Sorry Song

I'm not quite sure what the implications of this are:

Sorry 2004 by Ruben Studdard

"This is my sorry for 2004. And I ain't gonna mess up no more, this year." Your popularity expires on 12/31/04

What 2004 Hit Song Are You?

Ten Things Bush Doesn't Want You To Know About Scalia and Thomas

Pay attention people:

SCALIA OPPOSES EFFORTS TO DESEGREGATE SCHOOLS: In his concurrence on Freeman v. Pitts, Scalia indicated he would favor stripping the authority of Federal courts to regulate school desegregation, "even for those schools that remain significantly segregated." [Freeman v Pitts 1992]

THOMAS FAVORS STATE-SPONSORED RELIGION: Thomas has "advanced the position" that constitutionally mandated church/state separation applies "to the federal government, but not to individual states – a position that would allow Virginia, for example, to declare a state religion." He would allow individual states to "adopt particular religions and use tax money to proselytize for them." [Elk Grove v. Newdow, 2004]

The Real Stealing Of Christmas

As the religious right spews ridiculous rhetoric about Christmas somehow being stolen or supressed, lets take a look at Iraq, where after years of practicing their faith in relative peace, our invasion has cost Christians their safety and their ability to celebrate Christmas the way they previously had.

"For Iraqi Christians, it will be a gloomy Christmas.

Saddam Hussein's secular regime did not persecute the Christian community, though his government did give rough treatment to some other religious and ethnic groups. But since the U.S. occupation of Iraq last year, radical militants have regularly attacked churches.

As a result, Iraq's community of 700,000 Christians have called off celebrations this year.
Churches have announced that the traditional Christmas Eve Mass will be canceled and replaced by brief early morning prayers. Churches also have called off receptions for parishioners. "

So while the likes of Jerry Falwell and Bill O'Reilly are whinning because shopping malls have signs that say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, Iraqi Christians really cannot celebrate Christmas because they are in fear of their churches being bombed. Can we work on some real problems in America?

Hey Rudolph

You Are "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer"

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer Had a very shiny nose. And if you ever saw him, You would even say it glows. For you, Christmas is a mix of tradition and fun. You're not above strapping on a red blinking nose for a laugh.

What Christmas Carol Are You?

Well Give This Man A Cookie!

Here we go again! A couple of weeks ago it was Pat Robertson (of whom I expect very little as far as diversity training), now here's another "brain surgeon" who wants to tell the world that he just discovered the obvious (though apparently this misconception is rather broad based and misunderstood by many whites - and probably a few ill-informed blacks too). No, Virginia, Kwanzaa is not celebrated in Africa.

"Karenga, arguably the father of Kwanzaa, repeatedly uses the word 'African' to describe the holiday and borrows from the continent's languages to describe its foundations. Although I never got through to him, I did get an interesting response about Kwanzaa from the nice lady at the Black History Museum in Alexandria, Va.

'I would say you would find no African nations and one American nation celebrating Kwanzaa,' she said.

Teaching the values Karenga lays out is certainly worthwhile, and he is right to argue that they are essential ingredients to living a healthy, happy, successful life. And if an annual festival helps reinforce them to an African-American audience, well that's fine, too. But can we please do my wife and my kids a favor and dispense with the claim that this festival has its roots anywhere but right here in the USA? "

Again, I don't celebrate Kwanzaa nor do any members of my family or circle of friends (save an occasional Kwanzaa card or maybe some decorations picked up after Christmas). But, at least as far as I know, none of us have any notion that this is some holiday transplanted from Africa. I thought that everyone knew that it is a holiday created by an African American (descendent of slaves) to unite other "Africans" (meaning other victims of the slave trade and/or colonialism) throughout the diaspora. I can't speak to or verify the research that went into the creation of this celebration. However, at no point does he state or imply that there is a specific country or culture where, by name, this holiday takes place. He meshed concepts from "continental" Africa.

Where does the word "Kwanzaa" come from?
The word "Kwanzaa" comes from the phrase, "matunda ya kwanza" which means "first-fruits." Kwanzaa's extra "a" evolved as a result of a particular history of the Organization Us. It was clone as an expression of African values in order to inspire the creativity of our children. In the early days of Us, there were seven children who each wanted to represent a letter of Kwanzaa. Since kwanza (first) has only six letters, we added an extra "a" to make it seven, thus creating "Kwanzaa."

Why is Kwanzaa a seven-day holiday?

Kwanzaa is a seven-day holiday for two reasons:

In terms of authenticity, Kwanzaa is modeled on first-fruits celebrations in ancient Africa, especially on Southern African first-fruits celebrations like Umkhost of Zululand which has seven days.
The central reason for Kwanzaa's being seven days is to stress the Nguzo Saba and through this introduce and reaffirm communitarian values and practices which strengthen and celebrate family, community, and culture.

I am not sure if this is just a matter of semantics or verbiage that confuses this man but, clearly, he is not telling any informed audience anything they don't already know. I suppose his next discovery will be that all black people can't dance and sing.

Oh well, better late than never.

Hell No, We Won't Go

The British military is having a hard time finding suckers recruits to enlist in the Army too.

"According to military sources the high media visibility of bereaved parents, such as Rose Gentle, whose 19-year-old son was killed, and the unpopularity of the war have made recruitment and retention a problem, exacerbating an already acute recruitment crisis in areas such as Scotland. The problem is now also spreading to the north of England and Wales, forces officials say.

As well as a shortfall in young men volunteering, army officers have reported a wider reluctance to support a career in the army with parents refusing to sign consent forms for junior soldiers to sign up and, in some cases, local authorities with a strong anti-war sentiment refusing permission for recruitment officers to put up stands at local venues.

According to army sources the problem is also evident in the Territorial Army which has bolstered the regular Army's ranks in Iraq.

'People join the Territorials for a hobby,' said another source. 'They don't expect to end up being sent to Iraq for six months, taking casualties and seeing a lot of killing. There is no end in sight to the war in Iraq. That is what is really putting people off.'

The impact of the anti-war movement has also made itself apparent in the United States, where there has been a sharp decline in volunteers from communities - such as the black community - that have traditionally supplied soldiers. In the US this has been tied to a sharp increase in desertions - a problem so far not seen in the UK. "

Boy, Put That Noggin To Use!

Now see, this dude just wasn't thinking.

"A Fort Stewart soldier was arrested after he had his cousin shoot him so he wouldn't have to return to Iraq, police said Thursday.

Army Spc. Marquise J. Roberts, of Hinesville, Ga., suffered a minor wound to his left leg from a .22 caliber pistol on Tuesday, police said. He was treated at a hospital, then arrested after he and his cousin allegedly confessed to having made up a story about the shooting.

'They just broke down and confessed that they concocted the whole story so he didn't have to go back to the war,' said Lt. James Clark of Northwest Detectives.

Police charged Roberts with filing a false report and charged his cousin, Ronald Fuller, with aggravated and simple assault and other charges. "

All he had to do was report for duty like this and he would have been discharged immediately.

At Least You Know Where He Stands

It might be somewhat tolerable, though totally unpalatable, to accept the fact that Bush is not going to fire Donald Rumsfeld if he just didn't respond to the critics. However, rubbing the faces of the American people, many who are in that 51%, in the feces of that arrogant decision to continue to support him is what makes this President the most insufferable leader this country has ever seen.

"'Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a great job leading our efforts at the Department of Defense to win the war on terrorism and to help bring about a free and peaceful Iraq, and the president is focused on working closely with him on those matters,' said White House spokesman Scott McClellan."

The whole world knows that Rumsfeld is NOT doing a good job. He is, in fact, doing a horrendously awful job. Scott McClellen, on behalf of President Bush, has Baghdad Bob beat by a million miles.

Can I Get A What, What?

... and a Lord Jeebus, why?

Land Of The Free, Home Of The Brave?

Try land of gluttony and sloth! In a matter of ten years, immigrants fall into the American tradition of becoming lazy, lard asses!

"After 10 years in the U.S., immigrants start to gain weight, according to a new study.

While immigrants are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population, little is known about weight gain among them. Immigrants typically come from countries where obesity is not the norm. But what happens after they emigrate to the land of fast food and traffic? Do they get any lifestyle counseling on diet and physical activity?

After all, 'immigrants face more barriers to health care and are less likely to receive preventive health care than persons born in the United States,' writes lead researcher Mita Sanghavi Goel, MD, MPH, a professor of internal medicine with Northwestern University in Chicago."

This is the land of opportunity alright ... The opportunity to eat yourself into obesity!

Stirring Up Mess!

Can someone from another planet swoop down and tell these people how stupid this is getting?

Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas. Whatever the celebration the season begins the day after Thanksgiving. Winter Solstice, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year's Eve/Day are all in the span of a month or so. What is the aversion to sharing a season and encompassing everyone's celebrations? Who is scripting these nimrods into turning this pettiness into a newsworthy dialogue?

"Lou Dobbs, host of CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight, joined up with FOX News anchors and conservative commentators who have alleged that Christmas has been imperiled by Macy's department stores' use of the phrase 'Happy Holidays' in its advertising. On the December 15 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight, Dobbs claimed that Macy's department stores are 'exclud[ing] everyone who is celebrating Christmas' by using the phrase 'Happy Holidays.' Dobbs then questioned the merit of using 'Happy Holidays,' asking CNN business correspondent Christine Romans: '[W]hat other holidays are we celebrating right now?' Finally, Dobbs concluded that Macy's is 'wrong' in assuming 'Happy Holidays' encompasses Christmas."

Anybody who is more worried about what holiday signage is displayed in the stores, or whether some bell ringer can solicit donations outside of Target, obviously misses the entire point of whatever holiday it is. Moreover, with Osama Bin Laden still making those ridiculous tapes, soldiers being killed and maimed daily, people falling below the poverty level I know there are bigger issues that need to be addressed.

It's this kind of idiotic bickering over NOTHING that makes me want to go Grinch ... and Scrooge! Bah Humbug!

Hey! I like Socks!

I can't keep them on my feet but I do love socks!

You Are Socks!

Cozy and warm... but easily lost. You make a good puppet.

What Crappy Gift Are You?

"

Rumsfeld Rumblings Increasing In Volume

Since Bush just awarded three key fuck-ups with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, it is apparent that he just plain won't admit an error in his choice of staff. So, Rumsfeld is going to have to mask that massive ego of his and resign - at least that is my hope.

Finally, the natives (including fellow neo-con and warmonger, Bill Kristol) seem to be getting restless and are ready for someone to tell Rumsfeld to call it a day.

"One Republican Senate aide summed up the prevailing feeling about Rumsfeld this way: 'What does it take to get fired around here?'

Kristol, whose magazine has been critical of Rumsfeld's decisions on troop deployment and other matters for nearly two years, said in an interview that Rumsfeld's comments to Specialist Thomas Wilson of the Tennessee National Guard, were 'really the final straw.'

'For me, it's the combination of the arrogance and the buck-passing manifested in that statement, with the fundamental error he's made for a year and a half now,' Kristol said.

'That error, from my point of view, is that his theory about the military is at odds with the president's geopolitical strategy,' Kristol said. 'He wants this light, transformed military, but we've got to win a real war, which involves using a lot of troops and building a nation, and that's at the core of the president's strategy for rebuilding the Middle East.'

He added: 'At some point, his stubborn attachment to his particular military theory had really hurt the nation's ability to carry out its foreign policy.'"

What does it take, indeed?

Everyone Is Improvising

So while our soldiers are trapped in Iraq trying to stay safe by creating improvised amored vehicles, the insurgents are perfecting their means of blowing people and things to smithereens with their improvised explosive devices.

"A bold, innovative insurgency is becoming more effective against U.S. supply lines in Iraq and explosive attacks have slowed military operations there, a senior American general said on Wednesday.

'They have had a growing understanding that where they can affect us is in the logistics flow,' Air Force Lt. Gen. Lance Smith, deputy chief of U.S. Central Command, told reporters.

'They have gotten more effective in using IEDs,' said Smith, referring to improvised explosive devices hidden beside roads by guerrillas fighting American-led forces in Iraq.

'He (the insurgency) is becoming more effective,' the general said. 'They may use doorbells today to blow these things up. They may use remote controls from toys tomorrow. And as we adapt, they adapt.'"

Tell 'Em Bill!

It just cracks me up that people are still so obsessed with Bill Clinton's transgression with a woman who wasn't his wife. Gees! Get Over It!:

"Bill Clinton fought back when he ran into a verbal mugging in Central Park. The former President is said to have been strolling through the park with his Secret Service team recently when a man pushing a stroller taunted, 'You were an embarrassment to the office of commander-in-chief.'

Lakshmi Kumar, writing in Citizen Culture magazine, says she saw Clinton stop and deftly tell his heckler, 'Oh, really? I think I did a helluva job.... I'll admit I misled people about my personal life. And I have even apologized for it, but I never misled the people about policy and I certainly never misled the people about going to war.'

Clinton is said to have spent 45 minutes taking questions from a mostly adoring crowd, then told his detractor: 'I hope your children turn out to be as perfect as you are, sir.' The group applauded and Bill walked to a nearby SUV, where, Kumar says, Sen. Hillary Clinton looked impatient. "

Zero Value

This certainly lowers the bar for this prestigious award. Since when do these things go to people who help start and botch up a bogus war?

"Former CIA director George Tenet, Gen Tommy Franks and Iraq overseer Paul Bremer were given the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House.

'These three men symbolise the nobility of public service, the good character of our country, and the good influence of America on the world,' Mr Bush said.

But critics questioned the awards.

A spokesman for defeated presidential candidate John Kerry suggested that Mr Bush's choices were on a different level to other recipients, who have included civil rights heroine Rosa Parks and former President Jimmy Carter.

'My hunch is that George Bush wasn't using the same standard when honouring Tenet and Bremer that was applied to previous honourees,' David Wade was quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency."

Clearly Bush is only about passing out jobs, medals and contracts to loyal sheep. Yet, this is no bigger of a joke than anything else he has done. Le Sigh!

Mr. Duel Goes To Fox

Adding another nut to the stash ...

U.S. Sen. Zell Miller will be joining Fox News Channel as a contributor next month, Fox announced Tuesday.

Kevin Magee, vice president for programming at Fox, said in a news release that the Georgia Democrat will begin appearing on the network in January.

"I am excited to be joining FOX News Channel and am eager to contribute to the continuing success of the network," Miller said in the release.

Miller was governor of Georgia for two terms and was appointed to the Senate to fill the unexpired term of Republican Sen. Paul Coverdell in 2000. He has also taught both history and political science as a professor at University of Georgia, Young Harris College and Emory University.

Miller, a strong supporter of President Bush, was the keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention earlier this year. He has infuriated many Democrats with his independent stance.

Very Brady Christmas?

So I have a drama free family that likes to cook, eat, sip and laugh. That makes me a "Brady?"

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Very Brady Christmas

For you, it's all about sharing times with family. Even if you all get a bit cheesy at times.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

He So Needs To Go

Chaos after the invasion, no exit plan, abuse, inadequately armed troops, unarmored equipment, more abuse ... Name one thing this man has done right.

"In an open letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Human Rights Watch revealed two new cases of deaths in custody and demanded an investigation into a third that took place three months ago.

'It's time for the United States to come clean about crimes committed by U.S. forces in Afghanistan,' Brad Adams, Asia Division director for Human Rights Watch, said on Monday.

Chris Grey, spokesman for the U.S. Army's Criminal Investigation Command in Washington, later told Reuters of another two prisoners who had died in U.S. detention, bringing the total number to eight."

Such A Goody Two Shoes!

I can see I need to change my angelic ways. Perhaps that will top my list of resolutions for 2005.

You Were Nice This Year!

You're an uber-perfect person who is on the top of Santa's list. You probably didn't even *think* any naughty thoughts this year. Unless you're a Mormon, you've probably been a little too good. Is that extra candy cane worth being a sweetheart for 365 days straight?

Were You Naughty or Nice This Year?

Abstinence Only

Let's enforce "abstinence only" education here. The US is holding aid dollars hostage for countries that teach contraception, female reproductive health and family planning - with no regard for the fact that women are not valued and have no control over what happens to their bodies.

"A 19-year-old Iranian girl with a mental age of eight who was forced into prostitution by her mother has been sentenced to be flogged and executed for 'morality-related' offences, Amnesty International said yesterday.

The human rights pressure group has asked Iran's supreme court to stay the execution. The girl, named only as Leyla M, had suffered a 'litany of abuse', it said.

'Sold into prostitution at the age of eight, she has experienced horrific sexual violence.

'We will not stand by mutely and let Leyla become the fourth child to be executed in Iran this year.' Leyla, who was born in the central Iranian city of Arak, was sold by her family to an Afghan man to become his 'temporary wife', aged 12. The man's mother became her new pimp, according to an Iranian newspaper report.

Two years later, Leyla became pregnant and received 100 lashes before being sold on to a 55-year-old man who continued to force her into prostitution.

The sentence was passed on the basis of a confession from Leyla despite her mental age.

Iran, as a party to the international Convention on Civil and Political Rights, has undertaken not to execute anyone for an offence committed when they were under 18. Iranian girl given death sentence - Amnesty International"

So Close, Yet So Far

Oy!

NEW ORLEANS - A judge who wore blackface makeup, handcuffs and a jail jumpsuit at a Halloween party will be suspended for six months, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled Monday.

The justices voted 5-2 to suspend Judge Timothy Ellender for a year without pay for dishonoring his position, but to defer half of that penalty. Ellender will lose more than $50,000 in pay, one judge noted.

Ellender, who is white, testified the costumes worn by him and his wife — she was dressed as a policewoman — were meant only as a joke to show he was her prisoner. The party's host, Ellender's brother-in-law, was dressed as Buckwheat.

The justices agreed Ellender did not mean to insult blacks. Nevertheless, they ordered him to take a sociology course "which will assist him in achieving a greater understanding of racial sensitivity."

Phone messages left with Ellender and his attorney, Bill Bordelon, were not immediately returned.

Jerome Boykin, head of the Terrebonne Parish branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People applauded the ruling.

"The Supreme Court sent a strong message that the court won't tolerate racist acts by judges," he said.

Bordelon argued Ellender should not be punished because the blackface incident occurred only once and was not persistent behavior. But Justice Chet Traylor, writing for the majority, said the incident was damaging.

"The negative shroud cast upon the state's judiciary by Judge Ellender's actions will only be lifted by time," Taylor said.

Anybody Else?

Are people totally brain dead? Why aren't our elected officials screaming at the top of their lungs that Rumsfeld has to go? It's bad enough that he was signed on for a second term after the disaster he created in Iraq but the fact that he remains on, with more and more of his mistakes becoming glaringly apparent, just defies logic. Even this statement by John McCain is weak and passive because it doesn't demand that Bush take corrective action for his faulty cabinet placements.

"U.S. Sen. John McCain said Monday that he has 'no confidence' in Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, citing Rumsfeld's handling of the war in Iraq and the failure to send more troops.

McCain, speaking to The Associated Press in an hourlong interview, said his comments were not a call for Rumsfeld's resignation, explaining that President Bush 'can have the team that he wants around him.'

'I have strenuously argued for larger troop numbers in Iraq, including the right kind of troops - linguists, special forces, civil affairs, etc.,' said McCain, R-Ariz. 'There are very strong differences of opinion between myself and Secretary Rumsfeld on that issue.'"

Rumsfeld's arrogant and flippant performance in front of our soldiers last week was the very last straw for me - and I thought I'd long since run out of straws where he was concerned. Has Bush been handing out opiates to all of the Senators and Congressmen? When will someone speak the heck up and force Bush to fire Rumsfeld before his policies kill more?

A Very Grand Opening

My skin crawls everytime I read anything about Strom Thurmond and the daughter born of a relationship between he and the family maid's daughter. He lived a full life to age 100, while this woman feels that her life began at 78.

"Thurmond said segregation laws were needed to protect the purity of the races.

'I wasn't sure if this was my father talking or the ghost of Adolf Hitler,' she wrote.

When Thurmond ran for president as the State's Rights Party candidate during the 1948 election, he said: 'All the laws of Washington and all the bayonets of the army cannot force the Negro race into our theaters, our swimming pools, our schools, our churches, our homes.'

Nearly a decade later, he set the Senate record for filibustering when he spoke against a bill to end discrimination in housing.

On one visit, Williams asked Thurmond how he could say such things about blacks. She said blacks were treated unfairly, but he defended it as the culture and custom of the South.

Over the decades, Williams tried to reconcile the fiery politician with the man who treated her kindly, providing money for her and her family.

'It's not that Strom Thurmond ever swore me to secrecy. He never swore me to anything. He trusted me, and I respected him, and we loved each other in our deeply repressed ways, and that was our social contract,' she wrote.
Thurmond eventually softened his political stance and renounced racism.

Williams, who taught in public schools for 27 years, said Thurmond's death in 2003 at age 100 left her unsettled. Her own daughter encouraged her to make her story public, and Thurmond's family soon acknowledged her heritage. "In a way, my life began at 78, at least my life as who I really was, without the subterfuges of the previous 65 years," Williams wrote. "I may have called it 'closure,' but it was much more like an opening, a very grand opening."

As disgusting as it is, people manage to give Thurmond credit because he threw his child a few dollars while she was growing up. But, no doubt, those dollars couldn't pay for the years of being denied her heritage and birth rite and the ever present knowledge that her father considered she and her mother - through words and deeds - second class citizens.

I wonder if he's resting comfortably in a special place in hell?

Battered Citizens

Michael Moore says we're battered citizens. My question is: where is our shelter?

And then ask anyone who has ever worked in a domestic violence shelter if they have heard this before.

They will tell you: Every single day.

The answer is quite simple. They beat us because they are abusers. We can call it hate. We can call it fear. We can say it is unfair. But we are looped into the cycle of violence, and we need to start calling the dominating side what they are: abusive. And we need to recognize that we are the victims of verbal, mental, and even, in the case of Iraq, physical violence.

As victims we can't stop asking ourselves what we did wrong. We can't seem to grasp that they will keep hitting us and beating us as long as we keep sticking around and asking ourselves what we are doing to deserve the beating.

Listen to George Bush say that the will of God excuses his behavior. Listen, as he refuses to take responsibility, or express remorse, or even once, admit a mistake. Watch him strut, and tell us that he will only work with those who agree with him, and that each of us is only allowed one question (soon, it will be none at all; abusers hit hard when questioned; the press corps can tell you that). See him surround himself with only those who pledge oaths of allegiance. Hear him tell us that if we will only listen and do as he says and agree with his every utterance, all will go well for us (it won't; we will never be worthy).

Church, Not State

I was pretty ambivalent about the issue of gay marriage until the religious right nutjobs (and the President of the 51% of America) decided to turn this into a front burner, campaign issue. If indeed, this is a biblical issue, it belongs in the doctrine of each church - not in the government and not in the law. Canada seems to have the right idea.

"Several centuries ago, it would have been understood that marriage be available only to opposite-sex couples," the judges said. "The recognition of same-sex marriage in several Canadian jurisdictions as well as two European countries belies the assertion that the same is true today."

Gay marriage is now legal in Belgium and the Netherlands. In Canada, gay couples can already marry in six provinces and one territory, thanks to lower court rulings that said the traditional definition of marriage violated Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. If the federal legislation passes, it will mean that gay couples across the country will have the same right.

The bill will apply to civil, not religious ceremonies. Churches which oppose gay marriage will not be forced to perform them.

In the past, Mr. Martin has expressed misgivings about the state sanctioning gay marriages. It was under his predecessor, former prime minister Jean Chretien, that the Liberals drafted the bill and referred questions about it to the Supreme Court. Prime Minister Martin, a Roman Catholic, was under pressure from the church not to abandon the traditional definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

"This was not an easy decision for me," Martin told reporters after the Supreme Court released its non-binding opinion. "It is one that I've struggled with, but fundamentally it comes down to the equality rights under the Charter. "I do not believe you can have two classes of citizen."

(emphasis mine)

Wake Up And Smell The Carnage

Sooner or later Americans are going to have to start facing facts about the toll this war is taking on our troops. I don't like graphic violence but people need to wake up and smell the carnage.

From Daily Kos ...
The war cost in blood

1,440 allied killed
1,294 U.S. killed
2.27 killed per day
9,766 U.S. wounded in action

The New England Journal of Medicine notes that 10 percent of wounded in action die -- the best survival rate in US military history. But the carnage is gruesome ...

'Iraqi Hitler' On The Horizon?

This is comforting:

"Long-term instability in Iraq could give birth to an 'Iraqi Hitler' if citizens continue to feel humiliated and despondent, Iraqi President Ghazi Yawar has said.

Daily bombings and kidnappings have plagued Iraq since last year's U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein and the relentless Sunni-led insurgency has crippled reconstruction and development projects in the country.

'This could in the long term create an environment in which an Iraqi Hitler could emerge like the one created by the defeat of Germany and the humiliation of Germans in World War I,' Yawar told the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in remarks published on Monday."

All Is Fair

They say all is fair in love and war but, dang!:

"This case of poisoning Yushchenko is not an isolated one at all,' says Andrei Piontkovsky, head of the Center for Strategic Studies in Moscow. 'This practice was routine for the KGB in Soviet times, and I don't think their successors have higher moral standards.'

Mr. Yushchenko Sunday checked out of a clinic in Vienna after doctors confirmed that dioxin poisoning was responsible for severe facial scarring and skin discoloration.

Yushchenko has long claimed that the condition was the result of an assassination attempt.
Ukrainian authorities on Saturday reopened a criminal investigation into the poisoning, which had been closed by the former prosecutor Gennady Vasilyev for lack of evidence.

Although dioxins are a common industrial pollutant, doctors said Yushchenko had 1,000 times the normal concentration in his system, leading to conclusions of foul play.

'We suspect involvement of an external party, but we cannot answer as to who cooked what or who was with him when he ate,' Dr. Michael Zimpfer told reporters in Vienna Saturday.

Whether by coincidence or not, Mr. Yushchenko fell ill soon after dining on Sept. 5 with the head of Ukraine's SBU secret service, Gen. Igor Smeshko. Officials and Ukraine's state-run media had scoffed at Yushchenko's claims of poisoning, pointing instead to his love of sushi and high living as the probable cause."

I hope Dubya has a food taster the next time he goes to visit his buddy Putin.

Too Close For Comfort?

Personally, I'm not sure if what Alberto Gonzales' adult stepson does/did for a living should have any bearing on whether his nomination goes through. It would just seem that a man, who had a relatively high profile job prior to the nomination and who was also a family values proponent, could have influenced his stepson into seeking a different employer. Of course, Inquiring minds will want to know if Alberto had access to any of the perks or benefits from the porn king.

Bush nominee Alberto Gonzales has a stepson who, until recently, worked for Larry Flynt.

Until he abruptly quit last month - around the time that President Bush nominated his stepfather, White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales, to be U.S. attorney general - Web designer Jared Freeze worked as a consultant for notorious pornographer Larry Flynt.

A knowledgeable source told Lowdown that the twentysomething Freeze - a child from the previous marriage of Gonzales' wife, Rebecca - left Flynt's employ at the urging of Gonzales, who was said to be worried that the Hustler magazine connection might cause political damage during his confirmation hearings.

But Flynt disputed that version yesterday.

"No," he told me through a rep. "He resigned after Alberto Gonzales was nominated, because he felt it would be prudent."

Aides in the White House press office didn't respond to half a dozen phone calls from Lowdown over the past two days.

Flynt - best known for such hard-core magazines as Hustler and Barely Legal, which have featured simulated gang rapes and other graphic material - told Lowdown through a spokeswoman: "Jared Freeze was a consultant with us. He worked in our Web site and broadcasting divisions."

Flynt added that Freeze's employment should have no bearing on Gonzales' confirmation. "There's no relationship," he argued.

Gonzales is extremely close to Bush, but some conservative groups have expressed skepticism about his anti-abortion bonafides.

When he was a Texas Supreme Court justice, he wasn't staunch enough, in the view of some conservatives, in upholding state laws requiring pregnant teenage girls to notify their parents before obtaining an abortion.

Yesterday, Jan LaRue, chief counsel of the conservative group Concerned Women for America, told me Freeze's employment with Flynt is "a legitimate issue" that should be raised next month before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"The Justice Department is responsible for enforcing the obscenity and child pornography laws," LaRue said, "and Larry Flynt's publications include hard-core prosecutable material, in my opinion."

She added that she wants to know if Gonzales had urged his stepson to quit before he knew he was going to be nominated.

"If he didn't, that wouldn't be very helpful," she said.

Lowdown's attempts to reach Freeze yesterday were unsuccessful.

Then again, perhaps this is too close for comfort.

Nope, Not Man Enough

So he's not man enough to apologize for the insensitivity displayed towards a Jewish caller on his radio program last week. Instead, he's mad at Media Matters for reporting his ignorant comments.:

"When the caller on the December 3 Radio Factor objected to 'Christmas going into schools' and explained that he 'grew up with a resentment because I felt that people were trying to convert me to Christianity,' O'Reilly informed him that the United States is 'a predominantly Christian nation' and declared, 'if you are really offended, you gotta go to Israel then.' O'Reilly labeled the caller's concerns 'an affront to the majority,' insisting that 'the majority can be insulted too.' In his letter protesting the comments, Foxman wrote, among other things, that O'Reilly's comment 'plays into one of the oldest anti-Semitic canards about Jews, that they are not full citizens of a country and are not entitled to all of the rights afforded to the majority.'

O'Reilly claimed on his December 9 radio show that 'the write-ups about this didn't put any of it in context.' In fact, Media Matters' original item included the full text and audio of the December 3 exchange. O'Reilly added that the 'write-ups' 'didn't say it was about Christmas,' apparently suggesting that if the public knew that O'Reilly was talking about Christmas when he told a caller to 'go to Israel,' the remark would seem less offensive."

I went on a "Wider Opportunity" with the Girl Scouts in 1974. Scouts from all over the nation were selected to participate in travel/adventure programs throughout the world. It was a fun time and I met all kinds of people. One thing that still sticks in my mind is something that opened my mind to diversity - even though I was only one of two black people on the trip. We sang constantly during our travels on the bus. I never once realized that many of the songs had a "Christian" theme to them. Finally, a Jewish girl got fed up and said "why do we keep singing all of these Jesus songs?" Well, naturally, I'd never thought about it and felt bad that she felt left out. We were all young teens so I guess others felt the same way so someone suggested that she teach us a song.

Granted, a song with lyrics like "my head hurts, my feet stink and I don't love Jesus," didn't really go over that well but I think I giggled. Still, I learned something (and 30 years later still empathize with how the Jewish girl must have felt being surrounded by people who automatically thought everyone was Christian or that "Jesus songs" were a part of everyone's life) and I think that lesson was the same one the radio caller was trying to express to Bill O'Reilly. I was a kid when I "got it." Bill O'Reilly is an old assed jerk who still doesn't.

Soldiers Kicked To The Curb

We absolutely cannot, cannot allow this to happen again.:

"U.S. veterans from the war in Iraq are beginning to show up at homeless shelters around the country, and advocates fear they are the leading edge of a new generation of homeless vets not seen since the Vietnam era.

'When we already have people from Iraq on the streets, my God,' said Linda Boone, executive director of the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. 'I have talked to enough (shelters) to know we are getting them. It is happening and this nation is not prepared for that.'"

I thought I was half-joking about Iraqi veterans winding up shaking a cup outside of Target and Walmart but I had no idea it would happen this fast. These situations must be rectified!

Name That Intelligence

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well. An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly. You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?