Geraldine Ferraro

We haven't given out an assclown in a while, but Geraldine Ferraro earned it (though, the decision was tough with Eliot Spitzer in the news). After her comments that Obama is only there because he is black (scratching head). Or what was it? He is lucky he is not a white man. Then, the Obama campaign is attacking her because she is white? Excuse me? But, it is these comments from 1988 that are truly telling:

And former representative Geraldine A. Ferraro (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that because of his "radical" views, "if Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race."

Jesse responded:

Asked about this at a campaign stop in Buffalo, Jackson at first seemed ready to pounce fiercely on his critics. But then he stopped, took a breath, and said quietly, "Millions of Americans have a point of view different from" Ferraro's.

Discussing the same point in Washington, Jackson said, "We campaigned across the South . . . without a single catcall or boo. It was not until we got North to New York that we began to hear this from Koch, President Reagan and then Mrs. Ferraro . . . . Some people are making hysteria while I'm making history."

Geraldine Ferraro is an assclown!!! It is true sexism is a serious thing, but how does one advance your cause by saying racism is not. It is just plain weird and makes one thing there is more behind the words.

Assclown of the Year: Joe Lieberman

Check out this clip where Lieberman discusses supporting a 2008 "democratic" Presidential candidate. What the hell happened to this guy? Talk about a fall from grace. He said "well, ya know no democratic nominee sought my support. John McCain is a friend and he sought my support." Like that is the test. Only if someone seeks your support. This guy should be stripped of all of his committee assignments and disgraced.

From betraying the Katrina victims by shutting the investigation down, though he promised to push forward to the Lieberman "let us bomb Iran amendment" to supporting every Iraq war resolution and distorting every vote and crisis in Iraq, to now supporting John McCain for President, this guy is the truest assclown. Though, George Bush and Karl Rove are the standard, Lieberman is not far behind. Let's hope Connecticut voters smarten up in four years.

Assclowns of the week: Joe Lieberman and Hillary Clinton

Seventy-six Senators voted yesterday for the Kyl-Lieberman Amendment which gives Bush the ability to go into Iran. Hillary Clinton voted for it, Barack Obama sat the vote out for some reason. Dodd and Biden voted against it. Here in pertinent part is what the Senate voted for:

it should be the policy of the United States to combat, contain, and roll back the violent activities and destabilizing influence inside Iraq of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, its foreign facilitators such as Lebanese Hezbollah, and its indigenous Iraqi proxies;

(4) to support the prudent and calibrated use of all instruments of United States national power in Iraq, including diplomatic, economic, intelligence, and military instruments, in support of the policy described in paragraph (3) with respect to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies

The full roll call is here. This amendment was pushed by the administration through Senator Kyl and Senator Lieberman. Senator Webb called the amendment "Cheney's fondest pipe dream."

Senator Webb continued:

Those who regret their vote five years ago to authorize military action in Iraq should think hard before supporting this approach. Because, in my view, it has the same potential to do harm where many are seeking to do good.

Here is a statement that sounds eerily close to the run up to the Iraq war by defense Secretary Gates.

“Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated on September 16, 2007 that “I think that the administration believes at this point that continuing to try and deal with the Iranian threat, the Iranian challenge, through diplomatic and economic means is by the preferable approach. That the one we are using. We always say all options are on the table, but clearly, the diplomatic and economic approach is the one that we are pursuing.”

Why is Hillary Clinton the darling of the Democrats? Why? Because we long for the Clinton years? Read Barrister boy's poem about clinging to the past. If we long for the Clinton years we only are clinging to a past that no longer exists, a past that was not all that good anyway. It is a large mistake we are making by supporting Clinton's candidacy when there are two maybe three candidates that would be much better without the negatives (putting aside Gravel and Kucinich for the moment), Dodd, Edwards and possibly Obama (with huge reservations). Do we want a change in leadership or a change in politics? Because Hillary Clinton will only give us more of the same. There is no difference between this vote and the 2002 vote to authorize military action against Iraq. It does virtually the same thing.

Assclown(s) of the Week: the Housing Mortgage Credit Industry

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer minority borrowers received higher-cost mortgages more frequently than whites last year and were denied loans more often, the Federal Reserve said in an analysis of 2006 lending practices.

Black borrowers had high-cost loans 53.7 percent of the time last year, down a bit from 54.7 percent in 2005, the report said. For Hispanic borrowers, it was 46.6 percent last year compared with 46.1 percent in 2005. Those figures were not adjusted for loan size, borrower's income or geographic location. The report's release coincides with increased congressional scrutiny of lending practices that contributed to the collapse of the subprime-mortgage market and prompted credit-market volatility in recent weeks. The number of Americans who may lose their homes because they could not make payments reached a record in the second quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a survey released last week.

"Differences by race and ethnicity remain stubborn, persistent and significant," said Josh Silver, a vice president of research and policy for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition in Washington. "The differences are not narrowing. With all increased attention, why isn't it?"

Consumer advocates also say Blacks and Hispanics will be most hurt by the housing crisis and the "surging foreclosure and delinquency rates on subprime mortgages." Read the rest of the article on Philly.com.

Read another article back in August, 2007 that also says access to credit is deeply divided by race, ethnicity and income.

But, now these money hungry credit thieving hoodlums want a bail out - out of their crisis. This is a preposterous notion that these credit hacks who drive up the price for average Americans to buy a home, make us mortgage our entire future to gain access to home buying, and when it crashes, it of course hits those who have less, they want a bail out. It is a free market only when they cash in. When it hurts them they go crying to Daddy Bush.

We are giving our assclown of the week to the credit thieves who destroy average Americans chance at the so-called "American Dream," who drive a wedge by race, ethnicity and poverty and then seek a bail out of a mess completely controlled by them.

Assclowns.

Assclown of the Week: Senator Larry Craig

This award could really be called hypocrite of the week. It may be more appropriate. But, here we go: According to a report from Roll Call: Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested in June at a Minnesota airport by a plainclothes police officer investigating lewd conduct complaints in a men’s public restroom, according to an arrest report obtained by Roll Call Monday afternoon.

Craig’s arrest occurred just after noon on June 11 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. On Aug. 8, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in the Hennepin County District Court. He paid more than $500 in fines and fees, and a 10-day jail sentence was stayed. He also was given one year of probation with the court that began on Aug. 8.

The incident went like this:

Airport police previously had made numerous arrests in the men’s restroom of the Northstar Crossing in the Lindbergh Terminal in connection with sexual activity.

Karsnia entered the bathroom at noon that day and about 13 minutes after taking a seat in a stall, he stated he could see “an older white male with grey hair standing outside my stall.”
The man, who lingered in front of the stall for two minutes, was later identified as Craig.
“I could see Craig look through the crack in the door from his position. Craig would look down at his hands, ‘fidget’ with his fingers, and then look through the crack into my stall again. Craig would repeat this cycle for about two minutes,” the report states.

Craig then entered the stall next to Karsnia’s and placed his roller bag against the front of the stall door.

“My experience has shown that individuals engaging in lewd conduct use their bags to block the view from the front of their stall,” Karsnia stated in his report. “From my seated position, I could observe the shoes and ankles of Craig seated to the left of me.” Craig was wearing dress pants with black dress shoes.

“At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moves his foot closer to my foot. I moved my foot up and down slowly. While this was occurring, the male in the stall to my right was still present. I could hear several unknown persons in the restroom that appeared to use the restroom for its intended use. The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot which was within my stall area,” the report states.

Craig then proceeded to swipe his hand under the stall divider several times, and Karsnia noted in his report that “I could ... see Craig had a gold ring on his ring finger as his hand was on my side of the stall divider.”

Karsnia then held his police identification down by the floor so that Craig could see it.
“With my left hand near the floor, I pointed towards the exit. Craig responded, ‘No!’ I again pointed towards the exit. Craig exited the stall with his roller bags without flushing the toilet. ... Craig said he would not go. I told Craig that he was under arrest, he had to go, and that I didn’t want to make a scene. Craig then left the restroom.”

“It should be noted that there was not a piece of paper on the bathroom floor, nor did Craig pick up a piece of paper,” the arresting officer said in the report.

On Aug. 8, the day he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in the Minnesota court, Craig appeared via satellite at a ceremony that took place in Idaho in which former Idaho federal Judge Randy Smith was invested into his new position as a judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In October 2006, Craig’s office publicly denied allegations that he was a homosexual made on a gay activist Web site — blogactive.com. Craig’s office told the Spokane Spokesman-Review that the charge was “completely ridiculous,” saying that the allegations had “no basis in fact.”

According to Down With Tyranny, a website Senator Craig is the most reactionary Senator in the very reactionary Senate. Check out his voting record here.

What is it with these Republicans? On some level you feel bad for people who cannot live the lives they want to live. But, on the other hand people who make it more difficult for other people because they live with their own self-hate is disgusting and helps wield the power of the reactionary right to punish people for living so called "alternative lives."

Assclown.

Assclown of the Week: Rush Limbaugh

I can't believe it took so long for Rush to attain our assclown of the week, but here he is with all his foot in mouth glory.

On the August 21 broadcast of the nationally syndicated Rush Limbaugh Show, a caller said to host Rush Limbaugh: "I know I'm no expert in foreign affairs, but what really confuses me about the liberals is the hypocrisy when they talk about how we have no reason to be in Iraq and helping those people, but yet everybody wants us to go to Darfur." Limbaugh responded by claiming Democrats "want to get us out of Iraq, but they can't wait to get us into Darfur." He continued: "There are two reasons. What color is the skin of the people in Darfur? It's black. And who do the Democrats really need to keep voting for them? If they lose a significant percentage of this voting bloc, they're in trouble." The caller responded, "The black population," to which Limbaugh said, "Right."

First, I don't see the democrats doing anything about Darfur. They are just as chicken shit as the Republicans. Outside of Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Charles Rangel I cannot even recall anyone bringing the subject up. Second, four hundred thousand people are dead and are dying, not to mention "scores" in this war torn country recently have died in flooding in the region. But, he thinks democrats will try and score points with the black population in America by going into Sudan? Third, democrats really don't cozy up to black americans unless it is election time and when they do it is usually something like, "what are you going to do, vote Republican?"

ASSCLOWN.

Assclown of the Week: Gingrich Goes for Xenophobia

I think we have our Assclown of the week. Newt Gingrich said yesterday: the "war here at home" against illegal immigrants is "even more deadly than the war in Iraq and Afghanistan." He said he is "sickened" that President Bush and Congress went on vacation "while young Americans in our cities are massacred" by illegal immigrants.

Gingrich is referring to the brutal Newark murders that took place last week. One man whom police believe was involved in the murders — Jose Lachira Carranza — is an illegal immigrant from Peru who had been released on bail on charges of raping a child when the murders occurred.

Gingrich said another suspect in the Newark murders is an illegal immigrant from Nicaragua with a long record of arrests who was ordered deported in 1993 but never left.
However, The (Newark) Star Ledger reported Tuesday that the man — Rodolfo Godinez — obtained permanent legal residency in 2001.

Putting aside the brutal murders that took place and indeed they were brutal, Gingrich is doing trying to score points on those who are powerless advocating a lie and an appealling to the lowest end of our nature. It is well known that the crime rate among latino immigrants "is lower than that of the general population, and most other ethnic groups as well, including whites." This is a fact that any politician knows and if they don't they are even more of an assclown.

But, to play on people's fears much the way the Bush administration has done with Arab Americans is sickening. It appeals to the nativist in America, the xenophobia that is here and the nationalism that has gripped America since September 11, 2001. He seeks to blame an entire population of immigrants for the crime of one. Shame on him for he is an Assclown.

Lindsey Graham is Shown With a Sign Comparing Obama and Hillary To Bin Laden

Check out Lindsey Graham that moron. Mitt Romney also posed with a similar sign. What possesses a Senator from South Carolina to pose with a sign that compares the two front running Democrats with the premier terrorist? Assclown? The sign says if you have trouble reading it: Obama, Osama and Chelsea's Moma Say Cut and Run. Graham says he was handed the sign as he was leaving. Ok, you idiot. Maybe we should have an Assclown of the day instead of per week. Just another Rethuglican at a day's work.

Fighting Crazy With Crazy

From Jake Novo in Bridgeport, CT.

In an apparent attempt to come up with something crazier than Mitt Romney's "we ought to double Guantanamo" statement, Republican Presidential (gulp!) candidate Tom Tancredo made a serious bid for an 'ass clown of the week' nomination by declaring (article below) that 'the only' solution for deterring a terrorist attack on U.S. soil was to threaten all Muslims that any terrorist attack would result in a U.S. assault on Islam's holiest sites, Mecca & Medina.

Let's forget for a moment that - that would be like blowing up the Vatican to punish Timothy McVeigh (I am not sure if he is Catholic, but you get the point). Let's also ignore for now, how such a statement by a US Presidential candidate threatening Islamic holy sites could be used by Al-Qaeda as a recruitment tool.

But this just goes to show you how low the Republican Presidential bar has been set. In a country begging for leadership; with a foreign policy starving for diplomacy, each of the Republican candidates is doing his best to appear crazier than the next guy (Ron Paul not withstanding).

But this just goes to show you how low the Republican Presidential bar has been set. In a country begging for leadership; with a foreign policy starving for diplomacy, each of the Republican candidates is doing his best to appear crazier than the next guy (Ron Paul not withstanding).

What none of them seem to grasp is the basic concept that two wrongs don't make a right. You cannot fight terror with terror. and you certainly cannot fight crazy with crazy.

Tancredo's comments and the story by the Associated Press are posted below.

Republican candidate advocates threat to bomb Islamic holy sites as response to terrorist attack on U.S.

The Associated Press

Thursday, August 2, 2007

WASHINGTON: Republican presidential hopeful Tom Tancredo says the best way he can think of to deter a nuclear terrorist attack on the U.S. is to threaten to retaliate by bombing Islamic holy sites.

The Colorado congressman on Tuesday told about 30 people at a town hall meeting in the state of Iowa that he believes such a terrorist attack could be imminent and that the U.S. needs to hurry up and think of a way to stop it.

"If it is up to me, we are going to explain that an attack on this homeland of that nature would be followed by an attack on the holy sites in Mecca and Medina," Tancredo said at the Family Table restaurant. "Because that's the only thing I can think of that might deter somebody from doing what they otherwise might do."

Mecca and Medina, in Saudi Arabia, are Islam's holiest cities. All able-bodied Muslims are required to make a pilgrimage there at least once in their lives. Tancredo's comments were recorded and posted on the Web site iowapolitics.com.

A Washington-based Islamic civil rights and advocacy group responded in anger Thursday, calling Tancredo's statement "unworthy of anyone seeking public office in the United States."

"Perhaps it's evidence of a long-shot candidate grasping at straws and trying to create some kind of a controversy that might appeal to a niche audience of anti-Muslim bigots," said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

Campaign spokesman, Alan Moore, said Tancredo stands by his statement.

Experts say Tancredo has no hope of going to the White House. Opinion polls put him at the bottom of the Republican field with 1 percent.

This is not the first time Tancredo has suggested taking extreme action against Mecca and Medina.

In 2005, he drew international criticism after he told a radio talk show host that "you could take out" Islamic holy sites if terrorists ever launched a nuclear attack against the United States.

Assclown(s) of the Week.

This week's Assclown of the week is the runaway winner Hoboken 411. Below is a post that appeared on the website early in the week. Go to our post and read la Francaise summary. I have excerpted the post below.

--A reader chimes in about his feelings about the state of homelessness in Hoboken. He thinks it’s getting worse. We have a great shelter, but is the situation really falling apart?

“Dear Hoboken 411,What is up with the increase in the number of homeless people in Hoboken? Its feels like they are growing in number. I see the same homeless people walking Washington Street everyday. I don’t think they are dangerous but at the same time I am sure they make us hardworking residents uncomfortable, to say the least. (As well as decrease the value of our homes). And where do they come from? What is so appealing about Hoboken to the homeless? Is this a growing problem in our town? Is there anyway to help alleviate it? Something has to be done in my opinion. This town is better than what I am seeing. Obviously Hoboken has made great strides over the past 10 - 15 years, but why can’t we clean up the streets?-Anonymous”--

The post is bad enough in its clear misunderstanding of the plight of homelessness and that the operator of the site actually included it in a post. What is worse, however is the readers chime in: The hateful remarks that occur are mind boggling in light of the state of affairs of our world. The vacuum of people that visit this site is astounding, the lack of compassion, humanity and overall misunderstanding of the plight of homeless is not uncommon in today's society, however to make comments that insinuate the extermination of homeless people was breathtaking and shocking. Still, as I write I am shaken by the comments. Visit and see for yourself.

This week's Assclown(s) is the website of Hoboken 411 and its readers. Shame on you.

The Next Assclown?

A member of the House of Representatives and the McCain Campaign co-chair of Florida was arrested yesterday soliciting a male undercover police officer. The Titusville police say Mr. Allen was arrested on second degree charges for solicitation for prostitution. Officers say they noticed Allen acting suspicious as he went in and out of the men's restroom three times. Minutes later, he solicited an undercover male officer inside the restroom, offering to perform oral sex for $20. Allen was arrested at Veteran's Memorial Park, which was under surveillance by "a detail of undercover policeman."

Bob Allen (R) of Florida is according to McCain a respected member of the community and is proud of the support he received. Mr. Allen has a strong conservative record and "between 2003 and 2006 Allen voted with the Christian Coalition over 90% of the time. Allen has been endorsed by the Florida Right to Life Committee and this year he voted to impose a 24-hour waiting period on third-trimester abortions. "

What is going on in Florida and why are these morons such hypocrites?

Senator Vitter on the DC Madame List: Assclown

Senator Vitter is on the DC Madame List, an escort service in DC that "takes care" of its clients needs. He said of the matter: "This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible," Vitter said in the statement. "Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling. Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there — with God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way."

Think Progress has this: Vitter Flashback: Clinton should resign.
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) first got his start in Congress after replacing former Rep. Bob Livingston (R-LA), who “abruptly resigned after disclosures of numerous affairs” in 1998. At the time, Vitter argued that an extramarital affair was grounds for resignation:

He said at the time:

“I think Livingston’s stepping down makes a very powerful argument that Clinton should resign as well and move beyond this mess,” he said. [Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 12/20/98]

Who should resign now? And why if God is the answer did you not visit a chapel instead of a DC Madame service? Hypocrite and Assclown

Hypocrisy

I guess when Bush said "Bring 'em on" he meant it as a challenge to law abiding American citizens who expect our President to respect the law. And in case you are wondering about the utterly transparent nature of this administration, here is a case in point of their hypocrisy. Just so you can tell your conservative friends (if you have any) that they are full of shit. Joe Biden noted that the Bush Administration filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in an attempt to uphold a lower court's ruling that a 33 month prison sentence for Victor Rita, who was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice, was reasonable.

But, 30 months for Scooter is "excessive?" Complete hypocrisy. And Bush certainly gets the 4th of July Assclown of the week. You could probably throw in Cheney, Tony Snow, Bill Kristol, neoconservatives, et. al. Those who orchestrated this war and chose to out a CIA operative agent rather than stand up to even a little bit of scrutiny.

OK, no more Scooter Libby for the day, but every week it gets more difficult to believe in America.

We are a Country of Idiots

Large numbers of Americans still believe in Saddam-9/11 link in this Newsweek poll: "Even today, more than four years into the war in Iraq, as many as four in ten Americans (41 percent) still believe Saddam Hussein’s regime was directly involved in financing, planning or carrying out the terrorist attacks on 9/11, even though no evidence has surfaced to support a connection. A majority of Americans were similarly unable to pick Saudi Arabia in a multiple-choice question about the country where most of the 9/11 hijackers were born. Just 43 percent got it right -- and a full 20 percent thought most came from Iraq."

The results of the survey are here. They are shocking and disgusting. The assclown of the week goes to the American people, us. We are a bunch of idiots. It is certainly partly the media's fault, but the information is there if we want it. We simply believe what we want to believe. We are a mass of people living in denial repressing truth because of an authoritarian government that no longer represents the people. What do we do? We believe what they tell us though the truth stares us in the face.

Update: Maybe it is the media's fault? Michael Moore is cancelled Wednesday night on CNN's Larry King because Paris Hilton has agreed to an interview. CNN has cancelled an interview with a filmmaker about his film Sicko and America's broken health care system because of an "incarcerated socialite" who served time in prison because of her own selfish behavior? A report I heard is the Today show was offering 1 million dollars for the interview. Did CNN pay more? CNN has not rescheduled the interview with Moore. Unbelievable.

Giuliani is the Reigning Assclown

I thought Assclown of the week might go to Joe Lieberman for his Iran comments. But, it is kind of old news. So, I thought maybe it is Hillary for her ridiculous campaign song. But, I thought she redeemed herself by trashing big mouth Chris Mathews in front of an AFSCME audience. Then I saw the article about Rudy Giuliani who was too busy fundraising to participate in the Iraq Study Group. You see Rudy last May resigned his post on the Iraq Study Group after just two months on the panel and not showing up for an official meeting. James Baker, the chariman of the group told him "attend the meeting or quit."

So, what did Rudy do? He quit. Why? He said his previous time committments precluded him from attending meetings. What you ask could preclude him from attending a group tasked with ending or fixing (which they did not do) the greatest foreign policy disaster in recent memory? I will let Newsday describe it: Giuliani’s alleged “previous time commitments” were simply fundraisers that conflicted with the Iraq Study Group’s meetings. The ISG held three sessions during Giuliani’s tenure in 2006 but that he did not show up for: working sessions on April 11 and 12, and May 18 and 19. “The sessions at times conflicted with Giuliani’s lucrative speaking tour that garnered him $11.4 million in 14 months.”

Assclown - Assclown - Assclown.

Assclown quote of the Century

I saw this on Crooks and Liars and thought it just unbelievable.

At the creation museum, a museum devoted to christian beliefs (or fantasies as it were) that the subversive garden reported on here. The visitor is given advice upon entering the museum.

"Don't think, just listen and believe". [..] Human Reason is the enemy and God's Word is the hero. Descartes represents Human Reason, saying "I think, therefore I am". But God tells us there is no need to waste your beautiful mind, for God says "I am that I am".

Assclown.

Assclown of the Week: Rudy Giuliani

I was struggling to find an Assclown this week. No one really stood out until this article appeared in my email box (thanks, R. Thelonius). Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone (who is never one to mince words) tears into the opportunist Rudy Giuliani, especially his 9/11 opportunism. Putting aside for the moment his current pandering to the religious right ("Oh I believe in a woman's right to choose...but I have no problem appointing anti-Roe judges...") and focusing on the reports that have come out about his post 9/11 behavior and hiring of everything Bush, he is deserving of Assclown status. Read the article, but here are some excerpts:

• Giuliani in his speeches seems to focus on two things: the free market and national security, and insinuates to crowds as the writer puts it: "the election of a Democratic president will result in certain nuclear attack and the end of the free market as we know it."


• Chris Henick, formerly Karl Rove's most trusted deputy, is now a key aide at Giuliani Partners, the security firm set up by the mayor to cash in on his 9/11 image. One of his top donors, Richard Collins, is a longtime Bush supporter who was instrumental in setting up "Stop Her Now," a 527 group modeled on Swift Boat Veterans.


• To further emulate the Bush-Rove model, Giuliani has recruited some thirty Bush "Pioneers," the key fund-raisers who served as the president's $100,000 bagmen.


• In his years as mayor -- and his subsequent career as a lobbyist -- Rudy jumped into bed with anyone who could afford a rubber. Saudi Arabia, Rupert Murdoch, tobacco interests, pharmaceutical companies, private prisons, Bechtel, ChevronTexaco -- Giuliani took money from them all. You could change Rudy's mind literally in the time it took to write a check. A former prosecutor, Giuliani used to call drug dealers "murderers." But as a lobbyist he agreed to represent Seisint, a security firm run by former cocaine smuggler Hank Asher. "I have a great admiration for what he's doing," Rudy gushed after taking $2 million of Asher's money.


• Then there is the 9/11 hypocrisy and opportunism: For starters, Rudy tried to use the tragedy to shred election rules, pushing to postpone the inauguration of his successor so he could hog the limelight for a few more months. Then, with the dust from the World Trade Center barely settled, he went on the road as the Man With the Bullhorn, pocketing as much as $200,000 for a single speaking engagement. In 2002, he reported $8 million in speaking income; this past year it was more than $11 million. He's traveled in style, at one stop last year requesting a $47,000 flight on a private jet, five hotel rooms and a private suite with a balcony view and a king-size bed.


• While the mayor himself flew out of New York on a magic carpet, thousands of cash-strapped cops, firemen and city workers involved with the cleanup at the World Trade Center were developing cancers, infections and mysterious respiratory ailments like the "WTC cough." This is the dirty little secret lurking underneath Rudy's 9/11 hero image -- the most egregious example of his willingness to shape public policy to suit his donors. While the cleanup effort at the Pentagon was turned over to federal agencies like OSHA, which quickly sealed off the site and required relief workers to wear hazmat suits, the World Trade Center cleanup was handed over to Giuliani. The city's Department of Design and Construction (DDC) promptly farmed out the waste-clearing effort to a smattering of politically connected companies, including Bechtel, Bovis and AMEC construction.

Assclown of the Week: Rudy Giuliani

and the assclown emeritus winner is ...

GWB ... and ...

by popular (& write-in vote), the memorial day weekend winners are the trustees & UMass Amherst graduate school officials who chose to award an honorary degree to andrew card. watch the protest video and read the news report.

p.s. see dave zirin's article in the nation on why jason giambi is not all bad...

Vote for the Memorial Day Assclown!

Who is it?

1) Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer and Harry Reid, et al. for caving in to this administration and approving 100 billion in funding without a timetable for troop withdrawal? Check here for more.

2) The U.S. Military for firing 58 linguists because they are gay?

3) President Bush for telling White House correspondent David Gregory, (about terrorists) "they are a threat to your children."

4) Jason Giambi for possibly failing another drug test after telling Major League Baseball that we need to apologize for doing that "stuff."

We are open to comments and nominations.

Assclown of the Week: Karl Rove

I have a friend who refers to the Republicans as the "Rethuglicans" and when he is really pissed off he refers to them as "assclowns." So, I thought it would be fun to have an assclown of the week. And in the spirit of Keith Olberman will have a couple of runner-ups. Feel free to disagree, comment and nominate, but here goes this week's assclown of the week.

It was a particularly active week for assclowns, but for me Karl Rove leads the pack. He is the epitome of what is wrong with this administration and though Gonzalez could have easily won, he is only a stooge (clearly assclown status) of Rove and Bush. But, see this article on truthout that connects the CIA leak scandal to the firings of the U.S. attorneys. Rove is secretive and runs the administration from behind the great curtain and is either responsible or involved in every scandal. He was one of the leakers in the CIA leak scandal (remember that), but was not indicted and was the mastermind behind firing of the seven, I mean eight, I mean nine U.S. attorneys and has refused to give over emails to Congress. Remember, he lost or misplaced emails regarding the CIA leak scandal. Suddenly, they were recovered, but never turned over. Why? His status in this administration reminds me of J. Edgar Hoover. What does he have on people? Assclown. See this, however. Rove may be closer to his day of reckoning. Conyers wants him before his committee.

The first runner-up is Gonzalez of course. If you read the article above you will be reminded that Gonzalez was the stooge in the CIA leak case too when he was part of the administration as White House Counsel. You remember that role? Approving torture. Assclown.

The second runner-up is more disheartening to me than all of them. But, the Democrats are the second runner-up. See this article. The Democrats are now conceding a time-line to the Bush administration for the troops to pull-out, thus guaranteeing the Republicans dream of endless war. Clearly, the Dems do not want to be blamed for not funding the troops. But, the argument is a farce and to me really begs the question what are the democrats doing (about the war) that is so different than what they did when they were the minority party? I heard a discussion this morning on NPR regarding a father who lost his son in Iraq and now questions the meaning of citizenship and democracy. Why, he said are we not standing up to this administration? It questions whether we have a democracy. We voted to end this war. We went to the polls in droves to rid this nation of the Republican menace and we did, despite efforts to quash us at the polls. Now, six months later we are still in the same spot, yet even more of the country is not supporting this war. The democrats must find a way to stop cowering in the face of criticism. I am in support of many measures the Dems have passed, but the reason we went to the polls was to end the war. Let's get on with it. Assclowns.