September 2006 Archives

The Good

The New Orleans Saints won at home last night, giving us happier images of the Superdome than those we had last year.

Bill Clinton finally realized that Bushites don't play fair and hit back at the FAUXNews/GOP/Big Oil-n-Pharma conglomerate. Let's hope he remembers he's supposed to keep fighting for Americans.

Troglodyte John Bolton will NOT be confirmed as our UN ambassador. Another slap in Bush's face and proof that our system can - at the very least - not endorse sociopaths in charge of our face at the United Nations (if not the White House).

Another GOP Congressional failure in our best interests is their inability to codify Bush's wiretapping hard-on into law.

The Bad

Despire all evidence to the contrary, Bush keeps trying to disprove that invading Iraq is good for terrorist recruitment. Imbecile.

The Army has extended the tour of up to 4,000 soldiers in Iraq. No thanks to Rumsfeld for continually underfunding our armed forces.

Anti-Muslim teachers in Maryland, and Black Republicans accusing Democrats of founding the KKK. Quick history lesson. Former Confederates like Nathan Bedford Forrest couldn't vote, and all racist Democrats joined the GOP back in the '60s when the Democratic Party stood with civil rights leaders like the ones who allow the Maryland Republican Party to even have moronic African-American members.

Bush has succeeded in blocking a report that links stronger hurricanes like Katrina to global warming. The GOP is still in denial folks.

The president of Zimbabwe is okay with the notion of torturing and beating union leaders. I imagine his invitation to the White House is in the mail.

The Weird

Keith Richards has apparently quit doing drugs.

FAUXNews is giving bad sex advice to college students. Seeing as their core audience is a pack of repressed sexual freaks who preach abstinence but get in kiddie porn, child abuse and animal sex, the hypocritical network tells Young Republicans to follow this advice: "If you're comfortable with your sexuality and it means having different partners, I honestly don't think it's a bad thing as long as everyone's practicing safe sex and it's consensual." Sounds like conservative doublespeak to me! Underage drinking, sex with strangers, and immoral behavior. Or maybe it's a Bush thing. I dunno.

It has been a long time since I modified the main site's look and feel. I have been playing around with building a new template and just couldn't get one I like. Actually, I'm planning on taking some classes soon and actually get good at this once and for me. Meanwhile, I grabbed a template from OpenSourceTemplates and am starting to convert pages on the main site as I go. Hopefully this looks and works well for you all.

Let me know if something isn't working right. I'll have link pages up soon so missing content that used to be there will be back soon. I hope.

As always, feedback is useful and helpful.

It is Banned Books Week here in the US, dedicated to making sure conservatives don't destroy knowledge and entertainment in the efforts of appeasing their hate-filled, dogmatic version of God. Google has a page devoted to keeping literature alive.

Daily Lit is a service that will send you sections of literature in your email, in just enough good-sized chunks that you can read quickly in a day. Then you can get a bit inspired and wait (im)patiently for the next day's selection.

As for myself, I've been reading my usual batch of sci/fi and political stuff, along with a tech manual whenever I can concentrate long enough to dig into it. Just for fun, I wanted to highlight a few of them. Who knows? You might even be interested in following my lead.

First off is the "Dies the Fire" series by S.M. Stirling. Imagine a world where technology just basically goes away. Humans are left in a pre-steam, pre-industry environment. Stirling takes us through the lives of various groups who revert to near-Middle Ages society in order to survive. The last book just came out recently and the first two are in paperback for you cheap-skates. Or just use the library.

Dies the Fire

The Protector's War

A Meeting at Corvallis

Going along with the beyond normal theme, I really, really enjoyed the next book. Titled World War Z, it follows the oral history of a zombie war. Yes, zombies. Basically, Max Brooks has made a name for himself in zombie literature. The book is smart, well thought-out, and actually keeps your reading as the author covers the improbable and unimaginable. It literally reads like a Studs Terkel collection.

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

And don't read this without the companion guide which started it all. I sent it to Tom as a gag gift and got a copy for myself as well.

The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead

That's all for now. Yes, I do read weird stuff but it keeps me sane when on the road.

"The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism."
- Colin Powell, stating the obvious and suddenly getting in touch with reality after years of Bush delusion. Welcome back to the real world, you shill.

I'm up late and on call for work. Which means I'm crankier than usual. Let's begin.

Keith Olbermann contributed to the political dialogue awhile back, blasting Rumsfeld and Co. on their assumptions that everyone but them are fascists (video link).

From BizarroWorld, John Ashcroft defends the PATRIOT Act and even touts Bush's credentials as a defender of civil liberties. Now THAT kids, is a lot of drinking the bad kool-aid. Bush, himself, meanwhile is still under the delusion that his policies have been good for the economy.

That tears it. These imbeciles now seem to actually believe their own lies. We're screwed!

Apparently you can report on enviromental law violations, UNLESS you work for the EPA. Thanks, Bush.

Speaking of failed policies, apparently we've resorted to building a series of trenches around Baghdad. Eventually we'll fill the moat with alligators and install drawbridges I imagine. The old tricks are always the best I guess.

Pat Buchanan longs for the day when the country was lily white. As with most Repugnican'ts I'm not sure if he wants to run the rest of us out or euthanize us. Either way, pretty crappy.

Speaking of, here's an old story I forgot to link about hate groups infiltrating the military. Oh joy! Armed skinheads!

Over here is a Klansman from Nebraska reinstated to his job. Apparently it IS legal to give a racist a gun, despite the obvious lack of logic involved in the process.

The GOP is planning to spend millions on attack ads in the coming weeks. Seeing as they don't have a leg to stand on with any issue, I suppose meanness is the only thing they have going for them. Fits in with their "no right, except to torture" campaign platform.

More on Bush politicizing 9/11 and tying it to his incompetent Iraq War strategy.

The Air Force secretary wants to test crowd control weapons on American protestors before deploying them overseas. And you think your government still respects you. Idiot.

To be fair, the GOP does sometimes remember to pretend to distance itself from its more racist elements. Not that I don't think most Republicans ARE racist, but they do try to keep up the fantasy they aren't.

To follow that, something anyone with a brain knows. Immigration does NOT endanger the use of English. Immigrants assimilate into the greater culture, as they always have.

More GOP scandal info on lies, bribes, and general corruption. In short, everything you expect out of the Republican Party.

Something else you should expect from the goon squad: fearmongering.

It's that time again. Bookmarks are full and I'm about to hit the road next week.

Good idea. A hospital in Illinois has started distributing a modest sarong-like garment for its patients. It is for Muslim women, but come on, no one likes their asses hanging out of those flimsy paper gowns.

Bad idea. Voting for Republicans. Tom Tancreado recently met with white supremacists. And Right Wing(nut) Dennis Hastert can't even sing the National Anthem.

Despite all evidence to the contrary, the White House still insists that Saddam's Iraq was in bed with al-Qaeda.

Also Bad. In order to make kids miss their parents serving overseas a little bit less, the military is providing cardboard cutouts of said parent. We like in a virtual age of high tech and real-time information and kids are supposed to be consoled by lugging around a six foot lump of cardboard? What the hell?

Oh yeah, Clay Aiken works for the government. Only Bush would find that American Idol contestants would be qualified to help run the Republic.

ABC and Scholastic are feeding Bush propaganda to America's children. Shameful.

Meanwhile, minorities are paying more for mortgages. No big surprise.

Americans are torn on Iraq, though the percentage that still buys Bush's BS is the same as those who believe the aforementioned false Iraq-al-Qaeda connection. Go figure. Many think that Bush is politicizing the concept of global terrorism for his party's gain. Which, unless you are a lemming-like Republican, seems pretty obvious.

Remember the Dubai ports thing, where a UAE conglomerate was going to take over control of our ports? Yeah, that's actually still probably going to happen. And, oh, the rule of Dubai is being sued for child slavery.

What about our other esteemed Middle Eastern allies, the Saudis? Well, currently they are considering banning women from having access to Mecca. So much for fulfilling the hajj requirement if you are female. Also, the religious police have now banned the sale of dogs and cats.

Real enlightened folks Bush runs with. Racists at home and sexists, slavers, and dog haters abroad.

Here's a snapshot the Bush administration doesn't want you to see:

What's going on you ask? That is Iraqi PM Nuri al-Maliki meeting with Iranian president Ahmadinejad to discuss improving the security situation in Iraq.

Wait a minute? Didn't we go into Iraq to stop Iran and Iraq (and North Korea on the odd Thursdays even month we remember them) from working together? The whole "Axis of Evil" thingy? Anyone else think of something when I say that phrase?

But, you know, hey! they're neighbors. And, of course, al-Maliki is a fellow Shi'ite, whom Iran hosted during the bad Saddam days. And - come on - Iran isn't sponsoring, supporting, and cheerleading ALL the violence. Some of it are those "dead-enders" Rumsfeld and Cheney keep talking about - OVER THREE YEARS LATER.

And what is Bush doing about all this? Well, on September 11th, he took time out of this solemn day to discuss no other urgent matter than: Matt Lauer's abs. And soon he will be taking time away from his role as World's Most Important Jackass Leader to speak with his counterpart from Kazakhstan. Will they be discussing human rights issues or possible rogue nuclear weapons/scientists? Oil pipelines? No. They will be discussing Borat, the alter-ego creation of British comedian Sash Baron Cohen. I mean, I like Ali G, but this ain't world news, people.

Oh, here's more good news. Since we aren't providing the special forces sent to capture bin Laden with the resources they need, they haven't gotten a decent tip on where he is in two years. As one official says, the trail is "stone cold."

In Afghanistan, the Taliban is resurgent, Europe is resisting sending more troops, and - oh! - opium production is the highest it has ever been. They are making more than the world can even consume. Now that, in Bush's words, is PROGRESS!

As most of you know, Steve Irwin aka The Crocodile Hunter passed away last week in a freak accident. People will debate the merit of his influence and the possible insanity in doing a job outside the norm when one has a family to take care of.

Personally, I think he did a great job bringing something to our awareness we'd rather ignore. I also like that he - in this American Idol-Paris Hilton-George Bush artificial, mindless world - got kids to think about their world in a fun way. And instead of Bush screaming that terrorists are out to kill them RIGHT NOW!, Irwin got past fear mongering and made kids appreciate nature for what it is.

I think we'll all miss him more than anything. I know the tendency is to call him a freak and move on but, seriously, we ALL watched him. Maybe not religiously, but you paused when channel surfing just as much as I did.

That said, it *is* funny in a low-brow humor way, and for that angle, I'll let Joe Cartoon say it best.

Remember when you ignored all the warnings because they came from the Clinton administration and let thousands of Americans die from your inaction? I sincerely hope that is what is going through your heads today.

And - other than running and hiding that day - you acquitted yourselves fine until you pissed away international goodwill in your quest to settle some score with Saddam Hussein.

And don't think we Americans don't blame you either. Today, we all get to mourn - but you Bushites are the ones who need to feel a load of regret and shame for letting this happen as well.

"I mean, they are all very hot. They have the, you know, part of the black blood in them and part of the Latino blood in them that together makes it."
- Schwarzenegger on Cubans, specifically one of California's assemblywomen

Arnold is a bit of a racist, but you already knew that.

Even the Senate now concludes that Saddam had nothing to do with al-Qaeda, other than trying to kill them more proactively than we were at the time.

Karl Rove apparently hauled some priests in to exorcise Hillary Clinton's spirit from the West Wing. No clue on whether his taint will take a priest, a rug doctor, and a Superfund team.

A recent poll shows that many Americans think the political system is "badly broken." Was that before or after you idiots elected a racist pawn for the rich - and richer Arabs?

Bush on his ek-a-lec-tic reading habits.

Mitt Romney is worried about stem cell research resulting in some race of superhumans. More importantly, he's worried his ilk will be left out. I think he needs to stop watching Gattaca and rejoin the real world.

The GOP has given up on reforming immigration. Personally? I think they want to dump it onto their racist constituents, the Minutemen.

The GOP is funding Liebermann. No surprise there.

Santorum is pimping his children in order to get re-elected. Isn't he aware that we all know that using your kids is the last desperate act of a failed politician?

Five years after 9/11 our first responders STILL have crappy communications equipment. And Exxon has the world's highest profits and Halliburton has a lock on government contracts. Still impressed with Bush?

Speaking of the Dolt-in-Chief, he finally confessed this week that the CIA has had secret foreign prisons. But we're moving the tortured prisoners out and into Gitmo where they can be tried by the same military tribunals the Supreme Court found unconstitional earlier this year. And if the gang containing Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Roberts can't pull that one out for Bush, it HAS to be pretty nefarious.

Sanitized for your protection:

"Everyone in Iraq knows Bush is a d**khead. He's the boss' kid. Everybody I know who has a successful business who has a kid - the kid is always a f**khead. Have you ever noticed that?"
- Jesse James, car mod enthusiast, after a trip to Iraq.