Latest This Modern World: Our dumb media

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Lots more to get to later today and this evening, but in the meantime, here's the latest This Modern World, which, tragically, is a pretty good snapshot of what our idiotic, moronic, corporate media is obsessed with today. I grow so tired of our elections being about trivial and stupid issues, and most of all, who can fornicate the flag to the highest satisfaction of the drooling, uninformed masses.

I say this not out of hatred for my country, but out of love for it. Just because I despise my government, doesn't mean I despise my country. What's saddest of all is that I just felt the need to type that last sentence. Probably because we are all so programmed to qualify any criticism of our government these days, lest we be viewed as "America-hating libruls." What a joke.

Body of War trailer

A few days ago I wrote about Body of War, a documentary about Tomas Young, an Iraqi War vet who is now paralyzed from the chest down after being struck by a bullet while serving in combat. Anyway, I found the trailer and wanted to bring it to you. I love it when lies and distortions are preserved for all eternity on video tape, and when said footage comes back to bite a politician in the arse. Looks like this movie contains plenty of that; the more the merrier.

The big question I have is where does the right wing come down on Young, Phil Donahue and this movie? Are these guys unpatriotic? Where is Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, Michael Savage, Michelle Malkin and Rush Limbaugh? I would love to hear them criticize this man the same way they bludgeoned Cindy Sheehan on an almost-daily basis during the summer and fall of 2004. What's more, Young still has a brother over in the Middle East. Tomas Young deserves nothing short of our complete and unconditional respect. Something tells me he's not going to get it from Faux News and all its puppets. And he shouldn't care one bit, either.

HBO's Recount premieres May 25

Speaking of the 2000 election, I'm really looking forward to watching Recount, an HBO movie about the 2000 election and the subsequent Florida recount. The cast looks excellent, and HBO's films in the past four or five years have rarely disappointed. In fact, I'm pleasantly surprised that a movie network owned by media giant CNN Time/Warner is churning out such thought-provoking, compelling productions. Kudos, HBO.

I'm happy that this film is coming out this year, because people need to be reminded and educated about the possibility that their vote might not get counted this fall. I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican - your vote should be counted on time, every time, no exceptions. Sadly, far too often in our country's history that has not always happened, and both sides have been guilty. Although in recent history, it's been mostly Republicans have been very successful at suppressing votes that would go against their candidates, and they have accomplished this using all sorts of tactics, including Caging.

Anyway, check out this movie - I will watch it the first night it's out, and I'll bring you a review shortly afterward. (I'll be done teaching by then, so I'll have much more time to write than I do right now.)

Scalia: "Get over" 2000 election decision

The insipid Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia appears Sunday night on 60 Minutes, and Leslie Stahl asks him about Bush v. Gore, the Supreme Court decision that effectively stopped the Florida recount in 2000. His response: "Get over it," and he also gives a similar answer to a small group, and afterward, says, "So there."

What a clown. Scalia represents another of the disastrous legacies of President Reagan that we all should be so grateful for. It's too bad that Supreme Court justices are appointed for life, because if they weren't, he probably would've been bounced from the bench a long time ago.

I'm amused by Scalia's disingenuous retort that "Gore brought it [the 2000 election] into the courts. What were we supposed to do?" I obviously haven't seen the whole interview yet, but I hope that Stahl pressed him on this point - the reason that Al Gore did just that is because he was getting royally screwed in Florida by faulty voting machines, and many, many voting irregularities.

It almost is too obvious to mention that if the Supreme Court case in 2000 involved Bush's supporters being disenfranchised, as Gore's supporters actually were, you can bet that recount would have happened.

Another side note about judges - it will never cease to amaze me how Dubya puts down lawyers and judges - especially judges. Any judge who renders a decision he doesn't like is an "activist judge," but when a judge rules in a way Bush approves of, his mouth is taped shut. I wish someone would have pointed out to Our National Embarrassment a long time ago that it was judges and lawyers who put him into office in the first place, so before he goes putting them down, he should consider that. (A great time to do this would have been in '04, when Bush mocked John Kerry's running mate, John Edwards, as a "trial lawyer" in just about every debate, especially during questions about tort and medical malpractice reform. Another missed opportunity by Kerry. Sadly, there were more than a few of those.)

Despite the smug Scalia's dismissive comments, we aren't getting over it, and the biggest reason, at least for me, is because I can't help but wonder what kind of a country we would be living in had Gore become president in 2000. Some things very well may have happened, including 9/11, but the War in Iraq almost certainly would not have, along with a laundry list of other unfortunate events these last 7+ years.

Anyway, I bring up issues like this, because if McSame is elected, we are going to have a Supreme Court with plenty of more judges like Scalia.

And that's one scary thought.

Latest must-see: Donahue's Body of War

Phil Donahue was on Real Time With Bill Maher last night to talk about his new film, Body of War, which he executive produced. In short, it's an absolute must-see; this one just vaulted to the top of my movie list. By all accounts I've heard and read, it's an extremely moving movie - last night, even Maher said, without humor, that he teared up watching the movie. A brief description of the film:

Body of War is a 2007 documentary following Tomas Young, an Iraq War veteran paralyzed from a bullet to the spine, on a physical and emotional journey as he adapts to his new body and begins to question the decision to go to war in Iraq. From soldier to anti-war activist, the film takes an unflinching view of the physical and emotional aftermath of war through the eyes of an American soldier.

A pretty poignant description of the movie comes from Donahue himself, who last night was speaking about the fallacy of the GOP Supporting the Troops and about the war in general:

...[Young] is paralyzed from the chest down, and he wants his fellow soldiers to come home; he is a full-time anti-war voice, you can't take your eyes off him when he speaks, he's out there with his mom, and he thinks that one more death in this war is morally indefensible.

[Snip]

[On Democrats and the GOP regarding the Iraq War] Thomas Frank, who wrote the book What's the Matter With Kansas, offers us an explanation as to why the core of the Democratic Party has rushed to the Republicans - because the Republicans have convinced [Democrats] that they are the party of values. They've got God, and no one else does. The party of values has been a trojan horse that has concealed an economic agenda that has allowed wealthy people to become more wealthy, reduce taxes during war time, which doesn't oblige us to pay it, but will give the bill to our children.

Those last few sentences just about had me jumping out of my chair in agreement.

By the way, Donahue knows just a little bit about getting screwed in a time of war, too. Mind you, not nearly on par with the subject of his movie, Tomas Young, but Donahue knows the cost of war in a different way. His former political program, Donahue, was canceled in 2003, despite being MSNBC's highest rated show. The reason? The New York Times revealed an internal NBC memo that stated Donahue should be fired because he would be a "difficult public face for NBC in a time of war."

Example 8,955,411 of how our so-called media has morphed into a talking piece for this administration; it's also turned into a virtual cheerleading squad for John McSame. Yes, I know, there are exceptions, but far too few dissenting voices are being heard today, about the war, the economy, and the disgraces and outrages that have become so commonplace in the federal government under Bush that they've almost become cliché. Abuses of power by a rogue administration should never become cliché, they should become impeachable offenses for all the world to see.

Democratically controlled Congress, you incomplete me.

Anyway, see Body of War - support Tomas Young, one of many Ron Kovics from our latest military disaster, and also support Donahue, who certainly deserves it after being railroaded by a network for having the temerity to stand up to a government that had lost its mind in 2002-2003. Sadly, things are worse than ever. I really do wish MSNBC would give him another shot - a time slot right after Olbermann would be just about right.

Our new five dollar bill

I got this in a forward today, and, tragically, I laughed. Secret Service, please don't knock on my door - I didn't start it, I didn't create it, I'm just just hoping for an end to it. You know, the mindlessly tragic War in Iraq, high gas prices. Four-dollar per gallon of gas is in our immediate future, make no mistake about it, and it's probably going to be here to stay. Great - soon, a fin won't even get me a gallon of gas and a bagel. Thank GOD we invaded Iraq.

I've written it before, and I'll write it again, and Again, and AGAIN leading up to the 2008 election - in the words of Ron Kovic, one helluva brave American, and a true patriot who has made sacrifices for this country that I cannot even begin to comprehend:

I cannot even find the words to describe how the government of the United States sickens me.

Oh, and I could substitute the word media for government, and that quotation would be no less sage.

Yet another reason why I don't buy the Inky

Like an old hemorrhoid, every once in a while former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum flares back up to irritate most. (At right, a defeated Santorum concedes on election night in '06 after losing to Sen. Bob Casey. And NO, it never gets old running this picture.) What's worse, Santorum is now a columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, thanks to the brilliant Brian Tierney, the former GOP activist hack who now runs the paper. Tierney couldn't get Republicans elected, so now he lets GOP losers spew their garbage on the once proud editorial pages of the Inky. Tierney couldn't even come up with a winning strategy to beat former Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street in an election, one of the worst mayors this city has ever seen. So, that's the intellectual capacity we're dealing with here, but I digress.

Anyway, after first publicly stating that he couldn't possibly support John McCain - SURPRISE! - now Santorum has decided to support McCain, quite simply because he has no other choice. From yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer:

I've disagreed with [McCain] on immigration, global warming and federal protection of marriage. I've taken strong exception to his view that the federal government should fund embryonic stem-cell research. But disagreement on such issues is one of the reasons we have presidential primaries - so each party's voters can sort out the issues and personalities and choose the candidate who best reflects their collective view. Republicans have done that. Now the question for conservatives is whether McCain fits the Reagan Axiom that someone you agree with on 80 percent of the issues is your friend, not your enemy.

Of all the issues confronting the United States today, none is more important than our nation's security. Although these issues don't dominate our news as they once did, we cannot forget that without a safe and secure country, all other issues don't matter.

McCain is clearly the candidate with the capacity, judgment, experience and will to confront America's enemies. He's served our country honorably - heroically - in war. I served eight years with him on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and I can assure you he knows our military. Importantly, he also knows our enemies. He understands their capabilities and their aims. He will not sugarcoat the human or financial commitment and cost needed to defeat this enemy.

[Snip]

Those conservatives who still question whether they can support McCain should remember this: The next president will make more than 2,700 political appointments, those who really set policy, across the bureaucracy of our government. I, for one, will sleep better at 3 a.m. if Republicans are in the cabinet and in White House positions that make so many critical decisions. The idea of "Attorney General John Edwards" and "Energy Secretary Al Gore" should cause some sleepless nights for Republicans or conservatives - and those in a U.S. manufacturing sector now struggling to stay afloat.

Here's my final argument for John McCain. He's not Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.

Both Democrats have made their case in chief on why they should be president, and we have every reason to be concerned.

Both want to cut and run from Iraq, give the radical jihadists a victory from the jaws of defeat, and leave the Iraqi people vulnerable to chaos. Both would put in place dangerous economic policies that would make Uncle Sam look like an Orwellian Big Brother. Both would nominate liberal activist judges who would pass undemocratic laws from the bench. Both support one-size-fits-all health-care policies that have been a disaster for patients and medical industries in Canada. Good-bye, American capitalism; hello, European-style socialism.

Pretty impressive, actually - Santorum hit on all of the GOP clichés in a very short amount of time - uni health care being socialism, his concerns about stem cell research and (of course) gay marriage, but most of all, a pinch of fear mongering when it comes to terrorism and keeping us safe. Oh, and some brown nosing about McCain's military record never hurts, either. And, what prominent Republican can write any political column without mentioning Iraq, and how Democrats want to "cut and run"? Psst - hey Rick - that phrase is about as passé as your reputation as a "rising star" in the Republican Party.

However, my favorite line of Santorum's whole piece was this one:

The idea of "Attorney General John Edwards" and "Energy Secretary Al Gore" should cause some sleepless nights for Republicans or conservatives - and those in a U.S. manufacturing sector now struggling to stay afloat.

Two things: First, as if "Attorney General John Edwards" would be any worse than John Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzales or Michael Mukasey? Puleeze. What is understood, needn't be discussed. And the same goes for "Energy Secretary Al Gore"; as if he would be any worse than Spencer Abraham, Samuel Bodman, or worse yet, Dick Cheney, who, along with energy company and Big Oil execs, have all been writing this administration's energy "policy" for the last 7+ years. Clearly, Santorum must think that Inquirer readers are stupid. Perhaps that's why he's "former" Senator Santorum.

And secondly, I sense a little boot licking going on here as well. It certainly isn't hard to imagine Santorum getting a plum position in McCain's cabinet, especially the more slick Rick shills for McSame on the editorial page of Pennsylvania's most well-known newspaper. What's more, McBush must carry Pa. if he hopes to move to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, so any bones Santorum throws McCain's way won't go unnoticed, or unappreciated.

Am I suggesting that Santorum's change of "heart" (assuming he has one) is politically motivated?

Absolutely.

Hill-adelphia helps Clinton carry PA

Hillary has done it - she has pulled off another victory here in Pennsylvania, but will it be enough? I don't think it will. Lost in all the hoopla of her victory, which by the latest count has her winning the state by 10 percent, is that it won't be significant enough to propel her to the nomination; she won 67 delegates tonight, but Obama won 51.

Of course, all day today, the press engaged in wild speculation about what Hillary should do if her victory wasn't big enough, if she won by x%, etc. I think all of that speculation was for naught, because Hillary isn't going anywhere, for now. There will be calls on both sides for the other to step aside, but that's easy for all of us to say, when they are both (but yet so far) from the Democratic nomination.

In state news, I was delighted to see that Johnny Dougherty lost his bid be the Democratic nominee to replace the outgoing State Senator Vince Fumo in Philadelphia's First District. Unfortunately, Larry Farnese was the winner, and not the candidate we supported - Anne Dicker. The district won with Dougherty's defeat, however.

Dicker distinguished herself in this campaign, and she certainly has a future in politics. I will support and vote for Farnese in the fall election.

The jury is still out, of course, for the Democratic nomination, but I just don't buy into the opinion that the dogfight between Clinton and Obama somehow will hurt the Democratic Nominee's chances against John McCain. Sure, I'd like to see a nominee raising money now, but I still believe the Democrats will win and win big this fall.

And I plan on spending lots of time and energy to help make that happen.

This Modern World's take on our "media"

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I sure wish I had Tom Tomorrow's talent, because the above four windows perfectly encapsulate how patently absurd our alleged media truly is. In addition to his spot-on cartoons, his blog contains many more sage nuggets.

My ballot is cast...

I just cast my ballot at my polling place. It was quick and easy - absolutely no line. When the day comes when we move from our condo in Philly, I sure will miss how easy of a time I have to vote - it's literally one block away at an elementary school.

Anyway, it's official - I cast my vote for Obama. Despite my recent indecision about possibly voting for Hillary, I didn't waiver from my original pronouncement of supporting Obama. I believe Hillary is quite a strong candidate, but I simply think Obama can give politics in our poisoned nation's capital the swift kick in the butt that it needs.

I also cast my vote for Progressive Anne Dicker today for Pennsylvania's First District's State Senate race. She's in a dogfight with Johnny Dougherty and Larry Farnese. I'd like to say I'm confident she can pull it off, but in the last few weeks, I'm not so sure. But, I never considered voting for either of the other two.

Voter turnout here in Pennsylvania appears to be quite heavy indeed. I'll be back later with much more. If you live in Pa. and you're reading this - get out there and vote today - the earlier, the better. There have already been some reported problems with voting machines in South Philly. If you go early, you have a chance to get the problem fixed before the end of the day so your vote counts.

Today... we decide! Don't forget to vote!

I've been looking forward to this day for quite a while, but I have to admit I'll be much, much happier when it's all over, at least for a little while. Pennsylvania won't take a backseat for long, though, since just like 2004, it promises to be a hotly contested state for both party's nominees.

All of the campaign ads, the commercials, the junk mail (of which I've received probably at least 50 pieces of campaign fliers in the past 2 weeks) and all the rest, it will be good to get a break from it for a little while. And I'm a political junkie! That should tell you something about how crazy it's been, especially here in Philadelphia. We'll find out soon enough of the city can be dubbed Hill-adelphia; if she carries Philly, she almost undoubtedly will carry the state.

As tired as I am of it, I have to confess that I think the debate has been very good for voters, and the state. I just don't buy into the media's crybaby complaining that "it's not good for the Democratic Party" because Hillary and Obama are still slugging it out. The media simply wanted it wrapped up by now, so it can get on to delivering us Hillary/Obama vs. McCain polls for the next seven or eight months. Funny how, as usual, the facts get very little traction, too; Bill Clinton didn't wrap up the nomination in 1992 until June. But, back then we didn't have the Internet, (ahem) blogs, and YouTube, and also umpteen 24-hour news channels to incessantly obsess over what Obama's drinking for breakfast, or Hillary's laugh or haircut like we do now.

Part of me thinks this slugfest between Obama and Clinton is good, and part of me wants the party to get a nominee already, so the electorate's ire and restlessness can be directed precisely where it belongs - at McCain and the war-mongering Republicans. Soon enough.

I'm off to cast my ballot. I'll be back in a bit. ...

Hard to believe, but I agree with Fumo

Well, this must be a first. For the only time in memory, I find myself in agreement with outgoing Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Fumo, whose recent message during a meeting at the 200 people at St. Andrew Lithuanian Church, was to not vote for John Dougherty, the business manager of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

I couldn't agree more - I've written many times recently how I firmly believe that "Johnny Doc" represents the backward, brutal, thuggery politics of Philadelphia's past, and it's my hope the city can move past that. The outgoing Fumo agrees, calling Dougherty "a bully, a thug and evil." Wow, how do you really feel, Senator?

From Philly.com:

"I am not endorsing any candidates, but do not elect John Dougherty," Fumo said at a meeting of the Spring Garden Civic Association. "I do not want that to be my legacy. He is a bully, a thug and evil. Please vote against him."

[Snip]

"I got 16 members of the Senate to endorse Farnese and raise money for him," Fumo said. "Any kind of logic would lead you to vote for Farnese."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is reason #1 (and numbers two and three) why I hope and pray that Farnese does not prevail in Tuesday's three-way race for the Democratic nomination in the election to replace Fumo this fall. The last thing I want the First District's new state Senator to have is any owed favors to the ethically challenged Vincent Fumo.

The only logical choice is Progressive Anne Dicker (above right). I'm disappointed but not surprised that The Philadelphia Inquirer's editorial board has endorsed Farnese. Considering that former Republican activist and hack Brian Tierney is running the Inky, and that he considers Rick Santorum worthy of a regular column on the paper's editorial page, it's no shock the paper doesn't recognize a true Progressive when there's one right in front of our noses, and that's Dicker.

Dougherty is under federal investigation for a myriad of ethical lapses, so the last thing we need is another state Senator being investigated; we've got that in Fumo now. And since Fumo is endorsing Farnese, he gets painted with the "guilt by association" brush. Hey, if you sleep with dogs, you're gonna get fleas.

We have supported Dicker a little bit by attending one of her fund raisers, and I'm trying to find time to be a poll worker this Tuesday, but that sort of activism is not the approach the Dougherty campaign is taking, and I found out about this by accident. Get this - the Dougherty campaign is paying people $150 to turn a shift as a poll worker. Hey, nothing buys sincerity like $150, right?

Yesterday, a vehicle rolling down our street with a loudspeaker extolling the virtues of Dougherty, and I wish I would have been on street level when it rolled on by. What's more, I wish I had one of those electronic megaphones so I could drive after it and shout out the virtues of Dicker. Okay, I probably wouldn't, but I'd be tempted. I'm not above a good 'ole metaphorical political street fight.

Please visit Dicker's Website to donate time and/or money to try and help her get elected to the state Senate.

Bill Maher's New Rules - on elitism

Last night's New Rules on Real Time With Bill Maher was one of his best segments in recent memory. His joke about Pope Benedict was funny, but I loved his slamming the Blockbuster/Circuit City deal. Great! My boycott list will shrink by one - now two companies I hate and will never frequent are getting married. I'm not sending a gift.

But, as usual, his best New Rule was saved for last, and it was about McCain.

The highlights:

If you think the Democrats are going to take away your Bible, you're an idiot. If you think they are going to take away your gun, you're an armed idiot. And if you think they are going to take away your gun to give to a Mexican immigrant to kill your God, you're Bill O'Reilly.

[Snip]

...The truth is that religion, and guns, and hating gays and immigrants are crutches that people lean on. So are fast food, crystal meth and child beauty pageants, but we don't have time to tackle all of America's addictions in one night. So let's focus on the big thing. The people who claim to be the non-elitists, are the ones who shift tax burdens from the people who fire you, to you. [Emphasis Mine] John McCain voted to repeal the estate tax, voted against raising the minimum wage, has no health care plan, and is fine with keeping the working class in Iraq for 100 years, but he's a real man of the people. And the president went to Harvard and Yale and inherited your country from his dad, but he's not an elitist because he can neither read nor write. What does it take to label someone an elitist these days, anyway? They wear shoes? They don't buy their groceries at the gas station? Their dog has a name and their truck doesn't? You know who's bitter in America? I am! Because shit kickers voted twice for a retarded guy they wanted to have a beer with, and the rest of us had to suffer the consequences.

Television gold. Don't think a small part of me didn't say to myself (okay, a very small part of me) that the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast deserved the shoddy treatment the government gave them following Hurricane Katrina because Bush carried both of those states, twice. I bet they'll think twice this time, won't they? That's if McCain doesn't work like crazy to suppress the vote in poor areas, which the Republican Party was so tragically effective at in 2000 and 2004. We'll see.

Weekend Cartoons

First, I'm sorry for the relative inactivity these last few days - I just needed a bit of time away - not from the blog, but from politics in general. I was so thoroughly disgusted from the debate last week, I didn't even know where to start. Now that I'm ready to get blogger diarrhea (!), of course I don't have much time to blog this weekend. Anyway, I promise to unleash a flurry of opinion next week, beginning late Sunday and lots next week, especially considering that Tuesday is the Pennsylvania Primary.

Anyway, here's another edition of weekend cartoons, so enjoy. Not the best week for cartoons, but when I have time to look hard enough, I always find some that provoke thought. My comments are below selected cartoons.

I try to never say "I told you so"; no one likes a know it all blogger, but I never thought that ethanol or any sort of fuel that USES OUR FOOD was even remotely a good idea. The entire world already cannot feed itself, and we are already working on our 7th billion in terms of world population. What's worse, food prices are rising at an alarming rate, and an increasing number countries are now passing laws banning any export of any food to other countries.

Just a thought - if Americans think food prices are high now, imagine what would happen if countries refused to export any food to America. For instance, all of those Florida Orange Juice commercials we see on TV, I bet most Americans don't know that we import about 60 percent of our orange juice. Florida cannot possibly grow enough oranges to meet America's demand for it. You think Tropicana and Minute Maid are outrageously expensive now (and they are)? If Mexico and Brazil said, "Screw you, America, no more oranges!" we would have to choose between filling our gas tanks or filling our stomachs with OJ, because we couldn't afford both.

Just one for the "no kidding" file - Bush just wants to hold down the fort until January 20 next year, so when the entire country goes to hell (and it's already on its way - inflation, the price of oil, the real estate and job markets, and last but not least, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan) - he can just shrug and say how good things were when he was in office. He just wants his legacy and his library, and the rest (of us) be damned. Oh, and electing John McSame wouldn't be bad for his "legacy," either.

How true, how true it is - I love it when every candidate tries to be the gun totin' candidate when election time rolls around. I'm a pro-gun Democrat, but of course I think we do need reasonable and responsible rules regarding gun safety. Taking assault weapons off the streets, along with some sensible regulations involving handguns, is not bad policy. Hey, I live in Philly, where the only thing more omnipresent than handgun murders is cheese steaks and sports teams that can't win the big one, so I have a little bit of experience in this area.

I meant to blog about this earlier this week, but the idea is so moronic I don't want to waste too much time on it. McSame's idea of a national gas tax holiday is patently absurd and asinine, and it's nearly as dumb and transparent as the tax cut tax deferral checks we are all getting later on this year. What's worse, what rational person doesn't think our already crumbling infrastructure wouldn't suffer more? And another lovely point to ponder - without a doubt, the oil companies would just take up the slack by jacking up gas prices even more. But, McSame would get to jump up and down and say, "Look at my idea! I saved you money!" This idea is on par with something Our National Embarrassment would come up with - window dressing, designed to make a turd smell like a rose, even though it's still a turd. Nice going, Judas John.

No Child Left Behind is a disgrace, a joke, and an abject failure. It needs to be repealed yesterday, and the only way that's going to happen is if a Democrat gets into the White House in 2009. I know many, and I'm yet to meet one educator who has anything good to say about it. NCLB is yet another Bush program with a fancy name and abysmal results.

For the third time in a month, I got another mindless, oversimplified e-mail that compares Bush's tax record to President Clinton's. I will respond to that in kind in the coming days, but the cartoon above illustrates a dramatic point that I'm not hearing much discussion about these days. In fact, I have heard no discussion about it since '04, when John Kerry made the correct point that Bush's economic policies have raised our taxes in different ways, just not the obvious ways, like when you get your paycheck every week, or when you fill out your IRS forms. Funny how Bush is taking virtually no blame about the rate of inflation, which I feel every time I walk into a store or fill up my gas tank. I guess the only reason we aren't hearing much from Bush and GOP sycophants is because they haven't figured out a way to blame Democrats for the tanking economy (yet).

Another mega-merger that's bad for the American consumer. So, that can only mean one thing - the speedy approval by the Bush Justice and Federal Trade Commission departments.





Wow - we're going to do something about global warming in 17 years?!? Way to go, Mr. President! Too bad Bush wasn't our president in 1961, instead of President Kennedy. Imagine how Bush's "moon speech" would have gone had he given it instead of Kennedy:

I believe, that America should commit itself to landing a man safely on the moon and returning him safely to Earth, before this century is out.

Our president - what a "doer!"

I'm seriously not one to excuse China's many excesses and sins, but on the point of global warming, I can see the Chinese perspective - a perspective that many global warming deniers here in America do not. How can the Chinese not view Americans as being hypocritical, when we are whining about their coal use and greenhouse gases, while we had our Industrial Revolution and a booming economy for the last 100+ years? Now that China's and India's economies are booming, they are supposed to curtail their growth because the atmosphere is finally reaching the breaking point, which we played no small part in? I'd be angry if I were them, too.

One solution in getting a handle on global warming - America must take a leadership role, where we lead by example by showing the rest of the world we are taking the initiative. In short, putting our money where our sometimes self-righteous big mouths are with an aggressive plan to cut our carbon emissions would be an excellent start to finding a solution. Seventeen years is not aggressive - it's pathetic. We won't be leaders on the global warming front until we have a new president, to be sure.

Anyone else remember when we had credibility in the world community? When we took a leadership role in anything constructive that didn't involve war or death? Yea, I don't, either. Pathetic and sad.

A lil' hope from This Modern World

[Click on the image to go to the full strip]

Isn't this one the truth - seven months seems like such a long way off. What's worse, heaven forbid McCain gets elected - more than a few may go from hope to rope when their mortgages are foreclosed on, and the economy collapses further and further. And that last point is not out of the question, considering McCain's economic "plan" unveiled yesterday to give our economy a boost. More on that in a bit.

New anti-McCain ad hitting airwaves

Greg Sargent over at TPM has the latest on the new anti-McCain video above, which began airing today:

Here's a first look at the first ad being run against John McCain by Progressive Media U.S.A., the new pro-Dem third-party group headed by David Brock that's planning to raise $40 million to bloody up the GOP nominee in advance of this fall's election. The ad, called "Out of Touch," will be running on cable beginning tomorrow and can be seen in D.C. on CNN and MSNBC — which is to say, it's a small buy aimed at an insider audience of potential future donors, political operatives, and the like.

My first thought when I saw this - "Excellent." In years and elections past, I might have thought to myself, "that's playing dirty." But, after seeing what the GOP shamelessly did to Al Gore in 2000 and most notably the Swiftboating of John Kerry in 2004, I hope there are many more efforts just like this one. When Democrats try to take the high road by being the "better party," they become the better, MINORITY party. Democrats won't retake the White House until they learn to fight Republicans on their turf. Is it dirty and nasty? Sure, but there's too much at stake right now to be worried about being portrayed by some as being just that - Republicans have been doing it for years, most notably since the early 1990s when an Arkansas governor decided he'd like to run for president.

It's also good to see that David Brock isn't resting on his laurels with all of his Media Matters success, although no one could blame him if he did. The more people like Bill O'Reilly hate people like Brock for what he is doing - exposing the lies and distortions of the right-wing media - the more I love and am thankful for guys like Brock.

h/t Crooks & Liars

McCain blows it out his dough hole

Can someone explain to me just what in the hell has happened to the media in this country? It's a rhetorical question, of course, and one that I'll never likely get a satisfactory answer to, but I ask myself this on an almost daily basis.

I'm not a blow hard who can't take a joke, but this is NOT the sort of relationship any serious member of the press (so naturally, Fox News is out) should be enabling with a presidential candidate. And this is exactly the sort of treatment that Dubya, our National Embarrassment, courted and received during the 2000 election. (For example, about double the number of daily newspapers endorsed Bush over Gore that year.) To take it one step further, this is exactly the sort of coverage that allowed the seemingly infinite number of Bush outrages to take place, led, of course, by the War in Iraq and this administration's response appallingly inept response to Hurricane Katrina.

If McSame gets elected, you can expect more of the same - a press that lies down like an obedient dog, failing to adequately report on what will undoubtedly be Bush III in many ways, namely Iraq and absurd tax cuts.

How is McCain courting the press? I've already blogged about it Here. I'm working on a longer piece about the press, which I'll post later tonight or tomorrow.

A montage of Hillary misogyny

I found this on the Internets earlier today, and I thought I'd share it. It shouldn't take you long to get outraged - this is the kind of garbage coverage that Hillary Clinton has been subjected to, since before she even declared her candidacy for president. Everyone is so busy complaining about the press coverage in one way or another, it seems to me the complainers are missing one important point - Hillary and Obama aren't the only ones doing damage to one another during the remaining Democratic primaries - so is the media. The only candidate who is truly getting a free ride from the pliant and fawning members of the media who "cover" him is John McCain, and there's plenty of proof - I'll post an absurd piece of footage in a minute. The only thing about McCain the media "covers" is his ass, because the media spends enough time kissing it.

I've written that I'm backing Obama, and I still am, but honestly, the closer we get to the primary, the more open I am to the idea of voting for Hillary. Right now, I'm about 70/30 in favor of Obama, but I very well could decide in the voting booth. Regardless of who wins next Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary and whoever gets the nomination, I will enthusiastically back in the general election. McSame is such a backward, absurd candidate, I wouldn't back him for all the whiskey in Ireland.

Johnny Doc... what a crock

I've been following my state senate race very closely this spring, and I'm still crossing my fingers that Progressive Anne Dicker (right) can beat out the well-funded, ethically challenged John Dougherty and the outgoing Sen. Vince Fumo's hand-picked successor, Larry Farnese, a week from this Tuesday.

This morning, Philadelphia Inky columnist Monica Yant Kinney had some interesting things to say about Johnny Doc in her column:

It's 2005. You earn $175,000 that year and decide to renovate your home.

Do you (a) rent a place for the duration of the messy six-month project or (b) live for free at a luxury waterfront apartment building owned by a prominent developer?

John Dougherty chose b.

Personally, if I wore as many hats as Dougherty does and wanted to hold office, I'd jump into the Delaware before taking a gift like that.

Dougherty, business manager for Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and Democratic candidate for the First District's state Senate seat, seems to have no problem with sweet deals that to voters may taste sour.

In 2003, according to federal authorities, he bought a North Wildwood condo from an electrician pal for $24,000 less than what you or I would have had to pay because he could, never mind that the law forbids contractors from plying union leaders with gifts.

Investigators are also concerned whether, a year later, the same contractor did work gratis on Dougherty's home in South Philly.

Now we learn that during the renovation, developer Peter DePaul gave Dougherty a key to a $3,000-a-month unit in the Dockside Luxury Apartments.

Inside the complex - which resembles a cruise ship and boasts of offering "a sea of amenities" - Dougherty had granite counter tops, a private terrace, and the use of an indoor pool.

This was a freebie, Dougherty freely acknowledged. Now if it was only clear why he had taken it in the first place.

This is one in a seemingly endless examples of why Dougherty should be shown the door, not given the keys to the First District's state Senate seat. I've said it many times, and it certainly bears repeating - Dougherty represents the sleaziness and questionable ethics that have stained Vince Fumo's tenure in the state Senate. In order to move forward, I really do hope and pray that voters send Dicker to the fall election with a primary victory, not Farnese or (heaven forbid) Johnny Dougherty.

There seems to be a good amount of money to throw around (and away) on the part of Farnese and Dougherty - in the past few weeks, I've gotten more mail fliers from these two than Publisher's Clearing House. I don't mind receiving it, because we are already casting our votes for Dicker, so they're simply wasting their money.

Probably my favorite piece of direct mail came from Larry Farnese, boasting about how when his father got cancer, he successfully fought his dad's HMO about one thing or another. Hmm - that's a pretty honorable thing to do - using your father's cancer on campaign literature. I guess it didn't occur to his campaign handlers to include a picture of Farnese helping an old lady across the street.

The irony isn't lost on me that Farnese has gained the support of the Liberty City Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club, either. Farnese and Dicker both support gay marriage, so I give Farnese credit for that, but I'm unsure why Farnese has otherwise received the club's support.

Dicker, open bisexual, has amazingly been derided by some critics as making that fact public for political reasons. I guess I must be living in an alternate universe, because I must have missed the political development when it became political advantageous to be anything other than straight, in Philadelphia or any other city. My guess is that Dicker did it for two reasons - so her opponents couldn't dig up that dirt on her, and to indicate to voters of all sexual orientations that she can appreciate some of the issues they face today. In one of the Philadelphia weeklies that one of the leaders of a Philadelphia gay group slammed Dicker for never having been a member or being vocal about her sexual orientation before running for the state Senate. In a word - preposterous. I'm a straight man, so perhaps I cannot totally appreciate what gays go through, but since when is anyone who is gay obligated to be actively involved in gay community groups? Just a thought.

Anyway, I urge all Democratic voters in Philadelphia's First District to cast their vote for Dicker. She has received a very high number of endorsements, including The Philadelphia Inquirer. Drop by her Website to find out more.

You can print out Dicker window signs like the one at left, too - I have two on my car.

Get a color sign Here (PDF for download).

Get a black and white sign Here (PDF for download).

Dicker appeared on WHYY's Radio Times to debate Farnese and Dougherty last week. Clearly, she was on her A-game, while Dougherty and Farnese didn't sound as good to me. Click Here to listen to the debate.

In fairness, I liked several things about all of the candidates, and it's safe to say that whomever wins the April 22 Democratic primary, I will vote for in November (although I'd hold my nose voting for Dougherty).

It's little wonder that Dougherty only wanted to spend a half hour on the show, because he virtually spent the entire half hour of the debate on the defensive, and he has a lot to answer for. Scheduling conflict my ass. I find it OUTRAGEOUS that Dougherty wants to remain on in his post with IBEW Local 98. Dicker was spot on when she said she doesn't believe that IBEW Local 98 deserves its own Senate seat. It does not, and it had ought to be a much bigger campaign issue than it is been thus far.

Another thing I love about Dicker is that she is vehemently anti-casino, as the founder of Casino Free Philadelphia. Good on her, because I firmly believe that casinos are the last thing we need in Philadelphia.

Nine days to go 'til the primary, and we must support and elect smart, bright, determined and motivated Progressives like Anne Dicker. Please support her campaign with time or money - every little bit helps.

Weekend Cartoons

I found plenty of laugh and be very outraged about this week. My comments are below the cartoons, and I'll be tackling many of these issues this weekend.

Enjoy...

Don't look now, but the airline industry is one in another long line of industries where the Bush administration has its criminal negligence on full display - an industry where corporate America screws the common man. How so? Well, following 9-11, each and every airline company cried and whined to the federal government that it needed billions and billions to survive, and they got it. Now, we find out that they've been giving our safety short shrift? I don't know what's worse - this pathetically, tragically and criminally inept administration willfully not doing its job by enforcing safety regulations, or the airlines, who only care about making money. Call me crazy, but I would think that the airlines would make safety their number one priority. What a concept, huh?

I've written it many times, and it bears repeating - it will never cease to amaze me that the American people will put a party in charge of our government who campaign on the idiotic notion that "government is part of the problem." No, government is part of the problem when morons like these are put in charge of the government.

The stench of hypocrisy is overwhelming regarding some Americans' belief that the US should boycott the Olympic games. I will have much more on this later tonight. In short, we absolutely should not.

I included this cartoon because it's such bullshit. I'm soo sick and tired of the Republican Party's reputation of being vehement tax cutters, because it's all one big goddamn lie. Or, I should say, at least by contemporary Republican Party standards. The fact is, the Bush tax cuts, which overwhelmingly favored the rich, those same tax cuts that McCain wants to make permanent. It's typical of politicians these days - cut taxes now to get the political benefit, and to hell with the people who are going to have to pay all of this money back, with interest, in successive generations. What a joke. The minute Democrats realize this, and state the painful fact that taxes will have to be increased, they are called "tax and spend liberals" by hacks like Frank Luntz and Karl Rove.

By the way, McSame also wants to lower the corporate tax rate by an astounding 10 percent, too. I guess McBush thinks that the federal deficit is some sort of fantasy, like a viable missile defense system, but I digress.

I didn't hear any comedians say this last week, but I was surprised I didn't - something along the lines of, "Can we finally take Heston's gun from his cold dead hands now?"

As uncomfortable as this cartoon might make some, it's sadly the reality of what many troops are coming home to, and will continue to come home to, until the government does something about the appalling benefits our vets receive. I'm not holding my breath - with the impending crushing deficit, our politicians in Washington will no doubt try and come up with plenty of justifications for not giving our returning heroes the treatment, wages and benefits they so richly deserve.

This should be written across the sky - there cannot be any sort of meaningful discussion about our crumbling economy without talking about the incredible black hole that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are having on our economy. I'm not hearing nearly enough discussion about this immutable fact. Bush's wars, in addition to his absurd stewardship of our economy (including an almost complete lack of regulation in many areas), are having a great deal of impact on our spiraling economy. Every time I turn on the news, I feel like America is circling the bowl, and the pace is getting quicker and quicker.

Both parties are to blame for the idiocy that is our coming economic stimulus package. Ho boy! Like a few hundred dollars are going to turn everything around. I've insinuated this many times before, but I guess we can stop with the insinuations now - this administration now only thinks most of us are stupid, but it counts on it as being true.

(See my above comments about the airlines.)

The sad fact is that this administration can stick a microscope up anyone's arse and have a good look around if it wants to, and according to the laws on the books, and this administration's very broad and generous interpretation of them, there's little anyone can do, especially if the administration labels you a terrorist.

(Again, see comments above about this administration's handling of regulation and corporate oversight.)

General Petraeus' broken-record analysis of this past week, which was a virtual repeat of last summer's song and dance, paints a pretty bleak picture for America's future, much less Iraq's, not to mention our troops in the field. More on Petraeus's Congressional testimony a bit later.

We'll see if McSame has this same sort of cakewalk in the fall. In short, if Clinton or Obama can't beat McCain, either one doesn't deserve to be president, but most importantly, we'll all screwed.

The great Senator from Arizona has been so busy cheerleading the escalation Surge, he doesn't even know the difference between a Shi'ite and a Sunni. And this is the so-called foreign policy expert in the campaign? Unreal.

Thank God for small favors - the Bush administration has announced that it's reducing tours of duty in the Middle East from 15 months to 12 months. What a great, generous measure to help our long-suffering troops. How much do you want to bet that private mercenaries will be increased to offset the difference?

Our political March Madness is giving way to April Anxiety among the candidates, and I'm looking forward to it all, including the gaffes, botched jokes, and misstatements - and none of the remaining three candidates are immune.