what year is this?

Teen's Drawings Attract Secret Service Agents Things really are out of control. The art teacher should be fired, plain and simple. I hope no one confiscates my anti-war notebook. However, as I'm a lover, not a fighter, it's more of a homo-erotic tale with Bush and bin Laden as the star-crossed lovers. Mmmmmm. More later.

This deserves its own entry.

I wish I had been there. The abortion-rights march in D.C. this weekend was 12 years in the making. I don't even have words to explain how I felt when I saw the hundreds of thousands of men, women & children from over 60 countries around the world marching for a woman's right to choose. The picture says it all. John Kerry did the right thing by showing up at the rally. Some dittohead called in to Rush's show today, making sweeping generalizations about Catholics, claiming that American Catholics shouldn't give the procedure a second thought. Might this cost Kerry the swing vote from confused Catholics? I hope not. Rush whined about the rally, likening it to the ladies that protested and rallied against sexual harassment in the workplace, claiming that "they were protesting something they actually wished would happen to them." I'll admit, I listen to Rush at work, it keeps my mind off of the banalities of my day-to-day, and the fire in my belly somehow makes the days go by a bit faster, but I can't figure out how people can subscribe to his right-wing conservative bullshit day in and day out. Here's a photo of Bush and Friends signing a bill banning partial birth abortions, a procedure that most know is a crock of shit. Thanks for speaking up for all the ladies, gentlemen. I feel sick.

A meltdown, you say?

By now, everyone's heard of the John Kerry medal-tossing fiasco, right? Mind you, this happened over 30 years ago, and he was emotionally charged after fighting a useless war. Why can't the Bushies find something a bit more current to attack? Old news. Literally. Both Bush and Kerry should be talking just a little bit more about what they're going to do in Iraq. The NeoCons think that Bush's pandering to the left is costing us this war... this "politically correct" war. I'll admit, Bush has been a man of conviction, a Texan that sticks to his guns, but by approving the cease fire in Fallujah, he definitely showed signs of wavering. My head hurts. In other news....Hans Blix is coming to seattle!!

recovering ex-catholic?

The Vatican is now saying that priests in Catholic churches should not give communion to politicians that support the right of a woman to choose to have an abortion. Just keep rollin' back those pesky women's rights, Mr. Pope. Really. No one really needs them anyhow. Women should not be allowed to make decisions about thier bodies. No sir. The personal is political? No No No. The personal is the Vatican's business. Everyone's talking about Pat Tillman this morning. He was an Army ranger that died in battle yesterday. He died fighting for the freedoms that we take for granted, and, he turned down a 3.6 million dollar NFL contract to fight in the war. Front page news, boys and girls. I guess that's what it takes. I guess the 811 coalition deaths weren't as exciting to mention. They left behind families and good jobs, not the National Football League. Oh, and in other news, those wacky Germans can now have sex in the barracks. Uniform play means so much more now.

...but what happened???

"They only informed us that thousands were dead or injured..." Again, I bid you farewell...

"Our democracy is a farce..."

OK, first things first, i know it's Drudge's job to report things on the zeros, anytime, from anywhere he happens to "hear it first," but John Kerry's stance on abortion in 1972 is hardly relevant now. ...or is it? Is he attending the rally on abortion rights just to lock in some of those "swing voters" we hear so much about, or has he changed his mind? If that's the case, then are we supposed to chastise him for being a "flip-flopper," a "waffler," or some other descriptive buzzword that so many AM-pundits have thrown into our vernacular? In other news, there's all this ballyhoo regarding some comments Kerry made when he came back from Vietnam. John O'Neill was in the same unit, Coastal Division 11, as Kerry, but didn't start serving until 2 months after Kerry left. Why is this front page news? NeoCons everywhere are trying sooooo hard to make Kerry out to be the absolute worst democratic candidate for the presidency, all but ignoring their fearless, witless leader and his 4 year fuck-up of our nation. I understand that we're in the middle of a war right now, and our greater goal should be figuring out how to end it, rather than just getting Bush out of office, but I'm tired of the spineless Bush-hating that's been taking place just beacuse... I wont be participating in any anti-war marches, wearing a satirical presidential mask, nor will I be making any "NO BLOOD FOR OIL" signs in my kitchen late at night. At this point, it's up to us as Liberals to get educated, to know the facts, and to be able to fight these wacky conservatives the right way....which is left. Right. Er....left. U.S. soldiers are coming home minus a leg (or two) and all these "splotchy bullies" can do is scream about the politicizing of the war. Do they expect Kerry to just accept all that Bush has done during this wartime election? So far, it seems John Kerry has dealt with the situation in Iraq with an admirable amount of sophistication; not once saying anything that might encourage the enemy. Blind patriotism is bullshit. Wake up. more more more... Tami Silicio was fired from her contracting job in Iraq because of her front page photo in the Seattle Times this weekend. Maytag Aircraft fired Silicio and her husband David Landry today. A little dirt-diggin' on Tami brought up another time she was fired, this time, back in 2000, while working for Halliburton. Hm.... After refusing sexual propositions from coworkers, and enduring the bitch/whore/slut name-calling, she was terminated. Interesting. speaking of ridiculous...

4-22-04 NORTH MIAMI, Fla. (AP) - The police department in this seaside town has dropped its swimming requirement for new officers - in part, to recruit more blacks to the force. North Miami officials said knowing how to swim is not really necessary. And they said the requirement has discouraged some blacks in this Haitian-American enclave from joining the department. ``They have been intimidated because they don't swim. Very few of them swim,'' Mayor Joe Celestin, who is Haitian-American.

goodnight That's all for now. I don't have it in me to write anymore, for fear of a caffiene-induced migraine. I will say this: Happy Earth Day. Oh, and the Earth Liberation Front is a fucking joke.

briefing

"I looked around and saw my leg bleeding and my neighbor lying dead on the floor, torn apart," he said from his hospital bed. "I saw a minibus full of children on fire." It looks like April 29th is the Day of Puppetry that the 9-11 Commission has been so eager to get underway. It's interesting how "careless mistakes" made by a Republican congressman has been all but dismissed because he simply "grabbed the wrong bag." Bullshit. Throw him in jail, treat him like a "brown-skinned" person, goddamnit. "Why shouldn't we ask all of our citizens to bear some responsibility and pay some price?" Hagel said, arguing that restoring compulsory military service would force "our citizens to understand the intensity and depth of challenges we face." It's time for my 8-4 now, but there's much, much more on the way. I have Rushisms to share, as well as fucked-up Hannity-logic. I hope all are well.

"...more than on speaking terms."

Tom Ridge might call for an acceleration of terror-preparation plans today because of a series of high-profile, down-home, all American events coming up soon. There are no plans yet to raise the color-coded threat level, but be on the look out for the dramatic yellow-to-orange change in the imminent future. As terror operatives may be in place in the US as we speak, I suggest you brush up on your homeland security safety measures before doing anything else today. In other news, since none of the UN resolutions met with Spain's conditions, newly-elected Prime Minister Zapatero has decided to bring his 1400 troops home. He has described the war and occupation as a "huge disaster," and with Al-Queda issuing public threats for its support of the US-led coation in Iraq, Spain's favorite Socialist is bringing his boys home. Quote of the Day "I can tell you, I've had lunch on a number of occasions with Vice President Cheney and with Colin Powell, and they're more than on speaking terms," Ms. Rice said on Fox News Sunday. "They're very friendly."

NRA members believe the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms. Gun control critics believe the NRA has pushed that right too far and made it too easy for criminals to obtain guns. "Senator Kerry seems to have his own view of the Second Amendment," Cheney said, urging NRA members to vote for Bush. The group's annual convention, titled "Freedom's Steel," drew about 60,000 people to rallies and an exhibit hall billed as "four acres of guns and ammo" for an avid display of guns, ammunition and sportswear.

just another day

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians shook their fists in anger and mourned for Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, the latest Hamas leader to be assisinated by an Israeli missile-attack. Many Arabs think Bush has blood on his hands, and on the streets of Gaza, there were countless calls for Hamas to start killing Americans too. What is often forgotten in the Isreal / Palestine conflict is that there are extremists on both sides and that since the very beginning people on both sides have seen terrorism as a legitimate means to an end. However, if one party puts itself above the law, then its moral ground is no higher than the other's.

"It is no doubt a crime," Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie told reporters. "Unfortunately the Israelis feel they are supported by the United States administration.

The U.S. reaction to Sheikh Ahmed Yassin's assasination was to veto the anti-Israel security council resolution. This just goes to show that human rights matter only if you're a U.S. citizen, and that this war really is a war against Islam. briefs Why don't we see newsbits like this in our newspapers? Also, 11 more US troops were killed in the past couple of days.

we're running out of cruise missiles

I've spent most of my day reading

The Bush Dyslexicon: Observations on a National Disorder

The O'Flores Factor

Lots is going on, kids. Lots. bin Laden released another video. George Tenet testified. More troops are needed, more will die. Extremists vs Obstructionists: trouble in paradise. ...to name a few. More folks on the right are crying out against John Kerry, and how all of his negative words regarding Bush's handling of this war are showing signs of weakness in our country. If I remember correctly, these people are the same ones that had nothing but dissent when it came to Clinton's position during the whole Kosovo affair. One last thought: "It's easier to put on slippers than to carpet the entire world..." - SS

good morning, all

late start late start check out the link below...click on the "wacky wedding performance" Only In Amurrica

"Well, let me step back and review my thinking, prior to going into Iraq..."

A majority of the NeoCons I listened to this morning (Rusty Humphries , Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly) all thought last night's conference was "refreshing," and that Bush was a "guy with guts," a "practical everyday American..." blah blah blah. "Smart intellectuals would say that the president didn't make the case," spouted Sean Hannity (who, coincidentally, thought Bush was "as refreshing as he could be"). Smart intellectuals?! Bill O'Reilly defended the Cheney/Bush joint-appearance in front of the commission with this: "If they testify separately and contradict themselves, the commission will call up the New York Times..." and the rest of the liberal media to call the president out on his lies. Isn't that the point of having them testify at different times? Rush Limbaugh thought it was a "slam-dunk, grand-slam homerun." Sure thing, Rush....take another pill, down a few shots of cheap whiskey and call back tomorrow, eh? Talking heads, talking heads. It's too easy to blame Clinton these days. It's too easy to say that "we cannot change the Commander in Chief at this point," like Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard, and it's too easy to say that the mainstream media are just a bunch of Bush-haters that will do anything to get him out of office. Well, yeah. After a while, I'm hoping people might figure out that our current administration is a BIG, FAT JOKE. The entire speech, and the "conference" that took place afterwards was just a messy conflagration of talking points that Bush probably rehearsed in front of Karl Rove and Condi Rice. This war isn't an essential factor in our homeland security, and it will continue to be sold to us, the American public, despite the fact that it was a war predicated on deceptions, distorted half-truths, and oily money. Register to vote. Register to vote. Register to vote. goodnight.

tidbits

Good morning, all... Last night's solo conference was Bush's 12th since his presidency began. Jimmy Carter, George HW Bush and Bill Clinton had conducted well over 40 of these by their fourth year in office. He looks so shiny and confused in all of the press shots thus far. It appears that now, the White House is finally going to turn to the UN for help, the UN they've been trash-talking since 9-11. Apparently, Kofi Annan's special representative Lakhdar Brahimi is supposed to be the beacon of hope in Iraq, just like he was in Afghanistan. I hope it all goes down before election time.

brown-skinned?

--Some of the debate really centers around the fact that people don’t believe Iraq can be free; that if you’re Muslim, or perhaps brown-skinned, you can’t be self-governing or free. I’d strongly disagree with that.-- MSNBC has the entire transcript, but ABC's version had that part edited out. Hm.

seriously, we know these are tough times, mr president...

WOW. It's not the entire transcript, but I'm sure all of it will be up before the end of the hour. OK, so he needs to lay off the tough-talk, and as the mighty leader of our great nation, he should consider NOT peppering his responses with countless "ums" and "uhs." I listened to most of the conference on the radio, but about halfway through, I had to see his face, because he sounded like he was in pain. A few gems: -We can no longer hope that oceans protect us from harm.* -He was a threat because he funded suiciders (re: Saddam). -We weren't on a war footing, yet the enemy was at war with us.* -They want to as us questions, and that's why we're meeting (re:joint meeting with cheney before the 911 commission)* -I'm sure something will pop into my head... (re: biggest mistake, post 9-11) quotes marked with a * indicate those that were re-stated once (or twice) throughout theconference. This was our President, folks, our great leader that hates being "under the spot", our great leader that wants to "lead the fight on AIDS on Africa". Has he failed to state his case to the American public? Yes. He said it himself: "The votes will decide; that's what elections are all about." That was his answer. Why can't he admit to any of his mistakes? Why is he able to get away with saying he felt "angry and sad" after being asked if he felt any personal responsibility for 9-11? The whole thing made me feel uncomfortable. more later...

just when i thought i was the only one...

He can play the blame-game all he wants, but he can never take away our MUSIC!!!!!

LET THE EAGLE SOAR!

GWB will be delivering a speech of sorts this evening. It is supposed to be between 16-18 minutes long, but TV guides have this listed as a half-hour affair. Does that mean he'll only have 10 minutes (or so) to field questions from the press? Does this mean we have to sit through the same drivel we always hear (straight off of his teleprompter) before he starts fumbling for words and talking about how we need to come together as a nation to win this war...?

discharge information sytems

Tomorrow is the President's first solo conference of the year, in which he will brief his fellow Americans on the US-led efforts in Iraq. I wonder if he'll mention the 600+ people killed in Fallujah this month. I wonder if he'll mention the $2500 blood money payments. I love that the military keeps saying that a majority of those killed by our coalition forces were "military-aged men," but most of the reports I've read have mentioned most of those deaths as women, children and the elderly. blah blah blah. I can't wait. CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) -- On the defensive, President Bush said Monday there was no warning in a pre-Sept. 11 intelligence memo that "something is about to happen in America" before the nation's worst terrorism attack. He said U.S. intelligence services may be due for reforms. "There was nothing in there that said, you know, `There is an imminent attack,'" Bush told reporters. "That wasn't what the report said. The report was kind of a history of Osama's (bin Laden's) intentions."

it's the grown-up thing to do.

Most of the 600+ casualties in Iraq were women, children, and the elderly, according to a nurse in Fallujah, but US officials reported the casualties as being "95% military-aged males." Right. A tough week indeed.

daily briefs

The PDB the title of the briefing alone should have been some kind of slap in the face to take action.

CLAIM: "The threat reporting that we received in the spring and summer of 2001 was not specific as to...manner of attack." FACT: ABC News reported, Bush Administration "officials acknowledged that U.S. intelligence officials informed President Bush weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks that bin Laden's terrorist network might try to hijack American planes." Dateline NBC reported that on August 6, 2001, the President personally "received a one-and-a-half page briefing advising him that Osama bin Laden was capable of a major strike against the US, and that the plot could include the hijacking of an American airplane." Rice herself actually admitted this herself, saying the Aug. 6 briefing the President received said "terrorists might attempt to hijack a U.S. aircraft." [Sources: ABC News, 5/16/02; NBC, 9/10/02] Condi's a hard-ass, and I love it, but seriously...there's obviously a major glitch here. I don't get why Hannity's always screaming about "politicizing the most important issue of our time." it has to be, election season or not. I'll admit, I thought Ben-Venista went too far last Thursday, but Dr. Rice should have made an attempt to give a straight answer.