February 2007 Archives

I'm on call this week and dialed in to one of our Wisconsin properties. Seeing as we only have digital lines at home and I'm already here in the office, welcome to my blog from the cube.

So far, it doesn't seem like I'm going to get much sleep this week. Like you care.

In any case, I've been waiting for Microsoft, Dell, Veritas, and random selection to create miracles and have some links to throw your way.

Reuters has a story on the spread of Islam amongst African-Americans. Check out related stories on lack of Muslim recruits in the military as well as how Muslims are faring in the heartland.

Meanwhile, Bush is consorting with Lebanese anti-Semitic politician types who revel in the deaths of our soldiers.

In Britain, Prince Charles is more worried about banning Big Macs than in being concerned that his youngest boy is going off to war, much less the problem that he married Mr. Ed's daughter.

Walter Cronkite, in a recent interview, called the Iraq War a "mistake" though he has been a frequent Bush critic for quite awhile now.

Meanwhile, wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center have been given the gag and cannot speak with the media about the poor conditions there.

Meanwhile, two brigades being sent to Iraq will have to pass on desert training at the National Training Center due to the Bush rush job to get them into harm's way immediately. I mean, why would you want desert training to go to, you know, a desert? More proof this administration and it's sick party is more interested in covering their ass and their corporate sponsor's pockets than our soldiers.

I had picked up a magazine called Good at the airport on the way home last week. It was kind of a mixed bag of social activism with what I suspected was some hard case conservative hatemongering depending on the article. One was this article on religious leaders trying to preach politics from the pulpit AND still keep their tax exempt status. I don't see this as a good thing.

In the letters I also saw that their first issue had an interview with Chris Simcox, the leader of the racist vigilante group, the Minuteman Project. This, too, is not what you'd classify as an act of good. Unless you consider being forced to take demeaning and possibly human rights abuse type photos in order to get a bottle of water from a redneck a good thing.

The "geniuses" behind this must be the same evil punks behind the Clear Skies Act, Healthy Forests Act, No Child Left Behind and "compassionate conservatism." Things that sound good on paper as long as you don't read the details.

So, money wasted on one issue, but no plans to ever give this piece of bum wipe my time or money ever again.

Also clueless: the Bush administration.

Not that this is news, but here's the latest. Tony Snow, the FAUXNews-anchor-turned-Bush-mouthpiece, says, "I'm not sure anything went wrong in Iraq." So you planned for over 3,000 dead troops, hundreds of thousands Iraqi dead, and a civil war?

Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite, Repugnican't from - you guessed it - Florida, has scraped the bottom of the barrel in trying to justify Bush's insane escalation of the Iraq War.

She's using the racist stylings of Larry the Cable Guy to say we should "Get 'R Dun" in Iraq.

I kid you not.

Video at Think Progress.

Seriously, these folks just keep crawling out of the woodwork.

Conservatives are using a fake quote attributed to Lincoln that recommends we hang anyone who is against the troops (re: the Campbell Brown quote the other day).

Indeed, according to Congressman Virgil Goode of Virginia, we thinking Americans against the Iraq War are helping out the "Islamic jihadists who want the crescent and star to wave over the Capitol of the United States." That's right, the president can hold hands with Saudi princes, make backroom deals to keep oil prices high and screw over our troops, but call him out on it and YOU are aiding al-Qaeda.

Incidentally, in order to balance the budget to cover his giveaways to the rich and corporate, Bush is planning to cut funding for veteran's health. 'Atta boy George.

While he's at it, he is also actively planning to take away the rights of workers. So, his second veto will be anti-labor and against the will of the people as his first veto against science and stem cell research.

Speaking of anti-science, some moronic school in Maryland hired some fundamentalist cabal to teach their kids abstinence. Their method? Kids have to chew gum and then share it with each other. And not just one person to another either.

Conservatives are sick mofos.

Speaking of family values - or the lack of them - Supreme Court Villian Antonin Scalia's daughter just got busted for a DUI in Illinois. Bonus evil? She was so faced that she was also charged for child endangerment for having her three kids in the car with her. Precious.

Did You Know?
According to pre-war CentCom plans, we were only supposed to have 5,000 troops left in Iraq by December 2006. Meanwhile, in reality, Bush is trying to save his ass by throwing four times that many soldiers into a civil war no one planned on having erupt.

More on the cretins at the American Enterprise Institute who pull puppet boy Bush's strings.

Last up, I don't like mentioning that fat hypocrite junkie Limbaugh, but he crossed my personal threshhold this time. Basically, you can read it yourself, but he's part of the recent conservative meme to say that Barack Obama is so non-standard African-American that he's white.

Really? Does the KKK think that too? Probably not. You know, given the standard white conservative we've seen for the past few years, I'd be figuring people would want to opt out of that race and be something else. Definitely not try to join the Robertsons, Bushes, Cheneys, Limbaughs, Tancredos, DeLays, Santorums, et al of this world.

So, I noticed I got a 20% AAA discount at FTD. So instead of going to the very cool, but very spendy English Garden Florist down the street, I figured I'd get a really good bouquet but try to save a couple bucks.

BIG MISTAKE! Fellas, take it from me. NEVER take a shortcut when it comes to Valentine's Day.

Not only did the flowers not get delivered, but FTD has no clue when this might happen. I sent a complaint email which I bet might get the shipping discounted, if that. No apology, no remorse, just apathy.

And apparently I'm only one of about 300,000 people this is happening to today.

Joy. Misery does NOT love company.

For those of you keeping track, it is Valentine's Day. Or Single's Awareness Day if you're into that.

NPR has a whole slew of stories devoted to this day, covering food, history, music and just sentimental schtuff.

Here's another story devoted more to the anti-Valentine's Day marketing for folks who just don't want to be mushy about the whole thing.

Me? I've ordered the flowers and have the reservation at a nice restaurant. Nothing fancy but we're in the market for furniture so money's tight at the moment.

Incidentally, I'm back in Oklahoma next week to install the property I just set a server up at. Another chance to hit some of my old favorite Tulsa places and then freeze my butt off.

Actually, this was going to be an "of the week" kind of thing but you know how I get out of town and forget to post.

Our first candidate is NBC correspondent/hack Campbell Brown, who just this morning said:

"It's difficult to say that you're against the war and at the same time not say that you're against the troops."

This GOP sound bite is brought to you by Ms. Brown's evil core of conservatism. Oh, in case you were wondering, her alter ego is that of Mrs. Dan Senor of FAUXNews/Carlyle Group/Coalition Provisional Authority/Satan's Host fame.

I got so pissed at being labeled a traitor again, by a reporter this time, that I wrote a fairly calm letter to NBC, which I know will be promptly ignored. But at least I got it out of my system.

McCain is working with creationists now in his bid to do the Dark Lord's bidding. I expect we'll see him at a Klan rally soon.

Speaking of, the KKK's membership is increasing in recent years. Must be all those concerned compassionate conservatives.

The CIA apparently did everything it could to disprove the administration's lies about Iraq BEFORE we invaded. It is just that the neocon bastards outright ignored the intelligence.

Oh, yeah, are you as tired of this Anna Nicole Smith crap as I am? Here's an article concerning the stupidity of our media. And for us even commenting on it. Me included.

Leslie made my night on Friday. We had stayed in to relax as I'd just flown in from Oklahoma and she was flipping channels and found an old, cancelled favorite of mine.

Aside from Enterprise, it was the only reason I watched UPN. Yes, I admit it, I used to intake two hours of that network a week.

In any event, this quirky little show was on just long enough for me to get into it before it got cancelled. But now it lives on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Be a dear and at least turn your TV on to Special Unit 2 so I can watch it a few more times. And if you are all as quirky as I imagine you are, you might even stop to watch and enjoy it too.

Pronunciation: 'skAp-"gOt

Function: noun

Etymology: scape; intended as translation of Hebrew 'azAzEl (probably name of a demon), as if 'Ez 'OzEl goat that departs -- Leviticus 16:8 (Authorized Version)

1 : a goat upon whose head are symbolically placed the sins of the people after which he is sent into the wilderness in the biblical ceremony for Yom Kippur

2 a : one that bears the blame for others b : one that is the object of irrational hostility

3 : Grossman, Rex; performance in Super Bowl XLI, if you want to call it that

"We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous. Make our troops know we're for them and trying to get them out of there."

- Molly Ivins, from her last article on January 11th

Molly Ivins passed away yesterday. Here is her Houston Chronicle obit. A fierce critic of Bush and an all-around great-to-listen-to political commentator, she remained one of the few reasons I try to listen to the media anymore since they are mostly co-opted by extreme right wingers. NPR has put together a collection of some of her best on their airwaves.

Need more? Here's an archive of her articles at Working for Change. Also, some talks with her by Texas Monthly.

Let's just hope she's right about the following:

"I'm convinced that can you stand up and say what — whatever you think.

"What happens is that people are afraid to do it. And what happens when you do it, when you stand up and you say something that the majority doesn't agree with or that everybody's going to be shocked and outraged by, you stand up and say it, and you find out an incredible number of people agree with you."