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::fuzzy and blue --political musings by a proud Democrat::
::Author::  Name::Tina From::United States Married college graduate and parent who lives in the Mid West View my complete 
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Saturday, April 29, 2006 My phone & DSL "problem" explained?  As many of you already know, this wk Hubby and I had no phone/ DSL service for 2 days b/c mysteriously it went AWOL. When Hubby spoke to SBC (who was purchased by AT&T) we were given a very vague answer about what exactly caused the problem in the 1st place. I had mentioned to the comments left by several of you that I wondered if this whole thing happened due to some BushCo/ NSA illegal wiretapping. Little did I know that that tin foil hat comment would fit so perfectly after reading this. This has scared the bejeebus out of me. It should also scare the bejeebus out of all of us (via Wired): "The BushCo govt intends to invoke the rarely used "State Secrets Privilege" The SSP is a vestige from English common law that lets the exec branch step into a civil lawsuit and have it dismissed if the case might reveal info that puts natl security at risk." So lemme get this straight: The exec branch of the govt is accused of illegally spying on its own citizens. To investigate this, somebody sues the private organization (AT&T) that is alleged to be helping them. This is supposed to work because the judicial branch and executive branch of the govt are separated, so the judicial branch shouldn't be covering for the exec branch....and somehow the exec branch can interfere w/ the judicial branch and simply dismiss cases it doesn't like? I thought our govt was set up in separate branches to prevent things like this? Oh that's right... in BushWorld, the Constitution is a damned piece of paper, slavery is freedom, war is peace. 
Hookers, GOP Johns & Watergate oh my!  Patriotic hookers unite... and then toss those politicians who were your johns aside like used Kleenex: The WSJ broke the story that FBI investigators are looking into a new aspect to the former GOP Cali Rep. Duke Cunningham story: the defense contractors who bribed him also threw him parties and arranged for prostitutes and hotel rooms. The 2 defense contractors who allegedly provided Cunningham w/ free limousine service, free stays at hotel suites at the Watergate and the Westin Grand, and free prostitutes were Brent Wilkes & Mitchell Wade, whose business firms profited greatly from their connections w/ Cunningham. The WSJ also said that the FBI is looking into whether these same contractors arranged for prostitutes for other members of congress... and perhaps even 1 person who now holds a powerful intelligence post. Who might that be? Well, TPM Muckraker says it is CIA Director Porter Goss. Whoa. Well, TIME did report that Cunningham wore a wire. Let's hope for his wife's sake the dirty bugger wore a condom, too. Maybe America will finally seriously question how wise it is to have this GOP stranglehold on our 3 branches of govt now that a sex scandal has entered the scene. But there will still be some who will say this: As long as there were no blow jobs... it's okay.
NYTimes: "Bush is expected on Friday to announce his approval of a deal under which a Dubai-owned company would take control of 9 plants in the US that manufacture parts for US military vehicles and aircraft, say 2 administration officials familiar with the terms of the deal." How nice that The Decider has decided that there's no harm in letting a country tied to terrorist attacks against the US control our MILITARY manufacturing.
So I'm watching Countdown (Keith was absent, but Brian Ungar does a respectable job) and this bombshell is dropped (via RawStory): "MSNBC's David Shuster revealed that one of Rove's lawyers said the presidential adviser described his 5th grand jury appearance as "hell" and that Rove believes he is in legal jeopardy. Add to this that a fedrl judge refused on Thurs to dismiss charges against Scooter Libby and refused to agree w/Libby's lawyers that Fitzgerald was given too much power (more than the Att Gen) and that the appt should have been made by the president w/ the Senate's approval, and I'm all ready to break out the champagne.
How long does it take a Fortune 500 CEO to make what you make per hour OR per year? Visit the Make Work Pay calculator and become instantly sickened. I know I was... and I've never felt like my teaching degree was more worthless after checking this out.
Oh yeah... we're sooo in the last days of the insurgency: Gunmen in Baghdad killed the sister of Iraq's Sunni Muslim Vice Pres Tariq al-Hashimi. Throw this in from the WashPost, and I just can't imagine when I've seen a bloodletting appear so rosey.
The Senate Homeland Security Comm says that FEMA has become a symbol of a bumbling bureaucracy, complete mismanagement and waste, and should be abolished. It appears that the VA may be headed in that same abolishment direction, as the VA is now run by a former Repub Natl Committeeman, and has been subjected to the same radical hatcheting that the WH has tried to wield against the rest of America's safety nets. Why? B/c the Bush administration and supporters like the Heritage Foundation and anti-tax radical Grover Norquist secretly like to think of the medical care of veterans as another form of welfare to be slashed. The effects? Troops wounded in Iraq/ Afghanistan are being harassed by the fedrl government and its debt collectors b/c the military is not taking care of our troops. At a Capitol Hill hearing Thurs, angry troops describe a bureaucracy that can't keep track of their pay, and after leaving the service, facing endless collection notices and ruined credit ratings. seems to me the common thread in both bureaucracies is incompetence and disregard for the human costs.
Let's get a brief history lesson from Howard Zinn: "If we don’t know history, then we are ready meat for carnivorous politicians, the intellectuals & journalists who supply the carving knives. I mean a history which is honest about the past. If we don’t know that history, then any Pres can stand up to the battery of microphones, declare that we must go to war, and we will have no basis for challenging him. He will say that the nation is in danger, that democracy and liberty are at stake, and that we must therefore send ships and planes to destroy our new enemy, and we will have no reason to disbelieve him." Zinn goes on to list some of the lies past presidents have told to launch a war and an agenda. We'd be better off if we actually took a gander at history, but when the cabal in charge refuses to face reality, historical facts and knowledge are then rendered as useful as a fence around a cemetery.
No phone + No DSL = FRUSTRATED  Sometime Tuesday our phone line and DSL went AWOL. We are still waiting for SBC to fix this problem..... we've been waiting since yesterday afternoon...... sigh. Be back asap, but if you were to pick up my phone right now, there is so much static it sounds like a tornado trapped in a tin can. Thanks to my big sis for letting me get online at her house and check my email and blog... grrr... I hate being a slave to technology.
TommyChong:Homegrown Truth on Bush  At the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws conference, Tommy Chong hands out the best homegrown knowledge about Bush and his cabal that I believe I've ever heard: Insinuating that Pres Bush was on methamphetamines, Chong said: "The dangerous thing about tweakers is they can take things apart but they can't put them back together again. That's what George Bush has done to this country." AND "I know Dick Cheney's Secret Service guys smoke pot. The reason I know that is I sold them bongs." Well Chong, I don't know if that is true or not, but it certainly makes sense. And what about this nugget of wisdom?: "If more people were stoned there would be less violence in the world." Yeah, that is absolutely true b/c let's face it, who in the hell cares about being violent when there are so many snack foods to eat? But if I were forced to stare at these freaky Cheech & Chong holiday lights for too long, I may be inclined to become violent.
ThinkProgress: "Retired Marine Gen Paul Van Riper said he constantly talks with many active duty and retired senior officers who share his feelings that Rumsfeld has not fought the Iraq war competently. He told Fox that Rumsfeld has run the Pentagon through intimidation and that a change in leadership is needed." Hmm, throw in a retired chief justice for the 3rd circuit saying Rummy shows 'disregard' for military law & that he was more involved in Abu Ghraib than anyone previously thought, and that many Repubs are warning Bush that Rummy could cost the GOP its majority and it seems to me that this call for his resignation goes beyond any partisanship.
Uh-oh... what furious spinning will be done about this? (via MSNBC): "Fired CIA officer Mary McCarthy has “categorically” denied to NBC News through her lawyer that she leaked classified information. In addition, McCarthy's attorney tells NBC News that she did not have access to the information she is accused of leaking. The CIA has said that the officer — whom the agency wouldn't identify — had “confessed” to leaking." Add to this that former CIA agent Larry Johnson sais this about her firing: "... smells a little fishy." and that McCarthy's former CIA co-worker Rand Beers said this: "She was not the source for that story." Oh well, I'm sure something can be fabricated lickety split about McCarthy. Who knows? Maybe they'll utilize some damning "evidence" against her procured thru the NSA illegal wiretaps of every conversation she's ever had in the past 4 yrs.
Crooks & Liars picked up this unbelievable clip of Kirk Cameron spewing some CRAZY shite about bananas and creationism via The Disgruntled Chemist. Notice Cameron takes a giant swipe at public education by claiming that he actually once believed in the theory of evolution b/c of public school. (Correct me if I'm wrong... but Cameron was a child actor. How much time did he spend attending public school when he was taping a show yr after yr?) But, this swipe at public education is echoed by the likes of James Dobson: "But in the State of CA and places that have moved in the direction that they've gone with the schools, if I had a child there, I wouldn't put that youngster in the public schools... I think it's time to get our kids out." Dobson also thinks that preschool is bad for kids: "I'd much prefer that the child be kept in the safety of his home... b/c children are brutal to each other. They're really tough on each other." Yeah, I teach preschool Dobson, and the most brutal thing I think I've seen a preschooler do is rat another kid out when they pooped their pants and thought no one noticed. But I guess being a kid raised by hatefilled gay bashers, racists, classists and warmongers makes for a well rounded, gentle and kind child, huh?
Please watch Peace Takes Courage's "WWJD?" and then read what kinds of threats the creator of this website-- a 15 yr old girl from Alabama-- has been receiving for this particular clip. Threatening a 15 yr old with rape, murder and desecration of her corpse is so compassionate and conservative, no?
Iraqi Sex Trafficking:business is booming  "Burka" pix courtesy of the amazing Portuguese photographer Nana Sousa Dias and while the photo is lovely, this article in TIME is anything but lovely: "As criminal gangs run amuck in Iraq, 100s of girls have gone missing. Are they being sold for sex? It appears so as there now exists a seldom-discussed aspect of the epidemic of kidnappings in Iraq: sex trafficking. No one knows how many females have been kidnapped and sold since the fall of Saddam in 03. The Org for Women's Freedom in Iraq in Baghdad, estimates from anecdotal evidence that 2000+ Iraqi women have gone missing in that period. A Western official in Baghdad who monitors the status of women in Iraq thinks that figure may be inflated but admits that sex trafficking, virtually nonexistent under Saddam, has become a serious issue. The collapse of law and order and the absence of a stable govt have allowed criminal gangs, alongside terrorists, to run amuck. Meanwhile, some aid workers say, bureaucrats in the ministries have either paralyzed w/ red tape or frozen the assets of charities that might have provided refuge for these girls. As a result, sex trafficking has been allowed to fester unchecked." Was sex trafficing virtually nonexistant under Saddam? Who knows. We know that during his rule that his forces used rape as a humiliating punishment (as do so many dictators) but we also know that the plight of females is universally miserable in the Middle East & that sex trafficking IS a rampant problem in Iran, as Iranian females suffer horribly under the theocratic mullahs: "Some may think a thriving sex trade in a theocracy w/ clerics acting as pimps is a contradiction in a country founded and ruled by Islamic fundamentalists. In fact, this is not a contradiction. 1st, exploitation and repression of women are closely associated. Both exist where women, individually or collectively, are denied freedom and rights. 2nd, the fundamentalists in Iran are not simply conservative Muslims. Islamic fundamentalism is a political movement w/a political ideology that considers women inherently inferior in intellectual & moral capacity. Fundamentalists hate women's minds and bodies (hmm, just like Christian Fundies, no?). Selling women and girls for prostitution is just the dehumanizing complement to forcing women and girls to cover their bodies and hair w/ the veil." How nice to see that under our occupation, we are now allowing Iraqi females to fall victim to the same treatment that so many Iranian females have to endure. Operation Iraqi Freedom indeed... unless you are born w/ a vagina.
Speaking of being dictated to and having no rights when you possess a vagina, check this out from NOLA: Legislation that would ban most abortions in the state of LA passed 7-0 after the bill's author agreed to make it go into effect only if the Sup Crt overturns the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. The bill is expected on the Senate floor this wk." OK, so another state vomits out wingnut anti-choice legislation. Not shocking. What is shocking? Some of the people who are most vocal in support of this are DEMOCRATS: Senate Bill 33 by Sen Ben Nevers (D) cleared the Comm on Health and Welfare after the provision was added. The bill would allow abortions only to save the life of the mother. But Sen Diana Bajoie (D) said she wanted to "make it more pro-life" by not allowing any exceptions." OMG... I need to find a REAL political party ASAP to belong to before I have an aneurysm. Either that or before I decide to undergo sexual reassignment surgery b/c possessing a vagina in America is becoming a liability, and now Dems seem to want to punish all females, too.
The IL state legislature is preparing to drop a bombshell by utilizing a little known rule of the US House to bring impeachment charges: The IL Genrl Assembly's HJR0125 details 5 specific charges against Bush including 1 that is specified to be a felony. 1 of the interesting pts is that one of the items, the 1 specified as a felony (the NSA was directed by the Pres to spy on American citizens w/o warrant) is not in dispute. That fact should prove an interesting dilemma for a Repub controlled House that clearly is not only loathe to initiate impeachment proceedings, but does not even want to thoroughly investigate any of the 5 items brought up by the IL Assembly as high crimes and/or misdemeanors. Should HJR0125 be passed by the IL Genrl Assembly, the US House will be forced by House Rules to take up the issue of impeachment as a privileged bill, meaning it will take precedence over other House business.
So, CBS aired 60 Mins Sunday night: "A former top CIA official, Tyler Drumheller (a 26 yr veteran of the agency) tells Ed Bradley the real failure was not in the intelligence community but in the WH. He says he saw how the Bush admin, time and again, welcomed intelligence that fit the prez's determination to go to war and turned a blind eye to intelligence that did not." The WH response to this CBS story? Dan Bartlett said: "Bipartisan investigations...found no evidence of political pressure to influence the pre-war intelligence assessments of Iraq's weapons programs." Really Dan? It appears even Soledad O'Brien saw thru that lying spew during an interview, ya jackass... but keep spewing and spinning.
While visiting my mom for Orthodox Easter yesterday, my dad & I were discussing Pres Kennedy (well, I believe the topic was about when presidents made us proud NOT ashamed, but I digress) and didja know that JFK and RFK both donated their yearly salaries to charities? In fact, JFK had donated every one of his yearly salaries to charity upon entering Congress in 1947. In full disclosure, JFK wasn't the 1st prez to do this. Herbert Hoover was the 1st to do it, but JFK has certainly been the last to do it thus far. And speaking of presidential pay, you have to check out this site. Pay particular attention to the fact that from 1969 to 2000, the prez's salary was $200,000 with a $50,000 non-taxable expense acct. What suddenly happened in 2001? Well, the prez's yearly salary jumped from $200,ooo to $400,000, of course.
Tony Blair to George Bush: Even it costs me my govt, I'm in on Iraq war with you  DailyTimes: Bush told Tony Blair in '03 that he should quit the "coalition of the willing" rather than risk a collapse in his support at home, Bush said in an interview published Sat in the UK Daily Telegraph: "Of course, we were watching this very closely. And it was during that period of time, in a phone call, when I told Tony, ‘Rather than lose your govt, withdraw from the coalition,’ b/c I felt it was very important for him to be the prime minister at this point in our relationship." Tony (wanting to stand by his man) said, as Bush told the Telegraph: "And that’s when he told me, ‘I’m staying, even if it costs me my govt, (b/c I just can't quit you Dubya)... and that is when Bush knew that Jeff Gannon was soon going to replaced by a new man w/ a British accent who would get the santorum flowing in the Oval Office. Fer chrissakes, come out of the closet boys. You won't have to be public gay bashers anymore as a cover (and to make your gay-hating base smile), you'll be sooo much happier and for once, your illogical and twisted political devotion to one another will make sense.
Tin foil hats are no longer needed b/c this shit is straight outta 1984 (via the WashPost): "Details of the plans are secret, but in general they envision a significantly expanded role for the military -and, in particular, a growing force of elite Special Operations troops- in continuous operations to combat terrorism outside of war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. (Well Rummy, since the generals are revolting against your incompetence and now even the young minds in the war colleges are jumping on the Rummy Revolt bandwagon, Special Ops may be the only ones left who will war for you.) Developed over about 3 yrs by the Special Operations Command in Tampa, the plans reflect a beefing up of the Pentagon's involvement in domains traditionally handled by the CIA and the State Dept." Up next: Halliburton makes billions while making Special Ops face mask cages that contain large hungry rats that are guaranteed to make all non-Kool Aid guzzlers believe & convert..or else.
ThinkProgress: This tidbit about Bush’s schedule was buried in Sat’s WashPost: Bush traveled Fri night to Stanford Univ, where he met privately with members of the libertarian Hoover Institution to discuss the war. He concluded the day with a private dinner held by George P. Shultz, a Hoover fellow and former secretary of state. Why is this significant? The Hoover Institution is a think tank that has been aggressively promoting the viability of a preemptive military strike in Iran. And Schultz, who hosted this event, was an "early defender of the use of pre-emptive force to deal with Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq." Bush is meeting w/ a group of warmongers to plan out pre-emptive lies and spew? That is just soooo shocking... and completely unheard of, no?
 Happy Orthodox Easter to my Romanian Orthodox family and my Greek Orthodox best friend. Fericit Paşti şi I dragoste tu mamă.
Condi Leaked Defense Info  Saint Condi... Our Lady of Lies indeed. Okay. Lemme get this straight: When a CIA agent leaks to Dana Priest of the WashPost that the US is secretly carting off prisoners/ detainees to secret prisons/ gulags in E Europe to have God knows who do God knows what to them, that CIA agent is made to be an example of and loses her job. When Bush, Cheney, Libby, and Rove leak the identity of a CIA agent in the field during a time of war in order to get back at her ambassador husband for publically destroying their claims on WMDs in order to justify launching their illegal war, nothing happens to them b/c aww shucks, the pres can declassify and leak whatever he wants. And when the Sec of State Condi Rice leaks national defense info to a pro-Israel lobbyist in the same manner that landed a lower-level Pentagon official a 12-year prison sentence, we can expact what to happen to her? Firing? Prison term? Who the hell am I kidding... that gap toothed cretin will be patted on the back and probably given a medal for selling her soul once again to Satan.
MSNBC: "The number of U.S. Army soldiers who took their own lives increased last year to the highest total since 1993 (83 soldiers killed themselves in 2005, up from 67 the previous yr) despite a growing effort by the Army to detect and prevent suicides.".... Hey! Wait a minute. Propaganda & manipulation of a war used for political advantage. Vets freakin out b/c they cannot deal w/what they saw and what they were asked to do. And then these veterans are killing themselves over this disasterous and unnecessary war? What yr is this? 1970? Oh that's right... it couldn't be Vietnam. Bush was AWOL during that time of war.
Heads up: 60 Mins this Sunday will air an interview w/ Tyler Drumheller, who headed CIA covert operations in Europe during the run-up to the Iraq war. Drumheller said the CIA had evidence Iraq possessed no WMDs six months before the '03 US-led invasion but was ignored by a White House intent on ousting Saddam. The former sr CIA official said intelligence opposing administration claims of a WMD threat came from a top Iraqi official who provided the US spy agency w/ other credible info: "The source told us that there were no active weapons of mass destruction programs." Yet MORE evidence that BushCo's pro-war hard-on for Iraq was going to be satisfied NO MATTER WHAT... consequences be damned.
Is Ohio's GOPer Rep Bob Ney going down for providing a false report to Congress? One can only hope that he too will become a convicted felon like our esteemed OH Gov Taft.
Bush: Hu Heckler Hypocrite  Pix courtesy of Seeds of Doubt and it dovetails nicely with the Hu Heckler brouha-ha (summed up beautifully by Attytood): "Today we are aghast at the coverage of Chinese Pres Hu at the WH. At an outdoor ceremony, Bush told Hu: "China has become successful b/c the Chinese people are experience the freedom to buy, and to sell, and to produce -- and China can grow even more successful by allowing the Chinese people the freedom to assemble, to speak freely, and to worship." Seconds later, 1 of the people assembled on the WH lawn actually tried to speak freely right here in America -- about both the lack of free speech and religious freedom in China. That free-speaking woman was promptly hauled off and arrested: She shouted in heavily accented English, "Pres Bush: Stop him from killing" and, "Pres Bush, stop him from persecuting the Falun Gong." Bush, standing next to Hu, leaned over and whispered a comment to the Chinese leader, who paused briefly when the shouting began and then resumed his remarks. The protester was waving a banner with the red and yellow colors used by Falun Gong, a banned religious movement in China. She kept shouting for several mins before Sec Service uniformed agents dragged her off the stand" and can be seen here silencing her (and more pix here, some funny). Her protest was blocked from Chinese TV. I wonder: Will O'Reilly daily spew about this war on Falun Gong? Will Bush & his Talibornagains-- self professed people of faith-- defend this woman's right to practice her religion? Oh that's right. If it ain't King James and it ain't Christofascist, it doesn't count. I do think that Olbermann made an excellent point about this that may go unnoticed: "This protestor had a WH press day- pass. She was not a hand-picked WH softball lobbing plant. She was NOT Jeff Gannon in a dress. Why let her in there if you have no intention on letting her issues be discussed?" B/c Keith, as is the case w/everything else BushCo does, it has to become a bungled, mismanaged and incompetent clusterfuck somewhere down the line.
Via Huffington Post, watch Peace Takes Courage's latest animation called Impeach the Decider... or is that Impeach the Liar?
Rep JoAnn Emerson (R-Mo) recently corresponded w/ a voter of her district. The letter ended with: "I think you're an asshole.'' Her excuse? She just don't know how that happened: Emerson says she can't explain how the offensive language made it into the letter. "We cannot determine whether the addition to the letter was made by someone w/in the office or by someone w/ access to the office, but it is on my letterhead and the responsibility for it lies with me. A valuable lesson has been learned and new procedures will be adopted as a result." But Emerson personally signed the letter, dated Feb. 15. She included a handwritten personal message at the bottom: "PS - please forgive the delay in responding.'' (see letter here). I can't wait to see the campaign commercials her opponent will have over this ammunition.
Hat tip to JuBlu of Out of the Blue for this (via MSNBC): "The number of very rich people in the US grew last yr at the fastest pace in at least a decade. The number of households with $5m+ in investable assets (excluding the family home) rose by 26% to a record 930,000, according to a study by Spectrem Group. That is the biggest jump since Spectrem began its survey in 1996. The number of millionaires rose by 11%, to a record 8.3m- the 2nd biggest jump in the decade and the overall affluent market (households with $500,000 or more) rose by 7% to a record 14m. Spectrem said: "It's been a great couple of yrs for America's millionaires (under BushCo? how shocking!) ... However, for the wealthiest Americans it appears the increased use of internatl markets and alternative investments were key drivers of their improvement." Oh, so like our prez (who has whored out our grandchildren's futures to the Chinese as they gobble up our bonds to float our debt) the wealthiest had to abandon investing in America in order to make the most dough. So who is gonna invest in America? The swelling 37 million+ Americans living in poverty in 2005? Sorry, that is nearly 1 out of every 8 people in the US. They are too busy just trying to survive. Investing is NOT high on their list of priorities. But 1 thing sure is the same: As BushCo's millionaires & "very wealthy" rise in numbers so do these numbers: Poverty's rise to 12.7% of the total pop. represented an additional 7 m people falling into poverty since 2000 AND every day in America, 2,019 babies are born into poverty. This means that a child is born into poverty every 43 secs. Almost 80% of these children live in "working- poor" households. Hmm... that time of Clinton-era prosperity makes that blowjob seem even more trivial now doesn't it?
12 distinguished US physicists lay down the gauntlet and tell Bush via this letter (PDF) to take preemptive nuclear strikes off the table. But since he brags about being The Decider, I hold out little hope.
The NYT reports that NOLA evacuees are putting a strain on TX, and the Columbia School of Public health came out w/ a study about the children of Katrina. As the researchers note, their study is not of Katrina evacuees in general, or even of poor evacuees. It’s a study of the nearly 50,000 evacuees still living in FEMA-built evacuee trailer parks, regular trailer parks, and hotels in La: 1.) The unmet health needs of Katrina- displaced persons are at an alarmingly high rate. 2.) Katrina- displaced children who evacuated their homes & now are living in hotels or trailers are in "urgent" need of primary care and mental health care. 3.) Katrina is taking a lasting toll on evacuees' health. The conclusion: The effects on 1000s of Katrina's victims is heartbreaking.
According to Charles Krauthammer, he doesn't believe that the 1st Amend applies to retired generals. Isn't it bizarre that all military members put their asses in the line of fire after swearing to uphold the Constitution, and then jackass journalists like Chuck say they don't have the right to enjoy any of those rights they swore to uphold?
Pledge Virginity to Daddy at Purity Ball  Reverend Right's Certificate of Virginity is courtesy of Dada Dean. While I think waiting to have sex until you are mature enough to handle all of the responsibilities & the emotional issues is absolutely key to having respect for yourself as one becomes a young adult, I can't for 1 second wrap my head around this twisted ceremony (via Digby): YOUNG GIRLS FROM S.D. CAME TO SIOUX FALLS FOR A SPRING BALL. THIS ONE IS CALLED "THE PURITY BALL" IT'S A YEARLY EVENT RUN BY Leslee Unruh's ABSTINENCE CLEARINGHOUSE.(This forced pregnancy zealot is "giving" women back their freedom by taking away their right to abortion & she's also the prime mover of the state's abstinence only education movement. Freedom is having no sex at all.) THE IDEA AT THESE PURITY BALLS IS THAT THESE YOUNG WOMEN (and we mean YOUNG. See pix of girls as young as age 7 here pledging their virginity to dear Daddy) COME W/ THEIR FATHERS. TO CELEBRATE THEIR SEXUAL PURITY. You have to see it to believe it. They are all dressed up like prom goers, the dads in tuxes and the daughters in evening gowns looking all grown up. They dance, they laugh, they giggle. And then dad and daughter stand up, holding each others hands, staring into each others' eyes and the girls make these vows as if in a wedding ceremony. As I watch it occurs to me that this is why they don't have an exception for rape and incest. It's one of the creepiest things I've ever seen. You will notice that there's no "mother-son" ceremony in which boys pledge to their mothers to stay pure until they give themselves as a gift to their wives." I waited until I was 18 to lose my virginity... to a guy I dated seriously for a looong time... but the thought of engaging in some kind of ceremony pledging my dad as my virginity's keeper is just sick. I asked Hubby what he thought about this as I wrote this post. He turned and looked at me w/ a look of shocked horror on his face: "WTF? That is disgusting. I want BabyGirl to keep her virginity for herself, not b/c of me and some whacked out ceremony. And if we're good enough parents, she will have already heard us tell her a million times how she should keep her virginity until she meets a guy worthy of her and that." Yes... I did so marry the right man. Besides, he hates tuxes.
Damn... Helen Thomas and I don't get to ridcule Scotty the Lying Doughboy anymore. Yep. Scotty is out. Tributes to the Doughboy were made as Al Franken and Keith Olbermann said emotional goodbyes to him... yeh, right, and David Corn remembers Scotty best: "I ask you, what's a reporter to do? I couldn't get McClellan to address the facts because he refused to recognize their existence. Now this sort of spin is not unique in the annals of political speech. But the case at hand was bizarre because McClellan was denying what was already on the public record." Ah yes... denial just ain't a river in Egypt. And what about Rove the Toad? Well, in additional to talk of Fitz handing his sizable ass to him over PlameGate, Rove has received a demotion of sorts to focus on the Fall elections. And what about the Toad's policy czar replacement. Ah yes... he is none other than Joel Kaplan, who took part in the infamous "Brooks Brothers riot" of 2000. That's when a bunch of GOP operatives, posing as outraged Floridians, waved fists, chanted "Stop the fraud!" and pounded windows in an effort to intimidate officials engaged in the FL recount effort. Nice to see we go from BushCo lying architect to BushCo lying operative.
ThinkProgress: Tim Russert says on MTP: "A source "close to the Pres" told Russert that Bush "won’t fire Rumsfeld because it would be the equivalent of firing himself." Well Timmy, why aren't you screaming from the rooftops about the clusterfuck this war has turned into due to the BushCo incompetence? You do remember what screaming from the rooftops is like, dontcha? You did it daily over Clinton's consensual blowjob.
This was so shocking, that ThinkProgress had to pick it up...No, not that another Bush admin member was caught in a blatant lie...but that Chris Matthews actually played hardball w/ a Republican: Appearing on MSNBC’s Hardball, WH Counselor Dan Barlett adamantly denied that anyone in the admin claimed that the Iraq war would lead to lower gas prices: MATTHEWS: That was another promise made, that this war would help us get cheaper gas. BARTLETT: That’s not correct, Chris. The prez or no one else ever said that this war was going to result in cheaper gas prices. MATTHEWS: Ok, so just to make it official, Dan, no one in the admin has ever said that we would have cheaper gas because of war in Iraq, just to make it official? BARTLETT: I don’t recall anybody ever saying that, Chris. Matthews noted later in the broadcast, that Laurence Lindsey (Bush’s senior economic advisor) argued in 02 that the Iraq war would increase oil supplies and lower prices. From the Wash Times, 9/19/02: "The key issue is oil, and a regime change in Iraq would facilitate an increase in world oil, which would drive down oil prices, giving the US economy an added boost." Yeh. At nearly $70 a barrel, our gas prices are quite the bargain, eh? So, by using this logic, if we invade Iran, they'll be passing out free fuel fillups at all US gas stations?
Somebody had better tell Sean Hannity about this Rolling Stone cover for the Worst President ever (since he proclaims that Bush will merely be hailed as great as Truman once history weighs in).
My oh my... the war on terror is going swimmingly, no?: 1.) A massive explosion believed to have been caused by a rocket shook the Afghan capital late Weds near the US Embassy compound. AND 2.) A 7 hr street battle broke out in Baghdad between Sunnis and Shiias, and became so fierce that US enforcemnets had to be called in. Rocket explosions hitting near our embassy in a nation we supposedly "freed" from the clutches of the Taliban and civil war street fighting? Oh yeh... missions accomplished.
Rev Moon: Freaky-deaky Sexual Pervert  The King & Queen of Sexual Perversion AND GOP/ Religious Fright darlings: The Rev Moon & his wife. Holy crusty hankerchiefs Batman! Hat tip to Earl for passing this my way... although after reading it, I must confess I am at a loss for words, which is RARE for me. AlterNet: "The owner of the conservative mouthpiece the WashTimes & self-proclaimed Messiah, the Rev Moon, has issued a warning to America that we must have sex the way he entreats us, in the positions he has designated, or else forfeit our "love organs," to Satan. 1.) Before having sex for the 1st time as man and wife, couples have to beat Satan out of each other w/ Moon's "indemnity stick ceremony". 2.) Satan will not be purged until newlyweds carry out Moon's "3 Day Sex Ceremony" which involves specified sex positions, wearing Holy Gowns, doing it in front of Moon's photograph, and you can even do it in one of Moon's churches. 3) But you have to have some specific items on hand, according to the instructions available online: a Holy Handkerchief, a church-supplied cloth, and a photo of the WashTimes publisher and conservative benefactor w/ his wife. By now you may be asking WTF is a Holy Hanky? Well, get this: "After sex, both spouses should wipe their sexual areas with the Holy Handkerchief. Hang the handkerchief[s] to dry naturally and keep them eternally. They must be kept individually labeled and should never be laundered and mixed up." OMFG... how nasty is THAT? I bet that stiff and smelly thing could walk to the washing machine all by itself! 4.) Over 3 nights, there must be 3 acts of sex, and condoms or any other apparatus are not permitted during sex b/c as Moon said in 2004, "The women are the problem in history. Women who don't want to have children should cut away their breasts, bottoms and love organ because the purpose for those was 1st for the children. If they don't fulfill that purpose, then they are not needed." Men don't get off any easier: "Keep pliers in your pocket, and when you go to the bathroom, once a day, pinch your penis. Cut the skin a little bit as a warning." Whoa. Pinching your wanker w/pliers & cutting off my yoo-hoo is beyond freaky- deaky ... but didja know that Moon was coronated in '04 in our very own US Dirksen Senate building in '04? I have to wonder now if Rev Moon is the actual heavenly father figure Bush takes orders from? For info on the Moonies & the GOP/ Religious Fright, please check this site out... if ye dare.
Rummy's self defense is priceless and utter crap all at the same time: "There have always been people who have opposed wars...I think we just have to accept it, that people have a right to say what they want to say, and to have an acceptance of that and recognize that the terrorists, Zarqawi, bin Laden and Zawahiri, those people have media committees. They are actively out there trying to manipulate the press in the US. They are very good at it." So these 6 generals (3 of whom commanded troops in Iraq) are in cahoots w/ Osama? Who knew? Our esteemed Prez then acted like a 5 yr old and threatened to take his ball home if we didn't like it: "I'm the decider and I decide what's best," Bush told reporters in the Rose Garden. "And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the Sec of Def."... and then I'm taking my ball home and none of you can play!
I came across this Cheney issue at Helen's place, Just Ain't Right. You can also read ClammyC's "Cheney's shady charitable contributions net $2 million refund" too for an indepth look at what Cheney did. But as I said at Helen's place: Well, well, well... seems as if Mama Bush isn't the only one to turn Katrina into a financial windfall, eh? Mama Bush stipulated that part of her contribution had to be spent on educational software purchased from her son Neil's company, Ignite Learning of Austin, TX... so why the hell shouldn't The Big Evil Dick make a profit, too?
TheNation: "As a great power, the US goes about as far in a theocratic direction as it can when it meets the unfortunate criteria on display in Bush: an elected leader who believes himself to be speaking for God; a ruling party that represents religious true believers and seeks to mobilize the nation's churches; the conviction of many Repubs that govt should be guided by religion and religious leaders; and WH implementation of domestic and internatl political agendas that seem to be driven by religious motivations and biblical worldviews. Is theocracy in the US (1) a legitimate fear (2) a joke, given the nation's rising secular population and moral laxity; (3) a worrisome bias of major GOP constituencies and pressure groups; or (4) all of the above? The last, I would argue." Read the entire article... but be prepared. It is bloodcurdling.
Time to shine up the jackboots girls and dust off the coat hangers: I've posted about this proposed OH law called House Bill 228 before, which as far as I know, is still in committee, but the passage of S Dakota's abortion ban in March has stirred renewed interest in a proposal to make all abortions illegal in OH. This chilling article about it was passed along to me by Krazny: Ohio HB 228 introduced by Tim Brinkman (R-Mnt Lookout) would make it a felony for a woman to seek to terminate her pregnancy and holds the same penalty if she chooses to leave the state for the medical procedure. (So will this law be enforced by making OH females pee at the side of the road on a pregnancy test stick? Or will we just have to endure roadside pelvic exams?) Additionally, anyone who helps coordinate an abortion or transportation to leave the state for one could be charged as well. (Hmm, sounds to me like this would be destroying marriages and families since how many husbands would be transporting their wives across OH's state lines in hopes of obtaining an abortion elsewhere? And doesn't it undermine the sanctity of marriage to intervene into the most PRIVATE and PERSONAL affairs between a man and wife-- their sex lives and the number of children thay can afford and/or want? And if both parents are in jail for this "crime" who will raise the children they already have or are about to have?) Oh that's right... the GOP is the THE party of families and morals... b/c it is moral to destroy marriages and families by highjacking their medical privacy, no?
Does anyone else find it a wee bit bit creepy that "post-partum depression rivals" Brooke Shields and Tom Cruise BOTH welcomed new daughters into this world on the VERY same day? I hope and pray that Brooke calls Katie every wk and asks her if she feels weepy or blue yet, and if Katie says yes, then Brooke needs to bark back: "Too bad sistah, ya better load up on the Flinstones' chewables."
Hannity: Loyal Bush wingnut to the very end  As Bush's approval ratings circle the bowl, W will always have 1 diehard loyal sycophant: Sean Hannity: "Let me be straight with you — I like George Bush. think he's a man of principle, a man of faith. I think he's got a backbone of steel and he's a real, genuine, big-time leader ... He's a consequential figure for his time. We don't see it right now. History will vindicate Bush as a strong leader the same way it did Harry Truman, another unpopular president of his time." Whoa... Bush compared to Truman? Truman was a Dem, actually served in battle during his time of war, believed in responsibility w/ "The buck stops here", his Truman Committee investigated the scandal of military wastefulness by exposing fraud/ mismanagement, he advocated universal health insurance, supported unions and the repeal of the anti-union Taft-Hartley Act and an aggressive civil rights program via the Fair Deal. Well, I can see 1 area where Bush & Truman are alike: Dewey was actually declared the presidential election winner, but Truman became prez. Bush was declared the presidential election winner, but Gore was actually the prez. I think I agree w/Alec Baldwin when he called Hannity a "no- talent, former construction worker hack" during a recent radio confrontation. And it all makes sense if you analyze it: A no- talent former construction worker hack worships a no-talent former oilman failure/ business hack.
Holy crap! VanityFair: Watergate journalist hero Carl Bernstein declares that "the high crimes and misdemeanors justify the impeachment of George W. Bush" and that these high crimes and misdemeanors warrant bipartisan hearings investigation. I bet Bernstein's former Watergate hero/ now turned BushCo apologist Bob Woodward is wishing that he was the one who decided to remain a journalist.
AssocPress: "An Ipsos Poll found almost 6 of 10 people, 58%, say the tax system is unjust, a number that is virtually unchanged from 2 decades ago. People think the middle class, self-employed & small businesses pay too much in taxes. And they think those w/ high incomes and big businesses don't pay enough. More than half, 58%, said mid-income families pay too much income tax and people were almost as likely, 54% to say that about low-income families. 6 in 10 said high-income families were paying too little in taxes. Well, that perception is accurate b/c the middle and low-income classes ARE overtaxed and overburdened in comparison to their wealthy counterparts. Combine that tax info w/ this news, and the future looks pretty bleak: "While there is no definitive standard for how much a person needs for retirement, according to an FDIC Report, many baby boomers appear to have a net worth insufficient to meet basic requirements to make ends meet upon retiring. BondDad explains the FDIC Report clearly here: "The single largest source of wealth for retirees is real estate. It is useful, to look separately at non-real estate assets for a realistic picture of available assets for a realistic picture of available assets retirees have accumulated. Although 94% of families headed by persons aged 45 to 54 held at least 1 type of non-real estate financial asset in 2004, the median holdings of financial assets for this group were only $38,600. So, outside of real estate (which is dependent upon a strong or stable real estate market if retirees are to make a profit), the boomers clearly have insufficient assets to retire." But since when has BushCo advocated anything helpful to retirees besides tax cuts for wealthy retirees only and raiding Soc Sec so he and his cronies can fund their war and agendas AND bankrupt the country all at the same time? Karmic Justice would truly result in George H.W. Bush and Barbara eating cans of cat food while living in a cardboard box 20 yrs from now.
Recently retired Gen Richard Myers defends Rummy by saying it is very rude of former generals to criticize Rumsfeld: They are inappropriately breaching military etiquette that dictates officers only air complaints w/ the civilian leadership privately. Hmm, somehow I doubt that the loved ones of dead troops would give a crap what Miss Manners would say. I have great respect for him, so I'm happy to see that Gen Clark speaks about the other generals' calling for Rummy's resignation: "They don't speak out easily about matters like this, not a one of them. They're speaking out only after they've searched their conscience. They're speaking out w/a great deal of trepidation, b/c they know that they'll be attacked. And worse than that, in the military loyalty's a very, very strong attribute. People stay w/ the Armed Forces b/c they believe in their country, but also b/c they're loyal to their comrades in arms. These are not people who are self-seeking. They're not doing it for ulterior motives. They're doing it because they believe in it. And they're speaking out about it b/c the results of the operations in Iraq haven't lived up to the cakewalk billing that the admin predicted."
ThinkProgress: The Admin for Children and Families (ACF) at the US Dept of Health and Human Srvcs announced new guidelines for orgs applying for grants for abstinence-only educ programs. So, in addition to being costly, inaccurate, and ineffective, the programs must now operate under a strict new definition of abstinence: Abstinence curricula must have a clear definition of sexual abstinence which must be consistent w/ the following: "Abstinence means voluntarily choosing not to engage in sexual activity until marriage. Sexual activity refers to any type of genital contact/ sexual stimulation between 2 persons including, but not limited to, sexual intercourse." And since it specifically says no sex until marriage, the guidelines explicitly define marriage as: Throughout the entire curriculum, the term marriage must be defined as "only a legal union between 1 man and 1 woman as a husband and wife, and the word ’spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife." So, in other words, if you’re single or gay, the Bush admin has decided that you should be taught to never, ever engage in any type of sexual stimulation — ever. Oh, so that must mean that the Bush twins should be celibate, right? Actually, it is too damn bad that George H.W. and Barbara Bush hadn't been celibate.
Terrance in DC is a gay father who attended the Easter Egg Roll at the WH w/his hubby and their son. I linked to his post about the event at his blog, The Republic of T, b/c I especially agreed w/this part: " ...it wasn’t like were going there to protest, yell slogans, wave signs, etc. We went to roll some eggs w/ our kids, and that’s what we did. That's what mystified me about the people who said "I don’t see why they have to do this at a kids’ event." "I don’t think they should politicize a family event." Um. We’re families w/ kids. The reality is that anything we do as gay families w/ any degree of visibility is politicized. So if they weren’t objecting to our presence or participation, then all that’s left to object to is our visibility. And, as I discovered in the line to enter the gates, just by being visible as families we can make a difference in how people think about our families... If there was any hostility on the part of the non-gay parents at the event, I didn’t sense it. I overheard 1 of the non-gay dads say this about the families wearing the rainbow leis: "I think it’s fine. It's great. It just ads a little extra color to the day." Did this guy just reassure his wife & kids that it’s OK if gay parents and their kids roll eggs on the WH lawn? Maybe that it’s OK that gay couples have kids? Well, that was kinda the pt of the whole exercise. So, from my perspective it was a success before we even made it to the WH lawn." Well Terrance, this hetero mommy, wife & pre-school teacher thinks that it just may be a success too if that is what people take away from the experience. Families are comprised of all kinds of people, and as long as kids are loved, cared for & not abused, I don't give a rat's ass who the kid's caregivers are. I now hope others realize that, too.
Gay families wait all night for Easter Egg Roll tix White House shuts them out of opening ceremonies: My Pictorial Post  1.) The Easter Bunny is pretty pissed off. He just may have to throw down his pastel basket and kick some ass. Click here for parts 2.), 3.), 4.), 5.) & 6.) or just scroll down.
 2.) Because you see, the Bush admin couldn't blatantly REFUSE gay and lesbian parents and their children tickets to the annual WH Easter Egg Roll.... but they COULD screw the gay and lesbian parents who have been waiting in line (many overnight) to get the free tickets out of getting tickets for the opening ceremonies instead (via Pandagon): "This year, at the last minute, for the first time, the policy for distributing tickets to the WH Easter Egg Roll has changed, with the families waiting outside all night to get opening time tickets receiving tickets with an entrance time of 11am or later — after the cameras have rolled for the opening ceremonies of the event, because the egg roll is slated for 8am to 2pm, according to the WH press release. So, the bob and weave is complete — they cannot bar the gay families, but they can try to ensure invisibility to avoid a PR nightmare for the Bushies and their religious right masters."
 3.) Correct me if I'm wrong, but this event is about FAMILIES. That means children and their caregivers-- whoever that may be-- a family IS NOT comprised of just a mommy and daddy. And like it or not bigots, gays and lesbians are parents. So why should their children be denied tickets that allow them access to the opening ceremonies of the Easter Egg Roll? Take a good look at that pix. Could you distinguish the hetero from the homo parents? The gay and lesbian parents were going to distinguish themselves by wearing a rainbow colored lei around their necks. They were not going to protest, carry signs or chant about their sexual orientation. They were going to attend "a free- all are welcome" Easter Egg Roll w/their children, just like us straight people would and do.
 4.) The gay and lesbian parents were NOT going to distinguish themselves dressed like this.
 5.) .......... or like this..... contrary to what the hate spewing freepers at Free Republic say. (be warned: these freaks are foaming at the mouth w/ hateful venom-- despite bragging that they are "Christ's faithful").
 6.) Mr. President, I am a married hetero mommy, and when even bunnies flip you off, ya know you truly suck.
HAPPY EASTER  I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend. I'll be back on Monday... going to visit family and then Hubby, BabyGirl and I are hosting Easter dinner at our house on Sunday for everyone. So have a safe and happy holiday... and let's see if the Religious Fright tries to pull any very unChristian stunts over the White House Easter egg hunt since gay parents will be attending with their lil ones during the event scheduled for Monday. And oh yeah... if some uproar does happen, we can count on O'Reilly to charge in on his white steed b/c he is on top of this War on Easter... sigh. I hope the Big Bunny brings ya lots of goodies. I have plenty of Reese's peanutbutter eggs in my plans... err... for BabyGirl of course... cough... hack... *burp*...
MSNBC: This wk an NBC News producer (using a hidden camera) visited a bazaar just outside the main gate of the huge US military base in Bagram Afghanistan, and bought a half dozen of memory drives the size of a thumb known as flash drives. On them, NBC News found highly sensitive military info, some which NBC will not reveal. The tiny computer memories are believed to have been smuggled off base by Afghan employees and sold to shopkeepers. Whoever buys one can simply plug it into another computer, and in a couple of minutes, see thousands of files. What kinds of things can they see? 1) Names and personal info for dozens of DOD interrogators. 2)Documents on an “interrogation support cell” and interrogation methods. 3) IDs and photos of US troops. And oh yeah... 4) Among the photos of Americans are pictures of individuals who appear to have been tortured and killed, most too graphic to show. NBC News does not know who caused their injuries. The Pentagon would not comment on the photos. Nice... the implications of this massive fuckup are so massive that it almost defies logic. But when it comes to BushCo and the military, massive fuckups are just par for the course.
Now you would think that news declaring that Iran cannot become nuclear for at least 5 to 10 yrs, and some analysts saying it could come as late as 2020, would be picked up by the corporate media whores so we could stem this hemorrhage of "let's nuke and/or declare war on Iran"... but NO, of course not. I'm seriously beginning to think that journalists and/or the media are getting kickbacks from Halliburton and that's why they love to beat the wars drums. What else makes sense? Or maybe they just don't give a damn about facts and truth anymore. How else could you explain some claiming that Iran could have nukes in 16 days? Now what does makes sense? This story from Rawstory: "The Pentagon is bypassing official US intelligence channels and turning to a dangerous and unruly cast of characters in order to create strife in Iran in preparation for any possible attack, former and current intelligence officials say. According to 3 intelligence sources, military and intelligence officials alike were alarmed that instead of securing a known terrorist organization, Rumsfeld under instructions from Cheney, began using the group on special ops missions into Iran to pave the way for a potential Iran strike." Using terrorists to get shit started in Iran. Pure genius. Evil... but brilliant.
The judge in the Libby case has threatened a gag order to keep the lid on things, and both Fitz and Libby made new crt filings, but this from Talk Left interests me the most: "It's not just that Libby allegedly told Fleischer at lunch on July 7 before Fleischer left for Africa with Bush that Joseph Wilson's wife worked in the CIA and that she was involved in the decision to send Wilson to Niger. It's that Fleisher told Fitz and the grand jury that Libby told him the info was "hush-hush" and "on the qt." I knew that former WH spokesman Ari was somehow involved! His mysterious resignation was just too fishy. And it makes me more than happy to see that Rove the Toad is not off the hook... whatever will Special Agent Bush do? (new Mark Fiore cartoon).
Somehow this just doesn't shock me about Ann Coulter's voter registration in FL: "Coulter neglected to answer Question #15 on her Palm Beach County, FL voter registration form. The question asks the registrant to indicate sex by checking 'M' or 'F' on the form." We all know why she couldn't answer that question. The tape holding her dick to her leg was caught in her pubic hair, it was killing her and she couldn't properly focus on the form. But was does shock me is why would she-- a lawyer-- lie about her address? Isn't it against the law to falsify your address on a voter's registration form? And isn't it worse when an attorney does this?
IndependentUK: The defeat of Silvio Berlusconi has left Tony Blair isolated in Europe as the last political leader supporting the war in Iraq. Why? B/c Romano Prodi, the leader of the Union coalition, which won the latest elections in Italy, said that he will withdraw the Italian troops from Iraq when he takes office, saying there was no justification for the US-led invasion of the country. Ouch Tony... that bitchslap has got to hurt your poodle ass.
Read this article about Seymour Hersh in The Guardian UK. The money quote: His desk is covered with manila files and yellow legal pads. Somewhere in the mess are his tax returns which he was yesterday scrambling to finish by the deadline. "I feel like I did in the Vietnam days - I hate to pay taxes just so they can go and bomb more people." Rock on Sy.
If you can believe all this, the swiftboating of the amazing number of retired generals who are calling for Rumsfeld's resignation has begun. It ranges from the moronic ramblings of Brit Hume (he took a shot at their credibility by calling them "rocking chair" Generals and mentioned that Zinni had just had a book published) to the truly brain damaged from this guy. This guy is not only borderline retarded, but I have to wonder if he ate lead paint ships as a child: "It is well known that Rumsfeld went in to shake up the command structure... and I can't say how much of this treason we are seeing now has to do with that, but I would bet more than some. Military officers are by nature very territorial." Oh, so this is just a pissing contest, eh? Who knew the boys were just whipping it out next to rulers? How about this pearl of wisdom: "As a civilian any retired Gen is welcome to his pt of view. But it is never a clean equation when a Sr officer retires... Uniformed officers Constitutionally owe their allegiance to the Pres and his staff, including the Sec Def." Really? I thought that they are now civilians and enjoy the same freedoms of speech that we civilians do and that our 1st Amend protects. And this is icing on the putrid cake: "Retired officers of such high rank have no business entering in our political discourse in such a public manner during a time of war. As far as I am concerned, these now complaining Generals should either make their thoughts known privately to their former peers and even bosses, or they should all take a page from MacArthur and simply fade away." Uh... excuse me dumb-ass, but MacArthur was FIRED. Fired for INSUBORDINATION. Using MacArthur as an example of a role model for civilian authority is like having sex for preserving virginity.
WMD Trailer Defense: Nobody told Bush ... so WHY should we believe him about Iran?  Shocking! WH claims Capt Clueless is indeed clueless. AmericaBlog: "Here is the WH defense of Bush falsely claiming Iraq had mobile biological labs: Bush didn't know that our intelligence had already disproven the claim. Nice. Our prez is selling us on a war when he's not even in the loop on the reasons for going to war in the 1st place. So who should we listen to next time the WH wants us to go to another war since Bush isn't in the loop? (and here's all the reasons we should RUN away from that war w/Iran idea). The WH's 2nd contention is even more laughable. You see, it takes many months for the intelligence folks to determine whether we did or didn't find evidence of WMD in Iraq, and Bush spoke BEFORE we had determined if the evidence was real or not. Did you get that? Bush told us equivocally that we'd found WMD, when in fact, he knew the team sent to determine if we'd found WMD wouldn't reach its conclusion for months to come. So, Bush publicly confirmed we had found WMD when he knew we weren't sure yet, and wouldn't know for months. Tell me again how this makes things better?" Well, I don't know if it makes things better, but dammit,this is the really important part of this WMD-Trailer revelation: Scottie the Lying Doughboy has his panties in a bunch over this truthtelling and demands an apology for Bush.
Sheesh... talk about an out of control judge with an ethical impairment and specific agenda, I present this... (via USAToday): "As he took questions from students during a lecture at the Univer of CT's law school, conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Weds called his 2004 decision not to recuse himself from a case involving Vice Pres Dick Cheney the "proudest thing" he's done on the court." Whoa. Good to see ya set the bar sooo high there Antonin Asshat. Refusing to recuse yourself from a case that involves your good friend and hunting buddy is so ethical for a SCOTUS Justice, no? Or maybe Scalia is really just proud he survived that hunting trip w/Cheney? If we all set our standards as low as that, imagine what some of our proudest moments could be? 1 of my "proudest" moment was: When I secretly peed in a very loud, drunk, & lecherous ROTC guy's military gas mask at a party and watched him put the damn thing on his face... in front of a few of my friends-- all of whom knew what I had secretly done. He was so obnoxious & he was wearing a shirt that said "I'd Tell You to Blow Me but FemiNazis are Ugly and Gay", so I felt compelled to share what I had done to him w/others, right? Besides, who brings a gas mask to a semester finals party? Needless to say, the laughter that ensued was all at his expense. I heard from his ex-girlfriend last yr-- to my complete horror and remorse-- that he was seriously wounded in Iraq and is now paralyzed from the neck down, has an ear missing and is getting divorced. Granted, the divorce could be b/c he wore T-shirts like that, but I did feel regret. But that would be b/c I have a conscience. Things that are ethically shaky should give us pause,make us feel shame, remorse, regret: NOT pride... IF you have morals, a heart and a conscience. Hence... Scalia's unethical and legally questionable actions being 1 of his proudest moments while sitting on the highest crt of the land.
ClevelandPlainDealer: "Fedrl officials are asking Sec of State Ken Blackwell to explain why Ohio appears to be out of compliance w/ a voter-registration requirement in the Help America Vote Act, which went into effect in January." So lemme get this straight: The Secretary of the State-- whose very job it is to be responsible for the certification of election results-- does not comply with the Help America Vote Act? Oh I'm sure 'ole Kenny will explain away not complying w/HAVA as easily as he explained away the ownership of his Diebold stocks: He claims he merely accidentally bought the 178 shares of Diebold stocks... and since he sold 'em at a loss, what's the big frickin deal, folks?
YahooNews: "The average US retail price of gasoline jumped more than 9 cents last wk to $2.68 a gallon. The fedrl Energy Info Admin said that US motorists paid $2.683 a gallon on average for regular grade last wk, an increase of 9.5 cents from the previous wk. Pump prices are 37.1 cents higher than a yr ago." Hmm... what exactly did Bush say about rising gas prices during the Clinton-Gore yrs? Oh yeah, here's his words via CNN from 6/23/00 when he was Gov of TX and a prez candidate: "Gas prices are high under the Clinton-Gore admin. There seems to be an effort out of Wash, DC to blame me for rising energy prices. And the American people don't buy that. It's the -- Clinton-Gore admin's been there for 7 yrs, we're more dependent now than ever before on energy from foreign sources.(Well asshat, you've been in office 6 yrs and the exact same can be said of you) And I am amazed that they're trying to shift the blame away from the people that are holding the office. And I resent that kind of politics, and so will the American people. I think we ought to make sure that we become less dependent on foreign sources of crude oil. I'll have an energy policy.(REALLY?? Oh yeah... STEAL it from Iraq after invading) And this is typical of an admin that refuses to accept responsibility. This is amazing. They've been in office for 7 yrs, the price of gasoline has gone up during their period of time." (And we NEVER once faced a $3 price of gas per gallon - as we are now- under Clinton-Gore, now did we?)
Is is just me or does it feel like another day/ another retired general hops on the Rebuke Rummy bandwagon? Couldn't happen to a nicer guy, but I wish they had piped up 3+ yrs ago. But I guess one retires 1st then pipes up, eh? And I'm wondering if the 37 deaths of US troops in Iraq for the month of April alone (and it is only 4/13) is motivating these generals?
Thank God I detest sushi. I would hate to think appeasing an appetite for sushi would line that Washington Times' nut job's pockets. The last thing Rev Moon needs is my hard earned money from any seafood cravings I may have... but if we were to talk 'bout a heaping plate of New Orleans cajun crawfish and an ice cold pitcher of cajun Bloody Marys... well that is a whole 'nuther story.
Yet another BushCo Scandal: No WMDs in Trailers & Powell FINALLY 'Fesses Up  Pix courtesy of IconoclastCA. Please read Robert Scheer's "Now Powell Tells Us" at TruthDig if you want to feel queasy. So NOW Colin Powell is confessing that he knew that all along that he was taking part in the BushCo aiding and abetting of lying the US into the Iraq War? Well, what should we expect from a soldier who 1st captured attention by trying to cover up the My Lai massacre in Vietnam?. Except it’s even worse: The NIE & uranium weren't the only things they knowingly lied about (via WaPo): On 5/29/03, 50 days after the fall of Baghdad, 2 small trailers captured by US & Kurdish troops turned out to be a long-sought mobile "biological laboratories." Bush declared: "We have found the WMDs." The claim, repeated by top admin officials for months afterward, was hailed at the time as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Bush spoke, US intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true. A secret fact-finding mission to Iraq -- not made public until now -- had already concluded that the trailers had nothing to do with biological weapons. Leaders of the Pentagon-sponsored mission transmitted their unanimous findings to the WH in a field report on 5/27/03, 2 days before the prez's statement." Those like Powell who sat back and w/held the truth from the public are as guilty as Bush & Cheney. The whole putrid lot of 'em should be behind bars. They are all responsible for the obscene slaughter & maimings of 10s of 1000s of Iraqis & US troops. That can never be excused or forgiven. The whole stinking bunch are internatl war criminals and should be dealt w/accordingly.
Hardly a day goes by now w/out YET ANOTHER Bush admin scandal. Wanna laugh? Check out what ye olde Pious One had to say about White House Admin scandals when he was running for prez (via CNN from 2000): "My attitude about this is, if you're -- America's tired of scandals and investigations, let's elect somebody different other than the Clinton-Gore admin." AND "And I think I've got a good chance of winning. But the best way to do so is to talk to -- directly to the people-- about bringing honor and dignity to the White House, which is what I'm going to do." Oh yeah... dignity and honor. Sweet Jesus. Clinton's blowjob looks like a skit from Sesame St compared to the BushCo Horror Show we now suffer under.
Speaking of BushCo scandals... *voila* (via Kos): "Who will be the next GOP thug brought down by their close ties to Jack Abramoff? Well, today the AP makes a strong case that Sen Conrad Burns and Rep Charles Taylor (R-NC) are near the top of the list of elected officials who need to worry about their names showing up in an indictment. The reason is an extensive email trail detailing how Jack got school construction money for the Saginaw Chippewa tribe: A GOP official & Abramoff's lobbying team bluntly discussed using large political donations as a way to pressure lawmakers into securing fedrl money for a tribal client, according to e-mails gathered by prosecutors. Abramoff's team ultimately prevailed ... Lawmakers who helped got 1000s of dollars in fresh donations from Abramoff's team. Fedrl bribery law prohibits public officials from taking actions b/c of gifts or political donations & bars lobbyists from demanding govt action in exchange for donations." When it rains, it pours, no?
I am so fucking pissed off... ya have got to read this: Currently the Senate is considering measure S.1955 which is dubbed the "Health Insurance Marketplace Modernization and Affordability Act". It should be called the We Get to Screw You Blue & Watch You Die Act. The culture of life GOP has put this bill up which would take away nearly all state laws that require coverage for important medical rights currently given by states such as alternative care or certain screenings. This is just a small list of what this threatens to take away (via PDF): Cervical/Prostate cancer screenings, bone marrow transplants, alcohol/ drug abuse treatment, emergency services, mental health services, breast reconstruction, minimum maternity stay, provision of diabetic supplies, inclusion of domestic partners in policy coverage, direct access to your OB-GYN, continuity of care during pregnancy, mammography, contraceptives, infertility diagnosis and treatment." Gee, ya know what? I can't recall the last time I had a bone marrow transplant or cervical cancer screening just for shits and giggles... can you? These evil sons of bitches want each and every one of to wither up and die. Unless of course you are wealthy enough to just have a few spare $1000s lying around and you feel up to a colorectal screening on a whim.
BBCNews: A European aid agency (Saving Children from War) reported a rise in child mortality in the Iraqi city of Basra where hospital care is in crisis. Water-borne diseases and scarce medical supplies mean infants born in Basra are subject to abnormally high mortality rates. One Basra doctor said child mortality had risen by 30% since the invasion: "The mortality of children in Basra has increased by nearly 30% compared to the Saddam era," said Dr Haydar Salah, a pediatrician at the Basra Children's Hospt. "Children are dying daily, and no one is doing anything to help them." Basra hospitals have been w/o IV fluids for wks, so as a consequence many children, mainly under 5 yrs old, die after suffering from extreme cases of diarrhea. And for the past 3 yrs, the Maternity and Children's' hospital has not received any cancer drugs from the health ministry. When aid workers approach the govt, they are told no funds are available." Aaahh yes... once again we see the GOP "Culture of Life" at work in full bloom. Unfortunately for living, breathing kids, that GOP respect for life ends at birth.
So how do you define LEAK, Dubya?  Pix courtesy of Pablo On Politics. If ya can believe all this, Bush said there was no leak, or in the immortal style of Bill Clinton... it depends on how you define "leak." And w/ the whimsical yet hetero wave of a magic wand *poof* ... he made confidential and classified material not be confidential and classified: Bush said on Monday: "I wanted people to see what some of those statements were based on. I wanted people to see the truth. I thought it made sense for people to see the truth. That's why I declassified the document.''.... uhhh... so you leaked a leak to make it not be a leak?? Now, didja do that in '03 or '05 or was it just yesterday, dear sir? And why exactly is it being investigated at taxpayer expense? It is good to see that during his interview w/Wolf Blathering Blitzer that Joe Wilson ain't buying what you're selling, Georgie. If not, Joe might end up w/an entire barrel of Bush bullshit... and really... who hasn't had enough of that?
There are so many facets to PlameGate now that it truly has become Bush's wooly mammoth sitting in the room that he and his cabal would like to ignore. But like any wooly mammoth, it demands attention and refuses to go away quietly. Watch this clip of Bush lying and spinning furiously as he tries to 'splain to the kids how he leaked 'cause he just wanted to tell the truth. As Greg Mitchell says at Editor & Publisher: "You can take NIE, replace the first letter with an L and you pretty much have it. But that doesn’t bother the WashPost editorial page one bit. It calls it "A Good Leak." Oh don't you worry Jr... the Big Dick will take care of the big people business and let the wolly mammoth out to go pee.
Yawn... yet another BushCo scandal. This one -shockingly- involves the phone jamming scheme in NH in 2002 that kept Dems from the polls and has been linked to the WH and the GOP. *GASP*... say it ain't so.
Firstly, for all of their crowing about being moral, they seem to devote miniscule amounts of their ample money to the poor. Secondly, they can't hate on those damned liberal lawyers enough... that is until they want to sue for the right to be intolerant. Thirdly, since when does the Bible okay murdering immigrants when they cross the border illegally? And fourthly, what the Hell does a woman's sex life (or lack thereof) have to do w/Pat Robertson "curing" her of asthma? Now I'm no Biblical scholar, but I did my time in catechism, Sunday school, and Catholic school to know that this stuff is absolute crapola. And it seems that the readers of HuffPost know it is crap, too. Read their readers' excellent "Most Favorite Comments" here (scroll down to the Top 10 Lists) in regards to the Religious Fright's Biblical cherry-picking.
NYTimes: In case any of you out there thought that the SD law of "outlaw all abortions w/no exceptions" is a good idea, check out how fabulously this kind of law has played out for females in El Salvador, which has such a law: "In El Salvador, the law is clear: the woman is a felon and must be prosecuted. After a doctor/ hospital suspects a woman of having had an abortion, the police are dispatched & investigators start procuring evidence of the crime. As they do in any investigation, the police collect evidence by interviewing everyone who knows the accused and by seizing her medical records. They must also visit the scene of the crime, which often means the woman's vagina. Sometimes the prosecutor orders a forensic doctor to perform a pelvic exam on a woman. In the event that the woman's illegal abortion went badly and the doctors had to perform a hysterectomy, then the uterus is sent to the Forensic Institute, where the govt's doctors analyze it and retain custody of her uterus as evidence against her." And what about ectopic pregnancies? "Laws that criminalize all abortions has a flip side. It appears to mandate that the full force of the medical team must save the fetus under any circumstances. This notion can lead to some dangerous practices such as during an ectopic pregnancy. A simple operation can remove the fetus before the fallopian tube bursts. After a rupture, though, the situation can turn into a medical emergency." My maternal grandmother nearly died from a hemorrhage when an ectopic pregnancy ruptured 2 yrs after my mom was born in the early 1950's. Fortunately for her, doctors were able to save her w/blood transfusions but a hysterectomy was performed. Is this what we females in the US will be facing? Is this the fate that awaits my 3 yr old daughter? A life of infertility and/or incarceration because of a zealot's twisted decree that a fetus-- no matter how viable it may be or may not be-- must be forced to "live" against the wishes, wants, and needs of a walking, talking, thinking, feeling, and breathing female?
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