"'Hostage Crisis' Or End Game?"

That's the headline of Joe Quinn's essay at Signs-of-the-Times. Here's the opening remarks:

"Up until the 23rd March 2007, it seemed unlikely that the 'creative destructionists' (1) and 'reality-makers' in the Pentagon and Tel Aviv would get to "liberate" Iran in the way they have liberated 26 million Iraqis (1 million of them from their bodies).

"The past 3 years of subtle and not-so-subtle slander and demonisation of the Iranian president and people by the American, British and Israeli governments and their media had been largely ineffective in further provoking the anti-Islamic ire of Joe six-pack. After all, with the US invasion of Iraq either a war crime or a quagmire (depending on your political perspective and depth of conscience) Bush's political capital account was seriously overdrawn, rendering the idea of extending the Middle East madness into an attack on Iran nothing but a Zionist pipe dream.

"Or so it seemed."

Joe's on the money with this analysis. Hit the link for the rest.

More Pet food is Recalled

Bloomberg.com:

Purina pulled 13.2-ounce and 22-ounce cans of its Alpo Prime Cuts and Gravy wet dog food made at plant 1159 and bearing date codes from 7037 to 7053, the statement said. The company's 5.3- ounce Mighty Dog pouch products were removed from stores as part of the Menu Foods recall on March 16.

Yesterday, Colgate-Palmolive Co. unit Hill's Pet Nutrition, the maker of Science Diet pet foods, recalled its Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food because it may contain gluten from the Menu Foods supplier.

Yesterday, Colgate-Palmolive Co. unit Hill's Pet Nutrition, the maker of Science Diet pet foods, recalled its Prescription Diet m/d Feline dry food because it may contain gluten from the Menu Foods supplier.

8,000 Complaints

Menu Foods recalled food sold under brands such as Procter & Gamble Co.'s Iams and retailers' own labels. Iams dry food isn't made by Menu Foods and doesn't contain wheat gluten, Cincinnati- based Procter & Gamble said.

Melamine is used as a fertilizer in Asia and is a durable plastic used to make plates and spoons. Normal inspections of pet food wouldn't have detected the substance.

Officials traced the wheat gluten to China and have begun inspecting imports. The supplier of the wheat gluten wasn't identified...

Week in Review

Bush lied. The congressional bill will not deprive troops of needed funds as Bush asserted last week. The army has enough money to fund the war through July.

Pretty darn ironic. John Gibson, Bill O'Lielly and Michelle Malkin have launched a campaign to get Rosie O'Donnell fired from the view. May I add that I have seen attacks on Rosie over at MSNBC as well.

Whenever people tried to tell me what a liberal Bill Clinton was, I remind them of Nafta to shut them up. Hillary appears to have split with Bill's Nafta legacy.

Wasn't it just gruesome how the president used troops at Walter Reed as his backdrop when he pretended to apologize for the conditions there?

Anatomy of a photo-op.
Bush at Walter Reed: “Journalists were allowed to take pictures and watch for only a few minutes before being ushered out, though not before Bush told photographers to take pictures of Sgt. Mark Ecker’s tattoo of a naked woman. Reporters were not allowed to interview patients in Abrams Hall, hospital officials said, citing logistics. The hospital instead made available two doctors, who spoke glowingly about the president’s visit and had no information to provide about the facility’s problems.” Bush wrapped up his visit an hour before the scheduled time.
UPDATE2: “The president was not taken into the shut-down Building 18 yesterday but was shown a well-kept, empty dormitory room equipped with flat-screen television and desktop computer in Abrams Hall, where some Building 18 patients have been moved.”

Gonzo lies: "I believe in truth and accountability and every step that I've taken is consistent with that principle," Gonzales said when asked why he is not heeding calls to resign. "I am fighting for the truth as well."

OMG. Prayer flunks test: "In the largest study of its kind, researchers found that having people pray for heart bypass surgery patients had no effect on their recovery. In fact, patients who knew they were being prayed for had a slightly higher rate of complications."

Give me some good news.

Caption anyone?

source unknown

Do you know this person?

Friday Sex Post for Women

Terrible Ted sent me a link to this article for the Friday sex post: Do Women Enjoy Chocolate More Than Sex?

The article by Danielle Egan is about a book written by Joan Sewell, I'd Rather Eat Chocolate: Learning to Love My Low Libido, who claims that women lose their libidos as they grow older. It's an old excuse and is not scientifically sound. Sure, she may prefer chocolate to sex with her husband for whatever reasons and she may be ok with her low libido- fine with me. But it's not biological. If the opportunity came up, my chocolate stash would be out the window in a second. Sewell thinks horny women are pandering to men. It's quite the contrary.

A woman's seeming lack of a sex drive, is not usually biological if you study the studies. Menopause does not click the switch off either. In this world with the unprecendented distractions, it's easy for couples to fall into a rut when it comes to intimacy, but with a little work from both sides, you can turn that flicker into a flame, if you want to.

Chocolate is a wonderful sex substitute for a human being, because you get the emotional pleasure (and then the resulting guilt)... but if someone new gives you the eye, that chocolate bar is not necessary anymore, although both are delightful as a combo. A woman may choose to stay on the chocolate rather than to get it on with the mailman because she values her current relationship, but it's not because she lacks the ability to be a horn dog.

A woman who eats chocolate is not dead yet.
If she were dead, she wouldn't be eating the chocolate.

UPDATE: Terrible Ted also wants you to see this article: Storm in US over chocolate Jesus
Chocolate Jesus on a cross? Oh. It's art. That's sure to fuel a controversy with the unpopular but vocal Catholic League who do not represent the majority of US Catholics. And isn't it interesting that the 'storm' is covered in the BBC news and I haven't even heard of this "storm" here in NY where it is happening?

UPDATE 2: the story is all over the cover of the NY Daily News. Figures.
UPDATE 3: The Chocolate Jesus will not be displayed after all.

Let me see if I have this straight.

President Bunnypants goes on the record blaming the Democrats in the House and Senate for not caring about the troops enough to fund them. In fact the bills from the House and Senate actually include more money than bush requested to fund the troops and the House bill makes bush certify that the troops are "properly trained, equipped and rested before being sent into combat." The problem is that bush wants to veto the bill because it calls for a withdrawal of troops 15 months from now. So if bush vetoes the bill, how can it be the fault of the Democrats?

Then I saw bush on tv reading blog posts from several weeks ago by Baghdad bloggers who say that everything is improving in Baghdad and that people are returning. It turns out that things are not improving and if you read the blog posts by these guys now, the shit is hitting the fan. Furthermore Michael Ware, CNN Baghdad correspondent said that even in the Green Zone, no one is permitted to go into the streets without wearing a flak jacket.

Then I heard Joe Lieberman and John McCain get up and tell everyone that the surge is working and Baghdad is safer but both of them were debunked by the facts.

I don't think it's very nice to spin the news and lie about an actual war to the American people. I believe that this undermines our troops very much. I also believe that if bush had read his father's memoirs, we wouldn't be in this mess and he should be held accountable.

From Chapter 19, A World Transformed, 1998 by GHW Bush (not edited)

Trying to eliminate Saddam, extending the ground war into an occupation of Iraq, would have violated our guideline about not changing objectives in midstream, engaging in "mission creep," and would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible. We had been unable to find Noriega in Panama, which we knew intimately. We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq. The coalition would instantly have collapsed, the Arabs deserting it in anger and other allies pulling out as well. Under the circumstances, there was no viable "exit strategy" we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been self-consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations' mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land. It would have been a dramatically different — and perhaps barren — outcome.

---------------
PS. Check out Candy's excellent book reports on Glenn Greenwald's How Would A Patriot Act and Joe Conason's It Can Happen Here. I better get myself to the library.

Let the Music Play

Just my 2¢...

Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and former Vice President of the United States, Al Gore is being blocked by some anti-global warming Congress critters of the GOP (my party, right or wrong) persuasion from having a "Live Earth" concert on the steps of the Capital building this July. The major excuse given by that bastion of ill repute, James Inhofe (R-Ok) is that you're not supposed to have an event that is partisan or politically controversial on Capital gruonds. Being that Inhofe's opinion on global warming makes the whole thing politically controversial and partisan, and someone ought to investigate exactly whose pocket Inhofe is in, makes this controversy laughable. Furthermore, his ill informed and uneducated opinion on the topic, plus the fact that he is anti-science (unless it serves his political agenda) in this day and age, insults my, and the rest of country's, intelligence. Global warming is not an opinion.


Speaking of Al Gore, did you catch Jon Stewart hosting Dennis Miller the other night and the sarcastic ribbing Stewart received from Colbert afterwards for not taking Miller down?

"Calm down with the threats."

States Speaker Pelosi -

"On this very important matter, I would extend a hand of friendship to the president, just to say to him, 'Calm down with the threats," she said. "There's a new Congress in town. We accept your constitutional role. We want you to accept ours."

"This war must end. The American people have lost faith in the president's conduct of the war. Let's see how we can work together," added Pelosi, D-Calif.

She and Reid also sent Bush a letter during the day that said they "stand ready to work with you, but your threats to veto a bill that has not even been presented to you indicate that you may not be ready to work with us."


video here

Yep, hasn't even reached his desk and he's threatening a veto showdown and claiming ANYTHING that goes wrong with the army and war is now the fault of Congress. What a wanker!

So where are we at with the spiraling into the inky bowels of hell check off list?

1. Failed war and occupation
2. Former allies runing away and ignoring you
3. Several members of administration on trial or under investigation
4. Economy in the tank and sinking fast
5. Even the Mormons have lost faith in you (its true, a 21% drop in approval)
6. Your best advisor, Turdblossom, has started a rap career
7. Even the always reliable Right wing shills are getting their asses handed to them on their own TV shows

I'm sure you can come up with heaps more, maybe we should keep a running list somewhere so we can refer back to it.

Baby, baby, where did our love go?

UPDATE Friday, March 30
From Think Progress:

The Bush administration responded with shock to King Abdullah’s declaration that the U.S. is “illegitimately” occupying Iraq. “We were a little surprised to see those remarks,” said Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns. White House spokesman Dana Perino claimed, “It is not accurate to say that the United States is occupying Iraq.”

Then what is accurate Dana Perino? Please tell us.


You are a more ruthless dictator than I am, Bushie.
You, my dickless f(r)iend, possess no kingly skills. Your breath smells like camel farts and I will not kiss you this time. We will hold hands and walk in the park instead.


Oh my goodness. What went wrong?

The president was to host a gala for Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on April 17, much to my nausea. Bandar bin Sultan (alias Bandar Bush) flew to DC last week to explain that the date was not convenient. WaPo's Jim Hoagland gives you the scoop. Also Jordan's King Abdullah has let the WH know that he can't make it for dinner this September.

Meanwhile the International Herald Tribune reports that

"King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, opening a summit meeting of Arab leaders here Wednesday, called the U.S military presence in Iraq "illegitimate" and warned that sectarianism could lead to all-out civil war.

"In beloved Iraq, blood flows between brothers in the shadow of illegitimate foreign occupation and hateful sectarianism, threatening a civil war," he said, in unusually strong criticism of the United States from a strong ally.

But Abdullah's focus was mostly on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which Sunni Arab leaders see as a major cause of violent radicalism in their own countries and threat to regional stability."

OMG, did they read my blog? It's about time.

But what's this about Persia?
This is interesting: Iran planning to stop using U.S. dollar to price oil
brace yourselves.

UPDATE: Condi was snubbed by Israel. "It refused her offer to act as negotiator between its government and the Palestinian authorities."

Ladies and Gentlemen

I give you . . . Politits.

Any blog site with this motto is worth reading: "Sex and politics. Two obsessions with a lot in common. Someone always gets fucked."

Sounds a bit like this place, no? (I wonder if she's a blonde.)

Enjoy.

Even his Allies aren't returning his calls

I think this is quite possibly the best news I've heard today.

Now WE here, (you know, those citizens who actually READ and don't turn to Faux News to give us answers) do realized that the majority of terrorists attacks in Iraq are being funded and performed by allies of the Arabs, so it is especially interesting that Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah had his national security advisor Bandar bin Sultan FLY to DC to tell Bush that the state dinner for April is OFF. The reason, 'It is not convenient' was the way it was put," says one official.

Now of course this comes right after an announcement that Saudi Arabi is looking for some common ground with the Iranians and Hezbollah. The money quote (and one I'll commit to memory) is :

"She is conducting crisis management, not grand diplomacy," a European official who talked to her recently said disappointedly.

Adds an admirer who tracks Rice's intentions and assessments in the Middle East: "Condi is doing everything she can. But she is dancing with a corpse that just keeps flopping over in another direction every time she tries to move it."

It is also noted that in the traditional Saudi view, when an administration or ruler is swimming against a tide of scandal and stench that engulfs his most trusted aides... this is a moment to hedge, not to indulge.

Moon River

ahhh.....one of the best!

You MUST take a listen to THIS VERSION by Kid Koala + P Love. He's a "Turntablist" (I thought there was something wrong with the audio when I played it)

A fantasy like experience, especially when it comes on while you're typing. It's haunting. It's simply beautiful.....

Moon river, wider than a mile
I'm crossing you in style some day
Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker
Wherever you're goin', I'm goin' your way

Two drifters, off to see the world
There's such a lot of world to see
We're after the same rainbow's end, waitin' 'round the bend
My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me

Kid Koala is Kewl. Fantastic piece of recording!!! (right click to add)


While you're over at Motel, don't forget to get Marvin Gaye - What's going on, and The Guess Who (Who?) - Undun.

Enjoy.

Who does our government serve anyway?

Have you read this article?

The AIPAC Girl
by Patrick J. Buchanan

"If George W. Bush launches a pre-emptive war on Iran, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will bear full moral responsibility for that war.

For it was Pelosi who quietly agreed to strip out of the $100 billion funding bill for Iraq a provision that would have required President Bush to seek congressional approval before launching any new war on Iran.

Pelosi’s capitulation came in the Appropriations Committee.

What went down, and why?"

Buchanan suggests that Israel jerked her chain- Continue reading

Just who does this government of ours serve?

What happened to the Declaration of Independence anyway?

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 to 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.

See also
Howard Zinn at youtube Now Is The Time To END All War on This Earth
Anarchism and the Question of Human Nature
The Moral Obligation To Be Intelligent (1927)

We need to get smarter and angrier

My mind is whirling right now. I read how we are sending severely wounded troops back for more tours of duty because we can't afford to let them go home to heal. (Not that Walter Reed is much better for our wounded soldiers to mend at). The administration has pushed through its troop increase, leaving MORE men and women in harms way, with little to no training on new equipment (what little of it there is) and no understanding of basic language phrases or customs. Its like they WANT more civilian murders at the hands of our troops, isn't it?

Yet, with all of the problems they are having with one occupation there is now a ground swell of rumors and reports that they want to start ANOTHER one? (See Peter's story below). WTF?! And just what are the justifications for this 'war'?

Add to this the Congress has passed a resolution to give funding to the troops WITH the addition of a timetable for withdraw (One year) (Pity (not) Dick Cheney who rushed to the capitol to cast a tie breaking vote only to find out several republicans had sided with the dems - bwhahahaha). Not that it matters, of course, W has already stated that he will ignore the timetable and do and he damn well pleases. A stance that could easily be the final nail in his impeachment coffin.

Which of course leads me to wonder why he hasn't been impeached yet. He has screwed up everything he has ever touched, he is completely out of touch with reality in general and with the American public specifically. By his own admission, he talks to invisible people and listens when they talk back, he has nothing but faith in his cronies and financial backers... most of whom are leaving him in the dust.

I know the Neo-cons were waiting and expecting the Dems to splinter apart, to have a break down of their new found solidarity over the 'little, grey issues' but you know what, maybe we are getting smarter and learning to look at the big picture. Once the war is over and the monkey slinging shit has been taken out of the room and locked up, THEN we can hammer out the little details that separate us, but until then we stand as one. And we cannot let them pull us apart, not until the nightmare they started has been ended.

Yes, I am alive

Sorry I've been gone so long, health issues and a family crisis reared its ugly headand kept me quite busy for the last few weeks. I'm just trying to get my thoughts in order over the planned invasion of yet another Middle Eastern Country, but until then, please accept this joke:



One December day we found an old straggly cat at our door. She was a sorry sight. Starving, dirty, smelled terrible, skinny and hair all matted down.

We felt sorry for her, put her in a carrier and took her to the vet. We didn't know what to call her, so we named her "Pussycat."

The vet decided to keep her for a day or so. He said he would let us know when we could come and get her. My husband (the complainer) said, "OK, but don't forget to wash her, she stinks."

He reminded the vet that it was his WIFE (me) that wanted the dirty cat,not him. My husband and my Vet don't see eye to eye. The vet calls my husband El-Cheap-O', and my husband calls the vet 'El-Charge-O'. They love to hate each other and constantly 'snipe' at one another, with my husband getting in the last word on this particular occasion.

The next day my husband had an appointment with his doctor, who is located in the same building, next door to the vet. The MD's waiting room and office was full of people waiting to see the doctor.

A side door opened and the vet leaned in - he had obviously seen my husband arrive-
He looked straight at my husband and in a loud voice said, "Your wife's pussy doesn't stink any more and it's finally clean and shaved, so she now smells like a rose. Oh, and, by the way, I think she's pregnant. God only knows who the father is!"

Then he closed the door.


Now THAT, my friends, is getting even.

"Operation Bite: April 6 sneak attack by US forces against Iran planned, Russian military sources warn"

By Webster G. Tarpley
Online Journal Contributing Writer
Mar 26, 2007, 01:02

WASHINGTON DC, -- The long awaited US military attack on Iran is now on track for the first week of April, specifically for 4 am on April 6, the Good Friday opening of Easter weekend, writes the well-known Russian journalist Andrei Uglanov in the Moscow weekly "Argumenty Nedeli." Uglanov cites Russian military experts close to the Russian General Staff for his account.

Hit the link for full article.


UPDATE: Russian News and Information Agency: "Russian intelligence sees U.S. military buildup on Iran border"


MOSCOW, March 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russian military intelligence services are reporting a flurry of activity by U.S. Armed Forces near Iran's borders, a high-ranking security source said Tuesday.

"The latest military intelligence data point to heightened U.S. military preparations for both an air and ground operation against Iran," the official said, adding that the Pentagon has probably not yet made a final decision as to when an attack will be launched.

So Sad In A Hilarious Kinda Way

When I read Novak's piece in the Washington Post the other day ("In half a century, I have not seen a president so isolated from his own party in Congress -- not Jimmy Carter, not even Richard Nixon as he faced impeachment."), I couldn't help but think of the last line in the old schoolyard song "The Farmer in the Dell".

The cheese stands alone.

Did you know?

Watch this AMAZING video

(hat tip to Bri atbreezedebris)

Banana Republicans

I'm Chiquita Banana, and I've come to say
Bananas have to ripen in a certain way.
And when they are flecked with brown and have a golden hue,
Bananas taste the best, and are the best for you.
You can put them in a salad. You can put them in a pie - aye.
Anyway you want to eat them it's impossible to beat them.
But bananas like the climate of the very, very tropical equator.
So you should never put bananas in the refrigerator.
~The Chiquita Banana Song
---------------------------

Amy Goodman writes, "Want to help finance terrorism? Buy a Chiquita banana."

...Chiquita made almost monthly payments to the AUC from 1997 to 2004, totaling at least $1.7 million.

The AUC is a brutal paramilitary umbrella group, with an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 armed troops. It was named a terrorist organization by the United States on Sept. 10, 2001. Among its standard tactics are kidnapping, torture, disappearance, rape, murder, beatings, extortion and drug trafficking.

Chiquita claims it had to make the payments under threat from the AUC in order to protect its employees and property. Chiquita's outside lawyers implored them to stop the illegal payments, to no avail....

...

Chiquita has had a long history of criminal behavior. It was the subject of an extraordinary exposé in its hometown paper, The Cincinnati Enquirer, in 1998. The paper found that Chiquita exposed entire communities to dangerous U.S.-banned pesticides, forced the eviction of an entire Honduran village at gunpoint and its subsequent bulldozing, suppressed unions, unwittingly allowed the use of Chiquita transport ships to move cocaine internationally, and paid a fortune to U.S. politicians to influence trade policy....

Banana Republican: But you just knew somehow that the US politician's, particularly Republicans had to have something to do with this. After reading the whole above article, I did some "googling" and I found this transcript from Frontline January 30, 1996 called So You Want to Buy a President? Who buys presidents? Why it's the Chiquita Banana guy, Carl Lindner (still on the list of Forbe's billionaires), former head of Chiquita. Read more about Lindner in 1997 here at Frontline. This man and his bananas were verrrrry influential in American politics, even with the Clintons, but probably only because Clinton was the president despite all the money Lindner threw at Bob Dole who liked to use Lindner's private jet to get around. There was a banana war raging between the US and the EU- two countries that don't even produce bananas, but Lindner got US politicians to get the WTO to force the EU to open their markets to Chiquita bananas.

Why does that name sound familiar? He also contributed $300,000 towards the Swift Boat Veterans for Lies. Not unbelievable.
---------

Day, I said Day, I said Day-ay-ay-oh
Daylight coming and me wanna go home

When They Start Taking The Fifth . . .

Dear Ms. Goodling:

I'm sorry to hear that things are moving down hill fast.

I'm sure it was hard enough that you had to take leave of absence for "personal reasons" from that cushy job as Department of Justice liaison to the White House. I hope your dog gets better soon. Still, as liaison between the DOJ and the White House, you must have had access to lots of juicy stuff. Oops, I guess I understand why it is you need to assert your Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when you appear before the Senate and House committees.

You go ahead and take the Fifth, honey. I'm sure Messrs. Leahy and Conyers ain't after a small fry like you. (They mighta learned something from the Scooter Libby deal.) But don't think this gets you off the hook. Make no mistake about it, you will be testifying. The only questions is what type of immunity you get.

Kudos to your Daddy for picking John Dowd as your lawyer. He's a smart guy and I'm sure he'll do a great job keeping your sorry ass out of jail.

Toodles.
Red

Monday Mental Tune-Up

It's going to be a busy week, and we need to be in full control of our mental faculities, so here's something to get our brains working on a Monday.

Name all 50 states in ten minutes. Time starts when you click the link, so be prepared.

I got all 50 with about six minutes to spare. Michigan costs me a bit of time.

How'd you do?

INDIVIDUALISM

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Europe appears to be losing faith in its own future, Pope Benedict XVI said Saturday, warning against "dangerous individualism" on a continent where many people are having fewer children.
"One must unfortunately note that Europe seems to be going down a road which could lead it to take its leave from history," the pontiff told bishops in Rome for ceremonies to mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, a major step toward the creation of today's European Union.

Benedict said he was concerned about Europe's "demographic profile"—though he did not describe the trends that have alarmed the continent for decades.

In countries like Italy, where many married couples have one or no children, the population is expected to shrink dramatically in a generation or two unless fertility rates quickly increase.

Benedict expressed concern that Europe's population trends, "besides putting economic growth at risk, can also cause enormous difficulties for social cohesion, and, above all, favor dangerous individualism, careless about the consequences for the future."


Sociologists and economists blame the economy, particularly the unemployment rate—at 14.9 percent the highest in the EU. Worried about losing their jobs, many women in Poland put off having children, often until it is too late.

Italian experts cite Italian's desire for an easier lifestyle, but they also blame shortages of day care centers, expensive housing and a sluggish job market which sees many Italians living at home until well into their 30s as reasons for the country's relatively few children.

Here is the entire AP story

I need your help here my friends.

Somehow, not bringing a lot of children into an uncertain world, with the prospect of having a difficult future seems pretty responsible to me. It doesn't strike me as possibly leading to "dangerous individualism". Maybe I don't have a clear understanding of how he is using the word "individualism":

1. a social theory advocating the liberty, rights, or independent action of the individual.
2. the principle or habit of or belief in independent thought or action.
3. the pursuit of individual rather than common or collective interests; egoism.
4. individual character; individuality.
5. an individual peculiarity.
6. Philosophy. a. the doctrine that only individual things are real.
b. the doctrine or belief that all actions are determined by, or at least take place for, the benefit of the individual, not of society as a whole.

He must be using the philosophical meaning?

Or, maybe he is using the economic view: A view that stresses the importance and worth of each person. In economics, it is the doctrine that individuals best serve the public interest by pursuing their own self-interest. For example, the businessman who expands his company to increase his profits also creates jobs for many people and thereby serves the public interest. (See laissez-faire.)

Must be this one since he was speaking at the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome -Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (I had no idea the Treaty of Rome "was nurtured at Bilderberg meetings)


I'm not even going to try to figure out how a decrease in population can also cause enormous difficulties for social cohesion. ( a state in society in which the vast majority of citizens respect the law, one another's human rights and values, and share a commitment to retain social order)


I thought that maybe a look at "individualism" over at wikipedia might help. OH BOY! "Individualism has a controversial relationship with egoism (selfishness)", and now I'm trying to get into Ayn Rand's head. She describes selfishness as a virtue.

Maybe someday I will be able to read without trying to get into the head of the person writing it. It drives me crazy (and my hubby) when I constantly ask "what do you think they mean by that"? He won't even watch movies with me anymore!

So, what do you think? Could Pope Bentdick be onto something using the term "dangerous individualism"?

Land of the free, Home of the brave

I just don't see how not negotiating or speaking to one's enemies is a good policy. Weren't we taught to look bullies in the eye? It seems more bullyish than brave and more chickenhearted than courageous to refuse to speak to those who don't obey us. That's what struck me most about this article in the NY Times: U.S. Envoy Says He Met With Iraq Rebels

And meanwhile, we have a list. A huge list. Of supposed people who may do harm to this country. And once you're on the list, you can't get off. The listmasters are overwhelmed.

And to add scariness to the whole scenario, Novak writes: "In half a century, I have not seen a president so isolated from his own party in Congress -- not Jimmy Carter, not even Richard Nixon as he faced impeachment." Now that's an indictment.

How about Chuck Hagel, "Any president who says, I don't care, or I will not respond to what the people of this country are saying about Iraq or anything else, or I don't care what the Congress does, I am going to proceed — if a president really believes that, then there are — what I was pointing out, there are ways to deal with that."

How about me saying, "I miss Nixon."

New Rules For Bush and Cheney

I love it when Bill Maher seems to be reading our minds.
Watch here

Bill Maher, HBO March 23rd

New Rule - Traitors don't get to question my patriotism.
What could be less patriotic than constantly screwing things up for America? You know, it's literally hard to keep up with the sheer volume of scandals in the Bush administration. Which is why I like to download the latest scandals right onto my IPod. That way, I can catch up on this week's giant fuck up on my drive into work.

In fact, Bush has so many scandals he could open a chain of "Bush Scandal and Fuck Up" theme restaurants. Hmmm, should I get the Harriet Miers Meatloaf, or the Katrina Crabcakes?

You know, not to generalize, but the 29 percent of people who still support President Bush are the ones who love to pronounce themselves more patriotic than the rest of us. But just saying you're patriotic is like saying you have a big cock. If you have to say it, chances are it's not true. And indeed, the Party that flatters itself that they protect America better is the Party that has exhausted the military, left the ports wide open, and purposely outed a CIA agent, Valerie Plame. That's not treason anymore, outing a spy? Did I mention it was one of our spies?

And how despicable that Bush's lackeys attempted to diminish this crime by belittling her service like she was just some chick who hung around the CIA. An intern really. Groupie if you want to be mean about it. No. Big lie. Valerie Plame was the CIA's operational officer in charge of counter-proliferation. Which means she tracked loose nukes. So, when Bush said, as he once did, that his absolute, number one priority was preventing terrorists from getting loose nukes, okay, that's what she worked on. That's what she devoted her life to. Staying undercover for 20 years. Maintaining two identities every God-damned day. This is extraordinary service to your country. Valerie Plame was the kind of real life secret agent George Bush dreams of being when he's not too busy pretending to be a cowboy or a fighter pilot.

CIA agents are troops. This was a military assassination of one of our own done through the press, ordered by Karl Rove. He said of Valerie Plame, quote, "She's fair game," and then Cheney shot her.

George Bush likes to claim that he doesn't question his critics' patriotism, just their judgment. Well, let me be the first of your critics, Mr. President, to question your judgment and your patriotism. Because let's not forget why they did it to her. Because Valerie Plame was married to this guy Joe Wilson who the Bush people hated because he busted them on one of their bullshit reasons for invading Iraq. He was sent to the African country of Niger to see if Niger was selling nuclear fuel to Iraq. They weren't. It was bullshit. And he said so. In fact, his report was called, "Niger, Please."

Valerie Plame's husband told the truth about their lies, so they were willing to jeopardize an entire network of spies to ruin her life. Wow. Even the mob doesn't go after your family.

Mark Twain said, "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." And I say Valerie Plame is a patriot because she spent her life serving her country. Scooter Libby is not because he spent his life serving Dick Cheney. Valerie Plame kept her secrets. The Bush administration leaked like the plumbing at Walter Reed.

In the year 2008, I really think that Hillary Clinton should run for president on a platform of restoring honor and integrity to the Oval Office.

Hat tip to Alternet Blog peek

BUT! What are we going to do about the emissions of bullshit from republicans?

"Pill stops cow burps and helps save the planet"

There's the headline. Here's Kate Connolly's article in the British-based Guardian:
Friday March 23, 2007

Cut down on flying, sell the car and recycle your bottles. But if you really want to tackle global warming, you should stop your cow from burping.
According to scientific estimates, the methane gas produced by cows is responsible for 4% of greenhouse gas emissions. And now, German scientists have invented a pill to cut bovine burping.
The fist-sized plant-based pill, known as a bolus, combined with a special diet and strict feeding times, is meant to reduce the methane produced by cows.

Hit the link for the rest of Kate's article. Meanwhile, I'm gonna try and find her e-mail address and ask her if she's heard anything about attempts to eliminate or at least reduce the amount of political bullshit that is also polluting our planet.

Kate writes about a good idea though. I spent my high school years, and a lotta time since then, doing farm work, which included milking cows, some even by hand instead of a machine. Once, I was pouring ground oats into the manger connected to old Bossy's stanchion when she let one rip right in my face and I damn near lost my supper. Up to that point in time I had always believed that a combination lima bean/sauerkraut fart was the worst smell on earth.

Some Things We Need To Pay Attention To

It's easy to become engrossed in all this Alberto Gonzales and Prosecutor-Gate stuff because there are lots of juicy details to savor. Every Friday evening is a feast as new documents are dripped, dripped, dripped out. There are, however, a couple other issues we oughtta be keeping our eyes on:

I can't believe the Iranians were stupid enough to snatch a bunch of Brits. I mean, it's not as if King George and the Neocon Nation aren't just waiting for an excuse to launch another war of aggression. Ahmedinijad is an idiot.

The Inspector General of the Justice Department has found huge abuse of National Security Letters, which force business owners to disclose sensitive client information without permission from the client. What he has said, in fact, is that the FBI acted illegally in obtaining highly personal information, such as internet records, bank accounts and credit information under the inaptly named Patriot Act. Now there's a freaking surprise. Who would have expected that to happen? Naturally, the Director of the FBI won't resign, nor will 'Berto, his boss (yes, we are back to Mr. Gonzales again). Apparently no one is responsible and the buck stops no where.

Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Insanity is collecting more information than they can possibly analyze, with annoying consequences to American citizens who find themselves on "no-fly" lists, thereby restricting their ability to travel freely. Constitution? We don't need no stinkin' Constitution.

In addition, King George himself appears to have put the kibosch on an internal Department of Justice investigation into warrantless wiretapping. The investigation was being conducted by DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility, which is charged with monitoring ethical abuses. (OPR was created in the wake of abuses by DOJ during Watergate. The more things change, the more they remain the same.) The investigation was stymied because His Heinie refused to grant the investigators the requisite national security clearances. This bears watching; we may see a lot more about this in the news very shortly.

The extent of the Pentagon's lies following the death of Pat Tillman are finally coming to light. That only took a couple of years. Its Inspector General "will cite a range of errors and inappropriate conduct as the military probed the former football star’s death on the battlefront . . ." That conduct includes the involvement of of four general officers. Geoffrey Chaucer once asked the question: If a shepard be shitten, what shall his sheep be? When military leadership acts this way, incidents such as Haditha should surprise exactly no one.

New Yorkers were spied on widely in the months before the 2004 Republican National Convention. Probably a buncha stinkin' flithy hippies with delusions about their so-called rights.

The new Secretary of Defense wanted to shut down Guantanamo, and the Secretary of State agreed, but they were overruled by Snarling Dick and (uh oh, here we go again) Alberto Gonzales. Meanwhile, the CIA is waiting for King George to set torture guidelines, but those are waiting for review and approval by 'Berto, who is busy with other matters right now.

Finally, because I can't resist, we have learned over the past 36 hours that Gonzo was a tad more involved in the US Attorney firings than previously disclosed, and that the DOJ liaison to the White House has gone on indefinite personal leave. Story here. Keep digging Mr. Leahy and Mr. Conyers. Most of this stuff has a common thread, and we'd like to see you find it and pull it. I will be quite interested to see what unravels.

Environmental Nightmare

This weekend marks the anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. March 29, 1989 at four minutes past midnight the oil tanker Exxon Valdez struck a reef in Alaska's spectacular Prince William Sound. 11 million gallons of crude oil was spilled. An environmental nightmare began that would not only change Prince William Sound, but the world. They'd like us to forget. Let's not, okay?

A spine grows in Washington

The Democrats grew spines yesterday and challenged the bushistas. Did you just love bush's hissy fit calling it political theater? He accused Democrats of deliberately undermining the troops by not giving them what they need to fight the war on terror and insinuating that the Democrats don't support the troops. But didn't the bill include appropriate 124 billion dollars towards the war in Iraq and then call for a withdrawal in 15 months? Bush acted like the Democrats refused to fund the war and wanted the troops out yesterday. If there was any political theater, it was in bush's retort.

And what's this I read this morning? All roads lead to Gonzo? He lied? Oh my.

And do you remember Heaven's Gate? It was 10 years ago. Time flies. Check out Heaven's Gate: The Sequel

Another Republican Hopeful Enters The Race

(OH GOD, ANOTHER ONE) UPDATE:
But at least this one is just running for Congress. With 3 eyes and 2 noses. Which, of course, is all the better for "snarfeling at the trough".

Women are the new gays.

It is evident the "memo" went out from Karl Rove to the right-wing noise machine.

After realizing that attacking Gays and Gay Marriage in the last election cycle, did not bring the desired election result. They also tried to attack latinos with the illegal Immigration "call for arms". It turned out that both republican and democratic demographics split evenly in pro and con on immigration issues.
The gay-haters were too small constituents and the pro-lifers really screwed up with the "Terry Schiavo" case to win an election.

So he picked a much greater constituency: men, frustrated with their inability to provide prosperity to their families on their own, due to the disastrous economic policies practiced since Reagan to destroy trade unions, (who were providing middle class men with good paying jobs) the manufacturing industry, ship jobs oversees to profit the corporate clients. They falsely pit them against Women as the root of all evil.

The new pariah are Women. In the past couple of years they unleashed a war on women, that is growing to exacerbation with the coronation of Nancy Pelosi as the first woman Speaker of the House and Hillary Clinton's bid for presidency.
Men define themselves by what they do for living, as who they are. Well, that is a great reason to divide and conquer. Men feel that their existence is at stake, their jobs that are taken by women.

The writing is on the wall. Valerie Wilson (a carrier CIA agent) is outed to punish a foe of the administration. Carli Fiorina removed from her job as CEO of Hewlett Packard, by a coup organized by men. Martha Stewart, "we gotta teach her a lesson. How does she dare to reach the hights reserved to men!?"
The list goes on and on.

The rottweilers were unleashed; Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, Glen Beck, Tucker Carlson, Joe Scarborough, Bill O'Reilly etc ripping women to shreds. Decency is not their device to talk about women. They call Barbara Walters a slut, Rosie O'Donnel a fat pig, Hillary is castrating to men...

At the center of it, behind the curtain is Karl Rove, Lee Attwater's pupil, the ruthless, scruple-less "anything goes" architect, rotten to the core right winger, who's dream to establish a republican reign on all levels of the government for the next 50 years...if there is gonna be anything left of this United States of America

Gee, I guess the big boys ARE worried:

"Huge U.S. economic losses forecast in flu pandemic"

REUTERS:
An influenza pandemic on the scale of the 1918 "Spanish Flu" would inflict $700 billion in economic losses in the United States and a 5.5 percent GDP drop in a year, according to a report released on Thursday.

Such a pandemic could trigger the second-deepest U.S. economic recession since World War Two, the report from the advocacy group Trust for America's Health found.

The group examined the potential economic consequences facing the United States in a pandemic that might occur if, for example, the H5N1 avian influenza virus that has killed 169 people globally mutates to become more readily spread among people.

Gosh, fellers, I guess if it's gonna cost you money, you better do something about it.

It's hard to tell, but the estimate on the number of deaths during the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak is anywhere from 20 to 50 million--hard to tell, because not every country back then kept good census figures.

Conspiracy theorists who wish to study the 1918 outbreak are invited to view the results of GoogleSearching SPANISH FLU FT. RILEY. Of course, the same conspiracy theorist might conclude that this is all part of the Grand Plan of Earth's custodians to kill off or subdue the planet's population.

(Damn! I was gonna write more, but I just simultaneously coughed, sneezed, farted, and accidentally hacked a big oyster all over my monitor. Hope I'm not coming down with something.)

Social Studies -- 101

Good morning class....

Open your books to the chapter on GEOGRAPHY. Today, we will be focusing on the geographical history of the Middle East.

Geography (from the Greek words Geo (γη) or Gaea (γαια), both meaning "Earth", and graphein (γραφειν) meaning "to describe" or "to write"or "to map") is the study of the earth and its features and of the distribution of life on the Earth, including human life and the effects of human activity.[1] A literal translation would be "to describe the Earth". .....


This section will be very short -- 90 seconds "maps it all"....

Who has conquered the Middle East over the course of world events? -- hit "play" to find out....


Any questions?

Prove Them Wrong

Tired of being called a traitor by ignoramuses on the regressive right because you do not support bush's decision to bomb the hell out of Iraq for nothing? Tell them "Afghanistan Proves it"
Excerpt from the Regressive Antidote

Maybe the reason that the same people who applauded the Afghan war then opposed the Iraq war is because they saw the first one as justified and the second one as not. Maybe the reason that virtually the entire world community supported the invasion of one Muslim country and even volunteered to participate (and, yes, that includes the French and Germans), but has reviled the other invasion is because the first country was sheltering the folks who did 9/11, and the second had not a damn thing to do with that attack, nor any other against the United States.

Obligatory Friday Sex Post

Chess champ, 15, found with nightclub dancer

A 15-year-old Peruvian chess player who didn't come back from a tournament in Argentina has been found - living with a nightclub dancer.

Emilio Cordova left Lima to play at the South American Chess Championship in Argentina, which he won.

But instead of returning home he went to Brazil and kept asking his family to send him money, saying he was ill.

After a few months his family grew suspicious and asked the police to find the boy.

Emilio was found living with 29-year-old Adriana Oliveira, who works as a dancer at a nightclub.

Emilio told his father, who brought him home to Peru, that Mrs Oliveira was only one of his girlfriends.

He told the press: "I play chess, study chess but this doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself. I'm young and I want to do this. I have to live.

"To be locked up in my room all the time depresses me."

I thought that since we were talking about 15 year olds in the previous post... well...

Reader Inquiry

One of our readers, IMSpartacus, writes:

For the next post in my blog, I'm going to list all of things I want to tell my 15-year old daughter about sex and sexuality. I often wondered how many kids get the real scoop about sex at this age and I have this theory that there would be less teenage pregnancy, fewer cases of STDs, and fewer sexually repressed people in the world if we only tell our kids the truth.

I told him what I said and did with my teen, and I thought that the very astute readers here would be able to offer their experiences and suggestions as well. Won't you please give your advice in the comments?

Curiouser and Curiouser

So now we learn that there is a 16 or 17 day gap in the documents produced by the Department of Injustice in the latest docu-dump relating to the US Attorneys firings. Nothing, nada, zip, zilch between mid-November and early December, right before the firings were to occur. Hmmmmm.

Being a child of Watergate, Red must ask herself: has someone in the Maldaministration been practicing his "Rose Mary Woods stretch"?

Faux News Indeed

Good article at thehill.com: Hounding Fox News coverage by Mark Mellman

A study by a University of Maryland center concluded, “Those who receive most of their news from Fox News are more likely than average to have misperceptions” about Iraq. For example, in 2003, 67 percent of those who relied primarily on Fox wrongly believed the U.S. “found clear evidence in Iraq that Saddam Hussein was working closely with the al Qaeda terrorist organization.” Only 40 percent of those who relied on print media harbored this illusion, debunked thoroughly by the 9/11 Commission.

Instead of providing “fair and balanced” reporting, Fox has created an audience ignorant of the facts, but fully supportive of management’s ideology.

And there is so much more that Fox "News" viewers are ill informed about that it boggles the mind. Personally, I'd like to see them sued for calling themselves a news organization.

Case in point- yesterday my son attended a debate between his political science professor and a political science professor from SUNY Stonybrook (which is a state funded school where my tax dollars go) regarding the war on Iraq. The Stonybrook professor insisted that Saddam had something to do with 9/11. This man gets his information from Fox News and is poisoning young minds with disinformation. I have to get more information and make some phone calls to the state and the university. I am waiting for my son to write something about the debate for this blog. (don't hold your breath)

I have lost total respect for several friends and relatives who continue to watch Fox News even after I have sanely and calmly rebuked their notions with non-condescending facts. For the record, I am much nicer in real life than I am on the blog. I don't call people stupid to their faces or even imply that they are stupid when I debate in real life. Maybe I should. heh.

Boxer shows Inhofe the gavel as he rudely interupts Gore

Yesterday, the heritage foundation sent an anti-global warming spokesman to debate my son's geology teacher and the geology department at Hofstra University. Kids of both persuasions were there. The heritage foundation guy clearly lost the debate and I am waiting for my son to write about it for this blog. He knows about this stuff better than I do. One thing I do know, is that whatever the cause, earthlings ought to prepare for drastic climate change.

Ironically, Al Gore presented his findings yesterday to the congress and the senate, and amazingly I was watching it, and Gore naturally was dissed by the great ignoramus from Oklahoma, James Inhofe, who always seems to preach bad science as fact. For instance, back in September, CNN took the Inhofe challenge and debunked all his bad science. But yesterday it was remarkable how rude Inhofe was to Al Gore. He insisted on having his 15 minutes of questioning and wanted Al Gore to send him the answers in writing so that time wouldn't be wasted listening to Gore. Finally Barbara Boxer picked up the gavel and told Inhofe that he doesn't make the rules anymore. She does. The audience went crazy. You can watch it here. Overall, this is a very partisan issue in DC.

On the news shows afterwards, the talking heads remarked at just how severe Al Gore's proposals were to offset the effects of global warming and they laughed it off. They commented that he couldn't possibly be thinking of running for president with all those radical ideas, like requiring a ban on any new coal-burning power plants. Of course Gore had to propose the harshest recommendations. He's smart enough to know that if he gets anything out of this congress, he better shoot high in the first place. More here

The Democrats are also focusing on how Darth Cheney's office has been manipulating the science of global warming documents. Just how evil is this man? (oh wait, at least he's not having sex)

Did He Really Say That?

That the personal lives of the presidential candidates should be off limits during the campaign?

Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!!

After years of character assassination of Democratic candidates (beginning with Thomas Eagleton), now you want to call time out? Now, when the three leading candidates of the "Family Values" Republican party have eight wives and uncounted extra-martial affairs between them?

Newtie, Newtie, you CANNOT be serious.

H/T to HuffPo.

Hey what happened to that fascist who spoke at the RNC?

From the Kansas City Star:

In an interview with NBC's "Today" show that aired Tuesday and was taped earlier at the Stanford Mansion, Schwarzenegger was asked how he felt about those Republicans, including Limbaugh, who say he is only pretending to be a Republican.

"All irrelevant," Schwarzenegger said. "Rush Limbaugh is irrelevant. I'm not his servant. I am the people's servant of California. What they call me, if it's a Democrat or a Republican or in the center or I changed or this or that, that's not my bottom line. This is for them to talk about."

You can watch it at Think Progress.

Then you can read what Rush said about it here. Rush's problem is that Arnold is a Republican but not a conservative. Arnold is said to care about the environment and health care and icky non-corporate stuff like that. Stuff that would take away from the rich. Conservatives put money before people. Generally, Republican people are not averse to engaging in practices that would benefit the greater good. It's only since neocons invaded the party that the tide began to change so drastically. Personally, I'd like to see all conservatives leave the Republican party. Are they so cheap that they can't start their own party? The more parties the merrier.

Ignorance and Fear in Amerika

Maybe this world is another planet’s hell.
-Aldous Huxley

Isn't it curious how the christianists are willing to jump on the science bandwagon when it suits them? And even if the science is still sketchy and inconclusive, if it can possibly seal their agenda, they are all over it. There is conclusive evidence that the world is round and revolves around the sun, yet you don't hear about christianists jumping on that bandwagon.

And have you ever wondered why the Southern Baptists are so crazy? Look no further than their leaders.

Case in point- R. Albert Mohler Jr, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky put forth in his blog that if science can prove that gayness is biological, then there ought to be a way to "cure" it before a baby is born... say with a patch the mother can wear on her belly that would alter the baby's hormones. Mohler says it would be biblically sound to alter a baby genetically before it's born. Is he suggesting that God made a mistake when he invented gayness? Isn't that a sin? Perhaps God created gayness in order to help scientists segregate the "stupid gene" as displayed so prominantly by religio-fascists.

Are the christianists funding scientists to discover the gene that makes people eat shell fish, an abomination that comes before the abomination of gayness in Leviticus? Perhaps Mr Mohler should check with the Catholics who have supercharged baptisms that wipe away original sin.

Pre-natal interventions are only considered by doctors when there are serious, life threatening circumstances. Gayness is not life threatening unless you live near a bunch of church going homophobes. Should serious after-life circumstances now be addressed by science? In that case, why not investigate ways to prevent humans from committing the top 10 sins as put forth by Moses? I can imagine a much better world if say you could engineer humans who don't lie or kill.

See also: Is Your Baby Gay?

Sunday: A day given over by Americans to wishing that they themselves were dead and in Heaven, and that their neighbors were dead and in Hell.
Sunday School: A prison in which children do penance for the evil conscience of their parents.
-H.L. Mencken

Bush in contempt of congress

Bush warns Dems to take offer in firings

By LAURIE KELLMAN,

WASHINGTON - President Bush warned Democrats Tuesday to accept his offer to have top aides testify about the firings of federal prosecutors only privately and not under oath, or risk a constitutional showdown from which he would not back down.


Democrats' response to his proposal was swift and firm. "Testimony should be on the record and under oath. That's the formula for true accountability," said Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Bush, in a late-afternoon statement at the White House, said, "We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants. ... I proposed a reasonable way to avoid an impasse."

He added: "There's no indication ... that anybody did anything improper."

Bush gave his embattled attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, a boost during an early morning call to his longtime friend and ended the day with a public statement repeating it. "He's got support with me," the president said.

The Senate, meanwhile, voted to strip Gonzales of his authority to fill U.S. attorney vacancies without Senate confirmation. Democrats contend the Justice Department and White House purged eight federal prosecutors, some of whom were leading political corruption investigations, after a change in the Patriot Act gave Gonzales the new authority.

Several Democrats, including presidential hopefuls Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barrack Obama, Joe Biden and John Edwards, have called for Gonzales' ouster or resignation. So have a handful of Republican lawmakers.

"What happened in this case sends a signal really through intimidation by purge: 'Don't quarrel with us any longer,'" said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (news, bio, voting record), D-R.I., a former U.S. attorney who spent much of Monday evening paging through 3,000 documents released by the Justice Department.

Bush said his White House counsel, Fred Fielding, told lawmakers they could interview presidential counselor Karl Rove, former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and their deputies — but only on the president's terms: in private, "without the need for an oath" and without a transcript.

The president cast the offer as virtually unprecedented and a reasonable way for Congress to get all the information it needs about the matter.

"If the Democrats truly do want to move forward and find the right information, they ought to accept what I proposed," Bush said. "If scoring political points is the desire, then the rejection of this reasonable proposal will really be evident for the American people to see."

Bush said he would aggressively fight in court any attempt to subpoena White House aides.

"If the staff of a president operates in constant fear of being hauled before congressional committees ... the president would not receive candid advice and the American people would be ill-served," he said. "I'm sorry the situation has gotten to where it's got, but that's Washington, D.C., for you. You know there's a lot of politics in this town."

what a load of cow manure.

OMG, This I So Much Fucking Fun

Watching King George's kingdom fall down around his ears, that is.

Sure, 'Berto has The King's complete confidence, right before he gets thrown under the bus?

Even the Stromtroopers of the Right have voted to yank away some of The King's powers. House, let's get on the stick and pass the same bill so we can get this signed into law.

And, they can't even keep their freaking timelines straight; they were against Carol Lam before they were for her, or something like that. It's hard when you tell so many lies to keep track of all of them.

Oh, and The King says the Senate can interview His Brain and his BFF Harriet, but only behind closed doors and off the record. Sure, behind closed doors it is: I'll pay for the one-way ticket to Gitmo.

he reads....

and this is what he & they have been reading for the past few years....



WASHINGTON - Accounts of a February 28 "literary luncheon" at the White House suggest that US President George W Bush's reading tastes - until now a remarkably good predictor of his policy views - are moving ever rightward, even apocalyptic, despite his administration's recent suggestions that it is more disposed to engage Washington's foes, even in the Middle East.

The luncheon, attended as well by Vice President Dick Cheney and a dozen hardline neo-conservatives, was held in honor of visiting British historian Andrew Roberts, whose latest work, A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900,................

READ all about it here in the AsiaTimesOnline article by Jim Lobe - -Hurry to 'The End', for the end is nigh

Why do straights hate gays?

The LA Times has a heart wrenching letter to straight people by a 72 year old gay man, Larry Kramer, founder of ACT UP.

DEAR STRAIGHT PEOPLE,

Why do you hate gay people so much?

Gays are hated. Prove me wrong. Your top general just called us immoral. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, is in charge of an estimated 65,000 gay and lesbian troops, some fighting for our country in Iraq. A right-wing political commentator, Ann Coulter, gets away with calling a straight presidential candidate a faggot. Even Garrison Keillor, of all people, is making really tacky jokes about gay parents in his column. This, I guess, does not qualify as hate except that it is so distasteful and dumb, often a first step on the way to hate. Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama tried to duck the questions that Pace's bigotry raised, confirming what gay people know: that there is not one candidate running for public office anywhere who dares to come right out, unequivocally, and say decent, supportive things about us.

Gays should not vote for any of them. There is not a candidate or major public figure who would not sell gays down the river. We have seen this time after time, even from supposedly progressive politicians such as President Clinton with his "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military and his support of the hideous Defense of Marriage Act. Of course, it's possible that being shunned by gays will make politicians more popular, but at least we will have our self-respect. To vote for them is to collude with them in their utter disdain for us.

Don't any of you wonder why heterosexuals treat gays so brutally year after year after year, as your people take away our manhood, our womanhood, our personhood? Why, even as we die you don't leave us alone. What we can leave our surviving lovers is taxed far more punitively than what you leave your (legal) surviving spouses. Why do you do this? My lover will be unable to afford to live in the house we have made for each other over our lifetime together. This does not happen to you. Taxation without representation is what led to the Revolutionary War. Gay people have paid all the taxes you have. But you have equality, and we don't.

And there's no sign that this situation will change anytime soon.

read the rest here.

Bush in South America

Despite all the traffic stopping protests in South America during Bush's South of the Border tour, he was quite successful in shoring up a new energy empire in S.A., particularly Brazil - ethanol producing sugarcane fields and of course, cheap labor. You may recall the the bushistas have bought quite a bit of property in Paraguay- A great place to be if you're interested in alternative power hydroelectric power and natural gas.

Read all about it:
Out-Flanked: A New War on Terra Arrives with Bush-Lula Ethanol Deal
Another Bush Family Energy Empire Now Forming in the Heart Of South America

It's all getting very confusing and dot connecting is hurting my brain. Makes you just want to start your own country.

Juicy Stories the Media Ignores

On February 25th, I posted Whose side are the Bushistas on anyway?
It was concerning this article by Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker, THE REDIRECTION Is the Administration’s new policy benefitting our enemies in the war on terrorism?

The charges that the US' interest in warring with Iran, fueled by Israel and Saudi Arabia could have disastrous consequences. Iran and Iraq are mostly Shi'ites and Saudi's are Sunni's. Al Qaida are Sunni's and funded by Saudi's. Why a war with Iran if we're on Iraq's side and they are mostly Shi'ites? The media just repeats the propaganda from the bush crime family as it did in the run up to war with Iraq. While Hersh appeared on CNN, Hardball, etc to talk about it, the story just up and died. We brought it up here on blondesense, that the possible war with Iran is all based on bogus assertations that don't make sense on the surface. Where are the congressional investigations?

Tom Engelhardt has a lot more to say about the Seymour Hersh Mystery. If Hersh is to believed and there hasn't been a reason so far to not believe him, why isn't there an investigation into the goings on in Dick Cheney's office? Where's the media? Black op's are juicy stories.

Let Sibel Edmonds Speak

I'm sick of this being called "conspiracy theory." It is a conspiracy. It's the reason we are at war and will always be at war. It explains why drugs are illegal and why the so called "defense" industry or the military industrial complex should be feared. It explains why countries feud. It explains the real reasons for the Taliban and al Qaida. It explains Atta and the Miami connection. It explains why the so called "right" wants to silence Hollywood and why they want to make this a "christian" country. The powers that be are beyond Machiavellian. (see also, The Prince)

I was following the gag order on whistleblower Sibel Edmonds 3 to 4 years ago rather closely and just gave up because the powers that be have their hands in everything and there is too much money to be made from drugs and weapons trafficking that I was overwhelmed by the fact that a mafia-like crime organization was in charge of everything that was wrong with the world including our government. There was just no way that she would be heard because it seemed that everyone had their hand in the drug/weapons industry. She was the Farsi (Turkish) translator who was hired by the FBI after 9/11 who discovered too much and the FBI wanted her to just overlook it. She appeared on 60 minutes in January of 2002 and was then fired by the FBI. A Washington judge order her silenced. The DOJ classified everything she said. Congress didn't want to hear about it (especially Hastert and you'll see why soon) and her testimony to the 9/11 Commission wasn't even in the report. You have the makings here of the biggest coverup in history as I reported 3 years ago and it goes deeper and deeper.

While I was busy trying to connect the dots, I missed a few but blogger, lukery has done a bang up job connecting them (and more at his blog). What's more, with Hastert out of the way, we can get this case opened again if you'd just make a few phone calls. Please call the offices of Congressmen Waxman - (202) 225-3976 (ask for Michelle Ash & David Rapallo) - and Conyers - (202) 225-5126 (ask for Elliot Mintzberg) - demanding open hearings into Sibel Edmonds' case and the State Secrets Privilege.

In short according to lukery in the comments:

Turkey is run by drug-dealing, terrorism-loving, arms dealing crooks
those crooks have enough money that they can 'buy' anyone
those crooks use the ATC as their front organization
the US establishment loves the ATC because it pays well.
we are all less safe as a result.

Edmonds stumbled upon the who's who of arms and drug (heroin) trafficking. You've got the American Turkish Council (ATC), AIPAC, the neocons: Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, Paul Wolfowitz, Marc Grossman, Eric Edelman, and Stephen Solarz... Dennis Hastert was involved and as a result, America's elite are making out nicely. ATC and AIPAC own our government.

You might as well start here What the heck is Sibel Edmonds' Case about? And why should I care? and then follow the links. It's important to let Sibel Edmonds speak once and for all. Maybe there are some honest people in Congress or somewhere in DC.

Have We Been Wrong All Along?

We all know that there were never weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Iraq was not involved with 9/11, we didn't have to fight "them" there rather than here because there was no "them" in Iraq, etc. So, I was always willing to buy into the notion, which I find quite rational, that King George and The Neocons simply wanted to get their hands on Iraq's oil so they could hand it on over to the likes of Exxon and BP. Seems to make sense in light of the legislation that the Iraqi government is considering.

However, over at HuffPo, I found the following in the comments to this post, and I have to say, this, too, makes a LOT of sense to me:

"The actual cause of the war was one of the worst economic forecasts ever made. If the weapons inspectors were allowed whatever additional time was needed (three months, ex months etc.) to finally declare that Sadam had no WMDs, then BY THEIR TERMS the economic sanctions imposed in 1991 against Sadam would have automatically expired.

It was the fear that if the UN inspectors declared that Iraq had no WMDs, and Iraq was then allowed to sell as much oil as it wanted to whoever it wanted that the dreaded "12 and 12" scenario would occur. This scenario was based on the fact that the countries and places that Saddam hated most were vulnerable to a collapse in oil prices that could occur if Iraq were to produce and sell 12 million barrels per day of oil and thus drive the world price down to $12 per barrel.There was some logic in the "12 & 12" scenario. Who did Saddam hate most? There had been over 1,000,000 dead in the war between Iraq and Iran, Sadam hated Kuwait. Saddam hated Saudi Arabia for its role in the war with Kuwait, and probably Texas was the location Saddam hated most after, Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. How could Saddam destroy the economy of all four of those places in one fell swoop? Flood the world with cheap oil."

What do you think? Is this a plausible scenario?

Iraq: 4 years later

Zip it.

CNN's Ed Henry asked Tony Snow what the recipe of success was for Iraq. Tony Snow smugly asked Ed Henry what HIS recipe was. Henry reported:

And when I pointed out to him that that was inappropriate for me to answer that — it’s not up for me about what the recipe for success is, what is the President’s recipe for success? — Tony felt I was interrupting him and said, “Zip it.”

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

Meanwhile, Condi defended going to war in Iraq but admitted that the US didn't send in enough troops to begin with.

Asked on CBS's "The Early Show" to say what the administration could have done better, Rice replied, "I don't know. When we look back over time we will know the answer to that question."

Yes, she should be president.

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

Bush isn't taking any questions regarding the war on Iraq today. He asked Americans to just be patient.

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18. That's the percentage of Iraqi's who are confident that the US forces will succeed in bringing order to Iraq.

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In other news, amazingly another testimony from Gitmo: Waleed Mohammed bin Attash admitted to plotting the bombing of the USS Cole. He also admitted to helping organize the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Does this mean we can go home now?

Monday Sermonette: The Second Commandment Republicans

I just read, The Second Commandment Republicans
by Joe Klein, Time Magazine 3/15/07.
the title must be referring to this:

Matt 22:36-40 36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

So we're not talking about this second commandment: "You shall have no other god's before me."

Even if you don't believe in the Judeo-Christian sky god, you can't have a problem with Jesus' exhortation for us to love each other and to look out for each other. It just makes for a better world if people aren't steamrolling each other trying to get rich at any cost or running around accusing each other of sinning against the sky god.

We discover through this article that there are Republican candidates for president (huckabee and brownback) who are more concerned with social justice issues rather than finger pointing at those sinners we should hate (gays, women, the poor, Muslims, Mexicans, liberals, etc) as noted by conservative "christians". Most conservative "christian" republicans couldn't even recite the 10 commandments, let alone follow them, but boy are they quick to tell you that our country was founded on those principals. How hilarious is that?

"Indeed, it was Huckabee who reminded me of Chesterton's lament. "I'm a 'grace' Christian," Huckabee told me over lunch recently, "not a 'law' Christian. The Second Commandment--do unto others--is the basic tenet of my faith. And so I believe that life begins at conception, but I don't believe it ends at birth. I believe we have a responsibility to feed the hungry, to provide a good education, a safe neighborhood, health care ... "

Huckabee ought to clarify for his audiences that he's into the Jesus' commandments, not the Moses commandments or they will be confused. Well they'll be confused anyway because conservative "christians" don't know much about Jesus and the Gospels because you get more wrath for your buck in the OT, the letters of Paul and the Apocalypse.

Klein remarks, "Several weeks ago, I watched Huckabee lose an audience at the National Review's Conservative Summit with his talk of feeding the hungry and health care. "I think he's in the wrong party," a gentleman from Pennsylvania told me."

Indeed! Conservatives hate the poor, the sick and those who don't speak English.
And this:

For Huckabee and Brownback, a moment of biblical temptation looms. Both will be spending most of their time in Iowa, where Republicans have a strong religious bent. Both Robertson and Buchanan have done well there. The temptation will be to slouch back to hellfire and brimstone to unite conservative Christians. It will be an exquisite test of faith for a Second Commandment Christian like Huckabee: Thou Shalt or Thou Shalt Not? Can you win the Iowa caucus without losing your soul?

Are Iowan Republicans a bunch of rich folks who benefited from the tax cuts and war profiteering? It sounds more like they need a preacher who isn't a multi-millionaire.

Conservative "christian" republicans aren't Christian at all. They don't really know or understand Christianity. They know very little about Jesus, even though there are 4 gospels devoted to his teachings. They seem to make stuff up as they go along, without very much deep thought, in order to suit their political interests and they spend more time using the Old Testament and St. Paul for their cues with nary a reference to Jesus- the reason for Christendom. Astounding.

Anyone who really knows the Gospels knows that social justice is the numero uno theme. Jesus talks about helping the poor more than any other topic. If you want to go to heaven, then you act this way,

Matthew 25:35: 'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.'

Most of the above, goes against conservative American values wouldn't you say? How does Gitmo fit in here? And building a wall against Mexicans? And doing away with public schools and social security? And the right to carry a gun so you can shoot people? And yet there it is, in the gospel of Matthew- the key to life. The gospel goes on to tell you who is going to go to hell and it doesn't look good for the conservative christians who ironically are on the left side of God:

Matthew 25: 41"Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.'

The "faithful" Americans should know better than to accept what religious nonsense is spewed forth by political candidates and leaders of huge corporations that have words like "Christian" or "family" in their titles. A real Christian knows Jesus' teachings and when asked about them, does not quote from Paul's epistles, the Apocalypse and the Old Testament... or worse, Benjamin Franklin who said, "God helps those who help themselves." According to the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), God does not ignore those who are lost at all.
So who is God?

Here's an idea:

Let's everybody confess to everything and watch the justice (sick) system in this country shit a ring around itself. Headline from the LA Times reads:

"Convicted Pearl killer will appeal"

(Text): "The lawyer for a man convicted of killing Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl said in Pakistan that he would appeal his client's death sentence after reports that an Al Qaeda lieutenant recently confessed to the slaying.

"Khalid Shaikh Mohammed claimed at a U.S. military hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that he personally beheaded Pearl in 2002."

So then we would have the humiliating spectacle of the justice (sick) system in this country trying to figure out which "perp" to prosecute. The hideous imaginary scenario that could be conjured up is that the depraved sunsabitches will just imprison everybody.

Quote of the week

"If I were the president, I would fire the attorney general."
—New Hampshire Sen. John Sununu, a Republican, on Alberto Gonzales's handling of the dismissal of eight federal prosecutors

Now it's your turn.

"If I were the president, I would.................."

"Hague court could try Bush, Blair"

Now you won't find the above headline and accompanying article at Google News or Yahoo! News, but it can be found in the Main Stream Media. Howzat? It's a London Sunday Telegraph piece by way of...The Washington Times! Like I've mentioned here and there previously, the Times appears to be pro-bush and pro-neo-con when it suits the Times' (read that as Moon's) agenda.

Here's a choice quote:
"Asked whether he could envision a situation in which Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair found themselves in the dock answering charges of war crimes in Iraq, (Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo) replied: "Of course, that could be a possibility ... whatever country joins the court can know that whoever commits a crime in their country could be prosecuted by me."

Oh, not that I hold out much hope that such an event will ever come to pass, but "...of such things are dreams made..." And there has been a lotta funny (read that "weird", not "ha-ha") shit happening lately.

SUNday stuff........Psalm 137, the River's of Babylon sung by BoneyM, .....and an and ESSAY entitled Israel's right to be racist

We have read the short story "By the Waters of Babylon by Stephen Vincent Benét a few times. (Here is the short SHORT version with plot, theme,...PERFECTLY explained!)


Psalm 137 (Please read next) is the source of the title of Stephen Vincent Benet's short story By the Waters of Babylon.



We'll start SUNday service with a beautiful rendition of this Psalm 137 sung and performed by the amazing BoneyM

then.... you are all invited to read the following Essay by Joseph Massad -- Israel's right to be racist

(He is associate professor of modern Arab politics and intellectual history at Columbia University)

Now, let's discuss this, or....... simply agree with his points or disagree.

I am curious what people think.


I'm still in awe that "In 586 BCE the nation of Judah was conquered by Babylon. About 50 years later, in 539 BCE, the Persians (who had recently conquered Babylon) allowed Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. By the end of this era, members of the tribes seem to have abandoned their individual identities in favor of a common one."

Did they actually make it happen for a few years way back when..(I can't add backwards like that) .... (2500 fucking years ago!!)

What the FUCK? What keeps happening to prevent this "favor of a common one" from TRULY happening...(3 TRILLION so far for the US in a few short years no less!!) Here's the full piece on AIPAC's three-day summit which included fiery evangelical oratory, adoration for Dick Cheney -- and new plans for going after Iran -- By Gregory Levey)

What was the area even called back then?

I REALLY don't get it. Can you imagine how each generation after generation of people from that area gets confused ..2500 years later????


They talked about Zion 2500 years ago. Is that why ZIONISM is so important in the US right now? WTF is Zionism anyway?? Who were the "Zionists" 2500 years ago?

Thank you for attending Blondesense's SUNday stuff. Have a fucking nice , I mean sparkling -- day!

I hope you found peace at your "House" of worship this morning. Did you go to temple -- synogogue -- church, mosque,...?

(Synagogue – Judaism/
Some synagogues, especially Reform synagogues, are called temples, but Orthodox Judaism considers this inappropriate as they do not consider synagogues a replacement for the Temple in Jerusalem. Some Orthodox Jewish congregations use the term 'shul' to describe their place of worship.)

A Few Thoughts . . .

On yesterday's anti-war protest in DC. The date was chosen because it was the 40th anniversary of the march on the Pentagon during the Viet Nam war, and almost the 4th anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. Our friend Mimus Pauly at A Mockingbird's Medley joined me yesterday for the experience.

First, and in many ways foremost, we froze our tushies off. After a balmy week in the 60s and 70s, a coastal low brought rain, sleet, freezing rain and finally snow to the Washington, DC area Friday night. Saturday's high was in the upper 30s with a lovely brisk wind blowing from the Northwest. We had had almost two inches of rain on Friday, so there was a lot of mud! There is no question in my mind that this helped suppress turnout a bit, as the crowd was noticably smaller than the marches in September 2005 and in January of this year. So, organizers are saying 35,000, and park police saying informally 20,000. I guess I'm no good at crowd estimation, I thought it was a bit bigger than that. Still, as Mimus and I stood at the end of the march route and watched the remainder of the crowd come through, it looked impressive. Seeing a crowd like that united behind one concept is always exhilirating.

Second, there was a significant anti-peace crowd who came to make their presence known, and a surprisingly high number were veterans. At the prior marches, the pro-war contingent had been pitifully small (and by pitifully small I mean maybe a couple dozen). I will readily admit I was wrong to think the anti-peace crowd this time would be roughly the same. I estimate between 2,000 and 3,000 "uber-patriots" showed up on this occasion, suitably wrapped in the American flag, as if they and they alone own it. They were a pretty foul bunch, widely profane and abusive. One thing that struck us as we walked past them was that they were almost universally white men: very few women; very few people of color. Interesting that there were no African-American or Latino vets among their ranks, given the disproportionate numbers of these who served in Viet Nam. Still, I learned a few things from them that I didn't know before. Along with the usual "I'm not fonda Jane" signs, I was informed that I am a parasite, and that Nancy Pelosi is owned by al-Queda. Hmmm, learn something new every day.

Third, some who visit here may recall that at the march in January, there was a bit of a kerfuffle on the steps of the US Capitol, with the MSM reporting that the steps had been "defaced" with some spray paint by some young punk anarchists. Now, the part about the spray paint may or may not have been true (and I only have my own lying eyes to believe that it was not), but as a consequence, rumors apparently abounded that the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial was going to be defaced. So the Gathering of Beagles, as the anti-peace crowd called themselves (okay, not really, they called themselves the Gathering of Eagles, but I couldn't resist because they sounded like so many hound dogs baying at the fox to me), were there to "protect" the memorial from us Godless, filthy, hippie-lovin', librul scum. I'm going to state this as succintly as possible: Bullshit. I have a 99.9999% confidence level that no threats of that nature came from the anti-war protesters. To the extent such a threat actually happened, I'd be willing to make a significant wager that it was someone from the pro-war group who actually manufactured the threat in order to rally the vets to protect their hallowed ground. And to get coverage from the MSM regarding their "noble" cause. (Naturally, it worked.) In any event, access to the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial was tightly controlled, with each person being hand-searched before being allowed to visit the wall.

Fourth, as DBK has mentioned previously and this march reinforced, the left need to come up with better chants. ("What do we want? An immediate cessation of hostilities." Heh.) Mimus suggested that before the next one is held, someone needs to write some protest songs and we need to practice them in advance. (The more creative of you out there should get right on that.) The only time the marchers really got going was when we went by the afore-mentioned Beagles. To drown out the profanities, the marchers chanted out "Where was Bush in Viet Nam?" Indeed, what an excellent question.

Finally, a closing thought about the real reason yesterday was important, and why today is important, and why tomorrow is important. Our young men and women in Iraq are dying every day, and we need to bring them home. Now. In the course of the day, Mimus and I had walked to and through Arlington National Cemetery and had visited the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial. It takes your breath away to stand in Arlington Cemetery and see tombstones streching into the distance all around you. It breaks your heart to see name after name after name engraved upon the granite walls of the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial. So many, and many so young. Shall we wait until there are another 59,000 names to be engraved on another wall before we bring this illegal and misbegotten war to an end?

New Moon in Pisces

It is the New Moon in Pisces and a solar eclipse and the the Spring Equino follows in less than two days. This is a north nodal eclipse suggesting that we are being called to develop new skills and talent through independent effort.
Is this new moon eclipse a call for massive spiritual awakening in the world?
If so, what would a massive spiritual awakening look like?

That is all.

HUGE Pet Food Recall

Fat Lady Sings alerts us about the pet food recall:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A major manufacturer of dog and cat food sold under Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger and other store brands recalled 60 million containers of wet pet food Friday after reports of kidney failure and deaths....
...

Proctor & Gamble announced Friday the recall of specific 3 oz., 5.5 oz., 6 oz. and 13.2 oz. canned and 3 oz. and 5.3 oz. foil pouch cat and dog wet food products made by Menu Foods but sold under the Iams and Eukanuba brands. The recalled products bear the code dates of 6339 through 7073 followed by the plant code 4197, P&G said.. read more

Recalled cat foods
Americas Choice; Preferred Pets; Authority; Best Choice; Companion; Compliments; Demoulas Market Basket; Fine Feline Cat, Shep Dog; Food Lion; Foodtown; Giant Companion; Good n Meaty; Hannaford; Hill Country Fare; Hy-Vee; Key Food; Laura Lynn; Li'l Red; Loving Meals; Main Choice; Nutriplan; Nutro Max Gourmet Classics; Nutro Natural Choice; Paws; Presidents Choice; Price Chopper; Priority; Save-A-Lot; Schnucks; Sophistacat; Special Kitty; Springfield Pride; Sprout; Total Pet; My True Friend; Wegmans; Western Family; White Rose; and Winn Dixie.

Recalled dog foods
America's Choice; Preferred Pets; Authority; Award; Best Choice; Big Bet; Big Red; Bloom; Bruiser; Cadillac; Companion; Demoulas Market Basket; Fine Feline Cat; Shep Dog; Food Lion; Giant Companion; Great Choice; Hannaford; Hill Country Fare; Hy-Vee; Key Food; Laura Lynn; Loving Meals; Main Choice; Mixables; Nutriplan; Nutro Max; Nutro Natural Choice; Nutro; Ol'Roy; Paws; Pet Essentials; Pet Pride; President's Choice; Price Chopper; Priority; Publix; Roche Bros; Save-A-Lot; Schnucks; Springsfield Pride; Sprout; Stater Bros; Total Pet; My True Friend; Western Family; White Rose; Winn Dixie and Your Pet.

How Green Was My Beer

I'm dreaming of a white St. Patrick's Day



We had several inches of white/gray slush yesterday here in the NY area. The plows came by overnight and left a big pile of heavy, watery, chunky, icy, white and gray stuff at the end of our driveways. I'll stay inside this weekend and wait for the thaw expected by Monday. Since we drive those quaint vehicles known as cars in this family, there will be no switching to 4 wheel drive and blasting over the ice piles out to the road in enormous grocery chasers/kid transport vehicles equipped with state of the art DVD players, only to flip over on Hempstead Turnpike near the Stop and Shop. This is St. Patrick's Day and we are fully stocked with corned beef Easter candy and plenty of booze. Maybe I'll turn on the TV and look at the parade for about 3 seconds.

To be perfectly honest with you, I forget what we did on white St. Patrick's Days when I was growing up- I assume it was spent like any other St. Patrick's Day because once you're boozed up, the weather doesn't really matter. Being a product of Catholic parochial schools, of which there are at least one in every single town around here, St. Patrick's Day was a day off. (Catholic school kids had a LOT of days off for various saints and events. For instance, Ascension Thursday in May is a fabulous beach day -no public school kids. Jones Beach, West End 2. The public school kids had their exclusive beach days in the fall during the Jewish holy days.)

Like good Irish-Catholic children, this day was spent hiding liquor under our coats and taking the Long Island Railroad to NYC for the big parade, staggering up 5th Ave towards St. Patrick's Cathedral to say hi to the Cardinal and the mayor and then venture off to find some bars serving green beer to underage kids ...and we peed in the bathrooms of some of the most famous and posh stores along 5th Avenue to boot. What class.

I went on to spend 2 of my 4 years of college in very Irish Catholic drinking schools in the Bronx where we continued the tradition, and even more so because we were legal, only we took the subway (which was above ground) to Manhattan for the festivities. Some of the guys in Manhattan College's Gaelic Society allowed a couple of us girls to march with them. Supposedly we were the first females allowed to march with the Gaelic Society and only because we were formidable drinking buddies and pretty cute. This was early feminism c. 1974. Maybe we walked with them for a couple of blocks, only to be lured away to the Irish pubs on the side streets serving 10¢ green beers and free corned beef and cabbage with watery potatoes.

I don't know what the attraction was. Maybe it was an Irish Woodstock on 5th Avenue where you could feel the love, where the beer flowed freely and the music filled the air. Maybe it was the cute guys from the Catholic boys HS's and colleges. I think you had to be loaded to appreciate it. I hear bagpipes in my mind's ear... the drones... and Catholic school marching bands. Men in skirts. Oh god yes, too many men in skirts that looked like our school uniforms only they had big fluffy hats.

It wasn't until I was in my 20's and working on Park Avenue and 53rd street that I saw the parade from a 'secular' viewpoint. I had walked 2 blocks over to 5th Ave at noontime to check it out. It was no Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade- it was just a bunch of marching and business people milling about on the sidewalks, mostly irritated that you couldn't cross the street. I didn't see kids like us anywhere. The real festivities had moved to the night-time in pubs and fire houses serving green beer and there they remain. Thirty something years later, I boil a hunk of that greasy pink beef with cabbage and potatoes in my kitchen- maybe some folks will drop by, maybe not (not with this weather). My son will once again ask us the very significant question of the year: just how Irish is he. It's debatable- fractions are hard.

Suckers

Editorial: Consumers should not have to pay when a corporate logo is prominently displayed on clothes and other items. Talk about free advertising and a sucker being born every minute.

Adding insult to injury:

As of next month, Eternal Image of Farmington Hills, Mich., is putting on sale (through funeral homes) urns festooned with, yes, Major League Baseball logos.

For a mere $699, fans of the Yankees (and seven other teams) can have their remains put in an urn with the team's logo on the front, a base shaped like home plate and room for a souvenir baseball on top.

Coffins with team logos are due in September.

Obligatory Friday Weird Sex Posts

Woman swallowed lover's false teeth

A Romanian woman needed medical help after she swallowed her lover's false teeth during a moment of passion.

The 38-year-old woman, from Galati, went to hospital with stomach pains claiming she had swallowed a foreign object but without saying what it was. Doctors were surprised when the x-ray showed false teeth in her stomach.

Eventually she admitted she gulped down the denture while experimenting a 'special type of passionate kiss' with her boyfriend.

After spending two days in hospital, the foreign object left the woman's body the natural way.

Ouch.

Oh here's another weird one:

'Surgeon stole my bum'
A German belly dancer has been awarded £12,000 compensation after a plastic surgeon accidentally sucked away one of her buttocks.

Julia 'Cleopatra' Meyer, 38, from Munich, wanted slimmer thighs and instead ended up with half her bum missing. The court heard that during the liposuction the plastic surgeon, not named, from a private clinic, had removed fat from her right buttock instead of her thighs.

She said: "I had been unhappy with my saddlebags, the fat stored in the outer thigh area. Because of the local anaesthesia I did not realise what he was doing.

"When I saw afterwards that half of my bum was missing I almost fainted. It had been completely sucked away."

A consultant at the Berlin Charité hospital asked for an expert opinion said it was a "grave error in treatment".

The court heard the woman can no longer perform. She does not even dare to go to a swimming pool because she is ashamed of the way she looks.

The surgeon has been ordered to pay her £12,000 - twice the £6,000 she had been seeking.

Don't they have ass implants?

Oh Dear God

The christianista's have landed in NY/NJ by way of radio. It's still in 35th place, but who knows... somebody he'p me.

A Signal From Above
By David Segal, WaPo

At first it sounds like classic morning-zoo radio: A host plays ringleader, telling stories and jokes, while a couple of sidekicks chime in and laugh a lot. The banter is peppered with sound effects, like the noise of a guy vomiting. There are snappy jingles and lots of running gags.

The format of "Johnny Stone in the Morning," heard weekdays here on WAWZ, "Star" 99.1 FM, is familiar. The content -- to anyone accustomed to radio shows like "Don and Mike" or "Opie and Anthony" -- is not.

"I've got five phrases here, and you've got to tell us whether they're Bible or not," says Stone one recent morning, talking to a caller named Stephanie. She knows the rules and she's ready to play.

"The tree is known by its fruit," Stone reads aloud.

There's a pause.

"Bible," answers Stephanie.

A you-are-correct ding is heard, then a surprising amount of joy in the studio.

Read the rest at WaPo.

WOW

It's rarely mentioned that the christian zionists' agenda includes Israel being wiped off the planet in order for Jesus to return. Their motives are highly suspect.

By the tone of this article, you'd get the feeling that Bush should have said back in 2001, "You're either with Israel or you're with the terrorists."

Inside America's powerful Israel lobby (Worth a day pass to Salon.com.)
AIPAC's three-day summit included fiery evangelical oratory, adoration for Dick Cheney -- and new plans for going after Iran.
By Gregory Levey

March 16, 2007 | WASHINGTON -- At the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee this week in Washington, a conservative Christian couple from eastern Tennessee told me that their son had decided to join the Israeli army. It was one of many surreal moments during the three-day gathering hosted by AIPAC, the lobbying group devoted to ensuring close U.S.-Israel ties that remains extraordinarily influential in Washington. "We just love God, and we just love Israel," the couple beamed, when I asked why they had come to the conference.

Amid an energized and at times almost circuslike atmosphere, just about everyone in attendance shared two main preoccupations: the 2008 U.S. presidential election and confronting Iran. And this year's conference saw record attendance: more than 6,000 people, coming from every state in the country and exceeding last year's crowd of around 5,000. Many of them were American Jews, of course, but the evangelical Christian community also made a strong showing. For those feeling apocalyptic about the turmoil in the Middle East, pastor John Hagee was there to greet them. Of the many prominent speakers at the conference, Hagee got one of the most enthusiastic receptions.

"The sleeping giant of Christian Zionism has awoken!" Hagee proclaimed, taking the microphone at the opening dinner reception on Sunday...

During Hagee's oratory, an AIPAC delegate sitting near me said, "I'm going to vote for him instead of McCain."

...

In addition to the many panels at the conference, which often felt akin to pep rallies, delegates also attended "lobbying labs," where AIPAC staff schooled them on how to effectively persuade their congressional representatives to follow AIPAC policies...
...

When the thousands of lobbyists descended on Capitol Hill, they were greeted by nearly every U.S. senator and more than half the members of the House of Representatives -- approximately 500 meetings were held between AIPAC representatives and members of Congress on Tuesday alone. In addition to pushing for the sanctions plan, the goal was to showcase the strength of AIPAC and establish more ties for future communication and lobbying.

...

"Our commitment to Israel defines us as a nation," said Republican Norm Coleman of Minnesota, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, adding that the AIPAC lobbyists "help make sure that we don't forget."

...

Displays of bipartisan support filled the conference. Even if Democrats and Republicans bicker on every other issue, AIPAC leaders seemed constantly eager to stress that one thing on which the parties can come together is unswerving devotion to Israel....

...

Much focus was on who will next sit in the Oval Office. Before and after the dinner, the presidential candidates and their colleagues from Congress schmoozed with the AIPAC delegates....

Here's the link to the whole article.

Disclaimer: This blog is not anti-semitic. We question Israel's leadership as we do the leadership of this country (which does not make us anti-american.) We are seeking answers to nagging political questions and the implications for us as tax paying Americans with compassion.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessed to 9/11 and almost every other terrorist attack that happened or almost happened (read the PDF transcript. The list starts on p. 18), and admitted that he doesn't like to kill people, especially children.

Well?

UPDATE: Surprise, Surprise.
If you've read the PDF transcript, you'd notice that certain parts were redacted.
From Think Progress:

Known among CIA officers as “Al-Qaeda’s toughest prisoner” in Guantanamo Bay, Mohammad has long been the subject of extreme interrogation techniques, including waterboarding. “CIA officers who subjected themselves to the water boarding technique lasted an average of 14 seconds before caving in…KSM won the admiration of interrogators when he was able to last between two and two-and-a-half-minutes before begging to confess.” The CIA also reportedly abducted his seven- and nine-year-old sons and flew them to the United States for interrogation.

In his remarks to a military tribunal, Mohammad raised objections to the treatment he received, but his statements on torture were redacted by the Pentagon in their publicly released transcript:

• "I know American people are torturing us from seventies. [REDACTED]. I know they are talking human rights. And I know it is against American constitution, against American laws."

Mohammad claimed that CIA interrogators warned him he would be subjected to illegal treatment, calling it “bad luck”:

• "They said every law, they have exceptions, this is your bad luck you have been part of the exception of our laws."

Kenneth Roth of Human Rights Watch questioned the legality of the closed-door sessions and whether Mohammad’s confession was actually the result of torture. “We won’t know that unless there is an independent hearing,” he said. “We need to know if this purported confession would be enough to convict him at a fair trial or would it have to be suppressed as the fruit of torture?”

See the full Pentagon transcript HERE.

------------
PS. Speaking of terrorism, "Banana company Chiquita Brands International said Wednesday it has agreed to a $25 million fine after admitting it paid a Colombian terrorist group for protection in a volatile farming region."

So that's it. A fine. Shouldn't the Chiquita Banana people be sent to Gitmo?

Gen. Petraeus Linked To High-Profile Suicide in Iraq

From Editor & Publisher --

Col. Ted Westhusing, a West Point scholar, put a bullet in his head in Iraq after reporting widespread corruption. His suicide note -- complaining about human rights abuses and other crimes -- was addressed to his two commanders, including Gen. David Petraeus, now leader of the U.S. "surge" effort in Iraq. It urged them to "Reevaluate yourselves....You are not what you think you are and I know it."

By Greg Mitchell

(March 14, 2007) -- The scourge of suicides among American troops in Iraq is a serious, and seriously underreported, problem, as this column has observed numerous times in the past three years. One of the few high-profile cases involved a much-admired Army colonel named Ted Westhusing.

A portrait of Westhusing written by T. Christian Miller for the Los Angeles Times in November 2005 (which I covered at the time) revealed that Westhusing, before putting a bullet through his head, had been deeply disturbed by abuses carried out by American contractors in Iraq, including allegations that they had witnessed or even participated in the murder of Iraqis.

His widow, asked by a friend what killed this West Point scholar, had replied simply: "Iraq."

Now, a new article reveals -- based on documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act -- that Westhusing's apparent suicide note included claims that his two commanders tolerated a mission based on "corruption, human right abuses and liars." One of those commanders: the new leader of the "surge" campaign in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus.

Westhusing, 44, had been found dead in a trailer at a military base near the Baghdad airport in June 2005, a single gunshot wound to the head. At the time, he was the highest-ranking officer to die in Iraq.........
Here is the link, along with the rest of the article


Per MissouriMule:

"Please, everybody! Get this story out!! Hat tip to Rooks Rant, please! I'm forwarding it to everyone I know. I hope you all will do the same. This War has to end. This should be read tomorrow when Congress starts instead of their stupid pray!"

Per JerseyCynic: What she said....

Time to get EVERYONE to wake up. It's time for answers --

NOW

Hit your 'reply all' on every e-mail trail that you have ever been sent, and PLEASE, send this link.

Here is another article and link to send along also: Damn Right, We're Angry, by Paul Waldman


"Our anger is not just some vague feeling whose source we can’t put our finger on. It isn’t based on absurd conspiracy theories and it isn’t illogical.

We’re angry because of what has happened to our country, because of how we’ve been treated, and because of the innumerable crimes the conservatives have committed. We’re angry at the president, we’re angry at the Congress, we’re angry at the news media. And we have every right to be......"

"Class-action lawyers pounce in subprime crisis"

That's the headline from REUTERS.
MY headline would be:
"Stupidshits are suing other stupidshits because the stupidshits didn't tell the stupidshits that investing in their companies was a stupidshit idea".

Lawyers for investors hurt by the meltdown of mortgage lenders that cater to risky borrowers are likely to file a wave of class-action lawsuits against the lenders and possibly their auditors and bankers as well.

U.S. lawyers have already sued subprime lenders including New Century Financial Corp. and NovaStar Financial Inc. and their top executives for securities fraud, claiming they misled investors about the companies' finances and had lax guidelines for approving mortgages for borrowers with poor credit histories.

Hit the link for the rest of article.

And, FWIW, there's a Dec. 23, 2005 post over at the Wraith's Discussion Forums entitled, "Housing Bubble RAPIDLY Deflating" by "unlawfulcombatant" just in case the stupidshits try to say they didn't have a chance to see it coming.


Here's a bonus from 321Gold entitled "30-day Countdown to War"

"One of the results I can guarantee is that the US dollar is going to be destroyed. It's no great shakes predicting that. Hell, even the Comptroller General of the United States is running around telling as many people as will listen (about 14 in total, I reckon) that the United States is bankrupt. Between a two-trillion-dollar-losing war in Iraq, a balance of payments totally out of control and the Gang of Fools in Washington, you can pretty much kiss the dollar goodbye the day the attack (on Iran) begins. And don't think for a minute I'm talking about strictly the Republican fools in Washington. By their actions, or better yet, lack of action, the Democrats have proven since the last election that they can be just as corrupt and ignorant as the neo-Nazi Republicans."

Equestrian Escape

I buy horses at auctions. Lots of them. I buy and sell horses for a living, and unlike those who view auctions as nothing but dumping grounds for other people's problems, I see them as time-saving venues for seeing and comparing a wealth of choices in a single location. They're also great place to see how a horse handles himself in an unfamiliar environment. That's valuable knowledge if you intend to do anything with a horse besides keep it in your backyard forever as a yard ornament. If I'm able to buy at a wholesale price (often the case at an auction), so much the better.

That doesn't mean I let myself get carried away and buy horses on impulse like so many do-----far from it. I have a methodical system for shopping and buying via auction. "Work" is the operative term here, because it takes just as much effort to make a satisfactory buy at the auction as it does from a private party.

When I talk about buying at auction, I'm not thinking about your everyday local, open-consignment auction of uncataloged horses. Those are high-risk, buyer-beware situations that I don't recommend. I do my buying at the cataloged sales held in conjunction with high-level breed events, or the major shows of specific disciplines. Besides being run by reputable equine-auction companies, these sales serve as showcases for top breeders, owners, trainers, and competitors. With their reputations resting in part on the caliber of horses they consign, sellers bring good stock to these venues.

I have good reason for shopping at these sales. They are my first line of defense against getting so caught up in the moment that you end up with a horse you don't really need or want and regret buying. In my case, I'm either attempting to fill an order from a customer, who's hired me as a purchase agent, or looking for horses to go into my resale inventory for a clientele I've developed over many years. I always try to think of myself as the customer. I have a budget, a list of the aspects that I can and can't live without and my intended use. This may seem like nothing more than common sense, but you might be surprised at how often people skip this important pre-attendance step. That's how they end up with a horse that doesn't have quite the breeding they wanted, or the training, level of soundness, conformation, desposition, ect.

Once I've decided on a sale to attend, I request a catalog as far in advance of the sale as possible. Ideally, I'll have it in hand well before the sale dates, the better to study it, make initial selections, go on-line for complete pedigree and performance records, and contact consignors for extra information on horses that interest me. Because I live in the third largest state in terms of the equine industry, where many of these horses are located, I may make appointments to go see their consignments before they're taken to the sale. I also visit consigning ranches in other parts of the country when I can. This gives me a chance to see not just the horses themselves, but the people and environment that produced them. You can never know too much about any horse you intend to bid on.

I adhere to the same philosophy at the sale grounds. I like to arrive as soon as the grounds open for arrival of consigned horse, so I can watch them as they're unloaded and taken to their stalls. Like any other buyer, I don't want to end up with a horse that's bad-tempered, hard to handle, or unsound, and this on-arrival viewing can reveal a lot in those departments.

Next, I go the the sales office to obtain a stall chart that shows which consignments are assigned to which stalls. Not only does this save me time in locating the horse I want to inspect closely, it also keeps me from getting distracted by horses that don't fit my specifics. But that's not to say that I don't look at any other horses other than those that are highlighted in my catalog. I'll go back through the barns after seeing my initial picks, looking for horses that catch my eye, and I have a good eye, at least when I can see through them. I'll also look at horses discovered by people who, with cell phone in hand, work as spotters. In fact, I started out as a spotter. With many hundred of horses consigned to a typical big sale, it never hurts to have extra, trusted eyes to help you locate that gem. Boy-howdy did I spot one! I did not come home empty-handed.

That's him in the photos. I plan on keeping him for myself, at least for awhile. I have given him the handle of the Dark Wraith, in honor of his darkness and high stepping ways. I took him for a spin today and he's like riding a million dollars without the tax. All and all, I think you can see why I say it takes some work to make a satisfactory buy.

Suggestion: If ya' gotta repukelican congresscritter...

...and I would assume everybody has at least one, whncha call or e-mail his lord-or-ladyship and ask (very politely now),
"Hey old friend, how's that old idea about tieing the performance of the stock market in with Social Security payments coming along"?

For reference's sake, you might provide them with info from...oh, let's see:
Stocks fall sharply as bad loan concern lingers
or
Shadows from a Future Arriving (by Master Economist Dark Wraith)
or
Top investor sees U.S. property crash.

And, while you're at it, tell 'em the dollar ain't doing too well against most of the rest of the world's currencies.


Now, I realize this might be an awesome task for some of you, as it is for me also. I have discovered when speaking to dumshits that I have a tendency to laugh in their faces hysterically, especially when they try to bee-ess me with phrases like "momentary adjustment" or "cyclical correction" or "now investors will be looking for bargains".

And, by the way, even that link above about "bad loans" is kinda bullshit. Check out the Wraith's post for the straight poop on what's happening. Here's a handsome quote:
"What's happening is the result of an accumulation of events that are, in their aggregate, deeply changing the configuration of the United States with respect to the rest of the world insofar as financial matters are concerned."

How 'Bout The Senator From Virginia?

No, not Jim Webb. I'm talking about the old patrician, John Warner, last of the dying breed (at least among Republicans) of gentlemen in the Senate. I may disagree with many of his opinions, but I rarely doubt that his votes are principled and thoughtful. John Warner is the only Republican I ever cast a vote for. It was in the 1996 Senate race, and I voted for Warner to thank him for saving Virginia from the humiliation of having Oliver North elected as our Senator. When Jollie Ollie captured the Republican nomination for Senate in 1994, Warner recruited a fairly moderate Republican (Marshall Coleman) to run as an independent, which split the Republican vote and allowed Chuck Robb to be re-elected. So, I've always thought of Warner as a decent sort, and his comments yesterday reinforced that thinking.

You may remember Liz's post from yesterday about the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff statement as to what the military considers "immoral": homosexuality and officers who sleep with other officers' wives.

Well, Senator Warner had something to say about that: "I respectfully but strongly disagree with the chairman's view that homosexuality is immoral[.]"

Maybe you don't think this is a big deal, and maybe I think this is too big a deal. But John Warner is 80 years old and has been serving the Old Dominion, which up until recently has been a redder than red state, in the Senate for almost 30 years. He has fairly high approval ratings and probably is the best liked politician in the commonwealth. So a remark like this, coming from the mouth of one of the Senate lions, not to mention a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, smells like progress to me.

The Pope In The News

For all you Catholics and recovering Catholics out there, Pope Benedict has been in the news an awful lot lately. What on earth is he up to? Does he have any plans to save the world? Not really, there's nothing new here.

There is no reason for Catholics to put their thinking caps on as the Vatican spells it out for you:

Healing the rift
The Pope hosted Vladimir Putin in order to see if they can ease the tension between Roman Catholics and the Russian Orthodox Church. Good luck. This will be like trying to reconcile Israel with the Palestinians.

Gay marriage and abortion still most important moral issues of our time.
Pope Benedict would like to remind Catholics and RC politicians that the most important issues of the day are the church’s opposition to abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage. These values are non-negotiable.

You are still excommunicated if you are divorced and remarried
Furthermore, the Pope in his 131 page exhortation reminded divorced and remarried Catholics that they are not welcome to receive Holy Communion.

Politicians may feel the excommunication squeeze if they support abortion or gay marriage
Local bishops are to decide which politicians, if they support abortion or gay marriage, may receive Communion.

Celibacy is still required for priests.
The Pope went on to remind priests that celibacy is still absolutely required. Even in areas of the world where there are very few priests, he exhorted Bishops not to "lower" the requirement and allow married priests. He didn't mention that homosexual relations are considered non-celibate. I'll have to ask him about that.

Beware False Prophets
The Pope doesn't like Bob Dylan. He said so in his latest book but doesn't give the exact reason.

Faithful ought to take up chanting
He does like Gregorian Chants and would like the faithful to take up chanting.
I saw a PBS show featuring a group of Gregorian chanters performing contemporary songs. I particularly liked their rendition of REM's "Losing My Religion."

Don King to meet the Pope
Jesus H Christ must be rolling in his whatever, Don King, the one with the hair, will have audience with the Pope on March 21- something about helping a boxer who lost a fight or something. Don King is not sure if he will wear one of his 3 diamond encrusted crosses.

OT: Speaking of Bob Dylan, have you seen the commerical for the new movie with Adam Sandler "Reign over me" playing a guy who lost everything on 9/11? Who does he look like?

WELL!! Praise the lord and pass the ammunition!!!

Congressman says he doesn't believe in God


Here. Is. The. Story. In. Full.......


WASHINGTON — Cue the jokes about godless politicians and Bay Area liberals.

Secular groups Monday applauded a public acknowledgment by Rep. Pete Stark that he does not believe in a supreme being, making the Fremont Democrat the first member of Congress — and the highest-ranking elected official in the U.S. — to publicly acknowledge not believing in God.

The American Humanist Assn. plans to take out an ad in the Washington Post today congratulating the congressman for his public stance and highlighting the contributions of other prominent secular humanists, such as writers Barbara Ehrenreich and Kurt Vonnegut and actress Julia Sweeney.

Fred Edwords, a spokesman for the group, said non-theistic Americans often faced discrimination for their views.

"So often throughout American history, people who are non-theistic or don't believe in a supreme being can't get elected to public office or, if they inform the public of their view, they don't get reelected," he said. "We're trying to increase the acceptance of non-theists as every bit as American as everybody else."

Stark's declaration came in response to a search by the Secular Coalition for America to find the most prominent nonbelieving politician.

The advocacy group, which according to its website calls for extending "religious tolerance … to people of all religions and to those without religious beliefs," offered a $1,000 prize to the person who could identify the "highest-level atheist, agnostic, humanist or any other kind of non-theist currently holding elected public office in the United States."

A member of American Atheists California nominated Stark.

Ron Millar, associate director of the Secular Coalition for America, said the group wanted to highlight how hard it was for politicians to take a public stance about not believing in God. He said members were "pleasantly surprised" with Stark's candor.

"We didn't think we'd have any member of Congress come forward," Millar said.

Stark, who has served in Congress since 1973 and chairs the health subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee, clarified his views in an e-mail statement.

"When the Secular Coalition asked me to complete a survey on my religious beliefs, I indicated I am a Unitarian who does not believe in a supreme being," Stark said. "Like our nation's founders, I strongly support the separation of church and state. I look forward to working with the Secular Coalition to stop the promotion of narrow religious beliefs in science, marriage contracts, the military and the provision of social services."

Unitarian Universalism describes itself as creedless, meaning that it has no underlying authoritative statement of religious belief. Some members believe in God; others do not.

A USA Today/Gallup poll last month found that 45% of respondents said they would vote for a "well qualified" presidential candidate who was an atheist. Ninety-five percent said they would vote for a Catholic candidate, 92% a Jewish candidate and 72% a Mormon candidate.

In Today's "WTF?" News

You may recall that the Dems were preparing a military spending bill requiring King George to get explicit permission from Congress before going to war with Iran. Let's put the emphasis on the "were" part of that sentence, because they have stripped that provision from the bill.

Someone please remind me why I went to the polls in November and pulled the "D" lever. 'Cause right now I am seeing the Dems as part of the problem rather than part of the solution.

My Hero

The Fat Lady Sings is my hero.

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Peter Pace on Morality

Q: What's considered "immoral" in the military these days?

A: Homosexuality and military members who sleep with other military members' wives.

That is all.

From Think Progress.

"DUBAI" -- to be included in Evil Paradises: The Dreamworlds of Neo-Liberalism, by Mike Davis, July 2007

As gas prices AGAIN approach $3.00 a gallon, I wonder what it will take for all of us little people around the world to find a way to become less dependent on this black gold. When will we say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH??? Are we really that addicted to oil? Of course we are and we all know it. Our First Family reminds us of this frequently. Last year in his SOTUA Mr. Bush declared that: "America is addicted to oil" and vowed to push for alternative energy sources allowing the United States to replace three-quarters of the petroleum now imported from the Middle East by 2025. Presenting his agenda for his sixth year in office, he also vowed to steer more money to scientific research and education while working to reduce health care costs.
Lady Laura also pops up on occasion to remind us of our addition.

How does one overcome an addiction? Well, first one has to be willing to acknowledge this addiction and then secondly, be willing to do something about it -- right? O.K. -- I'll start: "Hi, my name is Jersey Cynic, and I'm addicted to oil" -- WHO'S NEXT.....?

All righty -- I heard you all loud and clear! We're all on the same page here. Now, together we work really hard to find solutions. Right? Hmmmmm....let's see.

Well, the first problem is how do we get to work? We need to constantly fill up the tank to drive umteen miles away because we really fucked up everything with that whole urban sprawl set up and now "We're literally stuck up a cul-de-sac in a cement SUV without a fill-up" - James Howard Kunstler from The End of Suburbia -- HUGE PROBLEM. Does that mean we give up? I'm willing to cut back as I am sure many people are (or are forced to) also. I'm sure there are companies and individual entrepreneurs out there tyring to find alternatives. I just don't know anyone personally involved in this field to get a handle on how much effort is being put forth. Does anyone know anyone who does this for a living? I would think that by now, all of us would know plenty of people employed in this effort, since Mr. Bush has promised to push for alternative energy sources. I guess I just don't get out enough.

Another HUGE PROBLEM is that practically everything we own is made of plastic. How are plastics made? This is a very interesting read.
Did you know "The first synthetic plastic was made from the plant material cellulose. In 1869, John Wesley Hyatt, an American printer and inventor, found that cellulose nitrate could be used as an inexpensive substitute for ivory. The mixture could be plasticized with the addition of camphor. Celluloid, as this new material was called, became the only plastic of commercial importance for 30 years. It was used for eyeglass frames, combs, billiard balls, shirt collars, buttons, dentures, and photographic film."

In 1951, two young research chemists for Phillips Petroleum Company in Bartlesville, Okla., made discoveries that revolutionized the plastics world.......you know the rest.

And the other HUGE PROBLEM is that we use lots of oil to keep warm in our homes, and to heat our water, etc...... I don't know about you, but I haven't come across too many local solar panel shops in my area so I can convert.

So, what will it take to REALLY get us to say "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore?" I am an addict. I am crying out for help. I want to quit, but it seems impossible. Oh sure, where there's a will there's a way, blah blah blah, but the odds are really stacked against us here to succeed. Very frustrating - eh?

So, who are these "drug-lords" keeping this addiction so epidemic across the globe? Well, I found them. After spending the last few days exploring this fantasyland called "Dubai" -- you know -- the place where Halliburton is moving its headquarters -- everyone on the face of this planet should be screaming that phrase out their front doors at this very moment.

THESE DRUG-LORDS ARE TODAY'S so-called CAPITALISTS

Maybe when this new book by Mike Davis, et al, comes out in July, the word will get out and piss enough people off to finally say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

"Evil Paradises" is a global guidebook to phantasmagoric but real places—alternate realities being constructed as "utopias" in a capitalist era unfettered by unions and state regulation. These developments—in cities, deserts, and in the middle of the sea—are worlds where consumption and inequality surpass our worst nightmares.

From Amazon:

"Davis and Monk have assembled an extraordinary group of urbanists, architects, historians, and visionary thinkers to reflect upon the trajectory of a civilization whose deepest ethos seems to be to consume all the resources of the earth within a single lifetime."

If you would like to get a jump on the book, TomDispatch ran an article about it back in 2005:
Tomgram: Mike Davis on a Paradise Built on Oil It's an eye-opening read (and has lots of pretty pictures!):

"Moreover, Dubai can count on the peak-oil epoch to cover the costs of these hyperboles. Each time you spent $40 to fill your tank, you are helping to irrigate Sheik Mo's oasis.

Today, Dubai's security is guaranteed by the American nuclear super-carriers usually berthed at the port of Jebel Ali. Indeed, the city-state aggressively promotes itself as the ultimate elite "Green Zone" in an increasingly turbulent and dangerous region.

Sheikh Mo, who fancies himself a prophet of modernization, likes to impress visitors with clever proverbs and heavy aphorisms. A favorite: "Anyone who does not attempt to change the future will stay a captive of the past."

Yet the future that he is building in Dubai -- to the applause of billionaires and transnational corporations everywhere -- looks like nothing so much as a nightmare of the past: Walt Disney meets Albert Speer on the shores of Araby."

(Mo pictures here and here)

I won't even get into the contract laborers, "legally bound to a single employer and subject to totalitarian social controls, that make up the great mass of the population. Dubai lifestyles are attended by vast numbers of Filipina, Sri Lankan, and Indian maids, while the building boom is carried on the shoulders of an army of poorly paid Pakistanis and Indians working twelve-hour shifts, six and half days a week, in the blast-furnace desert heat. Human Rights Watch in 2003 accused the Emirates of building prosperity on "forced labor." Indeed, as the British Independent recently emphasized in an exposé on Dubai, "The labour market closely resembles the old indentured labour system brought to Dubai by its former colonial master, the British."

"Like their impoverished forefathers," the paper continued, "today's Asian workers are forced to sign themselves into virtual slavery for years when they arrive in the United Arab Emirates. Their rights disappear at the airport where recruitment agents confiscate their passports and visas to control them"

Oh just wait til you read of all the other atrocities these slaves endure....... (3 year olds forced to be camel jockeys -- UFB)


Newleftreview did a quite an extensive review also:
FEAR AND MONEY IN DUBAI:

"Dubai’s philosopher-king (one of the huge offshore island projects will actually spell out an epigram of his in Arabic script) --
Viewed from space, 1060 Water Homes at The Palm, Jebel Ali, will read: ‘Take wisdom from the wise people. Not everyone who rides is a jockey.’

He (Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum/aka Sheikh Mo) is well aware that fear is also the most dynamic component of the oil revenues that turn his sand dunes into malls and skyscrapers. Every time insurgents blow up a pipeline in the Niger Delta, a martyr drives his truck bomb into a Riyadh housing complex, or Washington and Tel Aviv rattle their sabres at Tehran, the price of oil (and thus Dubai’s ultimate income) increases by some increment of anxiety in the all-important futures market. The Gulf economies, in other words, are now capitalized not just on oil production, but also on the fear of its disruption."

"According to a recent survey of experts by Business Week, ‘the world paid the Persian Gulf oil states an extra $120 billion or so last year because of the premium in prices due to fear of unexpected supply disruptions. Some cynics argue that oil producers welcome the fear of disruption because it boosts their revenues’. ‘Fear’, according to one of the senior energy analysts that the magazine consulted, ‘is a gift to oil producers’."


So, will "we the people" stand up and SCREAM (i.e., maybe stage a world-wide "stay home for a week" kind of protest) or do what most American's do best, say screw it -- "I'm going to Disney -- I mean DUBAI" for the week.

If it's the vaca, well, heads up -- you had better start planning WAAAAAY ahead:
PASSPORTS ARE BEING DELAYED BY A BACKLOG OF APPLICATIONS


crossposted at BigBrassBlog

Spring Sprung?

Other news

If you're sleeping in separate bedrooms, you're not abnormal. (whew)

The Brain on the Stand excerpt: "To suggest that criminals could be excused because their brains made them do it seems to imply that anyone whose brain isn’t functioning properly could be absolved of responsibility. But should judges and juries really be in the business of defining the normal or properly working brain? And since all behavior is caused by our brains, wouldn’t this mean all behavior could potentially be excused?" Not to mention that the jury and judges brains ought to be checked out too before they render a verdict.

Got Religion? Boston University professor, Steve Prothero's new book, "Religious Literacy," argues that Americans are woefully ignorant about religion- Not only their religion, but everyone else's religion too. Not surprising.

Take the Religious Literary Test at Newsweek to see just how literate you are. I imagine most of you will get 100% like I did because you just cannot be an agnostic or atheist if you don't know all about religion in the first place. Sort of explains why those of "faith" don't know what the hell they're talking about.

Really good article about the evolution revolution: Beyond Stones & Bones
Paleoanthropologists have shed light on even more branches of ancient human ancestors through DNA testing. Move over fossils and bones.

I used to watch Soul Train in the 70's. It's still on. I did not know that. Only 8 of the 10 winners in the Soul Train Music Awards competitive categories showed up. You bastards. Get with the program.

Understanding what's going on in Pakistan. Interesting.

And what was life really like in ancient America's?

Oops! Huge Distant Galaxy Actually Small and Close NGC 5011C

Why won't this Dick keel over and die already?

HFS. The truth about Blackwater.

Screw resignation, Gonzales ought to be fired.

What stories have you been following? Share links in the comments.

And speaking of bad guys

You know that Halliburton moved to Dubai, don't you? I wonder what the folks in Houston must be thinking- "Hey, I thought WE were the world's energy capital!"

Halliburton made $2.3 billion in profits last year no-bid contracts, no less, so by moving to Dubai, they won't have to pay taxes to the mouth that feeds them.

According to Think Progress:

House Government Oversight Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) said he will soon hold a hearing on the matter to “understand the ramifications for the U.S. taxpayer and national security.” One lobbyist said, “If there’s a huge tax shift, then it’s taking money from U.S. taxpayers while they’re taking no-bid contracts.”

Reacting to Halliburton’s announcement, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) told ABC News it was “an insult to the U.S. soldiers and taxpayers.”

Wow, someone was paying attention on a Sunday.
Stay tuned.

Related: US tourism is down 17% since 2001.

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

PS. Here's the "secret"-

"Bye Bye Miss American Pie
Drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry
And good old boys were drinking whiskey and rye
Singin' "this will be the day that I die. This will be the day that I die."

Know Your Bad Guy

Despite what the Bushistas try to tell you.

While we're mostly hearing on the news that there might be a war with Iran because of the Shi'ite insurgents in Iraq who kill roughly 8% of our troops, you rarely hear a peep from commentators on the news about the Arab backed Sunni's who kill 92% of our troops and most of the innocent Iraqi victims of the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Take yesterday for instance. According to the NY Times:

In New Tactic, Militants Burn Houses in Iraq

BAGHDAD, March 11 — Sunni militants burned homes in a mixed city northeast of Baghdad on Saturday and Sunday, forcing dozens of families to flee and raising the specter of a new intimidation tactic in Iraq’s evolving civil war, Iraqi officials and witnesses said.

Militants also continued their campaign against Shiite pilgrims on Sunday, striking as the pilgrims returned home from the southern city of Karbala after observances there for the Arbaeen holiday over the weekend. The worst attack, a car bombing, killed at least 19 people in Baghdad as they were riding home from the south in a pickup truck.

Attackers burned both Sunni and Shiite homes in a neighborhood of Muqdadiya, a city of about 200,000 in Diyala Province, about 60 miles from Baghdad. There were differing reports about how many houses were affected. A security official in Diyala said that at least 30 houses were completely burned, including occupied and abandoned buildings, while a Sunni Arab politician from the area said that only six houses were destroyed. Some witnesses said as many as 100 houses were set on fire.

Victims from both sects blamed the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella organization for Sunni extremists that has taken over several other towns in the area. Residents said the group had recently demanded money, weapons and oaths of support from the local populace...

I sound like a broken record, but there will be a test.

"The Secret" to hapiness (Psst....it's 20 grand a year)

From ScientificAmerica

Imagine you have a choice between earning $50,000 a year while other people make $25,000 or earning $100,000 a year while other people get $250,000. Prices of goods and services are the same. Which would you prefer? Surprisingly, studies show that the majority of people select the first option. As H. L. Mencken is said to have quipped, "A wealthy man is one who earns $100 a year more than his wife's sister's husband."

This seemingly illogical preference is just one of the puzzles that science is trying to solve about why happiness can be so elusive in today's world. Several recent books by researchers address the topic, but my skeptic's eye found a historian's long-view analysis to be ultimately the most enlightening.

Consider a paradox outlined by London School of Economics economist Richard Lay­ard in Happiness (Penguin, 2005), in which he shows that we are no happier even though average incomes have more than doubled since 1950 and "we have more food, more clothes, more cars, bigger houses, more central heating, more foreign holidays, a shorter working week, nicer work and, above all, better health." Once average annual income is above $20,000 a head, higher pay brings no greater happiness. Why? One, our genes account for roughly half of our predisposition to be happy or unhappy, and two, our wants are relative to what other people have, not to some absolute measure.

Here is the rest of the article:(Can't Get No) Satisfaction

Now, this brings me to the recent craze over the new self-help book "The Secret" which is spreading like wild fire thanks to Oprah.

Oprah Oprah Oprah......you've accomplished so much. You're our "national treasure". You've done an incredible amount of good. You have the power to influence the lives of millions. I remember thinking not too long ago -- "Imagine what the world would be like if Oprah were in charge...."

(I don't know why, but Newton's 3 laws of motion just came into my mind here, especially the 3rd law:

Whenever A exerts a force on B, B simultaneously exerts a force on A with the same magnitude in the opposite direction. The strong form of the law further postulates that these two forces act along the same line.)

Anywho, her belief in "The Secret" explains a lot about what we frequently talk about here at Blondesense: THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY ARE IN TOTAL DENIAL.

And after reading the following two commentaries, I've come to realize that Oprah probably IS in charge, but we just don't know it.

Both of these authors have a bone to pick with her and I give each an A+ for persuasive writing.

Chris Floyd TOTALLY rips her a new one in
The Story of O: An Empty Spot in the Middle of American Culture. Most of his article is in reference to Peter Birkenhead's essay over at Salon - "Oprah's ugly secret" (By continuing to hawk "The Secret," a mishmash of offensive self-help cliches, Oprah Winfrey is squandering her goodwill and influence, and preaching to the world that mammon is queen.)

And Ingrid Hansen Smythe is most eloquent in her review from The Skeptic:
The Secret Behind the Secret. She cites examples of (Ask — Believe — Receive) vs. (Idea-Action-Results).

And lil 'ol me thinks that the ScientificAmerica article says it all:

"Much of our happiness depends on projecting what will make us happy (instead of what actually does), Happiness is better equated with satisfaction than pleasure, "because the pursuit of pleasure lands us on a never-ending hedonic treadmill that paradoxically leads to misery. "Satisfaction is an emotion that captures the uniquely human need to impart meaning to one's activities,"

"Satisfaction can arise only by the conscious decision to do something. And this makes all the difference in the world, because it is only your own actions for which you may take responsibility and credit."

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I don't have diddly squat
It's not having what you want
It's wanting what you've got

I'm gonna soak up the sun(great video)
While it's still free
I'm gonna soak up the sun
Before it goes out on me

Gonna tell everyone
To lighten up


crossposted at BigBrassBlog

Walter Reed squalor linked to private contractors

and to a Halliburton subsidiary connected to the bush administration.

Surprise surprise

Meanwhile, Army Secretary Francis Harvey, who resigned over the fiasco and then blamed NCO's for the squalor, was given a lavish farewell. And I mean lavish. I suspect he will be getting the coveted presidential medal of honor one of these days.

Time Travel Impossible?

Some scientists say that you cannot travel back in time.
It is argued that because the fabric of space-time is 4 dimensional instead of 3 dimensional, mathematically you cannot go backwards.

Is HG Wells rolling in his grave?
Discuss

Sunday Fun

How stupid are you? Take the quiz here and find out.

Pay close attention to the questions, some of them are a bit tricky. Our friend Mimus Pauly at Mockingbird's Medley should appreciate some of these; he's been on a bit of a role with the trick questions lately.

Thanks to Erudite Redneck for the fun.

The Week in Review with Dizzifying Spin

The Pentagon is having trouble finding fresh young blood to send to war. Perhaps Zell "what the fuck is a 'zell'?" Miller was right (scroll down 2 posts to "Zell Miller, Idiot Extraordinaire"). All those aborted babies should have lived fulfilling lives as folly fodder in Iraq, then Iran, then Syria, then Pakistan, N. Korea, Saudi Arabia and then on to the whole world.

Iraq called on its neighbors to help end the violence in Iraq.

So "Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, addressing a meeting at which U.S. officials sat down with adversaries from Iran and Syria, urged Iraq's regional rivals on Saturday to stop supporting insurgents in the country." (The US didn't speak directly with the enemy- Syria and Iran- although they actually sat at the same table.)

He said, He said:
Iran said that the US was fomenting violence in Iraq and should withdraw troops. The US denied that its presence is fomenting violence and that Iran and Syria are fomenting violence in Iraq. Iran and Syria denied the charges. Bush of course wants to add more troops. The story goes on to 'splain more...

"Iran is a key ally of the Shi'ite majority in Iraq, while Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Arab states have been traditional allies of the Sunni minority.

Khalilzad urged Iraq's neighbours to do more to stop the flow of fighters, weapons and sectarian propaganda contributing to the violence, saying the future of Iraq and the Middle East was the defining issue of the moment."

As you know, the Shi'ite insurgents supposedly fueled by Iran and Syria are responsible for 8% of the killings of US troops. Meanwhile, truckloads of goodies and money is sent to Sunni insurgents in Iraq from inside Saudi Arabia. This accounts for about 92% of the deaths of US troops in Iraq and heaven only knows how much other death and destruction they have wrought.

The Arab funded Sunni insurgents kill way more US troops than Iranian funded insurgents. Al Qaeda is in Iraq now. They are Sunni's too. Why haven't I been reading about the planned invasion and occupation of Saudi Arabia? Oh that's right, bush ordered US troops out of Saudi Arabia at Osama bin Laden's request. And you thought that we didn't negotiate with terrorists.

So why does the US support al Qaeda? I am still mad at al Qaeda for 9/11.

On another, but related note since we're speaking of cannon fodder- Most likely if you have made atomic bombs in your lifetime, you are having some health issues now. You may even have joined one of those mega-churches because you've gone bonkers out there in Colorado. Your government would like to thank you for making WMD's and risking your life to make our great country safer by figuring out a way to screw you sideways and backwards. Your overall health is not included in the war budget unfortunately.

You really have to read this story about bomb makers. I really think that the christian thing to do (since this is a christian nation and all) is to take care of our ailing weapons makers who are suffering from the side effects of radiation (not that I am totally sympathetic to their plight because I don't think anyone was forced at gunpoint to make deadly weapons against their will- but I could be wrong) and how the gubmint looks the other way when they get sick. Have any of you had experience with this?

Another WTF moment in American family values

The xtian wrong is just so impressed with Newt Gingrich's faux admission of moral failings, his lack of marital fidelity and outright hypocrisy during the Clinton blowjob scandal, that Jerry Falwell has invited Newt to deliver the commencement address at Liberty University. Thank the Lord that the students will know that it's ok to cheat on your spouses and point fingers at other cheaters, just as long as you admit to it (if someone asks you while you're under oath), because you will be forgiven (if you are a Republican, of course).

Falwell compares his forgiveness of Gingrich to Ronald Reagan:

"I well remember the challenge we evangelicals faced in 1980 when our candidate, Ronald Reagan, was the first presidential candidate who had gone through a divorce. We wisely made allowance for God's forgiveness and America was the beneficiary of this historic champion," Falwell added.

Hallelujah. Reagan was indeed a godsend.

Oh man, Obligatory Friday Sex Post (late)

I wasn't around the puter yesterday and I missed this!


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UPDATE: Reader ROF sent this ad to me today.

Zell Miller, Idiot Extraordinaire

Zell to Women: Stop aborting your babies; the country needs more cannon fodder. Oh, and it would solve our immigration and social security problems, too.

Must be seen to be believed.

By the way, I didn't know the Bible mentioned embryonic stem cells. Learn something new every day.

H/T to Bitch PhD.

And this week's Darwin Award Goes To This Man:

FYI: The Darwin Awards salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who inadvertently remove themselves from it.

Man Burns Genitals in 'Jackass' Stunt

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Attempts to do a movie stunt landed one man in the hospital with burned genitals and another facing criminal charges. The men were trying to do a stunt from one of the "Jackass" movies, in which a character lights his genitals on fire.

Jared W. Anderson, 20, suffered serious burns to his hands and genitals, according to the criminal complaint. Randell D. Peterson, 43, who sprayed lighter fluid on Anderson and lit him on fire, was charged with felony battery and first-degree reckless endangerment Tuesday in Eau Claire County Court.

Witnesses told police that Anderson, who was drunk, volunteered to do the stunt Sunday after watching the movie, the complaint said.

According to the complaint:

Anderson pulled down his pants and let Peterson spray him with lighter fluid. When the fire didn't catch, Peterson sprayed more lighter fluid on Anderson, splashing some on his clothing. He tried again to light the fire, catching Anderson's genitals, hands and clothes.

Anderson ran into the bathroom, jumped into the tub and put the flames out. Other guests took him to Luther Hospital, and eventually he was treated at the Regions Hospital Burn Unit in St. Paul, Minn., for second-degree burns.

Anderson told police who were called to the hospital that he didn't want anyone to get in trouble because of the stunt.

Peterson was freed on a $2,000 signature bond. He has a hearing scheduled April 16. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison.

Focus on your own fucking family

I got the idea from Saborlas in the comments of the post below titled, "Waaaaah". I'll probably leave the "fucking" part out because we don't want anyone to be shocked by the vulgarity while they are driving on the highway on life, but then again, "fucking" seems to be at the root of everything that bugs the Xtian Wrong. They talk about it so much that it makes them want to fuck, or at least have a big old congressional circle jerk (Starr Report). I have never come across a group more publicly focused on fucking than the neo-con republicans. Their motto should be, Focus On Fucking- Vote GOP.

"There were times when I was praying and when I felt I was doing things that were wrong. But I was still doing them," NEWT GINGRICH said in the interview. "I look back on those as periods of weakness and periods that I'm ... not proud of."

Obsession
You know how when you try to give up something, like chocolate or cigarettes, that you obsess over it?

That's the problem with the GOP. Whenever they start condemning something on moral grounds, you can rest assured that they are actively involved in it. THEY must be the cheating, fucking, perverted, lying, porn loving, serial monogamist, sodomistic, animal fucking, immoral, closeted gay, sex toy using, atheistic, pedophile, abortionists that they all seem to know so much about. Sheesh. Get over yourselves, conservatives. You're grossing me out.

Oh my god, where was I?

Newt Gingrich Admits He's Was Cheating During the Lewinsky Scandal
The AP reports today that Newt Gingrich admitted to having an extra-marital affair while he led the charge against Clinton in the Lewinsky affair. He was being interviewed by Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. eewwwww that guy ought to be investigated.


It was Clinton's lying that hurt Newt's sensibilities, not the sex.
Newty claims that it really wasn't hypocritical of him at the time because the president LIED when he was asked about his sex life. It's the 'lying that stirred up the whole frenzy, as you may recall. And every man knows that another man will always deny the allegations, so it was an easy way to get Clinton in trouble. And unfortunately there are always bimbos at the ready to do the dirty work for a price- either money or fame or both.

How many millions did they waste investigating the famed blow job? Do you see the oh so moral GOP investigating the Bush lies that killed thousands upon thousands of innocent people? noooooooo. Reminds me of this bumpersticker: "Would someone PLEASE give bush a blowjob?" or this one, "Clinton Lied- No One Died."

Playing the God Card
Here's Newty 'splainin' himself to Dobson: "There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards. There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards.""

Oh puhlease, leave poor God out of this (these christianistas have set God back 5000 years)-- just like every other man, there are times when Newton couldn't keep his schlong in his pants- like it's some secret that men are weak when it comes to objects of their sexual desire, be it other men, women or animals. He was simply a schmuck who was so focused on Clinton's sex life for political gain that it made him horny and jealous- Newty ended up divorcing his second wife and marrying a woman 20 years younger. Probably just to show Bill that he could get a young'n too. Just for the record, Newty divorced his first wife in 1981 while she was in the hospital recovering from cancer surgery.

Newt says that he may run for president. He ought to wait to see how Rudy fares in the race because Rudy was rather brazen with his affairs (scroll down to "personal life") for all the world to see. His kids don't even speak to him. Nice family there, Rudy. I'm still waiting for the truth about Rudy's Nazi tactics as mayor to make it to the front pages.

It Ain't Quite Friday, But I'm Starting The Weekend A Little Early.

NEW YORK -- A public school teacher was arrested today at John F. Kennedy International Airport as he attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a protractor, a set square, a slide rule and a calculator.

At a morning press conference, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said he believes the man is a member of the notorious Al-gebra movement. He did not identify the man, who has been charged by the FBI with carrying weapons of math instruction. "Al-gebra is a problem for us," Gonzales said. "They desire solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on tangents in search of absolute values. They use secret code names like 'x' and 'y ' and refer to themselves as 'unknowns', but we have determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval with coordinates in every country. As the Greek philanderer Isosceles used to say, 'There are 3 sides to every triangle'."

When asked to comment on the arrest, President Bush said, "If God had wanted us to have better weapons of math instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes."

White House aides told reporters they could not recall a more intelligent or profound statement by the president.

(Thanks, Marilyn)

Bill Gates seems to be tubing down that river in Egypt...

Did you hear about Bill Gates' "closed door" address in Washington yesterday -- he told Congress on Wednesday that overhauls of the nation's schools and immigration laws are urgently needed to keep jobs from going overseas. "The U.S. cannot maintain its economic leadership unless our work force consists of people who have the knowledge and skills needed to drive innovation," Gates told the Senate committee that oversees labor and education issues.

Here's the HuffPo story

Gates said the nation's economy depends on keeping the country's borders open to highly skilled workers, especially those with a science or engineering background. Federal law provides 65,000 H1-B visas for scientists, engineers, computer programmers and other professionals every budget year. High-tech and other employers say that's not enough.

"Even though it may not be realistic, I don't think there should be any limit," Gates said, adding that Microsoft hasn't been able to fill approximately 3,000 technical jobs in the United States because of a shortage of skilled workers.

Well, this little comment is getting quite a bit of commentary at the moment. OooooNoooooo! Mr. Bill is getting the beating of his Life...

Here is the link to the comments at huffpo

Around page 3 of the beating I came across a FANTASTIC blog called Losing the war on humor She has two great posts up on "Mr. Gates goes to Washington". The first post is Does Bill Gates Own Washington? and the second one is Bill Gates Can't Get Enough Burnt Fries: McKennedy Bill Will Destroy Our McJobs Both are great reads and explain a lot about what is going on.

Here are some samplings of the huffpo comments:

Even skilled workers from India know that Bill Gates is full of crap when he says that there is a shortage of high-tech workers in the US. Read this editorial from the India Daily newspaperIt is time for Bush, Democrats and Republicans to stop H1B visas, illegal immigration, outsourcing and exploitation of graduate foreign students in Universities

65,000 of the best, high paying, jobs are being handed out to foreigners EACH year with the approval and blessing of our government. Apparently, this is not enough for Gates. If corporations like Microsoft would pay their fair share of taxes, we certainly could have the best schools and teachers in the world. What Microsoft wants is skilled employees, on the cheap, without paying a fair salary or a fair corporate tax to develop the US citizens that can capably fill these jobs. Pa. Senator Arlen Specter was particularly ruthless in passing through committee the 65 ,000 H1-B visa quota that is now law.... Specter is not a representative of the people but merely a corporate tool!
By: keystone on March 08, 2007 at 12:02am

Gates is on one hand a philanthropist of historic proportions, yet remains a self serving gluttonous tycoon who craves profit above all. In my mind he needs to give much more away to even the score.

As you read this there are probably at least 3000 American workers in Seattle who cannot find work because they have homes and families and expenses based on living in the USA. Those needs mean they need a higher base salary than those foreign workers. They are likely older, with family, maybe a house and all the overhead that goes with that situation. Gates could hire them, but they are maybe 40% more expensive. How high are those Microsoft profits again? Could they withstand maybe three million in additional salary (a high estimate) for the 3000 workers? Of course they could.

The foreign workers who come in are young, mostly single and often live together in two and three bedroom apartments. They make about half of what their American competitors need t o make ends meet and better still, they don't get health care since they are temporary workers.

That technically skilled American worker is being punished for needing the very things needed to sustain the American dream that helped create Gates' fortune.

Bill Gates should be ashamed of himself for these comments.
By: jakeflip on March 08, 2007 at 12:12am

Any Americans going to college for engineering or other tech fields are being silly. Its a waste of time and money.

Of course, if technical study in college is a stepping stone for an MBA or something else later, then that is fine.

But if you think...you or your kids can be an engineer for the rest of their life... You are nuts. Well.. There would always be a few who would manage that. But for the most part... they would be unemployed or underemployed. These are all very easily outsourceabe skill sets.

Thats the truth!

Look at medical field.. The AMA. This is actually a Union for doctors..they control supply. The AMA gets to decide how many medical schools in this country can be opened. They basically control Supply. They are the most powerful union in this country. Another reason why healthcare is expensive. But atleast they have a nice scam going. There is no such luck for the techies..I am afraid.
By: Manni on March 08, 2007 at 12:05am

The H-1B Visa program is simply being used by Corporate America to layoff American white collar profressionals and replace them with cheap foreign labor from India and China. This is why wages for the Middle Class in America are stagnant and not keeping up with the rate of inlfation.

The US should end the H-1B Visa program, repeal the 1965 Immigration Act, and make illegal immigrants return to their home countries and wait on line there to apply for US citizenship. If the US did those three things wages for the Poor, Working Class, and Middle Class families would start to outpace inflation. But, if Congress passes Comprehensive Immigration Reform and expands the H-1B Visa program the US will become a Balkanized low-wage nation. Corporate America has flooded Washington with lobbyists to make them pass Comprehensive Immigration Reform and expand the H-1B Visa program. I encourage anyone who is against these things to contact their Congressional representative a nd let them know.
By: BigMouthStrikesAgain on March 07, 2007 at 10:54pm

And Microsloth is not the only one doing this?

Globalization is anti-American and has NOTHING to do with U.S. employee skill sets. It has to do with greed and profit and keeping investors in the over-bloated stock markets happy.
By: getoffmedz on March 08, 2007 at 12:12am

Why? Because the education system isn't keeping up with those of other countries. Pathetic.

We have far more resources than any other country, yet we squander them on war and subsidies for companies like Exxon, who are making record profits in the tens of billions AND giving retirement packages in the hundreds of millions. Can't we find more than 40 billion for education? It's sad.
By: bamboozled on March 08, 2007 at 04:00am

I have sent this to http://help.senate.gov/,... you should all do the same:

Dear Committee Members,

As a founder of Symantec and Visicorp and a critical contributor to networking technology in personal computers, I can assure you that Bill Gates does not know the slightest thing about how to foster innovation. His motives are strictly self serving. He in fact, by pushing previous and the current administration to raise limits on H1B visas, has been instrumental in creating the problem he now bemoans.

According to the EEE, fewer than 35% of working engineers currently recommend engineering to their children as a profession. Many schools are closing technical specialty degree programs for lack of interest. Unemployment, in their credentialed profession, among engineers is on the order of 18%. Yet Bill Gates can't find anyone to fill 3,000 jobs. This is a lie, by omission of his expectations of salary to s kill ratio, but still a lie.

With all due respect, you should be talking to an engineer if you need to hear testimony on how America should proceed with the challenges of innovation in this century, you should be talking to me and not a man of such conflicted interests as Bill Gates.

Respectfully,

Stephen Herrington
Everett, WA
------------------------------------------------

I'm sure this will get many more comments and be covered well in the blogs. Let's hope the MSM will start a much needed discussion on this. I have not heard one talking head discussing the pathetic condition of our education system in the US. I hope this makes it over to Lou Dobbs. Can't wait to hear his reaction to this.

Here is a great post about No Child Left Behind from Liberal Politics -- Pros & Cons of the No Child Left Behind Act Did you know that:

"NCLB was partially based on education reform strategies instituted by President Bush during his tenure as Texas governor. Those Texas education reforms were reputed to result in improved standardized test scores. Subsequent inquiry revealed test-rigging by some educators and administrators."

AND --

Opponents of NCLB, which includes all major teachers' unions, allege that the Act hasn't been effective in improving education in elementary, middle and especially high schools as evidenced by mixed results in standardized tests since NCLB's 2002 inception.

AND --

Opponents also claim that standardized testing, which is the heart of NCLB accountability, is deeply flawed and biased for many reasons, and that stricter teacher qualifications have exacerbated the nationwide teacher shortage, not provided a stronger teaching force.

AND --

Teachers and parents charge that NCLB encourages, and rewards, teaching children to score well on the test, rather than teaching with a primary goal of learning. As a result, teachers are pressured to teach a narrow set of test-taking skills and a test-limited range of knowledge.


AND -- AND -------"One of the principal authors of NCLB was Margaret Spellings, who was nominated to Secretary of Education in late 2004.

Spellings, who holds a B.A. in political science from University of Houston, was the political director for Bush's first gubernatorial campaign in 1994, and later served as a senior advisor to Texas Gov. Bush during his term as 1995 to 2000.

Before her association with George W. Bush, Spellings worked on an education reform commission under Texas Governor William P. Clements and as associate executive director for the Texas Association of School Boards. Prior to her nomination to be Education Secretary, Margaret Spellings worked for the Bush Administration as Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy.

Margaret Spellings has never worked in a school system, and has no formal training in education. She is married to Robert Spellings, former Chief of Staff to the Speaker of the Texas House, now a prominent attorney in Austin, Texas and Washington D.C., who has actively lobbied for the adoption of school vouchers."

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Where it Stands
There's little doubt that the No Child Left Behind Act will be reauthorized by Congress in 2007. The open question is: How will Congress change the Act?

Mr. Gates - YES we need your efforts and concerns about education to be directed to Congress. BUT --Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. When you read you begin with ABC............


Why don't you start by asking congress how they will change this NCLB act.

Mothers, Don't Let Your Daughters Grow Up To Be Soldiers

Lower ranking females soldiers in Iraq have to worry about more than insurgents. They have to worry about being raped by the men on their side. "The danger of rape by other soldiers is so widely recognized in Iraq that their officers routinely told them not to go to the latrines or showers without another woman for protection," says Helen Benedict, who is writing a book on the female veterans of the war on Iraq, in a Salon article, The private war of women soldiers

Sexual assault is so bad in the military, 3 women died from dehydration in Iraq for refusing to drink liquids late in the day for fear of being assaulted by male American soldiers on their way to the latrine. When the DOD attempted to do something about it, they just warned women on how to avoid being assaulted while trying to do their jobs rather than teaching men to not rape. It really makes you wonder just what kind of men join the military and it really makes you wonder if the military is providing substitutes for the lack of prostitutes in Iraq by sending women into combat.

"Spranger and several other women told me the military climate is so severe on whistle-blowers that even they regarded the women who reported rape as incapable traitors. You have to handle it on your own and shut up, is how they saw it. Only on their return home, with time and distance, did they become outraged at how much sexual persecution of women goes on."

Having the courage to report a rape is difficult enough for civilians, where unsympathetic police, victim-blaming myths, and simple fear prevent 59 percent of rapes from being reported, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice. But within the military, reporting is even more risky...

....
Some commanders not only turn a blind eye to assault and harassment but engage in it themselves, a phenomenon known in the military as "command rape." Because the military is hierarchical, and because soldiers are trained to obey and never question their superiors, men of rank can assault their juniors with impunity. In most cases, women soldiers are the juniors, 18 to 20 year old, and are new to the military and war, thus vulnerable to bullying and exploitation.

....
At the moment, the most shocking case of military sexual assault is that of Army Spc. Suzanne Swift, 21, who served in Iraq in 2004. Swift was coerced into sex by one commanding officer, which is legally defined as rape by the military, and harassed by two others before she finally broke rank and told. As a result, the other soldiers treated her like a traitor for months.

Unable to face returning to the assailant, she went AWOL during a leave at home, and was arrested and put in jail for desertion. At first the Army offered her a deal: It would reduce her punishment if Swift would sign a statement saying that she had never been raped. She refused, saying she wouldn't let the Army force her to lie.

The Army court-martialed Swift, and stripped her of her rank. She spent December in prison and was then sent to Fort Irwin in the Mojave Desert, far away from her family. She must stay in the Army for two more years, and may face redeployment. The men who assaulted her received nothing but reprimanding letters.

Mothers, Don't Let Your Daughters Grow Up To Be Soldiers

Now for the really shocking part of this story. Read the comments at Salon.

Waaaaaaaah

The "christian" "right" is very upset with the National Association of Evangelicals because they seem to have jumped the "liberal" climate change and global warming band-wagon. The so called "christian right" should not be confused with actual Christians- these are fascist political operatives.
According to the NY Times:

The conservative leaders say they are not convinced that global warming is human-induced or that human intervention can prevent it. And they accuse the director, the Rev. Richard Cizik, the association’s vice president for government affairs, of diverting the evangelical movement from what they deem more important issues, like abortion and homosexuality.

The letter underlines a struggle between established conservative Christian leaders, whose priority has long been sexual morality, and challengers who are pushing to expand the evangelical movement’s agenda to include issues like climate change and human rights.

“We have observed,” the letter says, “that Cizik and others are using the global warming controversy to shift the emphasis away from the great moral issues of our time.”

Wow Human Rights! A moral issue? Score one for the evangelicals. Who are these conservative fruitcakes?

The letter, dated Thursday, is signed by leaders like James C. Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family; Gary L. Bauer, once a Republican presidential candidate and now president of Coalitions for America; Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council; and Paul Weyrich, a longtime political strategist who is chairman of American Values.

Well no wonder. These guys bask in the profits made from the deliberately oppressed and downtrodden in America today, "Give us your money and Jesus will save you."

Personally, I am happy to read that evangelicals are separating themselves from the xtian wrong.

D -- E -- N -- I -- A -- L (It is NOT a river in Egypt)....

It is an unconscious defense mechanism used to reduce anxiety -- characterized by refusal to acknowledge painful realities, thoughts, or feelings.

From Bob Chapman'sThe International Forecaster:

"We are in a recession, a real recession and not only manufacturing is telling us that, but so are the credit and housing markets. We have been in recession for a year and few professionals and investors know it yet. Can they be that dumb? We do not think so. They are in denial. They do not want their money feast to end."

Read the rest here

From The "Well Isn't That A Coincidence" Department

I went to law school with the younger brother of one of the Libby jurors, the one that keeps getting all the attention from the press. I know him a just a little; I know his brothers better.

Suffice it to say, I'm very proud of him today.

The Big Weenie of the Week

Thanks to the All Spin Zone for turning me on to this juicy tidbit. Richard Blair warns us that the conservative wing of the GOP is again embracing porn stars and this one is gay. Move over Jeff Gannon.

According to Joe.My.God, the "11-inch uncut monster cock" once known as Rod Majors (NSFW) and Pierre LaBranche

"has been making the rounds on neo-conservative television shows as Marine Cpl. Matt Sanchez, a 36 year old Columbia University junior and USMC reservist who recently made the rounds of right-wing talk shows like O'Reilly Factor and Hannity & Colmes, where he received praise for coming forward and complaining about his treatment at the hands of Columbia's "radical anti-military students" who called him names and mocked his military service. Sanchez was then feted at the CPAC conference where Ann Coulter made her "faggot" remark. Sanchez wrote an op-ed piece on the Columbia experience for the NY Post and began a blog and MySpace page chronicling his media exposure."

Joe.My.God. also has a nice picture of Cpl Sanchez posing with Mann Coulter at the CPAC conference last week after she referred to John Edwards as a faggot. Oh irony of ironies.

Oh good heavens, I have nothing against gay men joining the military (if they must) or someone working in porn (if they must) to earn money for an ivy league education (if they must), but whining publicly about being called names by fellow students in your university because you joined the military at the height of a bogus war and then appearing on the biggest homophobic talk shows on television to whine further and then allow yourself to be feted by the CPAC group who would sooner have you crucified than glorified had they known who you really were is just the height of true weenie-hood... unless of course this is all a ruse and you are going to write a tell all book about which neo-cons came on to you or recognized you. Well in that case, more power to you.

Anybody else as UNsurprised?:

"U.S. says won't seek seat on U.N. rights council"

"The United States said on Tuesday it would not seek a seat on the new U.N. Human Rights Council, saying it was not a "credible" body.

"State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States would retain its observer status on the 47-member council, created last year over objections from the United States that rules were not strong enough to prevent rights violators from getting a seat."

That last statement is a real weeper. Methinks the real reason the U.S. won't seek a seat is there is the distinct possibility that they would be denied. The guys that vote on who gets admission probably take a dim view of countries that allow their army to beat, torture, rape, and murder prisoners of war.

Entire article at Yahoo News.

Guilty Guilty Guilty Guilty

Scooter Libby was found guilty on 4 out of 5 charges against him today. Read the Firedoglake blog for all the details.

UPDATE: The Spinmeisters are making me dizzy this morning as the news of Libby's verdict makes the rounds. The press has no shame.
Check out Media Matters CIA leak case "dishonor" roll for a list of prominent news organizations that chose to take the low road (Time Magazine, The Washington Post, ABC News, Fox News, the AP, to name a few.)

Sometimes I'm Just a Big Old Weenie Liberal Pussy

So I thought that this article was pretty interesting: Why Can't We Talk about Peace in Public?
In light of the upcoming presidential elections, you may be seen as weak if you talk about ending a good old American invasion and occupation. Our economy is structured around high tech defense spending and depends on high tech defense to solve policy problems. Plus our troops enjoy it. Really? The comments were really interesting too.

And in weather news...

Scientists have proven that the weather is indeed worse on weekends.

A study of weather patterns conducted in Germany has revealed that Saturday's are colder and wetter than any other day. It turns out that there is not a grand universal conspiracy against your personal weekend plans. Researchers blame human beings for this because they drive cars all week and stir up dust pollution which blocks the sun and causes cloud formations. "Wednesdays have the highest average temperatures and Mondays are the driest. Saturdays were worst on both counts." While driving subsides on weekends, it makes for clearer skies early in the week, "The most blue sky is on Tuesdays while on Saturdays, clouds are always thicker and rainfall greater." There is no official response from conservatives who will most likely blame liberals for this phenomenon.

This seems to be the case on the eastern seaboard of the US especially (and don't I know it).

The findings have been supported by two professors at Arizona State University.
Randall Cerveny and Robert Bailing Jr discovered that, on America's eastern seaboard, it's 22 per cent more likely to rain on a Saturday than Monday. They found this was a side effect of air pollution from vehicles.

I would add that where I live, airplane contrails cloud up perfectly clear mornings when atmospheric conditions are ripe. This especially sucks on potential beach days.

PS. I don't know what happened to my global warming but the high temp here will be 21º today with wind gusts up to 37 mph and that is completely unacceptable. However it is very clear and sunny. feh. I'm afraid a tree will fall on me if I go out.

It Would Kill Any Normal Person, But Noooooo . . .

I'm sure it will take something more than this to bring the Big Dick down permanently.

As Liz noted in her post last week, he really is the Devil.

I always hated this guy

Newt Gingrich at CPAC:

"How can you have the mess we have in New Orleans, and not have had deep investigations of the federal government, the state government, the city government, and the failure of citizenship in the Ninth Ward, where 22,000 people were so uneducated and so unprepared, they literally couldn't get out of the way of a hurricane."

Takes one to know one, Newty.

In a related story since we're speaking of "uneducated and unprepared" people, the bush administration has no backup or Plan B for Iraq if the new "strategy" doesn't work.

During a White House meeting last week, a group of governors asked President Bush and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about their backup plan for Iraq. What would the administration do if its new strategy didn't work?

The conclusion they took away, the governors later said, was that there is no Plan B. "I'm a Marine," Pace told them, "and Marines don't talk about failure. They talk about victory."

Pace had a simple way of summarizing the administration's position, Gov. Phil Bredesen (D-Tenn.) recalled. "Plan B was to make Plan A work."

And they're real proud of their idiocy.

And speaking of idiots, Ann Coulter is not a woman. Coulter is a neocon caricature of their "ideal" woman that can only be played by a man. But I still liked Steven Weber's Date With Ann.

Darwin' God- Evolution and Religion

There is a fabulous article converning the athropological in Sunday's NY Times magazine by By Robin Marantz Henig. I reprinted it over at "Was Blind But Now I See" in case you don't have access to NYTimes.com.

I know that many of our readers are interested in the topic of science versus religion and many of us feel that religious beliefs have led to the almost downfall of civilization many times over. I really think that the article gives you lots of information to consider and discuss here.

The article tackles the question, "Are we hardwired to believe in God?" (without being a militant scientific atheist.) How did human beings evolve to become religious beings and what use does it serve? Does it preserve us as a species? Did belief in the supernatural at one time offer survival advantages to our ancestors but now it's just a useless remnant of evolution just as eating fatty foods was once a survival advantage but now is harmful to our health?

So many questions. So many theories. I used to be able to talk the talk about a transcendent God and explain that since we are hardwired with natural law and a desire to believe in that which we cannot see, no matter what part of the planet our people evolved in, that there was a reason to believe. There is compelling metaphysical evidence of existence outside of space and time, a spiritual existence. Alas, the more I learned about science, the harder it was for me to be sure in my mind that life on this planet is nothing but a fluke. Yet my heart wants to deny what my brain tells me. Those 'supernatural' experiences I have had over my lifetime haunt me. I cannot let them go. I want to have hope. Why do I have these experiences and not everyone? Am I just a really good guesser or am I intuitive? Am I sincerely crazy or do dead people contact me out of the blue? Is this fear of the unknown what makes us believe or is there a rememberence of existence before we became human?

I am more and more interested in what anthropologists are coming up with these days in regard to evolution and very glad that my son is going to be an anthropologist come this May. Between my advanced studies in theology (the study of god, not so much religion) and his studies in human beings on earth since the beginning of time including religion and evolution, or god and evolution , that we have some very interesting and enlightening discussions at the dinner table. I've forwarded this article to his email.

Currently my artwork is a study on the "blood cults" or "fairy tales" that we call religion. So far what I've come up with is that religion is all about pain. I am exploring if we (as a species) are simply looking for a way to repress our instincts to inflict pain on one another or are we seeking a way to express our pain on one another. There seems to be quite a duality at work here.

HEY - all you "Gordon Gekko's" out there - Don't forget to slip on a "Depends" before you put your pants on today!!!!

Gordon Gekko's GREED IS GOOD speech - 1987


We all remember Gordon Gekko

(Lots of new Depend styles to choose from!!)


see Peter's post below.....

World Markets Continue Tanking

Starting in Japan, markets fell 1.5% to 4.5% through the a.m. hours.

Naturally, everything's gonna be okay here....It is, isn't it? Why sure! Henry Paulson says so. Must be only them folks what hate America that think otherwise.

While you're at it, check out the Dark Wraith's latest rosy scenario. I think I'll go digging in my files for his advice on whether it's wiser to invest in Aldi's corned beef hash or roast beef hash. (Gold and silver are taking a nosedive too).

Sure a good thing everybody's going to be on the job this week. 'Cept for those of us taking a little southern trip. But not to worry; nothin' ever happens, even when Smegmabreath is out of town. Does it?

Political Joke

In the Old Soviet Union:
The Politburo in Kremlin sends this telegram to Yerevan (Republic of Armenia)
"Our Scientists have warned us about violent underground movements of magnitude Richter 8 in your area.
Please take action to assure the safety of your population"

One week passes; no answer

Two weeks go by; no answer

Three weeks pass; no answer

Finally in the fourth week a telegram is delivered to the Kremlin from Yerevan:

"Comrades, We took all necessary measures. Comrade Richter was apprehended together with all his 8 associates.
They were executed by firing squad three weeks ago, but we couldn't bring you the good news sooner, since we experienced a terrible earthquake here resulting in disruption of all communication lines."

Early modern marvels

Back to the future.
"Honeymoon Hat" 1956




See the rest of this ad from 1949 here.




Don't you hate it when you have to hit yourself with a hammer?




Write your own caption. 1940

Memo To All My Former Friends and Relatives...

(...who haven't spoken to me since early 2003 and that's okay because you exasperated me, and I know that you sneak peeks at my "far left" blog,)

Screw you.
I was right and you were wrong.

All the worst,
I told you so,
You are so stupid,
Nyah,

Lizzy

CHECK OUT THE LUNAR ECLIPSE TONIGHT -- hurry!!

Way Cool!

I guess killing humans isn't satisfying enough.

Extremist rabbis call for return of animal sacrifice

Hey Cons, Your Drag Queen is Ruining Your Image. Not.

Seriously folks, when you think about it, the conservatives are really some of the meanest, most hateful Americans- talk about hating your country and despising your countrymen, these folks take the cake. And do you want to talk about elitists? I never want to hear the words "elitist" and "liberal" in the same sentence after the reports from the Conservative Political Action Conference.

What really gets to me are the regular Americans who support these nasty people. They are no more than wannabees who couldn't join the "in crowd" in a million years. In case regular working Americans haven't noticed, lottery winners don't get invited to the Conservative Political Action Conference.

I'm not surprised that Ann Coulter's nasty comments about John Edwards being a "faggot" from the Conservative Political Action Conference aren't published all over the mass media today because the mass media is owned and operated by the wealthiest and most powerful in this country. They all laughed at her "joke" because she should know, being a gay comedian "her"self. Dick Cheney was there. I wonder if he laughed? John Edwards has come out swinging.

And wouldn't this be classified as "treason?"

At the Conservative Political Action Conference yesterday, right-wing activist and anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist urged conservatives not to work to accomplish anything in the current Congress.

“Get married, develop a hobby, learn to belly dance, learn to golf — you know, we got two years free, but we gotta spend time and effort playing defense here,” Norquist said. “Our job is to say ‘no, no, no, no’ for two years.”

Norquist predicted, “People are gonna go, ‘oh maybe this bill isn’t as bad as it looks.’” But he warned, ” Don’t eat it, don’t swallow it, don’t touch it. Nothing good passes this Congress.”

Why isn't this traitor in jail? The VP and many presidential candidates were at this conference listening to this babble. How can we find out if they agree with this Unamercian tirade? What can we do to ensure that he and his ilk commit suicide this year?

Speaking of traitors, who isn't a traitor in the whole Congress? Useless as usual. Just check out the headlines at HINESSIGHT.

Breaking War News

Switzerland has invaded Lichtenstein.

That is all.

A WOMAN'S POEM ~~~ Very sweet and sensative...

He didn't like the casserole
And he didn't like my cake.
He said my biscuits were too hard...
Not like his mother used to make.
I didn't perk the coffee right
He didn't like the stew,
I didn't mend his socks
The way his mother used to do.
I pondered for an answer
I was looking for a clue.
Then I turned around and
smacked the shit out of him...

Like his mother used to do.

This post is dedicated to Woof.

Ol' Woof and me are getting to be good buddies, primarily through the influence of my kitty Tiva, with whom I carry on conversations with daily. I read somewhere, probably at The Wave Series that most animals are psychic, a condition which reaches prodigious proportions among dolphins and whales, and that it's only humans which have devolved into using speech as a means of communication.

You can catch some of Woof's blogs over at The Big Brass Blog, where he sometimes goes by the name of "blackdog"--"blackdog" being the name of the human that Woof keeps around to supply him with food and entertainment. Ol' Woof has a typo now and then, but as he explained, "Whaddaya expect? I'm typing with paws instead of fingers."

Anyhow, in reflecting upon our companions in the animal world, I chanced to remember the saga of Tommy Turtle and Sam Clam.

They had been lifelong friends for many years, but age and the elements finally started getting to Tommy Turtle, so he bid a fond farewell to his buddy Sam, and slipped away one day to the Big Hatchery In The Sky. It was okay for a while, sitting around on a cloud and strumming on his harp, but finally he approached gatekeeper Peter and said, "Hey, you know; I'm getting kind of bored and I really miss my old friend Sam". Whereupon Peter said, "Why, didn't you know? You can go down and visit Sam any time you want. You have to be back by midnight though and you have to take your harp wherever you go."

"Huh", said Tommy, "how'm I supposed to explain carrying a harp around with me"?

"Easy", said Peter, "Sam's started up a discotheque and all you have to do is say you're a traveling musician looking for work. Minstrel Boy over at Harp and Sword says he gets a lotta work that way".

"A harp in a discotheque?, asked Tommy.

"Harp, banjo, bass guitar, they're all stringed instruments. Have a good time and be back by midnight."

Off went Tommy to Sam's discotheque, where a glorious reunion ensued, with much dancing and guzzling and merry-making--so much, in fact, that Tommy almost forgot the time. At a bare two minutes before midnight Tommy realized that he was going to have to really scurry to get back in the gates before the deadline. Rushing back towards the gates and confident that he was just going to make it, he was stopped by Peter, who demanded, "Hold it right there, hotshot. Where's your harp"?

And Tommy cried out in a loud voice with much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth,
"OH, NO! I LEFT MY HARP IN SAM CLAM'S DISCO!"

Obligatory Friday Sex Post

Should this person still masturbate to pictures of Anna Nicole Smith?

Q: Serious question: I have always had a thing for Anna Nicole Smith and frequently masturbated to her Playboy photos. I've always felt some guilt about masturbation to begin with, but since her death, I now feel a little creepy doing it. Do you think it's OK to continue now that she has passed away? —MISSING ANNA NICOLE

I know how I would answer, but how would YOU answer 'MISSING ANNA NICOLE'?

Here's the story in the Village Voice.

If it's not reported on Fox, then I guess it didn't happen

Wasn't it not reported that long ago (Tuesday, to be exact) "In the most definitive statement in years, America's top intelligence official said Tuesday [in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, mind you] Osama bin laden is in Pakistan actively re-establishing al Qaeda training camps."

Tony Snowjob told the White House Press Whore on Wednesday, that he doesn't know who's the head of al Qaeda. Doesn't Snowjob realize that people are writing down what he and the administration say on a day to day basis? Naturally the WH Press Whores didn't call him on it, but Think Progress did.

Speaking of Fox News: Rumor has it that Rick Santorum will become a Fox News contributor. Perfect job for him.

Today's News With Usual Spin

Would you be willing to pay more taxes in order to guarantee that all Americans had health insurance coverage? A recent poll says yes, the majority of Americans would support that.

Naturally, the opinions are split along party lines. Republicans think that private insurers would do a better job than the government. Perhaps yes, perhaps no. Why not have every Medicare for every American? (the private insurance lobby takes good care of our legislators.)

~~~~
Democrats want the troops out of Iraq within 6 months if "that country's leaders fail to meet promises to help reduce violence there." The legislation also would require Bush to seek congressional approval for any military operations in Iran. thank you

Read this: U.S. intel on nukes in doubt Seems that there are questions about the accuracy of the nuclear programs allegedly being sought by N. Korea and Iran. Well duh.

Phooey on The Bush Doctrine- "If we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long." He was just excited about war profiteering. Plus it's not his job to "keep America safe". He's supposed to uphold the US Constitution.

~~~~
The Walter Reed chief was fired- Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley fired Maj. Gen. George Weightman on March 1. Then Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo, called for Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley to be fired.

Meanwhile according to an independent commission, "The Pentagon is not adequately equipping the National Guard and has not adapted to the increasingly important security role it plays in the post-September 11 environment, an independent commission said in a report to Congress on Thursday."

EDUCATION REPORT CARD (not good)

From the US Chamber of Commerce:

Leaders and Laggards: A State-by-State Report Card on Educational Effectiveness


Overview:

The United States in the 21st century faces unprecedented economic and social challenges, ranging from the forces of global competition to the impending retirement of 77 million baby boomers. Succeeding in this new era will require our children to be prepared for the intellectual demands of the modern workplace and a far more complex society. Yet the evidence indicates that our country is not ready. Despite decades of reform efforts and many trillions of dollars in public investment, U.S. schools are not equipping our children with the skills and knowledge they-and the nation-so badly need.

Since "A Nation at Risk" was issued in 1983, education spending has steadily increased and rafts of well-intentioned school reforms have come and gone. But student achievement has remained stagnant, and our K-12 schools have stayed remarkably unchanged-preserving, as if in amber, the routines, culture, and operations of an obsolete 1930s manufacturing plant.

Here are the major findings:

The conclusion of this report card is unambiguous; the states need to do a far better job of monitoring and delivering quality schooling.

For starters, state education systems suffer from a severe information gap. The lack of reliable and available data on state performance is alarming and created serious challenges in evaluating results on a state-by-state basis.

As for educational quality, the states' current performance is unacceptable. While a number of states are engaged in promising efforts to build more innovative and accountable K-12 systems, there would have been far more Cs, Ds, and Fs had we not graded on a curve.

Although there are state success stories that others can and should emulate, our major findings include much that should concern policymakers, business leaders, and our fellow citizens.

Conclusions:

Any effort to grade states on school reform and performance quickly confronts the challenge that even today—after a massive amount of attention to educational information and research in recent years—the state of education data remains abysmal. No business could be run with such inadequate information.......

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

Here is another article that appeared in many newspapers last week. You may have read it in your local paper?

Education Progress Questioned
Two Federal Reports Show 12th-Graders Are Learning Less Now Than They Did 15 Years Ago


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


Well, at least the kids today feeeeeel good about themselves!! According to this recent survey Today's college students are more narcissistic and self-centered than their predecessors

I've been saying for many years now that all this stroking of junior's self-esteem is gonna get our society in trouble.

I can't help but think that the results of these two studies are somewhat related. Maybe not directly, but in some way ... what do you think?

Make's me wonder again -- People Over 35 - How Did We Make It?

SUMbody help me......

Is it just me? Do I have a reading disorder?

These two headlings just DON'T ADD UP...

Stocks Stage Comeback on Upbeat Data

"A still skittish Wall Street staged a comeback Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrials erasing almost all of 209-point drop after an upbeat assessment of manufacturing activity eased some worries about a flagging U.S. economy."

and.....


For Manufacturing, a Recession Has Arrived --- via NYTimes

"In two of the last three months, the manufacturing sector has shrunk, according to surveys by the Institute for Supply Management that have been out for weeks."

"Tainted fuel mystery deepens as thousands suffer breakdowns"

Brit's Cars Are Breaking Down.

"Fuel-Terror"?

Experience Shmexperience

Now that I think about it more, Obama's so-called lack of experience may be a good thing.

Consider GW's resume before being installed as president:

• Ran for congress and lost.
• Produced a Hollywood slasher B movie.
• Bought an oil company, couldn't find oil in Texas, went bankrupt.
• Bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using tax-payer money.
• Traded Sammy Sosa to the Chicago White Sox.
• Governor of Texas- elected with father's help.
• Changed pollution laws for power and oil companies and made Texas the most polluted state in the Union.
• Replaced Los Angeles with Houston as the most smog ridden city in America. Cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas government to the tune of billions in borrowed money.
• Set record for most executions by any Governor in American history.

GW's "accomplishments" as president read like a typical under-deprived frat boy with self-esteem issues resulting in your classic bully. They are also listed here.

Send GW's resume to your local paper.

Inexperience is not a bad thing. James Buchanan, who had a long illustrious list of accomplishments before becoming president, went down in history as one of the worst presidents in American history.

Not Unlike The Blondesense Blog's Idea

Our legislators ought to share a bong before going to work.
I love you, man!
Marijuana smoking would foster a more cordial atmosphere among lawmakers.

Arnold has a similar (but not congruent) idea based on his famed "smoking tent" set up in the California capital. He said of the atmosphere in the tent, aside from the fog, "People come in there, Democrats and Republicans, and they take off their jackets and rip off their ties, and they sit down and smoke a stogie, and they talk, and they schmooze."

"So I asked myself the question, how come Republicans and Democrats out here don't schmooze with each other? You can't catch a socially transmitted disease by sitting down with people who hold ideas that are different than yours."

He had some suggestions for Washington: "To the Democrats, I say, stop running down the president, and just tell the people what you would do. And to the Republicans, I say, stop questioning the motives of the Democrats on the war, and accept their right to believe in what they want," he said. "And to the president, I say: Get yourself a smoking tent."

Just one year ago, the Congress was puffing away in a bipartisan way (but you wouldn't know it based on their behavior towards one another when they are legislating:

Washington, D.C.'s new ban on indoor smoking won't apply to the U.S. Congress, which routinely exempts itself from such workplace regulations, the New York Times reported Feb. 12.

Visitors to Capitol Hill can find House Majority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) smoking cigarettes between votes, and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is known to smoke cigars in the Speaker's lobby. Ashtrays can be found in the Capitol's reception area for use by lawmakers.

Few members of Congress are willing to talk about the rules or their own smoking habits. But many feel that banning smoking would be caving in to political correctness.

"What will happen is someone will come along and ruin this last bit of fun," said Christopher Buckley, author of "Thank You for Smoking," a satirical novel that follows the story of a tobacco lobbyist. "As sure as night will follow day, now some aging senator or Congressional page will come down with lung cancer and sue the United States government ... and that last bit of fun will be foreclosed."

The last bit of fun has been foreclosed.

On January 10th, Speaker Nancy Pelosi proclaimed, "The days of smoke-filled rooms in the United States Capitol are over," insisting Congress set an example for the rest of the nation. Congresscritters may still smoke in their offices and on balconies.

So let's just go back to the bong idea put forth on this blog.