A Man of Many Talents...

The Dark Wraith (who very kindly added my humble offering to his blogroll, as well as -- apparently -- that at Big Brass Blog) is a man of many talents:

[...] a college teacher and writer who specializes in economics, finance, mathematics, business administration, computer hardware and software skills, and English grammar and composition. His extensive writings on the history of the English language appeared on About.com in the avatar of the Selig Wraith in the Medieval History Forum; and he now writes on economics and politics as the Dark Wraith, under which pen name he also publishes and hosts Big Brass Blog. In addition, he serves as the editor and publisher of the blogScream News Wire service.

He is also quite gifted in the graphics field:

Graphic courtesy of The Dark Wraith, used by permission.

I am SOOOOO glad I'm not George W. Bush....

Post Election Catch-Up

First, congratulations to all the Democrats -- both candidates and workers -- who showed that, despite Bush's best attempts, democracy is not dead yet.

Second, I would like to take this opportunity to reach out to our Republican brethren, in the spirit in which they reached out to us in 2000 and 2004:

YOU LOST! WE WON!!!!

GET OVER IT!!!

LOOOOOOOO-SERS!!!!!

Third, on a more sedate and appropriate note, many bloggers have pointed out that our work has just begun. My good friend, Mr. Conservatard, reminds us:

I am sure that quite a few questions will be going thru every Americans head next week, and the Democrats better have answers. The questions will probably look like the following examples. Now that the Democrats have some power in the government, what are they going to do with it? What is the best way to fix the mess of Iraq? What are the Democrats plans to help the economy? What are the Democrats plans to reverse six years of the Bush regime’s attack on the Constitution? How are they going to reverse the ecologically devastating policies of the Bushtard/Big Oil cabal?

None of these questions have simple answers. If the Democrats are smart they will be open with the American public about the complexity of the problems and that any solution will not be perfect. The conservatards have spent a lot of time and money to fool the American public into allowing them to use the military as a tool. A tool called “The War on Terror” that was in reality a tool to help the conservatards advance their neo-conservative imperialistic agenda. You can take it to the bank that the conservatards and their masters will not easily put the crack pipe of power and money down without a fight.

Mr. C is quite right in his assessments (I especially like the phrase "the crack pipe of power"). Of course, Mr. C is not the only one to advance such cautions: Kos and company, Digby, Atrios, Billmon, and many others have said similar things.

They are all 100% correct.

Now is not the time for gloating (at least, not too much). Now is the time when we as Democrats, with our newly-minted majority*, have to reach out. I'm not saying we have to suck up to the Republicans, but neither can we show their arrogance and disdain for "non-believers."

And like Georgia10 at Kos, I'm having kind of a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of victory. Of course, I'm considerably older ("older than dirt", as my son says) and remember handing out flyers on the streets of NYC for Johnson, Humphrey and Kennedy. But after 12 years of Republican rule on capitol Hill and six years of Bush's phony-cowboy hell, it'll take some time to accept that the grown-ups are back in charge.

*And while our majority is slim, remember that Bush and his sycophants claimed 51% was a "mandate" (No, Mehlman, not that kind of man-date. Idiot.)

Damn! The Dark Wraith Does It AGAIN!!!

Graphic Courtesy The Dark Wraith; Used by permission


From Dark Wraith:

The Republicans have retained and even expanded their control of the House. They have won Senate seats where they should have lost, and they have taken a couple more they shouldn't have won. Several governorships have gone from Democrats to Republicans.

GOP faces are all over the TV, smirking, waving, smugly preening themselves before the cameras, talking about the "future," "the people's vote of confidence," and all manner of other sound bites that make you just sick to your stomach.

Yes, an election has been stolen. Again.

What, exactly, was it that you thought would happen? That the Republicans would play fair? That the rigged electronic machines, the tainted software, and their corrupted manufacturers from 2000 and 2004 had all simply vanished into thin air?

That the party of a President who had committed all manner of crimes both personally and by proxy through his subordinates would simply let all Hell break loose in a free-for-all hanging that could very well include humiliating disclosures, removals from office, and even prison terms?

That a party corrupted to its core even as it is insanely convinced of the rightness of its vision would merely stand down and let that vision of the Republic get savaged in such a way that it might be generations before people once again would forget how wretched that vision always turns out to be in practice?

And from his response to a comment:

Of no small importance in this regard is the plan by Republicans in some districts to have those sleezy voter qualification "challengers" slithering around at the polling sites trying to intimidate people. My own method in this regard is to simply walk up to them with my camera and take their pictures. I'll make sure a policeman is nearby when I do it. Any trouble they make will result in immediate, on-the-spot charges being filed against them. I am most definitely not in the mood to mess around.

They've had their fun being the school-yard bullies for six years; now it's their turn to get the swirlies. If my life experience is any indication of what's going to happen, school-yard bullies are great on offense but have a really hard time with defense: they tend to stick to offensive tactics even when they need to go to defensive mode (with which they are entirely unfamiliar), and that's where they'll get their come-uppance. My bet is that they'll get physical even in the presence of law enforcement officers, which will ensure their removal.

So, yes, I expect trouble; and, yes, I'm so looking forward to it.

And as far as getting myself a bloody nose or two, which is a real possibility when thugs run amok are in the mix, if I remember my old days properly, a bloody nose is pretty fun if I get to have some bloody knuckles with it.

Oh, hell, just go read the whole thing.

One thing for sure: I wouldn't want to be one of those Rethug "challengers" when the Wraith shows up.

Violent Crime Alert

From the "Coastal Journal", which is part of the Portland (ME) Press-Herald, from October 13, 2006:

Joshua [redacted], age 18 of Phippsburg, was arrested for Unauthorized Taking. [He] picked flowers from displays along Front St.

And I thought we had serious crime problems in Detroit....

Billmon on Haggard

From Billmon the other day:

Rocky Mountain High

You know you're in a pretty tight spot when you're a fundamentalist preacher with a high political profile and your defense is: "I only bought crystal meth from that gay hooker."

Maybe Jimmy Swaggart could survive something like that, but then Jimmy isn't gay.

Good luck in your future endeavours, Ted. You're going to need it.

Or, to quote that other Haggard (Merle):

I'd like to hold my head up and be proud of who I am / But they won't let my secret go untold / I paid the debt I owed them, but they're still not satisfied / Now I'm a branded man out in the cold

Update 8:00 PM ET:
Ted Haggard, the beleaguered pastor of a Colorado Springs evangelical church who had denied having sex with a male prostitute, has been fired by an oversight board, which found him guilty of "sexually immoral conduct."

So much for Christian forgiveness. God help me, but at this point even I feel sorry for the guy.
Posted by billmon at November 4, 2006 03:13 PM

I almost hate to say this, but I don't feel sorry at all for Haggard (Ted, that is). He's a typical, hypocritical, mouth-breathin', Bible-thumpin', hooker-humpin', sister-marryin, rifle-rack-in-the-pickmup neocon wingnut idjit... who just also happens to like smoking crystal meth and having sex (paid sex, at that) with men.

By his own logic (if one can call it that), he should be condemned to an eternity in Hell.

Of course, maybe once he feels the full brunt of his brethrens' "Christian forgiveness", he'll vote Democrat in an effort to save his soul.

I just LOVE seeing these bastards get their just desserts.

Mini-Update

First, some good news: Anntichrist S. Coulter is out of the hospital. Not in tip-top shape, but still with us. The lovely yet talented Mrs 618 and I send our wishes for a full and speedy recovery.

_____

In my previous post (yeah, I know, last week), I recapped some of the more popular and well-known examples of Republican "Family Values". Today, I stumbled across a list of Rethugs involved in various pedophile cases. Go read the full list here. Here are just a few:

• Republican County Board Candidate Brent Schepp was charged with molesting a 14-year old girl and killed himself three days later.
• Republican chairman of the Oregon Christian Coalition Lou Beres confessed to molesting a 13-year old girl.
• Republican Party leader Bobby Stumbo was arrested for having sex with a 5-year old boy.
• Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls.

Between the pedophilia and the run-of-the-mill corruption, how anyone can claim (with a straight face) that the Republicans stand for "family values" is beyond me.

Thanks to ArmChairSubversive for compiling the list.

_____

Daily Kos diarist "dogemperor" recently finished a three-part series on "Racists and Dominionists" (Part I, Part II, Part III), as well as numerous other postings on dominionists and similar groups. The recent series illuminates some of the instances in which seeming disparate groups -- tax protestors, sovereign citizens, common-law-court believers, racists, anti-abortion extremists, militias, neo-Confederates, etc -- come together, and the disturbing consequences of those convergences. The series is well worth the read (as are the rest of dogemperor's pieces), although some basic knowledge of the various fundamentalist/extremist/hate groups might be helpful (which is available here).

In the past, I've posted a few pieces about the convergence of anti-government extremists and the current administration (here and here, for instance). This series has energized me to resume work on a series of pieces trying to demonstrate and clarify the connections between the administration and various anti-government extremist factions -- those whom it would label "terrorists".

_____

Mr Conservatard is considering a new name for himself and his blog. Drop by, read his commentary on the renaming issue and let him know what you think. Personally, I think it should stay the way it is.

More later....

Family Values and Moral Superiority

1. Rep Jim Kolbe (R [of course] - AZ) is under Federal investigation for "inappropriate behavior" while on a camping trip with several underage Congressional pages.
2. Rep Mark Foley (R [of course] - FL) resigned after "inappropriate" emails to underage Congressional pages.
3. Rep. Bob Ney (R [of course] - OH) entered a plea of guilty to assorted corruption charges.
4. Lobbyist Jack Abramoff (R [of course] - K Street) entered guilty pleas to a whole range of corruption charges
5. White House aid Susan Ralston (R [of course] - Karl Rove's butt) quit after it was proved she had had extensive contacts with Jack Abramoff
6. Governor John Rowland (R [of course] - CT) resigned after admitting to numerous counts of bribery and corruption
7. Governor Bob Taft (R [of course] - OH) resigned after being convicted of corruption charges
8. Gropernator Arnold Schwarznegger (R [of course] - CA) has admitted to several instances of "inappropriate behavior" with various women during the course of his professional body-building and film careers

On the other hand, both Michael Moore and Teddy Kennedy are fat.

To your average mouth-breathin', Bible-thumpin', hooker-humpin', sister-marryin', rifle-rack-in-the-pickmup neocon wingnut idiot, the second argument is much more persuasive.

What gall they have to call themselves the "family values, morally superior" party.

We Got Us A NAAASTY Station Here!

The radio station I posted about earlier today just ran another clip, this one of the Dickless Cheney. As before, there was very soft music in the background. As Cheney faded out, they brought up the music... that wonderful recording by Harvey Fierstein (I think. Or was it Nathan Lane?)...

"If I only had a heart..."


I know what station I'm gonna be listenin' to in Gitmo (since everyone who doesn't worship LordGodKing Dick-n-George is gonna wind up being declared an "enemy non-combatant" and shipped off...)

The Rude One, Drudge, and Foley

The Rude Pundit, in his own inimitable fashion, picking up where the Drudge of Matt left off, has additional ways teenage pages can play practical jokes on Congresscritters:

1. You can put a whoopee cushion on the child predator's seat in the House of Representatives. When he sits on it and creates a fart sound, he will still be a child predator.

2. You can pretend to be a lobbyist and shake the child predator's hand with a joy buzzer. When he jumps back from the jolt, he will still be a child predator.

The remaining eight are just as insightful.

And if you happen to be near Cookeville, TN, ya might want to catch his show.

The Amazing Neocon Mentality

I just heard an interview on the radio, some reporter talking to some mouth-breathin', Bible-thumpin', hooker-humpin', sister-marryin', rifle-rack-in-the-pickmup neocon wingnut idiot.

This MO-ron had the following points to make:

• He's annoyed with the Republicans for getting us into Iraq without an exit strategy, but even more annoyed with the Democrats... because we don't have an exit strategy. All we want to do is "cut and run."
• He says Bush has accomplished what he wanted in Iraq, so now we should get out and let "those people fix their own mess."
• He can't see why service members object to having their tours extended time after time. Paraphrasing here, 'You go to Iraq for a couple of months, do some stuff we trained you to do, and you come home.'
• We should "stay the course" and "finish the job we came to do." This was less than 30 seconds after he made the first two points above.

Keep drinking the Kool Aid, asshat.

Oh, Man... We DID It!

Thank you to the visitor from San Francisco on Oct 6, about 10:00 AM (Eastern)... You were my 1000th visitor.

You win a free drink of water from your office cooler.

Just A Quickie...

Not that kind of quickie, you perverts!

One of the local radio stations just dedicated a song to George W Bush.

"If I Only Had A Brain", from The Wizard of Oz.

R.I.P.

This is "Jesus' General" today:

The general is right.

Do YOU Want to be Able to Save a Life?

I've mentioned a couple of times that I teach First Aid and CPR for the American Red Cross. The Red Cross and the American Heart Association are the two largest groups that teach the course. If you haven't taken a CPR course in the past, you should. You could save a life. It might be your spouse, your child, your parent, or even a complete stranger. If you haven't renewed your certification in the last few months, you definitely need to get the updated course; there have been lots of changes to the program (at least, to the ARC version; I haven't done an AHA course in 20-some years).

Until just recently, taking a classroom course was the only way to learn these critical skills. But now, according to an article a friend sent me, the AHA has a home-study course. You purchase an inflatable manikin, watch the program materials (I think on a DVD), and practice to your heart's content. You don't get certified in the skill, as you do with the ARC or AHA, but you have the skills to save a life.

The AHA anticipates 3 people learning the skill for each manikin purchased (the assumption that the buyer will pass the manikin around to family members is probably valid).

Learn CPR. You really could save a life.

Take a course at the Red Cross or the Heart Association, or even the home study program.

But please, please learn CPR (and first aid, of course).

Gettin' There...

Back on March 12, I mentioned that I would be "thrilled when I broke a thousand" visitors. Well, as of a few minutes ago, I'm at 959.

Of course, being more or less a masochistic sort, I then looked at the stats for TBogg, Kos, and Atrios (6,369,222; 319,684,223; 94,590,499, respectively). At that point, I was at 535.

Four hundred-twenty visitors and six months later, here's where we stand now:

• TBogg: 8,613,124
• Kos: 419,990,987
• Atrios: 118,148,582
• Me: 959

To put this in some kind of perspective, here are the daily averages for "the other guys":

• TBogg: 9,496
• Kos: 537,723
• Atrios: 110,960

My daily average? Four.

On the other hand, I alone am married to the lovely yet talented Mrs 618, and they're not.

Therefore, I win.

"WE Deserve A Break... Don't We?"

Remember the old McDonald's advertising campaign, "You deserve a break today"? The fine folks at Mickey D's are probably wishing they could get a break today: the company is in the news. Twice. In lawsuits. As a defendant. As if being sued for serving hot coffee wasn't bad enough, right?

The McStrip-search Case (or, "You wanna get nekkid with that?")

In the first case, we have yet another "strip search" scam - a person purporting to be either a law enforcement officer or a high-ranking corporate officer - calls a fast-food restaurant, and tells the manager that an employee -- invariably female -- is involved in some sort of criminal activity. The caller directs the manager to to search the "suspect", in a progressively intrusive manner.

In this case, the caller claimed to be a senior manager of the local McDonald's franchisee. The court record shows he called collect, and used the name of an actual manager in the company.

During the trial, a private investigator was to testify that between 50 and 70 similar strip-search hoaxes has been perpetrated against fast-food joints since 1999 (the investigator was not allowed to testify). The attorney for the McDonald's corporation acknowledged that 12 to 14 of the incidents specifically targeted McDonald's.

The crux of the plaintiff's case is that both McDonald's and the franchisee were (or should have been) aware of the previous scams, and failed to protect her properly. McDonald's says that the franchisee was made aware of the scam in 1999 and again in 2001; additionally, theMcDonald's training manual for franchisees bans strip searches of employees or customers. The franchisee, however, claims they were not made aware of the previous scams until after the lawsuit was filed. A U.S. District Court judge granted a summary judgment for McDonald's, but let the case against the franchisee go ahead. In an earlier case invol;ving a similar situation, another judge also gave McDonald's a pass.

Nightline or one of those shows did a program on a similar case last year. That case involved a caller claiming to be a police officer.

As a former cop, I can pass along this useful information:

1. The cops will not call you collect. The police department is perfectly willing to run up its own phone bill.
2. The cops will not ask someone else to do their job for them (especially if the job involves strip-searching an attractive young lady). The potential liability issues for the cops would scare any cop, plus whatever evidence was obtained in this manner would be inadmissible.

This scam has been around for at least seven years. You'd think that all the restaurant chains would have made these scams known to all their employees and franchisees, if for no other reason than to head off negative publicity like this.

Part of the reason the McDonald's corporation was removed from the case was that the plaintiff was not able to prove that McDonald's breached any legally-recognized contract to protect her; additionally, the corporate attorney who acknowledged the other scams targeting McDonald's claimed those incidents were too remote in time and place to give McDonald's effective notice of the problem.

If I were the chairman of McDonald's, I would make damned sure that every corporate employee, every franchisee, and every franchisee's employee was made aware of this scam. It produces bad publicity for the company (and the franchisee), plus McDonald's will eventually run into a judge who'll say something along the lines of, "this has happened x number of times, and you're still claiming you know nothing about it? I don't think so."

[The information for this part was drawn from reports of the arguments in U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th District. The arguments were heard on September 15.]

The McFlab Case (or, "you wanna supersize your gut with that?")

The second case involves an on-going lawsuit in New York, against McDonald's. This time, it's a case of parents blaming false and misleading advertising (implying that McDonald's was a healthy meal choice) for leaving kids fat and unhealthy. A U.S Circuit Court of Appeals judge in New York refused to throw out the case, saying the plaintiffs had provided enough specific examples of allegedly misleading advertising to allow the case to go to trial.

McDonald's and other fast-food chains (many of the chains are facing similar lawsuits) claim these cases are just further examples of Americans blaming others for their own bad habits (a claim I happen to think is justified... but false and misleading advertising is never justified).

The case was initially dismissed (twice) by the judge; the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit restored several parts of the second (amended) complaint, allegations that McDonald's:

• created the false impression that "its food was nutritionally beneficial and part of a healthy lifestyle if consumed daily";
• failed to disclose the use of additives that made the food less healthy than represented;
• acted decptively when it said it would provide nutritional information to consumers.

I've pointed this out in the past - if you are so concerned about health food, get a clue: McDonald's ain't health food. Neither is Burger King, Wendy's, Arby's, Roy Rogers, Popeye's, Hardee's, Friendly's, Big Boy, Steak & Shake, Denny's... NONE of them. I don't care who you talk to, no one with any sense is going to claim that burgers, fries and soda will "help build strong bodies twelve ways" (and yes, Wonder Bread had to stop saying that after they got sued back in the 70's).

If you want your kids to eat healthy, cook for them yourself.

Similarly, a couple of years back, some Hindu sued McDonald's, claiming his religious beliefs were violated when McDonald's served him fries that had been cooked in grease that contained beef by-products. Again, if your religious beliefs prohibit you from eating beef, don't go to a burger joint, idiot.

In summary, it appears McDonald's got out of the first case through sheer luck (but they'd better get on the ball before the next pervert tries the same scam). The second case is a perfect example of why the trial-by-jury system actually works (since, all my bitching to the contrary notwithstanding, it really does work, at least most of the time) - did the parents rely on false and misleading advertising, or are they just blaming a "deep-pockets" corporation for their own failures? If the advertising is, in fact, found to be false, McDonald's should pay (and pay big); on the other hand, if the jury sides with McDonald's, the plaintiff should bear the entire cost of the corporation's defense.

Just as an aside: for more information on stupid/needless/retaliatory lawsuits, check out the "Stella Awards" newsletter (named after the gal who sued McDonald's for the hot coffee). It's produced by Randy Cassingham, who also is responsible for "This Is True", a compedium of incomprehensible actions gathered from around the world. He's got a couple of other good sites, too. None of the information in this post came from Cassingham's newsletters; it's just I think he deserves a plug for his efforts.

In Memoriam: Ingeborg Joseph, 1941-2001

Note: Although this posting was written on September 9, it is dated Sept 21 to keep it on top for a while.

In an earlier post, I mentioned Zipcard2. She came across my site through a link from D. C. Roe, who is coordinating an effort to have an international group of bloggers pay homage to the 2996 victims of the 9-11 attacks. She reminded me, indirectly, that I had neglected to post my memorial.

Ingeborg Joseph was, perhaps, not a “mover and shaker” in the world at large. In fact, I was unable to locate much biographical information on her (thanks to that miserable Times Select firewall). For a smaller subset of the world, however, Ms. Joseph left an indelible mark. She was an import manager for the Rohde & Liesenfeld shipping agency, and perished in the World Trade Center on 9-11. She was 60 years old at the time of her death.

To view the remembrances of those who knew her, visit her page on Legacy.com.

Zipcard lost two friends in the attack, both NY firefighters. I lost three friends, all police officers. The almost 3,000 victims left behind millions of friends and loved ones.

To Ingeborg Joseph, to Zipcard’s firefighters, to my police officers, to all the victims of those cowardly attacks, rest in peace.

To the survivors, to those who volunteered at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania, to those who donated blood, money, or supplies, to the brave service members rooting out the terrorists overseas, to the cops and firemen and emergency medical personnel who put it all on the line every day, thank you and God bless you.

To those who plotted and carried out these dastardly attacks, may you all rot in your own personal versions of Hell for all eternity.

As Charlie Daniels put it:

And you never did think that it ever would happen again. In America, did you? You never did think that we'd ever get together again. Well we damn sure fooled you. We're walking real proud and we're talking real loud again in America. You never did think that it ever would happen again.

From the sound up in Long Island out to SanFrancisco Bay, and ev'ry thing that's in between them is our home. And we may have done a little bit of fighting amongst ourselves, but you outside people best leave us alone. Cause we'll all stick together and you can take that to the bank. That's the cowboys and the hippies and the rebels and the yanks. You just go and lay your head on aPittsburgh Steeler fan and I think you're gonna finally understand.

Tragedy, Great Loss or Accident?

Blatantly stolen from Peter of Lone Tree at BlondeSense:

Just mailed to me from a friend:

Maybe you've heard it before but it bears repeating:

President Bush was visiting a primary school and he dropped in on one of the classes, where they were in the middle of a discussion related to words and their meanings. The teacher asked the President if he would like to lead the discussion of the word "tragedy". So, the illustrious leader asked the class for an example of a "tragedy."

One little boy stood up and offered: "If my best friend, who lives on a farm, is playing in the field and a tractor runs over him and kills him that would be a tragedy." "No," said Bush, "that would be an accident."

A little girl raised her hand: "If a school bus carrying 50 children drove over a cliff, killing everyone inside, that would be a tragedy." "I'm afraid not," explained the president. "That's what we would call a great loss."

The room went silent. No other children volunteered. Bush searched the room. "Isn't there someone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?" Finally at the back of the room a small boy raised his hand. In a quiet voice he said: "If Air Force One, carrying you and Mrs. Bush, was struck by a friendly fire missile and blown to smithereens that would be a tragedy." "Fantastic!" exclaimed Bush. "That's right. And can you tell me why that would be a tragedy?" "Well," said the boy, "it has to be a tragedy, because it certainly wouldn't be a great loss and it probably wouldn't be an accident either."

Offered Without Comment

[Other than my appreciation for Nena making this available, of course]

NEVER BEFORE

Written on 18 Sep 01
By Nena Wiley


Never before had I been paralyzed by terror and anguish;
so consumed, so compelled.
But I was on Tuesday.

Never before had I sat under my Nation's starry skies,
with only the sight of fighter jets and the only sound; of freedom.
But I did on Wednesday.

Never before has our family gathered together and
made a "Plan A" to save our lives in case of disaster.
But we did on Thursday.

Never before had I witnessed so many American Flags,
heard so many anthems nor seen so many remembrance candles.
But I did on Friday.

Never before had I seen so many many American heroes,
nor heard of such brave acts across our land and skies.
But I did on Saturday.

Never before had I felt our Nation to be united
in grief, prayer, anger and resolve.
But I did on Sunday.

Never before had I been glad to be interrupted
by commercial breaks on television.
But I was on Monday.

Never before had my soul wept beyond tears,
nor had my heart bled red, white and blue.
But they did that week.

Dear God, Please....never again.

************ ********* ********* ********* ********* ********* ***

Please feel free to reprint and/or distribute with proper credit.

Today's Laugh

Swiped without apology (but with much gratitude) from Anntichrist S. Coulter:

Laura Bush bought her husband a parrot for his birthday, and told Dick Cheney, "The bird is so smart! George has already taugh him how to mispronounce over 200 words!"

"That's impressive, all right," Cheney said. "But you do realize that he just *says* the words, right? He doesn't understand what they mean."

"That's okay," she replied. "Neither does the parrot."

Sullivan via BarkBark - A "Must Read"

As Mustang Bobby says, Andrew Sullivan "hits this one out of the park":

If you need proof that this administration's first priority is not a humane and effective counter-terror strategy, but a brutal, exploitative path to retaining power at any price, you just got it.

Read the Sullivan piece first, then read Bobby's take on it:

Mr. Sullivan is correct (and may I be so bold as to say that a certain blogger has pointed this out before): this kind of campaign is not about the promotion of ideas for the country, it is most assuredly the means to maintain a grasp on power for no other reason than just to be in power. The sooner we all see that and the sooner the perpetrators of that dictatorial mindset are escorted off the field, the better and safer this world will be.

Amen, brother.

THIS One's Gettin' Blogrolled NOW...

Found this through a link from FireDogLake:

Dear Leader's Daily Thought.

I thought I was going to pass coffee through my nose when I read the post entitled "America is Safer. But not yet Safe."

_____
Update: added the (forgotten) link to FDL.

OMFG, Part II

Look, I'm trying to be nice, I really am.

Vice President Cheney, quoted today in the Washington Post:

The vice president said U.S. allies in Afghanistan and Iraq "have doubts" America will finish the job there. "And those doubts are encouraged, obviously, when they see the kind of debate that we've had in the United States," Cheney said. "Suggestions, for example, that we should withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq simply feed into that whole notion, validates the strategy of the terrorists."

This is the VICE PRESIDENT of the United States? Saying, in effect, that an open debate on the wisdom of our involvement in a fer-real shootin' war is encouraging the bad guys?!?

And the really sad part is how many people still support this administration.

Earth to Hindrocket: HELLLLOOOOOO?

John Hindraker on PowerLine Blog:

[...] I think it's really important to work hard to get a Republican majority in the Senate[...]

Umm, Johnny, you guys already have a Republican majority, remember? And not just in the Senate, but in the House, as well. Plus, you guys have the White House and the Supreme Court.

I promised I would try to be a little more polite to those on the "other side", but Jesus...

What planet do some of these guys LIVE on?!?

_________

UPDATE 09-11-06: Some of the other bloggers who picked up on this (and that number is pretty damned near universal) have received comments claiming that Hindrocket's comments were meant to be "ironic", "tongue-in-cheek", etc. I don't think so. Somewhere (maybe Digby), I read a response to one such comment; the respondent points out that the administration has made such a habit of blaming the "demo-islamo-franco-fascist liberals" for their own failures, that it's entirely likely that some of these folks might not realize the Rethuglicans really do have majorities in the House and Senate.

Personally, I think they're just dumb as a box of rocks, as the lovely yet talented Mrs 618 says.

Another Date That Shall Live In Infamy...

Almost 65 years ago, Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the nation after the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, Hong Kong, Guam, the Philippines, and Wake and Midway Islands. FDR said, “Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.”

In the Pearl Harbor attack alone, the Navy and Marine Corps suffered a total of 2,117 deaths; the Army lost 228. In addition, at least 57 civilians were killed. Admiral Bill Halsey, speaking on the day of the attack, said, “When this war is over, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell.”

As horrific as the Pearl Harbor attack was, it was carried out against military targets – the U.S. Naval Base and Hickam Field.

The attacks of September 11, on the other hand, specifically targeted civilians (including – perhaps not inadvertently – a large number of Muslims who worked in the WTC in a variety of capacities). This is, of course, a basic tenet of terrorist operations – target those least able to defend themselves, those whose death by “random” violence will generate terror in the hearts and minds of others (witness various attacks by the Red Army Faction, Sendaro Luminoso, Baader-Meinhof, Black September and the myriad other Islamic terror groups).

The (estimated) 2996 fatalities included 343 New York fire fighters, 23 New York City police officers and 37 Port Authority police officers, most of whom died while trying to rescue trapped victims (I am assuming that at least a few Port Authority officers were killed in the crash and initial explosions, although I am not 100% positive of that). Of the rest of the victims, hundreds died as the planes plowed into the towers. Others burned or suffocated in the choking toxic smoke, while dozens jumped to their deaths. Most, however, were killed during the dramatic collapse of the Twin Towers.

A gravely-injured New York City swept aside decades of racial, political, sexual, and religious rivalries (and, regrettably, some hatreds) and pulled together, working with one goal: to recover. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani already had his hands full running one of the most troubled, unruly cities on Earth; suddenly, he had to deal simultaneously with the worst terrorist attack in history. Giuliani, who was also dealing with personal problems that affected his official performance, led the city in the aftermath of the attack better than perhaps any other man could have. As a result, he was named Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2001.

As news of the attacks spread, there were spontaneous outpourings of grief and sympathy around the world, both from traditional friends like Britain and France, as well as some more unexpected places like Russia, North Korea, Iran and Iraq. [I had links to several websites that gathered photos of these memorials, but I can’t locate them at present.] The attacks united the world in horror and revulsion against the terrorists.

Speaking to rescuers at “Ground Zero” on September 14, George W. Bush said, “I can hear you! I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people -- and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!”

We soon learned that “the people who knocked these buildings down” were members of a radical/fundamentalist Islamic group known as Al-Qaeda, a group also tangentially implicated in the 1993 bombing at the WTC. Bin Laden and his followers (as do most of the terrorists these days) practice a perverted form of Islam, and visualize a world-wide “caliphate” of fundamentalist Islamic supremacy.

Bush subsequently announced his determination to hunt down Al-Qaeda, and capture or kill its leaders, operatives, and supporters. His announcement was greeted with almost universal acclamation. It was as if every government, every nation, every person on Earth, had said, “They attacked you without provocation. They attacked innocent civilians. Go ahead, hunt them down and kill them. F**k them.”

Had Bush maintained that focus, he would probably still be enjoying the same astronomical approval ratings he had in late September of 2001. Had he turned lose the full might and power of the United States to track down those Al-Qaeda monsters, they would be dead and rotting by now. Had he had the balls (and I’m not sure any president would have) to release some of the “specialized” units from the CIA (the semi-civilized contract killers, torturers, and assorted other mayhem-makers), the terrorists and their sympathizers would have gotten a taste – just a taste – of what exquisite forms of torment might await them if they tried to pull this shit again.

Path To 9-11? Or Path To Disaster?

Over at Daily Kos, DemFromCT has further analysis of the “Path to 9-11”/ABC/Disney brouhaha, in which he mentions (in passing) the fact that even a number of conservative commentators are starting to be troubled by Disney’s obsession with the” mockudrama.” Following the link to an AlterNet article, one sees that ThinkProgress has assembled a list of well-known conservatives expressing opposition to either the program or ABC’s inept handling of the situation: [I am assuming the emphasis was added by ThinkProgress]

• John Podhoretz, conservative columnist and Fox News contributor:

The portrait of Albright is an unacceptable revision of recent history and an unfair mark on a public servant who, no matter her shortcomings, doesn’t deserve to be remembered by millions of Americans as the inadvertent (and truculent) savior of Osama bin Laden. Samuel Berger, Clinton’s national security adviser, also seems to have just cause for complaint. [NYPost, 9/8/06]

• James Taranto, OpinionJournal.com editor:

The Clintonites may have a point here. A few years ago, when the shoe was on the other foot, we were happy to see CBS scotch “The Reagans.” [OpinionJournal, /7/06]

• Dean Barnett, conservative commentator posting on Hugh Hewitt’s blog:

One can (if one so chooses) give the filmmakers artistic license to [fabricate a scene]. But if that is what they have done, conservative analysts who back this movie as a historical document will mortgage their credibility doing so. [Hugh Hewitt blog, 9/6/06]

• Chris Wallace, Fox News Sunday anchor:

When you put somebody on the screen and say that’s Madeleine Albright and she said this in a specific conversation and she never did say it, I think it’s slanderous, I think it’s defamatory and I think that ABC and Disney should be held to account. [Fox, 9/8/06]

• Captain’s Quarters blog:

If the Democrats do not like what ABC wants to broadcast, they have every right to protest it — and in this case, they had a point.
[Captain Quarter’s blog, 9/7/06]

• Bill Bennett, conservative author, radio host, and TV commentator:

Look, “The Path to 9/11″ is strewn with a lot of problems and I think there were problems in the Clinton administration. But that’s no reason to falsify the record, falsify conversations by either the president or his leading people and you know it just shouldn’t happen. [CNN, 9/8/06]

• Seth Liebsohn, Claremont Institute fellow and produce of Bill Bennett’s radio show:

I oppose this miniseries as well if it is fiction dressed up as fact, creates caricatures of real persons and events that are inaccurate, and inserts quotes that were not uttered, especially to make a point that was not intended. [Glenn Greewald’s blog, 9/7/06]

• Richard Miniter, conservative author of “Losing bin Laden: How Bill Clinton’s Failures Unleashed Global Terror”:

If people wanted to be critical of the Clinton years there’s things they could have said, but the idea that someone had bin Laden in his sights in 1998 or any other time and Sandy Berger refused to pull the trigger, there’s zero factual basis for that. [CNN, 9/7/06]

• Brent Bozell, founder and president of the conservative Media Research Center:

I think that if you have a scene, or two scenes, or three scenes, important scenes, that do not have any bearing on reality and you can edit them, I think they should edit them. [MSNBC, 9/6/06]

• Bill O’Reilly, Fox News pundit:

Ok, we’re talking about the run up to 9-11 and this movie that they’re re-cutting now — and they should because it puts words in the mouth of real people, actors playing real people that they didn’t say and its wrong. [O’Reilly radio show, 9/8/06]

It would seem to me that with a line-up like this expressing reservations about the program, ABC and Disney ought to think seriously about scrapping the whole project.

Of course, it’s not just the pundits – on both sides of the fence – that pose potential problems for Disney. There is also a movement afoot to boycott the various Disney enterprises… including Disney World, Disneyland, and Euro Disney. In a way, this is a delightful development: many on the far right are angry with Disney for the gay-pride parades and other gay-friendly activities at the Disney parks, and now the left is angry with them. Kinda sounds like a “no win” situation to me.

Oh, my… John Aravosis at AmericaBlog has a post up with yet another factual error from the movie:

[…] I have the entire "Path to 9/11" video. And one of the very first scenes makes it explicitly clear that American Airlines had Mohammad Atta in its grasp, warning lights flashing on the computer screen, yet the airline simply blew off the threat and helped Atta kill 3,000 Americans.

Unfortunately, it's a total lie.

Here's what the "Path to 9/11" claims American Airlines did on the morning of September 11. According to Disney/ABC, American Airlines had Mohammad Atta at its ticket counter and a warning came up on the screen when he tried to check in. The AA employee called a supervisor who kind of shrugged and said, blithely, just let him through. The first employee, shocked, turned to her supervisor and said, shouldn't we search him? The American Airlines supervisor responds, nah, just hold his luggage until he boards the plane. The scene is clearly intended to make American Airlines look negligent.

Only problem? It never happened.

First off, Disney/ABC got the airport wrong. The warning for Mohammad Atta's ticket popped up in Portland, Maine, not at Boston Logan as the tv show claims (this is on page 1 of the September 11 Commission report).

Second, the security rules at the time said nothing about searching a passenger who has a "warning" pop up, they only required that the bags be held until the passenger boarded. The Disney/ABC tv show, on the other hand, clearly tries to imply that American Airlines violated the security rules in letting Atta go. This simply isn't true. (This is also on page 1 of the report.)

But most importantly, Disney/ABC implicated the wrong airline. And I quote the Director of the FBI:

On September 11, at 6:00 AM, Mohamed Atta and Abdul Aziz al Omari boarded a U.S. Airways flight leaving Portland, Maine en route to Boston's Logan Airport.

The 9/11 Report, on page 1 of all things, makes clear that it was in Portland that Atta's warning came up. And FBI director Mueller makes clear that Atta flew US Airways Express from Portland to Boston. So, Disney/ABC, in the first ten minutes of its error-riddled tv show - a show about to be broadcast to the entire English-speaking world this Sunday - paints American Airlines as one of the most irresponsible air carriers on the planet. An air carrier that is directly responsible for killing 3,000 Americans because its own employees are too lazy to follow safety rules.

And Disney/ABC got it totally wrong, defaming one of the largest airlines in the world.

An Opposing View

I received a comment on my post, "The Fundamentalist Redneck Fourth Reich, Part II", from a blogger calling herself Zipcard2. Her comment was as fierce in her defense of Bush as my original post was in criticism.

Out of curiosity, I paid a visit to her blog. While I don't necessarily agree with her viewpoint on certain things, I found that we do have some common ground. For instance, we both support the Patriot Guard Riders, a group that gathers at the funerals of our servicemen and women killed in action, to help protect these solemn moments from (admittedly) obnoxious protesters. Further, it appears we both believe it is incumbent upon the United States to find and exterminate those who were responsible for the 9-11 attacks. (We do disagree, however, on lots of other things)

She also has an interesting article by Jim Hoffman on the "Pentagon No-757-Crash Theory". It's well worth the read.

Now, this may sound bizarre, but I have asked her for permission to blogroll her here, as an opposing point of view. If she agrees, I hope we can start a dialog, where her vitriol (and I mean that in a nice way) counters mine (yeah, I can get a little hot under the collar). And maybe -- just maybe -- readers of both blogs might realize that "the other side" has valid points to make also.

As I said in my comment on her blog, quoting Voltaire, ""I might disagree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."

OMFG.

Dubya, via Atrios:

And so, here on Labor Day, I say to the union members who are here, happy Labor Day, and thanks for supporting leadership that is progressive, smart, capable, and has your best interests at heart.

Oh, my frickin' God. How much BS can the boy cram into one sentence?

Talk about escaping from the "reality-based community."

If there has ever been an administration less "progressive, smart, capable" or that has the middle class's "best interests at heart", I have yet to see it.

This administration has been plagued by one scandal after another, including the outing of a covert CIA operative, an illegal war, warrantless spying on American citizens, repeated violations of international laws and treaties, and so much more.

The activities of the current bunch are much, much worse than Teapot Dome or Watergate (both of which, of course, were brought to you by Republicans).

"Fundamentalist Redneck Fourth Reich": Part II

A couple of months back, I posited that the current administration is creating what I refer to as a Fundamentalist Redneck Fourth Reich, or FR2. Today, I'd like to carry this thought a bit further (or beat this dead horse some more, depending on your point of view).

Perhaps the best way to start is by explaining how I decided on the name "Fundamentalist Redneck Fourth Reich".

"Fundamentalist"

I don't think anyone can reasonably dispute the administration's attempts to suck up to the fundie wingnuts. Whether it's a gay-marriage ban, outlawing abortion, school vouchers, faith-based initiatives, whatever, the Republican Party is desperately wooing the fundies. Fortunately, thus far, preznit has stiffed them; aside from some half-hearted support for a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage (for which he mouthed support, but refused to commit to politically), virtually all of the fundie wingnut advances have been on the state and local levels.

For the administration hierarchy, this is an exercise in hypocrisy. Bush, Cheney, and the rest are not Christians, no matter what they claim. They -- especially Bush -- profess great devotion to the tenets of Christianity, but they betray those very same tenets with their actions. How could the "culture of life" that demanded keeping a brain-dead Terri Schiavo alive and that demanded an outright ban on abortion also be responsible for hundreds of executions? How could the "culture of life" be so cavalier about the thousands of deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan?

There is additional hypocrisy in the administration's approach to gays: the administration has repeatedly claimed to be in favor of a Constitutional Amendment proclaiming marriage to be "between one man and one woman" -- and hence legalizing (nay, encouraging) discrimination against gays -- despite the embarrassing facts that Dickless Cheney has an openly gay daughter (who must be ready to kill herself, with The Maximum Prick as a father), Lynne Cheney penned a highly-erotic lesbian encounter in one of her books, and several high-ranking Republicans (Ken Mehlman and company) "decline" to openly state their heterosexuality.

Christians -- true Christians, that is -- are generally accepting of other religious beliefs; Bush has repeatedly shown his disdain for all but his fundamentalist born-again brethren (not that he actually does anything for them, of course; his only true loyalty is to his corporate sponsors). True Christians are pacifists; Bush, as the International Herald Tribune pointed out several weeks ago, "wants to rule the world", preferably by force of arms. True Christians assist those less fortunate than themselves; Bush's "charity" is restricted to the wealthy, while he guts social services spending for America's neediest. True Christians accept people for who they are; Bush and his sycophants got their knickers in a twist because a cartoon sponge might be gay.

Instead of true Christians, however, Bush has pseudo-Christians like James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, and Pat Robertson in his corner.

Dobson is president of "Focus on the Family", a far-right religious group that pushes abstinence-only sex education, and believes (in effect) that women are nothing more than baby factories (and should be ecstatic with that status). Dobson is the one who said Bush "needs to be more aggressive" about pressing the religious right's pro-life, anti-gay rights agenda. He has compared the recent steps toward gay marriage to Pearl Harbor and likens the battle against it to D-Day. He is, of course, wholly in favor of completely outlawing abortion. He's also the one who started the "Spongebob is gay" brouhaha.

Falwell, a fundamentalist Baptist "hellfire and brimstone" preacher, was the founder of the "Moral Majority" (which was neither), and is best remembered for having blamed "abortionists", gays, feminists, and lesbians for the 2001 terror attacks. This quote is a perfect synopsis of his "thinking": "AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals." Falwell was also instrumental in the claims that "Tinky Winky" -- one of the "Teletubbies" -- was gay because the character was purple ("a color symbolic of homosexuality"), had an inverted triangle on his head and carried a handbag.

Robertson, who took over as host of "The 700 Club" after Jim Bakker (another hypocritical "Christian") had his little extra-marital fling, is the one who called for the assassination of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. He agreed with Falwell that the 9-11 attacks were caused by "pagans, abortionists, feminists, gays, lesbians, the ACLU and the People for the American Way." One of his most memorable quotes: "You say you're supposed to be nice to the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians and the Methodists and this, that, and the other thing. Nonsense. I don't have to be nice to the spirit of the Antichrist".

Then there's the entire so-called "Intelligent Design" crowd: the loonies who claim man coexisted with dinosaurs (I guess they use the Flintstones and early* Warner Brothers cartoons for proof). These are the cretins who claim "Intelligent Design" has nothing to do with religion -- then scream "religious discrimination" when they don't get their way.

Additionally, we have the fundie wingnuts who decry the progress of the last 100 years or so -- the ones who feel the Voting Rights Acts went too far, the ones who claim Brown v. Board of Education, Griswold v. Connecticut, and Roe v. Wade were the result of "activist" judges or "judicial dictatorship." These are the people who felt burning witches was perfectly acceptable. They're also not fond of Miranda, Escobedo, Gideon, Mapp, and the rest of the Supreme Court decisions that pointed out that even accused criminals have rights.

To put their hypocrisy in perspective, let's look briefly at one of the major tenets of Christianity, the Ten Commandments:

(1) Then God spoke all these words: (2) I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; (3) you shall have no other gods before me. (4) You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. (5) You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, (6) but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. (7) You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the LorSabbathnot acquit anyone who misuses his name. (8) Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. (9) Six days you shall labor and do all your work. (10) But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work: you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. (11) For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. (12) Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. (13) You shall not murder. (14) You shall not commit adultery. (15) You shall not steal. (16) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (17) You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
[Exodus 20:1-17]

Now, let's compare what the Commandments say with what the Administration does:

1. "I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me... .."
   The Administration appears to be trying to elevate George W. Bush to the stature of at least Jesus, if not of God Himself. This may be seen in the oft-quoted phrase, "I have a God-given talent. I got it from my father." Bush has also be quoted as saying the Lord speaks directly to him. There is also the unspoken implication -- though not terribly thinly-veiled -- that to disagree with Bush is to agree with the "terrists" (and hence, the Devil).
2. "Do not make a sculpted image or any likeness of what is in the heavens above..."
   While it's not as widespread as pictures of the Pope in Catholic homes, a disturbing number of "the faithful" have portraits of Bush in places of honor. Some probably even have them in shrines. (Black velvet Bush, anyone?).
3. "Thou shalt not swear falsely by the name of the LORD..."
   This one is almost too easy. One need merely look at all the various Rethuglicans who have been nabbed for perjury (i.e., Scooter Libby, et al.), and at all the various ways Bush and company have violated their oaths to "support and preserve the Constitution"... the oaths all end with "So help me God."
4. "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy"
   Some of the most evil shenanigans of the Bushistas have been planned (or at least announced) on Sundays. Obviously, though, the administration did obey this one at least once: the Administration did absolutely nothing while the great city of New Orleans was drowning.
5. "Thou shalt honor your father and your mother..."
   Okay, I have to admit Bush does honor his father (or, more correctly, both of his fathers) and his mother. The fact that Mommy Bush is an evil, nasty, hardhearted shrew really has nothing to do with it (but it certainly should). I suppose one could argue that Dubya has dishonored his (temporal) father by beginning and continuing an invasion that Poppy realized was futile.
6. "Thou shalt not murder"
   Again, too easy: Carla Fay Tucker, 2,000+ American servicemen and women, God only knows how many Iraqis and Afghanis, not to mention 3,000+ in New Orleans, plus all the folks starving, freezing, or otherwise needlessly dying because Bush and his cronies don't give a rat's ass about anyone but themselves.
7. "Thou shalt not commit adultery."
   Since to the fundamentalist, there is no such thing as divorce, any self-proclaimed "Christian" who remarries is ipso facto an adulteror. I'm ignoring, of course, all the fundamentalist preachers who have been caught screwing women (usually children), to whom they are not married.
8. "Thou shalt not steal."
   This is not understood as stealing in the conventional sense, since theft of property is forbidden elsewhere and is not a capital offense. In this context it is to be taken as "do not kidnap." Even in this interpretation, the Bushistas lose: Guantanamo, extraordinary rendition, and various PATRIOT Act provisions for "preventive detention".
9. "Thou shalt not bear false witness against your neighbor"
   Yellowcake, Saddam's WMD's, Iraq's connection to (or direction of) the 9/11 attacks, etc..
10. "Thou shalt not covet your neighbor's house..."
    Iraq, Afghanistan (although one could argue Afghanistan was justified), and soon, Iran.

It should be obvious that, despite the lip service, the current administration has no respect whatsoever for the Ten Commandments. How, then, can they claim to be "Christian"?

They CAN'T.

Another Christian tenet often cited by the right-wing neofascists is the "Golden Rule": "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". How many of you think Bush, the heartless prick Cheney and the rest would feel if a Democratic administration -- especially under President Hillary Clinton-- were to use the "powers" "granted" to the President by the PATRIOT Act? No, to the Rethuglican crooks, it's "Do unto others before they do unto you". This, of course, could just be "institutional memory" handed down from their real Lord and liege, Tricky Dicky.



"REDNECK"

Bush tries to push his "aw, shucks" cowboy image, especially to the mouth-breathin', Bible-thumpin', hooker-humpin', sister-marryin', rifle-rack-in-the-pickmup crowd that he allegedly considers his "base".

Bush was born in Connecticut. In New Haven, if fact, which is home to Yale University. As I recall (from news stories, not personal knowledge), his family was living in the Greenwich area at the time. He was educated at Andover, Yale, and Harvard. He summered with his folks in Kennebunkport, Maine. He still vacations there, in fact. Not exactly your typical redneck/cowboy upbringing. He is, as the Pace commercial says, the guy "who gets his salsa from New York City".

Bush also likes to be shown "clearing brush" from his "ranch." Not unlike all those pictures of the displaced from New Orleans, and the various rescuers pressed into duty to accompany him, the brush-clearing pictures are nothing but carefully-staged photo opportunities for an all-too-gullible media. Bush's ranch is about as realistic as a "Cracker Barrel Country Store".

He feels that by mangling his words, and by trying -- unsuccessfully, by the way -- to adopt the "mush-mouthed Southern accent", he will be accepted as a "regular guy", the "guy you'd like to have a beer with." Given the records of Bush's outbursts when he was drunk (such as challenging his own father to go "mano a mano"), most people wouldn't want to run that risk.

Further, his pathetic attempts at typical Southern "glad-handing" are abject failures (just like all his other actions). He tries to express sympathy and solicitude; he demonstrates, however, only supercilious, smirking arrogance. A true Southerner would open his/her home to those displaced by Katrina (as many of them did, of course).

But for some reason, many of these attempts to simulate a "good ole boy" seem to be remarkably successful, at least among the trailer-trash crowd. That the slack-jawed, drooling "Deliverance" clones continue supporting him -- even though he has done NOTHING for them -- is truly remarkable, and just a little bit frightening.

Bush and his cadre also tend to support many of the causes near and dear to the redneck heart. First among these, of course, is the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution:

"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

First of all, most rednecks manage to miss the first clause completely. Those that do spot it seem to function under the (mistaken) belief that "militia" refers to groups like the Michigan Militia, and the other right-wing extremist, racist, paramilitary groups that tend to spring up whenever three or more rednecks are in one place. These morons do not understand that the "militia" referenced in the Amendment is, in effect, the Colonial Army and its successors.

Second, the "arms" referred to were those used by military personnel for military purposes. The Bush "base" tends to claim that any type of armament may be kept by the average citizen, including assault and other automatic weapons.

Third, they (again) disregard the clear intent of the Framers when they claim a "Constitutional" right to use any weapon for any purpose whatsoever.

It is these people to whom Bush tries to suck up, by supporting the gutting of the Brady Law and other gun-control laws. They even want to remove the requirements for background checks (I guess because too many of the "base" wouldn't qualify for carrying a squirt gun after a real check).

Bush also tries to cuddle up to the Nascar crowd, even though the closest he ever came was trying to evade the Kennebunkport cops when he got bagged for drunk driving (and imagine how the neocons would howl if Hillary had concelaed a DWI...).

The reality is no matter how much Bush may want to be a "good ole boy" and no matter how hard he may try, he is nothing but a spoiled son of Yankee privilege.


"FOURTH REICH"

George Bush, Dickless Cheney and the rest of the Administration obviously have hopes of extending their iron-fisted control over America for the next thousand years, just as Hitler viewed his regime as the start of the original "Thousand Year Reich". Their established proclivity in stealing elections, purging the electoral rolls of "suspect" classes (blacks, Hispanics, and others who tend to vote Democratic), pushing for electronic voting machines that do not have "paper trail" capabilities, discovering precincts in which the number of votes cast (for Bush) is greater than the number of eligible voters (never mind the votes cast for Democrats in those same precincts), and so on, is well-know (see here, for instance).

The Chimpster and his gang are also using other well-known tactics of previous fascist regimes: silencing the media, harassing protesters, imprisoning members of opposition groups in violation of Constitutional requirements (and international law, in the case of "enemy combantants"), warrantless searches and seizures, secret courts, etc. Just recently, a brave (and probably soon to be out-of-office) Federal judge in Detroit ruled that the warrantless spying conducted by the NSA under Bush's self-proclaimed "plenipotentiary war powers" was unconstitutional.

The Administration's spurious claims of "national security" are too numerous to go into here (but see Daily Kos, Talking Points Memo, AmericaBlog, Atrios, Digby, and countless others for the gruesome details).

In addition, much like Adolph Hitler did, George W. Bush is holding himself out as the only person capable of "saving the world". While we have not yet seen "Bush Youth", we have seen the loyalty oaths required for admission to taxpayer-funded Presidential appearances, we've seen Secret Service agents (and the initials "SS" are just as scary now as they were in the 30's and 40's) dragging "unauthorized" people out of these same taxpayer-funded appearances, we've seen Little Ricky "Man-on-Dog" Santorum using uniformed Delaware State Police officers to forcibly remove two teenagers from a book-signing at a Barnes and Noble store.

We've seen "free-speech zones", where protesters are kept far from the president, in clear violation of the First Amendment ("Congress shall make no law [...] abridging the freedom of speech [...] or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."), these "free-speech zones" enforced by those who swore to uphold the Constitution.

In fact, the Administration's entire concept of the Constitution of the United States may be seen in this one quote from Dubya himself:

"Stop throwing the Constitution in my face," Bush screamed back. "It's just a Goddamned piece of paper!"

[Source: Capitol Hill Blue, 12-09-05]

These are the people running (and ruining) our great country.

WE MUST VOTE THEM OUT OF OFFICE BEFORE THEY DESTROY US.

__________

* And I do mean "early". I'm thinking of that one -- pre-Loony Tunes -- of the caveman with the pet dinosaur; you know the one I mean: the caveman throws the stick and so on.

BP Censoring American Press

From AdAge, via This Century Sucks:

Days after financial services giant Morgan Stanley informed print publications that its ads must be automatically pulled from any edition containing "objectionable editorial coverage," global energy giant BP has adopted a similar press strategy.

Zero tolerance

According to a copy of a memo on the letterhead of BP's media-buying agency, WPP Group's MindShare, the global marketer has adopted a zero-tolerance policy toward negative editorial coverage. The memo cites a new BP policy document entitled "2005 BP Corporate-RFP" that demands that ad-accepting publications inform BP in advance of any news text or visuals they plan to publish that directly mention the company, a competitor or the oil-and-energy industry.

Gotta jes' love that freedom of the press...

So once again, we have the oil industry thinking that they have the God-given right to determine what is best for the rest of us. It was bad enough when Dickless Cheney allowed the energy industry to set the Chimpistration's energy policy (there's an oxymoron!). It was worse when Halliburton overcharged the taxpayers for services allegedly delivered to our brave (but badly misled) servicemen and servicewomen overseas.

Now they're saying, "If your magazine says anything nasty about us or our friends, we're gonna pull the advertising you need to survive."

They are demanding the right to censor the American press.

Sad thing is, the Bushistas will probably let them get away with it.

The Rude One and Bush's "Thought" Processes

The Rude Pundit, in his own inimitable way, takes on Dumbya's latest comments on terrists:

Here's the President yesterday at a campaign dinner for Tennessee Republicans: "We face an enemy that has an ideology; they believe things." You got that? We're not facing a bunch of blank slates lashing out at all tabulas not rasa. They actually believe "things." What sorts of things, you may ask? George W. Bush has the answer: "The best way to describe their ideology is to relate to you the fact that they think the opposite of the way we think."

Now, a cynical person might respond, "Oh, really? So they don't think that it's okay to hold people without charge or access to genuine legal processes, to torture them to get any information no matter how outdated or worthless, to lie to their people about the progress of a war, to use force to impose an ideology on the population?" You get the idea.

Go read the whole thing here. And read the post directly below, on the Rude One's visit to New Orleans.

And then wonder why Chimpster's approval rating is as high as it is. It should be in negative numbers. But the mouth-breathin', Bible-thumpin', hooker-humpin', sister-marryin', rifle-rack-in-the-pickmup neocon wingnut crowd still believe in him.

Whatta buncha fargin' MO-rons.

Catblogging Update

A couple of days ago, I introduced you to our certified pre-owned kitty, Tia.

Turns out "she" is a "he." The lovely yet talented Mrs 618 (who is experiencing the joys of recovering from surgery for a ganglion cyst and has her left hand in a cast) was watching "her" do some grooming when all of a sudden, she noticed... umm... a little "red rocket" action.

His name is now Joey. Not, I hope, after the idiot on "Friends".

And yes, we have both signed up for "Remedial Biology".

Our Lab is still female.

CERTs and Other Fun Things

I mentioned a while back that I recently became a trainer for Community Emergency Response Teams (or CERTs). I mention this for a reason.

The other day at work, an associate and I ran a training class on fire extinguisher usage for about 50 people at work. My associate -- also a CERT instructor -- used the PowerPoint presentation from the CERT curriculum.

After we all went outside and "played" (as he put it) for a couple of hours, I handed out course evaluations to the group.

We've already gotten back a couple that ask for the full CERT course to be given at work.

CERT, as you may know, was developed in Los Angeles, about 25 years ago. After one particularly devastating earthquake, the LAFD realized that the first "rescuers" on the scene were those who lived in the neighborhood. LAFD decided to develop and offer a program that would provide these initial responders the training they needed to (a) save lives, (b) protect property, (c) assist their neighborhoods, and (d) stabilize the situation until the professionals arrived, while still protecting the rescuers themselves. The training consists of basic firefighting skills (fire extinguishers), light search and rescue, basic disaster medical (first aid and CPR), triage, psychological response to disasters and sort of introductory terrorism.

The CERT concept has since been expanded into a specialized program for schools (a pilot here in Michigan was quite successful, even beyond the goals established when they set it up); the Federal Department of Homeland Security is also working on modifying the program for the workplace environment. (Pay attention, this may be the only nice thing I ever say about DHS). A CERT program in the workplace makes sense, in that during a major disaster, local emergency services will be overwhelmed (this is also the logic behind the 72-hour kits DHS recommends for the home). Suitably trained volunteer responders in the workplace will help keep their fellow workers safe, care for those who are injured, and also demonstrate the employer's commitment to staff safety. Of course, I suppose having a CERT team in the workplace might also reduce insurance rates somewhat.

Anyway, after I completed the instructor course, my immediate supervisors were a little doubtful about the interest in, or need for, a CERT team at work. Maybe the responses to the extinguisher training program will show the bosses that there is both a need and the interest.

Update, 09-04-06: Added link to CERT website, just in case anyone wants more information on the program.

'Nother New One for the Blogroll...

Anntichrist S. Coulter of BlondeSense now has her own blog. If you have read any of her writings, you will know that she is a very quiet, soft-spoken Southern belle.

Unfortunately, the poor lady has to stop keeping her feelings bottled up inside:

Maybe that's the solution to Houston. Maybe that's how we make everybody happy. Leave the Katrina evacuees the fuck alone and let them integrate into the city where they AREN'T the minority, and we take all of the fucking nouveau-riche-suburbanite-white-trash republicunt yuppie-scum cocksuckers and put 'em on a fucking ISLAND, where they can't poison the water table anymore.

Read the whole thing here.

Update (or should that be "Oopsdate"?), 09-02-06: I changed "uburbanite" back to "suburbanite", as per Annti's request. Guess I need new glasses.

More "Forward into the Past"

Our fine friends at the TSA are once again protecting us from the last "attack", instead of doing anything to protect us from the next one. We're all aware, by now, that as a result of the foiled terra plot in the UK (and our British cousins are quite pissed at Dubya and his cronies for making various statements that will make it difficult for the British to secure convictions), TSA has now banned most liquids, gels, and so on.

"Yeah," you ask, "but what can be done to protect us from the next attack? We don't know what they're gonna do, or when or how! We have to be lucky 100% of the time, they only have to be lucky once!"

Well, that's true, to a certain extent.

Several well-known security experts (like Bruce Schneier, whom I've cited before) have suggested using psychological profiling techniques (not racial or ethnic, psychological) to weed out potential troublemakers. El Al, the Israeli national airline, has been doing this for years. Their security people look for behaviors that indicate nervousness, fear, etc. It has worked out extremely well for them - there hasn't been a highjacking involving an El Al flight in something like 30 years.

The problems with applying such techniques here are significant, but not insurmountable:

• First, we have to ensure that the Bushistas, with their emphasis on the "A-rab menace", don't allow the screening criteria to deteriorate into racial/ethnic profiling;
• Second, we have to ensure that training contracts are given to appropriate, qualified companies. This does NOT include Bechtel, Carlisle, Halliburton, and the rest of the usual war profiteers;
• Third, it will require significant retraining for the TSA screeners (many of whom don't need to be in their jobs in the first place, but don't get me started on TSA'a half-assed screening of their own damned screeners). I doubt the TSA (or DHS or FBI, for that matter) has the expertise, resources, or even interest to make it successful;
• Fourth, the 60%+ of us who don't trust the administration will have to resist the (natural) impulse to jump on the first glitches -- and there will be some, inevitably -- and start screaming that once again, the Bushies have fucked up. I'm sure they will, mind you; that's as certain as Dumbya mangling more of the English language before he returns to life-long exile in Crawdad.

Even if we don't want to try to retrain everyone to look for signs of trouble (other than possession of nail clippers and Evian), there are some steps we can take to make life a lot safer a lot quicker:

• Force the chemical and energy industries off their collective asses and start making some serious progress in securing their respective facilities. Same thing with ports: fewer than 6% of the shipping containers coming into the US are inspected in any fashion. Chemical plant security is a joke: recent articles in the NY Times, for instance, showed open, unmanned gates into freight yards handling hazardous loads (no link cause I just have an undated clipping from the physical paper). Energy plants -- with the exception of nuclear facilities -- fare little better: your average coal-fired plant's perimeter is as porous as SpongeBob's fanny. Nuke plants are a little more secure, but, again, their training is seemingly geared towards the last threat.
• Enable effective and reliable communications between all levels of Federal, state and local law enforcement. As a former cop, I can tell you communication with the Feds is always one-way: we give, they take. despite the much-ballyhooed "fusion centers", etc., it's still almost impossible to get any useful info from a Fed. Don't believe me? Ask an FBI agent for the time; he'll put you through a full-blown security background check before he tells you. Don't bother asking a TSA staffer for the time, they don't have the faintest idea how to read a watch (although they can recognize and steal a Rolex in a heartbeat).
• REMOVE FEMA FROM DHS AND RE-ESTABLISH IT AS A SEPARATE ENTITY. When FEMA was a Cabinet-level agency (under the Clemis), they really did do "a hell of a job." Under Brownie, Skeletor, and company, they couldn't manage a baby pissing in it's diaper. James Lee Witt, the former FEMA director, should be cajoled/bribed/begged to come back and re-create the original, "real" FEMA.

More a little later.

Fascist Physician Fails, Fraud Found

Oh, the poor baby…

Emphasis added, of course.

Frist Failed to Fulfill a State Requirement for Medical License

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29 (AP) — The Senate majority leader, Bill Frist of Tennessee, did not meet all the requirements needed to keep his medical license active even though he gave paperwork to Tennessee officials indicating that he had, his office acknowledged Tuesday.

Tennessee requires its licensed physicians to complete 40 hours of continuing medical education every two years. Mr. Frist, a heart-lung surgeon, submitted a license renewal with the Tennessee Health Department stating he had fulfilled that requirement.

Responding Tuesday to repeated requests from The Associated Press, a Frist spokesman said the senator had contacted the Tennessee Board of Medical examiners and was working to clear up the problem.

“As a result of a change in Tennessee’s regulations several years after Dr. Frist came to the Senate, he may be required to complete additional continuing medical education hours,” the spokesman, Matt Lehigh, said in a statement. “A representative of the Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners has been contacted, and Dr. Frist will meet every requirement of the board.”

Mr. Frist, who is retiring from Congress at the end of the year to consider a presidential run in 2008, does not maintain a medical practice but routinely emphasizes his experience as a doctor.

Tennessee officials put the continuing education requirement in place in 2002. Starting with renewal applications filed in January 2005, the state required doctors to have completed 40 hours of continuing education in the two years that preceded their filing.

A renewal application that Mr. Frist filed with the medical examiners board this February specifically mentioned the continuing education requirement and was signed on his behalf by his accountant.

Mr. Lehigh said the senator might have been unaware of the change.

Tennessee law states that doctors who fail to do their continuing medical education “will be subject to disciplinary action.”

Let’s see if we have this straight: Herr Doktor Frist, one of Twig’s party of moral arbiters, not only failed to maintain his medical license in accordance with the laws of the State of Tennessee (and remember, the Rethuglicans stand for “law’n’order above all else”), but he also lied and said he had? And then his spokesdrone said Frist “might have been unaware of the change”?!? Since when is ignorance of the law an excuse... especially for Rethuglicans?

Excuse me, aren’t these the same clowns who keep claiming all their activities are 100% legal? Like the outing of Valerie Plame, and the NSA wiretapping, and the war on terra, and swearing in Rethuglican candidates before their elections have been certified by state authorities?

God, these people are truly disgusting.

Of course, given the fact that Tennessee needs Frist, they'll probably accept his "kitten vivisection" projects as continuing medical edjamacation.

Just To PROVE I'm Back...

An admittedly much-belated cat-n-dog post...

A few days ago, the lovely yet talented Mrs 618 and I got back from a trip, and found the neighbor's cats on our doorstep, hanging around, looking for food (of course).

Except one cat wasn't the neighbor's. She was a stray who happened upon the scene.

Needless to say, we now have a new-to-us, certified pre-owned cat, Tia.



You might notice a certain similarity between Tia and her predecessor, Jenna:


This could be the start of a pattern... except there's me:
(And I wonder why I can never get into Dumbya's appearances...)

Of course, Emily thought she was all done with "those creatures". She saw Tia and gave me one of "those" looks:


"Aww, Dad, why's ya hafta go and do that?!?"

THIS Time, I'm Back!

Well, okay, maybe this time I’m back.

First, a few housekeeping chores:

• Check out this new blog, Conservatard. He’s extremely well-spoken, a gifted writer, and – unlike me – he can generally keep a civil tongue in his head when he’s discussing those Bible-thumpin’, hooker-humpin’, rifle-rack-in-the-pickmup neocon wingnuts, those slack-jawed drooling idiots who keep so many bloggers in Cheetohs and Mountain Dew.

• The blogger formerly known as Angry Chowder seems to have sorta more-or-less permanently hung up his spurs. On t’other hand, he has a guest post up at Conservatard (our blogroll has been updated accordingly).

And now for some further info on the brand-spankin’ new 618Rants World Headquarters. You might recall from my last post (immediately below) that the lovely yet talented Mrs.618 and I moved to luxurious new digs:



You may not, however, be aware of all that goes on behind the scenes at this amazing blog. Our newsroom, a state-of-the-art facility, is staffed 24-7, by a highly-trained cadre of dedicated reporters:



Once the items for our posts are gathered, edited, and vetted for accuracy, they are sent to our main control facility, where they are prepared for posting:



When everything is set to go, posts are uploaded to Blogger, using more state-of-the-art technology:



From there, it is delivered directly to you, as hot and fresh as a Domino's pizz--- err, bad analogy…. Hot and fresh, we’ll leave it at that.