Reply #42: Definitely plausible, that the "aspens" are dumping Cheney out, but

[Peace Patriot]

not plausible that Bush "has finally 'had it' with him. Bush just doesn't have that kind of...what is it? intelligence? political savvy? He's a child-man, a spoiled rich jerk, whose every mistake and disaster has been covered up by money (or worse), and whose absolute and total political ineptness was covered up by Diebold/ES&S (2004) (and by the war profiteering corporate news monopolies' coverup of their exit polls). I was thinking, prior to that election, that the Machivellian thing for Bush to do--what all kings and emperors and tyrants and dictators have done--would be a purge; mainly, dump Cheney, and maybe Rumsfeld, too. (Poor Machiavelli--a very maligned thinker.) Say, back in spring '04. Get thee gone, Iraq War Incompetents, Breakers of the Law against torture, etc., etc.

But that was back then, before I fully realized just how non-transparent the vote tabulation was--controlled by rightwing Bushite corporations, using "trade secret," proprietary programming code, with virtually no audit/recount controls, as arranged by Tom Delay and Bob Ney (with the $4 billion HAVA electronic voting boondoggle). Things were being "fixed" for Bush Jr. once again. The crimes of the people who are supposedly "under" his direction could not touch him, because there was in place no system of accountability. (A toady Congress; a toady Supreme Court who had put him in power illegally, in the first place; a toady press--and no transparency in the voting system.) He has no need to think for himself--not even as a dictator. He is not an independent personality. And he lacks even the ability to pump himself up and create an idea of himself as "father of his country"--or whatever dictators tell themselves--to be able to see the need for a purge; the need to clean out nests of powermongers who think they are above the king, and who also can be blamed for all problems; and indeed who must be removed before they get too ambitious and try to topple the tyrant.

True, Stalin also had control of vote tabulation, as have other dictators (who have pretended to be "democratic"). But there are nevertheless currents of dissent, as well as entrenched toady power, that need to be dealt with (if one is to dicatate). Bush is immunized from those currents of dissent, by the fixed voting machines--and is too stupid to realize that there are OTHER ways that a dicatator can fail, and be toppled, besides legitimate elections--for instance, by unpopular and threatening entrenchments, by in-fighting, by arrogance and ambition among those around him, and by hubris.

In short, I don't think he has the power--or the personal command of himself--to oust Cheney. Others may be doing so. Not Bush.

Also, nothing that Cheney has done would be a scandal to Bush. He more than likely snickers at, and admires, Cheney's and Rumsfeld's worse deeds. Cheney "running amok" wouldn't be a concept that he could grasp. I'm sure he believes himself and all of puppetmasters and minions to be above the law.

So, whoever the back room people are (James Baker, Daddy Bush, Prince Bandar, George Schultz, Howard Ahmanson?), they will preserve Bush Jr. from serious or legal-type taint, and impeachment. They may blame it all on Cheney, but give him a smoothed exit. He may be gone to sandier pastures (the UAE?). (--oilier pastures?). (Head of UAE/US port facilities which, combined with his Louisiana/Katrina takings, would make him Emperor of the Entire Perimeter of the U.S., to be ruled over from Dubai? That could be the deal--how they got Cheney to leave relatively quietly and not to rat on Junior.)

Thence to the fresh new face as V-P--which will consume all war profiteering corporate news monopoly chatter, and suck up all the air, for the next two years. And, depending on how Fresh Face works out, they may Diebold him/her into office in '08, or could possibly go with Hillary, if Bush financial and foreign policy shit finally starts hitting the fan. (They will want to blame the Democrats--but they will need a War Democrat who will not seriously investigate them, and will serve as a placeholder, to put down the food riots and so on--and get them a military Draft--while they set things up for '12. Rumsfeld? Jeb? The real Hitler, I suspect--whose draconian use of the extra-legal powers that Bush Jr. is setting up will be needed to remedy "HILLARY's disastrous regime.") (Look out, Hillary! I hope you know what you're doing!)

Ah, me.

These dark scenarios can be avoided by means of election reform. We must throw Diebold and ES&S election theft machines into 'Boston Harbor' NOW!

We still have a window of opportuntiy to do so. Control over election systems still resides at the state/local level, where ordinary peole still have some influence--and there are many on-going local efforts to achieve transparent elections. But right now in Pennsylvania, Repugs and bad Democrats are in cahoots with Gonzales/DoJ to deprive Pennsylvanians of their U.S. Constitutional right to determine how they vote. Citizens have filed suit to stop ES&S machines, based on the PA state Constitutional provision that voters must vote on new election systems. The U.S. Constitution gives control over voting systems to the states--so the PA law has strong underpinnings. The bad guys are saying that Tom Delay's and Bob Ney's election theft bill--HAVA--trumps both the U.S. and PA Constitutions. An absurd argument on its face. Local judge didn't buy it. He said they have to use PAPER BALLOTS in federal elections this year, until PA voters get to vote on ES&S/electronic voting systems. But if the cahoosters have their way--and the DoJ appeals--just imagine it coming before Roberts' SCOTUS, who might feel sorry for that poor, maligned, rightwing-funded corporation, ES&S (spinoff of Diebold), deprived of its God-given* right to taxpayers' money, and just trying to do everybody the favor of real fast election results. See: www.votepa.us .

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*(ES&S was initally funded by rightwing billionaire Howard Ahmanson, who also gave a million dollars to the nutso 'Christian' Chalcedon Foundation, whose name goes back to the 451 A.D. Church Council of Chalcedon, where God and Emperor were firmly cemented together, and all dissenting Christian groups were expunged, and Pagans and Jews took additional hits of pogroms and anathematization.) (The Chalcedon Foundation touts the death penalty for homosexuals, among other things.)