The National Anthemn Redux

Here is that dreadful last verse I mentioned below:

O thus be it ever when free-men shall stand
Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Methinks THAT verse will be the one sung in the new Amerika:

Starry starry night

First of all, read THIS from Schmidlap.

Secondly, over the holiday, I was thinking about the Star-Spangled Banner. I have one comment and one question on that one.

1) Be glad at the ball game that you only have to endure the first verse. Otherwise, try this one on for size:

On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty
host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the
towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! (editor's note--the last verse is worse)

2) Let's answer the question posed by Mr. Key in his poem (he wrote a poem originally titled "The Defense of Fort McHenry," the tune is an old English one, To Anacreon in Heaven). Is our nation still the "land of the free?"

and the "home of the brave?"

Logic that defies logic

"I'm not going to allow the sacrifice of 2,527 troops who have died in Iraq to be in vain."

So of course you do that by sending more and more off to endless slaughter, a never-ending killing machine. Or perhaps it is a perverse kind of Ponzi scheme? In the classic scheme, monies from new "investors" pay off the earlier ones. Here new blood "honors" blood previously shed.

The scheme finally collapses when not enough new investors/soldiers are willing to take the sucker bet and part with their money or their life.

Everyone celebrates freedom of speech differently

Even the morons.

Schmidlap - maybe this truck's for sale!

Hey, Rousing Rabble!

Happy fucking birthday!

:-)

Blast from the Past

So the other morning on the Jerry Springer radio show (much different than his TV show), he was playing protest/patriotic/support the troops music from different wars, and they dug out this gem, which was top 10 in 1967, but vanished soon thereafter. Gotta love it. The contempt in the performer's voice when he says "because she is a woman" is something special.

An Open Letter To My Teenage Son
Victor Lundberg lyrics

Dear son:

You ask my reaction to long hair or beards on young people
Some great men have worn long hair and beards
George Washington and Abraham Lincoln
If to you long hair or a beard is a symbol of independence
If you believe in your heart that the principles of this country
Our heritage, is worthy of this display of pride
That all men shall remain free
That free men at all times will not inflict their personal limitations
Of achievement on others,
That demands your own rights as well as the rights of others
And be willing to fight for this right, you have my blessings
You ask that I not judge you merely as a teenager
To judge you on your own personal habits, abilities and goals
This is a fair request and I promise that I will not judge any person
Only as a teenager if you will constantly remind yourself that some of my
generation judge people by their race, their belief or the color
of their skin and that this is no more right than saying all
teenagers are drunken dope addicts or glue sniffers
If you will judge every human being on his own individual potential
I will do the same.
You ask me if God is dead
This is a question each individual must answer within himself
But a warm summer day with all its brightness
All its sound, all its exhilarating breathiness just happened
God is love. Remember that God is a guide and not a storm trooper
Realize that many of the past and present generation
Because of a well intended but unjustifiable misconception
Have attempted to legislate morality
This created part of the basis
For your generations need to rebel against our society
With this knowledge perhaps your children will never ask
Is God dead?
I sometimes think much of mankind is attempting to work Him to death

You ask my opinion of draft card burners. I would answer this way
All past wars have been dirty, unfair, immoral, bloody and second-guessed
However, history has shown most of them necessary
If you doubt that our free enterprise system
In the United States is worth protecting, if you doubt the principles
Upon which this country was founded, that we remain free to choose our religion
Our individual endeavors, our method of government
If you doubt that each free individual in this great country
should reap rewards commensurate only with his own efforts
Than it is doubtful you belong here
If you doubt that people who govern us
Should be selected by their desire
To allow us to strive for any goal we feel capable of obtaining
Than its doubtful you should participate in their selection
If you are not grateful to a country
That gave your father the opportunity to work
For his family to give you the things you have and you do not feel pride
Enough to fight for your right to continue in this
Manner than I assume the blame for your failure
To recognize the true value of our birthright
And I will remind you that your mother will love
you no matter what you do, because she is a woman
And I love you too son
But I also love our country and the principles for which we stand
And if you decide to burn your draft card
hen burn your birth certificate at the same time
From that moment on, I have no son

Swearing

Now that the Supreme Court has slapped down the president's secret trial parties, I would guess that the administration would do the honorable thing and TRY TO AMEND THE CONSTITUTION! Just wait.

The Supremes kicked around the administration's "unitary executive" theory, and sternly reminded the president that despite his beloved "commander-in-chief" role, that constitution thingy (Article I, Section 8) vests in Congress the power to "make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces." That whole separation of powers thing is SO annoying.

And now, a tip of the thinker cap to team member JB for this heads up. Let's play the "Can you spot the differences" between the two pictures of kids with bikes and ice cream cones, like in the Sunday paper magazine.

Here are the two pictures:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of [XXXXXXXX], and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."

SO, one picture charges the party with oreserving, protecting and defending THE CONSTITUTION, while the other must defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Which one is which?

Cubs Announce New Hat Design

The Chicago Cubs announced a dramatic change to their famous blue cap with the red "C." The classic hat, shown below, is one of the most famous symbols in professional sports:

The redesigned hat is shown here:

Who's the leaker?

The government "has established a foreign terrorist asset tracking center at the Department of the Treasury to identify and investigate the financial infrastructure of the international terrorist networks. It will bring together representatives of the intelligence, law enforcement and financial regulatory agencies to accomplish two goals,  to follow the money as a trail to the terrorists, to follow their money...and to freeze the money to disrupt their actions." The administration is "also working with the friends and allies throughout the world to share information...working closely with the United Nations, the EU and through the G-7/G-8 structure to limit the ability of terrorist organizations to take advantage of the international financial systems."

Insert your own caption

Some people are into generosity

And some aren't. Take the Pastor J. Grant Swank, Jr., for example.

The Warren Buffet donation of billions to Bill Gates means killing womb babies agencies will get more money to kill womb babies.

Gates and wife have been at the forefront of murdering children in females’ wombs. Now the Buffet donation will enhance all the more the abortuaries. In other words, more humans without self-defense will be discarded, their souls making their ways into the loving arms of Jesus.

It is sad but true that many think that the richest man in the world — Bill Gates — is a benevolent philanthropist. It is fact that some of his moneys go to commendable causes. But all that is cancelled out when realizing that Gates’ so-called material success endorses outright murder multiplied many times over.
...
It is imperative that the world knows this theological liberalism behind the Gates philanthropy.

Womb babies?

Stupid hosts, stupid callers

Of course, I listen to right-wing radio so you don't have to.... Hannity has a guest host (rumors are he was suspended for his ridiculous "we found the WMDs" nonsense) and the unknown sub got a call from a real genius on the flag burning comedy:

"If I threw paint on Mt. Rushmore, I'd get arrested, if I sledgehammered the Liberty Bell I would be in jail."

Yes, you would, MORON. YOU don't own the Liberty Bell or Mount Rushmore. The freedom to burn a flag PRESUMES that YOU OWN (or otherwise have permission to incinerate) said flag.

Heaven help us.

Happy Anniversary!

I would like to wish everyone a happy 2nd anniversary of the transfer of "sovereignty" to the Iraqi "government!"

Serious props for a seriously funny post on 'blogofasicsm'

You're welcome to have a liquid in your mouth as you keep reading this, but I'd strongly caution against it.

Dennis Byrne is an IDIOT (tell me something I didn't know)

Addressing the vocal Cirque de Soleil that is White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, resident Chicago tribune idiot Dennis Byrne wrote:

Losing a job for exercising a constitutionally protected right is a sanction that Guillen, and even [obnoxious Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay] Mariotti, should not suffer.

Memo to Denny:

There is NO constitutionally-protected right to speak enforceable against YOUR PRIVATE EMPLOYER. Free speech guarantees at the constitutional level apply against THE GOVERNMENT, there, Denny--not a baseball team.

Let's see the conservatives match this one

So, Warren Buffett has just pledged to donate over $37 billion dollars to charities. Most of the money will go to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has received $26 billion from the Gates'. That money will be spent on things like fighting AIDS in Africa and trying to improve American high schools.

The Walton's kicking in that kind of money any time soon?

Buffett: "I still believe in the philosophy - FORTUNE quoted me saying this 20 years ago - that a very rich person should leave his kids enough to do anything but not enough to do nothing."

Take that, estate tax.

Stupid is as stupid does

Sean Hannity is one of the dumbest people on radio/TV and Rick Santorum is without doubt the stupidest sitting senator (he MAY be the dumbest of all time, but Al D'Amato is in the team photo there). So how rich was it that these two geniuses "found" the "missing" and ever so dreaded "weapons of mass destruction?" (Here is Newshounds' take on it) It was simply train-wreck funny stuff, dim-witted Hannity and the desparate Santorum (18+ points behind at last glance) making total fools of themselves trumpeting the "find" and demanding apologies from presidential critics.

Now of course, the story had previously been debunked by FOX NEWS! As we all know now, "these were pre-1991 weapons that could not have been fired as designed because they’d already been degraded." The "find" involved some shells buried during the Iraq-Iran war that had long been forgotten, not any indication of current capacity. Priceless.

We need to make a couple of basic points here. First of all, should ANYONE be surprised about finding this stuff? We knew Hussein had chemical weapons BECAUSE WE GAVE THEM TO HIM! And also, please remember that the dreaded "WMD" is not a magic incantation that summons demons and brings the mummy back to life. The U.N. RESOLUTION barred Hussein from having such weapons and its enfircement WAS A U.N. MATTER. War would ONLY have been justified if Iraq was an IMMEDIATE and IMMINENT threat to the United States.

Rotsa ruck on that one.


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I've been one poor correspondent...

I have been rather inattentive here, with my mother's passing and a previously-planned family trip. We are saying our final goofbyes to her tomorrow at a memorial service, and then we will return you to your regularly-scheduled snarkiness.

One day's worth

From one day's morning paper:

1) U.S. mercenaries, oh excuse me,  contractors, have been withholding the passports of laborers "hired" at subsistence wages in Iraq, a technique often utilized by human traffickers. Lovely.

2) The military KNEW for nine months that Iraqi "security forces" killed two National Guard members but blamed "insurgents." The father of one of those soldiers, as well as Sen. Barbara Boxer, accused the military of suppressing the truth to shore up public support for the war.

3) Murder charges filed against 8 U.S. service personnel

4) Heavy firefight near the Green Zone: Iraq's government clamped a state of emergency on Baghdad and ordered everyone off the streets Friday after U.S. and Iraqi forces battled insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades and rifles near the heavily fortified Green Zone. The military also announced the deaths of five more U.S. troops in a particularly violent week for American forces that included the discovery of the brutalized bodies of two soldiers. Twelve U.S. servicemembers have died or been found dead this week.

But--we're makin' progress. Turning points, you know. 

Dead and Buried

We are gathered here to finally lay to rest the idea of "American Exceptionalism." Christened in 1831 in an Alexis de Tocqueville quote, American Exceptionalism was a belief that the United States and its people were qualitatively different from and of course superior to other nations. AE had been in very ill health throughout much of his life, but finally succumbed to gross international lawlessness, torture, military adventurism, corporate greed, racism and many other causes.

No services are planned.

Word for the Day

Mistrial: A trial that becomes invalid because of basic prejudicial error in procedure; a trial that terminates without a verdict because of error, necessity, prejudicial misconduct, or a hung jury.

Lawyer Khamis al-Obeidi, a Sunni Arab who represented Saddam and his half brother Barzan Ibrahim, was abducted from his home Wednesday morning by men wearing police uniforms, his colleagues said. His body was found riddled with bullets on a street near the Shiite slum of Sadr City. Police provided a photo of al-Obeidi’s face, head and shoulders drenched in blood.

Moron of the Month

The award for June goes to "Al" for this brilliant comment in the online Chicago Tribune:

"So, let me get this straight: our involvement in the middle east is intended to DE-stabilize an unstable part of the world? That is beyond idiotic. Unless democracy spreads in the middle east, the 13th century will continue to flourish, eventually appearing on our very streetcorners and killing with impugnity anything that doesn't bow to Allah. Saying `this war is all about making money for Mr. Bush's corporate cronies' is ridiculous as well, since there's a very large hole in the ground in New York City that proves otherwise."

Amazing.

The Word for the Day

The word for today is:

OCCUPATION: The invasion, conquest, and control of a nation or territory by foreign armed forces.

Boys and girls, THAT is what is happening in Iraq. It isn't a "war," a contest with a foreseeable outcome and, more importantly, a winner and a loser. It is merely an occupation, a bloody, ugly occupation, that will someday come to a bitter and forgettable end.

BTW, thanks to all for the kind words--P

Someone help me here

One thing I've never understood is on what grounds our country (or others, for that matter) say to other countries, like, say, North Korea - "We can have all the ICBM's that we want, but you can't have any." I know Kim Jong Il is nuttier than a bucket of nuts, but as a sovereign nation (which, again, sovereignty means being sovereign), don't they get to decide if they want the same military capabilities that we have? Who are we, their dad?

Kudos

Kudos to I Drew This:

Here we go again

Schmidlap asked recently what he should do to celebrate the 4th of July parade in his neighborhood. Well, I've got a more detailed answer for him.

Burn an American flag. Put one on the front stoop of your house and walk on it. Revel in free speech.

Senate committee approves flag amendment

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate Judiciary Committee gave a nod Thursday to a constitutional amendment to protect the American flag from desecration, moving it to the Senate floor where vote-counters on both sides say it could be within one vote of passing.

The 11-7 vote sent the amendment to the floor. Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., has said the measure will get a Senate vote this month.

To be considered during the patriotic season between this week's Flag Day and the Fourth of July, the amendment's substance and timing is designed to appeal to veterans during this year of midterm elections.

"The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States," the amendment reads. To become the Constitution's 28th amendment, the language must be approved by two-thirds of those present in each chamber, then ratified within seven years by at least 38 state legislatures.

The House a year ago passed the bill 286-130, more than the required two-thirds of those present to pass. Vote-counters on both sides of the issue say the amendment has commitments of support from 66 senators, one fewer than the required 67 votes if all 100 members of the chamber are present.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California was the lone committee Democrat to vote for the measure, saying its language was designed to both protect the flag and First Amendment free speech protections.

The committee also rejected an amendment by Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., to replace "desecration" with specific types of defilement. Using the word desecration, he said, would leave the government too much power to define the term.

So, they're one vote short of sending it to state legislators and forcing this debate to go on all over the country. One more Dianne Feinstein, who somehow thinks that the amendment as proposed somehow protects freedom of speech, and we'll have blood red states all over the country going nuts approving this. And if they get to 38...

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: if this amendment passes, I will go to the store, buy a flag, bring it home, and burn it.

Cost to take a life in Baghdad? $2.40

From the Financial Times (subscription required)

Cheap, high-quality ammunition is becoming widely available on the Baghdad black market, much of it smuggled in from eastern Europe, according to a report published on Thursday by Oxfam.

In a section of a report on the global ammunition market, the charity says the price of bullets for AK-47 assault rifles has fallen to an average of $0.30 (€0.24, £0.16) in Baghdad. This compares with $1.50 a round in Somalia during recent fighting.

Given that victims are killed by between four and 12 bullets, the cost of taking away a life in Baghdad is now $2.40, the report says.

An analysis in the UK of bullets bought in Baghdad by Doctors for Iraq found that ammunition for 9mm semi-automatic pistols and for AK-47s originated from factories in China, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Russia and Serbia. There were also pre-2003 Iraqi-made bullets.

What an unrestricted present from FEMA will buy you

From CNN:

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A $200 bottle of champagne from Hooters and $300 worth of "Girls Gone Wild" videos were among items bought with debit cards handed out by FEMA to help hurricane victims, auditors probing $1 billion in potential waste and fraud have found.

The cards -- given to people displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita -- also bought diamond jewelry and a vacation in the Dominican Republic, according to the Government Accountability Office audit.

The GAO uncovered records showing that $1,000 from a FEMA debit card went to a Houston divorce lawyer; $600 was spent in a strip club and $400 was spent on "adult erotica products," all of which auditors concluded were "not necessary to satisfy legitimate disaster needs."

(snip)

I had a friend of mine who diaried and chronicled his escape which was harrowing, expensive and just unbelievable. He's STILL fighting for legitimate money for cleanup for his home and is living in a FEMA trailer in his yard. Obviously there's going to be misuse, but on the scale that is alleged is almost unbelievable.

For some reason it reminds me of the line from comedian Jeff Foxworthy: "You can't give Rednecks money." But that was more geared at garish taste in decor, a la concrete deer in the front yard.

World Cup Befuddlement and Patriotism?

The three-headed Disney monster of ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 are carrying all the games, and they're doing so in high definition. Good for them; high def was designed for sports, as evidenced when I could see blades of grass flying after a corner kick.

Let me preface this by saying that I am not a fan of soccer (translated in every other country on the planet to 'football'). Maybe it's the fact that I work globally for a living and all my partners around the planet are enthralled and lost for the next thirty days. Whatever.

Somebody help me understand this one: England's match on Saturday morning is important enough to bump Lilo & Stitch back a couple of hours to give it to us on ABC. Mexico and Iran were important enough to be on ABC yesterday. Let's face it, anybody of Mexican persuasion was probably watching it on a Spanish-language channel; unless ABC offers an SAP button (which I honestly don't know).

Team USA, our own NATIONAL team, isn't important enough to bump Oprah, The View and whatever soap opera pablum is being pandered at 11:00 CDT on a Monday morning to give our national team the widest distribution? Let me guess: Soccer moms only take their kids to games because they have to but don't want have to watch it on TV? They prefer to live their Desperate Housewives lives while their charges are at summer camp?

While the World Cup and the Olympics share the major trait of being a quadrenial event, there are only sixty four games and thirty two teams. This isn't like having curling shunted to MSNBC at 4:30 in the morning because they've got figure skating to cover in prime time, dammit. There's sixty-four games. They're commiting to show them all in high definition which is an investment.

I don't want to be mistaken for a flag waving, sycophantic idjut, but isn't this just one of those things that you do because you're supposed to?

New category of Republicans for Schmidlap

It's not just Evil, Greedy, or Stupid anymore - how about Suicidal?

In response to, among other things, Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth," the College Republican National Committee has suggested that students host "Global Warming Beach Parties" and "Global Cooling Day" events, where you too can ignore the effects mankind has on the world and assist the environment in killing you:

Run a “Global Cooling” Snow Cone Stand

Freeze out cataclysmic environmental scare tactics with a little humor. The Oklahoma University College Republicans gave out free snow cones to students for an event they called "Global Cooling Day."

Stage an event like this one to grab the attention of your campus and raise awareness on the real facts of the global warming phenomenon. Engage with students and debunk some of the myths and cool the hyperbole surrounding the issue.

OU CRs simultaneously used the event to promote their first meeting, sign-up members, and sell CR shirts. A tent and tables were set up at the busiest spot on campus, and OU CRs gave away nearly 1,000 snow cones each day.

Prior to your "Global Cooling Day" event, arm your College Republican chapter with solid talking points on the issue, and then kick-back and enjoy the sun. The facts are on your side.

The page has a link to another page, entitled "Global Warming Myths Debunked", where they attempt to "debunk" exactly three things:

1) Not all scientists agree on what kind of threat global warming poses. They tell us that "Many reputable" scientists think that any rise will be "well within the range of human adaptability". Names? References? How will we adapt? If half the population died, but the other half adapted, would that qualify as being within the range of human adaptability? They, of course, answer none of these.

2) The Kyoto Protocol would not help. They go on to say that it's a bad idea, because other countries' businesses might benefit. There's lots of "facts", and little or no data.

3) They make fun of people's concerns that polar bears are losing their habitats. This has happened before, due to natural causes, they say. Well, sure, but just because I know people who die from natural causes doesn't mean I can kill others, does it? And nice to know that "compassionate conservatism" is going strong.

That's it. That's all they got. Hundreds and hundreds of articles, in peer-reviewed journals, reams and reams of data, and scientists around the world say otherwise, and that's their counter-argument. And in some places, it wins.

For a much more informative response to the movie, read Salon's piece on the issue. (Day pass required.)

It's all true, I swear

The story of the real George W.

Props to Wil Wheaton for the link.

NSFW, BTW.

Now, this is what a real Democrat sounds like

These are some excerpts from a speech Barack Obama made to an EMILY's List luncheon earlier this year. There are a couple of quotes from it that got some notoriety at the time, because of their sharp-witted attacks on the President, but to me the more compelling parts are where he makes it clear what being a Democrat means, and shows why he should be one of the people leading the party, not Hillary Clinton or John Kerry.

We meet here today at a time where we find ourselves at a crossroads in America's history.

It's a time where you can go to any town hall or street corner or coffee shop and hear people express the same anxiety about the future; hear them convey the same uncertainty about the direction we're headed as a country. Whether it's the war or Katrina or their health care or their jobs, you hear people say that we've finally arrived at a moment where something must change.

These are Americans who still believe in an America where anything's possible - they just don't think their leaders do. These are Americans who still dream big dreams -they just sense their leaders have forgotten how.

...

We had held a large rally the night before in the Southside of Chicago. And in the midst of this rally, someone comes up to me and says that there's a woman who'd like to meet you, and she's traveled a long way and she wants to take a picture and shake your hand.

And so I said fine, and I met her, and we talked. And all of this would have been unremarkable except for the fact that this woman, Marguerite Lewis, was born in 1899 and was 105 years old.

...

[S]he saw the passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. And she saw people lining up to vote for the first time - and she got in that line - and she never forgot it. She kept on voting in each and every election because she believed. She believed that over a span of three centuries, she had seen enough to know that there is no challenge too great, no injustice too crippling, no destiny too far out of reach for America.

She believed that we don't have to settle for equality for some or opportunity for the lucky or freedom for the few.

And she knew that during those moments in history where it looked like we might give up hope or settle for less, there have always been Americans who refused. Who said we're going to keep on dreaming, and we're going to keep on building, and we're going to keep on marching, and we're going to keep on working because that's who we are. Because we've always fought to bring all of our people under the blanket of the American Dream.

...

It's the timidity - the smallness - of our politics that's holding us back right now. The idea that some problems are just too big to handle, and if you just ignore them, sooner or later, they'll go away. That if you give a speech where you rattle off statistics about the stock market being up and orders for durable goods being on the rise, no one will notice the single mom whose two jobs won't pay the bills or the student who can't afford his college dreams. That if you say the words "plan for victory" and point to the number of schools painted and roads paved and cell phones used in Iraq, no one will notice the more than 2,300 flag-draped coffins that have arrived at Dover Air Force base.

Well it's time we finally said we notice, and we care, and we're not gonna settle anymore.

You know, you probably never thought you'd hear this at an Emily's List luncheon, but Newt Gingrich made a great point a few weeks back. He was talking about what an awful job his own party has done governing this country, and he said that with all the mistakes and misjudgments the Republicans have made over the last six years, the slogan for the Democrats should come down to just two words:

Had enough?

I don't know about you, but I think old Newt is onto something here. Because I think we've all had enough. Enough of the broken promises. Enough of the failed leadership. Enough of the can't-do, won't-do, won't-even-try style of governance.

Four years after 9/11, I've had enough of being told that we can find the money to give Paris Hilton more tax cuts, but we can't find enough to protect our ports or our railroads or our chemical plants or our borders.

I've had enough of the closed-door deals that give billions to the HMOs when we're told that we can't do a thing for the 45 million uninsured or the millions more who can't pay their medical bills.

I've had enough of being told that we can't afford body armor for our troops and health care for our veterans. I've had enough of that.

I've had enough of giving billions away to the oil companies when we're told that we can't invest in the renewable energy that will create jobs and lower gas prices and finally free us from our dependence on the oil wells of Saudi Arabia.

I've had enough of our kids going to schools where the rats outnumber the computers. I've had enough of Katrina survivors living out of their cars and begging FEMA for trailers. And I've had enough of being told that all we can do about this is sit and wait and hope that the good fortune of a few trickles on down to everyone else in this country.

...

Now, let me say this - I don't think that George Bush is a bad man. I think he loves his country. I don't think this administration is full of stupid people - I think there are a lot of smart folks in there. The problem isn't that their philosophy isn't working the way it's supposed to - it's that it is. It's that it's doing exactly what it's supposed to do.

The reason they don't believe government has a role in solving national problems is because they think government is the problem. That we're better off if we dismantle it - if we divvy it up into individual tax breaks, hand 'em out, and encourage everyone to go buy your own health care, your own retirement security, your own child care, their own schools, your own private security force, your own roads, their own levees...

It's called the Ownership Society in Washington. But in our past there has been another term for it - Social Darwinism - every man or women for him or herself. It allows us to say to those whose health care or tuition may rise faster than they can afford - life isn't fair. It allows us to say to the child who didn't have the foresight to choose the right parents or be born in the right suburb - pick yourself up by your bootstraps. It lets us say to the guy who worked twenty or thirty years in the factory and then watched his plant move out to Mexico or China - we're sorry, but you're on your own.

It's a bracing idea. It's a tempting idea. And it's the easiest thing in the world.

But there's just one problem. It doesn't work. It ignores our history. Yes, our greatness as a nation has depended on individual initiative, on a belief in the free market. But it has also depended on our sense of mutual regard for each other, of mutual responsibility. The idea that everybody has a stake in the country, that we're all in it together and everybody's got a shot at opportunity.

Americans know this. We know that government can't solve all our problems - and we don't want it to. But we also know that there are some things we can't do on our own. We know that there are some things we do better together.

We know that we've been called in churches and mosques, synagogues and Sunday schools to love our neighbors as ourselves; to be our brother's keeper; to be our sister's keeper. That we have individual responsibility, but we also have collective responsibility to each other.

That's what America is.

And so I am eager to have this argument not just with the President, but the entire Republican Party over what this country is about.

Because I think that this is our moment to lead.

The time for our party's identity crisis is over. Don't let anyone tell you we don't know what we stand for and don't doubt it yourselves. We know who we are and we know what our legacy is.

We're the party of Jefferson who first believed that every child in America should be educated regardless of wealth and birth and circumstance. That's who we are.

We're the party of Roosevelt who lifted this nation out of its own fear and sent workers to the factories and veterans to college and families to new homes and seniors to a comfortable retirement. That's who we are.

We're the party that stood up to fascism and defended freedom across the globe during World War II.

We're the party of civil rights, and workers' rights, and women's rights who believes that that every member of the American family deserves a shot at the American Dream. That's who we are.

We're the party of new frontiers and bold horizons - the party that put man on the moon and fueled the research that unlocked the secrets of the human genome. That's who we are.

And let me tell you about the party I see in the future.

In a globalized economy with bigger risks and greater rewards - a world where we are at once more connected and more competitive - let it be said that we are the party of opportunity. The party that guarantees every American an affordable, world-class, top-notch, life-long education - from early childhood to high school, from college to on-the-job training.

Let it be said that we are the party that equips every worker with what they need to succeed in a 21st century economy - wage supports and pensions, child care and health care that will stay with them no matter where they work or what they do.

Let it be said that we are the party of innovation and discovery - willing to blaze a trail toward energy independence or invest in the research that could create whole new industries and save thousands of lives.

And in a world where evil lurks and terrorists plot, let it be said that we will conduct a smart foreign policy that matches the might of our military with the power of our diplomacy. And when we do go to war, let us always be honest with the American people about why we are there and how we will win.

If we do all this, if we can be trusted to lead, this will not be a Democratic Agenda, it will be an American agenda. Because in the end, we may be proud Democrats, but we are prouder Americans. We're tired of being divided, tired of running into ideological walls and partisan roadblocks, tired of appeals to our worst instincts and greatest fears.

Americans everywhere are desperate for leadership. They are longing for direction. And they want to believe again.

You know, as I was thinking about today's luncheon and all the progress EMILY's List has made over the years, the first thing that came to mind wasn't all the politics or the campaigns; it wasn't even all the issues debated or the legislation passed.

I thought about my daughters.

I thought about the world that Sasha and Malia will grow up in, about the chances they'll have and the challenges they'll face. And I thought about my hopes for them - that they'll be able to dream without limit, achieve without constraint, and be free to seek their own happiness.

And I wondered - if they are lucky enough to live as long as 105-year-old Marguerite Lewis, if they someday have the chance to look back across the twenty-first century, what will they see? Will they see a country that is freer and kinder, more tolerant and more just than the one they grew up in? Will they see greater opportunities for every citizen of this country? Will all her of my hopes for my girls be fulfilled?

We are here today because we believe that in this country, we have it within our power to say "yes" to those questions - to forge our own destiny - to begin the world anew.

We are here because we believe that this is our time.

Our time to make a mark on history.

Our time to write a new chapter in the American story.

And then someday, someday, if our kids get the chance to stand where we are and look back at the beginning of the 21st century, they can say that this was the time when America renewed its purpose.

They can say that this was the time when America found its way.

They can say that this was the time when America learned to dream again.

Thank you.

Thanks for writing. Luv ya.

From the Answer Man column, by Roger Ebert:

Q. I'm always amazed at the irrational nature of the debate on medical care. In your review of "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu," you state, "At least in Romania he is not asked for his insurance company, and he has a theoretical right to free medical care." In the next sentence you quote a Romanian doctor who discusses the horrible condition of medical care in his country. Isn't it obvious that when something is "free" for everyone, it will be inadequate for everyone? Do people get left behind in a medical system that involves free enterprise? Of course they do. But when you have a system where personal responsibility plays no part, you certainly get the system you deserve. I for one am glad that I get asked for proof of insurance when I show up at a hospital. It annoys me that people who cannot do so get treated at my expense anyway.

Jeff Grant, Centreville, Va.

A. The hospitals are always looking for volunteers. Maybe you could help them turn away sick poor people.

Rest in peace

February 3, 1927-June 7, 2006

Godspeed, Mom.

Olberman KOs O'Reilly

Just watch it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3utX-WbrPA&search=O%27Reilly

Ban gay marriage? How about divorce?

In honor of the proposed ammendment to be debated today that bans gay marriage, I offer a twin ammendment. An ammendment banning divorce, but only for those folks who favor the gay marriage ban.

And for those who fall in this category who leave their spouses (because they can't get a divorce anymore), then round 'em up and put them in interment camps, as deserving of "less than human" folks.

Whaddya think?

Gone fishin'

EDITOR'S NOTE: There is ONE new post from me below that I added after the original Gone Fishin' notice.

The man:



The mission:

I will be away from my duties here until Monday as I am off after the mighty chinook salmon, the tasty coho and the elusive brown trout (and a weekend of debauchery!)

Back on Monday with fish stories.

Media shilling for Bush

I have often pointed out the foibles and foolishness of Mark Silva, a shameless apologist for the Bush administration. Silva, a a "reporter" for the Chicago Tribune, gushes like a breathless correspondent for Tiger Beat over his hero's dramatic "overture" to Iran:

The Bush administration, signaling a willingness Wednesday to open direct talks with Iran over its nuclear program, is embracing a sharp change of course that reflects a more pragmatic approach to one of the world's most intractable conflicts and may ease upward pressure on international oil prices.

Wow, a "sharp change," pragmatism and lower gas prices? Hurray for George!

But let's all wait a minute. First of all, this situation is only "one of the world's most intractable conflicts " because of the ineptitude, stupidity and arrogance of the current administration. And how about "pragmatism?" How pragmatic is it when you offer to negotiate if IN ADVANCE the other side AGREES TO ALL YOUR DEMANDS? That is some negotiating tactic.

My favorite point in the piece is Silva's reference to the letter from the Iranian president as "rambling." Apparently he missed this bit of brilliant elocution from his hero:

Tribal sovereignty means that, it's sovereign. You're a -- you're a -- you have been given sovereignty and you're viewed as a sovereign entity. And therefore, the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities. Now, the federal government has got a responsibility on matters like education and security to help. And health care. And it's a solemn duty. From this perspective, we must continue to uphold that duty. I think that one of the most promising areas of all is to help with economic development, and that means helping people understand what it means to start a business. That's why the Small Business Administration has increased loans. It means, obviously, encouraging capital flows, but none of that will happen unless the education systems flourish and are strong. That's why I told you, we spent $1.1 billion in reconstruction of Native American schools.

THAT was inspiring, concise and to the point, not one ramble there!

Rarely do I agree with the president of Iran, but this "overture" was merely shallow propaganda, and Mark Silva is the perfect shallow propagandist for the job.

Chuckles the Clown

Charles Krauthammer is a miserable little man who should be ranting on a street corner rather than wasting ink and newsprint in the Washington Post. Recently, he gave us this gem:

Pushing Washington to abandon the multilateral process and enter negotiations alone is more than rank hypocrisy. It is a pernicious folly. It would short-circuit the process that, after years of dithering, is about to yield its first fruits: sanctions that Tehran fears. It would undo the allied consensus, produce endless new delays and give Iran more time to reach the point of no return, after which its nuclear status would be a fait accompli.

Chuck has always been of the "bomb anyone who thinks bad thoughts about Israel first, ask questions later" school, and making logical connections between his scattershot observations has never been his strong suit. This one, though, is priceless. What "process" is Chucky referring to? The "process" of having international inspectors and Security Council consideration and then having us say, "**** it, we're invading anyway?" The process of sending someone with a deep and abiding respect for diplomacy to represent us at the U.N., like John Bolton?

There is a country in this equation that has marginalized, triviliazed and shown nothing but contempt for international diplomacy, and it is NOT Iran. Why should Iran waste its time negotiating with our proxies if the United States holds the final and absolute veto, Chuck? Why indeed?

Happy Memorial Day!

I have heard many people object to GWB laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, given his disgraceful military record. However, I think it is perfectly logical for him to do, because when he was a soldier--no one knew him!

Happy Memorial Day to all (and a happy 24th wedding anniversary to me!)

On the Importance of Vetting School Board Candidates

Illinois is a solid "blue" state. Over the past 14 years we have seen an African-American woman and man elected to the United States senate. However, it is important to remember that under that progressive facade there lurks a seamy and scummy underbelly of right-wingnut fascism just waiting to be unleashed. In 2004, it reared its ugly head in the candidacy of the carpetbagger Alan Keyes, who received a solid 25% of the vote. Now, we have Leslie Pinney, an ELECTED school board member for Township H.S. District 214, which serves students in several northwest suburbs. She waited a whole year before showing her jackboots and pith helmet to the teachers and administrators of the high schools. Her outing came when she suggested that the school board ban several "subversive" books.

This is an area of special interest to me, as I am a professional educator and a librarian. My experience with book banning parents, "concerned citizens," and administrators is not nearly as vast as other American Library Association members I know, but I have dealt with a few. None has EVER read the books that they wish to ban "for the sake of the kids." In fact, they tend to revel in their ignorance, relying instead on the counsel of those with agendas ranging from right-wingnut or religiously repressive to misguidedly politically correct. I felt compelled to write an open letter/email to Ms. Pinney - the contents of said letter are below...

Ms. Pinney,

In the interest of full disclosure, I want you to know that I do not live in your high school district. However, I am an educator, a librarian and a taxpayer in this state, and in those capacities, I take intense offense at your insistence in calling for the all-out ban of books recognized by critics, educators, librarians, and historians as works of literature and timeless reflections on themes very dear to thoughtful people everywhere. I suppose that had your call been based on some critical analysis of the content or the literary merits of the selections I might have been interested in hearing your arguments. Instead, as I do often find in these cases, you hide behind pointing out the odd offensive word and then trot out the tired old chestnut, "I haven't read it, but I know it's no good for our children" apologia.
At this point, under normal circumstances, I'd write a long and detailed defense of each of the works that you want to burn symbolically for the "sake of the children." However, I know that I'd be practicing mere mental masturbation, as you can judge a book without reading it, or by reading only a single page, paragraph, sentence, or WORD out of context. I am VERY glad that you have gone public, because you have exposed yourself for what you are: a sad and self-important, frustrated, self-loathing middle-aged woman who saw the opportunity to throw around her considerable weight. The good news is that the student body and parents have told you in OVERWHELMING numbers that you're wrong and that they won't be bullied by a shrill harpy. The better news is that you've made yourself UNELECTABLE in 2009. The best news is that you're only a couple of years away from being able to play "nazi" only in your own home.

::::::BLOGGER'S UPDATE::::::

According to the Chicago Tribune, the high school curriculum in Chicago's northwest suburbs will continue to be a safe haven for the subversive, pornographic, and/or graphically objectional books of such second-rate hacks as Kurt Vonnegut and Toni Morrison. The vote was a nail-biting 6-1... I wonder whether or not the good taxpayers in District 214 can recall their resident fascist before the 2009 school board elections...

Look what I found!

Well, well, look what congressional Republicans found:



It was strange that they couldn't find it with regard to the equal protection clause and presidental elections, warmaking, domestic spying, torture, the right to counsel, speedy trials, the establishment of religion and all those other little inconveniences. It was just nowhere in sight, then all of a sudden, it just turns up! Now just WHERE pray tell do you think they found it?

Why, RIGHT OUTSIDE THEIR OFFICE DOORS of course! Hold on there, that ol' piece of paper means you can't search MY office!

To borrow a tired old chestnut from right-wing talk shows. `Why worry if you don't have something to hide'...right???

Candor

The morning news shows were gushing over how "candid" the president was last night. Please, spare me.

He was "candid" because he acknowledged that stupid things he said that everyone knew were stupd were in fact--STUPID? He is "candid" because he FINALLY acknowledged the atrocities that shocked the conscience of the world ages ago?

How about some "candor" about why we went down this misbegotten path? How about "candidly" explaining how he screwed up every single aspect of this nightmarish operation? Perhaps the president could "candidly explain" how we get out of this mess without our country's utter moral and fiscal bankruptcy and throwing the entire Middle East into a fratricidal horror show?

No, that would be asking for too much "candor."

GUILTY!

Guilty as charged. I hope these miserable bastards go away for a very long time.

Now I'm a civil libertarian but...

this one is a doozy. Here is a festive young prom-goer:

named KEVIN.

(link) The prom ticket was in hand: $85. The fuschia, slinky prom dress and strappy heels were ready. The whole week of giddy anticipation and pampering — more than $200 worth of a manicure, pedicure and hair set — was set to culminate with the grand walk into the glam ball.
But when Kevin Logan, a transgender and gay student at Gary’s West Side High School, arrived last Friday at Avalon Manor in Hobart for his prom, he was banned by Principal Diane Rouse.

The state civil liberties union is getting involved, citing First Amendment concerns.

I think I'm with the school on this one.

Molly Ivins agrees with us...

"I hate to raise such an ugly possibility, but have you considered lunacy as an explanation?"

Here's the rest.

To every thing, turn, turn, turn...

Turning Point (n)-The point at which a very significant change occurs; a decisive moment.

"Yet we have now reached a turning point in the struggle between freedom and terror."

Another "turning point?" Spare us. This "turning point," the naming of a government, involved a desperate last-minute attempt to avoid a "Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $300 Billion" moment. Without a government, under the Iraqi "constitution," the "prime minister" would have disappeared into the mist. So now we have a "government" without key portfolios that can't govern, and only seems to skim oil profits and construction deals off the top.

Fearless leader cites this as the 4th "turning point." Here's your homework. Stand in the center of the room. Walk forward a few steps and turn left (or right, if you care) four times. Where do you end up?

Where in the world is...

No, not Carmen San Diego--my wife, Peggy (notice no "what's wrong with this picture" grousing like I did when she was in Paris a couple of weeks ago.)

This is a geography quiz. No prizes (and Rabble, as I recall, I mentioned to you where she was going, so you're not eligible) but you will receive a hearty e-handshake and my warmest congratulations.


She's here:



Where in the world is she?

Retard America Redux

It bothers me that this bug-eyed freak is back in the "news." The poor sap that she ditched apparently has finally wised up and moved on. What angers me is that the news media squeezed every bit of mileage out of this non-story while ignoring the important things going on around us all but unnoticed. We get the country we deserve, I suppose.

Things Da Vinci

I am going to see The Da Vinci Code tomorrow night. I enjoyed the book. While Dan Brown's prose can be rather tortured at times, he tells a good story. His books are perfect airplane/beach reading brain candy.

The book didn't, and I doubt the movie will, change any of my attituded toward the church or Christianity in general. It is a NOVEL and the film is a popcorn movie. If your faith is shattered because of some escapist entertainment, or if Mel Gibson's gore-filled snuff film inspired your faith, I have but one thing to say to you:

Is that a banjo I hear?

So the Deliverance wing of the Senate GOP (along with a few red state Dems) want to make English our "national language." Isn't that special. There is a cheap joke about the president now having to master the language in there somewhere, but seriously, how pathetic of an attempt at pandering to the mouthbreathers of society is this? Why don't we just call it the "Let's Make Government Less Efficient While I Get This Cross a Burnin' Act?"

I find this particularly interesting given that we Americans (sadly, your humble correspondent is included) are about the worst industrialized country in the world when it comes to languages. As business becomes more global, so many of us here remain English-only speakers. When my wife was in Paris, I encountered hotel switchboard operators that effortlessly switched from French to perfect English. But here--at the INTERNATIONAL terminal at O'Hare Airport, there is not ONE directional sign in another language. The "information" officer was a surly rent-a-cop who only spoke English, and when foreign nationals didn't understand him (who would have anticipated that at the INTERNATIONAL terminal????) his response was to speak in English, only louder.

Official English, the national anthem in Spanish, gay marriage, service academy prayers, even our old friend flag burning--I love seeing priorities in the right place. Good thing we don't have any real problems to address.

Jesus needs Bill Frist to help stop boys from kissing

So cat-killing video doctor Bill Frist says that "marriage is under attack," a crisis so dangerous that it requires a constitutional amendment.

What nonsense. First of all, Bill, keep your feline-dissecting hands of the constitution. That document is not the place for misguided social engineering (how did Prohibition work for you?)

And just exactly how is marriage under attack? Now, in the interest of full disclosure-- I am married to a WONDERFUL woman, I've been married for a long time and I like being married. That said, it is difficult to come up with a convincing argument as to why the government should be in the business of sanctioning relationships in 2006. Legitimacy is not a concern for property succession, the institution is no longer (if it ever was) the regulator of sexual activity, DNA can show parentage and so on and so on.

HOWEVER, let us assume that the government WILL continue to legally sanction relationships. I have not heard a compelling argument about why this LEGAL relationship should not be extended to same-sex couples. Let us dispense immediately with religious arguments. We are talking about the legal enforcement of a quasi-contractual relationship and what is recognized by a religious group should play no part in that.

Also let's lose the truism, marriage is between a man and a woman because it's, well, between a man and a woman!

The slippery slope also has to go. If we allow gays to marry, then next comes polygamy, men will marry sheep, someone will walk down the aisle with their Harley, women will marry Tom Cruise--oh wait.

What utter nonsense. Did marriage to one man or woman generate polygamy? In terms of lines to draw, I think

1) One
2) Consenting adult
3) Human spouse per person

is pretty easy without slip-slidin' away.

And spare me the "sanctity" of marriage. For one thing, "sanctity" has a religious connotation. Beyond that, though, when the divorce rate is around half, Anna Nicole Smith marries a not-yet-buried corpse, Brittany Spears has two days of wedded bliss before bailing, sell "sanctity" somewhere else.

The Edumacation Presidont

Apparently, covering the Chimp makes people as stupid as he is. From CNN.com's front page:

Memo to Fred Phelps and other right-wing hatemongers:

1 John 4:20

"Those who say they love God and hate their brothers and sisters are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen cannot love God whom they have not seen."

The Mendoza Line

A 29% approval rating--that is staggering. Few world leaders have had such low poll numbers. For example, when this picture of Mussolini was taken, he was polling in the low 30s:

Silly me

And I said Congress had its priorities out of whack. Oh was I wrong, they are CLEARLY focusing on what's important:

House Injects Prayer Into Defense Bill
By Alan Cooperman and Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writers

The House passed a $513 billion defense authorization bill yesterday that includes language intended to allow chaplains to pray in the name of Jesus at public military ceremonies, undercutting new Air Force and Navy guidelines on religion.

The Other Side of Data-Mining

As I read this morning’s Chicago Tribune on-line edition, I was amazed at how quickly and fiercely the editorial board came down on the right side of the NSA telephone data-mining revelation. Here is just one of many nuggets to be found in the editorial:

The government apparently has even bigger plans “to create a database of every call EVER made within the nation’s borders” to identify and track suspected terrorists. Think about that. Every phone call ever made. No, not so fast.

The editorial then goes on to compare this effort to the infamous Admiral Poindexter-led Total Information Awareness (TIA) trial balloon, which was unceremoniously punctured after immediate and overwhelming congressional and public outcry. It also looks at it in relation to the secret (read “illegal”) NSA surveillance program targeting overseas communications initiated or terminating inside the USA, saying that it can be argued that it’s justified with modest judicial oversight. But get this…

But this vast mining of domestic phone records, this is something else…Why would the government seek and STORE records of EVERY telephone call to your doctor, our lawyer, your next-door-neighbor. TELL US.

But you know, I can see the McLiar/Vader side of this argument. I mean after all, if this program had been initiated during the early days of the Clinton administration perhaps all those phone calls made between Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols, and any other TERRORIST in their cell would have tipped off the NSA and FBI to their heinous plot to kill innocent children attending a day care center inside the Murrah Federal Building in 1995. I’m CERTAIN that all of those domestic terrorists targeting doctors and patients at LEGAL abortion clinics would have been captured and punished. Hell, they may have been able to find and prosecute all those pesky pornographers who so vex the religious right. At the very least, this data-mining may have resulted in finding out which oil company executives participated in planning and writing the McLiar/Vader energy policy.
In the end, I know that this kind of policy couldn’t have existed under a Clinton administration – even if he had advocated it. After all, he had a hostile house which would have been happy to find ANY EXCUSE to impeach him... and with this idiotic, ass-backwards, and moronic policy, they'd have been right to!

Schmidlap, where are those camps?

Police State (n.)  A state in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic, and political life of the people, especially by means of a secret police force.

From CNN this morning:

Faced with growing pressure from Southern states, the Bush administration wants the military to come up with ideas on beefing up the U.S. border with Mexico. In back-to-back moves this week, the Pentagon began exploring ways to lend support at the border, while the House voted to allow the Homeland Security Department in limited cases to use soldiers in the region.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/12/border.defense.ap/index.html

Conservation of numbers

You know how gas prices went up again yesterday, depsite nothing significant going on? It took weeks for them to drop a dime, and then in one day, up 22 cents. Anyway, now that gas will be going up above $3/gallon for a while, we need to do something with all those unused "2's". Here's an idea - use them to post the President's approval rating:

President Bush’s job-approval rating has fallen to its lowest mark of his presidency, according to a new Harris Interactive poll. Of 1,003 U.S. adults surveyed in a telephone poll, 29% think Mr. Bush is doing an “excellent or pretty good” job as president, down from 35% in April and significantly lower than 43% in January. Approval ratings for Congress overall also sank, and now stand at 18%.

Moron of the Month

Or year. I'm not sure.

Michael Cohn.

What did this genius do? Well, apparently he purchased tickets for a Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball game last season, a game played on Mother's Day. The Angels had a promotion that day where women 18 and over were given a tote bag. He didn't get one, not being a woman, 18 or older, and he's suing. For damages.

Associated Press -- A man who was denied a red nylon tote bag during a Mother's Day promotion at an Angels baseball game has filed a sex and age discrimination lawsuit against the team.

The class action claim filed by Michael Cohn, a Los Angeles psychologist, alleges that thousands of males and fans under age 18 are entitled to $4,000 in damages each because they were treated unequally at last May's promotion. Women over 18 received the gifts.

...

The team responded to a complaint letter that Cohn wrote last June by sending him four tote bags and a letter stating the team "ran out of the item that day and had to order more."

"They claimed they didn't have any more bags, but my client said there was a mountain of bags stacked so high a show dog couldn't have jumped over them," said Alfred Rava, Cohn's San Diego-based attorney.

Cohn could not be reached for comment.

This weekend's Mother's Day promotion will offer tote bags to the first 25,000 fans over age 18, rather than cater specifically to women. Mead would not say whether the change was in response to Cohn's complaint.

Rava said the altered promotion still violates the civil rights of fans under age 18.

Sports franchises have given away things for years and years, often to different groups for whom the gift would be particularly intriguing. The Angels, I'm sure, thought that giving women a gift on Mother's Day was a reasonably logical thing to do. When he asked for one later, they sent him four (clearly demostrating the immense value of the bags). Now he wants $4000. A person. For everyone who didn't get the bags. I'm not sure where the show dogs entered the equation, however.

You know, if this were some 16 year old woman with a child who was being told she couldn't have the gift because she wasn't old enough, then it would be a stupid argument, but I'd listen. This guy makes the rest of us look bad.

On the other hand, $4000 would pay for the gas it takes to get to Anaheim in that traffic.

FREEDOM IS SLAVERY

In the wake of the nomination of Michael Hayden to head gut and marginalize the CIA, we hear that at his old gig, they are tracking every phone call we make. Lovely.

The general also indicated that the problem with legality and the NSA wiretapping isn't the wiretapping, it is THE LAW. His solution? WEAKEN THE LAW?

I would like to point out to the general that more is in play here than a statute. There happens to be that thing which he clearly indicated that he did not understand a while back, that pesky 4th Amendment and probable cause and all that. FISA, with its retroactive warrant procedures, is of dubious constitutionality today. he 4th Amendment is the floor beyond which no statutory authorization can go. And if we're playing "how low can you go" and FISA is the limbo stick, it is lying on that floor. Try going below that.

Hurray for the tax cuts!

As the tax cuts pass the House, I can only say...

I am so happy!

Thank you President Bush! Thank you Republican Congress!

I think I'll take my savings and get...a 12-pack and a bag of chips?

Yes, thank you Republicans for having your priorities so completely screwed up.

A quick thought on the Goss resignation

Rumors are flying, of course, that former CIA director Porter Goss was connected to the Duke Cunningham hooker scandal, and that this prompted his resignation.

Mr. Goss, I don't care about your "morals." I don't care who you sleep with, I don't care if there was an exchange of consideration in connection with said activities. What I care about is your judgment, and if through whatever conduct you become even MENTIONED in a sex scandal these days, and in particular one with hookers and the word WATERGATE in the same sentence, you are in the wrong job. Goodbye.

And now the administration dumps a Congressional crony for a military one?

Shameful

First of all, let me apologize for my inattentiveness. I was busy, travel, etc., and after all, work is the curse of the drinking classes.

But the header above refers to Charles Krauthammer. What a repulsive little man.

One way to earn immediate criticism is to play the "Hitler card." All you have to do is mention the man's name, and stand back. In many instances, the criticisms are fair, as the objectives and results of Hitler's "final solution" do not find many equals in today's world.

However, there are many instances in which the attacks are not fair. For example, Sen. Dick Durbin NEVER compared our military, etc. to Hitler. There are also many instances in which it is important to discuss the Hitler example in the context of how a developed, industrial society could be duped and then coerced into either actively embracing or passively allowing horrible things to happen.

The flipside of the "Hitler" card is one that starts with the same letter, that being the "Holocaust card." I will leave it to others to debate the general appropriateness of the comparison between these two, but Krauthammer provides a particularly vulgar version of dealing from that side of the deck.

The subtitle to his obnoxious piece on Iran is "For Israel, it's starting to feel like it's 1938 again."

I'm sorry, but how offensive is that? How can anyone reasonably compare the empty and often mistranslated rhetoric of a figurehead president of Iran to Hitler's genocide accomplished after the wehrmacht rolled through Europe?

(you may find the entire stinking piece here)

How is this POSSIBLY like 1938? In 1938, the Jews of Europe were scatted among weak states that quickly fell before the German onslaught, and the state mechanism offered no defense against this hideous onslaught. Today the state of Israel has nuclear weapons and a virtual guarantee of its security from the United States.

How does that compare to the fate of Jews who could only rely on the quickly defeated Poland, the Netherlands, France and of course Germany itself for protection?

In 1938, hadn't we already seen the aggressive force of a country committed to expansion? Do we see that today? No. As a securities lawyer, we call the words of the Iranian president "puffery." In the NFL, it is "trash talking."

After all, the Germans rolled through weak European states and had their way with local populace. Charles, how does that compare with Israel today? The Iranians are AT BEST 10 years away from coming up with the rudiments of a potential weapon (i.e. the United States back at the early stages of the Manhattan Project) that the Israelis--one of the world's most formidable miliary forces-- already have. Israel has a defense system unmatched in the Middle East and backed by the United States.

It is disgusting, Charles, that you would bring up the horrific treatment of European Jews 60 years ago to try and justify insanity in 2006.

Shame on you.

Variations on a theme

Go to Google, type "a**hole" (well, not that exactly, but you know what I'm saying) into the search bar, and click "I'm feeling lucky".

Listen somewhere free of younguns.

Who said what?

I occasionally listen to Sean Hannity's radio show when I'm in the kitchen because it is so train-wreck bad that it's funny. The other night, Sean had a guest on who was just ripping this stupid little man's position on our disastrous present war and soon to be disastrous future war up one way and down the other. He noted that:

1) the Iraqi war was unlawful as war with Iran would be,
2) for all his hyperbole, Iranian President Ahmadinejad is a) not a policy maker and b) not insane,
3) Israel is quite well prepared to defend itself, thank you,
4) the Iranians are rational, and know that the microwave would immediately be set on "High" if even a hint of radiation was found out of place,
5) Crazy? We stared down Stalin for a generation and he was a nuclear-armed sociopath leading the world's larget country. We live with Stalin and you're afraid of a couple third-rate Middle eastern countries?
6) Iran has attacked NO ONE, and is a much larger, wealthier and more populous country than Iraq,

and the clincher was

7) "we can't go to war every time you're afraid, Sean."

The guest:




Amazing.

Oliver Wendell Bush

One certainly doesn't have to be a lawyer to be president, but a basic working familiarity with our legal system should be a prerequisite for the office.

Check out this pearl of legal wisdom:

"The jury convicted him [Zacarias Moussaoui] to life in prison."

Excuse me, but..NO!!

Convict (verb) "To find or prove (someone) guilty of an offense or crime, especially by the verdict of a court."

Juries don't "convict" someone to a particular sentence. He entered a guilty plea, and according to the definition above, was already "guilty." The trial then moved to the penalty phase, which is totally separate from the "conviction." Geez, this is "Law and Order"-level stuff.

Retard America

Chicago Tribune

American youth have no direction home or abroad

A five-year, multimedia campaign called My Wonderful World aims to reach children ages 8 to 17. The goal is to motivate parents and educators to expand geographic offerings in school, at home and in their communities. They will have their task cut out for them, judging by the results of the survey of 510 people interviewed in December and January. It found 33 percent of respondents couldn't pinpoint Louisiana on a map and 48 percent were unable to locate Mississippi. But Southerners shouldn't feel unappreciated. Half of respondents could not find New York either.

Joining the geographic education campaign will be 4H, the American Federation of Teachers, Asia Society, Association of American Geographers, National Basketball Association, National Council of La Raza, National PTA, Smithsonian Institution and others.

"Geography exposes children and adults to diverse cultures, different ideas and the exchange of knowledge from around the world," said Anna Marie Weselak, president of the National PTA. "This campaign will help make sure our children get their geography so they can become familiar with other cultures during their school years and move comfortably and confidently in a global economy as adults."

Lost Generation

The National Geographic-Roper Public Affairs geography survey of young adult Americans found:

Only 37 percent could identify Iraq on a map of the Middle East. (As Tribune readers surely know, it's the country highlighted above.)

Only 12 percent could locate Afghanistan on a map of Asia.

One of the few bright spots was that 69 percent could identify China [Editor's Note--This is a BRIGHT SPOT? It's ****ing CHINA!!!!] on a map. But on another aspect of China, they did far worse. In a multiple-choice quiz, only 18 percent answered correctly that Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken native language in the world. Most people-74 percent-thought it was English.

While the outsourcing of jobs to India has been a major U.S. business story, 47 percent could not find the Indian subcontinent on a map of Asia. When given a list of four countries (Indonesia, India, Armenia and South Africa) and asked which one was majority Muslim, only 25 percent said correctly that it was Indonesia. Nearly half (48 percent) answered India, which is only 13 percent Muslim.

While Israeli-Palestinian strife has been in the news for the entire lives of the respondents, 75 percent were unable to locate Israel on a map of the Middle East.
Six in 10 did not know that the border between North and South Korea is the most heavily fortified in the world. Thirty percent thought the most heavily fortified border was between the United States and Mexico.

Two-thirds didn't know that the earthquake that killed 70,000 people in October 2005 occurred in Pakistan.

Don't make me come back there.....

Don't make me turn this car around..

Iran threatened on Tuesday to attack Israel in response to any "evil" act by the United States and said it had enriched uranium to a level close to the maximum compatible with civilian use in power stations.

Kids, kids...stop it!

Congressman denies drinking...........right

From Talking Points Memo:

Rep. John Sweeney (you remember him from the Republican PAAARTY! PAAARTY!) now says that he "wasn't drunk and wasn't even drinking"

Right.

Honestly, hon, I came straight home..

Officer, I just had a couple...

Never touch the stuff...

You know, it was a work thing...

Right.. ...

The word of the day

Hypocrisy (noun: hy·poc·ri·sy) The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.

Drug use destroys societies. Drug use, some might say, is destroying this country. And we have laws against selling drugs, pushing drugs, using drugs, importing drugs. And the laws are good because we know what happens to people in societies and neighborhoods which become consumed by them. And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up. What this says to me is that too many whites are getting away with drug use. Too many whites are getting away with drug sales. Too many whites are getting away with trafficking in this stuff. The answer to this disparity is not to start letting people out of jail because we’re not putting others in jail who are breaking the law. The answer is to go out and find the ones who are getting away with it, convict them and send them up the river, too.”