The Blog Warrior

America take a good look at yourself.

2005-09-06T10:06:00.000-04:00

I haven't blogged in months. I really don't have the strength to. Emotionally, I am just whipped. I thought that I had finally found a job that would pay me enough to survive, and that I wouldn't have to worry about it closing it's doors and moving to Mexico in a year...

...but like so many factories/production companies as soon as it came time to start giving me some healthcare, they fired me, and hired some other poor schmuck, that they'll just fire when it comes time to give them benefits.

That's the America that I know.

...and it leaves me so sad that I just want to sleep, and I hope that when I wake up it won't be there anymore.

The Left Coaster points out, that in election year 2004, george "piece of shit" bush and his republican buddies (like his piece of shit brother jeb) diverted money for hurricane funding from New Orleans to Miami-Dade....

it also notes that, even though they were not affected by Hurricane, in six cases, FEMA reimbursed residents of Miami Dade Florida for damage caused by snow, and ice...

I call that corruption. And in the wake of Hurricane Katrina I call it murder.

A visibly upset Kanye West blurted out that "bush hates black people" on MSNBC's concert/fund raising show that they did, and MSNBC won't even report it. They might not agree with what he said, but they Still Have To Report It!!! What the hell is wrong with them?!?

And Kanye was right, george bush does hate black people. It's a powerful hatred. It's the kind where he doesn't even care if they live or die. He hates poor people too, and if your black and poor, and you live in America, you don't need me to tell you how much he hates you.

For the last five days I've watched poor black people die of starvation waiting for FEMA.

...and when I flipped past fox news, the anchor described it as "fun" and a lot like a sleep over. barbara bush said something along the lines of since they were poor and black living in a shelter isn't so bad for them. A step-up if you will.

My own brother said that the country is better off now that they're dead. Less people to collect welfare to use his words...

I will never speak to my brother again.

They are predicting that Katrina's death toll could be five times higher than that of 9/11...

...and half of the country is snickering about it.

The media has ignored the poor for so long they don't even understand the world they live in anymore. Stories of people hiding from helicopters, afraid of being hit with a bill for the rescue, has left pundits stunned, but I got news for 'em when my local emergency helicopter takes a person to the hospital, it costs that person anywhere from 5 to 10 thousand dollars, a ride in an ambulance costs about two thousand... I'd wave 'em off too.

bush has a new slogan today "A Tidal Wave of Compassion"

he's so big on code phrases "activist judge" means a judge that supports Roe v. Wade....

So you tell me, when he says "A Tidal Wave of Compassion" what is he getting at? It sure sounds like a wink and a nudge to all the racists, happy with the results of Katrina, to me...

I'm so tired.

Abortion: A Natural Part of Being a Good Mother

2005-07-24T07:58:00.000-04:00

Something about stuff being 'natural' is really important to republicans. Just ask gay people. They'll tell you that republican are Really Big on stuff being natural. Like when it comes to the law.

But natural law isn't the only thing republicans are big on. They like natural herbs, medicines, flavored soda pop.... If it's natural they like it, so why hasn't anyone pointed out to them, that abortion is perfectly natural?

There's a cat in my back yard. It's starving. Being a liberal, I don't like to see things suffer, so I feed it. It hasn't been fixed, and I don't want any kittens, but it can't get pregnant, so I have no worries about it hanging around. "Why can't it get pregnant?" you may be wondering. Because it's starving.

Natural birth control! Starving animals don't have babies. Well.. I guess sometimes they do, but for the most part no, and for good reason. Making a baby takes a lot of nourishment, so if mom doesn't have any to spare, her reproductive stuff shuts down.

A starving momma, that can't feed herself, won't be able to feed a bunch of babies. Now will she?

And what, you may wonder, happens when a momma gets all preggers, and then there's a food shortage? Why what's only natural... She aborts them.

If it's still early in the pregnancy her body may just absorb them. Failing that, momma will likely eat her young. For everyone who just went 'eww', this is all perfectly natural!

Momma knows that she can't feed them, and that they will most certainly die. And why risk feeding one of her natural predators, when she needs a meal herself? It makes sense from a 'natural' standpoint.

So why do republicans think that the cat in my back yard should have more family planning options than I do?

...maybe they're just big supporters of Jonathan Swift.

You Want Him? You Got Him.

2005-07-22T11:12:00.000-04:00

The DNC's silence on Roberts has a lot of people wondering what they're up to. Well let me fill you in, it's called spite. It's the 15 year old screaming "I don't care!", it's the resentment of not being able to change one's circumstances boiling over.

The American people have grown apathetic, and they don't think what Washington does affects their day to day life. They treat politics like football, and as long as their team is winning, they're happy. In the long run they don't care about the details.

They want lower taxes, and then they bitch about everything from potholes, to troops not having bullet proof armor. They don't understand that if they don't pay their taxes, they can't have the other stuff. They don't understand that, when jr. lowered taxes for the top 1%, the government still needed the money, so in order to get it they raised taxes on everything from houses to cigarettes.

They don't understand what 'judicial activision' even is. They hear the republicans whine about it, and just roll their eyes. They don't really believe that Roe V. Wade will be overturned, and even if it is, they don't think they'll ever get pregnant, or whatever they tell themselves...

...but the right to privacy covers everything from choosing what form of medical treatment you want, to using contraception. Republican hate contraception, they even refuse to fund clinics that teach birth control. If you don't have a right to privacy, then they can pass laws that make using a condom illegal, and can you imagine the congress determining the best way to treat a medical disorder? Making it the law of the land that if you get disease x, then you must use treatment y.

...After all a person treating their cancer with prayer could be considered to be attempting suicide...

So let 'em have him. Let them sit back and watch as the zealots appeal every precedent set over the last hundred years.

...and when the American people ask the democrats why they didn't stop Roberts from getting onto the Supreme Court, the dems can say "you wanted him, and besides the RNC controlls the House, the Senate, and the Presidency..." then they can sit back coyly and ask "what did you expect us to do about it?"

Human Rights Abusers Cry Foul

2005-07-22T11:02:00.000-04:00

Moonie Times

Soldiers from Massachusetts and Hawaii who work at the U.S. military detention facility at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,[by 'work' they mean abuse prisoners for the hell of it] gave visiting home-state senators a piece of their mind last week.

...

"They got stiff reactions from those home-state soldiers," one official told us. "The troops down there expressed their disdain for that kind of commentary, especially comparisons to the gulag."

Working in a gulag doesn't bother them. They just don't like being criticized for it.

...and I'm getting pretty tired of supporting the troops.

And I'm getting really tired of republicans hiding behind them.

Attn Corporate Sponsored Media: The Word You're Looking For Is 'Treason'

2005-07-22T10:55:00.000-04:00

MSNBC via WaPo

The paragraph identifying her as the wife of former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV was clearly marked to show that it contained classified material at the "secret" level, two sources said. The CIA classifies as "secret" the names of officers whose identities are covert, according to former senior agency officials.

Anyone reading that paragraph should have been aware that it contained secret information, [...] sources said. It is a federal crime, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a federal official to knowingly disclose the identity of a covert CIA official if the person knows the government is trying to keep it secret.

*backpedalling removed for the sake of justice

The RainBow Warrior: 20 Years Later

2005-07-18T15:34:00.000-04:00

For those of you that do not know, 20 years ago French president Francois Mitterrand ordered the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, a protest ship that, at the time, had been dispatched to protest France's testing of nuclear weapons.

20 years later, the threat of a nuclear war has never been higher. The U.S., Korea, China, Pakistan, India, Iran... Not a month goes by without one of these countries seriously threatening to use it's nuclear weapons.

...and it saddens me, it really saddens me that not once last week did I hear a news report on the Rainbow Warrior.

In fact the only (english) internet site that I could find that covered the anniversary was Democracy Now!

Thank God for Amy Goodman.

From 'DeapThroat' to 'Deep Doo-Doo'

2005-07-05T06:25:00.000-04:00

If you've been watching the 24 hour news channels, you probably don't know that Karl Rove was outed for leaking Valerie Plame's name to any one who would listen.

The corporate sponsored media doesn't like it when they are denied the rights given to real journalists, and have gotten all huffy over the Supreme Court ignoring their pleas for protecting their sources...

Whaaaa..... Cry me a river.

Telling the world Valerie Plame's name was not journalism. It was revenge, and it was treason.

And if a democrat had done it, they would have been executed for high crimes faster than bush used to fry 'em down in Texas.

...but our media works for the same corporations that bush works for. And they don't ask hard questions anymore.

Valerie Plame's job was protecting America from a nuclear attack. She doesn't do that anymore. So did Karl Rove's behavior increase the threat of a nuclear attack on America?

...And if a nuke goes off in Time's Square will our media connect the dots? Will they ponder aloud about whether or nor Valerie Plame could have stopped it?

Of course not!

They'll be too busy talking about shark attacks.

Fun with Polls

2005-07-01T06:25:00.000-04:00

from Zogby

In a sign of the continuing partisan division of the nation, more than two-in-five (42%) voters say that, if it is found that President Bush did not tell the truth about his reasons for going to war with Iraq, Congress should hold him accountable through impeachment. While half (50%) of respondents do not hold this view, supporters of impeachment outweigh opponents in some parts of the country.

CNN and MSNBC have both reported that, that same poll also shows that 1 in 4 republicans support impeaching bush, if he lied, and a lot of dems are saying that it shows bush's losing ground with the right... blah.. blah.. blah...

But lets face it. No one is ever going to be able to convince a republican that bush lied. Was wrong? Maybe. But most republicans are too hardlined to ever believe that their guy lied.

So it's a stupid poll.

...and if dems are smart they'll use it as an opportunity to say that republicans are out of touch with themselves, and focus the media into asking how much evidence would it take to convince republicans that bush did lie.

Now there's a 'question of the day' that I would like to see.

I'd also like to see the dems shame the 75% of republicans that support bush even if he did lie.

And while they are shaming people maybe they could take a moment to ask CNN what the hell is up with their polls.

After bush's lame speech, CNN polled 300ish people on what they thought of it. 50% were republicans. 25% Dems, and 25% consisted of people to stupid to pick a party.

...and sure enough 50%ish said they liked it.

And I like to say something cleaver here about CNNs stupidity/bias...

...but I can't. Our media disappoints and saddens me.

America Today: War Criminals and Manipulators

2005-06-18T06:43:00.000-04:00

from Democracy Now!

Britain's Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram has admitted that the Bush administration lied to British officials about the use of napalm-type firebombs in Iraq. In a private letter obtained by The Independent newspaper of London, Ingram says the US originally told him they had not used so-called MK77s in Iraq at any time but then writes "I regret to say that I have since discovered that this is not the case and must now correct the position." The MK77 bombs are an evolution of the napalm used in Vietnam and Korea. They carry kerosene-based jet fuel and polystyrene so that the gel sticks to structures and to its victims.

Note that the use of Napalm was banned by the U.N. in 1980, but like with every other great moral leap made by the countries of the U.N., the U.S. lagged behind and refused to sign the agreement. If it had, george bush jr. could have found himself on a plane ride to the Hague to face a war crimes tribunal. As it is, all we can do is hope that he takes trip to a country with a moral compass, and then they can put his ass on a plane to the Hague.

...and also from Democracy Now!

a report to the G8 Summit used to read:

"Inertia in the climate system means that further warming is inevitable. Unless urgent action is taken, there will be a growing risk of adverse effects on economic development, human health and the natural environment, and of irreversible long-term changes to our climate and oceans."

but after bush's cronies got done with it, it read:

"Climate change is a serious long term challenge that has the potential to affect every part of the globe."

Republican Values in the News

2005-06-18T05:41:00.000-04:00

More bush tax cut fallout.

First off, after declaring that PBS is liberal republicans cut it's funding. The president of PBS claims that the cuts will begin a "spiral of death for public broadcasting".

...and then, republicans cut funding to the U.N. The repubs claim it has somethig to do with the Sudan being on the U.N.
Commission on Human Rights... Why? Is there something on in the Sudan? I haven't heard bush give any speeches about the Sudan. The repubs claim it has something to do with the oil for food scandal too... You know, that 'scandal' that george w. bush fully supported.

...just add them to the list of 150 other programs that the republicans have already cut funding to.

In other news. "The World Health Organization has said acrylamide may be responsible for up to one-third of all cancers caused by diet." Potato chips are loaded with it, and required by law to put warning labels on their bags, just like cigarettes. But thanks to republican govenor Arnold Schwarzenegger they haven't had to.

And it turns out that doing drug testing on foster children with Aids is a bad thing.

And since we don't want to interfer with the free market, porn will soon be available for the Playstation Portable (PsP)

And it turns out that Terry Schiavo was infact dead already. Half of her brain, mostly the part that controls higher functions, like thought, was gone. The tissue had died, and been absorbed by her body. She was blind... She wasn't smiling at anyone. She was not responsive.

So what does the republican Govenor of Florida do, when it turns out that he was wrong, had interfered with a persons right to choose their medical treatment, and exploited a tragedy for his own political gain... Why he launches an investigation into whether or not her husband caused her injuries.

I think someone should investigate whether jeb bush is an actual disciple of Satan or if he's just pretending to be one.

...and then there's this:

george bush jr's former Chief Economist for the Department of Labor thinks that george bush jr may have been behind 9/11.

...I'd Call It Kidnapping

2005-06-13T05:15:00.000-04:00

This is from a column by Susan Paynter, and it can be found here. There have been a lot of disgusting stories about military recruiters lately, but this is without a doubt one of the worst.

"You don't want to be a burden to your mom," they told him. "Be a man." "Make your father proud." Never mind that, because of his own experience in the service, Marcia says enlistment for his son is the last thing Axel's dad would have wanted.

...when [his mother] went to Seattle for the Folklife Festival and Axel was home alone, two recruiters showed up at the door.

Axel repeated the family mantra, but he was feeling frazzled and worn down by then. The sergeant was friendly but, at the same time, aggressively insistent. This time, when Axel said, "Not interested," the sarge turned surly, snapping, "You're making a big (bleeping) mistake!"

Next thing Axel knew, the same sergeant and another recruiter showed up at the LaConner Brewing Co., the restaurant where Axel works. And before Axel, an older cousin and other co-workers knew or understood what was happening, Axel was whisked away in a car.

"They said we were going somewhere but I didn't know we were going all the way to Seattle," Axel said.

Just a few tests. And so many free opportunities, the recruiters told him.

He could pursue his love of chemistry. He could serve anywhere he chose and leave any time he wanted on an "apathy discharge" if he didn't like it. And he wouldn't have to go to Iraq if he didn't want to.

At about 3:30 in the morning, Alex was awakened in the motel and fed a little something. Twelve hours later, without further sleep or food, he had taken a battery of tests and signed a lot of papers he hadn't gotten a chance to read. "Just formalities," he was told. "Sign here. And here. Nothing to worry about."

By then [his mother, at home, and not knowing where her son was,] had "freaked out."

Read the whole thing!

Chris Matthews: B-Movie Bad Guy

2005-06-03T06:20:00.000-04:00

I've been busy, so I didn't post about this, but since then, I've had some time to think it over...

Chris Matthews is evil.

First of all he voted for bush, who is known the world over as a war criminal, an abuser of human rights, a strike first, make up a reason later, cowboy... And he even got offended when one of his HardBall 'guests' said that he was being to hard on ol' bushie. "I voted for him, how can you say I don't support the president?" bellowed a bewildered Matthews.

Do ya know a how low budget b-movie bad guy slowly kills his victims? The way they do it with a sadistic glee? So that you really hate the guy, but without the expensive special effects?

That's Chris Matthews.

Sure he killing the left, but without the big bucks back up of a Fox News.

Where Bill Oreilly goes out, and declares himself 'fair and balanced', and threatens to sue anyone who mocks him, Chris has to lurk in the shadows, and make creepy noises... (ha-ha-ha-ha, shee-shee-shee-shee, who-who-who-who)

Take for instance his attack on one of his pro-choice 'guests'. Chris jumped all over this woman for saying that she was 'pro-choice'. He asked her 'Why don't you just say you're pro-abortion?' as if he had just cut through some masterfully crafted facade. 'Cause that what you are, pro-abortion' he declared.

He forgot to do the evil 'mmwwaahahaha' laugh though...

But this is where Chris' true colors start to show through, using a republican talking point to confuse the issue. Being pro-choice doesn't automatically make you pro-abortion, so stop acting like such a smarty pants, Chris.

Being pro-choice means that you think you can make your own damn medical decisions. That you think it's bad enough that your HMO wants to tell you what to do, and you sure as hell don't want Tom Delay telling you.

What the hell are doctors for anymore, anyway? HMO's, the religious right, Viagra... If they had their way the only thing your doctor would know is when to shut the fuck up. (Which is when they're talking.)

...and why does Matthews think that overturning Roe V. Wade would automatically make abortion illegal? Laws change everyday, and you can bet your ass that the so called 'liberal states' would enjoy the tourism. Not to mention Canada, and Mexico.

No. The Roe V. Wade debate is a pro-choice debate. Abortion is just the way Chris, and his buddies on the right, like to change the subject.

And someday when you're sitting at home rubbing a crushed Enzyte pill on your toe to treat your athlete's foot.... if you listen closely... you'll hear Chris Matthews laughing...

Mwahahahaha....

Deep Sixing Deep Throat

2005-06-02T18:36:00.000-04:00

Well it looks like the big story these days is about Deep Throat/Mark Felt, so I might as well toss my two cents in.

I'll start with a question:

What does Pat Buchanan, G. Gordon Liddy, Ben Stein and Bob Novak, all have in common?

Answer:

They're all Fascists

Add to that list Donald Rumsfeld, and you've got a real who's who in the history of the American Dirtbag. Or even, five perfect examples that shit floats.

So it's no surprize that they've all crawled out from under their respective rocks to attack the messenger that guaranteed that an asterix will appear next to their names in the history books for many, many years to come.

'Is deepthroat a hero or traitor?' is the media's favorite question of the day. I've heard it dozens of times this week....

It's like whining about Kato Kaylan...

...When we all know OJ did it!!!!!!!!

And then there's Ben Stein. Ben Stein wrote this article, in which he asks:

Can anyone even remember now what Nixon did that was so terrible? He ended the war in Vietnam, brought home the POW's, ended the war in the Mideast, opened relations with China, started the first nuclear weapons reduction treaty, saved Eretz Israel's life, started the Environmental Protection Administration. Does anyone remember what he did that was bad?

Why yes, Ben. We Do!
...and the Vietnamese people ended the war in Vietnam, when they kicked America's ass you pretentious son of a bitch!

Why is the media giving an outlet to these criminals? Why do they think their opinions matter?

Oops... My Bad.

2005-06-02T18:19:00.000-04:00

I'm sure that a lot of you out there are wondering why I haven't been posting much. It's because I started a new job, it's good money but the hours suck, so I won't be able to post as often... atleast not until everything settles down.

...and until then comments are off for two reasons.

(1) The republican trolls can go post at their own damn blogs and (2) I had to go through, and clean out an absurd amount of spam. Porn site spam, and worse blog spam. A.K.A. some dirtbag(s) saying "Great Post! If people want to know more about this topic they can read about it at my blog at blah blah blah.com..."

...said dirtbag(s) even ask me to link to them while explaining how they would link to me, if they could, but their host doesn't allow them to link to blogger.

...and I'm just to busy to put up with this shit.

So No Comments!

...but feel free to keep on e-mailing. I do read them. Just not regularly.

One Hundred Names You Won't Hear This Memorial Day

2005-05-26T08:44:00.000-04:00

Posted at Kos by Diane

(read it)

Death By Protester?

2005-05-26T08:27:00.000-04:00

I am so annoyed by her explanation.

"I think the protests were very expected..." she says.

If they were so damn expected then why did the Secret Service let her go?

...wouldn't be the first time a "King george' had his wife whacked.

Damn You Imus!!!

2005-05-26T08:23:00.000-04:00

...for getting this song stuck in my head.

(hit the 'listen' tab)

Military Recruiter Backlash

2005-05-26T08:08:00.000-04:00

Democracy Now!

On Monday, four US military recruiting offices in Seattle were shut down when students blocked the entrances to protest recruitment practices and to oppose the occupation of Iraq. Meanwhile the Parent Teacher Student Association at one school has passed a resolution recommending that military recruiters be barred from the campus.

Kick Ass!

Someone Owes Newsweek An Apology

2005-05-26T07:55:00.000-04:00

FBI reports showed that detainees at the U.S. naval prison in Cuba told FBI and military interrogators on a number of occasions as early as April 2002 — three months after the first prisoners arrived at the makeshift prison — that guards abused them and desecrated the Quran.

I get a kick out of the bushies... They don't think that flushing the Koran in a toilet is such a bad thing, but don't tell anyone!

We must race to save Darfur

2005-05-26T07:48:00.000-04:00

CNN

"If violence and fear prevent the people of Darfur from planting and growing crops next year, then millions will have to be sustained by an epic relief effort which will stretch international capacity to the maximum."
-Kofi Annan

"Do you have blacks, too?"—G.W.Bush, Washington, D.C., Nov. 8, 2001

Modern memorials stand for the warriors, not the war

2005-05-26T07:44:00.000-04:00

USA Today

Grass-roots memorials to the war dead in Iraq and Afghanistan are spreading across America, and the driving force behind them is often the same: to commemorate the individuals, rather than the wars.

What A Piece Of Shit...

2005-05-26T06:28:00.000-04:00

Drudge has a picture of the kid accusing Jackson of molestation up on his website.

In honor of this new low, I bring to you David Brock's rehash of what it's like to be 'picked-up' by Matt Drudge:

Drudge picked me up at a friend's house in the Hollywood Hills in his red Geo Metro, arriving with an impressive bouquet of yellow roses. Jesus, I thought, Drudge thinks we're going on a date.

Hey Brother, Can Ya Spare Some Change?

2005-05-26T06:24:00.000-04:00

Question:

Is 50 Cent talented?

Answer:

No. Not even a 'Lil Bit'

Amnesty International Slams U.S. For Human Rights Abuses

2005-05-25T16:58:00.000-04:00

From Amnesty International (Americas Section)

The blatant disregard for international human rights and humanitarian law in the “war on terror” continued to make a mockery of President George Bush’s claims that the USA was the global champion of human rights. Images of detainees in US custody tortured in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq shocked the world. War crimes in Iraq, and mounting evidence of the torture and ill-treatment of detainees in US custody in other countries, sent an unequivocal message to the world that human rights may be sacrificed ostensibly in the name of security.

[...]

The USA continued to pressure governments throughout the region to sign unlawful immunity agreements shielding US personnel from surrender to the International Criminal Court. Of 12 countries that had refused to sign, 10 had some military aid suspended as a result. In November the US Congress threatened to cut off development aid to countries that refused to sign.

From Amnesty International (USA)

...since the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, about 50,000 people had been detained during US military and security operations.

[...]

A number of detainees, reported to be those considered by the US authorities to have high intelligence value, were alleged to remain in secret detention in undisclosed locations. In some cases, their situation amounted to “disappearance”. Some individuals were believed to have been held in secret locations for as long as three years. The refusal or failure of the US authorities to clarify the whereabouts or status of the detainees, leaving them outside the protection of the law for a prolonged period, clearly violated the standards of the UN Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance

[...]

...released documents showed that the administration had sanctioned interrogation techniques that violated the UN Convention against Torture and that the President had stated in a central policy memorandum dated 7 February 2002 that, although the USA’s values “call for us to treat detainees humanely”, there are some “who are not legally entitled to such treatment”. The documents discussed, among other things, ways in which US agents could avoid the international prohibition on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, including by arguing that the President could override international and national laws prohibiting such treatment.

These and other documents also indicated that President Bush’s decision not to apply the Geneva Conventions to detainees captured in Afghanistan followed advice from his legal counsel, Alberto Gonzales, that this would free up US interrogators in the “war on terror” and make future prosecutions of US agents for war crimes less likely.

[...]

Conscientious objectors Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejía Castillo and Sergeant Abdullah William Webster were imprisoned; they were prisoners of conscience. Both men remained in prison at the end of the year.

You really should read the whole thing for yourself, because there is just too much to highlight.

Some domestic stuff too, like 40 people being killed by police using tasers. Wow.

So how bad is it for bushie?

Well, Reuters is reporting that:

Four years after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, human rights are in retreat worldwide and the United States bears most responsibility...

Yeah, that's bad.

The Sad State of Television

2005-05-25T10:20:00.000-04:00

This Poll on CNN caught my eye:

Will you be watching the 'American Idol' final?

-Yes, avidly 15%

-Just the last 10 minutes 12%

-Avoiding like the plague 73%

2 guesses where I stand...

Whoa...

2005-05-25T09:02:00.000-04:00

WaPo

Betty (but call her BJ) Ostergren, a feisty 56-year-old from just north of Richmond, is driven to make important people angry. She puts their Social Security numbers on her Web site, or links to where they can be found.

It's not that she wants CIA Director Porter J. Goss, former secretary of state Colin L. Powell, or Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to be victims of identity theft, as were millions of Americans in the past year. Ostergren is on a crusade to scare and shame public officials into doing something about how easy it is to get sensitive personal data.

[...]

When Ostergren finds a well-known figure, she decides whether exposing his or her number on her Virginia Watchdog Web site might further her cause.

Which is how she came to link to Jeb Bush's Social Security number.

She notified him through someone she knew in the administration of President Bush. Soon after, she noticed that the governor's number was blacked out on the county Web site in Florida where it was listed. So she posted it on her site.

"I decided since he protected his own hind end and nobody else's, I'd put his on there," she said.

See it for yourself. Here is Jeb Bush's SS#, along with Director of the CIA Portor Goss.

Moderate GOP Breaking With Bush

2005-05-25T08:20:00.000-04:00

-Republican Senator George R. Voinovich sent a letter to his fellow Senators asking them to vote against Bolton.

To qoute the good Senator:

"In these dangerous times, we cannot afford to put at risk our nation's ability to successfully wage and win the war on terror with a controversial and ineffective ambassador to the United Nations"

-The House of Representatives defied President Bush's veto threat and voted Tuesday to expand federal funding for stem cell research using human embryos.

-McCain emerged as a clear winner Wednesday as the dust settled on a bipartisan agreement that allowed a yes-or-no vote on some of President Bush's judicial nominees.

With friends like those, bush doesn't even need me :(

Play It Again, Sam.

2005-05-25T08:19:00.000-04:00

Republicans took a break from giving Paris Hilton tax cuts just long enough to call her latest commercial "soft porn".

Professional republican values grandstanders (Oreilly, Scarborough, etc...), assumingly after a private *cough* viewing *cough*. Went on the air, and showed the commercial, and showed it again, and again, and again, and again... Because that kind of filth shouldn't be on tv! And people need to see it for themselves!

So if you want to see it, tune in tonight, and they'll play it again!!

...or if you'd like to watch it now, and don't have access to a 24 hour news network, you can see it here.

Her father must be so proud.

About Jay Leno's Testimony....

2005-05-25T07:45:00.000-04:00

.

from The Smoking Gun

When Mesereau quizzed Leno about his previous statements to sheriff's investigators, Leno said he was suspicious of the boy's contact because it did not seem like the normal behavior for a child his age. During that sheriff's session, which was tape recorded, Leno said that while he believed Jackson was guilty of child molestation, he thought to himself, "Boy, they (the accuser and his mother) finally found a mark."

Skip the details of what he said... All we need to know is that what he said in his statements to police, didn't match-up to what he said on the stand.

And assuming that there's a police report somewhere, didn't Leno break the law?

It's either filing a false police report, or perjury.

...It's Got A Funny Smell To It.

2005-05-24T08:26:00.000-04:00

So it looks like the battle over filibusters has ended... At least for now, but I don't like it. Yes the dems get to keep the right to filibuster judges, but (so far) I don't see where this deal stops the republicans from trying to block filibusters in the future.

...but Pat Buchanan is throwing a fit, so it can't be all bad for the Dems.

Maybe it was a true compromise; where neither side won. Maybe.

Dean Rules!

2005-05-24T06:49:00.000-04:00

Over at Little Green Retards they're jumping all over Howard Dean's Meet the Press oops, where he switched Saddam's name for Bin Laden's when talking with Russert; who either didn't notice, or didn't even bother to correct it. Thanks for nothin' Tim.

Anyway the Little Green Retards are calling Dean the gift to republicans that keeps on giving... Blah, Blah, Blah.... And they make a point of noting that Dean mispoke twice.

So I'd like to take a moment to point out the other people who've made the very same switcheroo. People Like:

Donald Rumsfeld: Switched Saddam with Bin Laden twice 'In a speech to the National Press Club on the eve of the third anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks'

and

Bushie: "Of course we're after Iraq.. eh.. Saddam Hussein.. I mean bin Laden."

...and while I'm at it here is a never ending list of the stupid things bush has said.

I liked this one:

"I want to thank my friend, Sen. Bill Frist, for joining us today. … He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. (Laughter.) Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me."—Nashville, Tenn., May 27, 2004

and this one...

"God loves you, and I love you. And you can count on both of us as a powerful message that people who wonder about their future can hear."—Los Angeles, Calif., March 3, 2004 (Thanks to Tanny Bear.)

...but back to the point. Howard Dean energizes the DNC. Where they'd given up on so called red states, Howard Dean has marched right in, and fought for them.

Republicans can redistrict Texas all they want. In the next election, they're gonna have to fight for it, and thanks to Howard Dean, they're gonna have to fight for a lot of other states too.

They can say what they want about his 'howl' too, 'cause when all was said and done most Americans liked it.

The hypocrisy is that they attack Dean, a man known to have hooted and howled at a campaign rally, and then fight for the nomination of John Bolton, a man known to have attacked a woman, trapping her in her hotel room, where he continued to pound on her door while shouting treats at her.

...but let 'em say what they want, Howard Dean has the GOP on the ropes, and they know it.

Get Real

2005-05-24T06:30:00.000-04:00

USA Today

Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., takes issue with remarks on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, first aired May 13, in which Maher points out the Army missed its recruiting goal by 42% in April.

"More people joined the Michael Jackson fan club," Maher said. "We've done picked all the low-lying Lynndie England fruit, and now we need warm bodies."

Army Reserve Pfc. England was accused of abusing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

"I think it borders on treason," Bachus said. "In treason, one definition is to undermine the effort or national security of our country."

Isn't Alabama the dumbest state in the union?

...looks like Bachus is an excellent Representative.

Hello? Is This Thing On?

2005-05-23T12:15:00.000-04:00

The Supreme Court, re-entering the politically charged abortion debate, agreed Monday to hear a state appeal seeking to reinstate a law requiring parental notification before minors can terminate their pregnancies.

Justices will review a lower court ruling that struck down New Hampshire's parental notification law. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the 2003 law was unconstitutional because it didn't provide an exception to protect the minor's health in the event of a medical emergency.

The decision to review the emotional case, which came amid wide speculation that Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's retirement is looming, will be heard in the next term beginning in October. Liberal groups have vowed to fight any Rehnquist replacement who opposes the high court's landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion.

[...]

In its last major abortion decision in 2000, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that state abortion laws must provide an exception to protect the mother's health. Justices at the time reasoned that a Nebraska law, which banned so-called "partial-birth" abortions, placed an "undue burden" on women's abortion rights.

It's as if they just reached out, and turned the volume up on the filibuster debate.

'Cause in the end, abortion is what the fight over the filibuster is all about. If the Dems loose the ability to filibuster, then there is no stopping the republicans. They can put anyone they want on the Supreme Court. And that means overturning Roe V. Wade.

Hell, everytime a republican says 'activist judge', there should be a disclaimer explaining that said republican is talking about reversing Roe V. Wade.

...it's as if the Supreme Court just slapped Bill Frist in the head, and told him to stop trying to change the subject.

...do you know who the NYS Lotto Man is? The guy who says: "The New York State Lotto jackpot is now (insert large number here) million dollars. That's (large number) MILLION DOLLARS!", and then all the people listening run off to buy lotto tickets.

It's like that guy came out and said: "The filibuster debate in the U.S. Senate is now about abortion. I said it's NOW ABOUT ABORTION!", and everybody runs outside to hold up protest signs...

Yeah, it's like that.

Cover-Up!

2005-05-23T10:10:00.000-04:00

Since it seems that the republicans have decided to erase Galloway's testimony from Senate's website.

Here is a link to the complete transcript, and video of Galloway's testimony.

Unfit For Service

2005-05-23T09:02:00.000-04:00

You know what? Let's get a little blunt here. Now, I know that a lot of democrats have been calling for the republicans and/or their children to go and fight bush's war, if they believe in it so damn much. They make a good point, but they are wrong.

The simple fact is that letting republicans into our military brings shame to our country.

The Abu Ghraib prison scandal should have been enough. It should have made it obvious to everyone the damage that a republican mentality can have on America's image. It sure as hell, should have been obvious after seeing the world's reaction.

Instead, the likes of Rush Limbaugh were allowed to turn it into a joke. Equating torturing prisoners to a college prank.

We even have generals who think it's fun to shoot people.

Ever since the 'war on terror' started, we have seen more and more abuses by our military. Isn't about time that we ask them to take some responsibility for their actions? And I'm not talking about scapegoating the soldiers unfortunate enough to get caught. I'm talking about systemic problems, brought on by having republican mentalities seep into military policies.

After all, we're supposed to be proud of our military, not ashamed of it.

Americans just refuse to take responsibility for anything.

2005-05-23T08:59:00.000-04:00

They refuse to see how their treatment of others comes back on them. While Limbaugh made jokes about Abu Ghraib, the Muslim world was treated to near weekly taped executions of American prisoners, and sympathizers.

...and the bobbleheads on tv cried out 'Why do they hate us?', never waiting for an answer.

They asked 'Why do they hate us?' after 9/11 too, but the only patriotic answer allowed was 'because they're evil'.

...boy that sure did a lot for the average American's understanding of the world...

Last week we had the so called Newsweek 'scandal', which amounted to the Whitehouse finally getting back at the tattletale. After all, the scandal is not that Americans tortured Muslim prisoners, and desicrated their religeon, it's that the media tattled on them.

This weekend republicans were shocked by protestors swamping Laura Bush. The only part of it that surprised me was that she made it out of there alive. 'Cause incase everyone forgot, junior just got a grenade thrown at him.

Where are the lawyers when you need them? You're possibly the most hated American president ever... and you send your wife to a mosque in Jerusalem?!?!?

He should be tried for attempted murder!

Clear Channel DJ Making Terroristic Threats On Air

2005-05-20T22:30:00.000-04:00

Via Media Matters

Clear Channel radio host [and world renowned piece of shit] Glenn Beck said he was "thinking about killing [filmmaker] Michael Moore" and pondered whether "I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it," before concluding: "No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out -- is this wrong?"

From the May 17 broadcast of The Glenn Beck Program

FOX News Owner A War Criminal? Being Sued By Saddam?

2005-05-20T21:36:00.000-04:00

The Sun, owned by Rupert Murdoch, said the photos it published Friday and Saturday were provided by a U.S. military official it did not identify who hoped their release would deal a "body blow" to the insurgency.

Sun managing editor Graham Dudman told The Associated Press that the newspaper paid "a small sum" for the photos. He would not elaborate except to say it was more than 500 British pounds, which is about $900.

The New York Post, which is also owned by Murdoch, also published the photos on Friday.

Saddam's attorney said he would sue the newspaper "and everyone who helped in showing these pictures."

The U.S. military in Baghdad said the publication of the photos violated U.S. military guidelines "and possibly Geneva Convention guidelines for the humane treatment of detained individuals."

I wonder if this is why Fox news has been playing it down all day long?

I wonder if Murdoch told them to play it down?

If he did, I wonder if that was a crime too?

...I wonder if the republican talking heads claiming that the publishing of the pictures is just another example of the liberal media protecting one of it's own (Newsweek)... I wonder if they even know that Murdoch owns The Sun.

WaPo Takes A Stand For Reality

2005-05-20T21:30:00.000-04:00

from WaPo

Newsweek magazine's now-retracted story that a military guard at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, flushed a copy of the Koran down a toilet has sparked angry denunciations by the White House and the Pentagon, which have linked the article to Muslim riots and deaths abroad.

But American and international media have widely reported similar allegations from detainees and others of desecration of the Muslim holy book for more than two years.

Conventions? What Conventions?

2005-05-20T10:39:00.000-04:00

from HTTabloid.com

A British newspaper ran intimate photographs on Friday of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in US military custody, including one of him half-naked, prompting an investigation into possible human rights abuses.

Under the headline "Tyrant's in his pants," The Sun ran a front-page photo of a bare-chested Saddam standing in white underwear and holding an item of clothing as he appeared to be getting dressed, with an unpainted wooden door behind him.

In the accompanying article along with other intimate photographs of him, the mass-circulation daily quotes US military sources as saying they handed over the photos in the hope of dealing a body blow to the resistance in Iraq.

A Republican Said It

2005-05-20T10:27:00.000-04:00

from Morning Call Online

"'The audacity of some members to stand up and say, 'How dare you break this rule!''' Santorum said. ''It's the equivalent of Adolf Hitler in 1942 saying, 'I'm in Paris. How dare you invade me. How dare you bomb my city. It's mine.'"

You can bet your last shinny red penny, that if a democrat had said this, it would have gotten 24 hour coverage on Fox news.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

2005-05-20T10:22:00.000-04:00

from Adult Video News

Porn star and former gubernatorial candidate Mary Carey will be joining her boss, Kick Ass Pictures president Mark Kulkis, in attending a dinner with President Bush in Washington, D.C. on June 14.

Is this another example of those red state values I keep hearing about?

He is talking about Newsweek, Isn't he?

2005-05-20T09:40:00.000-04:00

From the gaggle the other day...

Q: With respect, who made you the editor of Newsweek? Do you think it's appropriate for you, at that podium, speaking with the authority of the President of the United States, to tell an American magazine what they should print?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not telling them. I'm saying that we would encourage them to help --

Q: You're pressuring them.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I'm saying that we would encourage them --

Q: It's not pressure?

MR. McCLELLAN: Look, this report caused serious damage to the image of the United States abroad. And Newsweek has said that they got it wrong.
I think Newsweek recognizes the responsibility they have. We appreciate the step that they took by retracting the story. Now we would encourage them to move forward and do all that they can to help repair the damage that has been done by this report. And that's all I'm saying. But, no, you're absolutely right, it's not my position to get into telling people what they can and cannot report....

Going to war on faulty intelligence?... A report that said Saddam was making WMD's?... Torturing prisoners?...

No-No, it was the Newsweek report that caused serious damage to the image of the United States abroad.

...glad he cleared that up.

Bring Out Your Dead!

2005-05-20T09:33:00.000-04:00

from The Moony Times

Preparations are already well under way within the White House to fill an expected vacancy on the Supreme Court, with at least one conservative legal organization having submitted its recommendations on who should sit on the nation's top court.

Yah, I guess they have to prepare for the worst...

...but do they have to be so so giddy about it?

C-Span's Scraping The Bottom Of The Barrel

2005-05-20T08:55:00.000-04:00

John Batchelor was just on C-Span...

Now I've never heard of him before, but upon seeing him, all I could think of was the Drusilla character from Buffy saying "'He's got cow eyes, big and black. Moooooooooo.... Mooooo..."

And as if that wasn't enough to get my skin crawling, the guy started telling republican campfire stories. When asked about the non-existant WMD he responded something like "A missile with one engine can reach (somewhere), but a missile with two engines can reach (somewhere twice as far I guess). So Let me ask you, where did the engines go? (Leaning in all cow-eyed) I know where they went. You need to find out where they went, (long pauses all through this) 'cause that's where Saddam's WMD is! (cow-eyes from hell bulging out) It's with the engines!

This loon offered other tidbits like "Iraq is nostalgia", and if you had a question about Iraq he would ignore it, because "Iraq is nostalgia", and you need to stop living in the past, I guess.

But the last time I looked Iraq was on the verge of civil war, and it's kinda hard to be 'nostalgic' about a country that is Right Now on the verge of civil war...

What a weird-o

So let me get this right...

2005-05-19T09:54:00.000-04:00

The filibuster is unconstitutional

...but bush issuing subpoenas is ok?

*sigh*

bush Set To Give Himself The Power To Issue Subpoenas

2005-05-19T08:15:00.000-04:00

...the measure being written by Sen. Pat Roberts (news, bio, voting record), R-Kan., would give the FBI new power to issue administrative subpoenas, which are not reviewed by a judge or grand jury, for quickly obtaining records, electronic data or other evidence in terrorism investigations, according to aides for the GOP majority on the committee who briefed reporters Wednesday.

Recipients could challenge the subpoenas in court and the Bush administration would have to report to Congress twice a year exactly how it was using this investigatory power, the aides said.

The administration has sought this power for two years, but so far been rebuffed by lawmakers. It is far from certain that Congress will give the administration everything it wants this year.

Roberts' planned bill also would make it easier for prosecutors to use special court-approved warrants for secret wiretaps and searches of suspected terrorists and spies in criminal cases, the committee aides said.

Heil Bushler!

Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil!

Mr. Galloway Goes To Washington

2005-05-18T11:27:00.000-04:00

In case you haven't see it, and most likely you haven't, since our Corporate Sponsored Media has it's head up it's ass, here's what happened when Mr. Galloway went to Washington...

He Bitch-Slapped The Taste Right Out Of Norm Coleman's Mouth!

Coleman must have gone soft, but then kicking Democrats around isn't much of a workout, now is it? Mr. Galloway, however, made it clear to the world that he wasn't some weak-knee'd Pansycrat as he laid waste to anyone who got in his way.

Galloway, a member of the British Parliament, was set to testify on his participation in the oil for food 'scandal'. To use the Daily Mirror's words:

"It wasn't supposed to be like this. Even when Daniel was in the lion's den, he didn't humiliate and torment the lion."

(George Galloway raises his hand as if to warn Senators of the impending Bitch-Slap)

Times Online quotes Galloway saying:

"On the very first page of your document about me, you assert that I have had many meetings with Saddam Hussein. This is false,"

"I have had two meetings with Saddam Hussein, once in 1994 and once in August 2002. By no stretch of the English language can that be described as many meetings.

In fact I've met him exactly the same number of times as Donald Rumsfeld met him. The difference is that Donald Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns..."

You can watch some of the Galloway's testimony, and read MSNBC's coverage of it here.

or watch here (Real Player) via Crooks & Liars

Or Listen here (mp3) via Crooks & Liars

Or you can read all of his opening statement here

...and about that oil for food 'scandal'

Gaurdian Unlimited is reporting that:

A report released last night by Democratic staff on a Senate investigations committee presents documentary evidence that the Bush administration was made aware of illegal oil sales and kickbacks paid to the Saddam Hussein regime but did nothing to stop them.

The scale of the shipments involved dwarfs those previously alleged by the Senate committee against UN staff and European politicians like the British MP, George Galloway, and the former French minister, Charles Pasqua.

In fact, the Senate report found that US oil purchases accounted for 52% of the kickbacks paid to the regime in return for sales of cheap oil - more than the rest of the world put together.

"The United States was not only aware of Iraqi oil sales violated UN sanctions and provided the bulk of the illicit money Saddam Hussein obtained from circumventing UN sanctions," the report said. "On occasion, the United States actually facilitated the illicit oil sales.

I have never seen Republicans fall flat on their face so hard before...

Dems and Judges: A Win-Win Situation

2005-05-16T18:22:00.000-04:00

Let's talk numbers.

The republicans held up 60 of Clintons judges. Locked up in committee, they never got an up or down vote on the floor of the Senate.

The Dems have filibustered 10 of bush's judges. Since then, three have removed themselves from consideration, and three the Dems have agreed to compromise on.

So, the Dems are only holding up 4 of bush's judges.

...4

So now the Dems have two choices. They can fight, or they can compromise.

If they fight, the good news for the Dems is that most of America is already on their side. Infact, even 53% of republicans support their use of the filibuster.

A long drawn out battle would likely end up costing the republicans the majority in the Senate. In which case, the Democrats won't need the filibuster, anyway.

If they compromise, they'll still have the filibuster, as an ace in the hole, should bush try to slip an extremist onto the Supreme Court.

Either way, it looks like the Dems are going to come out of this one ahead.

Media Too Busy Attacking Newsweek To Get The Story Right

2005-05-16T17:34:00.000-04:00

Newsweek made a mistake, and I haven't heard an accurate report on it yet.

Anyone who thinks that Newsweek has apologized for reporting that U.S. soldiers desecrated copies of the Koran, hasn't been paying attention.

from Reuters

But Newsweek said the source later told the magazine he could not be certain he had seen an account of the Koran incident in the military report

-and that it might have been in other investigative documents or drafts.

...and that's all Neewsweek is apologizing for. That they said the claim would be in the military report.

They're not saying the claim itself isn't true.

Na-Na-Na-Na, Na-Na-Na-Na, Hey-Hey-Hey, Good-Bye!

2005-05-16T16:57:00.000-04:00

“Satire is protected free speech in this country, even if you don't get it.”

-Al Franken

from File It Under

I'm also delinking our ex-sister blog. It seems Mr. Warrior is about as racist as they come. His latest, impossible to follow, logic devoid diatribe somehow takes his own racism and blames it on Republicans, or the south, or on pro illegal-immigration folks... I'm not too sure. It is Bush's fault somehow. That's always a given. It's the most irreverent pile o' crap yet and I've decided what little traffic we get doesn't need to go to that putz. So no more.

For the life of me, I don't see why a republican was linking to me in the first place, and it only shows that I've been going way too easy on 'em.

He doesn't seem to like the fact that I called his parties practices racist though. Too bad to. He could have filed it under, The Truth.

...then again, he would have probably would have just mocked me for not understanding how being exploitated is actually good for Mexicans. Blah Blah Blah.

My favorite part though, has to be the 'just another liberal blaming bush' tagline. If I blame bush, they just write it off. If I don't, they say 'why don't you just blame bush like you always do'. That way they never have to accept anything you say.

...but feel free to read the next post, it's the one that got him so upset.

With Friends Like These...

2005-05-15T09:39:00.000-04:00

Why folling president bush's ideas, to their logical conclusion, can be bad for your career.

from Reuters

Mexican President Vicente Fox called recent U.S. measures to stem illegal immigration a step back for bilateral relations on Friday and said Mexican migrants do jobs "that not even blacks want to do."

This has brought the wrath of the White House down on President Fox, a.k.a. junior told him to "shush".

...but isn't Fox right? Isn't this exactly why people, who support illegal immigration, support it?

They love to say "the South will rise again", and it looks like they'll do it on the backs of exploited Mexicans. That right folks they've finally found themselves a new nigger, and they arn't gonna let them pansies from the North take 'em away this time!

Hell no! These new niggers are already free!

Why force 'em to do the work, when they'll do it for almost nothing!?!

...and don't get all high and mighty, the South treats it slaves well. They even have free healthcare! For most Americans it's a dream. Something too good to be true. Maybe even a reason to move to Canada, but in the South its a reality!

Farmer bob tell us that everytime one of his fancy, new niggers gets sick, well he just sends 'em on down to the local hospital emergency room. They patch 'em up real good, and the Gov'ment re-emburses 'em for their losses.

It's a win-win situation. Ye-Haw!

...and then there's Pat Buchanan, who decided to help the president mark the anniversary of World War II.

from World Net Daily

Pat asks the question "Was World War II worth it?"

...and then he answers it. "Hell no!" says Pat. Infact to hear Pat tell it, saving those evil heathen Jews was the worst thing America ever did, and that FDR should be remembered as a bad man.

That's right folks. It turns out that, according to Pat, lettin' Hitler kill those Jews wouldn't have been such a bad thing, 'cause like Pat says "why destroy Hitler? If to liberate Germans, it was not worth it. After all, the Germans voted Hitler in."

...but Pat did get one thing right. What bush said was "awful".

Too bad for Pat though, he will be the one that has to pay for it.

Oh-wait, did I say "Too bad for Pat"? I meant to say Ha-Ha!

Eisenhower on Social Security

2005-05-15T09:36:00.000-04:00

"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are...Texas oil millionaires and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."

-- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, November 8, 1954

via Michael Moore

The Downing Street Memo

2005-05-15T09:15:00.000-04:00

The Washington Post

Seven months before the invasion of Iraq, the head of British foreign intelligence reported to Prime Minister Tony Blair that President Bush wanted to topple Saddam Hussein by military action and warned that in Washington intelligence was "being fixed around the policy," according to notes of a July 23, 2002, meeting with Blair at No. 10 Downing Street.

So what does the conservative media do when our number one ally considers our president to be an evil, war-eager liar?

...nothin'

Why should they? Everyone with half a brain knows that bush is a filthy liar!

The fact that he lied about why we went to war in Iraq isn't really news now is it?

...you can read the whole thing here.

We come for your son, Chuck.

2005-05-13T15:40:00.000-04:00

HoustonChronicle.com

Already failing to fill its monthly recruiting quotas in the face of the Iraq war, the Army will suspend enlistment efforts for one day later this month to address a rash of incidents in which recruiters harassed prospective soldiers, an official said Tuesday.

[...]

... an incident in Houston in which a recruiter threatened to call police to arrest a man resisting recruiting efforts was among the incidents that triggered the suspension, the official said.

Voice Mail .WAV
courtesy of KHOU

Still no way to confirm that yelling "Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice" will make the recruiters go away.

There goes the neighborhood...

2005-05-13T15:20:00.000-04:00

Pentagon on Friday proposed shutting about 180 military installations from Maine to Hawaii including 33 major bases, triggering the first round of base closures in a decade and an intense struggle by communities to save their facilities.

Wait for it....

Other major bases — including the Army's Fort Bliss in Texas, the Naval Shipyard in Norfolk, Va., and Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland — would see gains, as they absorb troops whose current home bases are slated for closure.

Yeah, like ya didn't see that comming.

But more to the point...

For years I've listened to republicans spew their hatred for Bill Clinton. The most sincere of which has revolved around his dodging of the draft, and his closing of military bases. So now that bush, who in the eyes of many is a draft dodger, is looking to close major military bases, I wonder if that hatred will be directed toward him.

I know one thing, they've played the "Clinton was bad for the military" card for the last time.

WARRIOR EXCLUSIVE

2005-05-13T15:09:00.000-04:00

DRUDGE IS A DIPSHIT!

from DipShit

DRUDGE EXCLUSIVE:
'THE NBC NEWS CHANNEL' -- aka MSNBC -- To Announce The Hiring Of Cosby... 9 OR 10 PM Show to Go Direct Against FOXNEWS...

blah... blah... blah... Unless O'reily threatened to molest her with a falafel, I don't see why any of this is news, and it sure looks like MSNBC is still MSNBC

Stop Futzing with PBS

2005-05-13T09:58:00.000-04:00

I love how Drudge spins everything...

from (a real news source) the AP

In their letter to Konz on Wednesday, Obey, D-Wis., and Dingell, D-Mich., said Tomlinson's actions may have violated the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which bans interference by federal officials over public programming. The CPB, a private, nonprofit corporation funded by Congress, provides funds for PBS.

"Congress intended that the CPB serve as a shield rather than a source of political interference into public broadcasting," they wrote.

The lawmakers also questioned Tomlinson's decision to secure corporate money to fund the "Journal Editorial Report," hosted by the editor of The Wall Street Journal editorial page, and pressing PBS into distributing it.

The actions have attracted criticism not only from Democratic lawmakers but from PBS' president and chief executive, Pat Mitchell.

In a statement issued Thursday, Tomlinson said, "I welcome the call by Congressmen Dingell and Obey for the inspector general to examine issues related to my efforts to encourage public broadcasters to take more seriously the need that our current affairs lineup reflect objectivity and balance.

In other words, not only are the republican's attempts to turn PBS into another FOX News channel disgusting, but they're illegal.

...and it's as simple as that.

Tom Delay Has No Clue

2005-05-13T09:16:00.000-04:00

Instead, DeLay told the crowd that as Republicans helped Americans find jobs and helped the country recover from the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Democrats offered the country nothing.

"No ideas. No leadership. No agenda. And, just in the last week, we can now add to that list, no class,"

Tom Delay is the only person on the planet capable of bragging, exploiting 9/11, and attacking the democrats all in one breath. Not only that, he raised a quarter of a million dollars doing it.

Call it 'compensation' for the man who falls on the right-wing's sword so bush doesn't have to. A $250 a plate dinner honoring the dirtbag that changed the House rules on ethics before someone applied them to him or his republican collegues.

..honoring him for exploiting Terry Schiavo for all he could.

...honoring him for wanting the Supreme Court to answer to him.

It's a good thing they didn't wait too long, too. It'd be kinda hard, trying to honor a man sitting in jail in Texas.

Bringing Dignity Back To The Whitehouse?

2005-05-13T09:02:00.000-04:00

USA Today

About a third of the 152 adult guests who slept at the White House or Camp David last year were fundraisers or donors to President Bush's campaigns, but at least half of those also are family or old friends.

[...]

"It sounds like to a certain degree the White House and Camp David are being used as they have been for quite a while - as a way to reward fundraisers and big givers," Noble said. "It's similar to what we saw in the Clinton White House," when Clinton was attacked for allegedly trading White House sleepovers for campaign donations.

[...]

Among the guests:

• People who raised at least $100,000 for Bush's campaigns, including California state Sen. Jim Brulte, Boston Concessions Group CEO Joseph O'Donnell and Alice Carrington, a San Antonio art dealer who was named to the Committee on Arts and
the Humanities.

• Fundraisers who also are old friends, including Roland Betts, chairman of Chelsea Piers in New York; California venture capitalist Brad Freeman and Joe O'Neill, a Midland, Texas, businessman who introduced Bush to his wife Laura.

...hypocrite.

Out to pastor...

2005-05-12T11:48:00.000-04:00

A Baptist pastor accused of threatening to banish from his church anyone who didn't vote for President Bush has chosen to depart, saying he spoke out on candidates' stances but did not make political endorsements.

Good riddance to bad preachers.

Now if we can only get rid of the Westboro Baptist Church

...or the king of hate Jerry Falwell

...or Pat Robertson

Leave Him....

2005-05-12T09:56:00.000-04:00

Yahoo

President George W. Bush was not told for nearly an hour while he finished a bike ride about a breach in White House airspace on Wednesday that prompted the highest alert since the September 11, 2001, attacks, the White House said.

"We got better things to do" said one agent that wanted to remain anonymous.

After repeatedly being asked "Like What?", the agent responded "Look, we got Cheney out... What the hell more do you want from us?"

I really miss CAWR.... I think I might start a new blog.

"bush-i-nomics"

2005-05-11T08:27:00.000-04:00

Financial Times

Real wages in the US are falling at their fastest rate in 14 years, according to data surveyed by the Financial Times by the Economic Policy Institute.

Inflation rose 3.1 per cent in the year to March but salaries climbed just 2.4 per cent, according to the Employment Cost Index. In the final three months of 2004, real wages fell by 0.9 per cent.

The last time salaries fell this steeply was at the start of 1991, when real wages declined by 1.1 per cent

I'm sure that the president's failed policies, (tax cuts, illegal immigration, free trade) have had no impact on our stagnant wages.

*vote bush*

“Patriot Plates”

2005-05-11T08:15:00.000-04:00

Oklahoma House of Reps

Legislation that would create a specialty license plate to help purchase body armor for Oklahoma’s military personnel has been approved by a House committee.

If the measure becomes law, Oklahoma drivers would be able to purchase “Patriot License Plates” to demonstrate support of local troops while contributing to their safety. For every $35 plate purchased, $20 would be deposited into a fund administered by the Oklahoma Military Department for the purchase of body armor for Oklahoma soldiers.

State Rep. Ryan Kiesel, D-Seminole, originally proposed the idea through House Bill 1420, but Monday the House Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security chose to integrate his measure into House Bill 1286, which establishes new requirements for creating specialty license plates.

Wouldn't be in this situation if bush hadn't given out those tax cuts.

...and what about the Humvees?
Can they buy armor for them too?

Atrios Blogging

2005-05-11T08:03:00.000-04:00

I can't stand him, but he makes a good point.

from Eschaton

One reason I don't think it's at all paranoid to suspect that the Republicans have deliberately taken over the voting system in order to cheat is that they keep doing things that don't otherwise make sense. There's a rather long list of things you just wouldn't expect them to think they could get away with unless they really thought they could control the ballot box, because otherwise they would have to expect that the public would kick enough of them out to not only end some political careers but also make impeachment - and prison - a distinct possibility.

And then there's this nuclear option thing - why would they be willing to remove any possibility of stopping majority party initiatives unless they were absolutely sure that they could never become the minority party again?

Conservatives have made good use of the filibuster over the years, on judicial nominations and a lot of other things. Are they absolutely certain no one will wake up and get rid of them? Or are they just sure that how we vote isn't going to matter?

Foster Kids Exploited in Aids Research

2005-05-09T11:01:00.000-04:00

CBS and Blogging Baby

And from Democracy Now!

New York City councilman BILL PERKINS:

[Administration for Children's Services] grossly misled us in terms of the numbers of children that were participating in these experiments. They originally said only 76. Last week they informed me that there were over 465, and could not even indicate as to whether there were – that number was going to grow even larger.

That gross misrepresentation leads one to believe that maybe there are similar gross misrepresentations with regard to the total clinical trials protocols and program, and therefore, an investigation has to take place, an independent investigation, not a review of what happened, but rather an investigation of what happened, in order to assure the public that what took place was in the best interest of the children. And, in fact, one cannot assume that that was the case.

Still Makes Me Laugh...

2005-05-09T10:37:00.000-04:00

Letterman's coverage of Laura bush's speech at the White House Correspondents dinner (.wmv)

via Over/Spun

Happy Belated Momma's Day

2005-05-09T10:31:00.000-04:00

Houston Chronicle

Bush and Clinton, in part because they have worked so closely on fund-raising efforts, have forged a close friendship in recent months, prompting some humor from former first lady Barbara Bush when she introduced the former presidents.

"It's my great honor to introduce America's favorite new couple," she said. "Everyone is talking about the 'odd couple,' George and Bill — or, as I now call him, Son."

That's gotta hurt...

Spotlighting Another Stolen Election

2005-05-09T10:13:00.000-04:00

Tribune Media Services didn't syndicate Robert Koehler latest column about the 2004 election...

...but Editor & Publisher is shining a big ol' spotlight on it:

In his April 14 column, Koehler discussed various questions he thought about after attending the National Election Reform Conference in Nashville, Tenn., early last month. He asked why "the lines were so long and the voting machines so few" in many Democratic precincts, why "many otherwise Democratic ballots ... recorded no vote for president," why "virtually every voter complaint about electronic voting machine malfunction indicated an unauthorized vote switch from Kerry to Bush," and why the exit polls saying Kerry would win "went haywire."

Koehler also asked why America's media hasn't investigated this more, and quoted a conference speaker as saying: "When the autopsy of our democracy is performed, it is my belief that media silence will be given as the primary cause of death."

Red State Values

2005-05-09T09:58:00.000-04:00

Times Online

The Kansas Board of Education has begun taking evidence from anti-evolution scientists in a bid to rewrite the state’s teaching standards to ensure that pupils learn alternatives to evolution that suggest a guiding hand in the origin of life.

[...]

Other witnesses included Jonathan Wells, an embryologist and senior fellow at the Discovery Institute in Seattle, who described himself as “an old Berkeley antiwar radical”. “The way Darwinian evolution is usually presented is that the evidence is overwhelming, and there is no controversy about it,” he said. “That’s clearly not the case.”

Dr Wells, who holds PhDs in theology from Yale University and in biology from the University of California, Berkeley, confirmed under cross-examination that he was a member of Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church.

Reverend Sun Myung Moon owns the right-wing Washington Times, and thinks he's Jesus.

...let 'em teach that in Kansas.

Oops...

2005-05-09T09:50:00.000-04:00

MSNBC

from Scarborough Country, April 25th

Joe Scarborough:

And, finally, Arnold Schwarzenegger. You know, this guy has been in so much trouble. He‘s got sagging poll numbers. He‘s got political groups criticizing his every move. And now the governator is making all his enemies‘ job easier. According to “The London Evening Standard,” Arnold recently went on Howard Stern‘s radio show and offered his theory on how to end premenstrual syndrome, saying—quote—“If we get rid of the moon, women‘s, whose menstrual cycles are governed by the moon, will not get PMS. They will stop bitching and whining.”

Hey, Governor, way to make 50 percent of California‘s voting population turn frigid towards you. I don‘t know how it works in Austria, but let me tell you something, friend. Jokes about such matters, not laughing subjects to women in America.

Oops... from WaPo

Great point, Joe! Except -- not to throw stones here -- Schwarzenegger never said those things. Scarborough (and apparently the London Daily Mail, not the Evening Standard) got duped. Howard Stern apparently has a Schwarzenegger impersonator on his show regularly, and he was the one rat-a-tat-tatting on about the dreaded PMS.

As a result, MSNBC tells us that Scarborough planned to right his wrong on last night's show and that it had taken 10 days to address it because, well, they were unaware of the mistake until we called. However, the Guv's office tells us that they called the show the day after it aired and pointed out the error. Hmm.

I once dated a girl named Libby...

2005-05-09T09:22:00.000-04:00

THE capture of a supposed Al-Qaeda kingpin by Pakistani agents last week was hailed by President George W Bush as “a critical victory in the war on terror”. According to European intelligence experts, however, Abu Faraj al-Libbi was not the terrorists’ third in command, as claimed, but a middle-ranker derided by one source as “among the flotsam and jetsam” of the organisation.

[...]

Bush called him a “top general” and “a major facilitator and chief planner for the Al- Qaeda network”. Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state, said he was “a very important figure”.

Yet the backslapping in Washington and Islamabad has astonished European terrorism experts, who point out that the Libyan was neither on the FBI’s most wanted list, nor on that of the State Department “rewards for justice” programme.

Another Libyan is on the FBI list — Anas al-Liby, who is wanted over the 1998 East African embassy bombings — and some believe the Americans may have initially confused the two.

...just another day at the bush White House

Horse-Wanker Goes Abroad, and Attacks One of America's Greatest Presidents

2005-05-09T08:29:00.000-04:00

Detroit News

Second-guessing Franklin D. Roosevelt, President Bush said Saturday the United States played a role in Europe's painful division after World War II -- a decision that helped cause "one of the greatest wrongs of history" when the Soviet Union imposed its harsh rule across Central and Eastern Europe.

[...]

"Certainly it goes further than any president has gone," historian Alan Brinkley said from the U.S. "This has been a very common view of the far right for many years -- that Yalta was a betrayal of freedom, that Roosevelt betrayed the hopes of generations."

Bush said the Yalta agreement, also signed by Britain's Winston Churchill and the Soviet Union's Josef Stalin, followed in the "unjust tradition" of other infamous war pacts that carved up the continent and left millions in oppression. The Yalta accord gave Stalin control of the whole of Eastern Europe, leading to criticism that Roosevelt had delivered millions of people to communist domination.

Scoring points for the far-right has never been so offensive...

Is this how he commemorates the end of WWII?

I'm sure the brits will love hearing about Churchill's failures.

Not to mention the hypocrisy of it. Criticize bush while he's out of the country, and the 'outrage' about it will be a major news story for a week. bush criticizes America's legacy while out of the country, and the media ignores it.

...What's that Matt? Breaking News on Paula Abdul? You've got an exclusive on Geena Davis?

....nice to see that you've got your priorities in order.

Flawed Body Armor Recalled

2005-05-09T08:17:00.000-04:00

Marine Corps Times

The Marine Corps issued to nearly 10,000 troops body armor that government experts urged the Corps to reject after tests revealed critical, life-threatening flaws in the vests.

In all, the Marine Corps accepted about 19,000 Interceptor outer tactical vests from Point Blank Body Armor Inc. that failed government tests due to “multiple complete penetrations” of 9mm pistol rounds, failing scores on other ballistic or quality-assurance tests, or a combination of the two.

Ever notice how that, at least once a month, "documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act" prove that bush is sub-human slime?

I wonder if we'll ever get an estimate of how many American soldiers have died helping junior cut taxes, while passing a republican budget?

Tonight 7:30 EST Comedy Channel

2005-05-08T15:50:00.000-04:00

Peter Gibbons: What would you do if you had a million dollars?

Lawrence: I'll tell you what I'd do, man. Two chicks at the same time, man.

Peter Gibbons: That's it? If you had a million dollars, you'd do two chicks at the same time?

Lawrence: Damn straight. I always wanted to do that, man. And I think if I had a million dollars, I could hook that up. 'Cause chicks dig a dude with money.

Peter Gibbons: Well, not all chicks.

Lawrence: Well the kind of chicks that'd double up on a dude like me do

More like Hitler than we thought.

2005-05-06T16:33:00.000-04:00

bush marks anniversary of America's WWII victory over genocide, by forming a partnership with a government guilty of genocide.

from Democracy Now!

A major expose in the Los Angeles Times on Friday revealed that the U.S. has quietly forged a close intelligence partnership with Sudan despite the government's role in the mass killings in Darfur. The Sudanese government has since publicly confirmed it is working with the Bush administration and the CIA.

Eight months ago, former Secretary of State Colin Powell accused the Sudanese of carrying out a genocide in Darfur. Already 180,000 have died in the region from fighting or hunger. But relations appear to have since changed -- for the better. One senior Sudanese official [told] the LA Times that the country had achieved "complete normalization" of relations with the CIA.

Just another day in bush's America.

Maybe bush can have the soldier, that killed the most children, over to the White House, and hold his hand as they walk through the Rose Garden.

Warrior to Minister: "Eat Me!"

2005-05-06T16:11:00.000-04:00

The Herald Sun

The minister of a Haywood County Baptist church is telling members of his congregation that if they're Democrats, they either need to find another place of worship or support President Bush.

Already, the Reverend Chan Chandler has ex-communicated nine members of East Waynesville Baptist Church. Another 40 members have left in protest.

If anything this is an arguement for teaching religion in schools. Maybe then losers like this guy could learn a thing or two about what they're supposed to be preachin'

...and for the record, we've already found another place to worship.

The United Church of Christ
(Jesus didn't turn people away, and neither do they)

A Bunch of Crap!

2005-05-06T08:22:00.000-04:00

I'm watching C-Span... some goofball broad is saying that illegal immigrants earn about 8 dollars an hour on average. Last week was some loon saying it was ten dollars.

Bullshit!

The most realistic numbers that I've heard have half of all illegals working on farms, and being paid on a per basket picked ratio, and earning about $6.18 per hour.

...and not paying into Social Security, Medicare or anything else for that matter.

Do they really think that if picking apples paid 10 dollars an hour Americans wouldn't want the job? Get real. Tell it to my paperboy. He's 45 years old, and not all there, but even he knows a good deal when he hears it.

Then there's the "they do the seasonal work, no one else wants to" arguement. Seasonal workers draw unemployment durring the winter. Believe me. It's a sweet deal.

There's the "if you paid them more, things would cost more". No they wouldn't, competition fixes that, but the rich would get richer at a slower pace.

Goffy broad just said that, for every employed illegal, 3.1 (maybe 3.5) jobs are created. Imagine how many jobs could be created supporting a fairly paid American.

She just added that farmers, meat packers and constuction companies can't stay in business "obeying the law".

Bullshit!

If you own a million dollar farm, you're not poor. You might be a whining shit with too much political cloat, but you're not poor.

The multi-milion dollar meat packing plant down the road from me. Pays Americans, pays them fair wages, and makes millions.

And if you pay some illegal immigrant to wire your house, don't be surprised if it burns down... "Que? Si. Si. Goood wire. Strong."

And another thing! Let's be real here. The average American does not work full time for 15 dollars an hour.

If you think the average guy walking down the street earns 15 dollars an hour, you need your head examined.

Cashier at a gas station, 5-6.
Cashier at Wal-Mart, 6.50-7.50.
Cashier at K-Mart 6.50-7.50.

You can stock shelves for a dollar more, but that's a third shift job.

Factories:

Ingersol Rand $8.

Sylvania $6 for 6 months. then to $8. (after ten years, you might get to 12-15)

Dupont $10-12 (but most jobs require a 4 year degree)

Packing Meat $7-8

Lockheed Martin $10-25 (most jobs require a 4-8 year degree)

So how did the numbers get so out of whack?

Well for one, they include the CEO's

Right now the average CEO earns anywhere from 100 to 1000 times the average hourly wage of their employee's. So if a companies average worker earns $10 per hour their CEO earns 2-20 million a year. Depending on the size of the company.

My local hospital's CEO earns 3 million per year. And a Licensed Practical Nurse earns 30K, but the sea of assistants, techs, and support staff is lucky to get to 9.

Now the average job at my local hospital may pay 30k, but there's only 1 CEO, and about 200 janitors.

And by now most statisticians must know that the numbers are skewed. If for no other reason than in most articles they write, the terms average American "worker" and average American "family" are interchangable.

It really makes you wonder how much money the people comming up with these numbers make.

Scarborough's Latest Blunder.

2005-05-06T08:10:00.000-04:00

It's not on the web yet, but I just heard about it on C-Span. I didn't catch the name of the paper Brian was reading from, but anyway, it seems that Joe slammed Arnold Schwarzenegger for his comments on women, and how PMS makes them nuts durring the full moon. Joe slammed Arnold's comments about blowing up the moon, and how it would make the world a better place.

(LOL!)

...but it seems that Arnold never said any of that. It was actually an Arnold impersonator on the Howard Stern show.

It either took Joe ten days to apologize, or tens days later he still hadn't. Either way; Way to go Joe!

Tom Delay Lectures America on Humility and Responsibility

2005-05-06T07:59:00.000-04:00

from CNN

"Just think of what we could accomplish if we checked our pride at the door," he said. "If we spent less time ducking responsibility and more time welcoming it. If we spent less time on our soapboxes and more time on our knees.

"For in God, all things are possible, ladies and gentlemen. And even greatness from lowly sinners like you and me -- especially me."

That last part... Is he taking responsibility for the things he's done? Or is he blaming God for it?

Facing allegations in recent weeks that he took overseas trips improperly funded by lobbyists, the Texas Republican has denied wrongdoing. The House ethics committee admonished the majority leader three times in 2004 on separate issues.

And for the republicans that don't think that is a big deal.

The ethics committee met belatedly for the first time this year Wednesday, the same day a poll showed that 82 percent of Americans believe lobbyist-funded trips are a serious ethical matter.

Senile, Bitter Old Man

2005-05-05T10:22:00.000-04:00

NY Daily News

"Over 100 years, I think the gradual erosion of the consensus that's held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings," Robertson said on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos."

[...]

Confronted by Stephanopoulos on his claims that an out-of-control liberal judiciary is the worst threat America has faced in 400 years - worse than Nazi Germany, Japan and the Civil War - Robertson didn't back down.

"Yes, I really believe that," he said. "I think they are destroying the fabric that holds our nation together."

It's laughable, and yet so many take him seriously. And, I swear he's been taking pointers from the Taliban.

F.U.B.A.R.

2005-05-05T09:15:00.000-04:00

Just thinking out loud here.... Lemme try to figure this one out...

For years the right has been attacking "hollywood liberals" as foul-mouthed, and immoral. So when Laura Bush told a joke about junior, being so stupid, that he once accidentally masterbated a horse, you'd think they would have been upset.

...but no. Instead they praised her as the next Jay Leno.

Any real fallout? Any at all?

No....?

Masterbated a horse? No outrage?

*sigh*

Ok, so then there was this other incident. This involved some kid asking Ann Coulter a legitimate question.

See now, Ann was spewing her well known hate filled thoughts about gays and marriage when Ajai Raj asked:

"You say that you believe in the sanctity of marriage," said Ajai Raj, an English sophomore. "How do you feel about marriages where the man does nothing but fuck his wife up the ass?"

Just a litle context here... Now I read it somewhere. I know I did. I don't wanna look it up, because it would involve reading things that Ann Coulter has written, but I distinctly remember reading... somewhere... that Ann used to have a lot of anal sex. NOW I Am Not Kidding Here. I read it. Something about al the "good girls" or "popular girls" and why the boys liked 'em, and how she was one of 'em.

..and all I'm getting to here is that a little question about anal sex shouldn't be too much for Ann to handle. I mean clearly this is the crux of the rights objection to gay marriage. This is what gives it legal merrit. It's about the sodomy, and maybe here and now we can finally learn why the right objects so strongly. Maybe now we can finally have a long overdue discussion about one of the defining issues of our times.

According to Jeffrey Stockerwell, a friend of Raj, officers violently seized Raj and illegally searched him after his question.

Police have charged Raj with disorderly conduct, a Class C misdemeanor.

So that's where it stands...

Tell a joke about the president masterbating a horse, and everyone loves you...

Ask a question about one of the defining issues of our times, and you're going to jail.

Oh Wait! There's More!

This is the original story. Written by Yashoda Sampath for The Daily Texan. This is Matt Drudge's version.

Now Yashoda started with:

Incessant heckling and shouting culminated in an arrest Tuesday night during a speech by Ann Coulter, an extreme right-wing pundit, at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum.

...but Drudge [re]wrote.

Incessant heckling and shouting culminated in an arrest Tuesday night during a speech by controversialist Ann Coulter at the University of Texas at Austin.

Hey Everybody! Matt made a new word! Isn't he cool!

You may Have Already Eaten Contaminated Beef

2005-05-02T20:00:00.000-04:00

United Press International

Federal investigators are looking into allegations by a former U.S. Agriculture Department inspector that the agency sought to cover up cases of mad cow disease, United Press International has learned.

Lester Friedlander, a former USDA veterinarian, told UPI he was questioned recently by two representatives from the USDA's Office of Inspector General who were investigating statements he made before Canada's Parliament in April.

"I told them I think there's a cover-up," said Friedlander, a 10-year veteran of the USDA who received official praise and recognition for outstanding performance during his tenure with the agency.

Mad cow is a concern to public health because humans can contract a fatal brain illness known as variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease from eating beef products contaminated with the mad cow pathogen.

Friedlander's claims include that a USDA official told him in 1991 not to say anything if he ever discovered a case of mad cow disease, and that he knew of cows that had tested positive at private laboratories but were ruled negative by the USDA.

If Friedlander's claims hold true, then those responsible need to be put against a wall, and shot in the head, Taliban style.

How many Americans are going to die because of this?

If the USDA is letting Americans die, just so the beef industry can show a profit, then heads need to roll...

Literally.

Friedlander insists the agency attempted to force him out after he appeared on national television programs alleging that meat from downer cows -- those unable to stand -- was included in school lunch programs

Good God, they fed it to children.

The Horse's Favorite Farmer, and a Love That Dare Not Speak It's Name.

2005-05-02T06:38:00.000-04:00

AFP

"I'm proud of George. He's learned a lot about ranching since that first year, when he tried to milk the horse. What's worse, it was a male horse." -Laura Bush

No word yet on just how outraged Rick Santorum is... He hasn't come out against hot "man on horse" action per se, but his thoughts on hot "man on dog" action are well known. As are his attacks on the National Weather Service, but I digress...

The Whitehouse will certainly defend the presidents actions as perfectly legal.

Texas repealed a number of its laws pertaining to sexual conduct in 1973 in a massive penal code overhaul, including laws against bestiality, sodomy, adultery and fornication.

However, potential cow-pokers should be aware that "the state maintained a law against same-sex sodomy."

So technically the fact that it was a "male" horse may come back on the president. No pun intended.

Hey, does anyone remember when Whoopi Goldberg told that joke? Something about a bush?

Uncle Sam really, really, really, really, really, really Wants You

2005-05-01T17:03:00.000-04:00

from CBS Channel 4, Denver

David McSwane, a local high school student, decided he wanted to find out to what extent some recruiters would go to sign up soldiers who were not up to grade.

[...]

McSwane contacted his local army recruiting office in Golden with a scenario he created. He told a recruiter that he was a dropout and didn't have a high school diploma.

"No problem," the recruiter explained. He suggested that McSwane create a fake diploma from a non-existent school.

[...]

As instructed, McSwane went on the computer to a Web site and for $200 arranged to have a phony diploma created that certified him as a graduate of Faith Hill Baptist High School, the very name the recruiter suggested. It came complete with a fake grade transcript.

"I have a problem with drugs," McSwane said, referring to the conversation he had with the recruiter. "I can't kick the habit ... just marijuana."

"[The recruiter] said 'Not a problem,' just take this detox ... he said he would pay half of it ... told me where to go."

Drug testers CBS4 contacted insist it doesn't work, but the recruiter claimed in another recorded phone conversation that taking "detoxification capsules and liquid" would help McSwane pass the required test.

"The two times I had the guys use it, it has worked both times," the recruiter said in the recorded conversation. "We didn't have to worry about anything."

Then the original recruiter was transferred and another recruiter, Sgt. Tim Pickel, picked up the ball.

A friend of McSwane shot videotape as Pickel drove McSwane to a store where he purchased the so-called detox kit.

They're worse than debt collectors, credit card companies, and drug dealers combined....

You really have to wonder: Just how many kids have died in Iraq after being fast-talked by an army recruiter?!?

This should be bush's legacy. Remembered for lying to the country, and then exploiting it's children.

And for the record, why the hell don't these Army recruiters get off their lazy asses, and fight their own fuckin war?

Steve Forbes Supports The Democrats?

2005-05-01T13:49:00.000-04:00

Steve Forbes, as far as I can tell, has always been a very hardline republican. Often talking on republicans for being too moderate...

And yet, I just saw him on CNN, and when asked about the democrats shutting down all Social Security reform, rather than compromise on private accounts, Steve Forbes answered "I can only hope". He then added that he would rather let the people vote in four years, then support one of the president's bad ideas now.

Steve went on to throw his support behind the idea of investing some of Social Security into bank CD's, a plan shotdown by republicans years ago when proposed by Bill Clinton.

Wow Steve...

Welcome aboard.

Medicaid Cuts

2005-04-29T08:38:00.000-04:00

Yahoo/AP

A $2.6 trillion budget outline barely approved by Congress will cut projected spending on Medicaid for the poor, lock in tax cuts and — Republicans claim — put the country on a path toward lower federal deficits.

[...]

...with Medicaid singled out for a $10 billion reduction in the four-year period beginning in 2007

Jr's Speech

2005-04-29T08:28:00.000-04:00

I searched the world over, and no one is talking about jr's speech. I mean no one...

It's too bad, too. Who predicted him to change direction, flip-flop, shift gears, whatever... and still have time to slap around the right-wing whack-o's?

bush's speech was a major play for the support of liberal republicans. The ones that have been holding up all of his legislation.

One way he reached out was distancing himself from the "Justice Sunday" loons. In hopes of calming the liberal republican's fears about the party moving to far to the right.

You'd think that would be news...

Sludge on C-Span

2005-04-29T08:26:00.000-04:00

He just defended himself for not being able to cover every story, and then attacked liberal bloggers for not covering every story....

LAME!

OverSpun Exclusive

2005-04-29T08:02:00.000-04:00

Drudge is lame.

proof...

North Korea Has The Bomb

2005-04-29T07:57:00.000-04:00

NY Times

When asked by Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York during a hearing on Thursday whether "North Korea has the ability to arm a missile with a nuclear device," Admiral Jacoby responded, "The assessment is that they have the capability to do that, yes ma'am."

Damn it! What did I tell you kids?

2005-04-28T17:15:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I'm talking to you, you little hippie freaks. Didn't I tell you to stop messing around on the Capitol lawn? Don't act like you didn't hear me when I stuck my head out the window earlier. I saw you look up. I saw you laughing. Punks! I told you to clear out and take your games somewhere else. Then, not 15 minutes later, this thing sails right through the window and interrupts deliberations of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

Oh yeah? Is that so? Well, guess what...

It's Tom DeLay's Frisbee now!

LOL! I'm Dying Here!!!

Pope Suffering Forever in Hell!

2005-04-28T08:39:00.000-04:00

So claims man on MSNBC's Scarborough Country

Transcript

BUCHANAN: All right, let me follow up on that, Marty Minto. You are an evangelical Christian who believes you must be born again in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, correct?

MINTO: That‘s correct.

BUCHANAN: All right. And the Holy Father, you do not know whether or not he was born again, correct?

MINTO: That‘s correct.

BUCHANAN: All right. Let me ask you, there are an awful lot of people in this world—let‘s take Chinese—who aren‘t open to the whole idea of Jesus or being born again, because they don‘t hear the word. Do you think the heaven—the gates of heaven are closed to them?

MINTO: Well, I believe in the words of Jesus himself, because I believe Jesus was God revealed to us in the flesh.

BUCHANAN: All right.

MINTO: And Jesus said himself, unless...

BUCHANAN: What do you say, then, in following what you believe—I understand your belief.

MINTO: Yes.

BUCHANAN: Do you think they could enter the kingdom of heaven?

MINTO: Unless they are born again, unless they have trusted Jesus as the only way to get to heaven, no, I do not believe they will enter...

(CROSSTALK)

BUCHANAN: All right. Let me ask you, do you think Jews can get to heaven if they do not embrace Jesus Christ and are born again?

MINTO: No, I do not believe that Jews will get to heaven either.

BUCHANAN: I know this is a belief, because I know a number of evangelical Christians. They are very sincere and true in this belief.

MINTO: Sure.

BUCHANAN: And it‘s been very controversial.

Where do you think, then—let‘s assume Pope John Paul II was not born again, as you would describe it. Where do you think his soul is now?

MINTO: Well, the Bible says there‘s only two places, heaven and hell. And to be with God is to be in that place called heaven, to be in his presence.

BUCHANAN: Right.

MINTO: To be separated from him is that place called hell. It‘s a place of torment and suffering forever and ever.

...almost forgot about it.

Exposé

2005-04-28T07:46:00.000-04:00

Remember when they used to do Exposé's? They'd film buying a car, let an expert watch the film, and then explain to everyone how they got screwed...

Whatever happened to that?

I'm listening to some jerk on C-Span. A Texan no less. Oh-wait they just put his name up. Jeb Hensarling... Now ol' Jeb is comparing the rate of growth between family budgets and the government. As if they have anything in common! Who cares if the average family budget grew at a rate of 3% (I doubt it), and the government's grew at 50% (doubt that too)... It's meaningless.

Now I don't expect the host to correct ol' Jeb. The hosts on C-Span don't get involved in issues. They are truely "Fair and Balanced." And it's not what they're there for. C-Span is nothing more than an outlet for people who want their message to be heard...

...but CNN isn't C-Span. So would it kill 'em to tell us when someone is lying? MSNBC and FOX pull this crap too. The phrase "this debate will surely continue" has become code for "you're such a fuckin liar!, and we'd point that out... but we're out of time."

One such lier recently went on CNN to discuss Texas' new law making it illegal for gays to become foster parents. I yield to The Daily Show's Jon Stewart who, in this "Gaywatch" segment, asks the question "Why don't you call them on their bullshit on the air? You're an anchor for fucks sake!"

File It Under: Phallic Imagery

2005-04-24T12:01:00.000-04:00

link

(sister site)

Bolton Bombs

2005-04-24T11:47:00.000-04:00

Why can't everyone just agree that John Bolton was a bad choice for U.N. ambassador?

I mean bad...

Really Bad!

Skip the ideological stuff, shouldn't "plays well with others" be a requirement for anyone applying for a job as an ambassador?

I Hate Drudge

2005-04-24T11:31:00.000-04:00

Under the title BBC PLANTS HECKLERS TO DISRUPT UK CONSERVATIVE RALLY... , Matt Drudge links to this story about an upcomming BBC program about hecklers.

It seems that the BBC put gave microphones to the hecklers, and in Drudge's eyes that makes them plants.

But...

Drudge has never had a problem with bush's townhall meetings, in which the whole audience is a plant.

...and he has even defended Jeff Gannon.

Way to follow through, Matt.

How Would You Fix Social Security?

2005-04-21T12:26:00.000-04:00

I get this question a lot. It's usually posed towards liberals in general, something along the line of the dems have no ideas, and just complain. Blah, blah blah...

How would I fix SS? That's easy...

Raise Taxes.

...and I don't mean raise as increase, I mean raise as in "fundraise".

Just look at the problem with illegal immigration. Illegals don't pay taxes. The scumbag that hires them don't pay their share either.

Just closing the border would raise some serious tax revenue.

And instead of spending tax dollars on putting drug users in jail, why not put them to work on public works projects? That would save some serious tax revenue. If they slack off, get mouthy, or lazy, then you can throw them in jail. They don't even have to work really... You could dock someone's pay a dollar an hour for six months for smoking pot, doing that would give us a lot more money then footing the bill for a six month stay in prison.

Why not close some of these corporate tax shelter loopholes that cost the American taxpayer billions every year?

Is as if we're giving them a tax break for outsourcing.

Fixing that would lower most Americans tax burden, and shore up Social Security.

...and wouldn't that be something.

She's Been Called Many Things...

2005-04-21T11:28:00.000-04:00

The Paris Hilton of Politics
Little Tranny Annie
"Da Man"
Fabio's Wimpy Little Brother
Adam and EEEEEE!!!!

...but this week Time Magazine called her "Ms. Right", and they put her on the cover. Yes I'm talking about Ann Coulter.

For political intellectuals listening to Ann Coulter speak is on par with watching Jerry Springer.

For the Jerry Springer crowd Ann is 'kinda cute for a guy.'

I'm sure many of you are wondering how such an evil bitch could make it on to television in the first place. I blame Chris Matthews. If only Chris could be more honest about how his misunderstood attraction to men has compelled him to come up with ways to spend more time with Ann, the world would finally understand how the hell she got on HardBall in the first place.

Poor Ann...

...she's had a tough week. First she tried to blame Time for her freakish picture on their cover. But then McLusky pointed out how she gave herself alien hands when she photoshop'ed her fat ass for a picture on her website.

Then Time got pissed about her whining, and put up a close-up of Ann on their website. Yikes.

So then sites like Think Progress ripped Time a new one for implying, in their story on Ann, that she for the most part gets her facts right. Please.

Remember when Ann got a pies thrown at her? The kids who threw the pies got off because Ann never showed up at court. Ann blamed it on a "liberal" prosecuting attorney. When you're that close to a story, you're not "getting your facts wrong" you're an outright liar.

...and when they couldn't defend putting an outright liar on their cover. Time defended it's self by pointing out that even Hitler has been on it's cover.

I keep waiting for a holocaust survivor to stand up and say: "I knew Hitler. Hitler was an enemy of mine. Ann Coulter is no Hitler", and then all the evil people in attendance could gasp, because realize that they'd been duped by a woman who can't even get being evil right.

...but then I realize that I am just being silly. Ann is clearly as evil as Hitler. When it comes to evil Ann really is "Ms. Right", and at this point the only thing about Ann Coulter that surprises me, is that she hasn't been killed yet.

I'm not advocating the killing of Ann Coulter. I don't have to.

She does it herself. Every time she gives a speech she could be arrested for attempted suicide.

Or how about inciting a riot? What else do you call it when Ann, after enraging a crowd at Kansas University, asks:

"Could 10 of the largest College Republicans start walking up and down the aisles and start removing anyone shouting?" Coulter asked. "Otherwise, this
lecture is over."

I'd a busted the jaw of any bastard that put a finger on me. I take that back. I'd a bum rushed the stage, and cut her throat, and that's why I don't go to see Ann Coulter speak. I like my freedom, and I avoid violence.

...but let's face it. Ann earns a living giving hate speeches. She dreams of being attacked. She only says what she says to get attention. She sits backstage at FOX News all day long, hoping to get on the air, and doing it for free. She whores herself out non-stop. All in the hopes of getting more attention, of becoming a bigger name, of charging more for her speaking fees.

Here are some Ann Coulter quotes via Time

"Whether they are defending the Soviet Union or bleating for Saddam Hussein, liberals are always against America. They are either traitors or idiots..."

"I think we ought to nuke North Korea right now just to give the rest of the world a warning. Boom!…They’re a major threat. I just think it would be fun to nuke them and have it be a warning to…the world."

“Press passes can’t be that hard to come by if the White House allows that old Arab Helen Thomas to sit within yards of the president.”

"We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed, too. Otherwise, they will turn out to be outright traitors."

they forgot:

"A Muslim by any other name blows up just the same."

Maybe the next Muslim that blows themself up will be holding you closely Ann. Or maybe you're banking on your manish looks. Hoping that they'll make any suicide bomber feel kinda gay, and that, faced with hugging you, will just go home instead.

Lord knows I would.

...and feel free to watch Ann look like a buffoon on The Fifth Estate.

Canadian troops in Vietnam... What a dumbass...

Anwr

2005-04-21T08:55:00.000-04:00

The House is set to approve an energy bill that would open an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling and provide billions of dollars in benefits to energy industries, but critics say it does little to reduce the nation's thirst for oil.

What's the point? Any oil pulled out of A.N.W.R. is just going to be sold to Russia, because it's not worth it to ship it all the way to the U.S.!! What a fuckin joke!!

The House bill also would shield the makers of MTBE, a gasoline additive that has prompted dozens of lawsuits over drinking water contamination, from defective product liability claims. The issue was blamed for scuttling energy legislation in the Senate in 2003.

I hope the republicans, who support protecting the makers of MTBE, have to watch their own children die of cancer. Cancer caused from drinking water contaminated with MTBE's.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, has insisted that the MTBE liability waiver be included

Has it become a rule?

Does every story about a disgusting abuse of the American people have to have a Tom Delay quote supporting the abuse?

...

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