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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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Tuesday, November 28, 2006 I'm breaking doctor's orders b/c I'm simply too pissed off & stunned NOT to post  Yes, yes... I am being a very disobedient pregnant patient and ignoring my doctor's specific orders of taking a wee blogging sabbatical, but some things fall into the "you have got to be fucking kidding me category" and the following items amply fit: 1) A peace sign wreath, on a private residence in CO, w/a bright string of Christmas lights and a big red Christmas bow on it is actually being contested at Christmas time? WTF? I guess these folks (some who ridiculously claim that the peace sign is a Satanic symbol... sigh...) skipped all of that Christmastime is the time to wish and pray for "peace on earth and good will toward men" and never read the parts in the Bible that specifically refer to Christ's birth as the birth of The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9: 6) "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his govt and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever." 2) So Bush blames ALL of the violence in Iraq on al Qaeda and has the gall to attack NBC for having the good sense to call civil war in Iraq exactly what the hell it is.... CIVIL WAR? Hmm... I guess those Shiite militias and death squads being fueled by uber-powerful Shiia clerics w/ heavy ties to Iran add no fuel to the fire, eh?... and if Iraq is such a safety walk in the park, then why exactly is Bush meeting al Maliki in Jordan and NOT Iraq? It wouldn't have anything to do w/ the fact that Iraq is in such utter chaos and is a complete safety clusterfuck for all human beings, now would it? 3) Newt Gingrich wants the 1st Amendment tossed into the garbage for... get this... to stop terrorism... WHILE HE WAS GIVING A SPEECH AT A 1ST AMENDMENT CEREMONY! Umm, Mr "I cheated on my dying wife but I'm still the pinnacle of GOP family values"... the only terrorists I seem to find wanting to do harm to American citizens and the very fabric of America are you and your evil theocratic- dictator wanna be GOPers. 4) Watch this YouTube clip of US soldiers taunting Iraqi kids w/clean bottled Evian water. Our guys never throw the ragtag group of kids water... they just laugh at them. I can't imagine what it is like for our troops over there, but WTF justifies taunting little kids w/ a basic necessity of life like water? Thirsty little kids for God's sake... in a land that we have utterly laid to waste and have made their daily lives worse than under Saddam, and made their water supply next to nil... it is simply unspeakable. On a good note... Baby to Be appears to be doing A-okay: While watching Hubby and BabyGirl decorate our front living room Christmas tree (I was on the couch, in charge of detangling the garland and making sure hooks were properly affixed on ornaments) we were listening to the fine Spanish guitar & flamenco/ Arabic music of a collection of downloaded Alabina & Gipsy Kings' songs. Baby to Be seems to be quite the international fan of music because he/ she was just flipping around in utero for the entire CD. Good to see that my unborn has such good taste in music, no? 
Happy Thanksgiving all... I'm going on a wee sabbatical per doctor's orders  Even though I feel as if I should really be talking about politics and Iraq, I will instead wish all of you a very safe and Happy Thanksgiving. Why you ask? Well..... I will be going on a wee sabbatical from blogging per Dr.'s orders.
 Due to an emergency hospital visit, and the explicit directions of my OB/GYN, I am being made to spend as much time as possible off of my feet, and instead into comfy pieces of furniture. I figure I can catch up on some reading that I've been meaning to get to... which of course will lead to some much needed napping. Baby to Be is A-okay, according to the ultrasound and fetal heart monitor, but Mommy needs to slow down, stop physically picking up her 4 yr old, and make sure that no more unexplained bleeding happens. So, I wish you all a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving.... I'll be back soon. Trust me, I was put on complete bedrest at the end of my pregnancy w/BabyGirl, it sucks beyond belief, so I am going to do as my doc says to avoid that from happening again.
The goal for the Religious Fright freaks: Turning females into the Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe  No wonder the Old Woman in the shoe was so freakin miserable: Not only didn't she have any time to herself, she also wasn't able to even properly feed her kids: "There was an old woman, Who lived in a shoe; She had so many children, She didn't know what to do. She gave them some broth,Without any bread; She whipped them all soundly, And sent them to bed." Sound like fun for her or the many kids? Of course not. Now I'm no child-hater. If so, I certainly would not be currently pregnant, the mother of a 4 yr old, and a teacher. But, that being said, the only time I have not used a method of birth control (since becoming sexually active) was during the 2 times that my husband and I were trying to conceive our children. Why? Because while I like kids, I also like being able to pay my mortgage, my car lease, still clothe and feed my household, buy wants in addition to bare necessities, devote time to my kid, have time for myself, my friends online and offline, and for my friendship/ marriage with my husband. But if I were to listen to the Bush admin's newly appointed chief of family-planning programs at the Dept of Health & Human Services, Eric Keroack, and the Religious Fright group known as Quiverfull, I am not doing God's will, nor am I doing anything to contribute to the cause known as "birthing God's mighty warriors." Oh yes. You read that correctly. They are talking about a literal "army" of lil Christians, and you can bet that makes the war mongering GOP happy as clams. In case you're unfamiliar w/Quiverfull, read this frightening Nation article, or visit their even more horrifying sites here and here. The unholy marriage between the GOP and groups like Quiverfull is crystal clear: "If just 8 million American Christian couples began supplying more "arrows for the war" by having 6 children or more, they propose, the Christian-right ranks could rise to 550 million w/in a century" and thru the policies/ agendas put forth by politicians such as Sen Sam Brownback, Rep Lee Terry (R-NB), and former Rep Jim Bob Duggar (R-AK)-- who happens to have a 2001 Quiverfull article devoted to him and who also now has 16 kids, which The Discovery Channel devoted an entire documentary to. Make no mistake, the objective of both QuiverFull and Eric Keroack is to turn women into birthing cows for their version of the Lord... by getting rid of all methods of birth control... even for married couples. Hmm, wasn't that issue dealt w/in the Sup Crt case Griswold vs CT? And doesn't THAT sound like an unwanted outside force trying to undermine & interfere w/marital privacy and the sacred union between husband & wife? Oh that's right... the never married and childless Ann Coulter calls marital privacy a "made up" right. In fact, QuiverFull says that if you have sex w/your husband while using a contraceptive, you are as a good an an unpaid prostitute. Wow. I don't know about you, but over the past 7 yrs of my marriage, I reckon I've been 1 cheap-ass hooker of a wife.... repeatedly... again... and again. And call me crazy... but I would sooner have my eyelashes pulled out 1 by 1 than force BabyGirl to be strapped w/ all of the many adult duties that she would have no choice in if I were to crank out baby after baby. She is a kid for God's sake and should be allowed to be one instead of a an instant mini-parent. Just like this mommy, I feel sorry for the Duggar's older kids b/c the mom proudly announced on the Discovery documentary that as soon as she weans a baby, she passes that kid onto an older sibling as part of their fucked up "buddy system" whereby every older child is a buddy to a younger sibling and is responsible for that sibling. Hmm... maybe that is how her and her wingnut hubby find the time to screw like rabbits and selfishly avoid giving their kids 1 on 1 individual time devoted to each kids' needs and wants. No thanks. I'll continue fostering a healthy marriage where my husband thinks more of me than a cavernous and exhausted uterus, where my kids are allowed to be children (not mini adults) and individuals that receive as much 1 on 1 love, devotion, and attention as Hubby and I can give them... and where I can still make time to lustfully boink my husband just b/c we feel like it... unless, of course, if the GOP & these Religious Fright freaks deem otherwise.
Bush's Iraq: I'm tired of outlandish lies  Yesterday afternoon, BabyGirl came down w/some kind of bug... so most of the evening was spent on the couch w/a hot sweaty sleeping child laying on me... which meant I watched a whole lotta news. Doing so lead to me feeling like this: To BushCo and his water-carrying minions, stop telling us citizens that it is raining when you are clearly just pissing against the wind. Allow me to explain: A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a major Sunni leader- Harith al-Dhari- for inciting terrorism and violence among the Iraqi people. If that is the criteria for an arrest warrant in Iraq, then when exactly will Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et al have warrants issued for their criminal asses? Well, arresting a major Sunni leader just might be the tip of the horrific iceberg, given that an idea is being kicked around the WH that the US will openly chose sides between the Shiites and the Sunnis. Yep. You read that right. Since we couldn't accomplish what Saddam did-- i.e. hold Iraq together as a multi-ethnic/ religious secular based nation-- we will just pick one side and say "Ah, screw it" and walk away while the nation implodes. Shocking, isn't it that BushCo doesn't understood that the strength of democracy is not "majority rule" and the purple finger thing, but rather it's strength lies in protecting minority rights? And experts assess: "Civil war in Iraq is already underway, and the real worry ahead is that the conflict will destroy the flimsy Iraqi state and draw in surrounding countries." Yet, what is Bush slowing shoving down our throats as he screams from the rooftops that there is no civil war? His "last big push"... i.e.: Sending in 1000s upon 1000s of more US troops into Iraq. Now we all know that this will end horribly, but given that Henry Kissinger is advising Bush to do this "last big push" and Kissinger was also the one who was behind the "last big push" in Vietnam into Cambodia (which helped launch the insane dictator Pol Pot) ya have to wonder when do these folks stop getting a free pass for ignoring history & recreating it's bloodiest mistakes?
Oh... this is truly shocking. What's next? Osama bin Laden has been happily applauding Bush as the greatest recruiting tool EVER for al-Qaida. Errr... oops... too late. Sheesh, where's Curveball when ya need him to "get the facts straight", huh?
CIA documents show Bush personally ordered torture & Botero's Abu Ghraib paintings on display in NYC  In my latest copy of The Nation, there is an article about Columbian artist Fernando Botero, whose works are now on display at the Marlborough Gallery in midtown Manhattan and compiled in the book Botero: Abu Ghraib. According to this 2005 interview, it is an amazing feat that the NYC gallery has boldly decided to show the paintings given that:"The Abu Ghraib paintings were shown in Rome on June 16th of this yr (2005). The show then travels to Germany, and in 2006 the exhibit is scheduled to come to the US. Botero has said his Abu Ghraib paintings will not be included in the US show -unless museums specifically ask for them. Given that the owner of the Capobianco Gallery in San Francisco was assaulted, threatened with death, and run out of business in May of 2004 for showing a painting by Guy Colwell that also depicted US soldiers abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib -it might be wise of Botero to exercise caution when exhibiting his masterworks in the US." Why of course torture-happy reactionaries have to try to suppress these images. They don't care that the torture has taken place. They just care that people might find out about it. Lord knows we can't have Americans find out that their "oh-so- born-again- Christian" prez okays torture like this and orders it, now can we? (Which by the by, why aren't churches demanding that torture be stopped? It seems to me that Christ was the ultimate victim of state sponsered torture and capital punishment... so why the silence?) And even though Americans have clearly turned against this war, rest assured that the ACLU will be fully demonized for daring to dig up this unsavory info: "The CIA has acknowledged for the 1st time the existence of 2 classified documents, including one signed by Pres Bush, that have guided the agency's interrogation and detention of terror suspects. The CIA disclosed the existence of the documents in a letter Friday sent from the agency's assoc general counsel, John McPherson, to lawyers for the ACLU." Damn that pesky ACLU! Damn them for letting us see what a sick fuck our Evangelical prez truly is. Next thing ya know, we'll find out that plenty of GOPers and Religious Frighters are closeted self loathing gays and pedophiles, too..... uh, errr.... nevermind.
Weds was a VERY busy day for us. Hubby and I had to go to my OB/GYN for a check up and an ultrasound early in the morning (all is well w/ me and Baby to Be!) and then we had to see BabyGirl's pediatric ophthalmologist/ surgeon in the early afternoon. For those of you unfamiliar with her medical issue, please visit here and here. Now, Hubby and I love her eye dr/ surgeon. He is wonderful, and has made us feel very comfortable depite him having to take a scapel and cut into both of our child's eyes. So, after her eye exam (all is well, and we go back to see him in 6 mos) we discuss w/the good Dr. what kind of problems we encountered w/our health insurance-- despite the surgery being pre-approved, the anestethiologist refused to accept the insurance's payment and demanded that we pay the remaining $1000s. Now, the good Dr. had already dissussed w/us previously that he is 100% pro-universal healthcare b/c he is being nickle and dimed to death by insurance companies who refuse to accept his opinion and expertise as a doctor & surgeon. He asked us what did the insurance pay for his part of the surgery: It was less than $700. He then asked what did the insurance end up paying (after we threatened a lawsuit) for the anestethiologist's bill (it was just over $2000). Imagine that, will ya? The guy who puts your child under (which is a highly skilled and important job) receives 3 times the amount than the guy who slices into your child's eyes and determines whether she is blind or not. That seems beyond screwed to me. So, after much hestitation, the good Dr. sighs a long sigh and says that by this Spring, he has to decide if he will continue doing surgery at all, b/c he cannot afford to fight w/ insurance companies at the rate that he is in Ohio. He said he guesses that he is luckier than some doctors, b/c in many states, they simply cannot afford to practice medicine at all. We checked this doctor out COMPLETELY before allowing him to perform this surgery on our kiddo. He has ZERO lawsuits against him at all, yet he cannot afford to haggle w/the insurance companies any longer? I guess that Repuke straw man argument that healthcare costs us so much due to lawsuits is 100% crapola ... as if we didn't already know that: In 2003, medical malpractice insurance cost the 900,000 doctors in the US $11 billion. That breaks down to approx $12K per dr. What did Americans spend on healthcare for 2003? $1.5 trillion plus.) God knows all of the sick uninsured folks couldn't be driving up costs, huh? I'm very sad that BabyGirl may lose her doctor, but I might be even sadder that Ohio's kids will be losing out on a great surgeon who loves his work-- but is driven to quit doing it due to all out corporate greed.... greed that could be taken care of head-on if only we had universal healthcare.
Ask a GOP wingnut: What's responsible for illegal immigration? Clearly, it is abortion  What is to blame for illegal immigration? Well, in Wingnut World, and a Republican led report prepared by the Republican Missouri House committee, it is just oh-so-obvious: Abortion is responsible for illegals crossing our border and being illegally hired by employers. Yes, you read that correctly, See, to these mouth breathers, if all of those unwanted and genetically abnormal fetuses had been carried to term, we'd have an excess pool of folks to do the jobs that American won't do and refuse to do but the illegals will do. Anybody every notice that the sentence is NEVER finished b/c it should read: "These are jobs Americans don't want/ refuse to do"....... "at such ridiculously low slave wages in ridiculously unsafe conditions." And if we actually had a worker shortage, wages would rise dramatically and we all know THAT IS NOT the case. But why should actual economic facts cloud a wingnut's mind? The Special Committee on Immigration Reform also claims that "liberal social welfare policies" have created a disincentive for Americans to work and an enticement for foreigners to cross the border illegally. Liberal social welfare policies? Can you imagine if all of those aborted fetuses had been born, how much these freaks would be bitching about the "outlandishly high taxes" that would go towards paying for those "liberal social welfare services" and the public education of all those millions of unwanted kids? Oh that's right. Silly me. The Repukes and wingnuts only want the fetuses to be born. Past that, well... it is every newborn for itself! And oddly enough, the very same people who claim that Darwin's theory of Evolution is God-hating fiction wholeheartedly embrace Social Darwinism. Rep. Ed Emery (R-Lamar) stated: "We hear a lot of arguments today that the reason that we can't get serious about our borders is that we are desperate for all these workers. You don't have to think too long. If you kill 44 million of your potential workers, it's not too surprising we would be desperate for workers." Now lemme get this straight: If we only force the harvesting of aborted and frozen embryos, we could create tomorrow's unskilled labor force who will work for pennies on the dollar? How very Brave New World! Personally, I am especially fond of THIS solution: The solution is this: Start training embryonic stem cells to do entry-level jobs. There's no reason why microscopic, undifferentiated blastocysts shouldn't be pulling their weight in this economy. Look, if they want to be "people," then they damn well better understand "personal responsibilty." .... And please, don't encourage their shiftlessness by throwing them a few coins on the highway exit ramp.
Bush met with Israel's Elmud Olmert and basically tells Iran to be prepared to drop dead, while the Religious Fright prepares to "save Israel" ... but conveniently forgets to include this sentence: "We must save Israel so the folks we previously labeled as Christ-killing Jews can bring about our precious Rapture." We are so fucked, people. Be prepared to be tossed into another BushCo bloodletting, and I guess waging war w/Iran is gonna make that Tony Blair plan and the Iraq Study Group's plan to begin diplomatic talks w/ Iran & Syria a long lost memory, huh? God knows that a president using diplomacy is simply unheard of.
Bush's legacy in Iraq: Around and around it goes... when the killing stops, nobody knows  I know this past week has been a blur of activity... but have ya been wondering how Iraq has been going? Just check this out. If perusing these headlines and pix doesn't make you feel utterly futile, sick and sad in the soul, you just might be a Repuke.. or soul-less... which usually go hand in hand. Don't believe me? Then why is William Kristol advocating that we simply must send in at least 50,000 more troops so that "Bush's precious legacy can be preserved"? I hate to break it to the rabid Neo-Con Kristol... but thanks to his beloved Bush, there are no good options left in Iraq. It's high time people realized it.
Sweet Jesus, this egomaniacal gasbag makes me positively ill: On NBC's "Meet The Press" this past Sunday, Joe Lieberman said that although he intends to caucus w/ Dems, he would remain an independent and would not rule out becoming a Repub if he felt uncomfortable w/ Dem Party discipline and if the GOP credited him w/ his seniority and a committee chairmanship. "I'm not ruling it out, but I hope I don't get to that point. And I must say, and with all respect to the Repubs who supported me in Conn, nobody ever said we're doing this b/c we want you to switch over," said Lieberman. So lemme get this straight: If the Dems do not cater to the self-bloated and histrionic Joe-Judas' every whim, he will screw us Dems over and defect to the GOP: leaving our newly elected Dem majority as tied w/ a 50-50 Senate, allowing The Big Dick Cheney to break the tie by casting the deciding 51st vote? Call me crazy, but hasn't this self-absorbed vainglorious handjob already proven to us Dems that he has zero intention of respecting his party affiliation given that he refused to accept the Dem primary results in which he was soundly beaten and LOST? Once again, Joe-Judas proves that every political decision he makes is based upon "How will this benefit me?" Any CT Dems who cast their vote for this pompous party- of- one- prick needs their heads examined. He already proved that every decison was all about him when he ran for both VP and Senator in 2000. And if slipping Bush the tongue during The Kiss wasn't evidence of his Benedict Arnold ways, what more proof did anyone need? I hope that both the Dem majorities hold this over his lobbyist wife's head when she comes sniffing around for favors. Maybe if she is shunned enough, Joe-Judas will realize that being a mercenary colostomy bag simply isn't nice nor appreciated... especially when the GOP will just gobble him up, use him until they don't need him anymore, and toss him aside like the garbage he is. Nobody likes nor trusts a traitor, but Joe-Judas is too besotted w/ himself and too in love w/ the power of being a senator to see the harsh truth let alone to do the honorable thing. But honestly, when was the last time a self-serving soul-less orotund whore did the right thing?
Latest insane smear of us anti-war folks by the mouth breathing war-mongerers: We peaceniks are racist against Muslims and Arabs. And to think, I actually thought that I just want the war to end so no more of our soldiers/ Iraqi civilians are maimed and killed, no more people are driven to hate America for our insane foreign policy & no more money is stolen, squandered, or wasted on bankrupting America and destroying Iraq. I guess my racism has blinded me.
No DSL on Sat, so I had time to focus on my pregnancy cravings  We had major problems with our DSL this weekend. In fact, from sometime Sat afternoon until now (which it is now very, very early Sunday morning) we had no DSL for hrs and hrs at all. So, I couldn't comment on my blog or anyone else's for that matter, which left plenty of time to devote to my all consuming new interest: Satisfying my pregnancy cravings. Above you will see a lovely pix of yummy fresh strawberries and fresh pineapple chunks. Lately, I simply can't eat enough of both. Keep in mind I live in Ohio and it is the month of November. That translates into I am paying an arm and a leg for 2 out of season fruits that I simply must have. Since woman cannot live by fruit alone, I do have a secondary craving that my beloved non-Italian hubby has become quite the expert at making for me... oftentimes at 3 am: Spaghetti Aglio e Olio... and yes, the pasta must be spaghetti, and black olives and grated parmesan cheese are additional must haves to garnish it. This ancient staple has been feeding the Italians for centuries, so I figure it won't harm me or Baby to Be given that I could literally eat this dish w/ fresh strawberries & pineapple chunks every single day for every meal. This of course also means that I am driving Hubby and BabyGirl crazy, and while watching an Emeril Live show Saturday night (Emeril was preparing a truly lovely Thanksgiving feast for some NYC firefighters) Hubby suddenly turns to me and announces: "I swear to God, if you think you're eating fruit and spaghetti on Thanksgiving, I will personally stuff you and toss you into the oven at 400 degrees, and baste you until brown." Wow, I thought w/a look of shock on my face. So I turned to my usually very mild mannered husband and said: "We're hosting Thanksgiving dinner here at our house, of course I'll be eating turkey w/everybody else." Very lengthy pause... followed by this question from me: "But... uhh... since you brought up spaghetti and fruit... uhh... would you please, please, please make me some right now?" His mouth opens... silence... followed by a looong sigh... followed by Hubby getting up from the couch, walking into the kitchen, and preparing both for me. He is such a keeper, no?
Some GOPers are waking up from collective coma: Christian fascists just aren't NICE  The NYTs Paul Krugman postulates that we may be witnessing the downfall of the conservatives: "We may be seeing the downfall of "movement conservatism" -- the potent alliance of wealthy individuals, corporate interests and the religious right that took shape in the 60s and 70s. This alliance may once have had something to do with ideas, but it has become mainly a corrupt political machine, and America will be a better place if that machine breaks down." Aw shucks... I'm all broken up about that. But are Repukes themselves actually waking up from their collective coma and realizing that some of the problem w/the unholy alliance they have w/ the Religious Fright is not just the massive hypocrisy such as: 1) By super-gluing themselves to politics despite the Bible clearly saying we are to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's (Matt 22:21) and that Jesus' kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). 2) By claiming that they have exclusive understanding of the Gospel of Jesus, who said plenty about the hypocritical Pharisees but not 1 SINGLE word about abortion and homosexuality, nor are abortion & homosexuality listed in the 10 Commandments, yet they make abortion, gay bashing & homosexual bigotry the cornerstone of their so-called Christian values, and all the while, 3) They have oodles of gay pastors, politicians and staffers working actively to push the anti-gay agendas, and are now actively seeking a gay "purging" so all homosexuals can be cut out from the GOP... but that also these Religious Fright zealots are in fact Christian fascists? It appears some GOPers fearfully smell the zealotry: "A day after the Dem sweep of the midterm elections, Woodbury County (in Iowa) nRepub Chrmn Steve Salem had harsh words for his own party, lambasting the influence of the conservative Christian right wing. Salem said: "You've heard of IslamaFascists -- I think we now have Christian fascists. What is the definition of a fascist? Not only do they want to beat you, but they want to destroy you in the process." (Well... absolutists are like addicts. They'll destroy you if get between them and their fix.) Salem continued: "If things keep going the way things are going locally and statewide, it is going to be more and more difficult for Repubs to recruit candidates. We have elements of the party who are moral absolutists, who take the approach that if you don't take my position every step of the way, not only will I not support you, but I will destroy you. We have a number of factions w/in the Repub Party who are putting their own personal agenda ahead of what is best for the party." Hmm... could this be why Bush himself is wondering if America thinks that Repukes AREN'T the warriors of patriotism that they claim to be? Could it be that Bush is seeing the writing on the wall that Americans don't like infringements on our civil rights, and resent having our beloved Constitution and Habeas Corpus trampled on? Could this also be why a new survey of evangelicals reveals this: 52% thought Bush was a better Christian than Clinton. About a third, 33% or so, thought they were even, and 13% thought Clinton was a better Christian than Bush. Combined, that means 46% of evangelicals thought Clinton was as good a Christian, or better, than Bush. And oh yeah: They despise Jerry Falwell. Maybe Death-Ray Jesus isn't a hot selling point anymore? Maybe folks are beginning to realize that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, did not advocate greed, war, leaving the poor to die in the streets, using females as birthing cows and hypocrisy. And maybe... just maybe... some GOPers are waking up b/c they just as afraid of having the Christian fascists turn on them as they claim to be afraid of the fascists of the Muslim variety?
So lemme get this straight: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and various other groups like al Qaeda have supposedly applauded the Dem win in the House & the Senate. Sooo... the Democratic Party, which has championed equal rights for minorities, women, and gays, is endorsed by these groups who force their women into hajibs & burqas, persecute minorities, and hang people for being gay? The Dems, who have made a woman's right to choose her reproductive future a cornerstone of the party, are endorsed by these groups who hang women for having premarital sex, kill their females on the mere rumor of sexual activity, and outlaw abortion and birth control? The Dems, who have made separating church and state a BIG priority, are endorsed by these groups who want their govt based upon Sharia Law, want their clerics to be political leaders, and want society divided by "true believers" and "evil infidels"? Uhhh... yeah... riiiiight. It would take a crowbar to separate the Religious Fright & the Muslim fundamentalists. Call me skeptical, but the 2 hideous faces of the same ugly coin (fundamentalism of any kind) are super glued to each other and will NEVER embrace the Dems let alone liberalism. And let us never forget these famous wingnut quotes: "A person who is guided by God will never be misguided" -Osama bin Laden. AND "God told me to strike at al Qaeda, and I struck them. And then He instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did. And now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act . . . Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." -GW Bush
Bush fakes his cozying up to Dems while trying to squeak in Bolton & Gates confirmations  Watch this MSNBC spew about Bush & the GOP's "love" for extending an olive branch to the Dems (although the best part of the clip is Cliff Schecter's fabulous delivery of bitchslaps). Really? They could have cared less about working w/us Dems at all for the past 6 yrs, (despite what crapola Tony SnowJob spews) now did they? In fact, if a Dem dared to disagree w/them and/or Dear Leader on any issue, the Dem's patriotism was immediately called into question. Was Bush extending an olive branch by saying that if the Dems won, it would be a win for the terrorists? Is Bush truly extending an olive branch by already taking nasty little swipes at Nancy Pelosi's integrity and by trying to ram thru Robert Gates and John Bolton's previously refused confirmation before the Dems take over? Of course not, but given that defeated liberal GOPer-- but is now considering becoming a Dem-- Lincoln Chafee announced that he will still continue blocking Bolton's confirmation, so the nomination is effectively dead. I love how Bush and his minions whip it out and blatantly piss in the punchbowl at a party and then try to claim that it has such a strong odor and yellow color due to Democratic lemons. And speaking of sour and sore losers who cannot accept reality, get this: Fox News announces that Hastert will now run for "Minority Speaker" and Boehner will run for Majority Leader.... uhhh... I know Fox News is a complete joke, but do they really have to make things up now? If Boehner actually plans on running for Majority Leader, we can all assume that he has suddenly become a Democrat, huh? And since no position of Minority Speaker even exists, I guess Hastert plans on rewriting the rules of the House?
Finally, some good news for women's rights: Plan B the emergency contraceptive will become available over the counter next wk, and some good news for gay rights: The bigots failed to get gay marriage rescinded in the state of Mass.
Wow... the news just keeps getting better and better out of Iraq, doesn't it?: Iraq's Health Minister Ali al-Shemari said about 150,000 Iraqis have been killed by insurgents since the US March 2003 invasion, and for every person killed about 3 have been wounded in violence since the war started. And, 2 yrs after US forces supposedly cleared out the insurgents, the city of Fallujah is controlled by insurgents once again. If the current situation in Fallujah doesn't sum up the futility of staying in Iraq for both our military and our country, I don't know what does. Unfortunately, Bush has staked his presidency to this failed policy, so even if there is little chance of "winning", he will keep us there til doomsday. And our Dems are so completely terrified of being branded weak on national security, that they will will do anything not to be blamed for losing the war.
If they can't rid of him for his Iraq war lies, I'm willing to bet that the Brits just may get rid of Bush's lap dog Blair due to his secret loans.
Democrats take the Senate, too!!!  Halle-fucking-lujah... the Sequel! While watching Keith Olbermann last night, he announced this breaking news: James Webb wins VA, making the Dems the majority in the Senate! Maybe Macaca Allen didn't want to push the entire recount issue since he was down by over 7000 votes already, but also b/c he may not have wanted to open up that can of worms given that the FBI is already investigating his campaign's illegal voter suppression techniques. But this is encouraging news about our brand spanking new senator from VA, Jim Webb (via Reuters): "But rushing into the Robert Gates as the new Sec of Def confirmation process now caught flak from Democrat James Webb, Navy secretary under Reagan, who was leading Sen George Allen in Tuesday's election results. "I believe that the new Senate should be the body that examines Bob Gates' qualifications for confirmation," Webb said." Maybe this former Repuke/ former Reagan admin Navy Sec knows first hand how shady Gates is and wants to either refresh the older Senators' minds or let the newer Senators in on how shady Gates really is. I hope it is both... b/c I am tired of spineless Dems who act GOP-lite. And in light of our new victory, I suggest we all take a sip of a Donkey. It is way yummy (far yummier than the GOP's Elephant, but I'm not a gin drinker, so there ya have it) and after I wrap up gestating my young in springtime, I do intend on making an icy cold Donkey and toasting our hard earned victory.
So Rummy "resigned" Weds. More like given the boot by Papa Bush, who is saving his fuck-up failure of a son's ass yet again... cause ya see... Rummy's replacement is an old Bush Crime Family friend from way back. Rummy looked like he was ready to point and snarl at the camera from the top of his lungs: "You can't fire me! I'll run this war and 2 countries over the damn cliff at 100mph if I want to!! Cheney said I could!" I love how he treated us like mindless children w/the attitude that none us-- save for him-- understood the perils of terrorists and the war on terror. But are we and Iraq really going to be all that happy and satisfied with Rummy's replacement Robert Gates? Probably not. Not only did Gates heavily finance and shape Osama bin Laden in the 80s, Gates also has been busying his hands for the Bush Crime Family for decades now. And anyone who was deeply in Iran-Contra crimes really should be kept from ANY seat of real power... and since Gates was willing to commit crimes for Iran-Contra, God only knows what kind of shit he will pull in Iraq. Just ask Israeli spy Ari Ben-Menashe about how in 1981, Robert Gates helped him with his suitcase containing $56 million... $56 million to keep Ben-Menashe's mouth shut about how in 1980 Ben-Menashe saw George H.W. Bush in Paris meeting with a high Iranian official. And does anyone else wonder-- since Gates took such incredible heat while being confirmed as Bush I's Director of the CIA-- that Papa Bush finally wants to repay Gates for some old favors? And in case anyone was wondering what exactly regular Iraqis think about the Dems winning and Rummy resigning, read this article. Basically, they welcome any change for the better, but Bush will still the Prez who has utterly destroyed their nation, so how many miracles can really happen?
Hmm... I wonder how the oh-so-pious on family values Religious Fright and Bush feels about their beloved war causing the complete destruction of formerly peaceful religiously "mixed" marriages in Iraq? (not to mention the HUGE upswing in military marriages.) Feh... I'm sure they could care less. And this issue does affect me personally b/c I am the product of a "mixed" marriage (my dad is Catholic, my mom Romanian Orthodox) and my own marriage is a "mixed" marriage (I am Catholic, my husband is Protestant.) Neither one of my parents converted to the other's religion, nor did Hubby and I. Instead, we took my parents' wise advice: "If mutual love, friendship and respect can't keep you together, religion sure as hell won't do it, either." My parents have been married for 42 yrs... they know better than most. What a shame it is that under Saddam's rule, mixed marriages were the norm-- not the exception-- and that Iraqi Christians, secular citizens, Sunnis, Shiites, and yes... even Iraqi Jews enjoyed far more religious freedoms under Saddam than they could ever dream of doing now. Don't beleive me? Well, according to this beloved wingnut site, Saddam only courted Sunni Arabs AFTER the 1st Gulf War b/c he needed support from neighboring Sunni nations. Atta boy, Bush. Go to see that Junior is continuing Papa Bush's tradition of fucking up Iraq's nation, huh? And for an eerily "prophetic" 2003 interview w/an Iraqi Christian priest about religious tolerance in Iraq-- pre and post invasion-- read this.
Ooopsie! The RNC's Ken Mehlman got outed by Bill Maher on CNN's Larry King. As my beloved gay Republican friend (who lived in DC for several yrs and works for the fedrl govt currently) says: There are more gays in the Bush admin than you can swing a dildo at.
Worthy of a toast: Ohio is a Dem sweep & Dems take control of House, gain seats in Senate  Halle-fucking-lujah! The Dems took over crucial seats in my state of Ohio, the Dems won control of the House... drumroll for Madame Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, South Dakota rejected the batshit-crazy wingnut abortion ban (aka the Rapists Procreation Law), Dems win the majority of governors' offices, Santorum (get a load of this pix!) and Katherine Harris lost-- it could have been made perfect if Mean Jean the Wrinkled Prune had lost, the Repukes sadly did beat Harold Ford, Jr, probably due to plenty of their racist bullshit... but the great news is that Mass has a brand spanking new black Dem governor, and the Dems gained 4 Senate seats (needing only 6 to control the Senate) and the remaining 2 states (Montana & Virginia appear to be lead by the Dems).... so... the collective feeling is that the Dems will take control of the Senate, too. Bush, take that political capital and stuff it up your Decider ass at your press conference, where supposedly you will try to suck up & ask the Dems to play nice w/you after you told voters that a win for the Dems was a win for the terrorists. Piss off: I have visions of subpoenas dancing in my head. Crack open some bubbly, raise the glass high and say "Salute!"
 This is for all of you trolls, freepers, and foaming at the mouth winnguts who relished all of the ample dirty tricks and cheating tactics of your Repukes and yet dared to call us Dems losers. Well, pucker up buttercup. Who's the loser, now?... and we didn't have to cheat to win.
ELECTION DAY!! A voter's guide... for "Serious" Catholics only... sigh...I guess I am such a bad & unserious Catholic  Amidst all the hoopla, Election Day is finally here. Phew! Now for me, this pix is telling me that I did the right thing when I voted a straight Dem ticket on my absentee ballot this election. By doing so, I AM FIGHTING the Devil. But if I were to consider the advice on this pdf from the Catholic Answers Action called the Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics, this pix should have a whole 'nuther meaning. Whoa... for Serious Catholics ONLY? What about semi-serious ones? Or a "usually lighthearted to mask some childhood insecurities" kind of Catholic? Sheesh... Speaking of absolutes, this pdf lays out the 5 Non-Negotionable Issues, that I as a Catholic, I am supposed to believe absolutely are intrinsically evil and must NEVER EVER promote thru the law. Here's the problem: I disagree w/ the Church's stance on every single one of these issues, except for one. Not to mention the glaring fact that each of these 5 issues (abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, and gay marriage) also happen to be the much pimped GOP buzzwords to stir up the ugly wedge issue pot. 1) Abortion: Sorry, but the issue is simply not white and black. It is probably the 1 issue that has more shades of gray than most. The Serious Catholics belief is that abortion must NEVER EVER happen in any circumstances. Well, when the patriarchs of the church are faced with dying during pregnancy, being forced to bear the fetus of a rapist, carrying to term a child w/severe genetic abnormalities (and then provide the lifetime of expensive care that child will require) then they can tell me my stance on abortion is intrinsically evil. Also, if they're gonna take that "life under any circumstances route," then they had better be anti-war and anti-death penalty. Is it really too much to expect them to be consistant in that they should mourn the loss of the 655,000 lives in Iraq, and the deaths that take place at the hands of the grossly abused capital punishment system in the US as much as they claim they mourn the loss of the unborn? 2) Euthanasia: Sorry, but once again, this issue is not white or black. I'm not talking about walking up to your granny and shooting her in the head b/c she's sick, but I am talking about a person having the right to use methods to end their pain & suffering. Every single human being knows their own threshold for pain & suffering, and as such, we deserve the right to put an end to our pain & suffering, and to die w/ dignity if we choose to... not turned into a political spectacle a la the Terri Schiavo debacle. We euthanize our pets b/c we love them and cannot bear to watch them suffer or linger in pain unnecessarily. The same dignity should be extended to human beings. If the Church refuses to acknowledge that human beings find pain & suffering unbearable and will do anything they can to put a stop to it, perhaps they should take a trip to one of BushCo's secret "black prisons" and see what extraordinary lengths humans will go to end their pain & suffering. 3) Embryonic cell research: On this issue, the Church is just wrong. These embryonic cells will simply be tossed into the trash ANYWAY. There has never been any bills proposed for an unsupervised, free-for-all human testing, where diabolical people are going to start harvesting embryos and/or conceiving babies to cure diseases. These are embryos that infertile folks have lying in wait in frozen petri dishes, that will be thrown away if they are not used in a certain amount of time. Instead of being used for cures, the GOP and the Serious Catholic thinks that we should dispose of all these stem cell lines. It is a heartbreakingly cold stance on their part considering how many people suffer from chronic and debilitating pain that can be cured. Wouldn't it be refreshing and compassionate if the Church instead made universal access to health care an essential safeguard of human life, a fundamental human right, and an urgent national priority? 4) Human cloning: Absolutely human beings should NOT be cloned (in fact, I also think that animals should NOT be cloned either.) But the Church's position that stem cell research and human cloning are 1 in the same is ridiculous and wrong. One is for cures and improving the lives of those afflicted w/ diseases, and one is straight outta Mary Shelly's Frankenstein. If the Church wants to protect the unique "human-ness," of people, why don't they make economic justice, decent working conditions, a living wage, and dignity for families and children a Catholic priority, instead? 5) Gay marriage: First of all, I don't recall ever choosing to be hetero, and I don't know of any people who chose to be homosexual, so unless the church can prove to me that people deliberately choose to be gay just to be a blight in the eye of religion, I think the Church has little to say about this issue. God recognized that it is not good for man to be lonely and that humans need companions (that is why He made a mate for Adam), so why would God want homosexuals to lead a solitary life of loneliness and despair? Gay people have been around since the dawn of time, so obviously, if God thought they were such a problem for humanity, He could have easily wiped their existence away forever. But, since homosexuals make up about 10% of the population, they truly must be a part of God's plan that some folks are simply meant to be gay. To continue to demonize a good chunk of the population is doing God a great disservice, and promotes bigotry and hatred. Besides, people have the right to get married in a civil ceremony instead of a religious one, so why does the Church make civil marriages any of their business at all when that responsibility lies w/the state govt? So, b/c I believe that all of the Serious Catholics' stances reflect a push for power and dominance, and are GOP talking pts, I guess that makes me an very-unserious Catholic and I suppose I didn't punch Satan out w/my vote, huh? But I guess I would have to actually believe that the Church's stance on these issues wasn't hypocritical and power-hunger based. Abortion is not so much about babies as much as it is about reducing women's rights. Euthanasia isn't about saving sick people as much as it is about using vulnerable people as shields and rallying cries w/o caring about the person. Embryonic Stem Cell isn't about saving babies, it's about blocking research and enforcing a minority's morality over the majority of people. Anti-gay marraige isn't about anything but superiority, persecution, and more moral grandstanding. Make sure you vote today, if you haven't already, and be vigiliant, raise your voice & get proof that something shady is going on if you suspect voter fraud or tampering. As for me... well, I guess I should be chucking out my rosaries or else getting "serious." And oh yeah... I will be acting as a volunteer for the Dem party in my county. My job? Collecting some Dem absentee ballots (of mostly elderly voters who have been unable to mail their ballots in for a multitude of reasons) & getting them into the Board of Elections before our polls close at 7:30 pm.
If you want an Iraqi perspective on Saddam's verdict in the kangaroo court that we Americans paid $400 billion for, and if you're curious what exactly our troops are dying for, check out Riverbend's powerful post. I say this so frequently now: And to think, we in America actually once felt justified in criticizing the Soviet Union and the KGB.
A very gay birthday celebration and ... Hmm... what about Ted Haggard's kids?  Yes the oh-so crucial election is merely 2 days away, but damn it, I'm burnt out and I just wanna have some fun. See, Sunday was my gay best friend Bryan's birthday. He had already celebrated w/his family & several of his friends Sat night, so he came to our house Sunday afternoon for an early dinner w/ Hubby, BabyGirl and I, and hot apple- oatmeal crisp w/ vanilla ice cream in place of cake. When Bryan and I get together, it is nonstop cattiness that only a fag and his hag can muster. We gossip & discuss everything under the sun... which lead to us talking about the anticipated Dem sweep across Ohio, the Repukes and their latest rapidly spreading scandal of supressing the Dem vote (which the GOP admitted to doing), and dishing the dirt on Ted Haggard (whom Bryan calls Faggard). A pastor, who by the way, broke down and confessed-- saying he was guilty of "sexual immorality"-- but of course, refused to acknowledge that he is fact, a self loathing gay man leading a life of lies. We discussed how Haggard reminds us of that character in the movie 'American Beauty,' the tough guy who hated and disparaged homosexuals in public, all the while having gay fantasies in private. Who knew this would be a defining characteristic of the GOP psyche: angry, resentful, repressed sexuality & hateful--mostly of themselves, it seems. Keep in mind that Bryan is the 1st person who pointed out to me, very matter of factly in the yr 2000, that he was certain that Bush was gay, and plenty of info has surfaced that may back Bryan's gaydar up. This Haggard discussion lead to us checking out pix of the New Life Church's pastoral staff at a site Bryan had already looked at, b/c he swears (as does Karena, John in DC and Whore Vidal) that the new pastor, Ross Parsley- Haggard's replacement, is gayer than that luxurious bitch Bobby Trendy. I'm not being bitchy here... Bryan was correct. Seriously, take a gander at these pix... SO GAY that they could set off fire alarms! Well, all of this lead to us discussing what will happen to poor Haggard's kids in the middle of all of this. I can't imagine how awful this is for them and how they will cope since it is so public (and even for their obviously willingly blind Stepford Wife mom b/c she refused to see the forest thru the trees). But this brings up a very interesting question for all of the wingnuts out there who have been pushing laws in place that would keep all non-heteros from adopting kids: What will they say now about Haggard continuing to be a father to his 5 kids? Will they now want him to be removed from their lives for his "sexual immorality"? The wingnuts clearly have no problem w/him being a meth head but do damn him for having gay sex, so I imagine they will encourage his kids to despise their own father and become career homophobes for the Religious Fright. It seems to have worked for Karl Rove, no? Personally, I think Haggard's kids need to embrace this organization asap, b/c like it or not, their dad is gay, whether he continues to delusionally lie about it or not, & he will still be what he is b/c it is what he has been since birth. Maybe Haggard needs to take this quiz to face some cold hard facts. I did... and according to it: "Tina is 33% gay! You're a straight laced girlie girl with just a hint of your butch side popping out." Well, true ladies seldom let much pop out, now do they? And yes... the hot apple- oatmeal crisp a la mode I made was FABULOUS. Bryan said so.
Get a load of this list of GOP lies & crimes: 1) Dick Cheney told George Stephanopoulos that he would "probably not" appear before Congress if subpoenaed. WTF? Are we a land ruled by laws or a land ruled by men? Seriously... NOBODY is above the law. WTF? 2) On Meet the Press, Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) (echoing Condi's Rice’s bullshit justification for the war) claimed that Saddam was "a madman who had in his focus the preparation of nuclear weapons." Put down the crack Dole. And try reading the Duelfer Report, m'kay? 3) Despite all of their ample denials, conservative blogger/ journalist Andrew Sullivan says flatly that Hastert, Reynolds AND ROVE all knew about Foley's predatory ways w/pages. 4) Want to leave the country? Well, you had just better ask for Dear Leader's permission. And to think, we used to criticize the Soviets & the KGB. 5) In an eye opening Vanity Fair article, Neo-Cons Michael Ledeen & Richard Perle now try to say that they were against the war before they were for it, and say that they agreed to give the interview only b/c they thought it wouldn't come out until AFTER the election. And 6) Rep Hoekstra (R-MI), who demanded that the WH release classifed info on how to build an atomic bomb, now blames the Bush admin. How quickly the rats jump from a sinking ship, no?
Now I have never had the misfortune of wanting or needing an abortion, but in case my daughter and I ever are forced to suffer a rape, it is a small comfort to know that we do have the right to obtain the legal medical procedure that will allow us to keep our fertility intact, leave us alive, and not force us to make our rapist a parent. And since it is a legal medical procedure, who the fuck is Fox News' Bill O'Reilly to illegally obtain the personal, private, and legally protected medical records of females who have obtained abortions in the state of KS?
Saddam verdict: Death by Hanging  So Saddam's verdict came in: Death by hanging for crimes against humanity. Does he deserve it for being found guilty of murdering 148 people in 1982? Sure, but isn't it funny that back in the good old days (when Saddam was getting hugs, handshakes, kisses, chemical weapons, a football signed by the New York Giants, and a gift of silver spurs from Rumsfeld & Reagan)-- that Saddam was "their beloved homeboy" in the desert who was murdering plenty of his own people, but those Republicans could have given a shit less as long as he kept killing plenty of Iranians so America didn't have to. And we're fairly certain Saddam killed and tortured a whole heaping helluva lots of Iraqis. But what about Blair and Bush? How many have those 2 tortured and killed? By most accounts, Saddam is reputed to have killed about 300,000 people during his 35 yr reign. Bush and Blair's illegal bloodletting is reputed to have killed 655,000 people since the war began in 2003. Even if you half that 655K amount, it still surpasses Saddam's reputed total. So the question is: When do Blair and Bush face their trial for crimes against humanity? When do they get marched to the gallows to face the hangman's noose? And if (and this is a small leap given the horrific conditions already in Iraq) all out rioting breaks out due to this Saddam verdict... how much more Iraqi blood will be spilled? Not that these bloodthirsty moron Neo-Cons will care, since they refused to acknowledge the benefit of examining and taking to heart some 1999 Clinton admin war games, which looked at and accurately predicted "worst case" and "most likely" scenarios that would take place if a war were to remove then Pres Saddam Hussein from power.
Via AMERICAblog: "CNN just reported, the Colorado Springs, CO New Life Church fired Haggard and issued a blistering statement, finding him guilty of "sexually immoral conduct." And as CNN notes, as pres of the Natl Assoc of Evangelicals, he represented 30 million evangelicals. That's 1 in 10 Americans. And as CNN just asked, isn't he going to be arrested? He admitted to buying illegal drugs. What does wingnut Rep Marilyn Musgrave (R-CO) think about all of this, since she was posturing on the crystal meth issue just this past summer - so where is she on it now?" Why isn't she demanding Haggard's arrest? Well, when a guy has extensive ties to the Bush White House as deep as Haggard has, ya have to wonder if that is why Musgrave finally decides to keep her pie-hole shut on an issue. And as personally repellant as I find this Religious Frighter's hypocrisy, this simply takes the cake as far as selfish and unforgivable behavior: Ya know that interview he gave Friday from inside his car w/his wife sitting next to him where he admitted to getting a massage from the gay hooker and buying crystal meth? Get this: This asshole's kids were sitting in the back seat the entire time. The reporter asked him if he would step out so they could talk privately, but Mr Piety refused to exit the car. Atta boy Haggard. Next to Santorum making his kids play w/the fetus of their dead brother, I can't think of a more horrific act by a Repuke dad.
By now we've all heard that Madame Butterfly Chad herself-- Krazy Katherine Harris of FL-- said that God wants her to run for senator and will help her win, but get this: She's also an admitted anti-Semite when she admitted in an article that she prayed in a telephone prayer service recently that God would "bring the hearts and minds of our Jewish brothers and sisters into alignment." To make matters worse, here's the audio of Harris wishing that those damn stubborn Jews would just become Christians. Sweet Jesus... she sounds just like my crazy asshole Repuke in-laws. I bet they're sad they live in OH & can't vote for her.
Hypocrisy is just another word for GOP Rightwingers... a long yet informative rant  This whole Rev Ted Haggard thing has me completely fed up w/the unbelievable amounts of Rightwing hypocrisy, so bear w/me. It is bad enough that Haggard 1st claimed that he had never ever even met Mike Jones (the gay hooker who busted him) yet when the voicemails popped up, suddenly Haggard's memory recalls asking Jones to buy him some meth, but that Haggard threw the meth away. Riiight. If that crap were true, why does Haggard say in the voicemail that he wanted to buy "more" crystal meth, when he said he only bought it once and threw it out? And where exactly does the Haggard fantasy of having an orgy w/18 to 22 yr old guys play in all of this? Well... if you were to ask the pious Jerry Falwell (oops, that's right. Falwell suddenly claims he doesn't know Haggard) and James Dobson, the gay sex stuff is ALL that matters b/c apparantly he and his ilk have decided to turn a blind eye to a pastor and pres of the Evangelical Assoc snorting crystal meth. Funny... but I wonder how Dobson & his ilk feel about their good partners at the RNC accepting $1000s of donations from a distributor of gay active- duty military member porn?... especially w/ fabulous titles like "Fire in the Hole"? Oh, I'm sure they'd give it a pass as long as those gay military members had killed a few Muslims for the Crusade. Who knows? Maybe they brush it off like this guy does when it comes to getting a bj from another dude. And my outrage w/the Rightwing hypocrisy goes beyond the eye-popping list at The Armchair Subversive of GOP pedophiles caught red handed preying upon kiddies. It goes beyond Mark Foley preying upon pages and Bill O'Reilly stalking co-workers while his wife is pregnant b/c, honestly, we've seen this GOP/ Religious Fright crapola before: Just think of Jimmy "I heart hookers & porn" Swaggart... yet I preach monogamy and call the Prophet Muhammad a "pervert and sex deviant." Swaggart happily told us in '04 that he'd "murder any gay that looked at him" and then he'd "lie to God if asked if he killed the gay guy." I guess if it were a cheap hooker checking him out, he'd be A-okay w/it, huh? We've seen Jim "Jessica Hahn is just 1 of my many sex buddies" Bakker preach about the joys of monogamy w/Tammy Faye, and then after the Hahn thing broke, we watched him go to jail for fraud, but it was all somehow somebody else's fault-- not his, despite the fact that he had 47 separate bank accts in his name. Frankly, the obvious "sins" of the Religious Fright goes beyond their sex scandals. It begins w/their claims that they "have God on their side" and that they are "pro-life," yet they are nothing more than a bunch of greedy, power-hungry, war-happy, self serving bigots who are as mean and cruel as possible to people so they can feel some sense of superiority. They also claim to be "pro-life," yet they think nothing of happily applauding the bloodletting in Iraq that has killed/ maimed 1000s upon 1000s and the destruction of the planet earth-- the very thing that sustains ALL forms of life-- and refuse to fund desperately needed social programs that the poor and parents need for their children. Guess they missed all of the 2000 verses referencing the poor in the Bible, huh? They are not pro-life, they are merely pro-fetus. Once the baby is born, they could care less if the kid has food, clothing, shelter, medical care, public education, or a living wage for it's caregiver. The don't want babies to be born b/c they have some honest love of life. They just want females to pay some consequence for daring to have sex. If that wasn't the problem, why would they try to stuff that junk science of abstinence- only educ down our throats and attack all methods of birth control and emergency contraceptives? Just take a gander at this chart of teen births per every 1000 girls ages 15-19 yrs by state. Are you noticing a big, bright, rash of RED staring at you in your face? That's right, the states w/the most teen births are smack dab in the South & the Bible Belt. Guess all that fire and brimstone preaching about abstinence and the evils of fornication is falling on deaf ears, huh? And which states have the lowest rates of teen parents? OMG!... it is those damned East Coast liberal states! And dare I even say it? The state 2nd to the last is MA... you know... the very place where gays can marry and destroy hetero families and cause plagues of locusts and whatnot. Which, since we are mentioning homosexuality and pregnancy, could someone-- anyone-- please me show where exactly in the Bible does Jesus condemn homosexuality and abortion? Oh yeah, that's right... it is ZERO. And correct me if I'm wrong, but if homosexuality & abortion were such top priorities, why are they not given top billing in The 10 Commandments? It is not about the "sins," people... it is about the hypocrisy. If you're gonna gay bash and demonize homosexuality, do not be a closeted homosexual or have gays work for you... ahem Sen McCain. If you're gonna claim to be some pillar of family values, do not coddle child predators. If you're gonna condemn pre-marital sex and sex outside of marriage, do not frequent hookers, cheat on your spouse, and engage in group sex. If you're gonna condemn women rights, do not refuse to pay for all of those kids who are gonna pop out as a result. If you're gonna condemn abortion as murder, you cannot okay capital punishment and war. And if you're gonna claim that ONLY YOU can keep our nation safe, do not whore out our ports, leave our borders wide open, let 1000s of guns go missing in Iraq and fire the only guy who can uncover what the hell kind of corruption is going on in Iraq, and let any nutjob see blueprints on how to make a bomb of the nuke variety on your govt website, and then blame... who else?... the NYTs. It is very simple: Stop the hypocrisy and stop cherry picking the Bible to suit your twisted agenda. If not, STFU.
World's most dangerous leader to peace: Bush beats out Korea & Iran's leaders in Brit poll  Wow... now THAT is something to be proud of, eh? Beating out Iran's crazy Mahmoud and Korea's nutjob Kim Jong-il as posing more of a danger to world peace is quite the accomplishment for Bush, no? Besides the bloodletting clusterfuck that is Iraq (which the clearly delusional Maj Gen William Caldwell wistfully says is: "A work of art in progress.") maybe the Brits caught wind of the fact that BushCo posted stuff about Iraq's nuclear capabilities on the internet... including a basic guide to building an atom bomb. Hmm... maybe that is why Korea is testing nuclear bombs and why BushCo claims so confidently that Iran has nukes: BushCo handed them the blueprints to build them. Atta boy, Bush. I feel sooooooo much safer w/you as our Dear Leader.
Yet another self righteous wingnut who foams at the mouth about the "deadly sin of homosexuality" is CAUGHT in a homosexual sex scandal? *GASP* And this time instead of an underaged kid, a male hooker is involved?... and the whore is NOT Jeff Gannon? AND voicemails that discuss buying meth (that have been saved by the gay hooker as evidence) have been analyzed by a nationally known voice recognition expert, Richard Sanders (who has worked on such reknown high profile cases as the Oklahoma City bombing trial, the Columbine High School shootings, the JonBenet Ramsey murder investigation, and the Kobe Bryant case) says: "This certainly sounds like the same person," said Sanders, after listening to the voice mails. In his final report, Sanders found that of 12 single words that were the same on both recordings, nine of those words were perfect matches. He also found that the entire phrase, "I don't know," was also a precise match. AND the wingnut caught with his pants down around his Bible has a direct phoneline into the Bush White House and is the president of the National Association of Evangelicals? Say it ain't so! What's next? We'll learn that the GOP receives massive money from porn.... GAY PORN? Ooops... too late! And to anyone who wants to defend this hypocrite, let's be clear: If he isn't guilty, then I'll say so. But if he's not guilty, why did Haggard step down from his leadership role, and why-- on Thurs-- was a press conference by church leaders to support Haggard cancelled shortly before it was scheduled to take place? And why did he discuss in an interview what will happen if the church investigation finds that the allegations are true? Why would anyone even say something like that if the allegations are bull? Jeeze... I guess all of this makes Rep John Sweeney (R-NY) beating his wife and Rep Don Sherwood (R-PA) paying his mistress (whom he attacked and tried to strangle) $500,000 to shut her up until after the election seem like child's play, huh?
Winning hearts & minds... again: Whether or not you know it, you've probably seen military cop Sgt. Santos Cardona. Where, you ask? In pix of Cardona using a dog to threaten Iraqis. He was convicted in May of dereliction of duty and aggravated assault for his actions at Abu Ghraib, the equivalent of a felony in the US civilian justice system, and having now served his sentence, Cordona has just been sent back to serve in Iraq. To make matters worse, his 23rd MP Co. has been selected to train Iraqi police, which have been the target of frequent assassination attempts and, according to US intelligence are heavily infiltrated by insurgents. Given that Cordona appears in at least 1 al-Qaeda propaganda video depicting the abuse, he may now be a marked man and could put his own MP company in danger. I wonder what Bush genius OK'd this?
Now I'm not a huge seafood fan (although shrimp, lobster, and crab are pretty damn good), but if I want those menu items, I had better eat them up quick: If current trends of overfishing and pollution continue, the populations of just about all seafood face collapse by the yr 2048, a team of ecologists and economists warns in a report in the journal Science. Gee, instead of killing us thru global warming, maybe the food chain collapse will just do us all in, huh? Anyone else up for a night of seafood & alcohol gluttony before we're all wiped off the planet?
In light of my post on Weds about the Ohio absentee ballot fuckups, I marched into my county Board of Elections on Thursday afternoon... completely ready to rumble. With BabyGirl in tow, and photocopies of our absentee ballots, I patiently waited to speak to someone (since no one had called me back for 2 straight days when I told them I had questions about my ballots). But what took place next was completely pleasant. I was able to see that they did in fact receive our absentee ballots and was told that Weds night, our Ohio Sup Crt appeals crt reached a late night decision that will force the post offices to foward all absentee ballots that have inadequate postage (since we were told in our ballot letters to affix two .39 cent stamps on the envelopes but in many, many counties the ballots required .87 cents of postage). So, at least for once... in Ohio... voting fuckups might NOT screw over too many voters. Now, if we could just do something about those completely useless & hackable Diebold voting machines.
Depleted uranium risk simply "ignored"  Given that our very own President has simply decided to turn his back on a missing soldier during a time of war, given that we have an Arabic speaking interrogator committing suicide rather than participating in the military use of torture, given that we have foaming at the mouth Repukes demanding the head of John Kerry on a GOP platter for making a joke, while Rep Boehner says that Rummy is the greatest thing since sliced bread and that any and all Iraq mistakes belong on the heads of the generals, and given that our Air Force says it needs emergency money to bring home the"growing numbers" of dead and wounded troops (well, the official count for the month of Oct alone is 105 dead US troops/ 700 wounded), news like this simply ceases to be shocking (via BBC): "UK and US forces have continued to use depleted uranium weapons despite warnings they pose a cancer risk, a BBC investigation has found. A report by the World Health Org (WHO) in 2001 said DU weapons posed only a small contamination risk. But a senior UN scientist said research showing how depleted uranium could cause cancer was withheld, and Dr Keith Baverstock, who worked on the WHO project, said research conducted by the US Dept of Def described a process known as genotoxicity, which begins when depleted uranium dust is inhaled. "The particles that dissolve pose a risk - part radioactive - and part from the chemical toxicity in the lung," he said. Later, he said, the material enters the body and the blood stream, potentially affecting bone marrow, the lymphatic system and the kidneys. The research was not included in the WHO report, and Dr Baverstock believes it was blocked." Should any of us be shocked by this? Of course not. The industrial war machine can't admit that the weapons our troops are using can leave them riddled w/cancer and/or leave their future children to look like mutants. If they did that, they also may have to account for the massive jump in cancer and birth defects in Iraq and Afghanistan. They knew exactly what it did to our troops and the people in Iraq during the First Gulf war. Before the US invaded in '03, Iraqi officials begged the US to NOT use DU weapons. What was the US response?: "A US defense official has said moves to ban depleted uranium ammunition are just an attempt by America's enemies (Our enemies? I thought they were our beloved friends that we were liberating from that awful guy Saddam?) to blunt its military might. Col James Naughton of US Army Command said Iraqi complaints about depleted uranium (DU) shells had no medical basis. "They want it to go away because we kicked the crap out of them," he told a Pentagon briefing. Uh, Col.... maybe they didn't want us to use DU in their nation b/c they have seen horrific birth defects like this or this. And some of our troops have been so horrified by these DU weapons, that they took pix of the aftermath so someone could see what we're doing to the population that we're incinerating... err... "liberating." And maybe some of our troops are scared to death that they will come home with unexplained health problems, a host of mysterious illnesses, and/or have children w/severe birth defects. Watch this horrifying buzz flash clip which I have put on my blog previously and say aloud: Supporting our troops my ass.
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