Two years in Iraq

Take a look at this post on Philly about the two year anniversary of the Iraq War. When Albert says "Watch it." take his advice.

Nice start to Iraq self governing: 40 dead, 100 wounded

On the first day of the new Iraqi government, 12 car bombs killed 40 people, wounded 100, and drove 3 Sunni government officials resign. Countering George Bush's claims that the newly-formed government in Iraq is already bringing peace dividends comes this from the Detroit Free Press:

The horror of such violence in their neighborhoods has eroded many Iraqis' faith in the leaders they risked their lives to elect.

"We don't care about any government," said Mansour Ibrahim, 34, a car salesman who witnessed the attack Friday. "They will work on their parties' interests. And the Iraqi people are the victims."

Great start. Just as a reminder, 1,578 U.S. troops have been killed and 11,664 have been wounded since the start of the Iraq War. How many more will have to die, both Iraqi civilian and U.S. troops, before we as a nation get sick of this?

Buy Local Philly

I like this lots. Howard reminds us on PhillyFuture to Buy Local Philly. Via a post on America's Hometown. My start yesterday morning was a croissant and coffee at Di Bruno Brothers on 18th Street.

What's on George Bush's iPod? Slip sliding away

"The nearer your destination, the more you're slip sliding away," sang George Bush just before last night's press conference. His poll numbers are slipping.

The wheels of justice grind slowly, but grind they do. WMD, Iraq, Social Security, and Tom DeLay are grit under this cowboy's saddle. Time to change horses, friends. The mid-term elections are coming sooner than we think.

God hates Fred Phelps

Check this out on Pax. Fred Phelps is coming to Philly on May 1. In good Philly spirit, let's show him the love we showed Michael Irvin and Santa.

Friday (big) cat blogging

What's up, pussy cat? Whoa, whoa.

Rick Santorum's Magnum Opus Dei

Check out this post on Attytood called Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Opus Dei): Cracking a GOP senator's Da Vinci Code. So much for separation of church and state.

Condi said

Anyone think it's strange how George Bush calls the Secretary of State by her first name all the time? And is it proper to call the leader of Russia by his first name like the president is on the ball field with Vladimir Putin? Very strange. And it really exposes George's (irony acknowledged) lack of global awareness.

Tom DeLay and George Bush grease the skids

From Tom Toles on Yahoo, George Bush is going on a lot of man dates these days, first with Price Abdullah and now withg Tom DeLay. Queer eye for the hateful guy.

Bush lied, soldiers died

Semidi has a piece about the new poll that reveals that a majority of Americans think George Bush actively lied about WMD in Iraq. Hmmm....didn't his mother tell him that lying catches up with the liar?

More Republican ethics flip-flopping

Hey, Republicans seem to have gotten a little dose of ethics. I'm not sure how that happened, but this story in the Washington Post says:

House Republican leaders, acknowledging that ethics disputes are taking a heavy toll on the party's image, decided yesterday to rescind a controversial rule change that led to the three-month shutdown of the ethics committee, according to officials who participated in the talks.

I'm sure the Republican leadership isn't any more ethical than they were yesterday...but they're seeing their lives flash in front of their eyes. The midterm election should be fascinating.

Insurgency still rampant in Iraq

Yep, even the top U.S. general in Iraq says insurgency is averaging about 50-60 a day, which is about the same level as last year. Hmmmm. So much for George Bush's "democracy on the march."

Les blogs

The les blogs conference is going on in Paris.

George Bush to Prince Abdullah: I Love Ya, Man

You know, I'd really like to make fun of this photo. But I'm going to try not to. If it's genuine, if these guys really like each other, I'm happy about that. My sense, though, is that this was staged by Karl Rove. And that aggravates me.

CIA concludes there were no WMD in Iraq

Remember why George Bush and the Republicans said we had to rush to war in Iraq? Weapons of mass destruction. WMD. They weren't there is the conclusion of the CIA. How do the Righties live with themselves? They are so much holier than thou. For people that invoke The Bible at every turn, I guess they forgot "thou shalt not bear false witness" in the 10 Commandments.

UPDATE: Etherealgirl has more about Republican lies in Prevarication and the Art of Ruling.

George Bush and Tom DeLay star in On the Road to Perdition

George Bush is showing his support for Tom 'The Scammer' DeLay by dragging the ethically-challenged House majority leader on the road to trump up the Social Security crisis. "Hey, who better to extend the lie than good ol' Tom DeLay?" said President Bush yesterday.

George Bush is sliding into oblivion

Paul Krugman writes today in NYT about The Oblivious Right and how George Bush is so upbeat because he talks only to his hand-selected people.

What's going on? Actually, it's quite simple: Mr. Bush and his party talk only to their base - corporate interests and the religious right - and are oblivious to everyone else's concerns.

The administration's upbeat view of the economy is a case in point. Corporate interests are doing very well. As a recent report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities points out, over the last three years profits grew at an annual rate of 14.5 percent after inflation, the fastest growth since World War II.

The story is very different for the great majority of Americans, who live off their wages, not dividends or capital gains, and aren't doing well at all. Over the past three years, wage and salary income grew less than in any other postwar recovery - less than a tenth as fast as profits. But wage-earning Americans aren't part of the base.

It's amazing how far out of touch the Republicans have become. They pretend to talk for "the people," but what they really mean is their people - rich, white, corporate and connected to their version of "god."

Makes you wonder if Jeff Guckert/Jim Gannon has a blue blazer

I'm thinking that Jeff Guckert/Jim Gannon has a blue blazer that he's not taking to the cleaners based on this post by Will on Attytood. Hmmm...this might mean that someone in the White House is doing more than evangelizing about Sodom and Gomarrah.

Monday cat blogging: why follow rules?

How's your Monday going? Never being much of a rule follower, I thought I'd do Monday mean cat blogging. Matt is an iconoclast too - he did Friday cat-poem blogging.

BTW: If you want some nicer pictures of cats, take a look at Tony's mere cat. Plus, his post about building a cold frame made me almost pick up a couple discarded window frames that were listed "Free" in my neighborhood. I think I'll need to build a cold frame with the temps swinging like this!

A reminder of why I'll never skydive

This skydiver, Albert "Gus" Wing III, hit the wing of an airplane on the way down. Lost both his legs. And his life.

Donald Rumsfeld goes a little bit country at the Grand Ole Opry

Secretary of Defense tells the audience at the Grand Ole Opry that he'd like to give Dolly Parton "just a little tap on her heiney, like that." Oh, then he thanked everyone assembled for supporting the U.S. troops and answered more questions from the rednecks in the crowd than he did from the Senate Armed Services Committee.

President Bush's impersonation of a president

Our fake president, George Bush, has staged fake Social Security town halls with fake participants. Now the Washington Post has uncovered the story of Republican operatives acting like Secret Service agents. More fakery. Fake agents threw out real citizens from the fake Social Security town hall because the fake agents didn't like a bumper sticker on the car the real citizens arrived in.

Um, impersonating a federal agent is illegal. Not that laws or ethics give George Bush and his friend, Tom DeLay, much pause.

There is no fire escape in hell

Lambert posted a link on Corrente to a Christian site that had me laughing for...eternity.

NHL: Sliding into oblivion

Did anyone even notice that there wasn't a professional hockey season this year? To use Wired Magazine's approach:

Wired: PSP
Tired: NBA
Expired: NHL

More about voter fraud in Florida

David at ISOU asks "Why isn't this story getting more attention?" in his piece titled My Own Silent Scream. It is so true - reports of voter fraud these days are treated like so much ho-hum.

Antarctic glaciers say, 'I'm melting'

To paraphrase The Wicked Witch of the West, Antarctic glaciers are yelling 'I'm melting.' This analysis of more than 2,000 photos from the 1940s shows the sad truth.

Republicans to judges: Hang 'em high

Oliver has a list of the outrageous statements Republicans have been making about the judiciary lately. The Rouge's Gallery includes threats to judges by Rep. Tom DeLay, Sen. John Cornyn, Sen. Bill Frist, and Dr. James Dobson.

Pope Benedict XVI: Rapping in Robes

In a move designed to attract more inner city youth to the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI flashes the 'West Cost' gang symbol to show he's down with it. Snoop Dogg responded by calling his Eminence Pizzle Bizzle the One-Six.

Tom DeLay Gives Justice Kennedy a Groin Injury

In order to avoid harrassment by Rep. Tom DeLay, Justice Anthony Kennedy dressed in a Chicago Cubs uniform when he exited the Supreme Court building. However, DeLay was ready for the ruse and kicked Justice Kennedy in the cajones as a warning. Witnesses also reported that DeLay threatened to give a 'purple herbie' to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Wendy's finger chili: you just knew that was fake

That story about the finger in the Wendy's chili was a fake. The woman who reported it was arrested today and the rest of the story will come out. However, the damage is done to Wendy's. I hope if she's guilty of making this up that the judge pokes a finger in her eye.

What I heard about Iraq, Elliot Weinberger's powerful piece

RDF at Corrente points us to this great piece by Eliot Weinberger titled What I Heard About Iraq. Wow.

I got Pope Benedict VXI's e-mail address

Pope Benedict VXI (Papa Benedetto VXI in Italian) has an e-mail address. Look here.

I never did like Outback Steakhouse, now I'll never go there

Will has a very interesting report today on Attytood about the association of Rick Santorum and Outback Steakhouse. It's a good read. And don't overlook the headline. Classic.

Say 'Nyet!' to Condi Rice

Right. Condi Rice is some bigtime intellectual who speaks fluent Russian. She couldn't even answer a schoolgirl's question and flubbed another simple one. This really is the John Lovitz presidency, where they just get to make stuff up.

UPDATE: Here's what Pravda has to say about Condi's Russian-speaking flubs.

Time to boycott Time?

The Kossacks think so. I get Newsweek, so I don't get the chance to participate in the boycott. Honestly, I always thought Time was a rag anyway, so that Ann Coulter cover just reinforces that idea for me.

John Bolton, Harasser

C'mon, of course I pay for it. - John Bolton

John Bolton, candidate for UN ambassador, reportedly harassed a subordinate and got very physical about it in a Moscow hotel. Do we really want our UN ambassador to be a guy who throws things at co-workers and goes off on crazy rants? Even some Republican senators don't think so.

Question of the day: What happened to the Social Security crisis?

I haven't heard much about the Social Security 'crisis' from George Bush lately. Hmmm. Maybe there wasn't one.

Pope jokes

Jack Cafferty on CNN this morning told a couple Pope jokes.

I just heard that they're going to change the name of the College of Cardinals to The Rat Pack.

Now that the Pope is the first German in over a thousand years, Lent will be called Oktoberfest.

Condi Rice to Russia: Improve Democracy

In a delicious turn of irony that was totally lost on Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, she warned Russian politicians that they need to focus more on creating and preserving democracy. In a radio address, Rice said:

There should not be so much concentration of power just in the presidency, there needs to be an independent media ... so that the Russian people can debate and decide together the democratic future of Russia.

Hmmm. Concentration of power in the presidency? Like George Bush threatening the judiciary and trying to override the Constitution in the Terri Schiavo case? Independent media. Like Fox News? Or Time magazine? So that people can debate and decide together. Like Tom 'The Hammer' DeLay does?

To Dr. Rice I say, physician, heal thyself. (She's not a medical doctor, BTW. But she is George Bush's personal proctologist.)

Philadelphia Webloggers: Unite!

The Philadelphia Webloggers Meeting is tonight at Independence Brew Pub. The event starts at 7. I'll look forward to seeing you there. (Note to Blankbaby - I didn't RSVP, so I may need to be on double secret probation.) More info here.

Benny and the Bets

Habemas papem. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, a 5-to-1 shot, was elected the 265th pope. He's now Pope Benedict XVI. Benny, Benny, Benny won the bet.

Ann Coulter complains about her Time cover

Honestly, I can't imagine what the problem is. Ann seems upset.

Oklahoma City Bombing: 10 Years Later

168 people were killed in the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Office Building in Oklahoma City 10 years ago today. Sure, Timothy McVeigh was put to death, so he won't create more terror, but what's happening with U.S. terrorists on U.S. soil? We seem to focus on people with Arabic names, but 'McVeigh' doesn't sound all that Arabic to me.

UPDATE: Richard Cranium on The All Spin Zone has a very interesting take on another big news item of the day: "You're not going to hear a thing about the other act of domestic terrorism that occurred on this day, in 1993, killing 75 men, women, and children." More>>

Pharma-cysts

I was going to write about pharmacists and the swirl around some of them moralizing, but then I read this piece on Philly. It's well done. All I can add is, read it.

Show Bolton the Door

You see, I just squeeze those diplomats a little around the neck when they step out of line. - John Bolton, candidate for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations

Mark Shields has a great intro to his piece on CNN today about why John Bolton should not be approved as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations:

Tell me that Bob Jones III, the president of the segregationist South Carolina university of the same name, has been nominated as chairman of the Civil Rights Commission.

Tell me that Father Dan Berrigan, the antiwar Jesuit priest, had just been named commandant of the Marine Corps or that Sir Elton John will be the new president of the Teamsters Union.

But don't tell me that the United States Senate, which likes to be called "the world's greatest deliberative body" will vote to confirm President Bush's pick of John Bolton to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

In no way can a bully and a belligerent fool become the United States' ambassador to the world. Incredible. Then again, George Bush is a little hard of hearing. Maybe it's all that brush clearing his does on his ranch in Crawford. Hard work. Being president's hard work.

Condi Rice's terrorism plan: Pull the wool over our eyes

Worldwide terrorism is on the rise. So what does Condi Rice and George Bush do when faced with the facts that run in the face of their claim that "terrorism is on the run"? Just suppress the truth. That's right, Knight-Ridder reports:

The State Department decided to stop publishing an annual report on international terrorism after the government's top terrorism center concluded that there were more terrorist attacks in 2004 than in any year since 1985, the first year the publication covered.

Lies, damn lies, and Bush statistics.

Want to know why privatizing Social Security won't work?

Check out George Will being hoist with his own petard (okay, charts) on This Week. Will shows that the stock market was flat for 17 years preceding 1982, and Sam Donaldson chimes in and says, "That's exactly why private Social Security accounts won't work." (Via Crooks and Liars)

Popapalooza

This one from The All Spin Zone really made me laugh this morning. It's an overview of the Papal Brackets, which are along the lines of the Final Four brackets. Along with the usual cardinals, you'll see that Duke makes a stealthy appearance.

Caption this picture of Tom DeLay, a big rifle, and a mountain man

Rep. Tom DeLay gave a speech yesterday at the NRA convention in Houston. At the conclusion of his remarks, he was presented a Cecil Brooks Original Flintlock Rifle. But there's a lot more to this story. What would you caption this?

Tom DeLay is a very scary man

The NYT editorial today has an analysis of the scariest man in America, Rep. Tom DeLay:

Mr. DeLay is not content with having a Republican president and majorities in both houses of Congress. He wants to control every aspect of government fully, and to deny the Democrats any role at all. The method is simple: when the game does not go his way, he changes the rules. If Republicans cannot win huge majorities in House races, he shifts the boundaries of their districts; if ethics rules start to catch up with his reckless behavior, he rewrites them. Most recently, when rulings by judges - the one branch of government still beyond his grasp - did not precisely suit him, Mr. DeLay resolved to impose his ideology on the judiciary.

You can also read more here about the Ethics Scandal Monkey and his web of deceit.

What the world thinks about the U.S.

David at ISOU says this is cool, and I agree. Check out Watching America, which is a compilation of translated foreign news reporting about the U.S.

Laura Bush's fist

"I didn't do it, my fist did it," said First Lady Laura Bush, describing her bawdy behavior with George Bush back in their Wacky Waco days. Ever notice how fist and Frist rhyme? What could someone do with that during National Poetry Month?

It's hard work being president

George Bush rubs his aching shoulder, which is sore from yanking off Tom DeLay. Just outside the frame of this photo is Sen. Rick Santorum, who was monitoring Barney's carnal activities with GOP consultant Arthur J. Finkelstein.

Britney Spears' shocking pregnancy

In a shocking turn, it was revealed that Britney Spears' left boob is pregnant.

George Bush addresses Americans for Social Security

President George Bush addressed the Americans for Social Security conference yesterday. The president is scheduled to follow up next week with a speech at the People United to Train Zealots gathering.

George Bush fiddles while Baghdad burns

American Marines detonated a car bomb in Baghdad on April 14. The first explosion, however, killed 18 people. Remember that war in Iraq? George Bush would like you to forget about it. Ever hear him talking about Iraq anymore? Nope. It's Social Security and North Korea, as if Iraq just didn't exist.

George Bush: copyright infringer

BoingBoing exposes another of George Bush's hypocrisies: he's a lawbreaker. George Bush and Karl Rove have admitted to violating copyright infringement laws. Read more.

A thousand words

Etherealgirl points us to a powerful website titled Witness. And she quotes:

I have been a witness, and these pictures are my testimony. The events I have recorded should not be forgotten and must not be repeated.
~~~James Nachtwey

Have a look at the photography from the front lines of world strife. A picture is worth a thousand words, but a thousand words will never describe a picture.

The DeLay slogan of the day

S.M. Dixon at Semidi has a link to a Democracy for America slogan contest. I'll put mine in the comments below.

George Bush's base

My friend, Bill, sent me this photo with the caption, "I love the South." The picture made me think, here's George Bush's base. This guy probably shaved Bush/Cheney 04 in his back fur before the NASCAR season started. What do you think the odds are on Bush supporters watching Queer Eye for the Straight Guy? If they had, this dude would have done a little manscaping.

John Bolton bolts from the truth

John Bolton, who is George Bush's nominee for UN ambassador, is a "serial abuser" according to testimony in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. According to Der Spiegel:

Mr. Bolton tried, but failed, to explain away his long public record of attacking the United Nations. Senator Barbara Boxer dealt rather neatly with Mr. Bolton's lamentation that he was being misquoted by playing a videotape of a 1994 speech in which he said: "There is no United Nations. There is an international community that occasionally can be led by the only real power left in the world - that's the United States - when it suits our interests and when we can get others to go along."

Watch out for the big lie coming. Bolton is using the "Who, me?" defense.

Abu Ghraib inspires artist Fernando Botero

Columbian artist Fernando Botero used his stylized "fat characters" to depict the torture and mayhem at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. I'm hoping that Botero gets another inspiration and creates a series of paintings showing fat cat Tom DeLay getting the whoopin' he deserves.

(AP photo; story on Yahoo!)

New national anthem?

This little ditty might be Dick Cheney's new choice for the national anthem. WARNING: NSFW.

What's on George Bush's iPod?

NYT has the lowdown on George Bush's musical tastes. What's on George Bush's iPod? I would think American Idiot by Green Day would be on there.

Drop the Hammer: Tom DeLay's gotta go

Check out Drop the Hammer, which says:

A network of large corporate backers have come, cash-in-hand, to DeLay's defense. American Airlines, Bacardi USA, Nissan USA, RJ Reynolds, and Verizon have all contributed thousands to Tom DeLay's Legal Defense Fund.

Send a message to these corporations and tell them to stop enabling Tom DeLay's unethical behavior. Let these corporations know that unless they stop supporting Tom DeLay, you'll stop supporting them.

Yep, it's time to drop the hammer. Even that dolt, Rick Santorum, says so.

Rittenhouse Square

I want to see Rittenhouse Square tonight. If it's not sold out I may just do that. Otherwise, I hope it's released on DVD at some point.

UPDATE: Here's a clever review of the movie on Blankbaby. Scott's take: He'll buy it if it comes out on DVD. That's a pretty good endorsement for me.

George Bush and Free Association

Uncle Horn Head has George Bush's Rorschach test. LOL.

Michael Jackson: Homo Alone with Macaulay Culkin

In court testimony on Friday reported by MTV.com, Michael Jackson's former chef, Philippe LeMarque, said "he saw Jackson and Culkin playing the "Thriller" video game. LeMarque said the singer was holding the boy up so that he could reach the controls, and that Jackson had his right hand around Culkin's waist and his left hand inside the boy's pants."

Michael said he was just searching for the joystick. WTF, man? Wacko Jacko needs to get a little prison justice. Maybe his cellmate will want to play Thriller with him.

Now conservatives are threatening Supreme Court justices

Craziness. Look at this WaPo story about Phyllis Schlafly and a bunch of other nutbags calling for the impeachment of Justice Kennedy, A REAGAN APPOINTEE.

UPDATE: Lambert has a very interesting commentary about this on corrente.

Entertain your brain

Okay, Republican hypocrisy, blah, blah, blah. There's a lot of life going on in the world - here's some goings on to entertain your brain.

Poetry. Matt's featuring poetry on the tattered coat in honor of National Poetry Month. I spent a while in j-school as a poetry editor and squandered some of my youth compressing language into its critical essence. I like Matt's drive to show us the good stuff.

Film. John is liveblogging from the 14th Philadelphia Film Festival on Philly Future. I want to see lots of those films. I'm especially looking forward to the local fave, Rittenhouse. And in the sub-genre, Bogart Films, Albert at Philly writes about the Bogey Film Fest he watched from the comfort of his own living room.

Dreams. Moni at Blatherskite has a spooky (or cool, depending on how you look it) dream she writes about that linked directly to one her mother had at the same time. Have any insight for her?

Travel. Check out what it's really like in Bolivia and other locales in South America from an intinerant traveler. Or check out what it's like to pick up from Philly and go teach in Alaska (no cheese steaks, that's for sure). Or, you could always go In Search of Utopia and ending up living in Costa Rica.

Okay, I'll post more diversions over the weekend. People are doing cool stuff out there. I live vicariously through them.

Eating crow on the Schiavo memo

Mmmmmm. Tasty.

Tom DeLay's ethical problems are nothing...

...compared to his fashion faux pas. Look at that shirt. Then again, taking gifts of free trips to Saipan paid for by questionable lobbyists could cause a few problems for the ethically-challenged Congressman from Texas. As we know, Tom DeLay hasn't met an ethical challenge that he hasn't tried...and failed. Mr. Consistency.

Will Bunch gets props from E&P on the Pulitzer "controversy"

E&P has a piece called AP Calls Criticism of Pulitzer Win for Photos 'Deeply Offensive' that sticks it to Malkin and Powerline while giving kudos to Will Bunch at Attytood. Cheers, Will. Keep up the good fight.

Here's the original post on Attytood. He has those rightie nutbag, liars in a tizzy.

Doing the Schiavo

Okay, since I already said I was doomed, what more could it hurt? I know I shouldn't, but LMAO. Look for yourself.

Terri Schiavo memo was written by GOP aide

So much for the wingnut frenzy about the Terri Schiavo talking points memo being written by Dems (they were flogging the idea that they had another Rathergate on their hands). Nope. WaPo reports:

The legal counsel to Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) admitted yesterday that he was the author of a memo citing the political advantage to Republicans of intervening in the case of Terri Schiavo, the senator said in an interview last night.

Guess the conspiracy idiots will have to move on to their next boogeyman. Anyone think they'll apologize or even be introspective about their wingnuttery?

QUICK UPDATE: I wrote this short post first, then started looking around. In Search of Utopia gives a great rundown with links in Just Who Has Egg on Their Face?

Nobody likes Georgie Porgie

Poor George Bush, his poll numbers show the lowest approval rating of any president at this point in his second term. With an approval rating so low, at 45%, E&P comments:

It's not uncommon to hear or read pundits referring to President George W. Bush as a "popular" leader or even a "very popular" one. Even some of his critics in the press refer to him this way. Perhaps they need to check the latest polls.

Permission to ask the president hard questions, friends.

What it's really like in Iraq

Here's an interview with a non-embedded reporter in Iraq. This is the stuff TV news doesn't have the time to show us in 90 seconds. Heck, I don't know if they even cover the war in Iraq anymore.

Santor-dumb

Hey, hey, ho, ho, Rick Santorum's gotta go. RUFF!

Karl posted a piece on Philly Future about why the chant above is right.

Hey, George Bush: WTF?

I'm usually not a big fan of CafePress stuff, but I thought this bumper sticker was clever.

Conservative bad boy of the day: Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX)

Lots of hullaballo today about Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who said on the floor of the Senate that he can understand why there is violence against judges.

Conservatives' idea of diversity?

This is from an advertisement on Michelle Malkin's site under the heading, "Finally some decent Conservative T-shirts." Is this the Conservatives' idea of diversity? Does Michelle endorse this kind of thinking? Hey, maybe to pander to her NASCAR Republicans, she could take one of a little, spiked-haired boy pissing on [African Americans, pro-choice advocates, women, gays, lesbians, little people, academics, MSM, yankees, John Kerry, Teddy Kennedy, Gavin Newsome, the elderly, wine drinkers, Blue States, the judiciary].

Pulitzer Prizes awarded

In some blogging circles this announcement of the Pulitzer Prize will set off a firestorm of criticism of the "MSM." In fact, to get cred, I was going to title this post something really clever like "Heh" or "MSM Masturbation." And then I was going to set up some strawman about bloggers being journalists. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

I've been thinking for a while that all this belly button gazing by bloggers is a bit much. Do people actually think that when they started radio that early adopters spent all their time focused on the telegraph crowd? Or that the first drivers of cars spent all their time worrying about the supposed injustices perpetrated by horse riders? Or that Jack Parr, Red Skelton, and Milton Berle spent all their early TV time worrying about the radio "MSM"? Hardly.

It seems so juvenile to keep focusing on the "MSM," or media bias, or whatever. Maybe the kids could learn a thing or two from the progenitors. The way to really get accepted isn't to spend time complaining about not being at the grown-up table. Every once in a while it might behoove the kids to act mature and stop whining. If you want to be a professional, be one. Complaining about others who are doesn't make you one.

BTW: Congratulations to the Pulitzer winners. Maybe one day a blog journalist will be on the dais.

Anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination

Philly has a powerful post today about the 37th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination in Memphis. Read it here. Thx, Albert.

SF wants to regulate blogging

I'm not much into blogging's obsession with MSM. It's a lot of belly button gazing to me. But this situation in San Francisco, whose Board of Supervisors proposes to regulate bloggers, seems a bit much. This comment by rtfr on Personal Democracy Forum is in line with my thinking:

Ms. Maxwell,
Would you regulate a person who, over the course of an election, happens to talk to five hundred people and make the case for her candidate to each one? Would you regulate a newspaper editorial that reaches thousands (maybe millions) in its endorsement of a particular candidate? Then why, Ms. Maxwell, are you trying to silence every day citizens? I wonder if perhaps you are afraid of what the people will say about you.

Top U.S. general advocated torture at Abu Ghraib

It's Abu Ghraib Day at iFF. Or maybe this information was there all along, but we just got swept up in the news about Brad and Jen, Terri Schiavo, and Michael Jackson (say, did anyone notice that Robert Blake was found not guilty of killing his wife? That guy just can't buy any publicity these days.) So, while we still focus on Kirstie Alley's weight loss on Fat Actress, we also notice out of the corner of our eye this little nugget from The Independent:

Documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reveal that Lt General Ricardo Sanchez authorised techniques such as the use of dogs to intimidate prisoners, stress positions and disorientation. In the documents, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, Gen Sanchez admits that some of the techniques would not be tolerated by other countries.

Maybe someday we'll have to use Sanchez's authorized techniques to get the truth out of George Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, and Karl Rove. Gentlemen, did any of you knowingly lead the Unites States of America into war under false pretenses? Yes or no. The clock's ticking, and Cujo is on a long leash.

Don't think that Abu Ghraib was unprecedented

Vince writes:

At the link below is a 50 minute video from the BBC on U.S. prisons which is extremely upsetting and disturbing. As has been said before in a social justice context, but still holds true, "The world assaults us in many ways, but we cannot look away."

I hope everyone gets a chance to watch the graphic video in its entirety, but be sure to have a box of Kleenex on hand.

Vin

Link. Thx Vin

Did you spring forward today?

Daylight Saving Time starts today in the majority of the U.S. (Indiana is a little messed up, they want to change to DST in June.) Here's a useful resource for setting your clocks to the exact second.

Abu Ghraib prison attacked; 56 wounded

The war in Iraq still rages on. Abu Grhraib prison was attacked yesterday and 44 U.S. soldiers and 12 Iraqi prisoners were injured. This article in Aljazeera is interesting. We swallow the word insurgent hook, line, and sinker from U.S. media. Interesting that they use the words anti-occupation fighters. Who's right? Both. As Anais Nin said, "We don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are."

John Paul II is dead

Pope John Paul II is dead. Requiescat in pace.

Culture of Life soldier's resume

RESUME
Capt. Rogelio Maynulet (Codename Killer Rog)
U.S. Army APO AE 09014-9355 65205
Wiesbaden
Ph. 011-49-611-705-4039

Career Goals
I hope to parlay my proactive, mercy killing methodology (Codename: Iraqi Justice) I practiced in the U.S. Army into a rewarding career in Republican politics where I can advocate a Culture of Life. Sure, there's hypocrisy in what I'm saying, but I'll fit right in with my Republican colleagues. And hey, I'm a soldier. Don't you support our troops? What are you, some commie?

References
Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX). I highly recommend this soldier. Even though he killed an Iraqi civilian in cold blood, he's an American soldier. And if you don't support our troops, then you're un-American. And even though I said all life is precious while I was shilling for votes in the Terri Schiavo case, I didn't actually mean all life is precious. I meant politically expedient lives, unlike that poor Iraqi bastard or my father, for that matter.

George W. Bush (POTUS). Heh-heh, Killer Rog. How can you go wrong with a nickname like that? When I pin the Medal of Freedom on him like I did with those patriots Paul Bremer and George Tenet, I'm going to say, "Way to go, Killer. We need more patriots like you."

Donald Rumsfeld (Sec'y of Defense). You got questions about this soldier's courage? You can bite my ass. This soldier is what's best about the U.S. military. It takes real grit and guts to drill two rounds from a heavy M4 into the head of a writhing insurgent. Hell, the perp's name was Abed Ali al-Haleji, that's a goddam A-rab name if I ever heard one. Captain Maynulet can work for me if you don't give him a goddam job.

Experience
U.S. Army, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment of the 1st Armored Division
1993 - Present

Last Rank: Captain. Commanded Company A in Iraq, Fallujah City. Led attacks on insurgents. Killed bad guys. Executed a mercy killing but was court martialed. Found guilty of killing a wounded Iraqi. Dismissed from the Army, but I was essentially not guilty because I didn't get any jail time.

Education
U.S. Army indoctrination

Salary
Negotiable. Consulting and speaking fees available upon request. Please contact my agents, Dame Judith Regan, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O'Reilly, for more information.

Caption this Pat Buchanan picture

I have one, but wanted to test the idea. Here's the story.

Top 100 April Fools Day Hoaxes

The Top 100 April Fools Day hoaxes are listed here. There are some pretty amazing ones. George Bush's WMD hoax isn't among them.

Terri Schiavo Gonzalez

MyDD has an interesting Photoshopped picture of George Bush storming the hospice a la Terri Schiavo Gonzalez.

Iraq intelligence assessments were "dead wrong"

As much as George Bush would like to use smoke and mirrors to make us forget about the war in Iraq and the crushing national debt, that won't make them go away. A presidential commission reported that intelligence assessment were "dead wrong" about Iraq. From USA Today:

"The intelligence community was dead wrong in almost all of its prewar judgments" on Iraq's arsenal. The commission also warned in a scathing report that the CIA and other agencies may be equally blind now about nuclear threats posed by countries such as Iran and North Korea.

George Bush and his administration are going to make Richard Nixon and Andrew Johnson look like saints. History will tell.

The Pope's on the Ropes

Pope John Paul II is very ill. I just heard on CNN that the Vatican Press Office said it will remain open all night tonight, which, they said, is an operation that typically closes at three in the afternoon. Here's a picture of the Pontiff in better times.

Vote 2004 looks like it was rigged

Attytood has a piece titled George Bush: That One in a Million You about the 2004 election. Will writes:

A team of university statisticians and experts from around the country -- including two from right here in Philadelphia -- has finished looking at why the major national exit poll appeared to show John Kerry winning last November by three percentage points, when the final tally showed that Bush won by 2.5 percent.

Their conclusion? That the odds of such a variation taking place are just under one-million-to-one. Unless, of course, one of two things happened. One of those things would be some factor that caused the exit polls to be inaccurate -- for example, Bush voters being less likely to tell survey takers whom they voted for (heh heh, we could understand that).

Or....the election was rigged.

See, the Republicans are screaming about Terri Schiavo and the Wingnut blogs are harping about the Terri Schiavo talking points memo. Meanwhile, George W. Bush stole two elections and considers it a mandate. I wish I could live long enough to read the history books on this era. It won't be pretty.