not religious enough

That seems to be the problem. No one meets anyone else's expectations. For the conservative part of the Republican Party, you are not sufficiently pious enough if you are pro-choice. Even Sam Brownback, who's about as conservative as it gets, was recently taken to task for voting to approve Katherine Sebilius as the new Health and Human Services. It's not enough that Brownback is from the same state as Sebilius and as a likely gubernatorial candidate in 2010, he just might need the votes of a few moderates to get elected. No. According to the far right rodeo clowns, because Sebilius was pro-choice and Brownback voted for her, he must have sold out his principles. The 'yur either 'wid me or 'agin me approach to the world. I've never been a fan of Brownback, but I don't see how it is possible to be pro-life for fetuses and pro-death for everyone else out of the womb. Abortion? NO! Death penalty? OK! Torture? OK! Saturation bombing? You bet. Napalm? Sometimes. If you're a Republican.

On the other hand. The Democrats often show similar wishy-washy religious views. When Bush was in office, his brand of religion was labelled as scary by the left. (I'm not saying it wasn't) but Bill Clinton's brand of religion was upheld as being well "full of grace". Until that we found out he wasted and then he was just a hypocrite like the rest of us.

Same for Barack Obama. He's either a pious compassionate Christian or a devout Muslin depending upon your point of view. People love big hats. But what they love even more are Big Hats in Church. That is until they don't. Or until the Rev. Jeremiah Wright is unearthed God-damming America in front of - God forbid! BLACK PEOPLE IN BIG HATS WHO VOTE-and then everyone was down on the big hats AND the Sunday-go-to-meeting brand of churcy black folk that suggests that some forms of social injustice should not be tolerated in the present day America-Land of the Free, Home of the Brave. That must mean they're a Muslim or they like big hats.

All said though, you do not have permission to shoot people--no matter your religion! Hats you can wear.


Note: I wrote most of this post over a month ago and then set it aside for other interests. It seemed appropos to revisit it again, especially in light of Sunday's shooting of one man in church by another man who felt the first man wasn't churchy enough. Now before you go saying, "hey wait a minute, that fellow was crazy!, you should realize that both sides have been using this same rhetoric to describe the other.

just say no to the devil

Finally a Republican with enough spine to stand up the Dick. Perhaps this is Colin Powell's way of making amends to the country after lying for them and being exposed for a dupe. If more folks threw water on Cheney's white phosphorus skin, he'd quickly melt into a puddle of clothes.

still the dick

Being the first vice president who had also served as secretary of defense, naturally my duties tended toward national security. I focused on those challenges day to day, mostly free from the usual political distractions. I had the advantage of being a vice president content with the responsibilities I had, and going about my work with no higher ambition. Today, I’m an even freer man. Your kind invitation brings me here as a private citizen – a career in politics behind me, no elections to win or lose, and no favor to seek.--Former Vice-President Dick the Dick Cheney speaking to the American Enterprise Institute, May 21, 2009

Sometimes it's hard to imagine a bigger Dick than Cheney. If this man is so free, so unfettered from political ambition, then why is he worried about his public image so much. If he has no favor to seek, then why is he making the talk show rounds to try and convince the world he shouldn't be tried for war crimes?

Poor W, didn't have the intellect to run the country and still doesn't have the brains to defend himself and his policies. The fact that Cheney is the one doing all the ranting and raving tells you what you already knew-Cheney was Gepetto and George his wooden creation.

Aside from that, Americans would be advised to ignore the Devil in Vice-Presidential clothing. Let's focus instead on health-care reform, education for our children, and environmental stewardship; let's leave the devil to Daniel Webster.

the difference a president makes

The country made a huge leap forward today, one that the Bush Administration had worked valiantly for years to impede, and one this President hurdled in less than 4 months. The improvement?--greatly improving the mileage requirements of vehicles sold in America. American automakers, who after watching their companies fail, may finally be getting it, will have to improve the average mileage of all vehicles to 35.5 mpg by 2016. That's up almost 10 mpg from today and represents a significant improvement in energy policy. Automakers will complain that they can't make money on these small cars but the last time I looked, they weren't making money on big ones either. Time to rethink the business strategy and we now have the leverage to make it happen.

Now the next step. The largest US consumer of petroleum products is the military. They consume about 21 billion gallons per day (CIA, 2005). We are making wars so that the military can fuel its vehicles in order to fight those wars. Time to stop. How about an all electric assault vehicle? Leave it to the Swiss! I'm not sure it makes sense but how much of the military does?

You can read a lot more about issues related to US military consumption of oil at the Energy Bulletin. Some interesting facts. No one seems to know exactly how oil the military consumes primarily because the actual numbers go unreported. (Only Cheney knows for sure). Also, vehicle fuel accounts for about 3/4's of the military's consumption yet most energy reduction programs brought forth by the Department of Defense are targeted at buildings.

I guess some day we'll learn or we'll start a war trying.

duped again by the forces of evil

Note to Dems: Just Say No to Torture.

While most of us are hoping to move beyond the first 100 days and want to look to this administration to lead us into an era of significant, meaningful change that works on problems such as clean water, livable cities, health-care reform, and PEACE the Democratically controlled Congress continues to wade knee deep in the Potomac muck. Aided and abetted by an unholy trinity of Dick and Karl (history will prove they are the same person), Sean, and Rush, the Dems continue to fall for the sucker punch of negativity known as--the conservative pundit.

When will the Dems learn they are being played by the Repubs? Look closely behind the curtain and you'll see the FatBoys with the Little Things smirking with the realization that they've duped the country again into arguing about conservative issues so that progressive changes won't be addressed. We spend an inordinate amount of time and energy debating issues that won't be solved by sparring matches of the empty body politic that are televised on FOX and CNN and endlessly replayed on MSNBC and drive-time radio.

The only way to really answer the torture question is to have a war-crimes trial and neither party wants this since they are both culpable. As long as the country is mired in these who-knew-what-when debates we can't move forward with more compelling issues such as why do we continue to spend the bulk of our tax dollars on the military while our country's health care system, jobs, and infrastructure goes to hell-in-a-handbasket?

Get a grip folks. Let's solve the problems that to keep our neighborhoods livable. Cheney doesn't have much time left; he's a mope and a dope. Forget him.

Remember. It's the ECONOMY stupid!

whatever it is we did, errr do...

portugese water torture dog

Another sign of the differences between the Bush and Obama Adminstration. Bush was a cat person; Obama a dog lover. Also, the Bush Administration was fond of water-boarding as a form of torture and the Obama Administration announced today that the latest addition, after Katherine Sebilius, to join the team is Bo, a Portugese Water Torture Dog.

For those of you who may not know, the Portugese Water Torture Dog is a working breed. Although originally a seafaring breed, with the economic downturn and loss of many pleasure craft due to the expensive of maintaining them, many Portugese Water Torture Dog have been forced to take on second jobs to assist their owners with the cost of maintaining their elegant lifestyles. One of the most popular jobs, given the affable nature, stamina, and water skills of the breed, has to been to work as magician assistants - which is the reason for the recent name change by the American Kennel Club.

The most famous Portugese Water Torture Dog was Houdini the Hairy Black and White, who perfected the trick for which the breed is named. In this trick. the dog's owner is first shackled, and the submerged upside down, in a large glass tank. The dog then has six minutes (less if the owner is not in near perfect shape) to free his master from the tank. If successful, it's typical for the owner to reward the animal with a fancy dog treat.

top this: presidential pup redemption

A friend brought me a pack of topps® Obama trading cards which, considering that everything, and I do mean everything seems to be branded with Obama's image, is only unique in that these cards are the inaugural edition. I'm guessing that if things work out for Topps®, then there might even be a second, Presidential edition.

We love trading cards. But they seem to have to expanded into all realms of popular culture. I remember as we were preparing to invaded Iraq, a well-place mole from the Bush administration must have talked someone at Topps° into introducing Freedom Cards. These were a series of cards about top Bush Administration officials and high-ranking members of the military. Government propaganda designed to appeal to 13-year teenage boys and repressed Republicans (how do you tell them apart?). There was no card of Bush with a puppy in this deck but there was one of 43 in a flight suit looking stern.

The Topps® Obama cards have some super secret cards inserted, including a high school basketball card (I wonder if they photo-shopped a 44 on his jersey) and a presidential pup redemption card. The pup card is the hardest card of all to get (odds are 1 in 384) and its existence begs the question? What the hell is presidential pup redemption? Find the card, get a free puppy? Find the card and you can take it to the White House for free entry for you and your puppy? A certificate to have your dog spayed or neutered? A free rabies and distemper vaccine?

The most bizzare set of trading ever given to me was a deck of Kennedy Assassination cards. These included Never before released autospy images! and for obvious reasons, were difficult to trade if not to even examine.

Eroll Morris, director of the Oscar-winning documentary, The Fog of War, offers a look back into the Bush Presidency through the eyes of photographers who covered Bush 43's term in office. Compelling, humorous, and insightful. Take a look before you forget the guy.

bush 43 through the years

Image: J. Scott Applewhite

bush to 43, uhh, can I have a do-over?

Former El Presidento Bush looks out the window and the 2 million people gathered on the mall to watch his successor and realizes, "umm...maybe I did fuck up a bit."

say your goodbyes

A little pre-inagural fun being had at a neighborhood in downtown DC. Residents throwing shoes at an inflatable W.

Photo: Evan Elliott

a stroll down pennsylvania avenue

The 4-hour season premiere of 24 had just ended when the Chief Executive declared a state of emergency for the incoming Obama administration inauguration ceremonies. With the exception of forcing the Obamas to rent a hotel room in the city they'll soon own, Bush has gone to great lengths to court the incoming President, likely because Bush knows that his legacy can be helped if Obama doesn't spend his first 100 days in office lamenting on how bad things have become and expend early political capital on trying Bushites for crimes against humanity.

It likely the threats against Obama and his family have been many and a few wackos have probably had real intent to harm. Many pray for the families safety and fear the worse might just be around the corner. Each day the headlines are scanned with elation marred with a bit of uncertainty. Some days I'm almost afraid to look.

The problem is that presidents, not just this president-elect, continue to be shielded farther and farther from the public they serve. This distance just builds during their tenure. Instead they are constantly surrounded by advisers, bodyguards, and the security-vetted elite. The interests of the People, for whom the President must swear allegiance to uphold, are then marginalized, pushed behind the barricades, and each face regarded as a potential threat. This prevents an open and transparent government of, and by the people, and leads to a culture of royalty. Even the most well-intentioned and grounded President can't escape this security-bubble because the secret service won't let them. The balance of power shifts slowly away from the electorate to the safety of the back room and the country suffers ill because of it.

One of the best things Obama could do is to insist, as Carter did, to walk down the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue and shake hangs with the people during his journey to the White House. (During his second inagural parade, Pres. Bush and the First Lady, briefly stepped from the motorcade to show America that the country was "safe from the terrorists" but the phlanx of secret service agents had grown considerably larger since the Carter days). The police state might not like it, but Obama was elected rather than appointed. We hope for a country where every man, woman, and child - be they black, white, brown or the President, feels safe enough to walk down the street unfettered from fear.

shoveling coal: is it good for the kids?

John Shiffman and John Sullivan report Sunday in The Philadelphia Inquirer piece, "Smoke and Mirrors: The Subversion of the EPA" on the pervasive, devil grip that Bush Administration has used to choke the life out of the agency charged with protecting our environment. EPA Chief Administrator and Cheney lap-dog, Steven Johnson, has actively participated in his agency's decline, overseeing budget declines of more than 25 percent during his term and cutting funds for such "market-driven" programs as sewer repairs.

The most disturbing part of the piece wasn't that Chief Administrator Johnson held prayer meetings in his government office (we don't a have a problem with the prayers, just don't think holding them in government offices is the right place) was a program called CHEERS. CHEERS tested the toxic effects of pesticides on children, i.e. why use mice when there's all these kids with nothing to do?.

One of the new human tests was the Children's Health Environmental Exposure Research Study (CHEERS). Funded with $2 million from the chemical industry, CHEERS proposed to record the effects of household pesticides on low-income children in Florida. EPA gave participating families $970, a video camera to record exposure, and a CHEERS T-shirt, calendar and baby bib. EPA scientists would collect urine samples and the children would wear a watch-size sensor one week each month.

It's not clear why we need to tell the US EPA that this is immoral but apparently we do.

We would not have been surprised to learn that those same children were forced to shovel coal into clean-burning plants, their tuppence garnished by the Dept. of Education, and the funds used to buy books and bibles for their schools.

The Bush Administration has 40 days left to destroy our planet and they plan on using every hour of the day in order to accomplish this mission.

inquiring minds on the bush's epa

spooky spectacular

The Bush Administration, which typically addresses the American people only when they want to scare us, trotted out the dude with the Harvard MBA to explain how Wall Street and Main Street can be friends forever. It was so compelling that John McCain had to stop campaigning so he too, could try to parse the intricacies of our complex, yet fragile economy, from El Presidento himself.

And just when you thought the '08 presidential campaign couldn't get any nuttier. If another hurricane happens to rear it's ugly head in the next few weeks, we might be reduced to 1 debate and lots of fallacious ads. Sounds like a Republican plan to me. Why debate the issues when you can just get throw sound bites to the news media and the masses.

Here's how it works. Make a very negative ad. Show it in a very small market. Make sure all the 24/7 media outlets know about it, and then start generating controversy even if you have to call the opposition. In fact, it's better if the opposition gets riled up. The controversy then begets more news coverage, much of it with links to the offending ad, or clips from on the morning and evening shows. You can expect to hear "Not God Bless America; God Damn America" many times in the next 5 weeks.

If there's an up side to the whole end-of-world-as-you-know it for the Republicans it might be this. The Republican VP candidate has all but disappeared from the news. This can only be good for the Republicans since her presence can only hurt the program.

Another upside would be that if we can save the economy then Bush/McGruff's retirement plans would remain viable. 700 billion dollars almost seems like a fair trade to get rid of these knuckleheads for good. Main Street may not be on board with a Wall Street buyout quite yet, but Main Street agrees on one thing; it's time for them to go.

warrior ant press: top 10 bush administration failures

Here's Warrior Ant Press's list of the top 10 failures of the Bush Administration. We had to do some lumping to keep it to ten. Sincerely, we don't care if El Presidento Bush has the approval rating of an unruly teenager and sometimes acts like one. We do care that he's presided over the wreckage of our country that looks like a combination of the Great Dust Bowl, the Great Depression, and the War to End All Wars. Four more years of McSame? Think about it.

1. It's the economy, stupid. Here's a typical quote of the Bush Administration (from yesterday's radio address) that tries to gloss over the bad news.

Nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 84,000 jobs in August, and the unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent. While these numbers are disappointing, what is most important is the overall direction the economy is headed.

I guess we need more an economic policy than suggesting to the American people that they shop in response to the attacks of 9-11.

2. The housing crisis. Dream a little dream for me. Over 1 million homes in foreclosure and climbing. Homes values dropping 10, 20, 30, even 40 percent in some areas. The government underwriting the losses of Fanny Mac and Fanny Mae while protecting the profit of the banks and creditors who wrote bad loans underwritten with thin credit.

3. Torture, warrant-less wiretaps, and The US Patriot Act.

4. The Department of Homeland Security, it's idiotic color-coded terror scheme ("make it simple, so the President can understand it"), it's stategic planning in the wake of real, and imagined threats, and TSA rules on liquids, shoes, and laptops. You may not feel safer, but at least some one's getting frisky with you.

5. Where in the world is Osa bin Laden? We've started a war that we can't stop, when the real problem was about as easy as the Invasion of Grenada. Reagan foot-soldier my ass.

6. Corruption, malfeasance, and criminals: Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Brown, John Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzalez, Harriet Miers, Karl Rove, and Josh Bolten. "Rule of Law?" Fine for fledgling democracies and the middle class, but only if it suits us. And these are just a few of the knuckleheads you've heard of it.

Here's an exert from a 2007 report on Bush criminals by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government.

The misconduct covered here tends to fall into four general categories: using power to benefit friends and family members, engaging in private activities that conflict with government positions and a lack of supervision over high-level personnel. For example, Margaret Burnette, Kyle "Dusty" Foggo, J. Steven Griles, David Safavian and William Myers used their positions to financially benefit friends, family members and political cronies. Lester Crawford, Darleen Drunyan, Angela Grimsley and Kevin Marlowe were indicted for conflict of interest crimes. Eric Andell, Brian Doyle and Donald Keyser could have been caught much sooner, had they been subject to greater oversight. Perhaps the most disturbing conduct from a good government perspective, however, falls outside of these categories: it is overseers, such as Lurita Doan and Janet Rehnquist, using their positions to undermine oversight.

7. Loss of sanity, sometimes referred to as organic brain disease. "I looked in Vladmir Putin's eyes and saw that he was a good man." "Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction." "No one in my administration was responsible for the leaks." "We would never torture anyone."

8. Loss of transparency in our government. The Project on Government Secrecy by the American Federation of Scientists details more than 25 official Presidential Orders on White House secrecy, lists over 25 press briefings on why material should be kept secret from the people, and offers countless other orders, decisions, and memos from the Department of Justice, Office of the Vice President, and Pentagon on why the government's shit doesn't stink. Want to challenge any of the legal rulings? First you have to find out what's in them; sorry that's classified!

9. The loss of science in policy decisions. I think it's great that Jesus helped George cease being a spoiled-brat drunk looking for his next snort of coke. Jesus was cool, but most folks cause more problems when drunk, not sober. This President seems to be the exception. Global climate disruption is real. Understanding science can help policy makers make informed decisions about how to end our dependence on foreign oil. The alternative is number 10.

10. The invasion of Iraq. Over 1.2 million dead and over 3 million wounded in the region. The cost? Over 500 trillion, yes trillion, and climbing. All to settle a grudge and show his daddy he's finally a man. Maybe he's a man or maybe he's the worst President in U.S. history.

Enough. America. Enough.

top secret? not in this adminstration: updated

Another item you may have missed this week with all the hoopla about Sarah America. Harriet Miers, in case you've forgotten, was El Presidento Bush's counsel and a former Bush Administration hurricane (see m.o.i.: new names for hurricanes").

Bush aide's House testimony temporarily halted
LARA JAKES JORDAN – Associate Press
Published: Sept. 5, 2008
A federal appeals court has blocked former White House counsel Harriet Miers from testifying about the firing of nine U.S. attorneys until judges decide whether they have authority to wade into a battle that pits Congress against the Bush administration.

Miers is supposed to testify at a House Judiciary Committee hearing next Thursday.

In its ruling Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said it wants to review arguments from both sides over whether its judges have jurisdiction to rule in the case.

The three-judge panel gave House lawyers until 4 p.m. next Wednesday to make its case on why the court should uphold an earlier ruling forcing Miers to testify. The Justice Department must submit its own argument — why she should not — two days earlier, on Monday.

The House committee wants Miers to testify and White House chief of staff Josh Bolten to turn over documents related to the 2006 prosecutor firings, which Democrats contend were politically motivated.

top secret? not in this administration

Stories you may have missed this week if you were out scouting on where best to place your deer caribou stand.

Item 1. Former Attorney General Albert Gonalez took classified documents home in violation of the law, especially troubling if you consider that as Attorney General, Mr. Gonzales should have had the highest regard for the rule of law. Oh wait. This is the administration that brought us John Ashcroft, warrantless wiretaps, and torture.

ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: September 2, 2008
New York Times

The Justice Department inspector general, who investigated Mr. Gonzales’s handling of the documents, said he kept classified material at his home and in an office safe in violation of security procedures. The inspector general referred the matter to the national security division of the Justice Department for possible criminal action, but officials there declined to prosecute Mr. Gonzales.

Mr. Gonzales’s mishandling of the classified documents adds a new embarrassment to the long list of problems that tainted his tenure as attorney general. He resigned one year ago, after two and a half years in the job, in the face of growing criticism from lawmakers over his role in the N.S.A. wiretapping program and in the dismissals of nine United States attorneys.

The office of Inspector General Glenn A. Fine said in its report that Mr. Gonzales had mishandled 18 documents that were considered S.C.I. classification, or sensitive compartmentalized information, a security category for documents considered more tightly controlled than top secret.

The most sensitive material among the documents was Mr. Gonzales’s handwritten account of an emergency meeting at the White House on March 10, 2004, regarding the N.S.A. wiretapping program.

Item 2. Alaskan Govenor Sarah Palin referred to American troops fighting in Iraq were on a "task that is from God". Geez. Funny, isn't that what the enemy also says?

GENE JOHNSON
Published: September 3, 2008
The Associated Press
In an address last June, the Republican vice presidential candidate also urged ministry students to pray for a plan to build a $30 billion natural gas pipeline in the state, calling it "God's will."

Palin asked the students to pray for the troops in Iraq, and noted that her eldest son, Track, was expected to be deployed there.

"Our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God," she said. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that plan is God's plan."

Item 3. Jack Abramoff was sentenced to 4 years on federal criminal charges of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials. Mr. Abramoff is already serving a 6-year term in Florida for fraud.

NEIL A. LEWIS
Published: September 4, 2008
New York Times
Beginning with the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994, Mr. Abramoff sat at the center of a lobbying conglomerate that bilked Indian tribes of tens of millions of dollars and then used much of that bundle to win favor with members of Congress. He provided members and their aides with gifts, the most infamous of which was a lavish golf outing to Scotland.

In asking for the reduction of his prison term, the government had cited his cooperation with investigators, which prosecutors said was, “wholly or partially credited for convictions of a Member of Congress, five high-level legislative branch officials, one high-level executive branch official and two other mid to low-level public officials.”

warrior ant press: hurricane naming contest winners

This year's winning entries for the first 2 storms of the century season.


Some winners from previous years.

circus ponies and peanuts

The GOP is quickly proving that they are no longer relevant in this country. It's day 2 of their convention and they haven't even released a schedule of who is speaking when and where. Why? If you're doing the same old, same old, it doesn't matter. You don't even have to hold a convention except to seal the back-room deals with the lobbyists, war-profiteers, and religious zealots.

El Presidento will invoke 9/11 and lots of people will get teary-eyed about the Pledge of Allegiance and Silver Stars. Forget specifics America, here's a gob of doodo, now smile, act pretty, and salute!

No thanks. Enough. America. Enough.

republicans set to eliminate hurricanes

The timing of Hurrican Gustav couldn't be better for the much maligned Republicans. The Party of War Profiteers was all set to unveil their All New Hurricane Prevention Plan during the Minnesota convention, one that would that replace the few remaining acres of coastal wetlands with oil derricks and thus protect us once and for all from Mother Nature's mischievous cousin, Global Climate Disruption. Now it's likely this platform issue won't be debated on live television but can instead be worked over in the back room over bourbon and cigars.

But reports that Gustav will wreak havoc with the convention are a little premature. Seems as though, as Mayor Nagen likes to call it, the mother-of-all storms will just allow the Republicans to stay on message and continue to underscore one of their core platforms, "Want help? Then pray real hard."