near U.S. military barracks at Beirut airport, Lebanon, killing 241 marines.
12 Dec 83 (REAGAN) Shiite truck bombers attacked the U.S. embassy in Kuwait City, Kuwait and other targets, no Americans were killed.
20 Sep 84 (REAGAN), a truck bomb exploded outside the U.S. embassy annex, Beirut, Lebanon, killing 2 U.S. military personnel
3 Dec 84 (REAGAN), Kuwait Airways Flight 221, from Kuwait to Pakistan, hijacked and diverted to Tehran, Iran. 2 Americans killed.
14 Jun 85 (REAGAN), TWA Flight 847 en route from Athens to Rome hijacked to Beirut, Lebanon by Hezbollah terrorists and held for 17 days. A U.S. Navy diver executed.
7 Oct 85 (REAGAN), gunmen linked to Libya attacked Italian cruise ship, Achille Lauro. One U.S. tourist killed.
18 Dec 85 (REAGAN), airports in Rome and Vienna were bombed, killing 5 Americans. Bombing linked to Libya.
2 Apr 86 (REAGAN), a bomb exploded aboard TWA flight 840 en route from Rome to Athens, killing 4 Americans and injuring 9.
5 Apr 86 (REAGAN), Libyans bombed a disco in West Berlin, Germany, frequented by U.S. servicemen, killing 2 American servicemen and injuring 79 others.
21 Dec 86 (REAGAN), New York bound Pan-Am Boeing 747 exploded in flight from a terrorist bomb and crashed into village of Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 aboard and 11 on the ground. Passengers included 35 Syracuse University students and many U.S. military personnel. In total 189 Americans were killed.
Eleven terrorist attacks, 466 Americans killed, three embassies/consulates overrun/attacked under Republican President Ronald Reagan
26 Feb 93 (CLINTON), a truck bomb exploded in basement garage of World Trade Center, New York City, killing 6 and injuring at least 1,040 others.
19 Apr 95 (CLINTON), a truck bomb exploded outside federal office building, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, collapsing wall and floors. 168 people were killed, including 19 children and 1 person who died in rescue effort.
13 Nov 95 (CLINTON), a car bomb exploded at U.S. military headquarters, killing 5 U.S. military servicemen.
25 Jun 96 (CLINTON), a truck bomb exploded outside Khobar Towers military complex, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 19 American servicemen and injuring hundreds of others.
7 Aug 98 (CLINTON), truck bombs exploded almost simultaneously near 2 U.S. embassies, Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 12 Americans and 224 others (213 in Kenya and 11 in Tanzania) and injuring about 4,500.
12 Oct 00 (CLINTON), U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole heavily damaged when a small boat loaded with explosives blew up alongside it in Aden, Yemen; 17 sailors killed.
Six terrorist attacks, 237 Americans killed, two embassies/consulates overrun/attacked under Democratic President Bill Clinton
11 Sep 01 (BUSH), hijackers crashed two commercial jets into twin towers of World Trade Center, New York City; two more hijacked jets were crashed into the Pentagon, Arlington, VA and a field in rural PA. Total dead and missing numbered 2,379 Americans and 373 of other nationalities.
1 Aug – 22 Oct 02 (BUSH), John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo begin a shooting spree throughout the DC area including Maryland and Virginia killing ten people and critically injuring three others before being arrested.
22 Jan 02 (BUSH), Gunmen attack a U.S. government information center in Calcutta, India, near the U.S. Consulate.
14 Jun 02 (BUSH), a bomb explodes outside American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.
12 May 03, (BUSH), suicide bombers kill 34, including 8 Americans, at housing compounds for Westerners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
29-31 May 04 (BUSH), terrorists attack the offices of a Saudi oil company in Khobar, Saudi Arabia; take foreign oil workers hostage in a nearby residential compound, leaving 22 people dead including one American.
11-19 Jun 04 (BUSH), terrorists kidnap and execute Paul Johnson Jr., an American, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 2 other Americans and BBC cameraman killed by gun attacks.
6 Dec 12 (BUSH), terrorists storm the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing 5 consulate employees.
9 Nov 05 (BUSH), suicide bombers hit 3 American hotels, Radisson, Grand Hyatt, and Days Inn, in Amman, Jordan, killing 57, including 4 Americans.
2 Mar 06 (BUSH), a U.S. diplomat and his driver are among at least four people killed in an apparent suicide attack outside the U.S. Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan.
12 Sep 06 (BUSH), Syrian authorities kill three attackers and apprehend a suspect outside the U.S. Embassy after a car explodes near the walls of the Damascus building.
2 Jan 07 (BUSH), the U.S. embassy in Athens, Greece is fired on by an anti-tank missile causing damage but no injuries.
16 Sep 07 (BUSH), a car bomb and a rocket strike the U.S. embassy in Yemen as staff arrived to work, killing 16 people, including 4 civilians.
26 Nov 07 (BUSH), in a series of attacks on several of Mumbai’s landmarks and commercial hubs that are popular with Americans and other foreign tourists, including at least two five-star hotels, a hospital, a train station, and a cinema. About 300 people are wounded and nearly 190 people die, including at least 5 Americans.
9 Jul 08 (BUSH), the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, is attacked in what the American ambassador to the country calls “an obvious act of terrorism” aimed at the U.S.
17 Sep 08 (BUSH), heavily armed fighters attack the U.S. Embassy in Yemen. A car bomb is detonated.
Sixteen terrorist attacks, 2,418 Americans killed, nine embassies/consulates overrun/attacked under Republican President George W. Bush
1 Jun 09 (OBAMA), Abdulhakim Muhammed, a Muslim convert from Memphis, Tennessee, is charged with shooting two soldiers outside a military recruiting center. One is killed and the other is wounded.
5 Nov 09 (OBAMA), U.S. Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan opens fire on fellow soldiers at Ft. Hood, TX killing 13 and wounding 29 others.
14 Feb 10, (OBAMA), Andrew Joseph Stack III his plane into an IRS building in Austin, Texas killing himself and a person inside the building and injuring 13 others. The crash caused a serious fire and significant damage to the building.
10 May 10 (OBAMA), a pipe bomb explodes outside a mosque in Jacksonville, FL.
5 Aug 12 (OBAMA), a gunman opens fire at a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, WI, killing six people and injuring three others.
12 Sep 12 (OBAMA), Islamist militants armed with antiaircraft weapons and rocket-propelled grenades stormed a lightly defended United States diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, killing American ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens and three members of his staff
Six terrorist attacks, 25 Americans killed (including one ambassador), 2 embassies/consulates overrun/attacked, under Democratic President Barrack Obama
Since 1974 – President Gerald Ford – there have been 44 terrorist attacks against American interests, as a result of which 3,154 Americans have been killed (including four ambassadors), and 18 American embassies or consulates overrun or attacked; so, with those numbers in mind, under which party’s Presidents have American interests – and citizens – suffered less?
Fourteen (14) terrorist attacks, 263 Americans killed (including two ambassadors), five embassies/consulates overrun/attacked under Democratic Presidents.
Thirty (30) terrorist attacks, 2,891 Americans killed (including two ambassadors), 13 embassies/consulates attacked/overrun by terrorists under Republican Presidents.
Facts really suck when they don’t paint the picture you’re attempting to palm off on the American people. Facts are Republicans – in spite of talking like a character in a John Wayne movie – have failed and failed miserably over the past 37 years to protect Americans and America’s interest at home and abroad, and there’s absolutely no evidence Willard could do any better than his conservative predecessors; especially troubling is the fact he’s surrounded himself with George W. Bush retreads – why would anyone want a President who’s taking advice from the same group of intellectually challenged misfits who advised on, created and implemented the worse foreign policy decisions in the history of our nation?
Cheney Wanted to Attack Syria?
Well, surprise, surprise, former Vice President Dick Cheney has said in his new “memoir” that President George W. Bush rejected his advice in 2007 to bomb a suspected nuclear reactor site in Syria, the Associated Press (AP) is reporting.
In a truly not very surprising revelation Cheney says he was “a lone voice” for military action against Syria, while other advisers were reluctant, Cheney says, because of “the bad intelligence we had received about Iraq’s stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction” before the 2003 invasion of that country.
Wow, really? Other people were reluctant about getting the country involved in another war in the Middle East based on faulty intel? Really, that just sounds so hard to believe?
Of course we all know how anxious Mr. Cheney was to prove how tough he could be – through the proxy of young Americans – especially after all those deferments during Vietnam, but why would he really think it was necessary to tick off another Arab country, hadn’t he done enough of that by 2007? And besides, everyone with an ounce of common sense – something we also understand was pretty well non-existent after Colin Powell jumped out of the Bush/Cheney Presidential clown car – knew the Israelis were going to solve any problems there, and they did when they bombed the Syrian site later in 2007.
In his book, Cheney also writes that he was unconscious for weeks after heart surgery in 2010; some would of course argue that Dick was pretty well unconscious through most of the eight years of the Bush/Cheney co-opted presidency. Or at least his conscious was.
Cheney’s book is reported to also include criticism of other members of Bush’s administration. He accuses former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice of naiveté and says he believed former Secretary of State Colin Powell tried to undermine Bush “by criticizing administration policy to people outside the government.” Powell’s resignation after the 2004 election “was for the best,” Cheney writes.
So, it was for the best that one of the brightest and most honorable men in the cabinet resigned? Was that because he actually had combat experience, and when he spoke up in cabinet meetings and other gatherings in the Oval Office he frequently pointed out Dick’s lack of understanding on foreign policy and defense issues?
Cheney is very likely to go down in history as a war mongering, heartless, arrogant VP and one of the puppet masters behind Bush’s presidency; he is also equally likely to be remembered as one of the worse Vice President’s in our country’s history. There is not one redeeming quality about his eight years in office; Bush/Cheney were on watch when America suffered its worse attack on American soil from outsiders; they drove the country into two wars – admittedly one was justified (Afghanistan) but the second was a disaster of monumental proportions (Iraq) – and simultaneously derailed the nation’s economy, something every right-wing conservative blow hard has been blaming President Obama for since before he was sworn into office. He is warped, frustrated old man and the country is far better off to have him out of the main stream, and sitting in some office complaining about his oat meal.
The Liberty Tree 