The Opinion Mill

The Bush family has often been referred to as the WASP version of the Corleones, but the Soprano clan makes for a much better comparison. At its best, "The Sopranos" is an acid mockery of the phony gravitas of the three "Godfather" movies. Where Michael Corleone is heroically evil, an international player who consorts with statesmen and the Vatican before succumbing to his tragic flaw, Tony Soprano is a sewer rat engaged in the grubby business of preying on human weakness and fear -– when his fall comes, it will be tragic only to himself. Until then, however, he’s going to make as much money as he can for himself and his buddies, and leave the rest of the world holding the bill.

I'm not just using hyperbole here. I do think that when honest historians assess the Bush administration, they will find it more useful to treat George II and his Republican cronies as a criminal organization rather than a political party. The best tool for analyzing Bush's policies is not historiography, but the procedures used by federal agents as they pursue a RICO investigation into a mobbed-up business.

Take the money and run. As long as Republicans are in power, that phrase should replace "E Pluribus Unum" on the national seal. It's the natural outcome of a quarter-century of rhetoric about how government is the problem, not the solution; how government doesn't work; how deregulation is the only way to build the economy. If government is nothing but a taxpayer-funded scam, then why not use it to enrich yourself and your buddies? If the very idea of public service as an idealistic calling has been turned into a mealymouthed joke, then where's the shame in abusing power and running the country into the ground? As long as you can convince just over 50 percent of the suckers to vote your way, you can throw yourself a party and leave the world holding the bill. Read on

Bullet Bags for Bush A Liberal Dose

Displaying the singular tact and deep humanitarianism for which he is so deservedly reknowned, Chief Chimp hostedRead on

Bullet Bags for Bush

via A Liberal Dose: "Displaying the singular tact and deep humanitarianism for which he is so deservedly reknowned, Chief Chimp hosted an Army recruiting drive for the BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA.

(Start the indoctrination young, 'cause with them Eye-rakees refusin ta stay beat and just pipe their dang oil straight into Bush Inc.'s personal oil tankers, we sure need the 10 to 18-year-old set learning the joys of triage and how to jerry-rig their own humvee armor -- though it's doubtful they issued new merit badges on such short notice.)

To add to the belief-beggaring, appalling tastelessness of the maneouver, two days after the kids had just witnessed the horrific death of four scout leaders in a freak accident, Bush PULLED A NO-SHOW AT THEIR MEMORIAL, and 300 KIDS COLLAPSED FROM THE HEAT while waiting in vain for his majesty to appear.

>sigh....<

People, you just can't even make shit like this up.

Roe V. Everyone Else .

(Start the indoctrination young, 'cause with them Eye-rakees refusin ta stay beat and just pipe their dang oil straight into Bush Inc.'s personal oil tankers, we sure need the 10 to 18-year-old set learning the joys of triage and how to jerry-rig their own humvee armor -- though it's doubtful they issued new merit badges on such short notice.)

To add to the belief-beggaring, appalling tastelessness of the maneouver, two days after the kids had just witnessed the horrific death of four scout leaders in a freak accident, Bush PULLED A NO-SHOW AT THEIR MEMORIAL, and 300 KIDS COLLAPSED FROM THE HEAT while waiting in vain for his majesty to appear.

>sigh....<

People, you just can't even make shit like this up."-(filed by Mike )

The Smirking Chimp: The money spent for laws in campaign contributions, issue advertising, lobbying, ear marks, and bribes have provided an unequaled return on investment for some U.S. and international corporations. But their value for the U.S. public turns out to be negative, and the greater the price, the more severely negative.

thump and whip: Ever heard of the “Atlantic triangular trade?” Me neither, but the Texas education board has decided it sounds better than "slave trade."

Seeing the Forest: "Statism" and the Ayn Rand Cult. GOP pols will have to decide whether they're jumping on or off the Rand-Wagon

Rumproast: Blogosphere demands as-yet-nonexistent super-science fix for Gulf oil disaster

The Reid Report: Six degrees of George 'Rentboy' Rekers: Jeb Bush edition

Grasping Reality with Both Hands: Links...

Tengrain Presents: The Miracle of Chimpy's Economy at Mock, Paper Scissors.

Open Thread below...

Prairie Weather: It's all about timing

The Smirking Chimp: Lobby This, John Sidney: Another McCain aide out over Myanmar ties.

Tomgram: The defining moment for climate change

Cranky Cindy Changes the World: Helen Thomas is my hero.

The Poor Man Institute: The Amazing League of Pundits!

The Opinion Mill's Bookchat: George F. Will refutes himself while trying to refute Rick Perlstein's Nixonland. How a government attempt to silence a wartime dissident created an uproar -- and sparked the American Civil Liberties Union. How to explain Dick Cheney to your children.

alicublog: Bush I parties with Sun Myung Moon, Bush II goes to Bob Jones University, John McCain seeks and accepts the endorsement of John Hagee, and it slides. Barack Obama renounces Rev. Wright, and we are told that the taint is indelible. The trouble starts when pols ignore this and do this. TBogg has more on the subject...

The Left Coaster: All of the above is Hillary's fault.

The Newshoggers: Enlisting opinions.

Connecting.the.Dots: The ultimate triumph of George W. Bush. The Chimperor and the rest of our dysfunctional ruling class are always wrong about everything.

JURIST: Torture Doctors

Sunday Bookchat: Three decades of rebel-rousing by a reggae poet! A handbook for liberals in the era post-Bush! A Travis McGee novel for Eliot Spitzer! When is a blurb more than a blurb? When is wit only half of what it seeks? These and other questions answered in The Opinion Mill's Sunday Bookchat.

The Smirking Chimp: Campaign 2008: The things they wont discuss.

Faithful Progressive: The IRS is messing with the United Church of Christ.

Scholars and Rogues: Fox News says the terrorists are sending killer robots after us!

INSTAPUTZ: Fringe dweller smack down every day

Vox Verax: Reasonable folks in the Grand Old Party are hard to find these days. But there are some...

HOLY CRAP: It's no surprise to hear this long-time resident of Wingnuttia expelling Christian Nationalist horse exhaust, but John McCain, too? This End-Times-loving bigot is pleased to welcome McCain to the fringe, although another religious nut is unhappy about it...Those running for high public office, and untaxed radical clerics should be required to learn something about our First Amendment... Prophets of Moderation...Priests policing themseves, haven't we already seen that?...Bibleman! ...In Gosh We Trust...Suing Jesus...Interfaith Alliance Media Roundup...Jesus' General has a fundraiser going...God doesn't like California and He doesn't like mammograms, either

Tengrain presents... Chimpy McStagger in "I can hear you!"

On topic, the ACLU is fact-checking the White House on FISA and finding them, um, counter-factual. Yeah.

The Existentialist Cowboy: George W. Bush's Unitary Law ends the Rule of Law, The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and the Separation of Powers.

Obsidian Wings: Just when I thought I couldn't be more angry about Iraq...

First Draft: Dana won't comment on how Chimpy's Torture Fetish has imperiled the case against KSM.

Common Cause Blog: Comcast's recently released 'terms of service' makes it clear that they intend to continue online censorship of free speech.

hearsay: A note on 'change.'

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: Undercover Black Man, Hill's Country, Insular Cabal, LAist

All Spin Zone: The economic outlook is so bleak, some economists are looking for a bunker to hide in. But what do economists know? Chimpy is is upbeat about the economy, though I'm sure he'd be amenable to more tax cuts...and he's not the only one living in a fool's paradise.

Wall Street Jackass: Sage advice

Beggars Can Be Choosers: Iowa shows how Iraq war support remains toxic for candidates, though apparently, the "surging" St. McCain doesn't think so.

Blorgable: Year of the web: 10 strangest political moments of 2007

CQ Politics: Voter ID court challenges expected to have a big impact on the 2008 elections.

Watchdog Blog: The House Ethics Committee parties on