Reid: Bush 'Dangerously Incompetent'

(AP) Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid called President Bush "dangerously 
incompetent" on Wednesday and said the administration ought to be doing more 
to prevent increasing sectarian violence in Iraq.

"Where is (Secretary of State) Condoleezza Rice? Why isn't she over in the 
Middle East, as the chief diplomat of this country should be, trying to get the 
political forces to form a government over there?" Reid told The Associated 
Press. 

Must be the conservative bias in the media.

Critic of spying program to shepherd bills through Senate
By Katherine Shrader, The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A vocal Republican critic of the Bush administration's 
eavesdropping program will preside over Senate efforts to write the program 
into law, but he was pessimistic Wednesday that the White House wanted to 
listen.

"They want to do just as they please, for as long as they can get away with 
it," Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said in an interview with 
The Associated Press. "I think what is going on now without congressional 
intervention or judicial intervention is just plain wrong." 

Things are pretty f---ed up if Arlen and I are in agreement but his take on Bush is dead-on. Bush and his cronies don't care about anyone else, just themselves. They are arrogant pigs feeding at the American Trough or, for a more kosher analogy, a pack of mis-guided Robin Hoods: stealing from the poor and giving to themselves, yet meaning well all the way (so they think).

Bush's Uncle

Bush uncle makes millions from war

By Walter Roche, Washington
March 24, 2006

AS PRESIDENT George W. Bush embarks on a new effort to shore up public support for the war in Iraq, his uncle is collecting $US2.7 million ($A3.7 million) in cash and stock from the recent sale of a company that profited from the war.

Rental Cars and "Taxes"
Monday my car broke down. I took it in to our mechanics. They said it was a variety of problems. No surprise since the car is over 10 years old and is approaching 200,000 miles. They said it would take a couple of days to fix but I should have it by Wednesday night.

No problem. Being unemployed, I don't go anywhere except to interviews and my next is for Thursday (today as I write this).

Come Wednesday I call to see if the car is ready and they mention that they kind of broke something. Sorry! Replacement parts were on the way and they would get me a rental car. They'll take care of everything.

OK, fine. Rental car. This morning I get picked up by the rental agency and get driven to their office. Forms, forms, forms and now the car. P.O.S. Ford Focus.

I had asked for a mid-size since I have to shlep three kids around but the mechanic wouldn't cover the additonal cost. Well, I didn't want to pay anything so the P.O.S. was it. Gimme the keys...

But, wait, you have to sign these forms. Do you want insurance?

Pause right here.

If a company screws up and admits it - that's a good thing.


If a company screws up and wants to make things right by you - that's a good thing.


If a company screws up and does the above two things yet you still have to pay something, anything - that's not a good thing.

The car is a cheap P.O.S.. The insurance would costs more so I declined. I'm risky. I'm hopefully covered by my AAA policy. But, the guy told, this insurance would cover everything - no deductible.

But I still declined. If the mechanic offered to take care of things. That should include "necessary options" like insurance. Why should I have to bear any burden for his screw-up?

And on that note let me segue to insurance. In California you have to have car insurance. It's mandatory. Get caught without insurance? You get a ticket, lose your license and your lunch, and receive a full body cavity search by Office Hamfist. But, unless you have a business, you can't deduct the cost. It's kind of like a tax but yet it isn't. What worries me is that the Government will make other similar "optional" non-taxes mandatory, like life insurance or health insurance.

UCLA Bruins!!!
U.C.L.A.!!! Gaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!! For 37 minutes they played like semi-comatose actors vying for the next George Romero film. for the final 3 minutes they played like Superman hyped on crystal meth. In the half, they could make free throws but nothing else. In the second half, they made everything except free throws.

Arguably, the Bruins shouldn't have won. Gonzaga did everyting right. They even had help from the refs with quite a few crappy calls going in the Zags favor. It's just that the Bruins started to smother Gonzaga like a python, slowly wrapping themselves around and squeezing until Gonzaga fell apart.

Whew!

But next it's Memphis whom neither UCLA nor Gonzaga have beaten this season. Hopefully the Bruins can go and start a bit stronger than they did against Gonzaga and just win without all the theatrics. Go Bruins!!!