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You are here: Home / Politics / Republican Stupidity / The Madness Continues

The Madness Continues

by John Cole|  February 13, 20083:36 pm| 88 Comments

This post is in: Republican Stupidity, Democratic Stupidity, Outrage

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Turned the the tv back on, and CNN is now broadcasting the post-Clemens interrogation interview with the lawyers. I simply am stunned that our Congress, who has rolled over and played dead and abdicated every opportunity for meaningful oversight of this administration, actually is making a stink about Roger Clemons and steroid use and the NFL tapes.

Stunned. I really don’t know what else to say. The day after rolling over and giving the administration precisely what they wanted, congressmen come out with puffed up chests, red-faced, screaming at a pitcher about whether or not someone shot him in the ass with steroids.

It is obscene and beyond absurdity. It has to be a sick fucking joke, but there it is, on the television.

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88Comments

  1. 1.

    4tehlulz

    February 13, 2008 at 3:40 pm

    Well, you can mess with our rights, you can mess with laws, you can mess with our Constitution.

    But when you mess with baseball, you are messing with America, and that will not stand.

    /George Will

  2. 2.

    Sasha

    February 13, 2008 at 3:41 pm

    Can anyone say Passive/Aggressive?

  3. 3.

    Zifnab

    February 13, 2008 at 3:42 pm

    Stunned. I really don’t know what else to say. The day after rolling over and giving the administration precisely what they wanted, congressmen up with puffed out chests, red-faced, screaming at a pitcher about whether or not someone shot him in the ass with steroids.

    It is obscene and beyond absurdity. It has to be a sick fucking joke, but there it is, on the television.

    See, the President has relieved Congress of its duty to make laws – like rules on wiretapping and funding for Iraq. Now Congress is taking up the duty of enforcing laws – like busting small time steroid offenders.

    It’s the best of both worlds. Bush gets to save the phone companies from unfair and invasive lawsuits. Congress gets to play gumshoe Law&Order investigator. Maybe they can all run off to Crawford Ranch after this and pretend to be cowboys.

  4. 4.

    Studly Pantload

    February 13, 2008 at 3:46 pm

    Why’d the twit even show up? Didn’t he notice it’s been no trouble for Harriet Miers to have skipped on the polite invitation that a Congressional summons apparently is, nowadays?

  5. 5.

    KC45s

    February 13, 2008 at 3:47 pm

    Talking about real issues requires thought and gets you in trouble.

    Talking to Roger Clemens requires an opinion and gets you on TV.

    They’re just aping the media.

  6. 6.

    LITBMueller

    February 13, 2008 at 3:49 pm

    Well, if Clemens had been donating millions and millions to Congresscritters across America like their friends in the telecomm industry, then Congress wouldn’t hound him about his ass injections.

    Proving once again: money talks. Doesn’t matter who is in power.

  7. 7.

    Chicago Jeff

    February 13, 2008 at 3:49 pm

    I’m so glad to hear someone else express what I felt faced with the same outrage this AM. Deep in the midst of serious considerations of government spying on its own citizens, the electric previous night of primary coverage, Russia declaring we are entering a new arms race (I could go on), I couldn’t get to my television and get the latest.

    What do we get instead? Nonsense. Expensive, useless nonsense.

    Not of this will make an iota of difference in anyones lives… unless you count the cost of distracting us during our own undoing.

  8. 8.

    TheFountainHead

    February 13, 2008 at 3:50 pm

    /facedesk
    /facedesk
    /facedesk

    /screamheavens

  9. 9.

    Tom in Texas

    February 13, 2008 at 3:54 pm

    I love this point John. I’m sincerely hoping that this or the last post get linked more than that drek concerning Che (not that your point was invalid, just that the entire issue is utterly pointless). It nauseates me that people like Specter and McCain can bloviate on issues they have no business regulating while ignoring their constitutionally mandated duties.

  10. 10.

    Timb

    February 13, 2008 at 3:56 pm

    Does it take anything away from this on point diatribe to note that the Senate rolled yesterday and the House is grilling Clemens. See, John, we need to wait until the House rolls over on wiretapping and telecom immunity (approximately this time tomorrow) before the House shows how freakin’ stupid they are.

  11. 11.

    gypsy howell

    February 13, 2008 at 3:59 pm

    And they’re not even the littlest tiniest bit ashamed.

    Excuse me, I have to go eat a yummy ripe banana.

  12. 12.

    ThymeZone

    February 13, 2008 at 4:00 pm

    It’s theater. Plain and simple. A show put on by showmen.

    Nobody really gives a rat’s ass about steroids in baseball, for the simple reason that baseball itself didn’t give a rat’s ass while all this was going on. The fans didn’t give a rat’s ass either, they wanted to see McGwire hit them long ones and ooh and ahhh. They paid to see it.

    As for CNN, MSNBC and FauxNews, who knows what drives their idiotic decisions. They appear to watch each other and follow a herd mentality.

  13. 13.

    LiberalTarian

    February 13, 2008 at 4:06 pm

    Hm. That reminds me. I haven’t yelled at my Congress Critters lately.

  14. 14.

    Rex

    February 13, 2008 at 4:07 pm

    Word.

  15. 15.

    Zifnab

    February 13, 2008 at 4:09 pm

    It’s theater. Plain and simple. A show put on by showmen.

    Nobody really gives a rat’s ass about steroids in baseball, for the simple reason that baseball itself didn’t give a rat’s ass while all this was going on. The fans didn’t give a rat’s ass either, they wanted to see McGwire hit them long ones and ooh and ahhh. They paid to see it.

    Now they get to see Clemens and McGwire grilled in front of “very serious people”. Don’t worry, kids. No one will be harmed. All part of the show.

    Seriously, I’d love to see some of those guys just flip Congress a big hairy knuckle and see if “contempt” still means what it used to. More importantly, I’d love to see Clemens or Petite or somebody stand up in the middle of the session and exclaim, “You don’t give a flying fuck about the rule of law, so take your god damn sanctimony and shove it. I’ll jack myself up with 100cc’s of pure cocaine, then slam a home run that hits Thailand and you’ll pay to see me do it. Capitalism, bitches!” Then he could stand up, give the entire committee a big fat rasberry, drop trow, fap, and leave.

    I’d salute that.

  16. 16.

    Wilfred

    February 13, 2008 at 4:14 pm

    The longer Clemens is up there, the more time Sibel Edmonds is on the bench. It’s the old ‘Who’s on first’ routine.

  17. 17.

    a1

    February 13, 2008 at 4:21 pm

    Could there be a clearer indication that Congress is just a large collection of clowns, whose wacky antics and loud noisemaking only exist to provide a distraction to the public while the people really in charge can keep running things behind the scenes? As Bush signing statements show, apparently Congress can’t dictate when a war starts or ends, whether we have permanent military bases in another country, our country’s stance on torture, the funding of the Iraq effort, and you can ignore a congressional subpoena, which basically means they have no power to investigate, at all. In light of all these abuses, Congress has done *nothing* to assert themselves as an equal branch of government! They’re just going through the motions of maintaining a pretense of democracy.

    For me, the perfect example wasn’t just the Senate’s capitulation towards FISA, but how they carefully arranged the amendments so that some “required” 60 votes and some didn’t. That way, the amendments could fail, but Senators on the other side would all get a chance to point to their failed vote and yell, “See? See?! *I* voted against it!” It was a total fucking sham.

    But yeah, having them get worked up over steroids is really rubbing it in our faces. What next, a bipartisan committee to save “Jericho”, at least until “we find out what happens”? Maybe they should go all out, and make all the Congressional sessions into a proper reality show. Next up on “Seatovivor” – will Harry Reid get voted off the Beltway?

  18. 18.

    Ninerdave

    February 13, 2008 at 4:22 pm

    What’s wrong John. Don’t you know that the War on Terror is only superseded by the War on Drugs!

    These fine, fine patriotic Senators are the front lines of this battle. I mean Think of the Children™ John! Think of the impressionable youth who are now learning that shooting steroids and lying before congress are bad things.

  19. 19.

    Mr Furious

    February 13, 2008 at 4:22 pm

    Reading this post (and the previous one) makes me dream of “Debt of Honor” scenarios.

  20. 20.

    Zifnab

    February 13, 2008 at 4:27 pm

    Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told her Democratic colleagues on Tuesday night that the House has to consider criminal contempt citations against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and Harriett Miers, former White House counsel.

    But Pelosi did not set a day for a floor vote on the contempt citations, and Democratic leaders are set to meet on Wednesday to review the issue. Pelosi and the Democratic leadership had postponed consideration of the matter until the Congress completed work on the economic stimulus package. With that legislation now out of the way, Pelosi has raised the possibility again that the House might seek a constitutional showdown with President Bush over the limits of executive privilege.

    Just say’n.

  21. 21.

    Mike

    February 13, 2008 at 4:28 pm

    John, I agree with you 100% — talk about misplaced outrage!

  22. 22.

    ThymeZone

    February 13, 2008 at 4:32 pm

    Congress will soon be holding hearings to find out why they aren’t going forward with The Wire.

    John will be liveblogging.

    { come on, you know I had to }

  23. 23.

    Jorge

    February 13, 2008 at 4:42 pm

    Funny watching the hearings…

    Republicans are trying to throw him lifejackets

    Democrats are throwing anchors

  24. 24.

    gypsy howell

    February 13, 2008 at 4:48 pm

    “You don’t give a flying fuck about the rule of law, so take your god damn sanctimony and shove it. I’ll jack myself up with 100cc’s of pure cocaine, then slam a home run that hits Thailand and you’ll pay to see me do it. Capitalism, bitches!” Then he could stand up, give the entire committee a big fat rasberry, drop trow, fap, and leave.

    I’d pay to see that.

  25. 25.

    Leisureguy

    February 13, 2008 at 4:50 pm

    It reminds me a bit about the common observation about faculty meetings: “The fights were so vicious because the stakes were so small.” And indeed we see it in Congress: the more important the issue, the less likely Congress is to address it at all, and when it does, most of the members choose the most craven course.

  26. 26.

    myiq2xu

    February 13, 2008 at 4:51 pm

    Democrats are throwing anchors

    Democrats hate baseball.

    Baseball is America’s game.

    Therefore, Democrats hate America

    Lather, rinse, repeat.

  27. 27.

    bdr

    February 13, 2008 at 5:01 pm

    Stunned? You kid.

    This is hubris growth hormone to these fucks.

  28. 28.

    calipygian

    February 13, 2008 at 5:05 pm

    I’m OUTRAGED OUTRAGED OUTRAGED!!!!!!

    Roger Clemons ins’t blond, the possessor of a vagina or missing.
    Why the fuck are we even paying attention?

  29. 29.

    Fe E

    February 13, 2008 at 5:06 pm

    On the plus side, a monkey wrench gets tossied into FISA.

    Oh yeah, for the record: fuck the Blue Dog Democrats.

  30. 30.

    myiq2xu

    February 13, 2008 at 5:07 pm

    Roger Clemons ins’t blond, the possessor of a vagina or missing.
    Why the fuck are we even paying attention?

    Are they gonna asterisk all his records and awards now?

  31. 31.

    rawshark

    February 13, 2008 at 5:07 pm

    As pointless as this is, this is Congress’ job right? Its this or entities police themselves.

  32. 32.

    Fe E

    February 13, 2008 at 5:08 pm

    tossied, tossed, whatever.

  33. 33.

    Lavocat

    February 13, 2008 at 5:19 pm

    Yeah, it’s sickening alright.

    This is what passes for elected officials in the era of 24/7 media coverage: people APPEARING to be doing something without actually doing something.

    Let’s SAY we’re gonna hold’em in contempt! YEAH! Let’s SAY we’re gonna start an investigation! YEAH!

    And then let’s just do jack shit and see if the American electorate cares enough to call us on it.

    What a great fucking job, huh? Just show up and look good -if you bother showing up at all. Anywhere else and your ass would be FIRED!!!!!

  34. 34.

    Grumpy Code Monkey

    February 13, 2008 at 5:22 pm

    It is our solemn duty to throw as many of these bums out as possible. I’d love to see 100% turnover in the House, though I know that won’t happen. Unfortunately I can’t vote against Pelosi or any of the Democratic “leaders” (ha) in Congress; best I can do is vote against McCaul in the House and Cornyn in the Senate.

    Which I will do.

    With gusto.

  35. 35.

    Bob In Pacifica

    February 13, 2008 at 5:23 pm

    New Orleans DA Jim Garrison was interviewed in 1967 by PLAYBOY Magazine. During that time Walter Sheridan of NBC was waging a smear campaign against him, joined in by most of the media. Later it was learned that Sheridan had been working for a then-unknown intelligence agency, the NSA.

    Towards the end of the interview Garrison was asked how he defined his own politics. He said:

    “That’s a question I’ve asked myself frequently, especially since this investigation started and I found myself in an incongruous and disillusioning battle with agencies of my own Government. I can’t just sit down and add up my political beliefs like a mathematical sum, but I think, in balance, I’d turn up somewhere around the middle. Over the years, I guess I’ve developed a somewhat conservative attitude–in the traditional libertarian sense of conservatism, as opposed to the thumbscrews-and-rack conservatism of the paramilitary right–particularly in regard to the importance of the individual as opposed to the state and the individual’s own responsibilities to humanity. I don’t think I’ve ever tried to formulate this into a coherent political, but at the root of my concern is the conviction that a human being is not a digit; he’s not a digit in regard to the state and he’s not a digit in the sense that he can ignore his fellow men and his obligations to society.

    “I was with the artillery supporting the division that took Dachau. I arrived there the day after it was taken, when bulldozers were making pyramids of human bodies outside the camp. What I saw there haunted me ever since. Because the law is my profession, I’ve always wondered about the judges throughout Germany who sentenced men to jail for picking pockets when their own government was jerking gold from the teeth of men murdered in gas chambers.

    “I’m concerned about all of this because it isn’t a German phenomenon. It can happen here, because there has been no change and there has been no progress and there has been no increase of understanding on the part of men for their fellow man. What worries me deeply, and I have seen it exemplified in this case, is that we in America are in great danger of slowly evolving into a proto-fascist state. It will be a different kind of fascist state from the one the Germans evolved; theirs grew out of depression and promised bread and work, while ours, curiously enough, seems to be emerging from prosperity. But in the final analysis, it’s based on power and on the inability to put human goals and human conscience above the dictates of the state.

    “Its origins can be traced in the tremendous war machine we’ve built since 1945, the “military-industrial complex” that Eisenhower vainly warned us about, which now dominates every aspect of our life. The power of the states and Congress has gradually been abandoned to the Executive Department, because of war conditions, and we’ve seen the creation of an arrogant, swollen bureaucratic complex totally unfettered by the checks and balances of the Constitution.

    “In a very real and terrifying sense, our Government is the CIA and the Pentagon, with Congress reduced to a debating society.

    “Of course, you can’t spot this trend to fascism by casually looking around. You can’t look for such familiar signs as the swastika, because they won’t be there. We won’t build Dachaus and Auschwitzes; the clever manipulation of the mass media is creating a concentration camp of the mind that promises to be far more effective in keeping the populace in line. We’re not going to wake up one morning and suddenly find ourselves in gray uniforms goose-stepping off to work. But this isn’t the test. The test is: What happens to the individual who dissents? In Nazi Germany, he was physically destroyed; here, the process is more subtle, but the end results can be the same. I’ve learned enough about the machinations of the CIA in the past year to know that this is no longer the dreamworld America I once believed in. The imperatives of the population explosion, which almost inevitably will lessen our belief in the sanctity of the individual human life, combined with the awesome power of the CIA and the defense establishment, seem destined to seal the fate of the America I knew as a child and bring us into a new Orwellian world where the citizen exists for the state and where raw power justifies any and every immoral act.

    “I’ve always had a kind of knee-jerk trust in my Government’s basic integrity, whatever political blunders it may make. But I”ve come to realize that in Washington, deceiving and manipulating the public are viewed by some as the natural prerogatives of office. Huey Long once said, “Fascism will come to America in the name of anti-fascism.” I’m afraid, based on my own experience, that fascism will come to America in the name of national security.”

    I repeat: “In a very real and terrifying sense, our Government is the CIA and the Pentagon, with Congress reduced to a debating society.” Maybe we should asterisk all references to American democracy after 1963.

  36. 36.

    Grumpy Code Monkey

    February 13, 2008 at 5:24 pm

    By the way, before some pedantic asshole points it out, I know McCaul and Cornyn aren’t Democrats; I’m just saying everyone needs to go.

  37. 37.

    Punchy

    February 13, 2008 at 5:45 pm

    It is obscene and beyond absurdity. It has to be a sick fucking joke, but there it is, on the television.

    I can’t believe it either. Jason Kidd for a bunch of relative nobodies? Does Cuban just get whatever he wants? If this were a fantasy trade, it woulda been shot down by the league commish in a second. Obscene, indeed.

  38. 38.

    calipygian

    February 13, 2008 at 5:47 pm

    “In a very real and terrifying sense, our Government is the CIA and the Pentagon, with Congress reduced to a debating society.”

    What’s your point?

  39. 39.

    Zifnab

    February 13, 2008 at 5:56 pm

    I mean, the best part of the whole “Steroids in Baseball” scandal is when people raise the question, “So what is Congress going to do about it?”

    Last I checked, steroids were already basically illegal. You gonna re-illegalize’m? Congress isn’t catching these players in the act, it’s addressing this literally years after steroids became an issue. So the investigations aren’t preventing any future abuse. And they’re not punishing any previous abuse. So what the hell are they doing? Other than wasting time, that is.

    Baseball Steroids, in this sense, rank right up there with Terri Shavio. Wtf, man. Wtf.

  40. 40.

    4tehlulz

    February 13, 2008 at 6:15 pm

    McCain is such a maverick. Not.

    Mr. McCain, a former prisoner of war, has consistently voiced opposition to waterboarding and other methods that critics say is a form torture. But the Republicans, confident of a White House veto, did not mount the challenge. Mr. McCain voted “no” on Wednesday afternoon.

  41. 41.

    Dennis - SGMM

    February 13, 2008 at 6:22 pm

    In the words of Gov. LePetomane:
    “We’ve gotta protect our phony-baloney jobs, gentlemen, we must do something about this immediately!”

  42. 42.

    Philip the Equal Opportunity Cynic

    February 13, 2008 at 6:37 pm

    I can’t believe it either. Jason Kidd for a bunch of relative nobodies? Does Cuban just get whatever he wants? If this were a fantasy trade, it woulda been shot down by the league commish in a second. Obscene, indeed.

    That’s just wrong. Somebody should investigate that.

  43. 43.

    tballou

    February 13, 2008 at 6:49 pm

    How these bastards both Dem and Rep look at themselves in the mirror is beyond me. The only silver lining in this entire fucking mess of the past seven years is the incredible motherlode of material that awaits future historians as they mine the riches of Bush lawlessness and Congressional complicity.

  44. 44.

    gypsy howell

    February 13, 2008 at 6:51 pm

    Bob, I read that quote somewhere else today (maybe form you?) and it’s terrifying. Not surprising, but terrifying nevertheless. I watched Oliver Stone’s JFK recently, and there’s that scene with Garrison and the Donald Sutherland character… don’t tell me it isn’t true.

    And may I just say that a lot of this begins with deifying the military? Support the Troops, my ass.

  45. 45.

    OxyCon

    February 13, 2008 at 7:04 pm

    I understand your sentiment John, but I actually hope they get some concrete evidence on Roger Clemens. As an amateur “natural” body builder, I have trained at a few hard core body building gyms where several Mr. New Jerseys trained. I’ve never taken anything other than protein powder (I got my 18 1/2 inch arms and 51 inch chest the old fashioned way). But in the locker room everyone at the gym knows who is on the juice. I’ve seen way to many roid rages while at these gyms and I can tell you in my opinion that when Clemens threw the bat barrel at Mike Piazza in the World Series, that was a classic roid rage.

    Funny how MLB had this video removed from YouTube.

    Does Congress have better things to do? Everyone agrees that they do. But Clemens is lying his ass off just like Barry Bonds. He’s a cheater and his records should have an asterisk next to them.

  46. 46.

    Phil

    February 13, 2008 at 7:10 pm

    John, since you said this,

    “Once the GOP is completely destroyed, out of power, and demoralized, and once the pro-torture, anti-liberty, spend and spend class that you fellate is gone and adults are back in charge of the ashes of the GOP and the Malking wingnuts you embrace are back to attending John Birch Society rallies instead of GOP meetings, I can go back to voting for folks like McCain.”

    and ignored my reasonable follow up question,

    “Based on what you JUST SAID ABOVE, and that McCain opposes torture in all cases, opposes pork barrel spending of all kinds, has requested a constitutional line item veto, and defended the country’s liberty to that extent that he was tortured for 5 years by a Communist government ideologically aligned to Che’s, would you care to explain why you hate McCain so much? You claim to be conservative and yet I can’t seem to figure out how you’re conservative in any way whatsoever. Are you a liberal now?”

    Will you PLEASE stop pretending to be a conservative now? I mean really, it’s getting kind of pathetic at this point. You seem to have some sort of weird superiority complex. My god, I’m pretty sure you must be David Brock at this point. I don’t know of any self-described conservatives who think Che Gueverra idolization is “not a big deal”. And so I’m back to square one: I don’t really give a damn about your politics John. But someone who pretends to be a conservative yet continues to spout Democratic party talking points is pretty pathetic. Still waiting for an answer to above question. I’m guessing there won’t be one as there isn’t one. You’re just another Democratic Party hack at this point, nothing more and nothing less. And I’m not interested in reading Democratic Party hack blogs. Well enjoy your new Che loving friends you “conservative” you (wink wink).

    If you care to actually answer the question I posed, which was perfectly reasonable based on what you had JUST said prior to it, then at least you’ll start making some sense. Otherwise, don’t bother calling yourself a conservative anymore. You’re wasting everyone’s time.

    And here’s the question again for you, plain as day:

    “Based on what you JUST SAID ABOVE, and that McCain opposes torture in all cases, opposes pork barrel spending of all kinds, has requested a constitutional line item veto, and defended the country’s liberty to that extent that he was tortured for 5 years by a Communist government ideologically aligned to Che’s, would you care to explain why you hate McCain so much? You claim to be conservative and yet I can’t seem to figure out how you’re conservative in any way whatsoever. Are you a liberal now?”

  47. 47.

    Dennis - SGMM

    February 13, 2008 at 7:16 pm

    Will you PLEASE stop pretending to be a conservative now? I mean really, it’s getting kind of pathetic at this point. You seem to have some sort of weird superiority complex. My god, I’m pretty sure you must be David Brock at this point. I don’t know

    – how to write a short post or when to STFU.

  48. 48.

    Ninerdave

    February 13, 2008 at 7:25 pm

    Will you PLEASE stop pretending to be a conservative now?

    Problem is there Phil ol’ buddy you’re question makes the assumption that the current GOP is conservative.

  49. 49.

    rawshark

    February 13, 2008 at 7:26 pm

    I don’t know of any self-described conservatives who think Che Gueverra idolization is “not a big deal”.

    Probably because as soon as you realize there is more than one point of view you’re not considered a conservative anymore.

  50. 50.

    Phil

    February 13, 2008 at 7:29 pm

    “– how to write a short post or when to STFU.”

    If John’s a conservative, he’ll stop spouting Democratic talking points left and right and not be completely unconcerned about Communist idolization. And if he’s not a conservative, then he can stop claiming to be one and be just another lame liberal blog like Daily Kos I won’t ever read. But he’s trying to have it both ways and it’s kind of reached the point of pathetic now. It’s kind of sad that he asked for certain things from “his” party that are found in its current candidate (McCain) and yet he mouths boring talking points from an opposing campaign. Face it John, if you’re not a conservative, then just fucking say so. Stop pretending to be one, because frankly we’re just not that into you pretending to be.

  51. 51.

    Phil

    February 13, 2008 at 7:31 pm

    “Probably because as soon as you realize there is more than one point of view you’re not considered a conservative anymore.”

    Cool, I’ll just leave the Communist political assassinator worship to the Democrats then. We’ll see how that goes for you.

  52. 52.

    Dennis - SGMM

    February 13, 2008 at 7:33 pm

    Cool, I’ll just leave the Communist political assassinator worship to the Democrats then. We’ll see how that goes for you.

    And we’ll leave George W. Bush to the Republicans. We’ll see how that goes for you.

  53. 53.

    Zifnab

    February 13, 2008 at 7:43 pm

    Cool, I’ll just leave the Communist political assassinator worship to the Democrats then. We’ll see how that goes for you.

    Pinochet was a good, honorable, and righteous man! Anyone who called for his assassination is a terrible, horrible monster!

    Now, repeatedly bombing Saddam Hussien’s houses over a ten year period before finally massacring his people so you can break into his country and lynch him in a pathetic mock trial? That’s just fine and dandy.

    And don’t even get me started on the Pat Robertson/Caeser Chavez right wing wankfest. Why, if Robertson were 90 years younger, I’m sure he’d be this generation’s Jack Bauer. Such tough talk!

  54. 54.

    rawshark

    February 13, 2008 at 7:43 pm

    Phil Says:

    “Probably because as soon as you realize there is more than one point of view you’re not considered a conservative anymore.”

    Cool, I’ll just leave the Communist political assassinator worship to the Democrats then. We’ll see how that goes for you.

    Exactly. Anyone who doesn’t think as you do is not a member of the party.

  55. 55.

    Dennis - SGMM

    February 13, 2008 at 7:45 pm

    Gosh, I thought that Reagan already defeated the Communist menace single-handed.

  56. 56.

    cmoreNC

    February 13, 2008 at 7:57 pm

    BE GRATEFUL Congress isn’t focused instead on holding interminable hearings about who’s responsible for what’s wrong with Brittany Spears. However, on the upside the hearings would be just as useful toward any productive end as the ones on steroid use in baseball.

  57. 57.

    Dennis - SGMM

    February 13, 2008 at 7:59 pm

    BE GRATEFUL Congress isn’t focused instead on holding interminable hearings about who’s responsible for what’s wrong with Brittany Spears.

    Oh crap, now you’ve given them the idea.

  58. 58.

    Jason

    February 13, 2008 at 8:05 pm

    Sorry, but I support bringing the full force of the federal government down on Bill Belichick’s head. Worth almost any price.

  59. 59.

    ThymeZone

    February 13, 2008 at 8:11 pm

    Phil, having skipped over the semester here where we kicked around “what is a conservative,” will now lecture us on “what is a conservative.”

    Phil, the self-declared exemplar, will now speak to you, through the magic of eltronicabloggrastructure:

    Phil, the floor is yours. What is a conservative?

    I have my tea, I just woke up from a short nap, I am fresh, ready to learn.

    Go.

  60. 60.

    Eural Joiner

    February 13, 2008 at 9:38 pm

    Got in late and missed this exchange but I’ve got to say that John’s opening comments should be reprinted on the front page of every paper in the country IN VERY LARGE CAPS.

    I’ve spent 7 years being pissed and disgusted with the Republicans screwing our country. Now I get to feel the same way about the Democrats.

    God help us.

  61. 61.

    alphie

    February 13, 2008 at 9:44 pm

    How unfortunate for the Dems that Reid and Pelosi were their leaders when they got their chance to run the country.

  62. 62.

    cain

    February 13, 2008 at 9:53 pm

    TZ,

    I’m not sure you’ll learn much from Phil the Prince of insufficient light.

    cain

  63. 63.

    Dennis - SGMM

    February 13, 2008 at 9:54 pm

    Phil, having skipped over the semester here where we kicked around “what is a conservative,” will now lecture us on “what is a conservative.”

    TZ, Phil’s mom called. She said that he’s bicycling to the store to get some more Cheetos.

  64. 64.

    t jasper parnell

    February 13, 2008 at 10:37 pm

    Was it just me or did Waxman look nonplussed when the lawyers and the “Rocket” started yelling at him about the nanny? Do you think that having watched the president run roughshod over the Dems for how ever the hell long it has been, the rest of the world has now realized that bluster and bombast cows those toward whom one ought to kow tow?

  65. 65.

    Delia

    February 13, 2008 at 11:02 pm

    So how come Phil disappeared the other night when we were all bashing his ass about his sad lack of reason, logic, and intelligence; and now he’s back sounding like he’s never learned a thing?

  66. 66.

    Delia

    February 13, 2008 at 11:06 pm

    The phil entity had me distracted. I was going to mention that the congress critters, have given up their gonads to the Warlords, seem to think they can distract the rest of us with bread and circuses. But they’re pathetically lacking in the bread.

  67. 67.

    TenguPhule

    February 13, 2008 at 11:09 pm

    and not be completely unconcerned about Communist idolization.

    Don’t forget the golden phalluses! Can’t have your idols without golden phalluses!

  68. 68.

    TenguPhule

    February 13, 2008 at 11:12 pm

    and ignored my reasonable follow up question,

    Shorter Phil: I am full of Shit and I support McCain. Pardon the Redundancy.

  69. 69.

    Conservatively Liberal

    February 13, 2008 at 11:14 pm

    If anybody should be grilled, it should be Bud Selig and the rest of the untouchable upper crust of baseball. Hmm, we have an illegal war, our government spying on us with Senate and House approval, soldiers who have been basically forgotten in Afghanistan, a deficit out of control, a president out of control, an economy in tatters and endless other issues, and they want to focus on this?!

    What is next?

    Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Uranus) announced today that the Senate will be forming a special committee to look into the widespread problem of men leaving toilet seats up in residential bathrooms. “This is an issue that is important to the women of America” said Senator Reid, adding “An alarming number of women have fallen into toilets when they use the bathroom in low light conditions, such as early in the morning. This problem increases insurance costs, cripples productivity, encourages our enemies and it is high time we do something about it.”

    Senator Reid stated that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Moon) would join him in this bipartisan effort to help find a solution to “a problem which threatens the health of women, the peace and harmony of American households, and gives aid and comfort to our enemies.” When asked about his participation in this special investigation, Senator McConnell said “Senator Reid and I are in complete agreement on this critical issue. We believe that women of America are faced with a continuing risk of severe injury if this problem is not addressed immediately.”

    When asked for comment on this special Senate investigation, Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-Big Dipper) stated that she supported this move by Senator Reid but that the House would not be looking into the issue due to an already heavy schedule. “I believe that Senators Reid and McConnell will be able to address this problem to the satisfaction of women across America, so no action will be required on the part of the House. As it is, our schedule is full, with our most important issue being condom use. It has been brought to my attention that some men are trying to put condoms on upside down, and we fear the implications of this grave problem.”

  70. 70.

    rick

    February 13, 2008 at 11:14 pm

    The Roman Empire also engaged in such absurd frivolity on its way down.

    Natural selection favors nations that have a sense of perspective. The USA doesn’t. We’ll see what happens post-Bush.

  71. 71.

    Tax Analyst

    February 13, 2008 at 11:22 pm

    Yeah, Congressfolks want that TV time…as long as it’s not about anything serious or controversial.

    Let’s see…if steroids or growth-hormone – or any other substance, controlled or not, could make a congressperson invulnerable to electoral defeat and at the same time feather their retirement cushion by several million or more dollars, what percentage of them would be juicing up while they were sitting at their seat in their various August Chambers?

  72. 72.

    Prince Roy

    February 14, 2008 at 6:00 am

    The most interesting thing to me is how the questioning was bitterly partisan. The dems were hostile to Clemens and the reps were his advocates. I find that very strange.

    Why were the republicans on his side? He must have given them more autographs.

  73. 73.

    HeartlandLiberal

    February 14, 2008 at 6:19 am

    I have been sick for past five days, so here I am sitting in bed yesterday, and decide, well, just maybe there will be something that is not utter mind rot on daytime TV. Boy, was I wrong.

    Not only were Faux Noise, MSNBC, CNN carrying non-stop wall to wall coverage of every breathless moment of these hearings, even ESPN was carrying it.

    God forbid the networks give that much attention to illegal wars, a president who tortures, lies about it, then admits it and is proud of it, pisses on the Constitution and Bill of Rights daily, signs over a 1,000 statements addended to laws saying screw Congress, screw the law, screw the American people, he will decide whether to obey any law or not, at his whim.

    Never thought at the age of 62 I would be watching the slow slide of my nation into a post-constitutional police state characterized by corporate Orwellian media control.

    But there it is. Only the ignorant and oblivious can ignore it now. The tragedy is, those to demographics seem to be the majority now.

  74. 74.

    Buck

    February 14, 2008 at 7:58 am

    Only the ignorant and oblivious can ignore it now. The tragedy is, those t[w]o demographics seem to be the majority now.
    -HeartlandLiberal

    It’s the old “chicken and the egg” argument: What came first, an ignorant populace and a conforming media or a complicit media, hell-bent (and successful) on dumbing down the masses?

    Doesn’t matter though. Either way, we’re screwed.

  75. 75.

    Johnny Pez

    February 14, 2008 at 8:33 am

    Clemens should have just admitted using steroids, then told Congress that it was necessary to defend America against the terrorists. He’d have probably gotten retroactive immunity.

  76. 76.

    Equal Opportunity Cynic

    February 14, 2008 at 8:42 am

    The Roman Empire also engaged in such absurd frivolity on its way down.

    Natural selection favors nations that have a sense of perspective. The USA doesn’t. We’ll see what happens post-Bush.

    That’s what scares the hell out of me. We few who do have that perspective here are having our fate determined by the idiot masses.

    Panem et circenses. I think I’ll just stop worrying everyone with my gloom and doom and enjoy the impressive array of entertainment options my country provides!

  77. 77.

    michael

    February 14, 2008 at 9:29 am

    I haven’t been following this story, so there are gaps in my understanding. Why is this even a congressional issue? if a crime was committed, let local law enforcement look into it. if a federal crime was committed let the fbi and a federal prosecutor look into it. on what grounds is this a congressional issue? and if it has to do with baseball’s sherman antitrust exemption give me a break. 80 years ago an owner of a team in failed league sued mlb and lost, why does steroid use become a federal or congressional issue?

  78. 78.

    4tehlulz

    February 14, 2008 at 10:58 am

    why does steroid use become a federal or congressional issue?

    The antitrust exemption gives congress a bat to waive at baseball every once in a while, since they have the power to take it away through legislation.

    One of the most-retarded SCOTUS decisions in this century, imo.

  79. 79.

    4tehlulz

    February 14, 2008 at 10:59 am

    * last century.

    Never post without caffeine.

  80. 80.

    Original Lee

    February 14, 2008 at 11:00 am

    Aw, Michael, there you go trying to use logic again.

  81. 81.

    rawshark

    February 14, 2008 at 11:12 am

    Why were the republicans on his side?

    Because its part of the narrative to show how worthless Congress is and to take the opposite side of an issue from a dem. Did you see Chris Shay? Totally sucking up to his constituents who don’t think Congress should be investigating baseball and his moral majority voters. “You sir, are a drug dealer!!!” Oh noes!

    Why is this even a congressional issue?

    Baseball is a business that operates in the US, Congress pretty much runs all commerce in this country. Little shows like this reminds Baseball that someone is watching them behave and will step in if they take liberties with their customers. I have no problem with congress doing this I just wish they were serious about it or drop it.

  82. 82.

    DougJ

    February 14, 2008 at 3:23 pm

    I find this so depressing I don’t even want to think about it.

  83. 83.

    Rick Taylor

    February 15, 2008 at 1:37 am

    Glenn Greenwald wrote:

    One of the tortures I endured yesterday was watching the House hearing involving Roger Clemens and the trainer who claims to have injected him with steroids. The press could not have been any more riveted and was fully knowledgable of every relevant detail. Almost every House Committee member came to the hearing thoroughly prepared, grilled the witnesses with the expertise of an experienced litigator, and thundered about the grave seriousness — and consequences — of lying to Congress.

    The drama was high, the gravity palpable, and the interest level intense. Ponder how much better our country would be if even a fraction of all of that were conjured up for acts of chronic lawbreaking and serial lying by our highest government officials, rather than our baseball stars.

Comments are closed.

Trackbacks

  1. The Clemens steroid hearings at Citizen Jake says:
    February 13, 2008 at 4:35 pm

    […] My thoughts on the hearing today, as told by John Cole: I simply am stunned that our Congress, who has rolled over and played dead and abdicated every opportunity for meaningful oversight of this administration, actually is making a stink about Roger Clemons and steroid use and the NFL tapes. […]

  2. BlueHerald 2.0 - News You Can Abuse! says:
    February 13, 2008 at 8:00 pm

    […] Priorities? What Stinkin’ Prioirities? Buck   02/13/2008 – 8:00 pm John Cole, of Balloon Juice, posts about how Congress can roll over and give Bush all that he asks for, but is making a stink about Roger Clemons’ steroid use. Stunned. I really don’t know what else to say. The day after rolling over and giving the administration precisely what they wanted, congressmen up with puffed out chests, red-faced, screaming at a pitcher about whether or not someone shot him in the ass with steroids. […]

  3. Leaning Towards the Dark Side » Blog Archive » Quote of the day says:
    February 13, 2008 at 8:45 pm

    […] John Cole: I simply am stunned that our Congress, who has rolled over and played dead and abdicated every opportunity for meaningful oversight of this administration, actually is making a stink about Roger Clemons and steroid use and the NFL tapes. […]

  4. (Update) Our Congress is Finally Taking on the Pressing Issues § Unqualified Offerings says:
    February 13, 2008 at 9:42 pm

    […] at a pitcher about whether or not someone shot him in the ass with steroids. Posted by Mona @ 7:04 pm, Filed under: Main « « Makes Me Wanna Hollow | Main | Credit where credit is due,but… » » […]

  5. this is only a test » Blog Archive » Priorities, part 2 says:
    February 13, 2008 at 9:57 pm

    […] UPDATE: Yes! Exactly! What John Cole said: Turned the the tv back on, and CNN is now broadcasting the post-Clemens interrogation interview with the lawyers. I simply am stunned that our Congress, who has rolled over and played dead and abdicated every opportunity for meaningful oversight of this administration, actually is making a stink about Roger Clemons and steroid use and the NFL tapes. […]

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