What I would’ve given to be a fly on the wall during this exchange! Senator-elect Jim Webb mixed it up with President Bush today during an informal meeting between new senators and the President. Check out this exchange:

At a private reception held at the White House with newly elected lawmakers shortly after the election, Bush asked Webb how his son, a Marine lance corporal serving in Iraq, was doing.

Webb responded that he really wanted to see his son brought back home, said a person who heard about the exchange from Webb.

“I didn’t ask you that, I asked how he’s doing,� Bush retorted, according to the source.

Webb confessed that he was so angered by this that he was tempted to slug the commander-in-chief, reported the source, but of course didn’t. It’s safe to say, however, that Bush and Webb won’t be taking any overseas trips together anytime soon.

I’ve admired Webb after reading about him in The Nightingale’s Song. I’m glad he’s not backing down from the President. People like Jim Webb are just what Dubya needs – someone to wake him up from the fantasy world he’s been living in the past six years.

Vernon Robinson says he is quitting politics. What are we going to to when we’re up to our eyeballs in godless, flag-burning, gay, illegal-aliens?

Heckuva job, Rummy!

What’s ironic is that after the attacks of September 11th, I actually sent him an email telling him how happy I was that he was SecDef during this troubled time. Boy how quickly my opinion changed.

Now the question is who will take his place?

[Update]: Bush is nominating former CIA chief Robert Gates. Looks like a winner to me.

I’m glad Bush waited until after the election to fire …er, accept the resignation of Rummy. I don’t think the Democratic victory would have been nearly as decisive if Bush had made the move a week or two ago.

Wow. Is it just me, or does today somehow feel different?

Guess what present our Dear Leader got two weeks ago! That’s right, easier power to declare martial law and seize control of National Guard troops over the objections of local and state authorities. Thus, one more important safeguard against abuse by the federal government goes by the wayside. So much for democracy and the rule of law. All hail The Decider, who is the Only One who can protect us from those evil terrists. Senator Patrick Leahy has summed up his objections to the bill. Read his protest for a good summary of how evil is truly done.

I suppose I should accept the fact that one day we will all be working for the Department of Defense. Or maybe we already are.

Looking for a new career? Sign up for the U.S. Torture Corps!

Thank goodness the U.N. Security Council voted to impose sanctions on North Korea. Otherwise, we might have to bomb them back to the Stone Age.

Whuzzat? Oh yeah, that’s right. They never left the Stone Age. Sanctions against them, especially ineffective sanctions aren’t going to bother them one whit. North Korea has a large network of secret front companies. This, coupled with its continuing supply of essential items from China, makes it rather unlikely any sanctions will be effective. But at least we can say we are “doing something.”

Condelezza Rice, the lovely and talented Secretary of State, continues to dazzle with her mental prowess, announcing that “North Korea … is now completely isolated.” Gee, Dr. Rice. Did you happen to notice that for the past fifty years North Korea has been completely isolated? I’ll give Condi’s intellect the benefit of the doubt here, and just assume she’s lying again. Or spinning, if that’s what you call it. There’s a better chance of Pyongyang becoming a spring break destination than these sanctions making Kim Jong-Il cry uncle.

Now, if the U.N. imposed sanctions on bad haircuts, then ol’ Kim would feel the pinch.

I read today where Bush became the Fashion Critic-In-Chief at a Rose Garden press conference. Just because you pay attention to fashion doesn’t mean you play for the proverbial other team (and as the saying goes, not that there’s anything wrong with that). Added with other things, though, it makes one wonder.

What if the reason Republican leaders dismissed Mark Foley’s shocking behavior was because far bigger fish have bigger secrets? What if … Bush is gay? Its been the topic of humor sites for a while now. What if there’s really something to this?

Take Jeff Gannon for instance. This guy had unprecedented access to the White House at all hours. It was obvious by his innane, softball questioning that the gay-prostitute-turned-journalist didn’t get his press credentials by being a good reporter. So why was he there? Who gave free access to the White House to a male hooker with no journalistic experience? There always seemed to be a bigger story here that never got covered.

Jack Abramoff, the scandal-ridden former lobbyist, was said to have organized parties for politicians which included both male and female prostitutes. Ex-congressman and current federal PMITA prison inmate Randy “Duke” Cunningham was the most visible fall guy in the Abramoff scandal. Who else was there?

What if this comes a little too naturally for Bush?

Bush was a male cheerleeder at his all-male prep school. His college roommate was another male cheerleader, Victor Ashe, who became mayor of Knoxville and currently serves as Ambassador to Poland. Ashe is rumored to be gay. Ashe has allegedly visited the White House and Bush’s ranch in Crawford many times. Bush reportedly made many unscheduled visits to Ashe in Knoxville before Ashe was named ambassador. Just good friends, or something more? Author Kitty Kelly, while being no bastion of truth, has written about this seemingly special relationship in her biography of the Bush family.

His mother, Barbara Bush, was said to have told a fellow partygoer that her son is “not like the rest of us.” What if she was referring to more than just his noted lack of intellectual curiosity?

What if that story of Laura Bush taking up in the Mayflower Hotel are true?

I’ve got no problem with it if Bush is gay. I do have a problem with him hypocritically pushing an anti-gay agenda if he himself is gay. There is no smoking gun (heh) evidence that he is gay, but on the other hand I don’t see much that rules it out. It does make you wonder.

Mr. zman himself, Scott Zekanis, is hosting a screening of Iraq For Sale at his kewl klub called Kulture on October 15th at 7PM. The movie is an expose of the corporations making a killing from the war in Iraq, while soldiers and Iraqi civilians pay with their lives and body parts. Seems kinda wrong, doesn’t it?

Kulture is located at 430 S. Dawson St in downtown Raleigh. Price is free. Come along and find out the scoop about the war profiteers. Then don’t forget to vote next month!