Corrente

If John is right, and Bush really is spying on journalists, this may be the final nail in the coffin of his 5-year honeymoon with the media. Chomsky frequently argued that the press didn't get outraged about Nixon's abuses of power until his enemies list showed that they were on it. Until then, repression up to and including murder (Black Panther Fred Hampton) was regarded as no big thing. This may prove a test case of Chomsky's argument. If confirmed, I'll be happy, though it will only tacitly confirm the deep-seated corruption of a press that's first and foremost concerned about its own powers and privileges, as Plamegate has already shown. Read below the fold...

Bush is just unwatchable.

When he departs from any sort of text the wheels just come off.

He's now rambling on and on.

Painful.

UPDATE The best part was when he wished everyone "Happy Holidays" at the end. I laughed so hard. Read below the fold...

That was the headline at CNN, and it bears repeating: America's 'nightmare' leads Bolivia election

A democratically elected leader of a free people, and he is our "nightmare." The War on Terror will never end, because anyone who is deemed our enemy will indeed become our enemy. Tag: you're it. The jig is up, America. We are the new Riders on the Storm. Read below the fold...

Bush breaks the law on surveillance and then goes on nationwide radio and says, "Yeah, I did. Try and stop me"?!?!?! This is way, way too much. Here's Reid's response:

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid called Sunday for congressional hearings and investigations into President Bush's authorization of domestic spying as part of the war on terror.

"This Congress has done very little oversight," Reid, D-Nev., said on "Fox News Sunday." "There should be an investigation and hearings."

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(Bush during his latest speech, from AP). Read below the fold...

This should be easy: Read below the fold...

[UPDATE: Because alert readers have been steadily adding Christmas carols, I'm moving this to the top again. Heard James Brown's Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto today, and that put in mind of "Wingnut's Roasting...," which I'd never been able to complete--and downthread, "Rove's Nuts Roasting" was contributed. Truly, Jesus is Magic.--Lambert] Read below the fold...

Yes, work permits. Or should I say ausweissen?

From the ACLU (thank the God of your choice for them):

The House is considering HR 4437, the "The Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005," which also includes HR 4312, the "Border Security and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2005." Last week, the House Judiciary Committee approved the proposal on a party-line vote. The ACLU noted that, while HR 4312 has had some consideration by Congress, no substantive hearings have been held on the larger bill.

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Well, it's not over quite yet.

In order to prepare for our President's upcoming speech tonight, let's put things in perspective:

Review of "RIZE" from Variety, via Movie Review Aggregator Metacritic: Read below the fold...

Seriously, when I first read this AP report on Dr. Frist, it felt so much like deja vu that I wondered if I'd clicked on an old saved e-clipping, or some such thing. Read below the fold...

From today's Beat the Pumpkinhead:

MR. RUSSERT: Well, the courts [secret courts that authorize wiretaps] very, very seldom turn down a request. He could have gone to a court to make sure that constitutional rights were protected for all American citizens.

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President Bush's Second Term in Full Swing!

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(Jivester News, Lmtd.) President George W. Bush, rumored to be high on a combination of metamucil and bacon fat, held a press conference late this evening while taking a dump on the Oval Throne. What transpired will no doubt be of interest to historians in the years to come (if there are any years to come): President Bush, unable to contain his own maniacal glee, bore down and squeezed out his dirty little business, then wiped his ass with a copy of the U.S. Constitution and "dared anyone with more than a two inch dick to stop me!" What prompted this rare fecal-related outburst appears to have been a question from an embarrassingly sober AP reporter who asked "Since you can evacuate your bowels without giving aid, comfort and green stamps to the terrorists, why can't you just as effectively evacuate our troops from the bowels of Iraq?" Read below the fold...

Because the troops still don't have armor (via C&L). Read below the fold...

In fact, I think I'll do it tomorrow. I'll go the Reading Terminal Market, buy a nice ripe one, wrap it up, and ship it off to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. I hope it gets there in time for Xmas!

(I'm also thinking of the political cartoonist Phillipon who, with Daumier, portrayed another corrupt king, Louis-Phillippe, as a pear -- and brought him down.)

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I know Corrente's American audience has been checking this site obsessively for my report on the Canadian election debate yesterday, so here it is.

If you're a newcomer it's the missing things you notice first. For instance: Read below the fold...