The Dixie Chicks Ad NBC Doesn't Want You To See

Think Progress

NBC is refusing to air an ad for the new Dixie Chicks documentary, "Shut Up & Sing." Variety reports, "NBC's commercial clearance department said in writing that it 'cannot accept these spots as they are disparaging to President Bush.'"

Harvey Weinstein, who is distributing the movie, issued the following statement:

"It's a sad commentary about the level of fear in our society that a movie about a group of courageous entertainers who were blacklisted for exercising their right of free speech is now itself being blacklisted by corporate America. The idea that anyone should be penalized for criticizing the president is profoundly un-American."

ThinkProgress has obtained the ad NBC doesn't want you to see. Watch it:

By all means go watch it. There are also two clips at the movie site above, and you can see the actual movie trailer at YouTube as well.

I differ from the Chicks a little: I feel for them, but I'm glad that sonofabitch is from Texas and not from someplace worthwhile.

You go, girls. There are a lot of us out here who aren't ready to make nice.

This sounds too good to be true

But I hope it is. From HuffPo:

GOP Offered Blanket Plea Bargain Agreement

Attention Republicans in the Federal Government: Provide state's evidence now and guarantee yourself a reduced sentence!

This is a one-time only offer. Void as of November 7, 2006.

All prison terms from subpoenas or arrest warrants delivered beginning November 7, 2006 will be for the maximum as required by law.

Protect yourself today. First-come, first-rewarded.

This is not a gimmick! This is a real legal agreement, certified by the National Democratic Party under the official auspices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Department of Justice (pending) and United States Joint Houses of Congress (pending)

Why are the Democratic Party and combined United States law enforcement agencies making such an offer? There must be a catch.

No! There is no catch. This is patriotism, good citizenship and democracy in action, to protect the beloved U.S. Constitution and your own federal government.

This offer can be made because you are not the focus of any inquiry. You may even be able to avoid prison time completely, if your evidence is strong enough. And even if you do have to serve jail time...it will be at drastically reduced sentences!!

Because you are not the focus of any inquiry.

Act NOW while you still have habeas corpus rights. Remember, law enforcement agencies can wiretap you without warrants, so your chances of avoiding arrest by rogue government bureaus have already been drastically reduced. Act NOW to protect yourself.

Do yourself a favor. Do your family a favor. Do your country a favor. Protect the United States Constitution. And guarantee yourself a reduced sentence!

Offer valid from sea to shining sea.

Expires November 7, 2006.

Now we're talkin'! Damn, I hope this is on the level, but it might be a gag. If it is, it's not funny.

Dave

Good news from Swing State Project:

Perhaps sensing a once in a generation opportunity to paint as many as seven Republican districts in New York blue this cycle, the DCCC has just added Dave Mejias* (NY-03), John Hall (NY-19), Jack Davis (NY-26), and Eric Massa (NY-29) to the Red to Blue program (see Jesse Lee's posts here and here). With the election a week and a half away, this would've been more significant had it been announced a few weeks ago, but hopefully it should lend these four guys an extra surge against their embattled opponents...

It's about time. I also have a bone to pick with Bill Clinton for this:

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While the race between veteran Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) and Nassau Legis. Dave Mejias (D-North Massapequa) is Long Island's marquee congressional battle, Clinton never mentioned Mejias, who was at the event.

...

Know why?

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While King, who was one of a handful of Republicans to vote against some of the articles of impeachment against the former president, was spared a verbal lashing, Clinton said Republican dominance in Washington has been bad for the nation.

...

You know what, Bill? You can suck my hairy white ass. A lot of shit has changed in 10 years. You know the mess the Rethugs have made of this nation and you decide, at this critical time, to repay a political debt? You've been hanging around with Poppy Bush too long. Remember, if it weren't for your 'indescretion', Al Gore would be the President now. We've stood by you, and your wife, through it all; it's time to remember who brung ya.

Wake the fuck up and give Dave your full endorsement. Better yet, do it in the lot of my shop, in front of regular Long Islanders, in Dave's district. I'll eat a day's profit and give you my floor. You owe us this, goddammit.

Learn about the candidate and volunteer - Dave for America

Contribute - Dave's ActBlue page.

Vote for Dave Mejias. Do you live in NY-03?

*My link.

43 Years Ago

The Moderate Man put his baby picture up, and so as not to be outdone, here's mine:



It's hard to believe I was ever that young.

Dave

The candidate was in form today as he blasted Peter King on his support for Chimpy McFlightsuit's 'stay the course' policy in Iraq. I was proud to stand with Mr. Mejias and give my support along with Capt. Cleere and the commander of the local VFW. I was also proud to say a few words on behalf of the candidate at his request, entirely impromptu. My first appearance before TV cameras and I hope I didn't come off as a complete idiot. I did mention the Brain though. The only thing I remember were the words 'don't swear, don't swear' going through my head. I also didn't think, since the press conference took place in front of the county courthouse, that it would be good to say 'wow, the last time I was here I arrived in handcuffs', though that was the first thing that popped into my head as I stepped up to the podium. I'll try and get a pic from the Mejias folks for your amusement.

The candidate (r); Capt. Cleere (c); and the VFW commander(l)

Learn about the candidate and volunteer - Dave for America

Contribute - Dave's ActBlue page.

Vote for Dave Mejias. Do you live in NY-03?

Update:

Stupid Peter King tricks.

"The dust that Bush bit in Iraq ended up on all our backs..."

Fixer 'n Gordon (squint a little) gang up on combine their talent in an allegorical ditty about Bush, Osama, Iraq, and ultimate failure

I just got tired of reading about how low the Repugs can go in their smear campaigns as they head for the drain. That includes Bush's linguistic denial of reality.

Seriously ...

If you're a Republican candidate for elected office, stay away from accusing your Dem opponent of "a serious ethical failing". It stinks of hypocrisy.

Dave

I'll be standing up with a buncha other Long Island veterans, including Iraq War vet Captain Tom Cleere, to show our support for, and solidarity with, Dave Mejias at 11:30 this morning. If you can make it to the County Courthouse in Mineola, stop by, show your support, and say hi. From the Mejias campaign:

Dave Mejias, Nassau County Legislator and candidate for Congress in New York's 3rd Congressional District, calls on Peter King, George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld to stop playing political games with the war in Iraq. Our young men and women are risking their lives everyday in Iraq, they deserve better than the failed Republican policies of staying the course.

Peter King has failed to ask the tough questions on Iraq, instead he has served as a rubber stamp to President Bush's policies. October has been the deadliest month in Iraq so far, a change of course is desperately needed. When elected Dave Mejias will ask the tough questions and provide the necessary oversight this situation requires. [my em]

Learn about the candidate and volunteer - Dave for America

Contribute - Dave's ActBlue page.

Vote for Dave Mejias. Do you live in NY-03?

Good on 'em

I'm proud of my neighbors across the Hudson:

The New Jersey State Supreme Court just issued its ruling on same-sex marriage. The court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry because of the equal protection clause of the state constitution...

Pink and 2799

Go over to Moderate Man and see what another ol' pissed-off Marine has to say. Just scroll down and read '2799' and then 'Multi-tasking'. Then keep going. He's got some good shit.

Yay! We're 53rd!

...In Press Freedom, that is. From Cursor:

The U.S. slides further down the scale on the global press freedom index, from 17th in 2002 to 53rd today.

Well, at least we're beatin' North Korea. For now.

Spicewood Seven CD

From PRWeb comes info on an album of anti-Bush, anti-war protest songs:

Spicewood Seven Americana protest CD "makes Steve Earle look like a milquetoast" (All Music Guide).

"Kakistocracy" (rhymes with "democracy" -- means government by the most corrupt and incompetent)is an Americana CD that surveys an America gone wrong.

But instead of pointing fingers, the CD includes a cycle of songs which are slices of life -- sometimes sly and satirical, sometimes blunt as the muzzle of an M-16. The cast of characters range from Iraq War grunts more interested in staying alive than promoting democracy -- to trailer trash-talking mamas getting jacked up on the home front.

Ooh! I like "trailer trash-talkin' mamas"! Especially "jacked-up" ones, although I do wish they'd get a spare bathtub to mix up the crank...(Just kiddin', OWL!)

The CD has garnered rave-reviews for its no-punches-pulled approach -- think Stephen Colbert in a cowboy hat. While the songs are anti-Iraq War and anti-Bush, they move beyond ad hominem attacks to take aim at the moral fog of an America that gave rise to W and his War.

Stewart Mason of All Music Guide writes: "just the sight of (Kakistocracy) will make the average Fox News viewer's head explode, but for all of those who have been complaining that there's no protest music coming in response to this war like there was to Vietnam...well, here it is."

Blogcritics.org summarizes: "the angry populist message of Kakistocracy: We're being played for fools by fools -- and we want to know why."

Kathy Coleman of About.com raves: "All in all, when it comes to making music, I have to give these guys two thumbs up -- when it comes to speaking up about what's wrong, I don't have enough thumbs to give."

More info at Spicewood Seven.

Listen and/or download tunes here. I'm old-fashioned enough that I'll probably just go buy a copy.

This is good stuff, folks.

So?

Where are they gonna come from?

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two weeks before U.S. midterm elections, American officials unveiled a timeline Tuesday for Iraq's Shiite-led government to take specific steps to calm the world's most dangerous capital and said more U.S. troops might be needed to quell the bloodshed.

U.S. officials previously said they were satisfied with troop levels and had expected to make significant reductions by year's end. But a surge in sectarian killings, which welled up this past summer, forced them to reconsider. [my em]

...

Are we gonna lower the recruiting standards even more? Are we gonna hire mercenaries? Are we gonna revive the Draft? Tell me, because the military is barely meeting recruiting goals now. Tell me, after the deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq for over a year, how in Hell you're gonna get more young folks to sign up? I dunno, but $40,000 is no incentive for me to leave a limb, my sanity, or my corpse on some far off battlefield in an illegal war.

Tip o' the Brain to Driftglass.

Vintage

Gordon has an excellent video up over at F & G. More vintage motorcycles than you can shake a stick at. Some of 'em are almost as 'vintage' as Ol' Gord himself. Heh ...

Get him out ...

Via Greenwald, the majority of Americans favor impeachment. About fucking time.

Bombing the Google

Just helping Darryl, blogging at the General's place:

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Share these links with your friends and family, and plaster the links all over your blogs and web pages!

Senate races:

WA-Sen: Mike McGavick

VA-Sen: George Allen

TN-Sen: Bob Corker

RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee

MT-Sen: Conrad Burns

MO-Sen: Jim Talent

MD-Sen: Michael Steele

AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

House races:

WA-08: Dave Reichert

VA-10: Frank Wolf

PA-10: Don Sherwood

PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick

PA-07: Curt Weldon

PA-04: Melissa Hart

OH-18: Joy Padgett

OH-15: Deborah Pryce

OH-02: Jean Schmidt

OH-01: Steve Chabot

NY-29: Randy Kuhl

NY-26: Tom Reynolds

NY-20: John Sweeney

NY-03: Peter King

NV-03: Jon Porter

NM-01: Heather Wilson

NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

NH-02: Charlie Bass

NC-11: Charles Taylor

NC-08: Robin Hayes

MN-06: Michele Bachmann

MN-01: Gil Gutknecht

KY-04: Geoff Davis

KY-03: Anne Northup

KS-02: Jim Ryun

IN-08: John Hostettler

IN-02: Chris Chocola

IL-14: Dennis Hastert

IL-10: Mark Kirk

IL-06: Peter Roskam

ID-01: Bill Sali

IA-01: Mike Whalen

FL-22: Clay Shaw

FL-16: Joe Negron

FL-13: Vernon Buchanan

CT-04: Christopher Shays

CO-07: Rick O'Donnell

CO-05: Doug Lamborn

CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

CA-50: Brian Bilbray

CA-11: Richard Pombo

CA-04: John Doolittle

AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth

AZ-01: Rick Renzi

Click here for more information about this post, and see this if you want to do something similar on your blog or web page.

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Well this is a fine how do you do

Iraq for Sale,the film by Robert Greenwald,is now up online so you can watch it for free. I encourage you to buy the DVD though,and try to get as many people as you can to see it in the next couple of weeks,and beyond. It really needs to be on the TeeVee,yeah,that'll happen,HA.

I decided to try to find venues here that will allow me to hold screenings. My first thought was the public library system. Your mileage will vary on this,but here in the'burbs,appearantly there are now forms to be submitted before deadlines and your use of the multi purpose rooms has to be approved by a board at the county's main library. This is new,a few years back,when this library was new,I used their rooms more than once for various things,including a kid's birthday party/story time thing. The library manager knew when the rooms were free and put you on a list with your name,phone number,function/group,the date and time. And you could put a notice on the board at the library entrance if you wanted. So,I submit my application and today I find out it will be March at the earliest before I can have a turn. Ok fine,there are other venues,I've got a long list of possibilities. But I patronize this library regularly,and I have rarely seen a room in use except for the library's own kiddie story/film times. Sometimes you'll see people using the little rooms for paperwork,homework,etc,but the media rooms have always been empty,even in the after work hours with rare exceptions. It's just weird you have to jump through all these hoops when you didn't used to have to.

Anyway,I'm back to the phones. See this film damnit,it's very good. Support the Troops takes on a whole new meaning after seeing this film. Republicans should be duct taped to chairs and made to see it.(and no,I'm not advocating duct taping conservatives to chairs,ok,maybe just for a little bit,heh. Hey,it's only a 75 minute documentary,you can let 'em go once the credits roll. I'm kidding,seriously,sort of)

I just had a thought too,if you can find a venue to show the movie,a small fee at the door could be collected and the money sent to Operation Helmet,or some other group that really does support the troops directly. Might as well multi-task if possible. It also might be a good PR thing to get people to come see the film.

Bushcronium

Heh ... Lurch ...

Can I get a ...

"No shit"? Michael Stickings states what was obvious as soon as that deranged midget in North Korea threw the U.N. inspectors out. The North Korean nuclear test was a gift to the White House and Bush, through his actions (the requirement for 6-party talks, the refusal to talk to Kim unilaterally, the threat of increased sanctions), encouraged it:

At Think Progress, Joe Cirincione reports (from an article in the Post) that "[s]enior Bush administration officials wanted North Korea to test a nuclear weapon because it would prove their point that the regime must be overthrown". According to the Post article, these officials were actually "rooting for a test" (Michael's emphasis).

...

After living in South Korea for 3 years (walking distance from the DMZ) I can safely say the people who believed we were their friends, and there are quite a lot of South Koreans who love the U.S., are feeling shit upon as this news comes out. A lot of American lives were lost defending the Korean Peninsula 50 years ago and the South Koreans believed we would stand up for them again, against NK, against China if need be. I wonder how they feel knowing the Chimp and his people now consider them 'acceptable losses'. There are close to 40,000 U.S. troops on the DMZ (the only defense between a million NKPA troops under arms and Seoul) who I'm sure are wondering about their government's commitment to them as well.

Are you sure Evel Knievel started this way?

This is the funniest thing I've seen lately, assuming the clown didn't get killed. When someone asks, "Hey, wanna be on Jackass?", STFU!

Then again, maybe he just left his loading ramp at home.

I managed to blunder the video onto the Brain, but I don't really know how. Fixer, please still send instructions.