Shooting Fish in a Barrel

From the Orlando Sentinel:

U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris said this week that the separation of church state is "a lie," that God did not intend for the United States to be a "nation of secular laws" and that a failure to elect Christians to political office will allow lawmaking bodies to "legislate sin."

In an interview with the Florida Baptist Witness, the weekly journal of the Florida Baptist State Convention, Harris described her faith, saying it animates "everything I do," including her votes in Congress.

She warned that if voters do not send Christians to office, they risk creating a government that is doomed to fail.

"If you are not electing Christians, tried and true, under public scrutiny and pressure, if you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin," she told interviewers, citing abortion and gay marriage as two examples of that sin.

Doing so, she said, "will take western civilization, indeed other nations because people look to our country as one nation as under God and whenever we legislate sin and we say abortion is permissible and we say gay unions are permissible, then average citizens who are not Christians, because they don't know better, we are leading them astray and it's wrong..."

Harris said that Americans "have internalized" the "lie" that church and state must not be mixed. In reality, she said, "we have to have the faithful in government" because that is God's will.

Separating religion and politics is "so wrong because God is the one who chooses our rulers," Harris said. "And if we are the ones not actively involved in electing those godly men and women," then "we're going to have a nation of secular laws. That's not what our founding fathers intended and that's (sic) certainly isn't what God intended."

Sad and pathetic, but proof that there is such a thing as karma. However, the paper seems to have left out her last comment--

BRING ME THOSE PUPPIES!

Happy Anniversary

I wish I had something profound to say, but the words just get strangled by the hatred, disgust and contempt I feel when I see this.

An oldie but a goodie

Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore
© John Prine

While digesting Reader's Digest
In the back of a dirty book store,
A plastic flag, with gum on the back,
Fell out on the floor.
Well, I picked it up and I ran outside
Slapped it on my window shield,
And if I could see old Betsy Ross
I'd tell her how good I feel.

But your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.
They're already overcrowded
From your dirty little war.
Now Jesus don't like killin'
No matter what the reason's for,
And your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.

Well, I went to the bank this morning
And the cashier he said to me,
"If you join the Christmas club
We'll give you ten of them flags for free."
Well, I didn't mess around a bit
I took him up on what he said.
And I stuck them stickers all over my car
And one on my wife's forehead.

But your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.
They're already overcrowded
From your dirty little war.
Now Jesus don't like killin'
No matter what the reason's for,
And your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.

Well, I got my window shield so filled
With flags I couldn't see.
So, I ran the car upside a curb
And right into a tree.
By the time they got a doctor down
I was already dead.
And I'll never understand why the man
Standing in the Pearly Gates said...

"But your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more.
We're already overcrowded
From your dirty little war.
Now Jesus don't like killin'
No matter what the reason's for,
And your flag decal won't get you
Into Heaven any more."

Farewell, Pluto

What does an ex-planet do, anyway?

The Swiftboaters Sail Again

The right-wing attack machine is out after Judge Anna Diggs Taylor with a ridiculous claim based on her service as a trustee of a community action organization. That group happened to give grants to the ACLU. As University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone stated, "judges live in the real world" and "these are not the sorts of conflicts that undermine their integrity."

But, if anyone from the right has any concerns about judicial impartiality, conflicts and recusal, I have the man for them to call:

comments

Well, after a racist rant, my first death threat and someone posting personal info, I've switched on the comment moderation function--a minor inconvenience. My apologies to the regulars, but trolls happen.

The president is smart! Honest!

This gem comes from Kathleen Parker, a Bushbot syndicated in the Chicago Tribune:

I was the guest of a guest and welcomed the opportunity to observe the president in his natural habitat. What I witnessed was revealing. Not only was the man fluent in the English language and intellectually agile, he was knowledgeable on a wide range of subjects raised during a 90-minute Q&A.

She suggests that dadgummit, the only reason he sounds like a total moron is because he is trying to "speak Washington English, which is the way Bush thinks presidents are supposed to speak." If only he could "talk Texan," why, he'd be just fine!

Good God. The "intellectually agile" man didn't know that there were different sects of Islam? A fellow "knowledgeable on a wide range of subjects" had no clue about "tribal sovereignty?" It is amazing how far some apologists will stretch. This is a man who has demonstrated his lack of knowledge, analytical ability and intellectual curiosity in so many arenas that attributing his embarrassing performances to some bizarre form of stage fright is laughable.

And a quick side note to Chatty Kathy--any perceived differences you see in him now and in his Texas years may well be attributable to the degenerative effects of prolonged drug abuse.

Don't blame me, I've done my part!

From the WSJ:

Simply put, liberals have a big baby problem: They're not having enough of them, they haven't for a long time, and their pool of potential new voters is suffering as a result. According to the 2004 General Social Survey, if you picked 100 unrelated politically liberal adults at random, you would find that they had, between them, 147 children. If you picked 100 conservatives, you would find 208 kids. That's a "fertility gap" of 41%. Given that about 80% of people with an identifiable party preference grow up to vote the same way as their parents, this gap translates into lots more little Republicans than little Democrats to vote in future elections. Over the past 30 years this gap has not been below 20%--explaining, to a large extent, the current ineffectiveness of liberal youth voter campaigns today.

Alarmingly for the Democrats, the gap is widening at a bit more than half a percentage point per year, meaning that today's problem is nothing compared to what the future will most likely hold.

From George Orwell

Orwell wrote that:

A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks.


It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.

But, no, you're right, this is a -- they're a central part of creating instability, trying to stop reformers from realizing dreams. And the question facing this country is, will -- do we, one, understand the threat to America? In other words, do we understand that a failed -- failed states in the Middle East are a direct threat to our country's security? And secondly, will we continue to stay engaged in helping reformers, in working to advance liberty, to defeat an ideology that doesn't believe in freedom?

Well said, Mr. Orwell.

Recommended reading

David Corn, in The Nation, on fearless leader's bizarre performance yesterday.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?pid=114384

But it's a dry heat

Local Forecast for Baghdad, Iraq

Aug 22 Tonight Mainly clear skies. Low 88F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph.
Aug 23 Tomorrow Mainly sunny. High 116F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Aug 23 Tomorrow night Clear. Low 88F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Aug 24 Thursday Sunshine. Highs 115 to 119F and lows in the upper 80s.
Aug 25 Friday Mainly sunny. Highs 116 to 120F and lows in the upper 80s.

from weather.com

Oh Suzanna...

Suzanne--you're my hero.

I'm guessing that this would be Suzanne Malveaux of CNN, but I can't really tell (Me likey anyway!)

But in any case, The Emperor Has No Clothes is rambling on and not saying anything, and calls on my new hero. He says

THE PRESIDENT: Suzanne.

Q Sir, that's not really the question. The strategy --

THE PRESIDENT: Sounded like the question to me.

There it is in a nutshell. He can't answer the question asked, so he tries to answer something they didn't ask, with his talking points. Nice job, Suzanne--but unfortunately, it was all for naught.

EMPEROR WITH NO CLOTHES: If I didn't think it would work, I would change -- our commanders would recommend changing the strategy. They believe it will work. It takes time to defeat these people.

Well, at least they aren't "folks." Should we mention, though, that "these people" are Iraqis opposing a Shi'a government installed and propped up by US??

The Maliki government has been in power for less than six months. And, yes, the people spoke.

Yes, they spoke and they told us to get the hell out of there.

I've cited that as a part of -- the reason I cite it is because it's what the Iraqi people want.

What "Iraqi" people? The Sunnis who hate Shia and Kurds? The Shia who hate Sunni and Kurds? The Kurds who hate Shia and Sunni and have set up an independent state?

And the fundamental question facing this government is whether or not we will stand with reformers across the region.

Reformers, huh? Reformers seeking to reform WHAT?

It's really the task. And we're going to stand with this government.

What "government" is that? The one that controls NO territory? That has NO claim to legitimacy? That has NONE of the elements of statehood?

They're Glass Half Full Folks for Sure

What Happened:

Snipers targeted Shiite pilgrims as they passed through Sunni Arab neighborhoods of Baghdad, killing 20 and wounding nearly 300

Sub-headline in the Chicago Tribune:

Relatively low toll in attack on Shiites seen as security success

They sure set the "success" bar pretty low over at Tribune Tower (if this wasn't so disgusting, I would insert a Cub joke here).

Quotes

"If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear
the results of a hundred battles." Sun Tzu. 500 B.C.

"The fact is, Iraqis really--Iraqis look upon themselves not at--at least, in all cases--as Sunni, Shia and Kurd, but as Iraqis." Tony Snow, last week

"Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory." Sun Tzu. 500 B.C.

If polls are to be believed--

then 129 million morons live in this country.

Has the war in Iraq been worth the loss of American lives?

Yes 38%
No 56%
Not sure 6%

Source: Zogby International
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,018 likely American voters, conducted from Aug. 11 to Aug. 15, 2006. Margin of error is 3.2 per cent.

Well, perhaps not 129 million, as not everyone who feels that way is a moron. I'm sure there are some very intelligent individuals who quite rationally think that the death and destruction is quite worth it--from the standpoint of their own financial gain and political power. Soulless ghouls?--Yes.



Morons--no. But leaving the self-promoting politicians, defense contractors and other profiteers out of the equation, how can anyone believe that this unmitigated disaster is worth this butcher's bill? How can anyone be "not sure?"

I don't even know what to say about this one

Just read it.

Maybe he did read it...

Quotes from Camus' The Stranger (translation)

"I would rather not have upset him, but I couldn't see any reason to change my life. Looking back on it, I wasn't unhappy. When I was a student, I had lots of ambitions like that. But when I had to give up my studies I learned very quickly that none of it really mattered."

"At that time, I often thought that if I had had to live in the trunk of a dead tree, with nothing to do but look up at the sky flowing overhead, little by little I would have gotten used to it."

"...for the first time in years, I had this stupid urge to cry, because I could feel how much all these people hated me."

"They [the jury] had before them the basest of crimes, a crime made worse than sordid by the fact that they were dealing with a monster, a man without morals."

"But all the long speeches, all the interminable days and hours that people had spent talking about my soul, had left me with the impression of a colorless swirling river that was making me dizzy."

"How had I not seen that there was nothing more important than an execution, and that when you come right down to it, it was the only thing a man could truly be interested in?"

"'I am on your side. But you have no way of knowing it, because our heart is blind.'"

They never heard of MapQuest?

"If we leave before the mission is complete, if we withdraw, the enemy will follow us home."

So our "enemies" are lost puppies? Guys who won't ask for directions? God help us.

A picture is worth a thousand words

But please feel free to add some more.

Crony Capitalism

SEC Charges Former Officers of Military Body Armor Supplier with Financial Fraud

Washington, D.C., Aug. 17, 2006 - The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the filing of securities fraud charges against Dawn M. Schlegel and Sandra L. Hatfield, two former officers of DHB Industries, Inc., a major supplier of body armor to the United States military and law enforcement agencies. The SEC alleges that Schlegel, DHB's former Chief Financial Officer, and Hatfield, DHB's former Chief Operating Officer, routinely overstated the value of the company's inventory and directed the booking of numerous fraudulent journal entries in order to reduce the company's cost of goods sold. This had the effect of falsely increasing the company's gross profit margins, and in some instances, net income. As a result of their misconduct, DHB materially misstated key financial information in filings with the SEC and in public statements.

Summer Reading

Note to the White House:

Please stop insulting our intelligence. I know that your entire political strategy involves your belief that the American public is collectively as stupid as a very large bag of hammers (note: we do not necessarily disagree). However, please don't expect us to believe that the president is reading absurdist novels and discoursing on existentialism amidst brush-clearing breaks.

Many have noted the irony of his choice of "reading material," Camus' The Stranger, which involves a westerner killing an Arab without remorse, but give us some credit. Camus? No.

Perhaps he was LISTENING to a cut from Billy Joel's The Stranger:

You might have heard I run with a dangerous crowd
We ain't too pretty we ain't too proud
We might be laughing a bit too loud



No, not even that.

Perhaps this would be more believable.

I searched my soul for some tiny piece of it that retained the capability to feel sorry for her, and still nothing.

I stole that title from a friend's email.

Watching Katherine Harris, who helped engineer the debacle in Florida which has caused such ruinous harm to our world, suffer a public and catastrophic defeat, is truly the most beautiful example of Schadenfreude we have seen in a very long time.

From Salon.com (Site Pass required):

The event was called "Soaring for the Senate," and the idea was to show off some of the high-profile endorsements Katherine Harris has received. The problem? As the Orlando Sentinel reports, not one of the nine endorsing officials listed on Harris' event flier showed up for Thursday's event, and one of them said that he actually supports somebody else in the race.

Harris sounds hurt about that last one. "They called back twice and said he'd be here," she tells the Sentinel. "He said he was going to be here on the stage with me today."

Bimodal Expectations for November

The upcoming elections, and the possible results, have been getting a lot of play recently online. Various pundits and tinfoil-hatted experts have been pontificating and spewing wisdom.

I've decided that we're going to get one of two possible outcomes:

1) The Republican and neocon cabal will be destroyed in a flood of holy fire, with ballots from coast to coast demonstrating the nation's utter sickness of corruption, death, greed, hatred, racism, theft, and the desecration of our most sacred national beliefs. The Democrats will take back the House and the Senate, with room to spare, in a wave which would make the 1994 GOP takeover look like nothing.

2) The GOP and Diebold will lie, cheat, steal, use dirty tactics, disenfranchise voters, use hatred and ignorance to divide the electorate like never before, make up fake victories in their war against humanity...and only manage to lose a few seats in Congress.

Barring the most corrupt, conspiracy-laden beliefs, is it possible that anything else happens?

The NSA opinion

The opinion in the wiretapping case is very well-reasoned and is tightly written. She carefully distinguishes between the wiretaps and the data mining under the "state secrets" privilege. She noted that the "TSP' claims were based "solely on what Defendants have publicly admitted," and hence not privileged, while the data mining claims were barred by the secrets privilege. The bifurcated analysis, clearly written with an eye toward surviving appellate challenge, is very persuasive.

The sticky issue in these cases is always the notion of "standing." Federal courts may only hear "cases" or "controversies" brought by parties with recognized justiciable interests. They cannot issue advisory opinions or rule on questions unless put forth by a party that suffered actual harm. To use the jargon, standing requires a showing of an invasion of a legally protected interest that is 1) concrete and particularized and 2) actual or imminent rather than conjectural or hypothetical. There must also be a 3) causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of and 4) it must be likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision.

She finds real harm done to specific persons, such as scholars, journalists and (bastards) attorneys, as the surveillance actually interfered with their work.

"Here, Plaintiffs are not asserting speculative allegations. Instead, the declarations asserted by Plaintiffs establish that they are suffering a present concrete injury in addition to a chill of their First Amendment rights. Plaintiffs would be able to continue using the telephone and email in the execution of their professional responsibilities if the Defendants were not undisputedly and admittedly conducting warrantless wiretaps of conversations."

The problem with standing challenges, which will definitely be asserted on appeal, is that it is an easy way out for appellate panels that don't like the result but don't want to go on record in addressing the merits. Another way out comes from the nature of the ruling. This was a grant of summary judgment, a judgment on the pleadings before trial. Such an order involves a finding that there is no question of material fact, and the issue presented to the court is purely a question of law. Appeals courts can reverse that finding, by holding that there were factual issues that needed resolution, without speaking to the merits (and also embarrassing the district judge in so doing).

I honestly am not all that familiar with the 6th Circuit. Quite a few W appointees sit there, so panel makeup will be crucial (these cases are normally heard by a panel of three judges). However, she is certainly sending them a well-crafted district court opinion with no glaring holes.

And kudos to Judge Taylor for some great lines:

We must first note that the Office of the Chief Executive has itself been created, with its powers, by the Constitution. There are no hereditary Kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution. So all “inherent powers” must derive from that Constitution.

Indeed, since Ex Parte Milligan, we have been taught that the “Constitution of the United States is a law for rulers and people, equally in war and in peace. . . Again, in Home Building & Loan Ass’n v. Blaisdell, we were taught that no emergency can create power.

Plaintiffs have prevailed, and the public interest is clear, in this matter. It is the upholding of our Constitution.

Double wow.

"The President of the United States, a creature of the same Constitution which gave us these Amendments, has undisputedly violated the Fourth in failing to procure judicial orders as required by FISA, and accordingly has violated the First Amendment Rights of these Plaintiffs as well."

ACLU v. NSA (Eastern District of Michigan). Opinion here.

Wow.

Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, running as an independent, gets 53 percent of likely voters, with 41 percent for Democratic primary winner Ned Lamont and 4 percent for Republican Alan Schlesinger, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

New Member

Welcome Dienne to our little group. Dienne is a frequent and thoughtful contributor to the Tribune's Voice of the People blog and a welcome addition here.

Rush's Dumber Brother

RDB (Rush's Dumber Brother) said that "the political party that is known for nothing if not for politicizing the War on Terror claims to be upset that Vice President Dick Cheney was `politicizing' the war when he suggested that Ned Lamont's primary victory over Joe Lieberman could embolden terrorists."

OK, I could refute that, with the landslide of evidence of how the GOP has used "terror" as a bludgeon throughout the Bush years, and has done NOTHING but politicize this nonsense, while ignoring REAL security, but that would be putting on the defense case in the Scopes trial.

RDB went on to claim that "we have never ceased vigorous pursuit of bin Laden." Hmm, the administration dissolved the bin Laden task force? And RDB failed to note that GWB effectively caved into bin Laden's demands by withdrawing troops from Saudi Arabia? But then again, he is RDB.

On Fox News....

I usually don't watch Fox News, because I am not part of their target demographic:


but sometimes, the train wreck impulse just takes over. On Hannity and Colmes last night (Colmes pictured below)



Dick Morris, disgraced buffoon who insists on being called a "former Clinton advisor," said that without the grossly unconstitutional NSA wiretapping program, "the Brooklyn Bridge would certainly have been destroyed."

Right. Iyman Faris? The psychotic Ohio truck driver who wanted to bring down this:


with this:



Amazing. First of all, the truck driver was a delusional psychotic. Next, I doubt that Roebling's masterpiece could br brought down with a blowtorch.

And that whole constitution thing?

First of all, ordinary police work within constitutional bounds would have turned up this bozo, for what he was worth. Morris also claims that you couldn't get a warrant because you didn't know who, where, or what ahead of time, despite the disgracefully low bar set by FISA, so we had to illegally LISTEN TO EVERYONE. There might be a crime out there somewhere so screw that 4th amendment nonsense!

Great quotes from great men

FDR: If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships--the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace.

JFK: A nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.

Pee-Wee's Big Presidentin' Adventure: The United States of America is engaged in a war against an extremist group of folks..link.

We're Fightin' "Turr"

WASHINGTON -- As the British terror plot was unfolding, the Bush administration quietly tried to take away $6 million that was supposed to be spent this year developing new explosives detection technology. Congressional leaders rejected the idea, the latest in a series of Homeland Security Department steps that have left lawmakers and some of the department's own experts questioning the commitment to create better anti-terror technologies.

Here's a really GREAT quote

From the soon-to-be new CEO of PepsiCo, Indira Nooyi, who was born and raised in India before coming to the States and taking charge of the company which brings us all KenTacoHut at the age of fifty:

She had compared the five fingers of the human hand to the continents of the world, identifying the dominant middle finger as the US. "If used inappropriately - just like the US itself - the middle finger can convey a negative message and get us in trouble."

"Because the US - the middle finger - sticks out so much, we can send the wrong message unintentionally. Unfortunately, I think this is how the rest of the world looks at the US right now."

She be right.

More Misty Watercolored Memories

From August 2002:

"Regime change in Iraq would bring about a number of benefits to the region, extremists in the region would have to rethink their strategy of jihad, moderates throughout the region would take heart, and our ability to advance the Israeli-Palestinian peace process would be enhanced."

Vice President Dick Cheney

Some posts just write themselves

Yes, this is real. I know it sounds like the Onion, but it's the real McCoy.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

(Crawford, Texas)

For Immediate Release August 10, 2006

Fact Sheet: National Strategy to Internationalize Efforts Against Kleptocracy

“High-level corruption by senior government officials, or kleptocracy, is a grave and corrosive abuse of power and represents the most invidious type of public corruption. It threatens our national interest and violates our values. It impedes our efforts to promote freedom and democracy, end poverty, and combat international crime and terrorism. Kleptocracy is an obstacle to democratic progress, undermines faith in government institutions, and steals prosperity from the people. Promoting transparent, accountable governance is a critical component of our freedom agenda.

-- President George W. Bush, August 10, 2006

I'll let you read the rest below, but W is out to stop "high-level corruption by senior government officials, in order to promote transparent, accountable governance!!"

Ladies and gentlemen, the comedy stylings of George W. Bush! He's here all week, tip your servers and drive home safely!

Today, The President Unveiled His National Strategy To Internationalize Efforts Against Kleptocracy, Pledging To Confront High-Level, Large-Scale Corruption By Public Officials And Target The Proceeds Of Their Corrupt Acts. This Strategy Is A New Component Of His Plan To Fight Corruption Around The World.

Public corruption erodes democracy, rule of law, and economic well-being by undermining public financial management and accountability, discouraging foreign investment, and stifling economic growth and sustainable development.

Ø Kleptocracy Is A Threat To The Governments And Citizens Of Both Developing And Developed Countries. Corruption by senior officials in executive, judicial, legislative, or other official positions in government can destabilize whole societies and destroy the aspirations of their people for a better way of life.

The President's National Strategy To Internationalize Efforts Against Kleptocracy

This New National Strategy Builds On The President’s Commitment Made With The G-8 Leaders At Their Recent Summit In St. Petersburg. At the G-8 summit, President Bush committed to promote legal frameworks and a global financial system that will reduce the opportunities for kleptocracies to develop and to deny safe haven to corrupt officials, those who corrupt them, and the proceeds of corrupt activity.

Ø The Strategy Has As Its Foundation In The President’s Proclamation, Made In January 2004, To Generally Deny Entry Into The United States Of Persons Engaged In Or Benefiting From Corruption.

Ø The Strategy Advances Many Of The Objectives In The National Security Strategy By Mobilizing The International Community To Confront Large-Scale Corruption By High-Level Foreign Public Officials And Target The Fruits Of Their Ill-Gotten Gains.

Ø The Strategy Reaffirms The President’s Commitment To Ensure That Integrity And Transparency Triumph Over Corruption And Lawlessness Around The World, Expand The Circle Of Prosperity, And Extend America’s Transformational Democratic Values To All Free And Open Societies.

Specifically, The Strategy Promotes Our Objectives By Committing To:

Ø Launch A Coalition Of International Financial Centers Committed To Denying Access And Financial Safe Haven To Kleptocrats. The United States Government will enhance its work with international financial partners, in the public and private sectors, to pinpoint best practices for identifying, tracing, freezing, and recovering assets illicitly acquired through kleptocracy. The U.S. will also work bilaterally and multilaterally to immobilize kleptocratic foreign public officials using financial and economic sanctions against them and their network of cronies.

Ø Vigorously Prosecute Foreign Corruption Offenses and Seize Illicitly Acquired Assets. In its continuing efforts against bribery of foreign officials, the United States Government will expand its capacity to investigate and prosecute criminal violations associated with high-level foreign official corruption and related money laundering, as well as to seize the proceeds of such crimes.

Ø Deny Physical Safe Haven. We will work closely with international partners to identify kleptocrats and those who corrupt them, and deny such persons entry and safe haven.

Ø Strengthen Multilateral Action Against Bribery. The United States will work with international partners to more vigorously investigate and prosecute those who pay or promise to pay bribes to public officials; to strengthen multilateral and national disciplines to stop bribery of foreign public officials; and to halt bribery of foreign political parties, party officials, and candidates for office.

Ø Facilitate And Reinforce Responsible Repatriation And Use. We will also work with our partners to develop and promote mechanisms that capture and dispose of recovered assets for the benefit of the citizens of countries victimized by high-level public corruption.

Ø Target And Internationalize Enhanced Capacity. The United States will target technical assistance and focus international attention on building capacity to detect, prosecute, and recover the proceeds of high-level public corruption, while helping build strong systems to promote responsible, accountable, and honest governance.

One possible advantage

The new airport rules may tame one of the most boorish monsters out there--the carry-on hog. You know who you are, trying to stuff a suitcase that could hold a small child into the overhead bin. That is why they have those signs saying "baggage claim" all over.

While on that same topic....

NOTE: The post below is mine (Peter). The wireless network at the house is on the fritz, and Xanth (my 15-year old son) was still signed in. While I'm sure he would agree with these points, I don't want his mom to bust him for dropping the F-bomb.

The topic--Missing the Point.

America's dumbest president gets off the plane from brush-clearing and headed to a fundraiser and then back to brush-clearing to tell us that whatever happened in Britain was:

"a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation."

George, George, George...

First of all, we are not AT WAR. We are OCCUPYING Iraq, but we are not AT WAR (if you disagree, PLEASE 1) identify the "enemy" and 2) identify the "objective." If you can't do that, from Sun Tzu to Clausewitz, shut the fuck up)

Secondly, I can also hardly find a more laughable term than "IslamoFASCISM." Fascism suggests extreme nationalism and an identity with the corporate state. Hmm, I see no NATIONALISM given these are not nation-states, And "FASCISM?" The identification of the corporate state with the polity? Hardly here (but George--see "Halliburton.").

And of course, this has NOTHING to do with OUR FREEDOMS. It has to do with international arrogance, and yes, lessons unlearned from Viet Nam and the "fall" of the "Soviet Union."

Lessons unlearned, where should I begin?

1) Be honest with your citizenry (read Barbara Tuchman's The March of Folly) Admittedly, the American electorate is not comprised of rocket scientists (DocMagoo excepted) but eventually they catch on.

2) You can't bomb people into liking you.

3) Overwhelming military force cannot change fundamental realities on the ground.

And how about INTERNATIONAL ARROGANCE?

"They" don't give a damn about our "freedoms"--honestly, I wonder if we do.

They care about OUR POLICIES. They "care" about us invading an Arab country without provocation. "They" "care" about us supporting repressive regimes in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. "They" care historically about our support of the Shah, who in terms of abusive dictators, made Hussein look like the shallow end of the pool. "They" care about our unconditional support of Israel, having pissed away our role as "honest broker." "They" care about Abu Ghrahib and Gitmo and 14-year old girls raped and killed.

But what do "they" know?

Missing the Point

Well, now we know that Darth Cheney knew of the "terror" plot when he did his rant:

The thing that’s partly disturbing about it [Lieberman's loss] is the fact that, the standpoint of our adversaries, if you will, in this conflict, and the al-Qaeda types, they clearly are betting on the proposition that ultimately they can break the will of the American people in terms of our ability to stay in the fight and complete the task.

My question/observation is--doesn't this whole thing prove the administration to be absolutely WRONG in their approach to "turr?" Odds are, these British "home-grown terrorists," skepticism intact, are probably pissed at their lap dog Tony Blair and his inexplicable support of W's cowboy game. So, the "war on terror" caused it and good old-fashioned police work stopped it. The administration wants war, which causes death and destruction, and they disparage "law enforcement," which stops it.

At the Battle of Yorktown, when the British surrendered, their musicians played "The World Turned Upside Down." That ditty marked the beginning of what would become the United States of America. Perhaps we should play it again.

Ground Zero Indeed

Stolen from a friend:

"For Ned Lamont to say what's happening in Iraq has nothing to do with the war on terror shows how ill prepared he is to be a U.S. senator," [Lieberman spokesman Dan] Gerstein said. "Iraq, right now, is ground zero in terms of terrorist activity."

This was said AFTER homegrown terrorists in London were foiled. Ground zero for terrorist activity is in Iraq? Tell that to London.

Go jump in a woodchipper, Mr. Gerstein.

Headlines you can't resist

Teen arrested after mom found in freezer

Here's the story, but the headline works for me.

This just in!

Breaking News!

We here at The Thinker-Entertainment Tonight want to share these exclusive photos with you. We brought you the first picture of the Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes baby as a newborn just moments after birth:

But we understand that there has been some controversy about the "TomKitten," as she has not been seen publicly, and some have even wondered if she actually exists, given her father's Scientology connection. Rest assured, we have photos, and you can see that Suri is beautiful and completely normal. Enjoy!

From Vice President Vader

The thing that’s partly disturbing about it [Lieberman's loss] is the fact that, the standpoint of our adversaries, if you will, in this conflict, and the al Qaeda types, they clearly are betting on the proposition that ultimately they can break the will of the American people in terms of our ability to stay in the fight and complete the task.

Over under on the time it takes the MSM to blame Ned Lamont for the UK airplane bombing plot?

Fox News, you're on the clock.

Well, it IS true...

Separated at birth? (voice more than looks)

You have to be of a certain age, but if you can remember, just take














and replace him with the dad from Alf















Shamelessly stolen from Jim Ward's impression on the Stephanie Miller Show.

From the "Missing the point" files

What We Stand For

Administration Seeks to Weaken War Crimes Law
Changes would end risk of prosecution for political appointees, CIA officers
By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post

The Bush administration has drafted amendments to a war crimes law that would eliminate the risk of prosecution for political appointees, CIA officers and former military personnel for humiliating or degrading war prisoners, according to U.S. officials and a copy of the amendments. Officials say the amendments would alter a U.S. law passed in the mid-1990s that criminalized violations of the Geneva Conventions, a set of international treaties governing military conduct in wartime.


Call me crazy, but to me it seems that a better way to avoid prosecutions as war criminals is NOT TO COMMIT WAR CRIMES??

The administration has never gotten it. Let's accept just for a moment for the sake of discussion their laughable premise that these, um, "measures" are necessary to win the "war" on "turr." What is the ultimate result? Our personnel will suffer, take that to the bank. They fail to understand the whole point of international law, and it is a very simple one. WE should respect its norms so that we have a cogent, legitimate basis for asking others to do the same when necessary for our benefit. It boils down to credibility, and sadly, that pot has long since boiled dry.

There was a fever over the land. A fever of disgrace, of indignity, of hunger. We had a democracy, yes, but it was torn by elements within. Above all, there was fear. Fear of today, fear of tomorrow, fear of our neighbors, and fear of ourselves. Only when you understand that - can you understand what Hitler meant to us. Because he said to us: 'Lift your heads! Be proud to be German! There are devils among us. Communists, Liberals, Jews, Gypsies! Once these devils will be destroyed, your misery will be destroyed.' It was the old, old story of the sacrifical lamb. What about those of us who knew better? We who knew the words were lies and worse than lies? Why did we sit silent? Why did we take part? Because we loved our country! What difference does it make if a few political extremists lose their rights?

Dr. Ernst Janning from Judgment at Nuremberg

In the film, Judge Haywood responds:

But this trial has shown that under the stress of a national crisis, men - even able and extraordinary men - can delude themselves into the commission of crimes and atrocities so vast and heinous as to stagger the imagination. No one who has sat through this trial can ever forget....There are those in our country today, too, who speak of the "protection" of the country. Of "survival". The answer to that is, survival as what? A country isn't a rock, and it isn't an extension of one's self. It's what it stands for, when standing for something is the most difficult! Before the people of the world - let it now be noted in our decision here that this is what we stand for, justice, truth and the value of a single human being!

Letters to IL Senators about Lieberman

Dear Senator Durbin (and Obama):

Mine will only be one of a chorus of voices that will likely inundate your office within the coming days.

Within the last several months, I have increased my activism through contributions to Democratic candidates at both the Senate and House levels. I have contributed to incumbents as well as upstart challengers looking to advance the Democratic agenda and take our country back from those who have mismanaged, embarrassed and otherwise ruined our reputation at home and abroad.

As I watched events unfold tonight in Connecticut, particularly with Senator Lieberman abandoning the party in the wake of his loss to Ned Lamont, I must ask that you and your fellow Democratic Senate colleagues congratulate and support the Democratic nominee put forth by the voters of Connecticut, Ned Lamont.

We are all sad to lose colleagues with whom we work. I recently lost an election for a position on a board for an Association in my industry. I congratulated the winning candidate and wished him the best while still finding other ways to stay involved. Senator Lieberman should NOT put forth his candidacy as an Independent. The current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue thought that what HE had was a "mandate to spend political capital" and that hasn't exactly worked out so well, either.

I work for a family owned business that my father started nearly thirty years ago. When employees would give us two weeks notice that they were departing, more often than not my father would just go to the warehouse, get a box and tell people to pack up their belongings and go. His philosophy is to this day that if someone has decided that they don't want to be part of our team anymore, they have broken a trust and really hold further place within our organization.

The same applies for Senator Lieberman. His outright lies during his speech this evening, his snark about what happened with his website today (which proves to be of his OWN doing) and the continued denigration of the party, its members and apparatus, should serve as a message to all Democrats that he's only in it for himself.

Joe Lieberman is now persona non grata as far as I am concerned within the party. He should not benefit from party fundraising efforts nor from campaign assistance from other Democrats. I hope that you feel the same in this matter as I do.

Sincerely,

Weasel

Lieberman loses primary

Will run as an independent

Lieberman to voters - Go Cheney yourself!

CT-Senate Update

Results Page

10:54 pm EDT 93.85% of Precincts Reporting

Lamont, Ned 134,942 51.65
Lieberman, Joe 126,330 48.35

10:12 pm EDT 81.28% of Precincts Reporting

Lamont, Ned 116,387 51.71
Lieberman, Joe 108,683 48.29

9:52 pm EDT 71.79% of Precincts Reporting

Lamont, Ned 100,425 51.61
Lieberman, Joe 94,148 48.39

9:47 pm EDT 64.71% of Precincts Reporting

Lamont, Ned 89,814 51.60
Lieberman, Joe 84,231 48.40

9:33 pm EDT 50.27% of Precincts Reporting

Lamont, Ned 70,444 52.13
Lieberman, Joe 64,700 47.87

9:22 pm EDT - 38.37% of precincts reporting

Lamont, Ned 61,449 53.62
Lieberman, Joe 53,159 46.38

8:58 pm EDT

Lamont, Ned 25,969 57.79%
Lieberman, Joe 18,968 42.21%

8:40 pm EDT
Connecticut
U.S. Senate
Democrat
Candidate Votes Percent Winner
Ned Lamont 6,814 60%
Joe Lieberman 4,586 40%
Precincts Reporting - 29 out of 0 - 4%

CT-Senate may be a taste of November...

If anybody has any time today (and hell knows I don't but I'm getting caught up in the moment), you really should be watching events unfold in Connecticut. Ned Lamont, who came from nowhere to give Bush kisser Joe Lieberman a real fight is locked in a neck and neck battle.

Joe's campaign website went down (www.joe2006.com) and they're blaming Lamont's supporters for a denial of service attack on the server. There are some really damn bright people at Dailykos and MyDD disproving and fighting it as best as they can right now.

The media is once again portraying Joe as the victim...Joe isn't the victim; he's been the one on the assault by being the guy who supports the President on Iraq, wouldn't help in blocking the Alito nomination and in general, giving away the farm and our way of life.

Bugger him, bugger his incumbent ilk and go, Ned, go.

Presidenting for Dummies

"You know, I hear people say, well, civil war this, civil war that. The Iraqi people decided against civil war when they went to the ballot box. "

Let's see, there, George, I have a couple of things for you.

You did know that the "Iraqi people" voted EXACTLY along sectarian lines, reflecting the same ideological, religious and ethnic divisions underlying today's violence?

You do realize that the Iraqi "government" has just about the same amount of power, legitimacy and sovereignty as does the Homecoming Court at Crawford High?

And would you please let the "elections" (the elections you never wanted, by the way) go? I heard you were taking a couple of books on Lincoln to camp to the "Western White House" with you. You might want to read the part where it was the absolutely constitutional, legal and democratic election of Mr. Lincoln that prompted South Carolina to reject federal authority, leading to, you know--CIVIL WAR.

Sectarian Strife Re-enactors

Would you like warlords with that?

While the Bushites whistle their happy tune completely divorced from reality, Middle East Fuckup Version 1.0 is getting far worse in a big hurry. As "sectarian violence" escalates (so does that mean that those guys who wear Union and Confederate uniforms in staged battles and campsites are "Sectarian Violence re-enactors?"), it is also metastasizing into something far worse. Time correspondent Aparism Ghosh has a cover story this week entitled Life in Hell: A Baghdad Diary.

I haven't read it yet, but I just heard him interviewed and he said that even the relative "stability" of the Shi'a militia-controlled south is turning to violence as the various militias are fighting to establish Afghani warlord-style supremacy.

Something is on the march, and it is NOT freedom.

Schmidlap, you're right on this one

I am a firm believer that stupidity should be painful, and I enjoy in particular mocking the stupid who voluntarily publicly display their mental shortcomings through their comical letters to the editor, accompanied by my favorite "Go sit in corner, dumbass" graphic:

But as the wise Schmidlap said, "[h]owever, there are flavors of stupid out there that are anything but funny. They are dangerous, hateful, vile, and destructive. A cute picture and caption doesn't cut it as a response."

Here is such a case that reeks with repulsiveness, courtesy of Nancy Michalica of Clarendon Hills, Illinois.

Mel: Big deal. Madonna: Who cares?

Why is it that so many are so concerned with the comments a drunken movie star makes while Madonna prances around the world wearing a crown of thorns perched upon a mirrored cross and no one bats an eye? Go figure.

For starters, Nancy, Madonna has received significant public criticism for her routine (otherwise, how would a brain wizard like you have heard about it?)

But Nancy, if you can't tell the difference between a miserable miscreant spewing soul-poisoning hatred and a PERFORMER singing a song while (perhaps tastelessly to some) trying to draw attention to the AIDS epidemic, you really shouldn't be living among decent people.

I also don't recall Madonna abusing the police and endangering innocent people by driving 85 mph while impaired in a residential area. Nancy, wake up and get a clue. No, skip that. Forget the clue, just go straight to hell--via Schmidlap's woodchipper:.

Hypotheticals

On ABC's This Week With George Stephanopolous, Secretary of State Rice referred to civil war in Iraq as a "hypothetical." She added that "I'm not going to deal with a hypothetical and that's what this is. This is a hypothetical. Because I think what General Abizaid was saying -- and the tense is very important here. He said -- he didn't say they're sliding to civil war. He said that, yes, the sectarian violence is as bad as he's ever seen it. But he made very clear that we have the forces and, he believes, the plan to prevent any slide to civil war."

Below is a photo from her appearance on the show:

One more quote

From the article below:

Beyond that, Israel and its friends in the United States should seriously reconsider their alliances not only with the neocons, but also with the Christian Right. The largest "pro-Israel" lobby day during this crisis was mobilized by Pastor John Hagee and his Christians United For Israel, a believer in Armageddon with all its implications for a rather particular end to the Jewish story. This is just asking to become the mother of all dumb, self-defeating and morally abhorrent alliances.

Gee, ya think? You do realize that these people ONLY want to bring the world to an end, and anticpate that their Jewish friends will have a cooling dip in the eternity of the Lake of Fire? Are these the kind of people you want as your "friends?"

Scurrilous rumor center

Things that make you go hmmm......

Crawford, Texas:

Denver, Colorado (after a solo vacation to Alaska):

A Great Quote

From an Israeli publication, on the dangers of dancing the Neocon Tango:

Israel does have enemies, interests and security imperatives, but there is no logic in the country volunteering itself for the frontline of an ideologically misguided and avoidable war of civilizations.

Another reason we shouldn't drill in ANWR

Aside from it not being anything other than a boon for the oil companies. From CNN:

BP shuts largest U.S. oil field due to damaged pipeline

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In a blow to drivers already struggling with high gasoline prices, BP was forced to shut off about 8 percent of the nation's oil supply after discovering "unexpectedly severe corrosion" in the Alaskan pipeline.

BP announced early Monday that the pipeline problems had caused it to begin the first shutdown ever in the biggest oilfield in the United States, Alaska's Prudhoe Bay.
...
Oil analyst Peter Beutel, president of Cameron Hanover, said shutting down an oil field is an expensive and risky step that is only taken in extreme circumstances. He said that suggests the 400,000 barrels a day produced in Prudhoe Bay could be shut off for some time to come.
...And the funny part
Beutel said he expects about a 5 cent a gallon rise in gasoline futures due to the pipeline problems.

So futures will go up 5 cents. How much do you expect we'll see at the pump? A quarter? It went up 20 cents this week for no apparent reason.

The outage will cut global daily oil output by about half a percent, putting more strain on an already tight market. Beutel said he believed the news in Alaska was outweighing even new threats out of Iran to shut production there if that country is hit with United Nations sanctions over its nuclear program.

"This is almost all Alaska," he said about Monday's price hikes. "It doesn't look like something that will have a quick fix or can be ignored by the markets. I think it's going to be measured in weeks, not days, and it could drag on for months."

And now with our jihad weather, Donald Rumsfeld

"Does the violence [in Afghanistan] tend to be up during the summer, in the spring, summer and fall months? Yes it does. And it tends to decline during the winter period. Does that represent failed policy? I don’t know. I would say not."

Because of course, the Taliban winters in Anguilla. They used to jihad off-season in St. Barts, but that is SO last year.

If

So I turned on "This Week" this morning, and the guest is the US Secretary of Making Things Worse, Condaleeza Rice. George Stephanopolous asked her if, as Congress has asked about (Republicans no less), Iraq does become embroiled in a civil war (BTW, if??), Bush would pull US troops out. It seems clear that much of Congress does not want the troops to stay there if there is a civil war.

Rice's response is that the question is a hypothetical (it contains the word if, after all), and she won't answer hypotheticals.

This is the same administration that has adopted Dick Cheney's 1% Solution, where if (there's that word again) there's a 1% chance that someone could be planning an attack on the US, we have to act pre-emptively and attack first. So we'll invade foreign countries based on a 1% fear, but knowing that Iraq is undergoing the worst sectarian violence since we've been there, where the chance of civil war has to be much greater than 1%, Secretary of Horrible Diplomacy Rice can't even discuss what we might do if it did break out.

Of course, we know this government never plans ahead, so maybe they really don't know.

Go jump in a woodchipper, Mr. President

I'm browsing the online world this morning, and I come across this post by Schmidlap, who recounts the truly tragic story of the Lindner family, and the sole surviving member, forced to live in a world where he hears things like "You have to trust that God had a higher purpose for them in heaven" from his neighbor.

Now, I'm fortunate in that most of the truly religious people I know aren't nuts. They're fascinating people to know and great people to spend time with. In a moment like this, they would believe that Mr. Lindner's family was in heaven, but they would also understand the utter agony he'd be going through, and know that platitudes would be insulting at best.

There is, however, a group of people who really does believe that "good Christians" go to heaven when they die, but that is somehow a goal - not heaven, death. And if they can help bring about the end times for all of us, they're doing God's work. They even track how close we are to Armageddon, in their twisted little minds.

I understand belief. I understand faith. But that's just mind-boggling - that they believe so strongly in this amazing afterlife that they would be happy to see this world come to an end, and all life in the universe that we've ever known, just to meet their God. Now, a decent human being, even one who believed in God and heaven, would say "Well, God created this world, and this life for me, and if I don't live it the best I can, and follow the rules he set down on how to treat other people the best I can, I'm insulting God, and that's wrong."

But these people aren't decent, not in the way they treat others. And they have a leader. Not James "Dog-kicker" Dobson. Not Jerry "Teletubby" Falwell. Their President, and sadly mine as well, George W. Bush.

From the Nieman Watchdog, published by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University

Bush, who says he reads the Bible daily, acknowledges his fundamentalist beliefs. Biblical and Middle East scholar Karen Armstrong writes in The Guardian, "Whatever Bush's personal beliefs, the ideology of the Christian right is both familiar and congenial to him. This strange amalgam of ideas can perhaps throw light on the behavior of a president who, it is said, believes God chose him to lead the world toward Rapture, who has little interest in social reform, and whose selective concern for life issues has now inspired him to veto important scientific research.

"It explains his unconditional support for Israel, his willingness to use 'Jewish End-Time warriors' to fulfill a vision of his own, arguably against Israel's best interest, and to see Syria and Iran...as entirely responsible for the unfolding tragedy."
...
As she notes, Bush and his administration not only rely on Christian fundamentalists, he espouses many of their ideals, including their belief that "the second coming of Christ is at hand" but Christ cannot return unless, "in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy, the Jews are in possession of the Holy Land."
...
Political scientist Kevin Phillips, in his book "American Theocracy," says the Republican Party has become the "vehicle for religious policymaking and eventual erosion" of the separation of church and state. He estimates that 55 percent of Bush voters in 2004 believed in the coming of Armageddon and cheered American involvement in Iraq, one of the world's "evils," in Bush's apocalyptic view.

Writing for the Nation in May, Phillips said, "The last arena of theological influence, almost as important as sex, birth and mortality, involves American foreign policy, bringing us to the connections among the 'war on terror,' the Rapture, the end of times, Armageddon and the thinly disguised U.S. crusade against radical Islam...In the months before George W. Bush sent U.S. troops into Iraq, his inspirational reading each morning was a book of sermons by a Scottish preacher accompanying troops about to march on Jerusalem."

Think about that some more. Our national policy is being influenced by the idea that Israel needs to be in possession of the holy land so that Jesus can return? Humanitarian efforts be damned - we need to make sure that Armaggedon can arrive soon. Now, I'm not a biblical scholar, but I have read the book, and I seem to recall at least some of the teachings having to do with helping others, especially the poor and oppressed.

But why should we help poor people if the world's coming to an end? If they're good Christians, they'll go to heaven.

But why should we worry about global warming or the environment if the world's coming to an end? (Remember James Watt, Secretary of the Interior under Reagan? "After the last tree is felled, Christ will come back.") These people truly believe that since the end times will come, how we treat the earth doesn't matter.

Why, indeed, should we care about human lives (Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Darfur, Stem Cells), if the world's coming to an end? Again, I'm not a biblical scholar, but I think Jesus would have an answer:

Go Jump Into A Wood Chipper, Mr. President.

I didn't know I was gay...

Army Dismisses Gay Arabic Linguist

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. -- A decorated sergeant and Arabic language specialist was dismissed from the U.S. Army under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, though he says he never told his superiors he was gay and his accuser was never identified......On Dec. 2, investigators formally interviewed Copas and asked if he understood the military's policy on homosexuals, if he had any close acquaintances who were gay, and if he was involved in community theater. He answered affirmatively.

Delusional

From Donald Rumsfeld:

"If we left Iraq prematurely, the enemy would tell us to leave Afghanistan and then withdraw from the Middle East. And if we left the Middle East, they'd order us and all those who don't share their militant ideology to leave what they call the occupied Muslim lands from Spain to the Philippines."

So Don is now the modern-day Charles Martel, making Europe's last stand against the "Mohamedans" at the Battle of Tours in 732--or perhaps just a delusional, embittered old man.

But anyway--DOES TALK LIKE THIS SOUND FAMILIAR?

Betcha the Shrub leaves today even though Tony didn't

From CNN.com this morning:

LONDON, England (CNN) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair will delay the start of his holiday to work on a U.N. deal for a cease-fire in Lebanon, his office says.

While there are those on that side of the pond who accuse him of being Drinky's be-zatch (and they might well be right) and continuing heat pours down on him, at least even the gesture of propriety seems to be in order.

Tony won't leave for vacation until something gets settled. W won't come back from vacation, even in the face of a national disaster.

We may think what we may about the Brits (and the rest of the planet) but let's face it, the world understands, I dunno...the world. Meanwhile, we've got Condi flapping around the globe in her plane like Steve fucking Fossett racking up miles and catching up on this year's hottest inflight movie releases.

For whatever reason yesterday, I was thinking what a rebuke it would be if the UN decided to up and take their HQ and put it someplace else like, Dubai. Or Paris. Or Hong Kong. Shanghai. Cities that are growing and represent a diverse opinion but moreover, an understanding of what happens globally and the fact that whether we want to throw up our silly little walls being guarded by the Minutemen militia because we gotta keep "them" out and "us" protected.

Take the lens caps off the binoculars, W. There's a big bad world out there.

Desperate

Desperate (des·per·ate--adj) Having lost all hope; reckless or violent because of despair; undertaken out of extreme urgency or as a last resort

Now, see it in action.

First, read Doc's post below:

And then take a gander at this from Talking Points Memo:

GOP Donors Funded Entire PA Green Party Drive
By Paul Kiel - August 2, 2006, 4:00 PM

OK, we've done it. We've nailed it down: Every single contributor to the Pennsylvania Green Party Senate candidate is actually a conservative -- except for the candidate himself.

The Luzerne County Green Party raised $66,000 in the month of June in order to fund a voter signature drive. The Philly Inquirer reported yesterday that $40,000 came from supporters of Rick Santorum's campaign (or their housemates). Also yesterday, we confirmed that another $15,000 came from GOP donors and conservatives. Only three contributions, totaling $11,000, remained as possible legit donations. Today, I confirmed that those came from GOP sources.

I think he got all of that one...

From The Onion...

Bush Grants Self Permission To Grant More Power To Self

August 2, 2006 | Issue 42•31

WASHINGTON, DC—In a decisive 1–0 decision Monday, President Bush voted to grant the president the constitutional power to grant himself additional powers.

"As president, I strongly believe that my first duty as president is to support and serve the president," Bush said during a televised address from the East Room of the White House shortly after signing his executive order. "I promise the American people that I will not abuse this new power, unless it becomes necessary to grant myself the power to do so at a later time."

Read it all. This one's something special.

Lyrics II

Political Science
Randy Newman

No one likes us
I don't know why.
We may not be perfect
But heaven knows we try.
But all around even our old friends put us down.
Let's drop the big one and see what happens.

We give them money
But are they grateful?
No they're spiteful
And they're hateful.
They don't respect us so let's surprise them;
We'll drop the big one and pulverize them.

Now Asia's crowded
And Europe's too old.
Africa's far too hot,
And Canada's too cold.
And South America stole our name.
Let's drop the big one; there'll be no one left to blame us.

We'll save Australia;
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo.
We'll build an all-American amusement park there;
They've got surfing, too.

Well, boom goes London,
And boom Paris.
More room for you
And more room for me.
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town.
Oh, how peaceful it'll be;
We'll set everybody free;
You'll have Japanese kimonos, baby,
There'll be Italian shoes for me.
They all hate us anyhow,
So let's drop the big one now.
Let's drop the big one now.

Lyrics of the Week

Oooo you cannot reach me now,
Oooo no matter how you try.
Goodbye cruel world, it's over.
Walk on by.

Sitting in a bunker,
Here behind my wall,
Waiting for the worms to come. ( worms to come. )
In perfect isolation,
Here behind my wall,
Waiting for the worms to come. ( worms to come. )

Waiting, to cut out the deadwood.
Waiting, to clean up the city.
Waiting, to follow the worms.
Waiting, to put on a black shirt.
Waiting, to weed out the weaklings.
Waiting, to smash in their windows and kick in their doors.
Waiting, for the final solution to strengthen the strain.
Waiting, to follow the worms.
Waiting, to turn on the showers and fire the ovens.
Waiting, for the queers and the coons and the reds and the jews.
Waiting, to follow the worms.

Would you like to see britannia,
Rule again, my friend?
All you have to do is follow the worms.
Would you like to send our colored cousins,
Home again, my friend?
All you need to do is follow the worms.

-- Roger Waters

Insert your own caption

Iran, Syria--who cares?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Want me to start? My message is, give up your nuclear weapon and your nuclear weapon ambitions. That's my message to Syria--I mean, to Iran. And my message to Syria is, become an active participant in the neighborhood for peace.

Neighborhood? Who are you, Mr. Rogers? Are they "folks" too?

From the White House page--at least they don't edit the stupidity.

Meanwhile, back in Frostbite Falls

Bombings, shootings kill 61 in Iraq

By Ahmed Rasheed and Aseel Kami

Bombings and shootings killed up to 61 people in Iraq on Tuesday, including at least 26 soldiers, undermining the government's attempts to show it can suppress unremitting violence.

A roadside bomb attack on a bus filled with Iraqi troops on a road between Tikrit and Baiji, north of Baghdad, killed at least 23, the army said. In the northwestern town of Tal Afar, a car bomb killed three more Iraqi soldiers and wounded four, police said.

A British soldier was killed in a mortar attack on an army base in the southern city of Basra, a British military spokesman said. In Baghdad, a suicide bomber in a car targeted soldiers collecting their salaries from a bank, killing at least 10 people, including an elderly woman, police said. State television put the toll at 14.

Thanks Tony

I'm feeling nostalgic lately (perhaps it is the impending end of civilization as we know it that is bringing it on). Here is the wit and wisdom of Antonin Scalia, from the preliminary ruling granting the cert petition in Bush v. Gore:

The counting of votes that are of questionable legality does in my view threaten irreparable harm to petitioner, and to the country, by casting a cloud upon what he claims to be the legitimacy of his election. Count first, and rule upon legality afterwards, is not a recipe for producing election results that have the public acceptance democratic stability requires.

I sure am glad the Bush administration doesn't have a cloud on its legitimacy, aren't you?

And don't even get me started on "irreparable harm to...the country."

The Embargo is a Success!

After only 47 years, the US government's policy towards Cuba and the communist regime of Fidel Castro has finally borne fruit. At 79 years old, Castro has succumbed to stress and is undergoing surgery. While he recuperates, he has turned power over, back to the people, in the form of his often-overlooked brother.

Raul Castro, 75, is the first vice president of the country and designated successor to his brother. He also assumes control over the armed forces and leadership of the Communist Party, according to the statement.

Green Party continues to be a puppet of the GOP

HARRISBURG, Pa. - Thanks to the generosity of GOP donors, a Green Party candidate is expected to make it onto the ballot in Pennsylvania's Senate race and siphon votes from Democratic front-runner Bob Casey in his bid to unseat Republican Sen. Rick Santorum.
...
Green Party candidate Carl Romanelli, making his first bid for statewide elective office, acknowledged Monday that Republican contributors probably supplied most of the $100,000 that he said he spent gathering signatures to qualify for the Nov. 7 ballot.
...
"I have friends in all political parties. It's just that my Republican friends are more confident about standing with me than my Democratic friends. And as a group, my Republican friends are a little better off," he said in a telephone interview.

So, what's the lesson in all this? Green Party candidates are solely driven by ego, and are dumb as a box of people who still support W. You're taking money from Republicans and votes from Democrats. You're not going to win, Mr. Romanelli. Hope that GOP hand shoved up your backside feels good.

President Has Annual Physical

(AP) President Bush had his first scheduled physical after turning 60 today at Bethesda Naval Hospital. The president's doctors declared him to be "dumb as a bag of hammers bordering on bat-fucking crazy--dangerous, man, he's just damned dangerous!"