Kitty Litter

 
URBAN LEGENDS?

There are a number of e-mails making the cyberspace circuit these days, and some are phony. Like the one that talks about what an arrogant ass John F***ing Kerry is, written by a pilot who had to fly Frenchie around Southeast Asia. It begins like this:

'First Hand Account re: John Kerry
I would like to add my two cents about my John Kerry experience. During my career as an Air Force pilot, I spent two years flying a small twin engine prop plane around the Pacific from my base in Okinawa, Japan.'

I've developed a sixth sense in spotting these things ... receive enough of them and you will ... so I the first time I got it I checked it out at Snopes.com. That was a few weeks ago, and at that time it wasn't listed. However, it might have been fairly new, or maybe it hadn't been submitted to Snopes at that time. Then I saw it in The American Spectator online and notified them that it just may be what is euphamistically referred to as an urban legend. It was promptly removed. Today I received it yet again from a Litter reader, Cplcpl, who asked if it was legit. Today it listed on Snopes.com. Its authenticity could not be determined, but they did say this:

'Whatever the probity of the e-mailed account, the larger issue isn't whether this specific piece is true, but whether the sentiment it expresses — that Senator Kerry goes through life with his nose in the air, oblivious to the hoi polloi who inhabit his immediate surroundings — is accurate. In regards to that issue, we can confirm that others have reported experiencing similar encounters with Senator Kerry.'

This next one has also been making the rounds and Snopes says it is authentic. Blue sent this to me:

Re-evaluating Weapons of Mass Destruction:

"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."
President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998

"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998

"Iraq is a long way from [here], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face."
Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998

"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998

"We urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others Oct. 9, 1998

"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998

"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."
Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov.10, 1999

"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has invigorated his weapons programs. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of an elicit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies."
Letter to President Bush, Signed by Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL,) and others, Dec, 5, 2001

"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them."
Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002

"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002

"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002

"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002

"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force-if necessary-to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security."
Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002

"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam
has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002

"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has refused to do"
Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002

"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members .. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002

"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."
Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002

"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation .. And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..."
Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003

SO NOW THE DEMOCRATS SAY PRESIDENT BUSH LIED, THAT THERE NEVER WERE ANY WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION AND HE TOOK US TO WAR FOR HIS OIL BUDDIES??? HMMMM....


Tell me what YOU think ...
READERS' TURN:

 
I’M BACK!

It’s been a rough couple of days, and I’d like to thank everyone for their kind words. I’ve been wading through backed up e-mails and have some good things which I plan to post.

Like this from Gayle: In light of the Madrid bombing, the French government has raised their Nation's terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide". The only two higher levels in France are "Surrender" and "Collaborate"

And this from LoanCat:
A Republican and a Democrat Were walking down the street when they came upon a homeless person. The Republican gave the homeless person his business card and told him to come to his business for a job. He then took twenty dollars out of his pocket and gave it to the homeless person.

The Democrat was very impressed, and when they came to another homeless person, he decided to help. He walked over to the homeless person and gave him directions to the welfare office. He then reached into the Republican's pocket and took out twenty dollars. He kept 15 for administrative fees and gave the homeless person five.

Now you understand the difference between Republicans and Democrats.

I’ll be posting more e-mails later on.


HARDY-HAR-HAR-HAR

John F***ing Kerry didn’t think Dubya’s self-deprecating humor about not finding WMD’s in the Oval Office very funny. I guess joking about assassinating Quayle is more his humor. Yeah, that’s a real knee slapper. Right.

HOWEVER, hearing Frenchie pontificating on gay marriage, or TRYING to, is hilarious!

I’ll be back. In the meantime …
READERS’ TURN:

 
BELOVED FREJA

DogMan and I have 7 pets; 4 German Shepherd dogs and 3 cats. I’d always say that HE had FOUR DOGS! and I had 3 cats. But the truth is that we, both of us, have them, and it never seemed so real as it did today.

Freja (Fraa-ya) is our 10-year-old bitch. She hasn’t been feeling well lately. Wouldn’t eat much and would drink much. She appeared bloated and her eyes looked rheumy. She moved like an arthritic, which she was.

Today we found out why. They discovered cancer all through her body with an ultrasound. She’s beyond chemo. We know she’s in pain, so the decision was a given.

DogMan got Freja eight or nine years ago when our then 16-month-old puppy, Jago, was accidently killed in front of our home 3 days before Christmas. DogMan was going to put Jago in the truck to take to the training field when, for no apparent reason other than being a dog, he darted out into traffic. A sweet, lovely lady, who wouldn’t have been able to avoid Jago no matter what, was the unfortunate driver who struck him. He didn’t last but a few hours. DogMan’s good friend, Charlie, who also trained German Shepherds, offered Freja to us as “a loan,” but we all knew she would be here for good.

DogMan soon decided that Freja needed a companion. I said NO MORE DOGS, so DogMan bought Cai (Ki, rhymes with eye). Freja, who was older, took Cai under her wing and became his surrogate mommy.

DogMan trained them both, both earning their SchH II degrees, then he began thinking about breeding Freja. I said NO MORE DOGS, so DogMan studied bloodlines and found a mate for Freja (not Cai) and Freja had a litter the day after George Bush was elected president in 2000. Cai proved to be the best surrogate father to the brood.

I said NO MORE DOGS, so DogMan kept 1 male and 1 female: Armin and Anni.

With four German Shepherds and a 6-room home, everything must been done in shifts. They are kenneled outside during the day, but they come inside in the evening to eat, and they sleep in crates indoors at night. Cai’s and Freja’s crates share the same room as the computer, while the “pups” sleep in their crates in the basement. DogMan brings them in at night in shifts and takes them out in the morning in shifts.

Tomorrow morning at 10:30 all that will change. We’ll say our good-byes to one of the best dogs we have ever had and drive her to the vet’s. With his other half gone, Cai will be so lost. We know this because we’re feeling lost already.

 
He's baaaaaaaack, and he's returning on HIS plane. Just a regular kind of guy.


READERS' TURN:

 
DICK CLARKE’S BANDSTAND

I watched but a few minutes of The Hearings (ta-da!), a.k.a. the liberals’ latest twisted reworking of GET BUSH! Why bother? It’s all predictable reruns anyway. The only hearings I sat through, riveted to my chair, were the days when Col. Ollie North marched in, all decked out his uniform, and demolished those liberal ingrates with his humility and grace. Does anyone here recall those days? (That’s what the “comments” are for, y’know:) This whole idea of holding these hearings, DURING A WAR!, is ludicrous! This is NOT the time for these anal examinations.

Here’s a rundown, in no particular order:

Hearings Won't Make Us Safe: By PEGGY NOONAN; ‘I found myself marveling at Mr. Clinton's thinking, which in the short term was savvy and in the long term spoke of a kind of moral retardation. … Mr. Clinton never wanted to pay the price. He wanted to be popular. And so he campaigned hard on child safety seats and midnight basketball. Baby issues.’

CLARKE'S COLLAPSE: By RICH LOWRY; ‘Anyone close to Richard Clarke these last few days could write a memoir called "Present at the Self-Immolation." Rarely has a former public servant with such a sterling reputation shot it all away so quickly.’

COMFORTING THE ENEMY: By RALPH PETERS; ‘We are at war. While many domestic issues deserve debate, the War on Terror demands unity of purpose from both parties. It is essential that our enemies understand that we're united in fighting terrorism. That's not the message we're sending.’

Transcript: Clarke Praises Bush Team in '02: “Um, the first point, I think the overall point is, there was no plan on Al Qaeda that was passed from the Clinton administration to the Bush administration.”

IN THE MEANTIME

The enemy is using its own children as human bombs. “Hussam Abdo said he had been sent to blow up the troops and himself - and was promised that his family would be paid $20.”


While Sting and his missus swing: ‘TRUDIE Styler was more than willing to let loose about her and hubby Sting's sexcapades on Howard Stern's radio show yesterday morning. Stern asked Styler, who was on to promote saving the rainforest, "Are you guys still swinging?" Styler replied, "Yeah. Big time, honey! Swinging is like wife-swapping. Of course, we're doing it." Stern got Styler to admit she and Sting have invited women back to their home for threesomes and Sting loves her romping with other females. "It's rock and roll," she said. "Isn't that what we're supposed to do? I'm European. We do all that stuff here. We have a lot more fun than you guys." As for Sting's sexploits with other women, Styler noted: "I don't get jealous. He likes to go to these clubs where they all get naked. I just sort of hang out and talk to them . . . I've done everything. I've been around the block and then some . . . We don't want to be legit. That's boring."’


The Gulf War continues for Kerry :)



Now it’s YOUR turn; tell me what YOU think,
READERS’ TURN:

 
‘A BLOWOUT IN THE MAKING’?

The Dems harp on the “haves vs. the have-nots,” while the irony seems utterly lost on them. Election after election, this has been their strategy, and this year it may pay off handsomely … for the Republicans. There is no better proof of their very own theory that that pontificating, pompous poltroon himself, John F***ing Kerry.

Kerry is their candidate by default, not because of any ground-swell of voter affection. He attended Swiss boarding schools. He married wealthy women. He and Teraaaaaza’s five homes have a combined estimated worth of $33 million. And this is the person who’s supposed to empathize with the “have-nots”? Puh-leeeeeeeze! According to Dick Morris, ‘Bush needs to keep up the pressure and watch Kerry's ratings drop. In a few months, we may be wondering why the conventional wisdom ever thought this race would be so close.’ The word he used was blowout.

 
Happy Birthday to ME!


READERS' TURN:

 
C.O. sent the following lesson in governments:

Subject: Where's your Cows?


DEMOCRAT
You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
You feel guilty for being successful.
Barbara Streisand sings for you.

REPUBLICAN
You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
So?

SOCIALIST
You have two cows.
The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.
You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.

COMMUNIST
You have two cows.
The government seizes both and provides you with milk.
You wait in line for hours to get it.
It is expensive and sour.

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.
You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

DEMOCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.
The government taxes you to the point you have to sell both to
support a man in a foreign country who has only one cow, which was a gift from your government.

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.
The government takes them both, shoots one, milks the other, pays you for the milk, and then pours the milk down the drain.

AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one.
You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead.
You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses.
Your stock goes up.

FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike because you want three cows.
You go to lunch and drink wine.
Life is good.

JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains.
Most are at the top of their class at cow school.

GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour. Unfortunately they also demand 13
weeks of vacation per year.

ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows but you don't know where they are.
While ambling around, you see a beautiful woman.
You break for lunch.
Life is good.

RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have some vodka.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You have some more vodka.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.

TALIBAN CORPORATION
You have all the cows in Afghanistan, which are two.
You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts.
Then you kill them and claim a US bomb blew them up while they were in the hospital.

IRAQI CORPORATION
You have two cows.
They go into hiding.
They send radio tapes of their mooing

POLISH CORPORATION
You have two bulls.
Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.

FLORIDA CORPORATION
You have a black cow and a brown cow.
Everyone votes for the best looking one.
Some of the people who like the brown one best, vote for the black one.
Some people vote for both.
Some people vote for neither.
Some people can't figure out how to vote at all.
Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which is the best-looking cow.

NEW YORK CORPORATION
You have fifteen million cows.
You have to choose which one will be the leader of the herd, so you pick the
best looking and smartest cow in Arkansas.

CALIFORNIA CORPORATION
You have millions of cows
Most are illegals
Arnold likes the ones with the big boobs

READERS' TURN:

 
OUT OF THE LOOP

Dick Cheney was on Rush's show yesterday and had this to say about Clarke:
‘THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, he wasn't -- he wasn't in the loop, frankly, on a lot of this stuff. And I saw part of his interview last night, and he wasn't --

‘Q He was demoted.

‘THE VICE PRESIDENT: It was as though he clearly missed a lot of what was going on. For example, just three weeks after the -- after we got here, there was communication, for example, with the President of Pakistan, laying out our concerns about Afghanistan and al Qaeda, and the importance of going after the Taliban and getting them to end their support for the al Qaeda. This was, say, within three weeks of our arrival here. So I guess, the other thing I would say about Dick Clarke is that he was here throughout those eight years, going back to 1993, and the first attack on the World Trade Center; and '98, when the embassies were hit in East Africa; in 2000, when the USS Cole was hit. And the question that ought to be asked is, what were they doing in those days when he was in charge of counterterrorism efforts?’

Meantime, retired general and former Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark says the former terrorism adviser has "enormous credibility" -- and isn't partisan in any way. Yeah. Right. Sure.



YOU DON’T KNOW DICK

John Podhoretz certainly has a witty way with words. He’s read Clarke’s book, “Against All Enemies,” and has this to report.

‘Some might suggest that the book is a distorted, false, sour-grapes account from a demoted government official who wants to settle scores and destroy the Bush administration in which he served as a holdover staffer from the Clinton years.
But that's because they simply don't comprehend the power and the glory that is Dick Clarke.’

‘Clarke says he all but ordered the president of the United States not to return to Washington on that day. ("Figure out where to move the president. He can't come back here until we know what the s--t is happening.") By his own account, it was Clarke who gave the order to "authorize the Air Force to shoot down any aircraft . . . that looks like it is threatening to attack."’

‘Oh, and Clarke took command of the Air Force, too. ("Roger, find out where the fighter planes are. I want Combat Air Patrol over every major city in this country. Now.")’

And then Podhoretz gets serious:
‘"It is essential that we prevent further attacks, and that we protect the Constitution," Clarke writes, "against all enemies." It is clear from the context of this sentence that he includes George W. Bush among the enemies along with Osama bin Laden.’


EUROPE SOBERS UP

Ralph Peters was vacationing in Europe and writes that as astonishing as it may seem Europe is sobering up.
‘Yes, the Spaniards voted for surrender, handing al Qaeda its greatest strategic victory to date - and guaranteeing attempted terrorist strikes as elections approach in Europe and the United States. But the ultimate result will be to force the West into increased cooperation. Europeans don't care about American lives, but they care about their own. Al Qaeda just blew apart their comfort zone.’

I don’t know about you, but I’m not the kind to forgive and forget so easily. These are the people who equate President Bush with Hiltler, as they did during their protests last weekend. And just so’s weeze don’t forget our place, a European reader wrote to The American Spectator with this:

‘3-22-04 Never bash Europeans because they have more sense in a tiny bit of their fingernail than all you right-wing, fascist, born-again hypocrite, God bless America (but not the rest of the world) arrogant war mongers. At least the Democratic Party tries to be cultural, understands it should work with its allies, not call them irrelevant. This fool of a president has wrecked everything, from a fraud of a war to trade to respect to credibility which will translate into people choosing other alternatives to doing business with the U.S. An arrogant, reckless foreign policy is too easy. You are in deep malaise and the emperor has no clothes, just wait and see. You Americans better hope Kerry wins, because just maybe he can reverse the absolute damage this un-elected president of yours has brought to the image of your nation.
-- From a European’

NOW, ABOUT THOSE PROTESTS

Adam Buckman writes, ‘WILL the real anti-war parade please stand up? … [S]trolling in midtown Saturday, I had to wonder just how many of the protesters had come to rail against the war. … From the evidence before my own eyes, I concluded that protest marches today are a kind of catchall for anything anyone feels like protesting against. Saturday's event was far from the wholly united front against the war that TV news would have you believe it was.’


READERS’ TURN

 
MARCH MADNESS:

Boss has 46 points
I have 45 pts.
Slappy 43 pts.
Nurse G 41 pts.

READERS' TURN:

 
As of yesterday, I’ve added something new to Litter called READERS’ TURN, because I’ve been getting some great things via e-mail, and I don’t always have a chance to post them. It’s for YOU to post an URL to an article or cartoon or photo you’ve seen online. It’s also your chance to post YOUR thoughts, jokes and/or opinions, left, right, or in-between. It’s for YOU, and you don’t have to leave your name or any info if you don’t want to. You may remain ANONYMOUS if you’d prefer.

Blue: This means YOU & that great Kerry joke you just sent me!

READERS' TURN:

 
JOHN F***ING KERRY & CO.

JOCK STRAPPED: ‘It's been less than a month, and already there are rumors inside the Treasury Department that a Secret Service agent working on the detail for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is asking for reassignment.’

Page Six: ‘[T]the Secret Service is selecting agents who know how to windsurf for Sen. John Kerry's detail. The candidate and his wife Teresa Heinz are rumored to be going somewhere warm where Kerry can frolic on his sailboard after a visit to their Idaho spread.’

KIDS for Kerry: ???? Can’t they just enjoy their childhoods first?

Gee, look who's 'outsaucing'!: ‘H J Heinz & Co, the family business of Kerry and his wife Teresa, has spread its ketchup operations across the world. Of the 79 factories that the food processor owns, 57 are overseas. Heinz makes ketchup, pizza crust, baby cereal and other edibles in such countries as Poland , Venezuela , Botswana , Thailand , and most of all, China and India.’

To which a fellow Ldotter replied:
Reply 2 - Posted by: perfectsense, 3/21/2004 5:13:11 AM
Kerry's family “outsourced” his education in Switzerland. Kerry “outsourced” his vacations in France and Italy for decades.


A reader of The American Spectator:
‘Kerry indeed is an impostor, just like Clinton. These are guys who think they know things because they think them. Yet the intellect is completely fungible.

These are guys who parse the word "is," and this represents dementia. They are utterly subservient to females (Clinton to Hillary, Gennifer, Monica; Kerry as gigolo). It began with their 1960s roots, which represented the destruction of masculinity, the worship of false intellectual conceits, and the appeasement of the bitch/seductress feminine spirit. They lie and equivocate because they are not real men and they know it. Their weakness immerses them in a deep self-loathing, which torments them. On the other manic-depressive extreme, they are idealists (i.e., Kerry is going to create millions of jobs, bring world peace and cut college costs!), which makes them completely mad because the ideal is unattainable. Rule of thumb: All idealists are angry people.

They are deeply envious of real men who make hard choices and pursue tough actions. Yet they must, by nature, disagree with the rational positions put forth by strong men and women (Bush, Cheney, Rice). This traps them, and feeds their rage.
-- Steve Nikitas
Pittsfield, Massachusetts’

 
2005, President Kerry


As of yesterday, I’ve added something new to Litter called READERS’ TURN, because I’ve been getting some great things via e-mail, and I don’t always have a chance to post them. It’s for YOU to post an URL to an article or cartoon or photo you’ve seen online. It’s also your chance to post YOUR thoughts and/or opinions, left, right, or in-between. It’s for YOU, and you don’t have to leave your name or any info if you don’t want to. You may remain ANONYMOUS if you’d prefer.

READERS' TURN:

 
As of yesterday, I’ve added something new to Litter called READERS’ TURN, because I’ve been getting some great things via e-mail, and I don’t always have a chance to post them. It’s for YOU to post an URL to an article or cartoon or photo you’ve seen online. It’s also your chance to post YOUR thoughts and/or opinions, left, right, or in-between. It’s for YOU, and you don’t have to leave your name or any info if you don’t want to. You may remain ANONYMOUS if you’d prefer.

READERS' TURN

 
I READ YA LIKE A BOOK

Don’t-cha just love this judgment behind all this bashing of President Bush? It’s as though by merely being warned that al Qaeda was a threat, Bush would then most assuredly surmise that, “I bet they’re gonna commandeer our commercial flights from Boston and fly them into the Twin Towers!” Richard Clarke is the latest flotsam of the Bubba Brigade to lob charges against President Bush. Here’s a rundown:

The American Spectator: ‘Richard A. Clarke … came across as a "terrorism expert" more worried about provoking the terrorists than catching them.’

Wall Street Journal Op-Ed: ‘We'd take Mr. Clarke's words more seriously if, as America's lead anti-terror official from 1998 through Mr. Bush's first two years, he had warned someone that al Qaeda might have a strategy to hijack airplanes and fly them into buildings. He already knew that an Egyptian had flown one plane into the drink and that al Qaeda was interested in flight training. Why didn't Mr. Clarke connect those dots?’

FrontPage.com: [T]he Clinton administration was in power for eight years, while al Qaeda grew, prospered, and repeatedly attacked American interests:
*1993: Shot down US helicopters and killed US servicemen in Somalia
*1994: Plotted to assassinate Pope John Paul II during his visit to Manila
*1995: Plotted to kill President Clinton during a visit to the Philippines
*1995: Plot to to bomb simultaneously, in midair, a dozen US trans-Pacific flights was discovered and thwarted at the last moment
*1998: Conducted the bombings of the US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, that killed at least 301 individuals and injured more than 5,000 others
*1999: Attempt to carry out terrorist operations against US and Israeli tourists visiting Jordan for millennial celebrations was discovered just in time by Jordanian authorities
*1999: In another millenium plot, bomber was caught en route to Los Angeles International Airport *2000: Bombed the USS Cole in the port of Aden, Yemen, killing 17 US Navy members, and injuring another 39

To kick off his book tour, Clarke had an interview on 60 Minutes last night. Note that his publisher, Free Press (a subsidiary of Simon & Schuster, and CBS are both owned by Viacom. Sweet.

Not one for shrinking from media attention, that peanut farmer, Jimmah Carter, is also hawking a book, this one about the Revolutionary War entitled The Hornet’s Nest. According to that unbiased UK rag The Independent: ‘It is extremely rare for a former US president to criticise an incumbent, or a British prime minister.’
Rare for a former Republican president maybe, but not for Clinton and Carter.

WOOPED BY A GIRL: Condoleezza Rice puts Clarke in his place. ‘The al Qaeda terrorist network posed a threat to the United States for almost a decade before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Throughout that period -- during the eight years of the Clinton administration and the first eight months of the Bush administration prior to Sept. 11 -- the U.S. government worked hard to counter the al Qaeda threat.’

Condi appeared on Fox & Friends this morning, and a Litterer summed it up nicely: ‘Cond. Rice was on Fox & Friends this morning and several other people saying this is totally untrue. Seems he also wrote a book, Inside Iran, in which he said the same about Clinton. C Rice mentioned that he had wanted to be head of Homeland Security, had asked for her support. It was "suggested" that Kerry might be promising him a position in exchange for trumped up inflamed comments.’

 
READERS' TURN
I’m adding something new called READERS’ TURN. Got something to add to Litter? An article or a cartoon or a comment or even an idea for Litter? Add it here at READERS’ TURN. For cartoons and articles, please post the URL (address). No need to give your name or address; you can make up a nickname or not leave any info a’tall. But please keep it decent!

 
JOHN F***ING KERRY & CO.

JUST FER FUN: ''I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it.''

‘Q: How many John Kerrys does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: At least four. One to unscrew the old lightbulb. One to simultaneously announce his courageous commitment to replacing the old bulb. One to vote against funding the new light bulb. And one to denounce George W. Bush and America's Benedict Arnold CEOs for leaving everyone in the dark.

‘Q: Why did John Kerry cross the road?
A: He didn't cross the road. He crossed to the middle to demonstrate his grasp of the nuances and subtleties involved in crossing the road, and was still explaining them to the New York Times reporter when the logging truck hit him.’

JOHN LENNON KERRY: Lt. Kerry’s Foreign Leader Fan Club Band :)

This guy needs cue cards: "John Kerry, defending 'gay rights' before a black audience, explained that when 'Mr. King gets dragged behind a truck down [in] Texas by chains and his body is mutilated only because he's gay, I think that's a matter of rights in the United States of America.' James Byrd was dragged behind a truck and murdered in Texas. Rodney King was beaten by police in Los Angeles. Neither man was gay." - The editors of National Review, writing in the April 5 issue

That blurb was posted on Lucianne this morning, to which a fellow Ldotter replied:
‘Reply 3 - Posted by: nugoddess, 3/21/2004 8:09:15 AM
It has taken me a long time to understand why, exactly, John-John is running for president.

My first thought was that he was ambitious - (naaaah; too much of a stretch.)

Then, I thought it was because he thought he was ''owed'' the position because of his time in the Senate, but that argument fell apart, too.

Having read this blurb, I now know why he's in the race: he's the pig. I'm sure LDotters have heard of a ''pig dance''; where you bring the dumbest, ugliest, one most lacking in social graces. It's a put on held by those who think they're superior.

Well, John-John is the pig for Hilary's nomination. He's going to look so stupid by this summer, even the most slobbering Rat will beg Hilary to run.’