If you're ever in NYC and happen to visit Ground Zero, you will most likely meet the folks from 911Truth.org. They have been dealing with a lot of police hassling yet they are breaking no laws as the perimeter around Ground Zero is public property. Of course, you'll probably have to go to court to find this out because the police don't care what freedoms the constitution grants Americans. You can also watch a quicktime movie from June 2004 taken at Ground Zero.

Another interesting website to check out is the 9-11 Visibility Project.

The way I look at, if I was forced to hear, read and wallow in every detail of the former president's private sex life which I had no interest in whatsoever, then I feel that all citizens of this republic are entitled to have all of our questions answered concerning September 11, 2001. It affected everyone. I had to breathe it. I want to know the truth. I want to know what happened to WTC 7. Where was NORAD? I want to know why George Bush lied about seeing the first plane hit 2 times. I'm sick of the lies. I am sick of the GOP thinking they own 9/11.

Oh no they don't. How dare they.

The Real Anarchists

So today Rudy Guiliani told viewers on "The View" that people are either with him or with the nazi's and then he went on to tell viewers how lucky we were that Bush was preznit when terrorists hit NY on 9/11 because Al Gore wouldn't have known what to do. Of course Al Gore was only VP for 8 years and wouldn't have a clue who to call while Bush admirably demonstrated that he took cover in a school for over a half hour risking the lives of hundreds of children before he took off on his plane to an airforce base where a bunch of CEOs were having a golf outing in an underground bunker, but that was just a coincidence.


According to James C. Moore, Co-Author of "Bush's Brain" Karl Rove's plan is to get the Jews over to the Republican side because they want to take their money from the Democratic party. He wants tort reform so he can put rich lawyers who support Democrats out of business. He wants to put unions who support Democrats out of commission. Then he will continue to drain the national coffers off all the money until the government can no longer function and take care of its citizens. America will finally fail and become a Rovian, one party nation. Most people aren't paying attention to this. Will Rove win?

Rah Rah Bush! Rah Rah America!

It feels like we are living in a collection of dystopian novels happening all at once. The real anarchists are those who are in power right now.

It's First Lady Night! Woo, Woo

It's First Lady Night! Woo, Woo

Okay ladies, this is the big night we've all been waiting for. Tonight the grand lady of literature and education will speak to the RNC. Yes, that's correct girls, Laura Bush speaks in NYC at the RNC.

We've got to get ready. Lets get our hair up in the hair rollers so our curls will be just so for tonight. Have tons of hairspray on hand too. Find a cute little pastel, double knit, matchy, matchy pants suit and don't forget to get a scarf to match. Now for the most fun part, let's go find that cute little bibbed apron you absolutely must own. You know, the one with the ruffles on the shoulders. You still have time to launder it and iron it using lots of spray starch for that crisp clean look.

See, I wasn't kidding you, it's so much fun to get ready to listen to Laura. Just wait until you get all dressed and ready to sit down tonight to watch lovely Laura. You'll feel just like a woman of the 50's. Be sure to smooth out your apron as you sit down and keep your knees either tightly together or you legs crossed demurely. You will be all controlled and innocent. You will represent women who didn't have to use their minds for much of anything other than trying to look good and please their men. Just look lovely, obey, and keep your sweet shiny red lips shut tight.

Laura is getting ready for the big night too. The handlers are installing new batteries in her and programming her. She will walk out on the stage and smile to her comatose adoring fans. Laura's switch will then be turned on and she will look as though she is actually talking as she tells us what a hell of a swell guy she married. She'll tell us that "W" stands for "women". She won't tell us that in her "W's W- world" he wants to hit the default key and set women back to where they were about fifty years ago. She can be so coy that way. She will talk about her husband's faith and how he's been a gem of a dad to his two daughters that he seldom sees. She'll be such a little flirty vixen in her simplicity.

If, as Laura speaks, you begin to get a little nervous and uncomfortable about what you're hearing, don't fret. You should go into the kitchen and bake a batch of cookies for the kids, or maybe get your hubby another beer from the frig. Ask him if he'd like you to make him a sandwich or some other snack. See dears, when things get tough good women don't complain. The only thing a good woman does is spend her life trying to please those around her. Women shouldn't have ambitions they should just follow assignments. Thinking can be so disturbing and tiring. I'm sure Laura would agree.

On a little personal note, there isn't a gun big enough to make me watch this drool tonight. Any woman who would stay married to a man like george bush and not recognize what is happening to our country due to his idiotic choices, has nothing to say that I need to hear. Too bad there wasn't another pre-season football game on TV tonight. That's what I did last night, after we got our hurricane list completed, I got a shower, put on my comfy night clothes, enjoyed a couple of martinis and watched my Dallas Cowboys play the Tennessee Titans. The Cowboys won.

See, I'm not exactly the type person that Laura would want to hangout with. And damn, I'm sure proud of that!

More on New Yorker's POV

Half of New Yorkers Believe US Leaders Had Foreknowledge of Impending 9-11 Attacks and “Consciously Failed” To Act; 66% Call For New Probe of Unanswered Questions by Congress or New York’s Attorney General, a New Zogby International Poll Reveals

On the eve of a Republican National Convention invoking 9/11 symbols, sound bytes and imagery, half (49.3%) of New York City residents and 41% of New York citizens overall say that some of our leaders "knew in advance that attacks were planned on or around September 11, 2001, and that they consciously failed to act," according to the poll conducted by Zogby International. The poll of New York residents was conducted from Tuesday August 24 through Thursday August 26, 2004. Overall results have a margin of sampling error of +/-3.5.

It's probably more than half. They didn't ask me. Most everyone I know in New York except for the very uninformed and very naive believe that the Bush Admin knew exactly what was happening in New York on 9/11. The WTC Attack was Bush's Pearl Harbor and they aren't going to let us forget it this week.

More Bitchin': France's WMD

by pissed off patricia

Oops sorry, that should be Frances' WMD.

Okay class, get out your map of Florida. See the big hole in the southern part of the state? That's Lake Okeechobee, one damned big lake too. Now lay your ruler so that it is across the top edge of the lake and draw a straight line due east to the coast. Okay you have drawn a line to my home. I am six miles inland. Now look at the projected path of hurricane Frances. Yes siree, that middle line in the cone intersects with the line you drew to my house.

This explains why we were out last night getting a few more supplies, like extra water, pet food, horrible canned food that we hope to goodness we never feel compelled to eat, and of course more batteries. There is some sort of comfort in owning tons of batteries if you live in the hurricane zone. If Frances doesn't make some serious path changes, we will be putting up the storm shutters Thursday or Friday, depending on where the storm is located by then. We invested in these little jewels five years ago and if we have to put them up this week it will be the first time. Seemed all this time that just owning them was some sort of hurricane repellant, but now I'm starting to wonder if they’ve lost their magical powers.

A hundred and twenty-five plus miles an hour wind can blow away pretty much anything except the sidewalk, and it can neatly remove the roof of a home. If this should happen the two of us will be in our walk-in closet with Murphy, the medium sized dog, Fred the cat, who will be in a pet carrier and Lovey, the twenty year old white dove, who will also at that point be in a pet carrier. Most likely we will all be under the mattress taken from our bed. Now doesn't that sound cozy? It could be an interesting if not terrifying experience. I sure hope it doesn't happen.

Between now and the weekend we all wait and wonder. The Weather Channel will have lots of southern viewers this week. I dare say they will get more hits that the RNC from this neck of the woods.

Probably about Thursday or Friday I'll hang up my keyboard once again in the name of "hurricane preparedness", as we bring in all the patio and yard stuff and basically sweat to the music of fear, because we may be victims of Frances' Winds of Mass Destruction.

Despicable

by blondesense and pissed off patricia

We are collectively disgusted at how rethuglican delegates mocked senator kerry's service. If Bush doesn't call off his dogs, he is only painting himself as a sicker and more desperate presidential candidate.

"This is the Republicans idea of "support American troops". Like small children they made fun of Senator Kerry's service to his country by wearing little purple heart bandages. Despicable!
Go fight in a war, come home and be made fun of. Despicable!"
-Pissed Off Patricia

"The hubris, the unmitigated gall and the collective spittle spat on the faces of the brave men and women who have served our country by republican delegates who support a most hawkish regime only goes to show you just how low the GOP values the military, their families and their service."
-Blondesense

Via CNN and Kicking Ass

More Swift Lies

Another MUST READ today by Dana Milbank at the Washingtonpost.com

"A Swift Shift in Stories"

Here's a little taste to make you hungry for more.

"Four days ago, retired naval Rear Adm. William L. Schachte Jr. seconded accusations made by the group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth seeking to discredit Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry's record in Vietnam. But since then, Democrats have discovered that Schachte is also a long-standing supporter of President Bush and a lobbyist whose client FastShip Inc. recently won a $40 million grant from the federal government."

Are you salivating yet? Go read it all. Chow down!

The RNC So Far

It's more like the NY Tourist Bureau Convention than the RNC so far. Seriously. Former Mayor Ed "how am I doing" Koch, a democrat, spoke at the convention, then former NYC mayor Rudy Guiliani a moderate republican gave a rah rah speech for NY, then we'll have Gov. Pataki who except for his death penalty, which hasn't been used yet and probably never will be used, is essentially a democrat compared to the Bushites. This is New York's PR Team. Even if they disagree with Bush politically, they won't tell because they are out to show the world that New York has come back since 9/11 thanks to Republican leadership. yawn. Rudy said on CNN this morning that he will always be mayor of NYC.

Moderate Republican speakers will be touting Bush as a good 'leader' because they can't really talk about how much they admire his social policies... and they had to think of something!

Rudy Guiliani and George Pataki are looking for some sort of future in national politics so they jumped on the Bush bandwagon although ideologically they have very little in common. New York is a far cry from Texas. Our republicans and their republicans are different animals. We have republocrats. I guess it's all politics because it makes no sense to a thinking person.

PS. What the hell is Don King doing at the RNC? He just called Bush a "white liberal". hahahahhahahhahaha. What's he been smoking?


Wow, it's A31 day in NY. Check it out.

UPDATE: I was just visiting Dark Window and Pete M., who slays me, has a lot to say about September 11th coming early this year. Ho ho ho.

The festivities will include John McCain reading some favorite passages from My Pet Goat and Rudy Giuliani hopping from one part of the stage to another to demonstrate how Mr. Bush so skillfully evaded the terrorists that day.

There's even talk that Zell Miller will hide behind the podium during his keynote address to remind voters of Dick Cheney's role after the attacks.

Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia

~ Some quotes by the pretzelnit from Friday's New York Times article:

"He (the pretzelnit) said that in North Korea's case, and in Iran's, he would not be rushed to set deadlines for the countries to disarm, despite his past declaration that he would not "tolerate'' nuclear capability in either nation. (See, it's less scary to invade a country without nuclear weapons, oh say like, Iraq) He (the same pretzelnit ) declined to define what he meant by "tolerate.'' (Yeah, a definition would be nice to have here. Are American lives going to be involved? We need clues on this one.)

"I don't think you give timelines to dictators,'' Mr. Bush said, speaking of North Korea's president, Kim Jong Il, and Iran's mullahs. (He thought timelines were pretty neat when he was dealing with Saddam didn't he?) He said he would continue diplomatic pressure - using China to pressure the North and Europe to pressure Iran - and gave no hint that his patience was limited or that at some point he might consider pre-emptive military action." (Might we finish at least one of the two wars we are involved in before getting into another one or two?)

Too bad he didn't use this method when he was screaming and clawing to invade Iraq, huh? Maybe his decision and timing with Iraq was one of his misunderestimated miscalculations.


~ Speaking of miscalculations and flip flops, this from Bloomberg.com:

"NBC said Bush's interview with Matt Lauer was taped Saturday in Ohio and will be broadcast in segments. In a segment run earlier today, Bush said he doubted the U.S. can win the war against terrorism. (Did he have these doubts when he sent almost 1000 soldiers to die in this war in Iraq?) Asked by Lauer if he can win it during a second four-year term in the White House, the president said, ``I don't think you can win it. (Refer to my last question.) But I think you can create conditions'' so that ``those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world.'' (And where exactly might that be?)

Okay, if you don't give timelines to dictators and you don't feel we can win the so called war on terror, then WTF have these last couple of years been all about? Why have so many American soldiers died? I am so hearing echoes of Vietnam, the other war we couldn't win. We gotta get this guy out of office before he causes any more damage at home and around the world. Bush clearly has been a "catastrophic success". He has been overly successful in creating multiple catastrophes.


~ Check out what Paul Krugman says today in the NY Times. This is the last paragraph in his piece:

"Yesterday Mr. Bush, who took a "winning the war on terror" bus tour just a few months ago, conceded that "I don't think you can win" the war on terror. But he hasn't changed the national security adviser, nor has he dismissed even one of the ideologues who got us into this no-win situation. Rather than concede that he made mistakes, he's sticking with people who will, if they get the chance, lead us into two, three, many quagmires. "

Quagmires are not good for the health of our country and they are especially dangerous for our soldiers. So while speakers drone on this week at the Republican convention and the audience chants "four more years", chant back at them, "no more quagmires". War should not be declared as a perk for a president's career, or a financially profitable convenience for big corporations. War is not something you declare, send your military to fight and die for and then tell your country it's something that will not end and cannot be won.

War has been bush's only claim to fame. Had it not been for the attacks of 9-11, he would probably already be gone. Before the attacks, he was looking pretty pathetic and the "war on terror" basically saved his ass from the fire. It worked so well for him that he kept it going by convincing the already edgy public that if he didn't declare war in Iraq we would suffer the same attacks all over again, but this time it would be Saddam calling the shots.

From 9-11 on, the citizens of the US have been so paranoid that they believe anything he tells them if he can work the words "attack", "kill", or "danger" into his reasoning. Nobody cares if the reasons are verifiable. All they seem to care about is that we kill anyone and everyone who could kill us. The insanity of his strategy is evident to most of us, but it seems to elude so many more. I would suggest that we are not experiencing the fog of war. We are experiencing the fallout of the convenience of war, and it is deadly.

Another one bites the dust

I've always had a hard time trying to figure out why there would be such a thing as a Log Cabin Republican. Actually it took this blonde a lot of googling to find out what it meant. Why not be a moderate Democrat if you're gay? Maybe they enjoy pollution? They enjoy despicable foreign policy? They enjoy fiscal irresponsibility? They like faux cowboys? They are all tremendously wealthy? well I don't know... anyway I just love it when another republican congressman is forced out of the closet especially, most especially, yes especially especially when they have a high christian coalition rating of 92% and co-sponsor the federal marriage amendment. Well maybe I don't love it. I love the idea of it, but I feel bad for the person.

My blondesense tells me that the reason that many conservatives are uptight, rather mean and judgmental is this: They have so much to hide. They are fearful of being themselves in public. Someone told them that they are not worthy of love and respect unless they conform to certain specifications. It must be painful as hell to not be able to love yourself because you're a conservative republican and your ideals are impossibly high.

Conservatives have to pretend that they are better than everyone else. It's impossible to pull it off 24/7. People who elect to pretend that they are better than everyone else usually have the most to hide. It's really quite sad. They deserve our prayers. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

Here's to Pissed Off Patricia

Today Patricia was published in Buzzflash mailbag!

Hi BuzzFlash,

Don't you think that when Nixon was trying to shut down Lt. Kerry's movement back in the early seventies, if there had been any question about Lt. Kerry's medals, Nixon would have brought it to light? Remember Nixon sought out John O'Neill to go up against Kerry because he wanted someone to counter Kerry's comments. Nixon was President and we all know he had no problem using his power any way he wanted. He wasn't stupid and I believe the first thing he would have done would have been to check out Kerry's service record. At that time O'Neill never mentioned anything about Kerry not earning his medals. Why does he do it now?

The following is a quote from an article by Michael Kranish, a staff writer for The Boston Globe (6-17-03): "I don't ever remember finding anything negative about Kerry or hearing anything negative about him," Colson said. "If we had found anything, I'm sure we would have used it to discredit him.

(Charles "Chuck" Colson was counsel to President Nixon)

pissed off patricia
http://blondesense.blogspot.com/

Those were some very good points that "professional" journalists never bothered to think about. Bloggers have got it going on! Thanks for linking to blondesense!

Show us what democracy looks like!

More Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia


Many emotions circled around in me as I watched the protesters yesterday in New York. I had hoped there would be lots and lots and there sure were. When the cameras panned down the street and I saw that sea of people that seemed to reach into next week, I was amazed and excited. Then they started to march and chant and wave signs and you know what? I realized that I was crying. I think what made me cry was the realization that there were that many people from all over the US, and they thought just like I think. Maybe that's what a little lost whale feels like when it finds its own pod. Whatever, it felt so good.

Then as they marched in front of the Fox news studio they verbally expressed their, to put it politely, displeasure with Fox news. They even went so far as to leave little messages on the roadway for the Fox folks. The message was suggesting that intercourse was the proper action for Fox.

There was one lady protester who wore nothing above her waist but two little golden patches appropriately placed to cover two other little places on her breasts. I'm not sure what that was about but I hope she used a lot of sunscreen all around those two little golden patches.

Then the green dragon deal caught fire. The cops and firemen put out the fire and the march continued. (pictures)

The last group in the march carried lots and lots of cardboard, death-sized caskets draped in American flags. Pretty impressive display and pretty damn well on the mark, I might add.

So, did the giant protest march accomplish anything? Did it change any minds? I doubt it. But it sure did make the rest of us feel good to know that we aren't alone in our anger and confusion. It let us know that we aren't the only ones who are mad as hell, and the peacefulness of the march reaffirmed that we are good people who don't accept bad things. Another thing the march did was to show the rest of the world that not all Americans endorse what our country has become over the past four years. It told the world that not all Americans are war loving, lying, money-hungry, heartless pieces of shit. I think sending that message was important.

If anyone who attended that march yesterday reads this, thank you so very much. You really did show us what democracy looks like.

Just Say No To Bush

Hundreds of thousands of the faithful gathered in New York City on Sunday to remind the GOP that they are not packing for the rapture just yet.

"But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father." -Mark 13:32

...especially not George Bush.

Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia


What a weekend!


We had guests over to dinner Saturday night. We've known this couple for years and they are what I would call, deer in the headlights, Republicans. By that I mean that anytime anything is mentioned which in any way relates to politics, they just stare at you and don't say a word. I mean, they don't present their opinion, rather they go mute. God, that's frustrating. Of course my blackboard in my kitchen has "Kerry/Edwards 2004" written in big letters on it and little stars drawn all around the words. My frig sports a sign that says "Democrats Vote" accompanied by some little magnets, one of which states, "You're Certainly Entitled to Your Own Little Fucked Up View of Reality". Humm, come to think of it, maybe our guests were a little intimidated. lol

Sunday afternoon I was mesmerized as I was glued to the TV for four hours watching every minute of C-span's coverage of the NYC protest marchers. Best thing on TV in a long, long time. C-span didn't have a delay on the events or sound, so the viewers got to hear and see everything. C-span deserves a big round of applause for doing what TV used to do, and that's let us decide what we want to hear and see.

After enjoying the views of the protesters, my husband and I watched the video "Outfoxed". I had ordered it a couple of weeks ago from TvNewsLies.org . There wasn't a lot new to learn but it nicely showed you what is happening as big news is being controlled by big biz. Scary, scary stuff. Today I have loaned out the video to friends and hopefully it will travel all over our area. If you haven't seen it yet, you should.

So this morning I arise to discover a category four hurricane has it's eye aimed at my area of Fla. Whew, what next? This just may not be a great week. Nothing will be on TV news but the Republican convention. A big storm is churning this way. They predict that if the hurricane does come here it will be sometime the later part of this week. I'm feeling more stressed than pissed today, because just as soon as I get to say goodbye to the damned convention coverage, I could well be saying, Hello Hurricane Frances!

See what I mean? Life just may not be much fun down here for the next several days. First it's gonna suck and then it's gonna blow.

***

Read this article by Eleanor Clift
Here's a little taste to get you going:

"My Republican mole on Capitol Hill says the green light has gone out to Republicans to do whatever it takes to get Bush elected. “This is the way we hold onto power,” he says with disgust."

Food For Thought

The Thinker

It started out innocently enough. I began to think at parties now and then to loosen up. Inevitably though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker. I began to think alone-"to relax," I told myself-but I knew it wasn't true. Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time.

I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don't mix, but I couldn't stop myself. I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read Thomas Paine, John Locke, and Adam Smith. I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking, "What is it exactly we are doing here?"


Things weren't going so great at home either. One evening I had turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life. She spent that night at her mother's.


I soon had a reputation as a heavy thinker. One day the boss called me in. He said, " I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don't stop thinking on the job, you'll have to find another job." This gave me a lot to think about. I came home early after my conversation with the boss. "Honey," I confessed, "I've been thinking. . ."

"I know you've been thinking," she said, "and I want a divorce!"


"But Honey, surely it's not that serious."

 
"It is serious," she said, "You think as much as college professors, and college professors don't make any money, so if you keep on thinking we won't have any money!"
 
"That's a faulty syllogism," I said impatiently, and she began to shout.

 
I'd had enough. "I'm going to the library," I snarled as I stomped out the door. I headed for the library, in the mood for some Aristotle, with NPR on the radio. I roared into the parking lot and ran up to the big glass doors... They didn't open. The library was closed. To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for me that night. As I sank to the ground clawing at the unfeeling glass, whimpering, a poster caught my eye. "Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?" it asked. You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinker's Anonymous poster. Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker.

 
I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a non-educational video; last week it was "Porky's." Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting. I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home.

 
Life just seemed .... easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking. Soon, I will be able to vote Republican....


My good friend and neighbor, Pat sent me this gem this morning via email

Lady Bush Speaks Out. Get Thee a Xanax. Get Thee A Double on the Rocks.

Laura Bush doesn't think it was very nice of John Kerry to say that her husband shouldn't have sat in the classroom for 7 minutes. "And I think what my husband did was perfectly appropriate. I think it was the right thing to do in front of the children." Bullshit. Kids are quite flexible. She should have paid attention to hers when they were growing up and she would know that. And apparently it was ok that the whole fucking country derided clinton for a bj in "front of the children".

Then the first lady went on to deride the protesters who will be in NYC: "We're all very lucky to live in a country where they have the right and opportunity to protest. As we look around the world, we know there are a lot of places that people don't have that right," the first lady said.

But then of course there are the tons of other countries where you CAN protest, biatch. This is NOT the only one. Aren't we getting tired of that line about that this is the only country where we have free speech? The Post says the Laura likes NY even though NY doesn't like her. She likes the designers in NY. Well isn't that special? She is just soooo in tune with typical Americans, now isn't she? Most NYers aren't event aware of who the fucking designers are. Somebody shoot me.

In an interview with Time, Laura is compared to Mamie Eisenhower who once said, "Ike runs the country; I turn the pork chops." I'm sorry, but you don't have to be a feminist to puke at the thought of what an insult that is.... unless of course you have been subject to some sort of lobotomy. She also told Time that the Swift Boat Vet ads weren't unfair. In that case, let's keep the ads coming against Bush. Where do I send my contribution?

She went on to explain that the reason she's against stem cell research is because it will take a long time to actually make it work. The cures won't be around the bend. So let me get this straight... we shouldn't bother to investigate something that would cure diseases because it will take too long? Does she know something we don't know? (Remember Bob Woodward reporting that Bush doesn't care what history will make of him, because we'll all be dead or that the Christian Right which is consulted by the WH is hell bent on armageddon and Jesus' return.)

"The first lady worries that America's political tone has gotten so nasty that "what we see people say about the presidential candidates — I don't think that's a really good role model for our children." " -NY Post

The First Lady of Stepford believes that we should pretend for the sake of our children that everything is just peachy keen. Of course when we get blindsided by an al Qaida attack again, they will just sit idly by and believe that there was just nothing anyone could do... we should expect our children to be so fucking dumb that they will somehow believe that the most 'powerful nation in the world' had no way to see that it was coming and there was no way that anything could be done to stop it. Perhaps Mrs. Stepford-Bush has already been tested and on medication under the president's mental health initiative. The only way on earth that our children will be stupid enough to buy this drivel is if they are severely drugged, ill informed, brainwashed, under-educated, drafted into the military and shot with viles full of unknown chemicals.

On one hand she's worried about illiteracy and on the other hand she doesn't want children to know anything.

Ya wanna know what the really sad sad thing about all of this is? And it's sad. Go away if you don't want to cry. I won't be mad...




...about half of this country feels this way. They've drunk the koolaid of willful ignorance. Bush didn't cause a retarded country. A retarded country caused Bush.

****************
And in other typical contrary Republican news:

Former unpopular mayor and on his way out of NYC until after 9/11, Rudy Guiliani who is a pro-choice Republican and makes no bones about it and boringest NY governor ever, George Pataki who cut taxes, brought back the death penalty while supporting gay and abortion rights and gun control will be speaking on behalf of the GOP at the convention. WHA????? Read it again. Even Republicans in NY are not your typical Bush backing Republicans. There are no right wing christians up this way and if there are, they keep it to themselves. Most NYers (those with at least 2 brain cells to rub together of either party) are furious with Guiliani and Pataki for supporting Bush because of the way the administration shit on NY after 9/11.

....and yes, dammit, I am pissed off today. I read the paper today and they are trying to make us believe that everything is just fine and the protesters are somehow misguided fools. bah.

Say It Ain't So

Did you guys read this from CNN's Inside Politics? (it's down towards the bottom of the article)

And finally today, we offer you this unconfirmed gem of a rumor from the New York Post, our favorite newspaper in the whole wide world. Apparently the good folks at Page Six are told by their well-placed sources that GOP delegates are all abuzzagogg that Dick Cheney will resign at the convention for health reasons. That's right, he's gonna resign, sparking a prime-time floor battle that will result in a draft movement for Sen. John McCain, described by the Post as a "bigger war hero than John Kerry."

This better not be true. Although I wouldn't be surprised. It's from the NY Post though.

Bush Lies About HIS Service

In 1978, Bush, while running for Congress in West Texas, produced campaign literature that claimed he had served in the US Air Force. According to a 1999 Associated Press report, Bush's congressional campaign ran a pullout ad in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal that declared he had served "in the US Air Force and the Texas Air National Guard where he piloted the F-102 aircraft."

...He had only been in the Air National Guard. But when AP asked Bush if he had been justified in claiming service in the Air Force, Bush, then the governor of Texas and a presidential candidate, said, "I think so, yes. I was in the Air Force for over 600 days." ...

...Anyone in the Air National Guard is always considered a guardsmen and not a member of the active-duty Air Force, according to an Air Force spokeswoman in the Pentagon. A National Guard member may be called to active duty for pilot training or another temporary assignment and receive active-duty pay at the time, but they remain Guard members. -David Corn, The Nation

Here is a photograph published on the Presidential Library site of George H.W. Bush. We can clearly see that in this photograph taken sometime before his promotion to 1st Lt. in 1970, George W. Bush is wearing an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (AFOUA) and a Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon (SAEMR) just below his pilot wings. According to a just-completed investigation by Walt Starr, Bush's unit (the 111th Fighter Intercept Squadron / 147th Fighter Intercept Group) did not receive its first AFOUA until 1975. For weeks, the media has put John Kerry's 5 medals under a microscope. Now we learn that George Bush was so ashamed of his undistinguished service record that he had himself photographed with a ribbon he NEVER earned. That makes Bush an IMPOSTOR.

USA TODAY: What explains the apparent gap in the president's Guard service in 1972-73, a period when commanders in Texas and Alabama say they never saw him report for duty and records show no pay to Bush when he was supposed to be on duty in Alabama?

Since February, the White House has banned all Guard and military commanders outside the Pentagon from commenting on Bush's records or service. Requests for information must go to the Pentagon's Freedom of Information Act office.

The Pentagon last week responded to a 4-month-old request from USA TODAY for additional records from Bush's files by sending another copy of documents that were released by the White House in February. The documents do not address the unexplained year in Bush's Guard service or his decision to stop flying.

The Associated Press filed a lawsuit this summer requesting copies of Bush's military records stored in a Texas archive on microfilm. It sought information that might explain why Bush did not take his flight physical and whether he showed up for duty in Alabama in the fall of 1972, AP spokesman John Stokes said.

Why do you think Bush's guard service is such a secret? Why do you think that the press is being so silent about the questions?

Oh What The Hell

A great big kick in the ass goes to Gwinnett County's Grayson High School in Georgia.

I live in the Town of Hempstead, NY. I grew up in the Village of Hempstead, NY. Apparently the school officials in Georgia have never heard of us as they sent a student home from school who sported a Tshirt that said "Hempstead, NY 516" thinking it related to drugs. 516 is the area code... ooooohhhhhh. does that relate to drugs too? The zip is 11550 as I recall.

Hempstead is the nation's largest township, with 759,000 residents spread across 22 villages and more than 142 square miles. That's right, we have almost a million people squished here .

You must have heard of us! We have very nice ocean beaches and bay beaches as well. Good sailing and boating. Great golf courses and good schools in some areas where the tax base is high. The schools suck where the tax base is mostly minority people. (Something should be done about that.) We have pretty good sanitation service and the roads get plowed in snow storms. I guess with all the news we have gotten lately, a lot of people have heard of us. I have tried to get one of those shirts to wear to NYC tomorrow but they are no where to be found now. Waldbaums supermarket in my area had them for a while and no one thought anything of it until this news story hit.

Thanks again to astute reader Paul for bringing this up to me. I read it in the paper yesterday and thought it was a hoot. Today in Newsday they have a picture of that toy with the plane and the towers that I posted yesterday. Wow. That's bad.

Start Spreading the News...

It's starting. You've no doubt heard about the nude protesters for AIDS. Last night the NYPD arrested 250 cycling protesters out of a possible 5,000 cyclers. You can see pictures of the arrests here.
It is illegal to ride your bike more than 2 abreast in NYC and you must stay in the bike lanes. What is usually a monthly Critical Mass bike ride turned into an anti-RNC protest. Imagine that! Here's a first hand account from a cyclist about some err um... police intimidation.

I have been hearing a lot of complaining on the news about the protesters disrupting the city. The right wingers are just furious. I kind of don't blame them for being pissed off at the disruptions if they in fact are city denizens trying to get from point A to Point B, however, I find it odd that they don't have a clue as to the enormity of pissedoffedness of American people. They keep branding everyone as radical liberals and anarchists, but they are so wrong. And these protests aren't only about electing Kerry. They just don't get it. It's all about being anti-fascism. Anti-Bush.

For years the media has been ignoring bush protests. The only possible way to get attention is for hundreds of anti-bush rallies to convene on the city with hundreds of thousands of protesters in attendence. Bush has asked for this for 4 years. He is so afraid of NY that he will just pop in to make his speech on Thursday and then fly right out.

The real people to watch out for and be wary of in NYC during the RNC are the neonazi right wing groups who will be there to protest the protesters. They will do all in their power to make the peaceful protests turn into a riot.

Hookers with STDs are already in NY getting ready for the republicans.

UPDATE: Astute reader, Paul brought it to my attention that you'd better not mount your placards on sticks and use NJ Transit. Sticks are never ever allowed on trains. Sticks can cause damage to the trains and others. Paul recommends an umbrella since they are much safer.

Bitchin' on Saturday

by pissed off patricia


Seems to me that it's time for the US to issue a recall for American apples.

Lately there have been just too many "bad apples". First we found a few of these "bad apples" abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Now we know there were bushels of them. Then bush admitted that he had made some "miscalculations" before he gleefully invaded Iraq. And I'm guessing he based those miscalculations on a few bad apples in the white house. Last night we were told, first by CBS correspondent Lesley Stahl, that there is a very bad apple stench coming from within the office of the Secretary of Defense at the pentagon.

I demand we find the cause of this inordinate number of bad apples. Perhaps the wisest thing to do is to recall and trash all the apples and start a new orchard.

In the words of the little guys on South Park, I call bad apple "shenanigans" on the USA!

Speaking of South Park, I bet there are more than a few of our soldiers in Iraq who would agree with Cartman when he says, "Screw you guys, I'm going home." I wouldn't blame them a bit.



And the beat goes on.

BuzzFlash sent out an email last night. Here's what it said:
Former TX Lt. Gov. Barnes Admits on Video That He Got George W. Bush, Son of a Rich Man, Into the TX Air Nat'l Guard While Kerry Volunteered to Face Enemy Fire in Vietnam (See "Barnes on Patriotism" Video)," goes to the source for this video, Austins4Kerry.com.


Go watch it. Former Texas Lt. Governor Barnes will tell you how he helped bush become an Olympic quality, dodge ball pro. Yes siree, this is how bush managed to jump ahead of all the poor suckers who were fairly awaiting their chance to get into the Air National Guard. The draft ball was rolling george's way, so Lt. Governor Barnes helped him dodge a ticket to Vietnam. Meanwhile, that wily John Kerry volunteered to go to Vietnam, but that doesn't count, because according to some angry vets, Kerry didn't bleed enough when he was injured. What a wimp! If, heaven forbid, Senator Kerry had been killed in Vietnam, would he now be dead enough? I wonder about this because there are those who question Max Cleland's patriotism, and this guy lost three limbs in that war. Sorry Max, a real patriot would have lost all four limbs. With your one unpatriotic remaining arm, roll you wheelchair to the back of the patriotism line.

In my opinion, anyone who went to that war, and most especially anyone who volunteered to go to that hellacious war, deserves whatever the hell awards he received. Just the fact that someone volunteered would make me want to give him a whole sack full of bravery awards. Then to go and be injured, I don't care if they bled a teaspoon of blood or a pint, gets them another ton or so of ribbons and medals. Americans were dropping like leaves on a crisp Autumn day during that war. So, anyone who volunteered for a mission like that is, in my book, not only a hero but one hell of a human being. They not only deserve all the medals they received and more, they deserve respect. But, and this a big but, if you could get a Lt. Gov. of your state to help you dodge the draft ball, well hell, you get to be president of the United States of America. You get to declare your very own damned war and you get to send men and women into another senseless bloody war while you boast of victory like a kid with a new sack of plastic green toy soldiers. You get to sit home safe and sound, and watch this war just like you did over thirty years ago - sit home safe and sound while others are dying.

So here's the core of the story. If you volunteer to go to war and receive awards, that my dear is questionable. But if you cheat and avoid the draft, you get the white house and all the amenities that go with it. How do you like those apples?

A couple of other items may draw your interest. First, did you know there was prison abuse during interrogations at Abu Ghraib? You are probably replying, "Yes, Patricia I know it and my cat and dog know it too." Well I, along with my pets, know it as well, but apparently one of us should have called Don Rumsfeld and clued him in on these facts. Seems old Don hasn't been paying attention to the investigations and reports about this subject. Read this article in SeattlePI.com and sit back in your dismayed zone until you can get your breath.



Here's a "Florida" moment for ya.

From the Palm Beach Post: "FEMA check for $1.69 adds insult to injury". This is so bizarre that you have to read it yourself. It's not torture enough to go through a major hurricane like Charley, but you then have to deal with the insanity of government bureaucracy.

Espionage Investigation

FBI Probes Pentagon Spy Case


The FBI believes it has "solid" evidence that the suspected mole supplied Israel with classified materials that include secret White House policy deliberations on Iran.

(CBS) CBS News has learned that the FBI has a full-fledged espionage investigation under way and is about to -- in FBI terminology -- "roll up" someone agents believe has been spying not for an enemy, but for Israel from within the office of the Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon.

60 Minutes Correspondent Lesley Stahl reports the FBI believes it has "solid" evidence that the suspected mole supplied Israel with classified materials that include secret White House policy deliberations on Iran.

At the heart of the investigation are two people who work at The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington.

The FBI investigation, headed up by Dave Szady, has involved wiretaps, undercover surveillance and photography that CBS News was told document the passing of classified information from the mole, to the men at AIPAC, and on to the Israelis.

CBS sources say that last year the suspected spy, described as a trusted analyst at the Pentagon, turned over a presidential directive on U.S. policy toward Iran while it was, "in the draft phase when U.S. policy-makers were still debating the policy."

This put the Israelis, according to one source, "inside the decision-making loop" so they could "try to influence the outcome."

The case raises another concern among investigators: Did Israel also use the analyst to try to influence U.S. policy on the war in Iraq? read the rest

UPDATE by Astute Patricia: here is a lot more on this investigation. It gets all twisty now.

Holy Cow!

The toy was recalled.

This week in God: God is not a Republican.

Miss Pissed Off Patricia asked that I repost this. It was originally posted on August 19th. It is important.


From Sojourners:

God is not a Republican.
Or a Democrat.

Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and others on the Religious Right claim that God has taken a side in this election, and that Christians should only vote for George W. Bush. The Bush-Cheney campaign even told volunteers it was their "duty" to make church directories available to the campaign.

How has the love of Jesus, the Prince of Peace - and his good news to the poor - been distorted by the pro-war, pro-rich political agenda of the Religious Right? Our faith has been hijacked, and it's time to take it back!

Click here to sign our petition and send a message to America that God is not a Republican or a Democrat, and that the Religious Right does not speak for you. Remind America that Jesus taught us to be peacemakers, advocates for the poor, and defenders of justice.

With your help, Sojourners will also place a full-page advertisement in The New York Times, followed by local newspaper and online ads across the United States.

Please forward this message to your family and friends. Tell faithful citizens to make their voices heard. Sign the petition, support the campaign, and spread the word. Together we can take back our faith!

Watch the flash video!

Sentient Non-Idiots For Kerry

Mark Morford:

Sentient Non-Idiots For Kerry
Repubs pick a fight about Vietnam while Bush ruins America right now? Is the nation drunk?

And isn't it funny how at least 13 members of Congress have actually requested that the United Nations monitor this year's U.S. presidential election...

And isn't it even more funny how, when firebrand U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, from Florida, brought the issue up on the floor of Congress, she was actually shouted down by the Republicans, scolded that she was out of order and told her comments should be stricken from the record?

....And isn't it hilarious how the absolute worst thing the Right has been able to dredge up about John Kerry is that he might sort of maybe have exaggerated some facts about his various Vietnam medals and acts of and valor and deeds of astounding heroism...

...So, let's see: Bona-fide war hero turned incredibly articulate, educated, gifted Vietnam War protester and respected senator on one side, alcoholic AWOL failed-businessman born-again pampered daddy's boy evangelical Christian on the other. Is this really the contest? Bush slugs gin and tonics like Evian while Kerry is accused of ... what again? Not being incredibly heroic enough? Wow.

Wow is right. Great piece by Mark today.

Mommy, was there ever a smart or good republican president?

Hmmmm?

Hmmmm?

Hmmmm?

Not in my lifetime, honey. No.

Mom, was Reagan evil?

Hmmm?

Hmmm?

Not sure, honey. I believe he was out of his mind. When grandpa got alzheimers, don't you remember everyone saying that Reagan must have had alzheimers too cause their behavior seemed the same? In the early stages, they could put on a good show, but there was something just a bit off. It seemed scripted and somehow familiar.

Mom, is Bush evil or just dumb?

I think both honey. Well maybe he isn't evil on purpose, he just lacks the intellectual capacity to comprehend what he is doing because he is blinded by his hatred of his father. If hatred and revenge are evil, then I suppose he is.

Mom, then how did Reagan and Bush get to be president?

That's easy. Smart and evil people with the PR skills of Bill Gates run the show from behind the scenes. If they nominated an intelligent man, they wouldn't be able to control the country because an intelligent person wouldn't put up with it.

Mom, what's all this god talk with the republicans?

That's a more complicated question. Remember I used to ask the next door neighbors who were very involved in local republican politics and our church, how they were able to reconcile being Catholic and Republican? They just would reply with a pat answer from the bible taken completely out of context. Willfully ignorant people try to justify their prejudices and fears by hiding behind the bible and blaming everything on god's will.

Anyway, you really don't have to be smart to be the president. The president doesn't really run the show. Remember what happened to our last president who actually was smart and tried to run the show? He was vilified daily.

Mom, how come bush has a good chance of being re-elected if he is so dumb and if his religion is all screwed up?

Read this honey. I have to vacuum now.

Life In the Future

Well it's the future and my dad's words sometimes haunt me. He did speak of the cashless and checkless society which we are having more or less with ATM cards and especially with them hooked up to MC and Visa. But he also spoke about shorter work weeks because of the advent of computers. All this talk was in the early 60's. We had the World's Fair in NY around '64 and '65 and several pavillions were very futuristic. By the year 2000, we would be living the good life. Pressing buttons and having lots of leisure time to fly around in our hover craft.

Years later, I guess in the 70's and then in the early 90's I went to Epcot Center in Disney World where I visited every pavillion in that first part before you get to the nations of the world . I can remember remarking to my companions that "I have seen the future and I don't like it." It all looked very fake to me. Well it's the future and it seems to be the same old shit only worse.

Check out this article from a magazine in 1961: Will life be worth living in the year 2000 AD? It's so typical of what I remember from that era: The future would be positively boring... if there is a future.

Bitchin': When It Comes to Joining the Military, Just Say No or Be Prepared

by pissed off patricia


Hey kids, hopefully you won't join the military, as it's a damned dangerous occupation. Almost 1,000 of their members have been killed just since we invaded Iraq, and thousands more have been injured. There are also soldiers being killed and wounded in Afghanistan.

Here's another reason not to join. If you do join and you see anything corrupt or just plain wrong that other military men and women are doing, don't tell anyone about it. That could get you in trouble for the rest of your life. For evidence of this, look at the young man who blew the whistle on the prisoner abuses in Iraq. He has had death threats, and he has to have personal protection because apparently someone thinks good soldiers should always keep their mouth shut, no matter what. See, it doesn't pay to be a humanitarian during times of war or even after. Look at Senator Kerry. He came home from a war, described what other soldiers said they had done, and presto chango, he is called a traitor to the soldiers for thirty some years. I guess you could call it a don't see, don't tell, don't ask policy.

I know it sounds confusing because you've heard that our troops are our finest treasure, and you would think that any soldier who served his country in times of war would be respected for his volunteer service, but you just might be wrong. See, the public will support you as a soldier as long as it benefits them and makes them look patriotic, but when they are through with you, they'll allow the press to grind you up.

Also kids, if you go to war and save a fellow soldier's life don't think that action will garner you respect, because thirty some years after you perform your heroic deed there may be some who will deny what you did and go so far as to call you a liar. It won't matter that your records prove you were a good soldier and did indeed save a life. See, the public is eager to question something that happened years ago because it's easier than questioning what is happening today. If they question your involvement, they won't have to face their own involvement in supporting a war that never should have occurred. The public will wrap up their own shame and blame and try to lay it right on you. People are fickle that way. They will go pretty far in order to avoid facing their own truths.

And finally kids, if you join the military and go to war don't think the military will always be there for you. If you get injured, they'll see to your wounds but once you're out of the military, well they aren't all that concerned about your future. Ask any vet, really ask them. They'll tell you all about it.

So kids, please think long and hard before you join the military. And if you decide to pass that recruiter and not sign on the dotted line, it's okay. No one cares if you don't serve. But if you do join up with the military, be prepared to have to defend yourself for the rest of you life. Ask Max Cleland and John McCain and Senator Kerry what it's like to have your military reputation questioned and disputed by the public. Ask them which war wounds hurt the most. Was it the ones they received in battle from the enemy or the ones they are receiving at home everyday from the so-called patriotic public, the other enemy?


Okay kids, it's up to you. If you join the military to fight for your country, that's your decision. If after you serve in the military, you pursue a political career in order to serve your country in yet another way, you may very well expect many in your country to actually fight against you. We honor dead soldiers, and ironically we can make a surviving soldier's life miserable by leveling unfounded, accusations at him for the rest of his life. If you die in war we'll give you a flag, but if you survive we just might give you hell. You might be willing to fight for your country, but don't be so sure that your country will always be willing to fight for you.

OMG

Check this out before it goes away.

Nice house for sale. Check out 3rd picture.

UPDATE: It's gone but I saved it. heh.

Welcome to New York, Now Go Home

(Sung to Tune of New York, New York)
parody by Blonde Sense

Start spreading the news Arrive here Sunday
You want to be a part of it, New York, New York

Tell those GNC fools, We don't want them to stay
We'll show them what we think of them, New York, New York

I want to wake up in the city that never sleeps
To find the GOP gone, gone to the heap

Those right wing goons, Who hate freedom will say
Let's get the dang hell out of here, New York, New York
Cause they won't make it there, Won't make it anywhere,
We love freedom, New York, New York.

GOP Hates NY

New York Post explains how Dennis Hastert in his book said the Big Apple was guilty of an "unseemly scramble" for cash after Sept. 11 and he wrote that at the time of the attacks, it was impossible to calculate the cost, continuing, "but already we heard voices asking, 'Who's going to pay for this? How much will it cost?' "

""I want to let Hastert know we want our FDNY cap back," fumed Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., referring to the baseball cap given to Hastert three years ago when the powerful Illinois lawmaker toured Ground Zero shortly after the 9/11 attacks."

New York politicians are pissed to say the least. Apparently it's ok to ask about how much Iraq is costing us or how much hurricane charley will cost Florida. The attack on NY is a result our foreign policy and duh, of course NY is going to want money to rebuild and deserves every damn penny.

I'm fuming now. Don't forget to cough in the faces of delegates in NYC.

Why oh why are theycoming here?

Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago?

I'm pretty sure at least 1.3 million Americans would say, "Hell No!" Check it out here:

"WASHINGTON (CNN) - The number of Americans living in poverty jumped to 35.9 million last year, up by 1.3 million, while the number of those without health care insurance rose to 45 million from 43.6 million in 2002, the U.S. government said in a report Thursday."

What's a Fired Faux Cowboy To Do?

More Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia

What's a Fired Faux Cowboy To Do?

What do you think george bush will do after we kick him and his band of bandits our or OUR white house. What job might he get next?
We know for sure he won't go on a speaking tour like President Clinton did, because well, he isn't a speaker.
We know for sure he won't write his life story like President Clinton did, because well, he isn't a writer.
So what will he do? Tell me what you think. We need to give him some job leads.

Sacred Artifacts in Peril from Iraq to Israel

Newsweek has excellent articles in the current issue and online about the treasures in Iraq being looted, destroyed and sold on the black market. Much of what lies beneath Iraq tells the story of civilation.

Beneath the sands and silt of Iraq, for millennium after millennium, truths have waited to be pieced together about these legendary places that loom so large in the faith and culture of Jews, Christians and Muslims. "This is where the first writing began, where the first ideas of law and religions were written down," says archeologist McGuire Gibson at the University of Chicago. Golden calves, winged bulls and rampant lions have emerged from the dust...

...In Israel, much care is taken to preserve the slightest trace that might reveal literal truths about the mystical teachings of scripture. The tragedy of Iraq is that contexts are disappearing as fast as the objects themselves. -Unearthing the Bible

In an article, Saving Eden, we learn more of the looting of Iraq's treasures.

Now, every day and every night, the record beneath the sands is being destroyed. In what have become the lawless wilds of occupied Iraq, the history of civilization is being pillaged on an epic scale for a black market where irreplaceable fragments of our past are sold to museums, to sophisticated collectors or just to the highest bidder on e-Bay.

There are lots more articles on the right hand sidebar at Newsweek online. I know that there is a lot to worry about these days, but the history geek in me wishes that our people currently in Iraq would understand the importance of its history as much as they would respect the enormity of archeological finds in Israel. Both countries hold the answers to many unanswered questions.

Years ago when I was in the seminary and broke, I was dying to work on a dig in Israel. Now that I can afford to go on a dig, I'm scared shitless to go to the middle east. What else is new? We need peace in the middle east desperately. Beware of christian zionists. They have no intention of bringing about peace between Israel and Palestine. They'd like to see it destroyed in war so that Jesus will come again.

A Guide to NY

71% of registered New York City voters believe protesters should be allowed to rally in Central Park despite what the judge says. (Supposedly they are worried that protesters will wreck the grass but they are not worried when music lovers wreck the grass). 81% approve of lawful demonstrations during the convention, and 68% approve of nonviolent civil disobedience. An underwhelming 25% of New Yorkers approve of bush. NYC police plan to be flexible when it comes to protesters who show up in Central Park. They really have to make sure that they don't arrest the wrong people or it would be the end of Bloomberg's mayoral career for sure.

Hey Newsday has a snarky convention weblog. Cool. It's quite informative: tells you which streets will be closed, that you better be good at holding your bladder, etc.

Here's a link to the Newsday Convention Coverage page. Very informative and delightfully subversive if you ask me. You can get information on what hotels the delegates are staying in, which big shots will be in town (not a hell of a lot of bona fide celebrities) and there is a guide to understanding the natives. I like this article because it's bogus. I hope the delegates read it. heh.

Mayor Bloomberg wants New Yorker to behave! Yes daddy.

Gov. George "I live upstate in Albany and I don't have a clue" Pataki says, ""I've had people, as I've been around the country, say, 'Should I come here the week of the convention?' The answer is unequivocally yes," he said. "I will be here, my wife, Libby, will be here, our kids are going to be here as much as it can fit in with their school schedule, because this is the safest large city in America. And next week, it will be as safe as any place in America can possibly be."

Does he know that NYC Cops are protesting too?


And Jimmy Breslin, who actually knows a few things about Manhattan remarked that police are heavily guarding an asphalt lot, their own police stations and ignoring the Natural Gas pipelines in You Think We're Safe? That's a Real Gas

Another article quotes NY denizens as saying they haven't seen police in the right places.. like subways: "Right around Times Square, around Toys 'R' Us, I saw body-armed guards with the helmets and the body armor. That, and the dogs, kind of scared me," he said. "At least the toys are going to feel safe."

Commuters and vendors at the Port Authority bus terminal said they have noticed a smaller-than-usual number of uniformed police there over the past two weeks.

"I've seen maybe two cops [in the terminal]; maybe the rest are undercover," said Chris Jones, 41, a chemical operator from Paterson, N.J. "I've been standing here one hour and haven't seen any cops."

The absence of uniformed officers is enough to make Jones want to avoid Manhattan during the convention. "With the [lack of] security I see now, I won't take a chance," he said.

Alrighty then.

I cannot find the photo online of the NYPD guarding a Victoria's Secret Store. When I do, I will post it right away.

If you do come to NYC, eat local pizza. No chains.

Homeland Security T-shirt

This is the ultimate Homeland Security T-shirt folks.

click for larger view.

Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia

Okay, this breaks the sound barrier in the stupid zone.

Thank goodness Greg Palast's newsletter turned us on to this one. I mean come on now. What the heck are these folks doing with their brains? Obviously they aren't using them to think rationally. This article is linked from the GOP.com website.
You might want to check that website out too.

Anyway, here's a "set you hair on fire" comment from this bizarre article:

"New York City is a place renowned for coddling no one — tourists, babies, old people. And yet, its new mayor, a Boston transplant, plans to coddle these junior terrorists." (I added the bold type here, but the words are the author's original igorance.)

See? I knew it was bound to happen. The word "protesters" is morphing into "terrorists". I don't remember that happening in Boston, do you?

This article also mentions a plan by protesters to turn loose an army of mice to scare the beejeesus out of the delegates. Weapons of Mice Destruction? Damn, whose idea was this? It's so easy when you think about it. According to some folklore the only thing all elephants are deeply terrified of is a mouse. Beware folks in New York, there is also word that there's gonna be a food fight too.

Get out the popcorn and the adult beverages, tune in the convention next week cause this is going to be interesting, if not a little bit entertaining. Mice and pies and protesters, oh my!

Oh I get it now

Um yes. Now I understand why all the guys I know were busy watching beach volleyball on the olympics.



You can view all the hot beach volleyball pics at Yahoo. There are hundreds of them.

I enjoy a good ballsy sport myself....


like ping pong.

How about Tomato Hurling in the next Olympics?


Looks juicy!

More Bitchin' and More Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia


My take on the showdown today between Max Cleland and the Faux Cowboy.


(Imagine the music from any Clint Eastwood cowboy movie playing in the background.)

Max, don't give me no crap, Cleland, rolled in to Crawford Texas today and he rolled right up to Faux George Cowboy bush's bunkhouse. Max yelled, "Faux Cowboy, I'm calling your sorry ass out" Max waited as the clock stuck noon. No sign of the Faux Cowboy. Max yelled again, "Come on chicken shit, I've got a message for you. I know you're in there." Still no sign of the Faux Cowboy. Max waited in the hot Texas sun. The Cowboy never showed his head outside the bunkhouse.

Max was disgusted as he rolled away into the sunset. The Faux Cowboy was too afraid to come face to face with a real veteran gunslinger. Max had rolled away but his shadow stayed behind and his words echoed over the prairie. Max proved once again that bravery and guts are what it's all about. The Faux Cowboy proved once again that he had neither.

The end

_______________________

Cleland Tries to Deliver Letter to Bush

More Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia

In a comment under Jaye's piece "Uppity Texas Woman Wants The Courts Open to Everyone!" Liz made the following statement:

"It seems that since we got a faux cowboy as in the white house the country is going to hell along with the constitution.
Has anyone noticed that he talks like he's in a western movie? He's all twangy now and darn tootin' and all that? What the hell is going on? He doesn't stand up straight.. he hangs over the podium, leaning on it like he needs it to hold him up... he's trying to be one of the guys?"

Whew, I'm glad she said that, because I have been thinking the same exact thing. Maybe it's a blonde thing or something. Anyway, I thought that perhaps I was just so anti-bush that I was imagining it. This Ya hoo cowboy shit showed itself again yesterday when he came out of his secure hiding hole at the "ranch" with his band of bandits. He was walking like he had just dismounted from his horse, which he had been riding since birth. Of course we know it's not true, but that's how it looked. I expected him to strap on a toy six-shooter and show us his fast draw. Jeez louise, it would be freakin' comical if it weren't so freakin' weird.

Lately when he's doing his stump speeches he walks and stands like a Neanderthal. He looks like he hasn't quite evolved yet to the walking upright family of apes. Maybe he's regressing back to his roots, his primate roots.

I think we better keep an eye on this little buckaroo, because it seems something is happening here, and what it is isn't exactly clear. Maybe he's become a transformer instead of a uniter. He sure as hell has transformed our country in the last four years, hasn't he? We have been transformed from a country respected to a country repulsed by the rest of the world. Thanks, you silly assed little faux gunslinger.

Perhaps in george's little cowboy/cowpoke world we might see the following scene:

(Picture the fake cowboy or the real primate with his swagger and his drawl.)

He rides into town, gets off his trusty steed, and swaggers across the dusty street to the local saloon. He throws open the swinging doors of the saloon and then for no reason at all, he draws both his guns from his hip holster and blows the place and everyone inside to pieces. He turns around, walks back out through the swinging doors, casually blows the smoke away from his still smoking gun barrels and says, "That's how you keep the peace!"

I wonder....

If this

Q We have a battle here on this land, as well. And I would like to know, sir, from your heart -- I don't want to know what your advisors say, or even what your top advisor thinks -- but I need to know what do you think about homosexual marriages.

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, the question has come up obviously in the past with respect to the question of gay marriage. Lynne and I have a gay daughter, so it's an issue that our family is very familiar with. We have two daughters, and we have enormous pride in both of them. They're both fine young women. They do a superb job, frankly, of supporting us. And we are blessed with both our daughters.

With respect to the question of relationships, my general view is that freedom means freedom for everyone. People ought to be able to free -- ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to. The question that comes up with respect to the issue of marriage is what kind of official sanction, or approval is going to be granted by government, if you will, to particular relationships. Historically, that's been a relationship that has been handled by the states. The states have made that basic fundamental decision in terms of defining what constitutes a marriage. I made clear four years ago when I ran and this question came up in the debate I had with Joe Lieberman that my view was that that's appropriately a matter for the states to decide, that that's how it ought to best be handled.


The President has, as result of the decisions that have been made in Massachusetts this year by judges, felt that he wanted to support the constitutional amendment to define -- at the federal level to define what constitutes marriage, that I think his perception was that the courts, in effect, were beginning to change -- without allowing the people to be involved, without their being part of the political process -- that the courts, in that particular case, the state court in Massachusetts, were making the judgment or the decision for the entire country. And he disagreed with that. So where we're at, at this point is he has come out in support of a federal constitutional amendment. And I don't think -- well, so far it hasn't had the votes to pass. Most states have addressed this. There is on the books the federal statute Defense of Marriage Act passed in 1996. And to date it has not been successfully challenged in the courts, and that may be sufficient to resolve the issue. But at this point, say, my own pre

has anything to do with this....

NewsMax.com, one of America's leading online news services, is conducting an urgent national online poll.
Should Dick Cheney Be Replaced?
NewsMax will provide the results of this poll to major media, Congress, the president, and key members of the administration. Additionally, NewsMax's results will be shared with every major radio talk show host in America. NewsMax reports have been cited by national major media, including Fox News, CNN and MSNBC.

Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia

It's time to have some fun!

Here's a reason to watch bush's speech at the GOP convention. No really, this will be fun. Take this quiz and then watch the speech to see if your predictions come true.

Dana Hork has the contest up for predictions about the GOP convention. This one will make you laugh out loud. Go visit danahork.com , enter the contest and have fun. We need lots more fun these days and thanks to Dana we can have some.

Here's what it's all about:

"Either read for fun, or enter the "Republican National Convention Chief Political Pundit" contest by submitting the form to me online no later than Thursday, Sept. 2nd at 3pm EST. I will score the quizzes, and the pundit with the highest score will get to choose from a list of prizes including:

- John Kerry Flip Flops -
- George W. Bush Jack in the Box -
- Any Best Selling Hard Cover Politico Book -
- And Other Politico Goodies

The quiz contains 50 brief questions, covering ONLY George W. Bush's speech scheduled for the night of Sept. 2nd. I have written questions with a varying degree of difficulty to allow everyone from the politically savvy to the politically clueless to participate. (The quiz takes about 10 minutes to fill out)."

Bush Hates New York Redux... again

Blondesense says: Please direct your coughs into the faces of RNC delegates to remind them how safe the air was after 9/11.

Just when I thought I was done ranting about how much BushCo and the whole RNC hates the guts of New York and New Yorkers (read my previous post on this topic if you haven't already) and have Guiliani, Pataki and Bloomberg fully drunk on Koolaid, astute reader, resident co-smart ass and blondesense contributor, Jaye pointed out a great article by the Village Voice, probably the only good paper in NY: A presidential potpourri of cuts, blunders, stonewalls, deceptions, and distractions "The 10 Ways Bush Screwed New York" by Wayne Barrett, special reporting by Daniel Magliocco. Read it for sure. If the hypocrisy doesn't make you want to scream, I don't know what will.

Richard Cranium at The All Spin Zone has an article that really hit home... If search and rescue dogs from 9/11 are dead from cancer, how long will it take till human denizens of the city will be dropping dead?

BTW: New Yorkers are great people. Don't be afraid of them when you visit. A writer purposely lost 5 wallets in one day. 4 were returned intact the same day.

Speaking of 'God Bless America"

This song just popped into my head after reading Jaye's post.

With God On Our Side
by Bob Dylan
Copyright © 1963;

Oh my name it is nothin' My age it means less
The country I come from Is called the Midwest
I's taught and brought up there The laws to abide
And that land that I live in Has God on its side.

Oh the history books tell it They tell it so well
The cavalries charged The Indians fell
The cavalries charged The Indians died
Oh the country was young With God on its side.

Oh the Spanish-American War had its day
And the Civil War too Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes I's made to memorize
With guns in their hands And God on their side.

Oh the First World War, boys It closed out its fate
The reason for fighting I never got straight
But I learned to accept it Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead When God's on your side.

When the Second World War Came to an end
We forgave the Germans And we were friends
Though they murdered six million In the ovens they fried
The Germans now too Have God on their side.

I've learned to hate Russians All through my whole life
If another war starts It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely With God on my side.

But now we got weapons Of the chemical dust
If fire them we're forced to Then fire them we must
One push of the button And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions When God's on your side.

In a many dark hour I've been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ Was betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you You'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot Had God on his side.

So now as I'm leavin' I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin' Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head And fall to the floor
If God's on our side He'll stop the next war.

Bob Dole Should Know

From "Unlimited Partners: Our American Story," by Bob and Libby Dole 1988. Page 59:

"As we approached the enemy, there was a brief exchange of gunfire. I took a grenade in hand, pulled the pin, and tossed it in the direction of the farmhouse. It wasn't a very good pitch—remember, I was used to catching passes, not throwing them. In the darkness, the grenade must have struck a tree and bounced off. It exploded nearby, sending a sliver of metal into my leg—the sort of injury the Army patched up with mercurochrome and a Purple Heart."

Via Village Voice

Uppity Texas Woman Wants The Courts Open to Everyone!

We have a bona fide fight between the constitutionalists and the fundamentalists in Texas.

We have a Bible in a glass case in front of the Civil Courthouse in Houston. A constitutionalist, also known as a woman with a brain, sued to have the Bible removed because it violates the separation of church and state. She is an attorney and is familiar with the Constitution and the First Amendment to the Bill of Rights. A federal judge said remove the Bible.

For doing her duty, she has received death threats.

The fundamentalists are angry that this educated woman wants the courthouse to be for everyone, not just Christians. The Bible is there to celebrate the good works of a fellow who supported the Star of Hope a do good charity that helps feed and shelter people. The fundies do not want the Bible moved, to say, the front of the Star of Hope shelter, but want it front and center at the courthouse where brief cases and Diet Coke cans routinely rest upon it's holy Plexiglas (c) surface.

The issue exactly frames the election. Are we a nation of laws or are we a nation of a threatening minority? Mob rule or the rule of law? These people sincerely believe they are on a mission from Gawd. Making fun of them only minimizes their threat. They mean to put this nation "back" on some track on which this nation never was. And they will kill abortion doctors or women attorneys to do it.

It doesn't matter what the religious beliefs of the founders were. What matters is they thought enough of you to make it possible for you to make your own choices without the government or some dangerous minority making your choices for you. They were even concerned about the tyranny of the majority crushing the rights and the lives of those who dare to disagree.

How are you going to subvert the tyranny?

Update: A federal appeals court has given a reprieve to a monument displaying a Bible outside the Harris County Civil Court House in downtown Houston.

A three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals stayed a lower federal court judge's ruling that the display, located at 301 Fannin, be removed by the end of Tuesday.

The stay remains in effect until all appeals are exhausted in the case.

"I'm elated. I said, 'Praise God,'" A local preacher said.

Bible supporters celebrated Tuesday after the reprieve was made public.

"They made the right decision. God answered prayer," a supporter said.

preznit won't condemn swift boat liars

The president didn't really condemn the Swift Boat Liars at all. The President has basically said, according to his press secretary, that both Bush and Kerry should call an end to all ads by 527 groups. Of course this only leads the readers and the press to assume that the president has something to do with the Swift Boat Liars or he would have condemned the ad specifically. Somehow if Kerry calls an end to the ads, it's insinuated that they will magically disappear. It is not in Kerry's best interest to fall for this trap by the Bush smear machine. Also Scotty has said that Kerry's ads contain untruths yet he doesn't discuss the untruths contained in Bush's ads. It's a big mess that Bush has gotten himself into this time. He basically has no record to stand on whatsoever. This is a good thing.

Read the Press Gaggle from yesterday:

MR. McCLELLAN: The President has condemned -- well, first of all, the President has called on Senator Kerry to join him in calling for all of these ads and activity by these shadowy groups to stop, and he renewed that call today. The President has condemned all of these ads. And when he says he condemns them all, he means it. He wants Senator Kerry to join him in calling for a stop to all of these ads and activity.

Q But does he condemn the actual charge within the ad?

MR. McCLELLAN: That's why I said --

Q Can I assume that, then?

MR. McCLELLAN: He condemns all of these ads --

Q So I can assume he condemns the content.

MR. McCLELLAN: Deb, he condemns all of these ads --

Q -- and the content?

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me answer your question. The President condemns all of these ads. And he's been very clear in that. When he says he condemns all of the ads, he means all of the ads. And Senator Kerry should join us --

Q He's condemning the content of the ad, as well?

MR. McCLELLAN: He's calling for a stop to all of these ads. That's what he's -- he's renewed his call today to Senator Kerry: Join us in calling for a stop to all of these ads.

Q So let me just ask you --

MR. McCLELLAN: And activity by these unregulated soft-money groups.

Q You're not making a difference -- you're not distinguishing between the fact that they are 527s --

MR. McCLELLAN: I mean -- go ahead.

Q You're not separating, then, the fact that these are 527s getting unregulated money and the actual content of the ad, that Kerry might have fraudulently obtained his medals, he might have falsified records? You're lumping that all in. When he says he condemns them, he condemns everything.

MR. McCLELLAN: Senator Kerry wants to have it both ways. Let's call for an end to all of these ads by these shadowy groups that receive unregulated soft money. That's what the President has previously called on Senator Kerry to join us in doing, and we renew that call today. He should call for a stop to all of these ads. We thought we got rid of this when we signed -- when the President signed the campaign finance reforms into law. The President has been on the receiving end of more than $63 million in negative attacks from these shadowy groups, these 527s that exist. And that's why he believes that we should stop all of this activity that is going on by these unregulated -- soft money activity. And so I -- let's go and look at all that has happened over the last year, and all the negative attacks that have been aimed at the President, and all the false attacks that have been aired against the President out there.

Q So the content of all of them, he condemns that as well?

Q So can we assume that he's also denouncing the content of the ads?

MR. McCLELLAN: You've heard what he said -- he condemns all of the ads, Deb. He could not be more clear in saying that -- and when he says something, he means it. Senator Kerry can put an end to all of this by -- help put an end to all of this by joining us in calling for a stop to all of these ads. That's what he ought to do.

Q -- charge in the ad.

MR. McCLELLAN: That's what he ought to do. Why has the Kerry campaign been silent for more than a year, and then actually been fueling some of these very false and negative attacks that have been airing against the President of the United States for the last year?

Q But this one was against them.

MR. McCLELLAN: Right, they want to have it both ways. The President has been consistent from the very beginning. When he signed the campaign finance reforms into law, he thought he got rid of all of this activity and these ads. And he believes --

Q So you're condemning these ads, but not --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he believes we should get rid of all of this activity and ads by these shadowy groups.

Q But he's not denouncing the specific charge within the ads?

MR. McCLELLAN: How many times are you going to ask the same question, Deb?

Q You didn't answer.

MR. McCLELLAN: That is the answer: Senator Kerry should join us in calling for an end to all of this unregulated soft-money activity by these shadowy groups. And we call on Senator Kerry again today to join us in calling for a stop to all of these activities. The President condemns all of the ads. That's what he said, just again a minute ago, and that's what he has said previously.

Q Okay, so he would -- in terms of the question that I asked, he would discourage Republicans from supporting --

MR. McCLELLAN: -- we've never questioned Senator Kerry's service, and we won't. This race should be about the future. This race should be about how -- who is in the best position to lead the country, going forward, for the next four years. The President has a proven record of results, and he's laying out an agenda that builds upon that record of results. And we should be talking about how we lead and win the war on terrorism. We should be talking about how we -- the best way to create jobs and keep our economy moving forward. We should be talking about ways to reduce rising health care costs and make health care more affordable and accessible. That's what this election should be about, and instead you have Senator Kerry continuing to engage in false and negative attacks against the President of the United States.

Q Can I ask you a sort of unrelated question, which Dick wanted me to ask for another story?

MR. McCLELLAN: And I would remind you also, Deb, that the false and negative attacks being launched by the Kerry campaign have no basis in fact. They have presented no evidence. But there has been a revolving door between these Democratic front groups and the campaign strategist and the personnel and the strategies.

Q Okay, so you say these have no --

MR. McCLELLAN: That's why we need to --

Q -- they're false and baseless, but are the Swift Boat ads false and baseless as well?

MR. McCLELLAN: Deb, this goes to your whole question. These ads are another example of the problem with these shadowy groups, and that receive unregulated soft money activity. And so the President condemns all of these ads. The President, as you heard him say again today, has called Senator Kerry's service "noble."

Q So Republican or Democrat, they're all false and baseless.

MR. McCLELLAN: We should condemn all of these ads, and put a stop to all these ads.

Q (Inaudible.)

MR. McCLELLAN: No, what I was talking about was the claim that the Kerry campaign has now made, which is, all of a sudden -- I think his campaign, the other day, said that Senator Kerry had reached the boiling point. Well, reaching the boiling point shouldn't be excuse to launch into false and baseless attacks against the President. Yet they continue to do so.

Who's Who in Protest

Newsday today has a centerfold with all the groups expecting to protest at the RNC. You can see the impressive list online. This blonde hasn't decided which event to attend although I've figured out the best way to get to the city without having to deal with the Penn Station lockdown: drive to Queens and take subway.

It's also de rigeur to wear a shirt with an anti-bush/war slogan. My son and I will be sporting anarchist wear from Jesus' General. I will be wearing the Torture is Not A Family Value T shirt and junior insists on wearing the Dick "Go Fuck Yourself" Cheney T shirt. It's exciting to be taking my son to his first protest. On the other hand, I can't believe that I'm re-living the tumultuous years of the Nixon Administration.

UPDATE: Theoria at Daily Kos has a wonderful Protest Guide to NYC. It has meet up times, travel information and tips on how to behave. Most importantly, New Yorkers want these protests to be peaceful. Protesters are asked to be on the lookout for criminal behavior. This should be reported to the cops. Protesters should not take the law into their own hands. That's really good advice. Let the bad guys get arrested, not the peace protesters.

Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia


Shut the Hell Up, Leave Your Freedom at the Door and Fall in Line!

Have you noticed that you're experiencing the gag reflex frequently these days? Every damned news show begins with the swift boat bs. They are given more free airtime than any other part of the news. It has been dissected over and over again. , Every newscaster, while allowing that it's all bunk, seems to be trying as hard as they can to find something in the story to give credence to. It's frustrating and tiring.

When a news show comes on, this story will supersede the story of how many military personal died that day in Iraq. How great is that for the bush campaign? We are supposed to care more about who said what 35 years ago than how many soldiers died today and how. This is insane.

Imagine that one of your family members went to Iraq, was injured and decorated, and then returned home. Now imagine how you would feel if the public swooped down on that family member accusing them of not being injured enough to deserve the medals they received and condemning them for telling what they experienced while they served. That is exactly what is happening in our world today. The very souls who screamed that we must support our troops are questioning one of our troops who fought in another war and they are calling that person a liar. I remember the war in Vietnam and I was just as adamantly opposed to that war, but I was never opposed to the military members. I was opposed to the policy.

Someone said yesterday that it isn't enough to say we support our troops. We must support the mission or else we are playing into the hands of the enemy. That's narrowing the path too much. Now we are supposed to be intimidated into supporting all American policy and leaving no room for dissent. Where's the freedom factor in all this? Once you have been dictated to that you must support all military policy you have become a member of the administration's war machine and you are allowed no exit.

If all this doesn't scare the hell out of you, then you don't realize what is happening to our country. Imagine the next dictates if bush is allowed four more years. Look at what we have lost in just the last four years. Think back before bush was in office. Did you feel as though your rights were shrinking and disappearing during President Clinton's eight years in office? Sure, you probably felt frustrated as Ken Starr nipped at Clinton's heels and his hunting missions gobbled up tons of money and time, but at least the public wasn't the prey. Today that's all changed. Not only are we the prey, but we're also being penned up in the name of patriotism. Free speech will now be relegated to a soundproof, controlled area, not only during conventions, but nationwide everyday. When free speech is controlled, when members of our military are smeared with lies because they speak out, when some of the same atrocities that occurred in Vietnam are being committed today with little concern, and when political and military policy outweighs individual freedoms, we are on the road to the encampment of all this country used to stand for.

Damn it all to hell, this is not what we are about. We absolutely must speak out just as long as we can. The saddest part is, I don't know how much longer that will be. As the swift boat guys continue with their freedom to question a decorated military hero's record, we are losing our rights to question their questions. Any veteran who supports bush because Senator Kerry spoke out 35 years ago is turning his back on the very policy bush claims we are fighting for in Iraq today. Bush preaches that freedom is a gift from god. No, it isn't. Freedom is no gift, it's something that must be constantly exercised or it will wither and disappear or it will be confiscated. It will be lost. If we shut up, the enemy wins and we lose our freedom. If we give up, the enemy wins and we lose our freedom. If the enemy wins we will lose it all. The question is, just exactly who is the enemy and what is their mission?

***

Now for the "makes your hair catch on fire" message

Today in the Washington Post, from Dana Milbank's editorial: "Now for an update on the White House's ongoing effort to kill the press corps. The White House travel office signed a contract last week with an airline called Primaris to fly the press corps to Bush events. The two-month-old company has only one airplane. True, media representatives gave their blessing to the deal. But that was before they learned that the company's president twice had his pilot's license revoked related to his flying of an "unairworthy" aircraft, that the chief executive flopped in his last attempt to start an airline and that the 15-year-old plane itself was damaged in a hailstorm a decade ago and spent most of the past two years mothballed in France."

Do I smell hair burning?

Remember Jan 20, 2001?

I don't remember this part. Watch the real Bush Coronation at Freespeech.org: "On the ground action from the protests of the Bush coronation, January 20, 2001. As phalanxs of cops cleared the path, the President Select raced through his parade in a black limo to a wave of 'Boos' and the chant: 'Free Mumia! Jail Bush!'"

What an eye opener. A must watch.
If you weren't sure whether or not the media was hampering democracy in America, this video will show you how the media was complicit with Bush since before day 1.

First Lady of the Press

Good Interview With Helen Thomas (excerpt):

Q. Why do Bush's press conferences sound so scripted?

A. Bush has a seating chart and he knows who he is going to call on. He picks the people. He's been told to not call on me because I am going to ask a very tough question, such as, Why are we there? Why are we killing people in their own country? How can we? On what basis? I mean, if you want to go after terrorists, good. But Iraq had nothing to do with it.

Q. This President has not had many press conferences. Do you think the Bush administration values the opportunity to talk with the press?

A. Hell, no. He's forced to. It's absolutely necessary because we are there in their face. But he doesn't hold enough news conferences. It's far short of anybody else. And when he appears with a head of state and they try to act like it's a news conference, it's not. He says, "I'll take two questions here and two questions on that side," and there's no follow-up. He gets mad if it is a two-part question. I mean, c'mon. The President of the United States should be able to answer any question, or at least dance around one. At some time – early and often – he should submit to questioning and be held accountable, because if you don't have that then you only have one side of the story. The Presidential news conference is the only forum in our society, the only institution, where a President can be questioned. If a leader is not questioned, he can rule by edict or executive order. He can be a king or a dictator. Who's to challenge him? We're there to pull his chain and to ask the questions that should be asked every day, for every move.

From The 14 characteristics of Fascism:

6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes the media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or through sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in wartime, is very common.

Corporatism Revisted

Today's rant will cover 2 of the 14 characteristics of fascism in honor of BushCo's new overtime rules which will cheat many Americans out of money that they need in order to make a decent living. It is estimated that about 6 million Americans will be affected by these new rules in an economy that has already seen real wages drop for the vast workforce in the U.S. and corporate profits accelerate despite what some economists say about the recovering economy. There are still very few decent jobs and out there, the really good ones have been outsourced so that the corporations can make more profits and unemployment figures have appeared to be improving but that is only because unemployment benefits have run out or people just gave up looking for work. It appears that BushCo is trying to protect corporate cronies from being sued by employees who cheat employees out of pay and to also help widen the gap even more between the "haves and the have nots".

Do any of these characteristics remind you of a particular country that has the initials U.S.A?

9. Power of corporations protected.
Although the personal life of ordinary citizens was under strict control, the ability of large corporations to operate in relative freedom was not compromised. The ruling elite saw the corporate structure as a way to not only ensure military production (in developed states), but also as an additional means of social control. Members of the economic elite were often pampered by the political elite to ensure a continued mutuality of interests, especially in the repression of “have-not” citizens.

10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated.
Since organized labor was seen as the one power center that could challenge the political hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it was inevitably crushed or made powerless. The poor formed an underclass, viewed with suspicion or outright contempt. Under some regimes, being poor was considered akin to a vice.

Let's look up corporatism in the encyclopedia:

Historically, corporatism or corporativism (Italian corporativismo ) is a political system in which legislative representation is given to corporations such as industrial, professional, or economic groups. Unlike pluralism , in which many groups must compete for control of the state, in corporatism, certain unelected bodies take a critical role in the decision-making process.

Under Fascism in Italy, employers were organized into syndicates known as "corporations" according to their industries, and these groups were given representation in a legislative body known as the Camera dei Fasci e delle Corporazioni.

Corporatism is also used in reference to tendencies in politics for legislators and administrations to be influenced or dominated by the interests of corporations rather than citizens. In this view, government decisions are seen as being influenced strongly by which sorts of policies will lead to greater profits for favored companies.

"Crony capitalism " is a pejorative expression, denoting a type of capitalism in which business success is heavily dependent upon one's connections . In such a system, business decisions are significantly influenced by friendships and family ties, rather than by market forces and open competition . The term, often abbreviated " crapitalism ", is generally used as part of an explanation for why a superficially market-based system fails to generate adequate economic growth. The term has been used to describe the economic systems of Japan ,Indonesia and the United States .

A Corporate police state is a pejorative term for a hypothetical system of government that combines an economy based on private enterprise , especially large business corporations , with a repressive and authoritarian government. It is envisioned that a corporate police state could manifest itself in a kind of modern feudalism , or, in combination with sufficient nationalism and strong state power, could turn into a variant of fascism .

This form of government would use that power to enact laws which maximize corporate profits without regard for personal liberty. The concept has gained some attention as various observers, activists, and demagogues have claimed existence of similarities between some of the current (as of 2004) policies in the United States of America , and the ideal of a corporate police state.

"Fascism should more accurately be named corporatism , since it is the merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini

More Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia

Swift Boat Vets Against Kerry and their newest 527 ad

During this ad you hear snippets of Senator Kerry's comments to the Senate Foreign Relations committee in April, 1971, about atrocities committed by Americans in Vietnam during that war. You may read his entire speech here.

If you're too young to remember the Vietnam war and if you question what Senator Kerry said that day, visit this PBS.org site and read about one such incident.
Please read what happened in My Lai, March 16, 1968.

Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia

I have a friend and neighbor who serves in the Fla. National Guard. After September 11, 2001, he was called to go to the Keys and later Miami to guard the airports. After he came home and resumed his life he was called up to go to Iraq. He spent 14 months in Iraq and returned earlier this year. When hurricane Charley ravaged Charlotte county a week ago, he was called up to go to the Punta Gorda area to do nighttime security for the homeowners whose homes were destroyed, and he's there still. Most would agree that over the past three years my friend has served his country well.

One night last week his wife came home from work at about 11:30 to find that someone had broken into her house. Her husband's laptop computer had been stolen. His rolls of change and multiple dvd's were missing. His dress watch that she had given him as a present was gone. One of the dvd's that was stolen was the one a local TV station had given him. This disc showed his "Welcome Home from Iraq", party that was covered by the TV station. Other items were also taken.

Now our neighborhood is a bit on edge. We haven't experienced this before. My friend's wife feels violated, knowing that a stranger has been in her house and snooped around in her belongings. Each night when she comes home, she's fearful of what she may find. The question of, "Will they come back?" haunts her.

The computer and the dvd's have been recovered but the culprit has not yet been apprehended. My friend's watch probably will never come home nor will his rolls of change and other personal possessions. The investigation continues.

This seems so ironic, because while my friend has spent so much of the last three years defending and providing security for his country, he is now a victim.

So tonight, as he stands watch on a hot and sultry Florida road with mosquitoes buzzing in his ears, he must worry and wonder about security at home. He must wonder about the security of his own home and worry about his wife's safety.

I find this irony so sad and so unfair. I know that no one promised or even suggested that life would be fair. It isn't, and I understand all that. What I don't understand is why must certain fates and circumstances go to such extremes to prove it.

***

On another somewhat ironic note, they say that bush is keeping a close eye on the Olympics on TV. Too bad he didn't keep as close an eye on the weapons inspectors reports on TV before he gleefully declared war on Iraq.

***

Apparently Bob Dole has taken one Viagra pill too many and it has affected his heart. Dole said that Senator Kerry received an early exit from combat for "superficial wounds". Dole said, "And here's, you know, a good guy, a good friend. I respect his record. But three Purple Hearts and never bled that I know of. I mean, they're all superficial wounds. Three Purple Hearts and you're out."

In my opinion, Mr. Dole displays the emotions of a hardhearted man.

Viva La Democracy!

It's Ceausescu-esque according to my best friend who knows first hand that you were told to clap and cheer loudly when their dictator spoke. People were bussed in to applaud loudly back in Romania before Mr and Mrs Ceausescu got theirs.

The difference between Bush and Ceausescu supporters though is that Ceausescu forced people to clap and cheer for him whether they liked him or not. Bush has hoodwinked a 'not too bright' part of the populace into believing that he is a man of god indeed.

Case in point from the Charleston Gazette:

Supporters at Hedgesville rally cite Bush's religious values

By VICKI SMITH
Associated Press Writer

HEDGESVILLE, W.Va. (AP) -- Forget the war. Forget the economy. For many George Bush supporters, the presidency is about something more fundamental -- faith.

It's about their faith in him, and his faith in God.

Cindy Wilson, of Keyser, takes comfort in the knowledge that Bush is a Christian, she said, because if he is uncertain of a decision, God will make it for him.

"I believe the Bible is our guidebook, our user manual for life,'' said Wilson, who joined a crowd of at least 7,500 at Hedgesville High School for a Bush campaign rally Tuesday night.

"When man depends on man, we're limited,'' she said. "But God is limitless and will help him make the right choices.''

Bush drew his loudest applause when talking about social issues that resonate with conservatives including marriage and family. And he said what they wanted to hear when he declared that trying times demand "a strong and abiding faith.''

Sandra Kinnanan, of Charles Town, is unapologetic about her faith and the president.

"He opposes partial birth abortion and stem-cell research, and he believes in keeping God front and center,'' she said. "He stands for the values of myself, my husband and my family.''

Democratic challenger John Kerry may be a religious man too, she said, "but on those issues he's on the wrong side.''

Kinnanan said she cares about other issues including the economy, "but to me, if you have faith and the core of being God-centered, everything else will go with that. You'll have the right perspective in addressing jobs and other issues.''

For others in the crowd, the relevance of faith was more difficult to express, but just as important.

"I just love him, he's a good man,'' said Andrea Allen, of Hedgesville. "He has good morals.''

Janet Lyons, of Martinsburg, believes Bush's faith helps him withstand critics on the war in Iraq and other controversial policies.

"I like the fact that he isn't afraid to do what he thinks is right,'' she said.
....

"There's plenty of jobs out there,'' she said. "People just don't want to work.''

Bush paused several times during his speech as the crowd of several thousand chanted, "Four More Years, Four More Years,'' to drown out a single demonstrator every time he shouted comments about the Iraq war and the failure to find weapons of mass destruction there.
...

"I haven't seen or heard anything about Kerry that's made me want to vote for him,'' he said. "Everything Bush has done hasn't been the best, but he's done a good job overall.''

Even 9-year-old Jonathan Frisby, who came from Mechanicsburg, Pa., with his grandmother, had an opinion.

"Kerry is going to raise taxes, and Bush will get us into wars we don't belong in,'' he said. "I'd vote for Bush, because I'd rather be in a war than spend a lot of money.''

I do believe that this AP reporter was making a very serious point that those with discerning eyes will notice.

Bush is having commie dictator type rallies staged and pretends he is a religious, moral man. People are more worried about stem cell research, so called morality and marriage values than the economy and war when it comes to a presidential election. We are not electing a pope. We are electing someone to lead a secular nation. A nation filled with people of various religious beliefs who must live together somehow in peace.

I spent last night listening to Laura Flanders on Air America talking to callers who are planning to come to NYC next week to protest what has to be the most bogus president in our history. There are dozens and dozens of very organized peaceful protests planned. Get ready for a revolution folks. I haven't heard that word used so much since the Nixon years. This time it isn't being voiced by college kids who are on the verge of being drafted, this time it's coming from adults and veterans. A very important thing to watch out for say the Philly police to the NYC police: anarchists (RNC agents) may pose as protesters in order to heat up the protests and turn them into riots. This wouldn't be the first time that peaceful protests turned into riots because of planted "hippies/anarchists".

This will keep you busy for the rest of the weekend

The Coincidence Theorist's Guide to 9/11

Let's Worry About Today's Soldiers

We have thousands of soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan right now who deserve our support and prayers. On the homefront we have a bunch of disgruntled, probably bribed well, swift boat veterans whom I'm sure fought hard for our side over 30 years ago trying to bring down one of their own for political gain. Their charges against Senator Kerry are hurtful to all soldiers and veterans.

William B. Rood of the Chicago Tribune was with Kerry on February 28, 1969 at the incident which won Kerry a silver star.

But Kerry's critics, armed with stories I know to be untrue, have charged that the accounts of what happened were overblown. The critics have taken pains to say they're not trying to cast doubts on the merit of what others did, but their version of events has splashed doubt on all of us. It's gotten harder and harder for those of us who were there to listen to accounts we know to be untrue, especially when they come from people who were not there.

Now you can read his account, which he never wanted to recall, of that fateful day. Hopefully these pitiful, greedy veterans who are smearing Senator Kerry will one day realize that they did a great disservice to all the active solidiers and Vietnam vets.

UPDATE: But before we forget about this topic, you must see this video of Senator John McCain in 2000 telling george bush that 'he ought to be ashamed' and you ought to see george's face. I don't believe I have much respect for McCain anymore since he is cruising around the country with bush.

Priceless

Another Not Too Swift Boat Veteran Bites the Dust

Digby at Hullabaloo has got the story about another swift boat liar, Kenneth Cordier.

They didn't cover their tracks fast enough. Let's see how many of them are outed.

Bitchin' On Saturday

by pissed off patricia


I just don't understand why the Vietnam Vets, who are still carrying a grudge against Senator Kerry's statements about the war made over thirty years ago, aren't more concerned about the war that is going on now in Iraq. Of all the people in the US, they should see the disaster that is going on now in this war, this day. Why aren't they equally angry at george bush for committing soldiers to a war based on a reason that didn't exist? Why aren't they outraged that once again our military is fighting and dying in another war that never should have been? They must remember what that was like, don't they?

I've tried and tried to figure this out. Their war has ended. This one has not.

There are some Vietnam vets who remember their war, and they apply their knowledge and lessons learned to the war of today. One such person is Jack Dalton. Jack writes about his feelings regarding this administration and this war. Hop over to Jack's website and read, "One Veteran's Outrage: John O’Neill’s Smear Campaign on John Kerry"

Drop Jack an email if you like, because he is one hell of a great guy.

Here's how one person described Jack Dalton.

"There I was, at a Portland peace rally, peacefully handing out anti-Coca-Cola flyers from the School of the Americas Watch booth, when there came this guy, zooming along in what appeared to be an electric wheelchair speed machine, pony tail flying in the wind, fringed boots, fringed leather jacket and an exceptionally excellent cowboy hat on his head. Screeched to a halt at the booth, accepted a flyer and nodded his agreement with the printed material which pointed out the Coca-Cola corporation’s misdeeds in Central and South America. All the while, little bolts of pain flickered across his face like dry lightening in an evening sky.

Turned out Jack was a Viet Nam Vet, physically a prisoner, at the mercy of his wheelchair’s eccentric electric system. And those flickers of pain from our first meeting were all too real. There were not only war inflicted muscular-skeletal injuries but also the internal ravages of full-blown Agent Orange disease, which sent its own army of predatory dioxide cannibals gnawing at his internal organs. This man’s physical body was at constant war with itself, so harshly, that when he joked, “The only thing that’s still working is my hair,” he laughed, but he wasn’t kidding. That was the physical man."

Don't you love him already?

***

Now for a bit more reading material. "Nick Coleman: Gospel, crosses and boos on cue"

Here's a teaser to get you going. "When the crowd didn't respond, Ingraham stepped back to the microphone to chide us: "You're supposed to BOO when I say the ACLU!" After that, boos came on all the proper cues."

Protesters to get discounts to swanky NYC venues

It's getting closer and closer to zero hour. The RNC will be here shortly. Cops are planning for riots and protestors claim that they will be peaceful. The FBI is investigating regular Americans who want to protest the convention. As I recall from years ago, the cops and undercover FBI or CIA 'hippies' used to turn a peaceful protest into a riot. Be sure to dress like a delegate (polyester) or a business person if you plan to protest.

At the same time the city is being sued by activists for not getting a permit to use Central Park's Great Lawn for a protest, Mayor Bloomberg is offering cute little "Peaceful Political Activist" buttons to protesters which will enable them to get a discount at such notable venues in The Big Apple as the Whitney Museum, the Museum of Sex, the Pokémon Center store and such restaurants as Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too and Applebee's. Oooh I'm so there.

White House Blocked Health Risk Information for New Yorkers

and they wonder why there are huge protests planned. duh.

When the RNC comes to town, New Yorkers should walk up to the delegates and cough in their faces. I know I sound like a broken record* but how dare they come to NY to nominate an administration that is responsible for hundreds of serious illnesses in NY due to this (Sierra Club):

On August 21, 2003, the Inspector General for the federal Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") released a disturbing 165-page report documenting the fact that the White House Council on Environmental blocked health risk information that EPA wanted to release to the public following the September 11, 2001 attack.

This report ... identifies how not only EPA but also the Federal Emergency Management Agency ("FEMA") and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA") failed the Ground Zero community, misinforming them about hazards and failing to take proper action to prevent exposures...

This report documents why the federal government's failures cannot be excused by ignorance, surprise or emergency conditions, or by blaming workers who didn't wear protective masks. It warns that the Bush administration intends to make some of these failures into standard procedure for national emergencies....

EPA failed to find toxic hazards because it did not look for them. Others did look, using proper technology that the federal government not only knew about but possessed, and found them. Even worse, EPA failed to revise its public health assurances even as this specific independent data on hazards became available. Leaders in the Bush Administration failed to change their statements of assurance about safety even after it became clear that people were getting sick. Many of the workers at and near Ground Zero did not have proper protective gear, and those that did have it received conflicting information about the need to use it.

OSHA refused to enforce federal worker safety requirements at Ground Zero, wrongly claiming that it had no authority in national emergencies. It then continued this refusal long after the emergency had passed, and long after it became apparent that environmental safety at Ground Zero was being compromised. EPA and FEMA, in concert with New York City's own health department, told families that they could clean up the contaminated dust themselves with wet rags. In fact, they actually discouraged area residents from wearing safety masks.

You must read this whole article from Sierra Club to get more shocking details. This is not propaganda. The story was not considered "newsworthy" across America but we knew locally about the horrendous crime against New Yorkers that the Bush administration perpetrated after 9/11.

This is yet another reason why the RNC is so not wanted in New York. It's not bad enough that the NYC Health Department was in on this, but you would think you could trust your Federal Government to advise citizens about air quality dangers after a terrorist attack that is a result of their foreign policy. The Bush Administration hates New York. They have no right to come here. Period.

*A couple of my previous rants concerning the Rethuglican disregard for New York:
Shrub says "Fuck You" to New York
Bush Hates NY. Bush Hates Our Heroes
NY Heroes Have To Sue For Justice Revisted
RNC NOT WELCOME IN NYC

They are evil. Wicked Evil.

The Bush people are unbelievable and supposedly their evilness is influencing Americans. It's time for Kerry to fight back or we will surely be under a fascist dicatorship for 4 more years and that means I have to move.

From Washington Post
Group to Air Ad Attacking Kerry's 1971 Testimony

Democrats Counter on TV And With Legal Challenge
By Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 21, 2004; Page A01

...A new ad by the anti-Kerry group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth condemns the Democratic nominee for making allegations of war crimes and atrocities committed by American soldiers. "It hurt me more than any physical wounds I had," a Vietnam veteran says in the ad about Kerry's highly publicized testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1971.

How come I know a whole lot of veterans who came back from vietnam who said the same things as Kerry did? Kerry said that his testimony 30 years ago was based on 150 interviews with veterans. Many other veterans of note, such as Gen. Tommy Franks concur that atrocities happened in Vietnam. I could probably dig up quite a few veterans who would concur as this was one hell of a hot topic back then. I also believe that the charges were against the commanding officers, not the soldiers.

With polls showing attacks on Kerry's war record reaching large numbers of voters and resonating with many independents and veterans, the Democratic National Committee defended Kerry with a new ad, featuring retired Air Force Gen. Merrill A. McPeak -- a Bush supporter in 2000. "John Kerry has the strength and common sense we need in a commander in chief," McPeak says in the ad. Kerry will try to shift the focus back to President Bush with an ad that will be unveiled tomorrow, a top aide said.

Glad I live in NY and don't have to see all these ads. I'd probably have smashed my tv by now. I saw that stupid bush ad about the 9/11 kids though and threw up on my nice carpet.

Yesterday, Kerry did not respond to the new allegations, although aides said his testimony was directed at military leadership, not the soldiers fighting in Vietnam. The Kerry campaign filed a legal challenge against the veterans group, alleging it is illegally colluding with the Bush campaign. Aides denounced the president and his aides for what they called a smear campaign.

... David Wade, a Kerry spokesman, responded in kind: "Maybe if George Bush had seen combat up close his hired-gun mouthpiece wouldn't be so flip." Not to be outdone, Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said, "Mr. McClellan needs to understand that John Kerry is not the type of leader who will sit and read 'My Pet Goat' to a group of second-graders while America is under attack." On Sept. 11, 2001, Bush remained in a Florida classroom for several minutes after learning that planes had flown into the World Trade Center.

Cutter said Bush's military service may become a bigger issue in the days ahead. "If George Bush continues to smear [Kerry's] service, voters have a right to look at Bush's failure to serve out his time in the National Guard," she said. Bush maintains that he fulfilled his duties.

Oh boy. Well at least they are fighting back. And I'd just loooove to see what they come up with about georgie's awolness. If all this 'veterans against kerry' suddenly stops, you read it here that georgie knows that the truth about his dereliction of duty is going to come out and destroy him.

Read the rest at Washington Post while I vomit.

They're wicked evil.

Charting Swift Boat Liars back to Bush

If you haven't already seen this, here's the NY Times Chart that shows the web of connections. Interesting that stupid old CNN doesn't bother to read the Times or check out their facts. They still have jerk talking heads on TV who are giving their opinion on this and have no facts to back anything up. Actually I think our new correspondent, Jaye has better facts than CNN.
(hat tip to sticky blog)

I watched CNN and Fox this afternoon just to see what was going on and naturally I became ill at the way the so called news is delivered on cable television. It's not news, it's commentary. I wrote a whole bunch of letters to CNN management about the way they are handling the Swift Boat liars. I don't want to see a "he said, she said" bullshit back and forth rant consisting of hearsay. I want news and I expect the station's so called reporters to actually do some investigating and I told them so. I now remember why I won't watch tv news anymore. I prefer to just read zillions of news stories and make my own conclusions because news pundits are just plain idiots.

I see that the wingnuts are flipping out over M@lkin's take down on Chris Matthews over at her website on the message board which I am not linking to. Oh they are so upset that she was talked over by Matthews and didn't get to make her point. Boo hoo. Who is she anyway and why should I care? What makes her anything anyone should care about in the news? She has very nasty and evil opinions usually. And you have to admit that she is frightening to watch on tv. meow.

Update: Astute reader Kit points us to Oliver Willis blog with a nice clip of M@alkin losing it on Hardball if you haven't seen it. Rude Pundit has the transcript.

UPDATE: If you haven't read Media Matters lately, they have transcripts and video where actual tv hosts ask hard questions. The O'Lielly substitute did a fine job on a not so swift boat veteran as did Chris Matthews who is beginning to get on my good side even though he doesn't always have the facts he should.... but not bad.

Texas Makes Another Contribution to National Politics. . .and it is ugly, of course

by Jaye Ramsey Sutter,
http://windingroad.typepad.com
Guest Correspondent, Texas Coast

Just when you were sure that Texas could not offer you more political players in which to have pride. . .

We have of course given you Bush, Karl Rove, Big Dick Cheney (he had a homestead exemption on his Texas house and in order to qualify for one that house must be the primary residence) Dick Armey, Tom DeLay, John O’Neill, and now Bob Perry.

Bob Perry is a real estate developer and builder. In 2002, his company, Perry Homes earned $420 million. He has given over $5.2 million to Texas candidates in the last 3 years. And he has given $200,000 to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Perry has been connected to Karl Rove since 1986 when they both worked to get William Clements elected as the first Republican governor of Texas since Reconstruction.

According to the fine folks at Texas Freedom Network and the Texas Ethics Commission, Perry has given the following sums of campaign contributions to the following notorious Texans:

“Perry contributed $46,000 to George W. Bush’s 1994 and 1998 campaigns for Texas Governor. He has contributed the maximum allowable $2,000 to Bush’s current reelection.

Perry was the largest individual contributor to the Texas Republican Party during the recent 2002-election cycle (calendar 2001 & 2002) giving $905,000.

Perry is Republican Texas Governor Rick Perry’s (no relation) largest patron, having contributed $225,000 since 2001.

Perry was the largest individual contributor to Republican Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst’s 2002 campaign, giving $115,000.

Perry was the largest individual contributor to Republican Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s 2002 campaign, giving $387,600. Perry’s wife Doylene gave Abbott an additional $150,000.

Perry was the second largest individual contributor to Republican Texas Comptroller Carole Strayhorn’s 2002 campaign, giving $100,000.

Perry was the largest contributor to Tom DeLay’s Texans for a Republican Majority PAC (TRMPAC) giving $165,000 in the 2002 election cycle. TRMPAC is currently the subject of a criminal investigation by a Travis Country grand jury for allegedly misusing corporate contributions in the 2002 state elections.
Perry was the single largest contributor to the Texas Association of Business PAC in 2002, giving $105,000. The Association is also under criminal investigation for misuse of corporate funds in the 2002 Texas elections.

Perry contributed a total of $595,500 directly to the campaigns of 23 GOP legislative candidates in the 2002 cycle, including the 21-candidate slate supported by TRMPAC.

Perry contributed $95,000 to Texan Tom DeLay’s Republican Majority Issues PAC in 2001.

Perry has been a primary funder of efforts to limit civil liability in Texas, contributing $415,000 to Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC, the state’s largest non-party political committee.” This particular affront to the rights of Texans to sue the hell out of doctors and corporations that injury them seriously chaps my recent law school graduate ass. Until now, Texans had a constitutional right to their day in court. Those days are dead. Your day is dangerously close to extinction, too.

You see, there is indeed a vast right wing conspiracy. Senator Edward Kennedy said the Iraqi War was cooked up down in Texas. The Florida election clam bake was run by Texans like James Baker and that data services company that purged registered voters was a Texas outfit, too. Texans are now trying to cook Senator John Kerry, too.

More Bitchin'

More Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia


Someone should start a list titled, "Bitches Who Just Say Shit" Of course the first name on that list would have to be Ann Coulture. As of last night, the next name should be Michelle Malkin. If you watched Hard Ball with Chris Matthews (MSNBC) last night you saw this newest bitch. If you didn't see the show you can read the transcript here.

During a discussion about Senator Kerry's war injuries, here's a quote from Ms. Malkin: "Well, yes. Why don‘t people ask him more specific questions about the shrapnel in his leg. They are legitimate questions about whether or not it was a self-inflicted wound."

If that comment doesn't set you hair on fire, what the hell does?

Oh My Gawd, I love this...

You can now get high on booze and still stick to your Atkins Regime. This is great.

With this booze, you don't gulp - you gasp.

A machine that converts alcohol into breathable mist is slated to make its U.S. debut tonight in a trendy Meatpacking District bar, although some lawmakers aren't cheering.

Called Alcohol Without Liquid (AWoL), the machine is billed as creating a low-calorie, hangover-free buzz. Promoters say it's big with clubbers in England, where the nonliquid libation was introduced in February.

"People just love it," said Kevin Morse of American distributor Spirit Partners. "It's exciting, it's new and it's the first big thing that has happened to alcohol consumption since we started drinking it."

But NY officials, the party poopers that they are... I mean this with all my heart when I say that NY officials do not want anyone to have a good time... have put a poo poo on this wonderful new invention:

But a spokesman for the Trust Lounge, which plans to unveil the vodka vaporizer, said complaints from elected officials could force bartenders back to pouring drinks.

"It looks like it might be illegal," the spokesman said. "New York State law doesn't allow separating alcohol from the rest of alcoholic beverages, which is exactly what this machine does.

See what I mean? I don't know how they are going to control obesity in NY when first they ban smoking, which makes smokers eat more and now banning gaseous booze before it even gets started, which would save a lot in calories... oy vey. Another day in Nueva York.

There is risotteria in NYC however where it's not illegal, ahem, to have gluten-free pizza & beer in addition to other gluten-free and vegetarian specialites if you're watching calories. Risotteria won't be catering for the Catholic Church as far as I know.

Bush takes credit for Iraqi win at Olympics: Typical

From the "I Told You So" Files

I believe I posted on this site that I wasn't going to watch the Olympics cause I can't stand the sap. Then I posted that the sap was gone to my surprise. My friend Billydoom was here and put on a soccer game at the Olympics last weekend. I am not really a soccer fan, but maybe he will write a post on his blog about what soccer means in the rest of the world (it's very interesting)... anyway, I watched the game with much excitement because Iraq was playing! We're liberating them, you know.

Iraq kicked ass. They did a splendid job and I felt that if any country needed a nationalistic boost, it was Iraq. They didn't wave their new coalitionally chosen flag that looks remarkably like the Israeli flag. The commentator said it was hard for them to practice because their stadium in Iraq was 'destructed'.

Today in the NY Daily News which hardly anyone reads in public, but it's really not too too bad for a winger paper (like the NY Post, which no one would ever in a million years admit to reading, let alone read on a train unless they are willfully ignorant), the headline is:

Team Iraq aims kick at Bush

Well it seems that Team Bush didn't waste any time getting the Iraqi soccer win into their campaign ads. Yes folks, Bush is taking credit for the win somehow. I find this whole war thing very unsettling. Bush is taking credit for something that he ordered from his comfy surroundings back home in the USA while surrounded by body guards. How brave. It's not like he is a general and led the charge or anything. He sacrificed a whole lot of home grown American kids for his folly... but I digress. This isn't quite as abhorant and Bush using dead firefighters from 9/11 in his ad, but it's up there in the realm of Very Tacky. Here's the story:.

The Iraqi soccer team featured in a Bush campaign ad says it considers the President a killer who should remove U.S. forces from their country immediately.

Midfielder Ahmed Manajid even said if he wasn't playing soccer at the Olympics, he would be home in Fallujuah trying to kill American soldiers.

Gee thanks President Bush for helping spread good will on behalf of our boys who signed up cause they wanted to fucking go to college.

"Iraq as a team does not want Mr. Bush to use us for the presidential campaign," Iraqi midfielder Salih Sadir told Sports Illustrated in a story posted yesterday online. "He can find another way to advertise himself."

A week ago, the Bush camp began airing the touchy-feely TV ad that paints Iraq's and Afghanistan's participation in the Olympics as an example of democracy growing worldwide. And, on the campaign trail, President Bush has cited Team Iraq's impressive start in Athens.

The Iraqis say enough already.

"How will [Bush] meet his God, having slaughtered so many men and women?" Manajid told the magazine. "He has committed so many crimes."

Iraqi coach Adnan Hamad says his problems "are not with the American people" but rather "with what America has done in Iraq: destroy everything. The American Army has killed so many people in Iraq. What is freedom when I go to the stadium and there are shootings on the road?"

Still, the 2-1 Iraqi soccer team, which is headed toward the medal round, is happy about one thing: It does not have to fear torture if it loses, as was the policy of ex-Iraq Olympic Committee Chairman Uday Hussein, son of jailed former dictator Saddam Hussein. Uday was killed by U.S. forces along with brother Qusay about four months into the war.

They talked about this torture thing on Olympic television coverage. Uday was a real schmuck and did torture losers. The bastard. (whether or not I agree with bombing a whole city full of innocent people to kill him is another story. Maybe I watch too many movies, but I thought that we had like secret uber-military guys who could just go in and take out bad guys and then whitewash the story so I wouldn't have to worry my bleeding heart.) The story ends with some good old fashioned propaganda...

"Freedom and democracy are spreading across the globe because of America and her allies - and there are two more, Iraq and Afghanistan," said Bush campaign spokesman Kevin Madden.

Well that's just great. Glad it's spreading everywhere else. Cause it certainly isn't spreading here in America.

Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia


Gripes for Today

First there's this

According to the Detroit Free Press:

"The federal agency that oversees auto safety has decided -- based largely on arguments from automakers and their Washington, D.C., lobbyists -- that reams of data relating to unsafe automobiles or defective parts will not be available to the public."

So, how do you like them apples, or maybe in this case, possibly lemons? Who says lobbyists don't have clout? Screw the safety factors, just sell the damned cars and show us the money.


Then there's this

Remember back before bush frolicked into Iraq and we were all screaming, "No War in Iraq?" Remember we were called terrorists, unpatriotic, un-American and traitors? It was said that we didn't support our troops because we wanted to protect them by keeping them safe at home. My, my how times have changed. Now a Vietnam veteran and military hero can be called a liar, have his service questioned, and it's a-okay. Meanwhile we are blood deep in a war, almost 1000 of those troops we tried to protect are dead, and no one can see an end to the massacre. But there's no time to discuss this seriously, because we have to revisit a war fought thirty some years ago. Don't even try to convince me there is one iota of sanity in all of this.


And finally there's this

Fox News sucks! They have played this swift boat/anti Kerry ad to death, as they give it "fair and balanced" coverage and comments. Watch the talking faces on their morning show. Every time they say "fair and balanced" they can barely keep from laughing because they know how insane it sounds. While everyone is questioning the 527 groups, why aren't we questioning an entire national TV station that is dedicated to the re-selection of george bush?

This Week in God

From Sojourners:

God is not a Republican.
Or a Democrat.

Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, and others on the Religious Right claim that God has taken a side in this election, and that Christians should only vote for George W. Bush. The Bush-Cheney campaign even told volunteers it was their "duty" to make church directories available to the campaign.

How has the love of Jesus, the Prince of Peace - and his good news to the poor - been distorted by the pro-war, pro-rich political agenda of the Religious Right? Our faith has been hijacked, and it's time to take it back!

Click here to sign our petition and send a message to America that God is not a Republican or a Democrat, and that the Religious Right does not speak for you. Remind America that Jesus taught us to be peacemakers, advocates for the poor, and defenders of justice.

With your help, Sojourners will also place a full-page advertisement in The New York Times, followed by local newspaper and online ads across the United States.

Please forward this message to your family and friends. Tell faithful citizens to make their voices heard. Sign the petition, support the campaign, and spread the word. Together we can take back our faith!

Watch the flash video!

More Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia


Finally, today Senator Kerry showed his teeth and barked back. He said that he was sick of those lying swift boat bastards screwing with his war record and they could all go straight to hell. He said that bush was behind it all. He said that bush was hiding in the reeds by the river as he lobbed bombs into the Kerry campaign boat. He also called bush out.

Okay, he didn't say it that way, not exactly. What he did say was, "The fact that the president won't denounce what they're up to tells you everything you need to know: He wants them to do his dirty work. The president keeps telling people he would never question my service to our country. Instead, he watches as a Republican-funded attack group does just that. Well, if he wants to have a debate about our service in Vietnam, here is my answer: Bring it on!"

Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia



New Construction Begins in Hell

I hope there's some big time construction going on in hell, as they prepare special rooms. I hope they are building extra evil rooms for all those who are price gouging the victims of hurricane Charley, especially the good Americans who are jacking up the price of drinking water. In 90 degree weather, with humidity at near 80 percent, with no electricity and therefore no AC, why not rip off these people who are trying like hell to reconstruct their lives from a pile of aluminum, wood, and dry wall.


Other additional rooms in hell should be built for anyone who would devise fraudulent schemes to take money from the elderly. A couple of elderly people here on the east coast of Florida were lured into a "you won the lottery" scheme over the telephone by one of the future occupants of hell's new addition. Sure the rest of us would say the couple should have been more careful. Okay fine, but they weren't, and there was a vile predator who leaped on their savings. Forget the couple being more careful. What about the fact that there are people who would connive to steal from them? What the hell is that all about in a compassionate, Christian crowing nation?

It's frustrating isn't it? We have crimes all the hell everywhere. We have the prison scandals, the war scandals, the white house scandals, and all we get is "Somebody's looking into that." Remember during President Clinton's eight years? There were all the investigations into the fantasy crimes. All that money spent on all the hopeful desires to tar and feather him, and the best they could do with all those resources was slap him around for lying about a sexual encounter. Well, to me that pales in comparison to going to war based on, at the very least, exaggerations. But not to worry, somebody is looking into that. We have Senate committees up the ying yang and we get nothing. They are trying to tell us that the underlings at Abu Ghraib thought up those ideas of torture. I find that rather difficult to swallow. In my wildest dreams, I would never come up with the idea of making a group of prisoners disrobe and climb on top of one another. Maybe I lack cruel creativity but it just would never enter my mind. What kind of mind would it enter and why?

Can you tell that I am angry today? I don't want to be, but sometimes the frustration of the facts becomes too heavy and the anger pops out. When I hear and see bush standing behind the podium with his “I'm just one of you guys” blue-collar shirt on and he mumbles about making us safe etc, I want to scream. I want to scream because I have never felt so unsafe in my life. I'm afraid of him and everything he stands for. I'm afraid of the national reputation the US has now. I'm afraid of his insane religious beliefs. I'm afraid that he has done so much damage that it may not be repairable. And most of all I fear that there won't be nearly enough rooms in hell, because I believe there's a large contingency headed that way.

One More Comment About Evil Deeds

After cranking up the fear factor in New York City based on new, newer, old information, it will now make it so, so much easier to arrest protestors at the GOP convention in the name of The Patriot Act and also so, so much easier to use the words "suspected terrorist" on the arrest reports. John Ashcroft has his laws and not only is he not afraid to use them, I think doing so works for him like Viagra works for other men.

Records Counter a Critic of Kerry

Thurlow said he would consider his own Bronze Star "fraudulent" if coming under enemy fire was the basis for it. (AP)

From the Washington Post

Newly obtained military records of one of Sen. John F. Kerry's most vocal critics, who has accused the Democratic presidential candidate of lying about his wartime record to win medals, contradict his own version of events.

In newspaper interviews and a best-selling book, Larry Thurlow, who commanded a Navy Swift boat alongside Kerry in Vietnam, has strongly disputed Kerry's claim that the Massachusetts Democrat's boat came under fire during a mission in Viet Cong-controlled territory on March 13, 1969. Kerry won a Bronze Star for his actions that day.

But Thurlow's military records, portions of which were released yesterday to The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act, contain several references to "enemy small arms and automatic weapons fire" directed at "all units" of the five-boat flotilla. Thurlow won his own Bronze Star that day, and the citation praises him for providing assistance to a damaged Swift boat "despite enemy bullets flying about him."

Threat to kill abducted journalist

posted by pissed off patrica

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Armed militants have threatened to kill a Western journalist who was kidnapped in Iraq if U.S. forces do not withdraw from the city of Najaf within 48 hours.

I met Micah's fiancée, Marie-Helene, last November at my friend's baby shower. I liked her immediately and remember her well. We share a love for animals. Her life has to be hell right now.

If you pray, Micah could use some prayers now. If you aren't a praying person then please think good thoughts for his release.

The Republicans Are Coming! Get Out Of The Way!

As the Republican National Convention nears, street people have started to disappear. Where did they go?
According to the Village Voice:

The Ghosts of Penn Station
The upcoming Republican National Convention has already disrupted the rhythms and routines of people living in this area. The police presence has increased, and soon the entire area will be locked down, creating a frozen zone. While other New Yorkers have to contend with protest and convention logistics, these are the only people whose entire lives are being uprooted. These New Yorkers include some of the city's most fragile and vulnerable residents—mentally ill senior citizens who have no money, now scrambling to survive outdoors.

I used to commute to New York City from Long Island during the Reagan years. There were record numbers of homeless people during those years. In the winter, it's tough in New York City and the homeless would fight for spots on the grates where steam would rise from subways. Many slept in train stations. I remember stepping gingerly over sleeping bodies early in the morning as I made my way from Long Island Railroad in Penn Station to the E Train (subway) to get to work at Citicorp. Sometimes I'd walk instead of taking the subway on a nice day and see the cops waking up the homeless on the benches in Bryant Park, behind the NY Public Library, in time for tourists not to see them, I guess. I suppose that the homeless will be even more hidden away during the RNC.

Madison Square Garden is above Penn Station. Thousands of commuters pass through there every single day to get to work. I suppose most people will be taking a few days off from work and most Manhattanites I understand will be leaving town, and a lot of business are closing for the RNC too. If you ask any New Yorker or any commuter (they come from NY, NJ, CT and PA) if they are happy about the RNC coming to town, they would say, "Absolutely not." The RNC in NYC will probably cause Bush to lose votes. heh. The homeless definitely won't be voting for Bush either- wherever they are.

Dr. David Miller of Livingston, N.J: I was Cipel's lover

New York Daily News : "The mystery man who claims to be Golan Cipel's ex-lover said yesterday that not only is the handsome Israeli gay - he's also still in love with Gov. Jim McGreevey.

"Golan says he's not gay? He could have fooled me," Dr. David Miller of Livingston, N.J., told the Daily News yesterday, as he claimed that he had a gay affair with the ex-McGreevey aide.

"We love each other. Is that a crime? We're lovers," said Miller, 51, an openly gay man and divorced father of two.

In a manic, disjointed interview, Miller said that Cipel had made a pillow-talk confession: He still carries a torch for McGreevey.

"Cipel never complained about the governor. They were in love," Miller said outside his home.

Miller also claimed to reporters that he is a CIA operative who takes pills doled out by the intelligence agency to make his skin darker so he can infiltrate unnamed groups.

He offered no mementos, letters or photos as proof of his relationship with Cipel.

...

Miller - who insisted on speaking Spanish because, he said, he hates the United States - told reporters he met Cipel in Israel through family friends and that he still had a soft spot for him.

...

Miller's own story is reminiscent of McGreevey's coming-out tale. The doctor said he was a happily married man with two children, when, at age 38, he acknowledged he was gay.

"One hundred thousand dollars worth of therapy later and I still don't understand," Miller said."

Wow. Have a nice day.

SUV Registrations Up 97 Percent in Texas Census Bureau Reports

Good Old Texas

I'd guess SUV's numbers are up most everywhere because Americans like being dependent on Arab oil since 9/11. Since I don't know what the SUV registration figures are for the rest of the country, I guess I shouldn't make a comment.... but what the hell... NO WONDER THE FUCKING GAS IS SO EXPENSIVE!

9/11 Families to Hold Press Conference

U.S. Newswire

-- Will Support DMV Commissioner Martinez and Policy of Verifying Authenticity of Social Security Numbers Before Issuing Licenses

9/11 Families for a Secure America will hold a press conference tomorrow to show support for New York State DMV Commissioner Martinez and the department's policy of verifying the authenticity of social security numbers before issuing NY State drivers licenses. As everyone now knows, driver's licenses obtained with fraudulent information played a key role in facilitating the attacks of 9/11. 9/11 FSA believes maintaining the integrity of NY State driver's licenses is imperative to preventing another tragedy like 9/11. It should be noted, this policy of verification is followed by many DMV's throughout the country and is a procedure recommended by the 9/11 Commission.
I must be missing something, but it's always been a pain to get a NYS Driver's License. When my son got his license, I had to go and get a certified copy of his birth certificate (had to do the same for myself a zillion years ago) and I had to visit the local SS office to get an official SS Card for my son to bring as proof to get his license and I had to bring the birth certificate with me to show that he was born and is the same person that they issued his SS# to when he was an infant. They wouldn't accept just the number at DMV. It's an ordeal here.

You also have to have a 5 hour driving class before you can take the road test. In NYS, you could never just stroll into the DMV and get your license without having adequate ID, proof of residency, and fabulous parallel parking skills. Now they are going to verify SS#'s it seems. But it also seems that the SSA also verifies your ID before they give you a card or a replacement card. I'm getting a headache.

Reservists under the age of 60 are being activated

Kind of a weird story out of Texas. A 57 year old veteran and reservist who has skin cancer, is partially deaf and has high blood pressure has been ordered to report to a mobilization unit Sept. 15 at Fort Jackson, S.C or go to jail. He re-enlisted in the Individual Ready Reserve in 2003 because "I wanted to stay in for a hobby." However, he didn’t anticipate being sent to active duty. A hobby? hmmm.

"I’m honored to go, but I’m disabled and I’m too old," he said.

But the Army disagrees.

Reservists under the age of 60 are being activated, said Public Affairs Specialist Julia Collins of the Human Resources Command in St. Louis.

"I know many guys who are in that position," she said. "It’s not unusual."

...
Though his physical health is less than sterling, Treviño thinks the Army may need his expertise. Treviño is a refueling specialist, an expert in petroleum, oils and lubricants.

"The Army is going to try to keep me there. Sergeants are very high in demand," he said.

Collins agreed that Treviño’s skill is needed.

Sounds like they are running out of young people to sacrifice serve in Iraq.

"If I have to go, I’ll go. That’s my job. I’m not a coward," he said. "The only concern I have is my skin cancer and my age. I’m pushing 58. I’m an old dingbat," says the drafted Trevino.

58 isn't that old these days. But he is a dingbat for sure.

So How Come

the president who sat in the classroom on the morning of 9/11 and knew that a second plane hit the WTC didn't call for an Emergency Alert System (EAS) (You know that "This is only a test, this is only a test.. if this were an actual emergency....") in the NYC area or for the whole country for that matter?

Only the president can issue a National Emergency Alert and the governor of NYS could have issued one locally. "Citizens of NY City and surrounding areas, please duck." How did they know that there weren't any other planes headed for New York City or anywhere else for that matter? If this wasn't a national emergency, what would constitute one?

Interestingly, Captain Deborah Loewer, the director of the White House Situation Room, the White House's crisis-management center, was the first person to inform President Bush that terrorism had struck New York City the morning of Sept 11 before he entered the elementary school. She watched the second plane hit, informed Card and told him it was terrorism. Card then told Bush (that famous picture deer in headlights picture) that it was terrorism. If she is the director of the WH crisis-management center, how come she didn't think about having the president issue an EAS?

Wouldn't it have been wise to interrupt cable broadcasting and public television (sesame street) to warn people to duck or not bother to take the train to work in Manhattan that morning? Bush's advisors who were there with him didn't even clue him in to this, I guess. Well obviously not by the looks of the video. I was sitting here watching local NYC broadcasting on the morning of 9/11 and I did notice that the Emergency Alert System was not used. I switched to cable stations and they were still running regular programming the morning of 9/11. I guess whomever was watching cable decorating shows that morning missed all the action.

And how come Bush wasn't evacuated from that elementary school? Were not the children in possible danger? Oh wait, Govenor Jeb Bush already activated units of the Florida National Guard on Sept. 7, 2001 via Executive Order Number 01-261. That's strangely coincidental. Wasn't there also some incident that very morning at Bush's hotel with middle eastern men insisting on seeing him?

LIE: The night of 9/11 when Bush was on TV, he said, "Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government's emergency response plans." No, he didn't. We saw the video.

I went to the FCC website just now to see what the rules are about this EAS since this issue popped into my head while reading about 9/11. (I watched "Orwell Rolls in His Grave" recently and discovered that Colin's son, Michael Powell is in charge of the FCC and is committed to restricting democracy in the United States, so I figured that I should check this out further.) Well apparently it's not mandatory to issue the EAS but it's useful in a dire emergency. Was not the terrorist attack of 9/11 a dire emergency? There are other tall buildings in Manhattan and around the country. I also wonder why Rudy Guiliani didn't ask the Governor to issue an EAS?

Here a couple of exerpts I gleaned from The FCC Handbook on EAS RULES PDF

The EAS provides the President with the capability to provide immediate communications and information to the general public at the National, State and Local Area levels during periods of national emergency. ..The EAS may be used to provide the heads of State and local government, or their designated representatives, with a means of emergency communication with the public in their State or Local Area. (page 1)

11.18 EAS Designations.
(a) National Primary (NP) is a source of EAS Presidential messages.
(b) Local Primary (LP) is a source of EAS Local Area messages....
(c) State Primary (SP) is a source of EAS State messages. These messages can originate from the Governor or a designated representative in the State Emergency Operating Center (EOC) or State Capital....
(d) State Relay (SR) is a relay source of EAS State messages. It is part of the State Relay Network and relays National and State common emergency messages into Local Areas.

11.20 State Relay Network.
This network is composed of State Relay (SR) sources, leased common carrier communications facilities or any other available communication facilities. The network distributes State EAS messages originated by the Governor or designated official. ... (page 4)

Well ok then. Now I am going to google search and see if anyone else was thinking about this and what they found out. (BTW, it's still perfectly reasonable to assert that the prez was so willfully ignorant and so was his staff and all government officials across the US, he didn't think that there could be other attacks and the 2 he just heard about were the only ones that would take place that day. My head is exploding. Ok, I'll be right back after my google search.

Back. One article says it looks like the EAS kind of expects the media to get the word out. New York State Emergency Management Office says that they only use EOS for "early warnings" and the attacks had already happened. But shortly after the 2nd plane hit the tower, officials knew that another plane had been hijacked! Supposedly they didn't know where it was headed, it could have been headed to NY again.... oy vey. Oh wait, we as a country were in a state of shock. Yeah, we were in a state of shock alright and I still am after reading this stuff... The Department of Homeland Security is now in charge of the policies of the EAS. So that means they are still using EAS for weather emergencies and amber alerts but not for the reason it was originally intended. (shoot me now). Just after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the FCC announced that it would allow radio and TV stations to suspend for several weeks the regular on-air testing of the EAS to avoid arousing fear that the nation was under attack.

Ok, I'm back again. I fell on the floor.

Found this: (an email from the FCC. Seems someone else was curious about the same thing.)

Return-Path: Suzanne.Tetreault@fcc.gov
From: "Suzanne Tetreault"
Sent: Mon, 22 Sep 2003 14:25:54 -0400
To: Mary Titus
Subject: FW: EAS on 9-11

Ms. Titus -- In response to your questions,

(1) the EAS system was not activated on 9/11/01.

(2) a decision to activate EAS would be made by the president (for national level) or by the affected state (for state level), or by local authorities, so the FCC has no information on why EAS was not used that day.

Suzanne M. Tetreault
Associate Chief, Chief of Staff
Enforcement Bureau
Federal Communications Commission

Alrighty then... a not for profit group called the Partnership for Public Warning (PPW), is studying this issue. This still doesn't answer my initial questions but let's see what they have to say...
Ok... it says that on 9/11 the EAS was not engaged, and first responders, corporate employees and the general public relied on television coverage and cell phones. Even though EAS covers cable stations and warnings could reach a much wider audience than just relying on network stations, the EAS has still never been used in a nationwide emergency.

PPW Progress
To make the new, nationwide EAS a reality, the PPW board of trustees has been meeting monthly in Washington, D.C., and working with the Office of Homeland Security (OHS) and other federal agencies. The PPW also has been reaching out to industries and organizations that play any role in emergency warning and response. Currently in the works is a National Strategic Plan for Public Warning...
...
For now, the PPW’s main focus is to craft a broad-reaching emergency alert solution that incorporates the most advanced technologies and best practices from both the public and private sectors. The newly created EAS will replace the existing reliance on spotty information from television news broadcasts, manual notification methods, limited police statements, and haphazard input from employees during times of crisis — dramatically improving communications with first responders, corporate employees and their families, news organizations, and other agencies.

LIE: There were no warnings of this attack on 9/11 as per Ari Fleisher on 9/11:

Q Had there been any warnings that the President knew of?
MR. FLEISCHER: No warnings.

Puhlease. Warren Buffet was hosting his "last annual golf charity event" which just happened to be at the U.S. Strategic Command headquarters located at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha. Who hosts a charity event at an Air Force Base bunker? This happened to be the same base Bushieboy stopped at while he was flying around the country in Air Force One that day in order to find safety. The CEO of Fiduciary Trust which is right where Flight 175 crashed into the WTC 2 was also present at the Air Force bunker that day. Rush Limbaugh says he was too. God help me.


and isn't this weird too? A story from Newsday, September 12, 2001

Heightened Security Alert Had Just Been Lifted

The World Trade Center was destroyed just days after a heightened security alert was lifted at the landmark 110-story towers, security personnel said yesterday.

Daria Coard, 37, a guard at Tower One, said the security detail had been working 12-hour shifts for the past two weeks because of numerous phone threats. But on Thursday, bomb-sniffing dogs were abruptly removed.

"Today was the first day there was not the extra security," Coard said. "We were protecting below. We had the ground covered. We didn't figure they would do it with planes. There is no way anyone could have stopped that."

Security guard Hermina Jones said officials had recently taken steps to secure the towers against aerial attacks by installing bulletproof windows and fireproof doors in the 22nd-floor computer command center.

"When the fire started, the room was sealed," said Jones, who was in the command center when explosions rocked the building. "Flames were shooting off the walls....We started putting wet towels under the doors. The Fire Department unsealed the door and grabbed us by the hand and said, 'Run!' "

Security worker Diane Easton said she was out front writing tickets when notice of "a plane flying too low" placed security personal on alert.

"The plane went right through the building...and debris started falling everywhere, then 15 minutes later the second plane," Easton said.

Nancy Joyner said several police officers were knocked down and then were stampeded in the ensuing frenzy.

"People were flying out of the windows; there was nothing we could do," Joyner said. "People were pulled from the top floors by the wind tunnel created."

And just one more strange thing I just thought about: Marvin Bush. He was on the board of directors of Stratesec, a company providing electronic security for the World Trade Center, Dulles International Airport and United Airlines, according to public records. The company was backed by an investment firm, the Kuwait-American Corp., also linked for years to the Bush family. Do a google search on him regarding 9/11. Here's a tidbit: (Marvin didn't come up once in the 9/11 report interestingly.)

Marvin P. Bush, the president's youngest brother, was a director at Stratesec from 1993 to fiscal year 2000. But the White House has not publicly disclosed Bush connections in any of its responses to 9/11, nor has it mentioned that another Bush-linked business had done security work for the facilities attacked.

Marvin Bush joined Securacom when it was capitalized by the Kuwait-American Corporation, a private investment firm in D.C. that was the security company's major investor, sometimes holding a controlling interest. Marvin Bush has not responded to telephone calls and e-mails for comment.

KuwAm has been linked to the Bush family financially since the Gulf War. One of its principals and a member of the Kuwaiti royal family, Mishal Yousef Saud al Sabah, served on the board of Stratesec.

The managing director at KuwAm, Wirt D. Walker III, was also a principal at Stratesec, and Walker, Marvin Bush and al Sabah are listed in SEC filings as significant shareholders in both companies during that period.

Marvin Bush's last year on the board at Stratesec coincided with his first year on the board of HCC Insurance, formerly Houston Casualty Co., one of the insurance carriers for the WTC. He left the HCC board in November 2002.

But none of these connections has been looked at during the extensive investigations since 9/11. McDaniel says principals and other personnel at Stratesec have not been questioned or debriefed by the FBI or other investigators...

See? I was just thinking of one thing this morning after I watched a test of the Emergency Alert System (used to be the Emergency Broadcast System) on TV and then thanks to internet technology and Al Gore, I guess, I have a zillion more questions! I didn't even get into what I found out about that Florida flight school, Mohamad Atta and a huge drug cartel. I'll do that another time.

LIE: I'll leave you with this quote from our President in Orlando meeting with rather enthusiatic displaced workers on December 4th, 2001 from the White House website.

Q One thing, Mr. President, is that you have no idea how much you've done for this country. And another thing is that, how did you feel when you heard about the terrorist attack? (Applause.) barf

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Jordan. Well, Jordan, you're not going to believe what state I was in when I heard about the terrorist attack. I was in Florida. And my Chief of Staff, Andy Card -- actually, I was in a classroom talking about a reading program that works. I was sitting outside the classroom waiting to go in, and I saw an airplane hit the tower -- the TV was obviously on. And I used to fly, myself, and I said, well, there's one terrible pilot. I said, it must have been a horrible accident.

But I was whisked off there, I didn't have much time to think about it. And I was sitting in the classroom, and Andy Card, my Chief of Staff, who is sitting over here, walked in and said, "A second plane has hit the tower, America is under attack."

And he told this story twice... so no it wasn't a mistake. And by the way, Andrew Card LIED in a newspaper article HE wrote for the SF Chronicle on 9/11/02:

I said those things into the president's right ear, and I stepped back, because I did not want to invite a discussion from the classroom. But I tried to be succinct in what I told him so that he understood the enormity of the problem. He looked up -- it was only a matter of seconds, but it seemed like minutes -- and I thought that he was outstanding in his ability not to scare either the American people that were paying attention to the cameras or, more importantly, the students that were in the classroom.

And he just excused himself very politely to the teacher and to the students, and he left.

Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia

Once again that damned liberal media is not telling us the good news about the bush administration. Bush has indeed created new jobs. "Created", being the operative word here. Don't believe me? Check it out.
"Civilians, who are paid $11.25 an hour, dress up in traditional Arab garb while taunting and tricking troops in a fake Iraqi town." Compliments of Fox News.

Seems george bush would like a shot at being the president of the United States.
"Bush seems at times to forget what he does. "Give me a chance to be your president, and America will be safer and stronger and better," he told a Marquette, Mich., rally in July."
So says Joel Connelly of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

And if you missed it, be sure and read Dana Milbank's editorial in yesterday's Washington Post. Bet you can't read it without laughing out loud.

Kerry on Dick Cavett Show with John O'Neil

Watch here.

RNC Schedule: heh

Got this from a musician friend via email:

REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CONVENTION SCHEDULE
New York, NY


6:00 PM Opening Prayer led by the Reverend Jerry Falwell
6:30 PM Pledge of Allegiance
6:35 PM Burning of Bill of Rights (excluding 2nd Amendment)
6:45 PM Salute to the Coalition of the Willing
6:46 PM Seminar #1: Getting Your Kid a Military Deferment
7:30 PM First Presidential Beer Bong
7:35 PM Freedom Fries served
7:40 PM EPA Address #1: Mercury: It's What's for Dinner
8:00 PM Vote on which country to invade next
8:10 PM Call EMTs to revive Rush Limbaugh
8:15 PM John Ashcroft Lecture: The Homos Are After Your Children
8:30 PM Round table discussion on reproductive rights (men only)
8:50 PM Seminar #2: Corporations: The Government of the Future
9:00 PM Condi Rice sings "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man"
9:05 PM Second Presidential Beer Bong
9:10 PM EPA Address #2: Trees: The Real Cause of Forest Fires
9:30 PM break for secret meetings
10:00 PM Second Prayer led by Cal Thomas
10:15 PM Carl Rove Lecture: Doublespeak Made Simple
10:30 PM Rumsfeld Lecture/Demonstration: How to Squint and Talk Macho Even When You Feel Squishy Inside
10:35 PM Bush demonstration of trademark "deer in headlights" stare
10:40 PM John Ashcroft Demonstration: New Mandatory Kevlar Chastity Belt
10:45 PM Clarence Thomas reads list of black Republicans
10:46 PM Third Presidential Beer Bong
10:50 PM Seminar #3: Education: A Drain on Our Nation's Economy
11:10 PM Hilary Clinton Pinata
11:20 PM John Ashcroft Lecture: Evolutionists: A Dangerous New Cult
11:30 PM Call EMTs to revive Rush Limbaugh again
11:35 PM Blame Clinton
11:40 PM Laura serves milk and cookies
11:50 PM Closing Prayer led by Jesus Himself
12:00 PM Nomination of George W. Bush as Holy Supreme
Planetary
Overlord

Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia

Maybe I'm feeling a bit jealous or perhaps it's resentment. I feel as though bush has brought a strange unruly child into our family, and it's getting all the attention. We are squandering our soldiers and our resources to protect and develop this child. We must go without so bush can brag about what he's done for his new ward. He says that this child will get everything it wants and needs at our expense. He appears to want to coddle and spoil it at any expense, and we must step aside. When bush speaks of this child, he smiles and gloats at its progress while the rest of us are not mentioned. He seems to have forgotten we're here. Maybe he doesn't care.

Sure, I know this child did not ask to be taken in by our family. It may not even be happy and instead may be suffering. But, I'm speaking now about us. Sometimes it is all about us. Sometimes we have a right to stamp our foot and demand that we have needs too. We have been neglected long enough. It was nice that we could help this needy child, but we too need help. If we hadn't spent so much on this unruly child, perhaps we could bask in the glow of our own progress.

Bush seems to have failed as our protector and became disillusioned with us, so he went in search of a child so needy that it would make him look good when he took it in. He tries to justify his act by telling us that without his affections for this child, it would have one day done us harm. Looking at this frail child those words are difficult if not impossible to believe. He says, see this child is all the better because of me. Don't look at anything else. Look at what I've done for this child that was destitute yet dangerous. He wants to show his rescued unruly child like a prize. He wants the world to say, oh my goodness, what kindness this man has shown to this poor thing. Look how he cares for it and notice his affection when its name is mentioned. What a great and good man he is. Meanwhile bush attributes his generosity to the love and devotion he has learned from his religion. He doesn't mention that this child is a replacement for those who he neglected, ignored and walked away from here at home. He bases his entire success in life on his care of America's adopted child.

But what if this child rebels and turns it's back on bush? What if the child isn't as happy with bush's guidance as he assumed it might be? What if the child becomes in reality what bush claimed it was in his justification? What if he has created that which he feared most? Then what does bush do? Does he fall back to his old ways of neglect and ignore then deny? Does he walk away and try to pretend he succeeded and accomplished his mission?

Bush has wagered his future on the success of this child, and although it may have been a wager of good intent, in the end it has been more of a burden than the rest of us can bear. We are becoming more and more intolerant and less and less patient. We would prefer someone who would lead our country with our own future in mind. Someone who would see to it that our American family has everything it needs instead of taking on missions for individual self gratification and glory. A man who places his country before himself may always be assured that he will be admired not just at home but by the all other countries as well. It's time for our country to become the American family again and not the country that george bush tore apart and left behind. He took in this unruly child and we have paid the price. It cost too much.

Gulf War Syndrome

Life Magazine: Depressing

Whistleblower's Family in Peril; Rummy Walks Free

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -

Relatives of the U.S. soldier who sounded the alarm about abuse of Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison said on Monday the family was living in protective custody because of death threats against them.

Reservist military police officer Staff Sgt. Joseph Darby alerted U.S. Army investigators about the abuse by fellow soldiers of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, a move his wife says has angered people in their community in western Maryland.

'People were mean, saying he was a walking dead man, he was walking around with a bull's eye on his head. It was scary,' said Bernadette Darby from Corriganville, Maryland.

Mrs. Darby said it was difficult living in protective custody, and she missed her privacy. She did not say who was providing the protection."...

And Rummy will come out smelling like a rose...

A Pentagon report on prisoner abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison is being labelled a whitewash before it has even been released.
...
Even more controversially, the role of the Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, has been judged to be outside the investigation's remit, despite allegations that extreme treatment of prisoners was authorised at the highest levels. Last month, Brig-Gen Janis Karpinski, the commander formerly in charge of Abu Ghraib, alleged that Mr Rumsfeld had authorised the use of "dogs, food deprivation and sleep deprivation".

"This is a whitewash - a carefully orchestrated one," said a lawyer who has liaised with military officials involved in the case. "People in the Pentagon have been coming to me in a fury because of the way this has been handled. By naming military intelligence officials as well as the seven military police who have been charged, it will look like action has been taken. But basically it's still the same storyline of just a few bad apples, way down the food chain."...

And on a spiritual note...

In case anyone was wondering what's up with those neocons and those crazy homophobic christians you keep hearing about... like I've said a number of times since I've been blogging, they are not real Christians as far as living their faith as defined by Jesus Christ who is the actual reason for the Christian movement in the first place. They are some sort of millenialists itching for the end times to happen now with little or no regard to what Jesus Christ had to say about what it means to be his follower. Look up Zionist Christians or Dispensationalism in Google for more info. Jerry Falwell who is leading the prayer at the RNC is one of those millenialists and a very hateful person.

If the true Christian values below were the Christian values being thrust upon unsuspecting Americans today, no one would be complaining, I suspect. No one would really care if Bush was this kind of Christian.

Below is what real Christians stand for in an election year, in case you wonder. Thanks to Father Jake Stops the World for the heads up.

Christian Principles in an Election Year
from the National Council of Churches

Our Christian faith compels us to address the world through the lens of our relationship to God and to one another. Public discourse is enhanced as we engage civic leaders on the values and ethics affirmed by our faith. At the same time, religious liberty and the integrity of our democracy will be protected as candidates refrain from using faith-based organizations and institutions for partisan gain.

We offer these 10 principles to those seeking to accept the responsibility that comes with holding public office.

1. War is contrary to the will of God. While the use of violent force may, at times, be a necessity of last resort, Christ pronounces his blessing on the peacemakers. We look for political leaders who will make peace with justice a top priority and who will actively seek nonviolent solutions to conflict.

2. God calls us to live in communities shaped by peace and cooperation. We reject policies that abandon large segments of our inner city and rural populations to hopelessness. We look for political leaders who will re-build our communities and bring an end to the cycles of violence and killing.

3. God created us for each other, and thus our security depends on the well being of our global neighbors. We look for political leaders for whom a foreign policy based on cooperation and global justice is an urgent concern.

4. God calls us to be advocates for those who are most vulnerable in our society. We look for political leaders who yearn for economic justice and who will seek to reduce the growing disparity between rich and poor.

5. Each human being is created in the image of God and is of infinite worth. We look for political leaders who actively promote racial justice and equal opportunity for everyone.

6. The earth belongs to God and is intrinsically good. We look for political leaders who recognize the earth's goodness, champion environmental justice, and uphold our responsibility to be stewards of God’s creation.

7. Christians have a biblical mandate to welcome strangers. We look for political leaders who will pursue fair immigration policies and speak out against xenophobia.

8. Those who follow Christ are called to heal the sick. We look for political leaders who will support adequate, affordable and accessible health care for all.

9. Because of the transforming power of God’s grace, all humans are called to be in right relationship with each other. We look for political leaders who seek a restorative, not retributive, approach to the criminal justice system and the individuals within it.

10. Providing enriched learning environments for all of God's children is a moral imperative. We look for political leaders who will advocate for equal educational opportunity and abundant funding for children's services.

Finally, our religious tradition admonishes us not to bear false witness against our neighbor and to love our enemies. We ask that the campaigns of political candidates and the coverage of the media in this election season be conducted according to principles of fairness, honesty and integrity.

These principles were developed by the National Council of Churches USA’s Justice and Advocacy Commission and approved by the NCC’s Executive Committee. For more information, visit www.ncccusa.org, rite National Council of Churches USA, Attn: Justice and Advocacy Commission, 110 Maryland Ave. N.E., Washington, DC 20002, e-mail rnedd@ncccusa.org, or call 202-544-2350

Widening Gap Between Haves and Have-Nots

From MSNBC:

Over two decades (Since Reagan), the income gap has steadily increased between the richest Americans, who own homes and stocks and got big tax breaks, and those at the middle and bottom of the pay scale, whose paychecks buy less.

The growing disparity is even more pronounced in this recovering economy. Wages are stagnant and the middle class is shouldering a larger tax burden. Prices for health care, housing, tuition, gas and food have soared.
...
New government data also shows that President Bush’s tax cuts have shifted the overall tax burden to the middle class from the wealthiest Americans.
...
More than a million jobs have been added back to the 2.6 million lost since Bush took office, but they pay less and offer fewer benefits, such as health insurance. The new jobs are concentrated in health care, food services, and temporary employment firms, all lower-paying industries. Temp agencies alone account for about a fifth of all new jobs.

Three in five pay below the national median hourly wage — $13.53, said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist for Wells Fargo.

On a weekly basis, the average wage of $525.84 is at the lowest level since October 2001.

Take a look at Bush calling his base, the Haves and the Have Mores while I vomit. Thanks Doomocracy for providing video clip.

If the Swift Boat Veterans were Debunked...

would the debunkers be interviewed on Fox, MSNBC, CNN as often as the liars were? Would they even be interviewed at all?

If Citizens for Honest Fighter Pilots actually made a commercial that answered these questions about Bush/AWOL: (1) where was Bush while he was AWOL for 5 months? (2) why did he fail to show up for his annual flight physical? and (3) why don't any of his fellow guardsmen remember him at the Alabama base?.... and proved that Bush was 'acting inappropriately' on the base in Texas, then was picked up on a DUI for alcohol and marijuana and sent off to rehab during those missing months.... would the media have anything to say about that? Would those commercials even make it to the television? Would most of America find out about this?

Just wondering...

Connecting Dots in Florida

First this from Jeb Bush on Touch Screen Voting:

Gov. Jeb Bush on Friday defended the touch-screen machines, noting they've been in use since the 2002 election.

"They're not new; they've been used already and they've been used correctly," he said. "Miami-Dade County purchased these machines, there is a flaw in the auditing related to it, a minor flaw that has only occurred once. They have the obligation to fix that up and they will. I have total confidence in Miami-Dade County's ability to carry out this election."

The governor suggested Democrats are seeking to energize their core voters by raising questions about the accuracy of the voting machines. The Kerry campaign on Thursday said it has hired a Miami lawyer with experience from the 2000 disputed presidential election to monitor voting irregularities.

"Every time that liberal Democrats say that the election is in question, every vote should count, it is an effort to try to mobilize their base and that's it," Bush said. "And it should be discounted, deeply, because it is purely politics."

Purely politics indeed from the Florida GOP:

While Gov. Jeb Bush reassures Floridians that touch screen voting machines are reliable, the Republican Party is sending the opposite message to some voters.

The GOP urged some Miami voters to use absentee ballots because touch screens lack a paper trail and cannot "verify your vote."

That's the same argument Democrats have made but which Bush, his elections director and Republican legislators have repeatedly rejected.

"The liberal Democrats have already begun their attacks and the new electronic voting machines do not have a paper ballot to verify your vote in case of a recount," says a glossy mailer, paid for by the Republican Party of Florida and prominently featuring two pictures of President Bush. "Make sure your vote counts. Order your absentee ballot today."

The GOP tactic is the reverse of what Bush and state elections experts have said as they have repeatedly opposed Democratic moves, in the Legislature and courts, to require a paper trail on the machines.

But let's investigate elderly black voters who use absentee ballots by Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which reports to Gov. Jeb Bush (NY Times):

The big story out of Florida over the weekend was the tragic devastation caused by Hurricane Charley. But there's another story from Florida that deserves our attention.

State police officers have gone into the homes of elderly black voters in Orlando and interrogated them as part of an odd "investigation" that has frightened many voters, intimidated elderly volunteers and thrown a chill over efforts to get out the black vote in November.

The officers, from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which reports to Gov. Jeb Bush, say they are investigating allegations of voter fraud that came up during the Orlando mayoral election in March.

Officials refused to discuss details of the investigation, other than to say that absentee ballots are involved. They said they had no idea when the investigation might end, and acknowledged that it may continue right through the presidential election.

"We did a preliminary inquiry into those allegations and then we concluded that there was enough evidence to follow through with a full criminal investigation," said Geo Morales, a spokesman for the Department of Law Enforcement.

The state police officers, armed and in plain clothes, have questioned dozens of voters in their homes. Some of those questioned have been volunteers in get-out-the-vote campaigns.

I asked Mr. Morales in a telephone conversation to tell me what criminal activity had taken place.

"I can't talk about that," he said.

I asked if all the people interrogated were black.

"Well, mainly it was a black neighborhood we were looking at - yes,'' he said.

He also said, "Most of them were elderly."

When I asked why, he said, "That's just the people we selected out of a random sample to interview."

(snip)

The long and ugly tradition of suppressing the black vote is alive and thriving in the Sunshine State.

Aha! Here's why:

President Bush's prospects in Florida are looking increasingly shaky.

Barely 80 days before election day, signs abound that Democrats are outperforming Republicans in the state Bush virtually has to win to gain another term in the White House.

Republicans had vowed an unprecedented voter registration program, but Democrats are far outpacing them in registration gains.

Democrats have far more operatives on the ground, thanks largely to well-funded liberal organizations aggressively working to mobilize John Kerry supporters.

The past two statewide polls show the Massachusetts senator leading by 6 or 7 percentage points, and, along with other recent polls, point to a number of other ominous signs for the president.

Though the Bush-Cheney campaign boasts an unprecedented grass-roots effort, some Republicans are quietly fretting. Not only does Bush look vulnerable in must-win Florida, they say, at the very least he could be forced to divert resources here that may be needed elsewhere.

"Not only is Florida becoming a problem for the campaign but it could make some Southern border states that are usually safely Republican slip into competitive mode in the last two to three weeks of the campaign," said InsiderAdvantage pollster Matt Towery, a former strategist for Newt Gingrich. "If Bush loses Florida, it's lights out."

Should Florida's 27 electoral votes move to the Democratic column, the electoral math would look bleak for Bush. He would have to win several states he lost in 2000..." (St Petersburg Times)

UPDATE AUGUST 17, 2004 from the Banana Republican Files by way of the NY Times: Paul Krugman:

"It's horrifying to think that the credibility of our democracy - a democracy bought through the courage and sacrifice of many brave men and women - is now in danger. It's so horrifying that many prefer not to think about it. But closing our eyes won't make the threat go away. On the contrary, denial will only increase the chances of a disastrously suspect election."

More on how Bush stole the election by way of Florida.

Makes Ya Go Hmmm

Before you accuse me of being a nutjob... just consider that I suspect the news media of not playing a fair game when all is said and done. When they are winging it during a crisis, stuff gets on tape and stuff is said that later they wish wasn't for a variety of reasons. I absolutely understand that false assumptions are made in haste during a crisis as well and must be retracted... but there are things that still keep you wondering... and you always have the eye witnesses who were there on the spot who tell you what they saw only seconds after an event who literally had no time to make anything up and corroborate it with others. Such was the case with TWA Flight 800 (July 1996) which went down off Long Island. Literally seconds after it happened, hundreds of eyewitnesses came forward telling of a missile attack on the plane. I was watching television at the time it happened here on Long Island. When local programming was interrupted, the first thing the newsman said was that it was shot down by a missile. To this day, hundreds of eye witnesses remain who know what they saw despite the "official" claim made by those who didn't see the disaster. With that said, you may understand why I am a skeptic when it comes to "official stories" of disasters.

Then again sometimes people think they see something but it happens so fast that they really didn't see what they thought they saw. Sometimes we may just never know the exact truth. That's ok too and I can accept that better than I can accept claims by government officials who expect me to believe ridiculous assumptions that defy physics or stories that just sound way too political or white washed.

I may just go through the rest of my life with a question mark, where that story resides, in that part of my brain. Flight 800 has a big '?' and so does AA Flight 587 which crashed off Long Island coincidentally on November 12, 2001. Nothing leaves quite as large a question mark as the flights of 9/11/01. So the following story doesn't surprise me at all. I'm not saying I believe it. I won't discount anything that seems fairly reasonable or may contain some truth. Sure there are people who can do video enhancements to make things appear to be what they are not. I know how to enhance video too. But I wouldn't mind getting a hold of the actual feed from the tv networks myself from 9/11, digitizing it and slowing it down to see what happened for real... but anyway here is an article that makes you go hmmm....

9/11 VIDEO SHOCKS SACRAMENTO CITIZENS
August 13, 2004
Posted 1:010 AM Eastern
NewsWithViews.com

A new 9-11 video was screened last night in Sacramento, California, leaving the audience stunned. '911 in Plane Site' is basically presented in two parts. The first segment is 52 minutes and designed for showing on television with the balance of a one hour time slot reserved for commercials. Part II continues with more film and analysis. This video is digitally mastered making details sharp and clear.

'911 in Plane Site' presents actual film from that fateful day and careful analysis focusing on the Pentagon and the two World Trade Center buildings. By slowing down the actual news feeds that day from networks like CNN, FOX, the BBC and others, what you see is quite different from what most people saw in "real time" that day. Live footage from the Pentagon and what was missed by most because of the smoke and confusion was captured up close by the media. Following the showing, a retired vet remarked, "How did we miss this all this time? I've seen media clips of the front of that building [the Pentagon] many times, but I wasn't really seeing what was there. I feel sick."

One particular interview that brought gasps from the audience and many looking around with shock etched on their faces was an interview conducted - live at the time - by FOX News. This intense interview with Mark Burnback, an employee of FOX News, contains the following narrative, paraphrased: Burnback was close to the path of the second plane and had a good long look at what he describes was not a commercial airliner. The plane that hit the second tower had no windows, Burnback was very clear about that. The plane had some kind of blue logo on the front near the nose and looked like a cargo plane. This point was driven to the viewer several times along with the comment from this FOX employee that "this plane wasn't from around here or anything you'd see take off from the airport."

Other footage includes several women who had a very clear view watching the second plane hit were yelling, "That wasn't American Airlines....It wasn't American Airlines going into the building." These interviews were played that morning once on FOX News, never to be replayed again, despite the massive saturation and repetition by the media for many days to come.

Other extremely disturbing segments of this video are the clear, slow motion shots of the second plane going into the towers which show a flash right before the nose of the plane hits the building and a pod attached to the bottom of the plane. This strange flash is clearly recorded from four different angles from four different cameras. While there is only one known piece of film showing the first plane hitting the first tower, in slow motion one can clearly see - as with the second plane - a flash from the nose section right before impact. What caused this?

This video raises extremely disturbing questions about the planes that hit the Pentagon and the World Trade Centers, but no conclusions or accusations are made by the commentator. To date, only one piece of film has been released by DoD of the front of the Pentagon. The question raised in the video is where is all the other film footage from the Pentagon? The heart beat of America's military and security, with a building and perimeter loaded with cameras, but no film for the public to view of events as they unfolded except from one camera?

According to the producers, the purpose of '911 in Plane Site' is to demonstrate that Americans saw one thing that morning that was so shocking, so horrific and so massive, the finer details weren't really being picked up. The producer reinforces to the viewer that after one broadcast of many very controversial interviews live on the spot, these particular interviews were never broadcast again, i.e. firefighters on the spot talking about the explosions and bombs inside the towers. Since 9-11, it has been reported that "Building Seven" collapsed because of the two World Trade Center towers collapsing. However, the footage on this video tells a different story and raises more questions.

'911 in Plane Site,' distributed by Power Hour Productions (866-773-9469), leaves one with many questions as demonstrated by a very upset senior citizen who requested her last name be withheld. Mary asked, "If these weren't commercial airliners, where are those flights? Where are the passengers? My, God what really happened that day?" Indeed, this seemed to be the biggest question expressed by viewers after the lights came back on, but for which there were no answers. Some viewers were visibly upset, angry and "want damn answers" from the Bush Administration. Others just walked out the door in silence. One upset man commented on the way out of the viewing, "It's time to get this on PBS and every investigative news program on TV. We need answers."

© 2004 NewsWithViews.com - All Rights Reserved

Here is some more stuff to make you go hmmm regarding this movie. oy vey.
Update: This site above may be a bit much though.

UPDATE Aug 18th: Talking about Planes being shot out of the air, I found this link in my bookmarks.

More Lies and Deception

What really steams me is that the TV news media allows Bush to get away with lies. If a news outlet actually reported the truth, then that outlet is considered leftist. What is leftist about the truth? I had a conversation with a friend last night who insists that CNN is leftist. I told him that in no way is CNN leftist because they do not say boo when Bush lies. A leftist network would have been all over this. There are no leftist news networks. A real network with journalistic integrity would simply have shown numbers and perhaps left out the Bush propaganda speech.

Pundits are outraged because Jon Stewart gets so much attention. Well yeah, assclowns because Jon Stewart actually reports on what is said by politicians and then contrasts it with what is real. Why is that so shocking?

I'm tired of hard working middle class people telling me that they are enjoying their tax cuts. Check this out:

THE DAILY MIS-LEAD
===============================

BUSH MISLEADS ON DISTRIBUTION OF TAX CUTS

As a presidential candidate in 2000, George W. Bush pledged his tax cut
proposals "are especially focused on low and moderate income families."[1]
Those proposals became law - but a new study by the non-partisan
Congressional Budget office reveals that Bush mislead America about their
distribution.[2]

According to the CBO study, the wealthiest 1 percent of all taxpayers -
whose earnings average $1.2 million - are receiving an average tax cut of
$78,420 this year.[3] Meanwhile, the middle 20 percent of taxpayers - whose
earnings average $51,000 - are getting only a $1,090 cut.[4] Those in the
bottom 20% - averaging earnings of $16,620 - get just a $250 cut.[5] The
result: "President Bush's tax cuts have shifted federal tax payments from
the richest Americans to a wide swath of middle-class families."[6]

Sources:
1. "A Tax Cut with a Purpose," GeorgeWBush.com, archived from 11/2000,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1941297&l=50505.
2. "Effective Federal Tax Rates Under Current Law, 2001 to 2014,"
Congressional Budget Office, 08/2004, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1941297&l=50509.
3. "Report Finds Tax Cuts Heavily Favor the Wealthy," New York Times,
08/13/04, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1941297&l=50506.
4. Ibid, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1941297&l=50506.
5. Ibid, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1941297&l=50506.
6. "Tax Burden Shifts to the Middle," Washington Post, 08/13/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1941297&l=50507.

Visit www.Misleader.org for more about Bush Administration distortion.

Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia

A Tragic Tale and Trail of Trailer Trash

Many would ask “why in the hell would anyone live in a trailer in Florida, or for that matter, anywhere else? It appears that trailers are manufactured tornado and hurricane magnets." Okay here's why many residents live in mobile homes, manufactured homes, or as they used to be called "trailers". They live in them because they can afford to. These homes come furnished and they come relatively cheap.

After Charley had swiftly caused his damage in Punta Gorda, one elderly lady was interviewed. She said she had worked all her life, saved her money and purchased her trailer. It was her home. Most likely this lady knew the risks involved when she purchased the trailer, but it was all she could afford. It was her home and now it was in pieces, nothing but litter. She cried as she spoke proudly of the home she still owned, but it was not a home any longer. This lady's story ripped your heart apart, just as Charley had ripped her life apart.

When I was a little girl my family spent some time in different trailers because well, they come furnished and they come relatively cheap. At that time, I had never heard the term "trailer park trash". Trailer parks weren't places of trash. They were places where Americans without the benefit of wealth lived. There were all sorts of people living in the parks, but I don't remember any trash. They were the people who spoke to you as you passed by and helped you if you needed help. On Halloween, parents did not have to accompany their kids as they went door to door trick or treating. There was no need for parental concern, because everyone knew his or her neighbor. It was a neighborhood of like-minded, like-lifestyle people. I don't know if the parks we lived in were unique, but I know there was no trash.

Today there are different types of trailer parks, some good and some not so good. But for the most part down here in Florida I would guess the majority of the parks are inhabited by retirees who need a home but cannot afford the highly overpriced costs of permanent structures. So before anyone snorts and condemns the people who lost their wheeled or sans wheels aluminum homes due to Charley's power, please remember that for the people who lived in those trailers, it was still their home and they were so proud to call it that.

Because many residents do purchase these homes due to their affordability, many are uninsured because of the exorbitant home insurance rates in this state. For too many, home insurance is a luxury. So now, there they are on TV. What appears to be little piles of aluminum sheets are the last vestiges of many Americans dreams. They might not be your or my dreams, but dreams are dreams, and in Punta Gorda and other locales visited by Charley last week, their dreams are now a nightmare. What do you do when the only home that you could afford after working all your life is nothing more than a pile of aluminum sheeting and you are left with nothing but your tears and a few scraps of your life? The trailer park that was home, your pride and joy, is now covered in trailer park trash.

Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia

The Hurricane passes and the Bush Bullshit Begins.

During Jeb bush's tour of Punta Gorda yesterday he was asked about the unexpected turn that Charley made, and bush replied with something to the effect that God doesn't work in a straight line. Well, if that's the case and a fickle god is steering the storms, what good is the National Hurricane Center? Jeb also seemed to insinuate that God sent the storm to the folks in Punta Gorda and the neighboring communities. He didn't explain why he would worship a god who would do something so awful. What the hell did those people do that would make a loving God send something so disastrous for them to have to deal with? Were they all going to vote for Senator Kerry? In the future should we depend on george bush to chat with god and let us all know where future storms will hit? If you buy Jeb's garbage you might believe that hurricanes are God's way of harming human beings on purpose. Oh please, give me a break! Leave the damned religious part out of the equation and deal with the reality of the situation. Go ahead and say hurricane prediction is not exact but it has improved so very much. Now people don't have to see flocks of seabirds flying inland to know that a mighty storm is on the way. In recent years the predictions have been many more times accurate than they have been inaccurate.

I bet you that if there was a god, he would be mad as hell at the Jebster for blaming this death and destruction on him and his whimsy.

Today george bush will tour the area by helicopter. I wonder if he does decide to land and speak with Charley's victims, will the victims be hand picked, ticket holding, swear to vote for bush, supporters? I can imagine bush accompanied by his megaphone hopping up on the rubble of what was last week someone's home. Then an appointed person yells, I can't hear you. George will respond by yelling that he can hear them, and soon the hurricane who did this awful deed will hear from all of us. To which America will swoon. (Come on now, you didn't really think his appearance on the 9-11, New York rubble and the statement that "we can't hear you" was not a setup did you? You didn't really think that his response was off the cuff did you? Let's face it, there's no way in the world that he could have been that quick on his feet. Think about his response to free-wheeled questions like the one a couple of weeks ago regarding sovereign Native American tribes. I rest my case!)

***

My own little corner of the world had no problem from Charley. A weak tornado did a little rearranging of our landscaping but that's about it. We were fortunate and we know it. If you want to do something for the victims of Charley, the best thing you can do is make a donation to the Red Cross and send God a straight edged ruler.

NY Terror Drill

New York Post Online Edition: news: "August 14, 2004 -- The skies above Manhattan will be filled with military and police air power today as authorities stage a secret sky-high anti-terror training drill in preparation for the GOP convention.

The practice run, dubbed the 'Republican National Convention Airspace Exercise,' will begin at 6 p.m. and involve the combined forces of the military, the Coast Guard and the NYPD, according to a memo obtained by The Post.

The drill will test how fast air defenses can scramble and coordinate a response to a 9/11-type terrorist air attack.

The aircraft participating in the drill will include F-15 Eagle fighter jets from NORAD, Coast Guard Dolphin helicopters and Bell helicopters from the NYPD. The choppers will zoom as low as 3,500 feet in synchronized operations over the city.

The aircraft will respond to a mock report of an unknown airborne attack at Madison Square Garden.

The high-flying jets will be first on the scene, then NYPD and Coast Guard helicopters will arrive to survey the venue at a lower altitude.

By yesterday afternoon, the agencies involved had not officially told New Yorkers they may spot fighter planes while the drill is going on overhead. "

Sort of Retraction

My friend was here last light and wanted to watch Olympics.
So I watched.
I was pleasantly surprised because the sap was gone! They now have a website where you can go and see all the details about your favorite athlete if you want to. What a great idea. Someone must have gotten to NBC, that's all I can say.

BUT What is left that is truly annoying are the "experts" but you can always turn down the sound. I was watching men's 400 Individual Medley (swimming) and the whole time, some idiot expert was yelping about the leader, Michael Phelps being weak in this particular stroke, then weak in that particular stroke, and probably wouldn't break any records. Every time he yelped, I screamed at the tv to tell him to shut up so I could just watch the race. It looked fine to me. Do I need to know that his butterfly is weak? Well he was ahead of everyone in every single type of stroke, so he didn't look weak to me, and even if the so called "expert" was a former swimmer, so the hell what because at the end of it all, Michael Phelps broke the world record. So much for the expert texperts.

I had no idea that there was such a thing as sychronized diving. It was quite beautiful. I think that the men should have the same amount of tan though. It would look better. Once again, the expert was completely wrong predicting how good the dive was. We have to take issue with the experts now and tell NBC to put the experts on the website too and just leave the announcer.

Other than that, the Olympics are safe to watch... just turn down the volume.

N.B.: There are hardly any spectators at the Olympics. Talk about empty stadiums. Turns out Athenians go away on vacation in August, even if the Olympics are coming to town.

P.S. Charley blew through here last night around midnight. Not much wind. Lots of rain. We lucked out but poor poor Florida. Oh my God. I'm so so sorry. Really. Still waiting for Pissed off Patricia (Fla.) to check in. Waiting for Michael in NC to check in.

HURRICANE UPDATE SUN. AUG 15: CNN announced last night that Bush was going to visit Florida while Kerry said he wasn't. It turns out that a Presidential visit rather disrupts clean ups and search and rescue missions. Normally Presidents don't make visits to disaster scenes right away because they cause too much hoopla. Makes sense. But Bush has a more important task: to do everything differently than his father did.

CNN went on to say that possibly one of the reasons Bush I lost re-election was that he didn't take the Hurricane Andrew situation seriously enough when he was president and Bush II is going to see that he doesn't make his father's mistake. (recurring theme or what?) I do believe I have shifted to a parallel universe or something. Where am I?

Download this MP3

if you're a Jesus' General fan. Or even if you're not and are intrigued by the title. Enormous Penis by DaVinci's Notebook via WaPo. It's song #6.

Hat tip to Uncle Horn Head for the Free MP3 downloads at WaPo.

I'm Not Watching It Either, Amanda

Oh the Olympics started this weekend. I was just visiting Mousewords and was reminded. She's as indifferent as I am. I used to like it when you got to see the actual sports competition and not the 'Skin and Bones to Muscles' melodrama with violins about the poor young girl whose immigrant parents cleaned toilets and overcame scoliosis against the backdrop of war torn Eastern Euthanasia to come to America, buy a house, then sell the house so that young Miklashidofjhaku could pursue her dream of competing in the Olympics and make her family proud and make life worth living even if she ends up not getting a medal anyway. Wouldn't you just love to find out what happens to these families after the Olympics?

I won't miss the Howard Cosellsian type commentary about the .0001 second loss in time due to a swimmer's stray armpit hair that caused drag in the 1962 Olympics in Rome or amazing win of the Ethiopian runner who prevailed despite his hangnail in in 1952 regardless of the unexpected 2 degree fall in temperature during the race which caused him to suddenly stop sweating forcing to him to push himself even harder due to the change in blood pressure and forcing his mind to produce enough endorphins to overcome the pain of the hangnail. When you are so engrossed in the commentaries, you can barely pay attention to the event you are watching or you are so busy rolling your eyeballs, you forget to watch the tv.

It's all so patriotic too, isn't it? Downright makes you hate countries who beat Americans. I don't think that is such a good idea in these times unless you're a neocon hawk. Well anyway, I hear that the Olympic coverage is going to get hundreds of hours of airtime. Apparently this is more important than the DNC, the Iraq war, the hijacking of our democracy, the threat of terrorism, children going to bed hungry unless of course an olympic hopeful's family gave up eating in order to send their child to play ping pong or yacht for America.

Mousewords makes a good point too: "The Olympic coverage veers dangerously close at times to being an exercise in Americans patting themselves on the back for being better athletes than the entire rest of the world. It's fine to root for the home team, but in international sports it's important that one also learns to appreciate good athletes from other countries." She makes a lot of good points that you can read there so I won't cover those. But it's a good thing that people in other countries won't see American coverage of the Olympics... "Wow for a bunch of bullies, they are sure a bunch of whining babies," they might think. That's really NOT us though. That's the broadcasters. That's the fascist media. They are an embarrassment.

Oh I'm sorry I'm so cynical. I'd seriously enjoy watching the competition in particular sports I am interested in just to enjoy watching the endurance and stamina of athletes regardless of where they come from, because it's quite a beautiful thing. I remember back when you could have a satellite dish and actually get TV from around the world and see what's happening without the propaganda and commentary. Now it's all regulated.

Astute Reader Contribution

by Peter of Lone Tree

From Commondreams.org: What are the consequences? “Even if the world manages to make big cuts in [greenhouse gas] emissions soon,” the article states, “the earth will still warm several more degrees in coming decades, most climate scientists believe. That could slash agricultural yields, raise sea levels, and bring more extreme weather.”

The one upside, I suppose (in the satirical spirit of Jonathan Swift’s Modest Proposal), is that global warming will solve the problem of Florida elections as the entire state, chads and all, will disappear under water -- along with Long Island, Cape Cod, New Orleans, and, British scientists say, the city of London.
"Don't stop to read the whole article. Get out now," PoLT cried out in a loud voice. Lone Tree? Go to Iowa City and make a left.

Seriously, a lotta scientists subscribe to this thesis:

The Hollow Men
T. S. Eliot (1925)

I
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;
Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom
Remember us -- if at all -- not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.
II
Eyes I dare not meet in dreams
In death's dream kingdom
These do not appear:
There, the eyes are
Sunlight on a broken column
There, is a tree swinging
And voices are
In the wind's singing
More distant and more solemn
Than a fading star.
Let me be no nearer
In death's dream kingdom
Let me also wear
Such deliberate disguises
Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves
In a field
Behaving as the wind behaves
No nearer --
Not that final meeting
In the twilight kingdom
III
This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man's hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.
Is it like this
In death's other kingdom
Waking alone
At the hour when we are
Trembling with tenderness
Lips that would kiss
Form prayers to broken stone.
IV
The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here
In this valley of dying stars
In this hollow valley
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms
In this last of meeting places
We grope together
And avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river
Sightless, unless
The eyes reappear
As the perpetual star
Multifoliate rose
Of death's twilight kingdom
The hope only
Of empty men.
V
Here we go round the prickly pear
Prickly pear prickly pear
Here we go round the prickly pear
At five o'clock in the morning.
Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom
Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow
Life is very long
Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow
For Thine is the Kingdom
For Thine is
Life is
For Thine is the
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

Thanks Peter
~Blondesense

tv media rant of the day...

Well you can't even believe tv media because it doesn't make sense when you see what I saw last evening on CNN. I believe we were looking for hurricane coverage (my excuse for having CNN on) and saw that bush and kerry were visiting the same state yesterday. Cut to bush telling the koolaid drinkers that the economy was good and that there were lots of new jobs. Cut to kerry telling people the opposite. Cut to cnn reporter and no comment. No comment? What if I didn't know anything, how would I know that bush is the liar? CNN just reports what people say and doesn't verify it one way or the other? That's dumb. That's not helping citizens at all. That's a travesty and no wonder people still support bush.

It implies that they take for granted that lying is acceptable and it's the job of the one being lied about to prove that the liars are lying. Do you get that feeling too? What a fascist society this is. I have to write letters about this today to about a zillion newspapers. I hope you will too.

An astute reader pointed out what I forgot to mention a million times. Is Tim Russert supposed to be a journalist or just a TV moderator? I guess just a TV moderator. He allowed O'Lielly to bully Krugman and accuse him of writing things he didn't write, wouldn't allow Krugman to answer and didn't even have facts to back up that Krugman was right and O'Lielly was wrong. Russert always does that too. What good is he? You could have a trained chimp do what he does. Look at bush. He's a trained chimp and is having those "meet the preznit" talk shows across the country, but he only allows those who already support him to come to see him. What good is that if he's preaching to the choir?

I watched Bill Maher last night with Gary Hart. I like Gary Hart. Gary Hart warned of the imminent terrorist attack on September 5th, 2001. Obviously it wasn't taken seriously. He says we are going to be attacked again. He didn't say if it would be in New York. Oh god. Not NY. Not again. We are having the RNC in a couple of weeks. Don't we have enough shit here?

Michelle Malkin was on with Bill Maher. She didn't get a lot of time to speak though. The audience booed her quite a bit which was good (it satisfied the bitch in me). I would have to say that even though she is a nasty thing and makes nasty faces all the time, so much so that you'd really like to put your foot through her face, she actually behaved herself. (She probably didn't have a choice.) She and Bill Maher did agree on one thing, not the interment camp thing, but the fact that 60 year old white ladies should not receive the same scrutiny as those who fit the terrorist profile at airport security. She also mentioned the Sec of Transportation Minetta was a victim of Japanese interment camps during WW2 and she feels that that is what makes him believe that no one in America should be beyond scrutiny. I don't know if that is true. Maher didn't dispute that, so maybe it is true. He tends to dispute lies on his shows.

D.L. Hughley who admitted to having a GED was also participating and was more intelligent than Malkin. I think that Rahm Emanuel (D-Illinois) is really handsome and smart (he was on too). He cut off Malkin a lot.

TV media is sure covering the hurricane. Florida has been ravaged. Bush stumbled through a statement and I think he declared Fla. a disaster area. It's hard to tell what he's talking about. So many senior citizens are homeless. It's tragic. Batten down the hatches, North Carolina.

My family is supposed to fly in from Hawaii tomorrow and what's left of the hurricane is supposed to be here on Long Island at that time. They might be coming home to Pittsburgh. heh. We're not expecting too much of a storm here. I can't remember the name of the last hurricane that made a mess. Very cute guys came here from other utility companies to help out. I remember Gloria in 1985 quite well. It hit where I live dead on. My trees were pruned for free. It took 5 days to get the electricity back. I was 8 months pregnant and not a happy camper. Rich people's homes were washed out to sea. Isn't there something in the bible about fools building their houses on sand? Hmmmm. The rich people who live on the ocean must not be republicans or they would know what the bible says about that.

Ok enough bitching for now. Where's Patricia? She hasn't checked in yet from Florida.

what a good website I found...

It's called JimGilliam.com. Jim Gilliam is the co-producer of Outfoxed. Jim says he's dedicating his life (and his talent) to throwing Bush out of office. A noble cause at that.

But this page on his website has the Krugman vs O'Leilly video from Tim Russert with some facts thrown in by Jim Gilliam. O'Leilly demonstrates what a bully he is indeed no matter where he goes. There is more video on that page too. Excellent.

And speaking of video... Jon Stewart's interview with Bill Clinton is up at Comedy Central.

and speaking of being moist....

• pissed off patricia is literally under the weather down there in florida so we might not hear from her for a day or two while she is stowed away on her ark...

• it's downright tropical here in new york and the surf's up...

• and mark morford explains why being a sexually attuned progressive is a wonderful and juicy part of the anti-bush revolution. yes, it is a lot more fun than being a libidinously challenged republican for sure... Vive la résistance!

Porter Goss: "I am not qualified."

See Quicktime Video of Nominated CIA Director Porter Goss say that he is not qualified to be CIA Director.

Let's take bets on how long it will take until the media shoots the messenger.

How Conveeeeeeenient

Yesterday in Nevada, John Kerry was talking to seniors about his plan for prescriptions and healthcare. It's a very good plan that you can read about at johnkerry.com and at The Kerry-Edwards Blog:

That’s why George Bush doesn’t allow seniors to get drugs from Canada that are up to 80% cheaper. Nor does the Bush Drug Plan allow Medicare to negotiate cheaper drugs for seniors like the Veterans Administration does for vets (often 50% cheaper). With Seniors for Kerry-Edwards chapters organizing in all 50 states, this politically savvy network will make certain that seniors, the most active voter group in the nation, know exactly who to support for a real drug benefit on November 2.

John Kerry and John Edwards support a common sense prescription drug plan that benefits seniors, not drug company CEO’s. They will make sure Medicare is empowered to negotiate cheaper prices on behalf of seniors, and that seniors have access to safe, affordable drugs from Canada. And, unlike George Bush, John Kerry and John Edwards won’t make seniors spend $5,000 in out of pocket expenses before providing any monetary relief.

Today, conveniently, FoxReno.com, has this on their website (and it's on other news websites as well)

FDA Wary Of Importing Drugs Because Of Terrorism Risk
Acting Commissioner Concerned About Safety, Quality Of Prescriptions

POSTED: 1:04 pm EDT August 12, 2004
WASHINGTON -- The acting head of the Food and Drug Administration said he's worried that terrorists could infiltrate the nation's prescription drugs if barriers are dropped for cheaper Canadian supplies.

Commissioner Lester Crawford told The Associated Press that terrorist acts are the more serious of his concerns about the increasing efforts of state and cities to buy cheaper drugs from Canada. He's also worried that the imported drugs may not be of good quality or may have been improperly stored.

The FDA is under mounting pressure, and faces a lawsuit filed by the state of Vermont, to soften its stance on importing drugs from Canada. State and city officials say they could save millions of dollars by importing cheaper drugs from Canada.

This is without a doubt the most blatant act of politicizing and terrorizing citizens and I am completely sickened by it. How dare Bushcroft use the FDA to further his agenda by taking cheap shots at senior citizens?

Please spread this around.

Cheap Porn

Did you know that that POS rag that cost the taxpayers $40million, The Starr Report, is available at Amazon.com for 1 penny?

Spy on your neighbors. It's Patriotic

Not for nothing (as we say in the NY/NJ area), but 9/11 was 3 years ago and NOW they want us to spy on each other? This is amazingly political if you ask me.

An astute Franco-American was driving in New Jersey noticed a sign "REPORT SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY CALL 1-866-4 SAFE-NJ". He called the number from his car. This is a shining example of what we all should be doing when we see such things.

CEY: I'm driving down Highway 37 to Seaside Heights, I see this flashing sign telling me to report suspicious activity, and I ask what does that mean? Because it sounds to me like you want me to spy on my neighbors. We shouldn't be spying on our neighbors but looking in the backyards of Washington for terrorist activity.

OP2: You have a tip for us?

CEY: Yes. As I told the previous operatorin researching the war against terror, I found out that top us officials serving in this administration were bribing the Taliban a few months before September 11. Look at the millions we were giving the Taliban; look at the billions we are giving Israel. That's where we need to look to find something suspicious--not by encouraging Americans to spy on each other like in an Orwell novel.

OP2: Is that all?

CEY: So who woke up Senator Joe?

Read the whole story at Counterpunch.

Don't miss Jesus General's post about spotting terrorists while boating. It seems that terrorists wear funny clothes while boating, they take pictures while loitering by the waterways, they may sketch pictures by waterways and just plan loiter by the sea! Can you imagine? Who would do such a thing? Especially in the summer. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Also from the Waterway Watch via the General: They ask that you "Note appearance, size, coloring of individuals." Heh. do we all not notice everyone's appearance when we are by the sea in summer? How fat is that dude or dudette in that bathing suit? Look how white or how tan he/she is? The funny thing is that people actually change colors when spending time by the sea and in a week's time, they change back to their original color.

And one more thing to think about...

Remember all the talk about al Qaida wanting Kerry to win the election? Well it seems to be the opposite. Bush is their man. There is new talk that Osama wants to attack the US before the elections (presumably so stupid Americans will rally around the preznit). Other sources say that the arrests in Pakistan may have thwarted than plan. However, the intent to disrupt the elections was there. They want Bush. They like Bush. He makes it easy for them.

Now go back to spying on your neighbors. It's in the bible somewhere.

Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia



According to Reuters, chances are that the US military deaths in Iraq will hit or top 1,000 next month. The next time you hear bush blabber about America being safer now that Saddam is wearing the striped pj's of prisoners, yell this at your TV - Almost 1,000 Americans are not freakin safer, you ____ bastard, they're dead! You can also add in lots of non FCC approved adjectives to describe bush too. I'd do it for you, but that's no fun. Right?



1,000 military personal will have died in a war that bush chose to get our country involved in based on "what might have been". That's the reality of the situation, and he says he'd do it all over again. Where's the wisdom in that? You clearly see you were wrong, 1,000 people die and you say you'd do it all over again? This is probably of little consolation to the families of those dead soldiers. It's as though bush is saying to them, I told a member of your family they were going to war because it was an emergency of national security and safety. Okay, I found out there was no emergency, but I would have sent your loved one to die anyway. To me it sounds as though he's saying, I wanted to send your loved one to war. I needed to say something to convince you that it was necessary and now that they're dead, so what? I would have started this war even if there wasn't a necessity.



Bush chose to go to war. Bush chose to send thousands of soldiers into a war based upon nothing. Bush chose to give tax breaks that our country could ill afford. Bush chose to run up our national debt to an all time high. Bush has chosen to do a lot of things that have harmed our country. Ergo, george bush must be pro choice.

***



Does anyone know where I can get a V-chip that will block out all news about any court trial? Yesterday I turned on the TV to see what was happening in Najaf. All I could find was Gloria Allred appearing live on three news stations. She was spouting information about the mistress of an accused wife murderer. Unfortunately men murder their wives everyday. Why is the world so damned interested in this particular case? The news folks call all those involved in this case by their first names as though we were all friends before the lady was murdered. Personally I had not even heard of them. Then within seconds of the play by play by Ms Allred, the stations began administering their daily dose of Coby Bryant's case. Again unfortunately men do and are accused of rape around the country. Why all the time spent on this particular case? Okay he plays basketball. So what? That doesn't make him more or less guilty. And in my opinion it doesn't make him more or less interesting. Judges and courts will decide the outcome of both these cases. People watching TV will not make the decisions, so why can't the news stations just leave it alone. Don't we have a channel for this stuff? Remember Court TV? The news channels seem to be more concerned with gossip and snooping in a soap opera style, than they are about news. Until I can find the V-chip that I want, I guess I'll have to use the tried and true "Off" button.

Sending Bush Back to Crawford via Hip Hop

You've probably heard that Vote for Change has got a great tour of musicians going around the country in swing states advocating for a regime change featuring the great music of Pearl Jam, Bruce Springsteen, R.E.M., Dave Matthews Band, and more.

What about the young folks? Well they have Slam Bush, a national rhyme contest, a hip hop contest to oust bush! Slam Bush is looking for a national champion; someone whose voice could represent Hip Hop in a face-to-face debate against the President, either in the streets or behind the podium.

Is this not heartwarming? Is this not wonderful to see young people coming together to help make a change? And I certainly hope it doesn't stop there either. We have our work cut out for us even if we oust Bush. We still have the media to take on. If you know some young people send them this video of a young rapper going against Bush in a debate. They'll dig it.

Porter Goss Says He's Not Qualified

From Michael Moore.com:

"I couldn't get a job with CIA today. I am not qualified," the Florida Republican told documentary-maker Michael Moore's production company during the filming of the anti-Bush movie "Fahrenheit 9/11."

A day after Bush picked Goss for the top U.S. spy job, Moore on Wednesday released an excerpt from a March 3 interview in which the 65-year-old former House of Representatives intelligence chief recounts his lack of qualifications for employment as a modern CIA staffer.

"I don't have the language skills. I, you know, my language skills were romance languages and stuff. We're looking for Arabists today. I don't have the cultural background probably," Goss is quoted in an interview transcript.

"And I certainly don't have the technical skills, uh, as my children remind me every day: 'Dad you got to get better on your computer.' Uh, so, the things that you need to have, I don't have."

The video clip should be available at Michael Moore's website on Thursday.Michael Moore.com:

Surf's Up

Looks like a whole bunch of us are going to be in the path of the storms/hurricanes. If I know my island, we'll have no power this weekend. Make sure you all get batteries, duct tape and plastic. Wax your surfboards dudes and dudettes we'll be surfing the Atlantic pipeline.

Ok Patricia, you go first. Good luck!

New Bush Ads Suck

Over at GeorgeWBush.com, I viewed Bush's latest TV ads. At least he isn't wasting time smearing Kerry... not since the Smear Boat Veterans for Lies are taking care of that... but this time, he is capitalizing on 9/11 again... only WTF is he talking about.? You gotta watch this ad called "solemn duty" where bush is sitting next to the first librarian and says:

"My most solemn duty is to lead our nation, to protect ourselves. I can't imagine the great agony of a mom or a dad having to make the decision about which child to pick up first on September the 11th. We cannot hesitate, we cannot yield, we must do everything in our power to bring an enemy to justice before they hurt us again."

What in tarnation is he talking about?

"I can't imagine the great agony of a mom or a dad having to make the decision about which child to pick up first on September the 11th."

What does that have to do with the first sentence? What agony? What decision? Which mom or dad? What child/children? Where?

Is he talking about a parent who has more than one child and their spouse died on 9/11 and the children won't be coming home from school on a bus or walking home? By 3pm that day, most people didn't know for sure who died though! Help me! What is he talking about? I live in NY and I don't know what the hell he is talking about. I was scared shitless that day but my son took the school bus home with kids who had parents who work at the WTC at the end of the school day.

Bush has another ad on there about his reform policy (this is something he just thought up) and it says americans should have ownership in a house or a business. It's a crock of shit because it's nearly impossible for people to own anything these days if they didn't already own something before Bush became president. This man is so out of touch with Americans and has no clue that even if someone can get a job, it's probably a lousy paying job, probably has lousy bennies, if any at all and if that person is married, the spouse will have to work full time in order to help make ends meet. He probably met with more nods trying to gain support over his stupid marriage amendment than trying to get Americans to buy this bag of dog poo. sigh.

UPDATE: JUST FOUND THIS U.S. Newswire - Kerry-Edwards 2004: Ask President Bush: How Can I Own Something
If I Can't Afford My Health Care Or Find A Good Job?

More Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia


Whoa! We have two wanna-be hurricanes with their garish tourists clothes on and they are heading for a vacation in Florida. This isn't any fun for us here in the Sunshine State. Bonnie and Charley are their given names but Bonnie and Clyde would be more apropos. I thought we might skate through this hurricane season but now that doesn't seem to be the plan. If you've lived in the path of hurricanes you know the drill. You buy up a lot of bottled water and you also buy canned food that you wouldn't ordinarily buy. You pray that you will never have to eat this stuff because you would most likely have to eat it without heating it, since the electric is usually the first thing to go. A meal of cold soup or canned tuna has no appeal unless you are powerfully hungry. Hurricane season is also anxiety season. As if we don't already have enough to worry about. Mother Nature has her own weapons of mass destruction and she's not afraid to use them.

The Polling Report

PollingReport.com has all the poll results and they are up to date. Very interesting site to visit.

The Times They Are A'Changing

The last time I felt genuinely sick before an election was during Carter vs Reagan. That was the last time we had a regulated media so we actually sort of knew what was going on if anyone was paying attention. To this day, people still argue that it was a coincidence that those hostages were released as soon as Reagan was elected. Yeah right. I wasn't into politics that much but it was pretty darn obvious that it was going to be worse than Nixon and even more underhanded. Come to think of it, the people who argue with me about that event aren't really all that swift and have been drinking Koolaid for a number of years now and their memories are fuzzy. I distinctly remember being upset when Reagan was elected and felt a sense of doom and gloom... kind of like the last 4 years.

The late 70's and 80's were really rather pathetic as far as the American psyche was concerned. It was certainly the "Me Me Me" age. I was in a punk band (anti-disco) even though I was getting my MBA and being a bond trader on Wall St at the same time. Maybe we were suffering a delayed reaction to all the political excitement of the late 60's and early 70's but when Reagan came to power, we were easy pickings collectively. The media sold us Reagan and Bush I and the Gulf War.

Jump ahead to the Clinton years. I was steeped in PTA meetings and pretty much had access to Newsweek if I had time to read it and the network news. If I hadn't been trained in critical thinking, most certainly I would have hated Clinton's guts but something inside me told me that things had really changed and Americans and politicians were now steeped in hatred and self righteousness. That was a far cry from the "Me Me Me" age and certainly a really far cry from the Vietnam years where people actually gave a shit about the importance of social justice. In the 90's morality had to do with sex only. I thought Ken Starr was the biggest pervert in American history and since I went to Catholic School for my whole life, I know that blow jobs are NOT sex. That's just um... fooling around. Only intercourse is sex when you belonged to a religion based on guilt.

Boy, I can't believe how politically charged the country is now. If we didn't have the internet, we would be so fucked. The mass media is Bush Country. You almost can't blame people for buying all the lies, but then again you wonder, if you are in your 40's and 50's or so, what happened to our generation? Too many drugs in the 60's or what? No, probably working too damn hard to survive. Our parents had it much easier in the 60's. Dad worked. Mom stayed home with the kids.

Hell, what kind of pensions do we have to look for? Most of us have worked at a dozen or so companies. Will there be social security for us? Will we have health care? How many times did you have to shell out for COBRA when you didn't even have an income? How many times did you go without health insurance just praying you wouldn't get sick? We are too busy trying to scrape by to even think about it. People hear a snippet on the news that Bush is 'fixing' that and they think, "that's good, I'll vote for him."

Grace Slick's calling for a Revolution is ringing in my ears. I have waited for this. My kid's in college now so I can bring him along on the ride. We didn't finish the last revolution. Today Mark Morford counts the signs in his latest article:

There are signs and indicators. There are feelings and intuitions. There is that undeniable tang in the air, that clenching of the cultural colon, that cringe in the collective soul. Something has got to give. A national shakeup is more than imminent -- it is desperately, urgently needed. And Bush is just about finished.

Don't you feel it? The sensation that the country cannot continue to careen down this ultraviolent, antihumanitarian path much longer without implosion and desperation and a massive increase in sedative prescriptions for anyone with an even slightly intuitive sense of justice and future and long hot sighs of hope? You're not alone.

No I am not alone.

Bad Boy

And there you go. Bush hasn't changed a bit since college has he? He's got the bad-boy vote sewed up.

This picture really explains why Bush has alienated the US from the rest of the world. Go Bush.

Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia


De-Wrecking Iraq

"Reality TV hits home in Baghdad"
By Annia Ciezadlo| Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Okay, this is bizarre.

As if "reality" hasn't already hit Iraq with the first airing of Shock and Awe, the Americans Freedom Blow, now they have a new, newer reality show. In the midst of killings, beheadings, kidnappings, diseases and god knows what other disasters, Iraqis can flip the channel to see a reality TV show about Iraqi home makeovers. Or maybe in this case it should be called an un-shocking, while more awing, TV show about the reassembling of a pile of rubble that used to be a home before the US flew over to win hearts and minds with bombs.

Why don't they call it what it is, a crass opportunistic example of commercialism. Go bury your dead and when you return to your electricless, waterless, what's-left-of-your lifeless, home, voila! You find your home has had a makeover compliments of a TV show. It's not like the home makeover you got when those damned bombs blew the hell out of your life and America freed you from life under Saddam. This is the opposite of that. Since half your family has been wiped out, you have vacant bedrooms now that can be redone and made into dens and sewing rooms. Hey, how about that? The US freed up a few thousand Iraqi souls to go to heaven and in turn you get a den with all the trimmings. Where's the gratitude?

Yes, I know I'm being overly bitchy, but the whole idea of this seems so warped to me. Before the killing even stops, the TV crews move in to take advantage of the situation and entertain their audience by reminding them that their country has been blasted all to hell. What's next? Are they going to give a shot at trying a little "Survivor"? Or is that already in progress?

***

Why is it every time I see Senator McCain on the campaign stage standing with bush, I seem to see a dog leash leading from bush's hand to Senator McCain's neck? Is it just me?

***

Do You Need Votes to Win?

I don't think we can be reminded too many times that every time we see team bush or team cheney out on the campaign trail, each attendee you see has had to acquire a ticket before they are allowed to stand in the sun and be fed more bunk. How do you appeal to the "undecideds" if the only ones who may attend must be "decideds" for bush? How do you try to change minds if all the minds must swear they won't be changed? So is this really and truly a campaign trail they're on? Are they just going through the motions? Why would they do this? Could it be because they feel they have an alternate way to win, and it has nothing to do with votes?



Why is it only the Democrats who are calling for a paper trail of their votes? Why aren't Republicans just as concerned about touch-screen voting too? What do they know that we don't and why don't they care about this? Could it be because they feel they have an alternate way to win and it has nothing to do with votes?



Have a nice day!

The New CIA Dude

Cute aren't they? Look at those pouty lips!

So this morning Bush told everyone about Porter Goss (very very very terrible name) "Porter Goss is a leader with strong experience in intelligence and in the fight against terrorism."
Oh yeah, he's one of the US Senators who was having breakfast with the Pakistani ISI General which had more than a little bit to do with the funding of the attacks that day:

"On the morning of Sept. 11, Goss and Graham were having breakfast with a Pakistani general named Mahmud Ahmed — the soon-to-be-sacked head of Pakistan’s intelligence service. Ahmed ran a spy agency notoriously close to Osama bin Laden and the Taliban." (Washington Post, 18 May 2002).

Here's the whole story: Mysterious September 11 Breakfast Meeting on Capitol Hill

Senator Goss' name comes up a lot in the 9/11 Timeline. Hmmm. I popped his name in the Complete 9/11 Timeline at Center for Cooperative Research and came up with all this.

And this Goss dude seems to be obsessed with protein stains too. He must get fired when Kerry gets elected: "Somebody sends me a blue dress and some DNA, I'll have an investigation." Another fucking idiot in charge of 'intelligence'.

So Bush was reading about a goat while I was throwing up my breakfast in front of the TV on the morning of 9/11, our loyal Senators won't say what they were talking about with a Pakistani Intelligence officer (remember, we weren't all that chummy with those guys) and don't ever forget that Bush 41 was having a power breakfast with the Carlyle Group and Osama bin Laden's brother that morning. I can't believe that my right wing friends tell me with a straight face that I am supposed to believe that it's ok that our president's family does business with an "evil doer's" family member because you can't judge a whole family by one person. (Oh yes you can. Look at the Bushes.) And didn't Prince Bandar Bush's wife accidentally fund some terrorists too? I mean really. I have to stop being so nice to people who tell me that Bush truly cares about our country.

As much as I pick on Bush for being such a doofus that morning in the classroom, at least he wasn't consorting with the enemy.

Subversive Play Somewhere in NYC, Aug. 17-Sept. 4

Playbill News: Cryptic Comedy to Play Somewhere in NYC

"To see the show, go to Manhattan and proceed to the middle of 10th Street, between Avenue A and Avenue B. Our agents will contact you there. You must arrive at least 30 minutes before showtime." The show offers the show's reservation line, with the further warning, "Latecomers will not be shown to the theatre. And make sure you're not followed." The recording also sends a message to the feds: "If you're some kind of law enforcement agent or official, hang up now, there's nothing illegal happening here.

Tickets — "available to Republican delegates (with ID) for free" — are priced at $15. For reservations, call (212) 802-7446."

More Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia

While half the US is wading around wondering if Teresa Kerry is "first lady material", and whether John Kerry got enough shrapnel in his butt during his time in Vietnam, they should be thinking about what's going on out in the deep water. They should forget about this silly crap and go deeper. Out in the deep water we find the serious concerns and here they are in this article:
Police State USA by Rep. Ron Paul

Trouble in paradise

My son is in Hawaii with his dad. Spoke to my