The Hemmer-Beaumont Family Blog

Four years ago, a green behind the ears candidate Bush tapped Dick Cheney to be his vice presidential candidate.  Not only did Cheney have the Washington experience, but he also served on the previous Bush Administration’s cabinet.  He was a known factor.  Bush the Younger represented youth and vitality – the Uniter image, while Cheney brought gravitas and experience to the ticket.  Now he is the largest albatross around George’s neck – and nothing he can do will help his situation.  Here are the two possibilities:
 

George Dumps Cheney:  The New Bush/Whomever ticket gets clobbered by charges that Bush realized four years too late that he had picked the wrong guy.  Dismissal of Cheney is tantamount to an admission of wrongdoing in handling of Iraqi contracts with Halliburton.  Calls into question Bush’s leadership skills now that there is less experience on the ticket.
 

George Keeps Cheney:  Bush/Cheney get clobbered by charges of ethical mistakes in giving out fat no-bid contracts to Cheney’s pals at Halliburton.  Questions of Cheney’s fitness (physical) to be President are raised.  Energy Policy widely criticized as being too secretive.  Cheney accused of being the person behind the scenes pulling George’s strings.  Cheney vs Edwards debates are seen as being Old School vs Ousiders.  Edwards wins debates on skills, policy and good looks.  Cheney tells Edwards to “Go F**k himself”.
 
Seriously, is there any doubt that Cheney is a jerk and an influence peddler?  The man made more than his fair share of $ the past four years – let’s put him out to pasture.  Oh, and Bush too!

Beating a dead horse on this issue...

Bill Cosby - America's granddad gets ornery. By Debra�Dickerson

It's becoming panic attack of the day here at the H-B Blog. Got this article as an email message from one of my co-workers this AM. The first thing I always do when I receive something like this is do a quick search on snopes.com to ensure that it isn't a known internet hoax. Unfortunately, this does not appear (at first glance) to be a hoax. What it does say scares me. I don't understand why we haven't learned our lesson here. Are we doomed to have another September 11th? As terrible as that day was, don't we realize that we got off easy with only 2,000 dead? Apparently not. Rather than spend more money on things like cargo container inspections and more in-flight security we are giving tax breaks to those people making more than $1 mil a year. Way to go us!
Terror in the Skies, Again? - WomensWallStreet

Anyone who tells you that we are safer today because of things that the Bush Administration has done is an idiot, has their head in the sand, or both. George Bush fiddles while the United States' security burns. Some important points from this article:

1. The government's list of items you may not bring aboard an airplane includes ski poles, pliers, toy transformer robots and hockey sticks. However, CSX and other railroads are welcome to run 90-ton tank cars filled with deadly, highly explosive chlorine right through Washington and its suburbs.

2. According to a Naval Research Laboratory study, if terrorists hit a single chlorine car of the sort that rolls through from Alexandria to Silver Spring virtually every day, about 100,000 Washington area residents would die within half an hour as the toxic cloud spread as much as 14 miles.

3. ...the Bush administration has shown slim interest in rerouting rail freight.

Next Time, Terror Could Ride the Rails (washingtonpost.com)

as twilight falls
the sounds of crickets and birds
are broken by the pounding
of my feet on the pavement
sweat runs down my face
as my body breathes in the scents
of freshly cut grass
it is like being 17 again

Let's do something interesting folks - It's been a long time since anyone but me posted here & I'm lonely. Where's the lively debate? Where's the stimulating conversation? Where's the less work for me instead of having to write something every week to keep things fresh?

So, you may have noticed that the elections are coming up. Why not submit an essay on the political process? The candidates? How about a movie review of Farenheight 911? Let's talk VP choices, Bush hypocrisy, something!

Submissions can be sent to me at bontster@hotmail.com. Again, I am happy to allow users "author" access to the blog, so that you don't have to go through me to post - simply write something and you can post your thoughts almost instantly...imagine the POWER!

JH-B

Pot, meet the kettle.

Here is President Bush criticizing Vice-Presidential Candidate, John Edwards for his lack of experience. When asked how he would compare Edwards to current VP Dick Cheney, Bush said: "Dick Cheney can be president. Next?" So, apparently, the important thing when running for Vice President is experience in National politics.

Let's have a closer look at this shall we?

Four years ago, Bush was running for President for the first time. His primary government experience was from being Governor of Texas for four years. That's it. He never served in Congress, never sat on a National Committee. He was just the Governor of a state. This man thought he was qualified to be President, but he thinks that John Edwards doesn't have the qualifications to be the #2 guy in the Government.

In contrast, Edwards has served nearly six years in the Senate, and he has sat on the Intelligence Committee. In the past three years, he has busied himself outside of his normal duties in meeting with think tanks and foreign leaders in an effort to learn more about foreign policy. He is a man committed to increasing his knowledge so that he is prepared to take the reigns of the country, if that ever becomes necessary.

Edward's first day on the job as the VP candidate & Bush is already going negative - almost sounds like Bush is scared, doesn't it?


Bush Questions Edwards's Qualifications for Top Job (washingtonpost.com)

I have this to say to the lakers: "Wahh hah!" The wheel of Ka turns on! And to Coach K - way to go! How refreshing to see someone who already earns enough $ realize that he is living his dream rather than continuing to look for it elsewhere.

For Krzyzewski, No L.A. Story (washingtonpost.com)

Well, thank goodness! Kerry picked the right guy! If there was any way, other than getting John McCain to jump ship, to kick start this campaign, John Edwards is it. I never understood why his concept of "Two Americas" didn't catch on during the primaries while Kerry's war record was so hot - perhaps there is an understanding that at this time we need someone at the helm who has been at war. That being said, Edwards is the jolt of young (at 51...) energy that the Dems need. Gephardt has just been around for too long - too much of an insider. Edwards, with his boyish good looks, southern charm and hands-on campaign style recalls the good-ol days of Clinton. I know that people don't vote on the selection of the number two guy, but I am hopeful that this will make Kerry more attractive to those voters who were on the fence about whether Kerry was a good choice for President. With Edwards balancing the ticket, I think the answer is a resounding "Yes".

Kerry Taps Edwards for Running Mate (washingtonpost.com)