|
Faithful husband, soccer dad,
basset owner, and former cowboy
Return to TboggHomePage
FELLOW TRAITORS
*The Nether-Count*
100 Monkeys Typing
Ain't No Bad Dude
Alicublog
Americablog
American Leftist
Attytood (Will Bunch)
Bad Attitudes
Balloon Juice
Better Inhale Deeply
Bitch Ph.D
Bloggy
Bob Harris
Brilliant At Breakfast
BusyBusyBusy
Byzantium's Shores
Creek Running North
Crooked Timber
Crooks and Liars
Cursor
Daily Kos
Dependable Renegade
David Ehrenstein
Democratic Veteran
Dohiyi Mir
Down With Tyranny
Echidne of the Snakes
Edicts of Nancy
Elayne Riggs
Eschaton (Atrios)
Ezra Klein
Failure Is Impossible
Feministe
Feministing
Firedoglake
First Draft
Freewayblogger
The Garance
The Group News Blog
Guano Island
Hairy Fish Nuts
Hammer of the Blogs
Hullabaloo(Digby)
I Am TRex
If I Ran the Zoo
I'm Not One To Blog
Interesting Times
James Wolcott
Jesus' General
Jon Swift
Juan Cole
King of Zembla
Kung Fu Monkey
Lance Mannion
Lawyers Guns and Money
Lean Left
Liberal Oasis
Main & Central
Majikthise
Making Light (Nielsen Hayden)
Mark Kleiman
Martini Revolution
MaxSpeak
MF Blog
MyDD
Needlenose
The Next Hurrah
Nitpicker
No More Mr. Nice Blog
Norbizness
Norwegianity
Oliver Willis
One Good Move
Orcinus
Pacific Views
Pam's House Blend
Pandagon
Pharyngula
Political Animal(K.Drum)
The Poorman
Progressive Gold
Right Hand Thief
Rising Hegemon
Roger Ailes
Rude Pundit
Rumproast
Sadly, No
Seeing The Forest
Shakesville
Sisyphus Shrugged
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
Slacktivist
SteveAudio
Suburban Guerilla
TalkLeft
The American Street
The Left Coaster
The Road To Surfdom
The Sideshow
The Talking Dog
The Talent Show
Tom Tomorrow
Tom Watson
Whiskeyfire
UggaBugga
Wampum
Wonkette
World O'Crap
TOSS ME
A BONE
Amazon Wish List
SOURCES
MSNBC
CNN
The Washington Post
Media Matters
The New York Times
The Guardian
Yahoo News
Salon
The Raw Story
Common Dreams
Media Transparency
The Nation
Alternet
Joe Conason
Talking Points Memo
THE VAST WASTELAND
Captain Corndog & Friends
Cheerleaders Gone Spazzy
80% True
Corner of Mediocrity and Banality
Village Idiots Central
Darwin's Waiting Room
News for Mouthbreathers
Mailbox
Your e-mail may be reprinted sans name and e-mail address. Think about how stupid you want to appear.
Blogroll Me!
Site Feed
|
Thursday, July 31, 2003
Sources & methods
Tom Toles
posted by tbogg at 10:37 AM
|
The stations of the crossed
Andrew Sullivan is trying desperately to hang onto his deeply felt, yet one-sided, love affair with Commander Codpiece. With todays Rose Garden announcement regarding gay marriage, Andy has slipped into the third stage of the Elisabeth Kübler Ross model. To wit:
Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance
Here's Sullivan:
I cannot believe that they will ostracize gay citizens for ever in an impulsive and explosive constitutional amendment. I also cannot believe that this president wants to marginalize an entire group of citizens for good simply because of who they are. Certainly, if this amendment is pursued by this administration, it's the end of any relationship between the gay community and the Republican party. Those of us who have tried to build a bridge between the two are watching helplessly as the White House mulls burning it. They won't, will they? Or will they?
Okay, so here's something that I don't support but offer to the president as a suggestion. He wants to reserve marriage to heterosexuals but he doesn't want to hurt, wound or marginalize gay people. I'm prepared to accept that is his genuine position. But it won't be convincing if all he does is back the FMA, as currently worded. How to avoid that nightmare? He could back an alternative amendment that says merely that no state should be forced to recognize the marriages in any other state. That essentially codifies federalism and prevents a nationalization of gay marriage through the courts (a highly unlikely scenario, in my view anyway). And it doesn't tell states what they can and cannot do for their own residents. It doesn't impose a single definition of marriage on the whole country. And it preserves state autonomy. That seems to me a sensible compromise if some kind of amendment looks impossible to stop. It's conservative in the right sense. I, for one, want to see federalism work on this matter. Why? Because I think the experience in one state will reduce the fear and panic elsewhere. But those who predict disaster also have a chance to prove their case. Isn't that the way this country is supposed to work?
Why do fools fall in love?
posted by tbogg at 1:35 AM
|
Careful... you don't know where that tongue has been.
My new pet rock (see here), The Count de'Ubaldi, writes:
Does that mean that those same people refuse most classic works of authors who laid fifty-cent words down thicker than asphalt on an overfunded, heavy-tonnage-vehicle highway project? We have a rich tongue: let's use it.
...and use it, he did:
Here's the king:
We've got a lot of our fellow citizens who are in e-mail contact, phone contact with people who live throughout Iran, and I want to thank them for that.
Interestingly enough, there's a TV station that I think people have read about that's broadcast out of L.A. by one of our citizens. He or she has footed the bill. It's widely watched.
The people of Iran are interested in freedom, and we stand by their side. We stand on the side of those who are desperate for freedom in Iran. We understand their frustrations in living in a society that is totalitarian in nature. And now is the time for the world to come together to send a clear message.
An Also Sprach Zarathustra moment in public relations, truly. For a man of an often derided, "modest" vocabulary, I have been privy to an American president and reelection candidate who very well may, politics obliging, absolutely steamroll the equivocal, vicissitudinous, empty and morose ramblings currently offered by the gaggle of his rivals.
Howard Fineman couldn't have fellated said it any better....
posted by tbogg at 12:25 AM
|
Strike three. Caught looking...stupid.
Steve at The Daily Kos points out that Bill Safire can't even hit the Mendoza line when it comes to predictions.
Safire:
When Iraqi scientists are permitted to talk to inspectors and journalists without fear of having their tongues later cut out and their families slaughtered by Saddam, the truth will out in vivid detail about the decadelong deception of the U.N.
Reality:
Despite vigorous efforts, the U.S. government has been unsuccessful so far in finding key senior Iraqi scientists to support its prewar claims that former president Saddam Hussein was pursuing an aggressive program to develop nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, according to senior administration officials and members of Congress who have been briefed recently on the subject.
[snip]
No matter the circumstances, all of the scientists interviewed have denied that Hussein had reconstituted his nuclear weapons program or developed and hidden chemical or biological weapons since United Nations inspectors left in 1998
We can expect an explanation from Mr. Safire...when?
posted by tbogg at 12:11 AM
|
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Wrapping up the California Jewish Virgin vote
We hear that Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank will actually have an opponent this year. His name is Chuck Morse, a Boston-area talk radio host with no political experience. Why is Chuck, who favors the puffy-faced receding hairline look so popular with many radio hosts, running? Well, among other reasons, Chuck says...
Individual rights:
The Declaration of Independence states, "We are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights" which means that rights emanate from "our Creator" not the State. Government exists to preserve and protect those unalienable rights.
Restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms should be minimal.
School Vouchers and/or tax credits.
English as the National Language.
Abolition of the Department of Education.
An evaluation of the size and purpose of all federal agencies
I believe that you can find "our creator" discussing these and many other interesting Constitutional issues in Galatians 2-4. So far Chuck's candidacy has attracted the attention of these stock photo models and a certain little scamp from across the country who, unfortunately, can't actually vote for Chuck.
"Talk-radio hosts running for office is a great idea -- talk radio is gaining popularity," Humphries observes. "But if you have a 10-share in the ratings, which is outrageously high, that's only 10 percent of the population of the city. You've got a lot of people who have never, will never hear of you. Most of them are great guys, and it would be wonderful if they won. But they're entertainers. Could they do a better job than most of these politicians? Yes. But it's a different arena. I'm skeptical. Maybe it will change, but I don't think that talk-radio hosts get respect -- true respect -- from the political arena."
That could change. Michael Reagan, son of Ronald and nationally syndicated host, has been discussed as a possible candidate for the Senate. Nationally syndicated host Larry Elder of ABC Radio recently switched party registration from independent to Republican; many consider him a possible candidate. Senatorial rumors have surrounded Sean Hannity, ABC Radio's syndicated talk-show host based in New York.
Morse remains optimistic for the future of talk-radio candidates. He's looking forward to debating Frank, telling me to expect "some real wild and raucous debates." At the very least, a solid Morse showing should solidify the trend of campaigning radio hosts. At the most, a stunning Morse upset could usher in a wave of talk-radio congressmen.
Kids say the dumbdest things.....
posted by tbogg at 11:49 PM
|
"President Bush is on a faith-based roll"
Gary at the Self Made Pundit is back.
This makes us happy.
posted by tbogg at 10:02 PM
|
With six you get filibuster
Miguel Estrada has been shot down more times than this guy in a singles bar:
Senate Republicans lost a seventh filibuster vote Wednesday in their fight to make Miguel Estrada the first Hispanic on the federal appeals court in the nation's capital. Democrats appeared to be setting up more filibusters on President Bush's judicial nominees.
As Congress worked toward an August recess, Republicans pressured Democrats to confirm Bush's nominees.
"The American people deserve it," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. "They understand that we are not fulfilling our responsibility in this body without an up-or-down vote. That is our job. That is our responsibility in advise-and-consent."
But the GOP fell five votes short of the 60 votes needed to cut off debate and move Estrada's nomination to confirmation, and Democrats appeared to be setting up another filibuster for Henry Saad, an Arab-American judge from Michigan whom Bush has nominated to the federal appeals court. A Saad filibuster would be the sixth for federal appellate nominees this year.
Republicans, who also lost a filibuster vote Tuesday for Texas judge Priscilla Owen, will try Thursday and Friday to win confirmation for Alabama Attorney General William Pryor and California judge Carolyn Kuhl. But both nominees are expected to be filibustered, as is Mississippi judge Charles Pickering when he comes before the Senate again.
Meanwhile, National Reviews Byron York, who is the Bush Administration's cabana boy when it comes to judicial nominations repeats the Anti-Catholic talking point, but with many reservations:
The GOP campaign knocked Democrats back on their heels, and last week's debate in the Judiciary Committee turned into a bitter argument in which Democrats, almost beside themselves with anger at having their motives challenged, accused Republicans of injecting religion into the confirmation process. Questions of Pryor's alleged extremism and alleged improper fundraising took a back seat as frustrated Democrats defended themselves against Republican charges of anti-Catholic bias.
For Republicans, it was a brilliant turnaround. But it came at some cost. To turn the tables on Democrats, the GOP had to resort to the kind of interest-group-sensitivity attack they have condemned when Democrats used them against Bush nominees. For example, the GOP's accusations of Democratic anti-Catholicism are strikingly similar to oft-repeated Democratic charges that Republican nominees are "insensitive" to issues of civil rights.
The problem with such charges is that they are almost always phony. There is no more evidence that Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are anti-Catholic than there is evidence that Republican nominees are racists or judicial activists or religious zealots.
In addition, the Republican counterattack led to an extraordinary and uncomfortable scene in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing room, in which members of the committee engaged in a semi-theological debate over what "good Catholics" do or do not believe. Democrats were aghast, but had little room to complain, since on many occasions in the past their own tactics created other extraordinary and uncomfortable scenes over other inappropriate allegations. Last week, they found themselves the target. One might say it couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of guys.
But some Republicans were uncomfortable as well, and were left wondering: Where would this new strategy lead? To win a momentary advantage on Pryor, Republicans had acted like Democrats at their worst. And no one was terribly happy about that.
Note one thing that stands out in Yorks comments:
Questions of Pryor's alleged extremism and alleged improper fundraising took a back seat as frustrated Democrats defended themselves against Republican charges of anti-Catholic bias.
Looks like Lil' Perjuring Pryor's Excellent Fundraising Adventure hasn't gone away yet.
posted by tbogg at 6:40 PM
|
Lying, inside-trading, coke-snorting, AWOL, dry-drunk, fake cowboy, election thief claims gays are "sinners"
President Bush said today that federal government lawyers are working on legislation that would define marriage as a union between a man and woman.
[snip]
Mr. Bush was responding to a question premised on the assumption that many of his political supporters believe "that homosexuality is immoral" and has been given too much cultural acceptance.
"As someone who's spoken out in strongly moral terms, what's your view on homosexuality?" a reporter asked the president.
"Yeah, I am mindful that we're all sinners," Mr. Bush replied. "And I caution those who may try to take the speck out of their neighbor's eye when they got a log in their own. I think it's very important for our society to respect each individual, to welcome those with good hearts, to be a welcoming country.
Speak for yourself, monkeyboy.
And what is with this "welcoming country" crapola? Did I miss John Ashcroft designating all gays as Resident Aliens? Repeat after me:
They're here, they're queer, and they aren't going to vote for you.
Meanwhile the Log Cabin Republicans issued a statement from their closet:
Log Cabin Republicans are concerned following comments from President George W. Bush today in a Rose Garden press conference.
Responding to a reporter's question on the morality of homosexuality the President responded, "...I think it's very important for our society to respect each individual, to welcome those with good hearts, to be a welcoming country." The President then went on to say that he would not compromise his long standing belief that marriage should be between a man and a women and that White House lawyers are looking at ways to codify that position.
"Log Cabin reminds the President that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), signed by President Clinton in 1996, defined marriage as being between only a man and a women. The bill passed Congress with bi-partisan support. There are far more important priorities facing our nation than duplicating existing federal legislation. We encourage the White House to focus on winning the war on terror and jump-starting the American economy.
Guerriero continued, "Log Cabin Republicans believe in civil recognition of gay and lesbians couples in committed relationships. This basic recognition would encourage stable families, offer tax fairness, insure inheritance rights and guarantee hospital visitation rights for American families. Despite misinformation from the radical right, this civil recognition would in no way interfere in religious freedom or religious traditions."
Log Cabin Republicans agree with Vice-President Dick Cheney on this issue. In his vice-presidential debate in 2000, Cheney stated, "People should be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to enter into. It is really no one else's business, in terms of trying to regulate or - or prohibit behavior in that regard. ...I think we ought to do everything we can to - to tolerate and accommodate whatever kind of relationships people want to enter into."
Log Cabin Republicans were also relieved to hear that, when John Ashcroft sets up the Reparative Therapy Camps, they will get first shot at staying in the John Paulk* cabin which is the one with the nice Italian marble floors and interesting window treatments.
*I had forgotten all about Matthew Glavin (noted in the Paulk article). Nice guy, but if you run into him, you may not want to shake his hand.
posted by tbogg at 5:26 PM
|
Bulwer-Lytton with a laptop
I think that most bloggers tend to write in a voice that is similar to the way that they speak with allowances made to make them sound smarter than they really are. So what are we to make of someone who writes like this:
Discourse and Dissemblers
I had hoped, on Sunday, that the debate on the war begun anew by Steven den Beste might remain civil and thoughtful. Sadly, in just a few days Steven has been impugned by the likely sources, and it's ad hominem ad nauseum with the odd hackneyed, long-since-disproven shibboleth mixed in between near-run-on sentences of full-bore screeds.
Steven, why even bother to take note of some of those replies? It's not debate, it's profanity. Stick to the serious opposition, who actually do share a common interest in defeating our enemies.
A few days ago I sent him a helpful Churchill quote - most likely lost in the flurry of e-mails and, being benignly pleasant, buried under what must have been a torrent of vitriol. All the same, another one:
You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.
Winston Churchill, certainly no stranger to vituperative attacks and many political losses over the course of his life. Steven, know that you are supported; when others have invested in spoiled philosophies and cannot afford to consider them wrong, it's not easy being right.
I have two theories about this. Either we have a laptop-owning Victorian living amongst us, or George Will has a lovechild which, considering his past, isn't as unlikely as it seems.
I hope to resolve this conundrum in a fortnight...
(get your dose of the real Bulwer-Lytton here)
(Added:) Good lord. It gets worse.
(Added redux): It looks like Parson Ubaldi is of a delicate nature (possibly due to the difficulties in obtaining laudanam in these stressful days). I dropped a comment off over this post which apparently caused him to come down with a case of the vapors...but not before responding, in part:
Just a bit of advice: it's probably not best for being taken seriously by filling your blog with brittle attacks against people with whom you disagree, rather than, say, challenging their arguments.
I wanted to repond by pointing out that I don't expect to be taken seriously, while on the other hand, he does. But that there is still hope for him. All he has to do is pretend that uBlog is a parody blog written by someone who fancies himself erudite and thinks that writing stilted prose is a sign of deep thought. But alas, I find myself banned from his generally unused comments section that are as barren as Ann Coulter's womb.
Jeez. You try to help someone out......
posted by tbogg at 3:14 PM
|
Straining to make a point
Let us now turn our attention to two seemingly normal people (well, one of them, at least) whose seem a bit obsessed. Of course, Professor I Just Link'em gives them his seal of approval.
First off, we have the BBC Obsessive with this:
MORE CHEATING AT THE BBC? A reader sends this:
You tell me.
I ran across this on an Afghan website I frequent. Specific URL of
forum thread is --
Link
Link to BBC story (Afghans 'live in climate of fear')
...NOTE THE PICTURE with this story...
HOWEVER....
Yahoo says...."Afghan women and girls watch the arrival of Afghan
President Hamid Karzai in Afghanistan"
Yahoo link
SAME PICTURE? Uncropped.
See the smiles they had to crop out to put it in the BBC piece?
Is this common practice?.
Um. Okay. Here are the pictures again. BBC and Yahoo.
Boy, if that doesn't knock the shit out of the Zapruder film, I don't know what does.
Of course Glenn smiles benignly and nods approvingly:
At the BBC? It's starting to look that way. The cropping certainly makes the photo fit the headline better, doesn't it? (If you'll follow the Yahoo! link you'll see that they're actually craning for a better view of Hamid Karzai; the actual story hook is a $1 billion aid package for Afghanistan, which doesn't seem especially worrisome.) I'd call this a minor example of the BBC's tendency toward spin, but it's more evidence of just how pervasive that is.
Yeah. Pervasive.
Moving on, Glenn links to pretend economist and all-around general flake, Donald Luskin:
ALL SEXED UP AND NO PLACE TO GO: Is Paul Krugman really George Bush's secret weapon?
In yet another futile effort to attack Paul Krugman, and thereby defend the honor of our great and glorious leader, Luskin leads with his most serious charge: creeping Mo Dowdism...
Paul Krugman wrote in his New York Times column Tuesday that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay "reveals a powerful contempt for the public." Krugman's in a snit over something DeLay said last week, addressing a group of college Republicans in Washington:
To gauge just how out of touch the Democrat leadership is on the war on terror, just close your eyes and try to imagine Ted Kennedy landing that Navy jet on the deck of that aircraft carrier.
Never mind that Krugman took two words out of what DeLay really said, without an ellipsis (that kind of slop is S.O.P. at the "newspaper of record" nowadays). What counts is that what DeLay said was actually pretty funny.
Whoa there, Sparky. Krugman took two words out of DeLay's quote?
Let's look again at what Krugman wrote:
To gauge just how out of touch the Democrat leadership is on the war on terror, just close your eyes and try to imagine Ted Kennedy landing that Navy jet on the deck of that aircraft carrier.
Here is what DeLay said with the all-important missing two words highlighted:
To try to gauge just how out of touch the Democrat leadership is on the war on terror, just close your eyes and try to imagine Ted Kennedy landing that Navy jet on the deck of that aircraft carrier.
Thta's it. That's Luskin's best shot. Sad thing is, that's better than most of Luskin's "Truth Squad" ramblings. Maybe Luskin should look into the domain name www.poorandreallyreallystupidandsadandludicrous.com. I hear they're holding it for him.
In the meantime, as Tom DeLay might say, Glenn Reynolds "problem is not a lack of patriotism. It's a lack of seriousness. "
Heh. Indeed.
posted by tbogg at 2:48 PM
|
These three Ashcrofts walk into a bar
Sent in by reader Chris, from the Playboy joke page:
Attorney General John Ashcroft visited an elementary school to give a civics presentation. After he finished, he asked the young boys and girls, "Are there any questions?"
Bobby raised his hand and said, "I have three questions. How did Bush win the election with fewer votes than Gore? Are you using the Patriot Act to limit civil liberties? And why haven't you caught Osama bin Laden yet?"
Just then, the bell rang and the teacher announced it was recess. Half an hour later, the children returned. Ashcroft said, "Let's start where we left off. Are there any more questions?"
A girl raised her hand and asked, "Is it really legal to hold suspected terrorists without letting them talk to attorneys? Why did the recess bell go off 10 minutes early? And where the hell is Bobby?"
posted by tbogg at 12:05 PM
|
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
I'll pretend like we want disclosure...you pretend like you know what 'disclosure' means
Good news. The Saudis are down with the cover-up:
The Saudi foreign minister said Tuesday that he was disappointed that President Bush would not declassify 28 pages from the congressional report on the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but he said he understood Bush’s reasoning and did not dispute the decision.
[snip]
Prince Saud said his government continued to “believe that the missing 28 pages would allow us to respond to any allegation in a clear and credible fashion.”
But he said Bush explained that publicizing the missing pages would compromise U.S. intelligence sources and investigative techniques. Although he said he was “disappointed,” he said he accepted the decision and strongly defended Bush against accusations that he was trying to “cover up” Saudi involvement.
“We have nothing to hide, and we do not seek nor need to be shielded,” the prince declared.
In related news, every polygraph between the White House and Riyadh spontaneously combusted this afternoon. No deaths were reported...
posted by tbogg at 4:36 PM
|
There'a a hole in daddy's arm where all the money goes*
Via Leah at Eschaton, here is what President Inigo Montoya is putting American soldiers through to get revenge for his daddy, and to get our oil out from under their sand.
Remember this the next time some Barcalounge Warrior is quick to say what "We" need to do in Iraq when they're sitting safe and sound at home where the only 'popping' noise they hear is coming from a bag of Orville Redenbacher in the microwave.
Media Whores Online pretty much nails it right here.
* Sam Stone
posted by tbogg at 3:07 PM
|
I'm just a rambling gambling man
Bill Bennet really should learn to quit while he's, well, not quite ahead:
I'm not down; I'm up and I'm back and nobody's going to drive me out of public life," Bennett says in the prerecorded interview with Russert.
Three months after admitting his wagering woes, he says he has learned his lesson: "You will lose at the end of the day." Bennett, 60, was tagged a hypocrite by his critics when Newsweek magazine and The Washington Monthly detailed his gambling habits.
"I way overdid it," he said. "I gambled too much, given who I am and what I do."
Still, "I'm not a hypocrite," he declared.
"I never got on the soapbox about gambling," says former President Ronald Reagan's ex-education secretary who also served as drug czar under former President George Bush.
"Did I fall short of my standards by doing too much, by engaging in this at an excessive level? Yes, but that doesn't make my arguments any less good or not."
Using Bennet's standard that he "never got on a soapbox about gambling", one has to wonder what other vices the One Armed Pundit indulges in that he hasn't condemned. I mean, there's a whole world of bad stuff out there that he could be doing...
Leaves the seat up, takes the biggest piece of pie, parks in handicapped spots, drinks from the carton, leaves the cap off the toothpaste, dog raping, talks during the movie, uses a penny at 7/11 but never leaves one, only tips 5%, doesn't use his turn signals, never rewinds videos, goes right to sleep after his orgasm, never replaces empty toilet paper roll, bogarting that joint, never answers in the form of a question when watching Jeopardy, doesn't return mix-tapes, never recycles, eats last Entenmanns and leaves empty box on the counter, reads over your shoulder on the bus, still tells dead baby jokes, hasn't returned power drill he borrowed in May, orders 12 CD's for a penny from BMG music club...and never pays, doesn't rinse dishes before putting them in dishwasher, still owes you $1 million dollars from that night in Vegas when he said he was "red-hot", plays "got'cher nose" and never gives it back when he's done, slurps his spaghetti one strand at a time, steals crayons from Dennys, always bumming cigarettes, leaves tissues lying around after evening of watching Spice channel, wipes nose on sleeve, calls everyone "dude", breaks up with mistress right before Christmas so he doesn't have to buy her a present, always borrowing your comb, thinks Everyone Loves Raymond is funny, sings out loud when wearing his Walkman, hogs TV remote, leaves cap off of anal lube, doesn't wipe his feet, always bumming Viagra, leaves in the 7th inning, can't tell Olson twins apart, always borrows sports page before going to the bathroom, 14 items in 12 item only line, spells ' color' as ' colour' for no good reason....
You get the idea.
posted by tbogg at 2:27 PM
|
Who cares what you Richard Shelby thinks
President Sleeping With The Enemy doesn't want us to know about his good pals in Saudi Arabia:
President Bush refused to declassify part of a congressional report on possible links between Saudi government officials and the Sept. 11 hijackers, saying Tuesday that making the entire document public "would help the enemy" by revealing intelligence sources and methods.
The administration's decision was a rebuff to Saudi Arabia, which was upset by the contents of the intelligence report. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal was meeting later in the day with Bush.
"I absolutely have no qualms at all because there's an ongoing investigation into the 9-11 attacks, and we don't want to compromise that investigation," Bush said at a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the Rose Garden.
"If people are being investigated, it doesn't make sense for us to let them know who they are," Bush told reporters before meeting with al-Faisal.
Moreover, Bush said, "declassification of that part of a 900-page document would reveal sources and methods that would make it harder for us to win the war on terror. ... It would help the enemy if they knew our sources and methods."
The top Republican senator on the 9-11 inquiry, Richard Shelby, said Sunday that 95 percent of the classified pages could be released without jeopardizing national security. Bush ignored a reporter's question on Shelby's assessment.
Richard Shelby was involved in the production of the report and has actually read the report. It would be fair to say that George W. Bush (who we are told is "not a fact checker") has not read the report and his knowledge of its contents is limited to what Condi Rice wrote down for him on one side of a 3 X 5 card. And, as we all know, Condi Rice hasn't exactly laid claim to the tiara for Miss Due Diligence for 2003, or for 2002 or 2001, for that matter...
posted by tbogg at 1:06 PM
|
Welcome to the Hot Links
Sadly, No.
posted by tbogg at 11:02 AM
|
When John looks in the mirror he sees Eric
You know if Eric Rudolph was just a bit more swarthy it would make John Ashcroft's decision a bit easier:
Rudolph will stand trial for the bombing the New Woman, All Women Health Care Clinic in Birmingham, Alabama, in January 1998. Birmingham police Officer Robert Sanderson was killed by the bomb, while a nurse was critically injured.
Earlier this month Rudolph pleaded not guilty to the bombing charge, which carries a maximum sentence of the death penalty if he is convicted.
Attorney General John Ashcroft has not made a decision on whether to seek the death penalty.
Rudolph, 36, is also charged in the 1996 Olympic bombing in Atlanta that killed one and injured more than 100, as well as bombings the next year in Atlanta at an abortion clinic and a gay nightclub.
One country's terrorist is another man's tool of God.
posted by tbogg at 10:38 AM
|
My name is Bill. (Hi Bill) And I....don't have a gambling problem.
Chain smoking, overweight, liar Bill Bennett is thinking about suing a few Vegas casinos.
Morals czar William Bennett is considering filing lawsuits against Las Vegas casino companies that may have leaked documents detailing his gambling habits.
Bennett, the architect and leading advocate of Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" anti-drug campaign, was outed in the May issue of The Washington Monthly magazine as a gambler who has wagered -- and lost -- millions over the past decade at Bellagio and Caesars Atlantic City.
During a 60-minute interview with Tim Russert on CNCB this weekend, the former education secretary complained his privacy rights had been "deliberately damaged" while also mocking Las Vegas' latest national marketing campaigns.
"By the way, there's a commercial on that people may have seen about Las Vegas, that 'What happens here stays here.' Well, not in my case. Some people there were trying to do me great harm," Bennett said.
The "What happens here" ad campaign is part of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority's latest marketing campaign to boost tourism to the city.
He argued the magazine report stemmed from the release of "some documents" by the casinos themselves which was not legal and violated his privacy rights.
He alleges documents were selectively leaked to create a false impression that he had a gaming problem.
First you have to admit that you have a problem. Losing $8 million is a problem.
I'm waiting for Bill to later claim that playing slots "isn't really gambling". It would be the first true thing he's said about the affair.
posted by tbogg at 10:12 AM
|
"...does the ailing profession of American journalism really need to be indulging freaks right now?"
Great letter in the local paper:
"Manifestly there is no civil liberties crisis in this country. Consequently, people who claim there is must have a different goal in mind. What else can you say of such people but that they are traitors?"
Huh? Even if Coulter had actually invested the time and wit to show that "manifestly" there is no civil liberties crisis in this country, how does she possibly come to the conclusion that those who say there is are traitors? Aside from the very specific legal description of treason, of which Coulter, as a lawyer, should have some passing knowledge, this doesn't even measure up to the most superficial layman's understanding of that highly charged term.
Someone who says there's a civil liberties crisis in the country is not engaging in treason, but rather the oldest, most honored act of Americanism – expressing a free opinion.
What is difficult to understand is why the mainstream media persist in providing this unstable woman with a platform for her extremist ramblings. I know that she has a legion of fans who buy her books to feed their fantasies of a one-party state, not unlike those in Cuba, Iran, and Korea. And I know there's a tendency in the culture to find amusement in over-the-top caricatures modeled after professional wrestlers. But does the ailing profession of American journalism really need to be indulging freaks right now? Is rational discourse in this deeply polarized country at all served by her willful slanders?
I know it sounds like I may be calling for the media to blacklist Ann Coulter. But all I'm really calling for is a little editorial judgment. If it ends up being a blacklist, however, as an avowed champion of McCarthyism, Ann Coulter won't mind.
-DAN RILEY
posted by tbogg at 9:32 AM
|
Shut-in von Clausewitz
This would be funny if it weren't so sad.
When I was a kid, I used to play Risk too. I guess it never occured to me that it qualified me to be a geo-political strategist.
posted by tbogg at 3:01 AM
|
Defiler
Proclamation by the President
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the laws of the United States and consistent with United States Code, Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 8, as amended, do hereby proclaim that effective Wednesday, July 23, 2003, Executive Flag Desecration and Defilement Privileges are hereby permanently expanded to include whatsoever George W. Bush feels like doing, up to and including drawing on it, painting on it, or even taking a big steaming Presidential dump on it.
posted by tbogg at 2:04 AM
|
The empty calorie President
The good work on this was done by reader Andrew.
NY Times:
``I have recently seen for myself the great possibilities of Africa and the great needs of Africa,'' he said. ``That continent's economic future depends upon trade. We'll continue to help African countries become full partners in trade and prosperity.''
Mr. Bush said, as he has often in recent months, that one key to prosperity is lower taxes, so people can spend more.
``We've been through a lot: recession, war, emergencies and corporate scandals,'' he said. ``But I'm optimistic about the future. I'm optimistic about the future because I see hopeful signs.
Renana Brooks:
Bush uses several dominating linguistic techniques to induce surrender to his will. The first is empty language. This term refers to broad statements that are so abstract and mean so little that they are virtually impossible to oppose. Empty language is the emotional equivalent of empty calories. Just as we seldom question the content of potato chips while enjoying their pleasurable taste, recipients of empty language are usually distracted from examining the content of what they are hearing. Dominators use empty language to conceal faulty generalizations; to ridicule viable alternatives; to attribute negative motivations to others, thus making them appear contemptible; and to rename and "reframe" opposing viewpoints.
[snip]
Another of Bush's dominant-language techniques is personalization. By personalization I mean localizing the attention of the listener on the speaker's personality. Bush projects himself as the only person capable of producing results. In his post-9/11 speech to Congress he said, "I will not forget this wound to our country or those who inflicted it. I will not yield; I will not rest; I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people." He substitutes his determination for that of the nation's. In the 2003 State of the Union speech he vowed, "I will defend the freedom and security of the American people." Contrast Bush's "I will not yield" etc. with John F. Kennedy's "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
The word "you" rarely appears in Bush's speeches. Instead, there are numerous statements referring to himself or his personal characteristics--folksiness, confidence, righteous anger or determination--as the answer to the problems of the country. Even when Bush uses "we," as he did many times in the State of the Union speech, he does it in a way that focuses attention on himself. For example, he stated: "Once again, we are called to defend the safety of our people, and the hopes of all mankind. And we accept this responsibility."
posted by tbogg at 1:40 AM
|
Buying our friends
So this is how you create a " coalition":
The Pentagon has agreed to pay more than $200 million in airlift and support costs for a multinational peacekeeping division under Polish command that should be deployed to southern Iraq by the end of September, a senior defense official said.
Dov S. Zakheim, the Pentagon comptroller, said Friday that a letter of understanding signed last week with the Poles calls for the Defense Department to pay $30 million to $40 million in airlift costs for transporting most of the 9,000-member division to Iraq and about $200 million to cover meals, medical care and other support costs.
"It guarantees that within the next few months, this division will be on the ground," a senior defense official said.
They will join these famous fighting forces:
In addition to the Polish and Spanish troops, the Polish multinational division will include a 1,640-soldier brigade from the Ukraine and smaller battalions from Hungary, Romania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mongolia and the Philippines, the Polish have announced.
Just like when Zell Miller votes with the Republicans allowing them to say that the measure has "bi-partisan support", this allows them to call it a coalition...when we're paying for it and our soldiers are the ones dying.
posted by tbogg at 1:16 AM
|
Monday, July 28, 2003
The Liars Club
Geoff Hoon meet Condi Rice.
Condi...Geoff, Geoff...Condi.
You two have a lot in common.
posted by tbogg at 12:22 AM
|
Because if you tear down Neil Cavuto, you're tearing down Fox News, and if you're tearing down Fox News, you're tearing down America....
For some reason Townhall gives Neil Cavuto bandwidth not to write well-reasoned analytical columns on the issues of the day, but instead to write these personal pissy letters to his readers or viewers or whatever. This weeks endeavor hits a new low in faux patriotic bluster:
But occasionally I get particularly hurtful e-mail that even I must admit hits a chord. One concerned my wearing a flag pin each night on my program. I don't make an issue of it, but one particular viewer did. A Fred C. (I'll leave out his last name) wrote "it bordered on the sickening, day in and day out, shoving your pseudo-patriotism on viewers who want news, not cheerleading."
He went on to say that since I didn't serve in the military, who was I to talk up the military; and since I enjoyed an apparently cushy life, how dare I act "like a bleeding patriot."
This is as much an opportunity to respond to Fred as it is to make a point in general.
First off, I don't make a big thing of wearing a pin. It is, after all, just a pin. But it's a powerful symbol for me. It represents a country that lets me do what I like to do, in an environment in which I'm free to do it.
(Cue swelling patriotic music....)
Fred, I don't take issue with people who do not wear flag pins, so why should you take issue with those who do? You go on to claim in your letter that my patriotic bias shows through again and again. You're right there, because I do like it here. I like the opportunities this country affords me, all made possible by people who made big sacrifices before me.
You say that I cannot salute because I haven't served. I strongly disagree, because you see, Fred, you don't have to march in the parade to proudly wave and honor those who do. You don't have to give blood for your country to never forget those who did that and much more for your country.
(Bring up sound of Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic...)
Frankly I'm sick and tired of journalists who prefer to honor a profession more than the country that makes that profession possible. I believe strongly, Fred, that you can be a good journalist and a good American at the same time. The two are not mutually exclusive.
I ask just as penetrating questions and probe just as critical issues. But I do so with a firm appreciation of the place from which I'm doing it . . . the United States of America. You're right, Fred, I didn't serve this country. But I do love this country. I'm the son of a World War II veteran who fought to make sure I could enjoy the good life I do today. I'd much sooner salute that generation than cavalierly forget that generation.
( Images of bombs bursting in air....explosions....backdrop of enormous flag waving slowly in the wind...turn music up to 11....)
I'd much rather emphasize the good in this country than harp on the bad in this country. All is not perfect here, but I'll tell you this . . . it's a hell of a lot better than almost anywhere else. I believe that, and I report that.
You're right, Fred. That makes me biased. I'd much sooner look at those who serve my country and say "thank you" than "screw you." They're the reason I'm here. The least I can do is let them know how grateful I am that they are here.
A pin is a small thing, but for me it's a powerful thing . . . a daily reminder of a country and a system of government that lets me do what I love every day.
Fred, you call me a cheerleader. You're right. I am. And I'm damn proud of it . . . first as a citizen, then a distant second . . . as a journalist.
(Crescendo! Jets flying overhead. Twenty-one gun salute. Fireworks over the Statue of Liberty. Little Jon-Jon saluting his father's casket. Fade to Iwo Jima statue. More flags. More music. More everything. Cavuto's potato-head morphs into Uncle Sam....)
Boy. If that doesn't get you all goosebumpy and nipple-hardened.....
posted by tbogg at 12:08 AM
|
Friday, July 25, 2003
You know, putting Let The Eagle Soar in heavy rotation just might make these little problems go away
Clear Channel is having a little Justice Department problem.
The Justice Department is investigating Clear Channel, the nation's largest radio owner, amid complaints about consolidation and the use of coercive tactics by the company, officials said Friday.
R. Hewitt Pate, assistant attorney general for antitrust, told a House subcommittee that there is an investigation into Clear Channel. Officials would not disclose any details about the nature of the probe.
Pate said in a hearing Thursday that the Justice Department had interviewed people that Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., had referred to the agency after they complained of coercive tactics.
San Antonio-based Clear Channel, which owns 1,200 radio stations, played down the investigation, saying in a statement that the department "has evaluated, on a routine basis, nearly every acquisition that Clear Channel has made and approved each one.
"When you run a big company, engaging in complex transactions, inquiries of this sort become fairly routine. We are cooperating fully with all DOJ requests and we are confident the DOJ will find, as it has in the past, that our company is managed with the highest degree of integrity."
Berman wrote the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission in 2002 complaining that consolidation in the entertainment and media industries was hurting recording artists, copyright holders, advertisers and consumers.
Hopefully they'll look into Clear Channel's flagrant playing of the music of Creed.
Because Creed sucks.
A lot.
posted by tbogg at 10:18 PM
|
Training wheels for Paul Bremer
Looks like the CEO President is having to give a Paul Bremer a helping hand. In this case, the hand belongs to Bush Family consigliore James Baker:
THE PLAN is being debated as the White House grapples with the enormity of rebuilding the chaotic country. The administration is under pressure to demonstrate progress in order to maintain domestic support for the effort, which is costing the Pentagon about $4 billion a month.
“We’re confident of long-term success,” a Bush aide said. “We need to show short-term success.”
As part of the effort, the White House is considering asking several major figures, including former secretary of state James A. Baker III, to take charge of specific tasks such as seeking funds from other countries or restructuring Iraq’s debt. “A lot of different things are being discussed,” a senior administration official said. “Nothing has happened yet.”
Baker brings exceptional experience to the job of setting up fake governments. The Beltway is still abuzz with the job he did in 2000 of creating the illusion that a certain country with the initials "U S A" still had a representative government. It's a business model that is proving to be popular in some of your finer Third World countries.
Should he take the job we bid Mr. Baker bon voyage, good luck, don't let the bedbugs bite, and watch out for those RPG's when you're out touring our new colony in your Humvee.
posted by tbogg at 10:08 PM
|
Birds do it. Bees do it. Even educated twits do it.
We have long made fun of Glenn Reynolds for posting links to unconfirmed stories, or even absurd ones, and then just moving on, nothing to see here. Sometimes it appeared as if he hadn't even read what he was linking to. Now if he were the New York Times or the BBC, we would be treated to diatribes and accusations about their so-called liberal agendas, and then he would pontificate about "New Media", and real time reporting, and blogs, and yadda yadda yadda. Anyway, you get the idea.
Now it looks like Andrew Sullivan has become the Insta-Sullivan.
Here is Sullivan on Wednesday:
CNN AND IRAN: A truly disturbing story, if true. Will CNN confirm? Are they still sucking up to the mullahs?
Here's Andy today:
CNN CORRECTS: The media giant sends the following message: "It is entirely untrue that CNN declined to air a video tape purporting to show an attack by agents of the Iranian regime on students in their dormitory. CNN was never offered such a tape, does not know if such a tape exists, does not have an office in Iran and never has."
Now it's not like Andy was lying in the first post. He was just passing on something that he heard. But, of course, he didn't apologize or take responsibility for it either.
Weird. It's like he has a role model for something like this. Maybe two.
posted by tbogg at 1:08 PM
|
Lil' lyin' Pryor
Sam Heldman makes a compelling case for not approving William Pryor. Not that there weren't compelling reasons before, mind you.
posted by tbogg at 12:31 PM
|
"If that's Bush, you gotta put a flight jacket on him"
Jeff Danziger
...and let's not forget Tom Toles.
posted by tbogg at 11:55 AM
|
I want a line, just like the line, that was written by dear old dad.
Eric Alterman catches William Kristol plagiarizing...his own dad:
It cannot possibly be a coincidence that William Kristol has chosen to defend President Bush and his slacker war against terrorism by impugning Richard Gephardt with the same phraseology that his father used half a century ago to defend Joe McCarthy. In this morning’s Washington Post, Kristol writes, “But the American people, whatever their doubts about aspects of Bush’s foreign policy, know that Bush is serious about fighting terrorists and terrorist states that mean America harm. About Bush’s Democratic critics, they know no such thing.” In the journal Commentary in 1952, during the McCarthy era, Irving Kristol wrote, “For there is one thing that the American people know about Senator McCarthy; he, like them, is unequivocally anti-Communist. About the spokesman for American liberalism, they feel they know no such thing.”
Looks like the neocon doesn't fall far from the con.
posted by tbogg at 8:40 AM
|
Thursday, July 24, 2003
Passing the buck
Ann Telnaes
posted by tbogg at 11:57 PM
|
Saudimentionaphobia
If you stuck lumps of carbon in Scott McClellan's sphincter, you could make diamonds by just mentioning the word " Saudis":
Q Why are you keeping secret the Saudi -- the report on the Saudi role, the role they may have had in connection --
MR. McCLELLAN: We commend Congress for its hard work on this critical issue. We were pleased to work closely with the joint inquiry on the report. We provided substantial amount of information and documents, direct access to hundreds of intel and law enforcement officials, and worked to make sure as much information as possible could be shared publicly. I think it's nearly 80 percent of the report. Only the most sensitive of national security information, which could potentially compromise the sources and methods or otherwise harm our national security, is not being de-classified.
Q That wasn't Shelby's assessment, though. Shelby said this morning that it didn't rise to the level of classification and that he suspected it was removed because it would be embarrassing. He didn't say embarrassing to whom, he just said that it might be embarrassing.
MR. McCLELLAN: I think I described it the way we look at it.
Q Only the most sensitive of national security information -- that's what you're maintaining has been redacted?
MR. M cCLELLAN: That's what I just said.
Q Scott, who's traveling with us today, what lawmakers?
MR. McCLELLAN: Both senators. Okay.
Q What if the Saudis were to --
MR. McCLELLAN: Remember, you know that the President's highest priority is protecting the American people. That is why he's providing strong leadership to win the war on terrorism and make sure we are doing all we can to protect the homeland. I think the horrific and tragic attacks of September 11th made clear in a very vivid way the importance of confronting the new threats we face. And the best way to protect the American people is to go after the terrorists where they are and confront these threats before the killers can carry out their evil acts on innocent civilians. And we are making great progress in winning the war on terrorism. We commend the joint inquiry for the hard work it did in completing this report and we were glad to work -- we were pleased to work closely with them.
So you don't want to talk about the Saudis, is that it, Scott?
posted by tbogg at 11:41 PM
|
I cannot tell a lie...I'll just omit pertinent facts
VP Dick Cheney came out of his hidey-hole long enough to, well, try and confuse the issue. But Mike Allen of the WaPo wasn't biting:
In his speech, Cheney laid out a detailed rationale for the war Bush launched on March 20, quoting at length from declassified sections of a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iraq issued in October. White House officials have cited the NIE as their prime justification for the conflict. Cheney said it would have been "irresponsible in the extreme" to disregard the warnings.
As part of an effort to rebut criticism that the administration had exaggerated the threat, the White House last Friday released eight pages of excerpts from the intelligence report.
Cheney quoted some of the declassified passages, saying that Iraq was "continuing, and in some areas expanding, its chemical, biological, nuclear and missile program," and that Iraq "could make a nuclear weapon in months to a year once it acquires sufficient weapons-grade fissile material."
Although Cheney quoted the report as saying that Iraq, if left unchecked, "probably will have a nuclear weapon during this decade," he did not read the next sentence, which referred to a dissent from the State Department's intelligence experts. They called the assertion "highly dubious."
Cheney cited a passage that said all key aspects of Iraq's offensive biological weapons program "are active and that most elements are larger and more advanced than they were before the Gulf War." He omitted a qualifier at the start of the passage in which intelligence analysts said they "judge" that to be the case.
Cheney was then hustled back to his quarters before the sun came up, and tucked into his "bed" lined with soil from his native Wyoming.
posted by tbogg at 11:19 PM
|
Send the case of jelly dongs over to the Senior Center....oh, and
I think Bishop Jay said he had dibs on the nipple clamps....
Church Buys Out Adult Store
A Connecticut church is the new landlord of Video Pleasures.
The Kingdom Life Christian Church in Milford is buying the building that houses the porn shop. Bishop Jay Ramirez says they'll shut down the adult video store.
His congregation raised 245-thousand dollars to buy the place.
Ramirez says that's just the beginning.
He says the church will be collecting more money to buy-out other porno shops in the community.
posted by tbogg at 10:50 PM
|
We're here, we're queer and we're registered at Crate & Barrel
Rick Santorums biggest nightmare is slowly coming true:
Opposition to gay marriage has dropped significantly among Americans in recent years, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
In the poll, 53 percent of respondents said they opposed gay marriages, while 38 percent said they backed them. In 1996 65 percent said they opposed such marriages, while 27 percent favored the idea.
At this rate one or more of Rick's six kids may be able to bat for the other team someday if their heart so desires. (I have Peter Kenneth Santorum in my office Which One Of Santorum's Kids Will Be Gay pool...go Petey!).
That would be Rick's second biggest nightmare.
This is Santorum's third biggest nightmare.
It's a nightmare we all share.
posted by tbogg at 10:22 PM
|
The Ugly American
Holy shit!...who the hell let Tom DeLay go to the Middle East?
Tom DeLay, the House majority leader, never tires of reminding people that he is just a former pest exterminator from Sugar Land, Tex. But beginning this weekend, he will travel to the world's most complex and troubled region, meet with prime ministers, speak to a foreign parliament and, by his presence, remind the Bush administration to pay heed to its right flank as it seeks to make peace.
As he travels next week through Israel, Jordan and Iraq, he will take with him a message of grave doubt that the Middle East is ready for a Palestinian state, as called for in the current peace plan, known as the road map, backed by the administration and Europe.
"I'm sure there are some in the administration who are smarter than me, but I can't imagine in the very near future that a Palestinian state could ever happen," he said in an interview today, as he prepared to leave for a weeklong official tour.
"I can't imagine this president supporting a state of terrorists, a sovereign state of terrorists," he said. "You'd have to change almost an entire generation's culture."
[snip...]
As an evangelical Christian, he is the most prominent member in Washington of the Christian Zionist movement, a formidable bloc of conservative Republicans whose support for Israel is based on biblical interpretations, sometimes putting them to the right of Israeli government. His persistent skepticism about Mr. Bush's peace initiative indicates that the president may yet have to wrestle with his right flank in pursuing a plan that ultimately calls for a Palestinian state.
Like we don't have enough trouble over there. The mind boggles....
posted by tbogg at 10:02 PM
|
Bobo on the editorial page
According to Drudge ( I know) the New York Times will be adding Weekly Standard Senior Editor David Brooks to its editorial stable.
David Brooks named an Op-Ed page columnist for The NY Times. His column will appear twice a week beginning in early September...
Meaning that the NY Times is following in the steps of MSNBC by hiring a conservative in a faded effort shed the false stigma of being "liberal". Brooks is a broadbrush painter who thinks he's a pointillist, wheeling out easy targets ike Noam Chomsky and Jane Fonda (!) to liven up his strawman dances.
Frances FitzGerald recently wrote a long essay in the New York Review of Books headlined on the cover "Bush and War." In the piece FitzGerald portrays the Bush foreign policy team as a coterie of superhawks driven by a fierce ideological desire to act unilaterally. This unilateralism leads the Bush advisers, FitzGerald asserts, to see or invent enemies, such as Saddam Hussein. "If one decides to go it alone without allies or reliance on the rule of law, it is natural to see danger abroad."
If you are a writer setting out to evaluate the Bush foreign policy team and its longstanding worries about Saddam, it would seem reasonable to measure whether or not those fears are justified or exaggerated. This is Journalism, or Scholarship, 101. But this is the question FitzGerald cannot ask, because that would require her to enter the forbidden territory of Saddam himself. FitzGerald raises the possibility that war against Saddam might lead to a Palestinian revolt in Jordan, oil shortages, and terrorist attacks. She mentions the daunting cost and scope of an American occupation of Iraq. She approvingly quotes Brent Scowcroft's warning that taking action against Saddam would inflame the Arab world and destroy the coalition that we need to wage war on al Qaeda. But what of the risks of doing nothing? This issue she does not touch. This is the issue that must remain shrouded in the fog of peace.
FitzGerald, of course, won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer prize for her classic Fire in the Lake: The Vietnamese and the Americans in Vietnam. Brooks is famous for Bobos In Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There, a gawking, finger-pointing study of a class that he yearns to be a part of. Imagine a more political Dominick Dunne and you get the idea.
So it looks like Brooks gets called up to "the show" while a crushed Andrew Sullivan weeps into his latte. Always a bridesmaid......
posted by tbogg at 9:50 PM
|
A simple "No thanks, I don't want the job" would have sufficed
New Mexico oilman Colin R. McMillan, nominated by President Bush to be Navy secretary, has died, the Pentagon said Thursday.
Bush submitted McMillan's nomination to the Senate in May to fill a post left vacant since January, when Gordon England left to become deputy secretary of the new Homeland Security Department. Hansford T. Johnson has served as acting secretary since February 7.
A Pentagon spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed McMillan's death but had no details of when or where he died.
McMillan, 67 at the time of his nomination in May, lived in Roswell, New Mexico. He ran Permian Exploration Corp., and was chairman of Bush's New Mexico presidential campaign in 2000.
McMillan is expected to be buried in New Mexico after which, in about a thousand years, he will be pumped back to the surface as light sweet crude, eventually becoming 94 octane.
posted by tbogg at 7:57 PM
|
"Things were different my first summer in New York."
Honestly, I don't remember where I found this article, but I bookmarked it for later, loved it, and now you should go read it
posted by tbogg at 4:04 PM
|
I've got nothing to say today....
Maybe tonight.
posted by tbogg at 1:26 PM
|
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
Bitchslapped by reality
Sullivan promoting fellow Orwell wannabe, Christopher "Oh Bugger. I Think I Just Shat Myself...Again" Hitchens:
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "And on the al-Qaida link, it seems to me [the press] are just not doing their job at all. There are innumerable links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida that have been demonstrated very many times. And now every broadcast and every utterance by the Ba'ath Party is as if it was written by Osama bin Laden, and half the fighters in Iraq, half the bandits there, are imported from outside jihad forces. This relationship did not begin yesterday. They are, in effect, now a fusion of those who believe in the one party and those who believe in the one-God state.
From Talking Points Memo:
According to a story just hitting the wires by UPI's Shaun Waterman, the report from the joint congressional 9/11 inquiry, which will be released tomorrow, concludes not only that Iraq had no connection with the 9/11 attacks but that there was no evidence for any Iraq-al-Qaida connection.
Some interesting tidbits ...
Former Democratic Georgia Sen. Max Cleland, who was a member of the joint congressional committee that produced the report, confirmed the official's statement.
Asked whether he believed the report will reveal that there was no connection between al-Qaida and Iraq, Cleland replied: "I do ... There's no connection, and that's been confirmed by some of (al-Qaida leader Osama) bin Laden's terrorist followers."
...
"The administration sold the connection (between Iraq and al-Qaida) to scare the pants off the American people and justify the war," said Cleland. "What you've seen here is the manipulation of intelligence for political ends."
Whoops. Look like that "Quote of the Day" is swirling down the crapper faster than Hitch's career.
I wonder what the real journalists are doing tonight.....
posted by tbogg at 11:00 PM
|
"letting a tomboy rapscallion exult in perfect freedom"
If a Freeper could blog, what kind of blog would a freeper blog? Or something like that.
I uncovered a thread over in the Land That Darwin Forgot titled " Bloggers. Add yourself to the Free Republic Blog Directory.". Who could pass up good fun like that?
Here's a sample from Freeper Cathryn Crawford, who fancies herself a bit of the fiction spinner:
Annabella McKee shrieked with laughter and leaned way, way out on her pink and green stallion.
"Get back, get back, doofus! You'll fall and die for sure," shouted her father, barely audible over the calliope. The angled mirrors around the ornate carousel center reflected back shards of blond hair, white Mary Janes gripping tiny stirrups on the most wonderful wooden horse at the fair, a daddy torn between letting a tomboy rapscallion exult in perfect freedom and intruding on her ecstasy for safety's sake.
Wilson McKee and Annabella hadn't really turned loose since Rachel died. But now that Rebecca, Rachel's sister, had come to help with Annabella until Wilson could get his life back together, there was laughter in the house again. Sometimes, even, there was singing. But never like it used to be. Rebecca wasn't sure she wanted there to be. A lifetime, it seemed, of torch singing, climbing the ladder, paying the dues, learning the ropes, came to little when Jack left her.
Jack Aikman was a producer for Capitol records with an eye for talent who took Rebecca under his wing, dropping her when the next best thing came along. A few years of depression, booze, and recriminations from those Rebecca stepped on on her way up left her a career of ashes and regret. Maybe Rachel was the lucky one, she sometimes thought. The worst thing that can happen to you is to die, and Rachel has got that out of the way already. But Annabella... Annabella has something in her voice. Something very strange.
As the years passed, Annabella grew to think of her aunt as her mother. Wilson moved into the international division of Lamdox Limited, a job that took him away from home for much longer absences than he wanted, leaving him burdened with knowledge that he was shirking the part of his life that actually mattered for the part that merely kept him busy.
Sooner or later, it had to happen, and it did.
***********
I'm speechless.
Okay. No I'm not. But I'll let my buddy Joe take it from here:
Did he live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender during that supreme moment of complete knowledge? He cried in a whisper at some image, at some vision- he cried out twice, a cry that was no more than a breath--
"'The horror! The horror!"
posted by tbogg at 10:41 PM
|
The lame leading the pathetic
Dumb-ass radio talk show host (are there any other kind?) Tom Leykis has taken it upon himself to broadcast the name of the young woman who claims she was raped by Kobe Bryant.
Meanwhile Tom Leykis, host of a radio talk-show based in Los Angeles and aimed mostly at young men, began using her name on the air and told Reuters that he has no plans to stop.
"We're told that rape is violence, not sex, and if that's true there's no reason she should feel shame or embarrassment," Leykis said, adding that he felt it unfair to name Bryant but not his accuser.
The talk-show host, who is heard on 60 stations across the country, also said he did not believe the woman's claims. He said he believes the woman was seeking attention and money and that Bryant could be the "real victim" in the case.
Which leads to the question: What the hell is a Tom Leykis? This is Tom Leykis. And here is a little bit about this useless flap of skin attached to a similarly useless but much smaller flap of skin:
Equally provocative is his "Leykis 101." An unapologetic primer to help men get laid with minimum effort, its "rules" - a retort to the women's self-help guide - include Never spend a lot of money impressing her on the first date, Stop seeing her if you don't get laid by the third date, and Never date single mothers. Like Flash Fridays this, too, began innocently enough, with Leykis lecturing a staff member about his love life. While most male listeners have welcomed "Leykis 101" like manna from heaven, many women see it as the Black Plague. On "Politically Incorrect" in February 1999, Leykis defended his position amid a hostile group of female panelists: "We don't fall in love with you until we get some tail!...If you think that we hear a word you say before we get in your panties, let me tell you something, we don't!"
Wait a minute. This manatee* has a love life? He gives dating advice? To whom?
Oh. Studboys like this: The Tom Leykis Rohypnol Posse.
It all makes sense now.
* My apologies to the lovable manatees.
posted by tbogg at 10:12 PM
|
He's no Ari, that's for sure.
New Presidential Lying Weasel, Scott McClellan, is proving to be...hmmmmmm......( think! think!...someone incompetent...out of their depth....not ready for prime time....Ooooo! I know! I know!) the George W Bush of Press Secretaries:
Asked again yesterday whether Bush should ultimately be held accountable for what he says, White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters, "Let's talk about what's most important. That's the war on terrorism, winning the war on terrorism. And the best way you do that is to go after the threats where they gather, not to let them come to our shore before it's too late."
ooof.
I think the Washington Post printed that little bit of ineffectualness in authentic McClellan flop-sweat.
With the shitstorm still to come (see here) the White House Press is going to have Scottie-boy for lunch.
posted by tbogg at 9:44 PM
|
400-21...good thing Powell hit those three extra points
What an ass-kicking. Michael Powell won't be able to sit down for a month.
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation today to block a new rule supported by the Bush administration that would permit the nation's largest television networks to grow bigger by owning more stations.
The vote, which was 400 to 21, sets the stage for a rare confrontation between the Republican-controlled Congress and the White House, because there is strong support in the Senate for similar measures, which seek to roll back last month's decision by the Federal Communications Commission to raise the limit on the number of television stations a network can own. The F.C.C. has ruled that a single company can own television stations reaching 45 percent of the nation's households, but the House measure would return the ownership cap to 35 percent.
Looks kinda veto proof, don'cha think?
posted by tbogg at 9:22 PM
|
Lots of new links on the left. No, really. They're over on the left...
over here.
Just added:
Charles Murtaugh
Elayne Riggs
Ain't No Bad Dude Which has that cool fade-in thingy.
Liberal Oasis
Mark Kleiman (Hah! Got his name right, finally!)
Nathan Newman
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
The Talent Show
Click and learn...
posted by tbogg at 9:14 PM
|
"I'd do a drunken crawl through a packed gay bar to see The Passion"- Laura Ingraham
Leah over at Eschaton points out to us this quote regarding Mel Gibson's new movie The Passion: Beyond Thunderdome:
Another invitee, right-wing radio host Laura Ingraham, flew here from San Francisco to see the film but arrived too late and missed it. "I'm so bummed," Ingraham told us. "I want to see any movie that drives the anti-Christian entertainment elite crazy."
I wonder if Laura used to feel that way back in her fag-hag days?:
One night, after downing several cocktails and snorting an unidentifiable white powder an acquaintance had given me – which turned out to be the cat tranquilizer Ketamine – I was sick in the bathroom for several hours trying to get my bearings as Laura [Ingraham], in a drunken stupor, crawled through the packed two-story dance club on her hands and knees looking for me. Her purse had been locked in my car trunk, causing her to call a friend in the wee hours of the morning to rescue her. In the meantime, she had managed to leave me a series of violent messages, threatening to "break every window in my house" if I didn’t return the keys immediately.
But then , that was back before Laura became a 'blond, bland, middle-class Republican wife'....
posted by tbogg at 2:21 PM
|
What Would Ann Eat
The National Review which prides itself as being...well, I'm sure it's proud of something...anyway, we're supposed to take it seriously, I suppose. So what are we to make of guest columns like this?
So, I'm barreling down I-95, on a 200-mile excursion, when yellow arches loom on the horizon, and I instinctively tap the brakes.
I have four kids, see, from 10 months to 10 years, and long car trips with them require multiple McFlurries. But this time, I'm traveling alone and have no good reason to stop. But I really, really want an ice-cream cone.
Then, from out of the blue, it hits me: WWACD?
What would Ann Coulter do?
Now, my husband and I, we're Catholic, and therefore not "What Would Jesus Do?" kind of people. I only occasionally encounter the phrase while idling behind aging minivans at busy traffic lights. (It's a cultural thing.)
But it's apparently seeped into my consciousness, as has the radiant visage of Ann Coulter, who is now — hair shining and teeth gleaming — flitting around my peripheral vision, like the proverbial tiny angel and devil dueling from opposite shoulders.
The arches beckon. The exit is here. What would Ann Coulter do? I look away resolutely and drive on.
Later, stomach growling, it occurs to me that I have hit upon a new and exciting weight-reducing plan, one that will rapidly dispatch my marshmallow tummy and propel me to diet-book fame. The South Beach Diet will be toast soon. It's time for the Ann Coulter/Strom Thurmond Diet, based on two principles: WWACE, and an egg.
The Ann Coulter part is self-evident. Dieters on my plan will receive a WWACE lapel pin or beaded bracelet, and when it's time to eat, they'll simply ask the question, "What Would Ann Coulter Eat?"
The answer, of course, most of the time will be "Nothing!"
No, Ann Coulter won't eat that McDonald's cone! No, she won't eat fried shrimp! No, she won't eat a slice of the birthday cake (butter-recipe yellow, with white frosting) that my grandmother just lovingly prepared!
Ann Coulter weighs maybe 90 pounds soaking wet. As far as I can tell, she eats only celery and flaxseeds. But it is a finely constructed 90 pounds, and I aspire to look like her. In this society of guiltless consumption — created, I think, by the recent decline in stern nuns — the specter of Ann Coulter inspecting our dietary choices can only do us, as a nation, some good.
Actually the Ann Coulter Diet is simpler than most people suspect.
posted by tbogg at 2:01 PM
|
America 11, Bush 0
According to today's paper, it appears that, even in conservative San Diego, people think that Bush Lied.
While there are many differences between this conflict and the Vietnam War, there is the same cold calculus at work. How many Americans in black body bags will it take before people in this country are willing to ask the hard questions? How many lies and distortions will have to be uncovered before the editors of this newspaper and others begin to question the legitimacy and necessity of this war?
Those of us who have tried to ask these questions for months are waiting. While this wait is excruciatingly painful for us, it is deadly for the men and women this administration has recklessly put in harm's way.
How long will it take before we realize that this administration has shamelessly manipulated this country's anger over 9/11 and plunged us into a war that will neither leave us more secure nor liberate the people of Iraq?
posted by tbogg at 12:08 PM
|
Who knew conservatives were so....complex.
I enjoyed reading this.
Politically conservative agendas may range from supporting the Vietnam War to upholding traditional moral and religious values to opposing welfare. But are there consistent underlying motivations?
Four researchers who culled through 50 years of research literature about the psychology of conservatism report that at the core of political conservatism is the resistance to change and a tolerance for inequality, and that some of the common psychological factors linked to political conservatism include:
Fear and aggression
Dogmatism and intolerance of ambiguity
Uncertainty avoidance
Need for cognitive closure
Terror management
"From our perspective, these psychological factors are capable of contributing to the adoption of conservative ideological contents, either independently or in combination," the researchers wrote in an article, "Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition," recently published in the American Psychological Association's Psychological Bulletin.
I suggest some type of therapy...possibly using a Skinner box.
(Added:) Greg at The Talent Show has a few things to add,
posted by tbogg at 11:55 AM
|
No wonder Jenna and the other one drink....
I had the
chance to hear President
George W.
Bush give his Rose Garden
speech on the
radio this morning on my
way to work. I
still haven't figured out why he
talks this way, but I'm
guessing that Laura
made him read e.
e. cummings, or something like
that.
Either way, he is
the worst public speaker I
have ever
heard.
Ever.
posted by tbogg at 10:13 AM
|
Peace through genocide
Why would President George W Bush appoint a man who said this:
"How is a change of heart achieved? It is achieved by an Israeli victory and a Palestinian defeat," Pipes continued. "The Palestinians need to be defeated even more than Israel needs to defeat them."
to a Congressionally sponsored think tank whose mission is:
to promote the prevention, management, and peaceful resolution of international conflicts.?
Maybe Bush doesn't know that he nominated Pipes. Maybe, just like his State of the Union speech, his keepers just put the words in front of him and then pray that he pronounces them correctly. That would explain so much.
posted by tbogg at 10:07 AM
|
Perjury is cool with us
No link yet, but the Senate Judiciary Comittee just approved Lyin' Billy Pryor on straight party line vote.
Time to contact your Senator about another filibuster.
posted by tbogg at 9:43 AM
|
Playing Calvinball with Orrin
Tapped points out that Orrin Hatch just changes the rules to fit his daily psychosis:
GOING PRE-NUCLEAR. Orrin Hatch, breaking with a Senate tradition that he and other Republicans gleefully made use of when President Clinton was in office, is scheduling hearings for four of President Bush's nominees to the federal bench over the objections of Michigan's two Democratic senators. This is important because the nominees are being appointed to Michigan district courts or from Michigan to the Sixth Circuit, which includes Michigan. In both scenarios, the home-state senators have traditionally each been allowed to place indefininite holds, known as "blue slips," over the nominees. When Bush became president, Hatch summarily changed the rule to require opposition from both home-state senators. And now he's changing it again to say that neither senator will have that privilege.
posted by tbogg at 9:40 AM
|
Tbogg saves.
Jesus saved your immortal soul. I'm saving you eight bucks. Go here and you won't have to go see Mel Gibson's new Passion movie.
You can thank me later.
posted by tbogg at 12:01 AM
|
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
Nevermind the bollocks perjury, here come the Whiny Senators
William Pryor perjured his Christian ass off in testimony, and four Republican Senators want to change the subject:
The integrity and credibility of the United States Senate and the judicial confirmation process cannot remain under this cloud for long without suffering serious damage. Accordingly, we ask that you open a formal committee investigation (or request an investigation by some other appropriate entity) to determine how these documents came into the possession of this committee, and to report any findings of criminal activity, including any such activity by any individual employed by the United States Senate, to the appropriate law enforcement authorities. Nothing less than the reputation of the Senate is at stake.
At what point does Pryor go on TV and call this a "high-tech crucifixion"?
posted by tbogg at 11:07 PM
|
Trampled underfoot
Mark Kleiman shows that the Bush administration will stop at nothing to defend their lies, even exposing one of our spies and the people that she has come in contact with.
It's official: the Bush Administration deliberately blew the cover of a secret agent who had been gathering information on weapons of mass destruction, endangering the lives of her sources and damaging our ability to collect crucial intelligence. (And, not incidentally, committing a very serious crime.) The apparent motive: revenge on Joseph Wilson, her husband, for going public with the story of his mission to Niger, which blew a hole in the Yellowcake Road story.
You really need to read this...and write a letter to your local paper asking for hearings.
(thanks to Jo Fish at DemVet for sending me the link)
posted by tbogg at 10:54 PM
|
We're all about 'sanctity of life not 'quality of life'....
Paying too much for much needed drugs? Lou Sheldon says too goddam bad, we got zygotes to protect you big whiny baby:
A Christian lobbying group fighting the proposed importation of low-cost prescription drugs has received behind-the-scenes help from the drug industry, the latest example of pharmaceutical companies trying to influence Congress clandestinely.
The Traditional Values Coalition, which bills itself as a Christian advocacy group representing 43,000 churches, has mailed to the districts of several conservative House Republicans this sharply disputed warning: Legislation to allow the importation of U.S.-made pharmaceuticals from Canada and Europe might make RU-486, called the "abortion pill," as easy to get as aspirin.
The Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) portrays its campaign as a moral fight for the "sanctity of life." Documents provided to The Washington Post, however, show that drug lobbyists played a key role in crafting its argument and in disseminating the information to lawmakers. Pharmaceutical companies oppose the legislation -- which would legalize the reimportation of U.S.-made prescription drugs that sell for less in Canada than in the United States -- not over abortion but because it would erode their profits.
[snip...]
A recent TVC letter sent to Congress was signed by the coalition's executive director, Andrea Sheldon Lafferty. It was originally drafted, however, by Tony Rudy, a lobbyist for pharmaceutical companies and a former top aide to House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), computer records show. Lafferty also circulated a memo -- linking the legislation to RU-486's availability -- that was drafted by Bruce Kuhlik, a senior vice president at the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), a trade group funded by the nation's biggest pharmaceutical firms.
A Republican close to TVC said Rudy also helped arrange funding for the group's direct-mail campaign, which targeted nearly two dozen Republicans even though they generally oppose abortion rights. Several Republicans said pharmaceutical companies, through their lobbyists, contacted other conservative groups, including the Christian Coalition, about waging a similar campaign against the reimportation measure. The Traditional Values Coalition was the only taker because several abortion opponents questioned the accuracy of the drug industry's argument, according to lawmakers and conservative activists.
[snip...]
House Republicans were so offended by the mailings that they recently barred the TVC and its leader, the Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, from attending future meetings of the Values Action Team, an umbrella group of socially conservative Republicans. "We stand united in opposition to the unethical and unacceptable tactics you have employed to force pro-life members of Congress to support your views," Rep. Joseph R. Pitts (R-Pa.) said in a letter to Sheldon.
Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), an abortion opponent who was targeted by the TVC mailings, said in an interview: "It makes me so angry I could spit."
It is unclear who paid for the direct-mail campaign, although several Republicans said drug companies were behind it. Rudy, whose clients include PhRMA and Eli Lilly, declined to comment for this story
Who knew hating the poor and the sick were "Traditional Values"?
Here's a fun little tidbit about the Reverend Lou's little crotchfruit, Andrea from the OC Weekly:
Daughter/trained parrot of the Reverend Lou Sheldon, executive director of the Anaheim-based Traditional Values Coalition. Like daddy, she just loves gays. Loves ’em! She has criticized George W.’s appointment of a miniscule number of gays to executive branch positions as "promotion of the homosexual agenda," and decried a bill allowing gays the chance to adopt children as an attempt by "homosexuals to mainstream their lifestyle . . . and they want to showcase Rosie [O’Donnell], who’s become a household name. It’s no longer just bisexual; it’s transgender." Crazy? You betcha. Mitigating Factor: She’s also nuts about science! Lafferty once told a conservative action group that doctors were using fetal tissue for such mad science as putting "human livers in monkeys to make monkey-humans."
Monkey-humans?
posted by tbogg at 10:22 PM
|
Yeah. There's that guy too...
According to Drudge:
TWO DOWN, ONE TO GO!
Yeah. Cuz we don't care about this guy anymore. You know, the one who masterminded and financed the attack on America.
Remember that?
Sullivan doesn't:
The basic and under-reported news - of slow but measurable progress in Iraq - got a fillip yesterday with the killing of Saddam's two vile sons. Of course, no one but a few crackpots can be anything but thrilled by this news. But the best part of this event is that it focuses us back on what really matters: not quibbles over intelligence lapses months ago, but the war against terror and tyranny now. What happened yesterday will help remove the fear among some Iraqis that the Baathists might return; and so help the reconstruction immeasurably. It's wonderful news. But of course this focus - on our current progress and on how we now move from one success to another - is exactly the kind of topic the anti-war left (and right) want to avoid. It is vital to them that we forget just how evil the Saddam regime was, that we ignore the immeasurably better life Iraqis (and Afghans) now have, that we do not build on this success to take the cause to Iran and Syria and Saudi Arabia. Why? Because all that will merely strengthen Bush and weakening Bush - regardless of its effects on the wider world - is the prime obsession of the antis. And his success will only legitimize the future use of American power and that again is something these types want above all to prevent. Boy, did they love those 16 banal words. How much easier to obsess on that than on the true dangers that confront us in the Middle East, the growing confluence of state terrorism and WMDs, the rise of fanatical Islamo-fascism, and on and on.
Yeah. When do we start invading Iran, Syria, and Saudi Arabia? Andy needs more dead Middle Easterners to feel safe.
Kill them all...let's Andy's God sort them out.
posted by tbogg at 9:16 PM
|
I thought you read the memo...Well, I thought you read the memo
Apparently reading isn't a strong point around La Administration Bush. First Condi couldn't stay awake through the ninety-page Intelligence Estimate, now Condi's number two guy let a CIA memo " slip through the cracks":
Tuesday, Hadley disclosed that he had found two CIA memos dated Oct. 5 and 6, one addressed to him and the other to speechwriter Michael Gerson, raising doubts about claims from British intelligence that Iraq was seeking uranium in the west African country of Niger.
White House officials said Tuesday that the memos slipped through the cracks and did not indicate that administration officials sought to mislead the public in the buildup to the war in Iraq, as critics, including some of the nine Democratic presidential candidates, have suggested.
“As a senior-most official at the [National Security Council], the president and NSC adviser [Condoleezza] Rice looked to me, and I failed that responsibility,” Hadley said at a briefing for reporters, adding that he was “pretty sure I read [the memos], but I don’t recollect them.”
White House sources told NBC News that Hadley was “beside himself.” A senior source said Hadley offered his resignation, but Bush would not accept it.
The sources said Bush remained confident in Rice, Hadley and Tenet.
So I guess we chalk up lying to the country leading us to a war that killed thousands, stationing American soldiers in Iraq until god knows when, costing the country $50 billion a month....to a "Whoops! My bad. Sorry".
posted by tbogg at 5:42 PM
|
Kamf!
Order your copy now.
posted by tbogg at 2:57 PM
|
He-Man Clinton-Haters Club
John LeBoutillier just doesn't like Bill Clinton:
Just a few blocks from the future site of Bill Clinton's $160 million presidential library, a couple of Clinton haters hope to open a museum devoted to mocking his presidency.
"As long as he's talking, we'll have to be here trying to keep him somewhat honest and stop him from rewriting history," says John LeBoutillier, a former Republican congressman from New York who rode Ronald Reagan's coattails to victory in 1980.
LeBoutillier and his partner, Houston businessman Richard Erickson, plan to call it the Counter-Clinton Library. They say the museum here and one planned for Washington will look at such topics as Whitewater, Monica Lewinsky, the last-minute pardons, even damaged White House furniture.
"We already hear he's going to bring a bunch of egghead economists to his library to say how great the economy was when he was president," LeBoutillier says. "And we'll find our own who can say it had nothing to do with him."
If you've never head of Congressman LeBoutillier, don't be suprised. His victory in 1980 was followed by his losing his seat a scant two years later. I think Bill Clinton has erections that last longer.
So what has John been doing the meantime? Oh, writing for NewsMax.
Writing things that even NewsMax won't print:
Yesterday I spoke to "RJ" – an inside-the-Beltway source who, over the years, has never steered me wrong. RJ said, "John, do you know the true story of Gary Condit?"
RJ then proceeded to outline a scenario for what happened in this case: "Condit has been known inside the gay community here in D.C. for being a big, big user of gay male prostitutes – especially blacks from the Caribbean who ride motorcycles and love to wear black leather.
"Condit lives in Adams Morgan – a terrible commute to and from the Hill – and it is a notorious neighborhood for gays and bisexuals.
"Now, here is the dirty little secret behind the disappearance of Chandra Levy: Condit goes both ways. He likes to get sodomized by male prostitutes before having sex with women. The gay sex turns him on and he can then 'perform' with women.
Oh. And he writes a blog where he provides political analysis based on his two years in Congress.
You've to hand it to John though...he didn't think much about candidate George W Bush back in the day:
3) George Bush: a seemingly affable, occasionally arrogant ("Governor Smirk," said the Manchester Union Leader), lazy and not-so-hungry fellow, who really doesn’t believe in much or stand for anything.
His campaign? Lazy, arrogant and overconfident. So arrogant, in fact, that they remain in almost total denial about what is happening to them at this moment.
Bush is one defeat in South Carolina away from being toast.
Unfortunately, Bush won South Carolina and now the economy is toast.
posted by tbogg at 2:41 PM
|
Chauncey Wolfowitz
From reader Dave comes this:
"You don't build a democracy like you build a house," Mr. Wolfowitz said over tea, honey pastries and water buffalo cheese. "Democracy grows like a garden. If you keep the weeds out and water the plants and you're patient, eventually you get something magnificent."
From the film Being There:
President "Bobby": Mr. Gardner, do you agree with Ben, or do you think that we can stimulate growth through temporary incentives?
[Long pause]
Chance the Gardener: As long as the roots are not severed, all is well. And all will be well in the garden.
President "Bobby": In the garden.
Chance the Gardener: Yes. In the garden, growth has it seasons. First comes spring and summer, but then we have fall and winter. And then we get spring and summer again.
President "Bobby": Spring and summer.
Chance the Gardener: Yes.
President "Bobby": Then fall and winter.
Chance the Gardener: Yes.
Benjamin Rand: I think what our insightful young friend is saying is that we welcome the inevitable seasons of nature, but we're upset by the seasons of our economy.
Chance the Gardener: Yes! There will be growth in the spring!
Benjamin Rand: Hmm!
Chance the Gardener: Hmm!
President "Bobby": Hm. Well, Mr. Gardner, I must admit that is one of the most refreshing and optimistic statements I've heard in a very, very long time.
[Benjamin Rand applauds.]
President "Bobby": I admire your good, solid sense. That's precisely what we lack on Capitol Hill.
posted by tbogg at 1:56 PM
|
Handy Jack Handey
Boring day at work? You know, more boring than usual? Go here and waste an hour reading Jack Handey's Deep Thoughts.
When I found the skull in the woods, the first thing I did was call the police. But then I got curious about it. I picked it up, and started wondering who this person was, and why he had deer horns.
- Jack Handey
posted by tbogg at 11:51 AM
|
E-mailing it in
Andrew Sullivan takes the "trust, but don't verify" path when it comes to an email that he picked up from that font of facts, Free Republic:
WHAT THE PRESS WON'T TELL YOU: I keep hearing - anecdotally and from forwarded emails, that things are going far better in Iraq than the anti-war media wants you to believe. Here's an extract from a letter from a soldier out there doing God's work in putting back together a ravaged country. It was posted on Free Republic, but it seems genuine to me.
Let's see...it attacks the media and "hippies", praises a pharmecutical company ( a Sullivan favorite), and has enough bravado to get the freepers nipples hard.
Yeah. Must be real. "God's work", indeed.
posted by tbogg at 11:21 AM
|
Monday, July 21, 2003
Well, at least she remembered how to get home.
Baby Jessica the Texas Well Baby* is coming ho-...oh wait. Wrong Jessica.
Jessica Lynch is going home:
The homecoming Tuesday of former POW Jessica Lynch has inspired fanfare worthy of a visiting head of state. A floodlit stage and media tent have been erected with seating for hundreds. Flag-bedecked T-shirts announcing "Welcome Home Jessica" are on sale for $5, and a CD featuring a song about her -- "She was just nineteen, became America's queen" -- is available for $10. Every few miles along the main road, traffic slows for orange-vested road crews filling potholes, plucking trash from the weeds and trimming shrubbery.
"The level of preparation is consistent with a presidential appearance," said Joe Carey, director of communications for West Virginia Gov. Robert E. Wise Jr. (D) and a former Clinton advance man.
Lynch's celebrity status is undisputed here, even if the details and significance of the war story that launched her fame are not.
The town, draped in flags and yellow ribbons, is unmistakably proud. Many here have taken the recent CBS proposal to develop a Beverly Hillbillies reality TV show as an insult to their heritage, and are pleased that tiny Wirt County (pop. 6,000) can take credit for something more dignified.
But even among the most ardent supporters of "Jessi," as she is known in town, there is an unsettling sense that the phenomenon of her celebrity, through no fault of hers, has rapidly outgrown what is known of her capture and rescue.
"Every war needs a hero," reflected James Roberts, 77, the third-generation owner of the 117-year-old general store here. "Rickenbacker . . . Kennedy . . . she's the hero in this war. The facts don't particularly matter."
" The facts don't particularly matter" pretty much describes this whole war.
Too bad the guys in Ward 57 aren't cute little blonds.
* I had forgotten that Baby Jessica was from...Midland.
posted by tbogg at 11:25 PM
|
The Danny Alamonte of the New Canaan Spinsters Club
Greg over at Soundbitten points out that there seems to be a slight discrepancy in the carbon dating of Ann Coulter:
Meanwhile, the NY Times is apparently trying to forget the the Raines Reign altogether, and has apparently erased the last two years from the annals of history. That's good news for our favorite quadragenarian hottie: in the rest of the world, Ms. Coulter is 41 now, but in the Times she's just 39.
I say let's just cut her in half and count the rings.
posted by tbogg at 10:28 PM
|
The enemy of my enemies is my enemy..wait...I mean...
Things have gotten so bad that the Administration is now getting after its own defenders:
The Secret Service is studying a pro-Bush cartoon in the Los Angeles Times, showing the president with a gun to his head, as a possible threat, U.S. officials said on Monday.
Cartoonist Michael Ramirez said the drawing, which ran in Sunday's paper, was only meant to call attention to the unjust "political assassination" of Bush over his Iraq policy.
[snip...]
In a statement issued through the newspaper, Ramirez said that he used the image because it represented to him the "political assassination" of Bush.
"President Bush is the target, metaphorically speaking, of a political assassination because of 16 words that he uttered in the State of the Union," he said, referring to the controversy over Bush's accusation that Iraq was trying to buy uranium in Africa.
Unfortunately for Ramirez members of the Secret Service don't deal much in metaphors.
As a big fan of good editorial cartooning I'd have to say that the central metaphor of the cartoon was stretched pretty thin to start with. No Pulitzer for you this year, MIke.
posted by tbogg at 10:19 PM
|
The bullet point presidency
As the Howler points out, the Administration kids aren't doing their homework:
Who was right about the uranium matter? Here at THE HOWLER, we simply don’t know. (Note to readers: Neither do you!) But the notion that Rice didn’t read this entire report is, in a phrase, simply shocking. What exactly does Rice do, if she can’t be bothered to read 90-page reports—reports laying out the key intelligence which will take a nation to war? Again, the notion that Rice didn’t know what State said is, in our view, highly improbable. But if the briefer’s claim is taken at face value, Rice has committed an act of gross misfeasance. It’s bad enough that Bush didn’t read the full report. But if Rice didn’t read the full 90 pages—if Rice didn’t know what State had said—it’s clear that she ought to be fired.
I have to agree with Bob. I can't think of one thing that Rice has done correctly since her appointment. From the days after 9/11 when she told the press that "We never thought....." it's been pretty obvious that, although she has a great deal of smarts, she is totally lacking in imagination. One would think that the National Security Advisor would take the time to read the WHOLE Intelligence Assessment before counseling the President on either his speech, or more importantly, going to war.
As its stands Rice should get, and read, the whole 90-pager, which should be condensed down to about thirty-six pages for Rumsfeld who should then knock it down to one page of single-spaced bullet points for Cheney. Bush? He gets about five words of it printed on the Map of the World placemat that comes with his lunch so he can color in the countries he wants to invade while eating his grilled-cheese and watching Sponge Bob.
posted by tbogg at 1:17 PM
|
Green Party to change name to Jonestown Party. Moving party headquarters to Guyana.
It's good to see that there is a political party for people who have suffered from blunt head trauma. Here's some choice bits:
The Green Party national leadership huddled here in Washington this weekend to plan strategy for next year’s elections. Some Greens long for their 2000 standard-bearer, Ralph Nader, to run again, while others speak warmly of left-leaning Democratic presidential contender Dennis Kucinich. But mention of one name in particular draws scorn from Greens: Howard Dean, who some strategists now see as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
THEY MAY BE unorthodox in their views and relatively few in number — 2.8 million Green votes cast for president in 2000, compared to 100 million for the two major party candidates — but the Greens are likely to play a significant role in next year’s elections.
[snip...]
In the strategy session this weekend the shadow of the 2000 election fell across the planning for 2004. Some Greens proposed a focused campaign: the Green candidate, they argue, should only exert his or her efforts in “safe” states: places where there’s no chance of the Green vote “costing” the Democratic candidate the election.
So, for example a Green could run energetically in heavily Republican states such as Utah, without any dire consequences for the Democratic candidate who is almost certain to lose that state in any event.
Conversely, in predominantly Democratic states, such as Rhode Island, a Green could run without fear of siphoning so many votes from the Democrat that he would lose that state.
Apparently the problem with some of the Greens is that they haven't grasped the concept that you're supposed to win elections, not just make a good showing. Election Day isn't Everyone Gets A Trophy Day.
Here's a real braintrust who thinks she should be President:
New Mexico Green Carol Miller, who is also seeking her party’s presidential nomination, said, “A lot of progressives are focusing too much attention on the presidential election. I’m very worried about the make-up of the Senate. I would like not to see a filibuster-proof Senate. I don’t want to see 60 senators of a single party.”
As for the presidential election, Miller said, “I think Bush and Cheney are probably not going to run. There are very troubling accusations (about Iraq).”
Miller likens Bush to Lyndon Johnson, who withdrew from the 1968 race after a humiliating showing in the New Hampshire primary. “Johnson should have had his second election in the bag. But he had a war that didn’t turn out as he had planned.”
Yeah. Bush and Cheney won't run because they'll be, you know, like, embarassed and stuff. Then they'll just give back that $170 million in campaign funds that they are slated to pick up and move back to Texas to open up an organic microbrewery.
Fortunately a few Greens have an inkling of a concept of a glimmer of a momentary flash of a thought:
“Were the Green spoiler effect in 2004 real or merely perceived, a Bush re-election combined with a Green spoiler would be the death knell for the party,” warn Maryland Green activists Diane Cameron and Joseph Horgan.
Medea Benjamin, the San Francisco anti-war agitator who was the Greens’ Senate candidate in California in 2000, said, “I’m not even sure we should run” a presidential candidate next year. “It’s a time of great dilemmas when defeating Bush is the top priority. We have to figure out how to grow and build our party and defeat Bush at the same time.”
To state it so that even a Green could understand it:
No, duh.
posted by tbogg at 12:13 PM
|
Live from the George Bush Center for Intelligence
Go to Media Whores Online to see what the CIA thinks of daddy's boy:
Raymond McGovern, a former CIA analyst and supervisor, says, "Never before in my 40 years of experience in this town has intelligence been used in so cynical and so orchestrated a way."
McGovern is one of several retired intelligence analysts who say they are speaking out for those who can't inside the CIA.
"The Agency analysts that we are in touch with are disheartened, dispirited, angry,” he says. “They are outraged."
Even I know that it's not a good idea to get the spooks mad at you. Next time that exploding pretzel might just go off....
posted by tbogg at 11:38 AM
|
Also, no root canals or plucking all of the hairs off your head, one by one
Some things are not too hard to deny yourself:
In the wake of Matt Drudge’s “outing” a gay Canadian reporter as being — gasp — Canadian, posters on one gay Web site are organizing a boycott against Drudge by asking its members to withhold sexual favors from the Internet sleuth.
Yeah. That'll be tough. For those who have never seen him...here's Matt.
They could try and get Matt on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, but first, Matt's not straight, and secondly , the show is only an hour long. It's not a mini-series.
posted by tbogg at 10:30 AM
|
Sleeping your way to the top
Serial trophy wife, Georgette Mosbacher says no to taking on Schumer, instead looking forward to running against Hillary Clinton:
THE GOP's latest hope to challenge U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer has decided against making the race, and instead is considering challenging Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (news - web sites) in 2006, The Post has learned.
Megamillionaire businesswoman and top national GOP fund-raiser Georgette Mosbacher - who has been urged to run against Schumer next year by Gov. Pataki and other Republican leaders - said yesterday that the "timing isn't right" to enter the race.
"The timing isn't right in my life given the obligations I have to my business," said Mosbacher, president and CEO of Borghese, an international cosmetics firm.
Mosbacher, New York's only national Republican committeewoman and a confidant of many powerful GOP leaders, said she remains interested in running for statewide office - and is thinking of challenging Clinton in 2006.
"Taking on Hillary is really something I would consider," said Mosbacher. "I think she's going to run for president in 2008 and I think she has to be stopped, and that's something I certainly would be interested in helping make happen," she said.
That should give Mosbacher enough time to get through about three more marriages to pick up some extra campaign cash.
Here's a great review from Publishers Weekly (via Amazon) on Mosbacher's last book, Feminine Force:
Mosbacher, CEO of her own cosmetics company, learned self-reliance at an early age. When she was seven, her father died, leaving her mother with four children and no income. In a few years Mosbacher was working to help support the family while her mother encouraged her to pursue her dream of a glamorous lifestyle. After two failed marriages (one to an abusive man), she married Robert Mosbacher, who became U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Throughout the book, the author urges women to stand on their own, not depending on a man to support them, but this advice is offered with what seems like cynicism and a general distrust of men. The book is so filled with personal anecdotes, Mosbacher never really gets around to showing women how to achieve their goals. Much attention is given to such topics as personal appearance, cosmetic surgery and networking, but these things often require financial and social resources beyond the reach of many women. Mosbacher seems to forget that it is the exception rather than the rule for a woman to get a hefty divorce settlement. There are a few gold nuggets here, but the overall message may be summed up by the third of her "Feminine Force Principles": "Life isn't fair--so what?"
Think of her as the Pamela Harriman of the right...but without the elegance.
posted by tbogg at 9:24 AM
|
Who cares what you think II
First off Michael Powell is rumored to be leaving the FCC, now that he has inflicted as much damage as he could to the public airwaves. He can expect to land on a couple of boards, maybe land a nice cushy job with a major media subsidiary... you know; payoff time.
...and speaking of payoffs :
His most likely replacement, sources say, is either Rebecca Klein, who is head of the Texas public-utility commission and was on the staff of Governor George W. Bush, or FCC commissioner Kevin Martin, who helped the Bush team count votes in Florida in 2000.
Finally, about those new rules that no one seems to like:
Powell rammed through the new rules—allowing a single company to own TV stations that reach up to 45% of the national market, an increase from the old 35% cap, and lifting the ban on a company's owning both a newspaper and a TV station in the same market—on a party-line vote in June. But groups as disparate as the National Organization for Women and the National Rifle Association are decrying the move. In a new Pew Research poll, respondents most familiar with the FCC's action opposed it by roughly 10 to 1. Still, it has the support of key g.o.p. leaders, and President Bush has threatened to veto any bill overturning it.
posted by tbogg at 8:57 AM
|
Sunday, July 20, 2003
Going down like Rick Santorum at Westminster Dog Show.
Looks like Karl Rove is going to have to earn his money between now an '04:
The public has grown increasingly uneasy with President Bush's handling of the economy and the situation in Iraq, a new poll suggests.
Bush's overall job approval dropped 8 points since May to 55 percent, according to a new CNN-Time poll.
A majority in this poll, 52 percent, said the president is doing a poor job of handling the economy, and just four in 10 say the U.S.-led military campaign in Iraq has been a success. That's down from 52 percent who felt that way in late March.
Fun graphic to admire and frame
posted by tbogg at 10:49 PM
|
You can tell Saddam wrote becuase he dots his i's with little hearts
William Safire has solved the case of the 16 Words That Changed The Bushies World. Saddam put them in the speech:
5. He presumes that British and American journalists, after the obligatory mention that the world is better off with Saddam gone, would — by their investigative and oppositionist nature — sustain the credibility firestorm. By insisting that Bush deliberately lied about his reasons for pre-emption, and gave no thought to the cost of occupation, critics would erode his poll support and encourage political opponents — eager to portray victory as defeat —to put forward a leave-Iraq-to-the-Iraqis candidate.
You see, he forsaw exactly how the war would go, so he snuck into the Oval Office one night....
posted by tbogg at 9:57 PM
|
Friday, July 18, 2003
Clocking out for the weekend.
I'm out of here. But before I go, here's some comics to keep you all amused and stuff:
Toles
Sargent
Danziger
Boondocks
Oliphant
Luckovich
Heneman
posted by tbogg at 1:19 PM
|
Living in fear
"Everything has changed"
Ask the Europeans or the people of South America, Africa, the Middle East, or anywhere. There has always been terrorism, whether it goes by the name of Crusade, pogrom, or land reform movement. People have been slaughtered for their beliefs, their lack of beliefs, or just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But when it happened here, a great many Americans were shocked to see that they weren't bulletproof. That bad things don't just happen to villagers in Peru or Jews in Warsaw. Terrorism came home and we are fast seeing the kind of people that we are. We lash out at our supposed enemies because we think everyone is out to get us and, hey, it makes us feel better. It makes us feel safe like there is a beginning and end to "evil", that if we can just slaughter one more "other" we can go back to our sun-dappled days of blissful ignorance, county fairs, and Sunday softball games. In the meantime, our dark meantime, we indulge ourselves in our paranoia and our fears and our belief that somehow we are special and that what is happening to us is an isolated moment in the history of man, and "why me...why me?", let's go hunker down in the basement and, yeah, that guy on the TV sounds about right, let's go kill some more folks who are looking at us funny and please God don't let me die tonight or tomorrow or ever.
This is what I see when I read crap like this:
Blair’s speeches sound like the work of a keen and fierce intellect that has come to a certain conclusion by logical deduction. His heart has been informed by his head. In the case of Bush I think it’s the other way around. I suppose that’s the difference between being the leader of a nation that was attacked, and the leader of a nation whose ally was assaulted. What I found most invigorating about the speech was the tenor - the tune, not the notes. It was a speech sung in the key of War, and reminded us that we are just midway through the end of the beginning. If that.
[snip...]
When I hear a speech like Blair’s, I have to check the calendar. And the calendar is usually wrong. It may say 2/23, or 7/16, or 4/30. But I know what the date is, and the date is 9/12. It’s going to be 9/12 for a long time to come.
Nothing changed for Lileks on 9/11. He was a coward before the first plane hit.
posted by tbogg at 11:49 AM
|
Who knew Peggy Noonan was a "moderate-to-liberal lesbian"?
From Sullivan:
Levin read portions of the speech during his show, and I started to cry while I was listening to it, as I was driving home - weeping at the wheel, really! I was thinking - "This is a great man. We are lucky to be living at the same time he is." I think of what he has gone through in his own country, and of his strong convictions and actions. (It's not so surprising, actually - I have them, also. But given what's going on in Europe these days....)
Maybe I'm just missing Peg, but jeez I thought I heard her voice in there....
posted by tbogg at 11:11 AM
|
Blair lied, Kelly died
How conveeeeeeeeeeeenient that Blair was out of the country.
A mild-mannered British scientist was found dead in the woods on Friday after being unwittingly dragged into a fierce political dispute about intelligence used to justify war on Iraq
British police said they had found a body matching that of soft-spoken defense ministry biologist David Kelly, a former U.N. weapons inspector, who had been grilled in parliament over allegations the government hyped intelligence to justify war.
The political fallout was immediate. Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites), who learned about the discovery of the body while flying from Washington to Tokyo, promised an independent judicial inquiry into the death if the body was confirmed to be Kelly's.
But opponents called for Blair to return and face a broader probe into the case he made for war. The shock even sent Britain's pound tumbling half a percent on currency markets as traders weighed the severity of the crisis for Blair.
George Bush's Iraq problems look like a Fletcher Knebel novel. Tony Blair has a John LaCarre novel going on at home.
posted by tbogg at 10:54 AM
|
SCLMSNBC
Looks like MSNBC's house pollster is finally out of the closet.
Usually when MSNBC covers an important speech like the SOTU or a Presidenial debate, they like to bring out pollster Frank Luntz and his fabulous focus groups to rate what they have seen. Now it probably comes as no suprise that Luntz has done work for the Republicans, he worked for Gingrich and dummied up Newt's numbers for the Contract on America, but this leaked memo pretty much lets the cat out of the bag:
A private memo from a prominent Republican strategist offers a rare glimpse at the bare-knuckle approaches being considered to oust Gov. Gray Davis, outlining numerous ways to "kill Davis softly" in the recall effort without turning the unpopular governor into a sympathetic figure.
"While it is important to trash the governor," reads the blunt, 17-page memo from Virginia-based communications expert Frank Luntz, "it should be done in the context of regret, sadness and balance."
The internal memo dated July 10 was commissioned by Rep. Darrell Issa's Rescue California committee, which has led the effort to put the unprecedented recall of California's governor on the ballot. The committee financed by Issa, R-Vista (San Diego County) and two other pro-recall groups say they have gathered more than 1.6 million signatures in support of their effort -- far more than needed to put the recall to a vote.
Pistol-packin' car thief Issa looks like a straight-shooter next to this guy.
I liked this part:
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, who provided the memo to The Chronicle, ridiculed Luntz's efforts to blame Davis for the state's record $38 billion budget deficit, saying the same arguments could be made against President Bush.
"He (Davis) turned record surpluses into record deficits," she read from the memo. "Sound familiar, Mr. President?"
posted by tbogg at 10:42 AM
|
The Yankee Poodle
The Mirror of London doesn't have Sully's affection for the boy.
Thanks to Bill
posted by tbogg at 10:30 AM
|
A spy in the house of geeks
As is our custom, the daughter and I will be attending the San Diego Comic Con this weekend. We've been going for six years now and I'm not sure how exactly it became a yearly event for us. Since neither one of us is really into comics or fantasy or SF, I think we go for the whole pop-culture aura that it exudes. Last year we had the opportunity to meet Todd McFarlane, Will Eisner, and Ray Harryhausen which was pretty cool, but I think seeing some of these people is kind of wasted on us since we aren't what you would really call "fans" in the "fanatic" sense.
This years guests include Neil Gaiman, Angelina Jolie, Quentin Tarantino, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry as well as the usual assortment of cartoonists, fledgling cartoonists, artists, and writers both famous and nearly famous.
If you've never gone, its really worth the trip to San Diego. You haven't lived until you've observed a group of 40-somethings decked out in full Klingon regalia and speaking in Klingon, while waiting in line for a convention center $4.50 hot dog.
Good fun. Good fun.
posted by tbogg at 9:41 AM
|
Sullivan porn
THE TURNING TIDE: Tony Blair's speech yesterday was a masterpiece of concision, precision and passion. One day, someone should write a good book on how two British prime ministers, Thatcher and Blair, have come to have such high and powerful profiles in the U.S.
[snip...]
This is what the carpers and nay-sayers still don't understand. The West is at war with a real and uniquely dangerous enemy. When the consequences of negligence become catastrophic, the equation of intervention changes. The burden of proof must be on those who counsel inaction rather than on those who urge an offensive, proactive battle. Does it matter one iota, for example, if we find merely an apparatus and extensive program for building WMDs in Iraq rather than actual weapons? Or rather: given the uncertain nature of even the best intelligence, should we castigate our leaders for over-reacting to a threat or minimizing it? Since 9/11, my answer is pretty categorical. Blair and Bush passed the test. They still do.
Talk about your wanking poofter.....
(He posted much later in the evening than I expected. I didn't factor in waiting for the bars to close, and it was Thursday night which is Pet Shop Boys night down at The Lark and Spur.)
posted by tbogg at 9:05 AM
|
Santorum porn
"The water running down her glistening haunches, her mouth open and moist, so inviting...I must have her"
posted by tbogg at 9:02 AM
|
You two can werk at MSNBC
Ahem:
Police weigh charges in market crash
Elderly driver says he may have hit gas instead of break
posted by tbogg at 8:39 AM
|
Thursday, July 17, 2003
Hanging out at the Corner with K-Lo...and only K-Lo
Kathryn Jean Lopez, who is sometimes refered to as K-Lo because it makes her sound vaguely hip, needs to get out more. Since 4pm today there have been 25 posts over at NRO's group blog, The Corner. Of those 25, a whopping 18 belong to K-Lo who doesn't seem to recognize the 'quit' in ubiquitous. Her topics?
Blair
Blair again
Blair again again
Blair and Bush
Blair and Bush again
Blair and Bush again again
Blair, Bush, Spam, Spam, Spam, and Spam...(okay I made that one up)
Suprisingly not one post on the pain of loneliness.....
posted by tbogg at 11:09 PM
|
Hooray
Julia has the Bulwer-Lytton winners up.
posted by tbogg at 9:12 PM
|
I only chose Walter Cronkite because Mary Rosh was already taken
I would be remiss in not mentioning the outing of Texas blogger and photographer-wannabe Mark Harden as blogdom's Commentary Troll, "Walter Cronkite". For those not familiar with ol' Commenting Walt, he's the ubiquitous little nit who inhabits the comment sections of left-leaning blogs attempting to derail conversations and sharing the special kind of wit usually only heard on Freeper Cruises.
Unfortunately for Mark, he had what was is usually called a 'brain-cramp' a couple of days ago over at Atrios and managed to make a two-part commentary post; part one as Walter, part two as his own, well, sad self. Tsk tsk.
Make sure you stop by his blog and cast him a pitying look. Smirk optional.
posted by tbogg at 9:02 PM
|
When we want your opinion...Oh wait. We don't want your opinion.
We all remember the famous story about President Compassionate smiling and telling an average citizen " who cares what you think?". Now we know that he does care, but only if you agree with him:
In the past, to tell President Bush — or at least those assigned to read his mail — what was on your mind it was necessary only to sit down at a personal computer connected to the Internet and dash off a note to president@whitehouse.gov.
But this week, Tom Matzzie, an online organizer with the A.F.L.-C.I.O., discovered that communicating with the White House had become a bit more daunting. When Mr. Matzzie sent an e-mail protest against a Bush administration policy, the message was bounced back with an automated reply, saying he had to send it again in a new way.
Under a system deployed on the White House Web site for the first time last week, those who want to send a message to President Bush must now navigate as many as nine Web pages and fill out a detailed form that starts by asking whether the message sender supports White House policy or differs with it.
The White House says the new e-mail system, at www.whitehouse .gov/webmail, is an effort to be more responsive to the public and offer the administration "real time" access to citizen comments.
[snip...]
Mr. Matzzie, the A.F.L.-C.I.O. organizer, discovered the new White House e-mail system when he started a campaign to protest the administration's proposals to change the way overtime pay is to be calculated.
He said he particularly disliked being forced to specify whether he was offering a "supporting comment" or a "differing opinion" to President Bush.
"Can't I just say something or ask a question?" he said.
Mr. Matzzie said he was also upset that none of the many categories listed included either "unemployment" or "jobs."
"This is the most ridiculous Web form for contacting someone I have ever seen," said Mr. Matzzie, who is a professional Web site designer.
Having sent his e-mail message on Tuesday, Mr. Matzzie said he was still waiting for a response.
Unless it includes a Paypal contribution, I wouldn't hold my breath...
posted by tbogg at 8:29 PM
|
Wow, they're right. Payback is a bitch.
There is just so much here in the todays William Pryor saga, that I don't know where to start. Here's some highlights:
The Senate took time Thursday from fighting over prewar Iraq intelligence to renew battling on another front: President Bush’s nominees to the federal judiciary. Did Bush appeals court nominee William Pryor, Jr. lie to the Senate Judiciary Committee last month about his fund-raising activities as a member of the Republican Attorneys General Association? Or were Senate Democrats using documents allegedly stolen by a disgruntled employee to set a trap for Pryor and smear him?
[snip]
At Pryor’s hearing last month, he said that in his role as a member of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), he had not raised money from Alabama-based companies, from tobacco companies or from firms under investigation by his office.
Documents leaked to the committee, apparently by a former employee of RAGA’s fund-raising consultant, indicate that Pryor was assigned to call executives at Boeing, BP/Amoco and several other firms and ask for contributions.
Among those firms were three tobacco companies: RJ Reynolds, Brown & Williamson Tobacco, and Phillip Morris.
It was not clear from the documents whether Pryor had made the calls he was assigned to make.
Quin Hillyer, a columnist for the Mobile (Ala.) Press Register newspaper, wrote Wednesday that committee Democrats had obtained the documents from a former secretary of Claire Austin, a RAGA fund-raising consultant. That secretary, Kelly Foradori, came under attack at Thursday’s hearing.
[snip...]
“The documents appear to have been stolen by a disgruntled employee of the fund-raiser hired by the Republican Attorneys General Association,” charged Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
Cornyn urged Hatch to launch an investigation of “who on possibly the Senate staff inspired this disgruntled employee to steal private documents.”
Cornyn also said “there was nothing illegal, improper or untoward” in RAGA’s fund-raising. “What I’m concerned about is a smear against this good man, this nominee, and others.”
Among those “others” was Cornyn himself, since he, as Texas attorney general, also took part in RAGA fund-raising efforts in 1999 and 2000.
[snip...]
Pryor’s chief supporter, Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala, told reporters, “There is not going to be single thing in his answers that are going to contradicted by these records, and we’ve looked at them.... If he had been able to have the documents in front of him, to perhaps refresh his recollection, he would have been more specific. His general answers, as I read them, are consistent and honest.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. said the issue was Pryor’s seeking funds for RAGA from companies who might at some point be the target of investigations by his office.
“What is reported is a conflict of interest,” Feinstein said. “Either it either existed, or it didn’t exist. But we do need the time to see if it did.”
Hmmmmmm. Some one gets put under oath and asked questions. They lie, thereby perjuring themselves.
Yeah. I've never heard of that happening before. Nevermind the fact that Pryor saw nothing wrong in dialing for dollars from companies involved in class action suits that he was a part of. Conflict of interest? Hey, I'm no lawyer, but, as they say, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
It's not as if Pryor didn't have a chance to clear the air on this matter previously. From the phlegmatic William F Buckley:
Feingold: Will you provide to the committee a comprehensive list of RAGA's contributors and the amounts and dates of their contribution?
Pryor: I don't have such a list, Senator.
Feingold: Who does?
Pryor: The Republican National Committee.
Feingold: Will you urge them to provide that list?
Pryor: If you need that kind of list, then you really need to seek it from them.
Feingold: You oppose a disclosure of this information?
Pryor: I'm not saying that I oppose it or I favor it.
Feingold: I'm taking this as a refusal to urge the release of this information.
In street talk, this would read: You want that? Well, stir ass and get it. Don't use me as your research assistant.
Hey Bill, guess what? They got the list. Stir that.
How and why did the money get from RAGA to the RNC?:
Pryor, though elected as a Republican, says he has tried to avoid partisanship. He has sometimes drawn fire from fellow party members when his office issued advisory opinions favorable to Democratic officeholders, most notably former Gov. Don Siegelman.
Perhaps his most visibly partisan action was helping create the Republican Attorneys General Association, a fund-raising arm of the Republican National Committee. The group raised money for Republican attorneys general campaigns around the country, accepting money from many of the corporations against whom some states had filed lawsuits.
The RAGA money was shifted into RNC accounts and reported on the party's disclosure forms, leading Pryor and other members to defend the fund-raising process as open.
The RNC reporting forms, though, did not indicate which donations were passed on through the attorneys general group.
What does the Alliance for Justice have to say about Pryor and RAGA?:
As demonstrated in our report, Pryor’s extreme ideology and partisanship has led him to engage in a number of ethically questionable activities. Both at his hearing and in his answers to Senator Feingold’s written questions, Pryor displayed evasiveness and outright disdain for legitimate concerns about his involvement in the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA).13Pryor’s refusal to provide straightforward answers to these questions, and to Senator Kennedy’s questions regarding allegations that Pryor leaked confidential state attorneys’ general memoranda to the tobacco industry,14raise serious concerns about whether he possesses the necessary integrity and temperament required of a federal appellate judge. Pryor was widely criticized for his involvement in RAGA, an organization he helped found and for which he served as Treasurer. Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, a Republican, refused to join RAGA, and suggested in an interview that the practices of the organization raised a potential conflict of interest for state attorneys general: “Most states don't allow corporate contributions to office-holders, but here we have corporations making direct contributions. There's no question that it creates at least the appearance of a conflict when some of these same corporations are the ones that might be in need of an investigation or prosecution.”15Woods also questioned, “whether Mr. Pryor ha[d] the ability to be non-partisan.”16Woods described Pryor as “probably the most doctrinaire and the most partisan of any attorney general [he had] dealt with in eight years, so people would be wise to question whether or not [Pryor is] the right person to be non-partisan on the bench.”17At least thirteen prominent newspapers from all across the country, including, among others, the Washington Post, the New York Times,18the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, and the L.A. Times, have come out in opposition to Pryor’s nomination.19Pryor is one of the most extreme right-wing ideologues ever nominated to the federal judiciary.
Pryor is a sanctimonious evil prig and, if there is an ounce of justice left in the Senate, he'll be brought up on perjury charges. Maybe a few days handcuffed to a post in the Alabama sun will refresh his memory.
Oh. And I saved the best for last:
Republicans lashed out at the Democrats for springing a last-minute surprise on Pryor.
“You tried to set a trap for him, and the guy never had a chance to explain himself,” said an irate Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., glaring across at the Democrats in the Senate committee room. “You should have laid your cards on the table and talked to him in a decent manner, and that’s what I hate about this committee and the way you all are playing this game!”
"I hate you I hate you I hate you!" and the stamping of little feet as bursts into tears and runs from the room.
Pardon the expression, but what a puss.
posted by tbogg at 7:51 PM
|
Swoony Sullivan
It is now about 3:15 PDT. Exactly how many hours do you think we'll have to wait until Andrew Sullivan posts a love poem to Tony Blair, and declares that any questions regarding the invasion of Iraq are now moot?
It doesn't take much to make that boy get all moist in the knickers. Most days it only takes a Happy Meal and a Cosmopolitan or two...
posted by tbogg at 3:16 PM
|
All you need to know about George W Bush
Truer words may have never been blogged than these by Steve Gilliard over at the Daily Kos:
Bush's one asset is his personal character, or more accurately, the illusion of his personal character as an honest, straight shooting man. The reality would be more like a boorish man who is intellectually incurious, but if you've seen Being There, the simplistic statements of mentally disabled gardener Chauncey are turned into political genius, you can understand how the process works. People wanted, no, needed Bush to turn from the callow, incompetent son into a heroic, decisive president. The media were as shell shocked by 9/11 as anyone and Bush's simplistic statements, aided by a coterie of cold warriors and complex men with simple answers, created an image which many Americans embraced.
The problem is that Bush is not a leader. He is a hanger on. He is too proud to follow, and too weak to lead. He can create the aura of leadership, mostly by a stubborn refusal to alter his thinking or by admit error. But when real leadership is required, he simply cannot follow through.
The whole Yellowcake mess, where he allowed CIA Director Tenet, who regardless of your feelings about his competence, to take responsibility for a mess to protect his subordinates, indicates exactly what little character Bush has. The words came from his mouth, no matter who vetted it, he is ultimately responsible, and foisting it off on subordinate is not leadership.
Bush is avoiding the blame for things which are his fault. It is his fault, not the CIA director's, if misstatements get in the State of the Union speech. But then why should Bush suddenly embrace personal accountability after a lifetime of dodging it. He's never admitted his problems with alcohol or drugs, his miserable business record and turned his bad school performance into a sneering joke.
He has no sense of consequence for any of his actions. Despite a lifetime of things not working out, a lifetime of being saved by cronies and friends of his family, he still acts as if he's a self made man.
posted by tbogg at 2:55 PM
|
Bring'em on
It's been broughten...
US soldiers stand next to the body of a fellow soldier killed in an explosion. The number of US troops killed since the invasion of Iraq (news - web sites) has now equalled casualties from the 1990-91 Gulf War
*
U.S. Army Spc. Zack Watkins from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, center, and fellow 3rd Infantry Division soldiers from A Company 3rd Battalion 7th Infantry Regiment, known as Attack Company, listen as their commander discusses their extended stay in Habaniyah, Iraq (news - web sites) in this July 7, 2003 file photo. Already deployed for nearly eight months, the Pentagon (news - web sites) announced this week it was extending their stay, with a vague promise to get them home by September if the security situation allows. The decision was met with anger, sadness and longing for home by the division's 9,000 soldiers, who were at the vanguard of the force that overthrew Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime and moved into Baghdad.
*
A US soldier stands guard while others help a wounded comrade. The number of US soldiers killed since the invasion of Iraq (news - web sites) has reached 147, the same number as in the 1990-91 Gulf War
*
A dead US soldier is covered with a blanket along a highway in Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites) as his colleagues prepare to fan out following another attack on a military convoy Wednesday, July 16, 2003, in Baghdad, Iraq. A US soldier and an Iraqi child were killed and three others wounded in two separate attacks in the capital Wednesday
*
A US soldier walks away from a damaged US heavy trailer truck following another attack on a military convoy Wednesday, July 16, 2003, in Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites). One soldier was killed and two others injured in another attack in the capital.
*
A U.S. Army soldier patrols next to a highway culvert where a Humvee vehicle was destroyed in an attack in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, July 16, 2003. Fed up with being in Iraq (news - web sites) and demoralized by their role as peacekeepers in a risky place, a small group of soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division on ABC's 'Good Morning America' show spoke of poor morale and disillusionment with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
*
US Army soldiers inspect the crater created by an explosion that killed one Iraqi child and injuring four Iraqi bystanders and one US soldier in the al-Mansour neighborhood west Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites) Wednesday July 16, 2003
posted by tbogg at 2:10 PM
|
Blair induced myocardial infarction
Tony Blair almost put Vice President Dick Cheney back in Intensive Care with some of his comments today:
“When we invade Afghanistan or Iraq, our responsibility does not end with military victory,” Blair said. “Finishing the fighting is not finishing the job. We promised Iraq democratic government. We will deliver it.”
“We promised them the chance to use their oil wells to build prosperity for all their citizens, not a corrupt elite. We will stay with these people so in need of help until the job is done.”
After it was explained to the Vice President that Mr. Blair was " just wanking off those poofters in Congress" a visibly relieved Cheney was seen lying on a couch on the Oval Office with his head in George Bush's lap as the President cooed "there, there" to the corpulent, fish-belly white and perspiring pre-cadaver.
posted by tbogg at 1:48 PM
|
Maybe he should just try bursting into tears and running from the podium
Based on the transcripts at Talking Points Memo, Scott McClellan may spend less time as Press Secretary than Bob Livingston did as Speaker of the House:
Scott McClellan: I'm trying to walk you --
QUESTION: You're trying to walk me out the door. (Laughter.)
Scott McClellan: I'm trying to walk you through this.
QUESTION: So your nonsense statement doesn't apply to what I just asked you?
Scott McClellan: I'm trying to walk you through the drafting process. And that's why I was trying to put it in context, so you understand how this occurs.
QUESTION: Scott, on Keith's question, why can't we just expect, basically what would be a non-answer, which is, of course the President is responsible for everything that comes out of his mouth. I mean, that's a non-answer. Why can't you just say that?
Scott McClellan: This issue has been addressed over the last several days.
QUESTION: Why won't you say that, though, that's, like, so innocuous and benign.
Scott McClellan: The issue has been addressed.
posted by tbogg at 1:34 PM
|
George of the Jungle
Earlier today, Mrs. Bush and I returned from our week-long trip to the nation of Africa, also known as Blackmanistan. It was an incredibly useful and productive trip. We now have more than enough pictures of me with colored folks to last all campaign season long. As such, I've directed Mark Racicot to cancel all future Bush/Cheney 2004 events related to that Kwaanza fake-Christmas thing, National Crack Whore Awareness Week, or anything else where I might have to feign the gift of rhythm.
I was very pleased that Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice were BOTH able to just coincidentally join us for the entire duration of the trip. Boy, when you throw Colin into a crowd of them real nigras, he sure looked white to Laura and me! But the weird thing is, when you get him back here, he looks real colored to us, too! Unfortunately, while Justice Thomas was originally slated to go along, he had to cancel at the last minute due to a severe allergic reaction to himself. Nevertheless, we had many productive meetings with naked, colorful hat-wearing African leaders – even briefly discussing the tempest surrounding my little white lie about Iraq buying uranium from Niger – which, I learned after saying it twelve or fourteen times, is correctly pronounced with a long "i" sound.
whitehouse.org
posted by tbogg at 1:18 PM
|
Hey, life is tough. Try getting a good tee time at Beacon Hill....
Army Gen. John P. Abizaid thinks those complaining soldiers ought to just hush up and get back to riding shotgun for Halliburton, Exxon, and Brown & Root. There's a war going on, regardless of the fact that the President has a big ol' banner in his closet that says "Mission Accomplished".
The statements by Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, in his first Pentagon briefing since taking charge of the U.S. Central Command last week, were in sharp contrast with earlier statements by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
Abizaid also addressed the growing morale problems in the 3rd Infantry Division. He said that soldiers quoted yesterday on ABC News' "Good Morning America" questioning their mission in Iraq and calling for Rumsfeld's resignation were wrong and could be disciplined.
"None of us that wear this uniform are free to say anything disparaging about the secretary of defense or the president of the United States. We're not free to do that. It's our professional code," he said.
One of the soldiers, a specialist, said, "If Donald Rumsfeld was here, I'd ask him for his resignation." Another private added, "I used to want to help these people, but now, I don't really care about them anymore."
Abizaid said he found it "very, very saddening as a professional soldier to hear that sort of thing."
Abizaid then returned to his Pentagon office, cooled precisely to 72.4 degrees, to work on his putting stroke until he was interrupted by his steward bringing him his lunch.
Later: A nap and then martinis.
posted by tbogg at 9:59 AM
|
America haters and Saddam lovers
According to Frank Gaffney, anyone who questions the motivations and lies of the Bush Administration is just a Saddam-lovin' surrender monkey:
Somewhere, probably in Iraq, Saddam Hussein is gloating. He can only be gratified by the feeding frenzy of recriminations, second-guessing and political power-plays that are currently assailing his nemeses: U.S. President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The hysteria surrounding charges that faulty British intelligence about one aspect of Saddam's nuclear weapons program -- and a Bush 2003 State of the Union allusion thereto -- may even be emboldening Saddam to believe the unimaginable: He might yet survive (physically and perhaps politically) the current pair of U.S. and British leaders, just as he did their predecessors in the wake of Operation Desert Storm.
It is hard to believe that Americans of any political persuasion would actually want to gladden the heart of so vile a tyrant as Saddam Hussein, let alone to encourage those who seek his return to power. This is particularly true in light of the evidence of his regime's odious predations that have come to light since Iraq's liberation.
Unfortunately, such is the extent of the animus towards this President (especially among Democrats running to succeed him and their party's left-wing base for which they are competing) that a concerted effort is being mounted to savage his reputation. The focus of this partisan attack, not surprisingly, is Mr. Bush's stewardship of the one portfolio that has thus far seriously impeded efforts to unseat him -- namely, his outstanding performance as wartime Commander-in-Chief.
[snip...]
The mischaracterization of the substance and import of George W. Bush's most recent State of the Union address is bad enough. The hyperbole now being unleashed impugning the President's credibility and integrity seems calculated to undermine his leadership at a critical moment.
It is all too reminiscent of the Left's past, highly divisive attacks on the authority of the U.S. government -- especially those associated with the Vietnam War. Now, as then, signs of declining popular appreciation of the legitimacy and necessity of the efforts of America's armed forces will erode their morale. Similarly, the enemy will be encouraged to believe that additional, murderous assaults on Americans and their Iraqi partners will improve the chances for a restoration of something like the previous order.
You'll notice here that Mr Gaffney has no experience in the military. He's a "big picture" kind of guy.
posted by tbogg at 9:48 AM
|
Well, at least he's not molesting altar boys
Is it me, or is the Catholic Church having some problems with their priests lately?:
A New Mexico family is suing their local Catholic church over a funeral Mass in which they claim a priest said their relative was only a middling Catholic and going straight to hell.
Lawyers for the family of Ben Martinez said on Tuesday they had filed a lawsuit in June against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe and one of its priests.
Court papers filed last month say that Rev. Scott Mansfield said at Martinez's funeral last year that the deceased was "living in sin," "lukewarm in his faith" and that "the Lord vomited people like Ben out of his mouth to hell."
Martinez, 80, died June 17, 2002. Roughly 200 people attended the funeral at St. Patrick's Parish in Chama, New Mexico, a small town north of Santa Fe. Family members say he was a practicing Catholic all his life, but was too ill to attend church in the last year of his life.
Nine members of the Martinez family are seeking punitive and compensatory damages for severe emotional and physical suffering. Lawyers did not say how much the family was seeking in damages.
One of the plaintiffs said the townspeople "are staring at her, thinking her father is in hell," their lawyers said.
The complaint also said that as Mansfield walked to the grave, he laced his comments about Martinez -- a former town councilman -- with profanities.
Must have been a fun wake.
(thanks Gabriel)
posted by tbogg at 9:04 AM
|
Hitting the ground running
White House spokesman Scott McClellan took over for Ari and the White House never skipped a beat:
Sen. Dick Durbin, who was present for a 4 1/2-hour appearance by Tenet behind closed doors with Intelligence Committee members Wednesday, said Tenet named the official. But the Illinois Democrat said that person's identity could not be revealed because of the confidentiality of the proceedings.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan was quick to dispute Durbin's account. "That characterization is nonsense. It's not surprising, coming from someone who was in a rather small minority in Congress who did not support the action we took," McClellan told reporters.
Durbin, appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America," said that Tenet "certainly told us who the person was who was insistent on putting this language in which the CIA knew to be incredible, this language about the uranium shipment from Africa."
"And there was this negotiation between the White House and the CIA about just how far you could go and be close to the truth and unfortunately those sixteen words were included in the most important speech the president delivers in any given year," Durbin added.
Countered McClellan: "The whole idea that the threat posed by Saddam Hussein was not real was something that was never under debate previously. This is an attempt to continue to rewrite history." (my emphasis)
Of course, McClellan wasn't in the room, but never mind that..
Now all McClellan has to do is tell us that the President is "focused" and the assimilation will be complete.
posted by tbogg at 8:49 AM
|
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
Oh yeah. That ought to work.
From Drudge:
Vice President Cheney telling House GOP leaders: Bush admin getting ready to go on a public relations offensive, attempt to recast debate on Niger, WMDs, including bringing back Mary Matalin for spin control... Developing...
We all have fond memories of Matalin's superhuman powers that allow her to change the past and cast an amnesia spell over the whole country.....
posted by tbogg at 6:41 PM
|
Deficit Rorschach test
People see faces in ceiling tiles or horses in clouds or Jesus in an oil spill. I kept seeing this chart all over the Internet and I swear I saw the Clinton years giving the finger to both Bush administrations.
posted by tbogg at 12:02 PM
|
As predicted.
Ahem:
During the first two weeks of the war, the 319th hauled all the bulk fuel for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in its drive to Baghdad, a job that took them through hostile territory and into ambushes and firefights.
The 319th is now working for the Army's 260th Quartermaster Battalion. It is stationed at Camp Arifjan, south of Kuwait City.
Soldiers say most of their work involves civilian contractor Kellogg Brown and Root, a subsidiary of Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, Halliburton Corp. The company has contracts to haul fuel, and 319th members are riding along as armed escorts.
"The main reason we're still here is to support Brown and Root," said Sgt. 1st Class David Uthe, 45, of Augusta.
...and what did we say before Bush's War started?
posted by tbogg at 11:32 AM
|
Is that a hoagie in your pocket or do you just like football?
Jim at Rittenhouse points out that non-stadium food can be the terrorist's playground.
posted by tbogg at 10:54 AM
|
My Presidential Life
Go read it here.
posted by tbogg at 10:47 AM
|
"...and the seat with the, uh, stain is right where he sat. Yessiree..."
President Codpiece's plane is going to Florida.
SAN DIEGO -- President George W. Bush made history in San Diego two months ago when he flew in a Navy plane that landed on an aircraft carrier, and now the jet he flew in is making history of its own.
The S-3B Viking aircraft left San Diego on Tuesday morning, destined for a new home at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., where it will be on permanent display at the nearby National Museum of Naval Aviation.
Capt. James P. Kelly and Cmdr. Gary M. Wilson were assigned the task of flying the plane to Florida, which will land in Texas for refueling, then travel around Hurricane Claudette on its way to the Sunshine State.
On May 1, 2003, Bush took off from Naval Air Station North Island for the short flight to the USS Abraham Lincoln. After his arrival, he shook hands with hundreds of crew members and announced to the world the end of major combat in Iraq. The president spent the night on board the carrier before leaving the next day aboard the presidential helicopter, Marine One.
It's historical in the sense that it's the first documented proof that some chickens can fly.
posted by tbogg at 9:49 AM
|
Waist deep in the big muddy
U.S. soldier killed near Baghdad
Three attacks Wednesday on U.S. troops in and around Baghdad killed one soldier and an Iraqi child, and wounded at least seven troops. The new attacks came on the eve of the 1968 anniversary of a coup that led to Saddam Hussein taking power.
THE SOLDIER, whose name was not released, was killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on a supply convoy west of Baghdad. Three other soldiers were injured. The military initially said the assault involved a bomb.
Sgt. Diego Baez, who was in the truck that took the brunt of the blast, wept as he described the dead soldier. “We slept next to each other just last night. He was my best friend,” said Baez, who was uninjured.
In the incident that killed an 8-year-old child, an attacker threw a grenade into a U.S. military vehicle guarding a Baghdad bank. A soldier was injured, along with four Iraqi adults.
In southern Baghdad, meanwhile, witnesses said an explosion damaged a U.S. vehicle, and they saw three apparently wounded soldiers being taken away. No further details were available.
The Sergeant said, "Sir, are you sure,
This is the way back to the base?"
"Sergeant, I once crossed this river
Not a mile above this place.
It'll be a little soggy but we'll keep slogging.
We'll soon be on dry ground."
We were waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fool kept yelling to push on.
The soldier killed Wednesday was the 33rd to die in hostile action since President Bush declared an end to major hostilities on May 1.
He was part of a convoy made up of reservists from a supply unit based in Puerto Rico. The convoy was heading on the main highway to a U.S. base near the Jordanian border.
“We need more protection. We’ve seen enough. We’ve stayed in Iraq long enough,” said Spc. Carlos McKenzie, a member of the convoy.
"Captain, sir, with all this gear
No man'll be able to swim."
"Sergeant, don't be a Nervous Nellie,"
The Captain said to him.
"All we need is a little determination;
Follow me, I'll lead on."
We were neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fool kept yelling to push on.
Many American soldiers thought they’d be home this summer, but their hopes were dashed in a U.S. Army e-mail to spouses Sunday.
“I’m tired of going to bed wondering if I’m going to wake up in the morning,” said Spc. David Myers Jr. of the 3rd Infantry Division’s 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment in Habaniyah, west of Baghdad.
Late Tuesday, the U.S. Central Command said in a news release that it still intended to remove 3rd Infantry soldiers “by September, pending international or U.S. replacement units. As always, the security situation could affect deployments and redeployments.”
All of a sudden, the moon clouded over,
All we heard was a gurgling cry.
A second later, the captain's helmet
Was all that floated by.
The Sergeant said, "Turn around men!
I'm in charge from now on."
And we just made it out of the Big Muddy
With the captain dead and gone.
The increasing frequency and sophistication of the attacks — and growing doubts about the basis for the war — have contributed to the decision by some countries not to contribute troops.
Well, you might not want to draw conclusions
I'll leave that to yourself
Maybe you're still walking, maybe you're still talking
Maybe you've still got your health.
But every time I hear the news
That old feeling comes back on;
We're waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fools kept yelling to push on.
Knee deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fools keep yelling to push on
Waist deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fools keep yelling to push on
Waist deep! Neck deep! we'll be drowning before too long
We're neck deep in the Big Muddy
And the damn fools keep yelling to push on
Waist Deep in the Big Muddy
-Pete Seeger
posted by tbogg at 9:25 AM
|
Okay. Maybe not the hairdressers. But definitely the musicals.
Sullivan says:
guess I'm lucky I didn't work for Raines. He'd have had me covering hairdressers and musical comedy. And he'd have expected me to be grateful.
Hairdressers? I don't think so Andy. I think he would have stuck you with something that you're familiar with.
posted by tbogg at 9:23 AM
|
These are people of the land. The common clay of the New West. You know - morons.
Matt Hoy, who works for the San Diego Union, thinks that the New York Times is too "loony left" and needs to lower their standards for dumb people who don't live in Manhattan:
Bill Keller took over as the Times' executive editor yesterday. A good place to start regaining respectability might be to add a conservative or two to your stable of columnists. This kind of loony leftism may play well among the intellectual elite in Manhattan, but it doesn't play well in the rest of the country
...and if the Times needs another columnist who's devoid of that fancy book learnin', well, Matt Hoy is ready to volunteer:
There is not a major newspaper in the country whose collection of columnists are so dominated by one ideology. Diversity doesn't just mean skin color.
Yes, Mr. Keller, I'll entertain any job offers
Unfortunately, Matt is a page designer and not a columnist by trade. But if you need someone to lay out the next Mother's Day Guide to the Best Brunches in Manhattan, Hoy is your boy.
In the meantime, loony left columnists like Tom Friedman and Bill Safire will just have to slog on...
posted by tbogg at 9:06 AM
|
Washington Times prints fake letter. Howell Raines fired.
A letter to the editor of The Washington Times, purported to be from a senior U.S. diplomat with scathing criticism of the Foreign Service for lack of loyalty to the Bush administration, was exposed yesterday as a forgery.
Wesley Pruden, the editor in chief of The Times, said the newspaper learned "from the highest level at the State Department" that the letter was a hoax and the newspaper fully accepts "as true that the ambassador was not the author of this letter."
Stephan M. Minikes, ambassador to the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, writes in an authentic letter to The Times, published in full this morning on Page A18, that the forgery was a "complete and utter fabrication. It was not written by or for me and it expressed views that are diametrically opposite to the views I hold.
"The fact is that never in my long career have I worked with a more dedicated group of professionals than those I have encountered in the Department of State led by Secretary Powell — people who are absolutely committed to executing the president's foreign policy goals."
The State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher, told reporters at his regular briefing that Secretary of State Colin L. Powell conveyed to the newspaper's top editors the seriousness with which he regards the matter.
Powell later commented on the fact that, although the letter was an obvious fake, that would not preclude the President from mentioning it in his next State of the Union address.
posted by tbogg at 8:47 AM
|
Tuesday, July 15, 2003
If Jonah reported it, it must be true
From The Corner:
"CONSIDERING THE SOURCE" [Jonah Goldberg]
Apparently Keith Olbermann said this last night to Jerry Springer: (Thanks to the guys at MRC.):
"Jonah Goldberg of the National Review said on CNN that you would bring 'slack-jawed yokels, hicks, weirdos, pervs, and what-not' -- and apart from considering the source there, at what point did we stop letting yokels, hicks, weirdos, pervs and what-not vote. I mean, we let Jonah Goldberg vote."
Meanwhile, the whiners that make up the Corner can't understand why they can't get a TV gig:
TAPPER, NO PHONY WRAPPER [Tim Graham]
Okay, Jonah, I can buy the preference for biased and knows it. But I'd feel better if ABC also picked up an NR star to flesh it out with a little diversity...
Posted at 07:13 PM
Followed by:
RE RE TAPPER [Jonah Goldberg]
Fair enough. ABC has my number. And -- obviously -- I think ABC would never dream of hiring someone from NR, who'd worked as a conservative activist type (Tapper worked for Handgun Control Inc.) as an objective political reporter. Having experience as a professional conservative makes you permanently untrustworthy according to network types like Westin. Having experience as a professional liberal gives you a rich professional background.
For someone who obviously spends a lot of time watching TV, Jonah seems to be baffled by it's visual properties.
Jonah? Meet the mirror. Mirror...Jonah. You two need to talk.
posted by tbogg at 10:14 PM
|
History
Oliphant
posted by tbogg at 10:05 PM
|
Tax cut and spend Republicans
Well, let's see...they haven't been to good at predicting the future so far:
The White House today projected a $455 billion budget deficit in the current fiscal year, by far the government's largest deficit ever and $150 billion higher than what the administration predicted just five months ago.
So why should we trust them predicting out to 2008 when they can't seem to see five months into the future?:
The projections released today by the White House's Office of Management and Budget in its midyear review showed the deficit rising to $475 billion in the 2004 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, then declining somewhat as a result of the stronger economy that the administration is forecasting. The deficit was also forecast to be $304 billion in 2005, $238 billion in 2006, $213 billion in 2007 and $226 billion in 2008. In all, that would be about $1.9 trillion in new debt through 2008, making for a total national debt of $8.6 trillion.
Remember the surplus? That was back when the adults were in charge...
posted by tbogg at 9:56 PM
|
Coo, coo, ca-choo, Mrs Robinson, Jesus loves you in your Jimmy Choos
Jim at Rittenhouse has a link up about Elisa Neiffer Fritter, the 39-year old lacrosse coach who has been boinking teenaged boys. Typical of all reporting on sex crimes, the reporter (in this case, Kathleen Brady Shea) details for us all the important details, number of victims, charges filed, penalty to be served, defendants choice of footwear...:
The 39-year-old former lacrosse coach pleaded guilty in Chester County Court to multiple counts of statutory sexual assault, corruption of minors, furnishing alcohol to minors, and related offenses.
In exchange for the guilty plea, Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth Pitts withdrew two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a minor, each of which carried a minimum mandatory penalty of five years in prison.
Fritter still faces the possibility of a lengthy prison term.
Fritter twisted her hands and shifted back and forth on her backless black high heels as Judge William P. Mahon listed the maximum penalties for the crimes, numbers that totaled more than 250 years in jail and $500,000 in fines for the 61 counts Fritter faces.
"I'm required by law to tell you all of this, Ms. Fritter," Mahon explained as Fritter dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. "I'm not saying that is what is going ----Omigawd! Cute shoes! Where did you get those? Are those Manolo Blahniks?"
posted by tbogg at 1:14 PM
|
Me love you up all night...or for about three minutes in your case.
Who knew that talking dirty in Thailand would sound like " Do me like you did the depositors at Silverado Savings & Loan Association, you naughty boy, you."?
Roger Ailes points out that a married Neil Bush went out for some Thai, actually a few Thais, while visiting the country and immersing himself in their "culture" if you know what I mean and I think you do, wink wink.
In deposition videotape Neil Bush said, "I had had sexual intercourse with perhaps three or four, I don't remember the exact number, women, at different times."
He said it happened while he was in Southeast Asia several years ago. "In Thailand once, I have a pretty clear recollection that there was one time in Thailand and in Hong Kong," said Neil Bush in the deposition. "After you were married to Mrs. Bush?" a lawyer asked. He answered, "Yes."
These days, when Neil isn't involved in nasty divorce proceedings and negotiating price with hookers, he's out hawking educational software Ignite:
Neil Bush, a younger brother of Gov. Jeb Bush, is promoting a new business venture in Florida with the potential to benefit from his brother's policies.
The Texas-based business, called Ignite, is tailoring software to help middle-school students prepare for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, a standardized test that is the backbone of Gov. Bush's ''A+'' plan that grades schools.
The software, which Ignite is custom-designing for several states from California to Florida, is being used as a pilot in an Orlando-area middle school that has received millions in state grants to study ways of improving efficiency and lowering costs.
Florida students have shown a remarkable increase in their abilities to haggle price with "private sector sexual entrepreneurs" as well as improved language skills allowing them to request a "reverse cowgirl" in fourteen different languages.
Good work, Neil!
posted by tbogg at 9:31 AM
|
God is my hitman
Pat Robertson is concerned that God isn't doing his job lately. I mean, when is the last time He performed a well publicized high profile smiting?
Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson urged his nationwide audience Monday to pray for God to remove three justices from the Supreme Court so they could be replaced by conservatives.
``We ask for miracles in regard to the Supreme Court,'' Robertson said on the Christian Broadcasting Network's ``The 700 Club.''
Robertson has launched a 21-day ``prayer offensive'' directed at the Supreme Court in the wake of its 6-3 June vote that decriminalized sodomy. Robertson said in a letter on the CBN Web site that the ruling ``has opened the door to homosexual marriage, bigamy, legalized prostitution and even incest.''
The same letter targets three justices in particular: ``One justice is 83-years-old, another has cancer and another has a heart condition. Would it not be possible for God to put it in the minds of these three judges that the time has come to retire?''
Upon hearing Robertson's plea, God rolled His eyes and then proceeded to make arrangements with Satan for Robertson to share a queen-sized bunk in hell with Mike Tyson in the very near future.
posted by tbogg at 8:54 AM
|
Monday, July 14, 2003
Our war.
Nitpicker points out yet another inconsistency from President Can't Keep His Story Straight.
It just occured to me how galling it must be to Lil' George that he still hasn't caught the guy who tried to kill his dad. Once an Inigo Montoya, always an Inigo Montoya.
posted by tbogg at 11:12 PM
|
Amy at the Nun says:
....go see Whale Rider. I haven't seen it, but my interest in it lies more with the soundtrack by Lisa Gerrard, formerly of Dead Can Dance. Lisa's website is here (warning: make sure your speakers aren't too loud). And you really should own this, if not for the music collection, than for the concert DVD.
It's simply amazing.
posted by tbogg at 10:53 PM
|
The Moral Clarity Department
Rall
posted by tbogg at 10:21 PM
|
We are at Stage 2.
Kubler-Ross described the Five Stages of Grief as:
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
and Acceptance.
Looks like Anger has taken center stage:
As part of their offensive, White House officials released new information to buttress Mr. Bush's claim, attacked the credibility of his Democratic critics and accused the news media of a "feeding frenzy."
After weeks of declining to disclose such information, Mr. Bush's aides described a chronology that they said mitigated Mr. Bush's citation of unsubstantiated British intelligence in his State of the Union address on Jan. 28. The president referred to the intelligence that Iraq had tried to buy uranium from Africa to further a nuclear weapons program as one reason in making his case for invading Iraq.
Today Mr. Bush, personally addressing the issue for the fourth time in six days, asserted at the White House that questions about the evidence he used did not undercut his overall case for war.
At the same time, Mr. Bush's political advisers pushed back against Democratic presidential contenders who have in recent days accused him of losing credibility on what had been seen as his strong suit, foreign affairs. The Republican National Committee issued a statement tonight asserting that "Democrats politicize war in Iraq," while party leaders declared that Democrats did not have the standing to challenge Mr. Bush on the subject.
"The bottom line is this — what is their policy, what are they for?" Ed Gillespie, the incoming chairman of the Republican National Committee, said in an interview today. "We know what they are against, we know they don't like the president. But what are they going to do?"
Next step...Bargaining: Say buh-bye, George Tenet.
After that...Depression.
But we see evidence of that every day.
If Iraq looks increasingly worrisome on TV and in the polls, the economy is even worse. CBS found jobs and the economy dwarfing every other issue, cited by almost four times as many people as cited Iraq or the war on terrorism. On that black Thursday for the administration, first-time unemployment claims pushed the number of Americans on jobless relief to the highest level in 20 years.
And the most troubling pictures on any of the three broadcasts were those of a line of cars, stretching out of sight down a flat two-lane road in Logan, Ohio -- jobless and struggling families waiting for the twice-a-month distribution of free food by the local office of America's Second Harvest. The head of the agency said, "We are seeing a new phenomenon: Last year's food bank donors are now this year's food bank clients." Said CBS reporter Cynthia Bowers, "You could call it a line of the times, because in a growing number of American communities these days, making ends meet means waiting for a handout."
We don't need to accept this.
posted by tbogg at 10:17 PM
|
You see it's funny because it's about the French...get it?
What it takes to get on Instapundit these days:
ED CONE IS DEFENDING THE FRENCH: "The French aren’t perfect, they just think they are. And it’s not like they were going to be much help on the battlefield anyway."
It's funnier if you hear it in Dennis Miller's voice.....actually, it isn't.
Ah, those French...After they went and got their asses kicked at Dien Ben Phu , the US stepped in and showed the world how you win a war. Didn't we...?
posted by tbogg at 9:50 PM
|
Cuba si! Bush no!
Outside of a few Cuban-Americans in Florida who wield a disproportionate amount of clout on the issue, is there any reason for our government’s policies towards Cuba? From the embargo to the government restriction on travel it has to finally have sunk in that Castro won, we lost, and lets move on. Here are a couple on vaguely related stories:
Woman fights fine for trip to Cuba
A 75-year-old San Diego woman who has been fined nearly $10,000 for violating the U.S. ban on travel to Cuba is taking her case to Washington, D.C.
Joan Slote, who went to Cuba on a bicycle tour three years ago, has been invited to speak tomorrow at a forum focusing on a U.S. travel restriction to the communist island nation. The forum will be held in the U.S. Senate building.
Slote has been trying to appeal her fine with the U.S. Treasury Department but has not been given a hearing despite repeated requests. Her supporters are trying to arrange a hearing with the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control while she is in Washington.
[snip...]
Slote's supporters hope to enlist the help of U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who supports lifting travel restrictions to Cuba. Dorgan is scheduled to speak at the same forum as Slote.
A spokesman for Dorgan said the Treasury Department should have more important things to do than to go after Slote.
"This is an absurd use of resources by the Department of Treasury," Dorgan spokesman Barry Piatt said. "At a time when they should be tracking terrorist funding and the movement of terrorists around the world, they are spending resources tracking little old ladies riding bicycles in Cuba."
Even staunch supporters of the travel ban say Slote is the wrong target.
"There's exceptions in every case," said Joe Garcia, executive director of the Cuban American National Foundation.
"There's nothing absurd about the United States trying to curtail travel to an immoral regime." But cracking down on seniors such as Slote suggests that "the law is absurd," Garcia said.
[snip...]
About 200,000 Americans visit Cuba annually, most under special exception licenses for people with relatives in Cuba, U.S. government officials, professionals and others. Tourism isn't licensed, and as many as 60,000 people make the trip without permission. Most escape punishment, although the number of fines more than tripled to 700 during the first year of the Bush administration.
Slote, who has traveled to more than 20 countries on bicycle tours, said she assumed the tour company was correct when it said she didn't need permission to visit Cuba if she began the trip in Canada. She and a friend flew to Toronto and then to Cuba. On their return to San Diego, a customs inspector at the airport asked if she had been to a country other than Canada. Slote told the truth and was reported to the Treasury Department.
She was fined $7,600 for spending $38 U.S. dollars in Cuba – $18 in souvenirs and $20 in airport tax. The total since has risen to $9,871.75 because of penalties imposed in the 11/2 years she has been disputing the fine. The government has told Slote repeatedly that if she doesn't pay, it could deduct the money from her Social Security checks.
This is so idiotic it doesn't even deserve comment.
Meanwhile:
Compay Segundo, a once-forgotten Cuban musician who gained worldwide fame with the "Buena Vista Social Club," has died in Havana. He was 95.
Born Maximo Francisco Repilado Munoz, the wiry, cigar-smoking musician carried traditional Cuban music to the world. He was honored with a Grammy as part of the "Buena Vista Social Club" in his 90th year and helped draw attention to other aging but talented Cuban musicians.
There are hundreds of other Compay Segundos in Cuba....but our government won't let us hear them.
American guitarist Ry Cooder says his latest collaboration with Cuban musicians could be his last.
Cooder helped put the country on the musical map after bringing together a group of Cuban musicans to make the Buena Vista Social Club album in 1996.
The project was an unexpected commercial and critical smash, earning a Grammy and becoming the best-selling release of Cooder's career.
But the US Government banned Cooder from working with musicians from the communist country again, fining him $100,000 under America's Trading With The Enemy Act.
The act places tight restrictions on the dealings US citizens can have with the communist state.
President Bill Clinton stepped in during his last week of office in 2000 and persuaded the government to give Cooder a year reprieve.
As a result Cooder went back to Cuba and worked on two projects - an album with legendary guitarist Manuel Galban and one with singer Ibrahim Ferer - which is due for release this week.
But he fears he will not be able to repeat the exercise.
"When I say this is a classic Latin record what I'm really saying is it might be the last chance to do this kind of mingling of people and styles," said Cooder.
"Politically I can't do it again so I have to say that is the best I can do."
Bill Clinton is as much to blame for this state of affairs as are the current folks, and it is the height of stupidity to single out Cuba, the people of Cuba, and even Americans who want to visit this country, in such a shabby way.
By the way, here is the way the State Department describes Cuba:
COUNTRY DESCRIPTION: Cuba is a developing country with a totalitarian, communist government. The United States has no direct diplomatic relations with Cuba, but provides consular and other services through the U.S. Interests Section in Havana. The U.S. Interests Section operates under the legal protection of the Swiss government but is not co-located at the Swiss Embassy.
Compare it with China:
The People's Republic of China was established on October 1, 1949, with Beijing as its capital city. With well over 1.3 billion citizens, China is the world's most populous country and the third largest country in the world in terms of territory. China is undergoing rapid, profound economic and social change and development. Political power remains centralized in the Chinese Communist Party. Modern tourist facilities are available in major cities, but many facilities in smaller provincial cities and rural areas are frequently below international standards.
...and did I mention that you can travel to North Korea without penalty?
U.S. citizens traveling to the DPRK should carry only valid U.S. passports bearing the proper North Korean visa. Under no condition should U.S. citizens retain any document that identifies them as citizens or residents of either the Republic of Korea (South Korea) or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea). There is currently no way to replace a lost or stolen U.S. passport in North Korea. Americans who lose a passport must go to the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang to manage their departure from North Korea and subsequent transit through China, Russia or a third country, as necessary.
...because they're not a "totalitarian communist" country, don't you know.
posted by tbogg at 9:21 PM
|
An invitation to an invasion
It's probably a good thing for Iran that the Administration is spending all their time indulging in legalisms, hair-splittings, and moment-by-moment revisionism (see Saletan here) making them too busy to get involved in any extracurricular activities, like, you know, going uninvited into other countries:
Iran has made a major new oil find containing estimated reserves of more than 38 billion barrels, making it one of the world's biggest undeveloped fields, a senior oil official was quoted as saying Monday
Abolhasan Khamoushi, general director of Iran's Oil Development and Engineering Company, told the Kayhan evening newspaper that the find, combining three neighboring oilfields, had been discovered close to the southern port city of Bushehr.
An oil ministry spokeswoman confirmed to Reuters the accuracy of the report but could give no further details.
Khamoushi said the fields contained crude of high density and very low API, meaning the oil will be less valuable on world markets than some other regional grades.
He said preliminary studies indicated that the Ferdows field contained 30.6 billion barrels or crude, the Mound field 6.63 billion and the Zagheh field 1.3 billion.
Dick Cheney probably has a hard-on that you could knock a house down with.
posted by tbogg at 8:47 PM
|
ESPN adds new blimp to football broadcasts
Oh yeah. This ought to go over real well.
Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh will soon be calling some signals for ESPN's weekly football preview "Sunday NFL Countdown."
Starting in September, Limbaugh, 52, will join the show's line-up as the "voice of the fan," delivering an opinion piece near the top of the two-hour telecast each week, the Walt Disney Co.-owned sports network said on Monday.
He also will weigh in three times during each show with a "Rush challenge," offering a counterpoint to commentary from the program's three regular analysts -- former NFL players Steve Young (news), Michael Irvin and Tom Jackson (news).
The "voice of the fan" if you think of a "fan" as a rich overweight, radio hatemonger. There's a demographic for you. He will 'weigh in" with a counterpoint to three former All Pros based on his experience from....from....well, there was that pilondial cyst he had in his ass that one time. He could talk about that.
posted by tbogg at 2:58 PM
|
You have to follow his way thinking...
President Darn Good says:
"I think the intelligence I get is darn good intelligence, and the speeches I have given were backed by good intelligence," Bush said. "And I am absolutely confident today, like I was when I gave the speeches, that Saddam Hussein developed a program of weapons of mass destruction."
Simple. The intelligence he gets is "darn good". The facts in the speeches are "darn good". Then he goes and gives the speech and it turns to shit.
posted by tbogg at 2:46 PM
|
Sunday, July 13, 2003
Every picture tells a story
Media Whores Online offers photos that shows our "focused" President focusing on his SOTU speech. Did I mention that the photos are in focus too?
posted by tbogg at 9:41 PM
|
No Christmas cards for John this year.
Mike at Gorrilla a-gogo points out that John Ashcroft doesn't have many fans among the Democratic Presidential candidates.
Why do I think that he is going to be a major campaign topic next year? The moment Karl Rove gets the feeling that he is a drag on Puppet Boys chances of finally being elected, will be the moment that John the Snake Handler gets shoved overboard.
posted by tbogg at 9:32 PM
|
Well put
Kevin at Calpundit explains why Yellowcakegate matters.
In fact, Kevin explains it better than any professional pundit has so far. And he does it for free.
posted by tbogg at 9:14 PM
|
The case against public art
The Port of San Diego is on the verge allowing a mistake that will make the city the laughingstock (not counting the SD Chargers) of the country.
But the San Diego Unified Port District seems determined to cement the image of San Diego as a place where adventurous public art won't get built but large follies are welcome.
The port commissioners have entertained a proposal for a bland, bloated amalgam of sculpture, fountain and plaza by San Diego artist A. Wasil, called "Spirit of the Seas," and they seem to like what they see. At a recent meeting, the commissioners voted unanimously for its staff to study the feasibility of various sites for the $50 million project.
"Spirit of the Seas" would be a towering monument to nothing more than artistic timidity and ambitious entrepreneurship. It has precious little to say about San Diego, while it would tell the world this is one excruciatingly parochial town when it comes to art or monuments.
If this is the future for art in public places here, then let's have public places without art. I'd rather look at an unfettered view of the bay than see a 50-foot bronze Neptune done in some vaguely retro-mannerist style rise before our eyes.
Wanna see it? Keep in mind that it willl be about 200 feet long. Here it is.
This is the unholy lovechild of the anthropomorphic crap-art of Wyland and Jason and the Argonaut-era Ray Harryhausen.
posted by tbogg at 5:27 PM
|
Public sectors loss is private sectors....loss
Tomorrow is Ari Fleischer's last day.
Fleischer is leaving the White House staff on Monday after 21 years in government and politics, to try his hand at the speaker's circuit, find a job in the private sector and spend more time with his new wife.
I believe that RJ Reynolds has the first pick in this years Lying Sack-O-Crap Draft, but Halliburton is offering their number two pick in this years draft, next years first-rounder, and a Senator to be named later, for the rights to the soon-to-be former Presidential Obfuscator.
posted by tbogg at 5:11 PM
|
Spending money like a drunken sailor Secretary of Defense.
Reduced services? Cutbacks in programs for the poor. Costs being passed onto struggling states? Where is all the money going?
Here:
The cost of the war and occupation of Iraq could reach $100 billion through next year, substantially higher than anticipated at the war's outset, according to defense and congressional aides. This is raising worries that other military needs will go unmet while the government is swamped in red ink.
The cost of the war so far, about $50 billion, already represents a 14 percent increase to military spending planned for this year. Even before the United States invaded Iraq in March, President Bush had proposed defense budgets through 2008 that would rise to $460 billion a year, up 74 percent from the $265 billion spent on defense in 1996, when the current buildup began.
At the same time, the federal budget deficit is exploding. This week, officials expect to announce that it will exceed $400 billion for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, the largest in U.S. history by a wide margin. Former White House budget director Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. said last month the deficit should be smaller next year, but economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. -- factoring rising war costs -- said Friday the deficit may climb even higher than their previous $475 billion estimate.
posted by tbogg at 5:06 PM
|
You'll excuse me if I pass on this one
Sullivan:
MOBY DICK RETURNS: The strange tale of a white hump-back whale - and its pursuers.
Don' wanna know...don' wanna know.
posted by tbogg at 3:58 PM
|
Friday, July 11, 2003
Obsession by Calvin Klein Andy Sullivan
Margaret Ray Award Winner:
CHARLIE AND HOWELL: Is anyone else a lttle perturbed that Howell Raines' first post-resignation interview will be with one of his best friends, a guest at his wedding, and another Southern liberal?---Sullivan
Um.... no, we're not.
Stay off the train tracks Andy.
posted by tbogg at 3:19 PM
|
War forever and a day
Go read this from Austrailia:
With any luck, the coming war with North Korea should be a far more exciting affair than the recent excursion in Iraq.
The campaign to disarm Saddam Hussein of his weapons of mass destruction - I use the phrase advisedly - was over all too quickly, really. It had hardly begun before George Bush, kitted out like Tom Cruise in Top Gun, was calling a win on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, but the results have been disappointing. No Saddam, no WMDs.
North Korea should be very different. It has an army of a million unblinking automatons and, we are assured, an arsenal of missiles capable of hitting anywhere from Chicago to Cairns. And all this under the supreme command of Dear Leader Kim Jong-il, a spring-heeled lunatic with a Lady (Mary) Fairfax hairdo and a taste for Napoleon cognac and Quentin Tarantino movies.
Happily the Americans have found just the man to whip him to a frenzy. John R. Bolton, the US undersecretary of state for arms control and international security policy, has been leading this week's Brisbane meeting of 11 countries of the grandly named Proliferation Security Initiative. North Korean ships and planes carrying nukes, missiles, drugs and the like, will be stopped by military force. How thrilling that Lord Downer of Baghdad has committed us to join in.
With his shaggy hair and grandpa moustache, Bolton looks like an Eng.Lit professor from some minor Midwest college, but in fact he is one of the Bush Administration's madder right-wingers, no small distinction. He is so far out that he makes Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld sound like Jane Fonda.
Bolton loathes the United Nations, once memorably remarking that "it is certainly rare to find genuine capitalists walking the UN halls". He believes the US can ignore the world body as it pleases because, as he puts it, "the United States is, simply stated, different from other countries".
So there. Bolton is not a man to let the niceties of international law stand in the way of a good war.
posted by tbogg at 2:56 PM
|
How about a little cannon-fodder for breakfast?Billmon, the Keeper of Embarassing Quotes, reminds us that Neo-Cons have little affection for the people who actually have to go do that messy fighting for democracy that are always on about: I think the level of casualties is secondary. I mean, it may sound like an odd thing to say, but all the great scholars who have studied American character have come to the conclusion that we are a warlike people and that we love war. . . . What we hate is not casualties but losing. And if the war goes well and if the American public has the conviction that we're being well-led and that our people are fighting well and that we're winning, I don't think casualties are going to be the issue.
Michael Leeden
AEI Breakfast
March 27, 2003
I think the American people are going to have great tolerance for the war taking longer, and they are going to have great tolerance for more casualties.
William Kristol
AEI Breakfast
March 27, 2003If a disabled vet decides to do some harm to one of these pricks...I want to be on the jury. Labels: fuckfacebillkristol
posted by tbogg at 2:44 PM
|
Scapegoat Now!
Sen Pat Roberts (R-Dorothyland) is protecting his leader by laying the blame on George Tenet:
In a harsh rebuke of the CIA, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Friday criticized the agency's "extremely sloppy handling" of some prewar intelligence on Iraq and accused the agency of leaking information that reflected badly on President Bush.
"What now concerns me most ... is what appears to be a campaign of press leaks by the CIA in an effort to discredit the president," U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, chairman of the panel, said in a written statement.
[snip...]
The comments from the unnamed sources are apparently what elicited Roberts' ire. Roberts laid responsibility for the matter squarely on the shoulders of CIA Director George Tenet.
Roberts said Tenet should have personally told Bush of any concerns about the reliability of the uranium information about Iraq. "He should have told the president, and it appears that he failed to do so," Roberts said.
So the buck doesn't stop with President Teleprompter who just reads what is put in front of him. And it doesn't stop with Condoleeza Rice whose job it is to coordinate information from the various intelligence agencies and advise the President. No. It's Tenet's fault. And if employees of the CIA are trying to defend themselves from being maligned by an inept administration, well, by god, Tenet better knock that crap off.
Glad to see Roberts has his priorities in order.
Here's a quote from a good Senator:
Now the Bush White House and the Bush CIA are pointing fingers at each other over the president's misleading claim about Iraqi uranium purchases from Niger," U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, D-Florida, said in a written statement. "Mr. President, stop trying to pass the buck. You made the baseless claim; you should take responsibility."
and here's what Colin Powell has to say:
Powell, who is also traveling with Bush in Africa, said there was never any "attempt on the part of the president or anyone else in the administration to mislead or deceive the American people."
"We now have to focus on the future," he said, "and that is to build a better Iraq for the Iraqi people and help them put in place a representative form of government that will make sure that there are never any more weapons of mass destruction, and that it's a country that will live in peace with its neighbors."
I see Colin has fallen back into his My Lai cover-up persona again.
During a second tour in Vietnam he received the Soldier's Medal for pulling several men from a burning helicopter. He became battalion executive officer and division operations officer in Vietnam in 1968.
It was during this time that Powell, as deputy assistant chief of staff for operations G-3 at Americal Division headquarters in Chu Lai, was asked to handle a potentially embarrassing letter a young soldier had written to Gen. Creighton Abrams, commander of all U.S. forces in Vietnam.
The soldier had written about rumors of a massacre that Americal Division soldiers had committed in the hamlet of My Lai 4 in South Vietnam. Although he did not mention My Lai in the letter, the soldier complained that Americal soldiers were indiscriminately killing Vietnamese civilians. Such acts, the young soldier warned, "are carried on at entire unit levels and thereby acquire the aspect of sanctioned policy."
Powell sent a memo to his superior, the adjutant general, positioning that the young soldier had not given enough specifics upon which to base an inquiry. Powell said the soldier's charges were false except for "isolated instances." He wrote that "relations between American soldiers and the Vietnamese are excellent."
Powell's damage control efforts soon proved fruitless and the My Lai massacre burst onto the world stage like an atomic explosion, severely damaging the U.S. war effort in Vietnam.
Which lesson from Viet Nam do you think Powell learned?
posted by tbogg at 2:15 PM
|
Quit your job...read blogs all day
As if there isn't enough stuff to read everyday, I've added a couple of new sites to the Hot Links. I don't remember which ones, so you have to check them out for yourself.
posted by tbogg at 1:54 PM
|
USS I Don't Recall to set sail for somewhere...looking for its lost glasses that it thinks it left on the hall table...what time does Matlock come on?....ooooo! pudding!
USS Ronald Reagan to be commissioned tomorrow:
It will be months or years before the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan sees combat. Yet the ship already is no stranger to conflict.
The huge $5 billion warship, being readied for its commissioning Saturday at the Norfolk Naval Station, is the product of a long struggle.
Nine years ago, when critics in Congress questioned the ship's relevance to 21st century warfare, the Reagan was nearly lost in a dispute between power brokers on opposite sides of the Capitol. In 1999, a 17-week strike at Newport News Shipbuilding -- now Northrop Grumman Newport News -- torpedoed work schedules and left bitter feelings between the shipbuilders and their bosses.
This spring, glitches in installing and testing ship systems forced delays in the Reagan's sea trials and a two-month postponement of the commissioning ceremony.
After commissioning the USS Reagan will spend most of it's time continuously cruising the Atlantic with its left blinker on, enforcing the Helms-Thurmond Hey You Kids, Get Off My Damn Lawn! National Security Act.
posted by tbogg at 12:40 PM
|
"There's a process server here looking for a Mr. Harvard"
Harvard says "no" to whiny, completely unlikable Blair Hornstine:
A New Jersey student who sued successfully to be the sole valedictorian of her high school has been disinvited from attending Harvard University for plagiarism, according to a published report.
Citing an unnamed source involved with the decision, The Harvard Crimson reported for Friday's edition that the Ivy League school decided not to welcome Blair Hornstine into its class of 2007.
Harvard spokesman Robert Mitchell said the university would not comment on any application to the school.
A source familiar with the admissions process told the Crimson that it would be unusual for Harvard not to rescind the admission of a student caught plagiarizing.
Marlyn McGrath Lewis, the school's director of Undergraduate Admissions, would not comment on Hornstine's case.
Calls to Hornstine's father -- a New Jersey Superior Court judge in Camden -- her lawyer and a second lawyer who has served as her spokesman were not immediately returned Friday.
I have Wednesday 3pm in the "When Will Blair Hornstine File Suit Against Harvard?" office pool.
posted by tbogg at 11:59 AM
|
It was one sentence..no, no, it was just one word.
Filling in for lying weasel Ari Fleischer is WaPo lying weasel Howie Kurtz:
The left is now up in arms about one sentence in George Bush's last State of the Union speech.
As Mark Twain once said:
The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter--it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning
posted by tbogg at 9:48 AM
|
Without the carpet his knees get chafed.
From Drudge:
FLASH: Bob Woodward doing a new book on Bush, sources tell DRUDGE, focusing on the Iraq war. Woodward has been granted red carpet treatment and has already interviewed a bunch of Bush biggies, including Rice... Developing...
posted by tbogg at 9:24 AM
|
Wish I'd said that.
From baby thataway
I love to travel. I love the idea that you can wake up in one place and go to sleep somewhere else...no, no...not in a drunken college girl kinda' way.
That line is going to be in my mind all week. Jeez, that's funny.
posted by tbogg at 9:14 AM
|
Thursday, July 10, 2003
Later Mr. Bohlin was seen hooting at the biology teachers and throwing feces.
Is it possible for the state of Texas to get any dumber? Well, they're trying:
Controversy over textbooks erupted again Wednesday as scientists and members of the public addressed the Board of Education over the treatment of evolution in biology textbooks.
Nearly all of the three dozen speakers defended the teaching of evolution against a report that questioned the accuracy of evidence supporting the scientific theory in the 11 biology texts being considered for adoption in Texas.
After Discovery Institute — a Seattle-based public policy group — submitted the 55-page report, teachers, scientists and activists went on the offensive.
They said they feared that the elected board, dominated by conservative members, would use the report to influence publishers to include references to creationism or "intelligent design" as a scientific theory.
While intelligent design, which claims that a higher power directed human development, is more scientific, critics said it couldn't be included because it had not been peer reviewed by reputable scientists.
Raymond Bohlin, speaking on behalf of the Discovery Institute, said Darwin's Origin of the Species was not peer reviewed.
"Often new scientific ideas are not welcomed in the scientific literature," said Bohlin, who holds a doctorate in biology and is director of communications at Probe Ministries in Richardson.
You know, it's not like the guys over at the Discovery Institute are biased or anything. Here's Ray and his lovely wife Sue, both on staff at Probe Ministries. Did I mention that Sue...
is a Mentoring Mom for MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers), and serves on the board and as a small group leader for Living Hope Ministries, a Christ-centered outreach to those dealing with unwanted homosexuality. ?
Stephen Jay Gould is probably spinning like a top.
posted by tbogg at 10:58 PM
|
Making friends wherever we go.
Operation Hearts and Minds seems to be going well:
BAGHDAD — U.S.-trained Iraqi police in Fallujah held a demonstration yesterday, demanding that the troops leave town, saying their presence endangers the lives of the Iraqis associated with coalition forces.
Their police station and a municipal building came under attack overnight by guerrillas firing rocket-propelled grenades — the latest sign that Iraqis associated with U.S. forces are increasingly being targeted by forces loyal to ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.
"The presence of Americans endangers us. We asked the Americans more than a month and a half ago to leave Fallujah," Riyadh Abdel-Latif, the town's police chief, told Reuters news agency. He said his men, believed to number about 100, have threatened to resign within 48 hours.
posted by tbogg at 10:41 PM
|
Mr. Bush, You Are A Liar
William Rivers Pitt:
There was a picture on the front page of the New York Times on Tuesday, July 8. It showed several American soldiers in Iraq sitting in utter dejection as they were informed by their battalion commander that none of them were going home anytime soon, and no one knew exactly when they were going home at all. PFC Harrison Grimes sat in the center of this photo with his chin in his hand, staring at ground that was thousands of miles from his family and friends. A soldier caught in the picture just over PFC Grimes' shoulder had a look on his face that could break rocks.
212 of PFC Grimes' fellow soldiers have died in Iraq, and 1,044 more have been wounded. The war created chaos in the cities, and it seems clear now that very little in the way of preparation was made to address the fact that invasion leads to social bedlam, not to mention a lot of shooting. Last Sunday, CNN's Judy Woodruff showed a clip of a Sergeant Charles Pollard, who said, "All we are here is potential people to be killed and sitting ducks."
According to the numbers, almost two thirds of the soldiers killed in Iraq since May 1 died in "non-combat related" mishaps like accidental weapons discharges, accidental detonations of unexploded ordnance, and questionable car crashes. There are some in the world who might take comfort from the fact that only one third of the dead since May came from snipers or bombs or rocket-propelled grenades. Dead is dead, however. There is no comforting them.
Go read the whole thing.
posted by tbogg at 10:34 PM
|
Tom Toles.
posted by tbogg at 10:26 PM
|
Lucky us...a trifecta.
EJ Dionne reports:
Despite the great pictures from that trip, it has not been a good week for Bush. The White House finally admitted that the president never should have claimed in this year's State of the Union address that Iraq sought to buy uranium in Africa to reconstitute its nuclear weapons program. Reports to that effect had been debunked by a respected American diplomat even before Bush gave his speech.
Then the commission investigating 9/11 criticized the administration for failing to respond expeditiously to its requests for documents and testimony. Tom Kean, the Republican chairman of the commission, also charged that the administration's refusal to allow witnesses to be interviewed without "minders" amounted to intimidation. Kean and his Democratic co-chairman, former representative Lee Hamilton, are among the most respected and least partisan figures in American public life. If they are complaining, something is definitely wrong.
Finally, there is the continuing mess on the ground in Iraq: the almost daily deaths of American soldiers, the failure to restore order and public services, the anger in military families over the extended commitment of their loved ones to a war zone. Even the war's strongest supporters are saying that the administration's postwar strategy was deeply flawed.
Expect Karl Rove to announce a Code Orange within the next few days.
posted by tbogg at 10:24 PM
|
It's Got A Great Beat But You Can't Dance To It, or
How I Spent My 48th Birthday
Sometimes you don't have to go very far to visit a foreign country where you can observe the natives customs, marvel at their colorful native garb, and struggle to comprehend their ancient and mysterious rituals. And so it was, with fear in our hearts and tickets in our pockets, my wife and I set out Tuesday night for deepest darkest Coors Amphitheater, to see Phish and the people who make up Phish Nation.
I've mentioned before that I recently became interested in Phish and their jam-happy blend of rock/funk/jazz/bluegrass/reggae and whatever else kind of music that comes into their furry little heads. After soliciting information from readers on where to start CD-wise, the one thing that everyone admitted was that you really had to experience them live. With that in mind, I was happy to find that they would be in town on my birthday and so proceeded to find a pair of tickets on eBay at a fine price. Phish's stop in San Diego was their only Southern California stop, so it was no surprise to see assorted people who were clearly from out of town, but a bit more of surprise to see so many out of state plates from the hinterlands of Minnesota, Tennessee, Texas, and Delaware. This is not unusual as I found out.
Our experience at the concert was, in a word, fun.
Before I go on to describe their fans I want to point out that I'm not a jam-band music kind of guy. For the most part I like my music like I like my plays: with three acts. Listening to endless self-indulgent noodling is like reading a Steven Den Beste post, no highs, no lows, and soon it become apparent it's just an endless drone. Phish suprised me with their superior musical skills as well as their ability to create long, yet hook-laden, tunes. While some songs clocked in at about 20-25 minutes, I never got bored and started looking at my watch. Everything seemed to make... sense. A theme was established, then a little musical off-roading, and suddenly you’re back on the path again. Based on the sheer amount of music that we heard and the skill with which is what delivered, we agreed that we see them again if given the chance (meaning if they come back to town..it's not like we're going to give up our careers and follow them around, selling candles in the parking lot at shows).
As for the fans...
First off I want to point out that the crowd was about the most pleasant well-behaved group of people that I have ever attended a concert with. It could be because so many of them were stoned. During intermission the young lady who was sitting to my left asked how I was enjoying the show. When I mentioned that it was my first experience with them, she shared some of the rituals (the chess matches, the glowstick wars, etc.) that are native to Phish shows. When I asked her how many time she had seen the band, she offhandedly said "This is either my 41st or 42nd show". She then related shows that she had seen in Las Vegas, East Troy, Deer Creek Music Center, and somewhere in Utah, as well as certain songs that were performed at each of the shows. That’s a special kind of devotion.
During Phish's performance the whole audience stands. Well, they don't exactly stand, they tend to move. And I wouldn't exactly call it dancing either, because with all the tempo changes and improvisations you can't really get a good dance groove going. So there is this kind of circular, hand punching, rocking back and forth shuffle that can best be described as looking like Walter Huston's jig in Treasure of Sierra Madre as done by a spastic Oompa-Loompa. You get the idea. Seeing this, it occurred to me that Phish concerts are for people who can't dance. Watching 12,000 lurching white people trying to keep up with an ever-changing beat is a sight that may stay with me forever. This isn’t meant to take anything away from the fans enjoyment or the bands abilities, it just an example of some kind of cosmic matchmaking joining a band that plays music you can’t dance to with people who can’t dance.
It’s a beautiful thing actually.
But you had to be there. I'm glad I was.
posted by tbogg at 4:10 PM
|
He's on to us.
George W Bush
Besides, everyone knows that these days, the so-called "dangers" of media consolidation have been rendered a non-issue by the Interweb. I mean, who cares if we've got monolithic corporate ideologues broadcasting 24/7 right-wing groupthink directly into the skull sponges of gazillions of glassy-eyed couch drones? That's more than offset by all the quality dissenting content you'll find on the World Wide Web. I mean, there must be tens of dozens of computer nerd nobodies being influenced by sitting around and incestuously reading each other's shrill liberal rantings on their fancy Geocities homepages and super-insightful blogga-wogga-ding-dongs. Hell, I can't imagine how Bill O'Reilly sleeps at night knowing he's got competition like that out there!
posted by tbogg at 2:10 PM
|
Is "pro-gay puff piece" a Freudian slip?
Self-promoting ex-gay guy Stephen Bennett is stamping his little feet about CBS "pro-gay bias":
A former homosexual who is now married and proclaims that change is possible through Jesus says CBS News does not want to let the truth come out about the homosexual lifestyle.
Earlier this month a crew from the CBS program Sunday Morning interviewed Stephen Bennett, along with his wife and two children for a segment on same-sex marriage. Bennett says he was assured by the producer that the segment would mention that he is a former homosexual. However, Bennett says the network showed its pro-homosexual bias when CBS chose to air a segment that fell far short of what he was promised.
"The producer promised me she would make sure she left in my story of how I came out of the homosexual lifestyle -- and how I was a former gay man -- but she lied," Bennett says. "That was not anywhere to be found. What they did was nothing but a pro-gay puff piece, an infomercial marketing same-sex marriage to America. We were completely disturbed by what they did."
First off, here's Mr Bennet and his lovely bride ( he's the one with the mullet). You can help support Mr Bennet by purchasing his CD:
Stephen bennett's 3rd CD containing over an hour's worth of new original music, including his miraculous testimony coming out of the life of homosexuality, drugs, alcohol, and bulimia. Upbeat, contemporary, love ballads, it has it all. Cassette available for $12.00. Get several copies - great for yourself, as well as an incredible witnessing tool to homosexual family members and friends. Music and testimony which will truly touch the hearts of the saved and the lost.
Includes the national singles Just A Vapor, Stephen's first charting single Let His Love Shine, and From The Manger To The Cross. Also includes the heart touching ballads Will You Marry Me? (written to his wife Irene), My Mother's Arms(in memory of his mother Sandra Bennett who died of cancer at the young age of 55) and Gifts From Above (a love ballad to his two little children.) Also includes many others plus Stephen's recorded testimony.
Oh. By the way.... the CD? It's called:
LET ME SHOW YOU JESUS.
I guess
I'm Coming, Lord...This Time With A Woman
was already taken.
posted by tbogg at 9:43 AM
|
Fear of a gay planet
Sen. Rick Santorum (R- Humps Like A Bunny) has an op-ed in McPaper today opposing the concept of gay marriage, where he states:
In fact, I believe that Congress has an obligation to take action to defend the legal status of marriage before the Supreme Court or individual state supreme courts take away the public's ability to act.
Every civilization since the beginning of man has recognized the need for marriage. This country and healthy societies around the world give marriage special legal protection for a vital reason — it is the institution that ensures the society's future through the upbringing of children. Furthermore, it's just common sense that marriage is the union of a man and a woman.
There is an ocean of empirical data showing that the union between a man and a woman has unique benefits for children and society. Moreover, traditional family breakdown is the single biggest social problem in America today. In study after study, family breakdown is linked to an increase in violent crime, youth crime, teen pregnancy, welfare dependency and child poverty.
Of course, not one thing that he has stated has anything to do with gay marriage. Based on his argument, such as it is, he either believes that:
A) If gay marriage is allowed, traditional man-on-woman marriage will be outlawed.
or
B) The only thing keeping millions of men from abandoning their wives and children for a chance at a lifetime of hot gay sex, is that fact that they can't get the paperwork that will make an honest man out of them.
Is Rick Santorum retarded? Not one of the "family breakdown" issues he mentions have anything to do with gays wishing to be married. Men and women will still get married. They will still have children. Some will even have many children like Rick & Karen Santorum, who have them so frequently her doctor finally gave her a velcro episiotomy. I don't understand people who are so insecure about their own marriage that they feel that anything that supposedly "undermines the institution" is a threat to them. Is the fact that gay marriage isn't sanctioned by the goverment the only thing that is keeping Santorum on the (very) straight and narrow?
The first question we have to ask is: What the hell is wrong with Rick Santorum? The second is: What is wrong with the people of Pennsylvania?
(Added): Looks like Andy at The World Wide Rant agrees.
posted by tbogg at 9:22 AM
|
This is your First Lady. This is your First Lady on drugs.
Looks like Laura had a big ol' bowl of Chocolate Frosted Paxil-o's for breakfast this morning:
U.S. first lady Laura Bush showed what she called the compassionate face of America on Thursday, meeting AIDS patients in Botswana on her husband's whistle-stop presidential tour of Africa.
During a brief visit to Botswana, which is battling the world's highest rate of HIV/AIDS, Bush and her daughter Barbara visited medical staff from her native Texas training at an AIDS care center set up with U.S. help.
"I hope what they are doing here, which I know they are, is showing people here in Botswana what the real face of America is like, how the compassion that Americans have for the people here, who are suffering with AIDS," she told reporters.
Um. Okay.
posted by tbogg at 8:37 AM
|
Wednesday, July 09, 2003
What, are you kiddin'? We got us a family here!
Congratulations to Tarek over at Liquid List. He's a daddy as of Monday.
Some words of wisdom:
Evelle: Ma'am, you don't breast-feed him, he'll hate you for it later. That's why we wound up in prison.
Gale: Anyway, that's what Doc Schwartz tells us.
posted by tbogg at 11:56 PM
|
Borges
Kevin over at Calpundit has a link to Daniel Davies admittedly unusual post at Crooked Timber. Mention is also made of Uqbar which is a reference to the great JL Borges short story Tl?n, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius. You can read the whole story right here. ( I know...I've posted this before).
If you've never read Borges, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of ficciones or even better, the Collected Short Fiction of JL Borges. Stories like Pierre Menard, Author of Don Quixote.... The Library of Babel ..... The Garden of Forking Paths...and Funes, The Memorious are brilliant gems that are mysteries (or as he would call them: labyrinths), structurally amazing, and sly winks to the reader about the conventions of literature.
Remember that Mark Twain once said: The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them
All great South American literature begins here.
Besides, life is too short for Proust.
(By the way...I'm starting Cryptonomican tomorrow...it better be good, for all I've heard about it)
posted by tbogg at 11:30 PM
|
Shhhhhh. Just take the money and keep moving.
It was World Net Daily that published The Savage Nation by the now-unemployed Weiner, so we have to wonder what does Joseph Farah, Editor and Chief Executive Officer of World Net Daily, think about his boy?
Apparently.... nothing. Couple of days to mull it over and instead he writes a self-serving column about WND's place on the internet.
This week, WorldNetDaily officially was recognized by Alexa.com as a top 500 website in the world. It is now listed officially as the 492nd largest.
Then he makes a plug for cash:
Yes, the future now looks brighter than perhaps ever before from our vantage point. But we don't live in the future. We live in the present. That's where we have to pay the bills. And, despite our successes, this is still no easy task.
About 80 percent of WorldNetDaily's revenues come from the sale of products in our store – products like Whistleblower magazine, books, videos, etc. We have an extensive product lineup and our store is one of the most successful stores of its kind on the Net. But the revenues aren't growing nearly as fast as our traffic.
Apparently it takes quite some time for a new reader to become a WorldNetDaily customer – a purchaser and supporter of our business.
WorldNetDaily has more than 5 million readers every month, but fewer than 10,000 customers every month.
If you appreciate this newssite and what we do differently than anyone else, I urge you to support it with the purchase of books and other products from our store. It is so important.
Books by people like...Michael Savage.
By the way, The Savage Nation was the second book that WND published. What was the first?
I guess I should have warned you.
posted by tbogg at 10:37 PM
|
Did I mention he fired me?
The reign of Raines is still on Andy's brain:
RAINES OF TERROR: I was long criticized for using this blog to expose the extraordinary attempt by Howell Raines to turn the New York Times into his personal vehicle for quixotic left-liberal causes - or simply to throw his weight around. He was an insufferable, arrogant tyrant. As more details come out, the most paranoid anti-Raines arguments gain more traction.
Blah blah blah...yadda yadda yadda....whine whine whine
Yeah Andy. An unsourced journalist said Raines was raining on his parade.
Raines is gone now. He doesn't work there anymore...just like you.
Jesus. Either move on or we're going to have to have an intervention.
posted by tbogg at 10:02 PM
|
New to the Hotlinks
Catalyst.
Lots of good links to be found there. Check it out.
posted by tbogg at 9:56 PM
|
Next time ask for a written estimate.
Like he's working at an expensive restaurant with an unpriced menu, Head Waiter Rummy is leaving the bill on the table and slinking away:
Mr. Rumsfeld has never laid out a timetable for bringing American troops home, and has repeatedly pledged that the forces would stay as long as required, but no longer. Even so, the acknowledgement today of the scope of the long-term military commitment to Iraq was the strongest indication to date that the reconstruction effort requires the continued deployment of large numbers of troops — and that the undertaking carries a hefty price tag.
Under intense questioning from Senator Robert C. Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia, Mr. Rumsfeld or his aides telephoned Pentagon financial officers during a break and reported back to the committee that cost estimates for the Iraq campaign had reached $3.9 billion per month, on average from this past January through September.
A Pentagon official said the $3.9 billion figure "is the estimated cost to maintain the current force level in Iraq," which includes expenses for military operations, including fuel, transportation, food, ordnance and personnel, but not reconstruction costs. The $3.9 billion figure is almost double the $2 billion per month estimate issued by administration officials in April. In addition, the cost of operations in Afghanistan are now $900 million to $950 million monthly, Mr. Rumsfeld said.
From $2 billion a month to almost $4 billion a month. When the Administration makes estimates do they guess or throw darts at the wall?
posted by tbogg at 9:46 PM
|
Dig your own hole
Go to TalkLeft where Jeralyn shares some literary passages from two more books that President Conqueror Worm probably didn't read.
posted by tbogg at 3:32 PM
|
There's still time to hang your holster on the fireplace
According to the 2nd Amendment Sisters, today is National Firearm Purchase Day.
The United Nations Small Arms Conference takes place at UN Headquarters in New York City from July 9 to 20, 2001.
As you may or may not know, July 9 Is Gun Burning Day at UN. "Plans are underway for government agents to ignite huge bonfires of handguns, rifles and other firearms in major population centers worldwide." --(SEE full article here)
A group of people from FreeRepublic.com (located here) have come up with the perfect answer to the gun-grabbers' plans. They are suggesting that July 9th be the day you set aside to buy that rifle, pistol or shotgun you've had your eye on - NATIONAL FIREARM PURCHASE DAY. In addition, you can use July 9 as a day to buy ammunition, purchase supplies, get in a little target practice, and support your local gun dealers and ranges by throwing some business their way!
Whoops! Looks like somebody just couldn't wait and opened their presents early....
posted by tbogg at 3:13 PM
|
Harmonic convergence
Am I the only one who thought it was funny that on the day that VP Cheney had his Duracells checked, Wiley's Non Sequitur was this?
Lynne's lookin' pretty fine, though...
posted by tbogg at 1:48 PM
|
Live! from the Chuck E Cheese table at the Algonquin Hotel
Andrew Stuttaford of The Corner is shocked.
SOME PARENTS THESE DAYS [Andrew Stuttaford]
What were they thinking? Via American Digest.
Posted at 02:30 PM
Child Abuse! (GASP!)
Baby Tattoos!! (MY GAWD!!)
It's all fake. (....oh...nevermind).
posted by tbogg at 1:35 PM
|
The Professor...in the blogging room...with his fingers in his ears
You might ask yourself, what does the Godfather of Blogging, Glenn Reynolds have to say about "Yellowcakegate", Joseph Wilson, and a President who lies to the public in his State of the Union address? Your answer would be: not much. Well there is this:
Two points: (1) We keep rolling these guys up, one by one; and (2) If the Bush Administration had been deliberately hyping intelligence on Iraq, why did it go out of its way to step on the reports of the Atta meeting, which seem reasonably credible to me? I'm not convinced yet that they aren't true -- and certainly there was plenty of evidence to go with had the Bush Administration been engaged in the campaign of deception that its critics keep charging it with.(my emphasis).
That's it. Oh, there's plenty on Iran, the nasty Europeans, Iran, blogging, Iran, band names, Iran, and, did I mention Iran?
I don't know if Media Whores Online has a special circle of heck for bloggers, but if they do, I got dibs on naming Glenn The Slutty Professor.
posted by tbogg at 12:55 PM
|
The New New Nixon
Robert Scheer
They may have finally found the smoking gun that nails the culprit responsible for the Iraq war. Unfortunately, the incriminating evidence wasn't left in one of Saddam Hussein's palaces but rather in Vice President Dick Cheney's office.
Former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson publicly revealed over the weekend that he was the mysterious envoy whom the CIA, under pressure from Cheney, sent to Niger to investigate a document — now known to be a crude forgery — that allegedly showed Iraq was trying to acquire enriched uranium that might be used to build a nuclear bomb. Wilson found no basis for the story, and nobody else has either.
What is startling in Wilson's account, however, is that the CIA, the State Department, the National Security Council and the vice president's office were all informed that the Niger-Iraq connection was phony. No one in the chain of command disputed that this "evidence" of Iraq's revised nuclear weapons program was a hoax.
What I hope people understand about this is that George Bush didn't make this accusation at some Elks Club luncheon in Tampa. He made it during his State of the Union address, one that was promoted as the most important speech of his presidency, to a country he was pushing to the verge of war. A speech in which he would lay out the case for invading a country that he claimed was a threat to us. He lied. He flat out lied. So I don't want to hear about Bill Clinton wagging his finger at the nation and saying he didn't have sex 'with that woman" ever again.
There's a big difference between bombs and blowjobs.
Or so I hear...
posted by tbogg at 12:29 PM
|
The first rule of 4-H fight club is : don't talk about 4-H fight club
Okay. This is just too weird:
Sheriff's officers are investigating allegations that counselors at a 4-H summer camp arranged fistfights between children ages 9 to 13, charged admission to the brawls and allowed betting.
Franklin County Sheriff Quint Overton said Tuesday that the youngsters were told to lie to parents about the fights after several campers suffered black eyes and one broke his hand.
No charges have been filed, but Overton said he had six officers investigating the five-day camp that began June 30 at the Smith Mountain Lake 4-H Educational Conference Center.
"It's hard to believe anyone would do this," Overton said. He said he heard that campers were charged $1 for admission, and that the counselors and children could bet up to $4 per fight.
The sheriff said he had talked to several parents since the first complaint came in Monday from Richard Rawls, who said his 10-year-old son came home with a black eye. Rawls said his son claimed at first that he had been hit by a basketball.
"They pitted these kids against each other like a damn cockfight," Rawls said.
Rawls said his son was forced to defend himself five times during the week. He won the first four fights, but was knocked out the fifth time.
posted by tbogg at 11:02 AM
|
Considering context
According to Drudge (sigh...I know):
LIMBAUGH MOST RECOGNIZED NAME IN RADIO SURVEY
Of course Matt only read a few words into the release, which goes on to say:
Conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh may be the most recognized radio talk show personality in America (93 percent recognition) and the lead player in a conservative radio revolution, but 40 percent of talk radio listeners feel the format lacks balance and that they favor talent over ideology, according to a just-completed national study titled "Talk Radio in America: A National Perspective." The study also highlighted changes in the talk radio format over the past decade and dispelled myths about what is driving listeners and the success of talk radio.
It also states:
The study revealed that Limbaugh (93%), shock jock Howard Stern (79%), Don Imus (71%) and Dr. Laura Schlessinger (68%) were the national personalities with the highest levels of awareness. Coming on strong in the 2003 survey were radio hosts with cable TV news shows. Those garnering significant recognition were conservatives Michael Savage (67%), Bill O'Reilly (65%), Sean Hannity (64%) and Mike Gallagher (54%).
Now, maybe it's me, or maybe it's because I live in nice neighborhood, but given the choice of having either Limbaugh, Stern, Imus, or Schlessinger as a neighbor, I think I'd rather live in a refrigerator box down by the train tracks.
I don't listen to talk radio and I don't know anyone who listens to talk radio. So when I hear that Limbaugh is the 'most recognized name' in radio that strikes me as being on the same level as Preparation H being the most recognized name in hemorrhoidal creams. They're both for assholes.
posted by tbogg at 10:45 AM
|
Mississippi Doug Williams
A man who shot five co-workers to death and wounded nine others before committing suicide was upset about attending a business ethics training course at a Lockheed Martin plant, police said Wednesday.
Douglas Williams, 48, opened fire Tuesday morning during the course at the Meridian, Mississippi, plant, officials said. The course is mandatory for company employees, said Dain Hancock, president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co.
[snip...]
Family members said Williams was upset about the course, according to Sollie, who also said allegations that the attack was racially motivated are under investigation.
Williams was white. Four of the victims killed were black, and one was white, Sollie said. Three of the nine wounded victims were black, and the rest were white, according to Sollie.
"This was the action of a sick individual," said U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, R-Mississippi. "If it is in any way racially motivated, the investigation will conclude that and present that."
Rep. Pickering's father, Judge Charles W. Pickering Sr. commented, "Ya know, If he had jest stuck to burning crosses this tragedy never woulda happened. Burning crosses. Now there's a fine hobby for a man...". Judge Pickering was then hustled away by White House Counselor Alberto Gonzales who was heard making shushing noises.
posted by tbogg at 9:43 AM
|
Watching the watchers
Kevin over at Calpundit points out evidence of the possibility of hypocrisy in the Bush Administration.
How do I feel about this?
Betrayed, bewildered..................... wrong response?
posted by tbogg at 9:31 AM
|
Thanks
...to all the wonderful people who sent in birthday wishes yesterday. It made the day that much better (I'll have more on this later).
And since we are in a celebratory frame of mind, as of today my wife and I have been married for 20 years (we planned the wedding for the day after my birthday so I wouldn't forget).
You may now commence with the congratulations.
Thank yew...
posted by tbogg at 9:24 AM
|
Savage Weiner soon to be sporting sign: Will work for weiners.
Dan Kennedy reports that Michael Weiner is about to become part of next months unemployment stats:
More trouble for a guy who deserves it. Gay-bashing hatemonger Michael Savage's well-publicized firing from MSNBC isn't his only problem: his talk-radio empire may be crumbling as well.
Ira Simmons reports on ChronWatch that, because of a contract dispute in Savage's home base of San Francisco, The Savage Nation has been yanked off the air in New York City.
His show has also been (temporarily?) suspended in Boston at WRKO Radio (AM 680), the Boston Globe's Mark Jurkowitz reports today. Program director Mike Elder tells Jurkowitz that he personally believes Savage is "probably a homophobe," and that he will not tolerate an outburst like Saturday's MSNBC incident on WRKO's airwaves.
This is all moving in the right direction, yet the underlying hypocrisy continues to astound. Doesn't Elder listen to his own radio station? Before MSNBC ever gave Savage a show, he was already infamous for his references to "homosexual perversion" and "Turd World nations" -- references that were broadcast repeatedly to WRKO listeners since his being added to the line-up last year.
Can I get a 'heh'.
posted by tbogg at 9:01 AM
|
Let's see....hmmmmm....who has a history of lying?
Joseph Wilson vs. Ari Fleischer
On Sunday, Joseph Wilson, an envoy sent to Africa to investigate allegations about Iraq’s nuclear weapons program, said the Bush administration manipulated his findings, possibly to strengthen the rationale for war.
Wilson insisted in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that his doubts about the purported Iraq-Niger connection reached the highest levels of government, including Vice President Dick Cheney’s office. In fact, he said, Cheney’s office inquired about the purported Niger-Iraq link.
Fleischer said Monday that Cheney did not request information about Wilson’s mission to Niger, was not informed of his mission and was not aware of it until press reports accounted for it.
I know. Let's put Dick Cheney on the stand and ask him.
On Pay-per-view.
posted by tbogg at 8:50 AM
|
Bush lied, people died, Sullivan hides
What happens when the truth starts to come out about the administrations lies about Iraq? Change the subject, of course.
Andy has gone all Iran, all the time.....
posted by tbogg at 8:34 AM
|
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
"Ms. Cheney? Your pictures from the AEI July 4th picnic are in."
It looks like a good time was had by all.
Here's Lynne reading to the kids from her new book The Daughter in the Closet: A Mother's Prayer.
posted by tbogg at 1:43 PM
|
A brief history of virginity
According to Fox news: not a virgin.
Virgin
Definitely a virgin.
Not a virgin.
Claims to be a virgin
Held press conference to claim he wasn't having an affair so people would think that he was and wouldn't think that he was a virgin
Not a virgin. Neither is his dog.
Wishes he wasn't a virgin.
Was once like a virgin
We wish they were both virgins.
posted by tbogg at 1:10 PM
|
Greetings Senegalgaloids!
President Great White Father visits the Dark Continent.
So far so good. He hasn't done anything to embarass us...yet. I'm sure Condi Rice is already tired of him asking her "Do you know that guy? How about that one? How about him? I thought you guys all knew each other?" Then there was this:
"One of the largest migrations of history was also one of the greatest crimes of history," Bush said. "Below the decks, the middle passage was a hot, narrow, sunless nightmare; weeks and months of confinement and abuse and confusion on a strange and lonely sea."
"The stolen sons and daughters of Africa helped to awaken the conscience of America," Bush said. "The very people traded into slavery helped to set America free. My nation's journey toward justice has not been easy and it is not over."
Meanwhile...down in Guantanamo Bay:
The conditions of the detainees' transfer to and detention in Guantanamo Bay gave cause for serious concern. During the 22-hour flights, the prisoners were handcuffed, shackled, made to wear mittens, surgical masks and ear muffs, and were effectively blindfolded by the use of taped-over ski goggles. They also had their beards and heads shaved. At first, the detainees were held in Camp X-Ray at the naval base, a temporary facility consisting of small wire-mesh cells, exposed to the elements, and lit up throughout the night by powerful arc lighting. Prisoners were made to wear shackles whenever they were taken out of their cells, and granted almost no out of cell exercise time.
A more permanent prison, Camp Delta, was constructed and began to house the detainees from April. The detainees continued to be held for up to 24 hours a day in cells smaller than those of Camp X-Ray. Some prisoners engaged in a hunger strike during the year, and there were also reports of several suicide attempts.
posted by tbogg at 11:51 AM
|
Coulterblogwatch day 11: Down at the Cannibal Cafe
Looks like this wasn't Lil Skanky Annie's best week, Beaten up by Rabinowitz, Sullivan, Horowitz, Cohen, Spinsanity, and Conason.
It's no wonder she hasn't had time to blog.
posted by tbogg at 10:48 AM
|
His ease with people, his irony, his composure, his heavily oiled pecs....
Andy Sullivan gives us his reasons for supporting Schwarzenegger
AHNULD: No, I haven't seen T-3, but I hope to. The political emergence of Schwarzenegger is a wonderful development, and not just for hacks like yours truly who love a good story. Arnold is an "eagle": he's tough on terror, open-minded on cultural issues, fiscally conservative. He's also a brilliant politician. How do I know? Just rent "Pumping Iron," the legendary bodybuilding documentary of the 1970s. It captures Shwarzenegger's extraordinary ease with people, his irony, his composure, his wit, his gift with strategy and his determination. If I'm not mistaken, it also shows him lighting up a big fat joint after one of the contests. If ever there was a moment for that type of Republican, this is it.
Maybe I'm off base here, but as a resident of the state of California, I'd prefer someone who actually has some experience in governance, has a plan, and has some real life experience to offer. Basing an important political decision upon a thirty year-old documentary in which your candidate was at ease around a bunch of self-obsessed, steroid-pumped pituitary cases is not exactly a blueprint for the future.
Just a reminder to Andy that you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some watery tart threw a sword at you.
posted by tbogg at 10:27 AM
|
Member of "Lucky Sperm Club" gives George Bush a big thumbs up. Laughs all the way to the bank.
Creepy looking multi-millionaire Steve Forbes thinks that George Bush is doing a bang-up job.
Magazine publisher and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, in town to sell ads to Texas businesses, said Monday that his unflattering portrayal of George W. Bush during the 2000 primary season turned out to be inaccurate.
"He's done extremely well," Forbes said. "We got a good tax cut through. The Federal Reserve is behaving. I think the foreign policy situation will clear up by year end as we root out those terrorists in Iraq. And the economy is starting to show signs of a new life."
And Bush, whom he blasted in 2000 as a tool of lobbyists, gets the credit, according to Forbes.
"He inherited a bad situation and is turning it around," Forbes said. "I will be backing him enthusiastically" for re-election.
Forbes, in town to promote a Forbes magazine advertising section about Texas planned for November, praised the Bush economic package, which has included reductions in income tax rates as well as cuts in taxes on dividends and capital gains.
"It's a good package, and I have high hopes for the second term," he said.
Let's see: Forbes comes from old money, went to an exclusive prep school and an Ivy League college, got his only job through his dad, ducked the Viet Nam war by joining the National Guard, and got engaged to the future Mrs. Forbes within weeks after having met her.
Yeah, combined with the Bush tax cuts and drop in dividend and capital gains taxes, I can see where he and George might have a few things in common.
posted by tbogg at 10:00 AM
|
Unspeakable cruelty
I know that I'm supposed to get all huffy about the firing of Roxanne Cordonier in Greenville, by Clear Channel Communications, due to her opposition of the war (Read about it here). But what really caught my eye was this passage:
The suit alleges that co-hosts Herriott Clarkson Mungo III, also known as Bill Love, and Hayden Hudson, also known as Howard Hudson, encouraged Cordonier to join their pro-war discussions regarding the invasion of Iraq.
The conversations became contentious on several occasions and management's tolerance for opinions decreased as war drew closer, the suit alleges. The suit also alleges that Love and Hudson belittled her both on and off the air because of her political beliefs.
"I went through hell," Cordonier told The Greenville News Monday. "I was forced out because I would not comply with their orders to be silent."
"Herriott Clarkson Mungo the friggin' III"? It's bad enough someone has to go through life with a name like Herriott Clarkson Mungo. But to foist it on three generations of Mungos is downright cruel. Talk about going through hell...
posted by tbogg at 9:07 AM
|
It was a warm and sleepy July morning, when suddenly.....
48 years ago today in the sleepy hamlet of La Jolla, Ca. a woman gave birth to a child. A swarthy child. A swarthy child they named Tom.
Happy birthday to me.
posted by tbogg at 8:47 AM
|
But all the other Congressmen are jumping off the roof.....
Congressman Frank A. LoBiondo (R-NJ) admits he was naive and stupid when he first went to Congress and now he wants to stay even though he promised to only serve 12 years, because, like, everyone else is doing it, and it's, like, not fair and stuff if he, like, has to go:
A congressman from New Jersey elected on a promise to serve no more than 12 years in Washington said yesterday he will go back on his word and seek a seventh term. Republican Frank A. LoBiondo said if he is re-elected next year he will run again in 2006 for a seventh term. He was first elected in 1994.
Mr. LoBiondo entered Congress as part of the revolutionary Republican class under House Speaker Newt Gingrich that made term limits a key part of its drive to reform Congress.
"It seemed to me at that time term limits would be a good idea for the nation," he said. "I didn't fully understand what personal relationships and seniority could mean to the district."
Mr. LoBiondo said because other congressmen have broken the term-limit pledge, it would be unfair to people in his district to abide by it.
He said he decided to seek a seventh term after being urged to do so by party leaders and constituents.
posted by tbogg at 12:08 AM
|
Monday, July 07, 2003
"I thought the Speaker was in the mini-car wearing a fez...."
John Allen learned the hard way that the fat guy in the firetruck was someone important.
A man attending a parade faces charges for tossing a water balloon at U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
John Allen, 33, is accused of throwing the balloon during the Dixon Petunia Festival (search) parade. The balloon broke on an antique fire truck driven by Hastert, who got wet but was not injured.
Allen was arrested Sunday and was later charged with felony aggravated battery (search). He posted $25,000 bail on Monday and said in court he didn't know Hastert was driving the truck.
"He is third in line to the presidency of the United States. You won't forget it next time, will you?" asked Judge Tomas Magdich.
They didn't note that the idea of Hastert being third in line for the presidency sent a chill through the rest of the courtroom...and the rest of the country, for that matter.
posted by tbogg at 11:42 PM
|
Whoops. Better clear that comment with CentCom.
It takes being a target for daily attacks against American Military personnel to get those in the line of fire to admit what we all know:
"They're getting tired of us," said Spec. James McNeely, 48, a member of the D.C. National Guard's 547th Transportation Company. "Wouldn't you be mad if they invaded your country?"
Operation Hearts and Minds is officially FUBAR.
posted by tbogg at 11:21 PM
|
No. He's not Gary Coleman. No. He's not Webster either. Would you just leave so we can learn something?
Looks like Karen Hughes in back in the saddle setting up photo-ops again.
By the way...if you're slightly darker than fish-belly white Dick Cheney and you go to an inner city school, you can go here to sign up for a Presidential appearance to your school. Caution though...the next day most of your federal funding will be cut.
posted by tbogg at 11:14 PM
|
The buck stops over there...no farther...keep going...you're getting warmer...warmer....
President My Dog Ate My Briefing Book
The White House acknowledged for the first time today that President Bush was relying on incomplete and perhaps inaccurate information from American intelligence agencies when he declared, in his State of the Union speech, that Saddam Hussein had tried to purchase uranium from Africa.
The White House statement appeared to undercut one of the key pieces of evidence that President Bush and his aides had cited to back their claims made prior to launching an attack against Iraq in March that Mr. Hussein was "reconstituting" his nuclear weapons program. Those claims added urgency to the White House case that military action to depose Mr. Hussein needed to be taken quickly, and could not await further inspections of the country or additional resolutions at the United Nations.
The acknowledgment came after a day of questions — and sometimes contradictory answers from White House officials — about an article published on the Op-Ed page of The New York Times on Sunday by Joseph C. Wilson 4th, a former ambassador who was sent to Niger, in West Africa, last year to investigate reports of the attempted purchase. He reported back that the intelligence was likely fraudulent, a warning that White House officials say never reached them.
It's not my fault...I didn't do it...It's not my fault...I didn't do it...It's not my fault...I didn't do it...It's not my fault...I didn't do it...It's not my fault...I didn't do it...It's not my fault...I didn't do it...It's not my fault...I didn't do it...It's not my fault...I didn't do it...It's not my fault...I didn't do it...(repeat until 2004)
Meanwhile...and this is hilarious:
Asked about the accuracy of the president's statement this morning, Mr. Fleischer said, "We see nothing that would dissuade us from the president's broader statement." But when pressed, he said he would clarify the issue later today.
Tonight, after Air Force One had departed, White House officials issued a statement in Mr. Fleischer's name that made clear that they no longer stood behind Mr. Bush's statement.
After the 9/11 scramble to Offut Air Force Base, I guess we should call this one Chicken Run II: Chicken George Flies the Coop.
posted by tbogg at 11:03 PM
|
Coming down from the hills to shoot the wounded.
K-Lo of the Corner regrets not trashing Michael Savage back before it got to be fashionable.
We've generally ignored Michael Savage. In the wake of his repulsive on-air rant, I wish we had savaged his book, just to have been on record
Meanwhile Jonah pleads ignorance except in the case of self-interest:
I really never had an opinion one way or the other on the guy. I never heard his radio show and I never watched his TV show for more than 30 seconds at a time. He may be a brilliant radio show host and for all I know he's got a supple and subtle mind, but he struck me as an awful television host. But that at least gave me hope that the bar was low enough for me to get a TV show of my own one day.
I think that MSNBC set the bar so low with Savage that only Strom Thurmond is under it now.
And it's still not low enough to get Jonah on....
posted by tbogg at 10:59 PM
|
Oh. That's what it took.
MSNBC on Monday fired Michael Savage for anti-gay comments.
The popular radio talk show host who did a weekend TV show for the cable channel referred to an unidentified caller to his show Saturday as a "sodomite" and said he should "get AIDS and die."
I'm sure ratings or lack of advertisers had nothing to do with it. After all, it's not like Savage ever said anything outrageous before...
posted by tbogg at 2:28 PM
|
Is the bodybag half-empty or half-full?
When it comes to bone-headed statements, I think Glenn Reynolds may have set a new standard when discussing President Rose Garden Trash Talker's comment to "Bring 'em on":
It's interesting. You may have noticed that although people are upset about acts of terrorism this weekend in Russia and Iraq and Pakistan, there were no attacks in the United States.
...proving that, like Andrew Sullivan, if a few American soldiers get killed in Iraq on a daily basis but Glenn feels safe at home, well, that's a small price for the soldier's family to pay.
As for David Warren's laughable Flypaper column....
It more likely demonstrates the opposite. While engaged in the very difficult business of building a democracy in Iraq -- the first democracy, should it succeed, in the entire history of the Arabs -- President Bush has also, quite consciously to my information, created a new playground for the enemy, away from Israel, and even farther away from the United States itself. By the very act of proving this lower ground, he drains terrorist resources from other swamps.
This is the meaning of Mr. Bush's "bring 'em on" taunt from the Roosevelt Room on Wednesday, when he was quizzed about the "growing threat to U.S. forces" on the ground in Iraq. It should have been obvious that no U.S. President actually relishes having his soldiers take casualties. What the media, and U.S. Democrats affect not to grasp, is that the soldiers are now replacing targets that otherwise would be provided by defenceless civilians, both in Iraq and at large. The sore thumb of the U.S. occupation -- and it is a sore thumb equally to Baathists and Islamists, compelling their response -- is not a mistake. It is carefully hung flypaper.
I'll give Bush some credit in that he doesn't "relish(es) having his soldiers take casualties", but only in relationship to how their deaths may effect his re-election. To George W Bush, servicemen are just props to serve as background at safe speeches on military bases or for other campaign events like his farcical aquatic ceremony.
I want to thank Warren for providing a column of spin that reminds us that flypaper isn't the only thing thats been known to draw flies...
posted by tbogg at 1:59 PM
|
Stop right there...
Andrew Sullivan makes it easy to not read his latest, with this opening passage:
Few would dispute that she's a babe. Lanky, skinny, with long blonde hair tumbling down to her breasts, Ann Coulter has been ...
Whoa there, Nellie...." Few would dispute that she's a babe"?
Excuse me? I'll admit that Laura Ingraham is kind of babe and the fact that, as David Brock pointed out, she's a cheap drunk who has spent time on her knees at a dance club has a certain appeal, but Ann Coulter is not a "babe". She is a skinny, horse-faced skank whose body can only be described as shapely if you take into account her prominent adams apple. There's not enough bandwidth in the world to describe her inner ugliness....
I'll try and give Sullivan the benefit of the doubt and assume that he overdosed on Androgel over the holiday weekend. Nothing else could explain this.
posted by tbogg at 11:20 AM
|
Mr. Kelley has asked to be placed in a plastic tub and stored in the refrigerator.
Man Who Introduced Cool Whip Dies at 86
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Estel Wood "Ed" Kelley, co-chairman of The Steak 'n Shake Co. and a food industry executive credited with introducing Americans to brands such as Tang, Grey Poupon mustard and Cool Whip, has died. He was 86.
posted by tbogg at 10:53 AM
|
God was much pleased with Stormie's performance to Hot for Teacher
Maybe it's just me, but if I were going to be creating prayers for the Presidential Prayer Team, I don't think I would be using my stripper name*. This weeks prayer from Stormie Omartian:
"Lord, I pray that You will instill in every American the desire to be in unity with other Americans. May there be mutual respect, friendship and brotherly love among the people of this great land. Help us each to do our part to bring peace on earth. Give us a national conscience to clearly distinguish right from wrong with regard to how we treat one another and work in us a willingness to choose the right way. You have made America a large diverse family of many beautiful colors and a tapestry of cultures. I pray that in the family of our nation there will also arise appreciation and respect for the uniqueness of each individual. Help us to be unified with our leaders. Keep our leaders in a place of unity among themselves, and I pray that disunity will never be allowed to tear our country apart. Amen."
--Stormie Omartian, author and Member of The PPT Honorary Committee
Look for Stormie's latest collection of inspirational prayers, A Heart, a Cross, and a Stripper Pole : America Today at Christian bookstores throughout this Great White Godly Christian country of ours.
* Please note that Jenna is also a perfectly acceptable stripper name.
posted by tbogg at 9:49 AM
|
Lawyers, Guns, and Money...and Oil.
According to the Presidential Prayer Team, besides praying for President Talkin' Smack from the Golfcourse, we're supposed to be praying for the following Administration officials this week:
Secretary of Commerce
Don Evans
Secretary of Energy
Spencer Abraham
Deputy Secretary of Defense
Paul Wolfowitz
Director Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms
Bradley A. Buckles
Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board
Alan Greenspan
posted by tbogg at 9:34 AM
|
Coulterblogwatch day fourteen: The check hasn't cleared.
Maybe it's not Ann. Maybe the guys at Human Events are pissed at Ann. After all, Human Events is a division of Eagle Publishing home of schlocky right-wing publishing house, Regnery Press. Ann took her latest book, Treason: Fake Footnotes For Fun over to Crown Forum. That must be it.
Meanwhile Ann provides us with her heroes:
On our nation's birthday, it is appropriate to honor the five men who did the most to defend our freedom in the last century. The names are easy to remember – they are the five men most loathed by liberals: Joseph McCarthy, J. Edgar Hoover, Richard Nixon, Whittaker Chambers and Ronald Reagan.
Ann Coulter: making the Birchers look sane......
posted by tbogg at 9:28 AM
|
Wanna go home.
The Royal Colonial Army and Re-election Props are getting antsy:
US troops facing extended deployments amid the danger, heat, and uncertainty of an Iraq occupation are suffering from low morale that has in some cases hit "rock bottom."
Even as President Bush speaks of a "massive and long-term" undertaking in rebuilding Iraq, that effort, as well as the high tempo of US military operations around the globe, is taking its toll on individual troops.
Some frustrated troops stationed in Iraq are writing letters to representatives in Congress to request their units be repatriated. "Most soldiers would empty their bank accounts just for a plane ticket home," said one recent Congressional letter written by an Army soldier now based in Iraq. The soldier requested anonymity.
In some units, there has been an increase in letters from the Red Cross stating soldiers are needed at home, as well as daily instances of female troops being sent home due to pregnancy.
"Make no mistake, the level of morale for most soldiers that I've seen has hit rock bottom," said another soldier, an officer from the Army's 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq.
This, of course, is going to have a detrimental effect on miltary retention:
The rethink about troop levels comes as senior military leaders voice concern that multiple deployments around the world are already taxing the endurance of US forces, the Army in particular. Some 370,000 soldiers are now deployed overseas from an Army active-duty, guard, and reserve force of just over 1 million people, according to Army figures.
Experts warn that long, frequent deployments could lead to a rash of departures from the military. "Hordes of active-duty troops and reservists may soon leave the service rather than subject themselves to a life continually on the road," writes Michael O'Hanlon, a military expert at the Brookings Institution here.
But...but...what if Paul Wolfowitz has another war and nobody shows?
posted by tbogg at 8:07 AM
|
Stepford Wives II released early.
Frank Oz's remake of The Stepford Wives isn't set for release until 2004. Here's a little peek:
But in a White House where senior staff members are commended for keeping their heads down and letting the president be the star, the publicly reticent Mrs. Bush more often falls in line. Last week, on her turn on "Ask the White House," the administration's half-hour online chats, the White House-selected questions and Mrs. Bush's answers were sunnier than the Bush ranch in August.
Example: "Who is your favorite president besides your husband?" Lauren from Porterville, Calif., asked.
"That's easy," Mrs. Bush responded, in an answer dictated to a staffer, Jimmy Orr, who was typing next to her because she could not pound the keys fast enough, "my father-in-law President George H.W. Bush, and of course my favorite first lady is my mother-in-law, Barbara Bush."
One would have thought that she would be dazzled by the horse-like appendage known as The Clenis, but this part of the article indicates that her interests lie....elsewhere:
This month, after returning with Mr. Bush from a five-day visit to Africa, she is to go on her annual weeklong backpacking trip to an undisclosed location (the last two jaunts were to Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks) with a group of longtime female friends.
She is planning White House literary events, even after she postponed a symposium on the works of Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman last winter when some of the poets invited threatened to use the occasion to oppose a war with Iraq. No word on whether Mrs. Bush will try again with poetry, but in a previous conversation she offered that a symposium including Truman Capote would be "fabulous."
Lynne Cheney is going to might pissed if there's some hot lesbian-backpacking sex going on, and she wasn't invited.
posted by tbogg at 7:52 AM
|
Conjoined shills face operation
Neurosurgeons performing a dangerous, marathon operation to separate Iranian sisters joined at the head grappled Monday with rerouting a vein as thick as a finger that helps blood flow through the twins’ brains.
Meanwhile, in Washington DC, surgeons are puzzled over how they might separate Howie Kurtz's lips from Tim Russerts ass. A recent attempt of this same operation failed to disconnect Howard Fineman from
George Bush's butt.
posted by tbogg at 7:37 AM
|
Shearing the lambs of God.
Make sure you go read this article via Atrios regarding the Christian pacification of our new colony. Observe the irony:
Unlike Burkle, Haveman, 60, was largely unknown among international public health professionals. A social worker by training, he has no medical degree or any formal instruction in public health, and he hasn't been in the military. From 1991 to 2002, he served in the cabinet of John Engler, the Republican governor of Michigan, directing state health programs. Most of Haveman's recent overseas experience had come through International Aid, a Christian relief organization that provides health care and spreads the Gospel in the Third World.
[snip...]
Yet Haveman's performance in Michigan was highly controversial. I first heard of him at a public health event in Chicago in May. Ron Davis, a preventive medicine physician who served in the Michigan Department of Public Health during Engler's first term, told me of the dismay Haveman's appointment was causing among public health professionals. In interviewing a number of them, I was struck by the severity of their assessments. They complained that Haveman had cut back or closed programs aimed at the needy. They claimed he had ignored scientific data to follow his own convictions about which policies worked best. And they criticized what they called his confrontational and secretive manner.(my emphasis)
Suffer the children....
posted by tbogg at 7:30 AM
|
Saturday, July 05, 2003
Man on dog? Close. It's Conason on Coulter.
Must have been something in the Juty 4th air that caused Joe Conason and Frank Rich (see below) to give Ann a real Coulter-slapping. Read Conason's comments on Treason here (Salon...get the day pass). Here is where he cuts to the chase:
So replete is "Treason" with falsehoods and distortions, as well as so much plain bullshit, that it may well create a cottage industry of corrective fact-checking, just as "Slander" did last year.
Comedian David Steinberg once noted the Websters dictionary had finally added the term "bullshit" to its list of definitions. He also noted that Websters defined "bullshit" as "nonsense", under which, he pointed out, it should say: "bullshit".
posted by tbogg at 12:07 PM
|
What we put up with yesterday
Thousands swarmed Pacific Beach to celebrate a hot and crowded Fourth of July yesterday as part of the nearly 500,000 people who jammed San Diego city beaches.
On the other hand, I can testify to the fact that going to the movies while everyone else is watching fireworks is the best. Eight o'clock showing of Finding Nemo: 14 people, ourselves included. Adjoining sports bar/restaurant/microbrewery that seats about 400+, at 7PM: 22 patrons. Three baseball games and Wimbledon semi-finals on the TV's.
A good evening in America.
posted by tbogg at 11:51 AM
|
From the Dixie Chicks to Coulter to Seabiscuit
Frank Rich of the New York Times shows why he is the thinking man's Bill Keller with this great July 4th column. Go read it.
According to her book jacket bio, Ms. Coulter's expertise in delivering such sweeping condemnations derives from having been "named one of the top 100 public intellectuals by federal judge Richard Posner in 2001." What she doesn't add — and this is typical of her own intellectual methodology in "Treason" — is that the list was compiled not on the basis of smarts but on the number of times names turned up in the media during the Clinton-hating heyday of 1995 to 2000. Mr. Posner's book was titled "Public Intellectuals: A Study of Decline" (my italics), and by its ranking system, Ms. Coulter turns out to be far less of an intellectual than such conspicuous traitors as Sidney Blumenthal, Susan Sontag and Gore Vidal.
At least she doesn't slap the flag on the front of her book to wrap herself in it. (She chose instead an idealized photo of something she loves more than Old Glory: herself.) The same cannot be said of Dick Morris and Sean Hannity, who use the Stars and Stripes as a merchandising tool for their own self-aggrandizingly patriotic screeds cashing in on their TV celebrity. In this, they follow the lead of their employer, the Fox News Channel, which, like its less successful cable rivals, has exploited the flag as a logo to sell itself as more patriotic than thou.
posted by tbogg at 11:43 AM
|
Thursday, July 03, 2003
Hey baby, it's the fourth of July
It's time for me to take my long fourth of July weekend. For my family the 4th isn't so much a holiday, as it is being trapped in a party that you can't escape. We live just a block off the water in the busiest beach neighborhood in San Diego. Here the 4th starts on the evening of the 3rd with loud music, more cars than there are parking spaces, and parties that never seem to end. By the time Sunday morning rolls around the front lawn features an assortment of those ubiquitous red plastic beer cups, Coors Light cans, and various and sundry other trash. My neighbors and I often say that we can get through summer if we can just survive Memorial Day, the 4th, and the Labor Day weekends. During those times we just bunker down in our houses and get our sun on our decks. Although we can see four different fireworks displays from various windows or decks, this year we're going out to dinner and a movie ( Finding Nemo) and leaving the mess and the barbeque and the crowds to others. There's time enough for that later this summer.
Everyone have a safe and fun 4th of July. I'll see you next week. In the meantime I leave you the lyrics from Fourth of July by the great and hugely under appreciated Dave Alvin:
She's waitin' for me
when I get home from work
oh, but things ain't just the same
She turns out the light
and cries in the dark
won't answer when I call her name
On the stairs I smoke a
cigarette alone
Mexican kids are shootin'
fireworks below
Hey baby, it's the Fourth of July
Hey baby, it's the Fourth of July
She gives me her cheek
when I want her lips
but I don't have the strength to go
On the lost side of town
in a dark apartment
we gave up trying so long ago
On the stairs I smoke a
cigarette alone
Mexican kids are shootin'
fireworks below
Hey baby, it's the Fourth of July
Hey baby, it's the Fourth of July
What ever happened I
apologize
so dry your tears and baby
walk outside, it's the Fourth of July
On the stairs I smoke a
cigarette alone
Mexican kids are shootin'
fireworks below
Hey baby, it's the Fourth of July
Hey baby, Baby take a walk outside
Take care.
-Tom
posted by tbogg at 10:56 AM
|
Karl Rove is a freeper
Everybody has already linked to the incredibly poor unemployment numbers that came out today (of course the Administration immediately started touting their $25 million for Saddam reward to knock those nasty statistics of the front page). But it took a freeper to state in a few simple words how the Bushista's view expanding unemployment:
I'm not sure myself. But we've got to appear to be doing something
Sounds like policy to me.
posted by tbogg at 9:59 AM
|
The guy hiding behind the soldiers? That's just Andy.
Just when you think George Bush's "Bring them on" is the stupidest most callous thing a conservative has said lately, Andy Sullivan gives President Big Mouth Strikes Again a shove and steps into the spotlight:
"BRING THEM ON": No, I don't think it's merely rhetoric. One of the many layers of the arguments for invading Iraq focused on the difficulties of waging a serious war on terror from a distant remove. Being based in Iraq helpsus (sic) notonly(sic) because of actual bases; but because the American presence there diverts terrorist attention away from elsewhere. By confronting them directly in Iraq, we get to engage them in a military setting that plays to our strengths rather than to theirs'. Continued conflict in Iraq, in other words, needn't always be bad news. It may be a sign that we are drawing the terrorists out of the woodwork and tackling them in the open.
"Being based in Iraq helpsus (sic) notonly(sic) because of actual bases; but because the American presence there diverts terrorist attention away from elsewhere."
See? Our servicemen are in Iraq to draw fire and die there, so that Andy can safely sit on a park bench in front of Starbucks and steal their Wi-Fi while enjoying a frappuchino here.
...and remember "Continued conflict in Iraq, in other words, needn't always be bad news.", unless, of course, you're the one sitting in 114 degree heat far away from your family, wondering if the next RPG has your name on it.
posted by tbogg at 9:43 AM
|
Greatest Live Album Ever
Notes From Atlanta (link courtesy of South Knox Bubba) writes about Waiting For Columbus.
One of my greatest regrets about concert-going, outside of going to see a recent Maria McKee show, was not ever getting to see the Lowell George-era Little Feat. They came to San Diego State's Open Air Amphitheatre in the summer of '78 and I didn't go. Next April, Lowell was dead.
posted by tbogg at 9:20 AM
|
"Let me run this back: We have a war. A bunch of Americans die. After the war, we try to figure out why we were there."
Max Cleland speaks:
Cleland, 60, is still livid over a now-infamous TV commercial that Republican challenger Saxby Chambliss ran against him. It opened with pictures of Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, then attacked Cleland for voting against President Bush's Homeland Security bill. It didn't mention that Cleland supported a Democratic bill that wasn't radically different.
"That was the biggest lie in America -- to put me up there with Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein and say I voted against homeland security!" he says, his voice rising in anger.
"I volunteered 35 years ago to go to Vietnam and the guy I was running against got out of going to Vietnam with a trick knee! I was an author of the homeland security bill, for goodness' sake! But I wasn't a rubber stamp for the White House. That right there is the epitome of what's wrong with American politics today!"
Now is a good time to remind the people of Georgia that they should be ashamed of themselves.
posted by tbogg at 9:04 AM
|
Coulterblogwatch day ten: Saving bandwidth every day.
Ann Coulter would be taking the holiday weekend off, but to take time off, you have to do something first. Friends of Ms. Coulter are suprised at her inability to perform. Commented one, "Usually Ann has no problem getting it up. She must be tired."
We'll look for her next week when she'll be tan, rested, and still skanky.
posted by tbogg at 8:38 AM
|
Good. I was tired of carrying the load.
Media Whores Online is back...thank the imaginary deity of your choice.
They have LOTS of stuff.
posted by tbogg at 8:33 AM
|
The new bride wondered why her husband followed her from room to room.
Even stalkers have to get married some day:
Presidential nephew and first bachelor George P. Bush won't be single much longer. The son of Gov. Jeb Bush, who was No. 4 on People magazine's list of the country's 100 most-eligible bachelors last year, told the magazine that he and fiancee Amanda Williams want "to start a family as soon as possible."
But first a little family business: Bush will work for his uncle's re-election campaign before the nuptials. Bush, 27, recently graduated from the University of Texas Law School and plans to take the bar next month in Texas. He said he met Williams in a law school class when he passed her a note asking if she wanted to play golf.
Sister Noelle was so excited she already went and got her hair done for the wedding.
posted by tbogg at 8:31 AM
|
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
A message for Fredo
Please write David Limbaugh, the Fredo Corleone of the Limbaugh brood (spawn, effluvia...you pick), about this comment:
Are Democrats too angry (and too liberal) to win back the presidency in 2004? As my old 8-ball used to divine, "Signs point to yes."
I cite the recent successes of far-left candidate Howard Dean in his quest for the nomination, which many originally dismissed as quixotic.
Perhaps Mr. Limbaugh can explain what exactly makes pro-business, pro-2nd Amendment Howard Dean "far-left". Or maybe David just makes shit up like his brother. You can email him here.
And be nice. I hear the threat of aggression makes Limbaughs break out in pilonidal cysts.
posted by tbogg at 1:14 PM
|
The short tragic life of the Virgin Ben.
Jesse gives us a brief bio of Ben Shapiro who is Not A Boy, Not Yet A Man no matter what they said at his Bar Mitzvah.
posted by tbogg at 1:00 PM
|
The column is about Arnold Schwarzen-----what the hell is that?
I was going to comment on Carol Devine-Molin's column on Arnold Schwarzenegger...but I couldn't get past her picture. I just kept staring at it, unable to look away. It's haunting in that, "What the hell did I run over, two miles back" kind of way. I was trying to think of what decade that hairstyle belongs to, but I'm stumped...and now possibly sterile.
posted by tbogg at 12:53 PM
|
Otter: I think that this situation absolutely requires a really futile and stupid gesture be done on somebody's part.
Bluto: We're just the guys to do it.
Joseph Farah, who is one of Richard Mellon Scaife's handmaidens, thinks the Supreme Court has gone too far. How far? Impeachment far.
There are many in Congress who insist that any new Supreme Court vacancy be filled by someone who thinks like the majority, someone who will legislate from the bench, someone who doesn't respect the Constitution and its limits on federal power. It's time to challenge the authority of the majority with an impeachment movement.
...and who does he want to impeach?
It's time to put some heat on those abusing their power – and let's name names: Stephen G. Breyer authored this latest outrage. It, like the decisions about sodomy and racial preferences, was supported by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sandra Day O'Connor, David H. Souter and John Paul Stevens.
These people have to go.
I can just see a turgid Joseph Farah standing in the village square pumping his fist and demanding to know, "Who's with me?", and then.........quiet. Followed by crickets chirping and a dog barking far off in the distance.....
posted by tbogg at 12:32 PM
|
Herbie Mann
Jazz flutist Herbie Mann passed away yesterday. I don't know what jazz purists thought of Mr. Mann, but when I was a senior in high school there were three albums (back when they were called albums) that you had to have as testimony to your "coolness". Neil Young's Harvest, The Allman Brothers at Fillmore East, and Herbie Mann's Push, Push.
Outside of listening to my dad's Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Getz, and Luis Prima/Keely Smith records, Herbie Mann was the first 'jazz' artist whose album I bought. From that point forward I was hooked.
posted by tbogg at 11:15 AM
|
Objectivists object to the lack of Ayn Rand books.
Wanna know what the fish-belly white folks at NRO will be reading on the beach this summer? Me neither, but here they are:
Danielle Crittenden
My impulse answer to this question is to name some great long classic, like War and Peace, which is genuinely a great beach read, but to say so would unfailingly make me look pompous. Each summer we go away to Canada, to my parents' house on the shores of Lake Ontario, and I tend to choose a "category" of books to take with me. Last summer I was on a British binge — catching up on Trollopes, Thackerays, and Dickens I had not read. This summer I'm in a more Middle Eastern mood — especially for memoirs by women who live under the veil. My first pick was Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. I was actually going to read it in conjunction with Lolita, which I've never read — in Tehran, Toronto, or elsewhere.
Danielle doesn't want to appear pompous by saying War and Peace...and then proceeds to mention that last year she read Trollope, Thackeray, and Dickens. Uh yeah. I see something by James Patterson in her future.
Betsy Hart
The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas. Forget the fact that the author was French. This is a "can't put it down even though it's 4 A.M. and the kids get up at 6" read. It's a swashbuckling tale of a young sailor mid-19th-century sailor unjustly imprisoned and so separated from the woman he passionately loves and was about to marry. But when he gets out — watch out. Dumas 's tale of cunning revenge is unparalleled. His understanding of the wickedness men are capable of is extraordinary. But it's his ability to tell a great story which is makes him such a master.
Oooooo. Good dig at the French. They would be so offended if they had ever heard of Betsy Hart.
Mark Goldblatt
Living History by Hillary Clinton. Laugh out loud funny, plus cover photo can be used to chill beverages.
Bwahahaha...and they say conservatives don't have a sense of humor. Dennis Miller is so gonna steal that one.
posted by tbogg at 10:06 AM
|
I bet Lucianne still puts his columns on the refrigerator
San Diego Soliloquies has the link to Jonah "Fat Bigot" Goldberg's defense for acting like a six-year old girl when confonted by Mike Signorile. I like this part, though:
As for Romensko, it's kind of funny. This guy -- who claims to run some sort of authoritative, objective blog on the media -- never sees fit to print my name when I write serious pieces about the media in places like the Wall Street Journal while he'll be all over some storry (sic) about a cat stuck in a tree in the Food Giant Shopper). Yet, when one of his leftwing gay friends wants to vent, Romensko offers him a digital shoulder to cry on. I guess Andrew Sullivan is right. Romensko is a partisan hack. (My emphasis)
Yeah. And the Food Network refuses to air footage of Jonah making his famous Ding Dong and Twinkie Sandwich, too. I mean, what's up with that?
posted by tbogg at 9:55 AM
|
Just one soldier a day is all we ask
Speaking of talking tough (see below) the Pope of Provincetown says:
The inevitable outbreaks of violence and dissension in Iraq are obviously worth covering and important news. But there's an under-current of complete gloom in news reports that seems to me to be more fueled by ideological fervor than sober analysis. Given the magnitude and complexity of the task of rebuilding post-Saddam Iraq, it seems to me we're making slow but decent progress. The lack of a complete social implosion or exploding civil war is itself a huge achievement. And no one said the post-war reconstruction was going to be easy. So what's behind this drumbeat of apocalypse? I think it's a good rule among boomer journalists that every story they ever edit or write or film about warfare will at some point be squeezed into a Vietnam prism. The modern military has denied these people the chance to be vindicated during actual combat; so they will try and present the occupation in exactly the same light. Yes, there is probably considerable discontent in Iraq right now; yes, every death is awful; but no, this isn't even close to being combat; let alone Vietnam. Of course, I won't be completely certain about this until Johnny Apple writes a front-page NYT news analysis piece laying out the new consensus. Tick, tock. Or is he too busy touring Devon?
With a soldier a day dying in Iraq, one has to wonder where Sully's tipping point rests? Three soldiers a day? Five? It's so easy to sit on the curb and wave your little flag and pretend that things are getting better and darn those journalists who are acting all gloomy and harshing your mellow.
Wave the flag and grin your rictus grin.
Ooooo! Look!.... fireworks!
posted by tbogg at 9:33 AM
|
"I think that's what he said. His voice was muffled by his protective coating of Secret Service agents."
George Bush talks pretty tough for a guy who bailed out of his military obligation.
President Bush on Wednesday challenged militants who have been killing and injuring U.S. forces in Iraq, saying "bring them on" because American forces were tough enough to deal with their attacks.
"There are some who feel like that conditions are such that they can attack us there," Bush told reporters at the White House. "My answer is bring them on. We have the force necessary to deal with the situation."
(Added): Whoops. Looks like the freepers aren't too charmed by their President's comments.
"My answer is bring them on."
I take it Bush is going to be manning some Iraqi checkpoints himself with such a bold devil may care attitude. -sarcasm off- I wonder if those young men who walk point in that hellhole have a similar mindset. Not like they miss their families and fear for their lives or anything.
3 posted on 07/02/2003 8:40 AM PDT by KantianBurke
I notice he isn't the one over there. I wish he's take his punk bravado back to Texas or Kennebunkport.
15 posted on 07/02/2003 8:52 AM PDT by RLK
posted by tbogg at 9:17 AM
|
Coulterblogwatch day nine: Legalizing sodomy ruling has kept her busier than usual.
No Ann again. But I hear she was.....this.....close......
posted by tbogg at 8:57 AM
|
Misstating the case
A few days ago I pointed out that similarities between the British Army's attempt to control both the populace and weapons of Colonial America with similar efforts by our occupying forces in Iraq, after Lt Smash tried to make a strained and self-serving analogy regarding democracy coming to Iraq. Now Lt Smash claims that I'm comparing " Ba’athist holdouts in Iraq with the American Patriots at Lexington and Concord."
Nice deflection, but a deflection all the same...
posted by tbogg at 8:23 AM
|
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
What was behind the ellipsis
Sure, he's no Maureen Dowd, but you would think that when a sitting Supreme Court Justice like Clarence Thomas intentionally alters a quote for a desired effect, someone would call him on it. Someone did:
In the opening of his dissent in the Grutter vs. Bollinger case, Thomas quoted Douglass: ''Do nothing with us! Your doing with us has already played the mischief with us. Do nothing with us! If the apples will not remain on the tree of their own strength, if they are worm-eaten at the core, if they are early ripe and disposed to fall, let them fall! . . . And if the Negro cannot stand on his own legs, let him fall also. All I ask is, give him a chance to stand on his own legs! Let him alone! . . . (Y)our interference is doing him positive injury.''
So what's missing? The words that were replaced by the second ellipsis that put what Douglass said into proper context. What Douglass said in the closing lines is: ''Let him alone. If you see him on his way to school, let him alone, don't disturb him! If you see him going to the dinner table at a hotel, let him go! If you see him going to the ballot box, let him along, don't disturb him! If you see him going into a work-shop, just let him alone, -- your interference is doing him positive injury.''
We can expect someone from The Corner along any minute to explain what Thomas meant.
posted by tbogg at 2:21 PM
|
Joining the Hot Links....
Fellow San Diegan Jon over at San Diego Soliloquies. We now have enough liberal San Diego bloggers to play chess, but not enough if a basketball game breaks out.
posted by tbogg at 1:53 PM
|
The Good News Club is really quite popular
at Jesus H. Christ Elementary.
Democratic Veteran points out that John Ashcroft (R- Snake handler) is using the power of his office to help spread that ol' time religion to the savages of deepest darkest...Maryland.
Justice Department spokesman Jorge Martinez told the Associated Press the fliers are informational and not recruiting tools.
"The Good News Clubs literature does not proselytize," he said. "It basically describes what takes place at the meetings, when they are held and where."
What is the Good News Club?
Boys and girls ages 5 through 12 gather with their friends to sing interesting visualized songs. They enjoy playing games that help them memorize a verse from God's Word. Through the missionary time they learn of children around the world who are following Jesus. The visualized Bible story applies God's Word to what is happening in their lives. They play review games that help them remember what was taught. An opportunity to receive Jesus Christ as Savior is given. Activities that help them grow in Christ are presented.
...and the creepy part:
A Good News Club can identify a home in the neighborhood that is safe for a child to go to in time of trouble. It brings the teaching of biblical morality to his neighborhood. It connects the child and his family to others where they live developing a good community spirit. When you leave your home on Sunday to go to church, others in your neighborhood know you are religious. When you teach children in your neighborhood God's Word, your neighborhood learns what you believe
And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly ----Matt 6: 5-8
Apparently the Good News Club doesn't believe in the Bible any more than I do.
posted by tbogg at 12:53 PM
|
Your mileage may vary
You are what you drive. And we already now that people who drive Hummers are dicks. Cartalk sets us straight by giving us a list of the ultimate gay or lesbian cars of all time.
Lesbians go here.
Gay men go here.
Here's the weird part....I drive the #10 Lesbian car, my wife drives the #10 Gay car.
I don't know what that means.
posted by tbogg at 11:55 AM
|
“Iraqi people hate the Americans,”
We still haven't got that " hearts and minds" thing down. How can anyone read this article and not acknowledge that the Bush Administration made a horrible mistake invading Iraq. No proof of weapons, no imminent threat to the US, no plan for what to do after the war. Our soldiers don't want to be there, the Iraqi people don't want us there, and there is no end in sight.
It's no longer a quagmire. It's quicksand and it's killing Americans.
posted by tbogg at 10:18 AM
|
Eight out of nine ain't bad
Jay Caruso lists nine things he can't stand. I agree with him on eight.
Okay. Here's the exception. I admire the Olson Twins. I used to loathe the froggy-faced twins, but I have to admit that they, and their handlers, have managed to market themselves perfectly. Add to that, how they and their parents handle their personal lives compared to other child stars (pick one...any one), is quite admirable. A recent article in Fortune (subscription only) noted:
If you don't have young kids, especially daughters, the Olsens' earning power might be hard to believe. Start with the direct-to-video business. Mary-Kate and Ashley have produced nearly 40 videos, sold more than 30 million copies, and generated $500 million in retail sales, according to Warner Home Video (owned by FORTUNE's parent). For the past two years they have dominated Billboard's Kid Video sales chart, and last year Our Lips Are Sealed was No. 11 in overall video sales--ahead of best-picture nominee Erin Brockovich (No. 14) and The Sopranos: The Complete First Season (No. 15). .
In 2002 the Olson twins were reported to have a net worth of $150 million.
posted by tbogg at 9:12 AM
|
Coulterblogwatch day eight: This one time, when she was at bandcamp.....
No Ann. No WMD's either. Coincidence?
(Added): Jim at Rittenhouse points out that Richard Cohen thinks Ann is, well, nuts.
No, duh.
|
|
