Baker To Bush: Game Over

From TomPaine

Wow - I'm impressed! The Iraq study group didn't take long at all, did they!!

Feds Rate Travelers for Terrorism

Without notifying the public, federal agents for the past four years have assigned millions of international travelers, including Americans, computer-generated scores rating the risk they pose of being terrorists or criminals.

Hawking: Humans Must Colonize Other Planets

Oh I absolutely agree. Can we leave the bushistas on earth though?

Hawking figures that our species could be wiped out by an asteroid or a nuclear war, so we should set up colonies on other planets. We obviously can't travel to another solar system by conventional methods, so don't pack your bags just yet.

We could get elsewhere "by using "matter/antimatter annihilation", velocities just below the speed of light could be reached, making it possible to reach the next star in about six years."

CDC polonium 210 update

For those of you who have any questions or concerns about the radiation poisoning of the Russian spy in the UK. Here is the update that the CDC has sent out to healthcare professionals:


What is Polonium 210?
Po-210 is a radioactive material that occurs naturally at very low concentrations in the environment; although it can be produced in university or government nuclear reactors, it requires expertise to do so. The exposures to this radionuclide in London represent a very rare event. Po-210 emits alpha particles, which carry high amounts of energy that can damage or destroy genetic material in cells inside the body. Po-210 is a particularly energetic radionuclide, giving off 5,000 times more alpha particles than does the same amount of radium. Po-210 is used in some industrial applications such as static eliminators, which are devices designed to eliminate static electricity in processes such as paper rolling, manufacturing sheet plastics, and spinning synthetic fibers.


Is Po-210 harmful to humans?
Po-210 is a radiation hazard only if it is taken into the body through breathing or eating or by entering a wound. This "internal contamination" can cause irradiation of internal organs, which can result in serious medical symptoms or death. Po-210 is not an external hazard to the body-neither polonium nor its radiation will penetrate intact skin or membranes. Most external traces of it can be removed through careful washing. For more information about contamination and irradiation (exposure), see CDC’s fact sheet "Radiological Contamination and Radiation Exposure"


Are other people at risk if they come into close contact with a contaminated person?
People will not be exposed to radiation (irradiated) simply by being near a person who is internally contaminated with Po-210. Health care workers who are providing care for a contaminated patient will not be exposed to Po-210 unless they inhale or ingest contaminated bodily fluids. Normal hygiene practices in hospitals for microbial contamination will be sufficient to protect workers from radiological contamination. For more information on radiation protection for health care workers, see CDC’s "Radiological Terrorism: Tool Kit for Emergency Services Clinicians"


What should you do if you have concerns about possible exposure related to the London incident?
If you were an overseas visitor during early November 2006 and think you might have had contact with persons or locations involved in the London incident see

This is rich

U.S. to unveil new citizenship questions
Up until now, the people I know with the most knowledge of US history, the constitution, the brances of government and what they do, are the foreign born citizens. Now the US gubmint is going to make the questions harder and more in depth. They are going to delve into the civil war too. Hmm. Try to find a northerner who knows much about the civil war.

They are now going to ask them CIVICS QUESTIONS!
When are they going to teach civics to those born here? We wouldn't be in this freaking mess in the US with all this division if those born and bred here knew civics, for gawd's sake.

They ought to give these citizen tests to the goddamn elected officials and pundits! I'd like to see bush try to pass the old citizenship test.

UPDATE: Want to see how you'd do on a civics test? Try this.
hat tip to Father Tyme.

I have no idea how the clusterfuck will be resolved

Re Bush agrees to speedy turnover in Iraq

Bush finally met with al-Maliki (Shiite) but not with King Abdulla II of Jordan (Sunni) in their presence. This was not Bush's idea. As you know, al-Maliki is supported by the Mahdi Army headed by Al-Sadr (Shiite) and they are responsible for much of the "sectarian violence" also known as the civil war (if there ever was a definition of civil war).

The official quoted al-Maliki as telling Bush that controlling the group "is not a big problem and we will find a solution for it."

Yeah right. Yesterday al-Sadr's group resigned from the Iraqi parliament in protest of al-Maliki's visit in Jordan. That may be why al-Maliki didn't meet with with King of Jordan and Bush simultaneously. It also could be because the bushistas leaked a negative memo about al-Maliki's competence as a leader. (two-faced aren't they?)

Bush says, "Heck of a job, Maliki." Uh oh. You know what happens after that: Maliki finds a horse's head in his bed.

" I appreciate the courage you show during these difficult times as you lead your country," Bush told al-Maliki after nearly two and a half hours of talks. "He's the right guy for Iraq." It was their third face-to-face meeting since al-Maliki took power about six months ago.

"There is no problem," declared al-Maliki.

Bush has maintained recently that Iraq is a sovereign nation and is capable of fighting its own battles, yet we read that 20,000 more troops may be sent to Baghdad to quell the violence. It seems like it's too little too late, but what the hell do I know? We have no idea who is running the show. I hope bush isn't making these decisions.

Bush doesn't want to see Iran (Shiite) help Iraq either. But al-Maliki is open to help from neighboring countries. President Talabani from Iraq enlisted help from Iran the other day as you may recall. There is also the possibility that help may be sought by the U.S. from Saudi Arabia (Sunni). The bush administration wants Sunni help and Maliki wants Shiite help.

So there is still no exit date and bush vowed to stay the course in Iraq with no graceful exit until there is victory even though no one can explain what victory will look like.

Now comes the interesting part:
You know that bi-partisan commission that was set up to figure out this mess? They have a plan and it flies in the face of everything bush has said.

A bipartisan commission next week will unveil long-awaited recommendations for a new U.S. policy in Iraq that a published report said would call for a gradual pullback of U.S. troops there — without a timetable — and direct diplomacy with Iran and Syria.

Alrighty then. I suspect that something big is going to go down next week.

What would you do if you were Maliki? I discussed this with Billydoom last night and we would go into exile if we were Maliki. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Plea for help

Leola Kinchen works at Fred's discount store in Louisiana and is a friend of Anntichrist S Coulter. Leola suffers from Neurofibromatosis-1, a condition commonly known as "Elephant Man's disease," even though recent research has suggested that John Merrick suffered from a variety of other diseases.

Lee has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, which is part of her disease, and that this tumor is pressing down on 8 of the 15 major nerve branches in her brain, as well as causing blockages and constriction of most of her major blood vessels in her brain.

Due to even more complications, Lee cannot receive SSDI/SSI, Medicare & Medicaid, and food stamps, because of her "part-time" job at Fred's, which won't even provide her with a healthcare plan until next year. Lee may not live that long.

Annti is actively seeking someone who is a grant writer or who has ties to a corporation willing to help with financing Lee's hospitalization which will run well over $100,000.

Lee desperately needs your help and any contribution will be greatly appreciated. Checks can be sent to the address below.

Fund For Leola Kinchen
Bank Of St. Francisville
P.O. Drawer 818
St. Francisville, LA 70775

There is a pay pal button at the website Annti set up for Lee.
Please help spread the word about Lee.

You can read all about Lee at http://forleola.blogspot.com/

Douchebag of the Week?

UPDATE: Not only is Prager dumb, he is a liar. He made up the whole controversy about Keith Ellison wanting to be sworn in with his hand on a Koran. In addition, the swearing-in ceremony for the House of Representatives never includes a religious book.


Perhaps Dennis Prager of Townhall.com should be the main contender although there are so many others. Prager may have opened a can of worms that he will regret.

Check out America, Not Keith Ellison, decides what book a congressman takes his oath on
and do read the comments as well. I can't decide who is more ignorant over there. Here's the problem as seen by Prager:

Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the first Muslim elected to the United States Congress, has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible, but on the bible of Islam, the Koran. He should not be allowed to do so -- not because of any American hostility to the Koran, but because the act undermines American civilization.

Our "civilization" went down the tubes when Americans decided that they'd rather vote for bush because he'd make a good drinking buddy. Maybe it's time to just do away with swearing on the bible since it's so divisive in a pluralistic society and it's not required by the constitution to swear on a bible. Personally, I never believed in swearing on a bible even when I was "religious". He goes on:

Devotees of multiculturalism and political correctness who do not see how damaging to the fabric of American civilization it is to allow Ellison to choose his own book need only imagine a racist elected to Congress. Would they allow him to choose Hitler's "Mein Kampf," the Nazis' bible, for his oath? And if not, why not? On what grounds will those defending Ellison's right to choose his favorite book deny that same right to a racist who is elected to public office?

First of all, the wingers are the political correctness devotees. Secondly, there ARE racists elected to public office and they are hypocrites who swear on the bible. Yes it sucks that there are racists holding public office, but if their constituents want a racist representative then they are entitled to have one and the rest of us are entitled to protest it. Mr Prager is entitled under the first amendment to suggest that swearing on the Koran may lead to a congresscritter to one day swear on Mein Kampf even if it's a ridiculous assertion. (It's also quite possible that some of our critters on capital hill do consider Mein Kampf their favorite book.)

Will you shop online?

I prefer to shop online. It's definitely more relaxing and less frustrating. A poll shows that NYers will spend the most of their holiday budget doing online shopping.

The poll showed that on average, $1,483 of a New Yorker's average holiday budget of $2,137 will be spent online. New Yorkers also had a significantly large lead; Orlando, Fla., came in second at an average of $645 spent online. Considering 58 percent of those polled said that they shop online to save time, it's not entirely surprising that New Yorkers came in first.

New Yorkers are always in a rush, you know. Isn't that what they say? When I travel around the country and see how darn slow things are everywhere else, I suppose that we look like we're in a rush. ;-) It doesn't look that way when you are here though. It just seems normal.

Here is another reason why NYers may shop online: The shipping costs can be cheaper than the sales tax we pay in NY which is almost 9%, thank you very much.

Lots of cooks in the kitchen now

UPDATE: al-Maliki did not meet with bush today. Bush didn't even find out about the cancellation until he arrived at the palace of of King Abdulla II in Jordan. Some say it is because of the memo below from the White House. The WH of course, denies it, so it must be true:

"Absolutely not," Bartlett said." He said the king and the prime minister had met before Bush arrived from a NATO summit in Latvia. "That negated the purpose to meet tonight together in a trilateral setting."

Some analysts say however the the memo leak might have been a good thing because it will show the distance between bush and al-Maliki to the Iraqi's.

Now on the other hand, "Radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's parliamentary bloc suspended its participation in the Iraqi government in protest at Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's meeting with the US president in Jordan." So that could be why al-Maliki hasn't met with bush. Hang in there. We'll see what happens.

-------------------
Bush will meet with al-Maliki in Jordon today to try to get him to step up security in his country.

But in a classified Nov. 8 memo following his Oct. 30 trip to Baghdad, Hadley expressed serious doubts about whether al-Maliki had the capacity to control the sectarian violence in Iraq, and recommended steps to strengthen the Iraqi leader's position, The New York Times reported in Wednesday editions.

"The reality on the streets of Baghdad suggests Maliki is either ignorant of what is going on, misrepresenting his intentions, or that his capabilities are not yet sufficient to turn his good intentions into action," the story quoted the memo as saying.

I wonder the same thing about Bush. Does he have a clue as to what is going on in Baghdad? Does he lose sleep at night knowing what he and his cronies have done? Does he read the news or is he still surrounded by 'yes men'?

Meanwhile, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani met with Iranian leaders:

"... for two days of talks with government officials to seek their support in quelling Iraq's violence. Iran, a Shiite Muslim country, is known to have considerable influence among Iraq's Shiite majority — elements of which have been blamed for the bulk of the recent attacks."
...

The Iranians have declared that "they are quite ready for complete cooperation with the Iraqi government to restore security and stability in Iraq," Osman said in a telephone interview from Tehran. He did not elaborate on how Iran would take part in curbing the violence.

Ok, so the Iranians know how to "deal with" the Shiites.... and meanwhile the Saudi's say they'll intervene if the US withdraws:

Using money, weapons or its oil power, Saudi Arabia will intervene to prevent Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias from massacring Iraqi Sunni Muslims once the United States begins pulling out of Iraq, a security adviser to the Saudi government said on Wednesday.

Oh this sounds... interesting.

The hawks are not really interested in all this though. They want complete victory in Iraq. There is no plan for victory, but they want it. Doesn't it sound like a world war?

What do you think of this poll?

A Quinnipiac University "Thermometer Poll" was released Monday. The poll asks respondents to rank the warmth of their feelings for a particular politican on a scale of 0-100.

1) Rudolph Giuliani - 64.2.
2) Sen. Barack Obama 58.8
3) Sen. John McCain 57.7
4) Condoleezza Rice - 56.1
5) Bill Clinton - 55.8
6) Sen. Joseph Lieberman - 52.7
7) NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg - 51.1
8) John Edwards - 49.9
9) Sen. Hillary Clinton - 49
10) N.M. Gov. Bill Richardson - 47.7
11) Sen. Joseph Biden 47
12) Nancy Pelosi 46.9
13) Gov. Mitt Romney - 45.9
14) Former VP Al Gore - 44.9
15) President George Bush - 43.8
16) Sen. Evan Bayh - 43.3
17) Newt Gingrich - 42
18) Sen. Bill Frist - 41.5
19) Sen. Harry Reid - 41.2
20) Sen. John Kerry - 39.6

Veterans Day - Week 2 issues

Congress to Ponder Conscription?
by Rep. Ron Paul


thank you Rep Ron Paul, but

it's the same speech, different date.

and Rep Rangel, you too,
same threat, different day.

Do you guys hang around together?

_____________________________________________


WHY DON'T YOU TWO WORK TOGETHER ON

THIS ISSUE:Depleted Uranium Situation Worsens

Bush means business!! Can you imagine such a thing???

U.S. Bans Sale of IPods to North Korea

The Bush administration wants North Korea's attention, so like a scolding parent it's trying to make it tougher for that country's eccentric leader to buy iPods, plasma televisions and Segway electric scooters.

The U.S. government's first-ever effort to use trade sanctions to personally aggravate a foreign president expressly targets items believed to be favored by Kim Jong Il or presented by him as gifts to the roughly 600 loyalist families who run the communist government.

(I just bought my first ipod this past weekend -- WOW! I can't believe what I have been missing.)

I did not know that.

Did you know that 22,000 people arrived outside the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation in Fort Benning, Georgia on Sunday for a protest? Funny that the MSM didn't pick up on it. You remember that place. They just changed the name to protect the guilty. It used to be called the School of the Assassins Americas, where the US military would train Latin American soldiers to kill and torture.

Here is the google search I did to find out about it.

What A Tool.

Newt Gingrich spoke at the annual Nackey S. Loeb First Amendment award dinner, which fetes people and organizations that stand up for freedom of speech in Manchester, NH last night.

[He said that] “the country will be forced to reexamine freedom of speech to meet the threat of terrorism.” And that a "different set of rules" may be needed to reduce terrorists' ability to use the Internet and free speech to recruit and get out their message. "We need to get ahead of the curve before we actually lose a city, which I think could happen in the next decade," he also said.


So just STFU or the terrorists will blow us up.

USA vs W

Yes, it has actually been put down on paper although not filed(yet).

Take a look at it and lets here what you think. United States of America Vs. George W. Bush

Baby, It's Warm Outside

I still have blooming impatience, chrysanthemums and pansies here at the very end of November. My neighbor's geraniums and petunias are still thriving. Our lawns are still growing here on Long Island. With temps in the 60's, there is no need to wear a jacket when you go out during the day. No one is complaining as they leisurely hang their christmas lights on their houses. By now, we should have had a killing frost. We've used less than 200 gallons of fuel in the past nine months in my family and there is definitely something strange going on. Could it be this?

Carbon emissions show sharp rise
By Richard Black
The rise in humanity's emissions of carbon dioxide has accelerated sharply, according to a new analysis.

The Global Carbon Project says that emissions were rising by less than 1% annually up to the year 2000, but are now rising at 2.5% per year.

It says the acceleration comes mainly from a rise in charcoal consumption and a lack of new energy efficiency gains.

Charcoal is filthy isn't it? Some of us have deliberately limited our use of fossil fuels but it just seems futile. Have you noticed any decrease in people using mega SUVs as grocery and kid chasers? Not in my neck of the woods. It looks like a Lincoln Navigator dealership in front of the local elementary school at 3 o'clock. People are still oblivious aren't they? And who is going to complain about sun bathing in November in the northeast?

So, who screwed up our kids? Why can't public schools get these kids to perform......

you know, like we did way back when. How many tests, besides classroom subject tests, did we have in school? (I started kindergarten in 1960something). I'm sure there must have been some kind of standardized test we took that measured our progres. I know it wasn't every other week though! I don't remember at the moment. I just went to school, did what I was told -- LIVED for recess and band -- went home and did my homework (by myself), watched McHale's Navy everyday at 6pm and went outside and played, played, played!! Rode bikes, knocked on doors, played baseball in the street, or a million other different games we made up. I took a couple of dancing classes as a kid, but that was it. No gymnastics, soccer club, t-ball, karate, etc. One car per family -- dad took it to work and life was pretty simple.

Besides the breakdown of the family, what else has contributed to teachers being unable to get american school children to perform as well as kids from other countries? Nothing is working. 'No child left behind' seems to have made things worse. How much lower do the 'test results' have to be to say "IT'S NOT WORKING"!


Pierre Tristam's latest:The Mis-Education of America
Revenge of the Home-Schoolers
is a great commentary, and is what got me going on this subject.

I really don't care for a lot of what I hear happens during the course of a school day. I spend way to much time undoing what they see and hear all day when they get home. I would love to homeschool my kids, but I know myself all too well. I would take waaay to many field trips and probably try to find the movie instead of reading the book!!

(It's a great read, and I think he is spot on. Join in on his comment thread if you'd like.)



I came across this video by Bob Sinclair called
"Love Generation" and
it's message, spoke volumes to me.

As much as I hate to say it....It DOES take a village.


Maybe combine the two?

It takes a village to make sure no child is left behind......

More Questions Than Answers in Queens Shooting of Groom and Friends

In this article, Police Questioned After N.Y. Shootings, we learn that

None of the five unidentified officers had ever fired their 16-shot semiautomatic pistols on patrol before that morning, officials said. The undercover officer fired first, squeezing off 11 rounds; another, a 12-year-veteran, fired 31 times, meaning he paused to reload.

Officials said all the officers would have received training to combat against "contagious or sympathetic fire" -- when police become disoriented by the sound of friendly fire and blast away at a phantom threat.

"We stress when officers go to the range that they fire no more than three rounds and then assess what the situation is," Kelly said.

The 37,000-officer New York Police Department, the nation's largest, trains its members on "how to defend themselves and not use excessive force," Bloomberg said Monday. "What exactly happened here, we do not know."

Sharpton wasn't buying that "excuse", but in yesterday's paper it was revealed that "Multiple shots fired are common"

To the average person, 50 may seem like an excessive number of bullets fired by police officers.

Yet several criminologists said basic police training and the dynamics of shooting confrontations can often lead to high numbers of bullets fired and that little can be done to avoid such outcomes.

You often hear people say, 'Why couldn't they just shoot him in the leg, or why couldn't they just shoot the air out of his tire? Well, the police are not trained to do that," said Tom Nolan, a professor of criminal justice at Boston University...

The general rule in police training is that officers can use deadly force when they perceive "imminent death or bodily harm" to themselves or others.
...
"They receive training that really tells them not to shoot, except in dire circumstances," O'Donnell said. "What is less easy to teach is that once a decision is made to shoot, how and when they should stop."

There is a lot for me to learn about all this. My opinion on the whole matter is still reserved pending further investigation. One thing is for sure, NYC's Mayor Mike Bloomberg is no Rudy Guiliani.
Bloomberg believes 'excessive force' was used in deadly shooting

Of the victims, Bloomberg said Monday: "There is no evidence that they were doing anything wrong," referring to everything leading up to the moment they struck an officer with their car.

Still not a civil war according to bush

Bush: Iraq violence part of al-Qaida plot

President Bush said Tuesday that the sectarian violence rocking Iraq is part of an al-Qaida plot to goad Iraqi factions into repeated attacks and counterattacks.

"No question it's tough, no question about it," Bush said at a news conference with Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves. "There's a lot of sectarian violence taking place, fomented in my opinion because of the attacks by al-Qaida causing people to seek reprisal."

UPDATE 10AM: Bush just gave a speech in Latvia avoiding the use of the term, "civil war." He has vowed once again to leave our troops in Iraq until there is a victory. He didn't state what a victory would look like.

More importantly, in bimbo news, Britney has been seen shopping and partying with Paris Hilton (didn't she just have a baby?) and the bush twins have allegedly been asked to leave Argentina (one of them left so far).

Iraq. How fucked up is this?

Now that the shit has totally hit the fan and Iraq is in a bigger mess than could ever be dreamed of, congressional leaders are pressing bush on Iraq. The president will fly to Jordan to talk to allies about doing something about the quagmire as if anything he ever does has any effect on anything. Cheney met with the clowned prince of Saudia Arabia the other day... and the clowned prince wanted to talk about Palestine v Israel and the situation in Lebanon rather than Iraq. Notice that our leaders only speak to their friends? I would want to keep dialogue open with my "enemies" if I were a world leader, but what the hell do I know?

Oh wait, Panel to Weigh Overture by U.S. to Iran, Syria

Mr. Bush spent 90 minutes with commission members in a closed session at the White House two weeks ago “essentially arguing why we should embrace what amounts to a ‘stay the course’ strategy,” said one commission official who was present.

Officials said that the draft of the section on diplomatic strategy, which was heavily influenced by Mr. Baker, seemed to reflect his public criticism of the administration for its unwillingness to talk with nations like Iran and Syria.

But senior administration officials, including Stephen J. Hadley, the president’s national security adviser, have expressed skepticism that either of those nations would go along, especially while Iran is locked in a confrontation with the United States over its nuclear program. “Talking isn’t a strategy,” he said in an interview in October.

Mr Hadley, you are so wrong. You don't read the news and your administration never even tried to talk to enemies so how the hell do you know? Why don't you all sit there and discuss strategy in your comfy rooms while my friend is fighting for his life in Baghdad?

And the most ironic part? Iraqi President Jalal Talabani will fly to Tehran to meet with Ahmadinejad once it's safe for him to actually go to the airport and fly out of Iraq.

On Sunday, Iran's president said his country was willing to take a more active role in Iraq's future.

Ahmadinejad first lambasted the United States and its allies, in particular Britain, for being "accomplices in the crimes committed in Iraq," according to state-run news agency, IRNA. The president, an acerbic critic of U.S. policy, called on the United States and Britain to leave that war-torn country.

"You have to stop bullying, threatening and insulting nations. Today, you and your hegemony are about to collapse," he said.

Later, in the same speech, Ahmadinejad offered to help the United States "put an end to the present situation" in Iraq, on the condition that Washington stop its "bullying" in that country, and revise its approach in the Middle East.

"In that case, Iran will be ready to help you out," he said.

Oh man. Let's see how this plays out. Will the bushista's hubris prevent them from allowing Iran and/or Syria stop the madness in Iraq?

The East Will Dominate the West

How do you like these headlines?
West must prepare for Chinese, Indian dominance
(isn't that one of the end times bible prophesies too?)

Former World Bank chief James Wolfensohn has warned that western nations must prepare for a "future dominated by China and India, whose rapid economic rise will soon fundamentally alter the balance of power."

So this is what happened while we were all sleeping and the corporate powered government was at work?

Wolfensohn said that somewhere between 2030 and 2040, China would become the largest economy in the world, leaving the United States behind.

By 2050, China's current two trillion US dollar GDP was set to balloon to 48.6 trillion, while that of India, whose economy weighs in at under a trillion dollars, would hit 27 trillion, he said, citing projections by investment bank Goldman Sachs.

In comparison, the US's 13 trillion dollar income would expand to only 37 trillion -- 10 trillion behind China.

"You will have in the growth of these countries a 22 times growth between now and the year 2050 and the current rich countries will grow maybe 2.5 times."

In light of these forecasts, it was clear that Western nations and Australia were not investing enough in educating the next generation to be able to take advantage of the coming realignment, he said.

"The fact that not enough of our young people are preparing themselves with knowledge, experience, residence and language to deal certainly with China, although India has the benefit of an English language, it does seem to me that it presents a formidable challenge."

Wolfensohn pointed to both China's and India's recent substantial investments in Africa as an example of how the two emerging giants were exercising their increasing clout on the global stage.

"Within the last two weeks the world has been put on notice that Africa is no longer the basket case that everybody had historically thought it was but is now front and centre in terms of development by India and China."

I certainly hope that China and India do a better job with Africa than the western nations did and teach them about STD transmission in a responsible way.

The president gave a speech in February of this year, "Some people have said the 21st century will be the Asian century. I believe the 21st century will be freedom's century. And together, free Asians and free Americans will seize the opportunities this new century offers and lay the foundation of peace and prosperity for generations to come."

He left out the part where free Asia would leave free America in the dust, not that it wasn't obvious it would happen.

The War on Peace Continues

UPDATE: The subdivision has approved the woman's peace wreath. Peace at last.

So a woman hangs a Christmas wreath on her house in the shape of a peace sign- you know, Peace on Earth, Goodwill To Men... her neighbors go apeshit thinking that it's a sign of Satan or an anti-war protest (which perhaps it might be and so the hell what?) And why on earth doesn't the president of the association tell the morons who think it's a satanic symbol that it's not? The homeowners association president doesn't think that people should hang symbols or flags that might be construed as "divisive" and has decided to charge her $25/day for ignoring the subdivision's rules that say "no signs, billboards or advertising are permitted without the consent of the architectural control committee." Architecture control committee? Scary.

Wouldn't Christmas decorations on a home be considered divisive if you are going to be picky about not insulting your very thin skinned neighbors who have no lives? Not hanging any decorations on your home at Christmas time can be divisive too.

There are some people in the subdivision whose family members are serving in Iraq and they are also offended by the peace symbol. That, I don't get. Are they worried that if there is peace, someone will be out of a job? Who says that people who advocate for peace hate the military? It could be that most people who advocate for peace would like to see the military used for defense rather than war profiteering. That's offensive?

Why not educate "silly" people rather than let their ignorance dictate the social agenda? This political correctness has gotten completely out of hand.

Is this "homowners association" business just practice for the fascist take over of America? You buy a home, you have to pay taxes and then you have to live by a bunch of rules decided by your neighbors who may or may not be nazi sympathizers? They would have to pay ME to live under such conditions. If people have enough money to buy a new home in this day and age, they should certainly be able to decide for themselves how they want to present their homes on the outside. It works in my neighborhood and where millions upon millions of other people live.

The committee members in the homeowner's association decided that the woman shouldn't be forced to take down the wreath, so the president of the association fired the committee members. I suspect that there will be mutiny.

Hat tip to Eclectics Anonymous

What's with all the presidents and former prime ministers fainting?

Berlusconi slumps over during speech

Mexico's Fox out of danger after dizzy spell
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - "Mexican President Vicente Fox became faint on Sunday at a farewell party at his ranch five days before leaving office but is out of danger, the government said.

"After the corresponding medical examination, the president returned to the celebration, which continued in a cordial atmosphere," his office said in a statement."

And they're buddies of our head dumshit. Ya' s'pose gigologeorge sent them a bag of pretzels? Hmm.

UPDATE: Maybe I answered my own question: Perhaps they were overwhelmed by the thought of "Bush the Diplomat":

Bush Set for Burst of Talks With Allies
Bush Heading Overseas Again for a Week of High-Stakes Diplomacy on Iraq, Afghanistan

instead of "Bush the kill-crazy, war-mongering, imbecile".

Protester Immolation Virtually Unnoticed

CHICAGO -- Malachi Ritscher envisioned his death as one full of purpose.

He carefully planned the details, mailed a copy of his apartment key to a friend, created to-do lists for his family. On his Web site, the 52-year-old experimental musician who'd fought with depression even penned his obituary.

At 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 3 -- four days before an election caused a seismic shift in Washington politics -- Ritscher, a frequent anti-war protester, stood by an off-ramp in downtown Chicago near a statue of a giant flame, set up a video camera, doused himself with gasoline and lit himself on fire.

Aglow for the crush of morning commuters, his flaming body was supposed to be a call to the nation, a symbol of his rage and discontent with the U.S. war in Iraq.

"Here is the statement I want to make: if I am required to pay for your barbaric war, I choose not to live in your world. I refuse to finance the mass murder of innocent civilians, who did nothing to threaten our country," he wrote in his suicide note. "... If one death can atone for anything, in any small way, to say to the world: I apologize for what we have done to you, I am ashamed for the mayhem and turmoil caused by my country."

There was only one problem: No one was listening.

Here is the rest of this very sad story.

Science a la Joe Camel, by Laurie David

At hundreds of screenings this year of "An Inconvenient Truth," the first thing many viewers said after the lights came up was that every student in every school in the United States needed to see this movie.

The producers of former vice president Al Gore's film about global warming, myself included, certainly agreed. So the company that made the documentary decided to offer 50,000 free DVDs to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) for educators to use in their classrooms. It seemed like a no-brainer.

The teachers had a different idea: Thanks but no thanks, they said.


UNBELIEVABLE!Read the rest here...

_______________________________________________________________
Laurie David is married to Larry David, and worked on the "Earth to America" comedy special last year.
Here's his monologue. Both of them are truly dedicated to these issues and work hard to bring global warming reality to the public's attention.

Iraq Fever in NY?

Cops shoot 3, kill groom on wedding day

I'm not sure exactly what started it in Queens but the NYPD felt it necessary to fire 50 rounds of ammo at 3 unarmed men in a moving car also spraying homes and a train station with gunfire. They had just left a strip club (sheesh) where the driver's bachelor party took place. He was to be married the next day and 250 guests were expected. Al Sharpton is all over this. I will hold my written opinion until all the facts are in yet I will be shooting my big mouth off when I'm off the record.

UPDATE: The situation escalates as crowds gather demanding answers to what happened. The article also states what I thought was the law in NY: that police may not open fire on a moving vehicle "unless deadly force is being used against the police officers or another person present, by means other than a moving vehicle." Hmm.

It still hasn't been determined if the undercover cops actually identified themselves as such. (I get the impression from reading the story that the 3 men did not know that the guys with guns were cops and were just trying to get the hell out of there.) We'll see.

Music Review

Ever wonder what happened to those geeky kids who played in the school orchestra? They are cool cats now and playing with Brian Setzer (of the Stray Cats fame) Orchestra who's on the annual coast to coast tour for the holidays (tour schedule).

Long Islander, Setzer sells out each year when he comes back to perform at the Westbury Music Fair, now named for some bank but we still call it by the old name here in Westbury. It's a great way to kick off the holidays each year even if you're not even ready for the holidays and don't even care about them. I guess my holidays were kicked off last night. It's just too bad that you're stuck in a seat when the band starts playing and your foot starts tapping.

After many songs with the orchestra, Brian played some great rockabilly classics with the bass player and the drummer to remind us of 25 years ago when we were young and pretty and the Stray Cats would prowl Long Island. Setzer still looks pretty.

Are We There Yet? by Edgar J. Steele

My name is Edgar J. Steele.

You probably already have heard this, from both others and me, but here it is again, received over the Internet from a list member quoting an unnamed source :

"This has long been said to be the line of demarcation for the US dollar. Below $0.85 there is not much to support it."
Only five or six years ago it was around $1.25. Thirty five percent is a lot of value to lose in that short period of time. From here, further decline could be faster. China - by its buying of the world's resources - is going to create enormous upward pressure on all commodity prices.
STOP

cue:
Sesame Street: Dragnet Parody - Wanted Letter W

Btw,
Got Gold?

My family puts the FUN in dysFUNctional!!!

How was YOUR thanksgiving holiday?

I was thankful that I had been whistling this tune all week, and that it was fresh in my mind -- it helped me get through the day.


ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE
(watch video and wistle along!!)


oh -- THE FOOD WAS FABULOUS!!

and as always....I thank goddess above for my sister!

(God got me in 'Eric Idle Mode' last week with this catchy tune about our galaxy)

Obligatory Friday Sex Post

Hair Color for Down There
As long as it matches the hair on your head, you don't have to shave it off in order to be fashionable when you're naked. Oh thank Gawd. I was so worried about that.


Speaking of bush maintenance, a Missouri law regarding cosmetologists and barbers also provides that parental consent must be given for a minor to obtain body waxing on or near genitalia. Mommy can I get my bush waxed? Of course, honey. Let me write you a permission note.

Meanwhile, have you watched the one minute Dove Campaign for real beauty movie?

Open Thread

Yesterday I tried to take a day off from worrying (not really) about the US invasion and occupation of Iraq and believed I could leave it to our administration to watch over our troops, so imagine just how pleased I was to find out that our leader took time from his day to call 10 sevice members from his cushy chair and wish them a happy Thanksgiving while the situation in Iraq goes straight to hell.

Happy Thanksgiving

Arlo Guthrie performs the classic Alice's Restaurant

You might ask, "HUH"?

Shortly into his latest post, entitled "Special Blog Post: Thankfulness"
The Dark Wraith utters these words: "I am thankful for our President, George W. Bush." And you might be thinking, "My god, the poor old fellow has slipped over the edge". No such thing.

Enough of my words.

Read His Here.

Notice anything strange about this headline?:

"Bush, Maliki to meet as Iraqi deaths hit new high"

The article from the usually reliable Reuters, goes on to say,
"U.S. President George W. Bush will meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Jordan next week with grim new statistics showing record numbers of Iraqis were killed last month and many more fled the country.

"A U.N. report put civilian deaths in October at 3,709 -- 120 a day and up from 3,345 in September." Reuters. (If that link doesn't work, go to their Main Page.)

But then, we contrast that with this CNN article which, using the British Medical Journal Lancet as a source says that since the beginning of the war, 655,000 Iraqis have died: "Violence including gunfire and bombs caused the majority of deaths but thousands of people died from worsening health and environmental conditions directly related to the conflict that began in 2003, U.S. and Iraqi public health researchers said. Since March 2003, an additional 2.5 percent of Iraq's population have died above what would have occurred without conflict..." which works out to about 22,000+ deaths every month.

Of course, the (usually UNreliable) CNN report came out on October 11, a little less than a month before elections. Which lends credence to my theory that the Republicans, with the compliance of the MSM, wanted to throw the elections.

Winning Hearts and Minds Here and Abroad

Yesterday the story broke that U.S. RATED WORST FOR TRAVEL

The study, conducted by the polling firm RT Strategies for the Discover America Partnership, was intended to help "promote travel to the United States and improve the country's image abroad."

Instead it showed the U.S. as rated twice as unfriendly in its procedures as the runner-up: the Middle East and the Asian subcontinent. Over half of the 2,000 travelers surveyed termed U.S. immigration officials as "rude," while two-thirds said they feared they would be detained on arriving in the United States "for a simple mistake in their paper work or for saying the wrong thing to an immigration official."

Oh jeez, they are so rude at the airports overall. Since when does "security" have to entail rudeness?

Today it's reported that travel will also be a pain in the ass for Americans:

The Homeland Security Department will require virtually all air travelers entering the United States after Jan. 23 to show passports - even U.S. citizens.

Until now, U.S. citizens, travelers from Canada and Bermuda, and some travelers from Mexico who have special border-crossing cards for frequent visitors were allowed to show other proofs of identification, such as drivers' licenses or birth certificates.

It really does seem more like they are trying to keep us in, doesn't it?

Just stay home for thanksgiving.
If you are traveling by air this weekend or anytime soon, remember that your liquids are still an issue in carry on luggage as my son learned this past week in San Jose. You have to carry your liquids in a clear zip lock bag (check) but the containers can't be larger than 3 oz. (uh oh)

When I picked him up at JFK the other morning, I notice that the line to get through security at 7am was virtually stopped dead due to the liquids issue.

First they said that you can't bring box cutters on the plane, but it didn't pertain to me.
Then they went after manicure sets, but it didn't pertain to me.
Then they went after my Oil of Olay, and it was too late, there was no one left to advocate for me.

Lame Duck Pardons Turkey

"Tomorrow at the White House, President Bush will pardon the turkey ... and today, Dick Cheney spent all day torturing it" --David Letterman

Today: President is more careful around turkey.

More on the draft

Yesterday I was listening to Al Franken on Air America Radio. He had Lawrence O'Donnell on and they were talking about Charlie Rangel's idea of reintroducing the draft. I posted something the other day about the draft saying that I am against it, but I thought Rangel had a point in that it is something that should be debated by congress only to get American people thinking about the war, any war, and it's ramifications. O'Donnell had pretty much the same opinion- Let Rangel's bill come to congress and let them debate it. It's so unsettling to hear peoeple advocate for the war and yet they have no intention of fighting it- let the poor suckers who volunteered fight our battles, is the name of the game.

Today he writes in Huffington Post a few good reasons why this debate should happen:

Let the Republicans give speeches listing all the good reasons why we should have a volunteer Army. But let's hear Rangel's speech about how the burden of war is not fairly shared in this country. Let's get America thinking about exactly who is being left in the line of fire in the war Americans have turned against and know we can't win. Let's get America thinking about John Kerry's line about Vietnam--who is going to be the last soldier to die for a mistake? A real debate on the draft will do that. Don't worry, the bill has no chance of passing.
---
I've reached a Rangel-like breaking point with my TV pundit colleagues who championed the Iraq war and now say we can't leave even if we went there for the wrong reasons. For every one of them, I have a simple question: Why aren't you in Iraq? Or why did you avoid combat in your generation's war? The one unifying characteristic that all of us men in make-up on political chat shows share is fear of combat. Every one of us has done everything we can to avoid combat or even being fitted for a military uniform. Just like George Bush, Bill Clinton, and Dick Cheney, we are all combat cowards. It takes a very special kind of combat coward to advocate combat for others. It's the kind of thing that can get you as angry as Charlie Rangel.

Poor Papa Bush

Papa Bush visited Abu Dhabi today at a leadership conference. Forty one was shocked by the hostility toward 43. Apparently 41 is also living in a bubble.

"We do not respect your son. We do not respect what he's doing all over the world," a woman in the audience bluntly told Bush after his speech.

Bush, 82, appeared stunned as others in the audience whooped and whistled in approval.

41 answered a student who criticized globalization saying that it's nuts to think that the US only does things for the money. 41 is right, the student left out "power".

The hostile comments came during a quesion-and-answer session after Bush finished a folksy address on leadership by telling the audience how deeply hurt he feels when his presidential son is criticized.

If 43 was my son, I'd be mortified at his actions and yet upset when others made fun of him. But when you live life in the public eye, wheeling and dealing around the world in order to make your friends richer and more powerful, it's something you will just have to get used to.

Bush said he was surprised by the audience's criticism of his son.

"He is working hard for peace. It takes a lot of guts to get up and tell a father about his son in those terms when I just told you the thing that matters in my heart is my family," he said. "How come everybody wants to come to the United States if the United States is so bad?"

Because the regular people are so very lovely.

Flower Power People Are Still Ruining the Country

OH for goodness' sake. Now I know what happened to our country, why it went down the tubes and why everything is so darn icky... the hippies haven't all died yet.

Jenean Mcbrearty, a columnist at the Lexington Herald-leader declares that "America won't win another war until the 1960s flower children are pushing up petunias." Damn hippies still want utopia and they refuse to accept reality. Apparently the reality is that everyone is out to get us and we are not scared enough.

Silly Ms Mcbrearty goes on to create a straw hippy that has influenced the straw media:

For example, consider their continued belief that America's armed forces are neo-Nazi stormtroopers who delight in burning babies to further the aims of imperialistic corporations. Such nonsense, now treated as legitimate by the left-leaning media, denigrates the patriotic values and sincerity of half the nation.

Um. No. Not the troops- their leaders, but thanks for trying.

And how dare the flower children, the dirty, looney hippies renounce the military industrial complex when they are in business to keep us safe! And those pagan hippies want us to lose the war in Iraq too:

Their BAWL (Buddha-Allah-Wicca-Lenin) is better than some old Judeo-Christian God.

In their heart of hearts, lefty loonies do want America to lose in Iraq and every military theater. They want outside enemies to accomplish quickly the demolition of American capitalism, using the violence the lefty loonies are too old, too scared and too well-invested to use.

Outside enemies? Our enemies are within, but thanks for trying again. Not all capitalism needs to be demolished, silly... just cruel capitalism a/k/a corporatism or fascism.

Do read her interesting op ed and perhaps write her a note.

Have at it.

Mr Bush goes to Hawaii.



UPDATE BELOW: Oh my god, what is he doing?



Hat tip to deebee who wrote: Trial fitting at NOOSES 'r' US, Hague outlet

Interesting Stuff in The News This Morning

Bush says that he "would understand" if Israel attacked Iran (so is that the plan?). French government official says it would be a disaster if Israel attacked Iran saying that it would only add 2 years to the completion of Iran's nuclear program and that Iran surely would cancel membership the Non-Proliferation Treaty and maybe target bigger fish than Israel in the future.

Cheney says, "we don't need no stinking congress to declare war on Iran." He demonstrates how he'd do it by reminiscing on how he ripped off and short changed the power company he worked for in Wyoming as a lad and how he would use the same technique on any legislative restrictions. Why is he still alive?

US Won't Be Rid Of Arms until 2023. The Pentagon has extended its timeline to destroy and dispose of the US' stash of chemical weapons until 11 years after the due date. Imagine how much stuff could be stolen? It's not like the US is good at keeping weapons out of the bad guy's hands.

Rupert Murdoch "badly miscalculated" the public's tolerance for the OJ book and tv show and pulled it. When are we going to re-regulate media ownership and forbid this foreigner and fighter against freedom from controlling so much US media? And wasn't this whole idea the brain child of Judith Regan, the sex partner of Bernard Kerick during the Ground Zero cleanup in NY? The same Judith Regan who was completely appalled at Clinton's blow job and exclaimed her distaste at anyone who would commit adultery on the television news ad nauseum in the 90's? Gag me with a spoon.

STORY UPDATE: Think Progress reports that hush money was offered to the Brown Family.

Detroit teen creates nuclear fushion in his basement.
"Originally, he wanted to build a hyperbolic chamber," his mother said, adding that she promptly said no. But, when he came asking about the nuclear fusion machine, she relented.

Toilet paper giant, Charmin, set up 20 pristine bathroom stalls in NY's Times Square for the holiday season. Users were interviewed:

"It's very clean, and you feel welcome. I'll be sure to use it again before I go home."
"You hear some negative things about New York and then you get here and you see something like this."
"This is just another overhyped Times Square gimmick. I like the idea of a clean public rest room, but you don't need five people talking to you before and after you do your business."

Please don't forget about Leola Kichen, friend of Anntichrist S. Coulter who is fighting for her life.

And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda

A soldier's cry.......


My battle against cynicysm ended quickly with me barking down the Road to Nowhere.... So, as usual, I plug in -- put my headphones on -- and withdraw for a while.

I'm listening to a song that Father Tyme sent to me last week on Veteran's Day, And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda by Irish Tenor, John McDermott

Please take a listen here. Thank you SO MUCH for setting this up Father.

song review: "a heartrending ballad of a young Aussie soldier who fights, and is horribly maimed, during one of World War I's major fiascoes undertaken by British Empire troops, the Galipolli Campaign"


Now when I was a young man and I carried my pack
and I lived the free life of the rover
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty out back
I waltzed my Matilda all over.
Then in 1915 my country said "Son
It's time to stop rambling, there's work to be done"
And they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war.

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As the ships pulled away from the quay
And amid all the tears, flag waving and cheers
We sailed off to Galipolli

And how I remember that terrible day
How our blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs to the slaughter.

Johnnie Turk was ready, oh he primed himself well
He rained us with bullets and he showered us with shell
And in five minutes flat we were all blown to hell
nearly blew us all back home to Australia.

But the band played Waltzing Matilda
as we stuck to bury our slain
We burned ours and the Turks buried theirs
and we started all over again

Those who were living just tried to survive
In a mad world of blood death and fire
And for ten weary weeks, I kept myself alive
While around me the corpses piled higher

Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head
And when I awoke in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done and I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
For no more I'll go Waltzing Matilda
All round the green bush far and near
For to hump tent and pegs a man needs both legs
No more Waltzing Matilda for me.

They collected the crippled, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The armless, the legless, the blind, the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And as our ship pulled in to Circular Key
And I looked at the place where my legs used to be
I thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to Pity

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
as they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
And turned all their faces away

So now every April, I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Renewing their dreams of past glory

I see the old men all tired, stiff and sore
The weary old heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question

And the band played Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But year after year, the numbers get fewer
Some day none will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the billabong
Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me.


Please come back and comment next week after the thanksgiving holiday (or now). I'd like to make this a weekly discussion. Maybe every Monday we can have a

"Veteran's Day: Reloaded"

Whatever Rep. Rangel's Reasons -- there's lots to discuss. We need to put some ideas into ACTION


We Want Your Ideas!


WE WANT YOU!

HOW HIGH THE MOON

OMG I don't know what else to say. Father-Tyme and I have been desparately searching for this song. THE ONE AND ONLY VERSION
of the way this song should be sung. (download it right under the title of the article, Pat...)

Perfect Timing (as usual)

You may remember it....

It played in the background during the opening scene of Biloxi Blues as the train pulled into boot camp.

" I don't think much about the Big War anymore....the one they call the Second One, because the small wars that came after it seem a lot bigger now than the Big War was.

Most people today look back at the Big One with sort of fond memories; it was, in a sense, an OK war. We knew why we were fighting it, and we felt pretty proud of ourselves for being in it. We liked the songs.....we liked the uniforms.....we LIKED the girls!

we liked that everyone liked us....

So, looking back, it really was one of your better wars; except that you were just a kid, a year out of highschool; heading south in a troop train knowing that in 2 months you'd be in some mud hole fighting for your life."

The "draft" word comes up again.

"A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude.": Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y has a point when he talks about reinstating the draft. It's just ironic how much politicians enjoy a good war, because it's good for the economy and corporations, yet they absolutely don't support a draft. Rangel also suggests that 'the all-volunteer military disproportionately puts the burden of war on minorities and lower-income families.' Politicians don't care about that though. (I absolutely don't support a draft or wars in general unless our country is invaded and how likely is that?)

"The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants, and it provides the further advantage of giving the servants of tyranny a good conscience." -- Albert Camus

There's talk of more wars and decades of war against terror (TM), which means that it won't end until all the bad guys are killed or imprisoned, which means it will never end... so it does make sense to expect all our young people who have barely experienced life yet, to go out and kill bad guys around the world and hopefully come back home in one piece and continue on with their happy lives. Not.

Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it: Albert Einstein

If you think in terms of fairness, how fair is it that National Guard troops have to serve in Iraq? They signed up to defend our country- what Iraq has to do with that, beats the hell out of me. I would feel safer with the National Guard here. My friend, a reservist, is fighting for HIS life in Iraq for the second time... trying to survive so he can see his baby who was born while he was gone. Fairness would suggest that reservists wouldn't have to go to Iraq twice. He was there for 18 months the first time.

Rangel believes that if we had the draft, our country would think twice before launching an invasion and occupation of another country. That's true. Rangel knows and I know that there is no way that Americans would support a draft, but it's probably a good thing for people to think about it before they support wars.

"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." : Thomas Jefferson

Here in NY, when you turn 18, a draft card arrives in the mail automatically. How is it in your state?

Where is the justice of political power if it executes the murderer and jails the plunderer, and then itself marches upon neighboring lands, killing thousands and pillaging the very hills?: Kahlil Gibran

The Global Orgasm for Peace

The reasons given for this particular type of protest are right on (especially if you're a quantum mechanics afficianado). I'm in.

Calif. Couple Calls for Orgasm for Peace

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 9:08 p.m. ET

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Two peace activists have planned a massive anti-war demonstration for the first day of winter.

But they don't want you marching in the streets. They'd much rather you just stay home.

The Global Orgasm for Peace was conceived by Donna Sheehan, 76, and Paul Reffell, 55, whose immodest goal is for everyone in the world to have an orgasm Dec. 22 while focusing on world peace.

''The orgasm gives out an incredible feeling of peace during it and after it,'' Reffell said Sunday. ''Your mind is like a blank. It's like a meditative state. And mass meditations have been shown to make a change.''

The couple are no strangers to sex and social activism. Sheehan, no relation to anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, brought together nearly 50 women in 2002 who stripped naked and spelled out the word ''Peace.''

The stunt spawned a mini-movement called Baring Witness that led to similar unclothed demonstrations worldwide.

The couple have studied evolutionary psychology and believe that war is mainly an outgrowth of men trying to impress potential mates, a case of ''my missile is bigger than your missile,'' as Reffell put it.

By promoting what they hope to be a synchronized global orgasm, they hope to get people to channel their sexual energy into something more positive.

The couple said interest appears strong, with 26,000 hits a day to their Web site, www.globalorgasm.org.

''The dream is to have everyone in the world (take part),'' Reffell said. ''And if that means laying down your gun for a few minutes, then hey, all the better.''

Also check out their blog.
Hat tip to Gaia Sighs for the alert.

How to stop the stupid

Stupid has reached critical mass in America. And as we lead the world, for good or ill, civilization itself threatens to become an unstoppable juggernaut of blind running stupidity.


By one pissed off liberal

Via Time for a Constitutional Convention

via, WRH

IT'S ONLY MONDAY!!
please.... turn this firehose off ALREADY

Senior Democrat renews call for military draft

An influential Democratic lawmaker on Sunday called for reinstatement of the draft..

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An influential Democratic lawmaker on Sunday called for reinstatement of the draft as a way to boost U.S. troop levels and draw a broader section of the population into the military or public service.

U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, the incoming chairman of the House of Representatives' tax-writing committee, said he would introduce legislation to reinstate the draft as soon as the new, Democratic-controlled Congress convenes in January.

Asked on CBS' "Face the Nation" if he was still serious about the proposal for a universal draft he raised a couple of years ago, he said, "You bet your life. Underscore serious."

"If we're going to challenge Iran and challenge North Korea and then, as some people have asked, to send more troops to Iraq, we can't do that without a draft," he said.

Rangel, who opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, also said he did not think the United States would have invaded Iraq if the children of members of Congress were sent to fight. He has said the U.S. fighting force is comprised disproportionately of people from low-income families and minorities.

"I don't see how anyone can support the war and not support the draft. I think to do so is hypocritical," he said.

The New York Democrat had introduced legislation to reinstate the draft in January 2003 before the Iraq invasion. The Pentagon has said the all-volunteer army is working well and there is no need for a draft, and the idea had no traction in the Republican-led Congress.

Democrats gained control of both the House and Senate for the first time in 12 years in the November 7 election, and a wholesale change in the leadership of Congress is to be made in January. Rangel is to head the House Ways and Means Committee, which is charged with U.S. tax and trade legislation.

The draft was in place from 1948 to 1973, when the United States converted to an all-volunteer army. But almost all men living in the United States - including most male noncitizens - are required to register with the Selective Service upon reaching 18, and federal benefits, including financial aid for college studies, are contingent on registration.

Rangel said his legislation on the draft would also offer the alternative of a couple of years of public service with educational benefits.


© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved

by Jackie Frank

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


My daughter wrote the following on Saturday for a 'persuasive speech' assignment that she is giving this morning in class.
I just read it, and I hope she doesn't mind me pasting it here for my friends to see. We couldn't find much in the 'tubes' on Friday while searching the subject via google. She wrote her thoughts, read a few articles, and asked our opinions.

I just read the above Reuters story after I read hers. Wait til she wakes up and sees this!! I'm not sure what to say. I have no comment at the moment......(I'm just going to run a few copies of the Reuters story for her, ya know....kinda like a handout after her speech)

** How Would You Feel? **


Most of us in here are almost 16, and the war in Iraq doesn’t look like it’s going to end anytime soon. So what happens next? There is a chance that the draft will be reinstated, and we are a mere 2 years away from possibly being drafted into the war, and also being of age to vote against issues such as the draft. Are Americans ready to accept the need to sacrifice their unwilling sons and daughters to be sent overseas to fight for who knows how long? I think that the military draft should not be reinstated.
My first reason why I think the draft should not be reinstated is because those teenagers about to be drafted may be unjustly impacted depending on the reasons for the war. Because once you’re in the military, you’re in the military and there’s nothing you can do about it, and it is not right to make somebody go do something without caring what they have to say about the issue, even if they oppose it. But the military draft doesn’t just draft men, women are drafted as well. According to the Chief of Selective Service System, “it has been proposed to register women for the draft and requires those registering to tell the government if they have any special computer or language skills, especially Arabic and Afghan dialects.” Wondering what the age limits for being drafted is? For women, the age intervals would extend from 18 to 34. This interval has been raised from the previous requirement of 18 to 25. As you probably know, one of the biggest enticements for getting people to volunteer for the military is a free college education. Although it may sound like a pretty good deal, by the time soldiers have come back from the war, they are frequently mentally ill, they are not always able to function correctly in society, and they are unable to concentrate on the thought of college. This is because many come back from the war with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and have to deal with it for the rest of their lives.
Secondly, I am against the military draft because of the horrors of war. Young men and women should not have to go through that kind of experience. For so long we have been brought up to believe that it is our patriotic duty to support our country, and defend our country’s democracy. We don’t see what really goes on in a war. A big part of this is the fact that young kids playing war video games, or watching military commercials, think that going to war and killing people is a fun game. But just think of how you would feel after being forced into the war, having to fight, and then coming home, and everyday flashing back to scenes of people dying, innocent people being taken prisoner, and possibly your own friends being hurt. Those are the facts that people don’t realize actually happen, but they are the realities of a war.
Lastly, I am against the military draft because it is unfair. Nobody should be mandated to go off to the war without having a choice and a clear understanding of what we are fighting for. The military tries to tempt you and guilt you into joining by telling you that it will “accelerate your life ” and that you have “sense of duty to the nation”, and that if you don’t join you’re letting your country down. Realistically, you’re not letting your country down - you are simply making a choice of your own free will and of your own persuasion to not join the military and be sent off to war, and instead go to college, get a better education, a job, and maybe even have a family. Volunteering for the army is one thing, but you shouldn’t be left without a choice- bringing back the draft would take away that choice. America has spent hundreds of years following the principle of being free, and having a land that supports freedom for everyone. We will become a nation without the right of being free if the draft is reinstated and we don’t get to choose what we want to do with our futures, and our lives.
So let’s face the facts - the draft may unjustly impact young men and women, the horrors of the war they will face are too extreme to imagine, and it is unfair overall. Since this is an issue facing every teenager today, boys and girls, I urge you to get involved and start thinking of ways to stop this unjust draft from being put into action. If everyone stopped for a second and thought about if you wanted the draft back or not, then I predict that when we come of voting age in a short 2 years, we can put an end to the draft. And just think, how would you feel if it were you?

The Importance of Teaching Civics in Schools

I'm so glad this is on You Tube because I wanted to write about Dreyfuss' latest appearance on Real Time. It's better if you just watch. Dreyfuss has been studying civics at Oxford. I'll look for a transcript too.

End Drive-Through Masectomies

You probably know women, like your mom, your wife, your sister, yourself, your co-workers, neighbors and friends, who have been in and out of the hospital after having a masectomy. Sometimes they are sent home with their drainage tubes still attached.

Support the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act which would allow insurance companies to cover a minimum 48-hour hospital stay for patients undergoing a mastectomy. It takes a minute to sign the petition at Lifetime Television. Last years bill didn't pass. Let's keep trying.


Thank you.

The battle against cynicysm

MY battle with cynicysm began a few days ago. I watched this video
via GOD

It's about Billy Bragg singing a protest song in the lobby of the AFL-CIO during a Get Out the Vote rally. ... in 2002.

The song is called "It's 'All About the Price of Oil'
Before he sings, he first reminds his audience that the we need to take charge.

"Take charge -- we have the power, and the economy to do this. -- we need to act responsibily WITH OTHER PEOPLE to make the world a better place.

We need to bring back the great american tradition of barn raising!!!

and our enemy in doing this is not capitalism or conservatism, it is, frighteningly, ....cynicism. We've got to overcome people's cynicysm of the ability of nations to act together and act responsibly for the good of everyone. It's what is letting the rush's of this world get away with what they get away with. Cynicysm is what is making the vote go down what's killing the turnout and we're battling against cynicysm in favor of participation and were' battling against war..........."

Well, call me a cynic, I guess.

Maybe I should try to ease up a bit on the cynicysm? You know, get more serious...

But I'm in such good company:
George Bernard Shaw (who pops up frequently), Oscar Wilde (ditto), and Shakespeare, and Mae West....H.L. Mencken

OK, maybe I should rein in a bit? Lately, I can sometimes vision myself actually reverting, and becoming one of the 'early day cynics' as I grow more and more frustrated trying to understand WTF our fearless leaders of the world are doing every day. WOOF WOOF

I found that Cynics have their own FABULOUS WEBSITE

They believed that virtue was the greatest good. But they took it a step further than the old master, who would merely challenge unsuspecting folks to good-natured debates and let their own foolishness trip them up.

The Cynics were more blunt when it came to exposing foolishness. They'd hang out in the streets like a pack of dogs ("Cynic" comes from the Greek word for dog), watch the passing crowd, and ridicule anyone who seemed pompous, pretentious, materialistic or downright wicked. Fiercely proud of their independence, they led disciplined and virtuous lives. The most famous of the ancient Cynics was Diogenes, who reportedly took up residence in a tub to demonstrate his freedom from material wants. This cranky street-philosopher would introduce himself by saying, "I am Diogenes the dog. I nuzzle the kind, bark at the greedy and bite scoundrels." He'd use a lantern by daylight, explaining that he was searching for an honest man. Even Alexander the Great didn't escape unscathed. When the young conqueror found Diogenes sitting in the marketplace and asked how he could help him, the old philosopher replied that "you can step out of my sunlight."

Yeah, and lately, I have much more contempt for people, and more concern for mankind as a whole. (I have been spending a lot of time in the pool, tub, etc. lately) I better watch out...

Hmmmm......so, shall I TAKE CHARGE and lead the battle against cynicysm??

Oh, I have a drumbeat in my head already, and the PERFECT Video to lead us on our way......

Have At It

I couldn't get enough of these pictures. Click pic for larger version.

Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of The Mayflower

It premiers tonight on The History Channel
You can also see the list of other show times.


Here is a clip about the documentary

Russia can repel asteroids to save Earth: official

I'm pretty sure we talked about this a few weeks ago - ? -

I just had to post this digg conversation I came across while doing a search for 'cynical'.

A few days ago, GOD had this story Ancient Crash, Epic Wave
-- Fascinating story! I especially got a kick out of the "Correction Appended" part!!!!



WELL -- the conversations I just found while searching for 'cynical' lead me to 2 comment threads which related to the NYTimes ancient crash story. I read the digg comments first, which were MOST SPOT ON, imho. Somehow, I came across this conversation at PhysOrgForum that called the folks at digg some bad, bad names.

Go read what the people at digg.com are saying ... a bunch of good for nothing morons.

and

Man, that 'worldpeace' guy needs to calm the hell down. He doesn't come off as very peaceful. Digg threads are always stinking cesspools of immaturity, and the posters aren't always from America. Letting it get under your skin just shows you're as immature as they are........



Great conversation!

All Hail You Tube! They Shall Set Us Free

I know I posted something similar to this a few weeks ago concerning citizen journalists (hey, SOMEONE has to be a journalist and the professionals sure as hell aren't doing the job) and You Tube. Just to prove my point may I direct your attention to

Police TRAMPLING picketing janitors with horses, the LAPD beating a man, there are 390 results for police violence and over 600 for police brutaliy. What does this say about our country and the way laws are being enforced?

At one point in time it was the victim's word against the blue brotherhood (and granted there are some cases where force IS needed, but not many), but now a citizen journalist can record and upload the evidence within minutes. Nothing to confiscate, no way to stop it, it is viral and it WILL take on a life of its own. This is something that I hope will help our society, perhaps make certain authority figures think over some of their more outrageous actions.

Irony Meter is Off the Scale

As if Judith Miller opining that the Bush administration has made us less safe wasn't bad enough. As if Josh Wolf, a young blogger being imprisoned in California and denied both bail and a hearing because he DID NOT have the evidence (raw footage) that the STATE wanted to prosecute a case of VANDALISM wasn't insane enough. We now have this -

Now we have W himself, in Hanoi, making stupid statements about Iraq which has been compared with Vietnam on COUNTLESS occasions. Not to mention his handlers trying to spin the details of his 'interactions' (not) with the Vietnamese.

Tin foil isn't enough anymore, we need effing space suits,

Bush's Brain

Have you heard that Rove may be leaving the administration within weeks? Think Progress has the story.

What do you think?

that depends on what the definition of "if" is

There should be a regular feature column on bad judgment. Social faux pas that reveal perhaps what we really intend to hide. Macaca. Trent Lott sent to hide in the attic for having the bad judgment to reveal the racism of Republicans. Forgetting in the confusion that was 9/11 that Rudy Gulliani, what a stand up guy, what a leader, announced on television to his wife and children what they already knew, that he had a girlfriend, yes that one he brought into the Mayor's house, and he was getting a divorce. What the hell did he do on 9/11? He was in town before Bush got there. Well, he is the mayor and he didn't hide in his office. So he should be our president?

We like murder. We like it a lot. Someone said, "Bad men do what good men dream." As a culture we really like violence against women. We really like to kill ourselves an uppity bitch.

So Judith Regan, who enjoyed trysting with New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik in an apartment overlooking the crime scene of the World Trade Center, publishes O.J. Simpson's roman a clef. Fox will televise the interview. If I Did It. That depends on what the definition of "if" is. Perhaps if Ms. Regan, Mr. Simpson, and Mr. Murdock would donate their profits to domestic violence victims and Mr. Simpson could pay the judgment against him for murdering two people, then I could see it. Simpson won't pay the families of his victims because to do so is, evidently, an admission or recognition of his guilt. But he will write about his prowess as an athletic murderer of two people under the guise of producing fiction.

Who is the sicker? The editor, the publisher, the author? Or the reader? Blaming Regan for publishing Simpson's return to his most stunning achievement is like blaming a woman for making her mad dog husband kill her. Is it that he killed two people or that he will now profit from it? Or that we want to be entertained by a description of the crime many wish to commit. We hate women so much that there is a culture that exists for media to produce and consumers to, well, consume. Regan isn't any more disturbed than we are. She is simply noting our own death wish, our own participation in our own misery.

The only thing he didn't do was consume their flesh after he nearly beheaded them. He certainly consumed Nicole Brown's life. Now he can enjoy her all over again and this time he invites us to watch. It would only be more thrilling if we could smell the coppery scent of their blood; if he offered us a knife so we can carry the ball with him. The invitation would not have been printed if they didn't know we would come. Am I not aware of the irony of complaining about that which repulses me? Compulsion-revulsion. Paging Dr. Freud.

Regan is profiting from the murder of two human beings. The next step on the ladder of degradation and depravity isn't that she is publishing a confession. The next step is asking him to do it again for the cameras. The next step is asking a killer can we go along, video recorder in hand, to the crime scene he is about to create.

Murdock knows how to package carnage as reportage. What is surprising is some people are surprised by this new true crime novel marketed as fiction.

The Passion of the Christ. Michael Jackson singing about how he wants to make a difference in people's lives. Simpson describes how he would, if he could, kill his wife and a young man. A snuff film reduced to type, to words on a page. Are there color photos of the crime scene? How does he explain his blood at the scene? And just as Bush can't find Osama, Simpson has yet to find the "real killers." How is he to explain himself to his children?

Indeed, how will the national father figure President George W. Bush explain to us how he killed our children by lying to us about the reasons for going to war in Iraq? How do we as a culture participate in hearing the lie. Do we feel burned for being lied to or for allowing him to lie to us? How do you feel about Simpson lying to you again? Are you upset that he lies to us or that you want to hear the lie?

Will Simpson describe Ron Goldman as merely an opponent keeping him from the goal line? Someone to run through to make a touchdown? Aren't we entertained by these murders which were committed in a terrible expression of agility and strength as much as we were entertained by Simpson's athletic ability? And of course the victims are once again merely rendered passive like sticky tackling dummies. Goldman and Brown's murders are more about Simpson's abilities than their own deaths.

And we like to watch from our morally superior reading chair.

Fox . . . Meet Henhouse

The latest in a continuing series, demonstrating that there are no lengths to which King George will not go to absolutely freaking destroy this country. This week's Exhibit A is the appointment of Dr. Eric Keroack.

Dr. Keroack has been appointed (yes, none of those darned Senate confirmation hearings to bother with) as the head of the family planning program at the Department of Health and Human Services. You know, the department that is "designed to provide access to contraceptive supplies and information to all who want and need them with priority given to low-income person". The good doctor is the current medical director of an organization called A Woman's Concern. Sounds benign, no? No. This organization believes that contraceptives are demeaning to women. Which, of course, makes Dr. Keroack the perfect choice to head a department that is all about access to contraceptives. (I urge you to visit the website of A Woman's Concern and click on their explanations of various abortion methods. It's quite enlightening.)

Well, I'm pretty speechless, except to say one thing: bipartisan cooperation my sweet ass.

Douchebag of the Week --

And he's actually been given another title this week -- in an official capacity no less:

"Frigid 50: The Coldest People in Hollywood."


MEL GIBSON
The independent film website on Friday named Gibson No. 1 among the "least-powerful, least-inspiring, least-intriguing people in all of Tinseltown,"


I just thought I'd add douchebag as a side note to this new title.

A one/two punch in the face for you today, Mel.

I can't even watch his movies anymore. Too bad.....

ADS -- Aparticipatory Delusional Syndrome

PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS:

Delusions of Separation

Very few people seem to have noticed that we are a species gone mad, which itself is an expression of the extent of the collective insanity we have fallen into.

by PAUL LEVY

Do you have ADS?


Carl Jung was well aware that the greatest danger facing our species is to fall into our unconscious together and become collectively mad; he never tired of warning about this. Our species has undoubtedly fallen into the very collective psychosis that Jung was warning us about (the fact that we are destroying the biosphere, the very life support system of the planet, being one “small” example). Very few people seem to have noticed that we are a species gone mad (it is certainly not part of our planetary dialogue), which itself is an expression of the extent of the collective insanity we have fallen into. Our madness has become normalized, as it is so pervasive we have become habituated to it.


well -- slap me in the face -- I'm awake now, WHOA!

I think I want to read this book right away!

I was going to read The Secret Life of Bees this weekend...

so many choices, so much to do!



Via God...

I'm Leaving On A Jet Plane

Yep, I'm off to Sin City to attend a concert of a lifetime. Ms. Barbra Streisand's! Don't worry. No one with be heckling Babs with the old Mule there. Nope, she'll have back up on the "F#*k off" cuz the old gray mule will be all over'em like a cheap suit.
I will be returning on Eating Day so somebody PLEASE save me some turkey and cranberry sauce. K?

I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she ask me on stage to sing "He Touch Me." It could happen!

Happy Trails

Doncha Just LUUUUV This Headline?:

"Bush goes to Vietnam, four decades after dodging draft"

Article is at The British Telegraph.

Eye Test

If you cannot decipher anything, then try pulling the corner of your eyes back at the same time with your index fingers...

Hat tip to Terrible.

The Pentagon Redefines Homosexuality

Reported in WaPo: Up until last year, homosexuality was listed in Pentagon guidelines as a mental disorder alongside "mental retardation and personality disorders." How very rude. This year, homosexuality appears "among a list of conditions or "circumstances" that range from bed-wetting to fear of flying." Well at least it's not a mental disorder.

Don't Tell Me You're Hungry

The Politically Correct Are At It Again

It's easy to say that Americans will never be hungry again because the word will no longer be used to describe people who can't eat because they cannot afford to. Instead the author of the report for the Agriculture Department which measures American's access to food has deemed "hungry" not scientifically accurate enough. WAPO reports: The 35 million Americans who could not afford to put food on the table for part of last year will now be referred to as "Those who are determined to have low food security."

In assembling its report, the USDA divides Americans into groups with "food security" and those with "food insecurity," who cannot always afford to keep food on the table. Under the old lexicon, that group -- 11 percent of American households last year -- was categorized into "food insecurity without hunger," meaning people who ate, though sometimes not well, and "food insecurity with hunger," for those who sometimes had no food.

That last group now forms the category "very low food security," described as experiencing "multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake." Slightly better-off people who aren't always sure where their next meal is coming from are labeled "low food security."

Leave it to the politicians to politicize this even further...

In 1999, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, then running for president, said he thought the annual USDA report -- which consistently finds his home state one of the hungriest in the nation -- was fabricated.

"I'm sure there are some people in my state who are hungry," Bush said. "I don't believe 5 percent are hungry."

Bush said he believed that the statistics were aimed at his candidacy. "Yeah, I'm surprised a report floats out of Washington when I'm running a presidential campaign," he said.

The agency usually releases the report in the fall, for reasons that "have nothing to do with politics," Nord said.

This year, when the report failed to appear in October as it usually does, Democrats accused the Bush administration of delaying its release until after the midterm elections. Nord denied the contention, saying, "This is a schedule that was set several months ago."

PSTBISYATFWTRC

please stop that before I slap you around the face with this rubber chicken.


fromThe acronym of the month over at blueman group.

Previous Blue Man Group Acronyms of the month:

DNMMFAWFIAAEWSSP - Do not mistake me for a wizard for I am an elf with shape shifting powers

ROFL - ISIAGOTF - Rolling on the floor laughing - I'm serious, I actually got on the floor



Via God


GTGAJ -- GTGAJ -- GTGAJ

What Liberal Media?

When the GOP elected renowned confederate Trent Lott as the Minority Whip (no pun intended, there was hardly a peep from the MSM regarding exactly why he was forced to step down from his post in 2002. He won by one vote showing that the Republicans were pretty evenly divided over his selection. Yet it was reported that the Republicans are all forgiving and progressive, yadda yadda, yadda. The media did not replay over and over and over Lott's segregationist speech at Strom Thurmond's birthday party. In fact it was reported that the Republicans never brought it up.

The media however couldn't stop salivating over the election for the number 2 spot in the Democratic Party, highlighting and replaying Thomas Murtha's refusal to take a bribe in a sting operation in 1980 (or around there.) Murtha was also vilified as an "insider" yet when describing why the Republicans needed Lott, he was praised as an insider.

UPDATE
Olbermann: Funny, how when Trent Lott defeated Lamar Alexander by one vote for the Senate minority leadership yesterday, it was characterized in the media as a remarkable comeback story, with the random kidding reference to that ironical word “minority.” But when Steny Hoyer and Jack Murtha both stood for the House majority leadership today, that was characterized in the media as Democratic infighting, with frequent implications that the Dems were already coming apart at the seams.

OMGROLROFLMFAO!!!!

I've really gotta get a job (that's what my family keeps telling me anyway) but this is way too much fun! Yeah, yeah guys -- I'm look'n, I'm look'n.... (I'm logging onto careerbuilder.com next)

Went to youtube this morning cause I couldn't get
THIS SONG
out of my head all night -- it got reeeeally bad around 2am - must of been that can of coke that - I HAD TO HAVE - to stay awake for the PTA meeting I promised I would attend.

I was glad to see that at least our world has been united by coke in some way....
Yeah, too bad the song never played out the way it should have

A N Y W A Y..... this popped up in the search (?)

It's rummy rolling one, among other things......
OMGROLROFLMFAO

(it was added a few days ago -- has 455,255 hits so far -- let's see how fast the numbers go up!!!)

Long time no see

(This post was moved up)

And in case y'all haven't heard, I'm doing another fundraiser, and NO, it's NOT for me.

This is Leola "Lee" Kinchen, one of the most amazing human beings that I have ever met. She works part-time at the local Fred's Super Discount Store, and when I was dragged here three years ago, Lee was the first person here who actually BEFRIENDED me in this whole snotty-ass pretentious little hick town. To her, I wasn't a "freak" for my tats or my piercings or the bumperstickers on my truck. She was just as kind and funny and sweet as all get-out, with a huge dose of cayenne-hot smartass to balance it all out.

Contrary to popular belief, Neurofibromatosis is not "Elephant Man's disease." John Merrick actually had a combination of about 6 other diseases. But the NF-1 has suddenly blossomed a huge brain tumor in Lee's head that is pressing down on 8 of the 15 major nerve branches and blocking most of the major blood vessels. And she's still working.

That's how she lost her SSI/SSDI, Medicaid and Medicare, and if she waits until April or May when they MIGHT be able to work her into what's left of the Louisiana state hospital system, she'll be dead of a massive stroke.

There are many more details about Lee's story, and about Susan, her manager at Fred's and guardian angel, at the fundraiser blog. I don't want to hog the BlondeSense bandwidth, but I did want to give y'all an idea of what a powerful, inspirational, badass young woman it is that we're trying to save.

And NO, I won't be handling any of the money, so have no fear there. We all know that I was a Liberal Arts major and am still recovering from spine surgery, so at least I have enough sense not to make THAT mistake.
So thank you all for reading, for hanging in there with me for all of these years, and especially thanks to Liz, 'cause you never forget the people who hang with you through ALL of the shit, y'know?

Love,
A.S.C.

Send donations to:
Fund For Leola Kinchen
Bank Of St. Francisville
P.O. Drawer 818
St. Francisville, LA 70775

Or click on PayPal Button at ForLeola.blogspot.com

Brilliant Minds on the Next 50 Years:

From the NewScientist

What will be the biggest breakthrough of the next 50 years? As part of our 50th anniversary celebrations we asked over 70 of the world's most brilliant scientists for their ideas.

In coming decades will we: discover that we are not alone in the universe? Unravel the physiological basis for consciousness? Routinely have false memories implanted in our minds? Begin to evolve in new directions? And will physicists finally hit upon a universal theory of everything? In fact, if the revelations of the last 50 years are anything to go on - the internet and the human genome for example - we probably have not even thought up the exciting advances that lay ahead of us.

Oh My God, Yes

From Orwell's Grave:

"Most men have a woman or girl in his life who has been a victim of male violence, a mother who was beaten, a co-worker who was abused, a sister or daughter who was raped or killed, a friend whose daughter was attacked, a friend whose wife was battered in a previous marriage. How would things change if our male governmental leaders, our male religious leaders, our male media leaders, our male teachers, our male business leaders, all of us began to speak out, identify male violence around them, and begin working to end it? How can we empower men to learn more, stand up and be heard on these issues? Knowledge is the first step."

Please read the whole post.

UPDATE: I just came across this story. Domestic violence victims offered way to stay in U.S. Plan lets domestic abuse victims say in U.S.

Is domestic violence more of a Republican rather than a Democratic thing?

Awesome and About Time

Bob Geiger: Harry Reid proposed that the post-election Congressional session be used in part to extend critical middle-class and business tax cuts including the following:

• Deductions for college tuition
• Deductions for state and local sales taxes
• Deductions for out-of-pocket expenses incurred by teachers
• For business, extending the Research and Development, Work Opportunity, and Welfare-to-Work tax credits

It's coming early this year.

What's your favorite thing about Thanksgiving?
Or what's your least favorite thing about Thanksgiving?

He'll Always Look Happy To See You!

Jersey Cynic found this at GodIsNotAnAsshole



From the website aussieBum on the new "Patriot" line of men's undies:
Your country has never been prouder and neither have you! The new 'wondercup' technology in these attention-grabbing, all-cotton Patriot briefs will have you seriously looking bigger and feeling amazing.

They are also available in USA! USA! USA!
Other cute undies are available and it's fun to run your mouse over the descriptions and watch the undies change.

From God is Not An Asshole:

"It basically lifts, separates and extends," said aussieBum founder Sean Ashby.
"This design uses all of the natural assets of the person, whether they be big, small or indifferent."
The underwear features a "wondercup", a pouch used to "separate and stop squashing".

Now think of all the jokes the comedians will come up with. So I met this guy in a bar and I took him home....

The Patriarchy is Alive And Well

There is a fabulous article by Kathryn Joyce of the TheRevealer.org at the Nation this month:
'Arrows for the War'
It helps put together my thesis that all the prejudice and oppression points to one thing: The Patriarchy's fear of losing control.

They are not pro-war, nor do they advocate for tax cuts for the rich, but a new movement towards a more patriarchal society, in the name of God, is called "Quiverfull" whereby women in families committed to God and "traditional" values are having as many children as "the Lord" will provide. Each child is an arrow, or a quiver in the war against secular femininism (a code word, I believe, for "white men are frightened that they are losing their power" but they say, feminism runs counter to God's plan for women.)

Psalm 127: "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate."

The women in this movement believe that their bodies are not their own but "a living sacrifice" for God and they should have 8, 9, 10 children and the only reason given for this "logic" are found in a couple of passages in the bible. They are "birthing God's mighty warriors." Well that's one way to appeal to dumb women. They also say that family planning and women having careers has led to abortions and lesbianism (the scourge of the white patriarch).

So the mission is get millions of white Christian women to reproduce and reproduce often to fill the country with millions of white Christian children who will in turn reproduce and reproduce often.

"But if just 8 million American Christian couples began supplying more "arrows for the war" by having six children or more, they propose, the Christian-right ranks could rise to 550 million within a century ("assuming Christ does not return before then"). They like to ponder the spiritual victory that such numbers could bring: both houses of Congress and the majority of state governor's mansions filled by Christians; universities that embrace creationism; sinful cities reclaimed for the faithful; and the swift blows dealt to companies that offend Christian sensibilities."

It's a power play. Their women won't be filling any of these roles in government, they will be too barefoot/pregnant and homeschooling their kids on how to be ignorant warriors, to have much of a say in anything. As I said earlier this week, gay white men in power are hiding in the closet as part of the plan to keep the patriarchy alive and advocate for other gay white men to shut up and stay in the closet because their participation (fathering quivers) is desperately needed for sustaining the patriarchy. They only hate homosexuals who are "out". Homosexuals are expected to sacrifice their bodies for "God". They don't want homosexuals and liberals adopting children because they may "selfishly" adopt non-white children from overseas, (not obeying God's admonishment to be fruitful and multiply.)

Gay rights, women's rights and Mexican immigration all run counter to the patriarchy. It's important to understand the motivations of those who use "God" to spread fear and hatred. You have to get a lot of people involved for this to work and it has to be renewed over and over again. Fifty years ago, the Catholics were multiplying like rabbits for the same reasons. Now you have tens of millions of lapsed Catholics in this country practicing family planning and homosexuality.

This week the American Bishops gathered in Baltimore and concluded that Catholic women who use birth control and gay people who have gay sex cannot receive Holy Communion. How convenient is that statement when you put it all into perspective?

UPDATE: Newsweek's story: How Full is Your Quiver?

Don't Let me (us) Down .....Dems

THE BEATLES

30 January 1969 - their last live performance together on top of the apple office.

(catch John messing up a line)

One more song....

and now I think I am definitely hallucinating.

Forgive me please dear reader -- I can't find you at the moment; I know I got to this great new site, via your comment here. (I love your blog too!!) Please link if you see this. This is one of your new favorite blogs:

BloggyMcBlogalot

I just got back from the BOA ATM for a $100 withdrawal and that FUCKING machine gave me 2 50's instead of the usual 5 20's and screwed up the whole deal with the pizza guy and now I owe him cause he couldn't break a 50 and ...........

just check this BLONDE BOMBSHELL out and watch her video at the post from:

Monday, November 13, 2006
They've put a little song together for you

Democrats, Don't Wimp Out, by Paul Waldman

But first, a little history lesson......

I'm helping my 12 year old memorize the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence for her social studies class.

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Prudence indeed, will dictate, that Governments long established, should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

OK, now back to Mr. Waldman's article from tompaine

"All over Washington, the sage barons of the establishment media are warning Democrats not to get cocky. Don’t move too fast, they say. Don’t push a bunch of wacky, left-wing ideas. Seek compromise, give ground, hew to the center, for only there lies the greatest prize of all: the praise of David Broder and Joe Klein, the nodding approval of the Washington Post editorial page, the admiration the Beltway cognoscenti reserve for those who know their place and know whose rings they should be kissing.

Bull. What Democrats need to do is spend the next two years crushing their opponents like bugs. It’s not about mercy, it’s not about manners, it’s about three fundamental goals: limiting the damage the Bush administration can do, passing whatever legislation they can in the short term to help the American public and laying the foundation for future progressive victories.

Democrats finally have the upper hand, and now’s the time to use it. Here are a few things they can do to get started."




The tompaine link has the the rest.

What do you think?

Hanky Panky in CT

well, so much for my praise of the new optical scan voting machines last week.


Recount gives Courtney win in 2nd District


HARTFORD, Conn. --A roller-coaster recount that uncovered vote-counting flaws in several Connecticut towns gave Democrat Joe Courtney a narrow victory over three-term Republican Rep. Rob Simmons on Tuesday.

As our CTnewsjunkie points out:

More towns in the Second Congressional District were chosen as test sites for the new optical scan voting technology than any other Congressional District

and..... AND In late October UConn REPORTED that it found a number of vulnerabilities with the new Diebold AccuVote Optical Scan machines.

I'm calling my town hall -- I'll keep you posted.

Are You Middle Aged and Happy?

You're perfectly normal if you're a woman and you're not happy.
Or as my mother-in-law, a woman with a wry New England sense of humor would say, "What's happy?"

Middle-aged women are less likely to be happy
By Marilyn Elias, USA TODAY

Women from the mid-30s to mid-50s are less likely than Americans overall to be very happy, and many are racked by worries about aging parents and other family members, a national survey reports Monday.

Money, time and health concerns loomed large in the poll by independent pollsters Pursuant Inc. of more than 1,100 women who have at least one living parent. About 20% said they were very happy, compared with 34% for the U.S. population overall in another survey by the Pew Research Center this year. [continue reading here]

I was featured in an article by Family Circle Magazine in 2000 regarding a Family Circle/Kaiser Foundation poll on the "sandwich generation": Boomers who get to spend their middle age taking care of their parents AND their own familys/kids AND trying to work AND trying to stay sane. I posted the article over here at blondesense annex. (My mom suddenly died in her sleep about 6 months after this article was written. And no, I didn't show it to her.)

A Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives ...by Michael Moore

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY PERFECT, imho.....



Tuesday, November 14th, 2006
A Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives ...by Michael Moore


To My Conservative Brothers and Sisters,

I know you are dismayed and disheartened at the results of last week's election. You're worried that the country is heading toward a very bad place you don't want it to go. Your 12-year Republican Revolution has ended with so much yet to do, so many promises left unfulfilled. You are in a funk, and I understand.

Well, cheer up, my friends! Do not despair. I have good news for you. I, and the millions of others who are now in charge with our Democratic Congress, have a pledge we would like to make to you, a list of promises that we offer you because we value you as our fellow Americans. You deserve to know what we plan to do with our newfound power -- and, to be specific, what we will do to you and for you.

Thus, here is our Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives:

Dear Conservatives and Republicans,

I, and my fellow signatories, hereby make these promises to you:

1. We will always respect you for your conservative beliefs. We will never, ever, call you "unpatriotic" simply because you disagree with us. In fact, we encourage you to dissent and disagree with us.

2. We will let you marry whomever you want, even when some of us consider your behavior to be "different" or "immoral." Who you marry is none of our business. Love and be in love -- it's a wonderful gift.

3. We will not spend your grandchildren's money on our personal whims or to enrich our friends. It's your checkbook, too, and we will balance it for you.

4. When we soon bring our sons and daughters home from Iraq, we will bring your sons and daughters home, too. They deserve to live. We promise never to send your kids off to war based on either a mistake or a lie.

5. When we make America the last Western democracy to have universal health coverage, and all Americans are able to get help when they fall ill, we promise that you, too, will be able to see a doctor, regardless of your ability to pay. And when stem cell research delivers treatments and cures for diseases that affect you and your loved ones, we'll make sure those advances are available to you and your family, too.

6. Even though you have opposed environmental regulation, when we clean up our air and water, we, the Democratic majority, will let you, too, breathe the cleaner air and drink the purer water.

7. Should a mass murderer ever kill 3,000 people on our soil, we will devote every single resource to tracking him down and bringing him to justice. Immediately. We will protect you.

8. We will never stick our nose in your bedroom or your womb. What you do there as consenting adults is your business. We will continue to count your age from the moment you were born, not the moment you were conceived.

9. We will not take away your hunting guns. If you need an automatic weapon or a handgun to kill a bird or a deer, then you really aren't much of a hunter and you should, perhaps, pick up another sport. We will make our streets and schools as free as we can from these weapons and we will protect your children just as we would protect ours.

10. When we raise the minimum wage, we will pay you -- and your employees -- that new wage, too. When women are finally paid what men make, we will pay conservative women that wage, too.

11. We will respect your religious beliefs, even when you don't put those beliefs into practice. In fact, we will actively seek to promote your most radical religious beliefs ("Blessed are the poor," "Blessed are the peacemakers," "Love your enemies," "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God," and "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."). We will let people in other countries know that God doesn't just bless America, he blesses everyone. We will discourage religious intolerance and fanaticism -- starting with the fanaticism here at home, thus setting a good example for the rest of the world.

12. We will not tolerate politicians who are corrupt and who are bought and paid for by the rich. We will go after any elected leader who puts him or herself ahead of the people. And we promise you we will go after the corrupt politicians on our side FIRST. If we fail to do this, we need you to call us on it. Simply because we are in power does not give us the right to turn our heads the other way when our party goes astray. Please perform this important duty as the loyal opposition.

I promise all of the above to you because this is your country, too. You are every bit as American as we are. We are all in this together. We sink or swim as one. Thank you for your years of service to this country and for giving us the opportunity to see if we can make things a bit better for our 300 million fellow Americans -- and for the rest of the world.

Signed,

Michael Moore
mmflint@aol.com
(Click here to sign the pledge)
www.michaelmoore.com

P.S. Please feel free to pass this on.
Link


(thanks for sending that over SL!!)

Have you heard the latest rumor floating around the blogs?

Judith Miller's brain is only the size of a pecan and it's filled with stuff akin to hotdog innards. Shakespeare's Sister says it's only a rumor, but then again, it could be true.

Meanwhile
Remember in September when the fucking NY Post made fun of the fact that Keith Olbermann received a suspicious letter containing white powder? It wouldn't have been deemed funny if one of the "journalists" at the NY Post received such a package. Olbermann was perceived as some sort of baby for reporting it. He never demanded to be taken to the hospital for tests despite the reports. It is standard protocol, after a terrorist threat, to undergo a series of tests according to the government, not Olbermann.

The homegrown terrorist and Freeper, Chad Castanega was arrested for sending the letter to Olbermann's home as well as sending the same to Nancy Pelosi (CA), Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), David Letterman and Jon Stewart. This story was talked about on Countdown last night and interestingly Media Matters reports that the rest of the media has barely said boo about the Freeper's arrest. Meanwhile, when liberal blogger, Mike Stark dared to ask George Macacawitz Allen about his first wife and was taken down by his handlers, the story was all over the "liberal" media for days.

Checking things out next door:

Found the following over at The Dark Wraith Forums:

Quoth the Dark Wraith
So former President George H.W. Bush says bloggers are responsible for degrading the national political discourse with their overwrought harshness.

That's just ridiculous.

May he and all his progeny suffer unspeakable and festering boils upon the buttocks until they die in writhing agony, upon which time may they, along with their agonizing butt boils, be condemned to burn in the raging inferno of Hell for all Eternity.

Yes, indeed: just ridiculous.

In response, I would like to offer these thoughts:
May bloody piles distress their asses
And corns adorn their feet;
May crabs as big as lobsters
Crawl over their bodies and eat;
And when they're old and gray,
And syphilitic wrecks,
May their heads fall through their assholes
And break their fucking necks.

Only on Fox: Bloggers and Non Christians Ruining Everything Sacred

Leave it to ThinkProgress.org to remind me that the cons are still spewing nonsense on what is supposed to be a "news" channel.

For instance, George H.W. Bush told Faux News last night that bloggers are to blame for the current political climate which has “gotten so adversarial that it’s ugly.” Give me a break. Someone had to oversee the 3 branches of government since they aren't keeping each other in check and the media doesn't do it. Letter writing time again.

Also on Faux News, Billy O revived the war on christmas waged by "secular progressives". Who is he? The Christmas Nazi? Who the hell cares if it's "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Christmas"? He should know better being New Yorker. NY was voted the friendliest city in the whole world for gawd's sake. We're used to being all inclusive. He's like a one man wrecking crew.

There are other celebrations and holidays at that time of year, so your store clerks would really have to spew a mouthful of Merry's and Happy's to each and every customer in order to be inclusive, not to mention they couldn't put a nice picture on the shopping bags because it would be cluttered with Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy New Years, Happy Kwanza, etc etc...

Oh wait ! Blonde solution time: Maybe we should wear buttons that depict what greeting we would prefer when we shop. Even better, the stores could print up shopping bags for each holiday including a "fill in the blank" one, and the clerk can ask each customer what their preference is: "Paper or plastic?" "Christmas or Kwanza?" "Oh I'm sorry, you looked.. nevermind... " "Jew?" "Pagan?" "Muslim?" "Lapsed Catholic? Oh I hear you." "What do you mean you don't celebrate Kwanza? I just thought..." Oh the hilarity that would ensue.

Ya' s'pose the Germans will try to get Rummy's trial moved to Atlanta?

RUETERS:
"Civil rights groups filed a suit with German prosecutors on Tuesday seeking war crimes charges against outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for alleged abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons."

ATLANTA-NUREMBERG SISTER CITY RELATIONSHIP:
"Mayor Bill Campbell today (Edit: December 17, 1998) announced that on his behalf a delegation under the leadership of Atlanta City Council member Vern McCarty has signed a Sister City Agreement between Atlanta and the German City of Nuremberg. The two cities will explore a closer cooperation in the areas of economic, cultural and educational development."

Maybe the folks in Georgia wouldn't think much of it at first, but it sounds like a good idea to me. We could probably bring 'em around with ideas like a scaffold-building contest, or a shooting contest to select people for a firing squad if that was called for, maybe an award for the most ingenious Rube Goldberg contraption to trigger a guillotine...Whaddayathink?

(EDIT: Can't get the Reuters "article" link to work, so have substituted the "home page" link.)

Down With The Patriarchy

It all boils down to this:
Accepting homosexuality and encouraging homosexuals to come out puts a damper on the patriarchy. They need more "manly" men to pull it off. Allowing women to take control of their reproductive power puts the patriarchs in a tizzy. They need more submissive women. That is one reason why I am an outspoken advocate of gay and women's rights. How much longer can the patriarchs pull off their domination strategy when their numbers are dwindling because the homosexuals are fighting for acceptance? How will they sell a war? How will they justify oppression?

Look at politics and religion lately. The wedge issues are gay marriage and reproductive rights. These issues have nothing to do with running a government or loving God. The self righteous Republicans insist that gay marriage and abortion rights will harm society while at the same time they fritter away hard earned tax dollars conducting wars and legislating oppression. The religious claim that being gay and having sex outside of marriage or even married without the intention of having a child will send you straight to hell while in the meantime, leaves you guilty and self loathing. Who is really harming society? Who is really creating a living hell on earth for others? Who are the people placing the most burden on society?

How ironic is it that the patriarchy doesn't want gays and lesbians to raise children when in fact they do it all the time? Hmm, how did there come to be so many gay and lesbian people in the world? Makes you wonder what kind of self loathing homosexuals join the priesthood or marry then disown their children who dare to come out. They are miserable and want you to be miserable too.

Who's being punished when a woman is denied birth control by a pharmacist or her religion? Who's being punished when a gay man marries an unsuspecting woman or becomes a Catholic priest for cover? Who's being punished when a woman is forced to bear a child who will be born into poverty and denied health care? Who will be punished when home schooling takes precedence over public schools?

That's right- All of us. And who will come out smelling like a rose? The patriarchs.

------------
You've read enough lately on how your government views gay and reproductive rights.

Now read how Catholic bishops this week are getting together to discuss ministry to gay people and what the suggestions are: It's ok to be gay (because God made you that way) as long as don't act on your human desire to express love for another person (sin) and keep your mouth shut regarding your sexual orientation (we don't want people to know just how many of us there are in the world).

Read how Catholic bishops this week will also discuss the ban on contraception for married people: If you would just refrain from having sex during those "10 days" of the month, then you wouldn't need it. (Easy for a bunch of self loathing gay men to come up with that strategy isn't it?)

Read how Catholic bishops will also strategize on how to settle the war in Iraq and discuss who is worthy to take Holy Communion.

Meanwhile, attacking gay people is one thing Muslims and Jews can agree on in Jerusalem.

It all ties in together nicely doesn't it?

"We cannot wait....."

Ralph Nader Explains Why Bush And Cheney Should Be Forced To Resign

Bloody Sunday: 217 Iraqis, 7 US/UK Troops Dead

From Antiwar.com:

Monday: 2 GIs, 105 Iraqis Killed; 2 GIs, 47 Iraqis Injured

Baghdad's Morgues So Full, Bodies Being Turned Away

Baghdad Central Morgue Took in 1,600 Bodies in October

Iraq PM Calls for Cabinet Shake-Up

Just four of the stories on this marvelous site. Hit the link at the top to see the entire page.

Finally, there's this post, which I copied verbatim from the Rigorous Intuition Discussion Board, the authenticity of which I can neither confirm or deny--the author says he found it on the AOL Messageboard:

I JUST CAME BACK FROM IRAQ AND..=I'M FROM THE ALABAMA NATIONAL GUARD AND WE JUST CAME BACK FROM IRAQ LAST FRIDAY AND THE SITUATION IS THERE IS TURNING PRETTY BAD...WE DO NOT CONTROL IRAQ ANY LONGER, THE GUERRILLA DOES..!!! THEY ARE 25 MILLION INSURGENTS, WE ARE JUST 120,000 (ARMY, NATIONAL GUARD, MARINES, NAVY, AIR FORCE, SPECIAL FORCES)..SORRY, BUT WE BETTER PACK AND LEAVE THAT INFERNO NOW!!!


"Only among men is nature's law of 'survival of the fittest' thwarted, and indeed, reversed; for in almost every generation the fittest are sent forth to be slaughtered by orders of the stunted, the twisted, and the senile." -- Sidney J. Harris

No Fluoride for Infants, Say Dentists

I just read this headline at WRH.

The other day, nolocontendere, commenting in the boiling frog principle post concerning cell phones, said that fluoride was also bad. I agreed. I've been arguing with my dentist for years. HE insists that anyone who drinks bottled water or nurses their children, should use fluoride supplements. Even my pediatrician advocated this.

Get the word out!

Here is the google link to the

dangers of fluoride.

You Know You Want It

Air guitar T-shirt rocks for real
BBC NEWS

Australian scientists have created a T-shirt that allows air guitarists to play real music - without resorting to a real guitar.
The T-shirt has motion sensors built into its elbows that pick up movements and relay them wirelessly to a computer which interprets them as guitar riffs.

One arm is interpreted as picking chords while the other strums. The "wearable instrument shirt" is adaptable to both right and left-handed would-be rock stars.

"It's an easy-to-use, virtual instrument that allows real-time music-making - even by players without significant musical or computing skills," said the research team leader, Richard Helmer.

"It allows you to jump around and the sound generated is just like an original mp3."

Dr Helmer, an engineer from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (Csiro) in Belmont, Australia, added that there was a serious side to the "wearable instrument shirt".

The researcher said similar sensors could be used in the future to reproduce a person in a virtual world so they could get feedback on their actions and improve their sporting techniques. The T-shirt is the product of a collaboration by researchers specialising in computing, music and textile manufacture.

"The technology, which is adaptable to almost any kind of apparel, takes clothing beyond its traditional role of protection and fashion into the realms of entertainment," said the Csiro engineer.

By customising the software, the team has also tailored the technology to make an air tambourine and a percussion instrument called an air guiro.

Just because we won the elections doesn't mean that they were clean

It's funny how big media and the stupid talking heads claim that the Democrats aren't crying foul regarding the elections because they won, when in fact the "liberal" media really isn't making voter irregularities a headline. If the talking heads and pundits actually read the news they would know that there were indeed problems in voting and not all the races have a declared winner. Luckily, enough Americans were pissed off enough to get to the polls to vote the bums out.


Diebold mess in Florida's 13th Congressional District, south of Tampa: The CBS News Investigative Unit has obtained an E-mail by a key election official indicating she may have known well before Election Day the machines weren't working properly. Recount and investigation starts today.

And there's more- Look at all the recounts

A Letter Of Heartfelt Thanks

Dear President Bush,
Thanks for not using your "power" to cancel the elections because of the war you started in Iraq.

"One freedom that defines our way of life is the freedom to choose our leaders at the ballot box. We saw that freedom earlier this week, when millions of Americans went to the polls to cast their votes for a new Congress. Whatever your opinion of the outcome, all Americans can take pride in the example our democracy sets for the world by holding elections even in a time of war."- President Bush on November 11, 2006

hat tip Peter Daou

Conservative Eye for the Liberal Guy

I'm cleaning out my 'favorites' this morning.

I think I will keep this video forever!!

A prim and proper group of Conservative Eyes give a raging Liberal Guy a politcal makeover in this hilarious spoof of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Political sketch comedy at its finest!

Enjoy!

There's a Hole in Daddy's Arm Where All the Money Goes

Sam Stone came home to his wife and family after serving in the conflict overseas
and the time that he served had shattered all his nerve and left some shrapnel in his knee
but the morphine eased the pain and the grass grew round his brain
and gave him all the confidence he lacked
with a purple heart and a monkey on his back

Chorus

There's a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes
Jesus Christ died for nothing I supposed
little pictures have big ears don't stop to count the years
sweet songs never last too long on broken radios

Sam Stone's welcome home didn't last too long
he went to work when he'd spent his last dime
and Sammy took to stealing when he got that got that empty feelin'
for a hundred dollar habit without overtime
and the gold rolled through his veins
like a thousand railroad trains
and eased his mind in the hours that he chose
while the kids ran around wearing other kids clothes

Chorus

Sammy Stone was alone when he popped his last balloon
climbing walls while setting in a chair
and they played his last request
while the room smelled just like death
with an overdose hovering in the air
cause life had lost it's fun
nothing to be done
but trade his house that he bought on the GI bill
for a flag draped casket on a local hero's hill.

by John Prine

Reflecting on Veterans by an Old Peace Chick

About one quarter of all homeless people in the US are veterans. The VA estimates that nearly 200,000-300,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. What's alarming is that veterans of the Iraq War are already arriving in homeless shelters, victims of PTSD, substance abuse, divorce, unemployment. About 28,000 veterans from Iraq sought health care from the VA and about 1 in 5 have mental problems. It breaks my heart. Says one homeless vet:

"We had a few situations where, I guess, people were trying to get out of the country. They would come right at us and they would not stop," Brown said. "We had to open fire on them. It was really tough. A lot of soldiers, like me, had trouble with that."

"That was the hardest part," Brown said. "Not only were there men, but there were women and children -- really little children. There would be babies with arms blown off. It was something hard to live with."

Being a female, a nurturer, I can't even begin to describe how it grieves me that our sons and daughters who enlist to protect and defend our country are sent off to invade and occupy a soveriegn nation, taught to torture and ordered to kill families, probably many just like their own families at home. Not only that, they were rushed to war without adequate armor and protection under phony pretenses. When they arrive back in the states, they exist not even knowing if they will be shipped back to the war zone, stressing their families and of course themselves. They are hidden from society. They are not given a voice in the press. I'm sorry, but when I see the faces of the fallen soldiers on television each week, I choke up and I cry. Many of them are just kids. Have you seen their baby faces? Then there are men up to 50 years old, probably dads, reservists, husbands, doing their civic duty, leaving their families, who are probably strugggling. How many tours of duty have they served I wonder. The least our leaders can do is be honest with us.

With all the wasteful spending by the Pentagon and the missions billions of dollars, we could pay each and every veteran and their families a pension or put them to work in a good paying job, give them every health and human service that they need and see to it that their children are well cared for and educated, if by chance their parents are unable to provide for them due to war experiences. What better way to thank our service people who actually fought in combat, than to give them every opportunity to adjust to everyday life in a decent middle class manner when they come home? That's not liberal. That's just humane (and you know that I am a total hippy peacenik). If we are going to continue to be an imperialist country, we ought to get the hell on the stick and provide for our warriors or just forget the whole thing.

Furthermore, outspoken veterans, legislators who are veterans and even generals who speak out about the war, question the government's policies and the dubious reasons to go to war are completely vilified in the media. How utterly depressing that must be for those who served. It's almost like we're telling them that it's expected that if you have served, you better shut up and deal it with it or we won't support you (whatever the hell "support" means). Our legislators skimp on veteran's services in favor of lining the pockets of defense contractors. Remember the defense contractor on Long Island who threw a $1o million dollar bat mitzvah for his totally underdeprived daughter? He was manufacturing shitty flack jackets to boot!

Was John Kerry really wrong in suggesting to college students that they ought to stay in school or risk going to bush's quagmire? How many young men and women serving in Iraq wish that they were in college or went to college before they enlisted rather than trying to not get killed in the hell hole. Maybe it was insensitive of him to bring it up, but how insensitive of the media to make such a big deal about it. Wouldn't you think that the fucking president and the media would have let the story go rather than to hurt the feelings of the troops? Bush politicized Kerry's remarks and it was despicable. There was a lot of truth to Kerry's joke even in its botched form but I wish I didn't have to hear about it. Those of us who sacrifice to put our children through college today, know full well what the options for our children are. Flipping burgers is not a terrible job, but if you work an honest 40 hour work week in this country, it doesn't mean that you will make a living wage. It's not that my son or I wouldn't put on uniforms and fight for our country if it became necessary to do so. Actually I think us old people ought to fight- not the young people.

What a difference a generation makes.
When our fathers (and some of our mothers including my late mother in law who was an Army nurse in London) served in WWII or Korea, when they arrived home, there were jobs and housing projects galore. Americans were all part of the war effort. They weren't ordered to go shopping. They all conserved and were happy to do it. So after the war, America was on the fast track while they were rebuilding in war ravaged Europe and Japan. Combat veterans were highly regarded. They grew big families and became the mighty middle class. I grew up in flourishing post war surburbia. They hardly spoke about the war to us boomers although many of them saw their own sons go off to Vietnam, some hardly voicing their concerns, not knowing what fate awaited those who returned alive. It was nothing like the America that the WWII vets came home to.

Only in the past 20 years have I heard so many stories about WWII from our parents, some completely obsessed with it, some who dragged their uniforms out of the closet and once again don their medals and pins and have pictures of themselves in their uniforms suddenly hanging on the walls. My uncle turned into a flyboy again. He carries his pilot's license from WWI. He wears his medals on his blazer at weddings and funerals. When my dad developed alzheimers, it was most interesting how he only remembered WWII with clarity. When my father in law underwent open heart surgery some years ago and came home kind of befuddled for a time from the anethesia, all he could talk about was storming the beaches at Normandy. It probably has to do with the gradual loss of short term memory, or maybe they are just reflecting on what the country has become since the glory days after WWII.

See The National Coalition For Homeless Veterans to find out what you can do for veterans in your community. The readers here know what a farce it is to slap a magnetic ribbon your SUV.

Hugo may go undercover........

to watch the hip-shaking Shakira perform.

Here's the story

"Shakira's arrived. ... Welcome, Shakira," Chavez said during a televised speech.


Chavez said that the other day he'd put on a wig and not even his bodyguards had been able to recognize him.
"Maybe I'll put on a wig and go see Shakira," he quipped.



She makes a man wants to speak Spanish......


Oh baby when you talk like that
You make a woman go mad.......

Oh boy, I can see your body moving
Half animal, half man
I don't, don't really know what I'm doing
But you seem to have a plan
My will and self restraint
Have come to fail now, fail now
See, I am doing what I can, but I can't so you know
That's a bit too hard to explain


(sorry folks....I couldn't resist!)

On land, By air, By sea

With honor and respect to our veterans.

They are our family, friends and neighbors; everyday citizens, yet so much more. They are the brave men and women who have given life and limb to protect and serve our country. Time and again, our country's veterans have been on the front lines putting their lives at risk to protect and serve.

On Veteran's Day, I take this opportunity to say thank you to the brave souls who have served in battle for our Armed Forces. I salute you all both past and present for your bravery, dedication and with pride and honor have given of themselves so selflessly.
Caring for our Veterans should be our duty and a honor. Let's all take this day to demand that we do more than patronize them with faux patriotism.

I Like Ike

The LA Times reports that Rep Ike Skelton who will be chairman of the Armed Services Committee in the Democratic-led House plans to resurrect the subcommittee on oversight and investigations. Oversight ended when the Republicans took over in '94. It will be coming back with a vengeance. You would think that middle class Republicans or any Republicans for that matter would have supported oversight on Pentagon spending, wouldn't you? I mean, they don't like paying taxes... but where did they think the money for all the wasteful spending was coming from? Pissing money away is hardly a conservative value. Unless you're a corporation with a government contract, it hardly makes sense to be a Republican.

In defense of all the planned investigations by the newly led House by Democrats, the LA Times reminds us that Republicans investigated steroid use by baseball players and investigated oil industry profits. Oh my yes. How useful those investigations were. They made the baseball players swear in, but not the oil industry thiefs as I recall. And the LA Times predicts that the Dems will do more investigating than legislating. I wouldn't worry about it. I think there has been enough fucking legislating in the past 6 years and not enough investigating. Let's have at it.

You would think that the news media would enjoy investigations. Don't they exist for dishing the dirt?

It's Not Over Yet

Elections Are Not Over In Nine House Districts
6 GOP Incumbents Hold Slim Leads

Germany is the First to Start the Ball Rolling

Germany is filling paperwork to bring up Rummy, Gonzalez and several other high ranking military and civilian figures before the court for international crimes. Including but not limited to Iraq, Gitmo and illegal torture.

Looks like this is going to be a VERY interesting month.

Future Darwin Award Winner

In lieu of the Obligatory Friday Sex post, I offer you:

Briton Hurt After Lighting Firecracker in Buttocks.

I'm just not sure there's anything I can add to the title.

Have at it.

On happiness and stupidity

I like to read David Byrne's blog. He is one of my favorite musical influences. He's really smart too. His election day post spoke to me,

Went to vote at the elementary school on 11th Street and my name was mysteriously not on the list. I did a write-in instead — hope they don’t throw it out. As someone who doesn’t trust this government one inch I wouldn’t put it past them.

Glancing at the headlines this AM I see the Dems have at least taken a few seats back, maybe enough to give them a majority vote in the house. I sang “This Land Is Your Land” (1.) to myself as I rode my bike downtown — I got choked up and started to cry. Maybe it will be the people’s land again, someday.

We are all sick and tired of the bully culture which is so evident in our country today. It's so 1980's Reaganesque. Keeping up with the Jone's is about to bankrupt us both socially and economically. I notice the attitude on the roadways- the "My SUV is bigger than your car, so get the fuck out of my way or get smushed."

We often discuss on this blog, the absolute stupidity of the die hard followers of the GOP, particularly the religious folks who happily go along in life content in their hateful beliefs. This is extreme delusion and denial. In his post, Happy Idiots, Byrne concludes (and I have concluded that too, but he puts it better) that perhaps there can be a healthy and evolutionary degree of denial that we humans have developed in order to secure our survival as a species. (2.) I say that sometimes thinking too much can be so depressing that it's debilitating, but there has to be a happy medium between depression and stupidity. Byrne thinks we haven't found it as a society.

"We have evolved to be less rational that one might think, and to be slightly more delusional and even stupid."

Indeed. But in light of the "me" culture that began with Reagan, it's no wonder that many people have chosen the bliss of ignorance. It's time to wake up our religious bretheren- at least enough for them to notice how very close we are/were to Germany before the war. Perhaps the election results are the wake up call.
---------

(1.) Did you know that a very communist verse was stricken from Woody Guthrie's, "This Land is Your Land"?

"Was a big high wall there that tried to stop me
A sign was painted, said 'Private property.'
But on the other side it didn't say nothing.
This land was made for you and me."

(2.) See also: Brain Changes When Speaking in Tongues and A Neuroscientific Look at Speaking in Tongues

Bush Made Al Qaeda Happy

I'm taking this story with a grain of salt... but show this to your winger friends.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A purported audio recording by the leader of Iraq's al Qaeda wing gloated over the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as a top U.S. general said the military was preparing to recommend strategy changes.

Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, said in the recording posted on the Internet on Friday that the group has 12,000 armed fighters and 10,000 others waiting to be equipped to fight U.S. troops in Iraq.

"I tell the lame duck (U.S. administration) do not rush to escape as did your defense minister ... stay on the battleground," he said.

So much for liberal media.

Last week we heard from dear leader that Rumsfeld was here to stay. It was a depressing piece of news. We learned on Wednesday that he was just kidding (lying) and that he waited until after the election to disclose that Gates would finish the war in Iraq. I was very happy that Rumsfeld would go and sit on his front porch rocker for the rest of his life but I wondered why he deliberately lied. He could have just said nothing.

I had MSNBC on when the press conference happened and I know what I heard the president say. Naturally the spinmeisters on with Tweety discussed over and over and over why bush's lie was necessary, making absolutely no sense whatsoever, but that's their job- to make people's head spin and just give up trying to follow the story. The spin just seemed to spew out of the mouths of the talking heads without anyone even thinking. I supposed that was what they are paid by the government to do.

Today, Glen Greenwald noticed some very odd behavior by the WaPo after the Rumsfeld lie. It's a very good piece to read. First WaPo reported that the president deliberately misled Americans

Asked about that comment, Bush said he made it because "I didn't want to inject a major decision about this war in the final days of a campaign," Bush said. He appeared to acknowledge having misled reporters, saying, "And so the only way to answer that question and to get you onto another question was to give you that answer."
He added later, "Win or lose, Bob Gates was going to become the nominee.

and then they completely deleted the accurate reporting from the same article!

He said that he had begun to contemplate Rumsfeld's exit before the election -- even while he was publicly vowing that he would keep the defense secretary through the end of his term and insisting that polls forecasting Republican defeat were wrong. "I thought we were going to do fine yesterday," Bush insisted. "Shows what I know." But "win or lose, Bob Gates was going to become the nominee."

So much for liberal media.

It's funny because when I woke up today and was thinking of what to write on the card with the flowers I am sending to Queen Nancy Pelosi, I felt that the most important thing was the restoration of free press or nothing was going to really matter if no one got the truth.

“The Boiling Frog Principle”

Urban legand or not, "the boiling frog" is a perfect analogy, IMO, regarding cell phone usage today. I have always felt that we are not being told the possible/probable dangers of cell use.

PLEASE, if you are a heavy cell phone user, put on a headset (NOT a bluetooth) when you are using it!

Via godisnotanasshole,

please read this very informative post: Cell Phone War

What are your thoughts?

democracy denied

While voting Tuesday, my husband, a veteran of politics and elections, and I witnessed something as painful as a slap in the face.

One of the election workers in our precinct, an older woman, couldn't find two names on the voter registration roles. One belonged to a gentleman wearing hospital workers' clothes who had lived in the neighborhood for five years. When he moved to this county he dutifully changed his registration he told the worker. The other name belonged to a woman waiting in line to vote after work. She said, "I have always voted here," meaning in this precinct.

Both of these voters were black.

Was it some odd coincidence that they, two black voters, were absent from the M-Z list managed by the same poll worker in the same thirty minute window? There was a poll worker who logged me and my husband in to the computerized system on her Palm. Didn't she log these two voters into the same system? We had to give her our names, addresses, and birthdates to get passed her. Did their names come up on her screen and then she sent them to the next check in point? I didn't see them have difficulties with that first poll worker.

Sickening. I thought of Chaney, Schwerner, and Goodman. I thought of Freedom Summer.

Later that night I would learn that people were turned away from the same polling place that morning at 7:00 a.m. because the voting machines couldn't be operated.

Why do we computerize this simple act? What is wrong with voting with a pencil and a ballot? Why can't we just find out who won the next day like opening presents on Christmas morning not Christmas Eve? Now county and state officials not only know that I voted in the general election through their computerized and numerical clerking it appears they could trace how I voted on their computerized voting machines. Why have this system of serial numbers and identification numbers if the votes cannot be traced and matched to a number? I had to enter an "access code" in order to vote. The order in which we checked in to the hand held system could be matched against lists of access codes, couldn't it?

Fifty years ago Fort Bend County literally had a white's only primary known as the Jaybird Primary. Sort of a pre-primary primary. Parties run elections, not the state, so they could, the argument went, pick their members and deny membership and thus voting rights to anyone they didn't invite to their party.

I didn't notice any white voters having problems with the voter roles. I did note that there was some electioneering for the write-in congressional candidate closer than 100 feet from the entrance to the polling place. The campaign workers told voters that they could carry cards printed with the candidate's name into the voting booth.

According to the Texas Election Code and the Secretary of State's website,

"Electioneering and loitering within 100 feet of the entrance of the building in which a polling place is located. [Sec. 61.003]. Examples of electioneering include, but are not limited to, the following:
wearing a badge, insignia, emblem, or other item relating to a candidate or a measure. [Sec. 61.010(a)].
unauthorized posting of signs, posters or other similar items. [Sec. 62.013]
unlawful operation of a vehicle with a loudspeaker used for campaigning purposes within 1,000 feet of a building in which a polling place is located. [Sec. 61.004]"

My questions to the poll workers were greeted with a disinterested shrug and a flat, "They must be 100 feet away." But they never enforced it in my presence nor got up to see if there were indeed violations outside their polling place door. They had to see the push cards with the candidate's name peeking out from shirt pockets, didn't they?

Did I say the polling place was in a church? That is just a little too close to the wall of separation for me.

One Texas candidate for the state legislature knocked his opponent to the ground in a little election day heated exchange. He was charged with assault. Fights routinely break out on the floor of the Texas Legislature so this is to be expected. I was losing my religion waiting and watching in line to vote. People get really rude about fair play and decency during elections. While campaigning for my husband, twenty years ago this spring, I complained to one of his opponents that if our campaign signs, which bore my husband's name but were hammered into the hard Central Texas soil by my hand, didn't stop disappearing and ending up in his truck bed, I would burn every one of his signs down in the entire county to the wooden stake.

Things do heat up during campaigns and elections in Texas. But I didn't lose any more signs that spring. We get excited about the little victories and we don't question the authority that denies the larger realities. My pleasure over the Democrats' victories this past Tuesday was spoiled by witnessing democracy denied.

Two people that I saw were not allowed to vote when their voter registration cards could have been printed from the county website. This technological advance was not available to assist these voters but the computerized list or a "glitch in the computer" may have kept them from voting. It is simply important enough to merit spending the money at every polling place.

It simply came down to a person looking the voter in the eye and saying that their name wasn't printed on the list.

Posted in its entirety, because it needs to be seen

We overcame our fear
The unarmed women of the Gaza Strip have taken the lead in resisting Israel's latest bloody assault By Jameela al-Shanti in Beit Hanoun11/09/06 "The Guardian" --

-- Yesterday at dawn, the Israeli air force bombed and destroyed my home. I was the target, but instead the attack killed my sister-in-law, Nahla, a widow with eight children in her care. In the same raid Israel's artillery shelled a residential district in the town of Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip, leaving 19 dead and 40 injured, many killed in their beds. One family, the Athamnas, lost 16 members in the massacre: the oldest who died, Fatima, was 70; the youngest, Dima, was one; seven were children.

The death toll in Beit Hanoun has passed 90 in one week.This is Israel's tenth incursion into Beit Hanoun since it announced its withdrawal from Gaza. It has turned the town into a closed military zone, collectively punishing its 28,000 residents. For days, the town has been encircled by Israeli tanks and troops and shelled. All water and electricity supplies were cut off and, as the death toll continued to mount, no ambulances were allowed in.

Israeli soldiers raided houses, shut up the families and positioned their snipers on roofs, shooting at everything that moved. We still do not know what has become of our sons, husbands and brothers since all males over 15 years old were taken away last Thursday. They were ordered to strip to their underwear, handcuffed and led away.

It is not easy as a mother, sister or wife to watch those you love disappear before your eyes. Perhaps that was what helped me, and 1,500 other women, to overcome our fear and defy the Israeli curfew last Friday - and set about freeing some of our young men who were besieged in a mosque while defending us and our city against the Israeli military machine.

We faced the most powerful army in our region unarmed. The soldiers were loaded up with the latest weaponry, and we had nothing, except each other and our yearning for freedom. As we broke through the first barrier, we grew more confident, more determined to break the suffocating siege.

The soldiers of Israel's so-called defence force did not hesitate to open fire on unarmed women.

The sight of my close friends Ibtissam Yusuf abu Nada and Rajaa Ouda taking their last breaths, bathed in blood, will live with me for ever.

Later an Israeli plane shelled a bus taking children to a kindergarten. Two children were killed, along with their teacher. In the last week 30 children have died. As I go round the crowded hospital, it is deeply poignant to see the large number of small bodies with their scars and amputated limbs. We clutch our children tightly when we go to sleep, vainly hoping that we can shield them from Israel's tanks and warplanes.

But as though this occupation and collective punishment were not enough, we Palestinians find ourselves the targets of a systematic siege imposed by the so-called free world. We are being starved and suffocated as a punishment for daring to exercise our democratic right to choose who rules and represents us.

Nothing undermines the west's claims to defend freedom and democracy more than what is happening in Palestine. Shortly after announcing his project to democratise the Middle East, President Bush did all he could to strangle our nascent democracy, arresting our ministers and MPs.

I have yet to hear western condemnation that I, an elected MP, have had my home demolished and relatives killed by Israel's bombs. When the bodies of my friends and colleagues were torn apart there was not one word from those who claim to be defenders of women's rights on Capitol Hill and in 10 Downing Street.

Why should we Palestinians have to accept the theft of our land, the ethnic cleansing of our people, incarcerated in forsaken refugee camps, and the denial of our most basic human rights, without protesting and resisting? The lesson the world should learn from Beit Hanoun last week is that Palestinians will never relinquish our land, towns and villages. We will not surrender our legitimate rights for a piece of bread or handful of rice.

The women of Palestine will resist this monstrous occupation imposed on us at gunpoint, siege and starvation. Our rights and those of future generations are not open for negotiation.Whoever wants peace in Palestine and the region must direct their words and sanctions to the occupier, not the occupied, the aggressor not the victim. The truth is that the solution lies with Israel, its army and allies - not with Palestine's women and children.·

Jameela al-Shanti is an elected member of the Palestinian Legislative Council for Hamas. She led a women's protest against the siege of Beit Hanoun last FridayGuardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006

Looking At the Bright Side

Buh-bye Kenny.
Don't let the screen door hit you on the way out.
CNN, which edited out the part of Larry King Live where Bill Maher outed Ken Mehlman and made youtube.com and Americablog.com take down the video of the outing, is now suggesting that Ken Mehlman is likely to leave the RNC.

Schadenfreude:
Hundreds of unemployed Republicans will be hitting the K Street pavement in the coming weeks. But even better, there will be plenty of job opportunities for regular people.

Victory For Women
The Plan B "Morning After Pill" will probably be available in drugstores next week to women over 18 without a prescription. Younger women will need a prescription. Men over 18 will be also be able to buy Plan B for women. I suspect that the GOP which doesn't have to pander to evangelists for the time being won't make a big deal out of this enormous victory for women.

Naked Emperor Meets the Queen
Bushie met with Queen Nancy Pelosi today and agreed to work with her party to address our country's problems. The Queen resolved to debate issues in the House (intimating that constructive debate wasn't part of the Republican led House) which is actually the way that things are supposed to be done. Pelosi has said, "Democrats are not about getting even. Democrats are about helping the American people to get ahead."

What's the holdup?
Has John McCain committed suicide yet? No? flip-flopper

Did you hear that the real "Jesus Camp" (not the movie) has been shut down due to vandalism?

"Very wierd result in the CT race. Lamont loses with EXACT number that republican did in 2000"

Daily Kos

Bush’s Chernobyl Economy; hard times are on the way -- by Mike Whitney

Do you think he is 'right on the money' here?

He (Mike Whitney) has been promising us this 'economic tsunami' for quite some time now. Nothing has happened. I keep hearing people say "the economy is doing great".

Are you just trying to scare us Mike? Come on....it can't be that bad, can it?

The Cheney-Gates Cabal, by Ray McGovern

Ray McGovern, a CIA analyst from 1963 to 1990, is on the Steering Group of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. Full disclosure: he is indebted to Defense Secretary Rumsfeld for TV notoriety on May 4, when McGovern’s impromptu questioning after a Rumsfeld speech in Atlanta elicited denials later shown to be false after fact-checks by the TV networks. McGovern’s acquaintance with Robert Gates, whom the president has picked to succeed Rumsfeld, goes back 36 years to when Gates was a journeyman analyst in the CIA’s Soviet Foreign Policy branch led by McGovern.

Here is his article, via TomPaine

Something That Made Me Smile Yesterday

So last night a couple of friends were over and we were high fiving about the election results. We were watching Brit Hume (who looked like his dog had just died) on Faux News, hoping to see his head explode. About half way through the program, he went to commercial, whereupon we learned that the upcoming panel discussion (with the usual bloviating gas bags, Fred Barnes, Mort Kondrake and Mara Liasson) was being sponsored by . . .

Citgo! The oil company owned by Venezuela!

Now that just strikes me as too funny, given how Faux News has savaged and vilified Hugo Chavez. As always with Republican shills, money talks, bullshit walks.

Thursday Open Thread

So much news, so little time.
What's on your mind?

It's A Sweep

I know that things aren't going to turn around immediately, but I am not unhappy to see so many crooks and liars being swept out the door. Let's see what gets done about veteran's benefits, the minimum wage, drugs, energy, corruption, the lies that led to the Iraq war, post 9/11 security. Oh and rolling back the tax cuts to the Paris Hilton crowd will also be a step in the right direction. And of course, let the investigations begin.

• Senator Harry Reid is in line to be the Senate Majority leader.
• Fox News invents new position: Senate Minority Speaker.
• Newsweek asks: Robert Gates was a controversial figure in the Iran-contra affair. Will his Reagan-era activities hamper his confirmation as Rumsfeld’s successor?
• Americablog reports: Bill Maher outed Ken "talks with cock in his mouth" Mehlman on Larry King. Huffpo has the transcript:

BM: A lot of the chiefs of staff, the people who really run the underpinnings of the Republican Party, are gay. I don't want to mention names, but I will Friday night...
LK:You will Friday night?
BM: Well, there's a couple of big people who I think everyone in Washington knows who run the Republican...
LK: You will name them?
BM: Well, I wouldn't be the first. I'd get sued if I was the first. Ken Mehlman. Ok, there's one I think people have talked about. I don't think he's denied it when he's been, people have suggested, he doesn't say...
LK: I never heard that. I'm walking around in a fog. I never...Ken Mehlman? I never heard that. But the question is...
BM: Maybe you don't go to the same bathhouse I do, Larry.

I have a couple of questions.....

that I would like to ask the ENTIRE nation, by means of a national referendum. Is there such a thing Red, Jaye? There were some great questions on some of our states' ballots yesterday. It is becomming obvious that a great number of people want religious beliefs out of politics, OUT OF GOVERNMENT!! Wait -- let me rephrase that: It's obvious that many people want government out of their PERSONAL lives.

In Liz's post the other day, she concluded that we can no longer govern properly unless religion is removed from the mix. But how do we do that? I guess, to start, you just ASK the people by means of a referendum. BUT, we need to ask the RIGHT QUESTIONS.
Losses on ballot measures jolt religious

In March, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds signed a bill that would make it a felony--punishable by five years in prison--for doctors to perform an abortion, even in cases of incest, rape or a threat to the health of the woman.

Abortion rights supporters(Planned Parenthood) responded by taking the ban to voters. In just nine-and-a-half weeks, they gathered more than 38,000 signatures to get the No on Referred Law 6 referendum on the November ballot.

WOW! -- 38 thousand signatures in 9.5 weeks!! Can any question, with the proper amount of signatures, be put before the citizens to be voted on? Can this be done on a national level as easily as it was just done in the individual states that had referendums?


Is this 56/44 'win' in SD great news? Yes it is, but on the other hand, it's not, IMO.The South Dakota case strays from the strategy that anti-abortion forces have used so successfully since abortion became legal--making the right to choose less and less accessible by imposing more and more restrictions

Some feel that this 'referendum' in South Dakota was just a strategy to overturn Roe v. Wade, others contend that this is a victory; the people have spoken, and they want their personal decisions out of the law maker's hands. The anti- abortion folks in SD claim that the question posed was confusing to many people. (YES to preserve the ban was confused with YES to abortion.) This 'question' was a great example of pussyfooting around what the REAL question should have been.

SHOULD ABORTION BE DECIDED BY

a.)THE GOVERNMENT OR
b.)THE INDIVIDUAL?
(pick one)

SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT DECIDE WHO YOU CAN MARRY?
(yes or no)

SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT DECIDE IF YOU CAN USE A STEM CELL OR NOT?
(yes or no)

In other words: SHOULD 'GOD' BE REMOVED FROM POLITICS??????? It's time to ask that question to everyone. It's the year 2007! What are we afraid of?

2007 -- most of know right from wrong. We really don't even need laws that tell us what is o.k. to do and what is not -- WE HAVE MORALS. And, for those who don't know right from wrong, well, we have pretty much spelled it out in our legal system. Most of our laws today are legislated morals and are also attached to religious beliefs. I know many 'religious' people whose 'morals' suck, and I know many non-believers who are very moral, like me. Actually, most of the morals I hold near and dear are Jesus' morals -- he really did have some GREAT ideas on how people could get along!!

Birthing a child is a woman's choice -- Period! I'm the mother -- I'm the Boss. I'm the DECIDER!! And, I'll consult MY DOCTOR in special circumstances also, thankyou very much!.

If I want to marry a woman -- that's my PERSONAL choice. Love is Love. If I want to marry a man, that's also my choice. Love is Love.

If I want to use a stem cell to help my father who may some day suffer from Parkinson's Disease, or use my own stem cells
after I have a heart attack, then that is MY CHOICE. If I am a religious person and believe what my 'God' tells me then NO, I would probably have to pass on the stem cell, (sorry dad); marry who I am told -- even if they turn out to be an asshole -- too bad -- you won't be able to divorce them either. Oh, Wait -- yes you can!! -- for $1,000, you can get it annulled and 'God' will look the other way!

All three of these issues, IMO are PERSONAL choices that have NO EFFECT WHATSOEVER on anyone else -- NO MATTER WHAT THE CHOICE IS.

We all live together in ONE world, divided in TWO communities: The faith based and the reality based. We need to accept each others differences. A lot of people can't though. You all know what my mother said to me the other day: "I could care less what goes on in your head -- I am at peace with my religion, and that's all I need to know". I'm happy for you mom, really. I am also at peace with MY non-religious life, and have chosen to live mine like it's heaven on earth, instead of waiting to rise up and 'live' forever and ever and ever and ever. I think a lot of people feel this way also. They just want to live their life, within the law and, could care less what joe blow does, or who she worships; as long as it doesn't interfere with or hurt them. I think a lot of religious people today would answer those questions above in the same way non believers would - especially with all the different 'Gods' that keep popping up!

*GET YOUR BIBLE OFF MY CONSTITUTION*

Then....THEN


LET US ALL UNLEASH THE CHIRST WITHIN


"What would happen if the poor and working class of the United States said “no mas” to the Corporatocracy? What if the wage slaves finally became self aware and leveraged the overwhelming strength of their numbers against their parasitic masters?

Over 250 million US Americans acting in unison and embracing Christ as their leader “in absentia” would overwhelm the relative few manning the bulwarks of exploitation, imperial conquest, and obscene militarism. While it is unlikely Jesus would have advocated open revolt, it is a virtual certainty that he would have instructed his followers to minimize or end their participation in a system driven by avarice and abject cruelty.

Improbable that such an evolution will transpire? Yes. Impossible? No.

So let’s indulge ourselves by taking a glimpse at the potential results of a mass movement of the wage slaves and disenfranchised in the United States acting in accord with the enlightenment of Christ:

[Five years have slipped by since the “rise of the Proletariat” in the United States. Working in unison according to the spiritual principles embodied by Jesus Christ in the Synoptic Gospels, the poor, the working class, and the besieged middle class had finally renounced their allegiance to their pecunious over-lords.

Consumers staged mass boycotts, decimating the cash flow that served as the life-blood of predatory capitalism. Sweeping strikes and sick-outs deprived the vampiric moneyed class of their wretched wage slaves. Spreading like a plague, civil disobedience infected the fascist titan and brought it to its knees. Military personnel refused to serve, bringing the war machine to a grinding halt. Law enforcement personnel rejected their loathsome task of enforcing unjust laws, exposing the miscreants ruling the nation to the terrifying possibility of enduring......."

"Post-Election Reality Check":

That's the title. Here's the opening sentences:

"So you think "the system worked", democracy has won out, and that yesterday's election is the first step to straightening out the mess Bush and the Neocons have made on the planet?

"Think again. It's not that "the system" didn't work; it worked very well, but you have again been duped.

"Nothing has changed. In fact, many of you have been put back to sleep by the staged Democratic victory which was set up just for that purpose; to make you think you still live in a democracy."

Sound interesting? LKJ's views reinforce my theory that the Republicans "threw" the elections. Check out the entire essay at Laura Knight Jadczyk's blogsite Postcards from the Edge of Reality....

CNN: Rumsfeld stepping down

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, architect of an unpopular war in Iraq, is stepping down as Secretary of Defense, President Bush announced today. Bush said he is nominating Robert Gates, former head of the CIA, to replace Rumsfeld.

CNN

Update 1PM:
In other good news...
The Senate is Tied
Rummy is stepping down!

VICTORY!!!

It's late night and looks very positive.
The Democrats have taken 33 seats in the House (235-200)
The Democrats will take the Senate (51-49)

Time to celebrate.

Florida 2000 election chief loses Senate race

Reuters) - Republican U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris lost her long-shot quest for the Senate on Tuesday after a gaffe-prone campaign that saw the former Florida election official shunned by her own party chieftains.

REUTERS

Election Night Open Thread

Don't let the screen door hit you in the ass on your way out, Ricky.

Violence at Polls

OMG, I'm waiting for the full story, but a few miles away (in the city that I work) a man who had seemed very calm and even friendly suddenly went beserk (bezerk sp?) and beat a Diebold voting machine to death.

Pictures, article and video here

I've heard that PA has made the most "we are having issues" call to the voter emergency hotline, however I must say my voting experience today was rather boring. Mind you I've moved to a tiny little town that only has a few hundred voters and the election judge in my ward knows pretty much everyone by face and name. She was rather impressed that I had my voter registration card, drivers ID and a untility bill showing my name and address (I was taking no chances, I moved in Sept 05). She said she was just wondering who the new lady with the hyphenated name was and what she would look like (insert roll-eyes here) LOL.

So right now my only concern is WILL my vote be counted accurately or; will Diebold, some hacker, or just some political lackey thwart the democratic process. I fully expect Santorum to be on the ropes, face ground into the mat and begging for mercy. Hell, even the little old ladies up here won't vote for him, between his looney comments lately and his less than wonderful voting record on medicare and armed service benefits I'm somewhat surprised a few of those old girls didn't spit when they said his name.

Mixing Politics and Religion

Gov Rick Perry in Texas believes that non-christians will be doomed to hell. George Bush once said that he believes that too. Katherine Harris believes that electing non-christians legislates sin and prays that Jews will be converted. How can a person govern or legislate fairly when he or she believes that those who don't believe in their faith are substandard or doomed to hell?

Editorial Update: It's a given that no one governs fairly especially "religious" types. But what can we do about it?

GOP Desperate For Your Votes. Harrassment Ensues.

Harrassing Robo-calls are annoying voters in many districts. Apparently the GOP knows it's illegal but is willing to pay the fines because it's worth it to them to piss Democrats off enough for them to stay home on Tuesday. Co-blogger Billydoom was robo-called 10 times by Pete King's campaign here on Long Island. This practice of deliberate harrassment must be deemed more than a simply offense whereby the harrasser pays a fine. It's an obstruction of justice. This is an outrage and the GOP must be held accountable. For them, winning an election is a game. It's letter writing time again. This time to state legislators and the Justice Department.

DU has quite a few entries concerning robo-calls and voter fraud. What's been happening, what to do, who to call, where to report voter abuses.

Something to read and discuss
Beyond the Voting Rights Act:
Why We Need a Constitutional Right to Vote

Is it torture?

Here's a video of a Faux News Reporter undergoing waterboarding voluntarily in a controlled environment by professional torturers.

Here's a video showing a man who voluntarily underwent waterboarding by professional torturers.

Here's Tony Snow laughingly talking about torture and Dick Cheney. He said that Dick Cheney was just talking about dunking not torture.
Pretty good questions by the reporters in this one.

Shades of Hand Maid's Tale

How scary is this:

Two abortion clinics asked the state's highest court Monday to investigate Attorney General Phill Kline and Fox television's Bill O'Reilly over O'Reilly's statements that he had information from Kansas abortion records.

A Kline spokeswoman called the move "a political ploy."

The clinics' attorneys want the Kansas Supreme Court to seize records that Kline, an outspoken abortion opponent, obtained on 90 of the clinics' patients.

Kline received edited versions of the records from a district judge on October 24 after arguing he wanted to review the records for evidence of possible crimes including rape and illegal abortions.

The attorneys asked the court to appoint a special prosecutor to determine if O'Reilly's information came from the records turned over to Kline.

O'Reilly said Friday on his show "The O'Reilly Factor" that an inside source gave him information that a doctor at one of the clinics, George Tiller, had performed late-term abortions because patients were depressed. O'Reilly deemed it "executing babies."

Kline spokeswoman Sherriene Jones has said the attorney general doesn't know how O'Reilly obtained the information.

David Tabacoff, executive producer of "The O'Reilly Factor," issued a statement saying, "We stand by our story."

The two clinics requesting the investigation are Tiller's Wichita clinic and a Planned Parenthood-run clinic in Overland Park. Tiller, one of the few U.S. doctors to perform late-term abortions, has been targeted by protesters for years, his clinic was bombed in 1985 and he was shot by a protester in 1993.

The clinics' request for an investigation was the second in a week targeting the attorney general.

On Wednesday, former Attorney General Bob Stephan, a Republican like Kline, asked the state Governmental Ethics Commission to examine Kline's fundraising and activities involving churches. Kline is running for a second term.


So the fact that a ditto head gets a hold of private, legally protected documents and gives out a physician's name as an 'executor' of babies is no big deal? I hope he sues Fox, O'Reilly and Kline. And how long until they start posting the names of the women who had abortions? How many young women will be beaten to death or tossed out on the street by their 'loving families' or the men/boys who help put her in such a position. What if the embryo was created by a rapist, her own father or brother, or any other horrible situation.

Not that it matters of course, none of these 'good' christians are interesting in helping any of these women. They just want to punish and condemn them and the physicians who tend to them. And as for our legal system? Meh, don't count on me holding my breath until these assholes are called on the carpet and punished for what they've done. Mind you if 'I' as a practioner would dare breath a word about any of my patients I would be out on my lily white ass faster than I could spit. But then again I'm not a white, middle-aged, male Republican.

divine justice

While walking down the street one day a US senator is tragically hit by a truck and dies.
His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance.

"Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the man.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from higher up. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."

"Really, I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the senator.

"I'm sorry, but we have our rules."

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him.

Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They play a friendly game of golf and then dine on lobster, caviar and champagne.

Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who has a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are having such a good time that before he realizes it, it is time to go.

Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises...
The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens on heaven where St.Peter is waiting for him.

"Now it's time to visit heaven."

So, 24 hours pass with the senator joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and, before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."

The senator reflects for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage.

He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls from above. The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulder. "I don't understand," stammers the senator. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"

The devil looks at him, smiles and says, "Yesterday we were campaigning...... Today you voted."

we gonna have woast wabbit

He likes to hunt on election day

Deadeye Dick hasn't gone hunting since mistaking him for a bird, shot his friend in the face back in January. But it's reported that Deadeye likes to go hunting on election day. So a'hunting he will go. What better way to get out your aggressions than to shoot fenced in animals?

I didn't wanna do it -- I didn't wanna do it...

From the Nation:

The Tao of Borat
A review....by Richard Goldstein


What are we laughing at?

"backlash entertainment has lost its sting--if only because it no longer represents a dissent from the orthodoxies of social politics. There's a new comedy in which the ambiguities of laughter are explored and the connections between mockery and sadism are revealed. If you examine your response to Borat, you'll have to face some dicey truths about the joy of bigotry."

"You're left with the feeling that everyone enjoys the spectacle of bigotry, as long as it's couched in humor."

I love a good laugh, but I think I might skip this one -- for now anyway. I am MOST curious though....

Just Do It!

We can talk, talk, talk all we want. We can bemoan the state of political discourse. We can whinge about the direction of the country. But here we are, one day before election day and each of us must ask ourselves, honestly and unflinchingly:

Have we done everything in our power we can do to effect change?

Have we fully committed ourselves to preserving the Amercian Democratic experiment now 230 years old? Have we participated in the political process to the fullest extent we can? Have we knocked on doors? Have we spoken with our neighbors? Have we written letters to the editors of our local papers? Have we given what money we can to the candidates we support? Have we made a few phone calls? Have we registered to vote? Have we voted?

Go ahead and call me naive. I much prefer to be thought of as naive than as a victim. A victim of the spin machine. A victim of election fraud. There is only so much within my personal power to effect change, but I'm going to use what power I have to the maximum extent possible.
Democracy does not happen in a vacuum. It all begins and ends with people. People like you and me.

Just do it!

Will You Please Define "Winning"

Dear Senator Dole,

Today I read that you said "Democrats are content with losing" and "We need to win the war, and it would be disastrous to lose."

Doesn't it hurt your brain to have to say what people tell you to say all the time? Since when is a woman such a war monger? What's in it for you? How much more money do you need? Maybe we could take up a collection. You have paid up health care benefits and you're pretty old, it can't be all that much. Why not travel with Bob in your golden years?

What is with all this "losing" talk? Is this a sporting event? American Idol? No one thinks we've lost. We won the war. I recall the president standing on an aircraft carrier just off the coast of San Diego, clearly seen from the beach, standing beneath a huge banner that read, "mission accomplished". We took out Iraq's army and their leader. We were all thrilled that the war was over and our kids were going to come home. If they had actually had WMD's in Iraq, I'm sure that they would have used them by now. The UN weapons inspectors were correct. It looks like Iraq wants to be a theocracy after all. They are fighting amongst themselves for that reason. If we kill all the religious people, who will be left there?

To date, I haven't read a single thing about the plan to actually win the war by any Republicans. Since you have insinuated that bush's speech was pre-mature, then how will you or anyone know when the war is over and we've won again? When we've hit the one million mark in dead Iraqi civilians? When we've killed all the Iraqi's? When we have no troops left? When we've killed or tortured and imprisoned every single person on the planet who disagrees with bush's idea of foreign policy? Will bush land on yet another aircraft carrier to make the moment memorable? What's the plan?

You can't win if you don't define what winning is. But thanks for trying.

Yours truly,
Blondesense

Lying, Stealing, Cheating. The GOP way.

Just more reasons to vomit when you read about the bushistas speaking out against countries with unfair elections.

It's bad enough reading about all the voter suppression taking place across the country... and you know it's all trickery because no one ever accused too many Americans of voting. Now according to Americablog.com, the GOP are using Robocalls, disguising themselves as pesky Democrats to piss off voters. And they don't deny it. Story here and here.

Bill Maher Has Talking Points For Democrats

We could learn a lot from crayons.......

Some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors.......but they all have to learn to live in the same box.

A Box of Crayons

While walking in a toy store
the day before today,
I overheard a crayon box
with many things to say.

"I don't like red!" said yellow.
And green said, "Nor do I!"
And no one here likes orange,
but no one knows quite why."

"We are a box of crayons
that really doesn't get along,"
said blue to all the others
"something here is wrong!"

Well, I bought that box of crayons
and took it home with me
and laid out all the crayons
so the crayons could all see.

They watched me as I colored
with red and blue and green
and black and white and orange
and every color in between.

They watched as green
became the grass
and blue became the sky.
The yellow sun was shining bright
on white clouds drifting by.

Colors changing as they touched,
becoming something new.
They watched me as I colored.
They watched till I was through.

And when I'd finally finished,
I began to walk away.
And as I did the crayon box
had something more to say...

"I do like red!" said the yellow
and green said, "So do I!"
"And blue you are terrific
so high up in the sky."

"We are a box of crayons
each of us unique,
but when we get together
the picture is complete."

Now if we could just learn from this box of crayons
this world would be a better place.


by Shane DeRolf

Saddam Found Guilty

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein was convicted and sentenced Sunday to hang for crimes against humanity in the 1982 killings of 148 people in a single Shiite town, as the ousted leader, trembling and defiant, shouted "God is great!"

I for one am not surprised so I hope that this wasn't Rove's election surprise. Ho-hum.

I hope his death will be worth it for the thousands of people who have been killed or maimed since the US invaded and occupied Iraq. From what I'm reading this morning, violence is escalating in Iraq among sectarian groups. It sure took a long time to bring justice to Saddam. What was the hold up? This happened in 1982!

Anyway, I was blondely reminiscing - The Reagan Administration sent good old Rummy to Iraq to make nice with Saddam in December of 1983 even though they were fully aware of the chemical weapons issue. Rummy didn't bring it up at the time.

On January 1, 1984 the US made it clear that they were on Iraq's side in the Iran-Iraq war. So they didn't bring up the chemical weapons issue again.

Then in March of 1984, Rummy was back in Iraq during the time that the UN reported that Iraq had used chemical weapons against Iran- "bis-(2-chlorethyl)-sulfide, also known as mustard gas, and ethyl N, N-dimethylphosphoroamidocyanidate, a nerve agent known as Tabun.” The US State Department had the evidence too and sort of acted like they were sort of concerned. Rummy didn't talk about that part while he was there because he was working on keeping diplomatic ties open... plus Iraq was buying lots of hardware and stuff like helicopters from US companies. (business before politics you know) Then Rummy resigned and about 6 months later in November, it was declared that Iraq/US diplomatic ties were fully restored. Rummy was credited with the wonderful achievement. They still left out the part that Iraq was using chemical weapons.

In 2002, Robert Novak reported that there's a senate report from the mid nineties that says the US exported deadly chemical compounds to Iraq from 1985-1988 (including anthrax) and the microorganisms that were destroyed by the UN inspectors after the first Gulf War were identical to the ones the US sold them. Naturally, when asked, Rummy had no knowledge of anything.

Next up in Saddam's trial are charges that he used chemical weapons on Kurds in 1988. I am not sure that it will be brought up in the trial (or if it is brought up, that the Pentagon will allow that testimony to be reported in the US), but Iraq used those US made helicopters to drop the chemical bombs. That darned Democratic Senate at that time in 1988 tried to impose sanctions on Iraq, but the WH wouldn't hear of it.

Crazy, isn't it?

Homosexual Marriage is Wrong But the Sex is Faaaabulous

Oh my gawd! Betty Bowers on Ted Haggard. Ya gotta read it.
hat tip to Citizen Spot

UPDATE: Oh my my. A change of tune. "Saying that he was a "deceiver and liar" who had given in to his dark side, the Rev. Ted Haggard confessed to sexual immorality Sunday in a letter read from the pulpit of the megachurch he founded."

One of the most horrifying posts I have ever read:

"Special Blog Post: Weekend on the Homefront"

That's the title. Here's some text:

"One of the students is regular Army, in a unit that's between rotations into Iraq."

(...)

"...right there and then I knew he wouldn't kill me. I just knew it. Someday, he might have to, though. After all, that's what he's being trained to do.

The Dark Wraith hopes this story makes your blood run cold."

It did mine. Find out why by clicking on The Dark Wraith Forums and then click on State-By-State Index Of Potential US Concentration Camps.

Guess Who's In Charge of Solving the Energy Crisis?

Oh yeah baby. You guessed it.

The actual Exxon Valdez himself.
The man who hates renewable energy.

Fat Bastard is the fox guarding the hen house.
He's Mel Gibson heading the US Ecumenical Council.
the... (you fill in the rest. I just ran out.)

Hat tip to the always on the lookout for scary news, our very own Jersey Cynic.

"Angel with Attitude"

by my favorite girl band -- The Ditty Bops

Here are the(lyrics)

Smart, clever, creative musicians. Their music and message ALWAYS calms me down.

Enjoy all of their videos -- "wishful thinking" and "Jazzercize" are both a riot!

That's One Way of Recruiting Cannon Fodder

Hey kid. Have I got a deal for you!
Ya wanna be in the Army's Marching Gangsta Rap Band?
What war?
Oh you do like to torture animals? Excellent.

Channel 7, Eyewitness News in NY wants to hear from you if you or you know of anyone who's experienced questionable military recruitment. This is a very patriotic thing to do.

Some tidbits extracted by investigators in NY and NJ posing as interested student recruits:

Mt. Vernon recruiter: "We're like we're not at war, war ended a long time ago."

Recruiter: "We almost welcome being shot at because it helps us identify where they are shooting from ..."

Mt. Vernon Recruiter: "The news never said war, they're not lying now they never said war."

Elizabeth recruiter: "I like Subway sandwiches and salads. I watched the news yesterday, a guy got killed at Subway."

Patchogue recruiter: "You have a 10-times greater chance of dying out here on the roads than you do dying in Iraq."

Yonkers recruiter: "As long as you don't choose a job in this area, you don't have to worry about going over there."

Student: "Aren't people still being shipped out?"
New Jersey recruiter: "Naw, they bringing people back."
Student: "Nobody is going out to Iraq anymore?"
Recruiter: "Naw, we bringing people back."

To be fair, not all recruiters were dishonest. About half were upfront about what service would entail.

Stamford recruiter: "Every job in the Army does include combat. Plain and simple."

It doesn't appear that any of the investigators asked if they will get to torture people.

George Allen Don't Like Black People

Too funny. Just go and watch.

My mother just told me "YOU better SHUT YOUR MOUTH before someone SHUTS it for you..."

Maybe she's right?

Maybe I should get out while I still can....

We had 'words' last night -- like never before. I am still pretty shaky because I have NEVER talked back to my Irish Catholic Commando mother in my whole, entire, half a century, life (that SHE gave me). It was bad. When I compose myself a bit more, I'll share with you our 'exchange of words'. Even my soft spoken (silenced years ago by mom), gentle, atheist, alcoholic father wrote me off last night as nothing but a "loud mouthed liberal blogging bush hater".

Let's just say it started when I popped over to 'check in'. Of course fox news was on. The story about the US website posting the nuke info was being discussed. All SHE wanted to talk about was this Borat person -- she was really quite giddy telling me about it -- it was really weird. I told her I had read something about it, but was more interested in hearing the discussion on fox. I tried to explain to them what this was all about -- IN a CALM and CAREFUL manner (I'm learning) -- honestly! I really did a good job I thought! Even my hubby doubted me when I told him what happened when I got home: "Are you sure honey....I know how you can be -- you can POUND it pretty good". I assured him I WAS behaving -- THEY were the ones that started attacking me. My heart starting beating really fast, and I knew I had to make up some excuse why I had to leave. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep my mouth shut after they said those things to me. She said "good NIGHT" with with that disgusting, snotty tone in her voice. I said "GOOD night", shut the door, opened it right back up again and quickly yelled back into them "good night and WAKE UP! Yeah -- I finally told them off -- OK, so it was only two words, but it was the first time I ever talked back to my parents. This was BIG for me! I was convinced I was going to go home, pack my bags and get the FUCK outta here; and whoever wanted to come was more than welcome!


Maybe I'll lay low and wait it out.

She, and the likes of her, are not going to win this one. When push comes to shove, I sure hope Mr. Morales is right about how things are going to play out. BTW, she still thinks "that martial law/police state thing is a crazy idea you bloggers have."

Election Eve House of Cards

• National Security Alert
Anxious and zealous Yes-Men, Rep. Heckster and Sen. Roberts, both chairmen of The Armed Services Committee in their respective chambers of the Congress, in their desire to prove a republican talking point about WMDs in Iraq, insisted to the President, despite the protest of DNI, Negroponte, to allow publishing documents captured from Iraq, after the fall of Saddam Hussein, on a public government website. Bush, gladly approved the move, compromising National Security of this country.

"This is a classic, textbook example of the dangers of politicizing national intelligence issues," said Joe Cirincione senior vice president for national security and international policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress in Washington.

"In their zeal to promote the idea Saddam Hussein in fact did have (WMD), congressional proponents of the war ... have put up documents on the internet that could give terrorists and states hostile to the United States the very instructions they need to build nuclear, chemical or biological weapons," he said.

• As Iraq slips further into chaos, the war's neoconservative boosters have turned sharply on the Bush administration, charging that their grand designs have been undermined by White House incompetence. In a series of exclusive interviews, Richard Perle, Kenneth Adelman, David Frum, and others play the blame game with shocking frankness. Target No. 1: the president himself.

• On Countdown with Keith Olberman was revealed that monday The Military Times Media Group, including all official Newspapers of the Armed Forces: Navy Times, Army Times, Air Force Times, Marine Times, will ask for the resignation or firing of Don Rumsfeld

I Didn't Know John McCain Was Gay

Arizona Central--Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a likely 2008 presidential aspirant, is starring in two new television spots for Proposition 107, a proposed state constitutional amendment that would ensure that same-sex marriages or civil unions are never legal in Arizona and ban governments, such as cities or towns or universities, from providing benefits to unmarried domestic partners. Click here to watch the two commercials now airing in the Phoenix metropolitan TV market.

Haggard compares his sex scandal to John Kerry's botched joke

I shit you not.

He also admitted today that he had contacted male prostitute Mike Jones "for a massage" and bought drugs from him... but they didn't have sex. So maybe he's just a druggie.

FUBAR

UFB

Another Day, More Republican Dirty Tricks

Let us all bow down in awe, the Republicans continue to be the Masters of the Dirty Tricks come election day.

Like Virginia, Maryland has a senate race this year that bears watching. The current Democratic senator, Paul Sarbannes is retiring. Running for his seat are Rep. Ben Cardin, a long-serving Democratic Member of Congress, and the Republican Lt. Governor Michael Steele, who has attempted to portray himself as moderate during the campaign but in fact is a very very conservative guy.

The Washington Post reported yesterday that a "recently distributed guide for Republican poll watchers in Maryland spells out how to aggressively challenge the credentials of voters and urges these volunteers to tell election judges they could face jail time if a challenge is ignored." The article goes on to say that usually, "poll watchers are present to help ensure that their party's supporters get to vote, not the other way around. Democrats, for instance, have distributed advice to their poll watchers to 'make sure that voters are not being turned away.'"

I expect we will see the same sort of thing in the Virginia race come next Tuesday. I'm pleased to say that I will be assisti