impeach... !

The word need be repeated:

Friends of his from Texas were shocked recently to find him nearly wild-eyed, thumping himself on the chest three times while he repeated “I am the president!” He also made it clear he was setting Iraq up so his successor could not get out of “our country’s destiny.”

... and repeated...

apropos of nothing...

Was surfing and had cause to Wiki "Diamond Jim Brady" and... Good Christ!

A typical Brady breakfast would be: eggs, pancakes, pork chops, cornbread, fried potatoes, hominy, muffins, and a beefsteak. For refreshment, a gallon of orange juice—or "golden nectar", as he called his favorite drink. Lunch might be two lobsters, deviled crabs, clams, oysters and beef, with a few pies for dessert. The usual evening meal began with an appetizer of two or three dozen oysters, six crabs, and a few servings of green turtle soup, followed by a main course of two whole ducks, six or seven lobsters, a sirloin steak, two servings of terrapin and a host of vegetables. For dessert, the gourmand enjoyed pastries and a two pound box of candy.

Harkening Steve Landesberg in his faux, over-the-top Swedish voice: "Vhat's for suppehr, schnookems?"

delayed gratification...

Tom Delay says Newt Gingrich having an affair while presiding over Bill Clinton's Impeachment was the height of hypocrisy. Delay also found room to draw a distinction between Newt's and his respective infidelities:

"There's a big difference," DeLay says. "Also," he adds, "I had returned to Christ and repented my sins by that time."

To which, I can only imagine, Christ then said: "Oy!"

bill o'reilly brushes up against candor; doesn't burst into flames...

Who knew, right?

But do you understand what the New York Times wants, and the far-left want? They want to break down the white, Christian, male power structure, which you're a part, and so am I, and they want to bring in millions of foreign nationals to basically break down the structure that we have. In that regard, Pat Buchanan is right. So I say you've got to cap with a number.

I saw when Buchanan whined about the imminent extinction of the Angry White Male, to which, I offer as an Angry White Male (angry for different reasons albeit): "Bully!"

out damned spot...

Not your father's Republican party (or was it?):

Mike Rogers has outed so many closeted gay politicos, he's starting to make Capitol Hill look like Brokeback Mountain.

"The List" is on the left column.

h/t to RawStory...

i feel yer pain...

Josh at TPM:

The president says so many stupid things about Iraq that it's sort of hard to know which ones to focus on.

And I thought it was just me.

my kingdom for (the removal of) a horse('s ass)...

Lieberlips flapping in the wind again:

"Overall, what I'd say I see here today is progress, significant progress, from the last time I was here in December. And if you can see progress in war, that means you're headed in the right direction."

And thank YOU again, Connecticut!

repeat after me: "soylent green is people"...

Salon interviews scientists looking into the disturbing Colony Collapse Disorder:

Last fall, the nation's beekeepers watched in horror as more than a quarter of their 2.4 million colonies collapsed, killing billions of nature's little fertilizers.

But as a Salon round table discussion with bee experts revealed, the mass exodus of bees to the great hive in the sky forebodes a bigger story.

back to the grind...

The Tuesday that felt like a Monday...

I see Chris Hitchens is pissing off the right people once again.

Hitchens, laughing, said, "At least they almost pronounced Nietzsche's name right."

Good! Was getting tired of him pissing me off.

P.S. Dollars to donuts, the caller pronounced it like it was that linebacker who played for the Packers back when, eh?

memorial day 2007...

Year 4 of the Occupation:

Casualty figures thru 5/26/07:
American Deaths: 3,455
American Wounded (Official): 25,549
American Wounded (Estimated): 23,000 - 100,000

Iraqi Civilian Deaths (Reported):
Min - 64,405
Max - 70,552

Study: War blamed for 655,000 Iraqi deaths

Paul Krugman in the Times via Pottersville:

“In this place where valor sleeps, we are reminded why America has always gone to war reluctantly, because we know the costs of war.” That’s what President Bush said last year, in a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Those were fine words, spoken by a man with less right to say them than any president in our nation’s history. For Mr. Bush took us to war not with reluctance, but with unseemly eagerness.

barf me...

I could Google it, I suppose, but I don't want to. Suffice it to say I have no idea how this silly tradition of racecar winners swigging a bottle of milk, while receiving accolades on their victory, began.

Supposing here again that after 500 rips around a mile-long oval at speeds exceeding somewhere between 1/4 and 1/3 of Mach, an experience astronauts-in-training likely do not enjoy, milk has some paliative affect on the brain to reduce remnant cerebral slosh in and around the occipital bun.

After slugging a quart of half & half, say, it'll induce vomiting?

And I'm a brain surgeon.

this just in...

Maria Callas: December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977

This from a guy who never thought of himself as an "Opera buff": Every time I hear her version of Catalani's "La Wally - Ebben Ne Andro Lontana," and I did but a moment ago, I weep. Literally.

Of course Roy Orbison's "Crying" and The Hollies' "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" has that affect on me as well.

Getting a little sentimental, or, uhm, soft in the head, I reckon.

Former Bush aide Card booed at UMass

As promised: The UMass Minutepeople tell the Bushies where they can get off.

minutefolk let loyal bushie know where he can go...

(AP Photo)
----------
Update: Pottersville with a nice summary of the event.

Proud of my people:

Boo U: Amherst Honor Turns Sour for Card

AMHERST - Hundreds of students and faculty erupted in a chorus of boos yesterday when President Bush’s former Chief of Staff Andrew Card rose to accept his honorary doctorate in public service at the University of Massachusetts, blaming him in part for the Iraq war.

The boos and catcalls - including those from faculty who stood on stage with Card - drowned out Provost Charlena Seymour’s remarks as she awarded the degree.

Protesters claim Card lied to the American people in the early days of the Iraq war and should not have been honored at the graduate student commencement.

Card smiled slightly while Seymour spoke and raised his hand in thanks, then sat down without speaking.

“It was a great honor and a privilege to be here,” he said afterward, ignoring a reporter’s questions about the protesters.

The protests were mainly contained to an area in the back of the campus arena and many of the faculty on stage who joined the three- to four- minute outburst.

One faculty member on stage held a sign: “Card - no honor, no degree.”

Another sign said “War criminals go home.”

Card, a native of Holbrook and a former Massachusetts lawmaker, has said he was honored to be selected and is a supporter of UMass.

Opponents tried unsuccessfully for days leading up to the ceremony to get the university to change its mind in awarding the honor.

Searching for video of the event...

----------
Update: Here's the video.

rivalry redux...

UMass/DC softballers Brian & Doug have started up a Red Sox/Yankees rivaly-specific blog.

Keep on a keepin' on, boys!

GO SAWX!

i don't believe it...

A matter-of-fact statement, that; not reflexive denial...

I simply don't believe this:

GALLUP: Nearly 1 in 3 Believe Bible is Literal Word of God
About one-third of the American adult population believes the Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally word for word, a new Gallup poll reveals. This percentage is only slightly lower than several decades ago.

Okay, let's stipulate that 1 in 3 actually believe that they believe that a Palestinian Hebrew born some 2000+ years ago can possibly be a Eurocentric blond with baby-blue eyes. But does anybody really believe 99% of that 1/3rd have actually read the damned book? And likely that that's not the case, let's pin the pinheads down on every "word for word" as we are made to read it to them, and demand whether they actually buy all of it - word for word!

And when we inevitably find out that there's some cheesy chapter or perverse verse that doesn't actually square with their sense of -- well, sense! -- and we consequently determine that not a one really believes all the gobbledy-gook that that book dispenses, we, the other 2/3rds of the put-upon majority, ought be allowed to share the blessing of providing each & every one of the ignorant Third a leather-bound, unabridged version of King James and ram them deep into their asses (which, I suspect, is how they achieve their book-learnin').

Ah, that felt guuuud!

----------
Update: Make that a Palestinian Hebrew born some 2000+ years ago, who is indeed blond with blue eyes, who lives at the north pole, although, once a year, rises up from the pumpkin patch and goes down the chimney, leaving quarters under pillows for every tooth you can pull outta yer head, while hiding li'l chocolate eggs for all the good little boys'n girls to scavenge.

----------
Update II: Lest I be deemed intolerant of people of faith, I say my contempt is for the content of those beliefs. If one is offended that that contempt appears to spill over into the ad hominem, I would then refer one to the LA Times, which gives an excellent example of the ramifications of coddling what Arthur C. Clarke once referred to as "a disease of infancy":

The problem is that people who deny science in one realm are unlikely to embrace it in another. Those who cannot accept that climate change may have caused the extinction of dinosaurs 65 million years ago probably don't put much stock in the fact that today it poses grave peril to the Earth as we know it.

the week in review...

David Sirota again:

What [Dem strategists] seem unable - or unwilling - to realize is that the public has believed Democrats are weak not because some in the party have opposed the war, but because many in the party refuse to wield the power the public entrusts them with on all sorts of issues.

Brevity being the soul of wit [and, in this case, exactitude], this pretty much says it for me.

friday follies...

Given the previous post, I don't know if we'll have many more opportunities to actually have a laugh. But here's an attempt. From The Satirical Political Reporter (via C&L):

What are the odds that the two most prominent femmes fatales of successive Administrations share the same first name? But wait, the parallels don’t stop there! It’s kinda’ like those spooky Lincoln-Kennedy coincidences.

OK … maybe not. You make the call:

10. Lewinsky is a Jew; Goodling hates Jews.
9. Lewinsky blew Bubba; Goodling “serviced” Dubya.
8. Lewinsky’s a brunette; Goodling ditches brunette to fit in with the “right-wing blondes.”
7. Both love high-fashion headwear — Lewinsky a beret; Goodling the Jesus crown of thorns.
6. Lewinsky: indiscretions enabled a political prosecutor; Goodling: indiscretions disabled apolitical prosecutors.
5. Lewinsky: comforted Bill. Goodling: “comforted” by Alberto the Shill.
4. Both avid readers — Lewinsky: Leaves of Grass; Goodling: would stick a Bible up your ass.
3. Lewinsky: attended a real college, but no power as an intern. Goodling: attended a fake law school, but makes and breaks careers at Justice.
2. Lewinsky: Looking to party. Goodling: Looking to trash a Party.
1. Both have yelled out “JESUS” while in a kneeling position.

jesus h. christ... !

That's who the vice president apparently thinks he is.

Regarding the tug o'war between Dick Cheney, who wants to bomb Iran, and the State Department, which, surprisingly enough, wants to a) engage in dipolomacy, and b) has the president's ear for the moment:

The Cheney aide, who has met with policy hands of the American Enterprise Institute along with other groups, "has stated to several Washington insiders that Cheney is planning to deploy an 'end run strategy' around the President if he and his team lose the policy argument," according to Clemons. . .

According to this official, Cheney believes that Bush can not be counted on to make the "right decision" when it comes to dealing with Iran and thus Cheney believes that he must tie the President's hands.

We may be in the midst of a "7 Days in May" scenario, or a variation thereof.

----------
Update: Supplemental from Greenwald referencing the last GOP debate as an example of the frightening prospect of another Republican presidency succeeding Dubya and whether that might represent the death knell of a Constitutional democracy in America:

But what is happening to the Republican party -- the transformation of its base from Falwell/Robertson social conservatism obsessed with abortion and gay rights into a macro version of the Little Green Footballs comment section, obsessed instead with, literally excited by, detaining and torturing people, maximizing government domestic surveillance, starting still new wars in the Middle East and being far more brutal with the current ones ("doing what needs to be done") -- is too extreme to ignore.

lest ye be bullshat further...

David Sirota explains it all for you:

Here's how it is expected to work today in a process only Dick Cheney could love (though you never know - it could change at the last minute). Every bill comes to the House floor with what is known as a "rule" that sets the terms of the debate over the legislation in question. House members first vote to approve this parliamentary rule, and then vote on the legislation. Today, however, Democrats are planning to essentially include the Iraq blank check bill IN the rule itself, by making sure the underlying bill the rule brings to the floor includes no timelines for withdrawal, and that the rule only allows amendments that fund the war with no restrictions - blank check amendments that House Democratic leaders know Republicans will have the votes to pass. . .

Democratic lawmakers, of course, will use the Memorial Day recess to tell their angry constituents they really are using all of their power to end the war, that they voted against the Republican blank check amendment which the rule deliberately propels, and that the vote on the rule - which was the real vote for war - wasn't really the important vote, when, in fact, they know very well it is the biggest vote on the war since original 2002 authorization for the invasion. . .

Yet, most of these Democrats will likely vote for the rule, which is the real vote for war. Democrats voting yes on the rule are the ones who are casting their vote to give President Bush a blank check. . .

Got that? Congressional Dems offer up a game of "3-Card Monty" with their constituents playing the suckers:

Keep yer eyez on the red queen: Here it is here it is here it is -- WHERE IS IT!?

Wanna see it again?

Senate Dems from that "Gang of 14" (led by the odious Lieberlips) did the same thing last year when they voted AYE for cloture (the real vote the day before) before voting NAY against now-Justice Alito.

----------
Update: This companion piece from Bowers at MYDD offers a little logic as to why capitulating Dems fear criticism from a most unpopular president more than from an especially riled base:

If progressive grassroots activists are too demoralized to make small donations, the party becomes more reliant on large donors. If we are too demoralized to run for party office or challenge sitting Democrats in primaries, the establishment Democratic power structure are never held accountable for running ineffective campaigns or selling out the base.

If we don't use the strength of the progressive movement in the 2008 presidential primaries, then the influence the DLC-nexus, neoliberals, and LieberDems have in determining the direction of the Democratic Party increases. And on and on.

If sitting Dems believe this, then color me bewildered. I was always under the impression that people get up and go vote more when they're pissed off, especially in a primary. Best and most recent example: primary voters in Connecticut came out in record numbers last August and gave ol' Lieberlips a proper whacking.

Having said that, of course, individual states need to be sure not to allow losing incumbents an exception and the opportunity for a second bite at the apple. Lieberlips' subsequent re-election rendered the primary meaningless. Watch for further legislation, then, to emerge from the states calling for the elimination of primaries or, at least, minor adjustments, like letting incumbents skip right to the general election, a tidy end and the complete undermining of representative democracy.

Oligarchy!

no confidence *this*... !

From the gang who couldn't shoot straight, this, which was supposed to happen this week:

In a press conference today, Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said that Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) had agreed to bring the no-confidence resolution concerning Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to the Senate floor after the immigration bill -- meaning probably the second week of June. The Senate has a one week recess next week.

If ever there was a need for a national referendum, I'd suggest Referendum 1 be a "No Confidence" vote in our entire federal government.

another example of a steaming sample...

Glenn Greenwald, making yet another excellent point, explains that, which Joe Klein considers "journalism," is really stenography:

As always, the very idea of granting anonymity to government sources to do nothing other than repeat pro-government claims is both manipulative and moronic on its face. What possible journalistic value could there ever be in cloaking someone with anonymity in order to say something that Tony Snow would happily say, and does say, every day from the White House Press Briefing Room?

That was one of the principal though-still-unlearned lessons of the Judy Miller Saga: when a journalist does nothing but mindlessly repeat the claims of government sources which are completely consistent with -- or designed to bolster -- the claims being made by the administration itself out in the open, the journalist is doing nothing more than turning himself into a willing propaganda tool.

meanwhile, back at the ranch...

$3.05/gallon in this neighborhood...



image courtesy of C&L...

here's a question (or two)...

Bowers asks why are all the Third Way jackoffs Democrats?

To which I ask: Why are all the Third Way Democrats jackoffs?

i can neither confirm nor deny that big dick cheney was gettin' some on the side...

Maybe We The People could pay 'er to work that ticker jusssst a little bit harder:

"Vice President Cheney isn’t not on the phone records of the alleged D.C. Madam, who is accused of running a high-price call-girl ring in Washington, the accused madam’s lawyer said on Tuesday," Emily Heil reports for Roll Call. "But then again, the veep isn’t on the list, he said — not necessarily."

Believe me: It's necessary!

mitt bashes massachusetts again...

The man is an out & out fraud:

"In the most liberal state in the country," a sinister-sounding narrator intones over the obligatory backdrop of photos of John Kerry and Mike Dukakis, "one Republican stood up, and cut spending instead of raising taxes. He enforced immigration laws, stood up for traditional marriage and the sanctity of human life."

One wonders not at all if there was a higher office than POTUS, that Mitt Romney would think nothing of bashing America.

fucking cowards... !

The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
- W.B. Yeats

No timeline. No enforceable benchmarks. Same mealy-mouthed, weasally bullshit!

“We don’t have a veto-proof Congress. But no one can say with any degree of veracity that we haven’t made great progress, and this bill is further proof of that.” - Harry Reid

“I view this as the beginning of the end of the president’s policy on Iraq.” - Rahm Emanuel

"I would never vote for such a thing." - Nancy Pelosi

“It was a concession to reality.” - Jim Moran

“I am disappointed that there is no firm deadline in this version of the bill, because I believe that’s the only way to responsibly bring this war to an end.” - Chris Dodd

Add this little tidbit:

Senior Democratic officials said the final bill would probably be stripped of other features that Mr. Bush had previously resisted, including readiness standards that would have prevented troops from being returned to Iraq within one year of serving there or without adequate training and equipment unless Mr. Bush signed a waiver determining it was necessary.

And the lone voice in the wilderness cryeth out:

“There has been a lot of tough talk from members of Congress about wanting to end this war, but it looks like the desire for political comfort won out over real action. Congress should have stood strong, acknowledged the will of the American people, and insisted on a bill requiring a real change of course in Iraq." - Russ Feingold

----------
Update: Nobody straddles a fence like this rhymes-with-witch:

"When I have something to say, I will say it, gentlemen." - Hillary Clinton

the president won't fire him -- but YOU can

See the gist at impeachgonzalez.org

hasselhoff gets custody of the kids...

Must've been a German judge.



(link & pic via HuffPo)

general bumpkin fading away...

Damn! I was hoping the next president would get to fire his ass:

An army general who led the Pentagon's effort to hunt down Osama bin Laden and once likened the war on terror to a Christian struggle against Satan is retiring, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday.

Lieutenant General William Boykin's departure ends a legendary 36 year career, most of it as a special operations warrior and member of the army's elite Delta Force counter-terrorism unit.

This guy should've been canned the day he was videotaped yawping the bible while in uniform. Not that Hillary will ever stand up to the Evangelitan wing of the Military (and certainly not Mitt, now that he's on cruise control in Iowa), but ours would be a better military without the uniformed Jumbo Shrimp (a.k.a., "conservative Christian"), who swear to defend and uphold the Constitution, then push Jesus-from-the-Old-Testament down subordinates' throats. Only way to deal with this uppity-to-Dem-presidents lot is kick 'em out of the military, starting with the the Air Force Academy commandant.

all the news that's fit to print...

Remember when I said this?

Can you believe this groovy cat was Senator from Alaska? I'd even add as his running mate a Texas Republican (Holy Christ! I know!): Ron Paul.

Better yet, I've got a great slogan for the latter -- "Ron Paul: One Republican Who Won't Suck Up".

Well, according to Joan Walsh at Salon, the barking has generated a few echos:

It's worth noting that, as was the case with Howard Dean in 2003, the two candidates who've spoken most clearly against the Iraq war in the early debates -- Mike Gravel and Paul -- are getting the big surge of attention online.

Keep reading Barking Up Trees, then, people. Not only does it gratify my ego, but now it's cutting edge!

don't make me come over there...

McCain to Cornyn: *Bleep* You!

pic via HuffPo...

----------

Update: This post's title was previously "mccain running for longshoreman?" And then Naahm, in his comment, illustrated where I fell short in delivering my point. I should've just gone with the pic as it's freaky enough. And to answer Naahm's question, personally I'd love to see our reps in Congress curse like sailors in public. It'd at least give 'em some authenticity. All this "my good friend from across the aisle" bullshit turns my stomach. Having said that, of course, I still believe McCain's one perceived affront short of going postal on the Senate floor.

---------

Update II: Cenk Uygur agrees with me:

I often get frustrated with Democrats and re-write what they should have said to the press or to the Republicans instead of the mealy-mouthed stuff they wound up saying. The one time I thought there was an aggressive campaign that I wouldn't have changed a thing on was Jim Webb. And he took down George Allen, who almost certainly would have been the presidential candidate for the Republicans in 2008 if Webb hadn't kicked his ass in Virginia.

"enhanced 'feel-good' techniques"... yeaaaaahh, that's it... !

Brainwrap at DailyKos has some questions for the GOP master-debaters:

1. Would you beat up a proven terrorist if it meant saving the rest of the planet?
2. Would you beat up a proven terrorist if it meant saving the United States?
3. Would you kill a proven terrorist if it meant saving 100,000 lives?
4. Would you beat up a (possibly innocent) man if it meant saving 100,000 lives?
5. Would you kill one (possibly innocent) man if it meant saving 100,000 lives?
6. Would you kill ten men to save 10,000?
7. Would you beat up a child if it meant saving 10,000 lives?
8. Would you waterboard a child if it meant saving 1,000 lives?
9. Would you kill a child if it meant saving 100 lives?
10. Would you kill ten children if it meant saving 50 lives?

And you'll call two friends, and then they'll call two friends, and so on, and so on...

friday follies...

Briton First to Fly Over Everest in Powered Paraglider

Former SAS trooper [Bear] Grylls, who in 1998 scaled the 8,848-metre (29,198-feet) peak on foot and became the youngest Briton to do so, took off from Pheriche near Everest using a specially developed paramotor -- a thrust-pack worn on the body.

Fellow flyer Gilo Cardozo, who developed the special paramotor, turned back before the summit with engine trouble but managed to glide back to base camp safely.

Considering helicopters can't fly this high...

the bushies helping to push michael moore's *sicko*...

He goes to Cuba, they take the bait:

TIME: You also speak rhapsodically about the French and Cuban systems and travel to Cuba, where you interview Che Guevara’s daughter. France, Cuba, Che. Are you going out of your way to annoy the right?

Michael Moore: I give people more credit than the media and the political machine running this country do. The story line is: France, bad; France, cowards. What crime did France commit? We wouldn’t have had this country without their support in the Revolution. They gave us that statue that sits out in New York Harbor. They responded immediately after 9/11. And they remain eternally grateful for what we did during World War II. As for Cuba, yes, when I’ve got a film crew there, they’re going to show us their best. But there’s a reason the World Health Organization ranks their health-care system [among] the best in the Third World and that people from Latin America come there for their health care. There’s also a reason Cubans live on average a month longer than we do.

I’m not trumpeting Castro or his regime. I just want to say to fellow Americans, “C’mon, we’re the United States! If they can do this, we can do it.”

Why, that filthy Commie!!!

h/t Rawstory...

satan's little helper...

Lieberlips again (h/t to Hugh Bailey via C&L):

The leader of the House version of Lieberman’s committee is Rep. Henry Waxman of California. Armed with subpoena power, Waxman has already delved into the Pentagon propaganda operation, which fictionalized the stories of Jessica Lynch and Pat Tillman; he’s investigating the parallel e-mail system that may have allowed White House political staff to avoid laws on preserving communications; and he wants answers from the top about the lies leading up to the Iraq invasion. There is no chance of seeing similar investigations in the Senate committee — Lieberman knows which voters got him back into office last year, and they weren’t Democrats.

But he can take credit for one achievement. He succeeded in getting Republicans and Democrats to alternate seats with one another around the dais when they meet in committee, rather than splitting up on one side or the other. All the better for
civility.

If the self-appointed arbiter of all things bipartisan is going to turn his back on doing the job he was elected to do, he can at least make sure everyone is nice to each other.

amidst the crickets chirping...

Why is Pat Leahy dicking around?

"I will have no choice but to issue subpoenas to try to get to the truth in this matter."

Enough with the "letters" they keep sending to the Attorney General or to White House Counsels asking them to please, please comply. Start firing off the subpoenas already! Start citing them for Inherent Contempt! Start Impeachment proceedings! I mean, Ferchrissakes!

Fire all of your guns at once
And explode into space

Like a true nature's child
We were born, born to be wild
We can climb so high
I never wanna die

Born to be wiiiiiillld...

----------
Update: The wheels on the bus go 'round & 'round (not performed by Steppenwolf). Dems schedule the No Confidence vote for next week:

[It's] a nonbinding resolution expressing the sense the Senate has lost confidence in Gonzales's ability to run the Justice Department. The measure would not directly impact Gonzales's ability to keep his job, it would force Republicans to go on record with their support of the attorney general.

Sigh! Dems seem determined to touch every base before hauling out the Uzis and riddling the lot of 'em.

bumper sticker of the day...

I'll give Chaatoes his props for layin' this one on me years ago. Just saw it this morning on a bumper:

Only users lose drugs.

pretentious suburbanites for gravel...

Look! If Al Gore doesn't get in, I'll take this guy:

Former Sen. Mike Gravel, the longshot presidential candidate who has generated buzz in the liberal blogosphere following a dramatic and heated performance during the first Democratic presidential debate, reaffirmed his belief that President Bush should be jailed for going to war in Iraq and that all drugs should be legalized.

Can you believe this groovy cat was Senator from Alaska? I'd even add as his running mate a Texas Republican (Holy Christ! I know!): Ron Paul.

Better yet, I've got a great slogan for the latter -- "Ron Paul: One Republican Who Won't Suck Up".

Henry Clay is attributed with the axiom "I'd rather be right than President." Is it a prerequisite, then, that one must be wrong to attain the presidency?

If so, how fucked up are we as a nation?

make no mistake: rahm emanuel is a bad guy...

He's DLC and a Clintonista thru & thru, a.k.a., Republican-Lite:

On May 10th, six Democrats followed Democratic Caucus rules and filed a formal letter to Emanuel requesting a caucus meeting. That request, according to the Hill Newspaper, was "rebuffed" and hours after the letter was sent, Democratic leaders appeared at a press conference to announce the secret trade deal with the Bush administration. The legislative language of the deal has still not been released either to reporters or to rank-and-file lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Walks like a Republican... talks like a Republican...

Quack... !!

fighting a war or occupying a country... ? there's a distinction y'know...

A line from a reader of the link in my previous post:

Once again it's not patriotic to leave our soldiers in Iraq to fight and die for a Shiite theocracy.

... which pretty much is what it all boils down to.

So here's what's going to have to happen when all is said & done:

We "win" only if we get out now, let an inevitable Shiite theocracy take hold, wait another 25 years until the next generation of religiously repressed Iraqis begin to rebel (as they are beguiled by American and western European programming showing how better life could be), while not being made to harbor ongoing resentments of an occupying force that's been gone for 25 years, diplomaticaly encourage reforms with carrots and not sticks -- and Behold! Democracy in Iraq!

Hell! It was working in Iran until Dubya showed up.

Look at Vietnam. Not a democracy as yet, but have you noticed? They miss us and want us all to come visit.

Is there a better way? I think not.

dems voting against reid-feingold...

The consolation of the 29-67 defeat (h/t to Greg and TPM Cafe) is the appearance of the Dems coming to grips with the issue and putting it out front & center.

Meanwhile, somebody know why Webb voted against?

Dems (and Satan's little helper) who voted NO... and why I think, offhand, they did:

Baucus (MT)... DINO...
Bayh (IN)... DLC...
Bingaman (NM)... no clue...
Carper (DE)... because, unlike Biden, the other Credit Card Industry puppet, he's not running for the Dem nomination...
Casey (PA)... DINO...
Conrad (ND)... DINO...
Dorgan (ND)... red state...
Landrieu (LA)... DINO...
Levin (MI)... frickin' old and mentally outta the loop...
Lieberman (ID-CT)... Satan's little helper...
Lincoln (AR)... because he's not the Lincoln from Illinois...
McCaskill (MO)... bewildering...
Bill Nelson (FL)... bewildering...
Ben Nelson (NE)... DINO...
Pryor (AR)... DINO...
Reed (RI)... utterly bewildering...
Rockefeller (WV)... because he doesn't know when to stop being the weak little enabler on the Intel Committee...
Salazar (CO)... DLC...
Tester (MT)... bewildering...
Webb (VA)... UTTERLY bewildering... the big military industrial complex of Virginia maybe... ?

Like I said, "offhand"; I'm sure now as even the nay-sayers have "taken a stand," we can find out why they stand so far away.

too early on a wednesday morning...

"How's it going?" the guy asks me.

I pause. "All I know is it's going."

He ponders that.

"If I knew how," I continue, "I'd be an engineer."

He shakes his head and chuckles, "You don't want that."

reid-feingold like a bat-out-of-hell...

Looks like the party's just getting started.

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Update: The header on this post once read "gaining momentum," but it's moving way quicker than expected.

another one bites the dust...

Jerry Falwell 1933-2007

Lest we forget what he said about 9/11:

"I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'"

If I was a crocodile, I'd shed a tear.

low hanging fruit...

Overheard in a Boston bar last night: Me suggesting it'd be better not to Impeach the Rat Bastard and the Vice-Rat Bastard.

I know, I know! No, I haven't gone mad. And it wasn't the multiple G&Ts (easy on the tonic, thank you). I've just done the calculus.

Impeach, convict and remove them, and Nancy Pelosi becomes president; with which I have no problem. But she would be and would've been there at least a year by the time Election '08 rolls around, which means the Dems would likely not expand their control over Congress and take over the White House.

They've got it wired, the Dem leadership: The Dems do better in '08 if, and only if, Dubya and the Dick stay put. And that's it! The Democratic campaign focus must remain on those two and the fact they're still in charge! Given that, Congress could very well have a veto-proof Democratic majority, irrespective of whom the next president will be.

Having said that, there's no reason the Dems couldn't still provide a little meat on the table:

The House Judiciary Committee should immediately draw up articles of impeachment against Alberto Gonzales; we've listened to his lies long enough. Gonzales and Rice are the low hanging fruit for the Democrats. Gonzales should be impeached for lying to Congress and implementing Karl Rove's partisan project at the Justice Department. Condi Rice should be impeached for lying to Congress about the intelligence that led this nation on its disastrous course in Iraq. Only a full on Constitutional showdown this summer can begin to heal the wounds George Bush has inflicted on our republic.

All in favor, say "aye!"

Those opposed: Go away!

richard gere is free to go...

The obscenity warrant he incurred from an Indian judge has been quashed:

The judge was transferred from his post this month after India's legal experts excoriated him for behaving like the Taliban's morality police and seeking "cheap publicity."

Issues I have with the situation:

1) It's good that a judge can be taken down a peg when he's hot-dogging outside of legal jurisprudence (and a most apt comparison, I might add);

2) I saw the video and Gere wouldn't let up on Shilpa Shetty, so I don't know why she was subjected to the obscenity complaint beyond being unable to escape his clutches;

3) Shilpa Shetty is hot/Richard Gere went to UMass: Bad combo!

4) Gere's presumption was remeniscent of Joe Namath's drunken overture toward Suzy Kolber, proof that you may once have been a lady's man, but that doesn't mean you can't look like a total jackass at midlife.

A harsh reality for us all.

'bout goddamned time...

Reid To Allow Vote On Feingold Measure To End Iraq War

The staffer claims that the Senate leadership was going back and forth all weekend on whether to allow this vote. "I think there are probably some people who would prefer not to see a vote on this," the staffer says. "It forces people to take a stand."

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Update I: John Edwards may not get the nomination, but he's serving a purpose today:

"I would actually go further than Reid-Feingold and use the funding authority, not just to set an ultimate deadline, but to force an immediate withdrawal of 40-50,000 troops, followed by a complete withdrawal in about a year. But using the funding authority to bring this war to an end is exactly the right thing to do. Every Senator who believes this war is wrong and wants to end it should support Reid-Feingold."

Which means you, Hillary & Barack. "Take a stand!"

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Update II: Obama heard me:

"Tomorrow, I expect cloture votes on two other proposals. One is the Reid-Feingold plan, which would begin a withdrawal of troops in 120 days and end all combat operations on April 1. The other is Senator Levin's proposal, which would create standards and benchmarks for additional funding.

"I will support both, not because I believe either is the best answer, but because I want to send a strong statement to the Iraqi government, the President and my Republican colleagues that it's long past time to change course."

Is it me or does Hillary always seems loathe to climb aboard before the train starts moving?

----------
Update III: Oops! There she is!

"Tomorrow, I will cast my vote to send the President a clear message: Democrats are united in fighting to change course, redeploy our troops out of Iraq, and end this war as soon as possible.

"When the Senate votes on motions to allow debate on both the Feingold-Reid and Reed-Levin Amendments, I will vote for cloture on both. I do so because we, as a united party, must work together with clarity of purpose and mission to begin bringing our troops home and end this war."

i prefer the smell of my old catcher's mitt...

Josh Marshall summarizes the former governor of hereabouts fairly tidily:

My views don't matter much about Republican presidential candidates. But I have a question I'd like to hear people's views on. When I hear Mitt Romney talk he sounds like a complete phony. Analyzing his record I think there's a very strong case that he's a serial flipflopper and a real opportunist. But that's not what I'm talking about. His manner and voice and what he says ... everything sounds extraordinarily canned and contrived. And in a class in that respect way beyond anything John McCain or Rudy Giuliani say.

Am I alone in this?

No, Josh, you're not alone. For starters, ol' Mitt grew up in Michigan and should have been governor of Utah. But somehow he became governor of Massachusetts, despite being a Republican. Maybe it was because he was oh-so-pro-choice and even gay-friendly. Oh wait! That's probably why he didn't become governor of Utah.

Anyway, that was then. Now, he's figured out the way to run for the Republican nomination is precisely how he ran for governor of Massachusetts: By selling his soul! My only question is whether he sold it this campaign season or back when he ran for Senate against Uncle Teddy, and is now taking out a second mortgage.

Gotta wonder what the Devil can get outta that kinda deal, eh?

Waaaaaait a seconnnnd... Now bear with me here, this thought just occured: He knew America today would never vote for a squirrel governor from Utah. Can you imagine? Massachusetts, in the last 20 years alone, sends up two spineless dildos, named Dukakis and Kerry, to get the nomination -- only to crash & burn -- and Romney still thinks he has a better shot to win the presidency as the former governor of Massachusetts and not Utah! Hah! That is fucking great!

But as to whether he'll ever become president, I can't be bothered with it. The right-wing Christianists hate Catholics and Mormans more than they do Atheists, and ol' Mitt ain't never gettin' outta the Republican primaries alive. Take that to the bank.

Meanwhile, you say "opportunist"? Keep in mind that as he'd once been the lead representative of Massachusetts, he now sees no problem in repeatedly running down the Bay State to a bunch of red state troglodytes.

"Serial flipflopper"? Try "serial scumbag".

for practical purposes...

just a post to push ol' babs down a coupla returns...

nobody should have to look at that clock on a monday morning, eh... ?

the mother of all [expletive deleted]s...

h/t to pottersville...

takin' it kinda personal here...

From Bill Simmons' mailbag:

Q: Everyone outside of New York and Boston thinks Yankees and Red Sox fans are the same exact person living in two different cities. I see no difference at all between the two fan bases. You are both loud, obnoxious, have ridiculous accents, put stupid pressure on your players, spend money to the point it makes the game unfair, spend way too much money on Japanese pitchers and think your city is far superior to everywhere else's. Am I missing something?--Josh, Tampa, Fla.

SG: Yeah, you're missing the part where we root for teams that win 95-100 games every year and finish 30 games ahead of the Devil Rays. You left that out.

why doesn't the d.c. punditocracy ask the question... ?

Bill Moyers, forever striking the starkest contrast to the "elite" punditocracy in our nation's capital, on Prince Harry and the prospect his presence in Iraq means a greater danger to his unit:

Rather than petition the Queen to keep the young man home, they have gotten shirts printed up with the words across them: "I'm Harry." Marvelous, no? The commoners and the Prince are in this together: one for all and all for one. What a notion -- that war should be the great equalizer, that no one's son or daughter is privileged from duty or danger.

You have to wonder how the last four years might have been different if only our President had asked sacrifice from everyone. Instead, mostly folks from the working class and professional soldiers are doing the dying in Iraq, while the rich spend their tax cuts. War on the cheap, except for those fighting it.

Where are the Bush twins these days anyway?

and then there were four...

Cheney Impeachment Bill Gets Another Co-sponsor

Rep. Albert R. Wynn (D-MD) has signed on as the latest cosponsor to Kucinich's impeachment letter. A Kucininch aide confirmed Wynn's addition as co-sponsor in an interview with RAW STORY Friday but said the congressman was not commenting on the impeachment bill at this time.

Curious. Wynn is a target for primary defeat in '08 by the progressive base. He heads the Congressional Black Caucus, to be sure, but he's wayyy too chummy with K Street and Fox News, the latter with whom he tried to push a Dem debate before real Dems stepped in. This co-sponsorship, then, looks like an opportunity for Wynn to make nice with those to his left. Although, that he won't comment on it smells like he wants it every which way. Stay tuned.

if only...

Further proof that CNN Int'l ain't the CNN we know...

like it says on the masthead above: "telling the truth is a revolutionary act"...

Careful! These words will get you fired at CBS:

Mr. President, you have placed our nation in peril. Our only hope is that Congress will act now to protect our fighting men and women.

... even if you are Maj. Gen. Paul Batiste (ret.), one of those Commanders on the ground to whom Dubya says he listened.

lawrence wilkerson agrees with me...

Powell's Chief of Staff Proposes Impeachment

"Well I do think that that's a reality of our system. However, let me back up just a minute and say that I really do think that our founding fathers, Hamilton, Washington, Monroe, Madison, would all be astounded that over the course of our short history as a country, 200 plus years, we haven't used that little two to three lines in Article II of the Constitution more frequently, the impeachment clause. I do believe that they would have thought had they been asked by you or whomever at the time of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia 'Do you think this will be exercised?' they would have said 'Of course it will, every generation they'll have to throw some bastard out'.

apples & oranges...

Ol' Vlad "Puti Poot" on the U.S. 2day:

“They are only transforming, changing their appearance. In these new threats, as during the time of the Third Reich, are the same contempt for human life and the same claims of exceptionality and diktat in the world.”

So we're now the new Nazis. So says the new Stalin, who really ought to go tell it to the Chechnyans.

Does this sound anything like the Schilling/Bonds imbroglio revisited? In both cases the messengers' throw truthful stones but they come from glass houses.

Hey, it's Friday!

isn't gravel what pretentious suburbanites put in their driveways... ?

Because I'm posting like a demon these days, some updates...

now it's greenwald who annoys me...

He's young, good-looking, and bright as all hell:

National journalists, because they and their lives and careers are so integrally woven into that system, instinctively believe [in the virtue of the Beltway punditocracy]. And that, more than anything else, renders them incapable of fulfilling the core journalistic function, which is to report on our government adversarially and to view it as a target of scepticism. They are far too integrated into it and dependent upon it to do anything other than view it as intrinsically good and therefore reflexively defend it. And that is true no matter how many foreign outside-of-the-Beltway excursions David Broder courageously undertakes. They are spokespeople for the royal court of which they (and typically their spouses and friends and close associates) are such a critical part.

Bloggers, by stark and vital contrast, are (along with blog readers) almost uniformly people who function outside the Beltway system, i.e. they are the "ordinary Americans" whom people like Broder and Klein claim to represent. And they are largely motivated by animosity towards that system, by a belief that it has become broken and corrupt. For that reason, they are uniquely positioned to perform the adversarial and watchdog functions which our political press is intended to perform but which -- due to its becoming far too integral a component of the Betlway system -- it has now almost completely abdicated.

Aww, shucks, folks, I'm speechless!

a vote to DEauthorize the war... ?

Greg Sargent at TPM Cafe leaves the most relevant questions un-asked:

Still, the chances are slim that it will go anywhere in the real world -- no decision was made to go forward with it last night, and the leadership would almost certainly nix it.

Why?

Why not have that vote?

get on the stick, son... !

Mike Reiss is definitely one of my favorite Go-to's for "Morning Coffee". His coverage and in-depth analysis of the NFL draft, and the Patriots in general, was, and is, nothing short of superb, which makes me, a fellow UMass grad, proud. So keep that in mind, Mikey, when I express a minor annoyance to your answer regarding Junior Seau:

I have been surprised at the volume of e-mails asking this question. Seau seems to have created a lot of interest among the Patriots' fan base, and part of that might be due to the team's depth situation at linebacker. Seau's locker is intact at Gillette Stadium, so I take that as a sign that he is not forgotten. But at the same time, the Patriots had left Roman Phifer's intact a few years ago, and he never did return. As for my opinion, if Seau is healthy and willing to come back and fit into the Patriots' plans, I do think he'll be back.

Yo, Mike! You're surprised at the volume of interest, and then you give a generic opinion? Like, d-uh, dude! If he's healthy and wants to come back and he fits into the Pats plans, you think he'll be back. You can say that about every player on every team in the world.

Here's what you do, seein' as it's your job anyway: Call Bill Belichick! Call Junior Seau! Find out what the status of any negotiation there may or may not be.

Do it today! And get back to us.

Other'n that, son, keep up the good work!

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Update: So says Mike in Saturday's Globe...

EXTRA POINT: The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that linebacker Junior Seau will re-sign with the Patriots next week, pending a physical.

bumper sticker of the day...

A car parked outside my office building; the owning goof plastered the following on his front left bumper (What, the entire back end is festooned?):

If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes.

Yeah, well, I like to think I ain't a dog (don't let the barking fool you), and if I were it wouldn't be the kind that hauls a freakin' sled.

black on broadway

A laugh for the middle of the week - Lewis Black.

yusuf islam at the nobel concert...

The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens; more relevant than ever...

curt schilling: just shut up and pitch... !

Let's get past the fact I agree with every word he said about Bonds:

"He [Bonds] admitted he used steroids. There's no gray area," Schilling said on WEEI. "He [Bonds] admitted cheating on his wife, cheating on taxes and cheating on the game."

And lets get past the writer of the above-linked article contradicting himself:

This: "Barry Bonds never has admitted to using steroids."

With This: "[Greg Anderson -- Bonds' personal trainer and longtime friend] was indicted for illegal distribution of steroids. Bonds told the grand jury that he believed Anderson had given him flaxseed oil and arthritic balm, a substance that turned out to contain steroids.

And getting past the fact nobody -- repeat, nobody -- believes Bonds didn't know what he was taking (a lot of hurdles here, I know), my issue in this post is with the dope that is Curt Schilling.

Notice the pics I've enclosed? How is it, do you suppose, that a man like Schilling, who stumped for a war-criminal, while escorting his seriously amoral old biddy of a mother:

"Why should we hear about body bags and deaths," Barbara Bush said on ABC's "Good Morning America" on March 18, 2003. "Oh, I mean, it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?"

... can now say this about anybody?

"I don't care if he's black, green, purple or yellow or whatever. It's just unfortunate there's good people and bad people."

My God! Curt Schilling has got to be the most self-absorbed and intellectually dishonest professional athlete on the face of the Earth.

Big list, that? Y'think?

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Update: Curt's mea culpa...

As someone who’s made it very clear I have major issues with members of the media that take little or no pride in their work it’s the height of hypocrisy for me to say what I did, in any forum. . .

It was a callous, wreckless and irresponsible thing to say, and for that I apologize to Barry, Barry’s family, Barry’s friends and the Giants organization, my teammates and the Red Sox organization as well as anyone else that may have been offended by the comments I made.

So give the guy a pat on the back and tell 'im to get out there on the mound. Play ball!

still agitating for gore...

This little tidbit bummed me out:

Last night a bunch of longtime aides to Al Gore held a much-ballyhooed reunion dinner that had prompted speculation about a Gore run in 2008 -- but the gathering in fact turned out to be an at-times personal and emotional gathering suffused with an acceptance among many that Gore won't run for President, a person who was there tells me.

What this means is Hillary will be the Dem nominee. Barack Obama doesn't have the closing speed; John Edwards is too feminine (and should take a lesson from Hillary on how not to be); Joe Biden is a rancid whore (as is Hillary, alas, although she has the expensive perfume to help obscure the, uhm, rancidity); Bill Richardson doesn't have the cache (or the cash, I'd suspect); and nobody else is relevant.

Hillary's just too powerful for the field, and could very well beat any of the Republicans, who are making a huge mistake in trying to channel Ronald Reagan. (Yo, white boys! That's soooo 27 years ago!)

Al Gore is the only -- repeat, only -- individual who could take her down. And the buzz now is he's not going to attempt it. A great pity!

I have a serious problem with Hillary when she mealy mouths what she'd do with the troops in Iraq, when she promised to introduce legislation back in '00 to repeal the Electoral College (which is what tipped it to Dubya) while failing to follow through, which makes me seriously question her devotion to universal healthcare; when she introduces a flag-burning amendment for no reason other than to project a conservative aura; when she says she's a *cough* Yankee fan, despite having grown up in Chicago and already having professed a love for the Cubs; and when she parties with Rupert F'ing Murdoch, which tells me the media will not be decentralized.
In short, she's a Republican with a barely discernible Dem facade. It'll be more of the same: A pro-Corporate, anti-Consumer, anti-Labor, triangulating, trilateralizing feces-fling.

I'm not happy!

pardon me... ?

Say I'm an actor playing a governor. Now say another actor -- er, socialite -- says she wants to be pardoned for being a freakin' princess:

On a posting on her MySpace website, Hilton, the star of the reality TV show The Simple Life, urged fans to sign a petition asking Schwarzenegger to reverse the sentence handed down in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday.

I, the acting governor, gotta kick back, put my feet up on my desk, and ask, "What's my motivation?" Of course I'd say it with a giggle.

Would love to also know what elder brother, the P.D., would advise his client were it she.

what journalistic integrity... ?

Keith Olbermann's special comment early last week set Rudy Giuliani's teeth on edge, especially when Olbermann anchored the Republican debate last week. Of course, Giuliani's issue proves the point the left has been making about Faux News and the like:

The popularity of Lou Dobbs and Glenn Beck on CNN alone illustrates how opinion has become more important on cable news. A general public that laughs at Jon Stewart's take on the news has probably become accustomed to a point of view, said Mark Jurkowitz, associate director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism.

"I wonder, candidly, how many people parse the ethics on this anymore, other than people in the industry," he said.

Clearly there's a taste in America for both a partisan and nonpartisan press.

The middle ground is where it gets tricky.

----------
Update: Salon's Exec Ed Joan Walsh excoriates the A.P. reporter for his "hit job" on Olbermann. Her points, well taken, make for interesting reading.

----------
Update II: Glenn Greenwald has his take:

What turns a "journalist" into an ideologue these days is excess criticism of the prevailing Beltway power structure and its most revered and important figures. That -- and only that -- is what distinguishes Olbermann from those considered to be "real journalists." The function of modern "journalists" is to serve as spokespeople for the Beltway system, to defend it, to adhere strictly to its rules of conduct.

sunday in noho...

Okay, Leeds, I lied.

Beautiful day, Chopin's "Romantic Guitar" (who knew?) on the laptop stereo, and I'm waiting to go to breakfast/brunch as Mother Superior's denouement with child fretting over not getting an I-Pod has extended beyond the long & short of it. A curious counter given this Mother's patience-of-Job with the three beasts that bound and gambol about the house with reckless abandon. Meanwhile, I could use a vacuum cleaner.

And yet, had I my druthers, the Pioneer Valley would replace Beantown as the preferred locale, fondest memories of being younger and at University, marked by the splendor of the spring and all.

Dare no one call this Heresy!