Nine Billion MIA in Iraq

by pissed off patricia

In my Palm Beach Post and probably in your paper too, there are headlines and photos of Iraqis voting yesterday. That's great for someone to go and vote under some pretty dire conditions. I suppose the lock-downs, curfews, closed borders, closed streets, and hoards of our military plus Iraqi military and police helped the situation a little bit. We probably can't imagine what it would be like to fear for your life when you go to vote. I don't believe that I personally can. During our last election my only fear came true. I was fearful for our country if bush was re?-elected.

Also, on page 14A of today's PB Post there's another story about Iraq. Seems according to the Associated Press article, there are some US dollars missing. Seems about nine billion dollars are MIA. Remember when the Senate voted to hand huge sums of money to the Iraq war/rebuilding fund and some Democrats wanted spending of the money to require accountability? That idea was shot down like a rabid animal. No, no the Republicans said, we should not require anyone to account for the money Just hand it over and I'm sure it'll be taken care of and spent responsibly. Bremer doesn't need to account for any of it. But today, almost nine billion dollars of the money is gone with no paper trail. Humm, that's not good.

According to the Associated Press, Bremer is quoted as saying that the report about this missing billions had "many misconceptions and inaccuracies." Quoting from the article, "Bremer complained that the report "assumes that Western-style budgeting and accounting procedures could be immediately and fully implemented in the midst of a war." Also, quoting from the article again, "The inspector general said the occupying agency disbursed $8.8 billion to Iraqi ministries "without assurance the moneys were properly accounted for."

I know you hate quotes but please allow me just one more. Toward the end of the article it states, "When staff members of the U.S. occupation government recommended that payrolls be verified before salary payments, Coalition Provisional Authority financial officials said the authority "would rather overpay salaries than risk not paying employees and inciting violence," the inspector general said."

Oh god no, we must not incite violence in Iraq. Can you imagine the consequences of inciting violence in a country that has been invaded, bombed all to hell and had thousands of it's innocent citizens killed as they were marched off to freedom? Hell, throw the money at them as fast as you can, do anything to avoid violence.

In April when you are figuring your income tax report, if it works out that you owe the government money, just write them a little note and tell them that the money you need to pay your taxes is missing and unaccounted for. Remind them that we are in the midst of a war. Tell them that they shouldn't assume that "Western-style budgeting and accounting procedures could be immediately and fully implemented in the midst of a war." I'm sure they'll understand, and what the hell, you might even receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Polling Results:

I've come to the conclusion most people as they mature gain in attractiveness. But not so with some individuals. The photographs I have seen of George Bush in his youth display a person of reasonably handsome features. But I find myself absolutely repelled by the sight of his face whenever I come across it on TV or in the newspapers. Trying to be fair about it, I wonder to myself if I feel this way because of his simple-mindedness or his arrogance. So what I did was to take a local poll and ask a locally prominent Republican, Democrat, and the closest I could find to an Independent just exactly what they thought about Bush's looks.
Here are the results of my admittedly unscientific poll:

I. M. Kraftey (R): "Our president does not possess classically handsome features".

Phil Theefogger (D): "Oh, man! If I had a face like that, I'd powder my ass and walk backwards".

Joe Shidt the Ragman (I): "If I had face like George Bush, I'd hang it on a fence and throw shit at it".

I Demand A Recount

How the hell did I get this old? And who is that lady in the mirror? I am not looking in the mirror anymore as my image has been hijacked. But how will I know if that person in the mirror has drool on her chin? Such are the problems of adulthood. I think I may deem myself officially grown up today, at least in chronological terms. Tempus Fugit. Half a century just flies. The first 25 years went slowly for me. The next 25 years were a blur. I understand if I blink, I'll miss the next 25.

I was noticing at large family functions of late that I have been relegated to the "grown-ups table". It was through attrition that I achieved grown-up table priveleges. Memento Mori. Even when I was 45 and at a Christmas gathering, I'd ask where the grown-ups table was so that I could steer my parents there. I certainly didn't belong at that table. For a few years I was relegated to the mommy table but now our kids are sitting with their kids at the mommy table.

I'm still a crazy 20 something at heart after all these years. I am a little bit wiser, but not that much. I am still learning new stuff each and every day and re-learning old stuff that I forgot about. I was always a sieve brain. I watch documentaries now. oy.

Still a rebel though. Whew. Still an artist and still a performing singer- songwriter although I need to tape cheat sheets to my guitar or the mic stand so I don't forget what I was standing on the stage for. Takes me days to recuperate from a late night gig.

I wear tri-focals. I didn't even wear glasses 5 years ago. If the glasses fall off the bedside, I can't find them in the morning. I wear sneakers and clogs more than any other type of footwear. Comfort first. Fashion secondary.

Don't have to worry about getting preggers these days. I can finally have indiscriminate sex - oh wait- I don't want to anymore. I'm discriminate now. I have to know his name and where he lives. heh. And what is up with that mustache I grew in the last few years? Blondes don't have unwanted hair. It took me 6 months to realize what that sensation was when I licked outside my lips. It was HAIR!!!!! Called the dark Italians in the family for advice. They snickered. Added depilitatory products to the shopping list.

My new clothes dryer is arriving today. The old one went on fire the other night. Literally burst into flames. Burned my bell bottomed blue jeans to a crisp among other things. Luckily my son can still smell. I was oblivious to the smoke until I was choking and coughing and running outside.

I'm on my last pack of cigarettes today. It's funny that the case of cigarettes from New Hampshire ($20 cheaper per carton) from last year is empty as of today. That's it. Finito. I'm reclaiming my lungs and it's too damn cold to have to keep going outside for a cigarette. All that getting up and going out was getting on my nerves although I used to claim that it was good exercise.

I never met my birth parents. I signed up for every adoptee registry on the internet. Nothing. I didn't do a search while my parents were alive although they wondered why I didn't. I just thought it would be rude. A lot of my adopted friends got to meet and have relationships with their birth parents although many wish they didn't. I'm not so sure I want to know anything about my genetics at this stage of the game. I don't want to know what diseases run in the family. There's enough crap to worry about. I have one blood relative that I know. My son. That's cool.

My new motto: Eat right, exercise regularly, die anyway.

Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia

The New SOTU QUIZ is Here!
Dana has her new contest up. It's fun! Go to her site and make your guesses about the contents of bush's state of the union speech this week. Hurry, the contest will close at eight o'clock Wednesday night. Dana is offering a pretty nifty choice of prizes for the winner. So go over and take the quiz. It might even make you be able to stomach what you'll hear from bush as he verbally pours the cool aid for fifty two percent of America.

The Iraqi Elections

It warmed my heart to see so many Iraqi's go to the polls and cast a vote despite how very difficult it must have been to defy the insurgents and possibly risk death. According to my readings this morning, it appears that many Iraqi's were under the impression that they were electing a new president and that once they voted, a democracy would happen and the Americans would go away. Not quite.

They didn't vote for a new president and the Americans aren't leaving. I admire their courage to go and vote despite all the threats and men with machine guns out in the streets. I hope that they didn't think that they would just go and vote and that Iraq would be rebuilt and they'd get their oil back. The U.S. is now saying that Iran is an imminent threat. I don't know what else to say.

Question Of The Day:

George Bush has brought democracy (or so he says) to Iraq at the cost of 100,000 lives. If we assume that he intends to spread American-style democracy throughout the 190 countries of the world, can we then assume that only about 20 million people will have to die?

21st Century Values

blatantly swiped from Doomocracy
By Billydoom

Before my arrival in the USA, I resided in Rome, Italy for a few months. I befriended in Rome an old gentleman who had a family restaurant. We used to sit in his restaurant and debate political and social issues.

I could sum up in his own words his opinion about America :

"Americani, grande bambini".

I don't think I need to translate that. It speaks loudly what America is all about from a European view.

The more I see, I am more convinced how true it is. The lack of social and political maturity of the American people is mind boggling. More distressing is the deterioration of moral values. And I am not talking about gay marriage, or indecency on the air waves.

I am talking about lies and deceit which have become the norm of surviving in this society.

You see lies as an acceptable way of dealing with social issues and common interaction in society, in sit-coms, TV Commercials, in reality shows, in the news coverage, political debates, government policies. If you turn on your TV and flip through channels they all scream at you: "It is OK to lie".

In my view, this syndrome is more dangerous than gay marriage, or occasional nudity shown on our television screens, or the lack of attending the sunday mass.

Everything is the result of a horse race mentality, competition pushed to the limits, beyond rationality. Winning is more important than principle, moral value, justice in society and in the name of winning anything goes:
If you look at reality shows, they are peppered with lies, deceit, conniving, elbowing, stopping short of murder. In TV commercials, lying is a cute way out of an impossible situation. In news coverage, giving forum to liars is a common practice. In political debates it's called either flip-flopping, or blatant denial of truth. Government reasons of invading another country are embarrassing, proven to contrary outright lies. Manipulation of wording and facts is confusing a whole nation.

It is all about winning!! Mothers of prospective child beauty pageant contestants are conspiring to murder the competition, fathers of child sports events fist-fight over winning, disgruntled employees spill blood of their colleagues with high powered killing weapons to revenge misdeeds done by their employers.

Fairness and value is a thing of the past. In political debates, they used to call each other as "my distinguished opponent". Conceding defeat used to be gentlemanly, for the good of the country

Now it is about the "horse race". No matter how ugly or how handicapped my horse is, anything goes to WIN.

Football mentality has penetrated our everyday life. We want our team to win, and if the referee penalizes our team for a flagrant fault committed by one of our team players, 80,000 boo's will fill the stadium disapproving that decision despite the facts replayed over and over on the Big Screen on the stadium. Does that mean that 80,000 people lost their sense of justice, fairness or value? I don't think so. They're just blinded by the desire to win. Our team has to win, no matter what.
This syndrome has penetrated even the presidential election. People have turned a deaf ear to the truth, and voted for the TEAM. You could draw that conclusion from the pundits, arguing against the truth with the most undisturbed facial expressions.

It is scary. It signals anarchy, and breakdown of reason for social coexistence.

That is very sad for the future of this country. The political and social immaturity of the members of this society is alarming to me. People act in a manner that reminds me of my days in kindergarten. Immature, spoiled, self-righteous, beyond reason spoiled brats.

Are we too spoiled? Have we lost our dignity ? Are we teaching our children, that winning is more important than principle ?

Are we denying "Liberty and justice for all" ?

If we do, we're DOOMED my friends.

If you came here looking for some good news

Keep reading down until you get to the article: "Cheap Thrills" by our own Pissed Off Patricia and join in the fun.

Today's cheap thrill on Long Island is that the cold snap is ending. We had temps in the single digits for the past 2 weeks. We are not used to this so it's all relative. Most of us middle classers have a decent winter coat and could attend an outdoor formal function without having to wear our ski parkas with dangling lift tickets.

For the next week, we can expect temps in the 30's. Normally that would be yukky, but we have something worse to compare that to, so bring on the damn 30's. I can finally go outside!

On the verge of democracy in Iraq

I never heard of democracy being easily won so none of this really surprises me, but then again, these people are having it shoved down their throats by an occupying force from a foreign land so the whole thing is rather surreal. You Vill Haff Zee Democrazy or Vee Vill Haff to Kill You. Many Iraqi's say they are used to being scared. This gives me no solace. I've taken up praying again. Millions of Muslims just returned from Mecca. I wonder what they were praying for. I hope we are all praying for the same thing. Peace.

Can George Bush's big guns cancel out all the prayers/collective willing? If so, then which force is really on his side?

Dahr Jamail sums the rise of democracy up in High Anxiety
"Let's play a game and see how many photos we can take before we get pulled over or shot at again."

In Armored Vehicles, U.S. Troops Tell Iraqis to Vote from Reuters:
"Heavily-armed troops jump out and begin searching homes as loudspeakers blast in Arabic: "On Sunday you should go out to vote. Vote to give freedom to Iraq. Vote to save Iraq."

"There are no campaign posters in this city of 200,000 people, and several election officials have resigned after receiving death threats."

Iraqis Get Ready for the Worst
"...Even after the balloting is over, medical professionals predict, the national lockdown could have a lasting health effect on Iraq: an election-related baby boom in about nine months.

With citizens banned from the roads, shut in by the curfew and with spotty electricity making it difficult to watch TV or read, Iraqis may search for other methods to occupy their time. "

SPACE PROGRAM

by Missouri Mule

Bush announced an initiative to spend twelve billion dollars to create permanent moonbase by 2020. That's the first smart thing that he has proposed. He knows by the time he get through, we will be so fucked on this planet that we're gong to be needing another home real soon. We're going to have to sneak off and move in the middle of the night. Between the pollution, lowered emission standards, drilling, and pissing off every other country on the planet, Bush knows it's time for us to start packing up. Or should I say them, not us.

NASA, the JPL, it's the welfare for nerds, It is like a billion dollar welfare program for really smart dorks. Where else are they going to work? They're too smart to do anything else. They can't fit in with us. They know a bunch of stuff that regular folks could give two shits about. They would annoy us to the point of hurting them. "Hey, did you know that the atmosphere on ......" Pow! "Shut it up, dummy on the moon."

What have we learned from our space travels? Seriously? What have we learned or discovered that affects our daily lives? Nothing. We're spending billions of dollars in outer space for what? Why don't we spend just half of that to find out who shot Tupac?

I don't give a damn about space travel. I don't even have a passport, so you know I don't give a fuck about the weather on Mars. Shit, I'm not leaving the country, get caught up in a coup. Whenever they do discover something, the vast majority of us have no idea what it means. "Scientists discovered today that stars can be consumed by a black hole." WHAT??? Sounds like a report about Lil'Kim to me. "NASA discovered that an area of Mars was once drenched in water." And? Even the mews anchor who reports the story don't know what the hell they're talking about. When it comes to that shit, they are just reading the TelePrompTer. Even Peter Jennings has that blank stare when it come to that space shit.

Approximately twenty percent of Americans currently own a passport, so why are we dicking around in space? Ain't no happy Mars movies. Star Trek went there and shit went bad. I do believe that there is life on other planets. I also believe that we are the dumbest creatures in the universe. The Fox network is proof positive. I bet they don't dare have shows like The Littlest Groom or The Swan on Neptune.

I bet our Opportunity Rover is on the Martian news. "Those simple earthlings are at it again." To them........our rover is probably like the mosquitoes and the West Nile virus to us. "We're going to have to spray again."

Bill Clinton

I was a big Clinton supporter, but I was disappointed by him. I didn't realize that man was an idiot. The president was on national TV apologizing for getting oral sex. Why didn't he just stick with his lie? You gotta stick with your lie. You have to believe that lie wholeheartedly. It has to come the truth for you. The most powerful man in the world is on TV apologizing for receiving oral sex. He's an idiot. There are men I know who will gladly accept oral sex on national TV.

Why are you apologizing? Oral sex is not a high crime. It's not grounds for impeachment. Oral sex is not a misdemeanor. It's not treason. He got oral sex from a White House intern, not from an Iraqi secret agent. It was pretty patriotic if you ask me. He kept it in house. I like that.

If the man would've stayed with his lie he could have saved us all a lot of embarrassment. It's embarrassing. All those countries are still laughing at us. You know other world leaders were just prank calling him all day. All day calling the White House, "Hello, Bill" Guess what I am doing right now? Come on, guess. Would you like to speak with her? Oh no, she can't talk right now. Hey, now who's country sucks?"

They pulled out that blue dress and scared him. That little dress with the DNA, and he lost it. He gave up the lie. But my thing is, who going to believe a woman who keeps a nasty dress? They oughta toss her right out of court.

"Excuse me, Your Honor, she kept the dress." "What? No way. Case dismissed.......and get your nasty ass out my courtroom! I should throw you in jail for being nasty, Miss Nasty Ass!"

"Bailiff, wipe all this off where she was sitting, too." They pulled that dress out and he lost it. A little DNA. Bill's not smart. They had DNA, blood, a glove, two dead bodies, a limo driver, a barking dog, and O.J. still said, "I'm one hundred percent not guilty."
Stick with the lie.

Who am I?

ARE WE CRAZY?

By Missouri Mule

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't we get rid of one president for lying about a government-sanctioned hotel break-in? And didn't we oust another because lied about the oral endearments of a young intern? Last time I check, lying to us to justify a war trumps breaking into a hotel room and a blow job. Note the key word: lie.

They only thing Bush 11 has done is get caught in lie after lie after lie. Lies about the deficit, tax cuts, Social Security, the Iraq war. But we let him just keep on keeping on. What's wrong with us?

Would we put up with that kind of treatment from anybody else in any other situations? Hell no! Are we nuts? Why aren't we having a fit? Bush said that Saddam was an "imminent threat to our security." He said Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. He lied. We didn't find shit. Then he tried to twist it by telling us they found some equipment that could possibly be used to make WMD's. What kind of bullshit is that? I took a physics class when I was in high school, that don't mean that I'm at home whipping up bombs.

Why aren't we in the streets screaming for him to be impeached? Are we under some fear spell? He lied. I've seen people more upset when Whitney is a no-show. Let Streisand cancel a performance. It's chaos. "Babs said she'd be here tonight." She lied. "That cockeyed bitch lied!"

See, to me, America is like my car. I love my car. And my car is supposed to take me wherever I want to go as long as I keep the "governing" fluids changed and get regular tune-ups. That's what elections are; a nationwide tune-up----every four years. SO that makes the president sort of like........our mechanic.

And all we want from him is to just keep our shit running good. That's all. If he can do that without costing me an arm and a leg, cool. But, what if my mechanic was not with my car. A real-live Mr. Badwrench. Actually, more like a Mr. Fucked-up Wrench. Never fixed the car, just kept washing it. That's all, just washing it over and over and over again. My car's falling apart, but "it looks clean."

Wouldn't I get a new mechanic? Or at least give another mechanic a shot? Wouldn't I report him to wherever bad mechanics get reported. Damn right. Look, in November, since we couldn't just up and buy a new car, can we at least get someone to get this bitch up and running?

Quote for the Week:

Symbolically, it's interesting that regions of the US are rejecting Darwin and evolution. I can see why. We have a substantial minority in the US that hasn't advanced much beyond the baboon. -- Gore Vidal

Mr. Vidal has more to say.

DON"T GIVE ME DEATH

I wish I could be for the death penalty. I wish we had equality in this country so I could feel good about putting people in the chair. The problem is that the majority of people who get the chair are minorities, poor, and they committed a crime in Texas. Texas don't give a fuck. They execute somebody damn near every week. That chair stays hot. That chair is the hottest seat in town. It's like a U2 ticket. When the Super Bowl was in Houston, I was surprised they didn't fry somebody during the half-time show.

I'm against capital punishment because there is too many factors when it comes to who gets the death penalty. Race, wealth, lawyers withholding evidence, cops lying, witnesses being paid, and of course Johnnie Cochran.

After that O.J. trial I started a Johnnie Fund. I'm saving up, just in case I kill somebody. Whenever somebody gets on my nerves, I go check my Johnnie Fund; "Not yet........you lucky my show got canceled. You'd be dead right now."

Too many factors involved. It's not only who does the killing, but who didn't you kill is a big part of getting the chair. Black man kills a black man, he gets the chair. Black man kills black woman, he may get life because judges are sympathetic. They know how a black woman can drive you to murder with all our"attitude and sassiness." Thanks to quality shows like Ricky Lake and Jerry Springer, people probably believe black women talk shit while they are being murdered. "Oh, I know you didn't stab me in my chest. You gon' pay me for this blouse, you stabbing muthafucka. And that's why you got a little dick. Go ahead, shoot me! You can't fuck no way." Black man kills a white woman, he gets the chair. Black man kills a white man, he gets the chair and then the gas chamber.

There is no equality. White man kills a white man,it all depends. White man kills a white woman, it all depends. White man kills a black man, he'll get a speeding ticket.

There should be a big crime board, like a menu. Everything is prix fixe. You killed somebody, you get life. Robbery, every ten grand you stole, gets you a year. It goes way up for armed robbery. Everybody gets the same punishment across the board. "Oh, you assaulted her, too? You get the combo time."

And it's been proven that the death penalty is not a deterrent. If you're a murderer, you're not thinking about how much time you're gonna get.
Those people waiting for their execution date aren't feeling any remorse. They're not thinking about all those people they killed and molested, they 're just regretting that time in their life when they thought it was a good idea to move to Florida. They're thinking of all those crimes they didn't commit. People they should've killed along the way.

Murderer 1: Man,.....I knew I should have killed that motherfucker at McDonald's who always put cheese on my Big Mac.......now I'm gonna die a fat man.

Murderer 2: I should've stole that algebra test in tenth grade .....Now I'm gonna die without a high school education............damn, .......what type of job am I supposed to get without a high school education?

Murderer 3: Why did I stop smoking?

Jim Crow returns to the voting booth

WHAT WERE THOSE PEOPLE THINKING? I'm talking about the REST of the Dems. I mean, DAMN!
----------------
Jim Crow returns to the voting booth
Does America have apartheid vote-counting system?
Jesse Jackon and Greg Palast Seattle Post-Intelligencer 01.26.05

Excerpt:
"This election saw an explosion in a new category of uncounted ballots: rejected provisional ballots. In Ohio alone, more than 35,000 of these votes were never tallied. Once again, the provisional ballots were cast overwhelmingly in African American precincts.

Why so many? In November, for the first time since the era of the Night Riders, one major political party launched a program of mass challenges of voters on Election Day. Paid Republican operatives, working from lists prepared by the party, fingered tens of thousands of voters in Ohio, Florida and elsewhere, questioning their right to a ballot.

One of these secret "caging lists" was obtained by BBC Television from inside Republican campaign headquarters in Florida. Every one of the voters on those sheets resided in African American neighborhoods, excepting a few in precincts of elderly Jewish voters.

These lists helped Republican poll workers challenge voters on the basis of an alleged change of address. An analysis of one roster showed that several of those facing challenge were African American soldiers whose address changed because they were shipped overseas.

Challenged voters were shunted to "provisional ballots," which, in Ohio and elsewhere, were not counted on the flimsiest of technicalities.

Who won the presidential race? Given the millions of ballots spoiled and provisional ballots rejected, the unfolding mystery of the exit polls and widespread use of electronic voting machines, we will never know whether John Kerry or George W. Bush received the most votes in Ohio and other swing states.

But we can name the election's big winner: Jim Crow.
Read the whole thing

---------
‘Why were there stickers on ballots in Clermont County, Ohio?’
Sorry, folks, if this is a repeat--spread the word as widely as you can!
This story hasn't died down, despite the fact that mainstream media refuses to report it.
More evidence is found of election fraud in Ohio.

SMOKE UP

When President Reagan was in office, he said that marijuana was the most dangerous drug and threat to America. It causes memory loss...........naw, too easy. Why was it the most dangerous threat? Because America wasn't making any money off it. Once you've had some Colombian, domestic just doesn't cut it anymore.

Like my man Jimmy Carter, I'm for decriminalizing marijuana. As long as tobacco is legal, marijuana should be legal, too. I'd rather be in a room full of week smoke than cigarette smoke. With weed smoke I'm looking for a bag of chips, not for a lump in my breast.

At least weed has medicinal uses. It clears up glaucoma, helps AIDS and cancer patients get an appetite, and it gives relief to chronic pain sufferers. No doctor has ever told a patient, "Smoke a half a pack of Newport's, that should clear it up."

Pain, who's to say who can cope with pain? We all have different thresholds. If I get a headache, why can't I smoke a joint? Advil upsets my stomach. I'm a chronic sinus sufferer. I get a sinus infection as often as Bobby Brown goes to jail. Why can't I tell my ENT, "Doc, that antibiotic you gave me is not doing the job. I think I need a dime bag of hydro. The poor air quality doesn't bother me when I'm high.

I get so angry when on the news they show DEA agents out in the field with flame shooters, destroying a perfectly good crop of marijuana. I'm like, "What the hell? They are setting it on fire. We were going to get rid of all of it, but basically we're on the same team man. What's the difference? Just because you have on a jacket with some letters on the back of it makes it okay for you to light it up? What if I wore my old high school letterman jacket while I smoke? Is that okay?"

It's ridiculous watching them destroy something that naturally grows out of the ground. Why? Just because our government say it's illegal. The govern-ment says it's illegal. The government says they're looking out for our safety. They are trying to protect the public. Well, I hate lilies. The big ones, they stink and make me sneeze. I want to see some DEA agents out there setting a greenhouse of lilies on fire. If anybody's caught buying or selling them, throw their lily-loving ass in jail. These people are useless. All they want to do is sit around and smell their lilies all day. Lock'em up.

I'm sick of the government lying to us about how they are trying to protect the public. That's bullshit. The government is trying to protect their pockets. The government doesn't give a damn about our health. They say they don't know enough about marijuana and the mental effects. So? They know everything about alcohol. People die every day from alcohol. Alcohol and the effects of alcohol will kill you. And not only is it legal, you go out to a club and there's a two-drink minimum. How can our government, which claims it wants to protect us, allow establishments to make us drink? What a bunch of hypocrisy. If you need a liver transplant, don't come see me at the comedy club, because they're gonna make you drink.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that alcohol should be illegal. Lord knows, I wouldn't want to live in a world where ya can't get a good margarita. I'm just saying that we should be able to enjoy a fat joint along with it. Stop "protecting" us, and dictating what drug we use to destroy ourselves. However, there should be zero tolerance for those freakin' lily-heads.

Actually, I don't smoke weed.........that often., because I have things to do. Like most weed smokers, I don't get much done when I'm high. I giggle and point, that's about the most that I can handle. I have to schedule my weed. "Let's see. Tuesday is wide open. I don't have any meetings. Let's pencil this in, Weed Day. Tuesday is now Weedsday.

Alcohol and the occasional weed is it for me. I haven't tried and don't plan on trying any other drugs. I'm too scared......or for the kids, I'll say too smart. I can be a loud asshole when I'm drunk, so I know me coked up? Somebody 's gonna shoot me. Plus, I don't like the whole drug culture. I see somebody snortin' coke, I leave the room. It amazes me how they keep talking like they didn't do anything. That's scary. I need a noise or something. When you do a shot, you groan or do a "whoo-hoo, yeah!" When you take a hit off a joint you cough or say, "Yeah, that's good shit." But I've seen people snort coke and never miss a beat of conversation. I'm like, "Damn, acknowledge that you just had a rolled-up ten-dollar bill up your nose or something." Cocaine is all denial. Shit, even when you take a vitamin you say something like, "I feel a cold coming, trying to kick it with some vitamin C."

When you get past weed, that whole drug culture is a shady. It becomes very dark. Your life is in danger. At least if you drink too much and get alcohol poisoning, somebody is gonna try to help you. They might kill you in a car crash the way to the hospital, but hey tried to help you. If you have a bad weed experience, somebody is gonna try to help you. You might die while they are trying to call 911. "Man, we gotta call nine-one-one. What's the number?" But somebody is gonna try to help you. You OD around some real drug addict, that your ass. Drug people get the fuck out and take your wallet with them. Nobody is trying to go to jail for your dead ass. You might as well get in the position of how you want you chalk outline portrait to be.

Man, as soon as I finish writing this, I'm getting fucked up!

Who am I?

What? No kissy kissy?

Uber-couple at Rice's inauguration. Just sending a knowing look at each other.

Stop Them, Again

by pissed off patricia

Here's an invitation I hope you can't turn down.
Just go to this site and sign the petition and send the following letter to bush. I signed it and added my own comments.

Dear President Bush:

I urge you to use your State of the Union address as an opportunity to tell your Republican friends in Congress to stop trying to write discrimination in the U.S. Constitution.

The amendment you and your fellow Republicans are again advocating for will forever invalidate civil unions and other legal protections for gay and lesbian families, like the right to partner health benefits, hospital visits, parental rights and death benefits- even if state legislatures or voters approve measures to protect them.

During the State of The Union, tell your colleagues to withdraw their support for this measure. This measure threatens the freedom of all Americans because it denies civil rights to a whole group of individuals.

The Human Race is Doomed; First, Mad Chimp; Then, Mad Cow; Now This:

World first mad goat believed diagnosed
PARIS -- With memories of a mad cow panic still fresh in Europe, officials in Brussels and Paris announced Friday the apparent discovery of the world's first "mad goat" from the Ardeche region in France.

That's the headline and lead sentence. Here's the rest.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Gosh everyone is talking about this photo of the Dickster when leaders from 30 countries gathered to remember the victims of the Holocaust on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazis' Auschwitz death camp. Apparently Dick doesn't have appropriate sub freezing formal wear.

I particularly like the way the white fur on his parka stands out against the somber black of the other dignitaries. Anyway, my only suggestion to the man would be to remove the big white tag from his parka when he is representing America. I am surprised Lynn didn't see to that. I bet they had a big fight before the ceremony. She said, "Dick, you're NOT wearing that!" He said, "Go fuck yourself." She said, "Fine. Be the laughing stock of the liberal media."

The Washington Post fashion editor said he wore "the kind of attire one typically wears to operate a snow blower." The gals on Air America this morning said he looks like a groundskeeper. They were making fun of his hat, as it was embroidered with the words "Staff 2001". He probably borrowed it.

Anyway, I'm more amused at the bruhaha than at anything else.

That's my dick!

Bitchin': And then there were three!

by pissed off patricia

And then there were three! When will the next one pop up?

"Michael McManus, whose syndicated column, "Ethics & Religion," appears in 50 newspapers, was hired as a subcontractor by the Department of Health and Human Services to promote an administration marriage initiative, according to an article posted yesterday by Salon.com, the online magazine.

Senior writer Eric Boehlert wrote that Salon had confirmed that McManus “championed the plan in his columns without disclosing to readers he was being paid to help it succeed.”
There's more of the article here

Wanna Do Something?

James Dobson, the person who said that all this tolerance training for kids is evil now says that he didn't say that Sponge Bob was gay but that the people behind the video were subverting the children of America by trying to make them, eeeek, tolerant. Now he wants you to write to a bunch of journalists who reported on his bigotry and yell at them.

I just wrote to the journalists (It's easy, he has a link all set up) and asked them to please stay on top of Dobson and commended them for reporting what an intolerant jerk he is. They got his point all right.

Go here and take action

Cheap Thrills

This was originally posted on January 27 (yesterday). Since it was such a popular thread, I, Blondesense have moved it to the top today's headlines as well. -Mgmt

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by pissed off patricia

Just for the hell of it let's talk about something light and easy. Let's talk about cheap thrills. You know, those little things that happen in life that make you smile. Sometimes it's a sheepish little smile and sometimes that smile crawls all over your face and creeps right into your heart.

Cheap thrills like finding something you thought was lost forever. Cheap thrills like discovering a bloom on a rose bush you believed to be on the edge of death. There are tons of cheap thrills. I'll tell you some of mine if you'll tell me some of yours. Deal?

Okay, for me a cheap thrill is discovering a bird at my bird feeder that I've never seen before. I get all excited and grab the Peterson's, "Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America", to get an identification on this new visitor. (I can nerd out and dork out with the best of them) I have kept a diary of every type of bird that I've spotted at the feeder for a whole bunch of years, so a new bird is definitely a big and wonderful cheap thrill for me.

Another cheap thrill for me is seeing a rainbow. I love it when a rainbow arches over my house. It always makes me feel that something very special is about to happen.

Not all cheap thrills are nature related, some are simple like putting money into a candy machine and getting two bars instead of one. What should you do then? You can't shove the candy back up into the machine, so you can share it with someone, or better yet, pig out on it all by yourself.

So your cheap thrills are what?

The Beatitudes from The Gospel According to Dubya:

"Blessed are the children whom the sea swallows, for they shall tug at our heartstrings. / Cursed are the children whom our bombs blow up, for they shall roam the dark alleys of our indifference."

Read the entire article here

More Reading...

Our commenters leave links to articles pretty often.
Here is one to read and then wonder how the hell this moron and his minions haven't been impeached. What I Heard about Iraq

This story is disturbing: Sex used to break Muslim prisoners, book says. It's so not nice to know that women working for the goverment are pigs too. And more interesting is that this administration which advocates abstinence only when it comes to sex has no scruples when it comes to Guantanamo prisoners and the female contractors hired to 'break' them. jeez.

A Vote for National Security in WaPo says: 76 percent of Democrats but just 32 percent of Republicans agree that "good diplomacy is the best way to ensure peace." Bush voters were far more likely to believe that "military force is the best way to defeat terrorism."

Social Security, Poverty and Women

Today OWL released a statement urging Representative Bill Thomas to rethink his comment made earlier in the week suggesting that Social Security benefits should differ for women and men because women live longer.

We need to send Rep. Thomas, who happens to be Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee (the committee any Social Security legislation must pass through to get to the House floor), the message that adjusting women's Social Security benefits based on gender will
cause the number of older women in poverty to increase dramatically.

Please pass this message on to your friends and family. We need to let Rep. Thomas know that older women need a lifelong, inflation adjusted, progressive Social Security benefit- not penalties because we live longer!

To contact Representative Bill Thomas:
Give him a call and tell him what you think-202-225-2915
OR send him a fax-202-225-8798
OR send him an email

The Gig Is Up

The Invented Ruler Announces Journalist Hiring Freeze

With this administration under fire for questionable publicity practices, The Ruler explicitly forbade his cabinet on Wednesday to pay commentators to promote his policies. "We will not be paying commentators to advance our agenda."

Then the Ruler said, "Our agenda ought to be able to stand on it's own two feet."

Does this mean Armstrong Williams and Maggie Gallagher will be grandfathered in?

Worth Reading

The daily email from the Smirking Chimp turned me on to this piece.
It's worth every second it takes to read it.

Margaret Carlson:
'Boxer's spine gets her cut off at the knees'

Bitchin'

by pissed off patricia

President's News (not really) Conference Yesterday

Bush was on TV yesterday morning. If you made it through the gag reflex you heard his bullshit. The press got a little more engaged than usual so he evaded and lied a little more than usual.

When he was asked about the chopper crash in Iraq he said, "Anytime we lose life it's a sad moment."

Snuggle up little baby and stop your cryin'. Daddy/Mommy won't be coming home. He/She was killed yesterday morning in Iraq. Does it make you feel better sweetheart to know that Daddy's/Mommy's death caused the president to have a "sad moment"? You'll hurt all your life and the president was sad for a "moment". Snuggle up little baby and stop your cryin'.

Bush repeated his mantra that a free country is a peaceful country. Isn't the US a free country? Didn't the US invade another country and doesn't it fight a war until this day? Is that what peaceful is all about? Nice example!

Bush is apparently going to fly around the country at our expense as he tries to sell his Social Security reform package. More accurately he will be doing little pricey infomercials for his own agenda. He says he doesn't want to pass the Social Security financial problem on to future generations. Funny, he doesn't seem to mind passing on the national debt to future generations.

Bush also said he sends his condolences and prayers to those who have lost loved ones in this freakin' war. He failed to mention he will also send out a check to them for a lousy $12,000. Does he also include a thank you note with that check? Does he mention that the half of that $12,000.00 is taxable? It is.

Bush encouraged the Senate to confirm Rice and Gonzales. Crooks love one another's company. He got a little hot under the collar when he spoke about the questions regarding Rice's integrity. He doth protest too much. This was one of the many times you truly wanted to slap the hell out of him and perhaps knock the denial out of him too.

Bush waxed fondly when he spoke of the upcoming Iraqi elections. It was the same old, same old. It may be an election for the Iraqis, but I think it's an erection for bush. I think he may actually think that he will go down in history as the Second Savior. I'm doubting that.

Bush's show lasted about 40 some minutes. Is that more or less than 30 some sad "moments"?

You Know Those War Re-enactment Groups...

I can't get into this historical re-enactment thang, but to each his own I suppose. I thought that they re-enacted old fashioned wars, but I was wrong. Did you know that they re-enact the attack on Pearl Harbor? Can you imagine? What an ordeal this must be. Do people sign up to run for cover?

What will they re-enact next?

Rice Was Confirmed Afterall

And get this - by a vote of 85-13. What a bunch of weenies we have in the Senate. Oh they'll say it's just politics. Yeah yeah.

According to this Reuters news story, Rice's confirmation reflected more opposition than any secretary of state in recent history. I suppose that is some sort of comfort. Not. Colin Powell was confirmed unanimously when it was his turn.

Bush, after the vote, said Rice will be "a great secretary of state ... I'm honored to be working with her. And I look forward to spreading freedom and peace." kissy kissy smoochy smoochy touchy feelie tongue tongue lips spread that peace baby oh yeah i like that


You can see who voted yes or no right here. I'm disgusted with my NY Senators at the moment. Spineless. They obviously ignored my letters. Let them smooch with Bush too.