Dean's Advocacy Group

For those of you not on the Dean mailing list, CNN talks about Howard's plan to continue some of the "want a change" momentum grown by his candidacy.

On a Lighter, Ditzier Note

Did anyone catch Letterman last night?

If you saw it, it will come as little surprise that she was arrested a few hours later. That lady was flying particularly high.

Man, I've had to take tiny doses of oxicodone (one of the drugs she's been charged with having illegally) for nerve damage yet it's never had that effect on me. All I ever do when I take it is sit down and write the tech work that I can't when I'm in pain. I've never wanted to flash my breasts on TV or tell Letterman how much I love him.

Blasts Heard in Baghdad

Besides the suicide car bombing this morning, the AP wire is reporting several blasts have been heard tonight in Baghdad.

Wasn't Bush just taking credit for how well things are going? BTW, that's a rhetorical question. He was.

Calpundit's New Digs

If you haven't done so already, go welcome Kevin Drum of Calpundit in his new digs as the Political Animal blogger over at The Washington Monthly.

Atrios Posts

a link to an article stating that Poland now is up in arms about that whole lack of WMD thing, too. Imagine that.

Listening to "Democracy Now" today and the author talking about how the Saud Royal Family and bin Laden family members were allowed to fly about after 9-11 when the rest of the country could not, the special ways in which the Bush family reverently treats the Sauds and bin Ladens, et al, just have left me fuming.

Of course, I see a huge difference between Osama and other Arabs. No question. But why would Sauds and the bin Laden family be treated far better than any American by the American president? I'm tired of paying for the Bushies' high crimes, misdemeanors, and outright philandering to support their bank balances.

Clergy Taking a Stand

To fill the void, in part, left by the brave New Paltz mayor who was stopped in his performance of marriages between same sex partners and to stand in solidarity with the upstate NY clergy arrested for doing same, a minister and a rabbi will marry same sex couples on the steps of NY City Hall today.

What Bush Said One Year Ago

A reader at Atrios' site offers us George W. Bush's words on the eve of war last year. Made an interesting read.

And while you're there, Atrios is trying to raise lots of turkee money for the Democrats. If you've somehow managed to keep working and your bills paid during the Bush years, go contribute so you might still have a job after November.

This is Perverse But....

Last night - probably prompted both by watching some of the WH daily press conference and a friend referring to the movie yesterday - I dreamed that the movie Deliverance was being reshot, but this time, WH spokesman Scott McClellan was playing the Ned Beatty role.

Everytime I see him today, I feel very uncomfortable. Urm.

Al Qaeda: "We want Bush to win"

The statement said it supported President Bush (news - web sites) in his reelection campaign, and would prefer him to win in November rather than the Democratic candidate John Kerry (news - web sites), as it was not possible to find a leader "more foolish than you (Bush), who deals with matters by force rather than with wisdom."

Let's disappoint al Qaeda. Let's vote out Mr. Bush.

St. Mel

I wonder if the right wing will be so glowing in their praise for Mel (The Visionary) Gibson now that Mel has come out with remarks questioning Bush and his credibility (that whole WMD matter concerns Mel, I read).

Questioning Bush would seem like a decent reality check, in fact, and perhaps Mel isn't as disconnected from the mothership as some have thought. But wait... the right wing said before that to question Mel's vision was anti-Christian. So if they come out and attack Mel now, won't the right wing be anti-Christian?

This is all so confusing. Smirk.

The Spin on Osama

Now, granted, I consider Joe Scarbrough a buffoon, a sham, and I'm still trying to figure out why the bleep MSNBC would let him have a show. But even Joe surprised me last night with the depth of his stupidity.

He was going after Clinton full bore because Clinton didn't off Osama when they spotted him on that drone camera. No reality permeated Joe's veneer, however, like that Osama would have had to wait in the same place they spotted him for 18 hours before a mission could have gotten there. And God forbid Joe notice that Bush did nothing (and he was about to move into the White House and it would have been considered his call on how to proceed).

Joe reminds me of what a proctologist sees after he tells a man to bend over and pull his buttocks apart, especially if the patient has weeping hemorrhoids.

28th Victim Pulled

from rubble in the suicide car bomb in Baghdad, according to CNN and MSNBC. They do not expect any survivors.

On a Personal Note

This is mostly addressed toward the women who may be reading, although breast cancer strikes men, too (and for them, it's often far more serious because it's much less likely to be detected early).

After years of putting it off, I'm scheduled to go have a mammogram tomorrow. I'm discussing it here because a) I feel women should get them (even if I procrastinated again and again) and b) because it represents a terror for some of us.

I, for example, have been through breast cancer scares before. Thankfully, I always came out fine but the fear is always palpable. I've worked with advanced breast cancer patients and I know something of what they go through. Of course, cancer is always a great intrusion and life changer. But I think some cancer sites and types can be more destructive to the spirit. But then, I think we women often feel somewhat at the mercy of our hormones, and breast cancer is tied to those lovely hormones.

The next few days will be pretty tense for me. I have some suspicions they may find something (but I've been wrong before). I'm also kicking myself for not having the mammogram earlier.

If you're a woman who's 40 or over (or younger but with major concerns), even if you don't have health insurance, find a hospital or women's program that can help you connect with a screening center. Many cities, states, and private programs can seriously help defray the costs. When I signed up for mine, I got this lovely paperwork from the hospital telling me how I could pay for it if I didn't have coverage to handle it (I do, but the paperwork was still appreciated).

Blasts in Baghdad

The last I heard of the big bombings today, I heard that you can see the bodies of children laying out on the street.

Is this really what we went into Iraq to bestow on the Iraqi people? Weren't all those years of Saddam Hussein enough punishment? Are we really going to just bail on them on June 30th just so Mr. Bush can get elected? No, I refuse to say re-elected. I think there's still too much doubt on that subject.

If you're reading this and you are not registered to vote or usually don't vote, please... reconsider. Your future and the future of the world depend on your vote. I'm not asking you to vote for one particular candidate. That's up to you. I'm just asking you to vote.

Sick and Tired

I'm just sick, tired, and angry over how we get lied to. Colin Powell now has to end his remarks by saying, "That's the truth" because he has to know his credibility is somewhere deep in the sewer system and he's the best in this particular bunch.

Cheney's continual lies in speeches, Rumsfeld on TV on Sunday, Bush and McClellan this week talking about John Kerry - it's like being caught in this web where nothing but terrible lies are told and you feel threatened unless you're willing to say, "I believe!"

I won't even raise the issue of Condi Rice, whose extremely careful and halting manner of speech and the sheer look on her face tell you that nothing remotely like the truth ever passes her lips.

And not a single one of these folks has ever even considered that they have any accountability to anyone on anything.

Yes, I suppose you could say I'm incensed. Insert tired grin here.

Much Ado About Little

This whole "whether Kerry said more or foreign leaders with regard to those who wouldn't like to see Bush re-elected" is just patently stupid. Even the most devoted of the Republicans have to know the many, many times since late 2000 (long before 9-11) that those in other countries as well as our own have voiced the opinion that Bush is not received well.

But leave it to WH spinmaster (and he's not too masterful at it) Scott McClellan along with Bush and Cheney to pretend that Kerry simply mustname names. Frankly, it would be far faster to list those relative few places that would like to see Bush re-elected. And I'm not even sure Tony Blair would shoot to the top of that list anymore. The poodle's hind fur has been clipped too short too many times now.

Back With a Whimper, Not a Bang

Sorry for the dry spell in posts. I've been racing to finish up two projects (one book, one training CD) and float others. However, I've come up for air again.

If the Ads are Bad Now....

Just what are the campaign ads going to be like over the summer, let alone next fall?

I'm not worried at this point that a Democratic can't beat an incumbent Republican. What I am worried about (besides the economy, the future of our civilization, our soldiers abroad, health care, that DoD report that says the planet will be practically uninhabitable in 50 years, and why I have such dryer lint buildup, of course) is how "fair" the election will be given the electronic voting machines (the history of 2000 lingers still) and what Rove and Company may engineer between now and then to try to get people united behind Bush again.

Spain

I was bowled over today when I saw that more than 70% of respondents to a preposterous CNN poll asking (I'm paraphrased), "Is the election result in Spain a vote for terrorism?" said, "yes." I can only assume they're tainting the water supply with mind control drugs.

Such a decree is idiotic at best. First, Spain (as in the people of, and not the ruling leader) did not support the way their government aligned themselves with Mr. Bush in the way the US has crafted the War On Terror. That horrible bombing didn't just magically change everyone's opinion, not when sentiment against Spain's involvement ran 85-90% in opposition before the bombing.

I don't think most of the world supports terrorism. Certainly, the people of Spain do not. But there are some legitimate questions to be asked - and answered - about whether we (and we means the US parties responsibility for such planning and execution) are doing the right thing in the War on Terror. There's good reason to think, for example, that we're just increasing the number of people who may turn to terrorism in the wake of our actions.

Spain doesn't deserve our skepticism or silly remarks like "their votes amounted to a huge vote for Osama bin Laden." Unlike many Americans who hid in their homes after 9-11, the people of Spain (millions of them) turned out the day after to mourn the dead and stand against those who had committed this heinous act. They didn't "buy" their present prime minister's cooperation with Bush and they used their votes to state that loudly and clearly.

Spain is hardly the only country to have serious questions about our War on Terror. Many Americans have questions, too. Everyone should, considering how many times we've caught the White House misrepresenting information to us.

Maybe the whole rest of the world isn't wrong. Maybe we are.