Politicians, Constituents, and the F-Bomb

“When once the forms of civility are violated, there remains little hope of return to kindness or decency”
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), poet, critic, and writer

The political media is portraying an Iowa grocery store shopper's rude comment, "you're a fucking asshole, as evidence that Newt Gingrich is falling rapidly in the polls. To me it’s just further proof of society’s lack of manners and decorum, which sadly is not news.




Gingrich is doing what any candidate for public office needs to do, which is meet and greet the people who will have an opportunity to cast their vote for or against. There is no need and indeed no excuse for such behavior.

Disgracefully politicians behave similarly: former Vice President Dick Cheney shamefully told a colleague from across the aisle to “Go fuck yourself,” in June of 2004 during a debate regarding Halliburton’s role in the reconstruction of Iraq. His boss President George W. Bush gave the middle finger salute before filming started, which was recorded.

Democrats have been just as bad. Elected leaders need to set examples for civility and for ethical behavior, not elevate contemptible and despicable behavior.

Just a Heart Beat Away...

Reality in our century is not something to be faced.
Graham Greene (1904–91), novelist

I suspect the fact that the world, no matter who is elected, is going to start to change for the better once the "Disastrous Duo" of Bush and Cheney leave office on Jan.20, 2009. This is finally setting in and Cheney's heart is having a hard time accepting this situation.



Vice President Dick Cheney experienced an abnormal heart beat on Wednesday morning and will see doctors to ''restore his normal rhythm'' -- the second time in less than a year that he will have the procedure.

Cheney, 67, canceled a campaign event he was scheduled to attend Wednesday

Did You Know...?

“So?”*
Dick Cheney, vice president

You probably knew that the federal law known as RICO stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations. What you didn’t know was that Robert Blakely, a law professor at Notre Dame who write it in 1970 for the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs. He named the law after Edward G. Robinson, who played a racketeer named Rico in the movie Little Caesar.

You no doubt heard the term swag as it is the goody bag (filled with coupons for expensive vacations or luxury watches, etc.) celebrities receive when they attend industry ceremonies or require from charity organizations when they make an appearance. But did you know first it was a mafia term for stolen goods? The word used today seems very apropos to how it’s used in regards to celebrity.

These tidbits are courtesy of the book “The Good Rat, A True Story” by Jimmy Breslin.

*Cheney, responding to ABC News’ White House correspondent Martha Raddatz, after she cited a recent poll showing that most Americans do not believe the Iraq War was worth fighting, as sited in Newsweek.

Addams Family??

Every man sees in his relatives, and especially in his cousins, a series of grotesque caricatures of himself.
H. L. Mencken (1880–1956), journalist

You can’t make this stuff up, but on the other hand what does it mean?

In an interview with MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell, Lynne Cheney revealed that while researching the Cheney family tree for her new book "Blue Skies, No Fences," she discovered that the Vice President Cheney and Barack Obama are related -- albeit distantly. According to Mrs. Cheney, the two politicians are eighth cousins.

The Sun-Times says that Obama and George Bush are 11th cousins, and Obama and Cheney are ninth cousins once removed. It seems we're all related....

I just heard that someone from Obama's campaign said, Cheney is obviously the black sheep of the family.

Bush Didn't Say It,But It Sure Sounds Like Him

You can't spell "soldier" without "die."
So quit whining and get back to Iraq.

[Click here to get a peek at the back, too.]

And I hope it goes without saying that Toner Mishap proudly supports our troops, and their right to life.