Weblog at the End of the World

2006-10-11T10:43:00.000-07:00

thinkprogress.org

Excerpt:
Colin Powell lauded what is known as the Agreed Framework that Clinton signed with North Korea.
"Lots of nuclear weapons were not made because of the Agreed Framework and the work of Clinton
and his team," Powell said. Now, conservatives are faulting Clinton for selling light water reactors to
North Korea under the agreement, but in doing so, they overlook Donald Rumsfeld�s role in the deal.

Rumsfeld was the only American to sit on the board of a company which six years ago sold two
light water reactors to North Korea. The Guardian reported in May 2003:

Rumsfeld was a non-executive director of ABB, a European engineering giant based in Zurich,
when it won a $200m contract to provide the design and key components for the reactors.
The current defense secretary sat on the board from 1990 to 2001, earning $190,000 a year.

2006-05-12T06:47:00.000-07:00

People just don't seem to understand privacy. On my reading of the PATRIOT act and the ECPA, the NSA's data mining of pen/trap registries is perfectly legal, and not terribly invasive since we have no reasonable expectation of privacy in that data. On the other hand, the warrantless eavesdropping program authorized and supervised by CIA nominee Hayden is utterly illegal under FISA and the 4th Amendment... yet people seem more opposed to the legal program than the illegal one... I don't get it! Wouldn't you be more offended by people listening in on your conversations than simply knowing who you called and when?

2006-05-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

http://thankyoustephencolbert.org/

2006-04-26T06:29:00.000-07:00

Hillarious! Apparently Tony Snow needs time to transition into his new job as a spokesman for the Bush Administration. Wow, what an adjustment from his old job at Fox News as a spokesman for the Bush Aadministration...

What a Snow job.

2006-04-10T13:06:00.000-07:00

OK, so the Bush defense is: the information was declassified by Bush 10 days before Scotty McClellan claimed in a press conference it was declassified, so technically, no one disclosed classified information. Nevermind that it outed a CIA operative in WMD research during an ongoing crisis regarding WMD. Nevermind that the administration went ahead and wasted tens of millions of dollars by appointing a special prosecutor to investigate a leak that they knew the source of all along. We are supposed to buy this?

2006-04-08T13:30:00.000-07:00

OK, I am at a loss... even if disclosing information (which turned out to be false) about Iraq's so-called nuclear program was somehow in the "national interest," how is leaking the identity of a CIA agent involved in WMD research and undercover operations not a sickening, if not illegal, threat to national security for political gain? Do they really think they can pull the wool over the public's eyes anymore? What political capital is left to lie so brazenly? He also lied repeatedly when he said he'd fire the leaker... I say, we hold him to it, and he and Cheney need to both step down.

2006-03-08T05:22:00.000-08:00

A sneak preview... my take on the Mohammed cartoons and why we ought not to publish or glorify them. The full article will appear in SHB:

...One of the responsibilities of truly free inquiry is to not hold back from honest inquiry just because the results may offend. In other words, if we show through scientific evidence that Jesus or Mohammed were fictional characters, that would certainly offend a great many people. But the offense would be based upon facts, it would be the offense of having one’s deeply held beliefs challenged by empirical evidence. The intention behind scientific inquiry is truth-seeking, and the dissemination of scientific results is an ethical obligation of science. The result of offending large numbers of believers with scientific facts cannot be a good reason to withhold those facts. It would be dishonest.
On the other hand, if one seeks only to offend, and expresses opinions only for that purpose, one isn’t engaging in science. Stereotyping entire religions or cultures, even while we disagree with their religious underpinnings, is base and anti-humanistic. Surely, much of the Muslim world, even while they revere their prophet, does not abide by violence personally, nor tolerate it ideologically. Among our humanist values are the inherence of both freedom and dignity in every individual. The affirmations of humanism includes the statement that “we are concerned with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination and intolerance.” We also “…attempt to transcend divisive parochial loyalties based on race, religion, gender, nationality, creed, class, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, and strive to work together for the common good of humanity.” Yet the cartoons’ original publication could not be meant for anything other than to promote injustice and unfairness and intolerance. They were based upon painting an entire culture and religion with broad brushstrokes, and taking potshots at those who revere the prophet. More specifically, they flaunt the (disputed) prohibition to depict the prophet and do so with some venom. They mock, they do not criticize....

2006-02-04T07:41:00.000-08:00

an accounting of lies and broken promises [01 Feb 2006|10:04am]
Check this for the facts on how the Bush administration has failed to meet its empty promises, and his outright lies in the State of the Union Address last night:

http://thinkprogress.org/?tag=State%20of%20the%20Union

2005-11-18T13:34:00.000-08:00

weeding out the lies in the White House talking points...
from the Wash Post... regarding the supposed "re-writing of history" and supposed equality of info between congress and the WH...

"But it is not accurate to say Congress and the administration looked at all the same intelligence. The White House had access to far more than lawmakers did. Presidential daily briefs on intelligence are never given to Congress. Some intelligence available to the White House but not to Congress gave reason to doubt some of the president's blunt pre-war assertions, for example, that Iraq had helped al Qaeda on weapons. . . .

"The next major argument from the White House: Independent reviews have already determined that the administration did not misrepresent the intelligence before the war.

"But, in fact, no commission or committee has yet spoken on whether the White House misrepresented pre-war intelligence. The Senate Intelligence Committee, under pressure from Democrats, is working on it. The orders to the Silberman Commission from the White House specifically left it out."

2005-10-22T13:59:00.000-07:00

The media is again spinning for the Bushies who now face the dismantling of their administration by their own hubris. Go to this site to get the straight dope: http://mediamatters.org/items/200510220001

2005-10-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

Bush may be linked directly to the CIA operative link:

"Source to Stephanopoulos: President Bush Directly Involved In Leak Scandal

Near the end of a round table discussion on ABC’s This Week, George Stephanopoulos dropped this bomb:

Definitely a political problem but I wonder, George Will, do you think it’s a manageable one for the White House especially if we don’t know whether Fitzgerald is going to write a report or have indictments but if he is able to show as a source close to this told me this week, that President Bush and Vice President Cheney were actually involved in some of these discussions.

This would explain why Bush spent more than an hour answering questions from special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. It would also fundamentally change the dynamics of the scandal. President Bush could no longer claim he was merely a bystander who wants to “get to the bottom of it.” As Stephanopoulos notes, if Bush played a direct role it could make this scandal completely unmanageable.

UPDATE: Crooks and Liars has the video."

2005-09-19T10:32:00.000-07:00

Bush family values...

2005-09-08T06:53:00.000-07:00

Jon Stewart always tells it like it is...

From "The Daily Show":

Ed Helms: "Jon, today, finally, a ray of hope. Eight days after Katrina came ashore, the federal government has gotten its act together, marshalling all of its resources in a desperate effort to save this beloved, and now beleaguered, president."

Stewart: "President? I thought you were talking about New Orleans."

Helms: "No, that place is [expletive]. But many here believe with quick action, George W. Bush's reputation can still be saved. . . .

"The main thing is, in a very reassuring sight, the federal government has finally brought in the heavy machinery: The Rove.

"Many believe he's the one man who can fix the gaping breach in the president's approval ratings."

Stewart: "But what impact will that have on the actual rescue effort?"

Helms: "The actual rescue effort? What is your obsession with the horrible humanitarian catastrophe?"

2005-09-04T22:05:00.000-07:00

(text stricken at the author's request) WRITTEN BY A SOLDIER, TO OUR "PRESIDENT":

If you're not pissed off, you're not paying attention.

George Bush is going to go down in history as the President Who Destroyed America.

Oh sure, there were problems before he ever took office. Every nation has problems. But in the year 2000, the USA was at a fairly high point. The economy was growing. Science was moving forward. International relations were fairly good. The future looked bright. And then, an election was rigged, and a "President" who was never properly elected took office.

We all know how all the different stories about inappropriate election practices during the 2004 election. The cheating. The manipulation of the polls. The fact that people from largely Democrat demographics were prevented from voting. If you don't know about all this stuff... then you weren't paying attention. We also know that the 2000 elections were bullshit. But it's too late for that. We got the chimpanzee in the Oval Office, and we've got to deal with him. Too bad the War-Monger president, who doesn't even know HOW to run a war in the first place, also doesn't know how to run a country. The disaster on September 11th, 2001 was handled very well... not by Bush, but by Rudy, the esteemed former mayor of NYC. The only reaction from Bush to the whole fiasco: LET'S GO TO WAR! But... that's in the past. What about now?

Our country is already hurting financially because of the actions of our "president", or inactions, as the case might be. Our international relations are shot to hell - EVERYBODY hates us. The education system is hurting. Our entire economy is likely to fall into recession, if not an actual depression to rival the crash of the 1920s. The average citizen can't even afford gasoline - but if we'd invested in cars that used non-petroleum fuel sources (a technology we've had for a couple of decades but never developed) we wouldn't have this problem in the first place! (Hmm, does anyone else detect a connection between the oil companies, the government who funds research, and the car companies?) The progress of the scientific community is being thwarted by Chimp-Boy's religious convictions. Bush was too busy "stopping the fags from destroying our nation" to bother running the nation. I wonder how much money went into his "Protect Marriage" campaign. How much money and resources have been spent on a war overseas, when our own infrastructure needs desperate help? DID YOU KNOW that Bush wanted to implement a universal health-care system in Iraq, funded by our own tax dollars, when we don't even have universal health care here? I don't have health coverage, but MY MONEY is going to help give medical care to some Iraqi. THIS IS BULLSHIT!

Now, not all of these things fall solely on the shoulders of George W. Bush. It's his entire pathetic administration, but he's the man with the final say. He's the guy who was given all sorts of extra powers of authority by the Patriot Act. He's the idiot leading the pack. I'm sorry, "leading" was the wrong word. Leadership is a quality he doesn't have.

Let's look at the situation we have right now. Our National Guard is overseas when we need them at home. Yes, they're calling them back home now, but they should have been here in the first place. People are dying, in America, of dehydration, hunger, and disease, because we took too long to respond to an emergency. The US Army can drop a bomb with pinpoint precision overseas within an hour of receiving the mission, and they're telling me it took our leaders THREE FUCKING DAYS to drop food and water on our own soil? MORE BULLSHIT! American citizens are dying, on American soil. Oh sure, the "president" went to visit the poor victims, and he hugged women and girls for the camera, and shook people's hands... what a wonderful photo opportunity it must have been. But when he climbed aboard his helicopter to fly to the disaster area, did he even bother to think of loading a couple of extra crates of water, and maybe some food, for the victims? I'm sure there was space. And it may not have helped everybody, but to the family that would have received those supplies, it could mean the difference between life and death. Compassionate-conservativism, my fucking ass.

This whole disaster-relief operation is a textbook example of "too little, too late." It's a textbook example of SHITTY LEADERSHIP. All the way from the bottom up. For the first 24 hours, the mayor of New Orleans told people he had it under control, and they didn't need help. Two days later, he's screaming and swearing at people for not coming sooner. What? Did he think the National Guard just shows up on its own? You have to ask! We, the soldiers of the Reserves and Guard, don't sit in our unit headquarters, watching CNN, and say, "Oh look! A disaster! Let's go!" WE CAN'T. We have to have orders. We need authorization. And we need to be requested. And then, what about the governor of Louisiana? Have we even heard anything from her? She should have realized that the mayor of New Orleans wasn't seeing the situation clearly, and acted. But no. And then there's the "president." WHAT THE FUCK? There has been a failure in EVERY level of our civilian chain of command. And then there's FEMA. Don't even get me started. They're running a logistical nightmare. Yes, communications are down, but they knew that would happen! They were supposed to have been planning for this for years! The people of that organization are paid dearly, specifically to be ready in case of an emergency. And then, the emergency happens, and it all falls to hell. The Army can go in, and within 24 hours, we could have had food and water and medical facilities on the ground, IF we had been requested... but we weren't, until it was too late, and people were already dead and dying of preventable causes. 50,000 people were stranded in a convention center, and FEMA didn't know ANYTHING about them until four days after the storm. They would have known all about it if they'd just turned on the television, because apparently CNN has better information than the people who are supposed to handle the disaster. This is pitiful, and inexcusable.

Opportunities have been wasted, resources have been poorly used. Every vehicle going into that region, whether traveling by land, air, or sea, should be carrying food, water, clothing, medicine, and other supplies in, and carrying people out. It doesn't matter if they can only fit a little bit on a helicopter. If a helicopter is going to pick up medical evacuees, they have room in their cargo hold to carry supplies in, before picking up the patient. Who the fuck was running the logistics here, and did we check to make sure they'd at least graduated kindergarten before hiring them? Things only started to work when the Army took over (thank God for General Honore), and I'm sure they're going to need much more help before it's over. I'm a qualified officer in the Army Engineer Corps. SEND ME, DAMN IT! I'm sitting here, making LJ entries, when I should be helping to save lives! I'm going insane, wanting to do something!

To finish off, I'd like to address Mr. George W. Chimpanzee Bush, the President Who Destroyed America:

Your citizens are dying, and I personally hold you responsible for their lives. As the president, you are a public servant, NOT a king. Your job is to serve the people of the United States of America and to uphold the Constitution, not to preach your Biblical beliefs and to play golf. I'm sorry the hurricane disrupted your vacation. It must be awful for you, but I assure you, it's far worse for the victims.

Today, you addressed the nation, and admitted that you made some mistakes - that everyone involved in the relief effort made some mistakes. That's not good enough. Apologies won't bring back the people who died needlessly. As the highest authority in the land, you can't afford those sorts of mistakes. "Oops!" is not an answer. You were supposed to do something, but you didn't until it was too late for many of them, and more are going to die. Their blood is on your hands. There are still people living in filth, sleeping in the streets, crowded into crumbling buildings, stranded on rooftops, dehydrated, sick, dying, and desperate for just a bottle of water and a bit of food. These are American citizens - your highest priority... but you are incapable of understanding their suffering because you've been so sheltered all your life, you can't even comprehend the sensations of true hunger, thirst, or desperation. You've never had to worry about your next meal, or of having a roof over your head. And when you left New Orleans, after hugging a few people while surrounded by cameras, and you flew back to Washington, DC in the comfort of your helicopter, WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR DINNER? I'll bet it was delicious, wasn't it?

Oh, and by the way, how much money are you going to donate to the victims of the hurricane, Mr. Bush? How much money is going to come out of your personal bank account? You're independantly wealthy, and could live comfortably on JUST the pension from your presidency for the rest of your life. Children are giving their lunch money. What are you going to give? How much do you really love America?

The American people don't want your lies, excuses, and apologies anymore. How many mistakes can you make before you stop making them? How many more people have to die for your stupidity? Should we just wait for the next major disaster to strike, just in case you do better next time? We don't want a "next time", Mr. Bush. We don't want your promises of a better tomorrow. We want your resignation.

~Michelle J. d'Entremont
2LT, US Army Reserves
Engineer Corps

(I have no fear of publicly using my name for this. Pass it on. These are my words, and I stand behind them with my name, rank, and convictions. And if it ends up on CNN, with my name, and Bush reads it, even better.)

2005-08-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

and in other good news...

thank goodness our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity under Clinton is over!

2005-08-09T05:10:00.000-07:00

What you don't know, might hurt you....

...it may even kill you...

2005-07-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

It is now confirmed that Rove broke the law. Tim Russert, of all people, confirmed it this morning, confronting RNC Chariman Melman with a section of the US Code which prohibits even confirming classified information, no matter what the source, to a reporter. This is what Rove's lawyer says he did as part of a Clintonian attempt to duck behind dodgy definitions and weasling words. But now, any way you slice it, Rove broke the law, endangered a CIA operative, undermined national security, all in a politically motivated attempt to undermine a critic of their war. Read this article for more background on the facts... http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/07/17/MNGILDPBDU1.DTL

2005-07-08T06:18:00.000-07:00

The Monkeyboy can't even fake compassion!

2005-06-30T06:36:00.000-07:00

Didn't Jesus hate the hypocrites most???

"I think it's also important for the president to lay out a timetable
as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn."
-- Killer Monkey (GWB), 6/3/99, criticizing Clinton for not setting a timetable in Kosovo, Attribution

"It doesn't make any sense to have a timetable. If you give
a timetable, youâre conceding too much to the enemy."
--Killer Monkey, 6/24/05, with another flip-flop the media won't publish

2005-06-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

say "amen" sombody...

2005-05-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

I Like IKE!

Ike Predicted GOP Demise Over Social Security
"Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are...a few other Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or business man from other areas. Their number is negligible and they are stupid."
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 11/8/54

2005-05-09T12:03:00.000-07:00

I LOVE Ted Rall:

2005-05-05T06:54:00.000-07:00

Usually, lies get a president impeached...

2005-03-28T10:30:00.001-08:00

Just in case you weren't getting enough irony plus hypocrisy, Tom DeLay's own past includes him making a judgment to withhold life-sustaining treatment for his own father...

this must be why he is qualified to make these decisions for others today...

2005-03-22T11:36:00.000-08:00

Consider this from Bartcop:

"The Days Of Our Lives
Or, 'More proof what a hypocrite Bush is"

Excerpt:
Bush signed a law in Texas that expressly gave hospitals the right to remove life support if the
patient could not pay and there was no hope of revival, regardless of the patient's family's wishes.

It is called the Texas Futile Care Law. Under this law, a baby was removed from life support against
his mother's wishes in Texas just this week. A 68 year old man was given a temporary reprieve by the
Texas courts just yesterday. Those of us who read liberal blogs are also aware that Republicans have
voted en masse to pull the plug (no pun intended) on medicaid funding that pays for the kind of care
that someone like Terry Schiavo and many others who are not so severely brain damaged need all
across this country. Those of us who read liberal blogs also understand that that the tort reform that
is being contemplated by the Republican congress would preclude malpractice claims like that which
has paid for Terry Schiavo's care thus far."

2005-03-15T08:08:00.000-08:00

I really am amazed that the day has finally come when Pat Buchanan makes more sense than nearly anyone.

2005-03-09T13:43:00.000-08:00

Yet more indication we are living in Orwell's Oceania, and that we are being systematically lied to. The unquestioning puppy-dog press is, for the most part, complicit. I doubt this story will see any major network.

2005-03-08T11:55:00.000-08:00

I love this cartoon... Steadman's ink-drawings in F&L in LV really freaked me out...

2005-03-04T10:18:00.000-08:00

2005-03-01T09:55:00.000-08:00

David Stockman, Reagan's director of OMB, admitted sometime after he entered private life that trickle-down economics, which thrust us into record deficits back then, were intended to take the support out of the New Deal and allow radical restructuring, eventually undoing all New Deal programs. Bush is succeeding where Reagan failed, bouyed by a perpetual war, and whereas Bush Sr. called Reagan's neconomic plans "voodoo" economics, Bush Jr.'s is a slash-and-burn approach to liberal democracy itself. It isn't conservative, and it isn't moral. All that will be left is the military-industrial complex that Eisenhower warned us of.

2005-02-21T06:07:00.000-08:00

Up in what we called the "back bedroom" or the guest room, I suppose, was a paperback copy of Fear and Loathing in Las Vagas which, as a teen, I read with wonder and horror. Was it fiction? Was it autobiographical? What was it? In college, I began to read Hunter S. Thompson's actual pieces of gonzo journalism, which are fantastic pictures of important snippets of Americana, untarnished by objectivity. The best of these are: Hell's Angels, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail, 1972 and his collections of letters. In October, while in L.A., I glimpsed the gonzo king himself, drunk, and supposedly signing copies of his latest collection, Hey Rube, which I had purchased in order to get him to sign it, but he ended up vomiting, falling-down drunk, cancelling the signing. I gave him the finger through the window instead. Somehow, this is a fitting tribute to a man so impaired he couldn't live, yet so lucid, he couldn't keep quiet. Farewell, Hunter, you were my favorite asshole, and you had tremendous influence on the writing of a generation, as well as my own... I credit you with this, a phrase I fancied Thompsonian, in a book I never published:

"and the cruel and treacherous world, spun beautifully on...."

and so, indeed, it does...

2005-02-17T08:46:00.000-08:00

Why can we not impeach a president for inserting a phony news reporter into the press pool, using phony credentials, in an effort to prevent actual news people from asking him tough questions? Isn't this fraud on a grander scale than any White House blow job cover-up?

2005-02-16T08:55:00.000-08:00

I couldn't have ranted it any better than THIS.

2005-02-09T07:45:00.000-08:00

Reason number 563 why I will never be a major power-broker, or achieve anything of major consequence....

I am not an evil son of a bitch.

2005-02-08T10:25:00.000-08:00

More signs of the demise of liberty: the Pentagon now has its very own SS... the SSB, which is authorized to conduct black ops and intelligence gathering on US soil! Why are the libertarian gun-nuts not rising up in the streets in protest? Why aren't ordinary citizens doing so? The historical prohibition against domestic spying has been for great reasons, but now, fear of terrorism is stoking a form of facsism that even conservatives are worried about.

2005-02-04T11:24:00.000-08:00

Quote of the day from Feb 2nd:

"Today is Groundhog Day and the State of the Union Address. As Air America Radio pointed out, it is an ironic juxtaposition: one involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to a creature of little intelligence for prognostication and the other involves a groundhog."

2005-02-02T06:50:00.000-08:00

2005-01-31T13:25:00.000-08:00

OK, since, I've been seeing a lot of movies lately, I can recommend yet another one for you: "Million Dollar Baby." Yes, the title is terrible, but Clint Eastwood is an artful director, who has made his best film. I first decided he was a great director with his "A Perfect World" starring Kevin Costner, in one of his ocassional good roles. Since then, Eastwood has blessed us with important and sometimes great works, including "The Unforgiven" and "Mystic River." Simply put, "Million Dollar Baby" deserves all the accolades it is getting, and the Oscars it surely will get. I haven't been so moved, nor challenged intellectually or morally in a long time by a film. He never takes the easy way out in this one, and he has created a masterpiece. See it.

2005-01-25T10:14:00.000-08:00

Do you REALLY SUPPORT YOUR TROOPS, OR DO YOU JUST HAVE A STUPID MAGNETIC STICKER ON YOUR CAR? If you really want to help them, go here They need food, armor, hygiene products, you know, basic necessities of life which our government is too cheap to provide. Unfortunately, the war-monkey president had no qualms about throwing a $40 Million innauguration party, instead of suggesting that the rich fuckers who put the party together do something to help our troops. Imagine what good might ACTUALLY have been accomplished if he had really cared.

2005-01-24T10:58:00.000-08:00

Saw two great films this weekend. First, "Kinsey," which simultaneously shows us just how far we've come from Victorian social and sexual mores, and points out just how far we haven't. Particularly striking for me were the parallels between the McCarthy hearings at which Kinsey's book was linked to communism, and the Clinton/Lewinsky hearings of eight years ago. What the hell is wrong with us that we are so hung up on a blow job when the current so-called president lied about reasons to go into a war where hundreds of thousands have died???? Sex, it is such an obsession with Americans. Also intriguing was J. Edgar Hoover's going after Kinsey, even while Hoover himself was dressing up like a woman. How amazing. Hypocrisy, gotta love it.

The other movie was "Hotel Rwanda" which makes the excellent point that the west refused to do nothing, even while intervening in a burgeoning genocide in Bosnia/Serbia, while Rwandan Huutus in 1994 killed nearly a million Tutsis. It was depressing, but Don Cheadle is amazing, I have always liked him, and he deserves an Oscar for it, seriously.

2005-01-20T13:20:00.000-08:00

What the mainstream media won't report on the innauguration protests.

Well, saw the Chimp in Chief finish his speech when I went home for lunch. What more proof do we need of the truth of evolution than Chimpy reading from a teleprompter on live TV? Someday, he may be able to speak coherently without a script, but evolution takes many generations... so don't hold your breath.

The theme was spreading "liberty" throughout the world. Here's news for you, elections do not automatically equal liberty. Is Afganistan a burgeoning democracy? Give me a break. While sure women did vote there, has anyone noticed they are all still wearing Burkas? At best, we have made Afganistan and Iraq free for radical Islamic governments to pretend they are democracies, and for the warlords in Afganistan to develop the single greatest opium producing nation on Earth! Way to go! Democracy AND capitalism!!!

2005-01-20T06:09:00.000-08:00

Imminentizing the Eschaton...

welcome to the first day of the rest of the end of the world....

2005-01-19T10:56:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, January 20th, is....

NOT ONE DAMN DIME DAY

2005-01-10T07:36:00.000-08:00

You know, this would be funnier if it weren't so true...
Why is Ted Kennedy the only Democrat seemingly to have any balls anymore?

2005-01-05T11:02:00.000-08:00

the gall...

2005-01-03T07:21:00.000-08:00

Please go see "The Life Aquatic: with Steve Zissou" directed by Wes Anderson. Really. Please. It was lovely, sweet, wry, and colorful. This is the director who brought us "Bottle Rocket," "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tennenbaums." This latest film stars Anderson favorites Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, who deliver charming, poignant performances. I have now seen it twice, which says something.

2004-12-24T08:13:00.000-08:00

Happy Festivus!!!

2004-12-09T06:39:00.000-08:00

All of this is potentially explosive, and thus all of it will be completely supressed in the media.

2004-12-08T13:32:00.000-08:00

Not a bad gig... I will be lecturing shipboard, wandering through the Carribean, just as the weather is turning... how sad, huh? Only hitch is, making sure I have my final exam proctored. I think everything is set. Buttercup is going to be sorely pissed at my absence...

2004-12-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

2004-11-29T11:16:00.000-08:00

Maybe if we were a younger democracy, people would be in the streets by the hundreds of thousands in response to Ohio's vote fraud, as they are in the Ukraine....

In last Tuesday's election, 29 precincts in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, reported votes cast IN EXCESS of the number of registered voters - at least 93,136 extra votes total. And the numbers are right there on the official Cuyahoga County Board of Elections website:

Bay Village - 13,710 registered voters / 18,663 ballots cast
Beachwood - 9,943 registered voters / 13,939 ballots cast
Bedford - 9,942 registered voters / 14,465 ballots cast
Bedford Heights - 8,142 registered voters / 13,512 ballots cast
Brooklyn - 8,016 registered voters / 12,303 ballots cast
Brooklyn Heights - 1,144 registered voters / 1,869 ballots cast
Chagrin Falls Village - 3,557 registered voters / 4,860 ballots cast
Cuyahoga Heights - 570 registered voters / 1,382 ballots cast
Fairview Park - 13,342 registered voters / 18,472 ballots cast
Highland Hills Village - 760 registered voters / 8,822 ballots cast
Independence - 5,735 registered voters / 6,226 ballots cast
Mayfield Village - 2,764 registered voters / 3,145 ballots cast
Middleburg Heights - 12,173 registered voters / 14,854 ballots cast
Moreland Hills Village - 2,990 registered voters / 4,616 ballots cast
North Olmstead - 25,794 registered voters / 25,887 ballots cast
Olmstead Falls - 6,538 registered voters / 7,328 ballots cast
Pepper Pike - 5,131 registered voters / 6,479 ballots cast
Rocky River - 16,600 registered voters / 20,070 ballots cast
Solon (WD6) - 2,292 registered voters / 4,300 ballots cast
South Euclid - 16,902 registered voters / 16,917 ballots cast
Strongsville (WD3) - 7,806 registered voters / 12,108 ballots cast
University Heights - 10,072 registered voters / 11,982 ballots cast
Valley View Village - 1,787 registered voters / 3,409 ballots cast
Warrensville Heights - 10,562 registered voters / 15,039 ballots cast
Woodmere Village - 558 registered voters / 8,854 ballots cast
Bedford (CSD) - 22,777 registered voters / 27,856 ballots cast
Independence (LSD) - 5,735 registered voters / 6,226 ballots cast
Orange (CSD) - 11,640 registered voters / 22,931 ballots cast
Warrensville (CSD) - 12,218 registered voters / 15,822 ballots cast
The Republicans are so BUSTED.

2004-11-22T17:26:00.000-08:00

Buttercup and I are in Virginia for the week, visiting dad and Ann, I am posting this from my phone. Even with the shrub in the White House, this is still a lovely country, for now. I do love to drive around it and take in its splendor. It is always a relief to see some mountains after the flat lands of western NY. i will post more when i can find some internet.

2004-11-19T06:54:00.000-08:00

It's ironic that the party which gained power due to "moral values" had to change rules THEY put into place, in order to allow their indicted LEADER to remain in his position. Ironic and sad. Didn't Jesus hate the hypocrites most of all?

2004-11-19T06:07:00.000-08:00

Well, now that Iraq is a democracy, and safe, and all that, time to go to Iran?
And why should we believe Powell now, after he was so incredibly wrong about Iraq?

2004-11-17T08:07:00.000-08:00

Oh SO SORRY world!!!

We really did try....55 million of us at least.

2004-11-16T08:35:00.000-08:00

No incumbant president has ever won with approval rating below 50%, and yet the Thief in Chief did... is this a miracle, or is it more evidence that he was not, in fact, elected?

2004-11-09T07:58:00.000-08:00

More on the theft of this election:

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0411/S00106.htm

http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0411/S00102.htm

2004-11-04T10:04:00.000-08:00

How could everyone be so wrong?

...maybe, just maybe, the Republicans cheated yet again...

2004-11-03T05:44:00.000-08:00

Dear America,

I may never fall in love again. I am heartbroken. You have sold your ideals for superficial promises of "security" and "values" to a lying War Monkey. You have chosen war and fear, and abandoned hope. You have chosen to retreat to the dark ages, and rejected science and reason. You have decided to rewrite history, and become a Christian nation instead of the secular one our founders intended. You lick your lips at the thought of the next crusade. America, you have lost me.

sincerely,
David

p.s., this says it all...

2004-11-01T06:50:00.000-08:00

Dear America,

I know that we have not seen eye-to-eye for a while. We agreed that Gore should have been elected, and were both pretty outraged when the Supreme Court overturned our will in appointing the War Monkey as president. But after 9/11, we clearly didn't see the world the same way. I was discouraged when you retreated to fear and xenophobia. I thought you were just being reactionary when you embraced Preznit Shrub for invading Iraq, and letting Osama bin Laden go. It reminded me of that joke about the drunk and the lost quarter (see my blog fromn last March). But now I sense we are finally looking at the same page again. All signs point to your reawakening from the long national, irrational nightmare of fear and loathing. I think we are about to undergo a quiet revolution tomorrow, and vote for hope together. I feel like I will be able to proudly call myself one of your own again. Don't let me down. I have missed you.

with love,
David

2004-10-29T06:12:00.000-07:00

Is Salon mainstream media? This is potentially huge, but I doubt any of the major networks will pick it up.

2004-10-27T08:10:00.000-07:00

People are beginning to see that the little emperor is naked!
Kerry seems to have the big mo', let's hope it continues!!!

2004-10-25T11:13:00.000-07:00

I was home for lunch today with my dog and I was just in time to see the Big Dog himself, the last elected President, Bill Clinton, introduce the next elected president, John F. Kerry live in front of a crowd that stretched out for what seemed like miles in every direction in Philly. What a beautiful sight, and it clearly energized Kerry. Kerry's a good closer, and I am feeling optimistic.

2004-10-21T13:29:00.000-07:00

BULLETIN
KERRY WINS GONZO ENDORSMENT; DR. THOMPSON JOINS DEMOCRAT IN CALLING BUSH "THE SYPHILLIS PRESIDENT"
"Four more years of George Bush will be like four more years of syphilis," the famed author said yesterday at a hastily called press conference near his home in Woody Creek, Colorado. "Only a fool or a sucker would vote for a dangerous loser like Bush," Dr. Thompson warned. "He hates everything we stand for, and he knows we will vote against him in November."

Thompson, long known for the eerie accuracy of his political instincts, went on to denounce Ralph Nader as "a worthless Judas Goat with no moral compass."

"I endorsed John Kerry a long time ago," he said, "and I will do everything in my power, short of roaming the streets with a meat hammer, to help him be the next President of the United States."

*****

2004-10-21T07:08:00.000-07:00

No one ever comments on this blog, but I will keep shouting into the void...

this looks more promising daily...

2004-10-20T07:36:00.000-07:00

sooooo....
I waited for two hours on a cool misty LA evening for Hunter S. Thompson to sign his latest book, and was 217th in line, but the stupid bastard was drunk outta his mind and quit signing after 50. Fuck Hunter S. Thompson! Jim Underdown and I gave him the finger, which delighted us.

we also saw Ann Coulter at the same bookshop with some obese fellow...maybe Rush Limbaugh?

What a weird weekend.

2004-10-19T18:03:00.000-07:00

It is a sad and a beautiful world

2004-10-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

What in holy hell is this about? AP says it was a "test" story...

is the fix already in?

2004-10-18T06:35:00.000-07:00

OHIO, GODDAMMIT!

WITHOUT OHIO OR FLORIDA, KERRY WILL LOSE!

2004-10-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

Celebrity sightings in LA so far: Geena Davis, Andy Richter, Brian Posehn, and this girl, Ardin Myrin, who was in the audience for my tour of the Hollywood Hell House. She was in the series "working" and is very cute. I should have said "hi."

2004-10-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

Once again from the cell phone. Can we please stop the mock outrage over Mary Cheney? LA is a little lonely.

2004-10-16T06:56:00.000-07:00

I am posting from my phone in the airport, so please forgive any errors-- flying to LA till tuesday. ZOGBY poll in 2000 asking he km Oz who would you prefer as president, tin man or scarecrow, 49 percent each. This year, the tin man gets a ten point lead. Draw your own conclusions.

2004-10-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

The mock outrage of the Cheneys in response to Kerry's fair use of Mary Cheney's open sexuality in the debates is sickening given Lynne Cheney never lashed out at Alan Keyes for calling her daughter a "selfish hedonist."

2004-10-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

Finally, Friedman sounds like a rational person again.

2004-10-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

I haven't been a consistent fan of the band Green Day, though I liked a couple songs on "Dookie." But they have outdone themselves with "American Idiot" which is a west-coast punk rock opera that sums up that last four years of the Bush presidency. It is mature, melodic, hard hitting and emotional. It is damned good. Check it out!

and check this out too.

2004-10-13T05:25:00.000-07:00

I will be speaking in Hornell New York tonight at 7pm. Hopefully I can get done with the talk and questions in time to watch the debate. This is truly the big one, with the race dead even. I am literally quivering with anticipation.

meanwhile, dig this:

2004-10-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

Potentially devastating!
I hope it's true...maybe the bloggers who blew the CBS memo stupidity can look into this???

2004-10-11T07:23:00.000-07:00

Two Presidential and one Vice-presidential debate down, and the states are settling into stability. The lynchpins this time will be Florida and Ohio, each of which keeps swinging back and forth. It is scarey that we may end up with tie this time in the Electoral College vote, which would send it to the House of Representatives. This last debate can be a turning-point for either if one of them slips up badly, or clearly trounces the other. This would be exciting, if it weren't so nerve-wracking!!!

2004-10-07T06:37:00.000-07:00

Is it any wonder that Cheney's best line was a lie?

Meeting Was Not First for Cheney, Edwards
Vice President Dick Cheney, Sen. John Edwards Met Twice Before Debate, Contrary to Cheney's Statement

The Associated Press

CLEVELAND Oct. 6, 2004 — Vice President Dick Cheney said Tuesday night that the debate with Democratic Sen. John Edwards marked the first time they had met. In fact, the two had met at least three times previously.

2004-10-05T06:33:00.000-07:00

On NPR this morning, a report indicated that people are registering to vote in record numbers in cities like Philly, St. Louis and Denver (where they are getting 2000 per day!). Now, do you think they are fired up Republicans, or angry new Democrats? I am betting on the latter and think now we may have a stealth victory unpredicated by any poll since polls ask past voters how they will vote. Maybe I am being overly optimistic, but hey, that's my bag.

2004-10-04T13:08:00.000-07:00

Dueling Quotes

"My opponent says we didn't have any allies in this war.
What's he say to Tony Blair? What's he say to Alexander Kwasniewski of Poland?"
--Dubya, in Thursday night's debate,

"They (He means Bush) deceived us about the weapons of mass destruction, that's true.
We were taken for a ride."
-Alexander Kwasniewski,

2004-09-29T11:12:00.000-07:00

Kerry needs to fight back with an ad echoing this, the Shrub's record of flip-flopping.

2004-09-29T08:11:00.000-07:00

Finally, someone challenges the "Cowboy" image of the Shrub.

2004-09-24T07:12:00.000-07:00

this rocks:

2004-09-23T06:35:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting article showing how the Bush-Bounce polls were skewed badly.

2004-09-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

Zogby, who called the 2000 election dead-on, says the race is a dead-heat again, even in the electoral college, and envisions a scenario of an EC tie which would throw the decision to the US House of Representatives.... ack!

2004-09-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

Yet more on Rove's probable connection to the CBS memogate incident. What a White (House) Wash!

2004-09-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

Awwwwwwwww
shit!

how is he losing Wisconsin, Iowa, Pennsylvania and Ohio!?!?
Jebus Cripes!

2004-09-16T11:34:00.000-07:00

Yet more reason to believe the CBS-Gurad Memo debacle is a Rove-created diversion from the real story: Bush was given preferential treatment, and then failed to meet his obligations!

2004-09-15T07:27:00.000-07:00

I am glad I am not the only one who can smell a rat named Rove!

2004-09-14T06:52:00.000-07:00

Powell says what we all know, that the neo-cons are "fucking crazies", but, so, then why on earth has he not resigned? Where is HIS honor?

2004-09-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

This Guard-Service, allegedly fake memo story has Rove's fingerprints all over it. Rove sets up the clearly fake memo, leaks it to CBS to discredit the entire guard story (even the true stuff about Bush's medical failures, etc.) and to try to get the Dems to bite and make them look ridiculous in the process. Now, if they can only do the math and trace it back to Rove before the election!

2004-09-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

Where is this supposed Huge Lead that Bush has?
Looks like PA, FL and OH are the big questions, the other states are settling into the solid categories.
The media clearly want Shrub to win. Bastards.

2004-09-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

Why do the media insist that Bush is leading? Look at the electoral map! The bastards WANT Shrub to win!

2004-09-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

The whoreish media keep harping on Shrub's supposed "bounce" in the polls, but Kerry has moved back ahead in the electoral vote count. So why don't they talk about that???? Bastards! They want the Shrub to win.

2004-09-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

OK, he can do it if he can just win PA...

2004-08-31T05:49:00.000-07:00

OK, this is bullshit! How is Kerry losing both PA and OH?????

2004-08-30T07:35:00.000-07:00

Half a million protesters! Why did this not get press here in the US? The news channels here have been largely ridiculing the protestors.

2004-08-25T06:06:00.000-07:00

Draw your own conclusions:

2004-08-24T06:10:00.000-07:00

So today I am supposed to tape a segment on Fox News regarding "faith in the workplace." Should be interesting. I will give details when I get them.

Ohio and Florida keep flipping back and forth... they are making me nuts! In other news, Kerry picked up Tennessee! How long will that last, I wonder?