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Now that the U.S. has cut aid to 50 countries who refuse to exempt U.S. military personnel from war crimes charges, we have roughly $48 million extra dollars in the federal budget.
Even though the way that we've come by this money smells of blackmail, $48 million could do a lot of good things....literacy programs, insurance programs for the uninsured, family planning programs, etc. Considering George thinks spending several million on a program to promote marriage is a wise investment, I don't have a lot of hope for this extra money.
I'd like to review some symptoms of schizophrenia with you.
Schizophrenia is not split personality disorder. The symptoms of schizophrenia can be divided into several groups, including positive and negative symptoms.Can you think of anyone that fits that description? Read this and give it some consideration.Positive Symptoms — distortion of normal function. These symptoms include the following:
- Hallucinations — changes in the senses, such as hearing voices or seeing unusual things that are not there
- Delusions — bizarre fixed beliefs that are not based in reality
- Paranoia — feeling fearful that others are plotting against you
- Disorganization – changes in thought processes, such as having trouble thinking clearly or becoming easily confused
According to Abbas, immediately thereafter Bush said: "God told me to strike at al Qaeda and I struck them, and then he instructed me to strike at Saddam, which I did, and now I am determined to solve the problem in the Middle East. If you help me I will act, and if not, the elections will come and I will have to focus on them."How about now? I wonder if George has stock in Royal Jelly?
I think I just found another tshirt I must have. Now I can apologize to the world in six different languages!
Be sure to read the lively comments!
I am a salaried employee. When I work overtime I don't get paid for it. Occasionally I might get a comp day thrown at me to compensate for it, but it's unusual. I've been a salaried employee for many years now. The new and idiotic proposal from you-know-who to change the way overtime is paid out won't affect me.
But it doesn't mean I don't care. I remember when I was working crappy paying jobs and that overtime pay meant the difference between just making rent or eating ramen noodles for an entire month in order to make rent.
If you've never had to work a real job, or it didn't matter how much or how little you earned at a real job, there's no way you could know how much this matters to people. It would affect 8 million people.
I triple dog dare the administration to sign this one into law. The 2004 election is coming up pretty quick. It's bad enough the jobless numbers are huge and the economy is in the tank, but to take away overtime? That's something every typical American can understand. Every union in the country will organize to vote Bush out. Every McDonald's employee, dairy worker, etc., will make sure they're heard.
I remember way back [what, a couple months ago?] when George was pushing for this huge tax cut, and opponents kept saying that it was really a tax cut for the rich and it really wouldn't help the economy or the average American that much, blah blah blah. And I remember all those Big Fans of George Bush [hereby to be known as BFBG] poo-poo-ing all of us, saying that we were being overly critical, that we didn't know what we were talking about, that we should extract our heads out of our asses, etc. Do you recall that?
At the risk of having CNN labelled as "that damn liberal media," let me point your attention toward this article:
The rich got richer as their tax rates fell in 2000 and the trend is likely to continue following President Bush's recent tax cuts, according to published reports Thursday that cited a study by the Internal Revenue Service.
OK, fine. I also remember hearing that tax cuts to the rich are good because wealthy Americans are the ones who own the businesses, and with more money those businesses can afford to hire more people. If more people are employed, more people will have money. If more people have money, they can actually spend money and the economy will recover. Nice theory. I'm sure the 415,000 people fired last week are big believers in the trickle down theory.
So was the $330 billion for the tax cut worth it? Will it stimulate the economy one day? I doubt it. But guess what that $300 billion could have done -- it could have "covered every uninsured child in the country and paid for millions of teachers and child-care workers". Maybe that wouldn't stimulate the economy either, but at least there would be something to show for it in the end instead of only a nice theory.
I know I say this every time a new member of the administration resigns, but this has got to be a record...
Today, the Defense Department spokesperson says goodbye to Rumsfeld.
I wonder who it will be tomorrow.
Coincidentally enough, yesterday I was blathering on about how most politicians are wealthy and can't relate to the poor or even your typical American. Today CNN reports that 4 out of 10 Senators are millionaires.
That leaves 6 out of 10, and that's not bad, right? Well, if only. The financial records Senators are required to submit are not accurate or complete.
And the statements also do not include the value of federal salaries, pensions or primary residences, meaning the financial picture is incomplete. Bank accounts worth less than $5,000 are also excluded.I'm thinking the number is a bit higher than 4 out of 10, if you include all that other stuff.
What I find particularly hysterical about the article is this line: "Not all senators are millionaires. At least 10 senators reported net worths of less than $100,000." Less than $100K! Well, better call the poorhouse!
But the conclusion is something we already know:
"It shows that people of means are the ones who often jump into politics and are often the ones successful at it," Weiss said. He said that's because it also takes considerable funds to launch a Senate bid, and many candidates have to give up their jobs to run an aggressive campaign. People who come from wealthy backgrounds can afford to do so, he said.Well, duh. That's why you have politicians in office who say they stand for the working American but wouldn't know what that means if I handed them my paycheck. Between your opponent digging into your past to come up with every even remotely underhanded thing you ever did and the obscene amount of money it takes to run a campaign and win, no wonder Senators, etc. don't represent you or me.Senators and House members are paid an annual salary of $154,700. Members of the House and Senate leadership are paid $171,900 annually.
I may not particularly like children, but I recognize the absolute fucking necessity for all kids to get a really excellent education. Head Start has, for the past 38 years, given poor and underserved kids who might not have access to learning opportunities that the rest of us have a real chance to start school ready to learn.
Because so few politicians started poor or even have a clue what it's like to live as a normal and average American, most of them have never had exposure to Head Start, beyond perhaps in the charitable giving sense. They didn't have to send their kids to a Head Start program, and none of their friends have taken advantage of the program. Perhaps the family maid is familiar with the program, but that's about it. George, being that he's never had to worry about money, has always had access to any educational opportunity he ever wanted, so he obviously doesn't have a clue.
And so when he was trying to change Head Start, a plan which many said would bankrupt the program within five years [don't worry, those protesting were straightened out by the administration], I wasn't surprised. He obviously doesn't care about the poor in this country [cutting the minimum wage earners out of his tax cut refund makes it pretty clear, among other things], so why should he care if their children have the skills to be successful in school? And this bill approved by the House today doesn't surprise me, either. Some things are good -- increased academic standards, increased teacher expectations. Unfortunately the government isn't giving Head Start any money in order to help institute the changes, and our government is now sanctioning religious intolerance masquerading as a Head Start program.
And you know what? I'm still not surprised -- in early May the Senate voted on the Workforce Investment Act, which would have allowed federally funded job and literacy programs to hire and fire based on religion. To my knowledge that part of the Act was removed. But because of that attempt at repealing civil rights laws, I wasn't surprised when the new Head Start bill would allow religious groups to run Head Start programs and give them the right to only employ people who subscribe to their religious beliefs.
I'm sickened by it, but I'm not surprised.
See, this is what private schools are for. If you want to attend a school run by Mormons, you pay to go to a private Mormon school. If you want your kids to attend a school run by born again Christians, you pay to send your kids there. Head Start is not about religion -- it's about learning and giving kids a chance to succeed in life.
It's not just about being able to hire someone based solely on their religion. If there's one Head Start in a town and it's run by Catholics, they could require Head Start attendees to pray before snacks or attend Mass, even if they're Jewish or Muslim. I know plenty of kids who aren't Catholic who pay extra to go to Catholic schools in the city because there's less of a chance of being stabbed. The school requires them to attend Mass and raise money for the church.
The current administration obviously wants a homogenized society. They oppose gay marriage and refuse to acknowledge Gay Pride Week. They deport thousands of people of Middle Eastern descent. They repeal civil rights legislation so I can be turned down for employment because I don't believe in a specific god. Anyone who is different is bad and suspect.
It makes me sick.
I desparately want a President that commands respect -- not just by the sheer depth of his or her intelligence and the grace by which he or she carries themselves, but also by their actions and ability to legislate in such a way that all the people in the U.S. are made to feel a part of something larger.
George W. Bush is not that President.
I won't even go into the lengths to which he and this administration have gone to make me feel unwanted and unnecessary as a citizen. I won't recount his lack of mastery of the language. I just want to talk about how, as President, you should never look like a clumsy schmuck in public. People can't really respect a guy who can't even successfully eat a pretzel or who falls off a glorified shopping cart. It makes him seem too much like your mentally challenged third cousin with the drinking problem and no job...the one who lives in a run down trailer and has a Camaro perpetually up on blocks in his overgrown lawn plot. I don't want someone like that as my President -- I want to be dazzled by his brilliance, not by his idiocy.
See, this is why I don't run for President -- I want someone smarter than me in the White House.
Sometimes, well...sometimes I have no words to describe my incredulity over the outright brass cajones of the current U.S. administration. Imagine how floored I was when I read this:
Israel has defended its policy of pre-emptive strikes after US President George W. Bush rebuked the country over two deadly missile attacks.George is pissed at a country over pre-emptive strikes? Uh, pot, kettle, black.
Words fail me at a time like this. From the art of resistance Bush mosaic:
[Thanks to Vince for posting the link]
I'm a little confused. George and co. are trying to foster a "culture of life." The invasion of Iraq was ordered because the government was slaughtering it's own people and we really needed to bring freedom and democracy to Iraq. Right?
OK, so why haven't we sent troops to the Congo, or scheduled a full on invasion there?
The International Rescue Committee, a voluntary relief organization, estimated there were 200,000 deaths since 1998 as a direct result of the war. Almost 2.8 million have died from malnutrition or disease because the war has limited humanitarian aid.The UN is sending peacekeeping forces in. For those of you who like to call France a bunch of cowards, France has sent troops in. There are thousands of men, women, and children being killed, mutilated, and raped on a daily basis. There is talk of cannibalism. If George is so concerned about keeping peace in the world, why haven't we done anything about the Congo?
The answer is obvious -- we won't get anything out of it. The Congo isn't "swimming in oil." The government and the warring factions don't have those dreaded weapons of mass destruction [not that actually having them means anything]. Maybe George is fooled by the fact the country's name is the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The fact that we're idly sitting by while an entire country is being wiped out is sick.
I'm really uncomfortable with something that happened yesterday. I get pretty pissy when anyone talks about banning abortion. Yesterday the Senate actually voted to ban "partial birth" abortion. They already voted on it and banned it in March, but now they're changing the language just a little before it gets sent off to the President to sign into law. "Likely to be deleted: nonbinding language added by the Senate in support of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision."
In addition, they added this little nugget: "The current bill contains an exception when the life of the mother -- but not her health -- is at risk."
I find this atrocious. George's administration has made it very difficult to be a woman in this country. Aside from all the other sexist crap being pulled now that there's no one to guard the hen house, now I have to put up with being told that a threat to my health is not a good enough reason to terminate a pregnancy. I'm being told that the U.S. government thinks I'm too stupid to make a decision for myself.
Yesterday Trish sent me a link to some asshat's blog who called those of who are pro-choice "feminazis." I wasn't interested in debating with the guy because he's entitled to his opinion. It's when fucktards with the wrong opinion are in a position of power -- that's when I get nervous and in the mood to put up a fight.
Look, if you're a man -- I don't believe that you should have the right to tell a woman what she can and can't do with her own body. If you're personally involved in the situation [ie, if you knock up your girlfriend], then fine, by all means, get involved with the discussion. But until a man can spontaneously grow a uterus and carry children in his womb men have no business legislating the do's and don'ts of abortion. Leave the heavy lifting to people who have a clue of what it might be like.
Plus, there's this golden tidbit:
Bush hailed passage of the legislation, which he said "will help build a culture of life in America. I urge Congress to quickly resolve any differences and send me the final bill as soon as possible so that I can sign it into law."A culture of life? A culture of life? You've got to be fucking kidding me! George starts a war that kills over 5,000 people and he's talking about the sanctity of life? Give me a fucking break.
To end this, I'm just going to leave you with the immortal words of a bumper sticker I'm fond of quoting:
If you can't trust me with a choice,
how can you trust me with a child?
Uh oh, looks like someone could be in trouble:
Henry Waxman, a California Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, called on Mr Bush to explain why the administration cited dubious and later discredited documents to back its claims about Iraqi weapons.Gee, if there's actually a real inquiry into this whole weapons of mass destruction brouhaha, maybe then we can get an inquiry into George's intel and what happened on Sept. 11."To date, you have offered no explanation as to why you and your most senior advisers made repeated allegations based on forged documents," Mr Waxman said in a letter to the president.
Nah, that'll never happen.
[Short link found at The Gamer's Nook]
In the grand scheme of things, I suppose it doesn't matter that my government's debt ceiling has been raised. I mean, what's $984 billion between friends, right? So what if the national debt goes as high as $7.4 trillion? It's not like I, personally, am $7.4 trillion in debt. I'm not going to be turned down for a credit card or mortgage because the government has an obscene amount of IOUs all over the place.
Does it really matter that my [pretend] children's children's children will be paying off this debt so that George can look good today? Will the future of this country be a pay taxes out the wazoo for absolutely no federal services because things got so fucked up? Because lower taxes now equals higher national debt now, what happens when someone with some sense comes into office? You can cut important services or you can raise taxes to get the extra money to pay down the debt. It makes sense to even someone like me without any real budgeting skills.
Will this tax cut stimulate the economy? I don't have a lot of faith. Did George "inherit" the crappy economy, as he claims? I'm not an expert. But it's been almost four years and he's still trying to pass off the blame onto someone else.
As Bush traveled widely to sell his package, he portrayed the ailing economy as something he inherited, taking care to mention that the recession took place in 2001's first three quarters -- the beginning of his presidency. That period of negative growth was then exacerbated by that fall's terrorist attacks and corporate corruption scandals, he often said.That's just sickening. If you broke it, or helped break it more, own up to it. You know what they say: you break it, you buy it. George didn't do this country any good -- maybe he should be held personally and financially responsible for his share of the national debt. It's not like he's hurting for money, not like the poor saps this tax cut/national debt increase is supposed to help.The intent was to place the problems' creation outside the president's control, while positioning him to gain credit for trying to fix them.
That'll put a hole in his trust fund.
Dear Mr. Ridge,
I'm very upset to hear that you and your boys are thinking of raising the terror threat level. Since I damn near bought out the duct tape section of my local hardware, it's just been taking up space in the basement right next to the generator and 10,000 gallons of bottled water I bought in case the whole world ended when it turned 2000. I wish you people would make up your mind -- the world is going to end and then it's not. It is and then it's not. Well, really, you say something awful is going to happen and then nothing does. It's awfully trifling.
Anyhow, the wife and I started using the duct tape. Initially I was taping up my goats and having my way with them, but then Mr. Santorum told me it was just as bad as being one of those crazy buggering homosexuals, so I stopped that right quick. I got morals, you know? So I started taping the wife up and now the tape is just about gone. Good old-fashioned fear sure does flame my passions.
I sure do hope you guys in the government are planning to attack another bad country. I know the President and all them boys said flattening Iraq would do the trick to keep as all safe as houses, but now here we about to raise the terror level again. I sure do like to watch the people get blowed up on the CNN, but it's much better when it happens in another country.
In the meantime, keep up the good work in keeping us all safe. It's good to know we got a good god fearin' man in office to tell us when to be scairt. Well, I'm off to buy more duct tape. The wife and I don't have alot of money right now -- we both lost our jobs a couple of months ago and can't find another job. But if the tape and plastic sheets will keep us safe when the nuclear plant goes up, well, it's money well spent.
Thanks,
Cleetus
Remember when I was yammering last month about how the anti-choice crowd would use the Laci Peterson case to their advantage? It didn't take long:
Adding fuel to the already fierce debate over abortion, Republicans in Congress are evoking the Laci Peterson murder case as they try to enact the first federal law to endow a fetus with legal rights separate from the expectant mother.Even better, it's been renamed after Laci Peterson. No, that's not exploitive, is it?
Look, I think it's horrible to murder anyone. I don't, however, think it's worse to kill a pregnant woman than a woman who isn't pregnant. This is simply trying to play on sympathy for Laci Peterson's family and it makes me sick to my stomach. If you want the bill to pass, argue it on it's [lacking] merits -- don't pull the "poor Laci's family won't be able to sleep unless you support this bill" card.
It kind of says something about the intrusiveness of a piece of legislation when "hundreds of cities and one state have passed resolutions condemning the USA Patriot Act." I'm surprised George and his band of merry morons haven't come out and said that those who are against the Patriot Act are anti-American. I'm sure that time is coming.
Just as those of us who didn't agree with George's actions regarding the war in Iraq, and don't care for the way he's upped the federal deficit to the point where this country will be in unbelievable debt for the next 200 years have all be labelled traitorous anti-patriots, we'll all get a turn.
Don't like the fact that you lost your job and can't get a job? Why, that's un-American! Don't think that Americans should be required to believe in the Christian [i.e., George's] god? You should be rounded up and deported, because you certainly aren't a real American, according to George. How dare you criticize the $15 billion AIDS bill just signed by the President? Don't you care about stopping the spread of AIDS? Well, not when "House conservatives were able to amend the bill to ensure that 33 percent of all prevention funding go to abstinence programs, and that Catholic and other religious groups are not denied funding because they oppose condom distribution." And you know what that means -- if you go to a religious group for treatment you better be willing to convert to Christianity in order to get that treatment.
Come on, Fall of 2004!
After the yarn shopping and a brief pitstop at IKEA [be sure to check out my IKEA post at Homewreckers], Craig and I arrived home from our field trip only to find a small wonder awaiting me in the mail. That's right -- my Impeach Bush tshirt has arrived! And two bumper stickers! I only wish I lived in Washington, DC so I could stalk a couple of Republicans and slap those bad boys on the backs of their cars!
As is, I'll probably save them for my next trip to Berwick and target a couple of asshats there in my hometown. It's easy pickin's up there -- lots of people who are told what to think by schmucks like Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. Can't be bothered to do some reading, maybe come to their own conclusions, oh no! Life moves too fast in a town with only two stop lights and more cows than people -- no time to think for themselves!
I was thinking maybe I'd don my snazzy new tshirt and maybe take a run around the old stomping grounds next time I'm at my mom's house. Of course, I might not make it back in one piece. You know how those hicks are -- wouldn't want anyone to threaten their belief structure.
Hey, want your very own tshirt to get the party started? Visit bushoccupation.com and support the revolution! And then be sure you're registered to vote, OK?
The nature of politics is that, as a candidate, you need to have money. Whether you have family money that you fall into or are born into, or you work hard to earn the money, or you're a champion fundraiser -- you need to have cash to promote yourself. Without the dollars, you might as well not even bother.
And, in a lot of ways, I think that is the downfall of American politics. You rarely get anyone in office who can relate to the average American because they have never been an average American. Sure, there are a few people in office who clawed their way out of poverty and paid their own way through college with two jobs while going to school full-time. But the majority of them grew up in nice suburban homes in nice families and they never had to worry about money or food or bad schools.
Politicians will drum up some sort of stupid story to make voters believe that he/she is just your average Joe. But having a summer job at the country club does not mean that you can relate to the common man or woman. Until a person has spent years working at a crappy job with no future, worrying about living in box on the curb when it's time to retire, and living paycheck to paycheck [or, alternatively, have no job and worry about the same types of things], there's no way to relate to what normal citizens go through on a daily basis.
Let's take George, for instance. George likes to bill himself as a down to earth guy. You know, salt of the earth and all that. He speaks like he barely graduated from elementary school, and takes a vacation every other weekend. We all imagine him drinking a Pabst with a whisky sidecar, and it's believable because that's the kind of image he puts out there for us. Like the Buddy Christ, George is the Buddy President. But George is worth over over $5 million. He grew up untroubled by things that normal people face -- he had private schools and money. George can afford to have the kind of religious fervor that he has because he has had everything he ever wanted in life. There's never been a need to question his god's existence.
How can he relate to me? How can any politician who hasn't had to work for what they have relate to me? Or to any other voter? Unless the politician is part of the minority who used to be a part of the average citizenry, there's no way. Touring poor neighborhoods and non-profit agencies that help the poor or homeless doesn't mean you can possibly understand what it means to be poor or be homeless.
We [the citizens of the U.S.] pay the salaries of politicians. Why should the average Senator make $150K+ per year when I make about a quarter of that? It's not like they work harder than the rest of us. I don't understand why my employee makes more than I do.
I want to reclaim the political process in this country. I want to dial it back to when politicians didn't lie or hide the truth about their beliefs to get elected. I want politicians to vote for things based on what their constitutuency wants them to do, not what they themselves believe. I want the average citizen to be in elected positions, not career politicians who are uber-wealthy and out of touch.
I want things to be the way they were meant to be.
This is just something that ran through my head a few minutes ago...
If a woman kills her children because god told her to do it, she's nuts, right? Why is it not crazy that George does the things he does because god told him to do it?
Just curious.
Would you say that there's too much diversity in your workplace [if you currently have a job, which is becoming increasingly rare in this crappy ass economy]? Well, if the answer is yes, I have some great news for you -- the U.S. government is trying to make it an acceptable practice to employ you [or not] based on your religious beliefs.
The House is scheduled to vote today on a bill that would allow religious groups that run federally funded job training and literacy programs to hire and fire employees based on their religious beliefs.Well, I guess it's just those pesky faith-based initiative groups George loves. Oh hell, it's OK to allow federally funded organizations to discriminate against me because I'm not Catholic, right? Oh sure. Because I'm sure it won't go any further than that. I'm sure that gender and race discrimination won't be allowed ever, right? I'm sure that it won't ever be legal to discriminate against me because I'm of Scottish descent, right? I mean, it's not like anyone fought hard to make sure I could never be discriminated against for my religious beliefs, right? Oh, you mean this country was founded on the freedom of religion? Well, now, to be able to discriminate against someone for not being Catholic or Jewish or Protestant or whatever does seem, well, completely opposite of the ideals this country was founded on, doesn't it?
[link found via Just as I Thought.]
If you value your rights as an American, I suggest you visit Bush Occupation . My tshirt will be on it's way to me shortly.
I'm sooooo wearing it next time I'm in Berwick.
Well. Yet another Bush White House staffer is stepping down. This has got to be a record. Does anyone have any clue as to where I can find a complete list of Bush staffpeople who have abandoned ship?
George should be a little relieved, at this one didn't quit in protest. He just wants to run for office. He doesn't seem like a very nice guy though: "He once accused New Yorkers of "a little money-grubbing game" for pursuing $20 billion Bush promised — and later provided — to rebuild from the Sept. 11 attacks."
Here I am, exercising my option not to watch George blabber on incoherently. Instead, I'd like to talk about how much I appreciate my civil liberties. Or, I should say, how much I appreciated my civil liberties before George burst onto the scene and started revoking them.
And now the U.S. government is picking on Canada because that damn Canadian government refuses to frighten it's citizens into handing over their freedoms on a silver platter.
Do you know that I read an entry today about someone being required to sign a release at a dentists' office so the office could hand over the medical records to the federal government? So, let me get this straight -- knowing that I have gingivitis is somehow going to stop some form of terrorist activity?
Things get more and more bizarre with each passing day.
Donald Rumsfeld is the most evil man on the planet. I'm convinced of it. No, really.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said that his country has entered a new era in which it must pre-emptively seek out and prevent attacks by terrorists and terrorist states.So, what he's saying is that if I think my neighbor may be a be planning to slit my throat in my sleep, it's OK if I bust into his house and kill him first?
He told coalition troops at US Central Command in the Gulf state of Qatar that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq showed that America had made a good start.
He said the US-led invasion of Iraq would go down in military history because of its unprecedented combination of power, precision, speed and flexibility.So as long as I make a big display of going in armed to the teeth and don't kill my neighbor's hamster, it's OK?It was also notable for its compassion towards innocent civilians, he said.
Sure, I'm being facetious. But Rumsfeld is giving troops a pat on the back, telling them that what they have done will "go down in history" and they should "be very proud." Yes, they should be proud that they let some of the world's earliest artifacts be pilfered. I'm thrilled that the Iraqi people have gotten rid of their evil ruler, but an extended U.S. presence isn't going to make anyone happy. And replacing their government with rulers of the U.S.'s choosing isn't going to be good either -- anyone remember hearing that half a dozen U.S. soldiers were just killed in Afghanistan last week or so? Yep, killed by the evil Taliban that we supposedly got rid of.
Right now, bin Laden and Hussein are probably having tea somewhere conspiring against the U.S. Before long the U.S. will have rolled over so many countries and not caught [or killed] their head guys that they'll have lots of company.
Yep, sleep well tonight knowing that our government is doing it's level best to ensure our safety.
Yeah, so, way to win hearts and minds, pal:
President Bush swooped Thursday into the home state of a fellow Republican who refuses to go along with his drive for more than a half-trillion dollars in new tax cuts, deriding supporters of a "little bitty tax relief package."This is the new plan? He's just going to make fun of people until they acquiese? And here's a tip -- you're the PRESIDENT, fucking act like it. "Little bitty" should not be in your vocabulary unless you're referring to a lapdog...you know, like your Cabinet.
Heh. I find it absolutely fucking hilarious that Santorum chose to defend his homophobic tirade in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Yesterday I read a comment somewhere that there's Philadelphia and there's Pittsburgh and everywhere in between is like the fucking backwoods of Arkansas. And it's true, and no where is it truer than Williamsport.
I've been to Williamsport several times. It's a bastion of rural craptastic living at it's finest, with minor minority presence. He knew there would be very little protest and an audience filled with Deeply Religious Cleetus and Mavis types taking time out from pig farming to support a fellow hater.
So, Santorum is whining that his comments were taken out of context and he's no homophobe. Ahem.
"I have no problem with homosexuality," Santorum said, according to the AP. "I have a problem with homosexual acts."Um, honey, that's you being homophobic. Make no mistake: you're a closed-minded, uber religious freak with no business in politics.
So you like George W. Bush, do you? Think he's the best President ever? Thinks he's way better than Clinton?
Well then, I suggest you go and gloat over his outstanding record of achievements to date! Go ahead, you know you want to!
One of my most embarrassing secrets is that I actually voted for Rick Santorum once. Smarmy little fuck.
You might have read his recent statements comparing homosexuality to bigamy, polygamy, incest and adultery...
In an interview with The Associated Press, Santorum criticized homosexuality while discussing a pending Supreme Court case over a Texas sodomy law."If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual (gay) sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything," Santorum, R-Pennsylvania, said in the interview, published Monday.
Tracey just emailed me a link to a story that she knew would make my blood pressure rise. It's a newstory about six Congressmen living in a house that is "subsidized by a secretive religious organization."
Now true, I do have problems with organized religion in general, and I'm suspicious of any secretive religion-affiliated secret society, and I have serious issues with the separation of church and state. And I am disgusted with this story, but not for the reason you might think.
Did you notice how much rent is being charge to the Congressmen? Yep, $600.00 a month. Do you know how much the average Congress rep. makes?
Read this: "Members of Congress are already overpaid, given median wages in this country, with a base salary of $145,100, plus generous pensions, benefits and other perks. The proposed raise would boost the base congressional salary by $4,900, to $150,000 per year. Consider how long Congress has sat on any increase in the federal minimum wage which, inflation adjusted, is more than $2.00 lower in purchasing power than it was in 1968."
Now, imagine Washington, DC. If you've ever been there and travelled outside of the nice parts, you know that Washington, DC is a shithole. 20% of the population lives in poverty and quite a few others are real close to the poverty line. A religious group is providing low cost housing to overpaid politicians while there is a huge population of homeless people in the area, not to mention thousands of poor people who need decent, cheap housing. Am I the only one seeing the stupidity here?
I don't really care if a group of politicians want to band together due to their religious zeal. You want to live together, have Bible study, whatever -- have at it. However, you should not get cheap housing because of it, and the religious organization subsidizing the bill should not be eligible to receive government funding.
I'm feeling just a little sick to my stomach.
Is it any wonder that the U.S. is loved universally the world over?
We are just the stars of the universe. The U.S. is a good and peace loving nation.
I feel like the current administration has seen the Star Wars movies one too many times and is trying out the Jedi mind trick: you do not see us doing anything illegal or immoral. You love not have a job, or a future for yourself or your children or your grandchildren. You should be frightened of every perceivable threat. You will cheer us when we create the largest national debt in history. You will idolize George W. Bush no matter what. When the government tells you that protestors are making the troops feel bad, but then yanks the benefits for thousands of soldiers, you are to think to yourself, 'Wow, they really must appreciate the troops, unlike those bad, evil protestors.'
Yeah, and here's another thing -- don't bother to tell me if I don't love America, I should leave it. Because here's the deal: I love being an American enough to speak up and worry that the current administration is running this country into the ground. So shut it down.
If you like your sex toys free and easy, listen up: Alabama Attorney General William Pryor has been nominated by our current administration to be a U.S. Circuit Court Judge. And guess what? He wants your vibrators, freedom french ticklers, and nipple clamps locked up tighter than his clenched ass.
Yep, old Bill introduced an "obscenity statute making it unlawful to sell or otherwise distribute any device designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs."
Bill ain't getting any, apparently, and neither should you. Put that dildo away and go grab a bible, you heathens! And, by all means, let you government decide what's right for you, you stupid voters!
[link found via This Modern World.]
OK, so let's review.
This emergency bill appropriating money for the war...$80 million. Plus an additional $3 million to build a rifle range for the South Carolina National Guard and $98 million for the construction of an agricultural research facility in Ames, Iowa, and countless other additional projects.
I understand that there are thousands of projects across this country that need money. Roads and bridges need to be fixed, buildings need repairs -- fine. But can we just focus, just for a moment, on the more important problems we're facing.
I really don't feel comfortable spending $273,000 for the Blue Springs (Missouri) Youth Orchestra Outreach Unit for educational training to combat Goth culture and $500K on the recovery of Preble's Meadow Jumping Mouse and $190K to keep the Motor Racing Museum of the South, in Spartanburg, SC afloat when there are important things that need funding.
Everyone has their own vision of what federal money should be spent on. I favor spending money on the arts, giving the NEA money for their programs, etc. But if yanking the NEA money for a few years meant solving the persistent problems of illiteracy, unemployment, welfare dependency, and hundreds of thousands going without health care, I'd be all in favor for it.
And I think it goes without saying that the money Bush is throwing into "faith based initiatives" and some of the ridiculous "pork barrel" spending that goes on should be stopped immediately. I won't even mention that there was millions of extra project dollars attached to the emergency war bill that just passed [OK, I already did, but I won't rant about how wrong that is].
If you're interested in seeing what other ludicrous crap your tax dollars are being spent on, please visit Citizens Against Government Waste and take a look at the 2003 Pig Book. And then get out your good writing pen and send your government representatives a nice letter.
I was over at People's Republic of Seabrook just now, reading up, when I read that the owner of the blog had to ban his first out of hand comment troll. Coincidentally enough, it was some crazed pro-Bush loony. Why are all the comment trolls pro-Bush and insanely rude?
At any rate, then I read the entry about the year 2000 PBS ideology quiz. While I'm sure that some people would dispute this as untrue and propaganda from an obviously liberal organization, it states that liberal Democrats are the "most highly-educated group" of voters. Being a liberal Democrat myself, I would have to say that this is true [but I could just be patting myself on the back for being part of this group! *grin*].
Now, the ideology quiz results say that the exact opposite on the scale, "staunch conservatives" are "Predominately white (93%), male (62%) and older. Married (74%). Extremely satisfied financially (54% make at least $100,000). Fifty-seven percent are white Protestants." Their educational background isn't mentioned, but they are obviously less well-educated than the liberal Democrats. It also says that they are "highly vocal."
Let's face it, if you're vehemently pro-Bush and have no qualms about towing the Bush party line [hook, line, and sinker] you pretty much have to be a staunch conservative. And the only logical conclusion is that liberal Democrats are more intelligent that staunch conservatives. Right? At the very least, staunch conservatives lack the education to partake in rational discourse with others and won't abide free-thinkers.
The other thing that is kind of heartening about the PBS quiz results is that the majority of staunch conservatives are "older." These WASPy guys are likely baby boomers. Baby boomers are getting older and eventually they will die off. Now, granted, by the time they die, they will have been such a huge strain on social security there will be none left for when I want to retire and the environment is going to be a huge wreck so we'll have to live in oxygen masks and SPF 90,000, but at least then maybe some rational people will have been voted into office.
Of course, there will be a lot of damage to fix.
I don't believe this.
That stupid fucking Resolution 153 was approved. Now there's going to be a day mandating that I, an agnostic, fast and pray "in order to secure the blessings and protection of Providence for the people of the United States and our Armed Forces during the conflict in Iraq and under the threat of terrorism at home."
This is insane. I believe I'll be spending my day writing nastygrams to the President, my Senators, and my Congress representatives.
House Resolution 153:
Recognizing the public need for fasting and prayer in order to secure the blessings and protection of Providence for the people of the United States and our Armed Forces during the conflict in Iraq and under the threat of terrorism at home....
Whereas humility, fasting, and prayer in times of danger have long been rooted in our essential national convictions and have been a means of producing unity and solidarity among all the diverse people of this Nation as well as procuring the enduring grace and benevolence of God;
Whereas, through prayer, fasting, and self-reflection, we may better recognize our own faults and shortcomings and submit to the wisdom and love of God in order that we may have guidance and strength in those daily actions and decisions we must take; and
Whereas dangers and threats to our Nation persist and, in this time of peril, it is appropriate that the people of the United States, leaders and citizens alike, seek guidance, strength, and resolve through prayer and fasting: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the President should issue a proclamation--
(1) designating a day for humility, prayer, and fasting for all people of the United States; and
(2) calling on all people of the United States--
(A) to observe the day as a time of prayer and fasting;
(B) to seek guidance from God to achieve a greater understanding of our own failings and to learn how we can do better in our everyday activities; and
(C) to gain resolve in meeting the challenges that confront our Nation.
Have people lost their fucking minds?
OK, get out your pen and paper, here are the list of resolution sponsors:
If you live in any of the districts represented by these simpletons, I suggest you drop them a note and let them know how wrong they are. This is an outrage.
[*note: links found through Big Pink Cookieand Atrios]
Over at This Modern World, a plethora of entertaining stuff:
And be sure you run on over to Uncle Bob's for some funny commentary.
I have to tell you -- I do not feel reassured that the U.S. is doing the right thing after George's canned speech tonight. Instead, I feel more freaked out than I did this morning.
Apocalypse anyone?
Oh now, hold up!
If I had opened up my luggage after arriving Paris, or after having arrived back into Philadelphia and found a note in my luggage from a baggage handler -- about anything -- I would fly into a rage that would know no equal. And for one of those asshats to assume that being anti-war means being anti-American and having the nerve to leave a lovenote in there is the most unbelieveable thing I've heard today.
It's bad enough that we all have to leave our luggage unlocked now, leaving perverted buggage handlers and security people free to rummage through my fine washables and sniff the crotch of my undies if they so desire [among other, more disgusting things they could do in my luggage]. And now I have to worry about getting a nastygram in my luggage about my preference to oust Hussein from power without going to war?
I hope the baggage handler, or whoever left the note, gets fucking crucified for the incident. I hope the press grabs hold of this story and absolutely destroys him. I want to find out all the horrible things he's responsible for in his past. If he kicks puppies for fun in his spare time, I want to know about it. And then I want him to have to go through life being judged for it.
I don't know how many times I can explain my position to people who claim to be behind going to war because Hussein is a killer of his own people and a potential killer of other people, or people who claim to be pro-war because Hussein has been ignoring a UN resolution for the last umpteen years. They all seem to equate anti-war with anti-U.S., pro-Saddam, pro-terrorism, anti-U.S. troops instead of what it really is: pro-peace. The U.S. government is willing to ignore the UN and go to war because Hussein ignores the UN? What kind of sense is that? Is Hussein not killing his own people quickly enough that we have to go in with the largest bomb ever created so we can kill the people we're claiming to want to save?
If it's naive of me to believe that Hussein can be removed from power and/or disarmed without going to war and killing huge numbers of Iraqis and exposing U.S. troops to who knows what kind of biological weapons, than I choose to be naive. But don't you dare call me a traitor, or anti-American -- I will hunt you down and do bad things to you [and not in a good way].
Why is it that everytime legislation dealing with abortion is introduced into the Senate my face starts to twitch uncontrollaby?
I've ranted about abortion before, and others have discussed this latest legislation very well. But I really get worried for my rights as a woman when this whole discussion comes up.
Here's the thing -- I don't know many people who are pro-abortion. An abortion is something that you do as a last resort. Whether it's for health reasons, or you decide that you just can't raise a baby on your own, or whatever -- rarely do you find someone who looks forward to having an abortion. The most that can be said for those of us who would keep abortion as an option, is that we are pro-choice.
And that's what this all comes down to -- someone feels like they know what's best for me, and wants to take away my freedom of choice.
I know that anti-choice groups say, "But what about the baby, what choice does he or she have?" All I can say is that 85%-ish of abortions are performed within the first 13 weeks of pregnancy -- it's not much of a thinking entity within that time. It's more like a pre-sentient cell clump.
Today the Senate is talking about banning late term abortions. While I am not in favor of late term abortions, I can never condone a ban on them. This is my body we're talking about here -- I am bitter that anyone should be allowed to tell me what I can and can't do with it. If I want to paint it purple and shove carrots up my ass, I should be able to. If I were trying to force an abortion on someone else, I could see people being upset about that. Why shouldn't I be just as outraged that someone is trying to force their beliefs on me?
If men could get pregnant this would never be a political issue. We would all be able to buy milkshakes at 7-11 that induce abortions. There would be National Abortion Day. Viagra and RU486 would come packaged together. But that's not how it is, and so abortion becomes political fodder.
There are a bevy of old men in the Senate today talking about what I can do with my uterus and cooter. Most of them have likely never even known someone who has had an abortion [that they'll admit to]. Most of them have never been in a situation where an abortion might be a viable option [that they'll admit to]. Let's throw a parade.
I just flew in from Paris, and, boy, are my arms tired!
Ba da bing!
*Tap tap tap* is this thing on? Tough crowd!
I woke up at 6am today. Why? Because in my mind that's late -- that's like 11am. So it's dark, I'm tripping over my luggage, digging around in it for my glasses so that I can traverse my home without plummeting to my death on the stairs.
So what did I miss? Strangely enough, CNN Europe did not cover the death of Mr. Rogers. Obviously they somehow knew that it would have sent me into spirals of sobbing spasms, preventing me from perusing the fantastic art at Musee d'Orsay and the Cluny Museum, which I did that day. It was so kind of CNN to prevent me from finding out, don't you think?
I know what's on your collective minds: did I spend a lot of money in France to further their economy and declare myself a stinking traitor to America? The answer is yes. Or, should I say, oui?! I ate French cheese like it was going out of style. I drank French wine like a smelly old wino with a sudden windfall of donations to the tip jar. I sneered and rode le Metro twenty times every day like a true Parisienne. I ate foie gras and mass quantities of chocolate crepes. I was a glutton. I even smuggled French cheese and wine into the country. I should be excommunicated, citizenship pulled -- please, deport me to France, I beg of you.
Yeah, as usual, only the American media and Americans are making a big deal over the whole Iraq disagreement. Sure, Parisiennes don't want to go to war. But they don't hate Americans. They don't hate American culture. They only think that the American government has got it wrong this time. It drives me insane to come back into this cesspool of hate [i.e., the American media, backed by the American government] that encourages people to hate an entire culture and country because they aren't smooching our collective heinies. But enough of that ugliness: let's talk about Paris.
And, believe me, if you've never been: Paris is beautiful. I even learned to love the piquant stank of urine in the Metro. I love that people didn't make fun of me when I attempted to speak French. I love that the French fucking love their dogs. Dogs everywhere --- in the Metro, in the restaurants, in the stores, pooping on the street. I love that laughter sounds the same everywhere: America, Paris, London...even Iraq.
More to come...I've got to eat breakfast. No croissant, Nutella, and un cafe for me today! It's straight up runny poached eggs and sour dough toast. Ah, the smell of home.
I had planned to make this sort of a lovefest day with no mention of those asshats in the current administration whatsoever. However, when I started to see mention of the terror panic being bullshit, I changed my mind.
What kind of outright moron doesn't polygraph an informant immediately? Does no one in charge think that too many unsubstantiated and highly bogus scares will lessen the impact of raising the terrah scale? This is the second time [that I know of] this has happened...I know there's some related allegorical story here -- boy with his finger in the dike, boy who cried wolf, something like that.
I guess it's a good thing I didn't encourage Craig to put together his armeggedon box.
Oh, and congratulations to Hate Central for putting my exact feelings into words.
I guess it's a good thing I'm going to Paris next week. It looks like I should stock up on wine since Dennis Hastert wants to impose trade sanctions on France, particularly wine.
I like to think of myself as fairly level-headed. And it seems to me as if France and Germany have done nothing more than disagree with the current administration. They haven't threatened to nuke the U.S., or anything remotely crazy like that...and so now the House Speaker wants to act like a little kid who had his toys taken away? What the hell is that?
I'm convinced that someone has stopped doling out the medication to the Congress and Senate.
I never thought I would see the day when elected officials completely went off the deep end. It's as if the whole "checks and balances" thing doesn't even exist. We have little George sitting in his big chair giggling maniacally as he eyes the red button. Donald Rumsfeld is rubbing his hands together gleefully as he makes sure the U.S. is completely isolated from the rest of the world. John Ashcroft is thrilled that he finally gets to toss out all those immigrants and get women back to the kitchen. I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that I'm scared. I'm scared of what's going on, and I'm scared that next year people will allow this to continue.
I have no doubt that something horrible is going to happen to Alan Greenspan. Maybe the administration will revoke his citizenship as part of the new additions to The Patriot Act as retribution for disagreeing with the little George's economic plan.
I've turned into a suspicious anti-government loon.
Because I need just a spark of hope to make it through the day:
Meanwhile, I'll keep my fingers crossed.
[link found via Thud Factor and The Gamer's Nook.]
Get your own wacky terrah warning system here,
courtesy of Wacky Neighbor
Heh. Thanks Choire, I needed a good laugh!
See now, if I were to hate a group of people or a country and plan an attack of some sort, I think I would be sure to actually kill people from that group or country. Call me crazy.
Ali Imron, one of the morons who planned the attack in Bali that killed 192 people, said he meant to target Americans. Unfortunately, he happened to take out mostly Australians and he doesn't seem to know if Australia is an ally of the U.S. or not. But, boy howdy, is he ever sorry about what he did. He has even apologized. Gosh, I think we should let him go. You can tell that his apology is sincere, especially in light of the fact that he said he was proud that he and his little group of friends had the know-how to build the bombs and do all that damage and kill all those people. But he still hates Americans.
Ali sure did strike fear into my heart, me being an international terrorist and all.
There are a lot of things I don't understand about planning terrorist attacks. If you can't afford a plane ticket to the U.S., you might as well forget about it. Attacking U.S. Consulates overseas or nightclubs where Americans might hang out is useless. It's a well-known fact that the majority of Americans don't pay any kind of attention to anything going on outside of the U.S. Hell, most of them don't even care about what's going on here.
When Ali and his little friends blew up that nightclub in Bali and killed all those people, it was barely a blip on my mother's radar screen. She's more concerned with saving 59 cents on a can of peas with a new coupon. The only reason she cared about what happened in New York and DC is because we live in such close proximity, and I live in a large city that might make an attractive target. I think that's the way it is in most towns in America. People don't care about things until it's happening right in front of their face.
What I'm trying to say is that if terrorists are trying to slap us in the face just to get our attention [to paraphrase Carol Kane], they're going to have to try a new tactic. Blowing shit up in the name of their god or whatever isn't really doing the job.
Personally, I find George Bush much scarier.
2004 can't come soon enough.
I wonder if Shifty McMartiallawpants has ever heard of a little thing called separation of church and state. Because now he's threatening to cut federal funding to schools who don't allow people to pray.
See now, personally, I don't care if someone wants to pray in school. If you feel the need to say the rosary before a test or meditate or whatever, I don't care. Just don't expect me to do it, or give you special treatment because of it.
But the problem is that George seems to think that we could all do with a little religion-ing up, and he's just the person to give us our learning. And really, he just means that Christians should be given the right to pray. If you're Muslim, or Wiccan, or Jewish -- forget it. Take your hocus pocus and practice that shit at home.
With all the other rights he's trying to take away from us, I'm more than a little suspicious of this latest crap. What begins as George's attempts to ensure the rights of the religious will end up being a hammer to ensure those who aren't religious have no rights. It might take the form of prayers at school assemblies, with detention going to those who refuse to partake. It might take the form of classes in religion being mandatory. Who knows.
I hope I'm just being overly critical and a little crazy, but I kind of doubt it.
There's something slightly off-putting about waking up in a puddle of drool. Honestly, we all do it. There isn't a person alive who hasn't found themselves cheek down in a wet spot on their pillow, saliva crusted in the corner of their mouth. It's just one of those gross things about being human. But it's made much worse when your husband is face to face with you, waiting for you to wake up, amused look on his face.
There should be a law!
I'm happy to report that all signs of my hangover from yesterday are gone. I think I would have felt better sooner except that the reek of those awful fruity drinks from Pod, identifiable by color only, was oozing through my pores, reminding me of the fun from the night before. There should be a deoderant or soap or something created to block that kind of thing. There was many a morning after in my earlier years when the stale smell of Miller Genuine Draft from a keg party kept wafting through my pores, keeping my head firmly in the toilet.
The good news is that I finished the baby sweater. I sewed the buttons on this morning and I am done. That makes me so happy, especially since this is my first official paying knitting gig. Technically, I guess this sweater will pay for my brunch today at Las Cazuelas with my friend Renee. And I'm so hungry for Mexican right now.
Obviously a sign of my returning vigor.
So I hear that France and Germany are putting forth their own proposal for Iraq. Good for them! It's nice to see a country other than the U.S. taking some initiative. I hope George, and Donald, and the rest of those assholes are hopping mad this morning. What really cracked me up is that the news reported this morning that George is very distressed since France and Germany are the U.S.'s "closest allies." Um, didn't your little flunky just refer to them as "Old Europe" the other day and basically call them out as ineffectual?
Last night I seriously thought about watching reruns of South Park on my cable On Demand service instead of watching the State of the Union. As I forgot to buy a bottle of wine on the way home from work, there would be no State of the Union Address drunkapalooza. I know how I get, and so I figured anything would be better than spending a sober hour screaming at the Shrub through my television. I'm amazed that John had enough self-restraint not to watch.
But I couldn't tear myself away. I'm a firm believer in knowing your enemy, and I'd like to have some basis of fact when I complain about the evil whose name I dare not speak. Plus, I'm such a fucking news whore.
I don't really have a whole lot to say, since the words were coming out of his mouth but I didn't believe any of it. And I noticed the Shrub has a slight lisp. But I would like to respond to a couple of things....
There, that's all. Glad to have gotten that out of my system.
I am obviously having a nervous breakdown, or perhaps I have gone insane.
No, really.
I was just sitting here thinking about how even Al Sharpton is starting to look good in comparison to the schmuck whose name I dare not speak.
Gee, President Sharpton....
I'm thinking that maybe I should get a couple dozen fake social security numbers and illegally register to vote in some of the states that traditionally end up in Republican hands during elections, and then organize a large ring of others to do the same. Prison doesn't sound so bad in comparison to living with another four years of President Dumbass and his roving band of Stepford miscreants.
The U.S. barely has any allies left in the world. Canada is pissed because of the administration blaming it for not patrolling the borders well enough. France and Germany are pissed because Rumsfeld called them Old Europe. Russia is pissed for a myriad of reasons. Everyone in the Middle East hates the U.S. Only Great Britain is still hanging in there, and 80% of British citizens don't support a war on Iraq.
Not to mention that our civil rights are being trampled at an alarming rate. I've seen the following quote all over the place but it makes more sense with each passing day:
I'm so embarrassed of the behavior of the current administration that I fully intend to lie and say I'm Canadian when I go to Paris next month. And if the evil whose name I dare not speak happens to sneak into office again in 2004, I have a plan in place to become an American expat. It saddens me that the current administration can't play nice with others.
Sometimes I really feel sorry for Colin Powell.
You just know that he wakes up every morning dreading having to read the papers for the latest dumbass thing that has been said or the latest word that the Commander in Chief has made up. I imagine him sitting at his breakfast table in a navy blue silk robe with his morning coffee, head in heads, weeping copiously because he has to work for such a complete asshat.
Maybe Colin is playing a little game of "poke the shithead." He came out in complete opposition of his boss' stand on affirmative action. While I'm sure not every single White House employee/appointee shares the official party line, I would imagine it doesn't make things easy on you to publicly announce you think your boss is dead wrong. Of course, it's not the first time [note: this article is strongly anti-Powell].
Apparently Christy's new boytoy really is connected to the mob. He came right out and told her. I guess that sort of takes that question off the table.
It's the fact that she still is half considering taking money from him and dating him that absolutely kills me. It's as if Christy has just gone totally outer limits, to rip off a line from an '80s classic.
Phil [a friend of Christy's] and I have always said we'd co-orchestrate Christy's wedding. It would be a nightmare -- large men in sharkskin suits carrying guns; loud women in red lipstick, high hair, and spangled gowns; the necessary italian food traditions -- and, without a doubt, the chicken dance and all bizillion versions of the electric slide. And we wouldn't be able to say no, for fear his connections would kill us. Maybe even a mob hit during the reception.
I keep hoping Christy wakes up!
So last night Christy and I went to the Khyber. Or, really, we tried to go the Khyber. Somehow we couldn't get in because the place was packed. Of course, it didn't help that Christy didn't show up to my house until 11:30pm.
So instead of seeing a band, we ended up at Cafe Monticello at Third and Market. Despite the fact that it was very late, they were still serving food. The food was good -- I had a portobello mushroom in cream sauce with crab. Unfortunately it made me sick as a dog when I got home.
It was rough day for restaurants.
Oh, and Happy National Sanctity for Life Day. Barf.
Let me take this opportunity to say this to Bush and his administration: kiss my ass.
My first instinct is to indict Bush as a racist when I read that he's planning to challenge some affirmative action policies at University of Michigan.
But the truth is that I haven't figured out how I feel about affirmative action. On one hand, isn't it the same thing to give preferential treatment to minorities because they're minorities, as it is to give minorities less of a chance because they are minorities? But on the other hand, I understand that affirmative action does promote a more balanced workforce with regard to race and gender.
If were to be tested in order to get a job and found out that my score was lower than many, but that I was hired because I'm a woman and the company needed to hire more women in order to meet affirmative action quotas, I must admit that I would feel dirty about getting the job. And I understand how that type of thing can create tensions.
But yet I know that affirmative action has been a necessary and useful tool to force all-male or all-white employers into a less biased hiring practice.
So I see both sides to the argument, but I honestly have no idea how I come down on the issue. But it does leave a bad taste in my mouth that Bush is opposing it. With his administration's campaign of terror against women, religious freedom, minorities, and sexual freedom, if it looks and sounds like a carrot it probably is.
During my daily bitching about the current administration yesterday, polls were brought up by several people in my comments. We've all heard that Bush enjoys good poll numbers, he's enjoying tremendous popularity, blah blah blah. Scott reported on a CNN poll that showed the opposite, but no one was reporting it. Even though it's only one outlet, I'm happy to say that it's not entirely true anymore. CNN must have heard you Scott!
What kills me is that Bush's numbers are still as high as they are. 56% of those polled believe Bush "generally favors the rich." Only 56%? Wake up people! If you make less than $500,000 per year and don't invest heavily in the stock market and don't own a large corporation, you're really not going to benefit from anything this administration has to offer. Snap out of it!
What really shocks me is that 67% of those polled believes he returns a sense of dignity to the White House. This is the Shrub we're talking about, right? The guy who makes up words, bumbles over his speeches, and looks like a deer caught in headlights most of the time? And how can 53% of those polled approve of the way he's handling foreign affairs? While I'm sure he didn't do this single-handedly, the jackass has the U.S. on the brink of war with one country and facing a second war with a second country -- because of his mishandling of foreign policy.
Kelly pointed me toward a TIME poll that asks readers who poses the greatest risk to world peace: North Korea, Iraq, or the U.S. I'll bet you a loaf of homemade scrapple that you don't need more than one guess to get it right.
Someone mentioned to me yesterday that the current U.S. administration was planning to start requiring U.S. citizens to register any international travel plans. I've been unable to find any documentation on it -- could someone point me in the right direction? I feel an apoplexy coming on.
Anyway.
Good news -- Mr. Blackwell has released his 2002 list of the worst dressed! I never noticed whether Meg Ryan was well dressed or not, but I completely concur with the rest of his list. But he forgot Brittney Spears -- or maybe [like the rest of us] he's trying to block her from his mind. Maybe someone used the Jedi mind trick on him: "Mr. Blackwell, you do not see Brittney Spears. She does not look like a whore. She is simply not there."
But yeah, Shakira, Anna Nicole, Pink, and that Aguilera chick -- they all look like someone shrank their clothes in the wash, dressed them, and then put them in a steel cage fight with a badger. I can halfway forgive Kelly Osborne because, well, I just can.
Personally, I think Mr. Blackwell ought to turn his attention to individual cities. Or deputize some of us regular folk to hand out fashion citations. I would sign up in a heart beat for that job. Can you see me now, out and about with citation pad in hand yelling, "Honey no! Don't you know that wearing stirrup pants with flats are not meant to happen? It's tacky! I can't let you off with a warning, that's just awful!" or running after some fly guy on the sidewalk, "What is up with the purple alligator skin slip on loafers, buddy? Those are wretched -- here's a $100 ticket just for being an eyesore!"
I think it's my calling.
What qualifies me to perform such a sacred duty? According to our intern, I have "full flava" and my new stylist told me that I have a "great look." Of course, you can't trust those damn stylists. If she thought it would get her a better tip she'd probably tell me I was a goddess. Of course, I am, dahling, but I don't expect strangers to pick up on that!
But I like the "full flava" thing -- bwah!
So Charles Pickering has been re-nominated for a court of appeals judicial seat, along with 30 other nominees who were turned away by the then Democrat-controlled Senate. It's just one more step closer to making sure I have no rights whatsoever as a woman. Back when he was a Mississippi legislator in the 70's he tried to outlaw abortion and continuously voted against funding for family planning programs.
And let's not forget this little nugget from the last hearings:
But then again, the current administration doesn't seem too awfully concerned about making sense.
What kind of construction work only makes $19K a year? Does old Evan the "millionaire" only work three hours per week? He obviously isn't in the union. Most of the construction workers I know are pulling in at least $40K.
Yeah, so I am grudgingly admitting that I tuned in to watch Joe Millionaire last night. The whole thing. I feel so dirty.
And those women! I'm assuming that FOX went through and chose the money-grubbingest, most devious and petty chicks they could come up with. Of course, I don't know what would possess a chick to put in an application for something like that anyway -- you'd pretty much have to be starving for affection, dying to get on television, and intent on marrying rich. Personally, I would feel like a complete ass trying to win the love [OK, lust] of some guy on national television. And then there's the issue of disease. Evan gets to smooch on [at the least] all these chicks, and if even one of them has mono [or something worse], they'll all have mono. Gross!
It really wasn't even very interesting to watch. The little Pygmalion thing in the beginning with the butler was kind of funny, but also kind of pathetic. Urgh.
I just had kind of a funny thought. Maybe the U.S. government should be the official sponsor of Joe Millionaire -- the sponsorship could be linked in with the Bush administration's $2.2 million marriage promotion fiasco. Heh, now that would be funny.
In 2001 there were 2,344,000 marriages in the U.S. That's up from 2,178,367 in 1975. I'd say over 2 million people getting married every year is a pretty hefty number.
Apparently the Shrub doesn't think so. The U.S. government just spent $2.2 million on promoting marriage. Silly me, I didn't realize that the idea of marriage was falling by the wayside. I mean, it's not like we're all conditioned from birth to think that our ultimate goal is to find love and get hitched, right? Right?
Yep, $2.2 million. To promote something that really doesn't need to be promoted. And it's going to the Shrub's pet project: the religious groups. $2.2 million that could be spent on something that matters -- like child care or helping to fix the medical malpractice crisis or promoting family planning.
I know that in promoting marriage, the Shrub is thinking 'Well, hey, if these folks get married, they'll pop out kids, and the woman will stay home and take care of the kids. There will be a return to the one income family, and good old-fashioned values will return to America.' I know it's all about thinking that if the kids are raised by the mother at home and spend less time in day care, the kids will be better off and less aggressive and will grow up to be good, upstanding citizens. It should come as no surprise to me that my beloved President would think this way -- and he couldn't be more wrong.
I know what the statistics say about kids who spend inordinate amounts of time in daycare. But the problems really stem from daycare centers that are understaffed or staffed by people who are untrained. If the government would take that money and develop better daycare, it would make a much wider [and greater] impact.
And the idea that children are better off in a two parent home is utter bullshit. Sure, it's an ideal situation to have two parents, but is it better to have two parents married who fucking hate each other, to have married parents who are abusive, to have two married parents who aren't fit to be allowed in public, let alone have children? I grew up in a one parent household and I think I turned out to be a pretty normal person, smarter and way more well-adjusted than alot of people who grew up in normal two parent households. I would have been harmed if my parents had lived together -- I'd probably be stuck in Berwick, working at a factory, getting drunk every weekend with my kids.
And, let's face it -- this idea to promote marriage is a slap in the face to everyone out there raising their kids in a non-traditional family. Promoting marriage certainly won't be aimed at lesbian and gay couples raising families. It's not aimed at me -- a woman who is married who has no intentions of having children. I get penalized for being married, not rewarded.
It makes me physically sick to my stomach to think that the $300 million [total] that Bush wants to spend on promoting marriage could do so much good, and is being wasted on something so frivolous and retarded. The Bush administration masks this in child welfare, but it's really all about wanting to return to a society where the father is the head of the household and breadwinner, wifey is in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant, ministering to the 2.3 darling children.
I know I promised not to get all verklempt over politics. And I'm trying hard. Luckily, with excellent things like this to warm the cockles of my heart, getting verklempt becomes unnecessary.
I was thinking about Strom Thurmond all day yesterday. He is the biggest reason to institute term limits for Senate. How did Strom stay in office for so long? The man voted against civil rights! He was shlub who came up with the idea to deport John Lennon on drug charges during Nixon's administration in order to stop him from registering young people to vote! He's a menace!
Sometimes I think voters have their collective head up their ass.
That is all.
Sometimes there are just days when you would be better off at home. I woke up this morning, got the official news of the elections, rolled my eyes, and thought, "If only I could sleep for the next two years."
But I dragged my ass out of bed and schlepped to work. And now I'm in the throes off melodramatic melancholy [ah, alliteration]. I feel like I should be gliding around the office halls in an old fashioned velvet ballgown clutching a white lacy hankerchief to my heaving bosom, lamenting "Woe as me!"
It's true: I'm unhappy with the election results and do not have a very good feeling about what the future brings. I know some of you are very happy about the way things turned out -- that this new government low on the checks and balances will allow for real change to occur. But who will the change benefit?
My grandfather is probably having a party at his house today. He would like nothing more than to return America to the 1950's when white men were kings of their castles and the breadwinners, women were domestic goddesses with little to do outside the house, and anyone who wasn't white and/or heterosexual was not to be trusted. Had my grandfather decided to go into politics he would have made an admirable attorney general...oh wait....ahem.
This is my official pity party for myself, so if you've got something mean to say, save it. I'm going to mope around all I want today and then I'm going to get over it. Really, I'm going to pretend that nothing sinister is happening.
Because, you know, ignorance is bliss.
This is Pennsylvania's next governor, Ed Rendell, with my friends Christy and Justin. This is one of the reasons I absolutely love Ed Rendell -- he's not afraid to mingle with the actual people. Ed was mayor of Philadelphia for many years and a lot of people wish he could have been declared mayor for life. Ed's opponent is a stodgy old man. If you live in Pennsylvania, make sure you swing a vote for Ed Rendell for governor today. Ed took Philadelphia from a bankrupt dirty city, and completely changed things around. If you've been to Philadelphia lately you might think it's still dirty but you don't know what it was like when I moved here in 1990. This place is 1000000% better because of Ed's efforts. Ed comes to the Halloween Ball every year. He eats cheesesteaks. He's a real guy, and quite charming in his own way. Vote for Ed.
Have I mentioned today yet that you need to get your ass out and vote? Unless you're a Republican, of course -- in that case, please sit down and have a cup of tea, fall asleep in your chair and forget to vote.
In all seriousness everyone should vote today. I know that people say midterm elections don't mean a great deal in the grand scheme of things but they do -- can you imagine what kind of crap laws will get passed if the House and Senate are under Republican domination? Hear my mantra: if you don't vote, you don't have any right to complain.
I voted today as soon as the polls opened in my neighborhood. My mother doesn't vote and it drives me insane. She is under the mistaken impression that if she registers to vote she will get called for jury duty. Even though I explain to her that people get called for jury duty through drivers license rolls, she clings to her beliefs. And so whenever she starts to complain about the state of the economy or anything else, I tell her to shut up and go register to vote.
One of things I was most excited about turning 18 over was the fact that I would be able to vote. Oh, and I would be able to donate blood to the Red Cross. I vote in every single election. It's important -- women fought for the right to vote for more years than I can count. Why would I not vote after activists fought so hard to make sure I could?
Go vote!
I strongly believe in having rights -- the right to free speech, the right to assemble, the right to believe whatever I want to believe or read whatever I want to read. However, I'm having problem with one right: the right to bear arms.
Now don't get me wrong: I don't think gun ownership should be banned. However, violent crime increased in 2001 in the U.S., and 2/3 of all U.S. deaths due to violent crime are gun-related. It's obvious to anyone who cares to accept the facts that this points to a real problem.
I know gun control opponents will say that guns don't kill people -- people kill people. Well, yeah, that's true. But in a country were there are so many people being gunned down it seems criminally insane not to support some type of gun control. I also know that gun control opponents will say that if current gun laws are just enforced, more gun control laws aren't needed. Could someone please point me in the direction of the gun laws that aren't being enforced?
The current U.S. administration is bought and paid for by the NRA. The Shrub opposes government mandated gun registration and gun "fingerprinting." He opposed mandatory child safety locks. When Bush was governor of Texas he signed a peice of legislation that allowed just about anyone to get a concealed weapon license, including convicted felons. Why? What's wrong with gun registrations, fingerprinting, and child safety locks? Why should a convicted felon be allowed to carry a concealed weapon just because they passed a class on gun safety?
Other countries are pointing to the recent sniper attacks and wondering why U.S. citizens should be so surprised. We have the most lax laws on guns in the world and the highest gun violence statistics in the world. Everyone wants to chalk it up to the two suspects as being crazy in the head. I suppose if they had it in their heads they wanted to kill people, they could have just as easily used a bow and arrow. But are we really that surprised that two crazies got their hands on an assault rifle? Don't they sell those at K-mart now?
I don't know what the answer is, but things will never change as long as the NRA continues to throw money at politicians.
Heads up people -- the current U.S. administration doesn't care about women. This should come as no surprise -- the Shrub, Ashcroft, and friends have made it perfectly clear that they wish women would just shut up and scamper back off to the kitchen to make pies and babies.
The Shrub has now put his foot down: no money for poor countries to combat HIV and female genital mutilation, and provide family planning services. Never mind that both houses of Congress approved the spending, never mind that $100 million is spent on "promoting marriage" every year [well, marriage for heterosexuals anyway].
What have women done to George W. Bush to incur this wrath? First, he opposes the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Then the Bush administration drafts a policy that would allow states to define "an unborn child" as a person eligible for medical coverage under the Children's Health Insurance Program. Does anyone remember when the Bush administration sought the dismissal of a class-action lawsuit filed against Japan on behalf of hundreds of Asian women who said they were forced into serving as sex slaves during World War II. Why? Because our government needs to make nice with Japan.
Let's not forget the Shrub's attempts to restrict access to abortions and RU486, as well as the push for an end to mandatory contraceptive coverage for federal employees.
I could go on and on. George W. Bush seems hell bent on making sure that the rights of women are crushed below the heel of his oppressive regime.
The next election cannot come fast enough.
So the Virginia/DC area sniper has requested $10 million, eh?
Is it just me or is anyone else picturing Doctor Evil with his pinkie finger up to his lip? Is the sniper's partner in crime Mini Me? Is he going to steal my mojo?
I can't imagine what it must be like to live in the Virginia/DC/Maryland area right now. Bad things happen every day in any major metropolitan area, but knowing that some complete loon is out there gunning for you for no good reason would make me more than a little nervous. Between last September in New York and DC, and this October in DC I'm ready to move to South Dakota and bunker down in a shack in the middle of no where. Being midway between those two points has frayed my nerves somewhat.
What has made me sick is the fact that politicians in the upcoming elections are using the fear generated by the murders and terrorism [in general]. I'm sure many of you have heard of the whole brau-ha-ha in New Jersey over a replacement candidate for the Democratic party. The two candidates are now running ads banging one another for their views on gun control and terrorism.
My favorite is the one being run by Lautenberg [the replacement]. My favorite quote [picture a sinister voice here]:
I can't say enough about how important it is to get out there and vote in this election. All elections are important, but this one seems so critical. I had a dream last night that Senate and Congress were Republican-controlled and the Shrub and John Ashcroft were just passing these Nazi-esque laws left and right, and by the end of the Shrub's term it was basically just a police state. Anyone who didn't agree with Republicans were rounded up, jailed, and then shot.
I just keep telling myself, it's only a dream.
I seem to have some sort of general malaise. I just can't get my shit together enough to do anything. At work all I do all day is ignore what little work I have in favor of reading online journals and trying to find funny websites to giggle at. At home I am ignoring the thousands of art projects that are coming due shortly.
Is it the heat? Is it the summer? Is it just that I'm bored? Do I need to buy a dog?
No one seems to be motivated to do anything. Everyone is grumpy and lazy. I'm tempted to try to pin it on the government, but not everything can be their fault. Or can it?
Maybe there is a sedative being slipped into the water supply in order to thin out the herd of voters. We'll be too lazy to vote the crappy ass republicans out of office in the Fall. We'll be so lazy that we'll accidentally elect Bush again. Ruin the environment? Yeah, OK, we're all too tired to care. And then they will round us all up and put us to work in a Matrix-like environment.
*sigh* And yet I just can't bring myself to care.
The Moscow Times has some of the best, most entertaining editorials. The latest is all about the current U.S. administration's preoccupation with war with Iraq. Anyone who refers to Rumsfeld as a "minion" is OK with me. My favorite parts:
The urgency to depose Saddam Hussein seems a bit curious. True, he's a tyrant who deals in political murder, ethnic cleansing, mass repression and aggressive war -- but the United States generally likes that in a foreign leader. Witness this week's decision by Bush to resume cozy ties to the Indonesian military, lately guilty of, well, political murder, ethnic cleansing, mass repression and aggressive war in East Timor in 1999. Not a single top Indonesian officer has faced charges for that attempted genocide: Indonesia's second holocaust in East Timor; the first occurred in 1975, with the official blessing of U.S. President Gerald Ford. But War Leader Bush likes the cut of the Indonesians' bloodstained jib, so he's opening up the spigot again, The Los Angeles Times reports.
In other news, I am officially on board with The Osbornes. First, Ozzy threatens to chop his hair off if Sharon loses hers during chemo, and now they've adopted the son of close friend who died of cancer. I may be a sucker for being nice, but it's so cute!
The end of the current Presidential term cannot come soon enough. I fear that our current "President" will soon have us at war with any nation whose politics don't jibe with his.
Look, it isn't like I think Saddam Hussein is a great guy who is being persecuted by our government [anyone who threatens to station their troops amongst civilians in order to force increased civilian deaths is a slimeball]. I know that he's done some horrible things. But I'm really getting squicked over how this is being handled by the U.S. government and by the U.S. media. For starters, information on war plans being leaked to the press is inexcusable, but the media's reporting on classified information is criminal. Of course, it goes beyond that -- why is it the responsibility of the United States to declare war on Iraq in the first place?
I'm of two minds on this, really -- thinking of Hitler, if the U.S. [or any country] had attacked Hitler's forces during the rise to power could the holocaust have been averted? So by striking Iraq before Hussein has done anything equally sick, do we avert some tragic and crazy plan? I don't know...maybe. But, again, I have not been convinced by anyone that it is the responsibility of the U.S. to wage this war. Isn't this type of thing under the jurisdiction of the U.N.?
Maybe I'm being naive. In fact, I would be willing to bet I don't have a lot of the key facts. But I'm getting wound up about things.
Here I am at work and hating every minute of it.
Everyone has remarked on my deep dark coppertone tan and claimed that they missed me, but the truth has been told: someone crucified my bunny.
I have two things on top of my work computer. One is a plastic figurine of Scooby Doo that came from a Scooby Doo board game given to me as a going away gift at my last job, and the other is a Meanies Rabbit that has a bloody stump. My bloody stumped bunny was nailed to my wall with thumbtacks.
It's a threat, I tell you!
Last night after class I watched the news and was flabbergasted at how idiotic Bush sounded while talking about the whole mining accident thing. Granted, Bush sounds like a moron 9 times out of 10, but this was especially silly.
"I believe that what took place here in Pennsylvania really represents the best of our country," Bush said Monday.
Um, yeah. What took place? Oh yeah, the miners were given a map that was wrong and got trapped in a mine shaft. That represents the best of our country? I'm sure Bush was referring to the rescue and all of that, but it just made him sound like a schmuck. Which he is.
So I'm trying to come up with something to do with Crystal in Manhattan on Saturday. Christy is coming with us and we both wanted to see The Donkey Show, but Crystal is only 17 [you have to be 18 to get in]. She's probably dig Blue Man Group, but tickets are getting expensive and I've seen them half a dozen times. Argh. Any suggestions?
I just got back from a really long 3 hour meeting and my brain is completely fried. Why oh why do employers force their employees to sit around listening to stuff that could just be gleaned from a memo?
Sitting in a meeting for longer than 20 minutes is ultimate torture for me. I'm fidgety by nature, but coerced into forced captivity while people throw useless facts at me is just not good. I start to nod off, drool a little, and end up slithering off my chair in a fit of dozing. It's embarrassing.
Craig and I have been debating the whole issue of declaring the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional. Craig thinks it's ridiculous for the courts to get involved with stuff like this -- recently we had this same argument over a courthouse with a plaque listing the 10 Commandments [the court ruled the plaque would have to be removed]. He believes that the guy who filed the lawsuit is full of shit -- that he did it for the publicity, not to actually fix anything. He also believes that if you don't believe in god, refusing to say the Pledge is a valid option and one that should be exercised. But the heart of Craig's argument is that being taught the Pledge teaches patriotism.
I would like to know how teaching a kindergarten student to recite the Pledge teaches patriotism. I didn't know what the Pledge of Allegiance even was until I was in junior high school. Most schools teach the Pledge, but neglect to explain the importance behind it. But that's not really what's being debated: it's the reference to god.
This morning on the news I saw an interview with the man who filed the lawsuit. He had a very valid point that I believe speaks to the true nature of the lawsuit: if the Pledge said "One nation under Allah" or "One nation under Buddha" you can bet that Christians in this country would certainly be making a big stink about it.
Craig, as I noted, believes that refusing to say the Pledge is the way to go if you don't believe in god. He obviously didn't go to my high school -- you faced detention if you didn't participate. The phrase "under god" was added in 1954 -- if so many people are freaked out by the Pledge being declared unconstitutional, why doesn't Congress just delete the phrase? That would solve the entire issue.
What really has pissed me off is Bush's comments about the situation. The ruling isn't "out of step" with the way people feel -- the ruling isn't consistent with his own ideology. I don't think he realizes that there is a pretty big faction of non-Christians in this country. I just wrote him an email about it, reminding him that millions of non-Christian voters are perceiving him as anti-diversity and anti-religious freedom. I doubt it will do any good.
I'm not religious, so why should I have to acknowledge a god I don't believe in? This country was founded on and for the idea of religious freedom and tolerance. Many people seem to assume that it's OK for me to tolerate their religious beliefs, but don't tolerate mine. Where is my religious freedom?
If the U.S. is a true melting pot of ethnicities and religions then why is it OK to mandate one religion?
I've been scouting the papers since I'm suspicious of our governments timing of releasing the news of Mr. Dirty Bomb's capture....
And I've discovered some things we should pay attention to....
For instance....you know how our President [she says sarcastically] denies that he's out to destroy our natural resources? Well, guess what? He's a lying sack of shit. I'm sure that comes as no surprise, but the comments made at the World Summit on Sustainable Development are, um, bad. This editorial speaks volumes kids....read it!
Lest anyone think that the U.S. government really cares about other countries [you know, the ones without much to offer the U.S.], top Taliban officials are now saying that they approached the U.S. years ago to help replace Islamic hard liners in their government. Unfortuantely they were given a line that the U.S. didn't feel comfortable interfering. Excellent!
I don't know what the other shoe is, or when it will drop, but I'm fully expecting something big.
And just for kicks, read this interesting editorial on the American media and the American War on Terrorism.
Actually, I've changed my mind. I think the information in the above editorial may be what is being hidden. The information this soldier is providing is scary. Very scary. And I'm totally freaked out by the idea that the U.S. is going to strike first as far as possible terrorists are concerned. That way lies the path of madness....and World War III.
George has got to go....this is ridiculously bad.
It really sucks that the stupid things my government does has to ruin the beauty of being an American.
Earlier this morning at the White House....
[a meeting between John Ashcroft and the media coach person]
Media coach: OK, now remember - you don't want to make GW look stupid, so keep it simple. Just remember your buzz phrase. What is it?
Ashcroft: [drones] the same terms and conditions of the public....
Media coach: [gives John a cookie and pats him on the head] Good boy! Now we want to make it out like we're not giving the FBI any more power than they already had. So make sure you talk down to Katie like she's a child. In fact, tell her that the now the FBI simply has the power to view websites just like any 14 or 15 year old. Ooooo, I like that. Repeat that!
Ashcroft: [drones] any 14 or 15 year old.....same terms and conditions of the public....
Media coach: [gives John another cookie] There's a good boy!
Ashcroft gave an interview to Katie Couric this morning on The Today Show regarding the "easing" of restrictsion of the FBI. Ashcroft says there is too much bureaucracy there, which can hamper investigative abilities. I agree with this to a certain extent. However, the restrictions being eased are "restrictions on domestic spying, handing the bureau a broad, new authority to monitor Internet sites, libraries, churches and political organizations for clues to terrorist plots. Critics warned that the action could renew abuses of the past that led to the adoption of the safeguards."
Well duh.
The funniest thing was Ashcroft trying to downplay the importance of this, and giving it the spin to Katie this morning. He must have said that the FBI is now allowed to do things by "the same terms and conditions of the public" like 80 times. Yep, nothing like repetitive terminology to let everyone know that you've been coached to death and that you're full of shit.
And then he compared the FBI to "any 14 or 15 year old." Oh, I liked that. Yes, anyone can look at a website...so before the FBI couldn't do that? Uh huh, sure. OK.
Song I have stuck in my head: "Johnny Are You Queer" by Josie Cotton from Valley Girl.
Hey great news! The U.S. government has its head up its ass! Hooray!
Yep, I'm trolling for international news again.....I can't relax!
According to the International Herald Tribune (French):
This behavior is certainly not limited to the current administration, although I feel a great deal of animosity toward Mr. Bush, et al, and of course I feel like he's doing a great disservice to Americans. There was a demonstration in France where Bush was meeting with French officials...the demonstrators yelled at Bush that he is the terrorist. And to some extent they're right. I'm beginning more and more to think that ALL actions against other nations should be carried out by the U.N. with forces from multiple nations. That way the U.S. can't be pointed out as the bad guy. Yes, that is totally oversimplifying things.....
And now Iran has a missile that will reach Israel. I'd ask if it could get much worse, but I'm afraid what the answer would be. I mean really - Pakistan and India are on the verge of nuclear war, Afghanistan still has tons of al Qaeda/Taliban foces hiding and/or escaping, the U.S. is under ever heightening security warnings, there are terrorist warnings in Manila...it's amazing to me that people still want to bring children into the world.
And hey, according to an Iranian newspaper, there is a lawsuit pending against Pres. Bush brought by the families of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks. I will admit that I don't feel as if heaping blame on anyone will help, but I think that by Dick Cheney discouraging an investigation it makes the Bush administration look very very guilty.
Wow, now this is an interesting op-ed piece from The Moscow Times.
It's basically everything you ever wanted to know about the clandestine stuff that Colin Powell has done over his lifetime. I always kind of thought he was a stand up guy. After reading the article you may not think so.
Of course, let's take what we read with a grain of salt....not everything in print is 100% accurate.
But what a good read, and a great though-provoking piece!
Again I'll say it: I love reading other countries' newspapers.
I'm sitting here reading the The Daily Mirror....some things just don't get reported here....you either have to be a slave to reading the New York Times every day or you have to be a total CNN whore in order to maybe get other news.
We all sort of knew that Pakistan and India have been threatening each other with nuclear war.....well.....150 British diplomats have been pulled out of both counties because the threat is so real. Both countries are moving tanks, warships, troops, etc, saying they're ready to fight, read to die. Neither of the countries are that big -- do they really think dropping atomic bombs on each other is going to result in anything good? And again, it's all over religion -- when the British withdrew from Pakistan, India, and Bangledesh in 1947 the Hindus and Muslims just couldn't work out a way to co-exist, and are particularly pissy over the occupation of Kashmir (it's the same reason Israel and Palestine are fighting over Bethlehem). In fact, this is mirroring the conflict in Israel pretty closely -- the Indian premiere won't hold peace talks until the Pakistani president condemns attacks by Kashmiri separatists on Indians. Sound familar? So things are not looking good -- and I half expect to hear at any moment that both countries have been wiped out.
Bush went to Germany to meet with Parliament -- he assured them that he "has no plans for a war with Iraq on his desk". That's pretty crafty wording, isn't it? He also told Vladimir Putin to stop supplying Iran with weaponry because he might end up having his own weapons pointed at him. Another craftily put declaration. Thankfully he has good writers.
Wanna see a great article about what some Europeans think of Americans? Check it out here. There are some interesting insights that you don't want to miss.
I'm also a fan of The Moscow Times. It's quite a little rag. I love the article about what the man on the street in Russia has to say about the Summit and about Bush....my favorite quote:
"Putin came from the KGB but at least he is educated and intelligent, a thing that cannot be said about Bush," he said.
Have I mentioned how much I'm sick to death of the Pennsylvania primaries yet? Particularly for governor. We all know that I am an Ed Rendell kind of a woman.....Ed saved this city from certain fiscal doom after someone who shall remain nameless ran this place into the ground. Ed was in office for 8 years.....in that time he improved Philly about 100%. You can't please 100% of the people 100% of the time, of course, and so there are certain factions of people who don't dig Big Ed. That said, this stupid primary has been all about Bob Casey, Jr. beating on poor Big Ed. Personally, I hate negative political ads.....tell me what you've done in the past and tell me what you plan to do in the future but for the love of god, don't tell me what a fuckwad your opponent is. It's unbecoming of anyone. So in the past few months I have seen literally a dozen negative ads from Casey about Big Ed that are played round the clock, with one or two ads that actually talk about Casey's plans for PA (and he seems to have absolutely no record of doing anything so that is conspicuously left out of the ads). Big Ed has done several ads on his record in Philly, most of which have big name endorsers, and one ad that rebuts the negative ads that Casey has been running, and one nicely negative ad about Casey. I wish that everyone would just vote for Big Ed.....swap thing, er, Tom Ridge was totally ineffectual as a governor and before that it seems as if Casey, Sr. was in office for fucking ever......does no one in the rest of PA see that the Caseys are keeping PA in the dark ages and doing absolutely nothing to make living here any better?
