Xool's Slice of Pi

From the Ghost of Xool Past ...

2006-09-24T07:48:00.000-04:00

A new school year has begun, so I only have time for lesson planning, test grading, behavior management and listening to NPR. It was so much easier to post to this blog when I had a boring office job with no oversight to see what I was actually up to. Anyway, I was thinking the other day about the "compromise" between those "rebellious" Republican senators and the admin, and in particular about those people (or rather, "people") who seem to think that water-boarding is an acceptable way to extract information from people. (Side bar: And with all the careful phrasing of always calling the people we are holding in Gitmo and around the world "detainees" or "terrorists", let us not forget that they are in fact people.) The thought of drowning has always been one of my secret fears, ever since I was wolloped by a huge wave many years ago and got tumbled along a rocky beach, and so I thought of what might be the perfect solution to convince those "people" that water-boarding is in fact a form of torture: water-board them. See how they like it. And then let's hear what they have to say about that being an appropriate interrogation technique.

Spare me your sanctimony, sweetheart ...

2006-08-10T08:32:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm sure you only have Democrats' interests at heart ...

Vice President Dick Cheney grieved over Lieberman’s loss, calling it “an unfortunate and significant development,” and fretting about “the direction the (Democratic) party appears to be heading in when they, in effect, purge a man like Joe Lieberman.”

from here

Meanwhile ...

2006-07-06T19:35:00.000-04:00

Lieberman is giving new meaning to the phrase "mud-slinging".

And he's a serious one-note Joe ... "Who is Ned Lamont?" He's the one with his foot in your ass, muthafucka.

Initiate cognitive disconnect ...

2006-07-06T19:30:00.000-04:00

... now:

And the bumper message? "Responsibility Matters"

*bonking head on desk*

Move along, nothing to see here ...

2006-06-24T08:08:00.000-04:00

First it was our phone records, and now this:

Bank Data Is Sifted by U.S. in Secret to Block Terror

WASHINGTON, June 22 — Under a secret Bush administration program initiated weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks, counterterrorism officials have gained access to financial records from a vast international database and examined banking transactions involving thousands of Americans and others in the United States, according to government and industry officials.

The program is limited, government officials say, to tracing transactions of people suspected of having ties to Al Qaeda by reviewing records from the nerve center of the global banking industry, a Belgian cooperative that routes about $6 trillion daily between banks, brokerages, stock exchanges and other institutions. The records mostly involve wire transfers and other methods of moving money overseas and into and out of the United States. Most routine financial transactions confined to this country are not in the database.

Pardon me if the government's assurances that it's a "limited" program don't pass my laugh test. After every Orwellian thing this admin has done over the past 5 1/2 years, do they honestly expect us to believe them? I'm sure our congresscritters will once again be rolling over to defend this ridiculousness. I'm sorry, but this hen isn't too comfortable with the foxes guarding the door.

"Doop-de-doobie-do, don't mind me ..."

There's something drastically wrong with this paragraph ...

2006-06-19T22:13:00.000-04:00

Now Zahrani's father Talal al-Zahrani has told the BBC he believes his son, who was 17 when he was sent to Guantanamo Bay five years ago, died as the result of an incident in the prison last month.

bolds added to point the way ...
(via here)

Things I should have tattooed on my face ...

2006-06-07T19:55:00.000-04:00

Ah, Spring ...

2006-05-20T10:47:00.000-04:00

Some "Ah, Spring" moments from my back yard:

Big Daddy chillin' at the spa.

Hot sun, cool shade - doesn't get better than this.

Love is in the air.

From the Taste and Tact Files ...

2006-05-12T16:51:00.000-04:00

Treading on the past, O.J. pulls Bronco prank

Simpson pretends to sell vehicle as part of his pay-per-view show

LOS ANGELES - In a scene from his new candid-camera program “Juiced,” O.J. Simpson pulls a prank involving a white Bronco, drawing criticism from the family of a man he was accused of killing.

As part of the pay-per-view show, Simpson pretends to sell the Bronco at a used car lot and boasts to a prospective buyer that he made the vehicle famous, according to a segment aired Thursday on “Inside Edition.”

“It was good for me — it helped me get away,” Simpson said, referring to the slow-speed, televised police chase that preceded his 1994 arrest on charges of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

(from here)

Hmm, now where have I heard that before ...

2006-05-07T07:40:00.000-04:00

From this morning's NYT:

"How many years are they away from having a nuclear weapon? We don't know, and the people providing the answers don't know."

-SENATOR PAT ROBERTS, Republican of Kansas, on the C.I.A.'s analysis of Iran.

Let's just see if I can remember ...

"Many people have asked how close Saddam Hussein is to developing a nuclear weapon. We don't know exactly, and that is the problem."

-George Bush, October 8, 2002

Oh, and ...

THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, I think it's important to remember that Saddam Hussein was close to having a nuclear weapon. We don't know whether or not he has a nuclear weapon.

-George Bush, December 31, 2002

So, I'd say we probably have about 6 months before we start hearing that Iran is defying the UN, the UN isn't doing anything about it, so it's up to the United States to be the man of the house and do something about this threat. If I had any cartooning talents whatsoever, I would draw a picture of Dick Cheney and Condi Rice driving a car on the road to Iran with Georgie in the back saying, "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"

*sigh*

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2006-05-05T18:38:00.000-04:00

Today we're all ... Americans looking for one more reason to get blisteringly shitfaced.

yum yum ... *lips smacking*

Things that make my sphincter tighten ...

2006-05-05T09:54:00.000-04:00

Whenever GOP pollsters start talking about needing "significant events" to change public opinion about the admin:

This week’s survey of 1,000 adults, including 865 registered voters, found:

Just 33 percent of the public approves of Bush’s job performance, the lowest of his presidency. That compares with 36 percent approval in early April. Forty-five percent of self-described conservatives now disapprove of the president.

Just one-fourth of the public approves of the job Congress is doing, a new low in AP-Ipsos polling and down 5 percentage points since last month. A whopping 65 percent of conservatives disapprove of Congress.

A majority of Americans say they want Democrats rather than Republicans to control Congress (51 percent to 34 percent). That’s the largest gap recorded by AP-Ipsos since Bush took office. Even 31 percent of conservatives want Republicans out of power.

The souring of the nation’s mood has accelerated in the past three months, with the percentage of people describing the nation on the wrong track rising 12 points to a new high of 73 percent. Six of 10 conservatives say America is headed in the wrong direction.

(snip)

“It’s going to take some events of significance to turn this around,” GOP pollster Whit Ayres said. “I don’t think at this point you can talk your way back from those sorts of ratings.”

iiiiwwwwwuuuuiiiiaaaahhh ...

(from here)

Ha, that's rich ...

2006-04-30T07:25:00.000-04:00

U.S. Says It Fears Detainee Abuse in Repatriation

A long-running effort by the Bush administration to send home many of the terror suspects held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has been stymied in part because of concern among United States officials that the prisoners may not be treated humanely by their own governments, officials said.

Don't ask me why, the creamed corn ...

2006-04-26T18:01:00.000-04:00

True-life adventures at the DMV ...

2006-04-26T17:30:00.000-04:00

Greetings, loyal pi readers. I apologize for my extendo-absence, but the little beasts I've been wrangling have taken up all my snark of late. However, I had a fun little experience today that I just had to share with all of my millions of fans.

So, I moved back to CT about two years ago, and since that time I've neglected to change over my driver's license from NY State. Don't know why, since NYS is a boil on the ass-end of life, and I really hate the picture, but for some reason I've just not bothered. Possibly because CT was supposed to be a rest stop on the way to the rest of my life. However, since I now seem kind of permanent here, it's about time to get a new license.

So I went to the DMV yesterday. Logical step, no? I had with me my NYS license, still valid, and a checkbook, which was pretty much all I figured I'd need to get my brand spanking new CT license. However, apparently I needed to prove even better that I am who I say I am, besides, you know, a valid state ID with my picture on it. "I need a passport or a birth certificate, and a piece of mail to validate the address change," the laconic counter attendant told me. Okay, it's 4:10, you close at 4:30, looks like I'm coming back tomorrow. That's okay, the hour drive to get here was really fun.

So I bundle back into the car and head on home. Once there, I gather the things I need, which requires an extensive search through my mysteriously reorganized room. But, in a couple of hours, I find the things I need. After work today, I head back down to the DMV, once more into the breach. (Side note, this has the added benefit of getting me out of parent-teacher conferences, so not so bad) I talk with another bright and sunny representative, who asks me, "What were you missing yesterday?" "Uh, my passport and a piece of mail ... {thought bubble - what am I missing now?} ..." She makes a few crytographic marks on my application and says, "Okay, it's $40 to process this part." I make out the check, hand it over, and she says, "Sit over there until they call you." Sure.

So I sit, and I wait, and I write a little note to myself to pass the time (in which I convinced myself that it really is time to break up with him - oh well, can't save 'em all). After about fifteen minutes, I hear my name called. "Xool?" I pop my head up and go to a different counter, where I'll be probed and tested and processed for the next counter. Ah, so, but that fate was not for me. "We can't interface with New York," the little old salt said. "We can talk to Texas and Florida, but New York just went down, so we can't talk to them." "... Okay ..." "You can sit and wait and see if their system comes back up in the next 25 minutes, but we lock our door at 4:30." "...Okay..."

So I sit, and I wait, and I hope that with the power of my mind I can make the interface happen and break free from this last piece of New Yorkiana that is in my life. But there is no love for me at the DMV.

Who knows? Maybe tomorrow will be the third time charm that I need. Wish me luck, pi-ans.

Another reason why I'm glad I don't teach in NY ...

2006-03-21T18:00:00.000-05:00

I don't want to be anywhere where shocking kids is part of your day:

Shock therapy disputed

The state's highest education-policy board is considering a proposal to stop sending New York school children to out-of-state facilities that use electric shock to treat psychological disorders.

(snip)

Of the 151 New York state students at Rotenberg -- including those from New York City schools and more than 20 Long Island districts -- 77 are now receiving the controversial "aversion therapy." The report expresses concern that the therapy is not only used on students who are most "cognitively impaired" or severely "self-destructive," but also for those who are "higher functioning," with emotional disabilities, attention-deficit disorders and problems such as truancy and aggression.

(snip)

The aversion-therapy device -- the Graduated Electronic Decelerator -- is approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a neurological therapeutic device. Students wear it as a backpack, and electrodes are placed on their arms, torso and legs. A transmitter controlled by staff emits a shock that lasts no longer than two seconds.

From here, via here.

And just what message would that be?

2006-03-17T14:05:00.000-05:00

... That you're pantsless wussies?

Censure President Bush? Impeach him? Or discreetly kill those ideas to avoid fueling Republican intensity?

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi has chosen the “discreetly kill” option, arguing that the current impeachment/censure talk is just a pointless distraction from the party’s message.

I can respond to this in a couple of ways. First, you have no fucking message. Second, censuring the president for his wrongdoings sends a fantastic message that you won't stand for that kind of bullshit, that you set a higher standard for our public servants, most especially the president. Censure is not "pointless"; impeachment is not "pointless"; it is your very duty as a representative of the people who elected you. It is one of your responsibilities to the Constitution of the United States.

Nance,you ignorant slut.

She rebuffed the call by Sen. Russ Feingold, D- Wisc., to censure Bush for ordering National Security Agency surveillance of al Qaida contacts with persons in the United States without seeking warrants from a court.

“I have no idea why anybody would censure someone before they have an investigation,” she said.

Uh, because the Republican-controlled Congress won't allow an investigation?

Feingold insisted that censure is not a diversion from the Democrats’ message, which is essentially that Bush and his administration are incompetent. “What I think some of my colleagues are missing,” he contended, “is that this (censure) actually fits in perfectly with this (Democratic theme of Bush’s alleged incompetence).”

(snip)

He panned the news media’s coverage of his censure idea, chiding reporters Thursday at the Capitol: “The press decided immediately that this was a bad thing for Democrats and a good thing for conservatives. The facts don’t bear it out. You don’t have the polls to prove it.”

In combative language echoing Howard Dean’s in 2003, he criticized congressional Democrats who he said have “a tendency… to be afraid of taking a strong stand and stick to it.”

Yeah, what he said.

Meanwhile, *ringring* ... cluephone. It's for you, Democrats:

“The Democratic base is getting sick and tired of the whining, wimpy Democratic leadership at the national level,” said Darla Wilshire of Altoona, Pa. “We are the voters who will stay home in November, not the Republicans. Why? Because the party can't stand up for its principles, like those demonstrated by Russ Feingold.”

We're gonna party like it's your birthday ...

2006-03-14T21:05:00.000-05:00

Now, I'm not the most sentimental of people. I don't send Christmas cards, I in general hate the holidays, I forget to call on birthdays. I recognize those "failings" in my personality and so don't hold it against others when they do the same with me. I feel that a lot of holidays are pretty arbitrary, and those that actually have had meaning in the past have since been hijacked by the rampant commercialism of our culture. I'm also non-religious, so I don't get my panties in a twist over Easter or Hannukah or the Fourth of July. Just another day, as far as I'm concerned.

So anyway, it was my birthday recently, and I appreciated the well wishes from my friends and family. It's nice to know that they're excited I'm alive. But I got something completely pointless from my dad: the Hallmark e-card. As far as I'm concerned, if you're to the point in your relationship with someone that you don't even want to put the time in to go to the store, select a card, purchase the card and then fill it out and send it, then you might as well not bother altogether. To adapt from Mark Twain, I would have rather thought that he didn't care than get evidence that he really doesn't.

As a birthday nod, not so much. As an overture, even worse. Better luck next year.

Sorry, did I miss something?

2006-03-13T09:55:00.000-05:00

Wasn't he trying to capture Iraqi hearts and minds?

President George W Bush renews his push for the hearts and minds of the American people on Monday with the first in a new series of speeches designed to convince a sceptical public that the US has a coherent strategy to win the war in Iraq.

"You can all kiss my big white ass ..."

(from here)

By the by ...

2006-03-10T12:45:00.000-05:00

I hate children. I don't think I've ever really liked them, mainly because up until they're about 14 or 15 they are little more than beasts, acting on every single impulse that flies through their puny little brains. They have no manners, no decorum, no concept of what it means to be civil. I can't blame them entirely for it, because that's why we have parents, to teach us these things. So I guess I really hate parents.

This is an unfortunate trait of mine, especially since I'm a teacher. Seventh grade, at the moment, which puts me right down into the trenches. There are a few bright spots, really good kids that need a little guidance to become incredible adults, but for the most part, it's the worst parts of Lord of the Flies. Now I truly understand the adage, "Spare the rod; spoil the child." It's the one useful thing I got out of the Bible.

This just in ...

2006-03-10T09:22:00.000-05:00

Bush's poll numbers are in the crapper.

Which, eh, whatever. The GOPigs're just going to keep stealing elections anyway.

"I care theeeeeeeees much."

While reading this article, though, I had one of those moments of clarity I've heard so much about when my eyes tripped over this:

"When issue like the internal Republican debate over the ports dominates the news it puts us another day away from all of us figuring out what policies we need to win," said Terry Nelson, a Republican consultant and political director for Bush's re-election campaign in 2004.

Now, I've known this for a while, but I guess I'm just kind of surprised that someone would admit it so publicly. The GOPigs don't really care about what is the right policy, they just care what will allow them to win. They don't care about serving the public (which is kind of their job description), they care about being in control. Am I the only one who's sick to death of this kind of mentality?

Now, let me ask you this ...

2006-03-08T13:55:00.000-05:00

How fucked up do you have to be to lose to Tom DeLay in the primaries?

Conversely, how fucked up are Texas Republicans that they decided that a man who is under indictment for multiple counts of corruption and has a huge cloud of scandal hanging over his head is the best to represent them?

I would call Cheney a pussy, if it weren't an insult to vaginas ...

2006-02-17T14:34:00.000-05:00

I learned two things from this article:

1. Never, ever, ever, ever will I go to Wyoming. I really don't want to go to a state where a man receives a standing fucking ovation (from the state fucking legislature, for Christ's sake. I cannot get italicized enough for my disbelief and outrage) for shooting someone else in the face.

2. Either Cheney has something on Whittington, or he's got a major case of Abused Partner Syndrome going on:

Whittington, his voice raspy but strong, said the past weekend encompassed "a cloud of misfortune and sadness."

"My family and I are deeply sorry for everything Vice President Cheney and his family have had to deal with," he said.

Um, excuse me, who got shot in the face? And who did the shooting? Just checking ....

Oh, and I also learned one other thing from this article: Our president is a freakin' nimrod.

The Bush administration had come under sharp criticism because of Cheney's failure to publicly disclose Saturday's accident until the next day. But on Thursday, President Bush said Cheney handled the situation "just fine."

"I'm satisfied with the explanation he gave," Bush said, calling it "strong and powerful."

Someone get that man a thesaurus, please. And tell him it's not just to be used as a booster seat.

(all emphasis mine)

File it under "duh"

2006-02-13T11:04:00.000-05:00

Now, I know common sense isn't a common trait in this administration, but I would have thought that this would be a no-brainer:

Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee issued their own recommendations Sunday for changing FEMA, including having the agency’s director report directly to the president during major disasters. They also said the director should be an experienced emergency manager.

Of course, I shouldn't be too hard on the President. It's not like he should have a firm grasp on the obvious or anything.

Good, I wasn't the only one who noticed it ...

2006-02-11T12:13:00.000-05:00

I, like most liberals, I imagine, was pretty fully disgusted by the right-wing response to Coretta Scott King's funeral, and the speeches that were delivered there, particularly Jimmy Carter's and Rev. Lowery's. Not only were they saying things that desperately needed to be said, but it was also a fitting tribute to a political powerhouse who stood up for what she believed in every day of her life. This paragraph (from DU) so eloquently captures the flavor of my distaste for the rwingers:

So how dare the Republican Party lecture anyone about race. How dare a party without a single African American member of Congress tell anyone how to remember a hero like King? How dare a party whose Senators couldn't even unanimously apologize for not doing more about lynching criticize trailblazers like Lowery? How dare a party who turned the death of Rosa Parks into a photo opportunity deride Tuesday's services? How dare a party whose pundits speak about reducing crime by aborting black babies dictate how we should honor a leader of the civil rights movement? How dare a party whose vice says "Fuck yourself" to a U.S. Senator preach about proper etiquette?

And this is shocking because ... ?

2006-02-10T07:39:00.000-05:00

In an article about the complete and utter incompetence of the federal government's response to Katrina, there's this little nugget:

[Michael] Brown is widely considered the public face of the government’s sluggish response to Katrina. But he signaled earlier this week that he was prepared to discuss his storm communications with President Bush and other top White House officials — a possible signal that his testimony would assign blame elsewhere.

"Throw your hands in the air ... and wave 'em like you just don't care!"

Upbeat musings from the disaffected youth ...

2006-01-27T10:13:00.000-05:00

A convo that Tomo and I had recently:

Tomo: King George claims that he has the right to imprison any person, any American citizen without notifying him of the charges against him, without notifying his family, and without allowing him any access to a lawyer or any opportunity to dispute the charges against him.

This human being is not a man. This person is, himself, a shit bomb which is blasting vomit and waste across the globe in the name of America. The only positivity in his existence lies in the fact that, if there is a Hell as he blathers, he will go there.

Me: King George's actions today bespeak of his entitled upbringing that never forced him to learn the lessons of humility, character, or compassion. He has ever been that frat guy who was the most excited proponent (and active participant) in the hazing and dehumanizing of nearly everyone else. At this point, getting angry at his actions is like getting angry at a bear shitting in the woods - it is his nature, and nothing will change it. The people who rightly deserve our opprobrium are those who support this waste of semen, the sycophantic fucks who think that if they suck up enough, they'll be spared the worst of his treatment. However, their turn will come.

One more reason why I heart Google ...

2006-01-20T19:17:00.000-05:00

Google defies US over search data

The internet search engine Google is resisting efforts by the US Department of Justice to force it to hand over data about what people are looking for.

Google was asked for information on the types of query submitted over a week, and the websites included in its index.

The department wants the data to try to show in court it has the right approach in enforcing an online pornography law.

It says the order will not violate personal privacy, but Google says it is too broad and threatens trade secrets.

Privacy groups say any sample could reveal the identities of Google users indirectly. And they say the demand is a worrying precedent, because the government also wants to make more use of internet data for fighting crime and terrorism.

So, yay on Google. However, this is worrying:

[T]he Department of Justice has said that several of Google's main competitors have already complied.

See ya, civil liberties, it's been nice knowing ya ....

Res ipsa loquitur ...

2006-01-16T07:39:00.000-05:00

I picked this up from the comments at Watertiger's joint. (With thanks to Anonymous)

George W. Bush's Resume
Past work experience:
* Ran for congress and lost.

* Produced a Hollywood slasher B movie.

* Bought an oil company, but couldn't find any oil in Texas, company went bankrupt shortly after I sold all my stock.

* Bought the Texas Rangers baseball team in a sweetheart deal that took land using tax-payer money. Biggest move: Traded Sammy Sosa to the Chicago White Sox.

* With fathers help (and his name) was elected Governor of Texas.

Accomplishments:
* Changed pollution laws for power and oil companies and made Texas the most polluted state in the Union. Replaced Los Angeles with Houston as the most smog ridden city in America. Cut taxes and bankrupted the Texas government to the tune of billions in borrowed money. Set record for most executions by any Governor in American history.

* Became president after losing the popular vote by over 500,000 votes, with the help of my fathers appointments to the Supreme Court.

Accomplishments as president:
* Attacked and took over two countries.

* Spent the surplus and bankrupted the treasury.

* Shattered record for biggest annual deficit in history.

* Set economic record for most private bankruptcies filed in any 12 month period.

* Set all-time record for biggest drop in the history of the stock market.

* First president in decades to execute a federal prisoner.

* First president in US history to enter office with a criminal record.

* First year in office set the all-time record for most days on vacation by any president in US history.

* After taking the entire month of August off for vacation, presided over the worst security failure in US history.

* Set the record for most campaign fund-raising trips than any other president in US history.

* In his first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost their job.

* Cut unemployment benefits for more out of work Americans than any president in US history.

* Set the all-time record for most foreclosures in a 12 month period.

* Appointed more convicted criminals to administration positions than any president in US history.

* Set the record for the least amount of press conferences than any president since the advent of television.

* Signed more laws and executive orders circumventing the Constitution than any president in US history.

* Presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed.

* Presided over the highest gasoline prices in US history and refused to use the national reserves as past presidents have.

* Cut healthcare benefits for war veterans.

* Set the all-time record for most people worldwide to simultaneously take to the streets to protest me (15 million people), shattering the record for protest against any person in the history of mankind.

* Dissolved more international treaties than any president in US history.

* His presidency is the most secretive and un-accountable of any in US history.

* Members of his cabinet are the richest of any administration in US history. (the 'poorest' multi-millionaire, Condoleezza Rice has an Chevron oil tanker named after her).

* Had more states to simultaneously go bankrupt than any president in the history of the United States.

* Presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud of any market in any country in the history of the world.

* Created the largest government department bureaucracy in the history of the United States.

* Created the largest government department bureaucracy in the history of the United States.

* Set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any president in US history.

* First president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the human rights commission.

* First president in US history to have the United Nations remove the US from the elections monitoring board.

* Removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of congressional oversight than any presidential administration in US history.

* Rendered the entire United Nations irrelevant.

* Withdrew from the World Court of Law.

* Refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and by default no longer abide by the Geneva Conventions.

* First president in US history to refuse United Nations election inspectors (during the 2002 US elections).

* All-time US (and world) record holder for most corporate campaign donations.

* His biggest life-time campaign contributor presided over one of the largest corporate bankruptcy frauds in world history (Kenneth Lay, former CEO of Enron Corporation).

* Spent more money on polls and focus groups than any president in US history.

* First president in US history to unilaterally attack a sovereign nation against the will of the United Nations and the world community.

* First president to run and hide when the US came under attack (and then lied saying the enemy had the code to Air Force 1)

* First US president to establish a secret shadow government.

* Took the biggest world sympathy for the US after 911, and in less than a year made the US the most resented country in the world (possibly the biggest diplomatic failure in US and world history).

* With a policy of 'dis-engagement' created the most hostile Israeli-Palestine relations in at least 30 years.

* Fist US president in history to have a majority of the people of Europe (71%) view my presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and stability.

* First US president in history to have the people of South Korea more threatened by the US than their immediate neighbor, North Korea.

* Changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts.

* Set all-time record for number of administration appointees who violated US law by not selling huge investments in corporations bidding for government contracts.

* Failed to fulfill his pledge to get Osama Bin Laden 'dead or alive'.

* Failed to capture the anthrax killer who tried to murder the leaders of our country at the United States Capitol building. After 18 months no leads and zero suspects.

* In the 18 months following the 911 attacks he successfully prevented any public investigation into the biggest security failure in the history of the United States.

* Removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than any other president in US history.

* In a little over two years created the most divided country in decades, possibly the most divided the US has ever been since the civil war.

* Entered office with the strongest economy in US history and in less than two years turned every single economic category heading straight down.

Records and References:
* At least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine (Texas driving record has been erased and is not available).

* AWOL from National Guard and Deserted the military during a time of war.

* Refused to take drug test or even answer any questions about drug use.

* All records of his tenure as governor of Texas have been spirited away to my fathers library, sealed in secrecy and un-available for public view.

* All records of any SEC investigations into his insider trading or bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and un-available for public view.

* All minutes of meetings for any public corporation he served on the board are sealed in secrecy and un-available for public view.

* Any records or minutes from meetings he (or VP) attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and un-available for public review.

Let's all watch ...

2005-12-22T15:13:00.000-05:00

As Scottie McClellan tap dances like a cat in a hot pan of sizzling butter:

Q The President has publicly acknowledged that we went to war under false information, mistaken information. Why does he insist on staying there if we were there falsely, and continue to kill Iraqis?

In case you had to ask, this is the indomitable Helen Thomas giving Scottie heart palpatations. Love her!

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, maybe you missed some of his recent speeches and his remarks, but the President said it was the right decision to remove Saddam Hussein and his regime from power --

Q And a right decision to move in and to tell the people, the American people, that it was all a mistake, and stay there?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't think he said that. He said that Saddam Hussein was a destabilizing force in a dangerous region of the world --

Q That isn't true. We had a choke-hold on him.

MR. McCLELLAN: It is true. He was a threat. And the threat has been removed.

Again, here's the tit-for-tat archetype that all high school teachers know and love: "No, it isn't." "Yes, it is." "No, it isn't." "Yes, it is." "You're a liar." "Well, you're an asshole."

Q We had sanctions, we had satellites, we were bombing.

MR. McCLELLAN: Let's talk about why it's so important, what we're working to accomplish in Iraq --

Q I want to know why we're still there killing people, when we went in by mistake.

I'm still wondering that myself.

MR. McCLELLAN: We are liberating people and freeing people to live in a democracy. And why we're still there --

Q Do you think we're spreading democracy when you spy and put out disinformation and do all the things that -- secret prisons, and torture?

MR. McCLELLAN: I reject your characterizations wholly. I reject your characterizations wholly. The United States is helping to advance freedom in a dangerous region of the world.

Um, hello? Do you read the news?

MR. McCLELLAN: For too long we thought we had stability by ignoring freedom in the Middle East. Well, we showed -- we saw on September 11th --

Q -- 30,000 plus?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Helen, we can have a debate, or you can let me respond to your questions. I think this is an important subject for the American people to talk about. By advancing freedom and democracy in the Middle East we're helping to protect our own security. It's a dangerous region --

Q By killing people in their own country?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I reject that. We're liberating and freeing people and we're targeting the enemy. We're killing the terrorists and we're going after the Saddam loyalists.

Q The President said 30,000, more or less.

MR. McCLELLAN: And you know who is responsible for most of that? It's the terrorists and the Saddam loyalists who want to turn back to the past.

Don't the Republicans use this same really cheesy insult against Democrats? That they want to turn back to the past?

Anyway, Ms. Thomas of course doesn't swallow this hogswallop.

Q We didn't kill anybody there?

MR. McCLELLAN: Our military goes out of the way to minimize civilian casualties. They target the enemy --

Q You admit they kill?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we've got a lot of technology that we can use to target the enemy without going after -- without collateral damage of civilians. And that's what our military does.

Q Are you kidding?

HHHHHHHAAAAAAAhahahahahahahhahahahahahahahhaaaaa!!! Lady, you are my hero.

MR. McCLELLAN: Oh, I'm going to stand up for our military. Our military goes out of the way to protect civilians. In fact --

Q Fallujah, we didn't kill any civilians?

MR. McCLELLAN: We freed some 25 million people in Iraq that were living under a brutal regime.

So they can have the freedom to live under an even more oppressive and terrorizing regime. Great job.

I really wish I was a fly on that wall. Ms. Thomas gets better and better.

One more reason why I heart Canada ...

2005-12-21T17:50:00.000-05:00

Canadian court lifts ban on ‘swingers’ clubs:

Group sex among consenting adults not a threat to society, it says

OTTAWA - Group sex among consenting adults is neither prostitution nor a threat to society, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Wednesday as it lifted a ban on so-called “swingers” clubs.

(snip)

“The causal link between images of sexuality and anti-social behavior cannot be assumed. Attitudes in themselves are not crimes, however deviant they may be or disgusting they may appear,” the judges said, noting that no one had been pressured to have sex or had paid for sex in the cases the court considered.

“The autonomy and liberty of members of the public was not affected by unwanted confrontation with the sexual activity in question ... only those already disposed to this sort of sexual activity were allowed to participate and watch,” they said.

(emphasis mine)

It's high time that people start to understand that just because people enjoy their sex a little kinky (or a lot, as the case may be), it doesn't mean that they are a threat to society, whatever the hell that means. Kinky people pay their taxes and obey the traffic laws just like everyone else. Different does not equal wrong.

Well, this is rich ...

2005-12-21T15:34:00.000-05:00

Saddam claims to have been tortured at the hands of the US forces who have been guarding him.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein told his trial on Wednesday he was beaten in U.S. custody and, in an extraordinary outburst towards the end of the hearing, also said those who had tortured Iraqis should be punished for their crimes.

The former Iraqi president spent most of the session sitting quietly in the defendants’ dock as prosecution witnesses told the court of the beatings and abuse they and other former detainees say they suffered in Saddam’s jails.

But late in the hearing, the man who ruled Iraq for a quarter of a century rose to his feet and told the judge he had been abused by U.S. forces since his arrest in late 2003.

“I have been hit by the Americans and tortured,” he said, speaking purposefully. “I have been beaten on every place of my body, and the signs are all over my body.”

Now, I've been around teenagers enough to recognize the archetype of "He hit me!" - "But he hit me first!" But you know it's a bad sign when my first reaction was, "Yeah, that's probably true." Such is the level of faith in this administration that I have.

Update: Found this picture on the BBC News website, and I had to ask, is this guy a little person?

(Channeling Nelson Muntz) Ha-ha!

2005-12-20T11:24:00.000-05:00

This is good news. I'm not so much of an optimist that I think it's a harbinger of the return to reason in this country, but tiny victories are delightful, nonetheless.

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the "intelligent design" explanation for the origin of life cannot be taught in biology classes in a Pennsylvania public school district.

The Dover Area School Board violated the Constitution when it ordered that its biology curriculum must include "intelligent design," the notion that life on Earth was produced by an unidentified intelligent cause, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III ruled.

(snip)

"The citizens of the Dover area were poorly served by the members of the Board who voted for the ID Policy," Jones wrote. "It is ironic that several of these individuals, who so staunchly and proudly touted their religious convictions in public, would time and again lie to cover their tracks and disguise the real purpose behind the ID Policy."

Yeah, what he said ...

2005-12-19T19:06:00.000-05:00

Mmmmmm, Viggo ...

“I’m not anti-Bush; I’m anti-Bush behavior,” Mortensen told Progressive magazine. “In other words, I’m against cheating, greed, cruelty, racism, imperialism, religious fundamentalism, treason, and the seemingly limitless capacity for hypocrisy shown by Bush and his administration.”

That sound you hear is me panting. Brains and beauty? There are so few of us.

Lickable

Yeah, yeah, that's sweet and all ...

2005-12-19T18:52:00.000-05:00

But the best line of this story is the last:

Pandas rarely breed in captivity, and have been shown sex education videos to encourage them to do so.

I've been really tryin', baby
Tryin' to hold back this feelin' for so long
And if you feel like I feel, baby
Then come on, oh, come on
Whoo, let's get it on

I've said it once, I'll say it again ...

2005-12-10T08:29:00.000-05:00

LIEBERMAN!!!!!!!!

I don't think it's possible for me to loathe a man more. And it's not merely because of his undying support for Bush's Folly in Iraq. That guppy-faced oily-slick son of a whore has gotten on my bad side for years.

I mean, shit, you've got to know he's evil when Cheney is sticking up for him:

"He is entirely correct," Mr. Cheney said on Tuesday at Fort Drum, N.Y. "On this, both Republicans and Democrats should be able to agree. The only way the terrorists can win is if we lose our nerve and abandon our mission."

Meanwhile, someone should explain to ol' Joe what the meanings of "democracy" and "free and open exchange of ideas" are all about. Oh, and maybe toss in a lesson on the First Amendment:

Mr. Lieberman particularly infuriated his colleagues when he pointed out at a conference here that President Bush would be commander in chief for three more years and said that "it's time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that."

"We undermine the president's credibility at our nation's peril," Mr. Lieberman said.

Our nation's peril, my dear Joe, rests in allowing this travesty of a presidency to continue unchecked. It is absolutely our duty to question what these men do in our names, and to call them on the carpet when we don't like what they're doing. You may be content with rolling over and sticking your legs in the air and letting them rape our country and utterly ravage another, but I surely am not.

You wouldn't like me when I'm ... angry.

You go, girls!

2005-12-09T09:21:00.000-05:00

India sex workers protest laws

Sex workers from across India have protested against proposed changes in laws on checking prostitution.

(snip)

The National Network of Sex Workers, which claims to represent some 200,000 sex workers across India, has opposed this change, saying it will only lead to more harassment by the police.

The group has already pledged to intensify their campaign for legalisation of their profession.

But some feminist groups say sex workers should proceed slowly - first they should get the rights of normal citizens and then they should intensify the fight for legalisation of the trade.

Now that's definitely a suggestion I haven't heard before ...

2005-12-08T21:27:00.000-05:00

Way to think outside the box.

Now, I may get slammed for saying this, but it's not like Ahmadinejad is advocating twisting off kittens' heads. So how do we get from this comment:

"If European countries claim that they have killed Jews in World War II... why don't they provide the Zionist regime with a piece of Europe. ... Germany and Austria can provide the... regime with two or three provinces for this regime to establish itself, and the issue will be resolved."

to these reactions:

Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, quoted by AFP agency, described the remarks as "an outrageous gaffe, which I want to repudiate in the sharpest manner".

Well, this one's kind of obvious. He doesn't want to give up his country's land.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the Iranian leader's comments "further underscore our concerns about the regime".

"And it's all the more reason why it's so important that the regime not have the ability to develop nuclear weapons," he said.

Good ol' Scottie, sticking to the script, even when it makes no sense at all.

UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said: "I condemn [the comments] unreservedly. They have no place in civilised political debate."

Christ, the Brits are so condescending.

Could it be that there's a bit of anti-Semitism behind their defensiveness? Perhaps the Europeans don't want Jews in their backyard. Just a thought.

"Uh oh, that can't be good ..."

2005-11-30T08:19:00.000-05:00

That was my thought this morning when I was faced with this headline: Supreme Court steps into abortion rights case.

Things that make me shake my fist to the sky ...

2005-11-29T12:42:00.000-05:00

LIEBERMAN!!!!!

Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, just back from Iraq, wants President Bush to give the American people details about the progress being made in that country - from military triumphs to the proliferation of cellphones and satellite dishes.

(snip)

Critics sense a mission adrift. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., visited Iraq last month, and came away saying "we need a major course correction" in American policy - notably "we need to let Iraqis know we're not there forever."

But Lieberman, D-Conn., who spent Wednesday and Thursday in Iraq, saw strong evidence that a workable American plan is in place.

"We do have a strategy," he said. "We do have a plan. I saw a strategy that's being implemented."

An aside - is that not the most empty politicianspeak ever? I mean, seriously, what the hell is that supposed to mean?

Lieberman and others acknowledge that the White House has a huge public relations task convincing the American people that the United States has a clear, winnable mission.

This is incredibly telling. All this war has been perceived as from the beginning is a public relations issue. It has never been treated as a true war. The entire effort has been stage-managed to make America seem as virile and unfuckwithable as possible after the devestation of September 11th. The thing these fuckwits don't seem to be getting is that when you have a bad product, no amount of marketing and PR will get the public to buy it. They may buy it once, but after it leaves a bad taste in their mouths, they won't swallow it again.

The senator said he hopes Bush will emphasize details of progress Wednesday.

"There are more cars on the street and an amazing number of satellite dishes on rooftops," the senator said, "and what seems like millions of cellphones."

... this is just the cynical side of me speaking ... Sounds like the insurgents are getting more technologically advanced.

The face I'm making on the inside.

Saddam gives an exclusive interview ...

2005-11-26T11:57:00.000-05:00

Oh whoops ... that's Mel Gibson.

(pic from here)

Now I've had some nic fits in my life ...

2005-11-24T08:26:00.000-05:00

But lady, you've got a problem:

Smoker tried to open plane door

A French woman has admitted attempting to open an aeroplane door mid-flight so that she could smoke a cigarette.
Sandrine Helene Sellies, 34, who has a fear of flying, had drunk alcohol and taken sleeping tablets ahead of the flight from Hong Kong to Brisbane.

She was seen on the Cathay Pacific plane walking towards a door with an unlit cigarette and a lighter.

She then began tampering with the emergency exit until she was stopped by a flight attendant.

Defence lawyer Helen Shilton said her client had no memory of what had happened on the flight on Saturday, and that she had a history of sleepwalking.

She pleaded guilty to endangering the safety of an aircraft at Brisbane Magistrates Court and was given a 12-month A$1,000 (£429) good behaviour bond - she will forfeit the money if she commits another offence.

The French tourist was at the start of a three-week holiday in Australia with her husband.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry ...

2005-11-21T16:29:00.000-05:00

... when I see something like this.

This is our president, ladies and gentlemen. This is the guy who represents us to the rest of the world.

That thumping you hear is my head as I smash it into the wall. Don't be alarmed ...

It's kind of nice to see them take off their masks ...

2005-11-20T09:05:00.000-05:00

... so we can see them for the slavering dogs they are:

Republicans and Democrats shouted, howled and slung insults on the House floor on Friday as a debate over whether to withdraw American troops from Iraq descended into a fury over President Bush's handling of the war and a leading Democrat's call to bring the troops home.

The battle boiled over when Representative Jean Schmidt, an Ohio Republican who is the most junior member of the House, told of a phone call she had just received from a Marine colonel back home.

"He asked me to send Congress a message: stay the course," Ms. Schmidt said. {Are you sure that phone call wasn't from Georgie? It sounds remarkably like him. - Ed.} "He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message: that cowards cut and run, Marines never do."

Democrats booed in protest and shouted Ms. Schmidt down in her attack on Representative John P. Murtha of Pennsylvania, a Vietnam combat veteran and one of the House's most respected members on military matters. They caused the House to come to an abrupt standstill, and moments later, Representative Harold Ford, Democrat of Tennessee, charged across the chamber's center aisle to the Republican side screaming that Ms. Schmidt's attack had been unwarranted.

"You guys are pathetic!" yelled Representative Martin Meehan, Democrat of Massachusetts. "Pathetic."

To which I say, about fucking time. Take the gloves off.

Rep. Harold Ford. Nice doggie.

Meanwhile, it's kind of funny to read how the Brits see this back-and-forth, the likes of which I haven't seen since my Latin 1 class on Friday:

Pushing back against the push-back, the Democrats say the administration continues to mislead America about how it got into Iraq and what must be done to finish the mission.

Is the BBC now channeling Monty Python?

And, dare I say it, WHAT FUCKING MISSION? Can anyone tell me if the "mission" has ever been clearly defined? How are we going to know it's complete when no one knows what the fuck it is?

I can't wait until these jackholes are no longer in power and are languishing in their cells as they serve their extra-long sentences for crimes against humanity. What a sweet, sweet day that will be.

If his eyes could shoot laser beams ...

2005-11-20T08:37:00.000-05:00

... all our problems may be solved.

Meanwhile, is this irony? Or missionary work?

US President George Bush has called on China to expand its social, political and religious freedoms. {Freedom a la his American brand: freedom to be Christian, Republican and subservient to rich people/corporate interests. - Ed.}

(snip)

Earlier, a key Bush aide said Mr Bush would speak to the Chinese leader about "giving more opportunities for Chinese citizens to worship and speak freely".

On Sunday morning, Mr Bush attended the Gangwashi Church - one of five officially recognised Protestant churches in Beijing - accompanied by his wife Laura.

He wrote in the church guest book: "May God bless the Christians of China." {Reminds me of that Chris Rock movie "Head of State". The VP running for president had a catchphrase that he hammered over and over and over: "God bless America, and nowhere else." So I read into this, "May God bless the Christians of China, and fuck all the rest of the yellow Commie bastards." But that's just me. - Ed.}

"My hope is that the government of China will not fear Christians who gather to worship openly," Mr Bush told reporters afterwards.

"A healthy society is a society that welcomes all faiths."

I don't know, I could just have had an extra dose of cynical in my morning coffee. But I take nothing that man says at face value.

Pathological victimhood, or Romance 101

2005-11-19T10:15:00.000-05:00

Woman Plans to Marry Man Who Shot Her

By Associated Press
Tue Nov 15, 4:54 PM

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - A woman said she still plans to marry the man who shot her in the groin and then held her hostage in his family's garage for six days.

Tina Marie Stebbins revealed her intentions in a letter released Monday as her boyfriend, Christian Leroy Lindblad, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for shooting her in June 2002.

"I love Christian today as deeply as I loved him before this awful thing happened to us," Stebbins wrote in a victim impact statement. "We are soul mates."

She added: "I want to tell you all that I have forgiven Christian. And I pray that Christian has forgiven me for failing him when he needed me most."

The incident occurred at the Big Bear City home the couple shared with Lindblad's parents. Lindblad and Stebbins had a history of domestic violence and substance abuse, according to a sentencing report. It also said Lindblad had been drinking at the time of the shooting.

Lindblad and his parents, Robert and Shirley Lindblad, tried to cover up the shooting by treating Stebbins with home remedies, according to a San Bernardino County Sheriff's report. They also threatened her young sons and her family, the report said.

Critically wounded, Stebbins was airlifted to a hospital after Lindblad mentioned the incident to a family friend who was a firefighter.

Lindblad, 37, pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted murder as his trial was about to begin in early October. He has said the shooting was an accident.

His father, Robert Leroy Lindblad, 72, pleaded guilty in 2003 to being an accessory and was sentenced to three years in prison. His mother, Shirley Royann Samantha Lindblad, 62, was sentenced to three years probation after pleading guilty to the same charge.

Don't let the door hit your ass on the way out, Judy ...

2005-11-09T18:49:00.000-05:00

So Judy's retiring. Awww, dry your eyes.

Meanwhile,

“We are grateful to Judy for her significant personal sacrifice to defend an important journalistic principle,” said Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said in a statement. “I respect her decision to retire from The Times and wish her well.”

Is that bullshit I smell? She did not defend an important journalistic principle, she covered up the crimes of others and was complicit in many herself. I'm sure this statement was as much to save face considering the hefty amount of cash the Times spent to defend her right to divulge national security secrets, but come the fuck on.

Hey, now that's a novel idea ...

2005-11-09T18:39:00.000-05:00

Fareed Zakaria has a brilliant idea to help the world not hate the U.S. anymore - stop torturing people.

As President Bush's approval ratings sink at home, the glee across the globe rises. He remains the most unpopular political figure in the world, and newspapers from Europe to Asia are delighting in his troubles. Last week's protests in Mar del Plata were happily replayed on televisions everywhere. So what is the leader of the free world to do? Well, I have a suggestion that might improve Bush's image abroad—and it doesn't require that Karen Hughes go anywhere. It would actually help Bush at home as well, and it has the additional virtue of being the right thing to do. It's simple: end the administration's disastrous experiment with officially sanctioned torture.

(snip)

Sen. John McCain has proposed making absolutely clear in law that the United States does not permit the torture of prisoners—returning America to the position it had taken for five decades. McCain's amendment, endorsed by Colin Powell, passed the Senate last month by 90 to 9 in a stunning rebuke of administration policy. But Republicans in the House are trying to kill it. Vice President Cheney is making great exertions to gut it with loopholes. The White House has threatened to veto the entire defense budget, to which McCain's proposal was originally attached, unless his ban is removed. White House spokesmen don't answer questions about the bill plainly, and Cheney simply refuses to explain his views at all. (As the writer Andrew Sullivan has noted, someone needs to remind the vice president that he is an elected and accountable public servant, not a monarch.)

This is a case of more than just bad public relations. Ask any soldier in Iraq when the general population really turned against the United States and he will say, "Abu Ghraib." A few months before the scandal broke, Coalition Provisional Authority polls showed Iraqi support for the occupation at 63 percent. A month after Abu Ghraib, the number was 9 percent.

(emphasis added by Xoolie)

I've said it before, I'll say it again, and I'll keep on saying it until it happens: impeachment, impeachment, impeachment. And not just the head cheese, the entire kit and caboodle need to G-O. N-O-W.

How Xool gets tickled ...

2005-11-09T18:35:00.000-05:00

As an educator, I am super pleased to see this:

DOVER, Pa. - Voters came down hard Tuesday on school board members who backed a statement on intelligent design being read in biology class, ousting eight Republicans and replacing them with Democrats who want the concept stripped from the science curriculum.

I'm even more tickled that Tomo got so excited by this that he called me to make sure I didn't miss it.

People I could lick from head to toe, part deux

2005-11-07T17:43:00.000-05:00

Slurp.

Paris is burning ...

2005-11-07T08:42:00.000-05:00

... and not in the good way.

It's been 11 days and nights of violence in the City of Lights, which I suppose is tame for the city that generated the Reign of Terror back in the 18th century. It's kind of hard to imagine such things happening in Paris, but as a friend said to me this weekend, "That's what happens when you stick people in ghettoes."

What sparked it off? Two North African youths were electrocuted as they were being chased by police. Relations have been tense enough between the Muslim communities and the French government, but this was apparently the last straw. Of course, why the two youths were running from the police isn't an issue. I'm not even sure what the reason was, if it has even been reported. But regardless, this situation is escalating, and when France starts boiling over, it spells trouble for everyone else.

Life imitates "Lost"

2005-11-06T20:11:00.000-05:00

WTF? There are still pirates?

... in the early hours of yesterday morning, as guests slept in their spacious en-suite cabins complete with sea views, marble bathrooms and mahogany dining rooms, a band of armed pirates was preparing to storm aboard the Seabourn Spirit.

Passengers, some of whom had paid more than £19,000 for the 16-day voyage, were woken at 5.30am when the attack began 100 miles off the coast of Somalia, in the Indian Ocean.

Armed men on board two 25ft inflatable boats fired live bullets and rocket-propelled grenades as they tried to climb aboard the liner. Terrified passengers reported a series of explosions as the pirates fired on the luxurious 10,000-tonne cruise liner.

But despite the onslaught by the heavily armed bandits, the 200-man crew managed to scare them off using a loud acoustic boom to imitate the sound of an explosion.

"Aaaaaaaarrrrrrr, avast, ye mateys!" ... or something.

The shitpile gets deeper for Galloway ...

2005-10-30T07:31:00.000-05:00

Now the US is investigating George Galloway in the wake of the recent UN report alleging that he profited from the oil-for-food program with Iraq. The possible charge? Perjury. Something this admin is intimately familiar with, it should be said.

This investigation is taking the tone of a grudge match to me:

The chairman of the Senate Committee, Norm Coleman, sent a dossier containing both his evidence and that provided by the UN to prosecutors on Friday. As perjury is a felony in America, Galloway could face trial in front of a jury, and a prison sentence of up to five years.

The decision by Senators to send their claims to all levels of the US justice system: state, federal and local, is being seen as a clear attempt to ensure at least one prosecutor takes the case to a conclusion, and as further evidence of the determination of US officials to pursue Galloway through the courts.

(snip)

It is understood the DA in Manhattan has been asked to investigate as many of the cash transfers linked to Galloway originated from New York, so putting the case in its jurisdiction.

The Department for Justice could carry out its own investigation on behalf of the state, under the authority of Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez. Alternatively, Gonzalez could offer help to either federal prosecutors or the DA to help them pursue the case.

But of course, Gorgeous isn't going to take this lying down:

Galloway said: "I welcome and call for and beg for them to charge me with perjury. The perjurers and liars are all in the White House and in the Senate. All I say is I will see them in court," he said.

God, that man is sexy.

And of course,

There has been no evidence to suggest that Galloway personally benefited from any Iraqi oil deals.

Evidence? Why would we need evidence?

"So senior members of my administration, including the vice president, broke a few laws ..."

2005-10-30T07:18:00.000-05:00

"...so what?"

It's time for that tiredest of phrases to come out of hiding, boys and girls: Stay the course. No matter what, stay the course. It's almost pathological.

Perhaps the most disturbing quote from this article for me:

"I don't think you want to send a signal that this is a crisis bigger than it is," said Vin Weber, a lobbyist and former Republican House member who is a White House ally. "This was a bad week obviously, but you cleared the board of a couple big problems or question marks hanging over us. It's unfortunate for the individuals involved, but it gives us a chance to start rebuilding, clawing our way back."

As if I needed any more help imagining Repubs as brain-thirsty zombies, clawing their way into power.

The Republican-led Congress

No comment.

2005-10-29T18:16:00.000-04:00

Remind me not to kill myself in Delaware:

Suicide taken for Halloween prank

A US woman who killed herself was left hanging in public for more than 12 hours because people who saw the body mistook it for a Halloween decoration.

The woman, 42, hanged herself from a tree on a fairly busy road in the US state of Delaware, state police said.

It was not until hours after neighbours first saw the body hanging at breakfast time that the police were called.

"It looked like something somebody would have rigged up," local resident Fay Glanden told a local newspaper.

"They thought it was a Halloween decoration," Mrs Glanden told the News Journal newspaper of Wilmington, Delaware.

The body, in the town of Frederica, was clearly visible to passing cars, the report says.

Officials have not released any information about the woman.
Police spokesman Cpl Jeff Oldham said they were treating the death as a suicide.

The Swift Boating of "Gorgeous" George Galloway (?)

2005-10-28T16:41:00.000-04:00

Saw this news item in my Daily Scotsman this morning, but I don't know enough about it to make commentary. What I do know is that I thoroughly enjoyed the pantsing that George Galloway did to the Senate investigative committee, especially Norm Coleman (whose asshole is probably still a bit raw from his reaming last May). Now, however, the UN has accused Galloway and a Scottish company called the Weir Group of profiting from the oil-for-food scandal in a report issued today. Galloway maintains that he has never bought, sold or even seen a barrel of oil, and honestly, I get warm fuzzies over him, so I tend to believe him. I'd really hate to be proven wrong, but if he did commit a crime, he should be held accountable for it. Anyway, I'm going to keep an eye on this as it develops.

Heh.

2005-10-28T16:18:00.000-04:00

As everyone's well aware by now, Lewis "Scooty Scoot" Libby has been indicted on five felony counts- 2 counts of making false statements, 2 counts of perjury and my favorite, 1 count of obstruction of justice. That last should just be a standing charge for the entire admin, I'm thinking.

I also loved Georgie's 1 minute speech regarding the indictment as he ran away to Marine One. Yup, he sure is one courageous little chimperor.

Quotables from the new love of my life, Patrick Fitzgerald:

Lickable

"Mr. Libby’s story that he was at the tail end of a chain of phone calls, passing on from one reporter what he heard from another, was not true. It was false,” the prosecutor said. “He was at the beginning of the chain of the phone calls, the first official to disclose this information outside the government to a reporter. And he lied about it afterward, under oath, repeatedly.”

Remember, Clinton was impeached for lying about a blowjob, under oath, repeatedly. This is but the first brick to be chipped away from the admin's facade. I can't wait for the whole thing to come tumbling down.

"Do I smell chimpeachment?"

AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!!!!

2005-10-27T10:45:00.000-04:00

Miers withdraws Supreme Court nomination

Oh, my sides! My sides!

I have one word for Patrick Fitzgerald ...

2005-10-26T17:18:00.000-04:00

Yummy.

Photo via AP.

Uh-oh, Xoolie's a cranklepuss today ...

2005-10-24T07:25:00.000-04:00

I am so sick and fucking tired of hearing about Wilma.

It's the end of the world as we know it ...

2005-10-20T12:14:00.000-04:00

And you know what? I'm kind of fine with that. Patriarchical monotheism hasn't done anything positive as far as I'm concerned, so let them have the Rapture. I'll be chilling with a margarita on the right-hand side of the Goddess.

But for those of you who need more things to fear, MSNBC.com has your back:

Apocalypse, now?

Katrina, other disasters fuel doomsday predictions

It’s been 10 months of epic disaster. First there was the tsunami that killed some 250,000 people in Southeast Asia. Then came Hurricane Katrina with its devastating toll on the Gulf Coast, followed by an earthquake that took tens of thousands of lives in South Asia. Now, Hurricane Wilma, one of the most powerful storms ever measured in the Atlantic Basin, is stalking the Florida coast, and experts are warning of a deadly avian flu pandemic.

So close is the correlation between recent events and the biblical prophecy of the Second Coming, by the reckoning of RaptureReady.com, its "Rapture Index" has been hovering around 160 — the highest levels since just after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. According to the Web site, "the higher the number, the faster we're moving towards the ... rapture." When the number is above 145, it advises: "Fasten your seatbelts!"

P.S. Why do they insist upon referring to hurricanes as if they are agents of terrorists? Headline on MSNBC.com (no joke): "Wilma targets tourists". It's a weather pattern, for Christ's sake, it has no intention behind it.

But there is an awesome picture accompanying it:

More snarky air-quotes from the BBC ...

2005-10-12T16:27:00.000-04:00

Headline at BBC News, Middle East desk:

Syrian minister 'commits suicide'

Which of course makes me think, is this one of those "suicides" a la Socrates? Who's to say ...

However, I did note with interest that in his last statement, Ghazi Kanaan said, "We served Lebanon's interests honourably and sincerely...." Pardon me if this seems dense, but weren't you a Syrian minister?

I always knew those Smurfs were hiding something ...

2005-10-12T16:08:00.000-04:00

So that's where the WMDs were ... Smurf village!

(photo via BBC news)

I don't know how effective this particular ad campaign is. Granted, it's a striking contrast to have happily smurfing Smurfs going about their smurf business and then of a sudden being bombed into smithereens (incidentally, did you know there is no such thing as a single smithereen? You can only have multiple smithereens ... mmm, multiple), but I don't make the leap from this to child warriors. True, there's the destruction of the innocence of childhood, but to me it's more of a statement about the horridness of air strikes, the most indiscriminate of attack. All in all, not the most potent marketing campaign.

2005-10-11T20:41:00.000-04:00

Ever am I pleased, my pleased-est of friends, to point things out which make you think about things about which you'd like to think. And well thought and well spoken it was. Like you said: super-zippy.
---
Shit. This is going to be really crappy. I'll be back in a couple weeks, maybe.

Heh heh heh ...

2005-10-11T20:33:00.000-04:00

Who says that Mother Nature doesn't have a sense of poetic justice?

Bears eat keeper who took their bile

Han Shigen earned a living by extracting bile from the gall bladders of his captive live bears, according to the Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

He was attacked on Monday morning while cleaning the animals' cage, Xinhua said, quoting the Beijing News.

Xinhua said the animals were so enraged that two hours passed before it was deemed safe enough to remove his body.

"You wanna harvest my *what*?

Animal Kingdom's version of Celebrity Death Match ...

2005-10-09T18:50:00.000-04:00

I've seen this story up for a few days, and have been meaning to blog it.

Snake bursts after gobbling gator

The Burmese python tried to swallow its fearsome rival whole but then exploded.

(snip)

The python's remains with the victim's tail protruding from its burst midsection were found last week. The head of the python was missing.

(snip)

He said that there had been four known encounters between the two species in the past. In the other cases, the alligator won or the battle was an apparent draw.

I think I'd call this one a draw.

"Now that's a spicy meatball!"

Ahhhhhh ...

2005-10-09T18:16:00.000-04:00

Thanks, dearest Tomo, for taking up my blogging duties while I was out getting treated how a woman like me is supposed to be treated. I return a much more satisfied little Xoolie with a basketful of gorgeous memories and a brand spanking new toy to play with. I hope the pictures come out ....

Anyway, as always, you've given me something to think about, a way to rethink my ideas so that they're leaner, streamlined, and super zippy. You're quite right to point out the apparent hypocrisy in my thinking in that on the one hand we here and now cannot judge the philosophies of the past by our modern standards, but on the other I expect our g-g-g-grandchildren to look back at us and our actions now with a distinct distaste. Let's see if I can reconcile those two equally truthful (to me) thoughts.

It's not enough, for me, that the future of our world will (probably, horribly, unavoidably) be such that the fact of polluted air, spoiled water sources, poisoned land is part of the fabric of our g-g-g-grandchildren's worldview, and will allow them to accept our actions as historical fact which cannot be changed. I fully expect them to look upon the environmental policies of this time (pretty much from the onset of the Industrial Revolution onward) as being just as reprehensible as slavery is to us now, something to be completely rejected and "fixed" by making strides to not re-make our mistakes. However, I would hope that they also have the understanding to see how these actions came to be through contemplation of the nature of our society, just as we can read the philosophies (some may want to call them "rationalizations") that made slavery an acceptable practice in this country. The difference is word v. deed. Yes, please understand, but yes, please, also reject.

I also asked that question to make the shame of realization of what we're doing to this planet come hammering home to anyone who trips upon this blog. Maybe if we here and now can see and understand what our rationalizations are doing to us now and to our progeny in the future, we can actually do something so that our g-g-g-grandchildren don't *have* to be in a position to forgive us.

Which, of course, begs the question of whether actions undertaken for environmental protection and restoration aren't just as harmful as the actions undertaken that kill our environment. But that philosophical hair I'll leave to be split by others ....

2005-10-08T14:49:00.000-04:00

Some time ago, X, you posted someone's photo of a beautiful oil slick atop some flood water, with the title something like "will our great-great-great...grandchildren every forgive us?" This is something close to my mind and has been for many years, but there's a good thought to temper the pain thoughts of the future causes, and that good thought is along the lines of something you wrote in regards to francis bacon, on your first teaching training day or something... it went like this:

"...if I could get one thing across to everyone who studies history, or just to everyone, it's that we cannot judge the philosophies of the past by our modern standards. What seems offensive to us now was part of the fabric of the society in which the text was produced. All we can do is learn from and build upon, and often reject, the philosophies of the past to reach a greater understanding of what it is to be human."

What do we think? "the past is the past"?
I think that every generation's going to be born knowing the world As It Is. That Earth was once beautiful, that there were once many many more animals than there are, that there once weren't so many damned viral people, will all be history, and will all be accepted because there's no changing them.

Chemical Reaction and the Elusive Creative Impulse

2005-10-08T10:44:00.000-04:00

"I have long considered the creative impulse to be a visit; A thing of grace, perhaps, not so much commanded, owned, as awaited, prepared for." -Loreena McKennitt

It's easy to react. It's difficult not to, in fact; recognition is the end of a chain of reactions to stimuluseses. Already an interesting aside: note that recognition IS re-cognition. It's a post-cognition which happens well after one's mind has taken a stimulus in (a memory or a current event - the mind does not know the difference), shaved it down, and taught it to speak your language. You don't find out about things that you think or feel until long after your mind and body are done reacting to them.

Back to the trail, though.

It's difficult to respond. There's so much to consider, even after getting past the problem of just how True the response can/should be... just how imperfectly do I decide to let a statement go imperfectly shaped into the Out There where it becomes communicated the moment another cognizer creates their own meaning out of it? How much do I care, that is, how accurately their meaning matches with the one that I had?
Response is the capacity solely of the forward-thinking beings. In interpersonal realms, response allows accounting of an entire knowledge base in the choice of a course of action, be that action a nod, a smile, a fist, a spoken word. Response has a goal, hypotheses, and a lifetime of paradigms in foundation. Reaction is chemical, based on instincts that are rooted in a physical body the evolution of which can never match the increasing speed of humanity's social and intellectual evolutions. Allowing these reactions to reign in life pushes aside an individual's motivity and relegates him to bystanding.

back to the trail, though.

I was thinking of Xool this morning, impressed with her creation of thoughts and ideas to share. I had an idea that it's difficult to create, while working from an existing -something- is much easier. Trying, myself, to put this thought into words was, I thought a couple of paragraphs ago, proving my hypothesis. But I just now found that while I find greater ease in the deliberations surrounding response (at least, or more accurately anyway, it's something that attracts me, echoes in my considerations - I feel bad when I find myself in the act of a reaction), and find that my most creative impulses come alongside consideration of something 'existing' already, some people have a much more difficult time with this skill than with starting from scratch, creating something new. I've always held this ability in high regard and given it more value for the fact that it's not something I have... I wonder now, how many people who make new things/ideas wish that they could get more out of those things/ideas that are already there?

in fact, *suspicious narrowing of my eyes* How much of all that impressive creating things from scratch that I've always oohed and aahed was reforming the existing stuff? I'll bet the answer's all of it. So... the reason that I find it so impressive isn't that it's a skill that I don't have. I find it so impressive because it's a skill that I DO have, and have interest in, and I'm just not that good at it.

A great fact to remember, for the rest of your life, is that the pain of a bee sting is immediately relieved by the prompt application of a solution of equal parts ammonia and water... or forget the water and just use the ammonia - the solution thing's just for sensitive types.

Mmmhmhmmmmm... nothing's better, at this moment, than the cool and moist breeze that slips around you while you sit near an open window on a rainy Saturday morning. Man, it is really pouring.

Back to Xool, though. Thanks for the think-space.

Bloggin' business

2005-10-08T09:32:00.000-04:00

Teaching high school has been an eye-opening experience for me, and immensely satisfying. The only problem is that I'm up at 5:30, I teach until 4, home by 5 and then grading until I collapse into bed at 9. That leaves precious little time for paying attention to the world (although that could be a plus, who knows?) and snarking about it. Teaching leaves me wrung out like a wet sponge every evening, but somehow I'm filled up and ready to go every next morning. Methinks I'm just a glutton for punishment.

If there's one thing that has come hammering home through this experience, it's that teachers deserve substantial salaries for all the work that they do. What kind of fucked up priorities do we have in this country when teachers get maybe $50k per annum max, and sports "stars" and actors get paid in the millions? We keep reinforcing this cult of personality, any personality, and shying away from honoring true character, intelligence and engagement with the world, which only come from education and intellectual curiosity.

Whatever. I'm going to let that go for now. It's a rainy, lazy Saturday morning at the opening of a 3-day weekend, which is no time to get pissed off at the state of our culture.

On another note, my friend Tomo has rights to add to here whenever he'd like. He's one of the smartest people I know, though his writing style is loopy and often parenthetical. He'll take you from A to B to Q to N to X to D to 4 to L to S all on your quest for Z. He's a poet cum carpenter cum welder cum mountain man cum beer guide cum lover cum artist cum inventor cum ninja cum b-pong master cum wanderer. I think you'll enjoy him as much as I do.

And so on.

"Don't cry for me, Ahmed Chalabi ..."

2005-10-01T10:49:00.000-04:00

"Look out, Rita and Katrina. Judy is back in the spotlight where she belongs!"

(photo via Attaturk)

Gimme an I ... Gimme an M ... Gimme a P ... Gimme an E ...

2005-10-01T06:17:00.000-04:00

The snowball gets bigger ...

Best marketing tag line, ever

2005-09-30T19:15:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, my TV says the sweetest things ...

"Want incredible entertainment experiences, in your lap?"

Why, yes I do!

The re-education of Ms. Hughes ...

2005-09-29T17:27:00.000-04:00

One thing this admin is great at is making gross generalizations about other cultures that are based on nothing more than a misunderstanding of cultural differences with a sprinkling of conjecture. We here in America seem to think that since in some Muslim countries, women wear a full chador, don't have the right to vote and are subject to their husbands that they are unhappy with their lives. There are a couple of things going on here that seemingly generate from different impulses, but ultimately breed the same misunderstanding. In one framework, the conclusion that women who live under certain restrictions must necessarily resent that lifestyle can be reached through a lens of feminism. Women have fought long and hard in this country to secure certain rights, and it now seems natural and obvious that other women around the world would want the same. However, different cultures produce different mindsets and we can't always parallel our experiences with that of others.

Anyway, I don't think that's the thrust behind what the admin's hoping to accomplish here. In sending Karen Hughes on a goodwill tour around the Middle East, they're cynically trying to push a touchy-feely, look-how-compassionate-we-are-we-care-about-women fluff PR campaign, not only in the Middle East, but also to boost sagging morale in this country. They're appropriating a feminist facade to gloss over what is ultimately a culturally racist worldview: We're trying to save the savages from themselves. This whole tour is something that can only have come from some dark, smoke-filled room in a bunker where men wearing dark suits and steely gazes plot on how best to take over the world. Nothing good can come of that.

So I've been heartened to hear these two stories of the re-education of Karen Hughes as she goes on her "America Wow!" tour of the Middle East, trying to drum up brand loyalty to America^TM.

Saudi Women Have Message for U.S. Envoy

But the response on Tuesday was not what she and her aides expected. When Ms. Hughes expressed the hope here that Saudi women would be able to drive and "fully participate in society" much as they do in her country, many challenged her.

"The general image of the Arab woman is that she isn't happy," one audience member said. "Well, we're all pretty happy." The room, full of students, faculty members and some professionals, resounded with applause.

(snip)

Many in this region say they resent the American assumption that, given the chance, everyone would live like Americans.

(snip)

"We're not in any way barred from talking to the other sex," said Dr. Nada Jambi, a public health professor. "It's not an absolute wall."

As well as:
Turkish Women, Too, Have Words With U.S. Envoy (on Iraq War)

Under Secretary of State Karen P. Hughes, seeking common ground with leading women's rights advocates in Turkey, was confronted instead on Wednesday with anguished denunciations of the war in Iraq and what the women said were American efforts to export democracy by force.

(snip)

She met Wednesday with about 20 Turkish feminist leaders in Ankara, the capital. She introduced herself, as she has done on this trip, as "a working mom" and said she was there to emphasize the many things Turkey and the United States had in common. The women welcomed her but had a different emphasis.

"You are very angry with Turkey, I know," said Hidayet Tuskal, a director of the Capital City Women's Platform, referring to what she characterized as United States reaction to opposition in Turkey to the Iraq war, which she said was a feminist issue because women and children were dying daily. "I'm feeling myself wounded," Ms. Tuskal added. "I'm feeling myself insulted here."

Fatma Nevin Vargun, identifying herself as a Kurdish rights advocate, said she was "ashamed" of the war and added that the United States bore responsibility. Referring to the arrest of a war protester at the White House on Monday, she added, "This was a pity for us as well."

With her brow furrowed, Ms. Hughes replied: "I can appreciate your concern about war. No one likes war." She went on to say that "my friend President Bush" did all he could to avoid a war in Iraq, but then asserted about Iraq: "It is impossible to say that the rights of women were better under Saddam Hussein than they are today." She said that women had been tortured, raped and killed under the leadership ousted by American troops.

{Which completely glosses over the fact that women under Hussein's reign actually enjoyed more freedoms than in other Middle Eastern countries, as well as the fact that religious extremism is taking Iraq by storm and will probably guarantee the loss of any rights women previously had. But I digress. -Ed.}

(snip)

Feray Salman, a human rights campaigner, said that while she believed in democracy, the Bush administration was trying to export it by force. "States cannot interfere through wars," she said.

Well, of course ...

2005-09-29T17:21:00.000-04:00

John Roberts is confirmed. I'm too tired to work up my righteous indignation over this ponce.

In related news, congressional Republicans have been given immunity for all crimes past, present and future ...

/sarcasm

Just when I thought my day couldn't get any better ...

2005-09-28T15:10:00.000-04:00

Mwah hahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ...

Take that, bitch!

Somewhere, Bill Frist starts to sweat ...

Snarky airquotes from the BBC?

2005-09-28T11:21:00.000-04:00

I was thumbing through the BBC news website this morning on a break between classes, and this headline somehow stuck me as funny:

'Suicide bomber' strikes in Kabul

Now, I'm not a horrible person, I swear. I don't think bombing and death and destruction is good or funny or something to be desired. What got me was the quotes around suicide bomber. Is this a 'so-called' 'suicide bomber'? I couldn't help but think of "Office Space", with Gary Cole's character's penchant for airquoting. And then I noticed that they were all over the website. We had a Pakistani 'extremist leader', and Afghan 'mass graves'. Hell, we even have a 'forgotten' plight of Sri Lankan tea workers. Someone at the BBC Southeast Asia desk is having a really uncaring day.

Pardon me if this doesn't pass my laugh test ...

2005-09-26T11:13:00.000-04:00

Left-handedness is linked to breast cancer? Cuno, babe, what are you smoking over there? Can I get some?

"Our aim was to try to shed some more light on a possible cause for breast cancer, and we were able to show that left-handedness may play a role (among many other causes for breast cancer)," said Dr. Cuno Uiterwaal, senior author of the study and assistant professor of clinical epidemiology at the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

The Dutch researcher added that the finding "may be interesting from an etiological point of view, because we do not know all causes for breast cancer, and it may lead to more clues. However, it is far too early (if at all) to think about practical applications such as screening."

Other experts felt strong evidence of a real link was simply not there.

"In our patient population, the relationship of breast cancer to left- and right-handedness is really uniform," said Dr. Susan Drossman, a radiologist with a specialty in interventional breast imaging at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. "I don't see any relationship in everyday practice. There is probably a huge environmental component we haven't defined."

Of course, all of the careful assertions by research scientists get glossed over in the interest of a sensational headline: Left-handedness tied to breast cancer risk (courtesy of msn.com). I seriously doubt that your dominant hand influences whether you get breast cancer. There certainly is no causitive link proven, but I'm sure there will be panic a-plenty because of it. Jeeeeeezzzzuuuusssss.

Where I should have been, instead of doing chores ...

2005-09-25T08:07:00.000-04:00

Headline was a bit buried because of Rita recovery efforts, but on cnn.com this morning:

Huge rally against Iraq war

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Crowds opposed to the war in Iraq surged past the White House on Saturday, shouting "Peace now" in the largest anti-war protest in the nation's capital since the U.S. invasion.

The rally stretched through the day and into the night, a marathon of music, speechmaking and dissent on the National Mall.

Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey, noting that organizers had hoped to draw 100,000 people, said, "I think they probably hit that."

Speakers from the stage attacked President Bush's policies head on, but he was not at the White House to hear it. He spent the day in Colorado and Texas, monitoring hurricane recovery. {And I bet he was super glad to have the excuse ... - Ed.}

In the crowd: young activists, nuns whose anti-war activism dates to Vietnam, parents mourning their children in uniform lost in Iraq, and uncountable families motivated for the first time to protest.

Connie McCroskey, 58, came from Des Moines, Iowa, with two of her daughters, both in their 20s, for the family's first demonstration. McCroskey, whose father fought in World War II, said she never would have dared protest during the Vietnam War.

"Today, I had some courage," she said.

While united against the war, political beliefs varied. Paul Rutherford, 60, of Vandalia, Michigan, said he is a Republican who supported Bush in the last election and still does -- except for the war.

"President Bush needs to admit he made a mistake in the war and bring the troops home, and let's move on," Rutherford said.

His wife, Judy, 58, called the removal of Saddam Hussein "a noble mission" but said U.S. troops should have left when claims that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction proved unfounded.

"We found that there were none and yet we still stay there and innocent people are dying daily," she said.

"Bush Lied, Thousands Died," said one sign. "End the Occupation," said another. More than 1,900 members of the U.S. armed forces have died since the beginning of the war in March 2003.

A few hundred people in a counter demonstration in support of Bush's Iraq policy lined the protest route near the FBI building. The two groups shouted at each other, a police line keeping them apart. Organizers of a pro-military rally Sunday hoped for 10,000 people.

Ramsey said the day's protest unfolded peacefully under the heavy police presence. "They're vocal but not violent," he said.

Arthur Pollock, 47, of Cecil County, Maryland, said he was against the war from the beginning. He wants the soldiers out, but not all at once.

"They've got to leave slowly," said Pollock, attending his first protest. "It will be utter chaos in that country if we pull them out all at once."

Folk singer Joan Baez marched with the protesters and later serenaded them at a concert at the foot of the Washington Monument. An icon of the 1960s Vietnam War protests, she said Iraq is already a mess and the troops need to come home immediately. "There is chaos. There's bloodshed. There's carnage."

The protest in the capital showcased a series of demonstrations in foreign and other U.S. cities.

A crowd in London, estimated by police at 10,000, marched in support of withdrawing British troops from Iraq. Highlighting the need to get out, protesters said, were violent clashes between insurgents and British troops in the southern Iraq city of Basra.

In Rome, dozens of protesters held up banners and peace flags outside the U.S. Embassy and covered a sidewalk with messages and flowers in honor of those killed in Iraq.

Cindy Sheehan, the California mother who drew thousands of demonstrators to her 26-day vigil outside Bush's Texas ranch last month, won a roar of approval when she took the stage in Washington. Her 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in Iraq last year.

"Shame on you," Sheehan admonished, directing that portion of her remarks to members of Congress who backed Bush on the war. "How many more of other people's children are you willing to sacrifice?

She led the crowd in chanting, "Not one more."

Separately, hundreds of opponents of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund danced to the beat of drums in the Dupont Circle part of the city before marching toward the White House to join the anti-war protesters.

Supporters of Bush's policy in Iraq assembled in smaller numbers to get their voice heard in the day's anti-war din. About 150 of them rallied at the U.S. Navy Memorial.

Gary Qualls, 48, of Temple, Texas, whose Marine reservist son, Louis, died last year in the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah, asked: "If you bring them home now, who's going to be responsible for all the atrocities that are fixing to happen over there? Cindy Sheehan?"

That's not such a bad idea, Gar-Bear.

So if my math is correct, there were about 1,000-to-1.5 "Get Out Now" voices to "Stay the Course" voices. If I were preznit, that would make me stop dead in my tracks and say, "Hey, maybe I was wrong after all. Lemme rethink this ..." However, since our fearless leader's grasp of numbers is limited to "One-two, buckle my show, three-four, go out the door, five ... what comes after five, Daddy Karl?" I don't see him being persuaded by a hundred thousand peacenik Saddam-loving hippies. That would require powers of self-reflection, of which we know he has absolutely none. A truly courageous and honorable man would have the stones to admit his mistakes and take actions to correct them. Any bets on when Georgie finds his pair?

Huh huh huh ... she said "hard" ... huh huh huh

2005-09-22T16:48:00.000-04:00

via Crooks and Liars:

what a dirty mind you have, little girl ...

sigh

2005-09-22T14:34:00.000-04:00

Does anyone in the Senate actually have testicles (or metaphorical ones, for the ladies)?

via msnbc.com:

Senate panel approves Roberts nomination

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved John Roberts’ nomination as the next Supreme Court chief justice, virtually assuring his confirmation by the Senate next week.

Three Democrats joined the committee’s 10 majority Republicans in a 13-5 vote to advance the conservative judge’s nomination to the full Senate.

Five Democrats — Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California, Joseph Biden of Delaware, Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Charles Schumer of New York and Dick Durbin of Illinois — opposed Roberts. {Okay, maybe you guys do ... - Ed.}

(snip)

The Senate’s 44 Democrats seem to be split on whether they can, or should, mount even symbolic opposition to Roberts. {Because they're fucking pussies!!! Fight, bitches, fight!!! - Ed.} His confirmation as the 109th Supreme Court justice is assured because most of the Senate’s 55 Republicans are supporting him and Democrats have decided not to filibuster his nomination.

(snip)

Feinstein told a packed Judiciary Committee hearing room that her vote was decided after Roberts refused to fully answer questions from her and other Democrats in his confirmation hearing last week.

“I knew as little about what Judge Roberts really thought about issues after the hearings as I did before the hearing. This makes it very hard for me,” said Feinstein, an abortion rights supporter.

“I cannot in good conscience cast a ‘yea’ vote,” she said. “I will cast a ‘no’ vote.” {Um, I heart you, Dianne. - Ed.}

(snip)

Sen. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, both Wisconsin Democrats, and the committee’s top Democrat, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, decided to support making the conservative judge the nation’s 17th chief justice.

{Ready for the kicker? - Ed.}

“I will vote my hopes today and not my fears,” Kohl said.

That sound you heard was my head, exploding. Vote with your fucking BRAIN, you moron! Do you *really* think, considering the track record of this admin, that Roberts is even *half* as innocuous as he appeared before you? Remember, it's always the quiet ones who are the scariest.

Are you sure this isn't some kind of punishment, God?

2005-09-22T14:14:00.000-04:00

I mean, seriously ...

"Nothing to see, move along, please, nothing to see, move along, please ..."

2005-09-15T18:18:00.000-04:00

Um, this is bad, right?

Plague-infected lab mice missing in New Jersey
Rodents were part of vaccination tests; scant public health risk, say experts

Updated: 2:39 p.m. ET Sept. 15, 2005

NEWARK, N.J. - Three mice infected with the bacteria responsible for bubonic plague apparently disappeared from a laboratory about two weeks ago, and authorities launched a search though health experts said there was scant public risk.

The mice were unaccounted-for at the Public Health Research Institute, which is on the campus of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and conducts bioterrorism research for the federal government.

Federal officials said the mice may never be accounted for. Among other things, the rodents may have been stolen, eaten by other lab animals or just misplaced in a paperwork error.

Laugh out loud fun from the New York TImes

2005-09-14T16:45:00.000-04:00

I opened my NYT this morning, and what's the first headline I see?

"75 Killed in Baghdad Blast; Amended Charter Approved"

So, I'm going to read this literally and take it to mean that part of the approval process for the amended charter entailed blowing up 75 people. Sounds about right.

Also, I'm flipping through channels at the moment, and on Fox News, there's this headline - "Is the media to blame for overstating Katrina deaths?" Someone notify the White House!! They're playing the blame game, and our fearless leader hasn't said "Go" yet!!

****rolling eyes****

Yeah!

2005-09-13T19:37:00.000-04:00

What he said ...

Right, because fences are working so well in Gaza ...

2005-09-13T08:34:00.000-04:00

From the "I can't believe you're that stupid" file, Pakistan's President Musharraf is now proposing to build a fence along his border with Afghanistan to dissuade terrorists and drug smugglers from crossing over into Pakistan.

UNITED NATIONS - Chafing under criticism that Pakistan is not doing enough to counter terrorism, President Pervez Musharraf offered Monday to construct a security fence to deter incursion of militants and drug merchants from Afghanistan.

(snip)

“Pakistan has nothing to hide,” he said. “And we are fed up with people who say Pakistan has to do more to counter terrorism.” {Hear that, Porter Goss? - Ed.}

On Friday, Musharraf told The Associated Press that his government has proposed building a barbed-wire fence along the border to help keep Islamic insurgents from crossing the area freely. The border itself is vast, running for more than 1,500 miles.

(emphasis mine)

I know there's an expression that good fences make good neighbors, but in this case, and in any case when a country says it's to keep the bad element out and their own bad element in, I'm a little dubious. Just think of the kind of turf wars that suburbanite momsters go through when the neighbors put up a fence that's just a few inches over the property line. You really want to see that played out a grand scale with Pakistan? They're still fighting with India over bloody Kashmir.

Hold onto your butts, kids. It's going to be a bumpy ride ahead ...

Cue evil laughter

2005-09-12T16:20:00.000-04:00

In honor of my new career as a high school teacher, let me borrow some teenage lingo in regards to outgoing FEMA director, Mike Brown:

See ya, wouldn't want to be ya!

"And I was the most qualified member of the admin!"

Mwah hahahahahahahahhahahahahahahaaaaa ....

200th post

2005-09-09T10:57:00.000-04:00

In honor of my 200th post, I'd like to publish my most favorite pornspam that I've received to date.

From: Trevor William
Subject: abnormal hairy pussy poser

Hello, young lovers! :)
Hardcored and cummed
Deep ass fucking rampage
melissa lauren tipsy blond naked and wanton
Huge boob blonde
Teen vibrator time

Ain't spam grand?

Lest we forget ...

2005-09-05T16:33:00.000-04:00

That pesky war in Iraq:

At least two Iraqi police officers have been killed and several wounded in a surprise attack by insurgents on the interior ministry building in Baghdad.
About 30 gunmen in 10 cars carried out the dawn raid using automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades.

Although Baghdad is a frequent scene of violence, attacks on heavily-guarded government buildings are very rare.

(via BBC)

More bone-chilling thrills ...

2005-09-05T14:24:00.000-04:00

That dark little beast that lives in the dungeon of my mind came up for some air today. I was driving to a burger joint to get my beef fix, when "Mad cow disease" whispered through my head. And so I started thinking about all of the functions that we've come to expect the government to perform to ensure public safety. That led me into thinking about the Keystone Kop response to Katrina, and a whole larger, more terrifying picture developed. Bearing the aftermath of Katrina in mind, what's your level of confidence in our government to safeguard you in regards to:

The food supply?
The car you drive?
Your pension?
Your healthcare?
The air you breathe?
The water you drink?
Your investments?
Your credit?
The medicines you take?
That nuclear plant around the corner?
Your kids' education?
Your parents' retirement fund?
The bridges you drive over?
The tunnels you drive through?
The planes you fly in?

Someone must be ultimately responsible for all of these things, and if not the government, who? Some conservatives would have it that less government is better, claiming that more government is intrusive into people's private lives (except for the whole sex issue, then it's fine to legislate private behavior). Well, less government isn't better. I would even hazard that more government isn't better. Better government is better. We need people in office who are more concerned with the greatest common good rather than with lining their pockets with pork and getting re-elected. Isn't it about time that we demanded better from our public servants, who are, after all, our employees? Put their feet to the fire and say, "I want better than this."

I love my friends ...

2005-09-05T11:57:00.000-04:00

A poem a friend once wrote me:

Thank you, Lord, for I have sinned.

Thank you, Lord, for my hands, with which I commit my sins.

Thank you, Lord, for my mouth, with which I commit my sins.

Thank you, Lord, for my eyes, with which I commit my sins.

Thank you, Lord, for my mind, with which I commit my sins
to memory.

Thank you, Lord, for my heart, though it cannot sin.

(with smooches to SVH)

"Look prezinenshul, look prezinenshul ..."

2005-09-05T11:45:00.000-04:00

Georgie was suddenly horrified to realize that his inside thoughts had become outside thoughts ...

"I hope no one heard me"

Feeling safer yet?

2005-09-05T11:12:00.000-04:00

It's hard to imagine the chaos happening on the Gulf Coast, when it's so serene and gorgeous outside my window. Sometimes, I wish I could just bury my head in the sand:

NEW ORLEANS - Police shot and killed at least five people Sunday after gunmen opened fire on a group of contractors traveling across a bridge on their way to make repairs, authorities said.

Deputy Police Chief W.J. Riley said police shot at eight people carrying guns, killing five or six.

(via msnbc.com)

Honestly, do you have to shoot to kill? New Orleans is not a war zone, it is a place of desperate people in need of help.

I don't think I can get any more sickened by this government ... although let me not tempt fate.

Not much makes me cry ...

2005-09-05T11:08:00.000-04:00

But this video did.

This will have to speak for itself ...

2005-09-04T12:29:00.000-04:00

Because I'm just agog:

President Bush and first lady Laura Bush visited the Red Cross’ disaster operation center, where they thanked employees. The president also announced that the White House would hold a blood drive on Friday.

“The world saw this tidal wave of disaster ascend upon the Gulf Coast,” said Bush, who plans to return to the region Monday. “Now they can see a tidal wave of compassion.”

(emphasis mine)

via msnbc.com

R.I.P William Rehnquist

2005-09-04T08:08:00.000-04:00

... oh, fuck.

The fabulous Ms. MoDo

2005-09-03T10:08:00.000-04:00

Maureen Dowd gives excellent Op-Ed in today's NYT:

America is once more plunged into a snake pit of anarchy, death, looting, raping, marauding thugs, suffering innocents, a shattered infrastructure, a gutted police force, insufficient troop levels and criminally negligent government planning. But this time it's happening in America.

(snip)

Why does this self-styled "can do" president always lapse into such lame "who could have known?" excuses.

Who on earth could have known that Osama bin Laden wanted to attack us by flying planes into buildings? Any official who bothered to read the trellis of pre-9/11 intelligence briefs.

Who on earth could have known that an American invasion of Iraq would spawn a brutal insurgency, terrorist recruiting boom and possible civil war? Any official who bothered to read the C.I.A.'s prewar reports.

Who on earth could have known that New Orleans's sinking levees were at risk from a strong hurricane? Anybody who bothered to read the endless warnings over the years about the Big Easy's uneasy fishbowl.

(snip)

It would be one thing if President Bush and his inner circle - Dick Cheney was vacationing in Wyoming; Condi Rice was shoe shopping at Ferragamo's on Fifth Avenue and attended "Spamalot" before bloggers chased her back to Washington; and Andy Card was off in Maine - lacked empathy but could get the job done. But it is a chilling lack of empathy combined with a stunning lack of efficiency that could make this administration implode.

(snip)

When they were deaf for so long to the horrific misery and cries for help of the victims in New Orleans - most of them poor and black, like those stuck at the back of the evacuation line yesterday while 700 guests and employees of the Hyatt Hotel were bused out first - they shook the faith of all Americans in American ideals. And made us ashamed.

Who are we if we can't take care of our own?

(emphasis mine)

Time to send in Tommy Lee Jones ...

2005-09-02T12:25:00.000-04:00

Armaggedon comes to New Orleans ...

Where's Tommy Lee Jones when you need him?

I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired

2005-09-01T17:05:00.000-04:00

That statement pretty much sums it up for me right now. I just had to pay over $40 to fill my mom's tank, a tank which a couple of weeks ago took only $27 to fill. There was a lady filling up her Suburu a couple of pumps down from me who had a W sticker on the back of her car. I called over to her, "You voted for Bush?" She looked at me warily, and said, "Yes." I said, "Well, fuck you very much."

It's been a long week, you see. I've been moving boxes of books around in an un-air-conditioned school, and I'm worried about my finances (that $40 stuck in my craw), and I'm sick to death over what's happening in Louisiana and Mississippi, and I'm pissed at the hideous joke response of our federal government to this disaster, and I can see our economy on the verge of a major collapse, and I'm angry as hell that we're still in Iraq, that 1900 American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi and Afghan civilians have died for a madman's whims, and that while the rich are getting disgustingly and gluttonously richer, the poor are having to take the hit for the 'team' (how many affluent people do you think died in New Orleans?) ... the list can obviously go on and on. And I'm sick to fucking death of it. My mom said last night that maybe this disaster is good, because people will start to realize how fucked the admin really is. My response: "Well, that's just fucking terrible that it takes something like this to wake people up. I don't see that as good at all."

However, I am an educator by trade, so if you're not awake yet, here's the alarm call:

“This is a national disgrace,” said Terry Ebbert, head of New Orleans’ emergency operations. “FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control,” Ebbert said. “We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims but we can’t bail out the city of New Orleans."

"We have got a mayor who has been pushing and asking but we’re not getting supplies,” he said. He said the evacuation was almost entirely a Louisiana operation. “This is not a FEMA operation. I haven’t seen a single FEMA guy.”

(snip)

An old man in a chaise lounge lay dead in a grassy median as hungry babies wailed around him. Around the corner, an elderly woman lay dead in her wheelchair, covered with a blanket, and another body lay beside her wrapped in a sheet. {this is in America, remember - Ed.}

(snip)

Doctors at two desperately crippled hospitals with 360 patients called The Associated Press pleading for rescue, saying they were nearly out of food and power and had been forced to move patients to higher floors to escape looters.

“We have been trying to call the mayor’s office, we have been trying to call the governor’s office. ... We have tried to use any inside pressure we can. We are turning to you. Please help us,” said Dr. Norman McSwain, chief of trauma surgery at Charity Hospital.

(snip)

“We were told don't drink or eat in public as it could lead to a mob situation,” NBC's Michelle Hofland said. “We were told that by sundown to get out of here.” {quick quiz - Baghdad or New Orleans? - Ed.}

Federal rescue workers were pulled back from some areas of the city where gunfire was heard or reported, a Department of Homeland Security official told NBC News.

(snip)

He said the National Guard told him that it was sending 100 military police officers to gain control. “That’s not enough,” Zuschlag. “We need a thousand.”

Medics were calling him and crying for help because they were so scared of people with guns at the Superdome, he added.

(emphasis mine)

And what does our fearless leader do in this situation?

President Bush will tour the hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast region on Friday and has asked former Presidents Clinton and Bush to lead a private fund-raising campaign to help victims recover, the White House said Thursday.

That's right, he calls his daddy in to help. And that cunny-lover who previously had so disgraced the WH. Huh, almost makes you think he can't handle the job? Huh, imagine that ...

"Yer on yer own, kid"

2005-09-01T17:04:00.000-04:00

Mithras hits it on the head.