Save The Children.

Please! Save the children!

Save 'em Lord!

Buttons Jesus Never Pushed

I'm glad to see that the people of faith who get it and that they are speaking up. Watching the loon branch of Christianity wield so much influence over the past six years (all because the Dubya declared himself to be a "Christian" has been positively excruciating. Hopefully, as our buffoon of a President continues to fail at and destroy every thing he touches, the scales will continue to fall from people's eyes and real Christians can come out of hiding.

In his six sermons, Mr. Boyd laid out a broad argument that the role of Christians was not to seek “power over” others — by controlling governments, passing legislation or fighting wars. Christians should instead seek to have “power under” others — “winning people’s hearts” by sacrificing for those in need, as Jesus did, Mr. Boyd said.

“America wasn’t founded as a theocracy,” he said. “America was founded by people trying to escape theocracies. Never in history have we had a Christian theocracy where it wasn’t bloody and barbaric. That’s why our Constitution wisely put in a separation of church and state.

“I am sorry to tell you,” he continued, “that America is not the light of the world and the hope of the world. The light of the world and the hope of the world is Jesus Christ.”

Mr. Boyd lambasted the “hypocrisy and pettiness” of Christians who focus on “sexual issues” like homosexuality, abortion or Janet Jackson’s breast-revealing performance at the Super Bowl halftime show. He said Christians these days were constantly outraged about sex and perceived violations of their rights to display their faith in public.

“Those are the two buttons to push if you want to get Christians to act,” he said. “And those are the two buttons Jesus never pushed.”

... and all I have to say about this is Amen! Amen! Amen!

Technorati Tags: Rev. Gregory A. Boyd, The Myth of a Christian Nation

Catholic Women Face Excommunication

The Catholic church can keep up its "no girls allowed" policies if they want to but they are going to end up without a church. What purpose would excommunication serve?

Joan Houk has ministered to the sick and needy, run two Roman Catholic parishes that were without priests and has presided over baptisms and funerals. Her calling now, she says, is to be a priest.

Houk will be one of a dozen women participating in a ceremony Monday in which eight will proclaim themselves priests and four deacons. The ceremony won't be recognized by the Catholic church, which has a 2,000-year tradition of an all-male priesthood.
[...]
"This unfortunate ceremony will take place outside the Church and undermines the unity of the Church. Those attempting to confer Holy Orders have, by their own actions, removed themselves from the Church, as have those who present themselves for such an invalid ritual," according to the statement released by the Rev. Ronald Lengwin, a spokesman for the diocese.

The diocese said they will welcome back anyone who chooses to leave the church.

Liberal Catholics say the ongoing clergy shortage and the dramatic rise in female lay leaders in American churches will eventually create pressure to ordain women. More lay people than priests are working full-time in American parishes and a significant number of the lay leaders are women ...

I think that the blatant sexism in the hierarchy of the Catholic church as well as within church doctrine is one of the main reasons that I cannot/will not formally join a parish or come out of "ex-Catholic" hiding. It just makes no sense to me and I won't risk being insulted in mass when I am going for a spiritual lesson not a diatribe on my place as a woman (though, this seems to happen more in churches of other denominations more often). I don't if or how the Catholic church will evolve in "the West." Perhaps only poor Africans and Latin Americans will be the ones to hold up the faith and its outdated teachings as long as they remain poor and oppressed. I just can't buy into it any longer and feel silly going through the motions.

Tell 'Em How You Really Feel Mel!

I refused to see Passion of The Christ when it came out. One reason is that it seemed that it was going to be overly violent and I don't do violent movies. Another reason is that I was turned off my some of the things I was reading about Mel Gibson's "return to faith" and his radical, outdated and unaccepted Catholic beliefs and I just wasn't up to seeing the work of a nutso zealot. He struck me as yet another person trapped by the abuses of drugs, sex or booze who latched on to extreme religious pracitices and beliefs in order to garner some kind of control in their life. That wouldn't be a bad thing if these kinds of folks didn't then attempt to force their extremism on everyone else or try to judge everyone else by the narrow standards that allow themselves not to spiral out of control. (I was too through when he claimed his wife wouldn't go to heaven because she was a Protestant). In any case, despite his claims to the contrary regarding anti-semitic undertones in his movie, it seems he really does have deep seated issues with Jews and, drunk or not, he made that perfectly clear.

Ashamed Aussie alcoholic Mel Gibson admitted yesterday he was “completely out of control” after a drunken-driving arrest during which he allegedly spewed anti-Semitic slurs and called a female deputy “sugar tits.”
“(Expletive) Jews . . . The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world,” the Oscar winner told sheriff’s deputies, according to TMZ.com, which claimed to have a four-page report on the arrest.
Gibson in a statement yesterday said his comments to cops after his arrest Friday in Malibu, Calif., were “things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable.”
“I disgraced myself and my family with my behavior and for that I am truly sorry. I have battled with the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse,” according to the statement. “I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person.”
Gibson, 50, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence Friday at 2:30 a.m. after police clocked his Lexus doing 87 mph in a 45-mph zone on the winding Pacific Coast Highway ...

Let It Begin With Me

Don't worry. Though I have been feeling like the cat has my tongue over this Israeli/Lebanese conflict, I will be posting later with some thoughts and rants. In the meantime, this song popped into my mind this morning and I started singing it without warning.

Let there be peace on earth,
and let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on Earth,
the peace that was meant to be.

With God as our Father,
brothers all are we,
Let me walk with my brother,
in perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me,
let this be the moment now.
With every step I take,
let this be my solemn vow,

To take each moment and live each moment
in peace, eternally.
Let there be Peace on Earth,
and let it begin with me.

A Time To Revisit

I read this book in 1990 at the onset of the first Gulf War and it is time to dust it off and recommend it to anyone who hasn't read it before (or those who want to read it again as I do).

Dang! How'd He Snag That Dude?

I never was into those little N'Sync boys so can't say I know or care much about them but apparently one of them is gay. That's not the news to me. I wanna know how he snagged that cutie from the Amazing Race who won the show with his (former) "husband."

Now, after years of keeping his personal life private, the Mississippi-bred, Southern Baptist-reared Bass, 27, is publicly revealing what he first shared with his friends, then his shocked family. "He took years to really think about how he was going to tell everyone," says his close buddy Fatone, 29, who was the first 'N Sync bandmate to find out Bass is gay. "I back him up 100 percent." Adds Bass’s longtime pal, actress Christina Applegate: "I've always accepted him as who he is. It's about his own serenity at this point." Having pursued acting, producing and – most memorably – space flight after ’N Sync went on hiatus in 2002, Bass now is looking ahead to new beginnings. He is in a "very stable" relationship with model-actor-Amazing Race winner Reichen Lehmkuhl, 32, and is developing an Odd Couple-inspired sitcom pilot with Fatone in which his character will be gay.

Ann Coulter Is One Batty Bitch

I find both Dick Morris' and Ann Coulter's obession with the Clinton's downright stalkerish. But Ann just keeps taking her fixation further and futher. I realize the chick has to make a living but does she sit up all night trying to think of things that are more ridiculous than the last?

You can only bash 9/11 widows for so long before your book starts slip-sliding down the charts. Solution: Call Bill Clinton gay. A source from “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” handed us this transcript from tonight’s 10 pm ET show, during which Deutsch notes that Coulter was talking about Bill Clinton off the air and goads her into repeating what she said.

Ms. COULTER: I think that sort of rampant promiscuity does show some level of latent homosexuality.

DEUTSCH: OK, I think you need to say that again. That Bill Clinton, you think on some level, has — is a latent homosexual, is that what you’re saying?

Ms. COULTER: Yeah.

[...]

The conversation swings a bit before Deutsch moves it back to Big Gay Bill.

DEUTSCH: I’m not paying any attention. I’m still stuck on Bill Clinton. Don’t — now, isn’t that an example of mean-spirted? Isn’t that just a mean-spirited low blow? No pun intended.

Ms. COULTER: No. Which part of what I said?

DEUTSCH: I think this…

Ms. COULTER: Well, you can read high crimes and misdemeanors if he wants some low blows.

DEUTSCH: OK. No, no. Here’s a — here’s a president of the United States…

Ms. COULTER: There’s merely a comment.

DEUTSCH: …a former president of the United States, and just saying, `You know what? I think he has latent homosexual tendencies.’

Ms. COULTER: No. I think anyone with that level of promiscuity where, you know, you — I mean, he didn’t know Monica’s name until their sixth sexual encounter. There is something that is — that is of the bathhouse about that.

DEUTSCH: But what is the homosexual — that’s — you could say somebody who maybe doesn’t celebrate women the way he should or just is that he’s a hound dog?

Ms. COULTER: No. It’s just random, is this obsession with his…

DEUTSCH: But where’s the — but where’s the homosexual part of that? I’m — once again, I’m speechless here.

Ms. COULTER: It’s reminiscent of a bathhouse. It’s just this obsession with your own — with your own essence.

DEUTSCH: But why is that homosexual? You could say narcissistic.

Ms. COULTER: Right.

DEUTSCH: You could say nymphomaniac.

Ms. COULTER: Well, there is something narcissistic about homosexuality. Right? Because you’re in love with someone who looks like you. I’m not breaking new territory here, why are you looking at me like that?

Any guesses?

I forwarded this blog post to one of my yahoogroups and someone immediately responded that if being a "ho" made men homosexuals, 98% of them must be!


Note: Before I could even get this blogged, I ran across this equally as ridiculous story over at Pam's House Blend. Apparently someplace in that state called Kansas, a business has a rainbow flag waving - a flag purchased by a 12 year old at a Wizard of Oz museum.  Someone finally figured out that it has another meaning and now they are demanding that the establishment remove the flag ... for the following reasons:

Knight says the radio station has called him threatening to remove the restaurant’s commercials if he does not remove the flag. A local pastor stopped by said it was equivalent to hanging women’s panties on a flag pole. When Knight jokingly said he might consider that – the preacher said he would have him arrested.

His business has suffered - down to only a few local customers. The folks in Meade who've boycotted say it's too offensive for them to eat there.

Local resident, Keith Klassen says the flag is a slap in the face to the conservative community of Meade. “To me it's just like running up a Nazi flag in a Jewish neighborhood. I can't walk into that establishment with that flag flying because to me that's saying that I support what the flag stands for and I don't," says Klassen.

It's still so hot here that I think I am getting slap happy. Why can't I stop laughing at this foolishness: equivalent to hanging women’s panties on a flag pole? Do they think that because the flag is flying that gay men are going to be in there screwing at the tables? I'm so confused! Who are these people?

Dump Condi?

Well, first of all, Bush is not going to dump any of his friends no matter how incompetent they are. If he hasn't dumped Rumsfeld, he is not going to dump Condi. Besides, how is this her foreign policy? She is just following orders - as most Bush loyalists do. That's why she was appointed. To blame her for being ignorant of the Middle East is stupid. Obviously if anyone in Bush's administration knew the Middle East, we wouldn't be entreneched in multiple conflicts there. It's basically too little too late for all of these conservatives to come out of the woodwork with their criticism of the President now. They should have stood up to him prior to him getting re-elected. Now they are stuck just like the rest of us are.

Conservative national security allies of President Bush are in revolt against Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, saying that she is incompetent and has reversed the administration’s national security and foreign policy agenda.

The conservatives, who include Newt Gingrich, Richard Perle and leading current and former members of the Pentagon and National Security Council, have urged the president to transfer Miss Rice out of the State Department and to an advisory role. They said Miss Rice, stemming from her lack of understanding of the Middle East, has misled the president on Iran and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

"The president has yet to understand that people make policy and not the other way around," a senior national security policy analyst said. "Unlike [former Secretary of State Colin] Powell, Condi is loyal to the president. She is just incompetent on most foreign policy issues."

The criticism of Miss Rice has been intense and comes from a range of Republican loyalists, including current and former aides in the Defense Department and the office of Vice President Dick Cheney. They have warned that Iran has been exploiting Miss Rice's inexperience and incompetence to accelerate its nuclear weapons program. They expect a collapse of her policy over the next few months.

These sudden complainers need to suck it up and watch the global train wreck right along with the rest of the world ... 'cause it's a comin'.

Bolton Not Very Diplomatic

It's been a year or so since Bush slipped this bull of a man into the china shop that is the UN and it looks like the critics of the appointment were right. Via Think Progress ...

In just over a year at the U.N., Bolton has managed to offend many U.S. friends and allies, demonstrating that he’s an ineffective diplomat:

Greece’s U.N. Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis: “He is not an easy man to get close to. … Some people have the possibility to build consensus. Others operate in other ways.”

Algeria’s U.N. Ambassador Abdullah Baali, after a disagreement with Bolton: “The U.S. stand that ‘you take it or you leave it is not helping the Security Council, and is not helping the cause of peace in the Middle East.’”

Peru’s U.N. Ambassador Oswaldo de Rivero: “He lives in another world, with this belief that he is morally superior and the U.S. is more moral than all the countries around the world. It is a pity.”

Michael Doyle, former special adviser to Kofi Annan: “Sometimes he [states U.S. policy] in a manner that is grating. But it is the policy that is most of the problem, even though the personality doesn’t help.”

An ambassador with close ties to the Bush administration: “My initial feeling was, let’s see if we can work with him, and I have done some things to push for consensus on issues that were not easy for my country. … But all he gives us in return is, ‘It doesn’t matter, whatever you do is insufficient.’ … He’s lost me as an ally now, and that’s what many other ambassadors who consider themselves friends of the U.S. are saying.”

A European diplomat: “A lot of us wonder what his real agenda is. First, we think maybe he wants things to fail because then he can say, ‘We cannot reform this place.’ The other question is, does he really reflect the position in Washington? That is always the question: Is it Bolton or is it Washington?”

So there you have it! Other nations seem to be united in their agreement that this guy is a bully and an ass. He's no different than rest of Bush's henchmen so I guess that's why he was sent.

Half Of America Still Stuck On Stupid!

I gave up hoping for collective American sense a long time ago. For anyone who wonders why there are still total tools out there who still support Bush, here is why:

Despite several years of official and press reports to the contrary, a new Harris poll finds that half of adult Americans still believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) when the United States invaded the country in 2003.

This is actually up from 36% last year, a Harris poll finds. The polling company itself called this "surprising" -- considering that no WMD were ever found and U.S. inspectors have confirmed the non-existence of active weapons.

In early summer, there were reports that 500 shells once containing mustard or sarin gas nerve agents were found buried long ago in Iraq but they were judged by experts and military officials as decrepit and useless by 2003.

In another finding wildly diverging from most expert opinion and media reports, Harris found that 64% said Saddam Hussein had "strong links" with al-Qaeda, up from 62% in October 2004.

The poll of 1,020 adults was conducted July 5 to 11 and has a margin of error of three percentage points.

Oh Glory Is Right!

Okay, you decide. Is this guy happy he is getting married or happy that he'll finally be "gettin' some?"

Okay! They're Crazy!

This is just insane! But they want to call the guy in Iran crazy! I think Israel has long since crossed the line and sooner or later, even all of their bombs and weapons won't be enough to keep them safe.

Four United Nations peacekeepers have been killed in an Israeli air strike on an observation post in southern Lebanon, the UN has said.

A bomb struck the post occupied by the peacekeepers of the Unifil force in the Khiam area, it said.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said he was "shocked" at the "apparently deliberate targeting" of the post.

The attack came as Israel said it would control an area in southern Lebanon until international forces deployed.

The force will be discussed at crisis talks to be held in Rome on Wednesday.
...

Perverts In All Parties

I don't care what this guy's party affiliation might be. This is disgusting and I hope he goes dooooown!

Nice to see the Republicans don't have the market cornered on hypocritical sleazery.
Maryland Senate Candidate Arrested on Rape, Assault Charges

It looks like the crowded field for the Democratic nomination for Senator in Maryland just lost one candidate.

David Dickerson is one of 18 Dems seeking the nomination. But he was arrested by Baltimore County police on Saturday on charges of repeatedly raping and assaulting his 19 year-old Latvian wife.

According to Corporal Mike Hill, Dickerson, who's 43, met his wife in Latvia when she was 16 and took her back to the States to marry her when she was 18. She shortly thereafter got pregnant. She has told police that Dickerson starved her, denied her the ability to call her mother, and repeatedly beat and raped her. She eventually left for Latvia, she told police, but returned when Dickerson threatened her and her family, saying that he "could have anybody bring her back."

Charming. Need I state that this sparkling example of a human being is running on Ye Olde Family Values Ticket? (Bolds, emphasis, disgust mine)

I am running as a Democrat for the U.S. Senate because the vital issues we face as a state and a nation are not being addressed. We need to renew our respect for life and family values as a means to stand united against evil that threatens our liberty. The moral fabric of our Democratic Party needs to represent our Maryland values, so we need change. As U.S. Senator, I propose that we support daycare, vote against killing human embryos, vote against public funding of abortions which serve as an alternative form of birth control, and we need term limits to prevent corruption in our government.

Violence in our society is beyond worrisome. Crime and drugs have reached alarming proportions, so we need to stop the strong from taking advantage of the weak! I propose that we need to vote for tougher prosecution of those using weapons in violent crimes. I will support our troops while crafting an “Iraq Exit Strategy” which the world embraces; enforce tougher prosecution of those using weapons in violent crimes, endorse a Foreign Policy that secures the world but does not contain it, and support an Immigration Policy that rewards our economy and protects all citizens and legal immigrants. The growth of our nation'’s capitol has been supported by Maryland, so it is time that Washington helps us by starting to pay the Maryland taxpayers'’ bills for transportation infrastructure and the means necessary for us to protect our environment.

The creepy dude on my job who bought a childlike wife in the Philippenes (word is he signed a contract with her parents) is a liberal and a vegetarian but that doesn't mean that he isn't a pervert, abuser and abject loser. What I don't get are these deviant politicians, who know they are living foul, who are putting themselves up for public scrutiny. I would see a big red flag, see flashing lights and hear sirens if I read that he imported a teenager from an impoverished country and calls her his wife. Moreover, what kind of family values man would actually send his own child back to said country to be raised by a grandmother? The man had no real chance of winning this race anyway but along with the deviance, I think there is some other mental disorder that leads these men to believe their disgusting ways will never come to light.

If He Were The King of The Forest

I'm not sure if this is just a stunt on Specter's behalf but is about time someone called Bush on being under the illusion that he was above the law and that, as President, he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. That he added signing statements to more bills than all other Presidents combined shows that this is a man who thinks he is a King.

A top Senate Republican said on Monday he will challenge U.S. President George W. Bush's practice of claiming a right to ignore or not enforce sections of bills that he signs into law.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter said he plans to introduce legislation this week that would give the U.S. Congress the right to bring a lawsuit against Bush's "signing statements."

Bush has used these statements to reserve the right not to enforce certain provisions of laws if he believes they impinge on his authority or interpretation of the Constitution.

An American Bar Association task force issued a report on Monday that said Bush has flouted the U.S. constitution by issuing more than 800 signing statements to highlight provisions of laws he might not enforce, more than every previous U.S. president combined.

ABA President Michael Greco noted that under the Constitution there is a balance of power in which Congress is to pass bills and the president is to sign or veto them, and give lawmakers an opportunity to override any veto.

"By using a signing statement to ignore an entire or portions of a new law, the president undermines this entire system of checks and balances," Greco told reporters in releasing the report.

Speaking in the Senate, Specter said his legislation would authorize a judicial review, with the goal of having such actions "declared unconstitutional."

The White House has defended signing statements, saying they have been used by past presidents and help the public understand how a given law will be enforced and can provide guidance to courts.

For example, Bush signed a bill banning the torture of U.S.-held prisoners, but used a signing statement to signal that he might bypass the ban.

He has also used them to show that he might ignore provisions in an anti-terrorism law seeking more congressional oversight and reject a requirement that government scientists transmit findings to Congress uncensored.

Specter's Judiciary Committee held a hearing on presidential signing statements last month and he also concluded they "threaten our separation of powers."

Specter said his staff was drafting a bill to challenge signing statements with Bruce Fein, a former member of the Reagan administration who also served on the ABA task force.

I Know That Feeling ....

If only ...

"Right now, I would love to kill George Bush." Her young audience at the Brisbane City Hall clapped and cheered.

"I don't know how I ever got a Nobel Peace Prize, because when I see children die the anger in me is just beyond belief. It's our duty as human beings, whatever age we are, to become the protectors of human life."

Ms Williams was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 30 years ago, when she circulated a petition to end violence in Northern Ireland after witnessing British soldiers shoot dead an IRA member who was driving a car. He veered on to the footpath, killing two children from one family instantly and fatally injuring a third.

Ms Williams's petition had tens of thousands of Protestant and Catholic women walking the streets together in protest. Now the former office receptionist heads the World Centres of Compassion for Children International, a non-profit group working to create a political voice for children.

Condi: Secret Squirrel

The cloak and dagger game this administration plays everytime it decides to pay a visit to one of our sponsored war zones is getting pretty old. This time Condoleezza pops up in Beruit like Secret Squirrel to pay a visit to the man whose country is being destroyed by our good friend Israel. I actually thought it was ridiculous and more like a slap in the face to show up bearing offers of aid after we allowed and encouraged our ally to destroy the place.

SURPRISE!....I have a wee request: Can we please stop treating as major news the unceasing "surprise" visits to the Middle East by various Bush administration luminaries? Rice does it, Rumsfeld does it, Cheney does it, Bush does it, and these things really aren't much of a surprise anymore, are they? More like a transparent effort to get a headline from a gullible press corps. It's time to wake up.

Depraved Individuals

Too much porn available. Too much something ...

A man grabbed a Florida child and raped her in full daylight, police say.

The man who St. Petersburg police said raped the 8-year-old girl remains on the loose.

The victim was leaving a park at about 12:55 p.m. with her 7-year-old brother when the man grabbed her from behind, pulled her to the ground and raped her, police said. Their mother had left them alone for a few minutes to return home and turn off the kitchen stove. They were less than half a block from the family's apartment.

A man playing basketball nearby said he heard the screams and ran to the scene. A motorist who witnessed it began honking her horn and called for help. The perpetrator then got up and ran away.

The girl was treated at the hospital and released.

Police believe they recovered the man's shirt, which he apparently stripped off as he ran away, but they don't know his identity. People in the middle-class neighborhood said he may be a transient.

'Cause I'm Hot Like That

Holy Hades! I spent a week in Detroit in the heat, another week in Chicago just as it began to cool down then I come home to San Jose and flew into 80+ degree temps at damn near midnight. My apartment was hot. It never cooled down and it is supposed to hit 103 today!

I'm HOT G'dmmit!

This Is About Where I'm Getting ...

Never thought I see things this way but after the past few years, this is about where I am headed ...

We have been Israel's greatest friend, supplying it with more money and weapons than any other country to which we offer foreign aid.

And yet this tiny sliver of a nation, with its abusive and sometimes draconian treatment of its minorities and its cavalier attitude toward spying on us (and that's not to mention the USS Liberty incident) treats us like the bottom boy in this relationship - and we let them do it.

Now, with the latest scuffle going on in Lebanon, we are being The Bitch again, talking big about seeking a diplomatic solution while at the same time expediting a shipment of bunker-busting precision guided munitions.

If Israel wants to act like the 800-pound Gorilla in the Middle East, that's fine - but not on my tax dollars, thank you.

Afghanistan Close To Anarchy

While we are rushing super weapons to Israel to use against Lebanon, Iraq is spiraling into the abyss of civil war and Afghanistan is close to anarchy.

The most senior British military commander in Afghanistan today described the situation in the country as "close to anarchy" with feuding foreign agencies and unethical private security companies compounding problems caused by local corruption.

The stark warning came from Lieutenant General David Richards, head of Nato's international security force in Afghanistan, who warned that western forces there were short of equipment and were "running out of time" if they were going to meet the expectations of the Afghan people.

The assumption within Nato countries had been that the environment in Afghanistan after the defeat of the Taliban in 2002 would be benign, Gen Richards said. "That is clearly not the case," he said today. He referred to disputes between tribes crossing the border with Pakistan, and divisions between religious and secular factions cynically manipulated by "anarcho-warlords".

Corrupt local officials were fuelling the problem and Nato's provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan were sending out conflicting signals, Gen Richards told a conference at the Royal United Services Institute in London. "The situation is close to anarchy," he said, referring in particular to what he called "the lack of unity between different agencies".

He described "poorly regulated private security companies" as unethical and "all too ready to discharge firearms". Nato forces in Afghanistan were short of equipment, notably aircraft, but also of medical evacuation systems and life-saving equipment.

He Was A Joke

I have no clue why he chose to show up this year..

Bush hoped he could plagiarize himself to an audience he treated for 5 1/2 years as separate and forgotten. Until Thursday, he was the only sitting president since Warren G. Harding more than 80 years ago not to address the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Bush's top moment of success in that regard was when he said he would sign the extension of the Voting Rights Act. This was hardly courageous, as the Senate passed the extension 98 to 0 and the House passed it 390 to 33. More on Bush's mind was blunting visceral anger at his Iraq debacle and domestic policies that have many Republican members of Congress at risk in the mid-term elections.

Anger seethed beneath the politeness. While Bush received strong applause on the voting act and for understanding the distrust of black voters toward his party, silence grew as Bush retreated to well-worn, but ill-funded initiatives such as education. He received a smattering of boos for pushing charter schools.

Many people in the audience were acutely aware that Bush barely touched on the NAACP's core mission of equal rights. Bush failed to square his lament about African-Americans and Republicans when his own Justice Department deleted half of a massive report on racism among its attorneys, and his own Department of Health and Human Services attempted to delete all references to disparities and inequalities in healthcare. Bush did not mention why he backed white students at the University of Michigan who tried to kill affirmative action. He did not mention his Supreme Court and federal judicial appointees who oppose affirmative action and school busing.

His praise of the Voting Rights Act was, of course, the most ironic moment of his speech, considering how he gained the Oval Office with the massive disqualification of black ballots in Florida.

My 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)?

The Bush Doctrine Fails

Here I go again. I'm wholeheartedly agreeing with Pat Buchanan on our totally f'd up foreign policy.

When Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert unleashed his navy and air force on Lebanon, accusing that tiny nation of an "act of war," the last pillar of Bush's Middle East policy collapsed.

First came capitulation on the Bush Doctrine, as Pyongyang and Tehran defied Bush's dictum: The world's worst regimes will not be allowed to acquire the world's worst weapons. Then came suspension of the democracy crusade as Islamic militants exploited free elections to advance to power and office in Egypt, Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank, Iraq and Iran.

Now Israel's rampage against a defenseless Lebanon -- smashing airport runways, fuel tanks, power plants, gas stations, lighthouses, bridges, roads and the occasional refugee convoy -- has exposed Bush's folly in subcontracting U.S. policy out to Tel Aviv, thus making Israel the custodian of our reputation and interests in the Middle East.

The Lebanon that Israel, with Bush's blessing, is smashing up has a pro-American government, heretofore considered a shining example of his democracy crusade. Yet, asked in St. Petersburg if he would urge Israel to use restraint in its air strikes, Bush sounded less like the leader of the Free World than some bellicose city councilman from Brooklyn Heights.

(read more)

Ooooh! He Said A Bad Word!

If anyone thinks that our Texas cowboy president doesn't use cuss words on a regular basis, they could use a good cussin' out themselves. Seemed to me that the big deal is that he suddenly thinks the UN has value and that Kofi Annan should be pressuring Syrian President Assad to get Hezbollah under control.

US President George W Bush has been caught on microphone using an expletive as he discussed Hezbollah's rocket attacks on Israel.

Mr Bush was heard telling UK Prime Minister Tony Blair privately that Syria should press the Lebanese militants to "stop doing this shit".

The remarks were picked up by closed-circuit TV at the G8 summit which both leaders are attending.

Mr Bush also said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice would go to the area.

Mr Blair was heard saying Ms Rice had to succeed in the mission.

He also appeared to discuss a proposal to send international forces to Lebanon to prevent the attacks on Israel.

The remarks came as the two leaders were sitting down to lunch at the summit in the Russian city of St Petersburg.

"The irony is, what they really need to do is to get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this shit, and it's over," Mr Bush was heard to say.

Soon after Mr Blair noticed that the microphone was open and switched it off, reports say.

The summit has been discussing what to do about the crisis, triggered by the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah last week.

Israeli has been attacking targets in Lebanon for six days, while Hezbollah has responded by firing rockets into Israel.

No Tickey, No Washey

... And no evacuation from Lebanon if you don't have the funds.

The Department of State reminds American citizens that the U.S. government does not provide no-cost transportation but does have the authority to provide repatriation loans to those in financial need [emphasis mine]. For the portion of your trip directly handled by the U.S. Government we will ask you to sign a promissory note and we will bill you at a later date. In a subsequent message, when we have specific details about the transporation arrangments, we will inform you about the costs you will incur. We will also work with commercial aircraft to ensure that they have adequate flights to help you depart Cyprus and connect to your final destination.

So now I guess our policy is "put up or blow up?"

When Will This Beast Die?

Jeebus! I don't get why people are so fixated on this non-story. Who the heck cares if Oprah and Gayle are gay? I am sure they would tell if they were.

Oprah Winfrey and her friend Gayle King want to be clear: they're not gay. In the August issue of O, the Oprah Magazine, the talk-show host explains that some people misunderstand her close friendship with King.

"I understand why people think we're gay," she says. "There isn't a definition in our culture for this kind of bond between women. So I get why people have to label it — how can you be this close without it being sexual?"

In a long article, Winfrey, 52, and King converse about their 30 years of friendship and "four-times-a-day phone calls."

The two friends say they would have no problem telling the public if they were in a sexual relationship.

"The truth is, if we were gay, we would tell you, because there's nothing wrong with being gay," says King.

Says Winfrey: "Something about this relationship feels otherworldly to me, like it was designed by a power and a hand greater than my own. Whatever this friendship is, it's been a very fun ride."

If people had any satisfaction or contentment in their own sex, personal and intimate lives, there is no way they would be worrying about Oprah and Gayle. I understand that people don't believe that men and women can be close friends without sexual attraction being some kind of undercurrent but do you mean to tell me that two women cannot be as close as sisters without one or both of them having the hots for the other? I think that it is really sad that so many people are no more than walking sex organs and cannot fathom any kind of human interaction that doesn't include sex. So much for human beings being the superior species.

Where Is Qusan?

I am in Detroit at the bi-annual convention for my sorority. I haven't seen much news but am not feeling too good about what I have heard regarding Israel and Lebanon ... will definitely post about it later.

Aryan Nations Graffiti In Baghdad

This nation is so desperate for soldiers in this volunteer army that they've been lowering standards and recruiting criminals, druggies, dummies, gang members and neo-Natzis.

Ten years after Pentagon leaders toughened policies on extremist activities by active duty personnel -- a move that came in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing by decorated Gulf War combat veteran Timothy McVeigh and the murder of a black couple by members of a skinhead gang in the elite 82nd Airborne Division -- large numbers of neo-Nazis and skinhead extremists continue to infiltrate the ranks of the world's best-trained, best-equipped fighting force. Military recruiters and base commanders, under intense pressure from the war in Iraq to fill the ranks, often look the other way.


Neo-Nazis "stretch across all branches of service, they are linking up across the branches once they're inside, and they are hard-core," Department of Defense gang detective Scott Barfield said. "We've got Aryan Nations graffiti in Baghdad," he added. "That's a problem."


The armed forces are supposed to be a model of racial equality. American soldiers are supposed to be defenders of democracy. Neo-Nazis represent the opposite of these ideals. They dream of race war and revolution, and their motivations for enlisting are often quite different than serving their country.


"Join only for the training, and to better defend yourself, our people, and our culture," Fain said. "We must have people to open doors from the inside when the time comes."
[...]
Extremists in the military are tricky to unmask. "They're a lot smarter about it than street gang members," said Barfield. "They don't brag and boast like gang bangers." The best way to reduce the number of extremists in the armed forces is to prevent them from entering the military in the first place. "But now we're lowering our recruiting standards. We're accepting lesser quality soldiers," Barfield said. In a move to boost enlistment, the military is allowing more and more recruits with criminal records to sign up. A recent Chicago Sun-Times article revealed the percentage of recruits granted "moral waivers" for past misdemeanors had more than doubled since 2001. The military also revised its rules on inductee tattoos earlier this year to allow all tattoos except those on the front of the face. Both changes in the rules made it easier for extremists to join. And while military regulations prohibit (PDF) all gang-related or white supremacist tattoos, many recruiters are ignoring such tattoos, or even literally covering them up. "I had one case where a recruiter and his wife took a guy to their house and covered up his tattoos with make-up so he could pass his [physical examination]," Barfield said ...

Damn this war! We are training war mongers for our homeland.