You Go Too, Joe!

Since Joe Lieberman is reading from the same comic book as John McCain , I think he needs a field trip to Iraq as well! They can stroll along the Tigris together.

Lieberman comes on the Situation Room with his violence blinders on to support his Republican pals on the Iraq war—and responds to Ware's report from yesterday. Ware responds to Holy Joe later in the show.

Lieberman: So, I — I don't — I can't directly dispute Michael Ware's overall picture, but I'll tell you most significantly, the American soldier is more confident walking the streets of Baghdad today. And that's a very important change.

Ware: So, honestly, the dynamics, the fundamental underlying schisms, what's really driving this war all over the country, are not yet being addressed. We're only talking about the surface.

He can't directly dispute anything Micahel Ware says because he isn't there in the flesh. Michael Ware is LIVING in Iraq! Living there! If Lieberman and McCain are so sure it is safe, I think it is there duty to go and prove it!

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No Room At The Inn

I absolutely am going to have to laugh now. Huh?

“She wasn’t discreet about it,” said Jason Pickel, referring to a hotel employee. “She was not apologetic. She just said, ‘We do not rent to gay people.’”

For the past two and a half years, Pickel and Darren Black Bear have been in a committed relationship. During a search for a temporary home, the couple says it went to Affordable Suites of America, a long-term stay hotel located on Gion Street in Sumter.

…News19 contacted the hotel, posing as a potential renter, and inquired about two men staying in the same room. The receptionist who answered the phone told us the following: “Our policy is we don’t rent to two people of the same sex if we only have one bed.” “Is that your policy,” we asked. “That’s corporate policy because they only have one sleeping area.” We then asked, “Okay, but they can’t share the bed?” “I suppose they could, but most men don’t want to,” she said.

So, if there were two beds in the room, are they going to inspect the beds the next day to make sure both were slept in? How stupid is this? I'm not even sure I believe that it is "corporate policy" to deny two people of the same sex a hotel room - one bed, two beds, three beds. How could they possibly know who is partnered up and who is a sibling, who is a best friend or who is random roommate? This sounds like backwater, ignorant hick mess! I wish they'd stop!

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Yo McCain! Wanna Go For A Stroll?

Today was one of the deadliest days since the onset of the war - FOUR years ago. Yet, John McCain just boasted that you could walk around some neighborhoods in Baghdad just like the old days (of Saddam). I say he should go on a field trip without protection or an armored vehicle of any sort.

BAGHDAD - A suicide bomber killed at least 62 people and wounded 27 in a market in the Shaab district of northern Baghdad, police sources said. Most of the victims were women and children who had been out shopping in the crowded market in the Shi'ite district, a health ministry official said.

BAGHDAD - The bodies of 25 people were found in Baghdad, a police source said.

BAGHDAD - Gunmen opened fire on a crowd in Shabab district in southern Baghdad, killing one person and wounding three, a police source said.

BAGHDAD - A car bomb killed three people and wounded 16 in Jamiaa in western Baghdad, a police source said, adding that the bomb targeted an army patrol.

BAGHDAD - A senior academic at Baghdad's Mustansiriya university named Rida Qureishi was kidnapped, a police source said.

BAGHDAD - A car bomb killed four policemen and one civilian and wounded nine more police in Jihad in southwest Baghdad, the U.S. military said. Police were checking a suspicious vehicle when it exploded.

Oh, and it isn't just Baghdad. Other "safe havens" saw their share of bloodshed today too!

KHALIS - At least three suicide car bombers launched almost simultaneous attacks in a mainly Shi'ite town, killing 53 people and wounding 103, police said. The blasts took place in Khalis, 80 km (50 miles) north of Baghdad.

MOSUL - U.S. forces killed four armed men who fired on them during a raid in the northern city of Mosul, the U.S. military said. U.S. forces also detained 15 suspected insurgents in that raid and others around Iraq against al Qaeda targets.

MAHMUDIYA - A car bomb killed four people and wounded 20 in a parking lot in Mahmudiya, 30 km (20 miles) south of Baghdad, police said. A local official in the town said eight people were killed and 12 wounded.

MAHMUDIYA - Two mortar bombs landed in a residential district of Mahmudiya, killing two people and wounding seven, police said.

MOSUL - Police arrested a leader of al Qaeda in Iraq in Mosul, police said.

MOSUL - Gunmen killed Nawaf al-Hadidi, imam of a mosque in Mosul, in a drive-by shooting on Wednesday, police said.

But then, I guess I'm just being negative and "don't want to win."

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Closing Gitmo?

So after holding people, without a trial and for who knows what, the new Secretary of Defense wants to look into how we can close it.

Congress and the Bush administration should work together to allow the U.S. to permanently imprison some of the more dangerous Guantanamo Bay detainees elsewhere so the facility can be closed, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.

Gates said the challenge is figuring out what to do with hard-core detainees who have "made very clear they will come back and attack this country."

He said it may require a new law to "address the concerns about some of these people who really need to be incarcerated forever, but that doesn't get them involved in a judicial system where there is the potential of them being released," Gates told the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee.

Gates comments came as the Pentagon released the transcript from a Guantanamo hearing involving a Saudi linked to the Sept. 11 attacks. He said he got money transfers from two hijackers inside the United States hours before the planes struck the World Trade Center and Pentagon.

Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, who was based in the United Arab Emirates on Sept. 11, 2001, denied that he was a member of the al-Qaida terrorist network and that he sent money to the hijackers.

Lawmakers said Thursday the Guantanamo facility hurts U.S. credibility with its allies. They asked that Gates give more thought to how it could be closed and detainees moved to a military prison.

"I hope that we can work to find some way to correct this problem, because as you say, it is a stain on our reputation and we can't afford it," said Rep. David Obey, D-Wis.

Gitmo has long since been a stain on our reputation. For the most part, we need to be afraid to let any of them go - including the ones who've been detained without just cause - because there will be some "git back" for Gitmo - whether action be taken by these detainees, their sons, their son's sons or some random folks who wanna do it on GP.

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Husbands Can't Rape

Even though I've met a few women who are a bit light in the head who've sheepishly asked if a husband could be guilty of rape, I am sick of folks like Phyllis Schafly screaming from the mountain tops that it is not a crime. Everyone is subject to the brainwashing effects of a patriarchal society so I see how even some smart women have seeds of doubt regarding something they know isn't right. But Phyllis Schafly's decrepit ass needs to give it a rest. Just because she was forced and didn't mind doesn't mean that others cannot consider it criminal.

Believe it.

Last night at Bates College, Phyllis Schlafly gave a lecture titled, "Conservatism vs. Feminism: The Great Debate" where at one point she contended that a woman can't get raped by her husband: "By getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I don't think you can call it rape."

I'm not married but I've been to enough weddings and would recall if the vows included anything about forced sex. Since forced sex really isn't about sex at all but rather domination, aggression, anger and power, I doubt most women in a free society would choose marriage if that is what it entailed. This isn't the Middle East afterall. Then again, perhaps that is why marriage rates are dropping and divorce rates are rising.

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The Where On Terror

In all but an emotional, hysterical level, there is no there there

The "war on terror" has created a culture of fear in America. The Bush administration's elevation of these three words into a national mantra since the horrific events of 9/11 has had a pernicious impact on American democracy, on America's psyche and on U.S. standing in the world. Using this phrase has actually undermined our ability to effectively confront the real challenges we face from fanatics who may use terrorism against us.

The damage these three words have done -- a classic self-inflicted wound -- is infinitely greater than any wild dreams entertained by the fanatical perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks when they were plotting against us in distant Afghan caves. The phrase itself is meaningless. It defines neither a geographic context nor our presumed enemies. Terrorism is not an enemy but a technique of warfare -- political intimidation through the killing of unarmed non-combatants.

But the little secret here may be that the vagueness of the phrase was deliberately (or instinctively) calculated by its sponsors. Constant reference to a "war on terror" did accomplish one major objective: It stimulated the emergence of a culture of fear. Fear obscures reason, intensifies emotions and makes it easier for demagogic politicians to mobilize the public on behalf of the policies they want to pursue. The war of choice in Iraq could never have gained the congressional support it got without the psychological linkage between the shock of 9/11 and the postulated existence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Support for President Bush in the 2004 elections was also mobilized in part by the notion that "a nation at war" does not change its commander in chief in midstream. The sense of a pervasive but otherwise imprecise danger was thus channeled in a politically expedient direction by the mobilizing appeal of being "at war ..."

Can We Say Bu-Bye Now?

Gonzales is a liar!

Today, under questioning from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sampson said, under oath, that he “shared information with anyone who wanted it.” Specifically, Sampson said he did share information with McNulty and Moschella prior to their testimonies before Congress. Schumer responded: “So the Attorney General’s statement is wrong, is false. How could it not be?” Sampson froze. Ultimately, he acknowledged Gonzales’s statement is “not accurate.” Watch it:

Update: Okay, I'm surprised. Sampson is throwing him under the bus for real!

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In The Words of Paul Mooney ...

... before he decided not to use the word anymore: "Er'body wanna be a n*gga but don't nobody wanna be a n*gga!"

At the annual Radio/Television Correspondents' Association Dinner last night, comedians Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood of Whose Line Is It Anyway? brought Karl Rove up on stage for a tribute rap song. Not as good as Colbert's roast of President Bush last year, but it's pretty damn funny to see Karl try to get down with his bad self.

Why do white folks (especially conservatives) get such a kick out of imitating the very thing they will be bashing the black community about in the next breath? I am unimpressed with MC Rove.

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And He's Bush's Friend ...

Well, isn't this interesting ...The King (means there is a monarchy and not a democracy) of Saudi Arabia has called our occupation of Iraq illegitimate.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, one of the United States' closest Arab allies, called the American presence in Iraq "illegitimate" on Wednesday as he opened a two-day summit here of the Arab League.

The characterization came amid growing signs that Saudi Arabia is distancing itself from Bush administration policies in the region.

The octogenarian monarch, swathed in traditional robes and speaking in a pained voice, also characterized as "unjust" the U.S.-led financial embargo of the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority and urged its end in the wake of an agreement between Hamas and the moderate Fatah party to form a unity government.

Abdullah also criticized Arab leaders for infighting, which he said had caused nations to drift "further from unity than they were at the time of the founding of the Arab League," the 22-member body created in 1945.

Abdullah described a region awash with blood and beset by turmoil - from the sectarian battlegrounds of Iraq and Lebanon to the unresolved crisis in Sudan's Darfur region to brewing showdowns in Somalia and the Palestinian territories.

"In beloved Iraq, blood is shed among our brothers while there is an illegitimate foreign occupation and a hateful sectarianism that is threatening to develop into a civil war," the king said.

Abdullah neglected to mention the troubles in his own kingdom, where authorities are struggling to contain a radical Islamist movement and are cracking down on pro-reform activists.

"The real blame should be directed at us, the leaders of the Arab nation," Abdullah said. "Our constant disagreements and rejection of unity have made the Arab nation lose confidence in our sincerity and lose hope."

The king's remarks come at a time when Saudi Arabia is angling to bill itself as a regional power able to rein in warring factions and assert its authority in the face of a growing Iranian influence in the Middle East.

They told us there would be a domino effect of democracy spreading throughout the world. All I see are non-democratic nations being empowered even more. Imagine that!

Our Dictator Ally

I am always at a loss for words when I hear some pundits casually call the democratically elected Hugo Chavez of Venezuela a dictator. Yet, we are as thick as thieves with President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan who came to power in a military coup. They are supposed to be headed for democracy but guess what? Pervez says maybe not!

The fight against international terrorism cannot be won without demilitarizing and deradicalizing Pakistan. That's what makes Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's latest move so worrisome.

Mr. Musharraf took power more than seven years ago in a military coup. Since then, national conditions have markedly worsened. A military dictatorship justified as essential for bringing stability has actually taken the country to the edge.

Now, without drawing international attention, Musharraf has unveiled a plan that will make Pakistan's greatly awaited elections a farce. Under this plan, the outgoing parliament and four provincial legislatures would "elect" him to a new five-year term as president in the fall, before he oversees national polls a few months later. Five years ago, Musharraf orchestrated another charade – a referendum – to extend his self-declared presidency.

Musharraf's maneuver is the latest in a long series of broken promises to return his country to democracy. And it does not bode well for Pakistan's central challenge: moving away from militarism, extremism, and fundamentalism, and toward a stable, moderate state.

What Is He Talking About?

Chris Matthews is such a tool sometimes. Aside from Ann Coulter and select other screeching right wing nutjobs, what college-educate women is he talking about?

Speaking on MSNBC's Imus In the Morning show today, Chris Matthews said: "You only hear criticism of Hillary Rodham Clinton from smart, college-educated women. They're the ones that always have a problem with her." Matthews then explained that men "are afraid to talk like that."

Bad grammar aside, Matthews' statement is almost funny when you consider that he, a man, has practically made a second career of criticizing Clinton--not for her policies or her votes in the Senate, but for her gender. In December of 2004, Matthews said on Hardball that a Clinton candidacy would "motivate all the men in the country to vote against her." In November of 2006, he wondered "What is she going to do about her husband? She makes an acceptance speech, and there he is, just standing behind her, smiling and applauding."

And the very next month, Matthews wondered whether Sen. Clinton was "convincing" as a mom.

In his interview with Imus, Matthews made a big deal over his speculation that Clinton "puts up" with her husband's lifestyle so that he will raise money for her. In other words, Sen. Clinton is a whore who will do anything to get elected, another version of the "Oh, my--Hillary is ambitious" song and dance we've heard from everyone from Matthews to Maureen Dowd.

Yes, Sen. Clinton is ambitious, as is Barack Obama, who had barely set foot in the Senate when he decided he should be president of the United States. Or Rudy Giuliani, who gives speeches against backdrops of the tragedy of September 11. Or Mitt Romney, who suddenly repudiated several values he had publicly held for years. Lucky them--no one is criticizing them for their ambition.

For the most part, it is men, men, men (Democrat or Republican)who seem to be scared shitless at the prospect of Hillary Clinton becoming President.

Beyond Ludicrous

I lost respect for John McCain so long ago but even I didn't think he'd start brazenly lying. What is wrong with him?

Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told radio host Bill Bennett that President Bush’s escalation is working. “There are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods, today,” he said. Today, when CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked McCain why Americans still aren’t able to safely leave the Green Zone in Iraq, the senator replied that Blitzer was giving three-month-old talking points:

General Petraeus goes out there almost every day in an unarmed humvee. I think you oughta catch up. You are giving the old line of three months ago. I understand it. We certainly don’t get it through the filter of some of the media.

But according to CNN reporter Michael Ware, who has been in Iraq for four years, McCain is “way off base.” He stated, “To suggest that there’s any neighborhood in this city where an American can walk freely is beyond ludicrous. I’d love Sen. McCain to tell me where that neighborhood is and he and I can go for a stroll.”

Ware also rebutted McCain’s assertion that Petaeus travels in an unarmed humvee: “[I]n the hour since Sen. McCain’s said this, I’ve spoken to military sources and there was laughter down the line. I mean, certainly the general travels in a humvee. There’s multiple humvees around it, heavily armed.” Watch it:

Update: Then he goes on CNN trying to backpedal on the lie! Of course the people who listen to Bill Bennett's show would never hear the "correction" because they wouldn't watch CNN. He's really focusing on rallying a band of idiots to support him in the election (assuming that dirty bird Gulliani doesn't get the nomination).

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Beyond Ignorant!

I wonder how this ill bred vermin got into the game in the first place.

America's Serena Williams was the target of a racist heckler at the Sony Ericsson on Monday, but held her nerve to record a third round victory over Czech Lucie Safarova.

Late in her 6-3 6-4 win over Safarova, the three-times champion in Miami complained to chair umpire Joan Vornbaum about the verbal abuse being directed at her by a spectator, who she said had been harassing her the entire match.

The WTA confirmed the spectator was removed by security staff and turned over to Miami Dade police.

"The guy said, 'Hit the net like a Negro would'," Williams told reporters.

"I was shocked. I couldn't believe it. I had to do a double take. I think I hit a double fault at that point.

"Who says these things outside of first grade. At a professional venue you don't do that. It was shocking, I couldn't believe he would stoop to that level.

Playing in her first event since winning the Australian Open in January, Williams said she had tried to ignore the heckling but finally had enough when the taunts became racist.

"I really should have said something sooner," she added.

"Even the people out there were pointing to who he was.

"The guy was saying things that shouldn't have been said. It was derogatory.

"Then every time I missed a shot or serve, he would say, 'That's the way to do it'.

"It was outrageous. I couldn't believe what he said."

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Money Grubbing

I thought that the whole premise of this book not being published was because it was in poor, poor taste and that it was an insult to the families of the victims. Why, then, is Fred Goldman out to get the rights to the book and probably use it for profit?

The rights to O.J. Simpson's book, "If I Did It," will be auctioned off April 17.

The book, in which Simpson explains how he might have committed the killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman, has been the subject of a legal battle between the former NFL star and Goldman's family.

The book and companion TV interview were never released amid public outrage.

Notice of the auction to be held by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department has been sent to publishers, Hollywood studios and talent agencies, Goldman family attorney David Cook said.

It's unknown who will bid on the rights, but Cook said the Goldmans will do so if needed.

As tacky as the entire concept of the whole book is, I never thought it was worth all of the hysteria and worth Judith Regan losing her job. To have this thing being sold and not buried just shows that people really don't care about the victims, families or OJ's idiotic antics. People, Ron Goldman at the helm, care about grubbing a dollar.

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This Is Where Stupid Takes You!

Then half of Europe wonders why they can't get immigrants to "assimilate."

German judge: No divorce for Muslim woman because abuse is part of her culture

This is so fucked up on so many levels. A judge in Germany refused to give a woman who was being beaten by her husband a speedy divorce because Muslim women should be accustomed to abuse.

In January, the judge turned down the wife’s request for a speedy divorce, saying that the husband’s behavior was not an unreasonable hardship because they were both Moroccan. “In this cultural background,” she wrote, “it is not unusual that the husband uses physical punishment against the wife.”

Uh huh.

Kick His "Ask" Girlfriend!

The Record Is Broken

... and I wish he'd stop sounding like one. For crying out loud! This war that was supposed to be "weeks not months" has turned into four years! Soldiers are dying daily. They are losing minds, limbs, jobs, money and families. But the people who want to bring them home aren't supporting the troops.

Vice President Dick Cheney on Saturday accused the Democrat-led House of not supporting troops in Iraq and of sending a message to terrorists that America will retreat in the face danger.

"They're not supporting the troops. They're undermining them," Cheney told a gathering of the Republican Jewish Coalition at the oceanside Ritz-Carlton hotel in Manalapan, Fla., about 60 miles north of Miami.

On Friday, the House voted to clamp a cutoff deadline on the Iraq war, agreeing by a thin margin to pull combat troops out by next year.

The $124 billion House legislation would pay for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan this year but would require that combat troops come home from Iraq before September 2008 - or earlier if the Iraqi government does not meet certain requirements.

Cheney called it a myth that "one can support the troops without giving them the tools and reinforcements they need to carry out their mission."

President Bush has threatened to veto the legislation. Cheney said Bush will not withdraw troops before there is stability in Iraq.

"The American people have lost faith in the president's conduct of this war," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said after the passage. A message seeking comment was left with Pelosi's office Saturday.

Maybe It's Me

But why is it that a movie called "The Frog Princess" not sound very princess-ey?

The Walt Disney Co. has started production on an animated musical fairy tale called "The Frog Princess," which will be set in New Orleans and feature the Walt Disney Studio's first black princess.

The company unveiled the plans at its annual shareholders' meeting in New Orleans.

John Lasseter, chief creative officer for Disney and the Disney-owned unit Pixar Animation Studios, said the movie would return to the classic hand-drawn animation process, instead of using computer animation that has become the industry standard. He called the film "an American fairy tale."

"The film's New Orleans setting and strong princess character give the film lots of excitement and texture," Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook said.

The movie will be scored by Randy Newman, who also wrote the music for Disney's "Toy Story," "A Bug's Life," "Toy Story 2," "Monsters, Inc." and "Cars."

Newman performed a song from the score for the shareholders.

John Musker and Ron Clements, who co-directed "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin," and "Hercules" will co-direct the movie. The pair also wrote the story for the film.

Disney said its new animated princess -- Maddy -- will be added to its collection of animated princesses used at the company's theme parks and on consumer products.

The film is set for release in 2009.

I'm not a fairy tale kind of girl (though I did love the songs in the Roger's and Hammerstein's Cinderella) and haven't seen any of the any of the animated Disney films that have been released over the past couple of decades. But, while a lot of black folks are going "finally!," I am wondering why this "Maddy" character has to be linked to frogs ... and why is her name Maddy (sounds like Mattie the maid to me)? I'm sure the finished product will be great, I'm just not too thrilled about the theme. Thank god I don't have a little girl who would force me to go see it with her.

Pants on FI--UR!

This man lies like a rug. He knew!

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales approved plans to fire several U.S. attorneys in a November meeting, according to documents released Friday that contradict earlier claims that he was not closely involved in the dismissals.

The Nov. 27 meeting, in which the attorney general and at least five top Justice Department officials participated, focused on a five-step plan for carrying out the firings of the prosecutors, Justice Department officials said late Friday.

There, Gonzales signed off on the plan, which was crafted by his chief of staff, Kyle Sampson. Sampson resigned last week amid a political firestorm surrounding the firings.

The documents indicated that the hour-long morning discussion, held in the attorney general's conference room, was the only time Gonzales met with top aides who decided which prosecutors to fire and how to do it.

Justice spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos said it was not immediately clear whether Gonzales gave his final approval to begin the firings at that meeting. Scolinos also said Gonzales was not involved in the process of selecting which prosecutors would be asked to resign.

On March 13, in explaining the firings, Gonzales told reporters he was aware that some of the dismissals were being discussed but was not involved in them.

"I knew my chief of staff was involved in the process of determining who were the weak performers - where were the districts around the country where we could do better for the people in that district, and that's what I knew," Gonzales said last week. "But that is in essence what I knew about the process; was not involved in seeing any memos, was not involved in any discussions about what was going on. That's basically what I knew as the attorney general."

Because They Know Bush Is Crazy

They are preparing for our attack just in case.

Several foreign embassies in Teheran are updating their emergency evacuation plans should a Western or Israeli attack on Iran occur.

According to foreign sources, foreign diplomats believe a possible attack would take place before the end of 2007. By that time, Iran might have enough enriched uranium to cause a humanitarian and environmental catastrophe from radioactive fallout should its nuclear facilities be damaged or destroyed in an attack.

Embassies in all countries generally have evacuation plans for their staff, but foreign sources describe the general atmosphere in Iran as one of heightened preparedness. Recently, several diplomatic missions based in Teheran have begun to reassess their plans, and embassies without permanent security officers have requested them.

Embassy experts reportedly are testing various evacuation options and logistics, such as timing routes to different destinations by different types of vehicles. The plans include evacuation for all staff.

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Oh Boy! A Third Front

Iraq is coming apart even at the one seam that was still slip stitched closed. I'm closing my eyes.

The US is scrambling to head off a "disastrous" Turkish military intervention in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq that threatens to derail the Baghdad security surge and open up a third front in the battle to save Iraq from disintegration.

Senior Bush administration officials have assured Turkey in recent days that US forces will increase efforts to root out Kurdistan Workers' party (PKK) guerrillas enjoying safe haven in the Qandil mountains, on the Iraq-Iran-Turkey border.

But Abdullah Gul, Turkey's foreign minister, MPs, military chiefs and diplomats say up to 3,800 PKK fighters are preparing for attacks in south-east Turkey — and Turkey is ready to hit back if the Americans fail to act. "We will do what we have to do, we will do what is necessary. Nothing is ruled out," Mr Gul said. "I have said to the Americans many times: suppose there is a terrorist organisation in Mexico attacking America. What would you do?... We are hopeful. We have high expectations. But we cannot just wait forever."

Turkish sources said "hot pursuit" special forces operations in Khaftanin and Qanimasi, northern Iraq, were already under way. Murat Karayilan, a PKK leader, said this week that a "mad war" was in prospect unless Ankara backed off.

Fighting between security forces and Kurdish fighters seeking autonomy or independence for Kurdish-dominated areas of south-east Turkey has claimed 37,000 lives since 1984. The last big Turkish operation occurred 10 years ago, when 40,000 troops pushed deep into Iraq. But intervention in the coming weeks would be the first since the US took control of Iraq in 2003 and would risk direct confrontation between Turkish troops and Iraqi Kurdish forces and their US allies.

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What's This? Cutting and Running?

But, I guess after you shoot up a bunch of innocent people, that's the honorable thing to do.

Marines accused of shooting and killing civilians after a suicide bombing in Afghanistan are under U.S. investigation, and their entire unit has been ordered to leave the country, officials said Friday.

Army Maj. Gen. Francis H. Kearney III, head of Special Operations Command Central, ordered the unit of about 120 Marines out of Afghanistan and initiated an investigation into the March 4 incident, said Lt. Col. Lou Leto, spokesman at Kearney's command headquarters in Tampa, Fla.

It is highly unusual for any combat unit, either special operations or conventional, to have its mission cut short.

A spokesman for the Marine unit, Maj. Cliff Gilmore, said it is in the process of leaving Afghanistan, but he declined to provide details on the timing and new location, citing a need for security.

In the March 4 incident in Nangahar province, an explosives-rigged minivan crashed into a convoy of Marines that U.S. officials said also came under fire from gunmen. As many as 10 Afghans were killed and 34 wounded as the convoy made an escape. Injured Afghans said the Americans fired on civilian cars and pedestrians as they sped away.

U.S. military officials said militant gunmen shot at Marines and may have caused some of the civilian casualties.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the incident, which was one among several involving U.S. forces in which civilians were killed and injured.

Leto, the spokesman at Special Operations Command Central headquarters, said the Marines, after being ambushed, responded in a way that created "perceptions (that) have really damaged the relationship between the local population and this unit."

Therefore, he said, "the general felt it was best to move them out of that area."

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$500 For That There Baby

Isn't this illegal or something? What is wrong with these folks? This precious fetus that folks are willing to blow up clinics over is only worth $500? What is it that they don't get that pregnancy isn't some process carried out on an assembly line? What would $500 cover in terms of a woman's bodily changes, expenses and emotional well being? It's clear that these people really don't view women as anything other than breeders. But $500 to endure pregnancy then sell the baby is insulting!

Ah Texas. Via culturekitchen we find out that Sen. Dan Patrick, a Republican talk-radio host from Houston and opponent of women's repro rights, is proposing a bill that would pay women $500 for giving their babies up for adoption rather than having abortions.

Under Patrick's SB 1567, AKA the Texas Baby Purchasing Act of 2007, women would qualify for a $500 payment from the state within 60 days of signing away all parental rights to their newborn children.

Wow, what a fucking deal! As Amanda notes, that's a baby-making wage of $.07 an hour. And they say republicans don't value women!

Someone mentioned this on an email list I'm on, and I had the same thought: this reminds me of the oh-so-lovely group that targets poor women and women of color to get sterilized for cash.

It's just so fucking insulting, I don't have the words.

Luckily, Bitch PhD does:

Honey, $500 isn't even going to pay for the extra groceries you'll eat during a pregnancy. Let alone the prenatal care, if you're not insured or on Medicaid, or the cost of the birth.

Senator Patrick, would you agree to take care of a neighbor's dog for nine months for a measly $500? Where the fuck do you get the balls to offer women $500 to rent out their uteruses and sell their children?

I think that men should be barred from the abortion discussion - particularly those who should have been one.

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Baby Too Black!

Are these people stupid, ignorant or both? What is it that they don't understand about genetics? If people of two different races mix, there is no telling what the child will look like. There will rarely be a perfect blend of the skin complexions of the parents coming out in the children. I know many, many people who are either lighter or darker than both of their parents. What race does this woman think she is? Regardless of where she is from, she looks like what is considered "black" in America. So the baby looks a slight (and I do mean slight) bit darker than the other child ('cause the baby looks to be the same color as the mama in my eyes). How can she call this child a "terrible mistake?"

After they saw a baby girl they had gone to a fertility clinic to conceive, her parents became convinced something was wrong, according to court papers.

The girl's skin was darker than either parent's, a judge wrote in allowing the parents to proceed with a lawsuit that claims the clinic botched the insemination of the wife's eggs. The ruling was made public Wednesday.

"While we love Baby Jessica as our own, we are reminded of this terrible mistake each and every time we look at her; it is simply impossible to ignore," state Supreme Court Justice Sheila Abdus-Salaam's decision quoted parents Thomas and Nancy Andrews as saying.

"We are conscious of and distressed by this mistake each and every time we appear in public," the judge quoted the Andrewses' affidavit as saying.

The couple, of Commack, N.Y., sued New York Medical Services for Reproductive Medicine, accusing the Manhattan clinic of medical malpractice and other offenses.

The Andrewses' court papers say that on the advice of Dr. Martin Keltz, the couple agreed to in vitro fertilization of the eggs with Thomas Andrews' sperm so they could have a child who was biologically their own. However, their court papers say, the clinic was negligent and used another man's sperm.

Three DNA tests -- a home kit and two professional laboratory tests -- confirmed that Thomas Andrews was not the baby's father, the judge quoted the couple as saying.

The judge said the Andrewses complain that they have been forced to raise a child who is "not even the same race, nationality, color ... as they are."

Just when it seems that black Americans are phasing out of the color complex issues that have plagued us since slavery, these new immigrants (also impacted by colonialism and imperialism) are coming here and starting the same stuff over again. The real issue to me is these folks coming here thinking they are getting something special when they find somebody white when some of these creepy, reject men would be on their way out of the gene pool in their own communities.

That baby got the "darker skin" from the mother, not the father, or does she not understand the African influence in the Dominican Republic? Yes, they have an issue if they gave her the wrong sperm but that child is not of a different race. She is her mother's race. She needs to be thankful the child doesn't look more like that ugly dude she married ... thinking she was going to have some white looking child. I sure hope they don't talk like that around the house or that child will be screwed up for life!

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Update On The Mess We've Made

A few news nuggets via Juan Cole.

US troops found caches of chlorine and nitric acid in guerrilla storehouses in the Ghazaliya district of Baghdad on Thursday, raising the specter that the guerrillas are increasingly turning to chemical weapons. They have conducted several attacks using chlorine gas.

The US is attempting to avert a potentially disastrous Turkish military intervention in Iraqi Kurdistan. The Turks accuse Kurdistan of harboring 3600 guerrillas of the radical Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), who, it says, are committing acts of terrorism in eastern Anatolia and then slipping back over the border into Iraq. Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is threatening hot pursuit by Turkish troops across that border. Such an incursion could set off the tinderbox that is northern Iraq.

Prince Hassan of Jordan supports Turkey in this regard. He warns against an ethno-religious breakup of Iraq, saying it will lead to the Balkanization of the entire Middle East.

Total's CEO has been detained in connection with a bribery charge related to Total's interest in Iranian petroleum.

Iraqi Christians are being forced to flee their country by the violence and because they are sometimes targeted by Sunni Arab guerrillas who wrongly associate them with the West. This article estimates them at 5% of the Iraqi population, which is probably incorrect. There were 800,000 or so of them before the war, but my understanding is that they may be down to 500,000 now, which would make them 2 percent of the population. Likewise, it strikes me as highly unlikely that 40% of Iraqis fleeing the country are Christian. The vast majority of Iraqi expatriates (some 800,000) in Jordan are Sunni Arabs, e.g.

There is so little safe water in Iraq that this summer a major cholera epidemic could break out, the UN is warning.

No More Discounts!

Well, I doubt college students are going to stop having sex so this just looks like a recipe for disaster.

Millions of college students are suddenly facing sharply higher prices for birth control, prompting concerns among health officials that some will shift to less preferred contraceptives or stop using them altogether.

Prices for oral contraceptives, or birth control pills, are doubling and tripling at student health centers, the result of a complex change in the Medicaid rebate law that essentially ends an incentive for drug companies to provide deep discounts to colleges.

"It's a tremendous problem for our students because not every student has a platinum card," said Hugh Jessop, executive director of the health center at Indiana University.

There, he said, women are paying about $22 per month for prescriptions that cost $10 a few months ago. "Some of our students have two jobs, have children," Jessop said. "To increase this by 100 percent or more overnight, which is what happened, is a huge shock to them and to their system."

They can give a discount on contraception or give a discount on pre-natal care and abortions. Choice seems simple to me.

This Is Harassment!

This is insane! How are you going to make someone look at an ultra sound? How can you pass a law to force someone to have a medical procedure. These zygote/fetus freaks are out of control.

With calls of emotional blackmail from opponents, a measure requiring women seeking abortions to first review ultrasound images of their fetuses advanced Wednesday in the South Carolina Legislature.

The legislation, supported by Republican Gov. Mark Sanford, passed 91-23 after lawmakers defeated amendments exempting rape or incest. The House must approve the bill again in a routine vote before it goes to the Senate, where its sponsor expects it to pass with those exemptions.

Some states make ultrasound images available to women before an abortion, but South Carolina would be alone in requiring women to view the pictures.

Critics consider the proposal a tool to intimidate women who already have made an agonizing decision.

"You love them in the womb, but once they get here, it's a different story," said Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, a Democrat and a social worker. "You're sitting here passing judgment? Who gave you the right?"

Proponents hope women will change their minds after seeing an ultrasound.

I am pro-life outside of the womb. The forced pregnancy/pro-birth people seem to fade into the woodwork after women (i.e. baby machines) give birth. I love babies more than most folks but I also want every baby to be wanted and be a welcome addition to a family. There are far too many abused, neglected and unwanted children growing up in poverty, headed for the prison system and just plain living nightmarish lives. You can't make life about getting here. You have to make it about being here and being happy, productive and safe.

In Addition To Being A Big Fat Idiot ...

I agree! He's irrelevant

After repeatedly being asked about his conservative critics, including talk show host Rush Limbaugh, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped his diplomatic veneer Tuesday and declared their views irrelevant to his work in California.

"All irrelevant. Rush Limbaugh is irrelevant. I am not his servant," the governor said on NBC's "Today" show.

Limbaugh then declared on his radio program that Schwarzenegger, lacking the communications skills to persuade Californians of his Republican values, had sold them out.

"If he had the leadership skills to articulate conservative principles and win over the public as [former President] Reagan did, then he would have stayed conservative," said Limbaugh, who is often seen as the embodiment of all conservative viewpoints.

Uh, yeah ... People loved the President with Alzheimer's (and I knew something wasn't right with Reagan long before he left office) the way they love dumb Dubya. That says a lot about that crowd.

The tiff marked Schwarzenegger's most high-profile repudiation of a conservative critic. Many fellow Republicans view his support of stem-cell research, mandatory curbs on carbon dioxide emissions and universal healthcare as a betrayal of his party's ideals.

In the NBC interview, Schwarzenegger said he was "the people's servant of California. What they call me — Democrat or Republican or in the center, this and that — that is not my bottom line. This is for them to talk about."

Limbaugh said in an interview after his radio show that Schwarzenegger's recent agreements with Democrats in the Legislature "are not compromises, they are capitulations."

The governor, he said, may have been "just tired of answering questions about me, and he wanted to say … 'I don't work for Rush Limbaugh, I work for the people of California.' "

Even though I went to the polls with a mallet to knock down all of those proposed initiatives during the Governator's special election, I must say that after he got his butt kicked, he changed his tune drastically and became a Governor who listened to the people - not a servant of his narrow party. I still didn't vote to re-elect him last November but I knew he was going to win and was okay with it. So, ditto on the irrelevancy of Rush Limbaugh and every other ridiculous blow hard with no real input.

Unholy AI Guy

Oh Gees! Will these godbags stop?! Just because someone isn't singing Jesus in every verse doesn't mean that they aren't Christian or that they aren't a good Christian. Chris Sligh is one of my favorites on American Idol and I had no idea he was ultra "Christian." He just seems like a really nice guy with a good voice.

Chris Sligh, the "American Idol" contestant who has won fans thanks to his curly mop of hair and soulful voice, has a few people concerned with his departure from strictly Christian music. But for most others in this city of 56,000 about 100 miles southwest of Charlotte, N.C., Sligh has become a hometown hero.

Jonathan Pait, a spokesman for fundamentalist Bob Jones University where Sligh attended for several years, said: "We really are somewhat disappointed with the direction he has gone musically."

He nonetheless tunes in each week to monitor Sligh's progress.

Local fans — some wearing fake glasses and curly wigs and calling themselves the "Fro Patro" — gather each week at restaurants and bars to cheer Sligh on. The local newspaper has been tracking his progress on its Web site.

Sligh, a 28-year-old son of missionaries who spent much of his childhood overseas, kept his spot among the 11 remaining finalists last week with a rendition of "Endless Love." He'll try to improve on that performance, deemed "unemotional" and "uninspiring" by judge Simon Cowell, this week. The show will announce results Wednesday evening.

People who know Sligh well say that he may be singing rock 'n' roll on television, but he's always clear about the faith that motivates his music.

"He's not going to back away from the fact that he's a Christian," said Chris Surratt, pastor of Seacoast Church, where Sligh has been music leader for more than two years. "He's going to let that shine through in what he does."

Hundreds of people gather each week to hear Sligh's music at Seacoast, where his electric guitar and vocals have become an integral part of services, Surratt said.

Support for Sligh also is strong at North Greenville University, the small Baptist school he attended for several years after leaving Bob Jones in the late 1990s.

Cheryl Greene, the professor who helped Sligh hone his vocal talents, said just because Sligh may not be singing strictly Christian-themed songs shouldn't reflect on the depth of his faith.

"It would be like me being in a jazz band," Greene said. "You can be a Christian or non-Christian. It's a style of music."

But Greene said she still has worries over Sligh's long-term spiritual journey.

"Is he going to stand strong by his true Christian morals?" Greene said. "Christianity is a lifestyle ... and there are things in your life that you do need to stand for."

John Jeter, the owner of a Greenville nightclub where Sligh has performed with his band, said Sligh's wholesome attitude and his faith come through in his music.

"It speaks well to the fact that it's not all blood, guts and trash," said Jeter. "Music doesn't have to be filthy. You can have a good time in a good environment, and Chris is proof of that."

I don't see why these folks have to paint themselves with such a narrow brush. Last I knew, good Christians were a diverse group of people with various interests and different lives. Leave it to folks like this to put Christians in a tiny little box that is hidden from plain sight. Way to spread the word, dude!

I Am Sullied -- No More

This is sad but indicative of what this war is doing to the hearts and minds of our own soldiers.

"Thanks for telling me it was a good day until I briefed you. [Redacted name] -- You are only interested in your career and provide no support to your staff -- no msn [mission] support and you don't care. I cannot support a msn that leads to corruption, human right abuses and liars. I am sullied -- no more. I didn't volunteer to support corrupt, money grubbing contractors, nor work for commanders only interested in themselves. I came to serve honorably and feel dishonored. I trust no Iraqi. I cannot live this way. All my love to my family, my wife and my precious children. I love you and trust you only. Death before being dishonored any more. Trust is essential -- I don't know who trust anymore. [sic] Why serve when you cannot accomplish the mission, when you no longer believe in the cause, when your every effort and breath to succeed meets with lies, lack of support, and selfishness? No more. Reevaluate yourselves, cdrs [commanders]. You are not what you think you are and I know it.

COL Ted Westhusing

Life needs trust. Trust is no more for me here in Iraq."

I'm not sure what is worse: that he actually believed in the false ideals of the mission in the first place or that the realization that he'd been lied to was to much for him to bear. Any man who'd chose death over seeing his wife and children again was mortally wounded by the Bush's farce and not his own hand.

What They Signed Up For

I, too, am sick of hearing people brush off pity for the Guardsmen and reservists whose lives have been turned upside down and/or ruined because of lengthy tours of duty in Iraq by claiming that they volunteered to do it. They DID NOT sign up for that.

What the television ad promised: "One weekend a month, two weeks a year. Earn money for college and protect your local community." That's what citizen soldiers signed up for. While they were certainly aware of the dual mission, they believed the recruiters who told them that they'd never get deployed; that the only way they'd see combat is "if World War III broke out." Since 2001, "four out of five guardsmen have been sent overseas in the largest deployment of the National Guard since World War II." (Stateline.org, January 12, 2007) Over 400 Army National Guard soldiers have died in Iraq, more than quadruple the amount that died in the entire Vietnam War.

For more than half a century, the National Guard's policy regarding mobilization was that Guardsmen would be required to serve no more than one year cumulative on active duty (with no more than six months overseas) for each five years of regular drill. After September 11, 2001, the possible mobilization time was increased to 18 months (with no more than one year overseas). Then it was increased again, to 24 months. That policy was effectively abandoned by the Pentagon in January of 2007 because it's the only way they can continue to redeploy Iraq War veterans/Reservists. The cumulative number of days Guard soldiers called to duty [rose] from 12.7 million in 2001 to 68.3 million in 2005, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The constant changes to policy, time and terms of deployment, extensions, stop-loss, etc, are, in fact, not what they signed up for when they took an oath to protect the Constitution from "threats both foreign and domestic."

I've Got A Bridge

I'd love to sell it if any of you believe that this man confessed to everything but killing Christ. What kind of fools do they think we are?

The al Qaeda suspect who claimed responsibility for the September 11 attacks also said he beheaded U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl, according to a Pentagon transcript released on Thursday.

During a hearing at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp on Saturday, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said he was involved in more than 30 attacks or plots. The Pentagon said it had withheld sections on Pearl's 2002 killing until it could inform the reporter's family.

"I decapitated with my blessed right hand the head of the American Jew Daniel Pearl," Mohammed said in a statement, according to the transcript.

"For those who would like to confirm, there are pictures of me on the Internet holding his head," said the statement read by a member of the U.S. military assigned to assist Pakistani national Mohammed at the hearing.

Pearl, a 38-year-old reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was kidnapped and killed in Pakistan in 2002.

During Saturday's closed hearing, Mohammed also claimed responsibility for a nightclub bombing in Bali, Indonesia, and an attempt to down two American airplanes using shoe bombs, according to a Pentagon transcript released on Wednesday.

Some security experts suggested Mohammed, alleged by U.S. officials to have been al Qaeda's external operations chief, was exaggerating his importance and questioned his reliability after years in custody subjected to harsh interrogation.

But Mohammed, who was arrested in Pakistan in March 2003 and handed over to U.S. agents, is widely considered to have been a senior al Qaeda figure.

U.S. officials say he was the chief planner of the September 11 attacks and a main suspect in the Pearl case.

During the military hearing, Mohammed himself spoke about Pearl's killing and said it was not an al Qaeda operation.

"It's like beheading Daniel Pearl. It's not related to al Qaida (Qaeda)," the transcript quoted him as saying.

This is positively hilarious!

Spoofing Jesus

I saw a clip of this guy on Good Morning America today. I tried to assume it was a joke because if it is reality he is making men look worse than he thinks they do already.

Three hundred men -- all Christian -- gathered behind closed doors at a Tennessee mall trying to figure out the difference between being "nice" (which is not good) and being "good" (which is). They struggled in the dimly lit hall -- after a Christian rock band handed it off to the comic in charge -- to make sense of the message they were hearing from the stage: that church has been "feminized" and that the Jesus talked about in many modern churches is too wimpy and gentle.

The men had to decide by day's end (that is, after six hours of listening) whether they were ready to take up the challenge of becoming a "Christian warrior" modeled on the "manlier" version of Christ they were told has been overlooked -- the Christ who took a whip to moneychangers, and used the word "dung" when he had to.

This was GodMen, a movement that is still a work in progress, according to principle founder Brad Stine, who calls himself "America's comic" and is often written up as "the Christian comic."

Stine is convinced that American men in general, and Christian men in particular, have surrendered their masculinity to the shackles of political correctness, especially within the framework of the typical present day church. So he started GodMen as an antidote, to be a place, he says, "where men can be fully men." Or, as the posters for the mall event put it: "GodMen, When Faith Gets Dangerous."

Watch the story tonight on "Nightline" at 11:35 p.m.

There have only been two GodMen events so far, both in Franklin, Tenn. But more are scheduled for the coming year in six other states.

In reality, the most recent event was more seminar than hunting trip. A series of lecturers took the stage, interspersed with "guys'" entertainment like a strongman bending wrenches in half with his bare hands, and video clips of NFL bloopers.

When the laughter died down, however, more serious messages were delivered, most notably by a Christian writer named Paul Coughlin, author of "No More Christian Nice Guy," who laid out the main theme of the day:

"I want to encourage you to be good instead of nice," he told the assembled, several of whom were pastors from churches in the South and Midwest. "But know that you are going to make enemies in the process."

And that, Coughlin argued, can be a good thing. Coughlin contends that the Christian man in America has become passive, straitjacketed by a church culture that insists he emulate a version of Christ who is mild to an extreme, almost "wimpy" in some eyes. This Jesus avoids confrontation, is overly patient and is devoted -- to a fault -- to the dictum "turn the other cheek."

Coughlin can be blunt; in his book, he calls this version of Jesus the "Bearded Lady."

"The fact is," he told the gathering, "a meek and mild Jesus eventually is a bore. He doesn't inspire us." The same applies, he argued, to a meek and mild man. "Those men end up divorced," Coughlin said. "Their wives find them boring. They have no -- I call it the 'jalapeno factor' -- in them. There's no inner heat that causes them to actively, assertively go out and do what needs to be done as a man."

This fixation with Jesus going off on the money changers is getting old. You've got an entire New Testament, he throws one little tantrum and everyone wants to use it as their excuse to act a fool.

America Ready For A Retarded President

They should have known not to ask Chris Rock a question like this:

In an interview with Life magazine, comedian Chris Rock takes a politically incorrect tack, using the word "retarded" which only the retrograde would utter these days when referring to the mentally challenged, no?

The word came up when Rock was asked if America is ready for a black president.

Here's the exchange:

LIFE: In the first movie you directed, Head of State, you were president of the United States. Is this country ready for an African American president?

ROCK: It's ready for a retarded president, why wouldn't it be ready for an African-American president?

LIFE: So, of the current presidential contenders, who do you like best?

ROCK: I like Al Gore, actually. (A) He’s more qualified than everyone that's running on the Democratic side. (B) If he won or didn’t win, he has an agenda to help people and make this a better world. . . . Maybe Barack will win, but I probably won’t see a black president. There’s real equality when you don't notice [race], you don't even talk about it. I probably won’t live to see

Limbless? Go Back To Iraq!

This is sheer madness. Can this war be anymore of a failure? If we have to resort to sending injured soldiers back into the arena, we've long since lost the fight.

"This is not right," said Master Sgt. Ronald Jenkins, who has been ordered to Iraq even though he has a spine problem that doctors say would be damaged further by heavy Army protective gear. "This whole thing is about taking care of soldiers," he said angrily. "If you are fit to fight you are fit to fight. If you are not fit to fight, then you are not fit to fight."

As the military scrambles to pour more soldiers into Iraq, a unit of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Ga., is deploying troops with serious injuries and other medical problems, including GIs who doctors have said are medically unfit for battle. Some are too injured to wear their body armor, according to medical records.

On Feb. 15, Master Sgt. Jenkins and 74 other soldiers with medical conditions from the 3rd Division's 3rd Brigade were summoned to a meeting with the division surgeon and brigade surgeon. These are the men responsible for handling each soldier's "physical profile," an Army document that lists for commanders an injured soldier's physical limitations because of medical problems -- from being unable to fire a weapon to the inability to move and dive in three-to-five-second increments to avoid enemy fire. Jenkins and other soldiers claim that the division and brigade surgeons summarily downgraded soldiers' profiles, without even a medical exam, in order to deploy them to Iraq. It is a claim division officials deny.

The 3,900-strong 3rd Brigade is now leaving for Iraq for a third time in a steady stream. In fact, some of the troops with medical conditions interviewed by Salon last week are already gone. Others are slated to fly out within a week, but are fighting against their chain of command, holding out hope that because of their ills they will ultimately not be forced to go. Jenkins, who is still in Georgia, thinks doctors are helping to send hurt soldiers like him to Iraq to make units going there appear to be at full strength. "This is about the numbers," he said flatly.

That is what worries Steve Robinson, director of veterans affairs at Veterans for America, who has long been concerned that the military was pressing injured troops into Iraq. "Did they send anybody down range that cannot wear a helmet, that cannot wear body armor?" Robinson asked rhetorically. "Well that is wrong. It is a war zone." Robinson thinks that the possibility that physical profiles may have been altered improperly has the makings of a scandal. "My concerns are that this needs serious investigation. You cannot just look at somebody and tell that they were fit," he said. "It smacks of an overstretched military that is in crisis mode to get people onto the battlefield."
[...]
Another soldier contacted Salon by telephone last week expressed considerable anxiety, in a frightened tone, about deploying to Iraq in her current condition. (She also wanted to remain anonymous, fearing retribution.) An incident during training several years ago injured her back, forcing doctors to remove part of her fractured coccyx. She suffers from degenerative disk disease and has two ruptured disks and a bulging disk in her back. While she said she loves the Army and would like to deploy after back surgery, her current injuries would limit her ability to wear her full protective gear. She deployed to Iraq last week, the day after calling Salon.

Her husband, who has served three combat tours in the infantry in Afghanistan and Iraq, said he is worried sick because his wife's protective vest alone exceeds the maximum amount she is allowed to lift. "I have been over there three times. I know what it is like," he told me during lunch at a restaurant here. He predicted that by deploying people like his wife, the brigade leaders are "going to get somebody killed over there." He said there is "no way" Grigsby is going to keep all of the injured soldiers in safe jobs. "All of these people that deploy with these profiles, they are scared," he said. He railed at the command: "They are saying they don't care about your health. This is pathetic. It is bad."

Unbelievable!

Equal Justice

I feel like I just read stepped into a history book. These people must feel pretty frickin' empowered and superior to think they can get away with this. A white boy kills two people and gets probation. A white girl burns down her parent's house and gets probation. A black girl pushes a hall monitor and gets seven years. Are they flippin' kidding?

The public fairgrounds in this small east Texas town look ordinary enough, like so many other well-worn county fair sites across the nation. Unless you know the history of the place.

There are no plaques or markers to denote it, but several of the most notorious public lynchings of black Americans in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries were staged at the Paris Fairgrounds, where thousands of white spectators would gather to watch and cheer as black men were dragged onto a scaffold, scalded with hot irons and finally burned to death or hanged.

Brenda Cherry, a local civil rights activist, can see the fairgrounds from the front yard of her modest home, in the heart of the "black" side of this starkly segregated town of 26,000. And lately, Cherry says, she's begun to wonder whether the racist legacy of those lynchings is rebounding in a place that calls itself "the best small town in Texas."

"Some of the things that happen here would not happen if we were in Dallas or Houston," Cherry said. "They happen because we are in this closed town. I compare it to 1930s."

There was the 19-year-old white man, convicted last July of criminally negligent homicide for killing a 54-year-old black woman and her 3-year-old grandson with his truck, who was sentenced in Paris to probation and required to send an annual Christmas card to the victims' family.

There are the Paris public schools, which are under investigation by the U.S. Education Department after repeated complaints that administrators discipline black students more frequently, and more harshly, than white students.

And then there is the case that most troubles Cherry and leaders of the Texas NAACP, involving a 14-year-old black freshman, Shaquanda Cotton, who shoved a hall monitor at Paris High School in a dispute over entering the building before the school day had officially begun.

The youth had no prior arrest record, and the hall monitor--a 58-year-old teacher's aide--was not seriously injured. But Shaquanda was tried in March 2006 in the town's juvenile court, convicted of "assault on a public servant" and sentenced by Lamar County Judge Chuck Superville to prison for up to 7 years, until she turns 21.

Just three months earlier, Superville sentenced a 14-year-old white girl, convicted of arson for burning down her family's house, to probation.

"All Shaquanda did was grab somebody and she will be in jail for 5 or 6 years?" said Gary Bledsoe, an Austin attorney who is president of the state NAACP branch. "It's like they are sending a signal to black folks in Paris that you stay in your place in this community, in the shadows, intimidated."

The Tribune generally does not identify criminal suspects younger than age 17, but is doing so in this case because the girl and her family have chosen to go public with their story.

This is the kind of story that needs to be front page news anytime people think that America has no racial issues and that all things are equal. No, they are not - not by a long shot.

Criminals Moving HQ To Dubai

Well isn't this a kick in the head and a slap in the face.

U.S. oil services firm Halliburton Co. is moving its headquarters and chief executive to Dubai in a move that immediately sparked criticism from some U.S. politicians.

Texas-based Halliburton, which was led by Vice President Dick Cheney from 1995-2000, did not specify what, if any, tax implications the move might entail. It plans to list on a stock exchange in the Middle East once it moves to Dubai — a booming commercial center in the Gulf. The company said it was making the moves to position itself better to gain contracts in the oil-rich Middle East.

“This is an insult to the U.S. soldiers and taxpayers who paid the tab for their no-bid contracts and endured their overcharges for all these years,” said judiciary committee chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat.

He Be Concubining?

This is downright ignorant and SAD!

Ricky Lackey has six children on the way.

Don't call them sextuplets - they're each with different women.

When Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Melba Marsh asked Lackey during sentencing Friday on a charge of attempted theft how many children he had, the 25-year-old said, "None, but I have six on the way."

A stunned Marsh tried to clarify. "Are you marrying a woman with six children?" she asked.

"No, I be concubining," he said.

Prosecutors said Lackey is the expectant father of six children with six different women. The women all are expected to deliver in August, September and October.

Lackey's lawyer, Stephen Wenke, stopped his client from saying more.

Marsh said she wasn't sure how to respond, so she let the issue drop since it wasn't relevant to the proceedings.

I Should Be Ashamed To Admit This

But the thought of this chick's leg coming off or having a malfunction did cross my mind. I'm not sick enough to actually bet on it, though.

If Heather Mills' leg should happen to fall off during this season of "Dancing With the Stars," it will surely be a YouTube classic -- and could also make a few lucky gamblers some cold hard cash.

Yes, you can actually bet on whether or not Heather's prosthetic leg will fly off during a routine on the popular ABC show. If you bet $100 that it does happen, the gambling website Bodog.com will pay out $350. On the other hand, you would need to bet $600 that it doesn't happen to win $100. For all you gambling noobs, that makes "no" the heavy favorite.

The site even goes as far as to state, "Heather Mills' leg must fall off, not be purposely taken off, during a dance routine for all Yes wagers to be graded a Win." Just remember, kids: Gambling is bad!

Reminder: If you laugh, you are going to hell with me.

China: I Know You Are But What Am I?

There is not a place in the world that George W. Bush can go and speak on Democracy, human rights or any of the lofty ideals that the United States is supposed to espouse. Barring slavery, what this administration has done in Iraq and on behalf of the neo-ideology has left a deep dark stain on our flag.

Responding to U.S. complaints, China charged Thursday that the Bush administration has no standing to criticize other countries on human rights because its own record is full of blemishes at home and abroad.

The Chinese accusation, in a retort to the State Department's annual human rights report issued Tuesday, called particular attention to what it said were abuses committed by U.S. soldiers and intelligence agents in Afghanistan and Iraq and at the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Chinese also underlined what they described as increased willingness by Washington to spy on its own citizens by monitoring telephone calls, computer connections and travels.

"As in previous years, the State Department pointed the finger at human rights conditions in more than 190 countries and regions, including China, but avoided touching on the human rights situation in the United States," the government said in a report issued by Premier Wen Jiabao's office. "We urge the U.S. government to acknowledge its own human rights problems and stop interfering in other countries' internal affairs under the pretext of human rights."

The Chinese response to U.S. human rights concerns has become a fixture over the last eight years. In the first years, it centered on Beijing's contention that human rights should be defined to include social and economic improvements, such as health care and education, where the Chinese government can point to rapid progress. These arguments were raised again this year, with charges that racial minorities, women and children suffer disadvantages in the United States.

But more recently, the tone of the response has sharpened to reflect increasing reports of U.S. abuses against foreigners suspected of connections to terrorism. These include accusations of kidnapping, torture and imprisonment without legal recourse -- the same abuses often raised by the United States with Chinese authorities.

The latest U.S. official to raise human rights concerns in Beijing was Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte, who visited here over the weekend. In his last job, as President Bush's intelligence coordinator, Negroponte oversaw the Central Intelligence Agency, whose employees are heavily involved in the detentions and interrogations that have come under sharp criticism from human rights organizations. The Chinese government raised similar criticisms in its report.

"The United States has a flagrant record of violating the Geneva Convention in systematically abusing prisoners during the Iraqi War and the War in Afghanistan," it said, adding later: "A Human Rights Watch report in July 2006 said torture and other abuses against detainees in U.S. custody in Iraq were authorized and routine."

Promising Democracy, Imposing Theocracy

Today, on International Woman's Day, let's ponder what our invasion into Iraq has done for the women there:

Amidst the chaos and violence of US-occupied Iraq, the significance of widespread gender-based violence has been largely overlooked. Yet, Iraqi women are enduring unprecedented levels of assault in the public sphere, "honor killings," torture in detention, and other forms of gender-based violence. Women are not only being targeted because they are members of the civilian population. Women—in particular those who are perceived to pose a challenge to the political project of their attackers—have increasingly been targeted because they are women. This report documents the use of gender-based violence by Iraqi Islamists, brought to power by the US overthrow of Iraq's secular Ba'ath regime, and highlights the role of the United States in fomenting the human rights crisis confronting Iraqi women today. Some key points include:

Imposing Theocracy through Gender-Based Violence

Under US occupation, Iraqi women have endured a wave of gender-based violence, including widespread abductions, public beatings, death threats, sexual assaults, "honor killings," domestic abuse, torture in detention, beheadings, shootings, and public hangings. Much of this violence is systematic—directed by the Islamist militias that mushroomed across Iraq after the US toppled the mostly secular Ba'ath regime.

Like religious fundamentalists in the US and elsewhere, Iraq's Islamists see the subordination of women as a top priority—both a microcosm and a precondition of the social order they wish to establish. As in Iran, Algeria, and Afghanistan, a campaign of violence against women was the first salvo in the Islamists' war to establish a theocracy in Iraq.

First They Came for the Women

Attacks on women began within weeks of the US invasion in 2003. US authorities did nothing to stop the violence, and soon the attacks spread. Within a year, Islamists were killing Iraqi artists, intellectuals, professionals, ethnic and religious minorities, lesbians and gays—indeed, anyone whom the Islamists perceived as a threat to their agenda. Women, who are seen as the carriers of group identity, have remained in the cross-hairs of Iraq's warring sectarian militias. Iraqi women's organizations report that militias "are taking revenge on each other by raping women," and targeting Christian women with rape and assassination as part of a broader attack on that community.

Fora Bush!

That means GO HOME! But, heck, we don't want him here either. What does Bush not get about the entire world hating him?

President George Bush last night started a five-nation tour of Latin America in an effort to salvage Washington's reputation in the region and counter the influence of Venezuela's president, Hugo Chávez.

Violent clashes were taking place between police and masked protesters in the financial centre of Sao Paulo, the president's first stop. Rioters threw rocks at police who answered with rubber bullets and tear gas bombs. Bystanders fled the smoke-filled streets outside the art museum as running battles erupted. Several loud explosions shook the area.

Earlier protesters in Brazil signalled widespread hostility to the US leader by briefly shutting down an iron mine, invading an ethanol distillery, occupying a bank and unfurling a banner in parliament.

A massive security effort will mobilise about 4,000 police officers and soldiers as Mr Bush's cavalcade of 60 vehicles drives through the sprawling metropolis.

Further protests will be led by Mr Chávez, who is scheduled to address a rally at a stadium in Buenos Aires, the Argentinian capital, just 30 miles from a ranch in Uruguay where Mr Bush is due to meet Uruguay's president, Tabaré Vázquez.

The six-day tour is a belated response to the region's "pink tide" of leftwing governments and US Democrats' accusations that Mr Bush has "lost" Latin America.

Anger over the Iraq war and rows about trade and immigration have eroded US authority in what it once considered its backyard, giving Mr Chávez a clear run to use bulging oil revenues to court support for his brand of socialism.

Fetus Freaks Want To Rid The Womb of Homos

I just don't know when anti-homosexuality became a cornerstone of Christianity. Seriously, it never came up throughout my parochial education and it seems as though it has turned into a burning issue over the past decade. Now these fetus freaks want to go into the womb to alter genes if, as suspected and almost prove, homosexuality is proven to be a natural occurrence. If it were any other "ailment," they'd be afraid of risking the life of the baby. But, this is okay?

"The president of a prominent Southern Baptist seminary says he would support medical treatment, if it were available, to change the sexual orientation of a fetus inside its mother's womb from homosexual to heterosexual.

The idea was floated by the Rev. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., on his blog, www.almohler.com, last Friday (March 2).

'If a biological basis is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin,' Mohler wrote in advice for Christians.

Mohler's view, in some ways, could signal a shift away from traditional evangelical thinking on homosexuality, from a condition that is changeable to one that is actually determined by genetics. Mohler said there is 'no incontovertible or widely accepted proof' that sexual orientation is based in biology, yet 'the direction of the research points in this direction.'"

When all of the hungry people in the world are fed, all of the cold and homeless are clothed and sheltered, all of the sick people are healed and there is peace on earth, this would still not be an issue that Jesus Christ would be concerned with.

Witch Trials Revisited

Lynch mobs are still burning witches

Her fingernails, makeup and clothing apparently made her look like a witch in the eyes of the principal at the Hampton Bays school where she taught reading, Lauren Berrios said yesterday as she prepared for her lawsuit against the district to go to trial.

Berrios, 37, who vehemently denies ever practicing witchcraft, said there was no reason her appearance at the school could have been mistaken for anything other than a prim and well-kept professional.

Jurors in federal court are scheduled to start hearing today about how Berrios endured harassment from former Hampton Bays Elementary School principal Andrew Albano, who she claims falsely accused her of being a witch.

She sat in her lawyer John Ray's Miller Place office yesterday and recounted how rumors of witchcraft had led to her being denied tenure and eventually fired from the district.

Hired in 1999, Berrios was a reading specialist at the school. During her second year there, she said, she began to hear from parents that rumors were spreading that she was a witch.

Then, she said, Albano began removing books from her classroom, such as Shakespeare's plays and the Goosebumps series, which Berrios says he disliked because they involve goblins, soothsayers and ghosts. Berrios said the paranormal went against Albano's born-again Christian beliefs.

There were other genres in Berrios' library, she said. "I'm a reading specialist, I use literature."

Taliban Says Bring It!

We've been there how long and the Taliban is ready to come back full force? We are just chasing our tail over there.

"A top Taliban commander said Wednesday the group has 4,000 fighters bracing to rebuff NATO's largest-ever offensive in northern Afghanistan, now in its second day. Suicide bombers are ready, land mines have been planted and helicopters will be targeted, Mullah Abdul Qassim, the top Taliban commander in Helmand province told The Associated Press.

NATO, meanwhile, announced the capture of a senior Taliban fighter who had eluded authorities by wearing a woman's burqa. Mullah Mahmood, who is accused of helping Taliban fighters rig suicide bomb attacks, was seized by Afghan soldiers at a checkpoint near Kandahar, the alliance said.

Speaking by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location, Qassim said the Taliban has 8,000 to 9,000 fighters in Helmand province, including some 4,000 in the north, where NATO launched its largest-ever offensive Tuesday. He said all the fighters were Afghan, denying reports of hundreds of foreign fighters in the region.

'All of them are well-equipped and we have the weapons to target helicopters,' Qassim said. 'The Taliban are able to fight for 15 or 20 years against NATO and the Americans.'"

This Does Not Constitute A Couple

Call me a prude but I still this there is something wrong with this. It's just nasty!

Straight from the scary fairy tales of once-upon-an-adoption comes the story of Patrick Stuebing and Susan Karolewski, a brother and sister, who fell in love, had four children and now are fighting the German courts to overthrow its brother-sister incest law. As reported Wednesday by the BBC, the couple describe themselves as a "normal couple" who just want to have a family and live without discrimination. Stuebing already spent two years in jail for committing incest, and he'll get thrown back into jail for another sentence if the current incest law stands. Three of the couple's four children have been taken into foster care.

Now, maybe I'm becoming a reactionary scold in my approaching dotage, but the couple's relationship doesn't sound terribly normal, nor even, perhaps, consensual. According to the article, Stuebing, who had been adopted by another family, found his biological family at the age of 23, when Karolewski was 15. After their mother died six months later, the couple fell in love and began living together and popping out babies at a prodigious rate of four in six years. OK, vive la différence and all, but people! That's a 16-year-old living with her 24-year-old brother and pregnant most of the time. Ech.

But it's not as if they don't have a case. Incest laws around the world vary widely, though the practice is illegal in most countries. In Germany, sex with a relative still constitutes a criminal offense, punishable by up to three years in prison. But in neighboring France, Napoleon abolished incest laws in 1810, and recently Japan, Argentina and Brazil legalized it. The United States still criminalizes incest and many states still outlaw kissin'-cousin incest as well.

So a long lost brother put the moves on his baby sister and folks wanna call it a love affair and not statutory rape. This is some nasty isht!

Punishing The Mother

I am so sick of hearing these stories where men cannot handle a divorce and decide to kill the children in a violent manner.

Before Eric Johnson flew his rented Cessna into his former mother-in-law's house, killing himself and his passenger, his 8-year-old daughter, Emily, he told his ex-wife in a final call, "I've got her and you're not going to get her."

The last cell phone call came Monday morning, a family member said, before the flight ended in an act of seeming deadly vengeance against Johnson's ex-wife, whom he had bitterly divorced last fall.

"Mommy, come get me, come get me," Emily could be heard screaming in the background, according to Johnson's former mother-in-law, Vivian Pace.

The white single-engine plane brushed treetops and shook a swing set on which Emily once played before it skipped and slammed into a bedroom wall of the hillside house. Inside, Pace was sure a bomb had hit.

She later learned that tangled in the wreckage were the bodies of her granddaughter-- described by teachers as "a dear little girl"--and her former son-in-law, a man she said was bent on getting revenge on his ex-wife, Beth Johnson.

"He was a very possessive person," Pace told reporters outside the house Tuesday morning. "That was the way he could hurt Beth. ... He got what he wanted."

Investigators in this small southern Indiana town are trying to piece together what they believe was a bizarre act of postdivorce rage that ended in murder-suicide. But what was truly in Johnson's mind--and why he apparently decided to take his daughter with him to their deaths--remains a mystery.

Peeling Away Backwardness One Fatwa At A Time

Now this is promising.

This is the best bit of news I've come across in a while: Egyptian Grand Mufti Aly Gomaa issued a fatwa declaring it religiously acceptable for a woman to have her hymen surgically reconstructed, according to the Daily Star Egypt. On the surface that might not seem grounds for celebration, but consider that in certain regions, an unmarried woman who loses her virginity might very well become the target of an "honor killing." Even better, though, is that Gomaa scoffed at the idea of considering a torn hymen as evidence that a woman has lost her virginity: "It is not rational for us to think that God has placed a sign to indicate the virginity of women without having a similar sign to indicate the virginity of men."

Apparently, Gomaa's fatwa has set off a firestorm throughout Egypt. But he isn't without legitimate supporters. Sheikh Khaled El Gindy, a member of the Higher Council of Islamic Studies, backed Gomaa's stance (with a little added sass): "Any man who is concerned about his prospective wife's hymen should first provide a proof that he himself is virgin." Then, when a reporter asked El Gindy about the sanctity of a woman's virginity, he responded: "Islam does not care for the feelings of ignorant people, just as the law does not protect the idiots." Love it!

A blogger on Eteraz.org clearly spells out why this should be considered a triumph for Muslim women's rights: "What is remarkable about this fatwa is that while it accepts the underground hymen-surgery racket, it does not endorse it; it considers the practice acceptable only because it protects a woman from potential violence. The real meat of the fatwa is in its de-emphasis of the need for proof of virginity -- and in a region of the world where a woman is not considered a virgin unless she bleeds on her wedding night, this is a serious blow to entrenched un-Islamic misogynistic cultural practices."

The Purge Continues

The White House is full of crooks and liars for certain. Otherwise there would be no need for this type of madness.

The former federal prosecutor in Maryland said Monday that he was forced out in early 2005 because of political pressure stemming from public corruption investigations involving associates of the state’s governor, a Republican.

“There was direct pressure not to pursue these investigations,” said the former prosecutor, Thomas M. DiBiagio. “The practical impact was to intimidate my office and shut down the investigations.”

Mr. DiBiagio, a controversial figure who clashed with a number of Maryland politicians, had never publicly discussed the reasons behind his departure. But he agreed to an interview with The New York Times because he said he was concerned about what he saw as similarities with the recent firings of eight United States attorneys.

As in those cases, there are conflicting accounts of the circumstances that led to Mr. DiBiagio’s ouster. The Justice Department disputes his version.

The truth will come out in the end. It's only a matter of time.

The Pardon Cometh

Why bother celebrating?

After deliberating 10 days, a federal jury Tuesday found I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, guilty on four of five counts in his perjury and obstruction of justice trial.

Libby was convicted of:

# obstruction of justice when he intentionally deceived a grand jury investigating the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame;

# making a false statement by intentionally lying to FBI agents about a conversation with NBC newsman Tim Russert;

# perjury when he lied in court about his conversation with Russert;

# a second count of perjury when he lied in court about conversations with other reporters.

Jurors cleared Libby of a second count of making a false statement relating to a conversation he had with writer Matt Cooper, formerly of Time magazine.

Libby, 56, faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a fine of $1 million. A hearing on a presentencing report is scheduled for June 5.

CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said, "He is virtually certain to go to prison if this conviction is upheld."

All That Glitters ...

Who Dates These Clowns?

We wondered how long it would take for NBA baller and wanna-be rapper, Ron Artest to find himself immersed in drama. Quite frankly it took longer than we thought. That said, the Sacramento Kings NBA basketball team has indefinitely excused Artest from the team after his arrest Monday morning on domestic violence charges.

Artest, the team's star forward , who was banned for almost all of the 2004-05 season for his involvement in a brawl with fans, hasn't been suspended and will continue to be paid as team officials investigate the incident. He is the Kings' second-leading scorer, averaging 18.7 points a game.

Police arrested Artest, 27, at his home in Loomis, California, after authorities received a 911 call from a woman who said she was assaulted. He was charged with domestic violence and the use of force to prevent a victim from reporting a crime, the Placer County Sheriff's Department said in a press release. The woman wasn't identified.

Authorities released Artest from the Placer County jail after he posted $50,000 bail, police spokeswoman Dena Erwin said. He's scheduled to be arraigned on March 22.

"The Kings have excused Ron Artest indefinitely from any further participation with the team due to his arrest today," Geoff Petrie, Kings president of basketball operations, said in a statement. "The Kings will continue to accumulate reliable and official facts and information over the next several days before taking any further action."

Enough Already!

Lest I be accused of gay bashing myself, how can a woman with an Adam's apple consistently and predictably make gay slurs?

And in today's issue of "What was [she or he] thinking?" we have conservative pundit Ann Coulter demonstrating that she has no sense of decency by her use of a gay slur describing presidential candidate John Edwards.

Her callous disrespect for both Edwards and gays is telling of her inability to espouse the Christian ideals that she regularly attempts to trumpet as convervative values.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Coulter said: "I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot.'"

At that point, the audience gave out a collective "Ohhh" and then started to cheer, to which Coulture continued, "Kind of an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards."

So why use such a disparaging term for anyone? Is it impossible to debate Edwards on the merits of his political positions? Why use such a pejorative term?

It's because Coulter is filled with hate and disdain for people unlike her. Such a hateful outlook on people who are different being spoken from a bully pulplit destroys respect and understanding among communitites throughout the nation.

Coulter is a popular right-wing icon who received her law degree from the University of Michigan and founded the university's chapter of the conservative Federalist Society. A staunch anti-affirmative-action foe, Coulter worked for the Center for Individual Rights, which litigated the 2003 University of Michigan anti-affirmative-action cases.

Coulter's first national media appearance came after she was hired in 1996 by MSNBC as a legal correspondent. According to Time magazine, the network dismissed her at least twice—first in February 1997, after she insulted the late Pamela Harriman, the U.S. Ambassador to France, as the network was covering her memorial service.

Coulter contracted with USA Today to cover the 2004 Democratic National Convention. She wrote one article that began "Here at the Spawn of Satan convention in Boston" and referred to some unspecified female attendees as "corn-fed, no make-up, natural fiber, no-bra needing, sandal-wearing, hirsute, somewhat fragrant hippie chick pie wagons." The newspaper declined to print the article citing an editing dispute over "basic weaknesses in clarity and readability that we found unacceptable."

Coulter proclaims Christian religious beliefs. At one public lecture, she proclaimed her faith in Jesus Christ, saying: "I don't care about anything else: Christ died for my sins and nothing else matters."

Well, whatever happened to "Love thy neighbor?"

I hope she's done herself in this time. I'm sick of the lowest common denominator taking center stage.

Disgraceful!

I just find it unfathomable that in 2007, a hack network like Fox News can get away with this. I couldn't listen to two seconds of Sean Hannity. Here's another attempt to smear. They couldn't make the Muslim madrasas story stick so now they are trying to claim that Obama belongs to a black, separatist cult.

COLMES: You don't even know what they do there. You're basing this on a web site that you've read. Never having actually been at the actual church or ever having asked Barack Obama something about his faith, something which he's talked about quite extensively. (transcript below the fold)
Mr. Rush, it's Alan Colmes. I have a question. Are you questioning Barack Obama's Christianity?

RUSH: Yes.

COLMES: Who are you to do that?

RUSH: Anyone just the same as anyone else who can make a discernment about someone's faith.

COLMES: What right do you have to question somebody else's faith?

RUSH: I'm not questioning — well…

COLMES: OK, I did say — I did said.

RUSH: I did say I was questioning it. I'm questioning it because if when I visited his web site, I saw more references to politics, Afrocentrism.

COLMES: Not his web site. It's his church's web site. It's his church, the church's web site, not Barack Obama's web site.

RUSH: Well, that's his faith.

COLMES: Is he responsible for that web site?

RUSH: Is he responsible for the web site? No. But he's a member of the church.

COLMES: Have you ever been to that church?

RUSH: No, I've never been to that church.

COLMES: Do you think you might be more acquainted with what to do if you actually went there first?

RUSH: More acquainted? Possibly, possibly not. Look, he can worship in a coven if he wants to.

COLMES: He's not worshipping in a coven. It's a Christian church.

RUSH: My point is that he — that their doctrine is divisive, and if he's going to be a member of an African separatist sort of a movement, that pledges allegiance.

COLMES: Are you suggesting Barack Obama is an African separatist?

RUSH: If he's not, he's missing out on a darn good chance to be one is what I'm saying.

COLMES: Is he one or isn't he? Is that your accusation?

RUSH: No. I'm not — I'm not accusing him of being a separatist.

COLMES: Then what's the point?

RUSH: Then what's the point? The point is that the doctrine waxes separatist.

COLMES: It's a Christian church. It's clear to Christian church. I think it's quite presumptuous and arrogant for anybody to question somebody else's faith. And you've never been to that church.

You don't even know what they do there. You're basing this on a web site that you've read. Never having actually been at the actual church or ever having asked Barack Obama something about his faith, something which he's talked about quite extensively.

RUSH: Their web site is representative of them. That's why it's out there. Their pastor puts writings on it which are representative of them. That's why it's out there.

I don't know where they got this kneegro to go on TV and spew this BS but, being from Chicago, I've been to Trinity United Church of Christ. Many of my friends are members. Oprah Winfrey was once a member. It's a typical black church, albeit it has many affluent members, and I cannot believe that anyone would stoop this low. It's just disgusting!

Baby Collector

So is she this generation's Josephine Baker? What's with the "one of these, one of those?" I hope these kids don't turn out wierd!:

"Angelina Jolie has filed papers to adopt a Vietnamese child, the country's top adoption official said Friday.

A U.S. adoption agency representing the 31-year-old actress filed the papers at Vietnam's International Adoption Agency, said Vu Duc Long, the agency's director.

'She just filed the papers this week,' Long said.

Jolie and her partner, Brad Pitt, have three children: 5-year-old son Maddox, adopted from Cambodia; 2-year-old daughter Zahara, adopted from Ethiopia; and another daughter, Shiloh, who was born to the couple in May.

Long would not name the U.S. adoption agency working with Jolie, who applied to adopt as a single parent.

Jolie and Pitt, 43, made a surprise visit to Vietnam at Thanksgiving, when they visited the Tam Binh orphanage, on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City.

Their pictures were splashed across the front page of Vietnamese newspapers, showing the couple cruising around Ho Chi Minh City on a motorbike.

Nguyen Van Trung, the director of the Tam Binh orphanage, declined to comment. He said he was awaiting the papers from the International Adoption Agency."

Angry Chinese Man

Well, now that Asians seem to be getting all kinds of exposure on pop culture's latest reality shows, I guess they can line up with the angry white men and angry black men. What bug got into this guy's ass?

A San Francisco weekly newspaper that bills itself as "The Voice of Asian America" is facing harsh criticism from that very community for publishing a column Friday titled "Why I Hate Blacks."

In the column, AsianWeek regular contributor Kenneth Eng listed "reasons" to discriminate against African Americans. The piece has been pulled from the newspaper's Web site, but the print edition of the free paper, owned by the politically influential Fang family, was still available in news racks Monday.

Eng called himself an "Asian supremacist" in January in another installment of the column, which runs under the label "God of the Universe."

Prominent Asian Americans immediately condemned Eng's current column.

"The hate is based on ignorance and is very similar to the rationales that the KKK uses against African Americans," said Henry Der, director for 22 years of Chinese for Affirmative Action and the former state administrator for Emeryville's schools.

[...]

Eng's "reasons" for hating black people include:

-- "Blacks hate us. Every Asian who has ever come across them knows that they take almost every opportunity to hurl racist remarks at us."

-- "Contrary to media depictions, I would argue that blacks are weak-willed. They are the only race that has been enslaved for 300 years."

-- "Blacks are easy to coerce. This is proven by the fact that so many of them, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, tend to be Christians."

This is so bogus. The editor of this paper couldn't have read this and signed off on this story. It's pure rubbish and based on stereotypes and, obviously, no real research on or contact with black Americans.

I work in a place where the Chinese even out number the East Indians. I hear broken English or some Chinese dialect ALL DAY LONG! Unlike black folks, tables full of them folks can "sit together in the cafeteria" and no one dares go over and interrupt them speaking in their native tongue the way folks will go up to two black folks at the water fountain and say "what are you guys talking about?" I am in a high tech job at a company where most of the folks do not speak standard English. I have probably experienced more racism from immigrants who've only seen TV images of black people than I have from white folks ('cause they suddenly want to be American with me). But, I don't hate Asians and neither do any other black folks that I know.

I'm glad he's being dropped from the paper. What he really needs to do is bond with the other "angry" men in the country. They have far more in common with him than his average Asian counterpart.

Another thing: these folks need to understand who fought for their right to be here. They would not be outnumbering the white folks in Silicon Valley had it not been for the struggles of the "weak-willed" black folks who have endured and succeeded in here in spite of the fact that this is America not because this is America.

It Wasn't A Mock Southern Accent, It Was A Mock Black Accent

These folks don't even need to go there. The one thing that really gets under my skin during election seasons is when most white candidates go to black churches and want to play Marting Luther King. Most of them suddenly change their speech pattern to try to connect with black audiences and plug into the call and response cultural idiosyncrasy. Bill Clinton did it. Al Gore did it. They all do it.

New York Senator Hillary Clinton felt so insecure about her trip to the American south this weekend that she dusted off hubby Bill Clinton and dragged the former president along for some very important support. While it seems fairly obvious that any Hillary strategy in a 2008 general election will write off the south, she seems quite concerned about Barack Obama and his recent surge.

Even though it is seriously early, Clinton's numbers with Democrat voters are falling and Obama is closing the gap. Newsbusters reports that Andrea Mitchell, while narrating the segment on the political duel between Obama and Hillary in Selma, Alabama this weekend portrayed Obama as having authentic appeal, while picturing Hillary resorting to heavy-handed political tactics.

Obama did the exact same thing. I heard him on NPR where he admitted that he is more relaxed and does change the way he addresses the audience. While many want to claim he is not really black, he's chosen a life and a wife that have embraced him and included him in the count. The bottom line is that I cannot believe people are calling Hillary on it when I cannot even go to work and not have some white person coming up to me and wanting to lapse into some "black slang" that they've never heard me speak. Hillary was trying to be down just like the rest of her counterparts.

Why They Hate Us ...

... because we are playing both sides of the middle! We are claiming people are evil yet sleeping with them on the downlow.

"To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has co�perated with Saudi Arabia’s government, which is Sunni, in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda.

One contradictory aspect of the new strategy is that, in Iraq, most of the insurgent violence directed at the American military has come from Sunni forces, and not from Shiites. But, from the Administration’s perspective, the most profound—and unintended—strategic consequence of the Iraq war is the empowerment of Iran. Its President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has made defiant pronouncements about the destruction of Israel and his country’s right to pursue its nuclear program, and last week its supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on state television that “realities in the region show that the arrogant front, headed by the U.S. and its allies, will be the principal loser in the region.”"

Wake up folks! The only axis of evil involves Bush, Cheney ... and their cronies in Israel.