Bush pivots to Arab side of Mideast peace dispute

That headline over at Yahoo News really caught my attention. It says that bush is talking to leaders in the mideast. Of course those leaders are already his friends, somewhat.

He visited with Mubarek and since Egypt was the first Arab nation to make nice with Israel, perhaps according to this article, "The Egyptian leader, nearly three decades in power, could be an unlikely partner for Bush's push to spread freedom in the Middle East." The problem with that sentence however is that we don't know which definition of 'spreading freedom' the author meant- the bushista definition which means "to bomb the living shit out of a nation, to bring them to their knees and destroy their infrastructure so that American corporations can "rebuild" it OR to open talks with perceived enemies or perceived allies and negotiate (which is also known as appeasement by this administration.)

Gosh it's hard to read an article these days and know how to understand ordinary phrases. Should we take it as a sane interpretation or the bushista interpretation which seems to always spell some sort of militaristic destructive tendency?

According to the article, things in Egypt aren't all that peachy (god forbid you criticize Mubarek there), but nevertheless, the US will still send $1.3 billion in aid to Egypt. It appears that if you make nice with Israel, you will be rewarded.

Bush didn't visit Palestine and said nothing about it while in Israel except that the Palestinians would have a state by 2068. When Bush visited his buddies in Saudi Arabia, comments from "Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal about Bush's speech suggested that the Arabs think that Bush is still tilting far too much towards Israel"

"We are all aware of the special U.S.-Israeli relation and its political dimensions," he said. "It is, however, important also to affirm the legitimate and political rights of the Palestinian people."

He also sharply criticized Israel for the "humanistic suffering weighed upon the West Bank and Gaza Strip population" of Palestinians. He said Israel's "continued policy of expanding settlements on Palestinian territories" undermines the peace process.

There is no comment from bush. There was no negotiating and no progress concerning Palestine. Bush took swipes at Obama from Israel and that was about all the "toughness" he displayed. BFD

Cointelpro 2.0

"Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007" (S. 1959)
and its companion piece in the house
"The Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007" (H.R. 1955)

According to the Center for Global Research,

"Under cover of studying "violent radicalization," both bills would broaden the already-fluid definition of "terrorism" to encompass political activity and protest by dissident groups, effectively criminalizing civil disobedience and non-violent direct action by developing policies for "prevention, disruption and mitigation."
[..]
By targeting the Internet, House and Senate thought police claim that "the Internet has aided in facilitating violent radicalization, ideologically based violence, and the homegrown terrorism process in the United States by providing access to broad and constant streams of terrorist-related propaganda to United States citizens."

Read more.
So much for a democratic majority.

Meet the new boss. Same as teh old boss.

lyrics

Q: Why would you negotiate with your enemies? ....A: Who else would I negotiate with?

Who said that? I thought somebody like Yitzhak Rabin responded in this way. I'm not sure -- I couldn't find the answer. Not much on Yitzhak either, other than he was a peacemaker and was assasinated.

Anywho....

I can't FUCKING believe that this intellectually retarded leader of ours actually said this:

Bush said this morning,“Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is -- the false comfort of appeasement."

and

An exasperated Biden skewered Bush over that in a conference call with reporters, calling the comments “pure politics,” “blatant,” “beneath the presidency,” “truly disgraceful,” “outrageous,” “disturbing,” “ridiculous hypocrisy” and “long-distance Swiftboating.” He even said Bush “oughta get a life.”
“For this president to go on the attack against Barack Obama,” Biden said. “It cannot go unanswered.” [Possible veep audition?]

Here are older stories about the 3 presidential candidates and their positions on negotiating

All Three Pres. Candidates say Carter should not meet with Hamas officials

"Sen. Obama does not agree with President Carter's decision to go forward with this meeting because he does not support negotiations with Hamas until they renounce terrorism, recognize Israel's right to exist, and abide by past agreements," a spokesman for the Obama campaign said. "As president, Obama will negotiate directly with the head of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas."(politico.com)

So, answer me this......

Negotiate or Nuke 'em?

I'm sorry to be so blunt here, but how do you think that the majority of americans feel (really really deep down) about that question?

How do you think the sheeple would answer this question? A lot of people I know have said out loud (in a laughingly way of course) - "oh we should just nuke 'em all".

I really want to shake people.

"I wish the Gaza Strip would simply drop into the sea and disappear"
~ Yitzhak Rabin

Easy to be hard......

(Three Dog Night)

Nation for Sale

I sent a version of this a few years ago to a site. A few days later a similar version was published by another poster instead.
Anyway, enjoy...if you can.

Nation for Sale
Used: approximately 200 years old; occupied by squatters previously, most have since been relocated;
Condition: Possible fixer-upper; In poor shape; Extreme deterioration last 15 or so years; Used to be owned and run by a concerned population;
Current owners: Slumlords, aka Large Corporations;
Current Landlord: Half-wit slumlord that has run the nation into the ground the last 7 years;
Population: Approx 300 million; 98% of which apathetically support the extravagant expenditures of Corporate vultures and the current slumlord;
Low maintenance: Virtually no upkeep; resident’s income has been invested in other nations; junkets for current owners; etc.
Current Expenses: Relatively low; wages on the decline; outsourcing less than grossly profitable jobs to foreign nations; minimal outlay for small armed force in third world country; huge returns on military investments expected;
Government: Unresponsive to will of majority of the tenants; current plans to convert to zoned Christian only church area; vast majority of Congress lives in secluded, taxpayer protected areas
and enjoys extremely affluent, if somewhat amoral, but forgivable lifestyles;
Religious opportunities: Proposed Multi Denominational Christian; some minority religious cults such as Catholicism and Judaism, but the government is trying to discourage non-Fundie Beliefs with implementation of archaic laws which should expected to be in effect in a few years;
Employment: Not exceptionally dependable for good wage jobs; however new residents could commute from other nations currently doing well from our exported jobs (we’ll provide transportation, for a small fee); minority and disadvantaged youth encouraged to join the service for non-existent career advancement opportunities;
Taxes: variable; depending on income; Higher incomes pay little or no taxes as incentive to invest in slumlord operations; Middle incomes not currently aware of burgeoning future tax problems paying a high % of national tax; Lower incomes currently pay most of upkeep on the nation. And if more poor are provided, think of the additional income they would generate!
Education; Good schools in higher income areas with graduating white students melding into slumlord operations at extraordinary salaries; The rest of the school system is in a shambles; Current slumlord’s “leave no student behind” has successfully lowered expectations among middle and lower class providing further cheap labor for corporations resulting in middle and low income students that DO graduate and actually learn something being rewarded with entry level jobs requiring little skill or thought at minimum wage and extended work hours with no benefits resulting in substantially increasing profits for slumlords, credit companies and politicians; Colleges and universities are changing to mandatory religious curricula to prepare students for further divinity training;
Health Care: Some of the finest in the world for higher incomes provided for by taxpayer educated immigrants; virtually non-existent for middle and lower middle class and poor resulting in fantastic profit potential for business investors; currently, healthcare is being revised for those citizens who are involved in foreign affairs; our corporate bottom line can’t be expected to provide unlimited healthcare for short-sighted individuals who merely wanted an excuse for free education and medical benefits; these citizens are simply doing the jobs expected of them by the slumlord and shouldn’t receive any compensations other than that already generously given them; that expense should be ignored by serious applicants;
Housing: sub standard for the most part for middle and low incomes
with increasingly high taxes to local governments and school
boards because slumlord expenses eat up most federal taxes;
inner cities teeming with outdated housing; high rental rates with
no slumlord upkeep; pest control could be a problem;
Homelessness increasing at alarming rate with no immediate solution
in sight, but should resolve itself within a generation at no additional
corporate expense;
Foreclosures fast becoming the “80s, greed is good “ credo;
tremendous potential to reclaim land once occupied by housing for
future business use, or country clubs;
Federal bailouts of institutions who intentionally defrauded consumers
by U.S. taxpayers and their descendents but no money to those
terrible scum citizens who may have tried to take advantage of the
system;
Transportation: outdated 70 year old interstate highway system
poorly maintained; traffic in and around cities exceptionally heavy
due to constant repair and pre-planned obsolescence, although relief is
expected for the upper income travelers due to ever increasing gas
prices (it’s thought that if the prices go high enough low and middle
income residents won’t be able to travel as much thereby relieving the
highway congestion for the more affluent); potential for hiring locals at
minimum wages to provide simple repairs seems a good prospect;
Recreation: national areas dwindling due to business interests in
parks and recreation facilities; most of these businesses are for
extraction of oil, coal, minerals, and such to help keep the
slumlord’s business profits as high as possible; of course the
environment suffers because of the avarice of the slumlords but
the people are happy to have menial employment even if it means
destruction of wildlife and recreation areas;
Entertainment; extremely varied; however, laws are currently on the
table to change existing movie, music, gaming and reading
capabilities due to violence, sexually oriented material and
objectionable literature and a return to more traditional Christian
values is expected regardless of foolish objections such as
free speech and whatnot;
Radio and Television; for about 80 years it was free of intervention,
now there is a trend toward governmental regulation, again toward
Christian values; some reports say that 85% of the residents have
cable but that may be rather high; currently there are 4 major
national networks that broadcast news and information provided
by the government although there is really only one sanctioned
government station, FOX; expect some radical changes to
broadcast entertainment in the near future, as more and more
religious and slumlord programming is made mandatory for middle and
low income classes;
Crime: Actual statistics show increasing crime at all levels; however,
government stats are “adjusted” to give an impression of lowered
crime levels to calm residents in certain areas;
Police and Fire: Both departments are closing in record numbers
because of the redistribution of and lack of funds and potential for land
reclamation;
Wastelands: Millions of acres of toxic landfills, polluted lakes,
streams, rivers, and decaying forests resulting from industry
pollution deregulation forced by the current slumlord to help
increase corporate wealth; incredible potential to import toxic
waste from other countries at handsome profits; potential to hire lower
class workers at low wages and no benefits to deliver the toxic waste;
Excellent potential in military investments; investors need not worry
about regulations; meaningless regulations can be deferred for
years to come with virtually no penalties and huge returns are the norm;

Included with the sale of the Nation is a box of old documents said to be
worth something for their nostalgic values; most notably a
declaration of some sort defining ludicrous ideas of equality;
a multi-page document of obsolete laws that attempted to show
people how to govern the nation; vast libraries of books,
periodicals, tapes and discs banned in recent years as unpatriotic;
Since most of the value of the nation is held by less than 2% of the
residents and much of that is owned by foreign investors, the asking
price may seem a bit high; however the current slumlord is willing
to help potential owners finance this nation by borrowing
money from the taxpayers at ridiculously high rates over a very
long period of time. Prospective owners can feel comfortable
knowing that interest will accrue quite nicely over the entire length
of the loan resulting in money in their pockets and in that of their
children and their children’s children;

All in all, good potential for minimal investment. We give it a 5 star
rating!
Interested parties should contact:

George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Washington, D.C.

or

Bin Laden/Bush Family Investments
Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Kennebunkport, Crawford


For more information and a prospectus on
“The Prospects for Unlimited Wealth Through Government
Reorganization” please contact:
Dick Cheney
c/o Halliburton


This is an equal opportunity investment brought to you by
Karl Rove Holdings
Backdoor down the Stairs
1600 Pa. Ave.
Wash, D.C.

Serious inquiries only: guided tours and junkets available free.

The Twilight of a Presidency

From the "I thought he was dead and/or irrelevant" files

OBL's new message: Bin Laden says the fight for the Palestinian cause is the most important factor driving al-Qaida's war with the West and fueled the Sept. 11 attacks.

Now just wait there a minute. I thought that he said that 9/11 was for the US having troops stationed in Saudi Arabia. This reminds me of the US bombing the shit out of Iraq for having weapons of mass destruction but then the story changing to "Saddam was a bad man and had to be taken out," so rather than sending in special forces to take him out, we'll just blow up as much of the country as possible."

What irks me about OBL's statement, if it really is his statement and if there actually is an organized al Qaida, is that while the Arab countries are furious with what is happening to the Palestinians, they don't do squat for them. Palestine's shooting missiles into Israel isn't furthering their cause at all and it's making it worse for innocent Palestinians.

Playing Games with The War

While John McCain was proudly proclaiming that he can end the war in Iraq by 2013 (as if) Congress, "in a surprise and largely symbolic move, defeated legislation on Thursday to fund the war in Iraq for another year." 132 Republicans voted "present" rather than yes or no, (because they are twerps and do what their master tells them...)

Shortly after the House vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee granted Bush's full request for war funding. But it also included non-binding language seeking to change the mission of U.S. troops in Iraq, by June 2009, from combat to counter-terrorism and training Iraqi forces.

The Senate panel's bill also would spend about $9 billion more than Bush requested for a variety of programs, which could draw a White House veto. And it inserted other thorny provisions, such as providing $5 million to open a U.S. consulate in Lhasa, Tibet, where China has been accused of human rights abuses.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, told reporters he expects the Senate to restore the war funding and give House Republicans another chance to approve it, before existing war funds are depleted by next month or so.

Freaking politicians are playing games with the war and it's despicable. Excuse me while I vomit.

Yay! For now

California's top court legalizes gay marriage
SAN FRANCISCO - California's Supreme Court declared that gay couples in the nation's biggest state can marry — a monumental but perhaps short-lived victory for the gay rights movement Thursday that was greeted with tears, hugs, kisses and at least one instant proposal of matrimony.

Same-sex couples could tie the knot in as little as a month. But the window could close soon after — religious and social conservatives are pressing to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would undo the Supreme Court ruling and ban gay marriage.

Mad at the president- Talk about appeasing the enemy

Have you watched Keith Olbermann's rant at the president yet? Of War and Golf. It's quite good. So much for bush's sacrifice (golf.)

From CNN: Biden calls Bush comments 'bulls**t'

The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joe Biden, D-Delaware, called President Bush’s comments accusing Sen. Barack Obama and other Democrats of wanting to appease terrorists "bulls**t” and said if the president disagrees so strongly with the idea of talking to Iran then he needs to fire his secretaries of State and Defense, both of whom Biden said have pushed to sit down with the Iranians. [...]

“He’s the guy who’s weakened us. He’s the guy that’s increased the number of terrorists in the world. His policies have produced this vulnerability the United States has. His intelligence community pointed that out not me. The NIE has pointed that out and what are you talking about, is he going to fire Condi Rice? Condi Rice has talked about the need to sit down. So his first two appeasers are Rice and Gates. I hope he comes home and does something.”

Right wing arses like John McCain "Wholeheartedly endorsed" bush's rebuke at Obama (then he went on to praise Reagan for getting the hostages out of Iran (yeah right)). Tweetie over at MSNBC stumped right wing arse Kevin James by pressing him to explain exactly what Neville Chamberlain did to make him an appeaser. James didn't know, but could only repeat the talking point.

See also Larisa Alexandrovna's piece, All the President's Nazi's. Prescott Bush's bank was seized because of its ties to a German industrialist who was bankrolling Hitler. Shame shame.

The Sound of Tiny Marching Feet

Ants.

Yes, ants, ladies and gentlemen.

There have been many science fiction films regarding ants menacing human beings and human society - movies like Them! (starring James Whitmore and a bona fide classic), Empire of the Ants and Phase IV.

But now reality imitates art:

Ants Swarm in Houston Area, Fouling Electronics

These little critters have come to our shores like so many immigrants, by - what else? - sea, and are apparently something new. On the upside, they eat Argentine fire ants; on the downside, they bite people, eat beneficial things, and - bad news drum roll here - they foul computers and electrical boxes.

Scientists don't know why ants seem to be attracted to electronics. It might be the electromagnetic impulses, or the fact that it's a warm, safe environment. Or maybe it's all part of a vast plot by a myrmidine global conspiracy to destroy our cyberinfrastructure!

It's Ant Terrorism! These new ants are sort of hairy, which means that they could be tiny bears; Steven Colbert has warned us about bears, after all.

something different?

This blonde is exhausted. No I haven't been golfing with the vacuum when I should be cleaning.

Let's talk about something different. Did you watch American Idol? Boston Legal? Any good movies out there? Good videos? Any good articles worth reading? Sometimes I just feel like going out dancing or staying in and dancing to the stereo turned on full blast while singing at the top of my lungs. What do you to do relieve stress? What do you wanna talk about?

UPDATE: speaking of "something different" Minstrel Boy over at Harp and Sword has turned his blog into an illustrated cookbook. Gotta love it.

Study: Over half of Americans on chronic medicines

The headline should read "Over half of all INSURED Americans" are taking prescription medicines regularly for chronic health problems......

Stupid, Stupid GOP

They swiped the registered advertising slogan of Effexor XR, an antidepressant, "The Change You Deserve™" for the GOP's new slogan. Between the fact that they 1) stole a registered slogan from a company, 2) that it happened to be an antidepressant (where the side effects describe the GOP more than the positive aspects of the drug) and 3) that the GOP already f*cked us collectively so that it's completely laughable that anyone would trust the GOP to determine anything for anyone, ever.... wait, it gets better

"And when the Food And Drug Administration reviewed the ad copy that included the tagline, "The change you deserve," it took issue with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures Effexor, saying that the company made "unsubstantiated superiority claims." Sounds like the GOP have picked an ironically accurate tagline for their efforts!"

bwahahahahahahhahaha

Hotel Palestine was a US Target

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now interviewed Adrienne Kinne, a f0rmer Army sergeant in military intelligence, about the anniversary of the US shelling of the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad and more about Shock and Awe. To be honest with you, I'm a bit shocked and awed after listening to the show and then reading the transcript at Democracy Now! This IS information we should know about. Oh and they're listening to journalists. Fat chance you'll ever get real news from anyone in Iraq.

Here are a couple of parts of the interview, but I think you ought to read the whole thing. I don't like being outraged alone you know.

AMY GOODMAN: The Pentagon has defended the attack on the Palestine Hotel, calling the killings accidental. The soldiers involved claim they were targeting insurgents who had fired rocket-propelled grenades.

But several holes have emerged in the US account. The Palestine Hotel was a well-known place for journalists covering the Iraq war. The US tanks were at too far a distance to be hit by rocket-propelled grenades from the hotel. Witnesses reported hearing almost no gunfire from the area around the hotel in the hours leading up to the US attack. And earlier that day, two other media outlets had also been hit by US strikes: the Abu Dhabi television network, and the satellite network Al Jazeera, killing correspondent Tareq Ayoub.

In a few moments, I’ll be joined by an Iraq war veteran who says she has new information that could point to a deliberate US attack on the Palestine Hotel.

[...]

ADRIENNE KINNE: ... I never talked about my experiences with my friends or family. But there were certain things that happened over the course of our mobilization that struck me as being very wrong, and I remember them very specifically.
One of the instances was the fact that we were listening to journalists who were staying in the Palestine Hotel. And I remember that, specifically because during the buildup to Shock and Awe, which people in my unit were really disturbingly excited about, we were given a list of potential targets in Baghdad, and the Palestine Hotel was listed as a potential target...

[...]

ADRIENNE KINNE: ...During that one conversation between a British aid worker and the American aid worker that I was talking about previously, the British aid worker basically told the American, “Be careful what you say, because the Americans are listening to us.” And they weren’t talking about anything that would have warranted their concern. There was—it was just kind of mundane office goings-on. And so, the American actually responded and said, “They can’t listen to me. I’m an American citizen. I’m protected by USSID 18.” And USSID 18 is basically a directive which is given out to military intelligence which bars the collection on American citizens, to include allies of other countries who we’ve signed binding agreements with. And when I heard that transmission and that conversation, I—kind of it caused me to raise my eyebrow, because here we were, we were listening to Americans, and we were collecting on them.

[...]

ADRIENNE KINNE: ... During the course of our mobilization—I think it might have been right after Shock and Awe—we received a fax. It was a multi-page fax, which, as we began to translate it, we realized that it basically laid out the location of all of the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq... I started thinking about the source of the fax and realizing that just because something is transmitted on a piece of paper does not mean it’s true. And when I basically shared my concern to our officer in charge, again I was told that “your job is to collect, you are not an analyst,” that other people will analyze the information. “You just collect and pass on, collect and pass on.” And that was always the guidance we were given.

Shortly after I was demobilized, I was reading a news magazine, and I saw a little blurb where it is said that the—we newly discovered that the Iraqi National Congress was actually feeding us misinformation. And I immediately, when I read that, thought to that fax and that critic report and really wondered to what level that intercept had been used to further justify the invasion of Iraq. And doing research about the Iraqi National Congress since then, I found out that senior military advisers and analysts were actually trying to make the case since December of 2002, or previously, that the Iraqi National Congress was not reliable and was not a reliable source of information.

I guess the rest is history.

"He Ain't Heavy......he's my extraterrestrial brother!!" -- Vatican's chief astronomer says there could be other forms of life outside Earth....

The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, says that the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones.

(Few people realize that the Vatican funds several telescopes, including one right here in the US, in Arizona.)

(I hear they put on a good finger shadow show too!!!!)




bbc story

yahoo story

"How can we rule out that life may have developed elsewhere?" Funes said. "Just as we consider earthly creatures as 'a brother,' and 'sister,' why should we not talk about an 'extraterrestrial brother'? It would still be part of creation."

In the interview by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Funes said that such a notion "doesn't contradict our faith" because aliens would still be God's creatures. Ruling out the existence of aliens would be like "putting limits" on God's creative freedom, he said.

The interview, headlined "The extraterrestrial is my brother," covered a variety of topics including the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and science, and the theological implications of the existence of alien life.

The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where.........






(Mystery Science Theater 3000)

Douchebag Quote of the Week

"Some of us oppose creating a new entitlement program in an emergency spending bill, whether it's butchers, bakers or candlestick makers."

• -Rep. John Tanner (D-TN), one of the members of the Blue Dog Coalition of Democrats who is opposed to paying for the GI Bill which would cover the cost of college for returning vets from Iraq and Afghanistan quoting Mother Goose to make a point.
  
• Tanner supports teh war but not the troops.

See Congress: Money for War, But No Money for the Troops? by Paul Rieckhoff

See if your congresscritters are on board with GI Bill 2008
and if not click here to urge them to do so.

Update: House Democrats offer Blue Dogs a compromise on supplemental- taxing the rich.

Excuse me while I puke!

From the Huffington post:

Bush: I Gave Up Golf For The Troops


"I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf," he said. "I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."


What a sacrifice!

Short Saudi Romance Story

"I held her by the hand. It was easy. I'd just arrested her for shopllifting." - (c) 2008 by E.O. Costello (by way of Tom Lehrer)

Jenna Bush Wedding in Crawford, TX: WTF, Is the White House Too Good for 'em?

- Lovely First Family Posing for Shoot Before Hitting the Near Beer-

-Jenna and Hank taking vows under the Ginormous Paper Mache Cross-

Chain of Fools
(Special thanks to the All-Stars & Joe Cocker)

Crawford, TX The deed is done! One-half of First Daughter, Jenna Bush, got hitched to Hank Hager over Mothers Day weekend on the family’s faux ranch in Crawford Texas without ever getting hit by a twister! Our local spys reveal that President Dubya phoned in special orders to Cheney’s Halliburton ops to put out a hit on any inclement weather patterns within a forty mile radius of the sprawling, near two-thousand acre property and a ginormous cross made out of paper mache or something was erected just in case all hell broke loose. And a good time was had by all! (The Crawford locals click AP clip of course, didn't get invited and aren't so happy with the recession, soaring food and energy costs, the Iraq war, everybody getting locked up in prison, no jobs and stuff.)

Grandpa Bush stood out like a dandy, holding court in a seersucker suit and there was even a black preacher, a guy in a wheelchair (the groom’s daddy, former Virginia lieutenant governor) who danced with his wife (the groom’s mother) and the Bush family cook who sang “Ava Maria” and “On the Wings of a Snow White Dove” and a mariachi band even played during the service. Toasting his daughter Jenna and the groom right at the reception, President Bush began by confessing, “I am an emotional wreck.” Why would he say something like that if it weren't true, one wonders. Anyway, the father of the bride and his daughter then danced to Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful to Me,” which is a little creepy when you think about it, but then again, this is TEXAS!

So, given this first dance with daddy musical selection faux-pas, yours truly offers a more fitting selection with this Joe Cocker’s awesome rendition of “Chain of Fools” performed with the fabulous All-Stars. Oooohhh Aretha, eat your heart out…

-2Truthy

Losing the War on Humor

NY TImes: Young Saudis, Vexed and Entranced by Love’s Rules

I read with great interest this piece in the NY Times about two Saudi young men and their quest for romance. With all the taboos and laws in place that make it almost impossible for love to flourish except in an arranged marriage, it's almost romantic how these cousins approach the idea of romance in what westerners would view a most stifling society. Yet both are religious police in a country where I'd never want to live or visit, where women are treated like belongings.

I wouldn't want to base my whole opinion of Saudi's on this one piece because if someone wrote for a Saudi paper how anti-abortion extremist Neil Horsley told Alan Colmes about his first girlfriend:

NH: "...Absolutely. I was a fool. When you grow up on a farm in Georgia, your first girlfriend is a mule."

AC: "I'm not so sure that that is so."

NH: "You didn't grow up on a farm in Georgia, did you?"

AC: "Are you suggesting that everybody who grows up on a farm in Georgia has a mule as a girlfriend?"

NH: It has historically been the case. You people are so far removed from the reality... Welcome to domestic life on the farm..."

ACK! Imagine if a world view of American romance was based on this quackeroo? But I digress. I read the comments with great interest especially those by Saudi's who felt that while it was true, the article painted a less than flattering view of Saudi lifestyle which is based on Islam. I'd probably agree with that, however it WAS written by a westerner and that's how he saw it.

A few things that struck me though:

Blatant disregard for women while believing that they have the highest regard

“One of the most important Arab traditions is honor,” Enad said. “If my sister goes in the street and someone assaults her, she won’t be able to protect herself. The nature of men is that men are more rational. Women are not rational. With one or two or three words, a man can get what he wants from a woman. If I call someone and a girl answers, I have to apologize. It’s a huge deal. It is a violation of the house.”

While they are forbidden from seeing a single woman's face in S.A. it's no wonder that

If there is one accessory that allows a bit of self-expression for Saudi men, it is their cellphones. Nader’s is filled with pictures of pretty women taken from the Internet, tight face shots of singers and actresses. His ring tone is a love song in Arabic (one of the most popular ring tones among his cousins is the theme song to “Titanic”).

But this hypocrisy just pissed me off and I don't know if this is the norm or not...

A woman had entered the restaurant, alone. She was completely draped in a black abaya, her face covered by a black veil, her hair and ears covered by a black cloth pulled tight.

“Look at the batman,” Nader said derisively, snickering.

Enad pretended to toss his burning cigarette at the woman, who by now had been seated at a table. The glaring young men unnerved her, as though her parents had caught her doing something wrong.

“She is alone, without a man,” Enad said, explaining why they were disgusted, not just with her, but with her male relatives, too, wherever they were.

When a man joined her at the table — someone they assumed was her husband — she removed her face veil, which fueled Enad and Nader’s hostility. They continued to make mocking hand gestures and comments until the couple changed tables. Even then, the woman was so flustered she held the cloth self-consciously over her face throughout her meal.

“Thank God our women are at home,” Enad said.

I think the article is worth a full read though. I imagine that love there flourishes once a couple is married and not before that. Before marriage any romance is purely imaginary and projected. One of the young men who was engaged to his cousin selected her based on his remembering her as a pretty little girl. The other young man suggested that you check out the brothers in order to tell if his future wife was pretty. Is this romantic? I'm not sure. It very well could be... the intrigue, the mystery and all that. The Saudi culture though must be a boon for homely young people who may not stand a chance for love in western culture. What was really romantic in the story is how some young couples attempt to communicate with their betrothed via text messaging or cell phone conversations and how if they happen to meet unconventionally in a very sex segregated society what they have to connive in order to convince their parents that they never met before an arranged meeting.

What are your views after reading the article. Could you write a romance novel about it?

Got Wrinkles?

Big Brother With A Twist:

TOKYO (Reuters) - Cigarette vending machines in Japan may soon start counting wrinkles, crow's feet and skin sags to see if the customer is old enough to smoke.

The legal age for smoking in Japan is 20 and as the country's 570,000 tobacco vending machines prepare for a July regulation requiring them to ensure buyers are not underage, a company has developed a system to identify age by studying facial features.

By having the customer look into a digital camera attached to the machine, Fujitaka Co's system will compare facial characteristics, such as wrinkles surrounding the eyes, bone structure and skin sags, to the facial data of over 100,000 people, Hajime Yamamoto, a company spokesman said. continued

If you're wrinkly enough, the machine will take your money. I guess the machine would just drop its inventory if I tried to buy a pack a smokes in Japan. But doesn't this remind you of a scary futuristic dystopian novel?

Ladies, He's Available Again

Sir Paul McCartney, the man I was supposed to marry in 1964 after I first laid eyes on him, listened to him sing and wag his moppy head, but I was too young for him, is now available once again.

Paul, if you're reading this, I'm older now... and better. I never loved you for your money. I loved you for being you. And get this... I'm a singer/songwriter now which I wasn't in 1964. We are both so much wiser and I really need to get off this island. Call me.
L