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In his victory speech Tuesday night, in addition to lying about what Obama said about gas prices, Newt peddled the Palinesque fantasy that "drill, baby drill" is the answer to all our energy problems and also added (starts around 2:15):

GINGRICH: The price of gasoline when I was Speaker [ed. and Bill Clinton was President] was $1.13. The price of gasoline when Barack Obama became president was $1.89. All of this gigantic increase came from his policies.

Really? Well, from 2001-2009, when we had President Arbusto and Vice President Halliburton in the White House, the price of gas nearly tripled — reaching a high of $4.28 per gallon in May 2008 before crashing with the global economy.

And with the Obama recovery, the price has rebounded, but still isn't as high as it was under the Republican oilmen.

So which of Bush/Cheney's "policies" caused the price of gas to go up so much under their watch? And since Republicans controlled all levers of government for four years, why didn't they enact this brilliant "drill everywhere" plan to lower it?

I blame Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and PETA.

Also, the Chevy Volt.

Like the Crypt Keeper, Dick Cheney can't resist arising from his coffin to warn us about Teh Terrorist Threat and why the CheneyBush administration was correct in torturing Muslims who were alleged to be planning for our demise. It's all because these terrorists - who show the sophistication to use box cutters to high-jack airplanes and old AK-47s and improvised explosives against our troops in the Middle East - are going to get a nuclear bomb and take out New York City.

Cheney said intercepting calls from overseas and enhanced interrogations of captured al-Qaida helped officials find out what they knew.
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"Now I think the biggest threat of all is the possibility that we'll end up with terrorists, at some point, in the heart of one of our communities, one of our big cities, armed with a nuclear weapon."

"When you're dealing with somebody who wants to die for Allah and their promise is that if they do they'll go straight to paradise, then the possibility of a nuclear weapon isn't a deterrent, it's an incentive. And it's my belief if they ever do get their hands on that kind of capability, that they'll use it."

I don't blame the media anymore for jumping on Cheney's statements, because they enjoy the sensationalistic impact his words have on the news market. It's just entertainment to the MSM. They don't have to actually worry about what the government is or isn't doing to address this movie-drama scenario. We in the national security business don't have that luxury.

This senile, old man lost his nerve when AQ hit us on 9/11, and now he sees ghosts and goblins in every corner of the world. It's bad enough that the Republican administration used this threat as an excuse to vastly increase the size of government and its intrusion into our private lives. But I really get annoyed when I hear Democrats repeating this idiotic rhetoric as if there were any rationale to this imaginary scenario. They all see the consequences of a nuclear weapon being detonated in an American city without understanding the extremely small to zero chance of that event ever happening.

Terrorists are the threat, not nuclear terrorism. It's not the greatest security threat to the United States, and it shouldn't be used as an excuse for unprecedented and unchecked government actions. Treat it as it should be treated, a remote but possible threat that can be easily mitigated by a few simple steps: 1) secure radiological and nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 2) work more closely with other nations on steps they can take to safeguard material, and 3) focus intel assets and law enforcement on terrorist groups who seem interested in making deals with nuclear weapon states. Really not that hard, and we ought to treat it more seriously than a scary movie.

"a vice president for torture"
ITVsays:

A former CIA director has exclusively told ITVNews that torture is condoned and even approved by the Bushgovernment.
The devastating accusations have been made by AdmiralStansfield Turner who labelled Dick Cheney "a vice president fortorture".

Via SuburbanGuerrilla.

Posted by Avedon

NY Times, Wash. Post omitted Democratic response to Bush, Cheney attacks on Iraq War critics

This works beautifully for the GOP.

One of the biggest criticisms rank-and-file Democrats have of the Democratic leadership is that they don't fight back - but what difference does it make if the news media never goes to them for a response? They should be asking them directly, but even if they are too lazy they could check their various websites (some of them even have blogs) to see what they have to say about these things.

Posted by Avedon

Senate Republicans who feared that they would not get the 50 votes they needed to destroy the filibuster spoke of abandoning the so-called "nuclear option" in favor of biological or chemical warfare.

"We should just gas all of them," said Sen. Rick Santorum of the Democrats, almost immediately after he had called them Nazis. Sen. Santorum later told critics that he had meant "sedating all of the Democrats with a non-toxic inhalant."

Another proposal on the table in behind-the-scenes discussion among conservative GOP senators is to inroduce Santorum's 6-year old niece, Bonnie Santorum, known to politicians as "Contagious Bonnie," into the Senate chamber. Most of the GOP senators have individually caught flus, coughs, incapaciting colds, and head lice from Bonnie in unfortunate happenstance encounters over the past two years, and Dr. Frist has certified that they have built up antibodies to her. Democrats, however, are expected to suffer and become unable to report for work long enough for the GOP to take advantage of their absence.

"And then the only issue would be whether we had a quorum," said Frist. "And when Dick Cheney is the Presiding Officer, well, a quorum is what we say it is."

The conservative organization Focus on the Family, which has been instrumental in forcing Republicans to wage the filibuster battle, supports the exploration of all "extreme" options, said Dr. James Dobson. "The ends definitely justify the means," said Dobson. "If it takes unethical and immoral acts to make this a more ethical America, then -- what are we waiting for?"
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The conservative organization Focus on the Family, which has been instrumental in forcing Republicans to wage the filibuster battle, supports the exploration of all "extreme" options, said Dr. James Dobson. "The ends definitely justify the means," said Dobson. "If it takes unethical and immoral acts to make this a more ethical America, then -- what are we waiting for?"

Cheney Gets a Demotion

Wonkette has the goods and Jesus General

writes: Our Leader is our shepherd

Dear Bushfish Company, The unchurched tremble when they see your bushfish on my pickup...read on

The Agonist: 74 Democrats sold you out to AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast

Mondoweiss: The Helen Thomas moment

Brad DeLong: Yet another NYT Fail

Climate Progress: BP oil disaster is Cheney's Katrina

Pam's House Blend: Choosing one's race - or not - as the country browns

cab drollery: The Other Energy Company

City of Chicago uses Ebay!

Chicago to auction Windy City 'experiences'

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- City officials hope there are people willing to pay plenty of money to own a vintage Playboy Bunny costume, toss green dye into the Chicago River or throw a dinner party prepared by Oprah Winfrey's chef.

The Chicago-related items and experiences -- Playboy Enterprises and Winfrey's show are both based in the city, and turning the Chicago River green for St. Patrick's Day is a hallowed city tradition -- will be up for sale December 2-16 on eBay.

The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, which is sponsoring the auction, has seen its budget from federal, state and city sources decline from $11.8 million in 2002 to a projected $8.8 million next year, said department spokeswoman Anne Dattulo.

Hmmm...I guess Dick Cheney was right!

Video Clip Special!

FBI Interviews Halliburton Whistleblower

By JOHN SOLOMON, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - FBI agents recently spent a day interviewing the Army contracting officer who raised concerns that the Pentagon improperly awarded contracts without competition to Halliburton Co., Vice President Dick Cheney 's former company.The Army Corps of Engineers contract officer, Bunnatine Greenhouse, was interviewed last week and now is gathering documents requested by the FBI and Army criminal investigators, her lawyer said Wednesday.

Video Clip of Chris Matthews interviewing Bunnatine Greenhouse on 10/29

Video

Norwegianity: GOP claptwaddle on healthcare, but a dang good Bush impersonator those Norwegian movies got there.

Stinque: The sociopaths known as Cheney's Energy Task Force

The World of Doorman-Priest: How to do Contemporary Worship

Fried Green al-Qaedas: Grasping at Straws

2 Political Junkies: TV Ad Depicts Cartoon Nancy Pelosi Being Tortured

Mike returns tomorrow. Send tips to finnsagain AT aol DOT com.