Israel backed by army of cyber-soldiers

"While Israel fights Hezbollah with tanks and aircraft, its supporters are campaigning on the internet." According to this story from timesonline, it seems that trained diplomats are tracking websites and posting supportive messages.

"In the past week nearly 5,000 members of the World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS) have downloaded special “megaphone” software that alerts them to anti-Israeli chatrooms or internet polls to enable them to post contrary viewpoints."

"Israel’s Foreign Ministry must avoid direct involvement with the campaign but is in contact with international Jewish and evangelical Christian groups, distributing internet information packs."

The Israeli Foreign Ministry’s public relations director said: “The internet’s become a leading tool for news, shaping the world view of millions. Our problem is the foreign media shows Lebanese suffering, but not Israeli. We’re bypassing that filter by distributing pictures showing how northern Israelis suffer from Katyusha rocket attacks.”

Anyone care to comment, or should we leave this one alone?

Visual accompaniment for the memes o'the day...

(I had wanted to post these earlier today as the "Thoughts For The Day," right atop Liz's "Fed Up/Flying Fetuses" post, but Blogger was going all schizo on me. So, nonetheless, it's still a valid sentiment, eh?)

(And extra thanks to Rev. Dave for the physical-embodiment version of a painting that I did back in '91 for a clinic defense in Baton Rouge... and yes, the fetus-flinging bible-bangers burnt the joint down. But, OH! how they loooooooooooooved my painting! )

CC2

I was going to respond to Ron's comment in the thread on Liz's post below --GETTING FED UP HERE. There was just too much information, so I decided to post it here. In response to GETTING FED UP HERE, Ron writes:

"What if the Democrats were in power and tried to do the same thing? There'd be a revolution."

"We're damned close as it is. In the past month, I've heard at least a dozen people say that armed rebellion is the next logical step with this administration. Not wingnut militias at their secret ranches mind you, but soccer moms, bartenders and mechanics. In line at the movies, at McDonalds, wherever! The anger at the insanity of this administration is boiling just beneath the surface with the 50-60% of Americans who think the Repuglicans have gone insane."

Ron - I'm feeling the same vibes from a lot of people also. I can't believe we have not rebelled yet. There's GOT to be something we can do.

Have any of you heard of CC2, (Constitutional Convention II)? I had not heard of it until I saw the C-span program Saturday night. One of the speakers referenced it. Ron's comment reminded me so I just looked it up. CC2 linked me to Power To The People
A WEB SITE DEDICATED TO THE CALLING OF THE FIRST ARTICLE V CONVENTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

It gets rather complicated from here, so I thought maybe we could work through this together because, for some strange reason, my brain turns off when I read about legal matters. (Hellllp Meeee)

P.S. On Tuesday August 1, C-SPAN will re-air the 9-11 Roundtable discussion at 6:10 pm EDT

U.S. set to issue passports with RFID chips

Here's the story from Computer World
Given the fast pace of technology changes, and the 10-year life of a passport, it's inevitable that the RFID chip will become hackable and that technology will be built to access it from long distances, said Bruce Schneier, founder and CTO of Counterpane Internet Security Inc. in Mountain View, Calif. The new passport could eventually allow for surreptitious access and tracking, he said.

Schneier contended that the State Department could have used an RFID chip that requires contact with a reader. "I can think of no benefit for a contact-less chip," he said. "The question is, if there is no good reason for RFID, why are they pushing so hard for it?"

Makes you wonder.......

Getting fed up here

A picture of an aborted fetus will be flown over Cleveland starting today. In all fairness, they ought to show some pics of dead babies in Iraq too. They ought to have a blood and gore fest in the sky.

During the RNC in NYC, you couldn't even buy a billboard with any message that wasn't pro-GOP or pro-war. NYC went Nazi. Mayor Bloomberg didn't want to take the blame for all the excuses as to why bush protesters and anti-war groups couldn't demonstrate. Now it turns out that he was actively involved in squelching free speech during the RNC. Oh what a time that was. Dragnets in NYC. the bastards.

Don't you think free speech ought to apply to everyone even if they don't agree with the GOP? What if the Democrats were in power and tried to do the same thing? There'd be a revolution.

Female Roman Catholic Priests?

How cool is it that Roman Catholic women who have been working in pastoral ministries over the years due to the lack of male priests are ordaining themselves in Pittsburgh today? In the last 25 years or so as the number of priests declined, more and more "lay" people have taken over in parishes around the country (and the world). Many married men have become deacons but the RC Church has yet to ordain a female deacon even though it's in the New Testament that women were deacons in the early church. These women are ordaining themselves priests and deacons.

The official RC church is threatening to excommunicate these women because they dare to break the traditional 'boys only' rule. Somehow, I don't think that the RC god is going to have a problem with women ministering to the flock. It's the male dominated RC heirarchy that's got their skirts in an uproar. They say that these women are a "threat to church unity." TFB. I say that the RC church is its own worst enemy, but what do I know? I only have an MDiv from a Catholic Seminary. They can't pull the wool over my eyes.

Here's the story with some great quotes from the brave women.

And yes, I do not practice any religion what so ever. I know too much. I still applaud these women of faith for doing the right thing. If there's anything the RC Church needs, it's women.

And in war news

Yesterday I read in the NYTimes that an Israeli air raid killed dozens of Lebanese civilians who were hiding in the basement of an apartment building in Qana when the building collapsed on to them. Israel agreed late Sunday to suspend its attacks for 48 hours while it investigated the bombing.

So much for that. This morning, Reuters reports

Israel's defense minister said Monday the country will "expand and strengthen" its attack on Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon, diminishing hopes that a 48-hour halt in airstrikes could be turned into a longer term cease-fire. The Israeli army said its air force has carried out strikes in southern Lebanon, despite the 48 hour agreement.

It was determined that Hezbollah rockets were being launched from Qana. Israel says it won't stop bombing until Hezbollah runs out of rockets. Condi has decided to come back to the US to work on a settlement between Lebanon and Israel through through a U.N. Security Council.

Why do you think that Condi is coming back and working with the UN now? Perhaps the bushista plan to engage Syria and Iran is not panning out afterall?

And hey, what's happening in Iraq? Is that war over? Oh no. From FT.com- "A Pentagon spokesman on Friday confirmed that US troop levels in Iraq rose to 132,000 during the past week – the highest since late May – from 127,000 at the start of the week."

The Iraqi prime minister pissed off Americans by siding with Hezbollah. Interestingly, in Iraq, the Kurds, the Sunnis and the Shiites stand together in condemning Israel.

Meanwhile, NATO troops took over command operations in Afghanistan from the US led coalition on Monday. Guess the bushistas fucked up that war too.

Oh and when we thought that maybe Guantanamo Bay was going to be closed, we found out over the weekend that the US built a bigger and better prison there- Camp 6 -built by Halliburton, it's a state of the art maximum security jail that will hold 200 prisoners.

I dunno. You read the news and it's so depressing. This WH is nuts. They still insist they know what's right and they have never once proved that they are competent. Secretary of War, Rumsfeld is "deranged".

Corinne Bailey Rae

Have you heard of her? If not, hopefully you will, VERY SOON!!
I've been waiting for months to hear her on the radio. Hopefully the DJs will give her a spin. I caught her on VH1 the other day, so keep your fingers crossed!
She's my new favorite artist, and Girl, Put your records on is my new favorite song. This music video is beautiful and guaranteed to put you in a good mood!

Here is another video of her live performance of the same song.

Enjoy.

Naked women leave police speechless

TIRANA (Reuters) - Albanian police were speechless when around 30 Scandinavian women went topless, shocking local bathers and causing an uproar in an Albanian beach resort.

"Police only watched ... they could not approach the tourists because they spoke no English," a local newspaper in the southern Albania coastal town of Sarande said.

Albanian mothers dragged their children away and police received a barrage of complaints over the Scandinavian tourists.

The Scandinavians left after two hours when their guide was informed that nude bathing was banned on public beaches. Nudity and topless bathing are still taboo in the poor Balkan country.

Hmmm. Maybe their tourism would increase if they allowed nude sunbathing?

Sad News From England

The Giant dead eel tossing contest canceled after more than 30 years of the annual tradition of " two teams of fishermen standing on wooden platforms as human bowling pins, hurling a dead giant eel at each other." Apparently it's not politically correct despite the crowds of people who flock to the sleepy fishing village of Lyme Regis each year to marvel at the spectacle.

"The practice, known as conger cuddling, is the annual highlight in the small coastal town about 155 miles southwest of London. The object of the game is to knock the opposing team off the platform by swinging a 25-pound eel at them."

Supporters of the "sport" feel that since the eel is already dead, it shouldn't matter to the eel. Nevertheless, 300 people attended an alternate event where a boat dock fender was used instead of the eel... but it wasn't quite as exciting as being slapped silly by a dead eel.

America- war is peace

JERUSALEM - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday she is "deeply saddened by the terrible loss of innocent life" from Israel's attack on a Lebanese village, but she held firm to the internationally unpopular position that a quick cease-fire won't solve the crisis. Her position is that if the rest of the world thinks one way, than the US position should be the complete opposite. If everyone opposes you, then you must be doing something right. After all, this thought process has worked so well so far.


Stymieing Rice's diplomatic mission, Israel's early morning missile strike sparked protests in Beirut and forced Rice to cancel an expected visit Sunday with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. Yes, it's a long held bushista tradition to avoid protest situations because protesters are terrorists and we don't negotiate with terrorists. She planned to remain in Jerusalem instead, where she said she had work to do to end the fighting. But of course. It's hard, hard work to end fighting from hundreds of miles away.

...

"We all recognize this kind of warfare is extremely difficult," said Rice, noting it comes in areas where civilians live. "It unfortunately has awful consequences sometimes."

"We want a cease-fire as soon as possible," said Rice, during one of her strongest statements yet on the need to end the conflict. Oooh. That's telling them Sleezza.

...

Rice said she had not yet spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whom she had dinner with Saturday night, but planned to reach him after an Israeli Cabinet meeting.

She has spoken by phone to Saniora to express the condolences of the U.S. government and its citizens and let him know she wouldn't be coming. Sorry that the shit has hit the fan, but I'll stay here in Jerusalem where the rockets won't hit me and mess up my shoes. But infuriated Lebanese officials said they had asked Rice to postpone the visit. Oh really?

Either way, Rice was not welcome to visit Lebanon, an ally. Wonder why?

"In the wake of the tragedy that the people and the government of Lebanon are dealing with today, I have decided to postpone my discussion in Beirut," Rice said. "In any case, my work today is here."

I get the feeling that Rice should take a Dale Carnegie course.

One more for the night

PLAY THIS.

NOW.



You'll thank me later, although I think that they're lying about the 15 ways --- I only found 13, but that's probably just me.

And if you'd like, list your candidates (role-playing in the game) in the comments.

2 small items

1. Here's one of my filthy, dirty little secrets: I watch FOX. Not the "news" (ha!) channel, certainly, that would give me a major aneurism/embolism before the commercial break. But I do watch a few of the sitcoms, "HOUSE," and "MadTV". I know, I know, you can hear my braincells dying from there. ANYWAYYYYYY --- They just ran a promo for "The Fox Viewer Panel." If you're "thirteen and over," go to the website (FOX-dot-com) and look for Viewer Panel. Ever wanted to change the world? How about Rupert Murdoch's prostate's longevity? Sure, sure, they'll disregard your "liberal," "moonbat," "left-wing" suggestions just as easily as any other viewer mail or protesters or any other focus group, but it is an opportunity to deliver your own little guerilla google-bomb to those shallow, scum-sucking, war-mongering, profiteering bastards, right up their own asses. Think of Randy Quaid in "Independence Day." It's not like they're not SOLICITING the help of the herds of sheeple, as it is... just like siccing the Mormons on somebody, it's not Mail Fraud, it's HELPING DISTRIBUTE THE MESSAGE. Rupert will thank you.

2. Mags sent me this joke, and it had everybody on my e-mail list howling, so I hadda share with everybody else: A Guy's New Diet (and now I know what I should've been feeding Jake!)

I used to have a Labrador retriever & I was buying a large bag of Purina at Wal-Mart and was in line to check out.

A woman behind me asked if I had a dog(?).

On impulse, I told her that no, I was starting The Purina Diet again, although I probably shouldn't because I'd ended up in the hospital last time but that I'd lost 50 pounds before I awakened in an intensive care ward with tubes coming out of most of my orifices and IVs in both arms.

I told her that it was essentially a perfect diet and that the way that it works is to load your pants pockets with Purina nuggets and simply eat one or two every time you feel hungry & that the food is nutritionally complete so I was going to try it again.

I have to mention here that practically everyone in the line was by now enthralled with my story, particularly a tall guy who was behind her at the end of the line
.
Horrified, she asked if I was in the hospital because I'd been poisoned.

I told her no; I'd been sitting in the street licking my balls and a car hit me.

I thought that last guy was going to have to stagger out the door.




(And if I've already posted this, don't tell me. I know that I'm getting senile, but it was a good joke, anyway.)

My Dirty Little Secret Addiction

I am always looking for the one product or process that will transform me into the beautiful creature I was 'sposed to be. And that, hons, is how I got addicted to manicures.

It started innocently enough as a special-occasion set of acrylic nails for my first really big horse show, The World Paint Show. I would be there in classes with top horses and I was nervous as a hen on a hot griddle, desperate for a confidence booster.

The truth was, I wasn't used to being out in with the big dogs and was having a hard time taking the advise of my peers. "Ride like you own the arena." Then it hit me: a set of awesomely long, cherry red nails would be just the ticket. I could hold the fakes around my reins and the judges would be so mesmerized by the sheer beauty of those puppies that they wouldn't notice if the horse missed a lead or broke his gait. They'd just say, "Dang, what big nails she has!"

I showed up at the nail salon a few minutes early, surprised to see four other women sitting on floral slipper chairs and discussing their weekly manicures. Like any good redneck, I always thought you only got fake nails if you was getting married that afternoon.

A couple of hours later, I left wearing my new, magnificent talons, the kind where you drum them on purpose just to hear their lovely click-click, like a poodle on Pergo.

The nails did their job. I sailed through those classes like a pro, athough I couldn't resist sort'a waving my fingers each time the judges looked at my horse. Even though my horse made plenty of mistakes it must have confused the judges, but who cared? The more confused they looked, the more I wiggled my fingers. I placed in several classes. I was sold.

The next few weeks, I realized I might have a problem. See, I'd never intended to keep going back to the nail salon but these beauties were as addictive as crack. Every time I sat in my slipper chair and presented my nails to Debra, I would try to form the words: "Just dissolve these and put some clear on my real nails" but instead, it came out as "Don't you think my pinkies could use some length?"

They say that Barbra Streisand is so nail-obsessed that she gets manicures twice a day. Hey, if you want to see somebody with a problem, look no further than Babs.

I mean it's not as if I can't quit anytime I want to. It's not like it's hurting anybody else, right? The more I think about it, it's not like I really have a problem. Maybe you all are the ones with the problem.

Now Accepting Nominations For "Idiot of the Week"

I'll start. My nominee is Tim LaHaye, co-author of the "Left Behind" book series, who seems positively gleeful that the current Isreali-Lebanese situation means the rapture is nigh. A few nuggets from a recent interview in Newsweek:

"Biblically speaking, the very nations that are mentioned in prophecy—and have been mentioned for 2,500 years as occupying the focus of the tension of the last days—are the very nations that are involved in the conflict right now. That may be one of the reasons there’s a sudden interest in bible prophecy because all of a sudden they realize end-time events could possibly take place and break forth right now."

"[We've] never [had] the accumulation of events as we have today. I have often said that no one knows the day nor the hour that Christ will come, but no generation has had so many signs of the times as our generation. We have more reason to believe that Christ could come in our lifetime than any generation before us. "

"[W]e don’t believe in the damnation of people in ethnic groups. We believe that’s an individual decision. Now, it often follows in people groups. Take the Muslims that we’ve been talking about. Everybody knows that they do not accept Jesus Christ as a means of salvation from sin. That’s the only way you can be saved, is to call on the name of the Lord. They’re not about to do that. "

Yeah, man, what a great idea. Let's stoke the fires and get all your fundie friends rooting for an expansion of the fighting, and meanwhile you can line your pockets from the royalties of your books. Mr. LeHaye, if you're so sure the end times are near, can I be equally sure that you're giving all your money away? Can I get a little of it? I mean, you won't be needing it anymore, right? I'm not greedy and don't need much, and I promise to put it to good use, like making sure you and your friends are exposed as the charlatans you really are. WWIII may indeed be right around the corner, but it's man, not the Big Guy in the Sky, who's going to bring it about.

So, Mr. LeHaye is my nominee for Idiot of the Week. Who's yours?

Regular News For Americans

In this week's not so important news but I liked the pictures (click photo for larger image)....


The Santa Convention took place in Copenhagen.


CBS is appealing the FCC fine regarding the blatant disregard for American morality that took place at the Super Bowl. Oh my eyes!


He got caught drinking and driving. What will we tell the children?
Mel Gibson who uttered anti-Semitic slurs during the arrest, also happens to look like Saddam Hussein! Oh my eyes!

C-SPAN to Air Historic 9/11 Exposé

9/11 + The Neo-Con Agenda Panel Discussion to Run on Saturday, July 29th at 8PM (EST)

"C-SPAN has confirmed that their coverage of the 9/11 + The Neo-Con Agenda Panel Discussion will air on C-SPAN 1 on July 29th at 8PM (EST). The panel features incredible presentations by 9/11 Scholars for Truth founder James Fetzer, BYU Physics Professor Steven Jones, President of the Institute for Space and Security Studies Dr. Robert M. Bowman, Lt. Col., USAF, ret., Filmmaker and Radio Broadcaster Alex Jones, and Terrorism Expert Webster Tarpley.

"The appearance of this discussion on the nation’s premiere public affairs cable network is an incredible boon to the 9/11 Truth Movement. None of the 9/11 Truth events that C-SPAN has covered in the past are as hard-hitting as the 9/11 + The Neo-Con Agenda program. This panel discussion cuts to the heart of the issue and exposes the events of September 11th, 2001 as a complex premeditated plot carried out by criminal elements within the U.S. Government as a pretext for launching the endless “War on Terror” in which the globe is currently embroiled. C-SPAN’s coverage of this pivotal information will bring considerable national attention to the 9/11 Truth Movement. It will also lend further credibility to the Scholars for 9/11 Truth, the premiere organization within the movement for peer-reviewed scientific research on 9/11 issues."

More at Infowars.

Have at it

That's shrub with the American Idols today at the WH.

bandaids?

The State Department wants to give $10million to the Lebanese army "to help Lebanon modernize its force by purchasing spare parts for armored personnel carriers and other vehicles needed or armed patrols."

There's also talk about deploying multinational troops to the Lebanese border. I don't know which side of the war the troops will be on.

And You Were Saying?

An excerpt from a Cambridge paper that helps prove what most of us have already figured out. Religion is an excuse and is used by some people to


Atheism and Societal Health -

Indeed, countries containing high percentages of non-believers are among the most healthy and wealthy nations on earth (Paul, 2004). Of course, we must always distinguish between those nations where non-belief has been forced upon the society by dictators (“coercive atheism”) from those societies wherein non-belief has emerged on its own without governmental coercion (“organic atheism”). Nations marked by coercive atheism -- such as China, North Korea, Vietnam, and former Soviet states -- are societies marked by all that comes with totalitarianism: poor economic development, intellectual censorship, widespread corruption, ubiquitous depression, etc.. However, nations marked by high levels of organic atheism – such as Sweden, the Netherlands, and France -- are among the healthiest, wealthiest, most educated, and most free societies on earth.

Consider the Human Development Report (2004), commissioned by The United Nations Development Program. This report ranks 177 nations on a “Human Development Index,” which measures societal health through a weighing of such indicators as life expectancy at birth, adult literacy rate, per capita income, and educational attainment. According to the 2004 Report, the five highest ranked nations in terms of total human development were Norway, Sweden, Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands. All five of these countries are characterized by notably high degrees of organic atheism. Furthermore, of the top 25 nations ranked on the “Human Development Index,” all but one country ( Ireland) are top-ranking non-belief nations, containing some of the highest percentages of organic atheism on earth. Conversely, of those countries ranked at the bottom of the “Human Development Index” -- the bottom 50 -- all are countries lacking any statistically significant percentages of atheism.

Concerning the infant mortality rate specifically (number of deaths per 1,000 live births), irreligious countries have the lowest rates, and religious countries have the highest rates. According to the CIA World Factbook (2004), out of 225 nations, the top 25 nations with the lowest infant mortality rates were all nations containing significantly high percentages of organic atheism. Conversely, the 75 bottom nations with the highest infant mortality rates were all very religious nations without any statistically significant levels of organic atheism.

Concerning international poverty rates, the United Nations’ Report on the World Social Situation (2003) found that of the 40 poorest nations on earth (measured by the percentage of each nation’s population that lives on less than $1.00 a day), all but one (Vietnam) are highly religious nations with statistically minimal or insignificant levels of atheism.

Concerning homicide rates, Fajnzylber et al (2002), looked at 38 nations (excluding those in Africa) and found that of the top ten nations with the highest homicide rates, all but one (United States) were highly religious nations with statistically insignificant levels of organic atheism. Conversely, of the bottom ten nations with the lowest homicide rates, all but one ( Ireland) are highly secular nations with high levels of atheism. Fox and Levin (2000) looked at 37 nations (again excluding Africa), and found that of the top ten nations with the highest homicide rates, all but two (Estonia and Taiwan) were highly religious nations containing statistically insignificant levels of organic atheism. Conversely, of the bottom ten nations with the lowest homicide rates, all but two ( Ireland and Kuwait) were relatively secular nations with high levels of organic atheism.

Concerning suicide rates, this is the one indicator of societal health in which religious nations fare much better than secular nations. According to the 2003 World Health Organization’s report on international male suicides rates (which compared 100 countries), of the top ten nations with the highest male suicide rates, all but one (Sri Lanka) are strongly irreligious nations with high levels of atheism. It is interesting to note, however, that of the top remaining nine nations leading the world in male suicide rates, all are former Soviet/Communist nations, such as Belarus, Ukraine, and Latvia( viii ). Of the bottom ten nations with the lowest male suicide rates, all are highly religious nations with statistically insignificant levels of organic atheism.

Concerning literacy rates, according to the United Nations’ Report on the World Social Situation (2003), of the 35 nations with the highest levels of youth illiteracy rates (percentage of population ages 15-24 who cannot read or write)( ix ), all are highly religious nations with statistically insignificant levels of organic atheism.

Concerning gender equality, nations marked by high degrees of organic atheism are among the most egalitarian in the world, while highly religious nations are among the most oppressive. According to the 2004 Human Development Report’s “Gender Empowerment Measure,” the top ten nations with the highest degrees of gender equality are all strongly organic atheistic nations with significantly high percentages of non-belief. Conversely, the bottom ten are all highly religious nations without any statistically significant percentages of atheists. According to Inglehart and Norris’s (2003) “Gender Equality Scale,” of the top ten nations most accepting of gender equality, all but two (United States and Colombia) are nations marked by high levels of organic atheism; of the bottom ten (those least accepting of gender equality), all are highly religious nations marked by statistically insignificant levels of organic atheism( x ). According to Inglehart (2003), countries with the most female members of parliament tend to be countries characterized by high degrees of organic atheism (such as Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands) and countries with the fewest female members in parliament tend to be highly religious countries (such as Pakistan, Nigeria, and Iran).

In sum, countries marked by high rates of organic atheism are among the most societally healthy on earth, while societies characterized by non-existent rates of organic atheism are among the most destitute. Nations marked by high degrees of organic atheism tend to have among the lowest homicide rates, infant mortality rates, poverty rates, and illiteracy rates, and among the highest levels of wealth, life expectancy, educational attainment, and gender equality in the world. The only indicator of societal health mentioned above in which religious countries fared better than irreligious countries was suicide.

Of course, it is essential to clearly state that I am in no way arguing that high levels of organic atheism cause societal health or that low levels of organic atheism cause societal ills such as poverty or illiteracy. If anything, the opposite argument should be made: societal health causes widespread atheism, and societal insecurity causes widespread belief in God, as discussed by Norris and Inglehart (2004) above.

The causes of the glaring differences in societal well being among the world’s rich and poor nations are numerous (Diamond, 1999; Landes, 1999). Certainly among them include the birth and development of the industrial revolution, the lingering residue of colonialism and international conquests, and international trade policies that heavily favor the interests of wealthy/first world nations and their multi-national corporations over the interests of developing/third world nations. Again, to suggest that widespread belief or non-belief in God is the cause of societal health or societal pathology is not my intention. Rather, I am simply seeking to clearly establish that high degrees of non-belief in God in a given society clearly do not result in societal ruin, and high levels of belief in God do not ensure societal well-being. This is an important fact to stress because politically-active theists often equate atheism with crime, immorality, and societal disintegration. From Muslim fundamentalists in Iran to Christian fundamentalists in Indiana, the argument is loudly trumpeted that belief in God is “good for society” – an ultimate panacea -- while rejection of the belief in God is bad for society. The above discussion reveals that this thesis is baldly incorrect.


And to top it off, Denmark has been declared the happiest country on Earth. Odd isn't it? We keep hearing about how America will crumble without the god-botherers, and rapture index, politicians invoking invisible, vengeful sky daddies, etc. The Founding Fathers had it right from the get go. SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. Because right now we are seeing and feeling what happens when religion influences politics.

State sponsored bigotry, the poor (some might say criminal) treatment of the poor, women, and basically anyone who doesn't belong to 'their' club and know the secret handshake. When the populace complains we are told to 'put our faith in god, the president and the government'...can you HONESTLY think of any less trustworthy combination?

I say it is long past time we TAX churches, mosques, temples, etc; enforce the separation of church and state especially in politics, education and congress. If someone is so hopeful of the rapture, do the kind thing and call your local mental health hotline before they hurt themselves or someone else.

Karma, Bay-Bee

Shrubby's new next door neighbor is Cindy Sheehan. Every time he goes to Crawford to clear some brush, and I don't mean just for the next two years while he is still Pretendisent, he's going to have to look at the woman whose son he murdered with his illegal war.

I hope he sees pictures of Casey Sheehan in his dreams for the rest of his life.

Fiddling around while Rome is burning

Looks like Leezy and her buddy "Nero" wowed them in Kuala Lumpur for her musical performance of Brahms' Intermezzo number two and Brahms Sonata for violin and piano, opus 108. She offered it up as a "prayer for peace" ironically. Her musical skills far surpass her negotiating for peace skills.

Using the public speaking skills she learned from Donald Rumsfeld, she says she'll return to the Middle East when the 'time is right', but she hasn't figured out exactly when she'll know that the 'time is right'. So she's not clear where she'll go next although she says she's ready to negotiate with N. Korea any time.

Speaking about the Middle East she also said, "We hope to achieve an early end to this violence. That means that we have to help the parties establish conditions that will make it possible for an early ceasefire."

Hey Condi, what the hell do I know, but how about calling for a cease fire and then negotiating? Who do you think you're fooling? The US called for a cease fire in N. Korea over 50 years ago and we're still 'negotiating'. So what if you call a cease fire and it takes years to negotiate? At least people will stop dying over the insanity of saying things like, "Israel has the right to defend itself." The Hezbollah guys are hiding in fox holes in Lebanon, not apartment buildings, so the only people Israel is "defending itself against" are the civilians. Close to 500 civilians have been killed. Nice diplomacy.

Take a look at the video of Israel 'defending itself' by targeting aid workers/red cross ambulances.

Lebanon Oil Spill- So far not on the "bias liberal" news radar

10,000 to 30,000 tons of oil spilled into the Mediterranean Sea after Israel bombed a power plant creating an ecological crisis that Lebanon has neither the money nor the expertise to deal with.

"To clean it up we need access to the sea, which we don't have." Said Environment Minister Yacoub al-Sarraf.

But hey, who cares? American Idols will visit the Chimp Boy at the White House. Oh, and there's that serial killer to report on. NOW THAT'S NEWS!

The US: Too late for empire

Sorry friends -- I'll put my 'firehose' down for a while. So much (too much) to read sometimes. This is a WONDERFUL read also from the Asia Times. It is rather long -- you may want to save it for the weekend. And again, it is DEFINITELY worth passing along.

Wars of aggression, torture, domestic spying and arbitrary arrest are the hallmarks of dictatorship, yet Congress, run by the president's party, has refused to conduct full investigations into either the false WMD claims, or the abuses and torture, or the warrantless wiretaps, or the imprisonment without habeas corpus.

When Congress passed a bill forbidding torture and the president signed it, he added a "signing statement" implying a right to disregard its provisions when they conflicted with his interpretation of his powers.

The president's secret legal memos justifying the abuses and torture are based on a conception of the powers of the executive that gives him carte blanche to disregard specific statutes as well as international law in the exercise of self-granted powers to the commander-in-chief nowhere mentioned in the constitution.

If accepted, these claims would fundamentally alter the structure of the US government, upsetting the system of checks and balances and nullifying fundamental liberties, including guarantees in the Fourth Amendment to the constitution against unreasonable searches and seizures and guarantees of due process. As such, they embody apparent failures of the president to carry out his oath to "preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States".

Hat tip again to Joe at stopthelie.

Terror, Power and the NeoConservative Ideology

I hope some of you copy and paste this and pass it along:

Neoconservatives desperately needed more power, and that power was delivered on a silver platter in the form of 9/11.

Neoconservative documents have long professed a desire to rule the world. Their own documents show they knew a truly "American" society would never support their plans. ...their own documents show they understood the BENEFIT of a "New Pearl Harbor."

It has never been easy to take over the world. It has always required a "certain kind" of person; a person capable of things most others are not capable of. -That they must be willing to lie, cheat, murder, maim, and manipulate goes without saying. That countless innocent civilians will suffer and die in the conquest goes without saying. That one cannot be bothered with such things as "moral consistency" goes without saying. Knowing this, it is time for some intellectual honesty. It is time we finally accept that criminal means are no way to secure so called "moral ends." -And the mere act of professing a goal that can be had no other way reveals the "kind of people" we're dealing with.

Those who now launch illegal wars of aggression, torture, murder, maim and manipulate (in our name) have acted exactly as we should have expected them to. Their actions are an inescapable requirement of the goals they have set and intend to achieve. That they are actively trying to erode the limitations on government power (outlined in our Constitution and Bill of Rights) should come as no surprise either. This too is a requirement if they are to reach their goal.

So here we are. Regardless of your take on 9/11 (whether you believe it was a complete surprise, it was allowed to happen, or it was made to happen) we can all agree on the following: 9/11 furthered an ideological agenda that, absent the attacks, would have NEVER been possible. Right now, we are witnessing a transformation in America unlike any in its history. And on that point, I'd like to quote the fathers of this revolution,:

"The process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event - like a new Pearl Harbor." -Quoting the Neoconservative organization: Project for a New American Century.

When we surrender the founding principles of our country so easily, what message do we send? Do we discourage those willing to employ criminal means or do we tempt them? And if otherwise unattainable rewards can be had, and no accountability suffered, what are the drawbacks of doing "whatever it takes?" Dare I say (when dealing with a "certain type of person") there are none?

In short, the Neoconservative ideology is inherently evil because it necessitates a willingness to do "whatever it takes." Anything that stands in the way of their objective is the enemy; whether it is truth, justice or (in our current situation) the American way.

Now is the time for us to decide whether or not we are going to tolerate this assault on our way of life. We as American citizens must question the wisdom of placing our trust, our money, our security, our freedom, and the lives of our children, in the hands of men willing to lie, cheat, murder, maim, and manipulate.

Make no mistake, their ultimate aim is the destruction of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. -In that alone, their ultimate aim is the destruction of America. They've suggested another major attack on an American city could be all it takes to implement "emergency powers" and a "military form of government." You tell me: Will they get their way? Will YOU concede and fall in line, or will you stand with the rest of us who are committed to defending America from ALL ENEMIES? (Foreign and Domestic.) Time will tell-

J. Plummer 7.27.06 stopthelie

House votes to block police from seizing legal guns in disasters

Red -- I was going to add this to your recent post's comment thread, but thought it was such great news that I had to give it a headline. This has GOT to brighten your day!!

Hat tip to Joe at stopthelie

A "Day in the Life of Joe Republican"

I THOROUGHLY enjoyed kmtberry's ENTIRE blog, particularly this post.

I had just ended (a few hours ago) my exhausting day on a very depressing note -- Bill Frist on Hannity and Colmes . I still need to surf the teevee to fall asleep after a crazy day. I hit on THAT station just as THAT asswipe came on. He was taking liberal bashing to new hights -- I know most of you would have finally thrown the brick that put the big screen's lights out forever. I guess I was just too tired -- probably couldn't have even lifted a brick if I had one.

Can't sleep, just woke up, still pissed, found myself at KM's blog, and whata ya know! After reading her post about Joe Republican, I'm feeling much better -- what a GREAT READ!!!

Exxon Bitch Slaps Working Families

Exxon announced today that it made a profit of 10.30 billion during the second quarter of 2006. Rumor has it that gas will hit $6.00 a gallon. Could this be true?!? And if so, what will that do to the almighty dollar? Inquiring mules want to know.
Now let's all hold hands and sing God Bless America and Big Oil!

Israel's Bitch

U.S. Pessimism On Increase

So says this poll. I'm feeling this in spades.

I need a pep talk. Someone tell me something good. Something to make my insides bloom. Something to make my spirits soar. Something to make me feel hopeful for our country. Please, I'm needing it bad.

Thanks in advance.

huh?

Help me connect this dot somewhere

Montgomery Police Department's SWAT Team Learns Israeli Tactics

andrea yates open thread

Andrea Yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity Wednesday in the drowning of her children in the bathtub.

Military Says, "WTF?"

Could it be true that the Bushistas are considering sending troops into Lebanon?

And is it true that rather than lessening the amount of US troops in Iraq, they will be expanded?

And could we really be in for war with Iran? Did it already start?

And on "casual Friday" this week, Condi Rice-A-Roni will give a piano recital at at the annual gala of Asia’s top security meeting where foreign ministers forget about the rest of the world and entertain themselves with skits, comedy and music. I'm sure the diplomats will be falling off their chairs in laughter as Rice performs the always hilarious Brahms. I hope someone brings a violin as it would be most appropriate.

Also this Friday, the Codpiece will entertain the American Idol winners at the White House.

Bigots Abound

"A few months ago, a gay man died of a heart attack in West Virginia after a sheriff refused to let the man's friend administer CPR.

Around that same time, a young college student in Kentucky was expelled from school because he used the Internet to tell friends he was gay. Another gay teen in Iowa dropped out of high school because of aggressive harassment and bullying from his classmates.

And when a California woman almost died after giving birth to twins, her female partner wasn't sure if the hospital would let her take her children home.

As Judy Shepard (whose gay son was brutally murdered) put it:

"Matt is no longer with us today because the men who killed him learned to hate. Somehow and somewhere they received the message that the lives of gay people are not as worthy of respect, dignity and honor..."

I say the time has come for bigotry and discrimination to STOP! The battle before us today is a tough one. History is full of struggles for equality, where people used religion and the status quo to legitimize bigotry, discrimination and even brutal treatment of their fellow humans.

Martin Luther King Jr. was told to "leave well enough alone" while fighting segregation and horrible lynchings in the South. Before him, Susan B. Anthony faced monumental opposition in the struggle to win the right to vote for women. And President Lincoln paid with his life because of his battle to keep our nation together and put an end to slavery.

But they all had one thing in common. The were on the "right" side of history.

Sadly, many gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans do not share the equality most Americans enjoy. In many commmunities, gay and lesbian couple are not guaranteed hospital visitations right when their partner fall ill. Gay and lesbian employees can be fired in 33 states simply because fo their sexual orientation. Transgender people can be fired in 43 states for no other reason than who they are. The most commonly used derogatory epithet on school playgrounds is "faggot!" Children get beaten up because they have gay or lesbian parents, or because they are perceived as gay themselves. Same-sex couples are denied more than 1,000 benefits that married heterosexual couples receive with a marriage license.


And as all this continues, right -wing extremists fight to not only deny citizens equal rights but to inscribe discrimination against them into the Constitution. It's time to stop the hatred. Stop the bigotry. And put an end to discrimination."

The War on the Web

This is an interesting story from ABC news regarding traditional media outlets versus the blogosphere in the reporting of the war.

"When The New York Times makes a mistake, there are more than enough critics to ensure that the newspaper takes action against the offenders and reworks its policies to ensure more accuracy."

"When an anonymous blogger espouses his view of a situation from the ground, or posts a piece of video, there's no one to hold accountable and therefore no way to ensure that what's being viewed is accurate or fair."

OK -- maybe that's the case, but personally, I find the blogosphere to be the ONLY place I can get information that I would never even SEE in a newspaper.

"There's a lot of fantastic information out there, but it's too much. It's a fire hose," Palser said. "It can be a relief and a grounding experience to then be able to go and look at something that's a little more organized and more edited."

So....I'm curious to see how many of you feel "relieved" and "grounded"
when you leave the blogosphere and go to the newspaper.

When will Coulter ever stop putting that size 13 shoe in its mouth?

Mr. Ann Coulter missed the post here at this blog when we revealed that gay bashers are jealous gay men who are pretending to be straight and wish they weren't missing out on all the fun.

Let's read this account of the world's most famous gay drag queen suggesting on CNBC that Bill Clinton is latently gay:

Coulter: I think that sort of rampant promiscuity does show some level of latent homosexuality.

Coulter's the expert on everything sexual, you know. And so what if he's latently gay? Maybe the queen should swing him over to the dark side.

Last week we learned more about anal sex and fisting, than we cared to discuss in polite company, from Coulter. Now, who would have guessed that Coulter took part in the great circle jerk that was the Starr Report and MEMORIZED it? Don't answer that.

Deutsch: OK, say it on air.

Coulter: I think that sort of rampant promiscuity does show some level of latent homosexuality.

Deutsch: OK, I think you need to say that again. That Bill Clinton, you think on some level, has -- is a latent homosexual, is that what you're saying?

Coulter: Yeah. I mean, not sort of just completely anonymous -- I don't know if you read the Starr report -- the rest of us were glued to it -- I have many passages memorized. No, there was more plot and dialogue in a porno movie.

Thanks to Knox Rover for the lead.


UPDATE: Mr Coulter claims that liberals suck the brains out of little babies. Says Al Gore is a "total fag".

Dumb bastards don't even know what freedom means

Now get this:

"This is an issue I've struggled with for years," [Dr.] Gish said. "My current feeling is life begins at conception, and I feel that anything that interferes with that" causes an abortion.

"The dilemma I have is the whole rape issue: Which side are you more concerned with? Are you more concerned about the mother or the life that was possibly created? That's my dilemma," he said. "I personally don't have this thing worked out. I'm not sure how my faith can line up with my practice at times of what I'm asked to do."

The state backs up his refusal.

This doctor doesn't have the thing worked out yet so he just refuses to help a rape victim not get pregnant. Should he be concerned with a human being standing before him who was just raped or should he be concerned with the possiblity of conception, a conception that can be nipped before it even buds? This doctor should know that Plan B does not cause an abortion but someone told him that "faith" trumps science and he believes he is free to impose his "faith" on those who don't share his unsubstantiated beliefs.

Since when does "Freedom" mean that you can do whatever you want because of your beliefs regardless of whether or not it infringes on another person's "freedom" and their beliefs?

Sure I have the freedom to blast my stereo 24/7... as long as those who live within earshot like my music and have no intention of sleeping. My freedom ceases if the music infringes on those who enjoy the freedom of listening to the sounds of nature. That's how it works...

Then what's the deal with this? What if my belief is that I under no circumstances should be forced to conceive a child against my will? But I am held down and raped. An evil person plants his demon seed inside of me. There is a chance I may conceive unless I take mega doses of birth control within 24 hours (Plan B, a legal prescription drug).

I call my doctor to get a prescription for Plan B but he won't write it. Why? Because this doctor believes that life begins at the moment of conception, which he believes could have been the moment of rape, even though one doesn't conceive that fast. His blind faith to his religion trumps biology 101.

In the state of panic and post trauma from the rape, I have to search for another doctor who will write the prescription if I am lucky. While riding the bus to the next doctor's office I realize that the rapist's freedom to dump his seed trumped my freedom to have relations only with the man I love. I'm getting even more depressed.

I go to the neighborhood pharmacy next to the second doctor's office with a prescription I was lucky to get. The pharmacist's so-called freedom to deny filling my prescription due to his blind faith that human life may have already been conceived trumps my freedom to avoid conceiving an illegitimate child.

He doesn't see me. He only sees the possiblity that I may hold the seed that may possibly fertilize an egg and become implanted in my uterus. He has no concern for my horror story, the fact that I am too young or too poor or too sickly or too single to carry a child to term, let alone raise it and furthermore, that the child is the result of violence and hatred that I would rather choose to not think about as time marches on. He is worried about his "salvation".

My freedom to control my body is trumped by his freedom to not go against his "beliefs" which are not scientifically sound, despite the fact that he is employed in a scientific industry. I am not asking for an abortion, or an abortion pill. I may not even be pregnant my freedom was trumped by a remote possibility!

It is late. I don't have a car. I have to try to find a bus or a taxi to another pharmacy. Time is marching on.

If I become pregnant because I cannot fill this prescription in time, I can use my freedom to love this child and raise him or her with the utmost fairness, but I also have the power to use 2 new freedoms thanks to the rapist, the doctor and the pharmacist:

Will I choose to give that child the worst life imaginable?
Or will I choose have an abortion... maybe a late term abortion?

Now what do you think of your freedoms, doctors and pharmacists who refuse to dispense Plan B? Even "faith based" freedom has a cost.

Things that have made me smile...

First, my old & dear (she's not THAT old, but you know, "old friend") bud Mags sent me this link. Now, I'm sure that I'll quickly be accused of liberal elitism for giggling about this, but what the hell, it's worth it for a good laugh, as long as it doesn't frame the DNC's entire campaign philosophy like it did LAST TIME:

And secondly, my new & dear friend JanetL has recently been corresponding with the sellout hooo-ahhs of NARAL, and I thought that you would enjoy this little reparte':

> > Form Submission
> > Home <> >
Feedback> >
> > A visitor to the web site has submitted the following information:
Submitted on Jul 16, 2006 02:37 PM EDT
> > First name Janet> > dynamicRecipient political@prochoiceamerica.org

Comments: I can't believe you endorsed Sen. Joe Lieberman (Dino-CT). He has not, nor can he really, retracted his vote to close cloture on Alito; nor has he recanted his statement regarding the availability of emergency birth control for rape victims.
Joe Lieberman is NOT "our" friend. I certainly won't be making any donations to your organization if you waste your endorsements on people like him.
I suppose next you'll be endorsing Rick Santorum! Although in PA that might be to Casey's advantage.

> > From: Political <Political@prochoiceamerica.org
> > Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 10:01:18 -0400
Conversation: Form Submission: Feedback
Subject: RE: Form Submission: Feedback

Janet,

Thank you for contacting us. As an activist your work is at the core of our mission. We want to hear from you and appreciate the support you have given us over the years.

I have read your note, and I know you are not happy with us for endorsing Senator Joe Lieberman. Here at NARAL Pro-Choice America, we're very proud of our high standard for endorsement. That having been said, from time to time, it does occasionally occur that a pro-choice elected official will take a position against our recommendation - and when that happens, it's always a disappointment. Senator Lieberman's vote (and the same votes of other fully pro-choice senators) for cloture on the controversial Alito nomination is one case in point. And his comments about emergency contraception caused us concern, as they undoubtedly did you as well - but he has since clarified his position, to our satisfaction.

But taking all facts into consideration - including many years of pro-choice votes in the Senate - we believe Senator Lieberman has continued to earn the NARAL Pro-Choice America endorsement. With so many relentless attacks on choice, and an anti-choice president determined to see this right taken away from American women forever, we must prioritize our work, and we need all the friends we can get. (Annti: Emphasis mine) We treat him no differently than any other pro-choice senator - Democrat or Republican. I know we disagree on this one point, but our challenge is so monumental that I hope we can continue to stand together against our real opponents: President Bush, congressional leaders, and anti-choice senators who oppose us on every single vote. Again, I appreciate the passion of your commitment to the fundamental freedoms we cherish. You are always welcome to contact us -- with agreements and disagreements. I hope we can count on your continued support as we roll up our sleeves to achieve the common goals we share.

Best,
Elizabeth Shipp
Political Director
(202) 973-3000, Ext. 4210

From: Janet
To: Political <Political@prochoiceamerica.org
Subject: Re: Form Submission: Feedback
Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2006 18:21:22 -0400

Dear Ms Shipp,

How exactly is Sen Lieberman "pro-choice?" Because he does not support an amendment to the constitution for a total ban on abortion? Surely NARAL's standards for endorsement are higher than that.

Whether the senator has clarified his position to your satisfaction is not really to the point, as he has not publically disavowed either his cloture vote, nor his statements regarding emergency contraception. This being the case, the senator has shown himself of late as being only aligned with the anti-choice administration. As he is so aligned with them on so many issues of pressing concern.

Further, to smugly assert that the senator has clarified his position to NARAL's satisfaction, but not to the public's, only indicates a complicity in a sort of "backroom politics" of which I wish to have no part. No, Ms Shipp, you most certainly may not count on my continued support. I will take my contributions elsewhere, including to Mr Lamont's campaign.

Most sincerely,
Janet L

----- Original Message -----
From: Annti
To: Janet
Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 10:39 PM
Subject: Re: Form Submission: Feedback

PREACH ON, MAH SISTER, PREACH ONNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope that those hypocritical PAC money-grubbing sellout bitches' DRAWERS CAUGHT AFIRE from your letters!!! And if they didn't spontaneously combust, it's 'cause they're made of asbestos to combat the burning/chafing of having external gonads with multiple venereal diseases and trying to wear submissive-slave leather thongs to the office.

Assholes, assholes every where and not one of them can think

"Congress ought to have higher priorities than turning grandparents into criminals," said Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Massachusetts.

"We're going to sacrifice a lot of girls' lives," said Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York.

Want to guess what they are talking about? Another IDIOTIC bill by a bunch of theistic, asshats who think the rest of the country MUST obey the supposed rules of their invisible sky daddy. Mind you NO WHERE in the bible is abortion mentioned (quite the oversight for a supposedly omnipresent mind). However that won't stop a bunch of rich, white, middle aged men from enforcing their 'god given' authority on the knocked up 14yo - STILL no bills or laws inflicting any sort of punishment on the FATHER of the child though.

And lets just add this to the pot:

Another, sponsored by Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, would have encouraged the federal government to provide money for more sex education. That bill failed earlier in the day, 48-51.

"If we do nothing about teen pregnancy yet pass this punitive bill, then it proves that this (bill) is only a political charade and not a serious effort to combat the problem," Lautenberg said.

Abstinence is the best way to prevent teenage pregnancy, responded Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma.

Lady in the Water

Anyone seen it yet? I highly recommend it if you like interesting stories with MANY levels to them. And the fact that he based it off a bedtime story he told to his children adds to the 'awww' factor. Most of the acting was excellent, costuming fit in perfectly and I love the special effects on Ronnie and his 'scientific experiment' body.

I particularly liked the interplay between the characters, most especially the Asian mother and daughter, and the Indian brother and sister. Like him or not, M. Night Shyamalan does have a talent for interesting story telling. Oh and the leading lady is Opie's little girl.

I've heard some complaints that the story is too steeped in mythology, but I don't agree with that at all. You can completely ignore that facet of the story and still enjoy it and the characters that inhabit the apartment complex named the Cove. Oh, and it takes place in Philadelphia of all places.

Not to give too much away, but if you've seen it, or intend to see it, one of my favourite pieces was where the 'writer' was told what would happen and why he was important. He listened and quickly realized something and asked for clarification; he was correct in his assumptions but decided to go through with it anyway but asked the Narf to NOT tell his sister. Its an ongoing thing through the last half of the movie and I enjoyed the way it was done without being shoved down one's throat.

And the special effects of those grassy beasts. WOW. And two of the children I took (11 and 12 yo) cheered when the film critic was in the basement. Wonder if M. Night was trying to send a message with THAT particular scene. LMAO. There were a few gasps of fright, but I consider this more of a thriller than a scary movie, both girls did well and were chatting about it well into the night and into the next day.

Zombies arrested in MN - no, really I am NOT kidding

Bows before Prof Myers for bringing this to light:

Six friends spruced up in fake blood and tattered clothing (for a Zombie Dance Party / Pub Crawl) were arrested in downtown Minneapolis on suspicion of toting "simulated weapons of mass destruction." (btw, this is NOT the first one they've had)


Now, you see, those fellows have it all wrong, its the wrong time of year for this. MOST people do it during October, OR you could be a typical godless Eastcoast liberal and do it at Easter, like WE do.

But WOW, arresting teenagers dressed as zombies for terrorist activity with possible, simulated weapons of mass destruction....and one of the kids arrested has the same last name as the guy who owns the newspaper. (I can only HOPE its his kid/grandkid, I would LOVE to see this get a lot of press)

Sue d'bastard!

I cackle gleefully as I see that at least ONE of my elected officials is getting as pissed off as I am. And yes, I know the Repubes tend to cut his legs out from under Spector every chance they get, but with a choice or Spector or Santorum...I mean, really......

WASHINGTON (AP) - A powerful Republican committee chairman who has led the fight against President Bush's signing statements said Monday he would have a bill ready by the end of the week allowing Congress to sue him in federal court.

"We will submit legislation to the United States Senate which will...authorize the Congress to undertake judicial review of those signing statements with the view to having the president's acts declared unconstitutional," Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said on the Senate floor.

Specter's announcement came the same day that an American Bar Association task force concluded that by attaching conditions to legislation, the president has sidestepped his constitutional duty to either sign a bill, veto it, or take no action.

Bush has issued at least 750 signing statements during his presidency, reserving the right to revise, interpret or disregard laws on national security and constitutional grounds.

The President had chosen not to veto legislation with which he disagreed--thus giving Congress a chance to override his veto--but simply to assert his right to ignore the law - Sound passive-aggressive to anyone else? I won't veto it so you can't vote on it and force me to accept it, nyah, nyah, nyah (oh, and you can multiply that by 750 - that's right seven hundred and fifty - times. In only 6 years more than every other president combined)

This week's episode of "Boo Effing Hoo"

AP-- Fox News Channel chairman and CEO Roger Ailes responded to Keith Olbermann's latest critical volley against Bill O'Reilly on Monday, saying the MSNBC host's behavior "is over the line."

Ailes, appearing Monday at the summer meeting of the Television Critics Association, was referring to a weekend incident at the gathering in which Olbermann whipped out a mask of O'Reilly and gave a Nazi salute.

Over the line was when Fox News was born and proceded to pump propaganda and disinformation over the airwaves to the unsuspecting and uncritical masses of Americans who get their news from pundits.

Inhofe For Minister of Disinformation

As you may recall, Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) back in June made a complete ass of himself while on the Senate floor debating the Federal Marriage Amendment, standing in front of a large picture of his family:

"As you see here, and I think this is maybe the most important prop we'll have during the entire debate, my wife and I have been married 47 years. We have 20 kids and grandkids. I'm really proud to say that in the recorded history of our family, we've never had a divorce or any kind of homosexual relationship."

Inhofe also predicted that homosexual marriage would lead to more ghettos, illegitimate children and more and more people on welfare. That's right. The previous sentence makes no sense. It was never explained by him how he reached that conclusion but I suspect his mother dropped him on his head.

Now the Senator with the big bump on his head who said that global warming was “the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people,” and whom I doubt ever read Mein Kampf and admits he hasn't seen "An Inconvenient Truth" has a new revelation about those who believe in global warming:

"It kind of reminds . . . I could use the Third Reich, the big lie," Inhofe said.

"You say something over and over and over and over again, and people will believe it, and that's their strategy."

As for anyone trying to use the current heat wave to bolster the case, he said even those on the other side of the debate concede that no one should link a single weather event to climate change.

"A hot summer has nothing to do with global warming," Inhofe said. "Let's keep in mind it was just three weeks ago that people were saying, 'Wait a minute; it is unusually cool."'

He blames the media for handing over an unfair amount of air time and coverage to the side that pushes the claim that links man to climate change.

"I have asked several of them," Inhofe said: 'Name one time when an hour has been given to the other side of the issue.' "

While declining to watch either the Gore movie or the Brokaw documentary, the senator said he armed himself with the statements used in both.

"I know the text, and I know they are using old stuff that has been totally discredited," Inhofe said. "Everything on which they based their story, in terms of the facts, has been refuted scientifically."

Comparing global warming to Nazis? Where could he have gotten that idea? Oh right here! And oh my my, Inhofe received nearly "$290000 from oil and gas companies, including ExxonMobil, for his 2002 reelection campaign." So let's talk fascism, Mr. Inhofe, you fraud.

And speaking of arming ourselves, please read the following at Mother Jones:
Some Like It Hot
Forty public policy groups have this in common: They seek to undermine the scientific consensus that humans are causing the earth to overheat. And they all get money from ExxonMobil.
-------

Meanwhile back at the ranch, president codpiece will be entertaining American Idol winners, "Taylor Hicks and the other Top 10 finalists next Friday in the Oval Office. It will be the first time contestants from the hit television show have been invited to meet the president."

What wars in the Middle East?

Selling Israel to America

stop the lie has some very informative stories today.

Check out the video "Peace, Propaganda and The Promised Land" -- US media and the Israeli/Palestine conflict.

Also a story from Reuters shows how the media manipulates the story:

"Israel began its assault on Lebanon after Hizbollah seized two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid on July 12. Some 373 people have since died in Lebanon. At least 37 Israelis have been killed in Hizbollah rocket attacks and clashes."

Interpretation:

1. "Israel began its assault on Lebanon after Hezbollah seized two Israeli soldiers." HMM, Ok. Sounds reasonable enough. But, why don't they mention that the Israeli soldiers (legitimate military targets) were on the Lebanese side of the border? ...well, I guess they kind of mention it; they call it a "cross-border raid" which conveniently hides who was "raiding" who.

2. "Some 373 people have since died in Lebanon." Notice that 373 Lebanese people have simply "died" whereas "At least 37 Israelis HAVE BEEN KILLED in Hezbollah rocket attacks and clashes."

And remember folks it is "HIZBOLAH" who is to blame for Israel slaughtering civilians and targeting civilian infrastructure. Hezbollah took two legitimate prisoners, and that means Lebanon (and its people) must be destroyed. -And if you don't accept this logic, then you support terrorism. (from stopthe lie)

Nice teeth.

Hey we forgot to acknowledge Miss Universe!
Sheesh. How lax of us.



Eighteen year old Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza of Puerto Rico is hereby acknowledged.

I am so freek'n sick of MySpace -- check out the latest

I really can't take it anymore. I've got 3 kids CONSTANTLY fighting over the computer to get on MySpace. I've been supervising it for a while now, cause, well, ya know---EVERYONE has one! So far, I have been able to keep my cool. Although some of my 15 year old's girl friend's sites are a bit too provocative and really rather stupid, it is a good opportunity to show them examples of 'bad girls'. I've let them set one up, but since it's a pretty boring page, most of the time they are visiting other MySpace friends.

Now I have a good reason for telling them they can't go on MySpace anymore, thanks to Rupert Murdoch.

I.R.S. to Cut Tax Auditors

Unbelievable!

I.R.S. estate tax lawyers whose jobs are likely to be eliminated said in interviews that the cuts were just the latest moves behind the scenes at the I.R.S. to shield people with political connections and complex tax-avoidance devices from thorough audits."

Sharyn Phillips, a veteran I.R.S. estate tax lawyer in Manhattan, called the cuts a “back-door way for the Bush administration to achieve what it cannot get from Congress, which is repeal of the estate tax.

Over the last five years, officials at both the I.R.S. and the Treasury have told Congress that cheating among the highest-income Americans is a major and growing problem.

The six I.R.S. tax lawyers, some of whom were willing to be named, all said that clear evidence of fraud was pursued vigorously by the agency, but that when audits showed the use of complicated schemes to understate the value of assets, the I.R.S. had become increasingly reluctant to pursue cases.

Have a sparkling day my friends.....

Mideast Update

Condozilla Rice-A- Roni surprised Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora in Beirut with a visit this morning. They kissed. She told him that she would like to see an end to the fighting and if Syria would only do something to stop Hezbollah from partaking in this crisis and if Lebanon and Hezbollah would sign a cease fire agreement so that Israel would stop lobbing US made missiles on Lebanon killing hundreds of innocent civilians. Syria says the US is making things worse and will not negotiate unless Damascus and Hezbollah are part of the peace process. The death toll is 384 Lebanese, 36 Israelis.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, President Bush was told to say that he "has opposed an immediate cease-fire, saying the root cause of the conflict — Hezbollah's domination of south Lebanon — must be resolved," reports the AP and "Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said the priority was to arrange a cease-fire and his party was open to discussing ideas on how to end the crisis. He also said an Israeli ground invasion would not protect Israel from Hezbollah rocket attacks." The suspense continues.


Oil prices dropped as Condozilla arrived in the Middle East.
Pakistan is expanding their nuclear program and is building a new reactor for producing plutonium.
John Kerry says this conflict wouldn't have happened if he were president. (And he would have been president if he had some balls, so I doubt his claim.)

Disgraceful: The people of Tyre, Lebanon were rushing to evacuate because Israel promised to make their lives even worse. Meanwhile, the dead bodies were being gnawed by wild dogs. People can't get to the morgues to retrieve their loved ones and if they could, it's too dangerous to have a proper burial with bombs explodings. Emergency workers fear for their lives and do not pick up dead bodies along the roads left to rot. Carpenters don't have enough wood to make more coffins.

This week's episode of "Winning Hearts and Minds"

They think very highly of us in Lebanon. Not.
A displaced woman walks past this anti-American poster in Sidon, Lebanon.
Click photo for larger image.

Unitarian Jihad

Need a break from the constant spin on the shameful handling of current events? Exhausted by all the bad news?
This archived column by Jon Carroll can offer some relief. "We will use the IED of truth to explode the SUV of dogmatic expression."

Maybe I need a really riveting Jihad name. Sister Mobile Chemical Lab of Common Sense? Sister Bloodsoaked Broadsword of Tolerance?
Sister Blazing Nunchaku of Kindness? YEAH! Now I'm ready for the revolution.

Wow, We're Diplomatic

According to the NY Times, US is rushing bombs to Israel and it was done so with very little debate. Well that's diplomatic. Not. Anyway, these are precision guided missiles which are supposed to be more humane in that they won't kill as many civilians.

On a contrasting note, according to Think Progress on Friday, Tony Snow was on the Today Show and said that "Nobody Has Been More Diplomatically Active Than We Have" On The Middle East Peace Process. You see, dear friends, 'diplomacy' means making a bunch of phone calls or meeting with people who happen to be in the area. Tony Snow made no mention of all the bombs being sent to Israel and that is probably because it's pretty hard to make that seem "diplomatic".

MATT LAUER: Alright, let’s talk about the Secretary of State. She’s going to travel to the region next week. Critics say it’s too little too late, what’s your response?

TONY SNOW: The critics got it wrong. The United States has been very actively engaged on the diplomatic front ever since the beginning of this. Secretary Rice has spoken repeatedly with leaders throughout the region. The President has been picking leaders and speaking with leaders who are not only in the neighborhood, but in the position to provide leverage and influence over the governments who are chiefly responsible for supporting Hezbollah, that would be Iran and Syria. He’s spoken with the King of Saudi Arabia, he’s spoken with the King of Jordan, he’s spoken with the President of Egypt, he’s spoken with the prime minister of Turkey. Every day the departments of state and defense are on the phone with colleagues throughout the region, every day the national security advisor.

So what I’m saying here is that people are talking about too little too late in diplomacy, they may not be keeping the scorecard. But the fact is, nobody has been more diplomatically active than we have.

Oh yes, I trust the president to speak to world leaders after last week's debacle at G8. I really feel like throwing up after reading all this.

Check out this story in the Jerusalem Post about citizens of Israel and Lebanon talking and blogging with each other during this historical time. A lot of it is quite civil.

Welsh Singer gets music pulled from Catholic publishing company -calls the Pope a Nazi

I read the story at huffpo and thought no big deal. THEN...I went over to the comments
Quite a bit of church chat and bible babbling going on over there. Some of the comments are very informative but most of the commentors are a fine example of how religious beliefs can really mess you up. The way we discuss topics here at blondesense is much more civil, IMO.
Bottom line - Yes, the Pope was a Nazi. He was a member of Hitler's youth group as was every young German at the time. Is he still?

Anyway, I saw some links that were provided by one of the readers. They are all different stories in content, but very much related when looking at the whole picture.

Save them for a rainy day. They are all worth a read.

Who Controls The World? Illuminati, Jesuits, Bilderberg, Church, Skull, Religion.

President Bush's speech to Congress
March 6, 1991 on the 'New World Order'

Gore Vidal on the "United States of Amnesia," 9/11, the 2000 Election and the War in Iraq (interview with Amy Goodman - 5/13/03): EXCELLENT READ

The Trilateral Commission

"A thorough, documented, criminal indictment of George Herbert Walker Bush, establishing beyond a reasonable doubt his guilt as a supervisor in the conspiracy to assassinate John F. Kennedy" (I did pick up a few more tidbits that I had not heard before)

What is the REAL reason for the war on Lebanon?

From Joe Cannon's "Cannonfire" blog:

"The current Lebanese war is about water."


Same subject from Jeff Wells at Rigorous Intuition:

"Painting the Passports Brown"

Check out the links. Wells also includes some info on how the Ogalalla aquifer in the U.S. is not replenishing itself.

Condozilla Heading East

"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, embarking on a diplomatic mission to the troubled Middle East, said she would work for "stability and lasting peace" instead of the immediate cease-fire demanded by much of the rest of the world." AP

Condzilla? Condozeella? Condozzeela? Condozilla?

Acknowledging The Master:

Quoth the Dark Wraith:

"Israel obliterating Lebanon to make the Middle East safer is like lighting a fart to make a room fresher."

Difficult as it may be to believe, the Wraith's analysis, entitled "Special Analysis:
In Response to 'An Irresponsible Question'" and the comments that follow, are even more insightful and profound than the words above.

NAFTA Superhighway Update: They REALLY don't care.....

Huffpo finally has some conversation going on today regarding the NAFTA Superhighway:

It seems that some Texas farmers are quite upset!

Gee, do ya think they will be able to stop this before it becomes a reality?
Well, if they DON'T -- who will? I read over the comments, and I have to say that it seems the majority don't know the background as well as we do here at Blondesense. A few of the commentors seem to know what's up, but not a lot. Hopefully this will wake more people up to the reality of this.

These corporate elites really don't give a shit. I did not think that a country could survive if it did not manufacture things. Oh wait, if your aim is for control of the world, you just have other countries (China, Japan) make your goods and ship them to a port in Mexico, bypassing the US (close down all ports -- WHERE ARE THE LONGSHOREMEN?), and pay tolls to the owners of this highway -- "(it will be built and operated by a U.S.-Spanish consortium); and some see the project as an affront to open government because part of the contract with Cintra-Zachry is secret."

What can we do folks? Well, for starters, let's try to get behind these Texas farmers. Spread this around. Let the revolution begin!!

Worthy Websites:

Got this link:

"Tell Republicans in Congress to Support Overriding Bush's Stem Cell Veto"

from "Minstrel Boy" over at Harp and Sword.

Check him out. Then go vote.

Open Thread and Mandatory Friday Sex Post

Submitted by NC Gal: Three Cocks At One Time
isn't she fortunate?
The offspring of Bill Bailey.
From left to right: William Shakespeare Bailey, William Wallace Bailey, and William Shatner Bailey.

-------------

Meanwhile "Israel is the Holy Land, not the homo-land" say some wackjobs.
Gayness blamed on the war in the Middle East

Iron Curtains? Berlin Walls? PSHAW!!

We'll show those silly Russians and ignorant Israelis how to REALLY build a wall to keep our citizens from escap..., uh, er, I mean to keep "immergrunts" out. The AP headline reads: "King proposes electrical fence along Mexican border" and begins "DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- An Iowa congressman is showing off his model of an electrical wire-topped fence that he wants built along the U.S.-Mexico border to prevent illegal immigration.
"Republican Steve King brought his model to a House immigration hearing Thursday in Washington, saying the wall would remain "for perhaps a hundred years, if necessary."

I won't belabor readers with the link to the article; maybe the local rag is just as embarrassed by the news as I am. Peter of Lone Tree will somehow try to endure the shame, disgrace, and humiliation of inhabiting the same state as the guy who proposed this idea.

Please Read This Blog

KERBLOG
mazen kerbaj's blog. beirut + free improvised music + comics + bombs + drawings

Start at the bottom of the page.
If you click on the drawings, larger versions will open.
Very interesting.

Op-ed morons

Think Progress has a good piece about that Peggy Noonan of the WSJ who wrote that scientists should get together and decide if global warming is real and if it is, they should take the blame for it... yadda yadda yadda...

I gotta tell you. I subscribe to the WSJ. It's a very good newspaper except for the editorials which I do NOT read (except for sometimes) because they make my blood boil. Apparently the op-ed folks there DO NOT read their own damn paper. This happens day after day. The disconnect between the journalists/reporters and the opinion clowns is astounding. I don't know how they can expect their readers to believe anything that is written in the op-eds once they've read the actual news. morons.

And yes Peggy, if you ever read your paper, you'd know that most scientists do believe that global warming is real. You must be getting your news from Faux News commentators.

The Assclown Speaks Again and Has Nothing Important To Say

Good grief. Bush finally spoke to the NAACP and he brought up his "ownership" society crappola (fascism) and pitched the repeal of the estate (death) tax for the ultra rich, because after all, stuff like this matters to everyone else.

"...the death tax will prevent future African-American entrepreneurs from being able to pass their assets from one generation to the next."

It appears that a whopping 59 African Americans will be faced with paying estate taxes this year and the number is expected to go down each year. Meanwhile according to Think Progress, almost 25% of African Americans live below the poverty line and bush never even mentioned the word, "poverty". Yes, I'm sure that old bushie struck a chord with his audience.


----------

UPDATE FRI: Mister President, thank you for not vetoing the Voting Rights Act. whew.

A Picture Says a Thousand Words

So do rapture chat rooms. The debate rages on as to whether or not Ezekiel 38-39 is playing out at the present time. The Rapture Ready folks see wars, maybe not the end times, but the government doesn't want you to think that anyone is actually in a war, unless of course they need to use that word to scare us into submission.


Don't pay any attention to the pictures you see.

God forbid any American says that Iraq is in the midst of a civil war. Car bombs going off constantly doesn't make a civil war says our government. My husband got a phone call from a friend who is serving in the reserves in Mosul and he says that they are busy every hour of the day trying to stay alive while Iraqi's work hard to kill each other.

Iraqi's are fleeing their homes in terror and 30,000 became refugees as ethnic cleansing destroyed their neighborhoods and "sectarian violence has turned ever more bitter since a U.S.-backed national unity government was formed two months ago, official data showed on Thursday." But it's not a civil war?


A car bomb explodes in Kirkuk
Nothing to see here.


Tony Snow, speaking on behalf of the White House says about the Israel vs Hezbollah "squirmish": "What you have are hostilities, at this point, between Israel and Hezbollah. I would not characterize it as a war."

A half million people have been displaced in Lebanon. Over 300 people have been killed. Israel is hinting at a full scale invasion.


This is not a war yet?


But this was?


And this isn't?


and this is just an average sight in Lebanon?

Is Photography Becoming Illegal?

From today's LA Times:

... Someone takes a picture, or tries to, of a public space, in a public place. Muscle appears. Sometimes badges are flashed. Vague laws are vaguely invoked.

A man taking pictures of a symmetrical array of school buses gets a visit from Homeland Security. A shutterbug shooting 16-millimeter film of the scenery outside the train window is questioned, and the film is confiscated. A history student taking photos of the New York state Capitol for her class project finds the police at her door. Another student in Seattle, photographing a popular tourist sight, is corralled by men declaring themselves to be "homeland security." A Texas railroad buff takes pictures of trains and gets grilled for five hours by the FBI and the cops.

To the absurdities of overreaching "no-fly" lists that keep infants off airplanes, add this one: photographers, amateur and professional, being menaced for taking pictures of public sights in plain sight.

In the online photo magazine Vivid Light Photography, Jim McGee writes about photographer-cop encounters and "wild tales about 'made-up' laws that cops pull out of the air to justify their actions. Is photography becoming illegal in the United States?"

The US motto should be, "9/11 changed everything". I would say that the terrorists won in this respect. They "hated us for our freedoms" so the government is taking them away.

I guess I've been lucky in that I haven't had a visit from DHS yet. Since 9/11, I've been chased by security guards at abandoned insane asylums while shooting musicians (and ghosts) and caused a scene with cops at a quiet train station while taking pictures of a musician who wanted to look forlorn for his website. I took some pics in a subway for another artist. I took pictures of "Do Not Take Pictures" signs and pictures of "Department of Homeland Security" signs in and around the NYC area. I held my camera over the fence at Ground Zero shortly after the tragedy. I took 1200 pictures in Arizona, 600 pictures of the Wall Street area and 300 pictures in one day at Coney Island. I also like to take pictures of space through my telescope. I'm a sometimes professional photographer/videographer for private citizens who want cool backgrounds in their pictures, but I'm mostly a happy shutterbug and I'm wondering when the shit will hit the fan. Oh you'll hear about it if it does.

Irony Alert Part Deux

"It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect, so I vetoed it," Bush said.

Today the president vetoed his first bill. There was no ceremony, no ball, just idiocy.

I agree that there are moral boundaries our decent society needs to respect, however this is not one of the boundaries I was thinking about. I was thinking about already living human beings. Silly me.

Speaking of "a life" vs "living human being", how about this one? Ark. gov. to pardon Keith Richards' ticket I'm sure Keef is breathing a bit easier now.

Irony Alert

Press Briefing by Tony Snow
James S. Brady Briefing Room
Press Briefing
July 18, 2006 12:35 P.M. EDT

Q Can you remind us why the President believes that it is not appropriate to use -- that it is more appropriate for stem cells to be thrown away than to be used, in this case, for medical research?

MR. SNOW: The President -- I don't think that's the choice that the President has presented. What the President has said is that he doesn't want human life destroyed. Now, you may consider that insignificant, but the President has said -- and you have had in a number of cases the Snowflake babies, where some of those fetuses have, in fact, been brought to term and have become human beings. The President believes strongly that for the purpose of research it's inappropriate for the federal government to finance something that many people consider murder; he's one of them.

... The simple answer is he thinks murder is wrong, and he has said.

Q The legislation is going to be -- that deals with thousands and thousands of embryos that will be thrown out, destroyed.

MR. SNOW: That is a tragedy, but the President is not going to get on the slippery slope of taking something that is living and making it dead for the purpose of research.

OMG!

This video is hilarious! Did you know that bush has a German pilot?

thanks NC Gal for finding this

meanwhile, back at the ranch

STEM CELLS AND GAY MARRIAGE

The Senate is set to pass a bill that will expand funding of stem cell research. The president is expected to swiftly veto that bill. This will be the only bill he ever vetoed if this comes to pass.

Congress will also waste the day voting on the federal marriage amendment which is expected to fail once again.

UPDATE: The House rejected the Federal Marriage Amendment today with a 236 to 187 bipartisan vote against it. (27 Republicans voted against it)

In the Senate, the stem cell research bill passed 63-37, four votes short of the two-thirds majority that would be needed to override Bush's veto.

UPDATE UPDATE:
On the House floor, Rep. Lincoln Davis (D-TN) said he was opposed the amendment but only because it didn’t go far enough. Davis said Congress should “outlaw divorce in this country” and “outlaw adultery and make it a felony.” In addition, Davis said, “we should also prevent those who commit adultery, or get a divorce, from running for office.”

---------

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) is leading the opposition to the H.R. 810, the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act. Yesterday, during debate on the bill, he held up a picture of an embryo drawn by a 7-year-old girl. Relaying a conversation with the girl’s mother, Brownback said the embryo was asking the Senate, “Are you going to kill me?”

Can you imagine if Clinton had behaved in public so rudely?

The president found out that I was really embarrassed after watching him stuff bread into his face and chew with his mouth open. He thinks it's funny when I cringe watching video of him with world leaders so this time he got me good... he snuck up behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel and gave her a quick massage for all the world to see. See it here. Can he not behave for a few days, at least at the G8, and pretend that the US is great country and not a bunch of rude over-aged frat boys? And do we have a department of protocol? Maybe it was cut.

-Miss Manners

"Love Letters"

Israeli girls write messages to Hezbollah on artillery shells about to be sent to the front lines in Lebanon.

Photo and title submitted by Dark Wraith via AFP via BBC News.

american president says "shit" with his mouth full

How is this a news story? Bush and Blair are having a little private chat. Someone has an open mike. They don't know or do they? Only conspiracy theorists are sure.

Bush said "shit." What is really embarrassing is that his mouth was full of some bad banquet food when he said it. He went to all the right schools. He is his momma's boy. I can't believe his mouth was full! How rude.

Bush is right. Hezbollah needs to stop this shit.

Presidents do not take an oath of office to stop being human. "Shit" is nothing compared to Nixon on the Watergate tapes. I am thrilled he knew the difference between Hezbollah and Hamas. Harry Truman said there were too few words that people really understood and we should use all of them. I am for one happy that Bush has a firm grasp of at least this situation, but I find it disturbing that I am in the awkward position of defending him.

This next week is national fuck your buddy week for aspiring attorneys. Yep, the Multi State Bar Exam and the individual state components of the exam are given next week, July 25, 26, 27. Talk about shit. I hope I know shit from Shinola and the Rule of Optional Completeness.

More Serious Than Anything Else In The World

It's hot as hell in the northeast and I cannot think of anything more compelling than the gay marriage debate in America. Can you? Congress is going to concentrate on passing an amendment to save my heterosexual marriage tomorrow since it's such a slow summer with not much else to worry about. Sure, my marriage needs saving and if that's what's going to save it, then I will be a good christian American and go along with the plan. Things would just be so perfect in our country if those pesky gay people weren't hell bent on ruining my marriage. sheesh.

Guess we'll just have to learn to deal with the Medicare cuts because we are all gonna die anyway, who cares that it costs $20 more to fill up my car than it did in 2001 since I make so very much more money than I did 5 years ago, and what's happening in the middle east really has no effect on my life, right?

Countdown to Armageddon

Have you seen The Big Snit yet?

And here's another compelling video: this one performed by our own, Jesus Christ.

He Gets Letters

Young Russian boys inspired by Vladimir Putin's astonishing act of affection [left] write letters to him.

Bush's Solution To The Middle East Crisis

"What they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit and it's over," Bush says with his mouth full as he buttered a piece of bread. (Wapo)

Here's most of the Bush-Blair Unplugged transcript: sky news

Rapture Index?

Normally I would follow that title with /sarcasm or 'ha ha', but looking at today's news I'm a bit worried. Not the the jeebuz cult will actually get their rapture, but that they'll end up killing us all. In between wars and the environment things are looking pretty bleak this Monday morning.

We have more bombs, gun attacks, and the advance of ground troops in Israel / Lebanon, a pretend president who is dumb enough to utter a 'four letter expletative' in the presence of a microphone (heaven forbid he might acutally have an idea in his head) , a tsunami hit Java, A super fire is hitting the West Coast, the East Coast of the USA is looking at a deadly heat wave, another business man (I don't think this one was related to Ken Ley) was found dead, more murder-suicides make the news, typhoons are hitting Asia and destroying more lives and property and (shudder) Stallone is getting into boxing shorts again.

Who wrote that song? "I Don't Like Mondays" cuz I think it would make a great theme song for today. Now back to the ER where we can continue our morbid death pool. We're taking bets on how many senior citizens are going to succumb to the heat. meh, so we're sick but its the only way to survive sometimes.

Sunday Thoughts

Forgive me blondes for I have sinned. It has been several months since my last confess.., er, post. I seductively drape myself on the altar of your compassion and forgiveness and shall perform such penance as is required.

As always, on Sunday, a thought on religion for those searching for that voice in their head. (Hint: ignore the screaming one.)
For me it is a toss up between the Church of Apathieism, the Church of Least Resistance and the Church of Hank.

Recently I have come to acquire a small cast iron pig with wings that I have come to believe has the answer to all of lifes questions.
Questions such as "Will I get that raise?" and "Will Brad Pitt ever love me?". The answer is embodied in the flying pig.
But those are just small potatoes in the cosmic patch. Questions such as "Will there ever be peace in the Middle East?" and "Will W ever tell truth?" are also answered by the pig.
The fact this little pig needs her own little church has been tugging at my mind recently, and the service could be in Pig Latin. Any ideas?

Of course since it is Sunday, we could all just go worship the sun god and not worry about those ol' end times.

oh hell again

Another hilarious video at YouTube featuring Andy Dick and George Bush.

Not so hilarious video of Bush and Putin discussing the merits of an Iraqi sort of democracy taking hold in Russia. Oh yeah, Bush should talk. What do his handlers tell him about Iraq anyway? Russia does need to work on its 'democracy', but Iraq's "free" press is written by US propagandists. No wonder Putin said, "We certainly would not want to have same kind of democracy as they have in Iraq, quite honestly."

I'm in Maine today. Will be home tonight. How is the effort to bring on the end times going?

Our Violent History

Check out all these murals that are displayed in the Ariel Rios Building which houses the EPA. One in particular, "Dangers of the Mail" by Frank A. Mechau which was installed in the 1930's depicts Indians scalping and murdering naked white women and killing white men. This mural is supposed to show the difficulty there was in delivering the mail nationwide. Needless to say, this mural has had a negative impact on the 30 or 40 Native American employees at the building and more than 700 Native American employees nationwide. During the Clinton administration the murals were covered up. Then when Bush took office they were cleaned up, brightened and put back on display. Now they are blocked by other displays but you can walk behind the displays and still look at the murals.

This article from 2000 explains some of the objections from both sides. I tend to believe that if you are going to depict Indians slaughtering white people, you ought to be fair and also depict the genocide of the Native Americans by white men if you feel you must illustrate the bloody beginnings of white America... while you're at it, paint murals of some of the horrors against the black people. Sure it was dangerous settling in America, but whose fault was that? honestly. How about some murals of American imperialism in action too? Our bloody past (and present) should be remembered, absolutely, but it shouldn't be white washed (pun intended).
And that's my blonde opinion du jour. I am off to Maine now.

hat tip boingboing.net

Why did Zidane do what he did in the final World Cup Game?

Here is a video of "the head butt":

You want to know WHY he did that? WHAT could have possibly set him off like that?

Now watch this video all about Marco Materazzi. You might want to turn the volume down -- the song in the background is pretty obnoxious.

Zidane apologized to all children everywhere for his actions, but said that he could not live with himself if he didn't do what he did. I can only imagine what Materazzi must have said about Zidane's family.

I know a lot of this "dirty playing"goes on in soccer, but I think Materazzi takes it to a new level. I probably would have done what Zidane did.

Oh hell...

This truly-uly is the worst music video.
Ever.
And stay with it, cause it even gets more campy.
The choreography looks like an aerobics class.
It's "I wanna love you tender" by "Armi & Danny" of Finland.

Other News

A deal was reached with the WH that would let FISA court determine the legality of the NSA program, reports CNN.

"Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania revealed a bill that would allow the same secret court that OK's wiretaps under the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to judge whether the National Security Agency's domestic eavesdropping program is allowed under the Constitution."

You know and I know that Bush can just ignore the results anyway.
------------

"I'm looking forward to that pig," he said. "I understand I may have the honour of slicing the pig. . .but I ain't seen [it] yet."

The boy king was clowning it up in Germany with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a press conference. He was just so darn excited about the pig roast, he could hardly contain himself.


-------------
Did you hear about the Fox News reporter in Gaza City who was divulging the location of the Israeli troops over the air and then being shot at by Israeli troops? The news crew survived. I don't think you're supposed to spill the beans when you're reporting from a war zone...

Obligatory Friday Sex Post

A new scientific breakthrough may lead to women in future being able to produce sperm.

And how about some steamy Mark Morford this morning?

"Tingles are happening. Juices are flowing. So you do what you always do when it's just you and Windows, alone: You lie. To yourself. "Maybe, just maybe this time it really will be different," you say, blocking out the one thousand previous proofs to the contrary. "What the hell. It's not like I have much choice." You close your eyes. You give in.

You are, once again, Microsoft's bitch.

"That's it, baby," Windows coos, stroking your calves, working its way up to your hard drive. "Just relax, don't worry about a thing." Then come the magic words, the line Windows knows you secretly want to hear, the one guaranteed to send you into OS orbit: "Baby, I'll do it so good you'll think you're using a new MacBook Pro in a wireless cafe in Paris.""

Read the whole thang: Windows Gives No Tongue

bwhahahaa

Valerie Plame is going to court. She's suing Rove, Cheney and Scooter boy.

For our lawyers in the ranks. Can these clowns use the blanket of national security to hide behind in a civil trial or will the lawyers be given more leeway in what can be admitted as evidence?

So Is This WWIII?

Following Hezbollah attack, Israel hits Beirut airport while imposing sea and air blockade. Israel says no targets in Lebanon are immune from attack.

President Pretzel says Israel has a right to defend itself but is concerned about Lebanon's fledgling democracy.

As Lebanon’s largest political party, Hezbollah warned ruling elite not to criticize capturing Israeli soldiers.

Why now? Hezbollah and Hamas are close friends, and both are funded by Iran.

Major powers return Iran nukes issue to U.N. Security Council after zero progress towards negotiation. Iran shrugs and warns that Europe will pay if this is not resolved peacefully.

South Korea says to North Korea, "Who said we wanted you to protect us anyway?" Japan considered a pre-emptive strike against N. Korea and China warned Japan to use diplomacy and feels that a UN resolution to penalize NK would heighten tensions. But it warns NK to behave.

Rape, killing and looting are increasing as tribal tensions escalate in Sudan's troubled Darfur province.

Tensions are rising between the US and Russia.

Indian police on Thursday detained about 350 people for questioning in the Bombay train bombings amid suspicion that Kashmiri militants could be linked to the attacks that killed at least 200 people.

Senior U.S. commander in Iraq says more troops may be necessary in Baghdad.


Do you ever get the feeling that the world leaders are fucking everything up? Why can't we round them up and throw them into an arena and let them duke it out to the death while the rest of us go about our business?

Updated Emergency Alerts

When NYC was under attack on 9/11, the Emergency Broadcast System was not used here. Previously the Emergency Broadcast System only would warn you of a nuclear attack. I guess planes flying into buildings wasn't a big enough deal. They didn't use it when Katrina was set to devastate the Gulf Coast. Unless you were tuned into a regular television network or cable news, you were out of the news loop, unless of course you happened to look out your window.

HSD and FEMA have a new plan to update the emergency alert system- you will get text messaged on your cell phone, on websites and on hand-held computers. These alerts will also carry warnings of terrorist attacks and natural disasters. Citizens can opt out of the alerts.

So what do you think of that?

What's with all this crime?

You've probably been reading or hearing about the shocking crime wave in Washington DC where a crime emergency has been declared. This is a huge tourist destination and this doesn't bode well for the tourist industry. It's also kind of ironic that the terrible crime is happening under the noses of America's legislators who rarely address America's poor unless they are cutting programs for them.

At least 14 people have been killed in Washington already this month, and in the last 30 days robberies have risen 14 percent and armed assaults have jumped 18 percent. Last year, homicides in the city fell to a 20-year low of 195.

Police Chief Charles Ramsey's emergency declaration allows commanders more flexibility to adjust officers' schedules and reassign them to high-crime areas.

Just hours after the declaration, two groups of tourists were robbed at gunpoint on the National Mall, both by men dressed all in black. (forbes.com)

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) are bragging that "Florida Gov. Jeb Bush "nailed it" when he told reporters in Tallahassee - in reaction to the state's drop in crime - that armed citizens are part of the equation..." Oh they are just tickled that they have less crime than Washington, DC.

[...]Florida is one of 40 states with "right-to-carry" statutes that give citizens the ability to carry concealed handguns with the proper license. Last year, Florida also passed legislation that enables citizens to "stand their ground" and fight back when attacked in a public place where they have a right to be.

"Gov. Bush has once again demonstrated progressive thinking, and a clear understanding about what works to stop criminals in their tracks," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "Legally-armed citizens are a threat to nobody but criminals, and Florida's crime statistics prove that the presence of firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens benefits the entire community. In explaining why crime rates have dropped, we think Gov. Bush nailed it."

Oh really? While violent crime is down overall in Florida, it seems that Jacksonville's crime is up this year.

FOX30 News checked with cities across the nation and found some interesting statistics. San Francisco, which is about the same size as Jacksonville, has seen 45 murders in 2006. There have been only 8 murders this year in Austin, TX, which has about 90,000 people less. Per capita, Jacksonville has had more murders than New York City and Los Angeles.

While the report shows Florida is as safe as it was in 1971, more than a million people have been arrested. Most of those were domestic violence and drug arrests.

Since January, the city has seen more than 70 murders and if the current track continues, there could be more than 130 murders by the end of the year

Further delving shows that Jacksonville dealerships are caught up in a crime spree. They will be passing the expenses on to local car buyers.

So what's the deal? Does having the right to carry concealed weapons really make you safer? In DC, they have gun control laws, but the criminals manage to get their hands on them anyway. Same in New York City but to a much lesser extent. Why are there so many crimes in DC? Could it be, um, I don't know... poverty? Oh wait, no. There is no connection between poverty and crime say the oh so optimistic American conservatives.

Not sure if Jeb Bush will see to it that more people in Jacksonville carry guns to "solve" the crime problem there. He really should be embarrassed that one of his cities is more dangerous than New York. In NYC, Mayor Bloomberg would wholeheartedly disagree with Gov Jeb Bush and he's started a new gun control campaign. While NY is actually pretty darn safe for such a large city and one of the safest cities in the country, murders are up a little bit this year.

Once a week gun violence claims the life of a New York child. That was the disturbing statistic put out today in a new report at City Hall.

Peter Vallone Jr., City Council, "No actually murders are up a little bit this year and shootings are up so gun violence is a huge problem in this city."

The City Council, at the urging of Mayor Bloomberg, is now poised to approve four new gun laws. They allow only one handgun purchased every 90 days. New York gun dealers face a twice-a-year inventory, anyone convicted of a gun crime faces a new police registry and painting guns to like toys will be illegal.

"Gun Control" in NY doesn't mean that they will take away a person's right to own a gun. I could get one if I wanted to. It's illegal to shoot politicians so there is no reason for me to have one at the moment. If New Yorkers all carried guns, there'd be a bloodbath on every corner. I support gun control because I prefer to call someone an 'asshole' without worrying too much that I will get shot. And don't forget, NYC is the World's Friendliest City. :)

NYC suffered a blow back in October 2005, when The New Federal Law Shielding Gun Manufacturers From Lawsuits and Bush signed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (in pdf format) because it thwarted NY lawmaker's attempts to control the flow of illegal firearms into the city from states where weaker gun control laws were in effect.

I don't think that has anything to do with the increase in violence here though. If there were no guns, there are always knives and box cutters. People are pretty desperate all over the country because some of the middle class has descended into poverty since the bushistas took over. The poor aren't faring too well. Why take a crappy minimum wage job when you can rob your fellow American or tourist at gun point or go into the drug business?

I don't know the answers. I don't know if more guns or less guns has anything to do with the crime rate. I am inclined to believe that it doesn't have a huge effect on the crime rate.

South Korean cash flows into U.S. real estate

JUST when you think this over priced real estate market will finally take a breather and allow a nice, soft landing; one that would not cause too many waves in the secondary markets, I have to read this headline today. I did not renew my realtor's license in May, after 10 years in the business, because I was convinced that this insanity was finally coming to a much anticipated end. I could no longer be part of this-- in plain english-- SCAM. It really is.... from the realtor to the home inspector, to the appraisor, and right up through to the mortgage lender. Sure, we are all just 'doing our job', trying to 'make a living', but it truly had become a burn out job -- so I got out. Oh the stories I could tell.

Anyway, now it looks like we have the Koreans coming to save the day, and keep this ridiculously overprice market going .

Let's see now -- isn't there some kind of 'missile action' that's been happening in that area lately? Oh, never mind....we STILL have our hot housing market. Not to worry!!

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06191/704780-28.stm

I have one question for the mothers in Cameroon

What exactly are you teaching your sons?

Millions of Cameroon girls suffer "breast ironing"
By Tansa Musa Tue Jul 11, 11:25 AM ET
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (Reuters) - Worried that her daughters' budding breasts would expose them to the risk of sexual harassment and even rape, their mother Philomene Moungang started 'ironing' the girls' bosoms with a heated stone.

"I did it to my two girls when they were eight years old. I would take the grinding stone, heat it in the fire and press it hard on the breasts," Moungang said.

"They cried and said it was painful. But I explained that it was for their own good."

"Breast ironing" -- the use of hard or heated objects or other substances to try to stunt breast growth in girls -- is a traditional practice in West Africa, experts say.

A new survey has revealed it is shockingly widespread in Cameroon, where one in four teen-agers are subjected to the traumatic process by relatives, often hoping to lessen their sexual attractiveness.

Nice, huh?

Yesss!!!!!!

I haven't had the attention span of a gnat on crack for the past year or so, so I hardly ever really read anymore, and I miss out on a lot. But thankfully, I have friends like JanetL who send me the bestest links to stuff that I can actually sit down long enough enjoy.

This Salon interview with Katha Pollitt will rock your world. And yes, you have to do the click on the sponsor's logo thing to get to the whole article, but it's worth it.

And I quote:

"...I just think that women -- feminists -- need to have the conversation with people who don't agree with us, people who live in places that aren't so cosmopolitan. You need to make the connection between your own personal life and the larger story of what's happening in the country and what we can do to help ourselves. I'm sure someone like Wonkette feels quite feminist and liberated in her own life -- she just doesn't see how what happens to abortion rights in South Dakota has anything to do with her."

And:

"There's this huge backlash going on involving women's bodies and appearance, and the immense pressure to be beautiful and thin and complaisant and alluring. That's what Linda Hirshman and others call 'choice feminism' comes out of. Which is just saying, 'I'm a free agent. I'm making my own choices, so we don't have to talk about them. In fact, it's insulting if you want to talk about them. Don't judge me.'"

And finally:

"I think that conservatives have really done an amazing job of taking away from us all the good words like 'liberty' and 'freedom' and demonizing the words that are left. Like 'feminism' and 'choice.' And 'liberal.' I think we can't let them do this forever. If you lose a way to describe yourself, you've lost a lot. If you lose the word 'feminism,' you are losing the idea that there is anything particular to the way women's situation is structured in this society.
I would fight for that word. But it's a losing game in the end. I think we've seen that with 'liberal.' 'Liberal' was a very good word! 'Liberal' was a word that put together the idea of our constitutional liberties -- like freedom of speech and the rights of the individual against the government -- with the idea of fighting poverty. Fighting racial discrimination. Once you lose the word, you lose a very good way of keeping those concepts together. And I think the same is true about 'feminism.'"

Go. Read. Now. You'll be glad that you did.

Your Tax Dollars At Work- The Petting Zoo Conspiracy

You can't make this shit up

U.S. Terror Targets: Petting Zoo and Flea Market?
NY Times
By ERIC LIPTON

WASHINGTON, July 11 — It reads like a tally of terrorist targets that a child might have written: Old MacDonald’s Petting Zoo, the Amish Country Popcorn factory, the Mule Day Parade, the Sweetwater Flea Market and an unspecified “Beach at End of a Street.”

But the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, in a report released Tuesday, found that the list was not child’s play: all these “unusual or out-of-place” sites “whose criticality is not readily apparent” are inexplicably included in the federal antiterrorism database.

The National Asset Database, as it is known, is so flawed, the inspector general found, that as of January, Indiana, with 8,591 potential terrorist targets, had 50 percent more listed sites than New York (5,687) and more than twice as many as California (3,212), ranking the state the most target-rich place in the nation.

The database is used by the Homeland Security Department to help divvy up the hundreds of millions of dollars in antiterrorism grants each year, including the program announced in May that cut money to New York City and Washington by 40 percent, while significantly increasing spending for cities including Louisville, Ky., and Omaha.

“We don’t find it embarrassing,” said the department’s deputy press secretary, Jarrod Agen. “The list is a valuable tool.”

But the audit says that lower-level department officials agreed that some older information in the inventory “was of low quality and that they had little faith in it.”

“The presence of large numbers of out-of-place assets taints the credibility of the data,” the report says.

In addition to the petting zoo, in Woodville, Ala., and the Mule Day Parade in Columbia, Tenn., the auditors questioned many entries, including “Nix’s Check Cashing,” “Mall at Sears,” “Ice Cream Parlor,” “Tackle Shop,” “Donut Shop,” “Anti-Cruelty Society” and “Bean Fest.”

Even people connected to some of those businesses or events are baffled at their inclusion as possible terrorist targets.

“Seems like someone has gone overboard,” said Larry Buss, who helps organize the Apple and Pork Festival in Clinton, Ill. “Their time could be spent better doing other things, like providing security for the country.”

Angela McNabb, manager of the Sweetwater Flea Market, which is 50 miles from Knoxville, Tenn., said: “I don’t know where they get their information. We are talking about a flea market here.”

New York City officials, who have questioned the rationale for the reduction in this year’s antiterrorism grants, were similarly blunt.

“Now we know why the Homeland Security grant formula came out as wacky as it was,” Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said Tuesday. “This report is the smoking gun that thoroughly indicts the system.”

The source of the problems, the audit said, appears to be insufficient definitions or standards for inclusion provided to the states, which submit lists of locations for the database.

New York, for example, lists only 2 percent of the nation’s banking and finance sector assets, which ranks it between North Dakota and Missouri. Washington State lists nearly twice as many national monuments and icons as the District of Columbia.

Montana, one of the least populous states in the nation, turned up with far more assets than big-population states including Massachusetts, North Carolina and New Jersey.

Read on

UPDATE: Now this morning we read in the NY Daily News:
On guard in N.Y.C. Cops swarm subway system after India carnage

Whenever a terror attack happens in any part of the world, NYC beefs up its security. The cops are rummaging through commuter's bags again. Now what I want to know is if the MacDonald's petting zoo has had to beef up its security. How are they spending their DHS funding after the trauma in India? Obviously there are still terrorists out there regardless of our efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

This guy is a GENIUS!

Bartering is back, and this guy made it WORK.

Anybody want to trade for a mint-condition, in-the-packaging Wonder Woman PEZ dispenser?

Thought for today...

"One can pay back the loan of gold, but one dies forever in debt to those who are kind." --- Malayan proverb

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of the wonderful people online who have helped me to continue to exist, to continue my odyssey of De Toofus Re Doofus, and to otherwise, against all odds, to have some small spark of faith in humans, if not humanity in general.

No particular reason, just expressing gratitude because I really liked this proverb and because it's true. Of course, every other time in my life that I've stopped to express gratitude and/or happiness, some horrid implosion/punishment/plague/clusterfuck has immediately followed, as if the Fates are really out to get me, or as if the Universe's balance is thrown off-kilter by me saying something "nice." So if a last lingering piece of SkyLab should finally fall to earth and smush me like a bug, we'll know why. And let's also hope that the "gratitude curse" (wherein anyone about whom I write nice things immediately turns on me like a rabid pitbull on crack with PMS, or just flat-out DIES) can be broken, once and for all.

Nonetheless, if I can do this without embarrassing those who have given me so much and embarrassing myself even further, here are some people who have gone above & beyond for me in recent years, and I just want them to know how much I do, indeed, appreciate them.

Archie, Vicki, Liz, Cathy, Cat, Al, John, K.C., S.Z., Mags, Dave, Rose, Rev. Dave, Philer, Sheila, Marilyn, Janet & Other Janet, Marilyn, Ted, Michael, Tim, Ginny, Catherine, Donna, Neal, Bob and even that pissy little Crew in Long Beach: I would never have survived the past 3+ years without y'all. No, I didn't hit the Powerball and I'm not going to croak anytime in the next year, as far as I know, but sometimes I get these urges to thank people.

Please try not to faint.

And yes, I'm sure that I've forgotten somebody, somewhere, so whoever you are, consider yourself thanked, too.

Anti Choice Idiots - PROOF

OMG, this is all over webtopia, reddit, diggs and so many other sites. This anti-choice moron is truly a fucktard for the ages.

read THIS first, and reading the comments is a MUST

and THEN, then you have to read THIS, his follow up.


The comment section is just to die for LMAO. And yet he STILL doesn't seem to understand. What I fail to understand is how someone this stupid can survive, much less operate a computer.

Another follow-up to NAFTA, SPP, NACC

Since this is still pretty much under the radar, I feel it should be brought up frequently. I read this article over at WND (I know, I know). It seems the "secret" agenda of these groups is starting to be questioned by more and more people.

We were talking about this a month ago, and come to find out, so was Lou Dobbs:

Perhaps the most blistering criticism has come from Lou Dobbs of CNN – a frequent critic of Bush's immigration policies.
"A regional prosperity and security program?" he asked rhetorically in a recent cablecast. "This is absolute ignorance. And the fact that we are -- we reported this, we should point out, when it was signed. But, as we watch this thing progress, these working groups are continuing. They're intensifying. What in the world are these people thinking about? You know, I was asked the other day about whether or not I really thought the American people had the stomach to stand up and stop this nonsense, this direction from a group of elites, an absolute contravention of our law, of our Constitution, every national value. And I hope, I pray that I'm right when I said yes. But this is -- I mean, this is beyond belief."

Here is the last comment from our discussion re SPP . Since I am still trying to figure out 'who's on first' and 'what's on second', I'll let our reader llih sum things up for us (AGAIN -- thank you llih!)

"As a note I believe Lou Dobbs has had 2 segments on the SPP. One last year and one today. I didn't see todays, but read about it. An author named Jerome Corsi filled a FOIA request for all information regarding the SPP a couple of days ago. This agreement is flying under the radar. Most Americans don't know anything about it. MSM is not reporting about it. Congress has no oversight capability over it (as if they would exercise it anyway). If one starts reading about NAFTA, the FTAA, the Council on Foreign Relations and the SPP a clear picture starts to form on where these elitists want to take the country. I don't believe it's a plan most Americans would agree too. National sovereignty, the Constitution, labor and environmental protections would be gone. The SPP would expand the NAFTA tribunals into a North American Union court system that would have supremacy over all U.S. law, even over the U.S. Supreme Court."

Also of interest in the WND article was Rep. Tancredo's concern over this:

Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo. and the chairman of the House Immigration Reform Caucus as well as author of the new book, "In Mortal Danger," may be the only elected official to challenge openly the plans for the new superstate. Tancredo wants to know the membership of the Security and Prosperity Partnership groups along with their various trilateral memoranda of understanding and other agreements reached with counterparts in Mexico and Canada.

HE WANTS TO KNOW THE MEMBERSHIP?!?!?!?!? WTF am I missing here?
We had this list of "participants" in our discussion -- It's on page 7 of the pdf. I assume participant also means member?? or am I just too stupid to live?
Maybe I should send him these links also:
NACC
Ottawa xpress
And my favorite

And one more thing --Here's the latest on the package of illegal immigration bills voted on in Tancredo's home state yesterday:

This is where I get confused. Is this SPP, NAFTA, NACC a dem or repub issue? Are the illegal immigration bills a dem or repub backed issue?

I hope llih comes back to comment cause 'I don't know' is still on third!

Summer Reading

John Dean has a new book out: Conservatives Without Conscience. He was interviewed last night on Olbermann and you can watch the video at Crooks and Liars. So much of what he said was disturbing. Yes, we are on the road to fascism. Yes, 23% of Americans pledge allegiance to authoritarian figures (it's a mental illness). Anyone who disagrees with neocons are the "enemy" or labeled "liberals". You must have a scapegoat. That would be us. The people who think. Those who thought it can't happen here are sadly mistaken. I'm buying the book for the mom-in-law who's an avid Mann Coulter reader and G.Gordon Liddy fan. Since John Dean was one of Nixon's men, perhaps she'll check it out.

From the 14 Points of Fascism (Dr. Laurence Britt, political scientist):

3.) Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause: The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial, ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

Isn't it just lovely to have a C student running the country?

Ah. The man who said he would solve the global warming debate is emphatically planning to veto the stem cell research bill says his little turdblossom.

Many people ask, "Who, or what, is the Antichrist"?

The Nazarene has said, "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE" John 14:6

Therefore, if what you behold is an obstacle, a lie, or a bringer of death....
"By their fruits you will know them". -- Matthew 7:16


Lest anyone think I've gone "all biblical", fear not. Someone once told me that only about 30% of the bible could be believed and that 30% was made up mostly of the sayings and teachings of Jesus. The old water-into-wine trick was a bunch of bullshit dreamed up by the first christian marketing committee to try and drum up sales for their new religion.

Bad Day for Religious Right

On an uplifting note, the only entity having a worse day than the administration is conservative xtians.

It seems that the fabled mushrooms of the 60's and 70's give the exact same euphoria and depth of life-changing reverence as religious experiences. Yep, those silly scientist, its just one more step towards proving that god is nothing more than chemical reactions of the human brain, but then we've been told for years that 'god is inside each and every one of us', right?

The Moderate and Left of religion have FINALLY spoken up loudly enough to be heard, kinda. Nice twist here, they've actually READ the bible and realize that no where did Jesus address gay marriage, abortion or any other red flag issues that the conservative right has been using to distract the country.

Pope Ratzo isn't fairing very well in the traditionally Catholic country of Spain. Hell, the PM didn't even bother to go to his mass, smart man that Mr Zapatero.

And not to focus TOO intently on christianity I'll add this little snippet, according to gossip Madonna has about had her fill of the Kabballah.

But best of all? They have FINALLY exonerated Grace Sherwood for mystically inducing an abortion 300 years ago with Virginia Beach Mayor kindly noting that 'trial by water' really wasn't the way to go with this one.

Sound Familiar?

But there's reason to think it's less random than one might imagine. Robert Fisk encapsulated it in the phrase: "Chaos is the plan." That is, the goal seems to be the destruction of a society, reducing living standards to the point that everyone is consumed with getting by day by day. The fabric of society dissolves and it becomes easier to force assimilation on it.


When I read this in a letter regarding Psy-Op and counter-intelligence I nearly spit nails. It's supposed to be one of the main strategies used by governments in Central America, and the main course of action for Iraq; but damn it all if it isn't what is happening in the USA right now!

How many times have we railed about the lack of empathy, the lack of outrage, the lack of voice of our fellow citizens? How often have we opined that just trying to get by, to live from day-to-day was taking up so much of their time that they had no ability to keep track of what was going on? Working 40-50 hours per week, still having to scrounge and worry to pay the rent, utilities, food. Forget about saving up for a down payment on a house, sending the kids to a decent school...as for empathy? They can't afford that either.

It becomes each person for themselves; let them cart off the illegal aliens, it doesn't effect me. Atheists? Sure, why not, how can anyone not believe in god or jeebus and while your at it, take those Jews and Muslims too. Liberals? Aren't they the ones ruining this country? I think Rush said they were. Make women stay at home, force them to live the way the 'bible' says we should with the man in charge of the family and the woman submissive at home poping out babies and tending house? Why not, it will leave more jobs open for the men and those women are too damn demanding anyway .... getting the picture yet?

Tis a frightening time to be alive, intelligent and aware my friends.

Like we didn't figure this out already:

Via Michelle P's article on Eat the Press -

Ever since the news came out last month that the soldiers allegedly involved in the rape-murder of a young Iraqi and her family were from the same unit as the soldiers kidnapped and savagely killed, there's been a question (though not articulated in US media) about the relationship of the two incidents. Was revenge for the former the cause of the latter? The Sunday Telegraph, a conservative London newspaper, confirms it and warns of more revenge killings to come, quoting one of the family's neighbors: "We went to visit the cousin of the family who lived about half a mile away to tell them the news. He said, 'Please keep it secret and we will take revenge on the Americans the quiet way'."

Saba Shukr, 44, a Sunni sheikh at al-Aziz mosque in Mahmoudiyah, said: "We knew about this crime but the mujahideen brought revenge when they kidnapped two American soldiers in Yusufiyah. They are still waiting to kidnap and kill another eight soldiers, as the price of the death of the girl should be the death of 10 Americans.

"I am sure about this. The mujahideen promised us revenge."


So I guess its no wonder the trolls were in hiding when we first brought up the connection. I have also read of something else disturbing regarding this particular incident. (and yes, medical autopsy shows the girl was between 14-16 years old, that 20-25yo bullshit was just that) It involves the 2 soldiers who had been kidnapped, tortured and beheaded. Pfc. Kristian Menchaca and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker and their third companion who was killed during the kidnapping.

WHY were their only 3 members of that platoon on duty with NO back up? Why did the Platoon leader and Company Commander not think twice about this....or DID they. Someone has suppositioned that perhaps those three young men DID inform the chain of command about what happened to the young girl, Abeer Qasim Hamza. We can, at the very least, suppose that the chain of command had some knowledge of what Private Steven D. Green had been doing as they discharged him for a personality disorder and as a 'probable' threat to civilians. Was it possible that the higher ups had left these three young men off on their own because THEY had reported the incident? And one also has to wonder how the 'insurgents' were able to get ahold of these three men. Are things so bad, is command, equipment and discpline so far gone that platoons members can be easily identified and taken out by what appears to be nothing more than angry, vengeful fathers and brothers of the local villiage?

Is this what W. considers 'victory'?

Breaking

NEW YORK - A three-story building housing a doctor's office just off Madison Avenue collapsed and burned Monday after what witnesses said was a thunderous explosion that rocked the neighborhood.

The cause was not immediately known, though White House press secretary Tony Snow said there was no indication of terrorism.

At least two people were under evaluation at a hospital after the collapse. It wasn't immediately clear if anyone was still trapped inside the building, on 62nd street between Madison and Park Avenues on Manhattan's East Side.

UPDATE:

Scoppetta said authorities were investigating the possibility that the blast was the result of a suicide attempt. "We're still investigating that, talking about the potential for suicide. So that's a distinct possibility."

A police official told The Associated Press that the lawyer for the doctor's wife contacted police recently and said that she had received an e-mail from him in which the physician, 66-year-old Nicholas Bartha, indicated he was contemplating suicide.

He was going through a difficult divorce and was being forced to sell the building, and authorities believe the explosion may have be related to a suicide attempt, the police official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Power company Con Edison said its crews had been responding to complaints from a gas customer at an adjacent building at the time of the blast.

Holy shit.

I had to look it up: "fisting". Ewww.

Have any of you liberals who happen to be health fanatics out there EVER EVER had to defend someone's right to practice "fisting"? When was that an issue? I can't believe I missed that. What consenting adults do in the privacy of their own homes doesn't matter to me, but it sure matters to Mann Coulter. According to Atrios, via Media Matters, Coulter mentions fisting in pages 12, 175, and 251 of her latest book. And couldn't wait to talk about it on the radio:

On the July 3 edition of The Mike Rosen Show on Denver's Newsradio 850 KOA, right-wing pundit Ann Coulter told guest host Jon Caldara that he would have a "perfectly pleasant argument" if he discussed "Darwinism, gay marriage, abortion" or "anything" with "the most Bible-thumping, fundamentalist, born-again Jesus freak Christian, i.e., someone like myself." By contrast, Coulter asserted: "Try talking with a liberal about a lit cigarette in a nonsmoking section if you want to see fanaticism." Within moments of drawing that distinction, Coulter claimed that "health fanatics, when it comes to smoking, encourage every form of polymorphous perversity," including "anal sex and fisting."

What the hell is she talking about? Yes, I've heard about anal sex, but what's this about liberals and smoking? Was she implying that all liberals are health fanatics who don't smoke but practice fisting? Where does she come up with this shit?

Morning Outrage

Check out this story: The Christian radicals are set to battle the ACLU and force their brand of religion down the throats of Americans coast to coast because they believe that their brand of christianity is what the nation was founded on. They fail to remember that the earliest American christians were kooks. Does anyone remember the Puritans in Massachusetts? They came here to practice their 'out of mainstream' religion without persecution. Now their ancestors think that they can force their brand of "god" on the rest of the country. Sure the country is mainly "christian" but not the Jerry Falwell kind of christian. The scary part is that they have an impact on government.

It's no wonder that this bill is part of the "The American Values Agenda". The radical religious right is set to clog up the courts challenging the constitution and doesn't want to go bankrupt doing it. Real patriotic Americans should be outraged.

The Public Expression of Religion Act (HR 2679; Hostettler)
Summary: Ensures local officials and communities do not face financial ruin to defend their rights to free speech under the Constitution (provides that when state or local officials are sued over public expressions of religion, no monetary damages, costs, or attorney's fees may be awarded).

Figs: The Fruits Of Evil?

Thanks to "Wild Clover" over at the Dark Wraith Discussion Forums I found this rather informative site entitled God Hates Figs.

It begins:
9/13/05: "A Fig-Seeking Missile Aimed At Your Bowels"

"God has devised new and greater natural disasters! Soon He will have no more need of hurricanes and earthquakes to demolish the fig groves of iniquity! Heaven's R&D department is developing small tornadoes, no bigger than your thumbnail, that can home in on the small intestine of unbelievers. Any colon that contains fig pulp will rupture so violently that colon pieces will fly out of your ears -- but any righteous fig-abstainers nearby will be left unharmed. Praise Jesus. The device is similar to our super-accurate "bunker buster" bombs that have kept Iraqi death tolls almost non-existent."

Other essays worthy of note include:

"God Has Prepared An Ice Cream Sundae For The Godly"
and
"Supreme Court Fertilizes Beelzebub's Fig Tree"


Wild Clover can be found over at Clover's Field.

What war?

I was reading good news in today's paper about the 112 members of the 42nd Division's Aviation Brigade who went to Iraq and came back alive and a sentence caught my eye in the story. They were gathered at a ceremony and cookout on Long Island. Sgt. Melanie Harrison, 44, of Baldwin, who left her husband and two kids when she went to serve as a medic in Iraq had this to say about her return home:

"You know what seemed strange," she said. "People seemed ... so casual that they didn't know a war was going on."

Because You're Worth It

The phrase "because you're worth it" doesn't just apply to hair color and cosmetics, ya know? Here's a mystery: A woman will all but spend her rent money on her clothes, her makeup, her coiffure, her Pilates classes, and let us not forget, her shoes---because she is totally worth it and she knows it. She will go to tremendous trouble and expense taking good care of her physical self, and yet this very same woman will completely trash herself emotionally and spiritually in rotten relationships with men. Somebody explain that to me. please. I've said it before and I'll say it again. A boyfriend who sucks is not better than no boyfriend at all. A boyfriend who sucks is a boyfrend who sucks!

If you're currently in an unhappy, destructive relationship with a man, try this little exercise: Whatever bad behavior the guy is manifesting---anything from drinking, lying, cheating, stealing, or using you for a punching bag to merely taking you for granted and being constantly critical or inattentive---write it all down, all the infractions, big and small. Then ask yourself, "Would I accept this kind of treatment from a female friend?"

My friend Camey from Grain Valley was going with a guy who was---I am not lying or exaggerating---a practicing drug addict with no car or house or job. He brought drugs into her house, convinced her to drive him to buy drugs in her car, and he had four kids that his wife left him with! Now, I promise, Camey is a smart, beautiful, charming, successful desirable woman. And that is her boyfriend?!? Whenever I would get in her face about it---which was every time I talked to her for six months, she would tell me how cute and funny and talented he really was and how everbody was just crazy about him. "Oh, yeah, like who, for instance? Is it those four kids he's 'supporting' in such fine style? Or all the people who have to pick up the slack for his sorry ass so he can pursue his chosen profession of pot smoking?"

Nothing got through to her. She just refused to see the truth. But one day I finally thought of comparing him to a girlfriend. She and I both know a woman in Kansas who is, shall we say long overdue for a stay at the Betty (the Betty Ford treatment place, you know). We'll just call her Isabel, since to the best of my knowledge we don't actually know anybody by that name. "Camey, if your boyfriend is so fine just like he is, how come you don't hang out with Isabel? You could get her to move to Grain Valley, persuade your daddy to give her a job in the family business. Then you could take her to all those civic functions you're involved in----even get her to be your roomate? Isabel is every bit as talented and cute as that boy you've been wagging around with you everywhere. And I know all your friends in town would agree." She was taken aback. I knew she would set herself on fire before she'd let the people she cares for and respects associate her with the slatternly Isabel. For some reason---could it be the sheer logic of it all?----she heard that and finally understood. She dumped the guy the next week, thank God!

So if you're in a crappy relationship, and all your friends are telling you it's crappy, and you're feeling crappy all the time but you still won't walk away from it, put it to the girlfriend test. If your girlfriend treated you the way this guy does, would you still be friends with her? If the answer is no, then get out of it. And, mercy, if the answer is yes, then it's time to seriously examine both your standards and self-esteem. As I've said before, whatever good and wonderful and desirable experience this life allows, you are worth it, and I want you to go out and get it now. Settle for more. Settle for more!

The Police States of America

I almost had tears in my eyes when my son was packing for his vacation to Utah, Montana and Wyoming last week. He was taking his buttons and patches off his knapsack- "Jesus Was A Liberal", a John Lennon button, "Stop Bush", "College Not Combat", stuff like that... just so he wouldn't run into any trouble. He pointed out that our First Amendment Rights only applied when you support the government and he just didn't want to be bothered on vacation or at the airport.

So then I read this. Has This Country Gone Completely Insane?

This afternoon, drinking a cup of coffee while sitting in the Jesse Brown V.A. Medical Center on Chicago’s south side, a Veterans Administration cop walked up to me and said, "OK, you’ve had your 15 minutes, it’s time to go."

"Huh?", I asked intelligently, not quite sure what he was talking about.

"You can’t be in here protesting," officer Adkins said, pointing to my Veterans For Peace shirt.

"Well, I’m not protesting, I’m having a cup of coffee," I returned, thinking that logic would convince Adkins to go back to his earlier duties of guarding against serious terrorists.

Flipping his badge open, he said, "No, not with that shirt. You’re protesting and you have to go."

Beginning to get his drift, I said firmly, "Not before I finish my coffee."

He insisted that I leave, but still not quite believing my ears, I tried one more approach to reason. "Hey, listen. I’m a veteran. This is a V.A. facility. I’m sitting here not talking to anybody, having a cup of coffee. I’m not protesting and you can’t kick me out."

"You’ll either go or we’ll arrest you," Adkins threatened.

"Well, you’ll just have to arrest me," I said, wondering what strange land I was now living in.

continued (it gets crazier)

Hate Groups Are Infiltrating the Military, Group Asserts

By JOHN KIFNER
A decade after the Pentagon declared a zero-tolerance policy for racist hate groups, recruiting shortfalls caused by the war in Iraq have allowed "large numbers of neo-Nazis and skinhead extremists" to infiltrate the military, according to a watchdog organization.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks racist and right-wing militia groups, estimated that the numbers could run into the thousands, citing interviews with Defense Department investigators and reports and postings on racist Web sites and magazines.

"We've got Aryan Nations graffiti in Baghdad," the group quoted a Defense Department investigator as saying in a report to be posted today on its Web site, www.splcenter.org. "That's a problem."

A Defense Department spokeswoman said officials there could not comment on the report because they had not yet seen it.

The center called on Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to appoint a task force to study the problem, declare a new zero tolerance policy and strictly enforce it.

The report said that neo-Nazi groups like the National Alliance, whose founder, William Pierce, wrote "The Turner Diaries," the novel that was the inspiration and blueprint for Timothy J. McVeigh's bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building, sought to enroll followers in the Army to get training for a race war.

The groups are being abetted, the report said, by pressure on recruiters, particularly for the Army, to meet quotas that are more difficult to reach because of the growing unpopularity of the war in Iraq.

The report quotes Scott Barfield, a Defense Department investigator, saying, "Recruiters are knowingly allowing neo-Nazis and white supremacists to join the armed forces, and commanders don't remove them from the military even after we positively identify them as extremists or gang members."

Mr. Barfield said Army recruiters struggled last year to meet goals. "They don't want to make a big deal again about neo-Nazis in the military," he said, "because then parents who are already worried about their kids signing up and dying in Iraq are going to be even more reluctant about their kids enlisting if they feel they'll be exposed to gangs and white supremacists."

The 1996 crackdown on extremists came after revelations that Mr. McVeigh had espoused far-right ideas when he was in the Army and recruited two fellow soldiers to aid his bomb plot. Those revelations were followed by a furor that developed when three white paratroopers were convicted of the random slaying of a black couple in order to win tattoos and 19 others were discharged for participating in neo-Nazi activities.

The defense secretary at the time, William Perry, said the rules were meant to leave no room for racist and extremist activities within the military. But the report said Mr. Barfield, who is based at Fort Lewis, Wash., had said that he had provided evidence on 320 extremists there in the past year, but that only two had been discharged. He also said there was an online network of neo-Nazis.

"They're communicating with each other about weapons, about recruiting, about keeping their identities secret, about organizing within the military," he said. "Several of these individuals have since been deployed to combat missions in Iraq."

The report cited accounts by neo-Nazis of their infiltration of the military, including a discussion on the white supremacist Web site Stormfront. "There are others among you in the forces," one participant wrote. "You are never alone."

An article in the National Alliance magazine Resistance urged skinheads to join the Army and insist on being assigned to light infantry units.

The Southern Poverty Law Center identified the author as Steven Barry, who it said was a former Special Forces officer who was the alliance's "military unit coordinator."

"Light infantry is your branch of choice because the coming race war and the ethnic cleansing to follow will be very much an infantryman's war," he wrote. "It will be house-to-house, neighborhood-by-neighborhood until your town or city is cleared and the alien races are driven into the countryside where they can be hunted down and 'cleansed.' "

He concluded: "As a professional soldier, my goal is to fill the ranks of the United States Army with skinheads. As street brawlers, you will be useless in the coming race war. As trained infantrymen, you will join the ranks of the Aryan warrior brotherhood."


Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company

Class In America

Last evening I watched a PBS documentary called, People Like Us, 2 hours of interesting factoids about social classes in America. While it was somewhat amusing (I grew up in rather a WASPish community and they hit the nail on the head), it made me stop and think about how on earth the progressive middle and upper middle class will be able to relate to the lower class folks, particularly in the south and heartlands of America, in order to take back the country from the fascists. Appalachian people are quite proud of who they are. You wouldn't want to take that away from them, yet you don't want them to vote for neocons and mess it up for the working middle classes who are educated or wise enough to see the writing on the wall. Politics and religion weren't discussed in the film, but oh yes, there's a great divide in this country. A segment that focused on a public high school in Austin Texas was very eye opening in that young people have formed their opinions early on as to who falls in which class category. They are clearly not open minded. Mixing kids up in school didn't do much for tolerance and understanding in Austin. They knew who belonged where.

They have a website here with some information about the film, clips, games, stories, commentary, etc. I checked it out, but the movie was more packed with information.

Volunteer rates hit record numbers

N0, not for the military- For VISTA and the Peace Corps. Isn't that wonderful?

From USA Today

• Applications to Teach for America, which recruits graduates for underserved urban and rural areas, hit almost 19,000 this year, nearly triple the number in 2000.

• This year, the Peace Corps took 7,810 volunteers — the largest number in 30 years — from more than 11,500 applicants in 2005, up more than 20% over the year 2000.

• AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), which pairs recruits with non-profit organizations, has had a 50% jump in applicants since 2004.

[...] Today's young people prefer to channel their activism into helping others directly rather than through politics, says Nancy Crocker, director of Academic Community Engagement Services at Arizona State University. Many are more attuned to volunteer services because colleges and high schools increasingly offer courses and credits for "service-learning."

Elizabeth Jones, 26, of Portland, Ore., gave up her career as a corporate banker and will leave for Panama with the Peace Corps in August. "There's a lot of need in this world, and it wasn't doing anything in my heart to help make the rich people be richer," she says.

Interest in service work, which in some cases offers modest salaries, educational stipends or student loan deferments, is striking when the National Association of Colleges & Employers notes job prospects for seniors are up 14.5% over 2005.

Many young people, wary of corporate downsizing, want skill development, not just jobs, so they can remain competitive in the workforce, says Sharon Melville, a counselor with Career Development Services in Rochester, N.Y. Potential employers view veterans of service programs as resourceful and self-motivated, she says. A volunteer's experience overseas and commitment to service are also attractive to employers, she says.

It's funny that I had suggested to my son who will graduate with a degree in anthropology next year that he join the Peace Corps or something like that for a few years and learn some useful job skills in his field.

Conspiracy Friday

This is one of my worst nightmares- water gushing into a tunnel while I'm sitting in traffic.

This story has some interesting twists and turns and a lot of stuff that makes you say, "huh?" Bomb tunnel, flood city But then again, who knows what to believe anymore.

The FBI has uncovered what officials consider a serious plot by jihadists to bomb the Holland Tunnel in hopes of causing a torrent of water to deluge lower Manhattan, the Daily News has learned.

This part is funny:

"This is more advanced than the Miami Seven," said one of the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity."

So I guess this means it was all a joke. On the other hand, the part of the story that describes how the terrorists want to destroy our economy doesn't seem that far fetched, but which terrorists are we talking about? The ones in DC or the ones with the funny names?

And just how embarrasssing are Americans?

Besides the "great embarrassment in chief", we read how the military was recruiting criminals and drug addicts (not to mention old guys) to meet the recruitment goals. Now the Iraqi PM wants the US to keep their "reckless" soldiers out of Iraq.

We go through all the trouble to liberate Iraq and Nuri al-Maliki gets a cool new job as Iraqi PM and he's not even grateful. To be fair, al-Maliki was referring to just the bad soldiers who rape and pillage in the name of freedom, but this casts a bad light on all the men and women who are trying to avoid their own deaths and not trying to kill innocent people.

UPDATE: Because of recruiting shortages, neo-Nazi's have been joining the military in order to get combat experience. Ah. I see. A defense department spokesman said: "We've got Aryan Nations graffiti in Baghdad." oh. my. god.




I read something over at Fat Lady Sings that was another embarrassment: The United States of Paranoia
What happens when a British filmmaker visits the US and realizes that it's we who live in a police state? The hilarity ensues.

"Technically you need a permit to film on every street in pretty well every corner of the world. But the only countries where this rule is enforced are Vietnam, Cuba, North Korea and the United States of America."

[...] You need a permit to do everything in America. You even need a passport to buy a drink. But interestingly you don’t need one if you wish to rent some guns and some bullets. I needed a 50 cal (very big) machinegun. “No problem,” said the man at the shop. “But could you just sign this assuring us that the movie you’re making is not anti-Bush or anti-war.”

[...] I needed them [guns] because I wished to shoot a car in the Mojave desert. But you can’t do that without the say-so of the local fire chief who turned up, with his haircut, to say that for reasons he couldn’t explain, he had a red flag in his head.

You find this a lot in America. People way down the food chain are given the power to say yes or no to elaborately prepared plans, just so their bosses can’t be sued. One expression that simply doesn’t translate from English in these days of power without responsibility is “Ooh, I’m sure it’ll be fine”.

And, unfortunately, these people at the bottom of the food chain have no intellect at all. Reasoning with them is like reasoning with a tree. I think this is because people in the sticks have stopped marrying their cousins and are now mating with vegetables.

They certainly aren’t eating them. You see them growing in fields, but all you ever find on a menu is cheese, cheese, cheese, or cheese with cheese. Except for a steak and cheese sandwich I bought in Mississippi. This was made, according to the label, from “imitation cheese”.

Good point about the cheese. We are a cheese obsessed nation.

Killer Stress?

Did Stress Kill Ken Lay?
Was it a massive heart attack or cardiac arrest?

And does Ken Lay's estate get to keep the money that was supposed to be seized from prosecutors?

Was death too good for this man? You tell me.

"Estrogen-fueled hate speech" (and don't forget the progesterone!)

The husband had just finished reading a new book titled, "You Can Be the Man of Your House!"

He stormed into the kitchen and walked directly up to his wife.

Pointing a finger in her face, he said sternly, "From now on, you need to know that I am the man of this house and my word is law!
You will prepare me a gourmet meal tonight, and when I'm finished eating my meal, you will serve me a sumptuous dessert.
After dinner you are going to go upstairs with me, and we will have the kind of sex that I want. After that, you are going to draw me a bath so I can relax.
You will wash my back and towel me dry and bring me my robe.
Then you will massage my feet and hands.
Then after that's done, guess who's going to dress me and comb my hair?"

His wife replied, "The fuckin' funeral director would be my guess."



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And may blessings of estrogen & chocolate rain down upon Janet L., who sends me these wonderful jokes that just make my whole day!

Our Water Source

This pond is over an acre-and-a-half and thirty feet deep. It's crystal clear and stocked to the max. There is plenty of Catfish, Bass, and one VERY large Grass Carp. (Oh, and some lawn furniture, too.)

Y'all come on down if ya get too thirsty.

Iraq Getting Smarter

I heard a quote this morning on WXPN via NPR that made me smile. The Iraqi government, or at least its PR people are getting smarter and more media savvy. They didn't bother wasting their breath stating, once again, that the religious and political violence in their country was beyond the pale and deflecting time, energy and money from the root issues. They didn't rend their clothing; weeping and wailing about the dead and wounded.

Wanna know what they did?

They commented that it was a bit too obvious that the Allied Forces were not able to uphold their end of the agreement. The agreement to provide security and stability to the area. Why is that a smart thing to do? 1] It puts the blame on the outsiders, 2] It puts the Allied Forces in a put up or shut up stance, 3] It also places the ball squarely in the Allied Forces court.

How will the Allied Forces respond to this? How CAN they respond to this? The increase in attacks; the premeditated attacks on civilians by occupying troops; the lack of morale, of equipment, of clear orders and objectives... the list goes on and on.

Now am I blaming the troops on the ground for this? Only the ones who are reverting to sub-human behaviour and using the situation to kill and harm others without just cause. Although 90+ % of the blame I will loudly and firmly place on the chain of command. From the commander in chief on down the line, THESE are the characters who are most responsible for the current situation.

Not only are the citizens of Iraq unsafe, but their own troops, the allied forces, are left with improper and inadequate supplies. How many vehicles are STILL lacking armor? How many soldiers are still using sub-par body armor, or worse NO body armor at all? What sort of morale do you think these soldiers have right now? First they were told they were protecting their country and the world in general from a mad man with nuclear and chemical weapons stockpiles, then it got switched to liberating the Iraqi people, (Not quite as heroic, but still a noble thing), then it was 'bringing democracy', (is that like bringing the groceries), and now they are an occupying army. They aren't fighting for anything anymore, except their lives.

They are left in a hostile environment, made worse everyday by the actions and decisions of the higher ups who make decisions based on who-only-knows-what information, all from the safety of their desks. They will never face the consequences, direct or otherwise, of their decisions and they don't care who gets blown to smithereens (man, woman, child, friend, enemy, innocent). These men leave their own troops without the minimum required ration of water and we are supposed to think that they care what happens to a widow and her children on EITHER side of the battlefield? (don't make me link to all those horrible stories of our own war widows)

So the way things stand right now, I think the Iraqi response to the most recent spate of bombings was the best that it could be. They are no longer trying to ride the fence, they will no longer take the blame for insurgents, terrorists or freedom fighters, they don't need to. They are simply going to blame the 'security forces' for not doing their job. My guess is that the warhawks will go on the warpath about ingrates and how we're doing 'them' a favour and that we should just leave them to their own devices - FINALLY, something we can all agree on.

QUICK! America or China

So, where is this coming from? United States of America or the People's Republic of China


Government officials say the legislation is aimed at stopping "irresponsible journalism", but there are fears it could be used to stop any reporting that does not meet official approval.
The proposed Law on Response to Contingencies threatens fines of up to £7,000 for misleading reports and requires journalists to get government approval before divulging news of natural disasters, outbreaks of disease, riots and other unspecified "sudden events" or "contingencies".

Getting scarier and scarier out there, isn't it?

Mike Whitney: 'Is Cheney betting on economic collapse?'

From the Smirking Chimp: http://www.smirkingchimp.com/article.php?sid=26772&mode=nested&order=0

Dick Cheney you BASTARD

WARNING -- This is VERY depressing. If you follow Mike Whitney at all, you know he has been doom and gloom on the economy, housing, etc... for a few years now. Nothing TOO bad has happened yet, but I do believe as Mike does that the longer it takes for the shit to hit the fan, the harder the fall will be.

RE: 2008 Election -- Will we even make it til then? I don't see how...

America's Got Talent - have you seen the show?

I've been meaning to share these videos from the past two episodes of this new variety-type show. I watch very little television, but this caught my eye a few weeks ago. OK -- have at me if you must (I can take it); I have to say that I really enjoyed most of the shows. The judges are great - David Hasselhoff - love him! Brandi - well, she's just a sweetie pie, and the British guy is tolerable. And, Regis is Regis. All in all it's pretty good. It's on tonight at 8pm EST.

Here is Bobby Badfingers -- a professional finger snapper -- you will be amazed!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZYPSayDaKLE&search=badfingers

And an 11-year-old with an UNBELIEVABLE voice!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2Wq6CPLN9U

? Hot Damn?

Seven missles launched, including one long range.


New Jersey closes casinos and looses approx 2 mill $/day of badly needed capital


Ken Lay dies of a heart attack


Quite a news day and it's not even noon

War Is Over. If You Want It.

Have you seen the trailer for the upcoming movie, The US vs John Lennon?
God, I miss him.

Help! I can't see beyond my own backyard

The American Dream House or McMansions are flourishing. Houses are getting so big that you don't even have to see the rest of your family if you don't want to. I've noticed that when I watch HGTV. Man those houses are big. Out in the Hamptons, there are mansions lined up all along the ocean front on a sandbar daring the rising ocean to swallow them. And it does.

In my neighborhood which started out with very modest homes in the 50's, not only are the homes expanding in size, but the fences around the home are now 6' tall. I don't know my neighbors anymore. I used to and it was enjoyable. New communities are sprouting up and they're all gated. What's with that?

Those surprise design shows on television feature episodes where a special room is created for a member of the family to go and be alone. The Extreme Makeover Show builds fortresses. Does this have something to do with Flame's post below "Where have our friends gone?"

If you don't have to learn how to get along with others at home, then why bother trying when you're out in the world, god forbid. Interesting story here at NPR- Behind the Ever-Expanding American Dream House

NORAD placed on heightened alert

The story just hit the wire.
Could it be that it has something to do with this: North Korea fires series of missiles

UPDATES: Psycho puts world on alert
Missiles Fired by North Korea; Tests Protested

Make room for us in NZ, Mentis.

What can we do for the veterans?

I'm finding it hard to be kind to those people with flags, ribbons and eagle motifs on their SUVs. What the hell are they supporting anyway (besides the oil companies)?

There are over 200,000 homeless veterans in our country. How can that be? This is a travesty. Homelessness A Threat For Iraq Vets

Can we deliberately withhold paying a percentage of our income taxes and support those who served their country and are now being shit on? We have idiot asses in DC debating flag burning and they don't care about those who fight for it? The hypocrisy is astounding. Our warriors are coming home maimed, mental and homeless. Some country, eh? Why is this not on the news for Independence Day?

A thought for the day

If the author of the Declaration of Independence were to utter such a sentiment today, the Post Office Department could exclude him from the mail, grand juries could indict him for sedition and criminal syndicalism, legislative committees could seize his private papers ... and United States Senators would be clamoring for his deportation that he... should be sent back to live with the rest of the terrorists.

Frank I. Cobb
(1869-1923) American Journalist
New York World

THAT'S IT!!!! MANDITORY STERILIZATION FOR ***EVERYBODY***!!!!!!

Yes, I know that atrocities are being committed every fucking day by American servicepeople in Iraq & Afghanistan.

Iraq & Afghanistan are so-called "war zones." We started the "wars" (occupation/invasion) and we may never get out again, and the worst mentally-deficient douchebags in our armed services are raping & murdering children over there.

We have to live with that horror on our souls.

There's no excuse for the abuses being perpetrated by Dumbya, Dick & Rummy. But at least they're pretending that there's an actual "war" in order to "justify" the hideousness (and the no-bid contracts to Halliburton, Bechtel, Blackwater et al).

BUT HERE, IN *THIS* FUCKING COUNTRY?!?!?!?!

I just saw this in the paper. Just when you think that human beings have gone as low as they can and still be bipeds, just when you think that you've seen every horrific crime against humanity that could possibly be perpetrated against the weak by the powerful --- just when you think that you've become so bitter & jaded by this illegal pseudo-monarchy of an administration that you can never be shocked again, IT GETS WORSE.

A 5-year-old boy was kidnapped in Coushatta, Louisiana. And it's not just that he was kidnapped by his mother's "boyfriend," it's that the boyfriend tied him to a wooden chair with an electrical cord and then set fire to the abandoned house where he left the child.

I have nothing constructive to say about this fucking nightmare.

Except that NOBODY ELSE GETS TO BRING ANY MORE KIDS ONTO THIS PLANET.

We, as a species, obviously are NOT equipped to raise children, and therefore, we do not DESERVE children.

I want retroactive abortions on the "boyfriend," his co-kidnapper, AND the mother who exposed her child to this psycho-cunt lowlife cocksucking arsonist murderer.

And I wanna do it SLOWLY. With rusty tools and lots of kerosene.

How the Internet works, by Sen. Ted Stevens

I wish I didn't read this -- it's quite depressing. These are the people deciding the fate of the internet. OMFG!! Mr. Stevens can barely form a complete sentence.
From the carpetbagger:

If you haven't read Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens' (R-Alaska) explanation on why he opposes net neutrality, you're missing out on a deeply disconcerting perspective. He asked, for example, "what happens to your own personal internet" when someone else tries to download 10 movies at the same time.

"I just the other day got, an internet was sent by my staff at 10 o'clock in the morning on Friday and I just got it yesterday. Why? Because it got tangled up with all these things going on the internet commercially. […]

"They want to deliver vast amounts of information over the internet. And again, the internet is not something you just dump something on. It's not a truck. It's a series of tubes."

Now, Ted Stevens is 85 years old, so it stands to reason that he won't fully understand the Internet. It can get complicated. But as Christy Hardin Smith noted, Stevens, as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, "is in charge of the bills that, among other things, control the internet."

Stevens is not only commenting on key issues like net neutrality without understanding the details of the issue, he's shaping the government's policy.

The audio is here. It ain't pretty.

How Do You Spell Douchebag?

J-O-E-L-I-E-B-E-R-M-A-N.

Now that Ned Lamont is gaining in the polls and Joementum is facing a serious primary challenge, he says he may run as an independent. Let's just picture the two of them splitting the Democratic vote and the Republican walking away with the Senate seat.

Douchebag.

Its All Intertwined

The headlines read: Ex-Soldier Arrested in Rape/Murder of Iraqi Woman. What the headline DOESN'T tell you is that this Iraqi 'woman' was only fifteen years old. The headline doesn't tell you that those two kidnapped soliders who were tortured, mutilated and eventually beheaded were from the same troop as the five accused soliders. (Do not read anything into my words, I am not accusing the deceased soliders of either being involved or of somehow deserving anything, I don't believe in blaming the victim). This attack had supposedly been planned a week in advance, a neighbour reinforces this by admitting that the girls mother was afraid that her daughter had attracked the attention of the soldiers at one of the many security stops. She had asked the neighbour to allow her daughter to spend the night at his house to protect the girl. The accused soldiers reportedly attacked the family at home the following morning-- Raping and killing the 15 year old girl and then murdering her family, the witnesses, to their crime.

Now, did the kidnapping and execution of the two soldiers have anything to do with the crime? A crime the community had known about for some time? We have no idea, and probably never will. But it does make one think (at least I hope it does) and I want EVERYONE, most especially those commentors who flipped out on us about not SPECIFICALLY condemning those whose hands had killed our soliders. Consider this scenario:

You live in a middle class neighbourhood, you are a mixed community, religiously and racially. The economy has been getting worse and worse, but so far you are able to make ends meet. The political head of the country is an ass, but it doesn't effect you 'too' much so you ignore most of the politics and just try to live day to day and keep your family safe, fed and as comfortable as possible. Suddenly, another country attacks; but the attacks don't end, they occur day in and day out, your political leader has been arrested but the attacking army still doesn't leave, they set up more and more permanent camps instead. Suddenly you are no longer free in your own country. Going to work or to the market is to taunt death, both by the invaders and from your own people. You have no where to turn and no one you can trust but your neighbours. Every week brings more tales of death, destruction and horror; you try to push it from your mind, tell yourself that it won't happen here. That here in your little corner of the world the danger will not strike. Then you wake up to find out that your neighbours and their children are dead. Not by a bomb or an air strike, but by a heartless act of another. And they were not simply killed, no, their child was raped and then set on fire. Another child was killed as well, but no one is telling you how or why. You imagine the screams of pain and helplessness of the girl and her mother, you wonder why this was done. What sort of man would do these things, what sort of god would allow such horrors to be inflicted upon innocent children. You wonder how you will ever manage to keep your own family safe...

And people have the gall to wonder why and how terrorists come into being. What if this happened in your neighbourhood? I have seen men gather together lynch mobs for lessor offences than rape and murder. What would you do if these were your neighbours, your children's friends and no one in power was doing anything to protect you and yours? Would you turn your back on your friends and neighbour and shrug your shoulders, hoping that it wouldn't be your child next time? Or would you say enough is enough and take a stand?

Am I justifying what the Islamofascist have done? HELL NO! But I sure as hell am not justifying what the Christofacists are doing either.

Listen up you chickenhawks, THIS is the cost of your president's lies. Broken bodies and souls on BOTH sides of your imaginary little line in the sand. History judges us all and it is not a kind judge, however I fear it will be too little too late. The damage has been done and will continue to be done until either the Congress or WE THE PEOPLE have the balls to stand up and stop this madness.

And for those of you who think that 'cut and run' is a disgrace to America, what do you call the atrocities that are happening there daily? What do you have to gain by keeping our children there? What have we not accomplished? Saddam is out of power and on trial. There are no WMD. They have their own parliament, so welcome to democracy......what else is left, WHAT are the reasons we are staying/occupying Iraq?

And now a word from Mark Twain

"O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle -- be Thou near them!

With them -- in spirit -- we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe.

O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells;

help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead;

help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire;
help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief;

help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it -- for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet!

We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts.

Amen.

From The War Prayer, by Mark Twain

Where have our friends gone?

What most of us have 'felt' to be true has now been 'proven' via studies. We have less friends and close physical contacts than we did a decade ago. This is an ongoing trend that started back in the 50's (if not before) however it has become more and more pronounced with each decade.

True the internet has helped many of us reach out to other like minded people, forming 'cyber-friends' and that tends to mean a lot to many people. Although, as the article points out, you can't rely on a cyberfriend to there physically in case of an emergency, to pick up the kids at daycare, to meet you at the hospital or give you a ride to work when the car breaks down.

The reasons behind this trend have been left open. I have my own guesses as to the 'whys' and 'hows' but I'm more interested in hearing what yours are. Look back on your life and tell me, when did you start loosing friends? After graduation? After marriage? Where you always an outsider? Why did you lose contact; too busy, differing of opinions, change of address?

*sigh*

How are we ever going to reach the working class in this country again? Seriously --- the Democrats are the ones who dragged the working class and poor of this country out of the nightmare of the Depression and the Dust Bowl (do we really care what happened to the millionaires?), and yet, if you ask most of the working class in this country, those who actually pay attention to politics think that the Democrats don't give a rat's ass about them.

And then there's people like my Psycho Sister, the former cop, who knows DIDDLY SHIT about politics (I had to explain to her who/what KARL ROVE is/was/will forevermore be!!!), who never watches the national news or reads any kind of political analysis, and works too many hours to actually participate in politics. Hell, at this point, since she's got her little 4-member home militia in the wilds of Montana, I doubt that she even VOTES anymore.

(There are reasons why we only call each other every 6 months, and when SHE is the first one to call, you know it's because the Beastmaster had her on the line IMMEDIATELY after acquiring any gossip/dirt about me or any other relative, but this time, yeah, they were slinging shit about me & the soon-to-be-ex-boyfriend.)

Anyway, how are we going to reach these people? Despite the stringency/vehemence of her opinions/raving-lunatic rants about politics, Social Security, Paris Hilton & other silver-spoon cocksuckers who've never worked a day in their lives, poor people, etc., she is STULTIFYINGLY UNINFORMED. And I'd wager that Hubby #2 is even less informed, hence stoking the fires of vehemence, self-appointed victimization, racism, selfishness, and ignorance.

How do we get the TRUTH out to people who are so wrapped-up in putting food on their families, that they don't even bother watching the news or reading or any other form of actual participation in the gubmint about which they are so virulent/violent? You know damned well that they're not going to see Al Gore's movie, they'll never have that "Current" channel, and as far as they know, Michael Moore is a commie abortionist bisexual. Or, at least, that's what they heard down at the plant or mill or wherever they work.

If we're fighting upstream against word-of-mouth ignorance and big-budget bullshit like FOX, when these very same people don't have the time or energy or interest to go past the fertilizer and look for REAL news --- how do we fight it? How do we fight the ingrained selfishness that makes these people believe that nobody who gets "help" (define that as you may) from the gubmint actually "DESERVES" it? How do we reach people who don't mind that Paris Hilton is an egregiously egotistical talentless skank piece of video slutdom, 'cause her great-great grandfather was a robber-baron who allegedly "earned" the billions that she puts up her nose and up her twat, but for someone to actually become DISABLED, well, then, they're a PARASITE and a BLIGHT upon the country?!?!?

I sure as hell hope that y'all have some ideas, because I'm at a loss. Not just because it depresses the fuck out of me that my formerly cool sister is a batshit-crazy militia mama, or because I can't make a dent into HER solid-stone skull with even the most obvious logic --- but because she is, unfortunately, the face of the people who actually voted for Dumbya, even if they weren't the majority. We need more than a 3-point lead this time, kids. We need a shut-out.

And if we can't reach out to the working class, the working poor, and the just plain flat-out-fucking poor people in this country, and get them invested in the future of this country, at least moreso than slapping flags and ribbon magnets on their pickups, then we are just as bad as the snotty-ass dainty ones of the Kerry campaign, who assumed that they could win the election WITHOUT the poor, the rural, the working class. Bluebloods are nice at fundraisers, but they don't get the asses into the voting booths. That's OUR job.

Oh, and somebody needs to surgically separate James Carville from "the private sector" and get his ass back in charge of this shit.

You Vill Not Die. Swine.

Remember when Lush Bimbo was going on and on about how great Guantanamo Bay was for a prison camp? Club G'itmo. How they had even more freedoms than we have (except that we have a right to know what we are arrested for and have a right to trial when we are detained)?

Time magazine has a piece At Guantanamo, Dying Is Not Permitted on how the inmates at G'itmo are not exactly happy with the "food" there and have been resisting eating it. You've all read about the force feeding that goes on. There are some descriptive paragraphs in the Time piece about that. The inmates are deliberately trying to kill themselves because they feel if 3 of them die, that the Muslims throughout the world will begin rioting. The description of what happens when you force feed someone to keep them alive sounds almost like it would kill some people. But so far, so good. oy. War is hell.

Wingnuttery

The NY Times travel section has a lovely piece on beautiful (and I'll bet it's really safe there) St. Michaels on Maryland's eastern shore. (I believe that Michner's "Chesapeake" took place there or around there). Anyway, turns out that Dead Eye Dick and Ronald Dumbsfeld have vacation homes there too, so the article talks about their lives at St. Michael's. Somehow I don't think this is classified information, but the wingers are in full gear lately promoting an American dictatorship if you've been following other blogs and reading up on what the anti-constitution pundits are saying lately.

Glen Greenwald has a very interesting story about this story (hat tip Alternate Brain). It seems that the wingnuts view this Times piece as a road map for assassinating Cheney and Rummy. I kid you not. You simply must read this.

Excerpt:

"So, to recap - America is currently at war and its enemies are domestic liberals and The New York Times. This war was started by Al Gore and Jimmy Carter when they opposed the invasion of Iraq. The New York Times is allied with Al Qaeda and their latest plot against America is to provide their terrorist friends with a roadmap to the vacation homes of Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld so that they can be assassinated. That is what is being reported today by three of the largest "conservative" blogs on the Internet..."

As E.D. Hill, Fox's morning fox, would say, we really need to set up a bureau of censorship so that the government can check on the accuracy of the news.

CYA

From a book review entitled:
"Insanity Defense: Power, Paranoia and Presidential Tyranny"

The true nature of this presidential dicatorship has been laid bare in a harrowing new book from reporter Ron Suskind: The One-Percent Doctrine.

But perhaps the most revealing moment in Suskind's book is a brief vignette that captures the quintessence of Bush's callous disregard for the American people – and the Regime's strange, preternatural calm in the face of imminent attack. In August 2001, while Bush dawdled on his Texas dude ranch, the entire national security system was, in Tenet's words, "blinking red" in expectation of a major terrorist strike; indeed, Tenet later said that the threat was so imminent that his "hair was on fire."

On Aug. 6, a CIA official brought the infamous "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US" memo to Crawford, to read it out personally to the President and make sure he got the warning. Bush sat in silence as the briefer delivered his fell message. Duty done, the agent awaited the president's orders, or the president's guidance, or the president's questions. He got nothing but a curt, snide dismissal: "All right, you've covered your ass now."

Men with biggest reproductive organs all live in England

It's well past Freaky Friday but I thought I'd better get this posted now.

Here's a quote: "Researchers studied the geography of big and small penises and published the results. England holds the leading position as concerning the big penis size (26.67 cm) as well as the small penis size (6.98cm). Germany follows with 21.59 cm big size and 8.89 cm small size; Denmark – 20.32 cm big size and 12.7 cm small size; America – 19.68 cm big size and 8.89 cm small size; Sweden – 19.6 cm big size and 12.7 cmsmall size; France – 19.6 cm big size and 8.89 cm small size."

The entire article is at Fun Reports.com.

Ohmygawdamighty! Liz, brace yourself for immigrants from across the river.

Corzine Shut Downs New Jersey's Government

TRENTON, July 1 -- Unable to break a bitter impasse with the New Jersey Legislature on a new budget, Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed an executive order today that shut down the state’s government for the first time in its history.
The order began a process that over the next few days will see the state close its parks, beaches and, depending on the outcome of a court decision, possibly the 12 Atlantic City casinos.
The effects of the order were felt almost immediately. Department of Motor Vehicle operations were suspended when offices around the state closed at noon Saturday. Horse racing was called off. Road construction projects were halted.
And the New Jersey Lottery, which with $2 billion in annual sales is the fourth-largest source of revenue for the state after income, sales and corporate taxes, was ordered to stop selling tickets tonight.

More in the NY Times.

And a good time was had by all.

Now yesterday was fun. Laura and George goof around waiting for Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to arrive. This was not a day to think about wars and taxes and war crimes.


The boys get silly on the plane to Memphis and play dress up wearing Air Force jackets. George gets to sit behind the desk cause he's the preznet.


Ah Memphis, home of the King and of course the blues.


On a memorable visit to Graceland, Koizumi put on Elvis sunglasses and channeled the King himself for Priscilla and Lisa Marie Presley.


"No really, it's ok. You can stop."
"I can't, He's possessed me."


Time for a photo op. No one is hugging Laura. She smiles anyway.


Outside Graceland, George reminds Koizumi who the new king of Amurka really is.


Elvis impersonating protestors wait across the street reminding Koizumi that Japan shouldn't be killing so many whales.


They head over to Rendezvous Restaurant for some good ole American BBQ. Koizumi seems nervous, bush holds him close. "What, no whale?"


Koizumi really digs those Elvis shades and doesn't want to take them off.


Tony Snow follows protocol and dons Elvis shades when speaking to reporters.


It's time to say bye-bye and head back to Oz the White House.


Back at the white house, bushie tells Koizumi that he has a lot in common with Elvis, including having "great hair".
"Mr. President, are you flirting with me?"


"Have some more champagne, Koizumi-boy and then I'll take you upstairs to see my etchings."

One Sonuvabitch Serving Other Sonsuvbitches:

From the Associated Press:
"And now in Florida, dogs can eat with their owners at restaurants under the new "Doggie Dining" law (but only in designated outdoor areas and if approved by local authorities).
"Gov. Jeb Bush - whose own dog, a black lab named Marvin, had died just two days before - gladly signed the bill into law, saying dog lovers and their pets should "have a brewski together, have a hot dog together or whatever they want outdoors. ... It just seems like it's a small thing but it's going to be an important thing."

(Any o' youse got any hot poop on why Marvin bought the shithouse?)