tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-329015142024-03-07T15:38:26.000-06:00America's Least WantedA chronicle of the top scoundrels and nincompoops who are screwing up this nationPaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.comBlogger366125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-47329964573093791842007-01-11T00:07:00.000-06:002007-01-11T00:11:44.285-06:00Carlson v. ChucklesI haven't been doing much posting over at Demokat, so I certainly haven't filled in much for Paul here either. This, however, really got my goat, so I thought I'd cross post over here. I believe it to be true. If it's not, Chuckles is going to have some pretty impressive bloggers calling his ass out, and I don't think even he is that ballsy. Here you go:<br /><br />Tucker Carlson has had Chuckles, one of us lowly bloggers, <a href="http://freelancegenius.blogspot.com/2007/01/his-bowtie-knows-where-you.html">fired from his job </a>for mentioning that the Tuckbag visited his place of (former) employment, a video store.<br /><br />In my opinion, <a href="http://freelancegenius.blogspot.com/2006/12/not-as-recognizable-as-you-might-think.html">the post </a>was completely innocuous and much, much less inflammatory than anything I would have posted had I run across the slimebag.<br /><br />Then, last Friday night:<br /><br /><br /><blockquote><p>Compare what I wrote to this absolutely true exchange from Friday night when you marched into the store:<br /><br />Tucker: If you keep this shit up, I will fucking destroy you.<br />The Genius (Me): Whoah, perhaps you would like to take this outside where you can continue threatening me without disturbing the other customers.<br />Tucker: *Looks out the window, then back at me* I am not threatening you.<br />The Genius: You just said you would fucking destroy me.<br />Tucker: No, I didn't. </p><p><br />I can see where I might have erred in my previous post. I wasn't a belligerent chundernozzle. At one point, Tucker was heard to exclaim </p><p><br />"Don't whoah me"<br /></p><p>in response to my attempts to bring the conversation back into the realm of sanity. Since I am a basically nice guy, I even took down the post. Upon learning that Tucker followed through on his threat of destruction, I republished the post that so aggravated him and was allegedly threatening.<br /></p></blockquote><br /><br />Chuckles also relates how just a day or two ago, his former co-worker was hassled by a man claiming to be Carlson's attorney, demanding Chuckles personal info.<br /><br />This story is being re-posted all over the internets and appears to be truthful. Pass it on. Let's hope Carlson gets his due, if not by legal retaliatory means, then at least via the blogosphere. Hopefully, if it's spread far and wide enough, the MSM will pick up on it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-30884056459059774522006-12-12T05:37:00.000-06:002006-12-12T05:41:05.378-06:00IMPEACHMENTMuch is being said these days about the Democrats not calling for impeachment as the first order of business. I want this president impeached. I want this president in a freakin' dungeon for the rest of his miserable days. However, in my opinion, they are doing exactly the right thing.<br /><br />Why? Because if you go in with impeachment guns blazing you do yourself more harm than good. Not only do you rally the wingnuts to the Republican party when they are now split, not only do you give doubts to the American public about your seriousness about governing responsibly, not only do you chance a lack of credibility in a thousand different ways, <strong>you loose your most valuable tool for reigning in this most imperious President arguably in American history. </strong>And if you do that, then you deserve all of the above and then some.<br /><br />Pelosi is correct in calling for hearings. Have the hearings. Make the bastards testify. But, hold onto that impeachment option. Make it a sword hanging above Bush's head. A sword of Damocles, if you will. Threaten him with it falling if he does not begin withdrawing the troops. Let it fall if and only if he removes that veto pen from his pocket when our bills cross his desk.<br /><br />Use it in this way, and show the people how power, real power, is wielded with finesse. Let it fall and you only show the people how power is squandered, yet again, in the hands of Democrats.<br /><br />Pretty much like I can make a mess out of similies and metaphors.<br /><br />(I promised Paul that I'd post or <a href="http://demokat.blogspot.com/">cross-post </a>anything I thought might not absolutely ruin his blog in his absence. Hopefully, this qualifies.)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-44790931078356846272006-12-07T17:47:00.000-06:002006-12-07T18:02:24.659-06:00JUST A LITTLE MORE BREAK...Okay, I have decided that my short break is instead going to become a long break, as in a few months or so. I realize that I am basically burned out after averaging about four posts a day for almost four months. This is obviously not my full time job (oh, what a joy it would be if that were the case) so I have the freedom to step away and take a break every now and then. This is one of those times.<br /><br />As I've scanned the various blogs and online news sources, I'm starting to feel like things in general are in a rut - some right winger says something totally outrageous and that leads to outrage by left. Then we rinse and repeat as necessary. And, of course, there's the standard day-in and day-out lying by Bush on whatever subject he feels like fibbing about on a given day. As this pitiful little man becomes more and more detached from reality, it almost becomes too easy to metaphorically slap him everyday, so I've decided to invoke a personal mercy rule on his sad little ass for a while. Like I said, I think that I just need to take a little break and recharge my batteries for a few months, then I'll be ready to chronicle the waning days of this dark chapter in our history.<br /><br />After the '04 elections, I was completely burned out (but for obviously different reasons) and did nothing with politics for about six-eight months. I get the feeling that this break will be shorter but still substantial. I figure by the time I return in a few months, the early presidential campaigning will have begun and I can start sinking my teeth into it. <br /><br />And there's also the fact that my first semester of graduate school is coming up (though a totally final decision on my attending hasn't been made at this point) so my time would be extra-short as I readjusted to schooling after a 10-year absense.<br /><br />So anyway, I'd like to thank all those who have read and enjoyed my writing. For the most part I enjoyed it as well (and honestly, if all I had to do was write, I'd probably still be doing it; it's all the self-promotion in order to get eyeballs here that gets tedious) and look forward to getting back to it after a while. I would like to give a special thanks to all those who saw fit to bookmark me (the twenty or so of you); regular readers are a real catnip to me. Don't delete my bookmark just yet, folks. I shall return.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-24264202124409706942006-11-29T22:31:00.000-06:002006-12-05T09:27:05.850-06:00A LITTLE SOMETHING BEFORE I GORegular readers know that I’m not one of those link pimpers – bloggers who simply write one-line posts that direct to read someone else’s work. Granted, I read many blogs to develop ideas and then present what I hope is an interesting take from the originator on a given issue, and I will always credit that original blog. But I tend to shy away from being a table of contents for other blogs.<br />All that being said, since I’m on a mini-hiatus, I wanted to direct my readers to a couple of things I’ve read recently that I would have normally taken a shot at molding a snarky opinion about, but instead will just throw at you link-pimp style:<br /><br />Up first is a guy by the name of Peter Schwiezer, a conservative who systematically got his ass handed to him because he can’t take the time to <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/29/pelosi-unions/">actually research</a> what he’s talking about and railing against. His response when called to the carpet for sloppy work: “It's not my responsibility to go and find out how every single particular circumstance…” Um, if you’re going to go around throwing around your unfounded accusations, then maybe making it your responsibility to go around and find out stuff is something you oughta look into.<br /><br />Next up, the slings and arrows directed at potential Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama have already begun to fly. And because the GOP are a bunch of children, they’ve taken to noting that <a href="http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2006/nov/29/new_gop_attack_on_obama_his_name_is_hussein">Mr. Obama’s middle name is Hussein</a>. Because that’s important. See, Mr. Obama is a junior, so that means that he’s named after his dad, who was given the name before he was born. Not wishing to dig to deep on this, I’d assume that his dad was born in the 1930s or so. The evil Saddam Hussein was born about a quarter century later, and he wasn’t even all that evil until the 90s. I say this because the U.S. was awful chummy with him in the 80s. As a commenter noted, “Hopefully, this will only reinforce what should have been obvious at least by 1999 or so: Republicans are really good at childish, schoolyard taunting.”<br /><br />I loved this piece from the <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2006/11/26/hail_to_the_chief/?page=1">Boston Globe</a>. It gives a real historical perspective of Dick Cheney and his quest to restore the power of the presidency back to its pre-Watergate levels. It’s both fascinating and frightening the way the man will shit on any law that he finds personally offensive to his quest. (The piece does require a quick registration, which always bugs me, but it’s free so just do it and go read it. Highest recommendation.)<br /><br />And finally, I suppose I'll close with this little tidbit from <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/time-for-a-big-ol-cup-of_b_33857.html">Bob Cesca over at Huffpo</a> as it's something that's often stuck in my craw - (some in) the GOP's insistence on calling the Democratic Party the Democrat Party. Take it away, Bob:<br /><p></p><blockquote><p>10) The devilish wordsmiths who think it's strategic and clever to refer to the Democratic Party as the "Democrat Party" need to stop it. Shut the f*** up. The official name of the party is the Democratic Party, with the "ic" at the end. Yeah, I know. Newt Gingrich and Frank Luntz invented the idea of saying "Democrat Party" or "the Democrat leadership" or "the Democrat voters" in order to emphasize the "rat" syllable, leaving a rat-like subliminal hint in the minds of listeners. President Bush, in his so-called "conciliatory" <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/11/20061108-2.html">press conference Wednesday</a>, used this incorrect pronunciation several times.</p><blockquote>"And while the ballots are still being counted in the Senate, it is clear the <strong>Democrat Party</strong> had a good night last night, and I congratulate them on their victories."<br /><br /><p>"This morning I spoke with Republican and <strong>Democrat leadership</strong> in the House and Senate."</p><p>"...we'll begin consultations with the <strong>Democrat leadership</strong> starting Thursday and Friday."</p><p>"...and now work with <strong>Democrat leaders</strong> in the Congress because they control the committees and they control the flow of bills."</p><p>"We got some tax cuts passed with <strong>Democrat votes</strong>."</p></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><p></p></blockquote><br />I know, it's a small thing, but it's just so silly and stupid and annoying; I'm glad I'm not the only one perturbed by it. Or, as <a href="http://slacktivist.typepad.com/slacktivist/2006/11/wednesday.html">slacktivist</a> so eloquently put it:<br /><br /><blockquote>Considering how popular this childish verbal tic has become among Republican politicians and pundits, I'm guessing that Luntz must've had some polling data to suggest it was somehow an effective "subliminable" way of influencing opinion, and that it must sound to some people as something other than what it sounds like to me: People who aren't smart enough to pronounce a four-syllable word properly. This kind of seriously unserious tactic is part of why I'm unwilling to trust these people with serious matters. (That and, you know, Iraq, Katrina, the deficit, etc.)</blockquote><br />That'll about do it for me, folks. See you in a week or so. Thanks for coming by; I'll be back soon.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-31890990935413312142006-11-29T16:08:00.000-06:002006-11-29T16:43:22.781-06:00TAKING A SHORT BREAKI'm going to be doing some traveling over the next few days and will be away from a computer for much of that time (which is always a traumatic experience) so I will not be posting until Sunday/Monday. The closest I'll get to the internet is my phone, which is great for checking the weather or a sports score, but pointless for surfing and posting.<br />First, I'll be driving from home (from Daphne, Alabama) to New Orleans so that I can catch a flight to a town south of Cleveland for my company's annual end of the year party (yes, we cannot call it a Christmas party; O'Reilly would flip). I'm sort of disappointed about this year's trip as this is usually my only chance at seeing snow for a year and it's been unseasonably warm with weather forecast in the 40s-50s with no snow; drat! My flight leaves at 6am the following morning (which should be a real treat what with the expected hangover and all) to make it back to New Orleans, at which point I'll travel west about 120 miles to Lafayette to do a little tailgating with some old college friends for the final game of the season for my Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. My wife has never tailgated or been to a college football game so she seems excited (and would be even more so if not for the driving). We'll also have my daughter there and she should have a great time playing with all of my buddies' kids. I've seen these guys at their worst (as they have seen me), can't wait to see them as dads.<br />We'll stay in Lafayette that night, then head home to Alabama, making every effort to make it home by noon for the Saints/49ers game. It's about a 4-5 hour trip so we'll need to get started early which probably won't be a problem given that we'll be sharing a bed with a restless two year old who likes to wake at 5:30 every morning.<br /><br />I may be able to squeeze in a post or two, but I'm not expecting so. Hopefully Kat will still hit you with her usual wit and wisdom while I'm away. And on a related note, I'm still looking for an aspiring writer who might be interesting in taking a stab at political blogging. I've had a couple of nibbles of interest but they haven't panned out so I'm still in the market. As I've stated in the past, I'm just looking for someone with an opinion and an ability to competently express it. Kos wasn't born in a day and Atrios didn't start out huge; we all start somewhere. Interested?Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-36308988695765824632006-11-28T22:15:00.000-06:002006-11-28T22:19:47.493-06:00WAR OF WORDS<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/2442/4016/1600/130371/gwbush.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/2442/4016/320/180092/gwbush.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Bush is just batting 1.000 when it comes to making friends with the new Democratic majority in Congress (from <a href="http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/UndertheDome/112906.html">The Hill</a> via <a href="http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/011314.php">TPM</a>):<br /><br /><span class="body"><p></p><blockquote><p>At a private reception held at the White House with newly elected lawmakers shortly after the election, Bush asked [new senator from Virginia, Jim] Webb how his son, a Marine lance corporal serving in Iraq, was doing.</p> <p>Webb responded that he really wanted to see his son brought back home, said a person who heard about the exchange from Webb.</p> <p>“I didn’t ask you that, I asked how he’s doing,” Bush retorted, according to the source.</p> <p>Webb confessed that he was so angered by this that he was tempted to slug the commander-in-chief, reported the source, but of course didn’t. It’s safe to say, however, that Bush and Webb won’t be taking any overseas trips together anytime soon.</p></blockquote><br /><p></p></span>Anybody got a knife? I think there be tension that requires some cutting.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-65463561849624249962006-11-28T17:57:00.000-06:002006-11-28T17:24:29.384-06:00FROM THE SUBLIME...So, I hear that there's a new book coming to bookstores soon entitled "<a href="http://www.caucusofcorruption.com/">Culture of Corruption</a>" and it'll be all about chronicling the corruption of today's Republican Party. Hmm? What's that...? Oh, my bad, it chronicles the corruption of today's Democratic Party. Whaaaa? Yes, that's correct, two wacky wingers (Matt Margolis and Mark Noonan) have taken the time to publish a pamphlet on the evil corruption that threatens the very existence of the Democratic Party. So what exactly will they be covering? Okay, I'll give the the William "Cold Cash" Jefferson one; that's an easy one. But based on the caricatured cover art for the book, it looks like they'll also be taking shots at Cynthia McKinney (she of the whacking a congressional security guard nonsense, and who isn't even in the Congress anymore), as well as Charles Schumer (what'd he do besides help the Dems regain control of the Senate; which I suppose in their eyes is a criminal offense) and Harry Reid (who the rightwing noise machine futilely attempted to paint with the corruption brush throughout the campaign to little avail). The art on the cover is highly caricatured, so I cannot really tell who is is there, though there is one who sort of looks like Ted Kennedy (because it's never too late to make more Chappaquidick attacks) and another that sort of looks like Nancy Pelosi (who is corrupt simply for being one of them evil San Francisco Liberals).<br /><br />Still, it seems sort of funny to waste time on a book about a party that's been out of power for twelve years and thus had no substantial power and therefore had no influence to peddle or corrupt. But there I go again attempting to make sense of rightwing nonsensery (yeah, it's a word I just made up).<br /><br />Probably the funniest part of this whole thing in a monumentally ironic sort of way is the featured cover blurb by none other than one of the most corrupt politicians in the long and storied history of the United States Congress; disgraced and indicted former Rep. Tom DeLay.<br /><br /><blockquote>I'm excited to report that <i>Caucus of Corruption</i> has received its first endorsement! Our first endorsement comes from Rep. Tom DeLay, a great man and politician who found himself the number one target of Democrats in their phony ethics war.<br /><br />The true story has always been there, and we're pleased that we're able to tell it. Matt and I wish to thank Tom DeLay not only for his endorsement, but also for his service to our nation.</blockquote><br /><br />Here's a snippit from DeLay's endorsement:<br /><br /><blockquote>"...Margolis and Noonan have cut through the smoke and mirrors to reveal what the liberals are really hiding - their complete lack of leadership and refusal to stand up for the values-based agenda most Americans are demanding. This book is a must read for all Americans looking for the unreported motivations behind the Left's political scene."</blockquote><br /><br />Oh, that's just awesome! Of course I won't even get into the fact that the post of this endorsement is dated September 24, 2006 which seems odd considering that the manuscript wasn't delivered to the publisher until November 12. It's just the fact that these two yahoos would proudly trumpet the endorsement of the offensively corrupt Tom DeLay (with a cover blurb, no less) is preposterous. It's like getting Dahmer's endorsement on the brutality of John Wayne Gacy. But then again, DeLay has demonstrated a marked proficiency towards corruption so who better to ask?<br /><br />[h/t <a href="http://sadlyno.com/archives/4393.html">Sadly, No!</a>]Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-40421224338336730612006-11-28T16:15:00.000-06:002006-11-28T16:25:19.035-06:00YALLER DOG DEMOCRATAs some of you may know already, I recently set upon a quest to determine the origin of the term above. I posted my findings on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Wikipedia</span>. Having never edited <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)">Wikipedia</span> before, I elicited and received some assistance and now my full edits are under the headings of Etymology and History and Usage in the post. If you'd like to check it out, go <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_dog_Democrat">here</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-36438906217935836972006-11-28T15:03:00.001-06:002006-11-28T15:03:54.171-06:00Patton's Plan (A Parody)<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/7jrNT2YbEWg' name='movie'></param><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/7jrNT2YbEWg'></embed></object></p><p>Check out this great vid!</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-74366064898085943592006-11-28T08:18:00.000-06:002006-11-28T08:55:10.682-06:00THIS GOVERNMENT DOES NOT WORKConservative Grover Norquist once said, <span class="body">"My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub." No fan of government is he. In his and other conservatives' minds, no good comes from the government. In short, their position is that government does not work. And apparently the final days of the Republican-held Congress seem intent on proving this point as they have chosen not to work. Instead, they have chosen to <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=a6EilU9Mhcls">forgo their actual legislative responsibilities</a> and dump about a half-trillion (yes, that's <span style="font-weight: bold;">T</span>rillion) dollars in spending bills for the incoming Democratic majority to deal with.<br /><br /></span><p></p><blockquote><p>[Incoming Senate Majority Leader Harry] Reid's office has been alerted by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist that Republicans have decided to pass another stopgap spending measure when they return to Washington next month and leave the rest of the budget work needed to fund the government next year to the Democrats, said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Reid. </p> <p>... </p> <p>Such a move would leave the new Democratic majority with the responsibility to pass the nine remaining spending bills, totaling almost $500 billion for government programs ranging from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to the national parks. </p> <p>It also would complicate Democrats' plans to focus on their issues such as raising the minimum wage, lifting restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research and cutting interest rates on student loans when they take control of both the House and Senate in January. </p>...<br /><p>Manley called the Republican action an abdication of responsibility. </p> <p>``This is only the latest example of why the American people rejected this do-nothing Congress at the ballot box earlier this month,'' he said.</p></blockquote><p> </p>Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), in keeping with the wave of bipartisan fellowship that is sweeping through Washington these days stated, “I know a lot of folks just as soon not to see them done this year and let the Democrats struggle here next year.”<br /><br />Yes, that was Saxby Chambliss, again demonstrating why the GOP was swept from office this past November as they once again choose partisan politics over actually doing the work that the American people put them there to do.<br /><br />[h/t <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/27/congress-spending-bills/">Think Progress</a>]Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-59313638078423779402006-11-27T16:32:00.000-06:002006-11-27T18:17:43.221-06:00EMBRACING REALITYKudos to <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/27/msnbc-civil-war/">NBC News and <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">MSNBC</span></a> (the same organ) for embracing reality by calling a duck a duck today. They are to date the only news organization to stand up and tell their viewers that the nightmare in Iraq is exactly what the general public has thought it is for some time now; namely a civil war.<br /><br />The news from Iraq is becoming grimmer every day. Over the long holiday weekend bombings killed more than 200 people in a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad. And six Sunni men were doused with kerosene and burned alive. Shiite muslims are the majority, but Sunnis like Saddam Hussein ruled that country until the war. Now, the battle between Shiites and Sunnis has created a civil war in Iraq. Beginning this morning, MSNBC will refer to the fighting in Iraq as a civil war — a phrase the White House continues to resist. But after careful thought, MSNBC and NBC News decided over the weekend, the terminology is appropriate, as armed militarized factions fight for their own political agendas.<br /><br />The other news organizations however insist on doing <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">verbal</span> calisthenics when <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/27/media-civil-war/">speaking of the Iraq civil war</a>. It's almost funny the iterations the news organizations come up with, including the regular "sectarian violence," "snowballing sectarian violence," "sectarian slaughter," "widening sectarian war," and "sectarian strife". Then there are some other outlets who continue to claim that while there's not a civil war going on in Iraq, one could certainly be on the way like the Washington Post's "... closer to full-blown civil war...," and the Chicago Tribune's "... the prospect of civil war in Iraq festers...".<br /><br />So instead of nutting up and calling a spade a spade, the majority of television and print media continue to toe the White House line and come up with new and clever ways to describe the CIVIL WAR that rages in Iraq. We as a nation cannot address the problem if the problem itself cannot be properly identified. Just because Bush cannot come to grips with the hell on earth he has unleashed (in the name of WMDs or spreading democracy or freeing the Iraqis from Saddam or whatever reason of the week Bush is using to justify this folly) doesn't mean the American people are incapable of embracing this awful reality.<br /><br />UPDATE: A writer with the Washington Post <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/27/washington-post-civil-war/">explains</a> why they do not label the ongoing and worsening sectarian violence in Iraq a civil war - because the leaders in Iraq do not call it a civil war. As Think Progress notes, "Government officials in Iraq have a direct interest in avoiding the characterization of violence there as a civil war. The Washington Post’s job is not to act as stenographers for officials in positions of power, but rather to report facts as they exist on the ground."<br /><br />And the fall of a once great newspaper continues...Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-31628269787599169902006-11-27T11:59:00.000-06:002006-11-27T12:18:47.271-06:00YOU CANNOT MAKE THIS STUFF UP<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/2442/4016/1600/314486/gwbush.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/2442/4016/320/685922/gwbush.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Sometimes you read things online and they just sound so preposterous on their face as to seem impossible. Then you remember that the subject in question has to do with George W. Bush and you realize that in matters where he's involved, the impossible is quite likely. Take for instance the plans for his <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/475052p-399492c.html">presidential library/public relations firm</a>.<br /><blockquote><br /><span class="bodytext">He may be a certified lame duck now, but President Bush and his truest believers are about to launch their final campaign - an eye-popping, half-billion-dollar drive for the Bush presidential library.<p> Eager to begin refurbishing his tattered legacy, the President hopes to raise $500 million to build his library and a think tank at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Bush lived in Dallas until he was elected governor of Texas in 1995.</p><p> Bush sources with direct knowledge of library plans told the Daily News that SMU and Bush fund-raisers hope to get half of the half billion from what they call "megadonations" of $10 million to $20 million a pop. </p><p> Bush loyalists have already identified wealthy heiresses, Arab nations and captains of industry as potential "mega" donors and are pressing for a formal site announcement - now expected early in the new year.</p>...<p> "It's a stretch," said another source briefed on the plans. "It's so much bigger than anything that's been tried before. But the more you have, the more influence [on history] you can exert."</p><p> The half-billion target is double what Bush raised for his 2004 reelection and dwarfs the funding of other presidential libraries. But Bush partisans are determined to have a massive pile of endowment cash to spread the gospel of a presidency that for now gets poor marks from many scholars and a majority of Americans. </p><p> The legacy-polishing centerpiece is an institute, which several Bush insiders called the Institute for Democracy. Patterned after Stanford University's Hoover Institution, Bush's institute will hire conservative scholars and "give them money to write papers and books favorable to the President's policies," one Bush insider said.</p></span></blockquote><span class="bodytext"><p> </p></span>When all is said and done, I suppose that it is only fitting that this presidential library be a monument to influencing public opinion, given that this administration has always prided itself on looking busy rather than actually doing the hard work of governance. That fact that it will be financed by wealthy interests (including Arab money) also seems oddly appropriate considering all he's done for the huddled rich masses these past eight years.<br /><br />I recall during the waning months of the Clinton presidency, when President Clinton worked tirelessly to reach some sort of accord with the Palestinians and the Israelis to facilitate a lasting peace in the area, confident that such an accomplishment would reflect well on his overall legacy. Bush on the other hand holds no such lofty ideals; instead he wants to have complimentary things written about him because he's paying people to do so as opposed to actually doing the hard work to earn such accolades.<br /><br />I suppose my only question is, if you spend half a billion dollars to polish up a turd, don't you still just end up with a shiny turd?Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-10866593743347527602006-11-27T07:35:00.000-06:002006-11-29T08:10:42.089-06:00WHERE'S O'REILLY WHEN YOU NEED HIM?Quickly, someone notify Bill "Culture Warrior" O'Reilly! Head to the commissioner's office and tilt back the head of the bust and press the button so that the signal will go out to the Bill-O cave. Then O'Reilly, our nation's staunchest defender of the rights of Christmas, can come running, ready to assist in this most egregious of <del>holiday</del> Christmas attacks.<br /><br />Specifically, a woman in a southwestern Colorado subdivision has displayed a Christmas wreath on her home that incorporates a peace symbol. <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061127/ap_on_re_us/anti_peace_sign">She is being fined $25 a day because of it</a>. Yes, during the season that is meant to honor the birth the Lord our God, Jesus Christ himself, Mr. Prince of PEACE by the way, a woman is being harassed and bullied for displaying this decidedly un-Christian symbol on her home.<br /><br /><blockquote>A homeowners association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan.<br /><p>Some residents who have complained have children serving in Iraq, said Bob Kearns, president of the Loma Linda Homeowners Association in Pagosa Springs. He said some residents have also believed it was a symbol of Satan. Three or four residents complained, he said.</p></blockquote><br />Alright, I'm beyond confused at this point. A woman displays a symbol expressing her desire for peace and the people who would most benefit from that peace, namely the families of the men and women who are dying in Iraq, are raising a stink. During the season of "peace on Earth and goodwill towards men" a couple of families get all knee-jerk over their belief that being against the war must by definition mean being against the troops. And don't even get me starting with the Satanic symbology nonsense - someone's been watching the Da Vinci Code just a little too much; step away from the DVD player, people. And even if the symbol were satanically motivated, don't we have that whole freedom of religion thing? Not here.<br /><br /><blockquote><p>The association in this 200-home subdivision 270 miles southwest of Denver has sent a letter to her saying that residents were offended by the sign and the board "will not allow signs, flags etc. that can be considered divisive."</p> <p>The subdivision's rules say no signs, billboards or advertising are permitted without the consent of the architectural control committee.</p> <p>Kearns ordered the committee to require Jensen to remove the wreath, but members refused after concluding that it was merely a seasonal symbol that didn't say anything. Kearns fired all five committee members.</p></blockquote><br />Nothing that "can be considered divisive" can be displayed. Um, isn't that just about EVERYTHING!!! What if a person is offended by a Jewish family with a menorah in the window? What if a person dislikes a neighbor's plastic nativity display? How about a complaint over the tackiness of a lawn filled with an overabundance of lighted deer and other woodland creatures? Given the way the bylaws are written, anything could be viewed as objectionable or divisive, but to take offense of a symbol of peace during this season of honoring the Prince of Peace Himself is beyond absurd. Remember, nitwits - wishing for peace does not equal crapping on your sons and daughters who are unfortunate enough to be stuck in Iraq rather than with their loved ones (read: YOU) this holiday season.<br /><br />If ever there was a salvo in O'Reilly's manufactured "War on Christmas" this certainly would qualify. I demand an immediate investigation by Bill-O into this horrendous attack. Rage RAGE against the dying of the wreath!!<br /><br />UPDATE: The <a href="http://test.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_4733752">Kearn guy resigned</a> and the woman received an apology and will not have to pay any fine. Good for her. Sanity returns to a small corner of the world.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-45774531291593461472006-11-26T20:34:00.000-06:002006-11-26T20:42:12.831-06:00STRONG WORDSWow, don't sugarcoat it or anything, huh? Former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinksi had some choice words for the war in Iraq and the upcoming Baker Commission report. <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/26/brzezinski-baker/">Appearing on CNN</a> this past Sunday, he had this to say:<br /><br /><blockquote>BRZEZINSKI: [...] But the point to understand is that if you undertake a historically mistaken adventure, the longer you stick with it, the higher the cost you pay for it.<br /><br />BLITZER: You’re making the comparison to Vietnam.<br /><br />BRZEZINSKI: Yes, our — or to Algeria. And when Henry says that the Baker commission is going to help us resolve it, I think that’s an illusion. The Baker commission will probably come out with some sound advice on dealing with the neighborhood, with Iran, with the Israeli- Palestinian issues, which is relevant but essentially will offer some procrastination ideas for dealing with the crisis.<br /><br />The fact of the matter is, the undertaking itself is fundamentally wrong-headed. And I’ve been arguing this on your program with Henry for the last three years. And I invite viewers to go on the Internet and look what we have been saying, respectively.<br /><br />This is a mistaken, absolutely historically wrong undertaking. The costs are prohibitive. If we get out sooner, there will be a messy follow-up after we leave. It will be messy, but will not be as messy as if we stay, seeking to win in some fashion. </blockquote>Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-82531475806965147902006-11-25T19:41:00.000-06:002006-11-25T20:21:30.314-06:00I FIND YOUR LACK OF FUNNINESS DISTURBINGPerhaps it's the copious amounts of eggnog I've ingested tonight while decorating the Christmas tree that have clouded my judgment, but I thought that I'd share this non-laughfest with my faithful readers (readers who will no doubt leave and never return after viewing the video below).<br /><br />For those not aware, Fox News is planning a "conservative-centric" answer to The Daily Show called This Just In. I believe that it will fail and fail spectacularly. The beauty of The Daily Show is that it does not lampoon Republicans and conservatives exclusively; they do no shy away from smacking around a Democrat for saying or doing something boneheaded or hypocritical. And this is a point that conservatives and Fox News simply fail to understand. The Daily Show does not pander and curry favor with a particular political segment; the fact that a particular politcal segment finds them more humorous than others might is more a byproduct of intelligent satire and not necessarily a conscious effort to kiss ass. On the other hand, Fox News' sole reason for existing is to pander and curry favor with Republicans and the White House. Is it really that much of a stretch for a network that shills all things GOP might also attempt to put on an ostensibly comical program that would also pander and shill Republican talking points?<br /><br />Anyway, the video below is more than likely representative of what a viewer to This Just In may be in for. The fairly illustrative of just how unfunny conservatives are, so without further ado, I bring you the stylings of The America Show:<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qjZaYCjsRBk"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qjZaYCjsRBk" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />If you were able to make it through the whole thing, bless you. If not, then you're smarter than I am. Either way, I beg the viewers' forgiveness for posting it. Now, forgive me while I go wash my brain out with ... well, whatever it'll take to make me forget about what I just viewed. Where the hell's my eggnog?!Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-49077399267037424302006-11-25T18:42:00.000-06:002006-11-25T18:53:51.402-06:00BACK UP THE BUS - Donald Rumsfeld<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/2442/4016/1600/533335/drumsfeld1.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/2442/4016/320/963328/drumsfeld1.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Now that war criminal Donald Rumsfeld has been unceremoniously shown the door, the piling on has begun in earnest. Conveniently enough, <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061125/pl_nm/iraq_rumsfeld_dc_1">information has recently surfaced</a> that Rumsfeld himself authorized the inhuman treatment of detainees of Abu Ghraib prison.<br /><br /><blockquote><p>Former U.S. Army Brigadier General Janis Karpinski told Spain's El Pais newspaper she had seen a letter apparently signed by Rumsfeld which allowed civilian contractors to use techniques such as sleep deprivation during interrogation.</p> <p>Karpinski, who ran the prison until early 2004, said she saw a memorandum signed by Rumsfeld detailing the use of harsh interrogation methods.</p> <p>"The handwritten signature was above his printed name and in the same handwriting in the margin was written: "Make sure this is accomplished,"" she told Saturday's El Pais.</p> <p>"The methods consisted of making prisoners stand for long periods, sleep deprivation ... playing music at full volume, having to sit in uncomfortably ... Rumsfeld authorized these specific techniques."</p> <p>The Geneva Convention says prisoners of war should suffer "no physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion" to secure information.</p> <p>"Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to any unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind," the document states.</p>...<br /><br /><p>Rumsfeld also authorized the army to break the Geneva Conventions by not registering all prisoners, Karpinski said, explaining how she raised the case of one unregistered inmate with an aide to former U.S. commander Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez.</p> <p>"We received a message from the Pentagon, from the Defense Secretary, ordering us to hold the prisoner without registering him. I now know this happened on various occasions."</p></blockquote><p></p>Of course, this information might have proved slightly more useful a couple of years ago when the original offenses occurred, but I suppose it's never to late for this to come out. After all, anything that so blatantly illustrates how morally bankrupt those under Bush's employ are cannot be a bad thing by their very definition. Though given the way Bush operates, I see a Medal of Freedom in his future, given the heckuva job he's done (see: George "Slam Dunk" Tenet).Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-61536390719103425062006-11-25T16:28:00.000-06:002006-11-25T18:54:25.620-06:00AND SO IT GOES...The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/25/world/middleeast/25iraq.html?_r=2&hp&amp;amp;ex=1164430800&en=80c2bb7683129086&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin&oref=slogin">imaginary reality</a> that is Bushieland continues unabated, despite the hard reality to the contrary repeatedly smacking the true believers upside their slow little heads.<br /><br /><blockquote>Scott Stanzel, a White House spokesman, also repeated the administration’s insistence that Iraq was not in a civil war. “We’re constantly asked that question, and while the situation is serious, Prime Minister Maliki and President Talabani have said they do not believe it is a civil war,” he said.</blockquote><br /><br />So, if Maliki and Talabani say so, then everything must be going well; after all, they live in Baghdad, so <a href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0611/24/ldt.01.html">they've got firsthand knowledge</a>, right?<br /><br /><blockquote>MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, firstly, let me say, perhaps it's easier to deny that this is a civil war, when essentially you live in the most heavily fortified place in the country within the Green Zone, which is true of both the prime minister, the national security adviser for Iraq and, of course, the top U.S. military commanders. However, for the people living on the streets, for Iraqis in their homes, if this is not civil war, or a form of it, then they do not want to see what one really looks like.<br /><br />...<br /><br />I mean, if this is not civil war, where there is, on average, 40 to 50 tortured, mutilated, executed bodies showing up on the capital streets each morning, where we have thousands of unaccounted for dead bodies mounting up every month, and where the list of those who have simply disappeared for the sake of the fact that they have the wrong name, a name that is either Sunni or Shia, so much so that we have people getting dual identity cards, where parents cannot send their children to school, because they have to cross a sectarian line, then, goodness, me, I don't want to see what a civil war looks like either if this isn't one.<br /></blockquote><br /><br />In the upside-down world of Bushieland, if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's definitely not a duck because, well they say it's not a duck. I guess.<br /><br />(h/t <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/11/25/19240/102">Daily Kos</a>)Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-56243479076393775562006-11-24T18:16:00.000-06:002006-11-24T18:23:05.043-06:00BLAME DEMOCRATSI personally will rarely link-pimp as I'd rather have those fortunate souls who have find America's Least Wanted to actually stick and around and read stuff here. That being said, <a href="http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2006/11/why-i-hate-rather-than-dislike-bush.html">Glenn Greenwald</a> has an excellent analysis of the GOP game of blaming violence on Iraq on the terrorists' desire to influence the elections here. Not simply wanted to spoil the ending, I encourage people to go check him out, but for those not so inclinded, his conclusion:<br /><br /><blockquote>So, to recap: when insurgents engage in violence before the elections, that's the fault of Democrats because it's done to help them win (and credit to Republicans because it shows how tough they are on The Terrorists). When the insurgents engage in violence after the elections, that's also the fault of Democrats because they are excited by the Democrats' success (and credit to Republicans because Republicans want to stay forever, which makes the insurgents sad and listless). And when there is no violence, all credit to Republicans because it shows how great their war plan is.<br /><br />Put another way, no matter what happens in Iraq (violence increases, violence decreases), and no matter when it happens (before the election, after the election), it is the fault of Democrats and it reflects well on the Republicans. Isn't it fair to say that that's the very definition of the mindset of a cultist?<br /></blockquote><br /><br />What an interesting world it must be for a koolaid-drinking believer.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-82149569006217015542006-11-23T08:47:00.000-06:002006-11-23T06:44:20.094-06:00ALL RIGHT, WE GET IT! Mitt RomneyOutgoing Massachusetts governor and likely presidential nominee Mitt Romney wants to make one thing perfectly clear - he hates gays. That's basically the only conclusion I can come to after Mitt spent the past few days all but wearing a sandwich board proclaiming his hatred of all things gay.<br />First up "gay = bad" crusade was the revelation that Romney will <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/19/AR2006111900879_pf.html">ask the state's highest court</a> to order a ballot question on same-sex marriage if legislators fail to vote on the matter when they reconvene in January.<br /><br /><blockquote>Romney said he will ask a justice of the state's Supreme Judicial Court to direct the secretary of state to place the question on the ballot if lawmakers do not vote directly on the question Jan. 2, the final day of the current session. Romney's term as governor expires Jan. 4.<p>The legislature is in recess and, because it did not adjourn, Romney has no legal authority to call legislators back into session.</p><p>Romney, an opponent of same-sex marriage, made his announcement to the cheers of hundreds of same-sex-marriage opponents at a rally on the Statehouse steps. A counter-protest was held across the street.</p><p>The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in November 2003 that same-sex marriages are legal. Since then, more than 8,000 gay couples have tied the knot in the state.</p></blockquote><br /><br />Yes, faithful readers, gay couples have had the right to marry for three years now and there has not been a single report of a civilization-ending flood or fire come to wipe the unholy land of Massachusetts off the globe. And no, there's been no enormous hole opening up underneath Boston either to swallow our modern day Sodom and Gamorra. Yet there's Mitt, out there like some deranged nitwit holding up his metaphorical "The End is Near" sign.<br /><br />Of course, Romney isn't satisfied with simply stripping gays of their civil rights; now he's hoping to up the suicide rate among gay teens. At least, that's what it looks like to me when he decided to cut funding to <a href="http://baywindows.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=008EC9FBCFF24AD18614290016BE1303&nm=Current+Issue&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&AudID=0813BC739F2044E5A03DCF2DE3FDF7C9&tier=4&id=4DA1D8B9D0634266A32AACD2CEF5D63C">gay youth suicide prevention programs</a>.<br /><br /><blockquote>Last week Bay Windows reported that Gov. Mitt Romney’s $425 million in budget cuts announced this month included extensive cuts to HIV/AIDS and LGBT-related programs, but that the extent of those cuts was not completely known. One of the question marks was the Department of Public Health’s (DPH) Supportive and Healthy Communities for Gay and Lesbian Youth (SHCGLY) programming aimed at reducing LGBT youth suicide, which had originally been allocated $350,000 for the Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07). Kathleen Henry, chair of the Massachusetts Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, said this week the commission has learned that the cuts will include $100,000 from the SHCGLY program budget.<br /><br />...<br /><br />“[Those cuts] coupled with the events over the weekend about ‘letting the people vote,’ that whole issue, it certainly seems like our community is being used as some kind of target practice for future political ambitions,” said Henry, referring to Romney’s Nov. 19 rally at the State House in support of an amendment to ban same-sex marriage.</blockquote><br /><br />Hmmm, methinks Ms. Henry may be onto something there. An outgoing governor is doing everything he possibly can to wring every last bit of gay hate out of his agenda before leaving office January 4 by rehashing what is to many people a dead issue while also cutting funding to social programs primarily beneficial to gays. I think about the only other thing he could do to convince the anti-gay voters in the coming primaries of his sincerity to their plight is to actually start lighting random gay people on fire. Of course, I probably shouldn't be giving a hatemonger like Mitt such ideas. I know it's far to early to make too many predictions about the upcoming presidential primaries, but I think Romney's got the "I hate gays" voters locked up. Either that, or the other GOP contenders have got a lot of ground to make up if they hope to court this crucial swing vote.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-1923856441236872072006-11-23T06:35:00.000-06:002006-11-23T06:42:24.759-06:00HAPPY THANKSGIVINGJust wanted to say a quck Happy Turkey Day. I'm being all cliched this year and am packing up the car so the family and I can go over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house in New Orleans. Well, technically we're seeing two grandmothers (at least Gracie is, neither my wife or I have living grandparents) - first my family and then my wife's family in the evening. Hey, just as long as it doesn't interupt my football viewing I'll be fine.<br /><br />Well, I gotta go pack up the car, so click over and enjoy a little funny, courtesy of the <a href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/horsey/viewbydate.asp?id=1498">Seattle PI</a>.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-32188239815440170302006-11-22T16:24:00.000-06:002006-11-22T15:36:52.551-06:00OWNER BEWARE - CHRIS SHAYSRecently congressman Chris Shays (R-CT) <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2006/11/22/shays-the-democratsown-iraq-now-as-much-as-this-president/">made the claim</a> that now that the Democrats have now won control of both houses of Congress, they now "own" Iraq as much as Bush does. When he says Dems own it, it means that Democrats must now share the blame with all that has gone wrong in Iraq. Forgetting for just one moment that the Democrats will not even take over control of the Congress until the beginning of next year, how exactly does Shays arrive at this conclusion? Was it not the Democratic Party who has demanded numerous investigations into various aspects of Iraq, from faulty intelligence, to a lack of an occupation plan, to the failure to properly equip our troops for combat? Wass it not the Democratic Party who has demanded that the GOP-controlled Congress excercise their Constitutionally mandated role of oversight of the executive branch? And was it not the Democratic Party that was rebuffed and ridiculed at every turn by the Bush administration and the GOP who never missed an opportunity to call us cut-and-runners and defeat-o-crats and not serious about the war on terror?<br />So, with all that, how exactly is the Democratic Party now in bed with Bush's Iraq debacle? Can we at least take a look at the car you claim we own before we get the bill for the repairs caused by Bush's reckless driving?Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-6636458799518973842006-11-22T14:08:00.000-06:002006-11-22T14:22:31.740-06:00CALLING OUT THE CHICKENHAWKS - LAWRENCE O'DONNELLLawrence O'Donnell has been on a tear recently. Namely, he's tired of all those talking heads who advocated (and continue to advocate) the war in Iraq yet have never once lifted a gun and stood a post. His <a href="http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/11/21/scarborough-country-the-chicken-hawk-edition/">recent appearance</a> on Joe Scarborough's MSNBC show was the stuff of legend (despite Scarborough's inability to comprehend O'Donnell's point) and now his ranting continues over on <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lawrence-odonnell/rangel-is-right_b_34667.html?view=print">Huffington Post</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>[Incoming House Ways and Means committee chairman Charlie] Rangel [D-NY] announced on Sunday that he wants to reinstate the draft. He said the same thing a few years ago but quickly let on that he wasn't serious. He's playing it straight this time and has already introduced a bill. Local New York TV news has given Rangel saturation coverage. You can see his anger and frustration building each time he answers another reporter's question about the draft. The point he keeps repeating is: <span style="font-weight: bold;">"There's no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft and members of Congress and the administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in harm's way."</span><br /><br />...<br /><br />Advocating war is easier when you and your family are not endangered by it. I've reached a Rangel-like breaking point with my TV pundit colleagues who championed the Iraq war and now say we can't leave even if we went there for the wrong reasons. For every one of them, I have a simple question: Why aren't you in Iraq? Or why did you avoid combat in your generation's war? The one unifying characteristic that all of us men in make-up on political chat shows share is fear of combat. Every one of us has done everything we can to avoid combat or even being fitted for a military uniform. Just like George Bush, Bill Clinton, and Dick Cheney, we are all combat cowards. It takes a very special kind of combat coward to advocate combat for others. It's the kind of thing that can get you as angry as Charlie Rangel. <br /></blockquote><br />Though I am probably past the age of acceptability for a draft (alright, I'm not that old, but like Indiana Jones said, 'It's not the years, it's the mileage,' so figure the Army'd take one look at me and laugh me out the door), I would consider supporting Rangel's (futile) move, because he and O'Donnell certainly have a point. After all, how many members of Congress or the Bush administration have family members serving overseas in Iraq? It's easy to ask someone else to stand in harm's way for your freedom; try sending a loved one.Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030079494701819884noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-56465757666880384572006-11-22T10:14:00.000-06:002006-11-22T07:24:41.042-06:00<strong><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" >ON THIS DAY<br /></span></strong><br />I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge and commemorate in my own small way, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/22/newsid_2451000/2451143.stm">the anniversary </a>of the death of the first President I loved, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. I was a child of age...ok, lets say I was a very, very small child, but I remember him. My parents, and my Irish grandmother adored him and that made him very God-like and all powerful to me.<br /><br />I can very faintly remember the Cuban missile crisis. I didn't know what was going on, of course, but I remember a few very tense days in my little family circle when my parents would sit around the kitchen table in our small post-war house they had built. I heard the stress in their voices as they talked with my other relatives and their friends who visited. And I remember the joy and relief when President Kennedy brought our country through that deadly, perilous time. The bourbon flowed in the South. I remember because it was so rare to see everyone celebrate in such a way.<br /><br />I remember the shock of the assassination in the reactions of my parents, especially since my oldest sister had just brought home her newborn, my first niece. It should have been a happy time, but it was tinged with sorrow. I didn't realize what had happened exactly until I watched the funeral on the TV. I remember I was wearing a frilly white dress and patent leather maryjanes. I remember John-John saluting the coffin and I cried. We all cried.<br /><br />I pray that mercy and justice will bring this country another great man, like John F. Kennedy, to lead us in a new direction. We need him.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-91013314643424351852006-11-22T07:08:00.000-06:002006-11-22T07:24:26.638-06:00<span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);font-size:130%;" ><strong>BARBARA BUSH ROBBED</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6171600.stm">The Secret Service failed to protect the daughter of the President </a>from being robbed in Argentina at a crowded restaurant. Barbara was dining with Jenna in Buenos Aires, where they have been for about 3 weeks. Despite being surrounded by Secret Service agents, her purse was stolen.<br /><br />Yes, I'm telling you that between the CIA, the Secret Service, the FBI and the rest of the intelligence community, we're all screwed. God knows, I'm no fan, but these are the daughter's of the President of our country. You'd think at this time, with all that is happening and nearly on the day of the anniversary of our last assassinated President, the great tradition of the Secret Service would ensure that they would be hyper-vigilent, wouldn't you?<br /><br />UPDATE: I've checked the CNN newscast and website and not one word can I find on this. How is it that the BBC has the story and not the U.S. media? What does that tell us about the MSM in the U.S.? Are their heads totally up their asses or are they just owned lock, stock and barrel and willfully and wrongfully attempting to keep information from the American people?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32901514.post-82461780610881831282006-11-22T03:56:00.000-06:002006-11-22T04:00:22.161-06:00<span style="font-size:130%;color:#990000;"><strong>CHIMERA</strong></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.truthdig.com/interview/item/20061121_gore_vidal_living_through_history/">Truthdig has a great interview with Gore Vidal </a>up, so go check it out. Here is a sample:<br /><br />'There are a few crazies who want to cheer the flag and this yappy little terrier as though he were a real president. Well, he’s not a real president. He’s a thing, a chimera who was put together by the Supreme Court, first time around, and reelected by, uh, Diebold, Sequoia and some other interested parties. Everybody knows he isn’t there. Or what is there isn’t for us—it’s not our president. We do have a real, uh, a shadow president in Vice President Cheney, whose wife is a famous novelist given to tales of unnatural love… . 'Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0