American Men Are Crazy

I once had a boss who admitted that he once considered getting a mail order bride. I looked at him like he was crazy because then, as now, I couldn't quite grasp how one could fathom sending off of a bride as though she were just a piece of merchandise. I always figured that those types of men were simply rejects who lacked the social skills to get a wife on their own or were so psycho that no real, thinking woman would really have them. Apparently, that is what some of these mail order agencies think as well:

"Nataliya Derkach just wanted a husband. In 1998, she was a 26-year-old college student in Kiev, divorced and disenchanted with the Ukrainian dating scene. Then she met Natasha Spivack, a Russian-American who runs Encounters International, an Internet matchmaking service that caters to American men seeking Russian and Ukrainian brides. Spivack had just the catch for Derkach: a handsome, successful businessman named James Fox. Derkach married him two months after they met in the United States, moving to Virginia and taking his last name. But James soon began beating her, says Fox. And when she turned to Spivack for help, Fox says Spivack told her that all American men were 'crazy,' and to deal with it or risk being sent back to Ukraine. Fox did as she was told, until one night in the summer of 2000, when Fox says her husband beat her as she breast-fed the couple's infant daughter. Fox wound up in the emergency room with her face bruised and swollen and a human bite mark on her hand."

The Ultimate Hype Man!

Hey, if Flavor Flav can get a gig, why not him?

I just don't think he's American Idol material.

We Are The World?

I am on a number of Internet discussion lists and this was one of the first topics of the day. I refuse to listen to the song as I don't listen to radio stations of this kind anyway. But, from all the buzz it sounds downright ignorant and the radio personality is getting her just desserts as far as outrage:

"This is a big story, that's about to blow up as it should, and right in there faces. This was about the most stupidest un-funny piece of trash I have ever heard. WTF are they smoking up at HOT97 NYC? Their motto being, Blazing Hiphop and R&B ...R&B standing for Racism and Bigotry.

Listen to this mp3... if you don't want to hear them bickering at the beginning fast forward to the middle, where the song is, though the bickering is Miss Jones defending the song and outing her asian news woman (Miss Info) on the show, for not wanting to participate in the 'parody' song -smart move by her, she has SOME class" ...
(link via ISOU)

For my part, I think it illustrates the total lack of sensitivity, understanding and empathy for the magnitude of the situation. It's like when, several years ago, a group of black high school students from Oakland,CA went on a field trip to see Shindler's List and starting laughing at segments of bodies being dumped and people being herded. While it was blown up into black anti-semitism, from the students I saw being interviewed, the black and white film looked funny to them so they laughed. With today's modern and graphic videos and movies, they were totally desensitized to what the movie was really about because of the presentation.

When the news of this tragedy was first released, many people started complaining about the US always coming to the rescue with aid when we have problems here - as though they'd ever had their entire families and lives washed away in the blink of an eye. The lesson to be learned is how selfish and isolated from history, the world and other people's plights we have become. More so than it being racist, (and it could also be deemed racist that hardly any attention is being paid to the AFRICAN countries impacted by the Tsunami too) it is the lack of compassion and the ability to identify with human suffering. In essence, we really aren't the world.

Strategy To Cut And Run

Since the war began, we've been bombarded with "we aren't gonna cut and run" and "we are gonna stay the course." But, things are going so horribly, though we may leave things in utter destruction and chaos (which will years to repair), I knew someone had to be thinking of a way to "cut our losses" and leave (run).

Sure enough it sounds like that is exactly what we are doing

"Private memos are circulating in Washington, Baghdad and London setting out detailed scenarios for withdrawal of US and British forces from Iraq as early as possible, a Foreign Office source said yesterday.

The policy papers have added urgency because a new Iraq government, to be elected next week if the election goes ahead on January 30 as planned, could set a target date for withdrawal.

John Negroponte, US ambassador to Baghdad, confirmed that a United Nations resolution declared that US and other forces would have to leave if requested by the Iraqi government. 'If that's the wish of the government of Iraq, we will comply with those wishes. But no, we haven't been approached on this issue - although obviously we stand prepared to engage the future government on any issue concerning our presence here.'"

Whoa!

I am speechless! They can't be on the brink of this madness again!

"A group of nationalist Russian lawmakers called Monday for a sweeping investigation aimed at outlawing all Jewish organizations and punishing officials who support them, accusing Jews of fomenting ethnic hatred and saying they provoke anti-Semitism.

In a letter dated Jan. 13, about 20 members of the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, asked Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov to investigate their claims and to launch proceedings 'on the prohibition in our country of all religious and ethnic Jewish organizations as extremist.'

The letter, faxed in part to The Associated Press by the office of lawmaker Alexander Krutov, said, 'The negative assessments by Russian patriots of the qualities and actions against non-Jews that are typical of Jews correspond to the truth ... The statements and publications against Jews that have incriminated patriots are self-defense, which is not always stylistically correct but is justified in essence.'"
[...]
"The economic situation is ripe for this. An enemy is needed, and the enemy is well-known, traditional," Gerber said.

Echoing anti-Semitic tracts of the Czarist era, the letter's authors accuse Jews of working against the interests of the countries where they live and of monopolizing power worldwide. They say the United States "has become an instrument for achieving the global aims of Judaism."

"It is possible to say that the entire democratic world today is under the monetary and political control of international Judaism, which high-profile bankers are openly proud of," the letter says.

Along with outlawing Jewish organizations, the lawmakers call for the prosecution of "individuals responsible for providing these groups with state and municipal property, privileges and state financing."

It Seems We've Been At Cross Purposes

Never thought I'd be quoting Rhett Butler from Gone With The Wind at a time like this but somewhere along the way we need to get a clear understanding of what is really going on here. As President Bush chanted about "freedom and liberty" in his inaugural speech last week, two French reporters who'd been kidnapped and released in Iraq are sharing what they learned from their captors.

"Malbrunot is still trying to sort out his disjointed impressions. Before his abduction, he had never heard of the Islamic Army in Iraq, an extremely fundamentalist group with close ties to Osama bin Laden. Now he knows a lot. They are, for example, better organized and wealthier than he ever imagined -- even more so now than a mere six months ago, he said. Also, he says, they are adamant jihadists, convinced that they are waging war to defend the Muslim faith against the West. 'There was a lot of talk about chief Osama (bin Laden), references to Chechnya and how the Muslim world is fighting the Western world in Chechnya, Pakistan and Afghanistan.' Some of the men had been Saddam Hussein loyals -- including one who claimed he was Saddam's personal secretary.

The Islamist cells are also very compartmentalized, and they divide their work carefully. Some do the kidnapping, others the interrogating, others the judging, others the guarding and -- he assumes -- others the killing. They also have surprisingly strong contacts in Europe. And although they operate separately, they sometimes coordinate with other insurgent groups -- including that run by Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted insurgent in Iraq for whose capture the US has offered a $25 million reward. Malbrunot says that these fighters will not give up until the last of them is dead. As such, he sees little hope in upcoming elections on Jan. 30.

"One of our jailers told us they have four enemies," he said. "American soldiers and other coalition members, collaborators, which meant businessmen -- Italian, American or even French -- who are working there, the Iraqi police and spies." Any new Iraqi government, he said, will be viewed as an enemy, just as the Americans -- and even secular Arab leaders -- are viewed. The group's main goals are far from modest. They want to defeat America in Iraq, drive a wedge between Europe and America and "overthrow the Arab leaders in Egypt and Saudi Arabia and return to the caliphate (Islamic rule) from Andalusia (Spain) to China."
(emphasis mine)

Clearly our missions are at polar extremes. However, I think they totally understand what our goals are (were) but I am not sure we understand theirs. Bush needs to have far more than lofty rhetoric to supersede their grand scheme. He needs to stop with the simplistic "they hate our freedom" BS and understand that not only are the non-democratic governments that we support in the middle east under threat of defeat from these people, they are looking to expand their ideals as broadly as we are trying to expand ours. If this isn't a case of "east is east and west is west," I don't know what is.

Keep Hope Alive

When my family moved from the city to the suburbs, I had to transfer to a public school for the first time in my life. The good thing was that it was an excellent school with an extensive curriculum. I only got to spend my last two years of high school there but I don't think that there was single class that I enjoyed more or learned more from than Logic. We spent an entire semester learning the fallacies and how they are used/misused everyday. I recall, for one assignment, keeping a notebook of instances of any fallacy I found in advertising, newspapers or magazines.

Given the rhetorical manipulations of this past election season, the numerous verbal debates I've had and the heinous diatribes I've seen in blogs and on the various cable programs, I nearly concluded that the tenets of basic logic and knowledge of fallacies were lost forever. But after seeing this post, by a younger person at that, I see that hope is still alive and that someone - somewhere - is still teaching, studying and learning how to think, reason and argue -- the right way.

But with the mass influx of varied views and opinions comes the increased potential that readers of opinionated writing will be exposed to arguments based upon faulty logic, or "logical fallacies." For this reason, people who frequent the Blogosphere should familiarize themselves with the different types of logical fallacies so that they aren’t duped by arguments that seem convincing on the surface but that lack any true merit.

Fallacies rear their ugly little heads all the time, though usually in a very subtle manner. Take for instance the silly graphic appearing on the index page of Booker Rising. About midway down the page in the left hand column is a picture of a black man holding a gun. The wording of the picture cleverly asserts "KKK and NAACP agree on disarming African-Americans; Do You Agree?"

If you've never seen this info before, please bookmark his links and spend a little time absorbing the information. If you are just a little rusty on some of the lesser known fallacies, bookmark the link anyway and browse it when you get a chance.

Picking It Apart

In his article, David Corn does a good job of talking back to Bush by highlighting glaring contradictions between what he said in his inaugural address and what he actually does.

....We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.

And have you notified the leaders of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, China and Uzbekistan that you're going to make bringing liberty and freedom to their lands the number-one national security priority for your administration?

America's vital interests and our deepest beliefs are now one. From the day of our Founding, we have proclaimed that every man and woman on this earth has rights, and dignity, and matchless value, because they bear the image of the Maker of Heaven and earth. Across the generations we have proclaimed the imperative of self-government.

Is that why we overthrew democratic governments in Iran and Chile and cozied up to the racist regime in South Africa? for years.

So it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world.

What have you done lately to support the democrats of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Russia, or China?

This is not primarily the task of arms, though we will defend ourselves and our friends by force of arms when necessary. Freedom, by its nature, must be chosen.

Did Iraqis choose to be invaded and occupied in a fashion that has led to tens of thousands of Iraqi civilian deaths?

It is odd to me that Bush appeals to people who want "simple" answers yet those same people fail to be able to see "simple" facts.

If Only ...

Bush Vows to Fight Tyranny, Punches Self In Face Repeatedly

I have made the world a dangerous place! My country has lots of nuclear weapons! I start wars that have wiped out hundreds of thousands of civilians! My policies are designed to enrich my friends and large political donors, at the expense of the common good! I hold political prisoners indefinitely without charging them of any crime or allowing them access to counsel. I advocate the use of torture and would like to dismantle the UN!"

"SOMEBODY STOP ME BEFORE I STRIKE AGAIN!"

They Just Don't Know

Why is it that I want to name almost every post "Are you freaking kidding me?" No matter the topic, though it usually has something to do with the Bush Administration, I don't know why my mouth goes ajar when I read some of this stuff. Now, since I am a regular listener of Democracy Now!, I heard something along these lines several months ago. They don't know who, what, where, why or how this man is. Heck! They aren't even sure if they have the name right. Yet they keep fronting about this "big, bad wolf" who is at the heart of all the attacks in Iraq. Yet another attempt at perpetuating these larger than life images of evil black (or almost) people who can outwit, outfox, outlast the entire United States Military. Now, he might be a composite?:

"Some in the military assumed Zarqawi had been holed up in Fallujah. But marines based near that city believe the local Sunni leadership may have had a falling out with Zarqawi's group, the target of repeated airstrikes in the city. Military officials now think Zarqawi moves around Iraq. Indeed, he was most likely in Baghdad when the two Americans were beheaded last week, suggesting movement that military officials hope to exploit. 'He'll make a mistake,' says Marine Lt. Gen. John Sattler, 'and he'll only get one mistake.'

Already, a senior defense official says, half of Zarqawi's top leadership has been killed or captured. Unfortunately, military intelligence does not necessarily back up that assessment. Analysts do not know how many lieutenants Zarqawi had or how many disciples have risen up to take the place of the fallen. 'No one has hard numbers,' says another defense official.

The only thing certain is that nothing's certain, even his name. Zarqawi is thought to be a Jordanian whose real name may be Ahmed Fadil Khaylayleh. One top analyst thinks he may be a composite, not a single person. 'He's become this mythical creature,' agrees Larry Johnson, a former State Department counterterrorism official. 'The truth is we just don't know.' "

So, again: Are you freaking kidding me?!

Cheap Skates!

With all of the sacrifices these soldiers are making over in Iraq, you mean to tell me they can't keep a couple hundred bucks distributed in error?

Wait, don't spend that cash! The couple hundred extra bucks 53,000 soldiers have seen or are about to see in their January paychecks is not a late Christmas present from Uncle Sam.

The extra money, which for most affected soldiers amounts to an additional $200 and $300 in their paychecks this month, is there because of a data input error made at the Defense Department's joint Defense Finance and Accounting Service, according to Col. Kenneth Crowder, DFAS' director of Army Pay Operations.

The error occurred when a DFAS employee was electronically updating the meal allowance rate for 2005 and accidentally backdated the change to 2004, Crowder said in a telephone interview with Stripes on Friday from his Indianapolis office.

As a result, the Defense Department’s pay computers decided that soldiers who have Army meal cards, but who are authorized for reimbursement for some meals, deserved a refund for 2004.

The refund shows up as "refund of BAS," or Basic Allowance for Subsistence, in the "entitlements" column of a soldier’s Leave and Earning Statement, Crowder said.

The Army is required by law to collect the funds from any "administrative or technical error" back from soldiers in the same month the error was made, Crowder said.

Hmph! I see how they rate!

People All Over The World

... join hands!

Love Train
by O'Jays

People all over the world (everybody)
Join hands (join)
Start a love train, love train
People all over the world (all the world, now)
Join hands (love ride)
Start a love train (love ride), love train
The next stop that we make will be England
Tell all the folks in Russia, and China, too
Don't you know that it's time to get on board
And let this train keep on riding, riding on through
Well, well
People all over the world (you don't need no money)
Join hands (come on)
Start a love train, love train (don't need no ticket, come on)
People all over the world ( ride this train)(Ride this train, y'all)
Start a love train (Come on, train), love train
All of you brothers over in Africa
Tell all the folks in Egypt, and Israel, too
Please don't miss this train at the station
'Cause if you miss it, I feel sorry, sorry for you
Well
People all over the world (Sisters and brothers)
Join hands (join, come on)
Start a love train (ride this train, y'all), love train (Come on)
People all over the world (Don't need no tickets)
Join hands (come on, ride)
Start a love train, love train
Ride, let it ride
Let it ride
Let it ride
People, ain't no war
People all over the world (on this train)
Join in (ride the train)
Start a love train, love train (ride the train, y'all)
People all over the world (come on)
Join hands (you can ride or stand, yeah)
Start a love train, love train (makin' love)
People all over the world ('round the world, y'all)
Join hands (come on)
Start a love train, love train

She Works Hard For The Money

I have got to give the nod to California Senator Barbara Boxer. She really gave Condoleezza Rice a run for her money during the confirmation hearings. This interview with Salon illustrates her intent and her point in questioning Ms. Rice so vigorously.

Rice told you not to "impugn" her "integrity" or her "credibility," but that was exactly what you meant to do, wasn't it? You had questions about whether she had spoken truthfully about Iraq before and after the war began.

I was very honest about it. I told her, "I'm worried about your lack of candor" -- I wasn't denying that -- "and I'm giving you a chance to set the record straight." But she actually made the record murkier, especially on torture. She opened up a whole new front on the lack of credibility.

If people were looking for some sense of a fresh start with the beginning of the second Bush term, they wouldn't have seen it at the confirmation hearing.

The beat goes on. But I think that's where the people come in. We live in a democracy. This isn't a monarchy. The people's opinion is very important here, and right now 58 percent of them are worried about the way this war is going. And so many people watched the hearing. I was very happy to get thousands and thousands of phone calls and e-mails and the rest. And that's what saves the country many times, the people of this country. If we start abusing power, they catch you. That's what I want to do, keep the people engaged. I was really pleased with the breadth and the depth of the questions that were asked, and I like to think that I had something to do with that.

Condoleezza showed her normal "grace under fire" but she was getting pissed. I could tell.

One Saddam For Another

This is sickening! Why is everyone so willing to behave as Saddam did?

"A former Jordanian government minister has told The New Yorker that an American official confirmed to him that the Iraqi interim Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, executed six suspected insurgents at a Baghdad police station last year.

The claim is in an extensive profile of Dr Allawi written for this week's issue of the magazine by an American journalist, Jon Lee Anderson, the author of The Fall of Baghdad and a regular Baghdad correspondent for The New Yorker.

Writing about his research in Jordan in December, Anderson says: 'A well-known former government minister told me that an American official had confirmed that the killings took place, saying to him, 'What a mess we're in - we got rid of one son of a bitch only to get another one'.'

The New Yorker also revealed that Anderson was present during an interview conducted by the Herald's chief correspondent, Paul McGeough, in late June, with a man who said he witnessed the executions by Dr Allawi.
AdvertisementAdvertisement

Dr Allawi denied the allegations when they were published in the Herald last July.

Anderson writes: 'The man ... described how Allawi had been taken to seven suspects, who were made to stand against a wall in a courtyard of the police station, their faces covered. After being told of their alleged crimes by a police official, Allawi had asked for a pistol, and then shot each prisoner in the head. [One of the men survived.] Afterward, the witness said, Allawi had declared to those present, 'This is how we must deal with the terrorists.' The witness said he approved of Allawi's act, adding that, in any case, the terrorists were better off dead, for they had been tortured for days.'"

Tyranny Starts At Home

Naturally, I couldn't listen to George Walker Bush's voice as he took the oath of office and I certainly wasn't about to listen to his speech. Later I find out he was jabbering about "tyranny." Lofty language from a man who has continuously and arrogantly lied and cheated to get his way. I believe that falls under tryranny and I believe our dear President ought to take a look in the mirror.

"George W. Bush embarked on his second term as president Thursday, telling a world anxious about war and terrorism that the United States would not shrink from new confrontations in pursuit of 'the great objective of ending tyranny.'

Four minutes before noon, Bush placed his left hand on a family Bible and recited 39 tradition-hallowed words that every president since George Washington has uttered.

With 150,000 American troops deployed in Iraq at a cost of $1 billion a week and more than 1,360 killed, Bush also beseeched Americans for patience.

'Our country has accepted obligations that are difficult to fulfill and would be dishonorable to abandon,' the president declared in the first wartime inauguration in more than three decades."

The biggest tryrant was just sworn in.

Sing, Sing, Celebrate ... For Our King Celebrate

I'm not sure if I should laugh at this or not. It's not that I think this guy meant to say it but I think he probably talks like that behind closed doors and the slur just slipped out.

"A television weatherman was fired after referring to slain civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. as 'Martin Luther Coon King' on the air, station officials said.

Rob Blair, of KTNV-TV, was delivering the extended forecast Saturday morning when he said: 'Martin Luther Coon King Jr. Day, gonna see some temperatures in the mid-60s.'

Jim Prather, vice president and general manager of the ABC affiliate, said Blair stumbled when he uttered the remark, but the excuse was not enough to save his job.

'This kind of incident is not acceptable under any circumstances, and I'm truly sorry that this event occurred,' Prather said.

Blair, who worked at the station for about three months, apologized during the station's 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts Saturday.

'I in no way intended to offend anyone,' he said in the apology. 'I'm very sorry.'"

Well, I can't cry about it either because it just means there is so much more work to do if we cannot even advance beyond childish, outdated slurs.

In His World!

Wow! He wins by 3 percentage points, the lowest margin for an incumbent President in history, and he deludes himself into thinking that he has carte blanche to do whatever the heck he wants over the next 4 years.

"President George W. Bush has said that his re-election in November ratified the correctness of his approach in Iraq and provided an 'accountability moment' for those behind flawed judgments regarding the war there.

Bush made the comments in an interview published Sunday, in which he also twice declined to endorse a suggestion by Secretary of State Colin Powell that the U.S. troop presence in Iraq could be reduced by year's end.

The president thus indicated that he intended to move determinedly forward with plans to stabilize and democratize Iraq, without undue second-guessing about what he suggested were mistakes of the sort inevitable in wartime, and with few doubts that, failures and missteps aside, the war had proved worthwhile.

But his suggestion that the election had been a public ratification of Iraq policy seemed unlikely to find much support outside his Republican Party. It was scathingly rejected by one leading Democrat, Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, who called it 'ridiculous.' "

This is how you know what a piss poor and mediocre performer he has been his entire life. If you are used to D's and F's, a miraculous "C" is like an A and the whole world cheers -- much in the way people do for kids in the Special Olympics. George and Barbara must have been some kind of parents to have groomed someone who's bar for excellence resembles "how low can you go?" in a limbo contest.

He Doesn't Get It!

After seeing the headline, I was about to cheer and label this article "I'm Satisfied!" But, this guy doesn't seem to get it. I don't care what war was going on. They had arrested a majority of regular Iraqi citizens and subjected them to more humiliation that Saddam Hussein ever could have. This man has a pattern of sadistic abuse and does not seem to care. Initially, I thought that maybe 5 years would help him see the err of his deeds. Now, the ten years he got doesn't seem, enough.

"Army Spc. Charles Graner Jr. was sentenced to 10 years behind bars Saturday for physically and sexually mistreating Iraqis in the first court-martial stemming from at Abu Ghraib prison scandal, an embarrassment to the U.S. military fueled by the release of graphic photographs.

Graner, labeled the leader of a band of rogue guards at the Baghdad prison in late 2003, will be dishonorably discharged when his sentence is completed. He also was demoted to private and ordered to forfeit all pay and benefits.

Asked if he felt remorse after the sentence was handed down, Graner said, 'There's a war on. Bad things happen.'"

FAN-TAS-TIC !

Bigger men need to fall but this clownis a good start:

"Army Spc. Charles Graner Jr., the reputed ringleader of a band of rogue guards at the Abu Ghraib prison, was convicted Friday of abusing Iraqi detainees in a case that sparked international outrage when photographs were released that showed reservists gleefully abusing prisoners.

Graner, the first soldier to be court-martialed in the scandal, was convicted of all five charges and faces up to 15 years behind bars. Four other soldiers have pleaded guilty in the scandal.

Graner stood at attention and looked straight ahead without expression as each verdict was read. His parents, Charles and Irma Graner, held hands tightly as they listened."

His parents should have been holding hands when they were raising his sadistic ass!

Do You Have Another Challenge?

I guess Osama is on hiatus again and these crack pots are just having fun. Granted, there have been some painfully successful hits against our troops and top Iraqi officials lately but these folks are just getting beside themselves with glee over their accomplishments.

"The video, narrated in fluent English by what sounded like an Iraqi educated in the United States or Britain, also mocked the U.S. president's challenge to rebels in the early days of the insurgency to 'bring it on'.

'George W. Bush; you have asked us to 'bring it on'. And so help me, (we will) like you never expected. Do you have another challenge?,' asked the narrator before the video showed explosions around a U.S. military Humvee vehicle.

Threats intended to demoralise and frighten in the tense build up to elections at the end of the month were tempered with invitations to desert and escape retribution.

A masked guerrilla from an unknown group called the Islamic Jihad Army, eschewing past impassioned Arabic-language threats of holy war, told U.S. soldiers: 'This is not your war, nor are you fighting for a true cause in Iraq.'

'To the American soldiers we say you can also choose to fight tyranny with us. Lay down your weapons and seek refuge in our mosques, churches and homes. We will protect you,' he said."

Would This Be A High Tech Lynching?

Alright! I am sick of this already! Yes, Williams thought he was hanging with the big dogs and took some money to tow the party line - as I am sure many others do and have done. But this little twit's "capture" hardly wins "big fish" day at the lake.

"A member of the Federal Communications Commission said Thursday the agency should investigate whether conservative commentator Armstrong Williams broke the law by failing to disclose that the Bush administration paid him $240,000 to plug its education policies.

Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, a Democrat, said the agency has received about a dozen complaints against Williams.

'I certainly hope the FCC will take action and fully investigate whether any laws have been broken,' Adelstein said at the commission's regular monthly meeting.
Williams said that neither he nor any of the stations that carried his syndicated program violated the law because two one-minute ads that aired during the show, and that also promoted the law, specifically stated they were paid for by the Education Department.

'I was not engaged in any public relations in this campaign. It was strictly advertising,' Williams said by phone. 'I'm not concerned about this witchhunt because I know that I've done nothing wrong, nothing illegal.'"

He's lost a couple of gigs. Folks on both sides are feigning being appalled! Enough already! Find out which other lackeys are on the take but stop banging this nobody on the head with Bill Bennett's Little Book Of Virtues like he's the most evil man on earth!

(... and people think I'm ultra liberal. I'm ultra anti-foolishness!)

These Guys Are Getting Goooooood!

I don't know who is next on the hit list but these assasins have it going on as far as hitting top folks. With but 17 days left before these faulty (though necessary if only to save face or some shred of credibility) elections, I am almost afraid to see who will be next.

"A representative of Iraq's top Shia Muslim cleric has been assassinated along with his son and four bodyguards.

The attack against Sheikh Mahmoud al-Madaini came after evening prayers on Wednesday in the town of Salman Pak.

He headed the office of Ayatollah Ali Sistani in the mainly Sunni Muslim town in the lawless zone south of Baghdad.

It is the latest of a string of attacks launched by mainly-Sunni insurgents to derail national elections scheduled for 30 January."

link via stevegulliard.blogspot.com

I just hope they don't have anybody planted 'round these parts. Though I'm sure Dubya is walking around in a virtual bullet proof box, I'm just not feeling all that "homeland" secure and between January 20 (Iraqi elections) and January 30 (Inauguration) strange things can happen.

Trying not to hold my breath ...

A Nation of Faith and Religious Illiterates

I've been in enough battles with zealots over the past few months to know that some people are just spit shining their pastors shoes. I've been subjected to random biblical quotes to address basic questions (which have logical and historical answers). I've been called a Pharisee when I was able to document historic facts that relate to Jesus and the leaders of other major religions. I've been told "because it's the word" when asking for more than an irrelevant scripture reference. Sorry, "because it is in the bible" is no more of an answer from a believer than "because I said so" is from a frustrated mother. But, I certainly find this to be the case as I have experienced it, too much lately, quite recently.

"The sociologist Peter Berger once remarked that if India is the most religious country in the world and Sweden the least, then the United States is a nation of Indians ruled by Swedes. Not anymore. With a Jesus lover in the Oval Office and a faith-based party in control of both houses of Congress, the United States is undeniably a nation of believers ruled by the same.

Things are different in Europe, and not just in Sweden. The Dutch are four times less likely than Americans to believe in miracles, hell and biblical inerrancy. The euro does not trust in God. But here is the paradox: Although Americans are far more religious than Europeans, they know far less about religion.

In Europe, religious education is the rule from the elementary grades on. So Austrians, Norwegians and the Irish can tell you about the Seven Deadly Sins or the Five Pillars of Islam. But, according to a 1997 poll, only one out of three U.S. citizens is able to name the most basic of Christian texts, the four Gospels, and 12% think Noah's wife was Joan of Arc. That paints a picture of a nation that believes God speaks in Scripture but that can't be bothered to read what he has to say."

Not only is that scary, but this is even scarier:

"But you do have to be careful about one thing," he said more quietly, coming closer and speaking in hushed tones, "My professor-I have this great professor-told me that you have to be careful not to get too much education, because you could lose your foundation, your core values."

The neophyte nodded solemnly, his eyebrows raised with worry.

"If you get a bachelors," the seasoned student reassured, "you'll probably be okay. But my professor said that when you get a master's, and definitely if you go beyond that, you can lose your values. He said that college students have to be watchful because if you get too much education, you could turn LIBERAL. He's seen it happen to a lot of good Christians."

Well, damn! Perhaps that is what happened to me. I don't have my master's but probably have read and research various subject matter more than people who do. Moreover, the crazy Jesuits who provided my B.A. probably heightened and corrupted my sense of curiosity more than anyone but my parents.

You, Too, Can Have A Man

Starruh! Starruh! Starruh!

Can you wait until you've been happily married for a few months, preferably years, before you start writing self-help books for those (obviously pathetic) single women who, apparently, don't love God or themselves enough to attract a man?

We know we often trumpet the dangers of reading actual books, but we're going to make an exception for an upcoming tome by the one and only Star Jones. Yes, our favorite website-owner and bridal beast is going to help women everywhere learn to find love. A sampling of the unintentionally-hilarious press release:

"In order to truly find love, one must love themselves completely." In You Can Wait! Star Jones presents a guide to getting yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually prepared for your soul mate. Told from her unique female Christian perspective, Star shows how finding your lifelong mate depends on how much you love yourself, and whether you are ready to accept God’s promise of a blissful union between woman and man. By completing ourselves, we can better accept the love of another.

God, like a soul mate can ONLY be between a man and a woman? It's 2005, Star, wake up and stop being so closed-minded and overtly-hetero. But wait, there's more:

The book is divided into three main sections, with each exploring the core issues that will determine whether you are ready for true love. Part One will focus on the physical, and discuss problems with weight loss, financial security, and making yourself more attractive to yourself - and thus to him. Part Two will ask tough questions about your mental preparedness, including a look at past relationships, previous mistakes, and your wants and desires. Part Three will delve into your spiritual life, and focuses on strengthening your relationship with God, dating as a Christian, and enjoying the experience. By patiently examining these fundamental questions that all women wrestle with, You Can Wait! will help women better understand and love themselves.

We're not going to make a joke about bariatric surgery, being blessed for escaping the tsunami, or relationships with God based on wedding-for-profit. Nope, not even going there.

Really! I want to be happy for the girl. The pre-nuptial "bride from hell" drama nearly sealed the coffin on me taping The View everyday. I realize that she is overjoyed and blissfully happy but this is getting scary. I guess I'll just have to apply the patronizing phrase (that she's been using ad naseum) on her: "bless her heart."

But Dubya Likes Him

Okay, I can kind of agree with the "snake oil salesman" and "hukster" part. But this is, after all, a man that President George W. Bush asked to campaign for him in an attempt to gain black votes.

"Flamboyant fight promoter Don King filed a 2.5 billion-dollar lawsuit against ESPN claiming he was defamed by a programme on the cable sports television network.

King's lawyer, Willie Gary, called the case 'one of the worst examples of reckless broadcast journalism and blatant disregard for the truth.'

The suit was filed in state circuit court in Broward County, Florida, against ESPN, ABC Cable Networks and their parent company, Disney, as well as the Florida cable television carrier Advocate Communications.

The suit claims that a SportsCentury programme that aired in May accused King of being a 'a snake oil salesman and a shameless huckster.'

It also claimed King underpaid Muhammad Ali by 1.2 million dollars.

King, who was convicted in a 1967 beating death and acquitted of another murder 13 years earlier, also was portrayed on the show as someone who 'killed not once but twice.'"

Gee, I wonder if he got paid?

Okay, Dude! We Get It!

You believe in God!

"Mr. Bush said he leans heavily on his religion every day that he is in the Oval Office and cannot imagine any man handling the pressures of the job without leaning on God.

'I fully understand that the job of the president is and must always be protecting the great right of people to worship or not worship as they see fit,' Mr. Bush said. 'That's what distinguishes us from the Taliban. The greatest freedom we have or one of the greatest freedoms is the right to worship the way you see fit.

'On the other hand, I don't see how you can be president at least from my perspective, how you can be president, without a relationship with the Lord,' he said. "

I wonder if that includes Lord Buddha, Lord Allah and I don't know Lord? Funny, he said that freedom of religion is what distingushes us from the Taliban. I hope there is a little more than that.
(link via oliverwillis.com)

More From America's Finest

I am going to combine two posts because they basically address the same issue ... ignorance without shame.

First, this fool just is just stupid! It always has to go there with some folks.

"The Jews are far from the only historical victims of genocide. They are not even the most recent victims. Now some of them seem to wish to make make a profession out of running around screaming 'never forget' while simultaneously ignoring or even supporting the very same sort of evil being unleashed in places like the Sudan and the abortion clinics around the world.

I'd never understood how the medieval kings found it so easy to get the common people to hate the Jews in their midst. But if those medieval Jewish leaders were anything like the idiots running the ADL, the ACLU and the Council of Jews, one can see where the idea of persecuting them would have held some appeal."

Secondly, I must preface by saying that I absolutely, positively cannot stand Michelle Malkin. Everything from her views to that gauche red lipstick that she slathers on so heavily irritates me. (I always want to grab her face and take some kleenex to those lips to at least remove 10 layers of it. Doesn't she know that "good girls" don't come out of the house looking like that unless ...)? Okay, sorry for the lapse. I also must admit to, initially, getting some sick chuckles out of some of the vapid comments her detractors have emailed to her.

However, they are pretty vile (allegedly from liberals but I'd hazard a guess that a whole lot of red state folks have similar views that they'd like to post under the guise of being a lefty), racist, sexist and insulting and I cannot believe anyone - except an anonymous poster on Yahoo message boards - would have the audacity to send emails like these:

You're just a Manilla whore shaking your ass and waiting for the Republican fleet to come in, aren't you? You've even got the lip gloss about right. Maybe if you love sailor long time, he bring you home to big American house? I don't think so. Just like in Manilla, Honey, they'll pass you around 'til they've all shot their load in you, and then they'll try to scrub off the stench so they can sail off in their crisp, white uniforms to the land of W.A.S.P.

***

Here's a tip. We know you are lyin' pond scum and a whore to your profession......and, not a very expensive whore at that. So............when we get rid of you neocons; how will you ever pay your rent? You're not good enough to make it as a real writer. fuck you; I hope you get cancer & die a horrible painful death all alone, with your collegues shunning you and the rest of us reading how wrong you are AND WHAT A CRUMMY WRITER YOU ARE.

***

Malkin, you're a dumb fucking whore. You're a philipino piece of shit who should be wiping my ass. Go back to the massage parlor. Sucky sucky long time. How dare you thing you have any right to express any opinions in this country. You're a joke. Go back to nursing school. Whore.

***

Now, nasty emails aside, I hardly think that Armstrong Williams is going to add anymore fuel to the fire created by her extreme, and I wouldn't call them conservative, views. So, while I am sorry that she gets so many visceral attacks, I will let my sympathy stop at the offensive emails.

Oh, and though I am not one to label people uncle toms, oreos or bananas ('cause I've been called similar names too) there are, unfortunately, minorities from all ethnic groups who have internalized the racism and actually believe that the "white man's ice is colder" and that babies made with them look better. That is just a fact. Whether she falls into that category, I don't know. Personally, I'd say that of her before I'd say that of any of the black conservatives out there today (except for maybe Ward Connerly). Whatever the case, I still don't like her views!

You Hold An Election With The Voters You Have

... not the voters you'd like to have:

"Michael Georgy of the Scotsman reports from Baghdad that interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi admitted on Tuesday that 'pockets' of Iraq won't be able to vote on January 30 because of poor security. I suspect the pockets amount to about 3 million persons.

Georgy also says that Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari is trying to hold a meeting with the Sunni Arab political leaders who are calling for a boycott of the elections, on January 16, in hopes of opening the sort of national dialogue that might allow more Sunni Arabs to participate.

Jordan's ambassador to the US, Karim Kawar, is among the few officials in the region or in Washington to admit the truth: The January 30 elections in Iraq have no real validity. He estiamtes that 40% of the country won't be able to vote. "

Hmmmm. 3 million voters! Is that not the number of voters that gave George W. Bush his historic victory? But it is okay if 3 million Iraqis don't get to vote, huh?

You Can't Get Fooled Again ...

Well, let's hope not

"Anyone tempted to give credence to the White House contention that Social Security is soon heading for an into-the-iceberg level catastrophe should take note of this update on another great crisis the Bush administration once warned us about: WMD in Iraq. The hunt for Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction is over, and the hunters have come home empty-handed, driven out by the chaotic violence that ensued from Bush's quixotic quest to secure the weapons that were not there. If you missed this bit of news, that's because in our town's newspaper, anyway, a little publication called the New York Times (which has its own, um, history with the supposed WMD crisis), it was buried inside on A10 in a 240-word news brief. Guess the WMD crisis that wasn't is yesterday's news to some. (The Washington Post, on the other hand, saw fit to print it on A1). After all, there's a new emergency in town. We can only hope that this time around, the public -- and Congress, which Bush needs to enact any Social Security 'reform' -- will learn the facts and consequences before Bush goes 'solving' yet another crisis that doesn't exist.

Slippery Slope

I know average people aren't paying attention. It's going to be sad when people wake up.

Partisan ideology has wrought a cruel hoax against women who are raped. It comes with the federal government's first-ever medical guidelines for treatment of victims of sexual assault.

The guidelines omit any mention of emergency contraception, a widely accepted standard procedure intended to spare rape victims the additional agony of bearing the children of the men who assaulted them.

Members of the group of experts who reviewed the new protocol developed over the past three years by the Department of Justice's Office on Violence Against Women said an early draft included a reference to emergency contraception. It's not clear at what point in the process the reference was dropped, but it smacks of the Food and Drug Administration's arbitrary rejection of its own staff, advisory panels and major medical societies in rejecting attempts to ease access to emergency contraception.

Women's rights advocates suspect that the Bush administration is under the sway of conservative religious forces, whose sentiments are represented by Dr. George Isajiwa, board member of Physicians for Life, a Philadelphia anti-abortion group, who said that by giving emergency contraception, 'You're giving a dangerous drug that's not doing any good, or else you're causing an abortion. As a moral principle, a woman has the right to defend herself against an aggressor. But she doesn't have the right to kill the baby.'

This is not about baby killing. It's about stopping the government from being an accessory in the victimization of women. To have any ethical or medical validity, the guidelines must be rewritten to give women this essential alternative.

And The Winner Is ...

Okay, I do jump down off of my political soapbox every now and then and post something that I think is fun and crazy (coming soon: my VH1 Sunday night reality show lineup review).

TC's 4th Annual Ghetto Azz Awards
tc@urbanflavorz.com

Wassup UF!!! Happy New Year to you all! I hope you all had a safe and happy holidays, I know I did. I enjoyed my time off, yet I missed writing at the same time. But it's a new year, and its time to set things off the RIGHT WAY!! Aye Big Ed, let's take OVER this year SON!! HOLLA DOLLA!!

Ok, I'm sorry for the random outbursts, but this is 2005, it's our time to shine UF!! Look out for some really different things coming from UF this year, free passes, giveaways, hookups...just make sure you keep your inbox clean, make sure that your bulk mail folder respects my gangsta!! Well, having that been said, without further adieu, here's TC's 4th Annual Ghetto Azz Awards!!

The 3rd Annual "ATTENTION WHORE" Award - Janet Jackson, and Justin
Timberlake. Turned the Superbowl Halftime celebration into "Nippleodeon." Had little kids at home not knowing whether to sing along to the songs, or massage their breasts.

The "Coming of Age" award - Jamie Foxx. I'm glad to see him get some good roles, and show the world that he is a very talented actor/musician. Because if I saw him in one more bad Vivica Fox-type movie, I was going to be very disappointed in him.

Best Lips of 2004 - Fantasia. I don't even know if she can really sing or not, I just love the way her bottom lips quivers when she's singing verses.

Runner up- Anjelina Jolie- I'd get her mouth pregnant.

The "I Will Not Be Your Weave" Award - Smarty Jones. That horse ran like a little Chinese Beauty supply store Owner was chasing after him.

Runner Up- Sea Biscuit a.k.a. "Wet n Wavy"; who unfortunately fell victim to the track glue gun.

The "Solution for Boring Sunday Nights" Award - The Wire. R.I.P. Stringer Bell. I swear, all season long, every time I saw Slim Charles I wished he would shout out "RRIIISSEEE!!!" just ONE time.

Runner up - POKER. Trips to Vegas and Atlantic City have tripled over the past year. Personally, I prefer "I Declare War."

The Akon "I GOT LOCKED UP"(they wont let me out...) Award - Martha Stewart.

The "Butt of All Jokes" Award- William Hung. At least he got some money out of it though, I guess whatever works, right?

Runner up - Star Jones. Sweetheart, you married a fassi. Prime example of how dumb ass women claim that they don't know when they are dealing with a DL brotha. This nigga wears panty hose with his timberlands, and you cant tell he's a flamer? Joke's on you, Starrah.

Let's pause for a moment of Silence as we remember those who have fallen in 2004: ODB, Rick James, Sex In The City, Friends, Ronald Regaen, Yasser Arafat, Christopher Reeve, Ray Charles

The "White Men Run Shit!!" Award - G. W. Bush. Nuff Said.

Runner Up - Howard Stern

Scariest Looking Group Award- The Black Eyed Peas. Them bamas look like evil Anti-Christ Communists. I think that they are talking about the New World Order when they say "Let's Get It Star-teeeddd."

The "You Still A Nigger" Award - Kobe Bryant. Come on, slim...you should have known better.

Runner up - Ron Artest and the Indiana Pacers

The "Destiny's Child" Award - The Russ Parr Morning Show. Them Bamas kick more folks off that show than Beyonce's Father. And then act like nothing happened. Olivia Fox still looks like a light skinned Gremlin though.

The "Biggest Loser" Award - The USA Men's Basketball Team. Bums.

Runner up - Ashley Simpson

"Mix Tape King" of the Year- Osamna Bin Laden. This dude has More P.A. Tapes then Rare Essence.

Reggae Artist of The Year- Vybes Kartel

Worse Attitude Problem Award- Ya Ya from America's Next Top Model. Shawty got some Sea Breeze, then turned into a complete beeyatch.
p.s. I'd still smash, though.

If you all have any awards that you think I should have put up, HOLLA ATHA BOY!!

TC@URBANFLAVORZ.COM
aka Tommie Collins

Bush, Sadaam, Allawi

This seems to be quite a common practice among rulers of conflicted states.

"The electoral group headed by Iyad Allawi, the interim Iraqi prime minister, on Monday handed out cash to journalists to ensure coverage of its press conferences in a throwback to Ba'athist-era patronage ahead of parliamentary elections on January 30.

After a meeting held by Mr Allawi's campaign alliance in west Baghdad, reporters, most of whom were from the Arabic-language press, were invited upstairs where each was offered a 'gift' of a $100 bill contained in an envelope.

Many of the journalists accepted the cash - about equivalent to half the starting monthly salary for a reporter at an Iraqi newspaper - and one jokingly recalled how Saddam Hussein's regime had also lavished perks on favoured reporters. "

I wonder if Iraqi reporters will feel shafted when they realize how much money American media representatives, like Armstrong Williams, are getting for their handy work?

Boo!

Does this man have another tactic other than fear? He, the king of "I did the right thing without regard for what anyone thinks and I don't care if I lose my very hard job," is trying to warn someone about their job?

President Bush tried to increase pressure on members of Congress who are leery of his ideas to change Social Security by telling them Tuesday they could be risking their jobs.

'I happen to believe people who have been elected to office who ignore problems will face a price at the ballot box,' Bush said during a forum with voters who support his goal of creating private investment accounts to partly replace guaranteed benefits.

Democrats say that they, too, will make an issue of Social Security in the midterm elections. 'Republicans should be worried,' said Democratic National Committee spokesman Jano Cabrera. 'Whether Republicans are cutting benefits, raising taxes, or further exploding the budget deficit, Democrats intend to make Social Security a key issue in 2006.'"

I think people need to take a closer look at how much Bush's Wall Street friends have to gain rather than trying to scare people about what they may lose 50 years from now. Bush has made no move that has not lined the pockets of the, already filthy, rich.

Coalition Of The Leaving Some More

They Must Hate America Too:

"Ukraine's outgoing president ordered officials on Monday to draw up plans to withdraw the country's 1,600 troops home from Iraq in the first half of 2005 after eight of its soldiers were killed in a blast.

Leonid Kuchma told his defense and foreign ministers to draw up the plans in an emergency meeting after the blast Sunday, which also killed a Kazakh.

Kuchma is due to turn over power this month to president-elect Viktor Yushchenko, who has long said he would bring the troops home and said he would make the withdrawal a priority as soon as he takes office.

'As is well known, the withdrawal of the Ukrainian peacekeeping force is one of our priorities. Yushchenko will address it immediately after he takes the post of president,' his Web site said."

War Crimes - Plain and Simple

There are just no other words to describe what we've done here:

"At the beginning of their recent attack on Fallujah, U.S. Marines and Iraqi National Guard troops stormed Fallujah General Hospital, closing it to the city's wounded and confiscating cell phones from the doctors. A senior officer told The New York Times the hospital was 'a center of propaganda.'

Interviews with hospital personnel (which had revealed the extent of civilian casualties in an aborted April invasion) would not be a problem this time.

As the invasion proceeded, air strikes reduced a smaller hospital to rubble and smashed a clinic, trapping patients and staff under the collapsed structure. With the main hospital empty and other facilities destroyed, only one small Iraqi military clinic remained to serve the city.

U.S. forces cut off Fallujah's water and electricity. About 200,000 residents were forced to flee, creating a refugee population the size of Tacoma. Those who remained faced a grim existence; they were afraid to leave their homes for fear of snipers and they had little to eat and only contaminated water to drink."

... and no logical reason.

No Laughing Matter

Even if everyone who testifies against this guy is a bald faced liar, there is no justification on earth for this man, who also sired an illegitimate child with a female soldier who was not his wife, to smirk and laugh in the courtroom. He obviously either doesn't get it or is as big of a socio-path as Scott Peterson - and a sadist to boot!

"Syrian inmate at Abu Ghraib prison testified in a videotape played for a jury Tuesday that Army Spc. Charles Graner merrily whistled, sang and laughed while brutalizing him and forced him to eat pork and drink alcohol in violation of his Muslim faith.

Amin al-Sheikh, in a deposition played at Graner's court-martial, said Graner threatened more than once to kill him and told him to thank Jesus for keeping him alive. The inmate also said he listened through his cell wall as Graner and other Americans forced a Yemeni prisoner to eat from a toilet.

Asked if Graner appeared to enjoy hurting him, al-Sheikh said through an interpreter: 'He was laughing. ... He laughed. He was whistling. He was singing.'

He described Graner as the 'primary torturer' and 'a naturally aggressive man' - a characterization that led Graner, sitting in the courtroom, to roll his eyes and chuckle."

Ready? Okay!

The only way I can digest this as a real defense is to make myself believe that it is a non-defense and that this lawyer is trying to make sure Charles Graner is convicted. No one could possibly expect me to believe that those photos from Abu Ghraib come anywhere close to resembling a cheerleading pyramid or a toddler leash.

"Graner's attorney said piling naked prisoners into pyramids and leading them by a leash were acceptable methods of prisoner control. He compared this to pyramids made by cheerleaders at sports events and parents putting tethers on toddlers.

'Don't cheerleaders all over America form pyramids six to eight times a year. Is that torture?' Guy Womack, Graner's attorney, said in opening arguments to the 10-member U.S. military jury at the reservist's court-martial."

If that defense works, it will be quite clear that people still do not understand the gravity of and damage done by that type of abuse and, well, perhaps a few more deadly roadside bombs will make the picture clearer. It seems that, lately, the insurgents have been indulging in a few Bring It On challenges themselves.

Back To The Future

This is so "Grease"! Jeebus, are we back to the 50s again? Will they hire also a nun to come in with a habit and a ruler to measure each couple's proximity to one another on the dance floor? Why am I having flashbacks to John Travlolta and Olivia Newton John?

"Fed up with students' racy moves, a principal at a California high school has taken the unusual step of canceling the rest of this year's school dances.

Principal Jim Bennett of Lemoore Union High School said he warned students at a winter formal dance last month to either quit dirty dancing or face the possibility of not dancing at all.

But he said the students continued 'freak dancing,' a form of sexually suggestive dancing that involves grinding the hips and pelvic area.

The ban on dances includes the school's Sadie Hawkins dance in February and the junior and senior proms in the spring, but Bennett said they could be rescheduled if students modify their behavior."

Banning "freak dancing!" You have got to be freaking kidding me!

If At First You Do Succeed

Keep on doing it!

"A roadside bomb destroyed a second heavily armored Bradley Fighting Vehicle in less than a week Monday, killing two U.S. soldiers, wounding four others and indicating that insurgents have increased the power of the explosives they are using against American troops.

The blast came hours after gunmen in a passing car assassinated Baghdad's deputy police chief and his son while they drove to work, part of a campaign to target Iraq's security forces. Al-Qaida in Iraq, the group led by Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility.

American officials have cautioned that insurgents will escalate attacks in a bid to scuttle Jan. 30 elections. After a roadside bomb struck a Bradley on Thursday and killed seven soldiers, the Defense Department warned that militants were increasing the size and power of their bombs."

Happens All The Time

So is Armstrong Williams trying to pull a Kobe Bryant (the Shaq does it too defense)? Of course he wouldn't name names but by just suggesting that everybody does it he's fueling speculation that his payoff is possibly just the tip of the iceberg.

"And then Williams violated a PR rule: he got off-point. 'This happens all the time,' he told me. 'There are others.' Really? I said. Other conservative commentators accept money from the Bush administration? I asked Williams for names. 'I'm not going to defend myself that way,' he said. The issue right now, he explained, was his own mistake. Well, I said, what if I call you up in a few weeks, after this blows over, and then ask you? No, he said.

Does Williams really know something about other rightwing pundits? Or was he only trying to minimize his own screw-up with a momentary embrace of a trumped-up everybody-does-it defense? I could not tell. But if the IG at the Department of Education or any other official questions Williams, I suggest he or she ask what Williams meant by this comment. And if Williams is really sorry for this act of 'bad judgment' and for besmirching the profession of rightwing punditry, shouldn't he do what he can to guarantee that those who watch pundits on the cable news networks and read political columnists receive conservative views that are independent and untainted by payoffs from the Bush administration or other political outfits?

Armstrong, please, help us all protect the independence of the conservative commentariat. If you are not alone, tell us who else has yielded to bad judgment."

Too Much Tsunami?

I don't know when enough is enough, but I watched CNN several times this weekend. This is the biggest catastrophe of my lifetime and I just cannot imagine living through something like that and never, ever, ever want to. I am not particularly interested in seeing that little Swedish boy anymore (I guess sometimes things are only a tragedy to Westerners if it is in whiteface) but I needed to see coverage of the devastation. It humbles me and makes me grateful for everything I have.

"'When is enough coverage too much coverage of a tragedy like the tsunami?...At some point, especially in a disaster such as this, I have to wonder when the hunger for human interest becomes exploitation. Are we there yet? Or have the other networks dropped the ball and CNN is giving this unimaginably large tragedy the proper coverage it deserves?'"

It's Hard Again

My, this guy is fixated on hard stuff. Democracy is hard ... which is why his administration is closer to a Facist regime.

"President George W. Bush on Friday rejected any suggestion that the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq would do more harm than good, declaring that they would constitute a landmark not only in U.S. policy toward Iraq but in that country's road to democracy.

'Democracy is hard,' Bush said in a brief question-and-answer session in the White House. 'Our own country's had a history of kind of a bumpy road toward democracy.'"

Retarded?

Did they say retarded? Isn't it a bit "old-fashioned" and non-PC to use the term "retarded?" That term went out with UHF channels. What kind of headline is this?

Retarded Kennedy Sister Dies at 86

Rosemary Kennedy, the oldest sister of President John F. Kennedy and the inspiration for the Special Olympics, died Friday. She was 86.

Kennedy, the third child of Rose and Joseph Kennedy, was born mentally retarded and underwent a lobotomy when she was 23. She lived most of her life in a Jefferson, Wis., institution, the St. Coletta School for Exceptional Children.

She died in a Wisconsin hospital with her brother, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, and her sisters at her side, the family said.

It totally distracted me from the significance of the story.

Free Money

Talk about some fast, effortless money! Where shall I begin with this?

1. When did Armstrong Williams become a "prominent black pundit"?
   
2. What "black families" (particularly the ones who might need to worry about being left behind) even know who Armstrong Williams is?
   
3. Which black people would heed the advice of said bow-tie wearer?
   
4. When will the Bush administration get a clue and stop trying use to black folks with no credibility in the black community?
   
5. Are there numbers on how many people he swayed?
   

"Seeking to build support among black families for its education reform law, the Bush administration paid a prominent black pundit $240,000 to promote the law on his nationally syndicated television show and to urge other black journalists to do the same.

The campaign, part of an effort to promote No Child Left Behind (NCLB), required commentator Armstrong Williams 'to regularly comment on NCLB during the course of his broadcasts,' and to interview Education Secretary Rod Paige for TV and radio spots that aired during the show in 2004."
[...]
Williams on being paid to boost NCLB: 'I wanted to do it because it's something I believe in.'

Yeah, $240,000 would make me want to promote something I believe in too!

Update:Aw sookey, sookey! Get me some popcorn! Congresswoman Louise Slaughter is demanding that the Sinclair Broadcasting Group drop Williams while Senators Kennedy, Lautenberg and Reid have already sent a letter to President Bush.

Now, I don't want to go there but since it is Friday, I have a head cold and I am a little grouchy, I will. I know dang well that if they paid black, corny Armstrong Williams to push a government program, they are paying some of the other white pundits a whole, whole lot more. AND, it seems that no one, but no one, on either side of the fence is sticking up for him. I don't think he's an Uncle Tom but I do think that he might be a little confused about how far he can throw some of his supporters. I hope he doesn't crack in the heat of being hung out to dry.

Can A Uterus Catch a Break?

Is it me or does it seem like red states are a little obsessed with vaginas and uteruses? They want to keep track of what goes in, what comes out and when.

"Guess what? You just earned yourself up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine. Why? Because you failed to call the cops and report your miscarriage within 12 hours.

True? Not yet. But if Delegate John Cosgrove (R-78) has his way, HB1677 will become law in a few short months, and this scenario will be reality for many women in Virginia."

One would hope that they'd have more critical laws to introduce and pass. I don't know, despite all their talk about family values, it sounds like some of these men missed a little womb time - or something.

But We Saved Fallujah

"Residents of the Iraqi city of Fallujah rally in the nearby village of Naimiyah, Friday, Jan. 7, 2005. Hundreds of refugees from the destroyed city demonstrated after Friday's prayers demanding that U.S. troops and Iraqi National Guards leave the city, open all the roads for residents to go back and pay compensation for those whose property was damaged. The writing on the banner in front says: 'The Mosques and houses of Fallujah prove criminal deeds of the occupation forces.' (AP Photo/ Mohammed Khodor)"

Paving The Way For Disaster

"A U.S. general warned Friday that insurgents may be planning 'spectacular' attacks to scare voters in the three weeks before Iraq's landmark elections, and Shiite and Sunni religious leaders voiced sharply divergent views on whether the vote should be held at all.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Erv Lessel, who is deputy chief of staff for strategic communications in Iraq, said the United States has no intelligence indicating specific plots, but he said American leaders expected a rise in attacks.

He said the insurgents' biggest weapon was their ability to instill fear.

'I think a worst case is where they have a series of horrific attacks that cause mass casualties in some spectacular fashion in the days leading up to the elections,' Lessel said."

Kid Rock Sucks!

Ozzy Osborne at the White House, Kid Rock at the inauguration ... I think it is clear that Bush doesn't really have as much of a moral mandate as he'd have people believe.

Kid Rock, a popular vulgar rock-rapper whose lyrics wouldn't begin to pass muster with the Federal Communications Commission, is headlining the youth concert during the inauguration festivities for President Bush – a politician who was re-elected largely due to the participation of traditional "values voters."

The Detroit-based rapper, who dedicated his first album to songs about oral sex and who was voted the Sluttiest Male Celebrity at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, will perform Jan. 18 at the Washington, D.C., Armory in a concert hosted by Bush daughters Jenna and Barbara. Teenage singer JoJo also will appear at the event.

"Anybody that knows anything about Kid Rock knows that his music is disgusting and vile, and Republicans, and most certainly the Christian Republicans that got Bush re-elected, should be appalled by this," WND reader Dave Parker commented. "At best, it is a horrible oversight by a clueless event organizer. At worst, it is a slap in the face to all who voted for Bush with the belief that he is a more moral person than Kerry."

It's not like I'll be watching anything but the protesters anyway. Rock on, dude!

Pitching Doom!

Let The Scams Begin!

The success of President Bush’s push to remake Social Security depends on convincing the public that the system is "heading for an iceberg," according to a White House strategy note that makes the case for cutting benefits promised for the future.

Calling the effort "one of the most important conservative undertakings of modern times," Peter Wehner, the deputy to White House political director Karl Rove, says in the e-mail message that a battle over Social Security is winnable for the first time in six decades and could transform the political landscape.

Bush wants to let workers divert some of their payroll taxes into investment accounts similar to a 401(k) plan. That will require convincing the public of the need for immediate change.

"We need to establish in the public mind a key fiscal fact: right now we are on an unsustainable course," the e-mail said. "That reality needs to be seared into the public consciousness; it is the precondition to authentic reform."

Destroyed!

Why do we not understand that we will pay for this sooner or later?

Sullen and anxious, tens of thousands of Falluja residents have passed through stringent checkpoints over the last week to find, after agonizing weeks of uncertainty, whether their homes and shops were reduced to rubble or merely ransacked.

Even if their houses are still standing, they are pondering whether a family can resume any decent life in a place devoid of electricity, running water, schools or commerce, in a debris-strewn city with a strict 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, conspicuously occupied by American marines and Iraqi troops who still have daily firefights with guerrillas.

So far, only the hardiest and the luckiest are choosing to stay. Most leave in the afternoon, saying they will wait until infrastructure repairs, now started in earnest by the Americans and the Iraqi government, are farther along.

Some, returning to scenes of complete devastation, are in despair.

"We found that our house was destroyed along with all our belongings," said Rasmiyah Abbood, a 55-year-old widow who now lives on handouts in a primary school just outside the city. "My son who supported me is a car mechanic and he lost his garage," she said. "I'm homeless, and I only hope God will give us patience to endure."

Amer Muhammed, 23, who was collecting free bottled water, meal packs and yellow floral bed sheets at an aid center the marines have set up inside Falluja, is somewhat more optimistic.

The family house, he had just discovered, is still standing. But the windows were blown out and the furniture was wrecked, apparently as troops searched for weapons, as they did in virtually every house in the city, marking each cleared building with a big red X.

"Even with no schools or electricity, our own house will be better than the tents where we live now, drinking dirty water," he said.

How Sad!

My EQ Is 133

What's Your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?: "

Your EQ is

133 50 or less: Thanks for answering honestly. Now get yourself a shrink, quick! 51-70: When it comes to understanding human emotions, you'd have better luck understanding Chinese. 71-90: You've got more emotional intelligence than the average frat boy. Barely. 91-110: You're average. It's easy to predict how you'll react to things. But anyone could have guessed that. 111-130: You usually have it going on emotionally, but roadblocks tend to land you on your butt. 131-150: You are remarkable when it comes to relating with others. Only the biggest losers get under your skin. 150 : Two possibilities - you've either out 'Dr. Phil-ed' Dr. Phil... or you're a dirty liar.

What's Your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?

"

In Your Dreams Dude!

I've never been a fan nor avid viewer of the latest crop of sitcoms that revolve around white, working class, less than educated, families. Though I'm supposing these are just modern day Archie Bunker types -- without the incessant racial and ethnic slurs -- my real-life negative experiences at the hands of these ignorant types, keeps me from being able to stomach the mere sight or sound of the typical male-lead characters on these shows. One thing I did notice, though, was that these hapless slobs all seemed to be paired with great-looking wives which makes these shows closer to being jokes than comedies. For starters, I just can't stand dumb men so, even if they were good looking, I'd find the series too irritating to watch.

"In two decades of TV acting, Courtney Thorne-Smith has never stopped looking like a cheerleader. She has the kind of large, startled eyes that suggest school spirit (this look of bug-eyed alacrity grew to almost supernatural intensity during her starvation years on Ally McBeal) and a sturdy jaw that appears custom-tooled for the cheerleader's main task of spelling out inspirational words very, very loudly. But for Cheryl, Smith's character in the ABC series According to Jim (Tuesdays, 9 p.m. ET), it's as if her cheerleaderly aspirations have suffered a perverse cosmic scramble and she ended up married not to the equally simple and beautiful quarterback everyone expected her to marry, but to the boorish, buffalo-faced offensive tackle who puts his hands between his expansive ass cheeks on every play. Cheryl is married to Jim, and Jim is played by Jim Belushi. "

It's a family sitcom tradition that spouses are ill-matched looks-wise, but until recently, the mismatch has usually consisted of a beautiful actress, whose glamour is partly obscured behind the clutter of everyday life, and a comparatively plain actor. Think golden-haired Meredith Baxter Birney and undistinguished Michael Gross on Family Ties or dishy Suzanne Pleshette and the comically featureless Bob Newhart in the original Bob Newhart Show. In these sitcom marriages, the husband was at least shown to compensate for his obvious lack of studliness by being what Tony Soprano would call a good earner or at the very least a mensch.

In the current sitcom lineup, by contrast, several shows pair extremely attractive women, who are often clad in plunging tops and tight jeans suitable for a Maxim photo spread, with TV husbands who are not only not studly, but downright fat, and a couple who are not only not mensches, but are ugly on the inside, too. On The King of Queens (CBS, Wednesdays, 9 p.m. ET), smoldering working-class babe Carrie (Leah Remini) is paired with beer-gutted Doug (Kevin James). On Grounded for Life (WB, Fridays, 8:30 p.m. ET), the lovely, voluptuous Claudia (Megyn Price - my favorite), is paired with the dumpy and scraggly-bearded Sean (Donal Logue). Perhaps the most jarringly incongruous couple appears on Still Standing (CBS, Mondays, 8 p.m. ET), in which Judy (legendary '80s hottie Jamie Gertz) is married to the surly Bill (rotund, high-voiced English actor Mark Addy, whose character sounds just a little too English to be from Chicago). Bill is a scurrilous (and not terribly funny) creation, unpleasant even to listen to.
[...]
In addition to their girth, a signal characteristic of these men is immaturity. Most of them are unable to master the simplest daily tasks. A recent episode of Grounded for Life was propelled by Sean's inability to take a phone message while a typical King of Queens knee-slapper was fueled by Doug's inability to keep his hands off a co-worker's Koosh ball, which he, of course, loses. And virtually every episode of According to Jim is sparked by Jim's selfishness and impulsiveness he fights with Santa and the next-door neighbor; he pouts about having to give up his vices so Cheryl can get pregnant.

I guess I'll forever be cherishing the memories of TV couples like those on "Hart to Hart" or "The Scarecrow and Mrs. King." I like seeing marriages that show more of a partnership/complimentary relationship. The thought of damned near setting up a high chair for a fat, man-child is revolting -- even if it is only a sitcom. The only thing these modern day "Honeymooners" and "Flintstones" do is make me glad that I am not married.

Patriot Act In Action

Do we not have enough problems or criminals (like Ken Lay and his ilk) to prosecute without rounding up common citizens over nothing?

A man charged with temporarily blinding the pilot and co-pilot of an airplane with a laser beam claims he was simply using the device to look at stars with his 7-year-old daughter.

Federal authorities on Tuesday used the Patriot Act to charge David Banach, 38, with interfering with the operator of a mass transportation vehicle and making false statements to the FBI. He is the first person arrested after a recent rash of reports around the nation of lasers being beamed at airplanes.

If convicted, Banach could be sentenced to 25 years in prison and fined $500,000.

The FBI acknowledged the incident had no connection to terrorism but called Banach's actions 'foolhardy and negligent.'
[...]
Banach's lawyer said his statements were given during several hours of questioning without an attorney present and that he was being harshly prosecuted because authorities were eager for an arrest.

'My client is in some ways a sacrificial lamb,' attorney Gina Mendola-Longarzo said. 'A message is being sent.'

This is as absurd as the prosecution for the cheese sandwiches.

What I'd Give To Be So Disadvantaged

This is how you know Bush had his brain on drugs ... for a long, LONG time.

Quote of the day from USA Today on the upcoming Gonzales confirmation hearing for AG. It noted that (the flawed) Gonzales did rise from the son of uneducated Mexican immigrants to attend Harvard law school and become a star attorney:

Bush “likes somebody he sees as having overcome potential disadvantages, because he sees himself as having done that,” says Paul Burka, executive editor of Texas Monthly magazine and a close follower of the president.

Jailed Man Gets More Time for Sandwiches

This is how you know that our punishment-obsessed and incarceration addicted society has gone too far!

A man serving a life sentence for murder was sentenced to three additional years in prison for passing out cheese sandwiches while in jail.

Douglas Eugene Wilson, 45, pleaded guilty Monday to possession of contraband and was sentenced by District Judge Thomas Kane.

Prosecutors said Wilson had the sandwiches while in jail awaiting trial on the murder charge and he tried to give them to other inmates, which is a violation of jail rules.

A sheriff's deputy testified at a hearing in May that they warned Wilson not to pass food to other inmate then shocked him with a stun gun when he ignored them.

Wilson was tackled and handcuffed after he reportedly charged a deputy. Second-degree assault and attempted second-degree assault charges against Wilson were dropped in exchange for the contraband guilty plea.

"Why are the taxpayers paying the judiciary to hold this hearing on some contraband sandwiches?" he said in a telephone interview with the Gazette of Colorado Springs. "Taxpayers want to know where their money is going — there it is."

Stun gunned and tackled over some "samiches." It sounds really stupid when you say it aloud!

The Great Oz Has Spoken

Joining the ranks of world renowned psychics, astrologers and numerologists, Pat Robertson gives his predictions - as dictated by God - for 2005.

Robertson's predictions for 2005:

The economy: 'Again, 2005 is going to be a year of extraordinary prosperity for this nation and for CBN [Christian Broadcasting Network]. And I think the American stock market is going to surge upward, if I heard from the Lord. Again, ladies and gentlemen, don't go and buy stock on my recommendation, but that's what I feel in my heart. The Lord was saying it's going to be a super good year.'

George W. Bush: 'Well, the Lord has some very encouraging news for George Bush ... What I heard is that Bush is now positioned to have victory after victory and that his second term is going to be one of triumph, which is pretty strong stuff. ... He'll have Social Security reform passed. He'll have tax reform passed. He'll have conservative judges on the courts. And that basically he is positioned for a series of dramatic victories which I hope will hearten him and his advisers. They don't have to be timid in this matter because the wind is blowing at his back, and he can move forward boldly and get results.'

Muslims and others turning to Jesus Christ: "In America, again if I'm hearing God right, we will see a tremendous incident of miracles in the year 2005. ... God's spirit is going to be moving in dramatic power around the world. And his spirit is going to be touching the hearts of many in the Muslim world and they will be turning to the gospel, to Jesus Christ. I think many of them already are, but this is going to be an acceleration that will really amaze the world. ... 'Revival will break out throughout the Muslim world, my [God's] truth will penetrate their hearts. The hold of that falsehood that has gripped them will be broken.'"

Terrorism and global security: "2005 will be another good year for the world. The terrorist threat will diminish. Nations will walk in peace, but it will be an illusion. The peril to Israel is greater now than it has ever been for she will be seduced into a false peace that will leave her vulnerable."

The Supreme Court: "The vendetta against religion in America is about to end. ... 'I [God] will remove judges from the Supreme Court quickly and their successors will refuse to sanction the attacks on religious faith.'"

Picking The Flesh Off Of Misery

Though a know that there were probably a good number of foreign perverts who were in Thailand and the other countries so that they could "benefit" from the underground sex trade that expoits, violates and abuses young children it is sickening to hear that in all of this chaos and misery, predators find the presence of mind to sink their teeth into the most helpless.

"The United Nations said on Tuesday it was concerned children orphaned or separated from their parents by Asia's tsunami may be falling prey to criminal gangs bent on selling them into slavery.

The U.N. said it had received reports of adults posing as foster parents and children being shipped from Indonesia to Malaysia for sale, adding to worries about a 'tsunami generation' of children also under threat of disease and hunger.

U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) officers were alarmed when a colleague in Kuala Lumpur received an unsolicited mobile phone text message that offered to sell children according to buyers' wishes, UNICEF spokesman John Budd said by phone from Jakarta.

'Three hundred orphans aged 3-10 years from Aceh for adoption. All paperwork will be taken care of. No fee. Please state age and sex of child required,' the message read."

Vultures!

Just Another Zealot

As far as I am concerned, Atheism is just another "religion" and this kook is just another zealot and is no different from Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson.

"Dr. Michael Newdow, the California atheist who sued to get 'under God' removed from the Pledge of Allegiance, says he has refiled a suit regarding the pledge and filed an additional suit to try to prevent members of the clergy from praying at President Bush's inauguration.

Newdow refiled the pledge suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California on Monday (Jan. 3), he told Religion News Service. A court staffer said legal documents had been received but had not been officially recorded pending additional paperwork from Newdow.
[...]
Newdow said in the Dec. 21 filing that prayers such as those offered at the 2001 inauguration by the Rev. Franklin Graham and Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell made him feel like a 'second-class citizen.'

'He -- like all Americans -- has a right to view his government in action without being forced to confront governmental endorsement of religious dogma with which he disagrees,' Newdow said in the complaint, referring to himself.

I wish they would all just go somewhere and shut the heck up! Christ (or not)!

Social Security Ala Enron

Though I'd like to think that partial privitization of Social Security would be a good thing, I think that most can agree that the biggest winners will be big business and every other rich person to whom Bush is trying to out dole the country's assets.

"If you need more evidence that privatizing Social Security is a lousy idea, think back to the Enron scandal . Remember what we learned: Greedy Enron executives sold stock for millions while the company was still riding high and then gave themselves big bonuses as bankruptcy loomed. Meanwhile, they lied to employees and stockholders about the company's finances and then didn't allow workers to bail out of 401(k) retirement plans that held Enron stock. Thousands of people not only lost their jobs but their lifetime savings.

After Enron's collapse, the largest corporate bankruptcy in US history, you'd have to be pretty dense to fall for the Bush Administration's callous scheme to encourage workers to take risks with their pension and retirement benefits.
Bush and his cronies have worked hard to ignore the lessons of Enron--continuing to fight against serious regulation of corporate misbehaviour and abuses. Don't let them ignore Enron's lessons when it comes to replacing a successful government guaranteed program for a greed-ridden privatization scam. "

Eyes Wide Shut!

If we don't even know who/what we are dealing with, how can we possible expect a victory short of flattening every town and killing every person? 200,000 members of the resistance, and probably growing, and we thought we were fighting a fraction of that number.

"'I think the resistance is bigger than the US military in Iraq. I think the resistance is more than 200,000 people,' Iraqi intelligence service director General Mohamed Abdullah Shahwani said in an interview ahead of the January 30 elections.

Shahwani said the number includes at least 40,000 hardcore fighters but rises to more than 200,000 members counting part-time fighters and volunteers who provide rebels everything from intelligence and logistics to shelter.

The numbers far exceed any figure presented by the US military in Iraq, which has struggled to get a handle on the size of the resistance since toppling Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2003."
[...]
"People are fed up after two years, without improvement. People are fed up with no security, no electricity, people feel they have to do something. The army was hundreds of thousands. You'd expect some veterans would join with their relatives, each one has sons and brothers."

The rebels have turned city neighborhoods and small towns around central Iraq into virtual no-go zones despite successful US military efforts to reclaim former enclaves like Samarra and Fallujah, he said.

"What are you going to call the situation here (in Baghdad) when 20 to 30 men can move around with weapons and no one can get them in Adhamiyah, Dura and Ghazaliya," he said, naming neighborhoods in the capital.

The spy chief also questioned the success of the November campaign to retake Fallujah, which US forces have hailed as a major victory against the resistance.

"What we have now is an empty city almost destroyed... and most of the insurgents are free. They have gone either to Mosul or to Baghdad or other areas."

Bush is blind in one eye and cannot see out of the other. But, you know, I'm glad he won the election. He needs to sit in his crap filled diaper called Iraq until he cannot stand the stench!

26 Days And Counting

Pending an all out guerilla attack across multiple cities and the assassination of even more top interim officials, we are pretty much nailed to the wall as far as going forward with elections on January 30th - despite the escalating violence, destruction and turmoil.:

"The governor of the Baghdad region, known for cooperating closely with American troops, was assassinated along with six bodyguards as he drove to work Tuesday in yet another bloody day of insurgent attacks that exposed grave security flaws in Iraq with elections less than a month away.

Other assaults Tuesday killed five American troops as well as 10 Iraqi commandos, bringing the death toll in the last three days to more than 70. Despite the violence, which U.S. troops and Iraqi security forces have been helpless to prevent, American and Iraqi leaders insist the Jan. 30 vote would go forward."

It is doubtful the election will be considered fair or inclusive of all parties and even more doubtful that the violence will end. This is and will continue to be an unbridled mess regardless of who gets to vote and who ends up at the helm.

And Her Point Is?

What is the point of saying all of this now? Both she and "Ah-nold" feigned support for Bush then want to croak about pulling the party back to the middle after they aid his far right win. I knew she wasn't one of Bush's sheep but she may as well have been by remaining silent until after the election:

In a new book, It's My Party too: the battle for the heart of the GOP [Grand Old Party, the nickname for the Republican Party] and the Future of America, she describes regular battles with 'extreme anti-government ideologues'.

Her book is clearly designed to cast a shadow over Mr Bush's inauguration later this month.

But she says that while Mr Bush's campaign did energise his own political base, he failed to expand it. The results showed he 'missed an opportunity to significantly broaden his support in the most populous areas of the country', she writes.

Ms Whitman argues that the strategy of Karl Rove, Mr Bush's chief political adviser, to focus rigorously on the narrow conservative base may have won the day, 'but we must ask at what price to governing and at what risk to the future of the party'.
Mr Bush's supporters have dismissed her charges as the work of a disenchanted former official. They point to his re-election victory as the ultimate riposte, and are confident that the political future is with the Right wing, not in the Centre."
[...]
In October, when the New York Times quoted her accusing the White House of often depending on faith rather than facts, she promptly denied having made the remark.

The newspaper reported that she had said on the day of her resignation: "In meetings I'd ask if there were any facts to support our case. And for that I was accused of disloyalty!"

Now she feels emboldened once again. She sets the tone for the book by pointing out that Mr Bush's three-percentage-point margin of victory is the lowest of any re-elected incumbent.

If it is her party too, she should have spoken up before it was hijacked by fringe elements. I'd say the book is a moot point.

Those Hollywood Types

Actress Sandra Bullock has donated $1 million to the American Red Cross to help relief efforts in countries affected by the deadly earthquake and tsunamis in southern Asia and eastern Africa.

Bullock, whose screen credits include 'Miss Congeniality,''While You Were Sleeping' and 'Speed,' contacted the American Red Cross last week, the organization said Monday. She also donated $1 million after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

'At this critical time, I am grateful to Sandra Bullock for once again demonstrating her leadership, compassion and belief in our global humanitarian mission,' said American Red Cross President and Chief Executive Officer Marsha Evans in a statement. 'Sandra continues to enable our lifesaving work and is a model for personal generosity.'

Yet Another Bad Idea

I can't even fathom how anyone can even pretend that this is anywhere close to being right or just:

The Pentagon and the CIA have asked the White House to decide on a more permanent approach for those it was unwilling to set free or turn over to U.S. or foreign courts, the Washington Post said in a report that cited intelligence, defense and diplomatic officials.

Some detentions could potentially last a lifetime, the newspaper said.

Influential senators denounced the idea as probably unconstitutional.

'It's a bad idea. So we ought to get over it and we ought to have a very careful, constitutional look at this,' Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said on 'Fox News Sunday.'

Remind me again. What country is this?

What A Fellowship!

What a joy divine ...

But what everlasting arms can the tsunami victims lean on? Doesn't appear it will be the arms of those who know, love and have a direct line to Jesus:

"These powerful and well-funded political Christian fundamentalist organizations appear to be suffering from a compassion deficit. Organizations which are amazingly quick to organize to fight against same-sex marriage, a woman's right to choose, and embryonic stem cell research are missing in action when it comes to responding to the disaster in southern Asia. None of their web sites are actively soliciting aid for the victims of the earthquake/tsunami.

In fact, there is no mention of the giant earthquake and tsunami that devastated southern Asia. There are no headlines about the dead, injured or the tremendous damage; there are no urgent appeals for donations; there are no phone numbers to call; there are no links to organizations collecting money and providing aid for the victims."

When I Was 43, It Was A Very Dumb Year

The 25 Dumbest Quotes of 2004

23. 'As you know, you go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.' -Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, responding to a U.S. soldier serving in Iraq who asked him why troops had to dig through scrap metal to armor vehicles

22. 'I heard there's rumors on the Internets that we're going to have a draft.' -President George W. Bush, during the second presidential debate

21. 'You've done a nice job decorating the White House.' -Pop star Jessica Simpson, upon being introduced to Interior Secretary Gale Norton while touring the White House

20. 'Go fuck yourself.' -Vice President Dick Cheney to Sen. Patrick Leahy, during an angry exchange on the Senate floor about profiteering by Halliburton

19. 'I even accept for the sake of argument that sexual orgies eliminate social tensions and ought to be encouraged.' -Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, speaking at Harvard

18. 'You forgot Poland.' -President Bush to Sen. John Kerry during the first presidential debate, after Kerry failed to mention Poland's contributions to the Iraq war coalition

17. 'I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel.' -Sen. Zell Miller to Chris Matthews, during a heated interview on 'Hardball'

Back At Ya!

I had stopped going to company Christmas parties at least 10 years ago because of the liquor based questions/ignorance that seemed to come to the forefront from co-workers who suddenly got the courage to approach me with "everything I always wanted to know about black people but was afraid to ask" questions. I went to my Christmas party this year and, after staying to myself most of the time, thought I'd made it without incident. Dinner was over and I thought I was safe ... until the visiting son of the owner suddenly sat down next to me and started the conversation with "So, you're the only African American employee, huh?" I do my fake finger count of Negroes (knowing I am, indeed, the only one) and reply with "why, yes ... I guess so." So, he proceeds into this monologue which basically lets me know that he has a fetish for women of color and feels the need to tell me how attracted he is to every shade from "African" black to "light, bright, damned near." There wasn't much to say. I've been there before. At least blacks have progressed far enough so that I could be an actual employee instead of being one of the wait staff, right? But, I guess that America isn't the only bastion of racial ignorance and insensitivity:

"Do you think of yourself as white or British or both? Does it worry you that you got your job just because of your race? Where are you from? No, but really? Since this is where you live, don't you think you should try and integrate with other races more? Is your first loyalty to your God, or to your country? Is it true what they say about white guys? Given the genocide, slavery and colonialism unleashed in the name of Christianity over the last two centuries, do you feel your religion is compatible with democracy? Mr Grant, do you think of yourself as a white actor or an actor who happens to be white? I don't mind white people, but if they want to live here then why shouldn't they have to fit in with our traditions? Shouldn't the police be doing more to tackle white-on-white crime? Given the objectification of women in your culture and the rise in teenage pregnancies, don't you think it's time to ban young girls wearing make up? What do you make of the tribal conflict in Ukraine? I thought you asked for flesh-coloured tights? Don't you feel that this politically correct belief that we have to respect white people's feelings has stifled honest discussion and debate? Isn't it a shame that white people cannot pick more responsible leaders? What do you mean, you can't Morris dance? Don't you ever worry about being pigeonholed as a white person? Why aren't you doing more to check the rise in Christian fundamentalism? Who are you?"

I repeated the story to my mom who was appalled that, in 2004, I was still the only "one." That wasn't as big of a deal to me as the prevalence of stupid questions I still have to endure.

Surprise, Surprise!

Not!

High IQ cuts women's marriage prospects:

"A high IQ is a hindrance for women wanting to get married while it is an asset for men, according to a study by four British universities.

The study found the likelihood of marriage increased by 35 per cent for boys for each 16 point increase in IQ.

But for girls, there is a 40 per cent drop for each 16-point rise, according to the survey by the universities of Aberdeen, Bristol, Edinburgh and Glasgow. "

Again, Which Jesus Is This?

Yes, I must be a little slow. These firebrand Christians, who are whooping and hollering all over the place because they think the Bush win is a mandate for their wretched zealousness, have just lost their minds.

I still want to know which bible they read.

"The statement, which was posted on their website Wednesday alongside dozens of other archived 'press releases,' thanks God for the tsunami and for the death of any gay Swedish vacationers who perished at the time."