I’m exceptionally tall, and I take perverse pleasure in standing next to guys like him. :O

Srsly, it’s disconcerting, isn’t it, when you discover you’re shrinking?

(…)So it’s entirely possible there was a problem in terms of how one specific prisoner was handled. I can’t claim perfection. But what I can say is that in terms of what the policies of the administration were, both at the White House level and at the Defense Department, was that enhanced interrogation was okay. We had specific techniques that were approved by the Justice Department – but that we don’t torture and that we would not support torture from the standpoint of policy. It was not the policy of this administration.

(…)Well, in terms of the treatment of a specific individual, I can’t say that. We had Abu Ghraib, for example. In that case, I believe, based on what I’ve seen, that that was the result of some military personnel who were improperly supervised – weren’t given the right kind of guidance, weren’t managed properly. As we dig in and look at hundreds of cases, we may well find a few people who were not properly treated. You know, I ran the Pentagon. I know that you can’t absolutely guarantee, at all times, that everybody’s doing it the way they’re supposed to be doing it.

A few bad apples and all, and the Pentagon’s soooo big, and as Condi recently said they worked tirelessly to conform to GC and all…

…

Ok then Dick… how about some straight-talk on GWB’s economy:

MR. LEHRER: What about in the domestic area? What of the economy? The economic downturn is on scope or on a par with the Great Depression. Was it not a miscalculation or a failure to see that coming?

VICE PRES. CHENEY: No, I don’t think it was a miscalculation. I think we had good economic policies, especially in the early years. I think the tax packages we passed in ’03, for example, produced 52 months – uninterrupted months of job growth. We’ve run into trouble recently, obviously, beginning in ’08 because of the financial crisis, as well as the recession, but those are not U.S. problems alone. Those are global problems, those are problems that have affected nations and economies all over the world; that’s not something that is just a U.S. problem. As I look at it, I think we’ve been successful at intervening –

MR. LEHRER: On the economy you’ve been successful?

VICE PRES. CHENEY: We’ve been successful at intervening economically with respect to the financial crisis, in that what we did with respect to TARP by moving as aggressively as we did, that there is, in fact, positive progress. We stabilized, if you will, the financial system out there.

Luv that… the “financial system out there.”

Now, there’s still a lot of work to be done, yet, but the inter-bank lending rate’s back down where it belongs, interest rates are low

Hey Dick, interest rates are non-existent… -0-. Including dividends. And despite all that, banks aren’t lending. And it’s all funny money anyway.

– all of these things are moves in the right direction.

gives one pause on the meaning of right direction…

And I think if we had not intervened as aggressively if we did, the situation would be worse. But I don’t think you can blame that financial crisis on George Bush; I just don’t think that’s a valid judgment.

Ok, so W’ appointed political cronies to direct every-single-federal-agency, handed tax breaks as requested by financial industry and payed-’em to move offshore and wrote legislation for ‘em ask requestedverbatim, roadblocked and/or dismantled every-single-financial-regulatory federal mechanism…

but hey, who could’a known?

The $USD on verge of going toes up, +$2t added to national debt… not counting off account Iraq expenses, of course… TARP investment in US too-big-to-fail US banks failing like dominoes just as many expected…

So Dick, let’s try and clarify a bit…

MR. LEHRER: What about – going back to the original question – about seeing this coming? Isn’t that part of the stewardship of the president, of the vice president and of his administration – to see these things coming and try to prevent them from coming, rather than to act after they’ve happened?

VICE PRES. CHENEY: Did you see it coming, Jim? You’re an expert.

MR. LEHRER: I’m not the president or the vice president of the United States. (Chuckles.)

Chuckles… fucking chuckles. Geeeeeezus…

VICE PRES. CHENEY: It’s a – I think we did see some elements of it, in terms of our concerns about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And a couple of years ago, we went forward with proposed recommendations to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – couldn’t get them through the Democrat-controlled Congress.

Well I dun’o about Lehrer, but I sure saw the it’s-the-Democrat-controlled-Congress’ fault coming alright… seen it coming since it’s what McCain, Limbaugh, FOX and every other personal-responsibility kick-the-can-past-inauguration-day market-is-god conservative & winger-pundit that BO’s trying to bring together has been flooding US public consciousness with since the belated news hit the airwaves that Wall Street has stolen collective wealth of the world.

But I think no; I think some of the best financial minds in the country didn’t see it coming. We saw that five key investment banks in New York are no more, or have been transformed in a major way.

Yes Dick… I guess you could describe bankrupted WS as transformed in a major way. And fact they took 10’s of thousands down w/’em… maybe you should have called it a cascading-transformation. And to ensure the couple WS firms that survived don’t evade the same ignominious fate, they bought up all the other’s toxic waste junk assets w/$$’s you gave ‘em on taxpayer’s credit card… so yes Dick, I agree… indeed they have indeed been transformed in a major way.

They’re folks that deal in this area all day, every day, and they didn’t foresee it coming.

Dick, they executed this Sting operation… they were the bag men. They choreographed it. And they paid you to look the other way, while your boss kept telling us the economy is strong.

But I guess you were bizzy w/other stuff. (shudder)

MR. LEHRER: So you don’t accept any responsibility for – on the –

VICE PRES. CHENEY: I don’t think we caused the economic downturn.

So there you have it… they didn’t torture (few bad apples), world’s better off w/out SADAM regardless of fact we’ve created a Islamic fundamentalist state joined at the hip w/Iran full of illegally imprisoned/tortured citizens at US hands who hate are ungrateful for the effort… so chalk that one up as success!!!

And yes, there may be a little bit of work for Obama to do on the economy down the road…

If this had been the GONG SHOW, shooter would’ve been hooked @ the opening bell. Unbelievable.

Granted, it’s total fantasy.
But all things start with dreams.

THEBIGEYEBALL: “Innnnnnformmmmationnnn.”

My spouse owns all the episodes on DVD. Still fantastic; although during the Bush years, those old episodes took on a whole new sinister tone and made that show seem even more prescient.

I see Winter Carnival is still a week off. When our group went up for it eons ago I was so disappointed: that week, it wasn’t any colder than what we’d left in Chicago (though I must admit that the 5 or so feet of snow on the ground was pretty impressive).

Both Montalban and McGoohan! For some reason the former had crossed my mind several times recently. And of course The Prisoner is one of the very best of the best. Remember the ending?

Here my two fav dancing lady specialists square off against the fabulous Ricardo Montalban:

Bailando con Celos

I’m practicing how to call it in tomorrow without leaving my bed. *g*