Tee Hee! I'm Such a Troublemaker
I just went through about 6 people at the New Jersey Department of Transportation to find out if there are any rules or regulations when placing "Welcome Home, Joe Schmoe Soldier" or "Support Our Troops" signs. I had seen a 'Welcome Home' sign on Route 80 heading westbound about a mile before the Route 53 exit. Also wanted to know about any boundaries I shouldn't cross if I was going to do any freewayblogging (or highwayblogging, since we have "highways" here in the east).
I was told that if I wanted to hang something on the OUTSIDE of an overpass fence, I should really obtain a permit from them, and include the ways the sign would be secured so as not to risk any injuries or accidents should the sign fall. The woman I spoke with said that if I wanted to simply hang something up on the INSIDE of the fencing, that's perfectly fine, but she suggested I secure all four corners so it doesn't blow off and cause any problems for the drivers on the overpass.
I was sure to ask if there was any restrictions or if it was "illegal" hang anything on the fencing, and I was assured that as long as I was securing it properly and was hanging it on the inside, it was perfectly legal.
I already have posterboard and permanent markers. Woot.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
Ok, so I check my email and I get a heads up from a lovely gal named Holly about this disturbing, nay, TERRIFYING article...
U.S. students say press freedoms go too far
By Greg Toppo, USA TODAY
One in three U.S. high school students say the press ought to be more restricted, and even more say the government should approve newspaper stories before readers see them, according to a survey being released today.
The survey of 112,003 students finds that 36% believe newspapers should get "government approval" of stories before publishing; 51% say they should be able to publish freely; 13% have no opinion.
Asked whether the press enjoys "too much freedom," not enough or about the right amount, 32% say "too much," and 37% say it has the right amount. Ten percent say it has too little.
The survey of First Amendment rights was commissioned by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and conducted last spring by the University of Connecticut. It also questioned 327 principals and 7,889 teachers.
The findings aren't surprising to Jack Dvorak, director of the High School Journalism Institute at Indiana University in Bloomington. "Even professional journalists are often unaware of a lot of the freedoms that might be associated with the First Amendment," he says.
The survey "confirms what a lot of people who are interested in this area have known for a long time," he says: Kids aren't learning enough about the First Amendment in history, civics or English classes. It also tracks closely with recent findings of adults' attitudes.
"It's part of our Constitution, so this should be part of a formal education," says Dvorak, who has worked with student journalists since 1968.
Although a large majority of students surveyed say musicians and others should be allowed to express "unpopular opinions," 74% say people shouldn't be able to burn or deface an American flag as a political statement; 75% mistakenly believe it is illegal.
The U.S. Supreme Court in 1989 ruled that burning or defacing a flag is protected free speech. Congress has debated flag-burning amendments regularly since then; none has passed both the House and Senate.
Derek Springer, a first-year student at Ivy Tech State College in Muncie, Ind., credits his journalism adviser at Muncie Central High School with teaching students about the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, press and religion.
Last year, Springer led a group of student journalists who exposed payments a local basketball coach made to players for such things as attending practices and blocking shots. The newspaper also questioned requirements that students register their cars with the school to get parking passes.
Because they studied the First Amendment, he says, "we know that we can publish our opinion, and that we might be scrutinized, but we know we didn't do anything wrong."
THIRTY-SIX PERCENT say the press should get government approval first? Are you fucking kidding me??? THIRTY-TWO PERCENT say the press has TOO MUCH FREEDOM? Are you insane???
For a while there I thought maybe I was getting a little too close to the "nutty conspiracy theorist" catagory. Maybe I was taking this all a little too seriously, when in the end things will be just fine.
Holy fucking shit, people. OUR OWN GOVERNMENT IS MANIPULATING US TO DO WHATEVER THEY WANT US TO DO! They are re-writing their own history, they are re-writing the constitution, and they are re-writing our role in the global community.
And each and every one of us that sits back and says nothing is helping them to do it.
I told KidBastard that I was seriously considering joining the FreewayBloggers. He reminded me that it IS winter and that I am pretty lazy, so I reconsidered. No sense fighting what I am. But this is renewing my interest. I think I will be visiting a craft store today. Leave me comments if you'd like to suggest a few catchy phrases to stick up...
This is making me sick. How can the Reds not see this happening? How can they be so blind and self-centered? And if I am calling someone ELSE self-centered, you know it's bad.
The Frightening Reality
"......after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a parliament or a communist dictatorship ... That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country." - Hermann Wilhelm Goering, founder of the Gestapo and one of the main architects of Nazi Germany.
Iraq Voters Turned Out Without Massive Casualties
Unfortunately for 44 people, voting in Iraq today was a bad move. I suppose overall that's pretty good, considering they expect about 8 million people to have voted. I'm still a bit concerned about the coming weeks and violence springing up not only in Iraq but in other parts of the world. Here's hoping things stay peaceful...
In other aggravating news, 9 BILLION dollars is unaccounted for. Can someone tell me how you can't find NINE BILLION DOLLARS? Wait, it was here just a minute ago... where the hell did I put that?...Oh shit, dude, I must have left it in that coat that went to the cleaners. My bad.
Oh, and the Bush administration is being a bunch of dicks again by not actually joining the international community in talks about Iran and nukes. Gotta show 'em we're more powerful, and that we can do it all on our own, eh? Goddamn pricks.
In fun news, NASA admits they pulled a "Scotty" - they way underestimated the amount of data they would get from the Mars Rovers so they'd look awesome when it continued after the original goal was surpassed. That's so cool! Well, if it were true ;)
Bush is going after Al Jazeera
This is very important. This is serious news.
Let me guess, you think that Al Jazeera is a news channel for terrorists. They are our enemy. They should be shut down!
Yes, Al Jazeera has played execution tapes in their entirety. It turns my stomach that footage of that kind is openly viewed in a news program. If CNN played it 6 times an hour, I would never turn the TV on again. It seems barbaric.
BUT, I am also an American who believes in the right to free speech, particularly when that speech is as close to the plain truth as possible. So far, this administration had tried to cut back our right to free speech and has LIED to us all with propaganda! I can no longer accept what my news stations tell me as being true on face value. I have to turn to the BBC or Australian newspapers to get more perspective. And Al Jazeera is probably the best resource, considering most of the employees of Al Jazeera understand the culture and nuances that other journalists might not understand.
Excerpt from the article:
The tiny state of Qatar is a crucial American ally in the Persian Gulf, where it provides a military base and warm support for American policies. Yet relations with Qatar are also strained over an awkward issue: Qatar's sponsorship of Al Jazeera, the provocative television station that is a big source of news in the Arab world. Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and other Bush administration officials have complained heatedly to Qatari leaders that Al Jazeera's broadcasts have been inflammatory, misleading and occasionally false, especially on Iraq. The pressure has been so intense, a senior Qatari official said, that the government is accelerating plans to put Al Jazeera on the market, though Bush administration officials counter that a privately owned station in the region may be no better from their point of view. "We have recently added new members to the Al Jazeera editorial board, and one of their tasks is to explore the best way to sell it," said the Qatari official, who said he could be more candid about the situation if he was not identified. "We really have a headache, not just from the United States but from advertisers and from other countries as well." Asked if the sale might dilute Al Jazeera's content, the official said, "I hope not." Continue...
I Couldn't Resist This...
BuzzFlash is offering this through their website if you donate to them - I get a lot of my news bits from there, so if you feel like supporting indy press, you may want to throw them a few bucks and get something good in return :)
I've got that Control Room documentary as well as Outfoxed, a documentary on the Fox News Channel and what creeps they are, on their way to my house. I will happily provide reviews of both of them.
BY THE WAY, this artwork:
was done by our very good friend and my daughter's godfather, Rob Kelly. He is an exceptional artist who was done work for the NBA and the Grammys. Woot, Rob!
Is The Honeymoon Really Over?
It’s not even a week since his bold and sweeping Inaugural Address. And it’s only a week before another grand set-piece event: the State of the Union Message. Yet between these two great moments on the bully pulpit, President Bush felt an urgent need to do something he dislikes intensely: stage a full-blown press conference. For a president who loathes admitting mistakes, his press conference was as close as Bush is going to get to a concession that the first few weeks of the new year have not gone wholly according to plan.
Look at the subjects addressed by the president in his opening remarks. His top four areas of concern have all faced surprisingly tough challenges in this early period of his new term: his Inaugural Address, the loss of life in Iraq, his plans to overhaul Social Security and Condoleezza Rice’s confirmation. Those challenges don’t exactly reflect the kind of political capital the White House believes it earned in November’s presidential election.
First, the Inaugural Address. The most attention-grabbing notion set out by the president—one that certainly caught the eye of allies and enemies around the world—was this statement: “The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world. America’s vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one.” Continued in link...
Apparently Dick didn't feel any obligation to dress formally when memorializing the Holocaust. That's right, I said "Dick."
‘Of course you're going to get torture' - "This is a disaster for U.S. policy," said Hartnett, who has spent 15 years teaching in prisons and authored numerous books and papers on the subject. "It's crippling our ability as a nation to talk about democracy ... We as a people are being seen as perpetrators of this brutality."
Hehe, almost forgot about this... KidBastard made a snarky comment on the day they memorialized the Holocaust when he wondered aloud if they would pause during the ceremonies to recall how President Bush's grandfather helped Hitler come into power. Do you think I am kidding? No no no, my darlings...
Aww, how sweet! Diebold's made a printer that can produce paper-trails for their e-voting machines just in time for...ummm....
Private Vs. Personal: Media's Social Security Semantics - Facing significant opposition to its plan to privatize part of the Social Security program, the White House is pushing reporters and lawmakers to use the expression "personal accounts," since polling data seems to indicate that "privatization" is an unpopular term with voters. While it's not unusual for politicians to try to spin the terminology used in debate, journalists should avoid changing word usage simply because some politicians think it will be to their advantage. There's little doubt that "privatization" is a more accurate description of the White House plan, especially considering that the current Social Security system is already based on what are essentially "personal accounts"-- your benefits depend on how much you personally have paid in, as the annual statements you get from the Social Security Administration indicate-- rendering the Bush administration's preferred terminology redundant and confusing. What is different about the accounts that Bush is proposing is not that they are personal, but that they will hold private-sector securities-- in other words, that they will be privatized.
Are we living inside "Wag The Dog"?
We Are Paying Them to Rape Us
It's starting to come out of the woodwork, people. The payola scandal is gaining momentum, and reporters are finally doing their jobs. They are finally reporting that the Bush administration is using OUR TAX DOLLARS to decieve us. At first the story of Karen Ryan was an "isolated case," then when Armstrong Williams and Maggie Gallagher pop up, the prez sez "We didn't know about this at the White House." Except that they DID know about it...
The Government Accountability Office, according to published reports, has at least two investigations under way dating to last year. It has already ruled that this kind of "covert propaganda" is ILLEGAL.
Carol Marin wrote this plain-English article pointing out the asshattery of journalists for laying down at Bush's feet. She's saying what Bartcop, Joe Conason, DailyKos and all the rest of us who have been growling and snarling at the packs of jokers standing around letting Americans get raped by Captain Happypants and his team of pondscum.
Republicans got Clinton IMPEACHED OVER LIE ABOUT A BLOWJOB. They all cried foul and acted outraged by the mere thought of the President of the United States lying about getting it on with an intern. Yet we now have SOLID PROOF that the president and his people have LIED to the faces of our citizens and the rest of the world and NO ONE DOES ANYTHING. Democrats take it lying down, the press takes it lying down, OVER HALF OF AMERICA take it lying down.
*smack to the back of their heads*
WAKE UP!
CONTROL ROOM
I was on the phone with my mom today, who told me she caught a documentary called " Control Room" that was thoroughly depressing. She remarked how during the film, reporters would be flabberghasted at the bullshit Bush and his team were spouting and were sure the American people would see right through him, then watch in utter horror when Americans said and did nothing. She mentioned how the tearing down of Hussein's statue was totally staged - all the participants were young men with dialects not common in that area. The statue was located in an area surrounded by housing, and none of them ventured out.
Children did not cheer the soldiers as they drove by, they screamed "K*ll Bush" (changing it so I don't have the secret service up my ass).
I am trying to hunt down a copy of the documentary. My mom saw it on the Sundance Channel, and I only have basic cable. I'd really like to see it.
EDIT: Sweet! Found some used copies on Amazon! I love the internet.
Bush Is Going to Hell in a Handbasket
Third Columnist Implicated with Payola Charges - Oooooooh! BIG SURPRISE! More columnists were PAID to spew White House propaganda! Michael McManus, whose syndicated column, "Ethics & Religion," appears in 50 newspapers, was hired as a subcontractor by the Department of Health and Human Services to promote an administration marriage initiative, according to an article posted yesterday by Salon.com, the online magazine.
And officials now admit that there may be as many as five US citizens being held captive in Iraq, possibly since November 2004. "There are three we know are being held hostage and there's a handful more who are unaccounted for, some of whom might be in a hostage situation," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
I wanted to reprint this whole speech, but just in case someone gets all whipped up about copyrights and stuff, here's an excerpt: But what if the overall policy is a colossal mistake, a major error in judgment? Not just bad judgment regarding when and where to impose ourselves, but the entire premise that we have a moral right to meddle in the affairs of others? Think of the untold harm done by years of fighting-- hundreds of thousands of American casualties, hundreds of thousands of foreign civilian casualties, and unbelievable human and economic costs. What if it was all needlessly borne by the American people? Read the rest here...
Global warming is 'twice as bad as previously thought' - but goddammit I want my oil fields! Fuck the environment! Internets!
I'm just thinking out loud here, so roll with me... It seems to me that during the Clinton years, more people had good jobs that paid them good salaries, the national debt became a thing of the past and overall things were pretty ducky for the US population as a whole. In the Bush Jr. years, we've got more unemployment, we're involved in a conflict we were blatently lied to about, and the national debt has taken a nosedive. Yet he still seems to get support. Is it just that the richest people still have their high-paying jobs and they support him? But what about all those dumb bastards that voted for him? Aren't THEY affected by this? How many parents of dead soldiers can stand up today and say they support the president and accept the sacrifice of their children because they believe in what Bush is doing in Iraq? If so, WHAT do they believe he is doing?
If anyone knows anyone who's lost a son or daughter in Iraq, I would really, truly, honestly like to get the answers.
EXPERTS AGREE: Bin Laden is Dead Or Alive!
I think this photo speaks for itself...
How Much Worse is it Gonna Get?
Do I trick myself every time I see some glimmer of hope, some small point of light from the media? Am I only fooling myself into thinking that there seems to be a lot more Bush-negative press in recent days?
It just appeared that for so long, all we ever read about was how goddamn wonderful Bush is. Journalists just lapped up whatever they threw at the press corps and no one ever dug any deeper. Everything was just fine and dandy and boy howdy I'm shure glad y'all could visit me in my humble little Texas ranch! Now watch this drive!
Is there a shift in the wind? Yahoo's news page is filled - Reality starts to test Bush's rhetoric on liberty, Gitmo Soldier Details Sexual Tactics, Kennedy Calls for Troop Withdrawal in Iraq, Bush's Stake Is Huge in Iraqi Elections, Report: PR spending doubled under Bush, Bush Seeks Higher Airline Security Fees, Questions on Social Security Unresolved, Court Skeptical of Cheney Records Lawsuit.
But does anyone really care anymore? Or are we so desensitized to it all that we simply ignore it all and hope the new deli on the corner has that great soup today?
Don't mind me, I'm PMSing. :/
Bush Told Iran to Stay Out of Iraq Vote...?
What the hell? Did I miss something? Why is Bush telling IRAN to stay out of IRAQ's vote? And in an interview with the Dubai-based satellite channel Al-Arabiya (for those that can access Optimum Online, the link to the video is here). Did I miss a big Iranian chest-thumping or something?
Ironically, Bush also said today that "A world without tyranny is an ideal world," in opening remarks at a White House press conference. Please raise your hands, all of you who are finding all of this a bit too surreal. I wonder is taking acid would help me.
Oh, and no need to worry, kids! Bush isn't letting anyone pay columnists to push the administration's agenda on the public anymore! Isn't that fantastic??? I am so pleased! You know, when syndicated columnist Maggie Gallagher apologized to readers for not disclosing a $21,500 contract with the Health and Human Services Department to help create materials promoting the agency's $300 million initiative to encourage marriage, I thought for sure that this might actually be a scandal the administration couldn't survive. Silly me! This will just turn into one more inexcusable offense that NO ONE GIVES A DAMN ABOUT.
Oh and the citizens of the United States also got a bit of Bush's middle finger when Homeland Security was told they will not be getting any more funds.
IS EVERYONE ON CRACK? And if so, can someone please get me some? I'm freaking out over here!
The Barbara Boxer Fan Club Grows and More Soldiers Die
I happened to notice that my blog about Barbara Boxer being pretty damn awesome was getting some feedback, and I thought I'd throw in this article through Yahoo and this one from The Boston Globe. While I'd say any talk of her running for president in 2008 is quite premature, there is something very cool about a strong woman leading the pack. Maybe we'll start to see some honest efforts coming from the Dems now.
Of course, the bigger story today is how 37 soldiers were killed today.
"We value life and we weep and mourn when soldiers lose their life," the president said. "But it is the long-term objective that is vital, and that is to spread freedom." We weep and we mourn? What, like HE weeps and mourns? Right. That's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard, and if someone *I* knew was killed today, I know those words would piss me right the fuck off.
Oh, and only 13 people opposing the confirmation of Condi Rice is fucking PATHETIC. Any Democrat that voted for her should be thrown out of the party. Are they out of their goddamn minds? COME ON PEOPLE.
How many Bush supporters truly understand how bad things are? Why do so many simply spout the propaganda thrown at them by this administration? Let me tell you, any Bush supporter who's emailed me all sound like parrots - they say absolutely nothing of substance, nothing that comes even close to giving me something interesting to think about or consider. No one took up my challenge to explain why Bush is so great, and it's still out there people. Bring it on!
SEX SCANDAL ROCKS WHITE HOUSE!
What until now had been simply rumor or innuendo has been confirmed by several anonymous White House staff members: pResident George W. Bush has been having a torrid affair with Condoleezza Rice, currently under scrutity for position of Secretary of State.
"Like, you should see them!," one White House staff member said in hushed tones, "They try and be all secretive, but it's kind of hard not to know. They have all these 'private meetings', and the secret service guys are specifically told to block anyone from entering. I tried delivering a memo once and heard the loudest lovemaking sounds coming from the room!"
Another White House staff member who insisted on anonymity described the president and Ms. Rice's interactions much more intimate than professional.
"She would place her hand on his shoulder while showing him some report like she was trying to make it look like the report was incredibly important, but if you watched her hand long enough, her index finger usually slid up to his ear or caress his neck.," the staffer explained, "I saw her do that right in front of Mrs. Bush once!"
These more intimate displays of affection were reported as reciprocated. At least two accounts of Mr. Bush sliding his hand down Ms. Rice's back and resting briefly on her buttocks were witnessed by both staffers.
"I was shocked!," explained one staff member, "It happened while foreign dignitaries were standing there for a photo op!"
"I thought for sure this would have come out years ago," said another staff member, "but I guess if no one cared about the time I illegally accessed confidential information about Democratic strategy memos, or in February of '03 when Halliburton won that 5 year, no bid contract, or that Halliburton overcharged the army by at least $61 million, the bribes Halliburton allegedly paid, the Pentagon espionage case, Don Keyser illegally passing classified documents to Taiwanese officials, or when they bugged the UN to find out how they would vote on the Iraq war, the Medicare bribe, when we jammed the Dem's phone lines so they couldn't remind people to vote, or when we produced fake news reports to promote our Medicare bill, when we paid that Armstrong guy a bunch of money to talk up our NCLB program, or when no one could explain where Bush was during his guard duty, all the false statements made to get congress to agree to a war with Iraq, or when we illegally disclosed a CIA operative's identity, not to mention all the torture going on at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, then I doubt the fact that George and Condi are knocking boots is gonna make a ripple."
A White House statement released today is quoted as, "In this time of war, the President will not dignify these accusations with a response and has launched an internal investigation."
(Does anyone else share this daydream?)
See ya, Sucker!
How did the fact that Ashcroft was exiting yesterday slip by my radar?
Well, John... so long and thanks for all the crap you left behind. I was a particular fan of the Patriot Act. It kept me on the edge of my seat and left me hungry for the sequel, Patriot Act II, Electric Boogaloo.
Oh yeah, and thanks for all that support you offered us women-folk with regards to abortion rights. I know we just aren't as smart as you, so I guess you're right that abortion should be illegal, even for some terrified 11-year-old that was raped by her father. I mean, why should SHE decide what to do with her own body, right? Obviously she was raped for a reason, and that reason was to bring a new, unwanted baby into the world. Hell, you have a future army grunt right there, dontcha?
I feel my normal, simmering rage returning to the surface. I should be back to my regular snarky self in no time. ;P
Schoolyard Bullies
I'm thinking I may be trapped in a small bout of depression. I'm still really pissed off, but it's a much more deadened, muted anger.
This morning, CNN reports that a video has been released of a hostage that was kidnapped last November, and they don't know when the video was made or if the poor guy is even still alive. What's especially sad is this statement from the video:
"I'm not asking for any help from President Bush, because I know of his selfishness and unconcern for those who have been pushed into this hell hole," he says. "I am asking for help from Arab rulers, especially President Moammar Gadhafi, because he is known for helping those who are suffering." This made me visualize Bush, sitting in the oval office, playing his own form of Risk with the world and it made me terribly sad. This is all just a maneuver to secure more power and more money for him and his friends, and it aggravates me to no end that apparently more than half the country HELPED HIM DO IT.
And now Bush will be seeking $80 billion more from Congress to keep up the offensive. Oh yeah, let's give him MORE money, because the initial $150 billion that's been spent was SO FUCKING EFFECTIVE. Eighty. Billion. Dollars. Do you know what that money could do to help the world? Can you even fathom it?
Of course this may all be moot because the environment is on a crash course for total breakdown. Another in a long list of utter failures by the Bush administration. Fuck the environment, I gots me some oil to steal! Internets!
I hate them. I hate them all. I hate them for not caring one bit about making the world a better place (for ALL the world's citizens, not just themselves). I dispise them for pretending to be saddened by the deaths of innocent civilians and soldiers shoved into a situation based on false pretenses. I loathe them for their posturing, their selfishness, their condecending tones and their hypocritical soundbytes. Most of all I am ashamed of the number of people who support them. You all make me sick.
You don't believe abortion or stem cell research? Fine. But that is COMPLETELY DIFFERENT than the bigger picture here. You are supporting a criminal empire, one that doesn't give a fuck about you, only what will give them more power and more money. The governmental mafia. You fucking idiots.
I need a shower. Maybe this feeling of disgust will start washing off.
Goodbye, Johnny!
Well, sad to say Johnny Carson's kicked it. On the bright side, my friend's sister got 21 points for him in the annual DeathPool game she's in. My friend is Cheesy and her sister is Bugsy, for all those who want to keep track.
In REALLY awesome news, we got trapped by over a foot of snow, but 4 local teens showed up at our house offering to shovel the snow for us! They hadn't gotten any takers yet and didn't know what to charge us, so we offered them all the cash we had - $28 - and they were more than happy. They did a fantastic job, too, and KidBastard told them to come back every time it snows if they want to. They even offered to shovel the sidewalk that goes around the side of the house to the backyard, but they did plenty. Hope they got some more customers.
Bush's job approval has been steadily going down. I don't know why, I mean all those people voted for him right? You made your bed, go lie in it >:< Comedy Night.
Damn it's cold in the house. I need a drink.
Media is Liberal???
Media Matters puts it out there in black and white.
(guess he couldn't make them drape the boob this time - click the photo for an interesting photo commentary)
Iraqi siblings witness parents deaths
In the most heartwrenching news I've read since the tsunami, I first saw the photographs of a little Iraqi girl covered in blood and wailing before finding an accompanying article. An Iraqi family, parents and six children of various ages, were heading home at night. The article reports that warning shots were fired and a mere moment later the car was assaulted by a hail of bullets. The parents were killed instantly and the children (one receiving a flesh wound) are now left orphans. There were no weapons in the car. If you see the picture of the little girl, you won't forget it anytime soon. I can't post it here, it's just too sad. A U.S. military statement released after the incident said "military officials extend their condolences for this unfortunate incident."
And there are people in my neighborhood who would say "Oh well, they shouldn't have been out that late. Serves them right." You goddamn motherfuckers.
New STD found
FROM MY FRIEND SUZ
Subject: New Warning From Center for Disease Control
The Center for Disease Control has issued a warning about a new virulent strain of sexually transmitted disease. This disease is contracted through dangerous and high risk behavior. The disease is called Gonorrhea Lectim (pronounced "gonna re-elect him").
Many victims have contracted it after having been screwed for the past 4 years, in spite of having taken measures to protect themselves from this especially troublesome disease.
Cognitive sequellae of individuals infected with Gonorrhea Lectim include, but are not limited to: Anti-social personality disorder traits; delusions of grandeur with a distinct messianic flavor; chronic mangling of the English language; extreme cognitive dissonance; inability to incorporate new information; pronounced xenophobia; inability to accept responsibility for actions; exceptional cowardice masked by acts of misplaced bravado; uncontrolled facial smirking; ignorance of geography and history; tendencies toward creating evangelical theocracies; and a strong propensity for categorical, all-or nothing behavior.
The disease is sweeping Washington. Naturalists and epidemiologists are amazed and baffled that this malignant disease originated only a few years ago in a Texas Bush.
Talk A Lot, Say Nothing
Should anyone be surprised that Bush spoke in generalities, yet said nothing of great significance or importance during his coronation speech yesterday? Perhaps now that the moron is officially seated in the oval office for a second time the press won't be such puppies and will actually report and point out all the evil being done by him? Nah, didn't think so.
In other news, the Bush clan has turned to satanism...
 
And lastly, found these funny images among the coronation...
 
Barb is apparently bored out of her skull and Jenna can't hold back her own contempt for her father that she must turn from his kisses.
OK, I LIED... HERE'S SOME POLITICS FROM BARTCOP.COM
Jenna Bush killed outside Baghdad
Fake headline from cartoonist Mo Paul
Jenna Bush, one of president Bush's twin daughters, was killed today with 7 others of her unit just outside Baghdad. Jenna, who was drafted in May of 2006, was with a supply unit bringing water and medicine to a makeshift hospital when a suicide car bomber slammed into her truck. 16 civilians were also killed in the attack, including 5 children.
The president was informed of his daughter's death just before sunrise this morning. An hour later, with his wife Laura by his side, president Bush made a brief statement. "Laura and I were deeply saddened to hear about the death of our beloved daughter Jenna, as was her sister Barbara. She died doing what she loved, serving her nation's call in a time of great strife. Her sacrifice is an example to all the world of the importance of our mission in the Middle East".
The president went on to say, "Jenna was a brave young woman, and her sacrifice was well worth it in the long run, and many, many more brave young men and women will be called upon to continue the march to freedom and democracy in Iraq and Iran".
He then left the podium and Laura held his hand as they went back into the White House, heads bowed. Funeral arrangements have been made for Jenna Bush at president Bush's own Episcopal Church. The president does not plan to attend.
Political Blackout
I can't be there in person to protest the disgusting displays of pompousness and asinine amounts of cash being crapped out in Washington DC today, but I can tell you I will not be linking anything to do with politics today. Fuckers.
So, in honor of the national joke being played, I thought I'd offer something to tickle your funnybones.
Bill Gates was apparently in an issue of Teen Beat in 1983... ooooh sexy!
Apparently upset that there wasn't enough cash in the porn shop, robber steals inflatable doll.
A Brazilian woman has given birth to a MASSIVE baby, picture included. I would have crossed my legs in sympathetic pain except that she (mercifully) had a c-section.
It's 420, Dude
The LA Times has this article about the propaganda that the Bush administration has been foisting on the public through news outlets. Can someone PLEASE explain why people like him? No, seriously... I want to know why so many people think that lying to American citizens (not to mention the rest of the world) has brought this joker such a band of fans. Are you on CRACK? Maybe I should start smoking crack. Someone just explain this to me.
Clinton = impeached for trying to cover up the fact that he got a few hummers from an intern
VS.
Bush = reelected for lying to the US Government and the citizens of the US and causing the deaths of thousands of people (our own troops and Iraqi civilians).
SOMEONE EXPLAIN THIS TO ME. All you Bush-supporters, I challenge you to email me realistic, rational reasons why this man should be in power. From the emails I've gotten, they've pretty much just yelled at me for exercising my right to free speech, but if one of you happy little idiots could use calm, logical reasoning, I'd really like to know the answer here.
I am throwing down the gauntlet, people. Anyone gonna accept my challenge?
UPDATE: No, no one's accepted yet. Just wanted to let you know that I am ashamed of some of my fellow Jersians, some of whom are quoted in this article supporting Bush. Are you morons CRAZY?
"I love Bush. I voted for him in November, and I would vote for him again today. I'm very pleased with him and his policies."
BARBARA BOXER IS MY NEW HERO
In yesterday's news, California Senator Barbara Boxer gave Condi Rice a verbal bitch-slap while questioning her at her confirmation hearing by suggesting her loyalty to President Bush and support for the conflict "overwhelmed your respect for the truth." After Rice got all snooty and tried to pretend she had no idea what she could possibly mean, Boxer was particularly aggressive, pointing out what she said were inconsistencies in Rice's statements about the imminent threat of nuclear weapons in Iraq. After further back and forth between the two women, Rice tried to pretend the reason for invading Iraq was not solely on the WMDs, at which point Boxer reminded her that Congress was told it was WMDs, period. "Let's not rewrite history, it's too soon for that," Boxer said. WOOT TO THE CA WOMAN!
Salon's List of 34 Scandals That Didn't Make A Difference
Here's the list, but please visit their site for further explanations and links to sources...
1. Memogate: The Senate Computer Theft
2. Doctor Detroit: The DOJ's Bungled Terrorism Case
3. Dark Matter: The Energy Task Force
4. The Indian Gaming Scandal
5. Halliburton's No-Bid Bonanza
6. Halliburton: Pumping Up Prices
7. Halliburton's Vanishing Iraq Money
8. The Halliburton Bribe-apalooza
9. Halliburton: One Fine Company
10. Halliburton's Iran End Run
11. Money Order: Afghanistan's Missing $700 Million Turns Up in Iraq
12. Iraq: More Loose Change
13. The Pentagon-Israel Spy Case
14. Gone to Taiwan
15. Wiretapping the United Nations
16. The Boeing Boondoggle
17. The Medicare Bribe Scandal
18. Tom DeLay's PAC Problems
19. Tom DeLay's FAA: Following Americans Anywhere
20. In the Rough: Tom DeLay's Golf Fundraiser
21. Busy, Busy, Busy in New Hampshire
22. The Medicare Money Scandal
23. The Bogus Medicare "Video News Release"
24. Pundits on the Payroll: The Armstrong Williams Case
25. Ground Zero's Unsafe Air
26. John Ashcroft's Illegal Campaign Contributions
27. Intel Inside ... The White House
28. Duck! Antonin Scalia's Legal Conflicts
29. AWOL
30. Iraq: The Case for War
31. Niger Forgeries: Whodunit?
32. In Plame Sight
33. Abu Ghraib
34. Guantánamo Bay Torture?
If there is anyone left out there who thinks this administration is actually on YOUR side, you are sadly mistaken and I urge you to seek medication.
PS: Remember how the White House was all offended this morning by the Seymour Hersh statement? Bush Won't Rule Out Action Against Iran Over Nukes
What A Difference Less Than 12 Hours Makes
Seymour Hersh says the US is planning for a possible attack in Iran and they are much further along in the planning than we know. White House responds that the story is "riddled with inaccuracies...I don't believe that some of the conclusions he's drawing are based on fact," says Dan Bartlett, White House Communications Director. PLEASE NOTE THE GLARING ABSENCE OF A DENIAL.
Hersh said his information on Iran came from "inside" sources who divulged it in the hope that publicity would force the administration to reconsider.
Great! Let's go sticking our nose in MORE people's business... not that we're supposed to be a part of a global community or anything. Not that we should allow the UN to do their jobs or anything. I mean, then we can't push people around as much.
Update Is Coming, I Swear!
Alright, we have the basic look of the site and how it's going to work, but it seems we will need another couple of days to tweak it all and make sure it works with feeds and blogger and blah blah blah all this technology that I just don't understand because I am too fucking old to be doing this. Goddammit.
In the meantime, here are some lovely articles I have been perusing...
Withdrawal Happens
OK, I know I said I probably wouldn't update until I touched up the site, but this is too much to just let slide by...
White House now admits there are NO WMDs and has ENDED THE SEARCH FOR WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. Inside the article is a link to a list of quotes from the White House regarding WMDs compiled by the Associated Press.
Ok people. They now say there is NOTHING THERE after INSISTING there was weapons of mass destruction. NOTHING THERE. NOTHING.
So why is my friend Sean still in Bagdad?
Time to Update This Thing
I've been trying to figure out a way to use blogging software without losing the look of my site. See, I realize that blogging software has lots of doodads that my site doesn't offer: permalinks, comment area, feed capability. But I really dig this site - little cartoon chick up top, the bold red/black/white... Blogger.com doesn't really allow you to keep the look of your own site and use the technology.
After much hemming and hawing, KidBastard's going to try and help me get blogger to post inside this as a frame. I'm hoping we can get it to work, since that will allow people to link back to specific blogs, there's automatic archiving, etc. Since Lost and Alias are on tonight, I'm probably not going to update with news, and if we fuck around with the coding tomorrow you may not see anything new until Friday. We'll see - maybe I will get impatient and come back to handblogging if I feel withdrawal setting in.
See ya soon!
WOW, WORK REALLY CUTS INTO MY FUCKING OFF TIME
I've been out of work for over six months, but I'm back where I was helping out my old boss with a few things, so my surfing/site updating time has been seriously cramped. Oh well, ya gotta make a living.
This one's been making the rounds... Good ol' Newt's been talking shit about how God's not invading enough of our lives, but bloggers are pointing out that he tossed his first wife out (serving her with papers while she was in the hospital for cancer), married another woman who he then cheated on with a 33 year old staffer, so now he's on divorce number 2. Never ceases to amuse me how many times these assholes get married or fuck around, but goddammit there needs to be MORALS in this country!
NO FUCKING WAY! Check this out! Remember on 01/08/05 when I mentioned HB1677, the bill in Virginia that was being proposed to make it a crime for a woman not to report a miscarriage within 12 hours of the event? Del. John Cosgrove WITHDREW IT after the massive uproar bloggers made about it, forcing him to deal with a lot of not-so-nice emails. I'll be damned. ROCK ON, BLOGGERS!
Howard Dean's got something to say. Read it, won't you?
Did anyone notice this article about an Air Force two-star general that was reprimanded? The main focus of the article is not about how he had unprofessional relationships with female subordinates, inappropriate sexual advances toward female subordinates, and improper relationships with female civilians, it's about how he will lose $900,000 in future earnings because he was demoted to Colonel. I'm really curious to know if that article was written by a man or a woman.
Another stick in the OBVIOUS pile: House GOP seen straying from pledges in 'Contract'
BILL SCHNEIDER: BUSH LAPDOG OR MOST UNOBSERVANT JOURNALIST EVER?
Sometimes I wonder if I am more dumb than I want to admit. Maybe because I didn't graduate college I just don't have as much smarts as a lot of people out there. This should be clear from reading this blog - filled with terribly structured grammar and misspellings to make my 6th Grade English teacher want to track me down and hit me with a ruler. But this I just don't get...
As I was poking around CNN.com this afternoon I stumbled upon Bill Schneider's Political Play of the Week - at first what seems to be a look at how the criticism Bush got for the paltry "initial" aid amount made him up the ante, which is true.
But what stuns me is that Mr. Schneider appears to be under the delusion that Bush has quelled his critics.
There are several issues I have with his article.
First: Mr. Schneider reports that Bush's "initial" offer was $35 million dollars. No it wasn't. It was $15 million. Some people are blogging the REAL initial offer was $4 million, but I will be generous and say $15m.
Second: Mr. Schneider reports the following: "Our nation has committed military assets and made an initial commitment of $350 million for disaster relief," Bush said days later in a news conference. (my own emphasis on the bold word) Yes, I am sure he said that, but why did Mr. Schneider make no comment that now THIS was the "initial" amount? It really irks me that journalists are saying NOTHING about the fact that Bush makes this shit up as he goes and no one has the balls to declare shenannigans.
Third: Mr. Schneider's article is further quoted as thus: "I'd like to say that the United States has been ideal in the way they have responded," Egeland said January 2. A quick turnaround from stingy to ideal in one week. Last week's fumble becomes this week's Play of the Week. Am I the only one who notices that Mr. Egeland (a person I greatly admire for calling a spade a spade) says he'd LIKE to say the US has been ideal? That means he CAN'T. But Mr. Schneider seems to think this means Bush has won some kind of chess match and kudos to him.
Mr. Schneider, your CNN bio indicates you are a very intelligent and respected journalist. Why would you write such a ridiculous article that appears to show Bush as some sort of hero because he went from offering $35 million to $350 million in aid? Did you know he also personally pledged $10,000? Wow, what a fucking hero. (Sandra Bullock pledged $1 million, remember? That looks like this: $1,000,000)
Yes, it's good that the US is offering $350 million in aid. Offering help to people who desperately need it is a wonderful, selfless act. That is, unless you decide to try and work it to your own advantage and make yourself look better.
(PS: it was the Red Cross that let the media know about Ms. Bullock's donation, not her publicist.) That's all I'm sayin'.
Live Blogging the NJ Elections
HOLY FUCKING SHIT! Okay, I just have to share this. There was a Republican running for my town council unopposed, so I decided to write in my own name just for the fuck of it. I TOOK 7.14% OF THE VOTE BECAUSE ONLY 14 PEOPLE VOTED IN THAT CATAGORY! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Last update, because it's not going to change much more - Congrats to Jon Corzine and we also know that RED STATE VIRGINIA has gone to Democrat Tim Kaine! YAY!!!! 9:51pm Jon Corzine 54.03% Doug Forrester 42.84% 9:41pm Jon Corzine 53.93% - NJ.com calls Corzine the winner! Doug Forrester 43.05% 9:31pm Jon Corzine 53.34% Doug Forrester 43.61% 9:21pm Jon Corzine 52.48% Doug Forrester 44.53% 9:11pm Jon Corzine 51.97% Doug Forrester 44.84% 9:02pm Jon Corzine 52.19% Doug Forrester 44.80% 8:52pm Jon Corzine 52.22% Doug Forrester 45.55% 8:48pm Jon Corzine 56.76% Doug Forrester 41.77%
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