Two More Douchebags Of The Week

1. George W Bush.
Yesterday when speaking to college students in support of California gubernatorial candidate, Phil Angelides, Sen John Kerry cracked a joke. He told them to do well in school or they might get stuck in Iraq. He was referring to George W Bush, the loser in chief who if he had paid attention in school wouldn't have gotten our country into this quagmire and stuck in Iraq.

Tony Snowjob accused Kerry of dissing the troops, "Senator Kerry not only owes an apology to those who are serving, but also to the families of those who've given their lives in this. This is an absolute insult." Today Dumya, quoted Kerry on some campaign stops but neglected to mention that Kerry was referring to Bush. Bush told the crowd that Kerry was referring to the troops as if they were dumb. John McCain jumped on the bandwagon and called for Kerry's apology.

John Kerry grew some balls since the last time we heard from him.

Kerry said the Bush administration owes U.S. troops an apology because it "misled America into war and have given us a Katrina foreign policy that has betrayed our ideals, killed and maimed our soldiers, and widened the terrorist threat instead of defeating it.

"This is the classic GOP playbook," Kerry said in a harshly worded statement. "I'm sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did. I'm not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium."

1. Sen. George Felix Macacawitz
was at a campaign stop in Charlottesville, Va. this morning. A law student stopped the senator on his way to ask him whether or not he spit on his first wife. The senator refused to answer. A Macacawitz staffer put the student in a headlock and threw him to the ground. He was then removed from the building. You can watch the video of the thugs at ThinkProgress.org. HFS
Reader Dogmom sent me this story about when he spit on a reporter. ick

Assaults With Unwanted Bodily Fluids

JC wanted me to take a stab at a story she read in her paper today. I did some research and found a similar story from earlier in the month. I'm in shock so I'll try to just explain it with little or no personal spin (yeah right):

Last of 3 UConn students gets 75 days in sex incident "Affidavits supporting their arrests say the three men took turns masturbating on the sleeping female student inside the dorm room shared by Skvirsky and Brohinsky in Watson Hall at the UConn Storrs campus."

Good heavens. These boys were charged with reckless endangerment. I would have kicked their asses.

It appears however that Connecticut legislators were fed up with the loophole that men who ejaculated on women against their will even if they didn't touch the women, were only being charged with reckless endangerment and not sexual assault. Indeed. Previously, you had to make contact with a person in order to be charged with sexual assault.

A new Connecticut law took effect on October 1, 2006 that expanded the definition of illegal sexual contact to include assaulting another person with unwanted bodily fluids originating from the genital area. This is now classified as fourth degree sexual assault. Put a sock on it. Since the 3 men ejaculated on the young women in September, they can't be charged with sexual assault. Alrighty then.

Jersey Cynic sent me this story. Student Faces Rape Charge:
UConn Senior Also Charged Under New State Statute On Unwanted Bodily Fluids

"VERNON -- A UConn senior was charged Monday with raping a woman, then ejaculating onto her face and hair - becoming the first person in the Tolland Judicial District, and possibly the state, to be charged under a new sexual assault statute that went into effect Oct. 1."

Double whammy. Oh wait, there's more. He's up the creek: "Daniel Ballerini, 21, a finance major with aspirations for law school, was charged Monday with first-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault (the unwanted bodily fluid statute), first-degree unlawful restraint, possession of cocaine with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia and tampering with a witness." The victim first said that she didn't want to tell the whole story because it would ruin the boys life. It turned out though that the boy 'urged' her not to talk. So we'll just have to see about that.

The female prosecutor wanted the boy to be prevented from returning to UConn but the female judge agreed with the male defense counsel that it wouldn't be fair to prevent the boy from finishing his senior year but he had to stay away from the victim. The school did not say how they would handle this situation.

Jersey Cynic, dear, I have to let this sink in a bit more. I'll mop the kitchen floor now. I'd like for the blondesense lawyers to chime in- Red State Blues and Texas Jaye.

Boo!

Happy Halloween.

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The War On Transfats

This is a war I can get into (and the one against pork spending by our legislators).

I've often wondered when I would pass by schools why the kids are so chubby these days. When I was in school, there were maybe one or two fat kids in the whole school. Now the fat kids reign. It saddens me to see youngsters weighed down with blubber. It's hard to run around when your own thighs get in the way.

You want to blame the parents, but I know so many parents of normal weight who have chubby kids and they are beside themselves because their kids have all sorts of afflictions that usually don't happen to a person until they are adults. I thought maybe it was the switch to high fructose corn syrup that made people fatter because we ate an awful lot of candy when we were kids but candy had real sugar in it back in the day. It appears that it's transfats to blame.

It's really hard to figure out from the food labels what's in the food we eat. My son only eats prepared foods, but he educated himself on how to read the labels and shops at stores which carry foods that use real sugar and canola oil rather than the bad stuff. He's kind of a pain to shop with, but I appreciate his concern. It's much better to stick to non-processed foods, but if you eat out a lot or do take out a lot, you don't know what the hell you're getting.

NYC is contemplating a ban on transfats in all restaurants. It's a bit severe and big brotherish, but you know what? Everyone eats out in NY City. I don't know what the cholesterol numbers are, but I know mine. oy. On the other hand, you rarely see a fat NYer in Manhattan (everyone walks a lot). Here on Long Island where you need to drive to get somewhere, we are chubbier. KFC is phasing out transfats. All the fast food joints ought to do the same- that's where the kids go after school.

Let's also figure out why the bushistas are buying up mega acres of land over the aquifiers in Paraguay and if we should put our investments in Euros.

How Do You Spell The Pentagon Will Correct "Inaccurate" News?

P-R-O-P-A-G-A-N-D-A

BBC NEWS: The US defence department has set up a new unit to better promote its message across 24-hour rolling news outlets, and particularly on the internet.
The truth is getting out and it must be stopped.

The unit would reportedly monitor media such as weblogs and would also employ "surrogates", or top politicians or lobbyists who could be interviewed on TV and radio shows.
Put on your tin foil hats

Mr Russ said the move to set up the unit had not been prompted either by the eroding public support in the US for the Iraq war or the US mid-term elections next week.
Which means that the eroding public support has caused the Pentagon to come up with this strategy.

Mr Rumsfeld said earlier this year that he was concerned by the success of US enemies in "manipulating the media". "That's the thing that keeps me up at night," Mr Rumsfeld said.
Can you say strawmen?

On Monday, US Vice President Dick Cheney also made reference to the use of media, suggesting insurgents had increased their attacks and were checking the internet to keep track of American public opinion.
When they are not killing our troops, the insurgents are hanging out at Internet Cafe's reading blogs.

"It's my belief that they're very sensitive of the fact that we've got an election scheduled and they can get on the websites like anybody else," Mr Cheney told Fox News.
When they are not killing our troops, the insurgents are hanging out at Internet Cafe's reading blogs.

"There isn't anything that's on the internet that's not accessible to them. They're on it all the time. They're very sophisticated users of it."
When they are not killing our troops, the insurgents are hanging out at Internet Cafe's reading blogs.

Mr Cheney's comments came as American forces suffered one of the highest death tolls in October - more than 100 troops killed - since the war began in 2003.
Quick come up with a scapegoat.

President Bush has said recently that terror groups were trying to influence public opinion in the US, describing their efforts as the "war of ideas".
Democrats?

HURRY HURRY THE ENEMY IS STILL PUTTING FAKE STORIES ON THE INTERWEBS
AP Iraq leader defies US, lifts military checkpoints
Reuters Death Toll for US Troops is 102
Telegraph UK British to evacuate consulate in Basra after mortar attacks
AFP Violence, corruption slow Iraqi reconstruction
AP Dems counter Bush attack with Iraq ads
WAP Soldiers estimate "it would take 30 to 40 years before the Iraqi police could function properly."

May I present.....LORD & LADY DOUCHEBAG of the week!

Vice President of the United States, Mr. BIG DICK Cheney

....and his devoted wife, Lynne Cheney

Read all about the BIGGEST DICK on earth right here!

and.....

Check out the woman who married THE BIGGEST DICK on the face of the earth!

(thanks for the story reader delmar -- it certainly helped them to earn this honor - it was a tough decision this week!)

Geezer News:

"Curry spice 'help for arthritis'"

"Extract of a spice used in curry could help prevent rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, US research suggests.

"Turmeric has been used for centuries in Asian medicine to treat inflammatory disorders and its extract can be found in western dietary supplements."

More at BBC NEWS

Monday Sex Post, For a Change

Amidst all the madness of war, King George, the elections and such, perhaps we should have our own "festival of drunkenness". The ancient Egyptians had one, and it "celebrated nothing less than the salvation of humanity." We could use a little humanity right now. Fer sher.

In any event, the festival was, more or less, the earliest version of "sex, drugs and rock-n-roll". During the excavation of the Temple of Mut, archaeologists found numerous inscriptions referencing the festival. "We are talking about a festival in which people come together in a community to get drunk," [Johns Hopkins researcher Betsy Bryan] said. "Not high, not socially fun, but drunk — knee-walking, absolutely passed-out drunk." The Egyptians even had the ancient equivalent of designated drivers. Moreover, some of the inscriptions uncovered at the temple link the drunkenness festival with "traveling the marshes" , which is a polite way in ancient Egyptian of saying "doing the nasty". "The sexual connection is reinforced by graffiti depicting men and women in positions that might draw some tut-tutting today."

What the hell? It's almost Halloween, we can all dress up like Egyptians. Who's up for a par-tay?

Dems to the Right, Repubs to the Left

I saw Harold Ford Jr on Bill Maher's Real Time (watch episode here) the other night. He seemed like kind of a stiff and not all that liberal. I was just reading in today's NY Times that the Dems in some key races are rather socially conservative or "centrist". Some of these Democrats are pro-NRA, "pro-life" and even conservative "christian" and it's speculated that these new Democrats "could influence negotiations with Republicans on a variety of issues, including Social Security and stem cell research."

On the other hand, the NY Times ran an article called Liberal Republican Suburb Turns Furious With G.O.P. It's about Bellevue Washington home to many profession people, but it could be about where I live on Long Island we are socially very liberal compared to the rest of the country. The Republicans here aren't voting that way (I recently converted to Democrat even though they are a bunch of wussies). Like Bellevue denizens, Republicans here embrace diversity, support stem cell research, are concerned about the national debt, believe scientists over politicians, are anti-abortion but want to keep the right to choose, want equal rights for gay people and want the government out of our bedrooms and off our phone lines. We'll be seeing more centrist people voting for Democrats and it probably will impact the party. Then again, the party never could define itself anyway.

I'd like to see politicians learn a little bit more about the bill of rights, civil rights, how government works, the role of government in a pluralistic society and some basic economics rather than opening their mouths on subjects they know nothing about, particularly science, medicine, religion, etc.

What do you think? Can we stand centrists- it's better than neocons, right?

Take A Good Look, Mr. Bush

This is what you and your cronies have done.

Can you feel the grief coming from the depths of her soul? Do you even have the ability to feel? Do you think a flag is a substitute for a father's love and guidance? What possible words could you say to her to make her feel better? How will she get over the pain of losing her father at such a tender age? How will you ever make it right for this little girl? How could you have taken her father away?

You unspeakable bastard.

the infection is oozing

One of the reasons I started blondesense was to document my descent into hell, that is my awakening to the fact that I had been deceived for almost 50 years by my religion and my government. Furthermore, my very parents, the two people I trusted most in the whole world, were also hoodwinked by it all. I don't blame them though. I don't blame most Americans who hadn't seen this coming. It's scary shit. But people really gotta wake up now because the bad guys are religious and have nukes.

Growing up Catholic in the 50's and 60's was very sacred. Priests and nuns were considered above reproach. If you got smacked at school for nothing, it didn't matter because your parents always believed that the clergy could do no wrong. It's no wonder that children rarely spoke out against the abuse that took place- no one would believe you anyway. Catholic guilt taught us that if something bad happened to us, God was punishing us for something that we had done to hurt him (apparently God took everything very personally and prozak hadn't been invented yet). Gospel truth a la 1963: John F. Kennedy was a saint, priests were Jesus' representatives on earth and nuns were married to Jesus. The policemen are always the good guys, respect authority, join the military and kill for your country because America was always right. Don't ask questions. End of story.

So here I am again reading yet another story A Pedophile Priest Speaks Out about the Catholic Church literally fucking the flock. It's a story of yet another priest who fucked little girls and babies, mind you, who just got moved from parish to parish for 20 years until the shit hit the fan and he was jailed for a time then sent to live in Ireland as a free person. His story is made into a new movie: "Deliver Us From Evil,'' the story of Oliver O'Grady. It is also an indictment of Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, who was bishop of the Stockton Diocese from 1980-85 and knew of O'Grady's perversion all along.

In interviews with O'Grady, he said "I should've been removed and attended to. And he (the cardinal) should have then attended to the people I'd harmed. I wish he'd done that.'' How do you like that? The criminal was placing the blame on his boss for allowing him to perpetrate his crimes against humanity. Yes, there is a special place in hell for the Cardinal and the clincher is that the pervert priest who allegedly even had sex with a 9 month old baby is also free to walk the earth. He is supposedly in hiding now that the movie is being released.

Since Constantine had his vision and faith/spirituality became religion which then merged with politics and war, nothing has changed. It appears to have been one huge ongoing cabal that's now coming to a head like an enormous festering pimple on the ass of humanity.

doesn't it seem like we are living in a dystopian novel?

UPDATE: I found this story concerning school safety in a "post-columbine" world. (here's a link to the Grand Rapids Press contact page)

School Safety Drill Upsets Some Parents
Oct 28, 3:20 PM (ET)

WYOMING, Mich. (AP) - A school safety drill that included police officers in riot gear with weapons has caused concern among some parents who say it was too realistic and frightened some students.

Police in the western Michigan community of Wyoming entered two classrooms at Lee Middle and High School on Thursday and announced there was a threat to the school, The Grand Rapids Press reported.

Students, who were unaware police were conducting a drill, were taken from the classroom into the halls, patted down by officers and asked what they had in their pockets, the newspaper said.

"Some of these kids were so scared, they just about wet their pants," said Marge Bradshaw, a parent with four children in Godfrey-Lee Schools. "I think it's pure wrong that the students and parents were not informed of this."

Officers wore protective gear, including vests and helmets, and carried rifles that were unloaded and marked with colored tape to indicate they were not live weapons, the newspaper said.

Diana Silva, a parent of an eighth-grade student, said the drill went too far.

"My child was with his face to the wall in the hallway of the high school," Silva said. "I certainly don't want anything like this happening to my child."

Principal David Britten said students weren't told ahead of time to make the drill as realistic as possible. Teachers were informed moments before it took place, he said.

"I think this is the best way to do it," Britten said. "We're not looking to scare anyone, but we want a sense of urgency."

But Wyoming Police Chief James Carmody said his officers were not aware students and parents were not told. He said his department will mandate that parents be notified ahead of time in the future.

"The purpose was to show how we will evacuate the classroom, not to assault the classroom," Carmody said.

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


See also
Spoiled milk sparks school evacuation
'Star Wars' becomes reality as US unveils laser-equipped 747
Storms cancel terror drill in Norwalk Connecticut
Anchorage Alaska holds biological terror drill

Global Warming Will Make You Poorer and Colder

UPDATE: It appears that Peter's post this morning evaporated. It was on this website but not listed in blogger. He wanted you to read this story: No climate action may spark economic crisis: report He went on to list some survival techniques for the upcoming economic crisis. The comments from that post are still online right here.
-----------------------
Here are some more interesting stories about global warming:

The Boston Herald editorial staff suggests that deliberate pollution of the atmosphere can cool the earth. What we need is a good volcanic eruption every two years according to them. Say what?

John F. Wasik suggests that global warming will hit your wallet. Urban sprawl may become economically unsustainable. Learn to reduce your carbon footprint (especially if we don't get enough volcano eruptions.)

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt has charged that your president censored global warming research. This news does not surprise me. After 9/11 the bushistas warned agencies to stop releasing "sensitive" information. Leahy is working to try to strengthen the country's Freedom of Information act, but faces resistance from the GOP. What the fuck is their problem? Definitely read this.

Iowa farmers are gravely concerned about the effects of global warming. Our current farming system contributes to global warming. They say that the government should not subsidize farmers who grow corn and soybeans in a way "robs the soil of nutrients and requires lots of energy." Enviromentally conscious "Farmers also are planting crops that require less fertilizer and herbicides; using alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel; capturing methane gas from livestock for energy production; and harnessing wind power."

Yesterday, only sailor's foul weather gear and hip boots with lead weights in them would have kept you dry. Today you need a winter coat and a concrete wind block, tomorrow you won't be needing a jacket as autumn makes a return. Something is definitely happening with the climate.

Bush moves towards martial law, by Frank Morales

Signs of the Times for Fri, 27 Oct 2006

In a stealth maneuver, President Bush has signed into law a provision which, according to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), will actually encourage the President to declare federal martial law (1). It does so by revising the Insurrection Act, a set of laws that limits the President's ability to deploy troops within the United States. The Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C.331 -335) has historically, along with the Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C.1385), helped to enforce strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement. With one cloaked swipe of his pen, Bush is seeking to undo those prohibitions.

Public Law 109-364, or the "John Warner Defense Authorization Act of 2007" (H.R.5122) (2), which was signed by the commander in chief on October 17th, 2006, in a private Oval Office ceremony, allows the President to declare a "public emergency" and station troops anywhere in America and take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of the governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder."

Does anyone know if this will affect the peaceful protest -- especially the ones that call to impeach bush, or those conspiracy theorists who question 9/11?

Harris aims to solidify evangelicals' support for her Senate bid

via whatreallyhappened

"Nothing that we believe in the world would exist without you," she says to Jewish leaders in the crowd. "We're all sort of Jewish wannabes."

Here, Harris doesn't talk about the Iraq war, oil drilling off Florida's coast or whether Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, her opponent, is too liberal.

Instead, she focuses on her love of God and gets her message out to hundreds of people without ever mentioning one line from her campaign speech.

Jews "are the chosen people," she tells the crowd, to uproarious applause and whistles. "You are the apple of God's eye."

The crowd of more than 1,000 people is part of a movement that believes Jews play a key role in the fate of Christians.

For them, the Rapture -- a miraculous event where Jesus Christ resurrects the dead and sweeps his loyal followers from the Earth -- depends on a complete restoration of the nation of Israel, including the rebuilding of the Temple on the Mount and the reclaiming of all the holy lands.

Some believe the Rapture is coming any day now.

"We have to stand with Israel," she said. "Our futures are linked."

She also condemned the United Nations for its failure to take stronger action when the terrorist organization Hezbollah attacked Israel this year.

"The United Nations should be held to account for its anti-Semitism," she said.


IS THIS WOMAN FOR REAL???

well, her spokeswoman says: "the campaign simply has a policy to keep some events private, especially because Harris feels she has been treated unfairly by the media in the past.

"It's kind of silly to criticize her for talking to those groups," Marks said.

"There's just an effort to get out the base."


I am speechless......

NASA Discusses Hubble Servicing Mission

Some good news for science geeks who have been distressed that the Hubble would not be there for our grandchildren:
NASA Discusses Hubble Servicing Mission
More on Hubble here. Enjoy the wonder of it all.

Uh, We Actually Do Give More of a Shit About the Troops Than the Wingers

Breaking News: Top U.S. Military Officer Recommends ‘We Remove All Troops From Baghdad’ Read about it. It appears that the US troops being in Baghdad is making things worse. duh.

My friend has just been transfered to Baghdad from Ramadi and we've just been sick about it. He's never seen his baby.
-----------

Original post:


This is a very good website: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA.org)
Despite trolls telling us here that we are with the terrorists, we all know that we are actually the ones who give a shit about the troops, so I urge you to read a lot of the stories at the IAVA.

A very interesting segment of the website IAVAaction.org is the section where the IAVA rates the congress in their support of troops and veterans. While studying who voted how in NY State, I discovered that our Democrats got high marks while our Republicans got low marks. My congresswoman, Carolyn McCarthy got an A. Pete King, in the next district over, the big mouth for the Bush administration only got a C+ as far as the veterans are concerned.

Here is the full ratings list.
Here's the link to the maps where you click on your state and get detailed information about the party and the voting record of particular critters.
After you get there, you can click on your district. If you live in a huge state with dozens of congress critters, you may want to click on the link for the full delegation in the box next to your state map, then you can click on each individual member and see how your state fares with regard to political parties.
This is what the ratings mean.
Now if your critter got a bad rating or a good rating or you want to tsk tsk another critter who blasts democrats for not supporting the troops, here is where you can easily take action and write letters; Legislative Action Center.

Meanwhile Senator McCain thinks we ought to escalate and send 20,000 more troops to Iraq. From where, I don't know. I guess he just wants the US to send back the guys who just came home. He gets his balls from thinking he is going to run for president in '08. He may not be aware that the majority of Americans have had enough of the war and want out of there.

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

If you haven't been keeping up with your hypocritical gay scandals in the news, and I know it's hard to do that with the country going down the tubes, here is a google video from CW (I don't have that channel) that actually does a pretty good job of explaining the Charlie Crist is gay and running for Florida governor story (now you don't have to spend a lot of time reading all the articles). None of it is confirmed, but the rumors are flying.

Expert texpert, choking smoker

Don't you see the joker laughs at you?
ha ha ha ha ho ho ho ho

From Raw Story:

A memory expert testifying on behalf of a former aide to Vice President Cheney who is accused of lying to prosecutors in the CIA leak case forgot that she had met the special prosecutor before and was reduced to "stuttering" and "backpedaling" on the stand, according to the Washington Post.

Judge Orders Release of Abu Ghraib Child Rape Photos

Oh no. I don't ever want to see these pictures (because I already hate the war), but read the story. Excerpt follows.

U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein ordered the release of certain pictures in a 50-page decision that said terrorists in Iraq and Afghanistan have proven they "do not need pretexts for their barbarism."

~snip~

What is shown on the photographs and videos from Abu Ghraib prison that the Pentagon has blocked from release? One clue: Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Congress last year, after viewing a large cache of unreleased images, "I mean, I looked at them last night, and they're hard to believe." They show acts "that can only be described as blatantly sadistic, cruel and inhumane," he added.

A Republican Senator suggested the same day they contained scenes of "rape and murder." Rumsfeld then commented, "If these are released to the public, obviously it's going to make matters worse."

If they are "blatantly sadistic, cruel and inhumane" it would make matters worse (if they can get any worse). What say you?

hat tip to reader, Patriot

For goddess' sake, tell the guys at Diebold, Votronic, ESS, etc. to get their programmers/hackers to start working overtime.

From the Hindustan Times:
"Democrats increase lead over Republicans"
Liz Sidoti (AP) Washington, October 27, 2006
"A massive apparent move by the middle class away from the Republicans has 56 per cent of likely voters saying they plan to vote to send a Democrat to the House in the upcoming congressional elections compared with 37 per cent who said they would vote for President George W Bush's Republicans, the latest Associated Press-AOL News poll shows."

Like I said in the headline, something's gotta be done with the voting machines to make sure the votes are counted the way we want them to be.

Uuhhh, this is a right-wing neocon blogsite, isn't it?

It boils down to this: They hate women and the middle class.

And so it went, back and forth, back and forth... a discussion on US politics between me and my in-laws on the day after my mother-in-law's funeral. I didn't want to go there, but the discussion in the living room was all about Hillary- the dreaded threat to the American way of life.

After my debunking claim after claim, then asking why Hillary's position is any different or worse than any GOP position and then my insisting that my father-in-law tell me exactly why he hates her with such passion, it all came out: They hate her because she had people killed. I thought that all that hoohah about the Clinton's killing people had been debunked. The debunking email didn't get to the Hillary haters (or maybe they just deleted it).

In all honesty, Republicans (including jealous Republican housewives) don't like women who assert themselves outside of the home. "Assertive women must be murderers too," they think. That's just projection. It also makes me wonder what kind of mothers these dipshits had.

Now the focus is on Nancy Pelosi, a 19 year congresswoman from San Francisco who could be Speaker of the House if the Democrats gain congress. San Francisco has gay implications if you didn't already know. The fear mongering is in full swing. She has been vilified and portrayed as evil incarnate, the woman who would drag the country to the radical left when in fact, she's moderate and reasonable. Her positions might even lessen the amount of poor people in the country thus reducing crime and ignorance. (oh wait, the stupid white men in power want a certain segment of the population to wither away in jail, dead end jobs or the military.)

I can see why rich, white, conservative men might fear her, but her plans wouldn't hurt anyone else. Rich, white men make up a tiny percentage of the population, yet their hateful opinions of women, homosexuals and now people afflicted with dreaded diseases always make the headlines. The speak double talk and ignorant Americans eat it up.

If I were Pelosi, the first thing I'd do if I were House Majority Leader would be to regulate the media. This minority opinion of the wealthy gets waaaay too much air time. A free press is tantamount to a Democracy. She hasn't proposed that as far as I know, but here's Pelosi's plan to "Drain the Swamp" if she becomes House Majority Leader:

Day One: Put new rules in place to "break the link between lobbyists and legislation."
That's only scary to congressmen and corporations. It should be good news to your average citizens whose interests have been relegated to the trash can in favor of cash and prizes to legislators from special interest groups whose only goal is to enrich themselves.

Day Two: Enact all the recommendations made by the commission that investigated the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Frightening. Not. You would think that among all the fear mongering administered by the right, they might bother to actually do something to make us safer. Securing the country is not liberal at all. It's downright patriotic.

After the first two "radical" reforms she also suggests:
Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, maybe in one step.
Again, that would hurt (the profits of) a tiny segment of the population and they're already rich. Interestingly, most of the red state evangelicals would benefit by such a reform.

Cut the interest rate on student loans in half.
Oh my god, how not radical is that? (Unless you count on a bunch of terminal Walmart employees to vote for you.)

Allow the government to negotiate directly with the pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices for Medicare patients.
Isn't that like what they are supposed to do in DC? Represent OUR interests.

Broaden the types of stem cell research allowed with federal funds.
How much do we spend manufacturing WMD's? It would be nice to spend money on something that saves lives.

"Pay as you go," meaning no increasing the deficit, whether the issue is middle class tax relief, health care or some other priority.
A responsible economy? Perish the thought.
She suggests that tax rollbacks to the Clinton era would be in order for those who make over $250,000 or $300,00/year. Somebody has to pay for Bush's folly. Let it be those who supported it in the first place and those who can afford to pay. I didn't vote for the war. Why should I pay for it?

"We must share the benefits of our wealth" beyond the privileged few.
Oh there you go. She's a socialist just like that radical, Jesus Christ. The rich white men are thinking: "If we look out for each other, then we won't be as rich and powerful." That only proves that they aren't "christian" and their jig would be up. Too bad.

America's Kingdom of Heaven

On Oct. 18, President George W. Bush signed an executive order creating a new national policy which loudly proclaims that the U.S. will brook no restraint of any kind on its "rights, capabilities, and freedom of action" in space, and that it has the right to deny space "access" to any power deemed hostile to U.S. "national interests."

The report did not elaborate on how the U.S would restrict this access, but Air Force officers have written position papers calling for an "active military posture" in space that may include "deception, disruption, denial, degradation, and destruction" by "hunter-killer microsatellites" and "spaced-based weapons platform[s]." Essentially, Bush has declared outer space an American colony with the stroke of a pen

There are so many articles out on this subject, I could be searching and reading all day.

SPACE WARS from Tompaine is also very good:

The Bush administration throws in some phrases in to its new policy to appeal to Star Trek fans and internationalists and to pacify those alarmed when an early draft of the report leaked to The New York Times last year sounded stridently bellicose. The United States “will seek to cooperate with other nations in the peaceful use of outer space” and “is committed to the exploration and use of outer space by all nations for peaceful purposes, and for the benefit of all humanity.” But these Kirk- and Picard-worthy sentiments are immediately contradicted when “peaceful purposes” is clarified to include “U.S. defense and intelligence related activities in pursuit of national interests.” Five of the seven United States policy goals mention “national security” and/or “defending our interests.” Three of the eight areas of space policy are related military uses of space—the national security space guidelines, space nuclear power and space-related security classification. However the guidelines for those three take up as much room as the five areas of civilian and commercial use of space resources.

And here is an article from usinfo.state.gov explaining this new space policy, and it should put to rest any reservations you may have:

U.S. Opposes Restrictions on Use of Space
Policy acknowledges new technology, importance of space to international commerce



“With the amount of time that has passed,” a senior administration official told the Washington File October 20, “there have been changes in challenges, threats and opportunities, and there’s a need to reflect new government organizations, like the Department of Homeland Security.”

At the UNGA First Committee meeting, Luaces also said the United States opposes proposed negotiations on the prevention of an arms race in space.

According to the U.S. space policy, “The United States will oppose the development of new legal regimes or other restrictions that seek to prohibit or limit U.S. access to or use of space. Proposed arms control agreements or restrictions must not impair the rights of the United States to conduct research, development, testing and operations or other activities in space for U.S. national interests.”

“The danger against which we all must be vigilant,” Luaces said, “is not some theoretical arms race in space, but threats that would deny peaceful access to and use of space -- especially ground-based space denial capabilities intended to impede the free access to and use of space systems and services.”

The new policy makes clear, a senior administration official said, that the United States remains “completely committed” to the peaceful use of outer space, and that such use includes defense-related activities. Huh?

"After Pat's Birthday"

Posted on Oct 19, 2006
By Kevin Tillman

"It is Pat's birthday on November 6, and elections are the day after. It gets me thinking about a conversation I had with Pat before we joined the military. He spoke about the risks with signing the papers. How once we committed, we were at the mercy of the American leadership and the American people. How we could be thrown in a direction not of our volition. How fighting as a soldier would leave us without a voice… until we get out.

"Much has happened since we handed over our voice:

"Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can’t be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.

"Somehow our elected leaders were subverting international law and humanity by setting up secret prisons around the world, secretly kidnapping people, secretly holding them indefinitely, secretly not charging them with anything, secretly torturing them. Somehow that overt policy of torture became the fault of a few "bad apples" in the military.

"Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It's interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.

"Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.

"Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.

"Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

"Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

"Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

"Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

"Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

"Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

"Somehow torture is tolerated.

"Somehow lying is tolerated.

"Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.

"Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

"Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

"Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

"Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.

"Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.

"Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.

"Somehow this is tolerated.

"Somehow nobody is accountable for this.

"In a democracy, the policy of the leaders is the policy of the people. So don't be shocked when our grandkids bury much of this generation as traitors to the nation, to the world and to humanity. Most likely, they will come to know that "somehow" was nurtured by fear, insecurity and indifference, leaving the country vulnerable to unchecked, unchallenged parasites.

"Luckily this country is still a democracy. People still have a voice. People still can take action. It can start after Pat's birthday."


Brother and Friend of Pat Tillman,
Kevin Tillman

Kevin Tillman joined the Army with his brother Pat in 2002, and they served together in Iraq and Afghanistan.
www.truthdig.com/report/item/200601019_after_pats_birthday/

They Want Us TO STFU. Well I never.

Ronald Dumsfeld told war critics to "back off" today. He claimed that it was "complicated stuff." He also said, "No one can predict the future with absolute certainty." He is absolutely wrong. I predicted this clusterfuck of his in 2003, thank you very much.

According to Think Progress: In an interview with North Dakota radio host Scott Hennen, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld said that “it would be logical” that terrorist groups are ramping up violence in Iraq and elsewhere to give liberals a boost in November’s election.

Meanwhile Senator "Man On Dog", "Sanctity of Marriage is the most important issue facing Americans today" is on "the Gathering Storm" tour across PA warning voters that Casey cannot fight against the Islamic fascists and of course, the Venezuelan's who are supposedly gearing up to fight us.... then he went on about the need for a free Iran, which I think means we have to bomb the shit out of them. I dunno. You read the speech.

Proving Once Again That Timing Is Everything

Well, I'm a bit discouraged today.

It immediately hit me once I heard about the New Jersey Supreme Court ruling yesterday on the gay marriage issue. Obviously, I think the court is correct that we as a society cannot continue to treat gays and lesbians as second class citizens in respect of the way that a government, whether it be local, state or federal, parcels out benefits. When Blonde Liz was down visiting me last weekend, we had a good discussion about the "marriage vs. civil union" debate. From my perspective, the debate is one of semantics: the government does not "sanctify" marriage, as the KKKristian talking points would have the public believe. Rather, the government endorses a civil "contract" between the participants, pursuant to which the participants take on certain responsibilities in exchange for the government granting certain state-sponsored benefits. Churches are the venue in which a union (i.e., marriage) is "sanctified", and nothing would change in that regard if a government chooses to grant same-sex couples their "civil" rights. That is to say, thanks to the First Amendment, the government could not "require" any church to "marry" a gay or lesbian couple. Conversely, those religious institutes that find gay relationships acceptable would be free to "sanctify" such relationships if their own catechisms permit. But I digress.

The reason I am so discouraged today is purely political. I believe the decision will make Felix Macacawitz's re-election to the US Senate a virtual certainty. The Old Dominion has one of those hateful gay bashing amendments to the state Constitution on the ballot next month. And this is not one of your simple garden variety "a marriage is between a man and a woman" amendments. This is one of those gratuitously hateful "not only can you queers not marry but you also can't contract for things like inheriting property and making medical decisions for your loved one" amendments.

Predictably, Felix has already issued a statement railing against the "activist judges" (uh oh, there's that phrase making a comeback) in New Jersey and pointing to the decision as a reason why the Hate Amendment is necessary. Oh, and Jim Webb, his Dem challenger, has publicly stated he opposes the amendment, so here's a great "he would coddle the queeers and life as we know it on Earth would end" argument that Felix can use against Webb in the final days of the campaign. This is, of course, red meat for the Republican base in Virginia as elsewhere. I don't doubt that the good fundies of the state will consider it their godly duty to get out and vote, if for no other reason than to thwart the gay agenda to take over the world. And as long as those people are at the polls, those votes go to Allen.

Jim Webb has fought the good fight. Although I had some doubts about him, I'm really starting to like the guy. He's a terrible "politician", he's not good at sound bites, and he's remarkably candid and blunt in his rhetoric. He has managed to excite a lot of Dems in this red-but-turning-purple state. But my sense, with the timing being what it is with the New Jersey ruling, is that Mr. Macaca-mouth wins. He may win ugly, but he wins.

Like I say, I'm a bit discouraged today.

Rove Says He's Entitled to "The" Math For The Elections

Yes that's right. Karl Rove is looking at "the" math for the upcoming elections... not the numbers that you and I are reading. He is very optimistic about the upcoming elections. He said so on NPR's "Radio Day" with Robert Siegal. (transcript here. scroll down)

MR. SIEGEL: I'm looking at all the same polls that you're looking at every day.

MR. ROVE: No you're not. No you're not!

MR. SIEGEL: No, I'm not --

MR. ROVE: I'm looking at 68 polls a week. You may be looking at four or five public polls a week that talk about attitudes nationally, but that do not impact the outcome --

~snip~

MR. ROVE: Yeah. Look, I'm looking at all these Robert and adding them up. And I add up to a Republican Senate and a Republican House. You may end up with a different math, but you're entitled to your math. I'm entitled to "the" math.

MR. SIEGEL: I don't know if you're entitled to a different math, but you're certainly entitled to --