Sunday, July 23, 2006

Working Toward the Paper Trail

Voting measure may appear on ballot

After the whackiness that happened in Florida in 2000 and the outright weirdness in Ohio in 2004, getting a verified paper trail for voting should be one the largest issues in our Democracy. But considering who benefited from said irregularities, you can guess why it isn't.
"Concerned voters in 15 Florida counties are closely watching Sarasota's paper ballot referendum this fall before considering similar initiatives.

Volunteers for SAFE - the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections - gathered 2,000 more signatures than the required 12,030 well before the July 7 deadline, and Elections Supervisor Kathy Dent has certified the signatures as valid.

The final ballot language and title were submitted to the county commission this week by lawyers for SAFE.

The proposal would require independent, voter-verified paper ballots and random audits of voting machines in selected precincts across the county immediately following an election, by 2008."

Why Electing Republicans is Silly

Daily Kos: What Did You Expect, America?

This is a pretty solid rant on the irony of electing people to public office who think government is an abomination.
"Would you hire a babysitter who hates children and thinks they should be eliminated? Or who declares for years in your hearing that children are irritants who should be starved to be small, unseen and mute?

Would you hire cops who think laws are stupid and useless and should be abolished?

Would you hire a conductor for your orchestra who believes music itself an abomination?"

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Karl Rove was a source in outing Plame

Novak: Rove was a source in outing Plame - Yahoo! News

I think everyone already knew this, but it is nice to have suspicions confirmed. For those counting, this is fourth or fifth direct lie Bush has been caught in.
"WASHINGTON - Now that Karl Rove won't be indicted, now that the president won't fire him, now that it really doesn't matter anymore, more details of the Valerie Plame leak investigation trickle out.

In his latest syndicated column released Wednesday, columnist Robert Novak revealed his side of the story in the Plame affair, saying Rove was a confirming source for Novak's story outing the CIA officer, underscoring Rove's role in a leak President Bush once promised to punish."

Baghdad's Darkest Days

Notebook: Baghdad's Darkest Days, Lee Cowan On Continued Violence Against Iraqi Civilians - CBS News

This is actually from nearly a month ago. And no, it's not gotten better since then.
"It's hard to imagine, but the last week in and around Baghdad has been relatively quiet, at least by the macabre standards that apply here. That said, since Monday night, suicide bombers, IEDs and car bombs have left more than 40 people dead - all of them civilians.

You can hear gunfire on the streets every night. Random shootouts don't even make headlines anymore � they're not big enough. But you hear of them anyway. A string of people selling gas on the streets, a harmless innovative way to make money these days, were shot and killed. The reason? No one really knows. Their gas cans weren't stolen; they were left full next to their victims. "

What Civil War Looks Like

What Civil War?

The horror continues. Please keep aware of it. I know how hard it is, but this is our mess, and we cannot ignore it.
"Kufa, Iraq - A suicide bomber killed 59 people in a crowded Iraqi market on Tuesday after luring Shi'a day labourers aboard his minivan with an offer of casual work.

The blast in Kufa, near Najaf, was one of the bloodiest attacks of the year and followed a gun and grenade attack on another market on Monday that killed a similar number.

Clashes broke out between police and angry crowds demanding better security after the Kufa bomb, which also wounded 132 people in the city south of Baghdad."

Six months of rising Mideast tensions

Reuters AlertNet - CHRONOLOGY-Six months of rising Mideast tensions

This is an excellent run-down of major events during the last 6 months. It does, however, leave out any mention of the Iranian nuclear program, so it does lack a bit of context.
"July 16 (Reuters) - Here is a chronology of the events this year leading to the violence between Israel and the Hizbollah guerrilla group in Lebanon.

Jan. 25 - Islamic militant group Hamas defeats Fatah movement of moderate President Mahmoud Abbas in first Palestinian parliamentary election in a decade.

Jan. 30 - Hamas rejects a call from the Middle East Quartet to renounce violence and recognise Israel.

Feb. 19 - Israel halts its monthly transfer of millions of dollars to the PA ahead of the formation of a Hamas-led cabinet."

Kicking the Bear

Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Bush Blocks WTO Entry for Russia

You know, one would think that we'd like to stay friends with Russia as the world stumbles toward another war. But then again, the Neocons want 100 years of war, so maybe this is the right move (from their insane perspective).

"ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) - In a chilly summit prelude, President Bush blocked Russia's entry into the World Trade Organization on Saturday and President Vladimir Putin mockingly said Moscow doesn't want the kind of violence-plagued democracy the United States has fostered in Iraq.

Alternately joking and poking at each other, the two also showed differences at a news conference on the explosion of violence in the Mideast."

Friday, July 21, 2006

Lebanon Crisis Threatens the Region

ZAMAN DAILY NEWSPAPER (2006071834880)

The Daily Show did a wonderful bit the other day on the historical and amazing acts that Israel has taken to protect its citizen. This latest action seems vindictive and designed to hamper thier neighbors for years to come.
"Israeli attacks on Lebanon have divided the Arab world as to its position with Hezbollah.

The crisis will seriously affect the balance of power in the Middle East, and it will enhance Iran's influence, Hezbollah's principal supporter, in the region.

US allies -- Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan -- hold Hezbollah responsible for the crisis, while Sunni populated Arab countries support Hezbollah. "

Ralph Reed Loses In Georgia Primary Election

Free Internet Press - Ralph Reed Loses In Georgia Primary Election

Thank god for small favors. Good job, Georgia. Now give Kansas a clue.
"Former Georgia Republican Party chairman Ralph Reed lost his bid for the party's nomination for lieutenant governor last night, the first electoral defeat this year that can be traced directly to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

Meanwhile, Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Georgia), facing her first election since a scuffle with a Capitol Police officer this spring, will face a runoff with her main challenger, Hank Johnson, a former county commissioner with roots in the heart of her core constituency.

Reed conceded defeat to Casey Cagle, a little-known state senator, less than three hours after the polls closed. With 94 percent of precincts reporting, Cagle led by 56 percent to 44 percent. "

Bush barred probe of eavesdrop plan

USATODAY.com - Bush barred probe of eavesdrop plan

More evidence that our CINC thinks he's a KING. BTW, it turns out that active Army guys don't like it when you call their boss a jackass (longer story, involving a whole bunch of beer and scotch).
"WASHINGTON - President Bush personally blocked a Justice Department ethics probe of the government's warrantless anti-terror eavesdropping program, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales disclosed to Congress on Tuesday.

Gonzales told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Bush refused to grant security clearances to the Justice Department's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), which had sought last spring to determine whether department lawyers who reviewed the classified program had acted properly. The office acts as the department's watchdog for ethical behavior.

Lacking access to the program, the office closed its investigation in April. It announced the end of its probe in May."

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Universe Today � Archive � At the Centre of the Milky Way

Universe Today - Archive - At the Centre of the Milky Way

I think I see the aorta.
"You're looking at the heart of your own galaxy with X-ray specs. This photograph was captured by NASA's Chandra X-Ray observatory, and shows the three massive star clusters that surround the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. These star clusters have so many large, bright stars that the whole area blazes in the X-ray spectrum. This photo shows 1 million seconds of accumulated observing time by Chandra of these mysterious region of our galaxy. "

720 Degree Dunk

YouTube - 720 Dunk - Better Quality

720 degrees?

That's hot.

Bush Vetos Science

Bush makes first veto on stem cells | csmonitor.com

It's going to take so long to recover from this "presidency". I just have to shake my head in wonder.

"WASHINGTON - The 'veto bubble' has finally burst. Five-and-a-half years into his presidency, George W. Bush has ended his record stretch of bill-signings as he rejected legislation Wednesday that would expand federal funding of human embryonic stem-cell research.

Attempts in Congress to override the veto, which would require a two-thirds vote, were expected to fail.

Analysts agree that President Bush's veto was risky but unavoidable. Since the issue of stem-cell research arose early in his presidency, when Mr. Bush approved federal funding of preexisting stem-cell lines, he has remained adamant that no federal monies be used on newer cell colonies. The president believes the killing of human embryos, from which stem cells are harvested, is murder, says press secretary Tony Snow. "
O.k. here's the deal...actually, Dark Syde over at DKos makes it as plain as possible [with pictures].
One more time for those in the back row: On the left is a blastocyst from which embryonic stem cell lines are made. It's ten times smaller than the dot at the end of this sentence and contains roughly 100 cells. On the right is a human baby, one of many who's life might someday be saved or greatly enhanced by treatments developed from ESC research. Any questions?
BTW, that baby contains trillions of cell, not 100. But the 100 of the same types can turn into the 1,000,000,000,000(s) of many different types. The question is "how" and THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT!!1!

This, first, horrid, veto, comes from man that once called himself, and you should just shake your head in wonder here...a science president. It just boggles the mind and saddens the heart to think we are led by someone so far removed from the reality the rest of us experience.

UPDATE: Can you follow the logic here? From the WH spokesnut.
"The president believes strongly that for the purpose of research it's inappropriate for the federal government to finance something that many people consider murder," White House spokesman Tony Snow said Tuesday, addressing the legislation before the Senate.
"However," Mr. Snow didn't continue, "We think it would be wrong to prosecute people who try to have babies with the benefit of science and end up murdering 1,000 of embryos in the process. So murder away, just don't try to cure incurable diseases."

The logic is just...not..logic.

UPDATE2: This Fark comment captures the outrage precisely.
2006-07-19 03:15:42 PM Silellak

A lot of things Bush has done in the past have pissed me off - but this crosses the line.

From the CNN article: "...The measure, which the House of Representatives passed 238-194 in May, allows couples who have had embryos frozen for fertility treatments to donate them to researchers rather than let them be destroyed."

CNN Story

Seriously, how can anyone support this man? How can anyone believe it's the correct decision to tell couples they can't donate THEIR OWN FROZEN EMBRYOS CELLS for the benefit of all of mankind? He'd rather they be destroyed, than help people? What kind of sick monster takes their own perverted morality so far that the only time he takes a stand against a bill, in his ENTIRE PRESIDENCY, is to block research that could potentially save the lives of thousands and, over time, millions? Not to mention the other millions that wouldn't have to watch, helpless, while their loved suffer through, say, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's? They aren't murdering babies for this research, they're using FROZEN FARKING EMBRYOS THAT WOULD BE DESTROYED ANYWAY.

I'm so pissed I can't even think straight. I really hope those of you that voted for him are happy, because this Presidential veto is a direct result of that vote. Kerry may've been a dickhead too, but I can't imagine him causing the country as much damage as this single act of Bush's could potentially do.
UDPATE: C&L has TDS coverage, which is awesomer than sliced bread.

The Big Lebowski - F_cking Short Version

YouTube - The Big Lebowski - F_cking Short Version



Really does a wonderful job capturing the essence of the film, IMHO.

Neocon History Checks

Crooks and Liars -- Krugman: March of Folly

via Crooks and Liars
"Since those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it - and since the cast of characters making pronouncements on the crisis in the Middle East is very much the same as it was three or four years ago - it seems like a good idea to travel down memory lane. Here�s what they said and when they said it:

"The greatest thing to come out of [invading Iraq] for the world economy ... would be $20 a barrel for oil." Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corporation (which owns Fox News), February 2003

"Peacekeeping requirements in Iraq might be much lower than historical experience in the Balkans suggests. There's been none of the record in Iraq of ethnic militias fighting one another that produced so much bloodshed and permanent scars in Bosnia." Paul Wolfowitz, deputy secretary of defense and now president of the World Bank, Feb. 27, 2003

"Earlier this week, I traveled to Baghdad to visit the capital of a free and democratic Iraq." President Bush, June 17, 2006

"People are doing the same as [in] Saddam's time and worse. ... These were the precise reasons that we fought Saddam and now we are seeing the same things." Ayad Allawi, Mr. Bush's choice as Iraq's first post-Saddam prime minister, November 2005

"My fellow citizens, not only can we win the war in Iraq, we are winning the war in Iraq." President Bush, Dec. 18, 2005"
This is important because these exact same folks are now using the Isreal/Lebanon shennanigans to call for a wider (and therefore more successful) war in the M.E.

Hell, Newt is calling for WWIII.

More here.
The champions of American global empire are using the latest upsurge of violence in the Middle East to give new life to their discredited plan to extend the war in Iraq to Syria and Iran. The neo-con Weekly Standard has taken the lead in its July 24th cover issue, proclaiming that the current violence is "Iran's Proxy War" against the West.

As Standard editor William Kristol puts it, "It's our war." America's, that is.

"What's under attack," Kristol argues "is liberal democratic civilization, whose leading representative right now happens to be the United States." The logical conclusion of this "war of civilizations" analysis is Kristol's advice to the Bush Administration: "our focus should be less on Hamas and Hezbollah, and more on their paymasters and real commanders -- Syria and Iran. And our focus should be not only on the regional war in the Middle East, but also on the global struggle against radical Islamism."
Hmm, so I guess Kristol is arguing that Israel shelling Lebanese suburbs is a "attack on liberal democratic civilization.", and yet...no calls for Israel to stop doing that. Strange.

UPDATE: Kristol's war mongering

Juan Cole on the overheard conversation that illustrates what an ignorant asshat our President is (short version, we celebrated when Syrian forces left Lebanon...now he blames Syria for not controlling the militia that filled their army's place...ARRGGH!!).

Billmon breaks it down further.

The Baby Name Wizard: NameVoyager

The Baby Name Wizard: NameVoyager

Looks like "Roy" peaked in the 1890's. S'okay, it'll be making a comeback around 2025.

-R

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Bush Bad Touches Germany's Merkel

Bush Gropes Germany's Merkel

This is a funny little thing. Essentially Bush was being a bit...familiar with the lady PM from Germany. She didn't like it. The outrage of this linked post is silly, however, as Texans do rub shoulders of peers occasionally (and Bush likes to act like one), and it's not that big a deal.
"UPDATE: George W. Bush's sexual harassment of the Chancellor Merkle has pushed the wingnuts over the edge. "
Actually, Taylor Marsh, it has pushed you over as well.

How to spot a viral marketing campaign - busting ThatGirlEmily

What is Will Thinking: How to spot a viral marketing campaign - busting ThatGirlEmily

Good work, Will
"Good morning, class. Today's class is going to deal with how to spot a viral marketing campaign.

Our subject today is the blog from ThatGirlEmily. At first glance, this appears to be the blog of a woman who found out her husband has been cheating on her with her best friend. This woman scorned is going to spend the next two weeks making her hubby's life miserable by humiliating him in various ways, the first of which is by posting a billboard on the side of a building close to where he works in NYC. "
Once you see the same sign in L.A. and note the girl started the blog...and then was quickly and horribly cheated on...and you realize that a book, or a movie, or a tv show is sure to follow...

FW: How to Spot a Rich Guy

  Posted by Picasa

Why Lieberman Will Lose

Why the Left Is Furious at Lieberman - Los Angeles Times

A.k.a. Why Lieberman will Lose
"Late last year, after President Bush's job approval ratings hit record lows, Lieberman decided to lash out at the administration's critics, writing in the ultraconservative Wall Street Journal editorial pages that 'we undermine presidential credibility at our nation's peril.' In this he echoed the most toxic of Republican talking points -- that criticizing the conduct of the war is actually damaging to national security.

Lieberman has a long history of providing cover for the worst of Republican actions while enthusiastically serving as his own party's scold. After the Senate acquitted President Clinton on all impeachment charges, Lieberman called for his censure. More recently, he rejected a call by Sen. Russell D. Feingold (D-Wis.) to censure Bush over the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program, calling the attempt 'divisive.'

Lieberman looks happiest when playing a 'Fox News Democrat,' as he did in a February appearance on Sean Hannity's radio program, during which the two exchanged compliments and expressions of friendship and Hannity offered to campaign for him. "
This race is one of the true tests of the liberal 'sphere, and whether or not they can make a huge impact on the national political scene. Given the usualy low turn-out for primaries, it is not unthinkable that Lieberman will be chopped liver before too long.

Straight-talking Dubya says diplomatic mouthful, unaware mikes are on | Defence | The Australian

Straight-talking Dubya says diplomatic mouthful, unaware mikes are on | Defence | The AustralianBush Unplugged
"IT looked like a spittoon wouldn't have been be out of place. Speaking out of the corner of his mouth like he was chewing baccy - apparently it was a bread roll - George W. Bush did diplomacy Texas-style yesterday.

In footage that zoomed around the world and set internet blog sites ablaze, the US President, at a lunch with leaders at the Group of Eight summit in St Petersburg, chatted with British Prime Minister Tony Blair - not realising the microphones were on.

'See, the irony is that what they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit, and it's over,' Mr Bush said with his mouth full as he continued to butter his bread. "
This article offers a nice glimpse into the on-stage banter at such events. I, for one, am not the lest bit surprised that Bush doesn't see the irony is that what he needs to do is get Israel to get Israel to stop doing this shit. They've killed over 200 civilians in the last week. It takes the Patestinians months, if not years to do that. Israel, look, we get it, you're a badass...now stop picking on the children.

Monday, March 06, 2006

Winda's Error

A long line of these exist in the past. The fun part is seeing them at airports when you are about to take off.

Monday, February 20, 2006

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Ain't Nothing Like Making $117,000,000/day

 


It's enough to make the most corpulent amoung us giddy with greedy smiles. Posted by Picasa

Awesome Movies and Stuff (Fight Club 2, BioBugs, Twin Towers of Ice, Superbowl Ads, Fear of Girls, Aliens)

The Fight Club : A Love Story

BioBugs

The Twin Towers (of ice) [Winter 05-06 version] [last year]

Superbowl Commercials

Fear of Girls

Aliens?! Not in my backyard!

Addicted to Oil (apologies to Robert Palmer

Enjoy this one.
Addicted To Oil
(with apologies to Robert Palmer)

Your lights are on, but you're not home
Your SUV is not your own
Your Hummer stalls, your auto shakes
Another gallon is what it takes
You can't start, you can't roll
There's no doubt, you're in deep
Your throat is tight, you can't breathe
Another gallon is all you need

Whoa, you like to think that you're immune to the stuff, oh yeah
It's closer to the truth to say you can't get enough
You know you're gonna have to face it, you're addicted to oil

Might as well face it, you're addicted to oil
Might as well face it, you're addicted to oil
Might as well face it, you're addicted to oil
Might as well face it, you're addicted to oil
Might as well face it, you're addicted to oil
[read associated rantish linky thing here]

Monday, February 06, 2006

The End of a Jacket

This is what my jacket looks like after spending all afternoon Saturday out in the freezing cold rain in Washington, D.C.

Hey, sometimes ya just gots to yell at your elected officials. Posted by Picasa