Saturday, April 29, 2006

If you're retired military...

Rummy owns your ass. Commander Huber:

...

We're over three years into the Iraq war and almost five years into the Global War on Terror. Why is the Secretary of Defense just now deciding he needs to draw on the retired military community? Why does the entire retired community need to be in the eligible pool? Why wasn't this directive announced at the DoD website, and why hasn't the mainstream media covered it?

A number of possible answers to these questions exist, of course, but the release of the directive on the heels of the well publicized revolt of the retired generals is timing too close to dismiss as pure coincidence.

...


Ya hear that Chief Jackson?

Preznit Sybil

I wrote about this last week. It seems the Chimp is in his Valley Girl personality again. Shakes catches it this time.

Had enough?

I've had enough of being good
Of doing everything that I'm told I should
If you slap one cheek
Well I ain't gonna turn the other

~ The Who


Tim Roemer digs up a blast from the past that should be on the lips of every Dem:

...

In 1946, Karl Frost, an advertising executive, suggested a simple slogan to the Massachusetts Republican Committee: "Had Enough? Vote Republican!" Frost recognized that these simple words could unite his national party and blame its opponents, who controlled Congress, for causing or failing to solve the many problems facing the country, including meat shortages, economic difficulties and labor unrest. The strategy worked: in 1946, both houses of Congress flipped.

Sixty years later, Democrats would be smart to turn Karl Frost's slogan on Karl Rove's strategy.

"Had Enough? Vote Democratic!" is a slogan that spotlights the many mistakes in Iraq, the mismanagement of Hurricane Katrina and the mangling of fiscal responsibility with "bridges to nowhere." Indeed, you can see and hear Democratic candidates rallying their voters at Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinners with a passionate and rhythmic chorus:

"The administration said Iraqis would greet us with roses as liberators, yet our soldiers are attacked with homemade bombs and rocket-propelled grenades. Had Enough? Vote Democratic.

...


Link via memeorandum.

Gardening

So, I'm out in my garden talking to God. It's a beautiful spring day about 55 degrees with a slight breeze, just enough to keep me cool while I'm pulling weeds.

"You missed one," He says to me.

"Smartass," I reply as I snatch at the little patch of green, peeking out from the tilled soil. He is, you know, but then we talk as equals, usually when I'm doing something mundane, like pulling weeds. It's usually times like that when we talk, when I'm doing something that gets me in closer touch with Mother Earth.

We start off when he shows up, getting preliminaries out of the way. "Still doing okay without my help?" He asks.

"Yeah," I say. "You?"

"Still good," He says.

"Cool," I sit up and fish a smoke from my pocket and light it.

"Those things are gonna kill you," He reminds me.

"When?" I ask.

"You know that would take all the fun out of it," He explains as he has on many other occasions.

"Speaking of fun," I raise a finger. "How come you're letting all those Jesus freaks drag your name through the dirt? A well-placed lightning bolt or two would be entertaining as well as effective."

"Sure would be," He agreed. "But you know I don't work that way. Remember what I told you that day on the Afghan border?"

"When we pulled that Agency puke out of the mountains two steps ahead of the Russians?" When else? It was the only time I was in Afghanistan, unofficially of course.

"Thought I was gonna lose you that day," He chuckled.

"Tell me about it," I agree, taking a long drag from the Camel as I relive that day in a moment's time. "Thanks for the memories."

"What did I tell you when your friend bought it?"

I took a deep breath. "That you don't care. That you think long term."

"Dude," He says. "You've only been around a million years. That's nothing in the big scheme of things. You're nothing in the big scheme of things."

"Thanks a lot," I mumble sarcastically.

"Your ego can take it," He laughed again. "Look," He gets serious. "Those guys are your problem. In a hundred years, nobody's gonna remember them."

"Unless they convince that simian nitwit in the White House to unleash Armageddon," I remind Him. "He's another one I'd like to talk to you about."

"And you know what happens after, don't you?" God says. "Something else will spring forth from your ashes and begin the cycle anew. I'll probably have to wait a long time for them to become as entertaining as you guys are, but I can use the rest. You're keeping me up nights."

"That's nice from where you sit," I tell him. "That immortality gig changes your perspective. I sort of had bigger plans for humanity. There's a Solar System to conquer, and the rest of the galaxy after that."

"Who says the folks out there will let you conquer them?" God laughed. "I told you, your ego is cast iron and inflated."

"Fine," I shrug. "No lightning bolts?"

"You'll have to do your own dirty work, dude," He says. "But charlatans are generally never successful in the long run. They'll self-destruct soon enough, probably not soon enough for your liking, but they will."

"I wish I could share your optimism," I tell Him.

"Optimism?" God laughed once more. "I'm not optimistic for you people at all. You should have dumped the religiosity thing a thousand years ago. Shit, you should have done some of that conquering of space by now, at least have colonized the Solar System by now. You idiots are still debating Me. You missed another one."

"Happy?" I ask as I rip the weed out by the roots.

"Look, I gotta go," God says.

"I thought you have eternity to spare? What's the rush?" I ask.

"Heh," He mutters. "There are a bunch of idiots just like you people on a planet about fifty thousand light years from here. It seems they are on the verge of nuclear war and I have to stop and get popcorn first. The fireworks should be outstanding"

"You have such macabre tastes," I say.

"Hey, you watch Murder, She Wrote reruns," God replied. "You should talk. I'll catch you on the rebound."

"Hopefully before we provide fireworks of our own," I say.

"Indeed," He says. "I was getting attached to you. You're creative in your stupidity."

"And you're a smartass," I called after Him.

"Yeah," He said. "But I'm God."

Comin' down to the wire...

Truthout

Despite vehement denials by his attorney, who said this week that Karl Rove is neither a "target" nor in danger of being indicted in the CIA leak case, the special counsel leading the investigation has already written up charges against Rove, and a grand jury is expected to vote on whether to indict the Deputy White House Chief of Staff sometime next week, sources knowledgeable about the probe said Friday afternoon.

I've got my fingers, and everything else that'll cross, crossed! Some of 'em are quite painful. It's worth it if the Grand Jury does the right thing.

I can't because...

I love people like this:

...

I've thought about that for a while, wondering what exactly about both epithets appear so fascinating to left-wing bloggers.


Because you're a buncha wannabe chickenshits who don't have the balls to to anything if they're not sequestered in their basements, safe from those big, bad jihadists and lefties.


As a middle-aged grandfather supporting a chronically ill wife, I have few options for doing my part in the war on terror. After 9/11, I spent weeks looking into different options for service while trying to balance my family obligations. Our family found out just three weeks after the attack that the Little Admiral would soon join us, and the implications of terrorism and war weighed heavily on my mind. I resolved to use the skills I had -- writing -- to make the case for fighting a forward strategy against terrorists. Eventually that led me to this blog, but in the interim I argued for a continued muscular offensive against the Islamofascists that had murdered thousands of our fellow Americans.


And sitting in front of my keyboard is the easiest thing to do. Far be it to actually do what I implore others to do, like die. I mean, those military guys volunteered, right? They should be willing to go anywhere and die, right?

Is that the same as military service? Of course not. The men and women of the military do the real fighting, and we salute them and support them by supporting their mission. Milbloggers give us the best of both worlds by not only defending our nation and fighting (and beating) terrorists around the globe, but also by reporting on the fight first hand. There is honor in engaging in public debate for policies which we believe are in our nation's best interest as well.


There is no honor in talking a good line. Remember what grandma said? 'Actions speak louder than words.'

For many of us, we know that without presenting our arguments in the national forum, many in the media and the public will quickly overpower the debate and threaten the policies we feel give us the best long-term opportunity to defeat terrorism and the states that fund and shelter them.

...


Us? Us? There's no us. It's you and your little chickenshit pals who've been conned by folks who look at you the same way we on the left do. You're idiots, useful to the Repukes, but nothing more than gullible stupid idiots.

Since I won't link to this wannabe squid I'll send you to Amanda who has more to say about this idiot.

Update:

And I think Atrios says it best:

While many of the 101st may be unable to serve in our fine military for a variety of reasons - poor conditioning, age, anal cysts, low intelligence, incontinence, anxiety disorders, other priorities, cocaine addiction - there are still numerous civilian opportunities available to them in Iraq.


Update:

And by the way, I put forth this challenge about this time last year. It still stands:

5 May 2005

...

I'll go these warmongers one better. If Jonah Goldberg makes the attempt to enlist, so will I. I'll dust off my DD Form 214 and head down to the recruiters the same day. Regardless of the fact I already served this country for 8 years (6 active, 2 reserve), I'll go back if the man who said he'd serve (if he didn't have a family and a job) gave it his best shot. Come on, Jonah, let's sign up as buddies. Lotsa guys did it when I went in. If you go, I'll go with ya. And I even promise not to kill ya, even if the opportunity presents itself. If ya signed up, I'd have too much respect for you to want to snap your soft spine with my bare hands. So here's the deal. If Jonah goes, I'll go too. Whaddaya say, Lardass? Are ya man enough to take me up on it? Let me know.

Friday, April 28, 2006

Oh Happy Dance of Joy...

Rush Limbaugh turned himself in to authorities today.No,I'm not drunk,lol.

I might just have a good weekend after all.....

I don't know...

How someone deals with this...

Yes

What Oliver Willis says:

I think it's seriously screwy to suggest that the anthem of our country is somehow robbed of its authenticity if its in another language. The only important issue is - do the concepts remain the same, do the values hold true? That's all that matters. You could translate the national anthem into Klingon, if it still says that the flag was still there? Mission accomplished.

...


They're being prideful of the nation. What's the problem?

Hypocrite...so what else is new?

The Raw Story

The Associated Press has photographed Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) ditching his brightly colored hydrogen automobile in favor of a gas-guzzling black SUV after exiting a news conference and photo opportunity at a Washington, DC gas station.

Hastert is not the only Congressman to have made "the switch" in the middle of the very short trip, according to the Associated Press, which has thus far named no other perpetrators.

He's so popular and doing such a wonderful job, you'd think he'd feel safe enough to go three blocks in an un-armored hybrid rather than get caught in a blatant act of hypocrisy just for a photo-op. I guess not. Perception is reality to these pols. In this case, the perception, and thus the reality, is 'business as usual'.

Friday Cattle Dog Blogging



"Dad, I was sleeping!"

Stephen Colbert to Replace Michael Chertoff?

Editor & Publisher

With Fox News commentator Tony Snow hired as White House press secretary, Comedy Central anchor man Stephen Colbert suggested late Thursday that President Bush add other conservative talk show hosts to his cabinet.

The host of The Colbert Report proposed posts for Rush LImbaugh and Sean Hannity, and pushed his hero, Bill O'Reilly, for new Pentagon chief. Bush could send off Donald Rumsfeld with "the Medal of Freedom," he pointed out. The only problem with this is that O'Reilly would probably push for "an invasion of Vermont," he mused.

Earlier, Colbert had wondered, deadpan, if Snow would be able to handle the "radical" switch from Fox News to "apologist" for the president.

After drying out my keyboard from that remark, I have no further comment!

Sex for votes...

Finally! At long last, a Republican sex scandal! Think Progress. Links and a video (Not what you think, dammit!).

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the FBI is "investigating whether two contractors implicated in the bribery of former Rep. Randall 'Duke' Cunningham supplied him with prostitutes and free use of a limousine and hotel suites." The Journal also said the investigators are exploring "whether any other members of Congress" are involved.

Last night on MSNBC's Scarborough Country, Dean Calbreath of the San Diego Union Tribune - which recently won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Cunningham case - said that "as many as a half a dozen" members of Congress could ultimately be implicated in the prostitution scandal. Watch it:

This oughta get the 'base' riled up. Lie, cheat, swindle, take bribes, pass laws fer special interests, all OK. Get caught gettin' a rented lay, get lost! Moral values, you know.

Come to think of it, gettin' caught is the one sin none of 'em can abide.

Update:

Go read Digby. This is gettin' juicier by the minute!

Living With War

Neil Young invites you to listen to the full album. Hey, if it's fer free, it's fer me!

Update:

Here's more or less the same thing with comments.

The Crony Fairy

Paul Krugman finally gets a little rude to Bush. 'Bout effin' time!

The U.S. government is being stalked by an invisible bandit, the Crony Fairy, who visits key agencies by dead of night, snatches away qualified people and replaces them with unqualified political appointees. There's no way to catch or stop the Crony Fairy, so our only hope is to change the agencies' names. That way she might get confused, and leave our government able to function.

Many people thought that FEMA was a lost cause. But Bill Clinton proved them wrong. He appointed qualified people to lead the agency and gave them leeway to hire other qualified people, and within a year FEMA's morale and performance had soared. For the rest of the Clinton years, FEMA was among the most highly regarded agencies in the federal government.

What happened to that reputation? The answer, of course, is that the second President Bush returned to his father's practices. Once again, FEMA became a dumping ground for cronies, and many of the good people who had come in during the Clinton years left. It took only a few years to transform one of the best agencies in the U.S. government into what Senator Susan Collins calls "a shambles and beyond repair."

In other words, the Crony Fairy is named George W. Bush.

On the other hand, the history of the Bush administration, from the botched reconstruction of Iraq to the botched start-up of the prescription drug program, shows that a president who isn't serious about governing, who prizes loyalty and personal connections over competence, can quickly reduce the government of the world's most powerful nation to third-world levels of ineffectiveness.

So let's skip the name change for FEMA, O.K.? The United States will regain effective government if and when it gets a president who cares more about serving the nation than about rewarding his friends and scoring political points. That's at least a thousand days away. Meanwhile, don't count on FEMA, or on any other government agency, to do its job.

Please go read the rest.

Bush wants to get rid of government agencies and programs and let everything be done by the greedy private sector for immense profit at public expense, read with our money. He's building up the size of government and wasting tons of our money by putting his incompetent cronies in charge to just that end. First, he sets these agencies and programs up to fail, and then, when they unavoidably fail due to lack of leadership or a plan, he can claim government doesn't work. At the same time, he raids the coffers and impoverishes government so there'll be no money to fix what he fucked up.

The longer Bush&Co. stay at the helm, the closer the ship of our nation gets to the rocks. We must wrest the wheel away from him soonest. It might be OK to let him ring the bell to his heart's content once that happens, but I betcha he could screw that up too.

The rush to the Right

Our esteemed colleague Shystee at CorrenteWire makes some observations, which I agree with, of the 'Beltway Consultocracy that steers Dem candidates away from down-home "authenticity" and towards Populist extremism', all the while highlighting Thomas Frank's ripping Joe Klein a new one.

Pliers

Yes, I'd like to use them on the Chimp's nuts, but I saw this over at Skippy's (don't know how I missed it at Neil's yesterday) and had to direct you there. Neil Shakespeare calls the mechanic and yes, I stole the whole thing (of course, you still have to go to his site to see the great artwork):

Nothing like a flat tire to bring spring work to a halt. Called the tire service place. They sent out their mobile guy. Nice guy.

We're chit-chatting in the sunshine while he changes the tire. Gets the old tire off the rim. Gonna put on a new valve stem. Reaches into his toolbox, brings out a pair of pliers. He shows them to me and grins.

"From Iraq," he says. "My oldest boy is 19. Just got back from an 11-month tour over there. Specialty tool. Military. He brought it back for me.

I didn't know his politics, so I said something safe. "The military's got a tool for everything, don't they?

"Yeah. We got 'em too, but there's are better.

"Your son, he OK?

"Yeah, he was luckier than some.

"What does...um, what does he think of it?

"The war? Bullshit. Those people have been fighting each other for centuries. What the hell are we doin' jumpin' in the middle of it? My dad he doesn't understand why somebody hasn't shot Bush. I tell him, 'Why waste a good bullet? He ain't worth the lead in a .22 shell.


The defense rests. Gotta go to work...fixing cars...

Thursday, April 27, 2006

QotD

Not that we have a regular question of the day.

Is there anybody out there who doesn't believe the oil companies are fucking us with the help of the government (namely the Republican Party)?

So what's it gonna be?

I'm waiting for this too:

So I wonder what it's going to be this time.

Bush is at 32% approval rating, Congress is at 22%.

At this point, I don't see how they can possibly win in November unless something... unusual happens.

Something unusual like a fortuitous terrorist attack. Maybe something scary but comparatively easy to clean up, like gas in a subway, maybe in New York. Something in a nice blue state, just coincidentally but oh so fortunately for poor, beleaguered Bush.

...

Exactly right

Our pal Glen:

...

The problem wasn't FEMA per se, it was who was in charge of FEMA. Under Clinton, FEMA ran reasonably well, as I recall. He staffed the place with people who actually what they were doing. (Imagine!) Creating a new agency with a different name and run by the same Keystone Kops rejects means that we will have new agency with a different name and run by the same Keystone Kops rejects. The net difference will be that we will have spent millions on new letterhead paper, repainting trucks, and stuff like that. Swell.

...


FEMA worked under Clinton and James Lee Witt.

Update:

The Rethug mindset behind this, from Digby.

"Impeach the president" lyrics

I got this off F** News, so no link.

Let's impeach the president for lying
And leading our country into war
Abusing all the power that we gave him
And shipping all our money out the door

He's the man who hired all the criminals
The White House shadows who hide behind closed doors
And bend the facts to fit with their new stories
Of why we have to send our men to war

Let's impeach the president for spying
On citizens inside their own homes
Breaking every law in the country
By tapping our computers and telephones

What if Al Qaeda blew up the levees
Would New Orleans have been safer that way
Sheltered by our government's protection
Or was someone just not home that day?

Let's impeach the president
For hijacking our religion and using it to get elected
Dividing our country into colors
And still leaving black people neglected

Thank god he's cracking down on steroids
Since he sold his old baseball team
There's lot of people looking at big trouble
But of course the president is clean

Thank God


Not bad fer a Canuckistanian commie, eh?

A Tale of Two Maps

Pacific Views

I want you to look at two maps: The first one shows current gas prices around the country [Green = cheap; Dark orange = expensive]. The second map shows Dubya's popularity in US states, as of last month [Red = more popular; Blue = less popular].

Can you spot the interesting 'coincidences' that I did?

Some people will make the case that these apparent links between gas prices and Dubya's poll numbers really are coincidental; that they mean nothing. Others will argue that the links exist, but that it's the high gas prices that are affecting Dubya's poll numbers, not the other way around. But there are also people who'll argue that at least part of the reason why oil companies are keeping prices low in the states where Dubya is popular is political payback for favors rendered. [We won't even mention the fact that VP Cheney hails from Wyoming.] And, I suppose, the really paranoid could spin even more convoluted scenarios.

You'll have to make up your own mind about what you think is going on.

We know damn well what's going on.

Feingold introduces amendment to redeploy troops by end of year

Raw Story

Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) today introduced an amendment demanding redeployment of U.S. troops currently in Iraq by the end of 2006, RAW STORY has learned.

The amendment is attached to an emergency supplemental appropriations bill currently being considered to fund ongoing military operations in Iraq.

"While this amendment recognizes the need for certain U.S. forces to be engaged in counter-terrorism activities, the training of Iraqi security services, and the protection of essential U.S. infrastructure," Feingold explained, "it also recognizes that the President's current strategy in Iraq is undermining our nation's national security."

Good on yer, Senator. There's an "earmark" I can live with.

Don't Let Congress Ruin the Internet

Petition. You know what to do.

Adios, Joe...

Following up on Fixer's post, here's more about Ned Lamont. All you Connecticanuckians vote him in now, y'hear?

A Prius in Every Pot

Maureen Dowd sounds off on high gas prices, energy policy and lack thereof, and maybe a word or two about how this administration ain't likely to help us out of the mess they helped in great measure to get us into.

It's taken over five years, but George W. Bush finally made a concession speech to Al Gore.

He conceded that America needs to conserve, by buying hybrid vehicles and developing new energy sources.

You could run a fleet of S.U.V.'s on the gas that W. was spewing about fuel. Bill Clinton would have been more likely to crack down on fast food than W. and Dick Cheney would be to crack down on Big Oil.

W.'s big move was to ever so slightly beef up a federal investigation into oil company price manipulation that's been under way since Katrina. "It's a great idea," said the Democratic leader, Senator Harry Reid. "So good that we passed a law last year calling for that."

All those secret meetings the vice president had back in 2001, letting the energy and oil big shots help write our energy policy -- one that urged more oil and gas drilling -- worked like a charm. In all their years in government, Mr. Cheney and the Bushes have never done anything to hold the oil companies' feet to the fire, or get Americans' feet off the gas pedal.

Even if W. shows up on TV in a gray cardigan, it's patently preposterous for the Republicans to make this argument, after selling us on the idea that it's our manifest destiny to get into giant cars and go to giant Wal-Marts and giant Targets and buy more giant bags of stuff. Now they're telling us to squeeze into tiny electric cars and compete for precious drips of oil with the Chinese and Indians who are swimming in enough of our dollars to afford cars.

The U.S. could have begun developing alternative fuels 30 years ago if Dick Cheney hadn't helped scuttle an ambitious plan in the Ford administration.

Cheney again. Figures. Prick.

A Discourse on Energy and Politics

That's the theme of The Oil Drum. FYI.

It ain't just the rats...

I'm late for work, but I saw this over at the Palace:

...

I've observed that the RNC is basically a creature of the Bush Administration at this time, i.e. we seem to be expected to sing from the same hymnal as the President on virtually every issue. While I hope it will prove "worth it", I don't think I'm alone in the major donor community feeling disappointed that Iraq took on such a singular priority on our watch to the near exclusion of other issues. And, I have never really gotten over the blow to my confidence caused by the nomination of Harriet Miers - I think the polls started dropping then since many likewise saw it as a case of inexplicably poor judgment, and wondered how that case might relate to decision-making in general.

...

As much as I would like to continue supporting the Party at this level, I can't in good conscience write another $25,000 check at this time. So long as I have personal reservations, I can't be effective asking others for money, so I need to resign as one of the Eagles chairs. I hope the President will reconsider his position on immigration reform. I look forward to supporting only candidates who will stand up for American sovereignty, and I hope to support the national Republican Party again when it is no longer aligned with only one Republican's views. [my em]

...


Go see the King. See ya's this afternoon.

The Belfast Cowboy

Ya gotta get out of the mountains more, pardner.

That was a comment from Fixer on my post about Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris' new album All the Roadrunning (review). Me 'n Mrs. G picked it up tonight, but haven't played it yet. Instead we watched Mr. Knopfler and Ms. Harris play songs from the CD and get interviewed for a whole hour on "Imus in the Morning" on tape. Awesome.

I've been an Emmylou fan for over thirty years. Now I'm a Mark Knopfler fan as well.

Fixer, buddy, pal, I gotta disagree with ya. Y'all gotta up to the mountains more often. Or at least out of the Big City and get somethin' on yer shoes that'll make ya cuss. That's where the music seems to be going. In proof, I offer the latest by the Irish Bluesman, Van Morrison's new album, Pay the Devil. I'm listening to it on the album link as we speak. I've been a fan of his for years and this is the first I've ever heard him do a treatment of traditional Country songs. Different. Really good.

Go listen, city slickers 'n dumb-ass country fucks like me both. All the rest of ya, too. Enjoy.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Ain't touchin' that

Where are all these 'moral values', 'pro-life' Jesus freaks and Rethug politicians now?

...

Six days left.

No, she's not terminal, her family says and she's not brain dead. Her sisters say that she wants to live. The Houston hospital is going to unilaterally remove a woman from life support, apparently based on the decision of a lone physician even though her family wants her to continue to receive care.

The central issue in the Andrea Clark case is the same as that in the Terri Schindler Schiavo case, whether the state should be able to sanction the removal of a human being from life support.

What's even more significant in the Clark case is that the Texas bill that allows health care providers to end a human life despite the wishes of the patient and the patient's family was signed into law in 1999 by President George W. Bush as Texas Governor. However, in 2005, he rushed back to the White House from Easter vacation to sign a bill rushed through Congress which was designed to save the life of Terri Schiavo because of his "presumption in favor of life". [my em]

...


Mr. Frist? Mr. DeLay? Preznit Pud Puller? Thought so. Hypocrites.

Great thanks to B@B.

The unending fight for humanity and equal justice for all...

Everything you ever wanted to know and then some about immigration and tyranny.

TODAY'S WAR ON IMMIGRANTS AND "TERRORISTS" WILL BE TOMORROW'S WAR AGAINST US ALL - IT'S ALREADY BEGUN

I've written now a number of times before that I believe the country is approaching a dangerous watershed. The scenario I paint is a gloomy one in which the situation is grave, the stakes are immense and the time is short. It's a battle to save the republic and our sacred Constitutional rights. I'm desperately trying to sound the alarm against an out-of-control imperial state engaged in a permanent war abroad for empire along with a "second front" at home against all working people (that's most everyone) and especially the ones most easily targeted who comprise the subject of this essay - vulnerable legal and undocumented immigrants. It's a life and death struggle to save us from descending into the hell of tyranny, the repressive police state being created to control it and an endless war on the world. That's not a world I want to live in or pass on to my children or grandchildren. I hope you feel as I do and are willing to do something about it. Unless you do and together we can find a way to reverse course and do it quickly, we'll awaken one day sooner than we may think and find out it's already too late, we've crossed "The Rubicon", and there's no way back. The sad lesson of history will have been repeated again, but this time to us. It can happen here, make no mistake. Will you now head out to the mall complacently with what's at stake? Will you let this happen without a fight? I won't. Are you with me?

Agree with the guy or don't, but he's definitely got his shit in one bag.

Under your nose

While you weren't looking:

...

After weeks of lobbying by retail and shipping industry interests, and at a time when the House GOP leadership is trying to force through a watered-down lobbying "reform" measure, when no one was looking today these same House GOP members voted against requiring all containers to be screened. But they did manage to pocket the campaign contributions from the industry though. [my em]

...


Aren't the Rethugs the 'party of national security'? Mercenary cocksuckers.

Snow Man

Go see what Bush's new Press Mouthpiece has to say on a few issues. Some of that shit's liable to come back and bite him on the ass. Heh. The rest is just wingnut bullshit.

This guy's twice the huckster Snotty was. I betcha he gets a bonus from Murdoch for landin' this gig. Faux News, faux president, all merged now.

No, dickhead Part 2

Froggy left a link in comments on my earlier post about the Rethugs blaming the tree-huggers for the gas prices. He also posted about it at Skippy's so I'll send you there.

Hello

To all the folks arriving from The Daou Report.

Section 603, part 3

Hey, it's a movement (to para-quote some old song or 'nother)! AlterNet:

On Tuesday afternoon, Rep. Dave Zuckerman (Prog.-VT) dropped the third of three nearly unreported bombshells on the Bush administration. Zuckerman, along with 12 fellow lawmakers, introduced a formal resolution for the Vermont state legislature to call on the U.S. House of Representatives to impeach President George W. Bush.

With this resolution, Vermont joined the California and Illinois state legislatures, already embroiled in impeachment debates of their own.

Enter the blogs (my em). On Jan. 24, well before the Illinois legislator Karen Yarbrough stumbled over this state legislature loophole, blogger arbortender of DailyKos had unearthed the rule that another writer dubbed "Jefferson's Revenge". Fellow blogger Kagro X took the baton, and the blogs have been pushing the story and building the momentum ever since, from Vermont's various town- and countywide resolutions to the Illinois bombshell, through California's and now Vermont's state-level proposals. According to Steve Leser, Democratic state legislators in Wisconsin, New Mexico, Nevada and North Carolina are also considering either impeachment or censure proposals.

In any case, the three states already debating impeachment represent nearly 50 million Americans, or roughly 16 percent of the total U.S. population.

That's why they're trying to suppress us (see previous post).

Profit and Censorship are the Goals

I know you're interested and alarmed that Congress is fixin' to give away the Internets to their biggest contributors. They all want Left Blogtopia (y!sctp) to go away and for the Net to look like F** News. The Raw Story has a good post on this with many links leading to sites that can show you how to help.

Also keep in mind that the folks who own the pipes are generally either (a) broadcasters, who are extremely jealous and suspicious of anyone else who figures out how to find the narrow end of their megaphone, or (b) telephone companies, which are happy to let millions of us talk -- so long as our conversations are all one to one. In both cases the democratizing element of the Internet is foreign and frightening to them.

How scared are they? Every bit as scared as their counterparts in the newspaper business, who lash out with hatchet jobs like the one that appeared in the Washington Post, "The Left, Online and Outraged." As scared as the executive editor of the New York Times, who called us "harebrained" "grassy knoll conspiracy" theorists.

That fear is a backhanded compliment. The powerful do not attack the inconsequential.

Their reaction is two pronged and self-contradictory. They try to persuade others (and perhaps themselves) that we are trivial, hysterical, unworthy of attention or rebuttal. And at the same time they are so concerned that they scheme behind closed doors to wall us off in some digital ghetto, or even silence us.

The government in general, and this administration in particular, are scared shitless of us. The big telecom companies want to own the Net for gain, and are perfectly willing to silence the opinions, facts, and truth their congressional lapdogs are so scared of in return for the gift.

You know what to do.

No, dickhead

So now we're hearing these high gas and home heating oil prices are the Democrats' fault because they're too environmentally conscious. All that damn tree-hugging prevented the oil companies from drilling new wells (ANWR) and building new refineries. Um, no, dickface.

The reason the price of gas is rocketing skyward is because of corporate greed by 'Big Oil', getting what they can while the Chimp and Cheney are in office. You know that if we get a Dem majority in Congress this November, that trough is gonna go dry. Expect prices to go higher (much...you really don't believe this Rethug Congress will actually investigate price gouging, do you?) before leveling out by Labor Day.

We knew prices like this were coming since 1973. The answer would have been developing an alternative energy source over the past three decades, but you see the power and influence the big oil companies have over our government. Time for that to end and I expect our candidates to acknowlege that instead of taking 'Big Oil's' dirty money.

[cough, cough] Yeah [cough, cough]

I loved Cheech and Chong long before I realized their humor was actually social and political commentary. Brought a smile to my face when I saw this at Sumo's place:

SAN FRANCISCO -- Actor and comedian Tommy Chong entertained more than 500 National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws conference-goers Friday.

"If more people were stoned there would be less violence in the world," Chong said.

...

He insinuated that President Bush was on methamphetamines.

"The dangerous thing about tweakers is they can take things apart but they can't put them back together again," Chong said. "That's what George Bush has done to this country."

...


The Chimp is on something that's for sure.

Look, I been smoking reefer for 35 years. I've never seen anybody overdose (smoke too much weed, fall asleep), wreck a car, or pick a fight after smoking pot. It's much less dangerous and habit-forming than alcohol. It's also good for the economy, the snack food industry in particular, the fact most of the marijuana consumed in this country is grown in this country. Don't they always say, "buy American"?

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Never mind...

Sorry about the last 5 years of your life that you'll never get back:

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL STATION, Cuba -- The Pentagon plans to release nearly a third of those held at the jail for terror suspects here because they pose no threat to U.S. security, an official of the war crimes tribunal said Monday.

...


We've held these people for five years, without charge, for nothing. How do we, as Americans, justify this?

Thanks: Athenae

Feingold v. Kerry

This is what I meant the other day, the difference between a guy like Feingold and a guy like Kerry:

...The Swift Boat attacks in the 2004 election were so effective mostly because they provoked no reaction from Kerry -- no fury, no aggression, no unrestrained human conviction. When a response finally did come, it was pre-scripted, contrived and transparently empty, and that became the hallmark of the campaign.

Feingold's Censure Resolution had such resonance because it was something which came -- finally -- from conviction, from principle, from a political soul. Here is how Feingold described it, as summarized by Friedman:

...


It has to do with leadership. Russ did what he knew to be the right thing. Kerry did what other people told him was the right thing.

You're kidding, right?

I know I nearly peed myself laughing when I saw this headline:

Bush takes aim at rising gasoline prices

This day in history

From Geov Parrish at Working for Change.

4/25/1846: Mexican forces obligingly attack a U.S. 'scouting party' sent by President James K. Polk into disputed territory between the Nueces and Rio Grande Rivers in hopes of provoking just such a skirmish. The incident was used by the expansionist Congress as an excuse to start the Mexican-American War, during which the U.S. seized California and the Southwest.

These days, it wouldn't be necessary to send out the 'scouting party'. Bush would just say that if he sent one, intel says it would be attacked, so why bother? Just get the war on.

Stooge

Animated video about Snott McClellan. Heh.

Revolt of the Generals, #8

Another retired Jarhead, LtGen Paul Van Riper, has called for Rumsfeld's ouster. Crooks and Liars has video.

Section 603, part 2

OpEd News

Joining Illinois, California has become the second state in which a proposal to impeach President Bush has been introduced in the state legislature. And this one includes Cheney as well.

California Assemblyman Paul Koretz of Los Angeles (where the LA Times has now called for Cheney's resignation) has submitted amendments to Assembly Joint Resolution No. 39, calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney. The amendments reference Section 603 of Jefferson's Manual of the Rules of the United States House of Representatives, which allows federal impeachment proceedings to be initiated by joint resolution of a state legislature.

"At both the state and national levels," Koretz said, "we will be paying for the Bush Administration's illegal actions and terrible lack of judgment and competence for decades - not only in the billions of dollars wasted on the war and welfare for the rich, but in the worldwide loss of respect for America and Americans. Bush and Cheney must be impeached and removed from office before they undertake even deadlier misdeeds, such as the use of nuclear weapons. There are no bounds to their willingness to ignore the Constitution and world opinion - we can't afford to wait for the next disaster and hope that we can survive it."

48 to go. Note to states: work faster.

Sometimes it just doesn't pay to get out of bed in the morning...

Sorry for not posting much the last few days.

Yesterday my son fell at school and broke his two front teeth. Now I'm battling the insurance company to get this taken care of as a medical problem since our dental insurance sucks wet baboon ASS. 4 GRAND to fix this,dental will only cover a teeny tiny bit of that,while medical will pay 80 or 90 percent.However,one must get a referral to an oral surgeon,because heaven forbid I take the kid to see his regular dentist(who,btw can probably fix most of this today,but now I have to cancel that appointment and find an actual oral surgeon),nooo,that would be too simple.

I hate insurance companies.While I'm dealing with a traumatized kid(it took me almost an hour yesterday to get him to stop crying hysterically before I could even take him home from school.And even then,there were several more times yesterday where the poor little guy just fell all to pieces)I should NOT have to contend with all this insurance bullshit.WTF are we paying all these premiums for if the insurance company makes thngs more difficult than they should ever be?This is yet another example as to why we need a national,SIMPLE healthcare plan.Seems to me that it really shouldn't matter what doctor or dentist one goes to,just that you go to someone who is qualified and does a good job.

My son is autistic,and finding a good doctor or dentist he isn't afraid of took me time,research and energy.Now I have to take him to a stranger,and the kid barely slept last night because he's worried and scared.Plus he starts bawling every time he looks at those teeth in the mirror.

Anyhow,you can guess what I'll be doing with most of my time in the next few days. I've also officially reached the place where I've been paid back for every worry,pain in the ass,trouble,and other assorted headaches I gave my parents growing up,lol.

How long...

Before this idiot comes completely unhinged under questioning?

...to the max, yeah, gnarly, dude...

George Bush, Preznit Valley Girl:

...

President Bush today said he had tried to avoid war with Iraq "diplomatically to the max."


First, huh? Diplomacy wasn't even on GWB's to-do list when it came to Iraq. This is an all-out lie. Second, huh? He said, "to the max." The so-called leader of the free world has suddenly crossed into the Valley. And not even modern Valley, GWB is stuck in 1985 Valley. All this and I haven't even mentioned the scary bit:

...


Creature.

Claptrap

Shea looks at all the right wing bullshit we've been subjected to over the past few years...and rebuts:

...

"The best health care in the world is available for free in America to anyone who wants it."
This guy meant it, too. He honestly believed that free healthcare was already available to everyone in America. By the way, this guy has an MBA.

"A college education is available for free in America to anyone who wants it."
This guy meant it, too. The statement was so ludicrous that, at the time, I think I asked him what planet he was from.

...


The thing that blows me away is most of the Rethug 'base' believes this shit.

Effects

Short and sweet, the effects of the telecom industry's 'internet initiative':

...

Think that's a small deal? Try reaching WebMD and not get it, when your kid is sick. Or being blocked from paying your Time Warner bill on a Verizon DSL line. Or being fired because your company is now paying millions to send interdepartmental e-mail and they have to make cuts.

The Telcos want to not only change the internet, they want to change your life. All of the things you now take for granted, like sending a text message via e-mail, or checking your mail on any computer, or seeing your kids homework assignment from pre-k to college course syllibuses. or that nanny cam or home security you set up.

This is not just about laws and computers, but your life.

...


Just another way to restrict Americans' freedom of speech. Don't stand for it.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Thank you, Comrade...

Your information has been most helpful.

...

Many of the salient features of Khrushchev's government are readily recognized in our own current administration, including a slavish adherence to party unity (a rubber-stamp Congress), a complete inability to manage effectively during times of crisis (Katrina), ill-considered foreign adventures (Iraq), the subjugation of scientific knowledge to political orthodoxy (global warming, anyone?), ineptitude in fiscal strategy (the dollar risks joining the ruble as a symbol of the combination of great national strength and even greater financial weakness), the replacement of actual technical competence by blind party loyalty as the desired characteristic of all members of the ruling class (heckuvajob, Rummy!), and the abandonment of core national principles in search of selfish grabs for money and power (anyone ever hear of the Constitution?).

...

But the Russian empire began its slow descent into oblivion under Khrushchev, from a great power that had helped win World War II into a den of incompetent nincompoops who forgot how to make everything from suits to cars (though they sure could make great weapons systems!), and who gambled and lost too much of import in games of imperial adventure.

Does this sound vaguely familiar?

...


Link via my man Dave.

Ha-Ha!

Just heard on Wolfie. The Chimp's at 32%. Ha-ha!

Net Neutrality

This puckers my sphincter:

The big ISPs want to control the Internet. The battle is over "net neutrality." As soon as this coming Wednesday, it could all be set in motion because Republicans and Democrats are set to make this happen. If you don't know what it is watch this video now, because it effects you. It's hard to believe, but I've been writing on the web for 10 years. That's a long time, longer than most. In all those years I've never heard of anything quite so dangerous as what's now being debated in the Congress. Matt Stoller will be blogging about the consequences all this week as it plays out. Another site for information is SaveTheInternet. Josh Marshall has a discussion going on over at TPMCafe. Let me give you an example of how this could play out. If you're Barnes and Noble and pay the right ISP, your site will open faster than, say, "YourLocalBookStore.com." There are so many things wrong with this idea it's hard to know where to start.

The Internet is a free flowing, democratic forum where every site is created equal, big or small, conglomerate or start-up. Congress is about to change all that because they like the money they get from big telco companies. The threat is bigger than you realize, but there's more.

...


These greedy bastids have to be stopped.

Blogger...

Sucks wet monkey ass today.

Section 603

OpEd News

The Illinois General Assembly is about to rock the nation. Members of state legislatures are normally not considered as having the ability to decide issues with a massive impact to the nation as a whole. Representative Karen A. Yarbrough of Illinois' 7th District is about to shatter that perception forever. Representative Yarbrough stumbled on a little known and never utlitized rule of the US House of Representatives, Section 603 of Jefferson's Manual of the Rules of the United States House of Representatives, which allows federal impeachment proceedings to be initiated by joint resolution of a state legislature. From there, Illinois House Joint Resolution 125 (hereafter to be referred to as HJR0125) was born.

Detailing five specific charges against President Bush including one that is specified to be a felony, the complete text of HJR0125 is copied below at the end of this article. One of the interesting points is that one of the items, the one specified as a felony, that the NSA was directed by the President to spy on American citizens without warrant, is not in dispute. That fact should prove an interesting dilemma for a Republican controlled US House that clearly is not only loathe to initiate impeachment proceedings, but does not even want to thoroughly investigate any of the five items brought up by the Illinois Assembly as high crimes and/or misdemeanors. Should HJR0125 be passed by the Illinois General 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.

Wonderful news for a Monday morning! We'll see how this works out. Go read the rest and sign the petition.

Let me expand...

On my point the other day about getting new blood into the presidential race. My deal is simple, the Rethug Noise Machine and the so-called 'Conventional Wisdom', rightly or wrongly, has branded all of the previous candidates (and yes, I include Hillary in that group; it should be obvious why), Kerry the Flip-Flopper, Gore the Eccentric Tree-Hugger, Dean the Lubatic, Hillary the [Place Rethug Talking Point Here], get it? We need someone who doesn't have the baggage of races past, isn't tainted by the 'conventional wisdom' of the mis- and under-informed.

It's why I'm looking to Wes Clark and Russ Feingold, guys who can run on a record of ethical behavior and are not beholden to huge special interest. I haven't made up my mind by a long shot (there's still a long way to go and we should concentrate on the November Mid-Terms), but I'd like folks to start thinking about what they want in their leadership.

Do we want real leaders, like Wes Clark, who have the respect of their people and are adept in the international arena, or do we want folks who talk a good line about leadership but don't have a clue? We've seen what 5 years of that has done to this country.

Like I said, the '08 campaign season is a long way off, relatively speaking, but it doesn't hurt to start thinking about our potential with a real leader at the helm.

Emperors and Bloggers

...

However, in the city there lived a Liberal Blogger. When the Emperor passed by, with all his courtiers following, the Liberal Blogger took one look at him and said "Holy FUCK! The Emperor is FUCKING NAKED! You can see his fucking dick! What a fucking incompetent moron!"

The liberal blogger then turned to the courtiers and said: "what the FUCK is wrong with you fuckers? You're supposed to be fucking looking out for the fucking public good, and you let the Emperor go outside bare-assed and you won't say fuck-all? You fuckers!"

...


Excellent story and it ain't no fairy tale.

Thanks: Atrios

Sunday, April 23, 2006

It's all in the marketing...

Yeah, that's it:

...

This is an unabashed play to members of the conservative base who are worried about illegal immigration. Under the banner of homeland security, the White House plans to seek more funding for an extremely visible enforcement crackdown at the Mexican border, including a beefed-up force of agents patrolling on all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). "It'll be more guys with guns and badges," said a proponent of the plan. "Think of the visuals. The President can go down and meet with the new recruits. He can go down to the border and meet with a bunch of guys and go ride around on an atv."

...


Read my post from this morning, fellas. People don't believe the bullshit anymore. You blew it with 'Mission Accomplished' and it's gone downhill since.

Now I'm annoyed...

I just paid $3.20/gal for regular gas to fill up the Mrs.' Explorer. WTF?

Rocker goes straight...

Now, I've barely heard of Mark Knopfler. I think he was in Dire Straits, but the only line I know out of any of their tunes is "the money's for nothin' and the check's for free" along with some stuff about microwave ovens.

Anyway, the guy has teamed up with a real star: Emmylou Harris. They have an album coming out in a coupla days called All the Roadrunning. Click her link, and after you spend an hour or two contemplating her beauty, scroll down a little and listen to the title song.

I guess old rockers are like old motorcycle racers. Bike racers get tired of slidin' up the track on their ass and go race nice comfy cars that don't tip over or spit 'em off. As easy, that is. Seems like Mr. Knopler has opted for nice, easy Americana/Country, probably fer pretty close to the same reasons. Old racers and old rockers can still get plenty sideways when they want to.

Rearranging the Deckhands...

TimesonlineUK

REPUBLICANS are urging President George W Bush to dump Dick Cheney as vice-president and replace him with Condoleezza Rice if he is serious about presenting a new face to the jaded American public.

It'd be a "new face" all right - younger, thinner, and darker - but it'd be the same old shit. Might be an improvement, though.

Too bad Bush doesn't have the balls to do it.

Diplomacy, Dick-style

The Dick in one of his less dangerous moments, displaying tact and courtesy during a briefing by Bush and Hu.

They are all liars...

Michael made a movie.

Good

...

But today, Blackwater is facing a potentially devastating battle--this time not in Iraq but in court. The company has been slapped with a lawsuit that, if successful, will send shock waves through the world of private security firms, a world that has expanded significantly since Bush took office. Blackwater is being sued for the wrongful deaths of Stephen "Scott" Helvenston, Mike Teague, Jerko Zovko and Wesley Batalona by the families of the men slain in Falluja.

...


This is a problem that's gotten out of hand. Regular readers know my opinion of mercenaries (I have no use for them and don't give a shit if they live or die, or how horribly they die; they are not people of honor) and the profession has grown alarmingly in this country since the Chimp began his 'outsourced wars'. These guys have license to kill over there, where there is literally zero oversight by the U.S. justice system. I hope this lawsuit is just the first of many that will drive these 'security companies' into bankruptcy.

Great thanks to Singularity for the link.

It's all they got

So, by now you all know about the CIA officer who's been fired*:

WASHINGTON, April 22 - In 1998, when President Bill Clinton ordered military strikes against a suspected chemical weapons factory in Sudan, Mary O. McCarthy, a senior intelligence officer assigned to the White House, warned the president that the plan relied on inconclusive intelligence, two former government officials say.

Ms. McCarthy's reservations did not stop the attack on the factory, which was carried out in retaliation for Al Qaeda's bombing of two American embassies in East Africa. But they illustrated her willingness to challenge intelligence data and methods endorsed by her bosses at the Central Intelligence Agency.

On Thursday, the C.I.A. fired Ms. McCarthy, 61, accusing her of leaking information to reporters about overseas prisons operated by the agency in the years since the Sept. 11 attacks. But despite Ms. McCarthy's independent streak, some colleagues who worked with her at the White House and other offices during her intelligence career say they cannot imagine her as a leaker of classified information.

...


Firstly, I applaud her for standing behind her principles. Her life is gonna suck for the foreseeable future and I hope she can take comfort in knowing she did the right thing.

Secondly, I figured the Right would immediately start building the gallows. I wasn't disappointed and Thersites documents**:

-- The theory that the prisons never existed and were fabricated as part of a sting operation seems to have been originated by the inexplicably popular Captain's Quarters, based on self-serving denials by the countries that hosted the prisons.

Other conservative sites love the idea that the U.S. is smart enough to ruin its international reputation as a protector of human rights in order merely to nail a mole:

-- Stingray ("A Blog for Salty Christians") likewise thinks the prisons don't exist. (Bible: all literally, indisputably true. Prisons testified to by living, breathing people who were detained there: don't exist.)


You know, it's sad in a way. This is all they've got. These guys used to be able to come up with good bullshit, now all they have to rely on are conspiracy theories to bamboozle the public. It should be obvious by now the Right is spent. Yes, they might be able to push back again, but we're looking at an 'army' that's just trying to stay alive. They're on the last page of their playbook and all of their previous lies have been proven bullshit. Only 33% (at last count) believe the Rethug line of crap, although they could probably be convinced you can turn lead into gold.

Face it, guys, you're done. You are literally preaching to the chior because nobody else is in the church. They done, they've had it with your 'moral values' and 'small government' because they know it's all bullshit now. Everything we've been told since the 2000 campaign season has been a load of elephant shit and the stench has risen high enough for most to notice it. You're now irrelevant.

I love the line from one of my favorite movies, The American President:

In this town, you can go from heavy hitter to cocktail party joke in the time it takes to boil an egg.

There's never an egg timer around when you need one.


Note to Rethugs: Ding!

*Link via memeorandum.
**Notice my deft move not linking to any right wing sites (abiding by the only rule we have here at the Brain) but still providing you, dear reader, with links to the originals.