Quote of the Day

Jo Fish:

It's finally time for Jim Webb and the other veterans who have served honorably and valiantly, whether it was counting blivets or winning the Navy Cross to finally start pointing out the fact that their opponents who avoided Military Service are fucking loathsome human beings, and one of the reasons is that they (the opponent) avoided Military Service, usually with every fiber of their being. (See: Five Deferments Dick)

Baby pix

Since Gord put up his baby picture, I felt obligated. The Jarheads have better uniforms. And by the way, this was taken close to 27 years ago.

Update I:

I was digging around and found this one, taken about 4 years later, just after I arrived in SAC. That's a B-52D, by the way, which is now on static display at Peterson AFB, Colorado.



Update II:

Another baby Jarhead. Our brother Bulldog. This is turning into a thing.

'Brothels, Sex Kittens, Pedophilia?'

I rarely disagree with Maureen Dowd, but:

Republicans panicking is not a pretty sight.

Wrongamundo, my fiery-tressed vixen! It's beautiful! 'Tis a joyful sight, like watching bullies slap each other around instead of you.

Or not so pretty, like watching all the self-proclaimed he-men tossing the women and children overboard to get a place on the lifeboat.

It's your call, but I'm laughin' my ass off.

Candidates around the country have been race-baiting, gay-baiting, Michael J. Fox-baiting and Hispanic-baiting. But now it has come to this: Republicans are novel-baiting.

Still trying to recover his balance, after slipping on a macaca and admitting he was a Jewish bubba, one criticized for using racist language, displaying a Confederate flag at home and keeping a hangman's noose at his old law office, Senator George Allen of Virginia unleashed a vicious attack on Jim Webb Thursday night. He called him a fiction writer.

"You called me a what? Pistols at dawn, sir!"

"Senator Macacawitz" makes stuff up too, but he obviously doesn't grasp the fine distinction between literature and self-serving lies.

The Republicans' usual trick - having Dick Cheney terrify women into thinking that terrorists will kill their children if they vote for girly Democrats - isn't flying this year, so now the G.O.P. is resorting to more personal, and goofy, attacks.

Senator Allen may be able to hurt Mr. Webb, especially if he prints up all the steamy quotes on fliers and puts them on the windshields of Virginia churchgoers on Sunday.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fought back yesterday by putting out excerpts from G.O.P. pulp fiction. "Brothels, sex kittens, pedophilia?" they began their sampling of Republican scribblers, including Lynne Cheney, Newt Gingrich and Scooter Libby.

The Democrats also turned up a romance novel by Susan Combs, a Republican candidate for Texas comptroller. Ms. Combs wrote "A Perfect Match" about "a freckle-faced brunette," a cryptologist from the National Security Agency who falls for her "gray-eyed bodyguard" with his "powerful, strong arms" and his erotic pistol-cleaning technique. She desired him to "fill the aching void at her center" where a "deep heaviness throbbed in her belly."

It's what the Democrats' candidate, Jim Webb, would diplomatically call "a horny woman's dream."

All across the world, from the halls of power to caves in Afghanistan, there is rolling-on-the-floor, laugh-'til-your-sides-hurt glee at the desperate childish antics of the power-seekers in The Last Superpower.

It's just another entertaining American cultural export, folks, like Michael Jackson or Madonna, only a lot more pathetic.

Makes ya proud to be an American, huh?

Good for Gord

Looks like his resident Rethug has been smeared by the Abramoff taint.

Hat tip to Maru.

Interesting

MM brings up an interesting point. Is it time for another Kennedy in the White House?

You make enemies ...

Peter King Watch, J's wonderful blog documenting the follies, ineptitude, and corruption of Long Island's last surviving Republican rep, has ruffled some feathers. Some Kool-Aid drinking genius has created Mejias Watch [No link, you can get there via PKW. We don't link to Rethug idiots here at the Brain, in case you don't know. It's the only rule I have. ~ F]. I'll quote the twit though, in reference to the Newsday article I mentioned yesterday:

... Whether this was committed by the GOP or by Mejias's own people to stir up more negative publicity against the Congressman, it's revolting and undermines democracy...

I agree with him that "it's revolting and undermines democracy". Let me say, with the utmost clarity and for the record, that I have met and spoken with Dave Mejias and I know he would not use his mother in such a way. I wouldn't put my integrity, credibility, and reputation on the line for him as I have if I thought he were capable of it. Period.

Learn about the candidate and volunteer - Dave for America

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On novels ...

Being a moderately successful author, I guess I should put in my two cents on the issue of James Webb's sexually explicit scenes in his novels.

Here it is: So-fucking-what. It's a story, idiots.

I've dealt with gay sex, S&M sex, and a host of other proclivities that aren't my cup of tea, but my characters participate in. Do these people think sex is performed in the missionary position only, by everyone? How boring would a novel be if every character had heterosexual sex, or 'non-deviant' sex?

Or do they feel explicit sex scenes have no place in a novel?

Jim Webb writes about the military experience. As one who lived it, I've been privy to things that would probably offend most people, but that's the way it is. If you're going to set a scene, you have to show just what is going on. A buncha GIs blowing off steam in a strip joint in some Third World toilet are gonna see some strange shit (I've seen stuff I wouldn't share here or in mixed company and I'm sure the other GIs who stop here have stories of their own). For the novel to be authentic, these experiences have to be recounted for the reader to understand the situation.

I do it in Special Operations, fiction but partly autobiographical, many scenes taking place in a strip joint in Osan and an underground gay bar in Taegu, South Korea. I use ethnic slurs and language that would also offend most people, but that's the way it is. It's not what I do in life, but you can't write a scene of a conversation between two redneck assholes and make them PC at the same time. If I wrote Cletus and Jimmy Joe speaking with anger toward 'Afro-Americans' instead of 'niggers', my readers would laugh at me. When I wrote a scene between two gay men in love, unleashing their passion after having to put up with the 'dont ask, don't tell' policy of the military when they're not alone, I had to give details of their lovemaking; the reader needs it to understand the depths of the love between them. I write about characters' infidelity to their significant others, yet I don't cheat on my wife.

But the bottom line is this. It's fiction. Jim Webb's books are fiction. And authors of fiction do not necessarily engage in the behavior they write about. I'm sure the Rethugs understand this, though hypocrites like Lynne Cheney yell and scream. Turnabout would demand I believe she has her face in another woman's lap on a regular basis. Fuck 'em. After I post this, I'm going to Amazon and buy all of Jim's books and hopefully he'll return the favor. Heh ...

Virginians, vote for Jim Webb because George Allen uses the word 'nigger' all the time, and he means it.

King-sized scandal

Seems Peter King's son is a lobbyist. Seems he made money thanks to his daddy's influence. Seems daddy lied about it.

Political Cortex

Peter King Watch (here and here)

From the Mejias campaign via email:

...

An article in yesterday's Newsday ("King's son works for defense lobbying firm"), details that Sean King is a Vice President at Park Strategies, and that "Park Strategies has lucrative contracts with many big businesses to lobby on defense and homeland security spending." The article quotes Peter King as saying "[Sean King] has no clients that deal with my office." NOT TRUE. This video shows Sean King in Taiwan touting his clients, Lockheed Martin and L-3 Communications, both firms that receive Homeland Security contracts.

...

Read the entire email here.

See ya, Petey ...

Dave for America

Dave's ActBlue page

It's time to end the Rethug Welfare System.

Tonkin II

Could happen. Commander Huber thinks about it:

...

Say you're in command of a U.S. Navy missile destroyer steaming in international waters off the coast of Iran or North Korea or wherever conducting blockade operations. Tensions between the U.S. and the target country are high. It's the middle of the night. You have no fixed wing or helicopter air cover. A group of three surface contacts in formation pop up on the edge of your radar horizon, coming from the direction of a known enemy port that harbors patrol boats and steaming straight toward you at flank speed. Given that innocent merchant ships don't leave port in formation at flank speed, you know these three ships have to be military patrol boats. Given the range of modern surface-to-surface weapons, you know you're already within range of theirs. You can also reasonably assume it's a given that they have you targeted; otherwise they wouldn't be steaming straight toward you at flank speed. And given the capabilities of modern surface-to-surface missiles versus your missile defense systems, it's a given that if they shoot off a volley of six or more missiles at your ship, one or more of them will hit it.

How long do you wait before you decide it's "necessary" to do it to them before they do it to you, and your ship, and the 200 plus members of your crew?

And what measure of "proportionality" does it take to do what's necessary short of whacking the patrol boats with your own surface-to-surface missiles?

...

And then you've got war with Iran.

Shameless blogwhoring

Goodbye, old friend ...

Second coming

And I'm not talking about multiple orgasms. The Jesus freaks are pissed at Chimpy because his policies are delaying Armageddon. Hey, if you wanna go that badly, gimmie a box of .30 caliber and stand up against that wall over there. Happy to oblige; like tossing the skimmer in the gene pool*.

*Leave me alone, I am German after all. Heh ...

It ain't who votes that counts, it's who counts the votes...

Go see "A sign of things to come in November" at Weazl's Revenge.

Here in California, our Secretary of State has ordered all precincts to offer the option of paper ballots.

Be sure to keep up with the latest in voting crimes at Bradblog.

Dave

Dave Mejias' new campaign commercial.


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:

Peter King's henchmen have been fucking with Dave's mom:

"Vandals took a large sign for congressional candidate David Mejias from his mother's lawn in Farmingdale Wednesday night and then plastered Elsa Mejias' car with bumper stickers for incumbent Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford), according to Nassau County police. Mejias, a Nassau County legislator from North Massapequa, said, "I've been in some pretty brutal campaigns but this is ridiculous."

Lowlife bastids.

W to US: Go Cheney Yourself

I just put this up because I like it. From HuffPo:

At his press conference today [Wednesday], President Bush rallied his remaining base -- those scattered cult members who can always be counted on to agree with whatever he says. To all other Americans, his message is: It's my way, or the die-way.

If you missed the broadcast, here's the gist of it:

I'm the decider.

Except for deciding how many troops we have in Iraq, in which case, General Casey is the decider.

Except for deciding what benchmarks the Iraqis have to meet, in which case, Prime Minister al-Maliki is the decider.

Except for deciding what "getting the job done" in Iraq means, in which case, Muqtada al-Sadr and Osama Bin Laden are the deciders.

Except for deciding if it's "stay the course," or "strategy for victory," in which case Karl is the decider.

I'm looking forward to the Baker-Hamilton report. If it agrees with my strategy for victory and getting the job done, I will read it. I call this attitude "flexibility."

There's a big difference between timetables and "timetables." When I talk about them, they're good. When Democrats talk about them, what they're saying is, the terrorists should have a caliphate from Spain to Indonesia.

Some people in Washington say we're not at war. Those people are enabling cold-blooded killers. I do not question these people's patriotism, just their IQ. I will not say who they are.

If I personally did not believe that we will achieve victory in Iraq, then I would not keep your loved ones in Iraq. So the thing I want you to remember as you go to the polls is that whether American kids die in Iraq or come home to America depends totally and completely on what I, George W. Bush, personally believe.

Taxes! Taxes! Democrats are going to raise your taxes!

Ain't it the truth?

12 charged in voter scandal

Orange County CA makes the news again! From the OCRegister:

Felony charges were filed this week against 12 signature gatherers accused of registering Orange County voters as Republicans without their consent - part of a criminal probe into voter flipping.

An Orange County Register investigation in April found that more than 100 people who thought they were signing petitions to cure breast cancer and punish child molesters were duped into registering as Republicans. The signature gatherers were part of an Orange County Republican registration drive that paid up to $10 for each "convert," especially in the heated state 34th Senate District.

News of the arrest warrants brought applause from a local Republican Party battered by scandal, most recently the investigation into a threatening letter sent to Hispanic voters by congressional candidate Tan Nguyen.

Orange County Republican Party Chairman Scott Baugh said his group was hurt by signature gatherers who took money for phony registrations.

"May they rot in jail for stealing from us and disenfranchising voters," Baugh said.

"Especially since they got caught and we haven't been yet," he didn't say.

Orange County Democratic Party Chairman Frank Barbaro said he hoped the arrests and Baugh's cooperation in the Tan investigation "are indicative of a new effort by local Republican Party leaders to protect the rights of all Orange County voters."

Barbaro, however, also charged that the voter-registration fraud and the threatening letter had their genesis in a local GOP that in the past was accused of allowing such misdeeds to go unpunished.

Complaints of voter flipping in Orange County shone a light on the world of signature gatherers, most of whom move from one petition drive to another. A Register investigation found that some workers had criminal records for such things as prostitution and child molestation.

Susan O'Hare, 58, of Anaheim was among the voters flipped to the Republican Party without her knowledge. O'Hare thought she was signing a petition against pedophiles before she got a taped telephone message from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"This is appalling, and I am glad they found someone to pay for it," she said Thursday. "What I really want to know is: Who is behind the whole thing?"

Court records show that independent contractor Daniel Alwin Ricca has been accused of defrauding O'Hare. Ricca was hired by then Newport Beach-based Tom Bader & Associates, which in turn was hired by the Orange County Republican Party.

Bader said Thursday that he had no control over the antics of street-level petition gatherers.

Horseshit.

"There's always the possibility somebody will try to do this," he said. "We're hoping these people never get to work in this field again."

Yeah, right. At least not for two years.

This shit goes on all over the country. I'm glad some Repugs finally got caught at it.

Why Republicans Are Running from Bush At Election Time

A little light 'must' reading from Josh Holland.

So-called "principled" conservatives -- the faux libertarian voices of the Big Business elite that's always been the real base of the Republican Party -- are in full flight from the flaming wreck the Bush administration has become.

But make no mistake: Underlying their dissent lies a massive deceit. Read between the lines, and you'll find that what really motivates them is a desperate attempt to save modern "conservatism" itself from going down with this administration. All of the libertarian rhetoric about limited government has always been a grand fraud; truly limited government is an anachronism. Perhaps it was appropriate in a time when small stakeholders toiled away in an agricultural economy, but it's simply impossible to govern a complex, modern, populous society like ours without a lot of staff.

The Big Lie -- the deceit that's won them so many elections -- is that they can offer government that's just as big, but Americans won't ever have to pay for it. All the services you want and half the taxes! Eat ice-cream all day long and never put on a pound! Who wouldn't vote for such a utopian crock?

But psychosis can be treated. And that's why so many "principled" paleoconservatives are running away from Bush like the Roadrunner from Wiley Coyote: His excesses threaten to expose the fact that the whole ideology's a sham -- that the wizard's dead and there's a little man behind that curtain.

Make no mistake: Those "principled" conservatives don't hate Bush for his spending, they hate him because he is them -- the only kind of conservative who can win an election, a Republican peddling big government and low taxes without blinking. And if Americans get a clue that modern conservatism is nothing but a bunch of economic lies gilded with some bogus "family values" and softened with a bit of morphine for the terror junkies, he can bring the whole fetid house of cards down with him.

There is much, much more in between the quotes. Please go read the rest.

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:

...

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?

...

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

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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:

...

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.

...

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.

How ...

Can you diss Michael J. Fox and sleep at night? Fat bastid.

Yellow Ribbons

From the one and only Encino Man . The Asylum Street Spankers.

Tinfoil coal-scuttle helmet time

From Wonkette, who has many links and a picture of Gregory Peck in The Boys From Brazil. Heh.

We Hate To Bring Up the Nazis, But They Fled To South America, Too

Our paranoid friends over at Bring It On have put together a story that hasn't exactly made Washington Whispers. It's real short and real simple:

* The Cuban news service reports that George W. Bush has purchased 98,840 acres in Paraguay, near the Bolivian/Brazilian border.

* Jenna Bush paid a secret diplomatic visit to Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte and U.S. Ambassador James Cason. There were no press conferences, no public sightings and no official confirmation of her 10-day trip which apparently ended this week.

* The Paraguayan Senate voted last summer to "grant U.S. troops immunity from national and International Criminal Court (ICC) jurisdiction."

* Immediately afterwards, 500 heavily armed U.S. troops arrived with various planes, choppers and land vehicles at Mariscal Estigarribia air base, which happens to be at the northern tip of Paraguay near the Bolivian/Brazilian border. More have reportedly arrived since then.

What the hell, after the jump. Plus a BREAKING UPDATE involving, of course, The Moonies!

Here's a fun question for Tony Snow: Why might the president and his family need a 98,840-acre ranch in Paraguay protected by a semi-secret U.S. military base manned by American troops who have been exempted from war-crimes prosecution by the Paraguyan government?

Could they be seeing an all-expense-paid one-way trip to The Hague in the handwriting on the wall? Hmmmm...

Go read the rest. It's fun.

And from Telugu Portal:

Jenna Bush, daughter of US President George W. Bush, is recently into a lot of humanitarian work.

According to pagesix.com, Jenna, who has been seen less at social gatherings and parties, was recently in Paraguay on a 10-day UNICEF trip as a volunteer. Currently, she is in Panama doing her internship with the organisation.

Lemme see, UNICEF has to do with children, doesn't it? Could her sudden interest be in gaining access to youthful, if reluctant, organ donors...? 41 is over 80, after all...

Mrs. G tells me that the other bimbo twin, Not Jenna, is studying medicine. Could her interest possibly lie in the organ transplant or identity-obscuring plastic surgery fields? Hmmmm....

Must go now. Thunderstorm approaching...must remove hat...

The "new" Nixon

Heh ... Digby:

...

"I want peace as much as you do." - Richard Nixon, 11/3/69

"No one wants to end the war in Iraq more than I do." - Joe Lieberman,
10/18/06

"Many others -- I among them -- have been strongly critical of the way
the war has been conducted." - Richard Nixon, 11/3/69

"I have been very critical of a lot of the mistakes the Bush
administration has made in Iraq." - Joe Lieberman, 10/18/06

...

You know, now that I think of it there is a lot about Joe's smarmy, self-righteousness that reminds me of Dick Nixon.

...

"Make nice", shit. Stomp 'em!

Paul Krugman via Donkey O.D.

Now that the Democrats are strongly favored to capture at least one house of Congress, they're getting a lot of unsolicited advice, with many people urging them to walk and talk softly if they win.

I hope the Democrats don't follow this advice - because it's bad for their party and, more important, bad for the country. In the long run, it's even bad for the cause of bipartisanship.

There are those who say that a confrontational stance will backfire politically on the Democrats. These are by and large the same people who told Democrats that attacking the Bush administration over Iraq would backfire in the midterm elections. Enough said.

What the make-nice crowd wants most of all is for the Democrats to forswear any investigations into the origins of the Iraq war and the cronyism and corruption that undermined it. But it's very much in the national interest to find out what led to the greatest strategic blunder in American history, so that it won't happen again.

What's more, the public wants to know. A large majority of Americans believe both that invading Iraq was a mistake, and that the Bush administration deliberately misled us into war. And according to the Newsweek poll, 58 percent of Americans believe that investigating contracting in Iraq isn't just a good idea, but a high priority; 52 percent believe the same about investigating the origins of the war.

Why, then, should the Democrats hold back? Because, we're told, the country needs less divisiveness. And I, too, would like to see a return to kinder, gentler politics. But that's not something Democrats can achieve with a group hug and a chorus of "Kumbaya."

I think it could be done after a beer party followed by a group piss at the Repugs' graveside service.

Please go read the rest.

Rah! Rah! Rah! Sis! Boom! Bah! Kim's got an A-Bomb! Vote for Us or Die!

Think Progress

REPORT: Bush Officials Were 'Rooting' For North Korea to Test Nuclear Weapon

Senior Bush administration officials wanted North Korea to test a nuclear weapon because it would prove their point that the regime must be overthrown.

This astonishing revelation was buried in the middle of a Washington Post story published yesterday. Glenn Kessler reports from Moscow as he accompanies Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice:

Before North Korea announced it had detonated a nuclear device, some senior officials even said they were quietly rooting for a test, believing that would finally clarify the debate within the administration.

Until now, no U.S. official in any administration has ever advocated the testing of nuclear weapons by another country, even by allies such as the United Kingdom and France.

One of these officials may have been Rice herself, Kessler hints. Rice, he reports, "has come close to saying the test was a net plus for the United States." Rice has been trying to counter the prevailing view that the test was a failure of the Bush administration's policy.

Fat chance, sister!

The revelation that some officials secretly wanted North Korea to test their nuclear weapons is evidence of how the administration's national security policy has become completely divorced from reality.

Mr. Cirincione is too kind. I would have put the words "just further" in front of "evidence".

Well, if the administration liked NK's test, they'll get their rocks off when Iran does one, huh?

Go read. Many comments.

Bush family member kills cop, skates...

USA Today

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - A police officer died Saturday, four days after being struck by a sport-utility vehicle driven by a federal judge, the mayor said.

Officer Dan Picagli, a 17-year veteran of the force, was hit while directing traffic in the rain Tuesday night. He had been wearing a black raincoat and a reflective vest.

The SUV was driven by John M. Walker Jr., a senior judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, who maintains court chambers in New Haven. He was leaving work when the accident happened, police said.

No charges have been filed.

Why doesn't that surprise me?

Police Chief Francisco Ortiz said the accident remained under investigation, but officers did not feel it was necessary to test Walker for drugs or alcohol.

That doesn't surprise me either. Anyone else would have been.

Walker, 65, voluntarily stepped down this month as chief judge of the court. He was appointed to the court in 1989 by President George H.W. Bush, who is a cousin of the judge.

Gee, three "no surprises" in a row!

I guess it's OK if you're a Bush family member for your royal carriage to mow down a peasant. I wonder if they'll bill the officer's family for damage to the SUV?

Quote of the Day deux

"The invasion of Iraq was a war crime in and of itself. Once we crossed that line, once the balloon went up, everything else that happens after is also illegal. If you don't get it by now you never will." - Fixer

Oh, the Irony...

Ironic Times

James Baker to Recommend Alternative to "Stay the Course" Or "Cut and Run"
Most likely: "Sit and Spin" or "Shuck and Jive."

Joint Chiefs Chairman General Pace Says "The Good Lord" Tells Rumsfeld What to Do
Even God now going around Bush.

10,000-Year-Old Meteorite Found in Kansas
Rock fell to earth thousands of years before God Created it.

Playing Tag Banned at Some Elementary Schools
Limits also placed on gunplay.

Quote of the Day

TRex:

... Gay Republicans are as bad as Nazi collaborators. They are working with the people who would outlaw and exterminate their own kind. ...

Civics Lesson

Your new Constitution.

Click to embiggen.

Tip o' the Brain to MJS.

You don't know ...

How many times I hear "we shoulda gone into Iraq and killed 'em all. We wouldn't have the problems over there we do now".

And I say "yes, instead of just attacking a sovereign nation and occupying it, we should have just gone there and committed genocide." Though that's what it's amounted to at this point, close to four years down the line.

I can't believe how many people think invading a nation that posed us no threat is justified. I can't believe that people are not angry about the invasion in itself, just the fact we fucked it up so badly. Do they think the Middle East is our private gunnery range? Do they think the guy in Iraq, who's doing nothing more than his counterpart here, trying to keep his job and put food on the table for his family, has any less of a right to live in peace than we do? Is the average Iraqi's life worth any less than an American one? If you don't understand why invading Iraq was wrong, I don't know what I can say to make you understand.

I think that's what bugs me the most. That people believe we have the right to do anything we want, destroy as many lives as we want, as long as we do it somewhere else.

Listen to me: The invasion of Iraq was a war crime in and of itself. Once we crossed that line, once the balloon went up, everything else that happens after is also illegal. If you don't get it by now you never will.

Personally, I don't give a shit about peoples' reasons for their animosity toward this President and Congress as long as they vote the corrupt bunch out on Election Day. It just gets me that people can disregard real American values so long as the shit doesn't splatter them. Most people in Germany didn't give a shit when they started dragging the Jews away either. Look what it got 'em.

Hat tip to Atrios.

Bush is a lyin' sack o' shit. Duh.

Crooks and Liars

Go watch the video of that lyin' sonofabitch Bush tell George Stephanopoulos "We've never been about 'stay the course'". Also see him try and get us to think 'strategy' and 'tactics' are the same thing. What an asshole.

Baseball, apple pie ...

If you watched a sporting event this weekend you probably saw this Chevrolet commercial. Nothing I need to add to the Chemist's observations.

The George W. Bush Presidential Library

No, not the magazine shelf in the White House bathroom.

...

Such libraries typically begin with the early career -- in this case The Foggy Years, the heroic service in the Air National Guard, and the falling upward economically. A gallery could commemorate all the Texas businessmen who helped young George turn business blunders into windfalls.

...

Tip o' the Brain to Montag.

Christians are tired of being Repugs' bitches

From that commie pinko godless Librul mob of bolshevik bomb-throwers at Bloomberg:

If Republicans lose control of the U.S. Congress, the Supreme Court will be packed with abortion-backing liberals, tax dollars will pay for research on cloning to create "little human beings" for organ farming, and elementary-school teachers will be forced to promote homosexuality to their students.

That's the view and vision of James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family, a nationwide, politically active evangelical group allied with the Republican Party. The moral future of America is at stake and "staying home" isn't an option, Dobson told 2,400 followers at an Oct. 16 get-out-the-vote rally at the Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville. "Folks, we cannot afford to do that."

"Rove certainly sees Dobson as the most important and politically influential evangelical leader," said Ryan Sager, author of "The Elephant in the Room: Evangelicals and the Battle to Control the Republican Party." "Dobson is someone who the White House works with extremely closely and constantly."

His difficulties mirror the party's. The Nashville rally was almost canceled after organizers failed to sell the 6,000 tickets they needed to fill the city's Municipal Auditorium, forcing them to hold the event in the Two Rivers Church. Similar events in recent weeks in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Pittsburgh also drew smaller-than-anticipated crowds.

"Republicans take advantage of conservative Christian voters," said Lewis Lampley, 60, who attended the rally in Nashville. "They take our votes for granted."

D'ya suppose the christians have figured out that Dobson et al are lying to them?

And by the way, just what was Jesus' position on the Estate Tax?

The real stories

As with any war, it'll take a couple years for the real stories to seep out. Vets returning home relate them to family and friends and the stories make the rounds, of the details of battles too graphic for the news to cover, or those the military classified to avoid embarrassment, or worse. This might be horseshit or it might be one of those stories, the details of which will come out years later, when those responsible for the negligence or dereliction of duty or incompetence can no longer be harmed by them.

And just to add for it might not be obvious to all: If this story is true, the strategic implications for the U.S. are very worrisome, for our policy in the region and throughout the world.

Thanks to Maru and Blah3 for the link.

100 Hours Redux

Following up on my Oct. 7 post, new polls find that most Americans agree with Nancy Pelosi. From Americablog via Raw Story:

Two weeks ago, Nancy Pelosi unveiled the Democratic agenda for their first 100 hours in power. Newsweek's latest poll shows strong, bi-partisan support for the Democratic plan:

Most worrisome for the president, should the Democrats retake one or both houses of Congress, the American public supports their proposed "First 100 Hours" agenda. An overwhelming majority says allowing the government to negotiate lower drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies should be a top priority for a Democratic Congress (74 percent, including 70 percent of Republicans); 68 percent want increasing the minimum wage to be a top priority, including 53 percent of Republicans; 62 percent want investigating impropriety by members of Congress to be a top priority; and 58 percent want investigating government contracts in Iraq to be a top priority. Fifty-two percent say investigating why we went to war in Iraq should be a top priority (25 percent say it should a lower priority and 19 percent say it shouldn't be done.)

When Pelosi announced the plan, she said she was going to "drain the swamp." It's looking more likely she'll get that chance. The Newsweek poll showed the generic numbers at 55% - 37% -- a commanding margin for the Democrats.

When the GOP loses, they will get even more ugly and more obstructionist. Clearly, the Democratic agenda resonates with the American people. They've had enough of the Republican agenda that has failed most Americans.

I still think "President Pelosi" has a nice ring to it. So does "Federal Inmates Bush and Cheney".

Wanna stay out of Iraq?

Stop paying your bills*:

... Thousands of U.S. troops are being barred from overseas duty because they are so deep in debt they are considered security risks. "We are seeing an alarming trend in degrading financial health." ...

*Please don't take it I am implying our troops are purposely going deeply into debt to avoid being sent to a war zone. Nor am I advocating anyone purposely should. The sad thing is our troops are getting into these situations because we treat them purely as cannon fodder and deck apes.

Aside from the obvious ...

The disrespect to the families notwithstanding, what bugs me about this is the fact there are some manholes in the Ground Zero area that haven't been opened in over five years. WTF? I mean, in a place so obsessed with security, one would assume every bit of downtown would have been searched ... more than once.

(New York - WABC, October 21, 2006) - There is late word that city officials on site Saturday did remove some material from manholes for further analysis by the city medical examiner.

Construction at Ground Zero continues as New York City officials vow to search parts of the World Trade Center site again for remains of the September 11 dead.

...