A Dem Finally Telling It Like It Is?

Not bad. Simple statement about the ruse that's Bushco.

Re:North Korea–Good Theater, Bad Diplomacy

By N.J. Dem. Rep. Rob Andrews on Politics

The Bush Administration’s policy toward North Korea has so far failed for one very basic reason: it does not have one. Instead of dealing with the weapons of mass destruction that President Bush knew existed in North Korea, he launched a preemptive war in Iraq - a country that he only thought had these weapons. For the last six years, the Administration has resorted to name calling with North Korea and has not devoted the time or muscle necessary to make the six-party talks effective. While the Administration’s rhetoric may make for good political theater, it does not lead to successful diplomacy. Whether it’s his policy toward Iraq, Iran, or North Korea, the President’s approach to diplomacy is clearly wanting. It is time for the Bush Administration to do more than swagger.

(courtesy link because I cut and pasted the whole thing). Yeah, I'm lazy. I've told you that many times. But I am honest about stealing. Give me credit for saving you a couple mouse clicks, OK?

Countdown Until Fundie Rage

The anti-Christ is born. Ya just know this is how the fundies will see it.

Baby Born on 6/6/06 Named Damien.

Of course not Condi. She's almost always angry or frowning because they're using big words. Not sure about it.

(read more at Neatorama)

Cat Blogging

Well its kinda like a cat.

Must Read IMHO

The link trail to this excellent post is long, but I got it from Bad Attitudes.

Don't ya love the internets. The serendipity is remarkable. Ya just never know what will pop up on the screen when you do a search for an Italian Facist dictator.

Hey, Where Ya From?

A sporadic series of posts about where my readers come from on the internets.

http://youngandcreative.blogspot.com/ (Aren't we all?)
http://kidsfarm.blogspot.com/ (The junior Animal Farm.)
http://kimlovesjonathan.blogspot.com/ (Ahhhh, that's cute.)
http://small-brother.blogspot.com/ (Beats the hell out of big brother)
http://my-groovy-life.blogspot.com/ (A description to never apply to me.)
http://www.happybunnyandkatie.blogspot.com/ (Sorry, not into beastiality.)

That should be enough for now.

I Sure Hope This Is Bullshit

Made in China is one thing, but grown in China...?

Claims that China harvests organs from live Falun Gong prisoners without consent -- then destroys their remains -- are real, according to a report from a human rights lawyer and a former MP in Canada.

The document cites an organ price published online for a transplant centre in Shenyang City, China. Corneas are $30,000 US, kidneys $62,000 US, livers $130,000 US and lungs up to $170,000 US, which would make this a most profitable trade. Link to CBC story.

In a radio interview yesterday, report co-author David Kilgour said the report did not allege that the practice was formal government policy -- though it left that possibility open. Corruption among government officials, said Kilgour, could just as easily allow this to happen. And with such high price tags there's plenty of motivation.

Totally Stolen From Crooks and Liars

I didn't want to steal this, but didn't know how else to present it to you.

On Larry King last night, Bush was asked this:

KING: We’re back with the Bushes. And the Mexico elections have been decided, apparently, and the conservative, Mr. Calderon, narrowly wins. Any thoughts?

BUSH: I look forward to working with whomever the Mexican people have elected and…

KING: Do you know him?

BUSH: I don’t know him. Looking forward to getting to know him.

KING: Apparently he won. I’m glad to bring you the news.

BUSH: You sure did.

Now let’s go to this news report :

Calderon wants to rely on Mexico’s many free-trade accords to create jobs and crack down on rising crime, and says he’ll try to smooth U.S. relations without letting Washington dominate. I want to establish a very constructive relationship without bowing my head and lowering my eyes to the Americans," Calderon said in heavily accented English during an interview with The Associated Press. I have met with President Bush several times. I have interviewed with President Bush and several members of the American Congress, and I know it’s possible to establish a more constructive relationship, and that would be very good for both countries."

Bush said it with such certainty that it makes one wonder.

(h/t Dino) I’ll post the video later.

If the moron-in-chief told me the sun would rise tomorrow, I'd set my alarm clock to make sure he wasn't lying.

Do visit Crooks & Liars.

This Can't Be Good Unless You're Ann Coulter

This is complete bullshit. Not the report, but what's happening to the military.

Under pressure to meet wartime manpower goals, the U.S. military has relaxed standards designed to weed out racist extremists. Large numbers of potentially violent neo-Nazis, skinheads and other white supremacists are now learning the art of warfare in the armed forces.

Department of Defense investigators estimate thousands of soldiers in the Army alone are involved in extremist or gang activity. "We've got Aryan Nations graffiti in Baghdad," said one investigator. "That's a problem."

You think you've seen atrocities up until now? You ain't seen nothin' yet.

(read more)

The MSM Is More Accurate Than We Amateur Bloggers #2

Hahaha. They slay me.

Remember the good old days when newspapers didn’t just unquestioning print what the powerful tell them? (Okay, maybe they never existed.) Anyhow, a Times article this morning reports that Petrobras, the Brazilian energy company, has invested $50 billion in Bolivia.

How does the Times know how much Petrobras has invested in Bolivia? Did their reporter go around and price out the various wells and pipelines that the firm has constructed over years? Maybe the reporter talked to an expert who gave his/her estimate of the amount invested. While both of these are possibilities, the article doesn’t tell us the source of the $50 billion figure, leaving open the possibility that the Times just printed what the company told them.

This matters because, as the article reports, Petrobras is currently engaged in a dispute with the Bolivian government over its efforts to renegotiate royalty agreements. Petrobras’ moral, if not legal, claim is improved, insofar as it has invested heavily in developing Bolivia’s resources.

One reason for viewing the Petrobras claim with skepticism is that Bolivia’s GDP is currently $9.7 billion. This means that Petrobras is claiming to have invested a sum that is more than 5 times Bolivia’s current GDP (that would be more $65 trillion in the U.S.). Such claims should at least come with a source.

Addendum: The reporter apparently did not get the $50 billion figure from Petrobras, or at least not from its website. The website gives a somewhat more plausible figure of $1.5 billion. (Thanks to my CEPR colleague Ben Zipperer.) [emphasis mine]

So if your only info is coming from the Times, you would have completely bogus info. Thank Gawd for bloggers like Beat the Press.

Yes I stole the whole post, but do encourage you to visit Beat the Press often. Does asking you to visit that site give me absolution?

MSM Is More Accurate Than We Amateur Bloggers

Yeah, they sure are. (snicker)

The lead headline of the Washington Post this morning was “Mexico Vote Tally Gives Free-Trader a Narrow Victory.” Wrong! Felipe Calderon, the candidate who is now ahead in the vote tally to be Mexico’s next president is not a free-trader. He has supported increasing copyright and patent protection and shown no special interest in removing protectionist barriers that obstruct free trade in the services of highly paid professionals (e.g. doctors, lawyers, accountants).

The Washington Post does not own the term “free-trade.” If they want to identify Calderon by his trade position, they can call him pro-NAFTA. It is more accurate and saves 2 letters.

That's the whole post at Beat the Press.

Camp Casey Moving In September

I just recieved this information in an email.

Cindy Sheehan to Move Camp to National Mall

Cindy Sheehan and activists in the growing peace movement plan to move Camp Casey to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., September 8 - 21. The camp on the Mall will carry the name Camp Democracy at Fort Fed Up. Organizers intend the camp to bring together peace activists with activists for social justice, united in demanding a shift of public resources from war to the needs of people. Participants will lobby Congress to end all funding of the occupation of Iraq, and will demand that Congress hold the Bush Administration accountable for the falsehoods that launched the war and the abuses of power here at home that have accompanied it. Camp Democracy is launching an outreach effort to include organizations in the planning of the camp's activities, which are all in the initial stages. Organizations already on board are listed on the website:
http://campdemocracy.org

Participating organizations and guest experts and celebrities will provide workshops and training sessions on a wide range of issues, as well as on communications, voter registration, nonviolent civil disobedience, lobbying, organizing, media production, and performance arts. Congress Members and congressional candidates will take part. Local elected officials will instruct attendees on participation in local government. Musicians will perform concerts. New films will be shown on a large screen. Participants will acquire useful skills while demanding fundamental change.

Individuals can sign up and plan to come:
http://campdemocracy.org/user/2

And volunteer to help:
http://campdemocracy.org/about

Organizations, large and small, can sign up to participate:
http://campdemocracy.org/node/3

Organizations, trainers, speakers, educators, and performers should propose activities that they believe would benefit thousands of citizens who want to work for change:
http://campdemocracy.org/node/4

Do The Contributors At AMERICAblog Ever Sleep?

What's with AMERICAblog? Jeeze! I spend half my time online just keeping up with all the posts? Take a break already. Let me catch my breath.

An Idea Whose Time Has Come

I think I can handle this. Now boiling is a different matter. I think I'd burn it.

You're In Deep Shit

Talk about your insider trading. Cheney is betting on disaster and investing accordingly.

The article is called "Cheney's betting on bad news" and provides an account of where Cheney has socked away more than $25 million. While the figures may be estimates, the investments are not. According to Tom Blackburn of the Palm Beach Post, Cheney has invested heavily in "a fund that specializes in short-term municipal bonds, a tax-exempt money market fund and an inflation protected securities fund. The first two hold up if interest rates rise with inflation. The third is protected against inflation."

Sometimes I can find the perfect picture for a post. This is one of those times.

From AL's Post To God's Ears (Eyes?)

This is really good.

I Again Offer You Molly Ivins

Just read it, dude.

A Guy With Convictions

Eight years in prison is tough, but this guy will face it because he knows Bushco has fucked him and his buddies.

An Army lieutenant who said he refused to deploy to Iraq because he believes the war there is illegal was charged Wednesday with three counts.

According to calculations by military lawyers, 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, 28, could face nearly eight years in prison and a dishonorable discharge if convicted, said his attorney, Eric Seitz of Honolulu.

Watada is charged with conduct unbecoming an officer, missing movement and contempt toward officials.

Look for more such defections. These troops are tired of fighting for Bushco and oil. The don't want to commit crimes like those in Haditha. They just want to be at peace. Is that so much to ask?

NoKo Has A Right To Defend Themselves

Just stop a second and think. If you were the leader of a country Dim Son had labeled a member of an axis of evil and you have seen how he would attack another country without provocation, wouldn't you arm yourself? Just asking.

A defiant North Korea on Thursday threatened to test-fire more missiles and warned of even stronger action if opponents of the tests put pressure on the country, amid signs of further activity at the reclusive regime's launch sites.

The further show of bravado by Pyongyang came amid intense diplomatic jockeying by the United States and its allies to prod the U.N. Security Council to take stern action against the North's seven missile tests Wednesday.

In its first statement on the launches, North Korea's Foreign Ministry insisted the communist state had the right to test its missiles and argued the weapons were needed for defense.

"The successful missile launches were part of our military's regular military drills to strengthen self-defense," said the statement, which was carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency. "As a sovereign country, this is our legal right and we are not bound by any international law or bilateral or multilateral agreements."

Most countries now consider the moron an agressor if not an imperialist. Yeah right, not an imperialist. Anyway, they fear US and they should. There's an idiot with the ability to "push the button" in charge. Be afraid, be very afraid. We are.

(read more)

Tinfoil Hat Time Vis-A-Vis Ken Lay

Everywhere on lefty blogs people are donning their tinfoil hats over did he really die of a heart attack? Or it seems quite convenient his heirs will not go broke over civil lawsuits because there can be no punitive damages accessed on a corpse. Or is he really in Brazil? Etc.

As a public service, SPIIDERWEB™ has a website you can visit for tinfoil hats with style.

Last Throes My Ass #2

We've definitely got 'em on the ropes, huh?

The central morgue [in Baghdad] said Tuesday that it received 1,595 bodies last month, 16 percent more than in May, in a tally that showed the pace of killing here has increased since the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq.

(read more)

Feeling Secure? Well Don't #9

It seems even the FBI can be hacked. Makes me feel all comfy, that's for sure.

A government consultant, using computer programs easily found on the Internet, managed to crack the FBI's classified computer system and gain the passwords of 38,000 employees, including that of FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III.

The break-ins, which occurred four times in 2004, gave the consultant access to records in the Witness Protection Program and details on counterespionage activity, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Washington.

I wonder if the guy secretly works for al-Qaeda on the side. That would certainly explain this screen cap from the FBI Most Wanted website.


(read more)

Check out FBI site. Interestingly, Usama Bin Laden isn't the terrorist most wanted by the FBI, that would be Ramadan Abdullah Mohammad Shallah. He's the guy I overlayed in Photoshop© to put the moron on the screen.

The Quote That Changed My Life

Actually not mine. That's the title of a must-read post over at My Left Wing. Here is the quote. A dissection of it is over at the link.

A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within. The essential causes of Rome's decline lay in her people, her morals, her class struggle, her failing trade, her bureaucratic despotism, her stifling taxes, her consuming wars.

The actual quote that changed my life is much shorter.

Yes.

The Emergency Will Just Have To Wait

This from Overheard in New York.

Gay flight attendant, frantically running down aisle: Excuse me! Coming through. Scusa, signore. Excuse me, I need to get the back of the plane. It's an emergency! Excuse me!! [Runs past woman, stops, walks back.] Oh my God, your scarf is fabulous; did you buy it in Venice?
Woman's husband: Did you say there was an emergency?
Gay flight attendant: Not as big as the one that'll happen if I don't get that scarf!

--flight into JFK

The Future Under King George III?

This from an article at Boing Boing.

It is not the role of journalists or newspapers in Singapore to champion issues, or campaign for or against the Government. (...) If a columnist presents himself as a non-political observer, while exploiting his access to the mass media to undermine the government’s standing with the electorate, then he is no longer a constructive critic, but a partisan player in politics.

The target is "mr brown" [Ed.: aka Lee Kin Mun], Singapore's most famous blogger who wrote a newspaper article a tad too critical of the government.

Links to the article and his blogsite are over at Boing Boing.

Bubble Boy At His Best

This from an interview by The Stars and Stripes the military newspaper.

The newspaper's reporter put forth his own query: Would the president accept a timetable for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq in return for a cease-fire by insurgents?

Bush called the question hypothetical. Reminded by Schogol that the media had reported just such an offer from Sunni insurgents, Bush answered, “I’m not sure they have or haven’t. … I will tell you that whatever decisions I make will be made upon the recommendations of commanders and and with one thing in my mind: Can we win?” [emphasis mine]

If he's not sure, who the hell is? Isn't that his job for crissakes?

Via EDITOR & PUBLISHER.

Aussies, Brits, Americans, and Canadians

Stolen in its entirety from Big Shot Bob in Texas.

Americans: Spell words differently, but still call it "English".
Brits: Pronounce their words differently, but still call it "English".
Canadians: Spell more or less like the Brits, pronounce like Americans, and throw in some extra regional slang to confuse everything.
Aussies: Add "G'day", "mate," and a heavy accent to everything they say.

Aussies: Believe you should look out for your mates.
Brits: Believe that you should look out for those people who belong to your club.
Americans: Believe that people should look out for and take care of themselves.
Canadians: Believe that that is the government's job.

Aussies: Dislike being mistaken for Pommies (Brits) when abroad.
Canadians: Are rather indignant about being mistaken for Americans when abroad.
Americans: Encourage being mistaken for Canadians when abroad.
Brits: Can't possibly be mistaken for anyone else when abroad.

Canadians: Endure bitterly cold winters and are proud of it.
Brits: Endure oppressively wet and dreary winters and are proud of it.
Americans: Don't have to do either, and couldn't care less.
Aussies: Don't understand what inclement weather means.

Americans: Drink weak, pissy-tasting beer.
Canadians: Drink strong, pissy-tasting beer.
Brits: Drink warm, beery-tasting piss.
Aussies: Drink anything with alcohol in it.

Competition Or Embellishment/Enhancement?

You be the judge.

It seems Jimmy (Jimbo) Wales has an idea to improve politics. If you don't know, he's the guy who founded Wikipedia.

He's starting a Wiki for political campaigns.

One hallmark of the blog and wiki world is that we do not wait for permission before making things happen. If something needs to be done, we do it. Well, campaigns need to sit up and take notice of the Internet, take notice of bloggers, take notice of wikis, and engage with us in a constructive way.

The candidates who will win elections in the future will be the candidates who build genuinely participative campaigns by generating and expanding genuine communities of engaged citizens.

I am launching today a new Wikia website aimed at being a central meeting ground for people on all sides of the political spectrum who think that it is time for politics to become more participatory, and more intelligent.

Link to his announcement.

Link to the Wiki.

Sex Education Is Imperative

Ignorance may be bliss, but it sure fucks you up.

Three boys received their grades from their female sex education instructor.

One got a D+, the second a D- and the third an F.

"One day we should get her for this," said the first boy.

"I agree. We'll grab her..." said the second.

"Yeah," said the third. "And then we'll kick her in the nuts!"

Bringing Out The Worst In Americans

Its always there bubbling under the surface, but thanks to Bushco, Americans are more openly displaying their intolerance and hatred. Dim Father must be so proud of Dim Son and the legacy he'll leave.

A large Delaware school district promoted Christianity so aggressively that a Jewish family felt it necessary to move to Wilmington, two hours away, because they feared retaliation for filing a lawsuit. The complaint recounts a raucous crowd that applauded the board’s opening prayer and then, when sixth-grader Alexander Dobrich stood up to read a statement, yelled at him "take your yarmulke off!" His statement, read by Samantha, confided "I feel bad when kids in my class call me Jew boy."

Yes I connect this story directly to the moron and his administration. Their dividing the country and stirring up intolerance, hatred and fear of "them" is feeding these people's worst instincts. What was once bubbling under the surface is now boiling over.

Note: I do recognize the irony of using a burning cross picture in a post about intolerance for Jews. I could find no pictures of burning Stars of David. Go figure.

Via C&L.

God's Speed Discovery

Viva Rebellion #2

Although Kay uses the word revolution whereas I prefer rebellion, we're on the same page. Take a look.

One way or another we have to peacefully take back our country. If that doesn't work...

Note: Photo is of painting Rebellion by Sally Anger. Great name, huh?

Happy Birthday Mister President...Happy Birthday To You

Why did I write that title? I wish him the worst possible birthday of his life. And many more? Hahaha. Yeah many more if they are all miserable.

Check out this collection of birthday greetings over at Big Shot Bob in Texas.

Aren't you proud of my linking and not just stealing all those things? I'm sort of proud of me. Of course I will probably steal next time.

Oh yeah the cake. Four candles because that's the moron's emotional age. And I really like referring to Dim Son as Sparky. Sparky somehow really fits jorge.

Viva Rebellion

I know its late.
I know you're weary.
I know your plans,
Don't include me.
But here we are...

This is a fine post by Jill at Brilliant at Breakfast. Enjoy.

Note: The photo is Bacon's Rebellion by Sidney King.

Let's Plan What Comes Next

Being an optimist, I anticipate Dems taking the House and/or Senate in November. So, what next? You're lucky because I'm gonna tell ya.

The Dems need a list. A list of what the Replugs have fucked up the Dems have to correct. Feel free to contribute. I'll start.

1. Limit the power of signing statements. They should be the president's understanding of the law. They should not modify or negate any provision of the law established by Congress.

2. De-classify anything Bushco has classified which doesn't endanger our country.

3. Specifically limit NSA spying to - US to foreign countries communications only after getting judicial authorization. Same with emails and IMs.

4. Establish law requiring any law enforcement body to announce itself before entering a private home.

5. Make it absolute that if at any time Bushco is deposed/impeached/, SPIIDERWEB™ becomes sole ruler of the US.

6. Stop any and all monitoring of blogsites.

This Is A Given In My Estimation

Iraq wants the UN to see justice is done. They have little faith the US military will see to it. Who can't understand their concerns.

However, I would suggest these allegations are being aggresively investigated. Lets see how these investigations go. The US military can prosecute criminal acts. Just wait and see what they do.

Iraq's justice minister demanded Tuesday that the U.N. Security Council ensure a group of U.S. troops is punished for allegedly raping and murdering a young Iraqi woman and executing her family, calling the attack "monstrous and inhuman."

Justice Minister Hashim Abdul-Rahman al-Shebli condemned the attack a day after former private Steven D. Green appeared in federal court in North Carolina to face charges of killing the woman's family so he and other soldiers could rape her.

At least four other U.S. soldiers still in Iraq are under investigation in the March 12 rape and killings in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad.

"If this act actually happened, it constitutes an ugly and unethical crime, monstrous and inhuman," said al-Shebli, a Sunni Arab. "The Iraqi judiciary should be informed about this investigation which should be conducted under supervision of international and human organizations. Those involved should face justice."

I'm not about to say we can do no wrong. I'm just saying we should let the system work and bitch like hell if it seems it didn't work.

(read more)

A True Blogging Hero

I posted about an item at Boing Boing about Kathryn Cramer who uncovered evidence of mercs spying in Haiti.

She's been vindicated by the UN who discovered she was right.

Little victories, but we'll take what we can get, right?

I do wish the picture were larger, but its the only one I could find.

This Is The Real MSM

Fascinating item from Boing Boing. This is why John and Mary American are poorly informed about what's what.

Dan Gillmor's Center for Citizen Media blog features a thought-provoking speech-transcript from a veteran journalist, Tom Stites, who has worked at many newspapers and magazines. Unlike many old-guard journos, Stites doesn't wring his hands over the ignorance of young people or the flight of advertising dollars to Google. Instead, he points his speech at the effect on democracy wrought by changes in reporting styles at the remaining news-media, a news-media that no longer cares to reach broad audiences. This is fascinating stuff, with the ring of a revealed truth about how the world got where it is:

When I was breaking in as a reporter, I ran the police beat for The Kansas City Times. The managing editor, a crusty old guy named John Chandley, explained that he wanted me to provide at least a short item about every siren heard each night in all parts of the city, so our readers would know what had happened. And he meant all parts of the city, rich and poor. This kept me hustling, and to this day I remember the lesson: The newspaper I worked for wanted to sell papers to every household in the area. They wanted 100 per cent market penetration, or as close as they could come to 100 per cent. In 1962 and 63, when I was a police reporter, dailies everywhere wanted 100 percent market penetration. Newsday, where I worked in the 1970s, approached 85 per cent penetration at its peak, the record for American newspapers. Now it's about 40 per cent. David Laventhol, Newsday's editor when I worked there, wanted to make sure his staff valued all the paper's readers. "Never forget that you're writing for the man in the bowling alley," he told us over and over, back in the days before gender-neutral language became the norm.

Now fast-forward to the late 1980s. By this time I was associate managing editor of The Chicago Tribune, and all the talk among the news management was about editing the paper for the top two quintiles of the income distribution. That means that 40 percent market penetration is the goal, not 100 percent, and that The Trib cares little about 60 percent of the people who might be its readers. And these people are the men and women in the bowling alley. Why doesn't The Trib care? Because these days nonaffluent people shop at Wal-Mart, and advertisers like Lord & Taylor and stores that sell fancy wines don't want to pay for circulation among people who can't afford their wares. It's as simple as that.

So 60% of US don't matter.

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My Pet Goat

Usually this blog doesn't get too personal unless you consider my political stance as personal. But I love this anecdote. I offer it for your amusement.

One of my sons worked in a restaurant. When he got off work he joined a couple friends at a table and there was a girl there he had not met. The group had been talking about religion. The new girl asked my son if he was religious. He said he wasn't sure.

He said there was this one time his mother and I had taken him to the basement of our house and sat him naked, inside a pentagram encircled by lighted candles. Then we sacrificed a live goat. He said he wasn't sure if that was a religious thing or not.

The girl's jaw hit the table. She was in complete shock. The others started laughing like hell realising this was my son's sense of humour.

Some people just can't take a joke.

Jesus Chist On The 4th Of July

This is really a simplification of a larger story/argument/disagreement/stupid attack.

House Majority Whip Roy Blunt and other lawmakers are demanding explanations after hearing complaints that the movie "Facing the Giants" was rated PG instead of G due to religious content.

A PG rating means parental guidance is suggested because the MPAA believes some material may not be suitable for children. A G rating means the MPAA has found the movie acceptable for all audiences.

First off I take exception to the statement "may not be suitable for children". This was a huge mistake on the MPAA's part when they established the ratings system. They probably needed a short blurb, but this one isn't very good.

The operative words are "parental guidance". The fact is the movie contains elements which children need parental guidance to understand or interpret. It shouldn't mean it is not suitable, but not suitable to view without supervision. Or, as was the case with me, PG meant I had to evaluate the movie and decide if I felt my children could handle it without supervision. In other words...parent here. Jeeze.

Now, my advice to Blunt and the others is shut the fuck up. Anything dealing with religion is personal. If you are an evangelical, would you want your young child to view a movie extolling the virtues of Buddhism without your being there to explain your position? My guess is you wouldn't.

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Where Are You Coming From?

Time to once again list some of the referring sites to my site.

http://brazilianpigdog.blogspot.com/
http://twobabesandabrain.typep...n/2005/06/the_lactating_n.html
http://www.feministe.us/blog/a...l-mind-behind-the-white-house/

That last one is expected. I left a link to one of my posts. Visit that site. Its really good.

http://indiannie2006.blogspot.com/
http://terrashmerra.blogspot.com/
http://noonesperfectiamnoone.blogspot.com/

'Till next time...

Nationwide Sex Offender Database

This's good news and bad news.

US authorities said all 50 states have joined a national web site that lists addresses and other details of convicted sex offenders.

The states of South Dakota and Oregon were added last week to the registry, which "provides real-time access to public sex offender data nationwide with a single Internet search," the Department of Justice said in a statement.

The good news is people will know where sex offenders are. Believe me, as a parent I would want to know if Mabel two doors down likes pre-pubescent boys.

The bad news is it was set up by the Department of Justice. The Bushco DOJ. So all Dems are automatically included.

Update: If you have a lefty blogsite you are listed twice.

(read more)

Its All About Tribe Retaliation

This from sucessive links starting with BuzzFlash. The link is a courtesy. I pasted the whole story.

Gunmen abducted Iraq's deputy electricity minister and 19 bodyguards after ambushing their convoy in eastern Baghdad on Tuesday, police and Interior Ministry sources said.

Deputy Minister Raad al-Harith was traveling in a convoy near Baghdad's Shiite Sadr City district when gunmen in up to seven vehicles wearing military uniforms blocked their way and kidnapped them, police said.

The Electricity Ministry said it could not confirm the report, but an official said Harith had not arrived for work. Police said the abduction took place at 7.30 a.m. (0330 GMT).

It comes three days after gunmen kidnapped Sunni legislator Taiseer Najah al-Mashhadani and seven of her bodyguards in a northern district bordering Sadr City.

Sunni lawmakers have boycotted the last two sessions of parliament, refusing to return until she is released. Some Sunni leaders have blamed the kidnapping on Shi'ite militias.

Two things come to mind. Why is it usually two?

1. Things are really improving. Yeah, right Cheney.

2. This is what will happen if we remove our troops, but its happening with our troops there. Why are we staying? The Iraqis have to work this out for themselves. US presence isn't gonna change that.

Hah! Came up with a third thought.

3. Why bother with body guards? If 19 can't protect you there really seems no point in having any.

The Guy At The Top Is Ultimately Responsible

That's why there is a guy at the top and not many at the top. Someone has to be in charge and responsible.

It can be argued, and I have done so, Dim Son is actually third from the top behind Addington and Cheney, but he's the figurehead or nominal guy at the top.

President Bush told the special prosecutor in the CIA leak case that he directed Vice President Dick Cheney to personally lead an effort to counter allegations made by former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV that his administration had misrepresented intelligence information to make the case to go to war with Iraq, according to people familiar with the president's statement.

Bush also told federal prosecutors during his June 24, 2004, interview in the Oval Office that he had directed Cheney, as part of that broader effort, to disclose highly classified intelligence information that would not only defend his administration but also discredit Wilson, the sources said.

But Bush told investigators that he was unaware that Cheney had directed I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the vice president's chief of staff, to covertly leak the classified information to the media instead of releasing it to the public after undergoing the formal governmental declassification processes.

Bush also said during his interview with prosecutors that he had never directed anyone to disclose the identity of then-covert CIA officer Valerie Plame, Wilson's wife. Bush said he had no information that Cheney had disclosed Plame's identity or directed anyone else to do so.

Way to go jorge, throwing Cheney and Libby under the bus like that. What a great and loyal friend.

For now let's assume the moron-in-chief is allowed to be boss to some extent. Much All of my legal traning has come from movies, TV and the odd cartoon. That said, it seems if "the boss" tells a rabid dog like Cheney to "politically neuter" someone, he should not be surprised nor innocent if said rabid dog does it viciously and illegally.

(read more)

Beware Hedonism

Quote from John D Rockefeller:

"I can think of nothing less pleasurable than a life devoted to pleasure."

Well that's certainly something I'll never have to worry about.

Must Read IMHO, But It Is Very Depressing.

From King of Zembla.

Jesus Christ On Medical Leave

This should make a very ugly situation even more so. Someone, other than Bushco, needs to step in and try to bring calm to both factions. The alternative is death for many innocent people.

Israel rejected an ultimatum from armed Palestinian groups holding an abducted soldier who said the Israeli government had until tomorrow to free about 1,400 prisoners or face unspecified consequences.

``Israel will not surrender to extortion by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas government led by murderous, terrorist organizations,'' Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said in an e-mailed statement. ``We will not conduct any negotiations to free prisoners.''

The armed groups, that include the military wing of Hamas, abducted Corporal Gilad Shalit, 19, in a June 25 attack on the soldier's tank just outside Gaza. Two other soldiers were killed.

``With the Zionist enemy's military aggressions, we give it until 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, Tuesday, July 4,'' said the groups who have demanded that some 1,400 Palestinians held in Israeli jails, including women and children under 18, be released. ``If Israel doesn't respond to these demands, the file of the soldier will be closed and the enemy will be totally responsible for any future consequences,'' the groups said without elaborating in a statement issued to journalists by fax.

Is anyone else getting tire of these ultimatums?

(read more)

Oh Yeah, Bushco ♥ College Students

This from The Hill Blog.

By Fla. GOP Rep. Ric Keller on Politics

President Bush’s signature on this critical legislation will keep Pell Grants and Perkins Loans available to millions of American students heading back to school this fall. A college education is really a passport out of poverty and we have a responsibility to do everything we can to keep access to higher education affordable for every family in this country.

But what about this?

Students across the nation will have to pay thousands more in college loans beginning Saturday, according to a series of reports released [Friday] by the research arm of the Campaign for America’s Future. College students and graduates will be pushed deeper into debt as interest rates on Stafford loans — the basic student loan — rise from 5.3 percent to 7.14 percent on old loans and to 6.8 percent on new loans at the end of this week.

Parents that [sic] take out PLUS loans to help their children pay for an undergraduate education also face rising interest rates. This Saturday, rates on PLUS loans will increase from 6.1 percent to nearly 8 percent for existing loans and to 8.5 percent on new loans, costing the average parent nationally an extra $3,000 and $3,953 respectively.

So much for compassionate conservativism.

President Bush proposes high school initiative, more assistance to help students pay for college Budget [sic] includes funding increases for special education, Title I.

Sure he does. Who's buying this shit? Oops. Its a .gov site.

WOT. Don't these sites have proofreaders. I'm getting pissed off by how often I have to type "[sic]".

(read more)

The Sky Is Falling...Again

This should set the wingers loose. Nuke 'em. Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out. Attack. Growl. Argh!!!1!!

And I can't wait for Malkin(s) to rant about how we have to attack other Asians. Damn anchor baby.

North Korea will respond to a pre-emptive U.S. military attack with an "annihilating strike and a nuclear war," the state-run media said Monday, heightening its antagonistic rhetoric.

The Korean Central News Agency, citing an unidentified Rodong Sinmun newspaper "analyst," accused the United States of increasing military pressure on the isolated communist state.

The North Korean threat of retaliation, which is often voiced by its state-controlled media, comes amid U.S. official reports that Pyongyang has shown signs of preparing for a test of a long-range missile.

I've posted before. The latest. NoKo can't reach 48 of the 50 states. So "annihilating strike and nuclear war" is a bit of an overstatement. And, as far as I've been able to determine, they have one untested ICBM. To quote Matt Damon in Oceans 12, "Oooooooh".

Seriously though, SoKo should really be shaking in their boots. NoKo will attack our allies who're unfortunate enough to be nearby. Japan perhaps? Now why does Bushco hate our allies?

(read more)

Maryscott Has A Good Quote

We would do very well by keeping this formost in our minds and do what we can to ensure an honest (read not Ohio or Florida) count.

The quote is from Tom Stoppard. Maryscott has a pic and a link to Tom's bio.
“

It's not the voting that's democracy; it's the counting.

”
(link)

Answers For The Tinfoil Hat Brigade On 9/11

This is a great article addressing the conspiracy theories around 9/11. The author has really investigated what happened that day and talked to many experts. Here's a taste.

Okay, let’s start there. One operable term here is the chemical term “thermite,” defined as either the reaction of aluminum and iron oxide, or the combination of two such materials. A thermite reaction produces fires so hot as to be capable of burning almost all building materials and certainly capable of softening steel. That’s why this reaction is used in grenades and why construction workers avoid boring aluminum machinery through rusting steel layers, while morons who think they want to make a bomb at home are eager to experiment with same.

I told you she did her homework.

(read more)

Glenn Greewald - Good Guy

I just received a reply to an email sent to Glenn Greenwald. His reply was quite gracious. Just wanted to tell you this. Glenn's an A-lister and could have ignored me or blown my email away as some others have, but he didn't and I appreciate the courtesy.

Buy Glenn's book at Amazon.com.

Blogging Truth To Power

Now this is the sort of action we hope for when we blog.

Kennedy, meanwhile, is preparing to up the ante on those he believes abetted the GOP's electoral theft. In July, the outspoken attorney plans to file "whistle-blower" lawsuits against two leading manufacturers of electronic voting machines. According to Kennedy, company insiders are prepared to testify that the firms knowingly made false claims when they sold their voting systems to the government -- misrepresenting the accuracy, reliability and security of machines that will be used by 72 million voters this November.

And just what prompted this? I'd like to think bloggers had a lot to do with keeping this story alive and influencing Kennedy.

The debate began online, where the story set off a firestorm. More than 700,000 people logged on to rollingstone.com to read the story, and thousands of bloggers posted heated entries about Kennedy's report.

The online furor caught the attention of some in the mainstream press, which has long downplayed the evidence of vote tampering. In The New York Times, Bob Herbert devoted an entire column to our investigation, concluding that John Kerry "almost certainly would have won Ohio" if Republicans had not blocked so many of his supporters from casting ballots. And The Seattle Post-Intelligencer blasted the media for its "deafening" silence on Kennedy's report. "In terms of bad news judgment," the paper observed, "this could turn out to be the 2006 equivalent of the infamous Downing Street memo" -- evidence that the Bush administration falsified intelligence on WMDs to justify invading Iraq -- "that was initially greeted by the U.S. media with a collective yawn."

(read more)

Aside From The Missle Crisis, What Has Cuba Done For To US?

Dim Son puts together a commission called Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba. Then he puts "his" people on it. And, whadda ya know? They tell him exactly what he wants to hear!

Just the name of the commission, any further guidance aside, pretty much ensured the final outcome.

new high-level report due for publication later this week urges the United States government to begin preparations to intervene in Cuba in the event President Fidel Castro's death. The goal is to help spawn a speedy transition on the island towards "democracy and political freedom".

The recommendations, which include the creation of an $80m (£43m) fund to promote democracy in Cuba, are contained in the latest report compiled by the Commission for Assitance to a Free Cuba, created by President George Bush three years ago. The group is co-chaired by the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, and by the US Commerce Secretary, Carlos Gutierrez, a Cuban-American.

Let's hope and pray (if you're so inclined) Castro outlives the Bushco administration.

We don't need to kill a bunch more foreigners who don't happen to have our system of government. After all it's worked so well in the Middle East.

Yes I'm sure killing would be necessary. There will be those who'll resist Bushco's imperialism and they'll be good at resisting. Hell, it probably will create a new incubator for terrorists.

(read more)

Ah, But Will Bushco Listen?

Sorry, that was a stupid question.

SENIOR Pentagon officers have told the Bush administration that bombing Iranian nuclear facilities would probably fail to destroy that country's nuclear programme, the New Yorker magazine reported yesterday.

The senior commanders also warned that any attack launched if diplomacy fails to end the stand-off over Iran's nuclear ambitions could have "serious economic, political, and military consequences for the United States", the article said, citing unidentified US military officials.

"A crucial issue in the military's dissent, the officers said, is the fact that American and European intelligence agencies have not found specific evidence of clandestine activities or hidden facilities: the war planners are not sure what to hit," the report claimed.

(read more)

Whatever It Takes

Quote from Daniel J Boorstin:

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers."

President George W. Bush's administration spent 1.62 billion dollars on advertising and public relations contracts over two and a half years, an independent agency said Monday.

(read more)

I Gotta Get One Of These

(buy it here)

COPYCATTY COULTER PILFERS PROSE: PRO

That's the headline from The New York Post. Just so you're aware of the story. Other than that, I don't want to draw any more attention to the ass than is necessary.

A Diversion

And you thought there was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow? Reality can be ugly even when beautiful.

Via Bits & Pieces.

Someone Has To Say This, So Here Goes

Would all wingers please [see we can be civil] calm down about disclosures of government secret programs by the NY TIMES? The enemy took down the two WTC towers. They crashed an airplane into the Pentagon. They came close to attacking the White House.

Now how in hell can you believe these people too stupid to know Bushco is pulling phone records, looking at emails, checking money transfers and scanning bank records? These aren't stupid people. They accumulate vast amounts of money from all over the world. They use said money to purchase tons of arms. And all along they elude the best all law enforcement organizations in the world.

The fact is the NY TIMES isn't endangering US or US troops. They're providing important information to Americans, information most Americans wouldn't know otherwise.

Nothing Bushco is doing couldn't be done with proper oversight. The only reason for the secrecy is to establish a monarchy or dictatorship. Get with it, folks. Think about what is happening.

Mea culpa: I was reluctant to post the photo. Fear is a Repug thing. But I felt the photo emphasises the fact these are cunning people. They aren't a group trying to take down a bridge with a blowtorch.

Marines Are Tough, But So Are Librarians

Yep, I said librarians. Another answer to How Would a Patriot Act?*.

After preventing a group of librarians from telling Congress about the FBI’s attempt to access patrons’ computer records, the federal government has dropped its request for the data.

The librarians who received the subpoena from the FBI fought a long court battle to avoid complying with the request and to remove a gag order that prohibited them from telling the public about the request. The federal government eventually released them from their mandatory silence, but only after lawmakers had renewed the USA Patriot Act provisions dealing with national security letters – the internally issued subpoenas the FBI can use to request records without a court order. The librarians had hoped to testify before Congress against the very policy that gagged them.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which litigated the case on behalf of the four librarians, announced Monday that the government had finally dropped its request for the records entirely, allowing the group to disclose the scope of the probe.

The FBI’s letter, which the ACLU posted to its website, demands that the Library Connection, a consortium of 26 Connecticut libraries, hand over “all subscriber information, billing information and access logs of any person or entity related to” a certain IP address during a 45-minute period on February 15, 2005. An IP address is a unique identifier of a computer or computer network.

Come to think of it, Laura Bush was a librarian. No wonder the moron keeps trying to prove he's macho. He has to prove he's tougher than she.

(source) Courtesy link. I've posted the whole item here.

* Glenn Greenwald's book. Buy it at Amazon.com.

And More Overkill. By Israel, Of Course

This just keeps getting uglier and uglier. Such massive retaliation is unconscionable.

Israel has struck at the heart of the Palestinian government, hitting the Gaza office of the Hamas prime minister in a new wave of night-time air raids aimed at forcing militants to release a soldier captured by militants a week ago.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he had ordered the military to use "all its might" against Palestinian "terrorists" in order to bring home alive the wounded 19-year-old corporal Gilad Shalit.

Hamas premier Ismail Haniya condemned the overnight helicopter gunship attack which set his office ablaze in a dramatic new warning to his embattled administration.

"It's an attack against a Palestinian symbol. We ask the international community and the Arab League to take its responsibilities towards our people and intervene" to end what he called Israel's "insane policy," he said.

(read more)

Note: Photo is from Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Another Huge Bombing In Iraq. This One Killed 77 And Wounded 96

Its never gonna stop, especially if our troops are there.

A suicide car bombing at a crowded open-air market Saturday killed 77 people and wounded 96 in the deadliest single attack since the Iraqi government was formed six weeks ago. Other violence brought the day's toll to 92 even as authorities announced the discovery of 26 bodies.

The market, in the poor Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City, was teeming with activity when the bomber struck: Fruit sellers could be heard haggling loudly as shoppers wandered past carts laden with vegetables and watermelons.

"Then the huge explosion came," said Raheem Shawaili, a 47-year-old shopkeeper, recounting how everything around him changed in an instant.

First, there were "gray plumes of smoke," he said. "Then, the smoke became dark."

The blast shattered windows, ripped doors from their hinges and set rows of cars ablaze. Carts used by children to carry goods for shoppers lay wrecked in the dusty street among other debris: metal, human flesh and crushed vegetables.

Such is daily life and death in Iraq.

(read more if you have the stomach for it)

Bushco: NSA Domestic Spying Needed After 9/11

Isn't that what they said? Yeah, here's one instance.

In the weeks following September the 11th, I [Dim Son] authorized a terrorist surveillance program to detect and intercept al Qaeda communications involving someone here in the United States. This is a targeted program to intercept communications in which intelligence professionals have reason to believe that at least one person is a member or agent of al Qaeda or a related terrorist organization. The program applies only to international communications. In other words, one end of the communication must be outside the United States. [emphasis mine]

Of course we know the moron was lying through his teeth. And right then, so did the room full of NSA people who knew damn well what they were doing. Many were doing the spying or analysis of the intercepted communications. I must say the idiot-in-chief sure has chutzpa to lie about the NSA's activities to NSA employees.

Then this little tidbit turns up.

The U.S. National Security Agency asked AT&T Inc. to help it set up a domestic call monitoring site seven months before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, lawyers claimed June 23 in court papers filed in New York federal court.

Now if those lawyers are correct, the moron was lying about when he authorized the NSA to spy on Americans. And how does that jive with this?

President Bush signed a secret order in 2002 authorizing the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on U.S. citizens and foreign nationals in the United States, despite previous legal prohibitions against such domestic spying, sources with knowledge of the program said last night.

Methinks Bushco has just done too much lying to keep track of it all. Don't they realize some of us out here have computers and can like, Google this shit?

It Has To Be Said...

Bushco is attacking freedom of the press and should, at least, be ashamed of themselves.

"The assault on a free press during our own wartime should be recognized for what it is: another desperate ploy by officials trying to hide their own lethal mistakes in the shadows. It's the antithesis of everything we celebrate with the blazing lights of Independence Day."

We celebrate Independence Day soon. And independence from what? Independence from a monarchy. An independence that included specific establishment of a free and independent press. A press expected to scrutinize government and inform the American public about what its elected officials are doing. That's how we get informed citizens who know policy and can make intelligent judgements at the polls.

But Bushco is trying to, if they haven't already done so, establish a new monarchy. They can't pull that off with a free and independent press and informed citizens. They have to control what the people know. That's precisely why they lie. This is a power struggle and the press had better win or we're screwed.

(read more)

We Have To Pull Our Troops Out Of Iraq

Yeah, yeah. You've heard that before. But the latest incident of alleged rape/murder is indicative of what's to come. These poor souls (our troops, not to mention the Iraqis) are in an impossible situation and are being driven to madness by it. Fuck Bushco! They made a mistake and should have the balls to admit it and save our troops and innocent Iraqi people.

The accumulation of these attacks on innocent Iraqis by U.S. soldiers on Iraqi citizens puts the rest of our soldiers in greater danger -- as if the danger isn't already great enough.

Those investigating this "incident" believe it was planned as much as a week in advance and was nothing short of premeditated murder. Our troops aren't monsters, but some are slowly becoming monsters. What else can we expect when unfit people are sent into hostile territory?

Via AMERICAblog.

I read a comment by someone who said he/she (this is the internets after all) didn't comment on other sites for fear of being watched by the government. That may be overstating her/his position, but I believe its fairly accurate. It doesn't matter because its anecdotal and sets up my post.

It brought to mind the bumper sticker "I love my country, but fear my government". That bumper sticker used to be amusing. Not anymore.

This is America? This is the land of the free and the home of the brave? Or is this the country Osama bin Laden created? A country that spies on its citizens, makes people fear anyone with darker skin, makes people fear their own leader ruler?

Right now bin Laden is winning. If you don't see that you're an ostrich.

BTW do ostriches really bury their heads in the sand? I've never seen an actual photo of such behaviour. Maybe it just looks like they do when they're feeding. Just asking.

SPIIDERWEB™ Is An Equal Opportunistic Basher

Of course there's also a bash of Bushco. I'd be remiss to neglect those folks.

Check this out.

The main villain here is Robert “strong dollar” Rubin. He was the one who initiated the high dollar policy back in the mid-nineties. Politically, this is great policy. It allows for substantial short-term gains (low inflation and higher living standards for those protected from import competition), at a cost of substantial long-term pain. Bush of course is complicit in this high dollar policy, since he did not move aggressively to bring the dollar down to a sustainable level.


Anyhow, we will pay a large price, possibly in the near future, for this short-sighted high dollar policy. But, the fault here lies primarily with Rubin and Clinton, not the current occupant of the White House.

The point here is the dollar is not as stable as Americans would believe. Overnight the dollar could drop in value by half. Can you still make your mortgage and car payments? Just asking.

This is what's possible when government isn't run right. And Bushco isn't running government right at all. Could someone like Clinton correct this situation? I'm not sure, but I'm sure Bushco can't.

Show Howsh It Hangin' Dude?

That doesn't look like water. Maybe apple juice? Who would have the balls to tell Bush what he can and can't drink? Just asking.

And Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi seems to be thinking "I have to suffer this moron to see Graceland"? Or he's eyeing Laura. Ewww! Don't wanna go there.