Lynne Dick Six

I nearly forgot this one - Lynne and Dick Cheney welcomed their sixth grandchild, Samuel David Cheney, into the world last week. Samuel is the son of Mary Cheney and her partner, Heather Poe. I think that's great, and if Poe and Cheney provide a loving household, that's all that matters. Too bad an overwhelming majority of Republicans don't feel that way.

Here's hoping that Lynne and Dick, every time that look at little Samuel, realize what sell outs and hypocrites they are for supporting a president and a party that's so openly homophobic. Of course, when Dick is questioned about his absurd contradiction of having a gay daughter and shilling for an openly homophobic administration, he gets mighty defensive, decrying people like Wolf Blitzer for being "out of line" and saying that gay marriage should be "left up to the states to decide." I've written it many times: whenever a politician gives the "leave it up to the states" answer, it's merely a euphemism for "I don't want to answer that awfully awkward question."

Flashback: take a look at Cheney barking at Blitzer...

Being hypocritical is nothing new to Dick - who's the biggest war monger in this administration, but did everything he could to dodge the draft in the 1960s. Dick now has more grandchildren (6) than draft deferments (5). It took a while.

White House Photo

Does Al's interview suggest he'll run?

Al Gore appeared on Countdown a few nights ago to promote his new book, The Assault on Reason, in an uncharacteristically long interview by Keith Olbermann. He makes a number of good points, but notice his careful comments about Cindy Sheehan - the nature of his remarks about the polarizing anti-war figure have the fingerprints of a presidential candidate all over them. Perhaps I'm over analyzing, but his comments on Sheehan, especially when considering his historically vehement opposition to the War in Iraq, are evidence that he's being pretty careful. Gore's been through the presidential ringer before, and he knows full well that anything he says now can and will be held against him as a candidate.

Gore's non-denial denials about his presidential candidacy are becoming more and more comical. I don't mean that in a demeaning way, but the fact that he won't say, unequivocally, that he's not running is very telling. In the current edition of Newsweek, Howard Fineman reveals that Gore is 50/50 on running for president:

He is "50-50," according to one of his closest friends and financial backers. On the one hand, Gore inquires about Manhattan office space for his business and charity ("It has to be a 'green' building," said this source, who didn't want to be named discussing Gore's affairs). On the other hand, he keeps his face in front of big donors, as he did at a recent dinner in Miami. Gore is all the rage among corporate executives, who see wisdom—and profits—in going green, and who appreciate Gore's prescience. "Al has set this up so he can jump either way in the fall," said the close friend. "If there is an opening, I say he goes."

In a way, if he has every intention of running, he's being smart by staying out for now. While staying on the sidelines legally bars him from fund raising, it also gives him a distinct advantage - he's sort of exempt from press scrutiny and attacks from both the left and the right if he's not yet a candidate. If he were to enter the race in September, he would still have plenty of time to raise money; he still has a vast fund raising network in place from his 2000 campaign and a large cadre of Hollywood friends.

I've written it before and I'll write it again many, many times - run Al, run. My absolute dream ticket for 2008 would be Gore/Obama. I think the ticket would be unbeatable, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney be damned.

Urge Gore to run by e-mailing him at: AlGore@algore.com.

PA prez poll has Rudy holding edge

What's wrong with Pennsylvania? A recent poll pitting presidential front runners Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani has Rudy enjoying a four percentage-point lead of Hillary.

I'm anything but frightened by this, for a number of reasons:

1. It's much too early to be panicking about polls. The only real function polls serve right now is fund raising.

2. Pennsylvania has not gone to the GOP presidential candidate in the general election since 1988.

3. There are plenty of x-factors who may yet enter the race - Newt Gingrich, Fred Thompson, Al Gore and Michael Bloomberg.

Pennsylvanians have plenty of time to wake up. I'm betting they will.

Poll details: Conducted May 22-28. 1,318 Pennsylvania voters surveyed. Plus or minus 2.7 percentage points. Leaders for respective parties shown. Graphic via Keystone Politics.

Olbermann special comment on war funding

I know I'm bringing this one to you a bit late, but it's still apropos, and just as powerful as the day Keith Olbermann delivered it a little over a week ago.

This is one Olbermann's best, most powerful special comments in memory. I can't even add much to what he says, only that I emphatically agree. Sen. Harry Reid is an absolute disgrace - I no longer have any confidence whatsoever in his ability to lead the Democrats, and this Congress, to do anything resembling forcing our war-criminal president to withdraw our troops from Iraq.

And quite frankly, I don't have all that much more confidence in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The only solace I have in both Pelosi and Reid leading Congress is that at least they are stirring up debate about this war. But, in reality, that is about all they are doing. However, if Republicans still controlled Congress, there would have been no debate - it would have been another rubber-stamped war funding bill.

I do tire of World War II references in our political discourse, but in this case, Olbermann is right to bring up Neville Chamberlain; because that's exactly who the Democrats resemble right now.

Karl Rove, Dick Cheney and President Bush have all won again - there can be no doubt. I've never seen a party so scared to stand up for what the voters returned them to power for in the first place - to end this war. The Democrats resemble the scrawny geek on the playground who is scared of the class bully (the GOP); all the bully has to do is raise his fist and threaten violence, and the geek runs away.

It's worth noting that Republicans can and must share blame for the continuation of funding for this war - were it not for the large block of Republicans who voted against cutting off funding and putting in time lines for withdraw, the end of this war would be in sight. It's Republicans who prevented veto-proof passage of a bill with time lines for withdraw in both houses of Congress. Where I find major fault with Democrats is that they took one stab at sending Bush a funding bill with withdraw mandates, he vetoed it, and the Dems clapped their hands and sighed, "We tried."

Our troops are no closer to coming home today than they were the day after the elections last November, so the debate over funding is just political posturing that has made no difference in the lives of our soldiers and their families. Tell the troops in Iraq who are fighting, some of whom may die today and tomorrow, that Congress is "debating," and see what type of response you get.

The whole "fund the troops or they will be in jeopardy" is the biggest farce, the worst line of b.s. that I've heard in American politics in years, if not decades. Does anyone HONESTLY BELIEVE that Bush and the military would leave our troops in Iraq to die if they ran out of ammunition, fuel and food of funding were cut off?

The bottom line is that this was a game of political chicken, and the Democrats blinked. This should surprise no one. In the pit of my stomach, I knew the Dems didn't have the political will to do what was right. Republicans simply have a much more powerful, stronger PR and marketing effort in their campaign and efforts for perpetual war.

What's the worst that could have happened to the Democrats if they denied funding to the troops - if they had held their ground? The American public would have been outraged, (and I don't think so) and the Democrats would have lost power in 2008, BUT the troops would have had to be withdrawn from Iraq. Now, the troops remain in harm's way, and the Democrats may lose power anyway because they've been exposed as the spineless wimps they truly are.

McCain & BOR wax poetic on immigration and white Christian rule

Sorry about the poor audio quality of this footage, but stick with it - it seems to get a little better, and more importantly, Bill O'Reilly shows his true colors.

This is a pretty telling interview on both sides.

First, John McCain has to straddle the immigration issue very carefully (as do all presidential candidates, because Latinos and Hispanics are now America's largest minority; Read: there are lots of votes at stake here).

Believe it or not, I partially agree with McCain here - the thought of rounding up and deporting 12 million illegal immigrants is not only unrealistic and dumb, but it would be physically impossible to do anyway. And he's right that we have to secure our southern border. Hiring 20,000 new border agents would be a good start. Anyone who has followed this issue knows that the Bush administration has dragged its feet on this for years - Bush's answer was to use National Guard troops as a stop-gap measure for border patrol.

Where this footage gets really interesting is when O'Reilly, as he is so wont to do, starts fanning the flames of xenophobia and jingoism. If I understand him right, he is saying he fears that the white, Christian power structure in this country is being threatened, and he has a big problem with that. What's more, McCain seems to agree with him.

And Republicans have the audacity to whine that they are having a hard time courting the black and minority vote - this is Exhibit A why.

Video via PoliticsTV

A late Memorial Day video tribute

I know, this one's late, but it's still worth a look. It's a well-done video tribute to Connecticut's war dead. And this is just one state. I cannot even imagine what it's like for some of the other states. I don't have the numbers, but I know my home state of Pennsylvania has been hit particularly hard with war dead and wounded.

What our troops, and their friends and families are going through is just unspeakable. And it's far from over. Since a progress report is due in September, you can bet that this summer is going to be a bloody one. President Bush even said as much the other day, predicting a "tough August."

Since commanders want to be able to say that we are turning the corner when it's time to report to Congress in September, so you can bet July and August are going to be very tough on our military.

We need to continue to demand that this war come to an end.

Where does Fox find these people?

I got a kick out of this one - author Thomas Sowell predicting a U.S. military coup to fix what's wrong with our country. Scary, mindless, and stupid. I swear, Fox producers must dream up outrageous statements, then go find a guest who will say it on the air. That network is becoming more and more like the Jerry Springer Show every day.

I also got a laugh at Sean Insanity saying that a Giuliani/Gingrich GOP ticket in '08 would be a "good ticket." If that is the best that Republicans can do next year, I've got three words that President Bush is very familiar with: BRING IT ON.

Gallup Poll numbers on same-sex marriage

Believe it or not, I'm encouraged by these poll numbers, even though a majority of Americans are still opposed to legalizing same-sex marriage. Over the last 10 years, the trend is headed one way, and its toward legalizing gay marriage. I hope I live to see the day.

I attended my first gay wedding a few weekends ago, and it was so wonderful to see our friends Jimmy and Jason so in love and committed to each other. (Not surprisingly, it was one of the funnest weddings I've ever been to.) Pennsylvanians take great sport in making fun of New Jersey (and often for good reason), but Jersey's well ahead of Pa. on gay marriage, and the state also has nicer beaches than Pa. does.

Incidentally, the last question in the footage above is absurd: "Should homosexual relations between consenting adults be legal?" Anyone who thinks it should be illegal is living in the stone age. What people do in the privacy of their own homes, between consenting adults, is no one's business, period.

Back on track later today

I've been out of the loop for a few days with the holiday and a freelance job that took twice as long as I thought, but I've got lots to write about, so tomorrow I'm back in the saddle.

Stay tuned!

Happy Memorial Day, everyone

I thought I'd have more time to write this morning, but we have too much to do around the condo to get ready for our annual Memorial Day party, so I'll leave you with this photo I took yesterday in the city. It's a picture of one of my favorite murals. For those of you who have never visited Philadelphia, the city is well known for its extensive number of well-done murals - one of the largest of any city in the world.

This one seemed appropriate to post on Memorial Day. I pray for our troops, and I hope they are out of harm's way, today and every day. May they get home soon.

Net Neutrality: this is hyper-important!

There is no issue in the media today that affects our free press more than Net Neutrality. Please, PLEASE take a few minutes, watch the video above, and go to the Save the Internet Website and sign the petition.

Most importantly of all, please take a 1/2 hour to write your Congressional representatives to tell them to not even think about putting their hands on the Internet.

The site mentioned above does a much better job explaining the complexities and misinformation that's out there than I do, but the bottom line is that ISP media giants like Comcast, AT&T, etc. are all raising a stink because they are providing Internet content for "free" (in so many words).

DON'T fall for the misinformation - this is just corporate America trying to squeeze more dimes out of the middle class and working poor. What these companies want to do is to charge companies (and possibly even people with personal Websites) to have their sites load faster. What an utter crock of shit.

It doesn't take Alan Greenspan to figure out who that cost will get passed on to, as well. Psst - it's me, you, and the other 300 million Americans who are going to once again pay to line the pockets of these mega media companies...

UNLESS WE PUT A STOP TO IT.

Please, write Congress today, and sign the petition to preserve the Internet as we know it.

Ron Paul gives Rudy a reading list; Foreign Policy for Dummies should top it

While I'm in an anti-Rudy mood (when am I not?), I wanted to bring you this footage from CNN's Cafferty File.

As usual, Jack Cafferty takes aim at ignorant, arrogant or ill-informed Republicans; three hats that America's Mayor wears quite well.

In this footage, Cafferty gets viewer reaction to Congressman Ron Paul's assigning Rudy Giuliani a reading list. Paul's press conference really did make for good political theater, because it had the added value of being true.

Whoever wrote in and said that he was "sick and disgusted" and the hoots, hollers and wild applause after arrogantly trying to dismiss Paul's remarks about the root causes of 9-11.

I'm glad that Paul is not withering in the face of criticism from within his own party about the war. Paul represents a dying breed in American politics (much like Joe Lieberman) - minority voices that are not only afraid to speak out and to stand up to the leadership within their own party.

That takes political courage, and I applaud Paul for having something that most do not in contemporary American politics.

Is Rudy to blame for 9-11 air-quality death?

This is an amazing piece of footage. In the same breath, America's Mayor tells reporters that there is "no chemical agent that we have to be worried about, at this point," right after telling reporters that workers are experiencing "burning eyes" from all of the dust and smoke. I'm no scientist, but even I know if people were having nasty problems with their eyes, it sure as hell wasn't going to do their lungs any good.

I must have missed "health department expert" on Rudy's résumé.

This footage is notable because this past week, the medical examiner's office in New York City announced that it will add Felicia Dunn-Jones to the official list of victims from the September 11 attacks, nearly six years after the twin towers fell.

From Independent:

Almost six years after terrorists tore a hole in Lower Manhattan, the medical examiner's office has stirred controversy by determining that a woman who died months later from a rare lung disease after inhaling toxic dust from the collapsing Twin Towers will be added to the official list of victims.

Felicia Dunn-Jones, a civil rights lawyer, worked in a building a block from the World Trade Centre and inhaled pulverised particles of cement, glass, lead and asbestos as she fled the area of destruction on September 11 2001. Within a few weeks she developed a cough and died in February 2002.

A spokeswoman for the office, Ellen Borakove, said the case of Ms Dunn-Jones was the only 9/11-related fatality it had formally been asked to review, and the only one definitely linked to the collapse of the towers, but indicated others might be considered. "We certainly never turn anybody down," she said.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - the media had better not give Giuliani a pass on his 9-11 record and decisions as the primary race heats up, and especially if he wins the Republican nomination (which I highly doubt).

I predict that he WILL get a pass, though. It's just not patriotic to question America's Mayor about 9-11. He did it heroically, competently and without making any mistakes. Take this one to the bank - 9-11 is Rudy's "franchise," and the right-wing media will attack anyone with the audacity to question Rudy's 9-11 activities and decisions.

It's a kick to see the disgraced Bernie Kerik (and best buddy of Giuliani's) in the footage. Even though Kerik and Giuliani have long, historical ties, Rudy's been trying to distance himself from Kerik for months. I think Gary Condit has a more credible reputation than Kerik.

H/T to C&L

Poignant Mem Day msg from John Edwards

I heard this message from John Edwards tonight, and it resonated with me on this Memorial Day Weekend. I really am going to have the troops on my mind this weekend. We are having a party, and, without being pushy about it, I'm going to talk to my friends about what we can do to end the war, and what their thoughts are about it. Normally I eschew political discussions among friends and family, but the more this war drags on, the more we have a responsibility to speak out and speak up, not shut up.

On Monday, I pledge to write President Bush and my elected Congressional representatives to let them know what I think about the latest war funding bill.

I'm also going to look into the Yellow Ribbon Fund that Edwards mentioned in his video. I just did a little poking around on the Website, and it looks like something very worthwhile, and I'm going to schedule some volunteer time. Click on the image below to go to Yellow Ribbon Fund's Website.

W won the battle, but he's still losing the war

Senator Chris Dodd, to date, has been as sensible as any Democratic Presidential Candidate about the War in Iraq. He's right - Bush is unwilling to do anything about his policy and the War in Iraq.

I've been pretty angry with Democrats about how they have capitulated to President Bush on Iraq, but I'm much more outraged at Republicans, who, through their votes, have allowed this idiotic, misguided war to continue. As far as I'm concerned, Republicans who voted for this war to continue all have blood on their hands. (And that goes for any Democrats [Hi, Senator Lieberman] who voted in favor of funding with no time tables for withdraw.)

As Thom Hartmann so succinctly put it on his radio show the other day, our collective outrage really had ought to be directed at Republicans, who allowed funding to continue by not giving either house in Congress a veto-proof majority to end funding for this war. But I've still got plenty of venom left for Democrats, too.

I just don't get it.

On Wednesday, Carl Hulse in the New York Times cited "senior Democrats" in a new analysis piece:

Democrats said they did not relish the prospect of leaving Washington for a Memorial Day break — the second recess since the financing fight began — and leaving themselves vulnerable to White House attacks that they were again on vacation while the troops were wanting. That criticism seemed more politically threatening to them than the anger Democrats knew they would draw from the left by bowing to Mr. Bush.

Some lawmakers favored sending Mr. Bush another bill with a timetable for withdrawal and risking a second veto, the senior Democrats said. But they said they had questioned whether such a measure could pass the Senate a second time, raising the possibility that Congress would be left sitting on the bill and carrying the blame.

"It would have stayed at this end of Pennsylvania Avenue," Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, said of a second timeline measure. I guess the current "leaders" in the Democratic Party have never heard of an idea called "having courage for your convictions."

First of all, who gives a DAMN about Bush criticism? I still cannot believe, after all that has happened in the last 6+ years, that the Democratic leadership still runs and hides at the threat of White House attacks. It pains me to write this, but somewhere, Rasputin Rove is sitting and laughing at this latest turn of events. Never in modern history in this country has a president with scarcely over 18 months left in his presidency wielded so much power.

The time table abandonment is particularly galling since the chief reason Democrats were put in power last November was to fight Bush on Iraq and to end this war.

The time for the Democrats to sink their teeth into Bush's rear end is now. The Democratic rank and file voters want them to do it. Public opinion is on the side of the Democrats, too. I'd like to know just what else they need to get this job done.

I've read all sorts of conflicting reports about what will happen next year - a second surge, increasing troops levels, a massive reduction in forces, or more of the same. I'm not sure what's going to happen, but this you can bet on - the Republicans will find a way to spin developments in Iraq to blame it all on Democrats.

But, who needs a crystal ball to figure that out?

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee trailer

This looks like a fantastic film. I read the book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown, when I was a senior in high school, and I remember the book as tremendously powerful and moving. I'm hoping that HBO's adaptation of the book lives up to Brown's excellent narrative, and by the looks of the trailer, it does (but I know how misleading trailers can be). Generally, HBO films puts out very good movies, and this one will probably join the network's long list of excellent films.

I'm not at all shy in admitting that my country's treatment of Native Americans is another painful, sad chapter in the history of America's treatment of entire races. Along with slavery, the wholesale slaughter of Native Americans is among the most pathetic, disgusting and despicable chapters in our nation's history.

This promises to be a very thought-provoking film; it already has me thinking. From African Americans to Native Americans, and also the detainment of Asian Americans during World War II, Vietnamese "body counts" during the Vietnam War and now the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis in the Middle East, our country has a very long and unfortunate history of killing people who aren't aligned with our world view.

America certainly has done some tremendously courageous things, too, like fighting World War I, World War II and defending South Korea when it was attacked by the north, as well as intervening in Kosovo and Somalia to try to stop the slaughter of innocent people.

What I'm trying to say is that America, in my humble opinion, has a mixed legacy that's far from perfect, as evidenced by what's going on in the Middle East today (not to mention Guantanamo Bay, Cuba).

I love my country, but that doesn't mean I love everything about it.

Wounded Knee promises to bring up as many questions as it answers, and that's not a bad thing.

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee premieres this Sunday, May 27, on HBO.

There's hope after all for amnesic GOPers

This is one of the better parodies I've seen this year - I got a big kick out of it. It's the Ronald Reagan defense - "I can't/don't remember." (Although Reagan most famously said "recall.")

Bin Laden should have been in this commercial, too, because Bush and his cabal sure as hell don't remember (don't want to remember) that HE and his organization are responsible for 9-11, not Saddam Hussein.

It must have been a BLUE jay

I got a kick out of this clip. This bird is speaking for millions. How long will it be before Bush responds to the bird's attack by declaring war on alligators?

Random pix

I thought two things when I saw this picture in Time of Al Gore in his office: 1. Is this how neat he would keep the Oval Office? :-) and 2. That's a pretty sweet screen set-up. I was thrilled to get one 24" screen late last year, and he has what looks to be three screens that are at least 20" each. Now bad, Al. Now, use those three screens to judge your popularity in the opinion polls, and jump into the presidential race, will you?

Via

I always knew that Welsh Corgis (my favorite dog) were smart, but this smart? Just another reason that I can't wait to have one some day.

Via

Great commercial: Umm, flavored condoms!

This starts out a bit risque, but it's funny in the end. It reminds me of a cousin of mine whose friends were throwing her a bachelorette party, and they bought condoms to blow up as decorations. Too bad they bought lubricated ones! My uncle and I laughed and laughed at that one, as her friends were all going, "Puuuuuuuufffffft!" to get the nastiness off of their lips.

Must-see movie this summer: SiCKO

I've been waiting to find the trailer, and Michael Moore must have been keeping a lid on the trailer until after SiCKO premiered at Cannes.

Anyway, I finally found it, and it looks like a fantastic movie. The film was, by every account I've read, very well received at the Cannes Film Festival. I'm not out on much of a limb by predicting that SiCKO looks to be another Michael Moore success.

However, he's received a great deal of negative publicity from (surprise) Republicans, including this administration.

I find it ridiculous, moronic and absurd that this administration would waste a single man-hour on going after Moore for his trip to Cuba. But, that's what happens in the America of today - if you have a political opinion that differs with this administration, it's attack! attack! attack! I've already blogged about the Bush administration's witch hunt against Moore, so I won't continue that here.

Moore's Website reports that the government is not only pursuing him for his trip to Cuba, but also the 9-11 survivors that he took with him to Cuba:

The New York Post reported Sunday that the Bush administration, in addition to going after me for filming scenes in or near Cuba, may now go after the 9/11 rescue workers I took with me to get the medical care they were denied by our own government. I couldn't make up irony like this if I wanted to, and I will do whatever is necessary to defend the human right of these true American heroes to receive the medical attention they deserve.

(More on that Cuba trip in a minute.) It's not surprising at all to hear that the pharmaceutical industry (and the politicians they fund) are gearing up for a rebuttal against SiCKO.

According to Moore, he received copious amounts of whistle blower documents from many pharm employees:

We've also received word that the HMO and pharmaceutical industries are gearing up to fight SiCKO. We received so many great whistle blower letters while we were making the movie from employees of these companies. We'd like to hear from you again! Send us the internal memos and any other plans you run across at the company copying machine or Internet server. It will help to stay ahead of whatever they are up to, and it will also give us a chance for a bit of fun at the industry's expense.

I don't know what I'm looking forward to more - the movie, or Sean Hannity's and Rush Limbaugh's attack on Moore. Of course, they won't attack the film nearly as much as they will Moore himself.

In an interview with Time last week, Moore responded to critics who have treated his trip to Cuba like he dropped in on Osama bin Laden for tea:

Time: You also speak rhapsodically about the French and Cuban systems and travel to Cuba, where you interview Che Guevara's daughter. France, Cuba, Che. Are you going out of your way to annoy the right?

Moore: I give people more credit than the media and the political machine running this country do. The story line is: France, bad; France, cowards. What crime did France commit? We wouldn't have had this country without their support in the Revolution. They gave us that statue that sits out in New York Harbor. They responded immediately after 9/11. And they remain eternally grateful for what we did during World War II. As for Cuba, yes, when I've got a film crew there, they're going to show us their best. But there's a reason the World Health Organization ranks their health-care system [among] the best in the Third World and that people from Latin America come there for their health care. There's also a reason Cubans live on average a month longer than we do. I'm not trumpeting Castro or his regime. I just want to say to fellow Americans, "C'mon, we're the United States! If they can do this, we can do it."

I found Moore's words about France particularly poignant. The right has made great sport out of poking fun of and castigating France, all because they DARED disagree with us about our ill-fated foray into Iraq. Hmmm. Over four years after it started, who was more correct - France or Bush and Bill O'Reilly?

Michael Moore dares to make people think. (And sometimes, recoil. Look at that publicity photo! I may not sleep tonight.) I can't believe the audacity of Moore to possibly bring up the things that France has done for the U.S., including helping us during the Revolutionary War, the Statue of Liberty, etc.

Who has more credibility here - Bill O'Reilly and his phony France boycott, or Moore putting our country's relationship with France into historical context? Again, Moore is putting up facts against O'Lielly's rhetoric, such as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" and another World War II joke that's about 50 years old.

Moore reasons that his film cuts across the political divide, and I believe he's right:

This film does cut across party lines. Everybody gets sick; everybody has had a problem with insurance or the prescription drugs they're supposed to be taking or an elderly parent who needs care. On the surface, it does seem that the only people who are going to be upset are the executives of insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

He couldn't be more right - the insurance and pharmaceutical industries will whine like babies, but that's because Moore is exposing them for the money grubbing, racketeering operations they are.

I'm counting the days until this film comes out.

Here's a small clip form the movie:

Are there four more seats at this table?

There are rumors to varying degrees that the 2008 presidential candidate pool may swell by as much as four in the coming weeks and months: Newt Gingrich, Fred Thompson, Al Gore and Michael Bloomberg. One Democrat, two moderate Republicans and Gingrich, a has-been who I like to think of as a "never will be."

My first thought about more candidates is that this isn't a bad thing. There is so much at stake in the 2008 election, the more candidates we have to choose from, the better.

I don't know all that much about Thompson, other than his infamous red truck that he used during his campaigns for the Senate. (It was later revealed that he would drive his red truck from campaign stop to campaign stop, but after each stop, he would drive his truck just outside of town, and get into a much nicer vehicle. An aide would drive the red truck almost the entire way to the next campaign appearance. Thompson would then switch back into the red truck and drive into the next town. Real genuine guy, that Thompson. I guess that's why he fit right in as a U.S. Senator.)

I honestly hope that Gingrich gets into the race. After the damage he did to our political system in the 1990s, I'd love to see him get his tail end kicked in the primaries, or heaven forbid, if he received the nomination.

It's no secret I hope Gore gets into the race, but the longer time goes on, the longer the odds are that he gets into the race. I hate it that this is a reason, but money and fundraising has got to be a consideration (and an impediment to his getting into the race later on) for a Gore candidacy.

Quite frankly, I really hope that Bloomberg enters the race. I'm of two schools of thought on Bloomberg. I like it that he would be beholden to no one, because he would not have to worry about fundraising. He has more money than he knows what to do with, so he could just deposit a check for $500 million in a campaign account, and away he goes.

But, there could also be a perception, which would have some merit, that Bloomberg would be "buying" the presidency.

Bloomberg seems to be seriously flirting with the idea of running, but he's tough to read. He recently even complimented Gore and the idea of a Gore candidacy (above).

From a recent New York Times article:

"I hope Al Gore enters the race; I think it would be good for the country," the mayor said.

Mr. Bloomberg this week moved to establish his chops as an environmental mayor by proposing congestion pricing for those who drive into Manhattan. While many have speculated about the Mayor himself running for president, could he be open to directing some of his fortune, and political clout, to Al Gore?

Bloomberg has better environmental credentials than any Republican candidate, and maybe even some of the Democrats.

However, I want Bloomberg to run for two principle reasons: 1. I want a credible threat to the two main political parties, and 2. Bloomberg is a moderate - he's not afraid to make tough choices. Although he's a Republican, he's a moderate who doesn't subscribe to Republican dogma on many issues, including taxes and the environment.

I wouldn't mind seeing all four of these guys enter the race - the more the merrier.

Photo by Chip East/Reuters

And down the urinals they come!

I'm going to try to mix it up today, because I have so much to post, but I don't want it to be all serious. With the way things are going in our country today, if we don't stop to take some time to laugh, we could go batty by watching the news.

Anyway, this vid is priceless. It's The Running of the Urinals at The Preakness Stakes. These people are crazy - I can't imagine it tickles getting pelted in the head with a full can of beer. It looks like crazy fun though. I have to get to the Preakness at least once in my life. It's so close, so I have to put it on my list. My friend Dave has been going for years, and he tells me it's a weekend of craziness.

A very moving tribute to our soldiers

This is a very touching video that I hope hits everyone in the heart. It should, regardless if you know or are related to someone serving in the Middle East.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, over and over - the best way to Support the Troops is by pointing out injustices and wrongdoing on the part of our so-called "leaders" in Washington.

The sooner this war ends, the better, but by the looks of things, it won't be ending anytime soon.

Dodd won't support Iraqi War funding; will other Dems follow his lead?

Each and every Democrat running for president should listen to Sen. Chris Dodd and think about what his words mean - the majority opinion of the American people.

I'm sickened, disgusted and appalled that the Democratic Party is caving to President Bush on funding this mindless, ill-conceived and seemingly endless war (that's now lasted longer than World War II). Democrats ought to be ashamed of themselves. As usual, the Republican Party has successfully undermined democracy by demonizing anyone who dares disagree with their strategy of perpetual war. Their Support the Troops campaign slogan has taken the word cliché to new lows. If you Google Support the Troops, I wouldn't be surprised if you find a synonym that reads, "Shut your mouth - Bush knows what he's doing. Only traitors criticize a policy while troops are in the field."

My optimism (but not hope) has all but evaporated following the Democrats' victory in November - my party is quickly reverting to the pathetic party it was in the 1980s - spineless wimps who won't stand up to a president who's leading us down the path of consolidation of wealth, belligerent nationalism, runaway military spending, a disastrous foreign policy, crushing debt and a middle class that's shrinking quicker than Dick Cheney's approval ratings.

Well said, Mr. Dodd. I hope all of the 2008 Democratic presidential candidates listen to your thoughts. But I'm not holding my breath.

The Dow is up! All is well! Yea, right.

I'm soo tired of hearing from (mostly) politicians something that goes like this: "The economy is strong, the stock market is (choose one from: booming, surging or rising)."

For the millionth time - just because the stock market is booming, that doesn't mean that a great deal of America (and as of right now, dare I say the majority) thinks the economy is headed in the right direction.

From Gallup:

I won't pretend to be an economist, but to me, when the stock market is on the rise, that means that company profits are up. And two of the principle ways companies have increased their profits in the last decade are offshoring and downsizing - two things that devastate the average American worker.

Proof positive came last Friday on Bill Maher's HBO show, Real Time With Bill Maher. On of his guests was John Fund of the Wall St. Journal. During a discussion on the economy, when Maher brought up some not-so-great statistics about the economy, the first thing Fund said was, "but the stock market is up!" Thankfully, Maher pounced, and when Fund boasted about a four percent unemployment rate, Maher jumped on that, too.

A low unemployment rate is a good thing, but it's not completely indicative of the "health" of the workforce. When I lost my full-time, well-paying corporate job nearly five years ago, I could not find one that even remotely paid what I was earning. This forced me to wait tables and go back to graduate school. But, the minute I took a part-time job, I was no longer considered unemployed. And right now, there are millions of people in that same boat.

Another critical factor is the price of gas. At right is what the price of a gallon of gas was in San Francisco a week or so ago. (It's probably higher now.) And it's not going to get any better, probably ever. I've read in some places that a barrel of oil could top $150 by the end of the summer.

More on the oil crisis in a separate post later tonight or tomorrow.

My point here is that the economy isn't so rosy because stock prices are high. You know who that's good for? Corporations and the very rich, who are only paying 15 percent on dividends now, thanks to the Bush tax cuts. I find it nuts that a vast majority of the middle class pays well into the twenties, yet millionaires and billionaires pay 15 percent on stock dividends.

When I mention this to some Republicans I know, they accuse me of "class warfare." To me, it's only class warfare when liberals fight back. And we need to fight back more.

Revealed! The Godfather, Part IV, featuring Fredo Gonzales

I could not stop laughing when I saw this tonight on Crooks & Liars. It's very well done - I just wish it's a bit longer.

Just in case you don't get the joke, President Bush, who has a nickname for virtually everyone he's known for longer than five minutes, calls Attorney General Alberto Gonzales "Fredo," from the Godfather movies.

Philly casino buffer vote is in

The vote for the Philly Casino buffer zone is in, and it's a landslide - denizens of Philadelphia overwhelmingly voted in support of a 1,500' buffer zone from schools, churches and homes.

The final count:
13,319 "successful" votes were cast (meaning, they were identified as belonging to a registered voter in Philadelphia).

And of those, 12,592 voted for a 1,500-foot buffer between slots parlors and homes and neighborhoods. 727 opposed the buffer.

Most of the votes - 9,446 - were at the bright-red ballot boxes in the city.

The vote is not binding - the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court saw to that.

A bit of background on the casino issue, from Philly's Ballot Box Website:

In the final hours of the 2004 PA Legislative session, the Gaming Act was passed. Unlike most states that implement slots gambling, Pennsylvania did not give residents a chance to vote on whether they supported the expansion of gambling in our state.

The Gaming Act, also known as Act 71, included the possibility of two slots parlors in Philadelphia, but did not include any standards for how these mega-projects, which include 24/7 liquor licenses, free drinks, 5,000-car parking garages and 6 million visitors a year, could be developed. The PA Supreme Court upheld the right of Philadelphia to determine the siting and zoning controls of the proposed casinos in their 2005 decision.

Early this year, Casino-Free Philadelphia volunteers collected over 27,000 signatures, which encouraged the Philadelphia City Council to place the buffer-zone question on the May 15th ballot. The Council voted unanimously to place it on the ballot, including unanimously overriding Mayor John Street's veto. The City of Philadelphia began preparing for the election and printed up ballots that include Question # 1, giving Philadelphians the opportunity to set minimal standards for how slots gambling will be implemented in Philadelphia. This represents the only vote that any Pennsylvanian will get on the expansion of gambling in our state.

Then on Friday, April 13th, the PA Supreme Court placed a temporary injunction on Question #1 without any published rationale, causing confusion among voters and citizen groups.

Casino-Free Philadelphia created Philly's Ballot Box to organize a citizen-run election in the event that the Supreme Court permanently removes Question #1 from the City ballot.

Now, the question is, where does the city go from here? That won't likely be determined until the city gets a new mayor, which will either be Democrat Michael Nutter or Republican Al Taubenberger. At any rate, the casino issue will be a sticky one for the next mayor of Philadelphia.

For more information and for continuous updates on casinos in Philadelphia, go to Casino-Free Philadelphia.

SnagIt a must-have for bloggers & Webmasters

I have to give a quick plug to a great program I've been using a great deal lately - SnagIt.

It's a screen capture software that I've found to be invaluable. It's a must for any serious blogger, and the best part about the software is the price - just $39.95, and a little bit more if you want a CD and instruction booklet mailed to you. If you are in academia, you can shave a few bucks off of the price with a faculty or student I.D.

You simply click, hold down your mouse and drag it over the picture you want to capture on your screen, and presto - you've got a file of the image for yourself. You can save in multiple formats, including BMP, GIF, EPS, JPEG, PNG, PSD, TGA, TIF and more. I only use it for pictures, but there's loads of other applications, too.

If you do lots of work on the Web, if you're into blogging or IT, you must get this program.

For what it's worth, PC Magazine, a very reputable publication, has called SnagIt "drop-dead useful." SnagIt 8 (the current version) is the only utility to receive a perfect five-star rating in the magazine's Incredibly Useful Utilities category.

The best part of all - you can try it out for 30 days to see if you like it. Be warned, though - once you use it, you'll want the full version.

MSNBC Poll: should we send W packin'?

But then we get DICKED. Great. I wonder, can we impeach them both at once? Can't we just do a reboot? Start over? I know -- pie-in-the-sky stuff, but it never hurts to dream. It just seems like every time I open up the newspaper, it's a new outrage.

It does feel quite empowering that we can do something about it in the voting booth in about 18 months, but will the vote be hacked, or not? I'm not feeling confident about it, but that's a topic for another post (coming soon).

Anyway, over at MSNBC, there's a poll tonight on whether Bush should be impeached or not. I'm must bringing it to your attention for fun - the poll is not scientific at all. Go to the site and vote. The results so far, ad of 10:13 p.m. EDT:

A tribute to Wolfie

This is a pretty good tribute to soon-to-be-former World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz. I've said it before and I'll say it again - President Bush is no dummy when it comes to pushing his conservative agenda. He didn't appoint Paul Wolfowitz to the World Bank to return a political favor. He did it to push his agenda on the rest of the world -- toward the end of the video, it's mentioned how Wolfowitz implemented policies and altered reports concerning family planning and AIDS, as well as global warming.

Video via PoliticsTV

A hilarious, bipartisan cartoon

This is one of the better political parodies I've seen on TV in a long time. Vandra and I laughed and laughed when we saw this on Saturday Night Live over the weekend.

After it was over, I said to Vandra, "I've GOT to find this on the Web somewhere!" Major kudos to Crooks & Liars for getting it up so quickly. Thanks to that great Website, I'm happy to bring it to you.

And I love it because it takes on the candidates of both political parties. Giuliani is fantastic - so is Romney. Hillary looks downright disturbing, but is also funny in this. They even got in Al Gore!

Anyway, watch this, and pass it on - it's good stuff.

Why our gov't bans YouTube & sites like it from soldiers

Sorry I'm not jumping up and down and waving the American flag when I see footage like this. When I first saw this, I had two thoughts:

1. I wonder how many people died?

2. I've never been a soldier, and I'd like to believe (and I sure hope) there was a very real reason for our soldiers doing what they did. I'm sure there probably was, and who knows? Maybe a few Americans were killed by people suspected of being in the mosque. I've never been a soldier and I don't pretend to know all of the dynamics of what goes on in war, but I do know this -- nothing brings out the worst in humanity like war. History has proven it time and time again. In fact, we've seen several high-profile cases of that phenomenon in this war.

Specter predicts Gonzo will step down

But, I'm not so sure. We've only been hearing this song now for about three months. However, a Senate no confidence vote, even if along party lines, would be an embarrassment to Alberto Gonzales and the Bush administration. And that vote would NOT be along party lines - more than a handful of Republican Senators have publicly called for Gonzo's resignation in the last few weeks - Norm Coleman, Arlen Specter and Chuck Hagel among them.

In the end, though, how do you embarrass a shameless administration? I don't remember where I heard this over the weekend, because I've been reading and watching so much on politics lately, but it really resonated with me, but it went something like this:

Bush and his cabal are perfectly willing to look completely stupid to advance their agenda. They'll say a million "I don't remembers" with a side of "that's just not true" (when they know that IT is), and in the end, if Gonzo stays put as AG, then it's a "victory" for Bush.

Sometime around January 22, 2001, this administration stopped considering what the best thing for America is, and started worrying about what's best for their political donors, and the best course to stay in power.

If Congress wants Gonzo out, it will probably have to impeach him.

Video via C&L

Some late Sunday comics

A day late, but not a cartoon short. I found too many to choose from this week, so I'm bringing them all to you. Lots of things happened last week, and an active week always spawns lots of great political cartoons.

This is about the size of it. The war-mongering and testosterone was flowing so freely at last Tuesday's debate, I was waiting for all of the candidates to drop their pants to measure the size of their weapons. I can't figure out if it's a sick commentary on the state of the Republican Party, or our society as a whole. Probably lots of the former, and some of the latter.

I'd be lying if I didn't say it's a pleasure to watch everyone fight for a life jacket as everyone is jumping off of U.S.S.W.

In case you missed it, the last lapdog is Australian Prime Minister John Howard. And indications point to Gordon Brown, who will succeed Tony Blair, is not going to go along with Bush's War.

I don't happen to agree with most of what Kerry got criticized for "flip flopping" on in 2004, but whatever. (In hindsight, Kerry's alleged "flip flopping" looks pretty minor compared to what Bush has done to us, doesn't it?) Romney, Giuliani and McCain are in the lead for flip-flopping on the issues so far, in that order.

John McCain has made 4 out of 14 votes on Iraq in the Senate this year. I wonder what his explanation is for that?

Tragically true. I wonder if Louisiana will be a blue state or a red state in 2008? I'd love to know how many denizens of the bayou state would like to have their votes back after the state went for Bush in 2004.

Both are folding as we approach the 1/4 turn, but there's lots of time left. But, both are going to have lots of major questions to answer about their shifting positions.

NAFTA and free trade are both disasters, and both parties are to blame. But, building a wall is about 1/1000th of a solution to our immigration problem.

Spot on, as we found out late last week.

It's only a matter of time. Bush could have one less PR disaster by giving Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld their Presidential of Medal of Freedom medals in the same ceremony.

Ike was right

On January 17, 1961, three days before he left office, President Dwight Eisenhower warned:

"...we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex... Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

If there is a supreme being, and I believe there is, Ike is looking down on the current state of affairs in this country, shaking his head, and saying "I told you so."

The ineptitude of our Department of Defense seems to get more and more appalling by the year. The defense budget is over half of a trillion dollars per year, and yet, the department can't account for over a trillion dollars in allocated money. It's just unbelievable.

Amazingly enough, the DoD asks for more.

Seeing Donald Rumsfeld again is a buzz kill - his obfuscations and intentionally vague answers are about what I'd expect.

It's startling that we sell so much of our defense technology to other countries when it comes back to bite us in the rear end so much. Iraq and Osama bin Laden are two of the more glaring examples (and errors) of this often ill-advised policy.

The irony isn't lost on me that we funded and armed Hussein in the 1980s during Iraq's war with Iran (and turned a blind eye to his chemical weapons use and mass slaughter to tens of thousands). We also armed Osama bin Laden to the teeth in the 1980s in his fight against the Soviets in Afghanistan.

I'd like to say that some day our political leaders will learn, but they haven't shown any indication that they are about to change.

Flushed Away: One funny movie

We watched Flushed Away last night, and it was a very, very funny movie. Just thought I'd share the recommendation and the trailer with you. It's in the vein of the Shrek movies - very well done and cleverly written. (It's a great movie for the kids, too.)

O'Reilly & Novak - racing toward the bottom

Two quotes caught my eye yesterday as I was scanning my usual Websites. I've already posted a Quote of the Week, but these two whoppers are worth noting.

Bill O'Reilly and Robert Novak are soulless on a good day, but I always get a special sort of joy when they show their true colors.

Bill O'Reilly, when discussing his latest fetish, Rosie O'Donnell, had this to say:

Never in the history of American television has one performer alienated so many people.

I couldn't stop laughing when I read he said that. Bill O'Reilly said that. I feel very sad for him.

Robert Novak, of Valerie Plame-fame, classlessly had this to say about Al Gore:

He enjoys being rich... he enjoys being an Oscar-winner... and I think he enjoys being fat, too.

I'm encouraged that Novak isn't waiting until Gore announces his candidacy for president (if he does) before attacking him, year 2000 style. Rather impressive, actually.

If I can psychoanalyze for a nanosecond, I'd say the early Gore attacks are a pretty good indication of how desperate the Right is about the GOP's chances to retain the White House in 2008. Maybe Karl Rove can feed Novak more people whose careers need ruining. So far, no luck, but there's still plenty of time before the '08 election.

And since Novak chooses to go into the gutter, I will for a second as well. Since he likes poking fun at Gore's midsection, he may want to put down the Twinkies himself.

Choosing who's the worst between these two is like choosing between food poisoning and a flaming case of hemorrhoids.

Lou Hannity loses his cool over immigration

Lou Dobbs, a guy I used to respect a great deal, seems to be a little past his prime these days.

On a recent show, he was discussing the immigration problem with several guests, including Air America's Laura Flanders. When she has the temerity to bring up the use of the term "illegal aliens," Dobbs blows his stack.

I think Flanders makes a pretty important point here. Not all of the people at these protests are "illegal aliens," and it's patently unfair to paint them that way.

From the transcript:

DOBBS: Well, I appreciate it. Thank you, Joe. Laura Flanders, let's talk about Mitt Romney at ...

LAURA FLANDERS, AIR AMERICA: I wanted to come back for a minute to the L.A. story, the last two stories. I think if Dr. King were alive today, he would be talking about what happened on L.A. on May 1st. When you talk about abuse, 240 rounds of rubber bullets and tear gas.

We've gone from legal punishment of illegal aliens to physical punishment, and it's not helped by language like yours, Lou, talking about these [marchers] as being illegal aliens...

DOBBS: Laura, Laura, Laura, that's ridiculous.

FLANDERS: They're not aliens, they're people. And the vast majority of people at these marches are utterly legal. They're not aliens, Lou. They're people, and you're dehumanizing them with that language.

DOBBS: And you're absurd to suggest such a thing.

FLANDERS: I don't think so.

DOBBS: You're being absolutely absurd.

Dave Neiwart has written an excellent and thought-provoking piece on the Dobbs dust-up.

I immediately thought of Sean Hannity when watching this clip - Dobbs behaves just like him (or BOR) by shouting over Flanders. It seems that CNN is leaning further and further right, by the hour. Dobbs' faux Fox grandstanding, as well as the ridiculous and absurd Glenn Beck are merely the latest examples. As the saying goes, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Hat tip to C&L for the story

Bill Maher on Ron Paul & Jerry Falwell

On Friday night, Bill Maher had plenty to say about Rep. Ron Paul's remarks during Tuesday's GOP "debate."

Maher and his guests were right on the money - lots of interesting points from this discussion.

Paul discusses what other GOP candidates (or DemocratIC ones, for that matter) won't, and that's the root causes of 9-11. As Maher so adeptly points out, Paul is the only current Republican Presidential Candidate who doesn't readily accept the prepackaged pap the the Bush administration has been poisoning our political discourse with since 9-11.

To hear Republicans tell it, and Giuliani was the first to pounce (since he thinks he owns the 9-11 "franchise"), you'd think that Paul lit an American flag on fire while shouting "Hail Osama!"

The fact is, no one has really taken the time to evaluate in any meaningful way why 9-11 happened in the first place. (If any of our politicians have, they haven't discussed it publicly that I've heard.) It's simply easier to say, "They hate us for our freedoms and our way of life. We're good, they're evil."

Giuliani did it first, and now others are trying to spin what Paul said by implying that he meant we invited 9-11 (Giuliani did this right after Paul's remarks during the debate). That's NOT AT ALL what Paul said. What Paul meant by his remarks is that by sticking our noses arrogantly into so many other country's business, we have made ourselves a prime target. Paul was not being unpatriotic. Republicans are now trying to Al Gore Paul with another "I invented the Internet" moment.

What's most outrageous of all is the Republican movement to exclude Paul from future debates. How... American!

The fear and war mongering from this debate is about what I'd expect from a group of Republican Presidential Candidates, but Tuesday's debate took it to a whole new level. Mitt Romney's suggestion that we need to "double the size of Guantanamo [the detention center at our Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where we are holding enemy combatants and prisoners of war]" is the most asinine thing I've heard so far in this young 2008 campaign.

I'm already sick of the line "they'll follow us here," which is being used ad nauseam by this administration to scare the living shit out of people. Bush's cabal has been doing it since 9-11, and to often dramatic success. Actually, this is a toned-down version of what Cheney was saying over and over and over again while campaigning around the country prior to the '04 election - "We are the only party that can keep you safe," or a close variant of that.

If there's any hope for this country at all, then that type of absurd political lying is over. At the very least, I'd like to think that this country is sick and tired of Karl Rove's brand of politics. We'll know soon enough.

Maher also points out one other interesting aspect of Tuesday's debate - health care, education and environment questions were all not surprisingly absent from the debate - not ONE question from any of those categories. Yet, those are three of the most important topics that we must address in aggressive ways in the next administration.

Of course, the WSJ's John Fund points out, "that's [due to] the moderator," and Maher quickly shot back "like a presidential candidate can never answer a question that isn't asked." True enough.

And if you want to stick with Fund's moderator argument, the debate was hosted by Fersatz News, so of course the questions were going to play terrorism and homeland security to the hilt.

One other quick clip from Maher's show - his tribute to Jerry Falwell...

Line of the night (by Maher): Jerry Falwell found out that you could launder your hate through the cover of God's will.

A-men.

Iraqi girl kicked, beaten & stoned in broad daylight, while people take pics & watch

This is absolutely sickening - I don't even have words for it. It's brief footage of a 17-year-old girl being kicked and stoned to death in northern Iraq.

I'm so glad to see that U.S. troops are curbing the violence in Iraq. To be fair, this happened long before we arrived in Iraq and it will probably occur long after we leave (if we ever do), but this is the kind of stuff our soldiers should be preventing, at least in theory.

But, the truth is that they can't. No amount of U.S. troops will prevent the violence and civil war that is taking place in Iraq right now.

Seven more troops died today in Iraq as they search for the three troops that turned up missing last week. By the way, I wonder how President Bush feels about our torture policy now? It makes me think of the unthinkable - what Al Qaeda could be doing to our troops in captivity. I can think of no better reason to treat any and all political prisoners (or any prisoners we have, for that matter) in a humane way.

One thing's for sure - Al Qaeda and other terrorists in the Middle East are probably better at torture than we are - they've been doing it a lot longer.

I pray for our soldiers' safe return.

GOP war monger porn

This is sad and pathetic - I found it on PoliticsTV today - a great Website that frequently has a lot of liberal videos.

I give it about three days before someone sends me this via e-mail, with a boilerplate ending that will go something like, "God Bless our troops in the Middle East, for protecting our freedom and keeping us safe. Let's see how far this can get around the world - how many people can YOU pass this on to?"

I hate stuff like this - it embodies what's sick and wrong with our society.

At the risk of sounding wildly cliché, I'll say it anyway...

I guess I don't "support the troops" now, right? Or that I hate America.

It cannot be said enough - the best way to support our troops is to bring them home, and to stop the tragic and revolting loss of life on both sides (or all sides is probably more like it).

Tell the world our energy policy sucks

I found this on the Internet last night while poking around my favorite blogs, and I got a big kick out of this one. What a cool way to tell the world that our horrific energy policy sucks.

The only drawback to this one is that the price is a bit steep, but if you can find someone else who wants one (or if you own two cars), then this one is worth it.

I love the USA-shaped glare spot.

If you'd like one, click Here.

Non sequitur Sunday redux: the mini mall!

I haven't laughed for a long time at an ad like this one. It's a commercial for the Montgomery Mini Mall. It's not going to make me shop there, but it did give me a laugh for a while. Watch it, laugh, and watch again.

The snack mix mix

This is my friend Jaime and her brother doing a video. Jaime and her husband Brian are cool cats. And they do have one of the funniest wedding stories ever. Getting kicked out of a Vegas casino for singing Karaoke poorly (and for some members of the party being too drunk) always makes for a good story.