I can't keep up!!
8.31.2007
More Lightning
I don't know a whole helluva a lot about lightning and such, but this here photo kinda scares me and fills me with awe. This was my freakin' neighborhood, fairly recently. What the hell did we ever do to you, lightning gods?
How to Steal an Election
California has a new ballot initiative that would allocate our electoral votes based on the tally in each of the state's 58 congressional districts. Often times it seems like the best course of action is simply to link to Hullabaloo, where Digby offers up the most cogent political analysis on the blogoshpere, but in this case, I'm going to block quote and highlight some analysis that You. Need. To. Know.:
We know for a fact, it's been demonstrated in living color, that it [the Electoral College] leads to undemocratic results. In 2000, Bush lost by half a million votes and yet "won" by 537, when the Supreme Court stepped in to stop the Florida vote count, granting all the electors to Bush. It is little wonder that no other country in the world has adopted our vaunted system of government. It's got some serious problems.
[...]
There is one political faction in our country that is determined to win by any means necessary. They have had an ongoing voter suppression effort for decades, which has recently been both professionalized and authorized as a legitimate arm of the federal government under the Bush administration. That's what the US Attorney scandal is all about --- vote rigging and suppression.
They are always prepared to play it both ways. From partisan impeachments to off-year gerrymandering to the unprecedented California recall to the disputed 2000 election to the long term efforts at voter suppression and the use of the department of Justice to influence elections with well timed indictments and bogus "vote fraud" investigations, the Republicans have shown that where they don't cheat outright, they are willing to cast aside all convention, tradition and consensus beliefs that serve to honor the spirit of democracy in order to win at all costs. I don't think that can be disputed.
It's very clever. If someone were to ask D-day and I, and most Californians, in the abstract, if we thought that was a more fair way to allocate the electoral college votes, we'd probably say yes. It would be. But, needless to say, it isn't if only one state, particular one as large as ours, does it all by itself. It essentially turns California into two states, diluting its electoral clout, giving the Republicans more than 20 electoral votes they currently don't have and denying the Democrats 20 they currently do. It is nothing more than typical GOP shenanigans to cheat or change the rules after the fact where they can't win legitimately.
"Tom and Jerry" I Presume
Josh Marshall notes another choice moment in one crongressional visit to Baghdad:
Ha. Ha. Ha.
At one point, the three were trying to discuss the state of Iraqi security forces with Iraq's national security adviser, Mowaffak al-Rubaie, but the large, flat-panel television set facing the official proved to be a distraction. Rubaie was watching children's cartoons.
When Moran asked him to turn it off, Rubaie protested with a laugh and said, "But this is my favorite television show," Moran recalled.
Ha. Ha. Ha.
"Slimed in the Green Zone"
Democratic lawmakers learned this week that their fact-finding visits to Iraq are often preceeded by propaganda flyers, produced by the Pentagon, that offer soldiers and other personnel a kind of "scouting report" painting them as "anti-war" opponents of the military:
And who accuses whom of politicizing the war effort?
The sheets of paper seemed to be everywhere the lawmakers went in the Green Zone, distributed to Iraqi officials, U.S. officials and uniformed military of no particular rank. So when Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.) asked a soldier last weekend just what he was holding, the congressman was taken aback to find out.
In the soldier's hand was a thumbnail biography, distributed before each of the congressmen's meetings in Baghdad, which let meeting participants such as that soldier know where each of the lawmakers stands on the war. "Moran on Iraq policy," read one section, going on to cite some the congressman's most incendiary statements, such as, "This has been the worst foreign policy fiasco in American history."
The bio of Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif.) -- "TAU (rhymes with 'now')-sher," the bio helpfully relates -- was no less pointed, even if she once supported the war and has taken heat from liberal Bay Area constituents who remain wary of her position. "Our forces are caught in the middle of an escalating sectarian conflict in Iraq, with no end in sight," the bio quotes.
"This is beyond parsing. This is being slimed in the Green Zone," Tauscher said of her bio.
And who accuses whom of politicizing the war effort?
Denial is not just a plane over Baghdad
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A military airplane carrying four members of the U.S. Congress came under fire over Iraq on Thursday but the plane was not hit and no one was hurt, a spokesman for one of the lawmakers said on Friday.
The C-130 cargo aircraft conducted evasive maneuvers after a nighttime takeoff from Baghdad, said Ken Lundberg, spokesman for Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, who was on the plane.
One wonders if such an experience might lift the "Green Zone of Fog" that seems to envelope recently propagandized congresspeople and allow them to speak honestly about the situation in Iraq.
Wonder no more! From FOX News comes this update: "Despite the scare, Shelby, Martinez and Cramer said they believed the recent increase in troop levels has helped stabilize parts of the country." Just not the parts in and around the "east, west, south and north somewhat" of Baghdad.
Pics from The Big Storm
The local paper has posted more than 30 astounding photos of the Wednesday night/Thursday morning thunderstorm that hit our area. We're not used to this sort of thing.
FYI Dept.
Days the DHS color-coded terror alert system has been in place: 1,993
--->Days the threat level has been at "yellow" or "orange": 1,993
--->Days the threat level has been at "blue" or "green": 0
--->Days the threat level has been at "yellow" or "orange": 1,993
--->Days the threat level has been at "blue" or "green": 0
8.30.2007
The Specials
When I first went to college, the dude in the room next door had this mix-tape of all this ska music. English Beat, Madness, Selecter, X-ray Specs, the Specials. Man, we played the hell out of that tape, in the car, at the beach, at the dorm parties, everywhere.
I remember we called it "The Black Tape," 'cause it was just this beat up old black cassette with no label on it or anything. Eventually it got eaten in the baja bug's cassette player and we were super bummed.
I'm ashamed to admit now it was pretty much my first introduction to ska. I had a lot of Black Flag and Sex Pistols and Zappa and Zepp and Floyd, but ska was a whole new thing for me, and it was perhaps the first time I really started wearing funny clothes and acting weird just because of some music I'd heard. Here's the tune that sold me on the Specials.
I remember we called it "The Black Tape," 'cause it was just this beat up old black cassette with no label on it or anything. Eventually it got eaten in the baja bug's cassette player and we were super bummed.
I'm ashamed to admit now it was pretty much my first introduction to ska. I had a lot of Black Flag and Sex Pistols and Zappa and Zepp and Floyd, but ska was a whole new thing for me, and it was perhaps the first time I really started wearing funny clothes and acting weird just because of some music I'd heard. Here's the tune that sold me on the Specials.
Tips for Taking Booking Photos
If you ever get busted for running a meth lab, always make sure to take a deep breath and try to relax just before they snap your booking photo.
Here's a "how to" and "how not to" photo comparison.
Here's a "how to" and "how not to" photo comparison.
A People Without Pride, Shame or Embarassment
I don't want to sound like the cranky old guy in the room, but what ever happened to pride in one's appearance? Or at least a sense of shame and embarrassment at being some guy in a public building with his ass-crack hanging out?!?!
I work in our local county government building, up on the 3rd floor, safely away from the riff-raff we like to call "the public." But as I was leaving work today, I walked past the Recorder's Office, which is down on the first floor and is where all the regular people go to file lawsuits and restraining orders and get quickie bun-in-the-oven marriages and such.
The office itself is actually in its own room off the lobby, but it's behind these huge glass walls so you can see everything (and everyone) inside there conducting their business. As I'm walking by, I see this guy at the counter, probably negotiating payments on his DUI fine or asking what it means when the county "garnishes" his "wages," with his backside to the world (and the 15 unlucky people in line behind him), and his ass-crack is exposed like the Grand Canyon nestled between two half moons. AAaaaaaaaagggghhhhhh!!!! I mean, they'd kick this guy outta the plumbers' union. The point is, he was not sagging -- as the kewl kidz with the fancy boxers like to call it these days -- no, his GD pants were falling right off his ass!
If there's not a law against this kind of thing, there ought to be. There's just no place in a civilized society for it.
I work in our local county government building, up on the 3rd floor, safely away from the riff-raff we like to call "the public." But as I was leaving work today, I walked past the Recorder's Office, which is down on the first floor and is where all the regular people go to file lawsuits and restraining orders and get quickie bun-in-the-oven marriages and such.
The office itself is actually in its own room off the lobby, but it's behind these huge glass walls so you can see everything (and everyone) inside there conducting their business. As I'm walking by, I see this guy at the counter, probably negotiating payments on his DUI fine or asking what it means when the county "garnishes" his "wages," with his backside to the world (and the 15 unlucky people in line behind him), and his ass-crack is exposed like the Grand Canyon nestled between two half moons. AAaaaaaaaagggghhhhhh!!!! I mean, they'd kick this guy outta the plumbers' union. The point is, he was not sagging -- as the kewl kidz with the fancy boxers like to call it these days -- no, his GD pants were falling right off his ass!
If there's not a law against this kind of thing, there ought to be. There's just no place in a civilized society for it.
Hats Off to the Land of Siam
I have it on good authority that congrats are in order for Thailand, which next week gets its 13th (count 'em!!) new constitution since 1932. You know what they say, "If at first you don't succeed, and all that."
You gotta love it when one of your best pals lives in a country with Wikipedia entries like this one:
You go, Thailand. Come to think of it, we could use a nice coup de tat around here right about now.
You gotta love it when one of your best pals lives in a country with Wikipedia entries like this one:
A military junta overthrew the elected government of Thaksin Shinawatra on 19 September 2006. The junta abrogated the constitution, dissolved Parliament and the Constitutional Court, detained and later removed several members of the government, declared martial law, and appointed one of the King's Privy Councillors, General Surayud Chulanont, as Prime Minister. The junta later wrote a highly abbreviated interim constitution and appointed a panel to draft a permanent constitution. The junta also appointed a 250-member legislature, called by one critic a "chamber of generals". The head of the junta was allowed to remove the Prime Minister at any time. The legislature was not allowed to hold a vote of confidence against the Cabinet and the public was not allowed to file comments on bills.
You go, Thailand. Come to think of it, we could use a nice coup de tat around here right about now.
More Fear-mongering from the White House
General Petraeus and the White House take a new tack in the push to scare us into supporting the war in Iraq:
I can't speak for everyone, but such a development would significantly increase my desire to bomb the crap out of somebody, somewhere.
"To a person, they said there would be genocide, gas prices in the U.S. would rise to eight or nine dollars a gallon, al-Qaida would continue its expansion, and Iran would take over that portion of the world if we leave," Rep. Jon Porter (R-Nevada) said Wednesday in a phone interview from Las Vegas.
I can't speak for everyone, but such a development would significantly increase my desire to bomb the crap out of somebody, somewhere.
ABC Looks to Wipe Kucinich Out of Dem Race
For some unexplained reason, it appears that ABC News is actively working to eliminate Dennis Kucinich from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Take a look at these two photos:
The first is the official AP photo from last week's ABC News Democratic debate:
The second is ABC's version of the exact same photo as it ran on their website:
Notice anybody missing? There's a lot more to the story here.
The first is the official AP photo from last week's ABC News Democratic debate:
The second is ABC's version of the exact same photo as it ran on their website:
Notice anybody missing? There's a lot more to the story here.
Another Tale of Men's Room Horror
Yet another tale of an "uncomfortable" men's room experience:
Click here for "the rest of the story"....
Two weeks ago, the kids and I went on a trip to visit friends in San Antonio, Texas. On the way we stopped at a rest area just off the interstate. What happened next made me very uneasy...
I was drinking coffee heavily so that I would stay awake and needed to relieve myself pretty badly. I pulled into a rest area, locked the car doors, left the kids sleeping in the car, and went into the restroom. When I entered I noticed it was unoccupied except for a pair of sneakers visible under the second stall.
As I unzipped at one of the urinals and began to relieve my burning bladder I heard a voice say "Hey, what's up?". I looked around and there was no one else in the restroom. After a moments hesitation, I answered "Not much"....
Click here for "the rest of the story"....
Overheard Lines
I found this blog called Overheard Lines. Anyone can go there and post some funny tidbit they overheard in public, like this:
Two Guys Walking Past Church In Outer Richmond
Guy 1: "That's a big fucking church."
Guy 2: "God's a big fucking guy."
Two Guys Walking Past Church In Outer Richmond
Guy 1: "That's a big fucking church."
Guy 2: "God's a big fucking guy."
You Love the Thunder
Last night, earlier this morning, we had one of those East coast-style, heart-pounding, knock-you-outta-bed thunder and lightning storms. We never get those out here. It was awesome.
[BOOM! ...rumblerumblerumble... kee-RACK!!]
[BOOM! ...rumblerumblerumble... kee-RACK!!]
8.29.2007
Turdblossom's Car Got Punked
Karl Rove is on vacation (in Crawford, Texas, with the head yahoo, 'natch) this week.
We're not sure who could've gotten close enough to punk his car without a double-secret security clearance, but Capitol police suspect noted prankster Colin Powell.
We're not sure who could've gotten close enough to punk his car without a double-secret security clearance, but Capitol police suspect noted prankster Colin Powell.
Bedwetter Nation
The headline sez it all.
That fact they were arrested? Well, dudn't that make you feel safer? You never can tell with those damn Gemermans anyway. Isn't Anthrax a German word?
Two people who sprinkled flour in a parking lot to mark a trail for their offbeat running club inadvertently caused a bioterrorism scare and now face a felony charge.
The sprinkled powder forced hundreds to evacuate an IKEA furniture store Thursday.
New Haven ophthalmologist Daniel Salchow, 36, and his sister, Dorothee, 31, who is visiting from Hamburg, Germany, were both charged with first-degree breach of peace, a felony.
That fact they were arrested? Well, dudn't that make you feel safer? You never can tell with those damn Gemermans anyway. Isn't Anthrax a German word?
Hey Ladies, Contrary to What You May Hear, the Men's Room Ain't Really Where It's All Happening
Here's a funny little piece on how men are s'posed to act in a rest room (unless they wanna get their ass kicked by gay-bashing closet case Tucker Carlson), and here is more than you ever wanted to know about Tea Rooms and the heretofore undisclosed subculture of public men's rooms.
Not that there's anything wrong with any of that, but yuck. Get a room, for God's sake. Those floors are dirty in there.
Regarding Larry Craig's bathroom actions and American public sex in general: there are two comments I'd like to add to the discussion. First, male-male sex in public bathrooms has been going on in America for at least 100 years...probably since the invention of the public bathroom. Our culture's lack of understanding of sexuality, and our gender-segregated bathrooms, created an environment where males naturally happen upon each other in stages of undress (much like the locker room). Such scandalous behavior has been uncovered at YMCAs (originally built as boarding houses for World War I soldiers), park restrooms, and transit station restrooms since the early 20th century. Typically, men who had sex with each other in these restrooms were caught by plainclothes investigators who pretended to accept their suitors' advances (and, in some cases, were quite passionate about their ... investigations) before booking them.
[...]
"Tearooms," as these bathrooms are called, established an entire non-verbal dialectic to facilitate sexual union between American men. They are as enshrined in gay culture as Sunday afternoon "tea dances," or Bette Midler singing at the baths, or Stonewall, or, currently, Internet dating... ...The codes that Craig and his arresting officer used (looking through the stall door; tapping one's foot; touching your stall neighbor's foot) are historical preliminaries to sexual contact.
Not that there's anything wrong with any of that, but yuck. Get a room, for God's sake. Those floors are dirty in there.
Time to Check the Scorecard
You know that old cliche about how you couldn't keep track of [some event] unless you had a scorecard? Well, with all these scandalous Republicans running to and fro, tap-tap-tapping away in men's rooms all across this great big land, it's time to check in on the Grand Old Party (where I'm guessing there ain't a whole lotta partying going on right about now).
Anyway, TPM Muckraker helps bring you up to speed with this brief recap.
Anyway, TPM Muckraker helps bring you up to speed with this brief recap.
Jack Abramoff is in prison. Ex-Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-CA) is in prison. Ex-Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) is in prison. Ex-Reps. Mark Foley (R-FL), Katherine Harris (R-FL), Tom DeLay (R-TX), Curt Weldon (R-PA), and Ex-Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT), all either lost or did not seek reelection. Gone, away, to be forgotten. This year was supposed to be different for the Republicans. But...
As The New York Times notes this morning, scandal has pursued them into 2007. “The real question for Republicans in Washington is how low can you go, because we are approaching a level of ridiculousness,” says one Republican strategist.
Who Lies (or forgets) About Visting a Cemetery?
Apparently Virginia Republican Senator John Warner does, because on MTP this past Sunday, Liz's ex waxed poetic about him and Dubya driving by "all those white crosses" at Arlington National Cemetery following Memorial Day services earlier this year.
All those white crosses, you old coot?
Not to let Dick "Five-deferements-because-I-had-other-priorities" Cheney off the hook, here's what he had to say after a "visit" to Arlington (allegedly) back in 2000:
Sure Dick, sure. Crosses as far as the eye can see. Dick.
All those white crosses, you old coot?
Not to let Dick "Five-deferements-because-I-had-other-priorities" Cheney off the hook, here's what he had to say after a "visit" to Arlington (allegedly) back in 2000:
"Just before you settle down on the landing pad, you look upon Arlington National Cemetery...its gentle slopes and crosses row on row," Cheney said. "I never once made that trip without being reminded how enormously fortunate we all are to be Americans, and what a terrible price thousands have paid so that all of us...and millions more around the world...might live in freedom."
Sure Dick, sure. Crosses as far as the eye can see. Dick.
More Proof AbuGonzo Was a Lawless Thug
All you duffers out there can probably relate to the outrage this little incident created.
There's more about the lying skinflint's tipping practices here.
Radar reports that “In a final act of lawlessness” outgoing asshole general Alberto Gonzales apparently pushed back everyone’s tee times at the Chevy Chase club so that he and his non-member guest Condi could get the best time last Saturday. AND THE CLUB FORBIDS NON-MEMBERS FROM GOLFING ON WEEKENDS.
There's more about the lying skinflint's tipping practices here.
Tragic Story
Here's a sad story from the local news. Son dies in Iraq, family invests $300,000 from life insurance policy in a mortgage company (d'oh!) that subsequently goes out of business. I feel for them, I really do, but what really pisses me off about this story is the freaking headline. Take a good long look at that thing. Damn two-bit journalism school idiot. She does it again in the body of the story, too.
At Least Nero Played the Fiddle
When you see George W. Bush on your teevee today, visiting New Orleans and showering platitudes on Katrina victims, make sure to remember what he was doing two years ago while Louisiana drowned:
That's right, eating cake with BFF John McCain.
He also goofed off a bit with country music star Mark Willis (note the cheesy "presidential seal" on the guitar).
That's right, eating cake with BFF John McCain.
He also goofed off a bit with country music star Mark Willis (note the cheesy "presidential seal" on the guitar).
8.28.2007
The Larry Craig Arrest Report etc...
Talking Points Memo has posted the Larry Craig arrest report.
Craig is making the argument today that he didn't do anything wrong in this situation, but I'd venture to say that playing footsie under the stall is generally frowned upon in most public men's rooms. The whole kabuki dance is horribly fascinating in its clandestine, anonymous desperation. Foot-tapping and shoe-nuzzling and understall hand-waving. Come on, he's guilty of being seriously creepy, if nothing else.
Craig is also getting lit up for his hypocrisy and his ridiculous excuses. Josh Marshall has a bit more to say on the matter:
And here are two clips, one of Craig calling Bill Clinton a "nasty boy" back in 1998, and the other of him today, assuring us -- several times-- that he's NOT GAY.
Nice touch opening his statement with, "Thank you all for coming out today..."
Craig is making the argument today that he didn't do anything wrong in this situation, but I'd venture to say that playing footsie under the stall is generally frowned upon in most public men's rooms. The whole kabuki dance is horribly fascinating in its clandestine, anonymous desperation. Foot-tapping and shoe-nuzzling and understall hand-waving. Come on, he's guilty of being seriously creepy, if nothing else.
Craig is also getting lit up for his hypocrisy and his ridiculous excuses. Josh Marshall has a bit more to say on the matter:
I'm going to assume for the sake of the discussion that the gestures Craig is described as making are ones easily recognizable as soliciting sex. The rubbed shoe (see police report) seems unambiguous to me. With that assumption, it's still clear that the whole thing didn't get far enough for Craig to 'do' anything lewd. But I'm not sure that matters since obviously you can get hauled off to jail for agreeing to purchase sex from a prostitute even before things get freaky.
And here are two clips, one of Craig calling Bill Clinton a "nasty boy" back in 1998, and the other of him today, assuring us -- several times-- that he's NOT GAY.
Nice touch opening his statement with, "Thank you all for coming out today..."
MSM Suffers Another Credibility Breakdown
You'll often read here and there about how the mainstream media has really failed in its search for the Truth over the past few years, with Judith "WMD" Miller of the NYT and the whole crew over at FOX News being exhibits A and B.
But just check out this intrepid reporting by MSNBC, which purports to quote Al Sharpton in a dubious defense of Michael Vick:
Almost plausible, right? But as Digby sez, Al Sharpton is "colorful, but he isn't retarded." Sharpton's "dolphin-fighting" blog post is part of a parody site called newsgroper.com.
You'd think the giveaway would have been a "Featured Blogger" list that includes George W. Bush, Kim Jong-Il, Mr. T, Pope Benedict, Keith Richards and the Dalai Lama, among many others. None of that stopped MSNBC from reporting on the Sharpton quote as news, prompting certain grave-spinning by one Edward R. Murrow (who happens to blog at his own MySpace page, here).
And people wonder why the American public is uninformed.
But just check out this intrepid reporting by MSNBC, which purports to quote Al Sharpton in a dubious defense of Michael Vick:
Most recently, the Rev. Al Sharpton, a two-time Democratic presidential candidate, charged that a star white athlete never would have been prosecuted for the same crime.
Like Hayes, Sharpton has denounced images of dogfighting in popular black culture, and he signed a letter with Russell Simmons condemning the activity as ignorant and cruel.
But at the same time, Sharpton argued that the prosecution of Vick was overkill.
"If the police caught Brett Favre (a white quarterback for the Green Bay Packers) running a dolphin-fighting unit out of his pool, where dolphins with spears attached to their foreheads fought each other, would they bust him? Of course not," Sharpton wrote Tuesday on his personal blog.
They would get his autograph, commend him on his tightly spiraled forward passes, then bet on one of his dolphins.
Almost plausible, right? But as Digby sez, Al Sharpton is "colorful, but he isn't retarded." Sharpton's "dolphin-fighting" blog post is part of a parody site called newsgroper.com.
You'd think the giveaway would have been a "Featured Blogger" list that includes George W. Bush, Kim Jong-Il, Mr. T, Pope Benedict, Keith Richards and the Dalai Lama, among many others. None of that stopped MSNBC from reporting on the Sharpton quote as news, prompting certain grave-spinning by one Edward R. Murrow (who happens to blog at his own MySpace page, here).
And people wonder why the American public is uninformed.
I Hate FISA
When you've been posting the kind of diatribes I've been posting, the last thing you want to see on your sitemeter is this:
Come On, You Gotta Rob That!
Dmitri Young is still in the hunt for the batting title. He went 2-for-4 with a home run and a single last night to bring his season average up to .335.
Here's a funny clip from a commercial he made a couple years back:
Here's a funny clip from a commercial he made a couple years back:
8.27.2007
Unity08 Is a Pipe Dream
Given everything that's happened over the past 6-plus years (since the theft of the 2000 election), I'm not sure what makes people think anyone's going to get behind this silly "Unity08" idea. What I want in '08 is "anybody but a Republican." They've had their chance and screwed up pretty much everything. David Broder, among many others, sees things differently, but I'm here to tell you right now, the GOP ticket, whomever they may be, will kick Bloomberg/Hagel ass.
Given the general apathy and lack of involvement of the average American voter, we can only hope the pendulum keeps swinging the way it's going, or we're looking at Giuliani or Romney as president. But Bloomberg/Hagel, or any other bizarre "Unity" ticket, dudn't stand a chance in hell. Bloomberg is basically anonymous outside NYC and Hagel is a hard-core social conservative who has talked tough on the war for years but has rarely voted against Dubya's wishes when it comes to Iraq. He's a classic enabler.
If Ralph Nader taught us anything, it's that we can't be fooling around this time. It's party-line all the way for me this time; all the way.
Given the general apathy and lack of involvement of the average American voter, we can only hope the pendulum keeps swinging the way it's going, or we're looking at Giuliani or Romney as president. But Bloomberg/Hagel, or any other bizarre "Unity" ticket, dudn't stand a chance in hell. Bloomberg is basically anonymous outside NYC and Hagel is a hard-core social conservative who has talked tough on the war for years but has rarely voted against Dubya's wishes when it comes to Iraq. He's a classic enabler.
If Ralph Nader taught us anything, it's that we can't be fooling around this time. It's party-line all the way for me this time; all the way.
Yet Another GOP Hypocrite Nailed
Why is it 99 times out of 100 these guys are Republicans?
You know, the "don't you know who I am?" defense just ain't what it used to be. What I find interesting about this case is that the whole thing -- arrest, trial and sentencing -- was adjudicated before it ever became public. That Larry Craig must have some juice! Sorry, HAD some juice.
UPDATE: Request from the comments....
Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested in June at a Minnesota airport by a plainclothes police officer investigating lewd conduct complaints in a men’s public restroom, according to an arrest report obtained by Roll Call Monday afternoon.
Craig’s arrest occurred just after noon on June 11 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. On Aug. 8, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct in the Hennepin County District Court. He paid more than $500 in fines and fees, and a 10-day jail sentence was stayed. He also was given one year of probation with the court that began on Aug. 8.
A spokesman for Craig described the incident as a “he said/he said misunderstanding,” and said the office would release a fuller statement later Monday afternoon.
After he was arrested, Craig, who is married, was taken to the Airport Police Operations Center to be interviewed about the lewd conduct incident, according to the police report. At one point during the interview, Craig handed the plainclothes sergeant who arrested him a business card that identified him as a U.S. Senator and said, “What do you think about that?” the report states.
You know, the "don't you know who I am?" defense just ain't what it used to be. What I find interesting about this case is that the whole thing -- arrest, trial and sentencing -- was adjudicated before it ever became public. That Larry Craig must have some juice! Sorry, HAD some juice.
UPDATE: Request from the comments....
One-sided War Coverage Continues
Let's play Compare and Contrast.
Two members of Congress embark on a trip together to Iraq, ostensibly to visit with military commanders and find out what's "really going on" over there. Interestingly, both are Democrats, but they come back with sharply different impressions of the situation.
Democrat #1:
Democrat #2:
Guess which of the two was invited to make the rounds on the media?
And guess how many times Baird had appeared on CNN to discuss the Iraq War before coming to the conculsion the surge is working. How about zero?
Two members of Congress embark on a trip together to Iraq, ostensibly to visit with military commanders and find out what's "really going on" over there. Interestingly, both are Democrats, but they come back with sharply different impressions of the situation.
Democrat #1:
When Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) made her first trip to Iraq this month, the outspoken antiwar liberal resolved to keep her opinions to herself. “I would listen and learn,” she decided.
[...]
The real test came over a lunch with Gen. David H. Petraeus, who used charts and a laser pointer to show how security conditions were gradually improving — evidence, he argued, that the troop increase is doing some good.
Still, the U.S. commander cautioned, it could take another decade before real stability is at hand. Schakowsky gasped. “I come from an environment where people talk nine to 10 months,” she said, referring to the time frame for withdrawal that many Democrats are advocating. “And there he was, talking nine to 10 years.”
The lack of political progress among Iraq’s rival factions and Petraeus’s estimate of the time needed to stabilize the nation left Schakowsky all the more convinced that Democrats must force Bush to begin bringing troops home.
“This is not the structure that’s going to say, ‘Why? Why are we here? What are we really accomplishing here?’ The mission is to take down the bad guys, to establish order,” she said of her sessions with Petraeus and other military leaders. The meetings “made me feel more determined that the policy is going to have to be set in Washington, that the Congress is going to have to exert its will here to end this war.”
Democrat #2:
Nearly two weeks ago, Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA), who voted against the initial invasion of Iraq, returned from a two-day trip to the war-torn country, proclaiming that “we’re making real progress” in Iraq and that the escalation should be extended “at least into early next year.” Baird expanded upon his new position in an op-ed for the Seattle Times.
"As a Democrat who voted against the war from the outset and who has been frankly critical of the administration and the post-invasion strategy, I am convinced by the evidence that the situation has at long last begun to change substantially for the better. I believe Iraq could have a positive future. Our diplomatic and military leaders in Iraq, their current strategy, and most importantly, our troops and the Iraqi people themselves, deserve our continued support and more time to succeed."
Guess which of the two was invited to make the rounds on the media?
And guess how many times Baird had appeared on CNN to discuss the Iraq War before coming to the conculsion the surge is working. How about zero?
Trickle Down Fallacies Exposed
Supply-siders and Milton Friedman freaks everywhere are always prattling on about the "market" this and "invisible hand" that, but when it's workers who are in short supply and the demand is for higher wages, just watch them head screaming into the hills. These are the same people who believe "full employment" is bad for the economy and argue that a steady unemployment rate of 4%-to-6% should be maintained through fiscal policy at the Fed. Nice deal for the 4-to-6-percenters, no?
Get a load of this story:
The answer is to pay people what the free market demands. Isn't that what Uncle Miltie would do? This kind of story just boggles the mind. We're expected to pay 3-bucks a gallon for gas, 4-bucks a gallon for milk, 8-bucks for a movie, but when it comes to people
Atrios adds: "People are working, apparently for 'other business owners.' They'd happily work for you if you offered them enough money.
"When I was in high school fast food jobs that paid $6.75/hr could be obtained. That's $11.50 in today's money."
Get a load of this story:
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - The owner of a fast food joint in Montana's booming oil patch found himself outsourcing the drive-thru window to a Texas telemarketing firm, not because it's cheaper but because he can't find workers.
Record low unemployment across parts of the West has created tough working conditions for business owners, who in places are being forced to boost wages or be creative to fill their jobs.
John Francis, who owns the McDonald's in Sidney, Mont., said he tried advertising in the local newspaper and even offered up to $10 an hour to compete with higher-paying oil field jobs. Yet the only calls were from other business owners upset they would have to raise wages, too. Of course, Francis' current employees also wanted a pay hike.
"I don't know what the answer is," Francis said. "There's just nobody around that wants to work." [For $10-an-hour you fool!] (comment mine)
The answer is to pay people what the free market demands. Isn't that what Uncle Miltie would do? This kind of story just boggles the mind. We're expected to pay 3-bucks a gallon for gas, 4-bucks a gallon for milk, 8-bucks for a movie, but when it comes to people
Atrios adds: "People are working, apparently for 'other business owners.' They'd happily work for you if you offered them enough money.
"When I was in high school fast food jobs that paid $6.75/hr could be obtained. That's $11.50 in today's money."
Jesus Must Be Getting Tired of This. Yawn.
I'm calling bullshit on this right here.
Oh pleaze, maybe if he'd "found" St. Francis of Assisi a couple of years back he wouldn't be out $100-million.
Michael Vick apologized today for his involvement in dogfighting and vowed to redeem himself.
Shortly after entering a guilty plea on a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge -- one that leads to a Dec. 10 sentencing date and probable prison term -- the suspended Atlanta Falcons star made his first public comments on the situation.
He said, "Through this situation I've found Jesus," and later added, "I will redeem myself.
Oh pleaze, maybe if he'd "found" St. Francis of Assisi a couple of years back he wouldn't be out $100-million.
How Hot Do YOU Like It?
Hot sauce and chili pepper aficianados, we've found your site.
Here's the complete list of the hottest chili peppers on Earth. I'm guessing they've got some hotter ones down south....
Michael Vick Could Have Killed Your Dog
Apparently there are some folks out there who can't understand why Michael Vick has come under such intense criticism (legal and public relations-wise) for his misdeeds. The whole sordid affair could end up costing him more than $100-million. Stroszek at Daily Kos has a few words on the matter, but let me put it this way:
People love their dogs, oftentimes more than their spouses, their friends or their children. So when Michael Vick electrocutes, hangs, drowns, starves, and tortures dogs, people get it. And they are pissed.
People love their dogs, oftentimes more than their spouses, their friends or their children. So when Michael Vick electrocutes, hangs, drowns, starves, and tortures dogs, people get it. And they are pissed.
More Good News from Iraq
This must mean the surge is working!
BAGHDAD, IRAQ - One week after a series of truck bombs hit a poor rural area near the Syrian border, the known casualty toll has soared to more than 500 dead and 1,500 wounded, according to the Iraqi Red Crescent Society, making it by far the bloodiest coordinated attack since the American-led invasion in 2003.
Let's give it six more months.
BAGHDAD, IRAQ - One week after a series of truck bombs hit a poor rural area near the Syrian border, the known casualty toll has soared to more than 500 dead and 1,500 wounded, according to the Iraqi Red Crescent Society, making it by far the bloodiest coordinated attack since the American-led invasion in 2003.
Let's give it six more months.
What AG Qualifications Used to Mean
Atrios reminds us what being a Attorney General used to mean:
I'm so old I remember when the wise old men of Washington spent their days fulminating about Janet Reno's constant need to "prove her independence," which generally required her to appoint an independent counsel or special prosecutor on days ending in 'y.'
Whatever the merits of all of those investigations, the principle was correct. The top dog at the DOJ needs to not think of him/herself as the president's personal lawyer, and Democrats should make independence a necessary condition for confirmation.
Sadly, I expect "a good man who Joe Lieberman has a great deal of respect for" will probably be the sole qualification.
Abu Gonzo is Out.
Attorney General and Bush lackey extraordinaire Alberto Gonzales has tendered his resignation.
He'd been a dead man walking for at least the last 8 months.
Talking Points Memo has been chroncling Gonzo's misdeeds from the get go. He's their full compilation of Alberto's "greatest hits."
5:40 AM PDT, August 27, 2007
CRAWFORD, Texas — Atty. Gen. Alberto R. Gonzales has resigned, ending a months-long standoff with Republican and Democratic critics who called for his ouster over the Justice Department's botched handling of FBI terror investigations and the firing of U.S. attorneys, officials said Monday.
A frequent Democratic target, Gonzales could not satisfy critics who said he had lost credibility over the Justice Department's botched handling of warrantless wiretaps related to the threat of terrorism and the firings of several U.S. attorneys.
As attorney general and earlier as White House counsel, Gonzales pushed for expanded presidential powers, including the eavesdropping authority. He drafted controversial rules for military war tribunals and sought to limit the legal rights of detainees at Guantanamo Bay -- prompting lawsuits by civil libertarians who said the government was violating the Constitution in its pursuit of terrorists.
Gonzales was among about a dozen senior administration officials to resign amid a protracted congressional investigation into whatever role politics played in the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys.
"It has been a long and difficult struggle but at last, the attorney general has done the right thing and stepped down," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and one of the department's most vocal critics.
The flap over the fired prosecutors proved to be the final straw for Gonzales, whose truthfulness in testimony to Congress was drawn into question.
He'd been a dead man walking for at least the last 8 months.
Talking Points Memo has been chroncling Gonzo's misdeeds from the get go. He's their full compilation of Alberto's "greatest hits."
8.26.2007
Silver Spring, MD
I spent my formative years growing up in Silver Spring, MD. I've always had a Wonder Years kind of mindset about the place, walking to school through the woods, picking up pollywogs and butterflies along the way, going to Shakey's Pizza or KFC on special occasions.
I guess things have changed a bit since then.
I guess things have changed a bit since then.
He's Still Out There
Have you ever wondered just why it is exactly that we still haven't caught Osama bin Laden? Newsweek helps shed some light on the Bush administration's misplaced priorities, and its penchant for wanting to see things go boom.
The American effort to chase bin Laden into this forbidding realm [the mountains of Tora Bora] was hobbled and clumsy from the start. While the terrain required deep local knowledge and small units, career officers in the U.S. military have long been wary of the Special Operations Forces best suited to the task. In the view of the regular military, such "snake eaters" have tended to be troublesome, resistant to spit-and-polish discipline and rulebooks. Rather than send the snake eaters to poke around mountain caves and mud-walled compounds, the U.S. military wanted to fight on a grander stage, where it could show off its mobility and firepower. To the civilian bosses at the Pentagon and the eager-to-please top brass, Iraq was a much better target. By invading Iraq, the United States would give the Islamists—and the wider world—an unforgettable lesson in American power. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was on Rumsfeld's Defense Policy Board and, at the time, a close confidant of the SecDef. In November 2001, Gingrich told a NEWSWEEK reporter, "There's a feeling we've got to do something that counts—and bombing caves is not something that counts."
[...]
The Iraq War, meanwhile, has proved to be a black hole for the Americans, devouring men and matériel and absorbing the attention of the brass in Washington. In 2005, the CIA gave President Bush a secret slide show on the hunt for bin Laden. The president was taken aback by the small number of CIA case officers posted to Afghanistan and Pakistan. "Is that all there are?" the president asked, according to a former intelligence official, who declined to be identified discussing White House meetings. The CIA had already embarked on a "surge" of sorts, and doubled the number of officers in the field. But many were inexperienced and raw recruits, and they produced little improvement in "actionable" intelligence.
[...]
CIA analysts began calling bin Laden "Elvis" because he was here, there, but really nowhere. Some wonder if he's dead. He has not issued a video since the end of 2004, and he has not been heard on an audiotape for more than a year. It is possible he is incapacitated by disease—the rumors of kidney problems persist. There have been reports that bin Laden has sought medication to be used in the terminal stages of kidney disease. But "I don't have any reason to think he's dead," says Townsend, who sees all the intelligence coming to the office of the president. "It's inconceivable to me to think that he would expire and we wouldn't have some information, intelligence, that something had happened to him."
Mother Teresa Was a Poser
There's a controversial (to some) new piece in the latest issue of Time magazine that alleges the Saint of the Gutters continued her good works despite a loss of faith and belief in God. According to letters published only this month, Mother Teresa suffered from an "intense spiritual darkness" she compared to hell.
The artcle opens with the following:
Jesus has a very special love for you. As for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great that I look and do not see, listen and do not hear.
— Mother Teresa to the Rev. Michael Van Der Peet, September 1979
This may come as a shocking revelation to many who have long viewed Mother Teresa as the very emobdiement of a holy life imbued with the goodness of God. But I think what her struggle proves is that you can do good works without the assistance -- or the insistence -- of God. People can be charitable; people can be giving; people can be kind, of their own accord, for their own purposes, and often times such purposes are simply the goodness and peace of mind you get from giving someone else a helping hand. Charity and giving are their own reward.
Mother Teresa, who died in 1997, is currently being fast-tracked to sainthood. Wouldn't it be ironic is she were to become the Church's first atheist saint?
The artcle opens with the following:
Jesus has a very special love for you. As for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great that I look and do not see, listen and do not hear.
— Mother Teresa to the Rev. Michael Van Der Peet, September 1979
A new, innocuously titled book, Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light (Doubleday), consisting primarily of correspondence between Teresa and her confessors and superiors over a period of 66 years, provides the spiritual counterpoint to a life known mostly through its works. The letters, many of them preserved against her wishes (she had requested that they be destroyed but was overruled by her church), reveal that for the last nearly half-century of her life she felt no presence of God whatsoever — or, as the book's compiler and editor, the Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, writes, "neither in her heart or in the eucharist."
This may come as a shocking revelation to many who have long viewed Mother Teresa as the very emobdiement of a holy life imbued with the goodness of God. But I think what her struggle proves is that you can do good works without the assistance -- or the insistence -- of God. People can be charitable; people can be giving; people can be kind, of their own accord, for their own purposes, and often times such purposes are simply the goodness and peace of mind you get from giving someone else a helping hand. Charity and giving are their own reward.
Mother Teresa, who died in 1997, is currently being fast-tracked to sainthood. Wouldn't it be ironic is she were to become the Church's first atheist saint?
Thoughts on the Wingnuts
One of the interesting, though perhaps not surprising, aspects of George W. Bush's precipitous drop in support over the past couple of years can be found in the feelings self-described conservative Republicans hold towards this failed president.
Bush's support among Democrats and liberals has always been exceedingly low, falling somewhere in the teens or low 20s as a percentage of the overall group. [And who those 15-percenters could possibly be that support the boob-in-chief is beyond me.]
Among independents, while there were perhaps, maybe, 50% willing to take a flyer on Dubya after 9/11, most fell away long ago. This leftCrawford's Kennebunkport's finest son with only the Right for whom to turn for support, and as he has flubbed (to be kind) everything he's touched over the last six years, it had to have been a struggle to hold on to even those of the hard-core right.
What I find fascinating (and deplorable) is that even as Bush has watched his support evaporate among reality-based Americans, the reasons those on the right have abandoned him are not the same reasons most thinking Americans rejected this president long ago.
If you're to ask a one-time hard-core Bush supporter from the right why they've turned against the Decider, it's not the War; it's not Katrina; it's not the civil liberties abuses; it's not the attorney general/US attorney scandal; it's not the rank hypocrisy of Clear Skies or Healthy Forests or No Child Left Behind; it's not Abu Gahrib or Walter Reed or the lying or the manipulating or the 3728 dead troops.
No, the reason most conservatives have rejected Bush is because... [check yourself here, prepare for spit take] he's TOO LIBERAL.
These are people without a political soul. These are people for whom victory is the only reward. As a result, they can reject George Bush as too liberal, while at the same time supporting people like Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson, each of whom from a practical standpoint holds political positions that should be anathema to any self-respecting conservative (Christian or otherwise). For these people, victory is the only goal, principles be damned.
They should all go to hell in the same handbasket.
Bush's support among Democrats and liberals has always been exceedingly low, falling somewhere in the teens or low 20s as a percentage of the overall group. [And who those 15-percenters could possibly be that support the boob-in-chief is beyond me.]
Among independents, while there were perhaps, maybe, 50% willing to take a flyer on Dubya after 9/11, most fell away long ago. This left
What I find fascinating (and deplorable) is that even as Bush has watched his support evaporate among reality-based Americans, the reasons those on the right have abandoned him are not the same reasons most thinking Americans rejected this president long ago.
If you're to ask a one-time hard-core Bush supporter from the right why they've turned against the Decider, it's not the War; it's not Katrina; it's not the civil liberties abuses; it's not the attorney general/US attorney scandal; it's not the rank hypocrisy of Clear Skies or Healthy Forests or No Child Left Behind; it's not Abu Gahrib or Walter Reed or the lying or the manipulating or the 3728 dead troops.
No, the reason most conservatives have rejected Bush is because... [check yourself here, prepare for spit take] he's TOO LIBERAL.
These are people without a political soul. These are people for whom victory is the only reward. As a result, they can reject George Bush as too liberal, while at the same time supporting people like Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson, each of whom from a practical standpoint holds political positions that should be anathema to any self-respecting conservative (Christian or otherwise). For these people, victory is the only goal, principles be damned.
They should all go to hell in the same handbasket.
The George W. Bush Presidential Library
My Pet Goat is in there somewhere... Probably a couple sections before "The Quiet American."
Here the president can be seen displaying his inability to read.
Happy Anniversary Shooter!
Today is the fifth anniversary of Dick Cheney's 2002 speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars' national convention, which was the first instance of the White House making its case for a war with Iraq.
The rest, as they say, is history. We were greeted as liberators with flowers and candy after a cakewalk to Baghdad and democracy has flourished across the Middle East.
Meanwhile, back in the reality based community, we're at 3728 troops down, with an undetermined number to follow.
"The case of Saddam Hussein, a sworn enemy of our country, requires a candid appraisal of the facts.... [W]e now know that Saddam has resumed his efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.... Many of us are convinced that Saddam will acquire nuclear weapons fairly soon....
"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us....
"As President Bush has said, time is not on our side. Deliverable weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a terror network, or a murderous dictator, or the two working together, constitutes as grave a threat as can be imagined. The risks of inaction are far greater than the risk of action."
The rest, as they say, is history. We were greeted as liberators with flowers and candy after a cakewalk to Baghdad and democracy has flourished across the Middle East.
Meanwhile, back in the reality based community, we're at 3728 troops down, with an undetermined number to follow.
Spotlight on the War Profiteers
Firedoglake shines the spotlight this morning on the war profiteers. Watch the video, read the Rolling Stone article; you're gonna be pissed. As they say on ABC News, "It's your money."
From Rolling Stone:
"How is it done? How do you screw the taxpayer for millions, get away with it and then ride off into the sunset with one middle finger extended, the other wrapped around a chilled martini? Ask Earnest O. Robbins -- he knows all about being a successful contractor in Iraq.
...In March 2004, your company magically wins a contract from the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq to design and build the Baghdad Police College, a facility that's supposed to house and train at least 4,000 police recruits. But two years and $72 million later, you deliver not a functioning police academy but one of the great engineering clusterfucks of all time, a practically useless pile of rubble so badly constructed that its walls and ceilings are literally caked in shit and piss, a result of subpar plumbing in the upper floors.
You've done such a terrible job, in fact, that when auditors from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction visit the college in the summer of 2006, their report sounds like something out of one of the Saw movies: "We witnessed a light fixture so full of diluted urine and feces that it would not operate," they write, adding that "the urine was so pervasive that it had permanently stained the ceiling tiles" and that "during our visit, a substance dripped from the ceiling onto an assessment team member's shirt." The final report helpfully includes a photo of a sloppy brown splotch on the outstretched arm of the unlucky auditor.
When Congress gets wind of the fiasco, a few members on the House Oversight Committee demand a hearing... So you...sit down before the learned gentlemen of the committee and promptly get asked by an irritatingly eager Maryland congressman named Chris Van Hollen how you managed to spend $72 million on a pile of shit.
You blink. Fuck if you know. "I have some conjecture, but that's all it would be" is your deadpan answer.
The room twitters in amazement. It's hard not to applaud the balls of a man who walks into Congress short $72 million in taxpayer money and offers to guess where it all might have gone.
Next thing you know, the congressman is asking you about your company's compensation. Touchy subject -- you've got a "cost-plus" contract, which means you're guaranteed a base-line profit of three percent of your total costs on the deal. The more you spend, the more you make -- and you certainly spent a hell of a lot. But before this milk-faced congressman can even think about suggesting that you give these millions back, you've got to cut him off. "So you won't voluntarily look at this," Van Hollen is mumbling, "and say, given what has happened in this project . . . "
"No, sir, I will not," you snap.
". . . 'We will return the profits.' . . ."
"No, sir, I will not," you repeat.
[...]
This is the triumphant culmination of two centuries of flawed white-people thinking, a preposterous mix of authoritarian socialism and laissez-faire profiteering, with all the worst aspects of both ideologies rolled up into one pointless, supremely idiotic military adventure -- American men and women dying by the thousands, so that Karl Marx and Adam Smith can blow each other in a Middle Eastern glory hole.
It was an awful idea, perhaps the worst America has ever tried on foreign soil. But if you were in on it, it was great work while it lasted."
From Rolling Stone:
"How is it done? How do you screw the taxpayer for millions, get away with it and then ride off into the sunset with one middle finger extended, the other wrapped around a chilled martini? Ask Earnest O. Robbins -- he knows all about being a successful contractor in Iraq.
...In March 2004, your company magically wins a contract from the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq to design and build the Baghdad Police College, a facility that's supposed to house and train at least 4,000 police recruits. But two years and $72 million later, you deliver not a functioning police academy but one of the great engineering clusterfucks of all time, a practically useless pile of rubble so badly constructed that its walls and ceilings are literally caked in shit and piss, a result of subpar plumbing in the upper floors.
You've done such a terrible job, in fact, that when auditors from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction visit the college in the summer of 2006, their report sounds like something out of one of the Saw movies: "We witnessed a light fixture so full of diluted urine and feces that it would not operate," they write, adding that "the urine was so pervasive that it had permanently stained the ceiling tiles" and that "during our visit, a substance dripped from the ceiling onto an assessment team member's shirt." The final report helpfully includes a photo of a sloppy brown splotch on the outstretched arm of the unlucky auditor.
When Congress gets wind of the fiasco, a few members on the House Oversight Committee demand a hearing... So you...sit down before the learned gentlemen of the committee and promptly get asked by an irritatingly eager Maryland congressman named Chris Van Hollen how you managed to spend $72 million on a pile of shit.
You blink. Fuck if you know. "I have some conjecture, but that's all it would be" is your deadpan answer.
The room twitters in amazement. It's hard not to applaud the balls of a man who walks into Congress short $72 million in taxpayer money and offers to guess where it all might have gone.
Next thing you know, the congressman is asking you about your company's compensation. Touchy subject -- you've got a "cost-plus" contract, which means you're guaranteed a base-line profit of three percent of your total costs on the deal. The more you spend, the more you make -- and you certainly spent a hell of a lot. But before this milk-faced congressman can even think about suggesting that you give these millions back, you've got to cut him off. "So you won't voluntarily look at this," Van Hollen is mumbling, "and say, given what has happened in this project . . . "
"No, sir, I will not," you snap.
". . . 'We will return the profits.' . . ."
"No, sir, I will not," you repeat.
[...]
This is the triumphant culmination of two centuries of flawed white-people thinking, a preposterous mix of authoritarian socialism and laissez-faire profiteering, with all the worst aspects of both ideologies rolled up into one pointless, supremely idiotic military adventure -- American men and women dying by the thousands, so that Karl Marx and Adam Smith can blow each other in a Middle Eastern glory hole.
It was an awful idea, perhaps the worst America has ever tried on foreign soil. But if you were in on it, it was great work while it lasted."
MashupTime!!
Beastie Boys vs. AC/DC...
"Got arrested at Mardi Gras for jumpin' on a float,
My man MCA's got a beard like a billy-goat."
"Got arrested at Mardi Gras for jumpin' on a float,
My man MCA's got a beard like a billy-goat."
8.25.2007
Atrios Sez
Atrios:
The only thing missing from the point Atrios makes here is that these kids have never been told this war was anything but a distant distraction. They have no care, nor any investment in it. There ain't no G.I. Joe gonna come out of this conflict. Kids today don't give a second thought to some dumb ol' war in Iraq. 7th grade, 9th grade, 12th grade, it don't matter. Unless they've enlisted they're too busy playing Warcraft and GTA and skateboarding in places they ain't supposed to. Just like every other sector of American society, Dubya has given these kids no reason to care one whit or two shits about Iraq. It Just. Doesn't. Matter.
It's an all volunteer Army, stupid.
SNAFU
As we round the corner (towards the light!), and head towards the beginning of the 6th year of the great and glorious war in Iraq, it's probably a good idea to remind ourselves that for students entering college this Fall, the war begin in Spring of their 8th grade year. For those entering their freshmen year next year, the war will have been going on since they were in 7th grade.
For a growing chunk of the population, war has been a normal state of affairs during their formative years.
The only thing missing from the point Atrios makes here is that these kids have never been told this war was anything but a distant distraction. They have no care, nor any investment in it. There ain't no G.I. Joe gonna come out of this conflict. Kids today don't give a second thought to some dumb ol' war in Iraq. 7th grade, 9th grade, 12th grade, it don't matter. Unless they've enlisted they're too busy playing Warcraft and GTA and skateboarding in places they ain't supposed to. Just like every other sector of American society, Dubya has given these kids no reason to care one whit or two shits about Iraq. It Just. Doesn't. Matter.
It's an all volunteer Army, stupid.
Tim Robbins Calls It
It's simple, really:
Watch Tim Robbins and Bill Maher take apart Dick Cheney's fucking cabin boy biographer:
Shouldn't there be a rule that says, "If you fuck things up so badly, you can no longer be considered an expert?"
Watch Tim Robbins and Bill Maher take apart Dick Cheney's fucking cabin boy biographer:
"You can lie a thousand times, it doesn't make it true."
8.24.2007
More Bad News for "TQA"
"I don't see any progress. Just us getting killed," said Spc. Yvenson Tertulien [...] during Bush's speech in July. "I don't want to be here anymore."
The troops ain't down with the program.
"...signs of frustration and flagging morale are unmistakable, from the blunt comments of troops, to soldiers' online rants, to the grim findings of surveys on military morale and suicides.
Sometimes the signs are found in latrines.
In the stalls at Baghdad's Camp Liberty, someone had posted Army-issued help cards listing "nine signs of suicide." On one card posted above a toilet, seven of the boxes had been checked.
"This occupation, this money pit, this smorgasbord of superfluous aggression is getting more hopeless and dismal by the second," wrote a soldier in Diyala province north of Baghdad in an Aug. 7 posting on his blog, www.armyofdude.blogspot.com.
"The only person I know who believed Iraq was improving was killed by a sniper in May," said the blogger, identified as Alex from Frisco, Texas, in a separate e-mail.
The Army's suicide rate is at its highest in 23 years: 17.3 deaths per 100,000 soldiers compared with 12.4 per 100,000 in 2003, the first year of the war. Of the 99 soldier suicides last year, 27 were in Iraq.
The latest in a series of mental-health surveys among troops in Iraq, released in May, said 45 percent of 1,320 soldiers queried ranked morale in their unit as low or very low. Seven percent ranked it high or very high."
Meanwhile, we're at 3724.
Sorry for what must seem like relentless negativity. We live in awful times.
Surge Hits a SNAFU
What will "The Quiet American" make of this?
WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is expected to advise President Bush to reduce the U.S. force in Iraq next year by almost half, potentially creating a rift with top White House officials and other military commanders over the course of the war.
Administration and military officials say Marine Gen. Peter Pace is likely to convey concerns by the Joint Chiefs that keeping well in excess of 100,000 troops in Iraq through 2008 will severely strain the military. This assessment could collide with one being prepared by the U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, calling for the U.S. to maintain higher troop levels for 2008 and beyond.
Thoughts on the "Quiet American" Speech
With George Bush's politically disingenuous and historically inaccurate speech Wednesday, in which he boldly brazenly ignorantly claimed that the big mistake in Vietnam was that we cut and ran got out too early, we were again slapped in the face with the realization that we have a total idiot running the country. The big problem for me in all this is that the media continues to give comfort to Bush and kiss the asses of his enablers. The very idea that the speech could be treated as anything other than seriously misguided balderdash should be viewed as an affront to the sensibilities of thinking men and women everywhere.
In fact, Bush's speech toed a careful line between being stupid and mendacious, but let's just call it what it was: an insult to your intelligence. The notion that the Very Serious People in Washington and New York would continue to countenance Bush's baldly false rhetoric, even after they've been bitch-slapped by Dubya and the Turdblossom Gang repeatedly over the years, should discredit them from offering their opinions ever again -- or at least forestall our listening to them.
One writer on the Web was so shocked by the content of the speech, how the words so twisted the historical lessons of the Vietnam War and misconstrued the message of "The Quiet American," that he theorized perhaps a prankster within the administration punked Bush in a "let's see if we can get him to read this bullshit" kinda way. Mission Accomplished.
Does anyone out there believe the president has actually read "The Quiet American?" Look, I've read a lot of books, and I'll admit to you right here that "The Quiet American" isn't one of them. I suppose I'll have to put it one my list now. I did see the recent movie, however, and I can tell you the character Bush cites does not come out the hero. He's an initially idealistic yet ultimately cynical political operative who at one point helps orchestrate a deadly terrorist bombing he hopes will be blamed on the other side. When confronted with the horror of the civilian deaths his action caused, he coolly notes that the victims can rest in peace knowing they "died for democracy." Sound familiar?
In fact, Bush's speech toed a careful line between being stupid and mendacious, but let's just call it what it was: an insult to your intelligence. The notion that the Very Serious People in Washington and New York would continue to countenance Bush's baldly false rhetoric, even after they've been bitch-slapped by Dubya and the Turdblossom Gang repeatedly over the years, should discredit them from offering their opinions ever again -- or at least forestall our listening to them.
One writer on the Web was so shocked by the content of the speech, how the words so twisted the historical lessons of the Vietnam War and misconstrued the message of "The Quiet American," that he theorized perhaps a prankster within the administration punked Bush in a "let's see if we can get him to read this bullshit" kinda way. Mission Accomplished.
Does anyone out there believe the president has actually read "The Quiet American?" Look, I've read a lot of books, and I'll admit to you right here that "The Quiet American" isn't one of them. I suppose I'll have to put it one my list now. I did see the recent movie, however, and I can tell you the character Bush cites does not come out the hero. He's an initially idealistic yet ultimately cynical political operative who at one point helps orchestrate a deadly terrorist bombing he hopes will be blamed on the other side. When confronted with the horror of the civilian deaths his action caused, he coolly notes that the victims can rest in peace knowing they "died for democracy." Sound familiar?
Elvis!
As I walk through
This wicked world
Searchin' for light in the darkness of insanity.
I ask myself
Is all hope lost?
Is there only pain and hatred, and misery?
And each time I feel like this inside,
There's one thing I wanna know:
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? Ohhhh
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?
And as I walked on
Through troubled times
My spirit gets so downhearted sometimes
So where are the strong
And who are the trusted?
And where is the harmony?
Sweet harmony.
'Cause each time I feel it slippin' away, just makes me wanna cry.
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding? Ohhhh
What's so funny 'bout peace love & understanding?
8.23.2007
Bush Needs a History Lesson
Perhaps you've heard already this morning about President Bush's absurd speech yesterday in which he suggested that the lesson learned in Vietnam was than we got out too soon; that if we had stayed we could somehow have "won" that war; that by leaving "early" we had precipitated the genocide of 3 million Cambodians; that in Vietnam we lost our will.
Well, I've got news for Dubya. Like everything else in his miserable life, he's got it completely wrong. And if he'd only look out his window up the street sometime, he might find a more apt historical lesson right there on the DC Mall next to the Lincoln Memorial. It looks a bit like this:
And if you get up real close it looks like this. And this. And this. And this.
And This. Dammit.
Meanwhile, we're at 3722, and counting.
Peace out.
Well, I've got news for Dubya. Like everything else in his miserable life, he's got it completely wrong. And if he'd only look out his window up the street sometime, he might find a more apt historical lesson right there on the DC Mall next to the Lincoln Memorial. It looks a bit like this:
And if you get up real close it looks like this. And this. And this. And this.
And This. Dammit.
Meanwhile, we're at 3722, and counting.
Peace out.
8.22.2007
What Part of "Diplomat" Don't You Understand?
Do you suppose this is one guy who just didn't like his job all that much?
And we wonder why they hate us.
WASHINGTON: A career US diplomat indicted this week for sending threatening messages to an Arab political organisation has retired from the foreign service.
Patrick Syring retired last month, about a year after he allegedly left racist and intimidating phone and e-mail messages with the Arab American Institute, but before his Wednesday indictment on federal charges of threatening and violating civil rights laws, State Department spokesman said yesterday.
[...]
Federal prosecutors charged in an indictment that Syring had left multiple expletive-laced messages with the Arab American Institute whose founder, James Zogby, had criticised the government for not doing enough to protect US citizens visiting family members in Lebanon.
"The only good Lebanese is a dead Lebanese. The only good Arab is a dead Arab," Syring is alleged to have said, accusing Zogby of being anti-Semitic, prosecutors said.
"You wicked evil Hizbollah-supporting Arabs should burn in the fires of hell for eternity and beyond," Syring wrote in one e-mail, according to the prosecutors.
"The US would be safer without you."
And we wonder why they hate us.
Candidates Say the Darndest Things
In these days of Youtube, "trackers," blogs and the 24-hour news cycle, it seems like you can't get away with saying just any old thing anymore if you're running for office.
Did you hear about the time Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee referred to his home state of Arkansas as a "banana republic?" On another occasion, he jokingly attributed his 110-pound weight loss to spending time in a concentration camp.
Elsewhere:
Did you hear about the time Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee referred to his home state of Arkansas as a "banana republic?" On another occasion, he jokingly attributed his 110-pound weight loss to spending time in a concentration camp.
Elsewhere:
Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, defended his five sons' decisions not to enlist in the military and said "one of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected." Later, the Republican said he misspoke, explaining: "I didn't mean in any way to compare service in the country with my boys in any way."
Bill Richardson, New Mexico's governor, said "It's a choice" and then "you know, I'm not a scientist" when gay-rights activists asked during a forum whether people are born gay or whether they choose homosexuality. He quickly clarified. The Democrat also has said, "I screwed up" when citing conservative Byron White as a model Supreme Court justice.
Exposing the Lie of the Reagan Revolution
Joan Walsh of Salon exposes the big lie about Ronald Reagan: He was as mean as the rest of those "revolting" Republicans, he just seemed nicer:
... for all its love of big bold ideas, "The Argument" is premised on a big, bold idea that's simply wrong: that Republicans seized and held power in the Nixon-Reagan-Bush I generation by selling Americans on a positive platform of new programs for national renewal, while Democrats, by contrast, are now winning merely by not losing, bashing Bush for wrecking the country while never explaining to voters what they'd do instead.
Bai's book is flawed by his failure to grapple with the negativity, lo, the hatred behind the Republican revolution of the '70s and '80s, some of which is still politically operative today. Does he really think Reagan rode to power on the Laffer curve, not by bashing Cadillac-driving welfare queens, scruffy war protesters and big bad government? Both Nixon and Reagan (George Bush I was merely Reagan's long tail) were the political beneficiaries of a resentful, sometimes racist reaction to the perceived excesses of the 1960s and '70s, associated with the Democrats, far more than they were the avatars of a wildly popular new way of running the country.
Bolton Proves He's Just Flat Batshit Crazy
At what point do we just lock John Bolton up and throw away the key? Because the results of the Iraq War have clearly registered nothing with him.
Holy smokes! January 21, 2009 simply cannot arrive soon enough. I just hope we make there in one piece.
HEMMER: Bob Baer says within six months his sources inform him that there will be a strike on Iran. Do you agree with that?
BOLTON: Well, I don’t think one can tell one way or the other. I don’t think there’s any doubt, based on the information we have, that Iran is interfering in Iraq and is posing a direct threat to our troops.
So I think if President Bush as commander in chief believes that information is accurate, he is fully entitled to take defensive measures, which could include going after the Revolutionary Guards inside Iran. […]
Holy smokes! January 21, 2009 simply cannot arrive soon enough. I just hope we make there in one piece.
Good Lord, It's a Holy Eggplant
The story of the Divine Eggplant got big play in the Philadelphia area while I was traveling back there earlier this month.
Here you go:
I hate to be mean, Mrs. Teske, so I'll let those crazies over at Daily Kos handle the snark for me:
Boothwyn, Delaware resident Felicia Teske was preparing fried eggplant for dinner on August 12, 2007. Upon slicing the eggplant she noticed that the seeds contained within one slice appeared to spell out the word “GOD”. Her husband Paul looked at the sliced eggplant and couldn’t believe it either. Felicia told a reporter she recently had family members pass away and it is comforting that “GOD” appeared.
Here you go:
I hate to be mean, Mrs. Teske, so I'll let those crazies over at Daily Kos handle the snark for me:
JEERS to vegetables of mass distraction. A Pennsylvania woman slicing an eggplant noticed that the seeds in the middle formed the word "GOD". (Naturally, she followed the Biblical procedure for these things and gave it up as an offering to The Holy Cathedral of eBay.) Not mentioned in the media coverage is that the seeds in subsequent slices formed the words "ARE" "YOU" "PEOPLE" "GULLIBLE." Which leads me to my point: atheists are very silly.
Foreclosure Loophole
Anybody out there facing foreclosure as the real estate market sliders into the dumper, The Big Picture exposes a nifty loophole the could help you keep your house.
Given the number of sub-prime borrowers who claim they were never told the full potentially negative ramifications of the garbage loans they signed on for, this tactic could pay off for some consumers, and prove quite troublesome for mortgage lenders looking to recoup their losses.
"Some consumers burdened by escalating sub prime mortgage payments are finding a way out. A growing number are suing lenders over inaccurate disclosure papers, and if they win they get to rescind the loans."
What happens if a lender fails to comply with the TILA [Truth-in-Lending Act] rules? The borrowers are allowed to RESCIND THE LOANS AND VOID THE MORTGAGES ON THEIR HOMES. The mortgage lender is then just another unsecured creditor, who must get in line behind everyone else who may have filed a lien on the property. Who ever files first (Credit card, auto finance, doctors, etc.) has first priority.
Given the number of sub-prime borrowers who claim they were never told the full potentially negative ramifications of the garbage loans they signed on for, this tactic could pay off for some consumers, and prove quite troublesome for mortgage lenders looking to recoup their losses.
Shout Out
I know it's probably a violation of the standard blogger practice that sez one should toil away in detached and solitary perseverance, but I'd like to give a shout out to what appear to be regular visitors to this little site: Santa Barbara, Arroyo Grande, Denver, Minneapolis, NYC, London, Thailand and the Netherlands. Thanks for the traffic! And don't forget to tell a friend.
Black Hawk Down
Given the constraints of life in general (and work in particular), I can't really use this blog as an instant information site, but this news just sickens me:
Could someone please remind me again? What the hell are we doing in Iraq?!?
BAGHDAD (AP) -- A Black Hawk helicopter went down Wednesday in northern Iraq, killing all 14 U.S. soldiers aboard, the military said, the deadliest crash since January 2005.
Could someone please remind me again? What the hell are we doing in Iraq?!?
8.21.2007
Housing Armageddeon
You thought maybe there were tough times ahead for the housing market? Well, you don't know the half of it, but Jim Cramer can explain it all, if his head doesn't explode first.
Catastrophe, armaggedeon, disaster... call it what you will, I think Cramer's right, for the most part. But I don't see a lot of victims around. Anybody who clawed their way into the real estate market by buying a home with 1) no money down, 2) a sub-prime 1st trust deed and/or 3) a hard money/seller-carry 2nd that put them upsidedown the day after closing was living in a hopeful fantasyland. They might as well have gone to Vegas and put it all on Red.
Catastrophe, armaggedeon, disaster... call it what you will, I think Cramer's right, for the most part. But I don't see a lot of victims around. Anybody who clawed their way into the real estate market by buying a home with 1) no money down, 2) a sub-prime 1st trust deed and/or 3) a hard money/seller-carry 2nd that put them upsidedown the day after closing was living in a hopeful fantasyland. They might as well have gone to Vegas and put it all on Red.
San Luis Obispo, CA
Fairly awesome view of San Luis Obispo, CA. That would be San Luis Mountain on the left. Bishop's Peak on the right.
Dick Cheney, 1994
"Once you got to Iraq and took it over, took down Saddam Hussein's government, then what are you going to put in its place? ....If you take down the central government in Iraq you could easily start seeing pieces of Iraq fly off..."
Meanwhile... we're at 3707 and counting
Free Speech is but a Memory....
What was that somebody said about a Constitution?
These people, however, proved you really can fight "city hall" (or the Bush gestapo at least), depending on how you look at it:
Gives me the warm fuzzies for one of my favorite T-shirts, which got me tossed one time from a Newt Gingrich/Dick Cheney whistlestop:
Kent, Ohio- The city moved Thursday to dismiss its criminal case against a resident who posted an "Impeach Bush" sign in a public garden, but it was only a momentary retreat.
City Law Director James Silver said he intends to file a littering charge against Kevin Egler, which is a more serious offense and carries a fine of up to $500 - five times that of the $100 fine Egler could have received under the original charge of advertising in a public place.
These people, however, proved you really can fight "city hall" (or the Bush gestapo at least), depending on how you look at it:
Last year, I wrote on HuffingtonPost about a young Texas couple who had been arrested for wearing anti-Bush T-shirts at a Fourth of July event in Charleston, West Virginia, where the President was scheduled to give a speech.
Jeff and Nicole Rank, of Corpus Christi, Texas had stood quietly in the crowd, wearing hand-drawn T-Shirts with Bush's name on the front and the international "No" symbol. They didn't yell, they didn't cause a fuss. Yet they were forcibly removed from the event by a phalanx of law enforcement officials at the behest of Bush operatives.
It was another egregious example of how little the Bush White House genuinely respects freedom of speech.
Can't spoil a Bush photo op, can we? Nonetheless, the Ranks' wrongful arrest made national news, and the ACLU decided to handle the couple's case against the U.S. government for a violation of their civil rights.
Well, justice prevailed (sort of) on Thursday, when the government settled the lawsuit for $80,000.
Gives me the warm fuzzies for one of my favorite T-shirts, which got me tossed one time from a Newt Gingrich/Dick Cheney whistlestop:
How Much More Proof Do You Need?
Buried in this long piece about Karl Rove's puppetmaster-like influence over the Decider, we learn that even king hell redneck asshole Dick Armey always thought Dubya was an asshole; and what does that tell you?
George W. Bush, screwing people over, one lay at a time.
Dick Armey, the House Republican majority leader when Bush took office (and no more a shrinking violet than DeLay), told me a story that captures the exquisite pettiness of most members of Congress and the arrogance that made Bush and Rove so inept at handling them.
“For all the years he was president,” Armey told me, “Bill Clinton and I had a little thing we’d do where every time I went to the White House, I would take the little name tag they give you and pass it to the president, who, without saying a word, would sign and date it. Bill Clinton and I didn’t like each other. He said I was his least-favorite member of Congress. But he knew that when I left his office, the first schoolkid I came across would be given that card, and some kid who had come to Washington with his mama would go home with the president’s autograph. I think Clinton thought it was a nice thing to do for some kid, and he was happy to do it.”
Armey said that when he went to his first meeting in the White House with President Bush, he explained the tradition with Clinton and asked the president if he would care to continue it. “Bush refused to sign the card. Rove, who was sitting across the table, said, ‘It would probably wind up on eBay,’” Armey continued. “Do I give a damn? No. But can you imagine refusing a simple request like that with an insult? It’s stupid. From the point of view of your own self-interest, it’s stupid. I was from Texas, and I was the majority leader. If my expectations of civility and collegiality were disappointed, what do you think it was like for the rest of the congressmen they dealt with? The Bush White House was tone-deaf to the normal courtesies of the office.”
George W. Bush, screwing people over, one lay at a time.
It Never Pays to be Bush's Bee-yotch
When it came to the Coalition of the Willing, Eritrea, you may recall, was on board from the get-go.
Whatever their level of committment (and I could find no listing of Eritrean "boots on the ground" in Iraq anywhere) -- do they even have an army? -- you'd have to assume their support of Bush's Folly might at least prove a political boon, no? Perhaps some US financial aid? Some air-dropped food packets? An ICBM or two?
Erm....no.
George Dubya Bush, friend to the end.
Eritrea is one of the poorest, most war-torn countries in the world. I call the embassy to ask how it intends to show its support of the US and coalition of the willing, of which it is a member? There is a long, stunned pause before the spokeswoman says: "Can you call back tomorrow morning?"
Whatever their level of committment (and I could find no listing of Eritrean "boots on the ground" in Iraq anywhere) -- do they even have an army? -- you'd have to assume their support of Bush's Folly might at least prove a political boon, no? Perhaps some US financial aid? Some air-dropped food packets? An ICBM or two?
Erm....no.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States is considering designating the Red Sea state of Eritrea a ``state sponsor of terrorism'' for its alleged support of Islamist militants in Somalia, the top U.S. diplomat for Africa said Friday.
The State Department is now compiling data to legally back up such a move, which would impose severe sanctions on the impoverished nation and put it on the same diplomatic blacklist as Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and Sudan, said Jendayi Frazer, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs.
George Dubya Bush, friend to the end.
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