Thursday, June 12, 2008
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Bush attends groundbreaking for $100M 'earmark'
By ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jun 4, 7:56 PM ET
WASHINGTON - President Bush is on a crusade against lawmakers' pet projects, but on Thursday he plans to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for a $100 million whopper that was slipped into a spending bill almost four years ago.
The new headquarters for the U.S. Institute of Peace will be a dramatic addition to the Washington skyline, designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. Additional privately-raised funds bring the total cost of the project to $185 million, institute spokesman Ian Larsen says.
Bush will be joined by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., who have a far more sympathetic view of Congress' parochial ways than does the president.
Also slated to attend were two less conspicuous but significantly more important players in getting the project its $100 million: former Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, and Jim Dyer, the former top Appropriations Committee aide who helped grease support in the House for the project.
The project — an "earmark" in congressional parlance — raised eyebrows when it was funded in November 2004 as part of a massive omnibus spending bill. It was unusually large, and unlike many earmarks, its top sponsors remained silent about their roles. Only later did it become clear that it was mostly Stevens' doing.
The earmark was one of the last items slipped into the catchall spending bill late at night in House-Senate negotiations, a practice advocates of earmark reform slam because any opponents of such pet projects are denied any chance to try to strip them out of a bill.
It was contained in a hastily-assembled miscellaneous title of the omnibus, studded with cross-outs and handwritten language, including one provision containing Dyer's name and fax number.
The White House calls the project "excellent and important" and dismisses any suggestion that appearing at the groundbreaking ceremony conflicts with the president's ongoing anti-earmark crusade.
"Even if this project were funded through a so-called earmark, it does not make it a bad project unworthy of the president," said White House budget office spokeswoman Corinne Hirsch. "Yes, it should have been funded through regular appropriations, but we can support a project and still disagree with the exact method in which it was funded."
The U.S. Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan, national institution established by Congress. Its Web site says its "goals are to help prevent and resolve violent international conflicts, promote post-conflict stability and development, and increase peacebuilding capacity."
The institute was the facilitating organization for the Iraq Study Group that was co-chaired by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III and former Rep. Lee H. Hamilton, D-Ind
Monday, June 02, 2008
When Senator Ted Kennedy
Came out of the hospital , turned to his wife and told her he felt like a million bucks, she told him "I'm sorry you feel so poorly, I hope you feel better soon"...
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Monica Lewinsky was looking at herself
After a relaxing bath, Monica Lewinsky was looking at herself, nude in a mirror. Her frustration over her lack of ability to lose weight was depressing her. In an act of desperation, she decided to call on God for help.
God, if you take away my love handles, I'll devote my life to you, she prayed.
And just like that her ears fell off.
Friday, May 16, 2008
You could have heard a pin drop
When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked
by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an
example of empire building' by George Bush.
He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.
,,,,,,,, You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then there wa s a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break one of the French engineers came back into t he room saying 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?' A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they h ave three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, an d they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck.. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?'
.............You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A U. S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference t hat included Admirals from the U. S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, 'whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.' He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?' Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'
.......... You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...
A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently went to France on a tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane. At French C ustoms, he took a few minutes to locate his
passport in his carry on. 'You have been to France before, monsieur?' the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted t hat he had been to France previously. 'Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.' The American said, 'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it.' 'Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France !' The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained. 'Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in '44 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find any damn Frenchmen to show it to.'
.............. You could have heard a pin drop
by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an
example of empire building' by George Bush.
He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.
,,,,,,,, You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Then there wa s a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break one of the French engineers came back into t he room saying 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?' A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they h ave three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, an d they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck.. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?'
.............You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A U. S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference t hat included Admirals from the U. S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, 'whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.' He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?' Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'
.......... You could have heard a pin drop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AND THIS STORY FITS RIGHT IN WITH THE ABOVE...
passport in his carry on. 'You have been to France before, monsieur?' the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted t hat he had been to France previously. 'Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.' The American said, 'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it.' 'Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France !' The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained. 'Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in '44 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find any damn Frenchmen to show it to.'
.............. You could have heard a pin drop
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Number Of Acceptable Things Candidates Can Say Now Down To Four
from the onion...
NEW YORK—After Sen. Barack Obama's comments last week about what he typically eats for dinner were criticized by Sen. Hillary Clinton as being offensive to both herself and the American voters, the number of acceptable phrases presidential candidates can now say are officially down to four. "At the beginning of 2007 there were 38 things candidates could mention in public that wouldn't be considered damaging to their campaigns, but now they are mostly limited to 'Thank you all for coming,' and 'God bless America,'" ABC News chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos said on Sunday's episode of This Week. "There would still be five phrases available to the candidates if the Obama camp hadn't accused Clinton of saying 'Glad to be here' with a little tinge of sarcasm during a stump speech in North Carolina." As of press time, the two additional phrases still considered appropriate for candidates are the often-quoted "These pancakes are great," and "Death to the infidels."
NEW YORK—After Sen. Barack Obama's comments last week about what he typically eats for dinner were criticized by Sen. Hillary Clinton as being offensive to both herself and the American voters, the number of acceptable phrases presidential candidates can now say are officially down to four. "At the beginning of 2007 there were 38 things candidates could mention in public that wouldn't be considered damaging to their campaigns, but now they are mostly limited to 'Thank you all for coming,' and 'God bless America,'" ABC News chief Washington correspondent George Stephanopoulos said on Sunday's episode of This Week. "There would still be five phrases available to the candidates if the Obama camp hadn't accused Clinton of saying 'Glad to be here' with a little tinge of sarcasm during a stump speech in North Carolina." As of press time, the two additional phrases still considered appropriate for candidates are the often-quoted "These pancakes are great," and "Death to the infidels."
Monday, April 14, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
The President's Puzzle
Dick Cheney walks into the Oval Office and sees The President whooping and hollering.
"What's the matter, Mr. President?" The Vice President inquired.
"Nothing at all, boss. I just done finished a jigsaw puzzle in record time!" The President beamed.
"How long did it take you?"
"Well, the box said '3 to 5 Years' but I did it in a month!"
Friday, January 25, 2008
By definition
Politibabble:
Psychobabble spouted by the press from both extremes in an effort to make an election contest more volatile or interesting than it really is...(eg:Clinton lashes out at the press...Romney explodes)
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Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Add this to your dictionary!!
Electile Dysfunction : the inability to become aroused over any of the choices for president put forth by either party in the 2008 election year
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Monday, January 21, 2008
Friday, January 11, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Here they go
the pundirazzi have shown they are going to rival the paps in their level of pulcritude and ineptitude
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Wednesday, January 09, 2008
American Politics
The pundits certainly are living up to their reputations for ineptitude this election cycle by rushing around waving charts, flying logos and chirons proclaiming their conclusions only to be shown for what dolts their really are...
If this is any indication of what the rest of the year is going to be like, we would be best served by not letting them anywhere near the polls during the contests...
The hipocrit conservatives and the flacid liberals are falling all over themselves trying to distinguish themselves only to end up humiliated...
The radical right so desperatly wants Obama to be the choice of the Democrats because they believe it would be easier lynch the black man than to try and rape the "crying bitch"...in public... espescially that shit for brains Bill Crystal.
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If this is any indication of what the rest of the year is going to be like, we would be best served by not letting them anywhere near the polls during the contests...
The hipocrit conservatives and the flacid liberals are falling all over themselves trying to distinguish themselves only to end up humiliated...
The radical right so desperatly wants Obama to be the choice of the Democrats because they believe it would be easier lynch the black man than to try and rape the "crying bitch"...in public... espescially that shit for brains Bill Crystal.
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