Shut UP and Take What They Offer You.

More evidence that access to the court is becoming a privilege than a right can be found here. It discusses some of the "Judicial Activism" that is far more prevalent than the sort the right bemoans. The article briefly glides through an alarming practice of nullifying or removing juries from considering issues in court--often actually ignoring the constitution in pulling this off. The author of this piece notes the difference between the more conservative judges that are doing this and the fact that most all are GOP/Bush appointees. While this is noteworthy, it misses the real action going on here: All of these cases involve a judge bending the system to help someone powerful to prevail over someone who is weak or who has been victimized. Let's protect the heinous at all costs.

Let's Discuss Fiction. Shall We Mrs. Clinton?

And by Fiction, i mean the Presidential nomination of Hillary Clinton.

Let's get a few things out of the way. I like Hillary Clinton. I think she has LONG gotten a raw deal by people who often are chauvinistic in their approach. That doesn't mean she's not cold and calculating. Sorry. anyone that gets this far in the game is calculating. you don't have to believe that if you don't want to do so. It makes no difference to me if you want to acknowledge your wrong (!).

Most people i've ever met who 'hate' her have nor real reason. they just "don't like her" or say "she's liberal" without much of anything to substantiate their claims. Actually, there is a lot to like or dislike with this woman. the problem is that the cold in their heart haters out there just don't seem to come up with a good reason themselves. That's because they came along this feeling in the 90s. this was when the GOP lost the Presidency for the first time in 16 years. This was their second loss since the 1964 election. The presidency was THEIRS and they weren't happy to let it go. it became all vilification all of the time. Remember the good ole days when they made a scandal out of the white house firing some of its own staff in the travel office (Travel-Gate, if you will recall). jeez. i long for those sorts of scandals. Well Hillary was part of that wasteland.

I remember seeing George W. Bush proclaimnig in 2000 that he was bringing an 'end' to the politics of personal destruction. this, of course being a hallmark of his own parties activities. it reminded me of hearing older, racist family members complaining that "Martin Luther King was 'non-violent' but violence followed him wherever he went!" ignoring the fact that it was their white racist ilk starting the violence. "If only they hadn't come marching for the vote, we would never have had to turn those hoses on 'em". Oh my, yes.

So back to Hillary. The drudge report headlines the link above as a 'shocker' that in the Iowa Caucus, Hillary is trailing in 4th place. its no shock at all. Hillary is seen by a large chunk of the Democratic left as a calculating triangulator who's views are flexible based on political expediency. Her views on the war are as clearly calculated for a pander to a missing demographic as anything Frist ever threw our way. She's the un-ending boogieman to the republicans who cannot function in any other way after the last 14 years. it has to be all division all the time. pick a side. us or them and SHE is the worst of them. just GLANCE at the volume of commentary from the right foaming for a Hillary run. they WANT her because they know what i know. no matter how good or great or smart or nice she is. there is NO WOMAN disliked by more people in the USA now thank Hillary Clinton. name one other. any woman, any field.

you can't.

Hillary has one other advantage. high name ID. anyone in the polls listed above is only there due to a history of long, strong name ID. Hillary in 4th place? no shock there. Hillary in 1st place? THAT would be the shocking headline!

A Huge Chunk of My Childhood: Dead at 95

Joe Barbara, one half of the Hanna-Barbara team, died today. He's partly responsible for justa about every popular (non Warner Bros.) cartoon you can think of from the 50s on: Tom and Jerry, The Fantastic Four, Scooby Doo, Josie and the Pussy Cats (et. al), Top Cat, The Jetsons, the "Laff" olympics, the Herculoids, the Flintstones, Space Ghost, Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles (jesus, what a name!), Harvey Birdman, Johnny Quest, Yogi the Bear, and the ever lovin' Super Friends.

Just to name a few.

I would go so far as to say, as a child, the ONLY cartoons i saw that weren't Hanna-Barbara were either WB, Popeye, or Bullwinkle. perhaps no one else will ever dominate a medium like that ever again.

Like the Weather

I know no one really cares, but jesus...it's been so Foggy here lately. the last 5 days have been so foggy you can barely see a block away!

I am not up to much else today. My Saints lost it in the last minute of the game. ugh.

later this week on this page:

Modern apartheid and New Burnswick.

Let the Sunshine In...

Well, THIS looks great:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen in military uniforms kidnapped dozens of people Thursday from a major commercial area in central Baghdad, the second mass abduction in the capital in a month.
The attackers drove up to the busy al-Sanak area in about 10 sport utility vehicles and began rounding up shop owners and bystanders. Two police officers said 50 to 70 people were abducted.

Meanwhile, bush has been unhappy with the poor reaction to his decision to wait until 2007 for a change in strategy in Iraq. evidently he's claimed he doesn't want to be rushed.

Cultural Learnings of Make Benefit of Gore Vidal

Over the last few months, I've been thinking about some of the major writers of the 20th century. Particularly those who's work comes after World War 2 and those who's work I have not read. The 3 that have stuck out in my mind, and whom i've been reading for the last few years are: Hunter S. Thompson, Tom Wolfe, and Gore Vidal. i've read nothing but very sort pieces by Gore Vidal. I thought about picking up his new Memoir "Point to Point Navigation" (taken from the sort of navigations ships would use when they could see no moon, stars, (and on some days) no sun. I thought a good place to start would be the trusty used/rare book store in my neighborhood, Choctaw Books. They never seem to disappoint. Not only did i get his novel "Empire" for $4 bucks, but they also sold me a SIGNED copy of the NEW book for me at 20% below cover price! He even offered to investigate on just HOW hard it would be to find probably just about the best gift you could give me: a signed hardcover of Mr. Vladimir Orland Key's historical milestone. whoa! The only bad day to go to Choctaw Books would be a day on which it's closed.

On another, slightly local note, I saw the Borat movie last night. I don't know how many of you saw this film, but it is pretty funny. It follows Borat from NYC. through DC, into the South, and on to California. Surprisingly a LOT of it takes place in Mississippi. while parts are actually IN mississippi, a LOT of the footage is taken from Mississippi (and often Jackson, MS) locations. Sometimes this might just be an outdoor shot in a parking lot where the location is irrelevant to the scene, but keen eyes will note the locale! I'd go so far as to say 1/4 or more of the footage you see is in Mississippi.

How Low Can He GO?

I thought it might just be impossible for bush to fall in the 20s when it came to his approval ratings. This may sound cynical to say, but I feel if that many people were willing to overlook his glaring shortcomings, they're willing to stick with him for good. i mean a core of his support and that support is at least 30% of the public.

Well, according to Zogby, he has (in my estimation) only the most faithful still in the stands cheering for him. 30% approval. a new low. the same poll found that 52% of REPUBLICANS disapprove of his handling of Iraq.

Charming...

Well, John Bolton is out as our UN Ambassador. As a parting shot, his UN team has been working hard to block a measure commemorating the end of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

yay.

His work for our country will not be missed.

New Leader of the Christian Coalition Steps Down

Rev. Joel C. Hunter took the job with a plan to expand the group beyond fighting gays and abortion. When the rest of the leadership was met with a desire to fight poverty, Rev. Hunter was told that such a thing "won't appeal to their base".

How about that. Christians that can't be convinced to do God's work. Maybe the base needs to read more about their saviour.

From Here To Eternity (or at least New Jersey)

I'm sorry this is so long in coming. Over the last few years that I've maintained this blog, I have found it very difficult to write about elections. It seems a little odd since i write so much abou politics here. I have thought about it a lot this week. I think its because when the election comes i'm tired. in one way or another, i've been involved in these elections and they just drain you. you either win EVERYTHING or lose EVERYTHING. sometimes it seems like you pour your whole life into what a few thousand people decide to do...or not to do...

I feel exhausted by it all. even when i haven't worked hard enough, i feel spent by the process that's around me. even if i'm not working campaigns, i'm at least putting together voter guides for the small local races. a way to distribute ideas to the undecided.

Election day is like a ball of happy and sick and drunk and joy and pain all rolled into about 18 hours. I never remember how much I hate it until the end of the day. Maybe that's because i've lost a lot lately. not everytime. just more than I'd care to lose.

THE TRIP

Monday:
So i show up to work that morning with to do lists in my hand. trying to put out any fires at the law office before election work starts. I leave at 1 pm and a lot of people in MS think it is impressive that i'm wanted in New Jersey for election protection work, but no one's really too happy that i'll be gone. New Jersey is 'neat' but they need help in Mississippi too.

I leave at around 1 or 2pm on a private jet. I've been on a lot of planes before. lots of small ones. lots of big ones. even a few bi-planes. Never a Jet. this one is a decent size. 7 passengers plus the cockpit. I'm a little surprised that something that big and that expensive could be so cramped...well not where i'm sitting at least. I'm amazed that it only takes 3 hours. we land in Trenton, NJ and drive into New Burnswick. I arrive at Sen. Menendez's headquarters just in time for a few hours of election law training. I've already studied a few hours on my own, but it is helpful. i learn a few things and their legal team leaders seem to REALLY have their act together. They're also wrong on a few matters, but i'm not quite ready to stand up and start telling everyone about what they don't know. i'm a little shocked at the turnout they have. it seems there must be a few million attorneys in New Jersey.

We stop at an 'authentic' Italian eatery. its complete crap and i think they stole their Haloween decorations (which are still up a week later) from a bank. if you get close enough, they talk about 'deposits' and 'scary savings'. I have a roast beef sandwich. it's the best thing on the menu, which is a bit like saying 'this is the best food in the gas station'. I head back to the Hilton at this point. I get a martini at the bar. it may well be the single worst martini i've ever seen anyone make. my lemonade gets a more vigorous shake sitting around in the palm of my hand in august than that thing did.

"You're an attorney? From Mississippi? Here for the election?"

"Yep."

"Well that drink is on me"

"Thankya dear."

It's ALL LIES...except for those true parts...

Ted Haggard (see post below about him) has done a bit of an about face. he's admitted some indiscretions associated with a male prostitute. He's just not saying what they were. This all would be little news if he didn't publicly hate gay people so much.

Michael Ware -- Reporting from Baghdad.

I think this guy is one of the best reporters in Iraq. not just for this segment, but for the fact that EVERY time i see him, his piece is worth a mention. watch the clip and watch for him on CNN as well.

Olbermann Lays it All Out There

A number of people asked me if i saw the Keith Olbermann show/segment from last night. While i didn't see it live i did see it this morning. watch this clip. I'm posting it from the sheer volume of commentary i'm hearing. It's important. not just because of what he says but because of the fact that someone...anyone...is saying it. Watch the clip if you haven't seen it already. perhaps the most important commentary of the week (by anyone).

Same Song, Different Tune

AGAIN, one of the arch anti-gay evangelicals turns out to be gay. Ted Haggard chose an interesting phrase to say he was, in fact, not gay:

"I did not have a homosexual relationship with a man in Denver,"

Hmm...if you hate homosexuality so much, why not own up to it. that seems like an awful carefully worded statement. (what about outside Denver??) Besides that, 'relationship' is maybe a strong, meaningful word to use instead of 'paid for sex'. I dunno. maybe that's just me.

it could be false, of course.

**UPDATE!**

Poof! just like that! before i could finish this post, Ted Haggard chose to step down from his mega church leadership.

Drafted...Perhaps

Some Polly and the Mooch regulars know that 3 years ago I worked with the Democratic Governors' Association and our former Governor in monitoring our elections. Since then I've done some work in various elections helping others monitor the vote for improprieties. I've been planning to do some work with our local races here in MS, but i was informed today that i may be elsewhere.

the tightest race the Democrats have is for the New Jersey Senate seat. Democrat Sen. Robert Menendez v Republican Tom Keane in that race. Today i was asked to go to New jersey and help the Menendez campaign with election day poll monitoring. I haven't decided if i'm going yet. I'm just not sure.

What Not to Do

OK. here we go. if you're in a tight senate race (here Webb vs. Allen in Virginia), you don't need to do stuff that makes you look bad. Sen. George Allen (R,VA) seems to have thrown that kernel out the window. Above you can see some video of an Allen event. it seems someone in an Allen sticker asked a question of the Senator that seemed (to their ears) rude. I have no word on what the questions were.

anyway...their solution was to put this guy in a headlock, slam him into a window, then thrown im on the ground. all while the cameras were rolling.

brilliant idea.

Shut up and Sing

Here's an ad that NBC is refusing to air. It's an ad for a documentary film about the Dixie Chicks and the backlash they got when they said they didn't agree with bush.

regardless of all that, watch the film (link above) and tell me if you can pick out the part that's so bad they wouldn't air it on network TV.

The List - Harper's Weekly

Harper's Does it again!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
WEEKLY REVIEW

President George W. Bush signed the Military
Commissions Act, which suspends the right of habeas corpus for terrorism suspects and grants immunity to CIA interrogators and government officials, such as President Bush, for violations of the War Crimes Act. Domestic security officials notified seven football stadiums of a discredited threat of radiological bomb attacks out of an "abundance of caution," and the United States Coast Guard announced plans to mount 7.62 mm, M-240B machine guns on official boats in the Great Lakes. Rear Adm. John E. Crowley Jr. said, "I don’t know when or if something might happen on the Great Lakes, but I don’t want to learn the hard way." Furry crabs were found in Chesapeake Bay.

The mid-month tally for U.S. troops killed in Iraq
was 79, making October the deadliest month this year for American soldiers. The first Eskimo was killed in the Iraq war; it took 20 men a full day to dig his grave through the permafrost in a town 350 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The Maine National Guard has been offering "Flat Daddies" and "Flat Mommies," life-size cardboard cutouts of deployed service members, to spouses, children, and relatives waiting for them to return. A Gypsy pressure group filed suit to stop British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's latest film from being shown in Germany. The group accuses him of antiziganism, or hostility to gypsies;Cohen's fictional alter-ego Borat claimed that Gypsies had molested his horse.

During a debate with his Democratic rival, Senator Conrad Burns of Montana said that President Bush (who this week compared Iraq to Vietnam) has a secret plan for winning the war, but that Bush is not going to share his plan with the world. White House press secretary Tony Snow compared the President to "one of those guys at the gym who plays about 40 chessboards at once."

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan collapsed from fasting during Ramadan. His security staff rushed him unconscious to the hospital and accidentally locked him in his car; they fought for ten minutes to break the car's reinforced windows with a sledgehammer and chisel. A Denver woman was ruled criminally insane for stabbing her 21-month-old granddaughter 62 times with a butcher knife after she received "spiritual messages from the geese flying overhead." A convicted killer on Texas death row committed suicide 15 hours before he was supposed to die by lethal injection by slitting his jugular vein with a makeshift blade; prison authorities found the message "I didn't do it" smeared in blood on the walls of his cell. An Ohio cult leader who shot and
killed a family of five as they stood in a pit dug inside his barn contested his upcoming lethal injection on the grounds that it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment to execute a fat man. Coca-Cola announced plans to market a new calorie-burning green tea beverage called Enviga, and the mayor of Paris auctioned off City Hall's most expensive wines in favor of serving "little democratic wines." In Panama, 22 people died from ingesting poisoned cough syrup that contained the industrial chemical diethylene glycol, rather than the safe solvent glycerin glycol. More than 4,500 tons of polluted material, residue from the toxic sludge dumped in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, in August,
have been collected since a clean-up effort began in
September. Scientists identified more than 200 oceanic dead zones. The king of Spain denied that he had shot and killed a drunken bear.

Las Vegas magnate Steve Wynn elbowed a hole through Picasso's "Le Reve," a painting he had just sold for a record $139 million. Two subway trains collided at a station in Rome, killing one person and injuring more than 100. In Sri Lanka, Tamil rebels drove a truck full of explosives into a convoy of military buses, killing 92 sailors. Nearly four months after the arraignment of PFC Steven D. Green, eight other soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division faced courts-martial in Kentucky for the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killing of her family in March. In New York a developmentally disabled handyman was hospitalized after two teenagers sodomized him at a bowling alley with a plumbing snake, and a Catholic priest acknowledged having had an intimate, two-year relationship with Mark Foley when the now-disgraced Republican congressman
was a twelve-year-old altar boy. An exhibit at the Oslo Natural History Museum displayed homosexual behavior among giraffes, penguins, parrots, beetles, and whales. Radical Christian critics said organizers of the exhibition should "burn in hell." China insisted that the U.N. request, rather than require, countries to inspect North Korean cargo. An American expert called the sanctions "kabuki theater," and North Korea called them a "declaration of war." In South Korea, where scientists announced the development of a new genetically altered strain of adenovirus capable of destroying cancer cells, the government warned that North Korea might be preparing to conduct a second nuclear test. The Boy Scouts introduced a
new merit badge for learning how copyright law applies to pirated movies and music. In New York City, CBGB closed, but the Russian Tea Room will reopen. Scotland Yard and the British Home Office misplaced two "extremely dangerous" terrorism suspects. One escaped from a secure psychiatric
unit, and neither can be named for legal reasons. The U.S. Postal Service announced that it would phase out 23,000 stamp vending machines by 2010. A Massachusetts elementary school banned tag.

Some Voting Machines Chop Off Candidates' Names - washingtonpost.com

This is just perfect. one of the closest races in the country and Democratic challenger James Webb's last name is been chopped off the ballot.

you can still vote for him, you just can't see his name.

Unfortunately for him, these machines CANNOT BE FIXED for election day. That's right, our new technology is so advanced, it cannot even be repaired! how advanced we are.

How Many Other Senate Candidates Use Interacial Dating as an Issue in Their Ads?

Answer? none.

Harold Ford wasn't supposed to be biting at the lead in the closing weeks of the Senate race in Tenn. I mean, he's a Democrat, it's the South, and he's Black! what goes on here!?!

I've predicted, privately, that this is the seat that the GOP will most likely hold the senate for the GOP. This is the easy one where they can play the race card over and over. This isn't to say that Tenn. is a racist state. it IS to say that the racists that are in Tenn. are safely in the Republican Party. The GOP can win by energizing its base, and that is part of their base. The ad that they are running shows a white woman wanting to 'hook up' with the black senate candidate.

Now tell me. can you name any other ad in the US referencing the touchy subject of inter-racial dating? is there any OTHER reason to run such an ad, other than to evoke nasty feelings in a political race? What other races out there have a message about the candidate 'hooking up' in the ads? none. It isn't an issue...i suppose...unless you don't have issues to run on anyway.

Harold Ford would be walking all over his second tier opponent in this race if he wasn't black. instead, he's in the fight of his life. Ford should win. I'm afraid he won't.

Daily Kos: "Stay the course"? Whoever said such a thing?

Sunday Bush was on ABC's "This Week..." political news show. he said something that was outright shocking to me. I was a little dismayed that the host didn't follow up on this incredible comment.

what was it he said?

He claimed to have never (NEVER!?!) said that their policy in Iraq was to 'Stay the Course'.

click above for interesting video. I'm sure The Daily Show is cooking up their own version as i type this.

So, Is This What "As They Stand Up, We'll Stand Down" Means?

In a new, not so good turn of events, religious leader turned warlord Muqtada al-Sadr seized complete control of Amarah in the south of Iraq. if anyone wondered if we were in civil war over there...i think you now have your answer. when organized groups that are not part of the government start seizing control of cities...well, that's civil war in anyone's book.

About 800 black-clad militiamen with Kalashnikov rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers were patrolling city streets in commandeered police vehicles, eyewitnesses said. Other fighters had set up roadblocks on routes into the city and sound trucks circulated telling residents to stay indoors.

Fighting broke out in Amara on Thursday after the head of police intelligence in the surrounding province, a member of the rival Shiite Badr Brigade militia, was killed by a roadside bomb, prompting his family to kidnap the teenage brother of the local head of the a-Madhi Army.

The Mahdi Army seized several police stations and clamped a curfew on the city in retaliation.

This is an area where al-Sadr's men have long had freedom to act as they pleased. This not being enough, they now have outright control of the city.

One-Day Iraq Toll Is Highest for U.S. In Many Months - washingtonpost.com

Last summer was bad enough, and now we're at 43% above those numbers. October is proving the one of the most deadly month in the histroy of the war. 10 soldiers died Tuesday. That makes 70 in 17 days.

We sometimes tend to overlook the Iraqi dead. it's easy to think less seriously about them because 'they're killing themselves'...or 'it's not us, so it's ok'. well, that's not exactly so. the less safe they are the less interest they have in their new government. if the Iraqi government we created cannot provide them basic services and protection, then they will turn to the militias. This is what is building civil war.

Yesterday 30 bodies were found dumped around Baghdad. most all had been tortured. most with power drills to the skull, torso, and limbs. it is estimated that 90% of the iraqi's killed were done in execution style after torture. this is at a rate just under 100 a day for the nation. Pair this with the fact that the Iraqi parliment, last week, passed provisions which would severly limit the Suni's role in government. This was done over the protest of the Prime Minister. May believe this is the beginning of the end. i'm not sure. i'm just reading from people who know more than me and hoping for the best.

and on that note, anyone know where the USS Eisenhower is?

The Man With the Plan

I found this just sad. Montana Senator, and Rocky Mountain Cook, Conrad Burns (R,MT) is in the re-election fight of his life. Below is the reporting on what he knows about Iraq:

Sen. Conrad Burns said at a debate Tuesday night that President Bush does have a plan for winning the war in Iraq, but he isn’t about to share it with the world.

WHO in their right mind thinks this is a 'good enough' answer on Iraq? surely this man should just retire at this point.

What's in an October Surprise?

Ever heard that phrase? An October Surprise is something that happens just before the november election day and changes the political climate.

Remember a few posts back when i mentioned that the US is activating some of the units that it would trigger if we were to have a conflict with Iran? well that is still going strong:

The aircraft carrier Eisenhower, accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Anzio, guided-missile destroyer USS Ramage, guided-missile destroyer USS Mason and the fast-attack submarine USS Newport News, is, as I write, making its way to the Straits of Hormuz off Iran. The ships will be in place to strike Iran by the end of the month. It may be a bluff. It may be a feint. It may be a simple show of American power. But I doubt it.

Personally, i don't think we are capable of a 3 front war right now without help...or rather with meaningful success. i'm not worried. none this less, this is some decent sabre rattling.

New Orleans Saints are Saintly!

Well, this was a big one! we beat the Philly Eagles 27-24 in the final seconds of the game. This was a huge test as the Eagles are one of the best in the NFL. Heck, we're 6 weeks into the season and we've already won two more games than we did last year! So far...what a season!!

A GOP(edophile) Primer

Here's a "Cliffs Notes" version of the Foley/Pedophile scandal and how the House Leadership are in a bit of trouble.

First it started when the Speaker of the House and GOP Majority Leader of the House contacted the Washington Post about the story, both trying to head off problems. what they didn't do was get their stories straight. The conflicts point to to a speaker of the house that may have sat on bad news to protect his party (and, let's note here, NOT protect a kid).

Now, for the last few days, Speaker Hastert and the rest of the leadership have gotten their Lies...err STORIES straight and it goes a little something like this: They WERE notified of the innappropriate emails coming from Congressman Foley in late 2005. they were informed that the emails were implying inappropriate things, but didn't come out and SAY it. either way, this wasn't OK and they spoke to Foley about it. done deal

Fastforward to last Friday and they find out that all of this stuff was MUCH worse than they were led to believe and they were just as shocked as we were on Friday. They also would like to add it wasn't certain if Hastert 'knew' of all this or if his staff did and just lost it in the shuffle.

OK. pretty weak, but come on! they'll take anything they can get. it does imply that they couldn't be bothered with follow-up when this problem affected children and that they didn't take this all very seriously..etc etc...but WAIT! there's more...

Kirk Fordham, Rep. Foley's previous chief-of-staff (and curent chief-of-staff) has come along to spoil the party. he says that all that line fromt he leadership (Above) is a pile of crap. he says that he HIMSELF told Speaker Hastert's (then) Chief-of-Staff Scott Palmer all about the problem with Foley and the pages. What's more, he told the guy about it THREE years ago!! This screws up their entire story.

what?? what's that?? if you listen close enough...on a night like this... you MAY just be able to hear the sound of messenger being killed, all the way from the capital.

Movie News!

It seems Robert Downey Jr. will be Tony Stark/Iron Man in the new Iron Man movie. It will be directed by Jon Favreau of swingers fame.

HOLLYWOOD, CA, September 29, 2006 – Academy Award® Nominee Robert Downey Jr. will take on the role of one of Marvel's greatest Super Heroes, signing on as the title character for Marvel Studios' highly-anticipated IRON MAN. This project, the first feature film to be produced independently by Marvel Entertainment, will launch into theaters May 2, 2008. The film is being directed by Jon Favreau and will be distributed by Paramount Pictures.

UPDATE!! -- They Mis-Report...You Decide!

If you haven't seen it already, FoxNews is doing their part to help out with the GOP's Rep. Foley scandal. How? by ID'ing him as a Democrat on TV of course!

UPDATE! Seems the AP got in on the act too! plus look at that screen shot. it isn't just that they put a D instead of an R. they were adding text to make it look like the dems and the democratic leader (Reid) were in the know.

This is NOT how They Wanted to Roll into Election Day

It Seems the GOP Majority leader of the House and the GOP Speaker of the House knew that Representative Foley (now resigned) was approaching underage boy(s?) serving as Congressional Page(s) as early as 2005. Evidently ABC has actual documentation dating back to 2003 (I will spare you the link).

So how does it play with "Family Values" when your leadership covers up for a sexual predator? On a side note, i find it funny that the drudge report has a scant one line link on a breaking story involving a congressional sex scandal and cover-up. I'm sure he's busy complaining about Rosie O'Donnell or something else equally newsworthy.

Sunday Will be Better?

Well, Mississippi State lost to LSU this weekend and that was expected. luckily we weren't shut out this time. As for Tulane, they were down 21 to 0 at halftime and pushed to a nailbiter at the end. Sadly we came up short. 28-33.

if Ole Miss loses and the Saints win, we can still sorta salvage the weekend....
:)

UPDATE!!

Rep Foley (below) may be prosecuted under the child predator laws he helped pass.

Republican Family Values on the March

Here is GOP Representative Mark Foley (52 years old, Fla.) 2 years ago speaking about the internet:

"(it) provides a new medium for pedophiles to reach out to our most vulnerable citizens -- America's children."

Today he's resigning today from office for a scandal that just broke.

What was it all about? unsolicited advances on a 16 year old boy via email. The child was a page at the US Capitol. i guess that kills the re-election campaign.

GO SAINTS!!! 23 to 3 over Atlanta!!!

OH MY GOD! what a great game so far. New Orleans and Atlanta come into the game undefeated. Its the first game back in the Superdome. The place is SOLD OUT! They sould out all their SEASON TICKETS for the FIRST TIME EVER in the history of the team!! They're playing against one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in he game (Michael Vick) and he's barely been in the game. maybe you know this, but the Saints fans are a beat down bunch. no team has had more losing seasons. no one. We haven't won a monday night football game in over a decade. We didn't have our first winning season for TWENTY YEARS! what a way to overcome the stink of katrina in that dome.

I'm really sort of speechless. the crowd is huge. We're undefeated. We've beat our biggest rival who's also undefeated. We were supposed to be last place, but tonite we're doing so well. Tonite's game plus U2 playing at the pre-game show puts the good of new orleans, the good there now, on display. that city is ready for people to come and visit and experience the place. I really hope this helps. it feels like it already has. i think that place has had the demons exercised tonight.

I feel so good. I LOVE NEW ORLEANS!!

On a side note:

The new rookie superstar Reggie Bush has been extraordinary for the team and the city. Here's a guy that came from USC. He isn't from New Orleans, or anywhere near it. despite this, he's put a rider into ALL of his endorsement deals where if they want to sponsor him for a product, they have to give some of their money to the New Orleans relief effort. extraordinary.

Bin Laden Dead?

This UPI story seems to point to this being true. it appears typhoid fever was the culprit. so, does that mean Bush was not too far off hte mark by closing down the intelligence unit charged with hunting down Bin Laden?

he hopes so.

Not the Best, but he's up there....

this is worth reading...if only for a minute. click and read. some folks make me proud to be an american. that's a nice feeling these days.

My Vote....

I'm giving my vote today for the finest living american.

...Willie Nelson. I really just hold him in high esteem and admire the hell out of the guy.. That's my vote for my favorite american. who's your pick? seriously. tell me.

If I Were to Rock...

This boxset gets me thinking. If I had a guitar (and i wish i did), i think i'd be playing rockabilly or surf rock (or both). I love all sorts of music, but that's the only stuff that really makes me want to pick up a guitar and play!

EASILY the Funniest Thing I Saw All Week.

go ahead and click. tell me who YOU think is the real problem.

What is THIS? No More Nukes?!?

it wasn't so long ago that Bill Frist and the GOP senators were threatening to trigger the 'nuclear option' on filibusters in the senate. That meaning they'd kill the unique rule in the senate that allows a senator to stand (alone, if need be) against legislation he/she thought should not pass, as long as they had the stamina to do so. The GOP leadership decried the abusive nature of the filibuster. of course they only thought this when the Democrats were threatening to hold up ye ole rubber stamp on President Bush's Judicial nominations.

Well, it seems times have changed. Bill Frist, the man who talked so badly about this filibuster rule has just announced he will use it himself if the President isn't given approval to allow changes to the geneva convention, so as to deny due process and allow torture. Good to see Frist has his principles in check.

as an aside...you don't save america by destroying its principles.

Action in Iran? We May have Already Started!

I'm not going to go too deep into it because the link above sums it all up very well. Col. Sam Gardner was on the news discussing military action in Iran. A couple of days ago i posted a snippet regarding Navy deployments which may be part of a blockade against Iran. Col. Gardiner elaborates beyond the "what if's" saying that it isn't a matter of IF we'll go into Iran. According to him, we already have troops IN Iran. CNN transcript below. better, quick to read link above:

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: So how likely is a U.S. military strike against Iran? And would it lead to all-out war?

Joining us now is retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Sam Gardiner. He’s taught strategy and military operations at the National War College, the
Air War College, and the Naval War College. Colonel, thanks very much for coming in. You’ve just prepared a paper for the Century Foundation entitled
"Considering the U.S. Military Option for Iran." You speak to a lot of people, plugged in.

What is your bottom line? How close in your opinion is the U.S., the Bush administration, to giving that go-ahead order?

COL. SAM GARDINER, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): It’s been given. In fact,
we’ve probably been executing military operations inside Iran for at
least 18 months. The evidence is overwhelming.

BLITZER: Wait. Let me press you on that.

GARDINER: Sure.

BLITZER: When you say it’s been given, the president says he wants
diplomacy to work to convince the Iranian government to stop enriching
uranium, to not go forward.

GARDINER: Sure.

BLITZER: "I would tell the Iranian people that we have no desire for
conflict,: he told David Ignatius of "The Washington Post" the other day.

GARDINER: Sure.

BLITZER: So, what does that mean, the order has been given?

GARDINER: We are conducting military operations inside Iran right now.
The evidence is overwhelming from both the Iranians, Americans, and
from congressional (ph) sources.

BLITZER: What is military operations? Define that.

GARDINER: Sure. Sure.

They probably have had two objectives going back 18 months. The first
was to gather intelligence. Where is the Iranian nuclear program?

The second has been to prepare dissident groups for phase two, which
will be the strike, which will come as the next phase, I think.

BLITZER: Well, preparing intelligence, that’s understandable…

GARDINER: Sure.

BLITZER: … using all sorts of means. They want to know what the
Iranians are up to in terms of their nuclear — nuclear program. But
are you suggesting that U.S. military forces, Special Operations Forces,
or others are on the ground right now in Iran?

GARDINER: Yes, sir. Certainly. Absolutely clear. The evidence is
overwhelming from lots of sources.

And again, most of them you can read in the public. Seymour Hersh has
done good work on it, and there are lots of other people who have done
that.

I have talked to Iranians. I asked an Iranian ambassador to the IAEA,
"What’s this I hear about Americans being there?" He said to me, "Well,
we’ve captured some people who worked with them. We’ve confirmed that
they’re there."

BLITZER: Yes, but, you know, these guys, the Iranians, you can’t
necessarily believe what they’re saying.

GARDINER: Sure. Sure.

BLITZER: They could arrest some dissidents in Iran…

GARDINER: Sure. Sure.

BLITZER: … and say these are American spies. They do that all the
time.

GARDINER: Sure. The House Committee on Emerging Threats tried to have
a hearing some weeks ago in which they asked the Department of State and
Defense to come and answer this question because it’s serious enough to
be answered without congressional approval, and they didn’t come to the
hearing. There are sources that I have talked to on the Hill who
believe that that’s true and it’s being done without congressional
oversight.

BLITZER: Look, I was once a Pentagon correspondent many years ago…

GARDINER: Sure.

BLITZER: … and in those days and in these days, and as Jamie McIntire
just reported, and as you well know from your time in active duty at
Pentagon in the U.S. military, these guys are planning contingency
operations for almost everything. If Canada goes to war against the
United States, they’ve got a contingency plan.

GARDINER: OK. Different now. Two differences.

Number one, we have learned from "TIME" magazine today that some U.S.
naval forces had been alerted for deployment. That is a major step.
That’s first.

The second thing is the sources suggest the plan is not in the Pentagon.
The plan has gone to the White House. That’s not normal planning.
When the plan goes to the White House, that means we’ve gone to a
different state.

BLITZER: You think it’s possible there’s a little psychological warfare
being played on Ahmadinejad right now to rattle him, to spread the word,
to put out this kind of information to get him nervous, perhaps a little
bit more agreeable to the diplomatic option?

GARDINER: It’s possible. It’s also possible that this path was
selected a long time ago.

You’ll recall that even before Gulf Two, at a time when the president
said we have no plan, "I have no plan on my desk," in the summer of 2002
we began bombing Iraq, Operation Southern Focus. Without congressional
approval, without the U.N. sanctions, we went ahead and began bombing…

BLITZER: Well, the argument at that time was if there were violations
of the no-fly zone, if U.S. warplanes were flying in the north and the
south and there were rockets or anti-aircraft fire going up, they could
take those out.

GARDINER: Yes, but it was a campaign to begin the war before the war
began. And, you know, I would suggest the evidence is there.

BLITZER: All right. So you see a similar pattern right now.

World War Three?

This is a phrase bandied around lately, often by people more conservative than me. I tend to think it a bit of hyperbole. wouldn't we have to have more countries involved to make it a world war? well maybe not. in the past, it only took a couple of nations to make a world war and we could pull that off. right?

The question is, do we want to do that? this article is worth reading. it outlines what has previously been chocked up to 'saber rattling'. Now it is a little different. this outlines "ORDERS to Deploy" that the US Navy has given for Oct. 1st (just in time for elections?). where are they going? The Strait of Hormuz, of course. This is the small strait through which most oil leaving the persian gulf must go. is moving out the ships one would need to blockade the strait. THIS is the sort of wrench we may be putting on Iran. we already boycott trade with Iran. this would effectively keep their trade out of OTHER nations' hands. This is the sort of thing that's lead to standoffs and war for centuries. we may be playing a tough hand now before they actually have WMD's. the problem with this sort of pressure is the effect on oil markets and the other nations around the globe that rely on Iran to provide their fuel.

this is scary stuff. a snippet from Time magazine below:

The first message was routine enough: A "Prepare to Deploy" order sent through naval communications channels to a submarine, an Aegis-class cruiser, two minesweepers and two mine hunters. The orders didn't actually command the ships out of port; they just said to be ready to move by Oct. 1. But inside the Navy those messages generated more buzz than usual last week when a second request, from the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), asked for fresh eyes on long-standing U.S. plans to blockade two Iranian oil ports on the Persian Gulf. The CNO had asked for a rundown on how a blockade of those strategic targets might work. When he didn't like the analysis he received, he ordered his troops to work the lash up once again.

What's going on? The two orders offered tantalizing clues. There are only a few places in the world where minesweepers top the list of U.S. naval requirements. And every sailor, petroleum engineer and hedge-fund manager knows the name of the most important: the Strait of Hormuz, the 20-mile-wide bottleneck in the Persian Gulf through which roughly 40% of the world's oil needs to pass each day. Coupled with the CNO's request for a blockade review, a deployment of minesweepers to the west coast of Iran would seem to suggest that a much discussed—but until now largely theoretical—prospect has become real: that the U.S. may be preparing for war with Iran.

The WORST Football EVER?

My two (terrible) teams happened to play each other this weekend. The result?

Tulane 32
Miss. State 29

That, however, is not the big deal. what IS the big deal is that my two damn teams are the WORST in all football. just what do i mean? going into this weekend, Miss. State was ranked LAST in Offense in all Division 1 college football. How can Tulane possible counter that? by being LAST in Defense, of course! Good lord, why do i have to cheer for the actual WORST teams in the game?

Speaking of usual worst's, The New Orleans Saints beat the Green Bay Packers 34-27 making them 'undefeated' 2 weeks into the season. We beat the Falcons next week and we're No. 1 in the NFC South.

ok. enough football.

So It Begins Again...

From the Washington Post:

U.N. inspectors investigating Iran's nuclear program angrily complained to the Bush administration and to a Republican congressman yesterday about a recent House committee report on Iran's capabilities, calling parts of the document "outrageous and dishonest" and offering evidence to refute its central claims.

Does this mean we have another (Fake) smoking gun? lord knows we need to fight 3 wars now (with no help).

RIP Ann Richards

Ann Richards was a housewife. she decided she needed to pull politics in Texas from the exclusive grip of white men. how'd she do that? she ran for governor...and won. I have always admired Richards for her wit as much as for her politics. she died today of cancer at 73. When i was in grad school i did a large research project on women in modern politics. she was one of the central figures at the time. I really respected her like most all who met her. Here's my favorite Richards quote about women doing a 'man's job':

Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, only backwards and in high heels.

CIA Prisons and Gitmo

there was a request below to talk more about the CIA prisons. This whole thing has me concerned. The president has moved 14 "high value targets" from our 'secret prisons'. This is as by the numbers Karl Rove as it gets:

Bush wants the congress to put into law all the illegal procedures he just assumed on his own. He's been getting heat over gitmo. So what does he do? he puts the true nasty guys on display. THESE are the people he claims gave us 50% of our Al Qeada intelligence came from these 14 guys. now he'll be able to put a face on gitmo. they'll no longer just be some nameless guys who might actually be innocent. They'll have the 14 worst to point to during any debate. When it comes to pitching the new laws, they'll be able to say THESE rules are what we used on the 14. they will say THIS is what kept us safe for the last 5 years. The Iraq war will be blended into the war on terrorism and they will try to ride this all the way into the elections.

the good or bad of any of this...the prisons, the prisoners, the laws...whatever. it is meaningless at this point. there's no policy involved. it's all about trying to work the one thing the public hasn't given up on when it comes to the GOP. this is their only bet as a national policy.

the problem for me is that i actually think it will work for them. It isn't that the Democrats have no answer to this. it's that they don't have a good articulation of a unified answer to this. I guess that's my worst case scenerio. the saving grace? GOP candidates have been reluctant to carry the water on this because Bush is so unpopular. the desire is to localize their races. THAT may be what hamstrings this national GOP push. If the Democrats don't get better at framing the debate now, it won't get easier in the future.

9/11 All over Again...or Not at All, Really...

I've done all i can to avoid this 9/11 stuff. i haven't felt this overexposed to the event since just after the disaster. I don't want to hear about it. All i see is the fluff from Mississippi. I don't see the humanity or the hurt anymore. i know it is there, but my head just won't grasp it anymore. I can't see New York from here. I can see New Orleans.

9/11 has become all TV Movies and fat bloated ceremonies. I don't know anymore. I watched the president's speech. It seems he decided to trot out Bin Laden again. the mastermind. the killer. you know, the man that gets ignored until election time when he gets to be a priority. stopping terrorism is something we do in the leadup to the first tuesday in november. then we get back to working this government for our good friends at brown and root. at haliburton.

Tonight the president said “The safety of America depends on the outcome of the battle in the streets of Baghdad.” I'm tired of the constant tie of 9/11 and Iraq. the terrorism in iraq came afterwe did. we made a government where more citizens die daily NOW than under Saddam. Think about this. we have a civil war that we created. we have a daily deathtoll that supercedes that of the 'madman' saddam. that's our winning strategy. we screw it up so bad that more people die than under saddam each day. perfect.

see. i can't even talk about 9/11 anymore. i can't stay focused. 5 years ago i was unloading freight at the mall. that was one of my jobs. I'd pass the bar in 2 weeks, but in that moment i didn't think I would. i didn't know if i was going to get a job and I was working 3 jobs to keep myself up an running. the story came over NPR. I couldn't recall a time since the 1st gulf war when i was so fixated on the radio. like my connection to the world. i felt a kinship to millions of other people who had disasterous events unfold to them through those radio waves. i felt distant and part of someting at the same time. i don't feel it at all now...because that moment in our time has been squandered.

Consider this:

Even my most ardent Republican friends cannot name a point in history when our nation was held in lower esteem around the world. This is fact regardless of whether any of us like it. Now think of this. 5 years ago a Million people spontaneously gathered in Tehran, Iran.

For US. to mourn the loss on 9/11.

A Million Iranians held a vigil for America 5 years ago. that is the image that's stuck in my head now. we aren't 5 years away. we're a lifetime away now.

My Mayor has a Goon Squad. What does YOURS Have?

My mayor travels around in a police mobile command center. he brings 'at risk' street kids, 17-22 years old, with him too. last week they beat up a man that owns a night club that has been targeted by the mayor as one of his enemies. THIS week, he got his goons to destroy someone's house. click and read about the pride of Jackson, MS.

click here and then here.

know what's the worst part? our Mayor and some thugs tear up a house and it doesn't hit the TV news or the Clarion Ledger until a WEEK later.

The Best Democrat in New England?

Now this race gets more and more telling by the minute. It turns out that Joe Lieberman is more than just a little too cozy with the Republicans. Seems Lieberman owes a lot more than we thought to the President. As it turns out, Lieberman was receiving millions from the GOP. The White House itself was helping GOP doners funnel money into Lieberman's campain PRE-primary. MILLIONS. so the question is...what if he wins? how do you keep a democrat in leadership if they've been bought and paid for by the other side?

GOP secretly channeled millions to Lieberman

The White House funneled millions of dollars through major Republican Party contributors to Sen. Joseph Lieberman’s primary campaign in a failed effort to ensure the support of the former Democrat for the Bush administration.

A senior GOP source said the money was part of Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove's strategy to maintain a Republican majority in the Senate in November. The source said Mr. Rove, together with Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, directed leading pro-Bush contributors to donate millions of dollars to Mr. Lieberman's campaign for re-election in Connecticut in an attempt that he would be a "Republican-leaning" senator.

Sad News

I just read this report today:

CAIRNS, Australia - Steve Irwin, the hugely popular Australian television personality and conservationist known as the "Crocodile Hunter," was killed Monday by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. He was 44.

Irwin was at Batt Reef, off the remote coast of northeastern Queensland state, shooting a segment for a series called "Ocean's Deadliest" when he swam too close to one of the animals, which have a poisonous barb on their tails, his friend and colleague John Stainton said.

"He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart," said Stainton, who was on board Irwin's boat at the time.

Crew members aboard the boat, Croc One, called emergency services in the nearest city, Cairns, and administered CPR as they rushed the boat to nearby Low Isle to meet a rescue helicopter. Medical staff pronounced Irwin dead when they arrived a short time later, Stainton said.

Quote of the Week

"I read three Shakespeares!"

--Pres. George W. Bush during an interview with MSNBC.

Click the link. that's one of the times he did pretty well. my favorite. he's lied so much about Iraq and 9/11 that he's started confusing himself. here's a gem:

"I didn't think about going to Iraq until after we were attacked!...he war came to our shores, remember that. We had a foreign policy that basically said, let’s hope calm works. And we were attacked."

The problem is, of course, that he's talking about 9/11 and we retaliated against the country that wasn't involved. He's made this blur a LOT lately. more than, say...a month ago. The press, to some degree, isn't letting him run with this anymore and started to question him on it. the sad part is that Bush seems truly stumped when pressed. I mean, what's going on here?? they aren't buying every line he casts anymore.

...just maybe 1/2 of 'em.

A World Gone too Far...?

Perhaps the Brits have gone too far when liking AC/DC gets you stabbed in the eye by other teenaged thugs. Should she have said she dug BB Mak?

This is Pretty Funny

I guess a CNN anchor left her mic on in the bathroom?

OK, I'm Glad I Don't Believe It...

Supposedly Bush has read SIXTY (60) books this year alone. that's roughly 2 a week while he's a "War President". I know of only a handful of people that can pull off this feat, (not the reading but reading and living their normal lives) and even THEY tend not to do this. Bush somehow finds this much time along WITH being president?? hardly. i'd fear MORE for our country if this was true. talk about having no one at the wheel!!

Of course he could mean 'audio books'. the man DOES a lot of traveling.

Ask Someon Who Knows?

Maybe this indicates nothing...but...

Is it a sign when the majority of the Iraqi War vets that have come home to run for office are Democrats? maybe. click above. see the video from one of the best out there.

New Twist on Survivor!

This time the tribes will be grouped by race. Finally, TV will let people compete openly, solely on the basis of race. supposedly this was in response to complaints of 'too few' minorities on the show. now they get on the show, segregated into their own tribes.

we've come so far.

Best Bumper Sticker

The wand sent me this one:

IF YOU SUPPORT BUSH'S WAR, WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE? SHUT UP AND SHIP OUT

Like a Drunk Waking Up to See His House Afire...

UPDATE: Bush is now calling for UN peacekeepers to come into The Lebanon ASAP because there's a danger that fighting will break out again. Israel has been bombing Hezbollah's attempt to re-supply itself. One must wonder how they'd take a similar action from Hezbollah. Anyway, it's good to see bush calling for immediate action. I actually agree with him. Too bad he took so long to have a policy. the question perhaps is when do the most people die: When our government does or does not have a policy?

The Lebanon

The comments in the Pakistan post below started to drift off into the current other war going on right now (the one in The Lebanon). My understanding that (much of) all of this started because Hezbollah kidnapped 2 Israeli soldiers with the plan/hope to do a prisoner trade (this isn't exactly uncommon). I'm not in the position to equivocate here, but many would claim that the women and children that Israel has imprisoned (supposedly that's who they wanted to free with the trade). So, if Israel holds a woman prisoner without charges, conviction, or sentencing, is THAT kidnapping too? If not, why?

Ok. So, regardless of all this, Israel strikes The Lebanon in the South. This is where Hezbollah has control of the country. The attacks are overwhelming. They strike a the civilian infrastructure relentlessly and this creates an outcry that the Israeli government over-reacted.

You know all this. One thing that seems to repeatedly claimed: these attacks are also about ending hezbollah's repeated attacks (over the last year(s)) in northern Israel. The argument goes that Hezbollah keeps on sending rockets over the border and this crackdown is ALSO to put an end to that as well. The first thing I don't understand is how half hearted this argument has been made by Israeli supporters. Second is how little press this has gotten. It makes me wonder. Real or bogus?

If it's bogus, then they better come up with something better.

If it's real, then I have a few questions:
How often were these rockets hitting THINGS in Israel?
Were they just hitting patches of dirt?
You know, I don't want to downplay the fear rockets coming into your land can be, but I have to wonder how serious the threat was considering the small press it was getting beforehand.

As this war has progressed, much has been made about the indiscriminate way the Hezbollah rockets have killed in Israel. The Israel's have done MUCH more to eliminate civilian deaths. The problem is that--despite best efforts--the Israelis have been killing an awful lot of civilians. This fact has erased the best intentions for many watchers around the globe.

All-in-all, I think this war has been a disaster for the Israelis. They've made themselves (somehow) less sympathetic in the immediate world in which they live. They, in some cases, have managed to unite normally unfriendly Shiite and Sunni Muslims. I cannot stress how dangerous and foolish this has been.

The Israelis have acted without a view to even their own interests beyond the immediate future. (perhaps not even that). The root problem is that their goal is solved by one of two means--diplomacy or LOTS of dead soldiers house to house military action. Neither are ideal, but one should not fool themselves that lobbing missiles into cities and highways would somehow fix it.

Tell me the OTHER time that ever worked out. Yeah. Exactly.

(originally drafted 8/6. sorry for the delay)

Maybe I Don't Know What I'm Talking About...

I'm tired of people asking whether these foiled UK terrorist attacks will change people's minds about candidates like Ned Lamont who are against the war in Iraq. Ned (and the rest of us) aren't against the war on terror. He/We're against the made up war we're fighting in iraq INSTEAD of fighting the real war on terror. one has nothing to do with the other.

Why on earth would being against a phoney war on terror in iraq mean you are against the REAL war on terrorism? every credible politician out there that has been against Iraq has also been FOR increased security and FOR the war in afganistan. The problem is that the press has taken the war in Iraq as ALSO being a war on terror as a starting point PREMISE. it is not. any politician that doesn't confront this directly EVERY time it comes up does us all a dis-service. Particularly Lamont when Dick Cheney and Joe Lieberman are saying you support Al Qaeda if you support Lamont (since he claims the Iraqi war was a bogus mistake). i'm tired of people (particularly on the left) feeling all hurt about this language hurled at them. it isn't simply enough to say "hey that's not right" or "that goes to far". You have to hit that it not only is wrong but shows a lack of understanding of the wars we face. If you, today, see the war in Iraq as a central front of the war on terror and that THAT is where Al Qaeda is, then you are not just wrong you are incompetent. you are willfully ignoring our own intelligence and you should resign. these people deal with us in the HARSHEST terms possible. EVERY comment must be met with not only a counter point but a demand for accountability and an identification of fabrication. this doesn't go just for the pundits on TV. it goes for you and me at the barbershop. We HAVE to be done with this business or we will never be done. We'll STILL be fighting the PR battle of whether 9/11 was tied to iraq.

DON'T LET PEOPLE FABRICATE THIS CONNECTION. IT IS A FICTION.

Never too busy to Dodge the Press

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- On one of the scariest days yet in the five-year battle with terrorists, President Bush prepared to make a speech to reassure the American people. But the White House press corps was 1,000 miles away in Texas.

Bush had left his ranch vacation and jetted north for a scheduled closed-door fundraiser. No press plane accompanied him. And so when news broke that Britain had broken up a major terrorist plot, the only ones there to convey the president's reaction were a handful of local reporters and a few pool journalists who ride in the back of Air Force One.

The idea that Bush could travel across the country without a full contingent of reporters, especially in the middle of a war, highlights a major cultural shift in the presidency and the news media. In the four decades since the assassination of John F. Kennedy, presidents traditionally have taken journalists with them wherever they traveled on the theory that when it comes to the most powerful leader on the planet, anything can happen at any time.

Joe Lieberman--True Democrat...Rove man!

well what do you know. Joe Lieberman was such a good dem that he's meeting with Karl Rove for campaign advice/help. You know you're a worthless democrat if Karl Rove is trying to get you re-elected!

Joe Lieberman --Loyal Democrat...?

Yeah. So loyal that he's gonna try to spoil the Conneticutt Senate race as an independent. Joe Lieberman lost the CT Democratic primary tonight. Ned Lamont (the upset winner) ran a VERY hard race against Lieberman and still pledge to support him in the general election if he (Lamont) lost.

Lieberman, the loyal dem wouldn't agree to that. Instead, he moved to run as a 3rd party independent if he lost. Who cares what the dems wanted? who cares what the voters say? It's the Joe Show, don't you know!

on two different days this week I've heard two different die-hard republicans bemoan Mr. Lieberman's plight. whoa is he! A principled man and the 'radical left' kick him to the curb. BULL I say. I questioned both of them at their sincerity, that they'd ever just had their heart on their sleeve for a democrat! Let me put it to you how I put it to them:

How can anyone in Lieberman's position keep digging himself into this hole? How unwilling to see the mess he's in? You have other Senators that voted for the war (Kerry, Edwards). That's not the problem. You have other senators that haven't said they regretted their vote (Clinton). Even that's not the problem. Lieberman has cheered on the president's Iraq policy. It's one thing to keep silent or complain. Its another thing to cheer it on. He's done this up until this very week. We're talking about an Iraq policy that even Republican senators have called a disaster (Hegel). He's said THIS WEEK that things are going WELL in Iraq.

Even the GOP pals I spoke to would agree that Iraq is going poorly! So then I asked them: how the hell can you think he should win a DEMOCRATIC primary when even YOU think he's full of crap on how he sees Iraq? Now look where he's at! Maybe you can get away with that crap if you were the democratic senator from Alabama, but he's not. He's from CONNETICUTT! You think THOSE democrats want to put up with the crap you as a Mississippi Republican would call BS?! please!

the usual response is 'well, I guess so...' and to sorta trail off.

I've never liked Lieberman. I thought he was a poor choice as VP in 2000 on EVERY possible level. He's rarely used his seniority to help the party. His bridge building efforts would be welcomed by moderates like me if he were not completely out to lunch on foreign policy.

Now its the Joe Show. In his unwillingness to accept the votes of the democrats he claims to be, he's gonna run a 3 way race, split the ticket, and maybe give it to the GOP. Why? Because it isn't about Conneticutt. It isn't about the voters wishes. It's about Joe Lieberman, the first and only consideration.

Quote of the Day

From Salon:

Pamela Anderson on how she will soothe her nerves before her upcoming marriage to Kid Rock: "I have two words for you: champagne."

Juan Cole on Israel and Lebanon

While I do not always agree with Mr. Cole, I do find him to be consistently one of the best, most even handed comentators on the middle east. He's posted a long column on the current situation in Lebanon and i've snipped a great quick section for you here. Outstanding (if uncomfortable) observatoins.

Israel's present policy toward Lebanon, of striking at so many civilian targets as to hold the entire civilian population hostage, is unspeakable.

I haven't complained about the Israeli border war with Hizbullah. I'm not sure it is wise, and I don't know how many Israelis Hizbullah even killed in, say, the year 2005. Is it really worth it? But I don't deny that Hizbullah went too far when it shelled dozens of civilian towns and cities and killed over a dozen innocent civilians, even in reprisal for the Israeli bombing campaign. (You can't target civilians. That is a prosecutable crime.) That is a clear casus belli, and I'd like to see Nasrallah tried at the Hague for all those civilian deaths he ordered. The fighting at Maroun al-Ra's and Bint Jbeil was horrible on all sides, but it was understandable, even justifiable. The fighting itself isn't going to lead anywwhere useful, though, and it is time for a ceasefire and political negotiations--the only way to actually settle such disputes.

What was done to Lebanon as a whole is among the most horrible war crimes of the young 21st century. And that it was done tells me that there is something sick in the heart of the Israeli military and political elite, a sickness of the soul that had better be faced and remedied before our entire world catches the contagion.

Pakistan

I was gonna post something about Pakistan, but I think Atrios did it already. Frustratingly, he even added in the quip's i'd make, so you should just read his comments:

Like every other sentient being on the planet I'm rather confused by our policies towards Pakistan. We're generally led to believe that Bin Laden is hanging out there along with some of his pals. It's a dictatorship with an unclear line of succession if that dictator ever accidentally gets in the way of an assassin's bullet. They have an active nuclear program. Their top nuclear scientist was handing out nuclear technology like candy on Halloween. The country promptly pardoned him for this and we didn't say a thing. Oh, and for the Malkins [and Ann Coulters] of the world THEY'RE ALL BIG SCARY MUSLIMS.

And, just for fun, they have a new plutonium plant. And the Bush administration hid this fact from Congress.

So, Was it Deliberate?

The Israeli Military killed 2 UN observers this week when it attacked a UN outpost. tensions were escalated when Israel claimed that the observers must have "got caught in the middle" of a gunfight. This angered UN secretary general Kofi Annan who called the attack "apparently deliberate". The issue that has the UN upset is that this particular outpost location was designated with the help of the israeli's. evidently its location was decided because of talks witht he very israeli military that bombed it. My feelings are that Annan's statements come after Israel had claimed no resposibility for the attack, even as an inadvertent mistake, and then blamed Hezbollah for the incident. I'm deeply concerned by all this, if anything, because of Annan's own proclivity NOT to overreact.

Now THAT'S Shocking...

The second shock comes from the little known fact that Jackson, MS has a crack team of penis-re-installers.

Half Right?

Well I was partially right. I'd predicted that Bush would high-tail it off to texas vacation-put-my-head-under-the-blanket land when the heat got too hot from international turmoil. (and what's with Texas? our mayor declared a 'crime state of emergency' then was so eagar to deal with it he went off to Texas for a vacation!). It seems in light of the missles and attacks and disasters around the world, Bush will be heading back to the dude ranch. I'll give him his due though. it seems he plans to cut his trip short. that's pretty reponsible.

Thanks for your patience, faithful readers...

I'm going to be hitting Israel, Plame/Novak, and a few other things here soon, but the office has been pretty demanding this week. I need to catch up with what's going on around the world.

I'm sure everyone sees that the conflict in the middle east is growing by the day and may escalate into a full blown war anyday now. Does that mean a Presidential vacation to Texas is only days away? If you've been disengaged from Israeli diplomacy this long, why start when the bullets are flying, right? I mean, that'd be work (or something like it).

How Horribly Wonderful

Retox! now that's a book you could use!

Clarion Ledger Headline: Easy Street in Jackson closed for repairs

Well, ain't it though?

Rumor Mill

OK. So. Is Fidel Castro dead?

Pirates of the Caribbean

We saw the movie last night. i enjoyed it, but it was easily 45 minutes too long. Quick thoughts:

• The visuals with the villans were GREAT.
• The Flying Dutchman is crewed by and extended line-up of the band GWAR.
• While nothing was particularly bad, it could have been 45 minutes shorter....maybe an hour shorter
• Hey, that scene with the wheel...didn't YOU think it could've lasted another 25 minutes more?
• Watch after the credits (X-Men too!).
  

More Than Meets the Eye!

uh...There's a transformer movie coming out next year. There's also a teaser trailer out there.

Ann Coulter Caught Plagering. Her Employers Seemed Indifferent

Conservative Molotov Cocktail chunck-er Ann Coulter was caught with a stream of plagerism on her hands this week. I've been wanting to as our friend, and frequent contributor--The Hud--about all this. He's the one person I know that would be the most familiar with this. It seems that John Barrie has used a program he divised to detect plagerized passages of text. Basically, the text is fed into the computer and a program searches for matches in other works. This reported from TPM:

He told me the [NY Times] had approached him [John Barrie] with Coulter's book after she appeared on Larry King to discuss her comments about 9/11 widows -- having called them "witches" and saying "I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much" in her latest book.

"The next day, [NYPost reporter] Philip Recchia called me and said, Ann Coulter's book. . . let's run that through," Barrie told me. But his company does its analysis by computer, so the book had to be scanned into a digital format. "The New York Post, at their expense, OCR'd every damn page of that book.

The paper also scanned in the last 12 months of Coulter's columns for Barrie to analyze.

"After we found three in the book, we called it quits. I think we found four of her syndicated columns that had problems." But the task proved draining, he said -- on himself, not his technology. "After combing through Ann Coulter for a while, it doesn't take long before you want to call it quits. I want to prove the technology, but I don't want to make my eyes bleed."

The part that kills me is that United Press Syndicate (they syndicate her column) just YESTERDAY started to inquire about this problem. not DO anything about it, but inquire! As of this date, The Clarion Ledger still carries the column. I think they need a letter to the editor.

If You Can't Do the Time...well, Just Die

Ken Lay--convicted felon, Poverty-Profiteer, CEO of Enron, and One of Bush's best supporters--died today. It appears to have been a massive heart attack. My only hope is that his death was as prolonged and painful as possible to give him time to reflect on thie lives he's destroyed and for the responsibility he refused to take. I also hope, dearly, that the Lay family was not able to profit obscenely off of the lives Ken Lay crushed with his business/crimes. For whatever money they did get from his vile little hands...i hope it provides more in the way of curses than comforts.

Tid Bit

This is the best World Cup Soccer Trivia I've heard so far:

English soccer fans, said German breweries, were endangering the German beer supply.[Mirror.co.uk]

From the Top

Well, it's out now. when CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity was compromised, it came from the top. Bush told dick Cheney to look into it just what Plame's Wife had revealed about weapons in Iraq. Of course, "look into it" didn't mean see if the info we were using to go to war was valid. i mean, who cares, right? it meant start the smear machine. I miss the good ole days when liking or not liking Clinton wasn't a debate that killed 2 of our soldiers a day. Bush couldn't be bothered with facts when he knew his family members wouldn't be dead. He says he took his grave decision seriously.

And Here It Is...

Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) is up for re-election this year. Six years after serving as the Democratic nominee for VP and two years after an pathetic run at the white house. He's been in the Senate since 1988, but his stregth is failing him. He has an ususpected primary opponent this year...and he very well may lose.

How serious is this challenge in the Democratic Primary? Consider this: His opponent Ned Lamont has pledged to support whomever wins the Democratic Nomination, even if it's Lieberman. Lieberman has refused to do so. If Lieberman loses the primary he can still run as an independent. The problem is, to do that you must submit 75,000 signatures on the day AFTER the primary to qualify. There's no way to do that without starting early and there's no reason to start early unless you're concerned you will lose.

It was just announced that he's started gathering signatures. So how have the mighty so fallen? Well, let's start with me telling you I've never liked Lieberman. I didn't like him in 2000 and I strain to think of one thing in the last 6 years to change my opinion for even one minute. Prior to the Bush Presidency, he was noted as being a moral critic of President Clinton. He was brought onto the ticket with the notion of calming some of the (so called) Clinton fatigue (oh to be so priviledged again). The problem was that he's not an effective personality for the national audience. He's not particularly stirring or Charasmatic, so once you got past 'he gave Clinton a hard time' there's not that much left. More disasterously, he was an electorially foolish candidate. Whatever his draw, it was minimal and virtually non-existent outside of the North East. Keep in mind we've had just TWO New England Democrats elected since the mid 1800s and Joe Lieberman is no FDR or JFK. Both those men had an appeal that transcended their locale.

Since 2000, Lieberman has been George W. Bush's most faithful Democratic ally. Often he's been found to agree with Bush when other Republicans would not. He's often the first to speak against democratic plans in the Senate, preferring to cheerlead for Bush. This has had 2 disasterous results.

1. His support of the Bush administration has been unwaivering, even in light of profound incompetency and dishonesty.
2. His home state happens to be one of the most hostile towards the President.

This is a problem when you behave as if you are indifferent to the President's mendacity. Actually, it seems more like duplicity. I think he's deathly afraid of having to be responsible for his actions as Bush's go-to man. He likes to say he's voted and acted in accord with his conscience and his own moral judgement. More to the point he has not. Most of his recent actions have simply been to affirm the position of the president or to avoid offering his own contrasting ideas. Repeating 'ditto' after you hear whatever the President has to say...that doesn't make you a man of conscience. That makes you a Rush Limbaugh listener.

HEY, Mr. Homeland Security!!

Remember Bernard Kerik, don't you? He's the one Bush wanted to be our current homeland security chief. pick number one to replace the original Sec. of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge. Yeah? Well, seems he's in jail.

Defiant and unapologetic to the end, Bernard Kerik was arrested and booked yesterday, processed through the same criminal justice system in which he worked for most of his adult life. He stood before a judge in state Supreme Court in the Bronx and admitted to having illegally accepted $165,000 in free renovations from a contractor with alleged links to the mob while he was the city correction commissioner… (click above to read)

Can't beat that Bush Brand Quality!

Oh MY!

This looks about 3 shades of awesome. (otherwise, try here if you might be slow on the draw)

Flag Debate. The Final Word. (thanks swirly)

Here's just about all that need be said:

Finally, without the Constitution there wouldn't be an American Republic, or American liberty, or an American flag.

We love that flag, but we love the guarantees of the Constitution more.

For the Constitution is not just a symbol, IT IS, AS I SAY, THE VERY THING ITSELF {emphasis original}. -- Robert Byrd (D-WV), the longest serving member in the history of the Senate (take that, Strom, you big jerk!)

Not a Good Idea Until it's YOUR Idea.

The Washington Post reports:

Democrats Cite Report On Troop Cuts in Iraq: "Senate Democrats reacted angrily yesterday to a report that the U.S. commander in Iraq had privately presented a plan for significant troop reductions in the same week they came under attack by Republicans for trying to set a timetable for withdrawal."

As you may recall, the Republicans (from Karl Rove to Members of the House) have lambasted the idea that we should set a timetable to pull out of Iraq. This little GOP nugget goes something like this: if we have a deadline, then the bad guys will know and wait until we're gone to attack. The problem with this logic is that it assumes we DO have some endgame-withdrawal plan, then we have to keep it a secret. as if we'll magically move 135,000 troops and equipment out overnight and they'll be none-the-wiser. What they're really saying is: We can't have a PLAN or someone will find out and foil it...so lets not formulate a plan.

Think about the President's and Donald Rumsfeld's comments over the last few years. Never being able to give you a specific path to a goal, just listing general goals that read like pleasantries. "A peaceful Iraq." "As they stand up, we'll stand down." Of course, there's no discussion of a step by step process to achieve this standing down i hear so much about. I'm not even talking only about training here. Rumsfeld has offered budgets each year that have been so wildly off that anyone with such a poor 'guess' would have been fired by now. His common thread is that 'we can't give you an exact figure'. That's fine. that's understandible. the problem is when the real number is DOUBLE your best guess, there's a problem. Either you have no real notion of what you're doing with the military you've been given, or you're just lying to us to make the number look lower than it really is. The problem with number two is that we DO know a few months later when we have to pass a supplimental funding bill to keep Iraq afloat (of course it helps to alternate the $$ request with the latest tax cut request...makes it seem less idiotic).

We have to have a plan to leave Iraq and it must have an estimated end date. The military knows this. Some of our politicians know this. The Iraqis are going to have to be able to stand against those from within that would break their country in pieces. having an end date doesn't defeat them. Having not completed proper training with the responsibility of a deadline is what will defeat them. I don't mind tossing a fixed date (whenever that might be) if the president and the GOP had a better plan to move us along. They don't, because 'don't cut and run' isn't a plan. it's the last flailing insult from men who are out of ideas and are afraid all the world knows it.

G.O.P. Decides to Embrace War as Issue - New York Times

This reminds me of something i read the other day. Basically it stated that the Democrats are gonna run in 2006 on political scandals that no one cares about or understand (and they assume everyone's guilty) and the GOP is gonna run in support of a war everyone hates.

So, is this a race to who's the least stupid? There is no safe money in that bet.

Teacher's Pet

The Pentagon has banned all press from The Guantanamo Bay Prisons.

Welllll, everybody but Fox News. Seems they're allowed.

FRONTLINE: the dark side: watch online | PBS

Very Interesting. you can watch the whole thing broken down into 15 minute chunks:

FRONTLINE: the dark side: watch online | PBS: "Amid revelations about faulty prewar intelligence and a scandal surrounding the indictment of the vice president's chief of staff and presidential adviser, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, FRONTLINE goes behind the headlines to investigate the internal war that was waged between the intelligence community and Richard Bruce Cheney, the most powerful vice president in the nation's history."

Keep On Rockin' in the Free World!

Wow. this is just the thing we need. roving gangs/militia/death squads blocking off roads and setting fires to control the flow and movement of people. Ominous.

AOL News - State of Emergency Declared in Iraq: BAGHDAD, Iraq (June 23) -- The Iraqi government declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew Friday after insurgents set up roadblocks in central Baghdad and fired on U.S. and Iraqi troops outside the heavily fortified Green Zone.

SUPPORT OUR WAR IN IRAQ!!!

If YOU support the war in Iraq, then YOU should volunteer to help. The US Military now allows new enlistees up to 42 years in age!

GET OFF YOUR DUFF!!

"I've got a job!"
"I'm in school!"
"I've got a family!"

Those weren't excuses for our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents! Why would ANYONE prove the coward on an Iraq war you believe in!?!

*Celebrating the big 4-0? feeling your youth slip away? then join up and show those kids how its done!

*Job outsourced? get training and a college education!

*Housewife tired of being at home? JOIN UP NOW!

Are You a Yankee or a Rebel? - alphaDictionary * Free English Online Dictionary

Heard about this on NPR today. it takes a look at how you speak. also gives a few funny comments. they also mentioned this collection of southern-speak.

Because They had a Better Plan...?

From Harper's:

It was revealed that in 2003 the Bush Administration refused an offer by Iran to end Iranian support of Palestinian terror organizations and recognize Israel in exchange for an end to sanctions and permission to peacefully develop its nuclear program.

GOP: Say NO To Prosecuting Rapists

The Durham, NC Republicans have announced a challenge to the current District Attorney because he's prosecuting the Duke LaCrose rape case.

So the GOP DOES stand for something...blocking rape prosecutions!

Slate blogs the Bible. By David Plotz

Slate blogs the Bible. By David Plotz

This is GREAT. read it now!

2500 dead

Incase you have not heard, as of today 2500 people have died in Iraq. that's just over 2 battalions. If you support the war in Iraq or know people that do, I encourage you and your friends to enlist right now. we need troops there that believe in the cause. the Army is taking people up to 37-38 years of age now, so that's no excuse. join up!

It's Going Awfully Well Down There

Seems the scene in Guantanamo is so good that they're expeling the US media from Guantanamo Bay entirely.

Kennedy made me do it! By Dahlia Lithwick

Dahlia Lithwick takes a look at a few judges in Alabama who are trying to get the state to secede from the union. again.

I'd Be Lying if I Didn't Say I Was Disappointed

AOL News - Rove Won't Be Charged in CIA Leak Case:

WASHINGTON (June 13) -- The prosecutor in the C.I.A. leak case on Monday advised Karl Rove, the senior White House adviser, that he would not be charged with any wrongdoing, effectively ending the nearly three-year criminal investigation that had at times focused intensely on Mr. Rove.

Gorj. Recommended Gnarls Barkley "Crazy"

I hear this is called rap. mabye. either way, its one of the better Soul Songs Since Hey Ya, and before that "Take a Long Walk" by Jill Scott (click and see).

Eric B & Rakim and a White Kid from Mississippi

As for delivery and complicated lyrical structure, Eric B & Rakim set the foundation in rap. It was the first time someone's raps were complicated in construction. Add to that the weight of the delivery and voice, and it was powerful. i remember hearing the delivery in this song and feeling chills. chills because of how powerful it was...how palpable it was. i remember hearing it when i was young trying to get involved in things that were often not done by people my age, i found strength in the songs.

I was a fiend before I became a teen/
I melted microphones instead of cones of ice cream.
Music orientated, so when hip-hop was originated/
Fitted like pieces of puzzles...complicated.
I grabbed the mic and try to say, "yes yall!"/
They tried to take it, and say that I'm too small.
Cool, cause I don't get upset/
I kick a hole in the speaker, pull the plug, then I eject.

That idea of being kicked out for being to small or too young, then being ok with it. i'll leave, then kicking a hole in the speaker--breaking it--on the way out just captivated me. Now, this isn't what it may sound like to you. its not about being pissed and breaking something because you are mad. Hip Hop came from house parties. block parties. neighborhoods where DJs, dancers, and MC's would 'battle' to be the best. just like many other forms of show business, you don't want to follow a tough act if you don't have the chops. its an embarassment to yourself. this, in one phrasing or anoter was rapping til you 'broke' the mic. this meant you did it all. no one wants to follow you because they weren't gonna be BETTER than you. the climax has left the stage and you will not make anyone happy if YOU got up there, so it was as if 'THE MIC WAS BROKE'. No one could follow up. I was facinated with that notion. About the time this came out, i was told i could not compete in debate because of my age. it just captivated me. this song was the first time i heard anyone say 'you can TELL YOURSELF anything you want, but that doesn't change that this is the way it is...You can tell me i'm too young to be here with you and rap, but that doesn't change the fact that i just BROKE this mic and that's still the fact when i walk out of the room."

Is it Real....? Slick Rick & Doug E Fresh perform (live)

oh mercy.

CNN.com - Murtha will run for House leadership if Dems win this fall - Jun 9, 2006

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Rep. John Murtha, an outspoken opponent of the war in Iraq, announced Friday that he would run for majority leader if the Democrats take over the House in the fall elections.

"If we prevail as I hope and know we will, and return to the majority this next Congress, I have decided to run for the open seat of the majority leader," Murtha said in a letter to his Democratic colleagues.

"I would appreciate your consideration and vote and look forward to speaking to you personally about my decision."

Best news in a while. i'll elaborate more later.

U.S. Senate Blocks "The Dumbest Idea Ever"

...or at least the crappiest idea ever.

Quote of the Day

"I think I've broken the taboo. I'm not going to treat them like victims."
--Ann Coulter

----------------------------
This being her reaction to the backlash over her new book where she goes after the widows of people who died on 9/11, stating:

"These self-obsessed women seem genuinely unaware that 9/11 was an attack on our nation and acted like the terrorist attack only happened to them. They believe the entire country was required to marinate in their exquisite personal agony ... These broads are millionaires, lionized on TV and in articles about them, reveling in their status as celebrities and stalked by grief-parrazies. I have never seen people enjoying their husbands' death so much."

her newest line on this point is to wonder aloud about how many of these victims were headed for divorce anyway and now pretend like they actually LOVED their spouses.

ahem. yeah.

THANK GOD I'M USING A PC!!

Otherwise, how on earth would i have my computer crash 4 times while transfering files from a CD-Rom to the Hard drive. Seriously. what was i THINKING wanting a mac!?! how could i give this up!

*Note: this was after upgrading to a 'better' cdrom drive and adding more RAM. yay!

"Truly the Marijuana of Meats"

HAW! breaking down a vegetarian.

FINALLY, Some Good News Out of Iraq

Leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq Is Killed br / In American Airstrike North of Baghdad - New York Times:

BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 8 — Al Qaeda's leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in an American air strike on an isolated safe house north of Baghdad at 6.15 p.m. local time on Wednesday, top United States and Iraqi officials said today.

While I'm VERY happy about this, I think it really outlines the wrong headed-ness of our war on terror. this little victory against Al Qaeda only comes in a country where Al Qaeda wasn't around in the first place. we drew them in THEN had to get them. Osama Bin Laden, of course, still roams free. How long? With this administrations struggling policies...at least the soldiers executing know what they're doing.