Letterman

Check out this video clip from the Letterman Show at OverSpun.com

Dave showed this video of a very bored kid standing behind Bush in an address in Florida. It's hilarious... he even cracks his neck! It was reported later on CNN that the WH said that the clip was bogus and edited... well it really wasn't edited at all. Dave is mad. Read about it at CBS.

Yet another thing to piss me off today

I don't watch Faux Nooz because I am trying to remain sane. However, I read this transcript below between Brit Hume and Chris Wallace on the March 28th 2004 edition of Fox News Sunday. It's regarding Bush's total disregard for the families of soldiers who died in Iraq looking for WMDs:

"WALLACE: ...one that got a big laugh in the room that day -- and I must say, I still think it's funny -- the day after, some Democrats and the families of some American soldiers in Iraq, some who died in Iraq, said they were offended by this kidding about the missing weapons of mass destruction. Brit?

HUME: Well, we have a society in which one of the greatest things you can do is a platform to see victim status, and one of the qualifications for that is that you have these exquisitely tender feelings about things and sensibilities which are easily offended.

And in America today, if your sensibilities are offended by something that has happened, you get an enormous amount of credibility and are taken very seriously.

My own view of this is, the president's there poking fun at himself over what goes down, I think, as one of his failures. And I thought it was a good-natured performance, and it made him look good only in the sense that it showed he could poke fun at himself. But he certainly doesn't disguise the record on weapons of mass destruction.

And you have to feel like saying to people, "Just get over it."

We do have an oversensitive society, it's true. But the Preznit made a joke about something he fucked up and many many people died because of it. This is different. Thousands of people died. Almost 600 US Soldiers died because of Bush's incompetance.
What a jerk. What an asshole. I then googled 'Brit Hume Asshole' and I got 769 responses.. maybe this one will make 770. asshole

And now the end is near and so I face the final curtain....

I read in the NY Times that the last book in the "Left Behind" series is being published called "Glorious Appearing". This is the 12 book where Jesus himself returns. Retailers have ordered more than 2,000,000 copies already. 40,000,000 copies of the previous books have been sold. This is getting scary. (Don't forget you heard it here that if Jesus ever does come, these folks are not going to recognize him) This article explains a lot about the Christian right in this country of late and their strange behavior. It also explains why I call them the Christian wrong. So let's dissect some of this stuff, shall we?

From:In 12th Book of Best-Selling Series, Jesus Returns By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK, The New York Times.

..... "I really believe that there is a blessing on this series from the Lord," he said. "Just like with the `Passion' movie, it is all part of the warning we get before Christ returns." He added, "Many people have asked me, Do you think they will finish the series before Christ comes?"

We are getting the picture here that some people think this stuff is true. I hope they are not teachers or high ranking government officials.

... Along the way, the "Left Behind" books have drawn sharp criticism for elements like their emphasis on the conversion of Jews and their focus on the brutal rule of the Antichrist, who happens to head the United Nations.

Well yeah. Jews have thought that they were the chosen people for more than 5,000 years and it is probably unsettling for them to hear that they are going to have to be converted. I think they have had just about enough crap from the Christians for the past 2000 years.

..... "Tyndale House, the evangelical Christian publisher of the series, says it plans to spend $2 million marketing "Glorious Appearing." More than 20,000 people have volunteered for a "Left Behind" "street team," promising to disseminate messages about the books to their family, friends and neighbors.

Yikes this reminds me of the time the Jehovah's witnesses sent a little kid up to my door around 1986 to tell me that the end was near. My son was just a toddler and I was very over protective of him.. more than now. I hollered down to the sidewalk to the older folks and asked, "Will the end come before my son gets his driver's license?" They said yes. I was relieved. My son is driving now. 'The End' didn't come.

..... "Some theologians call the novels a dangerous distortion of Scripture. In an interview, Joseph C. Hough Jr., president of Union Theological Seminary in New York, warned that the novels' preoccupation with the suffering that many evangelical Christians foresee for unbelievers "leads people to think that Christianity is about cosmic fire insurance."

Dr. Hough argues that the novels misconstrue Revelation to mean that there are only two sides to every question, God's and the Devil's.

"It's the same sort of vision of the world that is reflected in some of our recent presidential administrations, that there is the world of good and the world of evil, like `the axis of evil' and `the evil empire,' " he said. "The enemies of America are the enemies of God. It is very dangerous, because it leads you to do things in the expectation that everyone who is against you is evil."

Exactamundo. And this is why I frequently write stuff about religion. It's dangerous. I was a religion teacher and I should know. I took great pains to avoid teaching about the world in black and white terms. There is no black and white. That is probably why I don't agree with anything that comes from the Bush Cartel.

..... " In an interview last week at his home in Palm Springs, Calif., however, Dr. LaHaye, 77, said that his only agenda was spreading the Gospel, by illustrating both the gruesome perdition ahead for unbelievers and the merciful salvation awaiting faithful Christians. What's more, he said, he was merely relying on what he considers the literal meaning of the words of the Bible.

"If I invented the story, you're right, I'd be terribly arrogant," he said, "but I didn't invent the story."

..... "
I suppose if these people weren't so self righteous, they might win a convert or two. Honestly, if there is a God who reflects this God of the Bible, then who needs him? Think about it... did he put us here with earthly desires and needs only to dictate a book that not only contradicts itself but then demand that we behave like puppets? Doesn't make sense. He wouldn't have given us free wills.

And the most important thing of all, would a real loving God want people to worship him only because they are afraid of going to hell? I wouldn't want someone to love me out of fear. What's more. You can't love someone out of fear. You merely fear them and do what they say to avoid their wrath. That sucks.

...."He came up with the idea of turning prophecy into fiction about 18 years ago, and he eventually teamed with Mr. Jenkins, a prolific and best-selling Christian author, to spin Bible verses into fast-paced, futuristic thrillers. Their first novel, "Left Behind," opens with a vivid description of the Rapture, the moment when many evangelical Christians believe all the born-again will abruptly disappear to heaven. In a nod to the authors' views on abortion, they describe an unborn fetus ascending from the womb to heaven as well."

Remember those bumper stickers? "In case of rapture, this car will be empty". How very Christian.

...."The succeeding novels tick off the pivotal steps Dr. LaHaye foresees during the ensuing "tribulation," a seven-year period of turmoil and cataclysm when unbelievers have a last chance to see the light. The fictional Antichrist, a Romanian named Nicolae Carpathia, rises to power as head of the United Nations. He signs a peace treaty with Israel, setting off a seven-year countdown to the Second Coming, and he ultimately establishes a worldwide government, a brutal dictatorship and a false religion with himself at its head. Meanwhile, 144,000 Jews convert to evangelical Christianity, including one rabbi whose conversion takes place live on global television, and lead an underground "remnant" of believers who periodically recite passages of Scripture that Dr. LaHaye relies on as a road map to their future.

Dr. LaHaye said he believed that over all the series reflected the biblical truth.
"That's the way it's going to be during the tribulation period, according to Revelation, and if it happens to parallel what the seculars are trying to do today, so be it," he said.

"The Bible clearly teaches there's going to be a one-world government in the last days. And after the Rapture of the church, then that one-world government will coalesce, bringing together all the governments of the world and also bringing together all the religions of the world." He added, "The fact that we're seeing some of those things happen right now must be a wake-up call to some people to say, `Hey, we may be closer than we think.' "

Trust me, one of these days I'll complete an essay on apocalyptic writing. Don't read the Book of Revelations unless you have a degree in Theology or have studied apocalyptic writing. Let me just say that the writer of Revelations was a man named John on the Island of Patmos in about 90AD who is describing the fall of the temple of Jerusalem. It already happened. Also keep in mind that in those days of the New Testament, people expected Jesus' return to be imminent... Just like the imminency of the Iraqi regime against the United States. Doesn't the name, Nicale Carpathia sound like a villain in a James Bond movie? oy.

....To those unfamiliar with Dr. LaHaye's views of Revelation, the most striking aspect of the novels may be the bloody massacre Jesus wreaks on the Antichrist's unbelieving armies.

"Tens of thousands of foot soldiers dropped their weapons, grabbed their heads or their chests, fell to their knees, and writhed as they were invisibly sliced asunder," the authors write. "Their innards and entrails gushed to the desert floor, and as those around them turned to run, they too were slain, their blood pooling and rising in the unforgiving brightness of God."

That might seem like the end of the end, but Dr. LaHaye and Mr. Jenkins say they are not quite finished. They plan a postscript to the series, describing one last battle between God and Satan at the close of Jesus' 1,000-year rule on Earth, and a prequel, filling in the early history of the Antichrist.
But it may be hard to top "Glorious Appearing."

"For believers, we really are looking forward to the glorious appearing," said Steve Nelson, a Southern Baptist minister in Gallatin, Tenn., and fan of the series. "We know from reading the Word that we win in the end, and this is the winning round coming up."

....
Doesn't it sound like John From Patmos didn't read the words of Jesus in the Gospels?
Anyway, now it's easy to understand why the right wing Christians are so happy about the wars in the middle east. It fits in with their idea of the end times and they are just itchin' for it to come.
But I tell you, they aren't going to recognize it if it should ever happen.

This article is Copyright © 2004The New York Times Company.

Gasoline Prices

A Gallon Of Gas Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Davray Music Ltd. I've been waiting for years to buy a brand new cadillac But now that I've got one I want to send it right back I can't afford the gas to fill my luxury limousine But even if I had the dough no one's got no gasoline I went to my local dealer to see if he could set me straight He said there's a little gas going but I'd have to wait He offered some red hot speed Some really high grade hash But a gallon of gas can't be purchased anywhere for any amount of cash I can score you some coke and some grade one grass But I can't get a gallon of gas I've got some downers some speed all the drugs that you need But I can't get a gallon of gas There's no more left to buy or sell There's no more oil left in the well A gallon of gas can't be purchased anywhere For any amount of cash Who needs a car and a 747 When you can't buy a gallon of gas Who needs a highway, an airport or a jet When you can't get a gallon of gas There's no more left to buy or sell There's no more oil left in the well A gallon of gas can't be purchased anywhere For any amount of cash You can't buy a gallon of gas

Back in the day, (late 70's -1980 or so) when there really was a gasoline shortage and we waited on long lines to get gasoline... and we did.... the patriotic thing to do was to conserve gasoline! Imagine that? I still haven't heard a peep from our government about conserving natural resources. We even started buying shitty little cars that got good gas mileage. Suddenly those grand land barges faded from the highways and econo-cars were all the rage. I remember when the White House didn't light the Christmas tree in order to save energy. We added all sorts of new fangled things to our homes to keep the heat in, changed windows, looked for alternative ways to heat our homes and get around. We were pretty good about this stuff back in the day. Now? I can't find my car in the parking lot anymore because it is literally surrounded by the biggest hugest most monstrous SUVs. If one of them were to hit me, I would be killed and decapitated instantly. These gasoline gluttons fill the roads and the highways... at least around here they do. The funny thing is that the drivers claim these are very safe vehicles. Hmmm. How come every time it snows, I see SUVs flipped over all over the place? They are literally stuck everywhere when we have bad weather! Sideways, upside-down, stuck in snow piles, etc etc? I don't think they are really that safe. I think it depends on your driving, thank you very much. It just seems that bad drivers are buying these things... and SUCKING UP ALL THE GASOLINE! And now on to the news. John Kerry is blaming the Bush administration for the rising prices of gasoline. Holy cow, not only does he bash the Bush administration, he HAS A PLAN! He does want to pressure OPEC to increase oil supplies but they won't go for it. "Despite current high prices for crude oil, markets are already well supplied and any decision by OPEC to pump more oil at this time would be destructive, the oil minister for the group's largest member said Tuesday. Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali Naimi, accused investors and speculators of driving prices up to 13-year highs and said current prices "have absolutely nothing to do with supply and demand" for crude. John Kerry's plan also includes: ---Stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and redirect that oil to the U.S. market. The reserve was created after the 1973-74 oil embargo to counteract disruptions in oil supplies. ---Develop domestic oil and gas supplies in certain areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico. He opposes efforts to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but aides have said he would promote more drilling in other, unprotected areas of Alaska. Kerry charges that "Those are not Exxon prices, those are Halliburton prices. "But you have to give this administration credit because they clearly understands the connection between gas prices and the economy. Their approach to . . . higher prices is to make sure nobody has a job to drive to."

Republicans Own the Bible! You hear?

Oh Dear. The current White House owns the Bible. Just as I thought.
I just read in the NY Times that John Kerry was speaking at New North Side Baptist church in St Louis, Missouri area and actually had the unmitigated gall to quote the scripture because as we all know, the Republicans, particularly the POTUS are the sole keepers of the Bible and know where or when to use it. Let us also understand that Bush is of the Born Again Christian persuasion and Kerry is Catholic. These do not mix.

{Here is an example of the welcome we received when my son went to Born Again Christian Bible Camp about 10 years ago: "Welcome! I haven't seen you at services before, are you new to the community?" "Well no, we belong to St Brigid's parish." "Oh. I see. Well we're saved"}

Well I digressed again.. but let's get back to our story, shall we?

"Kerry never mentioned Bush by name during his speech at New North Side Baptist Church, but aimed his criticism at "our present national leadership." Kerry cited Scripture in his appeal for the worshippers, including James 2:14, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds?"

"The Scriptures say, what does it profit, my brother, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?" Kerry said. "When we look at what is happening in America today, where are the works of compassion?"

Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said Kerry's comment "was beyond the bounds of acceptable discourse and a sad exploitation of Scripture for a political attack."

I think John Kerry used a rather nice quote from the Bible and since the Bible is all the rage in Amurka I don't see the problem from the Republicans. I have a problem with the Bible but I didn't realize that the Republicans were that sure that only they had the right to use the Bible and God in their politicizing.

"Nicolle Devenish, a Bush spokeswoman, said Mr. Kerry was ``walking a fine line'' by campaigning in a church, adding, ``I think that's a sacred thing.''''

Wait a minute, wait a minute... there go the Bush people speaking on behalf of God again. Yet in January, did not the Preznit speak in Union Bethel A.M.E Church in New Orleans back in January?

"At Union Bethel, in a speech laced with religious references - and at a meeting with community leaders -- Bush renewed his push to open more federal spending on social programs to religious groups.

He said he church's many efforts -- such as feeding the homeless, teaching neighborhood children karate and running a day-care center -- are a perfect example of the kind of programs the federal government should fund. "

Um, er... whaaaaa? What's with this double standard? How come it's ok for Bush to go to a church and speak and not Kerry? I have been thumbing through my Bible all morning trying to find references to "teaching children karate". Where does he come up with this stuff? I studied karate but for the life of me, I don't see how the government wants to fund faith based initiatives that are comprised of teaching kids karate? Feeding poor people- check. Day care centers -check. Karate -nah.. nah ganna doit.

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

While I am on my favorite subject of religion.... It seems that even Jehovah's Witnesses are being accused of sexual abuses formerly reserved for Catholics. I hope they handle it better than the Catholics did. I really hope so.

Flip-Flop God

God is at it again. He's flip-flopping. He tells one person one thing and another person another thing. No wonder the Bible is so full of contradictions. God himself can't seem to get things straight. We all know that God was behind the tragic events of September 11, 2001. The Moslem terrorists said so. But the POTUS claimed the contrary because we are God's own people- God Bless America! The saying doesn't infer that God blesses anyone else so this must be true. Lest we forget however, God only blesses republicans - the GOP, God's Own Party.

Last June, the word on the street, well actually it was reported in Haaretz that Bush indicated that he was chosen by God specifically:

"God told me to strike at al Qaida and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them."

In January of this year, Pat Robertson told Faux news told us:

"I think George Bush is going to win in a walk," Robertson said on his "700 Club" program on the Virginia Beach-based  Christian Broadcasting Network, which he founded. "I really believe I'm hearing from the Lord it's going to be like a blowout election in 2004. It's shaping up that way."

It's starting to get on my nerves that God is so involved in politics. Didn't God read our constitution? He's not supposed to do that nor are our politicians supposed to be listening to him! This is a democracy and the leaders are supposed to follow the will of the people, not God, thank you very much.

Wait! This just in:

"The new Hamas leader in Gaza on Sunday called President Bush an enemy of Islam and said that "God declared war" against the United States and Israel -- but stopped short of saying the group would strike U.S. targets."

Does this mean God changed sides again? Which side is he on? And did God forget about his very own commandment, Thou shalt not kill?

Maybe I only read the good stuff in the Bible. Ok I admit it, I only read the stuff about the kind, loving, forgiving God. I kind of skipped over the vengeful angry God who was jealous and commanded constant praise and flattery. It seemed like the Bible was describing a Dr Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde God. Being the 'pick and choose' or 'cafeteria catholic' I was at the time, I chose the nice, loving God. What the heck, in a democracy I think I am entitled to pick which entity of God is my favorite.

Speaking of flip flops. Bush loves to go after John Kerry accusing him of flip flops. Of course we know that no one flips like George Bush and he really ought to think about how much God has been flip flopping lately. I'm not listening to God until he makes up his mind and tells everyone the same thing and sticks with it.

Amen

Daily Show Recap

As usual Jon Stewart puts the White House smear campaign against Richard Clarke into perspective.

And oh yeah, The Daily Show beat Fox and other so called "real" networks at the 11PM time slot during the Democratic primaries.

A New Super Hero

I don't know where I read it, but somewhere in my reading some online pundit or something explained that American's obsession with inarticulate cartoon characters like the Preznit and Ahnold have to do with feeling comfortable in troubled times.. or something like that... they need some strong, but not necessarily bright, superhero to rescue them from the scawey scawey world. Being a blonde, I comprehend that line of thinking. A dumb strong man was always a fun night out... but would I want him to rule my world? And if so, for how long? I mean, what would we talk about in the morning? More eggs with your cowboy hat? More bacon with your pecs? Once again, surfing around the net in my bikini today I found a very telling photo of the Democratic candidate for POTUS. Not only can John Kerry fly planes, go snow boarding and play the guitar, he appears to be hung like a racehorse. This attribute for me anyway, seems to be an important characteristic I would look for in a world leader. He is an excruciatingly tall man who appears to need an ankle strap. This would be quite intimidating for even the most religious terrorist to the most self righteous born again Christian. Think of all the press and congressional hearings the presidential penis would get if this man were erected elected. We know how obsessed the republicans are with genitalia. If it is true that Americans feel safer being led by super heros then, by all means, John Kerry and his super sized, super schlong would definitely be the answer for all Americans. The fact that he is articulate would appeal to progressives while his super penis would appeal to republicans and women. I do believe this man is the answer to both parties. Vote Kerry/Schlong '04

I Feel Like Watching Cheney Look Like An Ass

Cheney Speaks as Baghdad Burns. Watch Faux News on The Daily Show

File this in the "Get Out of My Pants You Perverts" Bin

Georgia House Bans Genital piercings

"The bill would make such mutilation punishable by two to 20 years in prison. It makes no exception for people who give consent to have the procedure performed on their daughters out of religious or cultural custom.

"An amendment adopted without objection added "piercing" to the list of things that may not be done to female genitals. Even adult women would not be allowed to get the procedure. The bill eventually passed 160-0, with no debate.

"Amendment sponsor Rep. Bill Heath, R-Bremen, was slack-jawed when told after the vote that some adults seek the piercings.

""What? I've never seen such a thing," Heath said. "I, uh, I wouldn't approve of anyone doing it. I don't think that's an appropriate thing to be doing."

"The ban applies only to women, not men. The bill has already been approved by the Senate but now must return to that chamber because of the piercing amendment. Both chambers of the Legislature must agree on a single version of a bill before it can go to the governor for final approval."

Do you mean to tell me that these men in Georgia have nothing better to do than to go after women's genitals? I tell you that politicians are OBSESSED with genitals. It's so embarrassing. I hope that Europeans aren't hearing about this. I haven't personally given any thought to genital piercing and I doubt I would have it done but I don't give a rat's ass if anyone else has it done. It's not like I have to look there every time I meet up with women friends of mine. Perhaps if you are a southern politician it's a gross out. I wouldn't know.

The real issue at stake is once again that the government is getting dangerously close to dismantling more of our rights and our freedoms. This has nothing to do with terrorism. If I wanted to have my clit pierced, I am sure it is not going to make Osama bin Laden any more powerful...

A few days ago, it was The Unborn Victims of Violence Act aimed at weakening
abortion rights. I won't get into that now though.

I may have to start a whole blog devoted solely to politician's obsession with genitals and perversion. They spend way too much time worrying about what is going on behind the closed doors of other people. I want to know what is going on behind their closed doors. That is what we pay them for.

Matriculatin' Blues

My son is a freshman in a university. He is there on an honors scholarship. He doesn't know what to major in. He is smart enough to major in anything he wants to but he wants to major in something that will get him a job when he gets out in four years assuming that he doesn't get drafted and killed in one of Bush's wars. So here is one of our nation's brightest students wondering what the hell he is going to do with his life. What can I tell him?

I try to remain optimistic and rely on my fellow Americans to wake up and see the light and overthrow the evil dictatorship. So I tell my son to hang in there and find a subject he really enjoys and major in that even though he may have to live in India in order to fulfill his dream of working in that industry some day.

I try not to tell him that since we live in NY, we may be nuked anyway so it really doesn't matter. School is a good diversion from the real world when you're only 18 years old. There are no jobs anyway.

Last night, I suggested an English major. He's very good at writing. I suggested the blogosphere. He might get a gig out of that. He looked at me like I was nuts. He's a better guitar player than anything and has decided he wants to be a musician. oy vay. I'm a musician with a BFA in art, an MBA in marketing, an MDiv in theology and countless other 2 year certificates in this and that. Look where that got me. Good luck kid.

Wha Choo Talkin' About Willis?

Condo-lie-za seems to have time to be on every talk show and news show but she won't talk to the 9/11 commission under oath. What a crock of shit. She is an embarrassment to women everywhere. What does she think she is? Does she really think she is part of that boys club in DC? bah. She's a traitor.

Fun and Games

You can be a Bumper Sticker Designer! You can make big 12" ones. You know you like things that are 12" long. Over at the Mad Guerilla Brigade, they have a Bumper Sticker Generator!

Look at the ones I made! (I made them smaller for this blog)









Have fun. Relieve some stress.

This Ain't No Party, This Ain't No Disco..

This ain't no fooling around....

This is war, Mr. "War" President.

Now aWol makes light of the missing WMD's? It's not funny during wartime.
I bet if Clinton made cigar jokes at one of these meetings, we'd still be fucking hearing about it.. but nooooooo... this maroon is making light of the reason we went to war with Iraq and pretends to look for the bogus WMD's and people think it's funny? The Repuglican bloggers think the Dems are too sensitive.

They are PROJECTING again.

This proves that there are NO WMDs in IRAQ and they will not find them and our boys are over there for nothing and if there is god.... may god forgive us for what we have done.

Read it while I vomit.

I Want Monthly Debates!

Instead of running attack ads, running negative smear campaigns and reminding me of those nasty NJ political television spots I was subjected to for years and years, why don't Bush and Kerry have monthly televised debates? I believe Senator Kerry suggested it. It would be the adult thing to do. This IS the presidency of the United States of America and it is the most important political position in the country.

Americans are not all stupid. Maybe some are, but most aren't. We aren't buying the stupid commercials. They are full of spin and half truths. They are making many of us angry. Let's hear about the issues without the spin. Let's hear it from the men who want the job... Bush? Kerry? Put your money where your mouths are!

Claim vs. Fact: Administration Officials Respond to Richard Clarke Interview

March 22, 2004

Download: DOC, RTF, PDF
Bob Boorstin's Column: The Canary in the Coalmine

In the wake of Richard Clarke's well-supported assertions that the Bush Administration neglected counterterrorism in the face of repeated terror warnings before 9/11, the Bush Administration has launched a frantic misinformation campaign – often contradicting itself in the process.

CLAIM #1:"Richard Clarke had plenty of opportunities to tell us in the administration that he thought the war on terrorism was moving in the wrong direction and he chose not to."
– National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, 3/22/04

FACT: Clarke sent a memo to Rice principals on 1/24/01 marked "urgent" asking for a Cabinet-level meeting to deal with an impending Al Qaeda attack. The White House acknowledges this, but says "principals did not need to have a formal meeting to discuss the threat." No meeting occurred until one week before 9/11.
– White House Press Release, 3/21/04

CLAIM #2: "The president returned to the White House and called me in and said, I've learned from George Tenet that there is no evidence of a link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11."
– National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, 3/22/04

FACT: If this is true, then why did the President and Vice President repeatedly claim Saddam Hussein was directly connected to 9/11? President Bush sent a letter to Congress on 3/19/03 saying that the Iraq war was permitted specifically under legislation that authorized force against "nations, organizations, or persons who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11." Similarly, Vice President Cheney said on 9/14/03 that "It is not surprising that people make that connection" between Iraq and the 9/11 attacks, and said "we don't know" if there is a connection.

CLAIM #3: "[Clarke] was moved out of the counterterrorism business over to the cybersecurity side of things."
– Vice President Dick Cheney on Rush Limbaugh, 3/22/04

FACT: "Dick Clarke continued, in the Bush Administration, to be the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and the President's principle counterterrorism expert. He was expected to organize and attend all meetings of Principals and Deputies on terrorism. And he did."
– White House Press Release, 3/21/04

CLAIM #4: "In June and July when the threat spikes were so high…we were at battle stations…The fact of the matter is [that] the administration focused on this before 9/11."
– National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, 3/22/04

FACT: "Documents indicate that before Sept. 11, Ashcroft did not give terrorism top billing in his strategic plans for the Justice Department, which includes the FBI. A draft of Ashcroft's 'Strategic Plan' from Aug. 9, 2001, does not put fighting terrorism as one of the department's seven goals, ranking it as a sub-goal beneath gun violence and drugs. By contrast, in April 2000, Ashcroft's predecessor, Janet Reno, called terrorism 'the most challenging threat in the criminal justice area.'"
– Washington Post, 3/22/04

CLAIM #5: "The president launched an aggressive response after 9/11."
– National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, 3/22/04

FACT: "In the early days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Bush White House cut by nearly two-thirds an emergency request for counterterrorism funds by the FBI, an internal administration budget document shows. The papers show that Ashcroft ranked counterterrorism efforts as a lower priority than his predecessor did, and that he resisted FBI requests for more counterterrorism funding before and immediately after the attacks."
– Washington Post, 3/22/04

CLAIM #6: "Well, [Clarke] wasn't in the loop, frankly, on a lot of this stuff…"

– Vice President Dick Cheney, 3/22/04

FACT: "The Government's interagency counterterrorism crisis management forum (the Counterterrorism Security Group, or "CSG") chaired by Dick Clarke met regularly, often daily, during the high threat period."
– White House Press Release, 3/21/04

CLAIM #7: "[Bush] wanted a far more effective policy for trying to deal with [terrorism], and that process was in motion throughout the spring."
– Vice President Dick Cheney on Rush Limbaugh, 3/22/04

FACT: "Bush said [in May of 2001] that Cheney would direct a government-wide review on managing the consequences of a domestic attack, and 'I will periodically chair a meeting of the National Security Council to review these efforts.' Neither Cheney's review nor Bush's took place." By comparison, Cheney in 2001 formally convened his Energy Task Force at least 10 separate times, meeting at least 6 times with Enron energy executives.
– Washington Post, 1/20/02 , GAO Report, 8/22/03, AP, 1/8/02

CLAIM #8: All the chatter [before 9/11] was of an attack, a potential al Qaeda attack overseas.
– Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, 3/22/04

FACT: Page 204 of the Joint Congressional Inquiry into 9/11 noted that "In May 2001, the intelligence community obtained a report that Bin Laden supporters were planning to infiltrate the United States" to "carry out a terrorist operation using high explosives." The report "was included in an intelligence report for senior government officials in August [2001]." In the same month, the Pentagon "acquired and shared with other elements of the Intelligence Community information suggesting that seven persons associated with Bin Laden had departed various locations for Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States."
[Joint Congressional Report, 12/02]

Mafia and Conservatives

I think I might have something here....


This Modern World shows us just exactly how conservatives see regular people who do not love the Preznit. It's really kind of creepy how nasty they get when you do not agree with them. It kind of reminds me of Tony Soprano, the sociopathic anti-hero of the Sopranos. In the first episode this season Tony decided he was smitten with his shrink and he told her so.. he was adorable and told her how he felt about her and that he wanted to date her. She said no. He egged her on and on and on and wanted to know what she thought and against her better judgment she told him that she didn't agree with his values. He went ballistic, called her a cunt among other things and stormed out of the room. So much for love.

hmmmm.

March 20 for Peace in NYC

Fred Askew Photography

More on Peace March at BlondeSpots

Incompetence in the White House

President Clinton went after al Qaeda and had some successes, but President Bush did not continue the fight and left America vulnerable.
By Frederick Sweet
Intervention Magazine

“There was a terrorist organization going after US, after us! It should have been the first item on the [Bush] agenda.”--Richard Clarke, former White House Antiterrorist Coordinator

When George W. Bush became the President of the United States his foremost, sworn duty was to protect our country and its people--above all other things. Bush violated his oath of office by negligently permitting Osama bin Laden free reign to unleash al-Quaeda and the Saudi terrorists against the U.S. on 9/11.

On October 12, 2000, al Qaeda terrorists attacked the USS Cole, killing 17 sailors. That's when Clinton decided to take the fight against al Qaeda to the highest possible level. Instead of arming them like Reagan or ignoring them like George H.W. Bush, Clinton decided to destroy them. He put Richard Clarke as the first national antiterrorism coordinator in charge of coming up with a comprehensive plan to take out al Qaeda. Their plan was ambitious: break up al Qaeda cells and arrest their personnel, systematically attack financial support for it’s terrorist activities, freeze its assets, stop its funding through fake charities, give aid to government having trouble with al Qaeda, and most significantly, increase covert action in Afghanistan to eliminate the training camps and reach bin Laden himself.

After the first attack on the WTC in 1993, Clinton sent strict antiterrorism legislation to Congress as part of his first crime bill. In the wake of that near-tragedy, the legislation passed. But when he tried to expand those measures following the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, Clinton was vehemently opposed by conservatives in Congress who declared that the measures he was asking for would threaten Constitutional rights. What were these measures? New powers to turn away terrorist suspect immigrants, and a new deportation court which could use secret evidence and hasten the deportation procedures.

Clinton responded to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center by capturing, trying, convicting, and imprisoning those responsible. Ramzi Yousef, Abdul Hakim Murad, and Wali Khan Amin Shah are all currently behind bars.

Nevertheless, the most vocal critics of Clinton’s counterterrorism efforts to broaden the government’s powers were conservatives in Congress.

According to a report from Reuters on October 16, 2003, former President Bill Clinton, before leaving office in 2001, had made every effort to warn President George W. Bush that Osama bin Laden was the biggest security threat the United States faced.

Speaking at a luncheon sponsored by the History Channel on October 15, Clinton had said that he had tried to discuss security issues with Bush in his “exit interview,” a formal and often candid meeting between a sitting president and the president-elect.

“In his campaign, Bush had said he thought the biggest security issue was Iraq and a national missile defense,” Clinton said. “I told him that in my opinion, the biggest security problem was Osama bin Laden.”

Since then Bush has become a national embarrassment by constantly talking about and drawing attention to his so-called war on terror. Foolishly politicking on terrorism has only served to highlight his administration's failure to achieve its central goals, while at the same time committing civil-rights abuses in its name. Bush theatrically paraded around the deck of the USS Lincoln although the war on terror (or even the war on Iraq) is obviously not over. But his shenanigans have highlighted America's weakness and blindness, not strength and resolve.

A senior Bush administration official had told Time magazine, Clarke’s plan amounted to “everything we’ve done since 9/11,” Clinton's plan was completed only a few weeks before the inauguration of Bush. If it had been implemented then, a former senior Clinton aide told Time magazine, “We would be handing [the Bush Administration] a war when they took office.” Instead, Clinton decided to turn over the plan to the Bush administration to carry out. Clinton trusted Bush to protect America.

Clinton’s record on terrorism has been misrepresented by Bush and the Republicans. Clinton no doubt had done damage to our country by lying about his misconduct with Monica Lewinsky that ended in his impeachment. But that had nothing to do with his record on dealing with terrorism. Clearly, Bush's record on terrorism is terrible, although Republican propagandist have regularly tried to shift the blame for the 9/11 tragedy to Clinton's administration.

The facts are, however, between 1996 and 2000 Clinton increased federal spending on counterterrorism to more than $12 billion annually. The FBI's counterterrorism budget had been $78 million in 1996, which was increased to $609 million in 2000. Whether or not the FBI spent the money wisely was up to Louis Freeh, the Clinton-appointed, Republican director of the FBI.

An investigative report in the Washington Post by Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, “The Age of Sacred Terror,” contradicts the Republicans faulting Clinton. The Sudanese government offered to arrest Osama bin Laden and place him in Saudi custody. Not American custody. Barton Gellman of the Post reported on how the Clinton administration had tried to get the Saudis to accept custody of Bin Laden. But they refused. There was no offer to turn Bin Laden over to the U.S.

Let’s not forget that at this time Sudan had offered to help in the fight against terrorism, but only if the U.S. lifted the economic sanctions, imposed in response to their genocidal campaign against Christians in their country. Trying to get the sanctions lifted, Sudan repeatedly offered to share its intelligence about Islamic terrorists with the U.S. However, the FBI and the CIA concluded that Sudan was not providing anything useful on Bin Laden or al-Qaeda.

Clinton had aggressively attempted to get bin Laden by ordering the bombing or missile attacks of a site where the terrorist leader was believed to be, narrowly missing him. Although he had seized an opportunity that presented itself, at the time Clinton ordered the attack, Republicans accused him of merely trying to deflect attention from his impeachment problems.

In 1998, Clinton signed a National Security Decision Directive authorizing an intense and ongoing effort to destroy al-Qaeda, and to either kill or arrest bin Laden. Under Clinton’s presidency, the NSC and the CIA formed a special unit dedicated solely to al-Qaeda. This unit stopped several al-Qaeda plots: to blow up Los Angeles' International Airport (LAX), to bomb the Lincoln and Holland tunnels and to blow up the UN building in NYC, and an attempted attack on the Israeli embassy in Washington.

One month before Clinton left office, several conservatives praised him on his antiterrorism record. For example, Robert Oakley, ambassador for counterterrorism under President Reagan, said: “Overall, I give them very high marks… The only major criticism I have is the obsession with Osama, which has made him stronger.” But Paul Bremer, who had had the same post under Reagan, and later chaired the National Commission on Terrorism, disagreed with Oakley. He felt that Clinton had “correctly focused on bin Laden.”

Once again, the Bush administration is trying to revise history, this time by dismissing Richard Clarke's charges that Bush failed America by making us vulnerable to the 9/11 attacks.

As Clarke summarized Bush's national security catastrophe for Leslie Stahl, “the tragedy here is that Americans went to their deaths in Iraq thinking they were avenging September 11th when Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. For a Commander-in-Chief and his vice president to do that is unconscionable.”

The unprecedented incompetence of this administration is such a clear threat to our national security that nothing can be more important to America's safety than voting Bush and his administration out of office in next November's presidential election.

(Posted Tuesday, March 23, 2004)

Jorge, you got some 'splainin' to do

Let's See the WH Get Itself Out of This One

It's getting scarier and scarier by the day as many suspicions come true. Americans really ought to get their heads out of the sand now and face reality. The Bush Cartel is a fraud and their main reason for taking office was to avenge Saddam Hussein for Bush War I. Bush neglected to go after Al Qaida from the get go as he was advised by the Clinton Administration and RIchard Clark the terrorism expert. It's becoming more and more apparent that 9/11 was allowed to happen in order to place this country into war, make Bush the war president and dictator of America and soon the world. This is scary stuff. The man goes to bed at 7:30 and doesn't read. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Today's articles.

NY Times Excerpt:But Senator Bob Graham, Democrat of Florida, who is a former chairman of the Intelligence Committee, barely let Mr. Clarke's appearance on CBS's "60 Minutes" end before he issued a scathing statement about the administration's record on terror.

"The facts are that within six months of the first bombs falling on Afghanistan, this administration was diverting military and intelligence resources to its planned war in Iraq, which allowed Al Qaeda to regenerate," said Mr. Graham, who was one of the first lawmakers to label the war with Iraq a distraction from the fight against terror. "As the people of Indonesia, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and most recently Spain have learned painfully well, this president failed to execute the real war on terrorism."

Washington Post Excerpt: During Bush's first week in office, Clarke asked urgently for a Cabinet-level meeting on al Qaeda. He did not get it -- or permission to brief the president directly on the threat -- for nearly eight months. When deputies to the Cabinet officials took up the subject in April, Clarke writes, the meeting "did not go well."

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, Clarke wrote, scowled and asked, "why we are beginning by talking about this one man, bin Laden." When Clarke told him no foe but al Qaeda "poses an immediate and serious threat to the United States," Wolfowitz is said to have replied that Iraqi terrorism posed "at least as much" of a danger. FBI and CIA representatives backed Clarke in saying they had no such evidence.

Boston Globe Excerpt: In the early weeks after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration cut by nearly two-thirds an emergency request from the FBI for counterterrorism funds, an internal White House budget document indicates.

The document, dated Oct. 12, 2001, indicates that the FBI requested $1.5 billion in additional funds to enhance its counterterrorism efforts with the creation of 2,024 positions. But the White House Office of Management and Budget cut that request to $531 million. Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, working within the White House limits, cut the FBI's request for items such as computer networking and foreign language intercepts by half, reduced a cybersecurity request by three-quarters, and eliminated a request for "collaborative capabilities."

Americans better wake up and see this administration for what it is and what it always was!

Bush Didn't Care About Al Qaida

I watched 60 Minutes last night as I am sure many people did. Last night it was Richard Clarke, former Terrorism Czar for the last 30 years who spoke out against the Bush Administration and revealed again that BushCo wanted to Bomb Iraq from the get go on 9/11. Actually, they wanted to bomb Iraq since the Bush Administration took power in January of 2001 which we know from Paul O'Neil's book and appearance on 60 Minutes previously. Leslie Stahl did a fine interview. She asked tough questions that no Republican could deny.

There's no reason for me to report all the news here. I will put up links to the newspaper articles. I just have to say here that it's pretty obvious this man, GWBush and his cronies had one thing in mind when they took power and that was to avenge Saddam for his attempted murder on the life of President Bush the first. They were warned about Al Qaida and ignored the warnings. They were asleep at the wheel when 9/11 happened and that is what has upset me for the past 2 and a half years. They knew 9/11 would happen, they let it happen and then they got their war.

I suppose I was wasn't too keen on bombing the shit of Afghanistan in the first place, but when BushCo just kind of left it to bomb the shit out of Iraq and forgot all about Osama, I knew that something was wrong and I am grateful that at least 2 brave men, Dick Clark and Paul O'Neil have come out and exposed this administration for all their lies and deception.

This was all I wanted all along: I wanted American people to wake up and quit being so loyal to the party when the party was clearly wrong. Bush was exploiting 9/11 to complete his agenda. How this will play out in the elections remains to be seen.

Read for yourself.
New York Times The Independent The Washington Post Yahoo News

The George W. Bush Presidential Library

One of the best satires I have seen in a long time is from Patriotboy's Blog a/k/a Jesus' General. Check out The George W. Bush Presidential Library. You will laugh, you will cry, you will wet your pants. I promise. Great diagrams too!

Excerpt: 'The George W. Bush Presidential Library will be composed of five sections: the Entrance/Election Room, the Rotunda of Blame, the Archives, and the Economic and Security Wings. The library will be at least five stories high, one floor for each of Our Leader's terms of office. More stories will be added if Our Leader's steady hand is still needed after the War on Terror enters its third decade.'

heh.

1 Year Anniversary In Iraq

We are just a dot in the universe. Why can't we all get along as we hurdle through space on this rocketship earth? We all need the fuel.

Galaxy Song Whenever life gets you down, Mrs Brown And things seems hard or tough And people are stupid obnoxious or daft And you feel that you feel That you've have had quite enough! Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving And revolving at nine hundred miles an hour, That's orbiting at nineteen miles a second, so it's reckoned, A sun that is the source of all our power. The sun and you and me and all the stars that we can see Are moving at a million miles a day In an outer spiral arm, at forty thousand miles an hour, Of the galaxy we call the 'Milky Way'. Our galaxy itself contains a hundred billion stars. It's a hundred thousand light years side to side. It bulges in the middle, sixteen thousand light years thick, But out by us, it's just three thousand light years wide. We're thirty thousand light years from galactic central point. We go 'round every two hundred million years, And our galaxy is only one of millions of billions In this amazing and expanding universe. The universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding In all of the directions it can whizz As fast as it can go, at the speed of light, you know, Twelve million miles a minute, and that's the fastest speed there is. So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure, How amazingly unlikely is your birth, And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space, 'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth. Composers: Eric Idle and John Du Prez Singer: Eric Idle From the Movie 'The Meaning of Life' by Monty Python, of course! Click here to listen

Power to the Peaceful

My favorite group is Spearhead. I'd never even heard of them before a few weeks ago. Michael Franti is the lead singer and song writer for the band. I got to see Spearhead open for Ziggy Marley at Westbury Music Fair and I just can't get over the experience. I suddenly didn't feel overcome by the hatred and warmongering I experience on a daily basis from the TV news. I felt love and warmth as I experience the music. I was moved to tears by the message of peace he was bringing and only hope and pray that this message can be spread to all the people of the world.

You can spread the message by sending an Ecard to your friends here:
http://www.artistdirectrecords.com/ecard/spearhead/ecard.html

You can view the video: Bomb the World here:
http://www.labels.tm.fr/bombtheworld_vo/spearhead_vo.html

You can support Spearhead and buy the new cd, Everyone Deserves Music here:
http://www.labels.tm.fr/bombtheworld_vo/spearhead_vo.html

Visit the website here:
http://spearheadvibrations.com/

Power to the Peaceful!

Bomb the World
By Michael Franti
©2003

Please tell me the reason
behind the colors that you fly
love just one nation
and the whole world we divide
you say you’re “sorry”
say, “there is no other choice”
but god bless the people them
who cannot raise their voice

(chorus)
we can chase down all our enemies
bring them to their knees
we can bomb the world to pieces
but we can’t bomb it into peace
whoa we may even find a solution
to hunger and disease
we can bomb the world to pieces
but we can’t bomb it into peace

violence brings one thing
more more of the same
military madness
the smell of flesh and burning pain
so I sing out to the masses
stand up if you’re still sane!
To all of us gone crazy
I sing this one refrain

(chorus)

and I sing power to the peaceful
love to the people y’all
power to the peaceful
love to the people y’all

More Lies Exposed

This is the kind of stuff that needs to make papers across the nation but alas no one watches or pays attention anyway.

Ex - Advisor Says Bush Eyed Bombing of Iraq on 9 / 11
March 19, 2004

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former White House anti-terrorism advisor says the Bush administration considered bombing Iraq in retaliation after Sept. 11, 2001 even though it was clear al Qaeda had carried out the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Richard Clarke, who headed a cybersecurity board that gleaned intelligence from the Internet, told CBS ``60 Minutes'' in an interview to be aired on Sunday he was surprised administration officials turned immediately toward Iraq instead of al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

``They were talking about Iraq on 9/11. They were talking about it on 9/12,'' Clarke says.

Clarke said he was briefing President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld among other top officials in the aftermath of the devastating attacks.

``Rumsfeld was saying we needed to bomb Iraq. ... We all said, 'but no, no. Al Qaeda is in Afghanistan,'' recounts Clarke, ``and Rumsfeld said, 'There aren't any good targets in Afghanistan and there are lots of good targets in Iraq.'''

Read the rest while I vomit.

Bush Campaign Gear Made in Burma

How did I miss this yesterday?
I noticed it today when I was putting the papers out for recycling.

The official merchandise Web site for President George W. Bush's re-election campaign has sold clothing made in Burma, whose goods were banned by Bush from the U.S. last year to punish its military dictatorship.

Just read it.

White House vies for Fake News Spotlight. Watch out Comedy Central! not.

Whaaaaaa?

Since more people watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart than read the papers or watch the news on television, I am happy to bring you the exclusive Daily Show video of the MEDICARE FRAUD! Watch It!

If you can't watch the video, and you like to read.
From the NY Times

Federal investigators are scrutinizing television segments in which the Bush administration paid people to pose as journalists praising the benefits of the new Medicare law.....

The materials were produced by the Department of Health and Human Services, which called them video news releases, but the source is not identified. Two videos end with the voice of a woman who says, "In Washington, I'm Karen Ryan reporting."

But the production company, Home Front Communications, said it had HIRED her to read a script prepared by the government.

...Federal law prohibits the use of federal money for "publicity or propaganda purposes" not authorized by Congress. In the past, the General Accounting Office has found that federal agencies violated this restriction when they disseminated editorials and newspaper articles written by the government or its contractors without identifying the source.

The arrogance of BushCo is what really gets to this blonde.

A Knight Ridder reporter revealed this week that Richard Foster, a top administration expert on Medicare costs, told colleagues last June that he would be fired or forced to resign if he revealed that the estimated price tag for upgrading Medicare's prescription-drug benefit was far higher than the figure advertised by Congress and the White House.

Mr. Foster, a chief actuary for Medicare in the Department of Health and Human Services, repeatedly came up with 10-year costs of $551 billion -- a staggering $155 billion higher than the $395 billion estimate sold to Congress in the weeks prior to the vote last November.

From the NY Times

Mysterious Fax Adds to Intrigue Over the Medicare Bill's Cost
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and ROBERT PEAR


WASHINGTON, March 17 — Late one Friday afternoon in January, after the House of Representatives had adjourned for the week, Cybele Bjorklund, a House Democratic health policy aide, heard the buzz of the fax machine at her desk. Coming over the transom, with no hint of the sender, was a document she had been seeking for months: an estimate by Medicare's chief actuary showing the cost of prescription drug benefits for the elderly.

Dated June 11, 2003, the document put the cost at $551.5 billion over 10 years. It appeared to confirm what Ms. Bjorklund and her bosses on the House Ways and Means Committee had long suspected: the actuary, Richard S. Foster, had concluded the legislation would be far more expensive than Congress's $400 billion estimate — and had kept quiet while lawmakers voted on the bill and President Bush signed it into law.

Ms. Bjorklund had been pressing Mr. Foster for his numbers since June. When he refused, telling her he could be fired, she said, she confronted his boss, Thomas A. Scully, then the Medicare administrator. "If Rick Foster gives that to you," Ms. Bjorklund remembered Mr. Scully telling her, "I'll fire him so fast his head will spin." Mr. Scully denies making such threats.

Read the whole thing

Ya know, when this Medicare thing came out, I was highly suspicious. It was rushed through so secretively. It seemed to have gaps in it. But the Bush Cartel managed to "seemingly" get the press/media to buy it which didn't surprise me really because the press just doesn't give a shit about the people who read it or watch it.

But seriously, the Daily Show is the best place to get your TV news. Monday - Thursday 11PM Com

The Christian Wrong

If this country becomes a Christian Theocracy, I'm leaving. Seriously. These people are whacked. They are so hateful, rigid, self serving, judgmental and all around mean- the antithesis of Jesus. It's a good thing I am not Christian or I'd be so freaked out.

If they actually believed and followed the teachings of Jesus, we would actually all be ok. We'd all be Democrats for sure and we'd be in pretty good shape.

Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment. He answered:
Matthew 22:36-40 } "This is the first and greatest commandment:  'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.'
The second most important is similar:   'Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.'
All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets stem from these two laws and are fulfilled if you obey them.  Keep only these and you will find that you are obeying all the others."

How can we love God so much if we don't really know him? Good question. I thought of that too... It means loving all of creation basically. If you love and care about everything that God supposedly created then you are fulfilling the first commandment and it also serves a greater purpose even if you don't believe in God, because you are taking care of the earth and that's a good thing. Loving one's neighbor is a toughie. Religion hasn't stopped people from fighting wars and oppressing one another. Actually neither of those commandments have been followed by Christian hierarchy over the years so it's no wonder that the religion has been bastardized by the followers. Once Constantine was converted, all hell broke loose.

Know what really cracks me up though? The Religious Republicans. How you can be both baffles me... but I digress... They hate democrats because they want to spend taxpayer money on helping the poor and our least brethren. You see, the republicans don't want to spend money on those lazy poor people. They want to keep their money. So who is more Christian here? hmm. I think the only real issue that the Republicans have against Democrats that might be construed as unChristian would be the abortion issue, but in all honesty I think most Democrats are against the act of abortion itself, but believe it is up to a woman and her doctor to make that decision and not the government's decision. That's it in a nutshell.

Personally, I have never witnessed 2 homosexual men having intercourse. I live in NY and honestly, they don't do it in public. If I haven't seen it, then it's a pretty rare thing to come across in regular daily life. Why on earth are some jurisdictions trying to outlaw sodomy? Stop picking on homos for God's sake. God made homos and they have their own cross to bear. Why make it worse? Can't we just make it illegal to have sex in public no matter how you do it and include oral, anal, vaginal, with same, animal or opposite sex partners? This way there is no discrimination. It keeps the government out of our homes and bedrooms and neighbors houses and motels and private parties, etc. It's none of their damn business anyway. It also should be very illegal if done on church property. Add that to the law too. See? I solved it.

But that leads me back to the vast right wing conspiracy once again: they have an unusual preoccupation with genitalia and what people are using it for. There's no shortage in the bible of
"dirty" parts and maybe that's where it all comes from. I don't know. No one really brought it home to me like Kenneth Starr when he relentlessly dug and dug and dug away at Clinton's sex life. I was so shocked and appalled. Not at what Clinton was doing as much as how obsessed the Republicans were at finding out every single detail of the activities of the Presidential Member. It was bizarre. Every time I turned on the news I was assaulted with more perversion from the so called 'conservatives'. Conservative, my ass. These pervs were looking for a thrill.

More on this another time.

Lying 101: Right Hand Should Know What the Left Hand is Doing

Watch Rummy lying on Face the Nation. He is trying to explain that no one said that Iraq's nuclear threat was not an immediate or imminent threat. Watch him try to lie his way out of this one. It's great. Bye Dubya!

The Iraq on the Record Report, prepared at the request of Rep. Henry A. Waxman, is a comprehensive examination of the statements made by the five Administration officials most responsible for providing public information and shaping public opinion on Iraq: President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice.

From the Center for American Progress:

The Bush Administration is now saying it never told the public that Iraq was an "imminent" threat, and therefore it should be absolved for overstating the case for war and misleading the American people about Iraq's WMD. Just this week, White House spokesman Scott McClellan lashed out at critics saying "Some in the media have chosen to use the word 'imminent'. Those were not words we used." But a closer look at the record shows that McClellan himself and others did use the phrase "imminent threat" – while also using the synonymous phrases "mortal threat," "urgent threat," "immediate threat", "serious and mounting threat", "unique threat," and claiming that Iraq was actively seeking to "strike the United States with weapons of mass destruction" – all just months after Secretary of State Colin Powell admitted that Iraq was "contained" and "threatens not the United States." While Iraq was certainly a dangerous country, the Administration's efforts to claim it never hyped the threat in the lead-up to war is belied by its statements.

"There's no question that Iraq was a threat to the people of the United States."
• White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan, 8/26/03

"We ended the threat from Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction."
• President Bush, 7/17/03

Iraq was "the most dangerous threat of our time."
• White House spokesman Scott McClellan, 7/17/03

"Saddam Hussein is no longer a threat to the United States because we removed him, but he was a threat...He was a threat. He's not a threat now."
• President Bush, 7/2/03

"Absolutely."
• White House spokesman Ari Fleischer answering whether Iraq was an "imminent threat," 5/7/03

"We gave our word that the threat from Iraq would be ended."
• President Bush 4/24/03

"The threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction will be removed."
• Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 3/25/03

"It is only a matter of time before the Iraqi regime is destroyed and its threat to the region and the world is ended."
• Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke, 3/22/03

"The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder."
• President Bush, 3/19/03

"The dictator of Iraq and his weapons of mass destruction are a threat to the security of free nations."
• President Bush, 3/16/03

"This is about imminent threat."
• White House spokesman Scott McClellan, 2/10/03

Iraq is "a serious threat to our country, to our friends and to our allies."
• Vice President Dick Cheney, 1/31/03

Iraq poses "terrible threats to the civilized world."
• Vice President Dick Cheney, 1/30/03

Iraq "threatens the United States of America."
• Vice President Cheney, 1/30/03

"Iraq poses a serious and mounting threat to our country. His regime has the design for a nuclear weapon, was working on several different methods of enriching uranium, and recently was discovered seeking significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
• Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 1/29/03

"Well, of course he is.”
• White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett responding to the question “is Saddam an imminent threat to U.S. interests, either in that part of the world or to Americans right here at home?”, 1/26/03

"Saddam Hussein possesses chemical and biological weapons. Iraq poses a threat to the security of our people and to the stability of the world that is distinct from any other. It's a danger to its neighbors, to the United States, to the Middle East and to the international peace and stability. It's a danger we cannot ignore. Iraq and North Korea are both repressive dictatorships to be sure and both pose threats. But Iraq is unique. In both word and deed, Iraq has demonstrated that it is seeking the means to strike the United States and our friends and allies with weapons of mass destruction."
• Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 1/20/03

"The Iraqi regime is a threat to any American. ... Iraq is a threat, a real threat."
• President Bush, 1/3/03

"The world is also uniting to answer the unique and urgent threat posed by Iraq whose dictator has already used weapons of mass destruction to kill thousands."
• President Bush, 11/23/02

"I would look you in the eye and I would say, go back before September 11 and ask yourself this question: Was the attack that took place on September 11 an imminent threat the month before or two months before or three months before or six months before? When did the attack on September 11 become an imminent threat? Now, transport yourself forward a year, two years or a week or a month...So the question is, when is it such an immediate threat that you must do something?"
• Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 11/14/02

"Saddam Hussein is a threat to America."
• President Bush, 11/3/02

"I see a significant threat to the security of the United States in Iraq."
• President Bush, 11/1/02

"There is real threat, in my judgment, a real and dangerous threat to American in Iraq in the form of Saddam Hussein."
• President Bush, 10/28/02

"The Iraqi regime is a serious and growing threat to peace."
• President Bush, 10/16/02

"There are many dangers in the world, the threat from Iraq stands alone because it gathers the most serious dangers of our age in one place. Iraq could decide on any given day to provide a biological or chemical weapon to a terrorist group or individual terrorists."
• President Bush, 10/7/02

"The Iraqi regime is a threat of unique urgency."
• President Bush, 10/2/02

"There's a grave threat in Iraq. There just is."
• President Bush, 10/2/02

"This man poses a much graver threat than anybody could have possibly imagined."
• President Bush, 9/26/02

"No terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq."
• Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 9/19/02

"Some have argued that the nuclear threat from Iraq is not imminent - that Saddam is at least 5-7 years away from having nuclear weapons. I would not be so certain. And we should be just as concerned about the immediate threat from biological weapons. Iraq has these weapons."
• Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, 9/18/02

"Iraq is busy enhancing its capabilities in the field of chemical and biological agents, and they continue to pursue an aggressive nuclear weapons program. These are offensive weapons for the purpose of inflicting death on a massive scale, developed so that Saddam Hussein can hold the threat over the head of any one he chooses. What we must not do in the face of this mortal threat is to give in to wishful thinking or to willful blindness."
• Vice President Dick Cheney, 8/29/02

Happy St Patrick's Day

Spread this around

I have to print this excerpt from Time Magazine:

As the Bush team sorts out its internal mechanics, it will press the advantage of incumbency. Administration sources tell TIME that employees at the Department of Homeland Security have been asked to keep their eyes open for opportunities to pose the President in settings that might highlight the Administration's efforts to make the nation safer. The goal, they are being told, is to provide Bush with one homeland-security photo-op a month.

The url is http://www.time.com/time/election2004/article/0,18471,600858,00.html

Thank you.

What have I been saying all along?

I mentioned in this blog a few times how I just gave up on religion. Today I read Newsday while having lunch. Local Newsday columnist Ed Lowe got a letter from the Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center Board of Trustees explaining that Ed would not be the key note speaker this year because of:

"...tenor and tone of your recent Newsday columns involving the Church."

I thought, Did I write about the church?

I thought harder. "I did write about men in Boston and on Long Island who paraded as holy shepherds of a flock but for decades permitted hundreds of lambs to be led to their rapists. I said those men should do prison time for their conspiratorial failure as citizens to share with police information they possessed about felony crimes committed by their colleagues against children.

I'd write it again, too.

The letter goes on:

"We are, first and foremost, a Catholic Institution, with deeply held beliefs about our role and mission within the community. Certainly, there are serious problems within our Church today that must be confronted with honesty and openness if they are to be resolved. We believe that many parties with a sincere interest in the outcome need to approach the issues in a spirit that seeks understanding and reconciliation, if there is to be any hope of success. Unfortunately, however, the tone of your recent columns is inconsistent with that objective. To the contrary, The Board is of the opinion that your musings have served only to polarize vital interests who ultimately must come together with the Good Lord's assistance to solve these problems and accord justice to all involved ..."

It goes on for another paragraph, about purpose, tone, mission, goodwill and support. After I read it, I found myself staring out, watching the wet snow accumulate on the branches of a tree near my window, thinking about how on a Saturday evening in May I would not have to dress up in a tuxedo, not have to gather with 300 similarly dressed men and not have to try to entertain them for an hour, for free.

Outside looked like Wonderland.

Bwahahahahahhaha
.

More Questions for Bush Re 9/11

I was flabbergasted that mainstream press actually printed something
about the 9/11 coverup. Time Magazine. wow! Joe Klein left out a lot of stuff but it's a start.

Why the Christian Coalition is so full of shit

These hypocrites go on and on with their self righteous ramblings of how sacred marriage is and preach about how wrong everyone else is except them. Let's see exactly what their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has to say about Marriage and Divorce and then see exactly how they live their personal lives.

Matthew 19:7-10:"They [Pharisees]said to him [Jesus], "Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss (her)?" He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery." [His] disciples said to him, "If that is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry."
Similar story in Mark10:1-12 and Luke 17:18

So there you have it. Jesus is against divorce. If you do get divorced and you get remarried, it doesn't count. Back in my seminary days we even argued that it might be better to murder your spouse, repent and then get remarried.. but they poo poo'ed that theory. This explains why Catholics invented annulments: To prevent murder.

But there I go digressing again!

It seems that the head of the Christian Coalition of America, Roberta Combs is bankrolling her daughter's nasty bitter divorce. Her daughter, Michelle who also works for the Christian Coalition is married to Tracy Ammons who also works for the Christian Coalition. You know the Christian Coalition- the bastion of morality and family values in this country- yeah that's it. They are also having a bitter child custody battle. It's not that I don't sympathize with their problems, and I do.. it's just that these people who moralize over the rest of us are usually full of shit! This theocracy that is in the works is never ever going to work. Read the story

Snowday

It's snowing today in New York. I got bundled up and put my long luxurious blonde hair into an adorable ski hat and was just outside having a snowball fight with the local children. I really suck at throwing snowballs. My aim isn't very good.

What is the name of that drug that's always on TV that improves your aim? You know, the one where the guy keeps throwing his football through the tire swing and his wife congratulates him for having such good aim. I can't believe they invented a drug that improves your throwing arm.. but I guess I am up to that age where I need it. What's it called? Lecitra? Levitan? Levitira? I'll run up to the CVS and see if I can find it.

Happy Snowday Everyone.

Love
BlondeSense
:)

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..::Creationism vs Evolutionism::..

It seems that only in the USA, do we have to deal with this as an actual controversy. Damn that carbon dating! To hell with the Hubble Telescope.

Apparently this is all we have to know:

Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

I can't even take this country seriously anymore. The religious right is taking over. There are schools where they don't even teach evolution.

The latest is that the Grand Canyon was formed by Noah's flood and they are even selling a book about it at the Grand Canyon Gift Shop. From The Guardian

"For years, as a Colorado river guide, I told people how the Grand Canyon was formed over the evolu tionary timescale of millions of years. Then I met the Lord. Now I have a different view of the canyon, which according to a biblical timescale can't possibly be more than a few thousand years old."

Translation: "Then I met the Lord and he gave me a Rush Limbaughtomy."

Sunday TV BS

It's Monday. I survived Sunday morning television. It's a wonder I haven't taken up drinking on Sunday mornings. Condi was on Meet the Press... ok I could barely watch it. She is in la la land.

Even blonde people can tell when the shit is flying. Here's some BS from the show:

MR. RUSSERT:  Let me start with Spain.  This is the cover of Newsweek magazine:  Europe's 9/11, a new threat to America.   Eerily, this attack occurred exactly 911 days after September 11th, 2001.  Are you convinced that al-Qaeda was behind the attack in Spain?

DR. RICE:  I think we still do not really know who was behind this brutal attack in Spain.... 

MR. RUSSERT:  Al-Qaeda has issued audiotapes taking responsibility for the attack.  It says, "It is a response to your collaboration with the criminals Bush and his allies."  About 90 percent of Spaniards were opposed to Spain's helping the United States in Iraq.  Are you concerned that the Spanish government and today's election may fall as a result of embracing the president's policy on Iraq and this attack?

DR. RICE:  I believe that the Spanish people understand that they've had strong and good leadership in President Jose Maria Aznar and his government, that fighting terrorism cannot allow one to be intimidated.  We are fighting a global war on terrorism, and the events in Spain are just more evidence of the lengths to which these killers will go to try and intimidate free people....

Oh really? Adios, Senor Aznar.
Spain's new socialist PM likely to pull troops from Iraq.

DR. RICE:  We're at war with these people, and yes, they will try and attack those who they believe might defeat them.  That is a part of their game.  But they will not win and we will not falter, because if we allow them to intimidate, if we ever fall into the notion that we would be better off just to sit back and let them grow and continue, that if we don't bother them, they won't bother us, that's simply a notion that cannot be tolerated after 9/11.....  And now they recognize that they have a United States of America and a coalition that's taking them on.  They've committed acts of war against them.

I have a problem with this "Acts of war" thing. How about acts of terrorism. Don't you need to be a country attacking another country for there to be a war? Bush and Co. are so "war" happy. War on this, war on that... kill, kill, kill...

DR. RICE:  But, Tim, we also have to take this fight to the terrorists.  They committed an act of war on 9/11 against the United States.  They went for the Pentagon. They were going for the Capitol and for the White House.  They were trying to decapitate us.  That's an act of war.

Sounds like terrorism to me. Oh just go read the thing while I puke.

Oh wait, get this:

MR. RUSSERT:  On September 11, there is a commission now in place which the administration originally resisted and also resisted extending the deadline. They now want to interview the president.  He has said he'll only sit down with the chairman and co-chairman of the committee for one hour.  Will the president meet with the full commission and will he do it for longer than an hour?

DR. RICE:  The president, of course, is the president, and he does have a schedule to keep, but he has said that he will sit with the chairman and with the co-chairman and that he will answer whatever questions they have.  And I'm quite certain he will take as long as they need to answer those questions.

MR. RUSSERT:  Several hours, a day if they need?

DR. RICE:  Well, I would hope that they would recognize that he's president and that people would be judicious in the use of his time.....

This is the big one, I'm coming Elizabeth!
THE 9/11President is TOO BUSY??? The man whose presidency would have never even made a history book had it not been for 9/11 is too busy? He wasn't too busy to disrupt life on Long Island last Thursday and tie up my traffic to raise some money and talk about the economy to people who "no habla ingles"

MR. RUSSERT:  Will you testify under oath in public about September 11?

DR. RICE:  Tim, this is not a matter of preference; this is a matter of principle.  It has long been a legal and constitutional principle that assistants to the president, the presidential staff, do not testify before legislative bodies.  But this is not a matter of preference.  I have spent more than four hours with the commission going through the details about 9/11. I'm prepared to spend more time with the commission in discussion about whatever they'd like to know about September 11, but as a matter of principle, we cannot breach this wall between the legislature and the executive.

Unless we are talking about a presidential blowjob, everything that the government does is a secret. Thank you my fellow Amercuns.

Tim Russert also interviewed Howard Dean.

MR. RUSSERT:  You think that Iraq may be on the verge of civil war?

DR. DEAN:  I think that is the unfortunate indication.  I actually fear--and this is an interesting thing for one of the most anti-war candidates to say--my greatest fear right now is that President Bush for political reasons will withdraw our troops prematurely from Iraq, and that Iraq will descend in--either to civil war or to chaos.  There are significant divisions.  If you, for election reasons, bring home the troops too early, then you risk the--either al-Qaeda establishing a beachhead, and we know al-Qaeda is in Iraq now, even though they were not in Iraq before we went in, or you risk the attempt by the Shiite religious majority to enforce a Shiite theocracy, which is what they have in Iran.  I think that would be a very serious problem.

MR. RUSSERT:  So Howard Dean would not cut and run if he was president?

DR. DEAN:  No.  I don't think you could do that, and I'd be surprised if either of the candidates--I'd be more worried about President Bush in this arena because I think that he is more sensitive to poll numbers and he understands that there are a lot of people asking questions about why we're there.  You know, the significant issue in Iraq is not whether we're in there or not.  If that were the significant issue, I'd be the nominee and Senator Kerry would not.  People care about Iraq, but they really wanted--they voted for John Kerry because they thought--for a number of other reasons.  The significant issue--and this is where the president is going to rise or fall in this election--is did the president tell the truth?  And I think an increasing number of Americans believe that he may not have told the truth.  And when the president of the United States has problems with his credibility, that brings his re-electability into question.

Bush's poll numbers were dropping and banzai... terror attack en Espana. hmmmm.

Winds of Black Death

When I first heard about the tragic bombing of the train in Madrid, I felt very sorry for the people. The first news we heard was that it was perpetrated by Basque Separatists, whatever they are.

I read in Aljazeera though that Al Qaida was taking credit for the bombing in Madrid (you can read it) and then I noticed this statement:

We would like to announce to all Muslims in the world that 90% of the preparations of operation "Wind of Black Death" designed to be performed in America has finished and will be performed soon, God willing (at the Mujahidin's convenience). Believers will celebrate the victory of God.

What the hell is "Wind of Black Death" ?
So I did a google news search and got this:

CODENAME: "Winds of Black Death"
PHXNews - Phoenix,AZ,United States
... which it says was Codenamed "The Trains Of Death") is also claiming
that preparation for an attack on the United States codenamed "The Winds
Of Black Death" is ...
http://www.phxnews.com/fullstory.php?article=10013

TERROR strikes 911 days after September 11
NEWS.com.au - Australia
... morning. Ominously, the group has claimed a terror assault it has dubbed
"Winds of Black Death" will soon be made on the US. The ...
http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8951428%255E910,00.html

YIGAL Carmon :
National Review Online - USA
... and we promise the Muslims in the world that the strike of the Winds
of Black Death (the anticipated strike on America) is now in its last
phase [of preparation ...
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/carmon200403121251.asp


BIN Laden fear
Melbourne Herald Sun - Melbourne,Victoria,Australia
... We bring the good news to Muslims of the world that the expected 'Winds
of Black Death' strike against America is now in its final stage, 90 per
cent ready ...
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,8950088%255E661,00.html

LETTER suggests impending US attack
Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney,New South Wales,Australia
"We bring the good news to Muslims of the world that the expected 'Winds
of Black Death' strike against America is now in its final stage...90
per cent (ready ...
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/03/12/1078594535948.html

Yikes.