Progressive Conservative Aggregator

Treasury Secretary Sees Inequities in U.S. Economy - New York Times

2006-08-01T17:07:00.000-04:00

Treasury Secretary Sees Inequities in U.S. Economy - New York Times: "“Amid this country’s strong economic expansion, many Americans simply aren’t feeling the benefits,” Mr. Paulson said in a speech at Columbia Business School. “Many aren’t seeing significant increases in their take-home pay. Their increases in wages are being eaten up by high energy prices and rising health care costs, among others.”"

Disowning Conservative Politics, Evangelical Pastor Rattles Flock - New York Times

2006-07-31T16:51:00.000-04:00

Disowning Conservative Politics, Evangelical Pastor Rattles Flock - New York Times: "After refusing each time, Mr. Boyd finally became fed up, he said. Before the last presidential election, he preached six sermons called “The Cross and the Sword” in which he said the church should steer clear of politics, give up moralizing on sexual issues, stop claiming the United States as a “Christian nation” and stop glorifying American military campaigns.

“When the church wins the culture wars, it inevitably loses,” Mr. Boyd preached. “When it conquers the world, it becomes the world. When you put your trust in the sword, you lose the cross.”"

This is why Religion Should NEver Be Mixed With State

2006-07-05T12:38:00.000-04:00

Crooks and Liars - The Stop the ACLU Coalition publishes Jewish family’s personal information: They are forced to move: "The complaint recounts a raucous crowd that applauded the board’s opening prayer and then, when sixth-grader Alexander Dobrich stood up to read a statement, yelled at him 'take your yarmulke off!' His statement, read by Samantha, confided 'I feel bad when kids in my class call me Jew boy.'"

Because people can't help themselves. It starts with all religion being included, or at least the guise of it, or maybe not the guise of it at all. Then you start saying that it should only be this faith or that faith because they're obviously all incompatible (because they're all equally nonsensical). Then you have one group riding another out of town on a rail because they're right and you're wrong.

Religion is a social poison that allows people justification for doing awful things. It needs to be removed from government -- because government is already terrible without religion, and ends up being far worse for including it.

Thank God, No God

2006-06-02T10:34:00.000-04:00

Salon.com Books | Dissecting God

Interesting interview with Daniel Dennett about God and the lack thereof. I totally agree with him on the destructive powers of religion . . . this is something that must be addressed in some way or another.

Like Father Like Daughter: Edwards Still a Class Act

2006-05-10T15:56:00.000-04:00

The Raw Story | After Cheney's daughter calls Edwards 'slimeball,' Edwards spokeswoman says Cheneys are 'wonderful role models': "After Vice President Cheney's daughter dubbed former Vice presidential candidate John Edwards a 'total slimeball' for mentioning her sexuality during the vice presidential debates, Edwards' spokeswoman responded to RAW STORY, calling the Cheneys 'wonderful role models.'

'Senator Edwards continues to believe, as he said in the vice presidential debate when the issue was raised, that the Cheneys have been wonderful role models for the millions of parents around the country who love their children unconditionally,' Kim Rubey, Edwards' spokeswoman for his One America political action committee said."

Even in the face of being called a "slimeball" for complimenting the Cheney's on their progressive attitudes towards humanity, Edwards still doesn't stoop to the lows that Mary Cheney and her lunatic father have (name calling). Only in a world where topsy turvy conservative in-your-house-anti-life-nazi's control everything would they actually be so offended by the idea of being 'outed' as a homosexual. If this were a normal country, we wouldn't even need to have any kind of discussion about this at all; no one would give a shit and would just assume that this was all sorted out and private or whatever. Unfortunately, because the Bush agenda has been to systematically assail human rights even within our own country, it is important to note to everyone that Republicans are total ideological hypocrites (too).

Like Father, Like Daughter: Edwards Still a Class Act

2006-05-10T15:53:00.000-04:00

OMG GWB is Totally FOS

2006-05-02T16:14:00.000-04:00

Think Progress - National Anthem Sung In Spanish At First Bush Inaugural: "On Friday, President Bush blasted the idea of singing the Star Spangled Banner in Spanish. But Bush’s highly-scripted 2001 inaugural ceremony actually featured a rendition of the national anthem sung in Spanish by Jon Secada. From Cox News Service, 1/18/01:"

He lies about everything!!!

And As The World Ended, Nobody Paid Much Attention

2006-04-28T08:35:00.000-04:00

An Era Ends With Independent Counsel Probes - Yahoo! News: "A two-paragraph order signed by a federal appeals court clerk on March 31 marks the demise of the last of the court-appointed prosecutors."

Why Not Just Admit It, Fox?

2006-04-26T12:25:00.000-04:00

Reuters Business Channel | Reuters.com: "President George W. Bush named Fox News Radio host Tony Snow as White House press secretary on Wednesday in his latest move aimed at giving his staff a new look and breathing new life into his presidency."

I mean, here's the thing, this is basically like saying, "Fox News does a better job of promoting me and my interests than my own administration can." Doesn't this mean that Fox is basically THE mouthpiece for this administration? Not, in fact, news?

I'll answer my own question: yes.

WTF?! Doesn't The Environment Matter At All?

2006-04-25T11:39:00.000-04:00

Bush Eases Environmental Rules on Gasoline - Yahoo! News: "President Bush on Tuesday ordered a temporary suspension of environmental rules for gasoline, making it easier for refiners to meet demand and possibly dampen prices at the pump. He also halted for the summer the purchase of crude oil for the government's emergency reserve."

I have a solution for summer energy price problems: don't USE SO MUCH FUCKING ENERGY!! How about you not use your A/C in your house except when it's above 80 degrees? How about you try carpooling to work and maybe even the grocery store? How about you not mow your lawn to putting green length every two days?

How about you actually consider modifying your lifestyle instead of saying, "Eh, this environment thing really cramps my style: I'll just ruin it so that I can still be a fat ass lazy son of a bitch."

This is why our political system doesn't work: the only interests that end up getting satisfied are short term. This is wrong and time will prove it to be.

Finally, Some Sense and Reason

2006-04-24T12:26:00.000-04:00

: "``Now, I think we should be concerned,'' says Inglis, who heads the U.S. House Science Research subcommittee. ``There are more and more Republicans willing to stop laughing at climate change who are ready to get serious about reclaiming their heritage as conservationists.''

U.S. companies including General Electric Co. and Duke Energy Corp. have come out in support of national limits on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gas emissions that scientists say contribute to global warming. They are now being joined by Republican lawmakers who have parted company with President George W. Bush on the issue."

I guess it turns out that when government is more pro-business than business is, and when government is filled with crazy relgious zealots, that the business community realizes that, "hey, holy shit, they'll just let us poison everything and kill everyone." Sadly, the jury is still out on whether that's alarming to all business or just carte blanche.

These fucking GOP SOBs are finally waking up, but the time to have done something may have already ended.

I really hate these johnny come latelys.

Our GOP Controlled Government Are Liars

2006-04-12T09:13:00.000-04:00

Lacking Biolabs, Trailers Carried Case for War: "On May 29, 2003, 50 days after the fall of Baghdad, President Bush proclaimed a fresh victory for his administration in Iraq: Two small trailers captured by U.S. and Kurdish troops had turned out to be long-sought mobile 'biological laboratories.' He declared, 'We have found the weapons of mass destruction.'

The claim, repeated by top administration officials for months afterward, was hailed at the time as a vindication of the decision to go to war. But even as Bush spoke, U.S. intelligence officials possessed powerful evidence that it was not true.

A secret fact-finding mission to Iraq -- not made public until now -- had already concluded that the trailers had nothing to do with biological weapons. Leaders of the Pentagon-sponsored mission transmitted their unanimous findings to Washington in a field report on May 27, 2003, two days before the president's statement.

The three-page field report and a 122-page final report three weeks later were stamped 'secret' and shelved. Meanwhile, for nearly a year, administration and intelligence officials continued to publicly assert that the trailers were weapons factories."

Pro-Life, Huh?

2006-04-07T09:37:00.000-04:00

Debate rages on use of cervical cancer vaccine / While almost 100% effective, some contend use condones teen sex: "A new vaccine that protects against cervical cancer has set up a clash between health advocates who want to use the shots aggressively to prevent thousands of malignancies and social conservatives who say immunizing teen-agers could encourage sexual activity."

Conservative positions make NO FUCKING SENSE AT ALL! They just want to control everyone so that we can all become christians.

WTF?! This is why I hate two party politics!

2006-03-30T17:14:00.000-05:00

Philly Plumbers Upset by Waterless Urinals - Yahoo! News: "This city's hoped-for bragging rights as home of America's tallest environmentally friendly building could go down the toilet.

In a city where organized labor is a force to be reckoned with, the plumbers union has been raising a stink about a developer's plans to install 116 waterless, no-flush urinals in what will be Philadelphia's biggest skyscraper."

See, this is ridiculous. This is a perfect example of a totally self-interested group (which they have a right to be), forcing everyone to cater to their interests, when clearly the way that they want todo things is antiquated and wasteful. I really do often find myself on the side of unions, but this is really an example of why people hate them; you're asking the world to waste money and natural resources so that you can profit. It's basically like an oil company.

Fuck that. I sympathize that it would be nice to make money and that everyone and everything will stay the same for ever and ever, but progress is progress. As Lee Iococca said: lead, follow, or get out of the way.

I value the environment and the future of this planet more than I value a Plumbers' Union. Sorry if that makes me callous. I'm sure there's probably a detail here that's missing for me, but in the end it appears that the concern is about using more metal and using more water for the enrichment of plumbers. On the face of it, it sounds insanely wasteful and stupid.

Guess What? Prayer Doesn't Do Anything!

2006-03-30T16:42:00.000-05:00

Study: Praying Won't Affect Heart Patients - Yahoo! News: "Does praying for a sick person's recovery do any good?

In the largest scientific test of its kind, heart surgery patients showed no benefit when strangers prayed for their recovery.

And patients who knew they were being prayed for had a slightly higher rate of complications. Doctors could only guess why."

The sad thing is that this will be fought and denied by virtually everyone. I believe it was Nietszche who said, "one need not look further than the insane asylum to prove that faith in an idea means nothing."

Evangelicals Miss The Point

2006-03-27T17:04:00.000-05:00

Evangelical teens rally in S.F.: "Luce didn't flinch in the face of the counterprotest. The author, host of the 'Acquire the Fire TV' cable television program and a President Bush appointee to a federal anti-drug-abuse commission, wants teens to find Bible-based solutions for the spread of sexually transmitted disease, teen pregnancy, drug abuse and suicide."

Every Saturday, I invite the Jehovahs Witnesses into my house to chat. Every time they're shocked to find that I'm an athiest and actually have values. And every time we end up talking about how their system of beliefs requires SO much more than mine and delivers SO much less.

Mine delivers independence, happiness, a sense of purpose, meaning, satisfaction, and a connection to those around me.

Theirs delivers the same, but it also delivers fear of the wrath of God, the necessity to come up with explanations as to why bad things happen to good people, the denial of the world around them, the need to come up with even more round-about explanations for the world in order to continue to suspend their disbelief of what they actually see, and the daily incorporation of superstician into their lives.

The bible doesn't provide any solutions for the spread of disease, pregnancy, drug abuse, or suicide. People were FAR more religious even 50 years ago and their was as much or more disease, pregnancy, drug abuse, and suicide then than now. The religious thrive off of ignorance and disinformation.

Have you ever wondered why AlAno doesn't publish recividity rates or success rates for their program? It's because they're likely as good as having not gone at all. Do you want to know why religious organizations that believe in spiritual healing don't track their sucess rates? It's because they don't succeed.

The facts are on the side of science, again and again. Everyone dies. Disease is prevented by education. Sex is good for everyone. Pregnancy rates and abortion rates decline with good, well rounded secular educations (and not religious ones).

Religion, on the other hand, is perpetually wrong ABOUT EVERYTHING. I feel bad to say it, but everyone from the Pope to the Dahlai Llama is just wrong and has not a single leg to stand on that can support their beliefs. I don't hate them. I just think it's a waste of their time . . . especially because it requires such a high level of commitment from EVERYONE else to keep the illusion going.

Anyway, sorry to the religious for that. I don't mean to hurt your feelings. But, I feel like you're really hurting the prospects of America by spending so much time by trying to make everyone believe in ghosts, all powerful invisible men, and man with red skin, horns and a goatee. It's just stupid. Really.

Afghanistan has come a LONG way!

2006-03-23T09:16:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - Bush pressures Afghanistan on jailed Christian - Mar 22, 2006: "'I think we can solve this problem by working closely with the government that we've got contacts with, and we'll deal with this issue diplomatically and remind people that there is something as universal as being able to choose religions.'

Wow, what an accomplishment.
Abdul Rahman, a 44-year-old father of two, was arrested after telling local police, whom he approached on an unrelated matter, that he had converted to Christianity. Reports say he was carrying a Bible at the time. (Watch how the convert explained his conversion -- 1:17)

The Afghan constitution, which is based on Sharia, or Islamic law, says that apostates can receive the death penalty."

How to spot a baby conservative! HA!

2006-03-22T09:05:00.000-05:00

TheStar.com - How to spot a baby conservative: "The whiny kids tended to grow up conservative, and turned into rigid young adults who hewed closely to traditional gender roles and were uncomfortable with ambiguity."

Certainly sounds right.

Boo-hoo! Baby Tired?

2006-03-13T11:56:00.000-05:00

Senior White House Staff May Be Wearing Down: "Andrew H. Card Jr. wakes at 4:20 in the morning, shows up at the White House an hour or so later, convenes his senior staff at 7:30 and then proceeds to a blur of other meetings that do not let up until long after the sun sets. He gets home at 9 or 10 at night and sometimes fields phone calls until 11 p.m. Then he gets up and does it all over again.

Of all the reasons that President Bush is in trouble these days, not to be overlooked are inadequate REM cycles. Like chief of staff Card, many of the president's top aides have been by his side nonstop for more than five years, not including the first campaign, recount and transition. This is a White House, according to insiders, that is physically and emotionally exhausted, battered by scandal and drained by political setbacks."

Boo-hoo, you never heard clinton complain about sleeping. He was notorious for being a slave driver. Bush looses an hour of sleep and suddenly we're supposed to pity him? What about single mothers who work two fucking jobs for minimum wage? Suck it up. You volunteered for this job. And you cheat.

No Loyalty . . . Thank Goodness.

2006-03-10T08:53:00.000-05:00

Bush's Approval Rating Falls to New Low - Yahoo! News: "More and more people, particularly Republicans, disapprove of President Bush's performance, question his character and no longer consider him a strong leader against terrorism, according to an AP-Ipsos poll documenting one of the bleakest points of his presidency.

Nearly four out of five Americans, including 70 percent of Republicans, believe civil war will break out in
Iraq — the bloody hot spot upon which Bush has staked his presidency. Nearly 70 percent of people say the U.S. is on the wrong track, a 6-point jump since February.

'I'm not happy with how things are going,' said Margaret Campanelli, a retiree in Norwich, Conn., who said she tends to vote Republican. 'I'm particularly not happy with Iraq, not happy with how things worked with Hurricane Katrina.'

Republican Party leaders said the survey explains why GOP lawmakers are rushing to distance themselves from Bush on a range of issues — port security, immigration, spending, warrantless eavesdropping and trade, for example."

Finally, the GOP wakes up and realizes that GWB is, in fact, the The Worst President Ever. Hopefully, they'll be kicked out at mid-terms anyway, but this is an encouraging trend.

With any luck, in a year we'll have a return to funding science (and trusting it too), loosening educational immigration, removing the religious right's ideological stranglehold over public policy, and a workable foreign policy that doesn't include torture, hypocrisy and lying as a centerpeice. Sound like a world you'd like to live in? It does to me.

Another Slickly Handled Situation for the GOP

2006-03-09T21:33:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - UAE firm to transfer port operations to 'U.S. entity' - Mar 9, 2006:
"United Arab Emirates-owned DP World said Thursday it would transfer its operations of American ports to a 'U.S. entity' after congressional leaders reportedly told President Bush that the firm's takeover deal was essentially dead on Capitol Hill.

'Because of the strong relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the United States and to preserve that relationship ... DP World will transfer fully the U.S. operations of P&O Operations North America to a United States entity,' Edward H. Bilkey, DP World's chief operating officer, said in a statement."

This is totally fucking ridiculous. The UAE is an ally. This is political grandstanding by both parties of the worst possible kind. All the UAE cares about is money. They have no interest in terrorism as a nation, nor, I would imagine, as a multinational company. The very idea that this sale was in question is preposterous. I mean, let's face it, if you really cared about port security to begin with, you wouldn't have sold off all of your ports. But if you're going to do it, why not actually sell it to the highest bidder?

I mean, if you really want to worry about something worthwhile, why not worry about the fact that China holds 50% of our debt? Or how about the fact that we're not doing shit about Global Warming because we're afraid it might hurt business in the short term? I got news for you, if you don't do something about it these things now, there won't even be much of a short term to speak of. New York, LA, and all your pretty little fucking doggies are going to be under 20 feet of water. How do you think that'll do for business?

[RANT]
UGH! I HATE the GOP. Why don't they think more than two feet in front of their lobbiests' noses? We're all going to be in the 7th level of hell if they don't start paying attention to reality and science. Neither JESUS, nor Allah, nor any other god can save you . . . only science can. The reality is that these are all ghost stories, k? Can we move on now and start paying attention to the reality that all Arabs aren't bad, God doesn't exist and therefore is on no ones "side," and that statistics actually do matter? PLEASE!!
[/RANT]

This is Why GWB and the Whole GOP Are Assholes

2006-03-09T21:13:00.000-05:00

In Response, China Attacks U.S. Record on Rights - New York Times: "China criticized the human rights record of the United States on Thursday, arguing that racial discrimination remained pervasive and that the American military abused prisoners held at detention centers abroad.

In a sharply worded response to the annual State Department report on human rights conditions globally, which was released in Washington on Wednesday, China's cabinet said the American government should concentrate on improving its own rights record."

Because when you call into question your own human rights record, you can't very well go around telling people how it is that they ought to do things. This is what everyone said years ago, but of course, like everything, GWB has to figure it out the hard way -- by being read the riot act by China of all nations.

Jesus H. Christ, these motherfucking good/evil binary minded religious fucking zealots really need to be sent to another planet.

I Voted For It, Before I Voted Against It: GOP Style

2006-03-08T17:38:00.000-05:00

AP Wire | 03/08/2006 | Santorum writes foreword for book on intelligent design: "In a column he wrote for the Delaware County Daily Times on Jan. 5, the senator wrote that teachers should be allowed to teach the controversy surrounding evolution, but that school boards should not mandate teaching intelligent design.

Evolution should be taught as 'the leading and dominant scientific theory explaining the origin of species, but also as a theory subject to significant limitations, failed predictions, and important criticisms,' Santorum wrote."

Again, it turns out the all politicians are full of shit. But espcially the religious ones . . . after all, this supersticious nonsense breeds flip-flopping.

Values?

2006-03-03T11:55:00.000-05:00

Suit: W.Va. Police Chief Denied Gay Man CPR: "A small-town police chief was accused in a federal lawsuit Thursday of stopping a would-be rescuer from performing CPR on a gay heart attack victim because he assumed the ailing man had HIV and posed a health risk."

I can't say who this person stands for, but we've got to work on this as a nation. The fact that this is 20 years after the start of HIV/AIDs and there are police cheif's propagating myths about this is totally unacceptable. And if it's bigotry, this man should be fired. There's no place for inept leaders in our society. None whatsoever. They must be removed immediately.

Incompentence, Lies, and Videotape

2006-03-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

Video Shows Bush Warned Before Katrina Hit - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON - On the eve of Hurricane Katrina's fateful landfall, President Bush was confident. His homeland security chief appeared relaxed. And warnings of the coming destruction — breached or overrun levees, deaths at the New Orleans Superdome and overwhelming needs for post-storm rescues — were delivered in dramatic terms to all involved. All of it was captured on videotape.

The Associated Press obtained the confidential government video and made it public Wednesday, offering Americans their own inside glimpse into the government's fateful final Katrina preparations after months of fingerpointing and political recriminations.

'My gut tells me ... this is a bad one and a big one,' then-federal disaster chief Michael Brown told the final government-wide briefing the day before Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on Aug. 29.

The president didn't ask a single question during the briefing but assured soon-to-be-battered state officials: 'We are fully prepared.'"

I'll say it one more time: this administration, in sum, is completely incompetent and cannot do anything well but lie to the American people. That's what gets them elected, that's what helps them manage the media, but it's also what makes them clearly fail in Iraq, and our people all over the country.

Christian Hate

2006-03-01T16:39:00.000-05:00

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > North County -- Mother swells with pride for Oscar-nominated child: "“Michelle doesn't represent the values of this institution. We would not approve of her movies and TV shows (including the teen drama “Dawson's Creek”). We'd not like to be tied to 'Brokeback Mountain.'

“I hope we offered her something in life. But she made the kinds of choices of which we wouldn't approve. 'Brokeback Mountain' basically promotes a lifestyle we don't promote. It's not the word of God.”"

YAWN! Christians can't deal with anything that doesn't fit into their little book. Of course, neither can Jews or Muslims. But, whatever. It's really pathetic their live and let die attitude. Oh well, who really cares? They'll die and go nowhere, just like everyone else before them.

CNN.com - Driving tip: Don't honk at the cops - Feb 24, 2006

2006-02-24T12:52:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - Driving tip: Don't honk at the cops - Feb 24, 2006: "'The horn blowing is not the real problem here, it's that you were trying to correct the police and they didn't need correcting,' Judge Russell Bean said.

Palmer left traffic court saying he still believed officers were abusing their authority.

'I see this cop with his blue lights come screeching up beside me and I didn't know what was going on,' Palmer said. 'Before they got to the next light, I could see they turned their blue lights off.'"

I see this all the time and I hate it too. It really drives me crazy that the police have this do as I say, not as I do attitude toward their jobs. It often strikes me as totally hypocritical. Not only that, but police are also made out to be more trustworthy than other citizens . . . which is bullshit too.

I'm not saying that cops don't do anything and that they're all liars. I'm just saying that this "do as I say not as I do" attitude is too prevalent for my liking.

There's That Pesky Pattern Again

2006-02-22T15:21:00.000-05:00

White House says Bush did not know about ports deal - Americas - International Herald Tribune: "'He became aware of it over the last several days,' McClellan said. Asked if Bush did not know about it until it was a done deal, McClellan said, 'That's correct.'"

This GWB is not in control, folks. He doesn't have any idea what's really going on. It's just like every liberal was saying: the man is an out of touch fool.

As to be expected, really . . .

2006-02-22T10:01:00.000-05:00

Shrine Attack Brings Reprisals and Fear - Yahoo! News: "A large explosion Wednesday heavily damaged the golden dome of one of Iraq's most famous Shiite shrines, sending protesters into the streets and triggering reprisal attacks against Sunni mosques. It was the third major attack against Shiite targets in as many days.

Shiite leaders called for calm, but militants attacked Sunni mosques and a gunfight broke out between Shiite militiamen and guards at a Sunni political party in Basra. Army Capt. Jassim al-Wahash said about 500 soldiers were sent to Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad to prevent clashes between Shiites and Sunnis."

And republicans say that there isn't any civil war. This is fucking ridiculous. When can we acknoledge reality: that this is not going well.

Metaphor for America

2006-02-21T11:13:00.000-05:00

Which Cut Is Older? (It's a Trick Question) - New York Times: "The Food and Drug Administration approved use of the process in 2004. The Washington Post reported in its Monday editions that Kalsec, a Michigan producer of a natural food extract that helps slow the discoloring of the meat but does not 'fix' it in the same way as carbon monoxide, had petitioned the agency to reverse that decision.

The Consumer Federation of America and the advocacy group Safe Tables Our Priority have written a letter to the agency in support of the petition because, they say, the bright red color could mask spoilage and dangerous bacteria in older meat or meat that has not been kept at the proper temperature."

This is really what America is like: appearances are more important than reality.

Religion: Good For Nothing (or, alternatively, "Love Thy Neighbor")

2006-02-21T11:02:00.000-05:00

Anti-Muslim Riot in Nigeria Turns Deadly - Yahoo! News: "Christian mobs rampaged through a southern Nigerian city Tuesday, burning mosques and killing several people in an outbreak of anti-Muslim violence that followed deadly protests against caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad over the weekend."

So Retarded . . . Couldn't All This Be Predicted

2006-02-21T11:01:00.000-05:00

Iraq angrily rejects US sectarian warning - Yahoo! News: "Iraq's Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari angrily dismissed on Tuesday U.S. warnings to shun sectarianism in the country's new government, saying Iraqis would not accept interference in their affairs."

The US is like a fucking bull in a china shop when it comes to foriegn policy. It's like we fucking dare people to do the wrong thing. No finesse at all. This administration is truly proving itself to be the worst ever. It just astounds me that they have any support at all. Their policies are failed, their thoughts are failed, their practicies have practically all failed, and their lies are shining through for all to see.

Thank you almighty luck for bringing the RNC GWB and his admin to invite the destruction of corrupt Republican party politics.

Noticing A Pattern Of Corruption Yet?

2006-02-11T09:20:00.000-05:00

Three More Lawmakers Linked to Abramoff - Yahoo! News:

"Two of the elected officials referred to in Friday's filings have been identified in published reports as Reps. Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio, and Don Young, R-Alaska. According to Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper, the two representatives wrote to the GSA in September 2002, urging the agency to give preferential treatment to groups such as Indian tribes when evaluating development proposals for the Old Post Office.

[...]

Friday's filings by prosecutors refer to a third member of Congress, Rep. Shelly Moore Capito, R-W.Va. Her name appears in e-mails that suggest she was trying to help Abramoff secure a GSA lease for land in Silver Spring for a religious school."

I'll give you a hint, it's the Republican Party who is totally corrupted with monied in interests. Oh, and they don't give a shit about you, or your needs. That's why you elected them, right? Because they said that they'd get rid of abortion . . . because that's more valuable than being truthful, or pretty much anything else. I HATE SINGLE ISSUE VOTERS.

Stop Consuming American Fat Asses

2006-02-10T10:42:00.000-05:00

BREITBART.COM - Bottled water, a natural resource taxing the world's ecosystem:
"Bottled water consumption, which has more than doubled globally in the last six years, is a natural resource that is heavily taxing the world's ecosystem, according to a new US study.

'Even in areas where tap water is safe to drink, demand for bottled water is increasing, producing unnecessary garbage and consuming vast quantities of energy,' according to Emily Arnold, author of the study published by the Earth Policy Institute, a Washington-based environmental group."

We even consume when there's no reason to consume -- New York has some of the best water in the world and people still drink bottled water. This has got to stop. We, as a people, have to stop fucking up the world we live in. We have to stop living in a religious fantasy land and DEAL WITH THINGS AS THEY ARE.

Oh Your God.

2006-02-10T10:30:00.000-05:00

Church offers $1000 to prove Earth revolves around the Sun:
"CAI [Catholic Apolgetics International] will write a check for $1,000 to the first person who can prove that the earth revolves around the sun. (If you lose, then we ask that you make a donation to the apostolate of CAI)."

This getting ridiculous. If only I had a single book that contained "truth" because I said it did. Then I'd be infallible in the eyes of willfully gullible fools. Everyone critisizes Germans for their Pflicht, but it actually exists everywhere in the form of religion; people accepting that there is some invisible force that controls everything which is complete nonsense, prima facie.

So, in response, I offer the $1000 prove God exists challenge. If you can prove that God exists empirically (and I'm the sole judge in this contest), I'll donate $1000 to the charity of your choice (religious or not) in your name or anonymously and I'll convert to whatever religion you'd like, too. How about that?

That said, if you lose, it's okay because you actually win (in a sense): you're freed from the shackles of an oppresive nonsensical belief in the supernatural.

Please send entries to m00dc0ntr0l at yahoo.com. One per person. If found to send more than one, you will be disqualified. Repeat submissions count as more than one. Clarifications of previous ideas (deemed necessary) count as a second submission and thus will result in disqualification. Arguments submitted by proxy will also be disqualified on the grounds of violating the spirit of the competition (no pun intended).

I'm totally serious about this, so (as GWB says) bring 'em on.

Can You See the Pattern of Behavior?

2006-02-09T16:48:00.000-05:00

L.A. Mayor Blindsided by Bush Announcement - Yahoo! News: "Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Thursday he was blindsided by President Bush's announcement of new details on a purported 2002 hijacking plot aimed at a downtown skyscraper, and described communication with the White House as 'nonexistent.'

'I'm amazed that the president would make this (announcement) on national TV and not inform us of these details through the appropriate channels,' the mayor told The Associated Press. 'I don't expect a call from the president — but somebody.'"

This is a pattern in the Bush Administration. I think this might be a wag the dog moment, don't you?

Cause They're All Liars!

2006-02-09T15:54:00.000-05:00

The Scientific Activist: Reporting from the Crossroads of Science and Politics: NASA Science Censor Resigns: "It’s official. George Deutsch, the Bush appointee and science censor at NASA who lied about graduating from Texas A&M University, has resigned thanks to the efforts of a little website that some of you may have heard of. Andrew Revkin of The New York Times reports:"

Honestly, I don't know how any republican can deny this any longer: the republican party has a serious problem with lying. It's completely pathological. It's not like Jayson Blair who was an ambitious lying reporter or others. This is a conspiracy to take control of government and enforce detrimental policies on the people of this country by hook or by crook. Likely just crook.

They make Henry Rollins song, "Liar" seem like a campaign slogan.

Why Is the US Goverment's Policy So Fucking Asinine and Short Sighted?

2006-02-08T15:52:00.000-05:00

US may press Africa on GMOs - Yahoo! News: "The U.S. may push Africa to accept gene-altered (GMO) food now that the World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled the EU broke rules by barring GMO foods and seeds, but Africans vowed on Wednesday to resist.

'We do not want GM (genetically modified) foods and our hope is that all of us can continue to produce non-GM foods,' Zambian Agriculture Minister Mundia Sikatana told Reuters in Lusaka."

Look, it's pretty clear that people don't want GMOs . . . and those that do are the people who make and use them. Frankenfood is frightening to people. While everyone in the religious right is worried about the 100K abortions that happen each year or the possibility that gay people may actually be happy, the manipulation of life is happening right under their noses in a way that will actually effect them . . . through their fat fucking gullets.

I'm Torn . . .

2006-02-07T08:54:00.000-05:00

States Eye Picketing at Soldiers' Funerals - Yahoo! News: "During the 1990s, the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., went around picketing the funerals of
AIDS victims with protest signs that read, 'God Hates Fags.' But politicians began paying more attention recently when church members started showing up at the burials of soldiers and Marines killed in
Afghanistan and
Iraq.

Legislation is being considered in at least 14 states, and several of the bills moving quickly, with backing from legislative leaders and governors.

If they pass, the bills could set up a clash between privacy and free speech rights, and court challenges are almost certain.

'We're not proposing to silence the speech of the Westboro Baptist Church, as offensive as most of us find that,' said Kansas Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, a Republican. Instead, he said, he is trying to achieve a balance that respects 'the rights of families to bury their dead in peace.'"

On the one hand, I have sympathy for the families, but then on the other, I have to say that this is just another case of people saying that they don't want to hear things that make them feel bad. Boo-hoo. Learn to live with people who are different from you -- people who are assholes.

I can't say that I agree at all with the messages of these people or the practice, but this idea of legislating free speech to what is 'appropriate' and 'inappropriate' is bullshit: who gets to judge? Do liberals get to judge when they're in power? Then do conservatives get to judge when they're in power? Then do crazy islamofacists get to judge when they're in power?

The belief in free speech is the belief in support the rights of those whose speech you like least. Anything less is censorship.

Well, That Depends On What The Definition Of "is" Is

2006-02-02T16:26:00.000-05:00

KR Washington Bureau | 02/01/2006 | Administration backs off Bush's vow to reduce Mideast oil imports: "One day after President Bush vowed to reduce America's dependence on Middle East oil by cutting imports from there 75 percent by 2025, his energy secretary and national economic adviser said Wednesday that the president didn't mean it literally."

Ain't That the Truth -- Now for the rest of the House and Senate

2006-02-02T15:01:00.000-05:00

Rep. Boehner Elected House Majority Leader - Yahoo! News: "After the vote, Rep. Jeff Flake (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., called Boehner 'a fresh face.'

'It wouldn't be credible for the same leaders to be advocating change,' Flake said, adding he hoped Blunt would stay on as whip, third-ranking in the leadership."

If There Was Anything You Could Get Me To Say Amen To . . .

2006-02-01T13:57:00.000-05:00

Newspapers Republish Muhammad Caricatures - Yahoo! News: "The front page of the daily France Soir carried the headline 'Yes, We Have the Right to Caricature God' along with a cartoon of Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim and Christian gods floating on a cloud. Inside, the paper reran the drawings.

'The appearance of the 12 drawings in the Danish press provoked emotions in the Muslim world because the representation of Allah and his prophet is forbidden. But because no religious dogma can impose itself on a democratic and secular society, France Soir is publishing the incriminating caricatures,' the paper said.

Germany's Die Welt daily printed one of the drawings on its front page, arguing that a 'right to blasphemy' was anchored in democratic freedoms. The Berliner Zeitung daily also printed two of the caricatures as part of its coverage of the controversy."

Terrifically Ironic

2006-02-01T08:53:00.000-05:00

Israeli Troops, Jewish Settlers Clash - Yahoo! News: "'They are treating people here like Arabs,' said legislator Arieh Eldad in a telephone interview from the scene with
Israel Radio. Eldad said he suffered a broken arm."

Jeez, now perhaps you could begin to understand why Arabs might be a little angry too.

Notice: This does not justify any behavior, but it goes a long way towards explaining it.

If Only

2006-01-27T11:48:00.000-05:00

Judge to Rule on Merit of Christ Case - Yahoo! News: "An Italian judge heard arguments Friday on whether a small-town parish priest should stand trial for asserting that Jesus Christ existed."

My friend and I were talking about how it'd be nice to go outside churches and protest them the way that they protest outside of abortion clinics, planned parenthood, and force their inane and silly views into schools, government, and everything else.

But then I realized what makes me so different from them: I don't need them to believe in what I believe in order to feel okay about myself. I have no real need to evangelize my beliefs (in that way, anyway): perhaps only in a knee jerk reaction to people who can't shut the fuck up about imaginary worlds, people, and other nonsense.

Anyway, it'd be great in the land of catholics if the courts decide, as hopefully all thinking people eventually will, that much of religion is nonsense (except for some of the basic moral lessons . . . some of them).

Comment on RepVet's Blog

2006-01-27T11:07:00.000-05:00

Republican Vet

Because it will likely be deleted or edited (and I spent a lot of time on it), I post it here in its entirety. This is in reference to the post titled "Bin Laden in Baghdad":

Bin Laden would likely not have done any business with Iraq because it was a purely secular country in the middle of the Islamic holy land. He even went so far as to declare a Jihad against Iraq in 1990 when they invaded Kuwait.

Moreover, at that time, the US was supporting Bin Laden too: support given via the Pakistani ISI because of his war against the Soviet Union (that jihadi group was better known as the mujahideen). This is in keeping with the absurd US foriegn policy of "my enemy's enemy is my friend." This policy clearly exacerbated an already full grown problem of extremist Islam . . . even though it suited our shared anti-communist agenda (shared with the mujahideen which happened to include Bin Laden).

Also, the motives of an ex-Iraqi general seem transparent: how better to curry favor with the current administration than to tell them exactly what they've been dying to hear someone say? Good for him, he saw Bin Laden in Iraq in 1984: Donald Rumsfeld was there all throughout the early eighties when we were selling them chemical weapons and other arms for their war against Iran.

As for getting rid of "weapons of mass destruction" before the way, please explain to me what the purpose of having "weapons of mass destruction" if you have no intention of using them against your enemy? Is it just to collect them so that your country can be in violation of UN security council resolutions? So that it can be invaded by the US and summarily destroyed?

I'm sorry, but this article proves nothing other than that geo-politics is a dirty business where lying, cheating, and stealing is the way of the walk.

Sound Familiar? Expect This in NOLA Too.

2006-01-24T14:48:00.000-05:00

Iraq Rebuilding Badly Hobbled, U.S. Report Finds - New York Times: "The first official history of the $25 billion American reconstruction effort in Iraq depicts a program hobbled from the outset by gross understaffing, a lack of technical expertise, bureaucratic infighting, secrecy and constantly increasing security costs, according to a preliminary draft."

'Nuff Said

2006-01-23T12:52:00.000-05:00

Triumph of the Redistributionist Left | csmonitor.com: "During the first five years of President Bush's presidency, nondefense discretionary spending (i.e., spending decided on an annual basis) rose 27.9 percent, far more than the 1.9 percent growth during President Clinton's first five years, according to the libertarian Reason Foundation. And according to Citizens Against Government Waste, the number of congressional 'pork barrel' projects under Republican leadership during fiscal 2005 was 13,997, more than 10 times that of 1994."

No More Free Lunches For Fat Cats

2006-01-19T12:38:00.000-05:00

Democrats Claim a Better Idea on Controlling Lobbying - New York Times: "Some lawmakers said they thought Congress was overreacting to the lobbying scandal with an excess of new rules and requirements.

'Now we're going to say you can't have a meal for more than 20 bucks,' said Senator Trent Lott, Republican of Mississippi. 'Where are you going, to McDonald's?'"

Maybe it's about time for our senators and representatives to live within their means, instead of by the means of someone else? The representatives of the people ought to live by the 'plebian' standards they so clearly abhor. I eat lunch for less then three dollars a day (unless I get two orders of street meat). These government Fat Cats need to return to reality and start living like the people that they're supposed to be representing.

They've been living off of our dime (and off of many lobbyiest's dimes) for far too long -- it will be amazing to see the loyalties shift when coorporations cease to own congress and white house . . . hopefully the loyalty will shift back to the people.

Letting the Wolf Guard the Sheep

2006-01-18T17:50:00.000-05:00

Republicans Propose Restrictions On Lobbying: "'Many trips are truly educational, and I believe a complete ban on all private travel would be an overreaction that doesn't get to the root of the problem,' said Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.), one of three candidates vying to succeed Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) as House majority leader."

What's really left me gobsmacked is that they're still unable to understand how absolutely sickening it is to an average American that our senators should be travelling around to the finest resorts and taking the most wonderful vacations under the guise of research because some fucking lobbyist has the loot to give. The appearance of corruption is almost as bad as corruption. The very tolerance and defence of this behavior should be a very good indication of the need to curb it.

What's so completely sickening to me is that this has been going on for so long -- we, the people, give our government the right to do what they do. Not lobbyists with money. It's us. It's our land. It's our country. Not theirs. This coorporate money in politics must stop. I don't care if it was ruled that coorporations are legally people -- that was a terrible decision that we now can see the repercussions of. And it's time to end it, starting with coorporate money and lobbying saturating congress.

What's the Point?

2006-01-11T12:51:00.000-05:00

Well, I mean, I haven't actually lost heart or anything, but I'm kind of tired of this fucking crusade. It's so completely obvious to me (and to everyone else, apparently), that the Republican leadership is comically corrupt -- not to mention fundamentally flawed as an ideology. It really does just go to show that both parties are really corrupt, but that republicans are perfectly happy to destroy America for a couple of bucks and some golf vacations.

Political Sailor

2005-12-22T12:58:00.000-05:00

Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/22/2005 | Santorum now critical of Dover case: "Early this year, Sen. Rick Santorum commended the Dover Area School District for 'attempting to teach the controversy of evolution.'

But one day after a federal judge ruled that the district's policy on intelligent design was unconstitutional, Santorum said he was troubled by court testimony that showed some board members were motivated by religion in adopting the policy.

And, he said in an interview, he disagreed with the board for mandating the teaching of intelligent design, rather than just the controversy surrounding evolution."

Hey wait? Don't repubs castigate dems for this shit surfing all the time? I guess no one has convictions -- only politics.

Loyalty and Honesty

2005-12-19T10:45:00.000-05:00

At Center of City's Transit Talks, a Trend That Tests Union Loyalty to Future Hires - New York Times: "In articulating that message, Mr. Toussaint is being loyal to a fundamental aspect of labor solidarity: You don't sell out other workers to make life easier for yourself.

'We believe that future generations of transit workers should be better off than us, just as we are better off than past generations of transit workers,' he said.

Mr. Toussaint also realizes that assenting to a two-tier contract can create huge internal feuding in 5, 10, 15 years.

'Accepting a two-tier contract may be a short-term expedient, but it creates problems for the union in the long term,' said Richard W. Hurd, a labor relations professor at Cornell University. 'They end up with members working side by side with different benefits. It creates some tensions, and the workers in the lower tier are always pushing for parity.'"

You know, I hate both the MTA and TWU Local 100 for doing this to our city. But if I have to take sides, I agree with the TWU Local 100 more than the MTA. The MTA is totally mismanaged and everyone in the city pays the price for it, be they transit workers, or passengers. I pay higher fares, and workes get shit-on by management.

I really think that striking is the worst thing that the TWU Local 100 could do, though. It won't hurt people like me. I can telecommute. I won't miss meals. But the folks out in Fo' Hi', East New York, Sheepshead Bay, Flushing, the South Bronx and so on won't be able to get to their minimum wage jobs and will ultimately be the ones most hurt by all this. That and small business owners in the city center too.

Mr Tuissant is totally right though. We work toward better conditions for future generations, not for the simple survival of this one. When you take the attitude that your present is worth more than your future, you've turned your back on hope and optimism. The MTA wants us to believe that things will never be better . . . and if the TWU100 takes this offer, they won't get better.

The Military Doesn't Like 'Em Either

2005-12-18T19:12:00.000-05:00

Cheney Fields Tough Questions From Troops:

"The skepticism that Cheney faced reflects opinions back home, where most Americans say they do not approve of President Bush's handling of the war. It was unique coming from a military audience, which typically receives administration officials more enthusiastically."

This bullshit "troops support the adminsitration come hell or high water" jingoism is really just plain untrue. These guys aren't stupid. They're working the day-to-day on this war. They've got questions, and Bush Co. hasn't got any good answers. All they've got is their dog and pony shows that they put on. Have you noticed that about this administration? Whenever things aren't going well, they go and put on another dog and pony show, tell a few lies, and hope no one reports the facts or calls them on it?

I'm glad that everyone in the country is starting to see what's happened to congress and our executive branch: this culture of corruption and absolute power needs to stop. Checks and balances need to be brought back in full force. And Bush needs to be impeached to save our country from the backward slide in the 5th level of hell we seem be falling into.

The Idiot Speaks.

2005-12-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

Bush Defends, Explains Comment on DeLay - Yahoo! News:

"President Bush said Friday his statement that former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was innocent of criminal charges in Texas was meant to signal confidence in the justice system and not to make a pronouncement about the individual case.

'The point I was making was 'innocent until otherwise proven,'' Bush said in an interview to Friday for 'The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.' 'It's a belief in the system, and that's not always the way people are treated here in Washington as you know."

I'll bet that's what you meant. Just like you meant that there "might" be WMDs, and not "there are." What a fucking liar.

Hate Group Plans Action Against Reality

2005-12-16T11:35:00.000-05:00

Group May Reinstate Boycott Against Ford - Yahoo! News:

"The conservative American Family Association said Thursday it will consider reinstating a boycott against Ford Motor Co. because the automaker plans to continue running advertisements in gay publications."

Our hate-mongering friends at the AFA have decided that it's better to foster fear and hatred among people (and attempt destroy an American company) then to move on with life and keep their beliefs to themselves. It's these busy-body Christian and Muslim "do what I do or die" groups that are terrorizing the world. They have to be stopped at almost all costs. They're anti-reality. They're anti-human. They're pro-supernatural nonsense. They're pro-misery. They're pro-armageddon. We can no longer accomodate these lunatics. They have to be stood up to. Their "political correct" litmus test for the people of this nation amounts to fascism.

They need to stop sending messages of hate and intolerance and realize that there are plenty of us who tolerating them in this country too.

Black History Month -- Under Fire?

2005-12-16T10:14:00.000-05:00

Freeman Criticizes Black History Month - Yahoo! News: "Freeman notes there is no 'white history month,' and says the only way to get rid of racism is to 'stop talking about it.'

The actor says he believes the labels 'black' and 'white' are an obstacle to beating racism.

'I am going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man,' Freeman says."

You know, on some level, I really do agree with him. I feel like he's right to the extent that if everyone has the same goals, that is to end bigotry and racism, then to stop obsessing about our differences (based on race) would be a major service to reaching that goal. The obsession with race and equality in this country can definitely cause me and others to bristle on occaison.

But, I disagree because there are still plenty of people who actively choose to judge people based on their race. It's not a function of them having been taught about race and making some rational decision. It's that certain groups of people are fixated on it, whether they admit it or not.

That said, the current open dialogue on race has brought us, as a nation, much closer to a satisfactory balance than an approach of pretending that the problems of race only exist because we choose to acknowledge them. I mean, if you look at how far we've come as a nation so far as race is concerned, even since the eighties, we're getting better.

Ann Coulter: Worthless Sack of Shit

2005-12-15T10:35:00.000-05:00

WHY CAN'T I GET ARRESTED? - Yahoo! News:

"I'm getting a little insulted that no Democratic prosecutor has indicted me. Liberals bring trumped-up criminal charges against all the most dangerous conservatives. Why not me?"

Ann, I'll tell you the reason why you don't get arrested. It's because you're a witless, sack-of-shit, blowhard that most would rather not waste their time with. I'm wasting the time because I delight in your fixation with what you percieve as Republicans being wronged.

You assume conspiracy because so many Republicans have been indicted, instead of what's actually true: many Republicans are actually criminals. Why haven't they been taken to trial? Mainly because of the mercy of the prosecutors who you delight in slandering -- they often settle for resignation or retiring. It's sad that you aren't more critical of the Republicans in power so that they run a cleaner ship.

I also find it interesting how you talk about Democrats salivating about the white house indictments, but you don't mention Fitzgerald at all. Perhaps that's because you realize that you'd have to be the largest hypocrite in the world to sugges that he has "'special prosecutor disease', suggesting that he doesn't know the difference between a legal technicality such as perjury and a real crime, and even suggesting that he has political leanings."

If you did that, you'd actually be exhonerating Clinton -- something we'd all look forward to.

You're so full of shit.

We Care About Life Only Before Birth

2005-12-14T16:34:00.000-05:00

A Religious Protest Largely From the Left: "When hundreds of religious activists try to get arrested today to protest cutting programs for the poor, prominent conservatives such as James Dobson, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell will not be among them.

That is a great relief to Republican leaders, who have dismissed the burgeoning protests as the work of liberals. But it raises the question: Why in recent years have conservative Christians asserted their influence on efforts to relieve Third World debt, AIDS in Africa, strife in Sudan and international sex trafficking -- but remained on the sidelines while liberal Christians protest domestic spending cuts?"

It's great how conservatives are all about a culture of life before life actually begins. It just beggars fucking belief.

What Lesson Was That?

2005-12-14T14:06:00.000-05:00

Bloomberg.com: Top Worldwide:

"President George W. Bush accepted responsibility for taking the U.S. to war in Iraq based on faulty intelligence while saying the invasion still was justified by the threat posed by Saddam Hussein and international terrorism.

'It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong,' Bush said today in the final speech in a series intended to outline his Iraq strategy. 'Given Saddam's history and the lessons of September the 11th, my decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision.'"

So, wait:

1. It's been proven that Saddam had no designs on performing any terrorist acts.

2. It's been proven that he had no WMDs.

3. It's been proven that much of the intelligence was wrong.

4. Bush has even admitted that the orginal rationale for the war turned out to be false (i.e. creating and stockpiling WMDs)

But, on top of all of that, Bush wants to argue that the war was still justified on the grounds of safety. Okay, so let's look at what YOU (GWB) have just said. Hmmmm, okay, so Iraq was basically defenseless and had no proven plans to attack the US at all. So there was no justification.

This administration is so f-ing full of it, it makes me want to puke. The thing that blows my mind is that the the GOP would rather have a president who actually lies about important matters of national security and our national reputation than a president who has sex and knows how to have a good time.

Scorecard

2005-12-13T17:46:00.000-05:00

So, the GOP would have us believe that Iraq was a huge success. Let's have a look at what is and what isn't.

1. Iraq is now a Democracy, of sorts. I mean, they're going through the motions, but it's definitely scarier than it was. I mean before, you knew what would get you killed. Now you could get killed for simply standing two feet to the left of a light post. So, that's not super awesome.

2. Some people are happier. Kurds are definitely psyched. They've always wanted to be independent, so that's a good thing for them. Sunni's and Shi'ites. Well, they're not so totally psyched.

3. Some people are really unhappy. As I said before, if you're living in the Sunni triangle, you could say that you're in a world of shit. Not only there, but generally speaking, the Sunnis are now getting abused by the Shi'ites. So that sucks for them. And it's really just a role reversal of sorts, before it was Sunnis abusing everyone. Now it's Shi'ites abusing Sunnis.

4. We've spent a pretty penny liberating a country only to see it descend into the 3rd level of hell. I'm not saying it's a lost cause, but it could definitely use a little more of the good old college try. I could Monday morning quarterback what's happening, but the fact is that the fog of war makes it really pointless.

5. We haven't found any WMDs. I know certain fabricators in the GOP like to pretend we have, but they're full of it. Think about it, if they had found anything at all that even remotely looked like a WMD, they would have put it front and center. The reason for war was this. Without it, there was no reason for the war.

6. The reason for war was not to liberate Iraq. I know that this may sound surprising, but go back and look at the historical record. Liberating Iraq was not the justification. End of story. You can't change your reasons for going to war. If you do, it's called lying. That's why I call the GOPs liars (well, and for other reasons too, but this is one reason why I call Bush a liar). To be clear, it isn't because they said that there were WMDs and there weren't. That was just stupidity, arrogence and being bloodthirsty. Those are flaws too. But they're fucking liars because they're acting like their original reasons were different, now that they've seen that they were totally and completely wrong.

7. Most of the fighters in Iraq are foreign. Is this good news? I don't know. What's pretty clear to me is that if this is good news, things in Iraq are shitty. If this is bad news, well, it's really bad news.

8. Et Cetera.

The list goes on. The problem with all of this is that it's wrapped in politics. See, typically, when you have a problem, you:

1. Acknowledge that there is a problem.
2. Identify what the problems are clearly.
3. Propose solutions.
4. Evaluate those proposed solutions.
5. Select a solution.
6. Implement solution.
7. Repeat steps 1 -7.

What you don't do is insert the steps that we've got now which are:

0.5 Deny that there's a problem and accuse those who say there's a problem of being traitors.
0.6 Throw stones at each other until the onlooking audience (i.e. your constituents) become so disgusted with you that you must advance to step 1 or risk civil war.

Clearly shit in Iraq has not gone off without a hitch. Clearly this hasn't gone to plan. Clearly there needs to be some changes in our strategy to how we deal with it. Instead of just bickering about it, wouldn't it be beneficial if everyone took a deep breath and tried to do steps 1 - 7 as best as possible. See, I've found, when you actually try and include people in problem solving that even if they don't get their way, they can often be much much more compliant than if you didn't.

I'm sick of the GOP "my way or the highway, you traitor" attitude. It violates the principles of democracy. It's assinine. And it kills people and wastes money.

No Death Penalty

2005-12-13T17:08:00.000-05:00

Gang Founder Claimed Innocence Until the End - Yahoo! News: "Whatever luck Williams found on the streets avoiding the law ended in 1979 after four people were killed in a pair of armed robberies that were connected to him and his pump-action shotgun.

Williams never wavered from his claim of innocence and said he refused to confess to crimes he did not commit, even if doing so would save his life. He said he redeemed himself while in prison and apologized for starting the Crips.

'There is no part of me that existed then that exists now,' Williams said recently during several hours of interviews with The Associated Press. He said that while he wanted to live and continue his work with children, he was prepared to die."

The death penalty is wrong. Because it is wrong for the state to kill its citizens. The death penalty does not deter crime. It does not save money. It does not even satisfy the victim's relatives desire for retribution in most, if not all cases. It does send a message that it's alright to kill, though. It does send a message that it's alright to have killed by a mistake, if you're the state.

Because of the possibility that you may kill someone that is innocent, you cannot kill anyone. You can imprison them for life (a far worse punishment, if you ask me) safely without that concern. Until our justice system is infallible, I would hope that the state would do the wise thing and not kill fellow citizens when it asks us not to.

Now, the GOP wants to make this about Crime and Punishment and all of that. Or maybe about abortion too and hypocrisy. I can't wait. For all their "choose life" rhetoric, apparently they actually "pick and choose life" where they like it.

And as it will inevitably come up -- my position on abortion is that a woman has the right to life as much as any other person on this earth. There is no pre-requisite to having a child, and that includes a clause that says "I will die to have a child." In other words, a woman has a right to life. A woman also has a right to her body and what goes on in it. If she is raped, she has every right to what's right for her.

What is clear to me is that a man has no right to choose what is right for a woman. End of story. It's not a man's decision. Further, once "right to life" groups actively protest against death in war, death in genocide, death because of a lack of stem cell research, and stop making priorities over whose life is more valuable than others, then I'll start believing them when they say they believe in life.

My beliefs are based mainly on a consequentialist framework, and you'll see that played through everything that I advocate. Ends must justify means. Killing Williams was a waste of energy that served no end other than the machinations of our political system. I don't know if he was innocent, and I can't say that the state could've known either (when you ask criminals to testify in return for leniency, you often get what you want to hear, not what's actually true).

We Report, Saudi Prince al-Walid bin Talal Decides

2005-12-13T09:07:00.000-05:00

Think Progress Saudi Prince Calls Murdoch And Changes Fox News:

"I picked up the phone and called Murdoch… (and told him) these are not Muslim riots, these are riots out of poverty. Within 30 minutes, the title was changed from Muslim riots to civil riots."

So, this is fair and balanced, huh? I happen to agree with the Prince in this instance, but doesn't it concern you "no bias" right wingers that the "news" is so easily changed with a phone call from a unhappy prince?

File this under "GOP full of shit" file.

Just Too Many Things At Once

2005-12-09T10:36:00.000-05:00

Qaeda-Iraq Link U.S. Cited Is Tied to Coercion Claim - New York Times:

"The Bush administration based a crucial prewar assertion about ties between Iraq and Al Qaeda on detailed statements made by a prisoner while in Egyptian custody who later said he had fabricated them to escape harsh treatment, according to current and former government officials."

This article covers so many flaws in the Bush Administration, it's almost comical. I love you the GOP is now backpedeling and making off like they have some interventionist, Freedom loving policy: anyone who tortures as a matter of policy has no love for freedom. Anyone who make a policy of spinning every "fact" that comes out of their administration has no love of freedom or democracy. Anyone whose story of history changes to suit political tide (i.e. we went there to liberate iraq vs. iraq is a terrorist threat linked with al-qaeda) has no love for democracy.

The GOP is a lying bunch of shiesters that need to be taken from office and politics alltogether. Lets keep the liberatarians, the fiscal GOP, but the relgious and neo-con wings have to have their tyranny of lies and wars ended.

If the GOP really cared about all this stuff, their record previous to GWB would show it. They fought Clinton tooth and nail when he went on peacekeeping and pro-democracy missions throughout the world. Now that they're doing it (and doing it horribly, I might add), they pretend like it was their idea.

Lying liars.

GOP: All Criminals

2005-12-07T13:03:00.000-05:00

ABC News: Ex-GOP Official Faces Conspiracy Charge:

"Tobin, 45, resigned as New England chairman of Bush's 2004 campaign in October 2004 when the phone jamming accusations became public. Tobin also has been political director of the Republican National Committee."

It's becoming just plain fact: Republicans are just criminals. They'll sell out America, defraud citizens, give their friends kick-backs, and pretty much destroy this country for a couple of bucks. I especially love that this is Bush's campaign manager in this instance: Bush has lain with dogs and now has fleas.

The best part of all this is all Republicans can do is say: "Clinton lied to a grand jury about a blow job" or "Jimmy carter was bad" or "Howard Dean is crazy."

Well, at least they didn't go out of their way to fuck all of the citizens of the United States in the ass with a broomstick (in a metaphorical sense), and further, ruin our image abroad.

Thanks GOP. You're a bunch of worthless, deficit spending, lying, warmongering, bribe taking, vote cheating sacks of shit!

Rumsfeld Shows His Complete Misunderstanding Of Democracy

2005-12-05T19:03:00.000-05:00

Rumsfeld criticizes media coverage of Iraq war - Yahoo! News:

"'We have arrived at a strange time in this country where the worst about America and our military seems to be so quickly taken as truth by the press and reported and spread around the world, often with little context and little scrutiny, let alone correction or accountability after the fact,' he said.

Rumsfeld's media critique in a speech at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies was the latest salvo in an effort by the Bush administration to turn around eroding public support for the war.

In a question and answer session with students and faculty, Rumsfeld acknowledged that the war has not gone as planned and that the insurgency was larger than expected."

See, what the Administration does understand is that when they expend so much energy trying to make a shit-lined shoe look like a crystal goblet, the inclination is to show how they're lying about it. Further, this treatment from the press is something that the Bush Administration isn't used to: investigative reporting.

Bush & Co. are so accustomed to setting the terms of engagement and doling out the facts (and lies) at their leisure, without any accountablility whatsoever that they're naturally in shock when someone has found fault with them. Bush & Co. (and virtually all republicans, for that matter) are incapable of working in a critical thinking environment where people don't agree with them. They must have total control of everything, up to and including your minds.

Liberal ideology and it's basis are that of co-existence with different opinions and beliefs. Now we're seeing that there are many things in today's world that are incompatible with democracy: islamofascism, russian democracy, and the latest is the GOP leadership.

Bush Does Worse in Government Than At Yale

2005-12-05T16:55:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - U.S. given 'more F's than A's' on terror preparation - Dec 5, 2005:

"Specifically, the panel gave the government an 'F' on homeland security spending for cities most at risk, on improving radio communication for emergency agencies and on airline passenger prescreening. They awarded only one A -- actually an A-minus -- for the administration's efforts to curb terrorist financing."

When it comes to securing the nation, the administration has a failing grade. This is good to know because it helps pull back the covers even further on the Bush Administration's incompetence. While the GOP operatives are trying to damage control on all the smoke and mirrors that are crashing around them, the public has the unique opportunity to see what can really happen when incompetence rules in government. Say what you will about other administrations, none in recent history have had such institutionalized corruption, incompetence, and inflexiblity.

All I can say is that I'm glad the power is coming back to who it belongs with: the people.

Why Are We Surprised About Republican Corruption?

2005-12-05T11:43:00.000-05:00

Frist votes aid HCA's business interests - Sunday, 12/04/05:

"Still, an examination of Frist's voting record over his nearly 11 years in the Senate shows a pattern of supporting bills friendly to HCA and to hospitals in general. His votes typically have followed the Republican Party line."

The republican party has shown us their values: bribery, corruption at all levels, blatent disregard for honesty, blatent disregard for the wellbeing of our country, and a clear cynicism for the ideals that this country was founded on. The only solution to the problems that republicans have given us (corruption, hugh trade deficits, a nascent terrorist state in Iraq, and the list goes on) is to reward them with a swft kick out of office.

Corruption of this kind cannot be rewarded. Ever. It's not okay. The appearance of it is bad enough.

Rep. Cunningham pleads guilty: Now if we can only get the rest of the GOP to admit it.

2005-11-28T16:11:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - Rep. Cunningham pleads guilty to tax violations - Nov 28, 2005: "Rep. Randy 'Duke' Cunningham pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy and tax charges and tearfully resigned from office, admitting he took $2.4 million in bribes to steer defense contracts to conspirators."

It's a good day for the American people. A guilty son of a gun gets a little comeupance, we get to see what the GOP are like when they're in power a little bit more clearly, and a grown man cries on TV because he feels sorry for himself.

I'm sure nothing will happen to him and he'll walk away clean (because in our justice system, a Federal Gov't Official who takes bribes is somehow less of a criminal than someone who smokes pot), but today is almost nice enough to make you forget all that.

An Open Letter To Republican Vet

2005-11-23T17:09:00.000-05:00

Mr. Vet,

I see that you've got a bone to pick with me and comment moderation. Allow me to elucidate:

You've made a point of coming to my site and leaving comments that are inordinately long and often irrelevant and abusive (emphasis on abusive). Comment moderation is a good way for me to prevent you from posting a litany of ramblings and ad hominem attacks in the comments section.

I'm more than happy to post well thought out comments of yours . . . even some of your not so well thought out comments. But, there are many comments that you leave that are just vicious and irrelevant. Those have no place here.

I view it exactly the same way as allowing someone to start a physical fight with you in your own house: it's just wrong. End of story. You're entitled to your opinion, yes. But, you have no entitlement to post it here in an abusive way. Predictably, the way that you've chosen to deal with our disagreements is through insane and threatening tomes that are irrelavent at best and totally illogical at worst. On my site, those kinds of posts must be moderated: it violates the conditions of civil discourse I would like to maintain on my site.

Once you consistently comment civilly, then I'll be happy to consider deactivating moderation.

On a second note, you seem to suffer under the insane dellusion that liberals ("libtards" as you call them -- no doubt an indication of your sensitivity to mental illness) admire you. To better contextualize this for you, it's important to point out that your viewpoint on the world is extreme at best and just plain inaccurate and dangerous to all of mankind at worst. That said, this isn't a liberal vs. conservative thing. It's a "Republican Vet is very wrong and unable to deal with nuance" thing and needs to be corrected. I don't know a single conservative who has read your blog and thought that your writings represent anything other than the rantings of a madman. You aren't a true conservative. You're a religious fundamentalist and an extremist hiding behind the GOP and military -- giving both a terrible name in the process.

Suffice it to say, this is why you're moderated around here and this is why I'm inclined to speak out against you.

Best,

Laurence

Bullschmidt: When a choice of words is a lie.

2005-11-22T21:46:00.000-05:00

Schmidt in war of words:

"Three days after Rep. Jean Schmidt was booed off the House floor for saying that 'cowards cut and run, Marines never do,' the Ohioan she quoted disputed the comments.

Danny Bubp, a freshman state representative who is a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, told The Enquirer that he never mentioned Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., by name when talking with Schmidt, and he would never call a fellow Marine a coward."

We now beginning to see the patterns of behavior with the GOP in it's truest most native form:

1. Act first, think second.
2. Lie, and hope no one catches you.
3. Hypocrisy isn't something the GOP pays attention to. At all.

But this is truly the best part; this is what she said after being sworn in:

"'I pledge to walk in the shoes of my colleagues and refrain from name-calling or the questioning of character,' Schmidt said then. 'It is easy to quickly sink to the lowest form of political debate. Harsh words often lead to headlines, but walking this path is not a victimless crime. This great House pays the price.'"

It warms my heart to know that the tactics and the ruthless, self-serving nature of the GOP is truly being laid bare for all to see. Thank you Jean Schmidt. Thank you very much.

Dishonest, huh?

2005-11-21T17:05:00.000-05:00

Cheney: Some Iraq Critics Are 'Dishonest' - Yahoo! News: "At the same time, Cheney pressed the administration's high-voltage attack on war critics, particularly Senate Democrats who voted in October 2002 to give Bush authority to go to war in Iraq and who now oppose his policy, calling them 'dishonest and reprehensible.'

'The flaws in the intelligence are plain enough in hindsight. But any suggestion that prewar information was distorted, hyped or fabricated by the leader of the nation is utterly false,' Cheney said in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute."

That's totally awesome! I love how the Bush adminsitration can be lying and then lie and totally turn the tables and make everyone else dishonest too. It's like, when they say that the left is lying, everyone on the right totally believes it with all their hearts -- even though the only proof he's got is that he says he didn't lie. Whereas when democrats say that he lied, they've got the fact that they manipulated everything from intelligence to the media to make a case for war on their side.

It's totally crazy in GOP land. Up is down. Right is left. Blue is green. And liars tell the truth.

Even Better Words From Murtha

2005-11-21T15:00:00.000-05:00

Murtha Says Americans Agree With Him - Yahoo! News:

"Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, spoke on the House floor Friday about a phone call she got from a Marine colonel who said, 'cowards cut and run, Marines never do.' Asked about it, Murtha called the comment ridiculous.

'You can't spin this. You've got to have a real solution,' Murtha said. 'This is not a war of words, this is a war.'"

He's absolutely right. Republicans would rather save face by having meaningless votes and making speeches instead of trying to solve the problem at hand. They need to acknowledge that Bush has no idea what he's doing and that there's a mess that needs to be cleaned up. Not politics. Just facts.

Murtha Says it Best

2005-11-21T14:44:00.000-05:00

Murtha Says Americans Agree With Him - Yahoo! News: "'We cannot win this militarily. Our tactics themselves keep us from winning,' Murtha said."

Love Love Love . . . Hate Hate Hate

2005-11-21T09:13:00.000-05:00

Falwell fighting for holy holiday / He'll sue, boycott groups he sees as muzzling Christmas:

"Evangelical Christian pastor Jerry Falwell has a message for Americans when it comes to celebrating Christmas this year: You're either with us, or you're against us.

Falwell has put the power of his 24,000-member congregation behind the 'Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign,' an effort led by the conservative legal organization Liberty Counsel. The group promises to file suit against anyone who spreads what it sees as misinformation about how Christmas can be celebrated in schools and public spaces."

Christianity is a religion of tolerance and acceptance. It preaches love and compassion. Until it kicks your ass and tears your head off when you disagree with it you sons of bitches! I'm taking you to court!

When Facts Matter

2005-11-20T12:56:00.000-05:00

TIME.com: Getting the Lowdown on Iraq -- Nov. 28, 2005 -- Page 1:

"According to two sources with knowledge of the meeting, the Army and Marine officers were blunt. In contrast to the Pentagon's stock answer that there are enough troops on the ground in Iraq, the commanders said that they not only needed more manpower but also had repeatedly asked for it. Indeed, military sources told Time that as recently as August 2005, a senior military official requested more troops but got turned down flat. There are about 160,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq, a number U.S. commanders in the region plan to maintain at least through the Iraqi national assembly elections on Dec. 15."

So, who are going to believe? Pentagon politicos or troops on the ground? We've suspected that Iraq was done on the cheap, and now we're beginning to see that it's absolutely true. Of course, it depends on who you want to believe.

Corruption Is Why Republicans Win: Except When They Lose

2005-11-20T12:02:00.000-05:00

Corruption Inquiry Threatens to Ensnare Lawmakers - New York Times:

"The Justice Department has signaled for the first time in recent weeks that prominent members of Congress could be swept up in the corruption investigation of Jack Abramoff, the former Republican superlobbyist who diverted some of his tens of millions of dollars in fees to provide lavish travel, meals and campaign contributions to the lawmakers whose help he needed most."

This is bribery. If proven, it'll be exactly what the country, and indeed the world will need to see and know about the Republican party: it no longer has a soul. The republicans have sold themselves out to the highest bidder, and the people of this country are calling them out on it. Democrats are definitely a part of this too. But this systemic corruption is ingrained in the fiber of the Rebpulican party. They have no other way of doing business these days because they've so totally lost their way (their morals, their sense of what's right), that they can't win without cheating.

They justify it by saying that it's what's right anyway and that everyone else is just complaining. To me, that sounds an aweful lot like people who are more comfortable in a totalitarian state than people who are familiar with democracy.

Let's hope the truth comes out. Let's hope that the GOP is finally exposed for the coorporate, anti-small-guy party that it truly is.

Civil War

2005-11-18T23:32:00.000-05:00

House GOP Seeks Quick Veto of Iraq Pullout - Yahoo! News:

"Aware of the scene unfolding across Capitol Hill, Sen. John Warner (news, bio, voting record), R-Va., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, appealed for 'bipartisanship on the war in Iraq, instead of more political posturing.'"

We all have a common interest here. Why is this being escalated to infighting. Democrats want whats best for our country and so do republicans. We disagree about how this is done. It doesn't mean we need to end civil discourse in government and duke it out 1850s style. We need to remember what it was like when people could work together without being called traitors. We need to come back to the table and to the center and work together.

It's fine when I, or other people who are basically uninolved in these issues get nasty. But when our legislators can't keep it together . . . what the hell is the matter with these people?

Holy Educational Values!

2005-11-18T13:02:00.000-05:00

Vatican Official Refutes Intelligent Design - Yahoo! News:

"The Vatican's chief astronomer said Friday that 'intelligent design' isn't science and doesn't belong in science classrooms, the latest high-ranking Roman Catholic official to enter the evolution debate in the United States.

The Rev. George Coyne, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, said placing intelligent design theory alongside that of evolution in school programs was 'wrong' and was akin to mixing apples with oranges."

I beginning to really like Catholics. These guys really know what's up (no pun intended). The thing that's frustrating about all of this stuff is that it's really led by the fundamentalists that are home-grown. They're looking more towards the James Dobsons of the world for guidance on this one . . . which doesn't leave me much hope for schools in those states that decide to teach superstitions instead of science.

The Devil You Know . . . May Not Be the Devil At All

2005-11-18T10:44:00.000-05:00

Lexington | Saint Patrick | Economist.com:

"For the past two years the Republican noise machine has been remarkably quiet about Mr Fitzgerald. Now Republicans are starting to crank up the volume against the man from Chicago, accusing him of suffering from an advanced case of “special prosecutor disease”, suggesting that he doesn't know the difference between a legal technicality such as perjury and a real crime, and even suggesting that he has political leanings."

The Economist does a spectacular job of pinning down the conservative hypocrisy at play with the whole Plame-gate affair. They point out the most egregious violations with particular eloquence:

"The third handicap for Republicans is that their arguments during the Lewinsky affair may be thrown back in their faces. How can they moan that Mr Fitzgerald has broadened his inquiry well beyond the original leak, when they supported [Kenneth] Starr's leap from dodgy land deals to oral sex? How can they say that perjury and obstruction of justice are technicalities when, during the Lewinsky affair, they declared that “perjury and obstruction of justice are high crimes and misdemeanours” (Senator Bill Frist) and that “perjury and obstruction of justice are crimes against the state” (Senator Sam Brownback)?"

The above is the reason why this whole investigation has me so gob-smacked; who could ask for anything better but to watch Repbulicans be boiled in their own pudding. They are the ones who championed the leap-frog technicality prosecution (as they call it), and now they have to suffer through their own. But what makes it all the more astounding is that Fitzgerald isn't the partisan the Kenneth Starr was. Moreover, Fitzgerald has been so dignified that he hasn't gone out of his way to grandstand the way that Kenneth Starr did during the whole Lewinsky affair.

I just can't believe that the GOP just walked right into this.

Budget Bris

2005-11-18T09:28:00.000-05:00

House Republicans Eke Out Budget Cut - Yahoo! News:

"House Republicans sweated out a victory on a major budget cut bill in the wee hours Friday, salvaging a major pillar of their agenda despite divisions within the party and nervousness among moderates that the vote could cost them in next year's elections.

The bill, passed 217-215 after a 25-minute-long roll call, makes modest but politically painful cuts across an array of programs for the poor, students and farmers."

Good to know that when Repbulicans put their mind to it, they can always find programs for citizens who need assistance and cut it. Rather than address the real problems: that in the past decade alone there has been a nearly a tenfold increase of pork projects in a decade. And Bush has yet to veto a single one. This year alone there have been 13,997 pork projects and Bush has signed every single one of them.

If there is an upside to all of this, it really does show that the only compassionate conservative is a centrist Democrat. Rather than do the hard thing (stop/rescind the pork that Republicans have been legislating now for the past ten years), they cynicaly cut programs for people who have the greatest need.

This all goes back to the short-sightedness of the Republican party: they'd rather build a $400 million prison that costs $40K per prisoner per year to run than a $50 million drug treatment facility that costs $20K per person per year that would preempt the need for a prison at all. It's their philosophy: act now, think about the consequences later. You can see it in everything that they do, everywhere they go. Their legacy is bad planning, destruction of the world around us, and misery to the working man.

Politicians Are So Full of . . . Money

2005-11-17T15:49:00.000-05:00

Lawmakers Acted on Heels of Abramoff Gifts - Yahoo! News:

"While Congress investigated Jack Abramoff's efforts to win influence inside government, its members held a secret: Nearly three dozen lawmakers pressed to block a Louisiana Indian casino while collecting large donations from the lobbyist and his tribal clients."

This effects both sides of the aisle, but the influence peddling makes me sick. How is money for access fair in government? Are my interests so much more minor than that of someone who has more money than me?

Why isn't this just called what it is: bribery. The only difference here is that it's been legalized. I know that we're never going to get past the fact that some people have more money than others, but our country is rapidly falling down the slope of corruption. There is too much "money for access" & "money for action" politics being practiced these days . . . I mean, ultimately, any amount of it is just plain wrong.

Shame on you Harry Ried.

Diamonds Are Forever Creating War

2005-11-17T14:21:00.000-05:00

'Conflict diamonds' keep fuelling Africa wars - Yahoo! News:

"Trading in 'conflict diamonds' continues to help fund wars in Africa despite a certification system intended to root it out, a British non-governmental group said at the close of a meeting of diamond-trading countries in Moscow."

I wouldn't buy a diamond. Ever. This one's too easy to avoid.

Companies Before People: It's the Republican Way!

2005-11-16T14:34:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - Protection for vaccine makers debated - Nov 16, 2005: "People injured by a vaccine against bird flu or anthrax would have to prove willful misconduct to bring a claim for damages against drug manufacturers or distributors, according to legislation being drafted behind the scenes by Republicans.

A 10-page draft of the legislation obtained by The Associated Press says it would be up to the Health and Human Services secretary to declare that such misconduct occurred. If that declaration is made, the case must be heard in federal court.

The measure, which would be included in a spending bill, would bar any punitive damages and limit awards for physical and emotional pain and suffering and other noneconomic damages to a maximum of $250,000."

What more can I say. It's just another example of how Republicans sell you down the river for campaign contributions.

Oil For Food & Money for Access

2005-11-16T14:15:00.000-05:00

Oil execs met Cheney task force: WP - Yahoo! News:

Cheney suffers one of his typical mild heart attacks during an award ceremony.

"A White House document shows oil executives met with Vice President
Dick Cheney's 2001 energy task force which critics say secretly formed energy policy favorable to the industry, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

The document, obtained this week by the newspaper, shows that officials from four major oil companies met in the White House complex with Cheney aides who were formulating the Bush administration's energy policy, the report said."

Surprise Surprise. Two oil men in the government and they're meeting with Oil excutives to decide energy policy? And now they're up in arms that because of the way they crafted energy policy -- a policy that resulted in huge windfall profits?

Of course, the idiotic solution they've cobbled together is a "windfall profit tax." See, this is the thing that you can always count on politicians for: no foresight at all.

A Message From Laurence On Lying

2005-11-16T10:20:00.000-05:00

I've noticed a lot of hullabaloo on other blogs about how president Bush didn't lie, and how congress had access to the same information that the president did, and how with that information they all unequivocally voted for war with Saddam Huss . . . er, Iraq.

I'd like to take this time to say that it's possible that Bush didn't lie. I'll concede that. But then those who are convinced that he didn't lie face the alternative that he's just a plain bad leader with bad judgement.

"Why does he have to be a bad leader? Certainly better than a lilly-livered Democrat, right?" You ask. Well, because a good leader would have paid attention to the dissenting voices in his own country, his own party, and the world.

Bush was right, sometimes the unpopular thing to do is the right thing: and nothing could be more true when it comes to your own party, loaded with Neo-cons trying to egg you into a war that on balance serves no purpose.

The key thing in that phrase was "on balance." What that means is that the amount you lose is as much or greater than what you gain. So let's do a little of the devil's math, shall we?

1. Liberated Iraq from a Dictator - Very Good
2. Attempting to set up a democracy - Good
3. Ended the administration of a corrupt Oil-for-Food program - Good
4. Asserted our power in the middle east - Jury is still out
5. Opened up a huge window for religious infighting - Not good
6. Accidentally facilitated the creation of "Al Qaeda in Iraq" - Bad
7. In the process of liberating Iraq, killed as many civillians as their Dictator had - Accidental, But Still Bad
8. Perpetuated an image of the US that we're always getting into wars without end - Accidental, But Very Bad
9. Alienated our closest allies and replaced them with less strategic or financially secure allies - Bad
10. Diverted valuable resources away from fighting "the real" war on terror and instead created another front for the war on terror that didn't previously exist - Very Bad

I could go on. So when I say Bush is a liar, it's actually kind of a compliment because the alternative is to say that he's just a fucking idiot without a game plan.

Of course, this ignores the fact that the whole run-up to the war was a political sham that attempted to silence or smear credible critics of the "plan." So, in the sense that Bush & Co. made obvious and deliberate attempts to forcefully shut people up, I also think it's fair to conclude that he lied.

So in the end, I'd have to say that Bush is a lying idiot. K?

Republicans: Breaking Laws Daily for You & Me!

2005-11-16T08:50:00.000-05:00

Report Says Ex-Chief of Public TV Violated Federal Law - New York Times:

"The corporation's former chairman, Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, who was ousted from the board two weeks ago when it was presented in a closed session with the details of the report, has said he sought to enforce a provision of the Public Broadcasting Act meant to ensure objectivity and balance in programming.

But the report said that in the process, Mr. Tomlinson repeatedly crossed statutory boundaries that set up the corporation as a 'heat shield' to protect public radio and television from political interference.

The report said he violated federal law by being heavily involved in getting more than $4 million for a program featuring the conservative editorial writers of the Wall Street Journal. It said he imposed a 'political test' to recruit a new president. And it said his decision to hire Republican consultants to defeat legislation violated contracting rules."

Gosh, if only we could all be so noble as to have to break laws in order to straighten out that vile public broadcasting entity. I think the problem with Republicans is that they interpret disagreement or at least disharmony with their own views, as being indicative of a bias that needs to be corrected. That's why they're always ranting and raving about the liberal media (when, if you look at the last five years, the media has been quite a cheerleader for Bush & Co.). Do I take that to be bias? Maybe.

What I can say about the CPB is this: if it wasn't political biased before, it is most certainly headed for political bias now. With the addition of political litmus tests for promotion (that Republicans seem to hate in their judges, that's for sure), threats to withhold funding if certain shows with a certain obvious political bias aren't picked up, and bringing in partisan consultants to meddle with programming, there is now most certainly the makings of political bias.

Reminds Me of Communism

2005-11-15T10:43:00.000-05:00

Philosophers Notwithstanding, Kansas School Board Redefines Science - New York Times:

"The old definition reads in part, 'Science is the human activity of seeking natural explanations for what we observe in the world around us.' The new one calls science 'a systematic method of continuing investigation that uses observation, hypothesis testing, measurement, experimentation, logical argument and theory building to lead to more adequate explanations of natural phenomena.'"

Sure, and while you're at it, why not redefine what winning a war means, or what literacy means, or what the definition of money is. Honestly, I feel sorry for the people of Kansas. What they don't realize is that they're putting their kids at a disadvantage to everyone in the world who actually believes in reality. Where is the end to all this? Is it just plain religion in schools? Why not open Taliban-style schools where all they can learn is bible study? If that's what the people of Kansas want, then why not? Fuck em.

Hopefully they'll be back to dirt roads, no electricty or running water within the next 50 years . . . and we won't have to worry about them voting then either.

What The Hell? Condoms Actually ARE Effective?!

2005-11-14T19:48:00.000-05:00

MoJo Blog:

"The Food and Drug Administration has released a 63-page report that declares, among other things, that latex condoms are effective in preventing pregnancy and in reducing the risk of infection from sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS.
The report will form the basis on new condom packaging in the United States.

The F.D.A.'s report also concludes that latex condoms are less effective against genital herpes, syphillis, and the human papillomavirus than they are against potential pregnancy and other STD's. The human papillomavirus--the leading cause of cervical cancer--has become the subject of a new right-wing campaign to 'protect' girls from being sexually active. There is now a vaccine that can be given to protect against the human papillomavirus, and it is expected to be submitted to the F.D.A. for approval soon. However, it is most effective when given to pre-teen girls, which has some conservatives in a dither. "

Of course it has conservatives in a dither: conservatives are anti-human. It appears to be there goal to have no one ever have sex (unless they've been married by a Christian organization), and that if they must have sex, that they have the most dangerous sex possible (and by that I don't mean using knives, handguns, or grenades -- all of which, incidentally, conservatives consider to be "protection").

So wait, if the FDA considers these items to be effective, should we be teaching our kids this stuff in public school? Nope. Why would we teach kids reality and truth when there's a whole world of "little ring thing" and "intelligent design" we can teach which makes your child (and our future, lest we forget) into a syphilitic, superstitious ignoramous?

Irresponsible is Going to War Without Checking Facts

2005-11-14T17:11:00.000-05:00

Bush Takes Fresh Shot at Iraq War Critics - Yahoo! News:
"President Bush, heading to Asia with hopes of improving his image on the world stage, hurled a parting shot at Iraq war critics on Monday, accusing some Democrats of 'sending mixed signals to our troops and the enemy.'

'That is irresponsible,' Bush said in prepared remarks he planned to deliver to U.S. forces during a refueling stop in Alaska."

No, I'd say irresponsible is lying to the American public and then trying to blackmail everyone in the world by saying that if they disagree with the premise of the war and dare to investigate it that they're trying to hurt America. On the contrary, these are people who think that if your reputation is shit, it doesn't really matter what you say. I'm one of those people. Our reputation in the world has been demolished because of this administration.

Some may claim it's because certain politicians are trying to tear our country apart for their own political gain . . . and I couldn't agree more. It's just that Republicans are the culprits. They've spent their time trying to make anyone who disagrees with them seem like a traitor . . . instead of what they truly are: a voice of reason.

In this world, you can't expect that lying and cover-ups will go unnoticed for long. Unfortunately for us as a nation, we'll all pay the price with our credibility in the world.

Thanks a lot, GWB.

Unreasonable Expectations

2005-11-14T14:18:00.000-05:00

Big Drug Makers See Sales Decline With Their Image - New York Times:

"'I think there is an overall unreasonable expectation right now that there is such a thing as a risk-free drug,' said Sidney Taurel, chief executive of Eli Lilly & Company."

I think that there is an apparent overall unreasonable expectation that when you take an arthritis drug that you shouldn't have your heart explode a year later. The expectation is that drug companies should make drugs that solve "relatively minor" ailments (as defined by not being life threating and not incapacitating) with drugs that don't cure you by killing you.

What's most annoying about this is that the big drug companies protest universal drug benefits by saying that it would take away from all the wonderful inovation we've come to expect from these companies; what inovation is that? The 24 allergy pill? The 12 hour arthritis pill?

These companies have incentive to create drugs that help the most amount of people for the least amount of research that they can sell at the highest price. That turns out not to be drugs that they claim they'd stop bothering to produce if prices on prescription drug prices were lower (because they're not researching those drugs in the first place). Much of the founding research for the truly miracle drugs occurs at universities, not at these companies.

I don't think they're all bad, these drug companies. I just tend to think that they're selling the image of a miracle and not the miracle itself.

More Santorum: Does This Guy Live in America?

2005-11-14T11:47:00.000-05:00

The Diddly Awards:

"Santorum boasted of his knowledge of 'our founding documents' before hitting upon the precise phrase to describe what is destroying the land [America]: 'the pursuit of happiness.'"

Who is trying to destroy America?

GWB Doesn't Lie . . . He Just Doesn't Know Anything

2005-11-14T10:09:00.000-05:00

White House declines to totally rule out torture - Yahoo! News:
"In an important clarification of President George W. Bush's earlier statement, a top White House official refused to unequivocally rule out the use of torture, arguing the US administration was duty-bound to protect Americans from terrorist attack."

So, is this lying? Or is it a clarification. When I took symbolic logic, I learned that statements like these were considered logical contridictions . . . in other words, these two ideas (both that We do not torture, and that we do torture where necessary), are incompatible logical statements, and when combined lead to a logical impossibility. Since they're being said by the same administration it is fair to say that either:

a) they're liars.
b) they're really really stupid.
c) they're both stupid and liars.

Nevermind the fact that torture is basically worthless as an intelligence gather technique, this should probably be giving us an indication of the competence of this administration (i.e. none).

War on Terror: Mission Accomplished . . .

2005-11-14T09:48:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - 'Bomber confession' shocks Jordan - Nov 14, 2005:

"The televised confession of an Iraqi woman -- accused of planning to be the fourth suicide bomber in last week's deadly attacks in Amman -- has shocked Jordanians, with some expressing joy over her capture and others venting anger over her plans."

Wait . . . okay, just wait a second here. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but Iraq most certainly did not export terrorists to other countries, right? They weren't like Afghanistan, in the sense that they were training terrorists and then sending them all over the world to kill people. They may have had a dictator who took out his frustrations on Kurds and anyone else who was in his way, but he didn't export terrorists that killed totally innocent and uninvolved people. Iraq wasn't founded on re-establishing an Islamic Caliphate, intent on a unified Islamic goverment for all Muslims in the middle east.

But now they are. Nice strategy George. Really worked wonders. I feel safer because of it . . . how about you?

Republicans: Making Flippy Floppy

2005-11-14T08:51:00.000-05:00

Beaver County Times Allegheny Times - News - 11/13/2005 - Santorum: Don't put intelligent design in classroom:

"U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum said Saturday that he doesn't believe that intelligent design belongs in the science classroom.

Santorum's comments to The Times are a shift from his position of several years ago, when he wrote in a Washington Times editorial that intelligent design is a 'legitimate scientific theory that should be taught in the classroom.'"

Hey! It turns out that Republicans are politicians too: they know a fair weather friend (and cause) when they see one. Now that Rick Santorum realizes that the majority of people in PA perhaps aren't enamored of living in the "Judeo-Christian Only" education system he favor(ed), and the theocracy that seemed to be not far behind that, he seems to have changed his tune.

The fact is, you can almost always count on a politician's self-preservation to kick in when he realizes he's got a stupid idea . . . too bad "almost always" doesn't include GWB.

What is the definition of "is"? How about the word "liar"?

2005-11-12T13:54:00.000-05:00

Asterisks Dot White House's Iraq Argument:

"Bush and his aides had access to much more voluminous intelligence information than did lawmakers, who were dependent on the administration to provide the material. And the commissions cited by officials, though concluding that the administration did not pressure intelligence analysts to change their conclusions, were not authorized to determine whether the administration exaggerated or distorted those conclusions."

<...>

"the only committee investigating the matter in Congress, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, has not yet done its inquiry into whether officials mischaracterized intelligence by omitting caveats and dissenting opinions"

<...>

"there were doubts within the intelligence community not included in the NIE [National Intelligence Estimate]. And even the doubts expressed in the NIE could not be used publicly by members of Congress because the classified information had not been cleared for release."

<...>

"Bush, in his speech Friday, said that 'it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war began.' But in trying to set the record straight, he asserted: 'When I made the decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power, Congress approved it with strong bipartisan support.'

The October 2002 joint resolution authorized the use of force in Iraq, but it did not directly mention the removal of Hussein from power."

So, the fact is that our politicians are lazy, and our president is basically a liar. He and his cronies have made it their business to lie to us, be shown to be liars, and then lie to us again to cover up their initial lies. The sadest thing is that when Bush and his cronies lie to us, it ultimately ends up destroying a national park, killing the men and women of this country, or killing other innocent people elsewhere around the world.

That's not to say that everyone who has been killed since the beginning of time was innocent (my zealous literal republican friends), it just means that at some point, you need to actually figure out the equation of what it's all worth, and ask yourself: how much bad must you do in order to do good? And who gets to decide?

But I digress, the fact is that the Bush administration is a den of liars; a den of liars that will happily lie to you and me about anything to save their own skin.

Just a bunch of goddamn liars.

Global Warming Doesn't Exist Unless Fox Reports On It

2005-11-12T11:41:00.000-05:00

calendarlive.com: Fox News displays a green side:

"It's no surprise that environmental activists Laurie David and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are involved in a new documentary about global warming airing this Sunday. But the fact that the special was produced by Fox News is more unexpected."

During an election year, when you can actually make a real policy shift (i.e. kick out republicans who'd rather sell the environment than protect it), Fox decides that they'd rather not tackle the issue that literally effects every human being on this earth, and would rather focus on, well, cheerleading the doofus. Now, when it's too late and republicans control all the branches of government (TAKE THAT LIBERAL MEDIA THOUGHT CONTROL MACHINE!), they decide that maybe there is in fact a serious climate change going on. Too bad it's going to fall on deaf ears in this government: do you realize that the largest donors to the republican party are the industries most responsible for polluting and poisoning our earth?

The problem is the people, policy, and party. Too little too late Fox. Go back to talking about throwing medals away or patriotism, flag burning, or needing more Christianity in our public schools . . . your audience has no interest in anything but the most meaningless, ethereal and insignificant issues in the world in the most intangible and superfluous ways.

Empty Promise Administration . . . Now With No Follow-through

2005-11-11T22:04:00.000-05:00

FEMA Has Yet to Reopen No-Bid Contracts - Yahoo! News: "Despite a month-old pledge, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency has yet to reopen four of its biggest no-bid contracts for Hurricane Katrina work and won't do so until the contracts are virtually complete. A promise to hire more minority-owned firms also is largely unfulfilled."

wait . . . they haven't had a plan for follow through since the get-go on anything . . .

Honesty Update: Administration Not Honest Says America

2005-11-11T18:07:00.000-05:00

Poll: Most Americans Say Bush Not Honest - Yahoo! News:

"Almost six in 10 now say Bush is not honest, and a similar number say his administration does not have high ethical standards."

So, according to the latest AP-Ipsos poll, Bush and his administration of loony liars aren't exactly earning the public trust these days. Not much of a surprise given that they are dishonest, untrustworthy, and interested only in pushing their agenda right or wrong.

The hilarious claim that Bush is now making (democrats are re-writing history) could only be made by the Bush Administration. News Flash fellas: when you lie about the facts to begin with, the only part that will be recorded in history will be that you were a liar; the lies you told won't be recorded as the accurate history, no matter how much you stamp your feet, pound your desk, or continue to lie to us.

On the positive side, all this understandible outrage against the adminstration may carry over into mid-terms next year and really make these extremist republicans pay the price.

Sadly, experience would lead me to believe that the Democratic leadership won't be able to to focus on what is true and create what it is that they need in order to succeed:

1. The current leadership misled us all. Passing the buck by saying that "I too was misled" is not what a president does. Republicans, in their leadership roles, should pay the price for that: swift exit from office.

2. Democrats must have a plan that doesn't abandon the Iraqi people, but doesn't sink us further into the 7th level of hell that's Iraq.

3. Democrats must affirm that they're not going to legislate morality and religion.

4. Democrats must re-affirm that, in fact, they are the party of the fiscally responsible and won't continue this out-of-control deficit spending. Clinton honed this skill in the party, and it's beginning to show that Republicans are the party of "large-as-hell-big-brother government."

5. Democrats are truly a party that's interested in a unified America, not a party that thrives on fear, deception, and a country divided.

A Loving, God-Fearing Man

2005-11-10T22:54:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - Robertson warns Pennsylvania voters of God's wrath - Nov 10, 2005:

"Conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson told citizens of a Pennsylvania town that they had rejected God by voting their school board out of office for supporting 'intelligent design' and warned them Thursday not to be surprised if disaster struck."

What "uniters" the leaders of the Christian right are. Truly a tolerant and accepting bunch. Perhaps the Dover schoolboard should have run on the platform, "Vote for us, or go to HELL! Seriously."

What a wacko.

Seeing the Light

2005-11-10T12:06:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - House suspends Alaska drilling push - Nov 10, 2005:

"A solid phalanx of Republican moderates drove House GOP leaders to drop a hotly contested plan to open an Alaskan wilderness area to oil drilling as a sweeping budget bill headed toward a vote Thursday.

A plan to allow states to lift a moratorium on oil drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts was also axed."

We always knew they were there: moderates. People who are capable of recognizing that once you ruin a part of the country by drilling for oil, you've ruined it forever. Maybe also people that realize that drilling in ANWR is just a gift to the oil industry and a kick in the teeth to future generations: it's not going to lower oil prices; it's not going to get us any further energy security.

Perhaps they realize that energy security comes from good, old-fashioned, inovation. The oil economy needs to be ended. We need to become renewable.