March 31, 2006

The War President's Calendar



Calendar

Calendar
(Click either pic to watch)


(Video "borrowed" from Crooks and Liars)

Orrin Hatch HATES America


From Salon:
Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold opened the (Judiciary Committee's presidential censure hearings) by claiming that the president's legal theory justifying the wiretaps could lead to an ever-greater executive power grab. "Under this theory, we no longer have a constitutional system consisting of three coequal branches of government," he said. "We have a monarchy."


A few minutes later, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch shot back: "Quit trying to score political points."

"Yes, I know we have made tactical errors, thousands of them."


straw and rice
- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (pictured with British counterpart Jack Straw), answering a question "over whether lessons had been learned since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003."
Somebody needs to wipe those smiles off their faces...

coffins

March 30, 2006

I Knew I Should Have Had Kids...




(Click the pic to buy these adorable mittens for your not-quite-ready-for-tattoos-toddlers)


(Link courtesy of boingboing)

And You Thought I Was Crude


From the Boston Herald:
Amid a growing national controversy about the gesture U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made Sunday at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, the freelance photographer who captured the moment has come forward with the picture.

“It’s inaccurate and deceptive of him to say there was no vulgarity in the moment,” said Peter Smith, the Boston University assistant photojournalism professor who made the shot.

Despite Scalia’s insistence that the Sicilian gesture was not offensive and had been incorrectly characterized by the Herald as obscene, the photographer said the newspaper “got the story right.”

Smith said the jurist “immediately knew he’d made a mistake, and said, ‘You’re not going to print that, are you?’ ”

Scalia’s office yesterday referred questions regarding the flap to Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg, who said a letter Scalia sent Tuesday to the Herald defending his gesture at the cathedral “speaks for itself.”

“He has no further comment,” Arberg said.

Smith was working as a freelance photographer for the Boston archdiocese’s weekly newspaper at a special Mass for lawyers Sunday when a Herald reporter asked the justice how he responds to critics who might question his impartiality as a judge given his public worship.

“The judge paused for a second, then looked directly into my lens and said, ‘To my critics, I say, ‘Vaffanculo,’ ” punctuating the comment by flicking his right hand out from under his chin, Smith said.

The Italian phrase means “(expletive) you.”
Well, that's actually the nice translation. Go ahead. Google "Vaffanculo" and then go take a shower.

"No, YOU Get Governing"





Does the Preznit ever listen to the crap that comes out of his mouth? And, if so, does he appreciate the irony (or does he not have a clue about the meaning of the word)?





"I want the Iraqi people to hear I've got great confidence in their capacity to self-govern...I also want the Iraqi people to hear — it's about time you get a unity government going.

"In other words, Americans understand you're newcomers to the political arena. But pretty soon it's time to shut her down and get governing."

March 29, 2006

THE TRANSISTOR WIDOW (No. 013)


Untitled
Untitled, Will McRobb (2006)

What's Next? A Same-Sex Partnership Law?


(Oh, right.)

Vermont, you are one rockin' state:
Leading Democrats in Vermont plan to decide in April whether to urge state lawmakers to petition for President Bush's impeachment using a little-known provision in the rules of the U.S. House.

Democratic committees in at least half of the state's 14 counties have passed resolutions calling for impeachment, citing a rule in "Jefferson's Manual," a book of parliamentary guidelines written by Thomas Jefferson that supplements U.S. House rules...

The resolutions accuse the Bush administration of lying about the case for war in Iraq and illegally engaging in electronic surveillance of Americans.

They rely on "Jefferson's Manual," which says impeachment proceedings can begin "by charges transmitted from the legislature of a state."
And for those of you who want to join the impeachment buzz, check out this (non-work-friendly) site and get your very own pins:

By the way, were you offended by a certain word at that non-work-friendly site? If so, then you are part of the 66% of people who are "bothered" by profanity (well, at least according to a silly, little poll). In which case, you are REALLY going to hate this (seriously, don't click the link, even though I know you're dying to).

"Well, the girls do have their priorities."




Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr. (in a speech at a St. Louis Community College):
"I have a question for President Bush. If you really believe that the war that you started in Iraq is a fight to defeat terrorism and to defend our freedoms, why haven't your girls enlisted?"
Believe it or not, the speech got better:
"President Bush took this country to war by choice, not because we had to fight but because he wanted a fight."

(snip)

Clay said that during World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt's sons enlisted and added: "That is a perfect example of the difference between a truly courageous wartime president and an incompetent chickenhawk who prefers to risk the lives of other American's children."

March 28, 2006

"They're Making iPods"


Making iPods
- My wife, sort of explaining why her laptop was on top of mine

March 27, 2006

In Loving Memory of Wyclef McTavish Krupnick


Tavy

My brother's family's little dog passed away last week. Says my niece:
"He was one of the best dogs I've ever known, full of spunk and love, and we are so sad to have lost him after five short but wonderful years."
R.I.P. Tavy.

Around the Internets


Another busy day of work today. Therefore, may I suggest:


Laralogan
Reporter Lara Logan's rebuttal of the Republican Talking Point which charges that the media only reports the bad news in Iraq


March to War
Jonathan Schwarz on Tony & George's Excellent March to War Adventure


Pic
Max Blumenthal on the Anti-Immigration Bill demonstration

and


Dog&Fish
My personal favorite: A guest post by Attaturk's dog.

(Click the pics for links)


Enjoy,

Krup

March 26, 2006

"Stealing" vs. Plagiarising


Meet the Kleptones:

Kleptones
Musical Mash-Up Artists

Meet Ben Domenech:

Ben
Right-wing Hack

Click each pic and enter the slippery slope of sin.

More on young Ben here (and here, and here, and here -- sigh, if only the blogosphere could muster that kind of energy and support to get a certain President of the United States to resign). And thanks to the amazing staff of BoingBoing for turning me on to the Kleptones.

"How to tell if your fine art is a forgery"


Over at Worth1000:


YoYo
(Click for more)

March 25, 2006

And You Thought The Human-Animal Hybrid Picture Was Difficult To Look At...



Brit
(Click for more, you masochists)
“Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston,” believed Pro-Life’s first monument to the ‘act of giving birth,’ is purportedly an idealized depiction of Britney in delivery. Natural aspects of Spears’ pregnancy, like lactiferous breasts and protruding naval, compliment a posterior view that depicts widened hips for birthing and reveals the crowning of baby Sean’s head...

“Britney provides inspiration for those struggling with the ‘right choice’,” said artist Daniel Edwards, recipient of a 2005 Bartlebooth award from London’s The Art Newspaper. “She was number one with Google last year, with good reason -- people are inspired by the beauty of a pregnant woman,” said Edwards.
This has to be a joke, right? Right?

How Good's Your Pop Music IQ?


The following commercial contains up to 50 animated references to popular music, from the obvious (Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall") to the, um, less obvious (De La Soul's "Me, Myself I").


Virgin Music
(Click to watch)

How many can you spot? (Feel free to leave answers in the comments.)

Winners, losers and, hell, anyone who visits this blog, get to watch another commerical:


WreckingBall
(Click to watch)

March 24, 2006

Sponsor My Bro


MS Walk
"I've read a lot of encouraging things about breakthroughs in MS research, so starting last year, I thought the least I could do was participate in the Walk and try to help the cause a little."
For more information and/or to pledge online and sponsor my brother, click the MS Walk logo.

Thanks!

-Krup

Uneasy Rider



rider
(Click for Video)

(Document: The Smoking Gun; Video: Salon)

March 23, 2006

Now I Understand Why Bush Was So Concerned About Human-Animal Hybrids


"Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research: human cloning in all its forms, creating or implanting embryos for experiments, creating human-animal hybrids, and buying, selling, or patenting human embryos."


Ewwwww
(Click the pic if you actually want to know what this is all about)

(found on WFMU's Beware of the Blog)

2 Live Jews


Join Jon & Russ as they discuss censure, scared Democrats, creepy Republicans and campaign finance reform:


Jon & Russ
(Click to watch)

In Stores Now!



Pic
(or click the book cover to order from Amazon)


Why am I shilling for Tom Tomorrow? 'cause I loves me some sh*t like this:

TMW

March 21, 2006

Krup Hearts Helen Thomas




Can you spot the lies in Bush's "answer" to Helen Thomas at today's press conference?
THE PRESIDENT: Helen. After that brilliant performance at the Grid Iron, I am -- (laughter.)

HELEN THOMAS: You're going to be sorry. (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: Well, then, let me take it back. (Laughter.)

HELEN THOMAS: I'd like to ask you, Mr. President, your decision to invade Iraq has caused the deaths of thousands of Americans and Iraqis, wounds of Americans and Iraqis for a lifetime. Every reason given, publicly at least, has turned out not to be true. My question is, why did you really want to go to war? From the moment you stepped into the White House, from your Cabinet -- your Cabinet officers, intelligence people, and so forth -- what was your real reason? You have said it wasn't oil -- quest for oil, it hasn't been Israel, or anything else. What was it?

THE PRESIDENT: I think your premise -- in all due respect to your question and to you as a lifelong journalist -- is that -- I didn't want war. To assume I wanted war is just flat wrong, Helen, in all due respect --

HELEN THOMAS: Everything --

THE PRESIDENT: Hold on for a second, please.

HELEN THOMAS: -- everything I've heard --

THE PRESIDENT: Excuse me, excuse me. No President wants war. Everything you may have heard is that, but it's just simply not true. My attitude about the defense of this country changed on September the 11th. We -- when we got attacked, I vowed then and there to use every asset at my disposal to protect the American people. Our foreign policy changed on that day, Helen. You know, we used to think we were secure because of oceans and previous diplomacy. But we realized on September the 11th, 2001, that killers could destroy innocent life. And I'm never going to forget it. And I'm never going to forget the vow I made to the American people that we will do everything in our power to protect our people.

Part of that meant to make sure that we didn't allow people to provide safe haven to an enemy. And that's why I went into Iraq -- hold on for a second --

HELEN THOMAS: They didn't do anything to you, or to our country.

THE PRESIDENT: Look -- excuse me for a second, please. Excuse me for a second. They did. The Taliban provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That's where al Qaeda trained --

HELEN THOMAS: I'm talking about Iraq --

THE PRESIDENT: Helen, excuse me. That's where -- Afghanistan provided safe haven for al Qaeda. That's where they trained. That's where they plotted. That's where they planned the attacks that killed thousands of innocent Americans.

I also saw a threat in Iraq. I was hoping to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security Council; that's why it was important to pass 1441, which was unanimously passed. And the world said, disarm, disclose, or face serious consequences --

HELEN THOMAS: -- go to war --

THE PRESIDENT: -- and therefore, we worked with the world, we worked to make sure that Saddam Hussein heard the message of the world. And when he chose to deny inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had the difficult decision to make to remove him. And we did, and the world is safer for it.
Give up? Take it away Josh Marshall:
Bush: "I also saw a threat in Iraq. I was hoping to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security Council; that's why it was important to pass 1441, which was unanimously passed...And when he chose to deny inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had the difficult decision to make to remove him."
Marshall: Of course, that's not what happened. We were there. We remember. It wasn't a century ago. We got the resolution passed. Saddam called our bluff and allowed the inspectors in. President Bush pressed ahead with the invasion.

His lies are so blatant that I must constantly check myself so as not to assume that he is simply delusional or has blocked out whole chains of events from the past.

Yo Chuck: "If Clinton's Affair Needed Censure, So Does Bush's Wiretapping"

"Back in 1999, Senator (Charles) Schumer (D-NY) co-sponsored a resolution to censure President Clinton for his conduct in the Lewinsky affair. Now, Senator Feingold of Wisconsin has introduced a resolution in the Senate to censure President Bush over his illegal wiretapping program. Unfortunately, Senator Schumer has not yet come out in support of this resolution -- a position that seems deeply hypocritical."
Let Senator Schumer know how you feel. Play nice.

Now If Only They Could Stop Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Jenna Elfman, Juliette Lewis, Mimi Rogers and Kirstie Alley From Making Any More Movies*


Chef

Rumor has it that Isaac Hayes did not quit South Park. "Somebody" quit for him:
...Fox News claimed that Isaac Hayes was in no condition to quit South Park, as he had suffered a debilitating stroke in January - although the official line was that Isaac was "exhausted." The stroke hasn't been confirmed by anyone official, people have started asking the question: If Isaac didn't quit South Park by himself, who did it for him?
I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that it was someone like Mike Rinder, the fifty-year-old director of the Church of Scientology International's legal and public-relations wing. Never heard of him? Read all about Mike and his wonderful "Church" over at Rolling Stone:

Celebrity Centre
Scientology's Hollywood Celebrity Centre
The most important, and highly anticipated, of the eight "OT ("Operating Thetan") levels" is OT III, also known as the Wall of Fire. It is here that Scientologists are told the secrets of the universe, and, some believe, the creation story behind the entire religion. It is knowledge so dangerous, they are told, any Scientologist learning this material before he is ready could die. When I ask Mike Rinder about this, he casts the warning in less-dire terms, explaining that, before he reached OT III -- he is now OT V -- he was told that looking at the material early was "spiritually not good for you." But (Scientology founder L. Ron) Hubbard, who told followers that he discovered these secrets while on a trip to North Africa in 1967, was more dramatic. "Somehow or other I brought it off, and obtained the material and was able to live through it," he wrote. "I am very sure that I was the first one that ever did live through any attempt to attain that material"...

These materials, which the Church of Scientology has long struggled to keep secret, were published online by a former member in 1995 and have been widely circulated in the mainstream media, ranging from The New York Times to last year's South Park episode. They assert that 75 million years ago, an evil galactic warlord named Xenu controlled seventy-six planets in this corner of the galaxy, each of which was severely overpopulated. To solve this problem, Xenu rounded up 13.5 trillion beings and then flew them to Earth, where they were dumped into volcanoes around the globe and vaporized with bombs. This scattered their radioactive souls, or thetans, until they were caught in electronic traps set up around the atmosphere and "implanted" with a number of false ideas -- including the concepts of God, Christ and organized religion. Scientologists later learn that many of these entities attached themselves to human beings, where they remain to this day, creating not just the root of all of our emotional and physical problems but the root of all problems of the modern world.

"Hubbard thought it was important to have a story about how things got going, similar to the way both Jews and Christians did in the early chapters of Genesis," says UCLA's Bartchy. "All religion lives from the sense either that something in life is terribly wrong or is profoundly missing. For the most part, Christianity has claimed that people have rebelled against God with the result that they are 'sinners' in need of restoration and that the world is a very unjust place in need of healing. What Hubbard seems to be saying is that human beings are really something else -- thetans trapped in bodies in the material world -- and that Scientology can both wake them up and save them from this bad situation"...

Rinder has fielded questions on Scientology's beliefs for years. When I ask him whether there is any validity to the Xenu story, he gets red-faced, almost going into a tirade. "It is not a story, it is an auditing level," he says, neither confirming nor denying that this theology exists. He says that OT material -- and specifically the material on OT III -- comprises "a small percent" of what Scientology is all about. But it is carefully guarded. Scientologists on the OT levels often carry their materials in locked briefcases and are told to store them in special secure locations in their homes. They are also strictly forbidden from discussing any facet of the materials, even with their families. "I'm not explaining it to you, and I could not explain it to you," says Rinder heatedly. "You don't have a hope of understanding it."
"You can't handle the truth!" Can you handle this:
In his 1983 autobiography, Over My Shoulder: Reflections on a Science Fiction Era, the sci-fi writer Lloyd Eshbach describes meeting Hubbard in the late 1940s. "I'd like to start a religion," Eshbach recalls Hubbard saying. "That's where the money is."
For more Scientology fun, check out this post over at WFMU's Beware of the Blog. And, don't forget to watch The Return of Chef, tomorrow night on the season premiere of South Park.


*Beck, however, is still allowed to make albums (there are always exceptions to every rule). However, he's on thin ice ever since the lackuster Guero (the remix version, Guerolito, works a lot better, IMHO).

Apocalypse Bush Redux


From digby:
Someone finally asked George W. Bush the one question I've been wanting someone to ask since 9/11:

"Do you believe terrorism and the war in Iraq are signs of Armageddon?"

He sputtered and blinked, the audience laughed and he said: "I've never really thought about it that way" and "this is the first of heard of that, by the way." And then he blathered on with his usual incoherent boilerplate, making no further reference to it openly or in religious codes speak, except to the extent he said we would militarily defend our ally Israel. I wonder how the Bush loving legions of the Christian Right feel about that?

The questioning was quite pointed and he didn't much like it, practically begging part of the way through for it to be over. ("How long do you people do questions around here?" and "Doesn't anybody work in this town?")

He claimed that he'd never said that Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11. Where did people get the idea that it was, do you suppose?
And from the rude one:
"In his entire scripted speech yesterday in Cleveland, President Bush mentioned 9/11 one time, in a comparison between mosque bombers and plane crashers. However, once he went off script and started taking questions, he contextualized his answers through 9/11 another ten times. It was a psychotic moment, like when you tell a four year-old not to say "Shit" after she hears Mommy yell it in traffic and then that's all the four year-old can say for the next three days. Eventually, the only way to get that child to stop is to ignore her."
Or censure her.

March 20, 2006

Sing-a-long with John Lilly


Reader "la" sent me this link to a free download from singer-songwriter John Lilly after she saw him perform in Austin at the SXSW festival. Enjoy y'all...


Pic
(Click John, enter the site and then scroll down to the "W" free download link)

"W"
Chorus
What does that “W” stand for?
Warmonger, weasel, or just plain wrong?
I’m worried, I’m weary, I’m wondering why,
And that’s why I wrote this song.

It sure doesn’t stand for wisdom,
‘Cause you ain’t got too much of that.
There’s miles and miles of Texas
Just blowing ‘round under your hat.

And it sure doesn’t stand for the working man,
I don’t think that you give a damn.
You give all the breaks to your high-flying friends
And our jobs to Taiwan and Japan.

To Chorus

It sure doesn’t stand for world peace,
I don’t think that’s part of your plan.
You’ve been having your fun just playing with guns
Since you missed out on Viet Nam.

And it sure doesn’t stand for the wilderness,
The wetlands, or the wide open space.
I’d like to just take a wet washcloth
And wipe that smirk off your face.

To Chorus

March 19, 2006

2,318 American Men & Women


...could not celebrate the 3rd Anniversary of the Iraq War. Nor could at least 33,679 Iraqis. Even the ones who have survived don't seem to have much to celebrate.

Heckuva job. Heckuva job.

For a fascinating look back at how "we" got into this mess, check this out.

March 18, 2006

"We knew that Isaac might quit over this and, sure enough, he did"


Trey Parker and Matt Stone talk to David Letterman about Isaac Hayes, Scientology and the history of South Park:


Bonus: View the "controversial" South Park episode that was too much for Isaac and which may or may not have been pulled by Comedy Central due to pressure from Tom Cruise:



(Click to watch)
"So, Scientology, you may have won THIS battle, but the million-year war for earth has just begun! Temporarily anozinizing our episode will NOT stop us from keeping Thetans forever trapped in your pitiful man-bodies. Curses and drat! You have obstructed us for now, but your feeble bid to save humanity will fail! Hail Xenu!!!"
- Trey Parker and Matt Stone, servants of the dark lord Xenu.

Uncanny




(President Bush receiving a ceremonial bowl of shamrocks from Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and Jerry Lewis receiving the Vermeil Medal of the City of Paris from Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe.)

Take away the bowl of shamrocks and the medal and the only real difference between these two pictures is that only one of the dignitaries thinks the guy on his right is a genius.

March 17, 2006

Operation Swarmer: Moment of Zen

"The U.S. military said on Friday a highly publicized joint U.S.-Iraqi offensive marked a change in the fight against guerillas, showing Iraq's army was becoming more effective and taking greater control."
Oh really?


Pic
(Click to watch)

(Thanks to reader J.T. for the video)

A Toast!


To Tolerance:
The City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, will not be marching today in the St. Patrick's Day Parade on Fifth Avenue despite efforts by her aides and supporters to reach a compromise with parade organizers.

Ms. Quinn, who is a lesbian, had sought to wear a symbol like a gay-pride pin, button or sash while marching alongside council members and gay supporters. But she said yesterday that those efforts had failed.

Ms. Quinn's decision came as John Dunleavy, the parade chairman, touched off a new controversy by comparing Irish gay activists to neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. In an interview yesterday in The Irish Times, Mr. Dunleavy was quoted as saying, "If an Israeli group wants to march in New York, do you allow neo-Nazis into their parade? If African-Americans are marching in Harlem, do they have to let the Ku Klux Klan into their parade?"

March 16, 2006

So Much To Blog, So Little Time


I'm having a crazy day today but I didn't want to leave you empty-handed, so check out:

- Jessica Simpson's snub of Bush and the Republican Party

- George Clooney's decision to donate his Oscar swag bag to benefit the United Way Hurricane Response and Relief Recovery Fund (this is what every single swag bag recipient should be doing -- to the charity of their choice, of course)

- The latest PEW findings about our beloved President ("The single word most frequently associated with George W. Bush today is "incompetent,"and close behind are two other increasingly mentioned descriptors: 'idiot' and 'liar.' All three are mentioned far more often today than a year ago.")

- Tom Harkin's statement supporting Russ Feingold's proposed censure of Bush:
We have a President who likes to break things. He has broken the federal budget, running up $3 trillion in new debt. He has broken the Geneva Conventions, giving the green light to torture. He has repeatedly broken promises – and broken faith – with the American people. And now, worst of all, he has broken the law.

In brazen violation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), he ordered the National Security Agency to conduct warrantless wiretaps of American citizens. And, despite getting caught red-handed, he refuses to stop.

Let's be clear: No American – and that must include the President – is above the law. And if we fail to hold Bush to account, then he will be confirmed in his conviction that he can pick and choose among the laws he wants to obey. This is profoundly dangerous to our democracy.

So it is time for Congress to stand up and say enough! That's why, this week, Senator Russ Feingold proposed a resolution to censure George W. Bush for breaking the FISA law. And that's why I fully support this resolution of censure.

Nothing is more important to me than the security of our country. Of course, we need to be listening to the terrorists' conversations. And sometimes there is not time to get a warrant. That's why the FISA law allows the President, when necessary, to wiretap first, and obtain a warrant afterward. But that's not acceptable to this above-the-law President. He rejects the idea that he should have to obtain a warrant before or after wiretapping.

We have an out-of-control President whose arrogant and, now, illegal behavior is running our country into the ditch. It's time to rein him in. And a fine place to start is by passing this resolution of censure. I hope that Senator Feingold's measure will be brought to the floor. And when it is, I will proudly vote yes.

- If you have the stomach for it, check out Salon's The Abu Ghraib files, "a shocking, night-by-night record of three months inside Abu Ghraib's notorious cellblock 1A."

- and, just as Operation Swarmer shifts into high gear for yet another round of "Mission Accomplished-Last Throes-Corner Turning," the fine people at fair.org have compiled a remarkable list of quotes from the Iraq War's "Pollyanna pundits." Here's a sampling:
“Iraq Is All but Won; Now What?”
(Los Angeles Times headline, 4/10/03)

“Now that the combat phase of the war in Iraq is officially over, what begins is a debate throughout the entire U.S. government over America’s unrivaled power and how best to use it.”
(CBS reporter Joie Chen, 5/4/03)

“Congress returns to Washington this week to a world very different from the one members left two weeks ago. The war in Iraq is essentially over and domestic issues are regaining attention.”
(NPR’s Bob Edwards, 4/28/03)

“The only people who think this wasn’t a victory are Upper Westside liberals, and a few people here in Washington.”
(Charles Krauthammer, Inside Washington, WUSA-TV, 4/19/03)

“We had controversial wars that divided the country. This war united the country and brought the military back.”
(Newsweek’s Howard Fineman–MSNBC, 5/7/03)

“We’re all neo-cons now.”
(MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, 4/9/03)

“The war was the hard part. The hard part was putting together a coalition, getting 300,000 troops over there and all their equipment and winning. And it gets easier. I mean, setting up a democracy is hard, but it is not as hard as winning a war.”
(Fox News Channel’s Fred Barnes, 4/10/03)

“What’s he going to talk about a year from now, the fact that the war went too well and it’s over? I mean, don’t these things sort of lose their–Isn’t there a fresh date on some of these debate points?”
(MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, speaking about Howard Dean–4/9/03)
Be seeing you...

March 15, 2006

"Paid for by People who Don't Know What They're Doing and are Scared Sh#*less to Make Strong Choices"


Hackett
(Click to watch)

The Daily Show instructs Paul Hackett on how to neuter himself for the Democratic party (courtesy of onegoodmove).

Update: I just received an e-mail from "Nancy Pelosi" encouraging me to sign up with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in order to "gain access" to the entire DCCC Grassroots Victory Plan for taking control of Congress. Clicking on the link, I was led to this excerpt from the plan:
Paul Hackett’s race in the Ohio Special Election proved that no Republican is safe and no seat is unwinnable. Our overall candidate strategy is to make sure that every seat is being protected, challenged and fought for with a quality candidate, regardless if the state is red or blue. The DCCC has an intense focus in three categories: 1) Re-electing Democratic incumbents who face tough re-election battles 2) Fielding top quality candidates in open seats where there is no incumbent and 3) Taking on Republican incumbents who are vulnerable and/or ethically challenged.
So, Paul Hackett is good enough to use in order to sell me on the idea of a Democratically controlled Congress but as far as Nancy's counterparts in the Senate are concerned, Paul just doesn't fit the bill.

This would be funny if it wasn't so fucking sad.

"A dictatorship would be a heck of a lot easier, there's no question about it."*


The wit and wisdom of George W. Bush, as performed by a red octopus, a vice presidential peanut and a bunch of cowering Democrats:


Dictator
(Click to watch)

For more hi-larious segments of Kure Kure Takora, aka Gimme Gimme Octopus, go to WFMU's Beware of the Blog...



...or buy the complete series!


*Source: George W. Bush, as quoted in Business Week Online

"Congress must censure President Bush for breaking the law to wiretap American citizens without a warrant."



(and for chopping off the head of Jason McElwain)


Sign the petition.

I'm Very Sleepy Today...




...so I'll let Molly Ivins and The Rude Pundit do my talkin' (I'm pretty sure you'll be able to figure out who's who):
Mah fellow progressives, now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of the party. I don’t know about you, but I have had it with the D.C. Democrats, had it with the DLC Democrats, had it with every calculating, equivocating, triangulating, straddling, hair-splitting son of a bitch up there, and that includes Hillary Rodham Clinton.

I will not be supporting Senator Clinton because: a) she has no clear stand on the war and b) Terri Schiavo and flag-burning are not issues where you reach out to the other side and try to split the difference. You want to talk about lowering abortion rates through cooperation on sex education and contraception, fine, but don’t jack with stuff that is pure rightwing firewater.

I can’t see a damn soul in D.C. except Russ Feingold who is even worth considering for President. The rest of them seem to me so poisonously in hock to this system of legalized bribery they can’t even see straight.

Look at their reaction to this Abramoff scandal. They’re talking about “a lobby reform package.” We don’t need a lobby reform package, you dimwits, we need full public financing of campaigns, and every single one of you who spends half your time whoring after special interest contributions knows it. The Abramoff scandal is a once in a lifetime gift—a perfect lesson on what’s wrong with the system being laid out for people to see. Run with it, don’t mess around with little patches, and fix the system.
****
God, no wonder Feingold said, "Democrats run and hide" from the administration and are "cowering" before the incredibly unpopular President. Feingold must be stunned, like a soldier leading his machine gun-toting men into battle who then run screaming away from the rock-throwing enemy. The censure issue should be on the front of every Democrat's website, with press releases and interviews sticking to a single talking point: President broke the law. Feingold knows it's a black and white issue, as he tried to explain to sexily dim Soledad O'Brien Monday on CNN in response to O'Brien's quoting of Bill Frist on the issue, "Many of his colleagues on the Republican side, senators, have said repeatedly since we've found out about this eavesdropping program in December, that it wasn't legal. In fact, some are saying, well, it's illegal, so let's make it legal. What does that tell you? That means they're admitting the president broke the law of the United States of America."

What the rest of the Democratic Party ain't gettin' is that the nation is fuckin' begging for the party to stand up and say, "Enough." Bush's poll numbers are in the tank despite non-stop coverage of every flea fart of a speech he gives, despite the political talk shows being filled to swelling with Republicans and Joe Lieberman saying how goddamned wonderful the President is, except for a minor thing here or there, like, you know, the war; with the bloviators of the air and of the Congress saying that it's unpatriotic to question the President; and without any serious news organization or investigative body exposing the rotten worm and maggot-filled underbelly of all the scandal that's eating away the nation. Turn that log over, and you'll retch from the disgusting sights and smells. Still, still, the public is done with this President. So you know what? Here's the big fuckin' conclusion, so listen the fuck up:

Democrats are makin' one huge miscalculation in staying away from Feingold's motion for censure. They are being played by the Republicans, who are scared shitless that they'll be forced to go on record, with a vote, that they support the illegal activities of the White House. So they are lashing out, calling Feingold a "traitor" and double dog daring Democrats to support him. Looking at how loudly the Republicans are screaming. As the Democratic Leadership Council's Marshall Wittman said, "The Republicans couldn't contain their glee over an attempt to censure the president for being overly zealous in defending the country against al-Qaeda." The DLC are a bunch of tools, idiots for whom triangulation is resistance. And they're wrong about the Republican huffing and puffing. It's a Rovean bluff. Call that fucker. Back Feingold and the public will follow you to 2006 and 2008 because you actually said enough is, indeed, enough.
(Click the links to read the entire posts)

March 14, 2006

It's On!


Presenting the "feud" between competent yet inelegant 3 ball juggler Chris Bliss vs. the technically stunning 5 ball juggler Jason Garfield who explains:
"chris bliss's juggling skill is...not good. The most impressive thing he did was juggle for a long time and not drop. The juggling was not difficult at all and it's not surprising that he did not drop, so it's not that anyone should be amazed that he didn't drop. But if you're looking for the most impressive thing that he did in a routine chock full of unimpressive elements, it would be that he didn't drop. He calls it the big finally (sic). I don't even understand why he juggles at all. His 3 ball skill is fair, good enough to make it three or four minutes without dropping. The world record for juggling 3 balls is over 11 hours, and the most difficult thing about that is staying awake and peeing."
Bliss:



Garfield:




Next Up: The Great Mime Battle of '06

A Real Democrat Speaks



"Don't blame me. Blame the spineless deuchebags."
"I’m amazed at Democrats, cowering with this president’s numbers so low. The administration just has to raise the specter of the war and the Democrats run and hide. … Too many Democrats are going to do the same thing they did in 2000 and 2004. In the face of this, they’ll say we’d better just focus on domestic issues. … [Democrats shouldn’t] cower to the argument, that whatever you do, if you question the administration, you’re helping the terrorists."
- Russ Feingold (D-Wis.)