March 31, 2004
Blogging to Save Ourselves
Arianna Huffington has nice things to say about us bloggers:
| The blogosphere is now the most vital news source in our country. I've toiled in the world of books and syndicated column writing, but more liberating is the blogosphere, where the random thought is honored, and where passion reigns. While paid journalists often just follow a candidate around or sit in the White House press room and rehash a schedule, blogs break through the din of our 500 channel universe and the narrow conventional wisdom. For that the blogosphere has my undying gratitude. |
She goes on to talk about the influence the blogosphere should have on John Kerry's campaign. Be sure to read it.
KOS puts it succinctly (snippet):
| Don't look now, but 51 soldiers have died this month thanks to Bush's folly. That's the third bloodiest month in Iraq since the war ended, and that's assuming no more of our boys get hit today. 300 wounded as well.
Fact is, things are not getting better. The five we lost last night brought us to a sad milestone -- 600 dead Americans, while Bush makes jokes about not finding weapons of mass destruction. It's all a big f*cking joke to our president. Another milestone -- 701 total dead allied forces. And as for civilians, nobody deems it worth to count them. Their lives have no apparent worth. |
Good News, Bad News for Electronic Voting via Internet
Pentagon drops plan to test Internet voting
| Security fears derail $22 million experiment
By Dan Keating - Updated: 12:29 a.m. ET March 31, 2004 WASHINGTON - The Pentagon has decided to drop a $22 million pilot plan to test Internet voting for 100,000 American military personnel and civilians living overseas after lingering security concerns, officials said yesterday. The program ran into trouble late in January when a group of academics who had been invited to review the system released a report saying the Internet was so insecure that the integrity of the entire election could be undermined by online voting. Two weeks later, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz decided not to allow Internet ballots to be counted in the presidential tally. At the time, the Pentagon said the program would go forward on an experimental basis. Now, the Pentagon has decided that even the experiment is over. "It's not that it's never going to go in test mode," said Pentagon spokesman Glenn Flood. "It's that right now we're not going to do it. We have to step back and look at everything that we've done for two or three years in this thing. But right now we're not going forward." Academics hired to monitor online voting and Accenture eDemocracy Services, the firm running the system, said the experiment could have been an important learning experience. Since the electronic ballots wouldn't really count, the experiment could have included "white hat" hackers hired specifically to test the security of the system by attacking it.... |
So the fear of voting manipulation by the Republican-controlled electronic voting systems is removed, however the chance for a great experiment is also dashed. Too bad for the latter. Read the entire article for the status on internet voting in Europe.
Kucinich on Snow
Kucinich Blasts Outsourcing Remarks by Treasury Secretary:
| WASHINGTON - March 30 - Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich labeled as "outrageous" statements made this morning by Bush Treasury Secretary John Snow that outsourcing is good for the American economy.
"Three million Americans have lost their jobs, and the Bush Administration tells us - again - that's a good thing?" Kucinich said. "Their insensitivity to the economic devastation that their trade policies have inflicted on American workers is staggering. The only thing more outrageous is that they are so insulated from everyday Americans that they may actually believe what they are saying- because they keep saying it." Kucinich pointed to the remarks a few weeks ago by N. Gregory Mankiw, chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers, that shipping U.S. service jobs overseas was good for the economy. Mankiw was forced to apologize for his comments and retract his statement. In an interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer this morning, Snow is reported to have said outsourcing is "part of trade. You can outsource a lot of activities and get them done just as well, or better, at a lower cost." "Better? Lower cost?" Kucinich shot back. "That's an insult to American workers. It's also a governmental pat-on-the-back for U.S. corporations that have put millions of Americans out of work and enslaved millions of other workers in foreign countries to boost profits and increase stock value so corporate officers can reap huge incentives and bonuses." "It's obscene," Kucinich said. |
March 30, 2004
Great News
Here is wonderful news regarding the Senate's latest budget plan. Finally there will be some tax relief for the wealthy and some "long-awaited accelerating repeal of the estate tax and ... permanent ... tax cuts — such as estate tax repeal, the capital gains and dividend rate cuts, and the reductions in marginal tax rates". At the same time this sensible plan will "cut domestic programs and raise taxes on some low-income workers".
It's about time the wealthy passed on to the lower class more of their burdensome income tax that supports of our government. We don't want the poor to have any easier time trying to make ends meet, because that would be unfair to the rich, who worked harder than the poor to reach their financial status.
Oh, and I've got some primo beach-front property for sale in Western Nevada. E-mail me if your seriously interested and would like details.
Someone needs to teach Laura
Laura Bush at the National School Boards Association - March 29, 2004
64TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN ORLANDO
| "All children have the ability to learn, and it's incumbent upon us to make sure that they do. No Child Left Behind is based on the premise that all children must have access to high-quality schools, regardless of their skin color, their disability or their zip code. (Applause.) Some people still don't see it that way. We've heard all the arguments, not enough money, too much testing and too rigorous standards. But behind those excuses is the belief that some children cannot learn. As a former teacher and librarian, I just don't buy that argument. I see the promise of reform in America's schools. I see children excited and ready to learn. I see teachers and principals who refuse to accept failure, and school board members who are embracing reform to make our schools the best in the world." |
"All children have the ability to learn..." First of all, not all children have the ability to learn; that is a flat out lie.
"...not enough money, too much testing..." Well, yes, there is not enough money and there is too much testing. As a result, there is not enough learning.
"...I just don't buy that argument." That's true, you don't see the argument, because you're not understanding the issue. The issue is, you demand that states establish rules for public schools that thwart the learning process with excessive and rigid testing requirements and standards and simultaneously fail to provide the funding to meet those requirements and standards. You can't have it both ways, Laura.
March 29, 2004
Bush on Kerry on California
Thought you might want to see what I received from the Bush campaign today:
| TOP 10 REASONS... John Kerry is WRONG for California
"If the Kerry campaign is going to say privately that his numbers don't add up, then John Kerry also needs to come clean with the American people on how he is going to pay for his $1.7 trillion in new government spending." ---Steve Schmidt, Bush-Cheney '04 Spokesman #1 DESTROYING CALIFORNIA JOBS Kerry has consistently voted against California's defense industry and its employees. John Kerry voted for the cancellation of the B-1B Bomber and against funding the program at least four times. Kerry voted against funding of the F/A-18 Hornet, which is built in El Segundo and Hawthorne, at least eight times. John Kerry proposed voted against funding the C-17 Globemaster produced in Long Beach, at least six times. Kerry even voted against the very effective Predator Unmanned Vehicle at least four times. The Predator is built at factories in Rancho Bernardo, Adelanto, El Mirage and Gray Butte. #2 RAISING CALIFORNIA'S GAS TAXES Kerry supported higher gas taxes 11 times and supported one proposal hiking the price as much as 50 cents for a single gallon. #3 WEAKENING HOMELAND AND BORDER SECURITY John Kerry led the fight against President Bush's creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Kerry skipped the vote to fund Homeland Security in 2003. That legislation included $4.9 billion for border protection, and $2.8 billion for immigrations and customs enforcement. #4 AGAINST SMALL BUSINESS Kerry has consistently voted for higher taxes that take money from over 3 million of California's small business taxpayers. These small companies employ more than half of California's workforce and were responsible for adding 80% of the state's new jobs. Over 99% of California businesses are considered small. Kerry has also voted against capping punitive damages for small businesses at least five times. #5 KERRY'S TAX GAP As a U.S. Senator, Kerry has supported higher taxes 350 times. Kerry's plan would create a $1 trillion tax gap between his spending increases and his tax increases. Given his pledge to cut the deficit in half over four years, his $1 trillion tax gap will only go up and will result in new taxes for every American. #6 VOTING FOR HIGHER CAPITAL GAINS TAXES John Kerry has voted for higher capital gains taxes at least 15 times. He voted against reducing the capital gains tax by half, from 28% to 14%. Kerry even opposed lowering the capital gains rate for low income earners to 7.5%. #7 VOTING FOR INTERNET TAXES Kerry voted to allow states to continue taxing internet access after the 1998 tax freeze took effect. Then John Kerry voted against a permanent suspension on taxing internet access. #8 WEAKENING THE PATRIOT ACT Kerry wants to weaken the Patriot Act, which gives law enforcement the same tools against terrorists already available against drug dealers and organized crime. #9 VOTING AGAINST TROOP FUNDING Kerry voted against the $87 billion Iraq supplemental legislation. These funds provided body armor and other force protection measures such as armored Humvees and electronic jammers, as well as health care for reservists, support for families and meals for injured soldiers. #10 VOTING AGAINST INTELLIGENCE FUNDING In 1995, Kerry proposed a bill gutting $1.5 billion from the intelligence budget. Kerry introduced a bill that would reduce the Intelligence budget by $300 million in each of fiscal years 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000. There were no cosponsors of Kerry's bill, which never made it to the floor for a vote. |
Amazing. Can't wait to see how Kerry counters this.
Clarke's testimony a propaganda coup for the Bush Administration? Read THIS.
| "Terrorism is the war of the poor and war is the terrorism of the rich."---- Peter Ustinov
|
Volunteering to Participate
I'm sick of hearing the Left moan over the dead and wounded American (mostly) military in Iraq. As the invading force, they are so much more responsible for their own misfortunes than are the totally innocent tens-of-thousands of Iraqi civilians and military who were slaughtered on their own soil. The deaths of the Iraqis are more important than those of the Americans, and will go down in history as such.
The Bush Administration is of course primarily responsible for the deadly acts of massive violence the United States has inflicted upon Iraq since March, 2003. However, since the U.S. military is not composed of servicemen gleaned from a mandatory draft, then American soldiers do, indeed, share in the blame for the deaths of Iraqis.
When an American kid signs up for the military he, by default, accepts and shares responsibility for the actions of his employer. Without shared responsibility, there would be chaos. If employees of a company failed to voluntarily abide by the policies and procedures of their employer, there would be total disruption of company function and the company would collapse. If a significantly large number of our uniformed servicemen decide that killing Iraqis is wrong, our occupation would devolve into an uncontrollably chaotic mess, and they would have to rapidly withdraw from the Middle East in order to secure their survival. As long as the military establishment is able to successfully brainwash their recruits into supporting and following any command, the power and influence of the U.S. military remains unfazed.
I'm all for a militia that defends my freedom from attack by foreign invasion. I even support a militia that will travel to foreign soil to squelch the barbarous slaughter of innocent civilians by unlawful murderers and terrorists. However, I do not support any military, even my own country's, that invades a sovereign nation for the sole purpose of deposing a single individual at the expense of the disruption of the entire nation and the unrestricted murder of multiple numbers (much less tens of thousands) of completely innocent human beings, who, like ourselves, only want to defend themselves.
Name one single American who has died, as the result of the effort of even one Iraqi citizen in the past year, outside the Iraqi border. Or, name one single Iraqi who has been killed by Americans, during the same period of time, outside the border of Iraq. Go ahead.
When we say we don't support the Bush Administration's decisions to invade Iraq and slaughter the masses, but we do support our soldiers who are doing the slaughtering, do we really believe that, or are we just trying to sound like morally righteous high-roaders? These American soldiers VOLUNTEERED for the military and its consequences.
If conscription was the law of the land, then I could not fault American servicemen for their actions, done under the threat of their own survival in America. But that's not the case here.
I'm sorry, but any American soldier who wounds or murders an Iraqi is at least partially guilty of a crime. No one forces our current troops to pull the trigger. No one forced them to board the carrier or plane headed to Iraq. No one forced then into boot camp, and no one forced them to walk into the recruitment office to sign the papers. I'm so sorry for families (spouses, parents and children) of servicemen who have been killed or severely wounded as a result of both their decision to join the military and the decisions of our godless, barbaric government that subsequently coerced them into carrying out their murderous mission. But we must be sure to fairly spread the blame for our immoral behavior as a nation not only to Bush and his merry band of henchmen, but also to those servants who volunteered to carry out the killings.
Do I hate America? No, I hate murderers.
March 26, 2004
Progress Report
The Center for American Progress issues a daily Progress Report that highlights the ongoing travesties of the Bush Administration. It is probably the best single source of information of government misdeeds and should be number one on every person's daily reading list. Better yet, you can get the report by email every morning (SUBSCRIBE HERE). Only problem I have is that it ruins each of my mornings when I read about all the horrific acts by our fair and balanced administration.
There is only one thing I recommend more strongly than the above, and that is to make the Toyota Prius your next car purchase.
FRIDAY FUN
10-Second Films
213 Things Skippy Can't Do in the Army
Biker Chicks
Decorating with Post-Its
Fun with fireworks (video) (Warning: don't do anything this stupid.)
Bubblewrap
Lord of the Rings using Stick Figures
Patriot Registration
Word Lab (game)
Yeti Sports Bounce (game)
Be sure to visit the FRIDAY FUN archives.
Making the rounds on office email:
| Pentagon officials believe they have been unable to locate Osama Bin Laden because he has found a place to hide out where:
1) it is easy to get in if you have money; 2) no one will recognize or remember you; 3) no one will realize you have disappeared; 4) no one keeps any records of your comings and goings; and 5) you have no obligations or responsibilities. . . Pentagon analysts are still puzzled, however, as to how Osama found out about the Texas Air National Guard in the first place. |
March 25, 2004
This Is How FOX NEWS Works
Daily KOS reveals (as originally reported by Josh Marshall) how FOX News blatantly misreported Dick Clarke's testimony:
| "You've got a real credibility problem," John Lehman, former Navy secretary under President Reagan, told Clarke, calling the witness "an active partisan selling a book."
Clarke responded: "I don't think it's a question of morality at all, I think it's a question of politics." |
As KOS then explains:
| As anyone who followed the testimony could tell you, this wasn't Clarke's response to Lehman, it was the response he gave several minutes later to a different question posed by Lehman's fellow Republican, former Illinois Governor Jim Thompson. |
A reader of legitimate news media should not have to wonder (in a perfect world) if he/she is reading the truth. I could never use Fox News as a source of information because, as this and countless other Fox News reports prove, this organization DISTORTS the truth. Unfortunately, unless you are in the extreme minority of Americans that include blogs and independent internet news media as significant sources of their daily news, you are only getting warped information that currently is driven by the Bush Administration and the religious right.
The rest of the free world is sitting back, shaking its collective head, and wondering when we are going to come to our senses and grow up, before the PNAC Cartel leads us careening into the apocalypse.
March 24, 2004
Quote of the Ages
| "Your government failed you. Those entrusted with protecting you failed you. And I failed you. We tried hard, but that doesn't matter, because we failed. And for that failure, I would ask, once all the facts are out, for your understanding and for your forgiveness." - Richard Clarke |
CNN/Money has summarized current EPA mpg data for new cars, showing us the best/worst in each class of cars. The best family sedan? Why, the Toyota Prius, of course!
Did I mention that I've owned a Prius for two years and think it's the greatest car ever manufactured? No? Well then...
| I've owned a Prius for two years and think it's the greatest car ever manufactured! |
Charles at The Fulcrum has a nice post about Wal-Mart's accelerating increase in donations to the Republican Party.
Universal Healthcare.... Not
Read this fine editorial, Health care coverage is a human right, not a commodity by Joyce Mullins. Excerpt:
| ....I've always been bothered by the idea that if you lose your job you lose your health insurance, too. Then I read somewhere that JAMA, that prestigious publication of the American Medical Association, had published a report advocating a Single-Payer National Health Insurance for all Americans! Wow! I couldn't believe it. Doctors? Guys with M.D. and D.O. behind their names were in favor of this?
I got it (the Aug. 13, 2003 issue) from my doctor, who said he's so busy trying to take care of patients while not getting paid by insurance companies that he would never have time to read it. The physicians who wrote the report didn't pull any punches. Among the wealthy, so-called civilized nations of the world, they said, ours alone "treats health care as a commodity distributed according to the ability to pay, rather than as a social service to be distributed according to medical need." I can't read that without wondering why every elected leader in the country is not hanging his or her head in abject shame. The JAMA report told me that too many of our leaders are on the wrong side. "They would shift more public money to private insurers; funnel Medicare through private managed care; and further fray the threadbare safety net of Medicaid, public hospitals, and community clinics. These steps would fortify investors' control of care, squander additional billions of dollars on useless paperwork, and raise barriers to care still higher," the report said. They called for "a fundamental change in U.S. health care -- a comprehensive National Health Insurance." They said it out loud: a single-payer, universal health care system is what we need! They said, "Access to comprehensive health care is a human right," and health coverage should not be tied to employment, and we should be able to choose our own physician(s) and my heart started racing! "Pursuit of corporate profit and personal fortune have no place in care-giving," and "personal medical decisions must be made by patients and their caregivers, not by corporate or government bureaucrats." That part almost took my breath away! There's hope, I thought. But I wasn't too surprised to see that while all the presidential wannabes could almost taste how sweet it would be to take credit for fixing the health care mess, only Dennis Kucinich was fully committed. That leaves us with John Kerry vs. George W. Bush..... |
Another episode of "If Only Fairy Tales Came True".
Left is Right predicts: The prosecution will drop all charges in the rape case against Kobe Bryant before it goes to trial by jury.
Pledge: Better as a Wood Polish
From CNN today:
| WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans overwhelmingly want the phrase "under God" preserved in the Pledge of Allegiance, a new poll says as the Supreme Court examines whether the classroom salute crosses the division of church and state.
Almost nine in 10 people said the reference to God belongs in the pledge despite constitutional questions about the separation of church and state, according to an Associated Press poll. The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday from a California atheist who objected to the daily pledges in his 9-year-old daughter's classroom. He sued her school and won, setting up the landmark appeal before a court that has repeatedly barred school-sponsored prayer from classrooms, playing fields and school ceremonies. The pledge is different, argue officials at Elk Grove Unified School District near Sacramento, where the girl attends school. Superintendent Dave Gordon said popular opinion is on their side -- but that's not all. "It's not a popularity contest. If something is wrong, it should be corrected. No matter how many people support it," he said. "The argument that 'under God' in the pledge is pushing religion on children is wrong on the law. It's also wrong from a common sense perspective." God was not part of the original pledge written in 1892. Congress inserted it in 1954, after lobbying by religious leaders during the Cold War. Since then, it has become a familiar part of life for generations of students. The question put to the Supreme Court: Does the use of the pledge in public schools violate the Constitution's ban on government established religion?.... |
If 90% of the people really want it, let them have it. If you don't believe in a god, what's the point? Even if you say "under god" while reciting the pledge, it doesn't mean anything to you if you don't believe it anyway, so what's the harm? Also, you're not required to say "under god", they can't force you to say it - it's the law. When I was in school no one paid any attention to the kids in my classes when we said the pledge. I could have recited it in pig-latin and no one would have noticed.
Let's redirect our outrage at the real issues. For example, I must have passed a dozen or more transients sleeping on sidewalks this morning on my way to work - that's unforgivable for a nation that prides itself for being one under god.
I'll bet you the farm that Cuba has fewer homeless per capita than our "indivisible" country.
March 22, 2004
Iraqi Soldiers: Do They Count?
Lefti on the News expresses one of my strongest feelings better than I, so here goes:
| Iraqi soldiers are human beings
Saturday, at the antiwar rally I attended in San Jose, one large banner and at least one speaker reminded people about the 10,000 (estimated) Iraqi civilians who have been killed in the last year as a result of the U.S. invasion of their country. Iraq Body Count has started a more detailed documentation of Iraqi civilian deaths, including names; their estimate ranges from a low of 8,769 to a high of 10,618. But there is another, totally forgotten group - Iraqi soldiers. I have written about this before, but the two events above force me to repeat myself. Iraqi soldiers are just as "innocent" as the "innocent civilians" people talk about, and no more deserving of death. To begin with, most of them were draftees. But whether they were, or whether they joined the army just to get a job, or whether they were simply the kind of people who find a military career a desirable option, all of them were killed in the process of defending their country against an illegal invasion by a foreign power. Not only is this not a crime punishable by death, in every country in the world it is considered an honorable action; indeed, soldiers who don't fight when their country is invaded are almost certainly committing treason or some similar crime. And last, and certainly not least, the Iraqi soldiers who were killed were just as human as the civilians, with mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, friends and lovers. Left I totally rejects the idea that their deaths are any less important, or any less a part of the price the Iraqi people have had to pay for this invasion, than the deaths of "innocent civilians." Nor are their deaths any less a part of the cost of this war than the deaths of American, or British, or other "coalition" soldiers. |
You'd Think This Would Finally Be Enough...
Paul Waldman tells how Richard Clarke has punctured Bush's balloon (snippet):
| ....As Clarke describes it, when Bush took office in 2001 his national security team was decidedly uninterested in pursuing Al Qaeda, due in large part to their obsession with Iraq. At one point, Clarke told Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, "We have to deal with bin Laden; we have to deal with Al Qaeda." Wolfowitz responded, "No, no no. We don't have to deal with Al Qaeda. Why are we talking about that little guy? We have to talk about Iraqi terrorism against the United States."
One would have thought that the shock of September 11 might have led the administration to shift their focus. But again, in the minds of Bush and other senior administration officials, all roads led to Saddam, facts and evidence be damned. Donald Rumsfeld wanted to respond to the attacks by bombing Iraq (Clarke initially assumed Rumsfeld must have been joking; he was not), while Clarke had an exchange with the President that is worth quoting at length (sections of the Clarke interview can be found on the CBS News website: "The president dragged me into a room with a couple of other people, shut the door, and said, 'I want you to find whether Iraq did this.' Now he never said, 'Make it up.' But the entire conversation left me in absolutely no doubt that George Bush wanted me to come back with a report that said Iraq did this. "I said, 'Mr. President. We've done this before. We have been looking at this. We looked at it with an open mind. There's no connection.' "He came back at me and said, "Iraq! Saddam! Find out if there's a connection.' And in a very intimidating way. I mean that we should come back with that answer. We wrote a report." Clarke continued, "It was a serious look. We got together all the FBI experts, all the CIA experts. We wrote the report. We sent the report out to CIA and found FBI and said, 'Will you sign this report?' They all cleared the report. And we sent it up to the president and it got bounced by the National Security Advisor or Deputy. It got bounced and sent back saying, 'Wrong answer. .. Do it again.' "I have no idea, to this day, if the president saw it, because after we did it again, it came to the same conclusion. And frankly, I don't think the people around the president show him memos like that. I don't think he sees memos that he doesn't-- wouldn't like the answer." From the day of 9/11 to the present, the degree to which the Bush administration has stood in the way of any and all investigation into September 11 is nothing less than an insult to the memory of every person who died on that day.... |
47% of Americans STILL believe Bush is doing a good job. At this point, it looks like the only thing that will stop him is if he is caught, on live national prime-time TV, murdering a sleeping baby with his bare hands.
March 21, 2004
March 20, 2004
How Embarrassing
This Animation video by the DNC regarding Bush's deficits is one of the worst I've ever seen by anyone. Why should I contribute my hard-earned salary to this organization if they are going to spend it on this basura? Shame on you, DNC.
March 19, 2004
Today's Quote
| "The Iraqi people are achieving great things and serving and sacrificing for their own future. Today, more than 200,000 Iraqis, including 78,000 new police, are protecting their fellow citizens. They're building a country that is strong and free, and America is proud to stand with them. All over Iraq today, as that nation moves closer to self-government, Iraqis can be certain that in the United States of America, they have a faithful friend. And our military -- and in our military, they're seeing the good heart of America." ---- President Bush, in a speech yesterday at Fort Campbell, Kentucky |
If only fairy tales DID come true....
War in Quotes
In memory of the 1-year anniversary of Bush's invasion of Iraq, here are some quotes:
| One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one.
Agatha Christie (1890 - 1976), Autobiography (1977) I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones. Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war. Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955) (attributed) War is not nice. Barbara Bush (1925 - ) Sometime they'll give a war and nobody will come. Carl Sandburg (1878 - 1967), The People, Yes (1936) The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it. George Orwell (1903 - 1950), Polemic, May 1946, "Second Thoughts on James Burnham" War is a series of catastrophes that results in a victory. Georges Clemenceau (1841 - 1929) War is much too serious a matter to be entrusted to the military. Georges Clemenceau (1841 - 1929) The outcome of the war is in our hands; the outcome of words is in the council. Homer (800 BC - 700 BC), The Iliad You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake. Jeannette Rankin (1880 - 1973) |
FRIDAY FUN
100 Most-mispronounced English Words
All Things Cowboy
Bunny Love (Video)
HowToons ("How-To" cartoons and videos for kids)
Ming the Merciless
Simpsons Home (for real!)
Be sure to visit the FRIDAY FUN archives and relive some of your most unforgettable moments in humor.
A Universal Demand for Clean Water
GOP Pollster Warns Bush to Ease Up on Clean Water Act. (Snippet:)
| ...The Bush Administration's systematic assault on the Clean Water Act, one of the nation's most important environmental laws, has included weakening programs that maintain water quality, huge cuts in funding for water protection, and reduced enforcement of regulations.
One EPA draft proposal would weaken regulations and oversight of the program responsible for cleaning up the 45% of the nation's waters that are still too polluted for swimming, fishing, drinking water, and other uses. "The most significant threat" noted Mulhern "is the directive the administration issued in January, 2003, declaring that many wetlands and streams should have no Clean Water Act limits on pollution at all." In a parallel effort, the Interior Department has been rolling back protections to make it easier for coal companies to bury streams and valleys with waste, in the process of mountaintop removal strip mining. The Bush Administration's own studies show that this type of mining has already destroyed more than 1,200 miles of streams and 380,000 acres of Appalachian mountains and forests. |
Well, if Bush's own studies show the detrimental effect of his policies, and he's ignoring them, then what's the point?
March 18, 2004
I swear, this is probably the best post I've ever read on the Democratic Party's spinelessness and Kerry's fortitude: Fighting Man.
Analysis of the Embedded
Fascinating article on a conference at U.C. Berkeley that reviewed the outcome of embedded journalists in Iraq. Excerpt:
| ...Even for a reporter riding in a tank with American soldiers, any casualties inflicted by the crew usually occur off screen and out of sight. The result, said Gitlin, is that the point of view of the reporter approximates the view of the government's own camera. War reporting becomes a travelogue.
He likened some war coverage – particularly that practiced by television – to a televised sporting event. Rather than journalism, it becomes entertainment. When the primary motive of media institutions becomes audience share, then these institutions "seek a rapture of attention" in order to procure as many eyeballs as possible. This, said Gitlin, conflicts with "a journalistic duty not to please," but rather to shake the safe assumptions of their audience.... |
WHAAA?
| McCain says Kerry is not weak on defense - By Associated Press - Thursday, March 18, 2004
McCain tells NBC he doesn't believe that Kerry is ``necessarily weak on defense'' -- even though he says they disagree on some issues. McCain serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee and is a friend of the Massachusetts senator. He says Kerry and President Bush [related, bio] should be talking about Medicare and other issues instead of engaging in negative campaigning. The Arizona Republican says the American people don't need such political attacks. He says the result will be lower voter turnout, particularly among younger people. Kerry accuses Bush of leaving American troops prone to attacks in Iraq, while Bush and Vice President Cheney argue that Kerry lacks the judgment to lead the armed forces. |
WOW! What is so wrong with the jello-spined Democratic Party that a prominent Republican can give better support? Before long Kerry is going to wonder if he is running for the Democrats or just for himself.
UPDATE: Here's KOS on McCain:
| There's no way McCain will be Kerry's running mate; you don't undo his decades of conservative votes and stances on a whole host of issues and end up on the Democratic ticket. Nevertheless, McCain seems to be relishing his role as Republican apostate who refuses to be defender of Bush's realm. McCain's primary motivation is probably his sense of honor; he's not entirely consistent, but he tends to conduct himself with honesty and integrity, and he's earned a reputation as a straight shooter by not going against his openly stated positions. He respects Kerry, sees chickenhawks Bush and Cheney maligning a good man's honor and patriotic service, both in the military and in political life, and he feels compelled to speak out. But it's hard not to conclude that he especially enjoys doing the right thing when it really screws Bush and his minions. |
I know that McCain is not going to get tied to the upper echelons of the Democratic Party, but, for god's sake, what is wrong with the Democrats, such that a Republican is giving more support to Kerry than most Democrats? Do the Democrats REALLY care so little that they are relying on the conscience of the few remaining moderate Republicans to carry out their dirty work? It makes me embarrassed to be a Democrat.
March 17, 2004
Today's Quote
From Steve Gilliard:
| "Bush has run this war like King Leopold ran the Congo, as his private preserve, not a national priority. They have used 9/11 like duct tape, for everything under the sun. Yet, there has been no call for national sacrifice, and no effort at any. Tax cuts, FCC witch hunts, gay marriage, all trivialities compared to the task of securing the US." |
A Safer Iraq
Yes, Mr. President, the U.S., under your vision and leadership, has made Iraq MUCH SAFER for its citizens.
| Wednesday, March 17, 2004 Posted: 1:36 PM EST (1836 GMT)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A powerful explosion, apparently from a car bomb, went off in the Karrada district of central Baghdad Wednesday, virtually destroying the Mount Lebanon Hotel and damaging a number of houses and offices nearby. Iraqi police sources said there were "many dead, many injured." A coalition military official said he believed the blast was caused by a car bomb. "It's a scene from hell here," CNN Baghdad Bureau Chief Jane Arraf said. "People are crying and screaming and debris is everywhere," Arraf said. "I heard the explosion and I ran down the street, and saw many, many people killed. There were children dead," Raad Abdul Karim, 30, told Reuters. "They are ordinary families. I don't know why this happened." The blast rocked the area about 8:10 p.m. (12:10 p.m. EST), leaving a large crater in front of where the hotel had stood. An hour after the blast, smoke continued to billow into the sky as ambulances rushed away with casualties. Rescuers searched amid burning timbers and crumpled brick for survivors. Iraqi police and coalition soldiers cordoned off the area. U.S. soldiers from the nearby "Green Zone" attempted to go into the area to rescue victims but were driven back by angry Iraqis.... |
Interesting how the Iraqis are trying to keep the Americans away from the scene (last sentence, bold). That speaks volumes about how much the country despises our presence there.
Pay As You Go
NDOL recommends bringing back PAYGO. Some Republicans in Congress are starting to support it. It sounds like a very good idea (it must be, since Bush is dead set against it).
| There were a variety of factors that made the elimination of federal budget deficits -- and the creation of budget surpluses -- during the Clinton administration. Chief among them was a brilliantly successful administration economic strategy that produced the longest period of low-inflation, high-employment, broad-based economic growth since the 1960s. But it didn't hurt that Congress was operating under strict budget rules enacted in 1990. These included "caps" on Congressional appropriations, and a rule called PAYGO (for "pay as you go") that created a point of order on the House and Senate floors against any proposal for new entitlement spending or new tax cuts that wasn't offset by spending cuts or revenue increases. (The point of order could be waived by a super-majority vote, but that rarely happened.)
These rules were abandoned by Congress in 2002 at the request of the Bush administration, which was busily doing everything possible to eliminate budget surpluses and return the federal government to an era of big deficits, mainly through its monomaniacal insistence on tax cuts targeted to the wealthiest Americans. With virtually all Congressional Democrats and a growing number of Congressional Republicans becoming alarmed at the torrent of red ink engulfing the federal government, there's a new impetus to bring back tough budget rules, especially PAYGO. The administration, alternating almost daily between denying that deficits matter, pretending it intends to do something about them, or blaming them on somebody else -- anybody -- opposes a return to PAYGO if tax cuts are included. Late last week, however, the Senate, with four Republicans joining all but one Democrat, included PAYGO in its version of the federal budget resolution for the next fiscal year.... |
March 16, 2004
FBI Wants to Tap Broadband
FBI Petitions for Broad Wiretapping Rights
|
March 15, 2004 By Sebastian Rupley The Bush Administration has asked the Federal Communications Commission to require broadband service providers to introduce new architecture in their networks that would facilitate eavesdropping by law enforcement officials. The 85-page proposal was filed March 12 by the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Experts are saying that if it is approved, it could dramatically hinder both emerging and existing technologies.... |
This is unsettling news. Can't we have at least one day of no bad news?
The Next Florida
Which state is destined to be the next "Florida" in the 2004 Presidential election? Why, FLORIDA of course!
Caution: This Product Contains Dihydrogen Monoxide. Keep Away From Paralegals.
Ha, ha ha! This is just too funny!
| Posted on Sun, Mar. 14, 2004
SoCal city falls victim to Internet hoax, considers banning items made with water - Associated Press ALISO VIEJO, Calif. - City officials were so concerned about the potentially dangerous properties of dihydrogen monoxide that they considered banning foam cups after they learned the chemical was used in their production. Then they learned that dihydrogen monoxide - H2O for short - is the scientific term for water. "It's embarrassing," said City Manager David J. Norman. "We had a paralegal who did bad research." The paralegal apparently fell victim to one of the many official looking Web sites that have been put up by pranksters to describe dihydrogen monoxide as "an odorless, tasteless chemical" that can be deadly if accidentally inhaled. As a result, the City Council of this Orange County suburb had been scheduled to vote next week on a proposed law that would have banned the use of foam containers at city-sponsored events. Among the reasons given for the ban were that they were made with a substance that could "threaten human health and safety." The measure has been pulled from the agenda, although Norman said the city may still eventually ban foam cups. |
A couple of sources of info on this deadly substance are HERE and HERE.
And on an equally unserious note HERE is a machine that just kicks ass. Really. It kicks your ass.
Diebold Follies
Robert X. Cringely has some comments about Diebold's balking at the attempts by legislators to pass laws requiring paper printouts of electonic voting machines (snippet):
| ....By now we know that touchscreen voting machines are suspect. They can be tampered with by determined folks, potentially changing an election. And most of them appear to be incapable of supporting effective vote recounts, even if those recounts are mandated by law. I wrote about this long ago and now many writers cover the same material, but I don't think we have been doing a very good job. For example, the tide appears to have turned, and voting officials are now starting to demand that touchscreen voting machines be able to generate a paper audit trail of every vote. This has the voting machine vendors crying foul ("We know that requirement was always in the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), but we talked you out of it, right?") and asking for more money -- lots more money -- to add printers to their touchscreen machines. That is IF the printers can even be added, the technical challenge is so great.
Then this week I heard from reader Jed Rothwell, fresh from a day working the polls as a voting clerk. Jed says in the case of Diebold machines at least, there was a printer inside already. Jed writes, "Meg Smothers of the League of Women Voters recently said that Georgia has 28,000 voting machines, and it would cost $15 million to retrofit them with printers to produce receipts. That comes to $535 per machine. Yet these machines already have printers. They produce a paper receipt at the end of the day showing the vote tallies. The printers are the kind used in cash registers, and they have large rolls of paper that would easily last through the 12 hours the polls remain open. It takes people about a minute to cast a ballot, so one machine would need to print at most 720 receipts per day. The printer and paper are located on the right side of the machine, under a locked metal cover. It would be a simple matter to fabricate a new metal equipment cover with an outlet above the printer, that would print a receipt for the voter. Based on the retail cost of similar metal computer equipment cases available in any computer store, this should cost approximately $30 per machine, not $500. The programming change would be trivial.".... |
If you haven't figured out by now that Diebold, which is essentially run by the Republican Party, is going to behave exactly like a Bush Republican (i.e. lie, stall, misrepresent), then now of this will make sense to you. As Left is Right has been saying for about a year now, voting fraud via electronic voting maching tampering is going to be the undoing of the Democrats in November, 2004. Get you information HERE and HERE.
Look out, the Polygamists are Coming!!!
Here's some gay marriage propoganda from the NFRA
| National NFRA: Homosexuals Marriage: Gateway To Polygamy/Polyamory
It will only be a matter of time before polygamy and group marriages are legalized. The push for the legalization of homosexual marriage is not only going to normalize what has long been known to be sexual perversion and a disease-ridden lifestyle, but it will open up the floodgates to an effort to legalize polygamy and polyamory (group marriages). Social commentator Stanley Kurtz, in "Beyond Gay Marriage," (The Weekly Standard, August 4-11, 2003) argues that "Among the likeliest effects of gay marriage is to take us down a slippery slope to legalized polygamy and 'polyamory' (group marriage). Marriage will be transformed into a variety of relationship contracts, linking two, three, or more individuals (however weakly and temporarily) in every conceivable combination of male and female. A scary scenario? Hardly. The bottom of this slope is visible from where we stand. Advocacy of legalized polygamy is growing." Kurtz concludes: "Marriage is a critical social institution. Stable families depend on it. Society depends on stable families. Up to now, with all the changes in marriage, the one thing we've been sure of is that marriage means monogamy. Gay marriage will break that connection. It will do this by itself, and by leading to polygamy and polyamory. What lies beyond gay marriage is no marriage at all." |
Sheesh! Guess we'd better batten down the hatches, because all those recently married gays are going to bring down our country, down into the cesspool of our morally corrupt bastion of liberals and non-christians.
They make it sound so inevitable. Okay, now it's my turn to make a prediction of the inevitable. I predict that if Bush
Oh, wait... all that already happened.
You know, this "polyamory" thing sounds interesting.....
A GOP View of a Poll
I received this email from the Bush camp today:
| TO: Campaign Leadership
FR: Matthew Dowd Chief Strategist RE: CBS/New York Times poll -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here are a few highlights of the CBS News/New York Times poll released this morning that were largely missing in the story: The President's job approval is rising. A majority of Americans, 51%, approve, while 42% disapprove, a net increase of 6 points from the 47% that approved and 44% that disapproved in the late February CBS News poll. The President now leads Kerry by 3 points among registered voters, 46% to 43%. This is a net increase of 4 points since mid-February, when Kerry led by a point. Against a possible Kerry-Edwards ticket, Bush-Cheney now leads by 2 points. A Bush-Cheney ticket leads a hypothetical Kerry-Edwards ticket among registered voters, 46% to 44%. This is a net increase of 10 points since late February, when the Kerry-Edwards ticket led by 8 points. The President's support is also more intense than Kerry's. 76% of the President's supporters say that their mind is made up, while just 70% of Kerry's say the same. President Bush is viewed more favorably by Americans. 43% of Americans view the President favorably, an increase of 3 points since mid-February. 39% view him unfavorably and 17% have no opinion of him. More Americans now view John Kerry unfavorably. Kerry's favorability declined, from 37% favorable/28% unfavorable to 28% favorable/29% unfavorable, a net decrease of 10 points since the late February CBS News poll. 41% of voters have never heard of Kerry or have no opinion of him. A majority of Americans now see Kerry as a man who only says what people want to hear. Just 33% say that Kerry says what he believes, while 57% say that he does not. On the other hand, a majority of Americans, 51%, see President Bush as a man who says what he believes. The real story from this poll is Kerry's 10-point drop in favorability since the late February CBS News poll and President Bush's rise in the midst of months of negative attacks from the Democrats. |
Wow, talk about grasping at straws. Did you notice that 39% view Bush unfavorably, while only 29% view Kerry the same? I do find it odd, though, that 41% of voters have never heard, or have no opinion, of Kerry. Looks like he's got some work to do. Finally, GOP math is different than what I learned in 1st grade; they said Bush's approval rating rose from 47% to 51%, a net increase of 6%?! It appears that they're tacking on the 2% drop in his disapproval rating - you can't do that.
Too little, Too Late
| AARP seeks legal imports of drugs - March 16, 2004
AUSTIN, TEXAS -- The nation's largest seniors group launched a campaign Monday to make cheaper Canadian drugs available to Americans. AARP, which has 35 million members, said it will lobby drug corporations, Congress and the Bush administration to legalize the imports. The group also is running TV and newspaper ads. Rising prescription-drug prices and the Medicare debate have boosted the issue in Congress and on the campaign trail. The Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. pharmaceuticals industry oppose the practice, saying they cannot guarantee the safety of imported drugs. |
NOW the AARP gets it? What a dumb-ass organization. I'll continue to toss the applications they keep sending and look for relief elsewhere.
Today's Quote
| "You love life. We love death." .... from a tape left in Madrid by an Islamic group claiming responsibility for the Madrid bombing. |
March 15, 2004
Letter from Bush
Letter I received today from Bush via email:
| Dear ######,
The political season has arrived. Finally, we know who my opponent will be. I recently called Senator Kerry to congratulate him on winning his party's nomination. I told him I'm looking forward to a spirited campaign. This should be an interesting debate. Senator Kerry has spent two decades in Congress; he's built up quite a record. In fact, Senator Kerry has been in Washington long enough to take both sides on just about every issue. He's been for the Patriot Act and against it; for NAFTA and against it; for the No Child Left Behind Act and against it; for the use of force in Iraq and against funding the liberation of Iraq. My opponent clearly has strong beliefs -- they just don't last very long. And the choice is clear. It's a choice between keeping the tax relief that is moving the economy forward, or stopping the recovery by putting the burden of higher taxes back on the American people. It is a choice between an America that leads the world with strength and confidence or an America that is uncertain in the face of danger. It's a choice that I will set squarely before the American people. We've achieved great things. The last three years have brought serious challenges, and we have given serious answers. I look forward to telling the American people that. Most importantly, we have a positive vision for winning the war against terror and for extending peace and freedom throughout our world; a positive vision for creating jobs and promoting opportunity and compassion here at home. We'll leave no doubt where we stand. And come November, we'll be reelected. The stakes are high, and I need your help. Could you contribute and make a difference in what could be a close election? http://www.GeorgeWBush.com/Contribute Everything you send will help our TV buy -- on national cable and in 18 battleground states on local stations. The ads are strong. They remind people of this Administration's accomplishments, and will lay out our positive agenda and contrast it with John Kerry's wrong votes and out-of-the-mainstream philosophy. The other side has several attack groups, funded by large unregulated "soft money" contributions from wealthy liberals, so I need your help today with a gift of $1,000, $500, $250, $100 or even $50 or $25 to keep ratcheting our TV effort up. Federal law allows gifts of up to $2,000 a person. http://www.GeorgeWBush.com/Contribute For all Americans, these years in our history will always stand apart. There are quiet times in the life of a nation when little is expected of the leaders. This isn't one of those times. You and I are living a period where the stakes are high, the challenges are difficult, and the choices are clear -- a time when resolve is needed. I hope you will help today. Thank you for your friendship and may God continue to bless America. Sincerely, |
"...we will know"
Rumsfeld on yesterday's Meet the Press:
| SCHIEFFER: Well, let me just ask you this. If they did not have these weapons of mass destruction, though, granted all of that is true, why then did they pose an immediate threat to us, to this country?
Sec. RUMSFELD: Well, you're the--you and a few other critics are the only people I've heard use the phrase `immediate threat.' I didn't. The president didn't. And it's become kind of folklore that that's--that's what's happened. The president went... SCHIEFFER: You're saying that nobody in the administration said that. Sec. RUMSFELD: I--I can't speak for nobody--everybody in the administration and say nobody said that. SCHIEFFER: Vice president didn't say that? The... Sec. RUMSFELD: Not--if--if you have any citations, I'd like to see 'em. Mr. FRIEDMAN: We have one here. It says `some have argued that the nu'--this is you speaking--`that the nuclear threat from Iraq is not imminent, that Saddam is at least five to seven years away from having nuclear weapons. I would not be so certain.' Sec. RUMSFELD: And--and... Mr. FRIEDMAN: It was close to imminent. Sec. RUMSFELD: Well, I've--I've tried to be precise, and I've tried to be accurate. I'm s--suppose I've... Mr. FRIEDMAN: `No terrorist state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world and the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.' Sec. RUMSFELD: Mm-hmm. It--my view of--of the situation was that he--he had--we--we believe, the best intelligence that we had and other countries had and that--that we believed and we still do not know--we will know. |
March 12, 2004
BUSH ADS FOR SATURDAY
Here are two TV ads that the Bush campaign will release tomorrow:
AD #1: "100 Days"
AD #2: "Forward"
Only 2 Days Left!
Only two days left to bid on this Janet-Justin commemorative doll set based on the 2004 SuperBowl halftime show. Warning: some doll nudity - may be offensive to neoconservative christian (republican) dolls in your collection.
MediDON'Tcare
Bush Threatened to Fire Official for Telling Truth (go to link for references)
| March 12, 2004 | Daily Mislead Archive
During this time of record deficits, President Bush promised the country that his drug-industry backed Medicare bill would cost $395 billion. But just weeks after he signed the bill into law, his own budget office admitted that the bill would actually cost well over $500 billion. And today a new report shows that the President knew that the bill cost more than he had claimed, and yet he deliberately hid the information from the public until the legislation was already signed into law. As revealed in an exclusive Knight-Ridder report, the White House threatened to fire its own top Medicare actuary "if he told lawmakers about a series of Bush administration cost estimates" that priced the bill at more than $500 billion. At the time, conservative Republicans had "vowed to vote against the Medicare drug bill if it cost more than $400 billion." This means that the president deliberately misled members of his own party on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry that pushed the bill and has been a top contributor to his campaign. As Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC) said, "I think a lot of people probably would have reconsidered" voting for the bill had they not been deliberately misled by the White House. At Knight-Ridder's website you can see the full text of the 6/26/03 email that Medicare's top actuary Richard S. Foster sent to colleagues informing them of the White House threat. |
This kind of stuff (outright lying and covers-up by the Bush Administration) is so routine now, it almost seems a waste of time posting it. And yet....
Here's the e-mail to which the above story refers:
| Text of June 26, 2003, E-Mail from Richard S. Foster, chief actuary, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services:
"This whole episode which has now gone on for three weeks has been pretty nightmarish. I'm perhaps no longer in grave danger of being fired, but there remains a strong likelihood that I will have to resign in protest of the withholding of important technical information from key policy makers for political reasons. Stay tuned." |
Toyota Volta: 0-60 in 4 seconds, 40 mpg
Wow, a HYBRID SPORTS CAR! I'll have to get one to park next to my Prius.
Family Forest: Bush and Kerry are Related
FRIDAY FUN
Exorcist Bunnies
Extreme Ballooning
House Gymnastics (Gymnastics for Shut-ins)
Microscopic Science Art
NPR Bloopers (Some profanity) (But really funny!) (Really!)
Passion of the Christ - BLOOPERS
Sex-free P*rnography
Snowflakes (photomicrographs; click "Find All")
Stretch Marks
TechnoSexual (The Official Site)
Winged Sandals (game)
And don't forget the FRIDAY FUN Archives, where you can revisit your old favorites.
March 11, 2004
States' Gay Marriage Laws
Here is a 50-state rundown on gay marriage laws "and proposals to change state marriage laws. The proposals comprise state constitutional amendments, changes to state law and non-binding resolutions."
March 10, 2004
Pirates of the Caribbean Are Moving to Indonesia
Piracy Rates Are Rising
| Number of pirate attacks on ships, 2003: 445
Number of pirate attacks on ships, 2002: 370 Number of pirate attacks on ships, 2001: 335 ...A quarter of all world pirate attacks last year took place in Indonesian waters. This region is naturally hospitable to pirates and difficult to patrol since (1) it features shallow waters dotted by lots of little islands and narrow channels, and (2) it is the hinge of the shipping lanes bringing Asian consumer goods to Europe, and Persian Gulf oil to Japan and China. Budget stresses since the financial crisis, meanwhile, have cut Indonesia's navy budget by about two-thirds. Last fall, an Indonesian navy spokesman noted that the country needs about 400 boats to patrol national waters, but has only 117 at the moment; and only 40 of these are seaworthy. In second place was Bangladesh, with 58 pirate attacks; Nigeria was third with 39. Somalia had 18 attacks, but despite the lower number of attacks, Somali waters may be the world's least-policed and most dangerous. The IMO has a permanent warning to shipmasters to avoid the area altogether if possible, and especially not to anchor within 50 miles of the coast. The Caribbean, once the site of pirate headquarters at Port-Royal in Jamaica and Tortuga (off Haiti), had 19 attacks. Madagascar, where Captain Kidd hid out in 1698, had one.... |
So, I'm not really sure why I posted it, but I'll bet Bush has something to do with all of this; he's getting blamed for everything else, so why not throw this into the pot? Arrrrgh!
Pack the Bags, Honey. We're Moving to Vancouver!
Top 10 Cities With the Best Quality of Life
1. Zurich, Switzerland
2. Vancouver, Canada
3. Vienna, Austria
4. Geneva, Switzerland
5. Sydney, Australia
6. Auckland, New Zealand
7. Copenhagen, Denmark
8. Frankfurt, Germany
9. Bern, Switzerland
10. Munich, Germany
Go HERE for the source data.
Good News
Rep. Kucinich Released From Hospital
| Wednesday March 10, 2004 4:46 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich was released Wednesday from a Cleveland-area hospital after being treated for a stomach flu. The Ohio congressman checked into the hospital Monday morning for tests and was diagnosed with gastroenteritis, a severe stomach flu, possibly caused by food poisoning. After leaving the hospital, Kucinich planned to hold a news conference in his Cleveland district about President Bush's visit there, then return to Washington on Thursday, said his spokesman, Doug Gordon. ``He's feeling good and ready to resume a full schedule,'' Gordon said. The long-shot candidate was traveling to Selma, Ala., for an event Sunday when he started having abdominal pains and called his doctor. |
March 09, 2004
Advantage: Blog
KOS is saying that the internet may be the Bush Administration's undoing:
| ...But something funny happened in 2003. The media landscape shifted. Suddenly, the Internet became a 24/7 oppo research and fact checking tool. The Republicans remain wilfully ignorant of their online would-be allies. The Democratic Party -- outgunned, outmanned, outfinanced, and out-of-power -- was not so myopic.
Hardly a day goes by when I don't see a blog-inspired email blasted out by some party functionary, be it the DSCC, DCCC, DNC or affiliated organizations. Those institutions -- the very core of the "Democratic Party Establishment" -- are linking to blogs at increased rates. And the results speak for themselves. For example, my reader-powered "Bush Flip Flops" post on Saturday hit Andrew Sullivan, WaPo and dozens, if not hundreds, of blogs today. In one fell swoop, we turned a GOP talking point against our candidate against theirs, and people outside of the blogosphere "echo chamber" were receptive to the message. I didn't write that flip-flop post. Reader TK did. Yet it'll now be picked up by the party and other media outlets when "balancing" out the RNC spin points. We are on our way to neutralizing what might've been the GOP's strongest line of attack against Kerry. Fact is, this is a brutal time to be in GOoPer politics. The old tricks of the trade don't work anymore. Once upon a time, politicos preyed on the public's short attention span. Say one thing today, pretend you never said that tomorrow knowing no one would call you on it. ("Imminent threat", anyone?) Bloggers like Bilmon started exposing the administration's blatant lies, and surprise! discovered that they had a hungry audience. It was thus inevitable that such blog-provided "context" started making it into news stories (the Billmon expose of the WMD quotes was hugely influential in driving down the administration's credibility on the issue). And Google makes political research as easy as typing in a phrase in a text box. No more hours of microfiche headaches at the public library. The Bush Administration is now in a quandry, never before faced by a political campaign. EVERY WORD IT UTTERS can be instantly fact checked and vetted against previous administration proclamations. And the press, lazy as it is, doesn't even have to do the research. They simply have to read the blogs (and they certainly do). The party can pick the best bits of the day and mold them into spin and talking points. Their overstretched, overworked research departments now have reinforcements of major caliber. For an administration and a party built on ignorance, short-term memory and outright lies ... the harsh glare of this new medium must be excruciating. The Democratic Party is no longer 75 or 100 employees in Washington DC. We are all now adjunct DNCers (whether you like it or not!). When we fact-check Bush, develop new avenues of critique, bring attention to some lonely article in Bismarck, Montpelier, or Dallas (again, see post below), and spread the word about the latest GOP lies and/or outrages, we are helping the party do what it can't do on its own -- reclaim the nation from the ravages of the GOP wingnuts. |
This is a very good observation by someone who should know. The question is, will there be an "October Surprise" and/or electronic voting tampering to a such sufficient degree that the above will be moot anyway?
Remember, a majority of the American voting public STILL thinks that there is a direct connection between Iraq and 9-11. What's Kerry got planned that will change that perception???
Tucker Carlson Prefers Spanking Lesbians
Tucker Carlson of CNN's "Crossfire" chats with Elle magazine this month, on the subject of women and sex:
| "One area of liberal phenomenon I support is female bi-sexuality - this apparent increased willingness of girls to bring along a friend. That's a pretty good thing." What do women want, Elle asks Tucker? "They want to be listened to, protected and amused. And they want to be spanked vigorously every one in a while." He also admits if he had to spend his life as a woman it would as Elizabeth Birch, "formerly of the Human Rights Campaign because you'd be presiding over an organization of thousands of lesbians, some of them quite good-looking." |
Not that another Republican needs to give the Republican party another bad name, but Mr. Carlson ia a [fill in the blank]!
| "I'm about two players away from being the healthiest guy on this team." |
Rick Fox, while surveying the Laker's locker room before last night's loss to the Utah Jazz. Fox is still recovering from the residual effects of major foot surgery last year, although can now play with limited range in NBA games. The Laker's promising season has been decimated by an unusual number of injuries and ailments concurrently with Kobe Bryant's legal woes. If the team somehow pulls a championship out of this season, it will be simply the most awesome in history.
March 08, 2004
Arianna to Kerry: For Once, Ignore the Focus Groups' Advice
I'm still pissed at Arianna Huffington for her stunt of pulling out of the California recall election - after I had sent in my absentee ballot. But she does have some credible suggestions for John Kerry (snippet):
| ....Strike a new bargain with the American people. Tell them, "Let's put an end to the tyranny of low expectations. You can expect a lot more of me, and I will ask a lot more of you." President Bush has used Sept. 11 to divide us — and as a handy visual for his new campaign ads. Imagine how different our country would be if he had used it instead to call on the American people not to go shopping but to commit themselves to a large, collective purpose. Believe in us enough to ask us to confront both the horrors wrought by terrorists and the horrors wrought by random violence in our inner cities, and by woefully inadequate health care, education and housing. Believe in us enough to ask us to share in the sacrifices necessary to build a country of real opportunity for all and a sturdy social safety net. The values and spirit that emerged on Sept. 11 — generosity, selflessness, courage — are still very much part of who we are. After years of being pandered to and lied to, we are longing for a leader who will speak straight to us and challenge us to live up to those intangible qualities that make our nation great.
You can be that leader, but only if you ignore all those who tell you that's not the way you win elections. Indeed, that's the only way you'll win this one. |
Read the entire column. It's unusually sobering and less acrid than ususal for her.
HERE is the transcript from this morning's Democracy Now! interview with exiled Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Seriously
Tom Brokaw for VP? (snippet:)
| ....Mickey Kaus of Slate reported last year that Mr. Brokaw remains intensely interested in politics and has thought about running for president.
John Thune, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Mr. Brokaw's home state of South Dakota, agrees. He says Mr. Brokaw has been intrigued by politics ever since his days at the University of South Dakota. "It would be a fascinating out of the box choice," he told me. A South Dakota Democratic state legislator assures me that Mr. Brokaw would be a good ideological fit for Mr. Kerry, with the added advantage that "no one thinks of him as a liberal." Most Americans have respect, even affection, for Mr. Brokaw. More than one TV critic commented on his performance as moderator of a Democratic presidential debate last November by suggesting the debate would have been livened up if he had been one of the candidates. The Weekly Standard says he has mastered the technique of appearing on television as "a thoughtful fellow, caught in unhurried rumination." His book on World War II veterans, "The Greatest Generation," sold more than 4.1 million copies in 1999 and was followed up by three subsequent bestsellers. Even his ideological adversaries give him his due.... |
Bill Cosby: Let's Clean Out the Junk
Bill Cosby addesses the winner of the November, 2004 election:
| Dear President-to-Be,
I'm looking at the junkiest room I've ever seen. It is a classroom in an American public school; it is public education in America today. A child did not make the room junky; generations of litterers — legislators, school board members, superintendents, principals, taxpayers, teachers and presidents did. Given the mess, it is a wonder that our children are able to do even as well as they do. We must be grateful that there always have been talented and determined teachers who find their way through the maze of rules and special interests and do what they became teachers to do: help their students shine. Our neighborhood schools are cluttered and crumbling. Of course, I'm assuming that anyone applying to be president probably never went to a poor and neglected public school where books have missing pages, walls have peeling paint and children have nothing to write with. Wealthy people comfort themselves that money is not the issue. But nothing dear to America was ever maintained without it. We need money to secure great teachers, money to update teaching methods, money for technology and supplies, and money for time. Time is a precious commodity and teachers need it to plan lessons and meet with students, parents and administrators. When the junk is cleaned out of that junky room, its structure is sound: Public education is a good foundation on which to build a better life for each of us. And if we want to prove to these children who never made the mess in the first place that education is worth the trouble, our schools have to inspire them so they can do what they ought to do. A young teacher, returning to college to hone her skills, asks herself why she wants to teach children who do not have a safe environment to learn in and who lack resources and support from administrators and family. Besides her intrinsic love for teaching, we need to give her a reason to stay. We must make firm commitments to educators who can show us the way, and learn from the many clear examples of their success. The media constantly focus our attention on the very worst schools when we should really have before us, like shining examples, these school success stories. Why do we accept failure as an example when we can demand that the successes be made visible? School leaders have to be seen to be heard and to be supported. And we ought to pay them livable salaries, at least enough to afford the chalk and crayons and countless other supplies they buy out of their own pockets. I invite you to look into this room. You can say to our nation, "We must begin — we cannot wait for someone else to clear out the mess." |
VOTERS Webring
If you have a moment, visit the VOTERS webring and check out some of the excellent sites maintained by its members. The currently featured site, PioneerGrrrl, is a long-time Kerry supporter:
| As a feminist, I support Kerry because of his ground breaking record on gender equity issues. In 1971, he marched for the Equal Rights Amendment when this movement was (and still is in some circles) incorrectly stigmatized as "anti-male" and/or "extremist". Kerry continued his social justice passion while working at the district attorney’s office because he instituted critical rape investigation reforms that took blame off of the victim---now a common practice expected throughout the country. His first Senate floor speech affirmed Roe v. Wade and he refused to support homophobia with the Defense of Marriage Act (becoming only one of a few brave senators to vote against the measure unfortunately supported by former President Clinton). Kerry proactively knows that gender issues are everybody’s issues and cannot be separated from ‘real’ politics. |
March 07, 2004
Lookback to 2001?
| Top administration officials believe bin Laden may begin to feel the heat from the troops now hunting him and might start to move. "We are putting the pieces in place to throw the net over him," one official told CNN.
Among the devices that will be in place within days are U-2 spy planes flying at 70,000 feet, taking pictures, using radar and intercepting communications. Unmanned Predator drones, flying closer at 25,000 feet, are equipped with cameras that can spot vehicles and people and special radar that can operate through clouds. Some of the Predators may also carry Hellfire missiles. Ground sensors may also be placed along mountain passes to listen for vehicles. Data from the planes and sensors will be sent via satellite to analysts for quick action. The U.S. military has bought up satellite transmission capacity in the region, to ensure it can respond quickly. But none of the measures are being acknowledged officially. "Of course you've heard and seen in the press that Osama bin Laden is surrounded, we have him cornered and we know where he is, etc., etc. And of course, we don't know that," said Gen. John Abizaid, commander of the U.S. Central Command, in an interview with PBS' Jim Lehrer. Abizaid added that there are no U.S. troops on Pakistani soil, and said U.S. efforts with the Pakistanis are focused on cooperation and coordination. When asked if he thought bin Laden would be captured this year, the general said he had no way of knowing. But, he said, "I think that we will make it very painful for al Qaeda between now and the end of the year." |
This is from CNN in October, 2001, as the U.S. initiated the steps to capture Osama bin Laden?
WRONG!
March 05, 2004
Thank you for being a Bush Volunteer.
I just signed up as a volunteer for Bush/Cheney '04:
| By signing up today as a Bush Volunteer, you’ll join the most important part of the 2004 election: the grassroots team to reelect President Bush. You’ll also receive the latest inside information, news of upcoming visits, emails from the campaign trail, and special campaign mementos! |
No, I'm not going nuts. This will be a good way to get a first-hand look at some propaganda of the Right, and I hope some good post-worthy stuff.
Friday Reading
Former law dean Herma Hill Kay examines same-sex marriage.
A marriage, gay or straight, is first a civil union
Rules of law: Let states decide - By John Yoo (former law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas)
Democracy begins at home, chides billionaire philanthropist George Soros
Bush Exploits Photo of Dead Bodies, Despite Ban
So Just Where IS That Hellmouth?
Well, it's been almost a month now since S.F. started marrying gays. Mark Morford (and the rest of us) are still waiting for the other shoe to drop (snippet):
| ...So, here we are. Approaching a full month after the first of S.F.'s marriage ceremonies, and nothing. The universe is smiling madly. The world is shrugging. Anonymous supporters from all over the nation have sent flowers to hundreds of loving gay and lesbian couples. As of this writing, there is no scathing hellfire. No fanged demons of destruction (Lynne Cheney excepted). No meltdown whatsoever. I would know, right? I mean, wouldn't the power go out, or something?
Maybe it's still to come. Maybe total screaming misery and unspeakable sociocultural collapse coupled with wanton bestiality and incest and the giving away of free anal beads to innocent teenagers takes more than a month. Maybe I'm just a little impatient. Maybe Satan is taking his sweet time to marshal his leather-clad armies, watching as other U.S. cities get in on the same-sex-marriage act, listening as mayors and governors all chime in their support and say what's the big deal. Maybe Beelzebub is waiting for a big moment so as to really leverage the coming news flash, the special report, the sudden activation of the Emergency Broadcast System. Something like: "This just in: Earthquakes rocked the globe today as giant fire-breathing bees of death swarmed the countryside, feasting on fat white heterosexual babies mostly from Texas and Colorado Springs and Utah and Idaho, as the institution of hetero marriage careened around the mad vortex of space-time like a savage drunken pinball high on black-tar heroin, just like the Christian Right predicted. "Horrors bled into the streets, terrorists were spawned by thousands, presidents openly lied so as to lead a nation into bloody violent unwinnable wars, thousands of Catholic priests sexually molested tens of thousands of children over a 50-year period without the slightest punishment, the environment teetered on the brink due to heartless government rollbacks as air quality and water quality and food sources were ravaged in the name of corporate profiteering, the economy crumbled like Jenna Bush after her 10th beer bong as hate and fear and bogus Orange Alerts ruled the land. Oh wait. That was all before the same-sex-marriage thing. My bad. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
