Gonzales Resignation Looms . . .

Now I realize that turnover in the White House is no real measure of anything (Regan had like 18 cabinet resignations during his two terms) but come on.

Now that's what I call Reform

China has executed it's Food & Drug Chief for bringing shame to the country.
Dang.

Defender of heterosexual marriage and (ahem -----> GOP Senator Vitter diddles prostitutes Hope is... rumors that Dick Cheney is on the DC hooker list will prove true.

The pope has called "Bullshit!" on all non-catholic brands of christianity. Well done popey, christian divisiviness is a secular liberal's best friend.

Dick Luger Gives Bush The Finger

Sorry, no link to go with this . . . just tired of the old Bjork entry.

Ex-Ohio Rep. Ney sentenced to 30 months

The first, hopefully of many, Abramoff sock puppets to do actual jail time.

In true fashion, Ney says he continues to accept full responsibility for his actions while at the same time blaming a "drinking problem" he claims to have.

Obama: Homeless?

Dude, try Craigslist...

Dobbs: I'm a populist and proud of it

Lou throws down...

Both Slate and The Financial Times resist saying what I've been saying loudly and clearly: We're in a class war, and our middle class is losing, and losing badly. But I do blame and have blamed the rich, corporate America and our political elites in both parties who have permitted the unabated assault on middle-class working men and women and their families.

...

I have never blamed the poor of Mexico, China or India for corporate America's avarice and our political elites' cowardice. I blame us for forgetting that the United States is first a nation, and secondly a marketplace or an economy, and I blame us for being taken as fools by both political parties for far too long. It is not nationalism by any stretch of the imagination for me to remind those in power that our political system, our great democracy, makes possible our free-enterprise economy, and not vice versa as the elites continually propagandize.

Let the impeachment proceedings begin!

My ignorance of how our government works aside . . . . with Dems taking control of the House, can we FINALLY give G Dummy and his pals the mother of all bitch-slaps that they deserve?

Diebold be damned!

As we prepare for election day, these dyaln quotes come to mind:

"Politician's got on his jogging shoes;
Must be runnin' for office, got no time to lose.
He sucking the blood out of the genius of generosity.
You been rollin' your eyes, you been teasin' me."
-Bob Dylan

and

"technology to wipe out truth is now available. not everybody can afford it but it's available. when the cost comes down look out!"

How to Spin a GOP Sex Scandal?

Call the perp a Democrat...

See how they handled it on the Factor!

The Associated Press joined in too.

I swear to Yahweh, I wish this type of crap never happened in politics. Wouldn't it be cool if our reps could spend their time doing something positive for the country, rather than cover their ass (or in the case of Hastert, add to their ass). But when things like this come along, it proves the Dems are just patsies. Networks like Fox KNOW they can pull this bogus "error" bs and get away with it.

Stupid Sneaky Brilliant Punks.

Dubya Pardons Uncle Jesse

Bush continued to handle the truly important matters of the country last week, with the Presidential pardon of a moonshinin' extra from the movie Deliverance.

I could not make this up if I tried.

[Randall Leece] Deal's "Deliverance" performance consisted of a single line: "It ain't nothing but the biggest [expletive] river in the state!" For the record, Deal did not play one of the surly locals involved in an infamous rape scene with actor Ned Beatty.

Do you think if he had been involved in the rape scene, he'd get some sort of medal from this administration?

Freedom of Speech

Iraqis are marching in support of Hezbollah chanting all the typical favorites, Death to Israel...Death to America.

"Saddam and Bush, Two Faces of One Coin" was scrawled on Bush's effigy.

That's a loose translation. I believe another interpretation is "We will be greeted as liberators."

Huge Campaign Finance Savings Coming Soon To An Election Near You

Politicians soon will be able to divert campaign war chests to a different focus: Finding the best people available to rig the local Diebold voting machines.

Apparently all it takes is a screwdriver. Awesome.

I feel safer already

A Homeland Security report exposes some rather skewed "potential target" data, and the great state of Indiana is at the top of the list of potential terrorist targets by state.

The National Asset Database, as it is known, is so flawed, the inspector general found, that as of January, Indiana, with 8,591 potential terrorist targets, had 50 percent more listed sites than New York (5,687) and more than twice as many as California (3,212), ranking the state the most target-rich place in the nation.

Now, Graf and I have always joked that we'd love it if "they just got rid of Indiana" during the drive from Chicago to Cleveland, but I never realized there was government funding studying the potential... Maybe it's all those fireworks stores? Casinos? KKK members? All those damned Amish?

Some other high-level targets inlcude:

• A petting zoo in Woodville, Ala.


• Mule Day Parade in Columbia, Tenn.


• “Nix’s Check Cashing”
(Ed. That's where MCA does all his "phony-paper-passin'")

• etc.

Flag-burning is deeply objectionable...

...unless depicted in an MSNBC "news" teaser. If the image above (for an article on a non-issue) had featured an Arab or a hippy, that would be an outrage. In fact, this may be the only flag I can recall being burnt in the last 4 or 5 years.

I guess patriots don't understand that the law would be 100% useless outside the country where 99.9% of American flags are burnt.

Save The Internets

Verizon, AT&T and Comcast are lobbying Congress hard to implement what used to be a joke: an Internet tax. They want users to pay to ensure access to content and high speed performance, blowing up the very system that has made them stupid rich. Hmmm, that's funny, I thought I already paid every month. Does that mean I get my monthly DSL fee refunded? Didn't think so. In effect, they want to hold your Internet hostage, and they're willing to pay off Congress to do it.

Sign the petition at savetheinternet.com, write your congresspeeps, and tell them to support the "Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2006" (S. 2917) amendment that will protect net neutrality from the bloated telco vipers.

The moronic leading the blind

OK, so, Bush makes fun of a visually impaired reporter . . . insert punch line here.

Gitmo hangings "good PR" according to US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State

Wow, she must really be important with a title like that. DEPUTY Assistant? Is that like a Junior Ranger Rick badge or something? Where does the Bush administration FIND these morons? Oh, right, they're all friends. Dur.

Colleen Graffy is a sick fuck.

Put your money where your vote is.

Every drop of Coke you buy at Sears and ship via UPS fuels the Neo-con agenda.

Corporate Political Donations Directory

Chicago to RNC "Not interested"

Chicago tells the RNC we're not interested in hosting their 2008 Republican National Convention


http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_047082857.html


We live in a pretty cool city, lets hope the mayor sticks to that answer.

Gregory vs. McClellan

I think NBC's David Gregory should just show up to the White House briefings shitfaced drunk from now on, and berate ol' Scotty mercilessly. Hopefully this relationship will end in a back alley knife fight. I know I'd pay to see it.

Can I get an "Amen"?

now go unto the world and spread the word with this

much props to johnny c. for sending this.

O'Connor: Rehnquist was 'a betting man'

Rehnquist's humor, sense of duty hailed, as well as his wagering ability, apparently.

In her eulogy, O'Connor also referred to Rehnquist's last days.

"The chief was a betting man," O'Connor said. "He enjoyed making wagers about most things. The outcomes of football or baseball games, elections, even the amount of snow that would fall on the courtyard at the court. If you valued your money, you would be careful about betting with the chief. He usually won.

I'll...er...bet.

(hat-tip: Q)

No time for accountability, because it's all booked up with spin.

After a heated exchange with the White House press over accountability in the Bush administration where McClellan argued that "now is not the time to point fingers," he somehow found the time to clarify Barbara Bush's inexcusable and insensitive comments from the other day.

Barbara Bush's remark clarified

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said: "I think she was making a personal observation on some of the comments that people were making that she was running into. ... But what we're focused on is helping these people who are in need."

Asked if Bush agreed with his mother, McClellan said: "I think that the observation is based on someone or some people that were talking to her that were in need of a lot of assistance, people that have gone through a lot of trauma and been through a very difficult and trying time. And all of a sudden, they are now getting great help in the state of Texas from some of the shelters."

BULL. SHIT. What she quite clearly said was, "Hey, this is a step up for the everyday no-hope poverty and squallor these people live in. Hurricane Katrina did them a FAVOR."

Scotty, OF COURSE she was making a "personal observation." She just happened to make it in front of the press while touring a shelter for thousands of displaced people who just got collectively kicked in the nads by Mother Nature and their government. Keep your personal observations to the fucking country club dining room, if you must voice them at all, Babs.

The Blame Game

Scott McClellan and Karl Rove have been put on the case to misinform, deflect and otherwise discredit the demands for accountability directed at the Bush administration for the mishandling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster management. Their primary approach has been to shift blame to the local governments, but according to the United States National Response Plan, once an "Incident of National Significance" has been declared (Bush declared a "State of Emergency" on August 27 prior to landfall) the President and his administration assume primary responsibility and MUST respond quickly, efficiently and proactively to take the lead role on coordinating a response.

Read all about it here.

and you wonder where it comes from?

you thought g-dummy was the only insensitive member of the family? that mother of his is a doozy.

found while checking out daily kos...

HO. LEE. FUCK.

How. How did we manage to elect (I'd say "twice," but...) such a complete fucking moron? HOW?

Remarks by President Bush During Briefing on Hurricane Katrina.

We've got a lot of rebuilding to do. First, we're going to save lives and stabilize the situation. And then we're going to help these communities rebuild. The good news is -- and it's hard for some to see it now -- that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch. (Laughter.)

I am utterly disgusted and embarrassed that this waste of flesh is the President of our country. I feel sorry for Trent Lott getting dragged into such an insane statement.

Would Jesus flip the bird?

George Bush flippin off the press:

Personally I believe that many in the press probably deserved it (but not for the reasons that G.W. probably did it).

But seriously, would Jesus flip the bird?

G.W. has got to be saying the answer is yes, Jesus would flip the bird. Where does it say that in the bible?

See the whole thing here: http://homepage.mac.com/onegoodmove/movies/bushflips.mov

"Holy crap that's a lotta blinkin'!"

Oh, we laugh to keep from crying...

(Thanks Pazen sibling!)

lose rove

My pen pal John Kerry asked me to tel all my friends about his "Fire Rove" petition.

It doesn't matter if you're a Democrat, Libertarian, or even a Republican - this man should go.

Karl Rove: Traitor

It is being reported that Karl Rove was the source that revealed the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame. This story is just beginning to break, we'll see how much momentum it actually has. Given the shit this administration has gotten away with, however, I wouldn't be surprised if Rove managed to spin this into some sort of Congressional medal for himself.

The Huffington Post has more on Rovegate. (Do I get points for being the first to call it that?)

I say we send him to Gitmo.

You're kidding, right?

So, it turns out it was Brian H. Darling, a lawyer for first year Senator Mel Martinez (R-Fla.), who suggested in a memo that Republicans could use the Terri Schiavo case for political gain.

Hmmm, that's funny. I thought all those self-righteous windbags were standing up to protect their good friend Terri?

The comedy of errors continues. Not only didn't Martinez know Darling wrote the memo (he claims), he went ahead and passed it along to another senator without reading it.

Florida, between Jeb and this guy, you're in capable hands. Godspeed.

What's next, elmo as UN ambassador?

Hey, there's no denying that peoplesoft spokeskid was adorable... maybe this can get his Social Security scheme some traction!

via scott "you can't make this up" b.

State of the Union Parsing Tool

See how many time our beloved president over used particular words in last nights state of the union address. Then click on the other tab and do a historical comparison to Washington, Lincoln, Reagan and Clinton.

Main Page with explanation of the whole thing.

Jump right to the parsing tool here

Then click over here to see George making out with Sen. Leiberman.

The triumphant return of Alan Keyes!

According to Andrew's friend over at the Sun Times, Michael Sneed says Alan Keyes is considering a run for governor of Illinois.

That would be great because then Rod Blagojevich would then almost certainly be a shoe-in for reelection!

Maybe if we are lucky, we can convince Alan Keyes to run for President of the US in 2008, and then maybe a Democrat might actually win!

http://www.suntimes.com/output/sneed/cst-nws-sneed28a.html

Some things to do before the Inaugural

1. Get that abortion you've always wanted.
2. Drink a nice clean glass of water.
3. Cash your social security check.
4. See a doctor of your own choosing.
5. Spend quality time with your draft age child/grandchild.
6. Visit Syria, or any foreign country for that matter.
7. Get that gas mask you've been putting off buying.
8. Hoard gasoline.
9. Borrow books from library before they're banned.
10. If you have an idea for an art piece involving a crucifix -do it now.
11. Come out - then go back in - HURRY!
12. Jam in all the Alzheimer's stem cell research you can.
13. Stay out late before the curfews start.
14. Go see Bruce Springsteen before he has his "accident".
15. Go see Mount Rushmore before the Dubya/Reagan additions.
16. Use the phrase - "you can't do that - this is America".
17. Take a walk in Yosemite, before being hit by a snowmobile.
18. Enroll your kid in an accelerated art or music class.
19. Start your school day without a prayer.
20. Pass on the secrets of evolution to future generations.
21. Learn French.
22. Attend a commitment ceremony with your gay friends.
23. Take a factory tour anywhere in the US.
24. Try to take photographs of animals on the endangered species list.
25. Visit Florida before the polar ice caps melt.
26. Visit Nevada before it becomes radioactive.
27. Visit Alaska before "The Big Spill".
28. Visit Massachusetts while it is still a State.

Found via Cynical-C Blog

all for naught, unless you're the Carlyle Group...

or halliburton...

Can You Imagine?: Hussein Was Right & Bush Was Wrong

You may remember that in 2002, the year before the Iraq War began, the United Nations Security Council ordered Iraq to produce a report detailing all of its biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons � past and present. Iraqi officials complied and produced an 11,800-page report on Iraq's weapons programs. The report described all the chemical and biological weapons the country once had � where they came from and what was done with them � as well as what had happened to Iraq's nuclear weapons program.

A German reporter managed to obtain a copy of the original report from Iraq, and then compared it with the truncated copy the U.S. gave to the UN. He found that the missing parts covered the Iraqis' acquisition of chemical and biological weapons from the U.S., the delivery of non-fissionable materials for a nuclear bomb by the U.S. to the Iraqis, and the training of Iraqi nuclear scientists at U.S. nuclear facilities in Los Alamos, Sandia, and Berkeley.

Brain-cloudy Blues

Bush told reporters that he now realizes that "sometimes words have consequences." Could it be more chilling that a guy gets through serving as governor and 4 years as President of the United States before it dawns on him that he should watch his f$%king mouth. It plays like a stand-up routine:

"I don't know if you'd call it a regret, but it certainly is a lesson that a president must be mindful of, that the words that you sometimes say. ... I speak plainly sometimes, but you've got to be mindful of the consequences of the words. So put that down. I don't know if you'd call that a confession, a regret, something."

Cargo Plane for GWB Crashes

It�s almost never funny when a plane crashes, except this time.

There were no injuries and the plane had giant letters spelling �EELECT GEORGE W BUSH� on the side.

Any parallels to GWB's presidency are purely coincidental, with the crashing and sinking, and word mangling . ;-)

Via MSNBC

Put your money where your heart is

http://www.choosetheblue.com

Sounds like a pretty good plan to me. I've already tried to do this to the extent that I know about particular companies, but this site makes it pretty easy to see which company is on which side of the fence.

I actually wanted to do a site like this myself, but I haven't found the time. Now I don't have to, someone else did it for me. :-)


From the Choose Blue main page:

Bush names Kellogg CEO to head Commerce Dept.

BUSH: "He's grrrrrreat!"

U.S. Rejects Ukraine Election Results

How can anyone not see the irony in this:

In a news briefing at the State Department, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell delivered a sharp rebuke to the Ukrainian authorities who today declared Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych the winner of a run-off election Sunday that Ukrainian protesters and foreign observers said was marred by fraud.

"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," Powell said.

Read the story at washingtonpost.com

Quote of the day/next 4 years

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

-H.L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

Pazen! Check the Purple Haze over America

Information is power! As I said, these binary red/blue maps (like the grossly distorting electoral map) flatter the winner. They do not depict how close the vote was - they just dump unnuanced color to whoever gets the majority; implying landslides that don't exist.

America is purple bay-bee! We do not live in a theocracy. The lunatic fringe are just slightly more organized. Do you see a neo-con "mandate" in this map?

The granularity is much better in
the large version of the map (with notes)...
or if you prefer, gigantic.

I swear I didn't write this

I'm gonna get blamed, but it is NOT me ranting... judge for yourself:

fuckthesouth.com

Toughen Up, Lefties!

Surprise, surprise...
Two days after the election, it is abundantly clear that the conservative vote is not some unified, monumental force. It is composed of something like 36 percent neo-fascists, moderates and even progressive Republicans. That pretty red and blue map from election night dissolves into ugly pinks and purples once the electoral college is sent home. Some vague "values" platform was a smart strategy for winning an election but it's terrible for governing. The right is learning they don't actually all believe in the same thing. The Arlen Specter hoo-hah is the first skirmish in the next 4 years of infighting, and yet they have to agree on things to keep winning. (bemused titter)

Beyond the gloating there are many developments that are very positive:

- America has a voting age population of 200 million. Kerry lost by three and a half million! That's not a landslide, it's trivial. it means the Democrats are practically there.
- Kerry came within 3 million votes of the presidency without carrying even a single bible belt state!!! You don't actually need the south to win!
- Bush's victory was the narrowest win for a sitting president since Woodrow Wilson in 1916, not a mandate.
- Over 55 million Americans voted for the candidate dubbed The #1 Liberal in the Senate. That's more than the total number of voters who voted for either Reagan, H. Bush or Clinton.

If the media are looking for a trend it should be that: so many Americans are, for the first time since Kennedy, willing to vote for an out-and-out liberal.
- Democrats who had control of 44 state legislative chambers on Nov 1st, now control 49 (out of a total of 98).
- In spite of Bush's win, the majority of Americans...
still think the country is headed in the wrong direction (56%),
think the war wasn't worth fighting (51%), and
don�t approve of the job George W. Bush is doing (52%).

Have you ever seen a less convincing argument for the right than one of their own members? George Bush's sideshow will be a short distraction (and a large trainwreck) along the countries greater, persistent liberalizing trend. We have to make it through 4 years; they have to make it through the rest of time.

The numbers are not trending their way.

States that favored Kerry had higher IQ and higher personal incomes.

Maybe there was something to the caption on the cover of the Daily Mirror from yesterday?

This web page correlates the average IQ's of the states residents with the candidate that they voted for.

On another web page they correlate the average income of the states residents with the candidate that they voted for.

Apparently we need to either get more money into the red states for education, or introduce some genes from the blues states into the gene pool of the red states to help get their IQ's up above that 100 point threshhold?

God Bless The Brits

The front page of the UK's Daily Mirror says what we're all thinking:

The United States has changed its name...

Jesusland!

thanks to Ken W for IMing that to me

He can't vote this year. You can.

via Erica.