Why the Arts Aren't Welcome in Our Schools

While I realize the masses seem far more concerned with the break-up of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, Mick Arran offers a thought-provoking, good read about the above-referenced topic at NetPolitik.

Evolution and a Reality-Based Judge

Hoo-ray:

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A federal judge in Atlanta, Georgia, has ruled that a suburban county school district's textbook stickers referring to evolution as "a theory not a fact" are unconstitutional.

In ruling that the stickers violate the constitutionally mandated separation between church and state, U.S. District Judge Clarence Cooper ruled that labeling evolution a "theory" played on the popular definition of the word as a "hunch" and could confuse students.

According to The Associated Press, the stickers read, "This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered."

Refuse to Surrender Your Freedom

This is one pledge I'll happily take. You should consider doing so as well. Thanks to the good folks at Corrente for pointing me toward it.

Krugman on Social Security

Good column. Please take the time to read.

An excerpt:

Last week someone leaked a memo written by Peter Wehner, an aide to Karl Rove, about how to sell Social Security privatization. The public, says Mr. Wehner, must be convinced that "the current system is heading for an iceberg."

It's the standard Bush administration tactic: invent a fake crisis to bully people into doing what you want. "For the first time in six decades," the memo says, "the Social Security battle is one we can win." One thing I haven't seen pointed out, however, is the extent to which the White House expects the public and the media to believe two contradictory things.

The administration expects us to believe that drastic change is needed, and needed right away, because of the looming cost of paying for the baby boomers' retirement.

The administration expects us not to notice, however, that the supposed solution would do nothing to reduce that cost. Even with the most favorable assumptions, the benefits of privatization wouldn't kick in until most of the baby boomers were long gone. For the next 45 years, privatization would cost much more money than it saved.

Ah, Those Rose-Tinted Bushies

From James Wolcott:

Last week an inside peep courtesy of the Washington tipsheet The Nelson Report made the blog rounds concerning Bush's see-no hear-no policy regarding the war in Iraq. According to The Nelson Report, Bush literally didn't want to hear any bad news about how thing going there, EVEN FROM SENIOR MILITARY COMMANDERS, only "progress reports" that played up the good things GE brings to life: new schools, etc. The Report went on to say that the sunshine policy wasn't the product of aides trying to filter news from Bush, that Bush himself insisted on accentuating the positive.

Iraq HAD schools that were open and functioning before the war. Only OUR war-mongering closed and incapacitated them.

Happy horseshit is great for a garden but really bad as a government tenet.

Allawi Says Parts of Iraq Not Secure Enough to Vote

Story here (NY Times, subscription required).

Yet Bush was on the other day, smirking (again) saying, "All you people thought I was crazy when I said we could have fair elections in Iraq. Now I'm bringing democracy there."

He is. his brand of democracy which involves candidates not of the people, rigged voting machines, and no concern whatsoever of the will of the majority or what's best for Iraq.

We're Rather Missing the Point, Aren't We?

Notice how the news of Armstrong Williams appeared on Friday and by Monday, it was replaced by the CBS so-called Document Gate scandal? Through 12 hours of discussion about Rather and CBS yesterday, I heard NO ONE in the mainstream media utter the question of Williams and the WH buying the press.

Lost in all of this talk about CBS are little pieces of information such as the secretary of Bush's superior confirming that the man considered Bush a real screw-up; she just didn't happen to think she typed the document in question. Nobody has EVER discredited what those documents said. In fact, there's no proof positive those documents were faked. But the corporate press is determined to follow the talking points set forth by the Bushies, let everything else - including facts - be damned.

I also noticed one scary thing: yesterday they were raising as problematic the issue of Rather's history of asking Richard Nixon tough questions while never happening to mention that Nixon was forced to resign for his massive lying and deceit. I guess we're revising Nixon now, too, along with Ann Coulter telling us Joe McCarthy is the greatest American patriot who has ever lived.

When I studied journalism in the late 70s and early 80s, we were supposed to ask tough questions and find the answers. The folks who did not were called public relations people.

Frank Rich and Fox's "24"

Frank Rich draws some interesting parallels to Bush's War on Terror and Everything Else and the Fox series, "24".

The Palestinian Election

With Mahmoud Abbas announcing he's the victor in elections there today, one can only hope that this will spell a new era in the Middle East, one that will ultimately lead to the establishment of a true, independent Palestinian state that can co-exist with Israel.

However, this is anything but assured. Even if everything there were not both so violent and volatile, we have to understand that we've got a rather crazed contingent here in this country that wants the Palestinians to all drop dead so their version of the "end times" can play out, where all Israelis convert to Christianity and the Rapture can happen.

What's truly unfortunate is that these nutjobs also happen to have unreasonable control over our country right now. Not good. I'm not sure that seeing Israel as only a means to their version of the end is any better than these same people hating Jews as "the people what killed our lord" (anyone remember Loretta - the incredible Mary Kay Place - in "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman"?).

So Abbas has one hell of a job ahead of him, and probably extraordinarily bad chances of staying alive for long if he tries to bring peace.

So How Many Armstrongs Are Out There?

How many journalists and commentators are - like Armstrong Williams - on the Bush payroll (paid for with our tax dollars) to promote programs that basically will lead to the dissolution of public schools, public libraries, public/citizen access to the courts, public health and more?

I don't believe for a moment that Williams is alone. Though that a black man would take money to make it ultimately harder for children - especially children of color - to receive a proper education is so far beyond reprehensible that I cannot frame it adequately with mere words.

What's a 17 letter phrase for whore?

Armstrong Williams.

Why Do They Hate Us, Installment #72389

Dr. (Ha!) Bill Frist uses the tsumani as a photo op for his 2008 presidential aspirations:

Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., a medical doctor and Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, visited tsunami-stricken southern Sri Lanka on Thursday, tying up two of the five U.S. Military helicopters presently available, reports CBS News Correspondent Allen Pizzey.

Relief efforts in Sri Lanka are focused on areas still cut off by both the tsunami and monsoon rains. The anticipated arrival of more U.S. helicopters and the Marines will do much to help get much need aid where it is needed the most, reports Pizzey.

A group of homeless men at the camp expressed frustration with government-led relief efforts, complaining that the local Red Cross had only set up their clinic, complete with flags and banners, a few hours before the U.S. senators visited. Red Cross officials said their mobile clinics were treating patients at hundreds of camps.

Just before his helicopter lifted off, Frist and aides took snapshots of each other near a pile of tsunami debris.

"Get some devastation in the back," Frist told a photographer.

Even a proctologist has never witnessed such impacted fecal matter as Bill Frist sees looking in the mirror every morning.

Nine U.S. Soldiers Dead in Iraq

Unfortunately, they had to go to war with the secretary of defense they had, and not the secretary of defense they might have wanted.

Ashlee Simpson Boooooooo'ed

A few people have said they would prefer to see Janet's nipple again by comparison.

Only one question: if Ashlee is such a fuckup, why hasn't she been given a senior post in the Bush administration?

Isn't it Amazing?

Just 60 days after the election and SUDDENLY:

* Social Security benefits must be cut
* We need a LOT more troops in Iraq for a much longer time
* Bush tells you that the government money is his, not yours
* That he has a mandate to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants

Gee, some of you Bush voters might not have voted for him if this stuff had been known on November 1st. Only it was. If you folks only knew how to read...

MSNBC Poll: 64% Say Gonzales Shouldn't Be Atty General

Apparently they watched some of the testimony today, too.

It was amazing to hear mainsteam media make it sound sooooo mean to give hard questions to a man who basically has signed off on torture and executions and whatever else makes W. feel like more of a man.

"On the last day of Christmas, Congress gave to me..."

Well, it is the Epiphany.

Will this stop Bush? Hell no. Once again, the vote was stolen. But I'd sure like it to lead to serious examination of how we've handed over the tallying of the votes to partisan corporations like Diebold.

Gonzales

I watched some of his confirmation hearings today and the more I watched, the less I wanted this man anywhere near the Attorney General's spot. I think he would represent the American people even less than John Ashcroft and would be even more dangerous than Ashcroft.

And you know what? He'll be confirmed. Another very sad day for our country.

Gonzales is a despicable human being. One can only wish he someday suffers at the hands of his own legal handiwork. He's never met a poor person he wouldn't like to see executed or a prisoner he wouldn't happily agree to torture. To have him call himself a member of the Hispanic community is a lie and an insult to every person of Latin background.

Andrea Yates

I'm not very clear on why she's getting a new trial. I'm afraid I'm also notoriously unsympathetic for people who make a series of decisions as she did, then kill their children "in the name of God". What bothered me about her first case - besides all those dead children, of course - is that our system is hell bent on punishment with little concern for mental illness' involvement in the crimes. But I don't find Andrea Yates more deserving of special treatment than men in similar situations, although people rally behind her because she's a female. If it had been Yates' husband rather than Yates herself, there would be no new trial.

Looking back at the case, it's easy to feel that someone should have intervened. Yates should never have continued having children with the severity of her illness and the development of post-partum depression. I don't really buy that her husband forced her. Unless Rusty Yates raped her after removing all possible forms of birth control from her grasp, Andrea participated in the decision to keep having children against medical advice.

But the problem is that you really can't have the state making decisions for who can have children and who can't. "The state" forcibly sterilized women in mental institutions at one point. I don't think we want to go back to that anymore than we want to go back to the time in the 40s-early 60s when we forcibly lobotomized or administered brutal electroshock therapy.

More Faith-Based Tomfoolery

From the Times Argus:

President Bush has succeeded in opening the checkbooks of five federal departments to religious organizations. Now he's setting his sights on money doled out by the states.

The goal is to persuade states to funnel more of the federal money for social service programs that they administer to "faith-based organizations."

Federal regulations now allow federal agencies to directly fund churches and other religious groups. Bush acted alone to rewrite these regulations after failing to persuade Congress to change the law.

Partly as a result, in 2003, groups dubbed "faith-based" received $1.17 billion in grants from federal agencies, according to documents provided by the White House to The Associated Press. That was about 8 percent of the $14.5 billion spent on social programs that qualify for faith-based grants in five federal departments.

That's not enough, said Jim Towey, director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. An additional $40 billion in federal money is given out by state governments, he said, and many states do not realize that federal rules now allow them to fund these organizations."We're on the sunrise side of the mountain," he said.

Support for Questioning Ohio Electoral Votes?

So says Skippy, who indicates Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) may stand with U.S. Congressman John Conyers in questioning the Ohio electoral votes IF she gets enough feedback indicating she should do so.

Skippy's got all the contact numbers. Go find. While I'm sure CA residents are most important for this, I called all the way from the Socialist Republic of Cow Patties. Please do it now.

Is PM of Iraq Asking for Election Delay?

That's the conjecture today after the governor of Baghdad was assassinated. But Bush apparently told him no. Bush, of course, says this is important that the "will of the Iraqi people" be expressed. But this isn't about the Iraqi people at all. The only true candidates are the ones in Bush's back pocket. If someone got elected there who wasn't willing to be a shill for Washington, we'd get rid of him right fast.

This is the kind of "democracy" George Bush brings to Iraq. Not liberation of the people from a despot but liberating the country of its oil and other resources.

Just Say No to Torture

From MoveOn:

We hate to start the New Year with bad news, but on Thursday, the Senate will consider Alberto Gonzales' nomination to become Attorney General, replacing John Ashcroft. Gonzales is the White House counsel notorious for opening the door to torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay prisons. Senators should view the Gonzales nomination very skeptically, given this radical history. As part of the upcoming hearings, we're calling on Senators to ask Gonzales to unequivocally renounce torture as an instrument of American policy.

You can ask Gonzales and Senators to prohibit torture by clicking here.

Please. Take the right stand (not to be confused with the right's stand).

How Much as Pres. Bush Given to Tsunami Relief? $0

CNN reports that the WH spokespeople admitted Mr. Bush has not tendered one thin dime to the disaster relief efforts. Then they backpedalled to say you know, it's a question of how much he should give and who to give it to - the questions we resolved last week.

LOVELY!

This after he waited a week to tell Americans, who were already donating like crazy, to give, give, give.

"Do as I say, not as I do."

The Nerve

Eight days after Americans began donating in record numbers, in record amounts, the president comes out today and asks each and every American to donate to the tsunami relief funds. In other words, we're supposed to pull his ass out of a sling. He even had the nerve to imply that we should give our money rather than the government's money. Last I checked, the government money is our money.

Now, I don't argue with Americans helping. I've even implored people myself and contributed myself.

What I have difficulty with is that:

* the president's appeal is kind of late (but hey, you wouldn't want him to cut a moment off his three week vacation)
* I bet the twins haven't curtailed a cent of their nightly multi-thousand dollar bar bill to help anyone
* he clearly would rather keep the government money to spend himself on that assinine Star Wars program, tax cuts for the rich, and pretending he isn't bankrupting Social Security
* God forbid he admits he really fucked this one up
* he pulls out Clinton - who he detests - just to prevent getting in anymore trouble
* he waits until virtually everyone who wants to donate has already done so

What a classless piece of work.

Choose the Blue

I found this link at DailyKos. Lets you know what corporations and companies support Dems and which don't. As you might expect, most of the major players go red.

Farewell, Robert Matsui

The California Democratic House rep has died of a rare disease.

Condolences to his family and friends. He seemed like a good man and will be missed.

Lifetime Suspect Detention Without Charges Brought?

My God! From Reuters:

A reported U.S. plan to keep some suspected terrorists imprisoned for a lifetime even if the government lacks evidence to charge them in courts was swiftly condemned on Sunday as a "bad idea" by a leading Republican senator.
The Pentagon and the CIA have asked the White House to decide on a more permanent approach for those it was unwilling to set free or turn over to U.S. or foreign courts, the Washington Post said in a report that cited intelligence, defense and diplomatic officials.

Are we actually prepared to torture, imprison, and terrorize like this? Do we really think that will not create more "terrorists"?

32 Dead in Bombings, Shootings in Iraq

See ABC News.

Think this will stop with the election at the end of the month? If so, I have a lovely bridge to sell you.

A Sad Theory

Sitting up late last night pondering the tragedy in South Asia, I came to a strange and unfortunate theory.

Mr. Bush and his people have spent an enormous amount of time, money, and effort making Americans scared to death and using the image of some 3,000 dying on 9-11 to push through some horrific things that go against who we as America think we are.

How inconvenient it is that 150,000 (today's figure, expected to rise sharply) managed to die in an event that had nothing to do with al Qaeda, bin Laden, Saddam, or North Korea. No amount of money and supposed "homeland security" can protect against such a thing. How inconvenient, too, if Americans begin to realize that there are far more dangerous possibilities in the world than those we call terrorists.

Could Bush's response have to do with his desire not to let Americans think too much about this natural danger and then place 9-11 in some sort of more accurate perspective? After all, we have more die from the flu each year than died on 9-11.

Our Response

The American people themselves appear to be very generous in response to the horrific disaster in Southern Asia. But the response of our government has been far less than stellar and it's once again cast us in a very poor light throughout the world.

Once again, Mr. Bush has led us into a disastrous situation that points the world's finger at us. Yes, our offer of aid has increased from a paltry $15 million to $350 million (although Bush kept saying billion during one of his conferences) but only after much criticism. Even $350 million represents what we spend blasting the hell out of Iraq in 40 hours (or less than two full days); it's a trifle compared to what we spent in Florida ($14 billion) where few lives were lost so Mr. Bush could get re-elected.

Yesterday, in his weekly radio address, Mr. Bush said we're doing still more. But what we're doing is flying flags... a week after the disaster struck.. which won't rescue or feed a single child, let alone find thousands of Americans still unheard from whom Mr. Powell said today remain unaccounted for.

We've managed to divert attention from this tragedy to our poor response. People won't remember how many individual Americans ponied up their money to help; they'll remember that the U.S. was cheap. That's what our leader has done (besides cutting brush at his play ranch in Crawford and sending his fat brother who really doesn't have much knowledge of real disaster). Once again, he's tried to make the U.N. and international relief agencies the bad guy when the finger gets pointed at him (and us).

Contrary to American belief that we spend huge sums of money on foreign aid (polls show they believe we contribute some 10-30% of U.S. tax dollars to it), we actually only spend less than 1% in helping other countries each year. Per capita, we spend far less than most developed countries in helping others.

Hmmmm

I didn't drink last night (unless you count coffee and yes, a sip of my partner's bad Cabernet) so the hungover feeling I have must be from someone else who over-indulged. I have only experienced a hangover once in my life (for about 10 minutes) in college and I'm not partial to them. So I was surprised when the only thing I wanted to do for three hours after waking up was sit wrapped in a blanket on the sofa reading an unabridged dictionary because it was the only thing I didn't have to get off the couch to read.

So please come retrieve your hangover so I can do some editing later. Thank you.

House Considers Weakening Ethics Rules for Delay AGAIN

Lovely. If this trend continues, Denny "Whore" Hastert will also propose legislation that allows DeLay to exterminate Democrats, deflower your teenage daughters, and sodomize your puppies.

CNN's Drag Queens

No, I'm not referring to Anderson Cooper or Paula Zahn (ahem). Their Florida New Year's contingent seems filled with them. But they're also the most interesting and refreshing touch I've seen on the network since Tucker got a new hair weave. I'm sure, however, that CNN is gonna hear from the right wing about this... that is, as soon as the righteous right sobers up.

Speaking of Mindless Things on New Year's Eve...

I was amused to see that Anna Nicole's 88 million court award got reversed by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. I suspect, however, she's already spent that much in drugs based on her commercials and TV appearances. If she ever comes to, boy, is she gonna be pissed.

My More Personal Resolutions

Well, I've already quit smoking, lost (some although not all the extra) weight, and become more involved and outspoken. But there are so many other qualities/behaviors I would like to obtain.

In 2005, I resolve to:

* Be more thoughtful
* Be more tolerant (although Karl Rove, Grover Norquist, that fat fuck Limbaugh, that thinner but bigger fuckface Bill O'Reilly, Anna Nicole Smith and Amber Frey will sorely test me)
* Look more deeply even when it hurts; even when what I find and must report makes me the target of those who don't like truth-telling
* Educate and accept more education
* Fulfill some dreams and do what I can to help others do the same
* Say "yes" more often
* Ask for help as frequently as I try to tender it
* Face and learn to live with some of the fears I haven't yet tackled
* Oh yeah, and remember what sex is

So what are your resolutions? Share them here.

Resolutions for My America

I'm not America; I'm just a 290 millionth of it. But if America were me, these are the resolutions I would like to fulfill in the coming year:

* Take a long hard look at the Constitution and other documents created by our forefathers which stress separation of church and state, racial and religious tolerance and equality, protections for liberty by citizens and non-citizens alike
* To stop mentioning and using torture like it's a solution rather than an extension of terrorism
* To not send our young men and women to war for corporate America, for oil, and under the guise of liberating others
* To force politicians to be accountable to those they represent
* To stop being an icon and start being a member of the global community
* To stop giving lip service to freedom, dignity, and caring and start actually behaving that way
* To turn away from our worship of stars and football players and the ultra-rich and turn our appreciation toward everyday Joes and Janes, Moustaffas and Abrahims, Chongs and Garcias
* To realize that our schools, our teachers, our libraries are great entities and worthy of our support
* To find a way to provide health care for all
* To cease handing over America's assets to the richest and most powerful

Amber Frey: Proving Prostitution Does Pay

NBC is making me sick with non-stop promotions of their long interview with Amber Frey - the Modesto "massage therapist" who is passionate for married men and having children out of wedlock who got involved with Scott Peterson.

Although Gloria Allred (her attorney, which seems funny because Amber's main source of income seems to be money given to her by married men) assured us Amber only got involved with the court case to help and for no financial gain, Amber's got a book. I guarantee you she did not write it. This woman couldn't write a grocery list and I suspect she pines over the fact that there is no "i" in her name so she can dot it with a heart.

The nicest thing that can be said about Amber is that she's a skank. Scott wasn't her first married man. So spare me Allred's purple prose about how Peterson deceived her. I hope NO ONE buys her book. Let's send this little trash tart back to the dumpster.

NBC should be ashamed of itself. But so should Amber who should be rushing to have a third child out of wedlock with another married man before her eyes become as fertile as her brain.

Please Give

Although we're hurting badly financially here, we sat down today and had a bouse meeting to decide how much we can give to the disaster relief effort. As little as some of us have right now, those people have far less.

Please consider doing the same. Prove that America is better than our president. Prove to South Asia that we care, that there is some hope. You'll find a full list of disaster relief groups all over the Web, including at Countdown.

Sending Jeb Bush to Southern Asia

Haven't the people there suffered enough without having the plumpest member of the Bush family go over there? Perhaps he can teach the tsunami victims how millions of people with far more damage can made do with $15 million in aid from the U.S. while Fat Boy took in $14 billion to replace pink lawn flamingos and double-wides down in Florida.

The last thing the world needs - especially that part of the world - is another Bush.

Potential Love Interests for Judith Regan

Poor, poor Judith Regan: not only does her affair with a married man get spread out all over the news (the tsunami giving us some respite from the continuing saga of Bernie Kerik's messy personal and professional life), but we also got the assorted details about how she sent Bernie (who sent NYPD detectives) after Faux colleagues when she misplaced her cell phone and how she then hired a bodyguard once she broke up with Bernie.

So - trying to be ever helpful - I decided to come up with a list of potential mates for Dame ("Please, put another inch of Vaseline on the camera lens") Stunningly Beautiful Regan. Since she doesn't appear to be too picky, neither will I in suggesting possibilities.

These are:

* The Gropinator - Arnold can grunt sweet nothings into her ear while he shows her just how much he respects women (not at all)
* Rudy Giuliani - Rudy's about due for another extramarital affair and another bout of shooting himself in the groin
* Roger Ailes - fat, old, hate-filled - what could be more perfect?
* The Donald - he'll call her "classy" although Judy's about twice the age of his reent girlfriends

Poll: Most Americans Now Say War Was a Mistake

Shame some came to this opinion far too late to save many thousands of lives.

From Editor & Publisher:

In a historic shift, a majority of Americans express the view that the U.S. made a mistake in going to war against Iraq, according to a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll.

The poll, released on Tuesday, shows that 51% now hold this view, with 48% supporting the decision to go to war. In November those numbers were virtually reversed.

In January, 63% approved of the war and 35% disapproved.

Eighty percent of Democrats find the war a mistake, while 80% of Republicans defend it. The split among Independents is 53% disapprove and 46% approve.

Other views also turned more negative.

By 58% to 39% the public disapproves of the way the U.S. has handled things in that country in recent months.

Nearly half the sample says things are going worse in Iraq than a year ago, with only 20% saying it is going better.

Tin Patriots and Constant Threats

This makes me sick: where those who drink the Kool-Aid in copious quantities (it's much easier than thinking) are happy to spread hate and fear and threats to anyone who speaks out against the current shamble in Iraq.

Loving Thy Neighbor Bush Style

Quote Republican Jesus (as channeled by General JC Christian):

Sometimes you can't love your neighbor until after you've applied 10,000 volts to his testicles."

Bush will give him a Medal of Freedom for this, I bet.

President's Vacation More Important Than Disaster Relief; So Why Did We Send an Aircraft Carrier?

WTF? Military assets? Why?

From the Washington Post (and the interesting part is reading between the lines in what is not said:

The Bush administration more than doubled its financial commitment yesterday to provide relief to nations suffering from the Indian Ocean tsunami, amid complaints that the vacationing President Bush has been insensitive to a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions.

As the death toll surpassed 50,000 with no sign of abating, the U.S. Agency for International Development added $20 million to an earlier pledge of $15 million to provide relief, and the Pentagon dispatched an aircraft carrier and other military assets to the region. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, in morning television appearances, chafed at a top U.N. aid official's comment on Monday that wealthy countries were being stingy with aid. "The United States is not stingy," Powell said on CNN.

I wonder how much Colin got paid to sell his soul.

Farewell, Jerry Ohrbach

I was about to write a tribute to this talented actor, but found that Skippy had done it well. If you're a fan of the man's work, please read.

Are These Qualities We Want in a President?

RDF at Corrente (a great blog) looks at some of Mr. Bush's qualities and why they should concern us all. Go read.

Shameless Plug: "Buying Rx Drugs Online"

One of the projects that kept me so busy the last few months is now out: "Buying Rx Drugs Online". It's a one-of-a-kind book that explores the burgeoning offerings of prescription drugs online but also looks at all the vendors out there who aren't quite legit.

In it, you'll:

* see how to weed out the illegals from the legit
* understand why you need to involve your medical professionals even if you're trying to chart your own treatment course
* learn how to find information about the drugs you take, their interactions with other meds, and their side effects
* find out how to determine whether your kids are pharming
* much, much more

Here's the link to buy it from Amazon (they'll say it's not released yet, but in fact, it came out last night). It makes a great home reference title.

Max Debunking Bush's Social Security "Emergency"

If you want some intelligent discussion about the so-called Social Security emergency, look no further than excellent sources like Max at MaxSpeak.

The Sad Focus

With more than 60,000 confirmed dead now, it's very sad to see how news organs like CNN are spinning the gigantic earthquake-begot-tsunami story in Southern Asia:

* American Swimsuit Model Escapes!
* Hundreds of Americans believed dead
* Oprah guest alive!
* Tsunamis shatter celebrity vacations (oh, the horror!)
* Stingy Americans? UN Comment Strikes Nerve (good)

Washington GOP: Fuck the Voters

Story here. They won't rest until they seat their candidate, whether it's fair or not.

Goodnight, Susan Sontag

You will be missed. Thankfully, some of your work and the thought it inspires will live on.

South Asian Death Toll Rises; We're Still Stingy

The death toll now stands at 52,000 with many more to find, and the estimate is that at least 50,000 more will die from the crisis, disease, et al.

Today, WH Chief Apologist Colin Powell came out today to say we weren't stingy, that we were going to give a whole $20 million in aid. Unfortunately, that's only a FRACTION of what taxpayers will spend on Bush's Inaugural party, which is just a part of what corporate donors will spend on one big party for Bushie at a time of such desperation here in the U.S., let alone this nightmare of epic proportions in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and beyond.

Happy Blog Day to Us

It's been a year since this little blog debuted.

Thank you to those who visit.

Did Rummy Say Flight 93 Was Shot Down?

That's what Raw Story/Blue Lemur says after looking at the transcript of Rummy's latest trip to the troops.

Bush Tax Plan

According to The Times and other sources, this could involve eliminating the deduction for state taxes, a big deal in blue states (and great punishment, I guess, in making the GOP work harder to steal votes elsewhere). The Times article features Max Sawicky, of Max Speak.

Joe Scarbrough: Time for More Opiates

So Joe Scarbrough is FINALLY returning to his MSNBC show (not that he was missed but...) with reports that there is a great rising tide of support for Mr.Bush's Iraq plan. To this I can only say: Joe? While it's clear you've been taking WAY too many painkillers for your supposed back problem (following in good ole Rush's tradition, I guess) and clear you're begging to get on Faux that won't take you, it's also clear you need to take a lot more painkillers if you think anybody will buy this bull.

Republicans and drugs: they abuse the hell out of them but want them restricted for everyone else.

Little Help?

Word's out that a lot of countries - perhaps the U.S. included - are being anything but generous in rushing money and other aid to southern Asia in response to the devastation in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, the Maltese Islands, et al. Right now, the estimates are more than 24,000 dead (one Indonesian province estimates they will have 20,000 dead all by themselves) and that probably doesn't begin to reflect the final numbers of those who died immediately and the many more who will die because of disease.

We're giving $15 million. A pittance.

Nice to Know

Democracy works in Ukraine. If only it did here. Perhaps we can learn from them before GOP operatives take a third presidential election in 2008 when we'll have Bill (here, kitty, kitty - I want to torture you) Frist and McCain/Giuliani contending, condescending, and obfuscating.

Speaking of which, here's Keith Olbermann's piece on Ohio from the Countdown Bloggerman.

The Rumsfeld Follies

Sure, I believe that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had this "heart-warming" photo op to Iraq (complete with "good", not confrontational questions from the troops) planned before the messy brown stuff hit the fan.

But then, I'm also still waiting for the Easter Bunny, The Great Pumpkin, and Santa to arrive. Hmm.. they seem to be late. But I'll keep waiting!

The Latest Stupidity: Endangered Christmas

The efforts by the nutso element of the right wing to insist that God and Christ are under attack is almost laughable. Their rationale seems to be that if you're a Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist or agnostic and you're not being force-fed "Jesus is the reason for the season" non-stop, then secular pagans are trying to kill Christ a second time.

Bah humbug. This is even more laughable than "the media is biased toward the left."

My family was among the first to arrive in America - both from my Native American side and my Mayflower side. The English side came here because of religious intolerance. So are we really going to make America into the land of religious intolerance by forcing every non-Christian to observe our holidays?

This holiday has featured lawyers paid for by wingnuts to defend kids' rights to print Jesus messages on candy canes distributed to classmates, to "I believe in Jesus" cakes being brought to nursery schools. They went after Macy's for having the audacity to say "happy holidays" this year rather than Merry Christmas. And the only reason the folks who went after Target for banning Salvation Army donation pots is that they like the fact that the Salvation Army discriminates against gays. Trust me - the people who targeted Target a) don't shop there and b) probably aren't the types to donate anyway. If the Salvation Army advocated abortions, these same folks would be screaming to ban SA from bell ringing.

Are we as Christians really so insecure about our beliefs that we behave as if they only have validity if we force everyone else to convert? Go back and look at the Bible. Nowhere in there does it say that Jesus wants you to bring the non-believers to him broken and bloody from the bricks you hurl at their heads.

Note to the nutwing: Christianity isn't synonymous (I know, it's a big word: use a dictionary) with hypocrisy and hatred. So stop trying to reduce it to such.

Yeah, the President Was Real Broken Up

Remember on Tuesday when the president took a few seconds out of his busy vacation schedule to offer condolences for the dead troops? If my chronology is right, this is a photo taken of him right after that.



Yeah, he looks really broken up - sort of a Texas member of the Soprano family. Bet the boots or coat cost more than the $12K death benefit paid to each military family.

All hat, no cattle (or soul) indeed.

The Iraq Situation

People won't like me saying this, but it made me sick when Bush stopped on his way to a two-plus week vacation to say he was sorry about the deaths in Iraq today, but that Rummy's doing a great job.

I'm also sick to death of hearing about 40, 60, 80, 100+ Iraqi civilians killed (the U.S. keeps no official count) while the only deaths that bother us are Americans. We're an invading, occupying force in their country trying to push through elections to seat who we want there - the U.S. government couldn't care diddly squat about Mom and Pop Baghdad (or their little kids). Iraq's just part of our empire building.

Our military deaths are tragic, no doubt, but ALL lives there matter.

Congratulations to all of you nitwits who re-elected George Bush and company. You must be very proud of yourselves right now. I hope you'll be the first to encourage your kids to give their lives for Iraqi oil. God knows Bush is encouraging the drunken twins to do so.

Gee, We Needed a Laci Peterson Fill-in

With the world - er... that part of it who thinks life is more interesting when a woman has been murdered and there's a big media response - grieving the end of the Scott Peterson trial, how lucky (ugh) we are that we now have this terrible Missouri case where one woman ripped a fetus from another woman so she could claim the baby was hers.

This just sounds like another really sad case all around, and I can't quite fathom why we're seeing hours of coverage of this around the dial.

Couldn't we pay attention to real stuff for awhile? It's even more horrific and becoming educated about it might mean we wouldn't be condemned to repeat some of this outrageous conduct again.

Mr. Popularity

CNN's running a poll asking if people agree with the choice of Mr. Bush as Time's "Man of the Year". Of about 150,000 respondents already, only 34% say yes. Hmmm.

In the "Andy, I'm Not Sure How This Helps" Department

From WCAX:

WASHINGTON White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card says investigators knew about many of the background issues that ultimately sank the nomination of Bernard Kerik to be secretary of Homeland Security.

However, Card did not say whether a decision was made to overlook Kerik's shortcomings in order to move his nomination along. Card told A-B-C's "This Week" that "it was Bernie Kerik's decision not to go forward."

Card did acknowledge that "many of the questions that have been raised in the media were well understood by the White House when they considered Bernie Kerik."

Card defended the administration's background-checking system. He said "the process of vetting in the White House is not to telegraph to lots of people what your intentions are."

So in other words, his mob connections, indiscretions, facts that he couldn't live by the same laws he was applying to others, and assorted other issues did not matter. Good grief!

So Bush does consider homeland security a joke. A very expensive one on us, too.

Shooting Them for No Particular Reason

Xan at Corrente also offers something pretty disturbing on a number of levels:

People do weird things when they're bored and lonely...but they do really awful things when they're scared:

(via Raleigh-Durham NC News & Observer)

A North Carolina National Guard member thought to be the first U.S. soldier convicted of murdering an Iraqi said he "snapped" and shot the 17-year-old boy after they had consensual sex, according to court-martial records released this week.

Pvt. Federico Daniel Merida, 21, of Biscoe, a tiny town south of Asheboro, pleaded guilty during a court-martial in Iraq to shooting the Iraqi national guard private, whose name the Army withheld. The Los Angeles Times reported shortly after the court-martial that the victim's name was Falah Zaggam

According to the records, Zaggam and Merida were on guard duty May 11 in a tower on the perimeter of an Army camp near Tikrit in northern Iraq. About 10:30 p.m., Merida shot Zaggam repeatedly with his M-4 carbine.

The "gay panic" motive was the third that Merida offered. He first told investigators that Zaggam demanded money at gunpoint. Later, he said he killed Zaggam because the boy forced him to have sex.

So Broad in Our Narrow-Mindedness

From Tresy at Corrente:

Manzanar, here we come:

Nearly half of Americans believe the U.S. government should restrict the civil liberties of Muslim Americans, according to a nationwide poll.

The survey conducted by Cornell University also found that Republicans and people who described themselves as highly religious were more apt to support curtailing Muslims' civil liberties than Democrats or people who are less religious.

Of course they do. This isn't something important, like "God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. Gotta have priorities, you know.

Frigid

Er... no, I'm not talking about myself or even my love life. Any similarity to me/sex interpreted here is purely coincidental.

The weather up here in the Socialist Republic of Vermont has turned downright nasty, where day time highs (unseasonably) don't always make it in the double digits. Glacial, man!

NetPolitik

If you haven't been over to see Nick, Mick and the gang recently, do so. It had been awhile for me, and I left feeling informed (not a bad blog template redesign either). Hey, it beats holiday shopping, especially if your idea of shopping involves malls (I haven't been to one in six or more years). But NetPolitik is far better than all of that, so it's hard to put the two in the same league (for a myriad of reasons).

Hypocrisy, Thy Name is Pro-Life Right Wing

From Atrios:

Among them is Van Golden, a Christian, anti-abortion Texan who has sold his house so that he can travel to communist, atheist China and have Huang inject a million cells from the nasal area of a foetus into his spine. According to Golden's doctors, his spine was damaged beyond repair in a car crash last Christmas. The damage to his nervous system was so bad that he has been in a wheelchair and racked by spasms ever since. But Golden refused to give up, even if it meant having to compromise his values. "This is the only place that offered us any hope," he says. "Everyone else offered only to help make me sufficient in that chair. But the chair is not my destiny. It is not ordained."

Pursuits Indeed

Karlo at SwerveLeft presents some information, followed by this observation:

I recently read that the US is going into the red the equivalent to $5500 per household per year ! Instead of the “pursuit of happiness,” it sounds to me like the Republican plan should be called “Pursuit of a Free Lunch.” (Later it can be renamed “Pursued by Creditors.")

Tell it, brother.

Go read.

Rumsfeld

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is a tough nut and not one who wants to be cracked.

But what amazes me is that all the criticism recently is entirely centered on his performance at the ad hoc "town hall" style meeting between troops, something Bush never would have allowed for himself because his audiences are always so carefully vetted.

Rumsfeld's shortcomings, failures, and outright disasters began long before that meeting and his poor answers. Knowing that, Bush chose to keep him on in the role.

If you decide to flush Rummy, then flush him for the right reasons: not listening to the troop needs, underestimating what would happen in Iraq, blowing off the results that occurred, not finding Osama in Afghanistan, and so much else. Don't just oust him because it's popular.

All this will do is have Bush replace him with someone even worse. That town hall meeting was telling. I guarantee you the next Defense Secretary won't allow this to happen (oh, the circumstances yes, but not a meeting where the troops can call him out on it).

Horrific Pictures and More

The eloquent Diana from Democracy for California shares a blog link for some extremely graphic pictures from Fallujah. I have seen this stuff before but I warn you that it's not for the faint of stomach. However, we are the war; we have to own what's being done in our name. If it revolts us enough, perhaps we can stop it.

She also shares a link for IHatePatRobertson. I don't hate him. I just want him evicted from the American dialog and landscape. He's a symbol of all that is wrong with today's America: promoting violence in the name of "good Christian values", promoting hatred, and lining his pockets with the blood and despair of others.

Until We See/Hear From You Again, Bill Moyers

Tonight is Bill Moyers' final night on PBS, leaving he says to spread the word that the right wing has taken over the dialog, that there is little or no liberal media in this country.

I credit Bill with helping to take me from uneducated, red-leaning hick to socially conscious human being who cares little of the tags of political party while being far more concerned with Americans as a whole. Yes, there was a time when I went to Young Republican meetings (twice) in college because as a low income hick, I assumed that's where I was supposed to be.

Our best to you, Bill. Thank you.

Condolences to the Gores

Al's mother died the other day. Our best wishes go out to the family at this difficult time.

Uh... Was There a Kerik Nanny?

Several news outlets are questioning this, including The Times, and Kerik's mother-in-law says this is the first she's heard of the family ever having a nanny.

Truth is just a buzzword concept to the Bush-Giuliani crew.

More on Kerik

NY news stations are reporting that no real paperwork was filled out by Kerik to become NY's top cop OR take that fortune in fees from Giuliani Partners. He could have been Osama for all anyone knew. How does this happen?

At this point, if Giuliani couldn't follow the rules for hiring either as mayor or contractor, I think Giuliani's groups SHOULD NOT get any more awards from the Dept of Homeland Security. He breaks too many rules.

Bush Goes On and On About Frivolous Lawsuits

Yes, there are too many lawsuits. They do clog the courts. Some people decide that the way to earn an income is by suing someone else.

But let's get real. What if that contaminated flu vaccine had made its way here? What about the Vioxx cases where Merck and the FDA both knew about problems significantly before the patients taking it?

The president wants to free up courts to allow corporations to sue individuals. Period. It's time to say a big, resounding No to this man.

There have to be better ways to deal with the current problems with frivolous lawsuits or runaway jury awards than to remove a consumer's right to take action.

Damned Shame

Heard on the radio this morning that homeless shelters and soup kitchens are beginning to see their first waves of vets from this war. Lovely.

The Bush Twins are sloshed everynight and folks are buying them a half million dollar condo (at minimum) but the folks sent to fight this insane war are coming back homeless and hungry.

Really, Really

I'm way overdue in updating the template, poll, list of blogs. Let me see what I can pull off in the next few days.

Another Welcome

Say hello to Common Ground, Common Sense.

Say Hello

To Media in Trouble, the blog. It may not be new, but I just discovered it tonight in a Trackback.

Bushies Remove Clinton's Portrait

That's what "JOE KLEIN" (not Joe Klein - don't ask me to explain; I don't begin to drink enough alcohol to comprehend this myself) at Wonkette tells us. I'd love to hear if it actually makes it back up after Christmas. But that'll happen the day after Bush admits a mistake, which will be a quarter past never.

Fake Bomb Lost During Airport Security Training

Gee, I feel so safe with the Bushies in charge.

Imagine the Terror Alert Color Codes if Kerik Did Become Homeland Security Chief

Blue = Bernie forgot to refill his Cialis 'script
Green = No worries; Bernie's Rudy's bitch tonight
Yellow = Elevated; Bernie watched that tape of Rudy dressed up as a woman on SNL and it made him amorous
Orange = Uh oh - Bernie had raw oysters as an appetizer and he's been watching Arnold the Gropinator's obnoxious GOP honcho training films
Red = Hide everyone; Bernie's in heat

The Missile InDefense-ible Program

Another test failed. But Bush will push, push, push this through even with wide international outrage over it.

It wouldn't have saved us on 9/11 - and Bush certainly did not - and it won't defend us in the future either.

Judith Regan: Stunningly Attractive

Did you notice that all accounts of Bernie Kerik's mad love trysts refer to publisher and former Faux Snooze sleeze Judith Regan that way?

Gee, did she write that herself? I mean, she's not unattractive, but stunningly? I'm only stunned that someone would say stunningly. As I believe Roger Ailes pointed out on his blog (and my apologies if it was actually the General or someone else), when Regan did the show on Faux, the camera lens was three inches deep with Vaseline which usually means you're not quite up to sharp focus. That was a few years' back.

And from what I can tell, Bernie hasn't been all that choosy. A couple of reports yesterday indicated that his second marriage may have started before his first one was legally terminated. And then to find out today that the love nest overlooked Ground Zero and had been used as a rest spot by 9-11 emergency workers just seemed to add a new level of creepy to the story. I dunno, I don't perform my most ably in bed thinking about the towers coming down. But maybe Bernie's such a stud muffin, it doesn't matter.

Iraq civilian and prisoner abuse

Karlo at Swerve Left reminds us that even if no one is paying attention to it here, crap still goes on there.

Justice DeLay-ed

The General writes Tom about the Sodomites.

(If you haven't experienced General J.C. Christian, baptize yourself in His blog immediately. He's righteously sharp.)

Zell (is for zealot) Miller and Faux Snooze

Well, Bill ("my vibrator's shaped like a penis but that doesn't mean I'm a homo")O'Reilly won't be the only crazy person working besides Geraldo working at Faux anymore. Zell Miller is going to become a "contributor".

I wanna see him challenge Greta van Sustern to a duel. What a nut case!

Let Me Get Out My Violin

The wife of the lottery winner who took home the richest undivided jackpot in U.S. history says she regrets his purchase of the $314.9 million ticket that has thrust her family into the public spotlight.

"I wish all of this never would have happened," Jewel Whittaker told The Charleston Gazette for Tuesday's editions. "I wish I would have torn the ticket up."

Since winning the lottery two years ago, her husband, Jack Whittaker, has been arrested twice for drunken driving and has been ordered into rehab. He pleaded no contest Monday to a misdemeanor assault charge for attacking a bar manager, and is accused in two lawsuits of making trouble at a nightclub and a racetrack.

Gee, I feel so badly for this clown. Mind you, my lack of sympathy isn't because he's wealthy. I imagine coming into money like that truly is very difficult. But all this man has done is get arrested, call the police, and act like a juvenile delinquent since he won it. And he was the one who kept inciting God when he was getting his prize.

But then, the people who always want to use Christ like a club over your head are always the ones who turn out to be true creeps in their real life. Like the president's plan for faith-based social security. Erp.

Candy that tastes like pot?

The NY news is reporting that NY lawmakers are trying to get candy that tastes like pot out of local stores.

Um... candy that tastes like pot? I can't say I've ever eaten it, but I've smelled it. Why would anyone want candy that tastes like it? Perhaps I'm drawing a mental blank here, but as long as it doesn't contain actual pot (it contains hemp but no THC), how is this worse than candy cigarettes? Gee, I'd almost think pot-flavored candy would keep kids away from the real stuff.

I have eaten hemp candy, come to think of it. Some place in Seattle was selling a hemp and nuts energy bar that I tried. I think I still have the chip in my tooth and that incident was better than the taste.

"There's a lot of Queens in George Tenet"

Wow, so we now give out the Medal of Freedom, the so-called highest award the country can bestow, three times today as hush money to those Bush would prefer not to speak?

We're like a bad caricature of ourselves.

Demand Government Transparency

See here.

Conyers: Ohio Stonewalling on Recount

Here.

Now almost no one is discussing this, gleefully reporting on the mainstream today that Mr. Bush actually gained a vote when the Electoral College voted today.

No Kiss Under the White House Mistletoe for Rudy

Gee.

Should we really be paying Giuliani's firm huge chunks of millions in security consulting fees when he couldn't even figure out that his chief of police was usually in trouble or consorting with the wrong people?

And why is it the people charged with all this moral certainty are never too certain or too moral? Rudy was involved with at least two women while married to the previous Mrs. Giuliani, whom he cheated with after leaving the first Mrs. Guiliani.

Giving the Finger for His Country

You know, CNN was running this real heart wrencher of a story yesterday of a young enlisted man who - when faced with losing a finger or having his wedding ring cut off - said he loved his wife so much he could rather lose his finger.

Except the heart-wrenching part for me was that a) the soldier was 19 b) appears to have kids already besides being married c) is probably in the war because that's his only job option d) statistically speaking, it's a good bet he and his current wife won't even know each other in 10 years while there's no rebate on the finger and e) you figure the ring was an under $50 WalMart special.

BTW, the Army hospital personnel then lost the ring the soldier gave his anatomy for.

Please Remember

We go to trumped-up war with the creepy, deadender Defense Secretary we got and not the efficient, careful Defense Secretary we want.

Who Knew...

Bernie Kerik was such a STUD? Two affairs at once while married? And one of them to a Faux Snooze host for whom he sent a phalanx of homicide detectives to threaten people over her lost cell phone.

That's soooo touching (wiping tear)...