Palin's Probably Smarter... Probably

Christ people, some of us need a few laughs! Might as well be at the expense of a republi-con!

Boxer on Palin

The Vice President is a heartbeat away from becoming President, so to choose someone with not one hour’s worth of experience on national issues is a dangerous choice. If John McCain thought that choosing Sarah Palin would attract Hillary Clinton voters, he is badly mistaken. The only similarity between her and Hillary Clinton is that they are both women. On the issues, they could not be further apart. Senator McCain had so many other options if he wanted to put a women on his ticket, such as Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison or Senator Olympia Snowe – they would have been an appropriate choice compared to this dangerous choice. In addition, Sarah Palin is under investigation by the Alaska state legislature which makes this more incomprehensible. - Barbara Boxer

Regarding McCain's pick of Sarah Palin as his V.P. candidate, Trapper john gets it just right:

"By picking Palin, McCain revealed his desperation to make a splash to rival the genuine excitement generated by the Obama campaign. But desperation leads to poor decisions -- and McCain's Hail Mary, like most last second desperation moves, is destined to fail miserably. He's smeared himself with the pungent mud of Alaska Republican corruption, while cutting the legs out from one of his most reliable attacks against Obama. And he's presented Americans with the prospect of electing a dangerous neophyte to be a heartbeat away from the presidency, behind a man whose life expectancy is less than two presidential terms. "We all expected McCain to pick someone underwhelming to run with him. But we never could have expected a pick worse than Quayle. Yet that's what we got. Thanks, John!"

Bits and Pieces for the Week of August 24 - 30

Hey, Governor Groperzenegger actually has something useful to say! (Mike)

Here's all you need to know about Sarah Palin, McCain's choice for V.P. Oh, wait, there's this too. (Mike)

Check out what your Obama tax cut will be! Real easy to use. Don't believe what the Republi-con Attack Machine is saying about raising your taxes. (7 of 6)

IRS increases mileage rates for taxpayers for last half of 2008. (Mike)

AT&T pays back the Blue Dog Democratic congressmen who pushed through telecom immunity. Yep, corporate-sponsored politician-buying is alive and well in the Democratic Party. (Mike)

The FBI clearly saw the impending mortgage crisis back in 2004, but didn't have the manpower to pursue the riffraff of the lending industry. (Mike)

The Iraqi people are still in need of clean water. (7 of 6)

"Poll: As Conventions Approach, Dems Trouncing GOP In Image, Party I.D." Image is a good thing. (7 of 6)

FRIDAY F U N

• It's hard to believe that this person is computer-generated. This one is pretty amazing, too.
• The Curious Reel (just a really cool video)
• Flyswatting 101
• A totally unauthorized Starbucks coffee recipe book
• Humorous graphs
• Visualizing the Fourth Dimension
• Reverse graffiti (check out those car windows)
• Photos that Changed the World

My favorite line from Bill Clinton's speech last night:

"People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."

"Exposure to asbestos has proven to result in a wide range of health conditions, including mesothelioma, a deadly cancer that attacks the lining of the lungs, heart, or abdomen. This rare form of cancer is almost exclusively caused by asbestos exposure." The Mesothelioma Cancer Center explains the current state of federal legislation aimed at resolving asbestos exposure through elimination of the substance at work and in our day-to-day environment:

Obama and McCain: who makes a difference on a couple [of] bills for protection? Big issues have marked this election and have been highlighted at the Democratic National Convention. National health care, national defense, energy policies and the economy seem to rise to the top of importance for most Americans, social issues aside. Regarding health care Barack Obama favors steps toward universal health care while John McCain wants to keep it private. Obama has been talking about a timetable (16 months) out of Iraq and McCain has recently been saying “2013” but his “time horizon” has been all over the place (4-100 years).  Energy policies differ, as McCain want to drill for oil and Obama wants to fill up tires (And oh yeah, invest billions into technology so we are free of foreign oil in 10 years). As far as the economy, it is tax the rich vs. “no new taxes”.  Yes, the election is HEATED. While those are all the platforms in which these politicians wish to get elected, there are other issues could sway one way or the other depending on who is president. Asbestos exposure has been a problem for many years and there are some in congress who are attempting to do their best to eliminate the life threatening insulator for good. And yes, just for clarification, a democratic congress alongside a Barack Obama as president would help the following legislation to pass. Asbestos is now known as one of the great industrial disasters of the 20th century, and it was not until the 1970s that legislation began isolating the problem. It’s now 30 years later and you’ll notice that asbestos exposure, along with the deadly cancer called mesothelioma that can result from it, is still lingering with no signs of going away. So what happened? In short, asbestos was not exactly banned, it was restricted. While these measures paid dividends in a number of ways, they did not magically remove asbestos from older homes and buildings, which can become a problem when remodeling. So the question remains; when are we going to get to the point where asbestos exposure is no longer a dark, lingering issue? A realist would say, or at the very least, not any time soon. There is still so much of it around, that to expect complete removal right away is not possible. Still, there are bills in Congress ready to be passed (potentially) that could tilt our manufacturing industries where it needs to go. The use of asbestos in products and the manufacturing industry could come to a close in 2009 if Senator Patty Murray from Washington has her way. She has introduced the “Ban Asbestos in America Act” that has been passed by the full U.S. Senate. However, the bill does contain a harmful pro-industry amendment eliminating coverage for workers exposed to products containing 1 percent or less of asbestos. The Communications Workers of America and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations will work to have this language omitted in the final Senate-House legislation. This legislation will also authorize additional studies to determine which commercial products today still contain asbestos, increase funding for asbestos-related diseases, and call for a national mesothelioma registry to help public health professionals track this deadly disease. Congresswoman Betty McCollum has introduced the “Bruce Vento Ban Asbestos and Prevent Mesothelioma Act of 2008.” On McCollum’s website she says, “It’s long past time that our country banned asbestos. “After decades of widespread and unknowing exposure to this deadly substance, Americans should be able to rest assured that they are no longer at risk of having their lives cut short by asbestos exposure.”  This legislation is not expected to be passed by the full hHouse during 2008, so this effort is basically groundwork in order to get the bill passed in 2009. The major motivator behind these bills is that asbestos exposure can cause serious lung conditions and deadly cancers such as pleural mesothelioma.

Finally! A solution for Americans without health insurance. Surprisingly, it comes from the Republicans:

....But the numbers are misleading, said John Goodman, president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a right-leaning Dallas-based think tank. Mr. Goodman, who helped craft Sen. John McCain's health care policy, said anyone with access to an emergency room effectively has insurance, albeit the government acts as the payer of last resort. (Hospital emergency rooms by law cannot turn away a patient in need of immediate care.) "So I have a solution. And it will cost not one thin dime," Mr. Goodman said. "The next president of the United States should sign an executive order requiring the Census Bureau to cease and desist from describing any American – even illegal aliens – as uninsured. Instead, the bureau should categorize people according to the likely source of payment should they need care. "So, there you have it. Voila! Problem solved."....

See? And it's such a simple solution for such a complex problem. Except that those leftie commie tree-hugging left-wing extremists at another think tank "think" that the Republicans don't understand the meaning of health "insurance":

....Mr. Goodman's analysis drew a sharp response from the Center for Public Policy Priorities, an Austin-based think tank focusing on poverty issues. "That is not the same thing as having health insurance," said Eva Deluna, a budget analyst for the center. People without insurance are less likely to seek care, and when they do, the cost to the health system is greater, she said....

Those poverty-hugging hippies need to just leave Republicans alone!

"Wake Up, America!"

It’s Election Day, 2008. We Democrats are giving America a wake up call. Wake up America. In 2001, the oil companies, the war contractors and the neo-con artists seized the economy, and have added four trillion dollars of unproductive spending to the national debt. We now pay four times more for defense, three times more for gasoline and home heating oil, and twice what we paid for health care. Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, their homes, their health care, their pensions. Trillions of dollars for an unnecessary war paid with borrowed money. Tens of billions of dollars in cash and weapons disappeared into thin air, at the cost of the lives of our troops and innocent Iraqis, while all the President’s oilmen are maneuvering to grab Iraq’s oil. Borrowed money to bomb bridges in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. No money to rebuild bridges in America. Money to start a hot war with Iran. Now we have another cold war with Russia while the American economy has become a game of Russian roulette. If there was an Olympics for misleading, mismanaging and misappropriating this Administration would take the gold. World records for violations of national and international laws. They want another four year term to continue to alienate our allies, spend our children’s inheritance and hollow out our economy. We can’t afford it America. Wake up America, the insurance companies took over health care. Wake up America, the pharmaceutical companies took over drug pricing. Wake up America, the speculators took over Wall Street. Wake up America, they want to take your Social Security. Wake up America, multinational corporations took over our trade policies, factories are closing, good paying jobs lost. Wake up, America. We went into Iraq for oil. The oil companies want more. War against Iran will mean $10 a gallon gasoline. The Oil Administration wants to drill more --into your wallet. Wake up, America. Weapons contractors want more. An Iran war will cost five to ten trillion dollars. This Administration can tap our phones. They can’t tap our creative spirit. They can open our mail. They can’t open economic opportunities. They can track our every move. They lost track of the economy while the cost of food, gasoline, and electricity skyrockets. They skillfully played our post-911 fears and allowed the few to profit at the expense of the many. Everyday we get the color orange, while the oil companies, the insurance companies, the speculators, the war contractors get the color green. Wake up America. This is not a call for you to take a new direction from right to left. This is call for you to go from down to up. Up with the rights of workers. Up with wages. Up with fair trade. Up with creating millions of good paying jobs rebuilding our bridges, ports and water systems. Up with creating millions of sustainable energy jobs to lower the cost of energy, lower carbon emissions and protect the environment. Up with health care for all. Up with education for all. Up with home ownership. Up with guaranteed retirement benefits. Up with Peace. Up with Prosperity. Up with the Democratic Party Up with Obama -Biden Wake up, America! Wake up, America! -Dennis Kucinich

UPDATE: Obama edited Kucinich's speech last night. Come on Obama, that would have been the best line of the night!

"They're asking for another four years -- in a just world, they'd get 10 to 20."

"The foreign policy team exerting chief influence over John McCain is truly more extremist -- in a purer and more deranged form -- than the foreign policy team of the Bush administration. They're not only the most extremist faction in American political life, but also the most delusional. These aren't just the people who led the U.S. to war in Iraq -- though they are that -- but they're also the ones who actually believe that the Bush administration has been far too meek in its assertion of U.S. military force and too passive in its interference in the affairs of other countries. They want to accelerate -- massively intensify -- virtually every one of the polices that has brought the U.S. to such disgrace and near ruination over the past eight years. There is nothing "moderate" or "centrist" about any of them. John McCain is the Candidate of Bill Kristol and Joe Lieberman and John Bolton for good and clear reasons (including in Georgia): he's the best and most devoted instrument to advance their militaristic agenda. "Is there any real discussion of any of that? Hardly. Here's the trite soap opera pablum and royal court intrigue which, instead, dominates our media's campaign coverage...." Glenn Greenwald

Corny campaign video, but it's got lots of celebrities...

FRIDAY F U N

• Swedish furniture name generator
• Goatee shaver
• Sign up now for your trip into the future
• Lego Olympics
• Honestly, you can buy this product. It's real.
• Death Star over San Francisco
• Some résumé whoppers

Bits and Pieces for the Week of August 17 - 23

"Iraq Takes Aim at Leaders of U.S.-Tied Sunni Groups". Please, tell me how this will come out? After the U.S. Military has paid them millions and armed them to the teeth! The Kingdom to the rescue? Better start talks, right, fucking, now!! (7 of 6)

So if you go by the Bush Administration's definition, when McCain was a Vietnam POW, he was NOT TORTURED! (Mike)

The talk about V.P. choices has turned a bit ridiculous. Her cousin would be a much better choice. (Mike)

Soon credit cards will no longer allow us to maintain our falsely higher standards of living (Mike)

"The US economy is without doubt facing severe headwinds going into the autumn." and "Our current unemployment rate [in 1980 terms] is running north of 14%" (Mike)

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf resigns. (7 of 6)

The Mortgage Lender Implode-o-Meter lists these financial institutions as being on the verge of meltdown (i.e. closing, bankruptcy, takeover, etc.). If you have any of your hard-earned money in any of them, now's the time to get smart.

Ailing/Watch List Lenders™:
18. Kemper Mortgage, Inc.
17. Freddie Mac
16. Fannie Mae
15. American Sterling Bank - Wholesale
14. Downey Savings and Loan
13. Franklin Bank, SSB
12. Bayview Lending Group, LLC
11. Thornburg Mortgage
10. American Equity Mortgage, Inc.
9. CTX Mortgage Company (Retail)
8. First Horizon Home Loans
7. BankUnited (Wholesale)
6. Chevy Chase Bank - Wholesale
5. MortgageIT
4. Sallie Mae
3. Meridias Capital
2. Doral Financial Corp.
1. Residential Capital, LLC*

From Frank Barbera, yet another pessimistic (but correct) economist:

"....For now, the problem at hand remains the Housing Crisis and the Banking–Credit Crisis, but in our view, as time passes, the odds will continue to grow that all of these problems morph into an even more serious Currency Crisis. In this vein, we view the current strength in the US Dollar as ultra transitory, and opening the door for the Federal Reserve to begin its next wave of interest rate cuts aimed at supporting the banking system and Wall Street. As more defaults are seen in coming months, the Fed in our view will have little choice but to begin monetizing these problems and creating fresh doses of digital dollars, all out of thin air. For Helicopter Ben, the new Super-Duper Helo is about ready to lift off, with one mission and one mission only -- paper over all of the bad debts and keep the system from bursting at the seams. For the US Dollar, the path of least resistance will once again be a relentless slide to new lows, this time likely accompanied by rising long-term interest rates as foreign capital abandons the long ensconced patterns of mercantilism and vendor finance. The torpedo explosions now resonating throughout the bulkheads of the sinking GSE’s cannot be ignored, as the unwinding of derivative positions at these institutions could well be the trigger event to place foreign capital into full retreat. With balance sheet impairment and collapse, will follow debt downgrades and the beginning of a potential exodus – a run from US GSE Agency paper. Fingers have been plugging up the damn thus far, but the pressure behind the walls appears ready to burst. For those who think the markets have been volatile in the last few weeks, get ready, cause we believe you haven’t seen anything yet."

The real question is, how much longer is the Bush Administration going to keep lying to Americans about what is happening to our economy? Ample evidence is everywhere (except in our government's dissemination of information and forecasts) that we are in the beginning of a long and deep recession, if not worse.

"War is just a racket"

-- Excerpt from a speech delivered in 1933, by Major General Smedley Butler, USMC. War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses. I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag. I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. War for any other reason is simply a racket. There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its "muscle men" to destroy enemies, its "brain men" to plan war preparations, and a "Big Boss" Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism. It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service. I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912 (where have I heard that name before?). I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested. During those years, I had, as the boys in the back room would say, a swell racket. Looking back on it, I feel that I could have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Why I Will Not Vote for John McCain Phillip Butler | March 27, 2008 As some of you might know, John McCain is a long-time acquaintance of mine that goes way back to our time together at the U.S. Naval Academy and as Prisoners of War in Vietnam. He is a man I respect and admire in some ways. But there are a number of reasons why I will not vote for him for President of the United States. When I was a Plebe (4th classman, or freshman) at the Naval Academy in 1957-58, I was assigned to the 17th Company for my four years there. In those days we had about 3,600 midshipmen spread among 24 companies, thus about 150 midshipmen to a company. As fortune would have it, John, a First Classman (senior) and his room mate lived directly across the hall from me and my two room mates. Believe me when I say that back then I would never in a million or more years have dreamed that the crazy guy across the hall would someday be a Senator and candidate for President! John was a wild man. He was funny, with a quick wit and he was intelligent. But he was intent on breaking every USNA regulation in our 4 inch thick USNA Regulations book. And I believe he must have come as close to his goal as any midshipman who ever attended the Academy. John had me "coming around" to his room frequently during my plebe year. And on one occasion he took me with him to escape "over the wall" in the dead of night. He had a taxi cab waiting for us that took us to a bar some 7 miles away. John had a few beers, but forbid me to drink (watching out for me I guess) and made me drink cokes. I could tell many other midshipman stories about John that year and he unbelievably managed to graduate though he spent the majority of his first class year on restriction for the stuff he did get caught doing. In fact he barely managed to graduate, standing 5th from the bottom of his 800 man graduating class. I and many others have speculated that the main reason he did graduate was because his father was an Admiral, and also his grandfather, both U.S. Naval Academy graduates. People often ask if I was a Prisoner of War with John McCain. My answer is always "No - John McCain was a POW with me." The reason is I was there for 8 years and John got there 2 ½ years later, so he was a POW for 5 ½ years. And we have our own seniority system, based on time as a POW. John's treatment as a POW: 1) Was he tortured for 5 years? No. He was subjected to torture and maltreatment during his first 2 years, from September of 1967 to September of 1969. After September of 1969 the Vietnamese stopped the torture and gave us increased food and rudimentary health care. Several hundred of us were captured much earlier. I got there April 20, 1965 so my bad treatment period lasted 4 1/2 years. President Ho Chi Minh died on September 9, 1969, and the new regime that replaced him and his policies was more pragmatic. They realized we were worth a lot as bargaining chips if we were alive. And they were right because eventually Americans gave up on the war and agreed to trade our POW's for their country. A damn good trade in my opinion! But my point here is that John allows the media to make him out to be THE hero POW, which he knows is absolutely not true, to further his political goals. 2) John was badly injured when he was shot down. Both arms were broken and he had other wounds from his ejection. Unfortunately this was often the case - new POW's arriving with broken bones and serious combat injuries. Many died from their wounds. Medical care was non-existent to rudimentary. Relief from pain was almost never given and often the wounds were used as an available way to torture the POW. Because John's father was the Naval Commander in the Pacific theater, he was exploited with TV interviews while wounded. These film clips have now been widely seen. But it must be known that many POW's suffered similarly, not just John. And many were similarly exploited for political propaganda. 3) John was offered, and refused, "early release." Many of us were given this offer. It meant speaking out against your country and lying about your treatment to the press. You had to "admit" that the U.S. was criminal and that our treatment was "lenient and humane." So I, like numerous others, refused the offer. This was obviously something none of us could accept. Besides, we were bound by our service regulations, Geneva Conventions and loyalties to refuse early release until all the POW's were released, with the sick and wounded going first. 4) John was awarded a Silver Star and Purple Heart for heroism and wounds in combat. This heroism has been played up in the press and in his various political campaigns. But it should be known that there were approximately 600 military POW's in Vietnam. Among all of us, decorations awarded have recently been totaled to the following: Medals of Honor - 8, Service Crosses - 42, Silver Stars - 590, Bronze Stars - 958 and Purple Hearts - 1,249. John certainly performed courageously and well. But it must be remembered that he was one hero among many - not uniquely so as his campaigns would have people believe. John McCain served his time as a POW with great courage, loyalty and tenacity. More that 600 of us did the same. After our repatriation a census showed that 95% of us had been tortured at least once. The Vietnamese were quite democratic about it. There were many heroes in North Vietnam. I saw heroism every day there. And we motivated each other to endure and succeed far beyond what any of us thought we had in ourselves. Succeeding as a POW is a group sport, not an individual one. We all supported and encouraged each other to survive and succeed. John knows that. He was not an individual POW hero. He was a POW who surmounted the odds with the help of many comrades, as all of us did. I furthermore believe that having been a POW is no special qualification for being President of the United States. The two jobs are not the same, and POW experience is not, in my opinion, something I would look for in a presidential candidate. Most of us who survived that experience are now in our late 60's and 70's. Sadly, we have died and are dying off at a greater rate than our non-POW contemporaries. We experienced injuries and malnutrition that are coming home to roost. So I believe John's age (73) and survival expectation are not good for being elected to serve as our President for 4 or more years. I can verify that John has an infamous reputation for being a hot head. He has a quick and explosive temper that many have experienced first hand. Folks, quite honestly that is not the finger I want next to that red button. It is also disappointing to see him take on and support Bush's war in Iraq, even stating we might be there for another 100 years. For me John represents the entrenched and bankrupt policies of Washington-as-usual. The past 7 years have proven to be disastrous for our country. And I believe John's views on war, foreign policy, economics, environment, health care, education, national infrastructure and other important areas are much the same as those of the Bush administration. I'm disappointed to see John represent himself politically in ways that are not accurate. He is not a moderate Republican. On some issues he is a maverick. But his voting record is far to the right. I fear for his nominations to our Supreme Court, and the consequent continuing loss of individual freedoms, especially regarding moral and religious issues. John is not a religious person, but he has taken every opportunity to ally himself with some really obnoxious and crazy fundamentalist ministers lately. I was also disappointed to see him cozy up to Bush because I know he hates that man. He disingenuously and famously put his arm around the guy, even after Bush had intensely disrespected him with lies and slander. So on these and many other instances, I don't see that John is the "straight talk express" he markets himself to be. Senator John Sidney McCain, III is a remarkable man who has made enormous personal achievements. And he is a man that I am proud to call a fellow POW who "Returned With Honor." That's our POW motto. But since many of you keep asking what I think of him, I've decided to write it out. In short, I think John Sidney McCain, III is a good man, but not someone I will vote for in the upcoming election to be our President of the United States.

Bits and Pieces for the Week of August 10 - 16

Sen. John McCain's son served until last month on the board audit committee of a Nevada bank that is struggling to survive amid mounting losses and regulatory scrutiny. Andrew K. McCain, 46, was on the board of Silver State Bancorp for five months before he resigned on July 25 for unspecified "personal reasons..." Ahhh! Sweet memories of The Keating Five and the Savings and Loan Scandal that cost taxpayers billions. (7 of 6)

Rep. Bill Sali (R-ID) has the solution to our energy needs. Finally, a rational Republican who is well-versed in energy technology. Bravo! (Mike)

Seems like the troops like Obama 6 to 1 over McLame. (7 of 6)

Governor Groperzenegger's letter to state employees, explaining how he's decided to give them the shaft (Mike)

Asphalt: the next great energy source? (Mike)

"Automakers are offering discounts of $10,000 or more on some S.U.V.’s just to get rid of them" (Mike)

The headline reads: Justice Staffers Won't Be Prosecuted For Illegal Hiring Practices. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Tuesday... "not every wrong, or even every violation of the law, is a crime. In this instance, the two joint reports found only violations of the civil service laws." I'll use that as my defense if I ever get arrested... should work, eh? (7 of 6)

Republican legislators in California look like they want to shut down the state government. The Dems are acting spineless, as usual. (Mike)

I love broccoli... I fart a lot when I eat it! However, there are better things it does for the body.... "it may undo diabetes damage". (7 of 6) h/t Mike

Catch a Wave...

Yes, he bodysurfs... not, windsurfs!

FRIDAY F U N

• Gee, I forget... Is that celebrity alive or dead?
• The evolution of dance (definitely not the "intelligent design" of dance)
• Pictures to ponder
• Sculptures made from typewriter parts
• Flat Earth Society (oh, it's real)
• K7.net - online site that sets you up with a free phone/fax # allowing you to receive faxes (and voice messages) in your email.
• Rooftops of rich New Yorkers
• Can you identify the accent? (I scored 20 points)
• Creative advertising

That I live in a country that even considers using such evil technology is one thing that keeps me up at night:

Air Force touts laser weapon’s “who, us?” feature by John Murrell I know I’m just a crazy, naive idealist, but dammit, it still bothers me to see the U.S. military promoting a new weapon technology on the basis that it makes it easier for the government to lie. In PowerPoint presentations to technical audiences about the aircraft-mounted Advanced Tactical Laser (affectionately known as the “long-range blowtorch”), Air Force representatives like to include a slide listing the many advantages it has over conventional weapons. A briefing given to the 2007 Air Armament Symposium by the head of the Air Force’s Capabilities Integration Directorate lists the following benefits of the laser weapon: “Ultra-precision target engagement; speed of light engagement; reduced collateral damage; scalable effects; covert — plausible deniability; improved ISR supporting BMC4I; encompasses entire kill chain.” Back up a little to “plausible deniability.” The same advantage shows up on slide in a June briefing given to the New Mexico Optics Industry Association by Cynthia Kaiser, chief engineer of the US Air Force Research Laboratory’s Directed Energy Directorate. Plausible deniability is, of course, the slightly more polite way of saying we could use this thing, lie about it, and nobody could prove otherwise. As John Pike, analyst with defense think-tank Global Security, puts it, “The target would never know what hit them. Further, there would be no munition fragments that could be used to identify the source of the strike.” The less advantageous flip side of this, of course, is that if anything in the world ever gets blown up by a mysterious and intense heat source, we will be blamed and all denials will be deemed implausible. The precision, scalability and reduction of collateral damage claimed for this technology are impressive. Shame they didn’t include a moral compass in the specs.

It's True... Very, Very True

I heard on the radio about new prisons being built in Saudi Arabia to take the place of GITMO. I really thought I was hearing things but after searching the internet it's true: (my highlights)

Saudi Arabia is to build five modern prisons in the kingdom to replace US Guantanamo detention facility, a new report has revealed. Jordanian daily quoted unnamed sources as saying that US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Saudi officials are cooperating to construct the prisons which are to replace Guantanamo and US secret prisons in Europe. Riyadh is to spent about two billion Saudi Rials for the project which can accommodate up to 18000 inmates, they added. Bin laden firm and with the help of German engineers will build the prisons in the Saudi cities of Mecca, Haer, Demmam, and Qasim. The US has been under pressure due to violating individual rights in its detention camps in Europe and Guantanamo Bay. UN human rights investigators have urged the White House to shut down the Guantanamo camp.

Does anyone else find it ironic that the U.S. is doing business with the Bin Laden family construction firm?

I guess it's a relief to know that Halliburton did not get the contract!

"On Contract"

The situation on the Russia-Georgia border today is a undoubtedly a complicated situation. But it would be difficult for John McCain to give a credible response since his top foreign policy advisor, Randy Scheunemann, was until recently a paid lobbyist for the Georgian government.--Josh Marshall

Bits and Pieces for the Week of August 3 - 9

The John McCain whom Arizonans loathe (Mike)

If you haven't seen Paris Hilton's campaign ad for president, you're in for a treat

Having been a strong supporter of John Edwards, this really sucks (Mike)

If the Chinese are calling the U.S. hypocritical for complaining about China's voilations of human rights, they can use this as evidence. (Mike)

It appears likely that the Lakers are going to sign this incredible player. Move over, Kobe. (Mike)

Groperzenegger pulls yet another political boner. This guy should either retire or go back to his bad-acting career. (Mike)

War with Mexico barely averted last Sunday. (Mike)

Obama's latest Muslim gaffe; a sign of poor decision-making abilities? (Mike)

On The Issues provides detailed, categorized lists of the voting records and stands of just about all important elected officials. Check it out. (Mike)

General Motors and the Intellectual and Moral Backruptcy of Wall Street (Mike)

Why Bruce Ivins might NOT be the anthrax attacker (Mike)

Why our economy and standard of living is going to get oh so much worse, and what you can do to reduce its impact on yourself. Plus, get ready for the next, bigger wave of loan defaults. (Can you say, "Alt-A"?) Also, become a better investor by studying the herd mentality. Finally... Paying the price for $5/dz tube socks. (Mike)

Make your house an energy station? M.I.T. says that a new discovery may soon revolutionize solar energy. (Mike)

"Immigrants Facing Deportation by U.S. Hospitals". Is it "international patient dumping"? Or the simple fact, our hospitals cannot carry the burden of the cost? What does that say for the ethics of hospital administrations? More questions arise than I have answers for. (7 of 6)

The bu$h administration still up to its old tricks... late Friday afternoon news dump. "Pentagon OKs over $10 billion in arms sales for Iraq". Including, "M1A1 Abrams tanks built by General Dynamics Corp... six C-130J-30 transport aircraft built by Lockheed Martin Corp"... aw, fuck-it... let's just say the Military Industrial Complex got another customer with Iraq. And if all this shit falls into the wrong hands? (7 of 6)

FRIDAY F U N

• A bolt of lightening in super slow motion.
• How drinking Coke affects your body
• How many of the 100 most common words in the English language can you guess in 5 minutes?
• Pavement Drawings (these always fascinate me, considering that they're flat drawings)
• Input devices of the future
• Tattoo goofs

"This community for me is my beloved community. This is not a money-making venture. I have been running with this community all my life, and when I hear people like George Bush talk about the gay community being anti-American it makes my blood boil. The guy who saved the White House, one of the heroes who crashed that plane on 9/11, was gay – the rugby player Mark Bingham, who died on United 93. And does Bush ever mention that? Does he f***! That gay guy saved his lousy ass. And this guy who says he prays to God, this guy who promotes hate and fear, this guy we call our President…This guy is the true anti-American." Cyndi Lauper

Michael Blum sees Obama in a bit of a different light; maybe we should too:

Obama and the Empire The New Yorker magazine in its July 14 issue ran a cover cartoon that achieved instant fame. It showed Barack Obama wearing Muslim garb in the Oval Office with a portrait of Osama bin Laden on the wall. Obama is delivering a fist bump to his wife, Michelle, who has an Afro hairdo and an assault rifle slung over her shoulder. An American flag lies burning in the fireplace. The magazine says it's all satire, a parody of the crazy right-wing fears, rumors, and scare tactics about Obama's past and ideology. The cartoon makes fun of the idea that Barack and Michelle Obama are some kind of mixture of Black Panther, Islamist jihadist, and Marxist revolutionary. But how much more educational for the American public and the world it would be to make fun of the idea that Obama is even some kind of progressive. I'm more concerned here with foreign policy than domestic issues because it's in this area that the US government can do, and indeed does do, the most harm to the world, to put it mildly. And in this area what do we find? We find Obama threatening, several times, to attack Iran if they don't do what the United States wants them to do nuclear-wise; threatening more than once to attack Pakistan if their anti-terrorist policies are not tough enough or if there would be a regime change in the nuclear-armed country not to his liking; calling for a large increase in US troops and tougher policies for Afghanistan; wholly and unequivocally embracing Israel as if it were the 51st state; totally ignoring Hamas, an elected ruling party in the occupied territory; decrying the Berlin Wall in his recent talk in that city, about the safest thing a politician can do, but with no mention of the Israeli Wall while in Israel, nor the numerous American-built walls in Baghdad while in Iraq; referring to the Venezuelan government of Hugo Chávez as "authoritarian", but never referring similarly to the government of George W. Bush, certainly more deserving of the label; talking with the usual disinformation and hostility about Cuba, albeit with a token reform re visits and remittances. But would he dare mention the outrageous case of the imprisoned Cuban Five in his frequent references to fighting terrorism? While an Illinois state senator in January 2004, Obama declared that it was time "to end the embargo with Cuba" because it had "utterly failed in the effort to overthrow Castro." But speaking as a presidential candidate to a Cuban-American audience in Miami in August 2007, he said he would not "take off the embargo" as president because it is "an important inducement for change." He thus went from a good policy for the wrong reason to the wrong policy for the wrong reason. Does Mr. Obama care any more than Mr. Bush that the United Nations General Assembly has voted -- virtually unanimously -- 16 years in a row against the embargo? In summary, it would be difficult to name a single ODE (Officially Designated Enemy) that Obama has not been critical of, or to name one that he has supported. Can this be mere coincidence? The fact that Obama says he's willing to "talk" to some of the "enemies" more than the Bush administration has done sounds good, but one doesn't have to be too cynical to believe that it will not amount to more than a public relations gimmick. It's only change of policy that counts. Why doesn't he simply and clearly state that he would not attack Iran unless Iran first attacked the US or Israel or anyone else? As to Iraq, if you're sick to the core of your being about the horrors US policy brings down upon the heads of the people of that unhappy land, then you must support withdrawal –- immediate, total, all troops, combat and non-combat, all the Blackwater-type killer contractors, not moved to Kuwait or Qatar to be on call. All bases out. No permanent bases. No permanent war. No timetables. No approval by the US military necessary. No reductions in forces. Just OUT. ALL. Just like what the people of Iraq want. Nothing less will give them the opportunity to try to put an end to the civil war and violence instigated by the American invasion and occupation and to recreate their failed state. George W. Bush, 2006: "We're going to stay in Iraq to get the job done as long as the government wants us there." George W. Bush, 2007: "It's their government's choice. If they were to say, leave, we would leave." Iraqi National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie, 2008: "said his government was 'impatiently waiting' for the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops." Barack Obama, 2008: We can "redeploy combat brigades from Iraq at a pace of 1 to 2 brigades a month that would remove them in 16 months." Obama's terms of withdrawal equals no withdrawal. Literally. Has he ever said that the war is categorically illegal and immoral? A war crime? Or that anti-American terrorism in the world is the direct result of oppressive US policies? Instead he calls for a troop increase and "the first truly 21st century military ... We must maintain the strongest, best-equipped military in the world." Why of course, that's what the people of the United States and the people of Iraq and Afghanistan and the rest of the people in this sad world desperately desire and need -- greater American killing power! Obama is not so much concerned with ending America's endless warfare as he is with "succeeding" in them, by whatever perverted definition of that word. And has he ever dared to raise the obvious question: Why would Iran, even if nuclear armed, be a threat to attack the US or Israel? Any more than Iraq was such a threat. Which was zero. Instead, he has said things like "Iran continues to be a major threat" and repeats the tiresome lie that the Iranian president called for the destruction of Israel. Obama, one observer has noted, "opposes the present US policy in Iraq not on the basis of any principled opposition to neo-colonialism or aggressive war, but rather on the grounds that the Iraq war is a mistaken deployment of power that fails to advance the global strategic interests of American imperialism." He and his supporters have made much of the speech he delivered in the Illinois state legislature in 2002 against the upcoming US invasion of Iraq. But two years later, when he was running for the US Senate, he declared: "There's not that much difference between my position and George Bush's position at this stage." Since taking office in January 2005, he has voted to approve every war appropriation the Republicans have put forward. He also voted to confirm Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State despite her complicity in the Bush Administration's false justifications for going to war in Iraq. In doing so, he lacked the courage of 12 of his Democratic Party Senate colleagues who voted against her confirmation. If you're one of those who would like to believe that Obama has to present moderate foreign policy views to be elected, but once he's in the White House we can forget that he lied to us repeatedly and the true, progressive man of peace and international law and human rights will emerge ... keep in mind that as a US Senate candidate in 2004 he threatened missile strikes against Iran, and winning that election apparently did not put him in touch with his inner peacenik. When, in 2005, the other Illinois Senator, Dick Durbin, stuck his neck out and compared American torture at Guantanamo to "Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime -- Pol Pot or others -- that had no concern for human beings", and was angrily denounced by the right wing, Obama stood up in the Senate and ... defended him? No, he joined the critics, thrice calling Durbin's remark a "mistake". One of Obama's chief foreign policy advisers is Zbigniew Brzezinski, a man instrumental in provoking Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in 1979, which was followed by massive US military supplies to the opposition and widespread war. This gave rise to a generation of Islamic jihadists, the Taliban, Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda, and more than two decades of anti-American terrorism. Asked later if he had any regrets about this policy, Brzezinski replied: "Regret what? That secret operation was an excellent idea. It had the effect of drawing the Russians into the Afghan trap and you want me to regret it? The day that the Soviets officially crossed the border, I wrote to President Carter, in substance: We now have the opportunity of giving to the USSR its Vietnam war." Another prominent Obama adviser -- from a list entirely and depressingly establishment-imperial -- is Madeleine Albright, who should always wear gloves because her hands are caked with blood from her roles in the bombings of Iraq and Yugoslavia in the 1990s. In a primary campaign talk in March, Obama said that "he would return the country to the more 'traditional' foreign policy efforts of past presidents, such as George H.W. Bush, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan." Use your imagination. Bloody serial interventionists, all. Why have well-known conservatives like George Will, David Brooks, Rush Limbaugh, Joe Scarborough, and others spoken so favorably about Obama's candidacy? Whatever else, they know he's not a threat to their most cherished views and values. Given all this, can we expect a more enlightened, less bloody, more progressive and humane foreign policy from Mr. Barack Obama? Forget the alleged eloquence and charm; forget the warm feel-good stuff; forget the interminable clichés and platitudes about hope, change, unity, and America's indispensable role as world leader; forget all the religiobabble; forget John McCain and George W. Bush ... All that counts is putting an end to the horror -- the bombings, the invasions, the killings, the destruction, the overthrows, the occupations, the torture, the American Empire. Al Gore and John Kerry both took the progressive vote for granted. Neither had ever been particularly progressive themself. Each harbored a measure of disdain for the left. Both paid a heavy price for the neglect. I and millions like me voted for Ralph Nader, or some other third-party candidate, or stayed home. Obama is doing the same as Gore and Kerry. Progressives should let him know that his positions are not acceptable, keeping up the anti-war pressure on him and the Democratic Party at every opportunity. For whatever good it just might do. I'm afraid that if Barack Obama becomes president he's going to break a lot of young hearts. And some older ones as well. Writer Norman Solomon has written: "These days, an appreciable number of Obama supporters are starting to use words like "disillusionment." But that's a consequence of projecting their political outlooks onto the candidate in the first place. The best way to avoid becoming disillusioned is to not have illusions in the first place."

Check out these great bumper stickers. I just ordered a bunch of them for my local Democratic Club to distribute at our next fundraiser:


You can order them at this site. They also have fundraising displays on this page.

"....Let's be frank. On the campaign trail this cycle, McCain frequently forgets key elements of policies, gets countries' names wrong, forgets things he's said only hours or days before and is frequently just confused. Any single example is inevitable for someone talking so constantly day in and day out. But the profusion of examples shows a pattern. Some of this is probably a matter of general unseriousness or lack of interest in policy areas like the economy that he doesn't care much about. But for any other politician who didn't have the benefit of years of friendship or acquaintance with many of the reporters covering him, this would be a major topic of debate in the campaign. It's whispered about among reporters. And it's evidenced in his campaign's increasing effort to keep him away from the freewheeling conversations with reporters that defined his 2000 candidacy. But it's verboten as a topic of public discussion...." - - - Josh Marshall

The concentration of wealth and its effects on us:

FRIDAY F U N

• Find out what kind of fish you are with Fish Game. I'm a hammerhead shark. (h/t: 7of6)
• Here's a photo/video essay of a journalist's encounter with a stage 4 tornado, in four segments: One, Two, Three, and Four.
• Bicycle ballerina. Notice that her feet never touch the floor.
• This site is for those of you who miss MST3000
• Best vehicle paint jobs ever
• Flyswatter (game - don't worry, you don't have to clean up the mess)
• Cannon Fire (game - pretty good one)
• Two cops responding to noise complaint at party are mistaken for strippers
• The new-look Los Angeles Times
• George Orwell gets his own blog

Billmon!

OK, sorry for the hero worship... but Billmon has a post up at Kos! A few days ago I was really thinking about what a loss it was when he stopped posting. Even if it's only one post, it's good enough for me.

Then I read Billmon in the comment section: "Accept no substitutes. Those cheap imitation billmons leave a funny aftertaste."

The media’s moment of disillusionment with John McCain appears to be at hand. Even Joe Klein has finally noticed that McCain’s profile is beginning to resemble the endomorphic shadow of his backstage advisor, Karl Rove, not one of the faces on Mt. Rushmore. It’s all very predictable – about as predictable as the media’s abrupt discovery in the summer of 2005, as New Orleans sank beneath the waves, that the president of the United States was, gasp!, an incompetent boob. But anyone who’s studied McCain’s career with any intellectual detachment at all (as opposed to the hagiographic tendencies of his media cheerleading claque) could have told you: The truth about John McCain is that he'll do just about anything and say just about anything to win. He always has. He's just been more clever (and cynical) than most in how he goes about it...

Read the rest... of course you will!

Watch how the right-wing media (a.k.a. MSM) takes a misquote lie by Dana Milbank about Obama to the extreme and totally embarrasses itself:

Bits and Pieces for the Week of July 27 - August 2

Finally! For years I've been telling everyone I know the truth about that "new car smell". I'm glad someone else is now paying attention. (Mike)

WATER DISCOVERED ON MARS!!! (7 of 6)

The Federal deficit for 2009 is more likely to be $600 Billion, not the $400B or so that's been in the news recently. (Mike)

Why this week's California earthquake shows that Republicans are wrong about small government (Mike)

Toyota Prius sales are way down for the month, and it's NOT due to decreased demand (Mike)

Goodbye, Mervyn's. Also, Dr. Doom speaks up about the current economic crisis. And finally, how "walking away" might end up with all of us "walking into" a financial disaster. (Mike)

McCain has a problem showing up to his job. (Mike)

Tom Coburn needs to be censored. He is by far the biggest Republi-con Obstructionist serving in the Senate today. (7 of 6)

The leased SUV problem (Mike)

The Department of Justice and their hiring practices. Or as one commenter calls it, "wingnut welfare". (7 of 6)

The republi-cons have started purging voters rolls in close voting southwest states! Time to start fighting against the dirty fucks, AGAIN! (7 of 6)

Yes, blank check... carte-blanche... what military commander doesn't want that? "Petraeus won't join bandwagon for Iraq withdrawal timetable." That is why Obama is correct in saying that new orders must be given. Like a new objective: stop wasting our money and get us the fuck out! And that's an order! (7 of 6)

He supposedly supports the troops. McCain wants the VA to get out of the business of "routine" healthcare and just treat "combat wounds." (7 of 6)