SquaDouche!!

An appropriate follow-up to the previous post (via DailyKos):

[In the Hamdan decision,] Justice Thomas refers to Justice Stevens' "unfamiliarity with the realities of warfare"; but Stevens served in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945, during World War II. Thomas's official bio, by contrast, contains no experience of military service.

A Rubber SCOTUS Not

Okay - Whoa!

The Supreme Court says Bush CAN'T!! do what he wants when he wants:

1. That the President's conduct is subject to the limitations of statute and treaty (see, e.g., footnote 23, and the Kennedy and Breyer excerpts that Orin Kerr quotes).

2. That Congress's enactments are best construed to require compliance with the international laws of armed conflict, absent contrary legislative direction.

3. That Common Article 3 of Geneva aplies as a matter of treaty obligation to the conflict against Al Qaeda. (See also the AMK concurrence: "The provision is part of a treaty the United States has ratified and thus accepted as binding law. By Act of Congress, moreover, violations of Common Article 3 are considered 'war crimes,' punishable as federal offenses, when committed by or against United States nationals and military personnel.

Listening to Al Franken this afternoon: word had it Clarence Thomas, as vinegary a douche bag you wouldn't find in an abandoned whorehouse, and who never -- Never! -- utters a peep from the bench, read aloud his virulent dissent.

"War crimes" ehh... ?

And The Flag Said: "I'm More Popular Than Jesus Christ!"

As in Jesus Christ! -- she's even starting to look like Maggie "Atilla The Hen" Thatcher... (Just have 'er wear a set of those fake teeth, the kind Matt Dillon wore in There's Something About Mary, and YEAAAAGGHH!!)...

P.S. Have deleted "The Grit" from my links as Daou got hisself triangulated.

The Fix Is In - Part (Whatever)

Analysts see far-reaching consequences to Supreme Court gerrymandering ruling:

The ruling allows states to redistrict along party lines to benefit the party in power. The courts ruling also allows states to redistrict at anytime instead of every ten years.

Then these pricks turn around and say we -- those of us who might justifiably be disturbed by what's going on -- "hate America." So let me put it this way: I despise these people and everything they stand for, and particularly for what they're doing to my country.

And if they succeed in codifying this vision for our nation -- the one-party state, the government-controlled media, the undercurrent of fear of fear itself -- and call it America, then they'll be right... for once.

Just Posted A Comment On Digby's Page

i've thought about faith and religion and spirituality for a long time now... this is what i know:

an individual extends him or herself, and at a certain peril perhaps, in order to believe in something... and it is then when this person makes him or herself vulnerable, not unlike a person taking a chance by falling in love... and god bless 'em for the effort, because without taking chances we shall certainly die (out of boredom if nothing else)...

i used to reactively dismiss any person's "religion" or "faith" as a crutch or an addiction... but y'know? -- a body needs to believe in something, i.e., beyond that which they can perceive with their corporeal senses... so i offer the courtesy of respect for that need, and applaud the individual for making the effort...

however, it is the content of those beliefs, be it in astrology, scientology, christianity, judaism or islam, whathaveyou, when my suspicion is it's all complete and utter bullshit...

i saw it on a bumper sticker (sadly offered, but there it is):

"militant agnostic: i don't know and neither do you"...

A Clue If U Will

I periodically go into the Apple Store at the Mall. Each time I use my phone, my "T-Mobile" signal switches over to "Cingular." Cingular, of course, is a Verizon subsidiary, and Verizon, of course, is in bed w/the NSA to drop as many dimes on its customers as it can.

Am I being paranoid yet again?

Nevermind, Naahm, Heavynews, and the rest of you police state apologists, it was rhetorical.

If You Live In Delaware - CALL BIDEN NOW!!

Joe Biden thinks he stands half a chance on getting the '08 nomination? Is he ill??

According to observers on both sides of the debate, the only Democratic Senator to express serious concern in public about the [Net Neutraility] measure is Senator Biden of Delaware, another possible presidential candidate in 2008. At a hearing last week, Mr. Biden said he saw no pressing need for the legislation and suggested that a public outcry would force Congress to act if Internet companies started cutting off access to unpopular sites.

Biden's the same dick-bag who sold consumers out on the credit card/bankruptcy bill last fall. He's one of the last Dems to have pause on Net Neutrality. Hell! Even Joementum supports Net Neutrality. Call Joe Biden's office now!

Capitol Hill: 202.224.5042
Wilmington: 302.573.6345
Milford: 302.424.8090

Fuck AT&T!!

Fuck them in the ass!!

AT&T has issued an updated privacy policy that takes effect Friday. The changes are significant because they appear to give the telecom giant more latitude when it comes to sharing customers' personal data with government officials.

The new policy says that AT&T -- not customers -- owns customers' confidential info and can use it "to protect its legitimate business interests, safeguard others, or respond to legal process."

Clueless Lieberman

Am betting to this day the junior Senator from Connecticut thinks it's solely because he supports open-ended occupation of Iraq as why the blogosphere is after his ass in the CT primary.

Here's the real reason:

However one reacts to this ruling, the issue here is that while Justice Scalia likes to puff himself an "originalist," the reality is that this decision not only reverses the Bill of Rights, prohibiting unreasonable searches, but also English common law and the doctrine of "knock and announce," which for eight centuries has mandated that police must identify themselves and wait a reasonable time before entering someone's home. . .

It's worth noting that this vote occurred because, though the case had previously been argued in January, it was re-argued after Sandra Day O'Connor left the Court. Replaced by Samuel Alito, the resulting vote was altered.

Lieberfuck, along with other "centrists" (read unprincipled sell-outs), voted for cloture on the Alito confirmation, then turned around and voted against Alito the next day knowing full well the cloture vote was the one that mattered and would confirm Alito's facist presence for the next 40 years.

Verbal Envy

Today it's for Marty Kaplan's current piece in HuffPo:

Since 9/11, there has been a horror that many Americans have been unable to confront. It is not the horror of terrorism, or the ugliness of despotism, or the ambitions of our adversaries. It is the fear that -- at this terrible crossroads in human history -- the Constitution no longer protects us from the ad hoc fascism of monomaniacal ideologues, and that the President who fronts for them is no less clueless today than when he was plucked from mediocrity at the end of the last century to be their Manchurian candidate. Perhaps now, finally, we are becoming more willing to lower our hands from our eyes and see the awful truth.

My Day Is Made!

Pamela Anderson's naked protest...

Virginia Is For Lovers

Interesting piece, of which ol' buddy Naahm avec Plumage ought make note (given that Virgina's newly nominated Dem candidate for Senate was once Ronald Reagan's Navy Sec'y - >wacca<):

The breakdown of the VA-Sen vote is highly interesting.

People don't realize that Miller dominated the paid media. Absolutely dominated. Webb benefited from strong earned media, but that was more than balanced by Miller's strength in paid media.

In the City of Alexandria, Miller was endorsed by the Mayor and the entire City Council and a number of local legislators.

Alexandria went for Webb 2:1.

Guys, what in the hell happened here?

The only two plausible explanations are (1) the extreme level of online activism for Webb, or (2) a major backlash against Miller for his negative ads. NoVa is one of the most wired and most politically-knowledgeable communities in America. In a low turnout election its conceivable that NoVa voters, who are more likely to get political information through the web, ended up turning out and going for Webb big. It also makes sense that like in most low-turnout primaries, older voters (55+) tend to show-up most heavily and they, already angry at politics as usual, revolted against a negative, politics-as-usual campaign from Miller.

I didn't vote this time around. Dem primary, and I'd've supported either Jim Webb or Harrison Miller vs. confederate chucklehead George Allen. My bet was on Webb to win big as I have a good sense of the pulse 'round these parts. But I'm getting very annoyed that Fairfax county insists on the freakin' touch-screens for voting. On the other hand, Virginia has a Dem governor so, unlike in Florida, Ohio & California, the touch-screens won't, in and of themselves, tip the vote to the Republican.

Assuming the fight is fair then, here's my prediction: Webb in a walk over Allen.

Friday Afternoon Follies

• Seriously funny shit on Britney...
• Ann Coulter: Not as skanky in HS... ? U b the judge...
  Skank Update: Ohhh!! She's now suggesting Rep. Murtha should be fragged. And might you suppose, when one of her travelling dingleberries takes her up on it, NBC, that publically stalwart rectum of a network, will still give her air-time?
• Money is to Liberals as Sex is to Conservatives, i.e., it's all so very dirty; didn't read it yet, just sorta grocked the headline...
• And lest we forget the world's climate, that is, other than with respect to Global Warming, the U.S. World Cup team has to stay on a U.S. air base in Germany rather than be allowed to consort with their foreign contemporaries. Reason being, of course: They fucking hate us!! The bitch of it is for those who do travel abroad, as they are least likely to have voted for the Cocksucker in Chief!!

The Question Is: What're We Gonna Do About It?

EXPOSÉ: Security Breaches for 'Sleepover' Voting Machines Used in Busby/Bilbray Race Invalidated, Decertified Their Use in the Election!

San Diego County Registrar Admits to Security Lapses Which Would Nullify Legal Use of Systems According to Both State and Federal Requirements, Provisions!

And if anybody hasn't noticed it yet, Republicans somehow always win the races where these machines are used.

God Bless Real Democracy!

Holy Joe supports Net Neutrality, and as Mel Allen liked to say: "How Uhh'Bout Dat!!?"

Think maybe it's because the Netroots endeavor to kick Joementum to a Connecticut curb that he's starting to behave -- >gasp< -- like a Democrat?

In other news:

Chuck Schumer won't rule out backing Joe Blow over the prospective Democratic nominee Ned Lamont, should Joe Schmoe decide to switch to being an Independant candidate?

Reactions:
DailyKos says Schumer & the DCCC are courting intra-party war...
Crooks & Liars says could be interesting how this plays out...
Talking Points Memo is >yawwwwn< "[N]ot taking any sides" (Jim Hightower: "The only thing in the middle of the road are yellow stripes and dead armidillers.")...
Firedoglake (the best site at bashing ol' Lieberlips) says Schumer is running an incumbent-protection racket...
MyDD tags the "machine" Dems in Connecticut...

For starters...

It says here not to worry. Even Dem Senators don't like JoeJoe any more than we do. But assumedly Schumer & Harry Reid made a deal to keep mum until A) Boltin' Joe leaves the party prior to the primary; or B) Ned Lamont is in fact nominated for the seat. At which point, either, the Dems will heartily flock to Lamont's side. Gotta be!

The Democratic leadership in Congress may be pathetic & weak little farts, but they aren't stupid. Well... they're that too, but not that stupid. They've seen the returns from YearlyKos.

The Fix, Being In, Finally Reaches The Mainstream

Bob Herbert in the Times:

No one has been able to prove that the election in Ohio was hijacked. But whenever it is closely scrutinized, the range of problems and dirty tricks that come to light is shocking. What's not shocking, of course, is that every glitch and every foul-up in Ohio, every arbitrary new rule and regulation, somehow favored Bush.

And this is, what, a year & a half later?

And That'd Be A *Super*-Closet?

To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld: "I've been outted and I didn't know I was in.":

So he wears a leotard and flies around in a red cape. Big deal, Singer said, noting Spider-Man wears tights. The X-Men do too, and they aren't gay. Singer ought to know, he directed 2000's "X-Men" movie and 2003's "X2: X-Men United."

Jesus! I grew up on this shit! I mean, could it be?

Today's Definition

"Desecration of the American flag":

- when a Republican wraps himself in it...

Where're My Meds?

I must be having a psychotic episode:

Monopolies in many cable TV markets could end under House-passed legislation that supporters said would increase competition and drive down prices.

I'm confident the Repos'll put the kaibash on any consumer-friendly legislation when the time comes. But imagine it for a moment: Lower cable rates... ! Whew!!

A guy simply can't keep a good bark goin' if Congress does the right thing. I mean, Jesus!!

Like Cats, They Rub Up To Those Who Disdain Them

Had to kick the "Where Christians Meet" ad to the curb. Two reasons:

1) I don't know what "Christians" are.

2) I don't want them procreating.

"The Logical Song" by Supertramp

When i was young

It seemed that life was so wonderful

A miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical

And all the birds in the trees

Well they´d be singing so happily

Oh joyfully, oh playfully watching me

But then they sent me away

To teach me how to be sensible

Logical, oh responsible, practical

And they showed me a world

Where i could be so dependable

Oh clinical, oh intellectual, cynical

There are times when all the world´s asleep

The questions run too deep

For such a simple man

Won´t you please, please tell me what we´ve learned

I know it sounds absurd

But please tell me who i am

Now watch what you say

Or they´ll be calling you a radical

A liberal, oh fanatical, criminal

Oh won´t you sign up your name

We´d like to feel you´re

Acceptable, respectable,

oh presentable, a vegetable!

At night when all the world´s asleep

The questions run too deep

For such a simple man

Won´t you please, please tell me what we've learned

I know it sounds absurd

But please tell me who i am,

who i am,

who i am,

who i am...

The Fix Is In - Part Deux

As in, We The People are so fucked!

"The future Sergey Brins, the future Marc Andreessens, of Netscape and Google...are going to have to pay taxes" to broadband providers, said Rep. Ed Markey, the Massachusetts Democrat behind the Net neutrality amendment. This vote will change "the Internet for the rest of eternity," he warned.

At issue is a lengthy measure called the Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement (COPE) Act, which a House committee approved in April. Its Republican backers, along with broadband providers such as Verizon and AT&T...

AT&T and Verizon, of course, are 2 of those 3 Axis of Evil:Corporate cock-suckers (the 3rd being BellSouth; and I'm willing to bet on there being a slew more), who are known to be selling out We The People to the National Security Administration. I can say this now, as you, for the moment, are allowed to read it, precisely because the Republicans and Vichy-Democrats haven't yet cinched the gunny-sack that is this heinous bit of oligarchical business.

I realize I'm setting myself up for wearing the tin-foil beanie -- complete with propeller, thank you -- but wait'l mid-November and we'll find the Republicans in position to control both houses of Congress for another deuce, this despite the myriad exit polls indicating 180 degrees worth of the American people's will, or when one of the Rupert Scaifes or G.E. buys out the NYTimes and turns it into another Washington Times (which, again, wouldn't be a huge makeover), or, less dramatically, when media consolidation continues down its narrower and narrower path, or... or... or...

On the other hand, media speculation as to why there haven't been more frequent populist protests in the cities of America, akin to the 60s in relation to Vietnam, could be directly attributable to our having access to a relatively free Internet: a safety valve, if you will, a place to vent. So when the Corporate Repos impose more and more of their arbitrary restrictions on our access to a dissenting media, the burbling disaffection online may very well spill back into the streets, along with its corresponding, more calamitous manifestations.

Hell! It'd be a sadder state of affairs if it didn't. Thomas Jefferson, call your office.

The American government today is clearly not "of the people, by the people, for the people"; and thus are the consequences of staying this course: it "shall . . . perish from the earth."

The Fix Is In

The prediction here is the Republicans will maintain control of Congress after this November's elections -- not because the American people don't want to run the bastards out but because they cannot:

The biggest concern about the race, by far, is that San Diego County uses two types of Diebold voting systems -- optical-scan and touch-screen -- both of which have not only proven to be disastrously unreliable in San Diego County and California in the past, but have also been demonstrated over the last six months to feature dozens of exceedingly well-documented and remarkable security vulnerabilities, making them extremely accessible to tampering. Especially if anyone has unsupervised physical access for more than a minute or two with them.

The voting machines used in Tuesday's election were sent home with volunteer poll workers the night before the election, according to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters office today. As well, The BRAD BLOG has received reports that in some cases, poll workers may have had the machines alone at their houses, unsupervised, for a week or even two prior to Tuesday's election...

What, you didn't read about this in the New York Times? Read the previous post.

The State of American Journalism Today

The suspicion's been brewing for at least a decade (i.e., since Monica & Bill), but the realization now is that the elite of the American free press is in the tank for big business and the GOP, and is doing its level best to undermine what is left of our democracy.

But even so, if you can't trust the Associated Press...

There was nothing about this sorry episode that deserved praise or reward, even in an informal newsroom way. It's hard to see the AP in the same light again. But it does renew my sense of why we [bloggers] do what we do and reminds me of the essential corruption of much of the national political press. Washington's a funny place.

Except I ain't laughing; and "funny," as in "strange" just doesn't begin to cover the repugnance of it all.

Spreading The Word

Philip Slater in HuffPo:

The reason why so many fundamentalist Christians are so notoriously "unChristian" is simple: for the majority of Christians (Quakers are among many notable exceptions) Christianity isn't about the teachings of Jesus, and never was. The early church fathers knew that Jesus' rather Buddhist message of nonviolence and voluntary poverty wouldn't fly in the Graeco-Roman world, let alone in the Middle East. The idea of a Redeemer on the other hand--someone who would voluntarily sacrifice Himself for humanity and their sins--was very popular. Instead of having to give up their worldly goods and espouse non-violence, all the Romans had to do was believe in the miraculous stories surrounding Jesus' birth and death, which was easy for them, since such stories had been told about pagan gods and heroes and were already familiar.

Christianity as it exists among fundamentalists isn't about behaving like Jesus. It's all about faith--about believing the story. The underlying message seems to be: you can behave any way you want as long as you believe the story and say you're sorry before you die. Following the teachings of Jesus is much too demanding, whereas with the Christianity of fundamentalists all you have to do is shut your mind off.

There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word "Christian" has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry.

I'd offer "Bingo!", but it's already in use; e.g., in seconding Slater's argument.

What Is It -- The Altitude?

Fucking Colorado:

O'Dowd and company bend over backward in the article to say they are "tolerant" of other views on the club, but that's contradicted by statements like this from CEO Monfort: "I don't want to offend anyone, but I think character-wise we're stronger than anyone in baseball. Christians, and what they've endured, are some of the strongest people in baseball. I believe God sends signs, and we're seeing those." Assumedly, Shawn Green (Jew), Ichiro Suzuki (Shinto) or any of the godless players from Cuba don't have the "character" Monfort is looking for.

First it was the Air Force Academy shoving right-wing Christianist dogma down its cadets' throats, now this. Ol' Doc Dobson clearly rules the roost out there in that Rocky Mountain spring air.

Meanwhile, I'll take particular delight in knowing the Rockies will never win a World Series, precisely because it takes pitching and defense; the former, it is said, being 75% of the game. And everybody knows pitchers despise playing in Coors Field, it with its mile-high airless space facilitating game scores more suitable to the gridiron, invariably marked with a moon-shot or three hit by players not on steroids. Inevitably, then, Colorado will never carry a rotation and/or bullpen that could get them to The Promised Land... er, other than in their own wretchedly faithful minds, that is.

The upside to this? Red Sox Nation need be embarrassed no longer by the Carmine Hose carrying the friggin' mantle.

West Point Grads Against The War

Gives "basic training" new meaning...