Here it is a rainy Sunday morning in lovely "downtown" Tokyo. I have just returned home from a local neighborhood “Mochi” sweet rice pounding event. All be it wet, we still had a smashing good time beating the heck out of the defenseless rice. With coffee in hand I decided to read my morning fill of world events via the internet (which is my leading source of information) and was compelled to write the following.

Watching one’s country disembowel itself from a distance has been extremely disturbing. Over the resent months I have been trying to discover the root cause of this with little success or satisfactions with my findings. Many of the paths have lead me to the cause being a person or party but to take down a country like America requires more than that.

In the course of my journey I have found some interesting snippets of truth which shed light on some of the faults that have propagated our News.

1. “The central fact is that overwhelmingly suicide-terrorist attacks are not driven by religion as much as they are by a clear strategic objective: to compel modern democracies to withdraw military forces from the territory that the terrorists view as their homeland. From Lebanon to Sri Lanka to Chechnya to Kashmir to the West Bank, every major suicide-terrorist campaign—over 95 percent of all the incidents—has had as its central objective to compel a democratic state to withdraw.” Quote from; Associate Professor Robert Pape of the University of Chicago, whose book on suicide terrorism, Dying to Win. Well worth the read. http://www.amconmag.com/2005_07_18/article.html

2. Intelligent Design vs. Darwinism: One is theology and the other is science and with a proper education most people can distingue the difference. For the longest time I could not figure out why this was getting so much attention from the President and press until I heard this explanation;“The Intelligent Design Theory basically states that if the problem is too difficult to figure out then GOD did it and that is why George W. Bush believes in it so much”, a quote from Boxcar, a Seattle comedian. http://www.highcontrastcomedy.com/1GM/093005/09-30-05_clip.htm

3. The free press: I remember a time when I believed this and perhaps because of all the years of indoctrination from a public school system, I still unconsciously held on to this misconception. It was not till my friend blatantly pointed out this not to be true that it hit home. Our press is not controlled directly by our government or one single minded group but by the corporations that harbor agendas that do not always run congruently with the truth.
” News is a risky business but the big companies love it. Is MSNBC, CNBC, NBC ever going to do something to upset the pentagon? Hell no - They are all owned by GE... They aren't going to risk losing a defense contract.

CBS is owned by Westinghouse - more government contracts.

ABC is Disney, Disney doesn't want a hint non-patriotic image to get near them - not when you make billions on what in the end is an "image."

Even Washington Post is too big now to be "risky" by publishing the truth. They own Newsweek. They own Kaplan training which makes millions upon millions in government contracts.” Exert of an email letter from Rob trying to explain to simple-minded me why the press continues to miss-inform.http://www.thiscenturysucks.com/

As my growth into adulthood continues (however painful it may be) I hope to better understand my fellow humans on this planet. Through understanding not WAR is the only way to create a world for our children. I am sure my journey is far from over.

Have a nice Sunday and I hope the 49’s win!

Cookie friend from Tokyo

- cookie friend from Japan 11:45 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Winning the Global War on Terror: Al-Queda's Barber Caught

Cue the music! Roll the 3-D animation! We've finally nabbed him. It's Camp X-Ray time for Al-Queda's barber. The evil-doers will now have a much harder time finding sympathizers sufficiently qualified to cut and style their hair. Al-Queda's manicurist, dental hygenist and chiropracter are sure to fall like dominos now; complete victory will be ours.

- Edoc 2:28 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Purported Letter from Zawahiri to Zarqawi Doesn't Add Up

Dear al-Zarqawi, yadi yadi yadi... and be sure to send greetings to al-Zarqawi if you stop by Fallujah.' Does that sound a bit odd, perhaps? Prof. Juan Cole has also been skeptical, see here and here.

- Edoc 2:16 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Bill of Rights Coffee Mug-- with Vanishing Rights!

(via BoingBoing) The outside of the mug displays the text of the Bill of Rights. When you fill it with hot liquid, the text slowly vanishes, simulating the effect of the Bush presidency.

- Edoc 10:18 AM - [PermaLink] -

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Creator of "Thatcher Land" the prototype of Reaganomics speaks out

Thatcher reveals her doubts over basis for Iraq war

Yesterday's Washington Post reported that when asked whether she would have invaded Iraq given the intelligence at the time, Lady Thatcher replied: "I was a scientist before I was a politician. And as a scientist I know you need facts, evidence and proof - and then you check, recheck and check again."

She added: "The fact was that there were no facts, there was no evidence, and there was no proof. As a politician the most serious decision you can take is to commit your armed services to war from which they may not return."

- rob 4:56 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Chewbacca sums it up really well

'Chewbacca' to become an American

British-born Peter Mayhew will be among 441 people from 77 countries who will become naturalized Americans in a ceremony in Arlington, Texas.

Mayhew, 60, played the fur-covered warrior Chewbacca in the original "Star Wars" trilogy of the 1970s and 1980s, and the latest movie, "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith."
...
"I am feeling very happy about it," Mayhew said. "Whatever people say about America, it is still one of the most wonderful countries in the world, despite the politics, religion and everything else that goes on."

[emphasis mine]

- rob 4:53 PM - [PermaLink] -

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DOD needs to reconsider its priorities:

Perhpas Number 1 should be care of our troops rather than being (well I already used the word asshole today - how about) jerks.

For Injured U.S. Troops, 'Financial Friendly Fire'

His hand had been blown off in Iraq, his body pierced by shrapnel. He could not walk.
...
But nine months after Loria was wounded, the Army garnished his wages and then, as he prepared to leave the service, hit him with a $6,200 debt. That was just before last Christmas, and several lawmakers scrambled to help. This spring, a collection agency started calling. He owed another $646 for military housing.
...
Although Loria's problems may be striking on their own, the Army has recently identified 331 other soldiers who have been hit with military debt after being wounded at war. The new analysis comes as the United States has more wounded troops than at any time since the Vietnam War, with thousands suffering serious injury in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Maybe if Loria said he was in KBR management, then they just give him a few million.

- rob 4:51 PM - [PermaLink] -

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What is the most popular costume this year in DC?
The Patrick Fitzgerald mask

Boo!: Jitters at the White House Over the Leak Inquiry

Mr. Rove, deputy White House chief of staff for policy and senior adviser, and I. Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, are the most prominent administration officials to find themselves squirming under the attention of the hard-nosed special prosecutor, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, and the attendant news media scrutiny.

But the inquiry has swept up a dozen or more other officials who have been questioned by investigators or have testified before the grand jury, and, should it lead to the indictment of anyone at a senior level, it has the potential to upend the professional lives of everyone at the White House for the remainder of Mr. Bush's second term.

The result, say administration officials and friends and allies on the outside who speak regularly with them, is a mood of intense uncertainty in the White House that veers in some cases into fear of the personal and political consequences and anger at having been caught in the snare of a special prosecutor.

- rob 4:33 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Crash victim's insurer should have a heart

She had to be cut from her crumpled Hyundai Accent. She was in a coma for nine days. Doctors first debated whether she'd live, then, later, whether she'd walk. It would seem Adams was the unlucky victim of an unforeseen event — what most anyone would call an "accident."

Not her insurance company.

Though Adams, 60, has $2 million worth of coverage, a subsidiary of Farmers Insurance has decided not to pay her a penny because they say someone caused Adams' crash on purpose.
...
A crazed man named Michael R. Testa was driving north attempting to run his girlfriend off the road. In an infamous road-rage crash that has been shown countless times on TV, he bashed her pickup truck across the centerline and into the southbound lanes.

Four other cars crashed. The pickup truck slammed directly into Ethel Adams, squashing her car and knocking it backward into another truck.
...
Explains a letter from Farmers' Seattle-based attorney, Ronald Dinning: "The common meaning of 'accident' does not depend on the perspective of the injured insured, but instead essentially depends on the intent of the person causing the injury or damage."

Well now thanks to Farmer's Insurance we have a new example to add to our definition of asshole.

- rob 4:06 PM - [PermaLink] -

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The Fallen Legion: Casualties of the Bush Administration

Over at TomDispatch.com, an overview of 41 senior-level diplomats, advisors and military leaders who were fired or resigned in protest from the Bush administration. The list of names:

Richard Clarke; Paul O'Neill; Flynt Leverett, Ben Miller and Hillary Mann; Larry Lindsey; Ann Wright; John Brady Kiesling; John Brown; Rand Beers; Anthony Zinni; Eric Shinseki; Karen Kwiatkowski; Charles "Jack" Pritchard; Major John Carr and Major Robert Preston; Captain Carrie Wolf; Colonel Douglas Macgregor; Paul Redmond; John W. Carlin; Susan Wood and Frank Davidoff; Thomas E. Novotny; Joanne Wilson; James Zahn; Tony Oppegard and Jack Spadaro; Teresa Chambers; Martha Hahn; Andrew Eller; Mike Dombeck; James Furnish; Mike Parker; Sylvia K. Lowrance; Bruce Boler; Eric Schaeffer; Bruce Buckheit; Rich Biondi; Martin E. Sullivan, Richard S. Lanier and Gary Vikan

It's revealing to read the circumstance around each dismissal. There's a large number of military and EPA/Forest Service leaders, key groups in which the administration was keen to purge dissent.

- Edoc 2:31 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Glengarry Glen Rove

Who's Who of Who May Go Down

- rob 6:13 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Seriously is this supposed to make the President look good?



Seriously is this supposed to make the President sound good?

I wish I could be there to see you face to face and thank you personally. Probably a little early for me to go to Tikrit. Perhaps one of these days the situation will be such that I’ll be able to get back to Iraq.

thanks to: Think Progress i A New Low For Operation Photo-Op

- rob 2:09 PM - [PermaLink] -

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because the "haves" lives are more important then yours

Who cares about the riff raff... you know... the citizens

Terror tip for rich

The city's rich and well-connected were tipped off to last week's subway terror threat days before average New Yorkers, the Daily News has learned.

- rob 1:47 PM - [PermaLink] -

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NBC/WSJ Poll: Only 2% of African Americans Approve of Bush Leadership
My bet is that the margin of error (3.4%) for the poll actually helped Bush.

Sidenote: the top result for 'failure' on Google is George W. Bush. Just type it in and click "I'm Feeling Lucky".

- Edoc 1:31 PM - [PermaLink] -

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So by collapsing on to the "I chose her because she's Christian" excuse Bush has done what:

Broken the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
Broken the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978?
Compeletly disregared the Constitution which he swore an oath (over a bible) to uphold?
or maybe all three?

Attytood: The President's day: One high crime and two misdemeanors

The act:

President Bush said Wednesday that Harriet Miers' religious beliefs figured into her nomination to the Supreme Court as a top-ranking Democrat warned against any "wink and a nod" campaign for confirmation.

"People are interested to know why I picked Harriet Miers," Bush told reporters at the White House. "Part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion."

...
High crime: As you might expect, the "high crime" here is more serious, and is also the area where it's hardest to argue that the president did not cross the line. We are referring to Article VI, Clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which states that "no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

Do you honestly believe that Harriet Miers -- with all her other qualifications exactly the same -- would have been nominated to the Supreme Court if she had been Jewish, or an atheist, or Muslim?

- rob 1:13 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Meanwhile, Back in Iraq
Video clip (windows media) of a car-bomb exploding at roadside checkpoint in Iraq. A journalist on assignment there comments:

This place has gone beyond scary into really, really f***ing scary.

(via BoingBoing)

- Edoc 9:31 AM - [PermaLink] -

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For President Under Duress, Body Language Speaks Volumes

Bush blinks twice. He touches his tongue to his lips. He blinks twice more. He starts to answer, but he stops himself.

"I'm not going to talk about the case," Bush finally says after a three-second pause that, in television time, feels like a commercial break.
...
But this much could be seen watching the tape of NBC's broadcast during Bush's 14-minute pre-sunrise interview, in which he stood unprotected by the usual lectern. The president was a blur of blinks, taps, jiggles, pivots and shifts. Bush has always been an active man, but standing with Lauer and the serene, steady first lady, he had the body language of a man wishing urgently to be elsewhere.

The fidgeting clearly corresponded to the questioning. When Lauer asked if Bush, after a slow response to Katrina, was "trying to get a second chance to make a good first impression," Bush blinked 24 times in his answer. When asked why Gulf Coast residents would have to pay back funds but Iraqis would not, Bush blinked 23 times and hitched his trousers up by the belt.

When the questioning turned to Miers, Bush blinked 37 times in a single answer -- along with a lick of the lips, three weight shifts and some serious foot jiggling. Laura Bush, by contrast, delivered only three blinks and stood still through her entire answer about encouraging volunteerism.

But no mention of his out of control Jaw:

Jaw Bone (do watch this quicktime video - it makes you go "what is going on with Bush - physically")

- rob 1:47 PM - [PermaLink] -

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There was also a Monday this week

The Top Ten Conservative Idiots, No. 217 - Democratic Underground

7. Indiana Republicans
Remember the days when conservatives stood for freedom and liberty and keeping government out of your private life? Welcome to the Republican party's brave new world. Last week it was revealed that Indiana Republicans were attempting to pass a bill which would apparently "make marriage a requirement for motherhood in the state of Indiana, including specific criminal penalties for unmarried women who do become pregnant 'by means other than sexual intercourse.'"

That's right - under the proposed law, any woman seeking to become a mother through the use of techniques such as IVF treatment would first have to file for a "petition for parentage" in their local county probate court. If the court approved, the woman would be presented with a "gestational certificate" which must be given to her doctor before he would be allowed to facilitate the pregnancy.

Of course, only married women would be allowed to receive a "gestational certificate." Sorry, lesbians - no children for you. And don't think about trying to bypass the law, or you'd face criminal charges.

If this attempt to regulate pregnancies sounds utterly despicable to you, you're not alone. After the bill became public knowledge, Republican lawmakers backed off from the proposal saying, "The issue has become more complex than anticipated and will be withdrawn from consideration by the Health Finance Commission."

But the fact that they would even come up with such a fucked-up idea in the first place speaks volumes about the current state of the Republican party, and particularly their views on reproductive rights. Last week it was Bill Bennett suggesting that the crime rate would go down if we aborted black babies, this week it's "gestational certificates." Insanity, I tell ya.

8. David Vitter
One of George W. Bush's "crowning achievements" is the so called No Child Left Behind Act. And as many parents found out to their consternation, within the Act is buried a provision which requires schools to give students' personal information to the military. If you don't want your kid to be hassled by military recruiters desperate to meet their lagging recruitment goals, you have to opt out.

But Duval County schools are making it much more difficult to do just that. Last week the Florida Times-Union revealed that parents "can either approve the release of personal information to recruiters or give up all public recognition including being pictured in the yearbook and listed in sports programs and the honor roll."

Why is Duval County doing this? Because the more parents that opt out, the greater the chance that their schools will lose funding. This provision was inserted into No Child Left Behind by Sen. David Vitter (R-La), and it's now reaching its logical conclusion.

Yes, in today's America, the government will actually defund schools if those schools don't do everything they can to deliver children into the hands of the military. And so to prevent parents from opting out, schools are essentially threatening to make kids "non-persons."

This is the Republican party's commitment to education?

- rob 1:25 PM - [PermaLink] -

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In all the hubbub I forgot that last week had a Monday:

The Top Ten Conservative Idiots, No. 216 - Democratic Underground

3. Roy Blunt
With Tom DeLay out of the picture, Republicans have turned to Roy Blunt of Missouri to succeed him as House Majority Leader. And funnily enough, Rep. Blunt has a few ethics problems of his own - not least of which is the fact that he employs an adviser who has been indicted as one of Tom DeLay's co-conspirators.

Blunt's political action committee has been paying Jim Ellis since 2003. According to the Los Angeles Times, "Ellis has been indicted in the same case as DeLay, for allegedly conspiring to illegally influence the outcome of Texas legislative elections by channeling corporate money to Republican candidates."

Whoops.

And that's not all. Again, according to the LA Times, "'in June 2003 that just hours after DeLay elevated Blunt to be House majority whip, Blunt tried to insert into a bill creating the Department of Homeland Security a provision that would have benefited Philip Morris USA. Blunt had close ties to the tobacco company, which contributed heavily to him, and was at the time dating one of its lobbyists, whom he later married."

So I guess the only question now is: can Republicans find someone who isn't up to their neck in ethics scandals to lead the party? Somehow I doubt it.
...
Neal Cavuto
Stop the presses! Fox News anchor Neal Cavuto has discovered the fatal flaw in American society: it turns out that you can't be a good journalist and a good American at the same time. Here's what he had to say on "Hannity & Colmes" last week:

I would much sooner go down as a pretty good American when I try to be versus a good journalist. The good journalist thing is not nearly as important.

Um, hello? I was kinda under the impression that being a "good journalist" - ie. reporting facts, uncovering truth, unspinning government propaganda, enlightening the population, etc. - was being a "good American." Apparently not. These days all those things make you a bad American. It's "you're either with us or against us" taken to it's ultimate, dumbass conclusion.

According to Neal, being a "good American" means accepting whatever the government tells you without question and burying the truth if you happen to stumble across it. It's somewhat bizarre that someone who feels this way would actually have a job on television as a journalist, but it does give you a good indication of where the media is today.

Oh well, Neal can try as hard as he likes to be one or the other. Unfortunately for him he'll always be a bad journalist and a bad American.

- rob 1:21 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Yeeeeeeeehaaaaaa!

Lawyers say investigation into CIA leak widens to probe 'broader conspiracy' around Iraq

This Rove story is going to blow up into the story of how the White House sat around and tried to come up with ideas on how to sell the Iraqi war to the American people. It will finally dash the innocence of many who still hold on to their belief in Bush's piety. This is why the story is so important, because of what other things will pop up.

- rob 1:00 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Hmm... there is the potential of a real estate bust, and the American health insurance systems is a mess that leaves millions uninsured almost everyone else underinsured.

How would Bush handle this?

By doing what he does best: Making it worse

Bush Tax Panel Considers Limiting 2 Popular DeductionsWASHINGTON, Oct. 11 - President Bush's tax advisory commission indicated today that it would not propose replacing the income tax with a national sales tax or a value-added tax but would recommend modifications in the popular tax deductions for mortgage interest and employer-provided health insurance.Home sales would plummet... new home construction would stall - taking away or even limiting the mortgage deduction would be a huge blow to the economy.

And how many companies would have employer-provided health insurance removed because it ain't as much as a benefit as it used to be. I can just see Bush's panel: "you know what America needs... more uninsured families shortchanging their health because their worried about the bills."

Bush has declared class warfare. He aided the wealthy directly (tax cuts) and indirectly (a war makes a lot of money for a lot of people). The poor have been hit hard so now Bush directs his sites directly to the middle class.

Bush wants an ownership society - he wants the banks to own you.

- rob 12:47 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Rove told him that Harriet's in on the whole "making the apocolypse happen" plan

Alleged Rove secret riles senators

WASHINGTON -- Senators yesterday demanded disclosure of the secret that top Bush aide Karl Rove told a conservative activist last week to reassure him about Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, but the White House insisted there is no secret to divulge.

Many politicians and activists reacted with surprise last week when conservative Focus on the Family founder James Dobson announced his support for Miers and said on his radio show Wednesday that Rove told him things about Miers "I probably shouldn't know."

Thanks to a phunkster for the link.

- rob 10:13 AM - [PermaLink] -

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See Dick. See Dick Rake. See Dick Rake It In

Cheney's Halliburton Stock Options Soar to $9.2 Million

Senator Frank R. Lautenberg reiterated his call for Vice President Dick Cheney to forfeit his continuing financial interest in the Halliburton Co (HAL), in light of the surging value of Vice President Cheney's Halliburton holdings. Vice President Cheney continues to hold 433,333 Halliburton stock options, now worth $9,214,154.93 (at close yesterday.)

So much for Cheney's claim of having "severed all ties" to his former company. Deferred salary paid by Halliburton to Vice President Cheney:

• 2001 -- $205,298
• 2002 -- $162,392
• 2003 -- $178,437
• 2004 -- $194,852

- Edoc 9:25 AM - [PermaLink] -

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And America wonders why Japan does not buy its beef

After the rest of the world has long since ban any animal parts in livestock feed the US Government is still playing with Americans lives. The food line is 90% safe they said now with this new law. What does that mean? I now have a 10% change to get Mad Cow and that is OK? I know I have problems with Bush and his handling of US affairs but we can not blame him for this one. I guess the next time I visit I will have to bring my own food to ensure my child’s health.

http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/other/bse/news/oct0405madcow.html

cookie friend

PS…I have begun to read the “Decline and Fall of Rome”. I thought it might be insightful.

- cookie friend from Japan 7:03 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Zod! Zod! Zod!

Zod 2008 - General Zod - 2008 Presidential Candidate

When I first came to your planet and demanded your homes, property and very lives, I didn't know you were already doing so, willingly, with your own government. I can win no tribute from a bankrupted nation populated by feeble flag-waving plebians. In 2008 I shall restore your dignity and make you servants worthy of my rule. This new government shall become a tool of my oppression. Instead of hidden agendas and waffling policies, I offer you direct candor and brutal certainty. I only ask for your tribute, your lives, and your vote.

- rob 4:23 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Becaush when Bush's criminal charges make it all the way to the Supreme Court, he's going to need all the chums he can find

Documents show Miers' chummy ties to Bush

AUSTIN, Texas -- "You are the best governor ever -- deserving of great respect," Harriet Miers wrote to George W. Bush days after his 51st birthday, in July 1997.

She also found him "cool," called him and his wife, Laura, "the greatest!" and told him: "Keep up the great work. Texas is blessed."

OMG! He is soooo cool.

Bush responded to her birthday wish in kind, and included a humorous, if baffling, postscript.

"I appreciate your friendship and candor. Never hold back your sage advice," he wrote. "P.S. No more public scatology."

It has been said that Harriet will surprise at the hearings - well maybe because it does sound like she knows how to talk shit.

- rob 4:21 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Cool:

USNews.com: Washington Whispers (10/17/05)

Is Al Gore coming back? If allies we talked to have their way, the former veep will be the next president. "It's Gore Time," says a political strategist and fundraiser who is opening a bid to get Gore into the race. Gore friends see his recent political and business moves as proof he's preparing to run. Allies say that in speeches, Gore has found his voice to address domestic and world issues.
...
Our source--a top aide in the previous Bush administration--is planning meetings with Gore's team to push an early entry while Clinton runs for re-election in New York. It doesn't end there: The Gorebots want him to pick Sen. Barack Obama, the youthful Illinois African-American, as his No. 2.

- rob 4:13 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Not that we should worry about climate change are anything:

Spain gets first tropical storm -- Vince

Vince, the 20th named tropical storm in the Atlantic this year, is the first storm of its type to reach Spain in recorded history, the National Hurricane Center said.

"Vince is the first tropical cyclone on record to make landfall in Spain," the NHC, a government body, said in a bulletin.

"The historical record shows no tropical cyclone ever making landfall on the Iberian peninsula," added NHC meterologist James Franklin.

Oh while I'm making a cameo today (hope to be back with more posts tomorrow) I want to say thanks to Edcon for keeping this site happening while I was unavailalbe last week.

- rob 4:06 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Bill Maher Video Clips on CrooksAndLiars.com
These video clips are thoroughly entertaining (Note: MSFW, but there is occasional cursing and vulgarity).

On Harriet Miers, etc.

Bill: This week president Bush had to nominate a Supreme Court judge, and he picked the most qualified person-- within 30 feet of his office.

Guest Wingnut Ann Coulter

Bill: So what do you think of your boyfriend George Bush now? I mean, seriously, [the Miers nomination] the deficit-- he f***ed up the hurricane. Are you willing to admit that he's in over his head, and always was?!?! And that when Karl Rove looked at him and said, "I could make him President", that was different than looking at him and saying, "He should be President."

Thanks go to C&L.com -- they post lots of interesting media clips-- highlights of The Daily Show and MSM wingnuttery/pundit roundtables.

- Edoc 1:10 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Overview of McCain's Anti-Torture Amendment

(From: Kuro5hin.org) Nice introductory article and commentary. Bush has warned that he'll veto the bill over this amendment, which would be the first veto of his presidency. However, the bill passed the Senate with a landslide 91 votes! A presidential veto sure would be a wasteful way of squandering his ever-ebbing political capital.

- Edoc 12:41 PM - [PermaLink] -

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