I'm speechless

Here is an excerpt from a speech by Colin Powell regarding the disputed election in the Ukraine:

"We cannot accept this result as legitimate because it does not meet international standards and because there has not been an investigation of the numerous and credible reports of fraud and abuse."

They're not even pretending any more, are they?

that makes perfect sense

Colin Powell thinks that the disputed elections in the Ukraine need to be reviewed, as he feels they might have been flawed or even fixed. Skewed exit polls seem to be what tipped him off. Yet, in this country, people who see the same kind of inexplicable peculiarities in our own recent elections are accused of wearing "tin-foil hats."

The word "irony" doesn't even suffice here.

the sporting life

"They seen disrespect from, you know, from the crowd and then they seen a frustrated reaction from a player..."

This is how Ron Artest would explain what transpired during his "wilding" attack on basketball fans the other night to a child. In other words, he was justified in using violence to respond to a perceived lack of respect.

I'm probably going to upset some people with this, but it needs to be said more with every passing day. Until we start to realize that sports figures are no more noble than any other people in our society, people are going to be constantly struck with the baffled cognitive dissonance that this incident has left so many with, in a manner reminiscent of the ongoing pedophile priest stories. Today's sports have little evidence of "sportsmanship" yet athletes are elevated to pedestals of hero worship when they frequently display the most appalling lack of fair play and competition. When winning becomes as financially rewarding as it has in the last few decades, winning becomes the only thing that matters. Athletes cross the line in conduct on and off the field of their choice, will break rules as many times as they can get away with it to gain a competitive edge, will put toxic drugs and chemicals that can permanently alter their bodies in order to gain more muscle, speed or endurance, and even in the Olympics, display the most noxious "dancing in the end zone" celebrations or worse yet, disputations and legal actions for perceived judging injustices, at what is supposed to be the most noble and sportsmanlike competition in the world.

It's time to accept the facts and not elevate sports above other endeavors. People who can run fast and jump high are not heroes just by virtue of their physical abilities.

truth is still powerful

"So here, ultimately, is how it all plays out: when the Iraqi man in the mosque posed a threat, he was your enemy; when he was subdued he was your responsibility; when he was killed in front of my eyes and my camera -- the story of his death became my responsibility."



Kevin Sites understands what a free press is. Not many journalists these days do. Truth and openness are the fresh air and sunshine of a free society.

www.kevinsites.net/2004_11_21_archive.html

oh, grow up

There's a lot of talk now about how the Democrats should "reach out" to the so-called "values voters" and learn how to be inclusive of the more socially conservative people in our country. This really amounts to pandering for votes, and I disagree strongly with that line of reasoning. Here is the problem. This country is now packed full of crybabies and whiners. We have a large contingent of people, evident by the recent turmoil over the "Desperate Housewives" promo spot at the beginning of a typical violent, sex-filled, alcohol-driven broadcast of "Monday Night Football," who seem to be of the opinion that their perceived violation of morality should be the decisive factor in what gets broadcast and what does not. Many of these puritanical busybodies are the same people who devoutly espouse the principle of majority rule which is an important tenet of democratic government.

These people say we have no "values." Well, that's not true. We have "values," they just happen to be different values from the ones they espouse. The conservatives need to grow up. None of us has any "right" to not be offended. The socially liberal people of this country need to stand up and shout en masse that this is a FREE country, and that their values are just as valid as the ones they are mocked and scorned for not sharing. The conservatives argue that they are the people who have no say in what gets aired. We all have say, we vote with our remote controls. If they truly believe in democracy they should shut up about what the MAJORITY chooses to do and learn to find the kind of entertainment they like instead of pretending their choices are inherently superior to anyone else's.

Wake up, religious right. You don't own the world. We're happy to co-exist with you, you guys are the ones who seem to have the problem. Well, I have three words for you.


Tough. Grow up.

we miss you, John

"We choose to go to the Moon, and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard." - John Fitzgerald Kennedy

"Ask not what your country can do for you. Rather, ask what you can do for your country." - John Fitzgerald Kennedy

the letter

There is a letter making the rounds that I'd like to discuss, and I will quote the letter in its entirety before I respond:



This is one story of many that people normally don't hear, and one that everyone does. This is just one most don't hear:
A young Marine and his cover man cautiously enter a room just recently filled with insurgents armed with Ak-47's and RPG's. There are three dead, another wailing in pain. The insurgent can be heard saying, "Mister, mister! Diktoor, diktoor(doctor)!" He is badly wounded, lying in a pool of his own blood. The Marine and his cover man slowly walk toward the injured man, scanning to make sure no enemies come from behind. In a split second, the pressure in the room greatly exceeds that of the outside, and the concussion seems to be felt before the blast is heard. Marines outside rush to the room, and look in horror as the dust gradually settles. The result is a room filled with the barely recognizable remains of the deceased, caused by an insurgent setting off several pounds of explosives. The Marines' remains are gathered by teary eyed comrades, brothers in arms, and shipped home in a box. The families can only mourn over a casket and a picture of their loved one, a life cut short by someone who hid behind a white flag. But no one hears these stories, except those who have lived to carry remains of a friend, and the families who loved the dead. No one hears this, so no one cares.

This is the story everyone hears:
A young Marine and his fire team cautiously enter a room just recently filled with insurgents armed with AK-47's and RPG's. There are three dead, another wailing in pain. The insugent can be heard saying, "Mister, mister! Diktoor, diktoor(doctor)!" He is badly wounded. Suddenly, he pulls from under his bloody clothes a grenade, without the pin. The explosion rocks the room, killing one Marine, wounding the others. The young Marine catches shrapnel in the face. The next day, same Marine, same type of situation, a different story. The young Marine and his cover man enter a room with two wounded insurgents. One lies on the floor in puddle of blood, another against the wall. A reporter and his camera survey the wreckage inside, and in the background can be heard the voice of a Marine, "He's moving, he's moving!" The pop of a rifle is heard, and the insurgent against the wall is now dead. Minutes, hours later, the scene is aired on national television, and the Marine is being held for commiting a war crime. Unlawful killing. And now, another Marine has the possibility of being burned at the stake for protecting the life of his brethren. His family now wrings their hands in grief, tears streaming down their face.

Brother, should I have been in your boots, i too would have done the same. For those of you who don't know, we Marines, Band of Brothers, Jarheads, Leathernecks, etc., do not fight because we think it is right, or think it is wrong. We are here for the man to our left, and the man to our right. We choose to give our lives so that the man or woman next to us can go home and see their husbands, wives, children, friends and families. For those of you who sit on your couches in front of your television, and choose to condemn this man's actions, I have but one thing to say to you. Get out of you recliner, lace up my boots, pick up a rifle, leave your family behind and join me. See what I've seen, walk where I have walked. To those of you who support us, my sincerest gratitude. You keep us alive.I am a Marine currently doing his second tour in Iraq. These are my opinions and mine alone. They do not represent those of the Marine Corps or of the US military, or any other.

Sincerely,
LCPL Schmidt USMC




First, I'd like to say that I am suspicious that this letter is actually what it purports to be. It is too packaged, it has pervaded the country too widely, too fast, and at too many points of entry, and it contains too many talking points and semantically loaded words pushing nationalistic hot buttons for me to be convinced without a lot more evidence that this military person exists and wrote it on their own. However, on the chance that it is legitimate, here is my response:


LCPL Schmidt,

I have to respond to your letter as an American and a patriot who believes this country should always put its best foot forward, and that we are not representing our own ideals as a country very well at this time in history. While it may be true that we are not hearing the first kind of story, which led to the tragic death of American troops doing the duty they were sworn to do, that isn't the fault of the media. We don't hear about American deaths because our present administration discourages it, to say the least. This is the administration that doesn't permit and actually prosecutes American citizens for the taking of photographs of our honored dead being shipped home in flag-draped coffins. This is the administration whose codpieced commander-in-chief has never attended a single armed forces member's funeral. This is the administration that wants to spend two million dollars on a presidential yacht, but doesn't provide adequate body armor and safe vehicles for our troops. This is the administration that held back the news of the 1,000th American armed forces personnel being killed in Iraq for three days so it wouldn't cause bad press during the Republican convention. They are the ones dishonoring you.

Second, let's not lose sight of the fact that the American troops in the first story were not in that room innocently, while they were out touring the town on leave that day. Our personnel have been put in harm's way by an administration following a dishonest course of aggressive imperialism, alienating many of the people of the world, especially those on the receiving end of it. Nobody holds ill will towards our American fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, and neighbors and friends who are over there following their orders as they are sworn to do. However, some of us strongly disagree with the radical and extremist course of action that our government has taken, which culminated in the patriotic, every-day American members of our armed forces being sacrificed for a pack of lies and a hidden agenda. If your own home soil was overrun by people from another country who were destroying your cities and killing thousands of your countrymen while claiming they were doing it to help you, you might have a hard time seeing their position and you even might try to kill as many of them as you could. I sure would. Like it or not, some of the people of Iraq have chosen to defend their country from what they perceive as an invasion. That is the fault of our leaders. They are they ones who are throwing your lives away for no reason.

Finally, you go on to make the point that this young man was injured the previous day in a similar situation and that some people want him "burned at the stake" for the sad affair the next day. I am not one of those people, and many people like me who saw that video with horror, and who already know the fact that he had been injured in a similar situation feel nothing but total empathy and sympathy for that young man. The people who should be burned at the stake, in a symbolic way, are the people who ordered him to that country in the first place, and the people who ordered him back to the most fearsome urban combat zone in the world THE NEXT DAY. That was a horrible command decision and his superiors should be held to account for that. The only thing that young man needs is some counseling to help him get through this tragic situation as best he can, and he most certainly should not be prosecuted for it. He, too, was a victim of this war and while he was part of a terrible incident, it is easy to see that he was not psychologically stable enough to be placed back in that situation after the events of the previous day. However, just like in Abu Ghraib, he will be sacrificed as a "bad egg" so that none of the truly guilty, the superiors whose greed and malfeasance have brought us to this juncture will ever face anything but promotions and praise for their loyalty in helping this extremist Bush presidency to become the biggest bully on the world's street. They are the ones who are making this world more dangerous for everyone.

LCPL Schmidt, please stay safe, stay healthy, watch out for your brothers-in-arms, and come home in one piece. However, don't just automatically believe everything you are told by your leaders. Use your own brain and never forget that orders can be wrong, too. Please remember that if you permit yourself to dehumanize and demonize the people of Iraq that you will not be able to make very rational assessments of the reality of the situation. Remember, it was easier to kill "gooks" and "slopes" than it would have been to kill Vietnamese peasant farmers. Please understand that those of us who are against the war disagree with the policies of the president and the circle of advisers that got this country into a situation that is making the world a more dangerous place because of their belief in an ideology to the exclusion of actual evidence. We have no dispute with honorable Americans who put their lives on the line for our country.

Our country is supposed to be the epitome of freedom, truth, and justice and an example for the world. Our leaders have violated those standards, and managed to lie loud and long enough to fool a large part of the country into supporting them. They have betrayed the ideals of our country, they have betrayed the American people,they have betrayed the world, they have betrayed our brave American military personnel, and we will not stop saying that until this situation is corrected and we have once again become worthy of the noble ideals the United States of America were founded on. We thank you for your service,and we honor you for your commitment. We just feel that our leaders have let us all down, including you.

Respectfully,
A fellow American

taken to task

I saw it again today.
"Tasked."

I hate the verbing of nouns...

love is the drug for me

"Erototoxins."

If this bastard construct of a word doesn't demonstrate what we have to fear from the increasingly rabid conservative right, I don't know what does.

Erototoxins, if you haven't heard of them, are a highly addictive drug that is distributed via the internet. A drug capable of ensnaring the innocent, of breaking up families, of destroying our orderly society. To quote Jeffrey Satinover, of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, the mere name of which organization should immediately warn you they are peddling a specific agenda, "pornography really does, unlike other addictions, biologically cause direct release of the most perfect addictive substance. That is, it causes masturbation, which causes release of the naturally occurring opioids. It does what heroin can't do, in effect."

To complete the picture, let's hear what Mary Anne Layden of the Sexual Trauma and Psychopathology Program at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Cognitive Therapy has to say. "The internet is a perfect drug delivery system because you are anonymous, aroused and have role models for these behaviors. To have drug pumped into your house 24/7, free, and children know how to use it better than grown-ups know how to use it -- it's a perfect delivery system if we want to have a whole generation of young addicts who will never have the drug out of their mind."

Folks, thought crimes that you can be prosecuted for are just around the corner. These people are bound and determined to try to make the entire country live in a manner that doesn't offend their own provincial concepts. They clearly think that they have a right to impose their own twisted ideas of morality on others, and tell them what they can and can't do within the confines of their own minds. If we don't stand up to these tyrannical mental midgets, the world will be plunged into the second Dark Ages. It is time for every American who believes in personal freedom to shout down these idiots, because they have been succeeding in bulldozing their religiously motivated agendas for long enough.

You know, it's funny how timid liberals are. It's time to realize that the right hates us because they fear us, and to take advantage of that. Scare the hell out of a Republican every chance you get. If they aren't willing to share this country with people that don't agree with them, if they won't realize that they just have to accept that it is not their right to run the world, we have to get tough and show them. Trust me, they will not fight back, it's not their way.

"Give me liberty or give me death" should be the battle cry of today's liberals.

request to Chrysler

I want a Dodge Magnum.
I want a Dodge Magnum with two doors instead of four.


I want a Dodge Magnum NOMAD.
You may start designing my next car now.

the 21st Century's greatest oxymoron

"The George W. Bush Presidential Library"

free press stupidity

Lou Dobbs is incompetent. Interviewing Jerry Falwell today, he mentioned the fact that overall, the blue states have a better track record when it comes to marriage, fidelity, and most of the "values" issues that seem to have affected the recent elections. After giving a laundry list of ways that the castigated-as-liberals blue states outperformed the morally and ethically vaunted red states, he timidly asked Falwell, "how do you rationalize that?" In other words, "why don't you just give me your talking points now, and you needn't worry about backing up your answer with any facts," which is exactly what Falwell proceeded to do, unobstructed and unrebutted.

Having a "free press" without having an intelligent press is utterly worthless.

it's a hard call, but...

In the last two days, we have seen:
(1) a one-minute commercial during a football game featuring, and I realize this comes as a shock, sexy content, and,
(2) a one-minute film that pretty clearly depicts a member of the US military executing a seriously wounded and unarmed Iraqi.

The question is:
which one of these clips is generating the most outrage in the United States?
The answer is...


too frightening to contemplate.

maybe even dig a shelter

Alan Greenspan's predecessor, Paul Volcker, predicts a seventy-five percent possibility of a dollar meltdown in the next five years based on the prediction that the asian and european countries will continue pulling away from buying US notes and financing our national debt, due to the massive deficits we continue to accrue. Bush just obtained an eight-hundred billion dollar increase in the budget deficit limit again. Great idea, George, your credit cards are maxed out, so the answer is to get the company to raise your limit and hope you can keep kiting your ever-expanding payments for a while longer. Today, gold was over $432.00 per ounce, inflation is already rearing its head with an 8.6% increase in fuel prices last month - folks, seriously, start living like you're preparing for disaster and stock up on emergency supplies, staples, bottled water, candles, flashlights and batteries, blankets and hard-use clothing, over-the-counter medicines, all of the things they used to say have at least a fewweeks supply of during the Cold War days. It won't cost much now and it may just save your life before the end of this administration.

onward, hypochristian soldiers

ABC television is under fire for a skit that opened Monday Night Football last night featuring an actress from ABC's high-rated show, "Desperate Housewives." The actress, in character and dressed only in a towel, showed up in the team's locker room and seductively offered a football player the opportunity to spend some time with her, dropping the towel revealing a bare back as the skit ended. Once again, the conservative busybodies that want to run everybody else's life are up in arms, much like with the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident, and the FCC is considering fines after receiving the usual complaints.

All I can say is, thank goodness somebody is being proactive in keeping football the pure, noble endeavor that it is. I mean, what is more a reflection of those "values" these people claim to hold so dear than watching grown men who are often steroid and recreational drug abusers, many of whom are convicted felons, breaking whatever rules they can get away with as they violently beat the hell out of each other for more money per game than most Americans make in a year?

bragging rights!

In the space of one day, I managed to catch and correct Wonkette regarding the SATIRICAL Hoosier Gazette's "I-69" posting, and also to be quoted on the Daily Dirt!

Yes, Jones Alley is movin' on up!

all in the details

Amidst the reporting on the investigation into the shooting in the head by an American soldier of a severely wounded Iraqi at a mosque in Fallujah yesterday the information came out that the soldier who allegedly pulled the trigger was SHOT IN THE FACE in combat the day before but returned to duty that day. Obviously, he could not have had a major injury if the medical corps cleared him to return to active duty, but this just sounds like a bad idea. If a man has just been shot, it doesn't seem unlikely to assume that he might be a bit jumpy and not in the optimum state of mind to be able to think clearly while engaged in critical military activities.

This all gives me a feeling that can only be described as "shock and awe."

marching to a different drummer

It seems that once the new director's loyalty pogrom is finally completed, everybody at the Central Intelligence Agency will be marching in perfect political, ideological and dogmatic lockstep with our naked emperor. I think the Germans used to call it "Goss-stepping" or something like that...

don't bother to write

Goodbye, Colin Powell. With the announcement today that Mr. Powell has tendered his resignation as Secretary of State, I can only say "it's about time." Mr. Powell, who had what seemed to be a well-deserved reputation for unimpeachable integrity at the beginning of Bush's term in office, has sullied himself beyond redemption in the last four years. His speech at the United Nations Security Council meeting during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, where he presented bogus evidence with the contention that it was unassailable was a disgrace to both him and to our formerly honorable and respected nation. His constant public yes-man affirmations of Bush's martial aspirations discouraged any possibility that he was providing any other point of view to the president, and his abject silence at the numerous violations of international law that this government has indulged itself in demonstrate that he sadly does seem to play the part of the "house negro" that people more vituperative than me have compared him to. Mr. Powell, we were counting on you. We expected better of you, the nation needed better of you, you should have demanded better of yourself, but when the time came to speak the truth you chose to be a lap dog instead of displaying the courage and guts that one would expect of a decorated military hero. For shame, Mr. Powell, for shame. Don't let the door hit you on the way out, and if you are tempted to speak the truth now, don't bother. You have dishonored yourself. Your personal credibility has evaporated, and the simple fact is that we know you are not to be trusted any more. In other words, Colin Powell, thanks for nothing.

if you can call that lucky

I have always believed, by virtue of it being the simplest explanation, that Lee Harvey Oswald was the only actual assassin involved in the death of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and the grievous injuries to Governor of Texas John Connally, and it was gratifying to see the ease with which the "magic bullet" was nearly perfectly replicated on tonight's fascinating Discovery Channel re-creation of the shooting. The simple fact that an identical bullet can penetrate forty-two inches of wood and remain virtually unscathed should take the bite out of anybody's argument to the impossibility of that occurring with one of these sturdy military rounds. However, that doesn't mean that Oswald wasn't accountable to and acting at the behest or with the assistance of another party or parties, it just means that he was a good shot who got lucky that fateful day.

but of course

It just occurred to me that the fact that the most powerful person in the world uses the utterly incorrect pronunciation "nukular" is the simplest and most blunt evidence that our president, George W. Bush, is psychologically incapable of admitting, to the point of neurosis, that he is anything less than perfect and has never erred in his entire life. It is impossible to conceive that he has not had the proper pronunciation pointed out to him at some point. Are we to believe that it's so difficult to pronounce the word "nuclear" properly that he is unable to do so? That it is perhaps the fault of his Texas accent? That he forgets how to say it since he uses it so infrequently? No, I submit that he is compulsively unwilling to admit to any truth that he doesn't like, no matter how miniscule it may be, and this is compelling evidence that this man is an incredible danger to our country.

audacity, thy name is Cheney

Lynne Cheney, talking to Wolf Blitzer on "Late Edition," was discussing Dick's little cardiac scare yesterday, and explained that it was just an "upper respiratory viral infection." She told Wolf that the lesson learned from the incident was "when you have symptoms that you worry about, the thing to do is to get it checked out." That's just fine for her. What about the forty-three million Americans who have no health coverage and CAN'T just go "get it checked out," Lynne? Something tells me Lynne Cheney just "is not a good person."

let the framing begin

Now comes the news that Dover, Pennsylvania's school board has recently approved a mandate that requires science teachers to include "intelligent design" in their curriculum along with accepted scientific theory, that of evolutionary science, forcing science to live side by side with religion and forcing students to take part in state-sponsored religious education. Well, this seems like a good enough place to start framing things in LIBERAL terms. Let's not let these people get away with an evasive back-door introduction to the merging of church and state by using the evasive euphemism "intelligent design," let's be honest and call it what it really is, "biblical creationism." Religions must not usurp science, or science will no longer be science. Science is not a popularity contest. I support the freedom of religion in this country, but faith is not an element of the scientific method and never will be. While people are free to believe what they want to believe when it comes to their faith, as a technological society we are going to have to make sure that everyone who goes to school and who wishes to work in the real, secular world is required to learn what science says when it comes to the way the universe operates in addition to what their faith teaches them. However, if we force students to learn religious explanations of the way the universe works as well as scientific ones, scientific progress will suffer and so will our country.

gotta wonder

Isn't it interesting that Dick Cheney has a cardiac concern just as momentum is gaining in the investigation of alleged vote fraud in the presidential election? It sure is an interesting coincidence, and it would certainly be stressful being under the growing scrutiny of the people that one possibly defrauded on a historic level, "n'est-ce pas?"

O.J.'s revenge

I sure missed this one. Scott Peterson, found guilty of the murder of his wife. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty convinced that he did it, but having watched this tragic travesty unfold over the last many months, I'm amazed that the jury thought that there was any evidence, much less enough evidence, to convict and potentially execute this guy. The O.J. case had tons of conclusive evidence and he walked, and the Peterson case had none, yet he is behind bars. I'd sure be curious as to which presidential candidate the jurors voted for.

diversity

I think I've finally figured out why the Republicans think they are so diverse. It's because they have all kinds of people in their "big tent." Why, they have Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Christian Scientists, Unitarians, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, Assemblies of God, Nazarenes, Wesleyans, Pentecostals, Mormons, Mennonites, Quakers, Catholics and more - they have it all!

ba-da bing

Is it just me, or is Iraqi strongman Ayad Allawi a dead ringer for Tony Soprano, right down to the lizard-cold fixed smile and chilling I'll-cut-your-throat eyes?

I finally remembered

I have been trying to remember who little w. reminded me of when he ran over Charlie Gibson during the second debate. He was pulling a Peter Griffin!

It's a GOOD life!

Several ABC affiliates have decided not to air "Saving Private Ryan" tonight in honor of Veteran's Day. They have decided not to do so because recent FCC actions against Howard Stern and CBS made them feel that the rough language and violence that are part of the film's realistic depiction of life and death in wartime could bring the FCC down on them and make them liable for huge fines levied for violations of broadcast standards. The FCC, in their infinite wisdom, have refused to tell these stations whether the movie has anything in it that would cause the FCC to take action against ABC for presenting the film. Why? The FCC said that would amount to "censorship."

In other words, we won't tell you what the laws are, we'll just prosecute you after we decide that you have broken them. If you don't like that, you may just end up out in the cornfield...

happy anniversary

Three years today with the love of my life, #886.

fasten your seat belts

Yasser Arafat has departed this world. At the same time, the US military is destroying the city of Fallujah, probably killing far more Iraqi civilians than combatants, leveling mosques, further inflaming the followers of Osama-think, and all to no avail in terms of quelling the rebellion. At this point, no major "insurgent" leaders have been captured or killed and are presumed to have been gone before the assault started. Little w. is stacking the powder kegs high and deep, and is going to have to deal with the explosion that he has initiated. The idea that because all of this is happening in Iraq, it won't happen here is insane. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't be doing much flying for a while, and it might be a good time to not visit national monuments or architectural icons...

surprise, surprise, surprise!

Well, this is promising. The guy that penned the sentiment that the articles of the Geneva Conference are "rendered quaint" by little Gomer w.'s "war on terra" is going to be the chief arbiter of justice in this country. Don't you feel safer already? Isn't the "rule of law" exhilarating?

Some advice: don't piss off any government employees, their family members, or their friends for at least the next four years. Otherwise, there will be pictures of Lynndie England pointing at YOUR electrode-burned genitalia.

doesn't anyone read history?

Re-watching the Bill Maher RealTime appearance of Alan Simpson, something struck me that I realized I've been hearing a lot lately.

"This country was founded for freedom of religion."

No, it wasn't. I believe that refers to the Pilgrims, who did not found this country. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and Bill of Rights are the founding documents of the United States, and the issue was to not be required to pay taxes without being represented and to be free from the rule of the whim of a monarchy. The Pilgrims were here long before that, and while their tradition has become a part of our history they did not have anything to do with founding the United States of America.

Republicans, you can stop lying now. You won. I know it's a hard habit to break, but please, enough is enough. Stop lying, all right?

Melly babies!

Yellow baby, gray baby, tiger baby, black baby, unlucky black baby...

Andy Rooney - NOT!

Did you ever notice how when Red State people go somewhere to vacation and party, it's frequently to a Blue State? Heck, the Republicans had their convention in New York City this year? Do you think they are going there to spread "family values" and religious enlightenment?

sicks sicks sicks?

George Bush is the anti-christ!

Anagram "George Bush" and you get "he gog, rubes."

George is the devil.

curious word choices

"red" = Communist
"the base" = Al Qaeda
"homeland = Nazi

my head is spinning

I'm a little confused. The Republicans have lambasted Arlen Specter for publicly going out of bounds and explaining that the Red party didn't get a mandate in the elections, and that he basically didn't support overturning Roe v. Wade. Bush has made it clear that he doesn't want any "activist judges" "interpreting" the laws of the land. However, they have also made it clear that they are going to try to overturn Roe v. Wade. Wouldn't the process of overturning that established law involve using "activist judges" "interpreting" the laws of the land? It would seem that the Bush administration and their supporters think that "activist judges" are just peachy as long as they are "interpreting" the laws of the land in a religious way.

Who is John Galt?

Lately I've seen some people practically arguing for the nation to split into two countries, Redstateland and Bluestateland, based on the logic that the Red states, the conservative, fundamentalist, homophobic and xenophobic people that so support our intellectually challenged leader, are basically living parasitically off of the efforts of the Blue states. While I can't independently attest to the factuality, I've seen it claimed that the Blue states generate three or four times the tax revenues of the country that the Red states do, and contribute in an equivalent manner to the GNP. Well, if we have that much economic power, let's not secede, let's do an "Atlas Shrugged." So, to every liberal and progressive in the Blue states, continue to live the way you have but don't spend a dime of your own money in any Red states. Don't visit the southeastern United States on vacations, don't go to Hawaii, don't go to Nashville, to Branson, to Kansas City, to New Orleans, to Florida, don't patronize mail-order or internet businesses that are based in those states, don't buy goods made in those states, don't support them beyond what they earn from each other and from what the federal government provides. It would be most interesting to see if they were as scornful of the Blue-staters after their economic lifeblood slowed to a trickle.

Who is John Galt?
WE ARE!

you ain't seen nuthin' yet

All the conservative chicken-hawks are moist in the pants over the new offensive operations in Fallujah, operations that were put on hold and swept under the carpet for the period before the elections, and many right-wing pundits are predicting a massive military victory for the "coalition" forces in Fallujah.

Wait and see what happens after we start getting videos of captured US soldiers being beheaded (with even more relish than the previous decapitations have demonstrated) by the "insurgents" in Fallujah. Then we can talk about how successful the operation is.

this is why

I've been noticing a lot of people saying things that all mean we should be nice to John Kerry for the way the election went. I'm sorry, but I'm extremely upset with John Kerry, and I'll explain why. Kerry knew two years ago that this race would be as close and hard-fought as the 2000 election was, when Gore finally relented after a few weeks, with the same "for the good of the country" explanation that Kerry gave last week. The good of the country is fine, but the problem is that in less than twelve hours after the last polling places in the United States closed, Kerry backed down. He vowed to us that he would stay in until the end, until the last vote was counted, and in the end, he wilted in less time than most of us spend in a day at work. It's not like he didn't know that the Republicans would not give up the presidency without a battle, it almost seems like he just decided that since he didn't get an overwhelming majority in the election that the battle wasn't worth fighting. Come on, give us at least the attempt that Al gave us. He knew the stakes in this election were incredibly high and could directly change the course of civilization on this planet, and yet in the amount of time that Super Bowl television coverage lasts, he backed out. I expected more from a warrior, from a decorated veteran, from a man known as a "closer" by people from both parties, from a man that has been fighting for years for the chance to run this country. The bottom line is, he didn't want it as much as the Republican machine did. Sun Tsu said "the most determined wins," and unfortunately for America, it wasn't John Kerry.

we really are in the Twilight Zone

The newly promoted #3 man at the CIA is an agent known only as "Dusty." The government may (or may not) release his actual name, based upon whether it would jeopardize CIA activities. Am I understanding this correctly? The taxpayers, the people of this country, aren't entitled to know who the third spook in charge at the CIA is? I don't know about you folks, but that strikes me as an extremely dangerous precedent. Next thing you know, American citizens will be able to be held without being charged, with no access to attorneys or the legal system, with no further explanation than "national security?" Oh, crap, wait a minute...

sound familiar?

"Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

Thomas Jefferson

Katie babies!

Gray baby, white baby, tiger baby, black baby...

naaah...

I just realized that some people in this country actually think the United States armed forces are really going to leave Iraq at some time in the future.

Alan Simpson on Bill Maher

Does anybody have any idea what just happened? At the end of an incredibly Zell Miller-esque appearance on "Real Time with Bill Maher," Alan Simpson, after being asked the question "don't you think that reason should take precedence over faith, that the Constitution is more important than the Bible when it comes to running the government?" responded with "that's your opinion."

This country is doomed if people like this stay in power.


(addendum: D.L.Hughley had a great quote about Bush, "he won't do all that 'thinkin' like they do in Massachusetts!"

And, thank goodness we now know Andrew Sullivan is smarter than Noam Chomsky.)

it's time to fight

Why have we lost the last two elections, elections that pitted eminently qualified and experienced candidates against a functionally illiterate man that can't put two coherent sentences in a row? What we need to realize is that the Republithugs that have scammed themselves back into office again have turned our greatest strength into a liability. That strength? In a word, we are SMARTER than they are. When Bill O'Reilly insulted Jon Stewart and his audience by calling them a bunch of "stoned slackers," Stewart came right back with statistics that showed that it was O'Reilly's viewers who were the low-education, lower social strata, and more bigoted demographic, and that Stewart's audience tended to be college graduates and professional people. We ARE the party of the intellectuals.

The only way to fight brains is by making brains a liability. You can't outsmart intellectuals, the only other option is to demonize them and neutralize their intelligence with societal disdain. How do you do that? You create an environment where the heroes are not the intellectual people, the ones who bring true progress to our species. You elevate people like athletes and entertainers to levels of fame and adulation that are way out of proportion to their accomplishments. A nineteen year-old kid that can jump high and put a round ball through a hoop with a high percentage of accuracy is not a hero, he is an aberration. They assertively equate that kind of accomplishment with that of somebody who studies for years in school and works hard in their selected field of intellectual endeavor, and NOBODY QUESTIONS IT. A movie star that lifted weights for years is somehow perceived to have the savvy to run one of the largest states in the country, and NOBODY QUESTIONS IT. Religious leaders are granted credibility simply because of the beliefs they claim to espouse and NOBODY QUESTIONS IT. A "C" student who has run every business that he ever headed into the ground, who brings the state that he governs to the point of insolvency is somehow portrayed as a success worthy of being a two-term president, primarily based upon what he says about himself rather than on the facts, and NOBODY QUESTIONS IT.

We like to think that we are the party of fair play, and we should be, but we can't permit this to continue because we are afraid that people will think we are being "mean" to an intellectually-challenged leader. WHO CARES WHAT THEY THINK? THE TRUTH IS NOT AN INSULT. For the last couple of days, John Kerry has been playing the diplomat, telling his supporters that we should all be "reaching across the aisle" to the scoundrels who cheated the United States two days ago. That is telling the beaten spouse to "reach out" to their abuser. By following that policy, we are endorsing being sodomized by these people. For the second time in four years, the Democratic candidate chose to drop out for the sake of "uniting the nation" and the Republicans thanked them for being so gracious. If that graciousness is such a wonderful quality, why didn't THEY consider backing out? The Republicans had TEN THOUSAND lawyers ready to go in Ohio if the election results were disputed. Apparently, being gracious is not a high-value trait in their world-view, unless it is an act by a Democrat who is chickening out of a confrontation.

We lose because we are worried about offending people. Well, do you see the Republithugs worried about offending people? They had anti-homosexual ballot initiatives pass in a flood on Tuesday. I would imagine that offends nearly all of the homosexuals in this country. Did the Busheviks care? No, they used that issue to lather up their base, and to pack the polls with the simple-minded bigots who also happened to vote for Bush. The truth is, everybody in this country should be offended every day, frequently. If you live in a country where you aren't offended, you do not live in a free country. As a people, we need to thicken our skins and realize that how we choose to live individually should not be forced upon anyone else, and that the freedom that other people have to "offend" us represents our own freedom to pursue our own direction in our own life.

We are patting ourselves on the back because of our "sportsmanship" while our opponents are laughing as they bathe in the blood of heroes. We try to tiptoe around the issue of religion in our political discourse. Any truly religious person understands that their own take on how the universe works is a deeply personal thing, and that they have no right to impose their belief on anybody else. Yet instead of standing up and EDUCATING the public about what true religious freedom is, the Democrats avoid confronting that world-view head-on and try to pretend that by mouthing a few gracious platitudes to the effect that all should be free to worship however they see fit in this country that the fundamentalist base of our opponents will be satisfied with that. We need to stand up tall and proud and tell these people that their insistence on religious conformity is UN-AMERICAN. We need to rub their noses in this shameful behavior. Yes, we'll make some enemies, but you know what? WE ALREADY HAVE ENEMIES, and they exploit our very weakness of NOT confronting these issues honestly to gain tactical advantages.

We permitted these people to get away with mocking a real war hero by wearing band-aids with purple hearts painted on them during their national convention. Where was the outrage by the Democrats? We should have beat the hell out of some of these people, we should have made them fear us and realize that we are warriors and not doormats to be treated with disdain. Yes, we need to win fairly and honestly so we can hold our heads high, but we should not be afraid of shedding the rhetorical blood of the people who are sworn to destroy our way of life.

We are in a class war and it is a battle to the death. It is a war of the learned against those who are jealous of their learning. It is a war that is exacerbated by a few ruthlessly malevolent, frighteningly wealthy and powerful people who take advantage of this jealousy and fan it into flames to enrich and empower themselves. They are not only victimizing the Democrats, they are parasitically victimizing their own base as well, and their base masochistically embraces their own victimization because they do not have the perceptual abilities to understand how they are being manipulated.

Quit being polite. Make "LIBERAL" a compliment instead of a verbal slap. Tell everyone "I'M A LIBERAL." Say it loud, say it often, be proud of it. We have to learn how to play the semantic psychology game. Don't let people use terms like "pro-life" and "tax relief" around you. Call the other side "against choice" or "opponents of freedom." Remind everyone that taxes are what build highways, hire police and firemen, and that wealthy people get a larger share of the benefits of this country. Do cops patrol rich neighborhoods or ghetto neighborhoods more often? Wealthy people SHOULD contribute more, they receive more. When you hear someone use a construction like "Taxachusetts" tell them they have insulted you and everyone that agrees with you.

Don't let people talk about "freedom" being brought to Iraq and similar places. It is war, violence, death, oppression, poverty, disease, and imperialism that is being brought to Iraq, and Iraq is just the start. DON'T LET THEM LIE ANY MORE BY USING NOBLE-SOUNDING WORDS THAT MEAN THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF THE ACTIONS BEING TAKEN. We lost because the Democratic party is wimpy. Just like the last election, Bush didn't win, we lost. We got walked all over by liars and crooks, and we are being forced to watch them dance in the endzone over another stolen election. Grow some balls. Get mad. Get vocal. Write letters to the editor every day. Call your local media when you see or hear them denigrate the progressive agenda. Picket companies that outsource or that flee to offshore tax shelters and suck Americans dry financially. We need to make religion a private matter again, not a touchstone that guarantees scoundrels respectability for hiding their true motivations behind flowery words. When somebody questions your patriotism, confront them aggressively. You SHOULD be mad when that happens. Shout about the false outrage that the other side uses to pretend they are helpless victims. Kerry said "we need to reach out" to the other side. No, we don't. Are they reaching out to us? Have they ever? The only way we can change things is by beating the competition at every turn. Didn't anyone notice that half of the Bush campaign revolved around insult and ridicule? Doesn't that offend anybody? It should. Why haven't people from our side been screaming bloody murder about the offensive and personal tactics used by the Republican campaign for the last two years?

Folks, it's a fight to the death, whether we want it to be or not, and the sooner we realize that, the better odds we have of surviving. It's time to choose. Stand up for your principles, or lay down and die.


...to be continued.

a different dimension

The political commentary and pundit line right now seems to concur that things were going well for John Kerry during yesterday's elections when you looked at the exit poll results, but that we can now see how "flawed" the exit polls were because the results didn't match the exit polling when everything was said and done.

Let me get this straight. The polls of people who JUST VOTED were less accurate than the tallying of the votes in the three most disputed states, which just happened to use electronic voting machines made and marketed by a couple of companies that publicly supported Bush? I am not a "black helicopter" type, but this logic doesn't make the slightest bit of sense. There is more to this story, and it will be interesting watching the bits and pieces come out.

well, that makes sense

John Kerry decided to bow out before all of the election issues were completely sorted out (and there are a lot of unanswered questions and checking of vote counts being glossed over now) instead of keeping his promise to fight until the end because he didn't want to "put the country through that."

So, it's better to put us through four more years of Herr Bush and his crew?

just to be clear

Somewhere in the world right now, Osama Bin Laden can't stop chortling with glee...

all who despair, take heed

We have heard the rumbling of new revelations and disclosures bubbling up in the last couple of weeks, reports that will make life difficult for those in power. Truth always comes out, and truth is the friend of those who are real patriots. This administration is going to be forced to clean up its own mess, and will face the most frightful accountability in history.

Remember Nixon's second term, Mr. Bush, remember Nixon's second term.

HOW?

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?

this is it, hit the lights...

Today's the day. Either we get somebody who seems to have a chance of setting this country back on the right path, or else we continue in the same direction we have been going. Either way, this is just a skirmish in a larger war, and no matter what the outcome of today's election, stay strong and keep working for a better future and a more perfect United States of America. Good luck to us all!