GOP to nominate Paris Hilton

The other day, I wrote a much panned post about Paris Hilton’s rebuttal to John McCain‘s juvenile campaign ad. Well, kiddies, guess what? The Republican’s have decided that her energy policy is the one they want to implement (probably, since it has more substance than anything McCain has yet to offer up).

MsJoanne, you jest, right? Nope. CNN reports:

The lines between celebrity and politician blurred into a haze Thursday at a Republican news conference, as one congressman began pushing Paris Hilton’s “plan” on energy.

“Let’s bring up the Paris Hilton plan,” goaded Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas.

You would think that came from The Onion or from the brilliant mind of Andy Borowitz.

Are we so desperate that Paris Hilton’s plan becomes one for consideration? Steve Benen added his thoughts about Ms. Hilton’s “plan:”

For that matter, Hilton’s fake ad talked about using expanded coastal drilling to “carry us until the new technologies kick in,” which doesn’t make any sense, since even the Bush administration and McCain’s policy aides concede that we’re about a decade away from new coastal drilling having any kind of effect on the marketplace. And even then, we’re talking about pennies on the gallon. There’s nothing to actually “carry us” at all.

And yet, we actually have an elected member of Congress announcing, “Let’s bring up the Paris Hilton plan.”

This is what the GOP offers its constitutes? Apparently so. This and stunts, such as pretending they are keeping the House in session after it officially broke for their summer recess (while John Boehner phoned it in from the golf course), which even George W. Bush rebuked these pathetic political stunts.

One wonders why the next five weeks are so important? Could it be because American’s are hurting so bad due to the many, many failed policies of the Bush years, that the GOP knows that we are desperate for any relief, which makes it a very good time to bamboozle Americans to give up land that our government owns, for virtually nothing? I mean, what about those 68 million acres Big Oil already has leases on yet are not drilling on? Are we playing some Horton Hears a Who version of “Monopoly” with America being the playing board and federal land being Boardwalk and Park Place to be picked up by whomever has the most money?

I’d say that’s a fair assessment. After all, the GOP had almost eight years to do something – anything, and yet they did nothing.

No, I’m wrong. The GOP did do something; they blocked almost every energy effort which was offered up. This from the Speaker of the House News Room:

Speaker's Scorecard on GOP Energy Votes

Apparently, there wasn’t enough in it for their first and foremost constitute: Big Oil.

So, let’s hear it for the GOP for nominating Paris Hilton as their candidate for president. Or is she running as an Indy? “Paris Hilton has more substance than John McCain.” That’s a slogan I can believe in! I can’t wait for those debates, bitches! I wonder if it will be Paris Hilton taking down John McCain, or if it will be John McCain taking down John McCain.

At this point, either one works for me.

It runs in the Family – Another 398 Days to Go

When President George H.W. Bush shed tears while praising his son Jeb at the end of the latter’s second term it may well have been because George W. Bush’s Trainwreck-Presidency has cost Jeb’s chances on a future Presidency. Looks like George W. Bush really did you a favour here if you consider this story on Florida, debt backed funds, Jeb Bush and Stipanovich:

via:Bloomberg

Florida Board of Administration executive director Coleman Stipanovich supervised a $ 26 billion money market fund and asked Lehman Brothers Inc. for support in reducing the risk in debt based investments.

What Stipanovich, 58, hadn’t told his boss, Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, was that Lehman Brothers was the same firm that had sold the state fund $842 million of mortgage- backed debt in July and August. Those securities defaulted within four months, and totaled more failing debt than any other bank sold the state, Florida records show. “At the time, I never knew it was Lehman Brothers that actually sold us these investments,” Sink says.

Enter Jeb Bush:

Sink also was unaware that former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who incorporated Jeb Bush & Associates in February 2007, a month after completing his second term, had been hired as a consultant to Lehman Brothers in June. Bush is the brother of President George W. Bush.

And, of course, Jeb Bush had nothing to do with Florida buying Lehman Brothers’ structured finance products at all.

Lehman Brothers spokeswoman Cohen says there’s no link between Bush and Lehman’s sale of debt to Florida. “Bush is a member of the Lehman Brothers private equity advisory board and his company has been retained by the firm for consulting and advisory services,” she says. The former governor declined to comment.

I tend to agree with this guy:

Craig Holman, of Washington-based nonprofit public interest group Public Citizen, disputes Lehman Brothers’ view. “That defies credibility,” says Holman, who lobbies for ethics in government. “It’s a clear conflict of interest. Bush is a consultant to the company selling bad investments to the same agency on which he served as a trustee until January.

I guess it really runs in the family! Don’t ask what your country can do for you – ask what you can do to your country!

Read the story here:

Krongard retires, effective January 15th

Via Bloomberg:

State Department Inspector General Howard Krongard, who has been under investigation for possible conflicts of interest, said he will retire Jan. 15th.

In a letter to President George W. Bush, Krongard said he is concerned about “the grave threat to public service posed by the current rancor and distrust between and among the political parties, the legislative and executive branches of government, the media, and various interest groups.”

Interest groups, yes he should know about those.

Thanksgiving Wishes from Europe – 424 Days to Go

 I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and new.
(Ralph Waldo Emerson) 

England hasn’t made the European Championship Qualifications, due to a 2:3 loss against Croatia. Neither have Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, so the British are in deep mourning.

The 2008 Presidential campaign shows all the signs of continued mudwrestling. Prepare for a very unpleasant twelve months’ which will make Rovian mud-slinging look like a love-fest.

The British government has managed to lose two data disks, which contain personal data of 25 million recipients of child benefits. Names, addresses, telephone numbers, banking details, you name it. And this security breach is seemingly only the tip of an iceberg of incompetence.  They must have drowned Government in a bathtub already and good governance along with it.

Tit for tat on your sailors’ back. China has only just granted the carrier “Kitty Hawk” permission to dock in Hong Kong, where the sailors are planning to celebrate Thanksgiving. Reasons for the initial refusal are not given officially, but may be linked to a US – Taiwan arms deal.

There’s a ray of hope, that the train strikes in France are maybe coming to a close. After the high velocity trains TGV have been sabotaged and massive strikes have turned the streets of Paris into one big parking space for nine days now, there will be new negotiations.  Meanwhile former President Jacques Chirac has been indicted for his involvement in several affairs during his time as party chief, Mayor of Paris and President, now that the days of immunity are over.

In Italy, too, independent media is a myth, where tv is concerned.  In 2005 the government financed RAI (Prime Minister Berlusconi) and the privately owned Mediaset (Berlusconi) had a direct line of communication to ensure news and programmes are streamlined in the run-up to parliamentary elections. Berlusconi is not Prime Minister anymore, for the time being, to improve his chances to get back in office he angered his allies by founding a new party.

Whoever has the time, please check out current.tv  for hand made tv without the corporate media approach.

“Europeanview” wishes you all a peaceful Thanksgiving holiday and a wonderful time wherever you are whatever you do.

Bush Pal Gets Kurdish Oil Deal

via: The Newshoggers
by Cernig

So a company that is headed by someone who was certainly a member of Cheney’s infamous energy task-force, sits on the boards of Halliburton and Dubya’s library and is on Dubya’s team of foreign advisors gets the very first oil contract out of Kurdistan after they pass a law which makes privatized foreign ownership of Iraq’s oil easier.

Tell me again that it wasn’t at least partly about oil.

This is an interesting post about the benefits of being a friend of Bush’s and Cheney’s, AND in the oil business too!