Adventures In Cubeland

Hail to the Chief!

2009-01-20T10:15:00.001-08:00

(Did you hear hundreds of thousands of people singing hey hey goodbye as Bush flew off? Our long national nightmare is over.)

and no, i didn't cry. but i almost did.

2008-11-11T13:59:00.000-08:00

Obama cult
I think that with the proliferation of buttons, t-shirts, posters, etc. that Obama supporters (spell checkers need to start recognizing “Obama” as a word….) may in fact be a cult….and me with my buttons, and t-shirts and posters, I’m ok with that. If it gets things done in this country, I’m ok with the fanatical support. Because unlike the cult of Mr. codpiece, the object of our veneration intends to get things done – like healthcare, energy security, and restoring civil rights.

Individual freedom
It is so ironic to me that one of the core principles of Conservatism is individual freedom and responsibility. This seems in DIRECT contradiction to GOP support of gay-marriage bans, right of privacy infringement and abortion bans. You stay out of my business, and I’ll stay out of yours. INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM idiots! I’ll entertain your right to bear arms when you get out of my bedroom. I’ll consider smaller government when you get your laws off my body.

Well Prop 8 passed in California, stripping same-sex couples of their Constitutionally guaranteed right to marry. Fortunately, the world has lawyers and they have descended en masse to file objections to the proposition. From what I can tell, they are levying three main arguments at Prop 8.

1. You cannot attach an unconstitutional amendment to a constitution. – Since the California State Constitution was found to hold equal marital rights for same-sex couples, you can merely pass an amendment (which standing alone as a law, would be struck down as unconstitutional), to negate the State Constitution proper.
2. You cannot strip rights from a class of people with a Constitutional amendment – Stripping rights from one class would require a Constitutional Revision and a two-thirds vote. AND to even get to the Revision, you’d have to open a Constitutional Convention - this too, would require a two-thirds vote.
3. Making a distinction in rights between same-sex couples and straight couples violates the Equal Protection Clause of the federal Constitution.

There are two more arguments that strike me. You shouldn’t be allowed to make these kinds of changes to a CONSTITUTION with a simple majority vote. AND. IT’S JUST WRONG.

It’s like this, if the language of the Propsition was: “Only marriage between a white man and a white woman is valid or recognized in California."”, this wouldn’t even be an issue. Insert almost any other adjective before man and woman and you can see why this Proposition is a joke. Except it’s not a joke. It’s happening, and now thousands, of couples cannot get married. Not to mention that marriage is a CIVIL right, not a RELIGIOUS one. This should not even be an issue. And the Mormons, really? I mean really? Of all the people…after having been run out of New York state, and then Missouri before settling in Utah because of their quirky beliefs about, or all things, MARRIAGE. You would think that the Mormons would understand. And it’s not like I want to marry more than one girl, really, it’s just the one. Instead the Mormon Church poured nearly $20 million into the campaign to pass Prop 8, and supplied who knows how many GOTV volunteers. So, boycott UTAH – Mormon run, and boycott Marriot – Mormon owned. And for God’s sake, sign the Courage Campaign’s petition here and donate money to help us beat back this horrible horrible law.

Sanctity of marriage bullshit.
When you can drunkenly find a chapel in Nevada and get married at 2am, there can be no sanctity of marriage. When you can get divorced 8 hours later when you’ve sobered up, there can be no sanctity of marriage. When you can get married two, three, four times, there can be no sanctity of marriage. When you claim you can get married to two, three, four women at the same time, there can be no sanctity of marriage. When you force a child to get married just because there is a baby on the way, there can be no sanctity of marriage. Sanctity of marriage is bullshit. Marriage is a civil contract. There could be religious sanctity of marriage, but that is between your religious official and a believer – not me and the state. Shove off.

Campaign Post Mortem
Well, the campaign is over. It’s still not clear if we won or lost MO, though, I suspect that we lost it. We worked really hard and knocked on countless doors…and we killed in the city and the county, but we could not overcome the rampant bigotry in rural areas. I had a great time, and I can’t believe that it’s over. Election day had me in charge of four canvass captains and scores of canvassers – it was an incredible experience. Photos will be forthcoming. And that party at the Chase was electric. I’ll admit it, I cried a little. And I’ll probably cry again on Inauguration Day. We may have lost Missouri, but we sure won the country (did I mention that we picked of an electoral vote in Nebraska? Nebraska of all places!) So thanks to everyone I met on the campaign, and all the volunteers that came out and knocked on some doors, or made some phone calls, or donated money – it is much appreciated. It will be fascinating to see what changes President-Elect Obama will enact and what opportunities will arise. But we’ll be here, watching.

(I’ll miss checking fivethirtyeight everyday for the latest poll numbers, but the founder assures us that they are not going away and are going to continue to provide fascinating content for our perusal.)

(I’ll also miss the antics of former VP nominee Sarah Palin, though I suspect that she’s going to stick around for awhile. She’s had a taste of the limelight, and I think that despite the negative publicity, she wants more. Sarah Palin 2012? Please. Of course she is still facing an ethics investigation in Alaska…)

Prop 8 Redux
Keith O weighs in:

Yes we did.

2008-11-07T06:33:00.000-08:00

(Via Bob Geiger - courtesy Steve Kelley)

YES WE DID!

2008-11-06T06:18:00.000-08:00

Hypocrites

2008-10-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

Pro-lifers

Someone please explain to me why Pro-lifers get to be called any more than pro-fetus? They are in fact not pro-LIFE, that would involve being pro-universal healthcare, pro-living wage, anti-war, anti-death penalty, pro-gun laws (not banning, just restrictions to prevent violence)….in my experience they might be some of these things, but if you really want to call yourself pro-LIFE, you have to be all of them. In reality, the pro-lifers, are anti-abortion – they are one issue, and that makes them pro-group of cells in a woman’s body. I would hazard to say that the real Pro-lifers are liberals, progressives who thing that all people deserve and equal shot, and if they mess up, or catch a bad break, then we should lend a hand.

And, I heard this sanctimonious Catholic scholar/spokesman/representative (?) on NPR this morning, talking about how he was anti-choice because he believed in the equality of the whole human race. Oh really guy? Because I don’t see you lining up to support gay rights, or the fair pay act, or the priesthood for women- those are all equality issues too. So really, say what you want, but say what you mean. Because you don’t mean that woman are equal to men, and you don’t mean that gays should have the same rights as heteros. You don’t.

Speaking of wackos,John McCain has been running around A LOT in Pennsylvania. He thinks that he can swipe this blue state away from Obama. He is deluded. The pollster average shows Obama up by 11 in PA – the most recent polling indicates that Obama is up by 12, 14, 9, 7, and 11 (in order, (Quinnipiac, AP Marist, Insider Advantage, Rasmussen, Muhlenberg). Just look at the pollster graph:

There is not a race here. John McCain will not close this gap. And yet, the media, along with McCain insists that this is a battleground state. If that were the case, then we would need to take states that McCain is winning by less than (the pollster average) 11% and call it a battleground. Let’s see, that would include such bastions of Republican Red as Montana, North & South Dakota, Georgia, Mississippi, and OOPS!
Arizona!

Recent polling in Arizona indicates a significant tightening to the presidential race here in McCains HOME state.

This should be HUGE news, if Obama was winning IL by only 6% we would be hearing nothing but that (he’s currently winning IL by 25%). Just another example of “it’s ok if you’re a republican.”

Moreover, McCain is doing robo-calls in his own state. He may lose Arizona – what a huge slap in the face! And all the media can talk about is how Pennsylvania is a battleground, NO. IT’S. NOT.

Sidenote. Thank GOD, my staging location on election day has wireless internet. I will not be without information from the world on one of the most important days in American history. The space itself is actually pretty cool – I just have to figure out what to do with it, and what the hell I am doing. I’ll be commanding an army of 150 volunteers. Better get my plan together… by tonight.

I think I know who's going to be Keith O's worst person in the world...

2008-10-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

Meet Ashley Todd. Ashley Todd is a McCain supporter that made up a story about being mugged and beaten up at an ATM by a big black man that didn't like her McCain bumper sticker. AND he allegedly carved a "B" into her face - "B" for Barack. Um...she lied. Oh, and that "B," it's backwards - kind of like it would be if you did it yourself in a mirror....

Worst Person in the WORLD!

Fun with numbers

2008-10-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

First a video:

Ok folks, here’s some numbers for you:

Of the 30 states that Bush carried in 2000, Obama holds a lead in 10 of them. Additionally, McCain has lost GOP support in all but seven of the states that Bush carried. The most striking of these, and two that Obama currently has leads in, are Montana and North Dakota. Obama holds leads of 3% in both – and the GOP support has collapsed -28 and -30 points respectively since 2000. Montana and North Dakota! Bush won these two states by 25% and 27%! Are you kidding me?!

Other tidbits:

Support for the GOP has collapsed +15 points in Virginia, North Carolna, Wyoming, Indiana, and (you betcha) Alaska. That’s right, despite have America’s favorite governor (/snark), McCain has lost 15 points of support since 2000. HAhaHAhaha..

Though not leading them, Obama is down by 10% or less in West Virginia, Mississippi, Georgia and Indiana.

Anyway, here’s a handy chart I made up, read ‘em and weep.

(all 2000 & 2004 election number courtesy Dkos, 2008 data courtesy pollster.)

NO on CA-Prop 8

2008-10-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I’m not taking credit for this, but, the polls have switched in CA! The good guys are back on top 52-44! Thank you Ellen! You knew she had a lot of influence, didn’t you?

And thank you everyone that got involved or gave money or talked to anyone about this issue. And keep up the good work! There’s plenty of time for the polls to switch again, and that would be BAD. So keep fighting until Nov 5th.

2008-10-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

So, I’m not saying that she did it for me or anything. I am saying that it’s a mighty coincidence that Ellen appeared on Leno in opposition to Prop 8, gave $100,000 and cut a PSA, all mere days after I wrote me letter. I’m not saying she did it for me. I’m just saying.

Also, I’m not saying that Sarah Palin is a complete idiot, but I am saying that she asserted yesterday (after a question from a 3rd grader) that the Vice President is in charge of the Senate.

Additionally, she was recently photographed wearing a scarf; nothing funny about that, it is fall and it’s getting cooler and scarves are fashionable…the scarf says “vote.” Nothing funny about that, nothing curious about that, it is election time and she is running of high office. The scarf has donkeys on it. No really, donkeys. Donkeys, of course being the symbol of the Democratic Party. So here we have the vice presidential candidate of the Republican Party, sporting an accessory with the opposition party’s logo.

Now I’m saying she’s a complete idiot.

What other Sarah Palin scandals can be dug up. How about this one?

RNC spends $150,000 in two months to outfit the gov and her family at sak’s fifth ave and neiman marcus?

How about this one?

Sarah Palin charged the state for her children’s plane tickets when the accompanied her to events…and later amended expense reports to show they were on “official business”?

Me thinks that when little Sarah gets sent back to Alaska, she better watch her political back because Alaskans are going to send her packing come reelection time.

Here’s a fun video of John McCain trying to say “rates were cut” and instead comes out with “rates were cunt-cut in the Bush years.”

Oops, not really a word that you accidentally say. Unless, maybe you’ve been saying it in private, maybe to your wife….let’s not forget about this incident witnessed by three reporters and two aides:

At one point, Cindy playfully twirled McCain's hair and said, "You're getting a little thin up there." McCain's face reddened, and he responded, "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt." McCain's excuse was that it had been a long day. If elected president of the United States, McCain would have many long days.

Yeah, not so much with this guy and being the president. I don’t think so.

A study in contrasts

2008-10-20T10:44:00.001-07:00

The Obama rally in St. Louis on Saturday drew a crowd of over 100,000 people. Just look at these pictures. That’s awesome.

and just for shits and giggles, here's a pic from McCain's rally in St. Charles:

HAHAHAHA.

Big Bill Clinton will be in St. Louis tonight, Kirkwood HS, doors open at 6:30pm. I managed to get out of work early and so I’ll be there working the event. If I can get a pic with Bill and me, I’ll post it.

Meanwhile, Sunday I had GOTV training at our field office – I’m not sure what I can disclose, so let me just assure you that you should feel extremely confident in the Obama GOTV operation. It is thorough and extensive. I am expecting to be in a room, directing traffic, WITHOUT internet for 16 hours. So, if anyone wants to text me important news that day, I would be much obliged.

If you know anyone that needs a ride on election day, and they live in St. Louis city or county, they can call 1-877-MO-CHANGE for a FREE ride to and from the polls.

I read today that 5000 lawyers in Florida have volunteered with the Obama campaign to monitor and manage problems at the polls. That is awesome. Missouri also has a large number of lawyers ready to address issues here, as we will be a swing state. (we WILL go for obama.)

Pollster.com currently has MT and ND in play. That’s right, Montana and North Dakota – McCain can’t even hold those.

Update on Ellen
Jen informs me that Ellen has donated $100k for the Prop 8 opposition. Thank you Ellen! Who think that it was my letter that did it?

More on Prop 8
Through their Hell to Pay program, the Dkos community raised in excess of $100k for Prop 8 opposition this weekend. Proudly joining the opposition and donating, was my grandma. Thanks Grandma!

Speaking of raising money, the latest fundraising reports show that Obama raised $150 million last month. The average donation was $84. That is awesome. Obama will not be beholden to any special interests, he truly will be the people’s president.

I love finding democrats at work. I especially love when it’s someone who I thought was a Republican.

Oh, and there was a little announcement this weekend, something about Colin Powell endorsing Obama. That’s big. It’s hard to make an experience based argument against Obama when you have Colin Powell backing him up.

Post Debate

2008-10-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

From last night’s debate –

(Via Americablog)
(This photo, taken by Reuters, was not photoshopped.)

Is cable news getting completely out of control? I was watching pre-debate on CNN last night, and they had no less than 10 pundits commenting. They probably all spoke for only a couple of minutes apiece. And Jen caught one guy logging on to facebook. HAHAHA.

After the debate, all the talking heads were saying that McCain clearly had his best night, and he won, and blah blah blah. Then the snap polls came online and they had to shut the fuck up as those polled affirmed what all Americans saw – Obama won big.

CBS poll of undecided voters:
Who won the debate?
McCain (R) 22 Obama (D) 53

and CNN:

Just keep in mind, that with out the snap polls, it would be the talking heads that set the narrative, that would have told us who won. Everyday Americans would say to themselves, well, I thought Obama won, but all I hear on the TV and the radio is that McCain won. Maybe I’m wrong. But, with snap polls, there is instant confirmation of what we saw. I love it.

Meanwhile, Daily Kos reports that Joe the Plumber isn’t an umcommitted voter as the media is making him out to be. He fully backs McCain. Additionally, Obama’s employer healthcare plan exempts small businesses, so Joe would not be fined. Also, I am going to make it my life mission to someday be referred to as “Jalynn the lesbian” in a nationally televised federal election debate.

Incidentally, Joe the Plumber originally registered with the Natural Law Party. From wikipedia – “The party based its platform on Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's view that natural law is the supreme organizing principle that governs the universe, and that the problems of humanity are caused by people acting against this natural law. The Natural Law Party claimed that it could realign humanity with this organizing principle through techniques such as the practice of Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program, and problems would be alleviated.”

“The U.S. Natural Law Party, led by Dr. John Hagelin, ran as a third party that was largely center-left in ideology. It took liberal positions on abortion and gay rights, promised that it had scientific solutions to combat social ills such as poverty, crime, racism, bigotry, and came off as being politically moderate to conservative on economic issues.”

Yeah, it certainly sounds like this guy is pretty confused. I mean, I don’t think that a strong McCain (2008) supporter is going to take liberal positions on abortion and gay rights… just saying. OH, and Joe may not even be a licensed plumber...and he owes back taxes. A real stand-up guy - and now he's a registered Republican.

And how about crazy McCain on abortion. Note the air quotes “health of the mother.” Note to John McCain, using air quotes to mock health of the mother exemptions is NOT they way to win over independent women. I also enjoyed CNN’s focus group tracker that showed men way up, when McCain talked about restricting a woman’s right to choose, and the women’s line, way down. Seems about right. Men want to tell women what they can and cannot do with their bodies. Reminds me of how some health insurance policies will cover Viagra and not birth control. See, because birth control (in a radical rightwing view) is akin to abortion, but get an old, tired penis up for some horizontal boogying is totally fine.

Also, Obama will be in St. Louis this Saturday at the Arch. Gates open at 10:15am, program begins at 12pm. RSVPing is not required, but suggested. More information here.

Thank you Ellen!

2008-10-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

Now, I'm not saying that it was my letter that led Ellen to produce the following PSA, but I did post my letter two days ago...just saying.

This video was released with the following press release.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ellen Urges Californians to Vote NO on Prop. 8

Campaign Applauds Ellen's Move

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14, LOS ANGELES – The NO on Prop 8 campaign, Equality for All, today thanked Ellen DeGeneres for releasing a video message urging Californians to vote no on Proposition 8. Ellen released the public service announcement to confront the false and misleading scare tactics being used by the proponents of Prop 8.

Ellen's message says, "Hi, I'm Ellen DeGeneres. I got to do something this year I never thought I'd ever be able to do: I got married. It was the happiest day of my life. There are people out there raising millions of dollars to try and take that right away from me. You've seen their ads on TV. They're twisting the truth, and they're trying to scare you. I believe in fairness. I believe in compassion. I believe in equality for all people. Proposition 8 does not. Please, please, vote NO on Prop. 8."

"Ellen DeGeneres is someone Californians know and respect," said Patrick Guerriero, Campaign Director. "Her voice has a tremendous ability to elevate this conversation above the scare tactics and help people understand what's at stake for the people they know and care about."

Ellen's video can be viewed on line at:
http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2008/10/prop_8_psa.php and at www.NoOnProp8.com

"Fair-minded Californians agree that we should not eliminate the fundamental rights of our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers and our family members," said Guerriero. "Like Ellen, fair-minded Californians are going to vote no on Prop 8."

The campaign released information to debunk the lies of proposition supporters late last week. Ellen says the proposition proponents are "twisting the truth and trying to scare you," and the Equality for All campaign agrees.

Dear Ms. Lee of the lemon drops

2008-10-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

From the comments:

"Defining marriage as between one man and one woman is not taking away anyone's rights. The definition simply distinguishes a union that is biologically capable of producing its own children. Whether a married couple has children or not, I feel like this deserves a separate name--even the potential is kind of a miracle.

Actually this definition can be seen as the ultimate expression of equality our society has to offer: it takes one man and one woman. One could see a lesbian union as a marginalization of men, or a homosexual union as a marginalization of women.

Equality is especially important when it comes to raising children. Children deserve/need a father and a mother. Neither parent should be marginalized.

Yes, many children are already growing up in single-parent homes. Prop 8 should be a reminder to everyone that as a society we need to assist and strengthen families as much as possible. Really, as a society we should be most concerned with the success and health of our families.

peace! "

You’ll all have to forgive my response. It is early in the morning and my brain is still a bit muddled from sleep. I am not quite as eloquent as I can be.

Ms. Lee: “defining marriage as between one man and one woman is not taking away anyone’s rights.”

Um, actually it is. Setting aside for a moment the fact that CA currently allows gays the right to marry, defining marriage as between one man and one woman DE FACTO takes away the rights of gays. But even setting that very obvious counter to your initial claim aside for a moment…defining marriage as between one man and one woman denies same-sex couples all the RIGHTS, benefits, privileges and responsibilities that come with marriage, all 1400 of them (400 state, 1000 federal). These include, but are not limited to:

Joint parenting
Joint adoption
Joint insurance policies
Immigration and residency
Automatic inheritance
Annuities benefits
Hospital visitation
Wrongful death standing
Etc etc etc.

So yeah, Prop 8 takes away someone’s rights.

Ms. Lee “The definition simply distinguishes a union that is biologically capable of producing its own children.”

Um, it doesn’t “simply” do anything. Please see above. The definition does not exist in a vacuum – it has real world consequences – like excluding a whole category of people from a whole mess of rights.

Additionally, your argument implies that those marriages of people that are incapable of “producing children,” like infertile couples, naturally or by choice, older couples, etc. that those couples should not get the vaunted label of “marriage” simply because they cannot produce children. And what of couples that don’t want children – they have the potential but are refusing to use it. What would you call them?

Your definition also seems to imply that children are only possible within the definition of marriage, as if two people can’t produce a child outside of marriage. Or, alternately, that if two people do produce a child, they are automatically “married.”

Ms. Lee says: “Whether a married couple has children or not, I feel like this deserves a separate name.”

Ok, here’s a name: “breeders” or how about just “parents.” And what’s with the emphasis on “producing its own children?” Because there are not so many parentless children in this world, that we have to be so insistent on bringing forth progeny of our own blood. Are you kidding me?

Ms. Lee says: “Actually this definition can be seen as the ultimate expression of equality our society has to offer: it takes one man and one woman.”

Hmm, this one is hard to approach because of its astounding inanity, but we’ll give it a whack. If you accept that equality = one man + one woman, you’d have to accept that two men + two woman = 2x equality. Or five men + five women = 5x equality. Since there are very roughly the same number of women and men in the world, let’s go for ultimate human equality, and we can all be married to each other.

On to the next ridiculous assertion…

Ms. Lee says “One could see a lesbian union as a marginalization of men, or a homosexual union as a marginalization of women.”

So, you could say that someone who stays single, refusing the company of the opposite sex is also marginalizing that opposite sex. Or you could say that since there are roughly the same number of gay men, and lesbians, that their unions cancel each other out, so there is no net gain of marginalization.

Or we could just agree that this argument is ridiculous, and gay unions do not marginalize either men or women. But, excluding gay people from marriage does marginalize those gay people.

Ms. Lee says: “Yes, many children are already growing up in single-parent homes.”

I like that she points out a major flaw in her argument and does nothing to counter it – I mean she doesn’t even attempt to make the erroneous and debunked claim that children that grow up in gay households have more social/psychological problems. At the same time, she concludes that allowing gay marriage, means that children will grow up in single-parent homes. First, that that marriage automatically results in children. And second, that two people that love a child cannot be called parents unless they are a man and a woman that have produced that child. I’m glad she has such a favorable view of foster and adoptive parents.

Ms. Lee says “Prop 8 should be a reminder to everyone that as a society we need to assist and strengthen families as much as possible. Really, as a society we should be most concerned with the success and health of our families.”

Really? Because to me Prop 8 reminds everyone that there are A LOT of misguided and yes, hateful bigots in this world. It reminds me that there are a lot of people that are so concerned with denying legal rights to an entire class of people, that they use children as rhetorical shields in their untenable position.

The truth is marriage is not defined by the presence or possibility of children. Very basically, it is defined as the legal contract, condoned by the state, of two people, that confer rights, benefits, privileges and responsibilities on the participants. Nothing more, and nothing less.

The truth is there are countless more productive ways to focus on the health and success of families, all families. Giving legal recognition of all kinds of families so they cannot be broken up. Promoting better work/family balances. Providing low-cost, quality childcare and healthcare. Providing more support for low-income families. More support for foster parents. More opportunities for gay adoptions. And a thousand other things. The way to not help families? Denying legal recognition for those families.

Ms. Lee says: “Really, as a society we should be most concerned with the success and health of our families”

I agree – we should be concerned with the success and health of ALL of our families.

So thanks, but no thanks on Prop 8.

T-minus 21 days

2008-10-13T13:27:00.000-07:00

I don’t know if I mentioned it to everyone, but through my campaign office, I was afforded the opportunity to staff one of the senators that was in town as a surrogate for the Obama campaign at the debate. I got to be at and inside the debate site. I had my own credentials. I saw the SPIN ROOM as talked about in that famous Jon Stewart Crossfire takedown.

Yeah, I was there. I stood mere feet from senior Obama staff and senators and governors. In a word it was awesome. In several words it was awesome and crazy, hectic and stressful, fantastic and even more fantastic.

I got my picture taken behind one of the podiums after everyone had left. (I’ll post as soon as the woman who took the pic, emails it to me.) I got to frolick with the media in the AB hospitality tent (no thank you, pizza – I’ll have steak with the media). I saw Katie Couric get her picture taken from behind the podium. I saw what it was like to be behind the polished and efficient exterior. I have to tell you, behind that glossy surface, is a wild wild ride – and the Obama campaign is the most organized campaign EVER.

Did I mention not getting my credentials until 30 minutes before I was supposed to meet up with me Senator. Yep. The Secret Service was a little slow on getting the volunteers their passes, along with 80 other Obama people, including senior staff… I smell a rat! Though, the agent that was guarding our door was very nice. I blame the credentials problem on Fox News. Why? Because I can.

And watching the debate with a bunch of hardcore committed Democratic volunteers was great fun. Every time Palin winked there were loud groans, and cheers every time Biden slammed a point home. I don’t know what the point in having an audience is, if they cannot show any reaction to the candidates.

Speaking of debates, bring on the last debate – Obama is more than ready. Obama projected to win with 351 electoral votes. Fivethirtyeight projects that he will win nearly 94% of the time.

For an excellent discussion of the traditional media’s need for a close electoral contest, please see this Americablog post . The Washington Post is using some really wacky and intellectually dishonest numbers in their electoral map. To summarize, while Pollster show 60 Toss up electoral votes, WashPo claims 173. Basically, every McCain lead makes the state “Lean Republican,” and Obama leads of between 7.3%-13.8% are marked as “Battleground.” Really, go read the post.

Then take a look at NPR’s map, and NYT’s map, and tell me why MO is not marked as a battleground state when the Pollster average is 49-46? And bear in mind Obama’s ground game. He OWNS the ground war.

Regardless, Obama does not need to win MO, he’s winning all of the Kerry states and has leads 4.2%- 7.4% in five more state (OH, CO, NM, FL, IA) for a total of 320 electoral votes. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t work out butts off for him here in Missouri. I don’t want to be on the wrong side of history.

Crazy/Dangerous/RADICAL Republicans
Why are conservatives so rabidly, certifiably crazy? Why are they always violent? You don’t see liberals shooting up a Unitarian church, or bombing a women’s clinic. You don’t see liberals denying commuters parking on their lot because they sport an Obama bumper sticker. You don’t see angry Obama supporters ramming shopping carts and McCain supporters. insert You don’t see the democratic candidate inciting violence at their campaign rallies. You don’t hear liberals calling McCain/Palin a “terrorist” or saying “off with his head” or “kill him.” You just don’t see it.

And you don’t see such blind hate in liberals, watch these two videos of McCain supporters. Pay special attention to the “joke” about rape victims paying for their own rape kits under Palin.

And you have to ask yourself, what is wrong with these people? How can they be so blind to the truth? And why are they so angry, so violent?

ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now)

Once again, Republicans are hating on community organizers for no apparent reason. Here’s the run down on ACORN (like Maxine Waters said on Real Time, if don’t know what it stands for, you don’t get to talk about it.) ACORN organizes and advocates on behalf of minorities and low income people. In this election season, this has meant they are registering these traditionally underperforming (turnout-wise) groups to vote. There have been a small number of registrations that have been suspect.

By law ACORN must turn in ALL registrations, but they can flag the ones that they find suspicious, which is what they have done. And yet they have been raided and demonized for supposedly turning in fraudulent registrations with the intent of fraudulent voting. Which is ridiculous, as they flagged the problem ones in the first place.

Furthermore, voter fraud and voter registration fraud are two entirely different animals. And lastly, voter fraud is not near the problem that the Right makes it out to be. The false outrage engendered by the rightwing is a front for more restrictive voter laws that make it difficult for minorities and the impoverished to vote. And to what end? These groups overwhelmingly vote Democratic tickets. That’s the ACORN deal, so don’t be fooled.

Oh, and via Americablog, here’s a picture of John McCain with ACORN.

Troopergate
Here’s a mini refresher for you. While Palin was governor of AK, her sister went through a nasty divorce with her husband who happened to be an Alaskan State Trooper. Palin and her husband then embarked on a campaign to have the husband fired. Thwarted by the Public Safety Commissioner who refused to fire him, Palin fired the Public Safety Commissioner. She was then investigated by a bi-partisan panel that found her GUILTY of abusing her power as Governor. Let me say it again: Sarah Palin ABUSED her power as Governor of Alaska and VIOLATED the public trust. She’s quite a maverick, oh wait, nope. She’s exactly like every other political hack in the Bush Administration. That’s not change we can believe in.

Meanwhile, although the headlines screamed “Abuse of Power” when the story broke, there have been no calls for her to step down, step back, or step away. Now just imagine if it had been the Democrat who had lied to investigators, the press, the public and been found GUILTY of abuse of power. OH WAIT RIGHT, they impeached the last Democrat that lied. Silly me, I guess it’s ok if you’re a Republican.

Random Note
I have just run across someone that did not know who Xena was. Really? How can you not know Xena? She’s like a cultural icon. It must be a full moon, all the crazies are coming out.

(It must be a slow work day, because I’m feeling prettywordy.)

Gun Rights
Just to clear things up, I am pro-gun – the Constitution says we can have them so we can have them. (Note: The amendment reads “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” In my reading, it looks like a regulate militia is integral to the keeping and bearing of arms, however the amendment has not been interpreted this way, so we’ll have to stick to the current interpretation.)

I do, however, think that there can be reasonable restrictions on this right. Just look at Free Speech – you can’t yell “Fire” in a crowded movie theatre, you can’t verbally assault someone, you can’t use obscenities on public radio/TV. Rightly or wrongly, there are laws that restrict your first amendment right. And so goes the second amendment. I find nothing wrong with restricting the sale of automatic weapons. I see nothing wrong with running a background check on potential buyers. And I see nothing wrong with banning the carrying of weapons in certain places – courthouses, school yards, bars, etc.

Now, just imagine a world in which Republicans were for gun regulation (not banning, just regulating) and the Democrats were backed by a huge, wealthy lobby (the NRA) that didn’t want any regulation. Do you think that it’s possible that Republicans would make the argument that just like we have to give up some of our civil liberties in the cause of the War on Terror, we have to give up guns too, or make some concessions, like, oh regulations? Do you think they would make the argument that we shouldn’t let terrorists have easy access to weapons on our own soil? I think they might. Do you think that they would argue that if the Democrats and the NRA was anti-regulation, then they must be unpatriotic, because the want the terrorists to have guns? I think they might. That’s really the end of my point.

Dear Ellen

2008-10-13T10:32:00.001-07:00

Everyone, below is my open letter to Ellen regarding Prop 8 in California. Prop 8 will strip gays and lesbians of our recently won right to marry. The initiative is being heavily funded by the conservative right-wing. Please read, and if you can, donate to the Courage Campaign. If nothing else, please pass this on.

Thanks!

Dear Ellen,

We are losing in California. Despite being the capital of Gay USA, despite being a liberal bastion, despite the thousands of gay couples that have already been married, despite California's historical propensity of saying no to all manner of Propositions, despite all this, California is turning on us. The polls have switched and the pro-Prop 8 campaign has a $10 million dollar advantage, funded by conservative right-wing coffers.

In these hard economic times, everyday people have raised thousands of dollars to defend marriage equality, but it's not enough. We cannot raise enough – we need you.

Ellen, we appreciate your words of support on your blog, but we need more. We need you and everyone you know to donate money - lots of it - to the Prop 8 opposition. So goes California, so goes the country. We won recently in Connecticut, but it's not enough. If we lose in California, it will set equality back a decade.

Ellen, we loved when you married Portia – it brought smiles to the faces of everyone I know, from my gay friends to my grandmother. Everyone should have the right to marry the person that they love. I'd like to marry my girlfriend too, but if Prop 8 passes, there will be no reason for us to take the trip to California in May.

I beseech you. Prop 8 must not pass. Though your voice is appreciated, your words kind, it is your influence that we need most. Hollywood has put up $250,000 in support of marriage equality, but the conservative right-wing has millions and millions more.

Ellen, please put your money where your heart is. Please put your influence where your beliefs are. Please defend the dignity of you, and me, and people everywhere. Though gay marriage does not demean the institution of marriage, denying this right to gays does.

Sincerely,

Jalynn

*The Courage Campaign is spearheading the effort to defeat Prop 8.

2008-10-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

Well, we’ve now had two presidential debates, one VP debate and the longest campaign season in history. How can anyone still be undecided? On NPR this morning, I heard a bunch of undecideds – “I want to see the next debate” “I’ll keep researching” etc etc. WHAT are you talking about? Look at the issues, it’s pretty clear cut. Here, I’ll help.

Obama
Healthcare - Universal
Taxes - 95% get a tax break
Iraq - bring them home
Economy - help the middle class
Change - The change we need.

McCain
Healthcare - Tax employer benefits
Taxes - Continue Bush cuts for the Rich
Iraq - stay forever, bomb bomb bomb Iran
Economy - Economy is fundamentally strong
Change - BUSH

See, it’s easy. Oh, and more about you crazy undecideds. I was watching the debate on CNN last night because I love the audience dials. Basically, CNN gives ~25 undecided voters a dial, when they like something one of the candidates says, they spin it up, when they don’t like it, they spin it down. Sounds simple, but the effect is mesmerizing. Ok, so at one point when Obama was talking about healthcare, the women’s line was maxed out at the top for a good 30 seconds. Most of the rest of the time, the line was very positive for Obama and mostly flatlined for McCain – clearly the ~25 liked what Obama was saying. BUT when asked who they would vote for, a majority picked McCain. WHAT is going on here? Racism much?

And McCain last night, trying to weasel his way out of the “bomb bomb bomb Iran” charge, said that he had been talking about Iran to one of his veteran friends. WRONG. You sang bomb bomb bomb at a campaign rally, and there’s video of it. Lying in the age of YouTube is just stupid.

And et tu NPR? When talking about how both campaigns have gone negative and are playing the associations game, NPR mentioned the debunked relationship between Obama and Ayers, and then said “The Obama campaign has also tried to associate McCain to Charles Keating.” And they said it in the same breath as Obama and Ayers! Here’s the problem with that – Obama and Ayers sat on the board of a charity group together, that’s all. You should know the name Keating from the Keating FIVE scandal. MCCAIN WAS ONE OF THE KEATING FIVE. It’s not “playing the associations game” to link McCain to Keating. He was one of the five! He was reprimanded on the floor of the Senate for his involvement. He confessed! There is no similarity between attempting to link Obama to a domestic terrorist and pointing out that McCain was one of the Keating Five. Ridiculous.

And, I think that there is kind of a big difference between pointing out things that are true, and making shit up. So when you hear on the news that the campaigns have both gone negative, just remember, the Obama campaign is just pointing out things that are damaging, but true about McCain, whereas the McCain campaign is just making shit up.

And negative isn’t working for McCain. Fivethirtyeight now projects Obama to win 345-192. Pollster.com pegs Obama at 320-163, with 55 electoral votes in “Toss Up”. At the very least, I expect Obama to win out of those toss ups, Missouri (new Rasmussen poll puts Obama +3 in MO), Indiana and Nevada – which would give him a win of 347-190. Gobama! AND he could still pick up North Carolina and Virginia. Incidentally, the margin in WEST VIRGINIA is about 4%. WEST VIRGINIA! AND, in Georgia, though Obama trails by 10% in the pollster composite, he’s been posting HUGE voter registration numbers, if he can pull them all in, he might make a run for 375 electoral votes- 375+ considered a landslide. (Note: fivethirtyeight has three newer GA polls that put McCain’s lead at between 6%-8%.)

Meant to post this last night....

2008-10-01T05:18:00.000-07:00

As you know, the $700 billion dollar bailout failed yesterday, and the market proceeded to crash 778 points. What you might not know, is that the GOP is trying to blame Nancy Pelosi (yes, Nancy Pelosi). Minority Leader Boehner said that he could have had the votes had it not been for her partisan speech prior to the vote. Yes really, apparently PARTISAN speeches aren’t allowed on the floor of the House. Apparently there are some GOP members that had their feelings hurt and thus would not vote for the bill, though they had intended to at first. That’s like meeting a team in the park to play Frisbee, but the other team, who was bringing the Frisbee, heard your team cheer, and decided not to come. I call BULLSHIT.

The Dkos daily tracking poll has Obama up by +10 today. And the two most current MO polls have Obama down by 1 and 2 points, well within the margin of error.

AND Tina Fey has agreed to continue to reprise her role as Sarah Palin on SNL until the election. God help Sarah Palin.

Rock the Vote is sponsoring a Free Debate watching party at the Pageant on Thursday, doors open at 7pm, more info to come….

DOW down...778 points

2008-09-29T15:12:00.000-07:00

The DOW crashed nearly 778 points today - the biggest point drop in history. So let's review again, if you had had $100 in the market while Bill was prez, you would now have $328. If you had had $100 in the market while W was prez, you would now only have $97.

Over time, the market is supposed to be a good investment, to the tune of 10%. It is almost a rule that the market always rises in a given 10 year period. W is close to breaking that rule. The market has fallen over 200 points while he has been in office - that's a NEGATIVE .03% rate of return.

These are not abstract ideas! These are your parent's retirements! This is your retirement. And Bush and McCain wanted to put Social Security in the stock market too.

Heckuva job, Bushie. Heckuva job, McCain. Heckuva job, ASSHATS.

2008-09-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

As of yesterday, fivethirtyeight has Obama winning the election 325- 212. Yay!! But it’s no time to let up, we have to keep hitting the GOP, hard. The latest total most probably results from the economic crisis and McCain’s antics and the debate, where are large percentage of Americans found out the Obama is not crazy/scary/unready. But, McCain is petulant/grumpy/old.

And on Thursday we have the VP debates. I am inordinately excited about them, especially given this quote:

The campaign has held a mock debate and a mock press conference; both are being described as "disastrous." One senior McCain aide was quoted as saying, "What are we going to do?" The McCain people want to move this first debate to some later, undetermined date, possibly never. People on the inside are saying the Alaska Governor is "clueless."

Oh that’s trouble for our dear Governor. And did we see the latest clips from the Couric interview? Let’s review:

And here’s Tina Fey reprising her role as Sarah Palin on SNL. Note that her long-winded convoluted explanation about the bailout/healthcare/job creation is practically verbatim to what Palin actually said.

(I am skeptical that the above embed will work, if it does not, the video can be viewed here.

For your viewing pleasure (god bless the internet) someone has put Tina and Sarah side-by-side to show you that the SNL writers didn’t have to do much….

Word has it that there are at least two more potentially humiliating clips from the Couric interview. Hopefully CBS will be airing those tonight.

Several readers think that the GOP will be forced to pull Palin off the ticket and replace her with someone else – I’m even told that there are wagers being made. I think this is a case where the GOP is damned if the do, and damned if they don’t.

If they were to pull her, McCain would look like a flip-flopper and would risk alienating his conservative base, who really didn’t give a shit about his campaign pre-Palin. Annoy them, and they might not bother turning out on election day.

On the other hand, leaving her on the ticket after her tragic performances in interviews and what should be a hilarious performance at the debate, makes McCain look like an idiot and a schmuck for picking her, and risks alienating boatloads of independents.

My bet is that they are stuck with her. And as she does more interviews and maybe even (god permitting) a press conference, we will laugh all the way to election day.

Meanwhile, in a new poll conducted by St. Louis Post-Dispatch/KMOV last week showed that McCain and Obama are in a dead heat. Obama CAN win Missouri, we all just have to work a little bit harder. The really good news about the above poll is that it ran last week, prior to the debate where McCain was revealed to be a, and this is a technical term, curmudgeon. (Note: how is it that word can get “curmudgeon” and “schmuck,” but wants me to change “Obama”, every time?)

Did I mention that we are nearing our 20,000th visitor? We are. Go us.

whoa – ho ho ho – ooooooooooooooo! Last time I checked the market was down 270 today, now it’s down 685. Ouch, just a reminder, John McCain wants to put your Social Security in the stock market.

T - 38 days

2008-09-26T10:46:00.000-07:00

Do you know what the vote margin was in Florida 2000?

....wait for it....537.

537!!!! That's it!!

Are you fucking kidding me? 537 votes would have changed the course of history. Just think of every asshole thing that Bush has ever done. It didn't have to be this way.

This is why we have to GOTV in Missouri, and everywhere.

This is why we have to convince, mom and dad and grandma and grandpa and your other family members, and your coworkers and your friends and your neighbors.

537 votes. how many people do you know? how many friends to you have on facebook/myspace? how many people follow your twitter. who can you reach?

can you be responsible for making 5 votes happen, 10 votes?

I know last night I convinced seven people to canvass this weekend. I've made hundreds of calls. I'm working on election day. I'm talking o my faimily , my friends, my coworkers, iIm wearing a button, a t-shirt, I have a bumper sticker, a yard sign, I've given money and time, and words.

What can you do?

537 votes. every. little. thing. you. do. helps. EVERYTHING

38 days = 8 years

Because who doesn't love Sarah Silverman

2008-09-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

So McCain suspended his campaign. The previous statement is only true if by “suspend”, he means carried out all campaign events yesterday and today, met with the wife of a bajillionaire british aristocrat, Bono too, oh and taped an interview with Couric. (Did we see Palin’s interview with Couric? Really, this is the woman that you want a heartbeat away from the presidency? Really?) I heard that he has stopped airing campaign ads and fundraising. An interesting statement seeing as since he is taking public financing, he’s not allowed to fundraise. Perhaps he meant that he was suspending fundraising by the RNC, somehow I doubt it. (and he's still running ads, and Palin is having an event at Ground Zero today, yes, GROUND ZERO.)

Oh, and now he wants to delay the debates so he has time to address the crisis. Because 1) he can’t do two things at once, and 2) though he had time for the wife of a british aristocrat, Bono, and Katie Couric, he does not have to have an honest debate with the other candidate in front of the American people.

The truth is, he’s not ready to debate. The truth is that he wants to delay that presidential debate until next Thursday, which is the VP debate, then reschedule the VP debate. Something tells me that the VP debate would never be rescheduled. And the truth is, she’s not ready. They may have been able to keep her from the press, but when she’s on stage with Joe Biden, there’s nowhere to hide….and he will eat. her. up.

McCain also skipped an appearance on Letterman last night saying that he had to get back to Washington immediately to address the financial CRISIS. While taping the show without McCain, Letterman was surprised to hear that McCain was not actually on a plane back to Washington, but was instead at another CBS sound stage, taping an interview with Katie Couric. He then showed the live feed of McCain with Couric, yelling at the image “Can I give you a lift to the airport?” In retribution, he had Keith Olbermann on the show. I haven’t seen it yet, because I fell asleep like a baby last night before 10:30, but I’ll review it later, and I’m sure I’ll post a clip or two.

I did manage to stay awake for Bush’s address to the nation, but only because he kept talking about what a dire crisis it was, and if Congress doesn’t immediately hand over a check for $700 BILLION that the economy would tank, we would be thrown into another Great Depression, unemployment would soar, small businesses and farmers would suffer and basically we would all DIE. But let’s walk through this whole bail out (which Republicans don’t believe in, bailouts, I mean – it goes against the free market that they love so much. Except when it’s in tatters, then it’s ok to give government assistance to the tune of $700 BILLION).

Financial institutions made a lot of bad investment decisions, specifically purchasing an exotic financial instrument called mortgage backed securities.
The housing market crashed and a LOT of people found that they could no longer afford the interest rates that had been reset on their mortgages. They stopped paying.
The securities that financial institutions had purchased were now backed by nothing but trash.
LOTS of financial institutions fold because they had lots of money in these trash backed securities.
Bush belatedly decides that we can’t have the whole of Wall Street crashing down and decides that we need to take the worthless securities off the hands of Wall Street and give them to the American people while bilking the public out of $700 BILLION. A fair trade, right? Oh and we’d be giving $700 BILLION to the people that fucked up in the first place.

(That’s like your gambler friend losing $50,000 (that his mother gave him for safe keeping), the loan sharks are after him they’re going to break his legs etc etc. So, to get him out of the mess, you give him your life savings, and your parent’s life savings, and your coworker’s life savings, and everyone you know, their life saving’s too. And to top it all off, you give him permission to spend it however he wants without your input or veto. AND he gives your name as a guarantee to the loan shark, so that if he were to go and lose all the money again, without paying off the loan shark, the loan shark would break your legs, and not his. Nice friend huh? He gets the money, and you’re the poor schmuck holding the bag of doggy doo doo, except you’re also holding if for your parents, your coworkers and everyone you know.)

Oh and LOTS of economists say that we shouldn’t rush into anything….not that anyone in the Bush Administration cares what experts say…

In the mean time, while McCain is off campaigning today (yes, campaigning) Congressional Dems and Republicans are hammering out the bailout – they should have it pretty much wrapped prior to Bush’s photo op at 4 eastern. And as Keith O pointed out last night, it’s a good thing that Bush called this “Economic summit” for today, because had he not, McCain would have arrived in Washington with nothing to do. See, the bailout is being hammered out by those congressman that are actually on the relevant committees, behind closed doors. Harry Reid even told McCain to stay away and not inject presidential politics into the process. And yet, now that campaigns will be descending on Washington today because of McCain’s bizarre hissy fit. So photo op = yes. But debate Obama in front of the American people = no.

SusanG makes an excellent point over at DailyKos –

McCain will skip the debate because of the “seriousness of the financial crisis” but he hasn’t read the 3 page proposal that is the Paulson Plan. See the video.

There is an excellent op-ed in today’s New York Times (jen e brought it to my attention) by Roger Cohen. Here are several excerpts, but I urge you to read it in full.

“...Sarah Palin loves the word “exceptional.” At a rally in Nevada the other day,the Republican vice-presidential candidate said: “We are an exceptional nation.” Then she declared: “America is an exceptional country.” In case anyone missedthat, she added: “You are all exceptional Americans...."

...But exceptionalism has taken an ugly twist of late. It’s become the angry refuge of the America that wants to deny the real state of the world...

American exceptionalism, taken to extremes, leaves you without the allies you need (Iraq), without the influence you want (Iran) and without any notion of risk (Wall Street). The only exceptionalism that resonates, as Obama put it to me last year, is one “based on our Constitution, our principles, our values and our ideals....”

I’m going to try to make this simple. On the Democratic side you have a guy whose campaign has been based on the Internet, who believes America may have something to learn from other countries (like universal health care) and who’s unafraid in 2008 to say he’s a “proud citizen of the United States and a fellow citizen of the world..."

Which leads me to write, In 2004, Barack Obama giving the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, said “I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper.” In this age of global connectedness, that idea does not stop at the border. From human rights to immigration, AIDs to poverty, we must address these issues from Washington to Moscow, Beijing to Tehran; because like Senator Obama said we are “fellow citizen[s] of the world.” From London to Santiago, Tokyo to Sarajevo, we are all brothers.

Enough mushy stuff. Here's a hilarious video from Sarah Silverman as part of a project called "The Great Schlep" - it's aim is to get Jewish grandkids to visit their grandparents in Florida, and ge them to vote Obama. Watch the video, laugh out loud.

Comedy Gold

2008-09-24T18:40:00.001-07:00

I love NPR, but....

2008-09-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

So NPR annoyed me a little bit this morning (and by annoyed, I mean Jen had to put up with me talking back to the radio while I was in the shower.) Two things bugged me specifically:

1. The top of the hour news was on and in it they said that democrat so-and-so was accusing republican so-and-so of violating campaigning law by not having his name and party identification (or something) at the end of a campaign commercial. The announcer went on to say that the republican denied the democrats claim and asserted that the commercial in question was in full compliance with the law. end of story. Do you notice something missing here? The media is so concerned with being "balanced" that they apparently failed to see that they could just go look at the commercial for themselves and tell the listeners what was there, instead of engaging in literally he-said, she-said. I mean really. you just had to go listen to the commercial and then state the facts. Easy.

2. During at story about the election (duh), the reporter asserted that the number of battleground states had lessened. According to the NPR map, the battleground states are Nevada, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania. However, Pollster has 13 states listed as battlegrounds, adding to the list - Montana, Minnesota, Indiana, Florida, WEST VIRGINIA, and North Carolina. Given the option of listening to the Traditional Media, or going with independent and online media, I'll take my chances with the indy stuff. And yet, how can there be such a difference? I mean six states, that's a pretty big difference, and that's a pretty big story if Obama is making WEST VIRGINIA competitive, sure throws a wrench into that whole he-can't-win-rural-white-folks narrative. And there's another story here, fivethirtyeight projects him to win Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado....ie all the state within a stones throw of McCain's home state (minus Utah, and who really knows about Utah), all states that went for Bush in 2004. Can you imagine the media frenzy if McCain was expected to win Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa? I can.

Meanwhile, fivethirtyeight projects Obama to win 309-229.

Moving along, (via Americablog) CNN slams McCain over hiding Palin away for the past four weeks:

"Tonight I call on the McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower that will wilt at any moment," said Brown. "This woman is from Alaska for crying out loud. She is strong. She is tough. She is competent. And you claim she is ready to be one heart beat away from the presidency. If that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now. Allow her to show her stuff. Allow her to face down those pesky reporters... Let her have a real news conference with real questions. By treating Sarah Palin different from the other candidates in this race, you are not showing her the respect she deserves. Free Sarah Palin. Free her from the chauvinistic chain you are binding her with. Sexism in this campaign must come to an end. Sarah Palin has just as much a right to be a real candidate in this race as the men do. So let her act like one."

Your pic for the day:

and in case you're concerend that it's National Enquirer, just remeber that it was the Enquirer that outed John Edwards on his affair, and all the republican pundits said it was fair game. Just saying.

OMG the ANTI-CHRIST!

2008-09-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

Ok, first things first. Adventures will be getting a facelift sometime in the near (cross your fingers) future. As of last night, I got my hands on adventuresincubeland.org and soon (cross your fingers), we’ll be moving over there. Anyway, we are here for now, so keep coming.

Here we go, so we all know about the rape kit story (Wasilla, under Palin was the only town to make rape victims pay for their own rape kits.), two new-ish things, well three.

1. Palin’s budget actually cut funding for the rape kits. As in, Wasilla use to pay for them. Then Palin came to town, and suddenly rape victims had to pay for their own rape kits.
2. There is speculation that the reason that the funding was cut for rape kits is because the kits contained emergency contraception, and Palin doesn’t believe in contraception, likening it to abortion.
3. Palin’s anti-choice nature is so strong that she protested at an abortion clinic.

We do not want this woman possibly running the country. If you believe in women’s rights, and women’s choice, then women’s freedom from the laws of old white men, and the freedom over their own bodies, you must vote Obama. There is no other option.

Speaking of crazy, have you seen these stickers floating around?

That’s right, that’s a big “O” for Obama, and evil, devil, anti-christy looking horns. There are actually people that believe that Obama is the antichrist – and all I have to say is areyoufuckingkiddingme?! Now, I’ve said a lot of things about bush and his administration, I’ve probably even called him the devil, or evil. But I’m pretty sure I’ve never said that he is LITERALLY the Anti-Christ. Who as these fucking people?

Last time I checked, Jesus Christ wanted to tax the rich, feed and educate the poor and treat everyone as you would want to be treated. Yeah, Obama sounds like he would be diametrically opposed to all of that. I’d say that you have to look no farther than the GOP to see people that are opposed to a great many of the teachings of Christ, oh and even the ten commandments. (and then they call themselves Christians.)

How about remember the Sabbath? Don’t so much do that one anymore. How about you shall not commit adultury? No? John Mccain? No? ok, how about you shall not steal? No? GOP much? You shall not covet your neighbor’s house (or oil). What? No? never. And here’s a biggie, THOU SHALL NOT KILL. Huh, that’s seems like a hard one to swallow for all those evangelical republicans, that hold in their same party, neo-conservative hawks and those that want to hurry on the End Times. How about the death penalty, doesn’t fit so well with Jesus’ peace and love teachings, does it?

So remind me again who the ANTI – Christ is?

Here’s a great image that’s circulating the internets – tell me again who the elitist is? Is it the guy with a fleet of 10 cars, 3 neighborhood electric vehicles, 1 jet and (at least) 8 houses, or the guy with one house, one spouse and one car? Painting democrats as elitist is one of the biggest hoaxes the GOP has been lucky enough to perpetuate on the American people.

Meanwhile, CNN pulled its coverage of Sarah Palin meeting world leaders today, after the McCain campaign refused to allow any reporters other than a tv crew and photographers – can’t have sarah getting caught on camera saying something stupid. This is of course the woman, who has been campaigning for 4 weeks and has yet to give a press conference. So, thanks CNN! You did good today.

Ok, so the Obama campaign has pledged to knock on 100,000 doors this coming Saturday in a truly massive canvassing push. If you, or anyone you know can help, we would really appreciate it. Like Jeff Smith said, you do not want to wake up on Nov 5th to find that Obama lost MO by 600 votes.

Now, there’s a rule in canvassing, you have to talk to 12 people to swing one vote, and you have to knock on roughly 5 doors, to even talk to 1. So that means, that a person who knocks on 50 doors, talks to 12 people and swings one vote. Go canvassing once, and you can double your voting power – in MO that could mean huge things. So, the Obama campaign is knocking on 100,000 doors this weekend, we need your help.

And, I’ll be taking off November 4th for the election, not sure what I’ll be doing yet, but I’ll be involved somewhere, and I do fully intend to have an election night party, but it’ll have to be a little later in the evening as I have a volleyball game. I’ll keep everyone posted.

A visit from Jeff Smith

2008-09-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

Jeff Smith at the South County Campaign Office (~40 people here, 50% under 21)

(Editors note: all quotations are paraphrased)

On the Palin pick:
“You know, a couple of months ago McCain said that he didn't know much about the economy.
It's so reassuring to me that he's picked someone who does know so much.”

What can you do:
“after Florida in 2000 I don't think anyone can say, what can I do?”
“The accumulation of all individual efforts will make the difference between 49.6 and 50.4 percent here in MO”

Asked about running for Governor:
“would you be a better governor than Matt Blunt?”
“unfortunately I think I'm disqualifies from that particular position...”

"I filibustered a bill that would make English the official language of mo – I filibustered for 9 hours...and I did the first 30 minutes in French."

On Gay Marriage
"I think there's lots of threats to the institution of marriage... television, the internet – I don't think that gay marriage is one of them."

(Side note: why does open office want me to capitalize “internet?” Really? You can't see it now, but there's an angry red scribble below “internet” saying, capitalize me!)

On the surge:
“if you took all the cops in the city and put them in one neighborhood for the next two months, I bet there wouldn't be a murder in that neighborhood, I bet there wouldn't be a murder in that neighborhood. But it wouldn't cure crime in st. louis”

Advice for Canvassing

1. move quickly and efficiently – plan the route. Be systematic.
2. 30/70 rule - talk for 30% and listen 70% of the time. Draw people out to talk about themselves
3. don't give an answer unless you know the answer. Google killed me as a professor.

On hopes and expectations:
"Barack Obama is truly a citizen of the world.. has the unique potential to restore that moral authority. "

"People want to see a government that works. It's not really about ideology, it's about confidence. Who can be a competent steward of the economy. Who can be a competent steward of our relationships with other countries."

On the younger volunteer crowd:
"It's your country, very soon."

"A lot of people believe that this generation is the first that is facing not having the same standard of living as their grandparents."

"I'm where I am because of kids like you."

Final thought:
"Don't be somebody that wakes up the day after the election and thinks man, we lost Missouri by 600 votes."

Debates and Polls

2008-09-19T16:51:00.000-07:00

In the great tradition of watching the State of the Union and throwing marshmallows at the shrub on TV, I'll be holding debate watching parties at my place. I can't guarantee that we will get to throw marshmallows at the expensive tv, but I'm sure that we can setup some sort of surrogate, that can be the object of our sticky puffed sugar derision.

Naturally, I'll also be holding an election party (assuming that I do not work the polls or be working on GOTV efforts - I do intend to take the day off and help out somehow. I encourage all to do the same. Help out I mean, it can be as little as talking to your coworkers/neighbors/family, helping them make that last minute decision – you know how I just love undecideds. Or maybe you sway them the right way at the last minute, we'll take that too, especially in MO.) So yeah assuming I'm not doing something with the campaign, we'll do an election party. We'll do a big map like we did last time, and maybe yaya (via phone of internet) will be able to locate Alabama on the map this time. :P

But really, giant election map, your cable news source of choice on the big screen, beer, pizza (?), and good people with which to celebrate our blue stated victory.

That's jumping the gun though – debate schedule below. VP included.

Friday, September 26 - First Presidential Debate
Location: University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi
Topics: Domestic Policy
Moderator: Jim Lehrer from PBS

Thursday, October 2 - Vice Presidential Debate
Location: Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
Topics: All Topics, including Domestic and Foreign Policy
Moderator: Gwen Ifill from PBS

Tuesday, October 7 - Second Presidential Debate
Location: Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee
Topics: (Town Meeting Format) All Topics
Moderator: Tom Brokaw from NBC News

Wednesday, October 15 - Third Presidential Debate
Location: Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York
Topics: Foreign Policy
Moderator: Bob Schieffer from CBS News

Hey maybe in the third presidential debate on foreign policy, McCain will forget where Spain is located again. Oh? I forgot to mention that, here's Americablog's damning post on the matter.

And here, via Americablog again, the UK's Guardian takes McCain to task:

"So, to clarify matters for McCain: Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero is the lefty prime minister of Spain. The Zapatistas are armed revolutionaries who have declared war on the government of Mexico. Zippy is an irascible non-human character in the children's TV series Rainbow, and Captain Zep was the star of an awesome 1980s British children's sci-fi drama. Franco Zeffirelli is a celebrated Italian film director who I once pretended to know the first thing about in order not to look stupid in a conversation in a restaurant.

By the way, this must be a truly depressing day for our friends at Spain For McCain. We can assume they're not Zapatero fans, but still: their hero isn't even sure where their country is located? How dispiriting."

And lest you think it's just the dirty bloggers that are hitting this, here's CNN's coverage too (also via Americablog, god bless John).

So please bring on the Presidential Debates on Foreign Policy, with the guy that would rather snub a NATO ally, than admit he was confused/lost/senile on a question.

Off topic, crazy wing nutty talking point that I heard out of Jen's grandmother's mouth, in addition to Obama being a muslim/the antichrist, and michelle hating this country, the clintons killed vince foster (in primary colors, vince foster was portrayed as the character, Libby) and made it look like a suicide. WOW. These people really do exist.

In other completely unrelated news, if you have HBO, check out their new vampire show True Blood. Me likey. It's been a long long time since there has been a show about vampires from a generally vampire point of view (not like Buffy, who was always busting vamp ass), but like Kindred: The Embraced – remember that one? Yeah, in a time long ago and faraway – 1996, I was but a wee one of 13, and the show only lasted eight episodes. True Blood has already fared better, having been picked up for a second season only two episodes in. So, check it out, Sunday's at 8 (?).

Hmmm – we'll have to figure out the debates because it looks like I have sporting events on 2/3 presidential ones, and on election day. More to come on that later.

Oh and earlier when I said that Obama was back up in the national polls. I meant that he had ROARED back. Fivethirtyeight now has him winning 303-234 in the electoral college, and winning the election 75% of the time. SUCK ON THAT. And they don't factor in MO, but I do. And if MO doesn't go for Obama, then it would be only the second time that MO has gone with the loser in a presidential contest in the last 100 years. So I think he's bringing home MO. That would push his lead in the electoral college to 314-223.

Not to mention FL with it's 27 electoral votes, where the Palin pick is scaring the bejesus out of lots of undecided voters. They don't seem to like her social views, or her ethics. And they seem disinclined to vote for the Palin/McCain- er. Whoops! Looks like I pulled a Palin – I mean the McCain/Palin ticket.

So in my wildly optimistic world, there's 27 more votes, bringing Mr. Obama's total to 341-196. Toss in other states that Pollster still has too close to call – Indiana, West Virginia, and Montana – that's 19 more votes on the table. We could see 360-177. and then I go laughing all the way home. :D Dream BIG.

And to make your Friday even happier, not this Saturday, but next Saturday, Tina Fey is expected to reprise her role as Sarah Palin on SNL.

A veritable smorgasbord

2008-09-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

Remember this one from mad tv during the primary season? (NSFW) (also, not safe if songs easily get stuck in your head, after this one, you’ll be singing “under barak obama –bama –bama”)

And then there’s this project that created a bumper sticker for every state in the nation. I think my favorite is the one for florida.

here’s a cute video of a deer and a rabbit

Also, I have notes from last nights campaign office night – MO Congressman Jeff Smith was there to rally the troops. I’ll be posting excerpts from his talk later, when I get organized.

A quote from Gawker about the current economic meltdown:

"Where is the definitive guide to how the Chinese Communist Party made all this happen when it decided the best way to make everyone forget about democracy was to keep the lives of its citizens improving at a dramatic but steadily controlled rate by getting them all jobs manufacturing stuff Americans could not really afford because they work retail but would buy anyway because of the cheap credit that got us into this mess and anyway, the US Treasury will bail everyone out, because no matter how much they overpay the mercenaries keeping the peace in The Iraq China will always have excess wads cash under the mattress to lend them?Glad you asked! It's in the Atlantic Monthly of about nine months back."

How is it that the government can get $85 billion to bailout AIG, but can’t get ice to Ike victims in Texas? Oh right, this must be the whole Human Dignity vs. Corporate Greed thing that we talked about the other day. Oh, and when do I get my bailout? you know, as opposed to being put on the hook for all the bad decisions that companies that have been robbing us blind for the past decade have made?

After Ellen has a quote via GQ from Transformers leading lady Megan Fox, that I’m sure we can all like:

"Look, I’m not a lesbian — I just think that all humans are born with the ability to be attracted to both sexes. I mean, I could see myself in a relationship with a girl — Olivia Wilde is so sexy she makes me want to strangle a mountain ox with my bare hands. She’s mesmerizing."

Strangle a mountain ox with my bare hands. I love it. You strangle that mountain ox, Megan, you just go ahead and do that.

And now a quote via a reader, via gawker via CNBC Sucks:

“Let me break it down for you. Obama is 47, McCain is 72. If you are 47 or younger, you can expect to live another 30 years. ALL of McCain's policies are based on him being safely dead by the time we starve and kill each other on the streets as a consequence of his policies.”

So true! McCain can fuck up whatever he wants because he’s not going to be around to reap the horrible horrible price - ! I mean, the great and glorious rewards, of course.

Incidentally, I bought a bunch of Obama stickers today. They should arrive in a couple days, so if you want one, or ten, let me know.

And to round it all out, Obama is back up in national tracking polls. Thank God. That’s all I got.

The crash of Palin and the stock market.

2008-09-18T10:58:00.000-07:00

Go here and look at a graph of the stock market.

John McCain wants to privatize Social Security, which means putting it in the stock market. The same stock market that has dropped 800 points in the last six days.

At her first town hall, Palin took a question from the crowd:

Asked for "specific skills" she could cite to rebut critics who question her grasp of international affairs, she replied, "I am prepared."

"I have that confidence. I have that readiness," Palin said. "And if you want specifics with specific policies or countries, you can go ahead and ask me. You can play 'stump the candidate' if you want to. But we are ready to serve."

GOP presidential nominee John McCain stepped in, pointing out that as governor of a state that is oil and gas plentiful, Palin was familiar with energy. She knows it to be "one of our great national security challenges," he said.

He also cited her nearly two years as commander of Alaska's National Guard. "I believe she is absolutely, totally qualified to address every challenge as the next vice president of the United States," McCain said.

Because asking a candidate for anything about their specific skill set is off limits and uncouth.

perhaps due to all of the vetting that has been going on in the media and on the blogs, Sarah Palin’s favorability ratings have CRASHED harder than the stock market in the past week.

On 9/11, she was polled at 52% approve and 35% disapprove. One week later, 9/18 she was polled at 42% approval and 46% disapproval. That’s a net drop of 21%. So if I could stop hearing in the media how she is such a great pick and she’s so popular and she’s a “celebrity,” that would be great.

Oh and that question that she took at a that town hall? They aren’t going to go away. Shockingly, people are going to continue to ask her questions and if the best she can come up with is “I have that confidence. I have that readiness” and “in what respect, Charlie,” then I will have been proved right, Sarah Palin is like Christmas for Democrats.

Meanwhile if I could stop hearing things that are Democratic, such as policy or administration, as “Democrat policy” and “Democrat administration,” that would be great. Because I know that you think that you are clever and that by leaving of the “ic” you get to emphasize “rat” in Democrat. But you just sound stupid, it would be like saying “republic policy.” You sound like an idiot.

I can’t stand undecided voters. How are you still undecided? This election is about nothing less than the fate of the Supreme Court. How can you be undecided. The two candidates are very different. They have different views on almost every issue. How can you not know? Where have you been? Here’s all you need to know, Democrats will always err on the side of Human Rights and Human Dignity. Republicans will always err on the side of Corporations and Greed. It’s just that easy.

And for all you evangelical voters, Jesus Christ would have been a Democrat. Suck on that one for awhile.

And for all you women’s rights voters, all you so-called Hillary supporters that are thinking of voting for McCain or not voting at all, the SUPREME court hangs in the balance. This is not a time to sit it out. It’s all hands on deck, or we may lose the progress that has been made on women’s issues over the years. You cannot be a feminist and vote for McCain, it’s an absolute. You cannot have been a supporter of Hilary and vote for McCain. You just can’t.

Here’s a simple way to trip up someone who is arguing that they have never heard of Obama while he was a state senator. Have them name theirs. IF they can, have them name something that they have done. They’ll have nothing. Meanwhile, Obama sponsored 823 bills while in the IL Senate – covering everything from a constitutional amendment for universal healthcare in IL to a bill that would ban nearly all gifts by lobbyists.

Meanwhile, in the sunny state of California, the haters are trying to get gay marriage banned after it became legal only a few short months ago. Brad Pitt did his part recently to make sure that wouldn’t happen – donating $100,000 to gay marriage advocates. I loves me some Brad.

i just had the most interesting conversation with Jen's grandma

2008-09-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

Did you see the stock market again today? Down 450 points...again. So for the last 6 days, it's down ~800 points. Here's a simple talking point for everyone to take to their right-wing coworkers – first the point, then a concrete example.

When Bill Clinton was in office, the DOW rose, upwards of 7400 points over the course of eight years. While Bush has been in office, the DOW has dropped 50 points over the course of seven years.

Democrat = up 7400.

Republican = down 50

Now for the example. Imagine that you had $100 to put in the stock market and you had the option of putting it in during either of the aforementioned presidencies, would you pick the Democrat or the Republican?

If you picked Bill, you would have earned 227% on your investment, giving you a total of $327.

If you picked W, you would have lost .48% on your investment, giving you a total of $99.51.

$327 or $99?

And with W, you paid more for food, gas, and health care... and you might have lost your house too, and your job, and oh, I don't know, your pride in this nation.

But the point you should hammer home, is that with Clinton, the evil liberal Democrat, you made $227. and with W, the Republican who would be both the everyman and CEO President, you lost a buck, and gained nothing at all.

Here's another point to hammer home. McCain wants to tax your employer paid health benefits. I'll say that again because it bears repeating. John McCain wants to tax the money that your employer pays for your health insurance. To make it super simple for all our knucklehead right-wingers:

Obama wants to give the Middle Class a $1,000 tax break, and McCain wants to tax your health insurance.

Democrats, HAMMER. THIS. HOME.

On to other things, J9 Brizzle has alerted me to the fact that Michelle Obama is going to be on Paula Dean. We here at Adventures are big fans of Paula Dean, with her gregarious self, and her fried butter balls. So, you can be sure that when the video hits youtube, you'll see it here. I heart Michelle Obama.

The best Obama button I've seen yet has a black and white picture of his two kids, and in a handwritten scrawl, it says “Vote for our Daddy.” :D

Here's a question, if Republicans believe that their ideas are better, that their policies are better, and that when they run the country, people are better, why do they always cheat in elections? Between voter suppression and intimidation, gerrymandering and unlawfully hiding races on ballots, what gives? If you really believe that you are better, why not play fair and give the people a choice. And here's the answer, if they ran on their record, and the issues, they would lose, every. Single. Time. And that's why they support Rovian tactics, because if they didn't, they wouldn't even stand a chance.

Someone hacked Sarah Palin's yahoo account. HAHAHAHAHA. And as previously though, she had been conducting state business through her personal email account. A method that has been used in the Bush Administration to avoid subpoenas under the Freedom of Information Act.

I loves me some Margaret Cho:

I'm a Christian, you Fuckers

First of all – you fucking fake Christians - don’t fucking question my Christianity. I grew up in the church. My grandfather was a minister, who is with God now and talks to me in my dreams from God’s corner office. I am a former Sunday school teacher. I taught the Bible to children and showed them how to love God and invite him into their hearts. I believe in God – but I don’t fear him. God is my best friend. God is my ally. God is my boyfriend. God is my best fag. I am God’s fag hag cuz didn’t you know, God is a big fag. Serious bottom too. Butch in the streets, femme in the sheets. That is my God. God is my biggest fan. God gets me, dude.

God wants us all to just get along. He doesn’t give a shit about the profanity. The bitch fucking invented profanity. He thinks it is hilarious. He just wants you to talk to him, and he doesn’t care what you have to say. He just wants to keep the conversation going. Like Jay-Z, he just wants to love you. He just wants you to be able to make your own decisions. God is all about you and what you need. God is happy that you are gay. God made you fucking gay cuz he thinks it is awesome. God understands if you need to have an abortion. That is why he created abortion, on the 8th day. God accepts. God forgives. God loves all of us, even though some of us might have a problem with each other.

Don’t fucking question my Christianity you fucking idiot assholes. If you continue to have a problem, then talk to God about it, not me, you fucking racist homophobic misogynist fake Christian shitheads. God thinks it is funny that I swear so much. He said I could use his name in vain or whatever. He just wants me to use it. He loves me. So fuck you. And I guess he loves you too. Even though you are fake Christian assholes. If you were truly Christians, you would let gays get married, and send them fucking presents from Bed Bath and Beyond!

If you truly believed in Jesus, you would try to be like him and love us, fags and dykes and feminists all. God bless you, even you. You fucking fuckers.

(http://www.margaretcho.com/blog/2008/09/17/im-a-christian-you-fuckers.html

God bless Margaret Cho.

Economic Meltdown

2008-09-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

Today, after news broke that Lehman is going under, and Merrill Lynch has accepted a buyout offer from Bank of America - that's two GIANTS in the financial world that have been toppled.

McCain: You know, that there’s been tremendous turmoil in our financial markets and Wall Street and it is — people are frightened by these events. Our economy, I think, still the fundamentals of our economy are strong. But these are very, very difficult times."
Shorter McCain: Don't worry, be happy...

Obama's campaign: Today of all days, John McCain’s stubborn insistence that the ‘fundamentals of the economy are strong’ shows that he is disturbingly out of touch with what’s going in the lives of ordinary Americans. Even as his own ads try to convince him that the economy is in crisis, apparently his 26 years in Washington have left him incapable of understanding that the policies he supports have created an historic economic crisis,” said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton.
Shorter Obama: Shut the fuck up.

Obama needs to KEEP. HITTING. THIS. HARD. Everday people are swayed by the crap that the cable news networks throws around, all the little things that don't matter. Things like lipstick and $400 haircuts - they create a seemingly immpermeable cloud of innaness around the election. BUT, the economy, that, can cut through it all. You just have to tell them. You tell them that the Republicans have had control for eight years, and what do they have to show for it? Skyrocketing, health, food, and gas prices. Layoffs. Financial giants dying right and left, savings lost, investments in tatters.

Here's a litte easy to understand cartoon I found precisely illustrating what happens under so-called fiscal conservatives and what happens under so-called tax and spend liberals:

Ohhhh, wait. It looks like the Democratic President Clinton resulted in a .... SURPLUS. And and, all the Republican's drove this country straight into the ground. Huh.

The Sage once said...

2008-09-15T06:21:00.000-07:00

Our dear friend, the wise Neoteric Sage has agreed to allow me to excerpt from her Chronical when it pertains to politics. Please enjoy.

Haa, I find it funny how all the Republicans are suddenly like, "CHANGE is coming!" and now McCain AND Palin are running about the country on the Straight Talk Express spouting change as two self-styled mavericks. It is beyond bizarre to see Republicans running around pretending to be mavericks and change-mongerers and revolutionaries. It is as if the world has been tost asunder.

If people fall for this and elect those fuckers into office for another term, I will be so pissed. Sorry, but I really cannot abide Republicans (as politicians, since who knows what they are like as people, but I have my doubts, although I should not judge.

And I WOULD like to go out and split a bottle of wine with Condoleezza, and have a sister-to-sister black woman outing, because I think she would be an okay lady in that context, not that that excuses her loyalty to and dealings with That Fucker, but we won't go there.). I cannot think of a single Republican politician right now who I do not have a problem with, although there may well be one or two in the world, but I kind of doubt it.
--Sage

More Straight Talk

2008-09-11T14:31:00.001-07:00

Let’s tie the whole Palin/rape kit/per diem expense thing together, shall we?

The town of Wasilla billed rape victims for their own rape kits in order to keep taxes low. The money saved was between $5k-$14k. Sarah Palin charged the state of Alaska $16k using a per diem allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business when she was really staying (and cooking) in her own home.

So to sum it up, Palin doesn’t think she should have to pay for food, but rape victims should have to pay for their rape kits. Those are some family values right there. What a reformer, what a Maverick. On one hand, shrinking government aid for those in need, on the other exploiting government aid for one’s own gain … sounds downright Republican to me.

Straight Talk

2008-09-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Here’s a little Straight Talk for you since the media seems reluctant to go here. John McCain is a liar. Sarah Palin is a liar. There, I said it.

LIAR LIAR
Palin did NOT oppose the Bridge to Nowhere – she supported it, then opposed it when it became politically untenable.

Palin did NOT come up with the idea to put the jet on EBay – Alaska already had a policy of doing that with big ticket items.

Palin does NOT have national security cred just because Alaska is close to Russia

Palin’s son is NOT shipping out today, 9/11.

LIAR LIAR
Obama did NOT request $1 billion in earmarks last year

Obama does NOT support sex ed for 6-year olds. He supports sexual predator prevention for
young children.

Obama did NOT call Palin a “pig”.

STRAIGHT TALK
Palin DID charge rape victims for their own rape kits.

Palin DID request $750 million in ear marks while governor.

Palin DID fire Wasilla’s librarian.

Palin DID try to ban books in the public library and local stores.

Palin DID fire the man who would not fire her sister’s ex-husband.

Palin WAS cautioned by a friend (a former US Attorney) – that she should apologize for “overreaching or perceived overreaching” in trying to get the ex-husband fired.

Palin WAS cautioned by a judge to stop disparaging the ex-husband, and that encouraging her daughter to disparage the ex-husband could constitute “emotional child abuse.”

Palin DID cut funding for a teen mothers shelter.

Palin DID charge Alaska a per diem lodging expense while staying in her own home.

Palin DID promote the commander of the Alaska National Guard after he made damaging comments about her to the press. He’s got nothing but glowing praise for her now.

Palin DID say “I've been so focused on state government, I haven't really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments,” when asked about sending more troops to Iraq.

Palin DID leave Wasilla with $22 million in debt, after inheriting ZERO

Palin DOES believe in abstinence-only education.

Palin DID say about being mayor of Wasilla “It's not rocket science. It's $6 million and 53 employees." So much for exec experience there.

Palin DID say about the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance “If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance” The pledge was written in 1892 (over 100 years AFTER the Founding Fathers), and amended with “under God” in 1951 (nearly 200 years after the Founding Fathers.)

Palin DID call Hillary Clinton a "whiner"

Resist the Urge to Panic

2008-09-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

Did you catch Michelle Obama on Ellen yesterday? She was great. Don’t you just want this woman as our First Lady?

You may have seen recent polling and been panicked by what appears to be a tie. Three things that you must keep in mind.

1. National polling means virtually nothing
2. McCain is seeing his post-convention bounce, it’s a bounce. It goes away.
3. it is in the national media’s best interest to perpetuate the narrative that it is a close race, even if it is not. They must do this for the sake of their ratings. What will their blowhards talk about if it’s a landslide?

Remember “Strip him and turn him OUT”? Harry Reid kicked Joe Lieberman out of the Dem’s weekly caucus lunches and the biweekly chairmen’s lunches. It’s not quite enough, but it’s a start.

Remember when Palin made that big deal about firing the governor’s personal chef when she was elected? According to Kos, she saved Alaska $45,000 – HOWEVER, she still charged Alaska almost $17k to eat at her own place:

"Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own
home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance
intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state
business."

And there’s this, also from Kos, where she charged Alaska for travel expenses while staying in her own home.

"Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her
own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance
intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state
business."

The governor also has charged the state for travel expenses to take her
children on official out-of-town missions. And her husband, Todd, has billed the
state for expenses and a daily allowance for trips he makes on official business
for his wife.

And when she did travel, she stayed three nights at a hotel for $707 PER NIGHT.

Democrats, JUMP ALL OVER THIS.

Another Palin Lie –
That whole bridge to nowhere thing that she continues to say that she opposed, yeah, she supported it. Then, when it became a national scandal, she opposed it. What a maverick!

Here’s another thing, drilling won’t lower gasoline prices for years and years and years. And years. And years. You know how Americans can see an immediate change in the amount they pay for gas? Check the air pressure in their tires. No really. You will see an immediate improvement in gas mileage, and you don’t have to wait for years, and destroy the environment to do it. Common sense people, common sense.

Also, a reader points out that though Palin is proud of her daughter's decision to complete her pregnancy, while Governor, she used her line-item veto power to slash funding for an Alaska shelter that serves teen mothers.

So she used a line-item veto to slash funding for teen mothers? A shelter? So, she's against abortion - a kid gets knocked up and "does the right thing". Then, when their mom's kick them out of the house because they're preggers, they now have nowhere to go.

Amen. Way to personify those GOP family values... like hypocrisy.

Also, you may not have heard this story, but while Palin was Mayor of Wasilla, rape victims were required to pay for their own rape kits. That's right, Palin didn't think it was worth the small cost to the city to pay for the rape kits, and left it to the victims. Nice.

Meanwhile, I phone banked for Obama again last night. I encourage everyone to give it a shot, it's easy and they can use every bit of our help. especially in Missouri. And if you can't volunteer, give money, wear a button, put a sticker somewhere or talk up the issues with your friends/family/coworkers. It's not just that i want Barack Obama in the White House, it's that I want Barack and Michelle in the White House.

(Hey! Remember when the senate sergeant at arms looked at our little blog here? yeah, that was fun.)

I heart Michelle Obama

2008-09-08T19:22:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngqUSlVQfbY

something to think about.

2008-09-04T20:07:00.000-07:00

from Dkos -

Jesus Christ was a community organizer, Pontius Pilate was a Governor.

Just got back from phone banking

2008-09-04T19:55:00.001-07:00

Apparently I broke the record for most attempts made. Must have been all that Phonathon experience flowing through my dialing fingers. :)

anyway, here i am listening to McCain speak, he looks terrible.

So did you hear the one about Cindy McCain's outfit was worth $300,000 the other night. That's right, thousands of Americans can't keep their homes out of foreclosure, they can't drive their cars, and seniors are choosing between medication and food, and Cindy McCain is wearing $300,000. Now just imagine if Michelle Obama had done that, just imagine. Then have a good laugh.

Back to Palin - the WSJ is reporting that in the 24 hours after Palin's speech, the RNC raised $1 million....Obama is on track to raise $10 million.

Meanwhile, in how much more detail is he going to tell us about when he was a POW? A POW does not a president make.

The crowd looks real excited doesn't it?

hypocrites part 3

2008-09-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

So, remember how all we heard about at the DNC was how there were deep divisions in the Democratic Party. Oh the Clinton voters and the Obama voters could never get along. We heard about it every bleeping night, and they trotted out the same four people that actually espoused that view. every night.

so, now the RNC is in full swing and yet, we don't hear anything about GOP disunity. Despite the fact that Ron Paul - who won sizeable numbers during the primary season - is holding a counter convention in Minneapolis that drew 15,000 people. why that's twice as many people as live in Wasilla, AK. hummmmmmmmmmmmmmm. by Huckabee's logic, that means he should be the VP nominee.

(Note: when looking of this story on Google News, the number one news outlet was Aljazeera.net. Thanks American Media.)

Some RNC thoughts

2008-09-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, above is, no joke, the logo for the RNC. That's right, a drunk, wide stance, jail stripe elephant, f*cking 2008. You can't make this up.

Huckabee - Sarah Palin got more votes in Wasilla than Joe Biden got in this election.
Point of order: Joe Biden won nealy 80,000 votes in his bid for the nomination. That's over ten times the number of people in Wasilla, AK. Ten times.

Giuliani - hope is not a strategy.
Point of order: you mean like abstinence-only sex ed. We'll just hope that the kids don't have sex. and we'll just hope that they know to use a condom, so as to prevent pregnancy and STDs.

Palin - my son is deploying on September 11th.
Point of order: votevets.org has found that no he's not, and it's a violation of operational security to talk about the specifics of deployment.

who are these republican delegates? let's not forget that these people at the RNC were the same people that wore band-aids with purple hearts at the last convention, mocking the service and sacrifice of John Kerry. Let's not forget either, that the democrats have had nothing but high praise for the service of John McCain, even when arguing as Wes Clark did (wes clark for Defense Sec!), that his years as a POW do not necessarily make him fit for the presidency.

From Americablog a reader writes:

Only at the RNC can people who one night before asked the country to do service for their country then now boo when Giuliani mentions community organizing.

Hypocrites redux

2008-09-03T18:56:00.000-07:00

Why is it that the media can't talk about Palin's daughter's pregnancy, but the McCain campaign can drag the girl's boyfriend to the Republican Convention? I thought they needed their privacy?

And what about not involving the children of politicians? Have we forgotten the lovely remarks of Rush Limbaugh:

Here is a Limbaugh joke: Everyone knows the Clintons have a cat. Socks is the White House cat. But did you know there is a White House dog?" And he puts up a picture of Chelsea Clinton. Chelsea Clinton [was] 13 years old.

(courtesy Molly Ivins)

and of course the Republican nominee himself:

"Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because Janet Reno is her father." John McCain 1998

That's classy, with a "k".

For Carisssssssss

2008-09-03T18:53:00.000-07:00

After three days of storms and rain we found these three floating in a pool filter, clinging to each other to survive. All of them were exhausted from the effort and were reluctant to part ways after being rescued.

(courtesy flicker)

It's Over

2008-09-03T18:47:00.001-07:00

Thousands and thousands and thousands of women grocery goers will see this at the check out aisle.

Meanwhile, two top GOP pundits were caught with an open mic after a segment on MSNBC. Here's the transcript of their extremely damaging remarks:

CHUCK TODD: Mike Murphy, lots of free advice, we'll see if Steve Schmidt and the boys were watching. We'll find out on your blackberry. Tonight voters will get their chance to hear from Sarah Palin and she will get the chance to show voters she's the right woman for the job Up next, one man who's already convinced and he'll us why Gov. Jon Huntsman.
(cut away)

PEGGY NOONAN: Yeah.

MIKE MURPHY: You know, because I come out of the blue swing state governor world: Engler, Whitman, Tommy Thompson, Mitt Romney, Jeb Bush. I mean, these guys -- this is how you win a Texas race, just run it up. And it's not gonna work. And --

PEGGY NOONAN: It's over.

MIKE MURPHY: Still McCain can give a version of the Lieberman speech to do himself some good.

CHUCK TODD: I also think the Palin pick is insulting to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, too.

PEGGY NOONAN: Saw Kay this morning.

CHUCK TODD: Yeah, she's never looked comfortable about this --

MIKE MURPHY: They're all bummed out.

CHUCK TODD: Yeah, I mean is she really the most qualified woman they could have turned to?

PEGGY NOONAN: The most qualified? No! I think they went for this -- excuse me-- political bullshit about narratives --

CHUCK TODD: Yeah they went to a narrative.

MIKE MURPHY: I totally agree.

PEGGY NOONAN: Every time the Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at, they blow it.

MIKE MURPHY: You know what's really the worst thing about it? The greatness of McCain is no cynicism, and this is cynical.

CHUCK TODD: This is cynical, and as you called it, gimmicky.

MIKE MURPHY: Yeah.

Like I said, every day is Christmas for us Democrats.

3 thoughts

2008-09-03T18:43:00.000-07:00

1. Joe Lieberman - Strip him of his chairmanship and TURN HIM OUT.

2. I took the plunge and volunteered for the Obama campaign. I'll be working in the phone bank tomorrow night with my grandma and canvassing on Saturday morning with a friend. I will single-handedly deliver Missouri for Barack Obama.

3. Play this game. So I'm watching the RNC tonight, and everytime CNN pulls back to show the crowd, I try and find a black person as quickly as possible. Try it. It's entertaining. I've never seen such a sea of white faces.

Hypocrites

2008-09-03T06:35:00.000-07:00

On the face of it, I couldn't care less if Sarah Palin married her husband eight months before her first child was born. I couldn't care less that she had pre-marital sex. BUT, combine that with telling me that I can't marry the person I love, because the bible says so, you better believe that I'm going to hold you to a higher standard. On that note, Sarah Palin married her husband eight months before her first child was born. Like mother, like daughter.

And as we know, if you attend a sermon, and do not leave the church after questionable remarks, you automatically espouse those views. So, since Sarah Palin attended a meeting at her church led by the executive director of Jews for Jesus, David Brickner, she automatically believes everything that he said and implied. He suggested that the attacks in Israel where the judgments of God, and if we carry the thought to it's logical conclusion given his organization affiliations, God is judging Israel because they have failed to accept Jesus as their savior. Well done Sarah Palin. Now, where's the outcry? Where's the 24 hour news coverage? Where are these remarks played over and over again? Where is her denunciation of Mr. Brickner? Where?

In the same vein, you may have heard that Sarah Palin has extensive ties to the Alaskan Independence Party. It's founder, Joe Vogler, once expressed his "hatred for the American government and cursed the American flag as a "damn flag". Where's the outrage? Hey, GOP, how's that for country first? What do you think about the motto of the AIP, "Alaska first, Alaska always?"

Finally, fivethirtyeight.com is currently projecting that Obama will win the election 304-234. These projections do not include MO, FL, MT, or NE. Nebraska you ask, Nebraska? That's right, yesterday Obama was leading in Nebraska.

Vetting Palin

2008-09-02T10:44:00.001-07:00

Vetting your VP is like buying a house, you do it slowly and go over everything, twice.

Things that should have come up in the vetting process:

Federal Earmarks for Wasilla
Only been to two other countries (no, a stopover in Ireland does not count.)
pregnant, unwed daughter (I'm not dragging the kid into things, but TELL ME that this wouldn't be all over if it was Obama with the unwed, pregnant daughter)
"We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby" - oh, you're saying she had a CHOICE?
Troopergate
Bridge to Nowhere
Alaska Independence Party

And now, only now does McCain have operatives in Alaska vetting his VP. There's chatter of pulling her as the vp nominee....unfortuntaly for them, the Religious Right LOVES her. I'm thinking they're stuck with her. Stay tuned.

The VP pick

2008-08-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

UPDATE: For a more detailed comparison of Obama/Palin, check this diary at Dkos.

McCain made his announcement to his "massive rally" and the response has been underwhelming.

Sarah Palin - Gov. Alaska (1.5 years)

Prior to winning the governorship of Alaska, Palin was the mayor of a small town of 6,500. She holds a degree in Journalism, and a minor (yes a minor) in Political Science. She is 44, and has five children, the youngest of which she gave birth to in April 08. She is anti-choice, pro-oil, anti-gay, and a creationist to boot.

She has no advanced degrees and no foreign policy experience. She is currently under investigation in her home state for abuse of power. She is a heartbeat away from the presidency, and probably couldn't find Afghanistan on a map.

By tapping her as VP, McCain is cynically trying to lure Clinton voters to his ticket. Once again, McCain does not get it. Palin is no Hillary. Palin's 114,000 votes propelling her to the governor's mansion certainly does not compare to the 18 million votes the Clinton received in her primary campaign. Offering Palin up as a Hillary surrogate is as transparent as it is insulting.
Not to mention that the McCain Campaign just effectively cut their legs out from under the main argument that they had attempted to make about Obama - that he is too inexperienced. Observe.

Barack Obama

After attending Columbia University, he became a community organizer on the south side of Chicago for three years. Following that, he entered Harvard Law School and was ultimately voted the President of the Harvard Law Review - the first black man to hold that post. After graduating magna cum laude he returned to Chicago and became a professor at the University of Chicago for the next 12 years. During that time, he also joined a law firm that specialized in civil rights.

In 1996 he was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives. He served there for seven years before running for US Senate. He won that campaign in 2004, and has served as the Junior Senator from Illinois ever since. In 2007 he kicked off an improbably campagin to be the Democratic Party's nominee for the 2008 election. Last night, he became the first black man to ever be selected as the presidential nominee for a major political party.

So, by the numbers:

McCain VP

2008-08-28T17:45:00.001-07:00

Please, PLEASE pick Romney.

McCain Bingo!!

2008-08-28T17:42:00.001-07:00

I'll be using this bingo card when McCain gives his acceptance speech.

(courtesy Digby)

Ewwwwww

2008-08-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

Also, check out this John McCain-Bush Tijuana Bible. (NSFW)

A Tijuana Bible is a small pornographic comic featuring bootleg versions of popular comic strips and celebrities. The above is a replica (updated) of a bible that ran in 1934.

15,000, really?

2008-08-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

Did you see this press release from the McCain campaign today about how he will be announcing his VP pick to a "massive" rally tomorrow. He will have "5 times as many people as any other event", he'll have "15,000 people." 15,000, really? The largest campaign event he's ever had, has been 3,000? reallly?

WE HAVE FIVE TIMES 15,000 TONIGHT. FIVE TIMES. GOBAMA!

DNC Day 2

2008-08-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

A round up of zinger quotes that you may have missed last night because the talking heads have to give their own bullshit analysis instead of letting Americans listen for themselves.
(in no particular order)

Hillary Clinton - NY Senator

I haven't spent the past 35 years in the trenches advocating for children, campaigning for universal health care, helping parents balance work and family, and fighting for women's rights at home and around the world . . . to see another Republican in the White House squander the promise of our country and the hopes of our people.

And you haven't worked so hard over the last 18 months, or endured the last eight years, to suffer through more failed leadership. No way. No how. No McCain.

I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me? Or were you in it for that young Marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage? Were you in it for all the people in this country who feel invisible?

It makes a lot of sense that next week John McCain and George Bush will be together in the Twin Cities, because these days they're awfully hard to tell apart.
(and watch the whole thing)

Bob Casey - PA Senator

John McCain calls himself a maverick, but he votes with George Bush more than 90% of the time...that's not a maverick, that's a sidekick.

David Patterson - NY Governor

If he's the answer, then the question must be ridiculous.

Kathleen Sebelius - KS Governor

I’m sure you remember a girl from Kansas who said there’s no place like home. Well, in John McCain’s version, there’s no place like home. Or a home. Or a home. Or a home. Or a home.

Ted Strickland - OH Governor

You know, it was once said of the first George Bush that he was born on third base and thought he'd hit a triple. Well, with the 22 million new jobs and the budget surplus Bill Clinton left behind, George W. Bush came into office on third base -- and then he stole second. And John McCain cheered him every step of the way.

Rahm Emanuel - US Representative (IL-05)

You know, President Bush inherited the strongest economy in history and a huge budget surplus. He inherited an economy that created 23 million new jobs. I’m a little surprised. You would think the one thing President Bush was good at was inheriting things. Instead he turned a $236 billion surplus into a record deficit and added nearly $4 trillion in new debt. That’s the one thing we can say about George Bush: Mr. President, we will be forever in your debt.

Brian Schweitzer - MT Governor

Even leaders in the oil industry know that Senator McCain has it wrong. We simply can’t drill our way to energy independence, even if you drilled in all of John McCain’s backyards, including the ones he can’t even remember.

Amy Klobuchar - MN Senator

People who live in seven houses shouldn't throw stones.

Dennis Kucinich - US Representative (OH-10)
Just read the whole thing.

PUMA

2008-08-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

PUMA - "Party Unity My Ass" - is a group of "die hard" HIllary fans that disagree with the nomination of Obama - believing that it was stolen from their candidate and actively working towards electing Hillary in 2012. 2012. which would mean that Obama would have to lose the election in 2008. These PUMA members have suggested that they may even vote for John McCain.

Repeat after me. If you are a "die hard" Hillary fan, if you are a professed Democrat, you cannot vote for John McCain. If you do, you are NOT a "die hard" Hillary fan, you are not a life-long democrat. Once a candidate is nominated, you get behind the nominee. Once your defeated candidate endorses the nominee, you get behind the nominee.

Saying that you are die-hard clinton fan, and then saying that you'll vote for the GOP candidate over the Dem is ridiculous. it just does not compute. at all.

meanwhile, americablog reports that mccain is not holding even a significant lead in his home state. He's up by only 6%. In contrast, Obama leads in IL by 15%. Um, yeah.

meanwhile, back at the batcave. McCain threw out his POW status AGAIN, to negate his housing gaffe, this time on Jay Leno. Will this man never stop? We get it, you were a POW. Congrats. However, it does not excuse cheating on your first wife. it does not explain why you don't know how many houses you have. it does not give you an special knowledge on foreign policy. and it does not entitle you to the presidency.

BIDEN!

2008-08-25T10:47:00.000-07:00

Biden is a fantastic pick for VP - just check out his first remarks as the presumptive democratic vice presidential nominee (that's a mouthful):

"Ladies and gentlemen, your kitchen table is like mine. You sit there at night before you put the kids, after you put the kids to bed and you talk, you talk about what you need. You talk about how much you're worried about being able to pay the bills. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that's not a worry John McCain has to worry about. It's a pretty hard experience. He'll have to figure out which of the seven kitchen tables to sit at" (transcript courtesy NPR)

BEAUTIFUL. This whole not knowing how many houses he owns issue is going to be hard hard hard for John McCain. His campaigns insinuation that his POW-status somehow negates not knowing how many houses he owns is going to be even harder. And please John, please pick Romney as your running mate. Please, I'm begging you. Please add another white rich guy to your ticket. (Romney's net worth is estimated between $250m -$500m, and he has three houses.)

The best slogan I've seen that encapsulates what should be huge problems for McCain:

Obama/Biden - one house, one spouse. HAHAHAHAHAHA. I love it.

(which is not to say that i would not have loved to have kathleen sebelius, governor of kansas as the veep pick, but her time is coming, so i'm not worried)

Meanwhile, you may have seen some recent polling that has McCain and Obama in a statistical heat. You need to remember that it is not nationwide polling that is important, it's state polling. According to fivethirtyeight.com, the preeminent statewide polling aggregator, Obama still wins the election 285 - 253. That does not include winning Nevada and Virginia, which I think the dems can pull off. uh, and missouri, of course - don't think that Claire won't be working her ass off to deliver the Show me state.

I should point out that fivethirtyeight also puts our Sentate pickups at 55 seats, with 70% confidence. Fuck you Joe! Hopefully, by God's grace, they will strip him and turn him out after the election, we don't need fake dems in Obama's party.

Meanwhile the Dem convention is this week, so I'll be watching as much of it as possible. I am specifically interested in Michelle Obama, Al Gore, Ted Kennedy, Joe Biden, and of course Barack's speech. They all should bring the house down... Kindof like obama did four years ago. And i'll admit it. I poo pooed the idea that Obama could be "the only silver lining." I was dead wrong.

And i think that all the pundits will be wrong about this election. i don't think Obama will beat McCain in November.....I think Obama will SMASH him. we're talking electoral landslide. you watch. you heard it here.

Clinton supporters for McCain

2008-06-13T08:27:00.000-07:00

Via Ariela:

Best response to Women for Fair Politics (former Clinton supporters for McCain) who claim that because of so much sexism in the primaries, they're going to take a STAND and vote for McCain.

"Wow! So McCain has the blind spite vote locked up. 'Because of sexism, we're going to go with Cunty McPatriarch.'"

Amen.

WTF, Fox News?

2008-06-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

"Is it a bump? A pound? A terrorist fist jab...?"

(Andrew: A communist aloha? A sideways black power symbol?)

the GOP gets whacked.

2008-06-10T10:47:00.000-07:00

Several amazing things have happened in the last few days.

1) Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee – John Conyers suggested that Scott McClellan come testify before his committee and he accepted. He said he was going to tell Conyers all he knew about the whole Valerie Plame scandal, who was involved and what they knew. Bear in mind that this is the incident that got Scooter Libby – convicted of obstruction and perjury, sentenced to 2.5 years in federal prison – and oh yes, President Bush commuted his sentence. Hopefully, Conyers can finally get to the bottom of this.

2) Rep. Dennis Kucinich read 35 articles of impeachment into the record – not just the articles themselves, but all the supporting evidence. It took him over four hours, and probably won’t go anywhere. But it’s important to have it on the record that there are 35 legitimate reasons to impeach President Bush, compared to the one completely illegitimate reason that was used to impeach Clinton. Observe:

#1: Creating a secret propaganda campaign to manufacture a false case for war against Iraq
#2 Falsely, Systematically, and with Criminal Intent Conflating the Attacks of September 11, 2001, With Misrepresentation of Iraq as a Security Threat as Part of Fraudulent Justification for a War of Aggression
#3 Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction, to Manufacture a False Case for War
#4 Misleading the American People and Members of Congress to Believe Iraq Posed an Imminent Threat to the United States
#5 Illegally Misspending Funds to Secretly Begin a War of Aggression
#6 Invading Iraq in Violation of the Requirements of HJRes114#7: Invading Iraq without a declaration of war.
#8: Invading Iraq in violation of the U.N. charter and international law.
#9: Filing to provide troops with body armor and vehicle armor.
#10: Falsifying accounts of US troops deaths and injuries for political purposes
#11: Establishment of permanent military bases in Iraq
#12: Initiating a war against Iraq for control of that nation’s natural resources.
#13: Secret task force for directing national energy policy
#14: Misprision of a felony, misuse and exposure of classified information and cover up (Plame outing)
#15: Providing immunity from prosecution for criminal conduct for contractors in Iraq
#16: Reckless misspending and wasted US tax dollar with Iraq contractors
#17: Illegal detention – detaining indefinitely, and without charge, American citizens and foreign captives (suspension of habeus)
#18: Torture – secretly authorizing and encouraging use of torture, as matter of official policy
#19 Rendition
#20 Imprisoning Children Bush is guilty of impeachable offence arcticle 20, imprisoning children. Has personal and acting through agents has held at least 2,500 children in violation of Geneva convention and the rights of children in armed conflict signed by the US in 2002.
#21 Misleading Congress about threats from Iran
#22. Has established a body of secret laws through tht office of legal counsel. The Yoo memo was declassified years after it served as law under the exec branch.
#23 Violated Posse Comitatus Act - established programs for the use of the military in law enforcement. must be authorized by the constitution of the congress so that the military cannot become a national police force.
#24 Spying on citizens violating 4th Amendment
#25 Directing telecoms to collect databases on US citizens.
#26 Announcing intent to violate laws w/signing statements, and then violating those laws.
#27 Failing to comply with congressional subpoenas, and instructing others to do so.
#28 tampering with free and fair election. Corruption with the administration of justice, False allegations of voter fraud in selected districts, immediately preceding elections. Undermining process.
#29: Conspiracy to violate voting rights act of 1965, Ohio Sec of State 2004-06
#30: Misleading congress and american people in an attemtp to destroy medicare.
#31 Katrina and the failures of gross negligence of the administration.
#32: Misleading congress and the American people. Systematically undermining global climate change. Article 2, Section 3: Personally and through subordinates including the VP, for not protecting property of people vis a vis global climate change thru deception. Failure to ratify Kyoto. Editing reports - 294 edits by a lobbyist to add data which called into question the facts by muddying them. Or diminishing scientific findings.
#33: Repeatedly ignored and failed to respond to high level intelligence warnings of planned terrorist attacks in U.S. prior to 9/11. Clark warned the president in daily briefings of the threat. Clark was unable to conviene a cabinet level position. Tenet met with the president 40 times to warn of threat. Still no meetings of top officials.
#34: Obstruction into the investigation of 9/11
#35: endangering the health of 9/11 first responders(courtesy theghostofkarlafayetucker)

Compare that with:
#1 got a blowjob
#2 lied about said blowjob
Funny that. NOT.

3) A splendiferous article came out in the Daily Mail (UK) discussing the little mentioned 1st McCain wife. Carol McCain.
Long story, short. She waited for him, caring for their children while he was a POW. Three years before he returned she had been in a horrific car accident that shattered her pevis and arm. Despite the doctor’s prognosis, she learned to walk again. However, after 23 operations, she walks with a limp and is five inches shorter than she used to be. After McCain returned home, he started cheating on her with acknowledged “girlfriends”. In 1979, he met Cindy (the current McCain wife), heiress to a brewing fortune. In 1980 he divorced Carol and one month later married Cindy. He was 44, she was 26. Below are excerpts from the article.

“Carol insists she remains on good terms with her ex-husband, who agreed as part of their divorce settlement to pay her medical costs for life. ‘I have no bitterness,’ she says. ‘My accident is well recorded. I had 23 operations, I am five inches shorter than I used to be and I was in hospital for six months. It was just awful, but it wasn’t the reason for my divorce. ‘My marriage ended because John McCain didn’t want to be 40, he wanted to be 25. You know that happens...it just does.’

“Some of McCain’s acquaintances are less forgiving, however. They portray the politician as a self-centred womaniser who effectively abandoned his crippled wife to ‘play the field’. They accuse him of finally settling on Cindy, a former rodeo beauty queen, for financial reasons. "

"When McCain – his hair turned prematurely white and his body reduced to little more than a skeleton – was released in March 1973, he told reporters he was overjoyed to see Carol again. But friends say privately he was ‘appalled’ by the change in her appearance.."

"But already the McCains’ marriage had begun to fray. ‘John started carousing and running around with women,’ said Robert Timberg. McCain has acknowledged that he had girlfriends during this time, without going into details. Some friends blame his dissatisfaction with Carol, but others give some credence to her theory of a mid-life crisis."

"In 1979 – while still married to Carol – he met Cindy at a cocktail party in Hawaii. Over the next six months he pursued her, flying around the country to see her. Then he began to push to end his marriage. Carol and her children were devastated. ‘It was a complete surprise,’ says Nancy Reynolds, a former Reagan aide."

"Ted Sampley, who fought with US Special Forces in Vietnam and is now a leading campaigner for veterans’ rights, said: ‘I have been following John McCain’s career for nearly 20 years. I know him personally. There is something wrong with this guy and let me tell you what it is – deceit."

"‘When he came home and saw that Carol was not the beauty he left behind, he started running around on her almost right away. Everybody around him knew it. ‘Eventually he met Cindy and she was young and beautiful and very wealthy. At that point McCain just dumped Carol for something he thought was better. ‘This is a guy who makes such a big deal about his character. He has no character. He is a fake. If there was any character in that first marriage, it all belonged to Carol.’"

"But Ross Perot, who paid her medical bills all those years ago, now believes that both Carol McCain and the American people have been taken in by a man who is unusually slick and cruel – even by the standards of modern politics. ‘McCain is the classic opportunist. He’s always reaching for attention and glory,’ he said. ‘After he came home, Carol walked with a limp. So he threw her over for a poster girl with big money from Arizona. And the rest is history."

Take THAT family values conservatives. Oh, and on an unrelated note, in the Naval academy, he was ranked 894/899. Nice. (Need I mention that Obama was the President of the Harvard Law Review and graduated Magna Cum Laude?)

McCain gets whacked.

2008-05-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

1) McCain is released his medical records Friday – and by released, I mean that a select number of reporters will have the chance to sift through thousands of pages of records, taking notes but not copies in a three hour period. It's like saying find where I say "I fantasize about purple bunnies and guava fruit", in these thousands of documents – oh you only have three hours. What?! WHAT IS HE HIDING?
and in an interview in 2000, he admits that he'd be too old for prez in 2008:

Lehrer: Finally for the record, you have not lost your desire to be President of the United States have you?
McCain: Certainly it's been put in deep cold storage. haha..
Lehrer: You haven't lost it?
McCain: Well, in 2004, I expect to be campaigning for the reelection of President George W. Bush, and by 2008, I think I might be ready to go down to the old soldiers home and await the cavalry charge there.
(http://www.crooksandliars.com/2008/05/23/in-2000-mccain-admits-hed-be-too-old-to-run-in-2008/)

2) Hillary still wants to seat MI and FL delegates. What's wrong with this picture? Her's was the only name on the ballot. Sound like Soviet Russia to anyone else – you're free to vote, encouraged even but there's only this name on the ballot. Careful who you pick! So no Hillary, I supported you in the past, but you can't change the rules in the middle of the game. Let's try a little thought experiment, had Obama's name been on the ballot and yours not, would you still be bucking to seat them? No, you wouldn't.

3) In KY primary, running effectively unopposed, McCain only received 72% of the vote. Unopposed.
Oregon - 85% (the other 15% went to Paul supporters)
Nebraska - 87% (13% to Paul)
West VA - 76% (Paul - 5%, Huckabee - 10%)
North Carolina - 74% (Paul - 7%, Huckabee - 12%)
Indiana - 75% (Paul - 8%, Huckabee - 10%)
Pennsylvania 73% (Paul - 16% , Huckabee - 11%)

These races all occurred after McCain became the presumptive nominee. ~%15 of people came out to vote against him in each of these races. Supporters of Huckabee and Paul are very different from the mainstream GOP voter. Don't look for McCain to corral their votes easily.

4) Ellen laid the smack down on McCain, re: gay marriage (in light of the CA ruling) - so if you missed it, here's the transcript. I highly recommend the video also.

DEGENERES: So let's talk about it. Let's talk about the big elephant in the room. So, by the way, I was planning on having a ceremony anyway this summer, even though it wasn't legal, but I feel that at least I get to celebrate my love. And then, it just so happens, I can now legally get married, as everyone should.

McCAIN: And I saw where even registered you.

DEGENERES: Yeah, yeah. Illegally registered me. But, yeah. So, I'm obviously excited, and to me, this is only fair and only natural, and what are your thoughts?

McCAIN: Well, my thoughts are that I think people should be able to enter into legal agreements, and I think that is something that we should encourage, particularly in the case of insurance and other areas, decisions that have to be made. I just believe in the unique status of marriage between man and woman. And I know that we have a respectful disagreement on that issue.

DEGENERES: Yeah, I mean, I think that it is looked at, and some people are saying that blacks and women did not have the right to vote. Women just got the right to vote in 1920, blacks didn't have the right to vote until 1870, and it just feels like there's this old way of thinking that we're not all the same. We are all the same people. All of us. You're no different than I am. Our love is the same.
To me, what it feels like, just — I will speak for myself — it feels like when someone says you can have a contract, and you'll still have insurance and you'll get all that, it sounds to me like saying, "You can sit there, you just can't sit there." That's what it sounds like to me. It doesn't feel inclusive; it feels isolated. It feels like we aren't owed the same things and the same wording.

McCAIN: Well, I've heard you articulate that position in a very eloquent fashion and we have a disagreement and I, along with many many others, wish you every happiness.

DEGENERES: So you'll walk me down the aisle? Is that what you're saying?

McCAIN: Touche.

2007-09-13T06:47:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen Jordan's sumo wrestling pictures on facebook, go check them out- there's nothing better than a good photo album with good captions.

SOOO how is it that Senator Craig was forced out of the Senate by the GOP within days of the disclosure that he had been arrested merely for lewd conduct in a public bathroom (that amounted to some foot-tapping with an undercover officer), but Senate Vitter of LA has seen virtually no ill-effects from his banging a prostitute(s), 2-3 times a week for years? Is it because Senator Craig is clearly, though obviously repressing, gay? No NO NO, can't have any GAY in the GOP - no GAY. The GOP stands for Grand Old Party, not Gay Old Party - nothing but heterosexual sex here at the family values party. We don't care who it's with, as long as it's straight. We don't care if you liked to wear diapers around your hookers. We don't care. But a little same sex foot tapping? oh ho no no no. out you go, quite literally. and while we're kicking out "deviants", let's meddle in the public's private affairs. While we're caring on with our hookers, let's tell other people what they can and cannot do with their bodies, and their lovers in THEIR bedrooms. I've got my diaper on here, but two woman expressing their love for each other in the confines of their own home, that's an abomination.

You see, I don't care what senators do in their private lives. I don't care if they like to wear diapers. I don't care if they liked to be spanked (as awful as that thought is, I can't think of a single senator I would like to spank). I don't care if you see hookers. I don't care. I just don't care. I do care if you do those things in your private lives, and then come back to your public life and tell me what I can and cannot do. I do care if you are hypocritical. I do care if you take advantage of the services of hookers, but when talking about prosecution, you only want to jail the sex worker. I do care that you will do whatever to your body, but will tell a woman that they cannot decide what to do with theirs, or that they are not emotionally capable to make those decisions. I do care that you vote to tell me who I can marry. I do care that you tell me that I can be fired because I'm gay, or denied housing, or denied access to my loved one in the hospital. I do care that I cannot serve openly in the military. I do care about all these things and it makes me really angry when you are voting on all these things, and yet you, or the so-called FAMILY VALUES PARTY are carrying on with your hookers, and your fetishes and young boys....? Funny how there are just SO many gay Republican sex scandals. So here's the thing, why don't you stay out of your member's business, and stay out of my business. and stop being hypocrites. Just how many marriages have the Republican candidates had, and how many have the Democrats had?

And while we're on the topic, I don't think you should get to claim the family values moniker any. more. just what have you done for families? tax cuts? right, because that helps so many families, all those families with several houses and lots of cars. but not every day, hard working families. those families want a decent wage, health insurance, job protection, toys that are safe for their kids, and food that is safe to eat. they want security but not fear. they want school that work, and teachers that teach. they want their kids to learn and not just be rote machines. they want communities and not little ticky tacky boxes. they want sustainable development. they want clean air and clean water and cars that run on less gasoline. They want their kids to grow up in a world without racism, and misogyny and homophobia. they want them to grow up in a world with open spaces. These are the new family values. these are not republican values.

Bush and General Petraeus are touting the idea that they are considering bringing 30,000 troops home in the spring as if this was some kind of change in strategy. (most of) the media is lapping it up - A New Strategy! A Gradual Drawdown! Bringing the Troops Home! they say. LISTEN TO ME. bringing 30,000 troops home is not a change in strategy, it is not a gradual drawdown it is not bringing (the majority of) the troops home. bringing the 30,000 home was a foregone conclusion BEFORE the escalation started. The TRUTH is that the US cannot sustain the deployment of those troops. They are not voluntarily bringing them home, they are recalling them because they have to. That is the real news. The army is stretched so thin, that they cannot sustain Bush's escalation. so don't be fooled. don't be spun. don't buy it.

I highly recommend reading through some of the testimony from the Petraeus/Crocker hearings. Especially, Senators Warner, McCaskill, Clinton, Obama, Hagel, Biden, Feingold, Kerry, Boxer, Levin and Byrd - here's some rough transcriptions (emphasis all mine) (original transcriber over at dkos noted in parentheses)

BIDEN

B: We went to the reconstruction conference. I was supposed to meet with Maliki (had a windstorm; stayed where we were, couldn't go be car to baghdad).

Crocker: we tried to keep some of the commotion out of your view.

B: the road would have been highly protected? (yes). lets be straight - the idea that we could have walked outside - you would have had a fit - no one can walk outside that (area). you indicated that progress would not be quick. what does that mean - another 3,4,5,6, 10 years?

Crocker: in the past, we set expectations that couldn't be met, I'm trying not to do that. neither of us believe we can see beyond next summer

B: but you are seeing beyond next summer

C: it could be well beyond the end of next summer...before Iraq can achieve what I've laid out. (ellicat)

HAGEL
when you look at the preceding reports that we've talked about, Jones' report, GAO report,; I've spent time with Stuart Bowen,.. throughout those reports, are some very bright-lined contradictions....

you ask a sergeant or corporal what they think. where is this going? we have too many disconnects here. Our national intel report said that we are in a civil war. are we going to invest in our blood and treasure, and for what?? there has been little if any political progress. (Ellicat)

KERRY
I want to remind you and those following that over half of the names on the Viet Nam wall (come after our leaders knew the policy wasn't working and wouldn't work). our troops deserve a policy worthy of their sacrifice.

you pointed to anbar - you have to show us how this is significant nationally. they were tired of having their daughters raped and sons beheaded by A/Q. in the end, if we arm and train, but no political significance... the only way to resolve is through the reconciliation. (ellicat)

FEINGOLD

It is tragic that 6 years to the day... our attention is focused on the greatest mistake in the fight of A/Q. virtually no reference by members of congress or the witnesses to the broader fight (against A/Q); should be a global fight against a global enemy. Key elements of that threat is enhanced. A/Q has protected their safe haven in Pakistan.

question is whether Iraq is helping or hurting our efforts. this past July, bush referred to A/Q more than 90 times in a speech. this is misleading at best. they aren't the primary (force of the violence in Iraq).

Hagel mentioned other places, but what about Africa? two bombs in Nigeria; both explosions virtually unnoticed in the US. A/Q in the Islamic Magrab(?sp)

Crocker: that takes me beyond my area of expertise. I could say..based on my 2 1/2 years in Pakistan - that is the presence of A/Q in the Pak./Iran border. we are all concerned.

RF: what is more important - our presence in Iraq or the A/Q on the pak/iran border.

Crocker: it is important. the focus, resources and people needed to deal with the situation weren't there because of Iraq.

Fighting A/Q is important no matter where they are.

RF: you have to have priorities. what about the situations in other regions?

GP: not in a position to comment on the Margrab or other areas; clearly with a focus on how it is affecting A/Q in Iraq. ... A/Q central sees A/Q as their central front in their WOT. it could be changing from the loss of momentum in Iraq.

RF: with all due respect, not willing to seriously comment on the GWOT; resources; the myopia of Iraq. when will the level of troop deaths start declining in Iraq?

GP: my mission - accomplish the military tasks in Iraq; not to fight the GWOT.

RF: this is the most critical hearing, but it is only about Iraq.

GP: others need to comment on that. there is a gradual reduction of deaths. in August, we suffered a number of non-combat deaths, but number of combat deaths is lower.

RF: I want americans to know that in every single month this year, a significantly greater number of troops died each month; already 32 this month. to suggest decline in June/July...I'm not getting a answer that begins to suggest a decline in # of troops.

GP: when you go on the offensive, you have tough fighting. June, and continued for a while, started coming down; we'll have to see. tragic losses yesterday in vehicle losses that are very sad. (ellicat)

BOXER

to GP: you said in '03 you want to be an army of liberation, not of occupation. the 7 staff sergeants said we need to recognize that our presence may have released Iraqis from the grip of a tyrant, but that has also robbed them of their self-respect.

I don't consider the surge a nuance policy, its killing our soldiers at a great rate. I think that the comptroller general needs to be listened to - he said that you are cherry-picking your numbers. look at the poll you tried to discredit yesterday - 67% say their kids lives will not be better than their own, etc..

I ask you to take of your rosy glasses. the president is the CIC; he makes the policy, you carry it out; if you don't want to, you leave you post. He said mission accomplished, and thousands died. he said bring it on, and more died. we lost 28 soldiers in 6 days. who wants to keep this course? not the americans, not the iraqis; 90% of sunnis want us gone; 80% of shias want us gone.

Is the mother of all mistakes. ... please consider that others may be right.

when can they take over their own defense? when you have a country, you defend it. (ellicat)

OBAMA
we thank the troops...both of you are doing the best that you can...would say that the mission given to you is what is at issue here in the senate. the difficulty we have is that each time (we ask) about the broader strategy, you punted.

we've got to make our decisions based on priorities. I have to say we think we should not have had this discussion on 9/10/11/12. Perpetuates the notion that going into Iraq (is related to 9/11). It is to suggest that the american people and congress understood then after devoting $1T, thousands of american lives, A/Q operating in Iraq, that we increased terr. recruitment around the world, OBL is strengthened, process of reconstruction is lower than pre-invasion.. most would have said this is a bad idea and doesn't serve the US's strategic interest.

we have set the bar so low that modest improvements...now we have the level of violence in 6/06 and that is a success. it is not

this is a disaster of a foreign policy. there are bad options and worse options. this is a criticism of this administration, not you. there has been no acknowledgment of this from this admin. "We are kicking ASS" - how can we have a president (saying that)?

impact has been relatively modest given the investment (surge). Anbar doesn't have anything to do with the surge - it is political, not from the troop strength. Modest decline in Baghdad, but at the cost of increase of troop deaths.

we haven't seen any significant improvement in the central gov's performance. no national reconciliation that was promised at the beginning of the surge.

theory is that we will draw down (when they stand up). GP, in the manual you wrote, (said that Iraqis must have similar will as we have). at what point do we say enough? Crocker, you said they have patience, but our patience is limited. You haven't said, "If this fails, or does not work, benchmarks are not met"...you suggest that drawing down will not trigger different behavior, and I don't see what will. describe circumstances where you would make different recommendations (for a drawdown). (Ellicat)

LEVIN

On 1/14 this year, bush said that (we would hold them accountable to the benchmarks; this failed and there is no consequences). 10/03, bush said we were making progress, 10/04, (same thing); 10/05, 5/06, 3/07; then on 7/4/07 bush said this will require more patience. but patience has run out. this depends on their leaders seeing the end of an open-ended commitment.

WARNER

"It has not worked out as we had hoped. On what facts did you predicate that hope?

GP: I guess on the projections made by those who came before us. There were plans when certain pieces of legislation would be dealt with...

JW: You value intelligence
GP: Yessir
JW: We have very fine intelligence.. Quotes from NIE "Even if violence is diminished, given the political animosity, Iraqi leaders will be hard pressed to sustain political reconciliation (glic)

I hope that in the recesses of your heart, your recommendations will continue to imposes burdens and stresses, are you willing to say that if we continue, it is making American safer?

GP: I believe it is the best course of action to achieve our objectives in Iraq.

Warner: Does that make America safer?

GP: I DO NOT KNOW. I HAVE TRIED TO ACHIEVE OBJECTIVES OF MULTINATIONAL FORCE. I HAVE NOT STEPPED BACK...

BYRD

The war, with the attacks of 9-11... is there or was there a connection between Iraq and 9-11?

GP: not that I'm aware of

B: success is meaningless without political reconciliation. ... why should we give you more and more time? (Ellicat)

CLINTON

You have been ordered ..by the president and you are the de facto spokesman. I think that the reports taht you provide to us require the suspension of disbelief. In any of the metrics that have been eferences, any fair reading of the advantages and disadvantages post-surge, in my view, end up on the downside. I started my day at Ground Zero where the names of the victims were read solemnly in the rain. We have seen OBL re appear on our TV essentially taunting us, we have seen terrorist trained in pakistan, plotting against us in Germany and we get very little comfort that the mastermind of that mass murder is at large, neither captured or killed...the resurgence of AlQ and the consequences of that. With respecto t Anbar, much has been made of the progress, but that was going on before the surge. You referenced that in your testimony. Sheiks were coming together...with respect to violence, although the charts tell part of the story, I dont' think they tell the whole story. Civilian deaths have risen, car bombings have risen, MAy was the deadliest month with civilian deaths. American casualties are greater every month in 07 than in the same month in 06, leaving us with a total thus far of 739 killed thus far (US) The "bottom up" is anecdotal.. Sen Warner's questions lead to the conclusion that very little is occurring from top down that can give us comfort ...for greater Iraqi political consideration.

Iraqi public opinion (ABC/BBC polls) shows that since the escalation began IRaqi opinion has turned against the US

HRC: Amb, it's not only the Iraq gov't that in my view has failed to pursue a coherent strategy, I think ours has as well. You've been tasked to communicate with Iranians and others in the region. Many of us believe we need to be engaged in robust diplomatic efforts..should we mroe engaged in the region...if there were some process established to see what's possible that would be beneficial to your efforts?

AC: Sen, engaging the region and the intn't community in support of Iraq is important and that is on-going and, it's uh, accelerating. This fall we'll have at least 2 ministerial level meeting on IRaq, the one I mentioned involving the neighbors and the G5 and G8 in Instanbul (glic)

MCCASKILL

McCaskill: i feel a kind of mandate to disagree, to challenge.. the benchmarks.. CinC said we will judge the success of this strategy by the benchmarks.. i went back and read the testimony when you were confirmed.. exchange about benchmarks and the leverage we could use.. we could withhold things, support.. what leverage do we have because clearly it doesn't seem to be working.. just appears that we have to take on faith that this last date is not 2030, or 2025, or 2040. I see no effect of leverage. Either of you? (joanneleon)

Check out the Gavel's General Petraeus fact-check here http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=736

and now, on a lighter note...Burger King will be rolling out "Apple fries" - red apples sliced to resemble thick cut french fries, and washed in lemon juice to keep them from turning brown. What the hell is wrong with people? You can't get your kid to eat an apple? You want to cut down on their fat intake, so you take them to BK, and order them apple slices...probably along with a burger. If you want to cut the bad stuff from their diet so they don't become huge, here's a hint. Don't take them to BK or any other fast food joint. Also, pre-packaged apple slices - how hard is it to slice an apple? what's next, pre-peeled, pre-sliced bananas? Here it's pre chewed - actually, why don't I just inject it right into your stomach. You would think with the proliferation of conveniently packaged food, that one day we would just swallow a pill to get all of our nutritional needs. But that won't happen. People enjoy their eating too much. They just want the food processed and packaged to the nth degree. Personally, I like to cook...so I can see what I'm eating, and not just consuming.

2007-08-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

I've been terrible about updating. Mostly because I haven't been that motivated, I've had people locked out, and I've been training a temp at work AND doing all kinds of other shit work. Bleh. SO here's all the stuff I haven't posted, it's three weeks worth, but not nearly as much as you might think. Enjoy, andi'll try and be better about posting.

Week of 7/16

This weekend was pretty great. We drove up to Chicago on Saturday morning for the Pitchfork Music Festival. We saw (in no particular order):

* Beach house
* Fujiya and Miyagi
* Girl Talk
* Cat Power
* Yoko Ono
* The Junior Boys
* Jaime Lydell
* Of Montreal
* and many others

the weather was a perfect 80 degrees with no humidity. I did however get sunburned on the back of my neck, due to remaining in the same spot in front of what would be the Of Montreal stage. We squatted there for about five hours so that we could be in the front rows for the concert. All was well for the first half of the concert, until some assholes in the back of the mass of humanity that was behind us decided to start pushing forward. Imagine the weight of 8,000 people pushing your forward. Now, imagine that your forward progress is prevented by three rows of people smooshed against an unforgiving gate. This is how people die at concerts. Jen and I assumed defensive postures and elbowed all the way. We still had many many sweaty 200+ lb drunk males jumping all over us, but we managed to not get crushed. Lovely. The concert itself was good - and Of Montreal puts on quite a show.

There was some sort of three-headed beast, a guy all in black with a gold sequined mask, a guy with wings, a blown up guy with a paper mache head, a woman in a gold cat suit, the lead singer in a leather get-up (briefs, fishnets, and corset) glitter all around and some sort of red jelly.... there really was something quite bizarre about watching a bunch of macho men push towards the stage trying to get closer and closet to a skinny white boy, clad in leather - the homo-eroticism completely lost on the males in the crowd....

So, despite being in Chicago all weekend, Jen and I returned on Tuesday so that we could see Mirah. That's right, we drove back from Chicago on Sunday night so that I could go to work on Monday, get hired (more on that later) and take the day of Tuesday. So that we could drive up on Tuesday and see a concert, only to drive back home so that I could be at work on Wednesday. Let me tell you that the concert was amazing - I really like Logan Square Auditorium. And we were mixing it up because my cousin Catherine came with us. And we decided to stop in Springfield to catch a movie and lunch, in order to avoid rush hour traffic in Chicago. So yeah, the concert = amazing, we were three rows back, from the stage, not a fence that keeps you several feet from the stage, but the stage itself. I could have reached out and tapped her. I highly recommend you get your hands on some Mirah, especially Cold Cold Water and The Garden, oh and the song she sang about New Orleans. Just check out her myspace page.

Anyway, the concert was good, the drive back = yucky. The concert itself didn't get over until midnight, which means that right off the bat we were looking at an arrival time in STL of 4:30am. Yikes. So there was fast food and Red Bull and eventually, Jen let me convince her that I needed to be the one driving and she should be sleeping in the backseat (on account of her having to work at 6am, and me having to work later at 9:30am). So Catherine and I sang songs, and talked politics and joined the Senate who was having a sleepover to force Republicans to stop obstructing. All, in all, the drive wasn't bad once my red bull and no doze kicked in. Of course, when I finally did get home, my body was immeasurably tired, but still highly caffeinated (and actively multiple choicing?) so there was no sleep for a half hour, by that time it was almost time for me to get up anyway.

So work sucked on Wednesday - alot. But I slept alot last night, and I shudder at the thought of Red Bull - the great thing is that we plan to do the same thing this coming Sunday. St. Vincent is playing the Empty Bottle. We'll be there. and Monday will be hell.

Oh, so yeah. I was hired on Monday. Finally. Benefits kick in Sept 1. And I got a slight pay-raise, but now I'm also eligible for bonuses and paid time off. Three weeks of it, to be exact. and sick days. paid sick days - five of them. and a 401k with a 7% match. oh yeah.....

meanwhile, it is now Thursday, and i am actively hungry.

Gonzales is scheduled to appear before the SJC on Tuesday and it should be fascinating - especially since Leahy sent him a list of questions beforehand so that we could avoid anymore "I don't recall" moments. He also pointed out that Gonzales has been "inconsistent" in the past. This means that he LIED. Hopefully, the SJC will hand Gonzales his ass on Tuesday. I'll be watching.

Here's the letter he sent Gonzales:

July 17, 2007

The Honorable Alberto Gonzales
Attorney General
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Attorney General Gonzales:

When you last testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 19, 2007, you often responded to questions from Senators on both sides of the aisle that you could “not recall.” By some counts, you failed to answer more than 100 questions, by other counts more than 70, and the most conservative count had you failing to provide answers well over 60 times. As a result, the Committee’s efforts to conduct oversight were hampered. Senator Specter and I wrote to you after that hearing to ask you promptly to supplement your testimony on April 19 with answers to those questions for which you responded that you could not recall or did not know. In your cursory response, you did not supplement any of your answers.

I would like to avoid a repeat of that performance. In order to assist you in your preparation, I send you the following questions in advance of your July 24 appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

1. On April 19, you testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee that you had not spoken with anyone involved in the firings about that process because you did not want to interfere with the investigation. Again, on May 10, you testified to the House Judiciary Committee that you had not spoken with anyone involved in order to protect the integrity of the investigation. Then on May 23, Monica Goodling testified under oath before the House Judiciary Committee that she had an “uncomfortable” conversation with you during which you outlined your recollection of what happened and asked her for her reaction to your version. Is Ms. Goodling’s testimony accurate, and if so, how do you account for your previous, uncorrected testimony to this Committee?

2. On April 19 you testified before this Committee that your former Chief of Staff Kyle Sampson was responsible for putting together the list of U.S. Attorneys to be fired. But on May 15, the day after Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty announced his intention to resign, you said that the firings were largely Mr. McNulty’s responsibility. Mr. McNulty has said that he had very limited involvement in the decision of which U.S. Attorneys to fire. Please describe all of your interactions with Mr. McNulty related to the replacement of the nine U.S. Attorneys and your understanding of his role in deciding which U.S. Attorneys would be fired. Why has your description of who made the decisions, and who was most involved in the decision-making process, changed over time?

3. While Bradley Schlozman was Acting Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department, he approved pre-clearance of a voter photo identification provision from the state of Georgia that has become the focus of extensive criticism about the management of the Department’s voting section. He authorized a National Voter Registration Act suit against the State of Missouri, over the reservations of Todd Graves, then U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, who argued that the case lacked merit. This case was later thrown out of court. Mr. Schlozman admitted before this Committee that he had bragged about hiring Republicans to the Civil Rights Division, and he reportedly advised candidates with Republican political affiliations to remove them from their resumes before applying to the division.

a. Were you aware of these issues when Mr. Schlozman was appointed interim United States Attorney in the Western District of Missouri? How did they affect your decision?

b. After Mr. Schlozman was appointed interim U.S. Attorney in Missouri, he brought indictments against people affiliated with ACORN, a group that supported Democratic candidates and that registered voters, on the eve of a closely contested midterm election in Missouri, despite the contrary policy expressed in the Justice Department’s guidebook on “Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses.” Were you aware of this pre-election indictment decision? What was your role in the decision?

4. Recent documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act lawsuits and reported in the Washington Post indicate that you received reports in 2005 and 2006 of violations in connection with the PATRIOT Act and abuses of National Security Letters (NSLs). These violations apparently included unauthorized surveillance, illegal searches, and improper collection of data. These reports were significant enough to prompt reports to the Intelligence Oversight Board. Yet, when you testified under oath before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in April 2005, you sought to create the impression that Americans’ civil liberties and privacy were being effectively safeguarded and respected, saying “[t]he track record established over the past 3 years has demonstrated the effectiveness of the safeguards of civil liberties put in place when the Act was passed.” Earlier this month, in responses to written questions I sent you on behalf of the Senate Judiciary Committee about when you first learned of problems with NSLs, you, again, did not mention these earlier reports of problems. Would you like to revise or correct your misleading April 2005 testimony to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, or your July 6, 2007 response to this Committee’s written questions related to these issues?

5. According to news reports and briefings provided by the FBI, the FBI has been conducting an internal audit of its use of National Security Letters that has confirmed the findings of the March 2007 Inspector General report that there was “widespread and serious misuse of the FBI’s national security letter authorities.” Is it your view that there has been widespread and serious misuse of the National Security Letter authority?

6. When you were asked on February 6, 2006 if any senior Justice Department officials, including your former deputy, James Comey, expressed concerns about the Bush Administration’s warrantless electronic surveillance program, you testified: “I do not believe that these DOJ officials . . . had concerns about this program.” Mr. Comey subsequently testified on May 15, 2007 that on March 9, 2004, he informed you, as White House counsel, and others including the Vice President, that the Justice Department had concluded that the Administration’s warrantless electronic surveillance program did not have a legal basis. He testified that you and former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card tried to circumvent him, in his role as Acting Attorney General, by rushing to the hospital bedside of ailing former Attorney General John Ashcroft to try to persuade him to certify the program. Please provide a full explanation for the legal authorization for the President’s warrantless electronic surveillance program in March and April 2004.

7. Last year, the Iraq Study Group found that the Iraqi police "cannot control crime, and they routinely engage in sectarian violence, including unnecessary detention, torture, and targeted execution of Sunni Arabs civilians.@ They also found evidence of serious police corruption. They called for the Department of Justice to take the lead role in training the Iraqi police force. In January of this year, you reported to the Judiciary Committee that the Department was overseeing hundreds of police trainers in Iraq and Jordan. Last week, the President reported that the Iraqi police had failed, yet again, to meet the Administration's own benchmarks for progress. On the same day as this report, U.S. troops engaged in a gun battle with Iraqi police on the streets of Bagdad, where six Iraqi policemen and seven Shiite gunman were killed defending an Iraqi police lieutenant. On July 13, USA Today reported that a previously undisclosed investigation by the army shows that Iraqi police were directly complicit in a complex insurgent attack on a government compound in Karbala in January that killed U.S. soldiers. What have you, as Attorney General, done to improve the Department’s programs for training Iraqi police over the last six months, what steps have you taken to combat improper political and sectarian influences within the Iraqi police, and what grade would you give yourself for this effort?

8. This Committee recently became aware of a memorandum dated July 10, 2007, and signed by Steven G. Bradbury as “Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General” for the Office of Legal Counsel. It contends that Harriet Miers, who is a former White House Counsel, is “immune from compelled congressional testimony.” Pursuant to what legal authority did Mr. Bradbury issue this memorandum, and how is Mr. Bradbury’s issuance of this memorandum consistent with the Vacancies Act? At the end of the last Congress, Mr. Bradbury’s nomination to serve as the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel was returned to the President.

9. The Department’s July 9, 2007, report on its data mining activities raises many questions about the impact of these programs on American’s privacy and civil liberties. In the Judiciary Committee’s hearing earlier this year on privacy and civil liberties implications of government data mining programs, several witnesses concluded that data mining programs are not effective tools for combating terrorism. Has the Justice Department conducted audits or studies demonstrating that its data mining programs, such as the STAR program, are effective tools for identifying potential terrorists?

10. In 2003, Congress unanimously passed the Hometown Heroes law to extend federal survivor benefits to the families of firefighters, police officers, and emergency workers who die of heart attack or stroke in the line of duty. The legislation was intended to create a presumption that the heart attack or stroke was caused by work in the line of duty, unless there was clear evidence to the contrary. However, more than three and a half years after Hometown Heroes became law, the Justice Department has approved only six claims and denied 48 claims out of nearly 260 applications. Many families have been waiting for a decision from the department on their claims since the bill became law in December 2003. Why has the Justice Department taken so long to decide Hometown Heroes claims? Why is there only a three percent acceptance rate for Hometown Heroes claims?

11. Given the Administration’s resistance to congressional oversight, its misleading and self-serving statements, its having denied security clearances to Office of Professional Responsibility investigators reviewing actions taken in connection with the President’s warrantless electronic surveillance program, and the ineffectiveness of other internal review mechanism, such as the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board and the Intelligence Oversight Board, why should Congress or the American people have any confidence in your recent announcement implementing “a significant new national security oversight and compliance effort”?

12. Other Inspectors General can investigate misconduct throughout their agencies. Apparently, the Department of Justice Inspector General suffers under a limitation that restricts his ability to investigation misconduct by you, the Deputy Attorney General, and other senior Department lawyers. Will you agree to the removal of this limitation on the Department of Justice Inspector General so that the Inspector General may investigate misconduct by you, other senior Department of Justice officials, lawyers, and law enforcement agents?

I remind you that any testimony you wish to submit is due at least 48 hours before the hearing. I look forward to your testifying on July 24.

Sincerely,

PATRICK LEAHY
Chairman

(emphasis mine) hahahahahahaaha

Oh and Royal Air Force jets were dispatched to intercept Russian bombers that were on track to enter British airspace...

Meanwhile Larry Flynt hints that there is another senator on his list of 30 solid leads.... Vitter still hasn't resigned despite his awesome hypocrisy. This was the guy that ran on traditional family values, and anti gay sentiment and said that Bill Clinton should resign. And yet, he was seeing DC and New Orleans hookers, liked to be dressed up in diapers by said hookers and may have fathered a child. I don't care what you do in your personal life, but when you make my personal life into a political football, yours becomes fair game. and so does your hypocrisy. Been in that child's life much, Vitter - how's that for family values?

Oh and here's a word on Bill. Blowjobs from your intern = bad idea. The power dynamic makes it troubling. Is it a high crime and misdemeanor? No. Should he have been impeached? no. Did the Clinton Impeachment sour the American People on impeachment as a legitimate tool of the political process? Yes. Was that the republican plan all along? maybe. should we impeach BushCo for high crimes and misdemeanors? Most definitely. And here's a short list why:

1. Lying to the American people and bringing a phony case to go to war
2. formulating and carrying out an illegal plan to spy and wiretap US citizens
3. extensive violations of the geneva convention, including punishing civilian populations for insurgent attacks and torture
4. gutting habeas corpus
5. concealing news, promoting propaganda to US media sources
6. the designation "enemy combatant"
7. no bid contracts in Iraq that fleece the American public and endanger US lives
8. kidnapping and holding foreign nationals at CIA black sites
9. criminal neglect during Hurricane Katrina
10. refusal to provide information that is vital to investigations carried out by co-equal branches of government
11. unitary executive
12. gutting the bill of rights
13. failing to prosecute the criminal outting of Valerie Plame
14. failing to protect the US from 9/11
15. ceding the presidents wartime powers to a WAR CZAR in contravention of the Constitution
16. etc etc etc.

Week of 7/30

Sorry about the newly instituted security measures. One of the IT guys heard me telling Jen that I have a blog, and now he wants to read it. Except, I don't want him to read it because I talk about all sorts of things here at work that I am not allowed to talk about. Thus, the invite-only blog for awhile.

Meanwhile, I am extremely sore today from a Sunday spent on the water, and the tube and waterskis - combined with a night of little sleep. Due to, what else? The new kitten! Twix, likes to climb the blinds right above our bed. Not only does this make an unholy amount of noise, there is the ever present danger that she will lose her precarious grip and fall, claws extended onto our upturned faces. So you see, I didn't sleep well. Tonight we are instituting a no-pet rule. All the pets will be locked up or locked out.

Also, this weekend, I was struck with an urge to build a cat playpen. I am quite proud of the result, it has three levels and a box on top that the cats can sit in. Whether or not they will be amused with my contraption remains to be seen. At any rate, it gives them a perch to survey the room without being bothered by the dogs.

And today I have encountered a DISCOVERY channel game that you should all play. They tagged real sharks and set them loose off the coast of California. You are part of the game as a virtual boat and crew that track these sharks. You can set your course and your speed etc. Your mission is to encounter the sharks and pick which kinds of interactions you want to have, like one-man, two-man, cage etc. You do not want to get attacked. You get various experience and money from these encounters. Here's the cool part, your boat and the sharks run in real time. So if you set your course to somewhere that it won't get to for three hours in the real world, you won't get there for three hours. And when you have encountered a shark, it's because the shark really was at that location at the same time as your virtual boat. Cool huh? Check it out. http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dc9k9h48_22frpt3p

Week of 8/9

This past weekend was Lollapalooza. In stark contrast to Pitchfork, I was not squashed even a little bit even thought there were countless more people attending and the shows were just as high energy. Also, last weekend I noticed an exciting complication to my Lolla tickets....they never charged my credit card...muah hahaha! Haha, error in my favor to the tune of $330. Ha ha ha ha. Oh, and the festival was good. We saw Lady Gaga, Smoosh, Pearl Jam, TV on the Radio, Matt and Kim, !!!, Regina Specktor, Cold War Kids and more that I am forgetting, and more that we heard but did not see.

This week is ungoldly hot, temperatures in the 100s all week? Sounds like a typical August in St. Louis.

We stayed with Cariss in Chicago this past weekend and reminiced fondly about our days at Rosebury with memory aides like her book of chronicles and photo album. She reminded me that I had in fact said to Lauren (who was claiming to be a virgin), "Once you've had a giant DILDO shoved up your cooch, you're pretty much not a virgin!" HA. Rosebury was good times. I miss my roommmates, but as Carissa says, not the dishes.

Meanwhile, in Discovery Channel's Sharkrunner game which I mentioned last week, I got munched....again.

Here's a lesbo movie for you. Amour de Femme, clearly it's french and if you can get over the fact that there is at least a 7 inch height differential between the two main characters, I think you might enjoy it. I know I did.

My sister's 21st birthday was last week. I was the lucky designated driver. But I did enjoy myself and I did enjoy buying drinks for my sister and watching Jen get absolutely hammered. If you think that you can't drink 16 drinks in 4 hours, you would be wrong - because she did...and paid the price for it for three days.

Bush, Cheney and Gonzales still fucking bastards? Check.

And here's another lesbo movie for you - depressing as hell, but very good Aimee and Jaguar. go get it and watch it.

Week of 7/9

2007-07-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend was pretty great. If anything, it was jam packed. Thursday night we went out with our cousins for dinner at Mokabe's. Friday night was dinner at BWW with Jordan, Ariela and co, then Transformers. Saturday was river fun - complete with skiing and muscle soreness inducing tubing (I have a little black eye) and then Novak's, and then After. Sunday we just laid around, watching Lost, all freaking day.

So, overdraft fees. let's talk. Overdraft fees made sense back in the day when people mostly wrote paper checks. It covered the cost and the hassle of the bank running a check that did not have enough funds behind it in the account to cover it. Bad on you, for writing a check that bounced. Now, when you switch to debit cards, that is tied DIRECTLY to your account. that means, that if you don't have the money to cover a transaction, it should just come back declined. MUCH LIKE A CREDIT CARD. But no, banks let the transaction go through again and again, even if you don't have sufficient funds. Why is this you might ask. So they can charge you outrageous overdraft fees. Bastards. We just had an interaction with BofA over this, fortunately, Jen e is a fucking rockstar and they ended up submitting, but only because she had iron-clad proof that THEY fucked up. But, it's really beside the point: if your card is tied to your account, and your account doesn't have enough funds, the transaction should not go through. Why else would the little screen come up on the swipe box "Transaction approved"?

About me flying off the tube. The thing about tubing, is that when the boat makes a fast left, the tube (and you) go right and because of centrifugal motion, you actually go a lot faster than the boat, in fact you go almost twice as fast. So when the driver took a left at 35 miles an hour, that means I was going damn near 60mph when I flew off the tube and hit the water. They tell me that I must have skipped 20 feet across the water. And, I'll tell you that my body feels every last foot of it. Ouch...but oh so much fun....and it's pleasantly sore, not like "oh god, i hurt so much." Though, i frequently forget about my blackening eye and rub/scratch it - then it fucking hurts.

Jen just called to tell me that it was hailing at our house. Here, the sun is shining. Well, it WAS shining how there's some serious clouds moving in. Bring on the hail. We need so minor, but very costly hail damage to our car....Jalynn cackles evilly. The last time we had some good hail, my car took some minor but very expensive damage and I was able to pay off a chunk of the car and my insurance for months. pray for hail.

China executed a corrupt official. We need some more of that. Ripped off thousands of employees, Enron? Toast. War profiteerting, Halliburton? Toast. Watching an American city drown? you're done.

Senator Vitter - rightwing blowhard that got his jollies by telling you and me what we could and could not do in OUR bedrooms, apparently also got his jollies with Madam DC's hookers... oh the irony. See I don't care what you do in your personal life, I don't care if you have to pay for sex because no one will do you. I DO care when you are a hypocritical asshole and tell ME what I can and cannot do. All the while, you're seeing hookers. Fuck off wanker.

Ever get a song in your head and you can't get it out. The only way to get it out is to play it a whole bunch of times until it is actually driven out of your head. Now imagine that you are stuck at work, and there is a song stuck in your head, and you have your mp3 player, but you do not have that song. GOD BLESS THE INTERNET. because we do have myspace and bands tend to put their songs on their myspace. freedom.

so, yesterday (tuesday) we bought tickets to go see Harry Potter at 11:59pm. we had this elaborate plan about how i would come home, we would have dinner, take a nap, get up, go see the movie, go the gym and then just stay up all night - because really, if you're getting out of a movie at 2:30am and you have to be up at 6am, what's the point in going to bed? Our plan however was summarily derailed when I hit the OFF button on the alarm, rolled over to tell Jen that we had to wake up, only to fall asleep myself. Not to awaken until 11:30. Now this would have been fine if we were going to the theatre by our house, but we were going to one a fair distance away. Alas, we did not go - and instead opted to burn our $20 and get a good nights sleep. We were right about the $20 but not about the good nights sleep. Why? you ask.

1) after sleeping soundly for several hours, alarm goes off at 10:30pm
2) jolt awake at 11:30pm, get up, start to get dressed, realize that we will not make movie
3) awake at 2am when Dublin vomits on the bedspread, pull cover off, lay down on bare mattress because Dublin peed on the sheets earlier
4) jolt awake at 5am when Tasty manages to open the locked bedroom door.
5) jolted awake by the alarm going off at 6am

So both our plans to see Harry Potter and our backup plan of getting some rest, were foiled.

I had two interviews for my position here this week. I'm told that they were both formalities. I'm also told by my boss that she would like to offer it to me today, but the people that need to sign off on the offer are not here today - she says early next week. Sweet - finally. The pay is going to be the same, but there will be juicy juicy mango- i mean benefits (name that movie for bonus points). so yeah. there's that.

meanwhile, Jen and I are off to Pitchfork Music Festival this weekend in Chicago, it should be pretty spectacular weather, sunny and in the low 80s. Nice.

2007-07-09T14:40:00.000-07:00

I have an intense headache. Normally, I would chalk this up to not having any breakfast, but I did have breakfast. I actually had a quite good breakfast: cereal, raspberries and a peanut butter on bread slice. I'm still quite full.

So, I think I will have to blame the pain on not enough sleep. Why didn't I get enough sleep you might ask - and the answer would be, I stayed up too late, watching the first season of the L word. Remember when the L word was good? yeah, first season. And so I did not get enough sleep.

though, I was remarkably productive morning - dishes, laundry, general picking up, crunches, and dropping off moves at blockbuster. Go me.

So, finland has a system of finining people for traffic violations that a) I greatly enjoy and b) we should adopt and use for everything. It works like this, you get a ticket, the officer consults an IRS-like database to find out what your income is, you are then assessed a fine based on the severity of your violation (including such factors as, speed, driving conditions, the proximity of other people). The key is that the fine is a percentage of you income. Poor college kid, speeding = $80. Rich old white guy, speeding = $100k. Me likey.

Now, use the same principle for other crimes. Because thousand dollar fines mean nothing to the very rich. nothing. you have to hit them in the pocketbook. love it. love it.

This week is nice because we have Wednesday off, right there in the middle of the week. It's like Monday, Friday. then the weekend, or in this case just Sunday. Then Monday, Friday, and then Real Weekend. Nice. Incidentally, today is like Monday and Wednesday all wrapped up in one.

After the Scooter Libby commutation, my letter to my congressman, my parent's congressman, and Nancy.

Congressman, I am writing you to express my dismay at the President's commutation of Scooter Libby. I have always taken pride knowing that we are a nation of laws, and that in the eyes of the law, we are all treated equally. The President's decision eviscerates this concept- apparently it's ok, if you're a Republican.

Mr. Libby's trial was fair, he was judged and found guilty by a jury of his peers and an experienced judge handed him a sentence that was well within established guidelines.President Bush negated all of that by commuting Mr. Libby's sentence. Contrary to what he said in his statement, President Bush cannot claim to respect the verdict of the jury and at the same time commute Mr. Libby's sentence to zero. Mr. Libby has done nothing to deserve such a commutation. He has not expressed remorse, his case is still on appeal and he has not served one day in prison. Not one day.

National security is an extremely important issue; this includes the integrity of our CIA officers and missions. The intentional outing of a cover CIA agent is tantamount to treason. There is no way to know the extent of the damage that the outing of Valerie Plame has caused. There is no way to know how much information we have lost, how many contacts will no longer come forward or how many lives have been forsaken. Mr. Libby may not have pulled the trigger, but he knows who did.

Mr. Libby obstructed justice by lying to a grand jury in the course of the investigation into this matter. He was convicted of this offense. President Bush commits nothing less than obstruction of justice by commuting his sentence, and condoning the continued obstruction of the CIA-outing investigation.

The Congress must demand answers from the President as to why he has chosen to give a friend of the Administration special treatment. He must explain his reasoning for commuting the sentence.The Congress must demand the continued investigation into the CIA leak. The President said that he would fire anyone found to have been involved in the leak-in the breach of national security. There remains a dark cloud of suspicion over both the Office of the Vice President, and Mr. Karl Rove. As of yet, they have not been fired.

It becomes the responsibility of the House of Representatives to check the power of the Executive. That time has come. I urge you to co-sponsor H Res 333 - the resolution to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney.

Congressman, no man is above the law. We, the people ask that you hold this Administration accountable for its many transgressions. Please help restore our once proud and noble nation to the greatness that we have lost.

And that was my letter.

Ok, it's 10:26am on MonThurWednesday and I have nothing left to do. I just want to a) go to the gym, b) go home and take a nap, or c) go home and watch a movie. I do not want to be here for the next 7.5 hours. I mean really, I've only been here for an hour, and yet it feels like forever. And there's no entertaining news because it's right after a holiday and Congress is not in session.

It really seems like all the crazies come out when we have a short week or holiday. People just completely unable to handle themselves. On Tuesday, Joyce spent 45 minutes on the phone with someone who did not understand what a "mouse" was. She had to explain, left click, right click to him - and he never did master cut and paste.

Ok, 3 hours and 49 minutes remain. Once again, just like every day, I'm getting my afternoon chills - or maybe they just turn the temperature down in here after lunch because they know that people are sleepy. This, I suspect. I think that I would rather be outside in the humidity, in the HEAT, rather than be cold.

The only redeeming quality about this workday is that it is like Wednesday, because tomorrow is Friday. The sucky, thing is that it feels like Monday.

2007-06-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

You know, if it weren't for that pesky Iraq thing, I think I would sign up for the reserves. I mean a $20k enlistment bonus looks pretty sexy for one weekend a month, two weeks a year - and I like to shoot guns.....but alas, there IS that pesky Iraq thing.

PRIDE
Pride weekend. The one weekend in the whole year that all the gays come out (so to speak) or the woodwork - all 100,000 of them. We started Saturday and Mokabe's for breakfast,then Pride then watched the cards game on tv (we would've watched it at the game, but they inexplicably moved the game from 3pm to 12pm....and our tickets were driving in from Indiana, so no live game for us), but then we went back to Pride, returned home for some delicious enchiladas and mojitos, then blue margaritas, then Novak's. Novak's was as packed as I have ever EVER seen it. We waited 45 minutes to get in, the line was literally around the block. and it was entertaining, if not a bit claustrophobic...afterwards we went to after and rounded out our night with some spudsters - delicious mashed potato bits deep fried and dipped in cheese. yum yum. and it didn't matter TOO much that it took the waitress damn near forever to run our debit cards. I was exhausted upon getting home.

Annnnnnnddd, my sunburn has mostly gone away, and by gone away, I mean peeled off. sad.

Jen and I are going to take fencing lessons. Love it, love it.

Ummmm. I just took at nap at my desk. The phones are slow, the day is gloomy and my eyelids were heavy heavy. I don't really want to be awake, and I could kill for some chocolate, just a piece, just one.

The Neverending Call
Last night, I was stuck here until 7pm, even though the call center closes at 6pm. Why? you might ask. Because a client called in at 5:55 and said the dreaded words "I'm having a problem with my upload." These are the most hated words in my department because there could be any number of problems with their spreadsheet that is preventing it from uploading it correctly - and I can't see the spreadsheet. Inevitably you have to have them email you the spreadsheet and you have to pore over it, looking for that stray comma or out of place period that is causing the problem.

All these thoughts flashed through my head when she said "I'm having a problem with my upload." Knowing that I couldn't put her off until tomorrow, we started in on the spreadsheet. After about 15 minutes, I realized why I had recognized her company name. We had received an email earlier in the day warning us that this woman might be calling in and that she needed to be handed with "kid gloves" and rightly so, I suppose - it was a $250,000 order. At that point, I knew that I definitely could not put this woman off until tomorrow.

So we attempted to load her spreadsheet with 1000 entries, no go. We tried 100, and 10 and finally, just one. After several minutes, the one entry uploaded. Now, this process, this whole uploading thing, should take only a minute and a half, tops. But this one entry had taken three minutes. If that held out for the entire upload, we would have been waiting for it to upload for over two days. Lucky for me, I was able to talk her into waiting until the next day, that one of my colleagues would call her back after speaking with IT, and finally I was able to get off the phone. This was at 6:30pm. Then, I had to write a long, detailed email to my boss and this woman's handler so they could be apprised of the situation. I finally left work at 6:50pm - and if you think that I am not going to charge them for over time, you are very very mistaken.

So this morning, when I get in, I have two emails in my box with such glowing praise as " Sounds like you did a great job of keeping the client comfortable and explored many options. Good work!" and "she had great things to say about your willingness to assist her" and " This has been a sensitive client and you contributed to restoring that relationship last night". Go fucking me. I win.

Now they just need to fucking hire me, thank you bye bye.

UPDATE: That giant order, from last, placed on a credit card, for a quarter of a million dollars....was declined - they're kinda freaking out here.

Meanwhile, the world is falling apart.

Inherent Contempt
The White House is refusing to honor the subpoenas that Congress has issued and says they will not turn over the required documents and Sara Taylor and Harriet Miers will not be testifying before Congress. So they basically sent a giant FU back to Congress. It is my fervent hope that Congress does not take this lying down, does not agree to a negotiated settlement, does not send it to the DOJ to be prosecuted (we know how that would turn out) but instead, grabs their balls and hold them in inherent contempt. Here's your primer on inherent contempt:

"Under the inherent contempt power, the individual is brought before the House or Senate by the Sergeant-at-Arms, tried at the bar of the body, and can be imprisoned" until they comply. The inherent benefit is that you don't have to take the contempt charges to the DOJ, the matter can be resolved entire "in house."

Chairs of SJC and HJC respond:

Leahy: "This White House cannot have it both ways. They cannot stonewall congressional investigations by refusing to provide documents and witnesses, while claiming nothing improper occurred."

Conyers: ""This response indicates the reckless disrespect this administration has for the rule of law....At this point, I see only one choice in moving forward, and that is to enforce the rule of law set forth in these subpoenas."

Click your heels three times and say it with me "inherent contempt, inherent contempt, inherent contempt."

IMPEACH
A conservative calls of the impeachment of Cheney - just go read the article - The title: Impeach Vice President Cheney. Subtitle: The Vice President has run utterly amok and must be stopped. read it.

Supremes
In other news the Supreme Court has gotten all wacky lately, they've:

1. Gutted campaign finance reform.
2. Restricted a citizen's right to sue the government over tax-payer money going to faith based institutions
3. Restricted the free speech of students
4. Gutted Brown v. Board of Education.

This is what your vote for George W got you. This will be his only legacy. Pray, Pray for a democratic President and Congress in the next election. Intrade puts the probability at 53.8% Dem President, 77% Dem Senate, 80% Dem House. This does not mean that you should not donate and donate frequently.

Speaking of donating, Q2 is coming to a close soon, so if you have a favortite candidate, and you want to give them a boost - now is the time to do it. Speaking of donators, Obama is approaching 250,000 unique donors. That number is HUGE. Even if you don't know that he's your guy, go give $5 and be part of history. As of 5:00pm, he had 248,370 unique donors. That's more than 6400 that have signed on today. And I'm one of them! go go go let's have a little gorbama, a little alobama

Oh, and the immigration bill was shot down....again.

Fifty high school students were at the White House to be honored as Presidential Scholars, instead they delivered a message to Bush himself. Don't let America stand for torture. Even kids know it's wrong...dummy.

Gore beats all dems in New Hampshire polling, posting a 6% lead of Hillary.

The New Orleans Disaster
Ok, CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington) just released a report based on 7500 pages of information they requested through a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request that they submitted shortly after the Katrina disaster requesting information on the governments long-term planning of a hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast. Most importantly, they found that the government did not follow their own recommendations. And when Bush said that "no one could have predicted" that the levees would not hold...he was lying. flat out lying. Key findings:

Critically, CREW found that FEMA had created a "Southeast Louisiana Catastrophic Hurricane Plan" (SLCHP), which forecast a range of specific consequences, including:

* New Orleans would be flooded with 14-17 feet of water, the levee system inundated with at least 10 feet of water and the hurricane would move into Mississippi;
* One million people would evacuate, but flooding would trap at least 250-350,000; and
* Each hurricane victim would require a minimum of two Meals Ready to Eat, one gallon of water and eight pounds of ice per day.

The SLCHP included plans to:

* Evacuate residents and position resources pre-hurricane;
* Provide power, water and ice to hurricane victims; and
* Provide short-term shelter and longer-term temporary housing.

Hmm, and what happened when Katrina hit?

Levees breached, New Orleans flooded, hundreds of thousands of people stranded - left without food, shelter and water. Now tell me that this is not an impeachable offense. The government's own report said that given a strong storm, New Orleans could drown and drown it did, while the PRESIDENT was on vacation. click your heels together and say it with me. George Bush let an American city DROWN. Your word to keep Americans safe (from terrorism) means nothing when you cannot prevent a humanitarian disaster on your own soil.

Romney's Dog
Apparently, 25 years ago, on a 12 hour car trip with his family, Mitt Romney tied his family's dog carrier WITH THE DOG INSIDE to the roof of his car. The dog spent 12 hours in the carrier, and ultimately defecated on the back of the car. Romney stopped at a service station, hosed down the car and the dog and continued along his merry way. Romney may well have been breaking the law by endangering the animal - not to mention transporting the dog inhumanely and cruelly. Sadly, it would appear that the statute of limitations has passed. what a wanker. who straps their dog to the top of a car? why didn't the dog ride in the car? why didn't the luggage ride on top of the car? why, if you couldn't fit the dog, did they not leave it in someone's care while they went on the family vacation? what the fuck?

Original article
Times covering it

And now Russia seems to think that it can claim large areas of the North Pole - including it's minerals, diamonds and oil. uh-huh.

And I'm going to get myself rained on tonight.

2007-06-25T08:14:00.000-07:00

I have been a terrible person, what with not every updating anymore. I have no real explanation for my long absence, other than I was burned out. I had (and have) been reading so much about politics and the world, I was just too sick to write too. Thus adventures time was taken over by my new hobby of chainmail making, of other website surfing, of reading, anything but writing at adventures. That was very bad of me, because I have missed it.

I have thought to myself, on occasion, "i should write about that", like how i always get a chuckle when reporters say "sunni on sunni" or "shia on shia" it's just a little to close to "girl on girl"....and yet I have not written about it. That will stop. I think I can manage to post at least once a week - so fear not adventurers. I have returned, and hopefully I won't be disappearing anytime soon... on to the updates!

Work news:My boss today told me that I should have my resume to her in the morning and that it was just a formality, so I think that means that they might actually, for real, hire me soon. This means for me, retirement plans, insurance, eligibility for bonuses, maybe a raise, a different schedule, etc. Incidentally, the entire team might be moving to different positions within the company, making me the senior client support rep - that alone should get me a raise, because they won't be paying out everyone else's salary from this sections payroll - and I have been here for almost a year, and I was here for 6 months before that too. I think I definitely deserve the MOST that they will pay me...

Meanwhile, I got really and stupidly sunburned on Father's Day on account of going out on the river and not thinking that I needed any sunscreen. I promptly fell asleep on the boat and awake with a mighty sunburn. You know it's bad when your forearms get sunburned. You know it's bad when you get chills for three days. You know it's bad when you look purple. Note to self: wear sunscreen.

I saw an excellent concert in chicago two weeks ago. Check them out, both the opener Smoosh and the main event The Pipettes. Smoosh is a pair of sisters on the keyboard and drums. The keyboardist is 15 and the drummer is 13. They are excellent. The drummer does not stop grinning the entire time, and she is GOOD. You will find yourself grinning along with her.

The Pipettes are a three female singers backed by a four piece band. They do 50's style music and dancing and wear variations of the same dress. their songs will get in your head and never leave. Look out for "We are the Pipettes" and check them out if they get within 300 miles of St. Louis What else?

Gray Matters came out on DVD the other day, I know Katie will be thrilled. Using our shiny new Blockbuster online membership, we were able to take one of our mailed movies and return it to the store for a free movie rental, and thus we rented Gray Matters. Despite being incredibly awkward at times, along with hitting you over the head with public service announcements, I liked it - and found myself, at times, laughing out loud. But I still like Imagine Me and You, better. This could be because IMY had better actresses, and Gray Matters had Heather Graham. Shrug. I like to see mainstream gay movies - and like to see them have three shelves at Blockbuster. Go gay movies. Heard about any new ones that are in production?

I love afterellen.com. Afterellen is the special place I go to when I'm sick of political news, or random news, and I just need some quality gay. on to the news in a nutshell:

Iraq - still blows (up. quite literally)Yeah, we're still there. Still getting blownup. Still not helping matters. But, conservative pundits and Bushie insist that we should know if the splurge has worked by september, why will they know in september, no one seems to know. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Congress is planning on taking a two month vacation while we continue to, oh, get blown up. Thanks guys. But, not to worry Dear Mr. President, they plan on passing the "oil revenue sharing plan" before they go. It seems like that plan would be good for Iraq, but in reality the only people that it's good for is the big oil companies. no surprise there.

Alberto Gonzales - still thereDespite the continuing scandal, the AG refuses to leave and Bush refuses to fire him. He's now been implicated in trying to coach a witness, trying to get the signature of an incapacitated man to authorize an illegal program, and repeatedly lying under oath to Congress. And yet, he refuses to leave. Expect this story to have legs well into July, former White House consul Harriet Miers and Rove deputy Sara Taylor have both been subpoenaed to testify early that month. I'm buying popcorn.

Presidential Race 2008 - still early

Romney - also hanging in there, polls around 10% though, intrade puts his support at 20%

McCain - somehow holding on. even though national polls now peg him at about 10%

Giuliani - he's seen gains over the past few weeks,but has lost frontrunner status nationally - 27% intrade 29%

Thompson - hasn't quite gotten into the race yet, but the GOP think they've found their man, stripped Giulinai of his FR status nationally - 28% intrade 30%

Clinton - going strong, holds a 10% lead over her nearest competitor nationally, and 20% intrade

Obama - flubbed an attack on clinton, came off looking like the bad guy, 29% intrade 27% national

Edwards - having trouble catching up, nationally 16%, intrade only pegs him at 5%

Gore - hasn't entered, still a rockstar, some national polls have him defeating all GOP challengers, intrade puts him at 10% look for a boost from Live Earth on 7/7

Bloomberg - just switched to Independent, could very well make a well-financed 3rd party run. do not be fooled and do not vote for this man, switched to GOP when it was convenient, supported BUSH and the Iraq debacle.

meanwhile, there was that whole missile defense thing in europe. basically we want to put missiles in old soviet satalities and point the missiles at Iran. Russia isn't too keen on this plan because we'd be putting missiles on their doorstep. cue bush throwing a hissy fit.

Palestine is now Palestine and the Islamic republic of Palestine.

And cheney thinks that he is now the FOURTH branch of the government

2007-05-02T06:17:00.000-07:00

Remember this picture ->

Yeah, that's our dear President on an aircraft carrier, under a mission accomplished sign, declaring the end to all major combat operations in Iraq. That was four years and 3,351 lives ago. And he's going to veto the funding for the troops because he's a wanker.

What would you do if there was a draft, and you were drafted?

I only ask because a top Army general recently said that the Army needs 65,000 troops yesterday. The only way I can see to get those troops would be to institute the draft. And there's a bill already in place ... HR 393 - Draft reinstatement bill. It specifies all US citizens and those residing in the US, ages 18-42 perform a two-year period of national service, either in the armed forces of a civilian component dedicated to national defense. There are no deferments after age 20. In times of national emergency, at the direction of the government, everyone in their two years can be called up for active combat service. And all the ladies wondering about being drafted in to the armed forces, it amends the Military Selective Service Act so that you can.

Read more about the proposed bill here. Currently it languishes in a subcommittee. But you can't tell me that if all of the sons and daughters of ALL Americans were subject to going to the meat grinder in Iraq that the Administration would not end this war immediately. And if they didn't, I think it would provide enough motivation for Congress to impeach the S.O.B.

And how about Prince Harry? He's going off to war. He's well connected enough that he wouldn't have to, and yet, he wants to serve his country despite death threats. So instead of playing it safe, like say, oh George Bush, Prince Harry is a tank commander headed for the most dangerous place in the world. That's honor, that's bravery, that's service. That's putting your money(or your youth) where your mouth is.

Meanwhile back to fairyland....Gonzales is testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee again this Friday - Happy Birthday to me! And Senator Leahy is not HAPPY. Because it seems that Gonzales failed to mention a memo that he signed giving two underlings the power to hire and fire US Attorneys at will. Underlings - that don't have more than a couple of cases between the two of them. Underlings - running the US Department of Justice. Yeah, the senator was not at all happy. especially ebcause the memo wasn't included in teh documents that the DOJ released to the committee....someone is hiding.....i expect him to have many many choice worlds for gonzales. He's lasted this long, but I expect that he is on his way out.

2007-04-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

The weekend is too short. It like, you wait all week for Friday, and then it comes, and it's great. But then all of a sudden, it's five o'clock on Sunday and you realize that you have to go to work the very next day and your weekend has disappeared. I hate Mondays. and I hate work.

Meanwhile, add this to 9/11 fuck-ups. France knew that al-qaeda had a plot to hijack a US plane. They passed their analysis on to us...and we did...nothing. Also, this bit of information was left out of the 9/11 Commission Report. conspiracy theory away!

And this should come as no surprise - a new Pew study finds that watchers of Fox news are the least well informed of all groups surveyed. Watchers of the Today Show and the Colbert Report tied just as well as readers of major newspapers - who tied for the top spot. Back to Fox - only 30% could answer questions correctly 60% of the time.

We talked about this awhile ago, but the Army is so broken, they are training Airmen to be infantry - and guard conveys (one of the most dangerous positions in Iraq). Let me repeat, Air Force airmen as infantry. Why? Because the Army doesn't have enough troops in field. The airmen are given a 5 week course and then sent off to Iraq. Did I mention that most Air Force personnel don't receive ground combat training as part of their Air Force regimen? So they have to learn ground combat, weaponry, terminology and hierarchy all in 5 weeks. I feel that there is something very very wrong with this picture.

Someone just called to ask about the status of an order placed in November. She had not received it yet, and was wondering where it might be....six months later. who waits six months to find out what happened to an order?!

Presidential Candidate Roundup.
Democratic Hopefuls

Clinton - 44.0 (-4.1)
Clinton has fallen off a little in the polls - and Obama is closing hard. Rasmussen reports that they are dead even as of their 4/23 report. And this week she's going to have to answer tough questions about the gays. She came out swinging this weekend, saying that Don't Ask, Don't Tell should be repealed. But she will have to respond clearly to the gay marriage issue soon - the governor of NY is introducing legislation to legalize gay marriage in NY. Embracing the gays will alienate her from social conservatives...but she wasn't really looking to get their vote anyway. Standing up strongly for gays could earn her a few more progressive votes, but this vote is pretty much wrapped up in Edwards and Obama.

Obama - 32.0 (+2)
Big news this week is that he has pulled dead even with the front runner and presumed (wrongly) nominee Clinton. Still huge support among young people. He drew a crowd of 20k in Georgia. There's no doubt about it, Obama is a superstar. I still look forward to the primary debates. I want to know his stance on specific issues. Generally, he's still on his way up, look for him to surpass Clinton in the next couple of weeks.

Edwards - 8.8 (+.7)
Edwards is biding his time watch the big two duke it out. Without a doubt, he was the most support among the netroots, as well as having substantial infrastructure in place. And I like him on the issues. Out of Iraq, eliminate poverty, affordable health care, and strengthening the middle class. Of the candidates, he has the best message. Obama has pretty words, but I need substance.

Richardson - 2.6 (-.8)
Richardson is still suffering from low name recognition, but his successes in Darfur and North Korea show that he has the best foreign policy credentials. Look for his poll numbers will improve greatly with the primary debates...also, he is very articulate and he doesn't sound like a politician. He also has the cleanest plan for Iraq - get out, all our troops, immediately. If he doesn't get the nomination, he would be a rock-solid VP.

gore - 8.5 (-1)
Even as his poll numbers have remained steady, the Big Dog Bill Clinton insinuates that Gore will run, as does a top Democratic analyst. Reports are out that say that Gore is building his team quietly, the Gore camp calls it fantasy. I still think he'll get involved and he could rival the superstardom of Obama. He also already has staked out positions when it comes to Iraq and global warming.

GOP Hopefuls
Giuliani - 31.6 (-.9)
It's just not Giuliani's year. He can't hold the social conservative section of the Republican base. He's all over the place on abortion and he looks weak on national security because of the continuing Kerik story. Nothing like endorsing a mob-tied, ethically challenged, soon to be indicted friend for a top law enforcement spot to jump start you campaign. I might be wrong, but I don't think Giuliani's going to get the nomination, and if he does, he will lose to the Democratic contender.

McCain - 19.0 (0)
SHortly after officially declaring his candidacy, he let half his staff go. He's hanging out at around 20% support, but he's still toast. He's is inextricably tied to the war in Iraq, the escalation (surge), and the failure in Iraq. The American people are tied of the war, and they're tired of politicians who continue to stay the course of the edge of a cliff. He'll pull out soon...of the race that is, no the war.

Romney - 16.0 (-1.6)
He's hanging in there. He might be tied with Giuliani as the GOP's best bet. And that's not saying much. He has a similar problem as Giuliani, he can't hold a large chunk of the Republican base. For him, it's the evangelicals. Unfortunately for him, even though the Church of Latter Day Saints sees itself as a Christian denomination, most other denominations don't/won't view it that way. And he can't count on the total support of all mormons either. Witness the backlash at BYU over Cheney's upcoming speech at Graduation. A large minority of students are boycotting his speech and are instead taking part in an alternative graduation. The managed to raise a ridiculous amount of money (with the huge support of Dkos) in a very short time to make it possible. Wow. Christians who put their mouth and their money where their beliefs are. Speaking of beliefs, that video of Romney endorsing gays, abortion and affirmative action, that's still shooting around Youtube is going to continue to bite him in the ass.

Thompson - 17.3 (+5.3)
He hasn't declared. He hasn't raised any money. But he's being touted as the savior of 2008. He seems to have one thing that the other candidates don't have. He's definitely conservative. Unfortunately for him, he hasn't yet garnered the favor of the Religious Right, in fact, they already said that he's not Christian, and that's pretty much the end of it. (Like I said, that doesn't bode well for Romney either.) And oddly enough, Intrade gives him a 20% at garnering the VP slot. This makes zero sense to me. It's not like he brings great experience to the ticket, so I'm not sure where this support is coming from. Be that as it may, with the GOP field so very weak, look for anything to happen.

gingrich - 3.2 (+.3)
He's languishing in 3% territory. We'll talk about him more if he breaks into the double digits.

And this has been your Presidential Roundup.

Tillman/Lynch Hearing

Recap Tillman: Pat Tillman was a former NFL player who renounced his million dollar contract to join the Army Rangers. He was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan. The military subsequently covered up the fratricide and ordered soldiers to keep quiet. His memorial service was nationally televised and he became a symbol of American patriotism and heroism, awarded both a purple heart and the silver star. The only problem was, he had been killed by friendly fire - and the military and the Administration knew about it...and fed the American people a line of propaganda. Tillman's mom and brother are still demanding to know the truth, today they had an audience with the Oversight committee.

Tillman's mom and brother are incredibly well spoken, honest and heartbreaking. They cut through the Republican excuse making, and answered the Committee's questions with precision and integrity. Compare their testimony to that of AG Gonzales.

Bottom line: Eye witness accounts were falsified. Soldiers were ordered to stay quiet. Tillman was made a symbol and his memory was used to justify an unjust war. As of yet, no one has been held responsible for the falsification of the circumstances of his death. The Democratic members of the committee had names for the military's crimes, names like obstruction of justice, and conduct unbecoming of an officer.

Recap Lynch: Jessica Lynch's unit was ambushed during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, by Iraqi military. She was wounded in the firefight and captured by the Iraqis. US special forces subsequently "rescued" her from an Iraqi hospital. The video of her "rescue" was replayed over and over in the US media, accompanied by the story of Jessica Lynch who had fought off the attackers, until injured. The only problem with that account? It wasn't even remotely true.

Jessica Lynch was poised and succinct in her testimony today. She testified that despite being awarded the bronze star for bravery her gun jammed and that she had not been able to take even one shot. She was not "the little girl 'Rambo' from the hills of West Virginia who went down fighting." She said further that "the truth is always more heroic than the hype."

Bottom line: The military used the Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman stories as propaganda and sold it to the American public to promote an unjust war.

Speaking of soldiers being rescued. Why haven't we recovered the American soldier that was captured in Sadr City nearly six months ago? We don't even hear about him/her anymore - and we haven't since Bush called off the search at the request of the Iraqi Prime Minister. Let me be clear, the US Commander-in-Chief abandoned one of our own soldiers in enemy territory. And we still don't know what happened to him/her.

2007-04-12T07:38:00.000-07:00

TAKE THE FUCKING STAIRS IF YOU ARE ONLY GOING UP ONE FLOOR.
I hate getting on the elevator with three people going up to the fourth floor and one asshole that can't take the stairs up one flight. If you are old, or injured, that's fine. But if you're pretty fit looking, or you should try and get fit. Just take the stairs. The stairs are closer to the front door that the elevator. So if you really are that lazy, consider that you could save your precious energy, by taking the stairs, right inside the door. AND it has the added benefit of people not hating on you, to start your day.

We wear headsets here, so that we can answer the phone with speed, and type while talking. However, there is an incessant high pitched whine in the ear piece when there is no one on the phone. Sometimes I wonder how much brain damage that whine is causing me.

Ring Ring
Me: Customer support, this is Jalynn, how can I help you?
caller: Can you fax me the form
me: which form?
caller: the one to order product a
me: are you a company employee? (only company employees can order product A via faxed form)
caller: no my account number is XXX-XXXX-X
me: ok, that's a product B account - you need to place your order online
caller: can't you just send me the form?
me: unfortunately, no. you have to place your order online.
caller: well my PC is being worked on.
me: well is there another computer that can access the internet?
caller: can' you just send me the form?
me. no, orders have to be placed online.
caller: nevermind
Hangs up.

Here's some song lyrics for you. The band is Metric. The song is "Succexy."

Lonesome for no one when
The room was empty and
War as we knew it was obsolete
Nothing could beat complete denial

All we do is talk, sit, switch screens
As the homeland plans enemies

All we do is talk, static split screens
As the homeland plans enemies

Invasion's so succexxy

Let's drink to the military
The glass is empty
Faces to fill and cars to feed
Nothing could beat complete denial

All we do is talk, sit, switch screens
As the homeland plans enemies

All we do is talk, static split screens
As the homeland plans enemies

Invasion's so succexxy

Passive attraction, programmed reaction
Passive attraction, programmed reaction
Action distraction, more information
Flesh saturation, lips on a napkin
Ass ass ass

Where does the time go?
We're waking up so slowly
Days are horizontal lately
Out of body, watched from above
Out of body, watched from above

Passive attraction, programmed reaction
More information, cash masturbation
Follow the pattern- the hemlines, the headlines
Action distraction,faster than fashion
Faster than fashion,faster than fashion

Lonesome for no one when
The room was empty and
War as we knew it was obsolete
Nothing could beat denial

Speaking of invasion - Gates announces tours extended to 15 months for all active duty troops in Iraq. nice.

Presidential Candidate Roundup.

Democratic Hopefuls

Clinton - 48.1 (+.5)
Still the favorite, but Obama is in striking distance. More money, best staff, highest unfavorables. Clinton has zero problem with name recognition, and there are very few people who haven't already made up their mind about her. This is could be trouble when trying to pick up new supporters, she's not going to be able to change many people's minds. Trouble too for future fundraising...a majority of her Q1 funds came from big donors - these donors have maxed out their donations and are by law, not allowed to donate any more. She won't raise as much in Q2.

Obama - 30 (-1.0)
Did well at his appearance on Letterman. Witty, charismatic - the only downside is that he doesn't have much Washington experience. His campaign has easily countered this with "GOOD!". He has huge support among young people...attracted a crowd of 15,000 in Austin, and routinely attracts crowds of thousands. His facebook group has 323,000 members. If he can turn even half of those members into donors, he'll exceed the number of donors in Q1. He's also not afraid of a fight - he recently slammed John McCain's Baghdad stroll: " The idea that the situation in Iraq is improving because it takes a security detail of 100 soldiers, three Black Hawk helicopters and a couple of Apache gunships to walk through a market in the middle of Baghdad is simply not credible and not reflective of the facts on the ground" Obama's stock can only go up.

Edwards - 8.1
Despite the lame mis characterization of the Edwards' as political opportunists, not doing the right thing with Elizabeth Edward's cancer diagnosis, Edwards remains the darling of the netroots, consistently winning straw polls. He put up very respectable numbers in Q1 and continuing to be a strong advocate for the poor and disadvantaged. Look for his stock to keep rising too.

Richardson - 3.4
Richardson doesn't poll strongly, he struggles with name recognition. If he can overcome this he will be a strong contender. He's led high profile delegations, and negotiated a cease-fire in Darfur and negotiated with North Korea to keep their nuclear disarmament on track. He is quite possibly the most respected and accomplished person in politics today, on the issue of foreign policy. And he'd bring ALL the troops home. He hasn't raised a lot of money - but look for him as a possible VP.

Gore - 9.5 (+.4)
Who knows? He tops Richardson and Edwards in polling but hasn't declared. He could raise gobs of money if he announced, even if he came in late. And he's not the soft-spoken, robotlike VP you might remember, he's found his Voice. With an Oscar, maybe a Nobel Peace Prize and coming off the Live Earth tour he could be the bona fide superstar candidate, instead of just being a superstar. If Gore enters the race, I'll whip out my checkbook, and volunteer as fast as possible. If he's going to run, look for him to drop 15 lbs.

GOP Hopefuls

Giuliani - 30.5
His Q1 numbers weren't so great. He has ties to organized crime. NYPD hates him. Three marriages. Liberal stances on abortion and gay rights. And recently, he seems out of touch- when asked to guess the price of milk, he was off by more than 226%. He may be America's mayor, but he seems out of touch with everyday Americans, and religious conservatives especially. I don't see his candidacy going anywhere but down. He certainly can't carry the Religious Right vote.

McCain - 19.0 (+1.3)
Despite several high profile endorsements from GOP heavyweights, including Kissinger, McCain's fortunes are still tied to Bush's sinking boat. Despite being the presumptive nominee, he failed to raise the amount of money expected of him in Q1. He insists that things are improving in Iraq, despite the ever increasing body count. And he insists along with Bush that the US can stay the course and things will magically get better. Oh yeah, and that stroll through a Baghdad market, he says he didn't need the 100 or so US troops and four US helicopters that provided protection. In technical terms, he's toast.

Romney - 17.6 (+.3)
Despite raising the most money in Q1 for a GOP candidate, his campaign is in trouble. From claiming that he's been a lifelong hunter (which has been soundly debunked) to his flip flopping on hot issues like abortion and gay rights, Romney comes off as a LIAR. This combined with his inability to carry the Religious Right (they don't accept Mormon as a valid Christian denomination) tells me his campaign is going nowhere.

Thompson - 12.0 (-7.0)
The former senator turned TV actor hasn't even declared his candidacy yet, and we learn today that he has also been diagnosed with cancer. (Note: I don't see anyone calling for him to stay at home with his family, a la Edwards) He's definitely conservative, but failed to get the approval of James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family. And how conservative is he? His most recent activity as a senator was to see that chief justice Roberts was confirmed, and he also raised money for Scooter Libby's defense. In the absence of a qualified conservative candidate, look for Thompson's star to rise....assuming he declares.

Gingrich - 3.5 (-.2)
He has the same name recognition problem as Clinton. Everyone already knows who he is and already has an opinion about him. He also has marital problems, stemming from his cheating during the Lewinsky affair, when he was railing about the morality of the Presidency. I don't see him as a serious candidate.

And this has been your Presidential Roundup.

Make no mistake, I like all the Dem candidates. I look forward to the primary debates - of which there will be six-none hosted by FOX (much to their chagrin). I haven't decided on which candidate to support yet. I will support whichever candidate wins the nomination. More important than any intra-party bickering, is getting a Democrat elected to the White House and getting enough Democrats elected to Congress so that we can set this nation right. Frankly, I think that any candidate that we have, can beat any candidate that they put up. But we all have to work hard to make sure that no more elections are stolen from us. If you don't have the money or time to spare, just make sure that all your friends get out to vote. That is invaluable.

Remember the woman that wanted the form from earlier? yeah, she called back. and had the same story, wanted the same form. and I'm thinking, does she think someone is going to tell her something different? Did she think that I was lying to her earlier?

2007-04-11T07:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to lie, I love Xena. And really, how can you not love the campy-ness, the pseudo greek mythology, the swords and armor, the delicious Xena/Gabrielle subtext made maintext? Xena was the touchstone that made "gay" very real to a scared 15 year-old, and made it ok. I credit Xena with my coming out. Thanks, Warrior Princess.

Upon arrival at work today, I noticed four, count them four, turkeys. Full grown, live, wild turkeys. Big ones. Three females and a male. A giant male. That's all, I thought I was crazy, but other people were pointing and gawking at them too. I'm used to ducks and geese at the company pond, but never have I seen turkeys.

Well, next week is a big week for politics. Q1 detailed numbers are released on the 16th, the Gonzales hearing is on the 17th and the Rice hearing is on the 18th. Fun fun and a bottle of rum.

A little birdie told me that Gonzales can't keep his story straight in mock hearing testimony. Apparently he repeatedly contradicted himself and got the time line confused. Must be hard to keep all the lies straight, eh Gonzales? I'm very excited about this hearing and will diligently be watching and taking notes that day.

Man, I just got talked to by my boss about a client who complained about me. That was a first. Stupid fucker. We told you that it was delivered. We checked with UPS that it was delivered. It was delivered to the correct address and was signed for - what else, exactly, do you want me to do?

Turns out what I always said about there not being straight girls, might be true. From the NYT:

"In experiments in which subjects are shown photographs of desirable men or women, straight men are aroused by women, gay men by men.

Such experiments do not show the same clear divide with women. Whether women describe themselves as straight or lesbian, "Their sexual arousal seems to be relatively indiscriminate — they get aroused by both male and female images," Dr. Bailey said. "I'm not even sure females have a sexual orientation. But they have sexual preferences. Women are very picky, and most choose to have sex with men."" (emphasis mine)

Hopefully, there will be more news and such tomorrow.

2007-04-05T08:20:00.000-07:00

The Iranians have said that they will free the 15 sailors as a "gift" to the UK. So, stand down with the nukes, George.

The AP is reporting that Obama raised $25 million in Q1.

Just to review:(in millions)

Clinton - $26 (50k donors)
Obama - $25 (100k donors- 50% were online donors)
Edwards - $14 (40k donors)
Richardson - $6
Giuliani - $15
McCain - $12.5 (45k donors)
Romney - $23 (32k donors)

The previous record for fundraising was $8.7 for the GOP and $8.9 for the Dems. Indiviudal donors are allowed to give $2300 each to their candidate's primary and general election fund. ie, if the candidate does not win the nomination, they do not get to use the money for the general election, and they cannot touch that money for the primary. Big thing to note is how many of the candidates donors "maxed out" their donation in this quarter. Those individuals will not be able to donate again in Q2. What will be important for the duration of fundraising are those small donors who can give and give again, because there total donations don't go over $2300. We'll have more info when it is all released on April 15. I've set up a (two)calendar(s) showing political events here (one for GOP events, and one for Dem events). I'll accept events to go on the calendar.

Newsweeks's Jonathon Alterman predicts that Rove will be out of the White House by the end of the year. He might finally have caught himself up in too many scandals. I look forward to hearings...and his testimony.

Score 1+ for the gays! New Hampshire House passes civil unions.Monica Goodling - the DoJs liason to the White House has said she is invoking the 5th Amendment before being called to testify in front of the Judiciary committee. Yesterday Democrats shapapped her, right in the face. They sent her a letter stating, quite accurately, that you cannot invoke the 5th before being questioned - and you cannot wholesale take the 5th and not testify at all. She has to appear, and invoke the 5th on each question. HAHAHA. I can't wait for that hearing. The one about how two staffers with barely any lawyering experience fired a bunch of US attorney - arguably lawyers at the top of their game. HAHAHA. I can't wait.

Just a reminder - tax day is in a little less than 2 weeks. I strongly recommend, if you have simple taxes to do them online with Turbo Tax - it's free and will let you do federal and state returns. Jen and I got our refunds in about a week. And make sure to claim the federal excise tax credit - if you've every paid for long distance, even on you cellie, you can claim this. hey! free money. so do those taxes and feel free to bitch about how much the feds owe you, how much they've stolen from you, etc.

Here's a game. You are an office worker. You have five minutes to use objects found in an office to kill yourself. It took my almost all of my time, but I was finally able to escape cubeland.

Oh, and from our press conference yesterday, Bush kept throwing around april 15th as the day that the army would run out of funds for our troops in Iraq. Only problem? They won't actually run out of funds until July. The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service analyzed funding for US military operations in Iraq, and found that lo and behold, they won't run out of money until July. So, Bush lied....again. He can bitch and moan about how soldiers are going to be without things they need etc. but in reality, they'll be fine - oh except for when he sent them off without the equipment and training they needed in the first place - they still don't have that. But point is, this supplemental bill is not needed before July. Hopefully, by the grace of God, we'll be bringing the troops home by then.

Meanwhile, more kids were caught having sex in school in front of their classmates. 5th graders. 2 pairs. what the fuck?

I heart Roxette.

Remember how we were talking about how for some reason the US gets to keep bases and troops everywhere in the world, and yet, other countries are not allowed to have troops stationed on US territory. Funny that. At any rate, the US now wants to deploy the "missile shield" (i don't know why it's called the missile shield, it has failed to provide reliable protection from long, short and medium range missiles. it should be called the missile sieve.) to Eastern Europe...to protect against, you guessed it, IRAN. Meanwhile, Russia is pissed, they don't really want to have a whole bunch of missiles deployed to their former states. Seems they don't really want missiles on their doorstep. Can't say i blame them. I seem to recall the Soviet Union doing something like this....hmm... what was that event....oh yes, the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviets were going to station missiles in Cuba - we were a little pissed about it. Awesome. But now, instead of having JFK at the button, who against the advice of his generals, refused to launch, we have Bush. Fantastic. I think we should move the hands on the Doomsday clock forward another minute.

From a posting at Dkos:

"The facts are stark and the facts are real...Our men and women in uniform love their country more than their comfort. They have never failed us, and wemust not fail them. But the best intentions and the highest morale are undermined by back-to-back deployments, poor pay, shortages of spare parts and equipment, and rapidly declining readiness"

"...these are signs of a military in decine and we must do something about it. The reasons are clear. Lack of equipment and material. Undermaning of units. Overdeployment. Not enough time for family. Soldiers who are on food stamps, and soldiers who are poorly housed. ...[we] have a simple message today for our mend and women in uniform, their parents, their loved ones, their supporters: Help is on the way!"

Hmmmmm...who could have said that? It sounds remarkably like what Democrats are saying now. "Back-to-back deployments," "shortages of spare parts and equipment," "declining readiness," "undermaning of units," "overdeployment," "not enough time for family." Sounds very, very familiar. So who said this? Bush. At a VFW speech. August 21, 2000. Mother fucker.

Remember that Chiquita banana story from a couple of weeks ago? Chiquita international gave nearly $2M to terrorists groups in Columbia. Those groups were responsible 62 massacres in the area, during the time of the payments. So Chiquita International DIRECTLY financed terrorism. Columbia is now seeking the extradition for prosecution in country of senior executives that approved the payments. It remains to be seen if the US will cooperate.

I think that great innovation can be achieved by the private sector if they are motivated by lots of money, and their opportunity for corruption and cheating is limited. For example the X prize foundation sponsored the competition for the first privately built spacecraft, SpaceShipOne collected the $10M prize. They've now released guidelines for Automotive X. The winner would build a vehicle that got 100 mpg, was easy to mass produce and was appealing to consumers. The vehicles will face real-world tests in 2009. Current mpg, on average, is 20. I know. absurd. Hopefully this competition will be able to do what all the big automotive makes have failed to do - produce a vehicle with excellent gas mileage that is commercially viable.

This is a major bummer.

And here's a bummer for the GOP and Karl Rove. Rep Waxman instructed the RNC to preseve all emails on their servers last week, that had been used by White House personnel. Today he requested all emails from that server "that relate to the use of federal agencies and federal resources for partisan political purposes." What fish are next for the frying?

Giuliani takes a another hit today. CNN is reporting that Giuliani has affirmed that he still supports public funding for abortions. The position is the same as his position when he was the mayor of New York City. The religious right may have been able to overlook his three marriages, but I doubt they will be able to ignore his stated position on one of their signature issues.

2007-04-04T07:43:00.000-07:00

Bush held a press conference today to bash Democrats for not funding the troops. Only problem is that the Democrats in the House and Senate passed legislation that WOULD fully fund the troops. See Bush is just going to veto it, and he's said so. So really, dear Mr. President, it is you who is not funding the troops. I'll have detailed comments on the presser when the transcript becomes available. I would have listened to the whole thing, but can't be late for work, can we?

It's supposed to storm severely later today. (though, from the looks of the radar, it's going to miss us.) I can only hope and pray that we get the hail that they said we would get. The last time there was a hail storm, we got good sized hail that caused about $3600 in damage to my car. The thing is, you wouldn't notice it. So I didn't bother getting it fixed, and I took the check that the insurance company gave me and used it to pay for the car, and my insurance for several months. I suspect that hail damage on the G6 would not show, so pray for hail.

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the Clean Air Act does regulate CO2 emissions and directed the EPA that they would need to start regulating. Which is good, because as a country, we suck at it. and it's hurting the world.

Related: As Former Pres-Vice President Gore might say -Your baby has a fever - you don't question the doctor. you do everything you can to break the fever. I agree!

Aaaaaannnnnnnd, I just bought Lollapalooza tickets. August 3-5, Grant Park, Chicago. It should be a helluva time.

Still looking for some serious storms to roll in. It's definitely gotten darker outside.

Still no word on Obama's fundraising numbers. CNN floated $25 million. Obama's campaign says they'll release the goods tomorrow. Look for HUGE numbers.

New Mexico joins the ranks of those enlightened states that have legalized medical marijuana.

Tell me again why you can get years and years in prison for having a little weed, when rapists, child molesters and murderers get off with just a couple years? I think we should revamp the entire criminal code. Just re-do the whole damn thing - because right now, it's just a patchwork quilt. Let's make a scale.
Possession of pot - no crime
Possession of other drugs - no crime
Selling to Kids (under 18) - fine, or couple years (what's the time for selling any other kind of drug to kids?)
Crimes against property - some jail time/fine/reparations
White collar crime - some jail, if you are enron, and you fucked a lot of people, serious jail time.
Crimes against people - serious jail time
Crimes against kids - serious jail time

Thompson jumps to 22.5% on Intrade. Beats McCain and Romney. Giuliani falls to 30.2%.

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT (if you can bear to read it all, my comments in bold
ON THE EMERGENCY SUPPLEMENTAL
The Rose Garden
10:09 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I've just had a good meeting with Secretary of Defense Bob Gates, and General Pete Pace (who says that? Who says Sec. Defense BOB Gates and General PETE Pace? Who does that?), the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Secretary Gates and General Pace updated me on the deployment of American reinforcements to Iraq. (since when are we calling it reinforcements?)

At this moment, two of the five additional U.S. Army brigades we are sending for this mission are operating in Baghdad. A third brigade is now moving from Kuwait, and will be fully operational in Baghdad in the coming weeks. And the remaining two brigades will deploy in April and May. It will be early June before all U.S. forces dedicated to the operation are in place. So this operation is still in its beginning stages. (so, not really a SURGE, huh, really more of an ESCALATION)

The reinforcements we've sent to Baghdad are having a impact. (even Word flagged this grammar mistake, it should be "having an impact"- who talks like this? He went to Ivy League school and no one else in his family seems to have this inability to use basic grammar) They're making a difference. (really? Did they make a difference to the 500+ Iraqis that were killed last week?) And as more of those reinforcements arrive in the months ahead, their impact will continue to grow.(yeah, by putting more soldiers into harms way and helping terrorists hone their skills and attracting every anti-US militant to Baghdad to have their own go at our troops) But to succeed in their mission, our troops need Congress to provide the resources, funds, and equipment they need to fight our enemies. (and they did, both the House and the Senate passed bills.)

It has now been 57 days since I requested that Congress pass emergency funds for our troops. (thinkprogress has thoroughly debunked this 57 days business. The last two times that bush has requested supplemental budgets, it took the do-nothing GOP congress 86 days and 119 days to get something signed.) Instead of passing clean bills that fund our troops on the front lines, the House and Senate have spent this time debating bills that undercut the troops, by substituting the judgment of politicians in Washington for the judgment of our commanders on the ground, setting an arbitrary deadline for withdrawal from Iraq, and spending billions of dollars on pork barrel projects completely unrelated to the war.

(OK, 1. funding the troops does not undercut the troops. 2. wanting them to come home does not undercut the troops. 3. you've already substituted the judgement of "politicians in Washington" – YOU! For the commanders on the ground. Like when the commanders told you the surge was a bad idea, and you fired them, and then found someone to rubberstamp your harebrained surge scheme. Like when you went against all of your Joint Chiefs. Like when you ignored everything the Iraq Study Group suggested. 4. it's not an arbitrary deadline, it's time for an orderly and safe redeployment of our troops. 5. a) every spending bill has pork b) this pork includes funding for New Orleans reconstruction and veterans relief, yeah, that pork)

I made it clear for weeks that if either the House or Senate version of this bill comes to my desk, I will veto it. And it is also clear from the strong support for this position in both Houses that the veto would be sustained. The only way the Democrats were able to pass their bill in the first place was to load the bill with pork and other spending that has nothing to do with the war. (speaking of which, since you knew the war was going on, why didn't you ask for the funding in your real budget? And not in this emergency, supplemental bill?)

There was -- one leading Democrat in the House said, "A lot of things had to go into that bill that certainly those of us who respect great legislation did not want there." That's an honest appraisal of the process that we just witnessed. Still, the Democrats in Congress continue to pursue their bills, and now they have left Washington for spring recess without finishing the work. (Says the man who broke all the records when it comes to vacationing presidents. More than 335 days of vacations in four years. That's 80 days a year. 22%. I think the average US citizen gets at most 21 days of vacation a year. So don't talk about vacation, like you don't take any, because you take a lot, ALOT)

Democrat (SLUR) leaders in Congress seem more interested in fighting political battles in Washington than in providing our troops what they need to fight the battles in Iraq. (are you really the one to talk about politicizing agencies and agendas? Re: DoJ and GSA) If Democrat (SLUR) leaders in Congress are bent on making a political statement, then they need to send me this unacceptable bill as quickly as possible when they come back. I'll veto it, and then Congress can get down to the business of funding our troops without strings and without delay. (really, to prevent delay, why don't you just sign it. Or, ask yourself why didn't Republicans in Congress block the passage of the bill?)

If Congress fails to act in the next few weeks, it will have significant consequences for our men and women in the Armed Forces. As the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Pace, recently stated during his testimony before a House subcommittee, if Congress fails to pass a bill I can sign by mid-April, the Army will be forced to consider cutting back on equipment, equipment repair, and quality of life initiatives for our Guard and reserve forces. These cuts would be necessary because the money will have to be shifted to support the troops on the front lines. (1. Congress acted. YOU are holding up funding, so this is all on your head. 2. why didn't you plan these expenses in your initial budget?)

The Army also would be forced to consider curtailing some training for Guard and reserve units here at home. This would reduce their readiness and could delay their availability to mobilize for missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. If Congress fails to pass a bill I can sign by mid-May, the problems grow even more acute. The Army would be forced to consider slowing or even freezing funding for its depots, where the equipment our troops depend on is repaired. They will also have to consider delaying or curtailing the training of some active duty forces, reducing the availability of these forces to deploy overseas. If this happens, some of the forces now deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq may need to be extended because other units are not ready to take their places. (1. congress already passed a bill. 2. maybe you should have thought about all of this before announcing your "surge")

If Congress does not act (they did), the Army may also have to delay the formation of new brigade combat teams, preventing us from getting those troops into the pool of forces that are available to deploy. If these new teams are unavailable, we would have to ask other units to extend into the theater. (which you're doing anyway.)

In a letter to Congress, Army Chief of Staff General Pete Schoomaker put it this way: "Without approval of the supplemental funds in April, we will be forced to take increasingly draconian measures, which will impact Army readiness and impose hardships on our soldiers and their families." (SO BRING THEM HOME!)

In a time of war, it's irresponsible for the Democrat (SLUR, you know, he apologized for doing this at the State of the Union, but here he is, doing it again. It's DemocratIC - you dumb shit. We don't say "Republic leadership") leadership -- Democratic leadership in Congress to delay for months on end while our troops in combat are waiting for the funds. (they didn't delay, you did) The bottom line is this: Congress's failure to fund our troops on the front lines will mean that some of our military families could wait longer for their loved ones to return from the front lines. (actually, it's your morally bankrupt war and you ill-advised surge that's keeping soldiers from their families) And others could see their loved ones headed back to the war sooner than they need to. (you mean like sending them out after only 7 months rest, the earliest soldiers have ever been sent out between tours? You mean like that? Someone should get you're the memo – you're already doing that.) That is unacceptable to me, and I believe it is unacceptable to the American people. (which is why a majority of Americans want to bring the troops home.)

Members of Congress say they support the troops (they do). Now they need to show that support in deed (they did), as well as in word. Members of Congress are entitled to their views and should express them. Yet debating these differences should not come at the expense of funding our troops. (it didn't – your differences are preventing our troops from being funded) Congress's most basic responsibility is to give our troops the equipment and training they need to fight our enemies and protect our nation. (are you fucking kidding me? The democrats want to mandate that you not send soldiers to war without adequate equipment and training, and the GOP voted against it. The dems want you to certify that you will not send them without training and equipment. You're saying no. The dems want to send more body armor and up armor kits. You should have sent them in the first place!) They're now failing in that responsibility, and if they do not change course in the coming weeks, the price of that failure will be paid by our troops and their loved ones.

I'll now answer some questions, starting with Jennifer Loven.

Q Thank you, sir. You agreed to talk to Syria in the context of --

THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me?

Q You've agreed to talk to Syria in the context of the international conferences on Iraq. What's so different or wrong about Speaker Pelosi having her own meetings there? And are you worried that she might be preempting your own efforts?

THE PRESIDENT: We have made it clear to high-ranking officials, whether they be Republicans or Democrats, that going to Syria sends mixed signals -- signals in the region and, of course, mixed signals to President Assad. And by that, I mean, photo opportunities and/or meetings with President Assad lead the Assad government to believe they're part of the mainstream of the international community, when, in fact, they're a state sponsor of terror; when, in fact, they're helping expedite -- or at least not stopping the movement of foreign fighters from Syria into Iraq; when, in fact, they have done little to nothing to rein in militant Hamas and Hezbollah; and when, in fact, they destabilize the Lebanese democracy.

There have been a lot of people who have gone to see President Assad -- some Americans, but a lot of European leaders and high-ranking officials. And yet we haven't seen action. In other words, he hasn't responded. It's one thing to send a message; it's another thing to have the person receiving the message actually do something. So the position of this administration is that the best way to meet with a leader like Assad or people from Syria is in the larger context of trying to get the global community to help change his behavior. But sending delegations hasn't worked. It's just simply been counterproductive. (speaking of people visiting Syria, Speaker Nancy Pelosi had this to say, "It's interesting because three of our colleagues, who are all Republicans, were in Syria yesterday and I didn't hear the White House speaking out about that" And that is why I love the Speaker) (speaking of delegations - Richardson went to Darfur and negotiated a cease fire, and now he's being sent to North Korea to negotiate the release of missing servicemen. so that's what i have to say about politicians going on delegations)

Steve.

Q Thank you, sir. Would the U.S. be willing to give up five Iranians held in Iraq if it would help persuade Iran to give up the 15 British sailors?

THE PRESIDENT: Steven, I said the other day that -- first of all, the seizure of the sailors is indefensible by the Iranians (You're not helping!), and that I support the Blair government's attempts to solve this issue peacefully. (because if it were up to me, I'd nuke those son of a bitches) So we're in close consultation with the British government. I also strongly support the Prime Minister's declaration that there should be no quid pro quo's when it comes to the hostages. (I don't believe that quid pro quo can be made plural) (and lets talk about how the US kidnapped five Iranian DIPLOMATS, and yet all we're talking about is the 15 SAILORS who were captured, in what may or may not be Iranian waters, there's really no way to know.)

Let's see here -- Baker, Baker. Are you here? Yes, there you are.

Q Sir, your administration evaluated all 93 U.S. attorneys, in part on the basis of loyalty. That was one of the criteria that was used. What role should loyalty to you play in the evaluation of those charged with administering justice and enforcing the law?

THE PRESIDENT: Peter, obviously, when you name a U.S. attorney you want somebody who can do the job. That's the most important criterion, somebody who is qualified, somebody who can get a job done. The President names the U.S. attorneys, and the President has the right to remove U.S. attorneys. And on this particular issue, the one you're referring to, I believe it's the current issue of the eight U.S. attorneys, they serve at my pleasure, they have served four-year terms, and we have every right to replace them. And – (so what you're really saying, is, I'm not going to answer this question. He didn't ask if you had the right to remove the attorneys, he asked what role should loyalty play. Also, you may have the right to remove the USAs but not if it's because you don't want them to complete their investigations into GOP corruption. Did I mention that it is looking more and more like the folks that ordered their firings, had only tried a couple of legal cases between the two of them? Yeah.)

Q And what --

THE PRESIDENT: Let me finish, please. I am genuinely concerned about their reputations, now that this has become a Washington, D.C. focus. I'm sorry it's come to this. On the other hand, there had been no credible evidence of any wrongdoing. And that's what the American people have got to understand. We had a right to remove them; we did remove them. And there will be more hearings to determine what I've just said, no credible evidence of wrongdoing. (maybe, you shouldn't have fired them without telling them why? All any future employer knows is that the President of the United States of America fired these USAs for personnel reasons. Yeah, that doesn't hurt their reputations at all. Also there already were some hearings, we found out that Karl Rove was involved, and that Pat Fitzgerald was considered to be fired….while he was investigating Scooter Libby. Nope, no wrongdoing here, move along….)

Bill.

Q Mr. President, a lot of the disagreement over --
THE PRESIDENT: Wrong Bill.
Q Which one, him?
THE PRESIDENT: No, you. The cute-looking one. (Laughter.)

Q Thanks so much. A lot of the disagreement, sir, over the way you're handling Iraq, disagreements from the public and Congress, stems from the belief that things are not working, despite the surge. The Iraqis have met few, if any, of the benchmarks that were laid down for them so far. Senator McCain walked in the Baghdad marketplace with air cover and a company of troops. But people don't believe that this can work, and they question the continued sacrifice of U.S. troops to help make it work.

THE PRESIDENT: Bill, I'm very aware that there are a group of people that don't think we should be there in the first place (yeah, a pretty big fucking group of people, it's not a group anymore, it's like 40%). There are some who don't believe that this strategy will work. (including the Iraq Study Group) I've listened carefully to their complaints. Obviously, I listened to these concerns prior to deciding to reinforce (you mean surge? What is it really? Reinforcements, escalation, or surge?). This is precisely the debate we had inside the White House: Can we succeed? I know there are some who have basically said it is impossible to succeed (like Kissinger, a dove by no means). I strongly disagree with those people. I believe not only can we succeed, I know we must succeed.

And so I decided to, at the recommendation of military commanders (LIE), decided to send reinforcements. As opposed to leaving Baghdad and watching the country go up in flames, I chose a different route, which was to send more troops into Baghdad. And General Petraeus, who is a reasoned, sober man, says there is some progress being made. And he cites murders and -- in other words, there's some calm coming to the capital (there's calm coming because there's murders?). But he also fully recognizes, as do I, it's still dangerous (uh, yeah, you could say that). In other words, suiciders (not even a word) are willing to kill innocent life in order to send the projection that this is an impossible mission. (this whole sentence is terrible)

The whole strategy is to give the Iraqi government time to reconcile, time to unify the country, time to respond to the demands of the 12 million people that voted. (clearly that isn't working)
You've said the Iraqis haven't met any obligations; I would disagree with your characterization. They have said that they will send Iraqi forces into Baghdad to take the lead, along with U.S. troops, to bring security to Baghdad, and they've done that. They said they'd name a commander for Baghdad; they have done that. They said they'd send up -- they'd send troops out into the neighborhoods to clear and hold and then build; they're doing that. They send they would send a budget up that would spend a considerable amount of their money on reconstruction; they have done that. They're working on an oil law that is in progress. (ahhhh, here it is, OIL)

As a matter of fact, I spoke to the Prime Minister yesterday about progress on the oil law. He reminded me that sometimes the legislature doesn't do what the executive branch wants them to do. I reminded him, I understand what he's talking about. But, nevertheless, I strongly agree that we've got to continue to make it clear to the Iraqi government that this is -- the solution to Iraq, an Iraq that can govern itself, sustain itself and defend itself, is more than a military mission -- precisely the reason why I sent more troops into Baghdad, to be able to provide some breathing space for this democratically-elected government to succeed. And it's hard work, and I understand it's hard work. (It's hard work. God he sounds so stupid when he says that.)

Secondly, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, Bill, there's only 40 percent of our troops that are there on the ground. And so I find it somewhat astounding that people in Congress would start calling for withdrawal even before all the troops have made it to Baghdad. (Yeah, because you sent them without talking to Congress, and some in Congress never wanted any troops to go, and a majority of Congress wants them all home.)

Let's see here -- Rutenberg. Jim Rutenberg.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Matthew Dowd, your chief campaign strategist in 2004, kind of issued a strong critique of you and your administration this weekend. I'm wondering if you were personally stunned, and if you worry about losing support of people -- of him and people like him?

THE PRESIDENT: First of all, I respect Matthew. I've known him for a while; as you mentioned, he was an integral part of my 2004 campaign. I have not talked to Matthew about his concerns. Nevertheless, I understand his anguish over war. I understand that this is an emotional issue for Matthew, as it is a lot of other people in our country (yeah, a majority of people). Matthew's case, as I understand it, is obviously intensified because his son is deployable. In other words, he's got a son in the U.S. Armed Forces, and I can understand Matthew's concerns. (can you? Because I don't see the Bush twins in uniform, I see them smoking and drinking, but no uniforms, funny that)

I would hope that people who share Matthew's point of view would understand my concern about what failure would mean to the security of the United States. What I'm worried about is that we leave before the mission is done -- and that is a country that is able to govern, sustain and defend itself -- and that Iraq becomes a cauldron of chaos (who's doing his speech writing? "caldreon of chaos," really?) which will embolden extremists (because they are not emboldened already, when they can kill Americans pretty much at will, because we just keep sending more over? I heard that sectarian violence is down, a little, but attacks against US troops are still chugging along at the same rate.), whether they be Shia or Sunni extremists; which would enable extremists to have safe haven from which to plot attacks on America; which could provide new resources for an enemy that wants to harm us. (And there were no terrorists aiming attacks at the US from Iraq until we broke their country apart. Now sunnis and shias are tearing themselves apart. If we left, they would continue to tear themselves apart. But there would also, not be an occupation for them to rail against.)

And so, on the one hand, I do fully understand the anguish people go through about this war. And it's not just Matthew, there's a lot of our citizens who are concerned about this war. But I also hope that people will take a sober look at the consequences of failure in Iraq. My main job is to protect the people, and I firmly believe that if we were to leave before the job is done, the enemy would follow us here. And what makes Iraq different from previous struggles is that September the 11th showed that chaos in another part of the world, and/or safe haven for killers, for radicals, affects the security of the United States. (I wondered when he would get to 9/11, keep hitting us over the head with it George.)

Martha.

Q Back to Iran, sir. ABC has been reporting that Iran will be capable of building a nuclear bomb within two years. Have you seen evidence that Iran is accelerating its nuclear program?

THE PRESIDENT: I haven't seen the report that you just referred to. I do share concerns about Iranian intention to have a nuclear weapon. I firmly believe that if Iran were to have a nuclear weapon, it would be a seriously destablizing influence in the Middle East. And therefore, we have worked to build a (an) international coalition to try to convince the Iranians to give up their weapon, to make it clear that they have choices to make -- whether the choice be isolation, or missed opportunity to grow their economies. And so we take your -- we take the
-- we take seriously the attempts of the Iranians to gain a nuclear weapon.

Q Have you seen an acceleration, though?

THE PRESIDENT: I'm not going to talk about any intelligence that I've seen one way or the other. But I do want you to know how seriously we take the Iranian nuclear issue. As a matter of fact, it is the cornerstone of our Iranian policy. It is -- and that's why we spend a lot of time in working with friends, allies, concerned people to rally international support, to make it clear to the Iranian people that there is a better option for them.

Now, we have no problem, no beef with the Iranian people. We value their history; we value their traditions (except 300 doesn't.). But their government is making some choices that will continue to isolate them and deprive them of a better economic future. So we take the issue very seriously. (What's that sound in the distance, are those war drums I'm hearing?)

Ken Herman.

Q Thank you, sir. Mr. President, are you aware of the current price of a gallon of gas? Can you explain why it's gone up so sharply in recent weeks? And is there anything in the near future indicating that prices might start coming down again before the heavy summer driving season?

THE PRESIDENT: About $2.60 plus.

Q Where are you shopping, sir? (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: Nationwide average. The price of gasoline, obviously, varies from region to region for a variety of reasons. Some has to do with the amount of taxation at the pump; some of it has to do with the boutique fuels that have been mandated on a state-by-state basis. But a lot of the price of gasoline depends on the price of crude oil. (and your cabal of oil company friends, who gouge and gouge and gouge)

And the price of crude oil is on the rise, and the price of crude oil is on the rise because people get spooked, for example, when it looks like there may be a crisis with a crude oil-producing nation, like Iran. But the whole point about rising crude oil prices and rising gasoline prices is that this country ought to work hard to get off our addiction to oil -- all the more reason why Congress ought to pass the mandatory fuel standards that I set forth, which will reduce our use of gasoline by 20 percent over the next 10 years. And there's two reasons why. One is for national security reasons, and two is for environmental concerns (since when has he ever, ever cared about the environment?) And I hope that we can get this done with the Congress, get it out of the Congress to my desk as quickly as possible. (why are oil companies seeing record profits, why not take a little bit of a hit, do the right thing and lower the price of gasoline?)

Dancer. Dancing man. That would be David Gregory. For those of you not aware, Gregory put on a show the --
Q Everybody's aware, Mr. President, thank you. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Well, maybe the listeners aren't.
Q Yes, that's all right.
THE PRESIDENT: That was a beautiful performance, seriously.

Q Thank you. Thank you very much. (Laughter.) Mr. President, you say the Democrats are undercutting troops, they way they have voted. They're obviously trying to assert more control over foreign policy. Isn't that what the voters elected them to do in November?

THE PRESIDENT: I think the voters in America want Congress to support our troops who are in harm's way. (and they did) They want money to the troops. (and they did) And they don't want politicians in Washington telling our generals how to fight a war (like you? Fundamentally you are a Washington politician). It's one thing to object to the policy, but it's another thing when you have troops in harm's way not to give them the funds they need. (um, except they did)

And no question there's been a political dance going on here in Washington. You've followed this closely, you know what I'm talking about. Not only was there a political dance going on -- in other words, people were trying to appeal to one side of their party or another -- but they then had to bring out new funding streams in order to attract votes to a emergency war supplemental.

And my concern, David, is several. One, Congress shouldn't tell generals how to run the war (and a President shouldn't fire generals he doesn't agree with); Congress should not short-change our military (that's right, we should make sure that the troops have the equipment and the training they need before they go to Iraq, oh yes, the Dems required that, and you're blocking it); Congress should not use a emergency war spending measure as a vehicle to put pet spending projects on that have nothing to do with the war. (1. why do we need emergency war spending, shouldn't we have built that in? 2. there has never been a "clean" spending bill, not ever.)

Secondly, as I mentioned in these remarks, delays beyond mid-April and then into May will affect the readiness of the U.S. military (your continued command will affect the readiness of the US military). So my attitude is, enough politics (exactly, sign the bill!). They need to come back, pass a bill -- if they want to play politics, fine; they continue to do that, I will veto it. But they ought to do it quickly. They ought to get the bill to my desk as quickly as possible, and I'll veto it. And then we can get down to the business of funding our troops without strings and without withdrawal dates. (but the people want a withdrawal date, you ass!)

It is amazing to me that, one, the United States Senate passed a -- confirmed General Petraeus overwhelmingly, after he testified as to what he thinks is necessary to succeed in Iraq, and then won't fund him. Secondly, we have put 40 percent of the reinforcements in place, and yet people already want to start withdrawing before the mission has had a chance to succeed. (we covered this)

They need to come off their vacation (how many days was it George? What percent? Oh yeah, 22% vacation for you), get a bill to my desk, and if it's got strings and mandates and withdrawals and pork I'll veto it. And then we can get down to the business of getting this thing done. And we can do it quickly. It doesn't have to take a lot of time. And we can get the bill -- get the troops funded, and we go about our business of winning this war. (define winning for me?)

McKinnon.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. On climate change and the decision that was issued yesterday by the U.S. Supreme Court, what's your reaction to that decision? And don't you think that this makes some kind of broad caps on greenhouse gas emissions more or less inevitable?

THE PRESIDENT: First of all, the decision of the Supreme Court we take very seriously. It's the new law of the land. And secondly, we're taking some time to fully understand the details of the decision. As you know, this decision was focused on emissions that come from automobiles. My attitude is, is that we have laid out a plan that will affect greenhouse gases that come from automobiles by having a mandatory fuel standard that insists upon using 35 billion gallons of alternative fuels by 2017, which will reduce our gasoline usage by 20 percent and halt the growth in greenhouse gases that emanate from automobiles. In other words, there is a remedy available for Congress. And I strongly hope that they pass this remedy quickly.

In terms of the broader issue, first of all, I've taken this issue very seriously. I have said that it is a serious problem. I recognize that man is contributing greenhouse gases, that -- but here are the principles by which I think we can get a good deal. One, anything that happens cannot hurt economic growth. And I say that because, one, I care about the working people of the country, but also because, in order to solve the greenhouse gas issue over a longer period of time, it's going to require new technologies, which tend to be expensive. And it's easier to afford expensive technologies if you're prosperous.

Secondly, whatever we do must be in concert with what happens internationally, because we could pass any number of measures that are now being discussed in the Congress, but unless there is an accord with China, China will produce greenhouse gases that will offset anything we do in a brief period of time. (yeah, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't do it anyway. Because if we don't, it will be china + whatever we're putting out. You dumbass)

And so those are the principles that will guide our decision-making: How do you encourage new technology? How do you grow the economy? And how do you make sure that China is -- and India are a part of a rational solution?

Let's see here -- how about Bret Bair?

Q Mr. President, thank you. Since General Pace made his comments that got a lot of attention about homosexuality, we haven't heard from you on that issue. Do you, sir, believe that homosexuality is immoral?

THE PRESIDENT: I will not be rendering judgment about individual orientation. I do believe the "don't ask, don't tell" policy is good policy. (interesting, he didn't say yes.)

Sammon, yes.

Q Thank you, Mr. President.
THE PRESIDENT: You're standing out there, I can see you.

Q When Congress has linked war funding with a timetable you have argued micromanagement. When they've linked it to unrelated spending, you've argued pork barrel. But now there's talk from Harry Reid and others that if you veto this bill, they may come back and just simply cut off funding. Wouldn't that be a legitimate exercise of a congressional authority, which is the power of the purse?

THE PRESIDENT: The Congress is exercising its legitimate authority as it sees fit right now. I just disagree with their decisions. I think setting an artificial timetable (you mean benchmarks?) for withdrawal is a significant mistake. It is a -- it sends mixed signals and bad signals to the region, and to the Iraqi citizens.

Listen, the Iraqis are wondering whether or not we're going to stay to help. People in America wonder whether or not they've got the political will to do the hard work -- that's what Plante was asking about. My conversations with President [sic] Maliki, he seems dedicated to doing that. And we will continue to work with him to achieve those objectives. But they're wondering whether or not America is going to keep commitments. And so when they hear withdrawal, and timetables, it, rightly so, sends different kinds of signals. (repeat after me, the Iraqi people want us to leave, they have asked us to leave on a number of occasions. Lather, rinse, repeat.)

It's interesting that Harry Reid, Leader Reid spoke out with a different option. Whatever option they choose, I would hope they get home (80 days! 80 fucking days a year!), get a bill, and get it to my desk. And if it has artificial timetables of withdrawal, or if it cuts off funding for troops, or if it tells our generals how to run a war, I'll veto it. And then we can get about the business of giving our troops what they need -- what our generals want them to have, and give our generals the flexibility necessary to achieve the objectives that we set out by reinforcing troops in Iraq.

You know, what's interesting is you don't hear a lot of debate about Washington as to what will happen if there is failure. Again, Plante mentioned that people don't think we can succeed -- in other words, there's no chance of succeeding. That's a part of the debate. But what people also have got to understand, what will happen if we fail. And the way you fail is to leave before the job is done; in other words, just abandon this young democracy -- say we're tired; we'll withdraw from Baghdad and hope there's not chaos.

I believe that if this capital city were to fall into chaos, which is where it was headed prior to reinforcing, that there would be no chance for this young democracy to survive (a Jeffersonian democracy that we forced on them). That's why I made the decision I made. And the reason why I believe it's important to help this young democracy survive is so that the country has a chance to become a stabilizing influence in a dangerous part of the world.
I also understand that if the country -- if the experience were to fail, radicals would be emboldened. People that had been -- that can't stand America would find new ways to recruit (recruiting and training against US troops, no less). There would be potentially additional resources for them to use at their disposal. (like when we didn't secure ammo dumps and they were able to commandeer them? Like that?)

The failure in Iraq would endanger American security. I have told the American people often it is best to defeat them there so we don't have to face them here, fully recognizing that what happens over there can affect the security here. That's one of the major lessons of September the 11th. In that case, there was safe haven found in a failed state, where killers plotted and planned and trained, and came and killed 3,000 of our citizens. And I vowed we weren't going to let that happen again. (uh huh, and where were you when those planes hit? Oh right, vacation.)

Secondly, the way to defeat the ideology that these people believe is through a competing ideology, one based upon liberty (like the liberty to smoke pot, oh wait, no) and human rights (and we have such a great record on human rights, cough abu ghraib cough) and human dignity (yeah, we're good at this one too). And there are some who, I guess, say that's impossible to happen in the Middle East. I strongly disagree. I know it is hard work. I believe it is necessary work to secure this country in the long run. (is this why we're building massive bases in Iraq)

Ed.

Q Mr. President, the conservative newspaper columnist, Robert Novak, recently wrote that in 50 years of covering Washington, he's never seen a President more isolated than you are right now. What do you say to critics like Novak who say that you are more isolated now than Richard Nixon was during Watergate?

THE PRESIDENT: How did he define "isolated"?

Q He said you're isolated primarily from your own party, that Republican leaders on the Hill were privately telling him that, on the Gonzales matter in particular, you're very isolated.

THE PRESIDENT: I think you're going to find that the White House and the Hill are going to work in close collaboration, starting with this supplemental. When I announced that I will veto a bill with -- that withdrew our troops, that set artificial timetables for withdrawal, or micro-managed the war, the Republicans strongly supported that message (and let they're trying to distance themselves from you by letting you and only you take the fall on the supplemental). I think you'll find us working together on energy. They know what I know, that dependence on oil will affect the long-term national security of the country (I think the Dems have been saying this for years.). We'll work together on No Child Left Behind (ah, the initiative that you didn't fund). We'll work together on immigration reform (yeah, that didn't so much happen- mostly because your own party was severely divided - and the debate may have helped cost the GOP the November election). We'll work together, most importantly, on budget, to make sure this budget gets balanced without raising taxes. (ooooh taxes, scary…)

The other day, the Democrats submitted budgets that raised taxes on the working people, in order to increase the amount of money they have available for spending. That is a place where the Republicans and this President are going to work very closely together (right they're going to cut taxes for the very rich). I adamantly oppose tax increases, and so do the majority of members in the United States Congress. (but I like giving huge tax breaks to corporations and the very very rich)

Ed.

Q Mr. President, good morning. You've talked --
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Good morning, that's a good way to start.

Q You've talked about the consequences of failure in Iraq, and you've said that enemies would follow us home. I wonder, given that, it seems like that's not exactly a ringing endorsement of people who are charged with the responsibility of keeping America safe. So what --

THE PRESIDENT: What was that again, Ed?

Q Well, you say that the enemies would follow us home --

THE PRESIDENT: I will -- that's what they'll do, just like September the 11th. They plotted, planned, and attacked.

Q So I wonder, in your own mind, how does that vision play out? How do they follow us home? Because we've spent so much money and put so much resources into making this country safer.

THE PRESIDENT: Ed, I'm not going to predict to you the methodology they'll use. Just you need to know they want to hit us again. We do everything we can here at the homeland to protect us. That's why I've got a Homeland Security Department. That's why we are inconveniencing air traffickers, to make sure nobody is carrying weapons on airplanes (yeah, except screeners missed 90% of explosives in a recent test). That's why we need border enforcement, with a comprehensive immigration bill, by the way, to make sure it's easier to enforce the border. I mean, we're doing a lot. That's why we need to make sure our intelligence services coordinate information better.

So we spend a lot of time trying to protect this country. But if they were ever to have safe haven, it would make the efforts much harder. That's my point. We cannot let them have safe haven again (ok, how about Saudi Arabia, that's where most of the attackers came from. How about Pakistan? Any terrorists there? How's Afghanistan looking these days? Sudan? Mmkay.). The lesson of September the 11th is, if these killers are able to find safe haven from which to plot, plan and attack, they will do so.

So, Ed, I don't know what methodology they'll use. We're planning for the worst. We cover all fronts (except we didn't enact the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission until the Dems passed that legislation this fall. So no, you're not doing everything you can, you're not covering all fronts). And it's hard to protect a big country like this, and I applaud those who have done a fantastic job of protecting us since September the 11th. But make no mistake about it, there's still an enemy that would like to do us harm. And I believe, whether it be in Afghanistan, or in Iraq, or anywhere else, if these enemy are able to find safe haven, it will endanger the lives of our fellow citizens.

I also understand that the best way to defeat them in the long run is to show people in the Middle East, for example, that there is a better alternative to tyrannical societies (again, abu ghraib, the battle at fallujua, the homemade videos that hit the internet daily of US troops committing horrible atrocities), to societies that don't meet the hopes and aspirations of the average people (speaking of average people, how about the average people here at home? How about a minimum living wage? How about universal healthcare?); and that is through a society that is based upon the universal concept of liberty.
Iraq is a very important part of securing the homeland, and it's a very important part of helping change the Middle East into a part of the world that will not serve as a threat to the civilized world, to people like -- or to the developed world, to people like -- in the United States.

So thank you all very much for your interest. I hope you have a nice holiday. Appreciate it. (?!)

Note: This presser was held in the Rose Garden with no chairs for the reporters and no microphones. weird.

I hate these new department meetings. They talk like I care. I don't. I am not an employee here. I am a temp. I don't have benefits. I don't get vacation. I don't care.

More bad news for McCain today. Theres another report that he sought leaving the GOP as recently as 2004. His staff approached Kerry about the VP position. Like I said a couple of days ago. McCain is toast. http://www.mydd.com/story/2007/4/3/11936/97033

2007-04-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

FRIDAY

So today is the last day of the fiscal year here at the office. Instead of rewarding me with a permanent position, they have rewarded the department with a food day and some movie tickets. Hopefully the permanent position will be forthcoming. Until then, I will enjoy cookies, bacon, bagels, sausage links, gooey butter cake, donuts, the obligatory fruit, and various drinks. oh and the movie tickets, $20 fandango bucks, I'll take it.

So this headline (from NYT) does not bode well for Giuliani: "Giuliani testified he was briefed on Kerik in '00" Ok, so the headline really doesn't tell you what this is all about...so I will. Giuliani nominated Kerik to be the top-law enforcement guy in New York City. The only problem, Kerik has significant ties to organized crime. Ooops.

McCain took another hit today. It's being reported that early on, at the start of the Bush Administration, McCain considered leaving the GOP - probably because the party stood by while Bush and Rove manhandled him right out of the race. So what does this do to his presidential aspirations? Well, he might be hoping that it makes him appeal more liberal/progressive/independent voters ( by running away from Bush. But in reality, it sure doesn't help in getting the conservative voters out to vote. Who wants to vote for someone who was going to desert his party, Lieber-I mean McCain? So whether it was planned to get him new voters, or is just some news that has come out, it looks BAD for John McCain.

Lunch was also provided today. I love Imo's.

I hate when we get special projects to do. Especially on a Friday, when normally I would just sit and do nothing, because call volume is very light on Fridays. But no. Today we had to make a bunch of calls to recipients of cards. The cards should have been bulk shipped to the client. But the client made an error and since they're a big account, we had to clean up the mess. Fun for us. and by us, I mean me and carl.

I like Carlos. He's a semi-new guy in a different department, but he's over in the bullpen alot. Hey's ex-military and can do the best gay man impression I've ever seen. Today he was saying something about Blackwater. He said I should look up Blackwater, and I said, you mean this Blackwater? and I held up my heavily noted copy of Blackwater: The rise of the worlds most powerful mercenary army. He laughed and high fived. This is one of the many reasons, I love carlos.

I'm off to edit my delicious tags. This should not be fun.

MONDAY

Why is it that mondays are so very very bad? Why are the weekends so short?GAH! I do not know what the problem is today. People are fucking crazy. Rhonda thinks it's the full moon. I don't have any explanation to the bitchy, assholish, nasty people we've been getting on the phones today. And I have to do more call-outs, grrrrrr.....

It's not that I'm tired per se, it's that I'm sleepy. I got enough sleep. I think, my funk is just due to the weekend being too short. The weather being nice (80 degrees today!), and me being at work. BOOOOO on work. The weekend was good though. Mexican on friday night - fantastic margaritas. The also have sour cream enchiladas - eh eh - good, I know. I had a chicken empanada (fantastic) and a chicken enchilada (and I couldn't have been happier).

We actually went out quite a bit last week. Dinner at Il Vicino on Tuesday and Chocolate Bar on Thursday - god I love their Bailey's Brownie....if you can get it with mint ice cream....get it with mint ice cream. Saturday was good beer (Cherry Wheat) and basketball. Sunday we saw 300 in the morning (i liked it, Jen thought it was lame) for free, then some minor cleaning, ice cream and snacks, sex and the city. and then there was monday. and monday sucked.

Somehow Romney managed to raise $23 million in the first quarter - god only knows how he did it.More trouble for Giuliani - turns out his (third) wife is a ghoul. Seems she used to be a saleswoman for a surgical instruments distributor and demonstrated how they were used on live dogs IN ORDER TO SELL MORE OF THEM. The dogs were later put down because of inability to recover, or they died during the demonstration. Yeah, he has problems. Mrs Giuliani is NO Elizabeth Edwards. (Speaking of which, Edwards put up a respectable $14 million)

Clinton raised $26 million. and broke records.

how the hell did romney raise $23 million....

Obama has not yet announced his numbers, but Kos thinks it's because he's waiting for the news to die down over eveyone else's numbers. Then he'll announce HUGE numbers. let's not forget, this is the man that drew 20,000 to a speech - this early in the game. His website registers donations from 83,000 unique donors. HUGE numbers.

Meanwhile, McCain still sucks. I don't have his fundraising numbers, but I don't need them. Not after the story that he strolled the safe streets of Baghdad this weekend....Made safe by the US Army that swept the area before he came through and provided him with body armor, 100 soldier-bodyguards, 2 gunships, and 3helicopters. Baghdad? safe? Remember this is the guy that said that General Patreaus walks around Baghdad without protection all the time. So, either McCain was lying and General Patreaus doesn't walk around without protection (we already talked to the good general, and he doesn't walk around without protection) or McCain is a big weeny and needs a hundred soldiers to protect his sorry ass. McCain is toast. (he's only 20% to take the nomination over at intrade, incidentally, Giuliani is only 33% to take it. I'm still looking for a dark horse... speaking of Fred thompson, he garners almost 18% and he hasn't announced yet.)

UPDATE - I have his fund raising numbers. he's the darling of the establishment, what with all of his zany maverick-ness (not). At any rate, he didn't raise much. $12.5 million. Romney raised more than him....Romney.

Speaking of Romney - something I hadn't yet heard. His only public service before elected governor was running the 2002 Winter Olympics. Inexperienced much?

2007-03-28T15:43:00.000-07:00

I chose to take a casual day today because I just don't care. And, if challenged I will offer up one of my many "Casual Day Coupons." What are we in second grade? I get these things when I do something for someone, help them out etc. Casual Days and Free Lunches. Now, I like casual days (though it doesn't mean so much to me now that my boss has said, essentially, that as long as I don't do it EVERY day, I can have a casual day pretty much anytime I want - which is often), and like like free lunches (though I don't so much eat at the cafeteria anymore, because my coworkers don't get back in time - we can only have one person gone at a time, and the person before me is always late, and the cafeteria does close.), but what I would prefer is cold hard cash. Now my company does have a program where you can reward your co-workers with points on their incentive card (which works just about everywhere) but, since I am a lowly temp, that program does not apply to me. Thus all the casual day coupons and free lunches. Thanks guys. Oh and health insurance, as a temp, I don't have that either.

I hate when people call and ask me about something, then, I tell them the answer and they are completely confused. They explain again, I tell them the same thing. Then they put someone else on the phone, and they explain more clearly. I realize that they shouldn't even be talking to me, but should be talking to another department and transfer. But, if they had just been clear in the first place, then no one's time would have been wasted. So don't fucking get mad at me. Thanks, love Jalynn.

Monkey still with the diarrhea. Lovely.

Senator John McCain is a douche bag. He thinks that it would be perfectly safe for an American to take a stroll through some neighborhoods in Baghdad...unarmed and unescorted. Uh, yeah, right. No fucking way, man! Have you seen the news reports coming out of Baghdad, even if the main stream media doesn't cover them. Just look at the body counts in the paper everyday. Then read the report out of the BBC that the UK has determined that the Lancet study that said that 650,000 civilians had been killed during the occupation, is completely valid, and probably understates the fatalities. (This would mean that on average, 500 civilians are killed every day.) Check out that report and tell me that you would go walking through Baghdad. In fact, don't tell me about it. Fucking go over there, shed all your security personnel, and just stroll around. If you don't get shot by roving bands of militia men, and gangs, you'll probably be shot by a US soldier, or security contractor. So don't say that it's safe in some neighborhoods of Baghdad. And don't then lie about saying that you ever said it. Your presidential hopes are over.

To track the probability of current events, you might try Intrade.com. Its set up like a stock market. You buy and sell shares of the yes/no chance of something happening. For instance, will the 2008 Dem Presidential Nominee be xx; will Gonzales resign in march 07? will xx be kicked off of American Idol tonight? That sort of thing. Now you might think that this is just like a poll. But, the beauty is that you can actually buy and sell shares - it's all based on points, one point equals $.10 - so, for example 2008 Dem Nominee = Gore is trading at right around 10 points, $1. If you buy it at 10 points, and he is the nominee, it closes at 100 points - you make $9. So, people have money involved, incidentally, they make better predictions. Intrade users accurately predicted the change over of the House and Senate, and several individual races.

Ok, let's get to the good stuff:

2008 Dem Nominee
Clinton - 47.9 (+.1)
Obama - 27.2 (-1.2)
Edwards - 7.2 (-.5)
Gore - 10.6 (+.1)

People are still saying that Gore will run, and that he may announce as late as Sept 07. Note, not only is Intrade saying that Gore will run, they're saying that there is a 1 in 10 chance that he'll win the nomination. I think, if he runs, he wins.

2008 GOP Nominee
Giuliani - 40.3 (0)
McCain - 20.3 (-3.3)
Romney - 16.2 (0)

As I mentioned, McCain is on the way down, and so is Romney (not shown here). Giuliani is not an acceptable candidate for a majority of social conservatives. Look for a dark house candidate to at the very least, make a play for the nomination, if not outright win it. And that candidate could be Law and Order's own Fred Thompson - he gets 12% of a recent Gallup/USA today poll. (Romeny got 3%) And as Jen says about Thompson - "he's conservative as fuck" (though, incidentally, the conservatives don't very much believe in fucking, one wishes that they would either a) stop fucking altogether and not produce anymore of the fuckers of b) fuck more and lighten up.

UPDATE: Focus on the Family's Dobson doesn't think that Thompson is Christian enough.

UPDATE 2: Rasmussen just released a poll showing that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich garners 11%.(He could be the dark horse, but he has problems in his personal life that should make it hard for social conservatives to support him.) Romney gets 8% Thompson was not included, but will be included next week.

Airstrike on Iran
March 07 - 2.0 (0)
June 07 - 15.6 (+5)
Sept 07 - 16.0 (+4.5)
Dec 07 - 23.1 (+6.2)

Hmm general trend towards bombing Iran. Look for these numbers to shoot up, if Iran doesn't release those 15 British sailors. Word has it that they are releasing the only female sailor today or tomorrow. And it's pretty much been shown that the sailors were in Iraqi waters, and that Iran is, as mentioned yesterday, ASKING for it.

UPDATE: CNN is reporting that an Iranian admiral is claiming that the US is NOT in fact conducting military exercises in the Gulf. And really, is there any way for us to know?

Gonzales Resigns
Dec 07 - 66.0

Yeah he's out of here...Kossaks overwhelmingly think that he will not last until the middle of April - I tend to agree. Intrade pegs his leaving before June 07 at 55.0.

Meanwhile....back at the University.... Sam Fox Arts Center...financed by Missouian Sam Fox. Sam Fox was nominated by President Bush to the position of ambassador and plenipotentiary (i get excited when i get you use big and relatively obscure words, especially when you have to use the big word, because it has a precise meaning. Plenipotentiary: a person, especially a diplomatic agent, invested with full power and authority to transact business on the behalf of another.) of the United States to Belgium. Unfortunately for Sam (and fortunately for us), due to outrage over his involvement with the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, he has withdrawn his bid. HAHAHA - that's what you get for financing a group that told outright lies, and was then hit with the largest election law fine ever. Liars don't get to be ambassadors. There's a new sheriff in town. Oh, and the juiciest bestest part? Senator Kerry was the one that got to question Fox at his confirmation hearing. How delicious....and Kerry made him his bitch.

Space.com reports that one of the rarest weather patterns has been photographed on Saturn. The formation is at the North Pole and is in the shape of a hexagon. Yes. A hexagon.

"This is a very strange feature, lying in a precise geometric fashion with six nearly equally straight sides," said Kevin Baines, atmospheric expert and member of Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "We've never seen anything like this on any other planet. Indeed, Saturn's thick atmosphere, where circularly-shaped waves and convective cells dominate, is perhaps the last place you'd expect to see such a six-sided geometric figure, yet there it is."

Oh, and just to put your tiny Earth into perspective - the formation is 15,000 miles in diameter - four Earths could fit inside it. Also, the formation goes down into the atmosphere 60 miles. It is a 15k mile wide and 60 mile deep hexagon. All I can say is WTF mate?

Here's some amusing cartoons.

I like this one best.

I broke down and bought Swords and Sandals II - the full version. I first encountered s&s at the old building, so at least four months ago. Basically, you are a gladiator. You fight battles, buy armor and weapons and gain experience. The more experience you get, the better stuff you can buy, the bigger baddies you play. I'll admit it. It's addictive. However, version one was a little too formulaic, and you didn't have too many options.

Version 2 is much better, gameplay is more involved, and you have much more leeway. Also there's magic, the first version had no magic. But, because they've moved to making money from their game-writing skills, you can only play the second version as a demo version and that means no SAVE option.

This sucks because you spend hours and hours building up your character only to have him smoked by some guy that hits you for 700 points in one blow. And you thought your lvl 12 armor class would save you. (I told Jen that this smacks very strongly of Dungeons and Dragons, but she insists it's different :)

At any rate, payment was finally process and when I go home tonight, games will be played, characters will be saved and games will be beat. IF you want to start a new addiction: http://www.swordsandsandals.com/

2007-03-27T15:33:00.000-07:00

I love nice weather. Spring is just so much better than winter. People that prefer winter are strange. 70-80 degrees is the perfect temperature. Sunny, but not humid. The sunlight is warmer, not cold like it is in the winter, not harsh. And it's not blazing like it is in the summer (which is sometimes nice). Now, if I could only escape from cubeland long enough to enjoy some of the lovely.

L Word
And thus concludes season 4 of the L word. At least it was better than last year. Too bad about Shane and Paige, I liked them together - even though Paige seemed like she was going to eat Shane. Talk about nice sex scene though. I understand the story-line need to intersperse with 50's depictions of the couple, but really it killed a great scene. I'm waiting for someone to splice it all together on YouTube, sin 50's scenes. And how do we feel about the revelation that Papi got down with Carmen? Hmm? Hmm? Will that come back and bite anyone, or is that thinking too much on the long scale? It's called mythology. Anyway, no new episodes until next Jan/Feb, too long. And it all seemed to go by so quickly. I guess in the interim, I will finally watch Season 1 and 2.....

Pottying Puppies
There's nothing worse than waking up to a klaxon alarm, and the stench of doggy diarrhea. I love my puppies. I love my puppies....Dublin still needs to learn to potty outside, and Cinque needs to set a better example. Though most of the times she is a very good dog. And most of the time she holds her diarrhea a really long, impossible time. I guess she just had to go last night. shrug. Don't make it a habit, pup.

Attorney Purge
Remember when I said this would be big? Yeah, it's still big. It's pretty hard to hold the position that there was nothing wrong, illegal or improper about firing 8 US attorneys when all the low level people involved resign or plead the 5th. (and I use the term "low-level" loosely. Specifically, Gonzales' chief of staff resigned and the Department of Justice liaison to the White House is pleading the 5th) Meanwhile, Steven D (Dkos) reasons that she may not be able to plead the 5th, at least for the reasons that her attorney lays out. Check out his diary here, for an excellent run through. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/27/7153/12598

Long story, short, even if she does plead 5th, the committee can extend immunity (in one form or the other) and compel her to start frying a bigger fish. Look for this story to continue.... Did I mention that it has come to light that White House staffers (and big wigs, like Karl Rove) were using and RNC server to send sensitive emails that they didn't want in the official record? And that recently Rep Waxman (backed by Spkr Pelosi) have directed the RNC to preserve all emails in case of future subpoena? Oh yes, the plot thickens. Did I mention the possibility that they would have discussed classified information on an unsecured server? I think the Republicans can kill that defenders of National Security label goodbye.

War Funding
Speaker Pelosi got a huge boost last week when the House passed the US Troop Readiness, Veteran's Health and Iraq Accountability Act. The bill expands funding for vets' health care and hospitals, mandates Iraqis meet the benchmarks set by Bush, sets a deadline for the redeployment of US troops and refocuses resources on Afghanistan (Talibanistan - see Time's magazine international cover). Oh, and it also carries over $100 billion in funding that the military needs. Bush can't veto without defunding the war effort. And the DOD says they need the money mid-April, that means the onus is on Senate Republicans and the President to sign off on the money....because the Dems have provided it, they have passed a bill that gives the DOD the money -- the fact that it sets reasonable limits is a pill that the country sees as necessary, and the GOP sees as poison. What do you do, if you are a republican congresscritter? Flip flop, and support troop redeployment, or DON'T support the troops. HAHAHA

Iran
Heard about how Iran is ASKING for it? In case you've been living under a rock. Fifteen British sailors and marines were detained by Iran while on patrol off the coast of Iraq. Britain says they were in Iraqi waters. Iranians say they were in Iranian waters. The BBC said that there was satellite imagery that showed that they WERE in Iranian waters, but that information has disappeared from their website. Now Iran has taken the Brits to Tehran and (some say) are planning on trying them for espionage. (Doing that would direct contradict the Geneva convention - uniformed agents cannot be tried of espionage). Meanwhile, Britain says give them back or else. OR ELSE WHAT?! you might ask. This is the perfect excuse for the US to help our ally by taking military action against Iran. Iran has to know this. So, either they think that they call Britain and the US' bluff (and their stock goes up in the mid-east) or they got bombed into submission (and are turned into martyrs.) Sounds like a lose, lose situation for us. Assuming that we cannot work out a diplomatic solution, but really, how good have we been at that lately? Meanwhile, the US is conducting war games in the Gulf with two carrier groups. This is the first time the US has had two carrier groups in the Gulf since the invasion of Iraq. Well gee, US don't exacerbate the situation any. Let's not add to the tension.

An unsourced article in the Russian media has been picked up by the German, Italian and French media. It claims that the US is planning to launch a pre-emptive attack on Iran on April 6th. The US will target 20ish locations and take out much of the Iranian navy....just a little FYI - not sure I believe the story, but keep an eye out the Friday before Easter.

2007-03-21T15:33:00.000-07:00

Staying Late
Why is it that my employer will deduct every freaking minute that I am not at my desk from my paycheck, and yet, when I stay late, I feel bad about claiming 5 minutes, or 10 minutes or 15 minutes. I don't want to appear to be "rocking the boat" or not helping out the company. That's my fucking money dammit! That's my $1.25, or my $2.50 or my $3.75. How about when I stayed 30 minutes late because I got caught on the phone? That's my $7.50 and since it's technically over time - that's my $11.25. But will I ever claim those minutes, no. But you can be sure that if I am 1 or 2 minutes late getting on the phones, I hear about it and my paycheck gets dinged.

Here's some more. I hate that I have to be here and, at my desk, and logged in, and on the phone by 9:30a, sharp. Why do I hate this? Because it requires me to actually be here by 9:25, because it takes x minutes for the computer to boot, x minutes to log on, x minutes to open the program and get on the phone. Five minutes for which I am not paid. That's $1.88/day. That's $9.4/week. Since I've been here, seven months - that's $263 that they have cleverly tricked me out of. Bastards. And that does NOT include times that I've stayed late. Fuckers.

Constitutional Crisis
Remember how I said the firing of eight US attorneys was going to remain a big story...yeah, I was right. Today the Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to authorize Chairman Conyers to issue subpoenas to top White House aides (including Rove!), at his discretion. This directly repudiated Bush's temper tantrum yesterday (we'll go through his statement in a moment) - where he said, he would not allow top aides to testify. He did offer that they could be interviewed, NOT under oath, and with no transcript. I know, no transcript. what is this guy on? Anyway, Congress says "subpoena", Bush says "no", Congress says "the penalty for defying a congressional subpoena is the charge of contempt of Congress", Bush says "who prosecutes that charge?....Department of Justice (that I've stacked with cronies and who is led by my boy Alberto) HAHA...joke's on you." Fuck. What's that I smell on this fine Wednesday morning? Ahhhhh, impeachment.

And now for the snarky comments:

THE PRESIDENT: Earlier today, my staff met with congressional leaders about the resignations of U.S. attorneys. As you know, I have broad discretion to replace political appointees throughout the government (they serve at the pleasure of the president - see Daily Show clip on this one), including U.S. attorneys. And in this case, I appointed these U.S. attorneys and they served four-year terms.

The Justice Department, with the approval of the White House, believed new leadership in these positions would better serve our country. (why is that, when all those fired had stellar job reviews?) The announcement of this decision and the subsequent explanation of these changes has been confusing (uh, confusing? you changed your story more times than I get pissed off by dumb people at work) and, in some cases, incomplete. Neither the Attorney General, nor I approve of how these explanations were handled. We're determined to correct the problem.

Today I'm also announcing the following steps my administration is taking to correct the record and demonstrate our willingness to work with the Congress. First, the Attorney General and his key staff will testify before the relevant congressional committees to explain how the decision was made and for what reasons.(Under oath? gonzales has vexed congress by refusing to testify under oath) Second, we're giving Congress access to an unprecedented variety of information about the process used to make the decision about replacing eight of the 93 U.S. attorneys. (except for that minor hole from mid-November to early December - a critical time for this investigation)

In the last 24 hours, the Justice Department has provided the Congress more than 3,000 pages of internal Justice Department documents, including those reflecting direct communications with White House staff. This, in itself, is an extraordinary level of disclosure of an internal agency in White House communications. (it's called oversight, and transparency and democracy - you fucking asshat)

Third, I recognize there is significant interest in the role the White House played in the resignations of these U.S. attorneys.(yes, because it was improper and politicized the Department of Justice, an apolitical entity) Access to White House staff is always a sensitive issue. The President relies upon his staff to provide him candid advice. The framers of the Constitution understood this vital role when developing the separate branches of government. (Right, separate branches - so putting your yes-man as the top guy in the DOJ, that didn't muck up the separation, how? Separate and equal branches shit head, no more of this unitary executive bull shit.) And if the staff of a President operated in constant fear of being hauled before various committees to discuss internal deliberations, the President would not receive candid advice, and the American people would be ill-served. (Hmmmm....the Republicans didn't seem to have a problem doing this during the Clinton years, especially during the whole blowjob bit. And really, this investigation is about the perversion of Justice not a blowjob.)

Yet, in this case, I recognize the importance of members of Congress having -- the importance of Congress has placed on understanding how and why this decision was made. So I'll allow relevant committee members on a bipartisan basis to interview (no oath, no record) key members of my staff to ascertain relevant facts. In addition to this offer (offer? offer!?), we will also release all White House documents and emails involving direct communications with the Justice Department or any other outside person, including members of Congress and their staff, related to this issue. These extraordinary steps offered today to the majority in Congress demonstrate a reasonable solution to the issue. However, we will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants. (How about this, Congress issues a subpoena and you comply, that's how it works.)

The initial response by Democrats, unfortunately, shows some appear more interested in scoring political points than in learning the facts.(Um, no. The Democrats want the facts, under oath and on the record, that seems pretty reasonable to me.) It will be regrettable (what does he mean regrettable, are you going to lock all the Dems up? dissolve Congress?) if they choose to head down the partisan (actually, a fair number of republicans want these answers too) road of issuing subpoenas and demanding show trials when I have agreed to make key White House officials and documents available. I have proposed a reasonable way to avoid an impasse. I hope they don't choose confrontation. I will oppose any attempts to subpoena White House officials. (How about this, Congress issues a subpoena and you comply - remember separation of powers, you don't get to make the rules anymore.)

As we cut through all the partisan rhetoric, it's important to maintain perspective on a couple of important points. First, it was natural (actually, it was pretty unprecedented - changing attorneys between administrations, not so unnatural, doing it mid-term, never happened before) and appropriate for members of the White House staff to consider and to discuss with the Justice Department whether to replace all 93 U.S. attorneys at the beginning of my second term. The start of a second term is a natural time to discuss the status of political appointees within the White House and with relevant agencies, including the Justice Department. In this case, the idea was rejected and was not pursued.

Second, it is common for me, members of my staff, and the Justice Department to receive complaints from members of Congress in both parties, and from other citizens. And we did hear complaints and concerns about U.S. attorneys. Some complained about the lack of vigorous prosecution of election fraud cases, while others had concerns about immigration cases not being prosecuted (and we were receiving complaints that they were pursuing investigations into Republican corruption and weren't trying to trump up charges against dems, we didn't like that). These concerns are often shared between the White House and the Justice Department, and that is completely appropriate.

I also want to say something to the U.S. attorneys who resigned. I appreciate your service to the country. And while I strongly support the Attorney General's decision and am confident he acted appropriately, I regret these resignations turned into such a public spectacle. (note: one of the fired attorneys has an op-ed in the NYT, it's basically a big fuck you to the administration. go read it. his name is iglesias)

It's now my hope that the United States Congress will act appropriately. My administration has made a very reasonable proposal (not). It's not too late for Democrats to drop the partisanship and work together (hmm, I think dems are working together, but thanks for the encouragement). Democrats now have to choose whether they will waste time and provoke an unnecessary confrontation (what does he suppose is going to happen in his "confrontation"? you have to follow the law - that's the way it works), or whether they will join us in working to do the people's business. (uh huh, because the do-nothing Republican Congress got so much of the people's business done) There are too many important issues, from funding our troops to comprehensive immigration reform, to balancing the budget, for us to accomplish on behalf of the American people.

UPDATE: From the Chicago Tribune:

" Evidently, Mr. Clinton wants to shield virtually any communications that take place within the White House compound on the theory that all such talk contributes in some way, shape or form to the continuing success and harmony of an administration. Taken to its logical extreme, that position would make it impossible for citizens to hold a chief executive accountable for anything. He would have a constitutional right to cover up.

Chances are that the courts will hurl such a claim out, but it will take time.

One gets the impression that Team Clinton values its survival more than most people want justice and thus will delay without qualm. But as the clock ticks, the public's faith in Mr. Clinton will ebb away for a simple reason: Most of us want no part of a president who is cynical enough to use the majesty of his office to evade the one thing he is sworn to uphold -- the rule of law."

(emphasis added courtesy Glenn Greenwald )

UPDATE #2
Tony Snow in his press briefing today accused them [dems] of trying "to create a court room atmosphere" around the investigation. Uh yeah, that's because this is an investigation, and Congress is the court. Moron.

The Evolving Video Culture

Check out Ava Lowery. She is operator of the website Peace Takes Courage and was recently profiled in Mother Jones magazine. At sixteen, she is a powerful anti-war activist and produces excellent video shorts. Recommended by Michael Moore, her website received an average of 56,000 hits a day in February. Check out the short entitled WWJD and Rightwing Love Letters - keep in mind that the girl that these people are sending their hate mail to, is sixteen. Keep in mind that the death threats sent by Bush supporters, were sent to sixteen year-old.

If you haven't seen it yet, go check out the 1984 Hillary ad on YouTube. The author is unknown, but seamlessly merges video from Clinton's web addresses into an Apple commercial based on 1984. The final scenes urge views to go to barackobama.com, but the Obama campaign has denied that they were involved with the creation of this spot. It is my hope that this excellent piece was created on a mac by a teenager in his/her spare time.

Ava has been profiled by mainstream media and the 1984 spot was mentioned on all the morning talk shows, but I don't think that they really get it. The thing about these videos, is that they are phenomenally more powerful, and effective than anything that is created by political campaigns. It is because they are user created. It is because they are user recommended. It is because viewers can email them to their friends and family. It is because viewers can digg them, delicious them, bookmark them in a thousand ways. People like you give their stamp of approval, and that is worth so much more than a tv spot that you are forced to watch. And that makes these videos infinitely more valuable than any political ad that you will see on tv. (unless, of course, the ad originates on the web, gains enough support that the creator is able to put it on tv.)

Lucky Day
Short story. Guy buys 50 acres from his great aunt so that she can afford to go to a retirement home. Guy has not use for land, but clears a couple acres for a house. Guy finds some unusual rock on land. Rock turns out to be highly prized landscaping rock, valued at $100/ton. Guy has 240 MILLION tons on property. Guy's $50,000 spent on buying the land turns into $2.4 BILLION. Now that's a lucky day.

Boots on the Ground Demonstrations
As much as I like to see innovative new ways to use the internet, in the area of protesting, demonstraing, political activity. I really like to see innovative protests in person. At this time, people on the ground will be more powerful than a video on the internet (now, video of people on the ground, protesting - that works too). So, I really liked this story when I saw it. A group of Iraq veterans, wearing full desert camoflauge took DC by storm yesterday and for several hours went on a mock patrol. They took sniper fire, casualites and arrested participants identified by white t-shirts. They brought the dusty streets of Baghdad home to our capital. I want to see more demonstrations like this one. Additionally, Amnesty International built a life-size replica of a cell at Guantanamo Bay. I'd tell you more, but you need quicktime and the computer won't let me install it. Linky.

Lieberfuck.
Lieberman refuses to rule out switch to GOP. All those who voted for him over Ned Lamont, are you happy now?

2007-03-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

"This Presidents Vision"
On NPR this morning (love NPR, love), I was listening to the Diane Rehm Show (what happened to her? she's been out for weeks and I don't believe the "she has pnemonia" line - though I do enjoy the hosting of the BBC's Katy Kay - such a nice english accent), anyway, right, listening this morning. They were talking about whether or not the "surge" (escalation) was working. Bombings are down, bodies found in the street are down etc.

Here's the thing though, according to AJ in DC, (via Americablog - AJ is "a former Department of Defense civilian Intelligence Officer who was decorated for his recent civilian service in Iraq. He is an Iraq expert, and an authority on Iran, democratization, nation-building, Middle East politics, intelligence, and national security matters. ") and according to the Brookings Institute, violence wanes at this time of year anyway, so there really is no way to know if the "surge" is working, or if violence is just declining like it traditionally has. So no, even if the body count is slightly less, the "surge" is not working.

Back to NPR - some idiot, and I'll find out later, actually used this phrase "the presidents vision" - I about drove off the road. The president's vision? What vision? Is this cocaine induced vision? Is he using again? Is he drunk? What kind of megalomaniac psycho has a vision for a country which includes violence everyday, rape and murder by our own soldiers, and the systematic break down of society all so that we can secure oil?

UPDATE: Ok, the idiot was Frederick Kagan from the American Enterprise Institute - "one of the leading architects of the Bush administration's foreign policy." Why do they even have these people on? How about someone that is not tied inexorably to Bush's foreign policy? And if you're going to have someone like, Frederick Kagan, why not just give them a skirt and pom poms and make them comment in rhyme?

UPDATE #2: He actually said "The determination of the president, the vision of this rolling surge." So I misheard him - but he's still an ass... He said the number one problem in Iraq is Al-Qaeda - which is bullshit. 1) The number one problem is the fucking civil war. 2) al-qaeda wasn't even in Iraq until we blew their country apart, and allowed al-qaeda to move in.

The "G" word
By now you've all heard about General Pace's comments on the gays. (at least I hope you heard, after all, I covered it the other day). After he made the comment Sen. John Warner (R-VA) came out (so to speak) and said " I respectfully, but strongly, disagree with the chairman's view that homosexuality is immoral." Fantastic. Now with such a strong rebuke of gay-bashing from a Republican, what will our Democratic candidates say in response to General Pace's comments? (extra points if you can match the comment to the candidate - for those living under a rock, the top tier candidates are Obama, Clinton and Edwards.)

asked in person about General Pace's comments:
- "Well, I'm going to leave that to others to conclude"
- "I don't share that view"
- "I think the question here is whether somebody is willing to sacrifice for their country, should they be able to if...they're doing all the things that should be done."

later through a spokesman or press release:
- "I disagree with what he said and do not share his view, plain and simple."
- the candidate "in fact, disagrees with Pace"
- no further clarification

That's right, not one of them could actually say the "g" word. Or come out with a statement like, oh I don't know - "being gay is not immoral." end of fucking story. Clinton is really disappointing, considering how less than two weeks ago she was getting a standing ovation from the Human Rights Campaign - a GAY rights group. She said, "I am proud to stand by your side." Yeah, that lasted real long.

And I'm not at all pleased with everyone's golden boy Obama - "the only silver lining!" What happened to "A belief that we are connected as one people" and "If there's an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties." (insert gay for "arab american family") What happened to that man who talked about the audacity of hope?

Edwards should have just repeated his Feb 2007 appearance on meet the press
Q: Do you believe homosexuality is a sin?
Edwards: No. Nuff said.

UPDATE: HRC tells Clinton and Obama they are not happy with their answers. (via A-blog)

UPDATE #2: Hillary joins the club: "I do not think homosexuality is immoral.... let's not be eliminating people because of who they are or who they love." Where''s Obama?

UPDATE #3: Finally, Obama jumps on the wagon: " I do not agree with General Pace that homosexuality is immoral. Attempts to divide people like this have consumed too much of our politics over the past six years."

Chiquita Banana
Chiquita International agreed to a $25 million fine today after it admitted to paying nearly $1.7 million to several terrorists groups in Columbia.
Question #1: Since when do you get to AGREE to your punishment? Don't we punish you and you have to take it? Because if I was arrested for marijuana possession, I don't think I would have the option of agreeing with or not agreeing with the punishment. It's called a crime.

Question #2: Only $25 million? Didn't we freeze all of the assets of some muslim-americans because they might have, maybe donated money to an organization which may have possible provided food for the children of terrorists? Didn't we freeze ALL of their assets and add them to the no-fly list. Didn't we call them terrorists?

Question #3: Isn't this called giving material support to a terrorist organization?

Question #4: Isn't that what we are holding a number of people on at Gitmo?

The terrorist organizations they were supporting were the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia which "has been responsible for some of the worst massacres in Colombia's civil conflict and for a sizable percentage of the country's cocaine exports." (Hmm, drugs, cocaine, I think we throw people in jail for that.) And to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - which "has employed vehicle bombings,gas cylinder bombs, killings, landmines, kidnapping, extortion, hijacking as well as guerrilla and conventional military action against Colombian political, military, and economic targets, to attack those it considers a threat to its movement. It has not been uncommon for civilians to die or suffer forced displacement, directly or indirectly, due to many of these actions." (wiki)

Nice people. I'm glad an American company was directly financing their activities.

The 101 Uses of 9/11
The White House is feeling tremendous pressure lately, the high profile trial of US soldiers that murdered Iraqi civilians, Walter Reed, the firing of US Attorneys, the Scooter Libby verdict, the revelation that the FBI was/is breaking the law, Senators calling for the resignation of your Attorney General, calling for a timetable for withdrawal etc etc etc. What ever will an embattled White House do? What can they do to distract the American public from their blatant disregard for the troops, the Iraqis, the privacy of the public, the integrity of the DOJ etc etc etc? Why, parade out the Mastermind of 9/11 (said in a scary scary voice).

In a recently released revised transcript (revised?!) Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) admits to masterminding the 9/11 attack, 2002 Bali bombings, a deadly attack on a Kenyan hotel, the beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl, the 1993 attack on New York's World Trade Center, and an attempt to down two American airplanes using shoe bombs.. Busy boy. He confessed all of this without duress (he says - even though he was probably waterboarded at sometime while in American custody), rather abruptly. Asked if he had been tortured... well we don't know - much of the transcript was blacked out.

(Here's my example of how blacking out a transcript can lead to misleading and false conclusions:

Original: George W Bush is not the best president ever. In fact, he is the worst president that we have ever had, ever. His legacy will be that of pain and misery. He has set the country back one hundred years and destroyed our reputation with the world.

Redacted: George W Bush is not the best president ever. In fact, he is the worst president that we have ever had, ever. His legacy will be that of pain and misery. He has set the country back one hundred years and destroyed our reputation with the world.

See how easy it is?)

Oh, and the 9/11 Commission found that KSM is prone to delusions of grandeur. So tell me why this hack, who probably never planned anything, makes it on all of the news media front pages, displacing those other stories we mentioned above? Oh right, displace the stories we mentioned above. Still don't believe me? This military hearing, where all of this information came out, happened last Friday. So why wait until now? Right, because news dumped on Friday is lost to the memory hole. No one really reads the news on the weekend. So they waited until it could last a whole news cycle, and the mainstream media took the bait. And we didn't hear a thing about Osama bin Laden. I thought he was the guy that planned all the attacks that KSM is taking credit for. We sure don't hear much about OBL anymore. I wonder why? Could it be that we can't fucking find him? Oh yeah, he's eluded capture for 5 1/2 years. Heckuva job Bushie, heckuva job.

Women are from Venus and Men Look at Crotches
The Online Journalism review reports on a new study that focuses on the placement of graphics and webdesign. Jakob Nielsen used eye-tracking to follow how men and women interact with a website, what they look at, when they look at it, how long they look. Given a picture of a baseball player batting, he found that men will tend to focus on genitals as well as the face. Women tend to only check out the face. And it doesn't stop with people either; men will also fixate and the genitals of animals when users were directed to browse the American Kennel Club site. Uh huh. No word on whether men also check out breasts. My guess is ....YES.

Evangelical Turnaround
Richard Cizik, Washington Policy director of the National Association of Evangelicals caused a ruckus among evangelicals when he said in a recent documentary about global warming "to harm this world by environmental degradation is an offense against God" - refocusing Evangelicals on environmental issues and away from abortion, gay marriage and abstinence-only education. Twenty-five conservative leaders sent a letter to the NAE demanding that they reign in Cizik - the NAE subsequently refused. The association's board also opened a new front by releasing a statement condemning torture - saying the United States had crossed the "boundaries of what is legally and morally permissible."

Which seems like a "duh" thing to say. How can Christians - love thy neighbor - be for torture, or restricting civil rights, or discriminating against other people, or illegal war, or any war?! How can they stand so firm on the side of Republicans, who are pretty much against everything that Jesus ever preached? Here's my favorite statement on the NAE's behalf - "It ought to be God's agenda, not the Republican Party's agenda, that drives us."

UPDATE: The woman from finance I talked about the other day, that was caressing another woman's hair...I just saw the same two in a little hallway off our office and their body language said we are not straight. how exciting.

How many times can someone pee in the course of the day? If you're me, and have had 64 ounces of water by 4 o'clock, the answer is, a lot. That's a half gallon of water.

2007-03-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

Don't Ask, Don't Tell sucks. How can you be good enough to fight and die for your country, but not be good enough to serve openly without getting fired? How is that ok? What the fuck is wrong with General Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff?

General Pace says: "I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we [the military] should not condone immoral acts... I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way."

Hmmmmm. But once again, it's ok if these so-called immoral people fight and die for their country? Immoral huh? I think it's immoral to start a war with a sovereign nation. I think it's immoral to bomb an entire country back into the stone age. I think it's immoral to torture. I think it's immoral to send troops into harms way without proper equipment. I think it's immoral to discriminate against people based on something they cannot change. So fuck you General Pace. And if you really want to go there, in the words of the late great Bill Hicks,

"Here's how I feel about gays in the military: Anyone … dumb enough … to want to be in the military … should be allowed in. End of fucking story. That should be the only requirement. I don't care how many push-ups you can do – put on a helmet, go wait in that fox hole. We'll tell you when we need you to kill somebody. I've been watching all these Congressional hearings and all these military guys and all the pundits going, "The esprit de corps will be affected, and we are such a moral …" Excuse me, but aren't you all a bunch of fucking hired killers? Shut up! You are thugs, and when we need you to go blow the fuck out of a nation of little brown people, we'll let you know." (BOLD emphasis mine.)

UPDATE:Here's someone making sense about morality (from C&L)

"Retired General Paul Eaton worries about the message all of this is sending to America's other allies in the world. "Anybody who threw their lot in with the Americans deserves an opportunity for a future. And the loyalty has got to be in both directions. If we do not take care of these people, then the signal to anybody else in the future is a bad signal. And if you throw your lot with the United States, they'll use you for a while and then they will – they'll just cut you off," he argues. Asked if he thinks it's a matter of honor, Eaton says, "I believe this is a matter of morality."

So, it's ok if you're gay and we're in a war. It's ok for you to die for your country. But if we're at peace, we have to kick you out.

http://tinyurl.com/2ztbo4

See this story about the gays?

Cariss sent it to me:

LSU Women's Basketball Coach Resigns Amid Scandal

Seems the good coach was getting busy with one of her players....let's see 37 year old coach, 21-22 year old players, 16 year difference, nothing I haven't seen before. Now, what I saw in high school, a 40-something female coach getting awful touch with 16-18 year olds, now that was wrong. Furthermore, you're not really an adult until you are in college - second year. (note: some people are never adults.) So basically, you are an adult in college, if you want to sleep with your coach, fine - as long as there's no sex-to-play shenanigans going on. Two consenting adults, right? right. But in high school, definitely a no no. Why? Because high schoolers are KIDS. ok, done.

http://www.afterellen.com/people/2007/3/pokeychatman

Remember how I said that the firing of seven US Attorneys story was going to keep rolling? Well, today it's being reported that at first, Bush wanted to fire all 93 US Attorneys and start completely over. Sure, it's not about politics at all. Administration officials continue to claim that the purge was to get rid of poor-performers, but on their last reviews, they all got very high marks. seems they were all very competent and very good prosecutors ...apparently a little too good. http://www.jellyfish.com/sotd

Meanwhile, Viacom is suing Google for $1 billion (thats with a "b") over Youtube and what Viacom calls "massive intentional copyright infringement" You should not that Google bought Youtube for $1.65 billion. Also, here's my favorite tidbit: "Shares in Viacom gained 1.25 percent to $40.07 and Google shares slipped 1.25 percent to $449.07 in morning trading."(emphasis mine)

So who's the bigger bitch Viacom?

Who doesn't love L word? This season has been pretty good, but I gotta tell you, I'm not on the Bette/Jodi bandwagon. I think they are awkward as hell and have zip for chemistry. Me likey Shane and Paige (duh.) and alice and tasha. helena and what's her face are a train wreck, Tina is Tina, jenny is a mess, papi and kit - ewwwwwy, am I missing anyone? But back to Shane and Paige and their stories. nice. very nice story telling. One thing this season, hasn't had enough of has been story-telling. Unfortunately, a little bird told me that Paige will not be back next year, seems she did not enjoy the cattiness on the set. boo on that. very very boo on that (and as jen would say, le sigh). I thought that perhaps, Paige could do what Carmen couldn't...tie Shane down (in more ways than one) - since it seems that Shane has passed her sleeping with everything that moves torch along to Papi (who, won't be staying with Kit, I mean Kit is straight after all, right? RIGHT? tell me there's not going to be any Papi/Kit sex scenes, please. PLEASE?)

Speaking of lesbians. I just walked by one of the women in the office who I've long suspected of being a lesbo. As I was walking by, I noticed her stopping to talk to some other woman, she said "are you all right?" now, nothing funny here. but as she was saying it and as she was listening to the other woman respond, she was stroking her hair, dare i even say, caressing her hair - in such a way that she had to reach around the other womans head, to the back of her hair and stroke the hairs just above the neck. I walked by and my eyebrows went up. It just didn't seem like gesture that you would use if you were straight, or at the office for that matter. The office plot thickens.

2007-03-13T07:47:00.000-07:00

I hate people that take the elevator one floor. Especially when there are stairs to the first floor right after you walk in the front door, the elevator is 200 hundred feet beyond the door. So that person, who was too lazy to take the stairs, walked an extra 200 feet out of their way, to take the elevator. And then I have to wait while the elevator stops at the first floor, and sometimes the second or third floor, and then get out at the fourth floor. I too, would take the stairs, but those stairs by the front doors, only go to the first floor. I have yet to figure out where the other stairs are in this building. I imagine that does not bode well for me in the event of an emergency.

Also I punched Jordan in the face on Saturday night. Moose did too. And Jen E punched him in the stomach. I think he's fine. After we punched him, he showed us the male version of the yoga position "up facing dog." Apparently boys call it "find the hole." I thought a good description was "hump a ho." At any rate, I think he's fine. And that has just been confirmed. It's ok everyone, Jordan IS fine. Your future babies will still have a sperm donor.

I also hate looking for apartments. Boo.

I do like Family Guy. Especially the episode where they go to the beer factory. That episode gave rise to this classic song:
" Chumba wumba gobbledy goo
Life isn't fair Its sad but its true
Chumba wumba gobbledy gee
When your poor legs are stiff as a tree
What do you do when your stuck in a chair?
Finding it hard to go up and down stairs
What do you think of the one you call god?
Isn't his absence slightly odd?
Maybe he's forgotten you
Chumba wumba gobbledy gorse
Count yourself lucky your not a horse
They would turn you into dog food
Or into chumba wumba gobbledy glue "

What a brilliant show. I just saw the Family Guy movie last night and it had me ROLLING on the floor.

Also, I made the mistake of entering a bookstore last night and walked away with $100 in books. Whoops. Bookstores are dangerous, dangerous places. I bought four books, Jen bought a book and three magazines (and one was career research- Curve) - so, not bad for what we paid. I thought that I just had to have: "Bait and Switch," "Blowback," "The Elegant Universe," and something like "Too Many Choices. I can't deny it, I just fucking love to read. And it's just not the same borrowing from the library. Books should be owned.

And the weather is amazing. 70s today and tomorrow. And the temps not dipping lower than 50 degrees (daytime). I think spring is finally here and 70 degrees is just about the most perfect of temperatures. I can't wait for lazy weekend days lying in the sun. Reading (yes, reading) in the park. Warm thunderstorms and slip-sliding in the mud. Long summer nights spent talking in the park with a bottle of wine....

In other news:Alberto Gonzales is a liar.
Dick Cheney is a liar.
George W Bush is a liar.

Seven US Attorneys were fired from their positions on the orders of Karl Rove. Gonzales testified to Congress that he would never allow politics to interfer with the handling of the Department of Justice -- LIAR. It looks increasingly like the US Attorneys were fired for political reasons, ie they were investigating Republican officials for, what else, corruption. Look for this story to get bigger and bigger.

Scooter Libby was convicted on four of the five charges against him. You might remember that the charges against Libby were the only ones to stem from Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into the leak of the then covert CIA agent, Valerie Plame in an effort to discredit outspoken war critic Joe Wilson. NO further charges have been brought against Rove or Cheney even though it is pretty clear that they were the leakers. Disclosing the identity of an undercover agent is a crime and it is unclear how many lives they put in danger when they outed her. NOTE: Bush said, in reference to a different case, that he would fire and have prosecuted anyone that leaked vital information during a war. This doesn't seem to apply to people in his own administration. Look for Bush to pardon Scooter Libby before he gives up Rove and Cheney.

Troops are being sent into battle without the proper equipment and training. They are being sent even though they are "medically unfit for duty" as diagnosed by their doctors. They are being sent into battle even though their wounds prevent them from wearing body armor. They are being stripped of their disability ratings when they are injured. Soldiers are killing themselves because they are not getting the help that they need. Their families are being torn apart. Their commanders are not held responsible. George Bush doesn't support the troops. George W Bush is a liar.

Speaking of supporting the troops. If you are driving around in your giant SUV, despite that magnetic ribbon that proclaims that you support the troops, you aren't. We can support the troops by cutting oil consumption - so that no president ever again will be tempted to invade another country to secure more oil. NO more blood for oil. You CAN support the troops by taking the $3 that you spent on that car decal and use it to buy a care package to send to the troops. Go here - http://www.anymarine.com/ - and send a package to the troops.

Instead of listening to FOX news rant about how democrats "don't support the troops" - write your congresscritter to make sure that both parties are doing everything they can to support to support our KIDS over there. It's ok to hate the war. And it's possible to hate the war and not the troops. DO NOT be sucked into an argument about how protesting the war hurts the troops. PEACE IS PATRIOTIC.

Oh yeah, and the troops aren't stupid - they know that we want them to come home, they want to come home too. They don't feel undermined or demoralized when they hear the news reported that the public wants them home. Or the Dems want to give them more armor, or more training, or more supplies. They are demoalized when they hear that their brethren are sleeping in their own urine, that vets are getting the benefits cut, that their Commander in Chief, defying all logic, and reason wont' bring them home and just keeps sending more and more on a fool's errand. A fool's errand that gets them blown up. SUPPORT THE TROOPS, IMPEACH BUSH.

UPDATE: US Army Surgeon General resigned today.Boxing.

I resumed boxing on Saturday night....drunk. The full impact of that experience did not hit me until this morning when I came to work completely sore and barely able to move. My ribs hate me....and Jen E's roundhouse.

2007-02-21T07:55:00.000-08:00

I couldn't update on Friday because we had suits visiting the office and we were supposed to limit our internet usage to only call based work. Fuck that. And really, what do they expect us to do in between calls? I have no work specified. I'm not shirking any responsibility if i play online while waiting for my next call. Fuck off.

At any rate, I did manage to e-file my taxes, which means I get my refund in about 9 days. Rock on. YAY refund. This is the first year that I get a refund. In past years, I've had to declare the grant money that the government GAVE me as income - which they then taxed of course. However, that money had already gone to pay for educational expenses, which means that I had to come up with the money I owed, some other way. Let me ask, why not just give me less money in the first place?!

Anyway, we didn't' go out for Mardi Gras but we did get drunk. Jen made this ridiculously strong drink that got us both drunk immediately after drinking it, which is funny, because we had intended to go ahead and make the trek to Novak's....but, then the drink of death, and neither of us could drive.

Sunday was saw Ghostrider. I do not recommend it and we did not see it voluntarily. Sunday was also the L word. Far from last week's episode, each scene this week was exactly one-third as long as it should have been.

In other news, the high yesterday was 58 degrees and Friday and Saturday this week, the high is expected to reach 66 degrees! Open those windows - it's time for spring cleaning!

So while Bush and Co is ratcheting up the rhetoric on Iran, Al Qaeda and Osama are centralizing and consolidating their power in, where else, Iran? no. Pakistan - our ally. With friends like these....anyway, the NYT reports that Osama and CO have set up a number of training bases and an "operational hub" in Pakistan. The leadership is strong and in charge ...so tell me why we're talking about Iran?

Here's your Iran war UPDATE: "Second carrier arrives near Iran"

The USS John C. Stennis is a Nimitz Class supercarrier. It is nuclear powered, has a crew of 3200 sailors in addition to 2500 airmen and has a complement of 90 aircraft and 16-24 surface to air missiles. The Nimitz class is the largest class of military vessels ever built. The carrier is accompanied by a Carrier Strike Group that includes at least one AEGIS Guided Missile Cruiser, two AEGIS Guided Missile Destoyers and at least one Attack Submarine. This group packs some SERIOUS firepower.

and from the BBC "US 'Iran attack plans' revealed" - the attacks would target Iranian military infrastructure, air bases, naval bases, missile facilities, and command and control centers. The BBC reports that there are two "triggers" to such an attack: confirmation that Iran is developing a nuclear weapons, OR a high American casualty event in Iraq, linked directly back to to Iran. " Authorities insist there is no cause for alarm but ordinary people are now becoming a little worried, she says." The article says quotes this in reference to the people of Iran, but I think that it holds true for citizens globally. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6376639.stm

once again they've fucked me over for lunch. cafeteria closes at 1:30. I didn't go to lunch today until 1:30, which means my lunch consists of the foods i brought to snack on. I had a string cheese stick, some pretzels, some nuts and some grapes. I'm a hunter/gatherer yes I am! (minus the hunting, unless you count hunting around in my bag for more food.)

eh. talk amongst yourselves. more to come tomorrow.